#jj is literally her son; HE is her child

[hpiiker]

SPENCER REID AS A DAD... ⭐️🧸

spencer being a dad entails... talking to his kid as if he or she can reiterate words and describe or can even hold a conversation when he or she can’t LMFAOOO

spencer being a dad entails... surprising him at work with his son or daughter dressing up as him or his coworkers 🥹 the smile on his face when he sees his son/daughter showing the similarities between his outfit and the trails of hearing laughter of his child too😭🥹

spencer being a dad entails... making up pretend fbi cases and acting out with the rest of the BAU🥹 penelope would let your daughter type away on her computer, calling up derek and he’s starting the call saying, “hey, how’s my favourite little BAU agent going?” he said cutely, making your daughter laugh<3. aaron and jj letting jack, henry and your daughter act on the pretend fbi cases together (they’re literally like penelope, derek and elle 🥹😭😭). lastly, your guys daughter running to rossi/gideon to say she’s finally solved the case. they all celebrate with bring her, jack and henry on the jet, to see what it’s like being on the jet<33 (obviously not flying lmfao)

spencer being a dad entails... blurting out random fact about children/toddlers/newborn even though his kid is literally learning his first word 😭😭

spencer being a dad entails... him being incredibly protective of his kids. endless possibilities of making his sure no harm is in their hands. aaron and jj understood him so much, always checking in on him and his family <3

[quitealotofsodapop]

Btw you know that October Media project "Monkey King and JJ" thats in media Diyu rn based on "Monkey King: Hero Is Back"?

I legit had a dream last night that the plot was set in motion by Sun Wukong/Dasheng, after losing Liuer at the end of the film; asking the gods + the buddha for a way to save his monk son-figure.

But they cannot. Jiang Liuer is merely the 9th in the lives of the Golden Cicada.

The Monkey King doesnt take this response well.

He returns to Huaguoshan, only to find his people and kingdom decimated by the fires of Heaven.

In his dispair, he prays for a way to revive both his island, and his dear friend.

The Universe answers.

...and may have broken some dimensional barriers.

Dasheng wakes up with his head-throbbing, and with his whole island seemingly teleported to a new era, a new universe even. He and his subjects (+Pigsy, Silly Girl, and Sifu Fa Ming) are freaking tf out.

The monkey demon is about to fly off the handle looking for answers, when who meets him at the shore but Guanyin themself?

That bodhisattva explains that Dasheng's combined wish was so powerful - it literally changed the universe. Something about killing an aspect of primordial chaos glitched out the world something fierce.

Sun Wukong is a legend in this world - bordering on fictional. Huaguoshan is an island paradise for primate demons of all kinds, led by a council made up of his dear Stalwarts in his absence.

Many of his old allies are still alive - wondering where how the king's time under the mountain was?

So what does that mean for Liuer?

Dasheng follows clues from a familar old monk to the monastery's orphanage - where a much more familar little boy looks up at the monkey demon with awe.

This new, strange world will get some getting used to for the Great Sage and his companions. And certain aspects of The Journey are still destined to play out...

+

My idea for Hib's LEM/Six Eared Macaque ("Zhanshi") appeared in the dream, and her first act upon seeing her husband Dasheng again was to introduce him to their newborn child - who conviently waited for his father to get home before being born/hatching. XD

[mortalscience]

Criminal Minds 18x09 CollateRal (SPOILERS)

WHAT A BANGER EPISODE AND OH WE ARE SO ON FOR OCHOA AS THE DISCIPLE!!!

first up, obviously, the BAU profiling the Disciple as a woman - we're in the 11th hour, they're not getting a wrong profile at this point. they're right, it's a woman. and this "Tessa" person is 40 years old.. right age for OCHOA.

the "prayer" that the Disciple taught the kid - hmm, who do we know that's real into religious messaging? OCHOA

the dig at JJ by using Will in the prayer - the line about Will was specifically about how his soul is "God's to keep." again, who do we know that would intimately know how to twist that particular knife? and would reference the faith angle that the two of them discussed before? OCHOA

Yes, Ochoa was "kidnapped" along with Voit but I think that's all entirely part of the ruse. SUPER CONVENIENT that she happened to be there late, after her shift, RIGHT when the Network came for Voit! Hmmm.

"After everything we've done for you? I've done for you?" Ochoa was speaking of the Network there fo sho. Voit stealing the phone was not part of her plan so she was upset that he threw a wrench into the works.

Omg this episode was SOOO GOOD. I just knew these last two episodes would be break-neck with stuff happening left and right. SO MUCH HAPPENED. I just know I'm gonna watch this episode again like half a dozen times before the next episode.

LOVED LOVED LOVED the direction this episode! (the creativity this season has been SO FUCKING GOOD!!) There were so many fun continuous shots, I love continuous shots!! One of my favorite filming techniques. And some neat scene transitions! And the fun way they showed the passage of time during the stakeout! And I enjoyed the shots of Luke facing the camera :D

GARVEZ SCENEEEEE!! Okay we already saw it because it was the advance clip. BUT I STILL LOVED IT. Luke all breathless from running around looking for her, the gentle teasing over the fantasy football, Penelope calling him CHARMING, cute cute cuuuuute married behavior!!! Plus the scene was a little bit longer than in the clip. "Thanks to youuuuuu~" AHHHHHH.

Speaking of Luke, the way he excitedly greeted the kiddo and his amusement over Mackey's wife laying into him were cute, classic Lukisms.

Tara and Rebecca want Penelope to marry them, that's so fucking cute I'm gonna die. <3 This gives me hope we'll get to see the wedding and it won't be an offscreen thing.

Haha, it was great when Tyler arrested Voit and he was all "I'm glad it's you doing this, you deserve it." It's true, he does, lol.

Cute scene between Rossi and Tara <3 I'm glad we circled back to the discussion they previously had about Rossi needing some damn psychiatric help. Also I just love how much shit Tara gives him. She's definitely his biggest pain in the ass child hahahaha.

Not Rossi playing "football" with Voit! Literal father and son activity. Rossi's never shaking the Dad allegations lmao.

Rossi's on board the psychopath with a conscience train now! He knows Voit better than anyone, so he can see that it's real. Yesss.

The way Emily says "bullshit!" Hot.

"We got fucked!" "But who's doing the fucking?" LMAO I CAN'T

Emily and Rossi crouching in the hallway together after they figured out what was going on and that the network was going after Voit!! Ahhhh.

HOW CAN I WAIT ANOTHER WEEK FOR THE NEXT EPISODE????? I'M NOT GOING TO MAKE IT!!!!!!!

[literaryavenger]

WORTH IT

Summary: When a case doesn't go as planned, you can't help but question if your job is worth it.

Pairing: Dad!Figure!Rossi x Reader.

Warnings: Descriptions of violence. Descriptions of death. Slight teasing. My poor attempts at being funny.

Word Count: 1.3K

A/N: Yes, I know. I suck at following self-imposed deadlines, don't @ me, I hate myself enough for all of us. This is my first time writing for anything other than Marvel, but I love Criminal minds and I had this dream that I couldn't get out of my head. So I took a couple of hours to write it down in a way that makes sense instead of being a borderline fever dream and I hope it finds the right people and someone likes it. More to come, I promise.

Masterlist

It wasn’t supposed to end like this. A gun pointed to your temple while you kneel down, about to be executed in an underground tunnel somewhere in the middle of Idaho while a frightened mother and her innocent son watch from the corner, their whimpers filling the air.

It was supposed to be a simple case, there were already good leads on the UnSub before JJ even got the request for help, but local police felt overwhelmed by the rapid escalation of the executions and were worried they’d soon have a spree killer on the loose, then the Unsub escalated to abducting a ten year old from his house where he lived with his mother and brother.

So the team flew to the small town in Idaho to lend a hand, doing what you do best and coming up with a profile for the UnSub based on every detail you could gather.

What you didn’t profile, however, was that the UnSub would show up at the scene of the abduction while you and Rossi were checking it out, and you’d end up witnessing the masked man executing the child. A goddamn ten year old. 

You’d been in shock, not even sure if you were breathing as you saw the little body hit the floor until Rossi rushed in but the UnSub was already gone. Rossi had to literally shake you, his hands on your shoulders, to even just get you to look away from the lifeless kid and acknowledge your teammate’s presence, but even as you looked up at Rossi, he could tell you were basically looking through him as if he was made of glass.

The team could see it hit you hard, so Hotch ordered a police officer to take you, along with the now deceased kid’s mother and little brother, somewhere safe.

But you didn’t profile the UnSub being a police officer, did you?

So now here you are, taking your last breaths. 

One. Why are you counting them?

Two. Why not count them, you have nothing to lose.

Three. Wonder how high you can get.

Four. The barrel of the gun presses against your forehead, your eyes closed.

Five. It doesn’t matter, you’re going to die either way.

Six. Is this the end you imagined for yourself? Seven. Shot execution style by a lunatic?

Eight. Definitely not. Nine. You hear him cock the gun. This is it. Ten– Your eyes snap open as the door is kicked down and, suddenly, the UnSub’s attention is on the man launching at him, tackling him to the ground as the two of them fight it out once the gun is knocked out of the UnSub’s hand.

Rossi. Wait– Gun. Yes, gun first. Gun first, then Rossi.

You reach for the gun and grab it, standing up and pointing it at the UnSub just as he lands a punch on Rossi’s face that sends him tumbling to the corner where the whimpering mother and child still are. “Hands up!” 

The man stops, facing you now with his hands up. He looks like he’s surrendering, but you don’t move, your gut telling you to stay still and not let him out of your sight. It’s the most subtle of feelings churning in your stomach and screaming at you that he’s not about to give up so easily. There’s no remorse, no redeemable quality in a man like him.

It happens in seconds, he takes half a step before you’re pulling the trigger and the sound of the bullet flying and hitting its target mixed with the mother and child’s screams deafens you.

The silence that follows is unnatural as you look down at the man now on the ground, a bullet hole on the wall next to where the UnSub’s head just was.

The bullet hitting the plaster distracted the UnSub long enough for Rossi to knock him out.

Unconscious, not dead. 

“Everything okay, kid?” Rossi asks you as he sits in front of you on the jet as you make your way back home, placing a glass of what’s probably scotch in front of you.

You stay silent for a moment, just looking out of the window. “How do you do it?” You finally say quietly.

“Do what?” Rossi frowns a little as he looks at you so intently you’d think he could keep you together only with his gaze.

“You’ve been doing this for a long time.” You start as you pick up the glass in front of you with a sigh but just look at it, still not drinking from it. “Since before I was born, probably since before most of us could even walk or talk yet... You’ve seen the worst humanity has to offer, people who kill men, women and children and have no remorse…” You scoff and shake your head. “And you know how many more like him there still are out there, so… How do you still have faith? How do you keep believing there’s good in people?”

The entire jet seems to have gotten quiet as everybody waits with bated breath for Rossi’s response, while the older gentleman just looks at you.

“You really wanna know?” He asks softly after what feels like forever and you finally look up at him since he sat down, simply nodding. You can tell the rest of the team is listening intently, but your attention is fully on Rossi. “It’s because of people like you.”

It’s a short, matter of fact answer and yet the way you frown makes it seem like he’s just posed a math problem to you in ancient Greek. “Me?”

“Yes. You.” Rossi nods and sips his own booze. “You, Morgan, Hotch. Penelope, Prentiss, JJ… Wonder boy over there…” He nods towards Reid, who scoffs while Morgan chuckles and you almost smile. Almost.

“People who risk their lives everyday to help someone else survive theirs.” Rossi continues. “People who drop everything to fly across the country to help someone in need. People who have a perfect shooting record and still miss their target because they don’t take the life of someone that’s unarmed, no matter how bad you want to.” He gives you a knowing look that you avoid by sipping your scotch. Damn old man.

“We all know there are many deviants out there. And sometimes it feels like every time we catch one, ten more pop out.” Rossi leans in on the table. “Believe it or not, sometimes I feel like it’s hopeless too.”

You look up at him again when he says that. “You do?” You ask quietly. “You always seem so… Sure of yourself.”

“I’m not, that’s why I retired. But I also came back.” He smiles at you. “Because this, what we do, this fight… It’s more important than doubt. We save lives, we make a difference, even if sometimes it doesn’t feel like it. You want to know why I keep believing there’s still good out in the world? Because I see it. Everyday, in this team.”

You manage a small smile and look around at the team, everybody still listening intently and you can tell they can all relate to your hopeless feeling and, to some degree, they  all needed to hear Rossi’s words too.

You sigh and look back at Rossi, raising your glass. “To the good we do.”

Rossi’s smile widens and clicks the glass with yours. “Salud.” 

You sip the scotch and look back out the window, the usual chatter of the jet slowly returning. Rossi put things into perspective, but it doesn’t erase the image of that little kid’s life being cut short in front of you because of one sick man’s game.

You’re not okay, far from it, but through all the doubt there’s one thing that you keep reminding yourself now, a little voice in the back of your head that’s deep and raspy and has a bit of a Long Island accent: We save lives, we make a difference, even if sometimes it doesn’t feel like it.

[writeplace-wrongtime]

Before the Bet

First of all, thank you to everyone who interacted with The Bet. Seeing reblogs, likes and comments literally made my week, I appreciate all of you!

It also boosted my motivation, so I'm back with a 5+1 prequel to the bet - It can be read standalone as well, but if you haven't read The Bet, check it out here!

This was meant to be like 2000 words max but here we are.

masterlist coming soon

Word Count: 5k~

CW// mentions of blood/fainting, stabbing, arrest, hospitals, mentions of child kidnapping/death, use of y/n, not beta'd

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

5 times reader and Hotch hid their relationship + 1 time they didn't need to

5

The BAU rarely had quiet days. Whenever they cropped up, it meant hours of catching up on paperwork and emails, and even more so it meant getting to goof around the office without the usual level of urgency. In short, quiet days were nice.

You had spent the morning sorting through all the files in, on, or around your desk, hoping to clear up some space for the files that would surely start piling up again in the coming weeks. Old case files were sorted into one file to be moved to the proper storage rooms, while newer files were sorted according to date and case number, until you had an oldest-newest pile to work through in the afternoon.

Occasionally on quiet days, Aaron would offer to buy everyone coffee, and Emily and Derek would fight over who got to go pick it up. Today, was not one of those days. JJ and Henry had brought little Henry in for a visit, and with them came fresh muffins and cakes from the bakery near their house. A little after noon, you decided it was the perfect time for a cheap office-coffee refill, and a quiet time to sneak an extra muffin back to your desk.

The kitchen was quiet, with most of the office either holding off until lunch, or already sorted after their coffee break a couple hours earlier. You had just topped up the instant coffee when the door creaked open. You didn’t look up until a hand ghosted your lower back, and the sleeve of Aaron’s suit reached your peripheral vision. He leaned against the countertop, somewhere between beside and behind you, and you turned to face him. There was a smile on his lips, but a crinkle on his forehead where he’d previously been frowning at paperwork.

‘Coffee?’ He just nodded as you reached past him to grab his usual “no.1 Dad” mug Spencer and JJ had bought him one Christmas as a gag gift. You filled the two mugs, enjoying the closeness you often missed out on during work hours.

‘Dinner,’ He spoke suddenly, catching your attention, ‘Us, we should get dinner.’

You had had many dates over the 2 months since your relationship with Aaron had started, but every time he directly asked you out, whether to dinner or a movie, he always seemed unsure of himself.

‘You asking me on a date, sir?’ You teased, leaning against the counter in a perfect mirror of his position. He laughed, a quiet breathy sound that sent butterflies to your stomach.

‘Trying to, yes.’ Your smile grew.

‘Dinner sounds lovely, Aaron,’ Your voice had become quieter, but no less audible to him as you leaned fractionally closer. ‘Jack was telling me about the restaurant you went to last week, the one that had the dinosaur colouring sheets?’

He nodded thoughtfully as you slid his coffee towards him. He took a sip, before leaving the mug back down on the counter. ‘They had a great selection of colours,’ He said with a fond smile. You loved hearing him speak about Jack; the obvious pride displayed across his face whenever his son came into the conversation.

You were just about to ask if he’d kept the coloured sheet when the door’s squeaky hinges creaked loudly, and you jumped apart. Emily stood at the door’s entrance, eyebrows raised at the scene before her. Aaron looked between you and her, moving another step back as subtly as he could.

‘Thanks, uh, that eyelash has been bothering me all morning!’ You blurted out, voice just slightly too loud. You brought your hand to your face, wiping at the phantom eyelash as if to remove it. With a little more distance now between you, you were able to steady your beating heart. When Aaron made no move to leave, you picked up your own coffee, added a touch of cold water, and made a beeline for the door. You rolled your eyes at Emily as you passed, pointedly not looking at the kissy face she made when Aaron had turned back to the sink. Emily moved further into the kitchen then, but Aaron was already heading for the door, eyes following you as you sat back down at your desk with a muffin he hadn't even seen you grab.

‘Hey Hotch?’ He paused at the door, turning to see Emily with his coffee mug in hand, holding it out as if to offer it to him, ‘You forget something?’ There was an obvious teasing lilt to her tone, but he chose to ignore it, hoping he would be back in his office before the scarlet tint reached his cheeks. He wasn’t. He opted to instead hide his face behind the rim of the mug, taking a sip of the hot coffee. With one last glance towards your desk, he disappeared back into his office, and if anyone noticed the door shut a little faster than normal, no one mentioned it.

4

The knock on his office door alerted Aaron to your early morning arrival. He was used to being the first to the office, especially when the cases were stacking up like they were now. Since your relationship had started 4 months ago, you had taken to bringing him coffee on such days. He appreciated it.

‘Morning, handsome.’ You had a sleepy smile on your face as you stepped into the office. In your hands you carried two coffee cups. While you hadn’t spent the night at Aaron’s apartment, you knew he would be up early and in the office at a ridiculous hour. Where there was work to be done, he was always nearby. His shoulders visibly relaxed as you placed the coffees in front of him.

‘I don’t know what I’d do without you,’ He sighed, an equally tired smile on his own face. The hands of his watch ticked loudly in the otherwise quiet office, and a quick glance showed it was nearly half seven. You weren’t due in until 9. Hands now free, you pulled a chair closer, settling into it before picking back up your own coffee. You reached out and plucked a file from the desk.

‘A problem shared is a problem halved!’ You argued when he raised his eyebrows at you. The usual accompanying frown was absent, so you knew he wasn’t really annoyed at the intrusion, nor the cheesy proverb.  

‘Not when half of the problems are confidential.’ You rolled your eyes but conceded. The file was returned to the pile, and you moved to stand. ‘But the company would be appreciated.’

Your attempt to hide your smile was terrible. You blamed your tiredness. Aaron appreciated this time with you. Early enough that there was no worry about anyone seeing the fondness in his expression while you told him about your adventures in cooking the evening before, or the lovestruck smile on your face when he took your hand in his, pressing a kiss to your knuckles before returning to the file in front of him, fingers still intertwined with yours.

Well, no one except David Rossi. David who had come into work early to enjoy the peace of organising himself for the day before everyone else arrived. David who quietly closed his office door to allow you what little time together you could get at the office.

3

Weekends off were rare. So, when they came around, everyone celebrated. Team-bonding nights out had become more regular since Emily’s return from “death”. Friday nights before a weekend off were almost always spent together at a bar, club, or occasionally Rossi’s house for impromptu cooking lessons. Penelope and Emily often took turns trying to wing-man for you, and even JJ joined in after a couple drinks. Usually, you used the excuse of wanting to enjoy their company, but occasionally you called an early night to get a break from their incessant need to insert themselves into your sex-life. If you’d been single, you probably would’ve appreciated it. But you weren’t.

The previous night had been one of those early nights. Aaron hadn’t come out with everyone, insisting he needed to finish up some reports and to go on without him. As much as you’d enjoyed the few hours out with your team, you’d decided early in the night that once you’d had three drinks, you were going to go back to Aaron’s apartment and enjoy the rest of the evening with him. It wasn’t often that you had the apartment to yourselves on a Friday night, but Jessica had offered to have Jack for a sleepover. You wanted to make the most of it.

To wake up naturally, no blaring alarm clock or ringing phone, was a blessing. The room was lit by dim light behind closed curtains, and the only sounds were that of birds outside and the quiet snoring of Aaron behind you. His arm was draped over your waist, keeping you warm where his bare skin touched yours. Slow mornings were good mornings. You rolled in his arms until you were facing him, tracing the outline of his face with your eyes. He really was the most handsome man you’d ever seen. It was something you reminded him often.

‘Morning,’ His voice, though usually deep, was always deeper in the mornings, sending shivers down your spine. Your eyes met his half-open ones, and you leaned in to press a kiss to his lips. The only thing you loved more than spending the night with Aaron, was waking up to him the next morning. He chased your lips as you leaned back, swallowing your laugh as he caught them with his. Large hands encircled your waist, pulling you impossibly closer.

Swinging a leg over his waist, you manoeuvred yourself over him without breaking the kiss, earning a groan as you rolled your hips languidly down on his. His lips broke away from yours, only to reattach further down your neck, wandering hands moving up and under your pyjama top in their search for skin. You buried your fingers in his hair, tugging gently as his hips rose to meet yours. Moving one hand to the back of your neck, the other around your back, Aaron flipped you, positioning himself on top of you. He kept his weight off you with one arm, which lay next to your head while the other resumed its journey up your side towards your chest. He took a moment to look down at you, appreciating the view below him before he returned his lips to the expanse of untouched skin below your collarbone.

Your hands were half-way to tugging at his shirt when the loud ring of his phone broke you apart. Your eyes stayed closed, a sigh leaving you as he rolled over and off you to grab the device off the side table.

‘Hello?’ His voice was still breathy as he picked up the call, but you could tell instantly it was a work call as his voice became stern and serious. He was on the call for barely thirty seconds before you realised what a work call at 9am on a Saturday meant for you both. ‘Of course. I’ll be there soon.’

The disappointment at your ruined weekend plans was evident on your face. Aaron was already sitting up, stretching out sleep-sore muscles and trying to get the blood circulating back around his entire body. You opened your mouth to try and persuade him to lie back down, just for five more minutes, when your own phone rang. You didn’t need to see the caller ID to know it was Penelope, the unique ringtone she’d set for herself playing loud and clear.

‘Please god let this be a social call.’ There were nicer ways to answer the phone; you didn’t care to use one.

‘I hate being the bearer of bad news, but they found a body in Monogahela national forest, and its not looking pretty,’ Penelope said, an apologetic tone to her normally cheery voice, ‘But don’t worry my love, our resident Boy Genius promised to bring coffees and pastries for everyone.’

‘He’s really earning that genius title,’ You laughed, turning your head slightly to get a better view of Aaron, who was pulling dress pants out of the wardrobe and searching for a tie to match the shirt he’d already laid out at the foot of the bed. He held up two options when he saw you looking. It was very domestic, and you felt all the more disappointed that in one short hour, you’d be back to pretending you hadn’t spent the night - and start of the morning - between the sheets with him. Back to pretending that you weren’t planning to spend the weekend helping Jack bake cookies and cakes for his schools bake sale on Monday, and going for a run with Aaron before you tried to recreate one of Dave’s pasta recipes for dinner with Jack and Jessica. Back to pretending he was just your boss.

You looked away, trying to focus back on Penelope’s words as she explained the flight times and what you needed to add to your go bag. You were glad you’d put your spare overnight bag into the boot of Aarons car.

‘Fuck!’

Yours eyes widened at the sudden exclamation, head whipping back around to see Aaron holding his foot. You barely had time to deduce that he’d stubbed his toe before Penelope’s voice was screaming through the receiver at you.

‘OH MY GOD! Was that a man???’ You were at a loss for words, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation. Thankfully, Penelope had no interest in waiting for your response. ‘I thought you went home early, you sly fox!’

‘Listen Pen, I have to go,’ You said quickly, ‘See you soon!’

You pulled the phone away from your ear, her threats of finding out all the details later cut off as you hung up. There was a moment of silence, before you burst out laughing, clutching your stomach tightly. Aaron’s laugh followed yours seconds later, both of you revelling in the ridiculousness of the situation. Seven months of secrets and it was nearly all revealed over a stubbed toe. By the time the laughter had subsided, Aaron had sat back down next to you. You leaned into him, pressing a kiss to his exposed collarbone.

‘You know she’s gonna quiz me about this the entire flight, right?’

2

Cases involving children were always hard. After a week of searching and profiling and praying, the team had identified and located the unsub. Five missing children over six months. The latest victim, a young girl kidnapped from the local fair, had been the missing piece of the puzzle that led you to the unsub, but the team had been too late, arriving in time to catch the unsub wrapping her body for disposal. The arrest had been horrible, but sitting with JJ while she informed the victim’s parents was even worse.

By the end of the day, you were completely and utterly drained. You wanted to be back in your own bed, in your own apartment, not in a stuffy hotel room overthinking every decision you had made. Those parents wanted their little girl back. You tried to push the thought from your mind. After nearly an hour in the vicious hell of your own company, you dragged yourself off the bed, and down the hallway to the room you knew Aaron had. You had never been more grateful for the increased hotel budget allowing the team individual rooms on this case.

He was quick to answer the door, still in his suit, though his tie hung undone around his neck. He looked roughly how you felt.  His frown deepened when he saw you, standing with your arms around your torso, eyes red and puffy.

‘Come here,’ he said, already reaching out for you. No more words were needed as he wrapped you up in his embrace, holding you against him. The door swung shut behind you as he guided you further into the room. It was identical to yours, with a double bed in the centre, a small coffee machine and mug on the edge of a small desk, and a door leading into a small bathroom.  Unlike yours, most of Aaron’s belongings had been packed away into his overnight bag, gun and badge sitting on top of the open bag.

‘I hate cases like this,’ you whispered into his neck, letting the repetitive motion of his hand rubbing your back soothe you.

‘I know, so do I.’

You stood together in the middle of the room for a long time before you pulled back. Not far enough to be out of Aaron’s arms, but enough that you could look at him. His brow was furrowed as he met your gaze, face all full of worry and exhaustion. You reached up, running your thumb along his brow to soften the expression, smoothing out the lines. He leaned into your touch. Catching your wrist in his hand, he peppered kisses along the inside of it, following the line all the way to your palm. It was methodical, kisses following the vein as far as they could.

You looped the fingers of your free hand into the loop of his tie, pulling him to you until your lips met his. The kiss wasn’t rushed, or hungry. It was soft and gentle, anchoring you to the present, and away from the past two days. When he pulled back, he let his forehead rest against yours, eyes still closed. It was the moment of calm you had been hoping for since you’d first arrived. It wouldn’t solve all your problems, or take away all the guilt you felt, but it could keep them from overwhelming you entirely. After a minute, you opened your eyes.

‘I really should head back, my bags not going to pack itself, and I do not want to be stuck here any longer than I have to be,’ you said, stepping out of his space with much difficulty. You wanted to stay, borrow his shirt to sleep in and worry about everything else tomorrow, but your flight was early, and you really didn’t want to be rushing to get packed before take-off.

‘I’ll be here if you need me,’ He voice was almost hoarse with how soft he spoke, pulling you back in for one last kiss. You turned then, and left the room, pulling the door shut behind you. You still felt horrible, but the heavy weight on your chest had eased off. That was all you could hope for tonight.

‘Isn’t that Hotch’s room?’ You froze like a deer in headlights outside the door as Spencer’s voice reached your ears. You turned to look at him over your shoulder, hoping he wouldn’t notice the panic-stricken expression on your face.

‘Uh, yeah,’ You forced out, ‘Yeah he uh- you see, my shower wasn’t working.’ Your brain felt fried, but the excuse wasn’t the worst you’d come up with over the previous nine months. ‘He let me us his. Shower.’ Spencer blinked at you, and for a frighteningly long minute, he said nothing.

‘That’s nice of him,’ He said finally, lips curling into a half-smile, ‘Hey, Emily, Derek and I were going to go down to the bar for a drink, if you want to come?’

‘Sounds great, Spence,’ You mirrored his smile, ‘I need to pack, so I’ll meet you down there?’ He nodded, and with that he disappeared down the hall, and you took a deep breath. You’d have to tell them eventually, but not tonight. Not tonight.

You wouldn’t realise until days later that your hair had been completely dry, you had no towels with you, and your excuse had been ridiculously transparent.

1

You knew it was a bad idea to sit next to Aaron on the flight back, but it had been a tough case, and you couldn’t help but yearn for his comfort. Even though it had been short, everyone seemed to be feeling it. With Derek passed out across the couch, and Emily and Spencer focused on their game of cards, there hadn’t been much stopping you gingerly leaning closer to the warmth radiating from the man next to you. He acknowledged your careful closeness by letting the free hand not occupied by the case report drop to rest on your knee under the table.

The coffee you’d made for yourself after boarding had only increased your adrenaline crash, and you could feel your eyelids drooping even as you fought to keep them open. It was a losing battle. The soft material of Aaron’s shirt made contact with your cheek as you leaned against his shoulder. The muscles beneath you tensed, but not enough to wake you from the sleep that had taken over quite rapidly.

Aaron glanced down at you before back up at the rest of the team. JJ was nowhere to be seen, probably in the small airplane kitchen, and the others seemed to be otherwise occupied. When he was sure no one was paying any attention to your little corner of the plane, he allowed himself to relax. It was a needed comfort after the weeks work. His thumb drew soft circles on your thigh, and for the first time all week, he closed the case file and his eyes. Just a minute of peace, that’s all he needed.

The minute ended rather abruptly when the hushed voices of Emily and JJ reached his ears. He stubbornly kept his eyes shut.

‘Think he’d let the rest of his drool on his shoulder like that?’ Emily’s voice was just about audible, the teasing grin on her face clear in his mind even without seeing it. He thought about waking you, pretending it was all just tiredness, and moving on like there weren’t four pairs of eyes on you both. But he couldn’t. Not when your body curved toward him, unaware of its unconscious betrayal. Your hair tickled where it brushed against his neck.

Instead, he opened his eyes slowly, giving the onlookers a chance to turn away. They didn’t need to know he’d heard them. He didn’t need to know they would be continuing this conversation shortly after the plane landed. Dave, who sat across the row from Aaron, hid his smirk with his coffee mug, returning his focus to his book. With one last soft look in your direction (which didn’t go unnoticed by Emily and Spencer), Aaron picked up the case file and got back to work.

+1

‘Fuck.’ You were bent at the middle, hands on your knees for support as you tried to catch a breath. Derek and one of the uniformed officers were already hauling the unsub off towards a police cruiser. A second uniformed officer was searching the area for the weapon, which had been lost in the scuffle. You brushed off Emily’s concern, promising her you were just winded. Straightening up, you swallowed a wince as your hands ached to go to your stinging side. ‘Just, just need to sit for a minute.’

‘We’ll take care of everything here, why don’t you go with Reid, get checked out by the paramedics?’ You blinked rapidly as you tried to focus back on her words.

‘I’m okay, Em, really,’ Your chest felt like it was on fire with every breath you took, but you forced a reassuring smile. She didn’t look reassured. ‘Fine, mom, I’ll get checked when Reid’s done.’

Emily’s concerned look didn’t fade, but she nodded, and you turned back towards the line of black SUVs. Once she had moved off to help make a perimeter around the scene, you slowly walked back to them. Thankfully, the lights and sirens had since been switched off. You pulled yourself into the passenger seat, trying to pretend it didn’t hurt so much. You couldn’t be weak in front of your team. You’d gotten a shock, that’s all. You were fine.

 A wave of tiredness crashed over you as soon as you sat down, leaning forward to balance yourself against the dash. You weren’t catching your breath, instead finding it harder and harder to fill your lungs. A few more minutes, that’s all you needed. You tried desperately to convince yourself the words were true, but as another breath burned its way down your trachea, panic started to set in. All too suddenly, your FBI vest felt too tight, your arms heavy as you tried to tear it off. With a lot of activity, you managed to get it loosened, but as soon as the pressure was released, your head started to spin rapidly. You closed your eyes tightly, trying to dispel the feeling, but within seconds, a darkness had swallowed you.

It could’ve been seconds, minutes, or hours before a sliver of consciousness crept back into your body. There was a noise to your left, and you dazedly tried to turn your head, but it wouldn’t move. You tried to focus on the window in front of you, but your vision was swimming. Feeling wobbly, you tried to push yourself up straighter, tried to turn and move, and then there was a warm hand on your shoulder, pushing you gently back against the seat.

‘Stay still.’ The words were commanding, but the voice was laced with worry. ‘The paramedics are almost here.’ And then, more distant as if the owner of the voice had moved away from you, he yelled, ‘Where are the medics?!’

You didn’t remember much after that, holding onto the voice as you drifted in and out of consciousness. Aaron remembered the whole journey too clearly. Guilt crept through him, worsening the longer it took to reach the hospital. He was sent to the waiting room while you were rushed into surgery. With an abundance of time, and a lack of answers, all he could do was replay the scene in his mind over and over and over again.

The arrest was meant to be easy. With no victims in the house, and no wives or kids in the picture to be used as hostages, it should’ve been easy to disarm the suspect and bring him into custody. Instead, he had let you just close enough to him to grab you and press a small knife against your side. You’d let your guard down when he’d given up so easily. You should’ve known better. It was a tense negotiation, the point of the blade piercing the material of your vest as JJ spoke to the man, Derek sneaking slowly behind him.

As soon as the unsub was fully distracted by JJ, Derek had moved in. Tackling the unsub to the ground had knocked you down with them, your head hitting the ground with a thump. The knife went skittering off as the man’s arm collided with the ground, but with Derek’s knee against his back and arms pressing down on his shoulders, he quickly lost the fight.

Aaron wanted to rush to you, to gather you in his arms and not let you go, but the captain of the police department had already turned his attention to the growing crowd of journalists and bystanders trying to get closer to get the full story. Emily had already gone to you, so with an unconscious scowl, Aaron turned and followed the captain towards the tape.  

It wasn’t long before he was joined by JJ and Dave, as the trio attempted to subdue the now impatient journalists and horrified neighbours.

‘Hotch!’ Emily’s voice carried over the commotion to reach his ears. He turned to watch her as she weaved through the crowd of officers to reach him. Dave glanced at them, before redirecting the journalists in front of them onto another question, leaving Aaron the gap he needed to step back.

‘What’s wrong?’ He didn’t wait for her to come to a stop, the concerned look on her face clueing him into the fact something was amiss.

‘Its y/n.’ Aaron swore in that moment his heart stopped beating. ‘They promised they’d get checked out by the medics, but Reid said they haven’t been anywhere near the ambulances.’

A quick glance over his shoulder showed JJ and Dave gaining control of the mob, and he nodded to Emily, already striding away from the mass of bodies. She was quick to follow. Taking the lead, she headed back towards the SUVs, where she assumed you must’ve gone. She hadn’t seen you when she passed, but it had been a quick pass.

Aaron himself nearly missed your figure through the tinted windows, slumped down in the seat. His heart stopped for a second time that day.

‘Get a medic!’ It was his voice yelling out, but it sounded distant, even to his own ears. With the door flung open, he put his hand on your shoulder and shook. Your head lolled with the motion, but your eyes fought to open. You were alive. Feeling resistance under his fingers, he gently pushed you back against the seat, eyes scanning your figure trying to find the damage. ‘Stay still,’ He tried to keep his voice steady and calm, swallowing the lump in his throat as a trail of red caught his attention. The bottom of your vest was torn and a shaded darker than the rest, a small red trail leaking out from underneath onto your white shirt. Carefully manoeuvring you to a position where he had better access, he pressed down hard against the dark spot.

‘The paramedics are almost here.’ He couldn’t tell if you could still hear him, your eyelids fluttering rapidly. He leaned out of the car as far as he could without lessening the pressure, ‘Where are the medics?!’

He could see two people in high vis jackets approaching quickly, Emily leading the way. Two big bags and a stretcher was carried between the two, and it was only mere seconds before they were ushering him back and out of their way so they could assess the damage.

Whatever they decided, it wasn’t good. They removed your vest, and shirt, and by the amount of packing being shoved back into one of the bags, the bleeding wasn’t slowing. If he wasn’t so panicked, Aaron would’ve appreciated how efficiently they worked. It was only five minutes before you were being packed into the back of the ambulance. Dave had been left in charge at the scene, with instructions to come to the hospital as soon as everything was cleared at the scene and the precinct.

The paramedic in the back with Aaron – Thomas, as he’d introduced himself – busied himself with taking sets of vitals every 5 minutes, monitoring the pressure bandages around your abdomen, and ensuring the flow of oxygen was at a steady level. All the while, he tried to keep Aaron clued into what was happening for every step.

By the time they’d reached the hospital, you had a sickly pallor. You were rushed immediately into an emergency theatre. Once the doors closed in front of him, it took every ounce of strength to carry his body to the waiting room. He sat for what felt like days, before a nurse came to find him. In reality it had been an intensive two-hour surgery, and a thankfully uneventful recovery. On route to your room, he was given the news that everything had gone smoothly. Luck had been on your side, and the wound had missed everything important. It had only barely nicked a large vein, which had caused the large bleed, but had been easy to fix. It would be at least six weeks of desk duty, but you would recover.

Sitting at your bedside, Aaron gripped your hand in his, careful not to squeeze too hard. He was positive you’d hit him if you felt he was treating you as if you were fragile, but until you woke up, he would take that chance. With the adrenaline dropping and the relief flooding in, all he could do was hold on and not let go. After 40 minutes of watching for signs of you waking up, Aaron could feel his eyelids dropping. He didn’t try keep them open, instead shuffling the chair closer to the edge of the bed. You would be there when he woke, as he would be when you woke.

Which you did, just over an hour later. Aaron was still asleep, and you were careful not to wake him. If it took you getting stabbed to get him a few extra hours of sleep, you were making damn sure he got all he could. A nurse came into the room shortly after you woke, and Aaron slept through the check-up. It was your turn to watch him. Admiring the calm in his sleepy features, and gently squeezing the hand still clutching yours. The nurse had let you know he’d been there from the second he'd been allowed in the room. You didn’t need to hear the words. You knew he loved you.

‘You can see them now.’

It had been a longer wait for the rest of the team, who’d arrived shortly after Aaron had left the waiting room. Together they stood and followed the nurse down the hallway into a quieter section of the hospital. Through the open door, they could see you, attached to tubes and wires, but eyes open and sitting up. Next to you was Aaron. The spare visitors seat had been pulled as close to the bed as possible, and that’s where he sat. He was clearly asleep, given the closed eyes and steady breaths. He was leaned slightly towards you, head tilted down. With his sleeves rolled to his elbows, his tie loose around his neck, and his hair in disarray, he looked about as unkempt as the team had ever seen him. But he also looked calm. His usually furrowed brow was relaxed, and his lips forwent their usual downturn in exchange for a slightly parted straight line. Your thumb absentmindedly smoothed over the skin of his knuckles, and you smiled fondly at his sleeping figure. It was sickeningly obvious from your expression that you had so much love for him.

When you finally felt eyes on you, you looked up to see four eager faces greeting you just outside your door. The fond smile on your face only got fonder as they quietly piled into the room. The noise woke Aaron, who’s eyes immediately found yours. Pulling your joined hands up, he pressed his lips to the back of your hand, before straightening up in the seat. He didn’t drop your hand.

Surrounded by your family, you couldn’t help but think that really, you were going to be just fine.

~~~~~

taglist: @michasia24

[abbysimsfun]

From the (Crowded!) Inbox: My Least Favourite Sim(s)

One, I'm sorry I'm so terribly bad at these and for my delay in replying! Two, I like my characters - even the high drama ones (because of the drama!), so this was tough. Three, thank you so much to @perolesims and @matchalovertrait for this tag that made me think too hard!

I couldn't even pick one, so feel free to get to know the erratic ex with Fatal Attraction vibes, Ximena Bonilla, and Heather's childhood best friend and (reformed?) sleaze, Everett Pancakes, after the cut...

(Forgive this shot of Rafa. I believe he was quite literally juiced when I took it, and I don't have anything better of the two of them. For now.)

Ximena is the obvious choice for least favourite sim. She's been stalking Conrad and his family for years, lived in Conrad's old apartment to sleep on his old furniture, and she traumatized her little brother and dragged him into a life smuggling for a dangerous cartel.

She had a really difficult upbringing and chose smuggling over being trafficked, but what she's done with her ingenious self-preservation skills are borderline terrifying.

Plus she's smug. And yells nonsense from time to time. And I gave her a quirk to change her hair colour a lot, which just made it harder on me, the CAS-laziest, to change her up so often! 😂

Irrationally, I used such great poses in her flashback episode with Conrad that she peeved me off for looking good with him! And she gave him non-canon crabs.

The second least-favourite sim is less obviously a villain, but he sort of became one. And I hated it so much because the guy was supposed to be deeply ingrained in Gen 2, father the heir, etc (I will throw out an entire generational plot sometimes, yes) - and all those plans fell out the window because he was always happy to cheat on his gorgeous wife, Spencer - the family he chose to have when Heather was pining for him all through high school, and he knew it.

He wasn't supposed to become a heel, and his trauma totally stems from the tragic death of his mother, Eliza, in a housefire when he was really young, but even after he and Heather officially called time on their feelings, their mistakes, their whatever, Spencer asked him point blank about his feelings and he lied and said there was nothing there - immediately after coming home from a trip he made alone to see Heather in Brindleton Bay (when she found out she was pregnant with Malcolm Landgraab's son), and they would've autonomously woohooed if I hadn't stopped them.

That said, he underwent counseling with his wife, Heather was a surrogate for his and Spencer's second child, and he and Heather's lifelong bond is unbreakable. I don't see him sneaking around in the background doing anything nefarious, so while I don't prefer him and kicked him out of Heather's legacy plan, I don't totally hate the guy. It's not like he doesn't try, and he's a good dad!

In the shot above, Everett poses with his in-laws, Eric and Alice Kim-Lewis, his wife Spencer, children Greyson (in glasses), Jett, and toddler Violet, with their dog JJ. Clipping is my fault because I was blending poses again and didn't really care about perfection.

Honourable Mentions: Townie bartender Diego Vazquez-Chopra for unceremoniously cheating on Bella Goth and eloping with widower Rahul. Henford mayor (and eventual wife of Bob) Annette Pancakes, who spent the entire time I brought her to Selvadorada for Spencer's bachelorette self-woohooing in front of everyone in their shared accommodations. I never even mentioned it because it was literally rabid and I hated how much it upset everyone else! She never even went outside. Some premades in my save would make this list, but I didn't think they belonged in this answer!

I think I'm supposed to send these to inboxes, but I'll tag absolutely anyone else who feels like doing this one!

WCIF: Everett and his family are posed with the Say Cheese posepack by @simmerberlin and it's missing someone on Spencer's other arm but oh well, I like it! Added in Greyson with the Random Emotions for Kids posepack by LiBet, and JJ with Large Dog poses, also by @simmerberlin.

[sabrinajenre96]

I never disliked a character like I dislike Will's mother Connie.

Seriously JJ did lose a baby that she didn't have the luxury to meet.

The boys lost their father and she literally said to JJ that until one of the boys doesn't fall ill and die , JJ would never understand what it means losing a child.

I love Will LaMontagne but I have no idea how he was able to grow up with a mother like this.

She was nasty with Penelope and instead of going to her son's funeral she took her suitcase saying I am not wanted there making herself a victim when JJ is grieving her husband of 18 years and trying to be strong for her boys because they are grieving too.

I get that she lost her son and people grieve on their way but instead of being there she acted very nasty and slapped JJ .

[dalekofchaos]

The problem with Rey choosing to rebuild the Jedi Order and take the Skywalker name

When I look back on Rey's journey throughout the trilogy is that it's apparent to me that she really doesn't show a desire to be a Jedi.

In The Force Awakens, Rey wanted to find her family, she is mesmerized by so much green in the galaxy and ultimately protecting her friends.

In The Last Jedi she wanted to find her place in the story and bring Ben back to the light. Rey ultimately comes to terms with the fact that she wasn't born into any powerful bloodlines and made peace with her family being gone. Rey forged her own heroine's path and it worked.

In the Rise of Skywalker, Rey goes back to the same hairstyle she had since she was a child and the same outfit in TFA, but in white, it's like all the growth from the last movie never happened. Rey's motivation is whatever the plot demanded it to be. She wants to "earn" Luke's Lightsaber(fuck you JJ) and she wants the Jedi to be with her. Now it's a plot convenience to stop the bad guys. And she's in killmode everytime she sees Ben. Now the uplifting message that she's not related to anyone is gone, she's related to the literal Satan of the Star Wars universe. Now she wants to kill Palpatine out of revenge. Now she has this new found reverence for "Master Skywalker" when it was never there to begin with. It's only because of Ben's redemption that she doesn't strike Palpatine in anger. Ben dies, Rey goes to the literal tomb of the Skywalkers and symbol of the family's misery, buries the sabers and takes their name.

TROS absolutely destroyed Rey’s characterization. In a way that’s kind of mind blowing actually. She’s definitely meant to be a parallel character to Luke, but Rian purposely wrote it to subvert fan expectations. A lot of people probably saw the story trajectory following the OG trilogy after TFA, which had a very similar vibe to ANH. However while both Luke and Rey start out as mysterious nobodies, Luke very much did not want to be Vader’s son. His curse was being the son of this monster, and finding out the truth about his lineage. Meanwhile, for Rey, it’s literally the exact opposite. She wants desperately to be apart of something. Kylo points out her weakness perfectly in TLJ- “Your parents threw you like garbage… But you can't stop needing them. It is your greatest weakness. You're looking for them everywhere… in Han Solo… now in Skywalker.” Rey wanted to apart of something bigger than herself to belong. While Luke’s hero’s journey started by accepting his parentage, Rey should’ve begun by accepting that she alone was enough, and she deserved a place in this story for her own merits.

TROS absolutely dismantles this by having Rey discover she’s actually related to the big bad (just like Luke), which somehow earns her a place at the table. Except unlike Luke, who had 3 films prior to truly hate/come to terms with Vader, Rey meets Palpatine in the very last movie, and he essentially becomes a villain-of-the-week or a Marvel villain of sorts. There’s no build up. Rey’s powers suddenly need to be “explained” to the audience, via her lineage, and it’s horrendous because the message of the prior films showed that anyone can have the force. Also Rey suddenly having an attachment to Luke or the Jedi order makes no sense from her character’s perspective. It feels as if Rey is supposed to represent the audience, and her worship of Luke is reminiscent of how fans (who’ve had 47 years of Star Wars fandom prior) should feel about him. But Rey as an individual, as a character, should not view Luke in this way. They did not get along in TLJ, and in the long run, his impact on her was very minimal. And by clinging to past ideas, it just shows Kylo Ren/Ben Solo was right. She can’t stop needing parental figures to feel loved/belonged. She needs to carry that torch.

Now Rey is expected to be this Jedi Master 15 years later.

Here's the problem. Rey has never shown a desire to be a Jedi. It's just something that was necessary to become. They never explored what Rey wanted.

“People keep telling me they know me. No one does” neither did JJ Abrams or DLF, apparently.

To me, Rey's desires were to have a family, to live on a green planet and to live in peace with Ben, her other half. While Ben's story should have been actually completing what Anakin. Saving the one he loved and starting a family.

Ben died and so instead of giving what Rey wanted, she's given what JJ Abrams and DLF wanted, a Jedi's life of duty instead of a desire of love and family.

Now it feels like Rey is going to be like they ended things the way they did so Rey could succeed leading a Jedi Order where Luke failed and to me, that's boring, might as well just say Rey is going to become Legends Luke.

For me, personally, the more interesting story moving forward would be having Rey go darker. Completely subverting fan expectations, but I know Disney won’t do this. However, based on how TROS ended off, I think it could be an interesting way of continuing the story and re-gaining interest from fans who’ve become bored with the same formula.

Just imagine. Rey founded a new Jedi Order, but Rey isn't happy. She thought this is what she wanted, but it isn't. She does her best to mask her feelings from her students and fellow Jedi Council members, but deep down she knows what she wanted is long gone. "But what if he can come back" she thought to herself. she grows darker and starts committing dark acts to bring Ben back. If she condemned herself to the dark side, so be it. If her own Jedi Order turns against her, so be it. She throws away the Skywalker name and leaves the past behind her. She will find Kylo's helmet, wears his sweater and take his title. The force took her other half, so Rey will rip apart the force to bring him back.

Sources

TROS Concept Art

Pablo Ruiz

reyreybutt

clari.saiyazam

[misscrawfords]

So I'm on S02 of Fringe now and I'm having some thoughts about JJ Abrams. I know that JJ Abrams has done a lot so I'm not trying to come to any full hypothesis about him or probably say anything new about him because I know people have written a lot about him and his love of mystery boxes and ability to set up mysteries and not follow through on them. I'm no expert. And I along with many others feel real betrayal and frustration at him over The Rise of Skywalker. But the thing is, I absolutely love Fringe and Alias. They are two of my favourite shows ever and I'm currently finding rewatching Fringe massively comforting in ways I'm just starting to unpick. (I think it's something to with the fact that it's very much pre-social media, pre-conspiracy theories actually impacting real world politics to the extent they do now. It feels like a more innocent time.)

Alias and Fringe are really similar in many ways and it makes me wonder what the SW sequel trilogy might have looked like if JJ Abrams could have produced it as a TV show instead of a movie trilogy. I'm willing to bet it would have worked a lot better.

Things Alias and Fringe have in common:

Genuinely strong, well-developed, fun, intelligent, three-dimensional heroine who carries the story - Sydney Bristow and Olivia Dunham are really awesome protagonists and I struggle to name more modern heroines in TV who are a more successful blend of interesting, human and aspirational (they're both way more special and exciting and skinny and conventionally attractive than me!). They're descendants of Buffy Summers and genuinely such good characters. It's so refreshing to have sci-fi and mystery and spy thriller series with female protagonists, even now.

Said female protagonist is Special. Yes, they're good at their job but over the course of the series it becomes increasingly clear that they have actual supernatural special powers and their very existence is linked to the overarching mystery. They really are chosen ones.

Father figures are essential and the father/child relationship is arguably the central relationship in the show. Jack Bristow as Sydney's father, Arvin Sloane as her pseudo-father/mentor in Alias, Walter Bishop as Peter's father being the very centre of the plot in Fringe and his quasi-paternal relationship to Olivia as well.

Speaking of fathers, these shows really are about one specific very weird and messed up family creating problems for everyone else. The Bristows really punch above their weight in the Alias universe and the Bishop family, specially Walter's love for his son and his consequent actions, are responsible for the literal plot of Fringe. The number of people working with family members or investigating them when really these are all kinds of an HR nightmare seem to be normal in JJ Abrams' world. Nothing is random but all connected and family and blood is everything.

He seems to really like a plot involving shape-shifers where someone kills the heroine's loved one and steals their face as a way of infiltrating their organisation. Francie in Alias, Charlie in Fringe.

Secret organisations with fanatical beliefs and people with too much power and knowledge committing to them in a way that is understandable but also horrifying and leads to terrible, terroristic consequences are the central villains.

Against the odds, the heroines have happy endings with their long-time love interest and a child.

Judging from the above, JJ Abrams should have been perfect to take on Star Wars, a dysfunctional family saga about fathers and sons in which the adherents to a strange set of mystical beliefs cause insurmountable problems, especially one where the heroine is a skinny plucky girl who develops super powers.

I wonder how JJ Abrams' SW show might have gone if he could have developed all his ideas in slow burn over 5 seasons with 20 episodes each, and the racist, misogynist, backward looking fandom weren't a thing. I'm not trying to excuse the mess that was TROS at all, but I just think he has a history of executing these kinds of stories so much better!

For example, of course JJ Abrams would make Rey a Palpatine. This is giving her a heritage and making family and blood the central theme just as it is in both of the above shows. But instead of the ludicrous "Somehow Palpatine returned", this is the sort of plot that could have been built up and revealed so much more effectively over a season of a TV show. It could in fact have worked really well, as could Rey's reaction and sense of betrayal. Something this massive is really hard to pull off in one movie. And if that had been the plan all along then it should have been sign-posted clearly from TFA. A TV show would also allow more scope to flesh out Rey and Ben's dyad in the Force thing and develop their special abilities.

I wonder whether in the context of a longer running TV show that could have developed Ben's redemption further he would have given Rey and Ben a happy ending. To have her alone without her love interest and without a child is the anomaly here. The ending many Reylos actually wanted where Rey and Ben were free of the war and living in some kind of peaceful exile with their family actually would fit Abrams' MO more based off these two shows.

I'm curious to know how he'd do the shape-shifting and betrayal thing. Maybe the other way round with Finn returning to the First Order as a Stormtrooper to lead a rebellion? Or would one of the Rebellion be proved to be working for Palpatine? Who knows.

Would Snoke and Palpatine be given more time to flesh out their motivations? While I love that Snoke was ultimately not that important and Palpatine was ridiculous, it could have been interesting to give one of the old-man-villains the treatment of an Arvin Sloane who is such a completely fascinating and compelling villain. Arvin Sloane in space playing Snoke's role and showing more of his relationship with Ben/Kylo would be really fascinating. Ditto Ben's relationships with Luke and Han. (SO MANY FATHER FIGURES!) And Rey's relationships to both of them too.

Anyway, this is all just meandering thoughts and speculation based off a tiny amount of JJ Abrams' work but I find it interesting and a little sad to imagine what the ST could have been like with more time to breathe and none of the Culture Wars.

[kissorkill16]

Fill My Empty Heart: A Hello Neighbor Fanfic

By JJ

Summary: After Mya's death, Aaron commits suicide. Mr. Peterson, desperate to have a family again, kidnaps the depressed and heartbroken child across the street, Nicky Roth.

Chapter 9

Trinity slammed the door to her room in anger.

"We need a plan.", she said to her friends. "Mr. Peterson literally faked Nicky's suicide note just to kidnap him. We've gotta put our heads together and come up with a plan."

Maritza had her head in her hands, "I don't get it.", she said, "Why would Mr. Peterson kidnap Nicky?"

Ivan shrugged, "Who knows? All we know is that we have to save him, we have to do something, we have to tell someone!", he said. "We should tell the police!"

"We could, and we should, but the police are still looking for Nicky's body. They still think he jumped off a bridge, so there's no way they'd listen to us.", said Enzo, "They'd want more proof than just a fake note."

"But we gotta tell someone. We -"

Just then, Mr. Bales knocked on the door and came in. "Trinity, Mr. Esposito and Ms. Torre are here. Your friends have to go."

Trinity smiled and nodded at her dad, "Okay, Dad. They'll be right down."

Mr. Bales left and closed the door on his way out.

Trinity turned back to her friends, "No adults allowed. We'll save Nicky ourselves and Mr. Peterson is going to pay for scaring us and basically everyone in this damn town.", she said. "We'll meet again tomorrow to discuss the plan. Okay?"

Everyone nodded, then they were out the door.

Trinity flopped on her bed, shutting her eyes and sighing deeply. "We'll save you, Nicky. I promise."

Meanwhile, Nicky was just waking up. His head felt heavy, his legs felt like sticks, and he was sure that he was seeing double again.

As he tried to open his eyes, he looked all around the room and noticed that he was in bed...

Again...

Mr. Peterson drugged him again...

Just then, the door opened. "Oh, you're awake.", said a familiar voice. "I didn't think you'd ever wake up after that."

Nicky threw the blanket off his body and tried to stand up, but fell to his knees. "Mr -...Dad, what happened?"

"Well, you tried going outside after I told you not to. You had one of the keys and tried to unlock the front door, but luckily, I got to you in time before you could do anything.", said Mr. Peterson.

The man stepped forward to Nicky, "But none of that matters right now.", he said in a deep voice, "You tricked me and tried to leave me, Nicky. I'm sorry, darling, but I can't let such actions go unpunished."

At that point, Nicky didn't care that he still felt like a stick figure. He just stood up and snapped at his crazy kidnapper. "Stop calling me pet names! I'm not your son, I'm not part of your family, and I never will be okay?! You're just fucking crazy because your real family is dead!"

Mr. Peterson balled his hands into fists and gritted his teeth, still looking down at Nicky. "You know what? I was going to go easy on you just this once, but you just want to be a brat.", he growled.

Nicky backed up against the wall, curling up and hugging his knees. Mr. Peterson leaned down, still not breaking eye contact.

"I'm going to leave you here. You're not allowed to leave this room for the rest of the day.", he said. And with that, he stood up, walked out of the room, closed the door, and locked it behind him.

It was at that moment that Nicky broke out of his frightened trance and ran to the door, banging on it and trying to wiggle the doorknob.

"HEY! LET ME OUT!", he screamed. "LET ME OUT OF THIS STUPID ROOM OR I'LL...I'll..."

Who was Nicky kidding? He couldn't do anything. He was stuck in here, no escape in sight.

He walked back to the bed and fell backwards onto it, staring at the ceiling.

He thought his friends were his last hope of getting out of here, and then he'd finally be free from Mr. Peterson's fantasy land.

"Please save me, guys.", he whispered.

[mariailoveyou-guerin]

forgot how much this show and this plot pisses me off more like wdym slit the money for the gold and cross that’s literally his why would he split it and those yt people showed their yt a88 bc the fact they think they could even say it the audacity! pope family gold if this

plot ain’t fixed in s4 part2 (or s5 the pates will never escape me)where pope gets it all back and not a single one of them getting a dime from any of it bc it’s all pope and if they even ask or demand literally six feet under I’m so serious like I’ll never ask JJ to give his

Family🏝️ if he sold it to share with them like he would bc that’s jj but not fam heirloom or any of the treasure except for pope bc he found it for him but everything belongs to JJ just like pope gold/cross is his! the only thing pogues can share is the dorado gold which is fair

forgot how little Cleo is in s2 like why haven’t I seen her it’s been 3 episodes where my girl at why was I so sure she was in every episode her pope really stole that bc I was convinced they known each from ep2 of s2 I’m ep7 🔜and aint seen her in long while same bs in s3😔!

yeah need this show gone in 2025 bc the amount of crazy psycho cracker*s obsessed with pope is insane why are all these grown men this obsessed with a child? Rafe Barry (topper same age) this one,free my son from that he11 hole! why would u see him around

is this the girl they expect us to believe is in love with JJ in s3-4 sure 😂 she belittles undermines and calls him dvmb for 2 szns but all of sudden she’s in love with him sure that make sense? Not shockingly not me 😂 no one thought you could come up with it such plan kie miss screams 25/8 murderer blames others JJ only

[vkncgzxf]

💜 ARMY reacts

“The Real Maknaes: The Kids Take Over!”

The episode went viral instantly — and ARMY?

Unhinged.

United.

Utterly obsessed.

⸻

🐦 TWITTER (X):

The fandom’s brain melted in real time. Top trending hashtags included:

🔥 Trending Hashtags:

• #TheRealMaknaes

• #TinyTanniesTakeOver

• #SparkleCourt

• #UncleJiminScreamed

• #PoopDimensionLore

• #GlitterGate2025

• #JJDeservedBetter

Iconic Tweets:

🔁@life_is_bangtan:

Taekyung: ‘The floor is lava’

Rian: builds a kingdom on it

Haru: writes its constitution

JJ: dances on it

Nari: declares war on it

Me: having a breakdown at 2am”

🔁@Lifeissoupandiamafork:

Yoongi in the confessional like: ‘He made a horror movie in the dance studio.’ AND STILL NOT SURPRISED. I LOVE THAT MAN.

🔁@BTSxARMY4ever62

Whoever gave these kids sugar, glitter glue, and a camera crew—thank you for your service. We will never recover.

🔁@yoyo_Icequeen13

They had intermissions… in a 3-hour glitter trial. Oscar-worthy.

🔁 @softyoongicat:

areum running the sparkle kingdom like a tiny ceo, haru trying to teach them about saturn, rian naming a rock GARY… the bts genes are strong and chaotic 😭 #TheRealMaknaes

🔁 @glitter_jinnie:

nari: “welcome to the poop dimension.”

me, a grown adult: bowing respectfully my queen.

🔁 @jjkismybias7:

who let hyunwoo have a toy snake??? why was that staff man screaming like a dolphin. why am I crying laughing.

🔁 @ot7foreverlaughing:

the staff at the end looking like they survived a zombie apocalypse… I hope they get a raise. or therapy. or both.

💬 COMMENTS FROM BTS MEMBERS (via Twitter)

Hobi:

“I still don’t know how they made a 3-hour show. I was in it and even I got confused.”🫠

Yoongi:

“Areum is grounded. For… organizing a monarchy?? I don’t know how to punish that.”

Jungkook:

“My son put animal crackers in my earbuds. He said it was for ‘snack emergencies.’”

Jimin:

“I haven’t laughed that hard in years. I want to go back. I also never want to go back.”

Namjoon:

“Why was my son feeding a rock? Why did the rock have a name? Why was its name Gary.”

⸻

💬 WEVERSE: Unhinged Love, Emotional Damage, and Glitter PTSD

ARMY Posts:

💬🌸 “Can we get a behind-the-scenes of the staff trying to clean up? I need to see the moment someone discovered the glitter-filled toilet.”

💬👑 “Jimin literally curled up on the floor LAUGHING while Sarang ruled a kingdom of farts and tiaras. This is cinema.”

💬💎 “Yoongi didn’t even blink. His child caused psychological damage and he said ‘Yeah sounds about right.’ Iconic.”

💬🎨 “Dear HYBE: release the confetti cannon footage. We deserve it.”

Then the parents posted. ARMY again flooded them with love and unhinged laughter.

Namjoon:

“I found glitter in my passport. We are not okay.”

💬 Comment: “Haru is building nations. Let her work.”

💬 Comment: “The real leader of BTS is now 8 years old.”

Yoongi:

“They put a snake in the fridge. I blinked twice in the confessional. That was Morse code for HELP.”

Hobi:

“JJ said the talent show had ‘emotional range.’ He’s 5.”

💬 Comment: “JJ for Grammy 2026.”

⸻

🎥 TIKTOK: Edits, Memes, and Full-On Documentaries

🔥 Viral Edits:

• Sound: “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Theme”

➤ Clips of the kids destroying the studio in slow motion with chaotic zooms.

• Sound: “This Is Fine” (Lo-fi remix)

➤ Edits of staff panicking, confetti falling, and cookie crumbles flying.

• Sound: “My House” by Flo Rida

➤ JJ & Ha-eun forcing everyone into a talent show like it’s Coachella.

• Sound: “Unholy” (sped up)

➤ Nari dramatically applying glitter glue to her face in front of a mirror.

• “POV: You’re a HYBE intern during the BTS Kids Apocalypse”

➤ Caption: “I went in with clean shoes and dreams. I left sticky, glittery, and confused.”

• “When BTS let the kids direct an episode…”

➤ Glitter transitions. Meme sound effects. JJ yelling “I’m a dolphin.”

• “POV: You’re a staff member trying to survive Sparkle Court”

➤ Horror movie edit with dramatic violins and slow zooms

• “Taekyung building a lava kingdom in his father’s footsteps 💜”

➤ Soft piano music, Taehyung laughing, father/son moments

• “Glitter glue edits to BTS ballads (ft. Sarang’s Sparkle Rules)”

➤ Emotional wrecks in the comments

💬 “This show is raising a generation stronger than us.”

⸻

🧵 THREADS:

Soft ARMY, chaos ARMY, lore ARMY — all thriving.

📌 Top Thread:

1. “The Real Maknaes Lore Explained 🧵”

➤ Timeline of glitter war events

➤ Map of the Sparkle Kingdom

➤ Power dynamics (Areum the strategist, Nari the chaos goddess, JJ the misunderstood artist)

➤ Confetti cannon theories

💬: “We need a 10-part docuseries called TinyTannies: Rise and Reign.”

2. “okay but LISTEN — Areum definitely inherited Yoongi’s leadership + Hana’s organization. The way she had SCHEDULES. A CALENDAR. A LUNCH ROTA. At age 7???

🧵Here’s the full breakdown of her monarchy arc (1/27)”

3. “A complete timeline of the Glitter War, including a theory on how Yuna built the confetti cannon from scratch using only tape and vengeance. #SparkleCourt (1/15)”

⸻

📸 INSTAGRAM: Carousel Posts, Fan Art, and Chaos Highlights

Pure aesthetic. Swipe carousels. BTS wife reactions. Glitter-core edits.

🧁 Carousel Posts:

“What you missed in The Real Maknaes”

1. JJ’s interpretive dance

2. Nari’s sticker tax system

3. Miri’s Floating Sock Crown™

4. Taeyang sleeping in a laundry basket

5. The staff’s empty eyes

6. Nari in sunglasses and tiara, asleep in a duffel bag.

7. Cookie lasagna mid-collapse.

8. Staff man staring at a glitter-filled mop bucket.

9. BTS members’ faces when they walk in.

Captions like:

“Parenthood: The BTS Edition. Ep 1: Regret.”

“This isn’t a variety show. This is a social experiment.”

📷 Wives’ Group Selfie:

💬 Caption: “Spa day postponed. Our daughters staged a coup.”

📷 Stories:

• Mira (@mira.jm): “She made me bow. I didn’t question it.”

• Sol (@sol_v): “Miri has glitter in her ears. I don’t know how. I give up.”

⸻

🛍️ BONUS: MERCH IDEAS FROM ARMY

• “Sparkle Court™” glitter hoodie

• “I Survived the Glitter War” t-shirt

• JJ’s “Interpretive Dolphin” enamel pin

• Mug: “Justice Was Served – Ha-eun, age 5”

• Poop Dimension passport covers (limited edition)

⸻

🧑‍🎨 FAN ART GALORE

🎨 “The Sparkle Court Portraits” – All the kids in royal poses with unicorn scepters, cookie armor, and glitter capes.

🎨 “Yoongi’s Resignation Letter” – A comic panel of him shaking his head while Taeyang builds a flamethrower out of juice boxes.

🎨 “Jimin Screaming” – Animated loop of him losing it as Sarang crowns herself Queen of the Poop Dimension.

⸻

🎤 Final Words from ARMY:

“We came for BTS. We stayed for their kids.

They rule now.”

[aouiaa]

Mother! Dina hcs

Imagining Mother! Dina who’s very overprotective of her son, JJ. Literally, is on parenting websites in the middle of the night freaking out because she seen a tiktok about how bad it is to drink from a plastic water bottle.

Imagining Mother! Dina who cries more than the child when getting his shots done. It’s safe to say both Dina and her son walked out of that clinic with a lollipop in hand!

Imagining Mother! Dina who has a ipad kid. Legit can hear her from a mile away with her son’s loud ass ipad booming cocomelon or some shit.

Imagining Mother! Dina who does gentle parenting.

Imagining Mother! Dina who does matching outfits with her son!

Imagining Mother! Dina who took a lot of convincing from Jesse to put JJ in sports because she couldn’t bear the thought of him getting hurt.

Imagining Mother! Dina who’s a victim of temu…yup 😔

Imagining Mother! Dina who has a rather chubby baby from feeding him a lot. And her reasoning for it is she doesn’t want him to starve.

Imagining Mother! Dina who makes sounds when feeding JJ.

“Here comes the airplane!” she says before blowing raspberries causing JJ to giggle, and clap his little stubby hands together.

Imagining Mother! Dina who can’t resist pinches his little chubby cheeks.

Imagining Mother! Dina who’s also a first time mom and freaks out over any little thing therefore rushes to the JJs primary doctor.

“He was coughing rather too hard!” she says, trying not to burst into tears.

“He should be right as rain with a little Tylenol.”

“Are you sure?” she asks, looking down at her baby who’s sleeping peacefully in his car seat.

“Yes, Miss Woodward. It’s not an early sign of an lung disease. He just has a little cough.” He reassures, crossing his arms.

A sigh of relief leaves the mother and up comes a smile. She didn’t care how annoyed the doctor looked from Dina bring JJ down to the clinic for the third time this week. She just wants her little potato to be safe.

Imagining Mother! Dina who catches JJ’ s first words on camera.

“Alright, this is, uhm, day four of trying to get your first words on camera!” Her voice can be heard in the background sounding, or at least trying to be, optimistic. JJ can be seen sitting on his little play mat, playing with Ollie.

“Cmon baby, can you say ‘mama?’

“Ma-ma” she repeats, but says each syllable.

JJ can be seen looking up at Dina, and smiling, showing off his two little front teeth that he has growing in. “Ma…ma.” he babbles, flailing his arms around excitedly.

A scream so loud can be heard from Dina, one of excitement. “Yes, baby! Mama! I’m mama!”

The pure look of terrified mixed with utter confusion that is recorded on the baby’s face is pure comedy.

poor little ice age baby…

a/n; In honor of mother’s day, I’ve decided to do MILF mother dina :3

I LOVE MILFS

Daily clicks || Palestine MP || #FREEPALESTINE

Like what you read, and want to be tagged? Follow @aouiaarchive and to turn on notifications!

[latibulater]

#this was confirmed in an interview actually! - @ladyaupair

So what can we extrapolate! ? I imagine Jonas had a mother for at least a bit. If this was Disney I'd say she died in childbirth but since it's not maybe she ran away after giving birth, or maybe she and Lloyd were married for a very long time and she was a present mother, either way, jonas did not come away as a mama's boy and in fact was hugely, timely, misogynistic. So I imagine that whatever role women played in jonas' early life, it was far from positive or emotionally impactful. Given that Lloyd was the first generation of adventurers, I can imagine him gradually allowing Jonas' onto adventures with his father and friends as Lloyd worked to protect society (?) and be a a horrible boss/successful businessman. Maybe Jonas resented how long it took for him to be allowed out and about, maybe that's why he introduced Rusty to the adventuring life as soon as possible.

Or, I can see Jonas being the one and only Venture heir and being made to stay home for as long as his father could make him, forcing Jonas to complete proper schooling and the education necessary for leading the Venture business, as Lloyd did not come from wealth himself he could have seen this as the best way to assure the future for his descendents, and maybe, given the culture of child labor, had Jonas fill in for Lloyd as a sort of child/teen-CEO so Lloyd did not have to be bogged down by the paperwork and could go around the world without worrying about his boardroom conspiring against him

Either way it played, I think Jonas was kept away from adventuring until he was 16 or 18 and he resented this fact for a very long time. He strikes me as the kind of successful man that is constantly bemoaning time wasted, so I could imagine jonas always having a chip in his shoulder that he was forced to have an ordinary childhood and was set back that many years and so he will always be behind where he could have, should have, been if only his father didnt ...insert whatever...

So I imagine Jonas would see introducing his own son to globetrotting and danger as a young child as an advantage, a gift, the most world class preparation for adulthood jonas could invent

Also, there is a fanon idea that Rusty is a clone of Jonas, which I think just doesn't work because Rusty is much too slight to only be Jonas, and the whole deal with JJ was that Rusty absorbed him in the womb. So whoever the mother was, I can very easily see Jonas selecting a woman and using her just until he had a son. Okay now there's a thought, I love trans!rusty, but rusty having a secret older sister out there somewhere is hilarious and heartbreaking

And Jonas literally grew up during the most turbulent times of history under a powerful and influential private figure, it's really no wonder he is the way he is. Depending on different things, I can totally see why he would have Rusty in the first place. First, he would totally be pressured into having a family, despite not wanting one at all and being the last person who should start one. It's better for his image and better for business and better for society (can't let the venture line end 1 was a success 2 was even better imagine what venture scientist no 3 will do). Second, Jonas absolutely resents Rusty. To me he loves his son, but absolutely hates being a father and, if we want to go dark for a second, I can see Jonas letting Rusty die, or even deliberately killing him and not bringing him back immediately just to get some peace and quiet and be child free for a week or two. And i can see in my head him thinking that his own father didn't have to deal with why does he have to why can't Rusty just be like jonas, and whatever situation he had with Lloyd and replicating it by leaving Rusty alone a lot. How else would he get kidnapped so much?

Before I keep going on my last point is that Jonas probably grew up listening to his father talk to powerful figures and listening to how world powers work and act and think and blackmail

Spitting and frothing because it's very likely Jonas himself was a boy adventurer himself given that his father was involved with the first Guild and how that possibly shaped the man who cloned his dead son over and over and over

[hatosaur]

why do yall feel compelled to give ellie a biological child. why do you insist on writing ellie to have a more traditional lifestyle. immunity be damned, why is it not enough for some of yall that a lesbian can just not do those fuckin things.

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 29 (Pregnant Again?!)

When Spencer and Everett's dog, JJ, fell ill, they trusted no one more than Heather to care for him. So Spencer made the long trek from Oasis Springs to Brindleton Bay while Everett stayed home to take care of their son, Greyson.

Once Heather had worked her skills and cured JJ's sickness, she invited Spencer to her place to get caught up. "I'm heading back to Selvadorada soon," said Spencer. "I can't wait to start this dig!"

"I'm a little jealous! I miss the jungle, but even a sick pet is easier to deal with than a swarm of plasma bats!"

"I'm all stocked up on repellent! Now that Greyson's a little older and eating solid foods I can think about spending time away from him. It's a little scary, but I've needed a work trip like this for so long."

"I know what you mean. Ash still needs me for everything, but the daycare is a great help."

"Malcolm hasn't stepped up at all, huh?"

Heather curled her lip in disgust. "Who? I haven't heard from any Malcolm since I was six months pregnant."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not. If this is what Malcolm wants, it's better for Ash not to know him. He's such a sweet baby, and every time he smiles at me I feel like a superhero."

Ash was cooing away in a sunny mood when they picked him up from daycare. Spencer smiled at the infant with brown hair and green eyes. "Despite everything, you and Malcolm made a very cute kid."

"Baaaa!" The women laughed as Ash attempted to make conversation.

Heather let her son watch the world from his playmat while she and Spencer chatted about Greyson's milestones. "He's really clingy, but he clings more to Everett than me. I think he sees me as the parent who makes him eat his veggies and practice the alphabet, and Everett is 'fun guitar dad' who does all the voices when he reads him bedtime stories."

"Greyson should have both. You and Everett are a great team."

"And we've worked hard to be! It's not easy, but we started counseling recently, and we came to a decision about growing our family. We want to hire a surrogate."

Heather was surprised. "You were so sure you just wanted one kid."

"Even if I could be, I don't want to be pregnant again. And I'm not a baby person, but I'd run through a brick wall for Greyson. I enjoy being a mother, even if I'm the sort of mom most Mommy and Me groups would shun, but we both want Greyson to have a sibling."

"Why surrogacy? If you can't have children, would the baby even be yours?"

"The baby will biologically be Everett's and I'll choose the mother. That's our deal."

"How do you decide something like that?"

"I did have one idea. Everett supported it, but...I thought of you."

"Me?!"

"You loved being pregnant. I know you and Everett had feelings. In counseling he told me you kissed again when you found out you were pregnant. We discussed it for a while. I wouldn't find it strange to raise a kid who was biologically yours, if you'd even agree to such a thing."

"I'd do anything to support you two. I'd be honoured to help you grow your family, but are you sure it wouldn't be easier to raise a child with a stranger's DNA? What if the kid turns out to be a romantic mess like me?"

"And what if they turn out to be a badass business owner who saves lives and can switch out suppliers without getting sued by the Landgraabs?"

With Spencer's affirmation, Heather agreed to be their surrogate. "But I really advise against letting any of your kids get tangled up with the Landgraabs."

When Ash was just a year old, the Pancakes returned to Brindleton Bay for Heather's successful insemination. Heather really did enjoy being pregnant, but the Pancakes visited throughout her pregnancy, helping with Ash and taking her to her appointments.

But even as she bonded with the growing baby inside her, she knew in her heart his mother was Spencer. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 1 Summary | Gen 1 Start

NOTE: I know, I know, this is such a stretch and if I were Spencer I'd pick literally ANYBODY ELSE, but originally I had planned for Everett to offer to be her sperm donor when she had a science baby (per the Gen 2 rules), until they acted up when Heather found out she was pregnant with Ash.

They've all been friends since they were five years old (Everett and Heather since they were about 2), so they definitely have a lifelong bond, but I was mad enough at Heather and Everett for almost woohooing autonomously that I made them decide to be just friends and changed course. But I am a sick simmer who loves to play with genetics and I really wanted to see what would happen with Everett and Heather. Will Bob's genes win, or Neal's? (Bob genes are super strong but playing this legacy for 2 generations has shown me Neal's genes are pretty strong, too!)

I wanted to include a science baby storyline in this generation but with a twist on the suggested plot for the official rules because Heather being a messy romantic versus anti-romantic and single for life felt more her after all the pining for Everett since high school. I considered having Spencer and Everett adopt, which feels like the actual right choice, but but but playing with genetics!!

I also really wanted to try out the surrogacy feature on Lumpinou's RPO mod even though I'm playing as the surrogate, not the mother, which isn't recommended. BUT it went fine except I have six-day pregnancies on long lifespan set through MCCC - a year is about 8 sim days - and the mod is only 3. On top of that, as soon as I clicked it, Heather was pregnant, first trimester. It was instant, so it all went as quickly as this whiplash post suggests!