#penelope || it's like she appears out of smoke

[hocuspocusbabyy]

A ring of bright light: Chapter 2. ‘Perfect stranger.’

Warnings: none?

Paring: Eloise Bridgeton x Female OC

Description: Eloise meets her suitor.

Word count: 1.5k

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“A Diamond knows how to dance.”

“A Diamond knows when to nod.”

“A Diamond knows if to smile.”

When her elder brother Anthony married, Eloise knew the burden of marriage would fall next to her. The entire situation with Kate had bought her a year and a winter at Aubrey house was something even Whistledown could not penetrate.

She knew the weight of her name, of the responsibilities that wrapped around her like smoke. The towering legacy of her father, sisters, brothers…of their family now trailing as she prepared to marry also. Anthony had set it up, a young, wealthy and respectable Count from the northern coastal region.

Count Arthur Brennan.

The family had hands in agriculture, supplying cattle to 80% of the tons across England. Though they had yet to meet, Daphne had assured her of his worth and good looks as though that would sway her any further from the inevitable truth.

She expected difficulties. Gossip, growing pains, resistance from the ton who would have preferred a representative from their family to be wed in her place. Though she found it increasingly harder to dispute them. She had focused on the future, her mother, the family and simply moving forward. She had pushed against the curve for long enough, the impending arrival of Penelope and Collins first child was a testament to that. Eloise simply had to take the bullet now.

Unfortunately.

"Are you always so silent when you’re concentrating?" Arthur chuckled, leading her delicately across the room.

“Doesn’t do well for them to know I am a bad dancer,” she sighed as she glared down at her feet.

“I’ve never heard of a ton who could not dance.” The gentleman, her husband to be quoted, bemusement settling deep into his features as he watched the frustration vibrate and ricocheted from his bride.

“I simply preferred books over tap shoes.”

“Ah, well that at the very least may help us.”

“How so?” Eloise asked, finally looking up towards her dance partner, blowing an unregulated strand of hair away from her eyes. The tingles of ashen locks create a mesh filter against her view.

Arthur grinned, as the woman’s face finally appeared to him unobscured. “Dancing and reading are quite similar,” slowing their movements the Count took a step back to take in the princess properly. The way gluttonous creatures stared at prey or children dreamed of chocolates - Eloise struggled to distinguish between the two. “You simply have lose yourself in it.”

“Follow my lead.” Arthur breathed leaning in against her ear, “just because we are forced to be here, does not mean we cannot obtain any joy from it.”

Eloise almost let out a smile at the observation, at the very least her brother had found her someone with a working pair of eyes and brain. Which was more than could be said for many of the people gathered in the ballroom around them. She was half sure Lady Downling would go blind with anguish should they dance a moment longer. Her daughter had been the prime pick for the upcoming season before Eloise had agreed to meet the count.

“Here,” Arthur pulled Eloise close, situating hands where they needed to be. Guiding her through the process, as any gentle person would.

“You will step on my feet,” Eloise protested and tried to step out of the grasp.

“Put your feet on mine.”

“What?” Eloise blurted out, surprised by the demand.

“If you’re worried I’ll step on your toes then just put them atop mine. It will also help you with footwork and knowing where to place your feet.”

For a moment, she thought about it and then, hesitantly, recently there were moments Eloise found herself on the verge of what could only be referred to as complete and utter madness. Though she had to admit, she was intrigued.

Eloise placed her feet on top of the Count. Placing one of her hands on his shoulder and clasping onto the other for dear life. “Now a dance involves two people. Very similar to a conversation. No matter how good of dancers they are, they have to be able to synchronise with their partner, watch them in a way a strategist would.”

They took one step and then another and then another, following the rhythm of the music that played softly through the walls. Eloise struggled with the urge to look down at her feet with each step, but understood the taste and marked her prey. Eyes baring down into the Count, a sight she would apparently have to get used to, though she couldn’t say the particular blue held was unappreciated.

They danced, softly swaying with the room. The air around them painted a light golden hue as the chandelier burned down. An arrow and a deer, circling one another till their inevitable connection and demise.

“How did you learn to dance so well? I did not take you for the type that would enjoy this,” Eloise whispered, not wanting to be louder than the music, not that it were possible, however with so many eyes on her she grew weary of ears too.

“And how is it you know so much of me without having met me before?”

“I did my research.” Eloise deadpanned, her elbows sticking out at the most uncomfortable angle as they moved.

“Well I hope that I may still surprise you.” He explained a quaint expression encapsulating the man’s face. Eloise took a moment to take in his other features as the dance continued. Such as her groom's hand the skin around his left was scared, rough and discoloured. His skin glowed a soft pink rather than a pale freckled white as were the rest of him. It made her stomach knot how sometimes cruel fates are less to the living acknowledgments of what had been done.

Rumour has it the count had sustained the injury during a fire at his estate, a fire which undoubtedly took his father's life and thus his youth along with it. Ascending to the head of his family at the mere age of 19. Maybe that was why Anthony and he had gotten along so well, they were of similar origins. Count Pieré Brennan had died five years ago, leaving behind his only son and second wife to stake claim.

A claim which would now belong to Eloise also… should everything go according to plan.

Her gaze trickled off to the hundreds of paintings hung in all depictions on the vast walls, the familiar faces of the family, knoblemen and people who had stayed, many of Eloise herself at multiple ages. The chandelier hung high and cast a circle of light across the wooden floor, illuminating single moments of what this place was – a home for all that had needed it.

There had always been something unreal and eerie about the palace. It wasn't prettiness no - it was an ethereal grace that was breathtaking, The halls tied themselves like tethered string weeping upon the draft of silence, the cracks peaked beneath the pale and flawed wallpaper that flaked like skin; mimicking that of eyelids. Though seemingly glowed in the dim light of the drowning day, flourished under the bewilderment of her childhood, Eloise remembered these walls and the floors she’d always dreamed would taste like honey.

Not to mention the many faces and bodies which resided within the palace at any given moment, for multiple variations of time. The vast chess floor of marble and oak glazed beneath her feet, as an advanced player Eloise knew every creaking floorboard and loose tile throughout the whole palace.

"A little rust is nothing when the heart is of pure gold." Her father would say.

Then her eyes locked with another. Eloise faulted, her feet surly would have let her stumble if Arthur hadn’t been there. A pair in which she had never acquainted before.

“Hold tight and trust me,” Arthur whispered suddenly. They dipped, Eloise’s cheeks dusted a light pink from the rush of blood to her head, her previous target of attention now lost to the crowd.

“What was that for?” Eloise forced a laugh, trying to send light hearted, to push past her loss of concentration.

Arthur sighed leaning forward again, “If this were a battle you would surely be dead.”

“Lucky for me we’re just dancing.” Eloise pointed back, a sickening feeling of awareness, transparency, being seen flooding her senses.

"Our engagement has yet to be announced," Arthur said, trying his best to look cavalier. “Make the most of the time between now and then.” The general helped the princess step down and crouched into a bow. “Until the next time we meet.”

Eloise watched the Lord’s fleeing figure, her body alight with questions for her future spouse and his sudden departure. Her questions soon answered as the object of her distraction stepped back into view.

“Eloise darling” Violet called, noticing her granddaughter left unattended, “do join us Collin here was just telling us of his newest book.”

“It’s a memoir of my time in Prussia.” The man explained as Eloise made way across the room, desperately trying to ignore the burning sensation that had settled upon the centre of her back. If a gaze could kill, Eloise was surely a prism with light penetrating directly through.

[dollypopup]

FINE, if no one else is gonna say it. . .

it is WEIRD that we as a fandom are so okay with Debling being a 'serious' option for Penelope. She is a 19 year old woman. She is a third daughter from an unpopular family who has no father. This is a 30 year old man, 40, even, who is pursuing a teenager. All the 'oh, he notices her as a woman!'

and none of us are asking why it is that a seemingly 'perfect' guy is out here going for a woman on the outskirts of her society, who most people do not pay attention to? a powerful man with a lot of money and a title pursuing a woman who is largely unnoticed in her world, in a family without a father, who doesn't have, on the surface, any other options? our fandom doesn't talk about how big of a power imbalance they have between them, or even how Penelope is being styled to look extra young in contrast to him?

she looks like his DAUGHTER. He's even styled to be a more mature man in their society. Compare him to the fashions of younger men. Clean shaven, sleeker lines in their fashion,

He is, in fact, most comparable to Will, who is a married man with three children.

Debling legit looks like he could be her father. That is NOT a 20 year old man. That man is in his 30s at best, and in his 40s at worst. Which gives him and Pen a decade or two of age difference. Add on the fact that he's titled and she's a literal teenager, and it just gives me the MAJOR ick.

People are praising the idea that Debling makes Penelope feel like a 'woman' but as someone who has been a 19 year old woman with much older men interested in me (especially a PLUS SIZE 19 year old woman with older men interested in me) claiming I am oh so mature, it's. . .uh, not usually a GOOD thing?

We'll demonize Colin for being a 22 year old man who doesn't see Penelope as a romantic option because for the grand majority of the time he's known her, she's been a minor, but see absolutely nothing wrong with the idea that the production has given her a suitor who is an outsider of their society, who could take her away wherever if she actually agrees to marry him, and now have this 19 year old woman no one is going to really check on to do with as he so pleases? And we're wanting him to. . .what? Make out with her? Take her virginity? Just the thought of that makes me deeply uncomfortable.

We'll talk about the power imbalance between Colin and Penelope, about how he has experience that she doesn't and how that can cause concern, but absolutely NOTHING about the ACTUALLY CONCERNING power imbalance between her and Debling? Colin is 22 and a third son, he and Penelope have known each other for years, he is safe. He would never take advantage of her or lead her astray, he cares about her as a person and then comes to love her and desire her in ways outside of friendship. Debling has known her for less than a month, is likely in his mid thirties, has a title and money and power, and felt okay with feeling up on her in public in an era when holding HANDS was considered scandalous.

Imma need us to give Monopoly Man more smoke because I am confused as to how he's oh so perfect and yet the option he chose for a wife is an unpopular and financially unstable 19 year old woman who is largely ignored in society. None of us find that weird?

Meanwhile, we have Colin who has, yes, held Penelope's hand and called her by her Christian name, but has also complimented her on things that aren't just her appearance, and who has asked how she's been, and tried to help her, and called her his friend, and wrote her letters, and cared about her, and I reiterate, is much much closer to her in age and can relate to her considerably more.

The whole 'oh, well Penelope should sleep with Debling to give her and Colin more even ground' is CREEPY. Colin slept around with sex workers on his travels because that's the regency appropriate safe and responsible way to explore such things for men of his age and status. He is following examples his brothers, whom he trusts and loves deeply, have set for him. He is not exploiting anyone. He is paying for a service and that service is being provided. And he's an attractive man who is young and respectful, these women are FINE, so don't go pearl clutching over how he's being oh so fetishistic just because he's exploring kink. Penelope doing these things with Debling would be HIM taking advantage of HER, and putting her in a very vulnerable and scary position. If that actually happens, what options does she have? He could say he ruined her and that would be game over for her, she has no other choices or options outside of that. And if it's actually true, she is TRAPPED.

I need this fandom to be so serious here right now. You don't ship Pebling. You ship Penelope being seen as desirable, and COLIN finds Penelope desirable. He will make that very VERY evident. We don't need an almost 40 year old man to pursue her and do nothing but compliment how hot she is and feel up on her in public to do that. He doesn't see her as a person, but Colin does. We should be rooting for one of these men, and it's not the one a lot of us are.

[spaceorphan18]

The Lady Whistledown Papers : 1x01 - A Diamond of the First Water (Part 2)

Hi! Welcome back to The Lady Whistledown Papers, where I'm taking an in-depth look at Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton's character arcs and romance within the show Bridgerton! If you're looking for previous entries you can find them here :: Back Issues

Formal Introduction to Lady Whistledown

After the credits, we get a bunch of news boys running around spreading the Lady Whistledown pamphlet -- and while she narrated the opening, it's here that we get here formal introduction. She's rather biting in her first issue, and I find it fascinating that Penelope, in her writing, would come out swinging strong. She wanted to make an impact and grab the reader's (and the audience's) attention. But her commentary about bearing her teeth is a way for Penelope to attempt appear strong, confident, and dangerous right off the bat.

It's really fascinating that she does this as an introduction, because it's such the opposite of her natural personality. Sure, we'll learn that Penelope can definitely hold her own when she needs to. But only, really, when back into a corner. She prefers being the soft, romantic lost her own world, daydream of love and romance. But while the harshness of her first issue is a bit of her playing a role with LW, eventually, she does find her own voice in her writing, and LW shifts to reflect that.

I also want to note that she doesn't start the pamphlet with her eventual 'dearest gentle reader'. I'll have to listen for when that happens.

It's funny the show as a whole has a very different dynamic in the first season. Despite the comedic opening and lighthearted credits and brightly lit and colorful world, the first season is a little more biting. There's swearing and smoking and everything is a little rougher around the edges. I suppose, in a way, it may mirror Daphne and Simon's rougher (in general) romance. But I think it was also a way for Netflix to be be like -- see, we have this new, edgy historical romance.

I just wanted to note it here because the tone changes so drastically and by season 3, it's a much softer show, but reflects the romance better in being so.

Oh, also, I have to note the score. I love LOVE that Lady Whistledown gets her own theme music. It's kind of the this up and down hurried and fluttery melody that reflects the flying papers and whirlwind of mystery that LW presents. I love the music choices so much.

There's also a neat little misdirect they do -- as LW proclaims that even if the ton doesn't know her, she knows them, and the camera intentionally lingers on a smug Lady Danbury, as if suggesting that she might be LW herself.

****

Marina

Before I get into this scene, i just want to point out in the previous one that Eloise is the first Bridgerton to pick up LW. She also suggests she go see Pen to check in on her due to the disastrous showing in front of the queen.

When we pick up with the Featheringtons again -- Pen is in what is probably her usual place, over the by the window where she can watch Bridgerton house reading a book. (Or maybe pretending to read it when there's so much going on in the drawing room.) I tried zooming in on the book - but I can't tell what it is, other than it looks like poetry.

I should also point out this the first time we see her in one of her classic yellow dresses. I wish I was better with clothing meta, I do. The only thing I'd really want to point out is that there are flares of pink with in, and that combined with the bow in her hair help make her look young.

I should note that Lady Cowper is visiting the household, and that Lady Cowper seems to be a mean girl friend of Lady Featherington. They're gossiping away - but one should note that it's already obvious, from the first issue, that people suspect a Bridgerton is writing LW based on the attention the Bridgertons are getting. Is it surprising that Penelope is happy and fond of Daphne for getting the Queen's approval?

(This now makes me wonder if we got any Daphne and Pen interaction this season. I honestly don't remember, we shall see!)

Anyway, I adore the little smirk Pen gives when listening to Lady Cowper throw shade at her sisters. As we'll see in a moment, Pen gets a lot of crap thrown at her from her own family, she is going to revel a little when they get it back in their faces.

Also, oooff, Lady Featherington wanting Pen to put down the book so not to 'confuse' her thoughts. This comment alone marks the contrast between Pen and her mother's priorities.

So, Lady Cowper and Lady Featherington continue gossiping about how Marina is going to stay with them during the season. Portia makes an interesting comment about how LW knows nothing, which is funny since Pen clearly knows everything. It's at this moment that Pen gets up to interject -- exclaiming that she wants to hold off being in society for another year like her bff Eloise, but Portia won't hear of it. Of course, LW would have no idea that Marina would be coming to stay - but it does make me wonder if Pen liked having written the bit of wrong information about the Featherington girls so to leverage a possibility of getting out of the season.

Pen really would like to stay back - and continue on with studies. It's an interesting little tidbit, not only does Pen really not want to be out in the spotlight, but she is one to value her education, and I'm sure she and Eloise have talked at length about things they could if they had the opportunity and learning more (and going to university) is definitely one of them.

Of course, Portia won't hear any of it - why would a woman want to fill her brain up with anything? :P But I will say, Portia does notice her daughter's nervousness, and is endeared by it. It's a rare moment of softness Portia has for her youngest daughter in this little exchange.

And... then there's Prudence and Phillipa, who come in with some not helpful comments about how she looks. And I do believe this is the only time anyone really makes reference to her weight. It's a bit eye rolly, but Prudence and Phillipa are only really reflecting the meanness their mother projects. I'm glad that Pen's weight is not really brought up, though, for the rest of the series.

I also want to note that -- Pen has a lot of elements of fairy tales and fantasies brought up in her story, and I remember one thing that stood out to me is how very much this was Cinderella-esque, with the wicked mother and sisters bit. (I am glad they kind of have a great reconcile arc in Season 3, tbh).

Also, Phillipa's line about curing acne with arsenic and lead is hysterical - partly because back they would have tried that and partly because Phillipa as the well meaning dunce is on clear display.

I'm really kind of fascinated by these cards they're all looking at -- cards of eligible bachelors. I have so many questions. Are they like 1800 tinder profiles? Swipe right get a dance? Stake your claim? Collect them all and win a prize? Is there one for Colin and does Pen have it stored away in her secret stash under the floor boards?

So, anyway, we get backstory and set up about Marina, and how she's poor and from a farm, and Portia is obnoxious in her elitist, snobby ways. And then Marina shows up looking as cute as a button. I love that the sisters look worried, but Pen is so happy. Just Marina being a beautiful girl puts Portia in her place. But I also think there's a bit of fascination there as well -- she's not from high society, and yet she's still pretty.

****

Lady Danbury's Ball

Unaspiringly, we get a lot of expository dialogue coming from the LW narration -- I didn't really notice it until starting this project, but it's purely for us to learn more about the world and times of the show -- I don't necessarily think LW's readership would need to know any of this information.

Any ole way, this is the first time we get to see Pen out in society. She's not glued to a wall, but it's obvious that both she and her sisters are being looked over as every other lady at the place is being chatted up by eligible bachelors and danced with.

Let's talk her dress for a second -- as you zoom in, you can tell there's a butterfly spread across her chest. And not only is the butterfly the symbol of her family, but it's reflective of her story. She'll be the awkward, little caterpillar who transforms into the beautiful butterfly. It's just gonna take a little, as we're just starting her story out.

The string version of Ariana Grande's Thank U, Next plays in the background. And it's a nice complement for the scene - and all of the women making their way through the marriage mart, but it does play over the next little bit with Penelope watching Colin, and I think there are some lyrics from the song that really fit her :

Only wanna do it once, real bad Gon' make that last / I've got so much love (love) Got so much patience (patience) I've learned from the pain (pain) I turned out amazing (turned out amazing)

Alright, so let's talk about this. Actually, no, let's talk about Colin's hair journey first. Because the boy's hair changes length in every scene in this episode, lol. It was not that long in the first scene. But yeah, let's talk about how he's dancing away unseriously with some pretty lady while his future wife is just two feet away, staring longingly at him.

Oh, Pen. Oh, girl... This is the first time we that Penelope has feelings for Colin, and it's the first time the show is acknowledging -- yeah, we know there's a love story here, we'll get to it, eventually... And, oh, they really sell it in that first moment, just how much she wants to be that girl dancing with him. And, I mean, she's probably remembering times they have danced together -- because Anthony will suggest as such in the next episode. But she's not one to go out and ask him -- she's bold enough to take on the entire ton in her writing, but not to ever dare confront her feelings for Colin, or even dare act upon them.

(And, I mean, idk, were ladies allowed to ask a gentleman for a dance, or did she have to wait?)

But also -- this is her first ball out in society. Even if they did dance together before, it was really more as children having fun together (and I'll make note of this when we get to that Irish dance at the end of the episode). Penelope is supposed to be seen as a real woman now -- a real marriage prospect, but as the camera pushes in on her longing face, you have to wonder if she's still believing it a possibility at this point, or if she already thinks it's not a thing that will ever happen to her.

And, you know, watching the scene again, I'm almost of mind that all of that could even be at the back of her mind. I think there's a simpler want and need in this moment -- the want to just be close to him, to be in proximity, to take joy in the little touches and brushes the dance gives. I feel like that's at the forefront more than anything here.

Shifting focus entirely, we move to some Bridgerton sibling shenanigans. Anthony is being a butt over Daphne's propsects and then literally, out of nowhere, Colin and Benedict shows up, and Colin announces he's going to Greece on tour. I wonder if there was some dialogue cut or something because it's such an odd little comment to shoehorn in somewhere. You almost think, for a moment, he'll be ushered off the show like Francesca will be (thank god, not).

It's important for his character - because travel is going to be a huge part of his character, but it's just funny to me how waved away this moment is. Daphne is like, wow, cool that's interesting, and then Lady Danbury shows up and it almost feels like an irrelevant little comment.

I do kind of love that they all kind of hightail out of there trying to escape Lady Danbury but fail to do so.

It's a good thing we set up Pen longing for Colin because that make this moment feel... perplexing. Is he gonna see our dear, sweet Penelope? Of course not. He's going to see the hot new thing to come to town, Marina. And he's just enchanted with her.

Portia and Lady Cowper are going to continue to gossip about Marina up in the balcony, and I find it hilarious when Portia is like - man she's ugly, and Lady Cowper does, like, a double take and is like, uh, wait, no?

Colin's going to 'join the swarm' and dance with Marina. He's smitten with her right from the start. Hello Season 1's major B-Plot, we're now fully in motion.

I am fascinated by what Portia gossips about -- how it's kind of a big deal that Colin, because he's a Bridgerton, is attempting to court Marina so early. What exactly is it about the Bridgertons that make them such a big name family -- is it because they're super wealthy and Lady Bridgerton is a Viscountess? Is it Daphne's newly minted status a the Queen's Diamond? Is it because they're all hot? Is it just because Portia lives next to them? Because I feel like they don't seem particularly all that cool (said in a lovingly way). They're all awkward weirdos in their own special way. So I find it funny every time someone is like --oohh the Bridgertons because do any of these other people really care all that much?

Awww, my dear Penelope!! Look at her standing all alone. She's even alienated from her sisters, look so sad that no one will come to ask her to dance. You know, that color may not suit her fully, but she does look cute as a button here.

You know what's interesting, though, when the Duke arrives, Portia tries to shuffle her daughters onto him, and no Portia would bother with Penelope. But Pen is nowhere to be seen. It's to be of note that Pen's going to go make herself be in places where she can't be see but she can take in all the drama.

And, on that note, I'm going to wrap this edition up! Until next time - will we make it through the rest of the episode?? No, probably not. :D There's so much in this first episode!!

[dr-docktor]

Ok I have an outline for a swap au/curt falls au

I've had this SaF au rotating in my head for a hot minute and I got some details down and I want to write it all down somewhere so here! Fair warning: it’s pretty underdeveloped but as I get suggestions and stuff I hope to develop it more:-)

Quick thanks to @randeeznuts for letting me yell at him about this in Discord <3

Its a Curt Falls au where, of course, Curt is the one to fall instead of Owen. It's still Curt's banana peel, however.

After the incident, Owen retires. Mourning the fact that he and Curt never got to run off together. Instead he picks up what little he has left of that fantasy and tries to pull it together.

A tiny cottage on a lake, a hairless cat named Penelope, a vegetable garden... You get the idea.

And all things considered, he could be doing so much worse. Penelope is spoiled rotten and the vegetable garden looks gorgeous no matter the time of year. Ignore the thousands of abandoned hobbies scattered across the coffee table and carpet. Ignore how he hasn't cut his hair since he chopped most of it off in some grief-driven rage 3 years ago. Ignore how his back porch reeks of cigarettes as his smoking habit has gotten so much worse. Ignore the fact that all he can think about some days is how efficient the little pronged rake in his hand is just as efficient at tearing up weeds as it is tearing through flesh.

Admittedly, I'm not 1000% sure how or why he decides to go back into the field for this one mission. My best guess is Cynthia finds his ass and is like "Hey bestie, I need a huge favor." I will expand on that later, I swear.

I imagine the main plot points of the show continue. You got Tatiana, the casino, etc. etc. etc. (once again I will expand on specific changes later) I also imagine most of the comedy with Owen comes from him being the sort of straight-man (haha) in most situations.

Being able to bounce off of whatever insane event is happening around him with utter seriousness and sarcasm. Because he just wants to get through this and get back to his cat. (the cat-sitter doesn't even know her favorite food! Much less her routine oh how will she live happily???).

He also never clarifies to anyone if Penelope is an animal or human so people are just consistently arguing about if he's talking about a child or a cat. Tatiana and DMA keep interrupting BVN's speech to debate this. Tatiana claims that its clearly a child, that Owen's eyebags and stubble indicate a stressed-out single father while DMA firmly thinks she is a cat for reasons he will not explain.

SPEAKING OF DMA :-) I think the guy needs no further introduction. There's still a lot of gaps in development, specifically centered on why Curt would ever join Chimera. I very firmly believe that they didn't torture Owen. But given how loyal and stubborn Curt is, I don't think they'd be exactly gentle while trying to persuade him. This might change later on, who knows.

Curt's version of the DMA is so interesting to me because I think he'd be a lot more reactive than the Owen DMA if that makes sense? Like very quick to explode with anger. Like he acts all smug while insisting Penelope is, in fact, a cat and not a human child. But as soon as he's asked why he thinks this, he fires back with a "Because I can just tell, okay?!?!??!" and then awkwardly trying to redirect the conversation.

I also think Curt's DMA accent would be along the lines of New Jersey or Boston. Mainly because it's an accent he can mimic SUPER well (thanks Ms Mega!). I've always had the headcanon that Curt is really good with languages and accents which sort of contributes to this.

In terms of physical appearance I don't imagine this DMA to look like Joe Walker. But I don't really have a solid grasp on what he does look like. However, I really like the idea of him wearing these black goggles on his head that he finally puts over his eyes during the torture tango.

Just imagine the light of electricity getting reflected in these bad boys during the torture tango. While Curt's got this massive grin that, in any other context, would come off as friendly and dorky (if not a little bit smug). Scary!

Also, because it's Curt, I imagine he fidgets a lot. Maybe in the background of scenes where he's not doing things he'd be practicing tricks with a butterfly knife or cracking his joints.

Ok back to plot stuff.

I like to think Owen figures out the identity of the DMA at some point shortly before the reveal. There's a clear moment where the clues click together (Like those jigsaw puzzles sitting abandoned on his coffee table). But Owen sort of shrugs it off just out of sheer denial. He knows its true, but it's not until the reveal where he's forced to confront it.

I know realistically this would end in only one of them walking out of the staircase scene alive (I couldn't even tell you which one). But my heart really wants for there to be a happy ending. Like most of this, I'll figure it out eventually.

[nightmarish-fae]

fragile line - Alex Blake/Reader prompt fic

a/n: hello there! i come emerging from the depths of a writers block to offer an old prompt fic I wrote for @prentiss-theorem. the prompts were 'How did find out?' and 'Are you ashamed of me?'

as always, i am not a native speaker, all mistakes are mine.

pairing: Alex Blake/Reader

genre: angst

warnings: mentions of casual drinking/smoking if that puts anyone off.

lenght: one-shot

‐--------‐--------------------------

You should have known. You should have known, when you started this…whatever it was that you had going on with Alex that you were in too deep. How couldn’t you be. Alex Blake was everything you had ever dreamed of. And apparently, you weren’t. 

At first, it was fun, just sneaking around, making hiding and staying unnoticed a competition. You were glad to be hers, to be allowed to touch her hand, kiss her, make her laugh in the safety of your apartments. Eventually, it became your normal. At first, you didn’t mind. Everything was so new, she was freshly divorced…it made sense. But then a month had turned into four, then eight and at last, a year. But nothing changed. 

You loved the brilliant linguist with all of your heart and making her uncomfortable was the last thing on your mind, but this whole thing was starting to make you feel tired. Even when you were together, there was this bone deep weariness and unease settling into your body. Still, you never said anything. You couldn’t bear to lose Alex and at first, telling yourself that you would gladly take whatever she decided to give you worked. But of course you wanted more. 

Not much, just…to be able to hold her hand while out and about, to hug her without having to maintain a friendly limit, to be able to moon over her to Penelope and JJ.  

It appeared to be a stalemate. Progressively unhappy, yet too in love to do anything about it. But all fragile peace was destined to break at one point. And yours came on what was supposed to be a happy day. 

It was your one year anniversary of sorts. While the two of you never outright said anything to each other, you were together anyways. And so you planned for a quiet night in with a good dinner, wine and movie. For a while, the underlying sadness didn’t exist, there was just happiness. 

Somehow, you managed to be one of the last people in the bullpen, helping Garcia out. But finally, you were free. Enthusiastically packing your bag, you turned towards JJ, who was packing up as well.

“Alex already left?”

If you knew what JJ was going to answer you would probably never let the words leave your mouth.

“Ah yeah, I think she mentioned something about spending some time with her husband?”

It felt like someone pulled the rug from beneath your feet and you hit the ground in the most painful way possible. You didn’t remember much after that, only that you quickly made your excuses, all but running for your car. 

Every single part of you was working on an overdrive, brain coming up with conspiracy theories, excuses and reasons to hate both yourself and her. Somehow, you got yourself home. You had no idea if she was even in there. Heavens knew you didn’t want to be angry, but there was no helping it. 

It suddenly felt like you were the butt of a practical joke, reminding you of when you got asked to the prom as a prank. 

A small part of you was dreading the confrontation, but there was no avoiding it. Your red rimmed eyes were a dead giveaway. That, any maybe the way the door slammed and your bag flew on to the table. There was no sign of Alex anywhere, which only drove your brain more confused. 

Beelining for the fridge, you opened the wine and stalked to your balcony with a glass, which is precisely how the linguist found you when she arrived - leaning over the railing, glass in one hand, cigarette in the other. 

“Hi, I brought the-you said you’ll quit.”

Her voice sounded faintly accusing and the gall of it made you whirl around, a sarcastic chuckle leaving your throat.

“Right. Like you told JJ you were…what was it…going to spend time with your husband? Which you don’t have anymore? Unless I’m wrong about that too?”

Alex looked absolutely floored. And guilty. Setting the bag on the table, she took a deep breath, opening and closing her mouth a few times, being speechless for once.

“How did you find out?”

Your eyes widened. Really, that’s what she was going to ask?

“JJ mentioned it. Honestly Alex, I just don’t understand why…”

Suddenly, your brain supplied a very clear reason, one that explained the past year perfectly. You wished you could be more like Hotch, perfectly stoic and calm in face of everything, but you knew there were tears gathering along your lash line and you were shaking.

“Are you…”

Your voice cracked in the middle and you had to restart.

“Are you ashamed of me?”

In the perfect world, Alex would start protesting immediately, explaining it was just a massive misunderstanding. But she was quiet. And when that quiet went on for longer than your brain liked, you’ve had enough.

“You know what? Forget it. Forget I asked. I don’t think I wanna know anyways.”

Storming past her, you grabbed your bag and headed out of the door, leaving her alone in your apartment. 

The sound the door made must have sounded similar to what felt like your heart breaking.

[rhaenizziettie]

Legacies 1x02 Rewatch

Hope's love for Shakespeare should've been a common thread through the seasons

Missing Emma hours. They all needed therapy so bad.

Lizzie getting so enthusiastic about game day 😭😭😭 Protect her at all costs

No because the way Josie's black magic had negative effects on Lizzie but Josie not being affected when Lizzie did black magic was never explained will always be one of the worst Legacies mysteries. I'm just gonna have to assume it's because Lizzie always handled hers better.

"Maybe you're pregnant" is an ironic insult to use on a lesbian virigin

"Bounce MG" 😭😭😭 She's the definition of unserious

The way Hope was sharing memories left and right in the first few episodes and then never again. It's such a cheap special effect too???

Hafael's chemistry was off the charts and I can't believe they never shared more than a dream kiss

"I have ACTUAL magic powers" Is this wolf on wolf violence??

"Put a shirt on." I see where Lizzie gets it from

"Dad loves Hope more than us." "You're being melodramatic." "You really want Dad to stop loving us? Keep it up." Mm hmm. Nasty.

The way Alaric probably will miss Lizzie's wedding too ...

Just not for the reason she thinks

Hope mocking Landon for running like she didn't just get called out for being a runner last episode. I'm gonna need you to tone down the soulmatism here.

The Connor-Dana-Josie trio truly is something else

"I was being recruited by D1 schools before I got here" TELL US MORE. GIVE US YOUR WHOLE BACKSTORY. I CAN'T BELIEVE WE NEVER GOT IT.

"I've been at the school for two days and I've already heard all about Hope Mikaelson and her sunny disposition." #People need to keep Hope's name out of their mouth at that school

Really can't believe we didn't get another football episode ever

I can't prove it but Connor shoving Kaleb to the ground from behind was racially motivated, I just know it

Sorry but Lizzie talking about "perky little boobs" unprovoked is gay. Why are you looking at other girls' boobs and why are you obsessing over how perky they are. That's gay.

"When someone other than Lizzie takes a shot at Josie, they tend to wake up with scabies." Big sister energy for sure. Everyone else is wrong, sorry, not sorry.

"If Lizzie Saltzman is what you want, I can help you get her." SHE'S NOT A PRIZE.

"Does a girl have to have a motive to do charity work?" Cruel but iconic

"I just want to take a minute to let you know how proud I am. You're all doing a great job." How did anyone think she was a bitch?? Just because she came up with some funny nicknames???

No because do you ever think how Lizzie was literally trained to lose games for other people's benefits her whole life and then that's exactly what she did for the Merge? Oh I'm gonna be sick.

MG the second someone bullies Lizzie:

No but Penelope, Dana, Josie, Alyssa ... there's a clear pattern there ...

Hope is such a bitch 😭😭😭 I love her

"If he says there is a fire breathing woman running through the woods, then there's a -" "THERE'S A FIRE BREATHING WOMAN RUNNING THROUGH THE WOODS." This show is comedy gold

"Maybe she wants the knife you said you don't have." Get him again Hope

The fact that Lizzie just let Dana walk all over her but the second Dana insulted Josie, the gloves were off

"Maybe I just get a thrill from tormenting all the crazies." ABSOLUTELY NASTY.

MaYbE yOu'Re FeElInG a LiTtLe DeLuSiOnAl BeCaUsE yOu'Re OfF yOuR mEdS

"You can count on my steel." "Ew, gross." TELL ME AGAIN HOW YOU THINK SHE LIKED IT WHEN HE HIT ON HER REPEATEDLY AFTER BEING REJECTED

No ThIs IsN't WhAt We TaLkEd AbOuT And???

"Can you prioritize your rage?" 😭😭😭 No, Rafael, it's how she flirts

"Not if SHE has anything to say about it"

"MY dAd bUiLt ThIs ScHoOl" Okay, first of all, Alaric is father to like 90 kids so I need you to calm down and secondly, I forgot how self-centered and entitled Josie was in S1. I know it only gets worse from here.

"It's like she appears out of smoke." She's been there the whole time. Just because you've been pretending to ignore her because your crush is not gone, doesn't mean she's not there.

"My immortal soul." Well wait until your body's immortal too Lizzie

I love how Penelope was willing to find a compromise between the twins and Lizzie was immediately down

So YoU cAn ThRoW mE uP LaTeR

God I love this show but I truly hate the shot inconsistency. Tell me why Josie tackled Dana and bounced back to her feet but somehow six seconds later was back on the ground to screw the team with her spell.

What exactly was on the clipboard Penelope was holding the whole time

Real answer: She was just holding it to look like a boss bitch and it worked

Lizzie throws literal PUNCHES to defend her sister

"Earth magic" implies the existence of air magic, fire magic, water magic ... Imagine if Legacies embraced the whole elements thing ...

"This hatred, this vengeance, this isn't you. It can't be you. I won't allow it." And yet he said nothing when his daughter went around ACTUALLY killing other students ... no wait, he made one of her victims play her bodyguard.

Us never getting to see the insides of those ritzy Salvatore School bathrooms is a crime

"You're my sister. My best friend. She spent the last ten years making us feel like we don't matter." I wish I could go back in time and tell Lizzie the whole truth

"I don't like that feeling that way. Not from Hope. Not from girls like Dana. Not from Dad. And not from you." "I promise."

"You had my back today." When? No, like genuinely, when? Lizzie was out there defending Josie against Dana left and right but when did Josie have her back??

"What are we gonna do about Dad?" "More like what is he gonna do to us?" Give you a hug. Literally.

Hayley missing from the photos gets me every time 😥😥😥

[aprilbrowines]

Sophia Braxton

Name: Sophia Numan Braxton

nickname: Birdie (bai bao), Sophie, pequeña nube (sunblast)

Birthday: October 10th; Libra

Race: Mexican

Sexuality/Gender: Lesbian cis girl

Age: 16

Appearance: Sophia has pale green skin with gray scleras and yellowish amber pupils, her hair is similar to her mother in which is a strange smoke-like substance in the style of a drifting cloud. She is tall and has a svelte build.

Personality: Few know the true Sophia Braxton, but perhaps most important is that she's brilliant and courteous. Of course she's also innovative, optimistic and capable, but those are often overshadowed by tendencies of being overprotective as well. Her brilliance though, this is what she's often adored for. People regularly count on this and her punctuality whenever they need assistance or help.

Nobody's perfect of course and Sophia has a range of flaws to deal with too. Her clingy ways and passive nature can cause things to heat up, both personally and for others. Fortunately her clever nature usually softens the worst of it.

Backstory: After trying to get Project Clear Skies the green light turned into a bust, and Sunblast having been eaten by Demencia after the Black Hat Organization's mission was successful, Penumbra seeks help from another like minded as herself. She goes to bellwood to find a Dr. Animo who could help her with the Numbra disorder, As they worked closer with each other things got a bit personal between them. A few months later she had Sophia as a result, her father felt the need to understand the numbra disorder and was intrigued by the condition. Thinking he could use this as an advantage to humanity and to make a legacy of himself experimented on the child, completely altering and splicing her DNA.

Penumbra, discovering what was happening to her child, called the plumbers and ran off to raise her daughter on her own. Sophia develops a type of Trichotillomania where she would pluck the growing feathers from her arms but in later years it lessens.

Sophia grew up aware of the other kids from her old school and developed a hatred towards herself due to the fact she isn’t normal, her childhood was tainted by her own father.

Powers and Abilities:

High intellect: She is an analytical person who studies biology and environmental science, most of the time she does experiments in her room.

Shadow Manipulation: Similar to her mother, her hair is a shadow-like substance that she can use for attacks, shaping it as she pleases. At times if she focuses enough she can blend within the shadows.

Animal transformation: Due to the experiments on her Sophia can transform into a giant Raven, the first time she transformed was painful and horrifying. Feathers sprouted on her limb and she went into a panic. When she changed back she was bedridden and couldn't sleep for a week, she got a better control of it now.

Animal Empathy: Sophia has an understanding bond with birds, mostly those of the corvidae family.

Relationship:

Kailanni Khan: Sophia and Kailanni have a rivalry of sorts, while she was and still is Destiny’s best friend she hates Kai for showing up and trying to be one of Des besties, that's Sophia’s job!

Bai bao: Bai is one of Sophia’s townsville high school friends, they bonded over their appreciation of birds (Bai with chickens) and old crush on Destiny. She’s usually the one to help her with physical problems.

Destiny: Destiny is Sophia’s best friend and her old crush. She first met in middle school when she moved to Townsville, Destiny was one of the few people who saw her not as an outcast or a freak but rather a person. She basically helped her come out of her shell and hang out the most with.

Calvin: Sophia seems to enjoy Calvin’s company enough to hang with him, both being nerds of sorts and one of her few guy friends she has.

Family:

Doctor Penelope Numan Braxton/Penumbra: Sophia’s mother whom she adores dearly. Penumbra raised sophia most of time when she was a child, internally she sometimes feels guilty of not helping her daughter sooner and try to make it up as much as she can

Doctor Animo: Sophia’s father who is strictly no contact. Animo was emotionally cold and pragmatic toward Sophia and only interacted with her when conducting experiments on finding the Numbra disorder cure, she hates her father with a burning passion and would have nightmares of him taking her away and destroying her.

[worstpart]

[ I KNEW WHO I WAS THIS MORNING, BUT I'VE CHANGED A FEW TIMES SINCE THEN ]

𝟶𝟶𝟷. 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚃𝙸𝚂𝚃𝙸𝙲𝚂 …

⋯⋯⋯ GENERAL DETAILS.

FULL NAME: yejide rotimi. NICKNAME(S): none. AGE: twenty7. DATE OF BIRTH: august 18. PLACE OF BIRTH: seattle, washington. CURRENT LOCATION: bearhold, washington. GENDER: genderfluid. PRONOUNS: they/she/he/any, no preference. ORIENTATION: bisexual. SPECIES: nightwalker vampire, turned two months ago. OCCUPATION: paramedic at bearhold fire department.

⋯⋯⋯ PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, ETC.

HEIGHT: 5'6. TATTOOS: none. PIERCINGS: one in each ear. CLOTHING STYLE: 1) comfortable. 2) colorful & fun. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS: biiiiiig smile.

⋯⋯⋯ HEALTH.

ALLERGIES: peanuts. SLEEPING HABITS: poor. non-existent sleep schedule, but sleeps a lot? day naps… so many naps… EATING HABITS: enjoys sweets a lot... but well. now i guess it's blood :(. SOCIABILITY: 10/10. highly sociable. the extrovert friend. DRINKING / SMOKING / DRUGS: no / no / no.

⋯⋯⋯ PERSONALITY.

LABELS / TROPES: beware the nice ones, bunny ears lawyer, doesn't like weapons, cause = consequence, the heart, the nicknamer, the reliable one, perpetual smiler, silly rabbit cynicism is for losers, you are not alone, bad liar, the cutie, beware the silly ones, did not think this through. INSPIRATIONS: jester lavorre (cr2), jessica day (new girl), phil dunphy (modern family), penelope garcia (cm). POSITIVE TRAITS: ambitious, enthusiastic, creative, expressive, mischievous, intelligent, resourceful, excitable, active listener, compassionate, perky. NEGATIVE TRAITS: clumsy, credulous, unrealistic, troublesome, unorganized, overimaginative, impatient, easily discouraged, naive. LIKES: birds, music, making new friends. DISLIKES: alcoholic drinks, tight schedules, summer. FEARS: disappointing people that depend on her, failure. HABITS: bouncing on toes, nervous laughter, bouncing leg, filler words. HOBBIES: watching tv / movies, reading, strategy games, d&d.

𝟶𝟶𝟸.   𝙱𝙸𝙾𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙿𝙷𝚈 / 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝙳𝙲𝙰𝙽𝙾𝙽𝚂   … 

[ content warning: mention of death ]

quick and dirty..... born in seattle to two very sweet very loving parents. hopped around a lot once she reached adulthood because she was struggling to find a place in the world where she'd fit in. while her parents were a little disappointed she didn't choose to go to college, they ultimately decided that their love for her outdid any expectations they had set for her. yejide did a lot of odd jobs all around the country and made a very large network of friends and acquaintances.

by the time she reached bearhold, she didn't really feel like leaving. maybe all the moving around finally caught up to her, or maybe bearhold was just the right amount of charming to keep her. besides, it wasn't too far from seattle. she could visit her parents whenever she felt like it. the fire department was fun, too. a good community, a flicker of the thrill she'd get on her solo adventures, a solid group of friends she may even call family.

two months ago, she returned home to seattle. it's the first time that it hit her that her parents were aging, and what has she done with her life? she hugged her mom and dad tight, commented on matching grey hair her dad was sporting and the smile lines on her mom's face. they've done things with their lives, helped people, made a difference, and it's all written right there for anyone to see.

and then. well. she made the mistake of meeting up with some high school friends since she's back home anyway. they decided on a night out, one that the never-reluctant yejide was a little bit reluctant about. no worries. something about one of her friends was a little strange. whatever. whatever, it's all good! no worries.

you know. until she wakes up the next morning so fucking thirsty that it's painful. until she can't bring herself to say bye to her parents before heading back up to bearhold out of fear of herself. until she ignores the group chat message that the friend with weird behavior that night had gone missing. until she finds their obituary a few weeks later. until she realizes she doesn't know what she is or what to do about it. it's all good. no worries.

𝟶𝟹. 𝚅𝙰𝙼𝙿𝙸𝚁𝙸𝚂𝙼   … 

standard stuff! was a little bit horrified that she seems to glitter like she's from twilight. made her a bit nauseous. doesn't like taking day shifts at work because of that. standard vampire abilities: super strength, super speed, quick healing. was also horrified regarding all of that. chest compressions from a vampire? scary. yeah you're supposed to be breaking ribs but not like that. due to her general friendliness & charisma from when she was a human, her vampire self seems to have some charm ability that she doesn't fully understand and doesn't want to.

[greatpain]

𝚂𝙴𝙲𝚄𝚁𝙸𝚃𝚈 𝚀 #𝟷  ...  𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙸𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙽𝙰𝙼𝙴 𝙾𝙵 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙵𝙸𝚁𝚂𝚃 𝙿𝙴𝚃? 𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙰𝙽𝚂𝚆𝙴𝚁  ...  𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚘

𝚂𝙴𝙲𝚄𝚁𝙸𝚃𝚈 𝚀 #𝟸  ...  𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙸𝚂 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙼𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁'𝚂 𝙼𝙰𝙸𝙳𝙴𝙽 𝙽𝙰𝙼𝙴? 𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙰𝙽𝚂𝚆𝙴𝚁  ...  ****

𝚂𝙴𝙲𝚄𝚁𝙸𝚃𝚈 𝚀 #𝟹  ...  𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙸𝚂 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙱𝙸𝙶𝙶𝙴𝚂𝚃 𝙵𝙴𝙰𝚁? 𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙰𝙽𝚂𝚆𝙴𝚁  ...  ************** **** ******** ***** **********

               𝚆𝙴𝙻𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙴 𝚄𝚂𝙴𝚁 𝙰𝙶𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙱𝚈𝚃𝙴

𝟶𝟶𝟷.   𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚃𝙸𝚂𝚃𝙸𝙲𝚂   ...

⋯⋯⋯   GENERAL DETAILS.

FULL NAME:   yejide muyiwa. NICKNAME(S):   none. ALIAS:  agent byte. AGE:   twenty8. DATE OF BIRTH:   august 18. PLACE OF BIRTH:   seattle, washington. CURRENT LOCATION:   apex city, washington. GENDER:   agender. PRONOUNS:   she/he/they, no preference. ORIENTATION:   bisexual. ROLE:   intelligence agent,  five years. EDUCATION LEVEL:   college drop out (mit).

⋯⋯⋯   PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, ETC.

HEIGHT:   5'6. TATTOOS:   none. PIERCINGS:   one in each ear. CLOTHING STYLE:   1) comfortable. 2) colorful & fun. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS:   biiiiiig smile.

⋯⋯⋯   HEALTH.

ALLERGIES:   peanuts. SLEEPING HABITS:   poor. non-existent sleep schedule, but sleeps a lot? day naps... so many naps...  EATING HABITS:   enjoys sweets a lot. SOCIABILITY:   10/10.  highly sociable.  the extrovert friend. DRINKING / SMOKING / DRUGS:   no / no / no. RADIANT STATUS:  none.

⋯⋯⋯   PERSONALITY.

LABELS / TROPES:   awesome by analysis,  beware the nice ones,  bunny ears lawyer,  doesn't like weapons,  cause = consequence,  the heart,  magical computer,  mission control,  the nicknamer,  recruiting the criminal,  the reliable one,  the smart gal,  voice with an internet connection,  perpetual smiler,  silly rabbit cynicism is for losers,  you are not alone,  bad liar,  the cutie,  beware the silly ones,  did not think this through. INSPIRATIONS:   jester lavorre (cr2), jessica day (new girl), phil dunphy (modern family), penelope garcia (cm). POSITIVE TRAITS:   ambitious,  enthusiastic,  creative,  expressive,  mischievous,  intelligent,  resourceful,  excitable,  active listener,  compassionate,  perky. NEGATIVE TRAITS:   clumsy,  credulous,  unrealistic,  troublesome,  unorganized,  overimaginative,  impatient,  easily discouraged. LIKES:   all music,  winter,  birds. DISLIKES:   alcoholic drinks,�� tight schedules,  summer. FEARS:   disappointing people that depend on her,  failure. HABITS:   bouncing on toes, nervous laughter, bouncing leg, filler words. HOBBIES:   watching tv / movies, reading, strategy games, d&d.

⋯⋯⋯   FAMILY, RELATIONSHIPS, ETC.

MOTHER:   unknown. FATHER:   unknown. SIGNIFICANT OTHER:   none.  BEST FRIEND:   tba.  EXES:   none serious.  SIBLING(S):   none biological.  CHILDREN:   none.  PET(S):   parrot named sir talks a lot (lottie for short).

𝟶𝟶𝟸.   𝙱𝙸𝙾𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙿𝙷𝚈 / 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝙳𝙲𝙰𝙽𝙾𝙽𝚂   … 

shortly after birth, yejide was left in a baby car seat at seattle's fire station 19, accompanied by a letter written on composition paper stating her name and how sorry her birth parents are for leaving her like this, but they simply do not have the means to raise her right now. until proper care can be given, yejide is taken care of by firefighters that dote upon her every second of the day.

she is shortly placed into the foster care system, and though she is nearly adopted several times over the first few years of her life, something always happens that stops the process right in its tracks.

long story short, she is never adopted, simply bounced around from foster house to foster house getting her hopes up only to be miserably crushed. yejide came out of the system with lifelong friends made with her foster siblings.

[ car accident tw ] she was accepted with a full scholarship to MIT, attributed to her incredible capabilities on a computer. she kept in close contact with all of her foster siblings and even attended MIT with one that was a couple years older. unfortunately, they died in a car accident. filled with grief over losing someone she considered family, she dropped out of MIT and bounced around the country, couch surfing.

she continued to teach herself coding and advanced computer engineering in an attempt to keep herself together and occupied. eventually, this formed into becoming a vigilante hacker, attacking businesses and people she thought were engaged in criminal activities or other such activities that went against her own moral compass. curious about mercy, she did hack into mercy's systems and was caught shortly after. yejide was given the option between working for them or serving jail time, and she decided to accept the job.

she has been at mercy for five years now, and does stay in the on base accommodations as she feels that's what's best for her and it gives her a way to interact with everyone in one way or another. absolutely the person you want on your side during any problem, whether that be personal or professional. undying support and loyalty for anyone that shows her a smidge of kindness. surprisingly great at interrogation if only because of her unnerving ability to talk her way into or out of anything, alongside her undeterred charisma, but she honestly hates the interrogation part of her job the most and is likely to trade any interrogation assignments with a coworker for a favor.

𝟶𝟶𝟹.   𝙲𝙾𝙽𝙽𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂   ...

updated soon... prommy

[bridgertonbabe]

What’s the biggest scandal the Bridgerton have to face in the Royals Au and how do they deal with it?

Well without a doubt Queen Lucy jilting Prince Basil at the alter in favour of Prince Gregory (as well as Basil not giving a fuck and casually coming out) is the royal scandal of the century and something which receives international attention because how could it not? It's such an intense media circus that even the rest of the Bridgerton royal family can't attend any function or engagement without the press asking them to comment on it. There's also repercussions internally as both Lucy's uncle and Basil's father are apoplectic with rage, having wanted the intended marriage to unify their two countries into one, but Lucy stands up to her uncle, sick to death of him pulling the strings and wanting nothing more to do with him. Eventually over time everything is smoothed over with Queen Lucy truly marrying for love and while the media obsession with the famous jilting takes years to die down to reach a point where nobody truly cares, it's still an event that is referred back to constantly over the years.

While that was the biggest scandal to rock Bridgerton House, for the most part any other revelations or incidents within the family are far more trivial and only considered scandals because the tabloids sensationalised them to be.

When Colin announced his engagement to Penelope there was initial skepticism due to the fact she's the daughter of a former prime minister (and an infamously controversial one at that), which some royal commentators criticised, believing it to be the biggest insight into the politics of the royal family when they're expected to remain impartial.

Any time the paparazzi caught any one of the siblings on a night out with friends where they appeared worse for wear, were caught smoking, or were clearly with someone they were hooking up with, the media blew the photos out of proportion. Most people barely gave these reports any interest considering the princes and princesses were merely acting like any other twenty-something would on a night out, but the tabloids harped on about it regardless.

And then there was the "scandal baby" aka Prince Charlie who was initially believed to be born prematurely until it became obvious that he wasn't born two months early; he had in fact been conceived several weeks prior to his parents' wedding. Truly the general public didn't care - so what if the now Princess Sophie had been pregnant walking down the aisle; what did it matter? But of course there were staunch traditionalists who felt unnecessarily outraged that a royal bride had been with child on her wedding day, and of course Araminta only fanned the flames by giving interviews and claiming that this proved Sophie had trapped the prince into marriage, that the baby prince was technically a bastard and shouldn't have his title and that the royal family should get rid of Sophie for humiliating them in such a fiendish way.

In all of these cases the royal family opted to not comment or respond, though naturally all of them at some point would have become incredibly frustrated in private with their whatever respective "scandals" being relentlessly pushed and reported on until it was forgotten about and replaced with something else in the news.

[sidxfletcher]

. ✧ . * . ⌜ penelope mitchell, twenty-four, cisfemale, she/her / nightmare by halsey + chipped nail polish on nails bitten to the quick, black eyeliner and a smokey eye made from yesterday's makeup, and therapy in the form of tattoos and cigarettes ⌟ hey, have you met CASSIDY 'SID' FLETCHER yet? the HALFBLOOD (werewolf) is a SIXTH YEAR at hogwarts and are a GRYFFINDOR. i heard they transferred from BEAUXBATONS ACADEMY OF MAGIC about THREE YEARS ago. makes sense given they tend to be a bit REALISTIC and SARCASTIC. it seems the death of the boy who lived has placed them on the UNDECIDED side of the looming war. let’s just hope they make it out alive.

&. BASICS 

Full Name: cassidy 'sid' fletcher 

Nicknames: sid mostly, cas or cassie would be reserved for family or a best friend, or those that knew her when she was a kid 

Age: 24 

Sexuality: lesbian

Date of Birth: june 3rd 

Place of Birth: rotterdam, netherlands 

Gender & Species: cisfemale, halfblood werewolf 

Current Location: swansea, wales  

&. MORE BASIC INFO

Languages: english and dutch 

Education: sixth year gryffindor

Drinks, Smokes, & Drugs: drinks and smokes 

&. PERSONALITY

Zodiac Sign: gemini

Likes: being alone, DADA class, charms class, the color black, combat boot and converses, hoodies, choker necklaces, animals, tattoos, painting/art, music, a little bit of whiskey in her coffee

Dislikes: crowds, loud people, people who think they're hot shit, bright colors, potions class, divinations class, her mother, her eldest brother, quidditch and whistling.

Bad Habits: smoking, nail biting  

Hobbies: painting, listening to music

Fears: hurting someone on a full moon, open water 

Five Positive Traits: realistic, anticipative, individualistic, protective, loyal

Five Negative Traits: sarcastic, quick-tempered, blunt, gloomy, impulsive  

&. APPEARANCE

Tattoos:  legs: x x arms: x x back: x behind the ear: x

Piercings: x

Pinterest: x

&. FAMILY INFORMATION

Parent Names: brian fletcher (halfblood) and eline fletcher (halfblood)

Sibling Names: two sisters, one older and one younger, and one older brother

Other Relevant Relative:  Uncle: warren fletcher Aunt: lilly fletcher-bakker

&. BIOGRAPHY

born and raised in rotterdam, sid was the third child to brian and eline fletcher. brian. it was just a year later that the fourth and final fletcher joined them. growing up, it was a normal childhood. being a middle child and living in a major port city, sid gained independence quickly. she loved her siblings but she has always been the one to find peace in being alone. because of this she took interest in art and music early into her childhood.

sid has always been closer to her older brother, with them being a year apart, and the middle children, they bonded quickly over being compared to and overshadowed by their eldest sister. as a teen, sid held heavy resentment towards her younger sister as she would get away with a lot, was given everything she wanted, and much unlike sid, could do no wrong.

if you asked her family, sid fell into the wrong crowd. she took up smoking at 16 and as soon as she could start getting tattoos, she was in the parlor almost once every other month. she loved her friends, they were a muggle group and because of that she felt she had no pressure around them. they understood her. it was hard on sid when she ended up having to leave them, spend more time away from them, when she started at beauxbatons.

it was in her second year of her schooling when she was taking a midnight walk and enjoying the sit of the full moon that she was attacked by a werewolf. this attack left her with a scars that runs down her right thigh, and left her in the care of healers for months. it also started her journey with lycanthropy.

her attack and hospitalization caused a riff in her family, her father stayed with her the entire time, with every step he was there, but her mother broke. not only was seeing her daughter like that too much for her, but the idea of having a werewolf as a daughter repulsed her. the year following the attack as hard, not only did sid have to learn how to adjust to this new life but she had to watch her parents go through a divorce.

sid's father took her, and her older brother, to wales and they settled down swansea and immediately enrolled at hogwarts.

at hogwarts, sid keeps to herself. she's not only afraid of how people will react when they find out but also afraid that if she gets super close or attached to someone, that she could hurt them someday and that would destroy her.

(more to come.)

&. WANTED CONNECTIONS

knows she's a werewolf (1/2) - this could be someone who is a confidant that she told, someone she's close too OR someone who found out and is using it against her.

crush

one night stand

ex

best friend

enemies to friends

former lovers to friends

drunk friends, aka two people who do not spend time together sober but get along only when drunk

art or music lover connection

someone who knew her back when she was at beauxbatons

love / hate

flirtationship

situationship

unrequited crush

former friends

[geminijosie-blog1]

                             POSIE RELATIONSHIP FACTS

Josie and Penelope dated for 2 years before Penelope broke up with her.

It’s been several years since then and Josie has dated a few people

The relationships usually only last maybe a month, two on one occasion

She’s been in love again about two more times

After every break up Josie has begun hooking up with Penelope again up until she begins dating someone again.

This is a cycle that’s been happening for a few years now.

@croptopxsatan

[sequinsmile-x]

I Know the End - The End is Here

She wishes they’d met earlier, that they’d had more time. Meeting him here, at the end, was cruel even by the universes standards.

A Hotchniss on the run AU, told in 3 parts

Part 3/3

Series Master List

Words: 2k

Warnings: Major character death, canon typical violence, references to trauma/PTSD, criminal activity

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

He sighs as he watches the final flames die out, the smell of smoke and burning permeating the air, catching in the back of his throat. 

The building was derelict, an old warehouse in the middle of nowhere. A place that had once been the workplace of hundreds of people was now a shell, all but burnt to the ground. 

“Agent Morgan?” 

Derek turns, fixing a polite smile on his face as he greets the local fire chief, reaching out and shaking his hand. 

“Cheif Johnson,” he says, casting a look back at the warehouse, “what are your findings?” 

“The fire does seem to have been started on purpose, but it spread much faster than anyone could have predicted,” he sighs, looking at the building himself, “whoever was is unlikely to have been able to escape, even if it was just lit as a decoy like you and your team suggested.” 

“Have you found the bodies yet?” 

Chief Johnson shakes his head, “Not yet, but my men will let you know when they do.” 

“Thank you,” Derek says, waiting until the other man is no longer looking at him before his smile slips off of his face, sighing as he looks back at the warehouse. “Damn it Hotch.” 

___

Three Months Earlier 

“Are you sure it was him?” 

Derek groans as he clenches his fists at his sides, his eyes stern as they meet Spencer’s. 

“Positive,” he chokes out, “he looked at me, he hesitated. It was Hotch.”

“And you said he was with a woman?” JJ asks, her eyebrows furrowing as she leans back in her chair, looking around the conference room at the rest of the team.

“Yes, I have no idea who she was though,” Derek replies, sitting down at the roundtable. 

“I do,” Penelope says as she walks in, plugging her laptop in so it connects to the large screen in the room, a picture of a brunette woman appears on the screen, “Her name is Emily Prentiss.” 

“How did you find this?” Dave asks, his expression somber. 

“I tracked the CCTV,” she explains, “once Morgan said he saw Hotch I followed them until I found a decent image, then I put her picture through the database.” 

“Would she have any idea what he’s done? Is there a chance she’s in danger?” Derek asks, and he turns sharply to look at Dave when he laughs. 

“Danger? Come on Morgan, this is Hotch we’re talking about.”

“He killed a man.”

“Yeah, who killed his son and ex-wife,” Dave replies, any further comment cut off by Penelope. 

“She’s not in danger,”  she says, stopping the familiar argument from going any further, “her file is heavily redacted, with a bit more time I’ll be able to break through, but what I do know is not only is she drop dead gorgeous, but she’s an ex-Interpol agent presumed dead, her car was found burnt beyond recognition. She killed her target without getting the order.” 

Derek sighs, falling into silence before he looks back at the technical analyst. “Now we’ve seen them, can we continue to track them using your programmes?” 

Penelope clears her throat, hesitating before she answers. “Yes, but-”

“Then do it, we need to find them.” 

“Morgan,” Dave says, sighing, “Do we really need to do this? We found him by chance, no one knows she’s alive. We could just leave them to it.” 

“He killed a man,” Derek repeats, holding his hand up to stop any further protests, “regardless of his reasoning, that is what happened and then he ran. We need to find him, it’s the right thing to do,” he looks at the screen, the photos of Aaron and Emily next to each other, “that’s what he taught us.” 

___

She’s packing furiously, the few belongings they had thrown haphazardly into their bags. He watches as the tension rolls off of her, her shoulders tight with it.

“Em-”

“We’ve got to get going, Aaron,” she says, cutting over him as she continues to throw things into their bags, “You said yourself they’ll find us.”

He sighs, reaching out for her, his hands on his shoulders as he turns her around, pulling her into a hug she immediately melts into. 

Aaron often wondered how long she’d been like this. Strong, fiercely independent almost to a fault. He thought it must have been longer than she had been on the run. She’d told him about her childhood, how she’d always felt alone. Their secrets spilling out to each other in cheap motel rooms across the country, trying to take in as much of each other as possible. 

Despite his best efforts he had fallen in love with her. She made him feel like he had during the early years of his relationship with Haley, something he was sure he wouldn’t ever be able to replicate. 

“They aren’t going to in the next five minutes,” he says, guiding her to sit down, gathering her into his side, “you can take a minute to breathe.” 

She leans her head on his shoulder, “Are you sure they just won’t leave it be, just…let us go?” 

He wishes he could console her, that he had less confidence in the people he would have once called his family. But he knew them, he’d trained them. They knew how he valued honesty, the morals he used to structure his life around spreading to all of them as they worked together. 

There was an irony, he thought, to the fact he had created his own downfall. 

“They are very good at what they do. They know me, they’ll find us again.”

She smiles sadly at him, her hand reaching out for his, linking their fingers together to comfort herself as much as she wanted to comfort him. 

“You have a lot of faith in them.” 

“Yeah,” he chuckles dryly, shaking his head, “they used to work for me.” 

Her lips curl upwards even further, a spark of mischief setting off in her eyes. “You have a lot of faith in your ability as a team leader.” 

Aaron narrows his eyes playfully at her, “I was very good at what I did,” he replies, tugging her even closer to him, “I would have even been able to keep you in line.” 

She laughs and wraps her arms around his neck, kissing him quickly, “I don’t think there is a universe where you could ever dream of keeping me in line Agent Hotchner.” 

Their laughter fades, the air around them becoming thick again. “So what do we do now?” He asks, his thumb running back and forth over her wrist. 

“We carry on running until we have nowhere else to run,” she answers, flashing him what she hopes is a reassuring smile.

She knows she’s failed when he tries to do the same before he leans in and kisses her desperately, putting everything they cannot, and would not, say into it. 

___

The days pass by quickly, a sense of inevitably in the air. She hates it, that the closest thing that had found to peace was gone, shattered as quickly as they had created it.

She knows she could leave him, he suggested it at least once a day, but she can’t. Can’t return to the lonely life she had been living before him. She can’t leave him to be caught, knowing it would happen without her. 

The end was coming, lingering on the horizon for them like a ghost. A dawn they never wanted to see. 

“What are you thinking about?” He asks, his hand running up and down her bare spine. She was all but laying on top of him, wanting to soak in as much of him as she could. 

She raises her head, resting her chin on his chest so she could look up at him.  “I think…I think I might be in love with you,” she says, her voice wavering. And despite everything they’ve told each other, the things they’d admitted they’d done, this feels like the biggest divulgence of all. The words are heavy in the air. “And I can’t,” she chokes out, “we can’t. This…I know the way this ends,” she says bitterly, shaking her head at herself as she wipes a tear from her cheek, “and it’s not with us happy and together somewhere.” 

She finally looks up at him, not sure what she’d find. The adoration in his eyes surprises her, and makes her breath catch in her chest. It makes it worse, she thinks, that he clearly feels the same way too. 

“I think I’m in love with you too,” he says, pulling her in for a kiss, “I like to think, in another life, where we made different choices, where less horrible things happened to us, we might have had a chance.” 

She chuckles dryly, biting her lower lip to stop herself from crying. “I like to think that too.” 

She kisses him, and as he rolls them over, pressing her into the motel mattress, she lets herself get lost in it. She imagines a life for them where they could have this forever. 

___

It’s Aaron who spots the SUVs, the familiarity of them making his heart drop into his stomach. He rushes into the gas station where she was buying snacks for them, having been waiting outside for her. 

He finds her in the candy aisle, something that would usually make him smile. “Em-”

“Do you want M&M’s or peanut butter cups? Or…” she turns to look at him, her smile slipping off her face when she sees the tension in his. “Aaron?”

“They are here,” he says, nodding over his shoulder, and she looks outside to see the lineup of SUVs, people she doesn’t recognise but knows he does interviewing people on the opposite side of the street. 

“Shit.” She says, pulling at his arm to move him out of the way of the window. “We need to do something, distract them so we can get out of town.” 

She looks around the gas station, there’s a desperation to her gaze that has him grabbing her hand, linking their fingers together as he squeezes. He wants to remember how it feels to have her hand in his in case this was really the end of it all. 

“I have an idea,” she says, her head tilting towards the gas canisters, “but I don’t think you’re going to like it.” 

___

They slip past the team, something he knows he would never have been able to do without her, her past as a spy coming in handy for what feels like one last time.

The warehouse she drove them to is abandoned, an old factory where clothes were once made, somewhere that used to be the almost derelict town’s main place of work. 

“Are you sure about this?” He asks, watching as she pours gasoline on the ground, the smell burning the back of his throat. She looks up at him, blowing out a steady breath as she drops the empty canister on the ground.

“No,” she chokes out, “Not at all,” she reaches for him, her fingers idly fixing the collar of his polo shirt, “but I’ve disappeared before, I can do it again.” 

Aaron hears sirens, in the distance, slowly getting louder as the people chasing them make their final approach. It strikes him as odd, and a small part of him wonders if it was the team sending him a warning, giving him one final chance. He watches as she gets out the book of matches she’d taken from the motel when they checked out, removing one of them from the packet. 

“Em-”

He says it so softly, it makes her choke on a noise she is sure was once meant to be a laugh. She knows what he wants to say, it’s written all over his face. 

“Don’t,” she says, cutting him off, her hand drifting to his neck, her thumb at his jawline, “don’t say it,” her smile shakes despite her attempts to stop it, “I know,” she says, her voice wavering, “me too.” 

He smiles down at her and nods, his hand at her cheek, his thumb tracing her lower lip. 

“You ready?” He asks, his voice soft. Almost too gentle for the moment they found themselves in. She smiles up at him, pressing a kiss to his thumb. 

“Yes.” 

She lights the match.

-x-

Let me know what you think! <3

-x-

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[faiseuse-d-histoires]

Eloise for some Penelope stans is meant to be the good friend that is flawed enough so that Penelope appears better. Either she does everything for Penelope without even questioning anything, or she has to be guided back to the "shelter" of Pen's friendship. Or she is irredeemable because how dare she criticizes Penelope for her actions? How dare she even for a little bit threaten Penelope's possible happy ending?

It's like pointing fingers at the tiny smoke, when there is a whole fire elsewhere.

It is not Eloise's fault that Penelope hides who she is. She never forced Penelope to hide, never forced Penelope to lie. The same, it is not because of the wronged spouse that the other cheats. Here, I see often similar reasonings: "she should have paid attention, she should have made more efforts, she should have known...". No, it is the cheater's fault, and they have to admit that guilt and own it, try to make the situation better. There may be reasons for the cheating, and the situation may not be as clearly cut (though cheating even then is still wrong), but the worst is when the one cheating doesn't own up to the bad things they do, and the fault has to be held by their victims. It is when instead of admitting she knows she hurt Daphne, Eloise, Colin, Marina and so many, Penelope instead says Eloise is just angry because she is envious that Pen "did something great", which is just a mean to dismiss Eloise's feelings as mere pettiness, when it's absolutely not the case. It's a mean to dismiss how problematic what she does is.

It is not Eloise that should have seen indeed. It is Penelope who should have been honest and not misleading to the one she said was her best friend.

But then being honest and not misleading would not earn her any money, and it is difficult to appear as a nice girl when in your writing you unironically thrives on scandals.

Everyone should work to be better for their happy ending. Penelope should not be the exception. She is not owed an easy way out, no character is.

I'm too autistic for all this Eloise criticism of "she's so absorbed how did she not realise Penelope blah blah blah*"

*Insert anything about Penelope that she kept hidden, latest one being someone saying Eloise should have noticed Pen was in love with Colin.

Everyone claims to be against ablism but you sure are happy to blame someone not noticing things that their friend was ACTIVELY HIDING FROM THEM.

Self-absorbed, ignorant, bad friend etc. etc. etc. How about people actually learn to communicate their thoughts and feeling directly if they wish the other person to be aware of them, and accept that if they don't want that and the other person doesn't decode them, it doesn't make them a bad person.

[shemarmooresfedora]

Rebuilding Family

Summary: Y/N and Spencer were college sweethearts at Cal-Tech but once Spencer got accepted to the FBI Academy, he ended things deciding it was not fair to make Y/N wait for him. When they meet again years later, he discovers something unexpected.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem! Reader

A/N: hi!! i know i have been pretty consistent about updating this fic every other day but i’m starting a new job in addition to school so the updates may be a little bit slower. my apologies!!

Masterlist

Chapter 18

Emily was the first to clock it. She whispered to Derek who told Penelope and then it was game over. Everyone knew about the mysterious ring that appeared on Spencer’s finger over Christmas break.

Spencer was in the break room, refilling his coffee mug, when they began to discuss theories.

“You think they got engaged and married in the week we didn’t see him?” Rossi asked.

“If they did, I’m going to kill him for not telling us let alone be there,” Penelope huffed, stomping her high heel.

“But the ring isn’t on his ring finger,” JJ pointed out.

“Maybe the kid doesn’t know,” Derek offered.

“You think a genius doesn’t know which finger a wedding ring goes on?” Hotch asked, amused.

It was clear it was big news because even Hotch and Rossi had come out of their offices when Reid got up from his chair.

Spencer walked back into the bullpen, stopping when he noticed everyone’s eyes on him.

“Do we have a case?” Spencer asked.

“What’s with the ring on your finger, Boy Wonder?” Penelope questioned.

“Oh um that,” Spencer looked down at his hand wrapped around his mug, “Y/N and I have matching ones.”

He thought that cleared everything up so he continued to walk over to his desk. Once he was seated, he looked up to see everyone still staring at him.

“Did you elope?” Emily asked.

“No. This is on my index finger, not my ring finger,” he held up his hand, “The wedding ring is traditionally placed on the ring finger because it was believed that the finger had a vein that connected directly to the heart but that’s actually untrue.”

“So why the rings?” Rossi chimed in.

“I don’t know. I just really love her and I wanted to have something connecting us whenever we’re apart,” Spencer shrugged.

He blushed at the sounds of the team ‘awww’ing and ‘ooh’ing.

“Also I guess since everyone needs to know everything about my personal life, Hotch already knows but I’ll be out next week. Jo, Y/N, and I are going to Disneyworld,” Spencer smiled.

“Oh Henry loved it when we went but you’re going to be dead on your feet at the end of each day,” JJ said.

-

Jo was most excited for Animal Kingdom so that was the park you were starting off with.

You all waited in line for the safari ride. Spencer was adamant about all the germs festering at amusement parks so he had a backpack full of hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, and other essentials. He was carrying Jo on his shoulders and holding your hand.

Once you loaded into the safari vehicle, the tour guide introduced himself and the ride began.

Jo looked at the huge elephants grazing in amazement.

“Elephants live in groups called herds made up of only females. The matriarch is the oldest female in the herd and she is usually in charge,” Spencer whispered to you both.

The tour guide was spewing off facts about the animals as well but I think it was safe to say you and Jo preferred your own personal genius.

Zebras were drinking from the watering hole as you passed by.

“A group of zebras is called a dazzle and their stripes act as a way to cool themselves as well as avoid bug bites,” Spencer stated.

Next was the Expedition Everest roller coaster. Jo barely made the height requirement, cheering when the ride operator gave her the all clear after bringing out the measuring stick.

Immediately after finishing the ride, Jo demanded you ride it again. She was definitely a thrill seeker, alright.

After you took a lunch break of chicken tenders and fries, Spencer insisted everyone wash their hands twice and reapply sunscreen. It was nice to have someone even more responsible than you.

Then, you caught the Lion King Festival stage show to take a break from walking for a bit. It seemed fitting since one of your first memories as a family is singing along to that movie.

Jo seemed to be enjoying it but you and Spencer were trying your best to not doze off. The show was interesting enough, there were animatronics of the characters and acrobats and dancers but you and Spencer were both just so tired after running around to keep up with Jo all day.

Jo tapped Spencer awake after the show ended and the audience was clearing out.

“Daddy, dinosaurs!” she reminded him.

Your final ride of the day would be the dinosaur ride where it simulates traveling back in time.

The three of you got buckled up in the front row of the ride. It started out peaceful and Jo was watching the animatronic dinosaurs in awe.

However, things quickly went south. The ride was designed to seem like it was going out of control. The flashing lights, fake smoke, and hissing big dinosaurs soon began to overwhelm Jo. She curled up in a ball in between you both.

You were bent over, whispering reassurances into her ear that it was all just pretend and she would be okay. Spencer was stroking her hair and holding her hand.

Jo exited the ride with her face in Spencer’s shoulder.

“Jo, did you know that stegosauruses were herbivores? That means they only eat plants. In fact, the majority of dinosaurs were herbivores,” he softly spoke.

You really hoped this ride hadn’t squashed her love of dinosaurs. Maybe she just prefers to admire them from afar.

-

On the last day of your vacation, you were standing in front of the Disney Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom Park. Jo seemed to have recovered from the dinosaur incident and was sporting her dinosaur converse today.

The fireworks you were waiting for soon began. It was the perfect way to end your last night.

“Woah,” you exclaimed after a particularly pretty firework burst into red streams in the air before fizzling out.

Jo was on your hip and Spencer was behind you with his arms wrapped around you both.

“I love you,” you looked to the side where he was leaning his head against your shoulder.

His side profile and perfect jawline were being illuminated by the colorful flashes of light in the sky.

“I love you too,” he turned to meet your eyes with a grin, kissing you.

-

The whole team was gathered around Penelope’s computer, looking at the email that Spencer had sent out to the entire team.

Subject: Having Fun

We are headed back tonight. JJ was right about being dead on your feet. I have to get my two sleepy girls to the airport somehow. Hope all is well with you guys.

-Spencer Reid

Attachment: 3 Images

The images consisted of a photo of the three of you in front of the Disney Cinderella Castle, Jo high-fiving a person dressed up in a Mickey Mouse costume, and a picture of Jo and you cuddled up on the bed of your hotel room.

“I didn’t even know Reid knew how to attach photos to emails,” Penelope stated out loud.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Reid willingly send an email,” Emily smiled.

In typical Penelope fashion, she printed the photos Spencer had sent and put them into a collage frame and displayed it prominently on his desk for him to find upon his return.

Spencer’s desk had changed drastically over the past few months. A once well-organized desk lacking a personality other than the piles of books now had a random assortment of photos, Jo’s drawings, and sticky notes marking up his calendar for important family events.

[angelhotchner]

Hi, I'm High

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female Reader Style: One Shot Contents: Borderline Smut, Adult Language, Fluff, Drug Use

Request: Reid getting high.

After a bad case, the team decide on a night at Rossi’s with smoke and drink and a particularly truthful Spencer.

Masterlist

Y/N knocked on the door to Rossi’s house, listening to the laughter and chatter from inside as she waited for someone to let her in. She was the last member of the team to arrive, spending extra time in the shower at home to wash her body thoroughly. Her ritual at the end of a bad case was to take a long shower, almost like washing the feelings she’d felt throughout the whole ordeal away, to cleanse herself ready for the next case. She’d explained this idea about five hours ago, on the plane home, when Prentiss had asked how everyone coped after a case like that. Rossi had mentioned his little tactic of some smoke and a drink to settle his mind, which had turned into a plan for a get-together once the plane had landed so that they could all unwind. Y/N was surprised that everyone had agreed - especially JJ and Hotch when they had families waiting for them at home - but she knew that they couldn’t just slip into family mode after the last few days’ events.   The door opened slightly, a red-eyed Spencer appearing behind it. Y/N’s face softened when she saw him, feeling relieved that he seemed more relaxed already. He’d been so highly-strung and tense the whole case, meaning Y/N had her best-friend to worry about, as well as a serial sexual sadist that had quickly evolving into a killing machine that seemed to abandoning his M.O.   “Hi, I’m high,” Spencer mumbled softly as Y/N giggled, walking into the house as Spencer locked the door behind her.   “Hi High, I’m N/N,” she teased, Spencer’s face breaking into an adorable grin when he heard her nickname. It was a nickname he’d given her and only he used regularly. The team had occasionally used it, but it had felt wrong to them. They knew that Agents Reid and L/N’s friendship was on such a different level to their friendships with any other of the team members. It was a regular occurrence that the team would ask L/N if they were concerned about Reid, or ask Reid if they felt worried about L/N.    “She’s here,” Spencer smiled, as Y/N settled into the huge living room where the team were sprawled out. Y/N passed up the smoke, but gladly accepted the glass of rum that Hotch poured for her. The team spent their night taking their minds away from everything, relaxed to the full, chatting and sharing stories with each other. Penelope noticed the silence from the two youngest agents a couple of hours in, and looked over to where they were snuggled up on one of the couches. They’d fallen asleep, Y/N’s head against Spencer’s chest, his arm wrapped around her and his head lulling on top of hers.    “So precious,” she whispered, as the rest of the team followed her gaze.    “At least they’re calm,” JJ smiled, tilting her head at the sight of them. “I’m glad Spence has that bond with her,”    “They’re good for each other,” Derek smiled.     “Do you think they’re more than friends?” Penelope giggled. The team studied them for a minute, taking in how comfortable they looked as they curled up asleep with each other.     “I don’t think so,”     “I think they could be. One day,” Hotch smiled softly to himself, seeing the same body language in Reid that he once had himself, back when he was first seeing Haley.

After another hour, the team were all starting to feel sleep creep in on them, hazily crawling up the stairs to find a room to sleep in. Rossi shook Y/N awake.     “Get yourselves to bed,” He whispered, waiting for Y/N’s reply as nodded groggily, before leaving for his own room.  “High,” she chuckled quietly, nudging Spencer until his eyes flickered open, still dazed. “Come on,”  She managed to coax him up the stairs and into a bedroom, where he crawled into the bed, exhausted and fully clothed. He patted the pillow next to him as his eyes began closing again. Y/N’s lips raised slightly in a smile, but she turned to leave the room, wanting to leave him to sleep. He needed it.   “Are you grabbing snacks for us? I really want snacks.” He suddenly mumbled, one eye open to see Y/N opening the bedroom door.   “I saw a bag of sugar laces downstairs,” Y/N mentioned as she turned around to look at him. Spencer’s other eye slowly opened, and he sat up in the bed.  “I love sugar laces,”   Five minutes later, Y/N was sat in the bed next to him, their shoulders slightly touching and their ankles tangled together as they nibbled on the sugar laces in a comfortable silence. Spencer picked up a long lace, placing the end in his mouth and holding the other end out to Y/N, giggling quietly to himself. Y/N was zoned out, enjoying the sweetness of the snacks, until Spencer’s giggling became so loud to snap her out of it. She looked over to his hand and began giggling with him as she grabbed the end of the lace, holding it between her lips and chewing along towards the end in Spencer’s mouth. It took a good few minutes to close the distance between them, both of them giddily laughing and becoming distracted. Just before Y/N reached his lips, she ground her teeth against the lace, breaking it off and leaning back, still giggling.   “You ruined it,” Spencer whined, still giggling. His face had changed a little though, Y/N noticed it, a little cloud had formed over him.   “What’s wrong?” Y/N dropped her voice a little, care oozing in her tone.   “You ruined the kiss,”    He was still a little giddy and giggling, but it was subsiding as he looked down at his fiddling hands, becoming lost in thoughts. Y/N didn’t know what to say to him, but simply placed her right hand in between his, stilling the fidgeting. He stroked her thumb with his, still lost in thought until he looked up at her. Her eyes were warm, a small pool of concern within them, but they felt like home to him. He couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He knew he shouldn’t have smoked whilst he had Y/N’s lips on his mind earlier, he knew he’d end up saying something that he wasn’t sure that he should, but he couldn’t stop it.   “I love you,” He whispered.   “I know, I love you too,”   “No, I mean. I really love you,”    Y/N wasn’t completely understanding what he meant. Her face hadn’t changed. They said they loved each other all the time. She wasn’t realizing that Spencer really meant it.    “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” He muttered to himself, trying to think of a way to tell her what he really meant. His mind felt too foggy with sleep and drugs to tell her what he thought about every time he looked at her. Every time she fell asleep on the plane, he wanted to lie next to her and bury his face in her shoulder. Every morning when she brought him a cup of his favorite coffee, he wanted to kiss her to say thank you. Every time a strand of her hair broke free from behind her ears, he wanted to run his fingers through it as he brushed it back. He wanted her to be completely his - he was already completely hers. His mind thought back to the times he’d heard her softly singing to herself as she finished her paperwork in the bullpen, only him and Hotch still on the BAU floor. He always waited for her, pretending to be busy. He wished he could just hear her sing softly to him. He’d never quite heard every word or figured out the song, but he loved the softness of the sound. The purest version of her, intimate and a million miles away from the hell they both faced every day in their

jobs.   “Sing me a song,” He mumbled, throwing the empty packet of sugar laces onto the floor and cuddling up into her side, his head resting on her shoulder.   “What?”  “Sing me a song. Like you do when you finish your paperwork late at night,”  “You can hear me?” She asked, twisting her neck to look at him gazing up at her.  “I try to. Sing to me,” He pleaded as she smiled bashfully, settling her head back against the headboard as he followed, still keeping his position on her shoulder. Y/N was silent for a minute, one song in her mind. It was the same song that she sang to herself in the office most nights.   “Wise men say, only fools rush in,” She began, quietly, almost humming, though Spencer could hear every word crystal clear. His eyes widened slightly. Was this a sign?   “But I…can’t help…falling in love with you,”    He lifted his head off her shoulder to look at her face.    “Oh…shall I stay? Would it be a sin?”    He thought he was about to cry. There was something so different about the way she sang now than how she sang in the bullpen. Every word seemed to hit him. Every note slipped under his skin and made him feel a little more alive.    “For I can’t help falling in love with you,”     That’s what he’d meant to say before.     “I’m in love with you,” He declared, his voice delicate but steady, as Y/N’s face turned towards him. He watched the surprise settle in her features, trying to understand how she felt. His mind was still somewhere else, he couldn’t figure it out. That was, until her hand crept up onto his stomach. He watched as her fingers walked up his chest and onto his neck, turning into the warm touch of her palm as she reached his jawline, softly caressing it.    “Do you mean it?” Y/N asked, the question barely coming out as she bit her lip. His heart dropped a little at the expression on her face, the fear of being used and forgotten, the fear of ruining something.   “I meant it every time. I love you,”    He leaned in. His lips brushed against Y/N’s, before her mouth opened and allowed him to show her how much he really did love her. He felt every emotion rush out of him as he pulled her closer, kissing her deeply, savoring the feeling of her hands creating paths in his hair, occasionally pulling sweetly at the longest tufts she tangled her fingers in. She let out a muted moan as he slowly dragged his lips down her chin and towards her neck. The sound was enough to make a low grumble emit from deep inside his chest, his nails digging into her soft skin on her thighs.   “I meant it every time too,” She whispered now that her mouth was free. He pulled away from her neck, a faint whine escaped her as he left her. He looked straight at her and she met his eyes, before she flipped herself on top of him, straddling his hips as she leaned over him. His mind was going haywire, his lust outgrowing the mushy feeling he had in his chest as his breath caught in his throat.   “I love you,” She sighed against his neck, trailing kisses further and further down until she was right where she wanted to be, undoing his pants.