#sorry i heard this from s5 and i can only think of them

[losticaruss]

lockwood, being chased by a ghost: why is it following me? i'm not even an influencer!

lockwood, passing lucy: #run!

[mcytblrconfessions]

Hi, little hater here from earlier. At no point when writing that out did I think it was misogynistic, but like. Yeah it might have been a little bit. Idk if I would care enough to yap about it if it had been just another guy being added. Maybe I am holding her to higher expectations then I would for a male creator.

I was hoping for other female creators to get in, and maybe since she was the final person announced in the 6 we expected I'm salty cause she 'took' the hypothetical slot that other creators I was hoping for for lifesteal. And that's stupid, and looking back I know that that's stupid. And that's not on Kab, that's on Lifesteal for adding 6 guys and 1 girl, and that's on me for bitching about it in a public place.

I've been watching her for a while now, and I really do want her to succeed. I think some of my hesitancy for her in Lifesteal is the sort of lack of commitment to real storybeats that we saw in the final stretch of s5, and Kab deserves to be in better stories. She's at the top of the artform of mcrp, and so far Lifesteal has not been. I want Lifesteal to do better, and maybe Kab can bring some of that to the server, but like unless they can reach that level idk if its the right place for her. I just don't want to see her on a server that refused to meet the energy level she brings to things.

Idk man. I'm not that pressed about it, just between seasons is the time to yap cause theres no streams to watch to focus on instead, by july 7th I'll be hyped to see her there. I'm sorry about that prior ask. I will be paying Kaboodle the unfair hater tax in the form of a gifted twitch sub tonight.

first off, thank you for the apology.

i dont have any real bias for lifesteal or kaboodle. i started watching lifesteal this week and im not familiar with kaboodle at all. and the reason ive stayed away from pvp focused mcrp is because it's so heavily male dominated especially lifesteal, ive been making jokes that there's a secret no girls allowed rule since ive heard abt it.

this fandom has a long history of not treating women well and when a woman is a fan-favorite she's really only allowed to be 1 of 3 things, a fighter, a girl-boss, or ur soggy poor wet little meow meow. its just not fair to creators to be essentialized and treated as support for their male peers. made to fit into men's stories instead of getting recognized and respected for their own. and smps themselves have horrible ratios, my favorite is hermitcraft but 5(4?) out of 27 is less then 20 percent! that's terrible! there's so many wonderful women ccs out there yet so little space is made for them. 2(3? idk squiddo's gender) out of 31 is the ratio for lifesteal 6. i dont need to point out how bad that is.

so to get an ask with "I just don't think that the vibes are going to be right with her there" put me really on edge. it's putting the fault on her, and it's ignoring that there was a group of lifestealers who already agreed that she was a good fit because she's on the smp! she's on the team! the difference between "the vibes arent going to be right with her there" and "they can't reach her level" is huge. but you know lifesteal better then me. if you say they cant match her energy i believe you! but if it's true, her and lifesteal dont work out because she did put her all in and they didnt that is still completely different from the thesis of your original ask

ive turned off the reblogs of the other post but i hope moving forward we can be more critical and careful with how we treat our women creators. there's already so little space for them in creator spaces let's not push them out of community spaces too.

[skoulsons]

“Love is the one thing we’re capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space”

I know I mentioned this in the tags of my last d and c post but I’m talking about it again okok

The Framework!! But listen!! Because it wasn’t Jemma talking to him about Tahiti and saying, “you are Phil Coulson, agent of SHIELD!” It wasn’t Daisy’s hand on his shoulder! It wasn’t even her saying, “please, remember me.”

It was her recounting their relationship. It was the deepest, most bonded parts of them, their psyches, the very marrow of the bones, even the blood they shared. It was her saying, “this world is scary, and nothing makes sense and… you’re the closest thing I have to family. So I just hope that deep down you feel it, too.”

He’s her family!! Just like he called her the same when she was shot and the nurse said to call her family. He stood his ground and said that’s us. He’s the person she went to when things were heavy! When mornings were tough! When emotions were high and bearing them was too much for her! When the weight of the world fell on her shoulders

And, if I’m not mistaken, he didn’t know her name was Daisy, right? I know she went by Skye in the framework, but I don’t recall her ever changing it to Daisy while they were in there? If I’m wrong, correct me, but if I’m right, that adds so much more weight to him calling her Daisy, because he wouldn’t have even known that about her, if up to that point in the FW he’d ever even heard her called by Skye (I need a rewatch I’m sorry)

But past the framework!! Yes, s5 and literally space and time and my favorite quote from 5x11 and Mike’s whole spiel to him in 5x12 and all that. But season 6 (again need a rewatch forgive me) with Sarge!! Not only their being so many qualities of Coulson within him, especially how he spoke, but the particular scene I think later in the season where he has those fading memories

You know, the ones with the silhouettes? The silhouettes that are clearly two different women hugging him? But the women who are completely black, no face, no features? Because as Sarge, he doesn’t know them. They’re not his, but… he knows them. He can feel it. Somehow, he can remember them

And even into season 7. A Chronicom with LMD hardware, programmed by Jemma and created mainly because she missed him. Space and time didn’t necessarily separate him, but memories did. He only knew what Jemma included, and I’m sure she tried her hardest to recall the things Daisy told her about their relationship that she believed she should include. But he again knew her!! Knew about the letter!! Knew her as a daughter!!

[fandomgirlz01]

This Can’t Be The End Pt. 4

Nick Stokes X Reader

Imagine on my fandom Instagram?: No  

Prompt or Request or Requested Prompt?: No

Style of Writing: Series 

Rating: PG-13 ~ For fluff and cuteness, but more adult commentary or even some triggering content.

Edited: Yes

Word count: 5,812

Post Date & Time: August 4th 2024 at 11: 44 PM

Ko-fi

Masterlist

Warnings here

Listen to the story be read out loud here {coming soon}.  

Summary: Based off of S5 Es24 & 25 When Nick gets kidnapped, the reader is forced to fear the worst for her husband as she and the team work the case with hopes of bringing him home safe. 

Y/n’s Pov:

My eyes shoot open and I immediately sit up. I frown when I see where I am, not fully remembering how I got here. Thinking over where I remember being last, I deduce that Warrick must have brought me in here after I fell asleep. 

“Did you hear they thought they found Nick only for it to actually be a dog?” Isadora, one of the other team members, asks as she leans into another from her team. 

“No. What kind of dog was it?” Marcela questions in an interested tone as they keep talking like they don’t know I’m here. 

“It was a Dalmatian. I hear Warrick's going over the box now,” Isadora continues on and I just listen as carefully as I can. 

“Did the dog survive?” Marcela asks and Isadora shakes her head. 

“Awe, that's sad. Poor dog. People are so cruel nowadays,” Marcela croons and Isadora nods. 

“Yeah. Apparently Warrick lost it,” Marcela comments as she takes a sip of her drink and Isadora shrugs. 

“I mean, can you blame him? That’s his team member out there,” Isadora comments back. 

“Yeah, his sexy team mate,” Marcela adds on with a bounce of her eyebrows and I roll my eyes. 

“Marcela, dear. He’s married,” Isadora tells her with a raised eyebrow and small chuckle of amusement. 

“Doesn’t mean I can’t like him from afar,” Marcela comments with a shrug and Isadora laughs. 

“I’m pretty sure it means that you can’t, but what about Warrick? He’s pretty hot too,” Isadora asks and Marcela waves her off. 

“He's married too, remember? Not to mention he’s got a temper. Guys with tempers aren’t always good to have around,” Marcela explains and I roll my eyes again. 

Finally I can’t take it anymore, not wanting to hear people gossip about how hot my husband or brother figure is when Nick’s out there somewhere, fighting to come home to me. I push myself up off the couch and hear gasps, making me turn to look at the two women before me. They each give me sorrowful yet horrified looks. 

“Oh my gosh. Y/n, we are so sorry. We didn’t know you were there,” Isadora apologizes and I shrug ‘as if that makes it better that you were just gossiping about me… and the people who matter most to me,’ I think as I hold back a roll of my eyes. 

“It’s fine, really. Uhh, I’m going to find Warrick. Do you know what lab he’s in?” I ask, starting to fidget as an uncomfortable feeling washes over me. 

“Oh, yeah. I think I heard he’s in lab 345,” Isadora answers me and I nod. 

“Thanks. I’ll, uhh, see you girls around,” I reply as I give them a small wave before turning and leaving in search of Warrick. 

For the millionth time in the last few days I find myself walking down all the many hallways again. I walk past every lab as I look for the one that Warrick supposedly is in. I pass each lab and look at each number of labs before coming to a stop in front of 345. 

When I come to a stop I see Warrick inside working on a big clear plexiglass box. With a sigh, I open the door and walk in as he continues to work. I watch him for a few minutes as he picks a few parts up and inspects them. 

After a few minutes, I walk over to him and hug him from behind. He tenses for a moment before turning around and hugging me back. 

“What’s up, mamas?” he asks and I blink back a few tears. 

“I overheard a few of the others talking about what happened while I was asleep. They told me where you were and I came to find you,” I tell him and he sighs, nodding. 

“I swear I came to tell you after it happened, but you finally looked semi-peaceful. You needed the sleep,” he explains and I nod my understanding. 

“Don’t worry, B, I get it. Really. I do,” I promise him and he lets out a puff of air. 

“Good. I thought you were going to be mad at me,” he comments and I purse my lips. 

“Now doesn’t really feel like the time for anger,” I whisper out and he chuckles. 

“Only you. Y/n. Only you. You get angry once, then never again even when you’re going through something bad,” he replies in astonishment and I shrug. 

“Mind if I keep you company while you finish this up? It’s a lot better than hearing all the gossip about my husband,” I try to playfully joke, but it comes out sounding more half-hearted than anything and he sighs. 

“You want me to go tell em’ what for?” he asks and I pause. 

“As nice as that sounds… I’d rather you be here working on trying to find Nicky,” I reply and he smiles softly as I sit down. 

“In that case, hang out here all you want, mamas,” he agrees and I give him a soft thankful smile before he turns around to get back to work. 

He picks over what seems to be the fan that would supply the air once again before taking it apart. He puts down the tube that was connected to it before picking up his flashlight and looking down the opening of the fan itself. Then he takes the tube off of where it’s connected to the box and looks through the hole that was left from removing it. 

“So I, ahh… heard you lost it out there,” I speak up as he moves around the box. 

“Uhh, yeah. You weren’t supposed to know that…” he tells me as he takes the grate off the other side of the hole. 

“It’s ok, you know? It’s ok you lost it,” I sympathize with him as he continues to look over the area of the box. 

“No. It’s not ok. It took time off from finding Nick. I should’ve kept my head level,” he plays it off and I shake my head. 

“Rick. He’s like family to you just as much as he is family to me. It’s understandable that you'd lose it. I mean, I lost it on you earlier,” I again sympathize with him and he sighs as he continues to work on the box. 

“You didn’t exactly lose it, mamas. You got a little angry, there’s a difference,” he dismisses me again and I roll my eyes. 

“I bit your head off. There really isn’t a difference,” I pointedly tell him as I cross my arms and he nods. 

“Ok. Ok. You win,” he reluctantly agrees as he now grabs a battery and starts using the wires connected to the box, trying to see how they hook up. 

Once he has it hooked up, the light turns on as well as the fan. He looks over it as the meter he has connected to it counts up higher and higher. He picks up the fan and looks at it before looking at the meter. 

“Damn it,” he mutters as he puts the fan down with a sigh. 

“What?” I ask him and he pauses. 

“I think we need to find Catherine,” he says and I jump as he walks over to the phone. 

He stands there with the phone to his ear and he waits for her to answer. When she does, he talks to her for a moment before looking over at me and moving the speaker from his mouth. 

“Catherine wants you to go to the computer lab. Says Grissom needs you,” he tells me and I sigh before standing up. 

“I’m on my way,” I tell him as I pass him and he goes back to talking to her. 

Third Person Pov:

Gil, Archie and Sarah sit in the computer lab watching Nick, who now pulls out a recorder and holds it up to mouth to talk into it. Gil, who knows how to read lips, now decides to read Nick’s as he talks. 

“My name is Nick Stokes. If anyone… finds this tape, turn it in to the Las Vegas… PD. There should be a reward…” he starts and Gil watches with sad eyes as he sits up a bit more. 

“Mom. Sisko… y/n….” Gil reads Nick’s lips and decides to start writing what Nick is saying. 

“Hey Sara, would you call Catherine and have her send y/n here?” he asks her as he keeps his eyes focused on what Nick is saying.  

“Yeah. Ok,” Sara agrees as she picks up the phone and calls Catherine. 

“…well, this is a lousy way to say goodbye, but it’s all I got,” Nick continues on and Grissom keeps his eyes trained on the screen as he writes. 

“I love you. You raised me right… and I’m going to miss you,” Nick says into the recorder, getting choked up with every word. 

“Y/n. I’m so sorry I can’t be with you, sweetheart, and our future child. I love you most and I’ll miss you the most too. P… promise me you’ll go on that trip I promised you, even if I’m not there to take it with you. Promise me you’ll find someone to look after you…” Nick goes on saying his goodbyes, only getting more choked up and stuttering every few minutes. 

As he goes on, Grissom’s eyes widen at the mention of a child, but he quickly plays it off.

“As for the rest of you guys. I know you did the best you could to find me and get me home to my beautiful wife,” he continues on as Grissom continues to read his lips. 

“Grissom…” he starts and that’s when Grissom stops writing it down, focusing on what he’s saying to him. 

“No, you never did, Nick,” Grissom sighs as he replies to Nick out loud. 

He continues to watch as Nick cries, but soon he starts to freak out. Grissom watches carefully as confusion washes over him. 

“He’s going into convolutions. He’s losing it!” Sara comments just as y/n walks in. 

Y/n walks over to Grissom, who spares her a quick look before watching alongside her as Nick seems to be thrashing around. Y/n lets out a breath as she closes her eyes, not being able to watch it anymore. 

“What’s going on?!” Sara voices her exact thoughts as they continue to watch. 

“Wha…?” Grissom goes to ask, but pauses when he sees it. 

“Wait a minute…” he says in realization as he picks up his mouse to zoom in on Nick. 

“Ants…” Grissom confirms what he zooms in on, making y/n open her eyes. 

“My God, he’s being eaten alive,” Grissom observes as they all watch the ants in the box with him. 

Together they all watch in sadness as he withers around, just trying anything to get the ants away and not succeeding. He pulls a glove out of his pocket and uses it to stuff up his nose. 

“That’s it, Nicky… stay still… they won’t bite. As much,” Grissom proudly says before looking up at y/n. 

“I have something for you,” he tells the girl and she arches an eyebrow. 

He folds up the paper and hands it to her, making more confusion wash over her. He smiles softly and reassuringly at her. 

“These ants could help us find him, but in the meantime, I think you should hear what he had to say to you,” Grissom tells her as he sets a reassuring hand on her shoulder. 

“T…Thanks,” she whispers out as she takes the paper before turning to leave and head back to Warrick. 

“Oh and y/n. Congratulations,” he replies, making her turn around and look at him. 

He gives her a small knowing smile and she can’t help but to just smile back. She gives him a small ‘thank you,’ in response with a nod before fully turning and walking back to where she’d left Warrick. 

Y/n’s Pov: 

I start back to the lab Warrick is in before making a split second decision to go into the locker room instead. I quickly look around just to make sure I’m alone and when I find that I am I sigh as I take a seat on the bench. I hold the paper Grissom gave me and I go to open it, but pause. 

I take a deep breath before trying to open it again, but again I fail. Tears of frustration make their way to my face and I sigh as I try to hold them back. With one last puff of air, I open the paper to read over it. 

“My name is Nick Stokes. If anyone… finds this tape, turn it in to the Las Vegas… PD. There should be a reward…” is the first line I read and a gasp leaves my lips.

“Mom. Sisko… y/n….” Is the next line and a tear falls as I suck in a breath. 

I quickly close the paper for a moment as more and more tears build up. I take a moment to let my tears fall before reopening the paper and continuing on with sniffles. 

“…well, this is a lousy way to say goodbye, but it’s all I got,” I read and a choked sound leaves my throat as I put my other hand over my mouth. 

“I love you. You raised me right… and I’m going to miss you,” more tears fall as my lip starts to tremble and I take another pause before starting to read again. 

“Y/n. I’m so sorry I can’t be with you, sweetheart, and our future child. I love you most and I’ll miss you the most too. P… promise me you’ll go on that trip I promised you even if I’m not there to take it with you. Promise me you’ll find someone to look after you…” by the end I’m fully sobbing as I hold the paper close to my chest. 

I sit there for a good few minutes before sobering up and wiping at my face. I sigh softly before getting up from the bench and standing in front of my locker. I pause a moment as I look at Nick’s locker that Grissom so nicely assigned right next to mine on our first day.

I quickly shake my head and bite my lip before opening my locker. I set the note lightly on the shelf and stand frozen for a moment before closing it. With a very heavy breath, I open Nick’s locker. 

It’s then I let out another very harsh breath when I see the sonogram he has tucked under his jeans:

I read the top where Nick had nicely written out: baby Stokes 9 weeks with a small smiley face. I quickly slide it back under and close the locker. With another heavy sigh, I walk over to the sink and wash my face with cold water. 

“He’ll be home. He will be,” I whisper down to my stomach before standing straight again. 

I look myself over and sigh once more before walking out of the locker room. I walk back to where I had left Warrick and find Greg, Catherine, and Hodges in the room with him. 

“This has got to be a prototype. It was probably built to test how long he could keep somebody alive inside,” Catherine observes out loud as she walks around the box with her flashlight. 

“Hi, mamas. You doing ok?” Warrick asks me when he sees me come up next to him. 

I keep quiet with my arms wrapping themselves around my stomach and I shake my head. Warrick finally catches sight of my eyes and sighs before pulling me into his side. 

“Now, what are those?” Hodges questions as he bends down and points to something underneath the box, making Greg, who’s under it, pause to look at him. 

“I don’t know,” Greg replies and Hodges seems to understand that it was a stupid question as he stands up. 

“All right,” Warrick speaks up, getting all of our attention as he straightens up a bit, keeping me in a side hug. 

“Based on this battery and what’s running off of it,” Warrick starts to explain, but pauses for a moment as if thinking over how to explain it better while glancing at me as he hesitates. 

“And the fact that we kept the damn light on for as long as we did,” he continues to explain, pausing again as he takes in a big breath. 

“I figure Nick’s got another 90 minutes left in there,” he concludes and I take in a harsh breath as reality slowly starts to set in even more. 

It goes quiet for a moment, but Warrick lifts his arm with his watch and pulls it up past my face to set it with the hand he has around my neck still. He pulls it away and I see the watch says 1:30 on it. 

“So this is it… I’m going to lose my husband…” I whisper out before sinking to the floor, but Warrick quickly grabs hold of me, slowing me down so I don’t hurt myself. 

“No, no. We’re going to find him, mamas. I promised. When do I not keep my promises?” Warrick asks, but I don’t reply as I shake my head in denial and a million thoughts fly through my head. 

“Y/n. Hey. Y/n. It’s going to be okay!” Catherine shouts a bit and it’s only then I realize I’m having a panic attack. 

“Damn, she’s having a panic attack. Greg, go get some water, Hodges, go inform Grissom,” Catherine commands before she bends down in front of me. 

Both Greg and Hodges nod, eyes wide with worry before rushing out. Warrick now sits with my back against his side as I try to breathe. 

“Ok. Y/n. Honey, breath with me,” she commands me softly as she shows me how to breathe. 

“Ok. In… and out… just like that,” she couches me and my breath starts to slow down, but still not where it should be. 

“Ok. I’m going to have you do the five senses, ok?” she asks me softly and I nod at her. 

“Ok. What do you feel?” she questions and she holds up her hand for me. 

“I… I… I feel your hand a…a..and Warrick behind m…m…me,” I stutter out and she nods with a small smile. 

“Good. Good. Now what do you see?” she asks and I look around. 

“I see that evil b…b…box,” I tell her and she nods. 

“Ok… bad place to ask that. Let’s just move on. What do you hear?” she asks and I shake my head, closing my eyes. 

“I h…hear you and Warrick,” I tell her and she nods encouragingly when I reopen my eyes. 

“Ok. Now taste,” she inquires and my eyebrows knit together. 

“Umm, nothing. I haven’t eaten anything for a while,” I tell her in confusion and she just smiles at me. 

“Panic attack averted. Here, drink this,” she comments as she holds a water out to me and it’s only then I realize Greg had come back. 

“Thank you guys,” I tell them and they all smile softly at me. 

“Anytime y-” Catherine starts, but she gets cut off when Hodges comes rushing back in. 

Nick’s Pov:

♪ It was Christmas in Las Vegas, 

when the locals take the town ♪

♪ Theresa hit a streak And laid her waitress apron down She’d been playing penny poker over at the old gold spike she’s won at Texas hold ‘em So she switched to let it ride ♪

I sing softly to myself to try and keep calm. Thinking of the lyrics rather than the situation I’m in and how much y/n must be scared. 

The singing doesn’t get my mind off of things for long and soon I find myself thinking of just getting home again. I think about just wanting to sit and watch a movie from the red box with y/n again. I’m soon pulled from my thoughts though when there’s a shifting sound. 

I grab another one of the glow sticks and pop it, making it come to life as the creaking noise gets louder. 

“Hey! I’m, in here!” I yell out as I hit the plexiglass in hopes that I’m being saved. 

“Hey!” I continue to yell, my voice cracking as I keep hitting the plexiglass. 

♪ It was Christmas in Las Vegas, 

when the locals take the town ♪

♪ Theresa hit a streak And laid her waitress apron down… ♪

I start to sing as loudly as I can again, but my breath slowly fails and my head falls back down as I realize nobody’s here. It’s only a few minutes later when a loud crack sound starts and I see the plexiglass start to crack slowly up the sides of the box. I keep the glow stick low as I breathe hard while watching it crack more and more. 

“Stop… no, no,” I whisper out as I put my hand up to the plexiglass. 

“Oh, my God,” I whisper out in fear the more it cracks with no signs of stopping. Soon dirt starts to break those and my feet are under a mountain of it.

Third Person Pov: 

Once the ant crawls farther into view Grissom hits the print button and as soon as the picture of the screen prints he’s ripping it off the printer. Gil quickly rushes to his office and looks through all the books he has. Soon he’s pulling one from the shelf and flips through it till it lands on the page he’s looking for. 

He pauses when he thinks he’s found it before picking up the screen shot to look at the ant again. 

“Solenopsis invicta,” Grissom says out loud to himself as he confirms what kind of ant it is. 

Y/n’s Pov: 

“Grissom’s got something. He wants us all in evidence meeting room 4 now,” he rushes out as he stands against the door frame, panting for air. 

“We’re on our way. Warrick, you got her?” Catherine asks as she looks behind me. 

“Yeah. Yeah. Go. We’ll meet you guys there,” he promises and she nods before reaching out for me. 

I grab her hand and she gives mine a firm squeeze. She gives a tight lipped smile before getting up and heading out of the lab. Greg bends down and puts a hand on my shoulder. 

“Hang in there, y/n. Nick’s coming home,” he tells me as he squeezes my shoulder before getting up to follow Hodges and Catherine. 

Warrick sits with me for a moment as I continue to just calm down. Once my breathing is fully back to normal, Warrick gets up. 

“Ok. Slowly. Slowly,” Warrick tells me as he helps me up alongside him. 

“Thank you, B…” I say when we’re both standing and I squeeze his forearm as I give him a light smile. 

“Anytime, mamas. You know that,” he tells me as he smiles back at me. 

I sigh and hold a hand to my head as I start to feel a little tired. Warrick chuckles lightly, making me look up at him in confusion. 

“Tired?” he asks me and I huff at his obvious jokeful tone. 

“I’m beat, but I’m not sleeping till Nick’s right next to me,” I answer his question and he smiles, shaking his head. 

“I wouldn’t have guessed or suggested anything else, mamas,” he tells me as he holds his hands up in surrender, making me finally laugh for the first time since all of this happened. 

“Oh please, you so would have,” I comment with a roll of my eyes and he chuckles. 

“Maybe I would have, maybe not. Come on. Let’s go find your husband,” he tells me and I smile up at him as he wraps an arm around my shoulder. 

Together we walk to meet up with everyone else in evidence room 4. They all rush around getting stuff ready and just Warrick and I walk in, Grissom rushes in. Warrick and I stand off to the side as he keeps his arm around me. 

“They’re fire ants, very rare in Nevada. They don’t like our soil. The only places you find them around Vegas are in plant and tree nurseries,” Grissom announces as he walks around the table to where Catherine is sitting at a computer. 

Warrick lets go of me before making me sit in the chair Catherine just abandoned. He starts to look at a stack of papers Catherine just printed and crosses off places not in the search grid. 

“There’s 11 nurseries in the greater Las Vegas area!” Catherine adds on what she found from a quick search. 

“Okay, I’ve got the webcam trace down to here,” Archie speaks next as he circles the area he narrowed it down to on the map and Warrick starts crossing things off his list. 

“And the data from the black box in Walter Gordon’s truck gave us a 23-mile travel radius,” Greg adds on as he too circles his findings on the map, making the circles overlap ever so slightly. 

“Okay, I’ve got two nurseries within the overlap area. Here! And here!” Warrick announces as he walks up to the table and draws two x’s over the spots. 

“Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Kelly Gordon, the daughter, worked with plants,” Sara explains and we all look at her.

“Hold on. Hold on,” Sara says before she rushes out of the room, making us all wait about a minute before she comes running back in with a file in her hand. 

“Hey guys, Nick is here,” she says as she points to the x on the left that Warrick had drawn. 

“Well, pack up everyone, let’s go! I’ll call the owner and talk to him on the way,” Grissom exclaims and I jump up as everyone starts rushing out of the room. 

“Hey. Maybe you should stay here,” Warrick tells me and I immediately shake my head. 

“If you think for one minute that I’m sitting back here while you all go find my husband, you're dead wrong, B,” I reply and he sighs as he pinches the bridge of his nose. 

“Mama, we don’t know what-” he starts but gets cut off. 

“Let her come, Warrick. She’s allowed to,” Grissom interrupts with a soft smile my way. 

“What! But-” Warrick starts, but stops when Grissom just nods at him. 

“Ok… fine. At least wear your vest? Just in case,” Warrick tells me and I nod at him. 

“If it’ll make you feel better for me too, I will. I’ll meet you at your car,” I promise him with a firm nod before rushing off to the locker room. 

Once in the locker room, I come to stop in front of my locker and quickly open it. I grab my vest out before slamming it shut once again. I quickly strap my vest around me before rushing back out of the locker room and down the many, many hallways. 

I rush out into the parking garage and I stop to watch as Grissom and Sara drive past me with their cars' emergency lights on. Once they pass, I run over to Warrick's car and hop into the passenger side. He quickly turns his lights on before pulling out of the parking space. 

Soon before I know it, we’re pulling up on location and I see that almost half our police fleet are here, making relief wash over me as sirens blare all around me. Grissom’s car is just in front of us and I hold on as Warrick takes the turn into the nursery drive. We follow Grissom all the way up the drive and come to a stop next to his car. 

Grissom gets out of his car and I yank my seatbelt off to follow after him. He meets up with the owner at the front of his car just as I come up beside him. 

“You said on the phone you had a fire ant mound. Where is it?” he asks as he and the owner get close to one another. 

“People usually prefer to stay away from it,” the owner comments as he turns and starts to lead us all over to it. We all stop pointing our flashlights at the mound as Grissom stops and looks at it for a moment. 

“All right, look. Fan out. Look for loose soil. Anything that might’ve been dug up recently,” Grissom commands and we all rush off. 

We all fan out like he said, officers all going in different directions. I stick by Warrick as we walk briskly while searching the ground with our lights. Everyone looks for a few minutes, but nothing seems remotely the littlest bit off. 

“Hey! I’m picking up the webcam transmitter!” We hear Catherine yell out and I look at Warrick. 

“She’s got something! Move, move!” An officer yells out and I smile. 

“We found him, B… we really found him,” I excitedly say and Warrick smiles, nodding. 

“Come on, mama. We’re close,” he agrees with a smile as we both pick up and start to jog to where Catherine is. 

Soon we come up behind her and she slows down to look around. We slow down too and help in looking around with our lights. She turns to her left and continues walking until she almost trips over something, making her turn back. 

She turns around and shines her light on what she tripped on, only to find a tube sticking out of the ground. She pauses a moment before turning and walking a little further only to find another tube. Her monitor picks up in its beeping and I look at Warrick as she bends down to the ground. 

She drops her light and the monitor before she starts to dig around frantically with her hands. She finds what seems to be a clear bag of sorts and she rips off her glove, making it fall back to the floor. 

“This is it!! I found it!!” she screams out as she scrambles to pick the bag back up and open it. 

“It’s here! I found it! This is it!” she screams out again as she looks over the remote. 

“Nick!” she shouts into the pipe as everyone else races over to us. 

“Nick… we’re here. We’re all here! Hang on! Nicky!” she shouts into the pipe as officers run over with shovels and Warrick takes one. 

They all start to shovel at the ground and Catherine wraps an arm around me as she holds her flashlight up with the other. We all watch with bated breath as they continue to pull dirt from the earth. 

Nick’s Pov: 

“Nicky!” I think I hear Catherine, but decide it’s just my mind playing tricks on me for the millionth time. 

I feel more and more of the ants biting at me and I groan as my heart starts to pound harder. I close my eyes, but open them when there’s a click sound. It’s then I see Doc Robbins and David looking down at me before he sighs and shakes his head in sorrow. 

“It’s a damn shame they didn’t get to him sooner,” Robbins says as he continues to look down at me. 

“I sure will miss him,” David comments and it’s quiet for a moment. 

“You know, David, I’ve seen fire ant bites in my time, but never anything like this,” Robbins tells David as he lifts my hand to inspect it. 

“Do you think he suffered?” David asks as he cocks his head to the side. 

“Do I think he suffered?” Doc Robbins parrots before pausing. 

“Yes. Definitely,” he finishes and I try to yell, but nothing will come out. 

I close my eyes before opening them again to the sound of laughter. I watch as they still stand over me, laughing. 

“All right, on three,” Robbins says before pausing. 

“Uno…” David starts off. “Dos…” Robbins jumps in. Tres!” They both yell out and all of a sudden Bob Newworth starts to play. 

“All right. Would you care to do the ‘y’ incision?” Robbins asks David and there's an audible shing sound. 

“Well ‘y’ not?” David asks as he takes the meat cleaver that passed over me and all I can do is watch. 

There’s a few audible crack sounds and a lot of slouchy sounds before Doc Robbins is getting out a chainsaw. He puts the chainsaw down before looking back at me. There’s another crack as he rips my ribs from my body only to toss them aside. 

“He won’t be needing this anymore,” he comments as he passes my liver to David. 

“Nice!” he says as he pulls more from my body and my eyebrows knit together in confusion. 

“A lung,” Doc Robbins says as he passes that over me to David as well. 

Then all of a sudden my father stands over me across from Doc Robbins. He clasps his hands and gives a deadpan look.  

“So Doc… how did my son die? Anaphylactic shock?” he asks Doc Robbins, who chuckles. 

“No, no, he didn’t live long enough for that. COD was asphyxiation,” Doc Robbins answers in a very cheerful tone. 

“Oh!” My dad says in almost awe and I just watch on in confusion. 

“When the blood oxygen drops to less than 16% and the CO2 builds up there’s a rapid loss of consciousness. Death within minutes. With no disfiguring physical findings,” Doc Robbins explains in a cheery tone. 

“He’ll look great at the funeral,” my father comments with no hint of sadness in his voice. “Oh. Yes,” Robbins agrees. 

“His mother will appreciate that as well as his wife,” my father comments again and Robbins gives a small “good” In response. 

Robbins then reaches into my open chest and rips my heart out. He holds it up and it sounds like it’s still beating. 

“Your son had a good heart,” Robbins says before slapping it down into my fathers hand. 

Suddenly my eyes fly open and find I’m still in the box with ants still crawling all over me. I let out the smallest puff of air as I fight the feeling of the ants biting me. I close my eyes again and try to think of something, anything more pleasant. My mind wanders and I see an image of me at a counter holding a little girl:

“I love you Daddy,” she whispers into my ear as she lays her head against my shoulder and I lay mine against hers. My eyes fly open once more and more tears fall as my lip trembles my fight to get out renewed. 

To Be Continued…

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[stellarwaffles]

Ooooo you wanna talk about your ocs you wanna talk about them so bad ooooooo

Sorry for taking 381 days to answer ummmmm hi I want to talk about Ari

I don't think I've really posted about Ari on tumblr so I'll include basic info

Ari uses she/it/him pronoun and is a lesbian. She is a lion lava monster + is 6ft tall

Ari Sunfall is the oldest of the Sunfall siblings (Ari, Ziva, Leo, Daniel, Cherry*, Talya, Dasi)

When Ari was 13 her parents had to go be at war they weren't allowed to stay at home + raise their kids anymore so as the oldest Ari had to take care of her siblings

If you've ever heard Surface Pressure from Encanto that's the only song on my Ari playlist

Anyway um when Ari was 16 she got a girlfriend yaaaaaaay they were t4t :3

they dated for an amount of months before Ari's gf broke up w her bc taking care of 5 siblings was clearly stressful for Ari + gf was worried dealing w that and also a relationship was too much for Ari. Ummm she had good intentions but this made Ari put more effort into hiding when she's stressed

When Ari was 18 she had to be in the army </3 fuck Monstrox we all hate that guy

Ari got to see his parents for the first time in 5 years so that was nice

Ari also got a girlfriend while in the army! When Ari was 20 she dated Kirsten. They dated for an amount of months

:3

Kirsten broke up w Ari </3

:3

so um ye when the lava monsters got trapped in the Book of Monsters Ari was also trapped. Bc she's a lava monster

S1 nexo knight Ari is one of the background lava monsters

At some point in s1 the lava monsters attack a town called Kneadton + during the attack Ari gets distracted by the smell of freshly baked bread and goes into the bakery where Feather works

Feather is Rather Frightened and as a panic response. Acts friendly + normal as if Ari was a regular customer instead of part of the army attacking the town

Ari is thown off by Feather acting friendly + instead of stealing or destroying anything like she's supposed to he politely pays for a box of cookies

Feather + Ari are friends now. You can't escape being friends with Feather

At the end of s2! When Monstrox is trying to possess Clay or whatever + the knights save him + there's like an explosion or smth + they think Monstrox is dead fr fr. The explosion throws Ari into the rocky wall + she gets a bad injury

But um hey good news the lava monsters all want nothing to do with Monstrox + go build a town so they can chill + just live their lives

Ari takes a while to recover from his injury + has to get used to sometimes relying on others instead of always being the one people can rely on

Ari also has a back brace now. I haven't done enough research to say much about this

Once Ari is doing well enough to get a job she starts working at a bar in Burningham. He works a late shift + so she sleeps in late in the morning

This is around s3 btw + also Ari is 23

At some point Eva is adventuring around, as one does, and accidentally finds Burningham. She wanders around town perceiving + goes into the bar + this is how she meets Ari!! Yay!!

Eva is big gay for Ari. Eva + Ari become friends yay yay friendship

Ari starts getting feelings for Eva but she's in denial about it. They're just friends! Ari totally doesn't wanna kiss Eva or anything!

Teehee time for s5 (Ari is 24/25 now. I'm less sure on the ages here bc s5 + s6 were never made)

So um there's the apocalypse going on. Fun! (It's not fun)

I haven't brained much abt what exactly happens around Burningham during the apocalypse I'll be honest so some of this might change idk. I've mostly just rotated the angst in my mind

Burningham got swarmed by cyberbugs + people had to either try and fight them off or run away

The Sunfalls have safely escaped a bunch of cyberbugs + are in the woods. They're worried about Talya bc none of them have been able to contact it at all, but the rest of them are all safe and accounted for at least

Ari faintly hears something deeper in the woods + goes to investigate. A smart decision, surely. You should always go alone to investigate voices you hear in the woods

Ari finds Eva sitting by a tree calling for help. Eva says she was injured while running from cyberbugs + she needs help just come closer walk forward come just a bit closer please

Something seems off to Ari, and rightfully so bc this is a trap. Eva is infected

A bunch of cyberbugs were hiding around the nearby trees. Eva + the cyberbugs attack Ari and Eva tries to convince Ari to be evil being infected is great actually she's totally not being forced to say this

Ari doesn't want to fight Eva so she's trying to fight defensively. At one point in the fight Ari takes Eva's scythe from her hands and without thinking impales Eva, killing her

Ari stares at Eva's body for a moment, realizing what she just did, before running away (the cyberbugs are still there. They chase after her)

So you know how I mentioned Ari likes Eva but is in denial. Yeah so sometimes you realize things at very inconvenient times. Sometimes you're processing that you just killed the person you're in love with and wait a minute in love? Oh fuck

Ari doesn't really have time to focus on that or on grief bc she's gotta focus on making sure him + its family survive the apocalypse

Daniel gets separated from the rest of the family for a bit which has all of them worried but this isn't about him so don't worry about it

After the apocalypse ends the Sunfalls go back to Burningham + Ziva is sent to pick up Talya from school. Ari finally has time to process the everything + breaks down crying

*shoutout to anyone that remembered I put an asterisk next to Cherry's name! She was not part of the family before this point

Ziva returns w Talya + Cherry, Talya says Cherry is part of their family now. Everyone immediately assumes that means Cherry's parents are dead. Everyone also immediately accepts Cherry into the family. New sibling!

After idk a few days Ari goes back into the woods to get Eva + take her to a mechanic. Ari is worried sick that she did irreparable damage, but is hoping Eva will be fine

Ari is not very good w tech + things of the sort, she doesn't understand all this new tech that's been invented in the past 100 years. Squirebots weren't a thing back when he was growing up, so she doesn't know anything about squirebot anatomy. Ari has no clue if she killed Eva permanently or if Eva can be repaired

Eva is repaired yay yippee yay she doesn't have any permanent damage, her brain's all fine, etc etc

After checking approximately 1 million times that Eva is in fact alright + no longer injured, Ari apologies for killing her + Eva assures Ari it's ok she doesn't even remember it honestly so truely it's chill dw. Everything from when she was infected is kinda foggy, actually. She doesn't remember much of being infected

Anyway moving on Ari also confesses to being in love w Eva yay yippee yay they can kiss now I love when girlfriends

A few weeks after the apocalypse has ended!! Ok so remember Kirsten? There's something I didn't mention. Before she broke up w Ari she got pregnant, but neither of them knew

So as I said a few weeks after the apocalypse ended- Kirsten + her girlfriend (she has a girlfriend btw) go on a date at a bar. Which just so happens to be where Ari works. Wait I forgot to say Kirsten's girlfriend is Ari's first ex

Ye so Kirsten tells Ari she's got something important to tell her but like if it can wait til later that'd be nice bc she's on a date rn. So she gets Ari's phone number + address

Kirsten shows up to the Sunfall house the next day w her + Ari's daughter, Sunny

Ari didn't know what to expect when Kirsten said she had something important to tell her, but she certainly had not been expecting a kid

Sunny is 4 btw Ari was 21 when Sunny was born

Kirsten wants Ari to take full custody of Sunny she didn't want to be a mom she wanted Ari to take care of Sunny from the start, she just didn't know how to contact Ari. Phones were invented after they broke up

Umm I made up Sunny recently so I'm still working on this lore but at some point Eva calls Ari a milf

Misc info!! Yay!!

Ari is a nickname for Arson, the name Arson has been passed down in the family for generations Ari is Arson V (Arson the fifth) (Sunny is also a nickname for Arson, Sunny is Arson VI)

I mentioned this when Eva died but Ari isn't good w phones or tech or anything like that she's kinda a boomer L L L skill issue

Ari spent so much of his life focusing on taking care of her family and being personally responsible for everyone's safety that she never. Got any hobbies (on this topic Ari + Talya have parallels. Talya stole the bad mentality and the lack of hobbies + some other stuff)

At some point Eva gets Ari into hiking! This idea brought to you by the bestie Milkisvibin803

At some point when they're dating, Eva finds out Ari wants to be more feminine but doesn't know what exactly to do about that. So Eva takes her dress shopping to see if maybe that'll help (it does) :)

[dragon-creates]

These Hands Of Yours (Let Me Protect Them)

Read on AO3

For @xhanisai after I reblogged this post and immediately came up with this after the S5 finale. I have many thoughts but the main one was mostly “MARINETTE MY GIRL YOU DESERVE SO MUCH BETTER!” but yeah, I decided to base this after the finale because I feel like it fits with that post that she made. I managed to write this with the help of the caffeine from my tea, my remaining will to live and the neuro-spicy brain juice swirling around in my head. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this Akari!

The image of her tears-stained cheeks, red eyes and running nose was something Adrien didn’t think he was going to get out of his head for quite some time. He had comforted both Marinette and Ladybug many times before for different reasons, but this was the first time he comforted the same person on both sides of the mask.

It had started earlier this evening when they were both on patrol, Ladybug had met up with them at their agreed spot on a rooftop. The first sign he noticed something was wrong was how tense she was. Sure, she had her signature sweet smile and adorable sass, but her grin seemed more strained, and her quips were forced rather than seamlessly rolling off her tongue.

When asking her if she was alright, she brushed it off with a nervous laugh and swung away to start patrol. Chat Noir thought about chasing after her, but decided against it, knowing that if he continued to press on about it, the less willing she would be to tell him what was going on. They met up again twenty minutes later, but this time the sass and smile were gone, replaced with a face clouded with gloom and her posture slouched. He asked again if she was sure she was okay, only to be given a single nod before Ladybug attempted to swing away again; key word, attempted. For when she threw the end of her yoyo and prepared to jump, her clumsiness seemed to strike, and she nearly lost her footing. If it hadn’t been for Chat Noir’s quick reflexes and grabbed her wrist to pull her away, there was a definite chance she would’ve been injured.

He asked her one last time if she was okay and something inside her seemed to snap. Her eyes began to water, and her bottom lip trembled before launching herself into his chest and began to sob, strained cries ripping from her throat. Chat immediately scooped her up into his arms and walked over to a chimney, sitting them both down with her in his lap as he stroked her hair.

“I’m s-sorry, I’m so sorry!” she wailed, her tears leaking onto his leather covered shoulders as she buried her face into his neck.

“Shhh,” he buried his claws into her hair, gently taking out her hair ties and began stroking through the soft dark locks to sooth her, “You don’t need to apologize, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You don’t understand!” she hiccupped, her small hands gripping the back of his suit as her entire body began to shake with more sobs, “I was stupid, I was really stupid this time Chat!”

Another tremor wracked through her body, causing Chat Noir to start purring, hoping that the vibrations would ease the panic threating to bubble to the surface. The purring seemed to be working, for he felt her trying to even out her breathing, though it seemed that she struggled as she would let out a cry once in a while that just shattered his heart every time he heard it. “Whatever it is, we can get through this together like we always do.”

“Not this time Chat!” she whimpered, “It’s just gonna make things worse if I say it. Everyone’s already so happy I can’t say it.”

“Then don’t say it to everyone,” he took one of her hands, his thumb stroking the top as her face peeled away from her shoulder to look at him, “Just say it to me, and let the rest just follow.”

“I…he…he should hate me!” she sniffled.

“Who?”

“Adrien!” her chest began to heave again as her other hand clawed at her face, “He should hate me for what I did!”

“Adrien Agreste?” Chat Noir inquired, starting to put the pieces together, “If this is about what happened to his father, Gabriel made that choice to help save the city. It’s not your fault, he doesn’t hate you for that.”

While true, a part of him was still grieving the loss of his father, he was glad that in those remaining moments his true self came to light for what he would do for his family. With that information in mind, it was something he could live with. However, it seemed that what he said just made his Lady feel worse as ripped her hand that was held in his to claw at her neck as she cried harder.

“No, no, no!” She began to rock back and forth, red marks were starting to contrast against her pale skin on her jaw, making Chat Noir grab her hands into his own large ones so she wouldn’t cause further damage to herself. “He shouldn’t have died; I shouldn’t have let him die! Then the wish wouldn’t-”

She clamped her mouth shut, praying that Chat Noir didn’t hear that last part. Unfortunately, his enhanced hearing was able to catch those last few words, the boy turning to her slowly. “What do you mean about the wish?” his tone was slow and steady.

“I-I didn’t…that wasn’t what I…t-that’s not what I meant to say-”

“-Ladybug,” she nearly jumped at the sound of his voice, the intensity making her nerves twist again, “What do you mean about the wish?”

He didn’t look or seem angry, but she knew that this was a conversation that he wasn’t going to change. Trying to compose herself as much as she could, she began to explain.

“He-he tricked me,” her own voice seemed to start shaking, “M-Monarch tricked me.” She felt his claws trail up and down her back to try and relieve some of her panic as her stuttering continued. “He tricked me. He tricked me. He tricked me.”

“It’s okay,” he whispered. He thinks he has a bit of an idea now. “Monarch is nothing but evil. He would do anything to get what he wants. Don’t blame yourself for Monarch making Gabriel sacrifice himself, you did all that you could.”

It didn’t seem to make her feel better, her eyes were still wide open and spilling tears as her breathing worsened. She began to shake her head. “Monarch tricked me. Monarch tricked me!” she turned to meet his gaze, “Gabriel was the trick!”

Chat Noir raised a brow in confusion. How was Gabriel the trick? His thoughts were interrupted as Ladybug’s rambles became more frantic.

“Monarch tricked me! Gabriel tricked me. Gabriel tricked me. He tricked me!”

A pit began to form in his stomach. No, no there’s no way. It felt like pieces of a puzzle starting to finally click together. Or to put it more simply, two men – two horrible men – began to mould into one monster. It was only confirmed when Ladybug opened her mouth again.

“Gabriel is…was Monarch,” she gripped his hands as the memory flooded back into her mind, “He started saying these things and I though that maybe, just maybe, there was still some good him. How could I be such an idiot?! To fall for a few nice words and suddenly it’s enough for me to give him Tikki and Plagg!”

Chat wanted to tell her that she wasn’t an idiot, that he understood being manipulated by that man – if you could even call him that at this point – that she did everything that she could in that moment. But at the same time, Monarch was his father! He had spent the last few weeks wondering how he could ever live up to how great his father was in his sacrifice. When in reality, there was no sacrifice, just an act of cowardice and his lady was left to pick up the pieces. He forced himself to repress a disgusted shudder. No wonder she looked like she was about to break down the minute he saw her arrive. 

“How can he look at me like that?!” she asked aloud, the question not being directed to anyone, “Even when I keep lying to him?!”

Chat Noir tucked a loose stray hair behind her ear, “Lying to who? About what?”

“Adrien,” the name alone made his breath hitch, “Every time I see him, he just looks at me as though I handed the world to him by just simply being there, and he doesn’t even know what I’ve been keeping from him!”

Oh, that made sense…wait. Adrien hadn’t seen Ladybug since she gave him his father’s ring. The way she was speaking about him was as if they had seen each other many times before. Did he know her outside of the mask? Could he even be that lucky?

“I don’t know if I can keep doing this,” she continued, “I don’t know if I can handle him looking at me like that whenever we’re at school, or play video games at each other’s houses, I don’t think I can be able to keep it together when he takes me to the little coffee shop down the street that he knows that I adore. He’s done so much for me, cares so much for me and yet I’m doing this to him, and he doesn’t even know what a horrible person I am!”

School…coffee shop…dates…A chill rushes through his veins, realisation seeping in. The girl he was holding in his arms, her hands glued to his in a desperate sign practically begging not to be alone, was someone that he knew far closer to him than any of his friends. Someone who he knew that already had so much on her hands that just got piled on after everything that was said to him. It can’t be.

“I SHOULDN’T BE LADYBUG!”

Was the last thing that tore from Marinette’s throat as her suit disappeared, leaving behind the love of his life in her pyjamas, Tikki nuzzling her cheek to try and calm her as the wave of panic and weeping returned.

He drops everything that was circling in his mind - his father, the wish, his Lady’s identity – and wraps Marinette up in his arms as much as he can, purring and keeping her as warm as he can with his body heat. Her left arm was wrapped round his torso while he kept a hold of her right hand in his own. He takes a look at her ungloved hand, hundreds of little scars leaving their marks on her skin, leaving a mocking reminder of how much she failed that day.

The fact that Monarch…no…the fact that his father was so selfish and vile that he went out of his way to not only emotionally damage, but to go as far as to try to physically damage his Lady just for a wish. Was his own son not enough? Was he that self-centred to ignore his only family left while claiming that he was doing this for his child? How could he use that to justify hurting and manipulating such a sweet and kind person as Marinette?!

“This is my fault,” she whispers, her voice raspy and sounding sore, “This is all my fault. He should hate me, I’m a terrible person and a terrible Ladybug.”

“No,” Chat Noir shook his head, a slight growl escaping with the word.

“I’m really sorry,” she whimpered, “I should’ve told you; you have every right to be angry with me, you’re my partner, you deserve to know.”

Did she…did she think his anger was directed at her? “Oh Mari,” he pressed his lips to her hair, “I have no reason to be angry with you. Never, ever blame yourself for the cruelty of others. You don’t need to apologise for any of Gabriel’s actions.”

He takes her other hand and clasps them in his again, making sure that her attention was focused on him and only him. “Since the moment I met you, you’ve been pressured to put the weight of Paris on your shoulders. From our friends to the other civilians, even yourself, it might not have been said out loud, but you definitely felt them giving you that responsibility. You are so strong; I’ve seen the remarkable things that you have accomplished with your hands. How you’ve protected so many people, to figuring out any lucky charm thrown your way, to even fighting the most feral akumas. But it’s also left its impact on you as well, and eventually, the weight that your hands have carried for so long has started to take effect. It doesn’t make you weak, no, however it is something that you don’t have to do alone. We’re the bug and cat team, we’re meant to share the weight, not take the burden from the other. And know that I know, I’m gonna make sure that you never feel such a weight again, both in and out the suit.”

She tilts her head in confusion before a flash of green made her squint and look away. When she looked back, she gasped, for there in front of her, in his pyjamas and zip-up hoodie, was none other than the boy she swore to protect from all the darkness she held so that he would never be burdened with. “Adrien?”

He pressed a kiss to her hand, “Hi Princess.”

Her eyes filled with tears again, she tried to make sure that Adrien would never find out about this, not at the expense of his happiness and now she managed to screw that up as well.

He was more prepared this time when she let out more apologies, taking off his hoodie, wrapped her up in it and pressed her face to his chest as he tightly embraced her. He purred louder and more even to make sure she was relaxed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Adrien!” she blubbered out as he rocked them back and forth, “I should’ve told you, but you were finally happy! Finally free with your life and I didn’t want to take that from you!”

“It’s alright, shh, it’s gonna be alright,” he let her continue to sob, his main priority at this point was her and taking care of her, “I’m okay, we’re okay, it’s not your fault.”

A few minutes later, her sobs turned to quiet sniffles. He took another look at her face, his stomach twisting when he saw just how exhausted she was, the guilt had really taken an ugly toll on her. Tikki was still cradled in the crook of her neck, having fallen asleep while soothing her holder. He stood up, holding her in his arms as he called out for his transformation phrase and jumped off the rooftop, making his way back to the bakery.

Once he landed on her balcony, he released his transformation again before going through her trapdoor window and gently placing her onto the bed.

He lifted her upper body he raised her duvet and placed her under it, making sure she was wrapped up safe and warm before joining her under her blankets, wrapping her up in his arms again and resumed his purring. Tikki had woken up and moved from Marinette’s neck to her hair, Plagg joining her as he buried himself in her dark locks and he began to purr as well.

Adrien could feel her body struggling to relax, constantly shifting from trying to letting herself by soothed by the warmth and love she was being given to stiffening back up again as though she didn’t feel as though she were allowed to.

His brows furrow in concentration, forming a plan in his head on just how to help his princess within this moment. He looked at their hands again, having conjoined again while in the midst of her much needed cuddles. He raised her dainty pale hand to his lips, gently pressing them against the tips of her fingers, making her look up at him and pausing her internal dilemma.

“I’m not surprised that you’re Ladybug,” he told her, “I mean, I am a bit shocked at the sudden reveal, but it makes so much sense that you’re her. The kindness with how you treat civilians, the creativity when figuring out any lucky charm thrown at you, not taking any nonsense from anyone – all of that comes from Marinette.”

He presses two more kisses to the back of her hand and laid it on her pillow and started stroking her palm in small circles with his thumb, taking notice that she was focused on the lazy motions and the soothing feeling it gave her. “It comes from everything I’ve seen you do outside of the mask,” he continued, “How you treat our friends and students outside of our class to make sure everyone is happy, coming up with ideas for not only your fashion but with baking, drawing and so many other projects, and you refuse to let others be walked over and stand up for those who aren’t able to do it themselves. All that comes from you! And all those amazing things come from your amazing hands.”

She tried to smile; it wavered a little, but she wanted to show how much his words meant to her. She wanted to believe him, she wanted to believe him so badly! So why wouldn’t the final image of Gabriel leave her mind?! Why did it have to keep reminding her of how much she failed.

She curled in on herself, the brainstorm building up again. Luckily, Adrien seemed to take notice. “But those hands have been hurt way before you became Ladybug, haven’t they?” he asked, making her thoughts pause as she peered up at him through her eyelashes.

“Despite saving the city multiple times, its far from the first time your hands have been used in that way,” he brushed his thumb over a faded scar, one that he noticed from the first time he met Marinette. Back during the hat contest, before everything, when he gently brushed his hand against hers to take her winning hat, he saw it on the top of her hand and was curious as to how it got there, but he didn’t want to pry. Now, after knowing all she went through, he had a bit of an idea on how she received it.

“All those years that you had to defend yourself from Chloe’s ruthlessness to the point you were terrified to go to school, and then Lila trying to do the same to you as well. Not to mention, you always tried to take on everyone’s problems, whether if its Kim and Ivan fighting, or Alix trying to pick a fight with someone, you’ve constantly found solutions to the point that they just keep coming back to you for help,” he continued, “They see you as the only way to fix a problem instead of trying to figure it out themselves. I know that you’re afraid of our friends getting akumatised, but you can’t take on everybody else’s burdens if you’re already being dragged down by your own.”

Marinette whimpered, every word he was saying was ringing so true that it hurt to listen to. Adrien sensed her distress and pressed a few more gentle kisses to her cheeks and forehead; he knew she had to hear this, but he knew that there was already going on in that head of hers for her to finally be confronted with both her greatest strength yet biggest flaw.

“And now knowing that you had to defend yourself from my father, both with and without a miraculous,” a bitter taste formed in his mouth as he remembered how Ladybug tried to fight Hawkmoth after Tikki and Plagg took back their miraculous. His father might not have known it was Marinette at that time, but he did know that the person he was fighting at the time was defenceless and vulnerable to the extreme damage he inflicted. “The fact that he would do that to you, that he tried to go out of his way to hurt you and then proceeded to trick you…...I’m so sorry Marinette. I’m sorry that you’ve kept this to yourself just so you could protect me but,” he looked at the scars on her hands again, the ones that Gabriel left there permanently, “No one was there to protect you from what he did.”

“-But you’ve already protected me for so long!” Marinette injected, the sudden volume startling Adrien a little bit, “You’ve already done so much for me, even when I pushed you away you were always by my side even when I didn’t deserve it. Even after keeping this from, you, how could you still want to be my partner…I don’t deserve this.”

He pressed a finger to her lips; she looked up as their eyes locked with one another, anxious blue met a frustrated green, but not at her. “Don’t ever say that again,” he murmured, his voice low and laced with both hurt and concern, “You deserve so much more than you’ve been given. You barely ask for anything, nothing even, and yet no one can even give you that.” He brought her hands to his chest, right above where she could feel his heart drumming softly, “You are so incredible, so talented, so amazing. And it hurts to watch that being stripped away every day, as Marinette and Ladybug. You think that you need to take on so much more than you already do, that you have to feel this horrible, but you don’t! Ladybug wasn’t meant to be on her own and neither was Marinette. You don’t need to do this alone anymore Princess…please, let me in, let me help you, let me share and protect the world that is threatening to fall out of your hold.”

“I-I-I,” her voice broke a little, the weight of his words was hitting harder than she thought it would, giving her a sense of peace and relief that she hadn’t felt in so long. But she knew that she wouldn’t be able to hold onto it forever, something was going to make him realise that she was a terrible partner, and he would finally realise that. “I can’t. I can’t take your happiness away after you fought so hard for it, I can’t let you be dragged down with me. I should’ve been smarter that day, I could’ve found another way – I could’ve! That way you don’t have to be here now to feel burdened by me!”

“I can assure you that never have, or will, burden me with anything,” he let go of her hands and wrapped both of his arms around her smaller form in a silent promise of never letting her go. “I’m here because I want to be. Gabriel has always found a way to trick others for years, he tricked us both when he first thought he was Hawkmoth, he’s managed to talk his way in and out of situations without anyone batting an eye and he has manipulated me for years into thinking that I was wrong about everything. And the fact that all of Paris believes that he’s some kind of hero while you’re suffering in silence after everything he put you through just proves how much of a monster he is. And I feel sick knowing that I believed that too for a while.”

Marinette shuffled in his arms. Ever since she became Ladybug, defeating Hawkmoth was the only goal she knew that she had to complete. She sacrificed everything in order to do that, her hobbies, her love life, even herself to some degree. And yet when the time came, she failed. Part of him just wanted Adrien to scream at her, tell her that she messed up and messed up bad. But seeing him look at her with the utmost love after she thought he would hate her for keeping these secrets and failing to complete the most important task of their lives, even after finding out that Hawkmoth was his father, a part of herself felt as though he were telling the truth about everything he said in that moment.

He let one of his arms fall and clasped her hand again, bringing it to his lips, “You’re not alone anymore Marinette. No matter what the future holds for us, we’re going to go through this together. You didn’t mess up; you didn’t fail, and you deserve to be happy. I’m here now, so please, let me take care of you as you took care of me and everyone else,” he gently pressed his lips to her knuckles as one more promise, “It’s you and me against the world.”

The dams broke once more as Marinette buried her head in his chest, wailing once more as he gripped her tightly with as much protection as he could give her in this moment. He let her cry as much as she needed to, stroking her hair as she got everything else out of her system while whispering and presses comforting kisses to her forehead.

A while passed before her cries turned to whimpers and her whimpers turned into soft, even breathes. Looking down, he saw that she had cried herself to sleep. Judging by the bags under her eyes and how deep she seemed to be in her dreamlike state, this was probably this first time she properly slept since her battle with Hawkmoth.

Her arms were tightly wrapped around him, as though she were begging him to stay – as if he could ever leave her after what happened. With one arm wrapped her waist and the other round the back of her head, he cuddled softly into her, relishing in the soft content noise that left her throat. The kwamis retreated to the other side of the pillows, giving their holders much needed space while close enough in case they needed them.

Before he allowed himself to fall asleep however, internally, Adrien made one more promise to her. I won’t let this happen to you again Marinette, not after this. No matter what, I’ll keep you safe and never let your hands carry that type of weight ever again. Now that I’m free for him, nothing will stop me from protecting you or leaving your side.

Only after making that promise, did he join her in sleep.

(In the morning.

“Plagg, how do you cataclysm a dead person?”

“Adrien I just woke up what the fuck.”)

I am so sorry it took this long! I swear I should’ve gotten it out sooner but it’s here now and I hope you like it! <3

[rorirevolutions]

World Building Pt.4: Actual 'world' building

So obviously we know that most of the towns and cities in the shows don’t really exist. However, some of them have stated specific regions and states where they are set such as Mighty Med taking place in Philadelphia, PA. As for the others such as Swellview I did a little sleuthing to figure out roughly where each of these take place based on little things mentioned in canon and weather patterns.

The Lab Rats home of Mission Creek is another easy one because they at one point it is stated that it’s in California. I’m not stopping there though, personally I believe it takes place in SoCal near Orange County. Which given the climate it would make sense that the Bionic Island is just off the coast in Baja California. This would also mean that Tasha and Leo, assuming they arn’t transplants, would use SoCal slang. However, I don’t believe the trio would necessarily have Cali accents. Maybe Bree would to fit in more, but after living so long detached from society I believe that Adam having only really heard Donald for the longest time would share his accent for the most part and Chase probably dosen’t have a definable accent. He has a computer in his brain and access to every bit of slang/inflection that has ever been recorded. So he probably dosen’t speak with much of one. He might have picked up more Cali slang and gestures from his time with Leo, but I doubt he uses them unless specifically talking to Tasha or Leo. 

It isn’t ever brought up were Centium City resides, but based on the fact that it appears a lot colder and is the home town of both the Davenport brothers and Principle Perry. I believe that Centium City is in the state New Jersey. Perry has a lot of stereotypical qualities(I apologize to anyone from NJ, I’ve never been and all I have is media for examples) that kinda makes me think that she would be from there. Also could you please imagine Perry, Donald, and Douglas with Jersey accents. Incredible. I think that the brothers have probably lost a good bit of there accents from time away, but whenever they are near each other or are particularly emotional the accents come out in full force. Otherwise Donald probably dosen’t have a  very definable accent due to all his traveling and working with a wide array of people, and Douglas probably has nothing but different bits of mixed up slang due to his colorful environment.

Henry Danger/Danger Force were a bit difficult until I rewatched the Game Shakers x Henry Danger crossover special. While discussing places to go Kenzie brings up Swellview and states that its in ‘The Heart of America’. While many states can try to claim that they are the heart of the country, the only one that is usually agreed upon is Kansas. Climate wise it also makes sense as swellview has shown to be rather windy and Kansas in right within Tornado Alley. This means that Swellviews hilariously named neighboring towns also take place in Kansas. All the characters (with the exception of Schwoz) would also use more Kansan slang as all of them have stated to have lived in the area their whole lives. Which leads me to bring up Dystopia where the original Danger Crew moved to after S5. All we know about Dystopia is that its really dangerous and kinda nearby as Henry seems willing to get there without the use of Miles’s powers. Now for this I looked up where the most dangerous cities in America were and I’m so sorry Missouri but you guys have several cities in the top 10 list. It is also right next-door to Kansas. 

Like HD/DF the Thundermans home of Hiddenville doesn’t have a named state. It also appears to have a fairly neutral environment. Initially I was thinking of Tennessee but all things considered there’s a distinct lack of countryisms (I know not all Tennessee is county music and farm life but it still dosen’t quit fit). Then I was thinking Washington due to the ‘Land of 1,000 parks’ bit(According to google Seattle, WA has 874 parks), but theres a lack of mountain ranges. However, it’s the closest I’ve got to a real answer so I’m sticking to it until I find more evidence. Even if Hiddenville is in Washington, I don’t think any of the Thundermans(with maybe the exception of Chloe) would have any slang or dialect from there. The family transplanted more than likely from a different state to go into hiding. Given that Metroberg is basically the Capitol of all USA Supers, I think it would probably also be in Virginia nearby D.C. Meaning the family would have similar accents and mannerisms to Virginians. At least in the beginning, later on the kids probably adopt the slang of those nearby.

Finally Villains of Valley View. It’s already mentioned in the show that Valley View is in Texas, but like the Thundermans the Madden family is also transplanted and on the run/in hiding. While it’s never truly stated where they came from we can infer from some details. Eva has a very noticeable British accent so she probably moved to the US as a young adult. I don’t know what it is but for some reason Vic gives me NorCal vibes specifically Sacramento, CA. I have no clue why but he does. I imagine that after they unofficially wed(they couldn’t legally get married as wanted criminals) Vic and Eva moved to the Bay Area where they did some villainy and started their family. I don’t have a name for the town/city where they grew up yet, but I am absolutely accepting suggestions.

[galvanizedfriend]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you for the tag @kirythestitchwitch and @morningstargirl666 🤗

How many works do you have on ao3? 22! But I think I currently have two or three fics that are private because I keep meaning to rewrite and never get around to it.

What's your total ao3 word count? 1.617.205 😗

What fandoms do you write for? Currently only The Vampire Diaries/The Originals.

Top five fics by kudos: The Wolf (surprising no one, The Originals S1 rewriting), The Wolf II (surprising no one², The Originals S2 rewriting), Vice & Virtue (very surprising this has more kudos than TWIII lol, regency AU), The Wolf III (The Originals S3 and 4 rewriting) and The Sound of Settling (that time I committed coffee shop!AU).

Do you respond to comments? Yes! I try to always keep up with comments, but I get a little behind from time to time, especially with comments left on older fics. Sorry, folks ��� With WIPS, I tend to always reply to comments right before or immediately posting a new chapter.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Pendulum, for sure. The alternative ending is pure angst (and I love it very much, there's so much meaning and to me it's a perfect ending for that story).

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? All the others lol All my fics have a happy ending, Pendulum is an exception.

Do you get hate on fics? Not so much anymore, though I did recently get a bitter anon here on tumblr. But yeah, I've received a lot of hate over the years.

Do you write smut? Occasionally, when I feel like the story asks for a smutty scene, but more often than not I go with the classic fade to black.

Craziest crossover: I've never written crossovers, though I have written lots of AUs inspired by other things (I forgot what those are called now).

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Yes, I have. A while back this nutjob stole a bunch of fics and published them as originals on Amazon and The Wolf was among them. I got lots of comments from people warning me about it and I managed to get it taken down.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes, I have! To Russian and Chinese.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? I have not, though it's a fun idea.

All time favorite ship? My favorite ship is always the current one and I've been stuck on Klaroline for a few years now. Those two idiots in love have my whole heart.

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I have so many. 🥲 I really wanted to give the TVD S5 rewrite a chance, but really don't think I have it in me to start something like that again.

What are your writing strengths? Oh boy. I suck at paying myself a compliment. But I've heard I write good action scenes? I don't know if it's true. Personally, I think I do a decent job of writing AUs, as in adapting canon aspects to other universes. I don't just plaster names on characters, I try very hard to make sure everything is still recognizable even in a totally different setting (then again, that's very subjective 😂).

What are your writing weaknesses? Wordiness. I am so freaking wordy, my stories are so goddamn long. I wish I could simplify my writing, shorten sentences, but alas. I have these ideas for writing exercises I would like to try with a couple of ideas I have, but I need to finish the ones I have started before I can jump into something else.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language? If it's single words or short sentences, it's ok. I kinda like it even, but when it's full dialogues in languages I don't understand, it kind of loses me.

First fandom you wrote in? I think I wrote some semblance of fic when I was like 12 for Charmed, though I didn't even know that was fanfiction. But the first conscious fic I ever wrote was for Torchwood.

Favorite fic you've written? Pendulum. I think it's the most original and profound (lol) thing I ever wrote, it expresses many aspects of how I feel about KC. But I also really, really like The Unexpected Grace of Falling Apart. I LOVE romcoms and I think that story is everything I love in that genre, without being completely silly (in my opinion, ofc). Those two fics couldn't be more different if I wanted to, but one thing they have in common is the fact I spent years working on them.

Tagging @definedareasofuncertainty, @howlingmoonrise, @misssophiachase, @jinxedwood, @bettsfic, @bellemorte180, @marginally-accurate, @b-mina and @austennerdita2533!

[alexlesuagz]

(Uhhh so I wrote this a while ago based off of an idea for an alternate ending to S5 Case 52 where the player decides to accompany Jones as he walks home. Have fun reading it, I guess, I’m not that proud of it, but eh. I hope you enjoy!)

(SPOILERS FOR S5 CASE 52 AND TW FOR SEWERSLIDE IMPLICATIONS)

(Also, sorry if any of the canon characters are OOC-)

“A Tough Time Holding Up”

“…I don’t think you should have done that.”

Gloria’s whisper is the only thing keeping the tension in the car from going silent.

And stale.

“Done what?” I ask, my voice a low grumble.

“You know what I mean.” Gloria replies, not even raising her tone.

The silence I give as my response causes her to sigh as we stop at a red light. “Listen. I don’t like Leroux for a lot of reasons, killing Zoe being one of them…but breaking his nose wasn’t-!”

She runs a hand through her hair and groans. “You know what? Whatever. Leroux got sentenced, and his cowardly ass is going to rot in jail for a long time…Zoe’s finally at peace.”

She says the last part with some level of uncertainty. I don’t blame her at all.

There were too many unanswered questions to this case — Leroux’s motive, Zoe’s involvement with Dreamlife, et cetera, et cetera. Gloria and I had to find these explanations fast.

But first, we had to check up on Jones back at the station.

After we park the car in front of that oh-so-familiar blue building we see everyday, I practically barrel out and make a mad dash into the station to find Jones.

I can’t find him anywhere.

Shit, where is he?!

“Jones?” I ask, running over to his desk to see if he’s there.

He isn’t.

“Oh, are you looking for Jones?” Gabriel asks as he sips from a mug of coffee. I nod somewhat frantically in response.

“He’s in the bathroom right now.” He tells me. “I think he’ll be out pretty soon.”

“Ah, alrighty then. Thank you.”

I sit down at Jones’s desk and wait patiently for him to show up.

Sure enough, a couple minutes later, I hear a door open and close, and Jones walks in from around the corner.

Judging by his physical state alone, he looks better(?) than before - he’s calmer, albeit looking a bit exhausted, and it looks like he had splashed cold water on his face.

“Oh! Hey, Val.”

“Jones! Hey!” I reply as I get out of the chair, making sure to give him a warm and friendly smile. “How are you feeling?”

Jones just gives me some sort of dazed stare in response, and I just look at him right in the eyes, waiting for him to answer my question.

He does not answer my question and instead says, “...I heard you arrested Leroux…for murdering Zoe.”

I flinch at the mention of Leroux, and I nod. “Yup, we did…and I even broke his nose. For, y’know, good measure.” I make a fist with one hand and make a swinging motion to demonstrate, and Jones gives me a half-hearted chuckle.

We stand in silence for a couple of seconds somewhat awkwardly until Jones reaches past me and grabs his jacket from a chair. “...Well, I’d better get going.”

Going?

“Uh, wait, you’re going? If you don’t mind me asking, where, exactly?”

Jones flinches at my question. “Oh, uh…I’m just gonna go home and take a nap. I’m…exhausted.”

…Something about his words feels off to me, but I don’t know what.

“A. A nap?”

“...Yeah, what about it?”

He’s only glancing at me, but I can feel his eyes boring into my soul.

“...Oh, uh, nothing really.” I stammer out, feeling a bit embarrassed with myself.

“...Alrighty, then.” He frowns slightly in response.

“I’m going to take a rest.” Fernando tells me. “I’m…I’m just tired right now.”

Something in my gut is pulling me towards Jones, telling me to make sure nothing bad happens to him.

But how do I help?

I know fuck-all on what to do.

I’m internally panicking, mentally scrabbling around to try to find ideas.

Jones is saying goodbye to Gabriel and Gloria as I’m just standing by his desk like a complete goddamn fool.

“Take care.” Gloria tells Jones with a comforting smile.

“Stay safe, alright?” Gabriel says to Jones, putting his hand on Jones’s shoulder.

Jones flinches at Gabriel’s touch, looking at the floor as he mumbles, “I’ll take care of myself, don’t worry.”

He’s lying.

I don’t even have to look at him, and I know he’s lying.

I don’t know what he’s going through, but all I know is that I have to help him somehow.

But how?

I have no game plan, no nothing.

Jones is heading towards the exit carrying nothing with him, even leaving his jacket by his desk.

…Fuck it, we ball.

I make somewhat of a mad dash at him, grabbing his jacket along the way. “Jones! Wait up!”

“Hm?” Jones turns around to face me, looking more tired now. “What is it now?”

“…Can I walk you home?”

“…What?”

“I- I mean, if you want me to, of course- your home is kinda far away if I remember correctly, and you seem pretty tired right now-”

Jones blinks once. Then twice.

“I- uh- what I was trying to stay, I mean say- is that you could use some company???” I blubber out like a fool.

I immediately brace for incoming rejection.

You know what? If he wants to head home, then that’s alright. Maybe I’m worrying too much about him. I probably am kind of bothering him and distracting him from his own thoughts, after all-

“Sure.”

“W-what?”

Jones gives me a small smile. “Yeah, sure. I think I could use the company right now. So why not?”

“I-”

I almost fucking gape at him like he just told me I won the lottery.

“…Val? You alright?”

“I- uh- yes!” I exclaim with a smile, patting (unintentionally slapping) him on the back. “I’ll- I’ll go get my jacket-!”

“V-Val, you’re wearing your jacket-”

“Ah! Alright! I’ll go ask the Chief for permission to walk you home then!”

I scoot over to Chief Parker’s office and almost kick open the door.

“CHIEF.”

Chief Parker yelps with surprise as she almost drops her papers. “Ah!- Detective Perez, please do not scare me like that again-!”

“Sorry! I- uh- so Jones is going home, can I escort him?” I stammer out.

“…Perez, you have work to do-”

“I know, I know!” I exclaim. “But I’m genuinely worried about Jones, and- and I want to escort him home to keep him company and make sure he feels less alone…”

Chief Parker sighs as her eyes flick around the room. “Pere- Val, listen. I’ve known Jones for a while, and I’m genuinely sure that he’ll get through this…eventually, he just needs a bit of time. He’s…a strong individual…”

“Chief.”

“…and I’m sure that all he just needs is a bit of time to himself to recover mentally.”

“Chief. Chief. Chief.”

“I do understand your concerns, but right now, Jones needs some space alone to breathe, alright? Also, you have other work to do when it comes to investigating Leroux’s claims of Zoe’s telekinesis-”

“Chief!” I shout.

“What?! What is it?!” Chief Parker shouts back.

We’re in a bit of a silent standstill for a moment until I exhale.

“How long have you known Jones?”

“…3 years.” She responds, raising an eyebrow. “Where are you going with this?”

“Well, I’ve known Jones for 5 years, and even I don’t know everything about him.” I reply. “Just because he looks calm right now, it doesn’t mean that nothing’s going on for him. I do also believe he needs some time alone to process everything, but goddamnit, I am VERY sure that he needs comfort and support right now instead!”

A pause. I notice the Chief rubbing her fingers together repeatedly as she looks around for a moment.

“I’ll be fine.” Fernando tells me with an exhausted, slight upturned curve of his lips.

“Trust me.” I say. “I know something’s wrong. Just…PLEASE let me be there for him.”

“Val, I-”

I’m tearing up right now, but I don’t really care. I just need the Chief to understand what the hell I’m saying.

Fuck it. I even get down on my hands and knees and start begging.

“WHOA! Val, HOLD ON-!”

“PLEASE, Chief Parker. I’m worried for him. I just want him to be mentally okay, but I don’t want him to be alone…please, please, please, please, please…”

I look up for a moment at Chief Parker’s shocked expression. “Val, I’m not su-”

“CHIEF, I WILL LICK YOUR SHOE-”

“ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!” She exclaims, stepping back. “I will let you accompany Jones on his way home, and I’ll ask Gabriel to partner up with Gloria in the meantime.”

“OH, THANK THE GODS-” I almost sob with joy.

“Val, please calm down.”

“-Ah, alright. Sorry.” I get up from the floor and dust myself off. “Anyway, thank you so much, genuinely.”

“It’s no problem.” She replies with a tired smile.

I nod and bid my farewell as I leave her office.

To my dismay (but not surprise), Jones was not where I had last left him.

He was already across the street when I dashed outside like a maniac.

“There you are!” I exclaim, running over to catch up to him.

Jones flinches at the sound of my voice and flips around. “Oh! Val! Heyyyy!” He says nervously.

“I thought I was gonna walk you home! Why’d you leave me in the dust like that, man?”

“You- you were actually serious about that-?”

“Yeah, of course!” I reply. “You’re one of my closest friends, man. I can’t just leave you alone.”

“Oh!” Jones looks pleasantly shocked. “I- thank you.”

“No problem.” I grin at him. “So…do we take public transportation to your home, or-?”

“…Nah, don’t feel like it tonight. I just feel like walking.”

“Ah, alright.”

“…”

“So, your home’s this way-?”

“N-no, no, Val, it’s that way. We’re literally going to Newmark right now, I live all the way in Fairview.”

“Ahh, shit, my bad.”

[cookinguptales]

indashadows said: They are both extremely fucked up character, but to the casual viewer (the majority of the people who watch the show) nandor became the most hated, and I mean really hated, like delete nandor from the face of the earth. And I was reading some of the comments on kayvan's ig and this hate is projected to the actual person behind the fictional character, which is terrible. I just hope the writers saw how much damaged nandor character became and redeem him next season.

---------

Sorry, I passed out as soon as I made that post lmao.

That's a pity. I knew that people had reacted, uh, strongly to 4.09, but I didn't realize that it had progressed to the point where people were harassing Kayvan over it. Like he had anything to do with it!

I don't agree with a lot of the writing decisions made in the back half of the season (particularly with Guillermo/Freddie and Marwa, two storylines which felt half-baked to me) but honestly, I feel like Nandor actually improved in some ways. His actual actions did a lot of damage, but I feel like his motivations and his response to the consequences of those actions actually show some character growth.

Actually being able to admit he'd done something wrong, even if he didn't mean to, doing his best to make restitution to Guillermo, even if he fucked it up, and sacrificing something that meant a lot to him to try and make Guillermo happy again... Like those are all things that s1 Nandor would not have done. Even s3 Nandor wouldn't have, honestly. That last step in particular was very out of character for him, and I think shows how much Guillermo's happiness has come to mean to him.

I don't want to Get Too Into It because like I said, I've already written a lot of meta on this subject (and I have to catch a plane in a few hours) but I feel like the Freddie debacle, while written in a way to be intentionally cruel to Guillermo and casually cruel to Marwa, really brought things Nandor and Guillermo had both done wrong to a head. (In fact, if they'd made Guillermo's relationship problems more about his utter inability to tell the truth to his loved ones, not to mention his coping mechanism of manipulating those around him, I think I would have actually enjoyed the episode.)

But in the end, we really did see the way that Guillermo had just gone from one abusive, neglectful, self-involved partner to another -- and at least Nandor was able to show growth by the end of the episode.

idk, I feel like both Guillermo and Nandor made extreme mistakes in the Freddie situation, but the only character I came out actually despising was Freddie. Cheating-ass bitch. lmao

I do think that Nandor is probably going to end up eating shit to some degree in s5. I think things are gonna get worse before they get better and the two of them probably need to scream things out before they can uhhh progress to fucking out their frustrations instead. And it seems from the synopses we've heard that Nandor is not about to have a good time.

But I think that we're about due for a Nandor Pining Era so I wouldn't be surprised if that's some of the anxiety we're about to get.

That said, Nandor does seem to do real stupid shit when he's anxious... so... lmao

[brainrawt]

Do you have any late thoughts on the proposal

Thank you for asking (ages ago - I am SO SORRY)!

I haven’t thought about All American too much during this hiatus but here’s some thought dumps. 

Jordan’s relationship with Layla has been a vehicle for displaying Jordan’s character development. He summed up his entire year with the word “maturity” and pretty much his primary plot in S5 was Layla. He is more mature now and we see it in his relationship with Layla. As a fan of Jordan and Jordayla, I’m happy to see how his character journey continues through the marriage chapter of life, and how it’s good and right. When he got married the first time, he didn’t ask his parents, he didn’t put in the work into the marriage afterwards, he didn’t tell his friends about it, he just did not go about it in a way that set them up to be successful at all. This time will be different. I did want to have heard his reflections but we’ll see them for sure.

In the last episode, Layla was the mouthpiece for the cons for marriage. I just can’t wait to hear them describe their decision and relationship. 

I just LOVE the later parts of a ship where we look over their past moments (Did anybody else just watch the Rina flashback montage in hsmtmts S4?!). When they call back to prom etc, when I hear their vows, I fear I won’t survive.

In S3, it comes up repeatedly that Jimone thought that marriage would turn their love “real”, whereas Jordayla’s love is very much already REAL. I did want to make a post about this but just don't have it in me to rewatch S3 lol.

To revisit their best friends era, just rewatch S4. To revisit their dating era, just rewatch S5. It doesn’t matter if it's too soon for them to get married, just watch S6 when you’re ready hahaha. I’m happy that a married era is being filmed and released of our favourite couple, who wouldn't be?

A cute thing – When he’s advising Asher about Jaymee, he talks about her being “not afraid to live.” Similar to 5x20, when talking about Jasher, we can hear into his thoughts about his own relationship. One of the main reasons for proposing is that after his traumatic experience, he’s eager to live, and he can only see himself doing it with one person. We see this theme repeatedly: “He wants to start a life with her” / “I don’t want to spend a day of my life without you knowing.” Also, whilst he’s giving relationship advice, Layla is heart eyeing him hard and it takes me back to the first time she caught feelings for him when he was giving relationship advice about Clay during the prom dance and she’s taken aback by that sincere passionate side of him. It’s still something that makes her swoon!

I’ve enjoyed their love story happening away from everyone, a little nervous for them to be in the middle of the spotlight. Oh, and I hope the marriage process is not to Billy-centric, hearing his name in the proposal almost sent me over the edge. Realistically, I know he’ll come up but I just won’t love it. 

I think the writers always (as much as a fan can ask for) get them right and will continue to. 

I’ve missed talking about Jordayla. Thanks for your ask anon!

[pro-bee-sisters]

Retiring from Miraculous

Hello everyone, so if you all saw my recent post or if you saw my post on my main blog, I announced that I will be officially retiring from the Miraculous fandom as well as the show for good.

I'm really sorry to those who followed me and only liked me for Miraculous content, but after hearing about how the recent episodes of Miraculous have been (*coughDerisioncough*), I don't see the show improving or getting better anytime soon nor do I see myself enjoying it the more it continues. Especially with how the recent season has been nothing but: Multiple retcons, terrible character development, scenes cut from the final version for the most stupidest reasons ever and to make the show have bigger plot holes than ever, inconsistent writing, and lackluster plots, I really don't see myself following through with it anymore.

However,

I won't be officially retiring at the moment!

Yep, even though I do plan on retiring from Miraculous, I won't do it for a long time for these 5 reasons:

I wanna rewatch the entire series until I start on S5 since I'm waiting for the whole season to drop at once. I mainly wanna see what still holds up and what doesn't after these 8 and a half years the show has run for. (And I think we can all agree which ones didn't age the best)

I mainly wanna watch S5 to see if I can use it as a rewrite for some of my AUs; mainly The Lost Miraculous. I know this one might be tricky to do since from what I heard, S5 did retcon a lot of characters and plots, so I'm not entirely sure if I can rewrite the whole season, but I do plan to add a few new elements to my rewrite if I ever do.

Speaking of AUs, that's another reason why I won't retire immediately from the show: I'm still hoping to use it as a source of inspiration for my AUs as I still wish to write them. Mainly The Queen Bee and the Vesperia, The Lost Miraculous, The Undercover Tales of Rena Furtive and Invisible Hornet, The Bee Sisters Duo!, Bug and Wasp Game, A Fox and Her Club, and more!

I'm incredibly excited for the Awakening movie coming out this July, and I do hope that it will at least be one last hope for the show to get better. If not, then I guess we can call that one the real canon while ignoring the show itself, LOL.

I still wanna post some of my views on Chloe and Zoe themselves.

All in all, while I won't necessarily retire from the show permanently (as of now), I will be saying goodbye to it as time goes by because it's about time I move on and start looking through other shows that have similar Magical Girl themes.

Speaking of which, I made a poll on my main blog asking people what should be the next Magical Girl show I should try while I wait to end my time with Miraculous, and when I cut ties with it. If you wish to vote, please click right here.

Alrighty, that's all I have to say for now. Please be on the lookout for any upcoming stories from me and please remember to follow my 3 other blogs:

@muggle-born-princess (Main Blog)

@princessgemsart (Art Blog)

@pens-and-gems (Writing Blog)

Have a fantastic Sunday everyone or whatever day it is in your region LOL

BUZZ ON!

[airi-p4]

JATP AU: Everlasting musical connection - Chapter 4

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Epilogue … 

Julie and the Phantoms x Lukanette AU

(Sorry for the incoming little rant)

I'm a bit mad tbh because I wrote this before we had any leaks or information about S5 and now it looks like the 'red moon' and Felix are a canon reference when they're NOT. But I guess it's partly my fault for not posting this earlier... *sigh*

Anyway- This story will be finished! Idk when but it will! Thank you for your patience.

_______________________________

TW: check AO3 for the tags ( !!! )

Chapter summary:

Marinette refuses to accept the Phantoms imminent crossing over, and decides to face the only one who may know a way to help them: the magician ghost Felix- their enemy.

___________________________________________

AO3

___________________________________________

CHAPTER 4

While the ghosts were busy at the cemetery, Marinette snuck out of high school to go to Paris' Ghost club. She had only heard about the exclusive club from the Phantoms and rumors, and she had no idea how to find it… but the Internet tricks Alya taught her some time ago did the rest of the job.

Felix wasn't lying when he said the doors would be exceptionally opened for her anytime. She would have never imagined going straight to the enemy's headquarters and exposing herself to such danger.

The girl had already confronted the centuries old magician ghost once and knew too well how dangerous he was. She had to be cautious- he knew a great amount of tricks. She stepped in, carefully at first, but soon brought her courage afloat after remembering her mission had a time limit.

Just a few more hours.

She had no time to lose.

“Felix! Show yourself! I know you’re here!” she called loudly.

“Oh, my my… look who's here: Marinette Dupain-Cheng…” a voice said from the shadows. The teenager got shivers, but remained courageous, standing tall. “To think you would visit me… Aren’t you scared I may possess your body like I did with your blond pathetic friend?”

“I know how to kick you out now! I’m not scared of you!” she yelled, and his evil laugh interrupted. Within a blink, he appeared in front of her and she gasped. “I’m- I’m not scared of you!” she repeated.

“Yet you’re here, trembling like a newborn puppy…” Felix laughed, amused by her fears. The sound of his slow steps walking in circles around her was keeping her alert. “How desperate you must be for your ‘Phantoms’ if you’ve come to me in order to save them…”

“Shut up!" She recomposed at the mention of her friends "I know there has to be a way! A way so they don’t have to cross over! Or maybe that they can come back to life!”

“Oh, innocent child… Don’t you think I’d have already done that myself if there was a way?”  His laugh echoed in the club, giving her goosebumps.

“I know you keep secrets. And I know you’re good at hiding them. But your powers are not only for evil. And music! Music has to be the reason you’re still aliv- well, not completely dead.”

“Haha… Very funny…" A few claps followed ironically. "You did well figuring out this much… Hmmm... What would you say if I told you there’s a way for them to come back to life?” he tempted her in a hum.

“Is there!?"

“Oh, so you’re interested, huh?” He smirked evilly and Marinette remembered he wasn't going to give her what she wanted for free. She knew him.

“What’s the deal?” she demanded, looking straight in his eyes.

“An exchange." He paused in front of her, close. "Your soul. Your life for theirs. How does that sound?”

She paused for a second, out of the shock, and before her voice left her throat she was interrupted by three newcomers.

“NEVER!" they yelled. Marinette's eyes opened big.

“Luka! Guys! Why are you here!?”

“Oh, c’mon Marinette, we know you. We’ve been together for a while now.” Juleka winked. "You can't fool us."

“We’ve actually followed you here and eavesdropped a bit…” Ivan innocently confessed.

“Don’t tell her, Ivan! I was trying to act cool and steal the show!”

“Oops, my bad-”

“Anyway- No one is taking away Marinette’s life. That’s out of the question. We’ll cross over and Marinette will be an amazing singer on her own- or with her new band or whatever she chooses to do with her outstanding talent.” Luka stepped in between Marinette and Felix, pushing him and raising a protective arm in front of her. Marinette's eyes glowed and teared up at him.

“Are you sure you want to cross over while I’m still around? I could try to harm her anytime… Try to figure out her connection with spirits… Or maybe a fatal accident could bring her talent here, to me. Maybe she would agree to remain in my club for all eternity, unlike you...”

“Don’t you dare!” Felix's threat enraged Luka. "Touch her and I'm killing you!"

“Luka…” Marinette blushed, moved.

“Yeah. It seems our last warning wasn’t enough... Let’s kill this ghost.” Juleka jumped closer, fists clenched.

“I wish so too, but guys: we can’t kill him. He’s already dead!” Ivan pointed out and Felix's smile widened.

“You’re not helping, Ivan!” The bassist glared. “And I'm not giving up just like that! There has to be a way to stop him for good!” Her nails sank deeper in her palms.

“There might be a way,” a familiar voice that sounded weak and sweet interrupted, appearing from upstairs.

“Rose!? You were ok!?” Juleka ran towards her beloved ghost, holding her hands tenderly.

“I heard your voice, Juleka, and I rushed here despite the jolts of Felix’s attachment spell." She smiled weakly and it brought Juleka to the verge of tears.

“You fool! I’m so happy to see you…” She hugged her.

“Me, too.” Rose pulled her closer, enjoying the warmth.

“Oh, what a sweet moment…" Felix hummed. "Too bad it won't last long…" His eyes turned red and the blond girl gasped. "Rose. I own your soul and you disobeyed me. You’re going to disappear now-” His fingers were about to snap, but Juleka jumped between Rose and Felix.

“No! I won’t let you harm her!”

The next second, Rose pushed Juleka behind her, making her fall to the floor. Felix's destructive thunder followed its path towards the two ghosts and everyone gasped when the blond ghost was hit.

“ROSE! NO!” Juleka cried, crawling to hold her falling body in her arms.

“Juleka, guys, listen…" Rose coughed. "I’m going to disappear soon, but… there’s a way… There’s a way you can stay here. Love and music... The red moon… Join your powers together... Your bond is special- strong. You can do it… you can make a miracle happen...”

"Rose! No!" Juleka cried.

"As for Felix… Take my curse and cast it to him… hurry up… before I disappear… Do it and he'll remain trapped here forever…" Rose whispered to Juleka. She knew the Phantoms were close enough to hear her, too. "Ivan. Do it, please. Only you can. Hold my wrist and take it. Hurry!"

"I- ok!" Ivan did as Rose told him, and a mark appeared on his wrist.

"Good…" She smiled in relief. “Now you have to say the words: ‘Resistance’, pass the curse to his wrist and say ‘Gift.’. The spell will activate then. Will you do it?” Ivan nodded, uncertain. Rose’s voice became weaker. “Thank you… Now I can leave at peace…"

“No, Rose… Don’t leave me…” Juleka begged in tears.

“I’m very happy to have met you, Juleka." Rose smiled weakly at her. "I love you.”

“Rose… I love you… I love you, too…” Some of Juleka's tears fell on Rose's cheeks. The rest fell on the floor through her disappearing skin.

"Don’t hurry up to join me on the other side, ok? Make a miracle happen. I’ll wait for you. Forever…”

"Rose, no!" Juleka cried. "Rose!!'

"Goodbye…" Rose smiled as she turned into hundreds of flying shining golden lights. On the floor, only her unicorn hairpin remained. Juleka picked it up, kissed it, and put it in her hair. Her long bangs now stuck in place, not covering her deathly glaring eyes anymore. Then she took a deep breath and cleaned her tears as she confidently recovered. Her eyes soon glared at Felix with all her wrath.

“Guys- That’s it. I’m killing this man! Are you with me?”

“Juleka, don’t be reckless, you could end up harmed too!” Luka warned, terrified for his sister, Ivan, and Marinette's safety.

“I don’t care! He just killed Rose! I can NEVER forgive him!”

“Juleka!”

Juleka's fierce voice turned into a loud roar, and it made the whole club tremble. Luka tried to hold Marinette, but she lost her balance when she fell through Luka's spiritual arm. Felix's eyes opened wide and before he could even blink, Juleka charged against him, punching his face with all her power. Felix fell on the floor with a face of not believing what was happening.

“What!?” Her bandmates gasped, in awe.

It took Felix a second to react. He touched his face where the punch had landed and checked his fingers; there was blood at the corner of his lip. “How- how is this possible!? You-- injured ME?”

Juleka roared loud, jumped, and tackled Felix, immobilizing him with Ivan's help. “Guys. We can do this.” Juleka's fist clenched again, more confident, ready to attack once more. Some stripes, resembling a tiger, appeared over her skin, on her face and arms.

“You…" Felix looked as if he couldn’t believe it, but seeing how her fist raised he changed his attitude to a self-protective one. “I see… So that’s how it is…” he mumbled. He tilted his head down and half-covered his smile with his hand.

Enraged, Juleka raised her fist and prepared to punch him again. "What's so funny, huh!?" Felix didn't answer.

"Do it now, Ivan! The curse!" Luka yelled.

Ivan took the chance while Felix was immobilized under Juleka to pass him the curse. "Wait. Is that Rose's curse? As if this was going to work…” He smirked. But his smile didn’t last long- wiped off his face when Ivan said the words he learnt from Rose: “Resistance.”. His eyes opened wide, as in realization. “No… No! No please!" He begged, but the mark had already appeared on his wrist. "No…!"

“Gift,” Ivan finished the spell, and the mark blended with his ghost skin. The Phantoms looked at the mark's shine spreading over all his body. A jolt followed and it was proof enough the spell seemed to work. They exchanged relieved looks while Felix curled his body in pain.

"Good. You can't leave this hotel ever again, Felix. Now Marinette will finally be safe," Luka said, looking fondly at Marinette.

"And now… To ensure it even further… I'm going to kill you!" Juleka raised her fist one more time, and Felix's face changed to one of fear.

"No, wait- wait please! I'll tell you what you want to know! There is a way to survive! Just don’t kill me!” the magician begged, coughing from the jolts.

Juleka wasn't stopping. "We’re not falling for this again, Felix!”

“The red moon!" he yelled when Juleka's fist almost touched him. "Tonight! It grants special powers to the spirits! Rose is right! With the right spell, a miracle could happen under the moon!"

“Really?” Marinette stepped closer.

Luka looked at her hopeful eyes in worry. “I’m sorry, Marinette, but I don’t trust him. I don’t think we should risk it…" he said, and Marinette looked back at him in sadness.

“But what if he’s right? What if it’s possible for you to come back to life? Or to stay as you are? Rose said it, too! We have nothing to lose! Let’s try it! Let’s go under the red moonlight and-” the girl insisted, desperate.

“Wait.”

“Juleka?”

The purple-haired ghost roared as she punched the floor just beside the magician's face. He gulped in fear.

“Tell us what’s the spell. If you don’t then…” Her fist rose again and he covered his face with his arms.

“Fine! I’ll tell you!” he finally gave in. “Tonight, under the red moonlight, at 2AM exactly, you have to repeat the magic words, three times: ‘kwamis, release the magic.’ If my theory and Rose’s suspicions are correct, you’ll be able to ask for a wish- a miracle.”

“And how do we know you’re telling us the truth?” Ivan asked.

Felix smirked. “You can’t know, truly. But I have no reason to give you a fake spell. I can’t cast it on my own anyway, since moonlight is needed and I’m now trapped here forever…” He suffered again from the spell.

“Tricking us for revenge sounds like a good reason for lying to me…” Marinette glared.

“Revenge? Against you pitiful souls? Don’t make me laugh.” He smirked evilly, still coughing. “You’re worthless. As pathetic as Rose was…” He touched Rose’s unicorn hairpin for a second and Juleka grabbed his shirt collar.

“DON’T YOU DARE MENTION ROSE EVER AGAIN!” Juleka threatened.

“Hmph- Whatever.” Felix's smirk widened. “You can try the spell or not. But isn’t this your only chance? No one knows if it really works anyway, but you won’t know unless you try. You know what not trying means anyway…”

Juleka growled at him and he shrugged, his fear seemingly gone despite the electric jolts striking again.

“Let him go, Juleka. He’s right,” Luka said, to Marinette’s surprise. “We don’t have much time left, and he’s trapped here forever, whether he's telling the truth or not, our fate is sealed. I can rest in peace knowing he won't be able to harm Marinette.”

“But-” Marinette and Juleka protested.

“We have a concert to go to, right? Let’s forget about Felix and enjoy the last hours we have together.” Luka shrugged with a weak smile. Marinette and Juleka weren’t happy, but ended up following Luka’s lead.

"It's time for you to pay for your sins." Juleka stood up and looked down in absolute disgust at Felix. “Enjoy your solitude for eternity.”

_________________________

The ghosts escorted Marinette out of the hotel and they sighed in relief when they reunited outside. Once outside, Luka turned to speak to Marinette.

"Don't you ever do that again, Marinette. Don't expose yourself to danger like that. Especially not for us, when we're already…" The guitarist had an urge to hug her, but he knew he couldn't even touch her. His body language was obvious to his ghost bandmates, though, who smiled sadly at them.

“I'm sorry… I wanted to-" she stopped, not wanting to be scolded again when the count on their wrists kept going down. "You’re the best friends I could ever have,” Marinette thanked them.

“You’re our treasure, Marinette.” Luka gave her his sweetest smile and she blushed.

If he wasn't a ghost, he would have probably leaned down to kiss her, had she allowed him, of course. But he knew better. Both of them knew better. They belonged to different worlds, despite their connection being so real...

*cof cof*

The pair turned to Juleka and realized they had been staring at each other's eyes for too long. Ivan looked away, slightly blushing, and Marinette panicked a bit. Luka smiled at her cuteness before taking the lead again.

“Ok, let’s go! We can't be late to our last concert tonight!”

“Hell yeah! I’m on fire!” Juleka exclaimed.

"Have you decided yet which song we're performing?" Ivan asked, stretching his wrists.

"I have," Marinette interrupted. "I know exactly which one song we should perform." She grinned and the Phantoms smiled back at her.

"Ok, let's do it!"

____________________

"We're 'Marinette and the Phantoms,' and today was our last concert. Please enjoy our last song: ‘everlasting musical connection’!"

There was evident shock, sadness, and devastated fans at the French Orpheum, but it was soon replaced by the feelings that resonated through the music with the frantic audience.

Their last concert was short, but moreover, it was unforgettable. Epic. Outstanding.

Legendary.

Those were the adjectives the specialized press was already calling it online.

[a-mag-a-day]

MAG 88 - apple cutting while watching my spouse play Ghost of Tsushima

Oh god, Martin sounds so stressed and tired and done with everything…

BASIRA "I actually thought I misjudged him. Hell, I liked the guy." MARTIN "Wait, you mean… like you…" BASIRA [Spluttering] "Oh, what? Urgh, no! Why does everyone think that?" - Haha, did they ever find out that Jon and Basira were in fact NOT dating? I don't think so. I think this is the first time Martin hears that there was nothing going on. But well, can't make a move when Jon's on the run, can he?

BASIRA "I just, I mean he was good company. Y’know, when he wasn’t being a paranoia machine. He was funny, you know?" MARTIN "What, John?" BASIRA "Yeah." MARTIN "I don’t think I’ve ever heard him tell a joke." BASIRA "Maybe you weren’t listening." - This is really something. Cause we know Martin has a crush on Jon. We don't know when it happened but MAG 22 actually makes a lot of sense for a turning point. And then he never got it when Jon said something funny (I mean, we see this happen on tape even, MAG 39 "Only an idiot would stay in this job"). What was it, that Martin saw in Jon? Seeing him suddenly caring for others and show compassion? Does Martin like Jon infodumping? (care-giving is obviously on the list why Martin gravitates towards Jon.)

MARTIN "Right. Well, I’m sure it’ll get sorted out when Daisy brings him in and you can probably talk to him then. Oh, sorry, I forgot you’re not actually with the police any more, are you." - Some people act like Martin's suddenly behaving oh so differently in S5… When we had Martin snapping at Jon in MAG 39 ("Push the skeptic thing so hard"), Martin again snapping at Tim in MAG 79 and now this. That was always in him. He just super bottled up usually and it shows when he's stressed.

Dig is one of my favorite TMA memes! I love a good DIG-chain!

"Not a bad little find, I remember thinking, as I started to clean the sand from around it. And uncovered the wrist it was still attached to." - It be like that sometimes…

"I don’t think it was, and one of the friendlier officers later told me the man had probably dug himself too deep a hole in the beach, and it had collapsed on him when the tide had come in." - Maybe he even wanted to be buried?

"Above us, you see, there’s only the sky, the infinite, a void of space and emptiness so incredible that to think of it in detail is to overwhelm the mind." - The Buried dissing the Vast XD

And now just follows several minutes of Buried propaganda.

"A bookseller I asked about it pointed me towards you and yours, before I dug into him" - o-o (But yeah, reminds me of episode 3 of I Am In Eskew. There was also this digging sickness and one of the diggers fell down and the others just kept digging through them. Hell, I think they also dug with the others through themself as long as they were able to.)

"and so here I came. To tell my story, of course, but another thing as well; cold, empty and calling. There’s something here, you see. Something to be dug up, rooted out, buried within. A hollow space that all eyes point towards." - THE PANOPTICON!!!

The conversation between Martin and Melanie here is nice to see. Martin's trying to be genuine when he probably notices he makes Melanie a bit uncomfortable with the sour mood and immediately jumps into the role of the helper. Then he shares a bit of the history of working here, funny stories etc.

MELANIE "Right, right… Um, this one, the name is “Jude Perry”. Doesn’t mean anything to you, does it?" - A bit of research for Jon^^

So and Jon also asked Melanie to check up on the calliope because he heard it playing, right?

Probably

[shatterspin]

I'M SORRY ABOUT THE E3RAAB THING; I really am. Dude, if I were you, I'd wanna forget it too.

Following up with MBC3's and CNa's schedule was practically impossible. I remember MBC3 had like a schedule on its website, and my brother and I completely trusted it, only to find out that that schedule was probably outdated or something because everything was in a completely different order, and we ended up missing most of our favorite shows

And yeah, they cut out so many harmless parts. I mean, sometimes, it was sort of useful. Like, you obviously know the "love triangle" mess in S3, right? I didn't. Not until recently anyway. It turned out they almost cut the whole thing, and little me didn't notice the hints in the show. For Monkie Kid, I think there is an Arabic dub. According to their wiki, there is. And they cut out things from what I can tell, removed episodes, and sort of changed names. Any character that had the word "demon" in their name had that removed. For example, Demon Bull King is now Bull King, Lady Bone Demon is just Lady Bone, etc.

Oh, and Ninjago was on MBC3 for a while. I think I found that out in the summer vacation when I was visiting my home country. My little cousins were watching it, but they were still on S5 at at that time. I think they stopped that, though

ALSO, WTH I'M GONNA CRY. I just heard the intro thing, and I'm shaking. I feel like my brain short-circuited trying to comprehend what am I listening to... And I think they gave Lloyd Nya's voice actress or something, and Harumi sounds very flat and monotone. Also, the rest of Ninja sound... so off? Especially Kai and Jay. Also, this is the first time I saw the Overlord summoning scene, and I didn't expect that it's there. I think I mentioned it was cut out on CN MENA. They directly jumped from 8:46 to 10:20

them cutting off the word demon out of everything is kinda unexpected. most things they would cut off would be romantic things but they would keep stuff w demons or whatever in bc nobody cares? i guess maybe some people complained? idk it’s weird as hell either way

extremely funny that they cut off the whole summoning scene tho 😭 what’s the purpose 😭

[reidsaurora]

"Dopamine" ~ S. Reid

GIF by teenwolf-theoriginals

Summary: Just some snippets of what the author thinks it would be like to take care of Spencer when he got shot in the leg (and didn't get any cookies)

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Wife!BAU!Reader

Word Count: 2,152

Content Warning: based around Spencer's leg injury in S5, one scene takes place in a hospital, mentions of Spencer getting shot, sexual humor/references (sorta implied smut), mentions of alcohol and food, a light mention of painkillers, pretty sure that's it?

Genre: lotsa lovey-dovey Fluff... and a lil implied smut 😶

Extra Notes: AU where JJ became a profiler sooner than S7 lol // this started out with Y/N being Spencer's girlfriend but i changed it to wife since they probably wouldn't give Y/N FMLA time if they weren't married so if it says girlfriend anywhere, i apologize!

Based On: these headcanons by @radiant-reid

Takes Place: during Spencer's medical leave between 5x01 and 5x02

Originally Written: 04/18/2022

Criminal Minds masterlist can be found here!

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

"𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐲, 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬." - 𝐁𝐨𝐣𝐚𝐧 𝐊𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐜

"Spencer!" Y/N shouted upon entering Spencer's hospital room. "What are you doing walking around?"

"I needed to use the bathroom," he answered, hobbling back toward the bed.

She placed her hands on her hips, knowing he was lying.

Spencer rolled his eyes. "OK, maybe I just wanted to stretch my legs."

Y/N sighed annoyedly. "Spence, you know you aren't supposed to be up on your leg without crutches."

"Well, maybe if that stupid doctor would stop taking all day to bring them in here," he grumbled under his breath.

"He's not stupid."

"He told me that 300 people in America get shot daily."

"And?"

"It's specifically 321," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh, well, sorry, Mr. Statistics," she chuckled.

"It's not funny!" he argued. "If you're gonna give your patients statistics, at least make sure they're correct."

Y/N held in a laugh as she sat down on the bed beside him. "Well, statistics aside, as soon as they bring your crutches, you're free to go."

"Yes!" he rejoiced, "The sooner I get out of here, the sooner I get the best medicine in the whole world."

"Which would be?"

He leaned in, placing a delicate peck on Y/N's lips. "Cuddles. But not just any cuddles, your cuddles."

"Can't argue with that," she smiled back as she ruffled his hair, silently praying for the doctor to walk in right then.

☆☆☆

"Did you know cuddles actually play a big part in not only your mental health, but in your physical health as well?" Spencer asked, looking up at Y/N.

Though she'd already heard this spill multiple times before (generally when he was sick), Y/N happily obliged anyway. "How's that?" she replied, continuing to play with his somewhat tangled, curly hair.

"Well, the first and most well-known benefit is oxytocin, known as the -"

"'Cuddle hormone'," she finished his statement.

"Correct. It's actually been known to help in many healing processes, and in times of stress, it's been known to balance out cortisol levels," he gladly informed her. "Cuddling also releases serotonin, which affects anything from your mood to your gut to your circadian rhythm. Having a balanced circadian rhythm is an essential part of the healing process since your body needs extra rest when you're sick or when you're healing."

"Mhm," she hummed, leaving a small kiss on the top of his head.

"Next is dopamine, which affects pretty much everything across the board. Now, in this case, it's good to release dopamine since it plays a big role in pain processing. Dopamine is sometimes called the 'pleasure hormone' since it plays such a big part in our brain's reward system. Now, one of the most commonly known ways to produce dopamine is-"

"Through sex," she answered, knowing exactly where this was about to go.

"Bingo," he snickered, looking up at Y/N with raised eyebrows and a suggestive smirk.

"Nice try, lover boy," she kidded. "I liked your serotonin fact better. You could use some rest."

"That'll work one day," he told his wife, almost matter-of-factly.

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Not when you're sick, it won't."

"Well, anyway," Spencer commented, changing back to the previous subject, "It's good to make sure your dopamine levels are balanced and not too high, seeing as high levels of dopamine have been suspected to cause schizophrenia."

Y/N noticed a small frown appear on his lips as the room went silent for a moment. Quickly, she pecked his temple before mentioning, "Don't you wanna tell me about that last happy hormone?"

Spencer nodded, the frown slowly shrinking away. "As you mentioned, there's one last happy hormone. This one is endorphins. Endorphins are actually the molecules in the body that function as painkillers. Endorphins are most well-known for being produced through exercise, like running. The phrase 'runner's high' actually comes from the fact that running releases so many endorphins in the body that it starts to feel euphoric," he explained. "Now, another way of exercising that releases endorphins is…" his voice trailed off as his eyebrows raised once more.

"Spencer Walter Reid, you just got shot in the leg less than twelve hours ago. You need rest," she rebutted.

"We don't have to…" he stopped himself, opting instead for a hand signal instead of saying the words.

Y/N face-palmed, rubbing the stress lines on her forehead. "Thanks, Spence, I really needed the visual."

"Well, we don't," he argued. "We could always…" The reason was unbeknownst to Y/N, but he once again chose to not say the words. Instead, he opted for holding up two fingers with a grin.

Laughing out of sheer embarrassment, she replied, "Not after those visuals, we can't."

"But-"

"Come on," she pouted, patting the bed beside her, "My circadian rhythm is off and it's all because you won't let me get some sleep."

"Fair point," he replied, finishing his statement with a yawn. Spencer moved from between Y/N's legs to his own side of the bed, careful not to hurt his leg.

"Good night, dopamine," she giggled, giving him a short kiss.

"Good night, oxytocin," he smiled back, leaving another, longer good-night kiss on her lips.

☆☆☆

"Oh, you guys should probably bring clothes for all types of weather," Y/N informed all the team members present on the conference call. "Alabama weather is crazy this time of year. Highs in the mid-80s, lows in the lower-60s. Rain or shine. The heat index has been known to get up to over 90 degrees this time of year."

"Will do, Y/N," she heard Emily reply on the other end. Though Y/N couldn't see it, Emily's eyebrows furrowed as she asked, "Was that water splashing?"

"Uh-"

"Hey, make sure you get my scalp," Spencer's voice could be heard faintly over the BAU's end of the phone.

Not even bothering to move the phone which was wedged in-between her ear and her shoulder, Y/N sarcastically commented, "Thanks, Spence, I can always count on you to keep a secret."

"What's so secretive about washing your significant other's hair?" he rebutted. "By the way, you forgot to tell them about the humidity."

Blinking her embarrassment away, she mentioned, "Oh, yeah, Spencer wanted me to tell you guys that the average humidity this time of year in that part of Alabama is 72 percent," she informed the team, internally chuckling at what she must look like right now.

"Remind me to bring a raincoat," Rossi joked.

"Wheels up, guys," Y/N heard Emily say as she also heard the sound of her straightening her papers. "Thanks, Y/N."

"Hey, pretty boy! Don't have too much fun or you might strain that leg even worse," Derek giggled.

"She won't let me," Spencer pouted jokingly.

"Why are we having this conversation?" Y/N asked sarcastically, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Besides, shouldn't you be getting ready for the flight?"

"Ah, yes, gonna get me some of that southern hospitality." Y/N was sure Derek had a stupid grin on his face.

"I'm hanging up."

"B-" was all he could get out before Y/N actually hung up on him.

Spencer looked up at Y/N with an almost suggestive smile.

"What?" she asked, confused by his expression.

"Will you do that thing after we dry it where you massage my scalp while you braid my hair?"

She giggled, knowing how much he loved that part of their new routine. "I'll humor you since it always makes your curls look pretty," she commented, leaving a small kiss on his damp head.

☆☆☆

"OK, so they were out of those granola bars you like, but-" Y/N stopped mid-sentence after turning around to face the rest of the apartment. She nearly dropped her keys at the sight of their apartment.

It was then that Spencer came around the corner, carrying himself on his crutches.

"Spencer, you know you're supposed to stay off that leg as much as possible."

"I did. I used my wheelchair," he smiled hesitantly.

Y/N once again stopped to take in the scene: their apartment lit by dimmed lights and candles, champagne and pasta on the kitchen table, old music playing softly on Spencer's most-prized vintage record player, and finally, Spencer, who was dressed in Y/N's favorite button-down and his favorite tie.

"What's the occasion?" she blurted out.

"Nothing. I just figured it had been a little while since we had a proper date night that wasn't Chinese take-out or a drive around the city," he answered.

Y/N marched over to him, giving him a delicate but long kiss. "Spencer Reid, I don't know how I did it, but I ended up with the best man in the whole wide world."

"Really? Where is he?" he joked, pretending to look around the apartment.

She rolled her eyes as she bit the inside of her mouth. "If I wasn't afraid of somehow accidentally hurting you, I'd slap you right across the butt."

He pouted. "Come on, don't tease me like that!"

She giggled before changing the subject. "So, what's on the menu?"

"What I could salvage of the breadsticks because I got a little carried away, and chicken alfredo."

"You're gonna lie and say you made it when it's really that stuff I had in the freezer, aren't you?" she kidded, her hands on her hips.

He looked to the floor, hiding the red tinge that had just appeared on his cheeks.

"And somehow, you're the profiler," she laughed.

"JJ always said liaising required just as many profiling skills as being an actual profiler," he pointed out.

"Just means I'm good at my job," Y/N grinned, kissing him once more. "I'm starved."

"Me too."

And with that, the two walked off toward the kitchen, ready for a delicious dinner and a much-needed date night.

☆☆☆

As Y/N exited the bathroom, she found herself looking over to the bed. Sprawled out in a starfish position was Spencer, who appeared to be already asleep.

Y/N silently laughed to herself as she finished pat-drying her hair, tossing the towel back in the bathroom before finally climbing into what was left of the bed. "Spence," she whispered.

"Mmm?" he mumbled, looking somewhat in her direction.

She giggled quietly before asking, "Can you scoot over?"

He obliged, scooting over as quickly as he could without hurting his leg. "Thank you," he mumbled, still in his half-asleep state.

"What for?" Y/N chuckled.

Spencer rolled over to face her, a smirk plastered on his face and his eyes still shut. "For finally giving in," he grinned.

"Well, I figured I might as well. Think of it as a reward for your medical leave ending tomorrow, which by the way, I'm really sad about because I didn't ever want this month to end," she told him, placing a kiss on his lips. As she changed the subject, her eyebrows creased. "Hey, how come you're the tired one? I was the one that did all the hard work."

"Hey, my fingers got tired after a while," he answered, earning him a slap on the chest from Y/N.

"On second thought, maybe I'm ready for you to go back to work," she kidded.

Spencer reached up, leaving a lazy kiss on Y/N's jaw. "Good night, my love."

Y/N sighed contently, leaving a soft kiss on Spencer's head. "Good night, beautiful boy."

☆☆☆

"Welcome back, pretty boy," Derek smiled as Y/N and Spencer walked into the round table room. "And pretty girl."

Y/N smiled as she placed her things down. "It feels great to be back," she laughed, "You know, I never thought I'd get tired of our apartment until I looked at it for a month straight."

"How's your leg?" Derek nodded toward Spencer.

"I'm OK. Definitely wouldn't be as good as I am if I hadn't had this beautiful woman taking care of me," he said, kissing the top of Y/N's head before sitting down.

As Y/N moved Spencer's crutches, she turned to Derek to jokingly ask, "So, how was that southern hospitality?"

Derek smirked with a chuckle. "Got plenty of it, that's for sure." He looked over to Spencer with raised eyebrows, as if he were implying something.

"What?" Spencer inquired.

"You get any of that southern hospitality while you were gone, pretty Ricky?"

Y/N hid her face in her hands, afraid of where Spencer and Derek were going to take this conversation.

"Well, unlike Garcia, Y/N did bake me plenty of cookies and she took really good care of me so I'd say yes, I received plenty of hospitality while I was away," Spencer explained.

"Uh-huh," Derek replied, still smirking.

"However, I believe the answer to the question you're looking for is…" Spencer hesitated, just to annoy Y/N, "No, no southern hospitality. Though, I did get very acquainted with dopamine."

"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞?" - 𝐒𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐡 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚

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As always, small lil shoutout to @bfunsolvedboys for beta-reading and giving me all her input 🤗❤️

Also, I give full credit to Cate for this idea! This is based fully around her headcanons and I take no credit for that. This is just my fun lil twist on things but the credit goes fully to Cate!

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