#you know. two experienced killers. one does it because it's his job the other does it for fun

[homkamiro]

I really like your art and i just wanna say that I know your a speedingbullet shipper, but i wanna see you draw some bushmedicine. Like you did in that other post where scout had that fantasy. Please? If you don't mind...

I like bushmed but only in my specific weird version

[silentgravesdontexist]

PART III: Dates & Kisses! w/ Usopp, Yamato, and Jinbei

FINALLY, posting this after centuries of delays and side quests. It's somewhat unfair that I enjoyed writing these three the most??? Pretty obvious with the word count. Barely editted— I'm sorry.

CW: None. Fluff, pining, dates, and kisses.

Word Count: 4.2k

Usopp

Carnival

You weren't an idiot. The moment Usopp started bragging about something, you knew it was a lie. Or at least an extreme exaggeration of the truth behind it.

And yet you always listened to him as if they were real. That's why he always loved your company. It wasn't just you nodding along and letting him do as he pleased.

Usopp not so secretly fawned over the way you would ask him questions about his stories, listening to him with rapt attention, that warm and playful smile on your lips, and how you would laugh at his jokes.

Even when you knew he was lying about more serious topics, you wouldn't really say anything but you would have this look in your eyes that said 'I know you're lying but I'm not really gonna judge' and he would always cave in and spill the beans.

There were times that Usopp would go and brag about his experince with women. You thought he was just flat out lying this time, but he actually does have experience. And you felt a little jealous over that.

So, eventually, you actually teased him about it. That if he was so experienced then he should take you on a date and impress you with all that supposed 'lady killer' charisma he has (his words, not yours).

Oh, boy. The man malfunctioned as he just gawked at you. His jaw ajar and eyes slightly widened. It takes a while before he regains himself and start stumbling his own words to plan it out with you.

The two of you were so cute. Exchanging sheepish glances, teasing each other, and planning it all out together.

Did the two of you talk about matching outfits?

No? Well, look at the two of you having coordinated outfits when the two of you meet up just outside the carnival. The two of you laughed over it almost immediately. You tease him for copying you while he goes on with his hidden psychic abilities.

The two of you are too cute.

The carnival was fairly packed by the time you guys went in. Maybe, just a little too crowded if anything. There are quite a few times that one of you lost track of the other because of the crowd.

As much as Usopp just wanted to casually hold your hand and brag about letting him take the lead so you'd never get lost, he felt too flustered.

You were already going on a date with him. Would you consider it as being too forward and be creeped out by him? He didn't want to risk that so he somehow managed to get this durable string. With a shy smile, he started to tie one end around your wrist and the other end around his own.

"This way, you'll be able find your way back to me even if you get lost again." Usopp tried to be confident while point a thumb to himself with a boyish grin on his face.

A chuckle leaves your lips as you look at your wrist with a warm smile. You simply nod along and the both of you wennt back to your merry way through the stalls of games and foods. There was even an area where a performer started blowing fire into the air.

While watching, Usopp tells you the tale of how he went to Hawaii to be trained in blowing fire just like that by a great grandmaster at the age of 7.

"Oh, yeah? Why don''t you show off a few skills then?" You nudge his side with your elbow. A playful smile and that mischievious gling in your eyes. "I'm sure it's do you good to put those skills to practice again." He bristles at your words and turns his head to the side in response. A nervous chuckle on his lips as he starts fumbling for excuses.

"Uhm...I-uh..It's rude to take away a guy's job like that y'know?" His eyes snapping every which way just to not look at you. "A-Ah, there is goes. My 'Don't do dangerous things' illness is back! Let's go somewhere else! I heard they have horses!" And with that, he actually reaches out to grab your hand to tug you away from the performer.

You shake your head with an affectionate smile but follow him nonetheless. Feeling a little brave, you intertwine your fingers with his to hold his hand properly. He's a bit in front of you but you notice the way that his ears are a touch of crimson despite his tanned skin as well as how he squeezes your hand in response.

Oh, he adored showing off around the shooting stalls. Clearing out everything for you that some of the owners questioned his skill since many of the games were rigged. By the end of it, you picked out your favorites and gave away some others to the nearby kids who just stared at the prizes you had with their eyes shining brightly.

However, there was a certain incident that dampened the mood. The two of you entered a circus to enjoy the show. There was a time in the show that a circus master was performing a few tricks. Usopp started to brag about how he was able to do it well. But the circus master was not pleased with that.

A few taunts later, it ended him on the stage and failing to do what he was talking about. Feeling ashamed as he walked back to you-- he couldn't even look you in the eyes the whole time. You weren't really sure what else to say at the time.

He looked so down and ashamed, as if he'd rather be swallowed by the ground than to face you.

The two of you are exiting the tent of the circus. Usupp knew you were concerned over his mood. So, he tried making the mood light by cracking a few jokes but his smile just didn't reach his eyes. It was obvious that the incident still bothered him.

That's when you hear about the bonfire. How there was music and drinks being given around the bonfire. With a bright smile, you hold his hand and nod your head towards the direction of the said bonfire gathering. Unable to really say no to you, he follows along. You got him a drink to help him ease up a bit and guided him near the bonfire.

"C'mon! Didn't you tell me that you were once the champion of a dancing competition in Spain?" You tease him playfully. The fact you even remember the tales he talks abou was enough to coax out a genuine smile on his face.

Usopp musters up some of his gusto back and leads the dance with you. Ofc, it ends with both of you stepping on each other's feet as you sway along the joyous tune of the music. Despite it all, both of your laughters tuned in with the merry atmosphere of the crowd.

You were smiling and laughing at his jokes so much that your cheeks were aching.

At some point, the music changes into a slow and sweet tune. He swallows visibly as he pulls you closer to him until your bodies are pressed against each other. A shiver runs down his spine when he notices how your breath hitched. Your gaze meeting his.

As cliche as it seems, it truly seemed like the world came to a stop. Leaving just the two of you in that intimate moment alone.

The way that the fire lit your face with that warm color has his mind shortcuiting. All he can focus on the way that he just had to memories every detail so that he'd always remember this moment. Have it seared behind his eyelids so that he'd see even with his eyes closed.

Both of you lean closer to each other. Neither utter a word as if scared that it would shatter the tension in the air. Lips are inches away from touching. He couldn't resist it. Not when you breathed out his name with that voice of yours. Usopp leaned in to finally close the distance.

He melts into the kiss. Its a tender kiss that almost seems as if its the first time, pulling you impossibly closer as if willing you to never let the moment end. You didn't want to. However, the lungs have needs for air. So, you reluctantly pull away to press a kiss on his cheek.

You two stay like that for a while. Simply holding each other as you two sway along to the tune of the music. Still feeling awkward with the tension, he occassionally cracks a small joke to get you to laugh. And he adores it that you bless him with it.

Yamato

Mountain Trekking

Yamato had been travelling all over the world. Enjoying the sights and sceneries as he went from one place to another. And you were a local at his current destination.

He got lost somewhere on the marketplace. Sure, he knew a bit of the language but it was complicated and made communication difficulty. Yamato had been asking random people only to feel even more lost by the second.

That's where you come along. Since you were multi-lingual— he treated you as if you were an angel sent from heaven to help him out.

Both of you got along quick. Your banters, jokes, and gentle guidance made his heart flutter in his chest. His crush on you wasn't much of a secret.

After exchanging contacts, you guided him around local areas and even spots that weren't well known to tourists. Deep dwelling caves with silk worms glowing in the ceiling, ceremonies and events tied to your culture, and local delicacies that left him craving even more.

Yamato would find excuses to call you. Saying he got lost again and had no idea where to go just to hear your voice again. If you actually showed up, he'd do his best to treat you in exchange of the effort.

Eventually, he heard of a certain rumor. That if a couple would climb to the peak of the nearby mountain and watch the sunrise together— they'd love each other 'till the end of time.

Ofc, he tried to be discreet in asking you to go there with him. Tried. But the guy was stumbling over his words and had this flustered look on his face.

Who was he kidding? You were a local. Obviously, you'd know about the rumor. But they way you still agreed had him whooping loudly with that face-splitting grin on his face

Yamato acted like an overprotective parent days before the supposed trek.

Hh

He'd tell you to get proper sleep, healthy meals, and keep yourself well hydrated. On the day of the trek, he made sure you had all your items with you. Though it bordered on overbearing, you just chuckled and tease him over it. He's a big guy. Taller than most people that he could easily be used as a landmark at some point.

Oh, how he loved it whenever you would stand on your toes to pinch his cheek. Sometimes, he'd even lower his head whenever you reached out to pat his head. He would preen excitedly while you teased him not make such a fuss over you. Throughout the trek, he'd made sure your comfort and safety were his top priority. Although with that being said, he still wannted you to enjoy the sights without making you feel smothered by his presence. You'd even teach him small things about your town's tradiations and paying respects as you walk through the trail. Whenever he sensed you felt tired, he'd let you take a break. Since Yamato was fairly taller than you, he made sure to slow down his pace so you could keep a comfortable pace with him. Especially as the two of you trekked highed into the mountain.

The altitude sickness slowly affecting you and your pace throughout the trek. He'd sit you down somewhere and kneel before you. Yamato would hold your hands in his and brush his thumbs over the back of your hand. "Hey, it's alright. We can take a break, catch our breath and continue when you feel better." Yamato tugs your hand closer to press a soft kiss against your knuckles. Concern visible in his eyes as he meets your gaze. "If it doesn't go away, we can go down. I want you to have fun on this trek." Just as usual, you'd pat his head and thank him for his concern.

After resting, both of you would continue your trek. There was a riverbank you two had to cross just a little distance— he'd insist that you'd get on his back.

He'd jump over the steps and you'd cling to him while reminding him to be careful. Both you would end up laughing when he did slip but he made sure you weren't even touching the water. However, some of the luggage got soaked— which included your sleeping bag. It was already getting late and the only place to camp at was the peak of the mountain which was so close within reach. So, the two of you decided to just proceed.

Thankfully, it doesn't take long to reach the peak and make camp there. Yamato was already stationed by the campfire to warm up a bit before helping you set the tent. Your sleeping bag was still soaking wet and neither of you had an extra. It was freezing cold. So, the obvious answer was to share a sleeping bag with Yamato.

Both of you were now blushing messes as you tucked in for the night. Was it really surprising to wake up with your back against his chest while his arm was wrapped around your waist?

No. Obviously. His warm breath fanning against your hair, thumb absentmindedly brushing against your side, and he pulls you a bit closer to him when you try to wriggle away.

Despite how badly you wanted to stay there like that with him but the point of the trek was to watch the sunrise together. And checking the time on your watch meant that it was going to happen anytime soon. Surprisingly, he was compliant when you woke him up. Though your heart did skip a bit when he nodded off to a quick nap and rested his head against your shoulder. You practically had to drag him out by the hand to get set up outside the tent.

Given his still sleepy state, he had you sit between his legs while he hugged you from behind all because he noticed you shiver from a breeze that passed by. His chin settled at the top of your head as both of you would watch the sun peaking through the horizon.

It was a beautiful sight that it took your breath away with ease. A bright smile on your lips as you lean back against his frame.

Though, a part of you knew this was only temporary. That itself dampened your mood for a moment. "I'll come back," Yamato mumbles against your hair, as if sensing your mood. It makes a shaky breath leave your lips.

You knew that he wanted to continue travelling and that this should have just been a quick fleeting encounter. But his words made hope bloom in your chest. Yamato brings up his hand to guide your face to face him. His head tilted slightly to look at you. There was a bright smile on him. It looked so bright that it chased away the shadows of doubt that lingered in the back of your mind.

With a shaky breath, you lean closer to him and press a kiss against his lips. It was a chaste kiss that had him chasing after your lips when yo pulled away. "Promise?" You mumble, lips brush against his with every syllable. It sends a shiver down his spine.

"Promise." He echoes with determination as he kisses you. This time, its more affectionate and sensual. You turn your body to kiss him better. He gladly hums in response and deepens the kiss. "I'll come back. Always." Yamato mumbles against your lips before pressing one last kiss, content in holding you and lpressing kisses against your skin whenever temptation struck as the both of you watch over the sunset.

Jinbei

Cherry Blossom Viewing

Jinbei's the classic cute guy-next door. That was your initial impressionof him when he helped you out while you moved in. It was a new town and everyone was a new face to you. And he lent you a hand with a warm and reassuring smile on his face.

He was friendly despite the intimidating look he had on his face. There was something about the way that he would always give you a smile whenever you two bump into each other in the apartment.

There were times that he was the one who would help you out whenever you needed someone fixing up thing at your place. Hell, he even went out of his way to pick you up when it was late into the night and the rain was pouring heavily bc you forgot your umbrella.

As thanks, you'd offer him to come over and make him dinner. He absolutely adored your food. Always eating it with absolute delight and praising your food each time.

It was a bit of a slow burn. There was that warm and relaxing feeling in your chest as you slowly came to appreciate his presence more and more.

The same goes for him. There would be times where he'd go an extra step further in helping you adjust in town, that you felt safe there, and making sure that gorgeous smile on your face would remain on your face.

It was while the two of you were enjoying some snacks after he just repaired the leaking faucet in your sink. You brought up the topic of how you always wanted to live in that town because of the cherry blossoms.

Jimbei takes note of this and invites you to watch the cherry blossoms with him when the season comes around. You teased him if he was asking you on a date. Which immediately made the poor guy a flustered mess.

Saying that if only that was something you wanted and that he wouldn't dare to force you into going with him if you didn't want to. Well, obviously, you told him that you'd absolutely love that. How you were already looking forward to making the snacks you guys would have by then.

Just like that, the sands of the hourglass trickled down, and the seasons changed.

It was the talk of the town by then. Ceremonies and festivities were held to celebrate the cherry blossoms. It had always been a custom in the town. You and Jinbei had already planned everything out so that it would all go smoothly. You were now waiting for him by the agreed meeting place. A picnic basket held in your hands as you watched the clusters of cherry blossom trees in the near distance with awe. There was a fair amount of crowd gathering around the area in order to witness the beauty of it. It doesn't take long before you hear a familiar voice calling out your name. And there he was. Jinbei was making his way towards you with that warm smile on his face that always made your heart flutter in your chest. You return it with a smile of your own. Jinbei's eyes fall on your outfit and his eyes seem to shine a little brighter. You looked breathtaking. By then, he knew that he'd rather just enjoy the view before him than the cherry blossoms (Though, ofc, he'd never actually say that to you out loud. He'll keep it as a little secret.) He takes the basket from you to carry it himself. Not that he didn't think you'd be able to carry it. He was well-aware of your capabilities. He simply wanted to be of service.

And being you, there's no way you didn't tease him a bit for it. Enjoying the usually composed facade on his face falter a bit with a bashful expression. There was always something about the way he responded to your teasing made you want to keep doing it even more. Well, it did occassionally catch you off-guard whenever he chimes back witha teasing remark of his own.

In truth, he did enjoy those playful moments even though it left him feeling quite...flustered. The walk to the cherry blossom trees was filled with easy conversation. It always was. It seemed so calming being in his presence. There was no pretense to worry over. As if he'd accept you as you were no matter what. If anything, he made you feel safe and comfortable in his presence.

That was something you adored most about him. When the two of you spot a nice area, Jinbei helped out with preparing everything. The two of you are situated under a cherry blossom tree with a good view of the river and nearby park.

What a picturesque scene it made. Soft pink of the petals dance gracefully in the wind. The weather was perfect as well. Nothing too cloudly nor sunny. Jinbei always paid rapt attention to whatever you talked about. Be it from the most mundane parts of your days or the amusing tales you had stored in your memory. He accepted each one and kept it close to him. Wondering maybe it would be his own way to become a bit closer to you as well. "This is amazing as always." He muses while taking another bite of the sandwich you made. Most of the food you made for the picnic were his favorites. Making sure you made them just the way he always liked it as. And his compliments never fail to make butterflies erupt in your stomach. "Well, they do say that the best way to a man's heart is through their stomach." You tease with a playful wink at his direction. Oh, boy. Jinbei immediately choked on his food because of that. The flustered expression blatant all over your face. Part of you couldn't help but chuckle at his response while you hand him a drink while patting his back soothingly. It takes a while for him to compose himself as well.

By the end of it, he does try to regain some dignity by clearing his throat and changing the topic to something else. Hours pass by like it was nothing in each other's presence. Laughs and conversations were exchanged. And by then, it was sundown.

The way that the hues of orange and red painted the sky along with the touch of pink cherry blossom petals was something you wanted to engrave in your memory. The gentle breeze caresses your hair and blows wisps of it as though it were playing with the strands.

It was perfect. And all the while, Jinbei couldn't help but stare at you. Gods, he'd never get tired of the sight of you smiling so warmly like that. You looked so peaceful. A cherry blossom petal lands on your hair, and he reaches out to brush it away.

There's that look of adoration on his face that he couldn't hide even if he tried. His touch doesn't go unnoticed by you. You turn your gaze to meets his. And the way he looks at you immediately steals your breath. He looked at you as though nothing held equal value. All the longing and affection he held for you were laid bare at that moment. And by the gods did his heart swell at the your cheeks turned a delightful shade of blush. Jinbei reaches out his hand to brush away a strand of your hair behind your ear. His heart fills fit to burst with the way you lean into his touch.

For a moment, he simply takes in the sight of you like that. Taking a leap of faith, he leans in by fraction. Anticipation builds in his chest as he notices the way your breath hitched. Gaze flickers down to your lips before looking deep into your eyes. You can't help but lean in even closer. Lips inches away from his. The warmth of his breath fans against your skin sends a shiver down your spine. Your eyes flutter close and you lean in. He closes in that final gap to capture your lips with his. The two of you melt into the kiss. Lips moving languidly with each other's. His hand cups your cheek and pulls you closer to him and you gladly let him.

When the kiss ends, there's that lovesick smile on both your faces. A soft chuckle leaves your lips as you lean against him to rest your head against his shoulder. There was something so inexplicably intimate abt it. A comfortable silence falls between the both of you like a warm blanket. Indulging in his presence with the serene and picturesque sight of the cherry blossom trees. It was something your were sure you'd remember for as long as possible.

~~~~~~~

And that's all for the main event, folks! I will post another for other characters but they will be much shorter than this series (might take me another century to post tho...).

Here's my masterlist to check out my other works!

[obsidianpen]

The whole scene with Liam using his Veela magic to get past Hermione’s memories was so creepy, and then him stealing a kiss 😫 Liam, no consent is never okay boi! But then you also revealed Liam experienced abuse due to his creature magic, which is so flipping complex and fantastic character development/choices on your part. Like him doing that is not black and white. And that sure af does not justify him mentally diving into Hermione mind, kissing her while she’s under his influence, but it adds weight to his decision. Ahhhh shades of grey all the way down! I love your writing Pen

thank you anon! Been getting lots of comments on the Liam portion of the last chapter, so I’m just gonna address a lot of them here:

I think it’s interesting how very up-in-arms angry a lot of people are over that specifically. Yes, of course it was morally Bad and it’s totally natural and legit to be super pissed that Liam would do that…. But I also think it’s worth looking at things from his perspective. Is it assault to interrogate a criminal like that in wizarding Britain? I’d say yes (legally in the magical world idk, probably very gray area; it would depend on if there are specific laws in place barring part-creatures from using their abilities on detained criminals… unclear, when things like veritaserum are okay, so yeah idk), but there’s a lot going on in the background that we (you? Hermione? The readers?) aren’t seeing. The real negotiations are happening between Madison and Dumbledore while the minister is out of commission. They’re both willing to ignore a few laws to get what they want because - here it is - they think they are doing the right thing.

well, okay, Madison’s being compelled by the MACUSA too, but he also thinks he’s doing the best thing for hermione by saving her from a trial in Britain. Isn’t even wrong really.

but Dumbledore - easy to see him as evil rn, but remember, he suspects riddle of murdering a poor innocent child! He thinks (correctly!) that riddle killed Myrtle and got hagrid to take the fall. He sees an opportunity to right that wrong, to clear Hagrid’s name, and to prevent someone like riddle - a murderer - from being free in the world and killing again. Because he will. And does, canonically. Dumbledore doesn’t even know about the fact that he killed his dad and grandparents yet!

so enter Liam - he honestly cared about hermione; she helped him get this job he’s been wanting, he thought she was long-time friends with his bestie… he believed all of it and thought they’d have a future as fun colleagues at the very least. Then she suddenly vanished with this creepy (to him - and he’s not wrong) guy who shows up out of nowhere and then he learns not too much later that she attacked Walt, fucked with his memories, and then lied to all of them; Walter gets fired, and then when they track her down, he learns that she also attacked and modified the memories of some witch and her house-elf in Britain (oh and she nearly killed the minister and two other people in her escape attempt)…

From where he’s standing, hermione is not a good person. She’s assaulted and modified the minds of several people, she’s stolen and used some old lady’s gold and name and affluence, she’s invented an entirely new fake identity…

so, when Albus Dumbledore and Lester Madison, two of the most powerful wizards he knows of (one of him is now his boss) asks if he can get these memories from her using a bit of his special brand of magic… what is he supposed to say? When it would, in the end, conceivably save both her (by getting her back to America) and put away a much more sinister wizard (if Dumbledore is correct and this creepy dude that whisked hermione away is actually a killer… and he is!). He may not have been jazzed to do it - he never tried to seduce her in America before, after all, and never would have - but one doesn’t say no to your very adamant new boss and freaking Dumbledore, the guy who defeated Grindelwald, especially not when the ends really do seem to justify the means (to them, at least). And all of this is not even touching upon the very vague hinting at Liam’s personal history with abuse.

anyway, kind of a rant, just had to put it out there because yeah, what Liam did was icky and nonconsensual but what hermione has done to people many times was also icky and nonconsensual and arguably a whole lot worse (imo, of course, but everyone is entitled to think differently there!).

[aviculor]

The people who run the yarr harr sites need to wake up and upload V/H/S/Beyond already. I'm going to have to watch something else in the meantime.

Creep. I know what happens in Creep. A guy takes a gig taping a video diary for someone who's allegedly terminally ill. And the client is a creep. A weirdo, if you will. You might be tempted to ask what the hell he is doing here. It may be evident that he does not belong here. So on and so forth. At the end, the two men part ways with the client being seemingly benign in spite of all his unsettling behavior. But when they meet again, our protagonist gets an axe in the head because the client actually was a serial killer toying with his prey this whole time. That's the long and short of it. But as I've said before, a film cannot be assessed by a plot summary alone. It is an experience. And the experience is in fact the meat of this movie.

At an hour and 17 minutes, it is indeed a little more svelte than some of the other films I've experienced. Not a bad thing, as it is a rather straightforward narrative. The film is from 2014, and you can see how it evolved out of the "cruel for cruelty's sake" and "invincible villain" flavor of the aughties that gave us Saw and The Poughkeepsie Tapes.

Oh yeah, Josef is getting naked as soon as Aaron agrees to the job. That is setting the tone just as well as Aaron spying the axe in the stump outside.

Knowing how it ends, it does rob a lot of the "what the fuck is going on here? Is this guy being sincere about Tubby Time and Peachfuzz the Wolf?" ambiguity from the events that are unfolding. But because I am watching all this knowing it's just Josef (and that's not even his real name) completely fucking with Aaron, it's like watching a car crash. Or a Greek tragedy. You know what I mean? And then it makes sense why Josef would "break script" to take the camera and record Aaron and ask him invasive questions. Because that footage was never being filmed to show a child whose father will die before he is born. Josef literally did just pick that idea up from the movie he mentioned. It also explains why his marital rape story gives a completely different origin for the "Peachfuzz" mask than what he said in act one.

So who exactly WAS Angela, anyway? What did she know? What was she doing? Why was she calling Josef? Why did she not have more urgency in telling Aaron to leave? Why did she not contact the police? IS Josef his real name since she called him that, or was Josef the name of his last victim the same way he calls himself Aaron in Creep 2? Was that why he ran away and dropped the pretense of having cancer and a pregnant wife after that point, because Angela was his last victim's sister and he thought that Aaron learned more than he actually did?

My recollection of events was accurate aside from the day ending with Aaron getting into a physical altercation with Josef and escaping, and Josef stalking Aaron. Which only begs the question of why Aaron agreed to meet Josef again. He should have contacted the police again when he got that final CD. He gave up on that way too easily and then he willingly went to a second location of Josef's choosing. Josef even pointed it out, Aaron should have been on guard enough to look behind himself even just once.

[crazy56u]

Okay, the app is starting to become self aware, I feel…

Addison, cut your losses with Tom.

“Look, I gotta go, Ben needs me, he totally didn’t just black out from too much coffee.”

Plot twist: Herbicore is poisoning the pumpkins, that’s why Steve’s wife has that cough.

I technically called it!

“Look, Connie, I finally figured out what the plot is, this weed eater shit is gonna kill everyone!”

Oh, great, Peacock’s running ads now.[/joke]

“I’m Chet Barlow of Herbicore, asking you to come to Denver. We’re not Detroit.”

…why does your brother look like a sex offender?

Joe doesn’t even know what’s going on, he is drunk as shit.

Why is this two weeks in a row where puns are plot points?

If only ad blockers existed in the 1980s…

“Do you think Chet knows his weed killer is dangerous?” Ben, he’s a CEO in the 1980s. Sucker’s bet.

Ben, if you don’t say a name now, Connie is gonna drop this story.

“He called you on that pay phone, right? Late night when he needs your love?”

“There’s no such thing as a dead end.” I name at least five Looney Tunes cartoons that would disagree.

Oh, goody, an inside job. So, calling it now: Just like in “Roberto!”, that guy is fucking dead now.

Okay, now I feel bad about calling Robbie a sexual predator…

I have a sinking suspicion their boss might be in on this…

“We need to keep this between the two of us. Now, if you know any ghosts, they can get lumped in as well.”

I admire the fact that Robbie didn’t opt to just bail.

“Who says I’m afraid?” “Is it your brother?” “…” “Okay, so you are afraid.”

I love how they are openly having this loud ass conversation in public.

Now, how long until Ben draw the connection between “this is killing farmers” and “Steve’s wife has that cough”.

Oh, goody, Chet is basically Gideon. God fuck, can’t he go away…

“I’ve seen people disappear. Sometimes in bight blue glowing light, they get replaced with other people and they don’t remember shit!”

“Look, we tried, it’s not like the episode isn’t even half over yet.”

And Steve becomes plot important!

“Herbicrop? I love that stuff, I’m swimming in tumors!”

Steve, your wife is fucking hacking up a lung, and you act like they’re spewing bullshit.

“Everything’s gonna be alright.” Episode is half over, there is a shoe yet to drop.

Ben, never do that again.

Davidson is 100% in on it, that was too fucking coincidental.

And it’s gonna be Robbie’s car in 5… 4… 3…

We are now 100% “Roberto!”

Ben, Connie is experiencing PTSD, maybe calm down.

…Connie, I think we both know that’s not what actually happened…

“Rule three: Fuck this job.”

Connie, if you think Ben is gonna stop, you are sadly mistake . [And sound goes off.]

Ian and Tom, stop pretending Magic isn’t gonna be the one to lose their job, just because he was pissed off, it doesn’t mean he’s letting anyone else take the fall under the bus.

And Ian, rightfully, goes the fuck off.

[Sound goes on.] And it’s time to get crunk.

…it only now just hit me that Addison never told Ben that… it been like two fucking episodes!

“What happened?” “What didn’t?”

Ben, unless your unknowingly leapt into the guy that planted that car bomb, stop blaming yourself for shit.

Now, that just sucks for Robbie: him dying is the Canon Event.

…or Robbie just fucking hates cars.

“Hey.” “I thought I fired you.” “I love how you thought that would work.”

“Look, I don’t care if Robbie is still alive, I still fired you.” “We both know I ain’t accepting that, Connie.”

“Look, Connie, I also suffer from being depressed about my actions.”

[Sound goes off.]

“So, is this the end of Quantum Leap?” NBC, YOU ARE IN THIN FUCKING ICE NOW

Tom, even if I already know the punchline, you should be the one to go.

“I wish there was another way.” Tom, you dumb idiot, you basically just gave Magic the go ahead…

[Sound goes on.]

Cut to The Pink Hotel.

“…so, you’re telling me I blew up my car for fucking nothing.”

I love how Robbie was willing to leave the country despite knowing he could’ve ended the episode early.

Look, Robbie, sometimes you gotta “Scorpion and the Frog” this shit.

I also love how the pink lighting is making Robbie look more depressed.

This is now a heist movie.

“What do you mean ‘Leverage the door’?” It means grab a flat thing, and break the door.

I love how the key to saving the day is just breaking shit.

I love how Ski Mask is acting real fucking cool right now, as if Ben isn’t gonna kick his ass.

Ben, I hope to fuck you rolled a Crit Success on Fast Talk.

And now Wyatt fears God.

…and is probably gonna meet him face to face.

Ben just kicked cancer’s ass.

And Connie pulls the Columbo maneuver.

Chet is about to get fucked by a pumpkin.

“It’s you.” “It’s always me.” …annnnnnd now my brain is trying to craft a Quantum Leap/FNAf crossover.

And Ben dips.

[Sound goes off, fuck you Tom.]

“Look, Tom, be honest, we both knew Ben was gonna win out in the end.” “Honestly, same.”

And now, for the most obvious ending of the episode!

“Look, Tom saved our asses, but Gideon wants someone fired. And it can’t be Ian, and I ain’t firing you, and Addison wasn’t even in this subplot, so… … … (leaves)”

And we end with a dedication to Matt Dale. Watch as NBC promptly fumbles the bag, and cancels the show next week…

So, next week’s a two-fer, Magic is quitting, and Gideon is still fucking here!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

[the-cat-chat]

October 26, 2024

Saw (2004)

Two men regain consciousness while chained to pipes at either end of a filthy bathroom. As the two men realize they've been trapped by a sadistic serial killer nicknamed "Jigsaw," they realize they must complete his perverse puzzle to live.

Warning: Review may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

JayBell: We finally cross the first of another famous horror movie franchise off our list. I'm happy that this one is less of a slasher and more of a psychological horror movie with slasher-esque elements. It's way more interesting to watch two potential victims be pit against each other in sadistic mind games than watch a group of idiots stumble around and get killed. It is much gorier than I anticipated, which I neither really dislike nor like, but it does effectively up the stakes for the victims in the story.

I like the setup of this movie. Just put two very different victims together, seemingly strangers, and force them into this terrible scenario. I actually appreciate how the two men didn't immediately try to kill the other person to save themselves. I think the movie does a great job balancing moments in which they work together and moments in which they can be a little more selfish.

The big twists of the movie are okay. Like we predicted the most obvious one almost immediately because truly there isn't that many characters in the movie. So by process of elimination you already know who the bad guys are. But the final final reveal I didn't quite predict, even though it seems obvious in retrospect too. Also, that's a very risky plan for Jigsaw. What if he had to sneeze? That would be so embarrassing for him.

I know the one surviving cop with the dead partner is experiencing some kind of mental breakdown, but does he seriously try to go after Jigsaw on his own, no calling the police, no backup, no nothing? He even interrupts a home invasion without calling the police. Yeah, that seems smart. Maybe he parted on bad terms and holds a grudge? Let's go with that.

In the end, I'm not sure we're gonna continue with the series, but never say never. There are plenty of Halloweens in the future.

Rating: 5.5/10 cats 🐈

Anzie: I have to be honest as awful as this movie is and as much as I have no desire to ever see it again or anymore sequels due to the gore and sounds these movies have, I appreciate the actual existence of a plot. I went into this thinking that it was just a weird puppet that keeps people in a torture maze until he murders them. I knew the second Michael Emerson popped up he was involved though, he gives that vibe plus being the same time his two shows were popular it makes sense. Butttttt I always thought that he was working with the killer not bc the killer was forcing him too with the threat of death. And for the actual guyyy to lay entirely stillllllllll in the room with the other two guys???? And not react!?!?! I do like how the guy says the dead guy’s blood (his blood? Which isn’t possible?? But whatever!) has enough poison that it would make you wanna die- and meaning the treatment he received for cancer, not poison as part of the game- so it’s alluded to being him from the start but you don’t see it until looking back. Can we discuss two other things tooo. If your child says a man’s in her room. Take her seriously. Pls. The reaction to that in this movie is just insane. And what’s with the pig mask?? Never ever explained but what the whattt. Absolutely terrifying. Anyway. I feel bad about the end bc the guy’s like oh you had the key all along. But he was in a tuuuubbbb and it went down the drainnnnn. That was so awful. After everything. And why didn’t it pick up with the dr guy finding the cops or anything?? Tooo I got really big Seven vibes- but that was better?? I guess bc it was from the detectives perspective? IDK.

Rating: 4/10 Cats 🐈‍⬛

[letarasstuff]

One kind of intern

(A/N): This was requested by @greenslifestuff :) It took me a week or two because I had to interact with my friends in order to get the inspiration I needed 😅 Summary: The team gets to work with a gen z teenager. Let’s see how that goes.

Warnings: Swearing and gen z humour

Wordcount: 2k

✨Masterlist✨

___________________________________

“Team, this is (Y/N) (L/N). She will be interning for the upcoming three months alongside this team. (Y/N), these are Agents Emily Prentiss, Jennifer Jareau, David Rossi, Derek Morgan and Doctor Spencer Reid and our Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia”, Hotch introduces a teenage girl to his team like this happens every day.

“Wait Hotch, we don’t get interns. What is she going to do, no offense, but getting us coffee or what?” Morgan eyes her suspiciously. She looks like any teenager grabbed from the street. A band t-shirt, a torn pair of jeans and a cup from starbucks in her hands. Nothing you would expect to even enter a federal building.

“No offence taken, Agent Morgan. I know having an ugly pickly bitch working with professionals seems weird. It’s just I have summer break and I thought it would be a good thing on my resumé if I already interned in the FBI, because I just graduated and I wanted to go to the academy this fall. But if you wanna do a vibe check with me first, that’s fine by me. Whatever floats your boat.”

The room falls silent. Then out of all sudden everyone turns to Garcia, who puts her arms up in defense. “I don’t even know half the things she said, ask her yourself.”

That’s how the BAU gets their first contact with Gen Z culture and let me tell you it is a wild ride, so buckle up your seats, drink your tea up because we aren’t going to make any stops.

“(Y/N), I need you to come with me. We are going to the M.E. getting the latest reports from our last case”, Morgan tells her while passing her desk. In the blink of an eye the teenager is ready, putting her denim jacket with various pins and bits of patches on.

“Derek, can we get starbucks on the way back? The pumpkin spiced latte is back on their menu and I am on withdrawal. Pleaaaaaasseeee”, she looks at him with a pouty face. Morgan smiles. “Ok, under one condition: We both get one, take awesome pictures and send them to the group chat and then we act like we didn’t get them anything, but we actually buy them their usual.” He got the hang of it pretty fast. “Deal, Sis.”

While they are in the car on their way to the M.E. the agent groans. “Ugh, road work ahead.” “Uh yeah, I sure hope it does!” Morgan eyes her from the side. His whole demeanor says ‘old and confused’.

“What was that, kid?” But (Y/N) begins to laugh. “Don’t you know vines? Short dumb and funny clips people made?” It’s safe to say that this afternoon he learns to speak in vines, getting on Rossi’s nerves because nothing makes sense anymore.

“Ok, I heard you wanted to become a profiler. So I thought I would show you some old cases and then you try to figure out the profile. I’ll present them to you like I do to the team, alright?” JJ and (Y/N) sit in her office, safe from curious eyes. “As right as the law, Ma’am.” 

“Good, this is a case from several years ago. It happened here in D.C. Three men were murdered execution style in the middle of the night in an alleyway. They were all from different backgrounds. The only connection between them was that they were evicted for some form of sexual harassment or assault. The UnSub also had a signature: A shot into their groin while the men were alive.”

Unfaced by the presented facts (Y/N) pops a piece of gum into her mouth. “It do be like that.”

“What?” “I mean, it’s obviously a woman. She experienced any harassment or assault herself. She also has excess to the files, I assume she works as a paralegal, since most of them are women. Female serial killers are extremely rare, but they are better organized. The only thing left to say is good for her getting revenge.” The blonde looks at the teenager with wide eyes.

“I-I guess but you know you can’t say anything like that to Hotch, do you?” She asks concerned. “JJ, I’m dead inside, not dumb. I know this.” But the agent shrugs. “Good. Though I really want to see his face.” “Mood.”

Penelope Garcia is the closest one to relate to Gen Z culture, since a great part of her time is spent on the internet. She happily learns about all the phrases and their meanings as well as the newest trends and hypes.

“Purp is sus, I tell you”, is heard from the lair into the hallway. Spencer and Derek look at each other with concern on their faces. “Do you think they are alright or do we have to-” “IT’S A SELF REPORT I SWEAR PENNY! YOU WORK WITH PROFILERS IN GANDALF’S NAME!” Spencer’s question is answered by that.

“Baby girl, crazy girl, are you doing good? Do you need help or something?” The older one asks warily. But it’s drowned in another screaming match. “I TOLD YOU PURP WAS THE IMPOSTER BUT YOU HAVE TO TELL THEM I VENTED WHEN I DIDN’T! I WANT ALL TIKTOKS I SENT YOU BACK!” “YOU DON’T DARE TO REVOKE MY TIKTOK PRIVILEGES!” “WATCH ME GARCIA!”

“Whoa girls, what about taking a break?” Morgan tries to diffuse the situation. “Yes, I think JJ got new pictures of Henry and Emily brought cookies this morning”, Spencer adds.

The girls, who mere seconds ago were ready to jump each other's throats, look at the other one. “You get the cookies and I go to JJ, deal?” (Y/N) asks. “Deal!” Without sparing the boys another glance they run out of the lair. Their devices are still lit up. A red figure shines into their faces. ‘AMONG US’ is written underneath it. “I think we get too old for this stuff, don’t we Reid?”

Spencer always thought he was young. Of course, his mind is older, but physically he is not that old. But the intern proves him wrong. And boy is he wrong.

“Spencer, is there anything interesting to know today?” (Y/N) takes a seat on his desk, distracting the genius from his paperwork. It is a common occurrence for her to go to him to ask for a fun fact.

“Do you wanna learn something about sloths?” His knowledge (or the writer’s) on this subject is astonishingly big.

“Spill the tea, sis.” “Did you kn- What? But I don’t have tea to spill. And I don’t wanna spill anything, I-” Reid rambles in confusion.

“It’s just a saying, Spencer. There is no deeper meaning to it then ‘Tell me everything about it’. You know, it’s mostly used for gossiping, but I don’t really like to gossip. That’s why I use it in a different context. You got it?” (Y/N) explains it to him in a soft manner, knowing her generation can be complex.

“Yeah, I think I do. Thank you for telling me. I really like the phrase. It has a nice ring. What about you spill the tea about all the phrases you know and I tell you some things from my knowledge?” “I think you got yourself a teacher, genius. But now tell me about the sloths, I love them.”

A few days later Rossi catches her doing some weird moves. “Are you having a seizure or what is your problem, youngster?” Even though he tries not to show it, David took a great liking to (Y/N), thinking of her like a granddaughter. Still, most of her actions confuse the hell out of him.

“I’m practising a dance for tiktok. My friends and I worked on a choreo we wanted to film later. Come here, I can show you.” And that’s what she does in the conference room. The teenager walks him through every move of the choreo, explaining the meaning to it and how it correlates with the song.

“And then you move your arm like that. Exactly like that! You did a great job, David! Are you sure you don’t want to come with me later? We can make you your own account and name it ‘Grandpa-on-tiktok’. You can promote your books over there and it’s a way to float with the trend!”

Seeing her this excited Rossi can’t do anything but agree to the idea. Also, he secretly liked doing the dance thing. It made him feel young again.

“(Y/N), you said you graduated this summer. But your file said you are 16?” Emily asks her one boring day filled with paperwork and countless cups of coffee. “It is what it is”, she mindlessly answers, too focused on filling out the work in front of her.

“I mean yes but how?”

“Emily, smart people exist. I know, coming from me hits different, but here we are.” Finally (Y/N) puts her pen away looking at the raven haired woman.

“What are you talking about? I can’t really follow you.” The more the intern says the more confused gets Emily.

She sighs. “I don’t want to leave you on read here. I kind of am smart somehow. Apparently I was smart enough to skip a grade or two. But it’s no biggie. Many peeps do this, so I don’t sweat it.”

“Even though I feel like you are selling yourself short here, I know you are an incredibly intelligent person. Someday you will be an awesome profiler and any team will be lucky to have you. I really hope we will be the lucky team. But I’m still not sure if this is what I should say in this context.”

“Emily, you are goals. This fam is squad goals. I really hope to be a part of this someday”, (Y/N) admits. “I’m sure Hotch will do his best to get you on the team, you became a great part of it. I can’t imagine a future without you.”

Sadly Prentiss has to get used to a time without the team’s beloved intern. On her last day (Y/N) knocks at Hotch’s door.

“Hey, I wanted to say thank you. The time with you and all the others was amazing and I learned so many useful things for not only the academy but also for my daily life. I really had a glow-up here”, she says after coming in.

Hotch motions towards the chairs in front of his desk. “Take a seat, (Y/N). I got something for you. See it as a compensation for not getting paid for your internship. You really did great work and a better job than some agents, who are doing theirs for many years already but don’t know half the stuff you do. You are a valuable member to the team.”

“Wait, you speak in presence tense. I leave you all this afternoon, you know that, do you?” But the Unit Chief only gestures to a white envelope on his desk. Quickly the teenager takes it and reads it.

“Are you serious Hotchner? Because I will cry you a river if you joke”, she threatens him.

“I’m dead serious, (Y/N). Even though half of your talks are difficult to understand, the other half is twice as useful and important. Additionally to that, you are like a fresh breath of air that the team needed. That’s why a place here will be available for you as soon as you graduate from the academy. I trust you that you will pass with flying colors, I had to promise that to Strauss.”

“Of course, Hotch. I swear on my Animal Crossing Island that I will do my best and more. Thank you so much”, she leaps into his arms.

The others watch the interaction from the bullpen, pretending to not get teary eyed. Their favorite Gen Z Kid will come back to them after all.

Taglist:

Spencer Reid

@calm-and-doctor

[dropintomanga]

Video Games for Mental Health - AI: The Somnium Files

~Resist, allow your heart to take you! Never let this merciless world erase you! Passing down the light of the torch to guide you, And you shall be bathed in light!~

When it comes to reading visual material, one would usually think picture books. In the case of pop culture fans, there’s Western comic books and manga. But there’s a whole other medium that has gotten a lot of exposure since the start of the 2010s’ - visual novels. While there’s many notable VNs to discuss, I want to take a look at Team Zero Escape’s/Spike Chunsoft’s AI: The Somnium Files (AI is pronounced as “eye”) franchise due to its focus on finding connections and how messy the process can be.

This will largely be spoiler-free because discussing everything that happens in both games will take forever.

AI: The Somnium Files, created by Kotaro Uchikoshi (who’s most famous for creating the Zero Escape and Danganronpa series), is a murder mystery starring special detective Kaname Date and his AI partner, Aiba, who takes the form of Date’s left eye. The two have to find a serial killer, the New Cyclops Serial Killer, who’s plucking eyeballs off of people they murder. Date finds out one of the victims was a woman he knows and discovers that a young girl has the supposed murder weapon in her hands. Along the way, Date and Aiba meet a variety of people who help and/or hurt their investigation. To get to the truth, Date goes into people’s minds and dreams with the help of Aiba. There are a lot of twists as there are multiple routes and endings that all come together in one wild package.

There’s also a sequel that just came out in 2022 - AI: The Somnium Files -nirvanA Initiative-. The story takes place 6 years later after the 1st game. The premise goes as this - months after the events of the 1st game, the right half of a corpse was found. 6 years later, the left half of the same corpse was found with no decay at all. It’s up to 2 new protagonists, Mizuki (who is a major supporting character in the 1st game) and Ryuki Kuruto, alongside their own AI eyeball partners, to find the truth about the half body killings. While this is happening, something called the Nirvana Initiative is looking to cause trouble for the public.

I discovered the first game from a “top games of the 2010s’” podcast. It made number 11 on their list. So I decided to see what the podcast hosts experienced. AI1 was a emotional experience for me. There’s so much dialogue that will make you cry, laugh, cringe, angry, etc. Much like a point-and-click adventure game, you can interact with objects. Sometimes, you get some really great interactions with the cast of characters when you click on them. Those conversations feel like conversations one would have with friends in real life. Sure, some of them are dumb, but those kinds of moments make life bearable. The 2nd game continues that tradition too.

Speaking of the characters, it’s not just Date and Aiba who shine. There’s Mizuki, who’s technically the surrogate daughter of Date. They trade barbs with one another in comedic fashion. It’s cute to see because their relationship reminds me of Gintoki Sakata and Kagura in Gintama. In the first game, other notable characters include a teen idol, a NEET, a yakuza who worships idols, a crossdressing bar mama, and a female boss who throws out sexual innuendos. The second game introduces newer characters like a big chef wearing a mask to hide his disfigured face, a lovestruck former thief, and a mysterious masked female vigilante.

With many characters, the Somnium Files series does a great job at looking into the psychology and mental well-being of them. Whether it’s the dream sequences or regular interactions, one thing is for certain. What drives them, good or bad, is the people in their lives. That’s what I felt from these games. It’s about finding family in the strangest of places when all hope feels lost. These characters are driven to great lengths to gain attention from the ones they love.  And more importantly, don’t be afraid to open your eyes when it comes to conflict. There’s absolutely heavy portrayals of what happens when mental health goes awry due to inner/interpersonal conflict in both games. Dementia, brain tumors, family trauma, survivor’s guilt, and self-hatred are some of the mental health subjects discussed in this series.

Date is a really great hero. There’s a caveat about him though. He’s addicted to pornography/cabaret clubs and this is played to comedic effect. I found Date to be endearing otherwise due to things the player learns in the last few hours of the 1st game. Also, Mizuki is great. She’s the total opposite of Date as she’s a physical powerhouse. It’s nice to see Mizuki carry on the torch in the 2nd game as she’s arguably the most popular character in the series.

With great characters comes great voice acting. There’s amazing talent on the English side for both games. Greg Chun, Erika Harlacher, Corina Boettger, Jackie Lastra, Allegra Clark, Dorah Fine, Zach Aguilar, Kaiji Tang, Patrick Seitz, Stephen Fu, Anairis Quinones, SungWon Cho, Amanda Lee, Y. Chang, Laura Post just to name a bunch. All the VAs seemed to have a really fun time working on both games because they all brought their A-games into making all the conversations worth hearing over and over again.

I’ll end this post with one of my favorite dialogues in the series from Mizuki.

Uchikoshi has gotten some attention for having progressive views as there’s a good amount of Japanese game developers who still think backwards about certain groups of people. There’s many people who think the Japanese are offended by most Western localization (ESPECIALLY with dialogue like this) and think Japanese people are all “non-political”, but I will say this - there’s Japanese people who do think about the feelings of minorities. It may not be many, but they’re there and outside of whatever internet bubbles fans are in. 

And yes, humanity is rooted in weakness. I never told anyone that I was strong and I will gladly admit that I’m only still alive because I’ve had people who helped and supported me despite whatever differences we have.

So yeah, check out the AI: The Somnium Files franchise. It’s still very under the radar as the 1st game didn’t seem to sell a whole lot due to a lack of major marketing. Both games do have flaws, but this is a franchise made with a lot of love and deserves many eyeballs to reach the dream of being one of the most fascinating stories in a time where AI is gaining prominence in the real world and so much mental trauma is left unprocessed.

AI: The Somnium Files and its sequel, -nirvanA Initiative-, are out for the following systems (PC/Switch/PS4/Xbox One). 

[stxleslyds]

Robin Jason, a friend and ally of the Titans.

PART 1.

Last Friday I was feeling extra rage-y after the news about the Titans mini with the Titans show line-up of heroes. I still think that a) Jason shouldn’t be considered a Titan or be in the team as Red Hood and b) that him going back to wearing a bat symbol on his chest is just bad but as @randomlut said there is a possibility of that book not being set in DC’s current universe and if that’s the case then okay, I will not complain about it anymore.

But this post isn’t about that Titans book it’s about Jason’s Robin’s appearances in volume two of the New Teen Titans!

Now, this won’t be an in-depth review of those issues from a story point of view, it will be a post in which I talk about Jason’s characterization and interactions with the Titans. Maybe I will even dive a little bit into why I think that the interactions that Jason and Roy have in those issues makes the relationship that they had in New52 very out of place.

Let’s begin!

·         NTT (1984) #19

Jason as Robin appears here only in the last page of the issue. After the current team of the Titans appears to be falling apart Donna calls Jason and others to help in a mission, this team that she puts together resembles the “original” line-up with Robin, Speedy, (Kid) Flash, Aqualad and Hawk.

·         NTT (1884) #20-21

Jason appears in the Titans tower along the OG Titans, when Donna finally tells them what the mission is all about (stopping Cheshire from interrupting a meeting) she asks if they are in on the job, Jason is not only excited about being there but about Batman actually letting him come all the way to the tower. A little bit of what Jason thinks or saw in Bruce is shown when Wally says that he “didn’t think the Batman could be thrilled by anything. He is always so grim.”

Basically, what Jason says is that the Bat isn’t that bad if you get to know him and that he cares about Jason’s education outside of vigilantism. Also, Jason seems to be grateful and very receptive of the things that Bruce taught him, he regards him as a very good mentor.

After everyone decides to help, they get on their jet. Here we have a very important interaction between Jason and Donna, she is telling him how she is feeling about the attitude of the rest of the team and about how she is a little bit lost now that she is in charge of the Titans and then she asks what Robin thinks about the whole thing, Jason is obviously thrilled once more, someone as experienced as Donna is asking him for his opinion? It blows his mind away! Batman never does that, he is always following his lead and never has a say on what they do so, to him, helping the Titans is only getting better and maybe he will ask the Bat to let him join them permanently.

Because they were talking Donna wasn’t paying much attention while flying and after they barely avoid crashing the jet, she apologizes to everyone and once more looks for reassurance with Jason, this time Jason is caught off guard but after Hawk teases him about his hesitation he tells her that “everything’s okay”.

When they arrive to Switzerland (where the meeting will be held) we have Jason’s first interaction with Roy Harper and him also slowly transforming into a burrito, that boy was cold and pissed off about it!

It’s really funny to me that Roy talking about Oliver’s pervy arrows is his very first interaction with Jason, who would have thought that a mad man would later make them besties?

They all go inside a building to get warm and for a while Jason is just chilling while the other Titans are all having an existential crisis, because here is the thing, Jason is a kid, he was presumably 14 here while all the other are in their twenties. Donna is having trouble with her new position as leader of the Titans, Wally is trying to live up to Barry, Garth is grieving his love, Roy is still very uncomfortable about being on a mission that involves Cheshire and Hank is just crazy. The others are trying to complete a mission while their real-life problems loom over them and Jason is just on an adventure with cool people.

Its not much later than Cheshire attacks the Titans, she first takes on Wally because he is her biggest threat and then detonates a bomb, now here I will give a little bit of context, Cheshire does not want to kill the Titans as of now, she just wants to incapacitate them because them being there is making her own mission more complicated, all I will say is that she doesn’t truly have villainous intentions and that she has a very weak spot for Roy.

Anyway, the bomb incapacitates Garth and Roy and Cheshire also managed to shoot Wally so only Donna, Hank and Jason are left standing to capture Cheshire, but here is the thing, Hank doesn’t want to capture her, he wants to kill her.

Jason has interacted very few times with Hank so far and it has always been Hank teasing him but now as Jason is going to fight Cheshire Hank interrupts him telling him that he will do “what has to be done”. Cheshire of course wont fall easily and I think that at this very moment she is thinking that killing Hank wouldn’t be a bad idea because he is going to mess her plans up! But not to worry as she is raising her gun Jason comes in to save his ass!

Jason is not a match for Cheshire and after that she quickly subdues him. But what’s important here is two things, first Jason doesn’t want or consider the idea of killing Jade, he just wants to capture her and bring her to justice, secondly, he doesn’t even want her to kill Hank, who has been violent towards every Titan and rude to Jason every single time that he has interacted with him. What I am trying to say is that this IS Robin Jason, he doesn’t think or act the same as Red Hood will in the future, he has his opinions on what punishments killers should get but he is not there to kill anyone himself.

There is this whole page where Donna beats Hank against a tree so he stops killing, because that’s not what the Titans do, she explains that if they do that then the public (that is already quite afraid of them) will just fear them more and they don’t need that, plus she believes that he is acting that way out of grief after losing his brother, as she is saying all of this though she is putting quite a lot of pressure on his chest and that might have ended up in her actually killing Hank if Jason hasn’t been there to stop her.

Donna is obviously not having a good time and after this she says that she “has had it” and that from now on Robin should “take command” because “its his group anyway”. Oh man…its clear to the reader that Donna is not having a good time being team leader but she also misses a certain person a lot. She is obviously not seeing Jason there, she is seeing Dick, the person that she is used to take orders from but he is not there.

Jason is aware of this, he might be a kid and might not have as many problems as the other Titans as of now but he is not a fool and he doesn’t want people to see someone else when they look at him, so he confronts Donna about what she just said/did.

Jason is just great in this scene; he just doesn’t want people that he admires to treat him as if he were someone that he isn’t. Just because Dick isn’t there doesn’t mean that he (because he is Robin) can replace him, they are not the same person and they do not have the same experience. He calls out Donna on her behaviour towards him and Donna being an adult takes responsibly for her actions and understands that ultimately, she was hurting Jason’s feelings. We have a kinda wholesome moment when they hug but because this is written by Marv Wolfman and he just can’t help himself, he proceeds to write Jason as a horny teenager. What a way to ruin the moment Marv…

Back to Cheshire, she is about to kick Wally’s face in when she decides to first tell him what he has to tell the others when they wake up, which is “Cheshire remembers”.

Wally tells the Titans Cheshire’s message but none of them truly understands what it means, Hank says that he doesn’t even understand why they are alive. Donna comes to the conclusion that Cheshire might want something from them and this is where Jason gives his thoughts, he says “Doesn’t matter what she wants. We take care of her. She’s a killer.”, its clear once more than although Jason (as Robin) wouldn’t kill anyone he does feel a certain type of way about criminals and wants them to be locked up.

After yet another verbal fight between Hank and Donna the Titans take a cable car to their next location, Jason is shown as exited about the view and the whole experience once more. When they arrive, they find Faraday (the guy that called Donna for help in #19) and he explains a bit more the situation but Jason once more is having trouble staying warm so he goes to the cable car tunnel nearby, but he doesn’t go alone, Roy goes with him because his “costume wasn’t made for this kind of weather either”, in this second interaction between these two we get to see Jason’s detective skills shine.

Jason has been watching Roy and he found his reaction to Cheshire’s message quite sus. Not only is he showing his detective skills here but he also said in a previous panel this: “The Batman keeps telling me to watch people’s eyes. And every so often I notice you become awfully agitated…like something was going on you didn’t want to be part of”.  Zdarsky, hey pal, I am talking to you, look at this dude! He read Roy like an open book, this is Robin Jason, he likes being Robin and he is brilliant at it, he is methodical because he learnt from paying attention and working with Batman, so, you sir are wrong, not only did UtRH disprove your dumb narrative but so does this interaction (along all his appearances in this book).

Roy is impressed by the kid, and yeah, he calls him kid because he is a kid…Roy is visibly older than Jason as he should, do you see it Lobdell? Yeah, there is no dubious age gap between those two as you made it seem. Roy is impressed because between both of them he is the one that is most experienced, not the other way around. How did Lobdell manage to make up a whole as run where not only were Roy and Jason close in age and besties but also Jason was better at vigilantism than Roy and Roy was the one being impressed. It’s wild, wild and bad.

Back to the issue, Jason taken out of the fight quite fast once more by Cheshire and she proceeds to talk to Roy, that’s where we find out that they were lovers and that she feels weak when she is around him because he makes her feel feelings but that’s not all, she tells Roy that he is “the man that fathered my child” …Oh and now she does want to kill him. That’s where #20 ends, so let’s see what happens with Jason in #21.

In the beginning of #21 Jason is conscious once more and when he hears Cheshire’s threat, he attacks her so she can’t shoot Roy, he also says this “Sorry ‘cat’ that’s a definite no-no. Don’t you know mommy’s and daddies should never fight” I, I don’t know why he had to say it like that…the 80s were weird. While Jason is being himself Roy is thinking “Don’t be cocky kid, Jade hasn’t got a sense of humour…” but because he wants to talk to Jade, he tells Jason to go, that he will handle Cheshire and he leaves.

Roy and Jade talk, Donna and Hawk are fighting bad guys and each other and at some point, Jason joins Garth and helps him take down a couple of guys, he also tries to make conversation with him but Garth is still not talking to anybody.

Cheshire tells Roy that he will never hear about their child again and that he needs to let her do her thing and stay out of it because he doesn’t understand what’s going on, Roy doesn’t do what she asks and she “poisons” him. Donna saves a guy that Hank was trying to kill. After Cheshire leaves Roy comes to the conclusion that she wasn’t there to kill the people from the meeting or that she poisoned him, but because they were there and everything went to shit now the people that were getting together are blaming the Titans for the interruption. The whole thing is a mess and the news channel are not nice about the Titans as a whole, but I am not interested in exploring that here. All you need to know is that the people that made Cheshire do what she did to the Titans were the Brother Blood people.

It’s on the jet that we see Jason again, he and the others are going back to the tower. Because the news are painting the Titans as bad when they are arriving to the tower Jason sees a lot of people protesting about them and he feels bad. This was his first job with the Titans and he is a kid, imagine how sad it would make you if you wanted to help and after getting the job done people were mad at you. But even though he is sad about that he takes time to ask Roy if he is okay after he sees him almost running away from the tower, he doesn’t get a response but he isn’t mad about it.

Jason’s stay with the Titans comes to and end and he says that he loved hanging out with them and is grateful for having been invited, he is so sweet!

·         NTT (1884) #24

Here, for some reason, we see Jason saying goodbye to the Titans again and unlike at the end of #21 Roy is there to see him leave.

I am not going to lie though; I liked this goodbye better it feels like it’s more complete than the other one. Here he says that Batman wants him back in Gotham but that if the Titans ever need him again all they need to do is call. He also mentions Nightwing which is funny because he will be called by Donna again in #26 to help the Titans get Dick back from Brother Bloods Church.

I am going to cut this part here because issues 26 to 31 have a lot of Jason content that I want to explore and I can’t put any more pictures here, also this post is already long as it is now!

I just love Jason’s little moments in these issues, him confronting Donna and reading Roy like and open book in #20 are my absolute favourite, I just think this is a nice way to kinda show how wrong some current characterizations of Robin Jason are and what better way to do that than reading and looking into some good stories.

Oh! Before I forget, in #21 Roy leaves the Titans’ tower to go see Jade and he actually gets to meet his daughter Lian for the first time, so yeah, that was a wholesome moment!

[calltomuster]

(Even More) Star Wars Fic Recs

[first fic rec list] [second fic rec list]

Hello everyone, happy Monday! I've been reading some fantastic fics recently and wanted to share them with you. May 4th was an absolutely glorious day to be a Star Wars fanfic reader, but the downside to having so many great stories posted on way day is that it's super easy to miss some, so I tried to highlight some here, as well as the usual random assortment.

Alternating Current by @jessepinwheel (gen, WIP, 1/3 chapters, 5.7k words) I am subscribed to @jessepinwheel's AO3 account, that's how much I love all of their writing, and this is just their latest masterpiece. The premise is that after Naboo, Obi-Wan starts experiencing some strange things, almost as if there's someone else in his body. But it doesn't feel like a foreign presence in his mind... And, well, the presence calls themselves Ben. I'm so, so intrigued to see what happens next in this story.

See, I'm the Living Icarus by @crispyjenkins (Rex/Obi-Wan, WIP, 2/6 chapters, 7.0k words) Role-reversal with Obi-Wan as Anakin's Padawan post-Melida/Daan fighting in the Clone Wars alongside Rex. Yeah, that's what I thought -- you're hooked, right? I was too. And then I read the first two chapters and wowwwww, just got even more obsessed. It's all just *chef's kiss*. Cannot wait to read more.

Off Duty by thosenearandfarwars (Obi-Wan/Cody, one-shot, 4.4k words) A post-ROTS world in which the Jedi were not destroyed, the clones are given reparations, and Obi-Wan throws his whole self into reforming the Jedi Order. It's from Cody's POV as he tries to stop his (former?) General from running himself into the ground. Featuring Jedi culture, positive change, some fun namedrops (Chirrut?!), and CODYWAN! Highly recommend this fic.

Starting Over by @ewanmcgregorismyhomeboy12 (Obi-Wan/Cody, one-shot, 3.8k words) Speaking of amazing ideal post-ROTS AUs with Codywan, here's another! This one is described in the tags as being soft and domestic, and it totally is. Cody + plants + Obi-Wan = delight. Such a pleasure to read. Makes you feel all cozy inside.

Finders Keepers by SpaceWall (Obi-Wan/Cody + a ton of background ships, 2/2 chapters, 8.4k words) This fic is a soulmate AU that follows the premise that everything you lose, your soulmate ends up finding. It really does an excellent job of exploring this fascinating premise, and using it in ways I wouldn't have thought of. Like, something happens with Anakin that is just so beautiful yet haunting, I just... Ah! The main ship here is Codywan, but there are so many great background ships like Aayla and Bly or Anakin and Padmé, and some that are super interesting, like Satine and Rex, or Fox and Bail and Breha Organa. Fascinating stuff!

Benediction by @misskirby (gen, one-shot, 3.3k words, Obi-Wan & Anakin) Each new fic by @misskirby destroys me, and this one is no different except it's destroying me with HAPPY THINGS and POSITIVE EMOTIONS for once. My heart hurts just thinking about it, not because it makes me sad, but just in a... ahhh I don't know, the emotions, okay?! Obi-Wan is watching the twins with Anakin in a ROTS-didn't-happen AU and they actually TALK? With their words? And express positive feelings towards each other without being put in horrible situations? Like I said, AU 😂. This is so, so good. (This fic was not posted on May 4th, but @misskirby did post Stride for Stride on that day, which is an excellent fic about Obi-Wan and Anakin sparring for Ahsoka that you all also must read.)

still much that is fair by RaineyDay (gen, 8/8 chapters, 21.1k words, Obi-Wan & Anakin) Massive trigger warning right off the bat for this one, because it starts off with Padawan Obi-Wan trying to commit suicide by throwing himself off of the Temple roof, except instead of dying, he ends up getting caught by -- Anakin?! Somehow he ends up in the future to find out that he's loved, and a good Jedi. Back in his own timeline, Qui-Gon thinks his Padawan has just succeeded in killing himself, and is distraught and has to reckon with their relationship. Don't worry, it has a happy ending! Give Obi-Wan a hug 2k21!

trouble with the curve by jimmytiberius (Cody/Obi-Wan, one-shot, 2.4k words) Modern day baseball AU! Cody is the analytics guy whose job it is to watch Kenobi and how people hit off of him, and Rex is Obi-Wan's normal bullpen catcher. Problem is, Rex is a little hungover, so Cody has to secretly take his brother's place and hope no one notices. Sparks fly!! You guys, this fic is awesome. You don't need to know anything about baseball to read it, though if you do it adds another delightful dimension. Highly recommend! I smile just thinking about this fic!

Lasting Marks by kyitsya (gen, 10/10 chapters, 25.8k words, Obi-Wan & Rex) I reread this fic the other day and it was just as emotionally devastating the second or third time around. It follows Obi-Wan and Rex in the Zygerria arc, except they're trapped in the mines for weeks and things really take a toll. Obi-Wan and Rex's relationship is not one that's explored much in canon, so it's really cool to see a bond form here. I also really like the later subplot with Ahsoka.

Got Me in a Tricky Situation by @dharmaavocado (pre Rex/Obi-Wan, one-shot, 5.2k words) Rex and Obi-Wan are trapped together underneath a collapsed building and they have to literally and metaphorically hold onto each other for support. I absolutely love the descriptions in this one, they're killer (almost literally haha). Some great good ol' fashioned whump. Love it!

A Long Way Down by @kckenobi (gen, one-shot, 3.8k words, Obi-Wan & Anakin) @kckenobi writes truly wonderful fics, but I gotta say I think this is my favorite. Obi-Wan and Anakin are trying to escape Separatists by climbing up a cliff face, but Obi-Wan's injured and he's really struggling to hold on... Oh, everything about this is perfect: the characterizations, the descriptions, the dialogue, everything! I reread this one all the time.

If you like any of these fics, please consider reblogging so they can get more exposure! And if you noticed I missed someone’s Tumblr account, or linked the wrong one, please let me know!

[princecharmingmendes]

Heart by Heart | Chapter I | Raul Mendes

                                           *secret agent AU*

Y/N and Raul have been friends ever since they could remember. And falling in love with your best friend can be pretty tricky and messy 99% of the times, add that to the fact they're constantly risking their lives side by side on the field since they're both secret agents, and the best team that's ever existed. Perfect recipe for disaster.

Helloo, this is the first chapter of this series and I'm super excited about it. Please read the warnings on this one, if you don't feel comfortable with the contents listed on the "warnings" section, please read something else, there are a lot of other works on my masterlist and on the "fic rec" hashtag on my blog. I plan on posting a chapter weekly, which means new chapter every Thursday (and maybe a sneak peak every monday). Please give me some feedback and I hope you guys like it as much as I did. I'll stop rambling now, byee. Happy Reading!

                                                     masterpost | next chapter

*Word Count: 3.4K+;

*Warnings:  cursing, descriptions of violence, blood, injuries, hostage situation and a whole lot of teasing. Please don’t read it if any of this subjects make you uncomfortable, feel free to check my masterlist for other writings. 

*Posted: July 1st, 2021.

                                                     -*-

Raul Mendes was a pain in the ass. Y/N loves him way too much for her own good, but he was a pain in the nonetheless. 

He was the only person she knew who could be in a possible life-or-death situation and still make fun of her through their communicators. And sure, that made the whole thing lighter and less scary, and sure, he was the best agent she’s ever met, but damn did he get on her nerves. And Raul always knew how to get her frustrated or squirming, he enjoyed it more than he was willing to admit. Sure, they’ve been friends for a long time and she should be used to him, but it never got easier. The fact he had a killer smile, the looks of a legit greek god and had this whole tough guy exterior, but secretly had a soft spot for her did not make her case any less complicated.

Y/N and Raul knew each other ever since they’re basically born. Their parents met when they worked together at a company of secret agents, it was only a small corporation back then, and they were known as the best agents at the time. After they retired from field missions and eventually desk jobs, they became only advisers and emergency contacts. But despite that, they kept their friendship going though all the years and that’s how Y/N was introduced to the triplets. They’re always together, doing everything with each other and protecting themselves. And of course she loved Peter and Shawn with her whole heart, they’re like family to her, but Raul was different. Y/N wished it wasn’t, but there are certain things in life you can’t exactly control. Like falling in love with your best friend.

And it’s not like she stood a chance, to be honest. Regardless of his looks, he treated her like she hung the moon and stars on the sky. Sure, he was a tough guy, who rode motorcycles and wore leather jackets, and wouldn’t admit alive that he cried while watching Lion King. But he took care of her when she was upset or having a bad period, he would take her driving around town at midnight on random occasions just because he knew it would make her feel better, and would always be so mindful of everything involving her. And yeah, he teased her endlessly, but it was part of it and in reality, Y/N didn’t mind it that much. 

So when they started growing older and decided to follow their parents career, it only made sense they trained their asses off and got the job together. The company their parents worked for grew a lot, a team that was originally formed by 15 agents turned into a massive business, with over 100 employees, doing various functions. Shawn was picked for a more diplomatic field, always in meetings with important people and traveling around the world. Peter became a tech engineer, developing the coolest gadgets and weapons imaginable, something out of Totally Spies! Raul was clearly a field agent, an expert on body combat and weapons, best out of the four when it came to their physical test. And Y/N was the one who guided the operations, the hacker and responsible for strategies, also for the tech part and best sniper out of the three of them. 

That made her and Raul an unbeatable team and the best duo ever. Their chemistry on the field was recognized by their bosses on the first week, basically glueing them together for every future mission and it worked. For the company. But it only dug her little crush deeper on Y/N’s heart. And obviously no one knew it. She was a spy for fucks sake, she knew how to lie and she wasn’t going to be the one to tell him. Raul didn’t date, working on this field made  everyone’s love life a bit harder than it was already, and he never seemed interested enough in anyone with the same career to have a long lasting relationship with. That didn’t mean there where a lot of people interested, which made Y/N’s heart twist in her chest. 

“Sweetheart, you still with me?” Raul’s voice came through her earpiece bringing her back to reality.

“Of course I am, you idiot, I take this job really seriously” Y/N replied rolling her eyes as if she didn’t just daydreamed a bit. 

“Oh sorry, doll, didn’t mean to insult you hard working” he chuckled “but could you please check in the corridor number 6, half the team is heading down there right now”

“Sure” she quickly typed on her computer changing cameras really quickly, perks of being Peter’s best friend is that she could usually take extra stuff and the newest gadgets on the market “It’s clear and, by the way, you look pathetic with this glasses”

Raul laughed clearly amused, throwing his middle finger up in the air in the direction of the security camera he found “Oh really? Tell that to Peter, he’s the one who created them” 

“Technically their still a prototype, so make sure to let him know”

Raul scoffed playfully as he climbed another set of stairs, the man and woman with him following without questioning, used to his ways of leading “Of course, I’m sure he’ll like to hear your fashion critiques to his million dollar glasses”

“I’ll write it down, now careful, you’re approaching the level where they’re at”

“Sure, mom, I’m always careful” he said in a hushed tone signaling to his teammates to keep quiet and try to find the possible security team they left to watch the hostage.

“Shut up” Y/N said trying to hold back the smile from stretching her lips, already letting the airway team know to be ready to pick them up as they approached their target. 

They’re currently in the middle of a mission where they needed to recover another agent who got caught up in an ambush two weeks ago, and now they’re being kept as a hostage. Raul’s leading a team to retrieve the agent as quickly and as silently as they could, two with him and three other on the opposite side to meet halfway. All that while Y/N’s on the under construction building across the street seated among her gear, gun in hand following their every step and guiding them through the camera system and the big windows that other building had. It’s not the worst mission they’ve ever been, no apparent violence or blood bath, just a simple rescue mission, but they still felt a little jittery and always worried about each other’s lives. And through the years, they noticed that their copying mechanism to make this less stressful (at least a tiny bit) was through light banter and jokes. That somehow brought a bit of normality to their very non ordinary job. 

Y/N did her best to keep them hidden while they crashed into the building as quietly as possible, trying go unnoticeable since they didn’t have enough munition or people on the tactic team. It would also prevent them from moving the target around or opening fire. And despite the fact Raul kept on trying to joke around and that she’s been doing this for at least four years, the fact that they’re working with a less experienced and fresh out of the academy crew made her a little jittery. Not that she didn’t trust Raul to command everything and boss everyone around if things got messy, she just didn’t want him to get in the middle of a crossfire again. 

He had the terrible habit of playing the hero in the most inconvenient times, like when they were little and a guy twice his size, with three friends mocked her pigtails. He didn’t stand a chance, but he went after them anyway. They ended up having to run as fast as they could so they wouldn’t end up with a black eye or something. And that was nothing compared to the stupid shit he could do on field. And Y/N couldn’t be more pissed whenever he came home with more bruises then he should just to play Superman or something. Sure, that was admirable and the fact that he put everyone on his team on his top priority was definitely something fantastic for a captain, but not for Y/N’s heart. 

And for that reason, she was always extra careful, but when he had a newbie joining him on the field, Y/N tripled the attention to avoid putting the kid in danger, and, consequently her best friend. 

Raul was quick to take down two man on their level without raising much alarm, grabbing their munition, dragging the unconscious bodies away from where they’d be easily seen and moving forward to another set of stairs. He was a very skillful agent, with great physical development and worked great under pressure, with quick thinking and a natural leader. So it didn’t shock her when he was able to do that as if it was the most natural thing in the planet. While Raul was more of a passionate person, Y/N was more rational, was analyzing every possibility and coming up with creative solution, she was also really cold on work (she just had one exception) and was a quick thinker, great person to rely on. It’s almost as if the complimented each other and that’s why it worked. That’s why when she tells him to shoot, he does without thinking, or to jump, he wouldn’t blink before doing it head first. 

And that’s why they’re able to reach the hostage without much trouble. 

“Told you to chill out, I knew we could make it” he murmured through their coms and she giggled, shaking her head incredulously.

“You should watch the entrances while your teammates take care of the hostage”

“That’s why I have you, sweetheart” he said with his infamous smirk stretching his annoyingly pink lips.

Y/N shook her head when she felt her face warming up a bit, stupid boy “Well, actually I’m pretty busy calling for our ride, so watch your own back this time, you’re a big boy, I’m sure you can do it”

Raul scoffed but did as she say either way “fine, are we clear?”

“On your floor yes, climb three more levels and meet me on this side of the street, don’t stall champ, they’re going to notice there’s something wrong with the cameras and their man who aren’t responding, so be quick”

Raul chuckled as he helped balance the hostage on Roman’s arms and signaling them to climb the stairs again “Yes, ma’am, anything to keep you from frowning and scolding my ass”

Y/N rolled her eyes smiling, sighing in relief that half of their mission was done and it went as smoothly as it could have been “Great, now get your ass out of there now, Raul” 

The tactic team started moving to the floor they’d have access to jump, and everything was going too smoothly to be true, not even a minor inconvenience. And that was not normal, at all. That’s when Y/N started getting worried. 

Everything was great until Seth, from loosing a lot of blood and being severely dehydrated, started loosing his conscious, making Roman’s job a lot more complicated and making everyone move slower. And while that was happening, Y/N saw when one of the guys saw his partners laying limply on the corner of a hallway and finally the pieces clicked. Luckily she was able to caught it quickly enough to be able to mess up their coms, so instead of a dozen men, they’d have to deal with two. She was also quick to let Raul know, so he jumped into action, telling everyone to rush and grabbing Seth’s right side, basically carrying him alongside Roman up the stairwell. 

But as they’re almost reaching the door, Raul heard footsteps rather close, rushing Roman up the rest of the way, warning he’d be right behind him, that he was only to be a bit far back so he could hold whoever was coming. 

He ran downstairs, quickly blocking the door to the staircase with a fire extinguisher, running all the way upstairs to reach his teammates and jump to go home. But as he had just reached the door, his colleagues waiting for him with their gear (and also his) ready to cross to the other building, he felt the barrel of a gun touching the back of his head. Raul raised his hands in surrender, his teammates staring at him with horror in their eyes as they aimed their guns to whoever was behind him, but he knew they couldn’t do much before he got shot. He also knew they’re too young, apart from Roman and Cara, who were both holding Seth up, they weren’t experienced enough to do something like that. But before the person could pull the trigger, they grunted in pain and Raul felt the barrel slipping away. 

He turned around to watch the guy on his back in the floor, clutching to his left ribs, a little pool of blood already forming underneath him and gun long forgotten. Raul looked around to see if it was anyone from this guy’s side or anyone on the stairs, only to be met with silence and a single security camera with the green dot on, meaning Y/N was still in their system. He shook his head in disbelief, dragging the whining man outside of the room, quacking his gun down the stairs and managing to lock the door so they could escape safely. 

“Still with me, baby?” Y/N’s voice teased mimicking the way he said it earlier. 

Raul shook his head with a smirk on his lips, before moving to where his teammates stood still a bit shocked with all that happened in front of them “Wouldn’t dream of leaving you, sweetheart”

“Alright boys, the helicopters are coming for us, meet you all on the roof in three” Y/N said through the coms for the whole team, quickly shifting to a line only the captain, Raul, could hear “and if you dare be late just to make a big entrance or another dramatic scheme you can think about, I swear to God I’ll leave you behind”

“You wouldn’t dare”

“Try me” Y/N sing sang picking up her stuff and quickly shoving them down in her backpack, gathering the rest in her hands before turning around to climb to the rooftop. 

As she climbed the last set of stairs, Y/N saw their helicopters approaching as the seven agents she was waiting for used a special gun to shoot a line to her building, before locking them in place before zip-lining their way to meet her. She helped Seth, the agent that was kept hostage climb up the little wall since he was in a pretty bad shape, throwing his arm across her shoulders and basically dragging him to where they thrown the stair to climb up to the helicopter with the medical team waiting for him. Cara and Roman climbed first since they’re going to report what they saw and assist Seth as best as they could. Roman grabbed him and the rope stair, shouting to pull them up so he could be taken care of. 

Raul was the last one to arrive, as always staying behind to insure everyone got there safely and no one would try to kill them or anything. He graciously climbed the all as if it was nothing, pulling the gun from the string and cutting it so no one could follow them up there that quickly. Raul told everyone to climb onto the helicopter and they’re quick to follow his order, only one person stubbornly waiting for him, as always. He held back the relieved smile from stretching across his features, noticing how warm and relaxed he felt only by seeing Y/N standing besides the hope ladder. She looked worried, a frown on her beautiful face and Raul wanted to smooth his fingers over it as if it would ease all of her troubles away.

She nodded as soon as he was close enough, Raul being quick to pick up the heavy backpack she was carrying and leaving the rest to her “Are you okay?”

“What? Of course, Why do you ask?” he knew why she was asking, hell, his heartbeat was still a bit too fast to be normal, and yeah, partially was because he was standing in front of Y/N, but on the other hand he almost got killed. She only arched her brow at him and he sighed in defeat “Of course I am, doll, you know me, I’m always okay” 

“That’s what’s scares me the most” she said with a sad chuckle and started climbing the rope ladder to the helicopter and Raul was quick to follow behind.

“Dude, that was insane, I can’t believe you didn’t miss or accidentally shot Raul from across the street!” the youngest guy from the mission shouted as soon as they reached them on the vehicle, Raul closing the door behind them. 

Y/N only giggled in response “yeah, a bit crazy, isn’t it?”

“That’s because she’s the best, Tommy, but she won’t believe it” Raul said as he sat on one of the vacant seats, waiting for her to join him. 

“Oh shut it” she said unable to stop the smile from forming.

They kept on talking about the mission for a while, Tommy and the other two kids who recently joined still high from the adrenaline, but Y/N couldn’t be more worn out and Raul was quick to catch it. He leaned closer to her and she automatically laid her head on his shoulder, a movement that was almost mechanic to both of them. He gently grabbed her hand that was placed on her knee and interlaced their fingers together, letting her play with his hand to pass the time. 

Y/N sighed and mumbled after a while, when most of the kids were too distracted to pay attention “Are you really okay? Don’t say that you’re always fine, I mean it”

Raul had mastered the art of the poker face. He could easily be having the worst time of his life, but he would never let it showcase always with a quick sarcastic remark and an easy smirk on his lips, ready to flirt with anyone to distract them from the real problem. Raul was not the best when dealing with feelings and emotions, always thought it was easier to push them away, but Y/N saw right through him. She always did, ever since they were little. After that, he never tried to hide it again from her, always being as honest as he could with her about how he was, and obviously it didn’t always work, but she understood and respected it. It’s not like he needed to say anything for her to know. 

But at the same time, she didn’t know that he would always be fine, as long as she was safe and right next to him, the rest didn’t matter. 

“I promise you I’m fine, you saved my beautiful ass and we’re going home, I’d say we’re fantastic” he said after a while, pressing a long kiss to the back of their laced hands. 

That seemed to be enough to convince Y/N, since she huffed through her nose and let out a tiny giggle, before leaning closer to him and Raul took it as a sign to drape his arm over her shoulder pulling her closer to his chest “your beautiful ass is really annoying, you know that, right?”

“Oh, I do, but you love it anyway” he said with a giggle, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head, as she just showed him her middle finger, making him laugh even more. 

Yeah, he was definitely fine. For now. 

                                                     -*-

*Please reblog or like this post if you liked it so I’ll know.

*I’m sorry if there are any spelling mistakes.

*Please do not repost this without giving me the credit, this is a completely original piece and I do not give permission to copy this!

*Hope you guys enjoyed it!

*xoxo

-🌙

[fvrxdrm]

.•*Friends to Lovers on Holidays with Leon Kennedy*•.

Happy Single Asses’ Day!!!

Pairing: Modern!Leon x F!Reader

Warning(s): NSFW

*****

“Cheers to us single fuckers!”

The clinking of wine glasses subtly intertwined with the voices of the actors in a horribly-done “horror” movie that was running on the television as you and Leon briefly joined them together before letting the tang of sweet, bitter, and sour wine hit your tongues. And when they did, you moaned in satisfaction.

“Not bad.”

“It better not be. This shit costed, like, $100.”

Leon grabbed the wine bottle in front of him and went on to refilling yours and his glasses respectively.

“My wallet’s fucking crying,” he continued.

“Hey, don’t bullshit me now. Jack Daniel’s costs $50.00 and I don’t hear you complaining. And from what I remember you buy five of ‘em,” you retorted back hitherto taking a small sip of your drink.

“For your information I only buy one bottle now. Had the president not let us quit going on missions your statement would’ve been correct.”

It was true. Ever since the New York incident, bioterrorism had gone down and those rare times where an occurrence would go down somewhere in a small region on earth the BSAA would be sent, sometimes even bringing one of the newer DSO agents to help them with the cases. And so, with the conclusion that the count was dying at a leisure pace, the government decided there was no need for their veteran agents to be sent on missions unless they were lethal and needed someone who was as exceedingly experienced as you on the field and sanctioned both you and Leon to only do office work until further notice.

“I mean, yeah, true… Pass me the bowl?” With eyes still glued to the T.V., Leon reached out to grab ahold of the large bowl of popcorn and blindly looked for your hand until he finally felt the bottom of the bowl touch a surface, letting it go once he felt the weight shift lighter.

  “This is bullshit. Who the fuck just crawls on the ground after tripping while the killer is literally right behind them? Like, fucking 5 inches away from them! I would’ve stood up and ran.”

The movie had been going for about half an hour now and Leon couldn’t be more amused at how you reacted at every scene where the characters’ brains seemingly flew out of their heads. He wasn’t paying attention to the film. He’d watch this way, way, way, way back anyway and he knew how stupid it was so he just entertained himself by listening to your rants and laughing (also getting smacked every now and then).

“Oh my god! Why the fuck does she keep screaming?”

“You know what, I wouldn’t care if he gets killed.”

“Of course, the phone just had to be dead.”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now!? Why the fuck are you making out while a psycho is literally out there to sheesh kebab you?”

“Oh my god, I just lost my brain cells.” And so on and so forth…

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Leon muttered with a smirk, popping a chip in his mouth as he turned his gaze towards the movie.

“Well, I didn’t know it was that bad. I thought it was one of those movies that are so bad they’re good,” you defended as you swigged the rest of the wine that filled a portion of your glass. Your friend just snickered in response, stretching his arms and legs and smiled in fulfilment once he heard the crack of aging bones and staring narrow-eyed at the credit screen in front of him.

Words became trapped inside your heads. You didn’t know what to do from here. The only thing you planned was watching a movie for Valentine’s day – or Single Asses’ day as you call it – and fight shy of anything revolving around romance whether it be some sort of song or movie or something.

You both had been unlucky when it came to romance and intimacy. The closest you had to love were some one-night stands with random strangers and even that was far away from said emotion. Your jobs were complicated and when you both had started in the agency years after the Raccoon City incident, it already began taking a toll on your heads and continued to up until the incident in New York. And so, relationships were the last thing you worried about. Though, that didn’t mean your hearts wouldn’t race every once and a while. Truth be told you caught feelings halfway through your career, both of you. You sometimes entertained the idea of you and your best friend being together while he had conflict between you and Ada. Both of you were people he couldn’t let go of but he felt like one was superior to the other and his brain scrambled around for a bit until the day he almost lost you. It was the day disease almost took over the world: Tall Oaks and China. That was the day he realized just how much you meant to him.

“So, um… I should go now. I’ll see you around.” Leon stood up from the couch and was about to head out your apartment door until he felt something warm enclose around his wrist. He turned around to find your pretty face looking sheepish and pleading – pink creeping from your neck to the tip of your ears.

“I-it’s already late and I… I don’t think you’re in the right condition to drive. You can stay here if you want.” The blush on your face darkened even more and your eyes suddenly found interest on your tiled floor, your grip around Leon loosening. Seeing as how abashed you looked right now, he playfully simpered and decided hey, I teasing is fun!😀

“You don’t think I can drive myself home while drunk? Haven’t you seen me in action back in New York?” He spoke.

All enervation and intoxication suddenly voided out of your body; eyes bulging out of their sockets as his statement caught you unwary for a second. Incoherent words stumbled out of your mouth and none were piecing together to form an acceptable response.

“I’m just playing. I get your intentions. You seriously need to chill the fuck out,” Leon finally said after a few enough rambles were pitched into the room ceaselessly.

Your shoulders sagged and the tension that rapidly built up in you were unfettered in a matter of seconds. “Jesus,” you murmured. “You know how I get when I’m drunk.” Leon continued in his bursts of loud laughter and it only made you sink into your seat even more.

“I’m sorry… You’re just so freaking cute!”

Whoops… Didn’t mean for that to come out…

Leon’s fit of hysterics died down in a trice, feeling like a twelve-year-old whose embarrassment was so immense after getting rejected and being made fun of in front of the whole school that he’d rather melt in a puddle where he can be forgotten.

“I-I’m sorry. That just…flew out of nowhere. I- “

“It’s fine. At least I’m not the only tomato here, right? And um… Thanks… For the compliment,” you said, face burning another 100°C.

“Well, uh,” Leon scratched the nape of his neck and shoved his free hand in his pockets where each of his fingers twiddled with one another, “wanna chat?”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’m going to be bed anytime soon, unless you’re really tired.”

“No, I’d love for you to accompany me tonight,” he replied.

“Okay, come back here you himbo.” You patted the empty space on the couch Leon previously sat on and smiled at him once he made himself comfortable with his feet resting on your coffee table and hands finding contentment in providing itself as a pillow for his head. “So, how’s life?”

  “Okay, okay…fine I’ll…haha…do it.”

A few minutes had passed, talking being the only thing you’d done up until Leon tackled and attacked you with tickles on your sides.

“You, Leon Scott Kennedy,” a giggle fell past your lips, “are…”

“Are?”

“…a fucking…idiot!” Leon fell in a daze at your words and while he was at it you took advantage of his vulnerability and shoved him down to the floor with you collapsing on top of him. Only when he felt the softness of your carpet and the hardness of your floor did he bring himself out of his stupor.

“You sneaky little shit-“ He was about to place both of his hands on your waist and flip you two over when his wrists were suddenly grabbed and pinned above his head not even a second after he blinked.

“Uh uh, not so fast. You really think you could get away with this, don’t you?” A smug grin pulled the corners of your lips. Leon sighed.

“Fine, you win.”

Silence had taken over the room once more, the muffled chirping of crickets outside the closed windows the only sound filling in the missing gaps. Though the light that gave life to your apartment was dim, the distance between your faces was enough for Leon to take in every detail that defined the complexion of your face: from the lines that explicated the years and hardship you had been through, to the little dimples beside your lips that he was sure was as deep as the Pacific Ocean. From the constellation of cute freckles that flecked your cheeks and the bridge of your nose, to the pink hue that gave light to them. You were beautiful and there was no doubt it was one of the many things he admired about you. And there was also no doubt that he wasn’t afraid to voice it out while he laid flushed beneath you.

“You’re cute. You know that, right?”

“Mhm, I’m gonna be hot when I’m sixty.” You giggled at your own joke but when you saw just how awestricken your friend was by you, your smile immediately dropped and you were left flustered on top of him in diffidence and nervousness. And because of your oblivion, your hold on his wrists slackened and he took no time flipping the two of you over and switching up the roles.

“I knew you would fall for that, princess,” Leon remarked and before you could even let out a single letter, he already had his lips smashed onto yours.

A soft gasp fell from your lips but it didn’t take long for you to succumb to the feeling of his supple and slightly chapped lips.

In that kiss was the sweetness of passion, a million loving thoughts condensed into a moment, and in that moment, you were in your pure and vulnerable selves.

It was slow and subtle at first, lips delicately lingering against each other for a moment of lip-lock until a relentless appetency set fire in your bodies. It became sloppy and messy and the abiding flavor that ghosted on your tongues left you wanting more and more of what you could give.

Hands set sail on plump skin and it wasn’t long until pieces of clothing slowly began replacing the space on your carpet where you once laid, Leon having carried you to sit you down on your couch.

“Are you sure you’re comfortable with this? I don’t want to push you into something you don’t want,” Leon whispered against your kiss-swollen lips, the ghost of his breath sending a delicious chill down your spine.

“I want to… Please?” And that did it for him.

He let out low growl from the depths of his throat before battering your neck with tickling kisses and bites were marks were left as graves created by the inner animal that was housed inside of his body. The brush of his skin against yours arised the short hairs that adorned your own and it didn’t help that the evening cold would tease past you in a speed that sent you shivering to your toes.

“Leon, please.”

“Please what, babe?” Leon kissed along your thighs while he looked at you through the shortness of his lashes.

“I need you, please.”

“In a minute, babe. I fucking need to taste you,” he mumbled, voice raspy with lust and desire.

You anticipated with what was bound to happen next with closed eyes and lip restrained in between teeth. However, no matter how much you prepared yourself for the feeling of his tongue touching your folds, your back still arched at the feeling and a soft moan sounded from an open mouth, hands finding home on Leon’s disheveled hair.

“Oh, fuck!”

“That’s it, baby. Moan for me, moan my name.” That you did. You let a string of curses unknowingly escape your lips along with his name slipping in between them as he lapped your sex with a type of hunger even he couldn’t describe for the life of him. He simply couldn’t get enough of your taste; getting you off once, twice, thrice, until you couldn’t take it anymore and pulled him by his hair before having a sample taste of your own through his lips. And while he was busy savoring your mouth once more, you pushed him on the floor again and straddled his hips impatiently where you felt the twitch of his cock touch your pussy.

“Please, Leon. I want you. I want you so bad. I wanna feel your cock inside me, now.”

“It’s all yours, sweetheart. It’s all yours.”

Permission granted.

Your hand grasped the base of his cock and stroked it a few times before lining the tip up to your entrance, pushing it down once you were sure enough that his dick would just slide in you, and you both moaned at the stretch and the tightness that surrounded him.

“Fuck, babe, you’re so tight,” Leon grunted.

You let yourself give in to his astonishing size before you slowly began bouncing up and down his length, your eyelids falling close to the feeling of his dick hitting just the right spots with neither of you trying. You moved in sync together, his hips propelling into yours and gradually speeding up as indulgence replaced the throbbing of your walls at their painful expansion.

“Fuck, Leon, shit.”

This was good, painfully good, but somehow it still wasn’t enough for Leon so he decided to take control again and turned you to your back where he can finally satisfy both you and him much to your contentment. He pounded into you with so much force and the tips of his fingers dug into your skin that you were sure you were going to be sore the next day at work and bruises were going to be a part of your attire for a while. Oh, well, I’m just going to call in sick tomorrow.

“You’re taking my co – ngh – ck so good, baby girl. So – ngh – good.”

Mewls left your mouth at the sound of his broken words and a familiar tight warmth filled your stomach, your moans getting louder and louder each time Leon gave a powerful blow.

“Leon, please, please, please, I’m so close – shit!”

“I know, baby, I know. Just hold on a little longer for me.”

After a few more thrusts, they became sloppy, you noticed, and all pent-up emotion boiled over into one strong orgasm that has you writhing and shaking in relief.

  “Well, fuck. That was good,” you spoke in between heavy breathing, the blanket you took from inside your couch now covering your glistening wet bodies.

“Best sex I’ve ever had if I’m being honestly,” Leon added, chuckling despite struggling to get some air himself.

“Yeah. But seriously though,” you steadied your head in your hand and began tracing random doodles on the exposed skin of his chest as you spoke, “Is this going to be a one-time thing or…”

“Well, to be honest, I wanna go further from just being a one-night stand. You know, a real relationship and all that. But if you want it to be a one-time thing, I’ll respect that.” You could tell Leon was disheartened at the thought of him being a one-night stand only but your intention was just the same as his and now, you were sure about your decision.

“I wanna go further than this, too. I love you so fucking much.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page then.” Leon placed a chaste kiss on your lips before he pulled you on top of him and lulled you both into a deep slumber.

*****

Lmao this was longer than intended XD.

[ultrahpfan5blog]

Retrospective Review - Batman: Assault on Arkham

Assault on Arkham isn't really a Batman movie in a more literal sense. Its more a Suicide Squad movie where Batman plays a pivotal role. The film takes place within the continuity of the Arkham games, which I have never played but only ever heard good things about. I really enjoyed this movie when I first watched it and it holds up on rewatch. Its arguably the best Suicide Squad movie made, perhaps even better than The Suicide Squad, which I also love, and definitely better than the 2016 Suicide Squad.

I love the premise for the movie. Its perfectly low scale, which is perfect for the Suicide Squad. The Squad infiltrating into a place like Arkham is just ripe for all sorts of things because there are so many issues that they can run into. And in this movie, they do. As expected, the task is not quite what Amanda Waller initially told Task Force X to do. Meanwhile, Batman is hunting for dirty bomb that the Joker has hidden somewhere in Gotham. In the process, the two plots intersect, with Joker entering the fray and causing chaos as only he can. Its an interesting premise done right. The lead character of the film is Deadshot, and you can tell he's easily the most experienced and balanced member of Task Force X. Joining him is wildcard Harley Quinn, Killer Frost, King Shark, Black Spider, and Captain Boomerang. Its a fun group of characters with various different skillsets. The film has a strong sense of momentum. There is always something happening and the pacing never slacks and I never got bored. There are also an awesome fight scene with Batman going up against the entire Suicide Squad. That is Batman at his most badass and there is an element of fun in there based on the reaction of the Suicide Squad members, when they realize Batman has arrived. Batman is used pretty organically and he gets a substantial role, even though this isn't his movie. Joker similarly is quite a standout, bringing his brand of crazy, and we get more of the toxic Harley and Joker dynamic, where they want to kill each other at one point and then all over each other the next.

As for negatives, I am not a huge fan of some character design choices. Like I don't like that we can see Batman's eyeballs through his lenses. It lessens his mystique a bit. Its a minor nitpick. Also, I feel that Batman should have been the one to take down the Joker and Deadshot should have been the one to take down Harley and diffuse the bomb. I know this is one of those things where the lead is given the chance to take down the villain, but the Joker is really Batman's villain, and the film establishes some sort of relationship between Harley and Deadshot, so him taking her down would have made more sense when it comes to story. Some of the remaining Task Force X members also abruptly exit, like Killer Frost, though I guess that's part and parcel of the Suicide Squad. There is also a bit of a logic flaw that somehow Batman manages to dress up Black Spider in a Batman costume and dresses himself up as Black Spider to infiltrate Task Force X, but later has his own Batman costume underneath. That seems pretty implausible.

The voice work is stellar and the animation is terrific. Kevin Conroy reprises his role and he's excellent again as Batman. Neal McDonough as Deadshot is excellent. Troy Baker's version of Joker definitely has a strong resemblance to Hamill's voice, and he does a good job of it. CCH Pounder, who did Amanda Waller in the DCAU as well, is terrific. I have always lover her in the role. Hynden Walch is good as Harley. Giancarlo Esposito as Black Spider, John Dimaggio as King Shark, Jennifer Hale as Killer Frost, Greg Ellis as Boomerang, and Matthew Gray Grubler as Riddler round out the cast nicely. Jay Olivia and Ethan Spaulding do a good job with the direction of this film. An 8/10 for me.

[pokelec]

A Dead By Daylight Novice Reviews All the Killers' Trailers (and makes suggestions for what they'd change)

Reveal trailers are paramount for an audience's first look at new characters. First impressions are everything, so your trailer for your shiny new character needs to be perfect for what's in store for the video game! I started playing DBD a month-ish ago but watched all the trailers for the killers before I started playing, and watching some of them got me to thinking about how I would have changes some of the trailers. Some require no changes, while others I think need an overhaul.

Disclaimer: This is in my personal opinion, is not objective at all, and I'm only doing this because this is something I've been thinking about for a month and need some sort of release or else my brain will implode.

Under a read more bc this gets long.

The Trapper - The first trailer! For a first trailer, I think this one is pretty spot on. It follows a lot of beats of slasher movies, in terms of following a survivor that's gonna be killed, her encountering dead bodies, and the suspense of the killer looking for her. Considering Dead by Daylight is effectively a playable horror movie, I think this is a perfect intro to the game. As for what this means for the Trapper, aka our Jason substitute, I think it showed him off alright! We saw his bear traps and got a good look at him doing this thing. Pretty good, all things considered!

The Wraith - The Wraith, Hillbilly, and Nurse all features gameplay as the means of showing off what the killers can do. The Wraith's isn't too bad, since it does show off his Wailing Bell power enough for people to understand "This is a killer that can turn invisible, and you may not know he's right next to you until it's too late". I wish it has a more cinematic style, but I'll be forgiving here because DBD was still young when this was made. I also thing it showed the new map, Autohaven, pretty well. I'm not too big of a fan of ending the trailer with his mori, but that could be because I don't find his mori exciting.

The Hillbilly - Next is our Leatherface expy! This one feels shorter, still using gameplay to introduce our new killer but at least shows off his chainsaw wielding and hints at the map associated with him. I like the shot of him revving his chainsaw underneath the tree with the animal carcasses! I don't mind the ending with his mori here because even if it's off screen, getting cut with a chainsaw is brutal enough to leave a lasting impression. Again, I wish it had the cinematic style, but it's fine.

The Nurse - I think the Nurse's trailer is the weakest of the three gameplay-focused trailers. The text intro is... fine, but I honestly think it fits the Doctor more. It does an okay job of showing us her Blinking mechanics, but it also doesn't? Like we see her teleporting to Nea, but it feels lackluster. I do like the ending shot of dead Nea as the Nurse just blinks away. I'm not quite sure how to change this trailer to be more effective in my opinion, if I'm being honest.

The Shape/Michael Myers - Our first franchise killer, and a perfect trailer. The first second in, we hear John Carpenter's legendary Halloween score. Even non-horror fans will quickly pick up which killer this is. The suspense of Laurie see Michael, Michael coming up the stairs, and especially the shot of Laurie and Michael being on opposite sides of a door is *chef's kiss*. We see enough of the Shape to be satisfied and eager for his release. It's the perfect trailer for him AND Laurie imo.

The Huntress - Ah, the Huntress. She is my favorite killer to play as, and I probably have the majority of my playtime on her. Unfortunately, I think her trailer leaves a lot to be desired. It's the start of the 'let's look at the killer from different angles, have them turn around to the camera, and then attack the viewer' trend of DBD trailers. I call for a complete rewrite! Here's what I would have done:

The map is Mother's Dwelling. Two survivors (David aaaand idk Dwight?) are running and hides behind some trees. We hear the Huntress's lullaby get louder, and we see the bottom half of her and her axe as she walks past the survivors. The lullaby gets quieter, and the survivors take a sigh of relief. Then, a hatchet is thrown and lodged into Dwight's head! David screams and runs. We then see our full look at the Huntress as she picks up the body. Her signature lullaby continues as the trailer ends.

The Hag - The Hag's trailer also follows a similar formula to the Huntress' trailer. There is an animation bump, so we get to see the Hag's emaciated appearance in full detail. I'm not too mad about that, since the Hag's appearance is unsettling enough to cause viewer distress and curiosity more than the Huntress' would. However, because this is a DBD original killer, we need to see what her deal is with her trailer. Thus, I propose this:

On the swamp, Ace is repairing a generator but hears another survivor (Dwight?) get hooked. Ace goes to rescue him, but we see as he steps on a rune in front of the poor survivor. The illusion of the Hag pops up, jumpscaring poor Ace (and the audience) but disappears. Ace then rescues Dwight for real, but Dwight quickly runs away. Why? Because the real Hag is behind Ace and lunges at him, biting his neck. Trailer ends.

The Doctor - I now realize that my taste in writing DBD trailers is 'have the survivor do a thing, they think the killer is near, they then relax, and only then are they attacked by the killer'. It's a bit stereotypical, but again, we're dealing with a game centered on the horror genre, so that's why I'm okay with it.

I mention this because that's effectively the story beats the the Doctor's trailer follows. Instead of attacking Feng, however, the Doctor just looks at her run and stares menacingly. Even though we don't see the Doctor's shock therapy powers here, I think the long look at the killer is still effective because of his design. A first reaction I (and other reactors) experienced went from the initial "OMG the killer is here, run girl!" to "Why tf are his own eyes and mouth held open like that A Clockwork Orange scene?!". We also don't linger for too long on him either, so I think this trailer works well enough.

The Cannibal/Leatherface - Another franchise killer, this time good ol Leatherface! This trailer is a little different, using text to draw up suspense. I do like the reveal of "What is his mask made of? YOU.", but I would've loved to have seen some actual Cannibal action, or at least his in-game model doing his Texas chainsaw massacring thing.

The Nightmare/Freddy Kruger - Oh, c'mon, we got one of the most well known characters in horror in this little video game, and all we get for his trailer is some scratch marks and a 'killer does nothing but stand there menacingly and attack the camera' trailer?! I do like the detail that when we see him, it's DBD's version of the dream world, but we could've at least featured a survivor falling asleep and then seeing him for themselves.

(Also kinda sad it's the reboot version of Freddy instead of the Wes Craven version and the survivor is Quentin instead of Nancy Freaking Thompson, but I guess we should be happy he's in the game at all)

The Pig - Largely, I think this trailer is pretty good. I'm not too big of a fan of Amanda just standing there menacingly near Dwight, but I do like everything else. I especially love the security camera shot of the famous Saw bathroom and the cutaway when Dwight's reverse bear trap activates (but we still see a good bit of gore!). It feels very Saw-like.

The Clown - This trailer is pretty good! Even though we don't see the Clown in much action, we get a lot of visual storytelling with the bottles, the circus, and the ring of fingers, all leading up to the reveal of his face. The diagetic music from Kate is a nice touch, too.

The Spirit - This one is alright. There is a lot of focus on Adam, but it does build up tension to when the Spirit reveals herself. My biggest problem with it is the ending card that is used for her. Yes, I know that's traditional for the end of these trailers, but her pose and expression is kinda meh after the face she makes when she's about to attack Adam. Seriously, that couple of seconds haunts me (sorry) otherwise.

The Legion - My other favorite killer to play! It's so funny how I didn't like Legion when I first heard of them but now they're my favorites. I love how the trailer emphasizes that the new killer(s) looks similar to survivors and the brutality of when Frank reveals himself and stabs Jeff. However, the trailer does a disservice to the other members of the Legion. C'mon, that's their whole shtick!

My recommendation would be to end with a shot of Julie, Joey, and Suzie joining Frank (and obviously getting a good look at them) and surrounding Jeff right before they all stab him. This is a little disingenuous since you can't play as all four of them at once (unless you count that one Blighted skin...), but you also can't disguise yourself as a survivor, so... Yeah. They are The Legion! They act as one! Treat them as such in their trailer, dammit!

The Plague - The Plague's trailer is interesting. Even though we don't see her in action, I think it's fine because seeing her puke on people during her trailer might be a bit off-putting. Just a bit. We still get some storytelling with her whispered prayers, the candles and incense thingy, and, of course, her face. I think because the Plague's design is inherently unique among all the killers so far, she can get away with the 'let's just tease the audience by looking at the killer and nothing else' trend.

The Ghost Face - Not too much I can complain about with this one. I do like the wtf factor of 'wait, why is a DBD trailer at a modern day warehouse???', especially if you're watching a trailer playlist like I first did. It all makes sense when you learn it's Ghost Face, though! Also, justice for that poor cashier.

The Demogorgon - RIP Stranger Things DLC. I don't watch this series, but I really like the Hawkins Lab map and I'm going to be sad when it's gone. :(

I love this trailer! When I hear the Stranger Things music, it actually gives me chills. I'm legitimately so sad the DLC will be gone from the stores, but I do own them myself. I need to actually sit down and play Demo, Steve, and Nancy one of these days. Why am I crying? No, I'm not kidding, why is this trailer making me cry? Renew the contract, Netflix, please! I don't want this stuff to disappear forever!

(Is it weird that I've been nagged on for years to watch Stranger Things but it's Dead By Daylight that's actually convincing me to watch it?)

The Oni - This is an interesting case. The "main" theme of this trailer is the contrast of modern day Japan's Yui and her motorcycle vs the literal ancient samurai Oni. I think it works out, and again, I think the presentation makes up for us not seeing too much of the new killer.

The Deathslinger - Oh boy, do I love my cowboys! This trailer is nearly perfect. We establish the western setting quickly over the sounds of some poor bastard in pain. The reeling in of the chains and the closeup of The Redeemer is so great. My biggest complaint with this trailer is that we linger a bit too long on the Deathslinger's face at the end. Yeah, he's creepy with his eyes and his disjointed jaw, but you can only look at a horror for so long before you want to move on.

The Executioner/Pyramid Head - I like this trailer! I haven't played Silent Hills, but I'm at least somewhat familiar with the premise and Pyramid Head. I love the shot of him passing the classroom door window and the sword cutting a rift through the ground. Yeah, my lack of SH knowledge makes me unable to recommend any changes here.

The Blight - I have no changes to suggest. The Blight's transformation is super horrific, reminding me of the typical depiction of Jekyll and Hyde. Honestly, he is so much more terrifying in his trailer and in lore than in gameplay.

The Twins - No changes needed. BHVR is really starting to hit their stride with these trailers! Seeing Victor come out of Charlotte's body is amazing.

The Trickster - We depart from all of the other trailers by using an K-POP music video style. It does a good job at referencing some of his story beats (namely torturing/killing people, recording their screams, and using them in his music), but it doesn't really make me afraid of the Trickster. Sure, it fits with his theme, but I would have preferred seeing more of him, y'know, instead of just looking pretty and making faces? I still wouldn't change the art style of the trailer, though. It's fitting enough for him and a breath of fresh air from the doom and gloom.

The Nemesis - No change needed, mostly because I'm not too familiar with the Resident Evil series, but seeing Jill, the twink Leon, and Nemesis on-screen is a very cool moment. Also can we get an F in chat for Meg?

The Cenobite/Pinhead - This is a perfect trailer. We got the Lament Configuration, we got the chains pinning up Dwight, we got Pinhead himself! What more can I ask for?

If you actually made it this far, thank for reading? I don't think I really contribute anything to the fandom with this analysis, but DBD has been living rent free in my brain for the past month, so I may as well write something, eh?

[softtransbf]

Mister Nice Guy, part 2

part one

Summary: Shit hits the fan, and the rest of the BAU is done with it.

Word Count: 3523

Reader: he/him trans man, no physical description

Warnings: case involving targeting gay people, brief mention of a child abduction case, coming out/anxiety of experiencing transphobia (no actual transphobia though), alcohol, swearing

@aleccolocco (sorry it took so long to finish lol)

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

"No, that doesn't make any sense at all, doctor!" you spat his title. "He's not jealous of these couples, killing what he can't have, or a homophobe, punishing gay people for being happy. He's putting an end to their unhappy relationships. He sees it as mercy." Over the months, your cold war with Reid turned into outright conflict, and tonight, alone in the police station in Oregon, was no exception. Hotchner had tasked the two of you with presenting the preliminary profile the next morning, and it was going as well as conversations ever went.

"We have no evidence that he knows they're unhappy, though. All of his victims are clearly happy in their relationships," Reid challenged.

You rolled your eyes and scoffed. "Please. One look at their social media and it's obvious that the relationships are on the rocks."

"Where do you get that? All I see are typical happy relationships. Selfies, checking into special events together, posts about kind things one does for the other. Nothing indicating a troubled relationship to me."

"The gentlemen doth protest too much. They're painting an overly happy painting on social media, hoping that some of that happiness will actually become real. They're desperate for the relationship to work."

"Let's say you're right. I don't think you are, but let's pretend for the sake of trying to see your logic through. Why? Why would they be so desperate to save a failing relationship?"

"God, straight men just don't fucking get it!" You went to grab a file, missing his small flinch. "You don't understand how limited the dating pool for men who are into men is. Look at the most recent couple in particular. The most lovey-dovey on social media, and got the most brutal deaths."

"Yes, because they were the happiest. My theory holds," Reid interrupted.

"No. Look, this guy put way more out there on social media than his partner, and look at the pictures he posted. Look how forced his smile is, look at the body language. He needs this relationship to work, because dating as a gay man is one thing, dating as a gay trans man is almost impossible. Having to start over and deal with transphobia over and over again is worse than being in a bad relationship. In his eyes, I mean." Shit, the first person I come out to on this team cannot be Spencer fucking Reid. He doesn't deserve the honor.

"That was yesterday. We haven't gotten the autopsy report yet. How could you possibly know that he's trans?"

"Testosterone vials and needles in the bathroom. Neither of them are old enough for a cis man to reasonably have issues that require testosterone injections. It's HRT, hormone replacement therapy."

"Even if you're right, your conclusion still seems like a much bigger jump than mine, that the killer sees the relationships as happy and is lashing out at that, be it from jealousy or homophobia."

"Whatever. You'll see tomorrow, when we talk to the M.E., that he was trans, and that fact backs me up. I am absolutely right about this, and you will eat your words. Then I will present my theory, and you can choke on yours."

"We? You anticipate us spending more time together?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I meant 'we' as in the team, asshat. The world doesn't revolve around you. Mine sure as hell doesn't. I'm gonna go back to the hotel, write my own damn preliminary profile, and try to get some fucking sleep. Clearly we won't agree on this."

"We don't ever agree on anything," he pointed out.

"Not true. We agree that we dislike each other and can't get along. Good night, doctor." You turned and walked away, not giving him a chance to respond.

This man is going to be the death of me, he thought as he watched you walk away.

~

The autopsy report came in the next day, and you were right. The tech team also found a locked notes app on his phone that catalogued his unhappiness and fear of leaving. You presented your preliminary profile to the team. Reid didn't even argue; he just sat in silence, leaving the room as soon as you were finished. Never one to pass up a chance to gloat for beating him, you offered to get coffee for the team, got everyone's order, and left shortly behind him.

You were expecting to catch up to him, his impossibly long legs be damned. You weren't expecting him to be waiting for you. He pulled you into an empty interrogation room and pushed you up against a wall, his face just inches from yours. It was only a moment before being flustered by the closeness and those goddamn eyes were replaced by anger.

"What the FUCK, Reid?"

"What game are you playing, Y/N? What game are we playing? What's your endgame?" He spoke quickly and softly, but there was an intensity in his voice that had you captivated.

"I'm the one playing games?" You pushed him back, away from you. "You're the one who decided to hate me before we even met. When I transferred, all I wanted was to do a good job and fit in with the team. But quite literally from the minute I walked through the door, you'd decided you hate me. Turnabout is just fair play, gorgeous." Oh, fuck.

"Gorgeous?" You walked past him to the other side of the room, running a hand through your hair and turning your back on him. "Fine. Yeah, okay? I wanted approval from the brilliant and handsome Doctor Spencer Reid. In a way that's respectful of your heterosexuality, of course." You turned around and faced him again. "But that doesn't matter, because you made it clear you wanted nothing to do with me right off the bat."

"What makes you think I'm straight?" He's fucking with me, now that that cat is out of the bag. Great. Fucking cishet men. Even he's no different. Thank god he still thinks I'm cis.

"Garcia mentioned in her newbie-run-down that you're 'awkward, but in a cute way, especially around women'. Plus, she mentioned that Emily is bi, leaving everyone else implied straight as even the best cishet allies are wont to do. And as we both know, Penelope knows everything.

And before you make the hearsay argument I can see forming in that brilliant head of yours, I've heard and seen too much about your impeccable memory to assume you don't remember when we all went to the bar after my first case. I was unabashedly Queer, friendly flirting with Derek and calling out cishet bullshit. When I did the latter, you literally rolled your eyes and walked away. Which is, funnily enough, some cishet bullshit. 

JJ said you were just going through a thing and things would get better, but they just got worse. I'm not going to ask you to spill whatever was going on, because it's not my business, but god damn, dude. Why did you hate me so much so quickly?"

"You asked JJ about me?" He took a few steps towards you, a small smile on his face.

"That's the part you focused on? Jesus fucking Christ. Yes, I asked her about why you decided to hate me before we even met. Whatever. I hope you got whatever you were looking for by pulling me in here. I'm done. Done with this conversation, done with whatever has been going on with you and us since the day I transferred." You turned to leave, but he grabbed your arm. It was barely more than a light touch, but you let it stop you.

"Y/N. I can't-" he sighed. "God, you make my head spin. I can't organize my thoughts enough to say what I want to. JJ was right, there was something I had to work through, and I guess you'd made up your mind about me before I figured it out. It isn't an excuse for how I treated you, just an explanation. As for the more recent development of arguments… I guess I read a subtext that wasn't there. I could never dislike you, let alone hate you. I am truly sorry for- for all of it." With three long strides, he was out the door.

Make his head spin? What subtext? Since when is he unable to say what's on his mind? And what was that about not disliking me? All we've done since we met is argue or ignore each other. Why else would he act like that? Why do I even care? Why am I so knotted up about what he's thinking and feeling? Whatever. Fuck him, and not in the fun way. I've gotta go get coffee for the team. As you were getting the coffee, you couldn't get the memory of his face, so close to yours, to stop playing in your head.

The rest of the case was mostly as normal, but there was an energy between you and Spencer that was distant like when you joined the team, but there was something else to it that you couldn't quite put your finger on. It made you a little bit sad, though, for reasons you didn't understand.

~

"I love you, Y/N. I love you so much. I pulled away from you because it terrified me how much I loved you from the moment you walked through the door that first day. Being around you, even when we were arguing, made me feel alive in a way I never had before. You're all I think about, you're all I could ever want. I love you."

"I… I love you too." You didn't know which one of you moved, maybe you both did, but in an instant, you were kissing Spencer Reid, and you couldn't have been happier.

-

You woke up with a start, breathing heavily. You looked around; you were in your room, home alone, and it was 3:37 am. What the hell was that?

Four hours later, you trudged through the door of the BAU office, venti red-eye in hand. You made it about ten steps before Derek had his arm around your shoulders.

"Whoa there, hot stuff. Rough night?" You tried to shake him off, but he wouldn't budge, so you just kept walking, making him go with you towards your desk.

"So not your business, Derek. You being open with your personal life doesn't mean we all have to be open like that with ours."

"Personal life, huh? So who is he? More importantly, how was he, and should we expect more mornings like this in the future?" You rolled your eyes and playfully shoved him away. You'd reached your desk, so you sat on top of it, facing him. As you did, you made eye contact with Spencer, who was well within earshot. His face was unreadable, and you weren't sure why him hearing Morgan tease you like that upset you. It never had before.

"No, Derek. There's no one. Just some nightmares. Nothing major; I'll be fine by tomorrow." You got off your desk, sat in your chair, and logged into your laptop. Derek whistled and walked away without another word, shaking his head.

You tried to focus on the paperwork you needed to get done, but you couldn't stop thinking about that dream. The feeling of his lips on yours… it felt so real.

This is ridiculous. Love? We don't even like each other. Well… there was the stuff he was saying yesterday- 'I could never dislike you, let alone hate you', and some sort of subtext? But not disliking someone is a far cry from love. Plus, he's straight, so this is all absurd. And even if he DID have feelings for me, I sure as hell don't return them. I mean, maybe he's not as awful as I've thought, especially if he wasn't coming from a place of dislike. And he really is very pretty. Those eyes… Wait, what the fuck? This is all fucking ridiculous. I just need to get a full night's sleep tomorrow, and all this weirdness will be gone.

You took a giant gulp of your coffee, shook your head, and ran your fingers through your hair. Fortunately, Hotchner called a team meeting, forcing your attention to other things.

While no case could ever be described as 'normal', this case was pretty cut and dry, once you figured out what you were looking for. No dramatic twist, no tense showdown at his arrest. There weren't many cases like that, but you were very glad that this one was. You never sleep well when on a case, and no matter what you did, you couldn't shake that dream, the butterflies it left in your stomach every time you looked at him, and the strange disappointment when, unlike before that moment in Oregon, he wasn't looking at you.

Two more weeks passed. The energy between you and Spencer, whatever force it was that had drawn you together to argue again and again, was gone. You were polite to each other, and cooperated as necessary, but didn't do more than the bare minimum when it came to interacting with each other. Your interactions were cold and low-spirited. So you were so glad for a fun night out with Penelope, Emily, and JJ.

"So, Y/N, things seem… different… between you and Spencer these days. Did something happen?" Emily's tone made it clear that the three of them had intended to bring this up long before the plan to get drinks was even made. "I appreciate y'all waiting until I had a couple of drinks in me at least before going here. I guess we just got tired of fighting? I don't know. I can't figure out what's going on in that brilliant head of his. I thought I at least knew where I stood with him, even though it was purely adversarial, but I think I was wrong. But then that leaves me with no idea what he thinks of me or why I care so damn much."

"Really? No idea at all?" JJ asked. "I remember walking by a closed door in the police station in Oregon and hearing the word 'gorgeous' being thrown around." "Oh my god. You heard that?" You buried your face in your hands, and they all laughed.

"Yeah, I did, but only that one word. I'd figured you were on the phone with someone, but then you and Spence both started acting sad. I wasn't sure, of course, that you were talking to him until just now."

"Fuck. Okay, yeah. I think he's pretty. But I'm absolutely not alone in that. Derek calls him Pretty Boy, for goodness' sake. Appreciating someone's beauty doesn't have to mean anything more."

"Y/N, really? After everything we've been through together, you're gonna lie to us like this? Whatever happened, you've both been miserable since, and it's throwing the whole team off balance."

"What do you want me to say, Penelope? That I'm in love with him? He's pretentious and a know-it-all and a nerd and funny and kind and gorgeous and oh my God. I think I'm in love with him." The three women clapped and cheered.

"Finally, you get there! Took you long enough." Emily winked. "So, what's the plan now?"

"Keep this shit between us until my feelings go away. Even if he wasn't straight, I wouldn't risk fucking things up by telling him how I felt. As it is, I stand no chance in hell, so I'm just gonna write this one off as another straight guy I've fallen for and try to move on."

"Y/N, if you tell him-" Penelope started.

"No. You, more than anyone, know why I can't even entertain the idea of trying to be with him. I can't set myself up for that kind of pain. Not here, not where things are so good." You looked at all three of them. "I know that your intentions were good, but I just can't do this. I'm sorry." You grabbed your coat and left.

Your interactions with Spencer changed yet again. Now that you knew you loved him, you couldn't help yourself from being warmer towards him. As the weeks passed, you got closer. After three weeks, you considered him to be a good friend, not that that made things any less painful. You were just hoping that Penelope, Emily, and JJ were going to respect your wishes and drop the subject of your feelings for him.

[From: Penelope]: round table room ASAP

Shit. The last time you'd gotten that text from Penelope, the team left on a serial child abduction case 30 minutes later. So, despite it being your day off, you ran out the door and were there with your go bag in 15 minutes.

But no one else was there. No files on the table, nothing to indicate that there was a new case. You pulled out your phone to call Penelope, but then you heard a commotion outside the door- you'd closed it behind you.

"No, Derek, wait, I don't-"

"Can it, Pretty Boy, and thank me later." Derek opened the door, pushed Spencer into the room, winked at you, and shut the door, all in about 3 seconds.

"Spencer. Um, hi. Is the rest of the team not going to join us? Garcia's text seemed pretty urgent." You tucked your phone into your pocket.

"I don't think so, since I just heard Morgan barricade the door." He tried to open the door and failed.

"Oh my god they're Parent Trapping us. I'm gonna kill them."

Spencer tilted his head, confused. "Parent Trapping?"

"Oh my god have you not seen any of the Parent Trap movies? Were you living under a rock in 1998?" "I was seventeen and working on my first doctorate, so pretty much, yeah," he laughed. You couldn't help but laugh, too, as you firmly ignored how his smile made you absolutely melt.

"Fair enough. The '61 one is good too, but the '98 Lindsay Lohan one is Iconic for good reason. Anyway. The point is, they've locked us in here and won't let us out until we have a conversation."

"Just a conversation? Or do they want us to talk about something in particular?" He took a seat at the table.

"I- yeah, they have a particular topic in mind. I'm so sorry. This is my fault. I was tipsy and said things I should have just kept to myself. I thought they'd respected my wishes and left well enough alone, but clearly they didn't. And they won't let us out of here until I tell you-" you hesitated.

"Tell me what?" He leaned forward, and part of you swore you saw hope in his beautiful brown eyes. You looked at the floor, avoiding them.

"Tell you that I… have feelings for you. Romantic, cheesy, butterflies-in-my-stomach feelings. I don't know why they want me to tell you this. We've just gotten to a good place as friends, and you're straight, and-"

Somehow you missed the sound of him getting up and taking the few steps over to you, because you practically jumped out of your skin when his hands were suddenly on your shoulders.

"Y/N. Please, darling, look at me?" Bewildered by the endearment, you did, and his smile was blinding. "I'm not straight. I'm bi, and I think part of me has been in love with you since your first day at the BAU. The thing JJ said I was working through? The potential problems of having feelings for a coworker. For you. As soon as you walked through that door", he pointed and then took both your hands in his, "I loved you. The night at the bar? I was rolling my eyes at myself for how much I wanted to kiss you, and I walked away to stop myself from doing something reckless. I love you, Y/N. Can I do something reckless?"

"I'm trans," you blurted. "I hope that doesn't change anything, but it's something you should know. If knowing that I'm trans changes things, now is the time for you to say something. If it's a problem and it blows up later, it might actually kill me. Because I love you, too. So much. If it doesn't change anything, then please, Spencer, kiss me."

The words were barely out of your mouth before his lips were on yours. You weren't sure how long you were kissing before you were interrupted by cheers from the other side of the door. "Shit, Spencer, they're going to be the worst about this, aren't they?" You were a bit embarrassed by how breathy your voice was, but you were too happy to really care.

"Oh yeah. We're not going to get a moment that's just us in this building ever again. Do you want to get it over with and face them, or would you prefer we stay in this moment a bit longer?"

"What do you think, doctor?" you asked, pulling him in for another kiss.

[ssa-sugar-tits]

queen of hearts // chapter four

summary: y/n y/l/n was crushed when she found out about maeve donovan. heartbroken, she left her entire life behind. what happens when she becomes the most prolific serial killer the bau has ever seen?

prologue + series masterlist & taglist

content warnings: swearing, angst, implied/mentioned sex, restraints, blood, head injury, kidnap/hostage, alcohol, gunshot, murder

a/n: reader is a psychotic murderer. this is purely a work of fiction and if you or someone you know are experiencing homicidal urges, seek professional help immediately.

-

The room was filled with tension and an overwhelming sense of despair but no one said a word. No more hellish arguing, no irritatingly random facts, not even discussion to solve the case. Everyone worked on their angle of the case and despite the fact that no one would dare admit it, they all somewhat hoped that Y/N wouldn't be caught. Some hoped more than others but deep down they all felt a twinge of it. JJ walked into the room and spoke, startling the team and ripping them away from their thoughts and guilt.

"I've given a picture of her to the media, it's being circulated."

It pained her-- almost physically-- to have to hand over a picture of someone who'd been like family for so many goddamn years. She felt that she was betraying Y/N and that made her feel indescribably horrible.

"Now what? We just wait?" Morgan seemed to be the only one that really did want to stop her. Maybe he was angry that he hadn't seen the signs. Maybe he was angry that his best friend had just... left. Maybe he was angry that she lost herself so much. Maybe he blamed himself.

"What else is there to do Derek? Call me bad at my job- Hell, call all of us bad at our jobs but we can't profile her. Admit it, we're all biased. Too biased to think straight but there's no way we can give this case to another unit." Emily had always been so close to Y/N and was able to open up to her. Something she couldn't bring herself to do with most people. But you weren't most people, were you? Even with what Y/N could be doing, Emily doesn't have it in her to hate her. The sadness she was feeling must have shown because JJ squeezed Emily's hand and gave her a weak smile. And for the millionth fucking time, everyone stayed silent. Not even Spencer was saying anything and he is not the type to stay quiet this long. Believe it or not, that was actually one of the things Y/N had loved about him. Everyone rolled their eyes or cut him off but she loved to listen to him ramble. To everyone's surprise, she was always genuinely interested in what he had to say and that was one of the first things that made him fall in love with her. She never invalidated him or called him strange. Sometimes when she had a nightmare or experienced anxiety she'd even ask him talk to her about a random topic so she could focus on his voice until she calmed down. 

"Your voice is like... honey. In my ears." Spencer wanted to scream with emotional torture building up as he remembered how she'd laughed when she said that and how he'd had smiled at her with nothing but adoration and love.

"That seems unsanitary Y/N."

"You're such a smartass."

"Am I?"

"Definitely. But it's ok. I love that about you. I love you."

"I love you too."

She'd planted a sweet kiss on his lips before laying her head on his lap and listening to the rest of his topic rant. Still basking in the memory of Y/N, a sharp pain entered his hand and he realized he'd dug his crescent nails into the palm of his hand. And in that moment, he couldn't help but think about how much he'd love to be holding her hand right now.

"Guys!"

They all turned to Garcia, the source of the exclaim, who was walking in with Hotch.

"A bartender downtown says he just saw a woman matching Y/N's description leave with another man."

"She's chosen another victim? Here?" Rossi asked with confusion written on his face. "Up until now she's only killed 2 people per state and knowing the BAU has been called in, why is she staying here?"

JJ stepped in,

"This place is special to her, she has history here. Y/N must have an endgame but what is it?"

"The profile says she'll take as many people as she can with her. Probably suicide by cop."

Derek had accepted the situation. So why did that hurt to say?

"Rossi will go to the bar and talk to witnesses. Reid and Prentiss, stay here with Garcia. JJ and Morgan, PD is surveilling the radius around the bar and setting up roadblocks, come with me to help them."

"There's no way I'm staying here." Spencer objected.

Stay here and do nothing? Like hell.

"Neither am I, what the hell Hotch?"

"Reid, Prentiss that's an order. You're not going."

They both started to argue again but Hotch had already left. JJ and Derek followed and Rossi stood up with to leave for the bar. Apologetic looks were shot at Spencer and Emily because they all know why they have to stay behind. They're the two closest to her, the two that wouldn't be able to keep their emotions from affecting them on the field. And with that, off they all went.

-

Y/N's POV

-

The second you get to his hotel room, your lips crash against the handsome stranger. Your next victim. He pushes you against the wall and you moan loudly. His hands roam your body and you pull back.

"Hey... Go lie on the bed and wait for me."

Panting and staring at you with lust, he complies. Of course he does.

For God's sake. This man doesn't even know your name.

To be fair, Spence didn't even know Maeve's last name. And he still chose her.

You walk over to the eager man on the bed. Your hot breath on his neck, you lean close and whisper to him.

"We're going to do things my way."

He moans and you fight the urge to roll your eyes at him in disgust.

"Yes ma'am."

Taking out a rope, you tie him up and you know he thinks you're just a kinky slut. That's what they all see, isnt it? Suddenly something roars inside of you. Forgetting your usual routine, you pick up the lamp on the bedside table and smash it against him. Crimson stains the bed and you drop it, shocked by yourself. Yes, you've done worse. But it isn't the act that's sending regret and nausea through your body, it's that you're devolving. You're losing control.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Starting to panic, you take the unconscious man and check for a pulse. He's still alive.

Giving him a shower (much to your disdain) and change of clothes, you put his arm over your shoulder and walk out of the room giggling as you pass one of the housekeepers.

"Baby, you're such a lightweight! Let's get you out of here."

The housekeeper barely gives you a second glace but when she enters the room of the man you've taken, she starts to scream and you know you're running out of time.

Run. Drag him. Just hurry the hell up.

Finally at his car, you take him to the small studio you own downtown. No one can find you here. It's been yours for nearly a decade and you aren't stupid enough to have told anyone about it or put it under your name. Granted, you'd never thought you'd have to use it to hide out from the feds, it's still useful. After taking a look at the brightly colored wall in your basement, you feel a sense of sudden pain race through your veins. You used to be normal. You used to have a life.

-

The man is chained up, gagged, and bleeding but you can't even remember doing anything to him. What you need is numbness. They thought the other bodies were bad? Wait til they fucking see what you do with him. Pain shoots through your skull again and you wince and fall to the ground.

"Fuck. I- I need a drink." you stammer to no one in particular but yourself.

A wig and sunglasses make you look different enough from the woman being circulated to take the bus to a nearby gas station. Walking down the liquor aisle of the store, you hum a song to yourself and let the AC blow on your skin. Vision blurred, you bite your lip and taste the unmistakable strong metallic taste of your own blood. Still humming that fucking song. The song you'd danced to with Spencer in your living room before you'd made love for the first time.

"You cannot be serious!"

"Y/N! I can't dance."

"Oh come on. How bad can you be?  Seriously, the songs going to end and it'll be too late."

"Yes, that's what I'm hoping for."

"Psh. Don't tell me Doctor Reid is scared to sway around a little."

"Shut up."

"Make me." you laughed.

With one playful look, you dared him to shut you up in the most passionate, sensual way he could. But instead he put his warm hands on your hips and swayed to the song. You melted into his touch and your breaths synced as you laid your head on his chest. His heart beat was steady and calming. One hand reached for yours and intertwined before twirling you and pulling you back in to dance. He'd held you until it was over and brought your chin up to his face. The kiss was so intense, so loving. He tilted his head and pulled you tighter to get as close as he could to you. His tongue met yours and your mouths bathed in each other's taste. Running a hand through your hair, you'd started to unbutton his shirt. He'd been taken aback at first but then picked you up and placed you in the bedroom ever so softly. Placing gentle kisses all over each other's bodies and undressing for the other, you made raw, breathtaking love for the first of many times.

"Hey lady! Get out of the way!"

"W-What?..." You tremble and realize you're crying on the floor of the aisle.

"I said get out of the damn way, some of us got places to be."

The man is clearly batshit drunk. Probably here to buy his next fix. Shaking and letting yourself actually feel your emotions, you stand and use the wall to balance yourself.  The man that yelled at you curses to himself as his phone rings and he picks it up.

"Hell do you want? Thought you were still mad about Andrea."

Andrea? Mad about Andrea. Another cheater. Another liar. Right? It has to be.

Before you can process what you're doing-- how irrational it is-- the gunshot rings through the store and everyone turns to see the man before you on the ground, screaming and spitting blood. A mix of a laugh and a sob escapes you and you scream.

"Everyone on the fucking ground! If I see any cellphones, I'll shoot you just like this dickhead. Got it?"

Frightened people drop to the ground and you start to yell, incoherent bullshit again. You smash the freezer glass behind you and open an expensive bottle of bourbon.

You practically whimper having to take deep gasps in between words, but in a somehow still confident, fearless tone.

"Now let's have some fucking fun."

-

But what you didn't know was that the cashier in the front had sent a text 5 minutes earlier.

Call 911! The girl from the news, the Queen of Hearts. She's in the store.

What you didn't know was that the woman that recieved the text had called immediately.

911, what's your emergency?

What you didn't know was that the BAU was on their way.

-