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jonadioweek · 5 years

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Destiny Bond

Title: Destiny Bond

Prompt: Crossover

Rating: There’s really nothing inherently romantic that happens, so citrus, but T rating because there are references to certain more intense things from the show.

Summary: Dio and Jonathan square off in a Pokémon battle, but some of his underhanded techniques bring up some questions about the death of Danny the Umbreon.

Word count: 3,651

Warnings/Tags: animal/Pokémon death, Pokémon AU, battling, writing practice

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Iiiit’s Speedwagon back here again with another fic for ya! I don’t know if this is what y'all meant by crossovers, but here’s a little Pokémon AU. I actually had a lot of fun writing this, as I attempted to incorporate the battle beats of Jojo into a Pokémon battle. This is less so a romantic story so much as an exploration of what throwing fantastical aspects in earlier on in their narrative would do in their dynamic. It was really fun to explore! I hope everyone enjoys even if it’s not exactly shipping (though there is a few hints at it in there). - Anon Speedwagon

The worst part about living in a big mansion was that when his father coughed, Jonathan could hear the heaving sound bouncing off the walls. The vibrations tore at his heart like a blade, and he had to stead himself, grit his teeth every time George went into a fit. It felt as if his own heart was withering away along with his father’s body. If there was anything he could do to have him well, even sacrificing his own wellbeing, he would.

Jonathan gripped onto the railing, looked at the doorway to George’s keep as the fit petered off into labored breathing, watched as the nurse rolled the medical supplies out on a cart, swaying happily as if nothing was wrong.

“Bliss!”

He kneeled down to her level once she came close enough, giving her a pat on the head. She was such a good Pokémon, dutiful at keeping George healthy as he could be in his time of need. She was intended to be a live-in nurse, designated by doctor’s orders, but she had, admittedly, become very close to Jonathan. She was practically his Pokémon. When his father got better–if he got better, for that matter–Jonathan didn’t know what he would end up doing when they had to part.

“There, there, Blissey. You’re doing great,” he spoke to her in gentle tones. Blissey gave a delighted cry, raised her nubs. Jonathan gave a laugh, but it was stale, hardened by the air of hardship and illness in their home. Blissey had obviously noticed this, offered Jonathan a pat on the shoulder and a soft reiteration of her name. “Blissey… how’s dad doing today?”

Blissey’s usually-cheery expression drooped. She had to look away from Jonathan, peering between the bars of the stair railing as if there were something there that was far more interesting than him. Though, Jonathan knew this was not the case; she did not want to elaborate on just how bad his condition was. Even if not for him becoming familiar with Blissey’s mannerisms, he had a keen sense of what Pokémon were feeling; it had always been something he was good at detecting, ever since young. That was why he had interacted so well with Danny, his beloved Umbreon.

Remembering Danny always brought heartache to Jonathan. Thinking about what had happened that day, the news hitting him intensely, the smell of charred flesh about the incinerator, the feeling of the raindrops at the memorial of the Pokémon… to this day, it felt so gut-wrenching, so intense that Jonathan knew he had to push it out of his mind. He couldn’t mourn Danny and worry about his father at the same time.

It did bring him to wonder though: How had Danny ended up in that incinerator? Sure, he could’ve climbed in on his own accord, though it was unlikely, as Danny was very intelligent. Another thing that bothered Jonathan about it was that even if the Umbreon had ended up staying in the incinerator, why hadn’t he been able to break through it with his moves? Jonathan had trained extensively with Danny in his youth, and Danny did know a fair set of attacks that could have easily gotten him out of that incinerator. It didn’t make sense.

Something was so wrong about the whole thing, and the young him had suspected it at the time, but it had long been neglected as he matured. But the face, the name, the culprit, Jonathan thought he knew, but he could never pin it on him. He had thought on that day, no he had known, even if he couldn’t quite recall it then as he attempted to block out the painful memories, who had killed Danny. And that person had to have been–

“Jojo.”

Jonathan looked up. There was Dio, standing at the top of the stairs, his Haunter looming over his shoulder. It gave a giggle and rested a hand on Dio’s shoulder, glared at Jonathan. As much as Jonathan loved Pokémon, something had always been offputting about that ghost-type to him, though he couldn’t put his finger on it. Even Blissey seemed a little wary herself, though she was more of a healer than a fighter, so all she could do was cling to Jonathan’s leg.

“Hello, Dio.”

“How’s dad doing?”

Jonathan swallowed hard at this question. Dio had seemed concerned throughout this whole sickness, though had been infinitely more calm about it than Jonathan had. While wanting to know how your sick relative was doing was usually done out of geniune concern, when Dio asked, it was as if he were… waiting for something, as if the anticipation of George’s death was tittilating in a sense. Jonathan dismissed this though as Dio’s way of coping. Perhaps he himself was reading too deep into it all.

“Not too well. He had another coughing spell just a minute ago. Luckily, Blissey was there. Isn’t that right, Blissey?”

“Bliss, Bliss…”

She cowered under the stare of Dio and his Pokémon companion. Haunter only seemed to be amused by this. Dio seemed unfazed by her reaction. He let out a small noise of something that echoed concern, then stared out the window, watching the falling snow as it drifted down to blanket the ground. He was silent for a long time, so long that Jonathan felt it had been hours.

Eventually though, Dio did pipe up again.

“Jojo, could you do something for me?”

“Of… of course, Dio.”

“Trade with me.”

Jonathan was stunned at this request. He parted his lips as if to speak, and he felt a scolding quivering up in his throat. How could Dio ask to do something so trivial after being told that their father was getting sicker and sicker?

Jonathan paused before anything could come out though. He forced himself to relax. Again, Dio had come from a different place, and perhaps his methods of coping were different. Maybe he wanted to attempt to ignore the problem by filling the spaces with Pokémon? After all, Dio had been an excellent trainer since his days in the slums, shown by the time that he had bested Jonathan in a public battle. Perhaps that was what he felt he was best at, so he was attaching himself to the notion of his prowess to deal with his emotions?

“Uh… sure. What do you want to trade?”

Dio looked to his Haunter, cocked his head in its direction. It gave another laugh, earning another distressed sound from Blissey.

“Y…your Haunter?! But that’s your pride and joy…! You would–?!”

“Don’t worry. It’s a trade-back. I simply need to evolve it is all.”

Of course. Haunter evolved into Gengar through trade. It would make sense why Dio would want to temporarily swap Pokémon. Why had Jonathan even entertained the idea that Dio would ever trade that Pokémon to him permanently? Dio cared about that Haunter more than Jonathan had ever seen him care about anything.

That had been another reason why that theory that Dio had been responsible for Danny’s death didn’t work out in his adult mind. George had told Jonathan that day that Dio hadn’t come home yet, as he was at a Pokémon Center getting his then-Gastly taken care of after a battle challenge that had been issued by a kid from school. George had said Dio had shown the Pokémon to him. It had been in a state of paralysis after the fight, and Dio seemed very concerned.

***

“Welcome back, Armaldo!”

Jonathan chuckled as he gave his fossil Pokémon a pat on the head. It let out a delighted cry, snuggled against him. Who knew that something this old and this scary-looking could be such a sweetheart? Even though it had been gone from Jonathan’s possession for only a moment, both trainer and Pokémon had felt empty without one another.

Dio meanwhile examined the rounded frame of his newly-evolved ghost-type. The Gengar looked back at him, floated upward, flicked its tongue out in a taunting way and gave a shrill laugh. Dio let out a small “hmph” in response to this.

“Jojo, Gengar seems awfully excited about his new form. Why don’t we test it out… in battle?”

Jonathan was surprised at this proposal. Despite Dio’s battling expertise, Jonathan hadn’t been challenged to a battle by him since they had fought that schoolyard scuffle. Not to be boastful, but Jonathan thought to himself that he had gotten better since that fight and that he perhaps had a chance at beating Dio.

“Alright, Dio! You’re on!”

“It’s a one-on-one battle, my Gengar against a Pokémon of your choosing. I’ll be in the backyard; don’t keep me waiting.”

Dio walked away without another word, his Gengar hovering behind him. The purple Pokémon turned around, stuck its tongue out at Jonathan and pulled its eyelid down to create a taunting face, then laughed and headed out the back door with its trainer. Jonathan was undeterred, knowing how mischevious ghost Pokémon could be. He also knew not to let his guard down.

Jonathan looked to Armaldo, who was more bothered by the teasing judging by the way it growled and brandished its claws. He kneeled down to the rock-bug Pokémon’s height, patted its shoulder.

“C'mon Armaldo, we’ll show him.”

“Armaaaaal!”

***

The snow crunched beneath Jonathan’s boots as he headed outside. The sun had nearly set, tinting the sky a purple hue. The faint glow of a lamp guided Jonathan, and it dimly lit up Dio’s frame in the darkness. Gengar he could not see, but Jonathan knew it was lurking somewhere around. Armaldo gave a scoff, its breath showing up as mist in the air.

“Hmph. You took so long that I was beginning to think you decided not to battle.”

Jonathan gave a chuckle, clenching his fist. As Dio came into view, Jonathan could see that an area had been cleared out in the snow for their fight.

“I couldn’t turn down a battle challenge. It’s not in my nature.”

“Too bad you’re fated to lose then.”

Dio stood at the edge of the clearing, and in the darkness, Gengar almost seemed to materialize beside him, red eyes cutting through the night. It was chilling to see, but Jonathan was not frightened of it, Armaldo either. As they stepped into the field, trainer and Pokémon, they were both ready to take on this fight. Pride was at stake. For Dio, the undefeated streak he had, his prowess in battle. For Jonathan, the need to prove that he was a good battler in the face of opponents even like Dio. Winning wasn’t necessary, but the taste of victory would be sweet.

There was a moment of silence between the two of them. The only sound was the harsh winter wind and the sound of a tree branch clattering to the snowy floor. Dio’s hair shifted in the wind, the glow of the lamp accenting its golden shine. He looked dangerously handsome.

Then, Dio stamped his foot down, putting himself into a battle position. The first command of the battle was then thrown out.

“Gengar! Disappear into the shadows!”

The faint silhouette of Gengar that Jonathan could make out vanished, and it gave a chuckle that echoed off the trees. Jonathan looked around for it.

“Stay on guard, Armaldo!”

The fossil Pokémon raised its claws in a defense position. Gengar was a fast Pokémon, Jonathan knew, and a very powerful one at that. The strategy was a simple yet effective one: Outspeed the opponent and take it down before it can even land a hit on you. Suitable for Dio. Yet, Gengar had one downfall: It had trouble tanking any attacks. It was indeed a glass cannon. Now it was a matter of actually getting Armaldo to land a move.

“Now, Gengar! Hypnosis!”

Red eyes lit up in the dark. They pulsed with the promise of an attack, though it was a rather slow one. Gengar was a fast Pokémon, so this puzzled Jonathan. Hypnosis? Why did Dio need to put his Pokémon to sleep?

“Armaldo! Interrupt the Hypnosis with an Ancient Power!”

Floating rocks surrounded Armaldo, and it let out a shrill war cry as it tossed the rocks at Gengar. A direct hit, even with Gengar’s speed on its side. The Pokémon fell down to the ground, stunned for a moment. It had stationed itself to commit to Hypnosis, and Jonathan had used this fact to get it.

“Yes!”

The Ancient Power hadn’t been enough to take it out though. Gengar sat up, enraged and embarrassed. Dio watched, a drop of sweat crawling down his temple. Despite this, he remained calm, collected.

“Gengar, calm down. Don’t let it hit you again.”

Gengar shook its head and flew back up into the air. It let out a growl, the air around its mouth seeming to come off like smoke rather than a fine mist. Even though Jonathan now had the upper hand, he wasn’t about to let his guard down. Armaldo wasn’t either, though it did seem satisified to wipe that smug grin off Gengar’s mug.

“Now, Armaldo! Use Knock Off!”

Dio seemed a bit thrown off by this. Armaldo moved quickly, quicker than before, and it jumped, raising a claw to hit Gengar.

“Q-quick! Dodge it!”

Luckily, Gengar was just fast enough to move out of the reach of Armaldo’s appendage, though barely so. It glared down at Armaldo, panting a little. Dio let out a low growl. How was it so fast? How could it nearly land two hits in a row?“

“I bet you’re wondering why Armaldo is so fast. Well, the move I used, Ancient Power, it has a chance to give a boost to all of the user’s stats, and Armaldo was lucky enough to get that.”

Dio took a step back, now understanding what had happened. Armaldo was a lot scarier with the stat boosts, now being able to tank a few hits and do much bigger damage. Jonathan knew this, and that was precisely why he had opted to use Anicent Power to lead. He could see it in Dio’s eyes, even in the blackness of the night, that he was a little nervous, that he recognized his skill.

“Well then, we’ll just have to take care of that speed, shall we? Gengar, Lick!”

Gengar stuck its tongue out, charged at Armaldo. Jonathan wasn’t about to let this happen, knowing full well what came with the move Lick. There was a high chance that Armaldo would get paralyzed, and that would end up putting them at a disadvantage against the hyper-fast Gengar.

“Armaldo, Dig! Quick!”

Armaldo quickly tunneled beneath the ground before the tongue could graze it. Dio let out a grunt of frustration. Jonathan smirked to himself; those long days of training were finally beginning to pay off.

“Oh no you don’t! Gengar! Get higher and use Hypnosis again!”

Gengar obeyed its master’s orders just as Armaldo had burst from the ground. It flew high up, eyes lit up with powerful energy. The pulsing began again, and Jonathan clenched his fist.

“Armaldo! Don’t let it put you to sleep!”

Armaldo moved away from the Gengar’s gaze, but its movements had quickly begun to slow. Jonathan gasped as his Pokémon fell down, back exposed to Gengar, asleep. Dio gave a chuckle, folding his arms. Gengar laughed as well, deeply amused by the landed hit.

“Hmph. That Ancient Power strategy was clever, Jojo, but your Pokémon can’t do anything if it’s asleep.”

“But… but how–?!”

Jonathan gasped when he realized. He looked at Gengar’s position, then down at his sleeping Pokémon. Of course. Hypnosis was a move that came out in waves that spread outward. By Gengar levitating high up, it not only protected itself from physical attacks, but the range of Hypnosis was further and therefore, no matter how far Armaldo could run, it couldn’t escape without leaving the battlefield. Had Jonathan let his guard down?

“That was… clever, Dio…”

“Now, Jojo! This fight is over! Gengar!”

Gengar floated down, feet landing on the ground. It chuckled darkly as its eyes lit up once again, an inky energy flowing from its body and into Armaldo’s.

“Your Armaldo is about to face its worst Nightmare! Now, Gengar!”

Gengar waved its hands, preparing its attack. But when it stuck out its hands to release whatever it had planned, the aura did flow, but it bounced right off of Armaldo.

“Gar…?”

“Now, Armaldo! Knock Off!”

Armaldo bolted straight up, turned around, smacked Gengar with its claw. Lum Berry juice dripped from Armaldo’s chin. Jonathan knew Dio used underhanded tactics in battle, so he had had the foresight to bring a status-healing berry to get them out of a pinch. Gengar let out a pained roar, then fell to the ground. Jonathan waited for it to get back up, but nothing of the sort happened. He looked to Dio, who seemed rather calm despite the turn of events. His Gengar was certainly down for the count though.

“We… won! We won, Armaldo! Great job!” Jonathan exclaimed happily and ran to his Pokémon’s side, giving him a hug. However, Armaldo was quiet, rigid in Jonathan’s hold. “Armaldo…? What’s wrong?! What’s going on?!”

Then, without warning, Armaldo went limp in his arms, threatening to fall down to the ground. It was caught by Jonathan though before it could hit the dead grass. He kneeled to balance the both of them. Upon examining his Pokémon’s face, Jonathan saw the issue.

It was fainted.

“But… why? Gengar didn’t even get a hit on it…!”

The dead grass crackled beneath Dio’s feet as he walked up to the scene of the battle. He picked up Gengar, took out a Revive from a satchel he had on him. He used it on Gengar, and the purple Pokémon’s red eyes fluttered open.

“I knew that Gengar couldn’t take another hit from your Armaldo. Though the trick with the Lum Berry was certainly an unexpected one, I had Gengar prepare beforehand just in case anything happened.”

“Pre…pare?”

“Tsk, tsk. I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet, Jojo. I’m a little disappointed.”

Jonathan’s expression had turned from one of determination to a puzzled anxiety. It was frustrating to know that Dio had a trick up his sleeve like this one, especially after he had won fair and square. Finally, he beat him, and now this? Dio slipped a Revive into the palm of Jonathan’s hand.

“Destiny Bond.”

Jonathan let out a gasp. Everything made sense then. Of course. Dio gave a smug grin, obviously satisfied with his wit.

“I knew Gengar couldn’t win in that state. That was why I had it use Destiny Bond before I started my sleep strategy.”

“That’s why…! A couple seconds before…!”

“Precisely. That dark aura you saw when Gengar first hit the ground was Destiny Bond. I wanted to take precautions before I even thought about beginning my assault on Armaldo. It would wake up eventually anyway, and it just so happened that it did so before Nightmare could get to it.”

“That’s… really smart…”

Dio stood, helped Gengar stand up. He gave it a resolved pat on the head, to which Gengar let out a delighted sound, accompanied by a titter. Jonathan used the Revive on Armaldo, and its eyes opened. It let out a defeated noise.

“It’s alright, Armaldo. You did great. The battle would have been ours if not for Gengar using Destiny Bond at the last second.”

“Indeed. Now, let us call this a tie and head back inside. I’ll say though Jojo, I am rather impressed. You are much better than the last time we fought.”

“Yeah… let’s go.”

Jonathan held out his hand. Dio clasped his own hand against his adoptive brother’s, giving it a solidarity squeeze. Then he turned to head back inside, Gengar following. Jonathan did as well with Armaldo, though paused for a moment before they were about to enter the doors.

Despite the sun having gone all the way down in the course of their battle, Jonathan could make something out in the distance. He had to squint, but he could see the outline of something cubical. His heart sank when he remembered what it was: The furnace. The furnace where Danny had burned to death.

And then, it hit him.

What if… younger Jonathan had been right about his suspicions? Yes, it was true that Dio may have been at the Pokémon Center when Jonathan got the news, but that didn’t completely absolve him from guilt. Jonathan had a theory, and if he remembered this correctly, it could finally explain what had happened to Danny. George had told him that Gastly been paralyzed, badly so…

Jonathan went inside. On the outside, he seemed cool and casual as he passed Dio. But, on the inside, his mind was burning hot with thought, so much so he felt a headache coming on.

“Night, Dio. I’ll see you in the morning. Great battle tonight.”

“Goodnight, Jojo.”

Once he had gotten up the stairs and away from Dio, Jonathan ran quickly into the library. Armaldo followed, confused by its owner’s sudden actions. Jonathan looked through books hastily, examined the spines as quickly as he could. He searched and searched until he finally found it: A book on dark-type Pokémon and their abilities.

He flipped through the pages, eyes skimming and examining the Pokémon that passed by. Then, finally, he stopped on the page when he finally found it. He looked through the information, and–

Tears pooled in Jonathan’s eyes. He dropped the book, clasped a hand over his mouth. His body twitched as he threatened to break out into sobs. If Gastly had incapacitated Danny before with its Lick, which would explain why he couldn’t have escaped from the furnace. But then why would Gastly have been paralyzed?

Jonathan’s beloved partner, his Pokémon… his ability…

“D-Danny…”

Synchronize.

#jonadioweek #jonathan joestar #dio brando #djdweek #submission #Day 3 #Crossover #Fanfiction #SFW #´This is a very nice combination

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vivacesole · 6 years

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Dinner

Spencer Reid x Reader

Summary: After recently joining the BAU you are invited to dinner at Rossi’s house with the rest of the team. While this time was used to bond with each other and wind down, someone lets their not-so-secret crush on you slip.

Warnings: A very flustered Spencer, and Morgan flirting

Word Count: 1.3K

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"(Y/N)! Great, we were just getting ready to eat." Rossi answered the door and let you in.

"Hey! Thanks for inviting me." you smiled and made your way through his house into the kitchen. JJ and Emily were dumping an assortment of fruits into a large bowl.

"(Y/N) hey!" JJ smiled with her eyes as she popped a grape in her mouth. "Nice to see you outside of work. "she laughed.

"Nice to be outside of work." you snorted. "This week couldn't have gone by any slower."

"You got that right." Emily chimed in and jerked the fruit bowl away from JJ, handing it off to Rossi.

"The rest of the team is outside on the patio, whenever you wanna head out there." Rossi said, nodding towards the back. You smiled and nodded, following him through the sliding glass doors.

"Hey (Y/N)!" you heard a ripple of greetings from Hotch Reid and Morgan.

"Oh! (Y/N)! You made it!" Garcia jumped from her seat and approached you for a hug.

"Hey Garcia! Nice knowing you function without a computer in front of you." you joked.

"I'm glad you decided to show, (L/N)." Morgan chuckled. "You haven't really met the team until you've had dinner at Rossi's."

"He-he's right." Reid smiled and waved at you again.

"Oh I wonder what I'll discover." you hummed softly and took a seat next to Garcia.

"You'll discover plenty as long as Reid keeps talking." Hotch said greeting you personally. Reid scrunched his mouth and nodded.

"More than you might want to know." Morgan added jokingly. You laughed as he shook his head at the ground.

"Dinner is served!" Emily sung as she exited the house; she set down the plate of ribs, waiting to be attacked. Followed by JJ with the sides.

"This smells amazing holy shit." you breathed. "You did this Rossi?"

"Oh yeah. All me." he laughed, patted Emily on the back as a thank you, and took his seat.

You each took turns passing bowls and cutting the ribs as equally as possible for everyone. You all laughed when Morgan stole fruit from Reid's plate, resulting in Reid dumping his whole serving of fruit onto Morgan's plate. Insisting he finish what he had started.

This reminded JJ of a story that had to do with Will feeding Henry for the first time, which reminded Hotch of his early years with Jack, and then that ricocheted more stories from across the table.

"What about you, (L/N)? We've been telling stories all night, what do you got?" Morgan popped your way.

"Uh, nothing interesting really," you chuckled. "not that I can remember at least."

"Oh come on. You have to have something," Emily muffled between bites. "What about your past? Anything you're comfortable sharing at the sacred table?"

"Yeah we don’t know too much about you (Y/N)," JJ stated. "What do you like, what were you involved in during high school? Your looove life." she stretched. The rest of the team nodded and slightly leaned forward, waiting for your answer. You laughed and shook your head at her forwardness.

"Something I really like... hm, music for sure." you laughed at the sky thinking. "I originally wanted to be a musician. I grew up playing the piano, then I learned the violin, then the cello..."

"Really now?" Hotch questioned, surprised.

"Yeah, I had a stage where I was really into movie scores and so when I started middle school I joined Mariachi to learn the violin. We didn’t have an orchestra program, and I didn’t have the time for a private teacher. So I learned through the program until I graduated high school. Then I taught myself cello."

"So you still play?" Reid asked.

"Barely. I really have no reason to. Just for my own pleasure. I don’t have the time I used to. I'm probably, extremely rusty." you chuckled.

"You should play for us sometime!" Garcia swooned. "I love the violin."

"I-I don't know," you laughed. "It'll be pretty bad."

"Isn't the violin like the hardest instrument to play or something?" Morgan asked leaning back in his seat.

"That is actually an extremely common assumption." Reid interrupted. "Because of the many factors it takes just to prepare to play the violin, many assume it is the hardest instrument to learn. You've got to unpack it, tune it, tighten the bow, tune it again. And for beginners especially because the sound produced is determined on your position of the bow and the pressure of your fingers. There are many things to pay attention to while playing." he paused for a moment. "However in my opinion I really believe it depends on the person learning the instrument. Some people have a natural affinity for music and can pick it up really fast. Assuming since you started piano at a young age, you knew music theory inside and out. Then you started violin in 6th grade and you made varsity mariachi as a freshman, I'd think music practically runs through your blood." You all stared at him for a second. What a brain.

"Wait I-I never told you I was in varsity." you mumbled in question.

"Busted..." Morgan whistled softly. Reid's mouth dropped a little. He turned red and looked down at his plate, unsure of how to respond. He just ratted himself out.

"I was kind of looking you up before you joined." Garcia confessed. "Reid was there with me. We wanted to know who we'd be working with." Hotch sighed, and rubbed his temples.

"Way to make it awkward guys." JJ nervously laughed.

"No no its cool, I guess, I wouldn't really have expected anything less from the FBI." you laughed it off.

"That's really interesting though, (L/N)." Morgan added. "Y'all we're working with a musical prodigy." he laughed.

"Well I don't know about that." you shrugged sarcastically.

"I'd really like to hear you play though. The violin is so...sexy." Morgan flirted. You'd caught on weeks ago that his personality was just like that. Flirtatious. You chuckled and looked at your erratically vibrating phone.

"Excuse me." you said and stepped aside to take the phone call. Once you were at a far enough distance, Garcia hissed at Spencer.

"You owe me Reid!" she leaned across the table and whisper yelled. "I saved your ass. I should've let you suffer."

"But what you said wasn't exactly untrue! You did look her up!" Reid's face turned pale as he panicked about the conversation topic.

"Upon your request!"

"I knew it!" Morgan laughed. "Reid has got a crush on our prodigy." JJ and Emily snickered and looked back at you; still on the phone.

"I assume I don't have to remind you-" Hotch started.

"No no. It's not like that!" Reid rushed.

"Not yet." Morgan teased.

"Sorry guys, I've gotta go. My brother just made a surprise trip and flew in to come see me. I've gotta pick him up at the airport." you sighed in disappointment, yet excited to see your brother again. The team sighed in a collective "Aw" of disappointment.

"And things were just getting interesting." Morgan sighed and sat back in his seat.

"How do you mean?" you tilted your head. "What were y'all up to?" you narrowed your eyes and looked around the table, Reid averting your gaze very noticeably.

"Nothing," Emily hummed. "Just-"

"Planning another stupid prank." JJ cut her off. "Morgan was, you know him, being a joker." she laughed.

"Right.." you chuckled. "I almost believed that for a second. JJ ruined it. I'll find out sooner or later." You headed for the door, Rossi walking you out.

"Bye (Y/N)!" the team called after you.

"Drive safe baby girl." Morgan smiled after you.

"Of course." you smiled and winked back at him before disappearing into the house.

"You heard her pretty boy," Morgan taunted. "She'll find out sooner or later."

"Assuming she doesn't already know." Hotch mumbled.

"No thanks to any of you!" Reid complained.

"Better act fast kid." Morgan challenged playfully. "Or I will."

"Shut up."

#aaron hotchner #criminal minds #criminal minds x reader #david rossi #derek morgan #Emily prentiss #garcia #hotch #Jennifer jareau #jj #morgan #Penelope garcia #prentiss #reid #reid x reader #rossi #spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #x reader

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zenzoidman · 7 years

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Save that which was Lost

“Save that which was Lost” - 32nd Sunday after Pentecost, Sunday of Zacchaeus Luke 19:10 - For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (KJV) What was lost? I’ll offer some thoughts on that in this sermon. In my last sermon, I talked about how quantum physics has revealed God in every atom of our being. We literally would not exist unless the energies of God were constantly sustaining our existence. Our existence and that of the entire universe is not just a one-and-done kind of a deal- God is ever present with us through his energies and, of course, as the Holy Spirit in believers. As St. Paul affirms, “... in him we live, move, and have our being…” Acts 17:28 (ESV). This is not just a theological fact, it is also a scientific fact. Now we're going to look up, like Zacchaeus did, and see God in the Big Picture- in the cosmic Edenic Plan of salvation. "Save that which was lost.” Like so many things our Lord says, he packs dynamite into simple little statements that can be easy to gloss over. When you probe his statements just a little with your mind and heart, they explode! This is one of those statements. It is an eschatological statement-- concerning ultimate things, the consummation of God's of plan for our salvation with Christ's incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, the gift of the Holy Spirit, his return, our glorification, and the restoration of Eden-- the New Israel. Let’s unpack all this. So what was lost? Well, if you’re a Jew living in that Second Temple period, Christ’s statement would have elicited several things in your mind that were lost: The united kingdom of Israel and their lands The tribe of Israel along with the 9 other tribes when Judah returned from Babylonian exile The original Eden where the Most High God and his heavenly hosts lived together with humans But, of course, it’s bigger than all of these. Adam and Eve broke communion with God in Eden and were cast out. Theologically, now there was a separation between God and humans. The Eden story-- and the rest of the Bible-- shows a connection between geography and communion with God but not in the way most of us think about it. It’s much bigger than a patch of earth delineated as the location of the garden of Eden. The theological message of the Bible, with the land conquests in the OT (militarily) and NT (by spreading the Good News of Christ’s Resurrection), is a retaking of the fallen world where we are partners with God in this conquest. As we’ll see in a bit, the Fall affected far more than just Eden or planet earth-- the entire known universe was affected. The reconquista of our universe begins here on planet Earth, Ground Zero for the Fall. This is Divine Geography. When Adam and Eve partook of forbidden knowledge in Eden, death entered the world. Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men…” (ESV). Another way we see that death has entered the world is in thermodynamics where everything tends toward maximum disorder and the lowest lowest energy level. Engineers call this Entropy. We actually use it to design refrigeration systems (Fun Fact to Know and Tell). Entropy is a manifestation of death. It takes a constant input of energy to counteract entropy. A simple example: a living person dies and their body begins to decay. The cells of their body break down to molecules and the molecules to atoms, the lowest energy state with maximum disorder (entropy) of their former body. The entire known universe operates under this Law of Entropy (emphasis on "known"). So at the Fall, death entered the entire known universe. The universe is vast and old. They don't know how vast because they don't see an edge or anything like that but there are about 15 billion stars. The Big Bang occurred about 14 billion years ago. A tiny point of matter inflated rapidly to form what we know as the universe today. Because of the effects of entropy, energy loss, gravity, etc., scientists expected to find that the rate of expansion of the universe was slowing. They actually found something profoundly shocking: the expansion of the universe is accelerating! So scientists did some more probing and number crunching and deduced the existence of this thing called Dark Matter and Dark Energy (DM/DE) throughout the universe. These are not theological terms. They called it DM/DE because we can't measure or detect it directly with any of our current instruments. Now here's the kicker: turns out that everything that we can see and detect with instruments in the entire vast universe is only about 5% of everything else that's out there! The other 95% is this DM/DE. As I mentioned, we can't measure or see it directly- its existence is deduced by the effects it has on what we can see. The existence of DM/DE explains why the rate of expansion of the known universe is increasing instead of decreasing. So then what is this stuff we call DM/DE that comprises the other 95% of the universe? Bottom line answer: we don't know. It does not seem conform to our known laws of physics- otherwise we could detect it directly. This is also evidenced by the fact that the rate of expansion of the known universe is increasing, contrary to our known laws of physics. It’s important to point out, too, that this DM/DE stuff-- whatever it is-- doesn’t exist “out there” somewhere, as though our known universe is in a bubble. No, the DM/DE “universe” is interpenetrated with our universe. It’s in the room with you right now. Here's a thought: maybe the DM/DE part of the universe was unaffected by the Fall-- not subject to death and entropy-- and the universe we do see and detect is in a type of quarantine. Maybe the plan for us, as human image-bearers of the Most High God, is to redeem the known (fallen) universe from quarantine and re-join the rest of the universe, to re-join the heavenly hosts there. This kind of gives a whole new perspective on St. Paul's account of being caught up in the third heaven: “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.” 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 (ESV) Also gives a whole new perspective on who Christ is and the real scope and meaning of the catholic or universal church. Isn't it amazing that, in all our astronomical searching, we've never found any other detectable life in the known, vast universe? Maybe it’s because, as a result of the Fall, we either killed it or prevented it from coming into existence in the first place. Maybe the DM/DE universe is teeming with life! Maybe this is the unseen realm of angels and all the other heavenly hosts “invisibly present here with us.” What were Adam and Eve doing in Eden? They were gardening, of course. In the ancient Near East conception-- a desert culture-- gardening wasn't just mowing lawns and trimming hedges. It was tending new and precious life! Our divine destiny, as human imagers of the Most High God, is to nurture new life throughout the universe- the New Eden and the original Edenic vision. It was God’s plan for us from the beginning. It's a holy and awesome job that we are called to do. We are to minister to that life and be their priests, offering them up to God. We will name them, like Adam did-- we give them meaning. That is our priestly role and destiny as the body of Christ. In other words, we will be going to the stars just not in the way science fiction portrays it, which is really just a modern, high tech aspiration of the old motive behind the Tower of Babel. No, we will be doing it with God and according to his original Edenic vision. In our lives as Christians right now, we are still gardeners. We are practicing for our destiny as cosmic gardeners when we’ll be nurturing new life all over the universe. We do this now in our lives by nurturing the life of Christ in our own lives, in each other, and in non-believers. We are gardeners of our own hearts through prayer, fasting, repentance, studying scripture, all the other spiritual disciplines the church gives us. We are gardeners for each other by coming together for worship and in fellowship by affirming and encouraging each other in the faith. As St. Paul says in Ephesians 5:19 “...addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs…” (ESV). In other words, avoiding vain, empty, or divisive talk when we come together as the Body of Christ. And we are gardeners for non-believers in our lives by not hiding our faith or being ashamed of it but rather sharing it with them, planting the seed of faith in Christ. We heard an interesting verse in the Epistle today: 1 Tim 4:9 “...because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.” (ESV) Savior of all people. Hmm, sounds like universal salvation so no problems, right? All paths up the mountain lead to the same peak? Actually, no. This is not a statement of universalism. Rather, it is a statement of uniqueness. As in, “there is no other savior for anyone.” In other words, this other group of people “over there” doesn't have a different savior. And there's no other “savior” coming later. Christ is it. This is why we say we're living in the end times. Imagine you are suspended in space and you’re looking at a planet that’s covered in thick, black, scabby plates. Out of the corner of your eye, you see a point of light like a comet rapidly zoom in and pierce the scabby sheath over the planet. You keep watching for the longest time and nothing seems to be happening. Finally, the black scabby covering is blown off and the most brilliant light bursts forth from the planet, extending instantly throughout the entire universe. All things are made new and suddenly you find yourself surrounded by legions of luminous beings that you’ve never encountered before. They tell you that they’ve been here all along but you couldn’t see them until just now. In the story, the planet is our Earth, the comet is Christ, the transformational explosion of light is his glorious second coming, and the luminous beings are the heavenly hosts, the kingdom of heaven. We are living in that period of time from when the comet enters the planet to the explosion of light. That is why we say we are living in the End Times. The cure (Christ’s incarnation) has been administered and is doing its work. We are part of that work. The cure must work through us and with us, as believers, as the body of Christ. When is Christ coming back? Wrong question! Since we are in the end times now, the right question is what should we, as the believing and faithful Body of Christ be doing? I’ve already touched on that point. We are blessed and privileged to be living in this unique and final chapter in human history. It also means that, as Christians knowing the truth, more will be expected of us. We are created in the image of the Most High God. This means we are free, as in we have free will and are free to make choices. But, although we have free will, we are not free agents. In other words, we are not sovereigns. We will belong either to Christ or to a high order angelic being who is in rebellion to Christ (and who has already been judged, condemned, and defeated by the Cross). Colossians 2:14 “...by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” (ESV) Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (ESV) The Satan-- the adversary, the lord of the dead-- has a claim on every soul that comes in the world. This is why in the last line of the Lord's prayer we ask God to deliver us from the evil one. What's the first thing we do before every Baptism? An exorcism. Why? To release that claim of the adversary. Once released, we are not free to go on our merry way as though we are unattached. As our Lord tells us: “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.” Matthew 12:43-45 (ESV). Once released from the claim of the enemy we turn right around and "put on" Christ in Holy Baptism and so pass over from death to life because we have entered into the Resurrection by faith. That faith is our choice to make-- it is how we “opt in” to God’s plan of salvation. We are free to choose either death with the lord of the dead or life in Christ, the giver of life. There is no other choice. But we are free to make that choice. Not making a choice IS making a choice... for death. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (ESV) In other words, the only other option is death. So choose life! Okay, how do we do this? Zacchaeus shows us the way. We stop being obsessed with the mundane things of the world and look up. Each of us climbs the tree of our own cross and fixes our eyes (hearts and minds) on Christ. This means we have to stop living like the Gentiles, preoccupied with earthly cares-- what will I eat? what will I drink? who got elected?-- and instead start living the new life in Christ and telling others the good news about Christ. Simply being baptized and taking communion does not guarantee that we will be cosmic gardeners in the new Eden. As the Lord said through Isaiah, “... this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me..." Isaiah 29:13 (ESV). Where are our hearts when our lips approach the chalice? Not just at that moment, but all the other moments throughout each day of the week? It's not enough to pay lip service to believing in Christ- that belief has to inform and shape the thoughts we allow to dwell in our hearts and minds, the kinds of things we pay attention to, that we allow to enter our minds, the kinds of things we talk about, and what we actually do. It is a daily walk with the Lord that informs and permeates everything in our life. Baptism and communion are awesome gifts but we still have to do our part. Our Greek fathers called this synergia- a cooperative working with God. Zacchaeus' heart was already converted before he even climbed the tree; he had already repented. Think about it: Jesus had just healed Bartimaeus near Jericho where Zacchaeus lived so no doubt everyone was talking about him as the Messiah. Everyone had heard of him, which is why Bartimaeus called out to him “Son of David”- another Messianic title. The Lord knew the heart of Zacchaeus just as he had earlier known Nathanael’s (Jn. 1:48). That's why he called Zacchaeus in the first place. Zacchaeus' announcement of restitution to Christ were confessions of something that was already a reality in his life. He believed in Christ which prompted words and action- repentance. His announcement of restitution and a radical change in his life and behavior were tangible fruits of his repentance. St. Zacchaeus accompanied St. Peter on his travels and followed him to Caesarea. Peter appointed him the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine. He was living the new life in Christ, preaching the Gospel and shepherding others in the new life-- living the life of a cosmic gardener right here, right now. We commemorate St. Zacchaeus on April 20. Holy Hierarch Zacchaeus, pray for us sinners! Rdr. Socratis Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church Claremont, NH January 2017

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