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mydearzero · 9 months

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Lisztomania | Spencer Reid x Reader

MASTERLIST

18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

Summary: Years after joining the BAU, you thought you'd gotten past your little celebrity-like infatuation with Spencer, the whole reason you applied for the BAU. A case involving the murder of several groupies of an up-and-coming indie rock band is bound to prove you wrong.

Contents: NO Y/N, fem!Reader, BAU!reader, co-workers, friends to lovers, smut, unprotected sex, penetrative sex (p in v), creampie. If I missed any warnings please tell me!

4.7K words

It wasn't an everyday occurrence that Spencer would be the one to deliver the profile to the public. He looked a lot more stoic on TV than in real life. You never failed to be amazed by how he could still surprise you over the years. He looked confident, and it was a good look on him.

"-The man we're looking for is between the ages of 25 and 40. He is of an average build. He's likely socially inept and doesn't mingle well with his peers. Please be on the lookout for anybody who fits this description and contact the FBI through the local Police Department. Thank you."

"Someone's gawking." Emily's words startled you out of your Spencer-induced trance. You crossed your arms and grumbled.

"No, I wasn't..." You bit the inside of your cheek as Emily pat your shoulder and scoffed a laugh.

"Sure, you weren't. I gotta give it to you. TV does Boy Wonder well." Emily said as she watched the head of the local Police Department take over the press conference as Spencer left the screen.

"I guess I'm just amazed at how different he looks while doing press. Compared to how he usually carries himself, I mean." You shrugged. Emily turned to look at you, no longer interested in the TV screen.

"Guess that's the profiler in all of us. You can't help but compare. But you're right. Reid does have a certain je ne sais quoi about him, I suppose."

_________

That was several months ago. It wasn't until you saw Spencer in front of a classroom that a familiar, uneasy feeling returned to your stomach. Emily was right. He did 'have a certain je ne sais quoi about him'. You just couldn't put your finger on what it was.

"-Which is why it's crucial we always discuss the details of the COD with the coroner's office. COD being the Cause of Death, of course." Spencer spoke with an air of juvenile enthusiasm. You were glad he still had that part in him, despite everything that happened previous to his teaching.

He finished the class and was about to walk over to where you were leaning against the wall, waiting for him to finish. But when he was nearly done packing his satchel, a small group of college girls formed around his desk. The soft smile he'd directed at you was quickly cut short.

You stared in amazement at the girls' shameless flirting. Spencer had turned this group of brilliant and educated girls into giddy schoolgirls, all by just being himself. They all wanted a piece of him, and you started to have peace with the fact that you didn't blame them. You were in the same boat.

_________

The final straw was during a case concerning a string of murders involving groupies of an up-and-coming indie rock band.

"I mean, I get the urge to throw your panties on stage at an attractive man. I do. Even I would've taken the bait with Nick Carter, given the chance. But to follow a random stranger down a dark alley in the hopes of meeting your idol? That seems a bit far-fetched. Girls this age are smarter than that, especially with the media frenzy." JJ flipped through the details described in the case file.

"There's been several cases of fangirls going to great lengths to get what they want from their idol. The earliest case would probably be with Hungarian composer Franz Liszt in 1841.

The term 'Lisztomania' came about in 1844, describing an intense level of hysteria demonstrated by fans, a bit like the treatment of celebrity musicians today – but in a time not known for such musical excitement.

A more recent example would be Beatlemania, or even the so-called 'Bieber Fever' or 'One Direction Infection'. There have been several studies that explain this behaviour, but I won't get into that." Spencer trailed off.

"I know someone else who had a case of that. But I think that was just called a hard-on." JJ joked, jabbing at Spencer's short-lived fling with Lila Archer over ten years ago. Spencer grumbled something along the lines of "Can we please let that go," but it fell on deaf ears.

"It's still strange they would follow someone down the alley unless the person they're following has been established in the girls' minds as someone with authority, like a crew member connected to the band," Rossi mentioned.

"Garcia, look into all the current members of the band's crew along with the people working at the venues. We're going to need you at the scene, too. There's a lot of social media involved. Thank you. Wheels up in 30." Hotch stood up, signalling the meeting was finished.

You walked with Emily back to the bullpen, Spencer following close behind.

"You know, I get it. There's something attractive about a man with a platform, even if you put him on that pedestal yourself, to begin with." Emily said as you leaned against her desk.

"Yeah, for sure. It doesn't have to be a pop star or actor. A celebrity, even. Could be anybody under the right circumstances." You agreed. You could see the appeal in having an unrelenting devotion to someone like that.

You put Spencer on a pedestal like that, in a way. You watched as he gathered his things into his go-bag. You knew he was a flawed person, like anybody. Yet, in your eyes, all his problems could be explained or ignored. You didn't notice the curious glance Emily sent your way.

While on the jet, you contemplated the case. Would you have fallen for the ruse? Maybe if you had been a bit younger? You'd had your own little celebrity obsessions. You wouldn't have ruled it out if free tickets and a meet & greet were in the picture.

It was a quick but convoluted catch once the profile was made. Thank you, Penelope. The UnSub was most likely one of the band's crew members who used to date the bassist. They'd broken up due to an increasing number of groupies getting in the way of their relationship. Go figure she'd go and murder them.

The catch happened right in time with the start of the show, the bustling crowd missing all of the mayhem that had gone down backstage due to the support act. How the gigs hadn't been cancelled yet was beyond you.

"You can stay and watch the show from the VIP area if you want. It's the least we can do, really. Though, maybe ditch the FBI gear." The lead singer had a charming smile. You could see how the crowd waiting for him could be captivated by his energy.

After Hotch checked with the hotel and pilot, the team decided to take the band up on their invitation. After a quick shower and change at the hotel, you drove back to the venue in groups.

You were escorted to a barricaded area near the front of the stage. The energy of the crowd was exhilarating. An electric tension hung in the air as the 30-minute change-over between the support was filled with soft music from a playlist.

JJ and Rossi came bearing gifts, both carrying several drinks to hand out to the team. You thanked them as you took one, taking a sip of the ice-cold drink. You deserved to relax and enjoy a night like this after the gruelling case.

You watched unabashedly at Spencer, red overhead lights casting down on his face. You'd like to see how he'd do on the stage, perhaps in an alternate universe, and with a different wardrobe. He was undoubtedly eclectic enough to pull off the whole rock star gig.

He felt your gaze and made eye contact, working his way past a wildly gesturing Emily as she told a story. He lightly grabbed your upper arm when he reached you.

"Hey." You saw his mouth move, but his words got lost under the chattering crowd. You smiled and leaned closer.

"Hi! Fancy seeing you here!" You shouted. Spencer winced as he laughed. You'd obviously overestimated the volume of the crowd. You mouthed a quick apology before taking another drink.

You nearly choked when Spencer leaned even closer, invading your personal bubble (that was already narrow), to talk directly in your ear.

"Did you know that typical movement behaviour at large events like these increases the risk of spreading infectious diseases?" You bit your lip as you stopped yourself from laughing. Leave it up to Spencer to break the tension like that.

"It makes sense, I guess. Lots of people, lots of bodily fluids. Kinda gross, now that I think about it," you replied.

Just as he was about to speak again, the lights dimmed, and screams filled the stadium. You gave him a small smile, which he returned, afterwards turning to look at the show. He stood behind you for the majority of the show, and while you would've loved to admire him in the gorgeous lighting a little longer, you couldn't have asked for a better person to have rubbed up against you for an hour and a half.

After the show, Hotch, Rossi, and JJ decided to return to the hotel for some much-needed rest ahead of their early flight the following day. The rest headed out to a bar just around the corner of the venue. You walked quickly, the cold of the outside being a jarring change from the heat at the concert.

You were a few drinks in when Penelope brought up a subject you'd somehow managed to avoid all these years.

"If I hadn't joined the FBI, I would've liked to be some sort of celebrity," She mentioned, taking another sip through her straw.

"Considering the type of psychos we encounter on a daily basis, I'd rather be less known, not more." Emily shuddered. You were quick to agree. Although fame was attractive on some level, you wouldn't want to risk situations like those you'd witnessed these last few days in exchange.

"What made you want to become an agent in the first place?" Penelope turned to you before continuing. "I didn't have much of a choice, to be honest. It was jail or the FBI, and I'm not jail material. I mean, look at me!" She gestured wildly to herself.

You chuckled and decided to pick an opt-out answer. "I just saw it as the right thing to do, you know? Make the world a better place, even if it's only little by little." You shrugged.

Spencer squinted as he ran his eyes over your face. "Bullshit." He determined. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his callout.

"What's that supposed to mean?" You questioned genuinely. Sure, you hadn't been entirely honest, but it wasn't a lie.

"You're lying, I can tell. You do that thing with your face. Besides, that's the most basic answer ever. Surely a person with as much integrity as you do would have a better reason than a moral superiority complex." Spencer stated matter-of-factly. You gaped at his accusation.

"He's right, though. You have no connection to the Bureau. Reid is a wunderkind, Garcia is basically an ex-con, and I'm a child of nepotism. What made you apply? And for the BAU of all places?" Emily wondered out loud.

You recoiled as you realised there was no getting out of this. If you were going to dance around the subject, Penelope would get too curious, anyways. She'd have your application and its details pulled up in no time. That, along with cross-referencing the BAU with your college, it wouldn't take a mastermind to figure out what happened.

"I actually followed a lecture on sexual sadism and the Mill Creek Killer back in college that made me wonder if I'd be cut out for it." You admitted, omitting some key details.

The one secret you'd sworn to take to your grave was that Spencer was the sole reason you were with the FBI in the first place, having followed one of his guest lectures a few years back.

He hadn't even left the room before you'd turned in your online application to the Academy.

"Why not mention that in the first place? God, no need to be so secretive about it." Penelope whined. You didn't answer as you tentatively sipped your drink, feeling busted for no reason.

You glanced up to look at an overly smug and amused Spencer. Blood rushed to your cheeks when you realised you were most definitely caught.

"You know, when Hotch first introduced us to you, I thought I recognised you from somewhere. But the memory I have of that lecture is actually overshadowed by this kid who was also there, Nathan Harris. He ended up killing some prostitutes. But now that you mention it, you did go to Georgetown, didn't you?" Spencer knew he was right. He just wanted to see how you were going to talk yourself out of this one.

"Oh, you gave that lecture? I never realised..." It was a pathetic lie, and there was no hiding it. Emily snorted out loud. She'd clocked your little 'thing' for Spencer long ago, you knew that much.

"Aww, you looked up to Spencer? That's so cute!" Penelope gushed. That sure was one way to put it. You made a face that must've said as much.

"What, you didn't look up to me? I'm offended. Here I thought I was your favourite professor." Spencer joked. He excused himself as he walked to the bathroom. Great timing, as it gave you time to rid your cheeks of the flush you were sporting.

"Be honest with me. And don't bother lying because we've all seen the heart eyes you throw at Pretty Boy. Were you genuinely interested in joining because of the subject matter? Or..." Emily encouraged you to answer.

You sighed as you brought a hand to your face. "Honestly? I wasn't sure if I wanted to be him or be with him. But at least I signed up for the class out of genuine interest! There were plenty of girls there that were there purely for the hour-long eye candy!" You defended yourself.

"And you applied for the Academy after the lecture? At least it must've been interesting." Penelope wondered out loud.

"Actually..." You winced. "He'd hardly even been done with his introduction before I'd filled in the online application. But I was very single, okay? And he'd already built up this celebrity status on campus." It felt nice to admit to it after years of harbouring it.

"Oh! You naughty little fangirl!" Penelope exclaimed.

"I'm not a fangirl! It's been years!" You groaned. You took it back. It didn't feel nice. You should've kept it to yourself.

"Who are you a fangirl of?" Spencer asked, putting a new glass in front of Emily and sitting back down by your side.

"You! She's a total groupie." Penelope betrayed you. You shot her a nasty look, but it went ignored by her drunken, self-satisfied glee.

"Is that so?" Spencer turned to you with his eyebrows raised.

"Oh yeah, total Reidiac. You should give her an autograph." Emily winked. Spencer laughed and shook his head at their antics.

The conversation moved on, but you felt the dynamic between Spencer and you had changed, even when unspoken. When Penelope and Emily were caught up discussing cats, Spencer leaned against your side, whispering in your ear once more. Unlike last time, he didn't break the tension, even when telling another fact.

"Garcia called you my groupie earlier. Do you know the textbook definition of the term 'groupie'?" His voice was huskier than usual, coated with the alcohol and late hour. You shook your head timidly, urging him to continue.

"A groupie is typically explained as a young woman who regularly follows a celebrity, especially in the hope of having a sexual relationship with them." His lip brushed against your ear as he whispered the words. A cold chill went down your spine at his insinuation.

"You're no celebrity, Spence." You answered apprehensively. He didn't move, still leaning into your side, out of sight. You couldn't gauge his expression.

"Maybe not in the classic sense of the word. But I have a Wikipedia page. Surely, that amounts to some celebrity status." He joked. You closed your eyes, tension slowly disappearing after the vibe of the conversation changed back to casual banter.

Was he insinuating what you thought he was?

You got your answer as soon as the four of you headed to the hotel. You bid your goodbyes to Emily and Penelope before turning to put the keycard in the door to your room. You heard a couple of doors close, and just when you turned the handle, there was a hand on your shoulder, pushing you inside and closing the door. You whipped around, only to be faced with Spencer.

"Spenc-"

"You deflected earlier." He interrupted.

"Deflected what?" Your heart was racing. Whether from the shock of his sudden intrusion or the proximity, you weren't sure.

"The definition of a groupie. And how Garcia is right, you totally are one."

You gaped at the insinuation.

"Don't look shocked now! You are totally one of those girls who audit my class." He grinned.

"You wish! I'll have you know you were scrawny at best when you gave that one lecture I attended." You huffed, crossing your arms.

"Were scrawny? Past tense?" Spencer egged you on.

"Shut up. You know you've built up some muscle since then. Hell, maybe you even grew a couple of inches." You rolled your eyes.

Spencer decided to ignore the comment and put his hand in his pocket, fishing for something. He finally pulled something out, looking way too smug for his own good. "I brought a Sharpie. You know, for your autograph."

Fine. If he wasn't going to stop this ridiculous teasing, you were going to cross the 'groupie' line.

"Oh my god! I like, totally want your autograph, Spency!" You started, looking him dead in the eyes as your hands made their way to the hem of your shirt.

"Will you sign my tits?" You challenged, lifting your top far enough to expose your bra to its fullest extent.

Spencer obviously hadn't expected that, struggling to come up with a quick-witted response. You shrugged as you took the shirt off.

"I see. You require a larger surface area. I get it. Big ego, bigger signature." Spencer finally broke when you reached behind your back to unclasp your bra.

"Hey, hey. Stop. I can sign them like this just fine, sweetheart." You knew he was simply going along with the rockstar act, but the nickname sent blood rushing to your cheeks either way.

"Okay, hot shot." You smirked, pushing your chest out. He hadn't expected you to actually let him sign your chest. He scrambled to take the cap off. He stepped closer and wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you against him.

"Stand still. You want it to come out perfect, don't you?"

You held your breath when he brought the Sharpie up to your breasts. You looked at his face as he appeared laser-focused on giving you the best autograph of your life. Why was it that such a stupid joke felt like the most sensual experience of your life?

The tip of the Sharpie tickled as it danced across your chest. He finished the signature with a dot on the I in Reid.

"There, perfection." He whispered, but his eyes were no longer glued to your scantily clad upper body. You searched his face for hesitation but only found his determined gaze settled on your parted lips.

He made eye contact as if asking permission. You'd barely nodded before his hands cupped your face, and lips were on yours, sucking all the air out of your lungs. His body pressed up against your own, frantically shedding the layers keeping you separated. You kept kissing him while desperately reaching for his belt.

You hadn't noticed you'd slowly made your way to the bed in the back of the hotel room until Spencer pulled away to remove his tie. You let yourself fall onto the sheets, ridding yourself of your bottoms. They got stuck at your ankles as you forgot your shoes.

"I got it." Spencer's voice was unrecognisably hoarse. He kicked off his own shoes and made his way over to the bed in only his boxers. He tugged at your shoes after undoing the laces and discarded them somewhere in the room.

You'd never seen a sight quite like Spencer leaning over you as he rested one knee on the bed. He put his hand beside your face and you met his eyes. His head blocked the dim yellow ceiling light, lighting him perfectly from behind. It was ridiculous how angelic he could look, even in these stereotypically sinful circumstances.

"Are you sure about this?" Spencer asked. Always considerate. What a gentleman.

"I've been sure ever since that stupid lecture, dork." You joked. Spencer smiled and leaned down, placing a kiss under your ear. His breath was hot on your neck as he left a trail of kisses down your neck, down to his crudely placed signature.

You leaned on your elbows as Spencer reached behind your back to finally unclasp your bra. You let your back meet with the sheets again as he pulled the straps down your arms. You heard him take a deep breath as he took in the sight before him.

You pulled him down for another kiss, unsatiable now that you'd gotten a taste. His hands reached for your chest and experimentally pinched a nipple. You inhaled sharply through your nose. The combined sensation of his mouth and large hands on your body, as his hips sought more and more friction, was delectable.

His hands slowly reached further down, toying with the edge of your underwear.

"Don't tease." You whined, already too riled up.

"Patience is a virtue," Spencer murmured against the skin of your jaw, hooking his finger under the elastic band.

"Patience, my ass, Reid. I need you." It came out more desperate than you intended, but it seemed to do the trick. He yanked the underwear down your legs, followed by his own.

"Condom?" He asked. You shook your head.

"Don't care. I'm clean, and God knows you are. Wanna feel you." You answered, wrapping your arms around his neck.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Spencer laughed, taking his cock in his hand and running it through your folds.

"Have you met yourself? You won't even shake hands, Doct-oh, oh Jesus Christ." Spencer interrupted your banter by sliding inside in one go. You closed your eyes as you pulled him close, begging him to kiss you.

He slowly started moving as you regained your ragged breath. The low grunts falling from his lips against yours were magical, but you wanted more. Your fingers made their way up to his hair, tentatively tugging at the roots. Your grip tightened at a particularly harsh thrust, and Spencer's response was everything you were searching for.

"Holy fuck, oh my God- Uh-" His grunts slowly tuned whinier as you kept your grip on his hair. He brought a hand to your clit, rubbing circles in tandem with his thrusts.

"Look at me, baby." He moaned in your ear. He leaned back, and your eyes fluttered open, though with difficulty. Your instinct was to squeeze them shut with pleasure. He looked ravenous, pupils blown wide, panting with the physical effort.

You lazily wrapped your legs around his waist in an attempt to pull him even closer.

"Shit, Spencer," you moaned as the new angle reached a spot inside you you'd only ever dreamed of. Your eyes squeezed shut again, unable to keep them open. Spencer removed the hand rubbing your clit and moved it to your chin, placing a small kiss on your lips.

"Eyes on me, come on. I know you can do it." He encouraged. Something about his coercive tone let you know there was a side to Spencer you had yet to see. You opened your eyes and were met with the sight of his eyebrows furrowed with effort.

The noises coming from Spencer sped up along with the desperate pace of his hips. The combination of his whines with yours and the sound of skin on skin was anything but serene. You felt yourself nearing the edge, clawing at his back in an attempt to ground yourself.

"Spencer! Fuck, oh my god," it was hardly distinguishable what you were saying, mumbles of pleasure stringing together into an unintelligible mess. His cock slid again and again and- you couldn't take it.

Your hands left his hair in favour of running your nails harshly over his back. Spencer was seemingly a glutton for pain, moaning at the sensation.

"I- Shit, I'm gonna cum. D'you want me to pull out?" Spencer's thrust faltered. You knew you had to answer fast. You tightened your grip on him with your legs.

"Please, Spencer. Please come inside me. Want to feel you cum." You begged.

"Fuck, okay. Okay. O-" His head dropped down to your shoulder as his unrelenting hips sped up one more time, bringing you both to your high. You felt his cock twitch as your walls tightened around him.

"Spencer!" You shouted as you came, feeling him spill inside you.

"So good for me. So gorgeous. Perfect." Spencer mumbled as he peppered you with kisses, hips slowing down as he came down from his high. Your chest heaved, trying to catch your breath.

Spencer carefully pulled out, making sure not to spill anything and soil the sheets. He stepped off the bed and spread your legs, before leaning back down and licking a drop of cum threatening to spill.

"Shit, Spencer! Too sensitive!" You pushed his head away. He laughed before heading to the bathroom, returning with a dampened towel.

The nighttime routine that followed felt domestic. You peed, brushed your teeth, ignored the sight of his signature and hickies on your boobs, and headed to bed.

"Can I borrow your toothbrush?" Spencer asked from the bedroom. He hadn't asked to stay. But then again, you hadn't asked him to leave. You didn't want him to.

"You just licked your own cum from my vagina, and you ask if you can borrow my toothbrush? Be my guest, Reid." You scoffed, lying down under the sheets.

"Hey, people have their preferences, okay? Didn't want to overstep." Spencer said as he returned from the bathroom, lying down beside you.

Against your better judgement, Spencer stayed. You knew the entire team would be up and around, bright and early. But you didn't care. His arms wrapped around you and pulled you close as you drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

He left early the following morning. You were sure he hadn't had nearly enough beauty sleep. He could nap on the plane, you shrugged. There were no regrets from either party over the loss of sleep.

You hadn't thought too much about your outfit before heading down to breakfast. An honest mistake one can make when staying up late and getting up early. You were exhausted, let alone hung over. You realized your mistake when the ever-stoic eyes of Aaron Hotchner immediately snapped down to the tank top you were wearing the second you stepped out of the elevator, the words 'Spencer Reid' still obscenely sprawled across your chest, accompanied by several suspicious bruises.

Your eyes went wide as you followed his gaze, quickly zipping up your hoodie. How could you possibly have forgotten that part? You met Hotch's eyes. Before you could try to babble yourself out of this one, he held up a hand to stop you. "I don't want to know."

You clenched your lips as you nodded. "Noted, bossman."

The small smile tugging at the corner of his lips didn't escape you, and neither did the exchange of money between him and Rossi not 5 minutes later.

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princessviana · 1 month

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Ensnared

Pairing: Yandere Kim Taehyung x OC(Yuna)

Warning: This story is a work of fanfiction and is purely a product of the author's imagination. It does not depict any real-life events or individuals. While some characters may be inspired by real-life idols, their portrayal in this story is fictional and not representative of their true selves. Please note that this story may contain triggering content, including themes of abuse, gore, murder, humiliation, bullying, rape, and other mature and dark themes. Reader discretion is advised, especially for those under the age of 18. If you are uncomfortable with such content, it is recommended to refrain from reading and kindly disregard this story.

Synopsis: Yuna finds herself questioning her husband's love and fidelity. She becomes convinced that he has fallen out of love with her and is engaging in an extramarital affair. Adding to her distress, her husband refuses to acknowledge their relationship publicly and instead presents someone else as his wife. Despite the heartache, she chooses to stay by his side, hoping for a change. However, the question lingers: How long can she endure this situation before reaching her breaking point?

They say that being in love is a beautiful and magical feeling, where two souls intertwine and create a bond that can withstand any storm.

But, why is it that in my case, it feels like something is missing?

My name is Yuna, Kim Yuna, a 26-year-old woman who is married to the one and only Kim Taehyung. He is not only the world's famous CEO but also a self-made model of his own modeling company, which goes by the name of "Kim's Fashion Empire." We have been married for almost two years now, but why do I felt like he was embarrassed to reveal me to the whole world,that he claims someone else as his wife that brakes my heart.

I don't understand how this happened, but he claims that our marriage is just a facade to protect me from his rivals. However, deep down, I can't help but feel that he is protecting himself more than me. There was a time when a reporter asked him about his rumored wife, and the whole world was eager to know who this lucky girl was. Many speculated that it could be a celebrity or an idol, especially Nova, who was working closely with him. We had countless fights over this, but he always managed to calm me down with his sweet words and promises to reveal me to the world as his wife.

The day finally arrived when he introduced Nova as his wife to the public, and it shattered my heart into a million pieces. What hurt even more was when the reporters asked for proof, and without hesitation, he kissed her in front of everyone. As I watched this heartbreaking scene unfold on television, tears streamed down my face, and my heart felt like it was being ripped apart. Meanwhile, our second-anniversary cake remained untouched, a symbol of the love we once shared but now seemed to be crumbling away.

When he finally came home, I couldn't contain my emotions any longer. We erupted into another argument, and in my pain and anger, I slapped him and pushed him away, forbidding him from touching me with his filthy hands. He had the audacity to try and kiss me, even after kissing that woman! But, being the foolish woman that I am, I couldn't think straight. I gave in to him once again, swayed by his sweet words, apologies, and manipulative explanations. He made me believe that he only did it to protect me from his enemies, who would stop at nothing to bring him down by using me as a weapon. And in my weakness, I allowed him to win me over, as he tightly embraced me, and I cried myself to sleep.

I know I may seem foolish and naive, but please don't be mad at me. I truly love this man with all my heart, and it's that love that keeps me holding on, hoping that one day, he will truly see and appreciate the love I have for him.

...

It was 8:46 a.m., and I stepped out of the car, a smile gracing my face. I adjusted my dress and held onto the lunch I had cooked for him. With a mask and cap on, I entered his company, always in awe of its grandeur. His intelligence and hard work had brought him to this position as the CEO of the number one top modeling agency, making him the most handsome man in the world. I couldn't help but feel immense pride in my man.

As I walked towards the receptionist, she greeted me with a warm smile, and I returned it graciously. Making my way through the VIP elevator, I ascended to his office. The sound of the elevator opening made me look up, and I stepped out, heading towards his office door. However, my smile faltered when I saw them again. Him and Nova, standing side by side, engrossed in conversation. I watched as they seemed to be getting closer, his smile widening as he listened to her. I didn't allow myself to dwell on negative thoughts and cleared my throat to catch their attention. They both turned towards me, and Nova quickly distanced herself from him, his smile fading as his eyes met mine. It had been a while since I had seen him smile like that, but not for me, for another woman. Was this a sign? No, I couldn't let myself think that way. I cleared my mind and approached his desk as Nova excused herself and left us alone, maybe for good. Ugh, why was I feeling jealous again?

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his face void of emotions, twirling his expensive and favorite pen between his fingers.

I smiled at him and placed the lunch box on his glass table, but my actions halted when he said, "I already ate lunch." I couldn't help but notice another lunch box on his table. Did he... no, Yuna, stop it. I cleared my throat, looking away from him, trying to control the hurt emotions that threatened to overflow and the tears that welled up in my eyes.

"Oh, is that so? Then I'll just go," I said, not giving him a chance to respond, and quickly walked away.

I heard him call my name, and I stopped, waiting for him to burst through the door and stop me from leaving, but he didn't. This was new. He had even neglected our planned dinner date last night and hadn't given me a valid reason for canceling. But, being the understanding wife that I am, I didn't pester him and simply supported him, assuming it was for business. He had changed. My consciousness whispered these words, but I laughed them off, trying to stop myself from overthinking.

.....

"C'mon, Yuna, are you really that naive?" My friend Ria said to me in disbelief. I hissed and looked down, finally letting my tears flow as I cried helplessly in her comforting embrace.

I had decided to meet my friend because I didn't know what to think anymore about my situation. I poured my heart out to her, explaining his behavior towards me and the signs that maybe he no longer loved me. My friend suggested that perhaps he had been using me all along and that he was only staying because of my late father.

My father and he were close business partners, and that's how I met and fell in love with him. When my father fell sick with cancer, he made him promise to take care of me and love me unconditionally. But now, it seemed like the man my father entrusted me to was drifting away from me.

"This is wrong, what he is doing is wrong, Yuna—what the hell?" Ria frowned at me, and suddenly our attention shifted to the television in the cafe. Not only my friend and I, but all the customers in the cafe turned their attention to the TV. I struggled to maintain consciousness, gripping my friend's hand tightly, even though I could hear her hiss in pain. Right now, I didn't care. My focus was solely on the TV screen.

The reporter flashed a sweet smile as she updated everyone on how Kim Taehyung, my husband, was caught by a paparazzi in one of the most luxurious hotels in Seoul, dating his fake wife, Nova. My heart shattered once again, for the millionth time. Maybe there was no heart left to be broken in me anymore, considering the immense pain I had endured since marrying this man who had promised the world to me. He had promised to protect, cherish, and love me, but they were all sweet lies thrown in my face just to make me his submissive wife.

I saw adoration and that wide, charming smile that had once made me fall in love with him, now directed towards the woman he held at the waist in the picture displayed on the television. The reporter smiled widely at the sweet display, and everyone watching seemed oblivious to how much it was breaking me. He had succeeded in breaking me. Kim Taehyung, aren't you done? What have I done to deserve being made a fool of? I only loved and still love you, but why?

What's even more heartbreaking is that just two hours ago, he had informed me that he had an important meeting with Mr. Jung. Little did I know that it was just an excuse for him to meet his secret lover behind my back. I understand that he claims to be using her as a way to deceive his rivals and make them believe she is his wife, but this is too much. It's no longer about that. I can feel it, strongly. He has been cheating on me right in front of my face all this time, and I am the foolish one who ignored all the signs.

Pathetic. That's what I am.

.....

Kim Taehyung walked in with his fake wife, Nova, by his side, basking in the glory of the cameras flashing and capturing their every move. He proudly gripped Nova's waist tightly, wearing a proud smile as they made their way through the doors of the ball. All eyes were on them as they entered, and Kim Taehyung reveled in the attention. The compliments and adoration thrown their way only fueled his arrogance.

He had it all - money, fame, looks, real estate, and more. But the most important thing to him was his perfect little wife waiting for him at home. Despite his recent avoidance of her, he claimed it wasn't because he had fallen out of love. No, it was something else, something he couldn't quite explain. He knew he would go insane if she ever walked away from his life. There was an addiction, a need that consumed him.

The reason for his distance from his wife was the presence of someone in his den, someone who was interfering with his life. He needed to be careful and find out who it was. He couldn't wait to put an end to their existence for making him stay away from his wife. The thought of shedding blood excited him, and his fingers itched for that feeling of thick liquid on his skin.

He needed to discover the identity of the person spying on him before they found out who his real wife was, the woman he had sworn to protect. There were already three people he and his right-hand man, Jungkook, suspected. He was waiting for them to make a wrong move.

Amidst his thoughts, Jungkook leaned in and whispered to him, his fake smile still plastered on his face. "Mr. Kim, some paparazzi have captured pictures of you and Nova leaving the meeting at Veroza and claim that you were on a date. I believe madame has already seen it."

Anger coursed through his veins, and he clenched his teeth in frustration, but he maintained a forced smile for the onlookers. "Is she at the mansion? Don't let her leave under any circumstances," Taehyung demanded through gritted teeth. He was already on thin ice with his wife, and he knew his recent ignorance towards her had caused her to overthink, especially after what happened in his office earlier. Although a sick part of him enjoyed seeing her jealous and then reassuring her with physical intimacy, he knew he needed to talk to her tonight. However, he wasn't sure if she would believe him if he explained that he was only there for the meeting. His mind was in turmoil.

"Boss, bad news. Madam hasn't returned home," Jungkook began, but before he could finish his sentence, Taehyung angrily stormed out of the ballroom, his eyes burning with rage. Jungkook followed closely behind, and the guests and everyone present witnessed the scene, leaving Nova feeling embarrassed and alone.

....

The two black sports cars raced through the busy streets of Seoul, disregarding traffic lights and causing chaos. Pedestrian officers and even the police were instructed to make way for the racing cars, as orders from higher authorities had come in to ensure their passage. The honking of the cars echoed through the streets, creating a sense of urgency and danger.

"Fucking track my wife this instance!" Taehyung's voice boomed through the earpiece, filled with anger and determination. His eyes burned with a murderous intensity as he accelerated, pushing the car to its limits.

"Jeon, you know what to do to that traitor. I will take care of

the lamb and my wife," he commanded through the earpiece, his voice laced with a deadly tone that instilled fear even in the young man who had worked for Kim Taehyung for many years. Nobody wanted to cross paths with Kim Taehyung if they valued their lives.

.....

The dark alleyway remained eerily silent, with the cold wind whispering chilling thoughts to anyone who dared to walk through this part of the street. It had gained a reputation as a place where numerous murders had taken place.

"Where's the money?" the tanned, imposing man asked, taking a drag from his cigarette. His red eyes indicated that he had just finished using drugs. The man with the hood scoffed and handed over the envelope containing the money. The tanned man grinned, satisfied that he was about to receive the payment he desired.

Suddenly, eerie and painful screams pierced through the dark alleyway. The tanned man's right hand, which had been intact just moments ago, was now blasted off. He fell to his knees, writhing in pain and clutching his mangled arm. His screams intensified when he saw his fingers scattered on the floor, blood splattered all around. The hooded man stood frozen, unable to move, as he stared at the once-arrogant tanned man now kneeling before him, his right hand obliterated.

An eerie, manic laugh echoed through the alleyway, accompanying the sound of approaching footsteps. The hooded man felt a shiver run down his spine as he turned away from the lifeless body on the ground to see someone in the distance. The figure walked slowly, deliberately, towards them, continuing to chuckle in a dark and unsettling manner. The moonlight briefly illuminated the man's face, causing the hooded man to gasp and step back, only to slip in the dark pool of blood from the tanned man. He found himself face to face with the man's severed arm.

As the figure continued to stalk towards him, the hooded man could hear a deep voice speaking through an earpiece. "Thanks, Jimin hyung. I'll take it from here," the voice said, followed by another chilling laugh directed at the hooded man's terrified expression. The figure crouched down in front of him, a sick smile on his face, and looked down at the lifeless body on the ground. The blood continued to flow from the man's severed arm, creating a macabre image akin to a faucet running.

"You should just mind your own business, young man," the man's deep, menacing voice echoed as he stared at the hooded man with madness in his eyes. The hooded man shook his head, wanting to plead for his life, but no words came out. He was too terrified by this man, this angel-faced monster who had just committed murder and laughed about it.

Before the hooded man could react, a knife sliced through his neck, catching him off guard. He choked on his own blood, desperately clutching his throat as blood gushed out. He tried to scream, but his cries were muffled as the mad man repeatedly pushed the knife into his mouth, silencing him. The man's famous boxy smile widened as he spoke.

"And these eyes too," he said with a sickening smile, proceeding to carve out the hooded man's lifeless eyes. Blood splattered everywhere, but the man only found amusement in the gruesome act. He continued his sadistic torture, chopping off the hooded man's hands, reveling in the pain he inflicted.

Once he was done with his never-ending torment, he stood up, his handsome face twisted with a wide smile. In the distance, a booming sound echoed, as if something had been obliterated in the faraway distance. The man laughed again upon hearing it. His earpiece buzzed, and he heard the voices of Jimin and Jungkook.

"Boss, it's done," they said.

A wide, chilling smile spread across the man's face as his eerie laugh resonated through the eerie alleyway, accompanied by the two lifeless bodies lying before him.

"Now, where are we again?" he asked himself, pretending as if he had done nothing wrong. "Ah, yes, to my beautiful runaway wife," he chuckled. "Time to bring her back home."

He walked away, humming an eerie tune, leaving behind a trail of darkness and terror.

.....

Jungkook and Jimin stood together, watching the burning building as firefighters and police worked to control the fire and keep civilians away. The cries of family members and fans of Nova, who were likely among the victims, filled the air. Jimin casually ate a burger, seemingly unfazed by the tragic scene unfolding before them.

"That man is really crazy for his wife, willing to burn the world and kill for her," Jimin commented between bites. Jungkook scoffed and looked up at the dark sky, now surrounded by thick smoke.

"May heaven help her escape his madness," Jungkook whispered, his voice filled with concern. Jimin overheard and laughed in response.

"I wish the same, but based on what that man has done, he's deeply obsessed with her," Jimin added before groaning and clutching his stomach. Jungkook raised an eyebrow, looking down at Jimin.

"What? Are the dead seeking revenge on you already?" Jungkook mockingly asked, bursting into laughter. Jimin shot him a deadly glare.

"Shut up," Jimin retorted.

After a while, both Jungkook and Jimin decided to leave the scene, leaving behind the aftermath of destruction and tragedy.

.....

Ria sighed sadly as she observed her sleeping friend in bed. Tears stained her cheeks, and her eyelashes were still wet from crying. Ria leaned against the doorframe, worried about her friend's future. She was broken by her husband's betrayal, and it had brought her to a state where she cried herself to sleep.

Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass interrupted Ria's thoughts, causing her eyes to widen. Was someone breaking into her house? She quickly ran to the kitchen, grabbing a knife and feeling her heart pound with adrenaline. She looked around the dark surroundings, then dashed back to the bedroom where her friend slept.

Locking the door, Ria didn't realize that the intruder would only laugh at the thought that it could stop him from getting what he wanted all along. Yuna stirred in her sleep and groaned as Ria shook her to wake her up. But when Yuna saw the fear on her friend's face, she immediately became uneasy and scared, sensing that something was wrong. Her eyes widened when she noticed the knife in Ria's hand.

Ria shook Yuna's shoulders, trying to get her attention. "There's someone in this house," Ria said, her voice trembling, which only made Yuna clutch the bedsheets tightly.

"What do you mean?" Yuna asked, still bewildered by the situation.

"Hush. There's someone who broke into my house," Ria replied, but before she could finish her sentence, someone banged on the door, causing both of them to scream.

The banging continued, and a scary, deep voice resonated from the other side of the door, a voice that both of them recognized all too well. "Open the door, babe," Taehyung's voice rang out, filled with anger. Yuna looked at Ria, shaking her head in fear. She had witnessed Taehyung's anger before, nearly seeing him beat a man who had flirted with her to the brink of death.

Ria gulped and hugged Yuna tightly, glaring at the door, which was seconds away from being forced open. When it finally burst open, Taehyung stood there, his heaving form and the darkness surrounding him instilling fear in Ria. But she remained strong for her friend, gripping the knife tighter.

Yuna shook her head, afraid to face her furious husband. Ria widened her eyes, finally taking notice of Taehyung's appearance. He was covered in blood, as if he had bathed in it before coming to find his next victim.

"Hand me over my wife now," Taehyung demanded, struggling to control his urge to harm the woman who had influenced his wife to leave him.

Ria stood her ground, gripping the knife tightly. "Stay away from her and leave this place! Or else, I will call the police!" Ria screamed, attempting to scare him away. But a cold fear ran through her spine when Taehyung only laughed and took short steps toward them.

"Busan, at xxx address," Taehyung said blankly, smirking at the terrified female. Ria's eyes widened, filled with horror. No, he wouldn't.

"Oh, I would," Taehyung said, seemingly reading her mind as he chuckled and stopped just an arm's length away from them.

"Don't touch them!" Ria suddenly screamed, causing Yuna to startle and look at Taehyung, making eye contact with him. He smirked, opening his arms as if inviting her to take them, but she shook her head, overwhelmed by fear at his appearance. She felt an urge to vomit.

"Now, wifey, come here, or else more people will be killed today, hm? Let's not make it worse," Taehyung taunted.

Yuna's eyes widened in fear, and she cried out loudly, trembling in terror. This man was a monster. How could he do this?

Ria stood there, paralyzed with fear, accidentally loosening her grip on the knife, which fell to the ground. She looked down in defeat. Her family's lives were on the line, and she felt powerless.

Taehyung saw this as an opportunity and grabbed his wife, who screamed and struggled to break free. Annoyed, he punched her in the face, gripping her hair and punching her again. Yuna lay unconscious after those two punches, and Taehyung sighed, picking her up.

Suddenly, Taehyung stopped in his tracks and looked back at Ria, who had remained quiet throughout the ordeal.

"If I were you, I would stay the fuck away and never come back," he threatened one last time before walking out of the house with a proud smirk on his face.

However, guilt flickered in his eyes when he noticed the bruise on his wife's beautiful face. He sighed again.

"This wouldn't have happened if you had just behaved,"

he mumbled to himself as he placed her in the backseat and drove away, taking his wife back to his cage, waiting for her. He was sure this time he wouldn't let her leave him again. He had gone crazy for a day when she left him, losing control in front of the party and the cameras that captured his every action and shared it with the media and his fans. It was all because of his wife. God, he didn't know what would happen if she managed to escape his grasp.

...

The guards quickly opened the giant gates as they saw the fast-approaching black car racing inside. The car came to a stop and parked perfectly in front of the gold and white mansion. Taehyung stepped out of the car, still dirty and disheveled, but his undeniable handsomeness remained. He ignored the wide-eyed gasps of the maids as he swiftly walked to their room, carrying his still unconscious wife.

After cleaning himself and his wife up, Taehyung stood on the balcony, puffing on his cigarette and closing his eyes. He chuckled at his thoughts, then glanced at his wife and the handcuffs binding her to the bed.

He left the room and made his way to his study, situated in a far corner of the mansion. Sitting down in the chair, he turned on the TV to watch the news about the still-burning building where he had been just hours ago. His name appeared on the screen, along with Nova's picture. He laughed as the reporter offered condolences to him and the woman's family, scoffing at their sympathy. He poured himself a glass of wine, smirking at the situation.

"You can come in," he said, and the people outside the door entered. They marveled at how he could sense their presence even without looking. Well, it was to be expected when there was always a paparazzi tailing him.

"Boss, we successfully eliminated all the people at that event," Jimin said, playing with his gun as he slumped on the couch, closing his eyes. He still felt the pain in his stomach after eating the burger from the event that they had blown up, killing everyone inside. Jungkook sat quietly at the far end of the couch, his face stoic.

...

Taehyung twirled the alcohol in his glass and looked up at the two. "I can see that," he smirked, his gaze shifting to the TV screen still displaying the burning building. The sight brought a creepy smirk to their lips. They had grown just as mad as their boss, even if they didn't admit it.

...

Yuna stirred in her sleep, attempting to soothe her aching jaw. But when she felt restraints on her hands, panic washed over her, and she let out a surprised yell upon realizing her wrists were handcuffed to the bed. "No! What is this?" she exclaimed, tugging on the restraints in a panic. Her fear intensified when a dark, dominating voice filled the room, though she couldn't see its source due to the darkness.

"You really think you can escape from me, my love?" the voice asked, madness swirling in its eyes as it looked at Yuna, his prized possession, who began to cry.

"Since the day you married me, you have become mine, forever tied to me whether you like it or not," the voice continued. It stood up and slowly crawled onto the bed, causing Yuna's panic to escalate. She cried out in fear as the figure loomed over her, kissing her cleavage and neck. It was then that she realized she was only in her undergarments, making her feel vulnerable.

"Stop!" Yuna yelled, but her voice was muffled by the sudden, harsh kiss that silenced her. Her husband devoured her lips as if it was his last.

Yuna spent the entire night crying helplessly as her own husband forced himself on her, claiming it was an act of love and asserting his ownership. But for her, it felt like he was raping her soul. She hated herself for being powerless, unable to stop the repeated assaults. As exhaustion overwhelmed her, and she teetered on the edge of consciousness, she heard him whisper in a dark, chilling tone, "You are mine, forever and ever, and no one can change that." He devoured her lips once more before darkness claimed her completely.

#yandere taehyung #bts v #bts #bangtan #kim taehyung #bts ot7 #jeon jungkook #possessive #psychopath #taehyung vante #love #obsession #jimin #yandere bts #taehyung yandere #angst

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stillness-in-green · 8 months

Text

On Heteromorphs & Heteromorphobia (Arcs VI - X , Hero Killer to Provisional License Exam)

(This post will also cover the bonus chapter “Tsuyu's Ribbity Diary.”)

Thank you all for your amazing response to last week's post, my goodness! I thought I'd found about all the audience I was likely to get for my harping about heteromorphic discrimination, so I was delighted to see a number of new names!

I do have to warn you all, if you haven't done much looking into my archives, that I'm pretty critical of BNHA these days, especially of the ways it insists on holding up individualistic solutions to problems clearly established as systemic in nature. That will become more apparent when I get into the post-war material, as the endgame is absolutely rotten with it.

This week, though, we'll start by getting out of the school to get a look at signs of and contributors to heteromorphobia in the wider world.

The Vs. Hero Killer Arc (Chapters 45-59)

Chapter 45:

Mina’s preferred alias, Alien Queen, in reference to the Xenomorph queen from the Aliens franchise, is turned down by Midnight. The reason for this is never made especially clear. Class 1-B gets away with a number of villainous or monstrous hero names, like Phantom Thief and Gevaudan, violent ones like Battle Fist, even an animal reference in Jack Mantis. But Mina, for whatever reason, gets pushed towards the indescribably twee Pinky instead. Does Midnight the R-rated hero not think girls should get to have hero names with some edge? Surely not; her entire persona is based on titillation. Length is clearly not a factor, given that Midnight personally approves Can’t Stop Twinkling. I don’t know exactly what went down here (from a Watsonian perspective, that is; the Doylist guesses are readily apparent and all eyeroll-inducing), so I will simply point out that a non-baseline gal wanted to name herself after a famous monster with acidic blood and was pressured into going with something cutesy based on her skin color instead. Bakugou’s choice gets turned down as well,[1] but he actually has “murder,” like, right there in the name; Alien Queen is quite roundabout by comparison!

Chapter 48:

Introduction of Uwabami, the Pro Hero gal with the head snakes. She’s a bit of a weird case. Given that all we know she does is find hidden people using the snakes’ keen senses, do they have some self-awareness that makes them able to communicate with her—a case somewhat like Tokoyami and Dark Shadow, perhaps? Does she just tap into their senses at will rather than being able to speak to them? Or are they rather just extensions of herself, with no particular consciousness of their own, and they function like what must be a fairly dizzying array of extra-sensory perception that she receives at all times? Whatever the case, she’s a model and celebrity, and thus our first clear example of a heteromorph who doesn’t seem to suffer for her looks. Her looks are, of course, quite accentuated, given that her hero costume is a low-cut evening dress with a slit in the side up to her hip. Other than the hair-serpents, she’s a baseline woman who checks all the boxes for modern beauty standards; she will serve in this fashion as a good predictor of other highly ranked heteromorphic Heroes.

Chapter 51+55:

Endeavor, as will be made clear in Chapter 55, doesn’t really have any idea what the Noumu’s deal is. As far as he knows, it’s just like any other villain—and yet in Chapter 51, he opens up with an attack that bathes the Noumu in flame anyway, and comments in 55 that he’s never known anyone to remain conscious after such an attack. While I think this mostly speaks to the general brutality with which villains are treated by heroes—much different from standard police practice in real-life Japan!—it’s nonetheless notable that the Noumu he attacked with such casual ferocity certainly doesn’t look very baseline to the casual eye, between the exposed brain, the significant height, and the crawling movement.

Chapter 56:

Midoriya is startled by Chief Tsuragamae’s “woof” interjections. He doesn’t comment on it out loud, so I’m not inclined to hold it against him (not like someone else I’m about to bring up), but it wouldn't be the first time he’s come across this kind of vocalization: Tsuyu makes ribbit noises pretty frequently.

Tsuragamae notes that the authorization of a certain class of people, called “heroes,” to weaponize their quirks against others was initially a heavily criticized decision, one which only garnered public support because those original heroes were careful to always obey the laws dictating the circumstances in which they used their quirks. He goes on to say, of using one’s quirk to inflict harm without explicit instruction from the powers-that-be, “Such action would represent a stunning breach of law.” Like Thirteen before him, he completely omits any mention of how such laws disproportionately affect heteromorphs, who can’t turn off a permanent physical trait, and, particularly in cases of people whose entire bodies are divergent, have little choice in whether or not to use their quirk in any sort of physical altercation that might lead to harm.

Shouto, angry over what he perceives as punishment for a good deed, calls Tsuragamae a mutt. The chief doesn’t react particularly strongly to this, but as the chief of police, you have to imagine he’s pretty used to the slings and arrows of public opinion. The incident passes without comment, but it will not be the last time we hear a Todoroki derisively referring to another human being as an animal.

There are some sweatdrops and exhortations to get the kid to cool it, but those were ongoing before the animal words came out.

Chapter 57:

Gran Torino notes that the age they live in, for better or for worse, is one of suppression, and that the situation with Stain and the League will draw people out who are influenced by that ideology. Gran doesn’t elaborate on exactly what sorts of people he has in mind—All Might says only, “Then heroes will deal with them,”—but it’s an early hint that there are people in this society who feel unjustly suppressed. Crucially, Gran Torino doesn’t even necessarily think those people are wrong; he just thinks it’s a necessary evil. But what, exactly, is it that he’s grudgingly accepting as inevitable for the sake of maintaining the status quo? And how might his circumstances need to differ for him to have a different opinion?

In Chapter 27, we learned that producing support goods requires a government license; here we find out, courtesy of Giran, that dealing in and producing support goods without such a license is a major crime. So if you, for any reason, failed that “rigorous examination” to get cleared for support goods for quality-of-life reasons, you’re unlikely to find someone who’ll just provide them to you out of sympathy provided you keep quiet about where you got them. Instead, you have little choice but to turn to black market brokers—all because the government doesn’t think your quirk is affecting you negatively enough to qualify you for support equipment. Again, this isn’t specifically about heteromorphs, but someone having an emitter quirk they can’t control well who needs the support item because they are choosing to pursue a career requiring them to learn that control is a very different case than someone who needs government support because of an immutable, always-on physical trait.

This chapter contains the first appearances of both Gigantomachia and Spinner, both fairly extreme heteromorphs: Machia for his size and rocky hide, and Spinner for animal traits considerably more prominent than e.g. Tokoyami’s bird head or even Tsuyu’s conglomeration of mildly froggy traits. Indeed, Spinner’s heteromorphic traits are so much more prominent than something like Jirou’s earlobes that it hardly seems accurate to even categorize their bodies the same way.

The sidebar for Daikaku Miyagi, the anchorman with the quirk that gave him two big horns who amputated one so that it would be less in the way during newscasts and other things that required there to be a camera on him. This in and of itself wouldn’t necessarily be notable, save that the same extra goes on to describe how the decision garnered some backlash from “a certain human rights group” who said that decisions like his fostered discrimination and were linked to the rejection of quirk-based society on the whole. Horikoshi further notes that he enjoys thinking about the lives and stories behind minor characters—even this far back, then, three and a half years before the introduction of the CRC, we have concrete evidence that the author was thinking about quirk-based discrimination and the politicization of heteromorphic features.

Chapter 59:

All Might drops some exposition about the Advent of the Exceptional, during which we see an image of a crowd full of implied-quirkless people holding up signs proclaiming their humanity and the monstrosity of those with quirks. Conversely, three of the four quirked people we see have obvious physical divergence from baseline human appearance. So from early on, that “monster” turn of phrase was heavily associated with changes in the physical appearances of those with special abilities. Later on, the PLF advisor at the hospital will tie these two things together explicitly.

The Final Exams Arc (Chapters 60-69)

Chapter 61:

Ectoplasm’s character sheet. The teeth are creepy no matter which way you cut it, but they look much more profoundly unsettling when they’re right there on his unmasked face, as opposed to behind a black cowl, where you can let your eye fool you that they are in some way part of its design. His hero costume, naturally, includes the cowl, but his daily clothes do not—I wonder if he ever tried to have a gentle talk with Shouji about why Shouji wears the mask even in his downtime? I wonder even more how much the teaching staff in general, and Nedzu and Aizawa specifically, actually know about Shouji’s history. o It’s also noted that Ecloplasm looks scary, but has received continued support after coming back to the job after losing both legs in a fight with a villain—we see this same pattern with Jeanist after Kamino. No word on how regular his support was before the traumatic double limb loss, though.

Chapter 66:

Nedzu, we find, was “toyed with by humans in all sorts of ways in the past.” Nothing we know about him suggests that he has any particular longevity, but his dynamic with Endeavor,[2] many chapters down the line, does suggest to me that he was at least on the staff when with Endeavor was at UA some thirty years ago. Thirty years is within the span of All Might’s career, well after society began to stabilize with the formalization of the Hero System. And yet, despite that, a sentient being, one with human—above human!—intelligence, was mistreated badly enough that he bears a grudge to this day. Nedzu is, again, not in precisely the same situation as a human heteromorph, but he serves as an indicator of what humans have, even in the age of heroes, been willing to do to those they think of as “animals.”

A shot of Koda and his mother, who look much alike. Interestingly, the biggest difference in their appearance is that she has horn-like protrusions that her son lacks. We’re a long way from the first quirk evolutions, and even farther from Koda’s quirk evolution, but we will later see Koda’s mother specifically tie those horns to her animal communication quirk becoming more powerful. This makes for another good piece of evidence towards Horikoshi having a grasp of heteromorphobia from early on, as the evidence is pretty good that Koda-mama got those horns as a result of a quirk evolution of her own, and those don’t happen under normal, non-stressful circumstances. More on Koda’s parents in a bit, as they're a pretty stand-out case in another way that isn’t immediately apparent here.

Can we call it foreshadowing for Koda defending Shouji at the hospital that Koda is wearing the same scarf as the main character in Horikoshi's Oumagadoki Zoo? Hmm. I'll leave that one to codenamesazanka.

Chapter 67:

A flashback panel to Mineta’s days in middle school. While I don’t doubt that there are P L E N T Y of reasons Mineta would be unpopular with the girls in his class, it is nonetheless notable that the popular boy getting showered with attention is perfectly baseline, while Mineta and his friends are not.

Note also that the cute heteromorph girl has long-ish ears and no other obvious divergent features.

Chapter 68:

Shouji and Iida are specifically called out to at the mall, trying to attract them as customers with claims that whichever storefront employee is hailing them can help them find anything they need. Midoriya mutters to himself about the difficulties of catering to everyone, given the many different types of quirks scattered across multiple age groups.

Crowd scenes at the mall show scattered numbers of heteromorphs, a somewhat higher number than usual for such civilian crowd scenes. The Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall is noted for being the biggest and trendiest in the prefecture, with a variety that attracts lots and lots of people, so perhaps it’s no surprise to see somewhat more heteromorphs than usual there.

The Forest Training Camp Arc (Chapters 70-83)

Chapter 70:

Introduction of the Wild Wild Pussycats. A team of three Emitters and a Transformation-type, none of them in the slightest heteromorphic (give or take Tiger’s permanent :3 mouth), they nonetheless theme themselves after cats, including fake tails, big costume paw gloves, and cat-ear-esque headsets. It’s cute and unobjectionable in and of itself, but I do wonder what people like e.g. Officer Sansa think of it.

Chapter 71:

Shouji is missing from the hot springs scene. It doesn’t hugely stand out in the moment because Aoyama and Sero aren’t there either, but it does read a bit differently with the benefit of hindsight. Given the strong possibility that Aoyama is off doing Traitor Activities and Shouji is avoiding any possibility of having to torpedo the hot springs fun-times with an explanation of that time he was savagely beaten by people in his hometown right in an open street, it kinda leaves Sero as the only one who maybe just skipped for normal reasons, like that hot springs would gunk up his tape or something.

Chapter 73:

Bakugou addresses Ojiro as “Tail”—referring to him by his heteromorphic trait. He’s not even particularly angry at the moment; he’s just still nursing a grudge about Todoroki’s underwhelming performance in their Sports Festival match and wants to swap partners for the Test of Courage. Early Bakugou is very much a “judge a person by their quirk” sort.

Pixie Bob ushers Tsuyu and Ochaco into the woods for their turn at the Test of Courage by referring to the latter as Uraraka-kitty and the former as Ribbit-kitty.[3] While in the English, this reads as a baseline woman in a cat costume referring to the heteromorphic student by her animal-themed verbal tic and the baseline student by her actual name, uraraka is a fairly onomatopoeic way to say bright and cheerful. I would guess that Pixie Bob is probably referring to Ochaco’s personality here, which makes it somewhat less egregious. It won’t be the last time someone refers to Tsuyu via the frog sound instead of her name, though.

Chapter 75:

Mandalay telepathically compliments Spinner, calling him both cool and handsome. While I doubt he’s the only person in the world who’d react the way he does—he blushes, gets flustered, and missteps, giving Mandalay an opportunity to attack him—the moment does get some new context when you consider how everyone called him “the lizard freak” in his hometown. Approximately zero people calling him cool and handsome back there, one imagines! Having it immediately turn out to be a ploy likely informs some of the outraged anger in his response.

Chapter 81:

Mandalay points out that Spinner never used his quirk during their combat, implying that she doesn’t think just his lizard-like appearance or his claws “count.” Chalk another one up to the classification problems of “heteromorph” as a descriptive term. This will turn out to rather neatly illustrate one of the issues I’ve been talking about with regard to the way heteromorphs are unfairly disadvantaged by the current laws about public quirk use. Remember, a “Villain” is someone using their quirk illegally. So if Mandalay doesn’t think Spinner used a quirk here, and since he has no record, why does he get categorized as a Villain instead of just a garden variety criminal? Now, one could say that by associating with the League of Villains, Spinner is rather claiming the designation for himself, and we don’t know how the legal system will technically classify him, when and if he ever actually faces trial. To that, I would say to hold the thought, because Skeptic will eventually back me up on the, “Heteromorphs are unfairly targeted by Villain designations,” claim all but word for word.

BONUS CHAPTER 1: Tsuyu’s Ribbety Diary

We meet Tsuyu’s family, all various froggy types. They’re a cute family, but the husband and wife both being froggy kind of raises some questions about pressures that might exist about marrying your same “type,” or at least refraining from marrying anyone too obviously not. I’d be more willing to wave it off if not for two things. First, we get the same sort of scenario from Spinner’s character sheet, that his is “a family full of reptilian quirks.” Second, there are very few romances in the series between someone close to “baseline” and someone with a more extreme heteromorphic appearance. The most obvious, clear-cut, canonical example is Koda’s parents—his dad has slightly weird hair but is otherwise entirely baseline; we see him defending his wife from other peoples’ mockery. That, of course, is a single panel limited to a flashback inside a flashback, so not exactly very visible to the reader! The next-most significant one I can come up with is Natsuo and his mouse girlfriend, who has likewise been seen in one (1) panel, had no dialogue, and whose appearance and identity were so incidental the anime deleted her entirely. Who’s next? Well, if you assume all those No Comments from Kamui Woods and Mount Lady about their relationship are indicative of a relationship between them, they’d be another, though we don’t actually know what Shinji actually looks like under his mask, only the implication that it’s divergent enough that he prefers to cover his face. Next up on my tally would be Thief Takami and Tomie, but since the sum total of Takami’s animal traits are tiny little elbow wings, you can see how fast the drop-off is there. Compare this to the number of pairings/families we have between people of like type: Bakugou’s parents, Iida’s, Jirou’s, Aoyama’s, Tsuyu’s, Ochaco’s, Shouto’s, Toga’s, Spinner’s, and Tomura’s whole family on both sides. Then you get the ship-teasy stuff that’s more about crushes, people dating, or hints that are perceived as pointing towards epilogue romances: Deku and Ochaco, Jirou and Kaminari, Shindo and Yo, Gentle and La Brava, Miss Joke’s flirting with Aizawa, and Toga’s variety of crushes (among which Tsuyu is the most distant from Toga’s own body type).[4] I think Kirishima and Mina are right on that borderline, with Mina having a normal body type but a collection of minor but highly visible divergent traits. So like, the vast, vast majority of the romantic relationships in the show are between relatively baseline people. In that context, it sticks out like a sore thumb to me that Tsuyu and Spinner are both explicitly said to have the same type of animal heteromorph quality on both sides of their family tree. It’s not an incest concern or anything, just that I wonder what the pressure is on cross-type couples, or what social circles look like post-graduation.

Two classmates talk about how it’s hard to tell what Tsuyu is thinking; one of them says, with her eyes hooded and a kind of cool expression, “That expression of hers never changes. Maybe ‘cuz she’s a frog?”

Tsuyu tells us that she never really made any friends; while some of this may simply be because Tsuyu didn’t have much time to socialize, between hero training and looking after her family, it’s also true that all of her classmates that we see have baseline appearances.

This lasts until she starts getting stalked by a snake-headed heteromorph girl named Mangusu Habuko—a fellow loner. Tsuyu is initially frightened by Habuko’s behavior, but has an intuitive sense for what the deal is, that Habuko wants to be friends but is awkward and doesn’t know how to broach it.

When asked if she wants to be friends, Habuko flips out. She calls herself treacherous and untrustworthy; she calls Tsuyu a foolish frog and says she must be joking, and that she should choose her friends more carefully. She then immediately dissolves into tears. Somehow, I doubt all this self-loathing about her innate nature manifested out of thin air!

The Hideout Raid Arc (Chapters 84-97)

Something that’s observable throughout this arc is that we’re in another sequence, like the Sports Festival, where the percentage of people with heteromorphic features in the crowd shots tends to run a bit higher than the norm of the series to date. Unlike the Sports Festival, though, these crowds are just civilians, not heroes. So what’s the difference between Kamino and the earlier on-the-street crowd scenes? Well, the neighborhood the Noumu warehouse is in is a somewhat rougher area. Part of the visual shorthand for that is people in edgier clothes, stuff that’s indicative of districts with bars, clubs, sleazy hangout spots, and so forth, but another shorthand is an increased number of heteromorphs.

These panels are respectively from Chapters 87 and 92.

Chapter 87:

The character sheet for Kamui Woods notes that the story of his early childhood is “grand and compelling,” and that his story was made into a documentary. That, to me, has Inspiring True Story written all over it. Probably not coincidentally, Kamui Woods is another character whose face we’ve never seen. As more pointing in the direction of him having a childhood marked by severe discrimination, he’s not sure of his age—it’s given as “29 since he started counting.” So was he abandoned as an infant for his weird face? I could come up with other explanations, all equally over the top (extreme confinement, for example, that left him unable to properly mark the passage of time), but the fact that he can’t e.g. look up a birth certificate for himself suggests that whatever went so wrong for him, it happened very early. …Though I suppose there’s the possibility that he’s not human, but rather a tree that manifested a quirk. As documentary-worthy origins go, though, that feels less Inspiring True Story and more Educational Biopic About Rare Phenomenon.

The Provisional Hero License Exam Arc (Chapters 98-121)

Chapter 99:

Shouji’s room is shown, all but barren. He says that he doesn’t care much about owning things, but knowing what we come to know about his history, it’s easy to wonder if he really doesn’t care about owning things or if this is rooted in a childhood in which it was believed that anything he touched would be polluted. Not a situation that led to him being given much of his own, one suspects!

Chapter 103:

This chapter introduces Yokumiru Mera, from the HPSC, who gives an opening statement that has some very interesting ruthlessness lurking in its subtext. Particularly relevant to our current topic is his comment that in the modern era, the time it takes to resolve a given incident is incredibly short, so the test that year will be prioritizing speed. Prioritizing speed (wouldn’t want some other hero to get the metaphorical kill first, after all!) is a surefire way to guarantee that heroes are not taking the time to really examine all factors in a situation or make any attempts whatsoever at calm, considered de-escalation, but rather are just making snap judgements based on their biases and gut reactions. Guess what group of people that’s going to disproportionately impact? o Now, it’s notable that Mera says the test prioritizes speed, but the conclusion many others come to is that the test only pretends to do so; that actually, it prioritizes care and information gathering. Indeed, we find a few chapters later that the actual priority is teamwork, as requested by police higher-ups—the idea is to fill in the gap left behind by All Might with hero squads that work well together.[5] However, while the intention may be to gather those good at teamwork, it certainly doesn’t stop people like Shouto and Inasa from cruising through—and, in any case, whether the groups learn teamwork or not doesn’t take away from an HPSC rep telling them to their face that speed of incident resolution is one of the most important things to a modern hero and never following that up with any kind of amendment or clarification.

Chapter 107:

Introduces the HUC, or Help Us Company, professionals trained to act as victims in disaster rescue exercises. Given that context—what they’re communicating to students training to understand what “victims” look and act like—it’s extremely worth examining what they, well, look like.

God, this is so Yikes.

And having asked that question, we find that the only people in this group that might not be baseline—the ones with short, childlike statures—are dressed to emphasize that stature. The end effect is a crowd of “victims” with not a single heteromorphic representative.

Chapter 109:

Shiketsu’s class rep, Mora Nagamasa—the extremely hairy one—approaches Bakugou to extend an apology for Shishikura’s behavior during the exam. It’s noticeable here that, having matured somewhat since Early Series Bakugou, and having been approached in downtime in a reasonable manner, Bakugou manages to refrain from coming up with any demeaning nicknames centered on Mora’s appearance. Kirishima remarks internally on all the hair, but only internally; he’s much too polite to say anything out loud.

Chapter 110:

A big splashy introduction for the man ranked #3 in the Heroes Who Look Like Villains ranking, Gang Orca. He’s at the test to play villain and is, just as noticeably as all the play-victims are baseline, a heteromorph. At the time of his introduction, he’s ranked Number 10 in the Hero Rankings, but will be bumped out later on. This does, however, make him the highest-ranked known heteromorph who doesn’t have a human face,[6] with the possible exception of Kamui Woods—who, like Shouji, covers it with a mask.

Gang Orca’s character sheet notes that, while he’s a popular guest at aquariums, his intimidating face and “stony personality” always result in weepy children. He apparently finds this relatively upsetting (“lots of angst”) but, unlike Shouji or Kamui Woods, has not taken to wearing a mask, nor trying to tone down his personality on any level—to the contrary, Present Mic suggests much later on that he exaggerates it.

-----------------

Next time, I'll cover from the Shie Hassaikai arc through the end of Joint Training. Thanks for reading!

--------------------- FOOTNOTES ---------------------

[1] Initially. He sticks to his guns long enough that he gets away with it in the end, though.

[2] The big tell is that Nedzu addresses Endeavor as Todoroki-kun rather than Todoroki-san or simply by his hero name, but his observation that Todoroki-kun has “matured” (literally in the Japanese, “become an adult”) doesn’t hurt, either.

[3] Kerokero neko and Uraraka neko.

[4] You can get further out there with this, but by the time you get to e.g. Shouto and Momo or Ojiro and Hagakure, the ice is definitely getting thinner on whether you’re seeing groundwork for future wedding bells or just reasonably close male/female friendship. Your mileage may vary depending on how tightly attached your shipping goggles are or how cynical you are about shounen authors’ tendencies towards timeskip marriages. Also, I can’t be bothered to dig up and list out the crushes or shipping patterns among the Class B kids. Koroiro likes the mushroom gal?

[5] Note that Mera phrases this as being merely a stopgap until they find the next All Might. The HPSC is not so eager to change the methods they’ve come to rely on over the last thirty some-odd years!

[6] We don’t know enough for me to say for sure whether Wash is a heteromorph.

#bnha #heteromorph discrimination plot #my writing #bnha meta #bnha worldbuilding #huc for no. 1 group that needs to have mandated diversity hires #seriously there needs to be a lawsuit or something #where's that “certain human rights group” when you need them

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diffidentphantom · 5 months

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The One That Got Away

(Jermone Valeska x F!Wayne Reader)

Part I

Summary: You, the reader are the older sister of Bruce Wayne. And have been best friends with Jerome Valeska, since you first met each other at Haly's Circus during your youth. Due to being a Wayne, he was the first 'real' friend you ever had. But then one day, the friendship between the both of you changed. And you were sent overseas for your safety by your father. You haven't been back in Gotham since. But once you hear of your parent's murder, you know it's time to return and face your past once and for all.

Characters: Y/N as MC, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Selena Kyle, Harvey Bullock, Jim Gordon, Dr. Leslie Thompkins, Jerome Valeska

Warnings: Angst, Possessiveness, Obsessive behavior, Stalking, Murder, Mentions of Child Abuse,

The first time you had ever visited the circus, it was on your eleventh birthday.

And unknowingly at the time, it was that specific event that ended up changing your life forever. It can be argued that it changed your life a bit for the better as well as for the worst. It was the day you met your very first TRUE friend, Jerome Valeska.

Being a member of the prestigious Wayne family, you were expected to mingle with your peers. A.K.A other children of Gotham's wealthiest; i.e, members of the 1%, celebrities, people involved in the law - along with the shadier parts of it. You had made some friendships with some of these children, but none of them were true friends. Where nothing was expected in return for the other's company and allegiance.

But Jerome...due to being born to a woman who worked in the circus, he had nothing to give other than his friendship and loyalty. And because you helped him get out of a situation that involved his angry Uncle Zach. He became your very first REAL friend.

The two of you become inseparable. One of you always running after the other.

The adults in your life found it endearing, and grateful. That after all this time, you had a friend like Jerome. So, your parents, being who they are - opened their arms and home to him. Whenever the circus was in town. After all, to those who cared to look - it was obvious, that Jerome wasn't treated very kindly by the people who took care of him.

By the two of you were fourteen, something in your friendship with Jerome had changed. Maybe it was because the two of you didn't spend as much time together anymore? Or maybe perhaps it was because you were an older sister now, with a nine-year-old brother? And he was jealous of Bruce and the close sibling relationship the two of you had? (One that infinitely much better than the one he shared with his own twin.)

Whatever the case, Jerome no longer acted the same around you. He became like an entirely different person. As if his entire personality was hanging on by a thread, and that he was just waiting for one bad day. To push him over the edge.

And then it happened.

He took things to far between the two of you. Confessed his feelings - which didn't bother you, since you realized, you had begun to have a crush on him yourself. Admitted to stalking you days before, he let you know he was back in town. Killed your pet cat and threatened to harm you or your brother. Jerome became unhinged and dangerous to be around.

It devastated not only you, but your parents as well. Who thought of Jerome as another son. (So much so, that he had his own dedicated bedroom in the manor at that point.) But because he went off the deep end, your parents were worried about the safety of both your brothers and your own wellbeing. And with a heavy heart, they had to make a tough decision.

After Haly's circus left Gotham that year to stick to their regular route, you also left. Your parents had decided to send you overseas to their family villa in Switzerland, for your own protection and safety. From one person who you thought you could trust.

It would be the last time you would see your parents, and your brother for many years to come.

Word Count: 587

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girl-next-door-writes · 1 year

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More Than You Could Ever Know

Characters: Steve Rogers x Reader

Summary: Steve becomes your knight in shining armour, but things start to get a little too close to the truth for comfort.

Word Count: 1763 words

Prompt: #19: Fake dating to appease the parents but it turns real.

A/N: The lovely @zaramarrogers chose this prompt for the wonderful Mr. Steve Rogers, and I think it is super cute.

Steve looked up from his sketchbook as you burst into the room. “Okay, which of you fantastic, amazing, kind, wonderful, handsome men are prepared to be my fake boyfriend for an evening? I can offer a free three course meal at a nice restaurant and free drinks. Though not enough for you to get drunk because you need to impress my parents.”

“I would love to offer my services, but I think Pepper would kill me.” Tony grinned, leaning on the back of the sofa.

“Yeah, your ‘playboy’ days are long gone, Stark, but thank you for the hypothetical offer.”

“Don’t take Barnes,” Sam smirked, “He’ll scare the crap out of everyone with that murder stare of his, and his resting bitch face.”

“Hey! I’ve not got resting bitch face.” Bucky frowned, utilizing his murder stare.

“Look, I don’t care which one of you steps up here, I just need someone because I cannot sit through another Christmas family celebration with all my aunts and uncles, my grandparents, my parents, everyone, and have that same damned conversation. The one where everyone tries to work out what’s wrong with me because I’m still single. Just once, I would like to just have a nice night, so will someone do me a solid here?”

The fact you didn’t care who did you this favour made Steve’s stomach drop. He had been hoping the two of you had been moving towards being closer, that you might have sort him out to ask this favour of him, but that wasn’t the case.

“Well, Hope wouldn’t be overjoyed about Scott playing that role. Bucky is too scary, Clint is too grumpy, Tony is too under the thumb, so I guess...” Sam grinned, watching Steve out the corner of his eye.

“I’ll do it.” Steve blurted out, not wanting Sam to offer first. The thought of you pretending to be with anyone, or even really being with anyone, made his blood run cold. He wanted you more than you would ever realise, and if this was as close as he was going to get then he would take it.

“Really?” Your face lit up with a smile and you practically bounced over to him, kneeling on the sofa beside him and wrapping your arms around his shoulders. “You really are the best, Steve Rogers. Total life saver. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” You enthused and Steve basked in your happiness, watching with a goofy smile as you bounded out of the room to get ready for the family gathering.

“Thought you were gonna fumble that one, man.” Sam smirked. “Now go show the girl how good you would be together. Take the shot.”

Steve was nervous and as he stood beside you outside the restaurant, he tried to swallow down his anxiety. This was a huge amount of pressure. What if your family didn’t like him? What if he did something and you saw him differently? When your hand slipped into his, he looked down at you and gave you a reassuring smile. He was here for you, to give you a nice evening, everything else didn’t matter.

“You ready? You remember the back story and everything?”

“This isn’t my first mission, doll. I can do this.”

“Right, well, here we go.”

He held the door open for you and as soon as the two of you entered you were engulfed in hugs by women of various ages. The warm welcome caught Steve off guard, but he smiled and returned greetings, even blushed at the compliments that came his way.

“Come, come sit. We’ve got the large table at the back. Now then, Steve, I can see why she kept you all to herself, she obviously didn’t want to share such a fine young man.” Your mother teased as she hooked her arm through his and led him off to the table. Steve looked over his shoulder at you, a hint of panic in his eyes.

“You’ve got this.” you mouthed, giving him two thumbs up as you followed behind.

By the time everyone had made their way through the starters, Steve was feeling much more comfortable. His arm rested on the back of your chair, and he made sure to keep you close. He joked with your grandfather, talked sports with your father, even shared some stories about life outside of missions. Every few minutes, he would glance at you, checking in, and make sure you were okay and enjoying yourself.

Leaning into Steve as you talked to your aunt across the table, you couldn’t help but notice how easy this all was. He made you laugh as much as Bucky did, was as interesting as Bruce, could weave a story as well as Tony, in fact, he was pretty much the perfect boyfriend. Fake boyfriend, you mentally corrected yourself. This was all pretend after all, there was no need to get caught up in thoughts of what could definitely never be.

You tuned back into Steve’s conversation as dessert was placed on the table. It seemed that someone had asked about when he realised you were the one for him. A sense of panic washed over you, this was not something you had covered in the extensive backstory you’d concocted.

“You know, people talk about these big moments, all dramatic and emotional. It wasn’t like that. I was coming back from a workout late one night, I couldn’t sleep, and I headed to the kitchen to grab a drink. She was sat at the counter wearing a huge hoodie that drowned her, hair all disheveled from sleep, pillow creases still on her cheek, and her hands wrapped around a warm mug. She looked all sleepy and on the verge of falling asleep right there on the counter. I had this overwhelming urge to just pick her up and carry her to her bed, tuck her in and just be with her. Not that I told her any of that because I was fairly certain I didn’t stand a chance. I mean, look at her, she’s amazing. So, there I was, just looking at her like some love stuck teenager or something, and she rubbed her eye, yawned and then fell backwards off the stool. I don’t think I’ve ever moved so fast in my life! I caught her, made sure she was sitting securely, and she looked up at me and said, ‘Hey Cap, didn’t see you there.’ That was it. As if she just knew I’d stop her from falling even if she didn’t know I was there.”

Your cheeks grew warm. You remembered that night, it had been so long ago, and you were surprised that was the moment he’d chosen to share. Watching his expression, you suddenly began to understand how much that moment had meant to him. Replaying all your interactions with Steve, it felt as if a floodgate of realisation had been opened. Innocent interactions now held so much significance. Small touches, the times you caught him looking at you, the words that hung in the air between you unspoken.

“And what about you, dear? When did you realise Steve was the one?” Your Grandmother asked and you felt all eyes on you, expectant.

“I, erm, I needed someone to help me with this thing, this mini mission, and Steve was the first to offer to help. He put so much work into it, made sure it all went perfectly and he always seems to surprise me. I never really thought about it before but he’s right, I know he will always be there to catch me, and I want to be there for him too. There have been so many little moments, helping me with tree day and dancing to cheesy Christmas music. He is... he’s wonderful, and I am very lucky to have him in my life.” You glanced up at Steve who was looking at you as if you hung the stars.

The moment was broken by the cheers as the last of the desserts arrived and everyone could tuck in. Steve found he wasn’t all that hungry. The butterflies in his stomach took up more room than he would like, and his mind was whirling. Did you mean what you had said? Was it part of the pretence? Did you like him too? It wasn’t as if he could ask you any of that in front of your family, so he kept quiet, indulging in small talk and trying his best not to get his hopes up.

Steve managed to hold in all his questions until you arrived back at the compound. As you trudged up the gravel driveway towards the main door, he tugged at your hand, silently asking you to stop. Once you entered the building then the evening would be over, the pretence would be done with, and he needed just a few more moments.

“Tonight was...” he began, trailing off as he got distracted by your eyes.

“You were a big hit. I think I will have to bring you along to all future family gatherings or I’ll never hear the end of it.” you chuckled.

“I wouldn’t mind that.” he said softly, running his thumb over yours.

“No?”

“No. I could very easily get used to being your boyfriend.”

The lack of the word ‘fake’ hung between you, the silence loaded.

“So, if this was a date then what happens next?” You asked, your eyes darting momentarily to his lips.

“Well, I would escort you to your door, thank you for a wonderful evening, and...”

You surged up and pressed your lips to his before he could finish his sentence. It took him a moment to catch up with what was happening, but as soon as he did, he was kissing you back eagerly. His arms wrapped around you, holding you close as if you might evaporate or vanish like a dream. When he eventually pulled back a little, he rested his forehead against yours.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.” He said breathily.

“Then maybe we should make up for lost time.” You hummed, cupping his face and bringing him in for another kiss.

#Steve Rogers #Steve Rogers x reader #Steven's greeting #gndw fic

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nineliars · 9 months

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Im actually so freaking late bc I just finished mine liars BUT I’m so upset with David rn. I actually love him sm but I hate him. What is he? Im happy he and Stevie didn’t actually have sex bc if he broke up with her after that and just left ?? I would have been more sad for her. I understand he was overthinking but also kissing someone else? ?.!!./ outta pocket David 🙄

You’re so real for all of this. He is such a problem in this book. I love him but I’d also love to watch him slip on a banana peel into a dumpster or something.

Would it be crazy if I said that if they’d had sex, I don’t think David would have broken up with her? I’m not saying that because David is a horny scumbag who would’ve only stayed with her because they had sex, but I think from David’s POV, Stevie doesn’t love him as much as he loves her. (Whether that’s actually true is debatable, but unlikely imo given her reaction to being dumped.) Think about how Izzy first reacted to Stevie, like she was meeting a celebrity- because David had spent the last 3 months talking her up. In Stevie’s narration, she constantly frets about being perceived as intelligent, capable, and worthy. In David’s eyes, Stevie is all of those things already. I think David sees himself as a fuckup still, albeit one who managed to get his shit together long enough to spend a semester at Cambridge. He doesn’t know where he’s going next. (Neither does Stevie, but as she fails to realize, you get a little leeway when you solve the crime of the century twice.) David cuts off his nose to spite his dad, and even though it still shakes out alright for him, his future is even more uncertain than Stevie’s.

But Stevie isn’t perfect. She breaks down when she realizes she cannot solve the Nine Liars case in time to leave England. She can be utterly single-minded when it comes to solving the case, and the majority of the time, the breakdown in communication between her and David stems from her words/actions/missteps.

David clearly believes he is not worthy of Stevie and I don’t think he would’ve broken up with her unless he believed that she believed it too. Maybe if they had slept together, that aspect of their dynamic could have been a little more resolved– but maybe if she hadn’t been broken up with, Stevie wouldn’t have stayed behind in England in order to actually solve the case, which could’ve driven another wedge in between them. (Also, David snapping at Stevie before breaking up with her and saying “not everything is about you” makes me sooo sad because it’s another misread of what she’s feeling/thinking. I think Stevie felt really, genuinely guilty and upset when she thought she couldn’t solve Rosie & Noel’s OR Angela’s murders. The fact that Angela had disappeared immediately after talking to Stevie probably felt like Ellie all over again. David may have noticed this if he stopped being insecure for 5 minutes and thought about what was actually going on with Stevie. But I DIGRESS because this is getting way too long.)

As for kissing someone else I think his reasoning there was so simple actually: He feels as though he has fucked up all the things in his life worth trying for; Ergo, why not become a fuckup again? Drown your sorrows in tequila and kiss somebody you don’t know! All the kids are doing it!

I did not mean for this to turn into a dissertation on the dynamics of Steviedavid’s Nine Liars arc. I just can’t wait to see where they both go from here, because they are both kind of fucked up in the head, and they know that, and I think that will keep drawing them together as long as they’re in each others proximity. Good thing Stevie is returning home to America, where David won’t be…until, you know, his semester ends and he has to go home ;)

#truly devious #nine liars #nine liars spoilers #stevie bell #david eastman #anon #chelsea answers #steviedavid

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tobiasdrake · 30 days

Text

Ace Attorney 4-3, Investigation 1. In keeping with Gavin being surprisingly friendly for a prosecutor, I love the way 4-3 spins directly out of our developing relationship with him specifically.

Klavier Gavin is the only prosecutor ever to voluntarily hang out with the protagonist prior to the big conclusion of their arc. Some prosecutors have showed up to hang out in future titles; In fact, Gavin does too. But this is the first time we've actually been able to get to know them before the showdown.

And you can see why, too. Gavin's not only the friendliest prosecutor. He's also the only one who. Like. Has a life outside the courtroom. Other than Edgeworth being a sentai fanboy, I guess.

This one's going to have to be in two parts.

Rockstar prosecutor Klavier Gavin is a rockstar. So we're going to set a chapter of the story at a rock concert. His rock concert. What a great idea.

OH YOU CAN BARELY TELL THAT A MAN WROTE THIS

The least believable thing in the entire Ace Attorney universe is that the Gavinners somehow have a successful rock career. Rock is a counterculture movement, giving voice to the unheard.

It is physically impossible to get any farther from counterculture than literally cops. This is it. The extreme distant end from counterculture. Who the hell would buy cop-themed rock?

The Daily Wire wishes conservative media was as well-received as the Gavinners.

It's especially bizarre when you consider that we're in the Dark Age of the Law, a period of time when the criminal justice system is so widely known to be corrupt and brutal that pop culture came up with a name for it while it was still happening. Everyone knows that the justice system is broken and exists solely to persecute the innocent but we're all gonna buy tickets to watch a bunch of cops play guitars and cheer for how cool prosecutors are.

Nonetheless, this is such an unassuming setup for a murder. Why would there be a murder? We're here to make music. We're here to make cop music. Can we have one nice evening? But no. Gavin and his guest star Lamiroir take the stage and....

It does not go well. In fact,

It goes aggressively not well. Fortunately, the victim lives long enough to tell us that Lamiroir saw him get shot.

Romein here speaking in code to give us a riddle to solve. I usually hate cryptic moments like this when characters use a short window of opportunity to speak in cryptic tongues rather than deliver useful information. But with Romein, it makes sense. The man has been shot and ours is not his first language. He's wracking his brain right now to find correct enough words to use.

In any case, this sets up our crime for chapter 4-3. A classic Whodunit in an enclosed space - complete with a vanishing killer who somehow teleported out of the room despite us breaking in through the only exit moments after the gunshots were heard.

A limited number of people have access to this backstage area and half of them are cops. One of them shot Romein LeTouse. Which means now would be a good time to talk about the cast of characters involved in this case.

We have two sets of characters here. First is the guest singer Lamiroir and her entourage.

The mysterious and lovely Lamiroir, a famous international singer who is probably the real reason all those people are here. Come for the legendary international celebrity but also cheer for the fucking cops so they don't get mad and shoot tear gas into the crowd.

Siren of the Ballad Lamiroir is easily our most interesting character in this case. Not originally from her "home country" of Borginia, her entire persona is a manufactured illusion.

As well as her manager and translator Romein LeTouse whose name makes me sad that our local salad buffet place shut down during COVID. He's one of only two people involved with this case who can interpret for Lamiroir, who speaks only a foreign language. That's a problem, seeing as he's our vic--

Oh, never mind, she can speak Japanese "English" just fine. They were doing that for publicity. Convenient!

And her blind child pianist Machi Tobaye. He and Lamiroir seem like they make for quite a pair. These two, I can believe having a famous musical career. Machi, incidentally, can "also" only speak his native language just like Lamiroir but I'm sure that won't be important.

These two characters form an inseparable performance duo from a foreign land, whose relationship with each other and their late manager will carry much of the intrigue for this case.

The other key set of characters would be our cops.

Of course we have Ema Skye, our embittered forensic scientist whose talents are wasted as a field detective. Of course, she's definitely off the suspect list on account of the fact that she was with us when the gunshots were heard.

There's Prosecutor Gavin who is having the worst day. He probably didn't dunit but then again it wouldn't be the first time, would it?

And Detective Dickhead. His hair truly must be seen to be believed. He is attempting to pull off the Japanese Thug Pompadour in a way that can only be described as, "Hello, Officer."

Just like Ema, Gavin and Daryan both have airtight alibis as well.

It's hard to get a stronger alibi than "Thousands of people saw me onstage while the murder was taking place."

AND THEN THERE'S THIS ASSHOLE

That's it. That's all we get. Glimpses of the Golden Fucko as he bazingas around dodging attention. Okay, dude. Way to not look suspicious, I guess.

That's it. That is our small cast of characters aside. It's not a lot of people to look into. In fact, Mysterious Golden Fucko aside, nobody seems capable of fitting everything we know about this mystery.

Continued in part 2.

#ace attorney #ace attorney apollo justice #revisiting aa4

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twistedtummies2 · 1 month

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Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes - NUMBER ONE

HAPPY EASTER! TIME TO CELEBRATE WITH THE MOST NON-EASTER-Y THING EVER! Welcome, everybody, for the final entry of “A Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes!” Throughout this month-long event, I’ve been counting down my Top 31 Favorite Fictional Detectives, from movies, television, literature, video games, and more! We’ve finally come to the end of March, and the time has come to unveil my topmost personal pick.

SLEUTH-OF-THE-DAY’S QUOTE: “Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

NUMBER ONE IS…Sherlock Holmes.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous creation is one of the most frequently adapted, reimagined, and referenced characters in the history of English literature. I think the only other pieces of literature who can compete are Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” and possibly Lewis Carroll’s “Alice” stories. Therefore, while so many other characters have carried the title in their universes of “the World’s Greatest Detective,” it’s no surprise most people still associate that phrase with Holmes, and it’s no surprise that Holmes takes the top spot. Through sheer universal appeal and constant reinvention, he’s clearly earned the rank. If Edgar Allan Poe invented the modern detective story with C. Auguste Dupin, then Doyle’s Holmes perfected the formula, and created the icon that pretty much every famous detective character since then has tried to emulate or push against since then.

It's not entirely clear WHY Conan Doyle made Holmes. I’ve heard multiple different accounts and explanations for how the concept came into Doyle’s mind, and what prompted him to create the great detective. However, if the reasons for his creation are unclear, what IS clear are Holmes’ origins. Doyle was chiefly inspired by a former teacher of his, Dr. Joseph Bell; a slightly eccentric surgeon who was one of the first forensic experts in history, and would eventually gain some recognition when helping the police on the infamous Jack the Ripper case. (He also may have taken some inspiration, according to at least one source, from the real-life Scotland Yard Inspector Richard Tanner, who worked on the slightly-less-well-known Franz Muller case - the first recorded murder committed aboard a train.) Mingling this inspiration with various unique qualities that seemed to stem from his own imagination, Doyle created the ultimate detective: the first Private Consulting Detective in fiction, and easily the most renowned.

It is humorous, in hindsight, to then realize that Doyle didn’t actually care that much for Holmes, overall. A bit like Agatha Christie with her own much later creation, Hercule Poirot, Doyle came to feel dissatisfied with Holmes. This wasn’t so much because of Sherlock’s personality or motivations, but simply because Doyle saw the Holmes stories more as a sort of lucrative hobby than anything else; he sensed that other works of his, which he felt far more passionately about, were being sidelined by this strange gumshoe. Doyle, like Christie, attempted to kill off Holmes…but unlike with Christie and Poirot, Doyle could not keep the detective dead. After a few false restarts, he finally brought Holmes back for good, and really didn’t stop writing for the detective till 1927, only three years before the end of his own life. The reason for this was simply money: Doyle came to realize that Holmes was what paid the bills, and what everybody wanted most to read. So, for all the other great things he created (Holmes was far from Doyle’s only literary claim to fame), it would be his contribution to crime fiction for which the good man would forever be best recalled. For better or worse, Doyle had created a character who truly seemed immortal.

The Sherlock Holmes stories set the benchmark for just about every famous detective to come. All of the classic tropes are basically here. Eccentric main character with multiple layers? Check. More mundane sidekick who provides an anchor for the audience? Check. A touch-and-go relationship with the official police, riding a fine line between rivalry and amiability? Check. Ability to solve crimes that no one else can seem to figure out? Obviously check. It all begins with Sherlock Holmes, before and beyond anything else. Nearly every character on this countdown up to now would not even EXIST if Sherlock Holmes had not been created, and had not been a success. He is the first great, true hero of literary fiction, I would argue: yes, there’s mythology, folklore, and other such things, but in terms of something with defined roots in what can be classified as resembling contemporary times, Holmes was the one who started everything.

Obviously, there have been way too many interpretations of this character to even ATTEMPT to list. I mean, for God’s sakes, I did a whole countdown – much like this one – where I listed no less than forty-one separate interpretations, including the honorable mentions. And even that one couldn’t cover EVERY version of Holmes I know and have some fondness for. He’s EVERYWHERE. He’s fought Dracula, Jack the Ripper, and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde almost as often as he’s tackled his arch-nemesis, Professor Moriarty. He’s been depicted in stories that are romantic, comedic, “edgy,” and every other tone you can think of. He’s made it into just about every medium there is, and has been portrayed excellently from seemingly all four corners of the globe. (Which is especially impressive, because a globe shouldn’t HAVE four corners!) From his roots in England, to America, to Russia, and even to Japan: Holmes is inescapable. Whether he’s focused on playing the violin, pumping cocaine into his veins, dealing with a three-pipe problem, or engaging in fisticuffs or even swordplay, he’s always on the move and always up to something odd, and we love him for it. I don’t think anyone would disagree with me when I say that, for sheer recognizability above all else, Sherlock Holmes more than earns my recognition for being My Favorite Fictional Detective. “It’s Elementary, My Dear Watson.”

Thank you all for joining me! Were there any famous detectives you like that didn’t make the cut? Any in particular you’d have placed higher or lower? Feel free to let me know! Take care, everyone, and make sure to get a clue. ;)

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youngandwild99-blog1 · 8 months

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The Batman Part II: My Theories

Please take this with a block of salt because as of right now all we have are rumors. Maybe take that block of salt home to your cows :)

Theory #1: Clayface

So, word is that Clayface may appear as the main villain in Part II. I've noticed some people in various comment sections being doubtful, because a giant shapeshifting monster made out of clay is a sharp left turn from the "grounded realism" of the first movie. They make a good point, which is why I predict that, if Clayface is actually going to appear, he'll be based on the Golden Age version. This was Basil Karlo, a failed actor who took on the alter ego of Clayface, a villain he used to play, to kill various actors and was thwarted by Batman and Robin.

Now, having two serial killer villains in a row would be repetitive, so I theorize that this Clayface will take a different approach. Imagine Basil Karlo using his skills in impressions and makeup (maybe a cutting-edge prosthetic face mask called a "clay face") to impersonate celebrities in Gotham, only to purposefully get caught in scandals. The real celebrity insists it wasn't them, but it's too late, and they're effectively "killed" in the courtroom of public opinion. And Clayface didn't even need to lay a finger on them.

Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne is finally trying to develop his public image after ~20 years, only to discover a villain with the ability to singlehandedly undo all his progress in the eyes of Gotham. In the comics, this would be the part where Batman and Robin are on the case, which leads me to...

Theory #2: Robin

We haven't had a well-received Boy Wonder on the big screen since Burt Ward played him in 1966. If you're anything like me, that's pretty damn frustrating (Dick Grayson appeared in the comics before the Joker AND before Alfred!). So hearing this rumor of Dick Grayson appearing in Part II is both exciting and nerve-wracking, because writing a believable child sidekick in a "grounded, realistic" superhero movie is a challenge. Just logistically, it works in stories like Logan or The Last of Us, because X-23 is immortal and can shrug off most injuries, while Joel eventually taught Ellie how to shoot. But with Batman and Robin, you have a very-much-mortal kid wearing a colorful costume going up against the kinds of people who quite literally emptied their magazines into Batman's chest last movie. How do you make that character fit believably into the world you've made?

Obviously the only ones who can answer that question are Matt Reeves and Mattson Tomlin, the writers for Part II. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't notice some ways that Dick Grayson might've been set up in The Batman. First off: the mayor's son. Bats interacts with him three times throughout the movie. He saves the kid's life twice, once as Bruce and once as Batman. Furthermore, the mayor's son is the first civilian to trust Batman after the flood: he walks towards Bats first, and everyone else follows. In the wise words of Red from OSP, if you can't imagine your Batman comforting a scared child, then you haven't written Batman, you've written the Punisher in a funny hat.

Second: HBO's Penguin series. The fact that they're introducing other gangsters from the comics (Sofia and Alberto Falcone, Salvatore Maroni) gives me hope that they might take the opportunity to introduce Tony Zucco, the gangster who killed Dick Grayson's parents. There are quite a few actors cast in undisclosed roles, maybe one of them plays Zucco...? Either way, setting up Zucco's extortion of Haly's Circus in The Penguin and following it up in Part II with the Flying Graysons' murders would be a good way to tie those stories together.

Third: Bruce Wayne's reappearance. Part I was all about Batman discovering that he has to be more than vengeance, and Reeves has said we'll be seeing more of Bruce Wayne in Part II. Perhaps Bruce's first major public appearance is attending a performance by Haly's Circus, and he just so happens to witness the deaths of the Flying Graysons. And we know what happens next. What better way to force Bruce to take his image seriously (aside from Clayface's shenanigans) than for him to suddenly have an angry, traumatized, highly impressionable kid in his life?

Fourth: This is the weakest reason, but at the end of the movie Selina mentions she's moving to Blüdhaven, which also happens to be where Dick Grayson goes after growing up and becoming Nightwing.

That turned out longer than I thought it would be. Again, these are all just rumors, but I wanted to put my thoughts and theories down in writing in an organized way, and to see what anyone else thinks. Thank you for reading.

#batman #dick grayson #the batman #the batman 2022 #the penguin hbo #robin #clayface #basil karlo #tony zucco #fan theory #discussion #the batman part 2 #the batman part ii #matt reeves #reevesverse

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lipstickmarks · 1 year

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Single Dad!Aaron Thorsen

okay ever since the UC episode where aaron’s cover was pushing a stroller, i can’t help but think of him being a single dad 🥺🍼

i feel like it would happen accidentally (aaron strikes me as a plan b as his only form of contraceptive kinda guy)

maybe a fling with an actress who’s way more famous than him (bonus points if everyone starts fangirling when she comes to midwilshire to tell him the news) ((extra extra bonus points if it’s an actual celebrity cameo like Lana Condor, Hailey Seinfeld, Chloe Bailey, Amandla Stenberg, Grace Van Dien, Brenda Song, Selena Gomez, etc.))

she tells him she wants to have the baby but she’s constantly busy as an actress so he would have to be her primary caretaker (think of Castle’s arrangement with Alexis’ mom: he takes care of her and she pops in every few months or so)

aaron struggles with the decision because let’s face it- he’s really spoiled and has no idea how to take care of a kid. But, ultimately decided to have the baby because he’s had such a tumultuous adult life (patrick’s murder, being wrongfully imprisoned, etc) that he decide he deserves something good and pure in his life.

i feel like he’d be a girl dad🥹

he takes his daughter out on jogs with the most insanely expensive stroller

he would definitely name her something boujee and LA-chic like Aspen, Gigi, Nevaeh

bringing his little baby girl into the station for a visit (lucy would fawn all over her, angela would yell at him for not strapping her in right, and nyla would tell him if he even considers another babysitter other than Lila, she’ll strangle him)

he’d cut plans short just to come home in time to give her a bath 🛁

when the baby’s mom does come into town and aaron gets a baby-free week, he goes around the station bragging about all the stuff he’s gonna do (clubs, expensive dinners, beach trips, parties) and then cut to a shot of him asleep on the couch with a half-eaten box of cookies on his chest

end credit scenes where, after a really hard case, aaron comes home and goes straight for the nursery and picks his daughter up just to cradle her

cold open where the music is really tense and aaron is searching around a park late at night and we think it’s for a case, but he’s just searching for his daughter’s favorite stuffie that they left at the park

“7-Adam-100, we can call off the search. Binky Bear has been located.”

everytime the core group goes out to dinner, aaron’s there bouncing his baby on his knee in the cutest little outfit

Lucy: aww, I didn’t know they made knock-off Dior for babies

Aaron (offended): knock-off? this is real Dior

Lucy, Tim, Angela, Wesley, John, Bailey, Celina, Nyla, James: side eye… side eye

AUNTIE CELINA????? The three of them playing D&D and making a quest all about the baby and she has no idea what’s going on but is a giggling mess bc her daddy and auntie are making silly noises and giving her so much attention 🥺

NOLAN HELPING AARON BUILD HER NURSERY *PUNCHES A WALL*

OH and maybe after she’s first born, Aaron goes to James and asks his advice on being a single parent since and then they could have a really sweet dialogue about how it’s important to take care of yourself so you can be your best for your kids

So, this inspires him to move past his arguments with his mom and tap her in to help take care of the baby (you just know his mom would absolutely eat up being a grandma glamma)

at chenford’s wedding, there’s a shot of aaron dancing with her in the cutest little dress 😭 which then can segue way into chenford baby discussion!!

In conclusion, the people (me) deserve a girl!dad Aaron Thorsen storyline. His character got brushed aside as it is and something like this would help bring his backstory full circle. I also just want more aaron content bc I love him

*grabby hands*

#aaron thorsen #the rookie #tru valentino #the rookie abc #chenford #chenford babies #john nolan #celina juarez

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taggedmemes · 10 months

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SENTENCE MEME ⟶ DISCO ELYSIUM / Part 2 always feel free to tweak the sentence to fit your muse.

'he told me you promised to 'sic the pigs' on him.'

'he sent your fat ass running around like jello!'

'you got fucked bad. now limp the fuck out of here.'

'i *phase-shifted* through the roofing material.'

'shit... get the fuck out of here! you can't do that.'

'once i happened to be under some faulty scaffolding.'

'you really showed that mail collection box.'

'okay, i get it. crime-murder gets the people going.'

'real detectives are sinewy and snake-hipped.'

'you're quite sober.'

'i am also sad and my head hurts.'

'she ruins the walls faster than i can clean them.'

'i guess it's hard to fight a bear if you're out of shape.'

'i guess it's hard to fight a bear if you're drunk.'

'charging rent just to live somewhere *is* pretty outrageous.'

'wait, what? firing squads? you didn't say anything about those.'

'you can't make an omelette without breaking a few million eggs!'

'or what? you'll push me off this ledge and pry the bucket from my dead hands?'

'this isn't cool -- it's an unnecessary trial of will. and unhealthy.'

'they love bathing in my glory.'

'it's not like that. they're what you call *hetero-sexual life partners*.'

'hetero -- sexual. life -- partners.'

'let's just keep going. i'm sure it's just a regular abandoned house, nothing mysterious here.'

'we need to celebrate by performing pagan rites. let's bring out the mead and set it on fire.'

'look at that! what have we *done*? we stuffed a dead body in an ice bear shaped fridge. this does *not* leave this room.'

'i think this is a glorious achievement and people need to hear about it.'

'the *funk soul brother* at the back of his head has gone dark. forever.'

'refrigerated meat is much better for coroner's work.'

'real men wear *coal* for makeup.'

'you are *the destroyer*, the bane of inanimate matter.'

'gaze upon me, stuff, and despair!'

'i'm just a disempowered individual trying to take my disempowerment out on everyday objects.'

'yeah, i rip shit apart.'

'like eggnog, or morphine!'

'i know *doom* when i see it.'

'(let out a whistle.) momma's serving some serious macaroni.'

'you two make a cute couple, you know that?'

'you smell of booze and cigarettes, what's different about narcotics?'

'unless you're into drugs, of course -- in which case, drugs are *excellent*. tasty-tasty drugs.'

'i have to say -- this is *not* disco.'

'the big dick is right here, asshole! you're looking at it!'

'was there anything else? i was sorta going to get my brewski on.'

'this is what happens if you take the law into your own hands. other people start doing it too.'

'you're just like real cops. drinking beer and sitting around with your dicks in your hand.'

#KIND / SENTENCE.#KIND / IN CHARACTER.#BASED ON / VIDEO GAME.#disco elysium #rph #rpc #ask meme

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babywitchofthesouth-responds · 1 year

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The Ultimate Psych Fic Rec List

Ft. 49 of the best Psych fics (imo) >>>

Four Floors Down, Use the Stairs in Case of Emergency by centipede

Shawn does something really stupid. Really stupid, really dangerous, and something that means he's really, really screwed. Which shouldn't surprise anyone.

Especially since no one knows where he is.

High Tide by LittleFairy78

It all started with a fight. Shawn leaves town for a few days, only to find his life cruelly changed upon his return. He tries to get to the bottom of what happened, but everybody else thinks he's just in denial. Shawn angst...

Fun in the Woods with Buzz McNabb by centipede

While searching for stolen bonds in the woods, Buzz McNabb wins babysitting duty for a certain psychic consultant for the SBPD. And Lassiter proves something he never meant to. As non-angsty as it gets because, seriously, this is Buzz we're talking about.

Judas In My Mind by PineappleHead

MacGyver/Psych crossover

Murdoc is looking for a new recruit for HIT. Shawn has all the necessary skills. Neither of them could foresee where their crossed paths would lead them.

"What have I become? Now that I've betrayed everyone I've ever loved, and pushed them all away? And I have been a slave to the Judas in my mind. Is there something left of me to save in the wreckage of my life? I'm becoming Judas in my mind..." -------Fozzy

What's The Story, Morning Glory? by Liviapenn

The first time Shawn ever kisses Gus it's goodbye.

Wednesday, March 3rd Of 2010 by lapsus_calami

March third of two thousand ten dawned much in the same way every day before it had. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and Gus and Shawn were an unbeatable detective duo. The day after, however, would dawn much differently.

Shawn And The Real(er) Psychics Of Santa Barbra by Beaconbaconbison

Shawn isn't a psychic. He's just some guy who got struck by lighting and woke up having visions about things he couldn't possibly know. That seems on par with the rest of his life. Right? He really. Really. Really isn't psychic. Even if these visions are helping solve a murder. He's just very observant. That's all.

like a comet pulled from orbit by torigates

Shawn is good at half-truths.

Born This Way by redwolffclaw

Henry Spencer has started to realize that something is different about his three year old son Shawn and will soon need to use all his detective skills to figure out how to raise his rambunctious prodigy.

Familiarity by sebviathan

AKA the four times Shawn and Lassiter met before they actually met, and when it finally came together.

How many hats? by Abby_Gal

After Shawn kills a man to protect his best friend, he can’t stop his overstimulated brain from making him watch the man falling to the ground again and again. Luckily the man who has helped train his brain as a kid is there to help him calm down.

Baby Steps by Vanya_Instance

Shawn and Gus were celebrating the opening of a new nightclub near Shawn’s apartment. The night was turning enjoyable, drinks were reasonably priced, the music was deafening but danceable and with a magnificent feat of wingwomanship, Shawn had found Gus a girl. A true miracle indeed.

Not to sound smug, but this had been a brilliant idea on Shawn’s part.

But then Shawn wakes up in an alley early the next morning, covered in cuts and bruises, miles away from the club and her apartment, with no memory as to how she got there.

For the first time Shawn finds herself on the other side of the thin blue line, not as a suspect, but as a victim.

And Shawn is scared.

And Shawn thinks she preferred being the suspect.

Little Murder in the Big Woods by Anonymous

A totally harmless lie gets Shawn involved with Gus' work retreat... and MURDER.

To be fair, he'd probably be getting a front row seat to a murder somewhere whether or not he decided to pose as Gus' live-in partner in order to spend a weekend camping trip distracting him from team-building exercises.

Shawn Spencer: The Ultimate Reference by sottovoce81

Shawn Spencer was the ultimate reference. He was the go-to guy for a quick reference when the Winchesters were in need of something.

Burton Guster Gets Salty by Emachinescat

“Run! Don’t look back!” That’s what Shawn says to Gus as they run for their lives from a killer with a gun. But Gus does look back – just in time to see his best friend go down with the crack of the pistol.

Shawn Spencer is Nobody's Agatha by huckleberryzenon

After the disaster that is Lindsay Leiken, the FBI decides it's time to begin psychological evaluations of all the psychics who consult with law enforcement, starting with one Shawn Spencer. Shawn's confident he'll pass with flying colors, but what if the danger isn't in getting found out, but the person administering the test?

Another thing they'll never talk about by rosey_angel

He’s decided it. This is going to happen. Everyone at school is talking about weddings because Casey McClintock's mom is getting married and ever since then he’s been over the moon. Because he decided. He’s going to marry Shawn Spencer.

Thinking over the secret moments in their past, Gus can't hide his feelings about or for Shawn any longer.

Psy vs. Psy in the Sky (And Right Back Down Again) by Emachinescat

After being taken hostage by fake psychic Lindsay Leikin, Shawn finds himself tied up and on an unplanned skydiving adventure.

Thanks For the Memories (Or Lack of Them) by EclipseWing

They tell you that your name is Shawn Spencer. They tell you that you are thirty-three and that you live in Santa Barbara, California.

They don't tell you that you're meant to be psychic.

Fro-Yo? More Like Fro-No! by Emachinescat

No matter how angry he was, Gus would never hurt his best friend - not intentionally, at least.

But the hard truth was that intentions wouldn’t matter if Shawn ended up frozen to death in some ditch in Canada. Either way, it would be Gus’s fault.

Either way, he would have killed his best friend.

how you try by disastermovie

Gus always knew Shawn would come back to Santa Barbara. He didn't know when or in what state, but he always knew that one day, he'd find his best friend back on his doorstep, grinning like nothing had changed. That's just how Shawn is. And Gus would welcome him back because that's just what their friendship is. No matter how many years pass, no matter what shenanigans Shawn drags him into, they'll always be best friends.

That doesn't mean he has any idea what to do with a baby.

The Joker and the King by Castlewood_Bard

Shawn and Gus in a royal AU. That's all you really need to know.

Two Dead Guys, a Girl, and a Psychic by moondragon23

Life is great for Shawn Spencer. He has a cool job, a smart, beautiful girlfriend, and gets to hang with his best friend all day. What more could a guy want? When he gets his next two cases, a dead chemistry professor and a girl looking for her father, it looks like business as usual. Too bad things never go that simply when Shawn is involved.

I've Heard It One Way by NephilimEQ

Shawn Spencer just got his appendix removed...and, at the same time, he's just found out that he has another problem. But he's not going to tell anyone. Until, one day, head detective Carlton Lassiter finds out his secret. Will this bring them closer together or ruin their friendship forever?

A Tale as Old as Vegas, Baby by burglebezzlement

Gus would like to believe there's no way Shawn's been hiding their secret Vegas marriage for five years. Unfortunately, the marriage license with their signatures on it and the photograph of the two of them smooching in front of Elvis say otherwise.

Shawn Spencer and the Fate of the Furious by huckleberryzenon

an AU to Season 4, Episode 9: "Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark." Rollins has a few tricks up his sleeve after his arrest, post Shawn's dramatic car-hopping rescue.

Shafted by MusicalLuna1

Only Shawn could injure himself whilst searching a cordoned off building with a faction of S.B.P.D. officers. Shameless Shawn whumpage.

GHOST TOWN by Vindicata

What are the chances of a guy on a Norton motorcycle running into a guy in a ‘67 Impala as they each crisscross the country? Pretty damn high.

"You're awfully perky for a guy who was just freaking out a couple of minutes ago."

"And you're awfully bitchy for a guy who just had his life save by a courageous bystander with fantastic hair"

“Time to roast a ghost?”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

Handlebars by Vindicata

Everyone thinks Shawn needs Gus and the SBPD to investigate.

They were wrong.

When Shawn works around the system to hide a case he’s working on, the secret might just blow up in his face... or show truly capable he is to the people who always underestimated him.

Guilt is a Funny Thing. Not in a “Haha” Way Though. by JenCM

“He called me, you know.” Henry choked out, distress obvious in his voice. “Kid…kid said he needed a ride. I told him to catch the bus.”

Carlton looked over, wondering if his exhausted eyes and ears were deceiving him. No, it wasn’t the fact that Henry Spencer was opening up to him, if he could call a random statement ‘opening up’ It wasn’t even the fact that the man looked him straight in the eye when he said it.

He scoffed with bitter amusement, “If it’s any consolation…” Carlton said with a sigh, “I told him he could walk home.”

Henry didn’t seem surprised at the revelation. He broke eye contact, his gaze falling back on Shawn, motionless in the hospital bed.

“Guess it goes to show that the kid still doesn’t listen to me.”

The only sound that followed was the hissing of the ventilation machine, and the beeping of the monitors. Nothing else needed to be said.

When Shawn ends up in a completely preventable situation that leaves him worse for wear, his father and Lassiter take a one-way trip to Guiltina while Gus tries to sell a ‘slightly used’ Lazy Boy and Juliet is just caught in the middle of the mess.

Phone Tag by windscryer

A demon hunter and a fake psychic walk into a bar . . . oh wait, that was the LAST story. This is what happens after.

A series of episode tags for both Psych and Supernatural continuing the adventures of Shawn and Dean and Sam (and eventually Gus and the others too, maybe).

How Much is that Body in the Window? by ZedPM, DinerGuy

It started as a vacation in New York City for our favorite psychic and his best friend, but when the duo stumbles upon a body (literally) they’ll need to lend a hand to Castle and the rest of the gang to solve the case before they head back to California.

A Bitter Pill by Psychrulz

Everyone knows Shawn has a tendency to get distracted. When he misses a clue and a murderer almost gets away, Chief Vick has had enough. She orders Shawn to get help and fix the problem- or else. Naturally, nothing with Shawn is ever that simple. When the fix turns out to be worse than the problem, the lives of his entire team are put in danger.

The Tangled Web by Collegekid06

Who tried to kill Shawn?

Someone cut the brakes on Shawn's bike. Now he's in a coma, and Henry, Jules, Lassiter and Gus are trying to find out who did it.

We All Go A Little Crazy Sometimes.... by Collegekid06

Shawn voluntarily commits himself to a mental institution.

How will Henry react?

How will Gus react?

And will the doctors ever let him go?

My Dinner In Hell: Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love A Good Steak by Collegekid06

Shawn.

Lassie.

Henry.

Dinner...

Need I say more?

The Longest Day by LittleFairy

Shawn knows it's technically not really his fault. Lassiter thinks differently. Emphatically so.

But they have to make the best of the situation together, no matter who is to blame. Because the bad guys are on their way to Mexico, the other bad guys are after them, they're in the middle of nowhere, and somehow they have ended up...cuffed together.

It's just one of those days.

Shawn and the Friendly Neighborhood Stalker by laytoncolt

It's another case that no one else believes a case, and Shawn would be figuring it all out a lot quicker if didn't have to deal with a break-in and a stalker, that may or may not be related.

The Dah Ling Store It Yourself by Nixa Jane

The bad news is that one of Lassiter's highest profile arrests has just escaped from prison. The worse news is that his best hope of tracking him down is a sleep-deprived Shawn Spencer.

The Pharmaceutical Psychic by Tardisgater

Being captured by a mad scientist is almost expected by this point. The mad scientist's experiments actually working is a whole 'nother thing. It's time to shake up the status quo.

You Have the Right to Remain...Dead by MusicalLuna

When an officer is murdered late one night while on duty, Karen forbids Shawn from getting involved, afraid he won't take the case as seriously as he should.

But since when has a little thing like being banned from a case stopped Shawn Spencer?

I'm Okay by light at last

The day that Shawn is supposed to graduate is the first time he manages to actually fool his dad. It will remain one of few.

Identification by veggiewoppa

Hitchhiking in the rain = bad idea

Getting a ride from a homical maniac = worse idea

Stopping for the night in a motel full of potential victims = Worst idea in the history of bad ideas

The Boy in Blue by Collegekid06

Shawn's nightmares all come true when he finally ends up at the police academy...and it's not by choice.

The Evidence Lock-Up by InsaneTrollLogic

All contents part of case 10329QXT—The Disappearance of Shawn H. Spencer. Property of the Santa Barbra Police Department.

Bouncing Around by PurpleMoon3

Cas finds God.

Note: I tossed around for a while deciding whether to include this because I had no idea what was happening in it 99% of the time, but it made such a strong impression that it would be criminal not to

Aquatic Equestrianism by trascendenza

The one where they're mermen, because clearly my brain is a weird place. "You are outta your damn mind if you think that dolphin wants to be ridden."

The Pilot of My Roflcopter by trascendenza

The one where Shawn talks like a lolcat to seduce Gus.

Molasses in January by trascendenza

The one where they're, um, snails.

#psych #psych tv #psych tv show #shawn spencer #psych fic rec #psych fic recs #burton guster #fanfiction #fic recs #fic rec #literally some of these are sourced from the strangest websites

68 notes · View notes

jadeee · 7 months

Text

Vendetta Ch. 12, Part 1: Cloudy Days

📰 read chapters 1 - 11 here!

Warnings: angst, slight swearing & mentions of murder

Word Count: 3.9k

"Oh my God!" You squealed as you hovered over Nicky's shoulder. He spent the last five minutes reading MJ's published piece about the two of you:

While the world gawks at the Valentinos and their upcoming case, the pair find safety and shelter in each other. Most importantly, love which is the greatest comfort of all. They continue to curate a happy home and lovely life in which they celebrate the good, the bad, and the ugly.

"We should frame this."

He set the paper aside "You wanna hang it up in the hall?"

"Why not?!"

"Okay, I've got an idea. How about we get out of this house?"

"Hm.."

"Oh c'mon," he got up from the couch and took your hands in his "we've been hermit crabs until last night."

You chuckled as he pulled you off the couch and into his arms.

"Don't you want to come out of your shell?"

"Okay," you said with a hint of defeat "where do you want to go today?"

"How about the tennis court? I haven't exercised in ages."

"You went for a swim in the pool a few days ago!"

"It's not the same!" He pouted playfully "C'mon, I'll get the rackets and everything else. Just get ready."

He kissed your forehead again before disappearing up the stairs.

Agnes stood outside of Martin's office, "Sir?"

"What?" He asked with an underlying annoyance.

"Your wife is on the line. I told her you were busy but she knows I'm lying."

"Of course she does." He took a deep breath as if bracing himself for a punch from a heavy hitter "Put her on."

"... yes, sir."

His hand rested on the phone in his office and immediately picked it up when it rang. The speaker rested near his lips but he was quiet, timid, and scared all at once.

"Martin? Martin, I know you're there." The woman said on the other end "How are you?"

He licked his lips to wet them since they were suddenly dry, "How do you think?"

She sighed "You can't keep doing this. Why don't you just come home?"

"Why haven't you signed the divorce papers?" He spat back then wiped his lips regretfully.

The line was suddenly silent except for the soft breathing of the woman on the other end.

"Teddy, sign the damn papers."

"You haven't called me that in months."

A crimson red blossomed on his cheeks, "I-- I know."

"I'm surprised you still remember my name."

"Oh Theodora, don't get smart with me!"

"I'm just saying!"

"Just stop it, alright."

"Okay..."

They enjoyed a comfortable silence until she broke it "So--"

"No." he found himself picking at a chip on his wooden desk.

"Sweetheart..."

Tears stung in his eyes as he continued to pick at the spot and held the phone to his ear. He didn't want to hang up but he couldn't bear another second. "Teddy, please."

"What happened.. it's not your fault. We can still be a family. I can turn the nursery into a room for a dog." She chuckled half-heartedly and sniffled.

Martin wiped a fallen tear from his eye "A dog isn't gonna fix this."

"I know but it's not your fault."

"Then how do you explain it? If I didn't take that case, you wouldn't have lost the baby," He shrunk back at his outburst. Hearing the words bounce off the walls made it real again and he felt himself start to crack.

"Martin," she sniffled again and went silent "the doctor said it was only a matter of time."

"Ted-- Theodora, I can't do this. I don't want to put you in danger and you can't be in a stressful environment. That's all this job is and as much as I love you, I can't leave it."

"I don't want you to."

"... just sign the papers, please."

He moved his hand an inch away from his face then brought the phone back to his lips. "I love you. Truly, I do." As his lips stringed together more to say, the sentence fell apart so he hung up the phone. Whatever he felt for his soon-to-be ex-wife, he pushed it deep down to focus on his work.

"Agnes, I don't want to hear from her unless it's an emergency! You got it?"

"I understand."

He fished something out of his shirt pocket then looked at the golden ring before putting it in his desk drawer.

Flo led MJ towards her surprise with his hands over her eyes.

"Flo, what is this?" She laughed with each slow step forward "Why does it smell like..."

"Surprise!" He lifted his hands and she saw the dinner that was spread out on the table.

"I remember one day you said 'when I make it big I want a big boss dinner with lobster and potatoes' so..."

He laughed at his poor impression of her as he gestured to the exquisite dinner he made for her and gauged her reaction. She was silent and unmoving until finally, she turned around and hugged him tightly. The impact nearly threw him off his balance. He grabbed onto a nearby chair to steady himself then hugged her back and smiled.

"Thank you," she muttered against him.

"You deserve it."

She let go of him and recomposed herself "Now, let's eat!"

The two had already shared more than a few laughs as time went by.

"So now that you're a big shot, are you going to forget about me?" Flo teased as he ate a bread roll.

"No!" Bea shook her head "You're one of the few people who believed in me. Besides, who else is going to visit my office."

"Is it still bring your own box to sit on?"

"Actually, I have two chairs now." She grinned and Flo's brows jumped up.

"Did they give you an office?!"

She nodded as she ate some more of her lobster.

"Holy-- that's amazing!" Flo smiled "Does it have those big glass windows?!"

She laughed as she went on to explain her recent promotion at work and what her new life was starting to look like.

As the night progressed, you were playing a game of cards with Nicky and losing horribly.

"Ah, damn!" You threw down your hand after seeing Nicky's winning one.

"Let me give you some tips or something. I'm starting to feel bad."

"Be honest, you're actually loving this right now."

He threw his hands up while you continued your banter. It would've carried on but the phone rang and Nicky offered to get it.

"Yeah, give me a chance to prepare for a rematch."

"You do that!" He teased.

The smile he had lingered on his face as he picked up the phone, "Hello? Who's this?"

"It's Martin."

Nicky's smile started to drop "What's going on?"

"They found a body in New York. It might be Maurizio. They're doing the testing now. I just thought I should let you know."

He nodded, unsure of what to say next.

"If this is it, then we got Floyd. I talked to some people and Maurizio may not be the only one."

"What?"

"You ever heard of Umberto Gavassi?"

A sudden pit had formed in Nicky's stomach "Yeah, I know who he is."

"Y'know if he's still alive?"

"I have no idea. I tried to forget about New York and everything with it. We see how that turned out."

"Hm.. my work's just getting started over here but things are looking up for us."

"Did you get in touch with his mother?"

Martin went quiet for a moment "I'm waiting until it's confirmed. I don't want to waste her time if it's not him."

"Right..." Nicky glanced at the floor then back to the distant room you were in.

"I'll call you when I know the results."

"Okay."

Martin and Nicky hung up at the same time. Both were thankful for the end of the conversation but unwilling to know the truth. He walked back into the room with a solemn step. You rearranged the cards in your hand "Alright, I'm ready this time. I laid everything out."

You glanced up at him and the light in your eyes dimmed. "What happened?"

"That was Martin." Nicky sat on the couch near where you sat on the floor. Where you two were happily playing cards moments ago.

"They found a body in New York and it may be Maurizio's. They're testing it now to see." He looked right past you.

"Hey," you scooted over in front of him and rested your hands on his legs. "Nicky?" you crossed your arms over his thighs and rested your head there. "We'll wait then, okay?"

He focused on you, as if he were coming back from some dark place he was visiting in his mind. He nodded and caressed your cheek. You took his hand in yours and joined him on the couch. Stella traipsed down the stairs and sat at your feet. He bent down to pet her and relished in the comfort he had between you both.

The phone rang for a milisecond and Martin picked it up "Hello."

"Martin Alonso?"

"Yes."

"It's been confirmed. It's Maurizio Botticelli."

Martin hung his head as his heart dropped to his stomach.

"You still there?"

"Yes, I'm still here." Martin said with his eyes still shut as if he were silently praying.

"We'll fax the papers and everything over to you. One of our staff is on a plane now for the court case. We're also contacting the family."

"Okay, thank you. I-" he cleared his throat "I may have another location for you to dig. I'm getting a lead now."

The person on the other end sighed "Okay, we'll be here."

Martin hung up. He was unmoving, like some creature frozen in ice. After a moment, he found the words although he'd rather not speak. "It was him, Maurizio."

Agnes solemnly nodded while her boss rubbed at his face.

"Let's give the family some time to process. I can take care of the rest of this, just go home for today."

"But sir--"

Martin waved his hand. His tall frame walked around the desk "Get a good night's rest. Forget about this case for a few hours, if you can."

Agnes stared at him for a moment then decided to follow instruction. She stood by the door "You do the same."

Martin found himself frowning and locked eyes with her. His mouth tried to form a response but he nodded instead.

You jumped up at the sound of the phone ringing yet Nicky beat you to it. Despite how close you were, you couldn't make out the words. It wasn't until you saw the color drain from his face that you knew. It was Maurizio, the teenager. The boy who's peach fuzz had barely grown in before his life was snatched from him.

Your husband's eyes were cast down at your floors. His words were low, a mere whisper "It's him."

Without thinking, your hand found itself rubbing his shoulder. Before you could speak to offer any comfort, he spoke again.

"I should tell Chris and Rocky." He picked up the phone and dialed the number.

"Nicky, do you need a minute--"

"For what?" He glanced back at you while holding the phone to his ear.

You blinked at the obvious answer "To process this."

He only shook his head "There's nothing to process."

The corners of your mouth turned down at how he slightly mocked you, whether he knew it or not. Your hand shrunk back to your side. There was nothing else to talk about. He was already talking to the other person on the line. His voice grew more concerned by the second.

"What do you mean he's not there? Where is he?!"

Your fingers reached for him and he brushed his own hand against them but didn't fully take them in his. He spoke another word then hung up and picked up the phone again to make another call.

You were a shadow standing next to him. The hallway seemed to shrink with each second he spent with his back slightly faced to you. Every now and then he'd turn to his side, allowing you to see his pinched brow and bitten lip.

"Do you need anything?" Your voice was barely audible but he heard you nonetheless.

"No, I just need to make this call."

The half hearted smile he gave you provided little comfort. You returned a sympathetic one then walked off, unsure of what to do while you waited for him.

A few minutes later, he joined you in the living room but he stood nearby rather than sit beside you on the couch. All it took was a glance. The way his hand sat in his pocket, the small twist in his lip, his pinched brow and the far off look in his eye.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm fine."

Your lips tucked in on themself to prevent you from saying anything else. Those two words made you retreat into the farthest corner of yourself. You, his heart of hearts, could not fix this. You could not do anything and furthermore, he didn't want you to. It felt like you could choke on your heart in that moment but you simply said "Okay."

The silence crept in and made itself at home in your company. Every time you sought to challenge it, it felt.. wrong. You went back and forth in your mind on what to say, how to say it, if you should say it. It wasn't until you felt the heat on your skin, that you realized you'd been turning your wedding ring round and round on your finger. Nicky noticed it, then approached you.

"Don't worry about it," he kissed the top of your head then disappeared into the kitchen.

That small gesture made tears gather in the corners of your eyes.

Nicky busied his hands with whatever he could find in the kitchen. He was cooking. What? He couldn't say since his body was on autopilot. Funnily enough, he remembers when his mom would do the same thing. After her umpteenth spat with his father, she'd often find refuge in the kitchen. Mumbling incoherently to herself in her mother tongue, only to be humming a happy tone moments later.

"Why do you do that?"

"To remember the good times."

He rubbed the seasoning over the meat he'd been working on. Images of Maurizio seeped into his mind. As he continued to work with the meat, he tried not to cringe at the sight of the blood. It was a soft pink like a cherry blossom or a bow on a baby's head. Maurizio's had to be red. An unforgiving crimson splattered across concrete or marble like a nosebleed or busted berry. His hands caressed the meat once last time, unlike Maurizio's mom who didn't get the chance to hold her son one last time. Tears filled Nicky's eyes as he put the meat into the oven.

The doorbell rang and he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He heard you shout something but he wasn't entirely sure what it was since he was miles away. "What'd you say?" He shouted back as he walked to the sink to wash his hands. Bits of meat fell off his hands and down the drain. Soft pink, crimson red, death and decay.

His hands were still wet when he shouted "I'll be right there!"

He ran up the stairs to the bathroom where he shut the door behind him and suppressed a silent sob for Maurizio and his own lost youth.

The doorbell rang and you were oddly thankful for the unexpected guests. "I'll get it!"

You were glad that Nicky was busy cooking but also wished he would talk to you. Yet, you knew not to push no matter how loud everything in you was screaming.

A smile spread across your face as you opened the door to see Chris and Rocky. "Hey, you two. Come on in!"

Chris gave you a small smile then tipped his hat before taking it off. Rocky kissed your cheek as he enetered your home. Stella greeted them both and they gave her customary scratches.

"Sorry Stella, I'm afraid I came to see your parents and not you this time." Rocky patted her head.

Chris looked around the house "Where's Nicky?"

"Upstairs, I think." You shut the door behind you and asked the obvious question "So you heard?"

They both nodded solemnly.

"Damn shame," Chris said.

"I was hoping it wasn't true." Rocky added.

"I just hope this gets Floyd for good and we can all rest now."

"Especially his family... poor kid." Rocky shook his head.

The room went silent as you all stood around.

"I'm gonna go look for Nicky. I'll be right back." Chris headed up the stairs leaving you and Rocky.

Rocky noticed the savory aroma filling the air "Oh, what are you cooking?"

You waved your hands "Oh, that's Nicky's doing. Not mine."

Rocky nodded and followed the smell to answer his own question. You trailed behind him.

"Actually, can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure thing." He poked his head in the oven to see what Nicky had been up to.

"Nicky kind of shut down after he got the call, and understandably so, but what do I do? I asked him if I could do anything but he said he was fine. He's clearly not but I don't want to push him."

Rocky closed the oven and looked at you with wise, tired eyes "So don't push him."

"But he's not okay."

"Obviously not but he doesn't want to talk about it." Rocky leaned against the counter "Just give him time. This is heavy stuff, kid and all he wants is to be with you, but it seems like everything in the world is pulling him back."

Your brows pinched as you marinated on his words of wisdom "Thanks. I didn't think of it that way."

"When he's ready, he'll talk to you." He patted your shoulder "Okay?"

You nodded and Rocky looked past you at the two men descending the stairs.

"I'm looking forward to this meal, Nicky. It's hard to find a taste of the motherland in this place."

Nicky gave him a half-hearted smile "I hope it tastes as good as you make it sound."

There was soft talk of this and that while the news of Maurizio's confirmed death hung over everyone's head like a cloud. Every now and then, your eyes darted to your husband and you noticed how his food looked untouched. His glass was half full and the only time he sipped from it was when someone started to talk to him. As if the wine would silence him forever so he wouldn't have to utter a word.

His hazel eyes were currently fixated on the oak table. Chris had just asked him a question.

"No, no new projects now. There's just too much going on."

"I know that. I asked if you had any ideas for an upcoming project."

"Oh," Nicky wiped his brow and smiled softly "no, I'm afraid not."

"I'm sure we'll have plenty of ideas after everything settles down." You chimed in.

Chris nodded his head "Y'know, I wouldn't blame you two if you took a break from the business."

"You deserve it." Rocky added before polishing off his glass.

The corner of your lip turned up in a suppressed smile. A knot had formed in your stomach. It didn't feel right to talk of vacations when you'd found out hours ago a teenager was murdered. "We'll see," is all you said.

The rest of the dinner was quiet which was unusual. Chris and Rocky took their leave but not before giving you and Nicky tight hugs. Then just like that, you were left alone with Nicky who said he was fine but obviously wasn't. Your hands were drying off the plate he'd just passed to you when he said "I'm going to bed early."

Your throat tensed and you tried to say "Okay," like you normally would but it sounded forced. It sounded candied with a sour center. He dried off his hands and kissed your temple then walked upstairs to your shared bedroom. When you were alone, you sighed and studied your reflection in the window.

About ten minutes later, you walked upstairs. When you made it into your bedroom, it looked like Nicky had already fell fast asleep. The room was a dark, icy blue. His mishapen figured was buried under the comforter with Stella at his side. You didn't feel steam from the bathroom nearby so he must've changed straight into his pajamas and climbed into bed.

The knot traveled from your stomach to your throat. It only multiplied with each step forward and it felt like a six ton weight when you sank into bed.

"Nicky, are you sleeping?"

"No."

You turned to face his back and tried to find your words but it didn't matter because he spoke for you.

"I really don't want to do this. Not right now."

You took a deep breath and exhaled softly. You patted the space between you then got up to get ready for bed.

It seemed like you were fighting sleep that night. Meanwhile, that was all Martin could think about. He and Agnes caught a red-eye to New York for several reasons. The first being to speak to the family of the bereaved. Seeing the mother's face twist when she heard the news was something he'd never forget. He remembered the sister being still as stone, a single tear falling from her eye. They interviewed them and thought they wouldn't get much except they were wrong. The sister had a small booklet of notes she gathered on Floyd's crew before he brother's untimely death. It was that small stack of yellowed, tattered pages that got them where they were now, looking into the trunk of Umberto Gavazzi's car. If you tore away the fabric, you saw a stash of keepsakes. The most noticeable being Maurizio's string bracelet which matched his sister's. Martin only saw it moments ago so when he noticed the red string, he felt sick.

"Sir," Agnes tapped Martin's arm.

"What?" He snapped back to the present.

"It's Cliff's baseball card." She pointed to the faded card peeking out behind Maurizio's bracelet among other keepsakes.

Martin and his assistant had made the most of their time in New York by interviewing Cliff Wallace's family as well. His father told a brief anectdote about how his son carried a baseball card with him everywhere. He got it for his eighth birthday and claimed it was good luck.

Martin dropped the fabric so the items were covered again. He approached one of the officers standing nearby. He locked eyes with Umberto himself who only stood a few feet away with an officer watching him like a guard dog.

"This man is under arrest for the murder of two children and God knows who else. Test everything in the trunk and send me the results as soon as you get them."

The officer nodded and looked back at his coworker and simply nodded. The man read Umberto Gavazzi his rights and clasped the metal bracelets around his wrists.

Author's Note: Martin may be my new favorite character. How do we feel about him? Fun fact, 'Death & Decay' was actually a perfume sold at my old job - not my favorite though lol.

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#nicky valentino vendetta #nicky valentino fictif #fictif nicky valentino #fictif nicky #nicky valentino #fictif #fictif nix hydra #nicky tatw #fictif tatw #fictif two against the world #madebyjade

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starblaster · 1 year

Text

"There was never any support back then, when these leaks came out. There was never any support, you know, it was completely blacklisted. And there's always been, like you say, a convenient reason to disparage Assange and WikiLeaks, either because of shifting goalposts [...] about the meaning of journalism and, you know, whether or not he's publishing or a "journalist" [...] or his own political views or gossip about his personal life [...] And all of it, all of that shit, all it does is do the work of state power to de-legitimate WikiLeaks and turn Assange into a pariah, which has happened. You know, none of it has anything to do with the fact, and I keep repeating, that every single thing he has published is true! The same cannot be said about anybody at MSNBC, The New York Times, Fox News, CNN, or The Washington Post. So, apparently, there is no solidarity for political prisoners of the state.

But this is what fucking gets me! None of these cowards are going to be persecuted, none of them. All of these people that are shaking in their boots — like Chris Hayes [...] — you're fine! Who's going to persecute you, the fucking government that you parrot the lines of? The government that you continue to let have advance notice of the story that you're saying, in case there's anything they wouldn't like you to publish? The 'anonymous' intelligence sources you continue to give cover to? The bullshit partisan hackery you spit out night after night after night? What state secrets are you revealing? What actual journalistic work are you doing? This is why we call journalists scum [on TrueAnon]. Motherfucker, you are the mouthpiece of the state! The government needs you to sell their lies. You are the one who obfuscates power, you aren't expendable, you are the one who is necessary. You aren't going anywhere, you fucking tool.

And these assholes, the ones who guarantee their prime time TV slots by molding their views and their voice[s] into what the networks and their corporate overlords and the bankers and the U.S. government [...] want you to hear, these are not the people who will be persecuted. No, they get promotions. They get awards, they get celebrated, they get retweeted, and liked, and byline and byline and byline; they climb the ranks and they shape the shit that is now permanently lodged in your fucking brain that they pathetically sell to you as 'the news' and you've pathetically convinced yourself is the truth.

No, the people who get persecuted are anyone who dares question the United States war machine, who dares reveal: any of the coups, the assassinations, the inner workings of the security apparatus, the well-funded networks of fucking so-called democratic political power, the abuse that millions suffer at the hands of the U.S. military and all the paid-off NGOs, the corporations, the warlords, the cartels; the sexual abuse, the rape, the murder, the towns that we bomb to oblivion, the countries that we sell off to the highest bidder, and all the governments that we demolish. Like, what we do every day, every day, every day. Those are the people that will be persecuted.

People like Chris Hayes have fucking secured their spot. They're not going to be attacked, he is not going to be arrested. And now they sit back and fucking feign concern for Assange; "Oh, what this means, for the free press! Oh, no! What this means!"

This has nothing to do with Assange or WikiLeaks or anything WikiLeaks has revealed! This is about the media's precious industry which is dying, ironically, because of the very corporations that they continue to cover for, that are eating the news rooms alive. And you know what? The public is right to fucking despise you [journalists]. They are right to despise you for the obvious bootlicking and all your brazen career-ism, for years of covering up all the lies and all the obfuscation of how real power operates in this country; selling the wars and the PR campaigns of the State Department and running fucking interference for the bankers and all the politicians bought off by the bankers who stole all the jobs and all the homes and all the fucking futures out from under the world.

How many bloggers, who are now calling themselves aspiring journalists — or, I guess, what you'd now call "professional opinion-havers" — how many out there look up to Chris Hayes or the Chris Hayeses of the world and their career arc? How many stare longingly at the fucking New York Times op-ed page, at the shiny bylines and the prestige publishers, at the fucking social power that comes with the fawning adulation of their peers jealous of their little positions in the clout hierarchy of the media machine? How many of these content producers, editors, self-appointed political taste-makers, take-havers, tweeters — and, guess what, yes, fucking podcasters — how many of them just want these precious fucking spots? Like, what would they do? What would they do? What do you think the would do? What do you think they would sell you to get one of those spots? Do they even fucking realize when they do it?

But how many of them, now, actually look to [Julian Assange]? How many of them will even fucking publicly support the guy who is literally, currently, being tortured — who will die of starvation, or maybe madness, or maybe he'll just simply be kicked in the fucking skull in the damp basement of a supermax prison in the middle of fucking nowhere — because he dared to temporarily embarrass our highest-ranking officials and mildly inconvenience the functionaries of the American empire's unstoppable machine?

Who are you gonna fucking look to?"

Liz Franczak TrueAnon, "Episode 106: #FreeAssange" October 8, 2020

#someone on the patreon wanted this as a standalone clip but i think a transcript of this rant goes further tbh #slightly more accessible to all #i revisited this episode after the assange AI-generated deepfake image or whatever bullshit happened on the 8th (?)#i'm definitely worried and still am worried about whatever is happening to julian assange in prison #trueanon #true anon #liz franczak

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