#NYPD Major Crimes

[found-family-tournament]

Found Family Tournament Round 1 Part 8 Group 36

Propaganda and further pictures under the cut

NYPD Major Crimes: Malcolm Bright, Gil Arroyo, Dani Powell, JT Tarmel, Edrisa Tanaka

Diasomnia Fam: Malleus Draconia, Lilia VanRouge, Silver, Sebek Zigvolt

Submissions are still open!

NYPD Major Crimes:

Gil is basically Malcolms dad. Or at least he's the most positive father figure he's got. JT and Malcolm have such major sibling vibes. I can't express how much I love them. !!!! (I can also only find images of them together at crime scenes)

Diasomnia Fam:

Sorry, I got no propaganda for them yet :(

#tumblr polls #poll #polls #tournament poll #found family #found family tournament 2023 #tumblr tournament #tournament #NYPD Major Crimes #Prodigal Son #Diasomnia Fam #Twisted Wonderland #Malcolm Bright #Gil Arroyo #Dani Powell #JT Tarmel #Edrisa Tanaka #Malleus Draconia #Lilia VanRouge #Silver #Sebek Zigvolt

[avis-writeshq]

hello 😘 aaron hotchner drabble request!

anything with jealousy and possessiveness but in a natural normal way not a joe goldberg way haha

and also - aaron sees you wearing his hoodie/shirt drabble!

thank you and your work is amazing!

pairing: aaron hotchner x bau!fem!reader genre: established relationship, aaron is a little (a lot) upset warnings: misogynistic moron >:( reader wears a skirt, if you get the reference ily a/n: i wrote it and the more i wrote the more i realised that it... really isn't the same at all :( if you want me to redo it, please send me an ask !! thank you lovely <3 wc: 631

“You would think that he would know by now,” Emily hums, her tone disapproving and mostly disappointed as she watches from a distance as Captain Pembroke attempts to chat you up. 

“He’s a captain?” Spencer asks in genuine amazement. 

“For NYPD’s major crime unit,” JJ confirms, her arms crossed over her chest. “He tried to hit on Emily a couple days ago, and on Amy from the fourth floor. I wouldn’t be surprised it he has some sort of sealed file on him.”

Emily scoffs a little, rolling her eyes. “Sounds like a charmer.”

“The bigger question is, does Hotch know?” Derek pipes up as he glances in your direction.

“Well…” JJ lets out a nervous laugh. “I kind of hope he doesn’t.”

You offer a curt smile in Pembroke’s direction, doing everything in your power to subtly signal that you really should be leaving. Fiddling with the loose threads of your shirt, averting eye contact, taking tiny steps away in hopes that he’ll somehow get the message. It isn’t surprising that he doesn’t. 

“I beat my PR yesterday, you know,” he brags, flexing his muscles. You think you’re about to throw up as he continues, “129. Impressive, right, hun?”

“The average amount of pounds an untrained man can lift is 135,” you respond dismissively in an attempt to lean into Spencer’s way of getting people to leave him alone, but Pembroke doesn’t seem to hear you. 

“You know, sweets, I don’t think you should even be in this job. You’re far too foxy,” he says with a wink, “You’d be better in a different job. I mean, women aren’t fit for these types of roles. They get too emotional.”

You refrain from punching his face as it will only prove his point. “Listen, Ken–”

“It’s Keith–”

“Kyle,” you amend with a sickly smile. “I do need to get these files to Agent Rossi, so if you’ll excuse me…”

“Aw, come on, it was only a joke,” Pembroke says with a laugh. “It’ll be fine–”

“There you are.”

You don’t think you’ve ever felt more relieved in your life. Aaron’s hand rests flat against your back, dangerously close to the waistband of your skirt and he stands behind you. Aaron is a good couple of inches taller than Pembroke, especially when he stands at his full height, his dark eyed narrowed and his jaw clenched. 

“Did you need something from my agent, Captain?” He asks lowly. 

“Just pleasant conversation,” Pembroke responds dismissively.

Aaron raises an eyebrow, his gaze shifting from your uncomfortable frown to the captain’s smug face. “We have three missing women and you are disturbing an investigation by disrupting my agents. I suggest you get your act together before I report you to your superiors for harassment.”

He doesn’t bother waiting for a response, guiding you by the small of your back towards his makeshift office in the New York Police Office. He doesn’t say a word until the door is firmly closed and the blinds are drawn. 

“Are you alright?” He asks softly, taking a step towards you and curling his fingers by your cheekbone. “I heard what he said. Do you want me to report it?”

“I’ve dealt with worse.” You don’t mean to sound so honest when you say it and his frown deepens.

“That’s not okay, honey.” Aaron presses a kiss to your forehead. “I’ll report it. You know how it is with cases like these; someone just has to put the first step forward.”

You smile at that, poking at his cheeks. “I thought you were going to hit him.”

“I thought you would’ve beat me to it,” he admits through a quiet laugh, giving you a proper kiss. “We shouldn’t make this into a habit.”

“Tell that to Kimberly.”

“That isn’t even close.”

reblogs are always appreciated!

events page

#aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner #hotch x reader #criminal minds x reader #aaron hotchner x reader fluff #golden : a milestone event #hotch x reader fluff #criminal minds x reader fluff #hotch #criminal minds #criminal minds x reader angst #criminal minds fluff #criminal minds aaron hotchner #thomas gibson x reader #thomas gibson #thomas gibson fluff #thomas gibson x reader fluff

[thewulf]

The Analyst's Arrival || Aaron Hotchner

Summary: Request - Hi can I request a hotch x bau reader? I'm sure its been done before but I just love your hotch fics!! When Strauss hires the reader without Aaron Hotchner's approval, tensions run high. Hotch is distant and a little mean, but the reader's unwavering positivity and kindness start to chip away at his walls... Read Rest Here

A/N: Really loved writing this one. Hope you all enjoy!

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Female Reader,

Word Count: 4.2k

TW: Yelling, gunshots (non wounded), general CM triggers

The BAU conference room hums quietly with the usual pre-meeting chatter. Derek flicks a crumpled paper ball at Spencer who is engrossed in his latest physics journal. While JJ shares weekend plans with Prentiss. The light mood does little to ease the stiffness in Aaron Hotchner’s posture as he stands at the head of the table with his folders organized neatly in front of him.

The door swings open and Erin Strauss steps in. It was a rare occurrence that immediately draws everyone’s attention. You follow behind her, your confident stride belying the curious glances you receive from the team.

"Good morning, everyone," Strauss begins. Her voice pulling the room into a focused silence. "I’d like you to meet Agent Y/N L/N. She’s joining us from the NYPD where she served in the Major Crimes unit. Agent L/N has a sharp analytical mind and extensive field experience which I’m confident will be invaluable to our team."

Hotchner's eyes narrow slightly, not at you, but at the way Strauss seems to relish the surprise on his face. He had not been informed of this decision—a move that didn't just sidestep his authority but outright ignored it. A move he hated.

As polite smiles and nods pass around the room, Hotchner remains motionless. His gaze finally landing on you. You seem unaffected by the tension your presence has stirred as you returned his scrutiny with a polite, unwavering smile.

"I'm very excited to be here and look forward to working with each of you," you spoke. Your voice steady and warm. "I’ve heard only the best about the BAU team."

"Thank you Agent L/N," Strauss cuts in smoothly. "I’ll leave you in Agent Hotchner’s capable hands." With a final nod Strauss exits, the click of her heels echoing a stark finality to her departure.

There is a brief silence as you linger in the doorway. "Why don’t we get started then?" Hotchner says. His tone more a command than a suggestion. "Morgan, Reid, can you bring Agent L/N up to speed on the current case?"

As the team dives into the details of their latest unsolved case Hotch observes you. You listen intently, asking pertinent questions that demonstrate not just your understanding but your capability to dive right into the deep end. Despite his initial resistance he can't help but admit—albeit grudgingly—that you seem competent.

Yet as the meeting progresses Hotch feels a gnawing sense of irritation. It isn't directed at you, but at Strauss and the situation he’s been forced into. Watching you interact with his team, a part of him wants to see what you can do. To see if Strauss’s confidence in you is justified. But as the leader of the BAU and with walls built from years of leadership, admitting that will take a bit more than just a good first impression.

In the days following your introduction the BAU team falls into a familiar rhythm with you, gradually weaving you into the fabric of their tightly knit group. Spencer shares book recommendations, curious about your interests. While Morgan teases lightly, testing your sense of humor. Prentiss and JJ involve you in their lunch outings often asking about your experiences with the NYPD.

However, Hotchner maintains a professional distance. During briefings he is succinct, his interactions with you strictly businesslike. His questions about your reports are pointed and perhaps harsher than necessary. You sense his doubt. Not just in his words but in the lingering looks that question your conclusions or the slight frown when you speak up during meetings.

One afternoon you're updating the team on a profile you've been developing. "Based on the victimology the unsub is likely someone with a deep-seated resentment towards authority figures. Possibly stemming from a troubled childhood," you explain as you clicked through the presentation slides.

"Seems like a stretch without more evidence," Hotchner interrupts abruptly. His critique hangs in the air. Heavier than the typical scrutiny profiles usually receive. You notice a brief exchange of looks among the team, but they remain silent.

Despite this you maintain your composure, responding calmly. "I'll dive deeper into the case files and see if I can substantiate that with more specific behaviors," you assure him with a nod that's meant to show both your respect for his experience and your confidence in your own skills.

As you work later in the quiet of the empty briefing room refining your profile, Hotchner watches from his office. The light from his desk lamp casts a long shadow and his expression is unreadable. The easy acceptance from others contrasts starkly with his skepticism and it's clear that you have yet to earn his trust.

One evening as you're the last two in the office Hotchner approaches your desk with his usual resolve towards you. "Agent L/N, I want our profiles to be watertight. I can't have assumptions without solid evidence," he states. His voice low and firm.

"I understand, sir," you reply, meeting his gaze. "I appreciate your guidance. I'm here to learn and contribute as effectively as I can."

There's a pause, a moment where something unspoken passes between you. Perhaps it's the acknowledgment of your dedication, or maybe it's Hotchner wrestling with his own reluctance to accept change. He nods curtly and leaves you to your work.

Despite the cold front you don't let it dampen your spirit. Instead, you double down on your efforts, pouring over case files late into the night. You were determined to prove your worth not just to Hotchner, but to yourself. Your positivity and commitment slowly chip away at the team's initial reservations and even though Hotchner remains distant you start to feel like a part of the BAU family.

As weeks pass your insights during case reviews become sharper. Your suggestions more intuitive. The team begins to rely on your judgment. They sought out your opinion, and slowly, very slowly, you notice a thaw in Hotchner's demeanor—a nod here, a less critical question there.

But the wall he has built around him isn't one to crumble quickly and you know that gaining Hotchner's full trust will be a marathon, not a sprint. Still, your unwavering kindness and the diligent sparkle in your eyes during every case discussion continue to sow seeds of change. Even in the stony ground of Hotch’s reserved heart.

A couple of weeks later and Hotch finally decides you’re ready to join the team in the field instead of staying behind with Penelope. Not that you didn’t like working with her you were just craving to do what you were hired to do.

The air is thick with tension as the BAU team arrives at the suspected hideout of the unsub at an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. It's late, the darkness only broken by the beams of flashlights and the occasional flicker of police sirens in the distance. Hotchner's orders are clear and concise. His voice a calm command over the sound of rustling tactical gear.

"Reid, Y/N, you're with me. Morgan, Prentiss, take the east side. Radio if you make contact. Everyone, stay sharp," Hotchner instructs. His eyes scanning the perimeter before leading you and Reid towards the main entrance.

The warehouse is a labyrinth of shadows and echoing spaces. A place that seems to absorb sound and light alike. You follow Hotch with your senses heightened every training you’ve undergone pulsing through your veins. As you navigate through a maze of crates and discarded machinery, a noise—a soft scuffle, almost imperceptible—catches your attention. You signal to Hotchner and Reid pointing towards a dark corridor off to the left.

"Stay here, cover us," Hotchner whispers. His gun raised as he edges toward the sound with Reid close behind.

You position yourself with your back to a solid surface, gun aimed at the corridor. Your mind races through various scenarios, but nothing prepares you for the sight of a figure lunging out of the shadows. Heading straight for Reid with a knife glinting in the dim light.

Without a moment's hesitation you break cover, tackling Reid out of the knife’s path. The impact sends you both sprawling to the ground just as Hotchner turns, firing off two quick shots. The unsub goes down, a groan echoing off the walls.

"Reid, you okay?" Hotchner is immediately by your side. His usual stoic demeanor replaced by concern.

"Yeah, thanks to Y/N," Reid gasps. His eyes wide with the adrenaline of the near miss.

Hotchner turns to you. His expression unreadable for a moment. Then, slowly his features soften, the corners of his eyes crinkling not with frustration, but something akin to gratitude. "Good work, Agent L/N. That was quick thinking."

Your heart pounds not just from the action but also from Hotchner's acknowledgment. "Just doing my job, sir," you manage to choke out though the gravity of the moment isn't lost on you.

As the team secures the scene and paramedics check over everyone Hotchner keeps glancing your way, his gaze lingering longer than usual. In those looks there’s a new respect, perhaps even a reassessment of his earlier doubts about you.

Later, as the team debriefs back at the BAU, Hotch publicly commends your actions. "Agent L/N’s instincts and bravery tonight might have saved Dr. Reid’s life and potentially others. Excellent work."

The team’s applause is warm, genuine, and you can't help but feel a surge of pride. More than the praise it’s Hotchner’s nod of respect towards you that marks a significant shift. It's a turning point not just in your relationship with him but in your place within the team. Your actions have not only proven your worth, but they’ve begun to dismantle the walls Hotchner had built around himself, brick by brick.

In the weeks following the intense warehouse operation the dynamic within the BAU team subtly shifts. You are no longer just the new agent. You have proven yourself as a vital part of the team. Hotchner notices the change not only in how the team interacts with you but also in his own perceptions.

One crisp autumn morning as the trees outside the Quantico offices burst with gold and russet hues, Hotchner finds himself observing you from across the bullpen. You’re assisting Morgan with recalibrating the physical training program for new recruits. The ease with which you handle the task, balancing Morgan’s strength with strategic insights, does not go unnoticed by Hotchner. There's a gentleness mixed with competence in your approach. A stark contrast to the decisive action you displayed in the field.

Later that day, you offer to stay late to help Morgan review the training schedules, ensuring they are optimized for the team’s needs. Garcia joins in eager to add her tech-savvy touch. Hotchner overhears laughter from the office you’re sharing, a sound that is light and genuine, making him pause as he packs up for the night. The sound of friendship and shared effort makes the BAU feel more like a tight nit family and he realizes you are a big part of that shift.

During a team briefing the following week Hotch openly seeks your opinion on the psychological conditioning aspects of the training program. As you outline your thoughts by citing recent research and adaptive training methods he listens intently. The team watches this interaction, clearly seeing Hotchner’s respect for you which influences their own views.

When the team encounters a critical situation with a string of high intensity raids you suggest an innovative tactical maneuver that saves valuable time and minimizes risk. Watching you handle the pressure with composed determination Hotch feels a significant shift within himself—a deep-seated respect for your skills and a growing admiration for your resilience.

It’s not just your professional competence that reshapes his thoughts but also your empathy and dedication. You take the time to ensure that the team is not only prepared physically but supported mentally. A role that enriches the team in ways Hotchner hadn't anticipated.

One evening as everyone is about to leave you pass by Hotchner’s office. He calls you in, an impromptu gesture that surprises even him. “Agent L/N,” he begins, his voice reflecting a mix of professional respect and something more tentative. “I’ve been meaning to say… your work, especially in these past weeks, has been exemplary. I initially misjudged you and I want you to know I appreciate what you bring to the team.”

Your response is a nod accompanied by a warm smile, but his words catch you off guard and a faint blush colors your cheeks. “Thank you, sir. I’m just glad to be here, and I really truly appreciate your guidance.”

It's then, in that quiet moment, as the setting sun casts a warm glow through his office window highlighting the blush on your face and the sincerity in your eyes that Hotchner sees something he hadn't fully allowed himself to recognize before. The softness of the light, the quiet dignity with which you accept his praise and the undeniable warmth of your smile strike him profoundly.

For a brief moment Hotchner is silent, observing you not just as a capable agent but as a person whose presence has subtly but indelibly changed the fabric of the team—and his own perceptions. The realization that he finds you beautiful, in more ways than one, surfaces quietly but powerfully in his mind. This acknowledgment isn't just about your physical appearance but encompasses the entirety of your influence on him and the team.

As you leave his office with a certain lightness in your step. The thoughtful look on Hotchner's face mark a turning point. It's a small almost imperceptible moment, but it’s one where personal and professional lines blur slightly, hinting at deeper unspoken possibilities that neither of you may yet fully understand.

The next case up had been grueling with long hours and high stakes that left the entire team feeling the weight of their responsibilities. As the post-case debrief wraps up in the BAU conference room the team disperses, leaving behind a palpable relief mixed with the usual fatigue. But as everyone else heads out to grasp at some much-needed rest, Hotchner lingers at the conference table organizing his notes with more care than perhaps necessary.

Seeing you gathering your belongings slowly he finds the resolve to address the change he's felt brewing within him. "Agent L/N, could I have a moment?" he asks. His voice much softer than usual.

You nod, curious, setting your bag down and returning to the table. The room is quiet now, lit only by the dim lights left on for the night shift.

Hotchner takes a deep breath, his demeanor uncharacteristically open. "I owe you an apology," he starts. His eyes meeting yours. "When you first joined the team, I was... less than welcoming. I questioned your capabilities. Not because of any fault in your record or your behavior, but because I was resistant to the change you represented."

You listen, surprised by his candor, as he continues, "I've always insisted on control, on predictability. After everything I’ve been through, it seemed like the only way to protect the team, to protect my family from further loss. But I've come to realize that I was protecting myself more than anyone."

Hotchner pauses. His gaze shifting away momentarily before returning to yours, more intense, more vulnerable. "You’ve brought a new perspective to the team, a resilience and warmth that I didn't know we needed. You've saved lives, not just through your actions in the field but by being who you are. And...” he hesitates, the next words clearly weighing heavily on him, “and I find myself grateful, not just for your contributions to the team, but for the light you've brought into my life."

Your heart skips a beat at his words. The formal barriers between you melting away in the quiet honesty of the moment. “Thank you, Hotch," you respond, your voice low. You were touched by his admission. "I’ve always admired your dedication and getting to see this side of you, it means a lot."

Hotchner nods with a slight smile breaking through his usual reserve. "I guess what I’m really trying to say is, I would like to... explore this, whatever this is, with you. If you’re open to it," he adds quickly, almost awkwardly.

As the room quiets and you acknowledge Aaron Hotchner’s feelings. Even though your elated you feel that pit of dread form in your stomach. Aaron was your superior… a shadow of concern passes over your face, quickly deepening into visible anxiety. "Hotch," you start, your voice carrying a mix of hope and worry that quickly spirals into panic. "What about Strauss? If things change between us... I mean, if we do this, couldn’t it really complicate things? What if it impacts the team, or your position, or—"

Seeing your distress, Hotchner steps closer. His expression softening significantly as he picks up on your escalating fears. "Hey," he interjects gently, his tone soothing. "Let’s just take a moment, okay?"

You pause, your breath shaky, caught up in the whirlwind of potential consequences that his words had unwittingly unleashed.

Hotchner reaches out slowly. He was giving you time to accept his comfort before his hands rest lightly on your shoulders. "We're not going to rush into anything," he assures you, his voice calm and steady. "Yes, there are risks, and you’re absolutely right to consider them. But we’re not in this alone. We have a team that supports us, and we have each other."

His words help, but it's the firm comforting presence of his hands, the warmth from his touch, that really begins to calm your racing thoughts. "We'll be careful," he continues. "We’ll make decisions together. I respect you too much to let this cause you any distress. If it ever becomes too much, we stop and we stay professional. That’s a promise."

Your breathing slows, steadied by his reassurances. Looking into his eyes you find a sincere commitment there. A steadiness that you’ve always admired in him now directed towards nurturing whatever might grow between you.

Seeing that you’re still tense, Hotchner does something he rarely does—he pulls you gently into a hug. It’s a careful gesture making sure to respect the boundaries but offering comfort. "We’ll handle whatever comes, together," he murmurs. "You're not in this alone."

The hug was unexpected but deeply comforting. It helps to dissolve the last of your apprehensions. You let out a slow breath, allowing yourself to lean into the embrace. You felt a sense of safety in his support.

"Thank you, Hotch," you manage to say with your voice muffled slightly against his shoulder. "I needed to hear that. One step at a time. I can do that."

"One step at a time," he confirms. Giving you a reassuring squeeze before stepping back to respect your space. "We have all the time we need."

As you both leave the conference room, your steps feel lighter. The burden of immediate decisions lifted. With Hotch’s support you feel ready to face whatever challenges might come knowing that not just the weight of the case, but also the weight of new possibilities could be shared.

In the weeks that follow your relationship with Hotchner develops quietly but deeply. Both of you are cautious, acutely aware of the professional boundaries that must be maintained in the intense environment of the BAU. Yet outside of those walls, in the small, stolen moments you find together, a new world seems to unfold. A world where you can be just Aaron and Y/N, not agents with burdens too heavy to bear alone.

You start with simple coffee dates after long shifts where the conversation drifts from case debriefs to shared interests in literature and quiet confessions about your lives outside the FBI. These moments are a revelation, filled with laughter and soft looks that linger longer than necessary. They are moments that stitch the fabric of your relationship tighter with every thread of shared vulnerability and joy.

Aaron, who has always been guarded with his emotions, finds in you an understanding ear and a comforting presence. You learn about his son, Jack, about the painful loss of his wife, and how these experiences shaped him, not just as an agent but as a man who fiercely protects those he loves. Your empathy and gentle encouragement help him navigate the lingering shadows of his past. Allowing him to embrace the possibility of happiness again.

For you, Aaron becomes the person you didn’t know you needed in his strength. His steadfast nature and unyielding integrity inspire you, guiding you through the complexities of your role within the BAU. His belief in your abilities boosts your confidence and his support becomes your anchor in the turbulent sea of your demanding careers.

Together you navigate the highs and lows of life at the BAU. After particularly harrowing cases it’s Aaron who helps you decompress by taking long walks by the lake near your apartment or simply sitting together in comfortable silence. And it’s you who brings light into his evenings with Jack making sure to join them for movie nights and slowly becoming part of the family he holds dear.

The relationship does not go unnoticed by the team but the respect you both maintain at work ensures that your personal lives enrich your professionalism rather than detract from it. Your colleagues see the subtle changes—how Aaron smiles a bit more, how you’re both more relaxed despite the demands of your job.

After a few months of dating, you and Aaron walk hand in hand along the quiet paths of a nearby park, he stops, pulling you close. The city lights cast a soft glow around you, and the world feels like it’s holding its breath. "Y/N, these past months have shown me something I hadn’t dared to hope for," he says, his voice low and full of emotion. "That it’s possible to find light even in the darkest places. You’ve brought that light into my life."

You smile while reaching up to touch his face gently. "And you’ve shown me that strength isn’t just about holding up the world on your own, but knowing when to share the load," you reply, your heart full. "I love you, Aaron."

"I love you too, Y/N," he whispers, and as he leans down to kiss you, it feels like a promise. A promise of a future together where love and understanding can thrive amidst the chaos of the life you’ve chosen.

As autumn turns into winter the relationship between you and Aaron blooms amidst the frosty edges of the season, weaving warmth into the crisp air around you. Your love, quiet but profound, becomes the silent strength that both of you draw from during the demanding days at the BAU.

One chilly December evening after a usually tough case that had stretched your limits and tested your resilience, Aaron plans something special to celebrate not just the end of the case but the life you are building together. When you arrive at his house after the long day, you find the living room transformed into a cozy winter wonderland. It was complete with soft blankets, flickering candles, and a fireplace that crackles with warmth.

Jack was at a sleepover and Aaron greets you at the door with a gentle smile dressed in a comfortable sweater that makes him look homier than ever. "I thought we could use a quiet night in," he smiles while leading you into the room.

The table is set with your favorite foods and there’s a gentle playlist humming through the speakers filled with songs that have slowly become 'yours'. Aaron pulls out a chair for you, his manners impeccable as always, but his eyes are shining with a joy that is purely personal. As you eat, the conversation flows easily—plans for the holiday, funny anecdotes from the day, shared dreams for the future. After dinner Aaron leads you to the couch where a blanket is draped invitingly. He sits beside you pulling you close into his side, and you nestle against him feeling the steady beat of his heart.

“Y/N,” Aaron murmurs, his voice soft in the quiet of the room, “when I think about all we’ve been through, I realize every moment led me right here, to this. To us. I can’t imagine my life without you.”

You look up at him touched by the sincerity in his voice. “And I can’t imagine a better person to share my life with,” you reply. Your hand finding his. “You make everything... brighter. More beautiful.”

Aaron smiles, his gaze tender. “I have something for you,” he says while reaching into his pocket to pull out a small, exquisitely wrapped box. He opens it to reveal a delicate silver necklace with a pendant that glimmers softly in the firelight—a compass.

“It’s to remind us that no matter where we go or what cases we face, we’ll always find our way back to each other,” he explains. His fingers brushing lightly over the pendant before fastening it around your neck.

You touch the pendant overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness of the gift. “It’s perfect, Aaron. Just like this night, like this.”

He leans in with his lips meeting yours in a kiss that is slow and sweet, a seal over promises made and kept. The rest of the evening passes in gentle laughter, shared kisses, and dreams whispered between the folds of blankets under the watchful glow of firelight and twinkling stars outside your window.

Aaron Hotchner/Criminal Minds: Permanent Taglist (If you'd like to be added to any or all works please fill out the form here: (Taglist Sign Up) @loving-and-dreaming @kmc1989 @memeorydotcom @matisse556 @buckylov3r @taygrls @ah-blossom @daily-evanstan @hardballoonlove @14buddy22 @rosiahills22 @djs8891 @mrs-ssa-hotch @panandinpain0 @viscade @kreepja @il0vebeingdelulu @hiireadstuff @kajjaka @guacam011y

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[prodigal-if]

Prodigal is an up-and-coming Murder Mystery IF that depicts a tale of deceit, latent pain, and a hidden past that could either heal or completely destroy.

The Reaper— it’s a name that’s haunted you for a little over two decades now. One of the most infamous serial killers of the 20th Century, in New York City. Killing over 25 people, most believing the final tally is much more, and not getting caught until one fateful day. When you were the reason behind his arrest.

The Reaper— the boogeyman made flesh.

The Reaper— the man that made New York City hold its breath until his arrest.

The Reaper— your father.

You’ve tried getting past it, fighting through the darkness that always seems to follow you, and for the last few years you’ve been fairly successful; working for the FBI giving you just the distraction you needed. Being one of their top profilers, as you found it easy to get into the mind of a killer, you even started to believe that your past would stop haunting you.

Until you were fired for misconduct and you found yourself back in New York City, back where it all happened. Will you finally be able to find peace? Especially when you begin to work with the Major Crimes Unit of the NYPD?

Or was the boogeyman just waiting all this time to finally strike?

Features

Customizable MC: name, nickname, some hobbies, appearance, sexuality, and gender. Other things will probably crop up as the story continues too.

Will you fight your demons or succumb to them?

Reconnect with your family after being away for so long. How much has changed? Will you be able to uncover things that are amiss?

Solve cases with the Major Crimes Unit, and solve a much deeper mystery that seems to always be lurking within the back of your mind.

Romance 1 of 4 potential options. Will they help you heal?

Don’t forget about the boogeyman…

LINK — Prospective release Late March/Early April

Ross/Rose Garner

Between Detective Bishop and Detective Garner, the latter is much more open to working with you than the former. With an open smile, that's only slightly tinged by weariness, they're willing to give you a chance and see where that takes them. Offering an olive branch, a helping hand, whenever you could use one. Will you be able to offer them something else in return?

Appearance: Detective Garner stands at a solid 5'10" with sharp blue eyes. Slightly curly, raven black hair complements their olive complexion, mixed with a light brown hue. They have a lithe body type.

Daniel/Danielle Bishop

Detective Bishop isn't as open to you joining the Major Crimes Unit as a Consultant-- not because of any inherent dislike of you, though that may be there somewhere, but for the simple reason of not being as trusting as their partner and boss. Will you be able to crack through their defenses? To the person that's willing to quip an amused one-liner, or crack open a cold beer and hang out? Or will they forever remain a mystery to you?

Appearance: Detective Bishop stands at around 6'2" with closed-off gray eyes. Brown hair, with bits of golden highlights strewn throughout, brings out the fair complexion of their skin. They have an athletic body from years as an athlete beforehand.

Ethan/Emily Yang

The mortician that helps the Major Crimes Unit with every case that comes their way. With an almost innocent quality about them, despite being surrounded by death on a daily basis, they couldn't help but be fascinated by you and your knowledge. Will you only ever share your scientific thoughts with them, and a joke or two, or will something else evolve as you continue to grow ever closer?

Appearance: Doctor Yang stands at a whopping height of 5'7" with intelligently kind brown eyes. Ebony black hairs brings out the porcelain hue of their skin. Along with the delicately slender quality of their body, Doctor Yang is surely a sight to behold.

Caleb/Carina Sinclair

Your old partner in the FBI-- a person that took their job seriously, but you never believed that they'd leave you behind too. Their walls of ice, of stoicism and vast professionalism, had always fallen away for you and only you. They never looked at you like you were something broken because of your past. Will you ever find out the reason they left you behind? Or is it a case, a mystery, you're just never meant to solve?

Appearance: Special Agent Sinclair stands at a striking 6'5" with piercing green eyes-- the likes you've never seen before. Wavy, blonde hair complements the lightly tanned quality of their skin. Their muscular build, from hours spent training, barely being hidden by the standard issued suit for a Federal Agent.

Special: Can choose to have had a romantic entanglement with them in the past (something like FWBs).

#prodigal #upcoming if #choice of games #hosted games #no demo #interactive fiction #interactive novel

[racefortheironthrone]

Never experienced much gimmickry bank robberies when I've lived in Rio de Janeiro and Johannesburg it was more hearing about muggings, break-ins or carjackings, but those cities felt a bit Gotham City-esque in answering the question of "with so much crime why would anybody ever chose to live in Gotham City" more than New York.

Certainly, places with extreme levels of inequality tend to see a lot of "muggings, break-ins or car-jacking" (a fair bit of kidnapping for ransom too).

And we have to understand that when superhero comics were invented in the U.S, the U.S was just starting to come out of a major crime wave that had begun during Prohibition that saw the birth of organized crime and the gangster alike. The largely Jewish creators many of whom from the Lower East Side were very familiar with New York City underworld figures like Arnold Rothstein, Bugsy Siegel, Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and knew these guys basically owned City Hall and the NYPD - this, not fascism, is at the heart of the vigilante tradition in American comic books.

Likewise, creators and readers throughout the United States would have been very familiar with the bank robbers and kidnappers like the Barker Gang or Bonnie and Clyde or Pretty Boy Floyd or John Dillinger, because these people were national celebrities thanks to the newsreels and the radio. A huge amount of the political capital that J. Edgar Hoover would rely on to corrupt the U.S government for the next forty years was won in the "G-Men's" war against these "Public Enemies." (Notably, Hoover did virtually nothing to solve the other problem of organized crime and refused to accept the existence of the mafia well into the 50s.)

So as with so much else, the image of urban crime in superhero comics is the memory of working-class Jewish writers and artists of the hoodlums who terrorized their neighborhoods while the government did nothing to protect people.

#comics #comics meta #historical analysis #u.s history #history of crime #the world outside your window #organized crime #gangsters

[sourwolf-sterek32]

Stranger Things Fics

Rock Bottom (Completed)

Summary: Eddie finds you out by the quarry after discovering the cuts on your wrist.

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.8k

Warnings: major talk/description of self-harm, cutting and depression.

-

Whispers of a Ghost (Completed)

Summary: You were Billy Hargrove's twin sister.

After recently being released from jail for a crime you didn't commit, your family moves to Hawkins wanting a fresh start.

However, you never imagined that your fresh start would involve monsters and alternate dimensions. But, the most surprising thing of all was finding yourself falling for popular, rich boy, Steve Harrington.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Implied/reference sexual assault, child abuse, language, blood, violence 

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 / Chapter 10 / Chapter 11 / Chapter 12 / Chapter 13 / Chapter 14 / Chapter 15 / Chapter 16 / Chapter 17 / Chapter 18 / Chapter 19 / Chapter 20 / Chapter 21 / Chapter 22 / Chapter 23 / Chapter 24 / Chapter 25 / Chapter 26

or 

Read on AO3

-

10 Things I Hate About You (Completed)

Summary: Jason Carver cannot date Chrissy until her anti-social sister, Y/N, has a boyfriend. So, Jason pays Eddie Munson to charm her.

Or

Basically an Eddie Munson fic based on the movie 10 Things I Hate About You that nobody asked for.

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Warnings: child abuse, violence, language, drugs, slight reference to eating disorders

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8

-

The Chief’s Daughter (Completed)

Summary: It had been six years since your father left you behind in New York. However, now that your mother was gone, you had no choice but to drive to Hawkins to find him. That's where you meet Billy Hargrove, who turns your life upside down... literally.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Fem!Reader

Warnings: language, mentions/descriptions of child abuse (Neil Hargrove is a piece of shit) so if that triggers please don’t read this, look after yourselves first xx

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 / Chapter 10 / Chapter 11 / Chapter 12 / Chapter 13 / Chapter 14 / Chapter 15 / Chapter 16 / Chapter 17 / Chapter 18 / Chapter 19 / Chapter 20 / Chapter 21 / Chapter 22 / Chapter 23 / Chapter 24 / Chapter 25 / Chapter 26 / Chapter 27 / Chapter 28

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Serve & Protect (In Progress)

Summary:  You moved to the small quiet town of Hawkins after transferring from the NYPD and reunite with your old partner, Jim Hopper. However, Hawkins isn't as quiet as it seems, and your past follows you there.

Pairing: Jim Hopper x Fem!Reader

Warnings: language, violence, past abuse/SA

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / 

-

Rock Bottom (Completed)

Summary: Billy finds you out by the quarry after discovering the cuts on your wrist.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.9k

Warnings: major talk/description of self-harm, cutting and depression.

-

Rock Bottom (Completed)

Summary: Steve finds you out by the quarry after discovering the cuts on your wrist.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.8k

Warnings: major talk/description of self-harm, cutting and depression.

-

Rock Bottom (Completed)

Summary: Jonathan finds you out by the quarry after discovering the cuts on your wrist.

Pairing: Jonathan Byers x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.9k

Warnings: major talk/description of self-harm, cutting and depression.

-

#steve harrington #Steve Harrington x reader #Steve Harrington fanfic #Steve Harrington x y/n #billy hargrove #reader is Billy’s sister #eddie munson #stranger things #stranger things fanfic #joe keery #dacre montgomery #joseph quinn

[mieohmy]

sticky situations | mark lee

PAIRING: spiderman! mark lee x sidekick! afab reader

GENRE: superhero! au, f2ls, romance, action, SLOW BURN, angst, fluff, humor

WORD COUNT: 9.2k

NOTES: profanity, depictions of violence, bombings, weapons, blood/injuries, obliviousness, kissing, some sexual references and uh sexual tension but fr none of that

SUMMARY: you never thought you’d be partners in crime with the red and blue spandex wearing hero who is not only your friend mark, but also the guy you secretly have a crush on. 

author’s note: here it is!!! this main story takes place between 1-2 years after the prologue. i felt like the whole story was too long to combine into one + the time skip was kinda abrupt so i decided to split it in terms of plot/action :)) even tho the prologue is almost as long as the main story skndskjd. also! you don’t have to read the prologue to understand but imo it would help the story make more sense? anyways, thank you for reading

“thanks for letting me borrow it,” you remark simply, throwing the oversized hoodie at mark’s face. 

he manages to catch it cleanly without a second thought, eyes still focused on the screen in front of him alongside chenle, who pauses at the interaction. still playing the game, he shoots you two a weird look. “so now you guys share clothes?” 

you stick your tongue out teasingly at him. “and? i would steal yours too if you let me but when have you ever offered?” chenle lets out a grunt- whether it was in response to you or because he messed up in the game, you’re not sure.

you didn’t think that finding out mark lee was spiderman two years ago would lead you to spend majority (you actually calculated and it came out to be around 67%) of your time with just him, but you weren’t complaining. nor did you think you would grow this close, especially with your... complicated feelings, but never once did you regret it. 

it meaning confronting mark and somehow becoming his trusty sidekick that tried to make sure he didn’t die (note: tried, like really fucking hard to where you think you have 10 times more wrinkles from stress). 

you move to place the bag of food on mark’s kitchen counter before looking around. “where’s everyone else?” 

“hyuck hasn’t shown up yet, and jisung went out to get drinks,” mark answered dutifully, laying back onto the couch with his hands behind his head in satisfaction as his shirt rises slightly, showing an inch or two of his bare stomach. 

as you make your way to sit next to him, you eyes fall on the slight slip of skin. without thinking much about it, you tug his shirt down like a protective mother before landing on the couch next to him with a small oof! 

again, chenle mumbles something under his breath at your action before shaking his head. if donghyuck was here, he thinks, you two would never hear the end of it. then again, when did you? 

you observe the two play for some time, listening to their frustrated cries and groans. 

eventually, jisung shows up with a heavy grocery bag, donghyuck in tow. 

“what took you guys so long?” chenle complains, throwing the game controller on the table. you help jisung with the bulging bag as hyuck takes off his shoes. “sorry, i think there was some sort of shootout a couple of blocks away. the police weren’t showing up- god i hate the nypd sometimes.” 

immediately, you freeze and jisung yelps as a couple of drinks slip from your grasp onto the floor. you don’t even spare a glance at mark, looking up donghyuck instead while swallowing. 

“and did they show up?” 

he shrugs harmlessly. “dunno. seemed like they were taking their sweet time though,” and you squeeze your eyes shut in frustration. peeking at mark, you notice the visible furrow of his eyebrows. he catches your eyes on him and initiates a silent conversation between you two. 

his eyes flash at you and you sigh in defeat. “sorry guys, but me and mark have an accident. i think i left something important for our assignment back at the labs.” 

the boys look at you with wide eyes- well, except for mark who only gives them sheepish looks. well damn, how good did he get at lying? you once thought he wasn’t a good actor but here he was proving you wrong. you couldn’t say anything anymore as you were in on it too now. 

jisung speaks up first, “is it so important that you can’t wait until tomorrow to get it?” 

you look at mark and he shakes his head firmly. “our whole experiment will get messed up. sorry y/n, it’s really my bad,” he stares at you with a (fake?) apologetic look and you have to hold back a scoff. 

“i need to get something from my room before we go,” he gives you a signal and you nod, only hoping he can find a good way to hide his entire suit in front of the others. 

turns out, he can. he was spiderman, after all. mark grabs a whole overcoat, saying some random comment about how cold it was getting outside, and you practically dash out of his apartment. “sorry guys, don’t wait on us,” you call out before shutting the door. 

you both dash down the stairs, mark obviously faster than you, and you reach the bottom huffing and puffing. he finds an obscure place under the staircase to change. you were so used to it at this point that you found no reason to look away. he had his underwear on at least, mark was way too modest to go commando. 

“wait a second,” you stare at him in desperation. “how the hell am i going to get to your room?” 

he freezes. “fuck.” this was the worst time ever to have a hangout at mark’s apartment. now you understood why he never offered his place back then. 

your entire setup was crafted in his room, so you would normally stay there until mark returned from his adventures safely. but this time it was different, you couldn’t sneak in with your friends there who literally just witnessed you walk out. 

and plus, mark’s room was locked (for obvious reasons). 

“j-just go through my window, it’s unlocked.” 

you eyes bulge. “your room window?” your neck cranes as you take a glance at the dark window, a grand total of five floors up. you can hear the desperation in his voice as you sigh. 

“im sorry y/n, i didn’t think this through.” obviously, neither did you. “but we really need to hurry, at least i do. i can work without you, you know. solo was how i worked for an entire year.” 

you shake your head firmly. “i know that you’re capable enough, but you never know what can happen. the police might not show up like the countless times in the past where they didn’t.”

he’s about to protest but you push him forward into the light. “go, and i’ll find a way. i trust you and you trust me.”

he takes a step back reluctantly and you mouth a be careful before turning to face the obstacle ahead of you. now what? 

you grunt, climbing the rickety fireplace escape, cursing silently when you almost slip. this was way too old to be on par with current safety guidelines. but adrenaline courses through your veins (probably from fear of falling to your death) and you somehow make it up to the fifth floor without much ruckus. 

as carefully and quietly as possible to avoid arousing suspicion from the boys literally feet away from you in mark’s apartment, you unlatch his bedroom window. 

you weren’t the most graceful, but you manage to sneak in with a few soft grunts. your body was not made for this. 

his room is dark, but you realize you cannot turn on the lights or else face death if the boys were to notice. letting out a long breath in relief of finally making it and not dying, you take out your phone flashlight and get set up. 

you can hear the rambunctious laughs and chatter from outside. for the first time ever, you thank them for their noise. 

in mere seconds you’re up and connected, seeing mark’s point of view and whispering a can you hear me?

it doesn’t take you long to recognize where he is, as it was just a few streets down from where you currently were. 

“yeah,” he says confidently. “so you made it alright?” you roll your eyes before muttering a, “yes. barely.” 

but he doesn’t seem to catch the last bit. 

“did you figure out the situation?” you study the surrounding area. he nods although you can’t see it. “don’t worry, i got it all figured out.” 

you sit back, occasionally clicking a few buttons and whispering to mark. a few groans of pain and 10 minutes later, the situation is cleared up- no police in sight. 

“clean,” you comment. you can hear him chuckle and you smile. “now hurry up and come back before anyone gets suspicious.”

“you too,” he reminds and this time you actually curse out loud. taking off the earpiece and peeking out the window, down the unsteady fire escape to the hard concrete ground, you rub at your temples. 

you forget who really got you into this mess- 

yourself. 

· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·

sometimes, you didn’t realize how much of your time was spent on mark. you and mark even had your own table at mick’s where late at night you would go to talk “spider strategy” as you coined it. 

you started going to feast with him occasionally, at first you used the excuse to just get to know mark better while helping others out, but soon you gave up and just wanted to spend more time with him selfishly. his aunt may that worked there greeted you comfortably, as well as the homeless people that were starting to remember your name the more and more you went. as well as the fact that they always mistook you two as a couple, no matter how many times you denied it. even miss may tried several times to get you to call her aunt as well, but you couldn’t. 

at work, it was the same. from the day you started acting as his “person behind the screen,” normally you and mark would partner up for projects. the guys gave you shit for it but you always denied anything between you and mark. mostly because you always kept that secret conversation between mark and donghyuck in your heart- a wall to shield you from any kind of pain that would come from wanting something more from mark, your friend that you had feelings for since a long time ago. 

so yes, it was fear that kept you from confessing. even if that conversation was from so long ago, you enjoyed your friendship with him now. it wasn’t like you guys were besties- that title was for donghyuck and donghyuck only, but it was special. it was different since you were the only one that knew his secret. never would you want to ruin your friendship and partnership with him, if you went for that further step. that fear made you bury your feelings deep within, for as long as you could possibly still stand. you were the same coward as you were when you first started liking him. 

but those same feelings make you realize how whipped you are for him. your coffee intake rose to at least three cups a day, to which the boys protested but man did you stay up countless days worrying for and with mark. to the point where you have to create crazy excuses to make a sprint for his place and get behind the screen or to help inconspicuously when his zipper gets stuck on his suit at work (and constantly deny the fact that you two weren’t fucking in the resources closet when you got caught.)

or the moments where mark stops by your desk to talk, sometimes not about spiderman stuff and you smile happily. everyone knows it, regardless of you trying to pretend that it’s nothing and wondering if mark was doing the same or if he was truly that oblivious. 

how when renjun from another department came to ask you for a pencil and mark suddenly appeared out of nowhere. 

you place a hand on your racing heart. “what the hell are you doing here and how the hell did you get here so fast?“ stupid question, but instead of replying as he normally does, mark narrows his eyes at renjun. 

“why are you asking y/n for a pencil?” your mouth opens to speak but you forget how good his hearing is. it really isn’t fair. perhaps you should get bit by a spider too. 

renjun eyes him suspiciously. “they were the first available person i saw?” you join in by shooting him a confused look too. what was he doing? 

it wasn’t the first time, either. strange enough, mark was always there anytime it was any boy that wasn’t chenle, hyuck, or jisung. 

and from an outsiders perspective, the same could’ve been said for you. whenever any girl asked mark for help or got too close physically, the unconscious deathly glares you gave in comparison to your normally meek and chill behavior was shocking to say the least.

either way, you were content with how life was now. through all the blood, sweat, and secret tears, you liked how it was right now. and you wouldn’t want anything to change. 

· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·

you take your claimed seat at mick’s as mark easily slides into the chair across from you. he asked and you agreed to meet up after work today, no questions asked.

the owner is used to you two, sending you free food occasionally since you’ve become regulars there. the old man, mr. lee, always looks at the two of you with a fond smile, remarking about how he used to act like that with his wife. when you questioned him about his wife, a faraway look grew in his eyes. 

“she passed away, five years ago.” your mouth opened as you started to apologize. he laughed, watching you with a twinkle in his eyes. 

“don’t worry about it. just enjoy your time with him,” he gestured to mark sitting at your table innocently waiting for you. “don’t take it for granted.” 

you blushed but didn’t say anything, just nodding and thanking him. 

today you figured mark wanted to meet up and talk about the app you were working on, one to interact with civilians that had issues and needed spiderman’s help, but it seems as that wasn’t his intention as he sips on his water while glancing up at you with doe eyes. 

you stifle a laugh at his expression, a fond look on your face. 

“aunt may wants to know how you’re doing.” 

you raise an eyebrow. “this is why we came to micks? to talk about that?” 

he gives you a playful scowl. “or maybe i just wanted to hang out with you. now answer the question.”

you clear your throat. “okay, okay. i’m good. i don’t know why you have to ask me when you already know, but-“

he shakes his head in amusement. “she likes you too much. sometimes i think even more than me.” 

you laugh, and he laughs at your laugh. “of course.” you pause to yawn and he stops laughing. 

“how much sleep are you getting?” you hate the amount of concern in his voice. 

you shrug, “i didn’t drink coffee today. after you kept lecturing me about how bad it was for me to drink so much, i started cutting down. but i suppose im still getting more sleep than you.” 

he clicks his tongue in disappointment. “because it is bad for you! and for the record, i got 5 hours of sleep yesterday.” 

you clap over-enthusiastically and he giggles. “im so proud of you mark lee,” you state half-sarcastically. you freeze when he reaches over and tussles your hair softly as if you were a dog. 

“i’m proud of you too.” 

“for what?” 

he shrugs, smiling softly. “i dunno. but i am.” your eyes crinkle as you glance at him and mark finds himself stuck on the sight. “okay, weirdo.” 

the conversation continues on like that, and you almost lose track of the time. when you see the numbers 12 on your phone, you grimace. “i need to get going. i completely forget about the time.”

he actually pouts. mark lee, spiderman, whatever, pouts like a five year old.

“what? i mean, i did too but you want to leave me that early?”

you can tell he’s joking because he’s comfortable with you, but you still sigh. 

“maybe im trying to be a decent human today and get home early to sleep.” 

“okay, we can go,” mark listens without another word, getting up to clean your table. he was always thoughtful and attentive. 

when you both finish, saying goodbye to the poor worker left at their shift, you start on your way back home. when you feel his presence behind you, you stop and turn. 

“why are you following me?”

mark’s eyes are wide as he looks at you, just like a child. “to make sure you’re safe.” 

you cross your arms, also like a child although internally you warm up at his heartfelt gesture. “i can take care of myself, you know.” he pretends to think with an unsure look and you smack him playfully. 

“alright, alright, i know you can. but i’m still walking with you. it makes me feel better knowing you’re safe. and that’s with me.” 

you grumble some incoherent response. 

when you reach your apartment, you urge mark to leave.

“you want me to go that badly?”

“yeah,” you deadpan and mark fakes a sad look. you wave him off and he winks before coolly saluting goodbye. 

once he gets out of your sight, closing the door behind you with a soft click, you exhale, tiredly placing your head on the door with a thump. 

your hand comes over your chest, placed over your pumping heart, urging it to calm down. 

· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·

mark isn’t used to villains. he’s dealt with a couple, some with you and some without you. they weren’t common and weren’t the usual trivial crimes that he was used to, the ones that occurred on the daily basis in new york. 

most of them didn’t last long, the longest was the rhino, and it was about a week or two before mark was able to get him locked up. 

he didn’t even know what constituted as a villain. he figured the ones that the media talked about for more than two days and the police couldn’t capture were villains. so when mark watches the news late at night as he usually did, keeping out for any crime he had to fight, he’s surprised to find a fresh criminal that new york city has discovered. 

it piques his interest- a hacker that went by a number, of all things. 

the number twenty four. 

some strange hacker revealing secret information about small companies, essentially trashing their reputation and putting them out of business. it hadn’t grown too serious yet, but the question remained. how did they get this information? and what were they going to do with it?

he wonders why, but the crimes committed by this strange #24 that the new reporter lists wasn’t enough to make mark have a second thought. 

yet. 

but the number keeps appearing up in the news, and you start to get increasingly worried. when you tell mark, his reaction is a little too nonchalant for you. 

“didn’t you hear? they just took down another company. that’s the fifth one.” 

mark nods, “yeah but we all know those five were pretty corrupted. maybe they’re doing a good thing, you know? i don’t want to jump into something that might be good for new york.”

you tilt your head at his words. sometimes mark was a little too positive, a little naive to always see the good in situations. “sure those businesses were corrupt, but the way this guy is just exposing all their crimes is like a crime itself, mark. we need to watch out. if they have all this information, who knows what else they’re able to do.”

he finally looks you in the eye. “don’t worry, y/n. i promise to intervene if things get worse, but i really think we should wait and see what happens. ” 

you trust mark, you understand where he’s coming from. after all his years of experience, you don’t question him. his promise gives you some relief, but you still have a gut feeling. 

and it wasn’t a good one. 

so it turns out you were right, once again. you’re at the labs when you hear the repetitive sounds of the police and ambulance. not again. 

you take a glance around you. there are people staring outside, whispering nervously. a bombing at a nearby small company. 

and for some reason, you think you know who did it.

when mark gets the chance to escape, he makes a run for it. he’s gotten good at slipping on the suit faster, and finding a better hiding spot so no one walks in on him like you did. he leaps off the building rooftop with ease, as he’s done countless times.

he knows he’s late, but he was so distracted with work he didn’t get the chance to check the news. you weren’t even there with him because you got caught up at work, but you told him to be careful before he left. perhaps there’s something he can still do. something for those innocent lives in that company building (if it was still there). 

when he reaches the building, his heart sinks. a solid portion was scorched, burned and black. the police there yell at him to get away but he ignores them. “are there any people left in there?” mark asks.

the officer glares at him before answering. “not that we know of. no deaths, just some injured but they’re already on their way to the hospital. we’ve got this under control, spiderman. you can leave.” 

he squints. “so you’re not sure?” 

the officer is obviously annoyed, but still answers. “the damage is too big to assess right now. we’re still searching.” 

bullshit, mark knows. so instead of listening to the police, he shoots a web to swing into the damaged part of the building. make moves swiftly, swinging when he has to and running when the ground is clear enough for him to cover all possible space. 

it doesn’t seem as if there’s anyone one as he double checks the place. who could have done this? 

mark’s about to leave, sure that no one has remained, but he freezes when he catches a glimpse of a faint light at the end of one of the rooms. cautiously, he makes his way over. and it’s just as he feared, or maybe even worse. 

one of the undamaged company computer screens, shining brightly with only the large white numbers, 

#24. 

· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·

it continues like that for a week. attacks on corrupt companies and buildings. some innocent lives harmed and some not so innocent. and everytime, mark is too late. the two numbers always mocking him whenever he arrives.  

the #24 constantly shows up on the news and mark is sick of it. he doesn’t know what to do. it’s the first time there’s no physical person, no identity or anything. just some random hacker with his own tricks as they hide behind a screen. 

it’s even worse with the city in unrest. the police are obviously no help, and spiderman’s supporters are counting on him. but how can he do anything when he has nothing? 

a video is released after another week of failed attempts. a muffled, distorted voice taunting spiderman to come get him. that is, if he even could. 

you’re not much better. you try your best to get as much information to help mark, but you’re at a dead end. and the longer this goes on and the longer mark can’t do anything, you can feel the tension building from within. 

with darker eye bags each and everyday, mark becomes more quiet. you can tell his mind is constantly distracted, drifting away as he replays every failure the last few weeks. you’re trying to help him, truly. 

so what can you do when he snaps at you- telling you to stay out of it because you could be targeted next. 

“our whole building could be next, y/n. i really don’t want to see my friends get blown up.” you frown. mark is never like this.

“mark,” you call out, “this isn’t you. i understand, you really want to get this guy, but you can’t act like this.” he falters. 

“you can’t keep pushing me away,” you press, “we’re in this together- we’ve been in this together and i won’t let this dumb guy get in the way.” 

“only cause you practically forced me to let you help,” he quips quietly and you scoff. “yeah and you think it’s helpful, or else you would’ve gotten rid of me a long time ago.” 

well, he can’t fight with that.

“come on,” you take his hand in your warm ones, and he looks up at you. your forehead creases in concern at the sight of him. it’s like all the life has left him. 

“don’t worry. we’ll work together to get this guy. he won’t get octavius because we won’t let him. i know you won’t let him.” you stare into his dark orbs, hoping he sees your genuineness and assurance. your breath hitches when he suddenly hugs you. for some reason, you treasure this hug, inhaling his scent and familiarity. 

“thank you, y/n.” 

· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·

somehow, in the dawn of the morning, you get some information.

it was a long time coming, since you started your research on this strange #24 the moment they popped up in the news. but you finally got something. 

after reviewing the footage from mark and taking all the data from the companies attacked, locations, and most importantly, the video released to mock spiderman, you get the model of the technology they use. 

and it’s not cheap or common. there’s no way they could’ve gotten to where they were with a mere dell computer. no, their device came from a specific seller with a specific location in new york. 

excited at finally finding something, you drag mark to the location where #24 bought his tech. and end up with a dead end. 

customer confidentiality. 

“-is fucking stupid,” you sigh. you apologize to mark but he shakes it off. “at least you found something. ha, it’s funny how you use your computer skills to find out about this guy when they’ve been doing the same this entire time.” 

you purse your lips. “we’re getting there, mark. i can feel it, we can get through to this fucker.” 

“yeah, but it’s not like i can get to them physically, you know? we have no clue who this guy really is since he hides behind that screen of his. in fact,” 

mark frowns before a realization hits him. he looks at you with an expression you can’t read, making you feel unsure. 

“he’s kinda like you.” 

· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·

as much as you reassure mark, you can tell he’s still beating himself up harshly for everything. he’s on a constant rollercoaster, sometimes in good spirits and confident that he can catch the guy, and other days down and negative. 

you would’ve been the same in his position. always used to helping others, being the reliable superhero that many looked up to. and then suddenly, sometimes comes and that preconception is shattered. people are hurt, people are scared, and you think it’s all your fault. 

you’re usually the one at mark’s place, not the other way around. and you’re mostly by his side when he goes out to fight crime, at the same desk watching over him. so what do you do when mark shows up at your place, as spiderman, obviously out on his rendezvous without letting you know? 

right as you open the door and see his expression, you know it isn’t good. 

he stalks in, tense and rigid without a single word. “mark!” you watch him, surprised. “what’s going on?”

he shakes his head, breathing heavily. “i can’t get this guy. no matter what, i don’t know what to do. everything we’ve tried, he’s just going to take it all to ruin.“

you place an hand on his shoulder, prompting him to look at you. you shiver at his bloodshot eyes through the mask, utterly soulless. 

“trust me, we will. this guy can’t go on forever, you know. you can’t give up, you’re spiderman-“

“and yet im still here, struggling,” he cuts you off with ferocity that you’ve never seen. taken aback, you place two hands on his masked face. suddenly, the atmosphere feels different, a little more tension. 

“don’t you trust me?” you ask. he nods, not moving to remove your hands off his cheeks and almost leaning into your touch. 

an uncontrollable force acts over you, and you slowly peel off his mask, revealing his intense dark orbs that seem so vulnerable in front of you. you’re the only one who gets to see him like this. spiderman as a normal human being. as mark lee. you’ve always been the only one. 

slowly, he leans in and your breath hitches. you feel his warm breath hit your face, counting the seconds as you feel him get closer. contrary to your expectations, his lips don’t meet yours softly. instead, as your eyes close instinctively, his mouth eagerly meets yours. somehow, your hands find their way into his hair and his around your waist. it lasts too short- no, too long. you feel selfish, even when he was the one who initiated the kiss. 

you break it, catching your breath as mark watches you intently. it takes you a second to catch your bearings as your fingertips raise to your lips, touching the soft flesh delicately. “we-we shouldn’t have done that,” you whisper hoarsely. 

hurt flashes across his face. what? 

he gets interrupted by the sound of police sirens. you look away, ”please... go.”

you’re not sure if you’re happy or disappointed that he listens to you. 

· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·

you can’t fall asleep. the kiss from a few hours ago replays in your head constantly. what were you thinking? and more importantly, what was he thinking? 

to take your mind off him, you decide to focus on more important matters, like finding #24 and stopping them. somehow, running on two hours of sleep the day before, you’re able to hack into the shop’s buyers list. 

it takes the overheating of your computer and two cups of coffee, but you finally trace the credit card that the purchase was tracked to. from then on, it was easy to find the location and name. 

but not wanting to act too hastily, you continue your dig deeper. it’s a little too easy to find #24’s place of residence. 

your first instinct is to call mark, but obviously that plan is now to shreds. you hesitate before hitting his contact, finding your newly discovered information to be too precious to wait. 

you have another gut feeling that #24 is going to strike soon. after more than four days of radio silence from the hacker, you have a feeling they’re planning something big- and it isn’t going to be good. studying their past actions, they keep targeting bigger and bigger corporations now that traction has been gained. and you’re scared to where #24 going to choose next. 

mark’s phone is off, or he blocked you- which you kinda (read: definitely) understand after you simply told him to leave after he kissed you. 

you reflect on him from your interactions the past few days- the dullness in his eyes. even the boys commented on his attitude change, which he credited to overworking. just like you, you bitterly chuckle. 

maybe… you glance down at the address. if he was busy (or ignoring you), you could go by yourself. just check it out, harmlessly, right? 

just in case, you bring pepper spray with you. you weren’t sure what was going to be happen, so at least be somewhat safe than sorry. you’re sure you’re being an idiot right now, and you should find mark, but something tells you that you need to hurry and if that meant to go alone, you would. 

it’s a little too easy for you to bust open the apartment door of #24’s supposed place of living, or you’re getting good at the superhero stuff, which you doubt is the case. 

it’s empty, at least in terms of people. the place is dusty and dirty, not much to your surprise. you do your best not to leave any tracks behind, but as you continue through the place, the more awestruck you are. 

countless papers and research are littered all over the place, like a detective in a movie. binders and books of data and information are scattered across the place. you assume it’s all the information on those corrupt businesses that #24 gathered with their crazy genius hacking skills. 

you want to be quick, so you take a billion pictures before leaving, heart racing and hands clammy. 

when you get to the safety of your place, you finally relax and allow yourself to study the photos. the first thing was a map, countless red circles over locations caught your eye. 

as you examine it, you notice the specific locations that care circled. it’s all the places where #24 attacked. all the companies that were terrorized, destroyed without a second thought. 

you always wondered what was his motive. and as you look through the pictures you took- you realize this person has a seriously messed up conception of justice in the world. 

how does attacking innocent people and destroying years of work make up for the heinous secret crimes of those companies? 

but you frown, zooming in on the map again. you looked and there was another big circle with a date, today at 7am. you check the time, currently 4am. it was the 24th circle, you counted. 

and it was circled around the octavius building. 

· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·

you spam call mark, but he doesn’t pick up. you send voicemails in hopes that he’ll desperately pick up. as you keep looking through the photos, more and more horror fills you. all of #24’s plans, you attempt to tell him. but you don’t let him know the things beginning to formulate in your brain. 

#24’s previous and current plans all perfectly laid out. you honestly hate the fact that you were able to hack into his stuff, and how no one else has yet. 

you know everything- all the pieces fit together. his plan? bomb octavius industries, as if the giant red circle around the building wasn’t blatant enough. 

but not just that. 

feast too. #24 wants to threaten bombing the homeless shelter filled with unsuspecting people in order to make spiderman reveal his identity. quite literally killing two birds with one stone. 

and if this plan goes through, everything will come crashing down.

you looked everywhere, but you can’t find mark. the one time you need him, you fucked up and have no idea where he went. 

you give up on him. but not yourself. 

you won’t let feast and innocent people die, nor make mark choose between himself and the city, because you know what he would do, the selfless motherfucker. 

· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·

it’s strange seeing the place you’ve worked at for years empty, as you’ve never had a reason to come so early in the morning. your hands shake when you scan your keycard to enter the building. 

if everything goes according to your plan, no one will get hurt and no one will have to know anything. are you stupid for doing this alone? yes. are you stupid for wanting to be selfless when you know it’s full on selfish? yes. 

are you stupid? yes. 

and yet, you keep going on. 

you know mark would never let you go, but you’re the only one who knows is to stop this. all the knowledge you’ve gained over the years, choosing to become mark’s sidekick and help him behind the computers, you choose to believe it’s led you to this moment. 

you check the time and curse. almost 6am already, you need to hurry. all your time figuring how to work this solution out took longer than you expected. 

you don’t know how, but you make it. you press the highest floor button on the elevator and wait to get to where #24 plans to broadcast it all. all in order to see spiderman’s demise. 

and you won’t let it happen. 

if mark was here- no, you shut the thought down. no thinking about mark. just get in and out, before #24 shows up. 

you race down the hallway, knowing exactly which computer and room. easy, you’ll take down the broadcast and hack the bomb software so it malfunctions. you just have to be fast, before #24 gets here. you swiftly open the door- 

only for fear to strike through you. 

he said 7- so why is he here now-?!

the masked figure seems surprised at your presence. you stand there, unmoving as you take in the situation. 

“well, this is a surprise.”

the unfamiliar voice makes shivers go down your spine. “how did you find out my plans?”

you don’t respond, hands squeezing into fists. as #24 -you assume- gets up, you back away. but he’s faster and you cry out. 

“don’t worry,” his tone is too calm for your liking. you can feel your body shaking in his grasp, “i won’t hurt you. for now.” 

you find yourself tied up to a chair and curse the world for being so stupid. the figure tilts their head, studying you. “i’m impressed that you got this far. how exactly did you do it?”

it was easier than expected, you think but refuse to answer, to do anything. you need to make up another plan. he knows interrogating you won’t work, so he starts talking about spiderman. you tense. 

“it’s surprising how a random civilian like you got here, but spiderman himself couldn’t. why do you think that is?” 

you avoid eye contact, trying to keep your emotions in check. you know all the pain mark has been through because of this person, all the pain many people have gone through. 

“don’t tell me you were trying to stop my plans to be a hero like him. i always wondered what was so charming about spiderman,” you hate the venomous tone in his voice when he says it. “how the city people fall for an idiot like hi-“

“he’s not an idiot,” you cut him off, tone deadly. but you see the sudden change in his posture, and you know you fucked up. 

“oh, so you know him?”

“w-who doesn’t?” you shift uncomfortably, but it’s too late. he can see through it. 

you curse internally as he unsheathes a clean, sharp knife. 

· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·

mark stays up after leaving your place and dealing with the minor crime with the police that so rudely interrupted you two. he goes to his secret rooftop, some abandoned one he never told anyone about, even you. 

it’s just a place for him to be alone with his thoughts, and honestly he stopped going as much when you became his sidekick because he didn’t need a place of refuge when you were his place of refuge. 

but not today. 

he punches the poor punching bag, and it looks like it’s about to break from all of mark’s frustration and confusion. he doesn’t notice the sun rising or the 13 missed calls from his phone. he’s too lost in his thoughts to realize. 

it’s not until he hears the sound of kids clamoring on their way to school when he finally snaps out of it. he checks the time, damn. 7am was too early- he completely forgot the pain of waking up early and going to school at the crack of dawn. it fucking sucked, but he supposes it was so much better to be an innocent kid that focused dutifully on their lives instead of being a working adult that had everything and anything to worry about. especially one that was a superhero who had no time to think about himself in order to save the city. 

the exhaustion hits him as he feels the sweat slide down his face. grimacing, mark checks his phone. when he sees the missed calls from you, he almost throws his phone out and into the city. but seeing the amount of times you called, an uneasy feeling sinks into his bones. he plays your latest voicemail. the more he listens, the colder his blood runs.

but he’s too late. and by the time he gets there, the broadcast has officially started. 

but unlike your voicemails, what he sees on screen is not #24, but instead a person tied up and blindfolded in a dark space, which he supposes is at the octavius building. and the timer- for the bombs. 

but the silhouette looks a little too familiar, like-

you. it has to be you. who else knew about the plans except for the person that told mark? 

mark swears he sees red. 

he can’t think clearly, not when he has no idea how you got there without him, without letting him know anything-

fuck, mark curses. the video plays all over the city, and he knows the police are working hard but it’s not enough. 

marks throws on his suit and basically flies over to the building. he doesn’t care about being sneaky like he usually was- he simply alerts the police to evacuate feast to safety as he takes care of octavius industries. he has to when you’re there and there’s bombs involved. 

he has no idea where exactly you are, so he swings through each and every floor until he reaches the 10th. when mark scans the floor, and one of the room doors is closed, his senses tingle. 

it has to be. 

perhaps he was acting a little too hastily for his own good, busting down the door as he hears the timer echo in his head. less than 10 minutes until 7 am. he rushes in, but stops at the sight of you.

mouth gagged, you let out a tiny, helpless sound when you see spiderman, and #24 only laughs at the sight of the hero. 

“you finally joined the party.” 

mark assesses the situation. you tied up. #24 with a knife. the computer where it all stems from. 

“if you do anything,” #24 warns as he moves closer to you and you grunt, “they get it.” 

easy. mark grabs the knife with his web, slinging it out of the window with a loud crash in order to ensure that it’s effective out of reach. he can worry about the damage repairs later. 

but distracted while making sure the weapon was gone, #24 hastily grabs a monitor and slings it at mark. you let out a strangled sound and mark is ably to dodge it. so that’s how you wanna play, he huffs. 

he knows he can kick #24’s ass, but he doesn’t want to be too hasty when you’re there. damn it y/n, you should’ve stayed home. 

his eyes flick between the computer that’s still counting down and you staring bullets into #24. even mark still has the time to shiver at your deadly glare. 

but when he hears the familiar click of a gun, he freezes. #24 stands there, shaking as he holds it to your head. “if you come any closer, i’ll do it.” 

mark tries to keep cool. he holds his hands out but he’s essentially unable to move. 

you look into mark’s eyes, a little too calm for your own good. you can’t speak telepathically, but your eyes explain for you. 

“why are you doing this?” spiderman asks calmly, waiting. 

#24 chuckles. “so now you want my backstory, huh?“ he presses the gun closer to your head and you flinch this time. 

“well since we’ve got time,” he looks at the bright red numbers counting down to 0, “i suppose i can let you know. my father worked for one of these… wretched companies. one that didn’t care about the workers and were greedy for money. they ruined his life, my life. my family went bankrupt and my father died trying to repair it all as my mother left us. so i vowed to get revenge, and it wasn’t hard. just a couple of clicks to get in and now i have all their information. all the illegal stuff to ruin each and every one of those businesses. i would be the one to stop it all, to destroy the endless cycle of suffering and pain.” 

and then he looks mark straight in the eye, “i just didn’t expect a certain bug to get in the way.” 

right then and there, as #24 is distracted talking, you, who had been moving slightly underneath #24, give the slightest of nods to mark, who watches you with confusion. 

in that split second, you burst through the ropes that tied you back, and kick the guy in the balls. quite hard. 

while tied up for some time waiting for mark, there were a couple of options your brain sorted through. you at first wanted to use the pepper spray that you forgot about in your pocket but saw the mask #24 had on. plan failed. 

then you set to undoing the ropes that #24 had spontaneously found in the building, not knowing anyone was going to show up and try to foil his plans. the knot was extremely tight but you had time while waiting for mark, so you set to working on it inconspicuously to not alert the guy. 

all it took was distraction by mark to finally get out of it and hit #24 where it hurt the most. literally. 

as the guy crumples to the ground in pain (you’re sure of it), mark takes the opportunity to web him up against the while. double just to make sure. and with an extra punch to the face for all the past few weeks, mark couldn’t help it. 

you rush to the computer, hands shaking as you try to hack the stupid thing. mark runs to your side as he checks the timer-

 0:59. 

“come on y/n, i know you can do it.”

you shake your head, typing so fast as tears brim your eyes. it’s not the most difficult thing you’ve ever done, but it’s unfamiliar territory, #24’s own software. 

your fingers fly across the keyboard, furious typing sounds fill the building. your body is shaking, adrenaline filling you as you try countless things to get into the database. mark can do nothing except watch you work, completely foreign to the world of hacking, to what you do. 

 “i-i don’t think i can get it in time, mark. the-the building, it’s going to explode.” 

you keep pressing the enter button in desperation, but it doesn’t work. you cry out as your head whips to catch the time. 0:06.

growling in frustration, mark looks around the room. almost about to fly out to attempt to get the bombs himself, he looks at the timer that flashes with 3 seconds left, and mark instead decides otherwise.  

“brace yourself,” he shouts as you look up at him with wide eyes. he webshoots you to him, moving as far away as he can and shielding you from the impact as he squeezes his eyes shut.

you also close your eyes, trying your best to focus on the warmth of mark’s embrace around you as the timer goes out. 

contrary to your expectations, all you hear is a pop! and your eyes slowly open. getting out of mark’s embrace, you look at the sight in front of you. only the computer is blown up- a decoy. 

mark stands rigid next to you and you look at him, bewildered. “did he…”

“fake it?” mark finishes, glancing at you with a grim expression. he nods briefly. “it must’ve been a decoy, judging how we didn’t hear anything else.” 

that’s when he can hear the sounds of people oncoming, and he assumes it’s the police. 

you let out a sigh, feeling woozy from what just took place. mark immediately brings you to him, keeping you safe in his arms. and you’re constantly trembling in his arms as he continues to whisper, “you’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay now…” over and over. 

mark hugs you and you squeeze so tight as if you were never going to let go. 

eventually mark lets go to scold you. even without seeing his face fully behind the mask, you know how upset he is. 

“how could you have gone without letting me now? how could you have been so reckless? what would have happened if i didn’t make it in time?” you shrink further into yourself the more and more angry he gets. 

“i could have lost you, y/n! you mean too much to me, what would i have done if you died?” 

you avoid eye contact as you ask softly, “but how much?”

he stops. “what?”  

you finally look at mark with a strange intensity in your eyes. “so what?” you say and it catches him off guard. 

“w-what do you mean?” 

you shudder. “i have feelings for you, mark. are you that dense or just plain stupid? i don’t know how long i can go on with this- where you take and give but never tell me the truth.” 

he stares at you, dumbfounded. 

that’s when the police burst in. they interrupt the rest of your conversation,  taking you away for examining and questioning. you give him a defeated glance before turning away.  

mark can only watch you stalk off with the police and his gloved hands clench into fists. 

the rest of the commotion fades away. he’s occupied by thoughts of you, and he stares at the floor. 

“i’ve loved you since the first day we met,” he murmurs aloud to no one in particular. 

· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·

one month later…

mark’s back in action, joking around with thugs before kicking their asses. he’s feeling a lot better after #24 was arrested and sent to jail, but he still feels empty. empty because after every fight, he returns home alone. and lonely. he no longer has his partner-in-crime. no more of your pleasant voice that would return his jokes as he quite literally punched a guy in the face or welcome him back after a long day of fighting crime.

it was for the better, he decided quickly on. after the latest stunt, your safety was more important than helping his superhero antics. and if that meant deciding to cut off all contact with you, so be it. (even if he was disappointed by the lack of effort you put up against it, not even a single call or motion of protest on your side..)

everyone at work notices it. the fact that you avoid him and the fact that mark is not the same bubbly guy he used to be when he was around you. the boys decide not to ask when they realize it’s a touchy subject and you gratefully hang out with them more to distract yourself with all the sudden free time you obtained, excluding mark. 

no more late night visits to mick’s, and the owner fears the worst has happened to you two when mark shows up occasionally, alone and miserable looking. even at feast (still perfectly intact and thriving), some of the guys have commented on his unnatural behavior. 

“hey, lee.” mr. stan calls out, inviting him over to his makeshift bed. mark trudges over, sitting down. he attempts to shoot him a grin, but it comes out half-heartedly. “what’s up?”

“you okay? you haven’t seemed like yourself lately. aunt may is worried, you know.”

mark looks down at his hands. “nah, it’s nothing…” mr. stan pats him on the back. 

“chin up, maybe you should talk to that girlfriend of yours. she’s too good for this world. man, last week when she came and threw a surprise party for gloria’s 70th party-“

mark’s head shoots up. “what? y/n came to feast?” mr. stan frowns. “you don’t even know? your girlfriend comes every thursday. that’s even more than you now, mark.” 

he says with a teasing lilt. his expression softens. 

“she cares so much for you, i think you should talk to her about it if it’s been bothering you that much.”

the action of his mouth automatically forming the words, she’s not my girlfriend… abruptly stops. 

mark shows up at your door that night with your favorite succulents because he remembers all the times you complained about flowers dying too soon. you open the door with messy hair and dark eye bags- your trademark- but he thinks you look so beautiful. 

your eyes widen. “mark?”

mark stands there, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. you notice what’s in his hands, and your expression hardens. “if you’re here to apologize, now’s not a good time.” you move to shut the door, but mark easily stops you.

“please let me in.” his pleading eyes make you relent, but not without a frustrated huff. he didn’t realize how much he missed seeing your place, your things, the smell of you. the existence of you. 

“what do you want?” you demand, and mark blanks. he didn’t really think this through, only knowing that he had to see you and see you now. 

“i….” he starts, biting his lip, and you raise an eyebrow. 

“i had no clue you felt that way about me,” he finally gets out. “and i assure you i wouldn’t have acted the way i did if i knew. y-you didn’t deserve that, and i’m so sorry.”

you grit your teeth. all your pent up feelings that you worked so hard to keep away escape. 

“i have liked you for two years. i’ve been by your side this whole time, and not once have i ever gotten the notion that you returned any feelings. to me, there wasn’t anything at all on your side so i kept it to myself. i was fine with that. but when you say that i mean so much to you and-” you gesture to the plant in his hands, “do things like that, it’s so, so hard to pretend there’s nothing-“ your voice breaks and you rub your temple in frustration. 

mark calls out your name.

your head starts to pound, mustering up the energy to fight with mark, freaking mark lee of all people was so much more draining than you thought. you hate the silence. you hate how this is what has become of you two.

“i- i was scared. i was scared to put you in danger and i was scared of losing you, until i almost did. but, i do know that i’ve loved you for two years. and i… i still do. ever since i took on spiderman, my whole life has changed, my whole world. maybe back then i didn’t want any more with you but that doesn’t mean my feelings have changed.” he says softly.  

your head snaps up, looking at him with raised eyebrows. “mark?”

“i love you.” that tender gaze never failed to make your heart skip. he takes a hesitant step, and then another until he’s so close you can hear and feel his breath. 

your body malfunctions- your eyes start to flutter shut as his face grows closer to yours, his familiar warmth encasing you. as your lips part and your breaths mix, you can feel the faintest graze of his nose bridge against your cheek. 

mark whispers, “look at me.”

you obey his command, slowly peeking your eyes open. you can’t seem to focus on his eyes, not even attempting to hide your gaze trailing down to his lips. you bet- no, know he’s doing the same. and when his arms encircle your waist, and your hands move with ease to wrap around his neck, it feels too good, too natural to be true.

you know can’t let this go. and mark knows for sure now, neither can he. 

happy fourth of july to anyone who celebrates it and if not then i still hope you have a great day :) 

#nct dream x reader #nct 127 x reader #mark x reader #mark lee x reader #nct dream fluff #nct dream imagines #nct dream scenarios #mark imagines #mark fluff #mark scenarios #nct 127 scenarios #nct 127 fluff #nct 127 imagines #nct x you #mark x you #nct dream au

[thosehallowedhalls]

Tabloids, or a story in 5 headlines

Book: Crimes of Passion

Pairing: Trystan Thorne x F!MC (Emma Rose)

Rating: Teen

Word count: 1542

Summary: Tabloids keep speculating about the nature of Trystan and Emma's relationship. But how accurate are they?

@choicesjanuary2024 Day 13, Whispers. @lilyoffandoms

@choicesflashfics "How are you going to explain this?"

@choicesficwriterscreations

One: A Princely Affair?

Something’s up.

Luke smirks every few minutes, which would be alarming enough on its own – Luke Watanabe doesn’t smirk – but he’s doing it in her direction, and she doesn’t need to be a detective to know that doesn’t bode well. 

“Spit it out.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Luke...”

“For god’s sake, Watanabe, show her the post already,” Mafalda orders through her open door.

“I was working up to it! Detectives,” he grumbles. “None of you have any patience.”

“Luke.”

“Fine, fine. Check this out.” He opens a tab and gestures to the screen.

A Princely Affair? Exiled prince Trystan Thorne was spotted with a mysterious brunette out and about the streets of Manhattan last Thursday. “It looked like they were on a coffee date,” a source says. Does the Drakovian expat have a new woman in his life?

“Please tell me this isn’t what I think it is.”

“Well, if you think it’s a tabloid speculating about whether you and Trystan are dating, then I’m afraid it is exactly what you think it is.”

“It might not even be talking about me! There’s no way in hell I’m the only brunette that Trystan has had coffee with.”

“On Thursday? When you spent all day together cramming for tonight’s gala?”

“It might have been in the evening.”

“Yes, because I’m sure Trystan Thorne is an evening coffee date kind of guy.” Exasperated, Luke throws his hands up. “Why don’t we just ask Trystan?”

“Ask me what?”

“Of all the detective agencies in all the cities in all the world,” she mutters under her breath as Trystan strides into the office. “Forget it. You said we had to meet with someone before the gala?”

“Ah, ah, ah. I distinctly heard my name, and now you’re trying to change the subject. My detective senses are tingling.”

“Once again, you do not have detective senses.”

He gives her a pitying look. “You keep telling yourself that.”

Two: A Prince in Shining Marguerite

“You made the tabloids!” Ruby exclaims with concerning glee.

“Again?”

“What do you mean again? What did I miss? Anyway, look!”

She shoves the tabloid in Emma’s face and… oh, good lord.

A Prince in Shining Marguerite Trystan Thorne attended the ill-fated Iverson gala last night in the company of Cordonian noble Anastasi Zimena. The night ended with a bang when the prince carried his paramour out of the burning governor’s mansion in true princely fashion.

“A Prince in Shining Marguerite?” Incredulous, she takes the paper from Ruby’s hands. “Seriously? Who writes this crap?”

“Journalism majors who couldn’t care less about Trystan Thorne and an unknown Cordonian noble but still need to eat?”

Emma laughs. “I guess. At least my cover is still safe. For now, anyway.”

“What’s still safe?” Trystan asks, walking into the agency with a coffee tray. “I think I remembered all your orders. I make an exceptional delivery boy, if I do say so myself. If only my mother could see me now.”

Ruby plucks her cup from the tray. “Yep, a caramel macchiato for me. Thanks, Trystan.”

“Who knew he had his uses?” Emma quips, but she smiles a thank you as she takes her own cup. “And to answer your question, what’s still safe is my cover. We may have burned down the governor’s mansion, attracted the attention of the NYPD, and gotten dangerously close to getting kicked off the case, but at least my name is out of the press.”

“Mine isn’t.”

“Perils of being literal royalty, I’m afraid.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let me read that.” He grimaces. “A prince in shining Marguerite? Who writes this?”

“That’s what I said!” She taps his shoulder with one finger. “Look on the bright side. You couldn’t have come out of this looking better if you tried.”

“Okay, but can we focus on the part where they bought that you two are together?” Ruby asks. “Whatever you did last night, it worked.”

Emma nods. “Which means we can continue to use Anastasi whenever we need to pursue a lead with that crowd.”

“You can admit you want to be my pretend date again, Emma. No one would blame you for wanting more of,” he gestures to himself with a grin, “this.”

She rolls her eyes. “You caught me. This whole murder investigation is just an excuse to get close to you.”

Trystan nods magnanimously. “Admitting it is the first step.”

Three: Has Trystan Thorne Found Love?

“Seriously, you guys, the romance rumors are getting out of control.” Luke waves his phone in their direction. Then he makes a show of clearing his throat and reads the article, pausing now and then for emphasis.

Has Trystan Thorne Found Love? Crime-fighting duo Trystan Thorne and private investigator Emma Rose were seen sharing a meal at Rosetti’s yesterday evening, fueling romance rumors. Click the link in bio for details.

“Apparently anyone can tell from the way you look at each other,” he says with a laugh.

Trystan and Emma exchange a glance.

“Hilarious,” he replies.

“A hoot,” she adds.

There’s an undercurrent to their words.

Neither of them is ready to examine it.

Four: Trystan Thorne and Emma Rose, sitting on a tree

“We need to be more careful.”

Trystan looks up from his book to find Emma holding up her phone. “Hello to you too.”

“Hi, yes, hello. We need to be more careful.”

“We’re always careful.” Trystan waggles his eyebrows. “Not looking for any little princelings here.”

“Trystan. Stop cracking jokes and check this out.”

She holds out her phone. Trystan takes it with a preemptive grimace.

Trystan Thorne and Emma Rose, sitting on a tree Rumor has it that Trystan Thorne and Emma Rose were kissing outside of a Bronx bar yesterday. “I swear they were making out,” a source says. “I tried to take a picture but my battery died.” But not all evidence is lost! Another source sent us this picture of the pair getting up close and personal as they left the Ginovesi Detective Agency.”

“At least their phone died?” Trystan offers feebly.

“Thank god for small mercies. But this.” She points at the grainy photograph. “This is bad enough.”

It’s a picture of them standing close together, his hand on her arm, hers on his chest. It happened in a split second, such a small moment that neither realized anyone had noticed, let alone snapped a photo.

“It’s a close call,” Emma says. “Too close. How are you going to explain this? How are we going to explain this?”

He snaps his fingers. “You tripped!”

She nods slowly. “That could work. You grabbed my arm, and I put my hand on your chest to find my balance.”

They both wince when they hear it spoken aloud. As far as excuses go, this one’s rather flimsy.

“Nobody will believe us.”

“Maybe not. But it gives us plausible deniability.”

He pulls her into his lap. “One of these days it’s going to come out, you know. The whispers keep getting louder.”

“I know. But the longer we can put it off, the better.” She rests her forehead on his. “I’m not ready to share you with the world just yet.”

Five: A Royal Romance

Emma walks out of the bathroom after showering to find Trystan sipping a cup of coffee and scrolling down his phone.

“Secret’s officially out.”

“Oh? What does it say?”

Trystan puts the mug on the bedside table and hands her the phone.

“See for yourself.”

She reads. It’s hardly different from any other article speculating on their relationship, except that this one comes with undeniable photographic evidence: she and Trystan leaving The Drunk Tank, their hands intertwined.

A Royal Romance Trystan Thorne is taken, ladies and gents! The once-exiled prince, now former king of Drakovia, has been spotted holding hands with private detective Emma Rose, confirming long-standing rumors of their relationship.

She was… not drunk, precisely, but definitely tipsy when these pictures were taken, and she could no longer remember why they had tried so hard to keep their relationship a secret. Once upon a time, sure, it made sense, but now? She’s so happy she could burst. She was not going to hide it from the world anymore. Looking back, she has the sneaky suspicion that Trystan has felt the same way for a while now and was just waiting for her to come around to his way of thinking.

Fortunately, tipsy Emma and fully sober Emma are in full agreement on this topic.

She grins at him. “You’re officially off the market now, Thorne.”

He takes her hand and yanks, causing her to fall on him. He flips them around, one hand on her hip, the other on the mattress next to her head. “I’ve been off the market since a certain detective broke into my home and pointed a taser at me.”

“No wonder you stayed single so long if that’s what it takes to get your attention.”

“What can I say? I’ve always loved a grand entrance.”

“You certainly do.” She presses a lingering kiss to his lips. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. Now how about we go out for breakfast and give them something else to talk about?”

#trystan x emma #trystan x mc #trystan thorne #emma rose #detective rose #crimes of passion #play choices

[jamespotterthefirst]

Crimes of Passion 2: The Killer Thorne

Or my unhinged theory so far

I am positive my opinion will change as more information is revealed. Also, this is all gut feeling for now. Oh and finally, I take those red letters to heart.

So when the lovely @choicesbookclub asked which Thorne is involved in Juliana's death, the majority voted Sebastyan. And as I said. That's too obvious.

I voted Kaspar.

Here is why:

First, some context to how my mind got there.

When MC and Trystan walk in on the NYPD's investigation of the missing tiara, the officers are convinced they have the culprit.

(Taken from YT because I didn't take screenshots when I played. Cameron= MC)

This confuses Trystan and MC

The officers don't say anything else since Thompson angrily pulls them and mutters about compromising the investigation.

But my question is why did they think Bird? What evidence did they find? They have to have found something to think Bird. Or a bird.

I found that so interesting since when we played as Juliana minutes earlier, she was pulled from Trystan's side by a bird call she recognized as the person harassing her.

I'm not saying Bird did it but the connection bird —> bird call is hard to ignore.

Back to Kaspar.

In all this, Trystan brings up their brother Kaspar who once stole the Queen's jewels. As someone who loves to study the way other writers write, it was interesting to me that this one brother was brought up so early in the story. Not only in passing like the rest of Trystan's siblings (except for Marguerite and Lydea). The writers gave us some information about someone we haven't even met yet. I think that's intentional and important.

Also, Kaspar's name was in red.

That stuck with me. I don't think any of the other siblings we haven't met yet's names have been in red before (I could be wrong).

What we know about Kaspar is

He is younger than Trystan

He stole the jewels and got banned from the queen's country as a result

He is impulsive

But charming (avoids consequences as a result)

It's also interesting that Trystan was the one who found the stolen jewels and returned them. So much so that the queen trusts Trystan enough to contact them when they go missing again. All while Kaspar is banned from her country.

Idk idk

Could that create resentment from Kaspar towards Trystan?

In summary:

Chapter 1 tells us the NYPD thought Bird had stolen the jewels but we never found out why

Kaspar has a past connection to those jewels

Kaspar is also presented with some importance by the writers. I think that's intentional.

Juliana hears a bird call from her murderer, one that could quite literally be their calling card because she recognizes it

I'm 2.2 Trystan compares Kaspar to a magpie (See edit below/ credit to magpie anon)

All of these are connected in my mind but I'm missing puzzle pieces

EDIT:

A brilliant, wonderful, fantastic anon pointed out that the bird/Kaspar symbolism continues when Trystan compares him to a magpie in 2.2

Credit to this anon for this connection! ❤️

#Crimes of Passion #trystan thorne #trystan x mc #Playchoices #Juliana Georgescu #Kaspar Thorne

[kemdalkilic]

Kemal loved his job. He’d wanted to be a detective since he was a little kid and first moved to the country when he was 8. He and his family has gotten a bit of grief from a passerby for their use of a language that wasn’t English, a cop nearby had seen and stepped in. One of the good ones, perhaps. But he wanted to be just like him! Couple that with him sneaking glances of all the crime TV programmes his mum would watch to learn English, seeing the puzzles and justice, it made him want in. The moment he’d turned 18 he had joined, and minus the unfortunate incident involving animal experimentation, Kem had done well. Cadet, Officer, now Detective, but the role of “Sergeant” was on the horizon, all he had to do was prove himself and the promotion would be his. Maybe one day, he’d even be called Captain, the first Turkish captain on the NYPD. That sounded fantastic. But baby steps for now, and baby steps meant sometimes being away from home, working on cases that had connections out of state. It was fantastic, sure, but there was one major downside: being away from his fiancée.

He knew she secretly hated him being away, but on the outside she expressed it well, and she understood. She knew how badly he wanted the promotion and how bad he wanted to make the force a better place, but it got lonely around here. And as tired as he was, he was glad to be home, and she was his home. Stood outside their apartment door, he still wore his team jacket, team badge around his neck, duffle bag in his hand. Messing with his keys, he opened up the door slowly, stepping inside and shutting it behind him. Hearing the click, he glanced around the living room, sparkling clean as always, but no fiancée in sight.

“Hazel!” He called, placing the bag beside him, pulling his jacket off and hanging it on the hook. “Aşkım, you here?”

#c

[bullet-prooflove]

Die For You - Cyrus Lupo x Reader (Drabble)

Tagging: @darqchilddaydreamz @words-and-seeds @proceduralpassion  @crazy4chickennuggets @callsignartemis @kmc1989

A long time ago, back when the two of you were in a relationship during your patrol days Cyrus Lupo had told you that he would die for you. You had smiled at the time and told him he was being dramatic, but he had assured you he meant it, that if it came down to it that he would take a bullet for you.

Over a decade later you realise that he still intends to keep that promise when all hell breaks loose, and you find yourself staring down the barrel of a gun during a raid for Major Crimes. It’s a split second, you see the perp’s finger tighten on the trigger and then the flash of an NYPD vest slipping between the two of you. You hear the retort of the weapon erupting in your ears as Lupo collides with you, the force of the bullet hurling him backwards. You stagger under the weight of him before the two of you tumble to the floor. You try to slow his descent, your weapon swinging up as your ass hits the concrete but the perp’s already down. Ed’s standing there instead, holstering his weapon, his gaze fixed on Lupo as his head comes to rest on your lap.

“Cyrus?”

Your breath catches because Lupo’s not moving. Ed’s already beside the two of you, his hands skating over the vest before he tears the Velcro away and loosens the compression. You cradle Lupo’s head, your heart beating wildly in your chest.

There’s a moment of nothing. He doesn’t move, he doesn’t speak, you don’t think he even breathes and then suddenly he inhales, and you feel the relief rush in because he’s only just stepped back into your life, and you aren’t ready to lose him just yet.

“Jesus.” You utter, your fingers ghosting over his curls as you thank a God you haven’t prayed to in years.

Cyrus tilts his head back as he takes another deep breath. In the background you can hear Ed talking but you don’t register the words, because the moment you look into those eyes you know that despite the fact it’s been over a decade you are every bit in love with Cyrus Lupo as you were back then.

Love Lupo? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

#cyrus lupo x you #cyrus lupo x reader #detective cyrus lupo #cyrus lupo #lupo x reader #lupo

[found-family-tournament]

Best Found Family Tournament

Submissions are closed.

Give me as much propaganda and images as possible. It gives your fams a higher chance of winning.

Every piece of propaganda and every picture or gif I get. In the submissions and in my asks will be added to the poll post every round.

Please inform me if any of the images or information are wrong. Or if you have a better image that I could use.

If there are any questions or requests of any sort. Askbox.

I try to reblog all the propaganda I get in my reblogs, but if you want to make sure I don't accidentally overlook yours, please tag me.

Inspired by other cool blogs like @bluehairandpronouns-tournament @gender-swag-bracket @bestsiblingstournament @musicalcharactertournament @dead-character-showdown @t4tswagbracket @thegreatbigdetectivepolll @trafficlighttriobracket @thebestcartoontournament @noncanongayestbitchestournament @animatedfightthrowdown @bestcharacterwithfirepowers

Links under the cut

Round 1:

Part 1:

The Runaways (Marvel's Runaways) vs The Knights of Camelot (BBC Merlin)

The Wayward Children (The Wayward Children / Every Heart a Doorway) vs Gekkagumi (A3!)

The Faraway Friends (OMORI) vs The Spring Troupe (A3!)

Bee Happy (Matilda) vs The Night at the Museum Gang (Night at the Museum)

Winter Troupe (A3!) vs Gwendolyn, The Will, Lying Cat and Sophie (Saga (Comic))

Part 2:

The SHIELD Team (Agents of SHIELD) vs Hershel Layton, Luke Triton & Flora Reinhold (Professor Layton Games)

The Band of Boobs (Not Another D&D Podcast) vs Saiki and his friends (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.)

The Third Mates/The Choo Choo Crew (Not Another D&D Podcast) vs The Crystal Gems (Steven Universe)

Team Dark (Sonic the Hedgehog) vs Kipo & Wolf (Kipo)

Dethklok (Metalocalypse) vs The Robinsons (Meet the Robinsons)

Part 3:

Interview with the Vampire Vampires (Interview with the Vampire) vs The Forgers (Spy x Family)

The Mechanisms (The Mechanisms) vs The Scooby Gang (Scooby Doo)

Izumi & Sig Curtis & Edward & Alphonse Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist) vs The Clump (Don't Hug Me I'm Scared)

The Hamato Clan/Mad Dogz (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (rottmnt)) vs Team Victor (Vicious)

The Black Bulls (Black Clover) vs The Leverage Crew (Leverage)

Part 4:

MASH team (M*A*S*H) vs The Behavioural Analysis Unit (Criminal Minds)

Spider Crew (So I'm A Spider So What?) vs The Joestar Group (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure)

RTDL Quarted (Kirby) vs The Avengers (MCU Fanfiction)

Brave Vesperia (Tales of Vesperia) vs The Animorphs (Animorphs)

The Dolls (The Sandman) vs Team Rocket (Pokémon)

Part 5:

The Love Trio (Welcome to Demon School Iruma-Kun) vs Maka, Soul, Tsubaki, Black Star, Death the Kid, Crona, Patty, Liz (Soul Eater)

The Gaang (Avatar the Last Airbender) vs Die Wilden Kerle (Die Wilden Kerle)

Alex & Jonas (Oxenfree) vs The Gluttony Crew (The Evillious Chronicles)

Watari & L Lawliet (Death Note) vs The Cat's Whiskers (Paradox Live)

The Rowdy 3 (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency) vs Mae, Greg, Angus & Bea (Night in the Woods)

Part 6:

The Crew of the Serenity (Firefly & Serenity) vs The Crew of the Iris (The Strange Case of Starship Iris)

Lucifam (Lucifer) vs Team Bleck/Bleck Squad (Super Paper Mario)

The Ericson Kids (The Walking Dead Game) vs Accelerator, Last Order, Aiho Yomikawa, Kikyou Yoshikawa & Misaka Worst (A Certain Magical Index)

Squad 312 (the Aurora Cycle series) vs The Fatui Harbingers (Genshin Impact)

13 and the Gang (Doctor Who) vs Franchouchou (Zombie Land Saga)

Part 7:

Dadvid & Momgwen (Camp Camp) vs Bucci Gang/Team Bucciarati (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)

Akanyatsura (Paradox Live) vs 11s Fam (Doctor Who)

Team Red (Carmen Sandiego) vs The Ghosts (BBC Ghosts)

Firefam (9-1-1) vs Murder Family (Hannibal)

The Golden Deer (Fire Emblem) vs Mikazuki Villa (Magia Record)

Part 8:

NYPD Major Crimes (Prodigal Son) vs Diasomnia Fam (Twisted Wonderland)

Warden Ingo, Akari, Rei & Professor Laventon (Pokemon Legends Arceus) vs New Who Crew (Doctor Who)

Nahida & Scaramouche/Wanderer (Genshin Impact) vs The Circle Kids (Tamora Pierce's Emelan Universe (The Circle of Magic Quartet))

The Shazamily (Shazam!) vs The Clawthorne-Nocedas (The Owl House)

The Losers Club (It) vs The Mondstadt Crew (Genshin Impact)

Part 9:

The Entire Your Turn to Die Cast (Your Turn to Die) vs Funn Funerals & Eric (Wooden Overcoats)

Because You Made Me Smile (or Extended Tenma Household) (Project SEKAI) vs The Aurinko Crime Family (The Penumbra Podcast (Juno Steel))

Silco & Jinx (Arcane) vs The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (& Associates) (GLOW)

Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch (Akatsuki no Yona/Yona of the Dawn) vs MSR (The X-Files)

Ash & Pikachu (Pokémon) vs The Thief Gang/House of Orphans (The Thief Lord)

Part 10:

Powder, Vi, Vander, Mylo & Claggor (Arcane) vs Space Runaways (Saga (Comic))

The Victors of District 12 (The Hunger Games) vs The Killjoys (Killjoys)

The St Cassians Chamber Choir (Ride The Cyclone) vs Six of Crows/The Crows (Six of Crows)

The Gangsey (The Raven Cycle) vs Paper Girls (Paper Girls)

The Bad Kids (Dimension 20 - Fantasy High) vs The Drawtectives (Drawtectives (Drawfee))

Part 11:

Team Natsu (Fairy Tail) vs Yutaka, Minoru & Tane (Our Dining Table)

The Scions of the Seventh Dawn (Final Fantasy XIV) vs Neal Caffrey, Peter & Elizabeth Burke & Mozzie (White Collar)

Scoobies (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) vs Sypha Belnades, Trevor Belmont & Alucard (Castlevania)

I.M.P. (Helluva Boss) vs The New Mutants (X-Men Comics)

The Bad Batch (The Bad Batch) vs Leorio, Kurapika, Gon & Killua (Hunter X Hunter)

Part 12:

Date-Sagan Family (AI: The Somnium Files) vs God Kids (Trials of Apollo)

Crew of the Per Aspera (Rolling with Difficulty) vs Reyna Ramirez & Nico Di Angelo (Riordanverse)

The Crew of the Revenge (Our Flag Means Death) vs The Crisis Management Team (Tomorrow)

Joel Miller & Ellie Williams (The Last of Us) vs Hotel OJ (Inanimate Insanity)

Wangxian + Junior Quartet (Mo Dao Zu Shi/Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation/The Untamed) vs Phoenix (MacGyver)

Part 13:

Nightchord25 (Project SEKAI) vs The Wayfarer's Crew (The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet)

Jessica, Aaron & Erica Slaughter (Something Is Killing the Children) vs Color Gang (Animation vs Minecraft/Animator vs Animation)

Sk8 Fam (Sk8 the Infinity) vs The Pilot Program (Misfits and Magic (Dimension 20))

Killing School Trip Survivors (Danganronpa 2) vs Sea Salt Family (Kingdom Hearts)

The Ten Companions of the Dragonmark (How To Train Your Dragon (Books)) vs Cohen-Atwood Family (The OC)

Part 14:

Arya Stark, Gendry Waters, Hot Pie (& Lommy Greenhands & Jaqen H'Gar) (A Song of Ice & Fire/Game of Thrones) vs Old World Group (Everworld)

Lightning Thief Trio (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) vs California Bureau of Investigation (The Mentalist)

Adora, Glimmer & Bow (She-Ra) vs Disaster Trio/The Clone Wars Trio (Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008))

Kim Dokja's Company (Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint) vs 13 Flame Chasers (Honkai Impact 3rd)

Ren Amamiya, Futaba Sakura & Sojiro Sakura (Persona 5) vs Batfam (Batman Media (Wayne Family Adventures))

Part 15:

The Soul Squad (The Good Place) vs The Paladins of Voltron (Voltron: Legendary Defenders)

Inheritance Gang (Eragon/the Inheritance Cycle) vs Strawhat Pirates (One Piece)

10's Crew (Doctor Who) vs Clementine & Lee Everett (The Walking Dead Game)

Wendy, Soos, Stanford, Stanley, Dipper, Mabel & Waddles (Gravity Falls) vs The Local Group (Rain World)

Five Eccentrics/Five Oddballs (Ensemble Stars) vs The Luminary, Erik, Serena, Veronica, Sylvando, Jade, Rab & Hendrik (Dragon Quest XI)

Part 16:

The Meta Knights (Kirby) vs The Queens from the Musical Six (Six)

Shroud Bros (Twisted Wonderland) vs Natsume's Protection Squad (Natsume's Book of Friends)

The Long Island Vampires & Guillermo (What We Do In The Shadows) vs The Octotrio (Twisted Wonderland)

The Lupin Gang (Lupin III) vs The Fellowship of the Ring (Lord of the Rings)

The Gang (It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia) vs Regina Mills, Emma Swan & Henry Mills (Once Upon a Time)

Part 17:

Torchwood Team (Torchwood) vs MANKAI Company (A3!)

Julie and the Phantoms (Julie and the Phantoms) vs Yeo Joon, Kim So-Bin & Nam Soo-Hyun (At a Distance Spring is Green)

Second Nonary Game Group (Zero Escape: 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors) vs Chosen Siblings (Pokespe/Pokemon Adventures)

The Seven Birds/IPRE/Starblaster Crew (The Adventure Zone: Balance) vs Boys from the Dwarf (Red Dwarf)

The Tiny Giant Duo (The BFG) vs The Greendale 7/The Study Group (Community)

#tumblr polls #poll #polls #tournament poll #found family #found family tournament 2023 #tumblr tournament #tournament

[batboyblog]

2022 in antisemitic hate crimes. 

Jan. 2nd: a 26 year-old Hasid was chased and beaten in Williamsburg. He required several staples in his head.

Jan. 14: in front of a Haredi Orthodox shul in Midwood, a white woman wearing Uggs and an orange hoodie spat on an 8 year-old Jewish boy and made anti-Semitic remarks. The woman allegedly yelled — at a 2, 7, and 8 year-old child playing outside of a synagogue, mind you: “Hitler should have killed you all.” “I’ll kill you and know where you live.���

Jan 22: On Shabbat in Crown Heights around 1 AM, a Hasidic man told the NYPD that he was approached and punched in the face. It's being investigated as a hate crime.

Feb. 4: On Shabbat in Bedstuy, a man ran up to two Hasidic men and punched one of them in the head.

Another assault involving a Jewish victim was also reported that same night

Feb. 11: At least one religious Jew was attacked on Shabbat evening in Flatbush by a person in a hoodie. NYPD are investigating as a hate crime. "Video shows the attacker trying to intimidate the victim, then slapping him in the face, knocking off his yarmulke."

April 1: A group of assailants repeatedly punched and kicked a Hasidic man in Williamsburg. a blurry video appears to show the group striking the victim and shoving him against the side of the truck, where he collapsed, and the beating continued.

April 2: Three teens armed with a crowbar, a knife and a machete allegedly threatened six boys, ranging in age from 12 to 16, on the Upper West Side.

May 6: Two men punched and kicked a rabbi in Crown Heights while making anti-Semitic remarks.

May 10: A man in a hoodie ran up to and punched a Jewish man walking in Flatbush. The man allegedly said, "Free Palestine."

July 13: 3 men assault a Jewish father in front of his 5 year old child

Aug. 9: A 44 year-old Jewish woman at a subway station on the Upper East Side "was choked by an unidentified male suspect, who made antisemitic remarks to her while she waited on the subway platform of the No. 6 train at around 11:20 a.m." according to NYPD.

Aug. 20: Two ultra-Orthodox men were chased down the street in Williamsburg, and at least one was sprayed with a fire extinguisher (which contains major skin and eye irritants)

Aug. 22: A 27-year-old Hasid was slapped by a stranger on Lynch St. near Marcy Ave in Williamsburg at about 4:30 p.m., per NYPD.

Aug. 22: Two teenage boys and a teen girl harassed and then chased a 13-year-old Jewish boy off of a Staten Island bus, took the boy's yarmulke from of his head, and fled.

Sep. 13: A 58 year-old man in Far Rockaway was allegedly punched in the face by a man hurling antisemitic epithets. NYPD has arrested a 34 year-old suspect, per Hamodia.

Sep. 17: Female suspect verbally assaults a Hassidic man before slapping the hat (and Kippah) off his head

Oct. 23: A suspect on a bike road up behind an 18 year old Jewish man and knocked him down

Oct. 24: Three students standing outside their Yeshivah on Avenue L & East 18th Street, were pelted by eggs. The perpetrators screamed “Free Palestine" and forced the students to say it as well.

Nov. 3: an elderly Jewish man walking on Kingston Ave had water and garbage thrown at him.

Nov. 8: Three men fired a gel-based pellet gun at a Hasidic woman and her son. They have been charged with assault as a hate crime, assault, aggravated harassment, and criminal possession of a weapon.

Nov. 9: A group of 4 assaulted a Jewish man in Brooklyn, knocking off his streimel

Dec. 5: A father and his 7 year-old son were shot with a BB gun outside of a Staten Island kosher grocery store

I want to be clear that A) this is ONLY! inside of New York City B) is only assaults and not any other kind of hate crimes like harassment or threats or property crimes and finally C) this is one reporter's informal attempt to track this problem, she admits she thinks she missed some crimes, so this list should not be seen as an authoritative list.

#antisemitism #hate crimes #New York city #NYC #hasidic #judaism #Jews #Jewish #Jumblr

[hitechlatte]

Alrightie! Thanks for waiting FINALLY GOT POLLS WORKING!

This poll will run for a week and you can pick which fic I write first! Each of these fics will take me 4-6 weeks to write depending on their length so I’ll keep you posted!

More details about each of the fics here:

Rise!Mikey X GN!Reader:

You had been Mikey's friend for years. His best friend in fact.

He had two drawers in your dresser and his own bean bag chair at your place.

Every minor update in your life, good, bad or ugly, he was the first person you'd text.

And who else did he call at 3am to rant about his family or vigilante escapades?

But now... you’d be gone for a 2 year service with the Peace Corps. 

Of course he’d miss his best friend, but you’d be back eventually and you promised to call everyday.

So then why couldn’t he shake the aching feeling in his stomach?

Why did everything suddenly feel... different?

Rated T or M, Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Two Idiots Sharing A Brain Cell

Rise!Raph X Irma

(This is Irma from the TMNT universe, just recreated with my own spin for ROTTMNT)

Irma’s internship with the NYPD was more than she could have ever asked for.

A job in her field, a possible switch to the FBI already in the works, and assisting her boyfriend on the occasional mission? 

She really had it made.

However, her romantic escapade with the red turtle was no secret around the office. So of course, her squadmates kept begging to hear the story of how the two of them got together.

So one lunch she finally caved and regaled the tale of how she fell in love with one of the infamous NYC turtles.

Rated T or M, Strangers to Lovers, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Flashbacks/Telling Stories, Crime Fighting Adventures

Rise!Future Donnie X GN!Reader

This was really happening, Donatello Hamato had actually proposed. 

After everything the two of you had been through with the Purple Dragons, your memory loss, Baxter Stockboy and now your insane work schedules, this was a welcomed surprise.

And now with the wedding only days away, everyone had come to stay in the lair. Including, the renown Casey Jones.

However, you were surprised when this cool headed vigilante from the future stood in front of you, stammering uncontrollably.

“Y/N… I think- I- it’s um... time I showed you these… I’m sorry I didn’t before, it’s just- it's never easy to…”

You could see he was holding back tears as he placed the tiny USB in your hand.

“You have the right to read these… To know what happened.”

Rated M, Strangers to Lovers, Angst, Major Character Death, Heartbreak, Grief, Flashbacks/Telling Stories

Rise!Leo X Usagi

Raph had his police work, Donnie had his tech and Mikey was on course to be the next big chef.

But besides protecting the city, Leo had nothing.

So when Usagi suggested that Leo should try out for this year's Battle Nexus Tournament, the blue turtle swore he finally found his calling.

However, the elation quickly faded when rejection after rejection flooded his inbox, each justification for denial stupider than the last. 

A fighter with his skill should have teams begging him to join. But the only group even willing to include him on their roster was practically a pyramid scheme!

Leo was started to wonder if a mutant could ever make it in the Yokai world.

Rated M, Friends to Lovers, Angst, Mutant/Yokai Racism, Trigger Warnings: Sexual Harassment, Discrimination and Emotional Abuse

Thanks again for your love and interest! Can't wait to see what you all pick!

#rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #save rottmnt #fanfic #rise donnie x reader #rottmnt donnie x reader #rottmnt raph #rottmnt mikey x reader #rottmnt leo x usagi

[beardedmrbean]

A majority of  Asian Americans living in New York City have altered aspects of their lives to prevent being the target of an anti-Asian incident, according to a new study released Thursday. 

Three-quarters of Asian Americans in the city have adopted at least one “avoidance behavior,” which includes not taking public transit or speaking in their native tongue, the survey, conducted by nonprofit The Asian American Foundation, found. Younger Asian Americans tended to be more likely to say they adapted their behavior. 

“Younger Asian Americans — many have grown up here in the U.S. — have the language and the cultural skills to adapt and become ‘more mainstream.’ It’s what they feel like they need to do to avoid bullying in schools and other attacks,” said Norman Chen, the organization’s CEO. “In the short term, maybe that’s saving them from potential violence and attacks, but in the long run, reducing who they are. We need to find better solutions.” 

For the study, TAAF researchers surveyed 1,000 NYC-based Asian Americans, ages 16 and up, on the subject of public safety between Nov. 30 and Dec. 19, 2023. The surveys were conducted over the phone and online in English, Chinese, Korean and Bangla. 

Researchers found that during the time period, 36% of respondents feared being verbally or physically attacked due to their race, and 48% avoided going out late at night, with an even higher percentage of women reporting they do so. Forty-one percent of Asian American New Yorkers also refrained from taking public transit. 

“That has a huge effect on people’s mental health, on their livelihood and on their work,” Chen said. “It’s something very concerning.” 

The report also found that 17% of Asian Americans in New York City said they refrained from speaking their native tongue in public. 

“The fact we have to … be on guard all the time when we’re outside and hide our culture, hide our identity, and not speak the language that we perhaps want to speak — that’s a real step backwards for us in our community,” Chen said.  

According to the survey, public safety is the top issue for Asian American New Yorkers, with 78% of respondents saying it was either a “major problem” or “somewhat of a problem.” When asked about their experiences with anti-Asian hate incidents — defined as insults, harassments, threats or a physical attack — about half of survey respondents said they were targeted in 2023 due to their race or ethnicity. And 1 in 5 reported experiencing physical attacks or assaults in that year. However, this includes attacks that were not necessarily reported crimes. 

“The fact that people may perceive that this crisis has diminished really minimizes the truth that there’s just still rampant levels of anti-Asian hatred and violence still going on in the city,” Chen said. 

The TAAF report shows a departure from the dramatic downward trend seen in crime data against Asian Americans collected by the New York Police Department. In 2022, according to NYPD data, there were 82 hate crimes targeting Asian Americans, and  the next year, the number decreased by almost half, at 45. 

Sruthi Chandrasekaran, director of data & research at TAAF, said the disparities are likely due, in part, to the way in which the NYPD records crimes — which unlike incidents, require a high threshold to meet. The study may also have featured higher numbers because it was conducted in several languages, accessing more harder-to-reach populations like older New Yorkers, immigrants and first generation Asian Americans, she said. 

Additionally, many Asian Americans feel uncomfortable with reporting their experiences, Chandrasekaran said, noting that 54% of respondents did not report to “anyone at all.” 

“Asian Americans may also feel that what is happening to them is an isolated incident —  they may have felt more of an impetus to report during COVID because they were seeing and hearing and experiencing anti-Asian hate directed at them and others in their community,” Chandrasekaran said in an email. “With time, this issue has gotten less attention, which may lead people, including Asian Americans themselves, to think it is an isolated incident and may not warrant reporting.”

#nunyas news

[choices-ceri]

CRIMES 3 THEORYS:

Who offed MC's dad?

My first and favourite theory is that he was "silenced". By who? Who knows? Could be anyone. The possibilitys are endless.*

Moreover, what if the NYPD offed him? And that's why the case went cold.

This one's kinda left field but what if pb went for a more Cruella vibe. The person who killed Jimmy turned out to be the biological father. Then this leads too more drama. Did Uncle T know? Why didn't he tell mc? Who's the real baby daddy? Possibilities? Endless.**

Of course... Maybe the butcher was right and the mob killed him... Flavourless plot.

Maybe he just got spontaneously killed for lolz and the killer managed to do a madness and get away with it for the best part of two decades. I'd be so mad if I was MC.

Maybe we'll never know....😶 If pb doesn't tell us I will raise hell (post something mean on Tumblr)

Maybe he's out there somewhere, alive, and someone else was buried in his place. Michael De Santa vibes.

* (1) This one is a major possibility though cause it would carry on with the current theme of characters being killed before they can out the killer. First with Bethany Delgado in book 1 and Sebastyan in book 2. Also I love knowing secrets.

**(3) this is only allowed if we get a dramatic ballroom scene

#UGHHH so much time until book 3 #choices #choices stories you play #pixelberry #choices crimes of passion #crimes of passion #crimes of passion 2 #ceri rose #playchoices #trystan thorne #cop2 #choices ceri #crimes of passion mc #crimes mc #crimes of passion 3 #theory