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astaroth1357 · 3 years

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Demigod MC Series: Athena

So. I have to deal with the virgin goddesses… By mythos, there really shouldn't ever be children of Artemis, Hestia, or Athena (yes, Athena was a virgin goddess). PJ got past that by making it canon that Annabeth and her siblings were born from cracking open Athena's skull (yes, that's also more or less the canon explanation). They gloss over it real quick but I remember, Rick. I've always remembered and that mental image has haunted me for years...

I can't, in good conscience, ignore the history around Athena's worship (call it an academic restraint) but I REFUSE to do the skull thing. So, since I make the rules here, I'm going with magic adoption. They still get magic powers, they're just more human than demigod. Cool? Cool.

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hades, Dionysus, Demeter, Athena

Lucifer

The human that popped out of the portal seemed to have enough sense not to attack everyone in the room for a change, but even Lucifer could tell that was more of a strategic choice than for lack of ability...

Their very existence was highly unusual… and quite worrisome. He wasn't even aware Athena could have "children" of her own, but apparently she had been taking in some particularly bright humans to raise and train like her own...

Unbeknownst to him, a surprising amount of human scholars, diplomats, and generals have her to thank for their trade… and that alone should speak to the level of intrigue at play here.

Was this an accident or Athena's attempt to plant an Olympian spy in the Devildom too…? Either way, he didn't trust them from the get go…

Look, Lucifer isn’t stupid. Athena is a goddess of Wisdom and War and war happens on more than just the battlefield…

Since they've shown up records have been going missing, official documents keep getting misplaced, and he swears that there's some kind of bug in the student council room...!

It's infuriating watching the MC suck up to Diavolo when he's almost certain that they're running their own agenda behind the scenes! And he can't prove any of it!! They cover their tracks too well!

Lucifer has one of those corkboards covered in newspapers and string in a secret wing of the Castle - 100% dedicated to just tracking the MC's activities…. The longer they're there, the more obsessed he becomes...

He swears between Simeon, Solomon, and MC he feels like a shepherd wondering why the sheep are growling… The Devildom has never been in more danger than it is right now... Send help.

Mammon

To be honest, he kind of thought that they were just going to be Satan 2.0 but that's not really true.

They're more than just a book sponge! Though they do read, like a lot. Let’s just say from one schemer to another… Game recognizes Game.

They come up with plans and ideas soooo fast, it’s insane! Honestly, there are times where he has a new money-making plot and he just brings it to the MC first to run it over.

Nine times out of ten, not only do they sniff out any problems but they have a solution for him in a matter of minutes! His scheme game has been on point since they’ve shown up!!

They’re also even better tutoring than Satan is, so he’s even managed to get a couple A’s for the first time in his life! Lucifer actually told him he was proud (which he secretly recorded and now uses as a ringtone much to his brother’s regret...)

So yeah, he likes them... buuut that doesn’t keep him from thinking they act a little weird sometimes...

Mammon: *points to a unused tower close to the RAD building* Over there is the Tower of Sorrow. We use it for storage.

MC: Ah. Interesting… *starts writing in a notebook, muttering* It may need a few minor tweaks but the location is defensible...

Mammon: *stops* Ya say somethin’?

MC: *looks back up* Nope! Say, you’ve been to the Castle a lot haven’t you? Do you know any good ways in?

Mammon: Uhm… Why do ya want to know that…? *starts looking around for Lucifer*

MC: In case of emergencies. I like being prepared. 🙂

Mammon: Look, I don’t know what Lucifer might’a told ya…

MC: I’ll pay you a thousand Grimm for it.

Mammon: Well shit, ya want those maps with or without color?

... Yeeeah, that’s pretty weird… But it’s probably fine. I mean, as long as they keep giving him money, who’s he to complain? 🤷‍♀️

Leviathan

Also thought that they’d be a lot more like Satan but was pleasantly surprised that they were into more than books.

What else did they like exactly? Military strategy!!

It’s been a looong time since he’s been able to talk to someone who’s actually interested in all the battles he’s fought, both in the Celestial Realm and the Devildom, and their curiosity is kind of flattering...! Not a lot of people take his strategic prowess all that seriously anymore...

Plus, they are the BEST partner to have any turn-based strategy game. Hands down. He once got stuck on a level of D-COM for weeks until the MC walked in and mopped the floor with the AI!! They have a serious head for probability and tactics.

The House once made the mistake of letting these two be on the same team during a Hell Game and they absolutely demolished the competition. Mammon didn’t even get a single shot off before half his team was lost to a rigged paint grenade… It took a whole day to clean up…

However, Levi’s also noticed some odd things about the human… He likes that they’re interested in his past but maybe they’re a little… too interested?

Levi: -and that’s how we defeated the Four Horsemen before they escaped from Purgatory.

MC: Wow, Levi that’s seriously impressive!! *furiously scribbling on a notebook*

Levi: Well t-thanks… 😅 But, uhm... are you writing that down…?

MC: Hm? Oh no, just doodling. *they lift up the notebook to show a bunch of cute little sketches on the page… and not the magic-based invisible ink all over them…*

Levi: Oh you draw too? Can you do fanart???

MC: Eh, sometimes. But say Levi, can you tell me about your naval ranks again? I’m still really curious… *gets the pen ready again with a smile*

Satan

Oh, it's been a long game of cat-and-mouse between these two… and unfortunately, it’s been pretty addicting too.

He honestly had every intention of tricking the human into making a huge mess do he could bother Lucifer, but at every turn they proved just a hair too clever for him...

He once gave them a cursed book to “lend” to Lucifer, but they saw through it the moment they touched it and lifted the spell before handing it over.

He rigged a podium to spray glitter during one of Lucifer's speeches but the MC disconnected the trigger mic before he even got on stage. It was pretty dang frustrating...

At one point he got so desperate that, just as a test, he tried to trap them in the House's Music Room. Fortunately for them, it only took a few minutes to work out an escape. They even passed by him in the hallway with a wink!

It's confounding! It's infuriating!!

...and it's so damn sexy... He should be furious but he’s just in awe!!

Add on that they know their art, literature, and multiple different crafts thanks to the tutelage of their adopted mother and that’s it. He’s finished. This boy is in love.

Truthfully though, a part of him is 90% sure that they’re also gathering state secrets… Like, they’re watching Barbs and Diavolo far too close for comfort - but he just can't bring himself to care. 🤷‍♀️

The MC could walk into his room one day and say, "Hey, do you want to help overthrow the monarchy with me?" and he dreads it because deep down he knows that he wouldn’t say no…

Take some notes, kids. Some bad influences get you to drink or do drugs. Others pull you into a centuries long conspiracy to destabilize and topple rival realms from within… But he has fallen for their brain hard. Devil help them all…

Asmodeus

They’re pretty clever, he’ll give them that, but uh… Are they a little off to anybody else?

Asmo is a charmer by birthright so he has a bit of nose for when someone’s just a liiittttle too nice… Not much of a nose mind you, because he can be thrown off by compliments himself, but enough to think that the MC might be a little too… “kind” for their own good...

First off, who wants to spend that much time with Levi?? They don’t even seem that interested in anime! They just keeping asking him for old war stories…

Then all the sucking up they do to Diavolo and Barbatos? Look, he gets it. Diavolo is a delicious piece of man-hunk and his butler could give him a lesson or two in sweet-talk (and he has), but they seem to be just a little too… nosy.

Of course, Asmo’s suspicions disappear pretty quickly after they start to spoil him with spa nights and beauty secrets they picked up from “casual research” into the subject.

And you know, get a little Demonus in Asmo and start massaging his back? Oh, sweetie he’ll sing like a bird!! … with gossip. Singing with gossip.

Asmo: So I’ve heard that Lucifer has been spending more time at RAD than usual… His whole club is talking about it, they think he’s meeting with some witch!

MC: Hm, is that so? *works on a knot near his shoulder blades* What do you think?

Asmo: Ooh~! Right there, MC! *purrs and lays his head on his arms* Well come on, this is Lucifer we’re talking about! I’m sure he’s just working.

Asmo: Hmm... though come to think of it, I think I heard him asking Barbatos for the spare keys to the Tower of Sorrow…

MC: Oh really? Huh. *works out the knot and gets up* I just remembered that I left some papers with Satan... I’ll be right back.

Asmo: You’re going already??

MC: *waves him off quickly* I’ll be right back, Asmo. *hurries out the door to do totally on-the-up-and-up things… surely*

Beelzebub

Honestly he doesn't like this one… But not for the reasons you'd expect.

He agrees with everyone else that they seem a little shady, but Solomon and Simeon are too so it's not like that's anything new... 🤷‍♀️

No, no. He dislikes them because they're the person who FINALLY figured out how to keep him from eating all the food in the kitchen!!

Turns out that the trick was to put a teleportation charm on the fridge door that would send all the food away if it’s opened after a certain time of night…

And where does it go? The Purgatory Hall fridge. And where does the Purgatory Hall food go…? The HoL fridge…

It doesn’t sound so bad until you remember that it means half of their fridge is now Solomon’s leftovers…. 🤢

After they put the same kind of spell on the pantry, it was all over… He couldn't get midnight snacks from the House anymore… Everything was contaminated by Solomon…

The MC is a nice enough person, he doesn’t have a lot of complaints about them, but he wants them to leave. Now. This is inexcusable… He’s so hungry… and he doesn’t want to die by “goulash” or whatever Solomon calls his latest culinary catastrophe… He’s still too young for death… 😓

Belphegor

In a way, he absolutely could not have asked for a better person to help him get out of that attic.

… In another way, he got one of the worst possible people to try and kill... Like. They saw through his scheme sooo fast…

How was he supposed to know that the human had training in body language and sniffing out lies???

Getting the door open was a piece of cake for them. They knew enough magic to undo the seals and just rummaged around Lucifer's stuff long enough to find the key to the door. He could not have found a more competent individual for a break out, really.

It’s just… well he didn’t expect to go from locked in a room like a prisoner to tied up in enchanted rope, still like a prisoner but now mobile. 😑

They even used his own hug ruse against him! They caught his wrists when they got close and tied him up before he could shake them off...

Admittedly, it wasn't exactly the best look for them either - what with walking Belphegor downstairs to the others like a one-man-prison-caravan but they're as silver-tongued as they are sly so they talked their way out of it beautifully…

And like hell was he going to trust them after that!! And not even Beel liked them so something had to be up...

Well, you want a detective? Look no farther than Belphie (no seriously, it’s in the canon). He can put things together pretty fast when he puts his mind to it and watching the MC for a while gave him enough proof to work off of...

He always knew that, humans were bad news and the MC just proved it to him all over again. They are bad news, bad bad news and they’re going to-!

Overthrow… Diavolo…? Is that what he is getting from them…? Huh…

Wait a second, MC. You might just have him interested… 😏

#you say athena mc is smart #i say athena mc is spy #because where better to use your smarts #in war #obey me #obey me shall we date #shall-we-date-obey-me #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me demigods

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sakurayumeno · 3 years

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Hope I got the goth parts right! ~(>_<。)＼

Joseph, Luca, Naib, Norton with a modern goth S/O + playing video games

Joseph

He thinks someone died

But don’t get mad at him, because that was the only reason people would wear full black back then

He thinks it’s nice nevertheless, but he likes the Victorian and lolita/ ouji style the most because he’s the most familiar with the fashion

Listen, mans was alive around the 18th century. He probably don’t even know what moving pictures are yet, so just the concept of video games alone leaves him awestruck

“You mean to tell me that moving pictures EXIST in the future? And in color??”

You don’t even have to convince him at this point, he just so eager to try it out

He jumps at the first sound that comes from the game. He’s all like, “S/o, did you hear that? Where did it come from?” “Joseph, it was the game.”

He literally cannot handle fast-paced games, his reaction times are so slow despite having them being fast in real life. Even Mario Kart is too hard for him

Video games are the coolest thing ever in his opinion, but can’t play them for the life of him

Luca

He thinks the goth style is very unique. He’s rarely seen anyone wear dark clothing because they want to

Zaps anyone who makes rude comments about it

You deserve to dress however you want without being judged and people need to realize that

Surprisingly really good at rhythm games. You could put him on the hardest level and he’d get through it as if it were on easy mode

His favorite type of games are interactive and, of course, rhythm games. Rhythm games keep his brain active and interactive games... let’s just say he likes to experiment with them

First playthrough is neutral, he chooses what he would do in the situation. The ones after are either chaotic or too good. He would choose all the bad options and then choose all the good options next playthrough

Doesn’t play the games often, though. He’s still got his inventions to work on. Maybe he’ll try to make his own video game

Asks to takes apart the game to see how it works

Doesn't understand CDs, how can a flimsy piece of plastic hold so much stuff??

Naib

Doesn’t mind one bit that you’re goth, if you wear those boots with the belt decorations, he’d go ‘Oh look, we match.’

Kind of frustrated that he doesn’t have any goth costumes and yet he has a matching costume with Martha. Like bruh if he wanted a matching costume, give it to his s/o pls

Call him soft, but he prefers playing games that include you. Not competitively or anything, just ones where you two can work together

He’d enjoy games like Minecraft or Stardew Valley where he could live his little domestic video game life with you

If you teach him how to make food in either games, neither of you will ever go hungry

You could be mining or somethin’ and he would go sprinting to find you. You would be so confused until he whips out a cake and says, “I made us a cake, eat it before it gets cold. <3″ “Naib, I’m at full hunger-”

You bet he’d walk up to you in Minecraft and shyly ask to place his bed next to yours

If any mob or enemy were to come up to the two of you, he’d kill it before it could even touch you. No one’s hurting his partner

Norton

“Does my Mr. Mole costume count as goth”

Has a vague understanding of what goth is when you explain it. He thinks that anyone who wears black is goth, even if it’s just a one-time thing

He would love if you guys could match, mainly with the Mr. Mole costume since he has no other black outfits (I mean wanderer is also one, so if you want to dress up as a vampire, go for it)

If ya’ll ever seen that meme where the guy goes easy on their friend in a game and the friend says, ‘Wow. Guess I’m better than you at your own game!’ and the guy goes all serious after, that would summarize your guys’ gaming experience to a ‘T’

Tries his hardest to be better than you, but not in a mean way. He just wants to impress you

He is a noob, but don’t call him that, he won’t know what that is lol

Prone to rage-quit after so many losses

He’ll appreciate it if you gave him some pointers and he’ll actually use them. He may be on par with you after a while

For competitive games, he enjoys Street Fighter and Super Smash Bros. His favorite would have been Mortal Kombat if it weren’t so gory, though

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pastpatientlywaitingforimagines · 3 years

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Wormhole | Spencer Reid x Reader Platonic

WC: 10k

A/N: This is a comfort fic disguised as a CM episode. Also, I had a lot of fun writing this.

WARNINGS: Kidnapping, murder, general CM things, hospitals, mentions of blood, psychopaths

You weren’t normally nervous to talk to Agent Aaron Hotchner. Sure, he was your boss, but he had also been leading the BAU for so long that you always trusted his reactions and motives. Still, the reason you had asked him to meet was so far out of left field that you were nervous he would tell you you were insane.

You were the first one in the office for the morning, perching on your desk in the empty bullpen while you waited for Hotch to arrive. You stood up when he entered the office, but waited to move until he made it to his office door and beckoned you to follow him inside.

“Good morning, (y/n).”

“Morning, Hotch,” you stood awkwardly in front of his desk, clutching the file in your hands.

“Please, sit. Is everything ok?” As soon as you made eye contact with him, your nerves settled. Everything about his behavior showed that he was genuinely concerned for you and interested in what you had to say. You took a deep breath, sliding the file onto his desk.

“I was looking into this cold case from the eighties, in Illinois. Mia-Rose Horn, 16, found murdered under a bridge. I have a theory, and I was hoping I could take a couple of days to go check it out.” You bit your lip while he picked up the file, thumbing through it.

“What’s your theory?”

“The only suspects considered were older transients in the area because the town was so biased against migrant workers. My preliminary research shows that the unsub profiles as younger, someone who knew the victim and her family personally. It feels like there’s a piece of the puzzle missing, and I think victimology can really help this case. I’d like to visit the dumpsite and walk the crime scene. I’d also like to go through the evidence to see if I can narrow it down a little more, and possibly do updated DNA analysis. I’ve already contacted the lead detective, he said it would be fine if I went out there.”

Hotch was quiet for a minute, reading the case information from the file. The longer you sat in silence, the more you feared he would say no. Finally, he closed the file and handed it back to you, “the FBI wasn’t invited in on this case when it was active, how did you find it?”

You blushed, hard. “I was watching a cold case documentary and when they talked about this one it just didn’t feel right, so I asked Garcia to pull the file. Once I looked it over more I realized my hunch was correct. They barely built a profile and the one they did make was wrong.”

“Do you work on cold cases often?”

“I’ve only worked on it when we don’t have an active case and I’m caught up on my paperwork, it makes me feel like I’m still making a difference when things are slow here.”

Hotch nodded, “you’re a good agent, (y/n). I trust that you’ll represent the BAU well. I can’t let you take the jet but you’re welcome to an SUV. However, as soon as we get an active case it takes priority. Do you understand?”

You stood up quickly, excitedly gripping at the file, “Yes sir, of course. Thank you so much. I promise I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t think I could do something. I won’t let you down, sir.” Hotch smiled softly at your energy. You had reached for the door handle before he spoke again, calling after you.

“(y/n),” you turned, hand still on the doorknob, “take Reid with you, I assume he knows the details of this case, too?” You nodded quickly, practically bouncing back to your desk with excitement. You checked the clock, Spencer would probably arrive in the next ten minutes or so, giving you time to arrange everything you’d need for the trip.

As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, you were waiting for him, go bag in hand.

“Hotch said you could go?”

“Not only that, he said you could come with me,” you smirked, falling in step next to him as he walked to his desk.

“Really?”

“We’re leaving now, so get your go bag.” You did a little happy dance as he started to gather his things.

“Ooh! Where are you going?” Penelope joined you at Spencer’s desk, hot cup of coffee in her hands.

“(y/n) is solving a cold case, we’re going out to Illinois to get more information.”

“The one I pulled for you? You actually solved it? Is there anything you can’t do?” Penelope asked in disbelief. Just last week she had explained to you why she was convinced you were a superhero.

You laughed brightly, “I don’t know if I can solve it yet, that’s why I need to go check it out for myself. Yes, I’ll call you if I need anything,” you answered when she opened her mouth to speak again. She hugged both you and Spencer before you left, making you promise you’d call her with updates and letting you know she’d call the detective to let him know you were on your way.

In true Spencer fashion, he had brought enough audiobooks to last the whole drive. You didn’t mind, your brain was more focused on driving. You didn’t talk about the case until you were nearing the end of the twelve hour road trip. Spencer was the one to bring it up, turning down the volume knob on the console.

“How are you feeling about this?”

“To be honest, Spence, I haven’t really been listening.”

“I meant about the case,” he chuckled.

“I’m trying not to get my hopes up. It’s been a cold case for over three decades for a reason, you know?”

“We wouldn’t be in Illinois right now if you weren’t on to something. Instincts exist for a reason, and your instincts are usually right.”

You fiddled with the air conditioning vents absentmindedly, “I don’t want to dredge up old wounds for the family and the town unless I’m absolutely certain I can bring some closure to them as well. The detective is the only person who knows we’re coming. I don’t want to start interviewing witnesses until I know I can do something to help.”

Spencer nodded, “I’ll follow your lead, you just tell me what you need.”

You spent the rest of the time discussing the details of the case, Spencer looking over the file again while you navigated to the police office. Having Spencer with you made you feel a lot better. You knew the case front to back, but this was your first time leading an investigation and you didn’t want to accidentally miss something in the file out of nervousness. Spencer’s eidetic memory and genius brain would keep you on track and ask you questions you knew would only help you in the grand scheme of things. Spencer was also your best friend, your biggest supporter. Any considerations he had would always come from a place of love and mutual respect.

When you arrived at the police station it was late in the evening, but the detective was waiting for you. He was an older man, tall and mostly bald.

“Hi, you must be Agent (y/l/n). Nice to finally meet you in person.”

“Detective Reeves, nice to finally meet you, too. This is my partner, Doctor Reid.” Spencer brought a hand up to wave. “Thanks for letting us take a look at this.”

“Thanks for making the drive out here. This case…” he sighed, “Mia-Rose went missing two months after I started this job and I’ve been hunting her killer ever since. It’s been thirty two years, a fresh pair of eyes will do this case good. It’ll do the whole town good if you can see somethin’ I haven’t.”

“We’ll see what we can do,” you said, not wanting to promise any results to him. “Is there a room we can set up in?”

“I’ve brought all of the evidence to our conference room. Use it for as long as you need.”

“Thanks,” you took off to the door that he had pointed at, Spencer on your heels. He shut the door behind you, dropping his bag on a chair while you picked up examination gloves.

The next few hours were spent meticulously going over the evidence that had been collected. You occasionally made comments to Spencer about where the item had come from and any notes that had already been documented about it.

The clock had just passed midnight when you were ready to move on to the next part of your investigation. You wanted to walk the dumpsite, but it would be useless to go while it was still dark. Instead, you retreated to a small motel at Spencer’s insistence that you needed sleep.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to shut my brain off enough to actually sleep,” you confessed once you were wearing sweatpants and leaning up against the headboard of the bed.

Spencer wandered out of the bathroom, giving you the softest look as he sat down next to you.

“What are you thinking about the most?”

“The evidence told me exactly what I thought it would, but I can’t build a decent mental picture of what happened until I see the dump site. What if I get there and it still doesn’t make sense? What if I’m in too deep on this one, Spence?”

“This case has been cold for thirty years, it can wait one more night. You are an incredible FBI agent. You’re an incredible human, at that. I know you can handle this, and Hotch knows you can handle this, too. If you aren’t able to solve it, you’re not letting anyone down. It’s been a cold case for a reason, I’m sure you’ll solve the next one.”

“Logically I know you’re right, but that isn’t making sleep happen any easier,” you sighed, sinking down onto a pillow. You could tell from Spencer’s expression that he had an idea when he reached up, turning off the lamp beside him and laying down next to you in the dark.

“This is called Image Distraction, all you have to do is close your eyes, try to relax, and listen to my voice.”

“Are you hypnotizing me?” you giggled into the darkness, feeling like a small kid at a sleepover with their best friend.

“No, it’s just a strategy to help you fall asleep. I’m going to describe a scene to you and the idea is that it takes up enough space in your brain to prevent you from re-engaging with other thoughts. Hypnosis doesn’t actually put you to sleep, just in a trance that seems like you’re sleeping. It’s been proven to help change habits and thoughts around sleeping though. There was a study done in 2010-”

“Is that what I’m supposed to be picturing? I’m seeing dudes in lab coats and creepy hospital walls.”

You felt the mattress shake next to you as Spencer laughed.

“No, that wasn’t it. I’m going to start now, picture a waterfall. As you walk closer it gets louder, pounding onto the rocks below it and spraying a mist into the air. The droplets of water stick to your face. You can see a rainbow that touches the pool at the base of the waterfall. The plants growing around the pool of water are greener than emeralds, bright and shining in the sun…”

That was the last thing you remembered him saying before succumbing to sleep. You had a very vivid dream while you were sleeping, not uncommon for someone in your field, but it wasn’t one you had had before.

There was a teenage girl walking in front of you down a long hallway. You instantly recognized her as Mia-Rose. She turned around every so often, beckoning you to come closer, but no matter how fast you tried to move your feet it was impossible for you to catch up. The hallway was familiar, you realized it was one in Quantico that you walked down every day to get to the elevator. It took longer than normal to reach the end, and just when you thought you could catch up to Mia-Rose, Hotch stepped out in front of you, holding Spencer with one arm and holding his gun to your best friend’s temple with the other.

“You have to choose, (y/n).”

“Choose what?”

“One of them has to die. Him or her?” he moved his gun to point the barrel at Mia-Rose.

“I don’t understand, why can’t I save them both?”

“One of them has to die.”

It only took you a moment to consider, “me. Shoot me. Let them live.”

“Brave choice,” Hotch’s gun came to point at you and his finger squeezed the trigger.

You woke up.

Soft morning light was coming in through the window and Spencer was already awake, quietly tying his tie while perched on the edge of the bed.

“Morning,” he grinned when he noticed you watching him.

“Morning,” you panted, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from your eyes.

“You were dreaming.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Hotch made me choose between him shooting Mia-Rose or shooting you.”

“What did you choose?”

“I made him shoot me instead.”

You expected Spencer to launch into an analysis of your dream and what it meant, but instead he asked another question, changing the subject.

“Can we stop for coffee before we walk the dumpsite?” he pulled a blue cardigan out from his go bag and stuck his arms through the sleeves.

“Sure,” you said, stretching as you stood up. While you got ready, Spencer found the nearest place to get coffee, and you stopped there before continuing on to the bridge where Mia-Rose’s body had been found thirty years ago.

“I’m too used to walking active crime scenes,” you murmured when you pulled over to the empty dumpsite. Normally dumpsites like this were taped off with officers present, as well as some news reporters and civilian gawkers. You were sure that it had looked like that when the crime had first happened, but now it was just a bridge that nobody thought about.

When you stepped out of the SUV you noticed a small memorial for Mia-Rose nailed to a tree, wilted and weathered flowers around it. You stopped for a minute to look at it, then continued through the brush to the overpass.

Mia-Rose had fallen off of the bridge onto the ground beneath, where you were standing now. Her death was originally ruled a suicide, which had slowed the investigation until her parents insisted she wasn’t suicidal and had her autopsied, revealing ligature marks and evidence of assault. Just from reading the file, you knew that her parents were right. She didn’t profile as suicidal, and if she was she could have jumped from further down the bridge into the flowing river to your right, not onto the ground where she likely would have survived.

“Mia-Rose was found right here,” you pointed, “and her belongings…” you turned to your left, Spencer moving from behind you to stand where the girl’s school backpack and shoes had been found, a handful of yards away.

“They were found next to this rock.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” you said, facing him from where you stood, “the ME found traces of motor oil on her skin, so she must have been transported in a car. That means the unsub was driving on this road, stopped here by the bridge, then tossed her over the side. Why not just toss her stuff after her?” After thinking in silence for a minute, you started moving. “Stay where you are,” you instructed Spencer as you climbed the embankment. Once you reached the bridge, you stood on the edge so you could see both locations of dump sites.

“Spence,” you called to him, “how long is the average car?”

“Anywhere between 10 and 18 feet, depending on the size of the vehicle,” he answered quickly. You positioned yourself in line with where Mia-Rose’s body was found, then paced out roughly fifteen feet, landing you almost squarely in line with where Spencer was standing down the hill.

“What are you thinking?”

“This might sound kind of out there, but what if there was a partner?”

Spencer furrowed his eyebrows, trying to figure out how you had gotten there. He climbed up to where you were standing before asking you about it, “what makes you think that?”

“Eyewitness accounts said they saw Mia-Rose in a car with a man the night she went missing, and they were both sitting in the front of the car, but that’s about all anyone can agree on. What if there was a second unsub sitting in the back? If I’m the unsub getting Mia-Rose out of the front, you’re taking her stuff out of the trunk and tossing it over the side,” you acted out.

“Which means my DNA should be on her belongings,” Spencer concluded, finishing your thought, “I’ll call the lab and start getting things processed.”

“Good idea, I’m going to call Garcia and then we can head back to the station,” you said, pulling out your own phone as Spencer took a step away to make his call.

“Crimefighter! What have you’ve got?” Garcia answered her phone quickly.

“Hey Penelope, can you go through the list of Mia-Rose’s family members and get me some updated contact info?”

“Of course! Did you get a lead? I knew you could solve this,” she rambled. You could hear the clicking of her keyboard as she multitasked.

“Not quite, just a better understanding of the situation. I want to start interviewing family members to really nail down victimology and see if they know of anyone who fits my profile. Spencer’s calling the lab to get some evidence re-examined. When they send you results can you run them through CODIS?”

“Absolutely. Anything else?”

“That’s it for now, thanks Garcia.”

“Anytime, my love. I just sent the updated contacts to your tablet. Garcia out!”

Spencer was waiting for you in the SUV, once you finished your call with Garcia you drove back to the station. Detective Reeves assigned an officer to help you call the family members and invite them in for interviews.

“Mrs. Horn, thank you for coming in to talk with us,” you said gently to the elderly woman sitting across from you.

“Anything to help you find my little girl’s killer. Do you really think you can solve it?”

“We’re trying our best. Any information you can give us will make our job easier. Mia-Rose was walking home from school when she went missing, and was later seen getting into a blue car. Is there anyone she would have willingly accepted a ride home from?”

“No, she always walked, rain or shine so she could say hello to the neighbors on her way home. Except for Tuesdays, my brother Dylan would drive her home from band practice on Tuesdays because it was after dark.”

You exchanged a glance with Spencer, silently acknowledging that Mia-Rose was abducted on a Friday.

“Did she have any enemies? Anyone who would want to hurt her, bullies or friends she might have had a falling out with?”

“No, she was sweet to everyone. That’s why it was such a shock to the town when she was killed. There wasn’t a soul who hadn’t been touched by her kindness.” Mrs. Horn spoke so highly of her daughter, further validating your theory.

“Let’s take a break,” you said, noting the way she was tearing up, “excuse us.” You stepped out of the room with Spencer.

“We should talk to Dylan,” he said once you were out of earshot of Mrs. Horn.

“I agree. He was interrogated by police when Mia-Rose first went missing, but I don’t think he’s a suspect. His alibi was rock solid, but he might know something about what happened.”

You had the detective bring in Mrs. Horn’s brother, Dylan Godfrey. While he agreed to an interview, he was much less cooperative than Mrs. Horn.

“I told the police thirty years ago, I had nothing to do with it,” he drawled, “I was at home with my wife, God rest her soul. I didn’t even have my car to kidnap Mia if I wanted to.”

“Where was your car?” Spencer asked quickly.

“My boy had it, out with his friends. He had just gotten his driver’s license. You know how kids are, impossible to control.”

This was the first you were hearing of his son. Nowhere in the records from the original investigation did it say Dylan Godfrey had a son, let alone a son who’s whereabouts were unknown on the night of the crime.

“Mr. Godfrey, let me ask you this. How old was your son the year Mia-Rose was murdered?”

“Eighteen.”

“Do you know where he was that night?”

“Out, like I said. He didn’t come home until after two o’clock in the morning.”

“Do you know where he is now?”

“Last I knew he was working on a farm just out of town, the McGilroy’s place.”

As soon as Spencer had gotten the information out of him, you were firing off texts to Garcia. She sent you the address of the farm, and you called her once you were en route.

“You’re on speaker, Garcia. What have you found about this guy and why didn’t we know about him before?”

“I’ve been asking myself the same question. He wasn’t included in any of the original witness statements. I’ve barely been able to find information about him online. I know he’s still alive because I don’t have a death certificate, but other than that no home address, no phone number, no nothing. Everything I know about him is from his childhood, before Mia-Rose went missing.”

“Something is better than nothing, what did you find?”

“Daniel Godfrey, born in 1965 to Mary and Dylan Godfrey. He was a decent kid from what I can tell. He got good grades in school, even got a scholarship to a college in Chicago but he turned it down at the last minute. I’ll hit you back if I figure out why.”

“Thanks Garcia,” you chirped before she hung up. You pulled up the long dirt drive of the McGilroy’s farm, putting the SUV in park and getting out. Spencer was by your side in an instant, you noticed the way his hand rested on his revolver.

“My goal is to get him in for a voluntary interview. If we can get him talking, we can figure out what happened that night and why his known locations on that night fit our timeline. Best case, we get a confession and the name of his partner, worst case, he had nothing to do with it and we’re back where we started.”

Spencer nodded, so you reached up to knock on the door. After a moment, a blonde woman opened the door.

You flashed your credentials, “hi, I’m SSA (y/l/n) with the FBI, we’re looking for Daniel Godfrey and we were told he might be here.”

“He’s out back in the barn,” she said, pointing down a gravel path.

“Thanks so much,” Spencer said as you stepped off the porch. You reached the barn and pushed open the large door, revealing a man inside. He was carrying a bucket of water that he poured into a trough for a horse before acknowledging you.

“What can I do ya for?”

“Are you Daniel Godfrey?” you asked.

“Depend’s who’s asking,” he chuffed, wiping his hands on his dirty coveralls. You held up your credentials.

“I’m Agent (y/l/n) and this is Doctor Reid. We’re with the FBI investigating the murder of your cousin, Mia-Rose Horn. We were hoping you’d come in to the station so we could get some more information about her.”

“What kinda information? Mia’s been dead a long time now.”

You had to play this carefully, one wrong word and he wouldn’t voluntarily interview with you, “your father told us you were out with friends the night she disappeared. We were hoping you could tell us what town was like that night and if you saw anything unusual.”

“You talked to my father? I can tell ya right now, it was quiet. Just like any other night in this town.”

“Great, that’s exactly the kind of information we’re looking for. Would you be able to come with us to the station so we can get that statement through the official channels? While we’re there I’d like to ask you a few more questions, if that’s ok.”

“Are ya saying I’m being arrested?”

“No, not at all. This is completely voluntary.”

Daniel fell silent, considering your offer. When he finally spoke again it was gruff and hostile, “will my old man still be there?”

You exchanged a glance with Spencer, hoping he had a better read on what answer would be your best choice. Spencer’s tongue flickered over his lips, then he cautioned a response, “he’s there right now, will that be a problem?”

Daniel looked dejected, scuffing his feet in the hay below his boots, “not unless he makes it a problem.”

“We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. Our car is out front, is there anything you need to do before we go?”

Daniel shook his head and quietly followed you and Spencer back to the SUV. He didn’t say much while you were driving back to the police station, and neither did you. You escorted Daniel inside the station, walking quickly past where his father was sitting, still talking to the officer Reeves had assigned to your case. Dylan stood up when he noticed his son, but Daniel just kept his head down and quickened his pace. You brought him to an interrogation room, a small space with just a table and a couple of chairs.

“You can wait here, we just have to go collect some materials and then we’ll be back, alright?”

“Whatever,” Daniel said, taking the seat closest to the door. You stepped out, shutting the door behind you.

“Did you see the way Dylan reacted when he saw Daniel?” you asked Spencer quietly. He nodded.

“Did you see the way Daniel reacted when he saw Dylan?”

“Do you think it’s relevant to this case? I don’t want to waste time asking about it if it’s just some squabble they had once. Hotch said I could only work this case until we got an active one back at Quantico, and you and I both know serial killers don’t take extended vacations.”

Spencer considered the situation, you could almost see the gears turning in his mind, “it might be a way we can get him comfortable talking to us, irrelevant or not. This is the best lead we have. Just like you said earlier, you have to get him talking.”

You trusted Spencer’s opinion, not just because he was your best friend, but because he had led his fair share of interrogations during his time in the FBI. He was really good at it, his accelerated mind picking up patterns of words and behaviors that you could only be envious of.

“What do you mean ‘I’ have to get him talking? I thought this was a team effort.”

“It is, but you have to lead this interrogation.”

You weren’t surprised at his statement, but you resented the fact that he was right. Your favorite part of your job was the quick thinking, the on-the-fly deductions you had to make in the field that helped you put all of the clues together. You liked helping people and actively putting bad guys away for the greater good of the country you served. You were good at your job, too, having spent so much time developing your skills with arguably some of the best agents in the Bureau. You couldn’t not be good at your job surrounded by minds like the ones at the BAU.

Like everyone though, there were some aspects of your career that you were better at than others. You usually excelled in the takedown and arrests of suspects and left the mind games to your colleagues that were much better equipped to handle them. Sure, you could talk a suspect into putting their weapon down instead of pointing it at you or a victim, but that was a heat of the moment interaction. Cool, collected interrogation rooms just weren’t your strong suit, and nothing during your time at the BAU so far had changed it.

“You really think I can do this?”

“Absolutely. You have the skills, knowledge, and rapport to conduct this interview,” Spencer showed no hesitation in his answer.

“Promise to let me know if I’m going down the wrong rabbit hole?”

Spencer smiled, “of course. Let’s go solve this case.” He handed you a sheet of paper, a form for Daniel to sign with his Miranda rights on it.

Once you were seated across from Daniel, you handed him the paper and read him his rights.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Daniel, what happened between you and your father?”

Daniel’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked back and forth between you and Spencer, “what kind of FBI agents are you?”

“We’re with the Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico, Virginia. We use psychology to solve crimes. I hope my question wasn’t intrusive, Doctor Reid and I both just noticed the way your behavior changed when you saw your father. He’s been helpful in our investigation and I don’t want any family conflicts to interfere if you’re going to help us too.”

“We had a disagreement.”

“Just a disagreement?” you pressed carefully.

“Just a disagreement.”

“Alright,” you said, deciding to leave it at that and move on. He was giving you too much resistance for the direction you had wanted to take the conversation, so you changed the subject. If his disagreement with his father was relevant to the case, you’d have to get that information out of him another way.

You started off by asking about Mia-Rose and gathering any information Daniel had about her. At first he was reluctant, just explaining that they saw each other during family gatherings and when his father would drive them both home from band practice.

“You went to the same high school then, if you were in band together?”

“Uh huh. It’s a small town, everyone goes to the same school.”

“Can you tell us about who Mia-Rose spent time with? Who were her friends?”

“Everyone was her friend. She was the friendliest kid in school.”

“Who were your friends?” Spencer asked, tilting his head. It wasn’t a question you had thought to ask, but as soon as he did you saw where he was going.

“Does it matter?”

“It does to me,” Spencer answered.

“Alec Krause, Markus Sparrow, Nicolas Rush,” Daniel listed.

“Where are they now?” you asked while Spencer pulled out his phone, presumably to text Garcia for a background check, “are you still in contact with them?”

“They all moved out of town for college. Haven’t seen or talked to ‘em since,” Daniel shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

“You were supposed to go to college, in Chicago, right?” you prompted. Daniel’s eyes flickered between you and Spencer, probably wondering how much about him you knew.

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you go?”

“Got a job at the farm,” he shrugged.

“Daniel, I’m going to be real with you,” you squared up, “I’ve seen plenty of small towns in this job. I’ve talked to many people from small towns just like this one, and almost all of them in your position would have taken the out. They would have moved to the city as soon as they got the chance, so why didn’t you? Why did you choose to stay in this town?”

“I didn’t have a choice,” Daniel was quick to correct you.

“You didn’t?” Now you were on to something.

“The disagreement I had with my father was about me leaving. He wouldn’t let me leave, so he got me the job at the farm.”

“Alright, let’s take a break,” you said, standing up and stepping out of the room. Spencer exchanged a few words with Daniel, then followed you out.

“That was big,” you panted, trying to shake out the jump of adrenaline that you were feeling.

“You’re doing great,” Spencer confirmed.

“When Dylan was talking about his son earlier, during his interview, it seemed like he didn’t have control over Daniel. What was it he said, ‘you know how kids are’? Something must have changed to make Daniel listen to his father telling him to stay, something that changed after Mia-Rose was murdered.”

Right before you were going to go back into the interrogation room, your phone rang. Hotch’s name lit up the screen.

“Hold on, Spence. (y/l/n),” you answered, praying that Hotch wasn’t going to tell you to abandon the case and get back to Quantico right when you were making strides.

“I’m just checking in to see how things are going.”

“We’re talking to a person of interest right now, it’s just very slow going. We think he had been working with a partner when the murder took place, but he’s not giving up names,” you explained, “please don’t tell me we have a case that we have to come back for, we just got a break that might open this case up for us.”

Hotch chuckled on the other end of the line, “no, we don’t have a case. Garcia told me you had a lead and I was curious.”

“Honestly, I don’t know how you were a prosecutor before joining the BAU. This is exhausting, and every time I say something I feel like he’s going to invoke.”

“You’re doing fine,” Spencer whispered reassuringly.

“Spencer says I’m doing fine,” you relayed to Hotch.

“I’m sure you are. Sometimes unsubs like this take time to crack,” he reminded you.

“It’s already been thirty years, I’d like to close it now,” you decided, squaring your shoulders. “I’m going to go back in there and wrap this up. I’ll call you back when we’re done.” You hung up with Hotch, then turned to Spencer. “Let’s do this.”

Daniel seemed to tense up when you walked back in, sitting down across the table from him once again.

“Thanks for being patient, Daniel. I’d like to know why your father wouldn’t let you leave town. From what he told us, he gave you a lot of freedom in high school. What happened?”

“We had a disagreement, like I said.”

“Right, we’ve covered that. It must have been hard going from being able to do whatever you wanted to working a farm job under your father’s thumb. I was hoping you could tell us exactly what kind of disagreement. Was it because Mia-Rose was murdered?” Daniel nodded, “ok, that’s a start. Was there a specific reason beyond Mia-Rose’s murder?”

Your tactic was deliberate, validating his feelings before pressing harder in hopes that he would give something up.

“He didn’t want me getting into more trouble.”

“More trouble? As in, you got into trouble here first?”

“Correct.”

“We don’t have any police records for you, Mr. Godfrey. Usually that’s the kind of ‘trouble’ that stops kids from going to college,” Spencer chimed in.

“The police don’t know I was there.”

“Where?” Your question was burning hot, and you watched Daniel squirm as he realized he had dug himself into a hole.

“I was in the car.”

“Which car?” you hoped he meant the car you thought he did, but you needed a true confession.

“My father’s car…” you chose not to say anything and instead let him sit in uncomfortable silence, “the night Mia was killed.”

“With her? Was Mia in the car with you?”

“Yes, she was.”

You had to maintain your composure, even though your insides were doing cartwheels out of excitement. This was exactly the kind of lead you were looking for, you couldn’t blow it now.

“Your father said you were out with friends, were any of the people you mentioned earlier with you? Alec, Markus, and Nicholas?”

“No, it wasn’t with them.”

“Who else was in the car then, Daniel? It wasn’t just you and Mia-Rose.”

“I don’t remember,” he started backpedaling, a clear sign that you were closing in.

“We’re going to step out and give you some time to think about it, see if you can try to remember,” Spencer interrupted before you could say anything, nodding towards the door when you made eye contact with him. You followed him out, turning to him abruptly once the door was shut behind you.

“I was getting somewhere with him.” You were fired up, to say the least. Now that you were in the comfortable privacy of Spencer’s company, you could let your emotions come forward.

“I know, I know,” Spencer smirked, “Garcia got a hit with Daniel’s friends, we should call and see what she has so we have more leverage when we go back in there.”

You took a deep breath, pulling out your phone and calling Garcia.

“Boy Wonder got my text!” she answered after the first ring.

“What did you find, Garcia? We’re really making strides here and anything you’ve got could really close this for us.”

“I ran the names of Daniel’s friends, like you asked. Almost all of them checked out, normal guys with normal lives.”

“Almost all of them?” you caught the specificity of her words.

“Right. One of them, Markus, he checks out too… but his brother, oh my his brother has done some stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” Spencer asked, brows furrowed in thought.

“Kyle Sparrow. When he was 11 he attempted to rob a bank, and not just as a joke. When he was 14 he was suspended from school after locking students in storage closets. He’s been in and out of jail his whole adult life. He got out a year ago and hasn’t been back since.”

“That fits our profile. How old was he when Mia-Rose was killed?” Spencer followed up.

“That’s where things get weird, I was hoping you guys would have a good explanation because this really doesn’t make sense.”

“Garcia,” you called, refocusing her.

“Right. Kyle Sparrow was 10 years old when Mia-Rose was murdered.”

“What?” you whipped around to look at Spencer incredulously, hoping he would have some kind of information about child serial killers that would clarify the situation. Instead, he just frowned and shook his head. You had to decide if it was worth bringing up to Daniel and risk wasting precious time. You considered for a moment, then spoke. “Send us his address, we’re going to ask Daniel about him. If he seems like a viable lead then we’ll head out there. Thanks Garcia.”

“Done and done. You’ve got this, crimefighters!”

“Are you ready to go back in there?” Spencer asked when you reached for the interrogation room door handle.

“Do I have a choice? This case just took a turn that I wasn’t expecting.”

“It’s been four hours and thirty six minutes. We can take another minute to get coffee if you need a longer break,” he suggested.

“I’m too close to cracking this. I can feel it,” you confessed. Spencer nodded, acknowledging that your gut feelings were usually right. You opened the door, sitting back down across from Daniel. Spencer stood in the corner behind you, hands in his pockets.

“Did you remember who was in the car with you the night Mia-Rose was murdered?” Daniel shook his head. ��Ok, that’s fine. I have some names that we’ve collected as people of interest for this case. I’m going to read them off and you tell me if one sounds familiar, ok?” Daniel nodded, so you opened your file and pulled out a blank piece of paper, holding it so Daniel couldn’t see the lack of information on your side.

“Emily Prentiss.”

He shook his head.

“Derek Morgan.”

Again, nothing.

“Penelope Garcia.”

Your list was intentional, listing people you were certain Daniel wouldn’t know so you could get a baseline for his behavior. It paid off when you listed the next name, “Kyle Sparrow.”

You could practically see Daniel tense up. Though he shook his head, his leg started bouncing nervously and his eyes were flickering frantically around the room, looking anywhere but at you and Spencer.

“Daniel,” you started, keeping your voice low, “remember when I told you Doctor Reid and I use psychology and behavior to solve crimes? You may not have noticed it, but your behavior shifted when you heard Kyle’s name. You know something about him, don’t you? Was he in the car with you that night?”

Daniel finally looked up at you, eyes watering, “I’m not a criminal.”

“I didn’t say you were. Was Kyle in the car with you the night Mia-Rose was murdered?”

“He was just a kid, my best friend’s little brother. We were out in my dad’s car, I had just gotten my license so I skipped class and took Markus and Alec for a spin around town. When I dropped them off back home Kyle said he was lookin’ to go across town to the library so I offered him a ride. I even made him sit in the back because he was still just a small kid. Then we saw Mia walking home. It always took her longer because she stopped to say hi to everyone she passed. Kyle suggested we offer her a ride too, so I did.

“It all happened so fast, first she was getting into the car and then Kyle had a knife at her throat. He told me he’d kill her if I didn’t do what he wanted. He made me drive out of town to the woods and watch as he tied her up and did horrible, horrible things to her. I didn’t even know a kid was capable of doing those things. When he was done with her he made me help put her back in the car and drive to the bridge. She wasn’t dead when he made me push her over the edge, that’s why I didn’t throw her in the river. I thought she’d survive it without Kyle knowing because he was too busy getting rid of her stuff in the trunk. He still made me drop him off at the library after, even though it was closed on account of it being real late at night, and swear that I’d never tell anyone what we did or he’d kill me too.”

“How did your father find out?” you asked.

“He found blood in the car the next morning. I told him it was from Markus, that he had gotten scratched up while we were messing around in the afternoon. He made me clean it out with bleach, told me I’d have to learn responsibility if I wanted to move out. When my auntie called him later and told him about Mia being missing, he connected the dots. He told me he didn’t want to know what I had been doing the night before, but if I tried to move away it would make me a suspect. He got me the job at the farm and I’ve been there ever since.”

“Thank you for your honesty, Daniel. We’ll tell the court how cooperative you’ve been, they might ease your sentence because of it.”

“The court? What?” Pure fear crossed Daniel’s face. It didn’t sit right with you that he had to be arrested, knowing he had been coerced into helping murder his cousin, but he had still committed a felony. You had to let the court decide his fate.

“Daniel Godfrey, you’re under arrest for accessory to the murder of Mia-Rose Horn,” Spencer moved behind Daniel, taking his hands to cuff them. As soon as he was done Daniel was passed off to an officer and you and Spencer took off, SUV keys in hand.

You sped towards the home address Garcia had sent you for Kyle Sparrow, wishing the rest of the team was there so you could split up in case he was at work. This part of your job was where you felt the most comfortable, the tactical side of an arrest that was more physical than the mind games you had just played in the interrogation room. It was just starting to rain, a light drizzle that darkened the skies as you drove to what you hoped was your final location for this case.

“Is there Kevlar in the back?” you asked, realizing you hadn’t gotten vests from the police station before you had left. Spencer turned around in his seat, checking around the vehicle.

“Nope.”

“Great,” you sighed, “let’s try not to get shot at then, alright?”

“Sounds good to me,” Spencer agreed.

You pulled up to Kyle’s house, which was more of a rundown shack on the outskirts of town. You drew your weapon as soon as your boots were on the ground, approaching the door cautiously.

“Where’s Morgan when you need him,” you mumbled, hoping you wouldn’t have to kick the door down, “Kyle Sparrow, FBI,” you announced, knocking on the door. A gunshot flew through the window next to you, shattering the glass. That was all the invitation you needed to bust open the door, but Kyle wasn’t in the room inside. You moved quickly through the maze of rooms, taking one side while Spencer took the other.

“Clear,” you called every time you ensured a room was empty. You heard Spencer clear a couple of spaces, then fall silent. You worked your way to the kitchen, finding him in a standoff with Kyle.

“I’m not going to jail again. You can’t make me,” Kyle seemed unreasonably calm, grinning slightly to himself while he pointed a pistol at Spencer.

“You’re wanted for the murder of Mia-Rose, Kyle. There’s no way to get out of this one,” you had to keep things simple for him and talk him down as quickly as possible before he shot at you again, “let’s just talk about it.”

“I don’t want to talk about it. I’m not going to jail for a person I killed thirty years ago.”

“There’s no other option. We know it was you, this ends here.”

“If I have to go back, it has to be for something better. You’re right, this ends here, but not because I killed Mia-Rose Horn.”

“How does it end, Kyle?” Spencer asked. You noticed the glint in Kyle’s eye, giving you a split second to push Spencer out of the way and get hit with a searing pain in your side. You heard Spencer’s revolver fire as you hit the floor.

“Get him first,” you grunted, putting a hand on your side to try to stem the bleeding. Spencer crouched next to you, worried eyes looking you over before he pulled your handcuffs out of your pocket. Your ears were ringing, but you could just make out the sounds of Spencer talking before you blacked out.

You woke up in the hospital, an all too familiar experience. Spencer was beside you, nose in a book. You weren’t sure how much he was paying attention to it though, considering the way his brows were furrowed and his fingers were tapping against the cover. He was lost in thought somewhere, you just didn’t know where.

“Spence,” you managed to croak through your dry throat. His eyes shot up from the page, lips turning up in a small smile when his gaze met yours.

“Hi,” he practically whispered.

“Is Kyle dead?”

Spencer hesitated, no doubt weighing the value of telling you the outcome now or waiting until you were better rested. He chose the former, shaking his head.

“I did what you would have done and shot him in the hip. He’s not dead, and once he’s healed he’ll go to trial. You did it, (y/n). You solved the case.”

“We solved the case. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“You also wouldn’t have gotten shot.”

“So?” you shrugged, “I lived. Where’s Garcia? Usually she’s the first one at the hospital.”

Spencer’s smile returned, “she wanted to but a case came in right right after you went into surgery. She sends her love and said she’d make up for not being here when we get back to Quantico.”

“A case? We should get back to help,” though you were exhausted, you brain immediately went into profiling mode.

“No, you’re going to stay here and rest. You should be staying for longer than you’re going to, but I was able to convince your doctor that I was more than capable of making sure you got home safely.”

“I didn’t realize you were a rule-breaker,” you teased, feeling your eyelids droop.

“I’m not, I just thought you would want to go home as soon as possible. You’re not the kind of person who likes being away from their family, and we’ve already been gone three days. Staying here doing nothing, although it would be good for you, would just torment you more.”

“Thanks, Spence,” you murmured, falling back to sleep. You dozed on and off for the better part of the day, Spencer staying by your side the whole time. Towards the end of the afternoon, you woke up to his seat vacant. The immediate panic you felt was squashed by calculated thoughts, he’s probably getting food or in the bathroom. You fought to stay awake while you waited for him to come back. He surprised you by returning with someone behind him.

“Mrs. Horn wanted to talk to you, if you’re feeling up for it,” he said, resuming his position in the chair next to you. You nodded, watching the older woman enter the room from where she had been standing in the doorway.

“I wanted to thank you for finding my daughter’s killer, even though it put you in the line of danger.”

“I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” you reassured her, sitting up a little against your pillows.

“I wish her father could have been here to see it solved. He always told me not to lose faith, that a blessing would come our way. You were our blessing,” she dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.

“I was just doing my job, I’m sorry it took so long for someone to figure this out.”

Mrs. Horn tutted, telling you she was just glad that her daughter could rest in peace now. Before she left, she made sure to tell you that if you were ever in Illinois you and Spencer were welcome to come over for dinner, and that she hoped you got better quickly so you could go help other victims.

Once she was gone, your doctor came in to follow up with you. You had been shot in the side, the bullet passing through and exiting out of your back without hitting any major organs. Spencer did most of the talking for you, asking questions you couldn’t make sense of and checking over your chart for what was probably the hundredth time that day.

“You seem to be healing well and have a… knowledgable… support system, so I’m going to clear you for discharge. If anything changes you’ll need to go into the nearest hospital, ok?”

“Yes ma’am,” you answered. A nurse came in later with your discharge papers, which you signed before Spencer helped you in a wheelchair and out to where the SUV was parked.

“Are you sure you want to drive in this rain? I can-“ you winced in pain, hand flying to your side, “I can do it if you don’t feel comfortable.” Spencer stifled a laugh, reaching his hands out to give you something to brace yourself against as you moved from the wheelchair the SUV.

“I don’t mind driving,” he said simply.

“Yes you do,” you quipped quickly, exhaling as you settled into the passenger seat.

“Ok, yes. Under normal circumstances, I do mind driving, but I think I can make an exception when my favorite driver has been shot.”

“Don’t let Morgan hear you say that,” you smirked, still struggling to breathe in a way that would make your side hurt less.

“Are you warm enough?” Spencer fiddled with the heating knobs once he was settled behind the wheel. You nodded, but the shiver that ran down your body betrayed you.

“You’re the one driving. I want you to be comfortable,” you mumbled.

“You’re the one who just got shot. Here,” he reached behind him into the back where both of your go bags were stored. He unzipped his own and pulled out a cardigan, then leaned over the console to drape it across you. “The wool will help you retain heat.”

“Thanks,” you sighed, relishing in the comfort of his gesture.

“You didn’t have to take that bullet for me.”

“I did. I pulled you into this mess, I wasn’t going to let you get hurt because of it.”

“Hotch sent me with you so that you wouldn’t get yourself hurt,” he rebutted.

You brushed him off, “I’ve been shot before, I’m going to be fine.”

“I’ve also been shot before, you didn’t have to push me out of the way.”

You were quick to counter, “you didn’t have to push Blake out of the way either.”

It was an unnecessary squabble, a fact you both caught onto quickly once you realized the direction the conversation was going. Instead, Spencer changed the subject to explain the history of the small towns you were passing through on your way to the interstate.

Miraculously, once the car was comfortably cruising on the highway, Spencer fell silent. You suspected it had to do with his intense concentration on driving in the elements as the rain got harder, though he also could have been giving you the space to sleep if you needed to.

It wasn’t until you were over an hour into your journey that he spoke again, after a quick glance at you revealed fresh tear tracks down your cheeks under the passing street lights.

“(Y/n), are you crying?” His question was so soft you almost missed it, “is it the pain? You’re not due to take your meds for another three hours but I know you have ibuprofen in your bag that would be ok to take now. I can pull over-“ his hand was about to move back to the steering wheel from where it had come to rest on the console, but you reached out to grab it instead.

You and Spencer didn’t really ‘do’ physical contact. You both had reasons not to, instead finding comfort just in proximity. As long as he was around, you were happy. This time, though, it was different. Maybe it was because you were touch starved, or because you had just been poked and prodded at all angles while in the hospital. Whatever the reason, the light grip you had on Spencer’s hand to stop him from pulling over was enough to make you feel the tiniest bit better. He was there with you, he was real.

“It’s not the pain,” you managed to hold your composure, knowing that letting any kind of sob escape the confines of your soul would only physically hurt you more.

“Are you tired? I drank enough coffee to get us home by morning but if you really need to sleep we can find a hotel somewhere. There are three off the next exit.”

“Spencer,” you ran your thumb over the prominent vein in his hand, “it isn’t something you can fix.”

“What do you mean?” He was puzzled, and by the way his hands were twitching you could tell he was deciding whether or not to stop the car anyways.

“There are hundreds of thousands of cold cases. Hundreds of thousands of families that don’t have closure. Hundreds of thousands of victims that haven’t gotten justice.”

“There’s one less because of you. You made a difference to Mia-Rose’s family, you got her the justice she deserves.”

“She deserved justice thirty years ago. I feel like the system failed her, the very system I work for. She was just a kid, and the answer was right there the whole time. Why did I have to be the one to figure it out, thirty years too late?”

Spencer’s response was soft and gentle, “because you’re exceptional, (y/n).”

“I didn’t have to be exceptional to solve this case, though. That’s what I’ve learned from all of the cold case documentaries I’ve watched. The ones that get solved are because someone knew what happened and didn’t come forward about it until years later. There was a psychopathic kid on the streets for thirty years because the police didn’t think to talk to Daniel Godfrey.”

“We can’t change what happened in the past, but we can make a difference in our futures.”

“I’m just so tired, Spence. I chose this job, I love this job, but it’s exhausting.”

“Then rest, (y/n). It’s ok if the only person you save some days is yourself.”

He was right, of course. You wanted to keep saving others, but you couldn’t do that if you didn't make time to save yourself too. You finally closed your eyes and pulled his cardigan up to your chin. Though you were still conscious, limiting your sensory input helped calm you down enough that you found yourself flitting in and out of dissociation. Even when Spencer’s hand gently moved out from under yours to answer his phone, you kept your eyes closed.

“Hey JJ,” his voice was quiet, barely audible over the rain pounding against the windshield, “they’re doing ok.” He paused while he listened to JJ’s response. “No, they keep reminding me that it’s not the first time they’ve been shot. I’m worried about them though.” He trailed off.

“They’ve been shouldering this burden of over 185,000 cold cases since we started working on this one, and now that it’s solved they’re finally feeling the weight of it. I don’t want them to drive themselves crazy trying to solve all of them on their own. We deal with enough active cases as it is.”

Though you were barely in a state of mind to process his words, he had hit the nail right on the head.

“How is the case you’re working on?” You presumed JJ was filling him in on what they knew, “have Garcia look into large purchases of triacetone triperoxide… Call me if anything changes. We should be back by morning.”

“Yes,” his change in tone indicated that JJ had asked him a question, “that would be great, JJ. Thank you so much.”

He must have hung up with JJ because his hand found yours again, fingers just barely touching. It was a simple action, loaded with a lot of meaning. Spencer was your best friend, and would always be your best friend. Bullets, cold cases, marriages, there was nothing that could break the bond you had with him.

You didn’t understand why people called their significant others their “better half”. It insinuated that you weren’t a whole person to begin with, a fractured existence that only found completion by the means of someone else. The idea that your life couldn’t be fulfilling until someone else made it whole was a concept that was set up for failure and self-loathing.

Instead, you believed that you were a whole person who could live a fulfilling life without the necessity of another. Instead, you surrounded yourself with people who lifted you up and helped you achieve your goals without being the direct cause of your success. Instead, you followed your dreams and somehow found Spencer Reid along the way.

Spencer was your best friend, your confidant, the one person who you knew you couldn’t live without, but he was not your other half. He was his own whole person, a mirror image of your own being. You found solace in his companionship, safety in the complexities of his brain. When the stress of your job got to be too much, you could reliably turn to each other and exist in the little slice of the world you called yours for a moment.

No, he was not your other half. He wasn’t even yours, for that matter, but he was there. He was there in a capacity that nobody else could achieve.

This is part of my GALAXY universe! If you liked this relationship, check out the MASTERLIST for more content!

Galaxy Taglist: @kermitsaysgayrights @niallthedancingharry @shadyladyperfection @thatsonezesty13 @lexshead @ceeellewrites @howdycharlie @girlycakepops @fantastic-fans @canimarrypizzaornah @daisyflower138 @dyingrexx @taylormobley @bazzleslynn @tj-drinks-tea @willa-wonky @eddiesbifocals @tee-mbrown @reniescarlett @bone-hurty-bitch @messyacademia

#spencer reid x reader #spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #Criminal Minds #Criminal Minds Fanfiction #platonic imagine #platonic soulmates

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janghoefett · 3 years

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Jango Fett Fluff Alphabet

The answers aren’t toooooo long, but it’s just a little somethin’ since we are starving for Jango. No reader gender is specified.

There are mentions of sex and some not-so-wholesome things he does on the job. Overall, it is very tame and fluffy!

I like to consider all my work 18+ so please respect that!

Activities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

Jango likes anything that’s on the down low. Very, very domestic activities like staying in, listening to the rain beating down on the windows on Kamino. He also enjoys sharing a good meal. Basically, anything that involves the two of you getting alone time. He also likes to get physical.

Beauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

Jango loves your smile. It sounds cheesy, but he fell in love with your aura and that smile that made him feel so welcomed. He has the very special ability of being able to read people and you passed the test with flying colors.

Comfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

Jango doesn’t let you lift a finger. He gets worried when things are out of his control, but if there’s something that can be done he’s doing it. He’ll definitely make time for a little cuddle, remind you to breathe, make sure you’re hydrated.

Dreams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

Kids. Peace. A home far away from the cloners. Perhaps he can finally retire and live that life with you.

Equal - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

Jango definitely enjoys control in his life where he can have it, but he’s always making big decisions with you. There is by no means a power imbalance and he likes you to hold your own. There is a give and take like every relationship.

Fight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

Jango’s trust is not easily earned, but it is easily broken. The first time you got in a fight, Jango was harshly scolding you about safety. You cried at the sound of his voice and the look on his face. He felt awful later that night and apologized, hitting you with some of that slow and desperate I-almost-lost-you sex.

Gratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

Jango always expects something to go wrong. He couldn’t be more grateful to have you in his life, but half of him thinks he’s going to wake up and it will all be a dream.

Honesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Jango is mysterious. It’s not that he’s being dishonest, it just takes him a really long time to open up. He won’t open up to you about the stresses of the job. He bottles things.

Inspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

Jango went through a period of time where he hesitated to pull that trigger. You inspire him to be better and although he would not like to admit it, he’s become softer than he was in the past.

Jealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

Oh yes. Jango doesn’t think you’re going to cheat on him per say, but he will come up and assert himself if a guy is getting too friendly. It just makes him anxious.

Kiss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

Jango is a little too good. He initiated your first kiss, inching closer and closer so subtly as you were talking until finally he closed the gap. The first thing you noticed was how strong his hands were as they wrapped around your body. His mouth was firm, his skin was so warm, and his aftershave smelled crisp.

Love Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

Jango struggled for a very long time to realize how much he cared for you. Your relationship started out very physical and very casual, and eventually he every so subtly asked you if you wanted to be exclusive. He told you he loved you in bed. In the middle of sex. In the dark. It just slipped out.

Marriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

While some wouldn’t peg him for the type, marriage is huge for Jango. You’re his ride-or-die and he’s going to marry you the Mandalorian way. Just like the way he told you he loved you, he brings up the idea of marriage casually in bed. Your relationship doesn’t change much after you are married since Jango waited until your relationship was very secure and comfortable.

Nicknames - What do they call their s/o?

There’s a slew of nicknames in Mando’a that seem to roll off his tongue, but you love when he opts for something simple like “my love”. He sometimes calls you “angel”, and while that could have fallen flat coming from anyone else, you found it quite endearing coming from Jango. You are truly his angel.

On Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

Jango has an outstanding pokerface. All the affection you receive is in private or very, very coded in public.

PDA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

Jango keeps you hidden like treasure. This is for safety reasons, mostly, as others could exploit your relationship. But Jango is territorial. He wants others to know you’re his.

Quirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

Jango allocates his time wisely and tries to leave his work at the door. When he’s with you, that’s where his mind is. He’ll come home, hop in the fresher, and then he’s all yours.

Romance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

There is nothing usual about your relationship and Jango is not very good at “traditional”. But, he is very much a gentleman and will pull out all the stops to make you feel special.

Support - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

Jango is nurturing, which comes as a surprise to most who meet him. He helps you wherever he can. He thinks the world of you and believes you can do anything. When you are surprised that were successful, he is not surprised in the slightest.

Thrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

Jango does not like surprises. But, he does love to make you happy. He’ll try most things at least once.

Understanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

Sometimes Jango can be a bit thick in the relationship department and doesn’t understand why certain things upset you so much, but he is respectful. If you say you are upset he believes you. Once you tell him something, he never forgets it, and he knows you way more than you realize at times.

Value - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

Family is everything to Jango. Boba of course is also his priority, and he’d do anything to keep the two of you safe. His job, his life on Kamino, all that comes last.

Wild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

The man loves a cuddle. Period. He doesn’t even talk. He just likes to feel you on his lap, he loves to feel your hands dusting over him, he loves a good makeout session. He is truly touch starved and he loves that he can be vulnerable and comfortable with you like this.

XOXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

Oops.

Well to add to the above, the kisses and cuddles come when you have full privacy. You can always tell when Jango is desperate by the way he pulls you aside and can’t get enough of you.

Yearning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

Oh he yearns. He yearns big time.

Jango doesn’t like to be away from you for too long. The nights are the hardest of course, when he realizes that he’s finally become unaccustomed to sleeping alone after such a long existence of solitude.

Zeal - Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

Jango would quite literally commit murder for you. Don’t try him.

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Tags: @clanoffetts @escapedthesarlacc @thundersheild @onabouteverything @tacticalsparkles @keeper-of-the-sarlacc-pit @thefact0rygirl @sarahjkl82-blog @secretsidereblog @darthmama1618 @terrormonster55 @fuckyeahbeskar @phoenixhalliwell @fiend-friend @kyberdreams (please let me know if you would like to be removed or added!)

#jango fett #jango fett x reader #star wars #jango fett x you #fluff alphabet #fan fiction

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astraltrickster · 3 years

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I really want to like the fact that the Apocrypha anime had Jeanne arrive a few minutes earlier and intervene in the fight over Sieg's escape. Not to say that it's a better version of events, but specifically because it's a different version of events that highlights different aspects of Astolfo and Sieg's characters.

In the novels, Gordes and Siegfried arrive alone to confront Sieg. The whole Thing happens, Gordes is knocked unconscious, Sieg and Astolfo have the conversation where Sieg decides on his name, and Astolfo leaves to carry Gordes back to the castle.

In the anime, the rest of Yggdmillenia arrive after Siegfried transplants his heart into Sieg, and Jeanne intervenes to formally declare that taking Sieg back would be a violation of the rules. Astolfo resigns to going back, and Jeanne takes Sieg the rest of the way out of the forest; in this case she is the one he has the naming conversation with.

In the novels, the point where Astolfo left demonstrated his reliance on instinct - "I'll keep helping him until I stop". He trusted that Sieg would be okay from there - he had a stronger body now, and he just kind of trusted that another enemy wouldn't find him, so that was it; with the need to get Gordes back, that was the separation point. The anime version shows his dedication - in the anime version he did not leave until he had no other real option but WE, the AUDIENCE, had reason to trust that everything would be okay from that point. Also, while Astolfo being present for Sieg naming himself sets the tone for the power of their relationship going forward, the anime version gives us an intensely dramatic look at the extent of mutual irrationality involved between them: the first time Astolfo heard Sieg's name was while Sieg was picking a fight with Mordred - actively trying to sacrifice himself to protect him.

The fact that both of these versions exist makes me really happy!

But it would make me a lot happier if it weren't part of a broad issue the anime had with what they chose to cut for time. Namely, that the first thing to be axed was pretty much anything that established the characters' motives and relationships - especially the relationship between Sieg and Astolfo. Which is, uh, a pretty big deal because the Master-Servant relationship has always been. A very central thing in the Fate series???

We don't have the conversation between them on the way out of the forest, in which Astolfo tells Sieg about the time he got turned into a tree, or when he revealed that he didn't remember his book's name (even though I actually like the fact that they cut that PART of the conversation - that moment is just better when the audience finds out about it at the same time as most of the characters as a massive bombshell, imo). We don't have their conversation after defeating Adam, in which Astolfo calms Sieg down from a very understandable panic by revealing his own experience with such a moment. We don't have the callback to this conversation, in which Sieg returns the favor before the flight to the Hanging Gardens - it's replaced with just a 2-second clip of Astolfo's hand trembling.

Particularly, it stands out in conjunction with the changes to Astolfo's physicality. Whenever he touches Sieg in the anime, it tends to be either to lead or carry him, to shield him, or to show off to someone else that they are a team. In the novel there's a lot more touching that's just for their mutual comfort - whether it's the introduction scene I mentioned in this big post here, or my favorite cut humor scene, or the two scenes I mentioned above of them comforting each other after the Adam fight/before the siege on the Hanging Gardens, they rarely seem to touch each other unless it has some purpose other than comfort in the anime - if it is purely an emotional thing it mostly only happens in the absolute most intense moments, like after Sieg's near-death experiences - but they do in the novel. A lot. Sometimes even if it is part of something bigger it's cut anyway - they were holding hands when they formed their contract in the novels.

So, I can't help but feel that the reason for this change in when Jeanne arrived - which made no likely difference whatsoever in runtime - was just to make her and Sieg look more like a couple. Because, clearly, this relationship is the only one that needs extra development to make up for what was cut for time. If we don't do that, we might give people the idea that our protagonist might not be straight! Can't have that! The saddest thing is that it...didn't really succeed in making them a more believable couple, either - the scenes at Serge's house between them were way more powerful as a relationship-establishing thing than her DOING HER JOB, even though I do feel that her meeting him that way does do something nice to set the tone for her conflict about duty vs. personal attachment with him.

What I'm saying is...I really, really like that there are two different versions of this series of events, but I hate the fact that one of them likely only exists because someone wanted to put a wedge in a central relationship - one of the central relationships that makes this franchise what it is - because having that kind of closeness between two "male" characters, who are roughly the same physical age and one of whom is very gnc, might alienate the dudebros this franchise has historically been aimed at.

#fate #tbh this is part of why i ship the full triad #it's spite #i will extract the good from your bullshittery #and i will make them unapologetically queer anyway #like the one thing we all know about the literary Astolfo is that he did a #uh #very informal but in-depth study #to determine that monogamy was a social construct #not a part of humanity's hardwired instincts #IM JUST SAYING GUYS...

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girlmagnetic-xx · 4 years

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INARIZAKI’S DIALECT ~EXPLAINED~ *

*as the way it's been translated into english by viz lol

I’ve seen a lot of people struggle with understanding/writing the inarizaki boys’ accents, especially for people who’s first language isn’t english, so I tried my best to explain, as someone who talks close to this irl, some of the more difficult nuances of it!

(this was originally posted to my twt, but figured that tumblr might be easier for people to bookmark it/read it. i also added a few more examples and things i missed the first time around!)

so lets goooo

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ‘YER’ AND ‘YA’

Generally speaking, ‘yer’ and ‘ya’ aren’t interchangeable, but they both are used when the speaker is referring to the person their actively talking to

‘you’re / your’ is what becomes ‘yer’

you’re a dumbass = yer a dumbass

your toss was perfect = yer toss was perfect

‘you’ is what becomes ‘ya’

you really like that = ya really like that

can you hand me that = can ya hand me that

there's sometimes exceptions where you can use 'ya' instead of 'yer'

yer crazy / ya crazy

they both mean the same thing, but i might personally argue that they're not in the same dialect.

DOUBLE NEGATIVES

these are a bit hard to nail down sometimes because it’s grammatically incorrect. two negatives cancel each other out. when someone’s using a double negative in a sentence, it’s not about what the sentence technically means, but what’s being emphasized.

“I didn’t eat none of yours” TECHNICALLY means “I did eat yours” since ‘didn’t’ and ‘none’ would cancel each other out, but that isn’t what atsumu WANTS to say (tho we all know he’s lying of course in this instance.)

the grammatically sentence would be “I didn’t eat yours” or “I didn’t eat any of yours” Atsumu adding ‘none’ here is him emphasizing that he ate NONE of Osamu’s ice cream.

“I don’t need no in-between participation prize” would technically mean “I need an in-between participation prize” but again, that isn’t what Atsumu WANTS to say.

The grammatically correct sentence would be “I don’t need an in-between participation prize” but the ‘no’ in the original is emphasizing the fact that he doesn’t want a participation prize.

and again in this panel, “That ain’t no faith” would also technically mean “that’s faith” but the ‘no’ is emphasizing that it isn’t faith at all.

USING DON’T IN PLACE OF DOESNT

This one is also a bit weird since it’s also technically considered grammatically incorrect, but it’s basically replacing ‘doesn’t’ with ‘don’t’

i personally tend to lean more towards this when i’m really heated about something and speaking faster than normal

this doesn’t add up = this don’t add up

do you guys think this doesn’t matter = do y’all think that this don’t matter

THIS HERE / THAT THERE

Usually you wouldn’t need ‘here / there’ after ‘this / that’ since ‘this / that’ already implies the subject’s location relative to the speaker and using ‘here / there’ would be redundant.

there's only these instances of older folk using it, but i still think it's relevant enough to mention. also there's probably a historical reason for this structure to exist in country-like dialects, but /shrug

REAL (ADJECTIVE)

because this dialect is relatively “simple” people tend to go for simpler adjectives with an adverb attached to it, but instead of using ‘really’ it gets shortened to ‘real’

INFORMAL CONTRACTIONS

so when people are speaking, there's sometimes the tendency to drop whole words or letters, and combining them.

here's a bunch of different examples i yoinked from here, not ALL of these will work for everything, but i say just play around and see what you think works best for your writing or whatever

DROPPED LETTERS

there's some words where the syllables get somewhat mushed together/not fully enunciated on/dropped

'probably' becomes 'prolly'

‘because’ becomes ‘ ‘cause’ or ‘ ‘cuz’ (entirely your preference on spelling imo)

‘little’ becomes ‘l’il’

there's also words like 'suppose' where if someone were to say it out loud, it would become 's’pose'

it’s also super common to drop the ‘g’ off of -ing verbs (feelin’, thinkin’), as well as dropping the ‘h’ off the beginning of words (here becomes ‘ere, them become ‘em)

something that i frequently do when i talk is slur together the word ‘its’ with the next word

it’s okay = s’okay

its not that bad = s’not that bad

you’re supposed to eat it = yer s'posed to eat it

it’s because it’s a little weird = s’cause issa l’il weird

it’s not supposed to be that cold out here yet = s’not s’posed to be that cold out ‘ere yet

DROPPED WORDS

in addition to dropped letters, they also tend to drop words where it might be obvious on what the subject is in the conversation.

"(what) the heck..."

"(do you) think we oughta..."

GENERAL VOCABULARY

i think this part of writing dialects is a bit more trial and error than anything since it's not so much grammar structures as it's just. using different words in place of more common ones (think of soda vs pop, they’re the same thing just used in different regions)

everyone's called hinata shorty but aran uses squirt instead

"socked in the gut" instead of "punched in the stomach"

"buttered up" instead of "flattered"

‘everyone/people’ become ‘folks’

there’s not really a ~masterlist~ i can give y’all to use for comparisons, it’s kinda just. trial n error i think.

alright!! i think that covers most of a general southern/country accent as it’s spoken in english.

i think the only other thing to keep in mind if you’re trying to write is stuff like accents becoming heavier when talking to someone who speaks with the same accent vs someone who doesn’t, or accents getting heavier the more excited/angry someone it. also going really heavy on writing like this might be a bit hard to read/understand so you dont have to do ALL of these things to make it realistic.

if there’s anything i missed, or if y’all need me to explain anything further in depth, please feel free to drop an ask or somethin!! i’ll try my best to help :)

#haikyuu #haikyu #inarizaki #miya atsumu #miya osamu #kita shinsuke #ojiro aran

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alyssa-ward · 3 years

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The Voice in the Dark

[ Alyssa’s perspective of Cessation ]

Things have been quiet. Kat doesn’t talk much...Alyssa doesn’t talk much either. It’s been like this since they reunited...they said their sweet words. They expressed the fear of loss, shared regrets. Sometimes Alyssa slips a comment in here. Sometimes Kat says hello. On occasion...more often...Kat reads to her, Gilnean poetry, short stories, whatever fills the woman’s time is often shared now with the lady in the Dagger.

But beyond that, things are quieter, Alyssa withdrawn, Kat distracted. They speak the most when they train, when Kat feeds power of different types into the dagger in preparation for whatever battle is to come, some fight she’s kept the Warlock in the dark on, forcing trust.

It’s in that context, that Alyssa nearly misses the waft of uncertainty that flows over the blade. The silence and stillness that radiates from Kat. It’s a starkly lonely feeling when it comes, more so than the Director’s often introspective and darker moods. It’s enough to pull Alyssa out of her meditations.

"You're not alone." The words come almost unbidden, as Alyssa offers up some reassurance to whatever this peculiar mood is.

"I know," Kat responds tentatively, "I'm never alone. Always been a blessing and a curse."

The answer clearly pertains to far more than the ever present Dagger, but the response still rattles Alyssa’s bars. "Maybe we'll get to the place where it's more the first and less the latter."

"Been this way since I was twelve, so I doubt it..." Kat trails off into silence again. A darkness fills the space at the edge of the woods in the grove. Darker than the usual dimness between the trees. Alyssa notes it, but doesn’t act. Yet.

"What can I do to help?" The question the Warlock asks in that moment instead. In her head, it means more than simply ‘how can I help’ with the alone problem. It’s a more general question, a feeling that something is about to happen that she’ll be needed for.

"Don't die." A not so reassuring request from Kat.

"You first."

"No promises."

Of course. Alyssa finishes with, "same...but I'll do my best. I've decided I'm not really ready to be dead." The statement gets some discomfort back across the link that Aly doesn’t really get time to analyze. Not when things begin to happen so quickly after.

There’s only a brief pause before a surge of darkness rolls over Alyssa’s grove. It’s different, more raw and primal than what she experienced in Uldum and the Vale, and it makes her heart run cold. Nothing should feel more daunting than the presence of N’zoth and yet this does. The first thing she focuses on is containment. Defensive measures around her liminal space, a barrier that keeps whatever is encroaching on her out. “How much?” She sends the thought to Kat, trying to learn just how bad this is going to be.

“Pace yourself. This is going to be more of a marathon than a sprint.” Kat’s answer isn’t very reassuring, it’s distracted too, her thoughts seemingly focused elsewhere.

Whatever is oozing in and around the protective barriers of the grove within the dagger seems like a living thing, an active intent made of Void and darkness. “I will then,” the strained response as she reinforces barriers, feeling now the lingering sense of being inspected, like a bug under a microscope. Whatever this entity is, it probes at her barriers, envelopes them, the rest of the forest beyond her protective measures blotted out to nothing.

Kat’s connection seems to weaken too. Whatever this is feels like a thin sheen of a barrier between them. The woman who holds the weapon is still there, but there’s a numbness to it, emotions and tones muted.

The probing at her barriers becomes more focused, and a figure emerges from the Darkness that surrounds her, walking right up to the intangible wall of force that Alyssa uses to hold it out. “Defensive, darling?” It’s voice sounds like Kat’s but pitch shifted. A lower tone, menace, and nails scraping against the soul. In response to it’s approach, Alyssa cautiously alters her barriers, allowing it closer on that side, making it easier to see the shape of a dark wolf with blood red eyes stalking her perimeter.

“My natural state,” Alyssa replies as she adjusts barriers. “‘O do I ‘ave the pleasure o’meetin’ today?” Within the blade, speaking face to face with another entity, her voice is hers once more. Whatever presence this thing exerts though, allows very little of those to be expressed in thought to Kat. For now...Alyssa is isolated.

"Oh, I've always been here, luv'." A soft rolling chuckle followed the statement, the wolf now directly against the barrier. "The part she tries so desperately to lock away, to ignore, to pretend never exists."

"Y'doin' not so great a job o'bein' ignored. If you've always been 'ere, then why are we just meetin' now? Figure if I was of real interest, it wouldn't 'ave taken so long." Alyssa’s response is snippy, irritable. That this thing claims such closeness and she’s never encountered it bothers her. Even now, after all this time...so many secrets.

"Oh, you're not so much of interest. Couldn't be. Not a choice, really. Though I should thank you for breaking the shackles." Alyssa’s heart tightens at the entity's words. Did the damage she did on accident to Kat’s bracers free somethin else? She hardens herself, not just her defensive barriers, and retorts.

"Can we cut niceties and get t'the part where you're goin' t’offer me some sort o’deal or trade t'get somethin' you're wantin' out o'this? Only reason you'd be investigatin' this not so interestin' soul now. Don't ply me with y'thanks...just cut t'the point."

"Feisty," the wolf remarked, "no wonder she cares about you." As it stepped to the left the wolf shifted into a human form, a shadowy and eyeless silhouette of Kat. "Deal or trade? Oh you have it all wrong. See she's the one here to trade, not you. You've never been curious where exactly her power comes from?" The shade scoffed. "She owes me and I wager you're the bargaining chip. Value is still...in appraisal."

That does throw Alyssa off guard a bit. "You're lyin'..." her reply is a bit defensive. "She wouldn' do that." Yet in her mind plays all of her history with Kat Hawke. Could it really be this, after everything? Could her heartfelt words and the regret when she awoke have just been an act? It’s possible.

The shade cackles. "We're talking about the same woman, right?" The sardonic tone echoed deeply. "Name's Erzis. Should we get familiar now, or after the trade?"

"Assumin' I believed it could even 'appen," she forces herself to echo that sardonic tone, "what would that trade even mean?" Best to buy for time and information.

"Oh don't be naïve," Erzis scoffed, "you collected souls. No? The stench of fel still lingers here, warlock." Those words give an odd sense of relief to the Warlock in the blade. If all that’s to be done is the expenditure of power with her soul then there should be nothing...no end, no afterlife, just blissful darkness. One learns a lot about ones self when put on the line. She may have said earlier that she’s not ready to be dead...but to simply be gone? That could be okay.

"As borin' as that? I don' talk to the souls I collect, I expend them for power. Doesn' sound then, if I'm given to you, like we'll do much gettin' to know each other at all."

"Oh you'd very much be expensed." The statement quickly came. "The hierarchy of the Void is power based. We consume, and grow. Simple as that, but I know it's hard for the morals to comprehend, often selecting one given truth and sticking to it."

"It's the truth we got. Part of why I don' dip my fingers in that sort o'magic. It's interestin' academically but not my cup o' coffee." She approaches the limits of the barrier, coming closer to the shadow version of Kat. For a moment a pang of emotion flows across the link, and perhaps into Erzis too if it can feel such things. Seeing her again, even like this, has a stronger impact on her than she expected. "Since we got nothin' better to do durin' whatever is 'appenin', sure. We can play a get to know you game. I'm Alyssa Ward. Can't say it's a pleasure, but it's interestin' t'meet you Erzis." This cockiness, the rebellious and hostile responses. It helps her not really examine her own intentions around the void.

For everything that’s happened, with her lost connection to the Twisting Nether, in some ways Alyssa feels more free of her addictions than she ever has. But then...she also travels at the hip of a woman who has pumped her, over and over again, with a wholly new and intoxicating drug. Maybe the Void wasn’t Alyssa’s to delve into before. Now it rings like desire and tastes like ice wine. Best to focus on sass, and ignore the siren song of new addictions.

"I'm sure." Erzis seemed dismissive. "There's power here, nearly equal. Perhaps you would be an equal trade."

"I think m'knowledge 'as more strength than the strength o'my soul, but I don' consider things the same as you do. What does she get out o'this?" Focus on the conversation. Ignore the potential power.

"Freedom. Oh, and not dying. But who cares about that."

A twitch of lips. A wash of complicated emotions. "'ow much say do I 'ave in this? Could I expedite the process...if I wanted?"

Erzis snorts, or what passes for one. "From in here? Doubtful. Things like us, don't care for the currency acting up." The thing, Erzis, seemingly misses the offer Alyssa was trying to make.

"Even if the currency actin' up makes the deal go through?" The thoughts racing through Alyssa’s mind are two fold. One part wants the potential power and knowledge that could come with the trade. The faith in herself that if she was given to this entity, that she could overcome it, learn from it rather than being destroyed. The other part of her...even after everything that has happened...wants to save Kat. She believes still, with all her heart that Kat isn’t really looking to trade her away...but what if Alyssa could make the trade happen in spite of that, buy the woman her freedom. On the other side of that is a chance at power, or to become nothing. For Kat, Alyssa has decided in the moment, she would take that risk.

"Ugh. Humans. Always trying to out hero the other." Erzis moves away from the barrier. "That's the problem with you all. Emotions. Disgusting."

"Technically, I'm not 'uman anymore," Alyssa notes. "By two degrees even at this point." Afflicted with the Worgen first, and now hardly even that, a shade in a weapon. Alyssa is a consciousness, no longer attached to such mortal needs.

"Touché. A soul is still—" Erzis cut off, casting the empty gaze in the direction of Kat's soul. "Shame..." In the blink of an eye the less Void lord vanished. Unexpected. Alyssa’s gaze flicks towards the soul as well, trying to see whatever Erzis saw.

“You okay?” Some of the film of numbness is gone, making it easier to speak to Kat.

“Yeah.” A distracted and wholly uninformative response. As usual.

"Ezris spoke to me. It wanted me to believe you were trading me away in payment." Kat doesn’t respond to that either. Of course she doesn’t. Why would she ever bother to do anything to reassure the woman she murdered but claims to love. It’s typical.

Regardless, Alyssa focuses inward on herself. The conversation had been draining. Everything lately is draining, so relaxes the hold on her defensive barriers, prepared to re-brace if Erzis returns, but for now biding her energy. It’s what feels like another eternity of nothing. Kat’s soul in its own clearing to the side of the grove shifts and twists. It burns the blue and gold of Azerite, the light and void within it flare and dissipate. She must be fighting.

In spite of their distance. In spite of her irritation with Kat’s refusal to ever let her in on what’s really going on...Alyssa helps. No longer focusing on her own defense, she feeds energy into Kat’s soul, a process she’s gotten very good at. She expends bits of herself to refuel and top of the woman for whatever fight she has, a measured pacing of herself. She’ll recharge later.

It feels like time has stopped, like this is all it will ever be, when things abruptly change again after an amount of time the Shade in the Dagger can hardly even begin to parse. Kat manages to slice Erzis with the Dagger, and it illuminates Alyssa’s world in vibrant purple and Void.

A gateway to Erzis as an entity opens within her little grove. Tendrils of Void and darkness spill forth from it, gripping and ripping at trees, tearing and rending the landscape. Alyssa throws hands forward, and chains of Soul magic wrap about Erzis’ tendrils. She yanks. Normally she’d rip the whole soul of an entity out in the process, but this thing is far more than that, a fathomless bottomless void. She only succeeds in tearing free a chunk of what makes it what it is. Even that is nearly unfathomable and impossible to wrangle.

Hands collapse together, crushing the portion of the Void Lord into one of the pulsing and glowing crystals she uses to contain souls, even that sends shivers of power up her arms and through her mind. Her body, such as it is, runs hot and cold as the icy grip off the Void continues to rip and tear at the environment around her...and then just as quickly, the dagger is no longer touching, the portal closes, and Alyssa is left holding her stolen piece of power.

The Grove flickers in fluctuation with Alyssa’s spirit. The blade in the real world flashes light and dark and red and teal as she battles with the power she’s been given. Here in the manifestation of her mind, winter snow blows over parts of her Grove while trees rage in flames. The moon and stars above blotted out in darkness, her consciousness shakes and trembles with the effort of holding on to this piece of an incomprehensible entity.

"Now." Kat’s voice cuts into her consciousness. It’s a relief, an open offering to relieve herself of this power.

Just as they practiced, time and again, Alyssa casts forth the power she’s holding. The soul crystal she imprisoned a portion of Erzis in shatters, its energies flowing into and around Kat’s soul. The rose on the pommel of the dagger glows intensely with the power of the void as it flows forth from Alyssa’s grip and into Kat Hawke to be used as needed.

The energy is spent almost immediately. Kat’s soul dims with the power expelled, the chaotic dance of Light and Dark slowing to an eerie crawl. Alyssa collapses, her consciousness flickering, the blade itself dimmer too. Dim, but not out.

This time...she doesn’t ask any questions, and Kat doesn’t say a word either. There’s no thanks forthcoming. The only sensation that comes off the Dagger is one of resignation and exhaustion. Why ask how it went. Why ask how it will go. While talking with Erzis, Alyssa was ready to give up her life and existence in the trade, to let Kat have her freedom.

Now she lies in the dark of her Grove on a bed of snow, as the stars above wink back into existence one by one, and asks no questions, and tells no stories. Kat will continue to use her as she will, and that, it seems, is how things will be.

[ @kat-hawke ]

#ic #plotlines #redemption #aly kat #the dagger

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lucarioisinthevoid · 3 years

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I don't want to bother you and you likely have better prompts to do, but it would be really fun to see Henry have to deal with both Springtrap and ScrapTrap specifically for potential angst purposes on both ends. Some side characters that would make good filler might be Nightmare and - Maybe Mangle?

(“You likely have better prompts to do”- pal, fam, buddy, this blog has like… ten followers and maybe three askers, and I love every single one of them dearly. I try to bring the prompts out on a “one per day” basis, to ensure they won’t get too long and to show I’m still doing it, so if I don’t put one out, you can feel sure there’s nothing left. Also, good on you for asking for these two! I had a realization about how it’s kinda impossible to die to certain people, like Mr. Hippo- especially since I was just having a great time creating a little game-over interaction and then figured out “wait a minute, that won’t happen, he’s 100% fooled by the lure” So instead I’ll adjust depending on what the ask offers. If it’s a matter of “I wonder if he can survive this”/”I wonder who he’ll die to”, I’ll write that out, but if it’s a “I wonder how he’ll react to that character” Just taking up the Dave™, and only playing to see if I die to Scraptrap, seeing as he DID manage to catch me off guard before. (Also Deedee) Yes. I should have put more thought into the mechanics before. And YES. I already thought up way too much lore for this one-off “time in hell” thing. But y’know how it is. You think or you die. I don’t even think of lore, it just pops into my head, that’s why my stories are so disorganized Anyways, ENJOY! I don’t think the torture this time around is so bad, I basically cut away before anything really bad happens)

It was quiet this time around. But Henry wouldn’t be tricked by it. You’d think that only two animatronics being active would make this night a cakewalk, but the fact that he was faced with two animatronics that… were Dave… He wasn’t looking forward to it. Before he had left the office he had been offered to take some “benefits” along, but… he didn’t want to admit to being concerned. Not to mention that it wouldn’t help him. Maybe the Deedee repel- this one however seemed better preserved for later. After the panic she had put him into, it was probably more appropriate to use it when he truly was in over his head. … oh, he would eat those words later, wouldn’t he? … it hardly mattered. What even WAS she? How did she come here? Why could she simply activate machines like this? Perhaps that was what Satan looked like. At this point he wouldn’t even be surprised. With a sigh he quickly raised the tablet, putting on the generator. It would keep him safe from the lights going out, that was well-worth dealing with the headache inducing noise. Out of morbid curiosity he switched from the main control on the tablet to the vents. ‘Click on nodes to set vent snare’. … christ… a snare…? A snare trap…? That was vicious. Probably very effective though… against anyone but Dave. It was Dave in that suit. It always had been Dave in that suit. After all the fruitless attempts trying to get this stupid suit get possessed, Henry had to come to accept that- Dave’s spirit was already inside and it wasn’t willing to share with anyone. The Springbonnie suit COULD probably have walked by itself if Dave would have wanted it- if Dave would have TRIED for it. … there were a lot of things William could have made happened, if he had just TRIED. Trying to get the bitter taste out of his mouth, Henry grimaced, staring at the screen as Dave moved along the vents. To think that this was the man who looked at him with pity, as if he was something weak and- … to think that he had been the only one witnessing his pathetic death. It hurt in a very special way. Hell, he couldn’t even point out how- WHY it was this bad. Was it the humiliation? Or was it the simple fact that he had died this terrible manner and all he could think about when remembering Dave and his- old life. Old life. … was this even the Dave he knew? Was this William? Or was it merely a manifestation of memories and thoughts, pulled right out of his head? Staring at the screen he watched as Dave approached. Surprisingly, he took the long way around. How peculiar. For some reason he had assumed Dave would make a B-line for the vent entrance, but he was approaching from the entirely different side. Was he assuming he could catch him off-guard? Well- either way, he was almost here. Putting down the monitor, Henry peered into the vent in front of him, trying to catch a glance- The whole room started to shake, together with the awfully loud rattling and screeching from the side. For a few seconds blind panic took ahold in his brain, as it always did when heard this damn noise- then he stumbled over and smashed the right side buttons, causing the doors to that side to snap shut. An inhuman scream ripped through the air. It was Henry’s name but sounding so distorted, so filled with SPITE, that he couldn’t even comprehend at the moment- only a few seconds after he heard it, his brain could decipher it. And when it did, he wished it didn’t. If everyone came from a potential different dimension, he didn’t want to know where THIS creature was coming from and why William had turned out like this. Sure, he had a few ideas… none of them were good though. … in none of those scenarios he would have wanted to meet him. Thankfully he had managed- so he opened the doors back up, falling back into his chair. Alright, alright, unless the demon child showed back up, this should now be easy to handle- Looking up he spotted a withered Springbonnie, with bright white eyes staring down at him from the vents. For a few moments both just stared at each other. Then Henry raised an eyebrow. “… is there any way I can help you?” “Aw shucks! Ya saw me! You’ve always been too good at this!” Smiling brightly Dave looked down at him, not moving any closer to the entrance. “… but who was THAT, Henry?” There was something about the question that made the place go quieter. The animatronics seemed generally vaguely aware of each other and their co-existence beyond the confinements of time and space, so- was Dave trying to trick him? For what purpose though? “… I do not know, Dave. I have not seen this creature yet.” A lie. Shifting his vent opening, Dave tilted his head, still grinning. “Ya don’t know? But don’t you know everything?” The words came with a certain edge to them. Or maybe Henry was simply growing more and more paranoid of the being in the vents. “I know… almost everything. There is a difference, Dave. For example… I do not know why you are inside of a suit like this.” “… yeah, that’s a mystery, ain’t it, Henry?” The air was getting worse, the human’s breath was becoming erratic. “… are you okay, Henry?” Crawling forward Dave tried to get in. “If ya need some help-“ Instantly Henry crushed down the vent door, opening his camera system to resetting the ventilation to ensure he could keep breathing- then he put it down again, opening up the vent once more to a now VERY disgruntled seeming Dave. “The fuck was that for! Why did ya lock me out?!” “I had to take care of urgent business.” “I could have helped.” Moving slightly back, the person inside the animatronic hissed. “You’ve always did this, Henry. You’ve always done this to me.” “With good reason.” Snapping, Henry harshly slapped his hands on the office table, showing his teeth. “I was always right about you. You are not getting to threaten me now, William. You are not getting to play innocent in this place. No. William, I know you would do it.” “Do what?” Equally as aggressive, Davetrap snapped back at him. “You would ensure my death.” “That’s ludicrous! You ensured your OWN death! Maybe if ya would have trusted me more and wouldn’t have used me like some sort of- PAWN, maybe then you wouldn’t have been snacked on by a stupid doggo!” “Nonsense!” Henry hissed. “That is not what I am talking about in either case. It did not matter what I did for you, did it? It never mattered. William, you are not capable of loyalty, you are not capable of putting duty over your selfish, petty desires. For a few moments, for a little, yes, but once the urge becomes too strong, you snap back into your animalistic nature. You needed guidance, but you did not care for it. All you cared for was getting what you wanted. And once someone could offer you more than me, you turned on me.” Bitterly Dave scoffed. “Ya think that and there’s no way to change your mind, is there? Never was. Henry, think about it from my perspective for a moment maybe- if you would have treated me like an actual friend, like an actual equal partner, instead of seeing me as an untamed animal that may turn on ya any given second- maybe then I would have not yearned for someone who did.” “You are not getting around this, you are not getting around betraying me, I gave you a LAST chance and you have-“ “No Henry, YOU are not getting around this.” Coldly Dave snapped at him, stopping him from saying anything further, the icy disgust evident in his words. “You think you can turn anything and everything into a game of ‘give some, get some’. You think you can simmer friendships down to a little spreadsheet of what you’re owed and what you give. Frankly, though, you’re good at it, pal. Even with all the animosity you’ve always harbored for me deep inside of ya, you’ve always ensured I’d get my cut and felt treated well. But the thing is, Henry, and I know ya don’t get it, but there’s more to friendship than just the sum of its parts. There’s more to a partnership than a simple dividin’ of responsibility and benefits. The whole time we were together, you were alone in your head. You thought of me as a little add-on. Were you scared of what I’m capable of? Of losing control? Or were you scared of having someone with you in your head? Somethin’ you’d miss if it ever disappeared? Henry, old friend, I wanted to ask you something, ever since your stupid speech- what did you ACTUALLY want?” “What- what do you mean?” Laying inside of the vent, he made a vague gesture. “Your whole… deal. Immortality and stuff. Why? For what?” “I-“ Yet before he could explain himself, William interrupted him again. “No. I’m not askin’ for what you THINK you did it for. I’m askin’ for what you actually did it for. Because ya can ramble on about a utopia all you like, it doesn’t matter for you, does it? Will it fix you? Building a society of immortals… do you think it’s going to stop you from waking up at night, worryin’ someone might come to kill you? That you’ll be able to see people as people and not as props? That you’re gonna get better if you just live long enough? You’re miserable, Henry. You lived your entire life alone, while surrounded by others and you’d hate immortality, unless you truly believe it’ll give you the chance to change.” “You are speaking NONSENSE!” Heated, the Pink Guy raised his voice at him. “I was doing FINE! Hell, even if not, so what!? My wish to finish humanity and give it its full potential was NOT a selfish one. I am NOT miserable, I am NOT lonely, my plans were impeccable and selfless and you-“ “Henry.” It almost sounded soft. “You need help. Let me in.” At that Henry closed the vent, reset the ventilation and slowly balled his fist, trying to remain as calm as possible. Through the door, Dave’s concerningly calm and certain voice sounded, almost completely muffled. “… eventually you’ll let me in, old friend. I know that. You know that. And it actually doesn’t matter what I say! I wouldn’t even need to convince ya. Because you can’t stand the feelin’ of being stuck. Because you’ll try out everything. Now that you’re immortal, you have nothing to reach for- so you will reach for everything.” The clock chimed. Six AM. Henry stumbled to the saferoom. He had to find a way out of this place. Fast.

#henry miller #Henry in hell #Dave Miller

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earthnashes · 4 years

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LAST OF UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

I started playing the very second it was made available to play and just finished it last night at like 4 in the morning. And of course it destroyed me. I love this series man so much man. ;w;

SO! I don’t usually do this but I’m like, fuckin’ dyin’ to talk about it a lil bit so if ya have plans to play it, SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT. <:

-Aight so lemme just say right off the bat that this game is fucking. Gorgeous. The environments, lighting, visual design, the level design, everything was spot on. And don’t get me started on the CHARACTER MODELS. AND ANIMATION. Like bro that shit was lifelike in not just appearance, the characters emoted and carried themselves with so much life they felt legitimately real. They were all so unique too; characters had unique special ticks to just them (Like Ellie pinching her fingers when nervous or upset, or Joel standing taller and squaring himself when talking about hard subjects like he’s bracing himself for it, or Jesse giving his stunted headtilt when he talks) and expressed in a way that was just. Bruh. Aight I’mma stop but fuckin hell what they pull off with the characters in specific in LoU (both part 1 and 2) is just somethin’ outta this world.

-For anyone interested in playing it, the game is roughly 22-30 hours long if you’re just focused on the story, and much longer still if you take the time to explore and find all the little secrets. Some secrets include unique cutscenes and dialogue that are well worth the look; I haven’t found all of ‘em yet but I’m considering trying a completionist playthrough.

-Joel’s death fucking destroyed me. I’m in no way surprised he died, but it hurt regardless, just how quickly things went south for him and Tommy there. And ELLIE. FINDING HIM AND WATCHING HIM GET REKT WAS PAIN INCARNATE. Set the tone hella hard and I’m fuckin’ here for it.

-I’m not gonna lie I fully expected to dislike Abby given she rekt Joel, even though I figured it was for a pretty good reason before it was revealed her pops was the doc Joel killed. But damn. I really enjoyed Abby, a lot actually. From a gameplay standpoint I dare say I enjoyed her section more than Ellie’s since you were BLASTING ENEMIES with those fuckin’ GUNS of hers. And by guns I mean her arms’, jesus she was shredded. As a character, she felt a lot like Ellie from a different perspective and mindset, and I really appreciated the reflection the two of them had. Two sides of the same coin, basically. Also I really, really liked how killin’ Joel brought absolutely no peace to Abby at all, and you caught her beginning to regret it. And it kinda sorta acted as the catalyst to her shift in how she viewed the world. I think that’s a good portion why she latched onto Yara and Lev so hard. Perspective is everything, and there is always more than just one side of a story.

-In the same vein I had a blast learning more about Abby’s friend group, dynamics, how she lived, who she worked for and her past and everything. Of them all I think I liked Nora the most, but Mel and Manny were both reaaaalll close seconds. O:

-Speaking of, DOGS. DOGS DOGS DOGS. So many dogs man and you got to play with and pet them! Fuck yeah. That should be a rule in gaming; if you have a cat or a dog in the game, you should have a button to pet it. Also good gorl Alice is best doggy don’t fight me on this. uwu

-Jesse and Dina were the beez knees I fuckin loved them man. They were exactly the sort of folks I can see Ellie being best friends with. ALSO, this one isn’t major, but I really appreciated that there was no love-triangle here? Dina and Jesse dated, smashed, didn’t work out but they still remained good friends. Ellie’s first reaction to seeing Jesse is to confess that she and Dina kissed, and Jesse readily accepted the fact that Dina moved on (and he had too). It’s just refreshing. No bullshit love triangle there, just three people who really understood each other. Also jesus christ, I really didn’t want Jesse to die. Goddamnit. But I’m so glad they didn’t kill Dina too like, I was fully prepared to see her get fucked up. Base rule of LoU: anyone you like has a high probability of dying. ;w;

-BRO THINKING OF JESSE, ELLIE, AND DINA MADE ME REALIZE THE PARALLEL OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO MEL, ABBY, AND OWEN. Ellie’s triangle was essentially non-existent; no feelings of betrayal or anger, just understanding and love, like there was a deep-seated bond here that would weather anything. If Jesse had lived, I wouldn’t doubt he, Ellie, and Dina would have lived together to raise the baby together. Meanwhile Abby’s triangle had Owen seeming to unable to let go of the past he and Abby had together, that poor bastard was still in love with her, and how that supplemented the slow deterioration of all three’s friendship. I was sad to see Mel turn on Abby the way she did but like. I mean. Dude was ready to leave Mel in the dust for Abby despite HIM GETTING MEL PREGNANT. Abby also kinda did drag everyone into this, even if it was of their own violation. Oof. Though it did feel like she was angry at both Abby and Owen equally, not just blaming Abby for everything there... or at least the romantic relationship part. Honestly probably one of the few times I actually enjoyed a love triangle in a story, or at least of this caliber.

-Isaac, the leader of the WLF? He was cool as fuck. I love how much character they packed into him without even showing him too much. Like there was a scene where Nora mentions she tried to question Isaac about Owen and she said “he gave her that fucking look and told her to drop it”. Hell, when he was talking to Abby, he isn’t that much taller than her but he felt like he outright dwarfed her with the way he carried himself and how they reacted to him. I love shit like that man. But anyway fuck Isaac. uwu

-Not gonna lie I kinda wish I got to see the leader of the Seraphites, but it was hella cool to learn that she had been dead already and how the Seraphites operated with and without her. I don’t think I found everything regarding that specific point in game, but it sounded a lot like a peaceful religious leader who’s words and teachings were twisted to suit the goals of corrupt members of the tribe. She was essentially an equivalent to Jesus, at least to the Seraphites.

-I honestly really loved all of the characters introduced but I have to admit that Lev and Yara were standouts. Yara’s one hell of a big sister, lemme tell you, and the lengths she went through to make sure Lev was safe really shooketh me. AND LEV. MY CHILD. MY SON. To those of you who are familiar with the LGBT+ controversy around the game, he and Ellie are what people are complaining about. Ellie because she’s gay, Lev because he’s trans.

Lev in particular was heartbreaking. His tribe were outright hunting him for who he was, as well as Yara because she chose to protect him. The mindset the tribe had was pretty much isolated to them though.

And jesus. That scene with him and his mother? Fuck.

-YARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA :( BRUH that scene pissed me off, fuck you Isaac, you bastard.

-THE SCENE. WHEN YOU PLAY AS ABBY. AND YOU FIGHT ELLIE. WAS SO FUCKING COOL. AND SCARY. Ellie man, that section really showed how efficient and smart she is. She legit tricked me a few times not gonna lie, like I thought she didn’t see me but she’d pretend she wouldn’t, only to ambush me with a FUCKING MOLY. Also the fact that the game outright says “hey uhhhhh you can’t actually take her head on, she’ll fuck you up in a heartbeat bro”. Welp. A really strange mix of horror and sadness and pride there. Hm. :/

-Mom!Ellie was so fucking sweet to see. And it made me catch a glimpse of hope that Ellie actively tried to soldier through for her fam’s sake. But she clearly had demons she had to confront and I’m angry at Tommy for disrupting her and Dina’s life, but it felt necessary. Still made me sick to my stomach to watch her go after Dina fucking BEGS HER TO STAY. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

-Speaking of Tommy, it was so sad to see how much he fell after Joel’s death. It really showed just how much he was like his brother though; underneath a gentle man is someone you best not trifle with, and is very familiar with doing horrific things to reach a goal. Because fuckin hell, Tommy is legit a badass. That sniper part was SO. COOL. Aaaaand terrifying. RIP Manny. :/

-Bro, I’m very curious to see more about the Rattlers but. They were fucked up in a special kind of way. There’s no telling what they did to those people they captured and enslaved. Seeing Abby in the state she was in after seeing her throughout all the game in tip-top shape was painful. That poor girl was literally skin and bones and... just beaten down.

-ELLIE AND ABBY’S FINAL FIGHT WAS SO SAD. I HATED (but I loved) EVERY SECOND OF IT. I was so scared Ellie had fully lost herself there, when she threatens an unconscious Lev to force Abby to fight, who at that point, very clearly didn’t want to. Honestly. Ellie clearly didn’t either, far as I could tell, but it felt like it was the only way she knew how to confront everything. Fight it, until you kill it, or you die. It also felt like Abby understood that since she was in Ellie’s shoes once upon a time.

-I don’t care what anyone else says I’m so happy Ellie let Abby go. I’m so glad she chose not to go through with it. For so long Ellie has been angry and resentful about a lot of things, and she never got a choice once throughout the majority of her journey. As much as I will 100% agree with Joel sayin “fuck this supposed cure, fuck the Fireflies”, it’s not fair of him, or the Fireflies, to just outright take that choice from her, that she didn’t really have one to begin with. She was justifiably angry with Joel and the moment she chooses to try and forgive him, he dies. Another choice stolen away from her. The fact that she chose mercy despite everything, and it was prompted by a memory of Joel, the very reason she was doing this, is profound to me. Like she finally understood why he did what he did, and why he said he’d absolutely do it all over again. Hell, she probably even reached the understanding that her and Abby really aren’t that different from one another in that aspect.

-Ellie returning to an empty home, with Dina and JJ gone, was heartwrenching. I fully understand why Dina left and she honestly had every right to, but it still hurt man. :C AND ELLIE. PLAYING THE SONG JOEL MADE/SUNG FOR HER. ALWAYS KILLED ME. But this instance in particular was something else man like fuck I balled like a baby. Especially when it was followed by the fact that Ellie and Joel were on the cusp of mending their broken relationship only for it to be ripped away man. Goddamnit.

-ELLIE AND JOEL DUET NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. FUCKIN HELL I love this game.

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

So, this isn’t really a review more than it is me just sharing some of my thoughts on the game, but if ya want me to give it a rating? 10/10. If not a perfect score? At least a 9/10.

The Last Of Us as a series is one that’s moved me more than any other game I can think of honestly (outside of Telltale’s The Walking Dead), and just like the first one, LoU2 left me thinking about it for hours after. It’s thought-provoking, it’s compelling, it’s fun as fuck, aaaaand it’s made me cry like a baby a good number of times. I also really appreciate the fact that, in this game, they actually show the consequences of your actions. Like, they made you consider the fact that you aren’t just killing grunts to get to the next enemy or mowing through mindless drones. You’re killing people, who have lives, and friends, and families.

We got to see Joel for who he was: a very broken man, with a very dark past, who has done very horrible things in this shitty post apocalyptic world, but he is a father, and protective, and loving and thoughtful, who will do anything, anything, to protect Ellie. Blood or not, Ellie is through and through his child. But Abby only saw a monster, and could you blame her? He killed her father, and countless others, and she never got the full story. Just that a man came in and killed the entire hospital, put an end to even the smallest possibility of finding a cure, killed her dad in cold blood, and walked away no problem. And then it cycles right back to Ellie, where Abby becomes her monster.

It’s just some grade-A storytelling as far as I’m concerned, and I’m someone who usually prefers happy endings. LoU always leaves me feeling bittersweet but goddamn do I love this series. I’m kinda hoping for a DLC, to be honest? Like LoU part one, where you found out about Ellie and Riley. I wanna see what happens to Ellie; I get the distinct feeling she returns to Jackson and hopefully scrounges out some semblance of a decent life there, after confronting Tommy and (hopefully) making peace with Dina. But we’ll see! uwu

#earthsong talks

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youllallriseintheink · 4 years

Text

Broken Strings, chapter one: A Hole in the Wall and Where it Leads.

Broken Strings is a story meant to complete the Showdown Bandit narrative and give it a proper ending.

---

Showdown Valley is a place of contradictions. A place where puppets pretend to be living in peace while they tear each other apart. A place where they pretend to be free while, with every action, they are bound by strings and acting according to their pre-determined part. A place where they pretend to be happy while fearing insanity should they ever step out of line.

Showdown Valley was supposed to be a happy place, and yet it was a place of nightmares. That is, until one day a threat to their very existence forced the puppets to leave behind everything they'd ever known- or die trying to maintain the status quo.

---

Bandit woke up to a banging on his door. “Bandit, wake up! I have somethin’ serious to tell ya!” It was Miss Lorelei. If it were anyone else, he’d be tempted to roll over and go back to sleep, but she didn’t tend to be the dramatic type. So, he sat up and yelled “What?!”

“I found a hole in the wall of the Happy Mines. This could be how the stringless keep gettin’ in. And I think Penny got out through it!”

Bandit pulled the bandanna down from around his eyes and ran out. Miss Undertaker was holding what looked to be a small, ripped-off square of Penny’s dress.

“I’m gonna rescue her, and I was wonderin’ if I could employ your shootin’ skills, Bandit. Sixty Bandit Bucks- whadda ya say?”

“Make it a hundred and you got a deal.”

“Alright. Let’s set off, shall we?”

And they did. Bandit was honestly just glad for something to break up his boring schedule of sleeping in, shooting stuff, drinking, visiting Davy West by the scrapyard, and spray-painting the walls. Thankfully, Bandit's character was rather lazy. If he were supposed to play the part of a more active character, he might have to get a bit creative, considering there was no real employment and not much work in their world. There simply wasn’t much to do in Showdown Valley, aside from fighting off the brainless stringless who were always wandering around. A bit of adventure sounded like fun, and it fit his character perfectly to be adventurous.

Along the way, Bandit shot out a few lurking stringless puppets. They seemed to be cropping up in larger numbers lately. Ah, well- they were fun to kill, even if they were annoying and a little unnerving.

As the duo approached the mines, Bandit's thrill picked up. The mines were dark- well, their entire world was awfully gloomy, but the mines were so dark that a Bandit couldn't even see Miss Undertaker walking ten feet in front of him, unless he used the lanterns that Murray the mine keeper had lent them to light their way. Miss Undertaker had suggested that they use them sparingly, and feel their way along as much as possible- "it would be a pity if their- if they went out," she said. Bandit knew she meant if their batteries ran out, but they were supposed to act as though the lanterns were actually lit with fire. Bandit realized that he was letting it touch his vest and re-adjusted it- it would be easier than pretending to be on fire the entire trip as he trudged around the stalagmites, felt ahead for stalactites, and lit his lantern for a few seconds every now and then to ensure that he was keeping up with Miss Undertaker and was headed in vaguely the same direction as her. As far as adventures went, this was quite enjoyable- he wondered if it would it be in character to come here more often.

A loud scream pierced the air, followed by the sound of Miss Undertaker's shovel falling to the ground and a low growl, apparently from another person in the mines. Bandit lit his lantern to see a puppet much like himself holding Miss undertaker to a wall, face clawed off and knife prepared for stabbing. Bandit dropped his lantern and ran over. As the faceless Bandit's knife came down, Miss Undertaker got out from under the madpuppet's grip, leading him to stab the wall, knife sinking into soft, sandy rock until it would be impossible to retrieve. He abandoned the knife and ran after her. Bandit threw Undertaker's shovel to her. She swung it into Faceless Bandit's head, knocking him back and allowing Bandit to get in close and shoot him in the face with his corkgun. Just to be sure, Bandit stepped onto the fallen enemy's chest. He wasn't stirring, but that meant very little- playing dead was extremely easy for a puppet. Miss Undertaker gave him a little stab with her shovel, and he didn't react.

"Well, that was a close one, but ah think he's dead," she said.

Bandit nodded. "Still think we ought to be usin' the lanterns sparrin'ly?"

"Nope. My mistake. Well, should we carry on?"

"Uh-huh."

After they'd been walking for another minute or so, a thought occurred to Bandit. "So, that creature there used to just like me, eh?"

"Yep."

"How'd he get that way?"

"Same reason any puppet could have for goin' insane. He didn't follow the three rules. And look where it got him."

Bandit had understood from the first moments of his life that following the rules was important, and he supposed that made as much sense as anything as a reason why. "Does that mean you'll go insane if you don't leap into my arms and give me a kiss?"

Miss Undertaker rolled her eyes. "Lookie here. If I acted like the meek little love interest I'm supposed to be, who would take care of all those stringless? And Penny? Who would look after her? Anyhow, Bandits never last longer than three weeks or so. Pretty hard to call that a romance."

"Okay, but why aren't you crazy, then?"

"Maybe it's because I never break a string. Maybe some puppets can bend the rules a little more than others without losin' it. Maybe Miss Lorelei is supposed to have this side to her. I don't know. Anyhow, we're here."

Miss Undertaker turned off her lantern and prompted Bandit to do the same. In the darkness, a small chink of light was visible, seemingly from far within a tunnel.

“That’s where you’re squeezin’ in, Miss Undertaker explained. “There’s a reason ah came to get ya, and that’s because I wasn’t sure I could fit. I need you to go in as a check. I’ll pull ya out by the strings if you get stuck.”

Bandit sighed. He should have guessed that Miss Undertaker wouldn’t have brought him along without a reason, considering that she could have handled the combat side of things herself. He dropped to his knees and felt for the tunnel’s entrance. While doing so, he knocked a rock loose.

“Right. And ah’ll dig ya out if it caves in. But it won’t.”

On that comforting note, Bandit crawled in. At first, the tunnel was big enough for him to crawl through on his hands and knees. A good thing, considering how damp and cold it was. As he continued, however, it grew so constricting that he had to flatten onto his stomach. He could feel cracks in the rocks he was dragging himself across, and could hear the sound of aracknits chittering within them. A few attached their strings to him, and jumped over to nibble at his wood.

That was plenty- Penny was not worth getting eaten for! Bandit tried to crawl backwards, but found that he couldn’t. Fear overwhelmed him- the chittering, the chill of his wood against the dank rocks, the claustrophobic tightness and the blinding dark. It was as though the tunnel might eat him alive.

But there was no way out but through. Over the next seven minutes, Bandit managed to squeeze his way out, tumbling into the outside and onto his back- eyes instinctively closed, of course.

“Everythin’ okay out there?” Miss Lorelei’s voice called, echoing through the tunnel.

“Darn Tootin’.”

“Alright. I’ll be right behind ya. Hang tight!”

With that, Bandit got up. When he opened his eyes, he was amazed by what he saw. The expanse before him had to be ten times the length of Showdown Valley. There were several crates easily five times his height, and beyond that, wooden walls. Then, he saw the trail of red string leading back to a spool of thread placed right by the hole he’d emerged from. The hole was in a red crate. He’d come from a crate! And through the holes, he could see his strings, limp and dragging on the floor. The sight of that made Bandit jump.

He could jump. Without his strings, how was he still standing? It was so much to take in- like seeing your arms chopped off but still somehow lifting a cup to your mouth.

Ms. Lorelei couldn’t have taken more than ten minutes before emerging from the tunnel. She was just as awestruck by the environment as Bandit had been. After a moment of slince, she said, "So. This is what's beyond the Valley."

“Uh huh. An’ look- Ah think that Penny left us a little trail to follow,” Bandit responded, pointing to the red string.

“Oh. Well, let’s follow it, then.”

The walk was fairly long. About halfway through, they saw began to hear her voice.

Gaurd your strings and say your prayers,

Play your part, don’t sell your wares,

Trust the rules and keep lookin' down,

The hoard is coming to our town,

To cut our strings,

To end us all.

Tomorrow, I will watch the fall.

It wasn’t a particularly annoying song, and her tinkly voice was fairly nice, but after hearing a week of hearing her sing it at all hours, counting down the days like a prophetess of doom, Bandit was sick of it. If only she’d ripped out her mouth and not her eyes. He wondered why Miss Lorelei was so fond of her.

Things got worse when she came into view: she was at the top of a box.

"We ain't climbing up there. She got herself up there, she can get herself back down."

Miss Lorelei paid Bandit's words no attention. She turned the corner around the box and found a few cardboard boxes stacked up against the other side of the crate. Thankfully she was very tall for a Showdown puppet and was able to climb up. The box was open, but thankfully its edges were made of solid plastic and thick enough to walk on.

No words could describe what she found in the box below. There in a village that looked like a discount version of Showdown Valley. There was no stage and no audience. Most of the buildings were made very simply, as though from whatever scraps could be gathered or stolen. Miss Lorelei even caught sight of a board stolen from her own house a few days prior by a stringless puppet. What's more, the village was habitated. There were at least a dozen puppets down there that she could count, and the size of the village suggested that there were at least twice that- it was as large as Showdown Valley. Not a single one of their residents had strings. Worst of all, in the center was what appeared to be a cache of weapons and a training ground. On it, two stringless puppets were sparing. Another arrived to deliver a box full of clubs.

This made little sense. She'd thought that the stringless were mindless- but it seemed that they were preparing for a war. Was someone controlling them? She thought back on the behaviour she'd seen from them- maybe it made more sense in context than she'd given them credit for...

A piercing high note from Penny's song brought Miss Lorelei back to reality.

The hoard is coming to our town,

She'd been trying to warn them. Miss Lorelei went over to where Bandit was waiting and gestured for him to hold onto the red string-one sane puppet claiming this would be disbelieved more easily than two. She pulled him up and got him to look over the side, gesturing for him to be quiet as he did so.

They scurried over to Penny and Miss Lorelei picked her up. Penny squeaked in surprise but Miss Lorelei shushed her. Thankfully, she was able to make it down before anyone took notice. They walked until they were a safe distance away, and then Miss Lorelei spoke. "Sweetheart, I need you to tell me everything you know about what we just saw. And don't even think about leaving a damn thing out."

#showdown bandit #my fanfiction #bandit #miss undertaker #penny hemsworth #broken strings

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