#no but the scene.. the concrete… the FEELS….

[breadandblankets]

CivE Duke - inspired by this post by mysterycitrus

This was one of Duke's favorite parts of his job. Not that one, the other one, the civilian one.

"Duke Thomas," his mother had told him when he got his engineer's seal crimp in the mail. "Is every bit Gotham's hero as much as The Signal is."

Every other week it seemed he donned his steel toed boots, hard hat, and high vis and went to look at the bones of some old building.

Most days were sat at his desk in a nice comfy high rise in Old Gotham, eyes glued to the searing white of some ancient as-builts on his screen. (As-builts, especially in Gotham, were more of a suggestion than a rule, his team had started calling them "Maybe-builts" and it fit more than he'd like.)

Gotham, in Duke's experience, had good bones for the most part. Even caked in years and years of grime, asbestos, and mob snitches, there was beauty in pulling away the facade to look at all that union-made bessemer steel.

Today on the chopping block was a Park Row mid-rise, slated for either refurbishment or demolition, all depending on Duke's word.

It wasn't anything even close to the rush of saving a life, but there is a light feeling he gets, knowing that some old structure can be reused.

Duke knows its a little silly to get sad when something old is beyond saving, especially when he signs over it's death.

"It's like a forest fire," his dad had told him once, after he watched his first controlled demolition. "You gotta burn out the dead things so new things can live."

This building though, Duke has a good feeling about it. Or at least that is what he tells his trainee, Ines, while he scans the building with his X-ray vision.

Ines Borja is a bright kid fresh from the hell that is Gotham U's CivE program, she's not a Gotham native but while living here she fell in love with the city (and it's cost of living). According to her, New York isn't much worse, Gotham's just weirder.

Weird is, unfortunately, Duke's bread and butter. They pick through delapidated rooms with crumbling sheet rock with mostly intact concrete encased steel. He spots some areas with crumbling concrete that he points out to Ines, who dutifully takes photos.

"Those are areas we'll need to test for water penetration and corrosion," Duke explains.

He's explaining other testing that will need to be done, radar of the foundation, metallurgical testing, etc, when they hear yelling outside.

For a moment Duke ignores it, but the hard walls carry echos of what's being said.

"I'm not going to ask again, your money asshole!"

The flat thud of a notebook hitting the ground is the last thing Ines hears as Duke takes off like a shot.

His site walk boots are heavy, much much heavier than his Signal boots. They're for protection and insulation from the hard concrete he has to stand on all day. They're so not meant for running, he thinks as he barrels out of the survey site and around the corner.

There are two figures in the alley when he stomps into the scene, slipping his hard hat off. The mugger is on the younger end, thats about all the analysis Duke gets to do before he sees the gun.

It's nice sometimes, Duke things, as he spins like a discus thrower, to fight normal city problems. He's liable to get bogged down in big world ending shit that sometimes its just nice to save a mugging victim.

The reinforced plastic leaves his fingers in a rush, aimed straight and true, slamming into the gun in the mugger's right hand.

Both the mugger and muggee have a moment of shock before Duke slams into the first guy like a freight train, knocking him out of the confrontation and onto the ground.

"I'd advise you sit down for a moment," Duke says to the would-be mugger, flatly. He turns to the shaking older man.

"Sir are you alright," he asks politely.

"I am now," the older man, well dressed but not wealthy in the way that Duke knows people in the town are. "Thank you very much."

"Alright then," Duke says calmly, he fishes in his pockets for one of the many business cards he always keeps on himself. It's for a therapist, and a good one in Duke's opinion. A profession in too short supply in Gotham. "Might be best if you get on with your day, I'll stay with this young gentleman here."

The older man is clearly a true Gothamite, because he doesn't protest, just moves along. Probably not even the most traumatic thing the guy's witnessed in the last year.

Duke turns to young man on the ground, who hasn't moved a muscle from where Duke put him just a second ago.

"Hey man I don't want any trouble."

Ines chooses this moment to catch up, her skin flushed and she's panting, She is still carrying all the gear with her, which no doubt slowed her down.

"Bit late for that yeah?" Duke questions with a raise of his brow, he motions with his chin in the direction of the gun. It's a couple yards off, resting comfortably with his hard hat. "What's your name?"

"David sir, i-its not even loaded, just to scare people a bit," all comes out in a rush, the young man, David, is clearly terrified.

"Hey, I know, it's hard out here," Duke placates. Out of one of the seemingly endless pockets on his work pants he pulls out his wallet. Out comes two more cards and a couple of bills. "Listen, here's fifty bucks, go get yourself something to eat."

"I-"

"Hold on, I'm not done," Duke says. "This is the information for Leslie's clinic down the street, she can help you with a lot, or just point you towards someone who can. If you need anything else this is the Wayne Ent outreach office, the director there is Elaine, tell her Duke sent you."

"You- you're not going to call the cops?" David asks, bewildered.

"And have them do what? You're robbing a man for twenty dollars with a gun that has no bullets," Duke observes. "You clearly don't need jail time you need a hand."

As if to illustrate his point, Duke reaches out to help him up. David hesitates for a split second, before accepting the offered hand.

"Seriously thought," Duke continues. "Leslie and m-Elaine helped me though some of the worst times of my life okay, reach out to them, they can help, you're not in this alone."

David looked like he was about to cry.

"Thank you man, just thank you."

"Just looking out for my fellow man," Duke replies. "Now get going I got work."

David laughs a little at that before shuffling awkwardly by Ines. Duke turns to look at her.

"You are like, officially the coolest boss I've ever had," she tells him seriously.

"No way, didn't your last boss bow hunt wild boar?"

"Yeah but that's jack all compared to my Apparently incredibly based current boss."

Duke chuckles: "You don't even know about my teenage years."

"What, you were doing child anti-cop anarco-communist action?"

"More or less."

"Based as fuck," she says, amazed.

Duke just shrugs.

"My mom always said: never accept the world as it is, make it better. And so I do, so i will."

Duke turns a little, to look back at the mid-rise that will have new life breathed into it sooner or later.

So I will.

#duke thomas #batfam #duke practiced extensively to get that hardhat throw down btw #hes a bat he's prepared for anything #bread talk #my fic #i wrote this on the clock #so if its bad at least i got paid #ask me about construction engineering lmao

[lockedup-mayribbon]

Re-reading Memoirs of a Geisha and having a very one-sided structural debate with my uninterested mother for the 500th time about how Sayuri should have fallen in love with Nobu instead instead of the Chairman

#no but the scene.. the concrete… the FEELS…. #this book really does live in my head rent free #inmates of mayribbon #bookblr #lit blog #memoirs of a geisha #sayuri #nobu #arthur golden

[detectivenyx]

i hate cinemasins so much you would not believe

#it's an easy formula. i get it. #ha ha plot hole! it must be bad because plot hole! #[plot hole is intentional and explained 10 minutes later] #[plot hole contributes to themes of film] #[plot hole is not actually plot hole if you employ even the most rudimentary of reading between the lines] #[plot hole is thing unimportant to the scene as a whole] #it lets you feel smart without actually having to put the legwork in #'smart' isn't even the right word. 'mildly observant'. #but because of this fucking loser and his stupid little ding sound effect #films have to be spelled out for people or they'll go 'OOOOGH PLOTHOEL????' #'WHY THEY SHOOT THE DOG AT START OF DAS DING? PLOTHOLE DING' #'WHY NO CONCRETE ANSWER FOR QUESTION PROPOSED BY TEXT? DINGGGG' #[THINK!!!!! THINK DAMN YOU!!!!!!! THINK FOR YOURSELF!!!!!!!!!!] #if your critique could be easily slotted into a cinemasins video go back and think about WHY #is it a question answered by the text??? #and im more frustrated it took THIS LONG to repair my brain scorching! #even with kokichi's critique video im not happy with it because i did go back and look at him closer #i still don't fucking like him or think he was very well executed but i understand exactly why he was executed the way he was #and so many fanfics who took my critique on board and are like 'i can fix this!' just cinemasins the shit out of him #he needs Standard Character Arc and he must be A Hero #NO!! #you missed even the point i was making back then!!! #it was that his redemption was completely arbitrary! and though it didn't do it well it was intended to poke fun at EXACTLY THAT! #the The Villain Needs Redemption because that shit was all the fucking rage and people were doing it shit! #and it all goes back to this jackass and his stupid monotone voice and his attempts to enable a generation of media illiteracy! #and it WORKED! our ability to analyse narrative got fucking sacrificed on the altar for His Paycheck #and he's a shitbag who makes fun of women with breast cancer #long post

[trashlie]

Continued dumb things that rattle around in my noggin at like, all times.

This is nothing new, of course; we have talked to DEATH how significant that moment of surprise is in the context of quimchee revealing that Nol likes a nice smile. But the additional context I enjoy is that we know by this stage the friendships Nol meant to be pretend were so real. We already can glean that Nol was very drawn to Shinae in a genuine way - both as a person he wanted to help but also as a friend he earnestly wanted to be friends with.

But, correct me if I'm wrong, this is the first time he sees her smile like that - at a time when she's clearly uncomfortable and miserable on the spot in front of so many people, without her comfort jacket, at an event he knows she's being forced to attend. And it's because of him.

Nol's whole thing is helping people, putting good back into the universe, trying to improve situations for other people. He's surely made Dieter and Soushi smile and laugh.

But here it feels SO loaded and significant. Shinae with her tall, dense walls. Shinae who has been so difficult to reach. Shinae whose friendship he genuinely wants, genuinely enjoys, despite how she tried to stay safe in her shell, in this uncomfortable moment laughing and smiling in such a bright radiant way.

He's a sucker for a good smile.

And he brought her that comfort.

I don't think it's necessarily an attraction thing as much as it's one of those very important bricks laid in their foundation. Nol doesn't in that moment consciously realize he likes Shinae. I think something just strikes him in that moment. That smile, that radiant joy, makes him feel something he can't identify.

THINK ABOUT IT. He's just come back from meeting Alyssa who immediately took off after Meg even though they haven't met in so long. Standing here watching Shinae endure an awkward, uncomfortable dance in front of strangers, everyone recognizes Kousuke - but not Nol. He's a stranger to his family's world, even to his girlfriend. He's just another guy in the crowd.

But there's Shinae, who sees him. The same Shinae who has taken notice of his scuffed knuckles. The same Shinae who, after the dance, immediately goes to him and asks about him.

It's no wonder he says this.

I think seeing Shinae at the formal, clearly against her will, is the moment Nol remembers what happens to people he cares about. He got invested, he sought her friendship, and even though he doesn't know why she's there, he's certain it's her proximity to him. Even before Sangchul, before the pool, Nol remembered the danger.

It's after this he gives Kousuke his word that he'll avoid Shinae, and I think that's why. He already had the intention of distancing himself. It was supposed to be fake and he knew it wasn't and that he doesn't deserve her friendship he put her in danger by showing interest. She had drawn boundaries, she didn't even really want his friendship it'd be fine.

But then he made her laugh. But then she spotted him when no one else did. Then she burst into that bright, radiant laughter because of him and he probably knew: it was too late. He screwed up and yet....

Nothing is okay everything is messed up but he puts on that mask anyway. For friendship. Because he needs to. For her comfort. So he can convince himself he can actually pull away. So he can convince himself it doesn't mean anything else.

So he can convince himself someone cares about him, that maybe something is real even if real means danger.

(But he can't and we know it and we watch it over and over. It's too late and he just can't stay away.)

#I Love Yoo #ILY Brainrot #Stalkyoo #Nolan Oliver T. Lochlainn #CAN'T STOP WON'T STOP #it's feral Thursday #bhvonufojifuhyfuh7h8 #thinking about how significant this scene is makes me feel SO insane #thinking about how much this moment means what it makes him feel what it sparks inside #I feel kind of confident about the timeline of feelings at this point but I'm curious if that will ever be confirmed or denied #obviously they've been developing slowly quietly from the very very beginning #but i love how this moment gives us something concrete #honestly this entire arc and the hospital episides are just gihydz7F7YDTUX7TV8UG9IB8UFU9GH #yknow? #but i really like what we get to glean about how their relationship shifted and got altered #the role reversal and Nol's slow mental decline becoming more and more miserable and distant #and how despite it he still indulges of small pockets of comfort from Shinae #GOD SCREAMS I JUST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CHEWS THROUGH A PILLOW AND WHIPS IT AROUND #talking with the gang and thinking about all the doubts Nol has that anyone ever cares #that he does any good #the world would be better off without him he thinks #but in that exact moment Shinae is better off because he does #HOWLS

[b4kuch1n]

one thing I thought was missing from canon sk8 was the mine being haunted apparently. so we are bringing that into burnished house for absolutely no fucking reason

#sk8 the infinity #burnished house #(I am jokeing there is. in fact. a reason) #(you will not learn this until the divorce comes up) #(well the preliminary reason is I fucking love ghost stories and want to put them in everything) #(and that reki is afraid of scary things which makes him my favourite kind of victim. younger sibling coded for that only) #Im actually having a lot of fun alternating povs between reki and langa bc Ive like. accidentally grounded langa's in #very clear and present bodily sensations. straight up uncomplicated observations about materials in the world around him #while reki's gets all the hyperboles and pretty poetic stuff. I enjoy the idea of him being good at storytelling #ESPECIALLY bc him taking words to heart including scary stories. big deal to me ok? #love to write langa and going from things that clearly are present right there in the scene to the most insane thoughts a man can have #and then write reki and jump wildly between dork ass energetic shounen character speech and romanticizing the fuck out of concrete #weird thing to say after writing three fics of like 20K+ words in total about them granted lmao #but like. listen. I feel like burnished house is me going apeshit so far. this is truly my time to be the worst ever #same approach as I took with [REDACTED]. oh you think this is bad? just wait #I have already added TWO old people ghosts into this one. be in awe of my power #well. be in awe of it when I finish this chapter... I need to sleep rn dksdfhdskj #have a good nite lads. I cant wait to get to that one spot in this chapter where I go yess... YESS!!!! HAHAHA YESSSS #wish u the same for ur art endeavour. if ur art endeavour doesnt have something like that u should add it. my message to da world

[thetimelordbatgirl]

Kinda sad how nowadays Doctor Who will never be able to do a scene like the scene of Gwen, Rhiannon and the kids fleeing the army while Rhys and other men in the neighborhood with eventually Andy fight back against the army. Because lord knows with the UK's constant army adverts lately, that the BBC won't the army be the bad guy in Doctor Who again.

#like everyone does go on about the cabinet meeting scene from children of earth #and rightfully so it is fucked how the goverment were willing to give the aliens what they wanted #but only kids the goverment deemed not worth having around in the future #which is disturbing with how rishi sunak acted with the bad concrete in schools situation being similar #but no one goes on about the fleeing the army scene #where we see gwen doing what jack said: save as many kids as she can #and despite having the chance to go with them rhys stays behind saying its not just them #rallying the men in the neighbourhood to fight back with 'they're come to take our kids and we're not going to let them!' #and sure at first they approach the army taunting them #but as soon as they see two army men emerge from a house with two screaming and struggling kids #its instantly on sight #and then andy joining after seeing a mom beg to no avail to give her kid back #like yeah sadly they are pinned down by the army in the end #but its just such a scene to me #along with the schools scene where we see a teacher constantly question where are the kids being taken #and the parents at the school chase after the bus clearly panicked #like you wont get this in DW anymore #unless the bbc finally feels like not sucking the goverment off #let alone the army

[akari-hope]

.

#i've decided that the new f*nal f*ntasy is a fine game. but it still doesn't quite feel like ff to me? #this is the first time i've felt this way about the series tbh so i'm not quite sure why i feel this way #it's not the gameplay and it's not the aesthetics and it's not anything else i can concretely pinpoint #but it doesn't have...idk. the heart? the soul? whatever that might be. #the human element ig? #my mind might be changed before the end but #idk i only really care about maybe 2 characters rn #j*ll is...a disappointment so far lol #she's boring...i'm so sorry women #every other woman is more interesting than her so far though like. where's your fatal flaw girl. #where's your...anything #cl*ve is also just kinda there imo but he's had some good scenes. hoping she gets at least one or two of those too.

[daffodilwill]

am I the only one who doesn’t consider that queerbait??

#byler #genuinely very confused #maybe my expectations were just lower than most #but the car scene was so much more than I was expecting to get #maybe our definitions of queerbaiting are different #because will (and maybe mike too- theres still another season) is still queer #he doesn’t have to be dating a guy to actually be gay #I guess a concrete coming out scene would have been nice but I also think it would be hard to pull off #given the context of the rest of the volume it would likely feel out of place or rushed or like it was blown off quickly #idk #rant over ig #stranger things #stranger things spoilers

[sam-glade]

Happy Tuesday!!

What is your absolute favorite scene to write?

Hi! Thanks for the question💜

I want to say dialogue-heavy scenes, with characters sitting around a table, and with banter and discussion how the plot will progress, but that's not quite it.

It's when I have 3-4 characters, who have come together from different situations. For example: One has a headache and is unusually snappy. One has learnt some impactful news earlier that day and is struggling to focus, but doesn't want to share the news either. Another one for whatever reason has a thing on their mind and slightly derails the conversation when they're reminded of it. Another one is a nerd and oh look they accidentally gave a paragraph of exposition about the world, before the others shushed them.

Yes, it's 'just' dialogue. But I love testing just how much stuff I can pack alongside it. And I love the feeling of writing characters that act differently because of the most recent developments, but it's still consistent with their characterisation. When you know exactly where the deviation from the norm comes from.

#thank you for asking! #ask and i shall answer #and a very concrete example of this kind of scene #is the main trio of GoF meeting for the first time #Lissan is scared and desperate for help because he's just acquired a demon #Ianim feels guilty about it for reasons but also embarrassed to be asking his high ranking ex for help #and Gullin sees his ex through circumstances coddling another guy #and definitely isn't catty and snappy towards Lissan because of it

[bookshelf-in-progress]

The great thing about not having time to sit down and write is that you can brainstorm lots of story details in the spare moments of the day no matter where you are.

The bad thing about this strategy is that when you do have time to sit down and write, you have lots of well-developed story ideas competing for your attention, and you like them all best for different reasons, and there's no way to choose which one to write first.

#adventures in writing #this problem is magnified when you write retellings because those develop very quickly #and all have strong vibes built-in from the source material #so you get a full and appealing picture almost immediately #so it feels like 'oh yes i could totally write this in five minutes' #and then you can't #and it turns out that half of the ideas you like too much to even try writing quickly #because you're so attached to the details you've developed you don't want to wreck it #and it's been long enough since the original brainstorm that you've forgotten the concrete scenes that fit in those details #so then you try to brainstorm a quicker and easier story you're less attached to #and the problem just gets worse

[doggytail-duck]

No but imagine if Will gets Vecna’d and what gets him out is Jonathan desperately singing Should I Stay Or Should I Go

Bonus points if the whole party joins in and it’s this whole “look how loved you are, Will” thing

#idk idk after all of will's loneliness i just. really want him to have all the love he deserves #i know many people are rooting for mike to snap will out of it if any vecna stuff happens and that would be amazing too and i would cry #like 11/10 that would be awesome #and i do think that's a very likely scenario #i just really like sibling relationships and they're very important to me #and since i feel will has been sidelined a lot lately i'd love a scene which is a concrete reminder #that all of his friends and family will always rally themselves behind him to support him #personal #stranger things #stranger things spoilers #will byers #jonathan byers

[punkranger]

i have so many ideas that i wanna draw but most of them require panels and while i've gotten more used to that i kinda just wanna work on one piece and have it done without any need for follow-up or repetition...

#i have a few ideas for illustrations too just need to decide.. #it's been a while since i did something with antoine and danny #but i don't really have anything specific in mind #should also draw some like lineup with the steps #but that's not really what i'm feeling like doing atm #want something more.. a scene #also have vague thoughts about something with Love #and have a pretty clear idea of a thing with monroe and nikke but that's gonna be when i have the energy for something more ambitious #anyway there's so much from retribution i want to draw - but also kinda feel like just doing my own thing #it's nice to draw from the source materials because i'll have something concrete to work with #but i also have more expectations with it then and i'm not in the mood for that i just wanna draw and see what comes out #still have to decide some direction to start from though...

[ct-hardcase]

getting in one of those moods where I can hardly wait for the tros tell-all when someone's NDA finally expires

#I'm not saying it was perfect but based on how the actors talked before the movie's release I'd say studio meddling was likely #and I *know* studios influence movies that's a given #but for me john boyega in particular saying that jj didn't do wrong by him despite #the movie having very little FS finn content (albeit with what I'd consider a confirmation of the fact) #also for me another one is daisy outright saying at a press event in the year the movie was release #*released #that she didn't ship rylo. #like I know she can exist separately from her character but I feel like it's a bit odd to say you outright don't ship the pair #if the kiss scene/romance arc had been planned from the outset #both of those point to them having seen SOMETHING that would warrant the vibes #again no concrete proof but if there is a tell-all I predict it will be juicy

[neganium]

That is most likely all I'll be posting about the new DetCo movie, just btw, bc it was simply so appalling. The person I reblogged it from compared it to the Luke-Leia situation but for over 20 years and they ain't wrong! The worst part is that the two series weren't even supposed to be connected; iirc Gosho once described them like alternate universes of each other, p much. I don't know if that's still a thing, tho, bc they have direct canonical crossovers, and also, Kaito's motives would be pretty hard to explain away otherwise.

The second, slightly less worse but still bad part, is that I haven't actually seen any of the movies at all since movie 23, bc good subs for movie 24 simply Do Not Exist yet. It's been years and I don't think that there is going to be any good subs for that one, at this rate; it's too old for people to bother with, and that's upsetting to me bc I've been waiting a long time to watch any of the others after that one bc I could not see this one. hh.

Third, highly trivial part (in the grand scheme of things): I actually was a bit fond of that ship. Okay bye.

#oh well. at least there's still hakuba ig. #dunno who I'd ship kaito with tho; ig I'll just stop caring about shipping him #it really is kind of bad tho bc like I said; *over twenty years* #and I bet that gosho made fuckin BANK off of it; too; I mean just LOOK at movie 23!! or hell even just movie 19!! movie 14; even!! #they played it up wherever they could; they would have to be completely stupid not to have realized it or registered it #so I can only think that they were doing this deliberately; sure nothing concrete was ever said or done like. At All #but they put all those scenes in there bc they KNEW that even referencing it would put asses in seats #idk it feels kind of predatory... but also not enough that they can directly be called out for it either. which is frustrating for sure #bc I know they knew what they were doing...

[13atoms]

Handsome and a Genius (Spencer Reid x F!Bau!Reader)

Inspired by that one scene in x files where mulder stands like a himbo looking handsome and being the future of beauty. you know the one I mean

Summary: Spencer’s overactive brain draws more attention than it ought to on a case, and you see him in a new light. 3k words.

Contains: hostile witnesses, spencer being clueless (but an absolute babe), friends to lovers. (No offence to Florida im sure it’s very nice, reader is having a bad day, and I am far too British for that kind of heat)

The sticky Florida air had long since plastered your clothes to your skin, leaving you short of breath and with the unpleasant feeling of damp hair against your scalp. The whole team had groaned at the revelation their next case would be in the outskirts of Miami, and as soon as the plane door opened you understood why.

You were hot, and grumpy. The salty, swampy air made you feel disgusting as you approached witness after witness. There was a serial killer operating in and around mobile home parks in the area, with the two most recent murders taking place in Royal Biscayne Trailer Park, both over a week ago. While the rest the team spread out across the other crime scenes, you and your partner had been dispatched to this one.

It was a world away from Quantico: sun-bleached, dense, full of plastic and palms instead of concrete and maples. Nonetheless, the principles remained the same no matter where you were. Take everything in, speak to everyone, suspect everyone. Stepping in and out of trailers gave you very little relief from the heat, although respite from the sun pounding down on you was a welcome break.

Dr Spencer Reid stood a short distance away, shielding his eyes with his hand as he contemplated the sea of trailers around him. He’d stared around as you drove into the park, something faraway in his eyes as he memorised every detail from the safety of the SUV.

Now he stood close to you, heads inches apart as he whispered so that only you could hear. He faced one way, you the other, and you could focus on his words knowing that Spencer was watching your back.

“These things all come equipped with the same locks, at least each model does. If you recognise the trailer home, you know how to pick it. It’s fairly trivial, for someone with some basic industry knowledge.”

You hummed through pursed lips, surveying the small crowd who had gathered to gawk at a pair of FBI officers on their turf.

“And that would be true of all of the trailer parks… we know he’s got a common MO.”

“Exactly.”

“You reckon someone in the industry, then? A salesman? Maintenance guy?”

Spencer rolled his neck, stared up at the sky for a moment. His curls were long at the moment, damp at the name of his neck, a little frizzy in the humidity.

“Not necessarily.”

“It’s quite specific,” you agreed, “anyone operating as a common thief around here would have the knowledge too. We could be talking about a classic escalation – burglar to home invader to murderer?”

His eyes snapped from you to his phone.

“I’ve asked Garcia to check out any patterns in robberies, home invasions… the locks are hardly scratched. We know he wears gloves, cleans his tools. This guy knows what he’s doing.”

You nodded, surveying the street again. The sun was glinting off of white plastic, making you squint. You worried for Spencer, the heat and the light wouldn’t be doing his headaches any good.

“You want me to take that?” Spencer was saying, and you snapped your attention in the direction he was gestured.

There was middle-aged man a little way forward of the crowd, shoulders hunched, hands entwined. Nervous. He had the tan of someone who lived here year-round, not a big believer in suncream, with tanlines when he removed his hat and glasses to speak to you.

“I’ve got it,” you murmured, and Spencer nodded.

It was an unspoken part of your partnership, that Spencer liked when you started conversations with witnesses. You liked that he trusted you, trusted your skills, never questioned whether you’d done the right thing when you spoke to people.

Instead he remained a short distance away, climbing up the front steps of someone’s home for a higher vantage point to survey the place.

“Hello, sir. Can I help you?”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you. You said you’re with the FBI?”

The man had a tip, and it was an interesting one. A rumour spread throughout the HOA about someone trying the locks at night, the sound of metal against the doorways, silhouettes against frosted glass. A few people even had security camera footage, though nothing identifiable. It was great. You gave him your card, told him to get the footage to you asap.

It must be terrifying, you realised, to hear that kind of noise in the night. To be so close to danger, after a neighbour had been killed. The local sheriff’s department seemed frustrated by the interest the case was garnering – frankly you were amazed the story wasn’t bigger. There was no small amount of comforting involved in the conversation you had with the witness, and soon enough a few more people stepped forwards from the crowd. All seemed middle-aged, likely transplants to the sunshine state, and equally shaken.

When everyone’s stories had finished, they stood in silence for a moment. You frowned, noticing their gazes slightly misaligned.

Spencer.

He was stood at your shoulder, sharp gaze flickering across each face of the gathered residents.

“This is my colleague, Dr Reid. A few of you have already met, I believe.”

“You know,” he began, “the socio-economic factors influencing the way we think about crime in mobile home communities are fascinating. Often trailer parks are stereotyped negatively in the media, and because they are generally cheaper to live in than traditional housing estates, and that can foster a sense of shame or isolation for residents. Transient populations can also make community policing and security difficult, and anomalies in the patterns of everyday life become more difficult for people to subconsciously spot.”

You held your breath, and tried not to look worried at the reaction of the small crowd. Instead, you focused on Spencer. He was speaking with his hands a lot today.

“But I think the assumptions we tend to make about trailer parks completely overlook the very nature of living so close to your neighbours. There is a sense of community in living so closely, as evidenced by the conversations we’ve been having today. I’m not sure whether the killer understands that, or is exploiting the former theory that places like this allow for more deviations from the way we implement traditional security in communities. An unsub might hold some sort of resentment towards trailer parks, or some specific resident in his past, or perhaps he’s simply exploiting how incredibly easy it is to simply walk up to a mobile home and slip the lock open with a humble mass-produced lock pick.”

He was greeted with a sea of blank faces, littered with the occasional frown. Finally he looked to you. You caught the furrow of his brow, the way his shoulders hunched into himself, the clutching of his elbows to his body.

Oh, Spencer.

“That’s really interesting!” you tried to say, but Spencer was already backing away.

“Anyway, I’ll, um, leave you to it.”

“Thank you, Dr Reid,” you called after him, as he fled, disappearing into the shade of a nearby trailer.

 Your heart ached for him a bit, but you pushed that aside. Instead, you had a sea of potentially offended retirees to keep on side.

“God, what I’d give for a brain like that,” your witness laughed, his linen shirt straining under the movement.

You couldn’t help smiling, a little relieved the tension had broken.

“It’s not often someone has a face like that and a good head on their shoulders,” one of the older ladies piped up.

You found yourself looking over your shoulder at Spencer, his profile sharp as he looked down the road, deep in thought.

“He’s certainly a rare breed,” you agreed fondly.

A number of the crowd were following your gaze, and someone in you wanted to snap them out of it. Stop them from staring.

“He actually has an eidetic memory. Once he’s seen or heard something, he remembers it perfectly, forever. It’s incredible.”

“Oh, my goodness! I can hardly remember my own email password!”

“I wouldn’t mind if he hung around me and talked like that all day, even if I didn’t understand a word of it. Though perhaps he could use a haircut…”

There was a chorus of agreement and various coo-ing which seemed to occupy the entire scale from grandmotherly to entirely inappropriate. You couldn’t help staring at Spencer a moment longer, wondering if he was truly oblivious, or simply pretending to be.

A rare breed.

You were certain you’d never met anyone else like him. Certain you felt like a better version of yourself in his company. That you’d trust him with your life, that you searched every room you entered until you saw him. Watched the elevator doors each time they opened, all morning, until Spencer walked in.

You were certain you’d felt giddy the first time Spencer insisted the two of you would work together, alone.

 “Imagine knowing that he’d remember everything, forever…” one of the women was saying, her eyebrows raised in a way you didn’t particularly enjoy.

You cleared your throat, and hooked one hand over the badge at your waist.

“Unless anyone has any further leads, we’d better be on our way…”

The group silenced, and watched you dutifully. You passed out a few more cards, reiterated how dedicated the team was to stopping this killer, and gave out a few promises that there would be a police presence after dark throughout the trailer park.

When the request for any further questions was met with more glances towards Spencer, you thanked your witness, and made a beeline for the car. After only a few seconds Spencer was beside you, jogging to catch up.

“All done?” he asked, and you smiled at the question.

“I think so.”

You started the engine and both waited with the doors open for the car to cool down. The department’s penchant for black SUVs was not helpful when the sun was so vicious. Feeling the heat themselves, the group of residents had dispersed into a few groups, wandering into one another’s homes to continue gossiping.

“God, I’m disgusting,” you lamented, “sorry for the sweat-smell. I might actually take a cold shower when we get to the hotel.”

Spencer was already waving you off, leaning into the car to mess with the AC. Through the open door you saw him groan at the heat, swiping a curl from his face.

“I’m afraid to raise my arms. It’s so humid, I’m not sure why anyone would retire here. High humidity aggravates a number of chronic conditions, especially respiratory ones, which are common in older people. Not to mention the skin cancer…”

“And it ruins your hair,” you teased.

Spencer faked a gasp, and reached for a damp, limp section of his hair.

“I mean, look at it!”

You laughed, and rolled your eyes at him, nothing but fondness settling warm and tight in your chest.

Surveying the road in front of you for one final time you saw a few curtain-twitchers, but no new faces. You climbed into the car, wincing at the heat. The seatbelt buckle was burning hot, and you swore as it burned your fingers.

“I always forget about that,” you grumbled, slamming the car door closed.

“You know, if you fasten your seatbelt after you get out, it stops the metal getting hot and burning you,” Reid offered, and you rolled your eyes at him again.

“Gosh, doesn’t it get exhausting being right about everything?”

Spencer went quiet, and all you heard was the click of his own belt. After a few moments the car was cool and bearable, and your lungs felt like they could finally move again. The sat-nav happily talked away, and you started stealing worried looks at your partner once you’d returned to properly-maintained roads.

“What you said out there was really good, do you mind if we go over it again once we get to the station? I think it’s worth exploring.”

“I shouldn’t have said it in front of them.”

He was right, but you didn’t have to heart to say anything. That was the thing which made your heart twinge about Spencer – he was so insecure, and yet so self-aware, it was the worst of both worlds. Being an expert in body language was a double-edged sword.

“I don’t think they minded. Did you hear those old ladies talking about your big brain?”

Spencer didn’t laugh. He turned himself towards the window, curled up with his hand beneath his jaw.

“They were very impressed. So was I, for what it’s worth. I think we’ll make some really good progress on this profile tonight.”

He hummed agreement. Watched a vista of blurred blue and green and white going past the window. The radio was turned down to a low hum, you could hardly hear it. Silence pierced its way through and sound of mumbled songs and road noise.

“Are you okay?” you asked finally.

“I’m okay.”

You sighed. Tapped the steering wheel. Sped a little to get through an intersection on amber.

 “Spencer…”

“I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to ruin that for you I just… sometimes I think of things and it’s like I have to tell you.

“Spencer I’m not mad at you! Not at all! I think we’re both just tired, and too warm…”

He didn’t say anything.

“Honestly, I was worried you’d heard what those ladies were saying about you and gotten upset. It was inappropriate of them…”

“I didn’t hear anything. What did they say?”

Your gaze was focused on the road, but you met Spencer’s eye in the rear-view mirror as he watched your face.

“Just that you were a handsome young man. And that they wanted you to get a haircut, which I firmly disagree with…” you teased.

Spencer touched his hair self-consciously. He was still quite curled up, leaning away from you despite his interest in the conversation.

“That’s nice of them, I suppose.”

“‘Nice’ is an interesting way of putting it, but I’m glad you’re not upset about it.”

“When I was a kid, I read a book at the library about how to tell if you’re attractive. It was for women, all about makeup and stuff, but there was a section about what made guys hot. I could never figure it out, I just always thought I looked like an alien.”

The sudden change made you sit up straight, heart in your mouth as you rolled to a stop behind a queue of traffic.

“I think everyone feels like that sometimes. Being a teenager is really hard.”

 “I… yeah. I suppose so.”

“I always felt so jealous of the people who walked around looking perfect every day, confident that they were not. It just never came naturally to me.”

“Really? I assumed you were one of those girls in school who I’d be too afraid to talk to.”

You scoffed, and for a moment were struck by how little you really knew about one another. The way Spencer looked at you, looked it everyone, it felt as though he had an x-ray into every tiny detail of your life. How could he know, though?

“Of course not,” you laughed nervously.

You weren’t sure if you’d prefer Spencer knew the truth, or kept believing whatever he’d made up ini his head. You weren’t sure what any of this conversation meant. Traffic was moving. The precinct was two turns away.

“I’m not sure I believe you.”

He was teasing you. Finally he leant back in his seat, shoulders square to it, legs stretched out in the passenger footwell.

“Either way, I’m glad you can talk to me now. I’d miss it if you didn’t.”

“You might be the only person on this planet with that opinion.”

You took a moment to glance across the car at him, and caught a flash of a smile. He was joking. You released tension from your shoulders you hadn’t realised you were holding.

“I’m sure that’s not true. You’re a handsome genius, just like Barbara said.”

“Her name was Barbara?” Reid laughed.

You shrugged, and took the final turn into the precinct parking lot.

“I’ve got no idea.”

Even with the SUV in park, the aircon no longer blasting away, neither of you moved. Not for a moment, at least. A moment of peace before the chaos all began again. Just the two of you. Wherever you were, with Spencer was your favourite place to be.

“You’re the same, you know. A genius. And handsome…”

You frowned.

“Pretty! Beautiful. You know what I mean.”

“Handsome?”

In truth, you didn’t care about the words. Not at all. Not when your heart was pounding at the realisation Spencer had his gaze fixed on your lips, his eyes soft and pupils blown wide.

“Beautiful,” Spencer repeated, “You know, in a lot of languages, handsome can be translated for men and women. The word itself doesn’t have a gender. Guapa, for example, in Spanish…”

You let him talk, on and on. You decided you wouldn’t kiss him yet, while your hair was matted in sweat and Spencer’s face was brushed with sunburn and embarrassment.

“Bella is more popular in South America, though, or bonita. My favourite is Japanese, though. Kirei. To be beautiful both inside and out…”

Only a few more moments passed before Morgan arrived and banged on the glass with a wide grin and a sweat-beaded brow, announcing a break in the case. You were sorry for the interruption.

#spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid fic #spencer reid imagine #fluff #fic #13atoms #im so sorry if this is ooc

[doctorjohcoy]

oh so death surrounds you you follow death wherever you GODD like a bloodhound? chasing the wolf down and fighting him until one of you winds up dead? you called him brother and now oho you hold his hand while he dies?? ?6!!!!45]= fuck OFF fuck right off 

#THE ENDING IS KILLING ME IM GONNA EAT FUCKING CONCRETE!!!!!!!!!! #this is the exact feeling i wanted but now that i have it im losing my mind #the fuck even. the diner scene was my favorite. dont look at me #doctalk