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time-to-write-and-suffer · 3 years

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I wouldn't mind that post on VNs!

So I was gonna write three different lists, but then after writing the first part I realized this is very long and takes a while to write and nobody cares anyway so I’ll just post my recommended list only. Well, I mean, you asked, but I doubt you wanted all this lol. Thank you for giving me an excuse to talk about this stuff, though. Hope you enjoy my ramblings!

An explanation for what this list is: Sometimes I know a game isn't perfect in many aspects but I still had a genuinely good time playing it, hence why I'm recommending it. Also I should mention that I could talk for hours about some of these games so if anyone’s curious about more of my thoughts, let me know.

Alright, now that that's out of the way ...

How to Take Off Your Mask / How to Fool a Liar King / How to Sing to Open Your Heart (f/m): This is a trilogy of smaller, single-RO games where you can take one of two routes depending on how you act, and they’re all interconnected where you get to meet and interact with the previous games’ characters in the sequel games. I went into this expecting very little but what I got blew me away with how funny, charming and cute the games were. They don’t take themselves too seriously, at one point an angsty male character monologues deeply about some shit, and another one just slides into frame and starts mocking him. It was so fucking funny, holy shit. Also, a central theme is literally racism against catgirls? Which is monumentally stupid, and probably the games’ main flaw, especially in the final game where it pairs up a catgirl with a catgirl racist, but that one still ends with a literal bisexual queen literally making a man her malewife because she fell in love with his cooking, so like ... It speaks for itself. My favorite game of the three is the second one, where you get to play a punchy fake catgirl and romance a pink-haired prince. And honestly, all the female protags in these games are lovely and a breath of fresh air, and the male characters are fun and not abusive assholes either. There’s full Japanese voice acting, and two out of three female protags are literal catgirls who pepper in “nya” and “mya” into their dialogue, and it’s just treated as a quirk of their catgirl race. I AM NOT KIDDING. Yet somehow it never comes off as cringe, because it doesn’t take it self too seriously. These games are just cozy. That’s the only way I can describe them. Cozy and hilarious. Play them yesterday. Dream Daddy (m/m): Man tumblr did this game dirty. This is just a cute, wholesome daddy dating simulator with gorgeous art. Coming out on Top (m/m): So you know Dream Daddy? What if it was EXTREMELY, MAJORLY NSFW? Though I realize how bad the comparison really is, the only thing these games have in common is that they’re gay dating sims and don’t have an anime art style and oh, yeah, they’re both really well-written. Or at least, extremely funny. COOT (heh) is DDADDS’ horny older cousin, and I first encountered the game on a lesbian letsplayer’s YouTube channel. Yes I watched a lesbian play a gay porn game and it was GOOD. I was there for the cringe and fun and got surprised by how genuinely funny and sometimes actually touching the game was. I can’t give it my universal endorsement because it’s not a game for everyone, as I said, it’s extremely NSFW and the menu theme literally includes the singers screaming “SEX SEX” at the top of their lungs. There’s more to this game than the porn, but there’s just so much porn. It can be censored in the settings but it’s unavoidable. However, I still think it’s worth a look just because of how funny it is and how charming the characters are. If you don’t want to play it yourself, at least watch Anima’s playthrough of it. It hasn’t aged super well in some spots but I still go back to it every now and then. Akash: Path of the Five (f/m): This game markets itself as a more “professionally produced” western dating sim, and that’s accurate in some superficial aspects. The game is pretty poorly written, but it’s absolutely gorgeous and has really good English voice acting by actual professional voice actors. The premise is quite self-indulgent, but I genuinely respect that about it. You play as the only female elemental in a village with only men, and all five of your classmates want a piece of you. It’s clear the writers have put some thought into the lore and worldbuilding of this world, but barely any of it comes through in the actual writing and plot, which is basically just a vehicle for you to get together with your boy of choice. The ROs aren’t very well-developed either, and the plot is the same in every route with only minor variations depending on which guy you pick, up to the point where the protag has the same voice lines in some parts regardless of which guy she’s talking about. It also has one extra half-route that’s so bad and pointless I genuinely wonder why they wasted resources on making it instead of spending a bit more on the writing/adding some variations to the main plot. So why am I recommending this game? Well, it’s pretty, and it sounds nice. This game is a himbo, gorgeous but dumb as rocks. Enjoy it for what it is. I know I did. Get it when it’s on sale, I think if I hadn’t gotten it at half-price I would’ve felt a bit more cranky about it. Also Rocco is bae. Mystic Destinies: Serendipity of Aeons (f/m): Yes that’s the full title, no I don’t know what it means either. You may have noticed how most of the games so far I’ve enjoyed because they don’t take themselves too seriously? Well, this one does. It takes itself SO FUCKING SERIOUSLY. Like, way too seriously. It’s a little embarrassing at points because baby, you’re an urban fantasy dating sim. Calm down. But the game has gorgeous art and 3 out of 5 routes are very good. The last route, the one with your teacher, is both the most problematic yet somehow the one that breaks down the very concept of a dating sim within its own narrative (yes, this shit gets fucking META) and it got so wild at the end that 1) I still listen to the soundtrack for that route and 2) I still remember it to this day despite finishing it ages ago. My favorite route is Shou, he’s a sweetheart, but the mindfuck route is so buckwild that I think the game is worth playing just for that. There’s also a route that’s like a neo-noir mystery? I Do Not Know. This game is many, many things and it does them so sincerely and tries so hard, you can’t help but respect it. It doesn’t always stick the landing but man, just let this thing take your hand and wax poetic at you for a bit. Also get this one at a sale because it’s very expensive to get the full version. I got it for 9 bucks on itch.io and I felt that was a fair enough price, I’d say I wouldn’t have minded paying more for it because there’s a lot of content to enjoy and/or be baffled by. Arcade Spirits: This one’s a bit more weird from what I recall, and I honestly couldn’t tell you much about it, but I remember having a very good time with it and recommending it to a friend when she was going through some tough times and she said it made her feel better. I remember it making me feel better, as well. This is a VN about an arcade and the ROs are wonderfully diverse, with very real human conflicts that get explored in each of their routes. It can get quite existential and heavy at times, but in the end it’s a kindhearted game that I think everyone can enjoy. The main character was also, how you say, mood. It’s a game about getting possessed by a video game and then learning self-love. Ebon Light (f/m): This one’s free/name your own price on itch.io so go play it. It’s a weird plot where you play as a girl who ate an elven relic? And then the elves kidnap you because you’re the relic now. All the ROs are extremely pasty (like, literally white, as in literally the color white) dark-haired elves, except for one, who’s an extremely pasty blond elf, so ... diversity? I honestly don’t know what this game is aside from unique. I used to be a bit put off by the art style but now I think it contributes to the general atmosphere. It’s a weird game that technically doesn’t do anything groundbreaking but still left an impression of “huh. weird” in my mind and I think more people should play it. The ROs are all pretty generic dating sim archetypes but done well, with bonus points to Duliae who’s just a massive creep and I love him, and also Vadeyn who’s the only bitch in this house I respect. The worldbuilding is honestly a bit buckwild and I can’t give enough credit for how unique the elves’ culture is in this game. Definitely give it a go. Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds / Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms (f/m): These two are newer releases of an older Japanese visual novel. I wouldn’t call it a dating sim, it’s ... it’s more of a super depressing historical fantasy epic with some minor romance aspects awkwardly wedged in. It’s seriously some of the heaviest and most grimdark shit I’ve ever played in a VN/otome. I don’t understand why it’s a dating sim, it doesn’t read like one, it’s just historical fantasy based on real world events with characters based on real people, and they kill and they die and they grieve and they suffer. The games are literally about the downfall of the Shinsengumi, there’s no way of avoiding everything going to shit and you get to watch and be in the middle of it all as they struggle to stay alive and relevant in a world that doesn’t need them anymore. And there’s the protag in the middle of it all, being useless and submissive and bland just the way the usual otome protag is. I don’t think these games are necessarily fun, and the romance is certainly a lot more downplayed and deeply problematic just based on the age differences alone with some of the men, but the sheer amount of horror and sadness in these games make them stand out above its peers. It’s like watching a war movie. Since most of the characters are based on real people, they feel like real people instead of the usual otome archetypes, and they are so, SO flawed, it’s interesting to just watch them deal with the shit the world throws at them. It’s an Experience, and if you’re up for it, I think it’s worth the time. Cinderella Phenomenon (f/m): This game is free on Steam so go get it. You play as a really, genuinely shitty princess who gets cursed to be poor and forgotten and she has to help one of the ROs break his fairy tale curse so that she can learn about being a good person herself and return to her normal life. This game doesn’t look like much, but it has a genuinely well-written main character who’s actually at the center of each of the stories and in the overarching plot instead of just being around to make eyes at the real protagonists, aka the love interests. Aside from the main character, my favorite part of this game’s writing is how each route slowly but very smoothly expands upon the overarching intrigue. If you play them in a certain order, you get more and more info revealed to you that you didn’t see in other routes, gaps are filled in as you find out more about what actually happened and why, but every route also stands on its own as a full experience and none is more canon than the rest. There’s also some really heavy emotional parental abuse explored, which I found quite potent at times. The romances themselves were alright, I think Karma and Waltz were my faves.

#eff plays

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sierraraeck · 4 years

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The Second Case (Pt.1)

BAU x OC Aundreya

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

(This is my gif so please give credit if used)

Summary: The second case with the team means revisiting Aundreya’s hometown of Chicago. It quickly becomes personal and requires her to use connections and skills she acquired on the streets. Story two.

Category: Just working a case with the team

Warnings: Normal CM gore. A case involving young teenage girls. Mentions of drugs. Cussing.

Word Count: 4.8k

A/N: Just a reminder that this is all 100% fiction and I don’t actually know how gangs work.

I did start with the team that Monday, and while I was used to things moving fast, their version of ‘briefing’ was a whole new ball game. The first case felt a lot more like a dry run than anything. I honestly felt kinda useless. They all talked so fast, especially Spencer when he rambled facts or had revelations about something the rest of us didn’t understand. As promised, I was stuck in the precinct for the entire week practically, with plenty of badges around to watch me. And trust me, all of them did. I was back at the bottom of the food chain, a feeling I hadn’t experienced in almost a decade. It was infuriating, but I was just glad to be out in the world. Mostly.

Even though the team had supposedly voted to allow me to join them, it definitely didn’t feel that way. No one hardly talked to me. I mean, Morgan and Reid didn’t even so much as look at me, and when they did, it was only to give me a weird look everytime I said something, even when I was right. Especially when I was right.

But I brushed all of that off when I realized what the next case was. We would be headed right back to Chicago, probably the last place someone like me wanted to be seen with Feds.

Garcia flashed three bodies up on the screen. “Abigail Meyers, Josie Wilson, and Mya Burns. All three were found in their backyards, multiple stab wounds, and their throats slashed.”

“Do you have an age on these girls?” Morgan asked.

“Yes. Abigail and Josie were 15, Mya was 14.”

“They had each been reported missing in the morning and were found dead later that evening,” Hotch said.

“Our unsub would have to be sophisticated enough to be able to get the girls back into their own backyards later that night without being detected by the cops or the parents, since they would all be on high alert for the girls to return in case they had just run off,” Reid said. “Any connection between the three?”

“Besides geography, I haven’t found anything, but as always I will keep digging,” Penelope responded.

“What is that in their right hand?” JJ asked. I directed my attention to what she was talking about. Garcia pulled up another photo zoomed in on their right hands. “Apparently, all three had been stabbed straight through their hand.”

“And our unsub just left the knife through their hand at the crime scene?” Derek asked.

“Switchblade,” I corrected before he could get his answer. They all looked over at me. “I’ve seen something like this before. It’s been a while, but this was the signature of a rival gang, the Angels, in Chicago before ours took it over.”

“Stabbing the girls multiple times and leaving the murder weapon was a gang signature?” Rossi asked me.

“No. Not the multiple stabbings. For a gang member that would take too long. But the blade through the hand? That’s definitely a signature,” I replied.

“Okay, so if this is gang related, why the rest of it? The kidnapping, the stabbing, the dump sight...” Jennifer trailed off.

“I don’t know, but three victims in five days? This guy clearly doesn’t need much of a cooling off period,” Prentiss chimed in.

“Exactly, which means we need to act fast. Wheels up in 30.”

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

When we landed, I went right to the precinct with Aaron and JJ. The rest went to the crime scenes or to talk to the ME.

“I’m SSA Hotchner and this is Agent Jareau and Chambers,” Aaron introduced. The head of the department shook my hand, but held it for a little too long.

“Do I know you from somewhere?” the man asked me.

I shook my head. “No, I don’t believe so.”

“Are you sure? I feel like I know of a Chambers,” he pressed.

“Sorry. I think you’ve got the wrong girl,” I replied. He must’ve been new because if he had been there even two years ago, I’m sure people still would have been talking about me. I was just thankful the FBI made good on their promise to keep my escape and new employee status under the rug. JJ and Hotch looked at me, but I just shrugged them off. As if they didn’t already know I enjoyed lying to new people about who I was. I followed them into the office where we were supposed to set up. They already had a board up with pictures and information about the victims. That’s when Garica called.

“I regret to inform you of this, sir, but another girl has just gone missing. Her name is Jayana Orion…” I stopped listening. Jayana Orion. I hadn’t heard her name in a while. She was supposed to be my responsibility. When her mother, one of the only real friends I made during my 7 years on the streets, died, she asked me to do one thing for her, and that was protect her daughter. Of course, Sydney’s husband, Todd, was still around to help take care of her, but she knew that I would be able to handle the possible threats to Jayana better than he would. Instead, I made a dumb decision which left me in a prison where I could no longer help them. And now I had completely failed her.

“... Chambers?” I was snapped back to reality, Aaron trying to get my attention. “What do you think?”

“Sorry, about what?” I asked. I was going to have to compose myself if I didn’t want them picking up on this.

“Reid called from the ME saying that each girl had cocaine in their systems. Does that mean anything to you?”

“Other than cocaine being a popular street drug, no,” I said, still distracted. “Do we know anything else about Jayana?”

“Garcia is looking into it and Rossi is talking to her father now. If he sticks to schedule, we have until tonight to find her.”

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

“So according to their phone records and laptops, all three girls were talking about how unhappy they were with their parents, but I’ve found no contact between them that is the same,” Garcia said.

“All of their parents agreed that they had been distant lately,” Rossi said.

“So, what? These girls get mad and just decide to run? It sounds to me like this would have to be a stalker,” Prentiss said.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t fit with our gang affiliated profile,” Jareau said.

“Well maybe we got it wrong. Maybe this guy isn’t gang affiliated and just picked up on one of their signatures. I mean, there are no markings claiming responsibility, and no MO that matches a gang to the T,” Morgan offered. I could tell by his undertone that he somewhat enjoyed the idea of me being wrong.

“I still don’t understand. Why the shallow cuts on the arms?” Rossi asked. The room went silent and out of habit, I started scratching my own arm. Wait, my arm. That’s when it hit me. The cuts, the cocaine, the blade through the hand, the backyard...

“Garcia, are you still on the line?” I asked.

“Sure am,” she called.

“Where did you say their phones pinged from last?” Garcia started rattling off places as I dotted them on the map. I could feel the stares on my back as I worked. I turned to face the team. “I think this guy is trying to initiate these girls.”

“What?” Morgan looked at me like I had grown a third arm.

“Yeah. The last place these girls phones pinged are from designated street corners. Each girl stood at a different pick up zone for the Angels initiation. I didn’t immediately put it together because the Angels have been disbanded for almost 8 years. During most initiations, new members ditch their phones, and are forced to take some sort of stimulant or hallucinogenic to make them more compliant. Usually new recruits are asked multiple questions while under the influence so the gang can gage if they think they will be loyal to them or not. If people don’t pass they are usually just released. Traitors, on the other hand, are punished severely. They are usually dumped at a place of significance to them or their partners as a warning. In this case, the place of significance is their own backyard. The blade through the hand was just a way the Angels marked their traitors,” I said.

“So while this guy has them, he initiates them, and then thinks they have betrayed him in some way,” Derek said.

“Which causes him to lash out, which is why we see the overkill, but continues with the rest of the procedures,” Spencer finished.

“That’s great and all, but we still don’t know why he cuts their arms,” Rossi pointed out.

“Well, most initiations have recruits cut themselves and bleed on to, or in to, something of value and importance to the gang, solidifying their loyalty. Plus, most veteran gang members have plenty of cuts on their arms from training accidents or rival gang encounters,” I answered, realizing too late what I’d just invited everyone to do. They all dropped their gaze to my forearms to confirm my theory, which were exposed due to my rolled up sleeves. I quickly tugged them down to cover the small scars littering my arms.

“So that explanation does fit, but how is he finding his victims? Garcia said she found no mutual contact between the girls, but he would have to have some sort of prior contact with them for them to know exactly which street corner to stand on,” JJ said.

“Or maybe these are just victims of opportunity? If these girls ran from their homes, they could have just ended up on the wrong street corner,” Prentiss suggested.

“Or what if there’s a second unsub?” Aaron said. “We profiled initially that this was a gang member. We then completely contradicted our profile and changed to a stalker who would know they were unhappy at home and were just waiting for them to get out of the house. But we could be looking at one of each. A stalker who does all of his contact in person, letting them know what street corner to stand on, then either he or the former gang member picks the girls up and brings them to a second location where they are initiated and killed.”

“Okay, so if there are two of them, finding the stalker is going to lead us to our killer. But where would he go once he’s already delivered a girl to the gang member?” Derek asked.

“He’s probably already stalking his next victim,” Reid said.

“Maybe not,” I proposed. “At the rate these guys are working, they would have already had to know who they wanted to take. I mean, I don’t think this stalker guy can figure out that these girls are having constant trouble at home in just under 24 hours.”

“So what are you thinking?” Emily asked.

“In a gang, there are multiple levels of people. The people in charge of recruiting usually have a certain block or region that they cover looking for vulnerable people they can recruit. So once this guy sees these girls out and around his area, he takes it to another level by stalking them, probably at night when they are with their family. But during the day? He could still be scoping out people in his region,” I said.

“So how are we going to narrow it down? There are plenty of creepy guys on the streets to choose from,” Emily said.

“True. But if things haven’t changed too much in the past 4 years since the last time I was here, I’m pretty sure I know someone who can help us out.”

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

It took a lot of convincing for Aaron, and frankly the rest of the team members, to agree to this. I wasn’t supposed to be out in the field, definitely not this soon after joining the team, but I knew someone who could help and we were running out of time. Deen had been a loyal member of the Cloaks and later joined my ring of elite criminals as an expert in laundering money. He was one of the most important pieces that kept the streets going. While he was great at laundering, he was better at listening. Somehow, he just seemed to hear and pick up on everything. I knew that if agents showed up, or even if I showed up with one, there was no way I was getting any information out of him. Hell, I was worried he wouldn’t even talk to me alone after this many years. But it was my best shot if I wanted to save Jayana.

“We’re going to a bookstore?” Morgan questioned.

“It’s his front,” I answered. It made me uncomfortable to have to give the FBI this much information on Deen. He and I always worked as a well oiled machine and I wasn’t ready to betray his trust. I was trying to give out as little information about him as possible. I hadn’t even told them his name.

“We are going to have to wire you,” Aaron said.

“No! You can’t do that,” I said.

“We can’t just let you in there to talk to some old gang friend without a wire,” Aaron said.

“You have to. I mean, I’m even worried that he’s not going to talk to me after this many years, and if he’s heard anything about my escape or joining the FBI, which there’s a chance he has, the whole plan is screwed. Plus, he’ll probably know that I’m wearing one.”

“How? Unless you alert him that you're wearing one, he shouldn't know,” Morgan stated.

“If he doesn’t know, he’ll probably check. Then we’ll lose him as a reliable contact now, and potentially in the future,” I countered. “Plus, you already have Reid and Jareau in there pretending to be customers in case anything goes wrong, or you think I’m going to try something.”

I had a point and they both knew it. It wasn’t like I was walking into a trap or like he’d set a bomb in there or anything. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had set a bomb for emergency purposes, but the team didn’t need to know that. If anything, he was sitting in the middle of my trap, which had always been one of my specialties. The car slowed to a stop and I got out about a block from the store.

“Remember, you are going in there for one purpose and one purpose only,” Aaron started.

“To figure out where this stalker guy is. Yeah. I got it,” I said. I crossed the street catty-corner and pushed open the glass doors. I immediately spotted Reid standing in one of the isles, skimming through a book, and JJ sitting down in a chair just a few feet from the entrance. Neither turned to look at me, already getting the message through their ear piece that I’d entered the building. It felt stupid that this seemed like a whole undercover operation when all I was doing was talking to someone who could help us save Jayana. But I guess it showed how much they didn’t trust me, and the people I was in contact with.

I confidently walked over to the customer service desk and looked the kid up and down. He was probably just out of high school and was definitely a new recruit.

“Hey, can I speak to your manager?” I asked.

He looked up at me. “Is there a problem?”

I grabbed the hem of my t-shirt and the top of my waistband and quickly flashed him the tattoo over my left hip bone. His eyes went wide. “No. There’s no problem. I would just like to speak with him if that’s alright.”

“Uh, sure, ma’am. I’ll, uh, be right back,” the kid croaked, stumbling over his words and rushing toward the door that was labeled ‘Employees Only.’ The tattoo was of a double infinity sign inside a two-ringed circle. The symbol on the left hip bone identified who was a part of my underground ring. The second ring of my circle signified that I was the leader. Deen had a second ring with dashed lines, to show that he was second in command, and as of now, in charge.

I recognized his walk first. Deen had been shot in the knee and it never healed correctly, so he always had this extra bounce to the way he walked. He shaved all of his facial hair and let his jet black hair grow a little longer than I was used to. But his cat-like green eyes were exactly the same. I almost felt relieved when he pulled me into a giant hug. He was just an inch or so shorter than me, which always made me smile when he had to reach slightly up. You’d think all gang members were cold-hearted and ruthless, which Deen could be at times, but he’d always treated me like a younger sister. A younger sister who was in charge.

“Damn, girl! It’s been too long. What the hell are you doing here, I thought for sure you’d be eaten alive in there!” God I’d missed that slight Spanish accent.

“Oh how I have missed that confidence booster,” I teased.

“You know that’s not what I meant. You could kick anyone’s ass any day. Including mine. But seriously, what are you doing here?” He quickly dropped his voice and his expression became more serious, losing the slight shock that was there a few moments ago from seeing me for the first time in a while.

“I wish I were here under better circumstances,” I started.

“But when has that ever worked out for us?”

“Very true,” I agreed. I leaned in closer to him and dropped my voice to a whisper. “I actually need some information.”

“What kind of information?”

“I’m looking for someone.” Deen glanced around the room and his eyes landed on Reid and Jennifer.

“What is going on?” he asked. I knew that he was going to start putting things together soon, so I had to get him to focus on the matter at hand.

“You remember Sydney, yeah?”

“Of course. How could I forget her?”

“Her daughter, Jayana, is missing,” I said.

“Well, have you spoken to Todd?”

“Yes, do you think I’m an idiot, of course, but he doesn’t know anything.”

“You don’t want me to answer that,” he responded playfully. I’d missed our ability to banter in the middle of a crisis, our way of keeping each other’s head above water. “So what do you need my help for?”

“I need you to help me find a guy.”

“There are a shit ton of guys around here, you’re going to have to be more specific,” Deen said. I rolled my eyes at his dry humor.

“Yeah, you jackass, I know that, but if you’d just shut up and let me finish. You remember where the Angels used to set up? The corners where they’d pick up new recruits?”

“Sure.”

“Well, have you seen anyone you don’t really recognize hanging around those spots?”

“Alionth-” he started.

“Aundreya,” I quickly corrected. I flinched slightly at the sound of the stage name I’d given myself once I took over the gang and pushed it way underground. I hadn’t heard it in so long and I didn’t want to be reminded of the last time someone used it.

“Come with me,” he commanded, taking my hand and dragging me behind the ‘Employees Only’ door. “What is going on? You show up out of nowhere asking for information on a guy that I’m sure you could scope out yourself, ask me to call you by your old gang name, and there are two customers in the store who have been here for too long and kept glancing over at us. What has happened to Jayana and why are you here?”

I knew he would start picking up on stuff. “Look. I’ve been out for only a few weeks-” I started.

“Oh yeah! That too! How the hell are you here because I’d bet my life they didn’t just let you go,” Deen asked. He stared right into me, daring me to lie to him.

“I escaped,” I said. His face contorted and he took a small step back.

“You what now?”

“You heard me.”

“That’s impossible. Most people can’t even get out of normal prison let alone ADX.”

“Well I’m here aren’t I?”

“How’d you do it?”

“Can we please focus?” I was getting restless. I knew they were only going to give me a limited amount of time out of sight and earshot before they burst in. Plus, I could feel the time slipping by, each moment as important as the last if we were going to find Jayana alive. “Look. Jayana is my responsibility. It was the last thing Sydney asked me to do and she is in a lot of trouble. If you do not help me, I will have failed Sydney’s dying wish of protecting her daughter. So will you please just answer my questions?”

Deen gave me a skeptical look, but based off the one I gave him, he knew better than to keep pressing for answers. “Yeah. I’ve seen a guy hanging around.”

“Do you know his name?”

He hesitated before answering, “Ben-somethin’.”

“Could you describe him to me?”

“Short, probably my height or a little shorter. White. Dressed like a bad boy wannabe. And now that you mention it, he was hanging around the Angels' old spots.”

“During the day?”

“Sort of. He’d be there early in the morning, then leave during the middle of the day, come back in the evening, then leave during the middle of the night. Like clockwork,” Deen said. I could always count on him to be observant.

“Would you happen to know where he is now?” I asked.

“Those aren’t customers in my store, are they?” he replied, changing the subject. Instead of answering him, I put my hands behind my head and turned around. “Don’t worry, I know you’re not wired. I already checked that.”

Right, the hug earlier. “So you’re telling me you didn’t actually want a hug?” I pouted.

He laughed. “No, I did. It was multi-purpose.” We stood there staring at each other for a while before I decided to break the silence.

“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t tell them anything about you, not even your name. I tried my best to shield your face from them as well,” I said.

“And as long as I help you out, I’m in the clear,” Deen finished my train of thought. I nodded. He was handling this a lot better than I expected. Maybe leadership over the course of the past four years helped mellow him out. “Damn. I’d heard rumors but I thought that was all they were.”

“I’m still the same person you knew from four years ago. Still doing what I have to do to survive in the best way I can.” He was silent for a while, probably trying to gage how much he still trusted me. “Please, help me. Help Jayana. Just tell me where you think he’d be, and I will get out of here and take those unwanted customers with me.”

He started nodding. “Fine. Fine. I think he’s moving in a star pattern. Starting at the bottom left, then moving up to the point, bottom right, and so on. I still can’t figure out his pattern when it comes to picking up the girls, but if he’s keeping to his usual schedule, he should be at the far right point today. But,” he said checking his watch, “not for long. You might have 40 minutes max before he leaves again.”

I did my best to retain everything he told me. “Wait, how long have you been watching this guy? I mean, how many girls has he picked up?” Deen was like no other when it came to tracking patterns and people on the street, but not even he was good enough to figure out something that intricate in 5 days.

“I don’t know. A couple months or so. I didn’t start realizing he was picking up girls until a few weeks ago.” This had been going on for a couple months? Where were all the other girls then?

“Thank you so much for this. I hope I can come back soon under different circumstances,” I said, already halfway out the door and back into the store. He came behind me and grabbed my arm, turning me so that I was looking at him.

“I hope you can too, Aundreya, but I swear to God, if anyone finds out I cooperated with Feds, or this place goes under because of this-”

“It won’t. And once they trust me more there will be no reason for them to be on my back all the time and I can come here without a plus two. And if something happens, which it won’t, but if it does, you know how to contact me. Over my undead body,” I said. Deen gave me a half smile at our old phrase, which we used to remind each other that we were loyal to the end. Lucky for us, the end always seemed to mean that of our enemies.

“Over our undead bodies,” he said with a nod. I walked toward the entrance where Spencer and Jennifer were still acting like customers. They were supposed to wait until I had exited, then slowly make their departures after me to try and make it look natural. But considering Deen already knew, and as a show of good faith to him, I decided I’d make it easier.

“C’mon guys. Let’s get outta here,” I said, waiting by the door.

They both looked at me like I’d lost my mind, Jareau opening her mouth then shutting it again.

“He already knows. I told you he would. For once, let’s make it easy on ourselves,” I said, holding the door open for them. Reid let out a frustrated sigh as he pushed past me, avoiding eye contact. JJ walked out after him. I quickly scanned the room one last time, but Deen had already disappeared again, and the young boy was back at the front desk like nothing had happened. “You’re doing a good job, kid,” I said to him, and he smiled shyly at my words. I gave him a single nod, then followed the other two out the door.

“What were you thinking?” Reid said harshly.

“What? The guy knew,” I stated.

“But what if he didn’t know? You would have just blown our cover,” Spencer said, the frustration having never left his voice. His upper back muscles around his shoulder blades and traps started twitching, a tell of discomfort I had gotten used to seeing.

“Well he did know, so it was worthless to waste time,” I replied, still following behind him.

“What if it was a theory he had, and you just confirmed it,” Spencer countered.

“Even you don’t believe that. If you did, you wouldn’t have phrased it as a hypothetical. Plus, the quicker I can get your irritatingly large brain back on topic, the quicker we are going to find Jayana,” I pointed out. We reached the car where Hotch and Morgan were sitting, and I recapped everything Deen had told me. Reid called Garcia to update her and start searching for ‘Ben’s in the area with a track record. The rest of us quickly moved towards the corner this Ben character was supposed to be at. We paired off and started canvassing the area. We’d looked for about 30 minutes and found no one.

“How reliable is your guy?” Morgan asked me.

“Reliable.”

“You sure? ‘Cause we’ve been looking for a while and none of them fit the profile or description.”

“Yeah. I’m sure,” I replied. According to Deen, we only had about 10 more minutes or less to find this guy before he took off.

“Has Garcia identified anyone yet?” Aaron asked.

“No, not yet. There are plenty of ‘Ben’s around,” Morgan answered.

“What if we start looking at cars? If this guy is going to leave soon, and based on the distances he’s going, he’s most likely got a car, probably a van,” JJ offered. We paired back off and went around looking for weird people around vans. Which was a surprising amount. Aaron’s phone started ringing, a call coming in from Morgan.

“He’s got him,” is all he had to say before we were both running back to the SUV where Morgan was already pushing a man into the backseat.

Part 2

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rhaetarg · 3 years

Text

R O M A N T I C H I S T O R Y ＡＨＥＡＤＣＡＮＯＮ

*♥ denotes a relationship

493AC — first kiss. rhaena’s first kiss was with a knight, ser ronnel rowan of goldengrove, the second son of lord rowan. he was three years older than her, good-looking and very charming. he crowned her the queen of love and beauty after a small tourney in king’s landing. since she was not betrothed nor was he married, it was not considered a scandal. none expected the knight to court the only royal princess in the land, and indeed, he was smart enough to not even try, but not quite smart enough to not try something. during the feast after the tourney, he lured her outside and they had a private moment in the shadows of the balcony, and he kissed the fifteen year old princess long and hard. while they were kissing, she closed her eyes and did not notice when he lured her into the light. they were seen by several members of the court, who immediately told king maegor. rhaena went to sleep with butterflies in her stomach, all giddy, but woke up to the news that ser ronnel had been sent away. her father scolded her for not being careful, he expressed disappointment in her, and let her know that he had been forced to bribe the members of the court to not speak of it to anyone. later, her mother consoled her and let her know ser ronnel had intended for them to be seen, wanting the trophy of stealing a kiss from the virtuous princess, and maybe try and use it as a political weapon to further his career. rhaena was enraged by this cruel deceit, and swore to never again make such a mistake.

♥ 494AC — first fling. to prepare her for a life with ladies-in-waiting, her mother made sure rhaena always had female companions during her childhood and teenage years. on her sixteenth nameday, she was presented with twenty-year old kiera lynares, the daughter of a magister from pentos, betrothed to a lord from the stormlands. a deal had been struck that she would serve as a companion to the princess for one year, learning the customs of westeros and teaching rhaena bastard valyrian in return, before marrying the young lord musgood. the two quickly became very close, rhaena would experience butterflies in her stomach every time she spent time with kiera, who was so beautiful, rhaena could barely stand looking at her. she often compared kiera to the sun. it was the first time a true beauty had entered the court without the young targaryen experiencing jealousy, not enjoying to have her valyrian features being rivalled. the only time she did feel jealous was during the visit of kiera’s betrothed, lord musgood, she hated everything about him, and could not prevent herself from being rude and childish. when kiera confronted her about her behaviour, she described the feeling, and before she could finish her rant, the pentos girl kissed her deeply. rhaena ran away after this, shocked and confused by this new development, but later went back to kiera once she had accepted her own feelings. they spent the last moons together being closer than friends, innocently fooling around and experimenting with touch and humping, but rhaena would not allow kiera to touch her beneath her clothes. when kiera left king’s landing to become lady musgood, the princess was inconsolable for days, mourning the loss of her friend, who had grown to be much more. gradually she became happy for her companion, and even sent her a handmade dress a year later after the birth of her daughter.

496AC — first heartbreak. an eighteen year old rhaena fell in love with mors martell, a close friend of the family and the brother of her childhood friend, sarella. she was afraid of wrecking her friendship with sarella by confessing to her feelings, but also realised what an opportunity it would be to marry the heir to a great lord title and actually be in love with him. she imagined their wedding, the happy smile on her parents’ faces once she announced her feelings and intentions. she slowly gathered her courage to tell mors during a visit from the martell family, but on the fourth day, they had an exchange in the library whereas he referred to her as ‘his other sister’ and rhaena realised he would never see her as anything else. she was truly heartbroken, this perfect solution to the question of who the young princess would marry slipping away like sand between her fingers. rhaena knew if she expressed an interest in marrying mors, the martells would readily accept and mors would be forced into the marriage despite how he felt, so she said nothing to anyone and suffered from unrequited love for several months... until she met daemon celtigar.

♥ 497AC ‒ 502AC — first love. the celtigars and the targaryens had always been close, and she had met them many times, but always in king’s landing as the targaryen princess feared leaving the city. she had met every single member except for daemon celtigar, who was either always ill, busy or in essos, and therefore never visited the capital until shortly after his twenty-third nameday when he moved there to council her father. almost from the moment she met him, she forgot all about mors martell. it was not love at first sight, but it was attraction, and annoyance, at first sight. both studious and interested in the same fields, and both stubborn and slightly arrogant, they often got caught in heated discussions and butted heads. soon it was said in the red keep that their shouts could be heard in the entire west wing of the palace, where the library was placed, and where they often met. she would swear to anyone who would listen that she despised him, but everyone would always smile and declare that she did not. not many months passed before their rows would end with them fiercely kissing each other in the dark corner of the library, soon the attraction blossomed into love and they both softened around each other. for two years, they were in a secret relationship with most believing the two had simply grown to be best friends. she went the furthest sexually with daemon, rubbing him until he spilled on her hand and allowed him to put his hand down her smallclothes and rub her to orgasm. he was also the first to see her naked, and she almost ended up sharing a bed with him after he suggested it, but her mother’s warning of the danger of royal bastards, totally unprompted the day before the fated night, scared her straight and she refused him. in 499AC, daemon asked for rhaena’s hand in marriage, but was refused by king maegor, who believed the match was not suitable due to the already strong ties between the houses and the difference in their positions. he wanted his daughter to marry a future great lord and forge a strong alliance, and despite promising rhaena she could choose her own husband, he could not bring himsel. after the protests of his daughter, he struck up an agreement with daemon and rhaena that if she was still unmarried by her twenty-fifth nameday, they may wed — but the king felt betrayed by his councilman and sent daemon away to essos to study, a dream the celtigar had always had. over the next years, rhaena was deeply committed to her relationship with daemon, considering them to have an unofficial betrothal. however, in 501AC, the distance had taken its toll, especially during the turmoil of her mother’s death and her brother’s madness, and she found her romantic feelings for daemon lessen. despite a small sidestep, which she confessed to daemon who forgave her. she decided to wait until her twenty-fifth nameday and marry him anyway, still considering him her best friend, who she did not want to part with again after he returned to westeros. after being told of her betrothal to loreon lannister, she immediately penned a letter to daemon, sending him her deepest regrets and ending their unofficial betrothal. after the death of her father, daemon returned to king’s landing to support rhaena in her new role as queen. they are still best friends, and rhaena knows she will always have daemon’s love and support.

501AC — first mistake. after daemon’s brief visit in 500AC, twenty-three old rhaena grew even more lonely, she was still mourning her mother and baelor’s madness seemed to get stronger, forcing her to take over his responsibilities. she was stressed and lonely when she met mya, a serving girl from the riverlands. the first time she saw mya, she felt physically attracted to the red-haired girl, two years younger than herself. due to her commitment to daemon, she simply averted her gaze and did nothing. for some reason, it was always mya who was sent to her room with food whenever she did not dine in the hall, which was often as she could not stand sitting alone with her father, looking gloomy and depressed. most often, he also did not come down to eat. after being served by mya for a three weeks straight, rhaena asked why it was always her who came with her food, to which mya boldly replied that she always volunteered, so she could see rhaena. the confession made the heart of the princess skip, but she dutifully sent the serving girl away, without saying anything. day after day, mya came back, always quiet but her green eyes fixated upon rhaena. after a long day, and two whole weeks without a single letter from daemon, rhaena drank a little too much wine on an empty belly before her food arrived. she was barely able to stand on her feet when mya came in with a tray, and the girl put the drunk princess to bed. being tipsy and dumb, rhaena rambled and accidentally confessed she found the serving girl attractive. soon, the covers were pushed to the side, and mya was above her, her lips firmly planted on rhaena’s in a passionate kiss with mya’s roughened hand eagerly stroking her cunt. when she woke the next morning, satisfied but with a headache, rhaena remembered what had taken place the night before. she called mya to her room, asked the girl to remain silent and not tell anyone of what had happened, and sent her to work in another part of the castle with a higher wage, but in a position where they would rarely meet.

♥ 502AC ‒ present — first husband. a short betrothal soon turned into a rushed marriage, rhaena became a lannister in 502AC at the age of twenty-three, and she became a queen-consort at the age of twenty-four in the same year. she had met loreon lannister before, and always found him good-looking and good for a short conversation, but she had never thought anything more. he had been betrothed most of his life, so she had never bothered trying to get to know him, as she did not expect to be queen nor expect to marry him. she had heard of the betrothed being broken a year before maegor suddenly declared she was to marry him. their first meeting after the announcement of their betrothal was awkward, it was only a fortnight before the wedding, rhaena was sad and suffering from a loss of confidence, after her father had pointed to loreon as the future king, making him maegor’s heir. they did not speak much during their betrothal, they had a small but very expensive and luxurious wedding. on their wedding night, loreon declared he intended to be the best husband and father he could be, he promised her fidelity and respect. she was to become his equal, he promised, and rhaena found herself growing more comfortable. their wedding night was painful and quick, she lost her virginity and they did their duty. after the wedding, he gave her space for a few weeks until they both relaxed, and started sharing a bed in an effort to have an heir. their marriage was challenged when rhaena’s moonblood appeared moon after moon, no sign of a babe swelling in her stomach. at first, loreon was understanding, but he grew started to grow frustrated as he was already being challenged on his right to be king, some feeling he had stolen his wife’s birth right. in 504AC, he called for a healer to ‘fix’ his wife, not realising he was the problem. the healer said nothing, but slipped a special concoction into the king’s tea and poured tinted water with cooking herb into the queen’s tea. she muttered some words of magic, saying a child would be conceived before the next moon, and surely enough, rhaena’s moonblood did not come the next moon. they were blessed with a boy, an heir, in 505AC. the first moons of aemon’s life, their marriage was better than ever, both focused on their little bundle of joy. after the kingdoms split up, their marriage has faced another challenge with rhaena and loreon disagreeing on what approach to take to once again unite the kingdoms.

♥ 506AC — first lover. a love story between queen rhaena and lord bannen mormont still being written.

#( about. )#( romantic history. )

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