At the time I’m starting today’s post, it is 8:00pm PST. Which means I’m late. Very late. By the time it goes live, it will probably be 11:00pm.
But there’s a reason.
For over ten years now, I have taken part in NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write 50,000 words during the month, which is the approximate size of a novella, or about half to two thirds of a novel. I usually get about to my birthday in the middle of the month and fall off.
I’ve been avoiding thinking about it all year, because I always say I’ll do it, sign up and then fail yet again. Very demoralizing. Some years (pre-2015) was because of school, as November is right before finals. I was an English/Creative Writing major, I had enough writing to do for a grade. In years past, it’s been because I was working (or, 2018 when we moved across the damn country in the middle of the month. I did write a bit of a travel log, but it was only like eight thousand words, nothing to even feel remotely proud of).
So I wasn’t planning on doing it. A couple people on the Immortal Disasters Discord (The Old Guard fandom, but much smaller and with less bullshit than the other two big ones) were talking about doing Nano. I have been firm in my beliefs. No no no.
And then.
I was looking through my old bookmarks on FF.Net last night during the Dodgers game (during the commercials, I’m not that damn stupid). I kept on finding old Criminal Minds fics that I used to love, most of which were written before the end of Season 8. I used to be love the show, but I had to stop watching when it started giving my mom nightmares. I still wear mismatched socks in honor of my favorite character, Dr. Spencer Reid.
So there I was, looking at all these old fanfics, and a thought crossed my mind. What if, during Season Two, when Reid is kidnapped and tortured by Tobias Hankel, something happened. Reid is killed in the episode due to a seizure, after being drugged with dilaudid (cut with a hallusinagetic) and beaten. It’s a whole thing. But Reid is clinically dead. Hankel administers CPR which saves his life.
What if, when Reid died, he came back immortal? Yeah, I’m going there. Let’s cross Criminal Minds with The Old Guard
Now, this episode, Revelations, took place in February 2007, which places The Old Guard about 12 years into the future (Sunday April 21 is what Nile’s phone shows at about an hour and fifteen minutes, and the nearest year that would be is 2019, when the movie was filmed). So that actually gives me a lot to work with. It’s before the first time the team worked with Copley (9 years? prior to the film’s beginning). It could be fun.
I’ve been meaning to do a CM rewatch anyway, since I never finished off the series, and I find that to be, well, criminal. So. I’m gonna be blasting through seasons one and two before November 1st. And yes, this is possible, surprisingly. We’re not doing Halloween this year, so I don’t have to post up next to the door (where I end up watching a random movie over the course of the evening. Two years ago, it was Dylan O’Brien’s American Assassin. 2017 was Spider-Man: Homecoming.). The Dodgers’ game should be over by 8 or 9 pm, which leaves a bit of time. We’re planning a movie night after the end of the World Series, but that’s just one film. There’s enough time to watch… 40ish episodes (there’s a few I do skip for reasons. Most of which are in Season One anyway…)
So yeah. How would The Old Guard have changed if they had a 25-year-old FBI agent on the team. Obviously Reid couldn’t travel with the team, as I think it would be more fun to explore some of the later episodes that Reid has a major role in, but with an immortal twist. Does he tell the BAU? Probably not. Am I planning on shipping him with anyone? Nah. At least, I’m not actively thinking about it.
But this will be fun. And I get to play in two worlds I love.
Maybe if I do this, I’ll finally get around to the other fifty or so prompt ideas I have floating around my head.
(Of this I doubt.)
Until next time!
Great