Walter Marshall X You - Tumblr Posts

True Crime

Summary: (Y/n) has a true crime channel. Walter hates true crime. Walter findest out.

Wordcount: 1.452

Warnings: brief mention of torture and rape

Faye didn't want to make that sound. Especially not in the presence of her father, but it had just slipped out of her mouth.

And of course he was now standing next to her, as if she had been shot and had not just taken a surprised breath.

She inconspicuously tried to turn her cell phone toward her, but he was already reaching out for it.

She looked at him with angel eyes.

"That was a really good part of the song," she smiled.

He continued to stare at her strictly. She sighed and handed him the phone.

He looked at the display with his eyebrows drawn together. "True Crime?"

She leaned back into the sofa. This could take a while. "Do you know how much crap this trash spreads?" he started.

"Dad it's just a YouTube channel." Her father started to speak again, but she immediately continued. "And it's well-researched for once. It's got mostly closed cases in it and when they're open, there's no speculation. All the sources are linked. She even shares the published police files."

"Faye. I don't want you listening to that kind of stuff yet. There's disturbing shit happening in the world. You're too young for that."

"That's what the light versions are for.", she insisted.

"The what?"

Faye reached for her phone and showed him the YouTube channel. "Here. These are the light versions I listen to and this", she pointed to the video below, "is the full version, which also goes deeper into all the tathher processes. Plus, even on the easy stuff, you can still skip parts and she warns you."

Walter paused. Since when were these idiots so careful. "And how do I know you're not listening to the other versions?"

Faye simply clicked on one of those videos and immediately a message came up saying you had to confirm your age by ID or credit card. "Because I can't." She leaned back again. "You can tell she takes parental controls very seriously."

Walter grumbled. He was running out of arguments. "And how do you know, how well researched it is. You don't even know who it is."

In hindsight, Faye really didn't know what she might have given away. Whether she had moved her left nostril, or the right corner of her mouth was emitting Morse code, but her father knew right away.

"Who is it?" he asked immediately.

She remained silent. "Any of the older ones from school? A teacher? One of the parents? Aha!"

How the hell did he do that?

"Dad come on. Does it matter?"

He just looked at her strictly again.

She sighed. "Only if you don't say anything."

He rolled his eyes. "I won't embarrass you in front of your friends."

She rolled her eyes. "It's (y/n)." she muttered. "I like (y/n) and so do you, so please just forget about it and don't make a scene."

(Y/n)? "When does she have time for that?"

"Well when you're at work."

He continued to stare at the phone and sighed.

Why hadn't she ever said anything?

"Send me the worst case she has in there."

She didn't have to think twice. She reached for her phone and sent him the video.

"But the light version only goes for 20 minutes," she explained.

"And the other one?"

"A good hour and a half, I think. That one has the most extreme time difference."

She continued typing on the device. "She does a lot more stuff like this, though," she explained. "And you might even like this one," she looked at him uncertainly. "It's about hacking and.... and she educates really well."

He looked at her. "Faye breathe. I'm not going to break up with her."

She loosened up a bit.

"She just could have told me something.", he grumbled.

"Well you're not exactly hiding how much you hate True Crime," she said hesitantly.

Walter sighed. "I'll listen to it."

Faye smiled. "Thanks."

Since he was ordered to take forced vacation, he could also watch the videos. (Y/n) was anyway with a friend living far away.

It was not as if he had anything better to do.

Walter decided to rip off the band-aid and started with the worst case. The full version, though.

He clicked on the video and neutral music sounded. For once, no horror music. The screen remained black.

'Welcome back my dears. If you've already peeked at the trigger warnings, you've already seen that today's case is really not for the faint of heart. As always, assess yourselves honestly. I also had to stop several times during research. As always, you'll find the light version as the next video, but you can also skip parts in this one.

So let's start with how one case managed to put even members of the Japanese Mafia behind bars and why even minors can be sentenced as adults in case of doubt.'

Walter interrupted the video several times. Although it was about a japanese girl beeing tortured and raped, he kept having Faye in mind. You'd think the years in his job had dulled him, but he felt sick at the recitals of torture he was now hearing.

'I don't really know how to end a video like this, but please remain careful as always. Take care of yourselves and your friends and family. There's a link coming up on the screen now. If you know someone, or you need help yourself when it comes to sexual violence. You will find phone numbers, email addresses and places to go to find protection, but also to share and find people who can help you with processing. I hope I didn't scare you away too much but next week there will be something lighter. Promise.

Stay safe and see you next time.

Bye.'

Walter went to the link and actually found official and good stations. Support groups and hotlines he knew himself.

He clicked on the next video that Faye had sent him. That's the kind of video she does most, she had said.

'Welcome back. Today with probably one of the most famous cases in the world. Everyone who has ever heard of criminal cases also knows him. Ted Bundy is the world's most famous serial killer. I want to tell you today, how one man managed to exploit the weaknesses of the police organization so that he got away with his crimes for years.'

Walter listened to the double episode back-to-back. (Y/n) hardly dealt with the crimes themselves, but mainly with the investigative work and Bundy's advantages. The process and his time in prison. She worked almost biographically. Rachel would be proud of her psychlogy research, he had to honestly admit. It wasn't sensationalist, but it was intriguing nonetheless. He scrolled through the rest of the videos on the channel. Well-known cases from the eighties. Historical cases that went back to the fifteenth century. But he also found videos that educated about security measures. Especially for the Internet. Small self-defense tricks that could help even people without any experience in case of emergency.

He had to confess that he didn't hate her channel.

He clicked on the last video that Faye had sent him.

'Hello and welcome my dear ones. When you think of TrueCrime, you immediately think of serial killers and the heavy hitters, so it's easy to forget that there are other newsworthy types of crime. Today we're talking about a revenge porn site that destroyed more than one life and a young man who thought he could do anything until he met the wrong mother. Many of you are probably familiar with the Netflix documentary.'

He went through the links while listening to the video. Again, he found official cybercrime contact points.

Educational sites. Tips for staying safe online.

Walter dropped into his chair. He didn't like the idea of a TrueCrime channel he liked. He hated those things. But (y/n) was doing a good job.

He stroked his face with his hand.

The next day, he just walked past Faye and grumbled:"You can listen to it."

He ignored her triumphant grin and made himselfe some coffee.

He sent (y/n) a link to their own channel. 'Why didn't you tell me?'

Her response wasn't taking long.

'On our first date you said how much you hate TrueCrime.... I thought you were great and I didn't want to screw it up right away and at some point it was too late. Did Faye tell?'

'Not willingly. I interrogated her. Your research is good.'

'So we're good?'

'Only if you add a few places to go in your links.'

'You are a softy after all.'

Walter grumbled.