#buddy i Love to talk about my ocs :] no pressure here

[buckera]

get to know your fic writer🖋️

I was tagged by the lovely @jesuisici33 thank you! 💛

When did you post your first ever fanfic?

the first ever fic I shared online was posted in 2008, the first ever fic I wrote in english was posted in 2018

(this question actually prompted me to check my old writing folder AND FUCK I found old stuff written for contests and ugh it's just so horrifying to 1) read something I wrote 15 years ago and 2) read anything in hungarian... it gives me the shivers, though I gotta say I was like a walking talking thesaurus wow)

First character(s) you wrote for:

the very very first that wasn't an OC was probably either jpop RPF or Reid from Criminal Minds

Main character(s) you’re currently writing for:

Evan Buckley and Eddie Diaz all the way baby

Character(s) you haven’t written about before but plan on writing about soon:

I think I would definitely love to include Athena in more of my fics just because I love her so much 🥺

Fandom(s) you’re currently writing for:

911 and technically The Witcher (have a radskier fic just about 70% done, but I got sucked into the 911 vortex before I could've actually finished it lol)

Platonic pairing(s) you currently write for:

"currently" might not be accurate because I haven't actually done more than plan it BUT Josh and Buck bestfriendism is very dear to my heart and I'm definitely excited about writing it (the bitch potential is off the charts is what I'm saying)

Romantic pairing(s) you currently write for:

buddie

Your top 3 tags on AO3 (if you post your works on AO3):

to the surprise of absolutely no one: oral sex, angst, first time

Your current platform where you post your works:

ao3

Snippet of the wip you’re currently working on:

•☔️•

Despite what they agreed to, it has been over five minutes since they've sat down and the only sound between them was Christopher's fork scratching against the plate as he pushed pieces of pancakes from side to side on it.

“Hey, Chr–”

“I’m scared.” He cut Buck off without looking up from his food.

Buck hated himself for asking, but he told Chris that talking about it helped, so that's what he had to do. Help.

God, he wished Eddie was here, he was always better at dealing with stuff like this. Buck usually just… crumbled.

“What are you scared of?” He whispered, like if he didn't ask too loud then maybe the answer wouldn't feel like a scream either.

“That you won't find Dad.”

I have no idea who was already tagged, but here are some no pressure tags anyways mwuah: @forthewolves @eddiediaztho @callaplums @ladydorian05 @daffi-990 @disasterbuckdiaz

[harleyacoincidence]

OC Interview Tag Game

I was tagged by @illarian-rambling for an OC Interview tag game! The post I was tagged in is here. For this, I feel like being borderline-spoiling, so I'm pulling out a character from The Devoted Musician. Everyone, please welcome Hacer Clemente! He's pretty much the only character I can talk about without giving away too much.

Tagging (with no pressure) @olivescales3 @kyofsonder @fire-but-ashes-too @stesierra and anyone who would like to join!

Are you named after anyone?

Not as far as I know! My name's pretty unique, and I pronounce it differently than most. It gives it that spark of originality, you know?

When was the last time you cried?

Years ago, before I died. I don't remember when.

Do you have kids?

No? Why are you asking...?

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Oh yeah, all the time. It's one of my special talents.

What's the first thing you notice about people?

Honestly, whether or not they're dead. As a ghost, it's kind of important to recognize.

What's your eye colour?

Blue! I've always liked my eyes.

Scary movies or happy endings?

Honestly, it depends on the day. I love a good horror movie, but happy endings just feel right.

Any special talents?

Buddy, you don't want to know. Just remember that being a ghost comes with benefits...

Oh, okay, fine. I can go through walls, and stuff. That's all I'm telling you.

Where were you born?

Beats me. I can tell you exactly where I died, though. Not sure you'd want that information, but it's available if you want it.

Do you have any pets?

Nah. I used to have a dog, though. I miss Ferrel.

What sort of sports do you play?

I used to do soccer, but I gave that up. It was never my thing. I prefer volleyball.

How tall are you?

I'm 5'7".

What was your favourite subject in school?

I loved biology. Funnily enough, gym was my least favourite subject.

What is your dream job?

Bro, I'm already living (ha) the dream! And I'm not even employed!

[imyour-buddy]

HI IM YOUR BUDDY!!

what does that mean?!

well, my good friend, it means precisely what you think it does!

It means! I’m a buddy you can talk to!

feel free to talk to me about anything! I may not get it all the the time but I’ll listen none the less~

this blog is a safe place for any loners, losers, misfits or regular peeps to come together and make a community!

learn about me ⭐️

refer to me as Yela! I’m a minor (I don’t feel comfortable sharing my exact age and you shouldn’t feel pressured to say anything here either!) *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

I like anime! -Kny, csm, jjk, bllk, mha, aot, hxh, ohshc, bsd, black butler, Tokyo revengers, fire force, one piece, there’s a merman in my bathtub, mob psycho 100, saiki k (and more but I haven’t watched it yet)

I’m a shifter! I have been shifting for roughly 2 years now! :) feel free to talk about your intended reality selves (and again, there will be no judging here <3)

I’m an artist!! I love to draw! Anime fan art and my intended reality self inserts mostly :) I do mostly digital now a days but I definitely do paper art as well. I used to main being a paper artist actually ;>

I love fashion!! -tbh i love a mix of things but I really like k-fashion, dark/light academia, acubi and street wear! Temu fashion is a good example (*´ー｀*)

A/N’s:

Share your ocs with me!

talk about anime!

talk about your day!

make friends!

find others with your interests!

DM me! things I may not get seeing as though I’ve never experienced them :D ⬇️ (⚠️TW!! Sensitive topics!⚠️)

being bullied (cyber or physical) , Physical abuse , never having friends , doing drugs or alcohol , sewer slidal thoughts

i think that’s it for now but just know you will eventually find someone in this community who will relate to you!!

no fun rules! :)

do’s: interact with me, ramble (in inbox or dm), talk to me about anime/book/shows, ask me questions, set boundaries, introduce yourself (to me or our community), ask for advice (to me or others—also note that I’m not a professional), anything! (Etc I’m really open)

don’ts: be racist, be sexist, be ageist, be rude/disrespect others, judge others, insult me or others here, be homophobic, discourage other’s beliefs, talk about inappropriate things..this is a safe place for minors! (etc you get the jist! Don’t be that guy.. :P)

[magnuficent76]

No pressure but like. If you wanted an excuse to talk more about your ocs' (hypothetical) Pokémon (teams). This is it oooo ooo

(<- would really like to hear more if you have ideas for what mons your ocs would have bc I seem to now be so in love with the concept) (but no pressure)

Oh Beetle, you know me all too well and you just know I will absolutely talk more about random Pokémon on this blog. Here we have the Solar Years guys and their mons !

BALTAZAR (They don't have a main type because they're just a farmer, but back in their elite 5 days they were probably grass/dragon)

- Torterra [It's just a big fuggin lad !!!! A huge guy !!! It's nice and steady and good for a guy who's lived in a farm for most of their life. I like to think they would let kids ride it around too :]]

- Tangrowth [Its a huge guy with crazy hair. I just can see Balt with a Pokemon like this so clearly its insane. I love this Pokémon too so ofc im giving it to my favorite little guy !!!]

- Salamence [Probably was the symbol of his old elite 5 team, but once that crashed and burned.... yeah, they don't like talking too much about it. This guy brings back bitter memories, but Balt does his best to separate them from the team itself. Its better for both of them.]

- Haxorous (shiny) [Same as salamence, but even more so. It makes Balt feel bad that he ever put these poor guys in harm's way by battling with them as hard as he did, but he already apologized like a thousand times for it so they already forgiven him don't worry. Honestly probably a huge baby, given Hax was given to him when he was young <3 they grew up together !!]

- Leavanny [I just think Baltazar deserves a buddy okay !!! Its a silly little lady !!! Also Sewaddle is adorable and I love the idea of Balt finding a grub in their garden and taking care of it instead of throwing it out okay. Grab that Grub]

LUIS (ice/fighting or ice/dark. Are you surprised that the angry ice guy is angry and ice. Probably training to be elite 5, and getting pretty fucking close to it)

- Walrein [This is Luis' starter simply because I just think the Vibes are fit. Probably just picked up a spheal in his youngin days and it stayed with him forever !... this sounds a lot sadder now, huh..]

- Sneasel -> Weaville [Angry and competitive little fellow with a fondness for stealing ? Why, that's just exactly like Luis !! He didn't even have to try to catch this guy, it just showed up one day and then stuck around because Luis kept giving it bacon bits. Now they're the bestest smuggest buddies...together ♡]

- Annihalape [No surprise here huh. This Pokémon follows literally the same premise as Luis' whole story: Got so fucking mad it dies and comes back wrong. Luis saw this Pokémon for the first time and is like you just like me fr (takes good care of it to project)]

- Krookodile [It has cool ass sunglasses and it kicks a whole lot of ass on the battlefield. Luis gets it primarily for aesthetics but secondarily for its sheer power. More than happy to kill for any of his mons but especially this guy]

ANDROMEDA (Fairy/Fire gym trainer !)

- Volcarona [That's her starter right here. It slays cunt and its also a gorgeous little thing !! Just like xem fr fr !!]

- Flareon [Matches with Sylveon because they were from the same litter ! Evolved to keep Andromeda safe because this fuckin idiot keeps getting himself in situations and shit. Extremely defensive of everything but mainly because of the first thing- just a really well trained guard dog that forgot how to have fun. Still very soft and silly]

- Sylveon [Matches with Flareon because they're from the same litter ! LOVES Andromeda to death and it is absolutely mutual ! Most spoiled ever !!! Also insanely brutal. don't worry about it though 🙏]

- Alcremie [Just a sweet lil thang. I like to think this one is mostly for aesthetics but its still really well cared for]

MARSH (FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIYAAAAHHH]

- Quilava [Starter Pokémon. I think the angry looking and explosive personality just sold it to him. He wants to evolve it SO bad but they're both still working on it.]

- Houndour [Its a fire ouppy... he has to have the fire ouppy. They're both young and growing up together but they'll both be the most destructive hounds ever just you fuckin' wait <3]

[rarelyseencephalopod]

okay hi beloved friend please tell me about your guild relationship dynamic hcs. 🙏 amen

Yay! Thank you for the ask, my equally valued friend!

Okay so I'll list off the ones I have fleshed out/mean the world to me etc:

First one, no surprise here is Hawmitch:

Hc that I'm gonna focus on here is specifically the post-canon I created for them, in which they leave the Guild and live together, eventually marrying and just... getting to have a damn normal life. there's also some kid ocs to go along with that. Margaret carves a new wooden cross necklace for him on their first year anniversary, to replace the bloodied metal one. The wood one she carved their initials on it, as well as the edges are smooth and so cannot slice skin

They still tease each other, their love shows itself in strange, silly ways...but absolutely the core of it is they're so so united. They're a whirlwind together

Second is the ICONIC friendship of Francis and Poe

Basically, Poe did not betray Francis, and in fact had his help the whole time. Basically, Francis wanted to trap the agency, and manages to technically do this to Atsushi ONCE THE PLANS ARE HANDED OVER. Francis just slides those plans over to Poe like "go get ur man" and thats that. Had Poe won, he would've just been all smug like "I'll let you take the plans anyway as a consolation."

Poe aka one of the first members for the new Guild, hes seen it all

Theyve got a blood pact or something going on

Francis and Mark:

IUAAGHHHH Mark is literally just here for something to do and WHAM thinks Francis is the neatest

Francis appreciates Mark being like...the one member of the Guild not exerting pressure/hatred at him lmao

So its...nice, they get along really well

Nathaniel and Melville:

HE RAISED THAT BOY

Basically Nathaniel escapes his cult at about 13 (my hc) and its Melville who finds him (Melville previously was attached to the cult but also left as a teen)

At this point Melville is still leader of the Guild, and looking for a successor

Considering Nathaniel, he sets the boy up with proper schooling (tutoring), finally sending him off to public College

Ultimately, Nathaniel proves unequal to the task, but a certain Francis he's befriended at school is put in contact with Melville

Regardless, Melville is pleased to see Nathaniel again once Francis re-makes the Guild, and they get along

Real to me Melville tried to stop Nathaniel from leaving, tried talking to him etc

Nathaniel and Francis:

AND THEY WERE ROOMMATES

Same college, Nathaniel's first friend since the Cult

Basically That One homoerotic friendship you have in gradeschool that ends in a nuclear fallout

Nathaniel still has an old school sweater stashed in his drawers (it's Francis')

Margaret, Lucy, Louisa

GIRL GANG GIRL GANG

Margaret and Lucy is more equally abrasive, but it works with Louisa to balance it out (if she's not freaking out the poor dear)

Louisa is especially grieved a Margaret's injury, she misses her

Mark and Margaret:

Country siblings hell yeah

They oddly get along, in their own way of teasing and jokes

In the hawmitch post-canon, Mark regularly visits and the kids consider him their uncle

Poe and Nathaniel:

DOOM AND GLOOM BUDDIES WHOOOO

John and Lovecraft

god. Theyre absolutely stupid mad in love they just dont know what that is

BUT the devotion remains

Okay thats all for now bc really I have a MILLION thoughts but only so much brainpower, so I might follow up with this later on

[gravellymistaken]

awesome. so do you have any scenes of your ocs that play out in your head over and over? how many vampire ocs do you actually have? do any of the vampire ocs have fun/fucked up stories on how they became vampires? how's uri doing is uri doing great i hope uri's having the worst time of his life. do any of your ocs have pets

OK HI thank you for these questions by the way! Putting this under a readmore bc there's a lot to talk about here

Whenever I have an itch to replay a scene in my head most of the time I can find it in my discord so I don't have to re-write it in my brain often!! But one scene that I think about alot was when Uri almost died in their campaign :] fun times really fucked up. His patron begged for his life to be saved!!! Fuck!!!!

IGNORING the vampire au i made a good bit ago my vampire ocs are: Blight (my sona), Sam, Constantine, Vitor, and Thylacine. There's also Witmore and Claude but I never used them enough to make a solid attachment to! They go in the 'to be reconstructed' box

It's a shame honestly I should have more vampire guys tbh

Sam's vampiric backstory is one of the most fleshed out and tragic so I'll lay it out here: as a holy knight officiated by their kingdom, they were sent to be a body guard for the ever youthful Duke Mortimer! Because they were tasked to be his personal bodyguard, they spent a lot of time together and became *quite* close. UNBEKNOWNST to Sam, mortimer was a creature of the night, and unwillingly turned sam into a vampire so they could be immortally in love together forever... Sam fled Mortimers estate after waking up buried 'alive.'

Thylacine became a twilight vampire because they tripped into a vampires fangs on accident. This is canon.

URI IS DOING KIND OF FUCKING BAD ITS SO FUNNY. Dnd likes to bury you with problems at the WORST FUCKING TIMES. He has:

recently developed a heart condition after narrowly surviving a lightning strike from our good BBEG Lord Winter. He'll continue to be exhausted unless he finds a way to fix his busted heart.

Divorced from most of the party as he admitted to taking a deal from said Lord Winter, he got a key from Winter that let's him enter a library made of dreams. Cool right? NO. 2.5/4ths of the party are pissed since he kept that information away from them for so long. Being divorced isn't funny anymore I want to be friends again.

-- Ok sorry I keep bringing up this Lord winter guy. that's because he's causing like 80% of our problems, anyway we broke into his Fucking Mansion to save (kidnap) a different characters sister. Which is great, but now Uri has been locked in a creepy statue room with all of his buddies by an unknown person. And that's where we are rn. So you can imagine the pressure he might be under. Tosses him into a pond

Sam had a pet rock they bought before their camp started, it was said to have a mysterious magical power. they named it Charlemagne!!! But rock turned out to be a beetle who was actually a person. It was uhm. It was a little awkward discovering this considering Charlemagne was traveling with Sam for multiple years and most likely saw their more cringe fail moments. Vitor feeds stray cats in his town :)

[sodapopbuoy]

Dude your ocs looking fuckin great as hell! You do really good designs :) Would love to hear more about them when you have some info (as long as if you wanna share lmao, no pressure)

Aaaa yoo thanks!! You flatter me anon

I mean for now, the only concept I have for them is that they work at a flower shop (duh), but they're somehow constantly in stressfull situations because of villains and criminals and stuff

a lawful neutral surrounded by chaotic evils sorta situation

[bluebloodsgurl]

Put the Gun Down

Characters: Jamie Reagan X Reader, Danny Reagan, Jackie Curatola, Gormley, Renzulli, Frank Reagan, Stevens (OC)

Word Count: 2000

Warning: Language?,  Angst, Violence, fluff end

A/N: This is the first of many fics. I am using #11 from the Random section on the Prompt list I posted a few days ago. It is in bold letters.

Feedback is always welcome. The Good and The Bad. Requests are also open.

Tumblr Masterlist

Your day started off like any other. Grab coffee, head into work, get your assignment and head out. The only difference today, Gormley was sticking you with a new partner. It wasn’t just a new partner, it was a new cop, a rookie. You weren’t particularly happy about it.

“Seriously Sergeant, you’re sticking me with the newbie. Did I do something wrong?”

“No, you don’t have a partner for the next couple of weeks remember. Holman is on vacation and I can’t have you running around on your own.” Gormley quickly retorted.

“You could, you’re just choosing not to.”

“No, I’m not Y/l/n. Everyone has to have a partner when out on patrol. Now get out of here and do your job.”

“Fine.” You open the door to his office. “You and I both know that I would work better on my own than with a rookie.” With that you walked out and closed the door a little louder than you wanted to.

“What’s wrong with you?” Danny looked back at you from his desk.

“Oh nothing, everything is just peachy.” You put on the fakest smile you could. “I get a new partner because Holman decided to take a 2-week vacation.”

“It can’t be that bad. We all have had to get new partners before.”

“Yeah, well I would rather have a partner with experience and not a rookie fresh out of the academy.” You started walking towards the locker room to find your new partner.

“Have fun!” Danny yelled across the precinct, earning a birdie being flipped at him.

“Ya know one of these days she’s going to hit you over the head with something.” Jackie said while she let out a small laugh.

“I’m surprised she hasn’t already.”

When you got close to the locker room, you saw a guy standing just outside the door. He looked nervous, he kept adjusting his cap. You stopped a few feet away from him, just watching to see what he was going to do. After a few minutes he finally looked up at you.

“Sorry, Are you Officer Y/LN?”

“Yes… You must be Stevens.” You held your hand out to him, he shook it.

“Nice to meet you.” He looked slightly more nervous than before.

“Dude you need to lighten up.”

“Sorry. First day jitters I guess.”

“That’s fine but I need to know that you’re good before we walk out those doors. If not, we need to talk to Gormley because if we are in a situation and you’re not ready for, it can go bad quickly. I have seen it happen before.”

“I’m good.” He took in a deep breath and exhaled. He did look a little bit more relaxed, but you were still unsure about all of this.

Towards the end of your tour, you had gotten a call from dispatch for a domestic disturbance. There were a few people arguing on the street. There was a group forming near the two men. As you pulled up, you could see that it was going to start escalating. You told Stevens to radio for back-up as you got out of the car. Once you were out the guys started fighting. You ran over to them, leaving Stevens behind. Only you didn’t realize that he didn’t request back-up, he got out to help you instead.

One of the men had the other on the ground, just punching the shit out of him. You were able to pull the guy off of him and handing him over to Stevens. He had taken him, and had him pressed up against the squad car. You went to help the man on the ground. You called for an ambulance.

“Sir, can you hear me?”

“yes.” He was moving around and yelling in pain.

“what’s your name Hun?”

“Jared… Jared Peterson.”

“Good Jared, I need you to stay still, while I look at you, okay?”

“Okay.”

You were and EMT before you became a cop. You figured it would help you on the job. He didn’t completely stop moving, but it was enough to let you look at his face. You were wondering where your back-up was. You started hearing arguing behind you. you looked over to see Stevens struggling to get the man in hand cuffs.  You quickly got up and started over to them. You were about six feet away from them when the man slipped his wrist out of Stevens hand and elbow him in the gut. It sent him back a few steps, which gave the man enough time to swing and punch him, Stevens went down pretty hard. You grabbed your radio as you ran over to them. You noticed Stevens not moving to get up.

“10-13 Officer Down, I repeat 10-13.” What you weren’t expecting was for the guy to pull a gun on you. You stopped in your tracks. “10-32.” You let go of the radio and put your hand up, you left the other just hovering by your gun.

“Shut up!” The man started walking towards you.

The crowd started freaking out. Some started running away, a few were on the phone calling 911 the rest were too scared to move. You could see his eyes weren’t even on you. You slowly started backing up to the man on the ground. You stopped right in front of him.

“Sir, I need you to put the gun down.” You were trying to stay as calm as you possibly could. “Don’t do something that you will regret.”

“I won’t regret this, now get out of my way!”

You still stood there, not moving. You could hear the sirens going off, slowly getting louder.

He cocked his gun and pointed it at you. “I said get out of my way, the bastard deserves it.”

“I can’t do that.” You could see Jamie and Renzulli coming up on one side and 2 others coming up on the other side. One of them went over to check on Stevens.

The man was looking around now he could see all the guns pointed at him. He quickly grabbed you, using you as a shield. He had his arm around your neck, with his hand grabbing onto the collar of your shirt and the gun to your head.

“Woah, drop the gun buddy.” Jamie was the first one to speak, he and Renzulli were the closest ones to you.

“Move any closer and I’ll shoot her.” Jamie stopped immediately.

“Okay, take it easy. Put the gun down and we can talk about this.”

“No, the second I do you will arrest me, and he gets away.”

“What did he do?”

“He’s been sleeping with my wife, now she’s leaving me for him.”

“That doesn’t mean he deserves to die.” You stupidly opened your mouth. Instantly regretting it as the words left your mouth.

“I told you to shut up.” You felt his grip get tighter on your throat, causing you to grunt.

“Ease up on her, your choaking her!” Renzulli yelled at him, he let up just enough for you to catch your breath.

He slowly started moving backwards, you tried to keep yourself planted but he was too strong. There was also the fact that if you didn’t move, he would end up choaking you. You felt the gun slightly lift up from your head. You looked directly at Jamie; you could see the worry in your boyfriends’ eyes.

It’ll be okay. You mouth to him. You could see a shift in him, you see him shake his head slightly.

You just closed your eyes and tried to focus on your breathing. You were about to do something stupid, but you don’t know what this guy was going to do. If you were going to get shot it was going to be on your own terms.

The next few seconds went by in a flash.

You reached up, pushing the barrel of the gun up. You tilted your head away just in case he pulled the trigger. When he didn’t, your hand grabbed the gun holding it above you. Then you picked up your foot to kick him in the shin. While you brought your elbow up to ram it back into his gut. You pulled your gun out of its holster. He let go of you to grab his stomach, he still had his hand on the gun. You swung around to face him. He pulled his arm down bringing the gun and your hand down to shoulder level. When he got it down, you felt his index finger slip out from under your hand to the trigger. Before you could even attempt to move your finger to the safety, he pulled the trigger.

You let go of the gun and started falling to the ground. You pointed your gun at him and shot the man in the chest two times before hitting the ground. You fell onto your back; the man fell back as well.

“Y/N!” you could hear Jamie yelling.

Next thing you see is Jamie kneeling next to you. You were trying to block out the pain, as Jamie put pressure on your shoulder.

“You’re insane.” You could see the tears forming in his eyes.

“You love me.” You looked him in the eyes and smiled.

“Not right now I don’t.”

“Yeah right.” You brought your hand up and put it on top of his.

“Get that ambulance over here.” He yelled to the EMTs that were onsite.

You were transported to the hospital, and immediately taken into surgery. Jamie had a few hours left on his shift, but when he got off, he went to the hospital to wait for you. When he arrived, he saw his father there.

“Jamie.” He stood up from his seat and walked over to his son.

“How is she doing?”

“She’s still in surgery. They said it should be any minute now.” He put a hand on his shoulder and walked him over to the chairs.

A few minutes later Danny came through the doors with coffee. He handed each of them a coffee before sitting down.

“How are you doing kid?”

“I’m fine.” He looked down at his coffee, just trying to avoid eye contact with his brother.

“Oh really, because if I saw my girlfriend get shot in front of me, I would be pretty upset, pissed off even.”

Jamie got up and walked away from them, he didn’t want to do this right now. He just wanted you.

“Commissioner.” A doctor came out into the waiting room, all three men walked up to the doctor. “She’s out of surgery, she’s just resting, but you can go see her now.”

“Thank you.” Frank said as he followed the doctor to your room. Danny and Jamie were close behind him.

When the door to your room opened, you instantly tried to sit up once you saw Frank.

“Commissioner Reagan.”

“Relax Y/n.” You laid back but not all the way down. “How are you?”

“I’ve had worse hits, so I guess I’m doing okay.”

After that Frank started asking about what had happened, you told him everything. That’s when he informed you that Stevens never radioed for back-up. You were pissed off at that point. You knew something was going to go wrong. After a few hours Danny and Frank left, so it was just you and Jamie.

“You’re crazy, ya’know that.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” You just smiled at him.

“It can be when things like today happen.”

“I’m fine Jamie. Come here.”

You scooted over and patted the bed next to you. Jamie laid down with you, being extra careful to not move the bed too much. You moved into him, he wrapped one arm around you just to keep you close to him. Your head was on his other arm. He kissed you on the top of your head.

“I love you, Jamie.”

“I love you too, Y/n.”

Eventually, both of you fell asleep.

[raspberry-arev]

After the Flood (a.k.a. bicci fic)

Hello friends! Some of you may remember that back in... er, who knows, I was writing a Bicci Proposal Fanfic. However, school and lack of motivation got in the way, and essentially, I forgot it existed. Until now. It's done, it's ready, it's here for you to read in whole! (I posted half of it before, but I can't find the thing.)

Characters: Jimmy Kaga-Ricci, Lister Bird, Rowan Omondi, OC (Abby Omondi), Angel Rahimi

Themes: older Ark, marriage proposal, coming out, grand gestures, The Ark Revival Tour, and peak Bicci romance (hopefully)

TWs: mentions of recovery from addiction, anxiety, food

Word count: 9k

JIMMY

It’s often impossible to pinpoint what exactly set off an event – or perhaps multiple – that changed your life as you knew it.

That was not Jimmy’s case, however. He remembered that Barbecue Saturday very well.

This time, it was Rowan and his spouse Abby who hosted. The two couples took turns and Jimmy was oh so grateful for it; the idea of managing Lister’s chaotic culinary experiments more than twice in one summer filled him with dread.

On Saturday morning, Jimmy and Lister packed up and drove all the way to the suburbs of London where Rowan and Abby lived. The sun was bright, everything gleamed buttery yellow, and Jimmy managed to talk Abby into letting him set the table and carry in all the food instead of her, which was quite an accomplishment. She was about as stubborn as her husband.

They rarely invited more than three extra people though. Being in the public eye in your formative years made you appreciate small gatherings of trustworthy people. And one of those proved to be Angel. Or, you know, Feresteh, but her nickname really stuck with them. From that time Jimmy nearly quit the band and Lister impaled himself and almost drowned in mud… yeah, call that a wild youth.

Over ten years later, they were hardly the same people.

After they decided to quit being The Ark for their own wellbeing and safety, Rowan kept his place in the music industry as a songwriter, producer and a solo artist. He went with the name Le Monde, a play on his surname as well as French for “the world”. It suited him. He was the world, never small, never just one thing.

Lister stopped being involved in music after a few collabs. While he was figuring out what to do next, he took a few modelling jobs, acted in music videos and got a small part in a sitcom. Jimmy used that time to get a college degree, but found he just wouldn’t be able to get the usual “college experience” he yearned for, and only got his diploma after doing classes long-distance.

Jimmy and Lister also got together. After many failed attempts at courtship and pretending being friends with benefits was enough… they got together. To Jimmy, it felt like it was inevitable; they have acted like partners long before it was official, they just needed to clean up their own messes before they could be a couple. It wouldn’t have felt right back then, but it did now.

Rowan was already at the grill preparing meat and wrapping camembert in shiny aluminium foil when Angel marched in, tall, elegant, beaming. Jimmy loved to see her again. Each time, she seemed a little more confident, more expressive, more… just more. She really did find her calling in the music industry, just as much as he found his tucked away in rural England with his boyfriend.

Yet, he was to be “tucked away” no longer.

At a certain point, their group fell momentarily silent; everyone was chewing their meal and soaking in the sun. Then Angel said, in an unfamiliar, cautious tone: “You see, I was talking to a couple of people…”

Rowan exchanged a quick look with Jimmy. “Go on,” he said.

“It’s gonna be ten years since you guys disbanded, you know.”

“I know,” Jimmy echoed.

“So. I was thinking. Hear me out, even if you think it’s bollocks…” Angel shot them a look, and then made a motion with her hand as if she was presenting them with something. “Have you ever thought of doing a revival concert?”

As Rowan did a theatrical “errrm”, Jimmy saw straight through his best friend’s bullshit: the two of them rehearsed this conversation. He knew Ro for most of his life, who did he think he was fooling?

His mind offered the answer quickly: Abby, perhaps. He wants to see how she would react, doesn’t he? Rowan would love to do a revival show like that, no doubt, but he valued his wife’s opinion too much to make a decision without her.

He felt movement on his left, and looked Lister in the eyes.

“Well,” said Lister, looking at him. “Wow, okay,” said Jimmy. Both were considering.

Angel swiftly picked up, “Just wanted to run this idea by you. Not because it’s me who would love to see you play once more – I mean, of course I would – but it’s expected to have an amazing turn-out.”

“Obviously, they’re The Ark,” Abby commented matter-of-factly.

“You’re right, Abby. So, guys? How are we feeling about this?”

It was bizzare. Normally, Jimmy would have expected to say he wasn’t at all interested – the boyband life was not for him anymore, tough luck – but recently, he felt a strong sense of nostalgia surge through him as the ten year mark got closer. He found himself reaching for his old guitar way more often, strumming at it, looking for something between the strings he could not reach.

Maybe he could do it just once.

What eventually came out of his mouth was… “I haven’t sung like that for a long time though.”

“You sing to me,” Lister contradicted him, his fingers intertwining with his. “All the time.”

Jimmy felt his face get hotter. “That’s hardly… Are you thousands of people?” He turned to Angel. “How many are we talking, anyway?”

She smiled a kind smile. “I don’t know, Jimmy, that depends on whether you three are up to it or not.”

Rowan cleared his throat. “Personally speaking, I think I wouldn’t mind, as long as we are just doing it once, and not trying for a comeback. I wouldn’t go there.”

“Same,” Lister nodded. “I love you guys, but I’m fine the way things are.”

“Right,” said Rowan firmly. “But… just this once, I mean, why not? We could use some extra money.” With this, he gently let his palm rest on Abby’s belly that swelled under her summer dress like a balloon. (Jimmy fought the urge to aww at them.)

Abby immediately assured him they were more than fine financially, but Rowan barely listened, clearly waiting for his former bandmates to say something. Jimmy felt Lister looking at him, unwavering. So he turned to him and asked, “What do you think? Cool or not?”

“I’m waiting for you to say.”

“Why?”

“Don’t want you to feel pressured or anything.”

“You shouldn’t… Just say what your opinion is!”

“You express your opinion,” Lister retorted, pretending to square his shoulders as a threat. Jimmy lovingly nudged him, and to stop being annoying to the remaining three people at the table, he shrugged, “It doesn’t sound so bad. One concert. I mean, we are still friends after all this time, so why not?”

“In that case, I would love to be the centre of attention again!” Lister exclaimed and gave Jimmy a boyish grin. “The crowd was deprived of my looks for too long.”

“Buddy, you were the drummer,” Rowan said. “Bold of you to assume anyone even looked at you with me and Jimmy jumping at the front.”

Jimmy snorted with laughter, but Lister was quick to defend himself. “Google all Lister Bird slash Reader fanfic and then we can talk about who got noticed, buddy.”

“Oi, you’re not even properly revived yet, stop fighting!” Angel called out, but laughter started bubbling from every direction before she even finished the sentence.

They had a proper business meeting about it in two weeks. And then another and another. When they announced the first date, the sales went through the roof. Jimmy had to get off of social media because the internet exploded with their names and faces. But he sort of found it a bit sweet, that so many people stuck around for them, like old friends that he never had the chance to talk to. One concert became three and then five, which was, honestly, more like a small tour at that point. Jimmy fought to call it After the Flood and won.

LISTER

“You really shouldn’t do that, you know. This bitch is hard to get rid of.”

Rowan tried to hide a small cough and put out his cigarette on the metal window sill next to him. “Hey,” he greeted Lister. “Didn’t expect you to come out here.”

“Yeah.” Lister found it hard to hang around smokers, and unfortunately, he met quite the number of them while they were in the process of rehearsing. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“What’s up?”

“Can we walk, like, over there? So… nobody can hear us through the door?”

Rowan eyed him suspiciously, but he followed him to the railing on the edge of the roof. There, he turned to him, seeming to fight himself.

“I’m really looking for a less shitty way to ask this,” he admitted eventually. “But… What have you done now, Lister?”

Lister felt a sort of numbed cramp seize his stomach for a second. It took a lot not to let anger overcome him. They were well over thirty, how the hell was Rowan still treating him like a fuck up? But no. This was more important than old grudges.

“Nothing! As of yet,” he assured his bandmate.

“Okay…?”

“Right. So. Erm. Nobody is here, right? Fine. I had this idea… you know, Jimmy and I have been together for a long time and I obviously care about him a lot, I always have, you kind of know that…”

“Yes, go on,” he pushed on gently.

“Fuck it. I want to fucking propose!”

A giant weight fell off his shoulders when he spoke those words aloud. It was like coming out all over again, god.

Rowan’s eyes twinkled. “Oooh,” he almost whispered, “and you need my help with that? I’m your man, tell me the plan!”

“There is none right now.”

“Oh, okay. I can still help if you want.”

This was another part Lister dreaded discussing.

“I… okay, so, I was thinking of… doing it on stage?”

His friend’s face changed rapidly.

Lister’s dream of a grand proposal to the love of his life in brilliant stage lights and the roars of the audience faded away. “That’s a no? That’s a no. Shit, forget it then.” He felt sick.

“Lister, I’m absolutely positive you mean well,” Rowan started. “But Jimmy would-“

Speak of the devil.

The door opened and out of it peaked Jimmy’s unshaven face. “Oh! There you both are.”

Rowan froze for a second. Lister was ready to improvise. “Alright, so how about I come by yours after practice and you transfer the files to me?” He smiled, but impaled Rowan with a meaningful look.

Fortunately, he caught on. “Oh yeah, yeah, that could work.”

“What files?” Jimmy inquired as he joined them, oblivious.

“Rowan has some of our old drafts still saved. I was thinking of squeezing in a drum solo somewhere, maybe with spoken word over it?”

“Sounds cool,” Jimmy smiled at him and slightly brushed the back of his hand with Lister’s. “Anyway, Dick the Sound Guy wants us all in there immediately.”

“Stop calling him that or I’ll have a Freudian slip at some point,” Lister laughed and guided Jimmy back into the building. Him and Rowan managed to exchange a subtle nod over the shorter man’s head.

JIMMY

As they were packing up that day, Jimmy tried incredibly hard to catch Rowan alone. Just like the old times when he needed to discuss something personal. And yet again, it involved Lister. Jimmy felt young and stupid again, but not really in a good way.

Finally, he managed to stop him while he was putting away the equipment. Lister was meanwhile in the office of their temporary new manager. “Ro, I need advice!” he whispered to his best friend.

“What about?”

“It’s Lister.”

“Oh dear Jesus, I’m having flashbacks.”

“Don’t be a dick, it’s important.”

“Okay then, tell me.”

“It kind of involves you too. Just… tell me if it’s a good idea.”

“Go on!”

“I want to, uh… I want to tell people Lister and I are a couple…” He took a breath. “Which means I would be coming out as gay as well, probably. I know that’s, like, a huge pile of drama, so if you don’t want me to complicate the tour, just say it, it’s honestly kind of irresponsible when I’m thinking about it now…”

“Jimbob. Easy.” Rowan waited for a second for Jimmy to wind down, leaning on a stack of five chairs, and then asked, “Are you really sure about it? Do you want people to know?”

Jimmy felt his thoughts humming in his head. He forced himself to say exactly how he felt.

“I know it’s gonna sound super dramatic, but I don’t want to die not saying it,” he explained slowly. “It became really important to me… I don’t know when. But it did. Talking about this part of me, too. I’m just worried about what Lister might say.”

“So I take it that you didn’t discuss this?”

“No way. I don’t even know how to start!” Jimmy exploded in loud whispering. “I should have talked to him a long time ago, but I just didn’t have the balls.”

“I get that, but… just bring it up. Like, theoretically. What if. I think he’s going to support you through it.”

“How could he?”

“What are you even saying at this point?

“You think he would like people sticking their nose in our personal business? I feel like it’s so unfair to him and his privacy… And I feel terrible about still wanting to do it… even though it’s inconsiderate. It’s all a fucking mess.”

“Okay, okay.” Rowan massaged his nose. He looked like he was trying incredibly hard not to snap at Jimmy and be at least somewhat encouraging. “Look, no spoilers, but I am going to say this. Lister absolutely will notbe mad and he will want to talk about the two of you if you give him the chance. That is all.”

“Wait, what? Ro, did he tell you something?”

“I am not talking!”

“Is that how you treat your best friend in a life crisis?!”

“You’re putting me in a life crisis, don’t you dare play the pity card! I swear, the two of you are a nightmare.”

“Rowan! Come back!”

LISTER

His visit to Rowan’s place was very brief, but it was enough for him to understand Rowan’s concerns. Eventually.

Lister explained that it didn’t feel appropriate for him to just whip out a ring in a restaurant: Jimmy was his love, his dream boy, as cliché as it sounded, and he wanted to do something that would measure up to all he was feeling. Which was… well, a whole lot. Like a “get down on one knee in front of thousands of people” lot.

And yet.

“It’s all great, and I’m sure there are people in the world that would love it, but we are talking about Jimmy.”

“Come on. I know, he’s private about… well, everything, but…”

“That, yes,” Rowan pointed at him while holding a can of coke, “but don’t you think this proposal on stage would be an anxiety-inducing situation? Because to me, that sounds like a lot of pressure and nerves.”

“He hasn’t had attacks since we moved and he went on those meds.”

“That doesn’t really –“

“Matter. Yeah. Yeah, I get your point, mate, he would die of shock. And everybody watching him. Fuck, I’m stupid.”

“No, you’re not,” Rowan grinned. “The two of you are just different… in some aspects. I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

Will I? Lister asked himself as he was driving back to the hotel that Jimmy and him were staying at for the time being. This was the only thing I came up with, like, ever.

When he swept his key card over the sensor and the door to their suite opened, he was greeted by the smell of dinner. He took a look into their little kitchen and found his boyfriend sitting at the table with his laptop. He didn’t notice him for a second, so Lister came up behind him and hugged him tightly.

Jimmy yelped.

“Where’s the food?!” Lister shook him a little, imitating Batman.

“Your hands are so cold!” Jimmy protested, but there was a trace of laughter in his voice. “On the stove, you bully!”

Lister almost flew over there, looking under the lid on the pot.

“Pasta,” Jimmy shrugged. “I needed my comfort food, so that’s that for you.” Lister smiled and thanked him, because yes, he was starving. Pasta was Jimmy’s go-to meal to cook, as it was quick to make and he was a pasta-sauce prodigy.

While his dinner was heating up in the microwave, Jimmy made small-talk about the supposed unused lyrics Rowan and him exchanged. Lister found it hard to lie to him, so he just turned to playful teasing, telling Jimmy to stop sniffing around, he’ll hear it when the time comes.

“Oh come on,” Jimmy huffed. “I’m just asking! And it’s my show, too. Spill it.”

“Sorry. Totally gonna steal your spotlight.”

“Lister, just tell me what it is.”

“A song.”

“What song?”

“A song that you have to wait for.”

“Babe, what song?!”

Lister took him by the waist and pulled him against his body. “Are you trying to ‘babe’ me into telling you right now? Is that what’s happening? Right in front of my pasta?” He went in for a kiss, and Jimmy tried to murmur something against his lips… but then he gave up. They leaned into each other and kept kissing until Lister pulled away to open the microwave. He got himself a fork and went to sit down after the long day, but Jimmy stayed there, right next to the sink. Looking a bit like he was going to hurl.

Before Lister could ask if he’s okay, Jimmy sat down on the other chair with a determined look on his face.

“There is something I need to discuss!” he blurted out.

Lister cautiously dropped the fork back into the bowl. “Okay…? And it’s something to do with me, yeah?”

“Yep. A lot to do with you.” He was visibly nervous. He clasped his hands together, as if Lister would have not noticed. “I… I was thinking about this one thing, and I need your opinion about it.”

“Cool. Go for it.”

“It’s about our relationship.”

“Are you aware you sound very sinister right now?”

He wildly shook his hands as if he wanted to dry them off. “Sorry, didn’t mean to,” he apologized in a strained voice. Then he cleared his throat, sharply lifted his eyes towards Lister’s and exclaimed, “I would like to reveal that we’re together.”

Lister felt everything about his face go lax in shock. He opened his eyes round and wide, his mouth followed, and Jimmy looked like he would faint.

“I, er. I just. I thought about it and I think it’s a decent idea and – please say something, Lister, before I get a fucking heart attack right now.”

It must have been so hard for him to speak up. Lister thought of his proposal plans and felt his mouth slowly form a smile. “I think it’s… brilliant! Yes, I would really like to do that!”

“Wait, really?”

“This is – I didn’t think you would want to, when did you change your mind?”

Jimmy shrugged, grinning in a sheepish way that made him look much younger. And cuter. “I thought I just… wanted to be open about this part of my life. Figured it’s time to say we are together. But if you, like, don’t feel like it, then…”

Lister beamed. “I feel like it. If you do, I do, trust me.” He walked around the table and lifted Jimmy into a hug. He laughed, relieved.

This was when it dawned on Lister… it was not such an easy matter. Exciting, yes, but it would gather all kinds of attention. He leaned onto the table, grabbed his dinner and him and Jimmy started talking about the situation it would put them in. If both are truly okay with it, how much would they reveal, when is the best time to do it. They kept talking through the bathroom door and while they were changing into pajamas in their bedroom.

As they were laying down and Lister gestured Jimmy to crawl into his arms, they became quieter. “You know why I also want to say it?” Jimmy mumbled, lying on the soft linen with one eye open.

“I’m all ears.”

“If I have to see one more article about which model or actress you’re screwing, I’m gonna lose the remaining marbles that I have.” Lister started chuckling as Jimmy awkwardly added, “Which is, admittedly, not many. Most have been lost in my youth.”

“Oh no,” Lister laughed and turned Jimmy’s face upwards to his. “So this just in: my boyfriend is possessive. Fancy that.”

“I’m not, it’s… I am… Oh, you hated Jowan, stop being smug.”

“I know I did, we both know. But jealous Jimmy? That’s a rare sight.”

“It’s just super uncomfortable. It’s all women, as well.”

“Heteronormativity is a bitch,” Lister nodded. He snuggled closer and let out a breath, “Don’t worry though. I am exclusively your problem.”

Jimmy kissed him, smiling. Lister felt lightheaded. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against Jimmy’s. He loved this – he loved how much he felt for him after so long they have been together. It never ceased or faded away… because it was Jimmy.

Lister was pretty sure he would love him until his last day on Earth.

It was time to start looking for a ring.

JIMMY

Not much later, they had a team meeting scheduled with all the important people at their recording company that were involved with their tour. Jimmy and Lister announced their intention to come out during the tour, and with Rowan’s full support, it wasn’t too hard to win the producers over. Jimmy had anticipated the PR people would deem it overly risky to their image, but they were fairly chill. As Rowan had put it, “As if anything about The Ark was ever about pandering to conservatives.”

They agreed that their demographic is absolutely different, and before they knew it, they were being ignored while people were exchanging speculations about how it all could help them promote the tour.

“If they do it on, like, the second show…”

“…we could sell some extra tickets after… another wave…”

“…that would probably be a good time to release a single, something related to…”

Jimmy felt something in his chest sink. This is why they left. These people took something good, something from their hearts and souls, and wanted to turn it into money. Some part of him understood, that’s how business works, but mostly, he just felt really sad for them.

“Oi!” Lister exploded over the chatter. “Sorry, but we are still here, and – Could you maybe not act like this coming out is a marketing tactic?!”

The room went briefly silent.

Jimmy squeezed his hand under the table to say a silent thanks. Then he choked out, “That’s not why we’re doing it!”

Their producer looked at them over the top of her reading glasses.

“Of course it’s not, love,” she cooed. “But to say it bluntly, I think you need all the help you can get.”

After many weeks and many briefings, they had agreed on making the announcement on the third show. Right in the middle of tour. Everybody was nervous, expectant, but there was this air of hopefulness when Jimmy and Lister ended up alone together. The glimmer in his partner’s eye when their eyes met promised something… no, it was not living absolutely openly, they still wanted privacy. But it felt like they were sealing something.

This was not an easy coming out.

But they were in for it. Together.

LISTER

“Just so I know,” Rowan said as Lister was trying to take off his Doc Martens with all his might, “what did you tell Jimmy this time?”

“We’re still working on music.”

“We should really make something then, before you go. I am not gonna lie to my childhood best friend, y’know.”

Finally, the boot came off, and Lister got off the little cabinet in Rowan’s hall. Abby was already making tea, and when she saw him walk by the kitchen door, she just nodded at him. Lister smirked at her; she loved pretending to still be mad at him for taking Rowan to a strip club on his stag night. (Or was it dancing on the table at the wedding reception? Anyhow.)

Rowan sat him down in the lounge and started the conversation with: “So. The big reveal is getting closer. How are we feeling?”

“I – great, good. I’m fine, and Jimmy seems to be fine, so yeah, we’re fine.”

“But I assume that’s not what you need help with?”

“You assume right. I will need you to bear with me, though.”

“That sounds interesting,” Rowan retorted and flashed a smile at Abby who was bringing them two steaming mugs of earl gray. “And when I say interesting I mean impending doom, why thank you, Abby!”

“No problem.” She slowly leaned over, careful not to lose balance with her belly, and kissed him on the forehead. “I’ll be off for my swimming class then. You two behave, will you.”

As she was making her way to the hall, Lister jokingly remarked, “No goodbye kiss for me?”

She stopped in the middle of the room and exchanged a glance with Rowan. Rowan, stirring his tea with a teaspoon, said, “Please don’t kill him, I need him for the concert.”

“Come on, you guys, I was fully kidding. Goodbye, Abby,” he waved to her with a bright smile. “Enjoy your swimming stuff!”

“Thank you, will do.” She disappeared.

“Just a question!” he called after her. She came back with an eyeroll. “Is it, like, harder to swim when you are pregnant? Like, I don’t mean to insult you or anything, I’m just genuinely wondering.”

She, too, put aside her snarky façade for a second. “Actually, I go there because it’s relieving. The water makes you float, so the weight of the baby is taken off my back and legs for a little while.”

“Oh! That’s clever.”

“Thank you. The more you know, am I right?”

“You know what I was just thinking of?”

“Yeah? I really have to go.”

“When you’re swimming, you’re a human submarine for the baby.”

It seemed to take Abby a minute to realize what he was saying. Very slowly, she brought her palm to her forehead.

Rowan then didn’t make it much better by adding, “Since when does a submarine have water inside? That would defeat the purpose.”

Lister thought about it and then gasped. “So… right now, you are a reverse human submarine!”

Abby looked at them both, clearly lost for words. “I’ll just go…” She closed the lounge door behind her.

After a good ten minutes of Rowan half laughing and half chastising Lister for saying the things he says, Lister threw his hands up in the air and claimed they seem to have “traded their sense of humour for a marriage certificate” two years ago.

Rowan immediately followed: “Speaking of marriage, any updates on that? You and…?”

“Well, my friend, that is precisely what we need to talk about today.”

“Okay. The meeting is officially in session, go.”

“First: am I the only one that was really surprised by Jimmy wanting to make us public? Because I really didn’t expect that at all.”

“Yeah, I guess he’s still full of surprises, huh?”

“That he is. However, Ro, I was thinking, and I still want to do a proposal. No – let me finish, it’s not that straightforward. I spent a lot of time talking to Jimmy about what he wants and how he sees the future, and you were super right in saying that I should never put him on the spot like that. Being so exposed to the public when we were kids messed with us in a big way, all of us.”

Rowan snapped his fingers in agreement.

“The idea is… It would be a proposal before a proposal. Like… I don’t know, announcing that I have the intention of proposing to him soon. And asking him if he is okay with that, you know? If he’s okay with the idea of saying yes. That way,” Lister gesticulated with his hands, “he’s not forced right there to say yes, the eventual real proposal can be sort of expected, which would calm him down a bit, but still a surprise, because when is it going to happen? I’m not saying.”

Rowan stared at him for about three seconds. “That was… a whole thing, buddy.”

“Thoughts?”

“I’m just trying to wrap my head around this. Wait. You want to do a proposal before the actual proposal.”

“Yes.”

“On stage. At the same time you are announcing that the two of you are together?”

“No! I mean, I don’t think so. I thought like, more at the end, maybe.”

“Proposal before a proposal…”

“It’s clever, if you think about it.”

“To me, it just seems very extra, Lister. Which I know is your trademark, but –”

“No, but listen. I want to propose to Jimmy. He wouldn’t survive a big flashy proposal, but I still want to make it a big deal, because it is. Ergo, I announce that I want to spend the rest of my stupid little life with him and ask him if it is okay to propose to him one day, likely soon.”

Rowan’ expression changed. “That does make sense,” he said. “For the two of you, especially.”

“Okay then: dear dad, do I have your blessing?”

“Never call me that again. But yes.”

“You are the closest to being a father out of all of us.”

“That is not what it sounds like and you know it.”

JIMMY

The first show was an explosion of feeling and memories. Nauseous with anxiety, burdened with expectation and weak in the knees, Jimmy ran into his first appearance on the stage the same way he would run into the middle of the highway. The lights and screams and colours almost blew him to pieces and then glued him back together. His first words addressed to the crowd and the earth-shattering screams that came in answer woke something in him, a force of nature. The gig was rather small compared to those they ended on ten years ago, but the crowd loved them to pieces and oh, he felt so alive.

The second show was slightly bigger, yes, and their fans didn’t disappoint. Plenty of pride flags were chucked at him, and he waved them and gave them to his mates and it made him even more excited about what him and Lister were going to do the next time round. These people stayed with them for so long, this sea of faces that looked toward him… for many of them, he would be the representation they need, again.

He remembered being a young trans boy, questioning if there is a life, a future, for him. Where were all the queer adults? The trans adults? How could he imagine adult life if he had never seen someone like him live it?

There he was, now. Adult. Gay. Transgender. A lot of time, he still knew very little about what he was doing, but he had a boyfriend who knew equally little, and together, they might be just what some queer kid in the crowd yearns to see.

LISTER

It was D-Day. Christ and Mary, it was, and they were going to say it. Finally. The staff have been informed, the security has been strengthened, they did everything so that some fan wouldn’t try and knock them the fuck out…, but he was still incredibly nervous. Minutes before the show, among all the rush and flourish, he caught Jimmy and pulled him to the side, apologizing to a couple of sound guys securing some cables on the ground.

“How are you doing?” he blurted out.

“I’ll die, but maybe in a good way. You?”

“Same. Or I’ll throw up, in a bad way.”

“Wait really?”

“No, I’m sick, but not the vomiting kind.”

“Anxiety! Welcome to the club!” Jimmy shouted as he was being ushered away under the stage so he could come up on a platform.

More pushing, more ushering, and he stood next to Rowan.

Their intro – a dramatic organ solo as light flashed through the artificial fog like sunbeams – was rumbling all around them. The crowd was losing their minds. He didn’t know how, but he still heard Rowan whisper:

“Lister, promise me you won’t do the other thing today!”

“Told you I won’t, stop being patronizing!” he snapped back, but then it was their time, and they were on a stage, coming up from behind Jimmy, each on every side, acting astonished as they supposedly came down from Noah’s Ark onto new land.

Listed dared to put his hand on Jimmy’s shoulder as they did so.

The show was on.

Here we go.

JIMMY

During the concert, he used every opportunity to interact with the audience that he had. It felt a bit manipulative at first – he wanted them to be up for a bit of talking, eventually – but then the feeling of guilt faded away. However complicated his relationship with the fans used to be, these people were the fans. They stayed loyal to them, they kept their music in their hearts, and came to this revival gig…

It would be okay, okay, okay.

When the last accords of the last song whizzed away into the night and he was thanking the crowd that stomped and cheered and waved signs in hope of an encore… he stopped at the front of the stage. Rowan strummed a few last cords on the guitar and fell silent.

He wished he had somewhere to sit down. His legs were shaking.

But he was not afraid. Not really.

“Now, you guys, these shows are very special for us. Because every single one of you, as we’re standing here and looking at each other, you have been waiting for so long…” His voice was drowned out by cheers. “For so long, you have not forgotten us, you came to our shows, you have been amazingly supportive, and I want to thank you, from the bottom of my heart!” He shouted the last few words as the sea of faces roared in joy.

When they calmed down again, he continued. “And because you are the ones that stuck with us… because of that, I would like to say a few things to you.

If you know about the days of my youth…” Pause as people laughed and shouted affirmations at him. “…you would probably remember that I was presumed to be in a relationship with a person that is standing on the stage with me, right now.”

It was good that only a few people cheered. But it made him sick to the stomach, still.

“Okay, no,” Rowan came in, and people applauded, and he pointed at them with a not-so-fake scolding look, “no, no, don’t you woo at me, young lady. This is so utterly not a thing! Jimmy has never left the friendzone!”

“Same here,” Jimmy laughed and patted Rowan across the back, maybe a little too hard, overcompensating. “Did you all, like, miss that Rowan came out as straight all those years ago?”

People were laughing. Nobody really cared, they just found it funny. Rowan claimed he was leaving it to Jimmy before “the PR team has me taken out”, and retreated a few steps, leaving Jimmy to face the crowd again.

Deep breaths, he told himself.

“What I wanted to say was that there was one thing that those people back then got right.” Breathe in, breathe out. “I am gay.”

Two seconds of silence and then an absolute thunderstorm of an applause. A rainbow pride flag landed at his feet and Jimmy took it, with meek laughter, and put it around his shoulders. He heard Rowan cheer and clap too, and for what felt like years, he couldn’t get a word in. He wished the whole world could be like this.

“I – gosh, thank you all, I’m not sure whether it was a surprise,” he finally managed to say, his voice breaking a little from surprise, “but yeah. I am a trans, gay man…” The hall exploded with joyous noise. “…and it’s not all that there is to me, but I’m here. And queer. Hello.”

He thought he was going to pass out. He had a clever segway prepared, but he couldn’t remember a word of it. This was the moment. He wanted to say it, but at the same time… How could he? It was so hard, why do things have to be so hard?

“The other… the second thing,” he said, gripping the pride flag. “It is that… wow, it’s hard. It’s that I am…” He felt himself turn around, and like a lost child call: “Lister?”

Lister climbed out from behind the drum set instantly. Nobody cheered, there were only confused whispers. Jimmy looked at him, asking for help without words, and he knew, as he always did. Jimmy found a place to look, above the crowd, beyond everything, as Lister stepped in and slowly took his hand.

“The second thing is that we are together,” Lister said, his voice steady.

And the crowd lost it.

There were people wailing in happy tears. Screaming at the top of their lungs. A dissonance of chanting their names, all at a different rhythm, before Rowan ran up to them and hugged them and spurred the crowd on, and they stood there wrapped in a pride flag, and Jimmy was kind of crying and leaning on Lister, and it was another half an hour of a pure mess, before they really left the stage with their ears buzzing and eyes wide.

Jimmy and Lister tumbled into a corner somewhere, and Jimmy had happy tears streaming down his cheeks and they were kissing and holding each other and shaking.

“Oh, I’m such a mess,” Jimmy laughed as he was smearing tears and foundation on his sleeve.

“And I love you so much,” Lister blurted out in a moment of raw honesty.

“Me too,” Jimmy took one of his hands and kissed the palm. “I love you so fucking much it’s unreal sometimes.”

LISTER

This was, hands down, the most jittery Lister got before a show. Ever.

Currently, he found himself sat at an old sofa in the dressing room, hands clasped and both legs involuntarily jumping up and down. Was it annoying? Likely. But he had to let his knees jump in such a vigorous way because if he hadn’t, his teeth might start clattering.

He hated that he couldn’t just be pumped and excited. He had to feel this unsettling, buzzing mess of an emotion. Anxiety, as Jimmy informed him. This is what it’s like for an anxious person, he said… except make it all the time and often for no real reason.

Lister shook his head a little.

His reason, too, was basically nothing. He knew. As if Jimmy would actually reject him or something…

Or would he?

Maybe he could? Oh God, maybe he could…

“Hey! You’re actually scaring me, what’s up with you?!”

Lister blinked in confusion. He saw Jimmy as he was making his way over. A half scolding, half worried look decorated his face.

He lowered his voice when he added: “The last time I saw you like this was when you had withdrawal symptoms. You can tell me if that’s what it is.”

“It’s not that. I’m fine,” Lister insisted. Crap, he was panicking too hard to actually come up with anything convincing. Come on, Bird, focus… He’s onto you…

“Actually,” Rowan’s voice travelled to them from the corner, “I just think we had weird coffee.”

“What? But you’re fine.”

“Yeah, well,” Rowan continued to make up a story, “we both got one, but I didn’t like the taste, it was too strong. Lister felt bad for throwing them out so he finished both of them, didn’t you?”

“Ye-Yes,” he finally caught on. Had to admit, Ro was impressive at this. Lister started to believe what their friend used to say: that he can lie very well, he just chooses not to. “I didn’t want to waste it. The coffee.”

“Lister,” Jimmy grunted in disbelief, hands on his hips. “That was a brilliant idea, you walnut! Look at yourself, you’re gonna be sick now!”

“I’m not.”

“You look it.”

“I’m just…” He rubbed his clammy hands together. “I’m just anxious I guess.”

“Well, no shit. Why do you think I avoid caffeine?” Jimmy sighed and dropped into a squat in front of Lister. He took Lister’s hands in his. “Seriously, are you okay? You’re not gonna have a heart attack, are you?”

“No, babe. I’m alright.” The last thing he wanted was for his boyfriend to be anxious too.

He looked down at Jimmy. The realization dawned on him, as he noticed that his partner dropped onto one of his knees to be more comfortable; very soon, the roles will be reversed. It will be Lister down on one knee, only Jimmy would be standing up in that case…

Okay.

Wow.

This is what true internal screaming felt like.

“You need water, as in now,” Jimmy decided and jumped up. “I’ll need you to drink at least three glasses before we start, that should help.”

He rushed out of the room to get hands on some water. Rowan and Lister looked at each other, the pretence gone.

“Alright?” Rowan nodded.

“I’m fucking choking, dude,” Lister replied.

It almost looked as if his friend was going to give him advice, or maybe say something generic and calming… but instead, Rowan let out a small laugh. Lister’s lips started twisting without him giving the command.

And then the two collapsed laughing. The pressure of this being the very last show and the knowledge of what Lister was about to do at the end of it were just the right recipe for hysterics.

Jimmy didn’t bother to ask twice what the joke was, as long as they promised they weren’t laughing at him.

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

As the concert was coming to an end and the crowd was cheering and chanting for an encore, Rowan seized the opportunity and called: “Alright, friends, we would like to indulge you in a little experiment! Can you join me at the front, Lister?”

Lister got out from behind the drum set and jogged to meet the rest of the group. Jimmy smiled, but his eyes studied both of them suspiciously. “What is this?”

Lister lazily raised his arms with the palms of his hands towards the crowd. “I have to admit, we kind of didn’t tell Jimmy what this is about. Sorry, my guy.” People laughed. Rowan signalled someone backstage, as Lister added: “But just so you don’t feel left out, you can have this triangle.” A nervous assistant handed Jimmy the instrument and ran off again.

Everybody was jeering and whistling, but there was an air of anticipation in the air.

“Oh wow, that’s generous of you,” Jimmy grimaced.

“I know, right? Anyhow.” Lister took a step forward, trying to calm himself. He could do this. He had acting jobs, he could absolutely pull this off.

He was Lister freaking Bird! He was the fan favourite!

“Dear audience, allow me to tell you a tale,” he addressed the crowd in his best narrator voice. A couple of screams rose from the crowd, but everyone else was listening intently. Behind him, Rowan started strumming a little melody on his guitar – one they created especially as a backdrop to Lister’s talk.

“I know this is a little unusual,” Lister admitted to the sea of people, “I know that you’re used to stories coming to you via this man’s voice,” he pointed at Jimmy, “and this man’s lyrics.” Rowan. “I know that I am just a simple drummer in this arrangement. But today, I will do the voice and the words. Because, well… Talking all the time is the one thing I am actually good at.”

That made the crowd laugh. Good. Great.

“But now, on with the story!” he exclaimed and made a motion with his hands as if he was showing them a canvas.

“Picture this. We are all fifteen, stuffed into a tiny studio in London,” he smiled, as if nostalgic. His voice flowed out of him in a steady melody, like the hum of a river. “We all had that awkward long hair phase – yes, I see some true veterans in the audience today. Good,” he smiled at a couple of girls in the front who seemed to know exactly which haircuts he meant. He raised his hands again. “I am sitting outside the recording room, behind the glass. On the other side, there’s Jimmy. I can see him clearly, I hope you can too,” he said, keeping his dreamy smile. “The giant black hoodie. The fringe almost hiding his eyes. Jimmy waits for the cue, bouncing up and down,” he chuckled as he swayed up and down on his toes, “and then starts singing the interlude in our first album. It’s only about two lines that we need to record, but I remember wishing it lasted longer. Obviously. Because his voice is amazing.”

The audience started yelling and swooning at once. Lister was honestly more okay looking at them than if he had to look at Jimmy and see what his reaction is.

Now, here comes the real cliché.

“But then,” he paused with real embarrassment in his voice, “then he looked up from under his hair… at me, with those big brown eyes… and asked me, if he was okay.”

Breathe in, and:

“My friends, that was the moment I have fallen for Jimmy Kaga-Ricci.”

A roar of screams started rising from the audience, when Rowan strummed dramatically on the guitar, as if something tragic had happened. Lister shot a look at Jimmy and found him laughing. Surprised, but amused.

Thank fuck. I’ve never told him that before.

On the outside, he theatrically turned to Rowan and scolded him: “I was just getting sentimental here?”

Rowan shrugged and strummed a more positive jingle. Everyone laughed and clapped. Lister was starting to enjoy this, actually. He sighed and walked forward onto a prolonged platform where Jimmy was usually stood on.

“Well, maybe my trusty assistant was right with the sound effects,” he admitted jovially. “Because my crush absolutely did not like me back for years. Hey, but that’s not to throw shade at the guy,” he added quickly to prevent any pitiful reaction that would make Jimmy feel bad. “Because you have to consider that I was and still am a bloody mess of a person.” That amused the listeners. Lister turned round, as he exclaimed. “I am the creator of problems, the maker of terrible decisions. We can all agree that Jimmy is a lovely lad…” He had to pause for the overwhelming reaction in support of that statement. “Yes, he is, but inflicting my teenage self upon him, that would just not be right.”

Jimmy suddenly clanked the metal stick against the triangle in an absolute cacophony to draw attention to himself. “Excuse me,” he called to Lister, “could you stop insulting yourself? I would enjoy that.”

A girl somewhere below them screamed as if she was getting murdered. They exchanged a quick glance, as if to say a little yikes, but then Lister laughed it off.

“Sorry, sorry,” he continued. “Through it all, Jimmy was always here for me. He was one of my first real friends. He was understanding when I needed it most, and ready to kick my ass when I needed it most.” He smiled at his boyfriend and hoped his voice is not shaking. “Look at you, Jimmy! I’m being embarrassing in front of hundreds of people and you still haven’t walked off stage.”

Jimmy laughed and lightly hit the triangle. He was ever the professional, but his eyes glimmered in curiosity. Expectation.

Lister kept looking at him. Rowan was strumming a slightly different melody now, and if Lister did say so himself, the atmosphere was fucking perfect.

“What I want to say is…, I feel that we were together before we got together. We were always partners. A great team. Maybe you wouldn’t think the same,” he admitted to Jimmy, “but a girl can dream. Oh! A rhyme!” He exclaimed to a symphony of awwws and ooohs. People were laughing again, clapping here and there. “That will be the only time!” Lister made a face of feigned shock. “Or not? Wow, I’m unpredictable!”

“You’re hot,” Jimmy rhymed with unexpected confidence.

The crowd was screaming their heads off at this interaction. Even Lister was a little flustered. He came back to his bandmates and gestured toward Jimmy, who was still smirking a little. “And he can improv, what’s not to like, honestly!”

Now, there came the challenge. Lister took a deep breath and prayed to all deities that were listening for this to come off as more sweet than cringy.

His voice fell into a different rhythm. One he kept studying every possible minute from any good slam poetry or original poem reading he could find online.

“But now, if our audience permits,” he put one hand on his chest, turning directly to Jimmy, “I would like to address you. Because, dear Jimmy, although I love each face in the crowd, my friends, my family, those that are both… I can state loud and proud that the biggest part of my heart goes to you.” He grinned sheepishly at Jimmy’s stunned expression, when he added: “If not all of it.”

“I can only guess what goes on in that mind, whether you think this is suspicious or kind… I can’t know these things. But there is one thing I do know. That no matter how much we grow, what we lose and what we gain, through all the smiles and all the pain, I will love you. It’s as big and as small as this. And today was an opportunity I couldn’t miss. So, nobody panic, stay in your seats. It’s not what it looks like.”

He got down on one knee in front of his boyfriend.

Jimmy gasped in sync with the audience: “Lister!” He backed away.

“Oh no, mister, don’t panic,” Lister retorted. That managed to amuse Jimmy a little – that he would know this would be the reaction. The audience was still going absolutely wild. Another pride flag just about missed Lister’s left ear.

“As I said, it’s not what it looks like. And I’m sick of rhyming by now, so…” He reached for Jimmy’s hand. Pulled it down to his by the triangle and encouragingly pressed a thumb into his palm. “I wanted to tell you – in a way that means something – that I don’t see myself living my life with anyone but you. So I have a question. Can you imagine me proposing in the near future?”

Jimmy looked like he suddenly couldn’t speak any human language. The only thing that came from his open lips was: “Huh?”

He was trying not to panic. To explain it well. Better than he had to Rowan.

“I would like to start talking about marriage. With you. I’m asking your permission to… go pick out a ring, perhaps. And propose to you. One day.”

“You want to…” He was trying so hard to make sense of this situation. Lister could almost hear the wheels in his brain clanking and whirring. After a second, Jimmy blurted out about the last thing Lister expected. “You really want to marry me?”

He had to laugh. That sounded so bizarre! You have the wrong number, I don’t think you want to marry me, of all people. As if.

Covering Jimmy’s hand with both of his own, he answered: “Who else, Jimmy?”

As there was no instant reply, Lister felt the audience grow impatient.

This was the time to smooth things out. Make it amusing.

“Okay, I don’t want to stress you out. You can just think about it,” he ensured his partner. But I just wanted to let you know my, er, intentions.” Wow, great choice of words, Bird. But was there any better? He decided to make fun of himself a little when he sarcastically added: “Because this is the regency era, apparently.”

People were losing it. However, Lister was only looking at Jimmy now… and realized that the eyes of his boyfriend were welling up with tears as he looked down. Were they happy or sad tears? Shit.

“Oh…” Lister managed to say, when Jimmy dropped the triangle on the floor with a thud and shakily took Lister’s face into his soft palms.

His voice was trembling with emotion, as he answered:

“Allister Bird, I would love to marry you. I don’t think you even need to propose again.”

Before Lister could even register what he meant, Jimmy leaned down and gently pressed a kiss at his forehead. This was probably as close to kissing in public as Jimmy would ever allow.

Lister finally realized. He realized.

At the same time, Jimmy dropped down and Lister shot up. They embraced each other tightly, a mess of crumpled clothes and limbs and teary laughing, and Lister almost lifted Jimmy off the ground as he was happy-crying into the shorter man’s shoulder.

They heard Rowan screaming at the top of his lungs: “HE SAID YES, PEOPLE!” His voice was drowned out by the massive storm of excited screams that wouldn’t seize for good twenty minutes after.

But Lister and Jimmy didn’t really pay attention.

Paradoxically, although everyone could see them – and everyone would see them, as the news probably already travelled through the internet at the speed of light – it felt like this moment was theirs alone.

[boldlyvoid]

Intro to Criminal Minds: Why They Did It

Criminal Minds x Mindhunter AU

Spencer Reid x Peggy Carr (OC) Part 2: The Case

Summary: Spencer is teaching a 7-week seminar on the most interesting criminal cases, explaining their actions to understand why they took place. Only, not everyone in the audience is a student.

warnings: strangers to lovers, mutual pining, slow burn! flirting, fluff, eventual smut, idiots in love, OC is Wendy Carr and Jason Gideon's biological daughter. mentions of rape and murder (typical canon violence)

word count: 2.2K

ao3

P1

He’s not expecting her to roll out a full map after the waitress clears the food from their table. They’ve been in the booth for barely 20 minutes. Having mindless conversations about their day and small get to know each other questions while they ate.

“So, I brought all this to my dad,” she explained, dropping 33 files on the table as well as 2 spiral notebooks and a handful of pens. “He thinks I have a case, but he’s refusing to look at the evidence because he’s still triggered by it, which I get, but he said you’d be the best at helping me because I really just need a geo-profile consult.”

“How is he doing?”

She’s been waiting for him to ask but she still didn’t know how to answer, no matter how much time she had to prep, “uh, he’s good. He talks about you every time I see him, how often do you talk?”

“We haven’t talked since he almost died, 6 years ago now… yes, it was in 2015,” Spencer says it like it’s nothing serious.

“Oh,” she’s confused about it all. Her father talks about him more than anyone else, always remembering a case or a conversation that he just had to tell her about.

Spencer was his buddy in her eyes. “Here I was thinking he liked you more than me like you’re his favourite kid.”

“I’m not his kid,” his eyes widen at the insinuation that they’re somehow siblings in any sense.

It makes her laugh, she knows he’s interested in her a small amount. She was hoping he would, she’s heard so many wonderful things about him and she remembers just how cute he was back in 2005. Now he’s a man and a mighty fine one at that…

“I take it you’re an only child?” He changes the subject, “you can’t handle the idea of your father having relationships with people your age when you hardly know him?”

“How about you tell me who you think I am and I’ll tell you where you went wrong?” She challenges him rather than answering, she knows he’s good but she wants to see it in action.

Spencer raised his brow, “if I get it right, you’re paying for lunch.”

“Deal.”

He opens her notebook and takes a look at her notes, flipping through the pages reading the words just as fast as her father said he could. It was incomprehensible, but he didn’t read far… he keeps going back to her drawings, studying the pressure and how her mind worked.

“Your mom travelled a lot when you were a kid, and you always went with her. I’m thinking you have a few degrees, at least 3…” he pauses to watch her microexpressions, trailing her skin with his eyes as he looks for anything out of the ordinary. “There’s a doctorate in there but you hate being called Dr. Carr because that’s your mother’s name and it reminds you too much of people asking about her instead of how you’re doing.”

It cuts deep, but he hits the nail on the head and she just blinks. The simplest microexpression that shows him he got it right, his smile is awkward and he’s sorry for it.

“You were homeschooled so you don’t trust people very easily. You have issues with your father that you can’t place because you still don’t think you know him well enough to really have an opinion, and you’re jealous of me because you wish you knew how he brags about you when you’re not around, but he doesn’t talk about you because you told him not to.”

“I specifically told him I wanted to be left out of his life to stay safe, so it’s really my fault that he can’t brag about me. But I still wish someone would,” she admits with a soft smile. “And I think it’s not really jealousy. I’m not jealous of how he brags about his time with you. If anything, I really admire you now.”

He blushes a little, “alright, your turn.”

“You’ve never had a girlfriend before have you?” She calls him out right away. “You can’t take a compliment seriously because no one has loved you deep enough yet for you to believe them. I already know about your parents, I know that you’re scared of forgetting and that’s why you won't stop learning. I think you probably have a bucket list, you’re desperate for something exciting to happen and that’s why you like me already.”

He blinks right back, “touché.”

“I’ll still buy your lunch,” she smiled, and he smiled right back. “And I do have 3 degrees.”

“I do too.”

“I know,” she reminded him. “You’ve been working on that 4th one for the last 16 years.”

“I haven’t had the time.”

She shakes her head as she laughs, teasing him as if she’s better than him because she knows he finds her interesting already, “I had my Ph.D. by 17, as well 2 masters by the time I was 21.”

“3 Ph.D.’s by 22,” he bragged right back.

It had suddenly become a staring contest, “when exactly did your dad walk out on you?”

“I was 10.” Spencer answers. “When was the last time your mom said she was proud of you?”

“Oh, we're going that far, I see,” she laughed, hurt just a little that he dug that deep, “what happened to yours recently?”

“Alzheimer’s.”

“I’m really sorry, I knew about the schizophrenia already because of the fisher king case, that one is the one that still has my dad all fucked up,” she can’t help but rant as she apologizes, placing her hands on his in the centre of the table and he interlocks their fingers like they’ve known each other for years.

“Boston?” He asks her, changing the topic back to getting to know each other without letting go of her hands.

She nods, “Vegas?”

“You knew that already,” he catches her.

“Maybe so,” she blushes at the embarrassment of him picking up on her crush.

“How’d he describe me at chess?” There’s a cockiness behind it that she admires, smiling in response she just shakes her head.

“I don’t play chess, but he says that other than Agent Prentiss, you’re the only person who has come close to beating him.”

“Prentiss?” He looks almost offended at the fact he didn’t know that story.

“You were asleep on the jet, it was right after the trip to Azkaban,” she reminds him.

“Azkaban?” He repeats. “You mean Guantanamo?”

She’s only slightly embarrassed by the slip-up, blushing a deep red as she presses her lips together and squeezes his hand. “My mom calls it Azkaban, she hates it. If it wasn’t for the BAU, she would have never joined the bureau or the government in any way, she’s against the criminal justice system too, so…”

“She’s a woman of science and empathy, I’ve never met her, but I’ve read all her work.”

“So have I,” she’s full of butterflies for some reason as she thinks about him knowing everything that she does, she’s suddenly excited at the prospect of future conversations with him like this isn’t a one-time thing.

He’s still holding her hands over the map, both of them leaning in slightly as they kept talking, it felt overly intimate for a discussion of a case— and they haven’t even started yet.

She takes her hands out of his grip and flattens them over the map, “so I found a pattern, I was asked to look into the rape and murder of a friends sister, and now I’ve found 32 matching cases all over America going in alphabetical order by state, 2 a year since 2005.”

“Are you serious?”

She nods softly, “I’m a private investigator. I hated the academy and simply being in the BAU almost killed both of my parents so I’m not really fond of it, but I need help.”

“How did VICAP not pick this up?” Spencer’s still caught up on the fact this has been happening during his entire career and he had no way of helping. It was very clear by the look on his face.

“Because they’re college-age women getting raped in their dorms, 1 in each state, and men don’t care enough to dig a little deeper when it’s just a little girl who was probably asking for it anyway, right?”

He looks furious, but with her… not at her.

Not like most men, that’s actually exactly what any other guy would have said to her. ‘Not most men,’ they only said that if they were offended; when they knew that they were the exact type of man she was referring to.

He started opening case files then, flipping through everything as she watched carefully, “he always does it the exact same way. It’s every March and November between the 6th and 12th, he’s gotten to the O’s, which means the next hit should be in Oklahoma in exactly 2 months' time.”

“Has there been evidence?” Spencer asks, avoiding eye contact as he both listens and absorbs.

“1 footprint and some random fingerprints at the first few, other than that it’s like he was never there,” she sighs. “This is where I need your help; I’m unsure if he’s attacking randomly or if it’s planned ahead of time, so I brought the map to see if you can make any connection.”

“Alright,” he closes the folder and hands them to her so he can get a better look at everything. “I’m going to need the exact address of each one.”

“I have 32 mini maps,” she says, opening her book bag and handing him yet another folder.

“I’ve noticed they’re in every capital, and it’s always on the east side of the city,” she adds as he spreads them out on the table.

He takes his phone out of his pocket and turns on the flash, turning it face down and holding the sheets of paper over it, “If you look at them over each other, there might be a pattern. We should call my friend Penelope, she’ll be able to digitally do this and find something.”

“Okay,” Peggy nods along, “I really need to know within the week because I’m moving to Oklahoma.”

“What?” He looks overly worried.

“He’s interested in college-age brunettes,” she points at herself. “I’m going to rent an apartment with a sliding door in the kill zone, and I’m going to wait it out. I’ll make sure everyone knows I live alone, I won't make friends, I’ll keep the windows open when I go to the store, I’ll make myself a victim.”

“No, we can get the bureau to send in a team, you don’t need to be in harm's way,” he protests, “I won’t help if I know you’re throwing yourself in the middle of all this. I refuse.”

There’s an underlying panic that she doesn’t quite understand. He’s almost shaking as he thinks about her playing the victim, they stare back and forth at each other softly, eyes flickering over the other’s expression as he also reads her.

“Fine,” she agrees, finally. “But if you’re getting the team involved, I want to be able to have some say in the investigation. I don’t want to be kicked out for just being a PI.”

“On one condition,” Spencer smirks. “You have to teach the BTK seminar with me.”

“Deal,” she smiled. “But I have some conditions too.”

“Anything?”

He was going to regret that.

“We can’t sleep together until we catch the guy— don’t look at me like that!” she catches the way his jaw drops and his eyes glisten.

He’s in complete shock, trying to say words and failing miserably as she stares at him knowingly. “I only said that because I need rules for myself too. We can’t care more about each other than the victims. Solve the case with me and then I’ll have a crush on you, okay?”

“Okay,” he finally finds the words to agree. “Was it that obvious?”

“We held hands for 5 minutes, I’ve thought you were cute since you were 23 and that seminar was a; 'my horse is bigger than your horse' flirting match,” she calls it all out, “I’m just as into you as you are into me already, if not more so because I know way too much about you thanks to my dad and uncle Rossi.”

“Dave knew about you too?” He’s more upset than she expected.

She nods, “yeah, so that I’d be taken care of if anything happened to my dad.”

He is a little upset and she can’t figure out why from what she knows already, “why?”

“You’re so interesting, you and I could have been friends for the last 15 years and things could have been so interesting but you were a secret,” he whispers.

“I was right wasn’t I?”

He nods again, “Gideon doesn’t know about Maeve, but I had a girlfriend who died in front of me before I could tell her I loved her and it broke me.”

Everything makes sense now. The stares, the stuttering, the defensiveness at the idea of her being in harm's way after only knowing her for a few hours. He was desperately looking for someone like himself to prove that he wasn’t going to be alone forever, and he wanted that to be found in her.

“Solve the case with me, then you can learn what it’s like to love someone who loves you back.”

taglist:

@g0lden-cth @doctorspenceryeet @samuel-de-champagne-problems @reiding-recs @ssavanessa22 @spookyspence @shemarmooresfedora @spencers-dria@reidsfish @manuosorioh @mochionly @jswessie187 @k-k0129 @calm-and-doctor @blanchardsbk

[tera-starstorm]

making a quick ref for a canon character as if he is my damn oc. he might as well be

since i didn't type a summary like i did on my others refs bc i got lazy i will do it real quick here. keep in mind that i. pretty much entirely disregard canon DR and engage in oc x canon so expect both of those things here

so in my silly little hc. yuta kinda lives in hina's shadow. his family doesn't mean to make him feel like that but it does happen. he still loves them and just tends to hold his tongue about it, but it's really demoralizing - sure, he's good at things, but he never gets the same fanfare as his older sister. it kinda gives him imposter syndrome.

yuta's grades were sort of all over the place. he is not stupid. not by any means! but he's sort of been made to believe that. he's not good at math. he's probably not aware of it, but he has dyscalculia. he can't focus on english and writing essays. his ADHD does not allow it because he has no interest in it. he doesn't really know he's ND. he just thinks he's stupid and lets people joke about it and tries to laugh it off. it hurts, though.

you know what he is good at, though? marine biology. he's been fascinated with sea animals since he was little and it carried over through his whole school career. it's a bit jarring to see his grades in math classes compared to bio. he doesn't really talk about it because he sees it as kind of embarrassing and he's self-aware of how excitable he can get about it. he's been shut down and talked over in the past.

he is trans. he realized this in his early teens and struggled for a while because he still liked to be feminine to an extent but that sorta gave him even More imposter syndrome this time abt being trans. he cuts his own hair and probably got both top and bottom surgery as soon as he could. hina helped fund it! she is a good sister <3

he didn't really like... know what to do when he graduated. he felt pressured to get higher education but didn't really want to and didn't even know what he'd go for. instead, he decided to put it off if he decided to go at all. he works at an aquarium to fuel his interest in marine biology and is particularly fond of the otters.

aaand now we arrive in oc x canon territory. he and hina used to walk to a local arcade a lot and play the games there. yuta wanted so badly to get the top score on a specific game, but the leaderboards were always topped by the same three-letter name; ARC. he's there all the time and has never seen them. if someone beats the score, it's right back the next day. one day hina forgets her wallet and runs home to grab it and leaves yuta there. he's about 15 or 16 at the time, so he can handle himself. and that's when he sees someone his age at the machine he's always trying to beat. they clearly know what they're doing, and he starts watching in hopes of taking notes so he can do the same.

and then they notice him.

he gets a little flustered and says he didn't mean to stare and explains that he wants to get good at the game and noticed they were great at it. he asks them if they're that ARC person that's always on the board. he nods and introduces themself as arcade! they hit it off pretty well and arc teaches him the ins and outs of the game. by the time hina gets back she sees them hanging out and before long all three of them are getting along. arc sorta becomes their gaming buddy when they're there and eventually yuta's closest friend.

arc is transmasc and doesn't conform to typical gender norms like. at all. he's unapologetically feminine all while being brash as hell when he's fully opened up to yuta. it ultimately helps yuta ease his fear of expressing any femininity.

when they graduate, arc tries to take a year of university and drops out because he hates it so much and like. it's... not a good time for him. very heavy! he was originally gonna take a gap year but felt pressured to go to college. after some much needed comforting he and yuta plan to move into an apartment together. this does indeed come to fruition. and that's pretty much the abridged deal up to the present. yes they are a little gay. i am gonna cap this ramble off now so i can go eat some cereal

also his interest in track started because he loved (and still loves) sonic as a kid i do not take critism i am right

[wyldblunt]

hi im ira and this is my gw2 sideblog!

adult | it/she/he | 🔞 18+ only please 🔞

likes/follows/replies will come from @baph0meat , more art at @iraprince which is essentially my main

i mention my wife a lot bc we love making ocs together and most of our lore is intertwined. she’s not on tumblr, but just fyi, her name’s marina and she uses she/they/he pronouns!

NAVIGATION:

⭐ my art - what it says on the tin

⭐ others ocs - also what it says on the tin. browse some beautiful blorbos

⭐ my ocs and marina ocs are mostly just little organizational heads-up tags, since i post about his ocs just as often as mine; i usually only bother throwing this on art, not text posts

⭐ oc notebook - non-art posts abt my + my wife’s ocs, general rambles (edit: this tag and the one below are kind of outdated now bc i never remember to actually use them lol)

⭐ oc aes - aesthetic/shitpost reblogs assigned to characters. posts for canon characters may sometimes be carelessly hit w this tag

⭐ answers - responses to ask games/questions; ones with art will additionally be tagged drawn answers

characters are tagged by name; [character]/[character] or a combined ship name is for ship dynamics, [character] + [character] is for platonic/friendship dynamics. spoilers will be tagged with abbreviations (i.e. “EoD spoilers,” “LWS4 spoilers,” etc)

⭐ character list below cut: ⭐

UNDER CONSTRUCTION, eventually i’ll have a cut with a proper illustrated oc directory here but for now here’s a bunch of direct links to characters i talk about a lot for quick access. 💛 means my oc, 💙 means marina’s oc!

THE BIG RELATIONSHIP CHART

(moooostly up to date, missing a few new courtiers/our charr and current art)

MAIN PLOT:

💛 glyndwr (my commander) - bitchy edgy ex-nightmare deadeye (previously the knight of deceit). insists he doesn’t want to be doing any of this save-the-world shit but also refuses to step down. merrit’s mentor/adoptive father. gender=mean old homosexual, he/him

💙 alan (marina’s commander) - radiant vigil posterboy (who is getting tired of being the posterboy). guardian, champion of aurene, hero of tyria, steadily splintering under the pressure. lorelei’s mentor. gender=battle angel, he/they

💛 lorelei - lieutenant commander. ambitious but naive vigil druid, formerly a tournament jockey from the grove. dragonslayer on a lacrosse scholarship. cute and kind, but often tactless; always dreamed of a life of adventure and has now kind of bitten off more than they can chew. gender=lesbian, they/he (+occasional she)

💙 merrit - lieutenant commander. miserable wet neurotic ex-courtier. once a spy for nightmare, fled and ended up under glyn’s wing. has shaken off a lot of the Evil, but not the aesthetics. midwest emo dyke transplanted into high fantasy. virtuoso. gender=lesbian, any pronouns

💛 viper squad - consists of daimhin (chronomancer, they/she/occasional he), damage (harbinger, she/her), and donner (daredevil, he/him) in addition to merrit. glyndwr’s personal task force (the guys who show up when he pops the ‘thieves guild’ elite skill). each is extremely annoying in their own special way.

💛The Dog - glyn’s dog. he refuses to name it because it doesn’t need a name to respond to commands. canach has named her pepper. alan has named her soot. merrit calls her ‘buddy’ but is too nervous to actually impose a name on her. donner has named her gamble. damage has named her Vice-Commander Big Fuck

COURTIERS

💛 callas - count of malice, spymaster, tempest. previously had authority over glyndwr, and later merrit; has gone absolutely apeshit with vindictive rage now that they’ve both escaped. building a new faction of the court in the power vacuum post-HoT. she/he, occasional they

💙 lisk - captain of the vanguard, berserker. once served under leurent, count of blood, but got bored of him and obsessed with callas, and helped her overthrow his former master. has some extremely Out There opinions (such as believing the dragons are inherent allies of nightmare). tirelessly helping her mistress hunt down court deserters. gender=lesbian, any pronouns, leans she/he

💛 fidelma - callas’ personal squire + bodyguard. extremely strange. seemingly chipper, but with a yawning emptiness behind it all. it is deeply loyal to callas, but even more loyal to nightmare, and will choose chaos (even if it inconveniences its liege) over anything else 9 times out of 10. believes nightmare is already the natural order of things and that the court shouldn’t have to put this much effort to spread it. it/she

💛 sorcha - vanguard hound, warrior. dipshit mean girl jock who just wants attention, but will settle for bullying everyone around her instead. desperately in love with lisk, and was perfectly content to share her with everyone until callas began entirely monopolizing her attention. she/he/they

💙 sigvas - scout/archer, under rhys until post-HoT, then afloat in the schism. a poisoner/alchemist (cough cough party drug synthesiser) who WANTS to be the game-of-thrones master manipulator of the court but is too busy freaking the fuck out, both /pos and /neg, over their own reflection. desperately in love with lisk. they/them

💙 tarahnis - scout/beastmaster, under rhys until post-HoT, then afloat in the schism. a ranger/thorn hound trainer who does his nightmare duties with an unusual amount of relaxed optimism. just here for a good time. desperately in love with lisk, but also wants to surpass her. he/they

💛 rue - squire/provisioner, in service of rhys’ scouting squads until HoT, then afloat in the schism. a weird little himejoshi who is just happy to be creeping around admiring all the nightmare knights that surround them. does not dream of advancing in the court at all, just of kind of skittering around and polishing everyone’s armor and sniffing their clothes. desperately in love with sorcha, sigvas, and tarahnis. they/he/she

(sorcha, sigvas, tara, + rue are all gender=sapphic and are collectively referred to as The Problemcule.)

FLOATERS/NON-PLOT-ADJACENT

💛 clooney - secondborn pirate, with the jackdaws. mechanically a ranger but in lore has no specific profession. believes that the only way to counteract the pain and horror that filters into the dream through life’s experiences is to devote oneself to having as much fun as possible before you die; takes this extremely seriously. has a side gig smuggling people to safety from tight situations (ex-courtiers, pact deserters, etc). eventually becomes alan’s lover. he/him, but he’ll use any pronouns for fun

💙 rhys - (technically could go up with the nightmare courtiers, but he’s not part of the same group as all the above ones.) a nightmare count disgusted with what the court has become, frustrated with the way it’s been entirely derailed by vanity and internal politics and mindless violence. after fighting mordremoth, decides to form a splinter faction of the court on his own. gender=lesbian, he/they.

💛 bowyn - part-time actor, full-time con artist, professional babe. mesmer. though they insist they’re “strictly non-political,” they become involved with rhys and end up traveling with him and his new court. secretly feels deeply guilty about the fact that they had absolutely no involvement with the fight against mordremoth. they/he/she

💙 gann - a courtier in name only; you probably could not name the last time he actually did anything useful for nightmare. mostly entrenched in the court just as a criminal career choice. an expert at slacking off. he/him, but it’s not like he cares

💛 naoise - completely empty-headed pit fighter. a gladitorial prodigy who can barely count; they are so dumb that they don’t even realize that they’re a revenant, because the legends they’re channeling can’t even get enough foothold in their raisin-sized brain to speak to them. their gorgeous face and hollow skull have bewitched gann body and soul, and the two of them travel aimlessly around tyria, making shitloads of money and contributing nothing useful to anyone else ever. bliss. they/them

💙 cadair - a valiant of the wild hunt, whose dream is entwined with maelduin’s. woke two years later than maelduin did, meaning their dream has given them much more information about their fated partner, while maelduin knows almost nothing about them. enormous, gentle-hearted, but self-conscious about the fact that the dream has equipped them with everything they need to be a knight/hero but very little else. revenant. any pronouns, leans he/they

💛 maelduin - a valiant of the wild hunt, whose dream is entwined with cadair’s. woke two years before cadair, knowing only that they would one day need to protect him. while they waited for him, they became a mentor, while also becoming deeply preoccupied with death and medicine. specter. any pronouns, leans they/them

💛 benji daywaste - formerly an iron legion engineer, but hazed so badly over her infamous sire that she was transferred to ash legion. hangs out with the goths now. grumpy about all of it, even though he’s enthusiastic about his work. gender=lesbian, she/he/they

💙 roddar wastesteel - ash legion thief who lacks the temperament to match his position. easygoing, keeping his chin up despite the loss of his warband -- benji is the first addition in rebuilding. (’wastesteel’ was a joke name suggested by benji due to how often he fucks up the equipment she makes for him, but it stuck, and now they’re the waste warband.) gender=lesbian, he/him

SHIPS:

glynach (glyndwr/canach)

merrilei

alanglyn

callisk

alan/clooney

bowyn/rhys

gann/naoise

problemcule

cadair/maelduin

benji/roddar

(i do not generally follow the “top/bottom” ship tagging convention; to keep things consistent/easy to remember i mostly just tag in alphabetical order. sometimes i might forget or tag things inconsistenly and stray posts will get lost out of these tags lol)

[arisatominakos]

i was tagged by my buddy @aartyom to do this quiz for my ocs ! i love talking about my ocs, doing quizzes for my ocs i love  my ocs. anyways idk who has done it yet but i am tagging @lunarlegend​ & if u see this tag me & say that i tagged u or suffer my curse---

these are my main 4 ocs & i'm using the silly lil banner icons from my dead rp anyways i love them so much pls ask me about these four idiots at all times ever. if ur here for the cp2077 shenans all 4 are in my silly lil divergent au of the game yes

WHAT GOD ARE YOU -- MELCHIOR;   you are a very powerful fire demon ( you think so anyway ). since this house was built in 2008 with an electric heater, the occupants have never called upon you. you wonder what you would do if they lit you up ( burn the place down probably ). you want to roar ferociously and combust into a fire the size of the sun ! for now, you lay in the hearth invisibly next to unlightable decorative candles and wait. /  God of the Unused Fireplace

WHAT GOD ARE YOU -- VERONICA;   [ distant roaring noises ] you come from pressure and intense heat. you want to escape this place so badly but know you would hurt the gentle world above. [grinding ] you must cool slowly, expand into your solid self. people will come to cool their minds to you one day, but for now you are raw [ the ground trembles ].  /   Volcanic Spirit

WHAT GOD ARE YOU -- NADESH;   you often appear as a small green light, constant as the north star in the eyes of longing souls. there you are across the bay that separates lovers. there you are, a faint green landmark on top of a mountain, inexplicably radiating a great ache for ‘home’. many have tried to find your source and all have failed. it saddens you that you must leave before they reach you, but you have yearnings of your own. you are looking for your lover, looking for your home, every night.  /   God Across the Pond

WHAT GOD ARE YOU -- SPARROW;   you are charming, alert, alive ! you spring from the friction of the world and into the spotlight. people pray to you to change their lives. they seek inspiration from you ! they seek to recapture their youthful spark and enthusiasm for life ! you are also quite responsible for cataclysmic life changing events. you are cursed for these and tend to put them at the vary bottom of your god resume. you give a 50 year old woman the spark she needs to train for the boston marathon. you strike with lightning, the tree that sets off coast to coast burring season in the united states. you contain multitudes !  /   Spontaneous Spark God

[athena-is-a-chaotic-lil-shit]

Of Ice and Blood

Part 4

Welcome back! Hope you enjoy✨

Pairing: Tai'chi Kashharzol (Orc) x Pearl Blackbell (Human OC/Reader)

Warnings: Violence, cursing, shouting, and fighting. No blood mention. Just broken bones and stuff.

2.1k+ words [originally 1.6k but I revised it and added more details!]

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 5 Part 6

Sensing another one behind me, I went low and struck his leg with mine, using his fall to punch his chin with my right fist this time, being careful to use a controlled amount of force or else the nerve I hit will result to permanent brain injury and can be fatal.

I got up, swift in my actions as I saw the guy with a raised baseball bat heading towards me from my left flank, and the other one from the right, fast.

On reflex, I leaned back, the bat that was aimed at me hitting his comrade on the shoulder instead. Guy's lucky, actually. He would have suffered internal bleeding if it bashed the side of his skull.

Four down, two to go.

I took my stance once again to ready myself. This dude was a foot taller than me, with muscles packed with raw strength, but even so, pale in comparison to Tai'chi's p—

Stop thinking that! Focus!

"Smash her head Dan!" The man behind him yelled.

This 'Dan' went straight to me with his bat raised with intent once more.

Breathe in.

Everything slowed down. I let my heart rate decelerate, my hearing sharpened, my sense of smell heightening even further.

I closed my eyes, letting the rest of my senses take over. Years of practice, days of pain from training, each motion engraved to my entire body with purpose. To defend not only myself, but also those who are looked down upon, discriminated and stepped on like dirt. My parents had always taught me to defend myself. Me. Don't get me wrong, my parents are good people, albeit wary of the other races in our community. But the moment I left the roof of my home, I knew it was time for me to defend someone other than myself. I don't give a damn about where we come from or what kind of blood flows within our veins. I will protect those who need protecting, and set anyone straight and down to the ground when they deserve it.

Breathe out.

At the last few moments, with my eyes still shut, I changed my form. I followed his aura and pictured out the shape that was drawing up to land a serious blow to my head. Dan is solid and heavy, but everyone has at least one weakness. And this guy is not spared from that.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

I opened my right fist, right foot forward and relaxed my arms, my legs serving as a firm foundation for my upper body. With the bat inches away from me, I smoothly dodged to the side, using my palm to push away the hand holding the weapon and punched a vital pressure point right under his bicep.

I bent my legs even lower and struck the center of his ribs with my thumb, closing my hands as I jabbed his sciatic nerve on each side at the same time, both located in the middle line of the thigh between the groin and the knee. A solid blow to those nerve points will cause intense pain and shock to the person, along with a temporary immobility of the feet.

a/n: Self defense 101! Remember that dear readers♥

With the support of my left leg, I went behind the man, standing straight and proud. Calm, I opened my eyes when I heard his fall, staring right into the fearful ones of the moron that started all of this.

"Y-You- You killed them!"

Is he that dumb?

"Correction, I didn't. I knocked them unconscious is all. And the fellow that attacked me first? Well, he passed out from the pain of his now funny-looking arm." I stated flatly as I trudged to where he was standing.

"S-Stay away from me! Monster! Freak!" He stumbled, his ass on the ground and away from me until he felt a tree trunk on his back.

I scoffed and withdrew my knuckle dusters back under my baggy sleeve.

"You wanna know who the real monster is?" I stopped and held him in place with my scrutinizing gaze. He was trembling like a wimp at this point.

"It's you.

"You and your disgusting racist friends.

"You, along with all the people who view and treats anyone other than humankind as lowlifes and pests that are meant to be squished and eradicated from the society.

"No, it's you, and the ones who have the same mentality as you, who are monsters under the guise of a human."

I paused, not even blinking as I bore holes into his skull.

"I am human, down to every inch of my being. But unlike you, I respect and treat everyone, regardless of kind or gender, and to those who deserve it, fair and right."

Before I could continue, I scented new people coming into the scene. It was the teaching staff, along with the uni's guard.

Shocked of what they have seen, they turned towards me, angry, surprised, confused expressions on different faces.

"What have you done?!" A female, human instructor, looking to be around her late 20s shouted.

"Ma'am, if you would just let me explain—"

"You are hereby expelled from this institution, young lady!"

All the color of my skin left me as I heard the words I have dreaded even before I set foot in the campus grounds.

"Now let's not go straight to conclusions. We need to deal with this professionally AND properly Miss Holson. You are also not in authority to suspend this student." A heavily bearded dwarven professor, clad in a brown suit and Oxfords, told her off firmly.

"What are you saying Mr. Dulrik? Look at her! Look at this! She murdered students and oh my God, is that the dean's son?!"

For the love of— she blind? Why does everybody think I killed someone???

"Ma'am they are—" I was about to tell her but got cut off, again!

"Helpmehelpmehelpme!" He scrambled away from me and ran to the group of teachers and hugged the young instructor. "I don't know what came over her! She just attacked us out of nowhere!"

The audacity of this fucking bitch!

"Pardon me? Attacked you? YOU were the one who followed me out here! You and your" —I gestured to the bodies laying flat on the ground— " buddies over there!"

"She is lying! The orc was with her and and and—"

It dawned on me that I almost forgot about Tai'chi. My eyes widened, and I frantically scanned the area around for him. And there he was, standing by the oak tree, right where I told him not to move.

He seemed...irritated?

Oh no. At me?

"I have not moved an inch from where I am standing ever since I planted my feet here." He said with his deep baritone voice, turning to confront the staff. "What she's speaking is the truth. They were the ones who followed her here and attacked her, first."

"And how can we be sure you are telling the truth, orc?" Miss Holson replied spitefully.

Even the teacher, huh? Her odor smells like vomit. I mean, I knew she was...foul, but I thought it was because of the situation. Guess not.

Tai'chi did not respond. Instead, he moved to look at me in the eyes. His gaze, searching, but not in an awful way. Was he asking me what I'll do?

"How about we discuss this in the office, shall we?" An elderly professor spoke. She was wearing the university's formal teaching uniform together with black, flat, closed toe sandals. "And Miss Holson, please quiet down. As Mr. Dulrik said, we should not jump into baseless conclusions."

Miss Holson fumed and shut her mouth, holding the coward in her arms.

"Now then, Miss...?"

"Blackbell."

The woman paused. I caught a smell of surprise and... astonishment?

She cleared her throat "Well, then Miss Blackbell, please follow us to the Dean's office, along with your, companion."

Weird.

"Oh and Mr. Smith, kindly call for assistance and take the unconscious students to the infirmary to be treated and looked unto. Thank you." She told the guard. With that, she and the rest of the faculty started walking back.

I glanced at Tai'chi once more to find him, again, staring. I approached him warily, expecting him to be mad at me.

"Uh. Hi?"

I let out a long exhale when he replied, with a slight tug of his lips, his tusk jutting out. "Hi."

I fidgeted, trying to come up with words to explain myself.

"I uh, uhm. Are you mad?"

With his brow raised, "Why would I be?"

Yeah why would he be?

"I-I never told why I keep wearing my mask." I stuttered, "You see I—"

"You two! Start moving before I force you to." A teacher yelled at us from a distance.

"We'll talk later, Pearl. For now let's get this resolved first. I know for a fact that they won't expel you unless they ignore the ill intentions of the ones who attempted to harm you first. But better be safe than sorry, he was the dean's son afterall."

"Yeah... Thanks. We should.. go." I turned and started walking along his side.

******pov shift for a bit*******

Little did Pearl know, he was thinking about how...nice, yeah that's the word, definitely not sexy, you were when he witnessed your skills in combat. It awakened something in him that it took a lot of control not to get aroused there and then, which was the real reason why he stood there, unmoving from his place. Not once did he leave his eyes from you, almost jumping to help you when the guy with the baseball bat was closer than we would have liked. But oh no, he was not surprised, he was astonished and shookt , amazed when you pulled that last technique, sending the human plummeting to the ground almost soundlessly. And the way you stood right after, he knew he was smitten. That proud and intense aura you gave off was enough to make him bow down at your feet. He could feel it. He could smell it. That was his secret, he can scent people and catch any mood shift they make. Even though he told her that her eyes and brows gave it away, it was not entirely true as he could smell, literally, you and the changes on your scent.

Oh but little did he know you could to. Just not as observant as he is.

:>

*******************************

Wow— when I copy pasted the original thing from my notes to my drafts in Tumblr I was like "okay, so. I should read it AGAIN before I post it if I wanna avoid more unnoticed mistakes and keep editing it again and again even though I posted it already! " And I never though it would lead me to adding almost a half thousand words and a pov shift— which i found interesting and really nice! Should I do it more often? Like little inserts of what Tai'chi or another characters thoughts in second pov in between fics if necessary? It's just, nice, to put them in and write all out about what they were thinking outside of Pearl's pov! Let me know what you think and I hope you enjoyed reading❤

Tags: @kokokatsworld @crackinanutshell

[athenawrites-stuff]

Of Ice and Blood

Part 4

Pairings: Tai'chi Kashharzol (Orc) x Pearl Blackbell (Human OC/Reader)

Warnings: Violence, Fighting, Use of curse words, and shouting.

Word count: 1.8k + words

*

Sensing another one behind me, I went low and struck his leg with mine, using his fall to punch his chin with my right fist this time, being careful to use a controlled amount of force or else the nerve I hit will result to permanent brain injury and can be fatal.

I got up, swift in my actions as I saw the guy with a raised baseball bat heading towards me from my left flank, and the other one from the right, fast.

On reflex, I leaned back, the bat that was aimed at me hitting his comrade on the shoulder instead. Guy’s lucky, actually. He would have suffered internal bleeding if it bashed the side of his skull.

Four down, two to go.

I took my stance once again to ready myself. This dude was a foot taller than me, with muscles packed with raw strength, but even so, pale in comparison to Tai'chi’s p—

Stop thinking that! Focus!

“Smash her head Dan!” The man behind him yelled.

This ‘Dan’ went straight to me with his bat raised with intent once more.

Breathe in.

Everything slowed down. I let my heart rate decelerate, my hearing sharpened, my sense of smell heightening even further.

I closed my eyes, letting the rest of my senses take over. Years of practice, days of pain from training, each motion engraved to my entire body with purpose. To defend not only myself, but also those who are looked down upon, discriminated and stepped on like dirt. My parents had always taught me to defend myself. Me. Don’t get me wrong, my parents are good people, albeit wary of the other races in our community. But the moment I left the roof of my home, I knew it was time for me to defend someone other than myself. I don’t give a damn about where we come from or what kind of blood flows within our veins. I will protect those who need protecting, and set anyone straight and down to the ground when they deserve it.

Breathe out.

At the last few moments, with my eyes still shut, I changed my form. I followed his aura and pictured out the shape that was drawing up to land a serious blow to my head. Dan is solid and heavy, but everyone has at least one weakness. And this guy is not spared from that.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

I opened my right fist, right foot forward and relaxed my arms, my legs serving as a firm foundation for my upper body. With the bat inches away from me, I smoothly dodged to the side, using my palm to push away the hand holding the weapon and punched a vital pressure point right under his bicep.

I bent my legs even lower and struck the center of his ribs with my thumb, closing my hands as I jabbed his sciatic nerve on each side at the same time, both located in the middle line of the thigh between the groin and the knee. A solid blow to those nerve points will cause intense pain and shock to the person, along with a temporary immobility of the feet.

a/n: Self defense 101! Remember that dear readers♥

With the support of my left leg, I went behind the man, standing straight and proud. Calm, I opened my eyes when I heard his fall, staring right into the fearful ones of the moron that started all of this.

“Y-You- You killed them!”

Is he that dumb?

“Correction, I didn’t. I knocked them unconscious is all. And the fellow that attacked me first? Well, he passed out from the pain of his now funny-looking arm.” I stated flatly as I trudged to where he was standing.

“S-Stay away from me! Monster! Freak!” He stumbled, his ass on the ground and away from me until he felt a tree trunk on his back.

I scoffed and withdrew my knuckle dusters back under my baggy sleeve.

“You wanna know who the real monster is?” I stopped and held him in place with my scrutinizing gaze. He was trembling like a wimp at this point.

“It’s you.

"You and your disgusting racist friends.

"You, along with all the people who view and treats anyone other than humankind as lowlifes and pests that are meant to be squished and eradicated from the society.

"No, it’s you, and the ones who have the same mentality as you, who are monsters under the guise of a human.”

I paused, not even blinking as I bore holes into his skull.

“I am human, down to every inch of my being. But unlike you, I respect and treat everyone, regardless of kind or gender, and to those who deserve it, fair and right.”

Before I could continue, I scented new people coming into the scene. It was the teaching staff, along with the uni’s guard.

Shocked of what they have seen, they turned towards me, angry, surprised, confused expressions on different faces.

“What have you done?!” A female, human instructor, looking to be around her late 20s shouted.

“Ma'am, if you would just let me explain—”

“You are hereby expelled from this institution, young lady!”

All the color of my skin left me as I heard the words I have dreaded even before I set foot in the campus grounds.

“Now let’s not go straight to conclusions. We need to deal with this professionally AND properly Miss Holson. You are also not in authority to suspend this student.” A heavily bearded dwarven professor, clad in a brown suit and Oxfords, told her off firmly.

“What are you saying Mr. Dulrik? Look at her! Look at this! She murdered students and oh my God, is that the dean’s son?!”

For the love of— she blind? Why does everybody think I killed someone???

“Ma'am they are—” I was about to tell her but got cut off, again!

“Helpmehelpmehelpme!” He scrambled away from me and ran to the group of teachers and hugged the young instructor. “I don’t know what came over her! She just attacked us out of nowhere!”

The audacity of this fucking bitch!

“Pardon me? Attacked you? YOU were the one who followed me out here! You and your” —I gestured to the bodies laying flat on the ground— “ buddies over there!”

“She is lying! The orc was with her and and and—”

It dawned on me that I almost forgot about Tai'chi. My eyes widened, and I frantically scanned the area around for him. And there he was, standing by the oak tree, right where I told him not to move.

He seemed…irritated?

Oh no. At me?

“I have not moved an inch from where I am standing ever since I planted my feet here.” He said with his deep baritone voice, turning to confront the staff. “What she’s speaking is the truth. They were the ones who followed her here and attacked her, first.”

“And how can we be sure you are telling the truth, orc?” Miss Holson replied spitefully.

Even the teacher, huh? Her odor smells like vomit. I mean, I knew she was…foul, but I thought it was because of the situation. Guess not.

Tai'chi did not respond. Instead, he moved to look at me in the eyes. His gaze, searching, but not in an awful way. Was he asking me what I’ll do?

“How about we discuss this in the office, shall we?” An elderly professor spoke. She was wearing the university’s formal teaching uniform together with black, flat, closed toe sandals. “And Miss Holson, please quiet down. As Mr. Dulrik said, we should not jump into baseless conclusions.”

Miss Holson fumed and shut her mouth, holding the coward in her arms.

“Now then, Miss…?”

“Blackbell.”

The woman paused. I caught a smell of surprise and… astonishment?

She cleared her throat “Well, then Miss Blackbell, please follow us to the Dean’s office, along with your, companion.”

Weird.

“Oh and Mr. Smith, kindly call for assistance and take the unconscious students to the infirmary to be treated and looked unto. Thank you.” She told the guard. With that, she and the rest of the faculty started walking back.

I glanced at Tai'chi once more to find him, again, staring. I approached him warily, expecting him to be mad at me.

“Uh. Hi?”

I let out a long exhale when he replied, with a slight tug of his lips, his tusk jutting out. “Hi.”

I fidgeted, trying to come up with words to explain myself.

“I uh, uhm. Are you mad?”

With his brow raised, “Why would I be?”

Yeah why would he be?

“I-I never told why I keep wearing my mask.” I stuttered, “You see I—”

“You two! Start moving before I force you to.” A teacher yelled at us from a distance.

“We’ll talk later, Pearl. For now let’s get this resolved first. I know for a fact that they won’t expel you unless they ignore the ill intentions of the ones who attempted to harm you first. But better be safe than sorry, he was the dean’s son afterall.”

“Yeah… Thanks. We should.. go.” I turned and started walking along his side.

******pov shift for a bit*******

Little did Pearl know, he was thinking about how…nice, yeah that’s the word, definitely not sexy, you were when he witnessed your skills in combat. It awakened something in him that it took a lot of control not to get aroused there and then, which was the real reason why he stood there, unmoving from his place. Not once did he leave his eyes from you, almost jumping to help you when the guy with the baseball bat was closer than we would have liked. But oh no, he was not surprised, he was astonished and shookt , amazed when you pulled that last technique, sending the human plummeting to the ground almost soundlessly. And the way you stood right after, he knew he was smitten. That proud and intense aura you gave off was enough to make him bow down at your feet. He could feel it. He could smell it. That was his secret, he can scent people and catch any mood shift they make. Even though he told her that her eyes and brows gave it away, it was not entirely true as he could smell, literally, you and the changes on your scent.

Oh but little did he know you could to. Just not as observant as he is.

*************************************

Thank you for reading<3

I've already written Chapters 1-6 so stay tuned and check them out in my pinned post. Stay safe and healthy!

[multifandomfanfiction]

Agent Mimosa

TITLE: Agent Mimosa PAIRING: No Pairing (maybe Eggsy/OC if you squint) RATING: M CHAPTER: One-shot SUMMARY: Agent Whiskey’s daughter tags along for a mission.

[A/N - This may or may not expand into a full story set during “The Golden Circle”.]

Eggsy walked out of the palace and over to Agent Whiskey’s car. “Got the passes from my contact,” he said, getting in, “You gonna love Glastonbury.” He looked over at the girl sitting in the car with them.

She had red-ish brown hair and blue eyes and her arms wrapped around Whiskey’s neck from behind. She also had a white Stetson on.

“Who’s dis?” Eggsy asked.

“Clementine Daniels, please to meet ‘cha. But you can call me Lee.”

“She Statesmen?” Eggsy asked Whiskey.

“No, even though she wants to be.”

“But I have a great name!” she protested, “Agent Mimosa!”

Eggsy laughed and Clementine winked at him.

“I brought her along so we’d be less conspicuous.”

“Conspicuous?” Eggsy asked.

Clementine crawled over the front seat and sat in Eggsy’s lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You get to be my boyfriend for the day!”

“Woah. I’ve got a girlfriend, luv.”

Clementine rolled her eyes. “I’m well aware of that. It’s for the mission.” She winked at Eggsy, causing Whiskey to groan.

“Can we just get on with the mission?” Whiskey asked, “Gettin’ to the festival is the easy part, kid. Take a look in the glovebox.”

Eggsy reached over Clementine and opened the glovebox, pulling out a small tin. He opened it and found something that look suspiciously like a condom. “Fuckin’ ‘ell, bruv. I thought everything was supposed to be bigger in America. Is that why you overcompensate with these massive cars?”

Clementine started giggling until her father gave her a look.

“It goes on your finger. Surveillance tracker’s in the tip. Apply light pressure for three seconds to release it.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

On the ride to Glastonbury, Clementine stayed in Eggsy’s lap and talked his ear off.

It was becoming abundantly clear that she was a Harley Quinn character. Always peppy and giggly.

When they arrived, they walked up to the entrance.

“Bands?” security asked.

All three of them showed him their bands.

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“I say we both make an approach, whoever gets on best goes for it,” Whiskey said.

“It doesn’t have to be a competition, does it bruv?” Eggsy asked, “Why don’t we just go up to her, shake ‘er hand, pat ‘er on the back. You know, whatever. Job done.”

“The hand is not a mucus membrane, Eggsy. Neither is the back. They teach you anything at Kingsmen?”

“What’re you talkin’ about?”

Clementine shook her head. “Oh you sweet summer child.”

“Our trackers are designed to enter the bloodstream. They circulate harmlessly providing full audio and GPS,” Whiskey explained.

“A mucus membrane? That’s like up the nose, innit? What the fuck am I gonna do? Stick my finger up…” Eggsy trailed off as it dawned on him. “It’s not just isn’t the nose, is it?”

“No Eggsy, it ain’t.”

“Fuck!”

Clementine patted him on the back.

“Alright, I’ll take first crack. Watch and learn, buddy.” Whiskey took a sip from his flask and walked over to the target.

“Good luck!” Eggsy called, shaking his head.

Clementine and Eggsy watched him fail spectacularly.

“Alright,” Eggsy said, but Clementine put a hand on his chest.

“Allow me.” She walked over to the target. “You’ll have to excuse my uncle. He flirts with any pretty young thing in a skirt.”

Whiskey looked at his daughter and the target. “Be good, be cool.” He walked off to nurse his wounded pride.

“I’m Lee.”

“Clara. You’re not from around here, are you?”

“What gave it away? The hat or the boots? No, I’m here visitin’ my boyfriend.” Clementine looked over at Eggsy and waved him over.

Eggsy walked over to the two women.

Clementine discreetly grabbed his arm and put it around her waist.

They ended up hanging out with Clara for the rest of the day and then she invited them back to her tent.

“Wow. This is amazing,” Eggsy said, looking around.

Clementine wanted to roll her eyes. This girl wouldn’t know camping if it jumped up and smacked her in her pretty face.

Clara sat down on the bed and Clementine joined her.

“Come on, baby,” Clementine purred, “This is why we came in the first place.”

Eggsy grabbed Clementine and pulled her off the bed. “I think we’ll just freshen up, first.” He pulled her into the bathroom. “What the hell do you think you’re doin’?” Eggsy asked.

“Look I know you have a girlfriend, okay? And I’m not gonna jeopardize that, so give me the tracker.”

He shoved it into Clementine’s hand. “And what are you going to do with that?”

“I think I’m gonna go eat her out.” With that, Clementine walked out.

A few seconds later, Eggsy heard moaning. “Fuckin’ ‘ell.” He heard Clara scream and he ran out of the bathroom.

Clementine was getting off her knees. She walked over to Eggsy and put her hands on his chest. “Ready, tiger?” Clementine winked at him and he started playing along.

“I…I think I want you to myself tonight.”

“But…you promised me.”

“I’m sorry, baby. But I am so hard for you right now.”

Clementine turned back to Clara who was still laying on the bed. “He gets very possessive of me sometimes. But thanks for everything, darlin’.” She grabbed Eggsy’s hand and pulled him out of the tent. “God, I need a drink.”

“When were you gonna tell me you like girls?”

Clementine rolled her eyes. “Don’t be stupid, Eggsy. I like both. Now come on, I wanna have some fun before we leave.”

Eggsy and Clementine spent the rest of the evening and night drinking and listening to the last few remaining bands play.

Clementine was drunk off her ass and Eggsy practically dragged her back to the car. “Hey daddy!” Clementine squealed. She stumbled and he caught her.

“Thanks.”

“What? She’s a grown woman. I wasn’t gonna tell her not to drink,” Eggsy told him.

Whiskey picked her up and set her in the passenger seat.

Eggsy climbed in the back.

“I had fun tonight, Eggsy,” Clementine told him.

“Me too, Agent Mimosa.”

Clementine laughed. “Hey, if you’re ever in America, I’ll hook you up with some Coachella tickets.” Clementine fell asleep on the way back.

“Hey, thanks for lookin’ after ‘er,” Whiskey told Eggsy, “I know she can be a handful.”

“It’s fine, bruv. It was actually kinda fun. She did good. Statesmen would be lucky to have her.”

Whiskey just shook his head and kept driving.