#uh anyway. these chapters are a lot longer than i normally post. so. !!!

[simplepotatofarmer]

Fandom: Dream SMP Rating: Teen & Up Warnings: Graphic Descriptions of Violence, Major Character Death Characters: Technoblade, Dream, Philza, Ranboo, Punz Status: in-progress Additional Tags: hurt/comfort, not canon compliant, angst with a happy ending, character death, implied suicidal thoughts, grief/mourning, the syndicate, deity dreamXD

Summary: dream comes to techno with a request: stand by while he's executed.

it's not a request that techno likes but he trusts the strange, green necromancer. but this time death is permanent and in the wake of dream's final death, things on the server begin to fall apart.

then out of the shadows comes a nameless person clad in black, identity hidden behind a black dog mask to offer support. can they trust this person? do they have any choice?

cover credit: @sunshine-dream

link to fic

[virgoilluminati]

Belongings

Chapter 9 (part 1) : “Tell me what you want and you got it, love.”

(Series Masterlist)

A/N: I AM SO SORRY FOR BEING MIA RECENTLY. If u have seen any of my posts you will know I basically have had a bad time with boys over the last couple of days and I’m just been in my feels. Not really in the mood for smut. BUT I’ve finally finished this chapter and tbf I actually kinda love it! Warning it’s A LOT shorter than the other chapters, but I thought it would be better to post a half finished chapter then no chapter at all. THIS IS THE FIRST CHAPTER WITH SMUT and warning I haven’t written it in a while so if it’s a bit off please don’t hate me. Anyways love u lots, thank you for sharing my Masterlist and hopefully u will enjoy :)

Warnings: Smut, unprotected sex (use a condom kiddos), female recieving. Dirty talk? Idk it’s just smutty and kinda fluffy.

Word count: 1.2K

As soon as the pair made there way back to their hotel, the last thing they wanted was to be stopped by a receptionist who was promoting there alll in one buffet in the morning.

“Oh sorry- I” Y/N apologised immediately letting go of Harry’s hand which had been wrapped the whole way walking home. Harry felt his heart sunk for a minute worried that he had done something wrong. But then he realised the receptionist knew who he was, and if she knew who he was, she also may well presume y/n was his girlfriend.

“No please, I should’ve asked you sooner. Normally we ask all guest on their arrival, but you came in late last night and were out before buffet was served today, we just want to make sure we have all of the allergen and preference information.” The receptionists continued, handing them both a form to fill in. Y/N and Harry both slightly groan, knowing deep down the longer this would take, the longer before they would be able to finally spend time with each other and confess the undying sexual desire between one another.

The longer they waited, Harry also feared, the more sober they would become, and perhaps y/n would regret her decision.

“Right, that’s it all completed on my end. “ Harry said quickly, knowing he didn’t have anything he was allergic too. And the only preference he had right now was y/n.

“Me too.” Y/N replied softly, looking quickly at the receptionist before looking back at Harry.

“Ah, nuts. Right-.” The receptionist responds, making an extensive note to his computer. Harry looked over to y/n confused to why he had never known about her nut allergy, but then again it did make sense why she never served any nut related products at her bakery.

“I won’t die if I have them. But I have an epi pen just in case I go into anaphylactic shock.” She responds, wincing as the words came over her mouth. It wasn’t exactly the most sexy thing to come out, especially in a moment like this.

“Right. That’s all good - a lot of our stuff is Nut free but, let us know in the morning if there is any issues. Sorry for interrupting and uh - enjoy your night.” The receptionist apologised, before opening the hotel door for the couple.

As soon as the door closes, Harry and Y/N burst into laughter unable to contain the tension any longer. “That’s not how I was expecting my night to go-.” Harry laughs, before looking over to y/n who was holding it in.

“Yes. Nut allergy isn’t very uh- sexy.” Y/N respond giggling before attempting to take on of her heels off. “Help.” She responds, leaning on Harry for some height as she slipped her heel off. Giggling, he leans down and before y/n can complain, he whisks her up into his arms, attempting to carry her up the stairs. “Harry what are you-“

“Shhhh, I’m trying to create the mood again-.” Harry whispers before glancing down at y/n’s boobs, which were now squashed up against his chest. “You little-“

“What-“

“Your staring at my tits.”

“No I’m not-“ Harry replied, his eyes suddenly focused on the wallpaper. “This wallpaper is very nice, cream I think-.” Y/N playfully rolls her eyes, before letting him to continue to carry her up the stairs. The whole time the sexual tension in the air began to increase, with y/n focused entirely on the large bulge beginning to stiffen in Harry’s trousers.

As soon as they stood outside Harry’s door, he slowly drops y/n down before the two look at each other with complete lust. Harry looks down at her boobs once again, but this time admiring her beauty as a whole.

“Your doing it again-“ Y/N responds, this time in a more subtle tone. Her lips begin to bite, as she begins to feel the bulge against her leg.

“To be fair, they’re some of the prettiest tits, I’ve ever seen. “ He responds his eyes entirely focused on reading y/n. Y/n playfully slaps him before, pulling him in for another kiss, their foreheads pressed together.

Harry couldn't understand why a woman so beautiful would choose to marry a man like Will. He found it puzzling and couldn't comprehend what qualities or attributes Will possessed that would make him an appealing partner for someone of such beauty. Harry wondered if there were hidden qualities or deeper connections between them that he was unaware of, as he struggled to see the apparent compatibility between their appearances and perceived personalities.

But right now, She was his. And his only.

“Harry, as much as I’d love to be all sexy and tease this all night long, I can’t- I need you.” Y/N responds, and without another word Harry picks y/n up, cradling her arse, before opening the door and throwing her onto the bed.

Y/N excited by this change in character begins to take her clothes off, as Harry shuts the door. Not wanting anyone to ruin his moment. However when he turns back around, he stops her, before looking sincerely in her eyes.

“Y/N, I - before we go any further. I need to make sure, you know we don’t have to do anything you don’t want too-.”

“I know Harry. I know. But I trust you. 100%. And I just want you to touch me.” She responds before beginning to unbutton his shirt. He looks at her genuinely, making sure there is no regret in her eyes, and once he is sure he has her consent, he forces her to stop once more.

“Harry - I told you. I’m fine- I-“ Harry doesn’t let her finish her sentence before he pushes her up against the bed frame, and pulls her in for a passionate kiss. “On your front.” He responds, almost ripping her dress completely.

Y/N moans in response turning over so her body is exposed, only constricted by her underwear. She was wearing a set of black lingerie. Her boobs heaving through the lace, whilst her panties, looked drenched from anticipation.

Right there and then Harry could feel himself explode. Numerous times he had imagined what she would look like undressed. But here, as she lay before him, completely under his spell, she couldn’t look ever more beautiful than before.

Y/N's bust is a prominent feature, displaying an ample and shapely size that adds an element of allure to her overall appearance. Her waistline is beautifully contoured, cinching in to create a striking hourglass shape that showcases her feminine curves. This captivating contrast between a smaller waist and curvier hips emphasizes her figure in an enchanting way.

The curves continue to captivate as they flow down to Y/N's hips. Her hips are delightfully wide and full, accentuating her lower body with elegance and grace. Along with her generous hips, Y/N may possess a fuller and rounded buttocks and thighs, contributing to the captivating allure of her curvy physique.

“What.” Y/N asks as Harry stands there smirking, his eyes full of joy. He wanted to tell her everything. How he was in love with her and that her physical beauty only further enhanced his inability to give her up to someone like Will. But he didn’t, instead he just placed a kiss gently on her lips, before beginning to cascade down to below her thighs.

“Your just beautiful, tha’s all.”

As Y/N heard Harry's words, her heart filled with an overwhelming sense of joy and validation. To be called beautiful by someone like Harry, who was known for his experiences with many women, held a special significance for her. It was a compliment that transcended the surface-level remarks she had received in the past.

Will, had often complimented her appearance, calling her pretty and appreciating her figure. While those compliments were undoubtedly appreciated, being called beautiful by Harry held a deeper resonance. It made Y/N feel seen and cherished for more than just her physical attributes.

“Harry-.” She moans as she feels his tongue teasingly taste her panties, hot air beginning to flow towards his thighs. Without another word, he bites hard on her underwear, ripping them down to the feet, allowing him more access to her body. “You’re so wet y/n. All for me?”

“All for you Harry, all for - fuck.” Before she can finish her sentence, Harry pushes her legs over his shoulders, allowing him to lick a long strip of her pussy. After getting a moan of approval, he begins to speed it up, allowing y/n to be all immersed.

Y/N could feel shock waves go through her body. She had had people go down on her before. But my gawd, no one else was able to do it the way he was doing it right now. Will had once attempted to do it, and well let’s just say, it was better left alone. Where’s Harry, was twirling his tongue along her clit, finding everything that would set off triggers in her body.

“Fuck Harry, your so good at that-.” She moans, as Harry grabs her boobs with one of his hands whilst the other held y/n in place, placing her constantly under the spell of his tongue.

Harry knew he was good at eating pussy. Which is why, seeing the women he loved completely undone with his tongue, made him feel like a fucking god. Here she was lying half naked, one hand on her other boob, whilst the other held onto the sheets, all immersed in allowing Harry to treat her right.

Harry begins to fasten up his movements, his motivation focused on collecting all of the juices which leaked from her pussy. Before placing one finger in her hole. Y/N hums in pleasure, feeling a similar sensation begin to boil in her stomach.

“Harry fuck-“ She responds, her hand suddenly tugging at the roots of his hair, needing the further friction on her body. He hums in response, his tongue never leaving her clit, constantly tormenting her release. His fingers begin to fasten up on hole, until he adds another.

“Harry, I’m fuck, I’m gonna -.” Before she can say anymore Harry begins fingering her rapidly, his tongue with none stop pace on her clit. He can feel her begin to burst, and to be next to her pussy as he does so, was nothing but stuff in fairytales.

With one big moan, y/n feels the release enter her body, her eyes looking up at the sky. She feels herself begin to shake, overwhelmed from the amount of pleasure, done just by the use of her tongue. “Fuck Harry- your good at that.”

Harry smirks again, before leaning over to bring her into a much deeper kiss, the taste of her pussy, sliding into her own mouth. Harry hums as he feels y/n begin to frantically pull down Harry’s shirt, and undo his belt. She was desperate to give something to him, to pay him back for what he did to her. But with a stern grab of her hands, Harry stops her.

“As much as I would love to see that pretty lips wrapped around my dick, if I wait any longer I think I’ll explode.” Harry responds, causing a desired reaction from y/n. In response she moves faster to take his jeans off, as Harry unattaches y/ns bra from her back, exposing two large breasts at his dismantle.

As soon as both Harry and Y/N were both naked, They stood at the end of the bed, y/n’s legs high up in the air, as Harry, let his dick slide into her. As soon as she felt comfortable, he began to fasten up his movements, knowing it wouldn’t be long before he would cum.

“Shit- You have no idea, how long I have wanted to do this-.” Harry grunts, his eyes rested only on y/ns, whose rose in anticipation.

“Fuck, Harry.” Y/N moans, feeling his dick completely open up her walls. The more he moved in and out of her the more, she realised that his dick, fit hers perfectly. And there was no one else who could live up to this pleasure-,”

“Look so pretty when you take my dick, don’t y’ princess.” Harry moans, his free hand going to grab ahold of her breast, the other fastening up his pace. Harry could feel his release coming, the louder y/n’s moaning became.”

“That’s it, princess. Tell everyone, who you belong to, who makes you feel this way.”

“Harry, I can feel it-.” Y/N moans, feeling her own high coming again closer and closer.

“Fuck-. Whose this body belong to-.” Harry asks, his eyes frozen on y/ns whimpering state. Y/N in pleasure dosen’t reply, still overwhelmed by this sudden change in Harry.

“Y/N, d’you hear me? Who does this body belong to?.”

“-Y-You.”

“I didn’t quite hear you there princess-“

“Y-you, y-you harry! Please cum for me. Let me take it-.” Y/N yells, allowing Harry to fully welcome his high, his cum spilling inside of her. As soon as he finished, y/n and Harry lie in a state of shock, unable to fully express what has just happened.

The pair lay there for about another 10 minutes, in a comfortable silence, realising that not only had they seen each other naked for the first time, but also they had just had sex. But both also knew, they did not regret it one bit.

“So…. That-“

“That was amazing. Haz. I don’t know what else to say-“ y/n sighs, her hand, placed firmly above her pillow. Harry hums in response before taking her hand, clutching it slightly and pulling the duvet over both of their bodies.

“You still don’t regret it?”

“Are you kidding, Harry, of all of the horrible things I have done to Will. This is not one of them. Y’know how long, it’s been since -“

“Oh, oh.”

“Yeah.” She giggles slightly, before Harry props himself on the pillow, his eyes suddenly filled with concern.

“Wait- shit, should I have done something more romantic. I had no idea, I just presumed, so you and Will never-.”

“No. We did. Once - it ended in disaster.” Y/N winces explaining how Will couldn’t get it up and then when he did, y/n had already fallen asleep from drinking too much prior. The story made her laugh, and Harry knew deep down, she was beginning to regret ever falling for Will in the first place.

“Your cute when you laugh.” Harry states randomly, placing a finger on her cheek. It startles y/n a bit, before she lets him continue, her eyes locked in his green pearls. “I hate my laugh.” She responds cringing.

“What? Why?!.” Harry sounded outraged that she let herself feel that way. He loved her laugh, the way her eyes would narrow and her little freckles would be crinkled.

“I don’t know. I just always have- it gives me wrinkles. I guess I've just always been self-conscious about it," Y/N admitted softly. “Unable to take her seriously Harry let’s put a loud laugh. “Y/N Y/L/N, you are too young for wrinkles.” He responds, caressing her cheek.

“Besides, wrinkles or not, your the prettiest girl I have ever met. And I know, this isn’t the way I hoped it would happen, but I am so happy that we finally found each other.” He responds admiring her natural beauty.

Y/N blushed at Harry's words, feeling a mix of embarrassment and warmth in her chest. She couldn't help but smile at his laughter and the affectionate way he caressed her cheek. His words touched her deeply, and she realized how lucky she was to have him in her life.

She leaned in closer, resting her forehead against his. Their eyes locked, and in that moment, everything else seemed to fade away. The world felt still as they basked in each other's presence.

Harry smiled tenderly, his thumb gently tracing circles on her cheek. "You are beautiful, Y/N, you're perfect to me." They stayed like that for a while, savoring the intimacy of the moment. Y/N realized that her insecurities melted away in Harry's presence. His love and acceptance made her feel comfortable in her own skin.

“I will tell Will-.” Y/N responds immediately changing the mood to much more serious. “Mmm, do we have to mention that now, we were having a moment.” Harry winces realising the extent of what they had done.

Harry's expression turned serious as he understood the weight of Y/N's words. He knew they couldn't ignore the situation and needed to address it, even if it meant disrupting the wedding plans.

Y/N nodded, her eyes filled with a mix of determination and vulnerability. She took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts before continuing. "I've been holding onto something for far too long, and it's not fair to anyone involved," Y/N admitted, her voice trembling slightly. "I need to tell Will that I can't go through with the wedding because my heart belongs to you."

Y/N smiled gratefully at him, feeling a sense of reassurance in his presence. They both knew it wouldn't be an easy conversation, but it was necessary for everyone involved to find their happiness.

"We'll talk to him as soon as possible," Y/N said, determination lacing her words. "I want to be honest with him and give him the respect he deserves."

Harry nodded, his grip on her hand tightening slightly. "And I'll be by your side every step of the way."

[endtown]

the amazing bear and nadine fic. chapter 1. 1,268 words.

hello all. it is kc. i was thinking earlier today about how much i miss writing the stupidest fanfic of all time without any kind of thought or planning like i did when i was 13. and i don't really involve myself in fandom spaces, so i decided.... why. not just do that for my ocs?

i'll update this post (or the next) with an actual summary when i come up with one, but i'm sort of just going with the flow for now. for the time being, i'll try to update this weekly or biweekly, and i have no idea where it will lead. so uh, feel free to leave suggestions and stuff if that's what ppl do.

anyways, enjoy!

It was normal for Bear to struggle with sleep. It was something that he usually didn’t mind, but the past few days, he had actually been resting well. So as he watched the clock on the wall, it all felt a lot more defeating than usual. Whenever he got more than one night of good sleep, there was always this small hope that maybe this meant things would just be better.

A naive thought, sure, but he couldn’t help it.

There was a typical routine that he went through when this kind of thing happened. Lay in bed for a while, hope to sleep, decide that wasn’t going to happen, and head into the little makeshift kitchen they’d set up in the library attic. There, he could listen to the radio and eat. Or read whatever book he was interested in that week. Or maybe, if he was feeling especially brave, even write in a journal. But typically, by this point, he’d given up. The goal was no longer to sleep, but instead, to pass the time before work.

After a bowl of cereal without milk, and some time spent listening to a man on the radio talk about the science of stars, Bear decided he was done waiting. It was a quick drive over to the only gas station in the town of Palmyra, leaving him 30 minutes early to open up but... Well, Bert wouldn't mind. If anything, Bert would go on some long rant about how Bear was one of the few in his generation with actual work effort, and whatever else older guys who were kind of balding liked to talk about.

(It was always something about "I wish my kids were this motivated." And Bear never said it out loud, but he wished sometimes that he wasn't.)

It was just him at this hour, Bert wouldn't show up for a few more. He had never minded opening the shop early, though. There was a sort of peace that came with the soft flicker of the lights as they turned on, the sound of a mop against the floor as he cleaned up, and the radio playing softly in the background.

Jean jacket always stays on at first, while he waits for the heat, but it's taken off and thrown over his chair behind the counter after a while. By the time the door is unlocked, he is stood in one of the aisles with a box of chips to unpack, dressed in simple jeans and a shirt. His boots were work boots, plain and simple. Only worn because they were borrowed.

It was early, meaning that aside from the occasional bell, there really wasn't much noise. At a certain point, Bear even decided to sit behind the counter for a bit with one of the books he was working through. This one, Lenny had promised, was a classic. The Outsiders. Just the right size book for a day like this one.

And while he can read through quite a bit, he certainly cannot read through the loud, obnoxious arguing that comes with a couple pushing in the doors at six, loudly insisting on including everyone in their debate. Well, everyone meant Bear, because who the fuck else was there to talk to?

(Passing cars? The only thing near the gas station was trees and the highway.)

The argument was over dinner plans, or something. He didn't care enough to try and work it all out, and instead focused on trying to finish the page he was on. But, mid thought, one half of the couple comes right up to the front desk.

"Can I get the bathroom key?"

Their hair is bright pink, matching nails and makeup. The outfit that they've got on is not only bright for a small town like this, but far nicer (and more revealing) than what Bear was used to seeing in town. It was funny, considering whoever they were with was dressed a lot closer to Bear. Except this guy's shirt had some kind of sports branding, while Bear's was basic.

And though he fumbles for a moment, that could easily be blamed on the time of day. Key is produced from under the counter, handed off, and pinky is gone. Bear doesn't have to look up to know that the guy, (a boyfriend? protective friend? general creep? he couldn't tell), had been watching the whole thing. With his partner gone, though, the stranger takes to finally looking throughout the place for something.

He comes up after a bit with some chips and a couple of energy drinks. The same brand Bear had at the beginning of his shift. The process of scanning them in is typical, reading out the total of around seven dollars to the guy, and waiting. Because the guy could just pay, and they could not deal with each other anymore. But of course not.

He pats his pockets, before groaning. "Fuck. I left Nadine with my fucking wallet." He mutters, and without saying much else, wanders off. There is another ring as the front door closes behind him, and Bear wonders for a moment if that will just be it. But the banging on the bathroom door and the yelling that follows is loud enough to be heard through the walls. So when the guy comes back in, Bear is not shocked to see how angry he seems.

"Have you got like. A fuckin'.... Extra key, or some shit? They won't answer the fucking door." And he wonders for a moment if the guy is worried about his potential ...whatever they were. But no, this is just pure anger. Bear doesn't get a second to even think before the guy is waving a hand in his face to make sure he's following along. So with a quiet nod, Bear produces the backup key. Of course.

It is an awkward walk out to the little bathroom they have set up, and Bear gives a gentle knock just to make sure he isn't going to open the door on anyone. But once again, nothing. The entire time, whatever this guy's name is, is muttering to himself about how much of a bitch Nadine was, and whatever else. It was less muttering, and more... whisper-yelling? Once again, making it hard to focus.

But Bear does get the door open. And inside? Yeah, absolutely nothing. Not even the original bathroom key had been left behind.

"THAT FUCKING BITCH STOLE MY WALLET!" Comes from behind him, making Bear jump just a bit, but it doesn't matter. It seems that interest has been entirely lost in the gas station worker, as the guy runs back to his shitty excuse for a sports car. Whatever he was doing, he was doing it without explanation and quickly. Well, as quickly as he could. There is two, three, four attempts to start the car before it goes. And then a few moments adjusting mirrors and settings before he finally drives off.

Bear is left with silence, again, as he watches the car disappear out of sight. Expression does not change, because not even an energy drink could perk him up to deal with shit like this. No, there is not a reaction from him until he hears a voice behind him.

"God. What a fuckin' loser."

And to his shock (dismay? he really didn't want to be in the middle of anything), he turns to see the pink haired stranger standing behind him, and in the middle of the tiny excuse for a bathroom.

Fuck this. He should've stayed in bed.

[the-era-of-shadow]

Woah, I made an animatic!

It's been a while since I've done that, eh?

Please do enjoy! And after watching it, if you want some general AU updates, click past the cut below!

So uh, first things first - there's your explanation for where TDTMD Act 2 Chapter 3 is. It'll come out some time in January unless some big autism moment like this happens again, sorry for the wait y'all!

Honestly, like I said in the video's description, I didn't plan for this to take all month - it was originally meant to be for Eclipse's birthday but. Delays happened.

But enough about the month gone past - or even the year gone past! I just KNOW you all wanna know what we have in store for 2024!

Firstly - TDTMD Act 2 Case 01 will still be coming out as it has been! Right now I have 5 planned chapters for Case 01 - and we're like, halfway there! Crazy, huh? But... What do I mean by "Case 01" anyway? Well, you see, TDTMD Act 2 is actually an anthology of sorts! A collection of stories that are all connected by the theme of the Black Arms' effect on PetalBloom - three stories to be exact! Each case is to have 5 chapters each, resulting in Act 2 as a whole having 15 chapters! Quite a lot! But worry not, those who are looking forward to things other than TDTMD, for I am not going to be writing all three cases back to back, no no!

After Case 01 is finished - I've scheduled myself to write a new side story - the FINAL side story for Arc 1! "But Ash, you finished Arc 1 like 2 years ago! Why are you still writing side stories attached to it?", well, mainly because my brain gets on my case about how the writing isn't as good as my newer stuff and how "unbalanced" Arc 1 and Arc 2 are in terms of content - so I'm doing this to make it shush. But also I saw potential still to be found within Arc 1's events, so, yeah! After this post goes up I'm gonna add the name of that side story to the pinned post for hype and all that :]

After THAT - I'm finally gonna go a bit into the catalogue of documented but not written Origins stories listed on the pinned post with The Englishman With The Devil's Eyes. I've been wanting to get to this one for a while now but stuff kept getting in between me and it. But no longer! For after the last Arc 1 side story, Devil's Eyes will finally have it's moment - no matter what! But... I know what you wanna hear...

New Main Stories?? - Yes yes, I hear you. Enough with the Origins and the side stories - when are we getting back to Arc 2 proper? Well aren't you in luck! Being preceded by a short side story oneshot, Mission: FOX FRENZY - the third main installment of Arc 2, will indeed be the next in line after Devil's Eyes! Not to spoil too much, but this one goes out to all you Garrick fans~! 🤭

Beyond That - I have a whole schedule planned that carries to the end of Arc 2 - both officially with the LONG awaited rewrite of Something to Bond Over, and spiritually with TDTMD Act 3 and more importantly, it's corresponding Moonlight Interlude. (what do I mean by that? You'll see~), but if I were to explain the whole of it now, why, this post would be like the new color of the sky! So I'll do it in increments~ All you need to know rn is that I plan to finish Arc 2 this year.

Lastly - The non fic stuff! The most important, I think, is the whole deal with CoC and it's cancellation. I won't go into the why of CoC being cancelled here - but rather, how it effects TEoS going forward. If you were unfamiliar, CoC was to be a webcomic that was a spinoff/crossover with TEoS. It was vaguely referenced in Innate Affiliation - meaning that it needs a replacement. That replacement is... kind of in the works as we speak - I plan to truly start remaking it into the role in February. All I'll say for now is that it's going to be another Sonic AU this time rather than an AU from another franchise. Other than that - I have a special YT video in mind to come out after the Arc 1 side story, won't say what it is yet but, I really hope you'll enjoy it - it's... gonna cost me a pretty penny. Also, this animatic (you forgot that this was the original point of the post, didn't you?) was made completely in Ibis - but after this I'm completely switching over to Clip Studio Paint! I've already been messing around with it since Xmas though - I'm very much willing to show what I've made with it so far! In fact, I think I'll do that on the main art blog later tonight!

I think that's all I have to say! Happy New Years Eve everyone! (Or just New Years if you're one of those time traveling Aussies /silly) Here's to a prosperous 2024!

[lonesomedotmp3]

this is so embarrassing <3 but would you happen to maybe possibly have a merlin (2008) fic rec list beloved mutual..... not nearly enough fic writers get it like my beloved mutuals do

i can assure you that is absolutely not even close to as embarrassing as it is to have devoured any and everything the merlin fanfiction world has to offer. i have read aus that you would not believe. i have been subjected to characterisations and headcanons that would make anyone else instantly close the tab. i have read authors with such a poor clumsy grasp of british slang i could weep from embarrassment. yet i persevered. for MONTHS. and here is what me (and beth <3) have managed to scrounge up after all of that. please use everything i've just said as context that we were NOT in our right minds reading these. proceed with caution

tributes - the! hunger! games! fic!!!! iconic legendary spectacular THEE revolutionary turnaround for the merlin fanfiction game and for the horrors generally. do NOT go in overhyped tho me and beth went in like haha what a cool weird au and then it caught us off-guard that it wasn't written terribly. also good for something longer and about much more than just merlin and arthur. it's fr like watching the show again for better and for worse. it's got camp whimsy it's got our main duo acting like complete freaks it's got this constant suffocating sense of inevitable tragedy... slayed!

history books forgot about us and in dreams - by the hunger games writer so u know it's actually written well!! don't read their other stuff tho just trust me. my memory of the first one isn't great but i remember feeling with both that finally FINALLY someone Got the finale like me + beth did. short but just rlly solid satisfying follow-ups to the show.

the court of avalon - freya + arthur best friendism in avalon realest shit ever said!!! makes me go fucking crazy fr. YES this has way too much magic lore bullshit to it and i don't careeee they're my friends.... and FINALLY a proper post-finale fic where they don't just freeze arthur in time for 1500 years...

to the point of fear - slay little mordred character study!!!!

the world i built for you - the disir fix-it!! smth i have always wanted due to being sooooo Normal about that episode (arthur's matrix. if u even care). not perfect but worth a read for sure!!

long title and also long title - i rlly like established relationship fics. sorry for being cringe and boring some crimes can never b forgiven etc.

like clouds in starlight widely spread - ok the rest of these i'm going to copy/paste from my list for beth sorry <3 but if i've already written a little deseription for each one why give myself more work yk. anyway: sad and wistful and A Lot as someone who was about to move out of my hometown when i read this. if i said it chapter two vibes. actually that doesn't mean anything ignore that. at one point arthur goes "are you trying to tell me something?" and merlin responds with, "i'm always trying to tell you something." which uh. he really is huh. it's whatever though.

fundamental imperfection - merlin and arthur as writers, gets their first meeting right (arguing and being dicks, then immediately becoming obsessed with each other). don't remember much else except the sequel is unfinished heavy angst and i cried like three times. don't read that (+ HIGHLY positively peer reviewed by beth. tell us a story about love!!!)

as long as we have we - i know you've read that fake marriage christmas fic which i love a lot (maybe it has problems but it's just so endearing...) and this is the same vibe. or well it's christmas and it's sweet so

(and said xmas fic: no matter how far away you roam <3)

tintagel - i don't know how i feel abt merlin and arthur in this but the parallels made to ygraine and nimueh are just too insanity inducing to ignore. my price is my life yours is to bear witness.... they wrote that in 2009!!!! insane

ok that's a lot + it's the best merlin ff has to offer. which is still not that great but. enjoy!! + b thankful you do not have to go into the hellscape that is the merlin ao3 tag...

kingdoms - i have no memory of this tbh but i wrote 'yeah.' underneath the bookmark so it's gotta have something

sorry edit one more I forgot - merlin and arthur are exes and arthur is just soooo weird and sad and repressed about it. also peer reviewed 🫶 (X) and also check out beth's merlin fanfiction recs tag if for some insane reason u want more. ok bye 🫂

[ginnsbaker]

Hi chapter thoughts here I probably will still break this up tho :)

First vision. I think his plan is probably to “expose” wanda and reader to yelena or something maybe take a picture of them together. But to be honest I don’t think it’s gonna have the desired effect because i think the two of them genuinely will end up together anyway so trying to hurt reader by breaking their current relationship is more like a blessing in disguise. (Started with this cos it was quick and we all know everything else is super long so get ready)

I already touched on it briefly but once again Wanda’s character growth and maturity. The way you write her development especially the therapy sessions continues to amaze me. Its not rushed to fit the pace of anything else its completely raw and i just love what you’ve done with it.

The sex thing. Oh boy. “You can tell its been longer than yelena inteded” thats just so awkward. I kinda feel bad for her but was also slightly amused by the situation if not a little second hand embarrassment but yeah I mean i get it you had a dream of a top 10 experience with your ex wife who had lots of time to learn what you like and stuff and then woke up and its the wrong person uh down there.

Past Wanda’s present. If thats not the sweetest god damn thing. Correct me if i got this wrong but she managed to track down the actual one from readers past not a new copy but the original one. The time and effort that must have taken is insane like I genuinely can’t put into words the feels i got from this part (where can i find me a wanda). And its such an amazing gift not only for the sentimental value and what it means to reader but it shows how much she truly loves them and also actually listens to what they say and pay attention. Very sweet 10/10 loved it.

THANK YOU CLINT. Im so happy he mentioned seeing wanda having been to a therapist and a substance abuse specialist. I hope it plants seeds in readers mind even though they immediately denied it (i see them protecting her reputation they care) im hoping they connect the dots because agatha was dropping hints earlier and they had to bring her home when she was drunk but i have a feeling they’re gonna be oblivious 💀.

Yikes Yelena dropping reader in it by saying they’ve seen Wanda recently in front of Nat. She knows what shes doing. The talk with Nat went about as well as I expected and its a very sucky thing to happen on your birthday (thanks yelena). I do see Nat’s point and if I was her I would probably act the same way but if I was reader (which I guess i am?) i would be slightly frustrated because she’s not considering it from reader’s perspective shes seeing it from the point of Yelena’s big sister which I completely understand but she’s supposed to be reader’s best friend. Sometimes our friends make decisions we don’t agree with but all you can do is advise them and support whatever decision they make. It seems that Nat is giving the advice but isn’t willing to give the support if a different decision is made which i completely understand it is her sister its still a bit sad. Its true what they say sometimes friendship breakups or fights hurt way more than romantic ones.

Agatha is still such a good friend and a great character we love her.

Okay so I thought i would cover everything i wanted in 2 posts but it might be more so up next reader and their mom, reader and yelena, the present, yelenas speech and of course reader and wanda

-🧃

Vision - It's got nothing to do with Yelena. And he's got everything to gain from it. Chapter 14 will immediately get to that.

The sex thing - I think I write awkward sex better than normal sex lol. I actually had fun writing that scene.

Past Wanda’s present. If thats not the sweetest god damn thing. Correct me if i got this wrong but she managed to track down the actual one from readers past not a new copy but the original one. - Yes. She tracked the original, the one that R's mom accidentally donated away. While Yelena got her a fresh copy of the same puzzle because she thought the one framed is worn down.

Natasha - She's very anti "getting back with your ex wife". I think she's looking at it from her own experience. Her own thing with Bruce never worked out. They were very on and off, and she finally managed to crawl out of that cycle and thinks that it's a similar situation with R and she can be strong enough to do the same.

Keep them coming :D

It's going to be a week before I post chapter 14.. but who knows.. so better send them all in before then lol

[kathaynesart]

RECOMMENDED MUSIC: Boom Goes the Donnie-mite (Mikey/Donnie/Raph vs the Sweeper) - "The Red Zone" by Mitsuoto Suzuk

Finally! This big ol' update is out! Thank you everyone for your patience. Hopefully the next one will be much sooner since I already have parts of it drawn out. We're nearing the end of... uh, lets just call it the "Holiday Special."

BEGINNING || PREVIOUS || NEXT MASTER POST

Also couldn't get this out of my head as I was drawing this update:

Mikey's Ninpo:

Donnie's Ninpo:

Anyways, have some long winded deep dive into Donnie and Mikey's powers below the cut:

Mikey and Donnie are interesting because I feel these two are the ones who truly reach the full potential of their gifts. Mikey isn't there as of yet in the story but he will be by the end of Replica. Where as Leo and Raph had a lot of other things to focus on (leading, planning, and dealing with colony drama), Donnie and Mikey took the time to really focus on themselves and their abilities, choosing to distance themselves from a lot of the drama that the leaders of the family have to deal with.

Mikey's Ninpo

I always found it interesting how Mikey's weapon (the kusari-fundō) seemed to be the only one that had an actual entity within it. While they never address it, it's obviously some sort of flame demon/spirt. It could also help explain Mikey's dramatic increase in strength knowing that the spirit of his weapon is literally able to help him lift boats and buildings. I like to think that Michelangelo formed a connection with the spirit, especially since he looked so crushed when the Shredder destroyed his weapon in a way that none of the other brothers had.

Shortly after the victory against the Shredder I imagine he comes across his destroyed weapon in their old lair (probably while they're gathering thing to move to their new home) and he can still feel the sad little remnants of the spirit clinging to life in the broken object. I feel this would be the turning point that would lead to Mikey's first dip into the mystic arts. He would bring the weapon back to Barry for guidance and Barry would explain that the spirit has been bound to the object for so long that it can no longer survive on its own. Normally it could be bound to a new object but in it's dying state it would not be able to attach properly.

It is Mikey who suggests that maybe if it was bound to a person rather than a inanimate object then maybe the person could help the spirit survive. Barry admits the reasoning is sound and after much coercing finally helps guide Mikey through the steps, allowing the fire spirt to bind itself to Mikey's being (think something similar to Howl and Calcifer in Howl's Moving Castle, sans the heart losing). At first, not much seems to comes of the union. The spirit is still too weak to be able to do much of anything, but over time it regains its strength in tandem with Mikey and is able to gift him with similar abilities, becoming an integral part of Mikey's arsenal as well as a new spiritual connection to the Hamato family line. That is what we get a peek of here in this chapter.

Donnie's Ninpo

Just as Mikey canonically will go through a sort of mystic and spiritual enlightenment, Donnie too will have a similar scientific revelation. It always bothered me in the movie that his "firepower" (guns, missiles, etc) never seemed to be very effective, or at least not as effective as his ninpo designed physical constructs (such as the jet packs and the giant drill he uses on both the Krang and the Shredder). I believe this is because with physical constructs like a drill he has a sense of the weight and velocity needed to understand how hard it should hit. This properly visualized weight and damage is then made into reality.

But it's different with firearms and bombs. Up until the movie he really doesn't have a lot of real world experience around artillery and projectiles outside of what he sees on the internet and film. He does not know how a megaton bomb should feel or even the damage a bullet can create. And don't get me started on the the imaginary ray guns he uses on the Krang that don't seem to even leave a scratch. Without proper knowledge it's all just a light show. Very flashy, but not very effective.

When he realizes this it comes as a heavy hit to Donnie early on in the war. ...However, if there's one thing he is going to be exposed to in this bad timeline it's weapons of all kinds, even mass destruction. He will know exactly how it feels to get hit with a bullet, the blast of a projectile, and even an atomic bomb. He will then take this real world knowledge and recreate it in the same realistic way he can recreate his battle shell or drill staff. It takes a lot of work, sweat, and literal blood but this exposure to the worst of mankind's creations will help make him a walking encyclopedia of destruction. Over time, he will no longer need to make actual constructs of "bombs" or "bullets." He'll be able to simply create the pure raw power desired, no radiation or nuclear fusion needed. That's exactly what we see here.

We also see his use of shields, which is just as important as his ninpo arsenal. Specifically his ability to create shields to contain his own blasts, dramatically reducing the collateral damage from his own weapons of mass destruction. This makes him highly effective at taking down large enemies, but the shields sap his strength even more than the weapons (for it is easy to destroy, but hard to protect and preserve). This makes him often times a liability. He's often a sitting duck after pushing himself too hard and it can take him a decent amount of time to build these heavy hitting bombs. It's a double edged sword to be sure.

NOTE: these are stories I do plan to address further in my Patreon, with proper illustrations, but I wanted to give a little taste of what to expect! Haha. Very soon....

[something-glowing4u]

when I'm hungry and have no food, I'll get a small amount of salt then just spend an hour eating it very slowly.

anyways new chapter of Daisy Petals Fall coming soon in like. more than 20 seconds. so like. bit over 20 seconds. just a smidge. nothing too crazy. could be 21 seconds if you're optimistic enough. even 22. no guarantee.

I could be bluffing though, and you'd never know. like I could release it in 19 seconds. trip you up. or 1, possible 14 seconds. It could be out right now and you'd never know, because you were busy reading this! now don't go checking now. It's not out. but it will be. In more than 20 seconds from now. no, I'm not tricking any of you. I promise it was just a joke, it really WILL be more than 20 seconds from now. "when is now?" you ask. now is when THIS post was posted of course! so if you see this in 30 minutes, an hour later, maybe a day, then you might be lucky enough to not have to wait 20 seconds! good for you! get excited! there's a good chance it's out right now! key word. chance. yeah. so if you checked about 2 days after this was posted, and it's not there, then uh...sorry about that.

but, kind of your fault if you got your hopes up. I did say chance so. But the good part is. I don't actually have to worry about it that much. It's not like this fanfic is some big thing many people are just DYING to see. maybe like one of you, but it's not a huge priority. you can casually just enjoy following a small story with each update. you don't have high expectations for a fan creating work, because in the grand scheme of things, it's never something so grand. and you know this. that's a good thing. a really good thing. I know the story may be a bit different if I were to have more eyes on me. But even writers who make it big run into problems with life in some shape or form. Surly takes longer than 20 seconds to cough up a draft you been working on for 7 weeks with only 300 words....oh sorry, I mean 300 characters. you can cough and cough and cough, but you can only seem to cough up...flan... ew... Sometimes the passion is lost and, "I'll never be a good writer!" "I suck at updates!" "I can't get passed my art block!" are words the words that will usually come out. as much as I wanna say "don't think like that you can improve!" I also know it's not that simple. you will say these things at some point. especially if your confidence is constantly dull. It's normal to say those things. especially when everything you read is so much better than your own in your eyes. but believe a stranger on the internet for once, it's not true. how corny! what cliché advice! you've heard this a lot, I bet. well.... its good advice. yeah sure, it sounds insincere, due to how overused it is but it's very true. you just need to learn to accept it. it can be hard because we subconsciously think everything we make sucks and will never be as good as those that have inspired you. but those who inspired you probably had the same problems, losers.

naturally, we can get rid of theses thoughts with time. how simple. Some can't though. they need more encouragement, and sometimes they have no one to hype them up. I'll hype you up. yeah, I know I have no clue who's reading this. To you, you're just reading words on a screen that are just saying sweet nothings. K I want you're attention now so don't you dare roll you're eyes....unless you didn't and actually are looking forward to reading this. But um. I'm cheering for you. you don't believe me? tag me, I'll cheer for you personally. I don't care. I know what it's like to feel like no ones rooting for you. I truly believe each word I type. Because to think people are struggling as bad as I am and have no positive thoughts can't go un-noticed. I won't let acid eat away who you are....ew now it's getting all mushy and emotional....uhh... well instead of saying "you are valid" I'll say....you're cool.

"you are valid" sounds too shallow, and lame. wouldn't you rather be cool? I would. dang I hope that wasn't offensive. I mean, not that inherently is, but that just sounds like I'm saying you're cool, but not valid. I men you are but- neverminded. hm lost my thought. uhh something something, hip hip hora?.... something... 20 something?... uhhmmm..... yeah I don't remember. oh well! I just opened text and started writing. I don't even think half of that made sense. hmm. really could have finished that chapter by now.... oh well! couldn't hurt to wait over 20 seconds. Daisy Petals Fall 'CH 2 will be out in more than 20 seconds. :D

[wolfprincesszola]

The Fate of the Marked Six Chapter 3

SHIT I ALMOST FORGOT TO POST-. Uh anyways, Logicality is my favorite ship and actually i love them in this. I hope you guys enjoy and if you do, please reblog this because it helps a lot more than a like would! <3 ——————– Summary: Virgil moves into a new town and meets Roman, a ghost that he promises to help in finding the unfinished business needed to pass over. However, Roman's past seemed to be deeply muddled with trouble, an uncurable disease that has started to affect a classmate, and a certain tight-lipped valedictorian. Friendships are made and Virgil finds himself thrown into a situation far more complicated and twisted than he signed up. Hopefully, with the help of his new five friends, he can find a way to bring peace to the town once and for all.

Trigger Warnings: None

Content Warnings: None

<Masterlist>

<Previous> <Next> ——————–

Chapter 03

Patton Morris wasn’t the easiest person to deal with. He, himself, knew that by heart. His parents weren’t always around, so he had a sense of independence that caused him to never want to let anybody else take control of his life. He pretended to be the dad to everyone where his own father failed. He hid his sadness behind the jokes and puns he made in class. Even if it disrupted the class, he hoped that maybe, just maybe, if he got in trouble, he could stay in the company of someone for a little longer and not have to go back to the empty, lonely building he called his home. Even if that someone was the supervisor for detention, Patton took what he could get. He used humor to deflect any negative emotions, hoping that maybe if he was cheerful all the time, someone would always like him. He had insecurities about not being able to have any powers, and knew that if he stopped being funny for one second, the bullies with super strength would find him and kill him.

However, sometimes the act was just too much for him. It felt like an off-day on the Monday he went back to school after his parents came home. Although he hated how his parents were never home, almost on the verge of abandoning him, he hated seeing them more. At least when they were gone, Patton could pretend like they were good parents.

It seemed clear to everyone that today was an off-day for Patton because as soon as he walked in, there was no cheerfulness. Even with the forced smiles that Patton gave to everyone, his classmates could tell that Patton wasn't as cheery as he normally was. At least it seemed clear to everyone but the valedictorian, Logan.

The two were always at odds with Logan always being the rule enforcer, and him always being the rule breaker. Being the class clown meant pranks in every hallway every week (that were only done to make someone smile), and being the valedictorian meant Logan had to help clean up everything and enforce the rules by sending him to detention.

Usually, Logan was good at reading his moods, even without him realizing it. When Patton wasn’t smiling as often as he normally did, Logan was a bit more lenient in letting him go a few minutes early from detention or only giving him a warning instead of a straight hour of detention. However, it was clear that Logan didn’t understand Patton’s signs of distress the entire day. If Patton even made one move out of place, Logan hit him with another hour of detention.

By fifth period, Patton had gotten 6 hours just from stepping into the classroom a second after the bell stopped ringing and tripping on a desk which caused a huge scene. It was known that Patton was clumsy or sometimes exactly on time--if not a few seconds late. Logan had gotten accustomed to the idea and normally gave him a warning or brushing it off as a class clown activity. Today though was different. Instead of him just giving a warning or brushing it off, Logan just scribbled another hour of detention down on a pass and gave it to Patton.

Now, Patton was sitting at the lunch tables alone, staring at the detention hours he had been given. It disheartened him to see the stack that he had gained just from being in a bad mood, although he could argue that Logan was also in a bad mood for assigning Patton with this many hours. At this point, Patton just wanted to go home, lock himself in his room, and sleep. Unfortunately, Logan decided to be difficult by refusing Patton from making up the detention hours during lunch (for some reason). Instead, Patton was forced to stay at school for another few hours, which made Patton's bad mood even worse.

To make things worse, it was only lunch time and Patton had forgotten to pack a lunch. He was starving, tired, and moody. Leaning down, he closed his eyes and tried to ignore the surroundings and his growling stomach. Maybe, he could get a few minutes of nap time before his last class and the few hours of detention he had to serve. However, it was clear someone else didn’t get the vibe as he heard someone sit down at the table with him, right across. He groaned internally, looking up to see Logan staring at him.

Great. Just the last person he wanted to see. This just wasn't helping his mood.

“Logan!” Patton forced a smile, "Are you here to give me another hour of detention or sleeping or-"

Logan pulled two boxes out of his backpack, one light blue and the other dark blue. He held the light blue box out for Patton, "This is for you."

Patton raised an eyebrow as he took the box, glancing at it suspiciously.

“I didn’t poison it.” Logan remarked as he pulled out his own lunch to eat. “You won’t die eating it. I made sure to grab the one without the shellfish.”

Patton opened it carefully, one flap after the other, until it was fully open, and he looked inside. There was food; to be more specific, it was a bento box with rice, and spam. Patton looked over to Logan's lunch to see that he had almost the same thing, just with everything from the food pyramid. The different types of foods were sectioned off with 30% rice, 25% cooked broccoli, 20% strawberries, 15% spam, and 10% chocolate chip cookies. Classic Logan.

“I wasn't sure what you liked, but this was all they had at the convenience store that looked remotely edible. I tried to see if there were any with vegetables and fruits to make sure you had a healthy meal, but I suppose it can't be helped with convenience store meals." Logan remarked, adjusting his glasses.

“Wh-what?”

“You’re the class clown, and almost like my class rival because I’m always going head and head against you. I don’t talk to anyone that isn’t you on a regular basis. To me, in some dark and twisted way, you’re like my best friend because I hang out with you because I have to. I clean up after your messes, and have to supervise you as if you’re some child when I know you're fully capable of taking care of yourself. Of course I’m going to notice when something’s wrong.” Logan remarked as he began to eat his food.

“Then why'd you give me so many detentions today?” Patton was still suspicious, but was too hungry to argue about refusing the food Logan had graciously set out in front of him.

"Your shoulders are sagging, your eyes are having difficulty staying open even now, you have yawned 173 times in the past two hours, your walking has slowed significantly, and you don't tilt your head when you smile--an indication that shows that your smiles are genuine. Your stomach has been growling, your skin is pale compared to before, and I don't even want to imagine the last time you drank water was. You clearly are not getting the essentials at home and need time to recover while at school. If I were to hand you detention hours, I would be able to look over your well-being by making sure you are well-rested, not going hungry, and getting the proper amounts of water intake."

Patton blinked at the boy in front of him. He hadn’t realized Logan even paid attention to him to that extent. "Wow, Logan, that's...really kind of you."

Logan scoffed, looking away in embarrassment, "You need to take care of yourself if you ever want to get anywhere in life. Don't try to pay me back, Morris, or I'll make you scrape the gum off of desks instead of resting.”

"Got it."

“How long do you need me to give you these hours?”

“Just today.” Patton didn't want to take up more of Logan's time than he already had taken up.

Logan seemed to know better as he finished his lunch, packing it up with a simple statement, "A week it is."

"Logan-" Patton began before Logan shook his head.

"It's been decided, Patton. I'll see you at detention. You must be at the classroom by the time stated on the slip.”

“I wouldn’t dare miss it.” Patton remarked, letting a smile break on his face. A smile he didn’t have to force.

-+=~=+-

Patton walked into the detention classroom to find Logan in the corner reading a book.

“You’re late.” Logan commented without looking up to check the time or to look at him, instead turning the page of his book and continuing with the reading.

“Oh come on, Logan. Cut me some slack please? The bell rang, and I have to get all the way across campus in a minute. It wasn't bound to happen.”

“I know. Report to me tomorrow to finish your hours, because I’m not staying past 5.” Logan sighed in defeat before pointing to the slip on the empty desk next to him. “I have a club to run at that time.”

“I have a question, Logan…why do you supervise detention? Shouldn’t it be the teachers’ job?”

Logan blinked, almost as if he assumed Patton knew, before it clicked in his head that he never told him, “I guess I assumed that everyone knew, but it didn’t occur to me that not everyone was in this city when my brother was in high school.”

“You have a brother?” Patton raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Logan’s eyes flickered to a saddened expression, but it was too quick for Patton to comment on it, because he blinked and his expression was back to robotic apathy as it normally was. “My mother’s the principal. She’ll ask me to help out from time to time, and since she doesn’t want to pay me, she just justifies it as duties of the valedictorian.”

“How did I not know all this?” Patton asked incredulously. “I feel like I’ve known you for so long.”

“Because I don’t talk to people about myself.” Logan remarked as he finished the chapter, bookmarking it and closing it. “You, on the other hand, Patton Morris, talk too much. 17 years old, blue eyes. Not the blue that comes from the deep ocean, or the blue that comes from an unpolluted sky, but the blue that comes from my denim jeans mixed with the blue that comes from the teal paint in the math wing. Brown hair that he refuses to let curl even though it damages his hair to straighten it every day. No siblings. Favorite color: light grey like the cardigan you always have, favorite animal: cats, favorite flower: alliums, favorite-“

“Alright, I get it. I’m a bad person for not knowing anything about you, when you know everything about me.” Patton chuckled, guilt crawling up his spine. He should've done more to learn about Logan, but he never persisted anytime Logan changed the subject.

“No, the difference is that you have friends. You talk really loudly, and your friends do too. I overhear things and I just can remember them. Perks of having a strong memory.” Logan adjusted his glasses once more. Patton found it oddly curious how Logan wore his glasses pressed up to his face while Patton was the complete opposite, wearing his glasses at the bottom of his nose that always threatened to fall off.

“Hm, I wish I had that.” Patton laughed, “Super memory would be really nice.”

“Sometimes.” Logan gave a small smile, clearly forced. Patton decided not to press onto it.

“So tell me more about you, Mr. Sanders.”

“Like what?” Logan asked, pulling out a pen to answer his analysis questions.

“Let’s start with simple stuff. Your favorites.”

“I suppose it’s only fair because I know yours. Food: the homemade spaghetti my brother used to make for me. Color: black. Flower: marigolds because of the hidden meaning. Animal: jellyfish for their simplicity and tranquility.”

“Your brother's spaghetti must be mouthwateringly good for you to say it's your favorite. I wasn't even sure that someone as stoic as you had many favorites."

"I appreciate a lot of things." Logan shrugged, "He stopped cooking it for me."

Patton could see the nostalgia and melancholy that glazed over Logan's eyes. He could relate, knowing how it felt to have unexplainable sadness that ached in the heart. Patton wondered what caused Logan to feel like that to the point where he had been so stoic to everyone, especially Patton.

“What? Why?”

“We got in a fight.” Logan murmured. “He moved away so we haven’t been able to reconcile.”

“For college?”

“…kinda.” Logan’s eyes darkened. He wasn't ready to talk about it, so Patton let it go, just like most of the questions he asked Logan with no answer. Maybe Logan's past was something that Logan himself wasn't too happy with.

“What’s your brother’s name?”

Logan stiffened before he turned towards the boy, avoiding the question, “Aren’t you supposed to be resting?”

Patton didn't want to feel like a burden, so he ended the conversation with a simple statement, "It's alright if you don't want to tell me, Logan, but it doesn't mean you should avoid it. If you do that, you'll forget everything that happened."

Logan put his pen down as he finished writing the last question. Standing up, his stuff still in the room, he walked towards the door.

Right, Logan had a club meeting to attend while Patton was resting.

Right before he left the room, his back still facing the doorway, he let Patton know, “Sometimes, it’s easier to forget my past and about myself than it is to accept what happened.”

With no other context, Patton was left with thousands of questions.

-+=~=+-

It was 6 in the evening when Logan came back into the room, holding two bento boxes.

Patton had taken the time alone to take a nap, but it was clear he was still jumpy because he heard the door creak open and immediately jumped up. He inhaled as he tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes, looking to see who it was.

“Your hair’s a mess.” Logan remarked.

Patton stretched, laughing, “Thanks.”

“Your voice is a lot deeper when you first wake up.” He spoke plainly as he plopped a bento box down on his desk, “My club meeting ran late. Apologies.”

“No, it’s okay.” Patton murmured, “You really didn’t have to get me food.”

“You’re going to be spending another hour here. I’m not letting you starve.” Logan replied, almost as if it was assumed that he would get dinner for the person who arguably annoyed his the most.

Patton laughed, thanking his before opening it up to see noodles. “Where do you get these?”

“I know a place.”

"No specifics?"

Logan didn’t bother to answer, the two of them eating in silence.

After some time though, Logan broke the silence, “Do you have powers?”

“Hm?” Patton asked, looking up before shaking his head, “I wish I did, but I’m pretty sure the magic is not working in my favor.”

“Sometimes, you don’t know you have it for a long time, and then when you figure out that other people can’t do the same thing, it becomes stronger.”

“Well…then maybe I’ll hold out a bit of hope.” Patton crossed his fingers as he finished the noodles, putting his fork away and throwing anything unnecessary in the trash.

Logan just smiled, doing the same with his finished dinner.

“You left your stuff here before you went to your club meeting.” Patton spoke up.

“Well, I was coming back, and I trusted you enough to watch over it, even if you were asleep.” Logan shrugged, “Besides, my homework was finished.”

“What club meeting was it?”

“Model UN.”

“I see. What country are you?”

“South Korea.” Logan murmured.

“What prompted that?”

“I found their country and their technological advances so fascinating. I've always been connected with technology in many ways and I love learning more about new things. This was a way I could connect with it.” Logan replied.

“You seem very open once people talk to you. Why don’t you let more people know about who you are? I think you’re interesting.”

“No one really cared to ask, so I didn’t ever tell anyone. Besides, when people start to know me, they ask me questions I’m not ready to answer yet.”

“Hm, I wish I could be more open like that. It takes me a lot longer to open up.” Patton snorted.

“Well, if it makes you feel better, I think there’s a little more sincerity is being closed off than it is to be open, but not vulnerable.” Logan murmured, putting away his stuff.

“Are you going already?” Patton asked.

“Yeah. It’s already seven, and you deserve to get some sleep in a comfortable setting like your bed. I’ll see you tomorrow, Morris. Good night.” Logan replied.

Patton felt fear crawl up his spine as he realized that he enjoyed talking to Logan and would've rather he stayed there than walk back home. Still, he waved goodbye and gave a smile to the leaving boy.

"Good night, Logan!"

He couldn't extend the inevitable any longer. It was a few seconds after he left that Patton also packed up. There was a paper on his desk that he hadn't notice Logan placed until now. Picking it up, Patton read what was on the paper.

In Logan's crazy neat handwriting, there was a number--a phone number to be specific--and his name, with the words “Don’t call me unless it’s an emergency. I hope I don’t have to explain to you what an emergency is.”

Patton laughed as he pocketed the number, not paying attention to how big his smile became whenever Logan did something worth smiling about. ————– THEY'RE SO CUTE PLS I LOVE THEM GLASSES GAYS. I'm lowkey scared that Patton doesn't act like Patton in this, but I'm sure it's fine (for now). It might get a little hard later on, but it should still be fun to see how this plays out

If you enjoyed this, please consider reblogging! Reblogging helps me a lot and are very appreciated. Check out my masterlist for more, feel free to request any writings, and stick around if you want to see the rest of what I have in store for this! :)

[theminecraftbee]

yoooooooooo a friend recced Ill Omen to me and I enjoyed it a lot please tell me more about your vex scar headcanons / post-fic events / I'd absolutely love it if you turned it into a full chaptered story, lots of potential for a longform here ccc:

oh, i'm glad you liked it! (and the idea that people are already apparently reccing it is wild to me, lol.) sure, i can tell you a little more about the headcanons attached to it! as for a fully chaptered story... some of my short oneshots have odds of getting made into longer things, but to be honest, ill omen is one of those times that it's like. i had a high concept. i did not have a... plot. and like, sometimes my silly concept ficlets DO develop a plot, just look at the boatem road trip! but right now i have nothing in mind for ill omen.

(that being said if anyone else wants to write continuations of ill omen, feel free! this one by silverskye13 may interest you!)

anyway so a few specific headcanons that go with this thing:

there was, at one point, a point in time when scar and cub had a summoner. they do not anymore. they, uh. dealt with that problem. with prejudice. yeah that guy is so beyond dead that it's not even funny. like, so extremely super dead. holy shit.

understandably scar does not want to do this to grian, but also thanks to being rather high on the magic and trusting grian more than he should anyway, is not at ALL invested in finding out if there's another solution for the summoner thing. at all. even the logical, rational part of his mind is like "its not that bad honestly, better than it could be".

...cub will most likely disagree with scar's assessment because cubfan is both more practical than scar and not high on magic at the moment.

grian, for the record, knew he was probably doing a LITTLE wrong by using scar's true name in any capacity but had not processed that it mattered in any meaningful sense. also he didn't know that "summon" would mean more than "inconveniently teleport scar, a thing that will definitely be funny". oh boy oh boy does he get to learn!

despite the fact that grian is normally a pain in the ass to everyone he is extremely disconcerted by all of this and Wants It To Stop Why Do His Actions Have Consequences

speaking of consequences, boy does grian get reactions like he's actually an evoker from other mobs on instinct now! sure hope that doesn't mean anything important.

vexes are little deadly fey things that typically can only exist on this plane of existence if they're summoned into it, which is part of the whole 'instinctively likes having an evoker' thing. scar and cub... dealt with this. (as previously mentioned, with large amounts of murder.) they like causing chaos a lot. hermitcraft is great for this!

wherever people go with this from that oneshot things definitely get weird from there though

and that is basically all i have for that oneshot! most of this was implied in the fic itself too i think so i don't know how much new is here... i'm glad you liked it!

[doctorstethoscope]

Moment || Aaron Hotchner x gn Reader

A/N: hiiii besties expanding on a lil prompt from the weekend due to popular demand! Thank you to @the-modernmary for  helping me with it!! If u liked this teeny bit of angst u will love her fics!!

just a little note for those of you who read The Right: I am going on vacation this coming Saturday-Wednesday. I will have the chapters queued to post for y’all, but I will not be able to respond to taglist requests or update the masterlist until I come back! Still let me know what you think about the chapters though, they’re some good ones! ok onto this fic.

contains: slight cursing, alcohol consumption

wc: 1.7k

You take a deep breath as you walk out of Strauss’s office, taking exactly one beat to regain your composure before hastily making your way over to Hotch’s office, letting yourself in without knocking. 

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” you said by way of greeting as you crossed his office and settled into one of the chairs across from his desk.

“Tell you what?” Hotch asks, looking up from his paperwork with confusion knit across his brow. 

“That Strauss was going to harangue me the second I walked into the building this morning. I seriously didn’t even make it past security before she nabbed me.” You told him, disgruntled. 

“I didn’t know. What did she want?” Aaron asks, and you look up and see that he’s telling the truth-- he really didn’t know. 

“Oh… I assumed she would have cleared it with you before she asked me.” You said, your boisterous energy deflating the longer you sat in the chair. 

“Is she pulling you for undercover work? She always does that, and she never asks if we have anything coming up or what your consult workload is--” 

“No, Hotch. She’s, uh, she’s not pulling me for undercover work.”

“What is it?” 

“She said the director tapped me to lead the field office in Vegas.” You confessed, looking up and seeing the air leave Aaron’s chest. 

“Wow.” Aaron says, blinking. 

“Yeah,” you agreed. 

“And you’re going to take it?” He asked. 

“I told her that I needed some time to think about it.” You answer him.

“What’s there to think about?” He wonders. 

There’s a moment where you think you might actually roll your eyes at him. There’s a moment where you consider begging him to give you a reason to stay. There’s a moment where you consider crossing the desk and depositing yourself in his lap, kissing him with the weight of all of the feelings that had you wanting to stay. 

But, after a moment, you realize that none of that’s happening. He’s sitting across from you, looking at you like you’d be the biggest fool in the world not to take advantage of this opportunity, and maybe he was right. Maybe you would spend the rest of your life wanting him one-sidedly, wondering what good you could have done for the world if you had simply accepted that he’d never love you back. 

“Nothing,” you answered, after a moment. “There’s absolutely nothing to think about at all.”

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

Aaron’s barely even distracted when you swing his door open and plop yourself into one of his chairs first thing in the morning. He’s used to it, by now. He may have been a less-than-willing participant in your friendship at the beginning of your relationship, but now he was glad to call you someone he was close to. His closest friend, really. 

His ears perk up when you mention Strauss. “Is she pulling you for undercover work?’ He starts to rant, already planning the tirade he’s going to deliver to Erin when he notices your demeanor change. You’re… shy, all of a sudden. You’ve never hidden from him before. He doesn’t like it. 

“She said the director tapped me for the field director position in Vegas,” You revealed. The sentence hit him like a punch in the gut.

“Wow,” is all he can manage to get out, fighting the way his throat threatens to close up. “And you’re going to take it?” He asks, although he knows the answer will break his heart. 

“I told her I needed some time to think about it.”

“What’s there to think about?’ He asked, allowing himself to hope for a moment that you’ll make some grand confession, to imagine for a moment that you might possibly feel the same way he does, to believe for a moment that he’s worthy of your love. But he’s not.

“Nothing. There’s absolutely nothing to think about at all,” you tell him, standing up and leaving with a forced casualness. 

Aaron had been married long enough to know that that tone and those words together mean the exact opposite of what they are supposed to mean-- but he was still confused. What could possibly make you stay? And how could he find it before you left? 

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

The following days between you and Aaron had been chilly, to say the least. You didn’t bounce ideas off of each other on cases like you normally would. You came to the opposite conclusions at every turn. You were out of sync, and everyone felt it. So when the case wrapped up on a Friday afternoon, you were more than happy to rush home to a bottle of wine, a pint of ice cream, your moving boxes and some trashy reality television.

You’d given up on packing after about an hour. Your heart just wasn’t in it. So instead, you lounged in your pajamas, sipping at your wine in the hopes that it would guide you to your first full night of sleep since you’d spoken with Strauss. You’re just about to head to bed when there’s a knock at your door. You swing it open, revealing Aaron, holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other. 

“I was an asshole.” He offers. “Am I interrupting anything, or?”

“Just packing,” you say, wanting to twist the knife a little bit even if it wasn’t truthful. Aaron is undeterred, and steps inside anyways. 

“I didn’t want you to leave with us still in the middle of the fight. You can be as mad as you want in the morning, but have a glass of champagne with me?” He asks, with those big brown eyes you could never refuse. 

“Fine,” you sighed, still easily won over by him, even when you were heartbroken and mad. 

“Here, you open it. Congratulations,” he tells you, handing over the bottle. You start picking at the foil, and he speaks up in the silence. “Things are going to be different without you, you know. I like that our team is structured the way it is… as a team, but you know, in a lot of ways, it was nice to have a partner in you.”

“You know, come to think of it, I’m not sure if I even have cups. They might be packed away,” you say, still picking at the foil and decidedly not looking Aaron in the eye. He chuckles a little at your comment.

 “I don’t know what I’m going to do when you’re gone. I mean, who else can rein in Derek, or get to see me the big picture, or talk Emily off the ledge when I’m sure she’s about to go rogue?’ 

“It’s going to be okay,” you tell him, setting the bottle on the counter, still unopened. Aaron heaves a sigh. 

“You should stay.” He says, after a moment. 

“What?” You say, blinking, because surely you must be drunk or dreaming or something else. 

“You should stay here. You don’t have to take the job in Vegas.” 

“Haha, very funny,” you joked, bringing your attention back to the bottle to avoid looking him in the eye. 

“I’m serious. Listen, I know I said there was nothing to think about, but I changed my mind.” 

“Oh, did you? And what if I haven’t changed mine?” You asked, getting angry now. 

Not able to hold back for another second, he takes your face in both of his hands and kisses you. “Just, think about that before you board a plane. Okay?” He says, and before you can even speak, you hear the door swing shut behind him. 

Damn you, Hotchner. 

You don’t sleep a wink.  When 8am finally rolls around, you pull yourself out of bed and get dressed, heading over to Aaron’s. As you buckle your seatbelt, you realize that you know you have to go over there but you have no clue what it is you even want to say to him. You hope you’ll figure it out without sounding completely insane as you knock on Aaron’s door, and he swings it open, still in his sweatpants and incredibly surprised to find you on his doorstep.

“I’m even more mad at you right now than I was last night,” you tell him by way of greeting.

“That’s understandable. I haven’t been very fair to you,” he agrees, and the fact that he’s being so reasonable only makes you angrier. You slip past him and step inside the apartment. 

“I don’t get it. You couldn’t just let me move on, start a new life and forget about the torch I’ve been burning for my boss the entire time I’ve worked here? You had to have the last word, even if I was leaving forever.” 

“No,” Aaron says, and you bite your tongue, trying to allow him a moment to respond even if you weren’t feeling all that gracious. “No, I couldn’t let you move on thinking the torch you were carrying ws unrequited.”

You’re struck by his words. “What are you trying to say?” 

“I’m sorry, it doesn’t matter. It’s a great opportunity for you in Vegas. I’m happy for you, and you shouldn’t let this--” 

“Hotch, what are you trying to say?”

“Just that I’m proud of you, and I know that you’ll do excellent work, and--”

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to hide from me.” You call him out, and he looks at you for a moment. This time, you don’t break his glance. 

“I’m not trying to hide. I’m just too late.” He tells you, looking down at the floor. 

“Tell me, Hotchner. Tell me, please.” You beg of him, shifting to try to get him to look you in the eye.

“I love you, and I figured it out too late.” 

You draw in a sharp breath, and he’s sure he’s ruined any vestiges of friendship that still existed between the two of you in this moment, and that you’ll board your plane to Las Vegas and he’ll become a creepy old boss that you never think about again. He takes a moment to look at you, a moment to mourn what might have been, a moment to remember the way your laugh made him smile while the memories were still fresh. He takes a moment, and then you speak up.

“No,” you correct him. “You figured it out just in time.”

tagging: @choppa-style @wanniiieeee @zheezs14 @torykjamie @maureen4y

@ssavanessa22 @isthatme-thatsme @g-l-pierce @ssahotchie @infinite-tides

 @itsmytimetoodream @averyhotchner @msmarvelsmain @hotforhotchner11 @hotchinkevlar

hi besties I tried to tag everyone who said they wanted to be on my regular hotch list and a few of y’all who regularly interact with the right but if i made a mistake/u want to be removed u can lmk I will not be offended!!!

[canon-notcanon-warriorcats]

A starless clan? More like warrior cats : mommy issues

bro I'm sensing a heckin THEME when it comes to the protags mothers (I know Berryheart wasn't mentioned yet but I feel like the reason Sunbeam follows the code so avidly is bc Berryheart was like "hey you had a sister that is uh dead and she didn't follow the warrior code so don't be like her") and the theme is "hey look at all the different ways people parent their children and their methods might not be 100% right despite what people say" not saying they're bad parents but how their styling of parenting affected them idk I feel like I'm smart but I'm probably wrong

mommy issues anon here I just want to make sure that's it's clear that especially for Sparkpelt, I'm not saying she's a bad parent. Like another anon said, she went through a lot emotionally and I like the way they took her character. She's one of my favorites. It could just be that Sparkpelt and Curlfeather's ways of parenting after a death are there to contrast between Flamepaw and Frostpaw, who already have contrasting names and Sunbeam could just have a normal life no parental problems

~~~

no no, you're definitely clear don't worry! and yes i was thinking the same thing! i was thinking how both flame and frost lost their fathers as kits and how their mothers had completely different reactions to that trauma and grief, sparkpelt becoming overwhelmingly depressed and developing postpartum depression while curlfeather became a helicopter parent

and the fact that they're the first two chapters, back to back, and it's repeated over and over again, really driven into our brains that both apprentices were significantly impacted by their fathers' deaths and their mothers' potential parenting styles being completely changed and molded from their grief

frostpaw is constantly feeling belittled and like she has no autonomy because she feels smothered by her mother not treating her like her age, making her feel insecure like she's not going to be good enough for her clan and what everyone expects from her, since she's expected to be as good of a medicine cat as willowshine and literally replace her in her role as being the sole connection between starclan and her clan, while flamepaw feels distant and ostracized by his mother while also being inseparable from her because of his kin being the leader and deputy of the clan and firestar ALSO being his kin, as well as him being named after him, even though he doesn't even look like him (and is in fact the opposite color of him hmm), leading flamepaw to not feel good enough in his ability to be a warrior and to live up to his clan's expectations of him and so he takes risks and tries to show off to prove himself, which only leads to his failure

now doesn't that also sound like something else another major character was doing in another chapter of the preview?

and then of course the ice-fire foil which i still love and WISH frostpaw was a white cat to contrast flamepaw's black fur, just how like i think dovewing should'v been white to contrast to hollyleaf's black fur but the erins can't be PERFECT with their symbolism now can they

anyway what i think sunbeam is going to be is gonna be its own post cause i don't want this post longer than it already is lol

[honeypiehotchner]

intelligence & issues (Hotch x Reader) -- chapter ten

Alright babes...new case! I don’t normally post back-to-back chapters like this but y’all were KILLING me! This is slowwww burn, my loves. No smut this chapter (you’ll know when it’s on the horizon, trust me) but lots of fluff!

Today’s title is from “All I’ve Ever Known (“In spite of herself...”)” from Hadestown again!

Chapter Warnings: case debriefing stuffs again, but otherwise, nothing!

Previous chapter || Fic Masterlist

Chapter Ten: When she fell, she fell in spite of herself

Dinner with Hotch that night was the start of a new routine.

You accepted it. You had no other choice. How could you ever say no to him?

So, every night, as the team leaves -- whether it be as a group heading to a bar, or alone to do their own things -- you linger behind, making up excuses. Reid stays sometimes, too, but always leaves before you. He hasn’t said anything yet about how it’s unlike you to stay longer than him.

Each night, Hotch finishes up, and comes down to your desk, coaxing you away from your work. Or other times, it’s getting too late, so you pack your things and head up to his office, knocking softly to pull him away.

You keep each other sane.

It’s entirely -- well, you can’t say professional, because you doubt there’s anything professional about getting a nightly dinner with your supervisor. Not to mention, not telling a single person about it.

You thought once about telling JJ or Emily, maybe even Garcia, because something about telling other girls seems like it could be comforting, but you decide against it every time. The only reason your mom ended up finding out is because she called you while you were out at dinner with Hotch. She heard you tell him to be quiet -- he was being particularly annoying that night -- and she immediately knew.

You know you should feel bad keeping this from the rest of the team, but you don’t, not really. It’s nice to have something kept between the two of you, even if all it is is dinner.

That’s what you both tell yourselves, anyway.

When he offers to drive one time, it’s just dinner.

When he pays once and never lets you touch the check another night, it’s just dinner.

When he drives you back to the BAU to get your car and the two of you sit in the parking garage idly talking, it’s just dinner.

When he follows you to your apartment because you mentioned being more anxious than usual, it’s just dinner.

When he goes into your apartment first to make sure it’s all clear, it’s just dinner.

When he stays because he got distracted by the pictures on your walls, it’s just dinner.

When you put on a vinyl of 38 Special and pour some wine, asking him to stay a little longer, it’s just dinner.

When he falls asleep on your couch and you cover him with a blanket, daring to brush the hair away from his forehead, it’s just dinner.

That’s all this is.

Of course, now you’re wondering if the team will take “just dinner” as an explanation.

You wake to Hotch shaking your shoulder, his hair disheveled and clothes wrinkled from sleep, and your phone ringing. It’s JJ. Shit.

“Hey JJ,” you say, giving Hotch a small smile when he sits next to you on your bed.

“Hey, we’ve got a new case, I’m just rounding everybody up,” she says. “Sorry it’s so early.”

You look at the clock and grimace. 5a.m. No wonder you feel like shit. “It’s good, not your fault. Uh, we’ll be there in a few minutes.”

You hear the hesitation in her voice. “We?”

Your eyes widen. Rookie mistake. You’re an idiot. “Uh, yeah, we-- The team. You know, the Royal We. Anyway-- See you in a bit.” You hang up the phone before you can make an even bigger fool of yourself.

And then you hear it-- Hotch’s laughter.

“Oh, shut up,” you hiss, grabbing a pillow and smacking him in the face with it. The look on his face is priceless then as he grabs the pillow from you, raising his eyebrows, daring you to do that again. Another one of his looks that sends shivers down your spine.

It feels too domestic again, like it did when you were standing with him in the kitchen at your mom’s place. Only this is more personal. This time he’s in your room, sitting on your bed. If it weren’t for a new case, you’d think things were taking a different route.

“Uh, we should get dressed,” you say, remembering yourself. You stand and start walking toward your closet, but then you have a thought that stops you in your tracks. “Do you have other clothes?”

Apparently, Hotch hadn’t thought of this either because he freezes. “Shit.” His ready bag is still in his office. He has nothing to change into.

“Shit is right!” You almost yell. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t have time to go back to my place, so I’ll just wear what I’m wearing now.”

He says it like you don’t work in an office full of FBI profilers.

“Alright,” you shake your head. “But you’re taking all the heat from Morgan.”

Ten minutes later you’re changed and ready to go, walking out of your room to find Hotch standing in the living room, pacing. He’s back in his jacket and tie now, shoes as well, but it’s a little obvious that it’s the same suit and tie that he wore yesterday.

Maybe they won’t notice.

You drive separately, but arrive at the same time. You contemplate only for a moment about waiting a minute or two before walking in after him, but then you remember that it’s five thirty in the morning, and this is an urgent case.

Fuck it.

You and Hotch stand on opposite ends of the elevator, not looking at one another. The difference in interaction hurts you only a little. You know it can’t go anywhere, and it truly was foolish of you to invite him in for wine last night. He’s checked your apartment for you a few times before, so why did you have to invite him in last night?

Last night, of all nights. Why did this morning have to be the one with an urgent case?

The elevator doors open, and to your complete and utter horror, the entire team is standing there when you both step off.

JJ gives you a knowing look, but everyone else looks quite literally shocked to their core. She must not have told them about your stammering on the phone -- and for that, you’re grateful.

But, your outfit throws the rest of the profilers off.

Unlike Hotch, you’re in a completely different outfit from yesterday, and you took the time to make your face and hair look more presentable than usual (as best you could in a one-minute window, you suppose). You look like you got a reasonable amount of sleep in your own bed. Like you went home alone.

But Hotch is...in yesterday’s clothes, and due to that, the tiredness on his face is almost more prominent. Like he was out all night, in someone else’s bed (or on your couch).

“Late night?” Rossi speaks up, looking directly at Hotch.

“Yeah, Hotch,” you look over at him. “Late night?”

Oh, that did it. You really need to watch your mouth sometimes.

“Don’t we have a case?” He asks, his eyes on you, but his words directed at the rest of the team.

“Yes sir,” JJ says. “Conference room is ready for you guys.” She leads the way. Reid, Emily, and Morgan fall into line, but Rossi stays behind.

He’s looking a little too hardly at Hotch, so you mutter a small, “Excuse me,” and brush past him, following the rest of your team.

Stepping through the glass doors feels like stepping into a safe haven. You’re able to take a deep breath, calm yourself.

Garcia is already in the conference room, making grabby hands for Derek when he walks in, so he gladly goes to her. Reid looks like JJ caught him still awake and reading, as he’s nearly falling asleep in his chair. He probably didn’t realize how late it was until JJ was calling.

Emily and JJ, on the other hand, look wide awake, and are both looking right at you. You shake your head, though, warning them not to say a word. And they don’t, because they’re sweet like that, but you’re sure this isn’t the last you’ll hear of it.

A few moments later, Hotch is entering the conference room looking a lot more pissed off than you left him. Rossi’s face gives you nothing, though he does smile at you.

What the hell does that even mean?

You don’t have time to bother with figuring it out because JJ begins debriefing the case.

It’s pretty standard, but it’s...bad.

“These two men were killed just three days apart in this small town in Georgia,” JJ shows their pictures. “Nathan King was found in his own bed by his best friend after two days of not answering his phone.”

Their necks are broken, faces bloody. The cuts and bruises on their cheekbones and chin suggest a personal connection. But the gunshot to the crotch definitely means it’s personal. They look nothing alike, though, so there isn’t a physical type. The first man is dark skinned with dyed blond hair and a clean-shaven face, while the second is white and has a moustache that just makes you cringe.

“Sheriff Ansley said she was already going to call us, and then she had it brought to her attention that these two men were killed the same way as these...seven.”

“Seven?” You murmur, eyes widening at all of their pictures. Again, they look nothing alike — only a few resemble others, but not enough for an obvious type. And if the way the unsub deals with them is evidence of a personal connection, then they have a lot of personal problems. “Over what span of time?”

“Seven months,” JJ explains.

“One kill a month,” Emily says.

“It’s only a matter of time before this unsub gets too cocky and starts killing every day,” Morgan says, voicing the thoughts of the entire team. “It seems like they’re getting close.”

“Which is why they called us,” JJ nods, pressing another button on the remote. “The local police station got this letter in the mail yesterday.”

It’s typed, which is unfortunate because that means Reid can’t work his magic on the text. But it’s less of a letter and more of a note. Because it’s short. One sentence.

It is their turn to face the trials.

“Trials?” Emily asks. “What trials?”

There is a collective shaking of heads from everyone in the room. Not enough information to tell.

“And just an hour ago,” JJ continues. “Sheriff Ansley got a call that another man had been murdered. Same MO.” She shows the pictures of the two men once more, enlarging the most recent one, Jonathan Birk. “They’re waiting on us to do anything to the crime scene.”

“Alright, we can finish this on the jet,” Hotch says, closing the file. “Tell Sheriff Ansley we’re coming right away.”

“Got it,” JJ powers down the monitors as she picks up her phone.

You tuck the file under your arm and head for your desk, grabbing your ready bag and slinging the strap over your shoulder. You do your best to keep your eyes away from Hotch, though you do steal one glance at him. He’s in his office, gathering his things, focused and determined. He doesn’t notice you looking. You avert your eyes before he has the chance to.

+++

JJ continues giving you her knowing look the entire ride to the jet. You’re lucky Hotch is in the car, or you’re positively certain she’d start laying into you with the questions.

Hotch is all business and absolutely no jokes right now, which is understandable, since there are now nine men who are dead.

Still, it’s a drastic change from the giggling, sleepy man who sat on your bed just two hours earlier.

You don’t know why you’re dwelling on it. It’s not like you can walk up to him and say, “Are you okay? We almost had a pillow fight a couple hours ago, and now you look like you’re seconds away from handshaking Death herself?”

The chaos that would cause.

Instead, you keep your distance a normal amount, sitting with JJ and Emily on the jet as you normally do.

Unfortunately, sitting next to JJ meant that Hotch and Emily were sitting in front of you guys, files scattered on the table in between you while a laptop is open, awaiting Garcia’s appearance with more information on the last two victims.

Being cornered with your secret-- Well, what is he? If the dinners are dates, then is he...your boyfriend? No, that’s childish, and something you guys haven’t even talked about because the dinners could very well be just dinners. He hasn’t even kissed you, for Christ’s sake, and that’s another grievance of yours for another day.

Regardless, being cornered with the man you obviously have feelings for and your two best friends who know you have feelings for said man makes for some interesting looks to be shared across the table.

Morgan, Rossi, and Reid stand and sit around the four of you, presumably oblivious.

Well, Rossi looks a little too knowing for your liking, especially at you. He must know all, or something, which wouldn’t surprise you, but it still makes you squirm.

“Alright, so we’ve got two guys who are sort of similar in age, not at all similar in looks, killed with what looks like a lot of smacking and punching to the face, a broken neck, and a gunshot to the crotch,” you take the lead, spewing details to get your mind focused and away from Hotch.

“Wait,” JJ pauses. “Can you die from being shot in the crotch?”

Morgan shrugs. “I might.”

The comment makes you snort. “The pain might make you pass out, but I’m sure breaking his neck was her method of killing.”

Hotch looks up from the file. “She? Why do you say she?”

“Oh,” you furrow your eyebrows, not realizing that you had. “I guess it just seems...I don’t know, I guess I was putting myself in the unsub’s shoes. How many male serial killers do we know of that have male victims that shoot said victims in the dick?”

Reid looks like he wants to open his mouth to say something, but Morgan shakes his head.

“Understood,” Hotch says to you. “But let’s not jump to any conclusions just yet.”

“Yes sir,” you mutter, looking back down at the papers.

You’re looking down, so you don’t see the effect your words have on Hotch, though you do notice him shifting in his seat. You bite back a smile. Is it seriously that easy to rile him up?

“Well, if it is a she,” you say, picking up the picture of the note left at the police station. “This note would make more sense.”

Morgan, from behind you, says, “How?”

“The trials,” you reply, like it’s all painfully obvious now. “Salem Witch Trials, anyone?” You crane your neck to look at the doctor. “Reid? Please tell me you also thought of that.”

He smiles softly, clearly exhausted. And shrugs. “For a moment,” he admits. “But there’s so many trials that I’ve read about, my mind went in a million different directions.”

“When doesn’t it, kiddo?” Morgan chuckles.

“Let’s focus, please,” Hotch reins everyone back in. “We need to try to exhaust all theories now, so if anyone needs to rest before we land, you can. You’ll need it.” He pauses, gesturing to you. “You were talking about the trials?”

You nod, half surprised he’s interested in hearing the rest of what you were thinking. “The note says it’s their turn to face the trials. The first trials were women, of course, so it would make sense for this to be about it being the men’s turn.” You pause, trying to follow that train of thought.

Reid beats you to it, talking to keep himself awake. “One of the most widely known parts of the trials was when the women would be bound and their heads shoved underwater, and if they lived, they were guilty of being a witch, but if they died, they were...human.”

“And dead,” Morgan snorts. “So what, this unsub shoots them in the crotch and if they survive they’re guilty?”

“Not so fast, hot stuff,” Garcia’s voice chimes from the laptop, her face appearing on the screen. “I did some digging and found some pretty grody stuff on Jonathan Birk and Nathan King there,” she pauses. “Both men were accused of rape and sexual assault with what looks like solid evidence, but they were acquitted.”

“On what grounds?” You ask.

“Just says there was insufficient evidence,” Garcia says. “I’ll do more digging, but it doesn’t look like there’s much more to it than that.”

“No, there usually isn’t with an acquittal,” Hotch sighs, rubbing his forehead. “Garcia, look into the other seven victims and see if this is a pattern.”

“You got it.” Garcia leaves to continue digging (and make more coffee).

You can’t help but think go figure about it all, though. It’s almost an of course.

The court is not usually a friend to a victim of rape.

After getting through a very, very rough profile, Hotch dismisses everyone to get some rest.

There’s at least an hour and a half before you’ll land, so Reid immediately stretches out on the couch. The jet quiets down as the rest of the team do the same, closing their eyes and Morgan puts on his headphones.

Hotch doesn’t look like he’s going to try to sleep at all, which you think is a mistake on his part. He’s pissy enough, so maybe you shouldn’t push him, but you still do.

“Hey,” you whisper, nudging his leg with your foot — which isn’t new, you’ve done it to each other at dinner numerous times.

But this time when Hotch looks up, feeling your foot tapping his leg, he almost looks angry. “What?”

It’s probably just exhaustion. “You should get some rest...” You give him a pointed look to remind him of how little sleep he got and where he slept instead of finishing the sentence out loud, knowing at the very least, Emily and JJ are listening in as hard as they can.

But Hotch shakes his head. “I’m fine.”

You almost say something stupid and snarky, but you decide quickly against it. Now is probably not the best time to push his buttons.

So, instead you say, “Suit yourself,” and turn to curl up in your seat.

Despite your eyes being closed, you know he’s looking at you. That was half of the point of curling up here, in front of him, rather than moving to the couch with Reid. It wouldn’t be the first time you shared the jet’s small couch with the doctor. Sometimes he’d have an audiobook you also wanted to hear, or other times you really wanted to stretch out and he almost always wanted the same.

You haven’t done it lately, though. You almost get up and go to the couch, curious about Hotch’s reaction this time around, considering things have...changed.

Oh, that’s stupid. You catch yourself from making a face. You’re supposed to be asleep. Not fantasizing about your boss.

But it’s hard not to when just last night, he was on your couch. And you had almost curled up next to him.

You were sitting next to him, anyway. It would’ve been easy to explain if he happened to wake up to find you curled into him. Or if he woke up while you were tucking yourself into his chest, you could’ve pretended you were already deep in sleep. You know he wouldn’t have had the heart to wake you.

You should’ve. Maybe then you wouldn’t be thinking about what it could feel like. Instead, you’d know.

You shift against the window, wrapping your arms around yourself. When did the BAU jet get cold?

Just as you begin to feel goosebumps rising on your skin, you feel the weight of a blanket on your body. In your half-asleep state, you grip the fabric and pull it closer, nuzzling your cheek into its warmth.

Hotch sits back down across from you, now without his suit jacket on his shoulders.

From across the aisle, Rossi smiles, turning his head to look out the window.

Next chapter

[koskareevesismyqueen]

Echo’s Girl, Part I

Pairing: Echo x f!reader

Description: Becoming clone trooper Echo’s girl

AO3 link here

Link to the optional explicit part coming soon

Rating: teen

Word count: 2.4k

Warnings: none

Author’s note: This is more of a set up chapter for reader and Echo’s relationship. I will be posting an optional chapter for 18+ audiences in the next couple of days (please please please only engage if you are over 18 and prepared to read NSFW content). There will be 4 parts and we’ll see Echo next as an ARC Trooper! I hope you enjoy this part – if you do please consider reblogging it to share it with other people.

Part I – Clone Trooper

Your first fieldwork assignment. You were nervous, so kriffing nervous. You knew exactly what you had to do but somehow, being dropped off at the Grand Army of the Republic’s barracks, surrounded by soldiers and weapons and war ships made it all the more terrifying. You weren’t quite sure if you were built to be here. No, you knew you weren’t built to be here. You were a scientist and that’s where you were comfortable, in a lab or in the field conducting research. But with the Republic’s funding your best option was getting transport via the GAR, so here you were. You make your way off the taxi speeder, nervously playing with the straps on your bag as a soldier jogs his way towards you. You gulp. This was getting scarier and scarier by the second. How were you supposed to last on a warship for a week?

“Doctor?” He asks as he steps toward you.

“Uh, not yet but yes,” you say and his brow furrows in confusion, but he holds his hand out to take your bag anyway.

“Captain Rex,” he says with a shy smile, “I’ll take you to meet the rest of the boys. We’ll all be around for the next week until you’ve left us for your mission, so it’ll be good for you to have a few friendly faces.”

You nod and follow along, trailing behind him like a lost puppy, completely and utterly out of your depth but trying hard to stay afloat. He takes you over to a group of soldiers who are milling about, clearly enjoying a few moments of peace.

“Men, I’d like to introduce you to our guest. She’ll be staying with us for the next week until we drop her off for her mission. She’s no soldier so if anyone wants to accompany her, show her around so she can get used to being here…”

One of the soldiers steps forward, white armour with the signature blue decals that match the rest of the men, then his own unique handprint that adorns his chest. He reaches up and takes his helmet off and in that moment your heart stops. Yeah, every single man here looks exactly the same. But there’s something about him. You take a deep breath and smile as all the other men and Rex melt away. You hold out your hand to introduce yourself and he smiles sweetly in return.

“I’m Echo. We’ll load up onto the ship, get your stuff in your room and then once we’re in hyperspace I’ll give you the grand tour.” You follow him, suddenly feeling a little less lost and like you’ve found a little piece of home.

♡

You relax a little more once the ship has lurched into hyperspace. You’re no stranger to space travel but it still makes you feel a little queasy each time. Now you’re comfortably travelling and Echo’s grand tour has started you feel like you can semi settle for the next week at least. If you had to live this life for much longer you don’t think you’d cope, but it’s okay for now. Echo shows you the important spots like medical areas, the canteen, and transports. He even takes the time to show you a few quieter spots where you can get a little peace and quiet if you need it. For a few moments you stand in each spot drinking in the silence and the shades of blue that hyperspace creates, thinking about how peaceful the silence is with Echo. At one point, you tilt your gaze to look up at him and the way the blue falls over his features. He moves his gaze to meet yours and for a moment you stop breathing, worried your little crush was coming on too strong. But he just smiles that sweet, warm smile and gently takes your hand to pull you towards your next destination. He lets go of it as soon as you’re heading the right way, but you feel the lingering sensation of his touch on your palm and will him to hold your hand again.

Kriff, you think to yourself, suddenly disgusted that you weren’t acting like a lost puppy but a love sick one, you’d only been away from normal human contact for a few hours and you were already acting like this?

“That’s pretty much everything. We don’t have much to do during travel time apart from prepping for the next mission and we generally have to stay out of the cafeteria unless it’s our designated time to eat, but I guess I could chat with the service droids and see if you get special exemptions?”

“Yeah, that would be great. I need caf to keep me fuelled while I keep sorting through literature,” you say with a small chuckle as you hold up the data pad.

“So, what’s your research about?” Echo asks as you head back towards the cafeteria.

“I’m monitoring purrgil movements. We know…not a lot about them and now with the war on and more ship movement we need to predict their movements to ensure safety. I’m trying to better understand them, breeding patterns and movements so we can avoid them during ship movements.”

“Oh, so, I guess you’re working to protect the clones in a roundabout way?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I’ve never thought about it that way before. I just think of it that I’m protecting the purrgils too. Most people just think of them as a nuisance but they’re beautiful creatures which have been massively looked down upon. It’s sad, and I hope my work can change people’s opinions.”

You walk into the cafeteria and the white walls are a stark contrast to the grey of the rest of the ship.

“Wait here,” Echo says, motioning to an empty table, “I’ll go and chat to the droid.” Echo jogs off and you can’t help but admire him for a second before turning your attention to your data pad. You flick through your schedule, moving around what work you had planned for when to make your schedule for the next week a little more…hyperspace doable. The soft sound of two plastic mugs clinking off the table pulls your attention away from your work and instead to Echo’s warm smile.

“Droid says you can come in whenever. Even gave us hot cocoa now to seal the deal,” he smiles triumphantly as your eyes light up.

You take the mug in your hands, cradling it as you allow the heat to rise through you, then take a deep sip. It’s the kind of rubbish hot cocoa you had on camping trips when you were younger. It’s good.

“Mmmmmm,” you say between sips, “this is amazing. If I ever need something doing while I’m here, I’m coming to you Echo. Your negotiation skills are supreme.”

He lets out a soft chuckle which fills you with a warmth that the hot cocoa never could, and the two of you launch into easy conversation. You tell Echo more about your research and how you got into it, your life on Coruscant and everything that goes with it. He tells you about life as a clone trooper, growing up on Kamino and his brothers. The time passes fast and your schedule for starting up on work goes through the window but you don’t mind at all.

“Hey, Echo,” another clone trooper says as he jogs up to your table. He’s similar looking to Echo of course, but with a tattoo of the number 5 on his temple and facial hair on his chin. You briefly remember seeing him near Echo at the start of the day, although you can’t remember who Rex introduced him as, and assume the two are close.

“Hey, ner vod,” he quickly introduces his brother as Fives.

“We’re going to the onboard 79s tonight,” Fives turns his gaze to you, “you’re welcome to come, save you from being bored to death by this one all night,” he punches Echo in the process, and Echo glowers back at him.

“Yeah, sounds good. Any excuse to get away from doing work anyway.” Not that you had managed to do more than rearrange your schedule so far, which had been pointless anyway as you had ended up spending all afternoon with Echo instead.

“Okay, well we were going to head down in a couple of hours so I’ll see you then. Echo, we’re going to do some training to kill time. You in?”

Echo looks at you uncertainly.

“It’s fine, I should probably get a little work in and take a shower first anyway.”

“Can you remember where you’re going?”

“Yeah, roughly. I’ll find my way.”

“Okay, well as long as you’re still not wondering around the ship lost I’ll come grab you at 1900.”

You watch Echo go with Fives, a small smile creeping across your lips and a giddy feeling searing through your veins.

♡

You’re on fieldwork, you didn’t exactly plan to bring any nice clothes. You have a couple of pairs of leggings which at least flatter your figure and a couple of cropped vest tops that you usually sleep in. When you pair them together you don’t exactly look party ready, but you decide that you look good enough for whatever an onboard bar is like for clone troopers. You pull your hair out of its braids and put on the very small amount of makeup you packed. You decide, all in all you look good. But the nerves are eating you alive right now. Partly at not wanting to make a fool of yourself, but also the fear that you were maybe misreading Echo and making a fool of yourself that way. You shake your head to clear the negative thoughts, then jump at the knock on your door.

You step out and Echo is waiting for you, playing with his gloves and you hope, for a brief second, that he feels as nervous as you.

“You look amazing,” he says, his voice wobbling slightly. He had to be nervous, had to be.

You smile back, “so, this onboard bar?”

“Oh, it’s not much,” he says with a small laugh, “just a corner that was quiet enough for us to find a new use for it. We thought it’d get shut down, but I guess they decided a little down time was good for us.”

And he’s right. When you arrived at the ‘bar’ it’s not a lot at all. A dark space strung with whatever artificial lights had been found around, upturned boxes and storage containers. The bar itself was only obvious because of the sheer number of troopers milled around it. You suddenly feel a little self-conscious, the only female there, and almost as if he can sense it Echo protectively wraps his arm around you. The attention of the gazes pinning you immediately shift and you feel instantly better. Granted, it shouldn’t take a man’s protection to make you feel safe but with Echo it felt too good to deny. He guides you over to the makeshift table where Fives and a few of the other guys from this morning are sat.

“So, how did you manage to put up with this one all day?”

You let out a soft chuckle, “I grew up with 5 sisters, believe me I can put up with a lot.” But you lean back a little and give Echo a soft nudge, resulting in him giving you an affectionate smile. The night goes on and it’s incredibly easy with the boys, especially with Echo guiding you through in moments where you feel unsure. It’s obvious how close they all are, especially Echo and Fives who you now know grew up together. Rex makes a brief appearance although you get the impression that it’s more to keep up appearances and morale than actually wanting to be there. You can’t help but feel that he’s a little preoccupied, although you can’t blame him either.

You’re there for a few hours before you decide to call it a night. After all, you do have work to do at some point and you had spent a whole day away from it. Not wasted, because spending the day with Echo had been fun. But it was still time away from work that you couldn’t afford in the long run.

You turn to Echo, gently squeezing his arm to get his attention.

“You okay?” He asks, the liquid courage clearly showing as he takes your hand and rubs his thumb over your knuckles.

“Yeah, I was thinking of heading off soon. I have a bunch of work to catch up on tomorrow so I should probably wake up early.”

“Sure, I’ll walk you back.”

“Oh, it’s fine Echo. You stay here, I can find my way back.”

But he’s clearly made his mind up because he links in fingers in yours as he stands up, so you follow.

“Bye guys, it was nice getting to know you all tonight!” You call out as they say they’re goodbyes (and a few whistles in reaction to your’s and Echo’s entwined fingers).

You walk in peaceful silence back to your room, although you can tell that Echo is gearing up to say something. You stop when you reach you door, gently squeezing Echo’s fingers as an almost goodbye. But instead, he takes your other hand in his so the two of you are facing each other.

“I, uh. I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed spending time with you today. It’s nice to have a break away from the guys sometimes. And, I really like, uh, you. Specifically.” You smile at Echo’s words, his nerves feeling you with the sweetest feeling. Knowing that he clearly won’t make the move himself, you pull your hands away from his and place them on his cheeks, pulling the two of you together and your lips to lock. For a second, he pauses, clearly a little taken back. But then he gently places his hands on your waist pulling you into him and you deepen the kiss, fireworks exploding through your veins with ecstasy. After a few moments you pull away, willing your legs to keep working and not turn to jelly.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Echo,” you say before placing a final soft kiss on his cheek and escaping into your room.

♡♡♡♡♡

[bothcreativitybois]

TMST Chapter 8

I was freaking out because no one was commenting on Chapter 8... turns out I hadn’t posted it... 🤡 I am so sorry. Ao3 link Wordcount: 2507 Ship: Intruality TWs: Food, hospital, crying Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Taglist: @crazydemigod666 @star-crossed-shipper @newtnotfound @3amthebitchinghour @idont-freaking-know @someoneiwasnt @crownofrats @the-sympathetic-villain @cute-and-angsty-princess @lonelymuffin @bloodyjay-0666 @im-an-anxious-wreck @fantasticallytired @obsessive-fallen-angel 

“What do you mean I can’t bake?!” Patton shouted. “It’s a bakery!” Remus put up his hands to try and calm the angry man. “Janus just needs a day or two to get some of the painting done with spray paint.” Remus explained, his truck behind him filled with tarps and paints. “You said you wanted all the paint done for the Valentine's Day class, right?” “Yeah I know…” Patton huffed. He really didn’t like the idea of being locked out of the kitchens for two days. “Well it’s later this week. He can do brush for most of it but he wants to do this one part with spray paint.” Remus continued. “Consider it a vacation.” Remus tried to help Patton see the bright side. Patton sighed. “Just two days?” Patton asked. Remus put his hands on Patton’s shoulders. “Yes, that’s all. You deserve the break anyway.” Remus comforted. Patton looked up at the sign Remus had hung yesterday, the one he’d been waiting months for and Remus had it up in only about a week. Remus was doing so much to help him. He trusted him. “Alright.” Patton finally agreed. “But please have it done as soon as possible.” “Of course. You can trust me.” Remus said, Janus scoffed behind him. Patton laughed. He looked up at the sign again. It reminded him of something. Something he hadn’t done in a while. “You’re okay doing it all with just the two of you?” Patton asked. “If Remus touches my paint’s I’ll stab him in the hand again.” Janus shouted from the truck. “Again?” Patton turned to Remus who just shrugged. “We’ll be okay. Go do whatever you want.” Remus assured again as he pushed Patton towards his car.

An hour later Patton was in the city. He had stopped at a florist to get some flowers. As he walked in he was almost floored with all the scents that hit him at once. As he looked over the pots and shelves full of colourful flowers a worker came up to him. “Anything I can help with?” The lady asked in a friendly tone. Patton looked up quickly. He glanced quickly at the name tag that read ‘Charlie’.  “Believe it or not I’m looking for flowers.” Patton joked, Charlie offered a polite laugh.  “Anything in particular?” Charlie looked around at the mounds of flowers. Patton thought for a moment. He knew the answer to this. The same he always got. “Carnation and Peruvian lily.” Patton answered. The worker suddenly had a realisation. “You must be Patton.” Charlie said after a moment. Patton laughed. “I come here that much, huh?” He joked. Truthfully it wasn’t his first time here, but he’d never met Charlie before so he didn’t want to act like he knew the shop. It’d been a while since he came here so he thought maybe the staff had forgotten him anyway. “There’s a note behind the counter on your usual bouquet.” Charlie clarified. “I can make it for you right now.” She walked off and began gathering flowers. Patton looked around as she worked. He was drawn to the back of the store. A shelf without flowers, just small bottles. Most seemed to be perfumes or flower oils but one stood out. “When did you start stocking rose essence?” Patton asked as he plucked the bottle off the shelf. Charlie didn’t look up from arranging the flowers. “Just got it last week.” She shouted from her workstation. Patton turned the small bottle of flavouring over in his hands and inspected the clear liquid inside. “You a baker or a bartender?” Patton turned and began walking to the counter, bottle in hand. “Baker.” He said proudly, although he wasn’t sure how much longer he would be able to call himself that. “Those are the only two kinds of people we get looking for that.” Charlie said as she taped up the paper around the flowers. With Valentine's Day coming soon he knew he could find some way to use it. He paid for the flowers and also got a bottle of the essence. He dropped his essence in the car and looked across the street at his next stop. It was really convenient that they had a florist across from the hospital. He walked into the reception and was greeted with a familiar face this time. “Patton! Long time no see.” The nurse said. “Here to see Moe?” The nurse already knew the answer but asked nonetheless.  “Of course.” Patton responded. The nurse typed a few things on the computer before looking up again.  “She’s still in the same room. You can go on through.” The nurse smiled. Patton nodded. “Thanks Kait!” Patton called as he walked away. He began humming to himself as he walked. A small song he made to remember the way. “Third hall left, up two flights, fifth room right. Third hall left, up to flights, fifth room right.” Patton hummed this all the way until he reached the right room. At this point he didn’t really need the song to remember but it had become a habit. It helped calm his nerves. He took a deep breath and knocked gently on the already slightly open door. He didn’t know why he was so nervous, she was the one who asked he visited less. She wanted him to focus on the bakery. “Come in.” A voice answered. Patton pushed open the door the rest of the way. He looked over at the bed to see his mother, she smiled as soon as she saw him. “Froggy.” She cheered. Patton quickly walked over and hugged her. “Hi Mum.” He whispered as she squeezed him tightly. He didn’t realise how much he missed her hugs until he was having one. He leaned back and gave her the flowers he was carrying. Even though she got this same bouquet each time he visited she was still excited and sniffed it deeply. “Thank you, dear. It’s lovely.” She said caressing the flowers. “How have you been?” Patton asked finally as he pulled a chair close to the bed. His mother sat up quickly and turned to him. A wide proud smile broke across her face. “They’re saying if the inflammation stays where it is then I should be out by the end of the month!” She announced excitedly. Patton smiled. He wanted to get excited, he really did, but the doctors said the same thing last month. “That’s great!” Patton praised with as much excitement he could muster. “I can’t wait to have you back.” Patton reached out a hand and his mother took it in hers. He really meant that. He missed having his mother around to handle business while he baked. He missed having her hug him each morning. He missed her doting over every new recipe, how she lit up when she tried it, how she would smile proudly as he baked, how she would poke his cheek and tell him everything will be okay. He missed her.  “How’s the bakery?” Moe asked. She knew it was in bad shape when she left, but Patton hadn’t visited in nearly a month. She was blissfully unaware of everything happening. Patton wasn’t and fidgeted at the question. “Well… there was a bit of a mix up.” He began. As he looked up he saw her face change. She was so happy a moment ago but now she looked scared. He hated seeing that. “Uh but don’t worry! It will all be fixed by the time you get out.” Patton misled. It wasn’t completely untrue, the problem would be over by then. It was just a question of how that would happen. “Are you sure you don’t need my help?” Moe stressed. Patton waved a finger. “You know that you aren’t supposed to work.” He reminded her. “Besides I actually have some people already helping.” He admitted. Moe looked over curiously. “People as in worker people or as in friend people?” Her voice sparkled mischievously. This was the first time Patton had seen her since he had met Remus and the others, she’d not heard anything about friends. 

He explained everything that had happened, omitting the part where the bakery may be shut down. Moe listened closely, it was so long since she’d seen him and each day she just wanted to hear his voice again. As much as it hurt her to not see him as much as she used to, he needed to focus on the bakery, on making friends, on everything being normal again. She noticed something about the way he talked about this ‘Remus’ guy. The way he described him and the face he made when he spoke about him. It was more than just friendship. So when are you going to stop messing about and ask Remus on a date?” Moe said after Patton was done his story. Blunt as always. Patton blushed. “Wh-what?” Patton stuttered. He didn’t know why he felt so embarrassed about it. It wasn’t like he was a closeted high school kid anymore. “I don’t think he’s interested in me like that.” “Are you?” Moe asked quickly. “I don’t have the time to think about that.” Patton gave the same answer he’d given Janus. Moe gave him a hard stare. “Great. Now try again but tell me the truth.” She pressed. She could see right through him. Patton sighed. Perhaps it would be good to get it out. Especially with someone he trusted. “It’s a lot of things. Remus is the first guy I’ve been interested in since the break up which is a little startling. His friend has said he has an issue with boundaries and honestly I can see it. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that would date someone like me and even if he did I doubt we’d want the same things from it. He doesn’t seem like the guy who wants more than a hook-up or maybe a few dates.” Patton finally let out. He’d been holding it all in and it felt good to say it. Moe took a minute to process everything Patton had said.  “I can think of one cure-all solution that might work.” Moe suggested after a while. Patton leaned in eagerly. “Just talk to the damn guy!” She shouted. Patton leaned back and sighed. He knew that was what he needed to do, but it was also the thing he was avoiding. He finally had someone, he had friends, and that could all be ruined if he said anything. “But what if it goes badly?” Patton said sadly. Moe took her son's hand once again. “Then it wasn’t gonna work out anyway. It might be better to get an answer now before it is too late and it hurts someone’s feelings very badly.” Moe soothed. Her son was so timid, she didn’t want him to miss out on something special because of it. But more so he was sensitive. And he made connections quickly. It was a perfect recipe for a crash and burn. 

Patton stayed late at the hospital. Talking for hours with his mother, playing games in the visitor lounge, catching up. Until visiting hours ended and he had to leave. He clung to her one last time, knowing he wouldn’t get the chance to again for a while. When his mum was first brought to hospital when he was a teenager they had made a rule. No crying until after the visit. They had always stuck to this rule, even subconsciously. That’s why the tears didn’t hit until Patton was home. It wasn’t until he stepped into that cold night air that his eyes suddenly began to blur and his chest felt like it was disappearing. In that dark and silence he realised just how lonely he felt. He braced himself against the railing as he walked up the stairs to his apartment. As he got to the door he saw Remus sitting in front of it. He tried to wipe his face before Remus saw him but it was already too late. Remus didn’t say anything, he just ran up to Patton and hugged him. Patton fell into the hug without hesitation. He cherished the feeling of Remus’ arms wrapped around him. He suddenly didn’t feel as lonely. “You aren’t hurt, right?” Remus finally broke the silence but kept the hug. Patton laughed sadly. “No. I just…” Patton began. His mum’s words ran through his head. Just talk to the damn guy! “My mum is in the hospital and I went to visit her.” Patton admitted through sobs. It was the first time he’d told Remus about it. “She has an inflammatory disease and at the end of last year she had some problems with it that affected some of her organs, she’s been in the hospital ever since.” Remus tightened the hug. Patton felt himself nuzzle closer into the larger man’s chest as he heaved. “You don’t need to explain. I’m here for you.” Remus whispered. Patton gripped the back of his shirt. He was shaking like a baby foal on it’s first steps. “I felt so guilty at the picnic for having fun while she was stuck there.” Patton wheezed. Remus felt his heart break from Patton’s words. He didn’t know how to comfort people like Janus does, he wasn’t good with words like Roman. But none of that mattered. He just wanted Patton to be happy again. “Is there anything you want me to do that can help?” Remus asked. Patton looked up at him, eyes larger than the moon. “Just stay. Please.” Patton begged. As a response Remus pressed a kiss to the top of Patton’s head.  “As long as you need.” Remus promised. And he did. He made Patton dinner while holding his hand, he waited just outside the bathroom as Patton showered, he turned off the lights and tucked Patton under the blankets. As Remus stepped away Patton grabbed his hand. He wasn’t ready to be alone again. “Not yet. Please don’t go.” Patton whispered weakly. Remus wasn’t sure what to do, but if Patton needed him then he would stay. He kicked off his shoes and climbed into the bed. Patton immediately clung to his chest again. Remus gently placed his arms around Patton again. He could feel each sob and catch in Patton’s breathing. “I’m sorry.” Patton choked. “Don’t be.” Remus reassured as he buried his face in Patton’s hair. “I’d want to sleep with me too.” He joked. He felt Patton giggle sadly at him. He smiled proudly at himself and pulled Patton closer. He kept track of every sob and heave until eventually they all became steady and the small man’s grip weakened. He knew he should leave, but he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to abandon Patton. Or the calming feeling of their bodies pressed together in the darkness. He talked circles in his mind debating whether to stay until finally sleep made the choice for him.

[jaehyunfirstlove]

Your best friend, Jungwoo, wants you to take his current roommate off his hands. You agree, but what are you really getting yourself into?

~A roommate au where Jaehyun and Y/N are roommates, and the shenanigans that ensue. A slice of life series, with interrelated vignettes to be posted at somewhat regular intervals. Ratings will vary by chapter.~

Pairing: Jaehyun x f. reader (eventually :)

Special appearances: Jungwoo, possibly other members

Genre: fluff, smut, angst, hurt/comfort, roommates to lovers, (extremely) slow burn

Warnings: none for this chapter

Word count: 0.8k

Taglist: @jaehyunnie77 @dellahsgarden-blog @yixing-jaehyun​ @ghibli-tae​ (send me a message if you want to be tagged)

Ch. 1

A/N: Sorry if this is starting off slow, first couple of chapters are just basically introducing characters. We’ll get to the juicier stuff soon, I promise :)

Ch. 2 - Jaehyun

The day he moved in you weren’t home, you just got a series of texts that he was on his way, that he was there, that he found the key you’d hidden under the doormat, that he’d gotten in, and was finally moving his stuff.

When you got home later that night you expected to open your door to a huge mess, probably boxes, half-empty or empty, lying about, stuff and belongings everywhere, and Jaehyun in the middle of it all. You weren’t looking forward to dealing with any of it, the late night at work already taking its toll on you. But when you unlocked your front door and opened it, you saw that your apartment wasn’t in disarray. In fact, it looked cleaner and more orderly than it had in a while. You blinked your eyes once, twice, then double checked the number on the door to make sure you hadn’t gotten the wrong place.

“Oh hey,” Jaehyun had come out of his room, wearing his glasses, a simple black t-shirt, and sweatpants. He made his way to the dining table, where you noticed two plates of food had been laid out. “I didn’t know what time you were coming home, so I set out your food anyway. Perfect timing!” he smiled at you as he sat down, beckoning you over.

If you weren’t so famished you would have stood there a little longer with your jaw on the floor, but as it was the smell of the food drew you to the table. You sat down and stared at the plate before you with wonder.

“Pad thai?” you asked incredulously, “Did you make this?”

“Yeah?” he answered, and you could almost hear the ‘what, like it’s hard?’ in his tone.

You took a bite, and when the food hit your taste buds you felt like you’d been transported to heaven. You couldn’t help but moan at how good it was. Jaehyun looked up from his meal, one eyebrow raised.

“That good, huh?” he smirked, and you immediately felt your face flush.

“Yes, thank you,” you cleared your throat, “you’ll have to share the recipe.” You were desperate to change the subject.

“Mm, I’ll have to write it down for you, it’s all in my head.” He patted at his head and you had to admit you were impressed.

“Where did you learn how to cook this?” you asked, insanely curious because it was not a dish you’d expect the average person to know how to make.

“I took a cooking class in Bangkok,” he responded matter-of-factly, as if everyone should have done the same by the time they reached his age.

“Wow,” you mused, “I’ve never left the state.”

He just smiled that dimpled smile at you, like you were the most amusing person in the world. You didn’t think that what you said was all that funny, but if he smiled like that at you every time then you’d come up with even more unfunny things to say.

“So Jungwoo told me you liked plants,” he offered, after the short lull in conversation because you were too busy enjoying your food, “but I didn’t realize how much you liked them.”

You looked around the room after his statement and paused. For you, there was no such thing as too many plants. But apparently, to the casual observer, you could be seen as some sort of plant hoarder. Every available surface had a plant on it, there were hanging plants, and plants in big pots on the floor. Vines had even climbed across one of the walls.

“Ah. I do like plants, I guess. Sorry.” You were slightly mortified. You hadn’t had a roommate in almost a year since your last one had moved out, so you hadn’t had to worry about sharing your space with anyone. “I can move some, if you need the space.”

He held his hands up and shook his head, “No, no, I like plants too! Don’t move them on my account. Besides, I don’t have a lot of stuff.”

“Yeah, Jungwoo told me that you didn’t come with a lot of stuff.” You agreed.

“Wow, he makes me sound like some sort of puppy,” he laughed.

“That’s what I said!” and this time you both laughed. The rest of the evening was really nice, you found he was easy to talk to and you felt very comfortable being around him, which surprised you because it normally took you longer to warm up to people.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I tidied up a little,” he said, as you both helped to clear the dishes.

“Not at all, thanks for that,” you were sincerely grateful since you’d been so busy with work and hadn’t had the time, “I appreciate it.”

“Oh, and I, uh, put your stuff in your room.” He scratched his head as he said it, not looking at you. “So, good night then!” and he disappeared into his room.

You trudged to your room, wondering what that was about, but when you opened your door you were horrified to see a small pile of your stuff on your bed, among the items were unmentionables you had stripped off the other night and had carelessly left in the living room. You smacked your palm on your forehead, wondering what Jaehyun must be thinking of you.