#and caretaker sends them texts to remind them to come home in case they just forgot

[whump-allthe-way]

caretaker wasn’t supposed to be doing this, they weren’t a caretaker, and surely whumpee is capable of taking care of themselves, right? surely they’re old enough, so why does caretaker need to be there? they hate it, waking up every morning to an overly excited whumpee rambling about their dreams, they make breakfast and attempt to tune out of the annoying endless chatter, and they spend their evenings praying to everything above that whumpee would just go to bed-

until one day whumpee’s gone. they dropped them off at school without a word, watched them as they happily waved them off before turning to their friends. but now they’re gone, they’re not waiting in that same spot out of the school, there’s no sight of them or their backpack riddled with dozens of cute keychains and pins. caretaker jumps out of their car, heads towards the friends they pretended not to notice, demanding to know where their charge is. the shrugs tell them nothing, so they go home.

maybe whumpee will show up later, the peace and quiet will be nice after all.

a few hours pass, and caretaker cooks them a meal for when they’re home.

they watch the clock tick by and pass their favourite channel as they scroll through the tv, their show is on.

whumpee never comes home, and soon they’re at the police station. the police call them a few days later, and all caretaker hears is “i’m sorry- kidnapped-“

caretaker waits in the silence, they cook two meals every night in case whumpee comes strolling through that door with their giddy smile and endless stories, they save their show so they can catch up, and they practice their “i don’t care about you, but don’t do that again” lecture.

it’s months before caretaker gets the call, and this time the only word they hear is “hospital”

caretaker isn’t worried, or angry or scared, not by whumpee’s pale, bruised face, the frail form or the scars that peak out from the covers. caretaker doesn’t care- and they’re not crying from relief, they’re not gripping their hand tightly as they thank every god above, because whumpee is nothing more than an inconvenience-

whumpee is so small now, they shake and stutter, and the small smiles they manage don’t reach their eyes. when they’re home, whumpee doesn’t talk, not really, they answer caretakers questions and they mumble a shaky thank you when they’re given food, but they don’t ramble. not like they used to.

and caretaker finds themselves filling in the silence, sat on the couch talking and talking, about what whumpee’s missed, their friends and hell- even caretaker’s friends. they hand them the remote to watch their show and they tuck them in at night, and they pray that one day whumpee will smile again, perhaps wake them with that annoyingly cheerful “morning caretaker!” once more, or even just talk about the meaningless things in their life.

the whumpee they let crawl into their bed after they wake up screaming, the whumpee that hides behind them in front of strangers, the whumpee that quietly asks them questions isn’t their whumpee. and all caretaker can think is that if they’d just listened; payed a little more attention to their endless stream of words, their whumpee would be here.

#sunshine whumpee’s that are tortured beyond recognition >>> #grumpy caretakers that would do anything for them regardless >>> #whumpee was tortured for months and they screamed our caretakers name in hopes they’d come and rescue them #and caretaker sends them texts to remind them to come home in case they just forgot #whump blog #whump community #whumpblr #whump #whump prompt #whump scenario #whump tropes #whump writing #whumpee #implied whumper #kidnapped whumpee #implied torture #caretaker #reluctant caretaker #sunshine whumpee #grumpy caretaker #whumptober 2023 #kidnap whump #whump scenes

[dr-passionate-production]

There was something special about looking over the balcony at night. The business of the main road had long died out, leaving just the occasional zoom of a passing car. The sun's blinding light would be hidden away for hours to come. The songs of nocturnal insects filling the ears of those around. There was something.. Special about it all, something serene.

The cat, laying idly at Kei's feet, had found solace in her silence as she did in his. His soft purring vibrating the tips of her toes. The two siblings weren't fond of TV, especially this late at night. So the usual ruckus of the day was no longer present, allowing the ragdoll to sleep soundly if he so choose.

The freedom to choose.. What a liberty, right? To allow oneself decide their own fate, both good and bad. It could be a simple decision, like what color socks you wanted to wear that day or did you want to call your mother or your father, knowing both would be on the end of either of your choices. But, as we intricate creatures continue to walk the long road we call life, we are expected, and sometimes forced, to make some harsh decisions. Ones that are sure to affect you in the long run, if not your entire life. And as Ms. Kei Sato stood there, eyes gazing away into the nightly abyss, she wondered if she chose right. Out of the handful of choices she was given, did she choose the best one for everyone?

Sighing, she looked down, a hand rubbing at her temple in attempts of easing the oncoming headache that was sure to ruin her night and morning. Curses were uttered, and her eyes glanced around dully at the surroundings beneath her. The cat.. Her toes.. The sleeved shirt she wore. When finally, her eyes landed on the glistening ring that hung from her neck.

...

...

...

"... Is the-there something wrong with it?" Hisai asked, taken aback by the way she stared at the gift. It was a golden ring, striped down the center by a lighter shade of gold. The name 'Jeong-joo' was inscribed on the inside, meaning that, yet again, it was a piece of fan merch from the TV show he loved so much. Taehyun, a starry-eyed coworker of Jeong-joo's, had given it to her as one of his many attempts to win her affection. It was an awkward gesture for the both of them, realizing how idiotic it was to give a girl a gift that expensive. It was one of the defining moments of their platonic relationship, one that especially stuck out to the tactician, seeing that he related so heavily to him.

"N-no... I-"

It was too late to reassure. He turned the box to him, worry in his eyes as he buried his face into the case, examining every last detail of the ring. And while it looked stupid in every definition of the word, it did manage to achieve his true goal: to elicit a smile from his troubled girlfriend. He noticed something was off from the get-go. Her usual smile was faded and it looked like his ramblings went through one ear and out the other. She was thinking about something important, he guessed, and while he didn't want to bother her with questions, he was supposed to be there whenever she was upset, like now.

"I- um.. I noticed you're kind of.. Out of it..? I-I guess I-..." He mentally cursed at how his stuttering voice betrayed him. "Are you okay?"

"Hisai.. What do you like about me?"

What did he like about her? What kind of question was that? There was plenty to like about her! Both as a friend and as- .. You know.. A girlfriend..! Where is this all coming from, he wondered. The bothered look on her face was one he hadn't seen before. She was serious about it, so he should as well.

"W-Well..." He stammered, a flower of red starting to blossom on his cheeks. "You're really pretty.. A-and nice... You actually listen to me instead of- you know. Ignoring me like everyone else... And I really like that- um.. That you also give everyone a chance.. Instead of shunning people away because of dumb rumors, you try to befriend them.. And stuff.." The more he spoke, the more confident he sounded in his words. Hisai wasn't good at complimenting someone like this, not like he had experience in it anyway. His mind nearly went blank at the question! Thankfully, though, he managed to pull together a nice coherent answer.

"What if.." Blink and he'd miss the flicker of sadness in her eyes. Her arms folded, as she tried to find a way to voice her insecurities without actually saying them. "What if I was different?"

"Different? Like you had a secret identity?"

"Yes and-... Yes and no.. I'm still myself." She bit her lip, teeth grinding so hard on the delicate piece of flesh that she was on the brink of tearing through. She wanted to say it. She wanted to just pull at her hair and tell him all the things that tore her apart at night. But she couldn't, the fear of rejection and sullying every last moment she had with him and their friends looming over her.

"But a different kind of 'me'.."

"I-I'm confused.. But-! But!.. I.. I'll give 'that kind of you' a chance.. Like you did to me.. Because, in the end, you're still Isa. .. Right?"

His answer was far from understandable. And he couldn't tell if what he said did anything to improve her mood or ease her stress. But the smile he gave her read as if he solved all of her problems. Like he was going to be the sunshine on her rainy day.

Isabella fought back the tears pricking her reddening eyes. He was far too sweet for his or her own good. Just gives her another reason to cherish him more. She pulled him in close, an arm around his shoulders and another to hug his head against her chest, her fingers running through his blonde hair. Isabella was sure he could feel her heart beat against his temple, but she couldn't care any less. Let him hear it.

"Thank you, Sai." She managed to whisper without choking on her tears. They'd have to work on this giving nature of his. She could easily buy him back just as many gifts but it felt as if he was trying to buy her affection. But really-

"And don't worry... I love the ring."

He didn't have to.

...

...

Hisai.. The sky was empty that night, not a single star was to be seen from the comforts of the balcony. No one was there to listen to her pleads, not even the spirits above. Can I still be given another chance..?

She had completely separated herself from the one who once was. From head to toe, from the mannerisms to the deepening of her voice, she was Kei Sato, amateur gardener, Armani family caretaker. She enjoyed long walks along the dock and the smell of a Monday brew. She watched La Ruota Della Fortuna with her mother and played cards with the pretentious prick she called a father. She made herself at home in a future she was satisfied with living. But..

"Are you sure about this one, Kid? You know you can't go back after this?"

"Kei! ... You're in our group chat now. So text us when you can, okay?..."

"...You know we would have been there for you if you told us! I could have sworn you were the one that said that we should protect each other..!"

"Addie.. What do I do..?"

"Talking to the cat is a new low, don't you think?"

Of course, she tsked. The sly bastard had snuck up on her while she was deep in thought, only to flash a chesire grin when he caught her thinking out loud.

"You look terrible."

"You are terrible.." She didn't have the energy to make a witty comeback. Seeing him next to her sapped any and all tolerance within seconds. Einosuke shifted his position, joining her to face the small area around them, his head tilted up towards the stars.

"How does it feel? The creeping sense of doubt and regret."

Her words left her the moment she tried to open her mouth. She tried to scowl but her face kept twisting back to her usual bitter look. The corners of her lips twitched and her hands reached up to wipe away bubbling tears. But the more she swiped at, the more tears that fell to the point where she had given up on delaying the inevitable. The last straw was the hand placed on her back, rubbing awkward circles as a means to comfort her.

"Miss Kei!" Kei turned to the painfully cheerful voice, her hands gripping tightly onto the suitcase she dragged behind her. The airport was packed with people yet the occultist had managed to pick her out from the crowd. The moment the clack of her shoes ceased, Chiyo held up a hand, her chest heaving as she took a moment to catch her breath. How did she fucking run in heels?

"He- Here, my dear!" Chiyo held up her phone, decorated with all types of gothic imagery and a photo of her and her beloved mothers. She displayed the chatting app she and her classmates used. With a few taps, Kei's number was slotted amongst the already long list of members in the group.

"You're in our group chat now. So text us when you can, okay?"

"Thanks.. Um.. Kageyama-san but-"

"Please." The occult took Kei's free hand into hers, the serious look in her eyes stopping her in her tracks. "Your aura.. You are harboring a lot of bottled up emotions that I'm sure you don't want to say."

She squeezed the ravenette's hand. "If you ever need someone to talk to, dearest. You know you can absolutely talk to us! If not them, then definitely me. Because I know how it feels.."

Kei was.. Stunned. What did she-. She couldn't have possibly known that-. The lump in her throat was unrelenting and so was the grip Chiyo was on her.

"I... I'm gonna miss my flight.." Kei slipped from her grasp, backing away as she shook off the thought. Chiyo was always the weird one, she reminded herself.

"Bye.." She muttered, rushing off to, hopefully, disappear into the crowd.

"Remember to text us!!" The occultist yelled, not at all bothered by the bitter looks she was receiving. She waved both of her hands with a smile, sending her off with her final goodbyes. "We're here for you, darling! Because that's what friends are for!"

"I hate it.."

[Event: Ms. Sato (End)]

#Event Post: Ms. Sato #Sato Kei #Sanae Hisai #Miyoshi Isabella #Sato Einosuke #Kageyama Chiyo #Event End #long post

[mdelpin]

Are You Satisfied With Your Care?

AO3 | FF.Net

Summary: Gray is a troublesome patient who is very good at scaring away his nurses. Out of options, his sister Erza decides to hire a new type of caretaker, an android by the name of Dragion.Despite Gray's initial rejection, an unlikely friendship develops between them. But when Dragion malfunctions and his creator comes to fix him, Gray finds he might just be in over his head.

Disclaimer: All Fairy Tail Characters Belong to Hiro Mashima

Chapter 1

“Erza,” Mira made no attempt to mask her frustration as she put her coffee cup down on the table, “You know I love Gray like a brother, and I understand that you’re worried about him but it’s been months!”

“When are you coming home?” Mirajane asked with a bluntness that Erza knew meant she was getting to the end of her patience.

“I--I don’t know,” Erza admitted, wishing she had a better answer, ”He’s not doing well, physically or emotionally. I can’t just leave him there all alone.”

“He’s not all alone, he’s got Loke and the rest of the staff to take care of him,” Mira pointed out, “You can still visit him and live with us, it might even do him some good not to depend on you for everything.”

“It’s not like that!” Erza protested, “He wants to do more, I’m just scared --”

“You’re scared you might lose him like you did your parents,” Mira finished her sentence for her, “I know you are, sweetheart, but I miss my wife and we both know we can’t move in there with you.”

“You could, maybe,” Erza said shyly, she’d been thinking of broaching the subject during one of their breakfast dates, “I miss you too.”

“We can’t,” Mira said firmly, “Lisanna and Elfman wouldn’t be able to handle all the restrictions and it would only cause us to fight. You know how we both are about our siblings.”

Erza tried to mask her disappointment but knew she’d failed when Mira sighed and wrapped her up in an embrace, kissing the top of her head.

“This is not an ultimatum,” Mira assured her, “I just need there to be a timeline. How is the nurse working out?”

“Which one?” Erza asked with an exasperation that made Mira giggle.

“What’s he done now?”

“I don’t know, it never happens when I’m there,” Erza admitted, “We’ve had over thirty of them quit. A week has been the longest any of them has lasted and I think she really needed the money. The one I left him with this morning has been working out so far, today is her third day.” Erza held up crossed fingers and Mira rolled her eyes in amusement.

“How are you holding up?” Mira asked as she began to eat her breakfast, it was nearing the time when she would have to leave to get to work on time.

“I’m fine, I just wish I could get through to him, you know?” Erza looked down at her mug not wanting her wife to see the tears she was fighting, “He’s just so angry all the time, but when I look at him all I can see is the sweet little boy he used to be.”

“He’s gone through a lot,” Mira reminded her, “We just have to have faith that he’ll find his way back.”

“So have you, you know,” Mira placed her index finger under Erza’s chin and gently pushed until Erza was at eye-level with her.

”You’re an amazing woman, the way you’ve held yourself together and taken care of everyone else. Let me spoil you,” Mira moved her face closer and kissed Erza, smiling as she tasted the combination of both their coffees on her tongue, Erza’s sweetness to the bitterness of the brew she preferred. She grinned at the flustered expression on Erza’s face. Even after all these years, she was not used to being affectionate in public.

“I love you, Erza,” Mira said sweetly, kissing her wife on her forehead, “How about next time we plan for a weekend away?”

“I’d like that.”

Too soon it was time to leave and Erza hugged her wife tightly. She wasn’t ready to let her go but she knew Mira had to get to work so she sneaked a kiss before waving goodbye. She watched Mira get into her car and leave before finding her own car and heading back to the house.

She drove, only half listening to the music playing on the radio and trying to think of a solution to her problem. She opened the gates to their large house from the remote in her car and drove up the long driveway. She had to slam on the brakes as the nurse she had left with her brother came running out of the house.

Erza left her car where it was and hurried out, concerned that something had happened to her brother. She rushed towards the nurse trying her best not to panic.

“What’s wrong, what’s happened?” Erza asked the woman whom she now realized had not been heading towards her at all but towards her own vehicle.

The woman stopped briefly and Erza could see that something was most definitely wrong. The woman looked angry and Erza already knew the words she would hear next.

‘I’m sorry Mrs. Strauss, but I quit!” The nurse, whose name Erza couldn’t for the life of her remember, informed her, “I can’t stay another minute, that man is impossible!”

She got into her car and slammed the door not giving Erza any time to respond, driving away at a speed that was probably not safe for someone her age. Erza sighed as she got back into her car and parked it in their garage.

o-o

Gray heard his sister return from her breakfast date with Mira and was surprised when she didn’t come talk to him about the nurse quitting. It hadn’t been his fault really, how was he supposed to know she was so sensitive?

He felt a bit guilty knowing he’d probably ruined whatever enjoyment Erza might have gotten from seeing Mira. He really couldn’t understand why she stuck around instead of going back home. He didn’t need nurses or any of the other personnel she kept bringing in. How was he supposed to show her he was fine on his own if she refused to trust him with his own care?

Part of him did want her there, well aware that if she left he would really be all alone. His friends had tried to come to visit him in the beginning, but after one of them had come in with a cold and gotten him sick, Erza had flipped out on them and now he was lucky if he got a text asking how he was. If he was honest with himself though, most of them had already stopped coming well before that. Not that he’d had many friends to begin with. If Lyon hadn’t forced him to go out on occasion Gray would’ve gladly stayed in his room studying or watching old hockey reels.

He hobbled towards the study, wanting to get the yelling over with but instead the words he heard through the door made him smile.

“Well can’t you send a male nurse then?” Erza asked whoever she was talking to on the other line. “What do you mean they all refuse to come out? I know he can be a bit difficult but don’t you think they’re overreacting?”

“I see,” Gray heard her say curtly before hanging up the phone. The door of the study had been left ajar and he peeked in to see Erza sitting behind the desk, her head resting in her hands. He hurried away as quickly as he was able and moved to the Conservatory, sitting down behind the large piano that sat in a corner of the large room and beginning to play with the notes, trying to imitate the song he’d been listening to on the radio.

O-o

Dammit! What was she supposed to do now? That had been the last home care agency that had been willing to work with them and she’d had to throw plenty of money at them to keep them sending personnel out. She was about to call Gray’s transplant team to see how much care he still needed when she noticed a magazine that hadn’t been on her desk the previous day. She picked it up trying to figure out why it was there.

On the cover, there was a picture of a very humanoid looking android pushing an older woman in a wheelchair. The headline read Caretakers of the Future Intrigued, Erza opened the magazine to the article and began to read.

The more she read the more excited she became, it sounded exactly like what they needed. Someone who could ignore Gray’s abrasive personality and attempts at isolating himself and still manage all the healthcare tasks that Gray needed taking care of. The only problem was that it was still in the experimental stages and she would need a recommendation to even get Gray’s case considered.

She thought about who could help her get in with the company.

“I see you found the magazine I left you,” Loke, their butler, came in with a smile on his face.

Erza nodded absently, still going through a mental checklist of everyone she knew.

“What’s the matter?” Loke asked confused by her muted reaction, “I thought you’d be all over this. Especially after what happened today.”

“What did happen today?”

“Well you know Gray, he’d stripped naked as he walked around the house and the nurse kept yelling at him to put his clothes back on so he--”

“On second thought, I’m better off not knowing,” Erza stopped him, imagining several inappropriate scenarios Gray could have concocted to get rid of the elderly nurse, all of them bad. “The program sounds fantastic but it’s still experimental, we need an in with the company to even be considered for it.”

“Didn’t you see the note I left you?” Loke frowned at her.

Erza looked around for a note and found a small piece of paper on the floor that must have fallen out when she picked up the magazine. It read Macao Conbolt and had a phone number written underneath.

“Who’s this?”

“He runs the program and he’s expecting your call,” Loke informed her, ”Turns out his kid, Romeo, went to school with us. I took the liberty of giving him a call and explaining the situation. Romeo and Gray weren’t close but he still wanted to help.”

“Gray needs to snap out of this, even if we have to force him kicking and screaming,” Loke’s hazel eyes held a fierceness to them that warmed Erza’s heart.

“I agree, thanks for taking this job, I know it’s not what you’d planned.”

“It pays better than most entry-level jobs so honestly, you’re doing me a favor, plus I get to boss people around,” Loke gave her a wicked grin.

“How are you doing?” Erza asked suddenly, not trusting the smiles Loke had been showering her with. Not after everything that had happened. As expected, the moment Erza questioned him the facade crumbled and all that was left was raw grief.

“I’m alright, really I am, “ Loke tried to assure her, “We both know Lyon wouldn’t have wanted this for Gray, I want to help get him back to the way he was. It’s the least I can do.”

Erza stood up and gave her friend a tight hug, she couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to lose Mira, especially without any warning. She could hear Loke’s breathing change as he tried to keep his emotions under control. It broke her heart.

Even though Erza was glad that Loke had taken it upon himself to help Gray, she was growing increasingly concerned about what it might be doing to Loke. She let it go for now, knowing better than to push.

¨Thank you for this, I’m going to call now.” She really hoped they could help her out, she had no idea what else to do if they turned her down. She’d have to go back to doing everything herself and she knew Mira wouldn’t like that.

Loke excused himself from the room and went off to check on the rest of the staff. He was feeling hopeful, Romeo had said that he’d put in a good word and his dad was sympathetic. He wondered how Gray was going to react to the news that his new caretaker was going to be a robot. How do you piss off a robot? Loke had a feeling Gray would make it his personal mission to find out.

O-o

The following day found Erza at the hospital attending a meeting with Gray’s transplant team and the man Loke had put her in contact with the previous day.

“Thank you for meeting with us so quickly, Mr. Conbolt,” Erza shook the older man’s hand and ushered him into the hospital’s conference room. Inside the room, the members of Gray’s transplant team were seated at a large round table.

“Not at all, Mrs. Strauss, from what you told me on the phone your brother’s case might fit our criteria. If he can benefit from our technology, we would like to help,” Macao assured her, “I just need more details to make sure we can help each other out.”

The transplant team spent an hour going over Gray’s case, discussing daily procedures, and medications. They talked about the possibility of organ rejection based on the results of the latest batch of tests they’d performed.

The team psychologist went on at great length about Gray’s depression, survivor’s guilt and anxiety levels. She gave her approval of them moving forward with their plan, claiming it was the type of neutral interactions she felt he needed to move forward.

Erza watched Macao take notes and ask questions of various members of the transplant team. She was impressed with his thoroughness but there was something about his expression that was making her uneasy. Sure enough, after saying goodbye to the doctors he asked her if she had time for a coffee.

They walked over to the hospital’s cafeteria and Macao bought them each a steaming cup. He walked them over to a table in the back of the room. Once they were both seated, he began to speak.

“I’m going to be honest with you, this is a little more than what our current generation of robots can handle.” Noticing her crestfallen expression he quickly added, “Hold on, I’m not done yet.”

“I want to help, not just because your brother was a friend of my son’s but because I think Gray would benefit from our help. A lot of our clients are older patients whose kids don’t want to take care of them, so from that perspective it wouldn’t be a problem. The robot would be able to stay on top of his medications and any mobility issues but as far as monitoring and the psychological stuff, they’re just not that advanced yet.

Erza looked at the man in confusion. If they couldn’t help then what was he suggesting?

“However, there is one robot in particular, “ Macao looked around furtively before continuing, “You could call him the original one from which we based the technology. He is advanced enough.”

“I don’t understand.”

“He’s a prototype, a very advanced one created by a student as his thesis project,” Macao explained, “Unfortunately, the company saw the benefits to his technology and decided to use some shady verbiage in the agreement the kid had signed to claim that it belonged to them.”

Erza was not impressed with what she was hearing, as a lawyer she had half a mind to look into it herself so she was surprised to see the man burst into fits of genuine mirth.

Noticing her expression Macao hurriedly explained, “Let’s just say the student in question was not okay with that and since he couldn’t destroy his work without getting arrested, he made some modifications to his code that made the robot unreliable. And he made sure to protect the more advanced aspects of his technologies at the end of his internship. No efforts by any of our researchers have managed to unlock its secrets yet.”

“You know this student?”

“Oh yes, very well,” Macao smiled, “He’s been friends with my son for years, Gray might know him too if they hung out in the same groups. More importantly, your brother is the type of patient I know he had in mind when he designed his robot. He’s a good kid.”

“You said the robot was unreliable.” Erza pointed out, “Why would you recommend him for my brother?”

“The robot can be a bit colorful in its choice of words,” Macao explained, “Not so good for a sixty year old lady but perhaps something Gray will appreciate. As I said, this robot is much more advanced, it has diagnostic capabilities on top of everything else and it is adaptable. I’ll make sure to load him up with a psychological database before delivering him as well as uploading all the medication information I received from the transplant team. That is assuming you still want to give this a try.”

“Is the robot dangerous in any way?” Erza asked cautiously.

“No, all of the robots have numerous safeguards to protect their charges and also themselves.”

“Will I need to make any adjustments to the house?” Erza asked, her mind already made up to give this a try.

“Our engineer will install a special plug the robot can use to charge at night, but that should be it. That will be included in the fee we’ve already discussed, you’ll also have to sign a non-disclosure agreement.”

“Alright, Mr. Conbolt, those terms sound reasonable. How quickly can you have this robot delivered?”

“I can have him there in three days, we’ll need to sign the paperwork now or I won’t be able to claim it was an honest mistake that you got this robot and not another,” Macao grinned mischievously.

Erza nodded and they spent the next hour going through paperwork. She agreed to wire the fee as soon as the bank opened in the morning. They shook hands again before saying their goodbyes.

Erza remained in the cafeteria for a few minutes, absorbing the enormity of what she’d just done and praying that it worked. She hoped Gray adjusted quickly.

O-o

Gray woke up to the loud beeping of a truck backing up their driveway. He looked at his watch and when he saw it was only seven o’clock in the morning he promptly went back to sleep ignoring the noises of the staff moving stuff around the house.

He was rudely awoken some time later by a strange metallic noise in his room he didn’t recognize, the room instantly flooding with bright sunlight as someone opened the blackout curtains. Gray’s eyes teared up at the unexpected brightness, making it hard to make out who was in his room, he was able to make out a blob of pink?

Gray was further startled by a male voice he did not recognize introducing himself. “Hello, I am Dragion, your personal healthcare companion.”

A/N I’m going to be super honest, there is a lot plotted for this story but I hadn’t planned on publishing it for a while. I’m only doing so now in a bid to help the Erzajane Project. It will get updated but I would like to update some of my older stories first as they are way overdue!

#fairy tail #erzajane #gratsu #ftlgbtales #erzajanetop10 #lyoke #ftfanfics #natsu dragneel #gray fullbuster #erza scarlet #mirajane strauss #loke #lyon vastia #my edits

[ilovereadingandilovebreathing]

How about.. moxiety :) virgil lost his cat and patton wants to make sure he got them back!

Y E S Moxiety was my first thought, but I had ideas for others, too. Here we go! It’s a liiiiiitttle lengthy, so I’ll add a read more.

The sky was fittingly overcast as Virgil trudged down the sidewalk; the stack of “MISSING” posters under his left arm shifted uncomfortably and he sighed, adjusting for the fifth time to make sure the sheets didn’t spill out onto the concrete. He approached a wooden telephone pole and pulled out a poster, sticking it to the post with a thumbtack and another sigh.

MISSINGOogie Boogie (called Oobie)Runaway idiot; return ASAP                                                                                  Is not an outdoor cat and has claws                                                                  $725 reward                                                                                                  Please contact 555-8473

He stared longingly at the photo of his cat, his already big eyes wide as he sat upright (for once) and staring at the phone camera. It’d been three days since Oobie (short for Oogie Boogie) vanished, and Virgil was starting to worry. Well, more than normal. The chubby, beige feline was 99% an indoor cat, and usually he just popped outside to investigate the backyard before sauntering back through the sliding glass door like he was too good for the world outside his walls and all the creatures therein (or really there-out.) 

Last Sunday, though, Virgil had left the back door open for Oobie because he was in a rush to get to his study session with Logan Patterson, another astronomy fan in his intro. course whose company he found quite companionable. In his haste, he’d left it open all afternoon and into the evening and returned to find Oobie had not.

The absence of a pet is always a difficult experience, but for Virgil missing Oobie was downright painful. Oobie was Virgil’s emotional support animal; the sassy cat could sense and respond to Virgil’s shifts in mood easier than he could chase down the occasional cat nip gifts Virgil brought home. Without Oobie, Virgil could survive, but life was emptier and that much more difficult to deal with.

Virgil jumped and nearly dropped the precariously placed posters when his phone buzzed in his back pocket. He reached around, praying it was a call from Oobie’s rescuer.

[[phone]]                                                                                                          I saw you cat. I hope it didn’t suffer. Too much.

“What the HELL?!” Virgil gasped audibly and blocked the number, taking deep breaths. People sucked sometimes.

His phone buzzed again.

[[phone]]                                                                                                        I’m looking for my cat, too. Please let me know if you get any leads on a calico.

Virgil bit his lips but exhaled slowly.

[[phone]]Sure

[[phone]]                                                                                                      Thanks.

Useless. Virgil debated flicking his phone to silent mode but decided against it for the greater good. He scowled when the phone buzzed incessantly as he went to put it back in his pocket; he set down the posters and took out the phone, brows raising at the volume and content of messages from the number.

[[phone]]                                                                                                        Are you still looking for your cat?![[phone]]                                                                                                      I’m SO sorry he’s missing!![[phone]]                                                                                                  Unless you found him, which if you did, congrats!!!!!

[[phone]]                                                                                                     But if not I hope you find him soon!!

[[phone]]                                                                                                    And I can help you look if you still are![[phone]]                                                                                                      My name is Patton, by the way! I’m a vet student, not a creeper; I promise! 

Virgil laughed roughly, bewildered at the stream of messages, before replying.

[[phone]]Hi Patton, I’m Virgil (though you probably already know that from the missing posters.)                                                                                                          Psych student                                                                                                  Yeah I’m still looking for Oobie. I don’t need help, really. Just keep an eye and ear out? Maybe spread the word? Thanks so much for the offer and interest.

Patton replied instantly.

[[phone]]                                                                                                    Can do! Good luck!

Virgil chuckled; Patton had to be the bubbliest person he’d come into contact with, in person and otherwise. He finally pocketed his phone and continued around the combined commercial and residential area, silently praying someone would call about Oobie soon.

-

Virgil stumbled through his door around 6pm, emotionally wrecked and exhausted from his day. The calico owner had texted him hourly, finally stopping after they announced it’d been found. Virgil hadn’t replied.

He set his empty box of thumbtacks on the coffee table and collapsed onto his couch, reclining so that he was almost laying down, and he stared sadly at the ceiling. Normally, Oobie would jump on his chest and stare him down until he fed him dinner or gave him a treat. He never thought he’d miss that.

His eyes filled, and he swiped a sleeve over his face, grimacing when his phone buzzed. One more false lead or asshole, and he was calling the cops.

[[phone]]                                                                                                    Hey, it’s Patton! Any luck today?

[[phone]]                                                                                                      no                                                                                                                        still trying                                                                                                            lots of assholes, false leads, and other desperate pet owners

[[phone]]                                                                                                      I’m so sorry, Virgil. I can check with the local shelters and animals control centers. I volunteer at the local shelter to get experience for my program, so I’ll help you out there!

[[phone]]Wow                                                                                                                     thanks so much, Patton.

[[phone]]                                                                                                        Of course!

A few minutes of silence passed, and his phone buzzed just as he flicked on his TV and laptop.

[[phone]]                                                                                                      So you’re a psych student?

Virgil sighed.

[[phone]]Yeah                                                                                                                    I’m a senior                                                                                                            so Oobie is pretty important to me right now.

[[phone]]                                                                                                     Me, too! Probably not at the same school, though. I was at the local Tech. School before I transferred for this vet program.[[phone]]Why is Oobie so important right now? Besides being your best friend, of course!

[[phone]]Nice. I have an anxiety disorder                                                                                    Oobie is my emotional support animal

[[phone]]                                                                                                      Oh, wow! I’ve heard of that, but I haven’t met anyone who actually has one. That is a real bummer; I really hope he comes home soon!

[[phone]]me too

[[phone]]                                                                                                      So what’s your favorite part of psych? I took an intro. class as a gen. Ed. Requirement, but I liked it a lot!

[[phone]]Either abnormal or behavioral                                                                                  the human brain is just wild                                                                    Neuropsych is cool too

[[phone]]                                                                                                    Why those?

[[phone]]they helped me understand myself                                                                        once we hit the surface I went deep and saw everything I related to                      it was interesting and has helped me grow a lot

[[phone]]                                                                                                  That’s awesome! I’m so glad it’s been a useful experience for you.

[[phone]]Yeah                                                                                                                 what about you?                                                                                               why vet school?

[[phone]]                                                                                                        I’ll admit. The science part of it was and is really hard, but I love the animals so much! It’s worth it! I love knowing that I help animals AND their humans!

[[phone]]that’s really nice of you

Virgil and Patton went back and forth for a while longer, discussing future plans and majors until Patton needed to pay attention in class. Virgil finally set down his phone and scrolled through Hulu, trying to find another distraction to fill the loneliness.

-

A full week went by with no word on Oobie. Virgil was starting to loose hope, and he began to accept that he might have to find a new companion.Sunday afternoon found him slumped in Starbucks, scrolling through his phone and looking at shelters in the area when a message popped up at the top of the screen. He hit it.

[[phone]]Hi, Virgil! It’s Patton! Seeing as it’s been a week since Oobie took a vacation, I just wanted to check in and see if there’s been any progress.

Virgil sighed. He was glad, in a way, for Patton’s concern, but he was also annoyed with the reminder and admittance of Oobie’s absence.

[[phone]]                                                                                                  Nope, no dice                                                                                                    He’s still chillin in paradise somewhere

[[phone]]                                                                                                      Oh, no!! I’m so sorry to hear that. I can keep checking in with the local shelters and animals control centers between classes and shifts.

[[phone]]Thank you

Virgil pinched his brow and took a breath. Oobie needed to get his little asshole self home soon. -

Buzz buzz buzz buzz Virgil groaned and rolled over, picking up his phone and blinking blankly at his screen until he recognized the number.

“Hello?”

“Virgil!” A tone that was far too chipper for 5am made him bite back a groan. “It’s Patton! I think my classmate found Oobie!”

Virgil’s heart pounded and he sat up slowly. 

“Where?”

“She volunteers at the Akron Street Animal Shelter. She just texted me and said an older woman and her caretaker brought in a cat that matches Oobie’s description.”

“Akron is a couple minutes from here.” Virgil pushed himself out of bed and pulled on sweatpants and a hoodie. “That could be him. Thank you so much, Patton.” 

“Absolutely! I gotta go; good luck!” Beep beep beep

Virgil grabbed Oobie’s carrying case and his keys and set off for the shelter, arriving in just minutes.

“Hey.” He panted as he approached the desk. “I....Patton just called me about a cat.”

“Patton?” The desk clerk looked him over quizzically, and then he remembered.

“He volunteers somewhere else. I-whatever. I heard you just got a white cat from an old lady.”

“Oh, yes. He’s likely still being examined for injury or illness, so please take a seat. I’ll go see if they’re at a point where you can see him. If he’s yours, I’ll have a few discharge forms for you.”

“Thanks.” Virgil sank into the closest chair and breathed, trying to calm his racing pulse.

“Sir?” A vet. tech. with bright pink scrubs and a dark ponytail smiled at him. “You can come see him. Did Patton send you?”

“Yeah.” Virgil rose and offered a weary smile. “Thank you so much for calling him. I’m Virgil, by the way.”

“Valerie.” She gestured down the hall and walked with him. “Second door to the left here-“ 

She opened the door, freeing the once muffled meows into the hallway, and Virgil absorbed the mass of white fur and big blue eyes in front of him. Virgil’s eyes instantly filled with tears, and he laughed wetly.

“Yup, that’s Oobie.” He set down the cat carrier and went to the table, reaching out a rusted hand for Oobie to inspect. The cat sniffed briefly before bumping his head against his knuckles and purring loudly. “Hey, buddy. Is he okay?”

“Nothing we could find. Seems like he just wandered off. The woman said she found him harassing the birds in her bird bath.”

“Sounds right.” Virgil scooped Oobie off of the table and into his embrace, and the normally stubborn creature melted into his arms, settling easily over his forearms and purring loudly. “Thank you so much.”

“Absolutely!” Valerie beamed. “I’m so glad we could help! Patton will be thrilled.” She laughed. “You can stay here and visit with Oobie; I’ll get the discharge paper work and make sure we don’t need to do anything else.”

“Thanks.” Virgil settled Oobie back on the table; the cat mewed in protest, but Virgil rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone. Taking Oobie back in one hand, Virgil snapped a quick selfie.

[[phone]]                                                                                                      success[[phone]]                                                                                                  OMG YAY!!!!!! IM SO HAPPY FOR YOU BOTH!!!!! IM LITERALLY CRYING!!!!

Big, framed brown eyes and chestnut brown hair filled Virgil’s screen, and his heart skipped a bit. He hadn’t expected Patton to be so....

[[phone]]only tears of happiness I hope

[[phone]]                                                                                                       Of course!

Virgil smiled.

[[phone]]thank you so so much for helping me get my little buddy back

Virgil bit his lip. [[phone]]I’d love to pay you back. Coffee? On me?

[Patton!]                                                                                                                I’d love to!

[Virgil

Hope you liked it! This was super fun to do.

[septic-dr-schneep]

JSE Fanfiction - In Time of Need (Part 17: Interim)

Summary: Unaware of what’s continuing at home, Chase becomes increasingly restless as he recovers from his surgery. Soon enough he receives a visit that will hopefully serve well to distract him.

Chase had always considered himself a good patient. He wasn’t like Schneep, who would grumble at his caretaker that they weren’t doing it right and he could take care of himself, and he wasn’t like Marvin, who was constantly looking at the clock to see when he could make a break for it. He wasn’t like Jameson, who felt guilty for causing a fuss, or like Jackieboy, who—

Well, at this point Jackie’s a better patient than I am…He’s somewhere in this hospital, just…lying there.

It went against everything in Jackieboy’s nature. As soon as he was patched up, he would try to leap off the exam table and go on patrol as if nothing had ever happened. He’d never been able to sit still when it came to healing. Perhaps that was still the case; he wasn’t healing right now. He was in tandem.

The point was that Chase had always been well aware of his limits. He knew what would stress him enough to hurt and what he could take. There had been a time when he didn’t care, when he had wanted the pain just to break through the numbness, but this wasn’t that time. Therefore Chase had stayed prostrate in his hospital bed for the past several hours. He’d hardly moved enough to wrinkle the blankets and yet he still found himself exhausted, as if he’d just finished a twelve-hour day of filming stunts.

Even if he’d been up and about, he wouldn’t have been filming; he’d put up a notice on the Bro Average channel almost five months ago that he was going on hiatus because of a serious family emergency.

“I…honestly don’t know when I’ll be back,” he’d admitted, scrubbing at his sore, tender, sleep-deprived eyes. “Hopefully by the end of this…I don’t know, maybe by the end of this year. Thanks, all of you, for understanding. Family comes first, y’know?”

Given his history with family, given what his viewers had watched him do for family, they were more than willing to let him have a reprieve. The stream of concerned comments had eased up as the weeks grew longer but there was always that sense of anticipation there. He knew they would be there waiting for him, no matter how long it took, and for that he was grateful. Hopefully he wouldn’t get too out of practice and lose his touch.

These thoughts were among the many he used to occupy himself as he whiled away hours upon hours of nothingness, resignedly drifting between sleep and a periodic staring contest with the ceiling. The ceiling always won.

Sometimes he would do his best to make conversation with Dr. Iplier and the Host, but he wasn’t close or knowledgeable about either of them so he eventually ran out of topics they might have in common. Neither of them were naturally talkative anyway, which only made it harder. The only entertainment Chase got during the day was when the nurses would come to check on him and even that was short-lived.

As the last nurse eased the door shut behind her, Chase leaned his head carefully back against the pillows and sighed deeply.

“Dude, can you grab my phone and see if any of the others have—?”

“They haven’t, Chase,” Dr. Iplier assured him, shuffling through the papers on the clipboard he was engrossed in. “I just checked twenty minutes ago.”

“Well, it’s on vibrate! Maybe we didn’t hear it! I just wanna know if they’re—”

“As impatience mounts within the Septic Ego, he recalls that he hasn’t taken a nap in almost an hour,” the Host cut in pointedly. “As much as he wishes he could continue to fidget and inquire, he finds that it will do him no good and that he should rest if he wants to leave the hospital sooner. The less time he spends awake, the less he will be aware of the time passing.”

Pouting, Chase hunkered down a little lower in his bed and mumbled, “You’re cheap.”

Before he could take the suggestion and close his eyes, however, the phone near Dr. Iplier’s elbow did vibrate. Perking up, he glanced at it in vague surprise and a haughty grin spread across Chase’s face.

“Well, would you look at that? Somebody’s calling! What’s the ID? ‘My Drug Dealer?’ ‘I’m A Kitty Cat?’ ‘Brainy Bub?’”

“None of them,” Dr. Iplier replied, raising an eyebrow at Chase’s phone screen. “It just says ‘Her’.”

At that Chase’s smile faltered, eyes widening as slow realization trickled into his brain. “Oh, no…Oh, no, I was supposed to…Give me that, doc, let me see—”

As soon as the doctor handed him the phone, Chase felt as if it weighed three pounds heavier than usual underneath the tangible frustration and anger conveyed through the text glaring back at him.

>The kids and I are at your house. Where are you? I’ve been ringing for five straight minutes. Don’t tell me you went out and forgot about them.

Cursing under his breath, Chase hurriedly swiped at the keys, wincing as he was forced to pull against the IV lead in his arm.

<Had an emergency, I’m at the hospital. Needed surgery.

>What? What kind of emergency? What kind of surgery?

<Doesn’t matter. Could you bring them here? I still want to see them!

>Are you sure the doctors will allow that?

<YOU’RE MY FAMILY.

As soon as he clicked “send” on that one, Chase knew he had made a mistake. He could almost sense Stacy on the other end, staring at those three words with skepticism and mistrust. His eyes lingered on them just as long, filled with longing, desperation, pleading. At long last, he could see her typing.

>Elvery Heights West General, right? What’s your room number?

Falling back against the pillows, he exhaled slowly and mouthed a silent thank-you, sending the proper information and then glancing back and forth between his companions.

“Okay, sorry to spring this on you, but I was supposed to have the kids today. They’re on their way here instead.”

“Oh.” Flipping the papers on his clipboard shut, Dr. Iplier promptly rose from his seat, brushing down his coat. “In that case, I’ll be excusing myself now. I’m not good with kids; they always end up crying when I’m around. Host?”

“The Host isn’t particularly adept with them either, but he would like to remind the doctor that they are meant to be protecting Chase Brody should anything arise.”

“Then you’re staying?” At the Host’s brusque nod, the doctor waved a hand dismissively. “Alright, then, do what you want. Just don’t let them start pulling on your bandages or anything; you almost ruptured a blood vessel when you took them off during the fight and I don’t think it’d make for good times if they ended up covered in blood.”

Chase visibly flinched at the thought and for half a second the doctor looked as if he may regret saying it, but he didn’t apologize. As the door slid shut behind him, the Host apologized on his behalf.

“The doctor has always maintained a noticeable lack of a bedside manner.”

“Yeah, no kidding…” Picking at some loose string on his sheets, Chase squirmed, discomfort striking a more prominent ache in his head. “Host…uh, my family’s kinda…well, I just don’t want you to be weirded out if my wife—my ex-wife and I are—”

“Chase need not worry; the Host is well aware of his marital status.”

“You are? How?”

At that the Host simply tilted his head, folding his hands primly in his lap. “There is very little that escapes him.”

Then did it escape him how unsettling he was being or was he doing it to toy with him? Chase wondered uneasily. He didn’t bother to ask; he had a feeling that whatever the Host might say in response would only compound the issue.

As soon as he heard their voices outside the door, the vlogger pushed himself up in his bed as far as he could, trying to plaster a smile on his face. His kids didn’t need to know what had happened. They didn’t need to know everything that was weighing on his mind or causing him pain; they just needed to see their daddy smiling. The Host straightened in his chair in the corner and while he didn’t smile—did he ever?—he did seem much more attentive, even expectant.

“Here we are,” Stacy announced as she eased the door open, letting Connor and Brianna shuffle into the room.

“Hey there! Come give me a hug, would you?” Chase urged cheerfully, extending the arm that wasn’t hindered by the IV.

As soon as they saw their dad was upright and alert, in contrast to whatever they may have imagined, the kids lit up, rushing over to latch onto him. Their warmth, their familiar smell, their little hands entwining with his…It never stopped being precious.

“We missed you, Dad!” Brianna exclaimed, wrapping herself tightly around his forearm and rocking back and forth with it.

“Mama wanted to give up, she wanted to take us back to her house but I told her to keep ringing the doorbell, no matter how long it took!” Connor piped up eagerly, tugging on his fingers. “I knew you’d want to see us!”

“Oh, I always want to see you, little man…I’m sorry I wasn’t at the house,” Chase murmured kindly, casting a fleeting glance up at Stacy, who stood at the foot of the bed and hadn’t said a word of greeting.

There hadn’t been an actual face-to-face greeting between them for about nine months—no, nine months exactly. She had known something was seriously wrong with him and the others after Schneep had been abducted, so whenever they had to see each other, she opted to skip pleasantries and get right down to business. The same rang true here. Even as her eyes asked, What happened to you? her mind purposely glossed over the explanation.

“How are you feeling?” she asked evenly, loosely folding her arms against her chest—closing herself off from him. He forced his smile to remain despite it.

“Better than I was. It’s been a long week,” he confessed honestly. “I should be out of here tomorrow, if there aren’t any complications.”

“What happened?” Brianna asked at the same time Connor happened to glance into the corner and notice the other man in the room, holding Chase’s hand protectively in front of him as he demanded, “Who’s that?”

“Oh, that’s a—friend of mine.” Hopefully no one noticed Chase’s hesitation. “He’s called the Host. He’s been keeping me company, making sure I’m okay.”

“The Host is happy to inform them that their father has been very well cared for,” the Iplier Ego assured them, his tone strictly neutral but a shade lighter than its usual monotone. Brianna wrinkled her nose unsurely at that, peeking up at her dad.

“Why does he talk like that?” she whispered.

“Don’t be rude,” Chase scolded lightly, ruffling her silky blond hair. “That’s just how he likes to talk.” Come to think of it, he didn’t know if the Host could talk in first person.

Now that he had been reassured that this was a friend, Connor had broken away from Chase and was peering with wide eyes up at the Host, fiddling with his hands. “Do you—Do you wanna see a magic trick, Mr. Host?” he ventured hopefully. “I’ve been practicing one and I wanted to show Daddy when we came so can I show you too?”

“You don’t have to say yes, it’s just a silly trick he does with a calculator,” Stacy cut in, a little embarrassed.

“On the contrary, the Host is quite interested,” he countered, to which she stifled a sigh as Connor scurried to her side and pulled on the clasp to her purse until she fished the calculator out for him.

“See, see, I can make the calculator talk to you when you turn it upside down!” he exclaimed, hurriedly punching in numbers and then thrusting it out for the Host to see. He shrank back only a little as the Host rose from his chair and he noticed how large the man was, but the hand the Host extended to hold the device was kind. As he read it, he chuckled lightly.

“The Host bids the calculator hello in return,” he offered.

Pleased that he was playing along, Connor beamed, snatching the calculator back and typing a second time as he bragged, “I can get it to say your name too! It’s really easy!”

At that the Host raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical, but as he watched him wait patiently as Connor fiddled with it, Chase couldn’t help but feel a warm surge of gratitude. He said he wasn’t good with kids…Or maybe he doesn’t need to be if kids are good with him.

“Here!”

After a pause, the Host cleared his throat, announcing in a tone that was measured to be somewhat gentle, “The Host is sorry to break it to the master magician, but that combination of numbers spells ‘HOSE.’”

“What?!” Scandalized, Connor took a second look and glowered, pouting, “Well, maybe you’ve been spelling your name wrong all this time.” The Host bit his lower lip at that, clearly trying to hide a smile, and the little boy took his toy back, returning his attention to Chase as the Host returned to his chair. “Daddy, this one’s for you!”

“It’s a really good one,” Brianna promised. “He showed me earlier.”

“Well, then I’m looking forward to it,” Chase mused, scanning the numbers for a few moments before turning it around. He promptly burst out laughing, the sound causing a ringing pain in his own ears that he completely ignored. “You figured out how to say ‘BOSS’ with numbers?”

“Isn’t it the best?!” Connor burst out, nearly hopping up and down in his excitement. “I did it all on my own and I knew you’d like it! I knew you would! I wanna show your friend Mr. Jack. Do you think he’d like it?”

At that Chase’s laughter waned, his attention falling back to the calculator screen. He could already picture the smile Jack would give if he could see it, the one that always lit the entire room and filled everyone around him with warmth.

“Well, Jack is…He’s been really, really busy lately,” he managed at length. “I’ll see when we can get together and you can show him, okay? Hopefully we can do that soon.”

As Connor nodded and took the calculator back, chattering with his sister about how much he would practice until then, Chase found his thoughts straying. Now that he’d been reminded of what lay waiting for him at home, he felt even more trapped in this bed than before.

#youtube #jacksepticeye #fanfiction #youtube fanfiction #chase brody #chase brody's family #stacy brody #the host #dr iplier #hurt comfort #family life #in which this is filler before the juicy chapters to come #in time of need #i'd love some feedback

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hello.I was wondering if you know any johnlock fics where Sherlock and John are pen pals? If you could recommend something, please do. Thank you. :)

Hi Lovely!

Ah, I’ve posted up lists before with them texting / writing to each other in these posts:

Epistolary / Texting / Letters

Morse Code

Letters After the Fall

But here are the fics specific to the topic you’re looking for! If anyone has anything else to add, let us know! :D (NOTE: anything marked with “{TO READ}” means I haven’t read it so read at your own discretion).

Dear John by starwarsfreak95 (T, 601 w. || Angst, Hurt Comfort) - Not all Dear John letters are bad. Sherlock tries to explain to John why he did what he did and how much John means to him.

Message Not Sent by Queerasil (K, 762 w. || Angst, One-Sided Texting, Pining Sherlock) - Sherlock texts John after the fall and during the hiatus. The messages are sent, but never received. Sequel to WORDLOCKED, TSTM, and Wait, How Do You Play This Game Again?

Text Me When It’s Over by immaculately-flawed  (K+, 1K+ w. || Friendship, Humour, Post-TRF, Texting, Sort-Of Pining Sherlock) – After the fall Sherlock starts writing texts to John. Of course, he never sends them… Until he does by accident. Post Reichenbach fic but not angsty.

Pen Pals by WerewolfDoctor (K, 2K+ w. || Epistolary, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Post-TRF) – Most people don’t become pen pals by one of them writing a not-suicide note. Then again, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson have never exactly been normal, have they?

There’s Something Living in These Lines by teahigh (orphan_account) (M, 4,676 w. || Mutual Pining, Love Letters, Angst, Mutual Pining, UST / URT, Dirty Talk) – Two men, complete opposites in almost every way, who speak only in letters and pages torn from books.

Correspondence by Cleo2010 (T, 8,031 w. || Letters, Friends to Lovers, Jealousy, Dating ) – Sherlock’s been spirited away on a case for Mycroft. Part of the deal was that he and John could communicate via letter until the case was completed. Maybe the cliche is true, absence does make the heart grow fonder. Or perhaps something is growing on the feet in the fridge. Read their letters month by month.

Get It All in Writing by aceofhearts61 (T, 2,423 w., Ace Sherlock / Straight John, Love Letters, Romantic Friendship, Asexuality, Schmoop) – Sherlock and John write each other love notes. Part 8 of A Love with No Name

White Blank Page by SarahCat1717 (M, 11,936 w. || Post-TRF, Clever John, Reunion Fic, Pining Sherlock, Letters, Fantasies) – Post-fall, Sherlock is off eliminating Moriarty’s crime web. He finds he misses John. He can’t divulge that he still lives, but he placates his need to communicate with John and still feel a connection with him by sending him blank letters. But over time, this writing exercise lends itself to Sherlock exploring his feelings for his friend. What will happen when Sherlock returns to London and the man he has been “writing” to regularly for the past two years? NOT S3 compliant. Mary who?

The Dead Letters by cwb (E, 17,716 w. || Post-TRF, Love Letters / Epistolary, Forgiveness, Injury, Caretaking, POV John, Dev. Rel., Mutual Masturbation, Cuddling, First Kiss / Time) – Sherlock is dead, and John might as well be. When Sherlock breaks his silence to keep John from doing something drastic, John tries to work through his anger enough to respond. {{TO READ}}

Dear John by wendymarlowe (E, 23,031 w. || Post-TRF, Online Dating, Pining, Epistolary, Cybersex, Long Distance Romance) – With Sherlock dead, John eventually (under duress) makes a profile on an online dating site. And falls into a long-distance relationship with an enigmatic partner who reminds him of Sherlock in all the right ways. (Hint: it turns out to be Sherlock.) Part 1 of Dear John

Dead Letter Office by a_different_equation (M, 20,364 w. || ‘Bartleby’ Fusion / Office Setting AU || Different First Meeting, Epistolary, John’s Blog, Angst with a Happy Ending, Pre-Canon, John Watson is Sherlock’s Boss, PTSD John, Military Backstory, Writer John, Drug Use, Texting) – John Watson comes home from the war, gets a new job and meets Sherlock Holmes through Mike Stamford. Same tale since 1891, except this time it’s 2008, John is Sherlock’s boss, and they work together at the Dead Letter Office in London. It’s not a love story, until it finally is. {{TO READ}}

The Real Meaning of Idioms by feverishsea (T, 21,691 w. || Texting, Humour, Post S2) - After two weeks away, John finally texts Sherlock. He doesn’t expect Sherlock to respond. He doesn’t expect Sherlock to keep texting him. And he really doesn’t expect things to spiral out of control so rapidly.

Don’t Leave Anything Out by lookupkate (E, 27,422 w. || Epistolary, Falling in Love, Misunderstandings, Alternate First Meeting) – The first letter John writes home from Afghanistan is meant to go to a woman he went on only one date with. How it ends up in Sherlock’s hands is completely innocent. What happens next is not. What do you do when you find out the person you’re in love with has been lying about something as monumental as who they are? What do you do when you’re the one who lied? How on earth do you put the pieces back together?

A Study In Auto-Signatures, Sniper Dolphins, and Sex Holidays by cwb (E, 32,690 w. || Case Fic, Post S3, Evil Mary, Dev. Rel., Honeymoon, Epistolary, Bottomlock, First Kiss / Time, Fluff, Secret Agents, BAMF!John) – John and Mary go on their sex holiday, and Sherlock is grumpy and pining about it. Part 1 of HOT DOLPHIN SEX

Leveling Up by philalethia (M, 36,961 w. || Video Gamer AU || Different First Meeting, Epistolary, Gaming, Internalized Homophobia, Sexuality Crisis, Past Drug Use) – John plays video games, Sherlock writes a guide on GameFAQs, and they get on quite well together… eventually.Told entirely through emails, text messages, and voice chats. {{TO READ}}

The Pieces That Fall to Earth by Itsallfine (M, 49,513 w. || S4 Fix-It, Epistolary, Love Confessions, Slow Burn, Parentlock, Past Abuse, Coming Out, Questioning Sexuality, Mental Health Issues / Therapy, Angst, Happy Ending) – John and Sherlock have hit rock bottom, but with all their armor stripped away, they can finally speak honestly, seek healing, and find the truths that matter most. An epistolary post-s4 fix-it fic. (This fic is rated T except for one very clearly marked and easily skippable chapter, which is rated M.) Part 1 of The Pieces that Fall to Earth

In the Dark Hours by hubblegleeflower (E, 51,639 w. || Friends to Lovers, Unreliable Narrator, Closeted Bi John, Angst, Miscommunications, Slow Burn, First Time, John’s Blog / Epistolary) – John, wounded and silent, drifts back to Baker Street for healing…and then goes home again. He visits, gets more upbeat, chattier, smiles, jokes… and still goes home again. Sherlock wants him to move back in - it just makes sense - but John shows no signs of doing so. This is the story of how John and Sherlock learn to say what needs to be said when they’re both so very, very rubbish at talking.

between each beat are words unsaid by darcylindbergh, hudders-and-hiddles (T, 107,998 w. || Epistolary, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Angst, Happy Ending) – On their wedding night, John and Sherlock gift each other with the things they each said when the other could not hear, the things they each put down where the other could not see: a collection of writings that illustrate the way their love for one another has grown over the years. Part 1 of between each beat

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #pen pals #letters #epistolary #my fic recs #johnlock29

[kayminkoh]

[Book Review] The Institute

by Stephan King Personal rating 8/10

Personal Note

The author leaves the reader with a sensitive choice of morality, whether the purpose of the institute is rightful or wrongful. Whether a small sacrifice should be made for the chance of a greater good or if unjust actions are rendered wrongful no matter the bigger picture. The author takes effort to get the reader at personal levels with each main character. The author makes the pain of the characters real and personal to the reader. The author creates a thrilling story that takes the reader into the character's perspective, making it feel like a 3D perspective view movie. I felt the bottom of the fence  raking against my legs and I felt blood dripping from a place of my body where my earlobe should have been, I saw the donut crumbs on the train that the freight manager left behind and felt hunger.

Strengths

Flawless balance between descriptive and narrative text to let the imagination and story progress fluently.

Longest book i’ve read in my life. 561 pages with relatively lots of words in one page.

Weaknesses 

The book seemed unnecessarily slow at the start especially with narration around a sub character. When the sub-character is reintegrated into the story at the end, I could barely remember his character. Considering the two months it took me to read this book (my mind was on other things and other books), I took 59 days reading 30% of the book and once the action started it took me the next 24 hours to finish the remaining 70%.

Plot Summary

*Spoiler Alert. Anyone who intends to read the book already should not go any further.

Characters

Main Character: Luke Ellis (super smart kid)

Main character Friends: Kalisha (Luke's first friend in first half), Avery(Super strong TP), Tim(Local friendly cop),

Institution members: Julia(in charge), Stackhouse(2IC), Maureen(caretaker)

Story (Short reminder version)

Thousands of kids are reported missing every year. Out of those reported missing some Kids ranging from 10 to 14 are kidnapped (and their family often murdered in the process) and taken to a secret institution hidden away surrounded by forests somewhere in Maine. These kids are not taken at random, they are subjects of particular interest that are being monitored by a secret organization. Nobody knows that these few children are actually incubated by their paternal figures until they are ripe of age. How they were discovered and how the institution knew? All babies are given a test at birth called BDNF(Brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and in rare cases, babies with exceptionally high BDNF levels experience supernatural events. Hearing voices or experiencing objects move as if, in the presence of a ghost. Eventually we find out that they possess some form of either telekinesis or telepathy.

Luke wakes up one morning and finds himself in his own room. Everything is normal.. but strangely, the window is not where it is supposed to be. Overnight he has become a victim of one of these kidnappings and lost his parents in the process. He is now part of ‘The Institute’. The place seemed like a school for kids, there are caretakers, a cafeteria, a playground with a trampoline…. Just not doctors that randomly call upon kids to put needles in them and forcefully make them focus their eyes at hypnotizing videos until they pass out. This particular hypnotizing video consisted of swirling colorful dots that made some throw up, pass out or die. Despite the agony of being a test subject, the security makes sure the kids are in line and go through the procedure without resistance. The staff would electrocute young kids with zap sticks if any slight disobedience is apparent. Security cameras are everywhere, kids can't go home. They have no home if anything. 

While the kids are stripped of their freedom, the internet, their rights and safety, the institute is relentless and emotionless. I assume the institution calls it motivation when the head manager Julia appears and says that the kids are serving a valuable purpose for the country and the world. At first, you would think the institute was a place of research, where they are trying to contain telekinesis and telepathy powers to create a psychic army to dominate the world, but gladly, the author provides a better story than that.

Fresh kids arrive at the institute in relatively constant frequencies and new arrivals naturally become acquainted with one another and get along. What also was constant was the rate at which kids were removed from this new home. The Kids find out they are in a sector of the institute called ‘front half’ and although not said aloud very much, becomes familiar with the word ‘back half’. Not one of the guests knows exactly what the back half is but there is a bad feeling that one gets from rumors and listening to the staff’s thoughts through telepathy. What became obvious was that when the testing was done on an individual and you have been sitting comfortably for a couple or few days, one knows. The men in red are coming for you to remove you from the front half, and take you to the back half one is never to be seen again.

The youngest of the institute Avery, age 8, comes in not long after Luke’s arrival. Avery was unusually young to be taken by his parents but one could see why he was here already. He could read minds like listening with his ears and send thoughts like speaking. The strongest telepathic the institution found in a few decades. He cries and wets his pants but luckily finds himself around some compatible people to make his substitute  mommy or daddy figures. Avery has trouble sleeping at night and finds himself seeking his parent buddies to sleep together with. At night he would come find Kalisha, a TP girl of color who was the longest staying resident in the front half and inevitably,  when she was taken away to the back half, Avery looked to Luke.

One day there was a heavy storm and consequentially, not so long after, a small trench was discovered under the playground fence. The security didn’t know yet and for the first time in a long while, Luke thought of hope; A way to escape this hell of an institute. With the aid of a special caretaker called Maureen who Luke had helped out with her personal issues, Luke escaped during the night. He had 3 things Maureen had secretly provided for the mission. 1, a knife to dig and to take care of something on Luke. 2, a USB. 3, some information on directions. During the night Luke went out and made the trench deeper and got through, and when the time came to remove the tracking tag on his earlobe, the young brave boy did it. Like a Saw movie, he cut a large portion of his earlobe off, threw it over the fence and dashed for it. Following the instructions he got, Luke landed himself on a train. Where was he going, what was his plan, was he going to make it?

Meanwhile back at the institute in the morning, a Janitor finds Julia saying it's urgent. Julia followed to see what he had found, imagining a clogged toilet. To everyone’s surprise…. It wasn’t the earlobe… yet... but, Maureen was found dead. Suicide by hanging in the toilet of an empty dorm. Her tongue poking out and a small message on the mirror that started turning the mentality of the  institute on its head, ‘hell is coming’. The institute didn't know exactly what, but they were scared, Julia not knowing what exactly is happening did start to doubt the security systems and security measures that have been gradually weathering over time. She knew how dusty the cameras were and how laid back everyone had become with familiarity of the work. This realization was good for the institute but for the matter at hand, She was one day too late. 

Avery was trying to cover up the trench Luke left behind. He was caught by the now highly alert security and was tortured, the poor tiny boy. Avery eventually leaked some information about the escape and panic made its way to the privately operated institution. The information that Avery provided was a good start for the institute, however, the help was not sufficient to avoid further punishment. Avery was dunked multiple times into a water tank, till he fainted, and was brought back to reality, and was dunked again, and repeated…. As the final punishment Avery was thrown into the Back half.

The runaway situation was a chess game. A game the smart boy Luke was best at. Luke would repeatedly mention having at least 3 moves, each with three moves the opposition can take and be ready for the right reaction. The institute had spies all over the region so they had a good home land advantage on locating Luke. First of all, they thought Luke was going to go as far away as he possibly can. And they were right. From looking at train schedules and their dedicated locations the institute was able to get a good idea as to where Luke was going. The game was just starting when Luke was caught in the freight of mattresses and lawn mowers. Thankfully not by one of the institute spies who called themselves the uncle of a lost boy, but by a friendly freight manager who may or may not have believed Luke's story, but was convinced from the blood soaked clothes and desperate conversation with Luke that he had to leave the kid alone in the train instead of taking him to local authorities to report a lost kid.

There were uncles at every stop, so Luke couldn’t simply get off when the train was parked. When Luke got off the train he tried to get off early to avoid any attention but he ran into a signpost and knocked himself out. The people at the train station all saw Luke and helped him get to a safe place. Between the local folks there was one that was a spy for the institute and called the institute right away. The institute departed with Julia leading as soon as the report came in but luckily, Luke had about 8 hours before they arrived at the station. Luke had 8 hours to convince the locals what he had seen and where he was the last few months.

It seemed 8 hours was enough, especially with the USB Maureen prepared. The USB contained footage revealing the back half and also the A ward which was revealed to be the next place kids were transferred to after being in the back half.

Meanwhile, when Avery  landed himself in the Back half he learnt what the purpose of the institution was and also realized there was a ward A where one was taken to and never to be seen again. The purpose of the institution was to make globally threatening targets kill themself by means of long distance telepathy that was achievable only when the kids in back half all focused at once and with an additional boost they called the ‘hum’ that was coming from the kids in ward A. There was something strange about the kids who stayed longer in the back half, they were slowly losing their strengths and minds. At meal time, the fresh back half members would eat but the veteran back half members would drool and not eat at all, as if their mind has been brainwashed, or perhaps didn't have a brain to wash at all.

Back at the station where the townsfolk were watching the USB footage, Maureen concludes what the A ward was, it was the children at the institute who had given up their minds to the psychic power; they had gone over the mental wall and could not return to their bodies. What was left of them was their bodies, and the pure power they possessed that let out a ‘hum’. They ran around like lunatics, had no clothes on, banged their heads rhythmically or repeated saying the same phrases infinitely. They were broken. And when their bodies did not eat, they eventually died, and were taken to a special furnace for cremation. A death known to no one. Probably a better place to be than be consumed by power and not able to return to one's body.

When the Locals all agreed something had to be done, Julia and the kidnapping murderers had arrived and a massacre broke loose. Both locals and the institute took fatalities but Luke and the friendly police officer, Tim, survived and were able to out smart and capture the overly unstable, emotional and desperate Julia. When Stackhouse, who was second in charge after Julia was at  the institution, received the call he had feared but somewhat expected. A deal was made with Luke to have Julia back and the secrecy protected in exchange for the kids in the institution.

When Luke, Tim and Julia arrived at the institution, Stackhouse was outside with both his hands in front as instructed by Luke. When the car was close enough, Stackhouse suddenly put one hand up and the hiding crew open-fired at the car. There would be no trouble if Tim and Luke were dead and if that meant Julia had to die as well, it was judged to be ‘worth it’. But being the smart boy Luke was, Luke and Tim were in the back seat against the floor while Julia was forced to drive the car seating at the front taking all the bullets thrown by her own team. Luke and Tim survived. But the game was not won yet.

It turned out, there was no need to win anything by force from Luke and Tim’s side. There was an explosion and an unbelievable event that distracted everyone there. You see, Avery being the most powerful TP, figured out how the ward A kids used their powers and realized that they respond to a strong TP Force. The Ward A kids attached themselves to any familiar power and enhanced it. The kids in back half, the ones still with their minds intact put their hands together and made their way out. They made the staff kill each other, and electrocute themselves to death, slap one self till they were out etc. When they came to a dead end due to security lock down that Stackhouse had previously ordered. Avery, felt power coming from the kids of ward A but also felt power coming from far far away. As if there were  institutions all around the world. While in his time at the dead end, he fell asleep and dreamt of answering a series of phones that hung up after saying ‘can you hear me?’ the phones got bigger and bigger as he answered each one and when he woke up. One of the mindless Ward A kids had written on the wall, ‘ Answer the BIG phone’. Knowing that he might be consumed by the power when the big phone was picked up, he said his goodbyes to his friends and answered the phone. He said ‘i can hear you’ and a rumble started along with powers that were never witnessed before. The building’s security did not matter anymore because the whole building started vibrating and elevating. When the broken building lost its integrity the other kids escaped to the playground, and looked at what was happening. The whole building was levitating above and was moving toward the adjacent administration building. When the buildings were vertically aligned the levitating building fell and demolished both structures killing any who remained in them. The institution was done for. At Least this branch was.

During this event Stackhouse and his crew had forgotten about who they shot at, why that shot at them and were in shock. Luke and Tim captured this opportunity to reverse the tide and took control of the situation. The institution members were tied up and the surviving kids were reunited. The surviving kids all stayed with Tim for a while and were let go one by one, Tim let one child go at a time to where their family or closest family was. Telling them not to say anything about anything, and they don't remember or just don't know. It was judged that it was for the world’s best interest that no such institute existed.

Before Luke was to be introduced back into the real world. A person in a suit visited Tim and Luke. He said that they have caused a big mistake and now the world is on a death timer. The man was the boss of all the institutions. Mentioned a power that Luke had only guessed existed and that was future predictors. The man's job, the institution's purpose was to remove global destruction scale threats before anyone realized it would threaten life on Earth. Whether it may be the development of gas that could take out a whole race, a leader who would release multiple nukes upon the world, Hitler, who shot himself… (The institutes doing?). However,  Luke was not persuaded because there was always a chance that the future could change, the many variables that could lead to an alternative path. Luke had done his research on suspicion and the conclusive factor was that the further away an event was the more subject to variations and change it could have been, and this man in the suit was talking about 10~15 years ahead. Luke and the Suited man both knew that the most accurate future readings were made 10 minutes, or just before the event. While the man’s approach to this was ‘why take a risk’ Lukes approach was why sacrifice children for a chance of a risk that might not happen anyway. This makes one think. Because of the frustration of interfacing a kid and how this kid was stabbing at all the right things the suited man had no intention of mentioning first, he casually took out a smoke. He was not allowed to smoke as weird powers prevented the cigarette from coming in reach... ‘Why smoke if you know how you will end up?”... Speechless,  the man in the suit got back to his car and left.

#bookreview #stephanking #theinstitute #shortversion #reminderversion #spoilers

[laurelwinchester]

DEAN/LAUREL FOR THE MEME!

Paging goshutuplucifer because you also sent me D/L for this meme.

who hogs the duvet: Laurel. She is always cold and she tosses and turns in her sleep, which means she usually wakes up all tangled in the blankets. Dean tends to run hot anyway so he doesn’t really care about the lack of blankets but she always feels so guilty when sees that she’s stolen all the covers so when she inevitably wakes up before him, she carefully covers him up and lets him sleep in.

who texts/rings to check how their day is going: They both do this a lot. However, neither one of them actually say outright that they’re texting to check in so they just send each other texts about dinner or grocery lists or random things about their day. If one of them is out of town - if he’s on a case or she’s off working with the Justice League - they kind of up their check in texts. Occasionally, one of them will bluntly send a text that says something like yo, babe, you still alive???? Especially if it’s been over 24 hours since the last check in. But most of the time, they try to be lowkey in their worrying.

She’ll send him selfies of her expression while she’s stuck listening to Oliver or Bruce drone on in meetings just to let him know she’s still alive and uninjured. Or she’ll try to start conversations by texting him random things like Kara says hi and she’s sending me home with Eliza’s recipe for sweet potato pie or Helena’s in a mood today. She keeps threatening to “dickpunch” Ollie. Has she talked to you at all?

Meanwhile, when Dean wants her to know that he’s okay or when he’s fishing for a response to let him know she’s not dead, he just sends her a lot of pictures of random birds all with the caption is this u?

who’s the most creative when it comes to gifts: Okay, so, Laurel’s grandmother had this really ornate jewelry box that had been in the family for generations. Laurel absolutely loved that thing. She’d admired it since she was a kid. It was so beautiful. It was supposed to be passed down to Dinah but when Beatrice saw how much Laurel loved it, she planned to give it to her. But when Bea and Richard moved from their house into the nursing home, it was broken in the move. A couple of years later, Dean had the box recreated and gave it to Laurel on her birthday. It was amazing. She cried.

Of course, Sam was the one who pointed out, “That was nice, dude, but you fucked yourself. Now you have to try to top that every year.”

Dean considered that but eventually just threw his arms out with a smirk and went, “Challenge accepted.”

who gets up first in the morning: Laurel gets up at an obnoxiously early time to go for her morning run. Most of the time, when she does this, she’ll wake him up briefly just to let him know that she’s heading out for her run and he’ll sleepily mumble something like “have a good run” or “I’ll have coffee waiting when you get back” but sometimes he’s just like “it’s six in the morning, what the fuck, go back to sleep, what is your life.” Because who wakes up at six in the morning on a Saturday in the winter to go for a run?

who suggests new things in bed: I feel like they’re both on pretty even ground at this point. In the beginning, however, it was Dean who made the suggestions. He had more experience than she did and he wanted her to be happy, comfortable, and satisfied. So there are a few things he’s responsible for introducing her to, sure, but he’s also just responsible for helping to loosen her up a bit and make her more comfortable in the bedroom. She’s always been a sex positive person in theory but you need the right partner for some things and I will bet everything I own that pre-island Oliver was selfish in bed. Dean, on the other hand, is very giving and there’s definitely a level of trust there that she didn’t have before.

who cries at movies: 90% of the time this is Laurel. Unless they’re watching a Disney movie. Then it’s both of them.

who gives unprompted massages: Dean does this all the time. Half the time he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it. He just likes to be touching her to remind himself that she’s still there. It becomes a habit for him. And it he really good with his hands. He massages are amazing and she carries so much stress in her neck and shoulders so she is on board with that habit. Never turn down a Dean Winchester massage, honestly.

who fusses over the other when they’re sick: They both do this because they’re both caretakers by nature, but Dean is a bit more insistent in his fussing. Which works out perfectly because Laurel is needy af when she’s sick.

who gets jealous easiest: It used to be Dean, especially in regards to a certain ex of hers, but at this point, neither one of them really bother with jealousy anymore because it’s honestly just a waste of time. Overprotectiveness? Sure. But jealousy? Not so much.

who has the most embarrassing taste in music: Oh, Laurel. It’s not all embarrassing. She likes classic rock, indie music, and she went through a belated Riot Grrrl phase when she was 12/13 and some of that stuck, but her not-so-guilty-pleasure music is Top 40. Her workout playlist is all Britney, Taylor Swift, and Beyonce. She is not at all embarrassed by this, though. She also uses it whenever she needs to get her way.

Like, one night, right after Thea’s moved in with them, Laurel and Dean get in the world’s dumbest argument over whether or not they need a dishwasher (she’s for, he’s against) and it just goes on and on and on and on. Thea, equal parts irritated and amused, goes to hide in her room. She’s in bed, online shopping and live texting the fight to Sam, when she hears Laurel yell, “Don’t make me do the thing, Dean!”

And he’s like, “Do not do the thing!”

Then there’s just a lot of incoherent protesting from Dean, followed by the sound of the Spice Girls, followed by a, “DAMN IT, LAUREL!”

Thea frowns and has to text Oliver: what does it mean when laurel puts on spice girls in the middle of an argument????

His response is quick: She’s going to get whatever she wants.

Thea: ??????

Oliver: It’s her idea of a filibuster. Then, a minute later: Has she started dancing yet? She’s a terrible dancer.

Thea: awww that’s mean bro. she tries. she’s still a better dancer than you.

Anyway, the next morning, when she’s in the kitchen, eating cereal and reading one of Laurel’s old Vogue magazines, Dean comes into the kitchen. He pours himself a cup of coffee, sighs heavily, and asks her, “Do you need anything from Ikea? We’re getting a dishwasher.”

(This answer got long. I just wanted everyone to know that Laurel Lance stages filibusters with the Spice Girls because it seemed like really important information.)

who collects something unusual: Dean sends her a postcard every time he’s out of town so she has a collection of those that she keeps in a box by her bed. But also, THIS GIRL IS A BORDERLINE HOARDER. Whatever home she’s in, it’s cluttered. She keeps everything. She has magazines dating back to 2005, a bunch of her grandparents’ things (including a bunch of fine china that she never knows what to do with), flea market finds, and way too many shoes.

who takes the longest to get ready: Generally speaking, it’s Laurel. But if they’re going to some fundraiser or gala in Star City or out to dinner with her father, it’s Dean who takes the longest. He’s just dragging his feet but he’ll insist it was because he needed an extra minute for his hair because, “Do you think I just wake up like this?” Her response to that is always a dry, “I wake up next to you, honey. I know for a fact you wake up like that. It’s annoying. I hate you a little bit for it.”

who is the most tidy and organized: Neither of them are particularly tidy and organized but Dean might take this one just because of the borderline hoarder thing. She has so much stuff that their house is practically bursting at the seams. And you know what else? She leaves her goddamned shoes everywhere. He has nearly died before because she left a stiletto in the living room. (He didn’t “nearly die” but that’s what it said in his all caps text.) But, at the same time, Dean doesn’t fold clothes. The bedroom is full of all these piles of clothes and Laurel never knows what’s clean and what’s not because that man is allergic to folding clothes and putting laundry away.

who gets most excited about the holidays: Laurel loves the holidays! She was so excited to move into their cozy little house because it meant trick or treaters at Halloween. She spends weeks fixing up goodie bags for the kids and decorating the house and planning costumes and forcing Dean to make a menu for the Halloween party. She puts up the Christmas tree and starts playing Christmas music the day after Thanksgiving. She stands at the bottom of the ladder while she tells Dean where to put all the lights. She plans the Easter egg hunt for all the kids in the Justice League.

She gets so full of energy around the holidays that people keep telling Dean that they need to hurry up and have kids because she needs somewhere to put all that “weird holiday energy.”

who is the big spoon/little spoon: They take turns because sharing is caring.

who gets more competitive when playing games and/or sports: One year, there is a softball game between all of the superhero teams. We’re talking all of them. Team Arrow, Team Flash, Sara’s time traveling team, the Birds of Prey, Supergirl and Friends, other various members of the Justice League and their teams. It’s supposed to be a team building exercise. Dean is offered a spot with Laurel and her girls but his response basically boils down to, “Hard pass.” Still, on the day of, he dutifully shows up with Cas and sits in the bleachers with a very pregnant, very tired, and very grumbly Iris West-Allen. Everything is fine for awhile. Until Oliver and Laurel get in an argument over his pitching abilities and it ends in her chasing him around the field.

Iris bursts into laughter and films the whole thing on her phone, managing to get out giggles of, “I take back every grumpy thing I’ve said today. This is the best thing that has ever happened!”

Dean does eventually manage to grab Laurel and toss her over his shoulder while she’s ranting and accusing Oliver of cheating, but not before he almost falls off the bleachers because he’s laughing so hard.

who starts the most arguments: Ummm, Dinah Laurel Lance: Lawyer By Day, Vigilante By Night. She should have “I’m a lawyer, I live to argue” tattooed on her forehead.

who suggests that they buy a pet: Pets have always been an ongoing discussion for them. Laurel was the one to bring it up first before they even got married, but they both decided to wait until they were working less and home more. It takes them a long time to be ready to pull the trigger on that particular issue. See, they’ve both always said that they’d like their kids to have a dog. But, you know, some things aren’t meant to be. The years pass and the people around them start getting married and having kids. Sam and Eileen have a daughter, Sara and Nyssa raise Nyssa’s nephew for a few years, Barry and Iris have twins, and even Oliver has William.

Meanwhile, Dean and Laurel have nothing but an empty house that feels too big and these chasms in their chest that they’ve tried and failed to fill. Finally, after 10 years together, 7 years of marriage, and 5 years of trying for a baby with nothing to show for it other than a handful of losses, they decide to adopt a pitbull puppy.

The puppy - a super sweet and shy little girl - doesn’t completely fill the void but she sure does love them a lot and they love her too.

what couple traditions do they have: They take a vacation once a year. That’s Laurel’s doing. Sometimes you just need to get away from the vigilante life, recharge your batteries, and have sex on a beach.

Also, it’s not so much a tradition as a habit, but they high five each other a lot. It’s weird. They do it for everything. It’s like every time they make a decision or every time they want to celebrate, they high five. Some people shake on it. Some people pinky swear. They high five. Nobody says anything about it for a long time until Claire is over for dinner one night and winds up blurting out, “Do you two do that all the time?”

Thea bursts out, “Oh my god, all the time!”

Dean and Laurel are both a little startled by that because they genuinely didn’t realize they were doing it that much. When he asks if they high five each other that much, Laurel is adamant that they don’t. Then a few seconds later, she looks up from what she’s doing and admits, slowly, “Well… We did high five after sex last night. Is that weird?”

Dean thinks long and hard about that before answering, “No, that was really great sex. It deserved a high five.”

And then Claire’s like, “Wow, we’re still at the table, you pervs.”

what tv shows they watch together: They used to watch cooking competitions together until an intervention was staged. Dean yelled at the television like a sports fan watching the superbowl and Laurel got way too emotionally invested in the people and their backstories.

what other couple they hang out with: I don’t know if they’re really a double date kind of couple but I can see them hanging out with Sam and Eileen, Sara and Nyssa, John and Lyla, and maybe Barry and Iris.

how they spend time together as a couple: They both work so much and they’re both out of town a lot so when they’re together, they prefer to spend their time at home doing absolutely nothing but watching bad movies on Netflix, eating pizza in bed, and ignoring the outside world.

who made the first move: Nobody knows for sure because they each have a different answer to that question. Dean says it was Laurel. Laurel says it was Dean. (…It was Laurel.)

who brings flowers home: Laurel loves having fresh flowers in the house but buying flowers all the time can get expensive so eventually she decides to just start her own garden in the backyard and they have flowers all over their property and they are never without a few vases of fresh flowers inside.

who is the best cook: No question about that. It’s Dean. Laurel tries, but it’s just safest for her to stay out of the kitchen.

Send me a ship and I’ll tell you

#dean x laurel #otp: the beauty of wild things #spn x arrow #asks #anon #my headcanon #ask meme #otp meme