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specialagentlokitty · 2 months

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Arthur(Merlin) x reader - in the snow

Hi! If you still write for BBC Merlin would you be able to write an Arthur x Merlin sister Reader? With the dialogue “Can you use magic?” “I feel unsafe answering that.” (from your 2024 prompt list). Thank you if you do write it! <3 - Anon💜

A/N: I realised I had spelled Gaius wrong after finishing this, but I’m really lazy and don’t wanna correct it 😂😭

You had no real interest in following your brothers footsteps to work for the royal family, you didn’t want to work for anybody else.

You were happy living on your own, away from the world with your house and your dog, your horse, your flowers.

You loved the way you lived.

And yes, every so often the knights would come to pick up your money you had to pay for your land, but since you grew your own food and sold your crafts in towns and villages it didn’t matter all that much to you.

Today was the day that they came to collect your payment, so you made sure to stay home.

Kneeling down in your garden, you were working on your flowers, carefully tidying them up and trimming them down.

You heard a bark, and you looked up.

“Rufus?”

Standing up, you brushed your hands on the cloth and looked to the dirt path where a few horses were coming down.

You grinned brightly when you saw a familiar face.

“Merlin!”

You quickly set everything down and made your way over, the moment your brother got down from his horse your crushed him into a hug.

“Hi!” You beamed.

Merlin laughed quietly, hugging you back.

“Hey, this place looks amazing.”

You pulled away, grinning proudly at him.

“I take pride in my work.”

You turned around to the knights and the prince that was with him, offering him a bow.

It was swift, elegant, you held a hand behind your back and one over your stomach as you leant down, lowering your head.

“Sire, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m (Y/N), I do hope my brother doesn’t give you too much trouble.”

“Nothing I can’t handle, thank you. It’s nice to meet you.”

You stood up, gesturing to the home.

“Rufus is no harm, I’m sure Sir Lancelot knows that.”

The knight smiled softly at you.

“It’s good to see you again.”

“You as well, I’ve got that tea you asked me for, would you like me to make you some?”

“Yes please, honestly you could open a tea shop because you make the best tea.”

You laughed a little bit, leading them all inside.

Only those three came inside, the other knights waited outside for them.

You sat them at a table, bringing over some bread you had made, and you made them all some tea, setting their cups down in front of them.

“Make yourselves at home, I’ll be right back.”

You went into your room, bringing up a floorboard to gather the money you owed before returning and handing it over.

Then you turned to Arthur.

“May I ask what brings you by sire? Normally this is not a matter for a Prince.”

“Merlin had been begging me for weeks to come, i guess it was curiosity to finally meet his sister. You’ve done wonderful things with this land. It was rundown the last I saw.”

“Thank you, the home itself was in good shape, it was a simple matter of getting some men from the village nearby to help clear it then set everything else up.”

Arthur nodded his head.

“How is it going? Have you been selling those crafts?” Merlin asked.

“Oh yes! People love them! They’re very helpful as well, especially for the farmers and the bakers, plant based baskets are easier to replace rather wood, and harder to break.”

Merlin nodded his head.

“You make things out of plants?”

“Yes sire, it is easier to get ahold of around here, they’re easier to work with as well. Especially Ivy. It is easy to manipulate the way it grows, and you can cut some away with the rest coming back.”

That was what caught his attention first, how compared to Merlin you were calmer, you were respectful to everybody even though you didn’t know them, and your craft.

Then there was your house, minimum decorations, just basic things you would need.

But outside was covered in flowers of all colours, the great wolfhound you rescued wondering in and out, and the horse outside just happily grazing in her paddock.

Arthur found himself coming back when he could, pretending to buy things that they needed in Camelot.

It was an excuse to see you, and he could try get there at least once a week since it was only a few hours there and back.

Arthur had to admit he was concerned when it drew to winter, because winter was harsh, and he couldn’t see how you would be able to survive there during the brutal winter.

“She’ll be fine, she always is. She knows how to get survive.” Merlin said.

“Merlin we are looking at the worst winter we’ve seen in years. It’s not even winter and we’re already getting snow. Your sister will be isolated out there for months if this carried on.”

Merlin paused what he was doing for a moment before he carried on.

“She won’t come here.”

“Excuse me?”

“(Y/N), if you ask her to come she won’t come.”

“Why?”

“Because she likes her own space, she doesn’t like crowded places like this and wouldn’t be able to live here for that long, a week or so would be fine.”

Arthur didn’t say anything, he carried on reading the book that was sat on the table in front of him.

“She’s also coming next week, to visit Guis.”

Arthur snapped his head up.

“Really?”

Merlin smirked a little, lowering his head as he carried on working.

“Yes sire.”

Arthur threw the book at Merlin who just barely dodged it and he left the room.

You arrived a few days later, staying mostly with Guis or Merlin if you could.

Arthur finally managed to find you while he was heading back inside the castle, you were stood outside with Rufus catching snowballs you threw.

He made his way outside, standing next to you.

“It’s far too cold to be outside.”

You turned around, offering him a smile.

“It’s nothing I’m not sure to this time of year, I was actually thinking about taking a walk. Do you know any good trails?”

“There is one, it’s possibly the safest. I’ll accompany you if you don’t mind? If anything happens to you I won’t hear the end of it from Merlin.”

You laughed softly at him.

“Yes fine by me sire.”

“Right, come wait inside.”

You followed him, and waited in the hallway.

It took a short while for him to come back, and he held out a thicker more elegant cloak out for you.

“Wear this.”

“Sire I can’t, that’s much to rich for somebody like me.”

“(Y/N) put the cloak on, and call me Arthur.”

You didn’t want to disobey him, so you put it on and he led you outside.

You could see that a few people walked the trail, but not many, and you two held light conversation as you walked.

It was nice for him to not have to act so important, and you were talking to him just like a normal person, as if you two were from the same town or village.

You enjoyed stopping to look at simple things, animals in the snow, the way the sunlight gleamed on the snow making it sparkle.

Arthur was just entranced by you, and how you just seemed so happy.

“You’re always so happy when I see you, why?”

“What is there to not be happy about? I have a home, a brother, a mother, I have friends, food. There is always something to be happy about.”

Arthur hummed a little, nodding his head.

“You wouldn’t want more in life?”

“Not when I already have everything. You don’t need to be rich to be happy, as long as you find something or someone that makes you happy it’s alright.”

Arthur glanced at you, and he smiled a little.

“That’s a very different take in the world.”

You beamed brightly at him, kneeling down to make another snowball for Rufus.

“Hey, look out!”

Arthur went to grab you but it was too late, you slipped down the hill, and he was rushing as fast as he could behind you.

When he reached the bottom he knelt down.

“Hey, hey (Y/N)?”

You grumbled a little, lifting your head to look at him.

“Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“My leg.”

Arthur nodded, looking down at your leg, gently touching it and you winced in pain.

“Here, come on, let’s move you up.”

Arthur helped you up, and you guys slowly walked along the bottom of the hill to try and find a way back up.

After a while you had to stop, so he took his cloak off and laid it on the snow and sat you down.

Rufus laid next to you letting out a whine.

“I’ll try find a way, I’ll be right back.”

You nodded your head, watching him leave.

You knew there wasn’t going to be one, a hill like that there wasn’t going to be a way back up that wasn’t covered in snow.

Making sure it was safe, you held out your hand, whispering something under your breath, and a small trail in the snow fell away, creating a path up.

You ran a hand over your dogs head, scratching behind his ears.

Arthur wasn’t gone long, and he came back, shaking his head.

“I couldn’t find one, I’m sorry.”

He knelt next to you, looking at your leg again.

“I did find some sticks though, do you have anything in that bag to help me make a splint?”

“Oh, of course.”

Opening it, you pulled out your scarf, handing it over to him.

“It’s not the best, but it should help. We’ll sit here and rest, then keep going. I think there’s a storm coming in.”

“I think I saw a path just over there, could you look?”

Arthur looked at where you were pointing.

“Yeah, of course.”

He got up, checking.

He made sure it was stable before grabbing you, helping you up it, then he crouched down.

“Get on.”

“I can’t do that, a Prince can’t be seen carrying someone like me.”

“I don’t care, you’re hurt, get on.”

You sighed, climbing on his back and he stood up, making his way back where you guys had come from.

“I’ll take you to Guis, hopefully you leg isn’t that bad.”

You nodded, resting your chin on his shoulder.

“How did you see the path, I didn’t see it.”

“Maybe in the panic you missed it? Or it blended in the with snow?”

“No, no it definitely wasn’t there.”

Arthur went quiet for a few moment.

“There’s only one thing I can think off.”

“What’s that Arthur?”

He paused walking, crouching down to set you on the ground before turning around to look at you.

“Can you use magic?”

You tried not to react.

“I feel unsafe answering that.”

“(Y/N), can you use magic?

“If I say yes you’ll have me killed, if I say no you’re not going to believe me, and have me killed. I’m sorry but I can’t answer.”

Arthur narrowed his eyes a little bit, and he spun around to a noise behind him but there was nothing.

Turning back around his cloak and yours were on the ground, and you and Rufus were both gone, leaving not even a footprint in the snow

#bbc Merlin #bbc merlin x reader #bbc Merlin x you #bbc Merlin imagine #arthur pendragon imagine #arthur pendragon #arthur pendragon x reader #Arthur pendragon x you

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chaichaiiskai · 8 months

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Jack hanma x male reader … you can just do wtv you feel like doing for this … this is probably gonna get ignored cz it’s just ‘jack x male reader’ but if you do .. Yk do smth, thank you 👍🏾

Gotta be honest, I don't remember jack shit about jack (pun intended) aside from his ability to not lay tf down despite getting his ass beat so--- he's very stubborn so I think I can do something with that... Ya didn't give me much to work with but I'll take the reins on this one.

Now, personally, I don't think jack would be too interested in romance since his number one goal is to beat the shit outta his father but for the sake of your request I'm just gonna feed into the fantasy and add a bit of spice. Jack's definitely gonna be ooc

Let's say this takes place a little while after he's defeated by Baki and he's a bit more humble, also he's at the heaping height of 7'11 aka 241 cm. I had no idea what to do!!!! But let's do this.

jack hanma! x male! amab! reader

warnings: amab reader, male reader, mlm, he/him pronouns, homophobes dni, overprotective behavior from jack, no smoot this time cause i wanna give jack the cuddles he deserves and male readers deserve fluff too 🥺

Working could have its downfalls and its moments of relief, especially in this special part of the city. It wasn't exactly the most rundown place, but it wasn't all that safe either. However, you chose not to let that bother you as you focused on doing your job, collecting tips, and then heading back home. Being a waiter proved to be easy enough when you weren't dealing with difficult, idiotic customers who had some kind of privilege problem, complaining about the food not being hot.

"Sir, I'm more than happy to have another meal prepared for you, it won't take too long—" Your insistent words were soon cut off by the sound of the angered man you'd been serving, slamming his fat fist onto the table. You could practically see the veins in his forehead and neck looking close to popping, his reddened face reminding you of Red from Angry birds, he even had the brows to match.

"NO! How dare you disrespect me with this fucking SLOP!" He shouted, and then moved his other hand. In a flash, and before you could brace yourself for what was to come, you grunted when a plate was tossed at you, a bloody steak and hot potatoes were thrown directly at you. Fortunately, you were able to bring your arms up to quickly cover your face, the food and plate hitting your arms before it all crashed to the floor after covering your uniform and shoes in the man's tantrums. A light burning sensation spread over your arms and elbows, but not harsh enough to call for medical care, thankfully.

"Where do you get off thinking you can get away with this, boy!?"

Before you can explain yourself, or even defend your character, perhaps even offer to refund him for the meal he seemed to have a problem with, you felt a heavy hand on your shoulder. Along with the weight, you smelt a familiar cologne, your senses being invaded with a sudden sense of comfort and relaxation. Though, the hairs on the back of your neck knew what was to come next.

Jack.

You looked up at the heap of a man and he didn't look at you, instead, he offered the cloth napkin that he had gotten from the table he'd been dining at. You took it and stepped back, starting to wipe your arms off, taking note of the remaining slight sting you felt from the hot food, you would live but you couldn't believe this guy had the audacity to lie about the food being cold. Why? Did he just want to cause problems on unsuspecting waiters and waitresses? Was it some kind of elaborate scheme to humiliate those that he deemed below him?

"And who in the fuck are you!?" The difficult customer suddenly asked, making a show of getting out of his seat to stand off with Jack even though the blond easily towered over him, but their physiques were somewhat similar. Two walls built of muscle. All that proteins seems to go somewhere.

"Just a concerned customer. You're disturbing my meal, and you're lacking manners." Jack replied, his tone calm and his features as nonchalant as ever. This seemed to anger the other man considerably, seeing how he suddenly thrusted a finger in Jack's chest, soon to be met with the sound of crunching.

He'd broken his finger.

It was his own fault for carelessly touching a man who seemed to be crafted from sheer marble and stone.

The man let out a scream, clutching his broken finger with his uninjured hand, cradling it against his chest. In response, you took another step back and watched, along with many other patrons and staff members. Jack, on the other hand, grinned and looked back at the witnesses who couldn't take their eyes away from the scene.

"You all saw who touched who first, correct? You're all my witnesses."

Before anyone could even confirm what the blond had said, he covered the entirety of the angry customer's skull with his hand and lifted him off his feet. With the swift, calculated movements of a seasoned pitcher, he pulled the man towards himself just by holding his head like an oversized baseball and tossed him forward... right through the restaurant window, much to the horror of everyone in the restaurant-- aside from Jack and you. No, you were already groaning at the idea of needing to find another job.

...

"You can't keep doing this, Jack! Do you know how many jobs I've had to resign from because of you butting into everything?! Those poor people can't even fire me because they think you'll come after them and bash their skulls in with your bare HANDS or something!!"

You exclaimed, lecturing your boyfriend on his repeated offenses when it came to protecting you and your pride at every restaurant you worked at, mostly doing waiter work. The massive man simply chuckled at your words, tossing his arm over your shoulders as he pulled you closer into his hardened side, the warmth he gave off was a nice contrast to the approaching winter night but you were still upset. The two of you were in the back of the van he had bought to accommodate his large stature, while his chauffeur drove you both to the apartment building Jack owned.

"I don't get why you need to work when I can easily take care of you. I already do, but you always insist on working. Are you planning on saving up money and leaving me or something, short stacks?"

You rolled your eyes at the pet name, wanting to ignore him for the rest of the ride, but you couldn't bite your tongue back from recanting. "No. I can't do that even if I tried because I somehow fell in love with you. But that doesn't make me want to stop from going out to work, I want to contribute. You already pay all the rest of the bills." You murmured, crossing your arms over your chest and sighing, your anger dissipating into saddened frustration as you looked down at the van's floor, frowning at the sight of your dirtied shoes.

Jack simply watched you for a few minutes, the gears in his head starting to turn about before he spoke up.

"Why can't you apply for any other job then? Do you have to be a waiter?"

"I don't know what else I'm supposed to do, Jack! It's not like jobs are just falling from the fucking sky and are ripe for the taking!"

He seemed to linger on your words, not effected in the slightest by the raise in your voice. Instead, he wanted to be a problem solver, even if he wasn't the smartest guy out there, he figured there could be something out there for you.

Before the conversation could continue, however, it was interrupted by the van parking, the backdoor opening and you climbing out, rushing out into the underground garage to head straight for the elevator so you could go up to the penthouse and bathe. Jack simply watched your retreating back, rubbing at the back of his neck before he finally climbed out after you. With a quick dismiss of his driver, he began the trek to the stairs, which he preferred to take instead of the elevator, despite living on the 20th floor. How could he even pass up on a workout? It already took a lot out of him to not try and run everywhere, but you insisted on getting a van because you didn't want his body to continue breaking down at such a fast pace. And you usually would have forced him to take the elevator with you, but you were too upset with him and grossed out by your soiled clothes to wait.

As soon as you got into your shared place, you took your shoes off and left them by the door, shuffling across the hardwood floor with your somewhat soiled socks and dropped your bag on the living room couch, making your way directly to the bathroom. Once inside, you didn't bother to shut the door behind you and headed for the shower, turning it on so that it could heat up to the proper temperature before stripping out of your clothes. You dropped the articles of clothing on the floor, knowing you'd drop them in the washer after you were done bathing, and hurried into the shower, instantly sighing in relief as the water began to shower off the stickiness of that asshole of a man's dinner from your skin.

The shower was pretty much a massive glass box, and like everything else in your home, it was meant to fit two Jacks inside of it, making it almost seem like a giant's castle with you inside of it. That was okay with you, everything was just extra comfortable, especially the shower that had sprayers behind you, in front of you, and on the ceiling, rinsing every inch of your body if you so desired. It was a great contrast to the frustration from the day. And you preferred to stop smelling like meat and potatoes.

Eventually, about halfway through your shower, Jack had finally made it inside, grunting as he kicked off his shoes haphazardly, entering and taking a brief look around. It didn't take a genius to know where you'd gone. He put on his house slippers and went further in, shoving his hands into the pockets of his dark sweats as he entered the bedroom, deciding he'd be of some help.

By the time you came out of the shower, feeling more refreshed with your head a bit clearer, a towel wrapped around your waist and another emcompassimg your wet head.

You noticed Jack first sitting on the edge of the humongous bed, and then a fresh change of clothes splayed out on the mattress beside him. "Thanks, babe."

He hummed in response, removing his phone to unlock and look through it. Whenever he held something significantly smaller in his hand, it was always amusing, no matter what mood you were in. You sighed and shook your head to keep yourself from chuckling, moving to get dressed in one of his t-shirts that drowned you in fabric (no matter what size you are), and pair of comfortable bottoms you tended to lounge around. You decided to finish drying your hair, plopping down beside him, sinking into the firm yet soft bed.

The silence was comfortable in a way, with the sounds of him tapping and you lightly scrubbing away at the moisture on your head.

"How about this?"

You paused what you were doing when he suddenly put his phone in front of your face, showing something to you. You squinted in confusion and leaned in a little to get a better look at what he was showing you. A job listing for a remote job. Immediately, you took his phone from him and looked over the requirements, the description, and everything else in-between. It was almost too good to be true. How did he find something so easily in such a short amount of time? You decided not waste anymore time to rush over to gather your laptop, carrying along his phone, and went to apply for this job as quickly as possible. Luckily, you had a little desk you often used in the bedroom tucked away in the corner nearby the closet. If you got this job then that means you'd have to make up your own office. What were the odds? If you got this job, you might not be as frustrated with Jack as you were before... Who were you kidding? Even if he didn't present this golden opportunity you wouldn't have lasted much longer being frustrated with him.

With a new sense of determination, you were quick to upload your resume along with your application and a few other things you needed, a sense of hope settling itself on your shoulders. Alongside the hands that were currently resting their, Jack peering over your shoulders, not leaning any of his weight on you as he watched you diligently type away.

"Will I get a reward if you score this job?" He finally asked after you hit 'submit' on your application. Breathing out a sigh from your nose, you tilted your head back to look up at him, bumping into his hard abdomen. "Hm... don't know. You acted pretty hasty today, knowing I could have handled it on my own... I think I should punish you."

Jack blinked in surprise for a moment, his mouth soon forming an 'o' shape, followed by a cheeky grin that spread across his face like a forest fire.

"Punish me? Kinda wanna see you try. Doubt you could do anything though." After challenging you, he removed his hands from your shoulders and crossed them over his chest, raising an eyebrow in wait.

You nodded and then pushed yourself out of your chair.

"Bet."

And with the speed of lightening, you hurried over towards the bed and flopped onto your side, immediately getting comfortable and pretending to sleep.

Jack: 🧍

"You little shit."

#jack hanma #jack hanma x reader #x male reader #male reader #amab reader #— chai’s asks. !!#jack hanma x male reader #jack hanma x amab reader

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oswildin · 1 year

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Caring: Brain & Heart (Joel Miller x Reader)

Summary: Letting others care for you was a challenge. In the world you lived in, it was hard to let your guard down… But when you and Joel come into each others lives, those walls begin to come down.

Warnings: Violence, Injury, Age Gap, Swearing

Help me when I'm at a loss for words

Bring up all my memories

Folder please, in the temporal lobe

Knowing Joel Miller was an accident. A mere accident. Something you didn’t expect to happen. Especially not in a world as fucked as the one you lived in. Getting yourself caught up in dangerous shit, just to get by. And here you were, standing in front of your angry boss. Your last deal had gone south, meaning no win for the boss, meaning no win for you.

Standing in your shitty little rundown apartment, you were faced with your boss. He was fuming, you could see it in his eyes. But his face remained calm. And so did his tone, which only frightened you more. FEDRA had a tight grip on ration cards, offering the worst jobs possible in exchange for a days worth of food. Supplies were short, and times were tough. You had to do what you could to survive.

“So…” Your boss, Stanley, spoke as he sat on your sofa that was falling apart. “What happened?” He gave you a sympathetic stare, one you knew he was faking. You tried to hold your ground, clearing your throat as you folded your arms across your chest.

“The guy you sent me to meet, he wasn’t there.” You told him. “But a FEDRA guard was. They didn’t see me, but they must’ve known about the deal.” You offered, sighing as his jaw clenched.

“And how would’ve they have known that?” He pried, leaning forward. “Hm?” He narrowed his eyes. “Unless somebody told them…” His tone was accusatory. You glared at him.

“Stan, I rely on these little jobs you give me to get by. Why the hell would I rat you, let alone myself, to FEDRA?” You snapped as he shook his head.

“People will do anything for a price.” He stood, making his way to stand before you. You didn’t falter.

“Well lucky for you, I ain’t one of them.” You said sternly. “Besides, it was your guy who didn’t show. I don’t suppose you’ve interrogated him?” You pushed. “Maybe he’s the rat. Lord knows you don’t half know how to pick em.” You knew that was a stupid thing to say, but you were always quick with your tongue before thinking. Your boss almost growled as his hand shot out, gripping you tightly by your jaw, holding you in place as he stared down at you.

“You better watch that tongue of yours before I cut it out.” He threatened. “Would be such a shame for a pretty thing like you to lose it.” You tried to struggle. “Never undermine me again, got it?” He shook your head slightly, forcing you to nod at him. He dropped your jaw, as you stumbled slightly, reaching up to gently rub where he had held you. He reached into his jacket pocket, revealing a substantial sized baggy, as he threw it down on a nearby table. You eyed it, seeing a load of pills inside. “Lucky for you, I give second chances.” He smirked. “Drop this off to the address on the paper in the bag.” He began to walk towards the door. “Oh and (Y/N)…” You turned to look at him. “Don’t fuck this up.” And with that he left you.

You swore under your breath, kicking a nearby chair in frustration. Walking over to the baggy, you opened it, taking out the paper he’d mentioned as you looked at the address written down. It was another apartment building, not far from you. But you couldn’t go during the day, it was too risky for a guard to stop and search you. That meant having to find a way to sneak out after dark.

Thankfully, you’d managed it. Staying out of sight, you made it into the building, climbing the stairs to the apartment you were ordered to go to. Knocking on the door, you looked over your shoulder, making sure no one saw you, keeping your hood up. After a brief few seconds, the door opened, as you barged inside, pushing past the figure who stood before you.

Once inside, you took down your hood, as you turned to see a man. One you vaguely recognised from around the QZ. He was rugged, and handsome, wearing a plaid shirt and jeans with greying hair and a beard. You took the baggy out from under your hoodie, throwing it down on the dining table.

“Gift from Stanley.” You told him. “I guess you’re expecting a delivery.” He seemed to analyse you, staring you up and down with a hard glance.

“Ain’t you a bit young to be doing all this?” He finally spoke, his voice monotone. You shrugged.

“Ain’t you a bit old to be doing all this?” You quipped back, causing him to raise a brow in your direction.

“Quite the smart ass aren’t we…” He mumbled, as you folded your arms.

“I’ve been told I have a certain charm.” You gave him a tight smile. You glanced round the dimly lit apartment, your eyes landing on an open can of beans that sat on the table. Without saying a word, you picked the can up, peeking inside before grabbing the spoon that was sat in it and taking a spoonful, shoving it into your mouth. Instantly you pulled a face, realising the taste was awful, guessing it was well past it’s sell by date before putting it back down. You looked back at the stranger, who stared at you with an unimpressed look.

“Do you often barge into peoples home, throw drugs on the table, insult their age and eat their food?” He asked, his own arms folding over his chest.

“Funny enough, this is the first.” You sweetly smiled at him, before pulling out one of the chairs and sitting in it. He stared in slightly disbelief, and irritation. “I’m (Y/N), by the way.” You offered.

“I’m Joel, and you were just leaving.” He nodded towards the door.

“I can’t go back now.” You told him. “Guards everywhere. I took my window of opportunity, shift swapping time.” You explained.

“I don’t care.” He gruffly told you. You stayed silent, still being nosey around the place as he simply stared.

“Has anyone told you it’s rude to stare?” You teasingly asked, causing the man to scoff, placing his hands on his hips as he looked down at you.

“You’re one to talk.”

False lovin', when I was illogical

Didn't know they held each other's hands 'cause they made one whole

Brain stem, yells temperature

Arise now, sweat, raindrops down my silky flesh

And that was how you met Joel. It was how you came into his life. Joel was grumpy, hard, and occasionally cold. You could see the walls he’d built up. Walls that most people had built up. Either due to losing a loved one, shielding themselves from reality, looking out for themselves or just the simple fact it was easier to act like they didn’t care than admit they cared more than most. Your hunch told you Joel was all of them. You didn’t know much about his past. He never would open up. The only things you knew about the man was that he was from Austin, he had a brother called Tommy and he had his fingers in a lot of pies. You don’t know what drew you to Joel. Whether it was the mystery that surrounded him, his ‘I don’t give a shit’ attitude or whether he just made you feel safe. Something you hadn’t felt in years. Even living in the QZ didn’t ease the feeling of fear and dread, especially when you dealt with the guys you did.

You’d often show up at Joel’s after dark, usually unannounced at the same time every evening. It became routine. Hell, Joel seemed to even begin to somewhat enjoy the company, although he’d never admit that to you. Often you’d both just sit around listening to old cassettes he’d collected, him laying on the sofa with his eyes closed as you nosied around the place. You’d also often have little back and forth comments at each other. It became almost endearing.

“Old man.”

“Smartass.”

“Grumpy.”

“Pain in the ass.”

Those were some of the little comments you’d throw around at each other.

But doing up my consciousness

Good, good, good now

Ability to sleep sound

Throughout the star times

An illusion, if you just remove it

Joel sat at the dining table, furrowing his brows as he glanced at the clock.

8:15PM.

You were late.

He took the last sip of his whiskey, gulping it down as he placed the glass down on the table. You were never late. He almost began to worry. Almost. He didn’t care what happened. Whether you got caught by the guards, or got hurt in the crossfire by fireflies, or if your boss had paid you a visit… He didn’t care.

He paced round the apartment, pouring himself another glass of whiskey, letting the liquor create a smooth burn down his throat. Dragging a hand down over his face, he swore under his breath. He quickly grabbed his jacket as he threw it on, exiting his apartment.

He didn’t care.

Standing outside your apartment door, he frowned as he saw the door open a crack. It was unlike you to be naive enough to leave the door open. However, after hearing a man’s voice the hairs on his neck became raised, his body becoming alert as he realised who it was in there.

“I did what you asked.” You told Stanley, watching anxiously as he looked angry. “I delivered the pills, I smoothed it over with that guard, I didn’t mention you or your guys-“ You tried, but his fist came down fast on the table in front of you, causing you to jump.

“And yet three of my guys got taken into custody!” Stanley exclaimed. “I’m down 3 men, and I’ve got people to keep happy.” Before you could do or say anything, he’d lunged towards you, grabbing your hair causing you to yelp as he dragged you round, his usual calm demeanour gone, replaced with a man who was capable of anything. He roughly threw you down, your body landing with a crash to the hard floor as you groaned. However, before anything else could happen, you heard another voice.

“Hey!”

Stanley turned, seeing Joel stood in the doorway, fire in his eyes as he stared down the man.

“What the hell do you think you’re doin?” Joel growled, as Stanley looked him up and down.

“Why don’t you mind your own business?” Stanley snarled. “Run home Joel. Go get your fix elsewhere.” You stayed put, watching the two men anxiously. You knew this wasn’t going to end well. As Stanley went to turn back his focus to you, Joel charged towards him, grabbing his shoulder to turn him back round as his fist met with your boss’ cheek, causing him to stumble back. You stared wide eyed at Joel, shocked he had even shown up in the first place. Stanley reached a hand up to touch his cheek, seeing blood on his fingers as Joel looked at him, a small smug glint in his eye.

“How about-“ Joel stepped towards him, eyes narrowed. “You run home, Stan.” He warned, causing the man to clench his jaw, anger visible in his face. Stanley turned to look down at you, sending you a sharp glare before pushing past Joel, bumping his shoulder deliberately as he waltzed out of your apartment, slamming the door behind him. You finally pushed yourself up from the floor, wincing a little as you stretched your back. Joel’s gaze finally fell on you.

“What are you doing here?” You asked, slowly walking towards your dining table, pulling out a chair as you sat down.

“Well, your annoying ass didn’t show up-“ He began, eyes following you. “So I thought I’d show up at yours and steal your food for once.” You let out a small laugh, reaching out for the bottle of liquor that sat on the table, popping off the lid as you lifted it up for a swig.

“Seems fair.” You heard Joel come take a seat beside you, as you held out the bottle. He took it from your hand, taking his own swig, pulling a face after swallowing the liquid.

“Where the hell did you get this stuff?” He grimaced as you smirked.

“Yeah sorry, should’ve said-“ You took the bottle back. “It’s an acquired taste.” After a moment of silence, Joel frowned as he looked at your disheveled state.

He didn’t care.

“What did he want?” He asked, leaning back in his seat. You cleared your throat.

“He thinks I’m a rat.” You scoffed. “Me.” You shook your head. “Asshole.” Taking another swig. “He fucks up and he thinks he can just blame me.”

“You need to be careful dealing with people like him.” Joel told you as you rolled your eyes.

“Yes, thank you old man, I am aware.” You sarcastically spoke.

“I’m serious, (Y/N).” He leant forward, resting his arms on the table. “These people don’t give a shit about you. You’re a chess piece to them, a pawn in their operation.”

“You think I don’t know that Joel?!” You raised your voice slightly, tired of the lecture already. “Jesus.” You sighed. “Look, I appreciate the concern, but you know what it’s like in here. You can spend your day shovelling dead bodies and get barely enough rations to have one meal.” You ran a hand through your hair. “It ain’t enough. So you have to do what you have to do.” It was only then that Joel looked at you, fully, properly. He noticed the dark circles under your eyes, the exhaustion clear on your face, the specks of dirt that painted your skin and the slight shake in your hand from hunger. He sighed, standing up from his seat, grabbing the bottle from your hand as he placed it down, causing you to stare at him in confusion.

“Come on.” He huffed out, seeing your jacket on the arm of the sofa, grabbing it as he threw it in your direction. “You can’t stay here.” You frowned, going to argue but he sent you a look that said ‘you’re coming whether you like it or not’.

When did humans start to separate

Brain and heart as if they could stay alive alone?

Flip it around the other way

If they were apart and you had no power start or no database

Only a shell remains

What fun is it, to be so calculated

Or be taken advantage of, 'cause your heart's too trusting

Silent expressed push my head into my chest

Bind them up, forever wed

"Don't drift too far, " they said

Ah, warm water. Oh how you missed it. Stepping out of the shower, you wrapped a towel around yourself to dry off, enjoying the feeling of warmth and cleanliness. Changing into some clean clothes Joel had given you, you finally stepped out of the bathroom, a pleasant smell of food hitting your nose as you turned to see Joel sat at the dining table with two plates of food set down.

“Thought I was gonna have to send a search party for you in there.” He commented as you walked towards him. “Not exactly 5 star, but it does the job.” He nodded down to the food as you took a seat, feeling your stomach rumble at the sight. It looked like some stew of some sort, no doubt from a can, but you didn’t care, it was food.

“You didn’t have to do this.” You told him sincerely as he shrugged, beginning to dig into his own meal. “I appreciate it.” You gave a small smile, and Joel almost choked at the sincerity in it.

“Don’t do that.” He said through chewing.

“What?” You looked confused, finally picking up your own cutlery to dig in.

“Your face.” He waved his spoon at you.

“So I can’t smile at you now?” You raised a brow.

“No.” He spooned another mouthful of good into his mouth. “Not unless you say something vaguely rude beforehand.”

“Okay, fine.” You rolled your eyes, putting a mouthful of stew in your mouth. “Your food tastes shit and you look weird.” Swallowing your food, you forced a smile onto your lips as he nodded.

“Better.” You fought the urge to laugh. He fought the urge to smile.

He didn’t care.

After eating, you found yourself getting sleepy. Washing down the meal with some whiskey didn’t help that. Sat on the sofa, Joel noticed your eyes beginning to close as you leant your head on the arm of the seat, your body curling up as you laid on your side, your feet just gently touching his thigh as your breathing deepened. His lips fell into a tight line, as he slowly got up, careful not to disturb you. Walking to his bed, he grabbed a spare blanket as he went back to you, crying not to make too much noise on the loud floorboards. Gently, he placed the blanket over you sleeping form, allowing you to be comfortable and warm. He stepped back, watching you for a moment before he decided to retreat to bed himself. As he laid down, he reached over into his bedside table draw, pulling out his own small baggy as he popped one of the pills into his mouth, washing it down with a half drunk glass of whiskey.

Maybe having someone else in the apartment could help ease him to sleep.

Help me when I'm too detached and cold

Give me the vitality that I need to trust love more

Joel woke with a start, feeling his skin wet with sweat as he glanced over, seeing you still peacefully asleep. Sighing, he lifted an arm behind his head as he stared out the window. It was beginning to get light. The day was going to have to start soon.

Yawning as you cracked open your eyes, you saw beams of the sun coming in from the bedroom window. Pushing yourself up, you heard the shower running as you realised Joel must’ve been getting ready. Not too long later, the bathroom door opened, revealing a shirtless Joel as your eyes widened, feeling warmth flush to your face as you pulled your gaze away, pretending to find something fascinating on the wall ahead.

As much as you tease Joel, you couldn’t deny he was an attractive man. In a way, you picking at him was your way of being friendly. Whilst also possibly fighting off any feelings you were beginning to develop for the man.

“Mornin’.” Joel’s voice brought you back to reality as you snapped your head his direction, seeing him leant against the wall, now wearing one of his signature plaid shirts. “Sleep well?”

“Surprisingly well.” You told him. “Considering it was a sofa.” You commented.

“Yeah, I could tell.” He raised a brow, a mischievous look in his eye. “Could hear your snoring’ all night.” He teased as you flipped him off.

“I don’t snore.” You told him adamantly, finally getting off the sofa.

“Wanna go next door and ask?” He moved into the kitchen to brew himself a coffee. “Pretty sure they heard you through the walls.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure.” You scowled at him playfully. “What you on today?” You asked, changing the subject.

“Bodies.” He replied as you solemnly nodded. “You?”

“I’m er, going to stay clear today of work.” You told him, not letting your anxiety creep into your tone. You didn’t want him to question you. “Go home, sort some things.” He narrowed his eyes at your words, before pouring his coffee.

“Want me to walk you?” He asked, as you shook your head.

“I think I can handle walking to my building.”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t.”

“Good.” You folded your arms. “Joel, I appreciate what you did for me, but I’m not some damsel in distress.” You sounded more irritated than you had meant to. You were so used to being on your own. Handling things alone. It felt wrong having someone else try and help. “I don’t need someone watching over me or coming to my rescue.”

“Hang on-“ Joel frowned, turning to face you.

“Just drop it.” You pleaded.

“For the record, I don’t think you need savin’ or any of that bullshit.” He continued. “And I’m not some knight in shining armour who’s going to be there at your every beck and call.” He was laying ground rules.

“I never asked you to.” You moved round to grab your jacket from the back of one of the chairs.

“Good.” He copied your words from earlier.

“Right, well then.” You cleared your throat. “I’ll see you later.” You marched out the door, leaving Joel alone as he sighed, placing his cup down on the side before gripping the counter.

He didn’t care.

Blood to the water, neither can fuel us alone

Fervency in my arteries, passion bloomin' through my bones

Heartstrings trigger emotion streams

You’d yet to change out of the shirt Joel had lent you. Something about it was comforting. Sighing to yourself, you mentally scolded yourself for your sharp tone with the man. You hadn’t meant to come across as… well.. Bitchy. You’d gotten so used to fending for yourself it was a hard habit to drop. To let anyone in. You hoped he understood. He’d gotten snappy with you times before…

“What’s with the watch?” You inquired, nodding at the jewellery that decorated his wrist. “It’s broken. Why keep it on?” Joel seemed to freeze at your words, instantly becoming tense.

“Sentimental value.” He simply answered, voice short as he clearly didn’t want to elaborate. However, you being you chose to make a snarky comment.

“Oh I get it.” You nodded slowly, causing him to turn to look at you, almost in shock at your words. “Sentimental value…” You repeated. “So you mean an ex lover gave it to you. She broke your heart.” You dramatically spoke, obviously trying to tease him. “You kept it for keepsakes and it just so happened it broke at the exact time she left you.” You raised a hand to your chest over your heart to add drama. However, when you saw Joel’s face you instantly dropped the act. “Joel?” You asked softly, realising you may have taken your playful teasing too far.

“Leave it.”

Stood in the kitchen of your apartment, you began to hear commotion outside. Frowning, you walked over to your window, looking out as you looked down below, only a few floors up. Looking out, you saw FEDRA guards and trucks surrounding the area you lived as you frowned. What on Earth was going on? However, before you could even think about doing anything, you were knocked to the ground, a massive bang filling your ears as the window smashed, glass falling onto your body which laid on the floor. Smoke began to rise from outside, flooding in through the now open window. Pushing yourself up, you winced, looking down at your legs as you realised amongst the bang, your building had shaken, causing a nearby shelving unit to fall down on top of you. How didn’t you feel it?

“Shit.” You whispered to yourself, trying to pull your legs from under the unit, causing pain to radiate through your body as you let out a yell. “Fuck, shit-“ You hissed.

Agape loves a journey, red rivers connect all of me

But, but be it steadfast, don't you disappoint me

Sometimes I think you're all I need, wise beyond belief

Joel threw another poor soul into the fire, being void of emotion as he kept himself detached from the job. It was cruel, but necessary. He was already in a bad mood. The incident with you before he left for work was not how he wanted to start his day. But it shouldn’t matter. No it didn’t. It couldn’t matter. He couldn’t allow himself to feel anything. Not even for you. His thoughts were disrupted, as a loud bang erupted, echoing through the walls and buildings as he frowned, turning to see rising smoke in the near distance.

“Everyone needs to get inside!” A nearby FEDRA guard exclaimed, beginning to usher workers off the streets. “There’s been a firefly attack a few streets over! Get inside!” Joel’s brows furrowed at the guards words. Something felt wrong. He could feel it in the pit of his stomach. Wiping his hands on the rag, he walked over to one of the guards he knew.

“Wheres the trouble?” Joel asked, voice low as the guard checked round for anyone listening.

“Building got hit.” The guard started. “Apartments.”

“Which ones?” Joel almost urged.

“The ones next to the old barbers place.”

Joels heart sunk. That was your building.

“Shit-“ He muttered under his breath before taking off in the direction of the commotion. The guard tried shouting after him, but it was too late. Joel was off.

You’d tried multiple times to pull at your legs, to lift the unit, but it was no use. You dreaded to think what your trapped legs looked like. But you weren’t going to give up. Coughing, you forced yourself to sit up, clenching your teeth from the pain.

“Fucking asshole fireflies!” You grunted out, feeling anger towards the group at that moment in time. Looking round, you spotted your bat you kept under the bed in case of emergencies. It was a little bit out of reach, but if you just… Reaching out you tried your best to grip the bat, your fingers brushing it as you tried to ignore the pain. After a few minutes of trying, you finally managed to grab it, letting out a yell. Thankfully for you, the unit was made of wood. There was two options… smash it… or try and lift it using the bat. Grabbing some of the books that had come off the shelves, you stacked them, before wedging the top of the bat under the unit where your legs were keeping it from touching the floor, setting the middle of it on the books to allow the end of the bat to hang off it, enough for you to grip and push down on, using it as a makeshift aid to lift the shelves.

With a huff, you used all your strength to push down on the bat, screaming in agony as you did so, knowing your body was going to be bruised and sore for a while. It lifted the unit slightly, as you felt a bit of relief from your legs, however, it wasn’t enough to push it high enough for you to remove them. Knowing you had to put the unit back down, you felt tears prick at your eyes, carefully allowing it to fall back onto your legs. Where was someone?! Anyone?! A guard… Just someone.

“(Y/N)!”

You held your breath, hearing a familiar voice calling for you as you felt relief fill your mind.

“Joel!” You cried, hearing footsteps rushing towards you. “You know what I said about not being a damsel in distress?” You let out a breathy laugh. “Jokes on me, huh?” You could feel yourself beginning to get lightheaded from exhaustion and pain.

“You’re gonna be okay.” He secretly was more reassuring himself than you. “I’m gonna lift this-“ He appeared before you, standing over you as he eyed the unit. “And when I do, I need you to pull yourself out from under it, okay?” You nodded. “On the count of three…” He bent down, gripping under the unit, his hand skimming your skin as he did. “One… Two…” He began to lift. “Three!” He grunted out, pressure disappearing from your legs as you quickly pulled yourself from under the unit. Once you were in the clear, Joel let the unit hit the floor, immediately turning his attention to you. He knelt down, his hands coming to your face as he held you, searching for signs of any injury to your features. “Are you hurt anywhere else?” He asked, voice a little shaky as you shook your head.

“Just my legs.” You told him, before finally looking down to see your right leg having a gash on it. “Yikes.” You felt your head grow heavy as you fought to keep it upright at the sight of the blood.

“I’m gonna lift you up, okay?” Joel told you, as he moved his hands from your face, placing one under your knees and the other around your waist, trying to be as soft as possible incase he hurt you. Joel hoisted you up, holding you close to his chest as he began to move towards the exit of your apartment. Feeling your body growing more tired, you allowed your eyes to close, feeling safe and protected by Joel’s presence.

When did humans start to separate

Brain and heart as if they could stay alive alone?

Flip it around the other way

If they were apart and you had no power start or database

Only a shell remains

Coming back round, you opened your eyes to reveal Joel’s apartment. You were laid on the sofa, as you peered down to see your injured leg wrapped in bandages. A hand appeared beside you, holding out a glass of water, which you accepted gratefully. Taking a sip of the liquid, your dry throat began to feel better.

“QZ water has never tasted so good.” You commented, taking another sip as Joel kept his lips in a tight line. “Remind me to never put a shelving unit in my apartment again.” You tried to joke as Joel sighed, standing over you.

“It’s not funny.” He huffed out. “You got hurt, and it could’ve been a lot worse.” You looked up at him.

“There’s no point in moping about it.” You shrugged. “May as well try and have a laugh.” He shook his head, disbelief in your words. “I’m fine!” You insisted. “Bit sore, but I’ll survive.”

“That’s not the point.” He put his hands on his hips.

“Careful Joel, you’re starting to sound like you care.” You lightly teased, as you stared at up his face, seeing it unmoving, his eyes boring into your own. Clearing your throat, you pulled your gaze away, finishing off the glass of water.

“Damn fireflies.” He muttered under his breath. “They’re getting more and more violent.”

“Violence gets action.” You told him.

“Not when civilians get caught in the crossfire.” He clenched his fist, taking the empty glass from your hand as he placed it down on a nearby table. “Marlene needs to watch herself.” His voice warned.

“I’m sure she’s quaking in her boots.” You quipped, moving your body round to sit, wincing as your feet hit the floor. Joel turned seeing you moving, shaking his head as he approached you.

“No.” He told you. “Keep them elevated.” He ordered as you huffed, rolling your eyes before doing as he said, going back to laying on the sofa. “You’ll thank me later, it will help with the swelling.”

“I forgot you were a doctor.” You joked. “Doctor Miller. Nice ring to it.” You paused. “Although Nurse Miller is sexier.” He rolled his eyes at your jokes.

“Unbelievable.” He scoffed. “You’ve still got a tongue on you even when you’re in pain.” You sent him a big grin, one he couldn’t help but let the corners of his lips turn upwards slightly. Pulling up a chair, he sat in front of your legs. “Better check your legs not fallen off.” He gently began to unwrap the bandages as you watched him. You’d never seen this side of Joel. You sensed he was a caretaker. From the way he would watch those around him to the more obvious actions of looking after you. Even behind the hard facade, it would slip through and be evident in his character. Once the bandages were unwrapped, he checked the wound, as you realised he must’ve also cleaned it whilst you were passed out, the dried blood gone from your skin.

“Will I live?” You asked dramatically.

“Unfortunately.” He quipped back, causing you to fawn a look of shock.

“That’s not very good beside manners Nurse Miller.” You raised a brow. He began to re-wrap the wound.

“Keep it dry and covered for the next few days.” He told you. “Stay off it also.”

“Great.” You groaned, before realising… “My apartment…” You threw your head back. “I need to sort it.”

“No.” Joel finished wrapping your leg, as he sat back in his seat.

“No?” You repeated. “If you haven’t noticed Joel, it was a shit tip already, now it’s a land field.” You shook your head. “And I doubt the fireflies are gonna pop round to help tidy their mess.”

“I mean no, you’re not going back there.” You raised your brows at his words. “Until you’re better, you can stay here.”

“Joel, I don’t want to impose.”

“You’re not.” He folded his arms. “You can’t work with your leg, and as I said, you’ve got to stay off it.”

“Joel, I can’t expect or ask you to fend for me as well as yourself…” You softened your tone.

“It will be fine for a few days I’m sure.” He insisted. You both sat in silence for a moment, as you tried to read his expression.

“Why?” You asked. “Why are you doing this?” He pursed his lips.

“You may be a pain in the ass, but…” He sighed. “You’re my pain in the ass.” You felt a smile appear on your lips at his words.

His.

Pain in the ass… But still. This was basically a love letter from Joel.

“I always knew you were a softie deep down.” You lightly teased, as he pointed a finger at you.

“If you tell anyone-“

“You’ll kick my ass, yeah yeah.” You waved him off. “I know. You gotta keep up that tough guy reputation.” He put his finger down, narrowing his eyes.

“Now, what do you want for dinner?” He paused. “Canned fruit that was out of date 3 years ago, or canned beans that taste like shit?”

“Ohhh…” You pursed your lips. “I’m spoilt for choice.”

Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing to care a little.

What fun is it, to be so calculated

Or be taken advantage of, 'cause your heart's too trusting

Silent expressed push my head into my chest

Bind them up, forever wed

"Don't drift too far, " they said

#Pedro pascal x reader #the last of us fic #tlou hbo #joel miller x reader #joel miller #the last of us x reader #pedro pascal

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fortheloveofwonderland · 8 months

Text

Rusty | Chapter 2 | S.R

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter Summary - As you arrive at Spencer’s ranch, an intrusive look around his home offers some insight into the stranger. Meanwhile Spencer has his injuries seen to whilst taking a nostalgic glance down memory lane.

Paring - Spencer Reid / Fem! Reader

Category - strangers to friends to lovers | angst | smut minors DNI

Warnings - antidepressant medication, smoking, hospitals, mentions of Spencer’s past canon injuries, pain relief, bisexual Spencer and talk of sexuality, a rundown of Spencer’s past sexual encounters, brief mention of past drug addiction and Maeve, mentions of casual sex, talk of prison, broken bones.

WC - 6.5k

Chapter 2 - Take Me Home, Country Road

As promised the large creature led you to the strangers ranch, but at her slow gait it had taken almost an hour to travel four miles. It was a pain to drive so slowly, feeding her slices of apple and carrot out of the car window every five or so minutes.

By the time she led you off the main road and up a dirt path, your hand was almost black from feeding her.

You travelled a little further up the path until you came to what you assumed was the lodge Spencer had told you about.

You slowed the car to a stop and cut the engine, opening the door and sliding out before giving Willow the final piece of fruit from the bag.

“I have to say, I’m impressed.” You nodded at her, tentatively reaching up and patting the side of her face.

She mewled and nuzzled against your hand in appreciation. It might have been the first time you let your guard slip a little.

She was huge and imposing, terrifying from the offset to someone who had never spent any time around horses. But now as you looked at her, really looked at her, you saw her beauty.

She was a stunning greyish blue, with slight dappling in her coat. Her mane was nearly black, long and sleek. Her large eyes were a deep brown, almost as intense and alluring at her owners.

She was broad and tall, intimidating yet graceful. She made a soft snuffling sound as she slowly turned around and started trotting in the direction of the lodge.

You quickly followed her, making a grab for one of her reins in case she wandered off somewhere she shouldn’t. She led you passed the old lodge and further up a slight incline to where the ground levelled out again and you caught sight of where she was heading.

Up ahead was the stable Spencer had told you about and she took you right to it. Upon reaching it you unlatched the large barn doors and heaved one opened, Willow already making a move inside.

As told there were two more horses inside, one brown and one jet black and both slightly smaller in size than Willow. They eyed you up as you passed by and you tried to keep your head down.

There were three empty paddocks, two of which you could tell weren’t in use. Willow knew where to go and led you to her own.

She was content in being motioned inside and once her whole body was in, you closed the fence behind her, latching it like the others.

She headed straight for the trough of food - despite the snacks you’d bestowed on her - and happily started munching away at her dinner.

The black horse was near his own fence, eyes boring into you as you offered Willow another pat on the side of her back.

The darker horse seemed wary of you, making little grunts of disapproval at your presence. The auburn horse didn’t pay you too much attention.

“Trust me, I don’t want to be here just as much as you don’t want me to be here.” You held your hands up in surrender. “I’m leaving, don’t worry.”

You backed out of the stable, keeping your eyes on the dark stallion as you went. Once outside you were quick to close the doors and fix the latch in place.

Spinning around, it was too dark to make out the extent of his land. Given that he had at least two lodges, a stable and he’d mentioned cattle you assumed had must have a reasonable amount of acreage.

You padded back toward the lodge you’d passed earlier and fished out the keys. You really should hit the road, you could drive down to Mexico before Spencer was even released from hospital. When they inevitably rang you, asking after the fake name you’d given, you could tell them they had the wrong number.

Or simply ignore the call.

Staying in one place for too long could be dangerous. However Spencer’s ranch was certainly secluded, no other buildings or claimed land for miles you would ascertain. So if you had to lay low somewhere for the night, this was probably the best place to do so.

You climbed the creaky wooden stairs to his lodge and located the largest key on the loop before slipping it in the lock. You pushed the door open and fumbled for a light switch.

Finding one and flicking it, the room was suddenly awash with light and you had to blink a few times at the onslaught.

Adjusting to the light you glanced around the small quarters. The floor and the walls were all the same wood as the outside and it was furnished minimally.

There was a single leather couch beneath the back window and a small coffee table in front of it stained with coffee rings. A newspaper sat folded neatly on the corner, upon closer inspection you frowned curiously at the copy of The Washington Post dated today.

Next to the couch was a large bookshelf that spanned from floor to ceiling and books were packed in so tightly it looked fit to burst. Another stack of books was on the floor next to it, unable to stuff a single extra hardback on the shelves.

You run your fingers along old, cracked spines. His collection covered everything from War and Peace in its original Russian, an extremely old and battered copy of a book titled The Log of a Cowboy, to poetry anthologies and books on behavioural profiling.

Eclectic and diverse, neither things you expected from a cowboy.

The key to his second lodge hung by the door like he said and you should take it and leave. But you’d always been a little too curious, couldn’t stop yourself from continuing around the small abode.

To the right of the door was a kitchen, if you could really call it that. It was essentially a small breakfast bar separating it from the living space and another counter that held a microwave and an stove top that looked as though it had never been used.

On the breakfast bar was an empty mug of what you presumed had once held coffee judging by the smell and an extremely outdated cell phone. There was a book next to it, closed with a sliver of paper sticking out you presumed to mark his page. There was a fridge which you couldn’t help but peer into - he did tell you to help yourself - but it was mostly baron.

It held a half empty glass bottle of milk, a small tub of butter, two sad and lonely looking microwave meals and a couple of half eaten tubs of Chinese take out.

Closing the fridge you dared breach beyond, stepping past the fridge towards a closed door. You opened it and stepped into his bedroom, switching on another light.

His king sized bed took up most of the space and was made with near military precision with an olive green bedspread. The pillows were neatly fluffed and the sheet tucked crisply over the top.

The bed on one side was pushed up against the large window with its blinds tilted almost fully closed. Without opening them, you peered between the slats but given the darkness outside you couldn’t see much of anything.

The side of the bed that wasn’t cast against the wall had a nightstand next to it with another six or seven books piled up on it, almost entirely obscuring an old alarm clock.

There was a wardrobe in one corner which you pushed forward to and swung open its double doors.

Most of the clothes were reminiscent of what you’d seen him wear today: various cuts of jeans in different washes, multiple plain t-shirts in a variety of colours, several more denim shirts in both blue and black and an array of flannel shirts in all kinds of colours.

Rifling through them a little, you did come across something more curious.

At the back of the closet hung several knitted sweater vests, a couple of crisp button downs and two pairs of black slacks. You found them to be out of place in this man’s closet, and given their proximity, hidden away at the back you found it a little strange.

There was something soft and plush on the floor, kicked towards the back but you ignored it. Shaking your head you closed the closet and turned back into the room.

On the other wall was a desk with a small stool tucked underneath. On the desk was yet another stack of books - you didn’t peg a cowboy to be as big of a reader - and two framed photographs.

The photographs were the only personal touch in the place. You picked up the first one and studied it. The man in the image was most certainly the injured cowboy but he looked to be at least ten years younger you would surmise.

His hair was a little shorter, still messy and curly. He had his arms wrapped around an older woman with short white hair you could only hazard to guess was his mother. It was just a head and shoulders shot but you could vaguely make out he seemed to be wearing a sweater vest similar to one in his closet.

The other photograph was of a group of eight people, four men and four women. Spencer was in the middle, one arm slung around the shoulders of a blonde woman dressed in bright, garish colours with thick rimmed glasses and his other around the shoulders of an older man with grey hair and a grey beard.

Aside from the grey haired man, they all looked to be around a similar age, and they were all smiling brightly at the camera. In this picture you could see Spencer was wearing a pale pink button down, tie and black slacks. It looked to be fairly recently, maybe no more than a few years old.

You scanned the faces and your eyes narrowed on the man on the end who had a large goofy smile on his face and an arm slung around the shoulder of a woman with raven hair.

He was latino, with jet black hair swept off of his face. His large dark eyes were expressive and his smile reached all the way to them. You rolled your bottom lip between your teeth, brow furrowing as you took in the details of his face.

There was something about him that caused a knot to form in your stomach but you couldn’t place it, couldn’t put a name to what you were feeling.

Shaking your head again and replacing the photo on the desk you glanced around again.

It was clear he lived here alone. There were no feminine touches, nothing to point to the idea that he shared his home with someone else, woman or man. The bed even dipped a little on one side, a clear indicator that it was only slept in by one person.

You carried on through to the bathroom but it wasn’t until you started going through his medicine cabinet that you realised what an invasion of privacy this was.

This man had been nice enough to give you a place to stay for the night when you’d been belligerent. He’d offered you his home while he was in hospital and you were repaying him by snooping in his life.

And now you stood in his bathroom with a half empty orange pill bottle, the label of which read Paroxetine.

Returning it to the cabinet and closing it, you couldn’t ignore the curiosity that was pulsing through you and without really meaning to, you pulled out your phone and googled it.

Paroxetine - Brand Name: Seroxat - is a type of antidepressant known as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). It’s often used to treat depression, and sometimes obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic attacks, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

You read the words in your head, hand gripping the phone tightening. Now you felt guilty. You should not have been rummaging through his things like this, unearthing secrets about a man you barely knew.

But now you did know he suffered from some kind of mental health issue and you would have to see him again and pretend you knew nothing of it. You couldn’t imagine living out here on his own like this was helpful to his mental health. But it wasn’t your problem, not your concern.

You forced yourself to leave after that, the guilt clutching at your chest for snooping in the first place. You grabbed the keys to the spare lodge, switched the lights off and exited this stranger's home.

You stepped out onto the porch but before you could get too far you lowered yourself to the top step. Your firearm which was still tucked into the back of your pants shifted a little as you did so.

You pulled out a packet of cigarettes from inside of your jacket. You weren’t a regular smoker but on occasion you enjoyed the relief that came with having one.

You lit one and took a long drag on it, staring out at the quiet expanse of land rolling out into the darkness.

This was so far removed from anything you’d ever known, this way of living was so out of the realms of normal to you.

You’d been born and raised in the city, surrounded by people and tall buildings and a constant swell of traffic on the roads. Your life was always bright and loud, chaotic in a sense. But this place brought about a certain peace.

You watched the smoke dance up into the still air and as you followed it, your eyes landed on the sky. Out here, away from all the light pollution of the big city, you had an uninhibited view of the stars.

You felt your chest tighten in a kind of whimsy. You’d never experienced the sky in such a way, unhindered, uncensored. You’d never had a chance to just sit and watch the sky, take in the beautiful pin pricks of light that decorated the dark blanket above you.

It was so quiet. The only sounds you could discern were the tiny crackle of the cigarette paper as you took a drag and the occasional snuffle coming from one of the horses in the stable.

In a sense, you could understand why people choose to live like this. It was tranquil, soothing. You almost felt yourself cleansed as you sat there.

Maybe you could put Mexico on the back burner. Perhaps this place was the perfect haven for you to remain hidden away and maybe you’d even get some clarity and peace of mind while you did so.

That was to say, if Spencer was okay with you hanging around. He seemed to be a loner type, living out here alone with his horses and cattle. Maybe he wouldn’t appreciate an uninvited guest.

But you had saved his life in a sense, didn’t he owe you?

Being out here in this sleepy sanctuary, the quiet and the pull of nature were only part of the appeal. The injured cowboy who had opened his home to you was not at all hard on the eyes, quite the opposite in fact.

And on top of that he intrigued you. There was something in his eyes when he looked at you that told you he’d seen some things. There was a slight crack in his foundation, a chink in his armour which was further proven looking around his home.

There was a reason someone had such few personal items, causes for a person to live so far off the grid like this.

You dragged on the cigarette as your brows furrowed in contemplation. Perhaps he was running from something just as you were. Maybe the two of you weren’t so different.

He most certainly had a story to tell and for some reason, unbeknownst to you, you wanted to hear it. You wanted to bury yourself deep in the tale of this lonely cowboy by the name of Spencer Reid.

You finished the cigarette and dropped it to the floor before descending the stairs and stamping it out with the heel of your sneaker. Returning to your car you popped the trunk and grabbed out the small duffel bag before heading back up past the stable to the other near identical lodge.

Somehow this one was even more sparsely decorated than his own. There was a single couch, no coffee table and no bookshelves bursting at the seams. The kitchen layout was identical minus the microwave and upon further inspection the fridge was empty and unplugged from the wall.

The bedroom had a small double bed, but much like his own it was made with precision. This one wasn’t pushed up against the window like his own but in the centre of the room. There were no nightstands, no desk, just a small chest of drawers in the corner.

You dumped your duffle bag on the bed and kicked off your sneakers before padding through to the bathroom. As he said there were clean towels hanging on the back of the door. It only occurred to you then that you’d been driving for days and hadn’t showered since the day you jumped in a car and left everything behind.

Making quick work of stripping out of your clothes, setting your gun down next to the sink and switching on the shower, you were soon standing under the flow of warm water. You inhaled deeply before slowly exhaling the breath through your nose as the water coursed around you.

The water pressure left a lot to be desired but it was a decent temperature and it would at least clean you. There were little bottles of what appeared to be hotel shampoos and body wash lining the bathtub which you helped yourself to.

You washed your hair before turning your attention to your body and cleaning yourself thoroughly after days spent inside your car. You massaged the aching muscles of your neck and shoulders, lathering up the body wash as you did so. You stretched your back and your limbs, only really now taking heed of how sore you were from being confined to your vehicle for so many hours.

You supposed you couldn’t complain, imagining what Spencer was going through in the hospital.

You finished your shower and got dried before changing into a pair of shorts and tank top from your duffel bag. You carefully untucked the sheet from one side of the bed and slid beneath it.

Your eyes closed as soon as your head hit the soft pillow. You sunk into the mattress, the smell of clean linen wafting around you.

You were asleep within minutes of crawling into the strange bed.

***

Given the late hour in which he’d been admitted, as Spencer suspected he was required to spend the night in the hospital.

He was taken for x-rays of his knee, back and arm and pumped with fluids via an IV to combat his dehydration.

It had grown awkward rather quickly when a nurse tried to offer him something for his pain and he’d had to explain that he didn’t take opioids without actually having to explain why.

The pain was manageable at least in comparison to some other times he’d landed himself in hospital. But if he could refuse morphine after being shot in the neck, shot in the knee and whilst suffering from anthrax poisoning, he could go without now.

He accepted a couple of Tylenol to help him rest while he awaited the results of the x-rays and honestly it did help. It eased the aching in his back and the pain in his extremities enough for him to close his eyes and drift a little, although he didn’t quite reach the allusive REM stages sleep.

With his mind more at ease he was consumed by thoughts of you, the stranger that had saved him from being eaten alive by desert critters and potentially his own animal companion.

It was only really now he allowed himself to dwell on just how breathtaking you were. He’d told you he thought you were pretty, but that was doing you a disservice.

It had been more years than Spencer could count since he’d last been so taken by another person. His history when it came to physicality or matters of the heart was painfully thin, more a pamphlet than book.

Ethan had been the first person he’d ever had romantic feelings towards when he was just a teenager. It was also with Ethan that he’d first explored sexually.

Up until his kiss with Lila Archer in her pool he’d assumed himself to be only interested in men. She was the first woman he’d ever been attracted to and their kiss had certainly sparked something within him.

Years later, after Gideon left, after his battle with dilaudid, somewhere between accusing his father of murder and getting shot in the knee, he reconnected with her during the course of another case in LA. After a few drinks and some not-so-subtle flirting on her part, he found himself in her bed.

She was the first woman he’d been with sexually and still to this day there was only one other woman he’d been with in that way. After Maeve’s death he’d been in a bad way and had ended up in the bed of a woman he met in a bar. It was nice, maybe more perfunctory than anything, but then again he’d felt the same with Lila.

He was certainly attracted to both of the women and had been towards other women over the years - he’d thought Elle Greenaway to be beautiful and as much as he hated to admit it Cat Adams had a certain allure. And of course there had been Maeve, who he’d been consumed by without even seeing her face.

He often wondered if they’d had a chance to meet if their intimacy would have been different, perhaps because they had a deeper attachment with one another. But in his limited experience he’d never quite connected to a woman the same way he did with men.

Again, it wasn’t to say he had a wealth of experience with the same sex either. After Ethan there was a long gap in Spencer’s sexual history, the next time he was with another man was long after Lila. It was a casual thing, he supposed it was a booty call kind of arrangement that never really did sit right with Spencer, yet he continued it for almost half a year.

And then more recently he’d been involved in something more serious with a man for the first time. They’d started dating prior to his arrest and the relationship had continued after his release.

However, Spencer’s time spent on the inside had driven him into the dark recesses of the human mind. What he’d experienced in prison caused him to view sex and intimacy in a different light.

Even after months of therapy and medication being prescribed, Spencer was unable to allow himself to be intimate with his boyfriend and as such the relationship had ultimately ended. They managed to remain friends, more out of necessity than a true desire to do so, but things had never been the same.

Since his incarceration, the idea of relationships of a physical or emotional variety, regardless of gender, had been off the table for Spencer. Part of the appeal of moving out to Bandera in the middle of nowhere was the social isolation.

For years he’d been content on his own, not happy but honestly he wasn't sure he’d ever really been happy per se. But it was entirely probable, if he allowed himself to dwell on it, that he was incredibly lonely.

Since moving to Bandera two years ago he’d barely had any interaction with anyone, let alone anything meaningful. He went to the store once a week for groceries and exchanged pleasantries with the kindly elderly lady that worked the check out line. He had encounters with other ranchers in town when he saw them, mostly conversations pertaining to cattle rearing and farming.

He spoke to the old members of his team on the phone from time to time although the longer he was gone, they calls became few and far between. Penelope called him more than the others, usually once every few weeks and they would spend a good amount of time talking about everything and anything. Jennifer called once a month, sometimes there was longer between the calls and Emily and Rossi phoned him once in a blue moon.

He had the rare text exchange with Matt and Tara and, even less frequently Luke, but it had been a long time since he’d heard any of their voices.

So for the most part, he was alone, his horses and cattle his only company. But that had been by design, Spencer intentionally shut himself off from the world to save any further disappointment in his life or the having to explain why he was such a damn basket case to anyone.

And then you appeared on the side of that abandoned stretch of road and saved him from uncertain death. You had ignited something in Spencer he thought had long ago been burned out. And now maybe the idea of being alone didn’t appeal to him quite so much anymore.

But of course he inevitably would be. You’d made it clear that you were in a hurry to get somewhere and certainly wouldn’t be sticking around longer than you had to. Perhaps it was for the best, he wasn’t exactly keen on the idea of sharing his neuroticism with you.

He was awoken from his drifting by a young doctor with friendly eyes. She introduced herself as Doctor Rhodes and offered Spencer a cup of water which he gratefully took despite his IV fluid intake earlier.

She had a folder under her arm which she opened now, he could see the x-rays peeking out from within.

“You should consider yourself very lucky, Mister Reid.” She began.

There was a time when Spencer would have corrected her misuse of his title but since relocating to Texas he’d left his honorific behind in an attempt to feel more normal.

Internally he was screaming, Doctor Reid, it’s Doctor Reid, not Mister! Externally he remained silent.

“The swelling in your knee is already subsiding and it doesn’t appear that you’ve done any muscle or tissue damage. It may be sore for a few days, but it should get better over time. Your spinal x-rays didn’t show any damage either, the radiologist did note some bruising on your lower back but again the pain should ease up.” She informed him with a smile.

“Thanks, it’s easing up already a little.” He nodded stiffly.

“As for your arm, you have a hairline fracture in both your ulna and radius at the farthest distal end of the bones.” She held up an x-ray of his left arm and Spencer squinted, making out the small area in which his arm had broken thanks to the wild horse. “Again, this is a very favourable outcome, I see a lot of injuries of this nature due to the number of rodeos and ranches nearby and I have to say this is very minor in comparison to what could have happened.”

“Okay, that’s good.” He nodded again. “So, what, I need a cast or something?”

“Had it been more severe you may have needed surgery to fix the brake but in this instance a cast should suffice. I imagine six weeks in a cast at most and you should be good to go, Mister Reid.”

Doctor, Doctor Reid.

“Can I still ride? I don’t have any other form of transport other than my horses.” He rolled his lip between his teeth.

“That would really depend on how competent of a rider you are. If you think you’re safe to ride one handed then that’s really your call. I would suggest, given the fall and the residual pain you might be feeling in your patella and lumbar, to give it at least a few days before you attempt to get back in the saddle, literally.” She chuckled at her own bad pun.

Spencer’s own lip quirked a little at the corner.

“Okay super.” Spencer nodded.

“I’ll send in a nurse to get your arm set and then I don’t foresee any reason you can’t be discharged. I’ll write you a script for some more Tylenol,” she glanced at her notes with a small brow furrow. “I understand you turned down anything stronger?”

“I, uh, I have a history with opioids. I’d rather not go into it.” He shrunk down a little in the bed. He didn’t need to go further into detail, it was clear what he meant.

Doctor Rhodes offered him a slightly melancholy smile and a nod of her head, closing the folder and slotting it back under her arm.

“Say no more. I’ll send a nurse in as soon as possible and then barring any complications you should be able to go home.”

“What time is it?” He frowned. He’d lost all sense of time, had no idea how long he’d been drifting on the cusp of sleep for.

Doctor Rhodes raised her left arm, shirked her lab coat out of the way and checked her watch.

“A little after six am.” She spoke as she glanced back at him.

“Oh man,” Spencer pulled a face feeling suddenly disorientated. “I had no idea I closed my eyes for so long.”

“Dehydration can have that effect. You should be feeling much better now we’ve pumped you full of fluids.” Rhodes smiled once more, giving a brisk nod of her head before turning on her heels. “I don’t want to see you back here after another botched animal rescue okay?”

Spencer chuckled lightly to himself, nestling his head back against the pillows.

“I make no promises.” He yawned as he spoke.

A small titter met his ears and seconds later Doctor Rhodes was gone.

***

You were rudely awoken from an extremely peaceful night’s sleep in a ridiculously comfy bed by the sound of your phone ringing.

You had to drag yourself out from between the soft sheets to locate your jeans where your phone was cradled in the pocket.

You pulled your legs under your body on the cool hardwood floor and blinked a few times at the device before answering the call.

“H-hello?” You croaked, eyes heavy with sleep and your head spinning in unfamiliarity.

“Miss Parker?” A female voice assaulted your ears.

You frowned, closing one eye and inhaling deeply.

“Uh…sorry I think you have the wrong number.” You grumbled, rubbing at your forehead to ease the confusion.

Light swarmed the room through open blinds and you took in the neutral decor trying to ascertain where you were. The last few days had been a blur, you couldn’t quite bring to memory where you’d ended up.

“Oh…” the confusion was evident down the phone. “My apologies. I have you listed as an emergency contact on a patient discharge form.”

Emergency contact? Discharge form? What was she…oh…oh!

“Oh right, sorry, yes!” Your brain started to lift from the fog that was surrounding it. “Cowboy dude, uh, Sp…Spencer?”

“You do know Mister Reid?” The voice sounded even more befuddled.

“Yes, yes, good friend of mine.” You lied. “Sorry I just woke up, I’m a little disoriented. Has he been discharged?”

“He’s just filling out his discharge papers and said you would be collecting him.”

“Yes, of course.” You nodded sleepily. “Uh…what hospital is he in?”

There was a short stretch of silence, you ran your free hand through your hair while you waited for confirmation.

“University Health in San Antonio.” The voice replied.

Right, no help at all.

“I’ll, uh, be there as soon as I can.” You nodded again, mostly to yourself.

“Very well.” The clipped female voice replied. “I will have him wait in the main lobby once he’s completed his paperwork, Miss Parker.”

Soon after the woman hung up and you dropped your cell phone to your lap. You rubbed your eyes and stretched out your legs.

Signing a fake name on the patient form last night had been a force of habit. You were trying to run away, trying to fly under the radar and it would have been a potentially disastrous oversight had you given the EMT’s your real name. Giving over your phone number had been risky enough, but hopefully not damning.

You picked the phone back up and almost googled the hospital for its address before cursing under your breath. You couldn’t risk leaving an internet paper trail, even though you doubted it would put you in harm's way, it wasn’t worth it. Hopefully you could find the route the good old fashioned way, with the use of the paper map in your car.

Pushing yourself back up to your feet you remembered Spencer mentioning the nearest hospital being about forty five miles away and you groaned to yourself. You’d appreciated the decent night’s sleep you’d gotten but at what cost?

You found your duffle bag and dressed in clean underwear, the same black jeans you’d been wearing yesterday, a clean tank top under an oversized blue and black checked sweatshirt. You collected up your belongings, firearm and Spencer’s keys included, before padding your way to the door.

You grabbed a quick glass of water before leaving the lodge, wondering if you may entertain the idea of staying another night in this safe haven or if you would never step foot inside that cabin again. You locked the door behind you and took the steps down, bag slung over your arm.

You exchanged his keys for your car key and drew a cigarette from its packet as you walked. You opened the car and dumped the bag on the backseat, returning your firearm to the glove compartment and starting the engine.

You lit the cigarette cradled between your lips whilst rolling down the window, picking up the map from the passenger's seat and scrutinising it. Holding the cigarette out the open window, your other hand drew a path on the map towards your destination.

It was a good job you had a decent sense of direction otherwise this would have been made impossible without a GPS system.

You tossed the map aside and took a drag on the cigarette as you cranked up the radio. You slid the car into reverse and turned around until you were facing the dirt road that led out of Spencer’s ranch.

Once you hit the road you slammed your foot on the accelerator and sped along through the isolated desert with your hand out the window and the breeze ruffling your hair.

***

Spencer limped almost comically towards the open car door whilst you leant against the side of the vehicle offering no help whatsoever. His purple casted arm was cradled against his dirty t-shirt.

“Probably should have asked you to bring me some clean clothes.” He grumbled, noticing you eyeing his dusty attire.

“Hmm so you could further exploit the kindness of a stranger?” Your lip twitched into a small smirk.

“Oh I’m sorry, did you not enjoy spending a free night at my ranch?” He scoffed, hobbling closer and wincing a little as he did so.

“Eh, it was okay.” You held open the door for him.

Spencer rolled his eyes and slowly lowered himself into the passenger seat, trying to avoid putting any unnecessary weight on his sore knee. He groaned as he swung his legs inside.

You closed the door behind him before rounding the car to the driver’s side and quickly starting the engine. Spencer removed his stetson and laid it in his lap, cradling his arm closer to his chest.

Soon you were pulling away from the front of the hospital and heading back towards the memorised route.

“So, broken arm, huh?” You asked as you drove, sending him a sidelong glance.

“Apparently I was lucky. Don’t feel very lucky if I’m honest.” He grumbled again.

“You’ll be fine, big tough cowboy, like you.” You smirked to yourself.

“Big and tough?” He turned his head to face you. “I can categorically say no one has ever referred to me as big and tough.”

“I thought it kinda went with the territory. Rangling cattle, riding horses.” You teased in a fake southern drawl.

“Hmm.” He simply responded, clearly unamused. “So you’re names Elizabeth? Elizabeth Parker? I saw it on the intake form.”

“Indeed.” You nodded, keeping your eyes focused on the road.

“Huh.” He mused, narrowing his eyes on you.

“What?” Your forehead pinched into a frown.

“Nothing,” he shook his head. “Just heard that name before.”

“I’m sure it's a very common name.” You shrugged.

His gaze on the side of your face was making you feel a little uncomfortable and you tried to ignore it but his eyes bore into you heavily. You gripped the wheel tightly, hearing him shift slightly in his seat.

“You know where I think I‘ve heard it?” His tone held a thinly veiled hint of amusement.

“Where?” You sighed in frustration.

“Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Elizabeth Parker of Bonnie and Clyde fame.” He noticed the way your back straightened in your chair, how your grip tightened on the wheel.

You huffed out a breath and rolled your eyes.

“Fine, you caught me. My name is not Elizabeth Parker.” You confessed in a slightly irked tone.

“So what is it?”

“Does it really matter?” You grumbled.

“Well, seeing as you know my name and you’ve stayed at my ranch, it would be nice to know your name.” He shrugged, shifting again in his seat and struggling to find a position that didn’t ache his back.

“Y/N.” You spoke under your breath, half hoping he wouldn’t hear you over the radio.

He did.

“Y/N…?”

“Just Y/N. Consider me like Cher or Madonna. No last name.” You murmured.

To your surprise, Spencer chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. He brushed his hair back off of his face with his good hand and sat back against the chair.

“Okay, Y/N. I guess it’s nice to meet you. And I suppose a thank you is in order, seeing how you kinda sorta saved my life.” His laughter subsided and he glanced at you seriously.

You offered him a brief look before focusing back out the windshield, your lip tugging a little at the corner.

“Kinda sorta?” You cocked an eyebrow. “Dude, I totally saved your life. You’re forever indebted to me now.”

Spencer smiled to himself, the sound of your laugh alleviating his pain momentarily. He turned his attention out of the window as you sped down the road. He wouldn’t at all mind the idea of that, he’d take any excuse to keep you close.

@andiebeaword @muffin-cup @measure-in-pain @dreatine @matthew-gray-gubler-lover @people-whatabunchofbastards @spencer-reid-wonderland @thebloomingeagle @kalulakunundrum @small-and-violent @voledart

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid smut #spencer reid x fem! reader #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x y/n #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction

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hazelrose3637 · 5 months

Text

Nikki's Birthday Live Stream!

Well, Shiny Designers, the Glitter of Wishes live stream has come to an end. And, wow, has it been a treat!

In case you missed it, here's the full itinerary:

A sweet Momo montage! Our favorite kitty gets a new song! Of course he mentions food in it lol

And we get a cute animation sequence of Nikki finding Momo practicing a dance in secret. Who knew Momo was so skilled?

Now, we get into the main part of the live stream. After greeting us, Nikki and Momo have a memory notebook that contains well wishes and gifts from across Miraland... and even from real life!

We visit Cloud Empire first, where the game devs filmed a stunning display of molten iron fireworks! They spent a whole day finding the perfect spot, setting up the smithing tools, and then setting off brilliant sparks. They were incredible to watch!

And then, the first round of giveaways: 12 lucky people will get 12 Sea of Fantasy tickets and 1206 pink gems. (Get it? 12/06 is Nikki's birthday.)

Off to Pigeon Kingdom afterward! A short and cute stop-motion sequence made of clay and felt shows Nikki and Momo having fun with arts and crafts. I wonder how long it took the animators to move the figures frame by frame? Nevertheless, it looks amazing!

The next giveaway code is PIGEONKINGDOM, and it will give 2888 to 5 stylists.

Third stop on our journey is Wasteland, and it offers the most gifts! First, we get Letters from Wasteland, where Vivian, Jiang Beixi, Zoey, Tess, Yisu, and even Queen Hester share memories and wishes for Nikki.

And then, we get a second dance, this time of Nikki in her standard SN dress, the Voice of Desire suit, and the Bloom Up suit as three versions of her dance to Bloom Up! It's all so cute! ^_^

Lastly, we get a quick animation sequence of Momo and his hamster friend grilling (and fighting over) steak. Nikki saves the day in a very sweet way.

Before we go to Ninir Kingdom, the third round of giveaways starts, with the code NINIRKINGDOM offering 5888 pink gems for 2 lucky stylists.

Now in Ninir, we get a glimpse of Nikki's birthday outfit! It's a lovely pink fireworks-themed dress, complete with a crown. You can check out OrangeCatty's blog here for a video and full rundown.

And we get to see our next event: the second Sanrio collab, this time with Kuromi and Pompompurin! Who else can't wait for the adorable animal friends?

Not only that, but the entire server gets a redeem code: HBDNIKKI for 520 gems! Make sure to claim it before the 14th of December.

But guess what is a bigger surprise? Real gamers voicing their wishes for Nikki! I recognized only a couple, but it was still so cool to see how many people the devs reached out to make this live stream even sweeter.

To wrap up the live stream, we got a mashup of several different Nikki songs, all leading up to the premier of a new song, Fireworks of Memories. Such a sweet song :)

youtube

The last giveaway is BESTWISH for 8888 pink gems, and only one very lucky stylist will get that. Momo comes back for an encore montage, this time with Nikki singing along.

If you'd like to check out the full archived video, check it out here.

See you next time, Shiny Designers!

#shining nikki #livestream #redeem code #fireworks of memories #birthday #gift #animation #Youtube

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inkrabbit · 2 years

Note

Would you happen to have any headcannons for Swiss and/or any of the other ghouls taking care of their sick s/o?

honestly lets have all the ghouls

Swiss:

"Sick...? Hang on, lemme look that up."

and best believe he's asking Primo to make you one of his famous teas to help you feel better

you're not leaving his bed either, so get comfy

don't worry, he's not leaving your side until you're all better. and yes, that means he's cuddling with you as much as you'll allow

you wanna watch a movie? some stupid videos to make you feel better? you got it.

he'll also play something for you on his guitar and softly sing to you in hopes you feel better

also pls eat for him, even if you don't really want to. he'll cry if you don't

Aether:

"You're hotter than a fire ghoul. What's wrong?"

he doesn't 100% understand when people get sick because ghouls aren't prone to sickness

if you give him a quick rundown, he gets the general idea

will ask some siblings for tips, and also get a couple books

refuses to let you leave bed when he sees that "rest" is one of the important home remedies

keeps checking up on you to see if you feel better because, no Aether, sickness doesn't go away within hours of rest

gives you some of his books to read and offers to play music to help relax you more

Cirrus:

"You're still in bed? Did you stay up late last night?"

one of the few ghouls that actually knows what to do

checks your temperature every hour and always ends it by kissing your forehead

brings you food to eat in bed so you don't have to waste energy getting up

you can get up and do things, but she's gonna give you a firm warning to get back to bed

also gives you fuzzy blankets and a few stuffed animals she found to try and make you comfy

she'll stay if you want her to, but other than, she's giving you your space so you can rest peacefully

Cumulus:

"Honey, what's wrong? You're burning up!"

also one of the ghouls that knows what to do and she's quick too

within five minutes, she's taken your temperature, run you a hot bath and got you a cool and damp towel to rest on your head while you sweat it out under the covers

makes soup from scratch and uses the herbs from Primo's garden to enhance the flavor and boost the potential of it helping you

she gives you anything you want and even softly sings for you to help you fall asleep

shoos away any of the other siblings or ghouls that try to check on you. if they wanna know how you're doing, they can ask her

keeps a show on that you like so you're not bored being in bed all day

Mountain:

"Ayy, I'm sick too! ... What do you mean flu?"

just like Aether, he doesn't get it at first and he needs a little more in-depth rundown on what the "flu" is

all he really understands is "I feel horrible and hot and disgusting"

he runs a nice hot bath for you and, when he hears how you don't have energy, decides to take it with you so he can help clean you

keeps making jokes and telling stories to try and make you happy

he's more than happy to cuddle with you in bed all day, even if you're feeling icky

tell him if you want some alone time. he'll understand. he just wants you happy and back to normal

Rain:

"Hey, you're burnin' up. Are you okay?"

he knows what sickness is. he's seen Papa sick a few times so he has a good understanding on what to do

asking one of Primo's ghouls for the best home remedies for you and making them himself

understands if you don't want anything, but also encourages you to eat and drink so you keep your strength up

always keeps a bottle of water beside you just in case you need it

plays his bass for you and softly sings if you don't mind him staying with you

don't be afraid to ask him for anything, no matter the request. all he cares about is your health and he wants to take care of you

Sodo:

"Lucifer, you're hot! Is that what it's like touching me?"

doesn't understand at first what's wrong with you, but like Mountain, he gets the gist when you mention how you feel

this is one of those times where he gets really soft with you and insists that, if you need anything, no matter what, all you have to do is ask him

ends up cuddling with you all day and watching shows on his laptop

he won't tell you, but he absolutely loves this. doing nothing and just spending time with you

offers to play music on either his bass (if he can find it) or his guitar. you gotta kiss him if you want him to sing, though

swaps between English and Swedish when gently talking to you while you try falling asleep

Sunshine:

"Is something wrong? You're like... really hot!"

asks Cirrus and Cumulus for advice on how to properly help you

like Cumulus and Rain, she makes you soups and teas herself and uses herbs from Primo's garden to help

she plays a couple of her vinyls to keep you entertained, but feel free to ask her to turn it off. she'll understand

checks your temperature whenever she thinks you feel better or worse

cuddles with you in bed and constantly checks to see if you're okay

will 100% understand if you want to be alone, but she will be coming by every now and then just to check up on you

#request #headcanons #hcs #swiss ghoul #aether ghoul #cirrus ghoulette #cumulus ghoulette #mountain ghoul #rain ghoul #sodo ghoul #dewdrop ghoul #sunshine ghoul #gn!reader

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herrmannhalsteadproduction · 1 year

Text

Honesty. Horrible, Horrible Honesty. (Chapter Four)

Summary: This is Part Eighteen of my series A Herrmann/Halstead Production. It is an AU where Christopher Herrmann's mom had an affair with Pat Halstead resulting in a baby. The series follows this OC character (Rebecca "Bex" Herrmann) as she grows up and gets to know her brothers and the various Chicago teams. It is very much an AU, just to underscore that. It doesn't follow the same timeline and characters will follow different paths.

Click here for the Series Rundown where you can find the links to read all of the previous installments (which I highly recommend you do so that this one makes sense.)

Rating: Teen and Up

Relationships: Christopher Herrmann & Original Female Character, Jay Halstead & Original Female Character, Will Halstead & Original Female Character, Jay Halstead & Will Halstead, pre-Greg 'Mouse' Gerwitz/Original Female Character, Will Halstead/Connor Rhodes, Assorted OC Couples

Warnings: Referenced Domestic Violence and Threatening Behaviour (these are warning tags for a brief scenes with Ty), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, A Brief Scene of Violence, Mild Injury, Swearing, Characters Working Through Trauma, Repairing Relationships, Fluff, I Swear There are Funny Bits Along with the Emotional Bits

A/N: To underscore my previous note, this is an alternate universe so things have unfolded differently. This will not follow the canon arcs exactly by any means. But I hope you'll still enjoy it!

Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Elle

“I bet you twenty bucks he’s asking her out again,” Elle said as she followed Patti and Pete back into the studio building.

“No deal because he’s definitely doing that.” Patti rolled her eyes with a laugh as she held the door open. “Or proposing some kind of ‘if we’re both single by this time’ kind of thing.”

“Hey, there’s something to be said for persistence,” Pete protested from behind the pile of takeout in his arms. “It worked for me.”

“Yes, it did,” Patti said, stretching up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss as he went by.

“There’s also a line where it starts to get weird plus he’s supposed to be helping her,” Elle grumbled. Bex was their friend too and if Beau kicked them all out so he could hit on her again instead of letting them all support her, she was going to kick his ass.

Patti and Pete stopped in front of the door to the studio, heads tilted as they listened to the faint sounds of guitar riffs. Elle leaned in behind them.

“Is that—is that Adele?” she asked.

Patti pushed open the door and the three of them stepped inside to find Bex and Beau wailing away on their guitars while howling about setting fire to the rain.

Beau noticed them first. “Hey, guys!” he called out over Bex singing out “And I threw us into the FLAMES!” He nudged her and she stopped, finally catching sight of them as well and offering a bright smile.

“Hey!” she said. “We’re venting our anger by rocking out on sad songs.”

“Welcome to Bex and Beau’s Broken Hearts Band.” Beau did a little riff on his guitar and then the two of them high-fived.

Elle clocked the now half-empty whisky bottle sitting out on the table and drew Patti’s attention to it with a nod. There had clearly been some bonding going on.

“Can the band take five for a dinner break?” Patti asked as Pete set the food out on the low coffee table.

“Yes,” Bex said enthusiastically, setting her guitar down. “I’m starving.”

The five of them dug into the feast of Thai food and chatted about the band’s plans for after the album was done.

“We’re hitting the road,” Beau said. “Going on the college tour circuit and playing a shit ton of bars and a few small venues.”

Elle was hit with a genius idea. “Bex, you should come with us.”

“What?” Bex choked on her bite and started to cough.

Beau made sure she was okay while Patti and Pete turned to stare at Elle. “Yeah,” Patti said, raising an eyebrow at her. “What?”

“Not for like, the whole time,” Elle said, rolling her eyes. “But come on! We love playing together. How much fun would it be to have her there for part of it.”

Patti grinned and shrugged while Pete nodded.

“I can’t just join you guys on tour,” Bex said, finally recovered enough to speak.

“Why not?” Beau asked, staring at Bex intensely.

“Uh, I’m not in your band, for one thing,” she said. “And I have other jobs.”

“You’re basically an honorary member,” Patti said with a laugh and the rest of them agreed.

“Also, I’m pretty sure you could convince Chris to give you time off and maybe getting out of Chicago for a bit could be the best thing for you,” Beau pointed out.

Bex stared back at him before picking her drink up off the table and taking a big swig. “Maybe,” she said, quick to point a warning finger when Elle started to cheer. “For a few days.”

“Two weeks,” Beau countered.

“Maximum one week,” she scoffed and Beau quickly grabbed her hand to shake it.

“Deal.”

“That’s not binding,” Bex narrowed her gaze at him and he smirked back.

If those two had met at a different time, they would have been perfect for each other.

Even though he annoyed the hell out of her sometimes, Elle really did want to see her big brother find happiness with someone, but didn’t sound like Bex was ready to give up on this Mouse guy though. (Even though his name was Mouse.)

For all his flirting, Beau did seem okay with being her friend. (Which was good because she and Patti had raised him better than to be the kind of guy who whined about ‘being friend-zoned’.) As much as she teased him about his futile crush, it was nice to see him putting himself out there again.

They just had to find him a viable option.

Maybe she could rope Bex in on the match-making once her own love life calmed down a bit. Get her to hook Beau up with one of her hot firefighter friends.

But that was for future them to tackle.

Today, they were focused on helping Bex through her heartbreak and apparently that meant they were turning sad songs into rock songs.

Once they’d finished off the food and packed it away, Bex and Beau had gone for another round of drinks while walking them through the songs they’d been ‘rockifying’. Direct quote.

Elle and Patti and Pete silently agreed to stick to water since the other two were committed to getting smashed and somebody had to drive both their asses home.

Shockingly, they were both still playing surprisingly well. They had a little introduction going for their band which was actually kind of adorable.

“Hello, world,” Bex said to their invisible audience. “We’re Bex and Beau and this is our Broken Hearts Band.”

“Today we’re singing the songs of the sad, mad, and weary and maybe you’d like to sing along,” Beau joined in.

Which was when Elle had her second-best idea of the night.

It never hurt to work that promo machine when you were going out on tour and honestly, this needed to be shared.

She propped her phone up in the corner and made sure it had a good view of the whole band before starting an Instagram live stream.

This was going to be amazing.

***

Connor

Part of Connor’s brain was worried that he should be more worried about how quickly he’d become so comfortable at Will’s place.

How much it already felt like home.

He had a perfectly good place that he’d spent…a lot of money on, but somehow over the past couple of weeks, it seemed quieter and colder than before.

Will’s place felt so much more lived in than his. Warmer.

The dog currently draped across his lap probably helped with that.

He decided not to overthink it.

The three of them were having a movie night while Emery and Bex were out. It was a nice change of pace after the intensity of the last few days. Just hanging out with his guys.

“You want a beer?” Will called out from the kitchen where he was grabbing snacks.

“Sure! Thanks.” Connor reached out to grab his phone from the coffee table when it dinged. He swiped and saw it was only a notification from Instagram. About to dump his phone back on the table, he paused—

The notification was for Bex’s handle.

He clicked on it and saw she’d been tagged by the Taggerts’ account. They were doing a live.

“You said Bex is in the studio with her friends tonight, right?” he asked Will.

“Yeah, she said something about owing them a song.”

Hm. Maybe they were showing some behind the scenes stuff. That would be neat. Connor clicked on the link and turned up the sound on his phone.

The familiar and yet not familiar sound of Set Fire to the Rain by Adele came roaring through. They were doing some kind of rock version of the song. It sounded pretty good.

“What’s that?” Will poked his head around the corner from the kitchen.

“Bex and her friends,” Connor said, waving the phone at him. “They’re doing some kind of live show thing on Instagram.”

“Ooh!” Will disappeared for a minute before hustling back out with his arms full of three snack plates and two beer bottles. He carefully deposited it all on the table and plopped down beside Connor. “I didn’t know they were doing that.”

The song finished up and Bex and Beau took little bows.

“That’s how the Broken Hearts Band does it!” Bex said.

The what now? He turned to Will. “That’s—Bex isn’t in their band, right? And I thought they were called Taggert.”

“She’s not and they are,” Will said, peering at the screen. “I’m not sure what’s going on right now.”

“What should we do next? What’s another sad song we all know?” Beau asked the others.

“Ooh! Ooh!” One of the sisters, Connor couldn’t remember their names, jumped in her seat behind the drums. “Paloma! That ‘Only Love’ one we played at that festival last year, remember?”

Bex and Beau cheered for that one and soon they were diving into an amped up version of Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paloma Faith.

They were playing fast and loose, but Connor had to admit, it was a great version of the song. Will was watching with a little frown though. “Not a fan?”

“No, it’s not that,” Will said, shaking his head. “Just—something’s off.”

They kept watching as the band finished up the song and then chatted with each other, almost like they weren’t being filmed.

“You were right,” Bex was saying to Beau. “Singing it out helps! I’m still pissed at both of them, but I feel like…ten percent less murder.” She laughed and reached out to grab her drink, doing a cheers with Beau before taking a drink.

It clicked then. “They haven’t looked at the camera,” he said to Will who nodded grimly.

“I don’t think they know it’s on,” Will replied. He grabbed his own phone and typed out a rapid-fire message.

The faintest ding could be heard in the background on the livestream.

“Whoops, one sec,” Bex said, putting down her drink and her guitar as she went out of frame. “Forgot to mute my phone.” A pause and then— “ELLE, YOU’RE LIVESTREAMING THIS?”

The others erupted and started yelling at the drummer, who must be Elle, and she rolled her eyes before standing and coming toward the phone. “Alright, alright, calm down. I thought it would be some fun content before the tour, but I’ll turn it off.”

She reached toward the screen and suddenly the view tilted to look at the floor before she reversed the camera. “Sorry, gang, party’s over,” Elle said, looking down at them. Eyes narrowing, she paused, definitely not turning off the stream.

“What is she doing,” Will murmured. “All she has to do is shut it down.”

“Aw, you guys have to see this,” Elle looked over at the others. “Come see the comments.”

Four other heads crowded around Elle’s. “Look,” she said. “People are liking it. They want to know what happened—”

“Yeah, I’m not sharing that, sorry,” Bex said immediately.

“And they’re talking about their own stuff—all the heartbreak they’re going through,” Elle forged on, pointing at the screen. “They’re making song requests!”

Bex’s face came onto the screen as she leaned in to read. A sad little frown grew on her face. “Oh, I’m sorry, Kendall, that sounds really tough. Aw, Mike P, that’s so sad. I know how you feel, bud. Oh, my gosh, you guys, these messages. I want to give you all hugs.” She looked up at the others. “Maybe we should keep going? Take a request or two?”

Will made a small noise, shaking his head. “I hope she knows what she’s doing.”

“I mean, we’re both in cover bands,” Beau shrugged. “We can handle a few requests. I’m in if you guys are.”

“Just a few,” the other woman said. Patti, that was her name. “Otherwise, knowing you guys, we’ll be here all night.”

Elle did a little cheer and set the phone back up. She crouched in front and squinted at the screen. “Ooh, that’s a good one, Rachel G,” she said with a grin. “We’ll start with that.”

She hopped over to the others and whispered the song. They took a minute to get set up again before launching into Bon Jovi’s You Give Love a Bad Name.

After watching for a minute, Will sat back with a sigh. “She looks like she’s having fun, right?” he asked Connor. “This is probably a good way to let off some steam?”

“I think she’s okay, yeah,” Connor said. “But we can hold off on the movie if you want to keep watching.” Truthfully, he didn’t think he’d be able to focus on a movie right now either while this was going on.

Will’s look of relief was instantaneous. “You don’t mind?”

“A free concert? Are you kidding?” Connor grabbed their beers and passed one over to Will before settling in beside him. “Of course, I don’t mind.”

Hang out with his guys, watch a concert, make sure his Bex was okay?

No problem.

And if things went south and Will wanted to haul her out of there…

He’d drive.

*** Bex

She hadn’t expected to end her day by giving an impromptu lonely hearts concert—thank you very much, Elle—but after reading some of those comments, Bex couldn’t bring herself to shut it down.

If people out there were hurting like she was and their goofy little show was helping? How was she supposed to say no?

Plus…she was actually having some fun. Who didn’t have fun rocking out to Bon Jovi?

They took turns checking out the phone and chatting a bit with the people who were leaving messages and calling out the requests until they landed on one they all knew. Bex’s repertoire of break up songs was pretty vast not only for the obvious reasons, but because her own band had been hired to play a very rich lady’s divorce party last year.

That had been an experience.

So far, they’d done All Too Well by Taylor Swift which Beau knew every single word to, You Oughta Know by Alanis which Patti took the lead on and smashed it, and Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac with all of them harmonizing on and sounding kind of amazing?

Maybe they should make a Broken Hearts Band…

“Bex, you’re up,” Beau said, nodding at the phone.

She hopped over and started scrolling back through the messages, snorting at the ones asking why she and Beau didn’t just date and making a face at the entirely too many creepy ones:

carlhendrix: date me and I’ll make sure you cry for the right reasons

zeedaddy: take off your shirt

yeschef: love to hear the pain in your voice bex

beachbabe5: beau can break me in half any day

Okay. Yikes. Bex kept scrolling until she hit one that made her smile. “Yes, Leah Q, I freaking love Florence.” She turned back to the group. “Do you guys know What Kind of Man?”

“Heck, yes, get back here,” Beau said, adjusting his guitar with a sharp smile.

“I’m not playing for this one,” she said as she kicked off her shoes on the way back to the mic. “If I’m singing Florence, I’ve gotta be able to dance.”

They dove right in and Bex let herself sink into the song and howl it out. They had a request for Robyn’s Dancing On My Own after that, but none of them had played it before.

However, they all loved that one too so a group dance break was declared and they hooked up Bex’s phone to the speakers so they could all hear it.

The requests kept rolling in along with people’s stories of heartbreak. Bex couldn’t decide if it was making her want to swear off love or be proud of everyone who kept looking for it despite all of the bullshit.

They started to wind down after playing MCR’s I’m Not Okay and Beck’s truly depressing Lost Cause.

“I think we need something good to end the night on,” she said to the others. "Upbeat." Everyone wracked their brains before the perfect song hit her. A quick whispered check in confirmed they all knew it and with a quick count-off from Elle, they leapt into I Will Survive.

Because she would. They all would.

When the song finished, Bex wandered over to Elle’s phone and crouched down to look into the camera. “Thanks for joining us tonight, my broken-hearted friends,” she said. “Listen, if I can get through this, so can you. Be brave.” She blew a kiss and turned off the livestream.

***

The Bouse Group Chat

Shay: Tell me you all caught Bex’s Instagram live 😭

Devon: Yes, the whole thing, texting you now

Isaac: I saved it

Gabi: Has anyone talked to her? I’m getting a bit worried…

Mouch: What’s Instagram? Google, what’s Instagram? Google. Hey, Google.

Shay: Mouch, you’re doing talk to text again

***

Will

Connor had left the couch halfway through the show and returned with a pencil and paper, still busily writing things down even though the livestream had ended.

“What are you doing?” Will peered over his shoulder to see a list of usernames and notes beside each one.

“I wrote down all of the creeps who were leaving disgusting or weird comments so Bex can block them from her own account later,” he replied, frowning down at the page as he underlined a few names.

As if Will wasn’t already hopelessly gone over this man…good lord. “Thanks, babe.” He wrapped an arm around Connor’s shoulders and kissed his cheek softly.

He took a peek at the time—kind of late to start a movie at this time of night. Maybe they could get away with watching an episode of Bake-off and not telling Bex. Speaking of…”Do you think I should go and pick her up? I don’t think she should be driving. Maybe she’s taking an Uber or something—I know she’d never drive drunk—” His phone buzzed, cutting off his rambles.

A text from Bex. Well, not from Bex, he realized as he read it, but from Bex’s phone. “Never mind,” he said, showing the screen to Connor. “Patti says she and Pete are going to bring her home. Patti’ll drive Bex’s car and Pete will follow so she has a ride home.”

“Oh, good,” Connor nodded. “They’re on their way?”

Another text popped up and Will sighed. “Not yet. After show drinks are being had.”

Will was right back to being concerned. He’d never seen Bex drink like this—not even on her birthday—and he wasn’t sure if it was a temporary thing or the beginning of a pattern.

He needed to find out more from Emery about what happened last time around.

Brooding about it didn’t make him feel any better, but it kept him occupied the whole hour it took for Bex to get home.

Will jumped up off the couch as soon as he heard the jingle of keys and rushed over to open up the door.

Patti stood there with Bex’s keys in her hand while Pete stood beside her…carrying Bex on his back like a drunken little koala.

Bex lifted her head off of Pete’s shoulder and spotted him in the doorway. “Tha’s my brother Will!” she cheered before pointing at a spot behind him. “Ooh, and that’s his boyfriend Connor. We love him.”

He ignored the sound of Connor’s choked laughter behind him.

“Hi, Will,” Patti said as she stepped inside with Pete. “Nice to finally meet you.”

“Will, this is Pete!” Bex exclaimed, patting a very patient-looking Pete on the head. “He’s the best big guy.” She looked around at the living room, her mouth falling open slightly. “I am so tall right now…I like it.”

Bex hugged the guy’s head and smooched his cheek before wriggling her way down. “Thanks, Pete!”

“Anytime, Bex,” he laughed as he wrapped an arm around Patti.

“We’re going to head home,” Patti said. “Sorry for dropping her off like this, but a serious cheer-up campaign was waged.”

“Oh, we saw.” Will shot her a look while also trying to keep half an eye on Bex who was excitedly greeting Connor all over again, telling him she'd missed him.

“I think it helped? A little bit?” Patti offered. “I’ll check in with her tomorrow. We all will. She’s got a lot of people looking out for her.”

Something Will was endlessly grateful for. “I know,” he said to Patti and Pete. “Thank you. And thanks for bringing her home.” He accepted the keys back from Patti and waved as they went down the hall.

Locking the door, he turned and found himself faced with an empty living room…and voices coming from the kitchen.

Bex was sitting on the counter while Connor made her a sandwich and Kol sat patiently at her feet. She was in the middle of a rambling re-telling of the impromptu Instagram concert.

“And none of us knew how to play that one, but we love it so we just danced and it was awesome. And Beau is—I mean, I know I’m not the best dancer—but Beau, oh man, he was doing this flaily thing with his arms and almost fell over and it was so funny—ooh, that looks delicious, thank you—hey, do we have any of that orange juice left because I think I have some raspberry vodka—”

"You're drinking water," Will said sternly.

"...yeah, that's fair."

She inhaled the sandwich and asked about their night while dutifully drinking all of the glasses of water that Will forced on her.

Then with hugs to both of them, she announced that she was going to pass out and headed off to her room.

“I like the haircut,” Connor called after her.

“Thank you!”

Her door closed and silence reigned in the room for a moment.

It felt like a hurricane had just blown through.

Will sighed and slumped against the counter. “I still don’t like this,” he muttered, rubbing a hand over his eyes.

“She’s dealing with a lot of hurt right now,” Connor said as he reached over to squeeze the back of Will’s neck, caressing a thumb along his hairline. “I think blowing off some steam is a part of that.”

“And when does it go from being a part of it to being self-destructive?” He lowered his hand to look over at Connor. “There’s a whole lot of bad habits from our side of the family waiting in the wings. I don’t want them getting a foothold in her.”

Connor stilled, thinking that over. “If you’re this worried, Will, then maybe it’s time to bring the other side of the family in…”

“And talk to Chris and Cindy,” Will finished for him. He wasn't wrong.

Bex would probably be pissed, but that was too bad.

When someone was drowning, it was time for all hands on deck—especially when they kept insisting they could swim.

*** Bex

Lying down may have been a mistake.

Her room was exceptionally spinny tonight.

Whatever. It was worth it.

Why didn’t she do this more often? Just let loose and have a good time.

Maybe she should stop working at Molly’s and gig more.

Maybe she should take Beau up on his offer and join them on tour…

So many possibilities.

And she was free and clear to take any of them because there was no one waiting around here for her! Plus, if she left, she wouldn’t have to deal with fighting with Jay or with…that other problem…

No. Fun thoughts. Only fun thoughts.

Yeah, they could totally take their Broken Hearts Band on the road.

It definitely seemed to hit a chord with people. She snorted to herself at the memory of how shocked she’d been when she saw Will’s text that it was being livestreamed.

Freakin’ Elle.

Such a brat.

Bex felt around on her bed for her phone and opened up her own Instagram on it.

Oh, gosh.

She had a pile of new followers and message requests.

Almost afraid to look, she opened up the messages first. As expected, there was a hefty dose of creepy, gross ones. “Delete, delete, delete, del—”

She stopped, squinting at the name that stood out from the herd.

Not a creep, but an— “Asshole,” she whispered down at AJ’s name. “What the hell do you want?”

Bex didn’t even want to open it to see.

She set her phone down.

Maybe she could get Emery to delete it.

No.

She could do this herself.

She didn’t care what he had to say.

She picked her phone back up and blinked at the screen a few times.

And clicked.

Hey, Bex. It’s been a while. Caught a bit of your Insta concert though

OH, GOD.

and I have to say you’re looking good.

FUCK YOU AJ I’VE ALWAYS LOOKED GOOD

I’m actually in Chicago for business for a few weeks. We should get together.

No, thank you.

Bex deleted the message without answering him. Even drunk and messy Bex knew that reconnecting with AJ spelled nothing but trouble.

She took a little peek at his profile though.

She wasn’t that strong.

Stupid face. Still stupid handsome.

Ugh.

Bex closed her eyes and swiped the window away so she didn’t have to be faced with him anymore and tossed her phone down on the bed.

She leaned back on her pillows with a sigh.

Now she was grumpy.

And the room was still spinny.

…and she wished one of those messages had been from Mouse.

***

Bex Herrmann is now following you.

Interesting.

No response to his message though.

Not that he was going to be deterred by that. Being stuck in Chicago setting up the firm’s new office was boring as hell and stumbling across Bex’s profile tonight felt like perfect timing.

Judging by that little concert, she seemed like she’d be open to getting reacquainted.

He scrolled through her pictures and noticed one place seemed to be featured regularly.

“Molly’s…”

***

Mouse

Mouse lay on his couch, drinking his third beer and watching the game he’d normally be watching with Jay.

After a couple more pointed conversations, Jay seemed to finally accept what he’d been saying and was giving him his space.

Mouse wasn’t sure if this was better.

He’d forgotten what being so alone was like.

He knew he needed to do something—could feel how he was sinking further into himself—but reaching out seemed like…

Who would he even reach out to?

Jay and Bex were two different sides of the same problem.

He didn’t have anyone—

A knock sounded at his door.

Mouse checked the time and raised an eyebrow at it. Pretty late for anyone to be dropping by.

The knocking grew more insistent.

If it was Jay or Bex, they’d already be hollering at him by now.

He waited and the knocking eventually stopped.

Only to be replaced by an extremely suspicious scraping and clicking and he jumped up off his couch in time to see the door swing open.

What the—

Oh.

He should have been surprised, but somehow, he wasn’t—at least not by the sight of Ed and the rest of his therapy group filing in to his apartment.

The huge wave of relief he felt at their presence? That was a little surprising.

“Haven’t seen you in a month, man,” Ed said gruffly. “Figured it was time to bring the party to you.”

“No need to thank us,” Ada said as she flopped down on the couch. “Just provide coffee. So much coffee, please.”

“Uh—”

“Coffee maker in the kitchen?” Frank asked and Mouse nodded silently, still a bit stunned, watching as he and Lucy started rummaging around for mugs and getting drinks organized.

Chuck came over and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Whatever it is, we’ll work it out, Mouse.”

Fuck, now he was crying.

“It’ll be okay, kid.”

And for the first time in a month, he could actually start to believe that.

Click here to read Chapter Five. Click here to read Chapter Six. Click here to read Chapter Seven. Click here to read Chapter Eight. Click here to read Chapter Nine. Click here to read Chapter Ten. Click here to read Chapter Eleven.

(A reminder that you can see all of the OCs from this fic in this post. And in case you're interested, the version of I Will Survive that they sing is similar to the one by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.)

Click here to read Honesty. Horrible, Horrible Honesty. on ao3:

And here is the tag list (let me know if you wish to be added or removed):

@sorry-i-spaced, @iunnowatuwant, @thegirlwhowishedeveryonelived, @ivyalmighty, @thewannabewriter, @lexhalstead3, @multifandomgrl08, @foxes-and-cats, @sensitivemallysix, @thebewingedjewelcat

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faorism · 2 years

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[very long post featuring a food truck turned tattoo ot3 au with mentions of former gang involvement, paying off loans, and carceral system including parole]

toby, instead of a cooking school for kids, works with incarcerated people and recent parolees. eliot has history with bike gangs and didnt snitch on anyone, but he always kept clean; they could never pin anything on him except some low level nonviolent crimes. eliot went through the program while doing time. he had a little bit of savings he kept aside, plus what he made working with toby after getting out. he got a dinky used food truck with all he had.

because the truck was bought rundown but cheap, he needs to take it in a lot to the shop closest to his mcsweetens. the best mechanic they have for a truck like that is parker. when she meets eliot, she squints and asks, hey dont i know you? and eliot flips through his mental rolodex and places her: sterling your parole officer too? which shes like oh yeah! that guy sucks right? so, about your truck blah blah. (she has had a hard life, in and out of juvie and foster care growing up for general nonviolent thievery. sterling nearly had a blood vessel burst in his forehead when she told him she got a job at a mechanics shop; she just smirked at him and said that her carjacking days were when she was a minor and hence, sealed.)

eliot puts out good food consistently until eventually, he gets traction and then he gets included on a show like diners, drive-ins and dives. his food truck gets HOT to the point that he can expand to a second truck, which parker offers to help him shop for it so he doesnt end up with another clunker. eliot is like, isnt that bad for business? and parker gives him a look and thats how eliot knows its real friendship between them. he may also kinda sorta maybe be attracted to her, but hes desperate for friends and also eventually she mentions having a guy in her life, so eliot doesnt bother.

then, a few years in, it may be ambitious with two (very busy!) trucks already out, but toby is willing to put in seed money for eliot to open up a brick and mortar, where eliot can have more freedom to experiment with his menu. eliot takes him on even as parker complains that he should replace his first truck first.

her suggestion comes back to haunt eliot when the truck dies right after hes signed the lease for the building. he feels DOOM but parker suggests that he can save on interior design by using the old truck parts for decoration. for all the years of steady customer devotion, she will chop it up for just the cost of materials and even that will be at retail price. which. feels like love really really deep camaraderie right there! (i think nate and sophie are used car salespeople who also have the side hustle of selling used parts, so they are parkers source for fixing the truck plus who she brings eliot to for the second truck)

it's a big expense to replace the truck and start up the business at once, but... eliot had a vision. he takes on loans which gives him a lot of anxiety, but its okay! his businesses continue to be successful, he can make his payments, and overall, he feels settled financially. so while not everything is smooth sailing, he's just really proud of what he's done and he wants to maybe have that reflected with how he relates to his body maybe. so. to celebrate paying off one of the loans and/or hitting an important anniversary of some kind, he wants to confront the fact that hes been wearing long sleeves since hes turned his life around because he has tats from his gang and prison days. it fits a marketable aesthetic, but he wants to move on.

he knows parker has a few tattoos of various quality: random things like a herseys bar and toucan sam. but her newer ones she's got since hes known her are very good, including a stuffed bunny toy on her thigh and (lately) her favorite tools down her back. he asks for who did, and she excitedly sends him to nana divine's tattoo parlor and piercing.

looking through the artists at nana's, he comes across a photo that stops him dead. its a gorgeous photo of sleeves: from the shoulders, citrus spills looking so plump and ready to eat in vibrant yellows, reds, whites, and greens on black skin. the fruit and leaves transform into circuit boards at the person's wrists. (alec, btw, has plans for an elaborate fandom space themed back piece; he has the outline for the enterprise already. also, on his legs he gets flashes by favorite artists plus newbies at nana's parlor who need to work on people flesh)

eliot sees that while the artist he was looking at (an alec hardison) didnt tattoo those specific tattoos, he did design them for himself. they... are gorgeous. and they inspire eliot like nothing else hes seen, and alec has done similarly thoughtful designs on light skin as well, so he's versatile. he says hes willing to do cover ups AND he prefers to work on large pieces/collections, and eliot is like yes. okay. okay. perfect.

eliot makes an appointment with alec, who is just so friendly and nice. hes younger than eliot expected considering his skill, but alec has been around nana's so long as her foster kid that he's moved past apprentice early. eliot talks about himself, more than he usually does with strangers. says how he is now a chef, and he wants to get vegetables and herbs, maybe some kitchenware or even truck/engine stuff if alec needs filler.

eliot says he is thinking just the arms and upper chest and shoulders since thats the most people see, since he wants to wear tank tops. he wants alec to plan it all at once.

(alec during this first meeting is straight with him: i dont recognize a lot of these, maybe cuz youre from way out of town. I won't refuse taking you on for this, but I need to know now if any of these support fascism or white nationalism. eliot sputters absolutely not, man. the fuck. which is nice! for sure!)

this is a dream scenario for alec, who is in love with the idea and likes the challenge of including coverups as part of the plan. he works not only with eliot for reference shots, but with parker. (parker, who he met because she has gotten her recent pieces from nana and who he has settled into a FWB situation, which slowly slowly slowly is progressing into Friends With Romance as parker warms up to him at a measured pace. parker helps with the engine stuff obviously. parker is very excited to work on something for eliot, who is happy to have her involved too.)

alec gets super into drawing the map for eliot. and then during his spare time, just.... keeps going on his tablet. he makes a separate copy of the file and just doodles the rest of what would be eliots chest and his back and down to his upper thighs,, and while alec's on the legs might as well keep going. it's a masterpiece that would take years and a fuck ton of money to complete. but obviously alec would definitely not show this because that's not fair and not what eliot asked for. this is just for alec.

when alec and eliot are doing a sit down to discuss the draft on alecs tablet, eliot is like wow. fuck this is. amazing. he asks if alec can print out a copy since he's more of a paper guy, so alec calls over shop grunt bre to print it out. hes like, theres the one that's flat and a separate file that's warped to a body, make sure to get both. when she comes back and hands eliot the paper, he goes silent.

and alec is like something wrong? and eliot turns the paper over to reveal that bre accidentally printed out alecs doodles for a full body map. its... honestly, a masterpiece. there would be a garlic braid down eliots spine. across the chest would be a "statement necklace" of chefs knives. his arms carry a bounty greens that he uses for his main recipes. theres the hint of machinery but also brick peeking out from strategic places, and its just beautiful.

alec is so absolutely embarrassed and guilty and he apologizes so hard. but eliot is like. so. i'll pay you for the full design hours. ill need to work out a budget thatll be extended over time so obviously no way this can be right away, even if we could fit it all in quickly with your schedule. you should probably make sure the design works with the rest of my tats but.... fuck man, eventually i want this all. i never would have thought to ask for this but... you have time to walk me thru it all? i can come in again if... alec is like omg yes.

eliot and alec spend a lot of time together. parker, knowing her two favorite people are together, join them when she can to hang out. eventually, eliot just starts asking parker when she's free to make sure if he has a session, she can join. alec makes a group chat for coordinating that quickly becomes chaos, memes, and begging eliot to come over to alecs to cook for them before they die of scurvy.

and as i said, eliot realizes two or three years like, fuck, i... i... really like this person @ parker. he wishes it was just wanting to have sex with her but nope, he's all i wanna kiss her and cook her breakfast. BUT he values their friendship too much to follow up on those feelings. and then he meets alec, and then he meets alec and parker, and eliot spends all this time with them, and eliot falls deep. plus, he doesnt want to make alec uncomfortable with his attraction to either him or parker, so eliot just tries to bundle it all up.

but theres only so much they can play themselves. i am not sure of the exact moment things tumble over for the three, but they do. they do, and they confess. parker makes sure to tell eliot that duh, of course she wanted him. like:

parker: okay but I clearly came onto you like. Years One and Four and you just weren't interested

eliot: ....what. no.

parker: yes i did

eliot: no, you didn't

alec: i distinctly remember her checking in around that time your two's Year Four about potential open relationship stuff if there was someone she really really liked.

eliot: absolutely not

parker then reveals she had asked eliot what she should order from the food truck sometime in Year One, thinking it was a very clear sign of interest and trust, and Eliot got the trust part of it, and fed her something delicious and even created a dish after he bought the storefront that exactly suited her tastes, but no, no he did not detect """"interest"""" at that or any other time.

eliot, turning red: hey! that aint nothing! how was i supposed to know!

parker: it worked on hardison

alec: damn eliot you could have been in this (points between eliot and parker) and maybe eventually this (points between all three) years ago

parker: so sad you didnt read the very clear signs 😔

eliot: (lip twitch)

and they have fun and alec keeps working on eliots tats with parker chilling in the room. eventually, once alec is Finally Done, he brings eliot to tat conventions for awards/display, which he of course wins. by then they are all together to the point of basically being married so there's a bit of, Look At My Beautiful Babe Who I Love. (eliot cannot help but preen a little.)

eventually, eliot gets alec to sign his canvas with his initials plus parker's, since she helped and because Eliot Is Like That, and ill just let you guess where those ended up 👀

#eliot spencer #parker leverage #alec hardison #leverage #leverage ot3 #thiefsome #faorism headcanons #faorism writes fic #faorism work #maybe ill draw this one day

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adultswim2021 · 8 days

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Southies: “Mutiny” | February 18, 2010 (online) | Pilot

“Full” version released online February 25th.

“Final” version released online February 26th (or thereabouts)

Aired on television January 19, 2011 @ 4AM

Oh, Wowthies, it’s Southies. Part of the Burger King Big, Über, Network Sampling, an event in which people were invited to go online, watch some pilots for potential television programs (with two different ones going head-to-head each round), vote on your favorites, and reflect on the deliciousness of Burger King restaurant’s many available food products. Sorta like the Night of 1000 Pilots, but far less successful.

Southies was about a crass couple in South Philly Boston (note: I am so mad at myself that I wrote Philly that I'm leaving the evidence that I edited my post up. what the HELL). They have a daughter, who we don’t see until the last third of the episode. New neighbors move in, who are considerably less crass than them. In fact, they are so squeaky clean that they haven’t even had children. There’s no visible proof that they’ve even had sex with each other!! They clash slightly, personality-wise, though everyone is trying their best to make a good impression. When loutish ____ (I watched this literally two and a half times and can’t remember the main guy’s name, which instead of going back to find out I’m going to let stand as a testament to… something.) finds out the new neighbor is a doctor for the New England Patriots, he starts seeing him as a source for free tickets to football games. They throw a party, try to impress them, fail, and that’s the end.

While I firmly consider this to be a dud, it’s not horrible. But: I didn’t really laugh. The show has fleeting moments of extreme comedy; like when a man is seen in the beginning of the show driving recklessly while ranting on his phone to a sports radio guy (I think! AGAIN IT’S ALL SO HAZY I’M SORRY). This scene ends with him crashing into a pedestrian, with a splash of blood, which is barely noticed by the main characters of the show. The rest of the show is mostly just character-based comedy. The characters are pretty colorful and the design of the show is, while objectively ugly, pretty specific. By that I mean they are admirably defined. I really do think that the bare-minimum a cartoon should be is “specific”. You know? Also, the sound design is really great, and is maybe the best thing about the show.

One thing that’s notable about the show is that it’s beset with MULTIPLE VERSIONS, which can perhaps feel daunting to a prospective viewer looking for a definitive experience. I watched this two-and-a-half times, and had to tap out on my third watch. The version I’d recommend is the version that actually aired on television at 4AM in 2011. It’s in 16:9, has tell-tale signs of television broadcast (TV rating, onscreen bug, etc), and looks and sounds as good as it ought to. Here’s a rundown of the versions floating around:

Version one, which is basically just a short clip, actually. There’s a brief opening (an abbreviated version of the opening sequence), and a little “next time, on Southies” sting showing our main characters downing beers on their neighbors porch. The clip in question is an early scene, where the main guy talks to his neighbor outside while movers bring in their new neighbors boxes. It’s the scene where the guy pees on the van. When I clicked on the Burger King site to check out the shows, THIS is what was offered, initially.

Version two, which runs over 13 minutes and resembles the final version, except for the recurring abbreviated opening and a “next time, on Southies” clip occurring every couple minutes. This gives the impression that at one point they intended to chop up this pilot into shorter segments and turn them into webisodes. This seems like a bad plan, honestly, because all the scenes flow together pretty well. It feels like they tried to retrofit an 11 minute pilot into the webisode format and not the other way around. This is the “longest” version, but most of it is because of the repeated opening and closing sequences.

Version three, which is the “final” version and the one that aired on TV, and actually feels like an episode of a TV show. Easily the definitive version of the show.

Cosmetic differences between each version include a discrepancy in aspect ratios. I compared the aired version with the web’s “final” version and saw that the web version was cropped to roughly 4:3. Rougher versions look like there might be additional squishing going on, as well, but I was rapidly losing interest to truly confirm it. Could also be whoever ripped them putting weight on that scale.

There ARE some content differences between the “full” version and the “final” version. The scene where the guy runs someone down with his car does not end in a gory spectacle, for example, and the street shots showing local color are also less extreme (the final version shows a nude vagrant, and an uncouth woman breastfeeding a baby, the “full” version doesn’t even have jokes that I recall). Also the “full” version had more censorship, at least from the few minutes of it that I could stomach. A guy says “asshole” that goes unbleeped in the other version, but is bleeped in the “full” version. The full version is full of crap if you ask me.

SPECIAL THANK YOU TO KON FOR SENDING ME ALL OF THE VERSIONS!!! YOU KICK ASS DUDE

#adult swim #adultswim2021 #southies

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glassedplanets · 3 months

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hi. zosan tattoo!au. a) no sensible chuckle here I'm fucking cackling b) love the paired sword through the pec tattoos they've got!!! love that detail!! c) does sanji have one of those butcher "heres where the different cuts come from off a pig / cow" guide tattoos or was that too cliche and d) how inked is the rest of the crew or were the brainworms contained to these two

this is a full ensemble cast AU baybee!! everyone's in it!!!!! the art is biased towards zosan because i myself am biased :^) but to give a very brief rundown: luffy's the owner of thousand sunny tattoo & piercing and the IRS would have his head on a pike if nami didn't have her shit together

everything luffy does is completely off the cuff, vibrantly colorful, extremely dynamic, zero guarantee that you'll get what you ask for bc he decides what he wants to do on a whim. his booking list goes like, almost two years out.

zoro's style is predominantly traditional japanese, will sometimes do reproductions of woodblock prints; very seldom goes back to traditional mediums but does so occasionally (this is a backstory to be unlocked)

nami is their piercer! she also has a backstory to be unlocked! she handles their licensing, inspections, and finances. they would all be dead without her.

usopp has a background in illustration (for children's books!) and loves to do both fun, imaginative, whimsical art and technical illustrations of plants

sanji does american traditional with unusual motifs (often food), still takes shifts at the baratie every so often, zeff has his paintings hung up, sanji finds this soooo embarrassing (endearing)

chopper is slowly working his way up to apprenticeship, was going to go into medical illustration And Then He Met Luffy

robin does extremely detailed and highly technical (body) horror

franky does sickass biomechanical type stuff

this is a direct quote from giffy because it's so fucking funny i can't bring myself to summarize it: "brook was a big name in the 80's and then luffy met him at like. a denny's parking lot and was like hey!! want a job. the denny's is run by moria, it's the closest place to undeath i can imagine"

jinbei does really bold, intricate geometric blackwork, guested a couple of times, and then luffy sniped him for permanents from big mom's for-profit college scam

i'll be real with you i am SO BAD at coming up with tattoos for characters but i think sanji would have something to do with different cuts of meat in some way tbh. the minute i posted this blue hit me with "okay please tell me sanji has a mermaid tattoo somewhere" and my jaw dropped bc i didn't think of that myself but it's absolutely correct, he does (either on the side of his ribs or on a thigh, idk). also glad you brought up the Tiddy Tattoos because now i get to make another bullet point explanation!

luffy has given everyone on the crew a tattoo over their heart (or like, as close as possible if they already had something there)

zoro was first, so his is the simplest: an anchor, for steadiness

sanji's is a reflection of where luffy met him: the way the baratie feels like for luffy via synesthesia, lots of colors and waves and love, very abstract yet vivid

zoro and sanji exchanged those right about when they both realized they're in it for the long haul re: luffy and originally it was just an acknowledgment of what each of them means to luffy

the italicized oh moment came later. everyone else continues to find this immeasurably funny.

(robin's is two hands: one reaching out for help, the other reaching out to offer it)

(usopp's is the shape of his kabuto with a bright burst of vivid green in the middle)

(chopper's is a caduceus staff with the wings bursting outwards in a spray of color, the edges fading out to cherry blossoms)

#THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE (salute emoji)#there is a coffee shop in this AU too don't worry : ) also a flower shop. we went for the (un)holy trinity because why not.#giffy and i have quite seriously talked over massive chunks of canon for this #AS US ABOUT LAW AND KIDD AND IVANKOV AND ACE AND MIHAWK AND—#one piece tag #tattoo au tag #not art

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kelpiemomma · 2 years

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You have a Harvest Moon au? 👀 I was gonna ask about FaW/Jumping The Rail but the Harvest Moon part captured my attention (and I don't want to bug you with too many questions). What characters is it centered around and do you have a basic plot/idea for it yet?

I do!! It's literally called Pokemon: Harvest Moon bc I'm basic. There's a link on my pinned post to all of my aus (I think it's all of them) but here is a separate link https://kelpiemomma.tumblr.com/tagged/pokemon%20harvest%20moon

Never feel bad about bugging me with questions. I love opening Tumblr and seeing I have messages, especially when they're from people I know. It's very exciting to talk to people (esp my friends) about the nonsense in my brain and I would love to do it more 😂 ask all the questions you want, you might stir something up that I feel the need to put down somewhere.

ANYWAY. PHM. It's centered around the young (13-ish) Akari who comes to Jubilife Village (possible a little subset-like area of Jubilife City, like. Several miles out of the city. Not easily walked to. Middle of nowhere pokemon style.) needing a place to stay. Mayor Kamado leads her to a decrepit, rundown farm that she is allowed to stay on and live on with the caveat that she is required to improve upon it. If she hasn't improved upon it in a year, she gets the boot. (She is a child who doesn't understand contracts, property law, etc, and he is desperately clinging to a greatness the village hasn't seen in a century). Akari agrees to this and lives out her life harvest moon-like. I've focused on a more pokemon-esque version of it where she gets the Hisuian starters in various ways and they help her on the farm. She's also got a ponyta named Dolly who is ✨spicy✨

Elesa moves in during Akari's first year and the become friendly. She's absolutely confused by this grubby little dirt urchin who wanders up to her clothing store (formerly run by Anthe, who sold it to Elesa so she could retire) and just offers her a massive bag of coin in exchange for new clothes. Elesa lays claim to her as a cute niece and makes her SO MUCH farmer chic clothing. (Side note- Cyllene doubles as law enforcement (of a sort, there's really no crime in Jubilife Village because... there's no one really living in Jubilife Village!) as well as Kamado's aid with the town. Elesa has a crush on Cyllene, which is required, but Cyllene is highly stressed and quite expressionless, and Elesa is often too nervous to really do much more than offer to make her custom clothes as a way of flirting, which Cyllene honestly takes as her just being nice... this is my own ridiculous little ship that I love.) Akari thinks Elesa is funny and enjoys spending time with her, though she does do a lot of teasing her about her crush.

Laventon and Rei double as livestock owners and the local vet (and vet tech). Rei is a couple years older than Akari and deeply protective of this Tiny Baby in the universal way of "oh my god this person is just barely younger than me, they're a baby I must protect". We all have those moments. I know it. You know it. Rei is always trying to give Akari free stuff that she insists on paying for. Laventon, Rei's father (adopted or otherwise, idk), also gives her free stuff but more subtly. Taking care of the animals. Giving her advice on the best food. Telling her they "just" got a certain food in and asking her to use it and give him her opinion.

There's ALSO a train that runs nearby. It used to run through the town, and actually passes by Akari's farm, but "improvements" and speed had it passing by instead. Think of how Route 66 used to be the main thoroughfare across the country until bypasses were put in- that's essentially the "station" in Jubilife. Akari always waves at the train (to which she gets a responding horn, ALWAYS to her delight) and is somewhat beset upon by Ingo and Emmet one day, who came to visit Elesa and were curious about the girl on the farm. Again, they immediately take her under their wing, and they delight in both picking on her and making her take care of herself. Akari is terrible at taking care of herself and frequently faints due to overexertion (Elesa, Passelle(?), and Cyllene hate this but are unable to convince her to take breaks, drink water, and eat better because Akari is afraid she'll be thrown out if Kamado thinks she isn't working hard enough and won't listen to them tell her thats not how it works. 13 year olds!!!) and scares the twins one day as they find her passed out in the fields after her pokemon sought their attention while the train passed by. They manage to convince enough people that adding Jubilife Village to their stop (or a different stop) would be beneficial for everyone and end up somewhat taking over that route. It means they see Elesa every day (win! Beties reunited!), get to ensure Akari is taking care of herself, and get to give their pokemon (especially the large ones) plenty of room to roam. The subway bosses AND the former gym leader being in one spot also makes the village a draw for battlers.

Akari hates her house and doesn't put any work into it. It's her own little rebellion against Kamado. She'll improve the farmland and the stable and the barn and the cool but the house? FUCK that house. (Everyone hates that she literally STILL SLEEPS IN THAT FALLING APART FUCKING HOUSE.)

It's another of my silly self indulgences that I need to revisit 😂 especially since the comic of Ingo and Emmet being dared to adopt Akari by Akari has reached 100 notes and I said I'd redraw it if that happened fksbsjs

#Tag later

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rhythm-tengoku-gold · 10 months

Text

Ok so like I was going to send this in a discord server but I typed off way more than I intended & don’t want to clog up that poor channel. Hell, I gave up on writing this because I’m getting tired & I was, like, almost halfway through. Might come back & finish it later. I don’t know. Will have to finish the chapter section & then add a terms glossary. Maybe more sections. I don’t know.

Ok, so, there’s a fuckton that I could say about all this, but I’ll just give the basic rundown here. *cracks my knuckles*

◇──◆──◇──◆

When I mentioned a bit ago that I’ve been so intensely hyperfocused on a singular story for years I was referring to Scrap Collector. It is what I’d consider my heart & soul. It’s almost completely fleshed out with the exception of a few things, but in the near future I will be able to finally bring the story into this world. However, I’d like to feel more confident in both my writing & drawing skills before I do so- I intend for it to be a novel accompanied by illustrations, but I digress. ◇──◆──◇──◆

Scrap Collector is a story about Domains- a system of pocket dimensions in what would be considered the margins between universes. We focus on a specific cluster of Domains. A cluster is the term for close-together Domains. Anyways, now that I’m thinking about it, I think it would be easier to insert the stories summary that I wrote a while back & always whip out when giving an introduction to the series:

◇──◆──◇──◆

“Within the margins in between universes lies domains, small pockets nestled in the wispy channels that fill these gaps.

Kalcul first awakens in a dark, rusty world where spires of junk reach into an inky void & where cold metal envelops most everything. She is a collector, the right hand of the only other being in the desolate domain, saxon & is able to utilize the channel to travel through domains. As she explores the small cluster of neighboring domains on missions & bonds with the few other souls that remain, history comes to light as it paints a tragedy of the ages. One that all may lead back to a single source.”

◇──◆──◇──◆

Also, I way I’ve described it in the past is “A story that is deeply tragic yet endlessly hopeful.”

◇──◆──◇──◆

The story is split into three chapters, each one containing 3 arcs. Named, because it’s cool & fun to me. :)

Chapter 1

- Take Me Back

- My Heart Beats Electric

- Past the Glory Days

Chapter 2

- High Tide, Low Tide

- In Dangerous Waters

- A Tango Takes Two

Chapter 3

- Bleeding Heart

- Castle Crumbling, Crashing Down

- Sweet Rest

◇──◆──◇──◆

I think I should offer a brief rundown of the characters while I’m at it!

◇──◆──◇──◆

-Kalcul is the protagonist of our story. She’s stubborn, dangerously curious, snippy, attentive, irritable, & keen. I may be am kinda giving the impression that she’s mean here, but I can assure you that she is not. She is pretty kind, but does have anger issues, that’s all. Here’s some things I’ve said about her in the past:

◇──◆──◇──◆

”Don't get me wrong, Kalcul is certainly, angry, angsty, & aggressive a lot of times, but honestly? She's kind of a dork.

-She has, on several occasions, ate jerky that was of very dubious quality. Didn't get sick though, thank god that Collectors are sturdy.

-She's the type of girl to make little pouty faces in lighthearted situations when she doesn't get her way.

-Ridiculously passionate about her hobby of cartography & could ramble about it for a good while.

-Asks Seymour to give her piggyback rides often because they're besties, he's almost twice her height, & it's fun.

-Has a sort of playful sibling rivalry with Aster.

Just to give some examples”

◇──◆──◇──◆

“Related to the first example provided in this, Kalcul's favorite food is jerky. That said, no character within Scrap Collector needs to eat, & rather it's something they could do if they find it enjoyable. With how her teeth are made to exclusively rip & tear, she's a fan of foods you have to chew/gnaw on for a bit.”

◇──◆──◇──◆

”Despite being bipedal, Kalcul runs on all fours most of the time. Still walks on two legs though”

◇──◆──◇──◆

“Kalcul's design has some features that I never draw for no real reason other than I don't feel like it. Albeit these aren't something that hate always part of her design, & just appear occasionally throughout the story. One is a brown leather bomber iacket embroidered with a small emblem, & the other is is a metal pair of googles. While the former isn't all that significant other than Kalcul being sometimes seen with it in chapter 3, the latter does have meaning as since Kalcul's eyes are only made for dimmer/darker places it hurts to be in bright ones. Since it was painful for his best friend to be in his home, Seymour made the goggles for her.”

◇──◆──◇──◆

”Kalcul has an exceptionally strong jaw, with durable, sharp teeth designed to snag, rip, & tear. It's her primary form of both offense & defense, & her pry bar is more of a support weapon.”

◇──◆──◇──◆

”Kalcul is a survivor no matter what. She's seen what Eridanus left behind after he breached & the ensuing fallout from Saxon; she's seen what's basically her family suffer, heard the kin she never met (past deceased Collectors) suffer, & has suffered herself.

With every inch of Kalcul's being she wishes to see the cycle of life & death break & watch as the cluster of Domains heal.

"I'm not d-dying yet. No matter how hard you try, I will live. I will survive." -Kalcul in Unravel

The only times when this isn't embedded into her is when she is new to the world in earlier parts & after she kills even in A Tango Takes Two leading into Self-Destructive Sorrow. In it Kalcul accidentally kills Aeven in self defense upon their betrayal. Poisoned with guilt, she believes that she has became the very thing she swore to destroy. After all, isn't life extremely limited after the breach? What is it worth anymore? Maybe, just maybe, as retribution for her actions, if Kalcul risks everything there is to break the cycle she can make up for contributing to it? The one to break Kalcul out of this mentality, so desperate to get his best friend to snap out of it he has to resort to force.

This is one of few times the usually quite passive engineer goes on the offensive in the entire story.

"Kallie! I'm not okay with you- you trying to... become some sort of martyr! This isn't you! Please, you're not some damned self-sacrificial MANIAC! PLEASE!" - Seymour in said scene.”

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-Seymour is Kalcul’s best friend & a talented engineer/technician. I think I sum him up pretty well in what I’ve said in the past:

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”Seymour is known for being a very skilled engineer & technician, & later on greatly assists in making The Scrapyard more accessible. In general, he loves using his skills to assist the others in various ways but also spends a large amount of time on personal/passion projects.”

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“Y'know, I've never talked about Seymour's negative aspects, so I'm going to do that now. The man is often stretched thin by constantly pushing himself too hard. There are points when he's very pushy, especially towards Kalcul, albeit it's never done out of malice. Seymour also tends to be thin-skinned in several situations. He cares all to much for others, to both his & others detriment.

This man is stressed as hell”

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”The poem is from the point of view of Seymour, a crucial deuteragonist in the story. The other character referenced within the second stanza is Kalcul, the protagonist. The first stanza is, obviously, in reference to Seymour in the second part. My Heart Beats Electric is the part in which Seymour is introduced. Before the story all he really did was design, create, & work with machinery and electronics. Sure, he certainly enjoyed it, but it was almost all he had. In a sense, it’s what kept his heart beating.

The second stanza is about the latter two parts mentioned. It’s about how both Seymour and Kalcul are bleeding hearts in different ways. Seymour, the one gone through first, is a bleeding heart in the way that he cares so much for a certain person- that being Kalcul- that he snaps out with no regard in Bleeding Heart. When Aster emotionally hurt Kalcul pretty damn bad, Seymour became actively very hostile towards him, albeit fortunately only verbally. While Aster did mean well that doesn't stop Seymour from lashing out at what is essentially Kalcul’s brother. This holds both of them back from having a good relationship with one another for the entirety of the part, something that would have been very good/useful to have.”

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Yeah, so that’s where I gave up not even halfway through. I’m too tired, sorry. Also, here’s a list sorting characters by how much development they need because I simply find it interesting.

#smitty speaks #scrap collector

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