onehundredthousandflies

[onehundredthousandflies]

Flower Language

Words: 876

Summary: Among the typical lillies and carnations, one bright, colorful bunch stood out. It was a small bouquet of two-toned pink and yellow-orange tea roses with a sprinkling of lilly of the valley. Reid knew, as a decade old memory dug itself out of his mind, exactly who had sent these flowers.

CW: Referenced canon character death (Gideon), funeral (Gideon's), I think that pretty much covers it, let me know if I missed anything

A/N: This started out as a headcanon post, but it took on a life of its own and became a full-fledged ficlet

Click the Read More or read on A03.

The chappal was filled with floral arrangements accompanied by thoughtful cards with well wishes and expressions of friendship and gratitude. Victims he'd saved, former BAU agents, and even agents he'd liased with during his unofficial assignments with the CIA had sent arrangements to honor the life, memory, and selfless service of Jason Gideon.

But among the typical lillies and carnations, one bright, colorful bunch stood out.

It was a small bouquet of two-toned pink and yellow-orange tea roses with a sprinkling of lilly of the valley.  Even more puzzling than the flowers themselves was the fact that there was no name or card at all, not even a generic one from the flower shop.

In front of the table full of flowers, Reid stood with his hands in his pockets, arms stiff at his sides and his shoulders slumped forward. He stared at the out-of-place arrangement. He tilted his head as he inspected it without touching it, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.

He jolted slightly when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry," Morgan said softly, "didn't mean to startle you. I was just making sure you were okay. You've been staring at those flowers for a solid minute."

Reid cleared his throat and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "They're an odd choice."

"What do you mean? They look nice enough to me."

"Oh no, they're lovely," Reid clarified, "but for a funeral, they seem a little... I don’t think inappropriate is the right word? They're certainly atypical. See, in flower language, Lilly of the valley represents deep sorrow, which is appropriate, but it's the roses that confuse me." 

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

Now in his element, which was rambling on about some obscure piece of knowledge, Reid was able to relax his shoulders a little.

"Rose symbolism is among the most intricate and diverse in all of flower language, with different colors and combinations of colors saying vastly different things. A yellow rose says friendship. Some shades of pink say appreciation and gratitude, some share a niche with red and speak to romantic attraction, while others portray youthful innocence. Then there's the salmon color they make when they mix in these particular roses. Salmon colored roses can, depending on context, indicate excitement and fascination, or... um," Reid hesitated and glanced around, not wanting to say something inappropriate around the wrong person, "or sensual desire."

"So," Morgan mused, "Maybe it was the friendship in the yellow and the gratitude in the pink that they were going for. Gideon had a lot of friends in a lot of places, and a lot of people had reason to be grateful to him. He touched a lot of hearts and saved who knows how many lives."

Reid nodded, but before he could reply, Garcia approached and chimed in.

"They're 'dear dad' roses."

"They're what now?" Morgan asked.

"Salmon hybrid tea roses. Marketed by specialty flower nurseries as the 'dear dad' rose." She playfully swatted Reid's arm. "See? I know things, too."

Morgan grinned. "We know you do, Baby Girl."

Reid's brow furrowed, and he looked back down at the anonymous flowers. "Dear dad?" He muttered under his breath, just before his very next breath caught in his throat.

Reid knew then, as a decade old memory dug itself out of his mind, exactly who had sent these flowers. 

.....

"Gideon, will you tell him I don't need to go to the hospital?" Elle asked insistently, brushing her fingers over the corner of a small but deep gash on her cheek that was held closed by two butterfly bandages. 

Gideon shook his head and, with a mater-of-fact tone, answered, "Regulations are regulations." He strolled over the police car where Elle and Reid were sitting on the edge of the open trunk. "You alright?" 

Elle smiled up at the older agent. "I'm fine, Dad," she answered with a teasing laugh. 

Accepting her answer, he started walking back towards the group of officers. He stopped and turned back around before he got far.  

"Elle?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Don't ever call me 'dad' again." 

Reid grimaced as Gideon left. 

"How do you think he'd feel about 'mom'?" Elle asked. 

"Let me know when you're gonna do that," Reid said, "So I can, um. Run."

.....

A heady mix of emotions washed over Reid, some he couldn't quite identify. But before he had a chance to sort and process what he felt at the realization that Elle Greenaway, his former best friend who had resigned under the unprovable suspicion of murdering a suspect in cold blood and was never seen or heard from again, had sent unsigned flowers to Gideon's funeral, He noticed Hotch waiving for their attention.

People were beginning to take their seats in the pews. The service would be starting in just a few minutes.

Reid lingered by the roses a few seconds after Morgan and Garcia walked away hand-in-hand. He let out a wavering sigh before following suit, taking a seat next to JJ.

One last time before the pastor took to the pulpit, Reid glanced over at the brightly colored roses.

Elle was out there somewhere. She was alive somewhere. And she still, at least on some level, cared. 

He could sort the rest out later.

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hello fan creators!

Year of the OTP is officially back for 2025 with a new set of prompts!

we've switched some of the prompt categories around in an effort to make the event more inclusive of all kinds of fanworks. we've also included song prompts this year! the playlist is on spotify here.

we want to give a huge thank you to everyone who participated in the last event - it grew so much larger than we ever expected and it's truly amazing how you all took our last set of prompts and made so many wonderful things. keep it up!

a couple housekeeping notes: we will not be reblogging every entry this year. mods will keep an eye on the blog if you have any questions, but the reblogs were too much last time. thank you for your understanding!

we will be closing the 2023 collection on December 31. thank you for your continued participation, but it's time to look forward!

the link for the new collection will be posted here January 1.

we're looking forward to seeing what you create this year!

alt text below the cut.

Year of the OTP 2025

The Rules: the Ao3 collection accepts any /-ship works inspired by a prompt from this sheet The Challenge: make 12 works for one ship in one year, using prompts from each month

*you do not need to do the challenge to post to the AO3 collection, as long as you follow the rules*

January first kiss ♦ “may I have this dance” ♦ sharing clothes ♦ BDSM AU ♦ stockholm syndrome ♦ Strong – One Direction

February Valentine’s Day ♦ “it made me think of you” ♦ bed sharing ♦ multiple penetration ♦ mind control/mind break ♦ Like Real People Do – Hozier

March fresh starts ♦ “what are you doing with that”♦ florist/tattoo artist ♦ phone sex ♦ major character death ♦ Take Care – Drake

April pranks ♦ “right in front of my salad” ♦ running away together ♦ dom bottom/sub top ♦ raised to be a killer ♦ Drops of Jupiter – Train

May hanahaki ♦ “we’re dating? since when?” ♦ body swap ♦ magical sex toys ♦ stalking ♦ Paper Rings – Taylor Swift

June pride ♦ “I can’t get you out of my mind” ♦ relationship reveal ♦ unconventional sex positions ♦ paying a debt with your body ♦ Good Looking – Dixon Dallas

July vacation together ♦ “I like my _ how I like my coffee” ♦ kidfic ♦ mutual masturbation ♦ dehumanization ♦ You May Be Right – Billy Joel

August Sports AU ♦ “you’re thinking too much”♦ cooking together ♦ object insertion/ penetration ♦ becoming a monster ♦ You Shook Me All Night Long – AC/DC

September high school/college sweethearts ♦ “come here” ♦ date night gone wrong ♦ semi-public sex ♦ abduction ♦ Thinking Bout You – Frank Ocean

October costumes ♦ “boo” ♦ online dating ♦ shibari ♦ mutual non-con ♦ Mr. Brightside – The Killers

November camping ♦ “are you sure” ♦ touch-starved ♦ cockwarming ♦ abusive relationship ♦ A Thousand Years – Christina Perri

December holiday traditions ♦ “where are you taking me” ♦ bathing together ♦ food play ♦ tortured for information ♦ Everything Is Alright – Laura Shigihara

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twink death dilf rebirth? is that the right term?

for my pookie @mandarinmoons 🫶 everyone thank her for choosing this song

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I need to finish one fic b4 I start another bc I have more WIPs than a medieval torture dungeon rn.

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If you don't get Google recommending crisis hotlines and mental health services every time you do research to write The Character, are they really even your blorbo?

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Spaeve

Edited to Evermore by Taylor Swift

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Morcia

Edited to Two People by Gracie Abram’s

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A series of events:

1. I put in an Annual Leave request form almost 3 weeks ago and my boss has not approved it yet

2. I went into my office today and replaced every single writing utensil with crayons in preparation for April Fools Day on Monday

3. Whilst searching for pens to remove, I found my unsigned Annual Leave form in my boss’s drawer

4. I placed my unsigned Annual Leave form in a photo frame and put it on his desk

5. The frame I used was from a photo of his kids that I deemed less important than my Leave form

6. My boss sometimes goes into the office on Saturdays to work

7.

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I love spending 6 hours on a 1 minute fancam and getting 12 likes and no reblogs for it 🙃

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Whumpee who refuses pain medication bc they used to suffer from addiction and struggled really hard to get sober. Does their logical brain know that they will be in more pain in the long run if they don't heal properly bc their body is under too much stress from the current pain which will be more likely to cause a future relapse? Do they technically know that taking prescribed meds as directed isn't the same as what they did before? Of course! But that fear and that shame are just SO overwhelming that Whumpee just can't get past it, at least not without a LOT of convincing, love, and support from Caretaker(s).

this prompt fits my OTHER OCs perfectly, the ladies from the novel i'm going to start planning and working on after i finish my first/current one! basically Captain falls into a deep depression filled with substance abuse and isolation after she loses her whole crew to a giant space monster and society turns on her, blaming her for what happened. she can barely even leave the house for 25 years, not only for fear of being recognized and harassed, but because the survivors guilt is so intense that she has no motivation to leave her bed.

but when the same space monster destroys another ship with very few survivors, she realizes that she must find and kill it. she regains command of her old ship, which is now a research ship she misuses to hunt her monster. If she were to be hurt (and believe me, she will), she'd have no choice but to reject stronger pain meds for fear of putting her back in that terrible place.

as you can see i love this trope lol

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Beloved Whump Prompt #48

"I have to take care of my siblings."

"But who takes care of you? Don't you think you deserve to be looked after too?"

"I don't have the luxury to think that. Not anymore. They need me."

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the voice of the devil

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Cat is sitting in Spencer's lap I don't know if I wanna be her or him

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Spencer Reid edit

"Earth" by Sleeping at Last

TW drug use

Episode list under the cut

2x15 Revelations

2x17 Distress

2x16 Fear and Loathing

2x18 Jones

3x2 In Name and Blood

3x16 Elephant's Memory

3x12 3rd Life

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Me: *spends several hours gathering dozens of clips for an edit*

Also me: but what if I don't want to make that edit anymore bc I have an even better idea for a different edit?