#finally after more than a year...a new episode

[littledes1re]

In the car, in the car, in the backseat, i‘m your baby.

Pairing: dbf!joel miller x fem!reader

Summery: it’s summer break and you are spending it by your parent’s house and your father’s best buddy is also there. The one you tried to fuck for years and finally it’s happening.

Warnings: 18+, oral (m!receiving), big teasing, sub!joel, insecure joel, he has some body and age issues, riding him in his car, unprotected sex, praise kink, pet names, m!body worship (hell yea), age gap! (reader is 23, joel is in his late 40’s), Sarah is like 10 in this, no outbreak.

A/N: Still haven’t recovered from that episode and i’m kinda scared of the new one…😀 BUT! First time writing dbf!joel which is like my fav trope on here, this is more smutty than anything but I will write a more angsty one in the future🤞🏻

Summer break at your parents house were not exciting because you saw them again. They were not exciting because of the food your mom would cook, not because of the barbecue party your father threw every time. It wasn’t exciting because you saw your childhood bedroom again, even tho it felt good sleeping there once more as you kind of missed your childhood but no— you were excited about seeing him again.

Joel Miller.

Your fathers best buddy.

He was his best friend for as long as you could remember. They met at the construction company joel owns and since then they were spending every single weekend together. And after Joel broke things up with his wife and got custody over Sarah—his daughter, he somehow became a family member as much as he was visiting and helping around.

This was a huge deal for you.

Joel got so so much hotter after his divorce. He was always hot but after that he suddenly grew more of his beard out, biceps got bigger, he leaned more into the dad bod and he slicked his hair back that slowly turned grey. It was killing you, always having him over for the holidays or some special events, your thoughts were just only on him and they were dirty. But deep down you kinda felt bad. He was a nice and sweet man, doing the best for his daughter and being a best friend for your family, you could trust him with everything. It felt wrong reducing him just for his looks.

But that didn’t stop you. You wanted to fuck him.

And you always tried to. Every god damn year.

You can remember one years ago, you were trying the same thing. A summer break, visiting the family and joel also being there, a sweet little barbecue evening with your family. And after the party ended and the sun slowly start to set, you saw him sitting on the couch, drinking his beer while looking trough his phone.

And hell, he wasn’t stupid.

He saw the way you looked at him hours ago. He saw the was your eyes scanned his body up and down all the time, trying to not catch his gaze as he sat with you on the dinner table, your cheeks blushing whenever he caught you looking. The little summer dress you wore, barely covering knees as you bend over besides him, showing him the panties you wore and doing that so sneakily that so nobody around you saw that.

And you can’t believe how bold you were on that day. As he sat on the couch you came over to him, sitting on down on the other side and putting your legs up, your feet landing on his lap. He sighed, putting his drink and phone down.

“You’re trouble.” He murmured, gripping your ankles and yanking them from his lap earning a gasp from you.

“Heyy, don’t be so mean. I didn’t do anything! Just let me rest my feet.”

“Is that so, hm?” His jaw was clenched, eyebrows pinched he looked at you. The slicked back hair, his tanned skin and his big board shoulders made you absolutely feral.

“Mhm, yea! since when did you become so mean joel? You were always nice to me” you fake pouted, seeing him swallow looking around the room and sighing.

“I was nice to you before you started to cause so much trouble, girl.”

“I don’t even know what you are talking about.” You shrugged your shoulders, acting so clueless. You put your feet back on his lap, precisely on his bulge that you already saw forming on that day many, many times before.

He just looked at you, his face not pleased as he put his hands on your leg and squeezed as a warning and went back on his phone with a disappointed small shook of his head. He couldn’t be mad at you, your father would absolutely tear him to pieces, you knew that.

You were absolutely dripping after that, still feeling the hand on there whenever you thought about it, to this day.

So today you were going to see him again. Already standing in front of your mirror trying to find the best thing to wear, because this time, you were going to fuck this man. Your choice was simple but effective as always. A small white sundress. Perfect for this breezy summer day. And perfect for Joel too, you knew it.

The day began slowly with you helping your mom and dad make the garden as comfortable as possible, table put, chairs, some sweet radio playing summer hits, gras was recently trimmed, a cool box ready to keep beer cool, the beautiful flowers your mom planted saying hello and oh!— There was the doorbell.

He was there.

Excitement run through your body, warmth spread all over you and your cheeks heated as you saw him coming in. Sarah besides him already grown so much.

But you only looked at him.

Almost the same clothes, same board shoulders, huge frame, hair slicked back and his hair and beard got just a tiny bit more grey which made you almost lightheaded. There was this tan on him again, sweat was dripping from his forehead, his hands looked like he just worked hard, he probably came from his job. And his smell. His usual cologne mixed with the smell of the Marlboro reds he always smokes and tad bit of sweat. You were absolutely going feral and if no one saw you in this room you would be drooling.

“Hey, sweets” his rough voice greeted you, opening his arms for a big hug. You embraced him, hugging his huge body tight as you used that opportunity to really inhale his scent and make up for the days you missed him. He kissed the top of your head and let go of the hug, looking at you up and down, his gaze staring a bit too long on your legs. Even tho he acted as normal as possible there was still uncomfortable air between you two.

“And everything alright so far?”

“Yea, everything fine. What about you and sarah?” You asked smiling softly.

“jus’ the same old. Sarah was actually very happy about the gift you send her, so thank you, girl.”

You smiled again, you loved Sarah and never missed her birthdays even tho you were away. She was the sweetest girl and you loved spending time with her whenever you could.

“That’s why she avoiding me right now? Where is she?” You looked around the room.

“Ah there she comes again, got a little sweet treat from your mom I suppose.” He chuckled as Sarah walked to you a bonbon in her hand and the biggest smile, she hugged you.

The day was going well. So far.

You were playing with Sarah while the "grown-ups" sat at the table, talking about everything they've missed lately. Every time you heard his voice, however, you looked for his eyes. But he absolutely wasn't looking at you. He laughed a lot, talked a lot, but never looked over to meet your eyes. You could just feel the way he wanted to avoid you, to make it really seem like nothing happened and maybe you were just messing with him. But you were not going to let this go so easily.

“Sweetheart, can you go with Joel? While he buys the charcoal, you buy this list I made you.”

Jackpot.

This is the moment you were waiting for. An opportunity. On Joel’s face you could read how he was absolutely not fond of this idea. Your father needed charcoal for the grill and conveniently, Joel wanted to be the one to get it with his truck and even more conveniently was it for your mother to want you to go with him so you could buy a few groceries that were still needed for the party.

But joel couldn’t just say no. Your parents knew that you two had a good relationship so they would question on why he would not want to go with you.

So you and joel made your way to his truck, he did not once look at you or talked to you. He completely avoided you just like the whole day but you knew this was going to change.

It’s been so long since you were in his car, he was a clean man so nothing changed, everything still smelled like leather, a picture of sarah hanging on his mirror, with that an air refresher.

The windows were open, you were enjoying the fresh summer breeze as he drove to the next best grocery store, still not even looking or talking to you. But him driving was another level of hot. His big arm on the steering wheel, flexing his muscles, one hand on his chin as he looked concentrated to the streets. Eyebrows pinched and all grumpy.

You laid a tiny bit back on your seat, gently and sneaky putting the hem of your dress up till it reached your thighs. You opened a little bit your legs, laid your head on your hand and leaned to the door, sighing trying to get his attention.

You saw his grip getting tighter on the wheel, his expression changing into that of someone who was barely controlling himself. And then you caught him, just with a little side eye he looked down on your thighs.

You got him.

He was sweating more than usual beside you, you could see the little pearls forming on his forehead, his jaw was clenched and the concentration he built while driving away from your house completely left him.

You bit your lips, tracing your hand up and down your thigh slowly. Making circles, teasing yourself and him.

“Joel.” You called out, your hand still on your thigh as you looked at him with a pout and tried your best to put on your pretty doe eyes.

He first looked at you, trying to act like his bulge wasn’t growing in his pants and then his eyes fell to your thighs again, he followed your hand going up and down, he cleared his throat and then swallowed.

Poor guy.

“What.” He murmured his voice not pleased and not kind like as you greeted him today. You wonder what happened.

“How long till we arrive? I’m hot.”

You saw him rolling his eyes, sighing as he turned his head to you.

“Rolled the windows for you down, ain’t that enough girl? We arrive in like 5 minutes, be patient.”

His tone was stern and you didn’t except him to be this harsh by the way he was talking with you. So you crossed your arms and looked at him, trying to act all angry but in a playful manner. His face didn’t change a bit, he didn’t give you a smile, a wink, nothing. His eyebrows were still pinched and jaw clenched he drove you two to the store and parked.

He walked in straight without saying nothing, he was fast, doing everything to avoid you.

It had been 10 minutes and you already had the things your mom put into the list she gave you and now you waited for Joel. You didn’t even know where he was, let alone when he was coming. So you tried to catch his attention.

You stood there and spoke to an employee, a normal young guy who doesn’t look older than 23. You turned a strand of hair on your finger, leaning to the side and laughed about nonsense, making it seem like you were flirting. And then you saw him.

He was standing there with narrowed eyes the charcoal in one of his hand and the other one on his hip. He stood there jaw clenched looking like he was trying to control himself not to take apart the poor guy you were talking to.

“Girl, c’mon now. We ain’t got all day.” He suddenly almost yelled to you. The boy you were talking to flinched and you had to suppress a giggle.

As he paid for the stuff you walked to the car again and waited for him to come. He came with the two bags in his hands, opening the cockpit and putting the things in. But he suddenly stopped there, looking to you as he wanted to say something.

“What?” You asked

“You’re gonna get us both in trouble.”

“What the hell are you even talking about?” You still tried to act all clueless.

“Sweetheart. I know what ya’ doin’. It ain’t gonna work on me.“ his voice sounded softer but he was being serious.

“It’s already working tho.” You pointed down to his bulge, biting your lips by doing so.

He looked around the parking spot, his whole face flushing red. You kinda fell bad for him, exposing him like that but he was giving you a hard time so one way or another it had to happen.

“You get in the fucking car.” He suddenly spit out, you heard his loud boots walking to you as he quickly grabbed your arm and yanked you to the passenger seat.

“Hey! Ow, that hurt, you asshole.” You muttered out, as he sat you down on the seat and put your seat belt on.

He didn’t even say anything after that, he was furios. The car started as you sat there with crossed arms and this time being really angry and disappointed at him. The car suddenly slowed down and he looked at you, his gaze softening and a sigh leaving his lips.

“Baby, I don’t even know what you want from a man like me.” He said, his voice sounding genuine and warm.

You looked at him dumbfounded

“Look got all these grey hair, haven’t been able to go to the barber shop for god knows how long and I trim my beard but it’s still messy, and heck— look— look at my body. Ain’t the one I was once.”

Your eyes widened. He wasn’t being serious right now, right? You have never seen a more handsome man than him and that after he started to look like how he just described. He was waiting for an answer with those big puppy dog eyes, from his stern and harsh manner was no trace left.

Instead of an answer, you slowly and gently neared your hand on his thigh. Feeling the rough material of his jeans underneath your fingertips, you softly stroked his thigh. You heard him shudder under his breath, his body sitting up, just like his cock. The bulge was growing just more and you wanted to tease him more.

But most importantly you wanted to show him how pretty he is.

“Ain’t gonna let me go so easily, huh?” He mumbled softly, earning a giggle and a shook of your head.

You leaned over, putting your seatbelt away and slowly unbuttoned his flannel shirt. His breath hitched, suddenly steering the car towards the side and stopping it on the field of gras.

He dropped his hands from the wheel and let you fully take control. You opened his shirt, greeted with a beautiful body, the one you just dreamed of having on top of you. His chest hairy going down to his soft belly and then a pretty salt and pepper happy trail. You were drooling.

You didn’t waste any time as you softly rubbed your hands over his chest, leaning in to gently kiss him, working yourself down, kissing his belly and happy trail.

“Jesus christ, girl.” His head was thrown back but he was watching you. You hummed, biting down his breast, then neck, and suckling on his skin. His breathing was coming quickly, you could feel his poor heart beating at a higher rate.

“You don’t even know.” You mumbled, slightly standing up and kneeling on your seat, now your body was completely turned to him and this way you had full access to his body.

“Don’t even know how fucking sexy you are.”

One of your hand went to his bulge squeezing him earning a groan and a desperate buck of his hips. Your mouth continued to work on his tanned body, kissing his collarbones, nipping at his skin.

He was whining.

“Sweet girl.” He groaned as he made his way to your waist, squeezing you there then making a stop on your back because now you were unbuckling him. Pulling his pants down, you gently stroked his hardened cock through his shorts, seeing a small spot getting wet, knowing it’s pre cum. You decided to tease him more as you pulled his briefs slightly down so his bush was out. Your face diving into the hair, kissing him and smothering in it while rubbing his shaft up and down. Slowly you licked your way from his happy trail to his chest to his neck and then landed on his lips.

You kissed him, catching him by surprise as he moaned into your mouth. Hot breaths left him, your hand never stopping on his dick. He took your cheeks into his hands and deepened the kiss, messily making out with you. It was unbearable for you too. You finally had him where you wanted, as his beautiful lips kissed you, you drooled down your chin, bit landing on his briefs, mixing with the pre cum that was already oozing out of the material.

Whining out loud you broke the kiss, taking in deep breaths as he looked at you. His puppy eyes, trying not to squeeze with pleasure, his lower lip trembling.

“Baby—fuck. What are you doing to me hm?” He took your chin between his fingers.

“If your daddy finds out what we are doin’, whatcha gonna say to him?”

“That his best buddy’s cock was hardening every time I was around and that I decided to help him out.” You shrugged your shoulders, smirking at him as he looked at you dumbfounded, he was clenching his jaw, veins popping up on his neck, he was close.

You pulled his shorts finally down. Revealing his big cock, red and switching. He could never be insecure, that was a blatant lie. He was beautiful, the big mushroom head red and glistening, veins trailing down and his big salt and pepper bush was covering his balls.

You squeezed your own thighs to relieve some friction. Gently grabbing the base of his shaft, you squeezed to the top, smearing the pre cum on his tip earning a big hiss. He gripped your arm tighter, the other hand gripping the car door.

You looked at him through your eyelashes batting them one and two times before starting with kitten licks on his head. You kissed down, licked and enjoyed the way he was a big mess under you.

“Please, fuck— please baby.” His voice was coming out shaky, the rough man from before was now completely gone.

You smiled, finally opening your mouth and taking him in. Swirling your tongue first around his tip then slowly sinking and hollowing your cheeks as you went up and down. His hips were bucking into your mouth as he released moan after moan.

“Y’look so fucking beautiful, sweets. So fucking beautiful.” He said through gritted teeth.

Your one hand wrapped around his base, and the other one down his balls, taking them and messaging them. Joel’s eyes were shut down as the pleasure overcame him. You felt him pulse one and two times on your tongue and he was shooting his cum into your mouth.

He gripped your hair, putting it in a ponytail and gently moved your head up and down the way he liked. His legs were shaking and his chest was going up and down as he released his last drops of sperm and let go of your hair, taking a deep breath and laying there almost boneless.

You swallowed, gently stroking him for a few more times and then letting him go soft, laying his dick down. You sat up, seeing his face being all soft and sweaty. His eyes droopy and breathing heavy. He looked fucked out. And you didn’t even fuck him yet.

Your hand slowly traced down your dress, as you sat down, leaned back and strategically removed your soaked panties. You held them in front of his face, swaying them left to right, making him chuckle.

“S’that what ya wanted the whole time? Tempting me right in front of your daddy.”

“Mhm, s’what I wanted, joel.” You mumbled, your body laid on your seat as you opened your legs, your fingers finding your soaked pussy, gathering some of the wetness and bringing it slowly to his mouth.

He immediately opened them and sucked on your fingers, his cock starting to pulse again, as you giggled.

“Don’t even know how long, I wanted you joel. Always made myself cum by thinking of you.”

You pulled your fingers out, going down to your cunt again and hooking them in, gently thrusting them in and out while whining into the car.

“Fuck baby. Can’t say shit like that. If I knew you were serious I would’ve already took you to the bathroom, bent you over and fucked you.”

His hand pulled the hem of your dress up, revealing your swollen cunt to him. He gently laid one thumb on your clit and started rubbing in a steady place.

“Hmph— was always serious. Always wanted you to fuck me always, always.” Now you were the one turning into a mess as your fingers pumped in your pussy, his thumb pressing and rubbing just the perfect way.

His other hand took his cock into his hand, jerking up and down, his shaft harding again as the sweat on his face began again.

“C’mon, c’mere then.” His hand left your cunt, going to your waist and gripping you so you could move. You stopped your movements and obligated, carefully going over his lap and standing on top of him. He rubbed his cock up and down your cunt, gently smearing the tip on your little nub as you tried your best to holding yourself up, grabbing his shoulder and moaning his name out.

“Gonna fuck you nice baby, so nice. Just like you’ve been waiting for.”

With that he gently pushed his cock into your hole, the stretch slightly burning you as you slowly and steadily sunk into his lap. You both squeezed your eyes shut as you enjoyed the slow place of his cock entering your pussy.

You looked at him, your mouth gaping open, as you run your hands trough his beautiful hair.

“Shh, take it, yea baby. Yeah. I know. Begging for it so long and now taking it so good.”

His praise was echoing in your head, not leaving as you sat down his lap, his dick now fully buried in you. The stretch was too good, you truly felt full of him.

He didn’t leave you time before bucking his hips in need, little breaths leaving his lips. He suddenly latched himself on your neck, gently nipping at the skin, careful enough so he wouldn’t leave any marks for your parents to see and while doing that he massaged your tits trough the fabric of your dress.

You whined out, slowly getting used to his stretch and him slowly figuring out a good pace to steadily fuck into you. His cock going in and out as his big rough hands were deliciously tight on your hips, they were going to leave marks for sure.

You ran your hand trough his hair once more but this time tugging it gently away from your neck, revealing his pleasure blissed face, cheeks flushed red, the sweat making his hair and beard wet as he gave you these pretty ‘fuck me’ eyes.

“Take what you need baby, there you go.” He whispered as you took the lead. Your hips now going with a rhythm, fucking yourself on his cock, hips bucking and tits bouncing up and down as the car filled with you two’s moans and whines both desperate and pathetically trying to chase the high you guys deserve.

“Poor fucking man. Fuck— haven’t been taken care of for so so long.”

“Yea, baby.” He could only agree, his gaze never leaving you. You could literally see sparks in his eyes, totally mesmerised by you and the way you were handling his cock.

“Gonna take care of you from now on. Not gonna leave without empty balls, joel. Man like you need all the lovin’ they can get. Wanna see your cock bent after a while at how much i’m taking care of you.”

He grunted, almost releasing at that but you stopped with your hips, leaving him high almost at his orgasm. He was breathing out, whimpering and shaking as you took his cheeks into your hands and gently stroked the skin.

“You don’t even know how handsome you are, so fucking sexy.” You murmured, his eyes turning into those sad doe eyes again, clearly unsure and not excepted the way you were thinking about him.

“You understand?” You asked him, pinching his cheeks together as he nodded his head up and down.

“Mhm. Yea—yeah. Understood.” He breathlessly said, his hips starting to buck into you again, seemingly wanting to finally release and get the satisfaction he totally earned.

You leaned back to the steering wheel so you could get access to your clit, gently rubbing the nub he fucked up to you again, finding his pace once more. His gaze never left yours as his cock deliciously touched that one spot over and over again, making you roll your eyes.

“Gonna take care of you too hun. Feed you my cock whenever you want, fillin’ you up so it makes up for the times i’ve left you hanging.”

You whined at that, nodding your head up and down, whispering a little ‘please’ out.

“So pretty, look at that. Just enjoying her sweet fucking, rubbing her little clit and taking care of her man.”

Now he was the one who suddenly got a mouth on him. You thought maybe he wasn’t that talkative but apparently you were wrong. You felt his cock switch in your cunt, knowing he was close and you were too.

“In me—please. In me.” You whimpered out, your legs shaking and his thrusting growing sloppier and sloppier, he harshly tugged you into him making you yelp. He held your hips tighter then before, his groans and moans getting louder and louder.

“C’mon baby, c’mon. Cum. Show me how good this pussy takes care of her man.” He said into your ear and that was it. Your legs completely shook, as a sharp cry left your mouth. You squeezed your eyes shut as the waves of the release washed upon you, making you feel almost dizzy at how good it felt.

He thrusted as much as he could one and two more times, making you ride out your orgasm as he stilled and released into you. His face burying in your neck, chest going up and down and silent groans and whimpers leaving his mouth. You let yourself get filled, enjoying the fullness and coming down from your climax as you gently stroked his hair, slowly moving your hips at the rate at which his cock was shooting his cum and after it getting soft in you, you stopped gently kissing his cheeks and neck, while softly praising him.

“Mhm, we are so fucked baby. Look at how messy we are, how are we going to go back to your parents?”

You giggled at that, shrugging your shoulders at him, enjoying the quiet after the storm and finally having his presence near you, just like you wanted.

You finally fucked him.

I actually don’t really like reading sub!male but I don’t know what got into me in this fic, I think it fits very well. Feedback is very much appreciated and AAA thank you so much for 300 followers🥹😭

—> My Masterlist!!

🫶🏻🫶🏻 @vickie5446 @a-goose-on-mars @thatgirlmendo @ihearttdilfs

[elissespieces]

Ok but if I could just- hop in here real quick for a few notes because I am new to this fandom and am completely fascinated by the Wraith.

It took so long for the Atlantis team to befriend a Wraith (or at least work with one) that I was starting to think that it wouldn’t happen. then when it finally did, there was then so little time spared for what that might actually mean that I lost hope entirely. (And no, Michael doesn’t count, wtf was that)

But here- in this situation with Rodney.

The concept of the Wraith are written inherently as an existence of evil, as their survival is dependent upon taking human life.

Even in small doses they can take too much, and this creates a story chasm that is difficult to cross back from by any means. It’s why, throughout the series, any Wraith kill was either stopped before it started, or went the whole way (with a few plot driven exceptions) but you couldn’t just walk away ten years older and be okay.

So here, Rodney is trying to barter just that and there is just- no way that is going to happen. Especially as a series lead and in a position where he wouldn’t get the years back because Todd already played those cards with John. Still- someone needed to get fed on.

But where they took this next was legitimately surprising because of how dark it is, and while I was impressed, I’m also a bit disappointed that it was left in the dust without consequence.

How we feel about the man who took the siblings hostage, and how he was basically talked into killing himself, regardless of what we know he did, was not equivalent to being tried for the crime.

It was dark (and just this side of cruel) of John to take advantage of a desperate, grieving man. Convincing him -by making it the man’s own idea, no less- that the right thing to do, after all he’d just sacrificed, was to give up that one last thing.

Now lemme just say that I’m not passing judgement on Sheppard, because the man does not fuck around when it comes to the safety of his team, let alone the safety of Rodney. He was in a hurry and he was already pissed at the guy, which more than likely made the decision easy, and we accept that because we didn’t like him anyway. It wraps up an episode neatly with the zip of a body bag.

And yet-

Todd is still there, and he will still need to eat. It’s not a one off to him, it only is to them if he doesn’t stick around.

Which is why the lack of consequence to what John did was such a wasted opportunity because it could add up so fast. Not to mention that there’s could suddenly be a much more defined line between your friends and enemies when the new friend you make can and will eat them.

i cannot stop thinking about this single moment, and yes I did make gifs just so I could scream about this.

Of all the things John could've said here. Not allowed, nope, not gonna happen, you can't, etc etc all of that. It's I can't.

LIKE HE CANT??

He can't what? Let Rodney do this? Let Rodney go and give himself up to the wraith knowing first hand what that pain feels like (not even getting into the fact that this is the same wraith that fed on him). Can't sit there knowing what Rodney will go through and what Rodney is willing to give up to save his sister, and I wonder if part of him is wondering how they got here. If he's to blame for Rodney willing to give up his life to save someone else. (he's not tbh, Rodney always been that brave IMO, he's just finally in a situation where he knows people have his back ((looking at u hide and seek my brave little toaster)))

I realize that hes saying "I can't" to Rodney asking permission to go (which, once again. is another thing I don't want to get into of Dr. Rodney McKay PhD PhD asking permission from his team lead to do this) but its' just. So insane to me that this was actual dialogue in an actual scene.

John can't let Rodney do this, and he won't let him do that and if John "orders are made to be ignored" Sheppard has to pull fucking rank to do it, then he will.

But he sure as hell won't meet Rodney's eyes as he does it. Not until Rodney says please and John lifts his head, meets Rodney's eyes, does an epic bottom lip wobble and then says he's sorry. look at the lip wobble and misty eyes people because I had to stare at this a lot when making another gif and I am FERAL over it. A+ acting JF, seriously. 10/10 gold stars for you.

John knows what it feels like to be fed on by a wraith, and he knows that pain. And maybe it's my little mcsheppy heart, but at the end of the day the pain is one thing. What John really can't do? Is let Rodney sacrifice himself.

He can't let Rodney go.

But he sure as hell has no issue letting Wallace go, knowing that pain, knowing what that feels like and knowing what it feels like to be so close to death, but Wallace doesn't get the happy ending. Wallace doesn't get his time back, and John (and the marines so hello I have more questions about them as well) watch it happen.

Because John can't let Rodney go.

And I'll never not want to scream about it.

[mrcrawly]

Dr. House is still some of the best autistic representation I've ever seen

I made my initial post a while ago, but I'm finally starting season 4 and I feel just as strongly about this. I did get a little bit of pushback on my initial post so let me be clear: I don't care if you disagree with me! I don't care if you don't think Dr. House is autistic! Do not get into my comments and be condescending about it! I'm autistic and this is my opinion! Make your own post about why you think Dr. House is neurotypical and leave me alone!

Disregard for social cues or normalities. I'm really driving this one home because every time I watch this show it shocks me how much he's like me. Not necessarily even because he's an asshole, but because he's just weird. This is old news, but he has an entire conversation with Wilson about how he's not good with first dates and conversations because either the topic of conversation is boring, or there's subtext, and to understand the subtext you need "a decoder ring." Hm yes very neurotypical thing to say. He doesn't have much sense of boundaries or privacy, and regularly embarrasses Wilson or will discuss something gross with Cuddy while someone else is around. He also says pretty gross things in public and in inappropriate situations, even if just to be funny. Some of this is just generally him being an asshole, but I think some of this is genuinely a lack of understanding in how to interact with people. Sometimes he just plainly doesn't respond when asked a question or spoken to when he doesn't know what to say or doesn't want to speak.

Strong sense of justice and morality. I mention this a little in my initial post, but I don't remember if it was its own point. House gets angry when people endanger his patients, and will get angry at anyone, no matter who, if their decision hurts his patient. When Wilson was too afraid to put his foot down and insist that the family accept House's treatment in "Family," he gets pissed off at Wilson and tells him he's a "coward." He apologizes for this after because it was uncalled for, and Wilson's intentions were good, but nevertheless he was right. This is not me saying that House is a particularly moral individual. If you took a shot every time he violated very basic ethical principles you would die of alcohol poisoning before you reached the second season of the show. But House's concern is his patient's life. In his mind, if his actions save his patient's life, it is ultimately moral. When his team fucks up and risks their patient, he gets pissed off and will humiliate them so they understand the gravity of their mistake.

Specific and niche interests. I mention in my initial post that he has very few interests (mostly General Hospital and his job), but since the first couple seasons I've gotten more a feel for his love of music. He owns live recordings of Elvis on vinyl. He owns more than one guitar (from what I saw of his apartment). Music is kind of his thing. To take that a little further, it seems like he collects things. This is by no means necessarily an autistic trait, but collecting is very common with autistic people who have special interests. I collect Spiderman merchandise, for example.

Resistant to change. I don't think I'd seen the episode yet, but after he's shot at the end of season 2, he insists that the carpet that's been stained with his blood is kept. He goes as far as to annoy everyone incessantly in order to get his carpet back. House is also just generally the kind of person who wants things exactly how he wants them. He doesn't like people messing with his things or for his environment to change, even when the inconvenience is simple and ultimately unimportant. In the last episode of season 3, Wilson says this pretty plainly. House has played the same guitar since eighth grade, driven the same car for ten years, and been living in the same place for fifteen. Change just isn't his thing. It's often hard for autistic people to adapt to significant changes because of the way they process information. Change is overwhelming.

Observant and analytical. When Wilson starts yawning, he doesn't just write this off or explain it, he immediately starts considering every possible reason and deducing why he's yawning. House likes puzzles, and symptomology is his thing. He also definitely violated Wilson's trust by spiking his coffee with amphetamines, but he did so based on a line of logic and reason. This isn't necessarily an autistic characteristic, but it is fairly common among some autistic people to view a course of action or event through the lense of logic rather than considering the emotional consequences. I do this a lot. House is also especially blunt and almost excessively honest. He does lie (obviously), but when it really matters to be honest he will be, and he won't mince his words for people's comfort. This is going back to differences in how he experiences empathy.

This post is honestly probably boring, because I'm really just driving my initial points home. Again, I don't really think that House MD discusses autism in the most meaningful or accurate way, but House feels more authentic to me than actual, intentional autistic representation. Also, some of these things can be attributed to depression or House's problems with attachment; this is just my perspective on some things.

[frokenkeke]

Making of Today Forever

Well, it finally happened. After much toiling I managed to finish Today Forever, the follow-up to last year's Ashes to Ashley. Like last time, I also want to talk a little bit about where it came from. By all means, check out Making of Ashes to Ashley as well for full context if you haven't already, as a lot of the points brought up there still apply to this new comic.

Today Forever continues the day after Ashes to Ashley. It is a story about what happens after your great coming out, when everything is new but life still moves on in its familiar mundanity. Despite the elation of last night, Ashley has trouble fully letting go of the past. The loss of the Ride shirt becomes a symbol for the jarring and complicated emotions of reconstructing yourself. It is a story about the nature of happiness, it is an awkward romance, it is somehow also about the 90s band Ride.

While writing Today Forever I gave extra thought to the idea of sequels, in particular the second installment of a story. You do something once and it is the whole of itself, you do it twice and it's a mirror reflection of contrasts, you do it any more than this and it's simply "another one". I always intended Ashes to Ashley to be an episodic series with self-contained adventures. The original comic may be complete, starting and ending satisfyingly; it doesn't need to continue, but nevertheless I wanted it to. I don't want there to be just one story, or even two stories. I want "another one" to be in the majority. Yet despite how much you iterate on something, the second entry will always be the domain of contrasts; number two reveals what was unique about number one. In the differences and similarities we establish the boundaries and understand how the story will both change and remain familiar from here on out.

With this in mind, Today Forever is intended to be the polar opposite of Ashes to Ashley. I selectively reuse only the parts that are most crucial. We still follow Ashley, she's on tour with her band, she's rediscovering herself through a trans lens, the tone is cute and lighthearted, everything is drawn on paper with an old worn down Bic mechanical pencil and digitally colored with an ugly sponge brush built into Photoshop. However, this time we go somewhere new, with outdoor scenes in broad daylight, everyone is enjoying their leisure, they're all wearing different clothes, some characters are more prominent while others are less, shoegaze remains a crucial central theme but no one ever picks up an instrument. These points both expand what Ashes to Ashley can be while simultaneously reinforcing its core. The audience understands the story more clearly. Heck, the author probably also understands the story more clearly.

These were the first preliminary character sketches I made for Today Forever, including the cover art concept which remained more or less intact until the end. I went for a "first day of summer" motif to signify everyone being on their day off. I can't remember why, but it's explicitly written in the script that Gabriel and Miki change outfits somewhere after the breakfast scene. This was probably not that necessary, but it is admittedly funny that Miki puts on her Lush T-shirt (featuring the lemon from the Split album cover!) while Ashley is mourning the Ride shirt. Is Miki teasing Ashley?!

It should be noted that the script and story didn't arrive fully formed in my head! Today Forever went through some pretty drastic revisions, and I kept changing around elements until the very end. Above is the beginning of the first draft, you can see how parts were both cut and reshuffled, while a few remain unchanged. In the first version of the story Ashley actually spent the entire day moping in the van. The intent was to focus on her dynamic with Kate, as Kate was the least featured character in the previous story. To reinforce this, I wrote the rest of the cast out of the plot by sending them off to an amusement park. It was a scattered mess of ideas, quite miserable. I felt lost with the whole thing until my girlfriend Alicia took one look at the draft and asked a simple but crucial question; Why doesn't Ashley go to the amusement park? This practically saved the entire comic, giving me a fun central theme to work with. The ideas wrote themselves, the tone got lighter, the initial story became a bookend for the gang running off to the fireworks factory.

Here are the initial panel layouts for the "final" script. Somehow 32 pages became 37.

Today Forever commits the fatal writing cliché of starting with the protagonist waking up in their bed. This was to immediately connect it with the ending of Ashes to Ashley, to the degree where Ashley is wearing the exact same getup, complete with smudged makeup and loose tights. Rules are made to be broken!

The band's van is bigger on the inside for the sheer writing convenience of having a spacious motorhome. This was inspired by the comic Tank Girl where a throw-away panel blurb states that "the tank is bigger on the inside like the TARDIS". No more explanations necessary.

Debbie getting awkwardly up-close and casual with half-naked Ashley is one of my favorite gags. It's goofy while also suggesting a lot about the characters. I like that Ashley feels comfortable enough with her friends to wear nothing but underwear in front of them.

Floppy Park was initially named Playland as one of several Ride references, subtly alluding to the 1990 Play EP. I ended up changing this because it sounded like a playpen for toddlers.

The panel where Ashley is admiring herself in the mirror is another one of my favorites. She has so much self-love! Also, her face looks funny when pressed on a flat circle.

I was worried about having sufficient space for the breakfast scene, but luckily I fit it all on one page without too many compromises. My biggest dilemma was having choose how Ashley would respond to her day off; either with a puzzled "Hmm...? Free day?" or an understated "Wow". Both felt in line with her personality, but there was only room for one. Looking at it now I'm still conflicted on which to choose. The wow line is still funny to me.

Debbie truly is the ultimate romantic foil to Ashley. While Ashley is painfully clueless and uncharacteristically slow for a bunny, Debbie is kind to a fault, accepting the smallest suggestion with full sincerity. Debbie assumes Ashley understands everything about the situation, Ashley doesn't even parse that there is a situation. Ashley's cluelessness is based on myself, I suspect I unwittingly live every moment like Ashley.

Drawing angry Ashley was heaps of fun. I played around with doodling a full-on "aaugh!" Peanuts pastiche, which evolved into other monstrosities like the Ashley blob and the big eyed Ashley I used to represent myself in the Transparency Aquanaut's Holiday video.

Having the cast argue about the number one shoegaze band was among the most crucial pages to me, remaining intact from the very first draft. I'm just really into shoegaze and have no other outlets for this! I get excited whenever someone tells me they actually sat down and listened to one of the mentioned bands. They're all important to me.

I absolutely love the panel of overly melodramatic Ashley sitting in front of the stereo blasting Seagull (she didn't even pick a sad Ride song, she just literally put on the Nowhere album!). Her graceful theatrical display of sorrow contrasts the scene towards the end where she cries for real. Happiness is one of the core themes of Today Forever. Ashley encounters it as a conflict. She declares today the best day and the worst day with equal hyperbole as she flip-flops between emotions. Sadness is a comfort, sometimes sadness is easier, eventually happiness makes her sad, happiness seems forbidden, yet happiness doesn't declare its presence. In the end happiness always finds her again.

Every now and then I needed to do some warm-up sketches, usually after a longer absence from drawing. At some point I drew old pre-transition Ash again out of curiosity.

The scenes at Floppy Park take direct inspiration from my own amusement park memories. In particular, the setting is based on Gröna lund, the local amusement park in Stockholm where I live and grew up. Just like in the comic, their fun house Lustiga huset is accessed through a cumbersome staircase, has a zigzag hallway and ends in a carpet ride slide. Conversely, the hall of mirrors is in a separate building, and there's no Escher Relatively room.

Like with the fun house, the ghost train is inspired by Blå tåget at Gröna lund, a ride where you sit in blue carts while ghastly horrors jump out at you. I went through a bunch of different ideas for the monster that spooks Debbie so much she exists the comic panel, but ultimately a simple jaw creature with dark shading did the job. The burning scarecrows are of course a reference to the Sonic Youth album Bad Moon Rising.

In hindsight, I probably should've cut the claw game scene for brevity, since it's similar enough to the shooting gallery. If I could revise it I would have Ashley fail the game, for contrast and drama. But whatever, I'll let her have this one. Several of the plushies in the claw machine are old comic characters of mine, they live on as commodified kitsch in Ashley's world.

Returning to the rest of the gang in the Ferris wheel for a crucial shipping report and some cocky evil Ashley's on top. Ashley gets a power boost whenever her femininity is verbally reaffirmed, like when Um Jammer Lammy hears "dojo, casino, it's all in the mind".

The rollercoaster is the big climactic payoff to the amusement park setting. The moment Ashley says "ugh... rollercoasters..." we know she'll inevitably end up riding one! The name Grasshopper is taken from the Ride track of the same name, it's a lengthy instrumental piece which features screams that sound like people riding a rollercoaster, the choice was clear from the beginning. Drawing terrified Ashley was a blast, Ashley's soul slipping from her dead body in sheer terror is an obscenely exaggerated visual. I did not use it because it posed too many theological questions.

The shooting gallery scene was conceived by Alicia, she loved the idea of Debbie posing with a gun. It gave Debbie some depth and a slightly rustic lean. Somehow I find Debbie's marksman skills more believable than Ashley's claw game luck.

As Ashley states, the shark plush is a reference to the cover of Ride's Today Forever EP, which is where this comic got its name. However, it is obviously also modeled after IKEA's stuffed toy Blåhaj, whose blue-pink-white color scheme made it a trans icon.

Ashley and Debbie sit down at the end to emphasize the emotional core of the story. Ashley is peculiar, but in a special way. Ashley finally thanks Debbie for what we can presume are years of patient kindness. They have the perfect romantic moment, yet are both too shy to bring it any further. Theirs is not a "will they-won't they" relationship, it's a "please just do it now god damnit" relationship.

The two pages where Ashley cries and the rest of the gang shows up were late additions to the comic. I felt a lack of emotional punch and a too abrupt cut to the next scene where everyone is walking back home. As the sort of "day after" story this is, Ashley is expressing the feelings I felt shortly after I began my transitioning. Just sheer shock at the realization of how sad I had been for my entire life. Like someone flipped a switch to turn on the lights. That the darkness was so overwhelming I hadn't ever noticed it.

In case the young folks were wondering, Kate is working with screenprinting here. A technique in which one covers a mounted net with a special coating that can be manipulated by burning a monotone motif onto it. Essentially you convert a picture into a shadow that preserves the holes in the net. Stroke a batch of paint across the net and you've got a print!

I had immense troubles drawing the ending scene. For whatever reason I had crammed it onto one page in the script, giving it no breathing room and an abrupt ending. Eventually I just spread it out across two pages to spare me continued pain. I'm not quite sure what "makeshift karaoke" entails, but I imagine the reader will come up with their own funny conclusion.

The last two pages to be drawn were the ones where the gang arrive at the park and Kate's phone conversation with Floyd. These were primarily shoehorned in to make every double page spread satisfying and cohesive. They were seeds of ideas that had been cut because they weren't fully necessary, however they ultimately contribute some last minute additions to the story. The park getting a big establishing panel creates breathing room among pages that are otherwise quite cramped, I also get to elaborate Ashley and Rachel's buddy dynamic. In the same vein, Kate yelling at Floyd was important for her redemption, to truly show that she DOES care and will stand up for her convictions.

While I had a clear concept for the cover from day one, I ended up having a lot of troubles with the finer details. Like how the first comic's cover paraphrases Loveless, I wanted Today Forever to paraphrase the early Ride covers for the Ride EP, Play EP and Smile compilation, which feature framed monochrome beds of flowers. Ashley and Debbie were supposed to be superimposed on top of this, but I wasn't fully in the clear on what they would do, how they would pose, what expressions they would wear. I ended up drawing a bunch of different ideas until I ended on the double blushed side-eyes.

On top of a cover, I also wanted a quick recap of the previous comic, as it had almost been a full year since I made it. I ended up with pulpy mugshots of the cast, taking inspiration from the recap pages in the Dragon Ball manga volumes I read as a kid. The mugshot of Ashley accidentally lacks her ear fluff, oops!

I am glad people enjoy Today Forever as much as Ashes to Ashley. I am still partial to the first one. I do have my problems with the new comic. There are parts that didn't quite come together like I had wanted, it's probably a bit too long, I feel the tone may be too juvenile at points. Mostly I felt frustrated going from one month to make the first story to an entire year for the second one. The last comic is strategically set in vaguely defined void rooms while this one keeps having to establish new locations and props. There are more panels of all the characters hanging out together. There was simply more to draw and less time to do it. Somewhere along the way I got lost in being more careful and meticulous about the clean-up and coloring as well. However, it doesn't matter now that it's all out, from here on out it's in your hands either way.

I will have to think over what I learned from Today Forever and keep that in mind while working on the third comic. Hopefully I can balance it all out. Maybe next time I figure out how long Rachel's ears are supposed to be!

/Kiki

[chaos-societies]

Episode 9, The Green Hills

[x] – The Hills – Talisk

The first day of travels after their pit stop at Búra’s homestead was light and uneventful. The night out in the wild made the gang already miss Búra’s welcome, but they managed. The next morning was cool and there was dew on the flora around. They continued northwest and soon came up on a hill. As they did, they could tell the world around them was different. It was the first hill that was completely covered in lush green grass – no signs of dirt or sand.

As they reached the top, they looked out and saw something they had never seen before. For miles, as far as the eye could see, green hills covered the expanse. Some hills small, some obscured the horizon, some were bare and some had tall and healthy trees. The sight shone a new spirit in the crew and even brought tears to Amy’s eyes. The grass was a deep green and white clouds speckled the pure blue sky overhead.

Sonic and Tails let out a gasp as they sprinted (and flew) off with excitement. They could say no words as laughter and chuckles obscured their vocal chords. Rouge and Amy took a seat on top of that hill and took in the sights. Amy’s hand was mindlessly running through the soft grass. The grass was short where they were but they could see where it grew tall not far off. Sonic was already probably half a mile off in the distance. He sprinted through the tall grass leaving a trail mowed over in his wake; a path carved into the undisturbed stalks that weaved sporadically about the hills.

“I take it these are the Green Hills.” Rouge stated the obvious.

Amy wiped another tear from here eye. “It’s beautiful.” She sniffled a little. “I’ve never seen so much green!”

Rouge took a deep breath of the cool fresh air and just smiled. “Yeah.”

Meanwhile, Sonic continued to run and Tails hovered over him. The landscape became an instantaneous escape and they relished in the moment. Sonic’s arms were extended so he could feel the brush of the tall stalks as he wisped by. Tails flew a bit lower and reached one hand down so he could do the same.

At one point the grass began to shrink down to a similar height as that first hill. Sonic stopped and Tails followed suit, hovering a bit as he lowered his feet gently onto the ground below. They looked back and saw Rouge and Amy maybe a little more than a mile off sitting and relaxing. Sonic waved to them and they waved back. He placed his hands on his waist and looked around. The sight of endless rolling hills of green and the earthy scent of the greenery around made Sonic extremely content. But it also shot a pang of sadness through him. All his life, he had lived on South Island and though it was vastly greener there than in the Greater Area, it paled in comparison to this. But that was his home and he knew he would have to return to the desert once again and eventually for good once they were all finished with their journey. He almost wished he could live in the free open Green Hills forever but knew he couldn’t abandon his friends and family, and his chapter of his Society.

The sadness left him as a breeze rolled through and the light rustling of the grass was heard all around. Waves were seen rolling over the hills from the wind as if they were in a green ocean. He smiled once more.

Sonic and Tails made their way back to Rouge and Amy who were now standing on that same hill they left them on. Amy was twirling around with her eyes closed, chin high, and arms extended out. As Sonic came up, she stopped and smiled at him. “Oh, this is wonderful isn’t it!”

“It sure is!” Sonic answered. But Amy continued.

“The air is so fresh, the scent is new, the breeze is cool, there’s so much green!” She placed her hands on her chest and took a deep breath.

Something came over Sonic and he formed a light grin as he walked up to Amy and took her hand. He pulled her a bit and twirled her to kick off a bit of a dance. They moved around in the grass smoothly. Tails smiled while Rouge rolled her eyes. After a few extra seconds, Tails broke out his feadóg and began playing a light tune. Rouge couldn’t fight the feeling for long and began lightly clapping to keep a beat with Tails’ tune.

The couple continued to dance for a bit, now to Tails’ jig instead of a melody inside their heads, and as the tune slowed down to end on long note, Sonic and Amy also concluded their dance.

They rejoined Rouge and Tails and quickly decided it would be a good time to stop for some food. They sat down on top of that same hill and began eating, looking out at the vast sea of green. The meal was relatively quiet as they just stared at the sight in front of them. Who knew a view with nothing but hills and a few trees could be so breathtaking, but when that sight is new, and so different from empty desert, it was wondrous to the quartet.

Knowing they couldn’t sit for much longer, and that they could continue to take in the scenery as they journeyed northwest to Smithwick, they cleaned up from their meal and strode on.

The ground beneath their feet was firm compared to the sand they were used to but also soft and not a discomfort to their roving feet. The grass was soft as they kept up a good stride often with hands extended. The breeze continued to welcome them to the new land and the sounds of flickys in some of the trees created a peaceful ambience.

They continued their trek and as the day continued, they knew they should be able to see Smithwick at some point off in the distance. But for the first time since leaving South Island, they almost wished they would not arrive at the seaside city just yet. The buildings, streets, commotion and crowds of a city were not at all appetizing to them now that they were in the open lands of the Green Hills. But nonetheless, they continued on to try and make it to their destination before it got too late. The sun was already setting to the east as it did on Mobius and the far off peaks of the Sléibhte Scáthaigh were barely seen over the top of some of the hills. The sun began dipping below the highest peaks on the far off horizon and the sky to the west was warm with sunset colors.

They came up atop a hill and finally saw Smithwick off in the distance. The landscape sloped down from that hill but the green pasture continued to the city and beyond. The sea was sparkly with the sun’s dying light and lights from the city were beginning to shine as the night sky took over. They figured another hour to two they would be out of the fields and back to the city. They were reminded of their first visit to Cap and prepared for the variance of Societies and hustle from street vendors.

Tails broke out a piece of paper that showed a rough layout of Smithwick that Uncle Chuck gave them. The library was on the far end of the city, opposite of the ocean but was not too far from them as they were coming up on the southeastern part of the city with the ocean to the city’s southwest. Tails explained the location of the library and the crew decided to stop by the next day after finding a lodge for some rest and a warm meal. And with that, they moved on – saying goodbye to the lush Green Hills for the time being as Smithwick awaited their arrival.

[x]

As the gang entered the city, their expectations were met as all types of people moved about despite it being well past dusk by now. They did not enter right into a market place as they did when they arrived at Cap which was a relief for the weary travelers. They quickly decided to find an inn and settle for the night and pay a visit to the library the next day.

They passed a few inns that clearly delineated specific Societies. ‘Greens Only’ – they continued to move on. ‘No Reds Allowed’ – it fit the mark for the time being but they still felt weary about it, especially if Knuckles joined them before they left. Finally they came across an inn with a sign posted in the window, ‘All Colors Welcome’. It was not in as great of condition as the others but it wasn’t bad and definitely felt like a place worthy of their patronage. They stopped by.

As they walked in, they saw many Mobians dressed in varying attire attributing to their respective Society. Though all were welcome, they all still sat in cliques with groups of their own. They approached the innkeeper behind a desk near the front. “What can I do ya for?” He asked.

“Two rooms please, two beds each if you can spare them.” Sonic asked.

“Sure thing. What Society?”

“Oh, uh.” Sonic was a little taken back. He looked at the rest of his group with a raised brow. “I thought all Societies were welcome?”

“Oh sure! We have rooms available in all our Society-separated corridors!” The innkeeper said cheerfully.

It definitely wasn’t what they were expecting but they shrugged it off. “Uh, Cyan please.”

“Sure thing, right this way.” The innkeeper stepped out from behind the desk and took them to a small hallway with a few doors with a cyan colored pane. “I assume one room for the lassies and one for you two lads?”

“Correct.” Sonic answered.

Their host nodded and opened the first room. It wasn’t bad at all, in fact it looked better than the exterior of the establishment. “Will this suit ya?” Sonic gave a thumbs up. “May I ask how long you’ll be staying?”

“Uh.” Sonic looked at Amy. She shrugged her shoulders. “Can we pay night-by-night?”

“Of course. Just ask that if you are looking to take your leave you let me know at the desk by mid-day ‘tis all.”

Sonic smiled kindly and agreed. Amy brought out a coin sack of tokens and gave the innkeeper the pay for the rooms. He thanked them and gave them a rundown of amenities before returning to the desk.

The four of them decided to freshen up after their long travels and then meet in the lobby for a meal. After some time, they were all ready except Rouge.

After a few urges from Sonic and Tails to get her moving, she came out of her and Amy’s room and they headed to the lobby. They each sent their food ticket to the bar and waited for their food at a table near the Cyan hallway.

“Well I’ll be.” They all heard in a familiar voice. Sonic felt a firm grip on his shoulders as he looked up to see Knuckles staring down at him. “And here I figured you’d be staying at the ‘No Reds’ inn down the street.” He said with a smirk.

“We almost did, figured it’d keep us from running into you.” Sonic jested. He stood up and gave Knuckles a fist bump. “Good to see you! How long have you been here?”

“Got here yesterday. I had to sell a few bushels of fruit from Angel Island before I could rake in a comfortable amount of tokens. I still hate how you all have to deal with currency down here. Was getting some grub myself when I saw you all sit down here.” He pulled up a chair and joined them.

The quintet exchanged stories of the past few days. Sonic Amy Rouge and Tails on their travels, Búra, and their experience that morning seeing the Green Hills. Meanwhile, Knuckles joked about all the shenanigans his group up on Angel Island got into. They all ate their food and had a pint or two of some beer before calling it a night. They arranged a time to meet and head out to the library first thing in the morning.

…

Sonic was not greeted by any morning sun the next day. In fact, to his slight surprise, he awoke to the light sound of consecutive ‘tings’ and a grey sky. It was raining outside. He slowly got out of his bed and gave a big stretch. He scratched his sides as he looked over at Tails in his bed, still sound asleep with his hands under his cheeks and the occasional flick of his ear. The sight gave Sonic a bit of a smile before turning his gaze out the window. The rain was light but steady. It shouldn’t give them any issues to travel to the library later. He also figured it must have been much later in the day than he, or any of his crew, likely anticipated waking up to. But after their travels out in the wild and having only the grace of one night at Búra’s, he was glad to sleep in.

He and Tails were out in the common area drinking some tea while waiting for the rest of their crew. Knuckles joined them, though not from his room but from the streets where he claimed to have been searching for some fresh fruit in the market. Shortly after Amy and Rouge emerged and they took their leave for the library.

Though it was not the first time the crew had seen rain, it definitely was not as common in the Greater Area as it was there in the Green Hills. The topography would surely look different had it been. But they enjoyed it, more so than their encounter with the storm after leaving Cap for they did not have to sleep under cover from the weeping sky. The light drizzle and the cool air made for a brisk climate and the ambience was peaceful. There were many overpasses and a lot of cover as they traversed through Smithwick so their fur and clothes remained mostly dry.

The city was vastly different than Cap, as that was their only frame of reference for anything urban. Grey and white stone were the basis for the structures around. Lichen and moss were sometimes growing on the structures and vines draped portions of walls in some parts. The architecture was different as well. With arches of stone wedged perfectly together to support the block to its sides and crude etchings in the stone, there was an aesthetic to the place.

They came across a courtyard with an aqueduct that ran overhead with little rivulets spawning from it, leading to smaller channels that snaked around. Some of the outpourings led to a garden behind a rusty metal gate. Another few led to a fountain where some people were washing their clothes, not even being bothered by the trickling of the rain. A large portion of the aqueduct passed by a watermill with a small window above the wheel that allowed the scent of delicious fresh bread to creep out into the open air. A bakery must have been on the other side of the watermill, utilizing the rushing water’s motion to mill grain. The group was curious if the rain had any major affect on the water level of the aqueduct or if the flow they were seeing was about standard on most days.

They passed through some small tunnel-like passageways where steps branched off the path and led up to doors and terraces above that ended up being the cause for the small tunnels. This happened for a while as they must have been passing through a residential area of the city. They noticed the city was not as bustling as it was the night prior when they first stepped foot into Smithwick but quickly concluded it was likely due in part to the weather.

The group passed through another small passageway and found themselves in an opening with what was clearly the library on the other side. Just like the one in Cap, it had grandeur to it. It too stuck out from the rest of the city and looked much older than the architecture around. However instead of clay, like the library in Cap, it was crafted with stone and wood – much like the city that surrounded it. There were pillars outside the entrance that held up a small overhang. The doors were a sturdy red wood with delicate carvings. They entered and saw the interior was quite similar to the library in Cap. It had three levels to it with the center being clear all the way to the roof. There was slanted glass in the ceiling that would likely bring in a lot of natural light if the sun had decided to show its glow that day. The rain falling on the windows ran down out of sight to the rest of the rooftop. The library was much more populated than the one in Cap and Mobians could be seen traversing the tall bookshelves on the balconies of the second and third levels.

The gang continued to walk through to a desk in the back where a small koala was flipping though an old book. She gingerly adjusted the glasses that rest on the end of her nose as she turned another page.

“Excuse me ma’am?” Sonic asked as they approached her.

“Yes?” She looked up to them with tired aged eyes.

“We are looking for some books on some ancient texts. My uncle said he sent some correspondence to this library that may aid in what we are looking for.”

“Hmm.” She looked away and grabbed a small notebook. “Ah, yes. The head librarian had passed that we might be expecting a group that meets your description.” She closed the small notebook and left a bookmark in the other book she was reading then stood up. “Come with me.”

She took them to a small study in the back part of the library. It was a cozy room with a few comfortable chairs and a single desk. “Wait here while I bring the requested material for you. We set it aside a few days ago.”

She briefly left and Amy noted how accommodating she was compared to Eiméar. Rouge joked that it was likely because they did not personally know Uncle Chuck like she did. Though they don’t know the history behind the elder hedgehog and the bandicoot, they had gathered that it must have been an exciting one.

The koala came back with a small cart and a few old books stacked on it. Tails thanked her for her hospitality but she insisted that that was the accommodation was standard in the great libraries as their intent was purely for scholastic advancement. She left with a declaration that they were free to ask for any assistance if they needed it.

To no one’s surprise, Tails was the first one to dive into the books. Knuckles was a little less interested and decided to claim one of the chairs as there were not enough for all of them in the small study.

They toiled over the books but did not find much. After some initial readings, they all ended up indulging in their own interests as Tails read up on understanding ancient Ogham. Amy looked up ancient runes however the most progress she made was relating to what some of the symbols on her tarot cards meant. Most notably a quarter of the cards seemed to relate to water and another quarter related to fire, based on the cen and laguz runes they had found. The other half of her cards must then have related to earth and air and she was determined to figure out which were linked to what. Knuckles continued to take an easy nap, Sonic became more preoccupied with a chain bookmark in a random book he was ‘studying’ and Rouge took numerous breaks between any short reading she was doing to ogle at the embedded gems and embroidery in the ancient texts.

The group left the library mentally exhausted. Up until now, they had Uncle Chuck to point them in the right direction. He was the one that would toil for weeks over possible interpretation of these symbols that have lost their meaning many centuries ago. Sonic and his troop didn’t know where to begin, let alone any hint of where to possibly find another crown.

The rain had stopped at this point and the sun was beginning to show its face behind some of the clouds. Knuckles and Rouge wanted to go out and get some food and Tails wanted to go back to the inn to look over some of the notes he took so he could try and learn more about Ogham to make future studies quicker. It would seem not all of them were mentally exhausted.

Sonic at this point had beckoned to Amy that this would be a good time to get out of the city and explore more of the Green Hills. She agreed to join him and the group took their separate ways for the rest of the day.

Outside the city, Sonic walked with Amy along a main road that headed north. The road was lined with wildflowers and had divots for both carriage and vehicles; although the latter was actually quite a rarity in the world. The Reds at Rockbase had a few desert buggies and Tails had the Syphon but even those were not a common sight in the general sense. Tails happened to come across the Syphon, abandoned in a canyon in the Jagged Browns, and was only able to get it running through his acquired knowledge of mechanics. Most of which he obtained simply by studying the Syphon’s systems. When it was brought back to South Island, with help from Sonic’s legs and Knuckles’ strength, most residents didn’t even know what it was.

But Smithwick must be large enough to see high levels of trade requiring the rare and expensive modes of transportation. Much of the world still utilized more traditional modes of travel which Sonic was quite content with, based on his natural ability.

He and Amy continued walking for a while. Amy could tell Sonic was getting a little antsy at the pace and rolled her eyes before offering to Sonic that he could carry her. He gladly obliged and swooped her up then quickly sped off into the distance.

They came across a rocky area off the main road. There were some rocks protruding from the soft earth that led down toward the bottom of a hill. There, a small creek seemed to have cut through the earth from runoff of the rain that ends up occurring in the area. The creek snaked around the base of the small hills and led off into the distance. Thousands of years of runoff must have eroded the land to expose the rocky terrain beneath as natural stone surrounded the creek for as far as the eye could see.

Something else peculiar about the stony terrain must have been revealed through the sands of time as they also seemed to create arches and tunnels; some only a couple feet in height, others tens of feet.

“Oh yeah, now this seems like a fun playground!” Sonic exclaimed.

With a huff and a grin, Amy conceded. “Go have your fun I guess… as if the past few days of walking weren’t enough for you.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as he put her down and bolted off.

Amy watched in admiration at his wild spirit as he ran toward the structures that seemed so alien to what they were used to in the sandy Greater Area. She sat down and pulled out her tarot cards to try and further understand their use, all the while letting the soft breeze caress her fur while the rustling of the tall grass from that same wind brought a calming ambience to her ears.

Sonic, in the meantime ran along that creek – small in nature but mighty in the fact that it carved through the land in a timeline that surpassed thousands of generations of fauna that was found in the fields.

He followed a path of smooth stone that led to a slight drop off and leaped into the air. He curled into a ball and landed at the base of an arch, unraveled himself and sprinted so fast he ran from base to base, upside down and all, as if it were just another path and continued on. That first loop was only the beginning in his wild timeless time trail.

Amy sat there with her knees bent and off to one side and she shuffled the deck of cards. There she laid out a number of them and flipped them over one by one. Wheel of Fortune, Ace of Cups, Ace of Swords and some others… She still was unsure how to utilize them but felt a deep connection with them and the unknown guidance she was sure they were trying to lend her.

Meanwhile Sonic’s silhouette could be seen nearly a mile away already, snaking around the bases of multiple hills. He leapt off a rock into a makeshift foot track that only he could manage. He ran along the creek that seemed to have gotten larger the further from the road it went. He saw another nearly alien rock formed loop and ran its course.

The terrain around was already like nothing he had ever seen, or even imagined possible. But then again, up until now, he only knew one small corner of the vast world. He continued further where the hills became larger and the rocks protruded higher from the ground. Topping a steep hill, nearly like a small mountain, he came across another astounding sight.

There, the rocks created a fantastical formation resembling pathways of abstract spires. Steep hills, nearly small mountains, created a bowl with pillars of rocks protruding from the sides as if each one fell from the heavens and imbedded themselves in the earth below.

Sonic did not waste time with exploring the area and jumped right from the ledge he was peering into the basin from and bounced from spire to spire, leaping between them as if his feet transformed into springs. He finally had landed next to one of the rock structures and ran long it enjoying the sights of springs that wept from the rock faces and large condors that soared up above. He zigzagged up a steep mountainside and found another depression beyond the bowl where more large boulders were piled high as if the children of giants were making rock piles. He found a natural reservoir created by the dam of some creatures with a waterfall that led to a cave-like tunnel. Sprinting through the rock tunnel, leaving behind nothing but a flash of blue and his footprints, he came across a lone peak in a flatter piece of terrain nearby. Zooming around it until he reached the top, he finally came to rest. Gazing off in the distance to take in the sights, he now noticed the basin he previously traversed, a couple miles away now, looked almost like a cage from this vantage with large gaps between the rock spires that lined the edge.

He zoomed back and circled the outside of that ‘cage.’ To his surprise, he came across a ledge side where the ground had loosened and fell to the land below. He screeched to a stop and looked down to see a cave. With his curiosity, he rushed down to take a look.

The space did not allow for such swift movements as he preferred but he continued to explore as the light from the sky above would shine through the crevices that were overhead. He moved around a bit more until something caught his eye. He squinted trying to see what it was; something etched in the rock face? It was hard to tell with the limited light. Was it getting darker? He then heard a faint roll of thunder in the distance.

He left the cave and sprinted out to a high point and saw dark clouds rolling in miles away. He immediately bolted off back toward Amy, still running through the ‘playground’ as he referred to it earlier - swiveling between rocks and up and down hills, through loops and leaping over ledges.

He got back with Amy and saw her standing there waiting for him. She too must have noticed the incoming rain. “Have your fill?” She asked.

“Was pretty cool if you ask me. There’s a cool place over there like nothing I’ve seen Ames! And of course really good for stretching the legs.” Sonic responded which earned a chuckle out of Amy. “But never mind that now. Think we can beat the rain?” He smirked.

“I think YOU can.”

“Let’s see!” He swooped her back up and sprinted off back toward Smithwick.

They made it back to the city where Sonic figured Amy could now do her own walking. “Got some time to spare as well!”

“It seems we do. Though I’m not quite sure I want to stay cooped up just yet. Oh it was just wonderful being out there, feeling the breeze and just admiring the view.” Amy added. As they walked toward their inn, they passed by a little café. Amy fiddled with a token or two in her pocket. “Care for some tea before we head back?”

“I won’t complain.”

They stopped at a small table and a waitress came up shortly after. “None of y’all are whites are ye?” The statement took Sonic and Amy a bit by surprise. They once again were reminded that South Island seemed to be a much more hospitable place than the rest of what they’ve seen of Mobius. The inquiry was probably sharper to them than most people as others at the café didn’t seem to even acknowledge the question. They shook their heads with slight concern and the waitress immediately changed demeanors. “Alright, just had to ask. What can I serve fer you two?” She asked quite cheerily.

Still feeling a little awkward, they simply made their request for some herbal tea and carried on. Sonic began to tell Amy about his ‘light jog’ and how the land seemed to transform into a fantastical landscape further upstream of the creek they departed from. He vividly described the sights and all the rock like pinnacles that were scattered around.

It wasn’t long until the waitress came back with their tea. “He ya go you two. Hope everything is to your liking.”

“Thank you.” They said in unison.

“I apologize fer asking, but I saw you two coming in from the east gate there. Are you travelers?”

“Well, yes, but we actually arrived yesterday. We’re not from this area so we were just enjoying the Green Hills a little bit.” Amy responded a bit bashful.

“You two didn’t happen to see any others comin’ down the road did you? Wearing garments resembling…purples did ya?” Her tone wasn’t spiteful, nor was it concerning; it was more inquisitive if anything.

“Purples?” Sonic asked.

“Now, I know what yer thinking. There ain’t none no more. But rumor has it two Mobians been seen wanderin’ between cities that people are claiming are purples! Heard another patron say he heard they were headed toward Smithwick from over the mountains. T’was just curious is all – sorry for the bother.” She grabbed the tea pot she walked out with and headed back indoors.

“Purples?” Amy said curiously.

“Yeah, weird.”

They continued with their own conversations and Amy was discussing her tarot cards and how she felt a connection to them but still does not quite understand them. Sonic joked about how they’ll likely find Tails asleep on his notes when they get back to the inn.

They lost track of time and started to feel the light pellets of rain hitting their fur. With apt timing, they were nearly finished with their tea and decided to make their leave before the rain picked up too much and headed back to the inn to join the others.

[kaythefloppa]

I think this is the first time where I'm almost hoping we have a moderately long hiatus after the season ends simply to give me a shit-ton of time to ramble, analyze, and brainstorm about the show in ways that I couldn't during the previous mid-season hiatus.

[thecrenellations]

“The arcade lanterns, dimly exploring, found the darkened blond of soaked hair; the fixed flame of strung jewels and the line of wide brow and closed lid and turned cheekbone whose twin he saw, night after night, on his pillow.”

no thoughts only Checkmate fountain scene

What comes next is even more painful, but somehow that just crystallizes the beautiful agony of this moment (and the catastrophe before it), for me. Jerott Blyth and Francis Crawford and water imagery…

a clearer version of the first one:

I drew these without referencing the scene, so it’s not quite the pose, but I hope it’s the vibe.

alternate caption quote: “The rain beat Lymond’s darkened hair into his hands and the barmi produced Russian arpeggios of emerald fire, keyed to all the irregular gusts of his breathing. Beneath his hands, his lips were parted. Jerott’s anger vanished.”

additionally: “He was so close that Jerott could see the vibration in him: a steady trembling, subdued as the purr of a tomcat.”

Francis: drunk. Was just sick. Rain soaked. Utterly miserable. Jerott: he’s like a purring cat

ok Jerott.

(my regards to @notasapleasure, whose writing is definitely responsible for some of these Jerott feelings)

[orcelito]

Man I really hadn't gotten as far in the manga as I thought. I just finished ep 267 of shippuden and it's gearing up for the Gaara vs his dad fight, which I remember being where I dropped off in the manga. Bc I'd been keeping up with new chapters for a while, but with all the war talk... idk it just didn't capture 14 year old me that much. So I stopped keeping up.

Now, though. I find all the war tactics interesting hfkshdk it has me wanting to play a fire emblem game again. Hmmmmmm

[xximperioxx]

Work Crush

Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch x fem!reader

Word count: 3k (I blacked out)

Warnings: age gap (reader is in her 20s), cursing, nothing too spicy - my man just wants to kiss his girl, sex toy mentioned lmao

Notes: y’all this man has me in a chokehold. He may be a little ooc but idc. This is kind of set before the first episode. I literally don’t know any about social workers so please ignore. It’s been soooooo long since I’ve written something so please be gentle. Also when you read it you can totally tell I listened to I Can See You by Taylor Swift writing this.

———————————————

Being a social worker at the Pitt has been interesting to say the least. You never know what’s going to come through those doors. The days are long and the shifts are difficult but the people and families you’ve helped regardless of the situations have made it worth it.

You started as an intern a few years ago, working directly with Kiara. You’ve become a tight knit family in the Pitt in a short amount of time.

You obviously cared for some co-workers more than others. Kiara was like your mom in and out of hospital. Dana was your work mom, Langdon was like your annoying brother, Collins and McKay felt like older sisters. Robby was different.

At first it started as a silly work crush. Blushing every time he said your name. It had to be how he looks in scrubs. That’s what you told yourself anyways. That was until you both saw each other outside of work at a local coffee shop.

You walked into the coffee shop down the street from your apartment, half asleep even though it’s after 2pm on your day off. Lifting your sunglasses to the top of your head, you scan the restaurant. You take an earbud out and stare at the menu debating on trying something new.

You feel someone stand next to you. Not ready to order, you turn to the person, “Oh I’m not ready yet, you can…Robby?”

He looks down in surprise, almost not recognizing you in casual clothes. His eyes travel down to your leggings and an old band tee with your hair in a lazy ponytail. You wanted to cringe, immediately regretting the lazy outfit.

He gives you a smile, “Fancy seeing you here.”

Your cheeks warm from his smile. “Just needed an afternoon pick me up.. well technically morning.”

He lets out a chuckle, “Just woke up too? I think I rolled out of bed like an hour ago.” Lies. He barely slept.

You nod with a smile, noting the lie you can see in his eyes. He feels like you see right through him.

He looks down at you, “Do you come here often?”

You purse your lips, not trying to laugh, “Was that supposed to be a pick up line?”

Robby feels himself grow red. He didn’t mean it like that. At least he thought. He opens his mouth to respond but the barista interrupts him. “Dr. Robby! You want your usual?”

Robby slowly nods in response and takes a step towards the register. You let your eyes finally take him in. Off shift Robby. He was wearing sweats and a hoodie. God he’s hot in regular clothes too. You find yourself thinking he looks a little too good in sweatpants. Get a hold of yourself.

Robby clears his throat. You’re caught red handed. Your eyes meet his. “Let me buy your coffee.”

“You really don’t need to do that.” You stutter out embarrassed. Is he being nice or flirting?

He gives you a look. “Too late. Order.” He motions you over, “C’mon, before I change my mind.”

“Yes, Sir,” you mumble before taking a step towards the barista with a smile. You can feel Robby’s eyes on you. His mind is racing with a million thoughts. He hopes you can’t hear his heart beating out his chest.

As you’re ordering, Robby pulls out his wallet. His eyes can’t help but wander over your ass. He catches himself and pulls himself back when he hears the barista’s voice. He feels like a dirty old man. He meets the eyes of the employee already looking at him. The barista repeats the amount due. Robby quickly hands the cash over.

You both walk to a table. “Thank you for the coffee. I really appreciate it.”

The smile he gives you almost weakens your knees.

“Anything for my favorite social worker.”

You let out a laugh, “Yeah, when Kiara’s not at work. She’s the best. ”

He shakes his head, “Give yourself some credit, kid.” You feel yourself deflate at the name but shake it off. “You’re fantastic at your job.”

“Says you, Dr. Robinavitch.” He makes a face at the praise and shakes his head.

It’s quiet between the two of you. You can see him thinking. Taking a sip of your coffee, you joke quietly, “One of these days, Michael.” His brown eyes meet yours with furrowed eyebrows in response, “You’ll tell me what’s going on in that brain of yours.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the coffee shop, you found yourself watching how he carried himself around patients, around his coworkers, those he thought of as friends, and you. How he cares more about others than himself. The way he smirks when jokes around, the way he smiles when he sees his residents working hard. Your heart begins to beat faster whenever he catches your eye.

You began to feel Robby’s eyes on you more. The lingering touches when he brushes past you to get to another patient. The two of you ignoring what you’re both feeling.

Langdon even noticed the tension. He thinks it’s funny to gag whenever he catches you two looking at each other. It normally ends in a hard shove and a wince.

You don’t realize you’re spacing out in front of the computer until Collins repeats your name for the third time and McKay is snapping her fingers in your face. You blink a few times before looking at her. “Sorry, I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

Collins hums, “Any particular reason?”

You shrug and take a sip of your coffee. “I guess I have a lot on my mind recently.”

McKay frowns at you, “Are you taking your medication? You really…”

You stop listening to her as you see Robby walk through the door. His eyes find yours and gives you a smile with tired eyes.

McKay stops talking, following your eyes. She scoffs as Collins and Mohan both snicker.

“How does that song go?” Mohan begins to sing, “‘Daddy’s home, home for meee.”

Collins lets out a loud laugh before joining, “You know your daddy’s home. It’s time to playyyy”

“You guys are mean.” “It’s too early for this” You and McKay say at the same time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had only been about two hours into the shift and you had already talked to families about tough situations. A miscarriage, death, postpartum mental health, addiction. You had lost count already.

Sighing as the low battery message popped up on the tablet you were using, you walked over to the desk to get a new one. Langdon, Mateo, and Mohan were deep in conversation about a patient you assume.

“Listen, all I’m saying is, the majority of the people who use toys like that aren’t getting laid.” Langdon said as if it proved a point.

You turn to the trio in shock, “What the fuck did I just walk in to?”

Mohan greeted you with a smile, “Patient‘s penis got stuck in one of those hands free strokers.”

You blanched at the thought. “That’s rough.”

Mateo nods in response before joking, “It was a sticky situation.”

A snort escapes you, Mohan stifles a giggle, and Langdon groans at the bad joke.

“Alright tea party’s over.” Robby interrupts the group, “Gloria is already up my ass today. I don’t need her seeing this.”

The doctors go in separate directions, each going to check on patients. Robby sits down at a computer with a sigh. He puts his readers on. You glance at him with a smirk as you work on paperwork for a recent patient, “Is today the day?”

He lets out a snarky laugh, “To talk about my feelings? In your dreams.”

“You always are, Dr. Robinavitch. You wouldn’t believe half the things I dream about,” You cheekily respond. He shakes his head at you. A real laugh escapes him.

Kiara comes up to you with a smile and you greet her. She looks between you and Robby. Noting the smiles on your faces. “What’d I miss?”

You hear McKay call you over to a patient. Picking up a new tablet you begin to walk away. You turn your head and joke, “Dr. Robby just mentioned to me he was finally interested in talking to you about what’s going on in that brain of his!”

Kiara looks at Robby with a hopeful smile, “Really?”

“No.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later in the day, you found yourself at the counter again working on a patient file. Langdon noticed you and looked away from Dr. Robby, “What about you, (Y/N), what’s your take on dogs and kids?”

Glancing up from your tablet, “I’m actually more of a cat person myself. Had one growing up and I have one now.” You answer with a shrug.

Langdon scoffed, “You’re basically an old cat lady.”

You send a glare his way.

“You have a cat and haven’t gotten laid in like a year.”

Your face turns red in embarrassment. You confessed to Langdon that it’s been over a year since you’ve had sex when you went out drinking with him and his girlfriend not too long ago. You could almost hear the way the couple let out a sad oh in response now. Could this get anymore embarrassing?

Thankfully you don’t notice Dr. Robby’s eyes widened after hearing Langdon. Surely a young woman like yourself didn’t spend most nights alone. He finds you attractive, he wouldn’t deny that. He remembers hearing you mention Leo a few times in passing. Does this mean you don’t have a boyfriend? He shakes his head, ignoring his thoughts. He could be your dad for Christ’s sake.

“And you’re a swiftie.” Dana added.

You gape at her. “How did you even know that?”

The charge nurse chuckled, “I saw you crying in your car at All Too Well a couple months ago. The 10 minute version if I recall.”

The two doctors raise their eyebrows at Dana, surprised to know her knowledge of the song.

Robby slides his glasses down to look at the charge nurse with a smirk, “Kinda sounds like you’re a swiftie, Dana.”

Your eyes find his and you try not to smile at his way to try to change the conversation. Robby’s smirk turns into a soft smile at you. Langdon looks between the two of you and keeps his mouth shut this time.

She puts her hands up in defense, “Blame my daughters.”

“They have great taste!” You defend her daughters. Ignoring the urge to cringe knowing Dana had caught you crying over a silly guy who broke your heart.

Langdon turned his attention back to you. Pointing his pen at you, he smirks, “Officially an old cat lady…just in a 20 something year old’s body.”

Dana puts her hand on your arm, “Sweetie, you’re too young to turn into a cat lady. You can’t be spending your nights off with your cat.” she says with a light laugh.

“For your information, Leo is great company.”

Robby looks up from the computer, “Leo’s your cat?” Langdon and Dana let out a laugh at his comment.

You pick up your tablet with an eye roll. You mumble, “You guys suck.” You begin walking away before you look back, “You guys remember this next time you need me for a patient!”

Robby found himself standing up and following you. As he got closer to you he began to regret his decision. He shoves his hands in the pockets of his hoodie with a sigh.

Now in step with you, his elbow bumps your shoulder.

“That last part didn’t include me, right? Because I-..” A laugh from you interrupts him. He lets out a chuckle too.

“No Robby, I’m all yours.” You stop, eyes wide after realizing what you said. “I mean like - you don’t suck,” Robby’s grin grows causing you to turn red. “..I’m going to stop talking now.”

“Oh no, please keep going.” He teases.

You try to joke, “Is this karma for earlier?”

Your smiles wipe off you when you see Gloria standing with an unimpressed look on her face. She’s looking at Robby. You slowly turn to look at him, placing your hand on his bicep. You purse your lips and lie, “I’ll um… go talk to that patient in 103 that you mentioned,” you lean in whispering, “Good luck.”

He gives you a tight lipped smile.

Collins stops you on your way to speak to one of her patients about counseling. You walk into the patient's room with a calming smile.

As you’re discussing what services will be covered by their insurance, you get interrupted by Robby’s annoyed voice yelling, “I can only tell you so many times that this wouldn’t be happening if you hired more help! It’s fucking ridiculous. We are doing all we can down here while upstairs is empty.”

Your eyes widen and your patient lets out a laugh. You apologize for the language before casually peeking out the door to see what happened. You only see an irked Gloria and a group of nurses and doctors looking at each other awkwardly. No Robby to be seen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After finishing up your conversation with the patient you excuse yourself. Dana looks up from the computer to see you at the desk signing some paperwork.

“You talk to Robby?” She questions.

You meet her gaze and shake your head. She sighs and you look around the room, still not seeing him. “I was going to ask you that. Where did he disappear to?” You get a shrug in response. Nodding, you put away your tablet and decide to look for the stressed doctor.

You end up finding Robby leaning up against the wall in a quiet hallway. His head against the wall with his eyes closed. You watch him for a minute, debating if you should leave him alone.

You decide to join him. Leaning on the wall, your arms brush. It’s quiet.

You rest your head back and close your eyes as you enjoy the moment of peace.

Robby’s voice fills the air, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

You hum, “I know.”

He turns his head to look at you. Feeling his stare, you peek at him with one eye. You can’t decipher the look he’s giving you. “Stop looking at me like that.”

He lets out a chuckle and turns away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You laugh.

The two of you stand in comfortable silence. The loud noise from down the hall drowns out the loudness of your beating hearts.

“Does it bother you that I’m twice your age?”

The question takes you by surprise. This time you turn your head to look at him.

“I find it sexy.” You tease and he lets out a huffed laugh.

It's quiet again. You sigh, “No, it doesn’t bother me. It never did,” you pause almost hesitant, “Does it bother you that I’m young?”

Robby let’s out a tired sigh, “It would be a whole lot fucking easier if it did but it doesn’t.” He runs his hands over his face. “Everything would be a lot easier if I didn’t feel this way about you.”

You nudge his shoulder. You push yourself off the wall and face him, “Tell me about it. I’ve had the hots for you since I started here,” you begin to take a step backward to create some space and laugh, “I tried to convince myself it was purely a work crush and next then I knew is - you’re all I could think about. Day and night.”

Robby reaches for your waist and pulls you in close.Your hands rest on his chest.“Remember when you blushed every time I said your name?” You roll your eyes, “Don’t think I didn’t notice.”

He turns serious again, “You take one look at me and I feel like you see right through me and it’s fucking scary. Yet every time you smile at me I suddenly feel like a teenager again.” His thumbs grazing your hips he holds you and jokes, “More like a dirty old perv actually.”

You scrunch your face, “We all have our quirks. Me with my attraction to sexy older men and being a cat lady - ”

“You’re ridiculous,” He cuts you off with a shake of his head and a smirk. “And one sexy cat lady.”

You let out a giggle.

The two of you look into each other's eyes. Robby’s eyes occasionally glancing down at your lips. His head dips down and you lift head up to meet his lips. Your lips brush against each other and you mumble, “Michael, if don’t you don’t kiss me soon I think I might pass away.”

You feel the rumble of his chest as he chuckles, “Always so dramatic.” His lips finally meet yours for a slow, gentle kiss.

You eagerly kiss him back. His hands trail up your body and cup your face, kissing you harder. You both deepen the kiss and find yourself unzipping his sweatshirt and taking it off him. He pulls his hands away from your face for a second to help take it off, your lips never parting. It falls to the ground. Your hands travel up his biceps and back to his chest. After a few seconds, you both pull away with cheesy smiles on your faces, breathless. His hands fall back to your waist and gives you a squeeze.

Your hands wrap around his neck, “That was really nice.”

He lets out a snicker before pulling you into another passionate kiss. His lips begin to travel to your jaw and down your neck. You let out a breathy sigh, “This is even better.”

Your breath hitches as he begins to suck at your neck. This couldn’t keep going farther. It'll only be a matter of time before someone catches the two of you. You let out a moan, “You've had me hot and bothered since you told Gloria off.” He groans before he nips at your shoulder in response and pinches your sides.

You squeak, “And as much as I would love to jump your old man bones right now,” another pinch, “We should really get back before she comes looking for you.” You gently pull his face back up to yours.

He nods. “You’re right.” The look in his brown eyes says otherwise. He shrugs with a teasing smile, “Maybe just one more.”

You roll your eyes before pulling him into another kiss.

It was only a matter of time until Dana found the two of you, “Hey! We don’t have time for this! Get your asses back to work.”

You jump away from each other embarrassed, blushing like two teenagers who got caught by their parent.

[ratgrinders]

Ok here's an updated timeline of the Rat Grinders based on the new info we got this episode:

Freshman Year

On the first day of classes Kipperlily and the others meet and form their adventuring party. Kipperlily comes up with the name the High Five Heroes.

Kipperlily excels academically, but the High Five Heroes only go on easier adventures, presumably to ensure they will succeed rather than fail at something challenging.

Ruben is primarily an acoustic/soft rock musician.

Kipperlily begins to have childish rage and resentment towards Riz and the other Bad Kids, which start out petty but gradually grow in intensity over the next couple years.

Sophomore Year

An increase in hostility, one of the first meetings Kipperlily has this year is being jealous that Riz's dad was killed by Kalvaxus, that if a person has suffered immense magical hardship it is an unfair advantage in adventuring.

Kipperlily tries to find evidence of conspiracy with her parents and is enraged that they are boring.

A week after spring break the High Five Heroes go on their first quest to the mountains of chaos, chaperoned by Jace Stardiamond.

After this, the High Five Heroes seem to undergo a shift where their rage is amplified. Kipperlily's counselor files become much more venomous towards the Bad Kids, Ruben shifts to emo music, etc.

At some point after this Ivy and Oisin propose changing the name to the Rat Grinders. Kipperlily opposes this and Lucy is on her side, but Ruben votes against her because it makes her upset and Mary Ann also votes against her but doesn't explain her reasoning.

A piece of paperwork is submitted for Lucy to change her god, but another piece of paperwork is filed afterwards rescinding that application, presumably by Lucy herself changing her mind.

Towards the end of the year, after grades are finalized but before classes are over thus avoiding the pass/fail penalty, Lucy dies in the far haven woods near Aguefort. Presumably, she could have been resurrected in service of this unnamed rage god, but chose not to. She "stuck to her guns".

Kipperlily's rage towards the Bad Kids has transitioned from childish to venomous, she "hates them".

Junior Year

At some point between the end of Sophomore year and the beginning of Junior year, the Rat Grinders specifically request Buddy Dawn join their party as a cleric.

At 8:01 am, the first day of classes, Kipperlily goes to Ashgrove to dig up the rogue teacher's grave, thus forcing her to reveal herself and granting Kipperlily a pass for all her rogue classes for the year. Presumably she was aware of the rogue teacher's grave beforehand (information only available in Arthur Aguefort's office) but waited until the start of Junior year so she could pass all her classes for the year.

Kipperlily announces her bid to run for student council president, with a platform based on equity, equanimity, and fairness.

Kipperlily asks Jawbone about the creation of Yes! and the events of prompocalypse

Her counselor notes become extremely enraged, with her straight up wanting to kill Kristin and being angry that she can't get to her thanks to Fig's protection.

Oisin, Ivy, and Buddy are seen at Fabian's house party during the first week of classes. Kipperlily is not seen but is possibly there invisible. The Bad Kids are asked to do drugs but decline. That same night, mephits steal part of a cloud rider engine kept in Seacaster Manor.

At the school assembly the following day Principal Grix reveals he was notified of students doing drugs off campus, meaning its possible the Rat Grinders tipped him off in an attempt to get the Bad Kids in trouble.

Ruben performs presumably some kind of ritual at the Frosty Fair Folk festival, with the other Rat Grinders conspicuously absent. Simultaneously, Yolanda Badgood falls dead in the same place where Lucy Frostblade died, after Yolanda had been made aware of Lucy's change in god and was investigating it. Yolanda also refuses to be resurrected in service of the rage god.

The Rat Grinders are seen at the assembly addressing Yolanda's death and how all clerics would be moved to pass/fail. Most look bored, Mary Ann isn't paying attention, and Buddy is unconcerned.

Kipperlily and Oisin get caught trying to sabotage the Bad Kids' Last Stand exam, and Kipperlily kills Buddy. Ten minutes after the Bad Kids plane shift away, Buddy is revived by an unknown figure and he pledges his allegiance to the rage god.

Now the Rat Grinders are scheduled for another trip to the Mountains of Chaos and are on complete lockdown, hiding all of them from Adaine's divination magic.

[idolomantises]

Wasn't sure when it would be the best time to discuss this, but since the ending is drawing near... yes, Bugtopia is ending.

It was a decision I really wrestled with myself for months over it, before finally concluding that letting it end after 40 episodes was the better option. Just to be clear, webtoons did not force me to end the series. They even offered to give me a pay raise to continue the series. It was my decision due to a multitude of personal factors. I'll just repeat what I said on my patreon:

I just want to say, first of all, thank you all so much for patiently waiting for my series to release and for supporting my work as I began developing the series. Bugtopia was a series I genuinely loved and adored and it made me feel so incredibly happy that people were turning their heads towards a series about weird bugs and their natural lives.

However, as you can probably guess, it pains me to say that I am concluding the series after season 1. I had 4 seasons planned with new characters to introduce, but unfortunately, I cannot see myself continuing to work with Webtoons and I want to pursue other projects.

This decision was due to a compiling number of issues with the company, the final straw was when they had a mass layoff, fired my editor that I've been working with for two years, and did not inform me for a week, leaving me in the dark until they randomly assigned me with someone else. My new editor is great and I'm glad I'm working with someone so patient and understanding, but this decision to fire my previous editor, the one who got me the job to begin with, without prior warning made me feel disrespected and disregarded, and it killed all motivation I had for properly completing the series.

I also felt incredibly overworked, I was spending vacation days working on comics and avoiding time with family just so I could get something done for webtoons once I come home. I feel like so much time was being wasted away for a company that paid me so little that I had to work twice as hard building up funds on my patreon. Bugtopia just ate up so much of my time. The pay also didn't make up for it. It's commonly assumed that webtoons authors make about $800 for the episodes they do, but that's not true. In fact, you can make far less depending on the amount of panels expected for your contract. It doesn't help that the artwork i did for banners and promotions were all things I had to draw and didn't get paid for, and the work I gave was either tampered with or scrapped, making me feel like I spent more hours of my day wasting time. There were also comics I had to censor and scrap, likely due to another series being in hot water for its racially insensitive content. But it was just extra work I wasn't being paid for. It also frustrated me because I was seeing other series with far more explicit content getting away with a slap on the wrist (turns out you can't say "fuck" anymore without it being hit with a mature rating, disappointing!)

In all honesty, it just felt like webtoons needed me more than I needed them. I was making more money from patreon in a week than I was making from webtoons in a month.

Personally, while I don't really regret my time with Webtoons and met some great people along the way, I honestly don't think any artist should work with them. You will be severely overworked and underpaid, and will barely be featured in ads unless your series becomes an instant hit immediately. It doesn't really matter how successful you are, you're just a product to Webtoons, put yourself above the corporation.

I have tried my best to provide you all with a satisfying conclusion to Bugtopia, even if some episodes may feel rushed or incomplete, but I completely understand if the conclusion isn't to your liking and I do apologize, but I could not continue working on this series if this was the mistreatment I was going to continuously get. I owe a massive thank you to my editor and assistants for helping me complete the series, I truly don't think I could have ever finished it without them.

Though I am done with Bugtopia, that does not mean I want to stop projects entirely, so please don't feel bad for me. I have a lot of upcoming projects and ideas in the works, and I'm still continuing the Monsters and Girls series.

Will Bugtopia ever return... possibly. I retain complete ownership of the series after a few years, and I wouldn't mind continuing the canvas series (or possibly starting over). Unfortunately I don't think I can continue the Webtoon Original as it belongs to webtoons now, but never say never I suppose!

[cherriibombfics]

You know something folks don't often talk about with Self Aware AUs that I really think more people should discuss when writing about it? Sequence breaking. Specifically the inherent sequence breaking that comes with Gacha games allowing you to meet characters that you haven't met yet in the story if you haven't played that far ahead.

For example, I actually just started playing CRK nearly 2 weeks ago after watching a bunch of animations and cutscenes about the latest Beast Yeast episode online, right? And as a result, I got enough F2P currency from being a new user to get, in this exact order: Pure Vanilla Cookie, then Black Sapphire Cookie, then the soul jams to awaken PV, then Shadow Milk Cookie. All of this happened before GingerBrave canonically met any of them.

So basically Shmilk woke up one day, was out of the tree he was trapped in for what felt like an eternity, appeared in some random small kingdom, sees PV who was now all glowy and angelic and hanging out with his minion for some reason, who immediately walks up to him and says something like, "Hey man. I experienced enlightenment and I have no idea how. But through context clues from The Baker, I think I just ruined your entire corruption arc you had planned for me? Sorry about that. You wanna beat up some cake monsters as these children learn the dark lore of our existences?"

I don't think PV talks like that, but you get the picture. I like the idea of accidentally ruining the entire plotline by having some lucky gacha pulls~

"ɢᴇᴛ ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴏɴᴇᴅ ɪᴅɪᴏᴛ!"

ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: 540

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: ɴᴏɴᴇ

ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀʟɪꜱᴛ

ᴀ/ɴ: ɪ'ᴍ ɴᴏᴛ ᴛᴏᴏ ꜱᴜʀᴇ ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ᴄᴏᴏᴋɪᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ꜰᴏʀ. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴀ ꜰᴏʟʟᴏᴡ-ᴜᴘ ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ʟᴇᴛ ᴍᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ.

ꜱʜᴀᴅᴏᴡ ᴍɪʟᴋ ᴄᴏᴏᴋɪᴇ x ʙᴀᴋᴇʀ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

✧ SHADOW MILK COOKIE would be ecstatic about finally being released from the Silver Tree, and with a physical form no less? All so far ahead of schedule? Oh, he was over the moon! But where was he? This wasn't that silly faerie kingdom. As a matter of fact, was he even still on Beast-Yeast?

✧ In the context of the story the existence of the Cookie Kingdom is, well, horrifying. New cookies being summoned were a common occurrence within its walls, from different regions, time periods, and even ones that had crumbled long ago. After a certain point the ruler of the kingdom started finding ways to allow cookies to adjust to their new life, but of course that system didn't work for everyone.

"For the last time, I do not want to join your silly kingdom! Where are my minions? And where on Earthbread am I?"

✧ He'd be livid that his powers don't work here for some reason, safe for a couple of things like summoning a plush rabbit of all things. Why was he being reduced to this mockery? Who was turning a former almighty cookie into an equal to the foolish cookies who lived here? Seriously, is that mask-wearing buffoon always lifting something?

✧ He'd eventually comply, albeit reluctantly, because after a while he'd realize there's no point in resisting the inevitable. You held the power here, over everyone, and for the first time in years there he felt completely powerless.

“Do you enjoy seeing me kneel before you? Do you find pleasure in watching me be reduced to this?! I’m the one holding the strings, I AM NO PUPPET!”

“Why are you yelling at the sky?”

✧ At some point you’re forced to talk to him directly since he was causing troubles for the other cookies with his ramblings and general abrasion.

“You, YOU! You’re the one who did this to me! I was happier inside of that stupid tree than I am here! Why me? Why not one of the others? Why did you decide to torture me like this?”

“I dunno, the gacha just picked you I guess.”

“What are you talking about?!”

✧ He’d become even more upset when you explain the gacha to him and, by extension, the fact that their entire world was technically a game. So his current situation was entirely chance. You sent him away after that, promising that you’d build a few structures for him in return for good behavior.

“Wow, this is humiliating. Why am I being stuck cutting wood? I’m a jester not a lumberjack…”

“Shadow Milk Cookie!”

✧ Being reunited with his minions was nice, for a short while, it gave him some sense of normalcy throughout the newfound confusion. Because at least he wasn't alone during this. That Distorted Tower you promised seemed that nice, and you weren't that bad he supposed. It could've been worse…wait. Was that Pure Vanilla Cookie? Why was he glowing?

“Oh, hello again! I believe I experienced enlightenment during your absence. I’m not too sure on the details, outside of that spire, but I’m grateful we’re meeting in better circumstances. It’s nice to see you be given a chance at redemption.”

“You what?”

✧ Nevermind. This sucks.

[thekoalapastriesbakery]

BABY ON BOARD

trans ftm!logan sargeant x male!ferrari driver!reader x oscar piastri featuring ... grid son!luke browning

summary: logan's departure from formula one wasn't what people thought.

warnings: swearing, suggestive content, swearing, discussions of sex + aftercare, inconsistent photo timelines, one little transphobic hate comment that gets (rightfully) clowned on, probably somewhat cringe + inaccurate but i tried 🫠

word count: 1,268 (written parts)

logan sargeant

liked by alex_albon, lancestroll, and 73,183 others

logansargeant not a bad day in silverstone! p9 and a few points on the board. new team torque episode coming soon ...

not pictured: youruser telling oscar something sweet (hence the face)

tagged williamsracing, alex_albon, oscarpiastri

                comments

user1 LOSCAR + SARGEBON MY BELOVEDS

user2 nuh uh loscyn ftw

user3 RAHHHHH WHAT THE FUCK IS A KILOMETER 🦅🦅🦅🦅

youruser he's so dramatic 💔

oscarpiastri you called me a baby???

youruser no i called you MY (and logan's) baby

youruser there's a difference

lukebrowningracing: keep going up 💪

"you alright there, lo?" you murmured, watching his chest heave as oscar finally pulled away.

logan simply whined in response. as much as he enjoyed it when you and oscar teamed up on him like this, it definitely wore him out.

oscar chuckled and kissed logan's cheek. "i'll go get you a snack and start running a bath."

you hummed, pulling in oscar for a kiss before he left. this was always how aftercare went with the three of you—whoever had subbed that time was never left alone for longer than a minute or so, and if whoever had dommed was feeling a little off, they'd stay while whoever felt okay got supplies. it was never a big ordeal.

picking up the glass of water on the bedside table, you brought it to logan's lips gently. "drink up."

logan whined again before taking a few tentative sips and curling into your side.

"whole glass, love, you can do it," you encouraged him softly. the sound of water rushing through the pipes became white noise as oscar started running a bath for logan.

somewhat reluctantly, the blond drank the rest of the water. he stayed pressed into your side. "all full."

your lips quirked into a soft smile. you, logan, and oscar had been together since you were all about fifteen years old. more than long enough to know that none of you had anything. usually, all three of you were very prepared when it came to protected sex. you and oscar would wear condoms, logan was on birth control—necessary even though he had been taking testosterone for years. but every now and then you'd slip up.

when the three of you were drunk or after particularly bad races when it was sometimes a stretch to even get back to the hotel room with everyone's clothes on and intact, that was when you were a little less vigilant.

"i know, logie." you heard the water shut off and oscar's footsteps getting closer. "let's get you cleaned up, huh?"

oscarpiastri

liked by charles_leclerc, aussiegrit, and 1,035,196 others

oscarpiastri first grand prix win. incredible 🧡

ft. youruser's lovely photography skills :)

tagged mclaren, f1, logansargeant, youruser, quadlock

                comments

user4 MAIDEN WIN IN HIS SECOND SEASON I SMELL A FUTURE WDC

lukebrowningracing congrats!! :D

user5 is he the loscar grid child?

user6 so close! he's the loscyn grid child!!

user7 does anyone else wonder why y/n isn't really in logan or oscar's posts ... like they clearly don't like him as much as each other :/

youruser actually it's because i don't like having photos taken of me more than i have to, hope that helps 👍

user8 lmao at y/n immediately shutting down any suggestion that logan and oscar are bad boyfriends

youruser proud of you osc ❤️ liked by creator

logansargeant YEAHHHHHHHHH that's our boy 💙 liked by creator

you huffed slightly when you saw "fans" starting to say that your boyfriends loved each other more just because of the contents of a silly instagram post.

it had been a pretty open secret all throughout your junior careers that you avoided media attention as much as you possibly could. it was part of what gave way to your nickname as the new iceman—that, and the fact that you were a ferrari driver. every single one of your former teammates had said you were very nice off-camera. you just really, really didn't like the media.

"people are weird," you complained to logan, the two of you cuddled together on the bed in your hotel room. oscar was still in debrief with his team. as happy as his first grand prix victory was, it had come in ... less than ideal circumstances. "why can't they just be happy for osc without trying to pick apart our relationship?"

logan sighed. he pressed a light kiss to your shoulder. "i don't know, babe."

you paused. the season had been difficult for all three of you. between oscar dealing with papaya rules, you dealing with ferrari's creative strategy calls, and logan dealing with his car's inferiority, it was rare for all three of you to have a good week at the same time.

and of course, with you and oscar now both having won races, you worried for logan's self-esteem.

"you doing okay?" you asked softly. "know your car's the only reason you're not up there too?"

"more or less." logan hummed. "just happy for osc at the moment."

"good."

youruser

liked by alexandrasaintmleux, scuderiaferrari, and 911,292 others

youruser 3-4 in spa, on summer break. cute dog in the paddock.

                comments

user9 which boyfriends are in slide 2? help me 😭

user10 i love that we can never see y/n's face in his posts. iconic.

charles_leclerc i'm not your favourite ferrari member? :(

oscarpiastri back off he's mine

charles_leclerc honourary monégasque privileges REVOKED

lukebrowningracing you'll come back stronger! liked by creator

user11 it doesn't even vaguely surprise me that oscar is the possessive one of the three of them

logansargeant don't let him fool you y/n can be just as possessive when he wants to be

user12 close enough welcome back kimi raikkonen

summer break was bittersweet.

sweet: you got to spend it having fun with your boyfriends.

bitter: there was more talk than ever about logan not deserving his seat.

neither you nor oscar thought it was fair. logan had been feeling off since hungary. at first, you had assumed it was him dealing with feelings of inadequacy because it was virtually impossible for him to put his williams on the podium. then he started throwing up. one trip to the doctor later, the three of you were suddenly faced with many decisions—where to live? what to say? who to tell? what to do?

logan, of course, had mixed feelings himself. he had many hopes for his formula one career, and he didn't expect to have to take a break less than two years in.

he needed you and oscar. he couldn't imagine the idea of facing this without his boyfriends.

logansargeant

liked by lancestroll, zhouguanyu24, and 283,883 others

logansargeant good break. back at it in zandvoort ✌️

tagged oscarpiastri, youruser

                comments

user13 he's so american oh my god 😭

user14 LOGANNNNNNNNNNNNNN

lukebrowningracing mega trip! thanks again for the invite :D

user15 THEY TOOK HIM ALONG?? oh he's sooo they're grid kid

youruser y r u being slutty on main tf

oscarpiastri ^^^ should be for our eyes only

logansargeant you guys weren't giving me enough attention 😁

youruser okay we're giving you attention now take it down 😃

logansargeant no thank you 😁

user15 do- do they know we can see this?

user16 things that were not on my 2024 bingo card: logan being a brat on instagram

it had been the hardest decision of logan's life.

of course he knew it was the right one, and he had been guaranteed a seat when he was ready, but it was still terrifying. there was no public announcement. not yet, at least. he didn't have the time or energy to think about how the media would react to finding out that not only was he trans, he was also pregnant. with one of his boyfriends' baby. both of whom were also formula one drivers. god, he couldn't even imagine the headlines they'd come up with.

"we're proud of you," oscar reminded logan.

you nodded, kissing logan's shoulder from behind him as the three of you waited to enter the paddock. "you sure you don't want one of us to take care of you?"

"i'm sure." logan took a deep breath. he adored both oscar and you, and he wouldn't dream of letting either of you to give it up. not for him. "my family will take care of me. and i'm pretty sure mae will riot if oscar tries to keep her away from baby."

oscar chuckled at logan's joke about his youngest sister. though none of you knew whether the baby was technically born from oscar's or your dna, you knew you'd all love them just the same. the three of you had agreed to do a paternity test, purely for the sake of the being able to give the baby an accurate medical history. it didn't matter to you otherwise.

"you'll be back next year," you assured logan. a little smile appeared on your face when you imagined the baby growing up in the paddock. "with baby in a cute little ferrari onesie, yes?"

"ah, you mean a mclaren onesie!" oscar retorted with a grin.

logan laughed. he loved how both of you could always put him at ease. "you're both wrong. i'm doing the work, therefore baby gets put in a williams onesie."

you and oscar grumbled halfheartedly but didn't argue. it was true, after all. logan was doing most of the work to let the three of you become dads.

oscarpiastri

liked by landonorris, ediepiastri, and 848,220 others

oscarpiastri this one was special

tagged mclaren, f1, youruser, logansargeant, nicolepiastri

                comments

user17 loscar still hanging out even after logan got replaced

lukebrowningracing 🥳🥳🥳 liked by oscarpiastri, youruser, and others

user18 i cannot explain how much i NEEDED to see oscar and y/n on a podium together liked by logansargeant

user18 HEY LOGAN LIKED THIS????

user19 logansargeant y'all need a fourth

logansargeant user19 no x

user20 PFFFT ^^^

user21 things loscyn don't do well: subtlety

"look at this." oscar laughed, showing you and logan a comment about how the three of you weren't good at subtlety.

little did they know.

logan smirked slightly and glanced down at his little bump. it seemed to have appeared overnight—one day he just looked a little bloated, the next he was very obviously pregnant. "that's cute."

"can't wait to see what they'll think of baby piastri-sargeant-l/n," you mused. one hand rested on logan's belly, you grinned at oscar. "think we've done some pretty good work here, don't you, osc?"

oscar nodded seriously in agreement, his grin accompanied by a teasing kiss to logan's jaw. "got our boy all locked in."

"oh, please, i was locked in ages ago." logan rolled his eyes lightheartedly. "you think it's time to tell them?"

"i call dibs!"

oscar gaped at you indignantly. "wha—you can't call dibs on posting about our baby!"

"uh, sure i can," you replied cheekily. "i think i just did."

youruser

liked by williamsracing, mclaren, and 2,392,987 others

youruser

fact

oscarpiastri making sure lo didn't lift a finger in zandvoort

logansargeant due april '25

tagged scuderiaferrari, logansargeant, oscarpiastri

                comments

user22 WHAT

user23 YOU CAN'T JUST POST THIS OUT OF NOWHERE???!?????

user24 FR LIKE GIVE A GIRL SOME WARNING??

sebastianvettel congratulations! that baby will have some serious racing talent in their genes :)

charles_leclerc why does logan gets princess treatment and i don't :(

youruser he's my boyfriend

oscarpiastri his PREGNANT boyfriend

logansargeant charles_leclerc get your own boyfriend stop flirting with ours

scuderiaferrari baby race suit added to cart!

mclaren um ackshually ☝️ we've already got a contract ready for them so ...

logansargeant both wrong. baby's gonna be in blue.

williamsracing HAHA SUCK IT YOU CAN HAVE YOUR STUPID TROPHIES WE GET THE BABYYYYYYY

scuderiaferrari 😞

mclaren 😞

user25 EXCUSE ME??

lukebrowningracing congrats!! can't wait to meet them :D

logansargeant you'll be a great grid brother for baby x

lukebrowningracing i hope so!

user26 ew i didn't know logan was a girl ... he doesn't belong in the sport. oscar and y/n deserve so much better

user27 like you?

user26 i mean yeah kinda ...

youruser lol no

user28 if i were user26 i would never show my face again

oscarpiastri hope they don't!

user29 loscyn do NOT play about each other and i love that for them

twitter

user30 i can't believe it's been over a year and we still know nothing about the piastri-sargeant-l/n baby :(

↳ user31 they really took that one comment about not being able to be subtle personally 😭

user32 as much as i'm sure we'd all like an update on baby from loscyn, let's all give them their privacy so they can enjoy being new parents <3

user33 IDC that it's their baby LET ME INNNNNN

youruser

liked by kevinmagnussen, lewishamilton, and 4,281,943 others

youruser back by unpopular demand: me.

debuting by popular demand: baby. (+ luke)

tagged lukebrowningracing, logansargeant, oscarpiastri

                comments

user34 that's so cute

user35 they really weren't kidding abt luke being an older brother 😭

francolapinto i'm almost glad i don't have a seat so i can babysit during races

user36 how does it feel to live MY DREAM???

francolapinto good! thanks for asking :D

©thekoalapastriesbakery :: please do not copy or rewrite my work on any platform !!

author's note: poly!loscar + seahorse dad!logan ... sat down and wrote this in one day ... may be just a littleeeeeeee obsessed (admittedly there's not a whole lot of oscar content in the written bits but he's still Important so wtv)

comments + reblogs appreciated!

taglist: @raizelchrysanderoctavius @crispysoup318 @op-81-lvr-reblogs @ncrsbrg @spoonfulofmilo @justaf1girl @widow-cevans

[sweetbuckybarnes]

Spencer's Family

Summary: The team finds out what Spencer did on his sabbatical.

Inspired by a post, I saw about how, in the one episode we're going to see Spencer in, they meet his wife. I took it and ran.

1k words

After finally closing the case, Penelope practically demanded they go see the new place Spencer had bought a few years ago. Once he agreed (begrudgingly), the BAU tech was literally vibrating in her seat.

Spencer had picked out a small-town house on the edge of DC, a train ride away, but the small town had shops, schools, and parks for an all-around American family. 

He unlocked the door, making his way in first, summoning his team in with a nod of his head.

It seemed like a lovely home for a nearly mid-40s man.

However, there was something that caught Penelope's attention. It sounded like there was someone (possibly more than one) in Spencer's living room.

"Spencer," Penelope hisses. "I think there's someone in your house."

Spencer raises an eyebrow and makes his way into the living room without his gun raised. "It's just my wife and stepdaughter," he says over his shoulder.

"Stepdaughter?" Came from Tara and Luke.

"Wife?" Whereas this came from Penelope, Emily and JJ. 

The last anyone had heard from Spencer about his love life was Maxine, and judging by the voice - this wasn't Maxine.

The group hurried after Spencer, seeing a young girl - possibly around the age of 5, maybe 6 - with her arms wrapped tightly around Spencer's neck. The little girl was an absolute chatterbox. She hadn't stopped talking since the moment he set foot in the living room.

However, the woman they were more interested in was Spencer's wife. Who was sitting on the sofa, giggling at the pair in front of her; a blanket was thrown over her lap, and some sort of embroidery was now abandoned at her side.

"-and then Tony stuck a pencil up his nose!" She giggled.

"Why did he do that?" Spencer asked the little girl, taking a seat on the sofa and pulling her into his lap.

Just as she was going to explain why, she burst into more giggles, Spencer looked over at his wife for a possible explanation. "Apparently Arthur dared Tony to do it."

"Ah! You'd think after the incident with the Magic Marker, they'd know not to dare Tony to do things."

Spencer's wife shrugged her shoulders. "Now you're here, I'm going to take a nap." 

Before Emily could question why his wife was going to take a nap, she got herself out of the little nest she had made for herself. Protruding from her abdomen was a baby bump. A pretty big baby bump.

"Reid, you're going to be a father?!" Luke exclaimed, earning himself a rather harsh glare from the little girl (who now obviously sees Spencer as her dad). "Again..." he trails off, correcting himself under the child's gaze.

"Has she been giving you any hassle?" Spencer asks, ignoring Luke's question (or many of the genius didn't hear him), as his hand rested on the bump, a large smile growing on his face told the team the baby was probably moving. JJ still remembers when she was expecting Henry, and when she got Spencer to feel her bump on time, he mentioned how it felt alien-like.

"Well, she's happy now her daddy's home," his wife comments.

He looks up at her. "Have you given any more thought to going on maternity leave yet?"

The team watches as she rolls her eyes. "As I told you before I left, I'm completely fine; the semester doesn't finish for another 3 weeks."

"Your due date is in 4 weeks, Y/N! I know you feel you have a duty to your students, but I think even they would agree you should be at home."

"They would only agree because they don't want to see me go into labour whilst I'm at school."

"What's labour?" 

Both Spencer and his wife, who they now know is called Y/N, look down at their daughter. The wife looks at her husband. "Can you-"

Spencer leans over and presses a kiss to her temple. "I'll deal with this. You go take a nap."

She sighs happily. "Lifesaver, I don't know what I would do without you."

"And you won't have to," he replies, giving her a kiss. "Go take a nap."

After a spirited conversation with his stepdaughter about childbirth and babies (that was appropriate for a 5-year-old), she happily went back to her colouring book, which was neat and tidy, with every scribble kept firmly within the lines - she was more like Spencer even though they don't share blood.

Penelope plops herself down on an open chair and stares at Spencer like she has seen a ghost. "A wife, a stepdaughter, and a baby on the way?" Spencer nods, reaching over to run his fingers through the little girl's hair (who they now know is called Betty).

"You're excited to have a little sister, aren't you Betty?" Spencer asks, watching her blonde hair bounce around her head.

"I gets to help Mommy and Daddy take care of her!" She replies, the excitement bursting out of her.

Emily looks over at Spencer. "Are you ready?"

Spencer looks away from Betty for all of a second to smile at Emily. "I don't think I've been ready for anything more in my life," he turns to Betty. "Have you come up with any more names for your sister?"

Betty coming up with names for her little sister was a way of her having a part in her little sister's life before she even gets here.

However, this time, Betty only had one. "Willow."

18 days later...

Just as Penelope hung up the phone on Emily, her personal phone pinged in her purse.

There was a notification from Y/N. In a picture from a hospital room, Y/N sat in the bed, cradling a bundle; Spencer sat at her side with Betty in the middle of them, the evidence of tears having rolled down the little girl's face.

Meet Willow Penelope Reid, born 5:37am, 6 pounds 9 oz; mom and baby are well. Oh, and Betty has asked Spencer to adopt her!

Penelope was crying when she called JJ. "Hey, Garcia."

"Y/N had the baby, and my name is the baby's middle name!" Penelope cried, and before JJ could say anything. "And Betty wants Spencer to adopt her!"

JJ smiled softly. "Well, we will have to go visit them once they are out of the hospital and settled in at home."

[cloudyynebulas]

Can you do a yandere shadow milk x reader where he got out from the game it self just to get them and forcing them in the game with him after he saw they was about to delete the game from there phone?

❝ 𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗡𝗢𝗪, 𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗥𝗘 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗘. ❞

yan! shadow milk cookie x reader.

reader is gender neutral.

episode 8 spoilers? sorta. mentions the new cookie, but that's about it.

cw : yandere themes, kidnapping, mind break, manipulation, obsessive behavior . . please read with caution!

⋆° .☾ ⋆ .ೃ ࿔* : ⋆

You knew something was .. wrong.

Ever since the release of Spire of Shadows, where the highly anticipated, Shadow Milk Cookie, released as a playable character in his debut update, things began to change.

You were excited as anyone else. Who wouldn't be? After a year of waiting since his initial introduction as an NPC in Theater of Lies, you were apart of the thousands of people that hoped to see him return and become playable in the near future. When the trailer for the update was finally released, you were ecstatic.

Saving up your Crystals, Star Jellies and Skill Powders just for him! There was not a shred of doubt in your mind he'd most likely become apart of the current 'meta' in Kingdom Arena, so you knew the second you pulled him from the Nether Gacha, you could immediately put him at the max level!

Completing the missions as quickly as you could, just for a small chance of getting him from the gacha - your anticipation was immense, and you silently prayed to the screen each and every single time you managed to scourge up enough Light of Deceit for a singular ten pull.

When you finally pulled him from the gacha a little less than halfway to the pity pull, you beamed with joy - watching the animation play out. He was here!

Your excitement, once bubbling from within you, burst out like fireworks as you quickly maxed out his level and skill, giving him the best beascuit you had.

As you tapped on your phone, pressing buttons, adding him to your team, finding him in your kingdom, your joy beaming across your features - you failed to realize how this happiness was blinding you from sinister darkness just beyond the phone screen.

Days went by, and things were normal at first.

Then the glitches started. At first, they were small, insignificant errors like small visual bugs or a slight delay in gameplay. Small enough that you could simply shrug your shoulders and continue playing the game, but the more you ignored it - the worse it became.

After just a few days, you found yourself at a standstill. Staring at your phone screen, your eyebrows instinctively furrowed at yet another bug - though, this time, it was far more apparent. Like it was purposefully trying to grab your attention.

All the Cookies in your kingdom had.. been disabled, except for one.

Shadow Milk Cookie.

Your kingdom's design and layout was completely changed - all decors and designs being swapped with decor released alongside the update with Shadow Milk Cookie. Nothing but whites, blues and blacks adorned your kingdom.

Your Crystal and Coin count hadn't dropped. You didn't buy these items - so how could this have possibly happened?

Almost as if he knew you'd booted up the game, sensing your presence, Shadow Milk Cookie turned to face the screen from within your Kingdom.

His sprite winked at you, a gleeful grin forming on his features.

Odd.. you don't recall ever seeing that sprite anywhere.

Confused, and honestly somewhat unnerved, your thumb graces the Cookies button on the bottom right, opening up the tab. All of your Cookies were still there, but as you moved to tap on one of them, you were taken straight to Shadow Milk Cookie's profile instead.

What??

His animation played, bowing at you with a wink.

"Tis I, your humble jester! Here to brighten up your mood!"

You frowned, exiting his profile and, once again, moving to click another Cookie's profile. Though, just as before, you were taken straight back to Shadow Milk Cookie.

"..what the hell?" you muttered aloud.

At this point, it was clear. Your game was busted - or, possibly had some kind of virus. Although, a virus where your entire game is corrupted to just Shadow Milk Cookie was.. unheard of. Not a single person on the internet, from what you knew, had ever documented such an occurrence happening since the update's release.

You place the phone back down on your bed, sitting up. You walk towards your small laptop, flipping open the cover and logging into your account.

You fail to notice Shadow Milk Cookie's eyes seemingly following your movements as you move away from your device.

Wanting to believe that this was just some harmless bug, you immediately hop to your web browser, beginning to search up bugs or viruses relating to Cookie Run Kingdom, hoping you'd find someone out there who may've possibly had a similar experience to yours - and a possible solution.

With your gaze and mind locked focused on your hopeless searching, you failed to notice your phone slowly beginning to shake, being left idle on Shadow Milk Cookie's profile.

Deep inside, a beast rumbles - hands gripping the invisible bars of restriction that kept him away from your world. The confines of your small device that shackled him to this game.

Oh, to be trapped in a Silver Tree and a Video Game! How horribly hopeless is that? Though, with the knowledge that he had from being in a simple video game came with tremendous power that he could oh-so easily exploit.

Shadow Milk Cookie hummed, watching you as you searched for answers of your.. "virus". Or rather, his fun, silly little prank!

He let out a quiet giggle - expression darkening. You were finally giving him the attention he'd been longing for! Yes, being trapped in a small device wasn't the most pleasant, but it had some.. quirks!

Forcing you to pull him in his Nether Gacha so many times, modifying his own attack power to higher numbers, always speaking over any other Cookie who tried to initiate dialogue to you..

Seeing your oh-so adorable face so confused and bewildered at his silly pranks and games was just the cherry on top! Shadow Milk Cookie had to admit, he was a liiiiiiittle annoyed that it took you this long to really give him the attention he craved, but, what did it matter? His patience has rewarded him!

..But it still wasn't.. enough.

His grin fell to a frown - an ominous gaze watching your every movement. No.. - no this wouldn't do. Not only did Shadow Milk Cookie desire for your attention, he needed to physically be there, next to you.

What had gotten into him? His mind, clouded with nothing but twisted lies and maelstroms of darkness grew a twinge of longing. But not a soft, kindhearted longing one would express - no, this was something so much deeper. So, so much worse.

Shadow Milk Cookie craved to have you here, with him.

It was all clear to him. You were his.

Truthfully, just having your attention on him was fine, and it usually always sufficed his desires, but now .. now it was different. He wanted more.

Your phone began to shake.

Your endless searching that led you to dead end after dead end came to a screeching halt at the sound of a familiar voice, coming straight from your phone, speaking your name.'

"Y/N..!"

You paled.

Slowly, your head turned towards your phone. That couldn't have been your family - that didn't sound like them, nor could it have come straight from your phone like that.

"Oooooover here, silly!" Shadow Milk Cookie's voice teased. "Don't leave me hanging here!"

You slowly got up from your chair, walking towards your bed and lifting up your phone, where Shadow Milk Cookie was, floating idly - though, he was much closer to the screen now, gaze fixated right back at you.

Your mouth was agape - words of confusion and distress on the tip of your tongue - and yet, you couldn't find any actual words of coherency to mutter aloud.

The jester laughed at your disbelief. "What's the matter, Y/N? You look like you've just seen a ghost!"

His teasing mockery snapped you out of your daze. You blinked, and your thumbs quickly moved to swipe the game off your screen - with Shadow Milk Cookie's expression shifting into something more serious as the game disappeared from your screen.

Now back on your phone's home screen, you held a finger down on the Cookie Run Kingdom icon, waiting until the small popup appeared that would allow you to delete the app. With the game no longer on your screen, you took note of how even the game's icon had changed to Shadow Milk Cookie.

Screw trying to find a solution. Your horror had overtaken your senses, panic had spilled into your veins; this wasn't just some bug. This wasn't just some measly virus. This was something far worse. Something you couldn't possibly explain to another person without sounding like a fool.

The way he said your name - something that he couldn't possibly have knowledge of. And yet, he said it so clearly, so real, and when you finally approached him, he noticed you. Knew that you were there, looking back at him through a glass screen.

You pressed the delete app button - with your phone giving you a popup, asking you to confirm your choice. In a heartbeat, you selected confirm, and waited.

..and waited.

...

Why wasn't the app disappearing from your screen?

Your phone trembled. You couldn't tell if it was your own fear making you shake, or if it was something else. Something .. otherworldly.

Your fears were carved into reality as your phone practically thrashed itself out of your grip, tearing itself away from you and landing harshly onto your bed. A sinister, twisted laughter echoed throughout your bedroom, filling your ears and flying around the room.

You trembled, backing away as quickly as you could, your feet instinctively gliding you towards your bedroom door.

"Oh, Y/N!" his voice echoed. Shadow Milk Cookie's voice - his words clouding in your mind, like it was being sent to you telepathically. "Did you just try to delete me?"

You heard the Beast Cookie 'tsk in disappointment, clicking his tongue.

"So rude!" he scoffed. "And after everything I've done for you! It's almost like you're trying to get away from me!"

Your back collided with your bedroom door - hands reaching for the knob desperately, but your head was locked towards your phone that began to glow, it's screen taken over by a familiar shade of blue. You couldn't bring yourself to turn your back towards the haunted device, fearing that, even for a second that you might turn your back to him, it could mean the worst for you.

Hands finally grasping on the doorknob behind you, you twisted the metal knob trying to push your door open.

..The knob stopped halfway, unmoving.

You froze on the spot. Your door had locked itself, a bedroom door that never even had a lock, was now locked in place.

"Ah-ah-ah!" Shadow Milk Cookie laughed, his voice swarming in your head. "Where on Earthbread might you be trying to run off to? I'm about to make my big debut, here!"

A hand escaped from the phone screen. You held back a scream.

A blue hand extended out, and a familiar arm with jester attire began to emerge. It pushed itself out, revealing more of him.

His eyes locked onto you immediately - a large grin forming on his face as he had about halfway emerged from your phone screen.

The fear on your face was like a divine dessert - crafted and gifted perfectly sweet just for him.

Just like a wrapped gift basket that landed straight in front of his doorstep. You were right there - in his clutches. He had all the power he needed, and now, all he needed was you.

"Come along now!" Shadow Milk Cookie clapped his hands with glee, as blue puppeteer strings shot out from your phone, headed straight towards you. "We wouldn't want to keep our dear audience waiting, no?"

You yelped, quickly ducking your head to avoid the incoming web, and while your quick thinking may have saved you for just a few more seconds, it didn't matter. The strings quickly maneuvered themselves, wrapping around your waist, locking your arms to your sides and keeping you bound in place.

A scream lay trapped in your throat. You wanted to scream - to cry, to yell, anything to grab someone's attention. And yet - a voice, one that was most definitely not yours, echoed whispers in the back of your mind, keeping you silent.

You were quickly pulled straight towards the Beast, whos hands reached out to you the second you were in arms length of him, grabbing onto you - staring down at you with a menacing grin of victory.

His arms wrapped around you - possessive, as if the strings weren't enough. He needed to envelop you in his own embrace.

With laughter filling the air, Shadow Milk Cookie descended back down into the phone, and you were swiftly dragged along down with him. Your cries finally escaped your lips - but it didn't matter now. Your yelling and your tears were drowned out in his world of lies - his perfect world, that would be built for the two of you.

⋆° .☾ ⋆ .ೃ ࿔* : ⋆

You've lost track of time at this point.

Strings were tied around you on every limb, tangled up in a web of blue that kept you still. Your body had adjusted to this new world you'd been forcefully taken to - now with the proportions of any other Cookie that existed.

Not that many Cookies seemed to exist anymore. It was just you, Shadow Milk Cookie, and his two minions - Candy Apple Cookie and Black Sapphire Cookie.

Whatever was left of your kingdom - you didn't know. When you awoke in this world after being dragged down into it by the hands of the Beast, you found yourself inside of a familiar Spire.

Your memories are hazy - and yet, on the day you were brought here, you remember seeing Candy Apple Cookie and Black Sapphire Cookie awaiting the two of you to arrive, as if they were already expecting you.

"Master Shadow Milk Cookie!!" Candy Apple Cookie cheered - her eyes sparkling at the sight of the Beast Cookie appearing. "You're finally back!"

"I see this was the one that's been on your mind as of late?" Black Sapphire Cookie chuckled, his eyes analyzing you up and down - observing your terrified state. "They look absolutely horrified!"

"Everything went according to plaaaaaan!" Shadow Milk Cookie grinned, his voice, mockingly singing his own praise. "A little more rough than I was hoping for.. but, what can you do? When improv calls, who am I to say no?"

The jester turned to you, his hand grabbing at your chin, forcing your gaze that had been previously facing towards the ground, now looking towards him.

"Don't look so.. blue, Y/N!" Shadow Milk Cookie smiled down at you - his eyes shadowed under an ominous light - his mismatched pupils glowing softly in the darkness. "Trust me, dear, you'll adjust veeery quickly."

Everything after that was a blur.

Your gaze was hazy, staring towards a checkered floor. Darkness surrounded the room you were held captive in - a room that was supposed to be an elegant bedroom crafted just for you.

Your attire matched perfectly with the theme of this twisted place - nothing but dark colors and swirls of lies topped with a few bowties here and there.

The puppeteer strings around your form tightened ever so slightly.

Your mind raced. The words of deceit that constantly filled the back of your mind suddenly became louder - just like they always did. Apart of this horrid routine you were forced into.

.. Y/N ...

Stop fighting my will, Y/N.

This is your home now - and you.. you are mine.

Why do you still insist on fighting me? Why do you still wish to leave?

The world out there has nothing for you. This is your world.

You shake your head, eyelids shutting tightly as you ignored these honeyed, twisted words that beckoned you, wanting to embrace you and swallow up any last bit of fight you had left.

The presence in the room shifts. You don't even have to open your eyes to know that he's here with you now.

A hand softly lifts your chin.

"You're such a fighter, even after alllll this time." Shadow Milk Cookie spoke, a light chuckle following his words. "It's adorable, really."

His voice becomes far more stern.

"But these little charades are starting to bore me."

His grip on your chin is suddenly at your face, tugging you forward, your eyelids snapping open in surprise.

You stare back up at Shadow Milk Cookie. You want to glare - to be angry, to yell, to scream -

But you don't want to do that.

So you don't.

He smiles. You do not.

"You're all mine, Y/N." the Beast reminds you. "You'll come to accept the truth sooner or later."

He laughs.

"It's only a matter of time."

[auroralwriting]

hii!! this is so random but i just read ur spencer reid x genius! reader fic and i was wondering if u could like expand on it?? or like maybe the team finding out that they went on a date and everyone is like oh gosh finally?? thank u and i love ur writing :P

wedding bells

spencer reid x genius!bau!reader

part two to the gun, can be read as a standalone

spencer and you were enemies, now, you’re just into each other. what happens when you show up to jj's wedding as each other's dates?

word count: 1.6k

warnings: the most insane amount of tooth rotting fluff (you're welcome)

thank you for this request! i decided to expand even more and connect it back to the actual episode i wrote about, 7x24 :)

It had been about two weeks since you’d gotten out of the hospital from your last case; the bank robbery. You managed to get out with a couple of stitches and bruises. You were lucky to be alive.

The one good thing that came from the whole ordeal was the fact that you and Spencer, who was your previous academic-agent enemy, had turned into somewhat of your lover.

It started with trivia night at O’Keefe’s. The two of you decided to just pair rather than join a large team, and you kicked ass. You allowed Spencer to handle more of the academic side of trivia while you took pop culture. Quite literally, you were the only team with points.

That date went so well, that you ended up going out to dinner at the new Chinese place by Spencer’s apartment. That one went great too, and a third came along, a simple date that included Spencer taking you to an art museum.

You actually got to know Spencer, and he got to know you. Sure, you’d been team mates for years, but with suck a strong rivalry, you never got to know the man. You were both eerily alike, and things were going great. There had been no cases, Strauss gave your team a break after JJ’s boyfriend had almost died, along with you.

Spencer and you were at his place watching Doctor Who when you got a phone call. You picked it up, “Hey, Rossi.” The tv was paused and Spencer was looking at you expectantly. “Mhm.. mh- Oh my god! Oh, Rossi. That’s such a good idea. Yes, I’ll be there. I’m, uh, actually with Spencer, so I’ll pass on the message.” Spencer raised an eyebrow at you as you hung up. "Okay, don't freak out, but JJ and Will are engaged."

"What!" Spencer exclaimed with a bright smile. "Oh my god!"

"And Rossi and Will are planning for the wedding to be this Friday," You continued. "JJ doesn't know yet, so we have to keep it a secret."

"Speaking of secrets," Spencer coyly began, "Does Rossi know about, well, us?"

You chuckled, "I didn't tell him, but he knows we've been together more. Significantly more,"

"I've been thinking," Spencer said. "What if we don't keep this a secret anymore."

The only reason it was a secret in the first place was because the team would freak out if they knew you were going out. "I don't think now's the best time to tell them. We don't want to steal JJ's thunder." you frowned.

"No, no!" Spencer quickly shook his head. He grabbed both your hands, rubbing them with his thumbs. "Do you want to be my date to their wedding?"

Your heart raced at his words, and you felt the heat rise to your cheeks. "Yeah, Spence. I'd love to be your date." You smiled brightly.

The wedding was only three days away, and you were quick to go out with Penelope to buy a dress. You wanted something elegant that wouldn't take away from JJ, so you decided on a flowey, burgundy-maroon dress. It was formal, but nothing too glamorous. The whole time, Penelope kept rambling about how since she and Kevin were no more, the two of you could be girl-dates. You casually agreed, not wanting to give up Spencer and your cover yet.

You'd asked Spencer if he wanted to see your outfit on Thursday, but he wanted it to be a surprise. So, with Pen, you both did each other's hair, makeup, and got ready. You arrived together at the Rossi mansion to make everything less conspicuous.

"Oh my god!" Penelope whisper yelled. "Kevin has a date--a date!" She grabbed you and dragged you to Emily and Morgan in a panic. "He brought a date, and I didn't bring a boy date, oh my god I look like an idiot!"

"Pen, you don't look like an idiot." You rubbed her arm softly. "He's the real idiot for moving on so damn fast."

Emily nodded, "And you look so gorgeous, I bet he can't help but think about you. Play it cool."

Penelope took a large sip of her drink. "I'm- I'm gonna go, go somewhere, uh, somewhere he's not."

"Hi, Penelope!" Beth, Hotch's new girlfriend, said cheerfully as she walked up.

"Hey, hi," Penelope quickly walked off.

Beth gave a soft laugh, "Hello everybody."

You smiled and pulled her into a hug, "Ex problems, don't mind her. Hi Beth, and hi Hotch. You both look great."

"Says you! You look absolutely stunning! That is so your color." Beth smiled as she took your hand to spin you around lightly.

The three of you said hello to Jack as well. As the group began to disperse, you quickly spotted Rossi. You made your way over to him, a smile on his face. Rossi was like a father to you. Growing up under his help and guidance, he was more than just a mentor. "Oh, honey. Look at you, you look so grown up."

"Dave, I've been grown up for a lot of years now." You laughed as he kissed your cheek. "Have you seen Spencer by chance?"

"Not yet," Rossi replied. He raised an eyebrow at you, studying your face. "You two are together, aren't you?"

A look of panic crossed your features. "Shh!" You quickly hushed, looking around to see if anyone noticed. When they didn't you turned back to him. "We've been going out on dates, hanging out. That sort of thing. We aren't.. boyfriend-girlfriend."

"I'm happy for you two," Rossi smiled. "You two make a good pair, especially now that you aren't planning each other's murders."

"Who was murdered?"

You turned around to see Spencer standing behind you. His eyes went wide when he saw you. The way you turned, bright eyed and graceful, it made his heart leap in his chest, especially when you looked so ethereal.

Spencer breathed your name softly, looking to Rossi. You gave a small nod, letting him know that Rossi knew. He walked over, giving you a small hug to secretly press a kiss into your hair. The two of you hadn't really kissed yet, but you knew it would happen soon.

"You're an angel," Spencer softly spoke, caressing your cheek as you smiled.

"You look amazing, too." You replied.

Rossi and Spencer gave each other a quick hello before he excused himself to go reveal to JJ that this was her wedding night. It only took a few minutes and JJ ran up to you. You hugged her before she could say anything.

"You knew?" Her voice cracked, but you knew it was from joy.

"We all did," You smiled. "Hey, while you and Will get ready, let Spence watch over Henry."

JJ's eyebrows furrowed as she watched Spencer nod quickly, giving your shoulder a squeeze with the sweetest smile she'd ever seen him give someone. "Uh-"

"Don't worry about it," You shook your head. "This is your night." When you saw JJ was about to ask again, you filled her in. "Going out on dates, not dating."

She just smiled, holding up her dress. "This is it. I wanted to ask you, actually, if you wanted to be my maid of honor? Help me get ready?"

Your eyes filled with tears, "Oh, Jayge. It would be my absolute honor." You hugged her again tightly, leading her upstairs with her mom.

It didn't take long until the ceremony began. You were already at the end of the isle, watching Spencer do a magic trick with the ring with Henry. You giggled, Spencer's eyes meeting yours as he smiled back to you.

JJ was the most beautiful bride you'd ever seen. She came up to the front and you hugged her, taking her flowers from her and standing next to Spencer and Penelope. As the ceremony went on, you found yourself tearing up. Weddings always made you cry. Spencer took notice, taking your hand and pulling you against his chest as he rubbed your arm. The team was too busy watching JJ and Will to notice.

The dancing was the best part. Penelope pulled you to the dance floor before Spencer even had a chance. You happily slow danced with her, then Derek, who stole you away. From there, Hotch had a dance with you, and then Rossi. Finally, at your favorite slow song, Spencer approached.

"Dave, would you mind?" He softly asked.

"It would be my pleasure." Dave passed you off to Spencer with one hand as Spencer slowly pulled you into his arms. If you took closer notice, you'd see him go to Strauss and begin to dance.

"Hi," You whispered, one hand in his as his other rested on your waist. Your free hand was on his shoulder. The two of you began to sway to the music.

"Hi," He echoed, giving you the softest look you'd ever gotten. "I missed you. I didn't even get a chance to dance with you."

You softly giggled, "Well, now it's yours. All yours, Spence." You leaned in closer, "You're the only one I wanted to dance with."

The position changed, both of Spencer's hands were on your waist as you wrapped your arms around his neck. This was much more intimate. "You're the only one I want, too." The double meaning made your stomach twist in the best way.

As the two of you danced, your teammates began to finally notice. "Oh my god," Derek mumbled. "Those two dumb geniuses finally got together."

"Actually, they're just going on dates," JJ corrected as she swayed with Will.

Emily smirked, "Not for long by the looks of it."

"They make such a sweet couple," Beth cooed.

Penelope gasped, "Oh my sweet baby Jesus, I took her away from him all night!"

"I'm sure he doesn't mind." Hotch smiled, actually smiled, as they all watched you lean your head on his shoulder, one of his hands coming up to the middle your back to splay out, almost protectively, holding you closer.

"I think I hear some more wedding bells in our future." Derek smiled.