#had wayyyyyy too much fun doing this one guys

[the-chaos-crew]

human designs for some cosmic entity goobers

(Cosmic Owl's shirt say U snooze U lose, since yk he shows up in dreams)

they're living rent free in my head

[bellshazes]

do it again directors commentary part 2

He and Etho had shown up at her favorite diner for takeout midnight breakfast while she had been hanging out at the bar, chatting with Scott, and without even thinking about it she’d joined their argument, switching sides periodically to keep it going. Years enough have passed that she can’t remember now what it had even been about, but she remembers Bdubs’ instant adoption of her as an ally and the wounded look he gave her when she conceded Etho had some good points, too. Etho had smiled brightly with his eyes and given her the faintest nod of approval, opening up the takeout boxes and settling down on the seat next to her.

this is very explicitly inspired by all the times i've gone to waffle house and the encounters i've had meeting old friends there who i never expected to see again. it's about the familiarity but also the capacity to shift and surprise and change the dynamic if it's funny. so it goes

Bdubs smiles knowingly at her. He heard all the goings-on of her tabletop campaigns and knows exactly what happened to her old D&D group. He’d been an exceptionally good sport about it, showing up for many late-night dinners to let her vent, as if it were a recap of his favorite TV show.

this and other things allude to the cleo-big b breakup that i never found a good place to make more explicit. i like the idea of it being some nebulous D&D situation partially because i despise D&D and because i think it's fun that since cleo continues to care that big b betrayed them, it should show up in silly ways, because it's fundamentally a betrayal in the specific context of a game. but it matters, what we did or didn't do, etc.

Cleo pauses and holds eye contact. For half a second she imagines a red bandana around Bdubs’ head, but it’s only the force of Bdubs’ belief that snares her.

another thing i never quite made explicit but is true: cleo received an unusually high number of lives, as did bdubs, and it's that fact that makes her more susceptible to remembering. if i had got to make it more explicit, i could've got into the exchange of lives as memory and as permanency, as debts and owing and relationships built across lifetimes... but I didn't. so this is what you get.

“That is a lot to ask of a guy, Cleo,” he says, but he stands up when she does. “If I for some reason am prevented from talking to Etho by such things as him being asleep all day, or un-overcomeable anxiety -”

i hate this line? i think i nailed bdubs' voice in the first half but i've spent so long trying to come up with something better than "un-overcomeable anxiety" and never did. i think he says things in super fucking weird ways but that's not right. it was worth leaving because i do believe in the dynamic of cleo playing mediator insofar as it's funny to them, and in cleo chastising bdubs, and their back and forth.

“Bdubs,” he says. “Hey, Bdubs.” He squeezes his hand again. “I wanted you to know. I’m so glad you were my partner.”

this whole Death Coffee Incident is borrowed wholesale from opera25's mll au, but it was fun making something kind of fantastical work. etho never was given any lives, and only gave one up to tango for the you bet your life game; he remembers here solely due to the life-threatening duress of consuming wayyyyyy too much caffeine. it was fun to write but also the pivotal moment in bdubs becoming convinced etho always had remembered and thinking then that the only reason he'd behave the way he did if he remembered was out of bloodlust... not that bdubs had yet unlocked memories of enjoying that murderousness and play back and forth.

there's a level to which this misunderstanding is a satirization/playing with fandom conceptions of if you view LL in a vacuum you get some crazy interpretations. but as they both learn, the threats were fun BECAUSE they had history and both enjoyed it. four more chapters for that to sink in though.

The process of checking into the ER is as onerous as he expected – trying to fill out the paperwork for Etho, who is still more out of it than Bdubs was when he had a head injury, having to put his foot down that he’d like to stay with his partner as much as possible and yes he had the paperwork to back him up, because Etho had made him keep a copy of important things in his wallet after he fell of the roof in case of something like this.

this part is in spite of my severe medical phobia, but also because of me working in insurance-related fields for the last 4 years. this document is called an advance directive or living will and if you live in the USA you should complete one by searching "advance directive [your state]" and filling it out and filing it according to the directions on your attorney general's website or whatever. it's genuinely imporant esp if you're not married and queer in any way. this is my one genuine PSA of the fic. but also they would. etho requesting to dot Is and cross Ts bc he thinks bdubs will be the one who needs and and then needing it himself... well. anyway.

He remembers fragments from his last death: that he had made some promise that didn’t save him, that cost him his last life. That he died calling Etho’s name, calling out to an Etho who took great joy in menacing him and making him paranoid, who had attacked him in that long dark stairway. It does not comfort him to know Etho thinks he’s responsible for whatever happened.

this chapter ends with bdubs trying and sort of succeeeding in believing in etho, but that last sentence is the lynchpin of what comes after: etho feeling even a little responsible for bdubs permadying - esp when bdubs remembers being a ghost for session 7 but was not present for etho's permadeath in session 8 - makes him think etho knows more than he does, and holds him accordingly responsible. the metacommentary is there but it wasn't the point; it's true, but incidental. the reveal eventually is that the trust was there, and that bdubs' permadeath was stupid and willing because it's about the novelty and the endless beginnings. spoilers but whatever if you're reading this you must not care by now.

chapter 4

He can feel his heart beating in his chest, and he has a sense-memory of falling down with all the vivid, terrifying sensation of jumping from the height of a swing in the park as a child, down to the faint awareness that the intervening years meant it was no longer quite the same body, that something had been knocked out of alignment by time.

it's a little tonally dissonant, but i'm still proud of this. you can tell later on i floundered for plot in this chapter, but the image of being both in the past and in the present and the overlay is important to me. it's very poetic.

Etho snagged a nametag off the apron that had been draped over the drinks counter, presumably in a now-ruined hope of ending the shift quickly, and slipped it into his pocket before turning back to smile placidly over Bdubs’ shoulder.

etho stealing the nametags is another MLL AU concept i stole and can't take credit for, but again trying to find a plausible concrete explanation for it was really fun and was the impetus for this whole chapter. grateful for it, and he's an ass and also nosy like that. he would.

Etho punched the crosswalk button and tried to remember that conversation but couldn’t. He remembered getting coffee, and that he’d almost finished it off by the time he’d gotten home. [...] “No,” he said, sounding strangled. “That hadn’t come up, actually.”

the limited alternating third person POV is restricting at times, but i really enjoy the contrast between what we already know of bdubs' perception of the Death Coffee Incident re: etho's knowledge and etho's POV making clear he doesn't know jack shit, but he cares. bdubs is reacting this way because etho saying he took the crazy coffee to stay up to see bdubs sounds like a threat, but it's also an expression of caring and not knowing how to bridge a distance.

if theres anything i believe it's that these two motherfuckers don't capital-T talk. they exclusively communicate through threats and shenanigans and team-ups and every time they mention talking outside of Events it shocks me. and yet their friendship persists over more than a decade! what miracles.

“You can’t take dreams too seriously,” Etho said, cat purring loudly under his hands, a soothing anchor. “It’s just your brain picking up on whatever’s going in your life and making up stories about it. No good worrying too much about them.”

this is mine own opinion on dreams, despite my sincere involuntary belief in signs and omens, but more importantly it is another point at which bdubs is implicitly in his own POV goign oh my god this son of a bitch is manipulating me. miscommunication for ages.

 He spends a few nights on the couch, methodically trying to rule the variables out: the quality of moonlight through his bedroom window, some oppressive sense of confinement, embracing the possibility his roommate is testing him and trying to prove to his subconscious that fishing rods are nothing to be worried about.

etho being experimental and scientific about this all is important to me. almost as much as half-remembering bdubs misinterprets this exacting need to know as being meaningful and knowing when it's not, especially when he was trying to elicit some response. guy gets a response and thinks the worst even though he's causing his own problems? there's a thesis in that

Etho bites back a comment about Bdubs’ dedication to sleep schedules and waves the criticism off instead. “I’m trying to sleep right now,” he lies. “Not my problem if you want to haunt me.”

if i ever let myself revise this chapter (and this chapter is the one i want to revise most) i want to include the detail from beau's comic of this passage of etho having his glasses on when he says this. my dude was definitely not tryign to sleep AT ALL and i forever wish i'd thought of that indicator myself.

When he sits down to start his own work for the day, he thinks about the drawing and decides then and there what his plan is to fix all this.

i wrote this line bc i have such a sense that chapter endings, like the endings of short stories, should have a paritcular cadence and effect - but neither etho nor i knew how "to fix all this" and in fact the subsequent chapters indicate he definitely was not laying his final plans yet. i've let it stay because putting this line in let me move on to write the rest of the fic... but it's untrue and a red herring and i hate it. i will fix you eventually. but not yet because i still dont' know how to satisfyingly transition.

etho doesn't get his next POV chapter until the second half of chapter 6 at the diner with cleo, where he finally confronts that his dreams might be real enough to have to deal with, and even then he goes through great lengths to validate cleo's theories by messing with tango... so who knows. but it's fine. it's fine. i hate it. it's fine

[lyriakisser]

AUGHHHHHHHHHHH THE SILLY BILLY CUTEST AND MOST STUPID GUY EVER!!!!!!!!! <33333 OK SO the boy lives in postwick i think it's called? w the protagonist! and his brother is none other than the fucking champion of the region leon!! wow hop u sure were lucky. ANYWAYS he's this super hype guy who loves having fun AND he wants to be the next champion SOSOSO BAD it's crazy. also he loves leon bc yk. he's the champion. who doesn't love the champion <- me AHEM SO u enter the gym challenge and ur rivals and yk how that goes bla bla bla OK SO when u've collected three gym medals smth TERRIBLE happens. u see um........ i uh........ yk so um uhhhhhh............... SIGHS FINE when the protagonist and hop and on their way to the next gym thru the wild area aka place a lots of pokemon um. sighs i/bede appear and um. ummmm uhhhhhhh well u see...... i ask hop for a battle and we battle and when the protagonist reaches the entrance of the next city i appear again....... UM YEAH THAT'S EVERYTHING U NEED TO KNOW AHAHAHA *slaps myself* so since i'm a fucking horrible person hop loses the battle and i tell him he's so weak that no one will think leon is strong. and this gives hop depression for the. rest of the game!! uh yeah ummmmm i wanna kill myself rn um ANYWAYS the guy changed his team WAYYYYYY too much and then he comes back to his main team and he seems to be ok again! kind of? idk sdkjfgkj BUT OFC as a rival he's fated to not become champion. fuck pokemon SO he seems chill abt it BUT THEN after the game ends u have the posgame!! in which two weird guys start dynamaxing pokemon in the gyms bc. idk they want to jdshksd AND OUR DEAR HOP OS DEPRESSED AGAIN BC HE FEELS HE'S NOT STRONG ENOUGH D: the poor guy man...... SO UM u go thru the region defeating those pokemon w him AND piers who's there bc. yes. i love that guy did u know that OH RIGHT me and hop even have an encounter bc yk. i'm a gym leader now dhfksd and we're pretty chill? huh that's weird....... starts having thoughts abt bedehop ANYWAY in the end protagonist and hop catch a fucking legendary and u battle once more AND THEN the new professor pokemon comes and i don't exactly remember what happens but he becomes professor assitant isn't that cool!! yes ofc it is <3 AND SO hop never had depression EVER AGAIN AND TOTALLY NOT BC OF ME <3333 anyways this was long huh. i love hop what can i say

OH RIGHT INFO ABT THE BOY!!!!!!!!!! he's so silly isn't he i love him sm <333 AND UM YEAH I'LL DO ME LATER BC RN I HAVE TO DO MATH KLFHLKAHKFLAGLKALKLKAGFLA

ohmygod he is just like me fr............. ALSO GOOD AS HELL ANALYSIS YOU DID SO WELL HAVE A MEDAL❤️

[cometmystic]

FAVORITE AND LEAST FAVORITE STARTERS

IM GOING TO ASSUME MAIN SERIES ENTIRE EVOLUTIONARY STARTER LINES AS OPPOSED TO INDIVIDUAL SPECIES

-3 : Hisui Oshawott

(dont look at the typing in the image)im giving myself a handicap for the least favourite list which is making it wayyyyyy harder (more on that later) so were starting weird spicy,,

the arceus folk were always going to struggle because mixing and matching starters is a dangerous game to play,, theres the very distinct feeling that these creatures dont go together, because they Dont; they have different philosophies informing their designs and you cant avoid that. taken away from their original context, decidueye and oshawott are a little too similar geometry wise in a way starter choices within a gen oft never are.

but hey, ones a samurai, ones an archer, and the other can do the ghostie flames; they fit a little too well thematically for the region not to be picked. what can you do ? ...aside from shrine maiden fennekin line. or a momotarou bulbasaur line. ...thats not what im talking about

what knocks oshawott specifically here is the new final evos. cyndaquil and rowlett march steadily enough towards their final forms; rowletts colours already darken in its middle stage, so the autumn colouring is not a huge shift, and cyndaquil is still becoming upright with flames that envelop it more and more (which hisuian does actually better than vanilla here). oshawotts line is now even less cohesive. it doesnt address a problem with the original that its armour plating is just kind of,, there, haphazardly placed and making it look More naked, but now the drastic colour palette, with less contrast for ease of readability than the original, just make the oshawott line feel that much more unrelated to itself.

i think what kills thiese guys the most is that they stopped at a new final evo. a new second form or, hell, make them variants from the start and call them something else; then i think itd be way more fun

+3 : Snivy

complete transparency here; this one is mostly personal bias. see the most fun time ive ever had with pokémon, which im becoming increasingly confident is gonna stay that way, was spearheaded by this guy. blowing a kiss at the clouds for drayano

but its not like these designs dont have anything going for them on their own !! the way this frilly, pompous jacket collar design it has grasually grows into a snakey cocoon that engulfs all of its limbs is first of all pretty bold of an idea and second of all really really fun !!

the consistent yellow highlights and eyeshadow elements the designs have do a really good job of communicating what a smug regal air this thing puts on, despite some of that not being quite as present as id like. i mean like the smugleaf jokes certainly didnt come outof nowhere yea ?

thanks for the good times, eden. sorry i never took you and the girls to post game

-2 : Fuecoco

FUECOCO IS GOOD!! i need to get this out of the way because judging these as lines rather than individually means that sometimes good designs end up getting the short end of the stick. which super is whats going on here

the first thing that strikes me is that it feels like they design a perfectly fine and fun fire croco butremembered it was a spaniard animal, and decided to toss spanish things at it midway through. the use of different words there was deliberate

the second is that... wow where the hell is skeledirge coming from. like the progression from fuecoco to crocalor is perfectly reasonable, and it does its job as a jump to an awkward offputting midstage (compliment), but then,,, the entire head just suddenly crashes straight to a wall unceremoniously, with this unappealing strident geometry to it all, with a thermometer on its face and pencil sharpener on its torso that has Nothing to do with anything the previous evolutions were communicating. the cool things they had going for it were in fact completely abandoned; the silly lil chompy jaws and teeth turn into ugly skin formations, the overt roundness of the creature just becomes a regular crocos with a decreased polycount, and the cool fire headdressings just become this ugly, lampshaded absence. ...doesnt do anything good for me

+2 : Bulbasaur

i think this ones just the platonic ideal for pokémon evolution. it does EXACTLY what it should do without missing a beat. to the point where im struggling to even talk about it

it starts cute and simple but interesting, cute huge bulb in its back, nice green patterns dotting its body, non standard friendly frog face,, and it grows into this huge, flowering beast with warts with a menacing, yet still cute (in a delightfully off way) face. half lidded eyes, sharp fangs in a wide mouth... and in pokémon stadium it does this

it just.... i donno !!! its so creature !!!! it communicates itself well, offers something different but still cohesive from its contemporaries, and its like !!! really unique for their first go at a grass starter !!! like,, a poisonous plant dinosaur ? on their first go ?? yes girl !!!!!

the one thing that leaves me wanting about the line is the slight change in body colour; it feels too slight to communicate much to me and it ends up being a bit distracting ? but as you can see, its such a minor thing, and im just saying it to make it seem like i have more to say than i actually do

-1 : Galar

yeah see theres the handicap i was talking about.

ugh theres just... so much going on here and i really dont want to elaborate much. first of all all the base forms feel so naked. scorbunny is the only one i feel is communicating something worth much with the sports tape designs, but thats so little to begin with,,

then the rest of the evo lines come in and. why does the sobble line go from naked sad lizard to naked spy lizard. why does socrbunny get a stupid ugly jacket and then lose it. why is grookey line so boring.

theres not a single hit here. 9 chances to make me feel anything other than uninspired and despondent and bored, and they missed Every single one. i hate them.

+1 : Popplio

what id bet is a very surprising pick for anyone who Knows me because i dont think id ever ever ever pick popplio as my starter in lieu of incineroar. but thats incineroar. this is popplio, brionne, and primarina

so this is every principle from bulbasaur lines design executed with utmost elegance and at a higher scale. first of all, its an interesting idea executed in a novel and fun way. its a little seal !!! it goes bwark !!! it has very sillybab paws that dont let it walk right !!! and it evolves very naturally into a graceful otherworldly singer and performer, keeping your attention in how the colour palette enrichens and grows as it evolves, and reiterating every interesting design element it has with each iteration !!! little clown collar into a gorgeous frilly design, silly little ears into magical ethereal hair, stumpy tail into a majestic mermaids tail !!! ws all around !!!!

another strength it has is,, i think brionne is one of few starter midstages i like in its own merits ? often any attachment i have to midstages work more as,, appreciation of a blueprint. like... "wow i see where this is going to go and i cant wait to get there". i mean, by design, theyre supposed to be awkward, a little "incomplete". but brionne, like,,, baillerina !!! the ears are pigtails now !!! look at that earnest but lil weird smile its got !!!! dawww its my friend !!!!

the finally, it has a lot of strengths on a macro level worth pointing out. and these are compliments i extend to gens 6 and 7 as a whole.

firstly, each starter right off the bat offers something very different. different silhouettes, different vibes, completely different target demographics as soon as you get to look at them in the starter selection.

and secondly, theming. i really like how in gen 6 you have the rpg class and in gen 7 you have the circus performer thing going on; it all feels natural and fun, and ties with the previous point to really inform and shape your preference when you pick one of these creatures, while still having them fit together with each other. its what i wish pokémon had more of

[silvanoir]

The 2 of him

I'd like to say I have nothing better to do than figure Work Friend out, but I DO have better things to do, but I don't want to do them... my brain and body are exhausted from my own life, I'd rather ponder someone else's. And I don't think he minds because he says no one can figure him out and I've been right about some things (wrong on others)... and he likes to try to figure out what makes people tick too so I don't think he's offended.

So my latest pondering (which I'll tell him about tomorrow, see if I'm off-base or not) :

I've been trying to reconcile his 2 personalities all year. There's the outgoing jokey guy who likes to pull silly pranks, and then there's the guy with wayyyyyy too much trauma who has social anxiety so bad he'll hide and crumple up like a discarded folding chair, his hands will shake, literally try to disappear into the dark. They don't seem to gel into one person.

Except maybe they do.

He keeps saying (to everyone, not just me) "You gotta laugh so you don't cry".

And I'm wondering if it IS the anxiety. Like a very sideways version of L'appel du Vide (The Call Of The Void). Where instead of being afraid of heights leads the anxious person to think about jumping from heights as a means of taking control of the fear.... he's got social anxiety. So fear of crowds of people, being trapped with people in buildings for extended periods of time, fear of strangers getting too close/knowing too much, fear of asking anyone in authority for anything he wants/needs.... so instead of jumping to control that fear... it's making a joke of himself and his problems, saying too much, being overly friendly with people he doesn't even like... and when it's a place he knows he has to go repeatedly he'll screw it up on purpose, call attention to himself via the pranks, which annoys people to the point of kicking him out.

Like, example.... the bank story. Many years ago, he had to take the mortgage (of a house he no longer owns) to the bank, big amount of money to deposit. Kept telling himself it was important. Over and over. He also had a chipmunk in a trap in the back of the truck that he took from a client who wanted him to dispose of it for them (he did and still does light construction work) so he gets to the deposit.... and instead of putting the money in... puts the chipmunk in. And then drove away and went home and decided to switch banks.

And now, current day, he's in debt (identify theft, some people had a lot of fun with his credits cards and he couldn't fully prove it in court so now he has to pay it off), so that limits where he can shop.... and got himself banned from his local Dollar Tree for acting stupid.

As a fellow anxiety-haver, I've had thoughts of doing stupid things but don't act on them. Including a more direct version of The Call Of The Void whenever I drive over a tall bridge. Makes me nervous that I'll drive off and plummet to my death. And so that voice in the back of my head tells me to swerve and hit the gas and just do it already, full throttle, take away the fear by making it happen! Get it over with! I tell that voice to SHUT UP and continue, rigidly straight within the lines until I'm over the bridge in a normal way.

I won't be telling him that one, though, because he might not ever want to get into a car with me again. His dumbass things only ever cause harm to himself and minor property damage, which is maybe why he finds his harder to ignore, because the consequence isn't death or serious bodily harm. We just gotta find a way to get him to tell his voice to SHUT UP and not act on it.

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 172

LARP and the Real Girl/Closing Time

“LARP and the Real Girl”

Plot Description: Sam and Dean investigate the mysterious deaths of two LARPers who were engaged in a game involving a real fairy

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: I mean…if the fae get you, the fae get you…

I did cut out the part in the description where they said what LARP stood for, just full disclosure

Honestly, they DESERVE to go see a movie or hit up a bar. Just one night off

Omg I love that Dean really has accepted Garth as the new Bobby

God…I’d love that LotR poster.

Fuck you, small town cop. Look. I don’t know what this guy’s whole deal was, but as long as he treated women right and wasn’t a gatekeeping asshole, “toys” on display at your residence (read: replicas of weapons from fantasy series and probably figurines of some sort. (Remind me to make a post about how much I’ve spent on the anime figures at my work desk…and the look on my work bestie’s face when she saw the amount)) are not a sign that you can’t be in a relationship or get laid.

“These kids today with their texting and murder…” I wanna kiss whoever wrote that line of dialogue on the mouth.

Felicia Day’s hair is so pretty

The dramatic thunder is…well, it’s something

Sometimes I get so sad about how much Dean has missed out on due to John. THIS is one of those times. He’s so excited to help Charlie with her battle strategy!! And he never got to foster that because he had to grow up WAY too fast and ALWAYS had to keep the tough guy persona. He’s such a little nerd at heart

Dean and Charlie should have gotten wayyyyyy more time together

You know, for being known as the nerdier of the two brothers, Sam is having zero fun with this and really just wants to get the job done. Dean’s in costume and following Charlie around as she flirts with every woman she encounters in their investigation

Noooooo don’t abduct Charlieeeeeeee

Oh. Looks like Charlie is no longer disappointed in her kidnapping

I love the boys getting sidelined in favor of the rules of this LARPing community

Of COURSE it’s that dude

Did he really think that the sword, once it turned back into foam, was going to stop Dean??

Omg is he……….HE’S GIVING THE SPEECH FROM BRAVEHEART. Deeeeeeeean

“Closing Time”

Plot Description: The Doctor, in his final days of life, encounters a mystery as he visits an old friend

Don’t love that we’re back with James Corden

What is happening with the…no that’s not how you ask about lighting in this show. Hey, who turned out the lights?

The cybermen? Maybe

Stormaggedon, Dark Lord of All is quite the name for a baby to give themself

This Farewell Tour he’s on doesn’t hit as hard as Ten’s because he’s really been with just Amy and Rory and River most of the time, with the exception of Craig (who he’s visiting now), also I know he has at least two more seasons

Hmmmmmmmm a motorized toy…the cybermen are hijacking TOYS??

Omg…I don’t like how often Moffat-run shows have the joke “oh these two men seen together and/or show any sort of affection toward each other MUST be gay.”

He just went straight for the lingerie department?? Come on…

Oh they didn’t hijack shit, they just put a weird robotic rat thing in a department store

I forgot we jumped ahead some time….we still get a little bit of Amy and Rory, but Amy’s already a perfume model

The cybermen gave the cybermat TEETH??? WHY???

These….oh, yeah. Those are things to cry about later. For sure

Oh…that baby’s ceiling is the ideal. Like, real project galaxies

Aw man, James Corden only ALMOST got mauled by the lil rat thingy

Ugh, the Doctor is doing the whole “I shouldn’t have anyone around me” thing again

Did they actually kill Craig???? What is happening???? Ahhh, rats. Like, of course they didn’t but STILL

So the cybermen just exploded? Because Craig felt emotion again??

This episode is just eh. Except for the Doctor’s coat. The coat’s good

Why DOES linear time affect him now??

Oh that’s where he got the hat River’s about to shoot off

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

#i did see calico jacks passive aggressive remarks as going rigt over eds head but they go over the rest of the crews head too#it occurs to me that calico jack might be kind of an outlier in his fluency with underhanded comments#its really not something we see anywhere else in ofmd’s pirate culture. which kind of. makes me wonder about cj’s background#ik hes messy party animal frat boy coded but the thing about frat boys is a lot of them come from rich as balls families#anyway yeah stedes bad at communicating hy accident and#im not even sure i WOULD call izzy bad at communicating. he seems to communicate what he wants to say pretty well#its just everything he has to say is shit 😔 (@ourfag)

Friendo I'm sure you realized this when you talked about CJ in the tags of the post of someone with my pfp, but you have in fact activated my trap card. So I do and don't think that Jack's passive aggression went over Ed's head, he just misinterpreted it because he didn't have all of the context. The two times Jack said something explicitly mean in front of Ed was "Whose the big gal" and "Not like one of these storebought types." First with whose the big gal, I think that Ed didn't so much miss that as he did write it off as "just how Jack is" Jack calls Ed a dopey bastard, he calls Izzy a sentimental bastard, he makes fun of Ed for not wanting to drink first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Jack is mean across the board, including to people he's ostensibly on good terms with. Stede saw "who's the big gal" as bullying, Jack saw "whose the big gal" as a thinly veiled Jab at a guy he's already decided to hate before he met him, and Ed saw "whose the big gal" as light hearted ribbing that Jack uses to relate to people and an invitation for Stede to engage in the douchey frat behavior that could go real wrong real fast that he had to course correct slightly but ultimately not make a big deal of. No one is on the same page for that moment, but to Ed it's just his problematic bestie being problematic. Nothing to write home about.

As for "Not like one of these storebought types." I do actually think that that one might have gone over Ed's head, just because it's passive aggression and he's not super familiar with that, but I disagree whole heartedly with the assertion that it went over the crew's head. They're just on Jack's side, and you would be too. Like think about it, you're a very very poor person and you've resorted to crime in order to fucking eat, and here comes this fucking guy who's just doing crime for the love of the game. He's doing poverty tourism, and yeah he's paying you but also he keeps doing these things that are super annoying and betray that he very much doesn't understand what kind of financial pressure you're under. Then along comes this other guy who started out poor as dirt, but has done crime well enough that he now has money. Like he started where you are now and he worked his way up by being very very good at crime, and then he's mean to the guy who is doing poverty tourism about him doing poverty tourism, and even though you've come to like the rich guy, he fucking deserves to get bullied a little bit for being a rich guy who bought his way into it. Like on the one hand you're sort of friends but on the other hand fuck that guy a little bit. Like you'd defend him from the navy, and from homophobia, but when a poor person comes to talk shit about him for being rich, well he just has to take that because Jack is in fact right.

Also I don't think CJ is actually that frat boy coded, he's douchebag party animal coded, which is something that is highly associated with frats but is not exclusive to frats. Like rich kids who's dads are paying for them to go to college do not have a monopoly on getting very drunk and doing stupid shit, or on being bullies. Jack is working class coded (wayyyyyy more so than Izzy) a. because he's a dirty cowboy, B. Because he has a substantive class critique of Stede, and C. because it's heavily implied that he and Ed started out in roughly the same place when they got into piracy and Ed is explicitly rags to riches. His proficiency with passive aggression might cause someone to wonder but again, being a manipulative bully is not something that rich people have a monopoly on.

also you're right about Izzy

I think Ed kind of does have some issues communicating it's just that those issues aren't being bad at communicating they're "I operate at a certain level of honesty and I expect others to do the same" it's less of a "I can't read social cues" and more of a "why would I bother with that social cue when you directly contradicted it with your mouth? I'm just gonna go with what your mouth said." And honestly I think that this is the right way to communicate and we should start accusing Stede and Izzy of having trouble with communication actually. Like yeah Stede had a big neon "doesn't want to run away to China" sign directly above his head and it was flashing, but he said yes I will go to China with you so that's his problem for not clarifying.

[tmntxthings]

Pt. 3 Rise!Leo falling in love

author's note: I think I went wayyyyyy off course last part LOL. lets try to get back to the romance <3 well here's to trying at least

warnings: violence, guns, angst, fluff, jealousy

previous - next

—————————————————————————

previously . . .

Ding! The doorbell rang out clear and everyone’s head turned, you hoped whoever it was turned and ran for help. “Anyone call for a- BUTT WHOPPING?!” A flash of orange whirled into the room, nun chucks spinning and flying out knocking two henchmen out cold. Before anyone could move blue light shined in the middle of the room. You knew it was them. They had come, your heart swelled with hope. Leo had come to save you!

Leonardo burst through his portal, swords swinging. Donnie and Raph alongside him. A huge red hand came into view batting away the group that surrounded the table. Seven men went flying, slamming into a wall and crumpling into a pile. "Don, Leo, go I'll make sure these ones don't get back up." Raph's voice was loud and serious. He didn't want any of his brothers injured and the fact that they knew all these guys had guns put the older brother on edge.

"Incoming!" Donnie announced just as a few shots rang out towards them, Leo slashed a sword, portal(ing) a couple while Don flew up to avoid the rest. "I think it's only right to play fair" Donnie huffed as his bo transformed to show a few guns of his own. Laser points rested on six individuals firing at nonvital points instantly. The henchmen were forced to drop their guns as they reacted to the pain.

Mikey was busy wrapping up another guy, "I doubt anyone will want this present," Mikey snickered to himself as his chains squeezed the henchman tighter.

Leo was racing forward, all but one remained thanks to his brothers efficiency. The leader, it was obvious at how he loomed over the table where you and April sat. He was calculating his next move as he watched his men get taken down in seconds. The turtles weren't messing around. So the leader turned the gun to April and Leo clenched his teeth as he came skidding to a halt, one sword out in front of him pointing at the villain.

"Now what will you do, this little piggie seemed to be the one who called you mutants ruining all my fun." His hood fell back and revealed a mangled face with crazed eyes. Red eyes that looked painful and itchy. "Drop your weapon." Leo warned and he took a step forward only to stop when he heard the click of the gun being cocked. "Or what?" The man laughed hysterically, and Leo was forced to take drastic measures first, lest April be the consequence of him not doing what needed to be done.

Quicker than lightning, Leo portaled himself between the gun and April, immediately forcing the barrel upright as the villain shot at the roof. Then Leo kicked him squarely in the stomach with as much power as possible, holding onto the gun as the guy tumbled back to the ground coughing. Relief could be felt, all of the evildoers were disarmed and on the ground in surrender or unconscious.

"I won't forget this!" Wretched coughing kept coming from the leader. "Good remember this as the day that you were defeated in under 3 minutes and 44 seconds." Donnie said triumphantly as his digital stop watch came into display showing those exact numbers. "And remember not to mess with our friends!" Raph stomped over to where the guy was still hunched over. "Yeah!" Mickey quipped as he made his way over to April.

Leo who was usually full of comebacks, was too angry to think of any. He wanted out of here, to take you and April and his brothers away from this scene. Sirens were sounding in the distance as they did exactly that. But Leo did give the villain one last glare, trying to penetrate through his psychopathic skull to never threaten you or April again.

。・゜・( pov change: y/n )・゜・。

You were on a couch, sitting next to April with a blanket thrown over both of you as all of the brothers surrounded fussing. Raph was standing with his arms crossed, Mikey was pacing around Raph in circles, Donnie sat next to April while Leo sat next to you.

April was retelling the entire story, from the bump incident, to running to the noodle shop, to well, the rest of the story. "He took the guy's weapon and-" April stalled. You were taken back right to the moment where the shot rang in your ears and the body slumped to the ground. You pulled your legs up, and wrapped your arms around them, shaking your head as April gave up on continuing. "He was insane."

The turtles all looked at each other before turning back to April and you with sad eyes. "I'm sorry we couldn't get there sooner," Donnie said sincerely. He had been the most stressed out of all of them when he got April's call. He had heard the shots too, and when April's line had went quiet and all Donnie could hear was that crazy man in the background he had worried for his friend's life. Leo, Raph, and Mikey knew how serious the situation was, and Donnie had given as much information as he could, but it wasn't the same as actually hearing it. He knew the two of you could say the same, it wasn't the same as actually witnessing it.

"So... who are you?" Mikey asked gently, he had come up in front of you and crouched at his knees to be on the same eye level. He had the kindest smile you had ever seen. "Y/n" you said quietly, trying to push out what had just happened. Four mutant turtles sure were a great distraction. You had never seen Leo's brothers before though April had described them to you before the trouble happened. Though you did know of them, Leo had told you all about each of his brothers and how they all got on his nerves. His late night talks usually were about his brothers.

"Nice to meet you Y/n, I'm Mikey!" His grin only widened. How could one be so sweet. Your eyes crinkled returning the smile as you said, "Yeah Leo told me about you" This had Mikey turning to his brother, a nonexistent eyebrow raised. Leo looked everywhere but his lil bro, "yeahhhh" Leo confirmed. Mikey's brain cells came together and sparked, "HER EYES!!" Mikey looked deep into your eyes, getting closer and closer, like his was trying to see if they had something special in them. "Alright Mikey, give them some space!" Leo grumped as he reached between the two of you to push him in the chest backwards.

"You're the one who has Leon all looking up at the stars," Raph laughed as he teased his younger brother. Times like this only came once in a while, it was usually Leo dishing it out. "Raph!" Leo hopped up from his place next to you, suddenly it was embarrassing to be so close when just earlier he couldn't bear to be apart. You hadn't realized that Leo had kept you a secret from everyone but April! You felt your blood rise to your cheeks, you felt embarrassed now too... "Uhm can you show me where the bathroom is?" You turned to April who had a smile on her face now. Watching Leo, Mikey, and Raph squabble, Donnie smiled to himself too, he had been in the loop too even if it was last minute. He was scrolling on his phone, looking up every now and then. "I can show you!" Mikey announced as he stopped bouncing between Leo and Raph in favor of getting to know you better. But both on them reached out grabbing one of Mikey's shoulders each, "How about you let April do that," Raph said and Leo shook his head at what could possibly be going through Mikey's head.

April stood up and you followed, "yeah no problem, it's this way" you two left the living room area as Mikey 'awed' and explained how he only wanted to be nice. April laughed to herself as the brothers voices grew quiet the further they went. "Here we are," April stopped outside of a closed door. You hadn't really needed to pee, so you leaned your back against the door. "Something wrong?" April asked, a frown reappearing on her features. You sighed, "How come.." you felt hesitant for some reason to continue your question, "How come you and Donnie seem to at least know of me while Raph and Mikey don't have a clue?" April shrugged, "That's a Leo question" you chewed on your cheek, you knew that would be the case. "Do I embarrass him?" You blurted, knowing this too would be a Leo question.

"Leo" April started, "question" you finished, sighing to yourself again. "Hey, don't worry Y/n I'm sure you're overthinking, and so is Leo probably!" April patted your shoulder, "Wanna head back?" You nodded, you didn't feel as flustered or red, just confused. "If you want," April said as she led you back to the living room, "I can help you."

That confused you more, but she seemed to have a twinkle in her eye, so who were you to refuse some help, regardless if you didn't know exactly how it would play out. So you smiled and said "I'd appreciate that," April smiled too, "Just play along with me then!"

。・゜・( pov change: both )・゜・。

Leo watched as you and April returned. He was sitting next to Donnie on the oversized couch. He had finally gotten Raph and Mikey to quit with the teasing, the two were in front of the tv deciding on something to watch so everyone could wind down. Splinter had passed through the room minutes before you had returned, Leo would have to make sure he mentioned about his rat mutant father and vice versa about you to him. It really would've been easier if he had come clean to his family a while ago.

He noticed that April was really sticking close to your side, he wondered if you were okay. Maybe going to the bathroom was code for girls to go talk about stuff, he hoped the two of you weren't thinking too hard about what had happened. Leo had expected you to come sit next to him, but instead April whispered in your ear and took your hand and led you to sit next to Donnie. So that you were squished between April and his twin, and there was no way Leo could sit next to you.

"How about some Jupiter Jim?" Mikey asked, it seemed like the only show all the brothers could agree on whenever they were all in the living room. "Oh! I'm on episode 5," you said proudly and leaned forward to show Leo a smile. He grinned back, "I see you started the binge, what do you think so far?" Leo had to lean forward too to basically talk around Don. Who didn't mind in the slightest as he was still on his phone. "It's pretty good," you gave a so-so hand signal and Leo gave a fake gasp. "You offend me! Jim is the best."

You stuck out your tongue at him teasingly, and then Mikey and Raph took their seats on big bean bags. "Lights" Donnie called out and the lair darkened. "Woah!" You said impressed as you watched the lights dim and then turn off completely. Donnie gave you a side glance before going back to his phone. April whispered some more in your ear, then it got quiet except for the television. A few minutes passed by before you leaned over to Donnie and subtly asked, "how does it work?" Dee froze, not really one for close proximities, but obliged you in an explanation. The two of you staying in quiet voices so everyone else's attention could maintain on the show. Except Leo couldn't seem to. In fact the more you and Don talked, he noticed his own twin start to lean towards you. A flare of jealousy struck him in his chest. He had pictured you over, watching Jupiter Jim with him and his brothers plenty of times.

But in those fantasies he had been the one sitting next to you, answering your questions and whispering in your ear. Leo couldn't stop himself as he pinched his purple brother. "What?" Donnie hissed as he batted away Leo's hand. "Switch with me." Leo grumped. Then unbeknownst to Leo, April jabbed a finger into Donnie's side grabbing his attention and shaking her head furiously. Donnie turned back to Leo, "Me and Y/n are getting to know each other, you've gotten private time for like five weeks straight." Then he promptly turned back to you, ignoring whatever refute Leo had been conjuring up.

Leo left out a big unsatisfied sigh as you kept talking to his twin. By the time the episode finished, Leo was standing and now in front of you and Donnie. "It's getting pretty late Y/n, want me to take you home?" He offered up his hand for you to grab, not thinking you would ever say something like no. You turned and looked at April who was staring at you like she was trying to tell you something without words. "Uh, actually I asked Donnie while we were watching and he said he would..." Your eyes glanced at Donnie and then down to Leo's feet.

Donnie smirked, "Right you did, let's go Y/n" Donnie stood up brushing past Leo as he stared down at you. "Don, before you go, a word?" Leo was still staring at you before he turned and started walking, Donnie followed after him. Only once they were out of sight did you let out a breath you hadn't realized you were holding. "Good job!" April said smacking your back. "That was harder than I thought it would be" you gave her a weak smile, "Are you sure that's going to help??" You had felt the laser beams Leo’s eyes had been pewing your way during the entire show. "Oh yah, whatever you did definitely worked up little Leo" Raph spoke up from his bean bag. Mikey sing songed, "He's so jealousss"

"I feel bad for Donnie being on the brunt end of this whole scheme.." you spoke out your worries to which everyone laughed. "Don's already figured it out, he loves playing Leo like a fiddle, especially if Leo is in the wrong" April assured you.

Leo came back in the room, "Donnie's a little tied up at the moment in his lab, so he told me to go ahead and take you, that's if you don't mind..." Tied up quite literally. Mikey jumped up heading to the lab with his phone in hand, opening up the camera app. You stood nodding, "Okay" hopefully April was right. "Goodluck Y/n!" April called as Leo portaled.

[lunarticxenia]

Moon Signs Pt. 2

Hi guys here’s part 2 of the moon sign series! After I post this, I’m going to be focusing more on answering your questions, I have a lot to answer. Thanks so much for all the support! Without further ado, here’s Libra through Pisces moons! 

🌵Libra Moon: You guys LOVE attention, and you don’t even try to hide it LMAO. One of my good friends is a Libra moon and he literally loves to say outlandish things just to get a reaction from us and to get attention from us if we’re not talking to him enough in a conversation. Libra moons also love relationships and if underdeveloped they may feel incomplete without one. They can also be very dependent on their partner for happiness as well. However, they are romantic and in love with love. They’re also extremely sensitive and are very feminine. Even in men, it gives them a more feminine touch to their personality. They also hold their morals in very high regard. They have their set morals and won’t change them for anything or anyone. They also tend to hate conflict and usually shy away from confrontation. They’re also too nice, WAYYYYYY too nice. You guys need to be more assertive LMAO. They’re also extremely optimistic and if they don’t believe in that particular way they at least try to be optimistic with others. They’re always reminding you the glass is half full. Also, Libra moons are mad clingy. Even with those they’re not dating LMAO. My Libra moon friend whenever I try to leave the FaceTime Call, he’s like “Don’t go... :(”. They just love to be around the ones they love. They’re also in love with beauty, and all things beautiful in the world. They’re lovers of music, art, film, and literature. Libra moons also have a softness in their eyes, I can’t describe it. This girl I used to like has a Libra moon and her eyes were just so soft. They’re also extremely indecisive, they tend to flip flop between who they wanna be and what they wanna do. They also aren’t shy when it comes to compliments, they will compliment TF out of you. They’re the best hype man. They also put others before themselves a lot, and can be very shy upon first meeting them. However once they feel comfortable around you they open up. One last thing, I feel like they tend to like anyone who’s nice to them...don’t attack me. LMAO.  

🌵Scorpio Moon: I feel like Scorpio moons have about ten different playlists relating to their emotions and still won’t open up to anyone about how they feel. Scorpio moons I feel have such intense emotions that they just don’t deal with them and they tend to implode after a while. I relate to them a lot in that respect tbh with my Sun square Moon, because that’s how I am. You guys are also super passionate and super creative. Every Scorpio moon I’ve met has been really creative in some way whether it be makeup, fashion style, or artwork. I’ve also noticed that this is a very alluring placement, there’s this intriguing way about them, and like Aries Moons, they have a fire in their eyes. Their gaze is INTENSE. They’re also very selective with who they let close to them, they don’t let just anybody in. They’re also very good at reading other people and seeing people’s true intentions. They have an extremely good intuition. If underdeveloped this can be used to manipulate other people, as well as being compulsive liars. Scorpio moons are also very protective over the ones they love. If you mess with anyone they care about, they will kill you. End of story. Also I feel like every Scorpio moon I’ve met has been through the wringer, like they’ve really had some hard experiences, it’s so sad to me. Scorpio moons are also extremely stubborn, remember this is a fixed sign. Scorpio moons ain’t playing, once they’ve settled on something, they’re not budging. Also, can we just say, masters at investigating people. These are the friends you want stalking your ex’s social media. They will find out everything. They’re also really good psychologists as well, almost all the Scorpio moons I’ve met are actually Psychology majors LMAO. They’re very good at finding the root causes of people’s issues. I also feel like Scorpio moons undergo a lot of transformations in their lives. I’ve known a Scorpio moon for about 10 years now and he’s undergone so many different transformations in his life. Mentally and physically. They’re also extremely sarcastic and have a tendency to be pessimistic. They’re also mad scary when angry. I’ve seen them angry before, as an Aries moon, even I get a little scared.... love y’all tho. 

🌵Sagittarius Moon: The funniest people ever. Sagittarius moons always have me laughing my ass off. Their sense of humor is very diverse. They tend to stick with sarcasm and like to say outlandish things to make people laugh. Also, I feel like Sagittarius moons tend to go for science/math oriented careers or at least have an interest in those subjects. I know four Sag moons, and they’re all in STEM it’s actually crazy. They’re also extremely blunt and honest, especially when it comes to people they don’t like LMAO. They make it very clear when they don’t like someone, it’s so funny. They’re also just so much fun, like they’re genuinely so much fun to hang out with. I feel like I’ve never not had a good time hanging out with a Sagittarius moon. I feel like Sag moons however tend to struggle with asserting themselves a lot of times, until they get really fed up.  They’re very much go with the flow kinda people, and this can be to their detriment especially with the ones they love, they don’t wanna rock the boat. However, they also make really good mediators and are good at settling arguments. They also really like to travel, and likely have traveled a lot. All the Sagittarius moons I know have traveled to at least 4+ countries. They love traveling the world, and I’ve also noticed move or want to move far away from their childhood home. They wanna explore everything the world has to offer. My cousin who’s a Sag moon left her parents’ house to move a few states away and my other friend who’s a Sag moon wants to move to the other side of the country. These individuals also tend to like foreign culture as well. I’ve noticed Sagittarius moons tend to like foreign music or foreign tv shows. I feel like they also tend to ignore their emotions when they get sad and just don’t like to deal with their emotions. They also don’t like to talk about how they feel and will brush sad things off because it’s just too upsetting for them. However, once the emotions boil over, just like their anger, they will blow up LMAO. I’ve also noticed that they’re really good at teaching people things? Like my Sag moon friend explained this Chemistry equation to me I couldn’t understand and I got it after 10 minutes. Natural teachers. 

🌵 Capricorn Moon: Guys, it’s okay to open up. You don’t have to pretend to be so strong all the time, you’re not weak for showing your emotions. Anyway, Cap moons have high expectations for people, and will not tolerate any bs from people. I seriously commend them for that. I feel like Cap moons struggle with how their points are being expressed, they can say one thing, but it’s seen as something else. While Capricorn moons may struggle with expressing their emotions, I haven’t found them to be closed off or cold when meeting them. Every Capricorn moon I’ve met has warmed up to me very quickly and have been super nice. I feel like they’re very friendly and once they have a conversation with you they’re really warm and kind. Also, they’re not afraid of anything?? Except for showing their feelings maybe. But like, they’re so open to trying new things like scary rollercoasters and aren’t afraid to fight for themselves if they have to. Also, super fucking ambitious. I wish I could be ambitious. These people will really have like three jobs, be in school, and tend to household responsibilities. I don’t know how you guys do it. Now everyone says Capricorn moons are just analytical and systematic when confronted with conflict, and I personally haven’t found that to be true. If they feel wronged?? Nah. They’re not going to be systematic or logical or anything. They will go off. As for personal challenges, yes they’ll be more analytical. But I feel like everyone boils down Cap moons to emotionless and machine-like nerds, which I find to be very untrue. Capricorn moons are very soft once they’re vulnerable with you, and genuinely feel like they’re bothering people when they show their emotions and feel weak for showing them. Also I’ve noticed that their mom is a big motivator for their success. Their moms always push them to do their best in work and school. If poorly aspected, they could feel too pressured by their moms to do well. Also, they’re so underrated for being funny. They have a really dry sense of humor and it’s well developed. I also feel like they get overlooked for putting others before themselves, when it comes to the people they love they’ll do anything for them. Brb gonna go give my Cap moon friends a hug. 

🌵Aquarius Moon: You guys are just so unique. There’s something unique about each and every Aquarius moon, whether it’s a quirk or a hobby. These people are literally the best to talk to. It’s so easy to have a conversation with them, they really can talk about anything. I’ve also noticed that Aquarius moons tend to be interested in astrology and tarot and things of that kind. Every Aquarius moon I’ve met has been really interested in it, and even involved in it. I feel like they also have big dreams, and have big plans for themselves. Aquarius moons also love to get lost in their music and tend to use it as an escape. This can be a problem because they tend to avoid dealing with their feelings. They also go between reacting to things really heavily vs not reacting at all. It just seems like it goes back and forth. They speak up with things are unjust however only to their friends or online. They just don’t like to deal with face to face conflict in that regard. They also give really great advice. My best friend is an Aquarius moon and she always gives me the best advice. She knows me better than I know myself tbh. I feel like Aquarius moons relish in being unique LMAO. I’m 99% sure they had an “I’m not like other girls” phase. I feel like this placement always tends to space out and daydream a lot. They also aren’t the types to just lash out at people, their anger is more subtle (unless they have other placements of course). I feel like Aquarius moons also have a lot of friends but they tend to have a small group of friends that they tend to be super super close with. They’re also...really charming? I don’t know what it is, but like every single one I’ve met has been really charming and likable. They also have a really goofy sense of humor and love to do wild shit to make people laugh. I feel like some downsides of Aquarius moons are that they tend to be too analytical and rationalize things too much, and they inadvertently invalidate other people’s feelings. Aquarius moons are also super open minded to all opinions. I have a friend who I tend to disagree with on certain issues but they’ve always been open to hearing my opinion. They also love to travel too. I’ve noticed that as well. 

🌵Pisces Moon: To think, I was almost one of you guys. No seriously I almost was, if I were born four hours earlier I would’ve been a Pisces moon LMAO. Anyhoo, Pisces moons are just so sweet. I don’t know how else to start, they literally are the sweetest people and give off this mystical type of aura. They’re very otherworldly. Also, these people daydream 24/7. They put Aquarius moons to shame in daydreaming. This girl I like is a Pisces moon and I always catch her daydreaming LMAO. They’re also extremely sensitive too and feel things so deeply. They try to hide how they feel from people, but you can see it in their eyes. I can always tell when my Pisces moon friend is upset just by the look in her eyes. They also tend to be introverted and it takes a while for them to warm up to someone. My co-worker is a Pisces moon and it took 2 weeks for her to finally start talking to me LMAO. They also have really vivid and wild dreams too. I feel like my Pisces moon friend is always telling me about some wild dream they had like that they were in a castle or in an ocean. They also can be really moody, they can be fine one second and then get really sad out of nowhere. Their emotions are like the ocean. I feel like another downside of Pisces Moons are that they can be very manipulative however this is really with any underdeveloped water moon/sun placement. I also feel like they tend to be escapists a lot. They don’t like to deal with reality a lot, and they see the best in everything and everyone even if it’s to their demise. They’re also super friendly and are nice to everyone they meet, even if they’re reserved they’re still very sweet. They’re also extremely creative too, I feel like every Pisces moon I’ve ever met has some sort of creative hobby. My co-worker who’s a Pisces moon is working on becoming a photographer and her stuff is AMAZING. I think that’s because they see the best in the world and the beauty in everything; and they know how to show that in their work so others can see the world like they do. They’re also super empathetic and are really good listeners. You can talk to them about anything and feel understood. :) 

So this wraps up my moon sign series! I hope you guys liked it! Again, don’t take offense these are just my opinions on each moon sign! Hope you guys enjoyed, and if you don’t see your moon sign here it’s likely in part one. 

[tutuandscoot]

Thoughts while watching the YVR 2010 CD replay while I sew:

Teams having super intense/overly dramatic intros then getting one of the weak- ass music tracks.

D/S (🇫🇷) insanely over the top intros (that I swear to god go for more than 30secs)- then also getting weak-ass music (but I’m obsessed with her dress)

C/P (🇨🇦) Paul looking about 10 and Vanessa looking about 30

Hardly anyone actually straightening/turning out legs/ pointing feet on the arabesque curve towards the end

99% of the guys wearing wayyyyyy to many sparkles (ugh 2010’s fashion 🤢)

Scott looking about 12 but eating Tessa alive in their into and ending

Teams death staring the judges but it’s coming off kinda creepy

⭐️VM’s EDGES⭐️

The speed skater-style entrances when names get announced (seriously what up with that like conserve your energy)

HOW THE FUCK DID THE RUSSIANS GET A HIGHER SCORE THAN VM SERIOUSLY THEY WERE AKWARD AF

Cringing on 99% of the helicopter turns

Anytime I see a team wearing gloves I just think ‘VM don’t like to wear gloves they like to feel each other’s bare hands’

TESSA’s DRESS

Scott’s eyebrows (the best eyebrows they should win a gold medal)

I’ve lost track of how many different coaches C/L (🇮🇹) had over the years

D/W lack of personality

Teams not knowing when to stop after they finish the second pattern and some of them nearly sliding the whole way across the rink ?? (P/B)

I’m sorry I get that Belbin + Agosto we’re good skaters but they are just waayyy too over the top in the performance department for me it’s really off putting and she doesn’t that’s very good posture (I think coz she’s trying so hard she gets all tense).

‘Maneater’ playing in between skaters while waiting for scores and thinking about the fact that VM had no choice in performing that but still fucking nailing it anyway (making shit chore look amazing and being so committed)

‘Say it right’ playing in the background and thinking about that wall chore

VM saying ‘That was fun’ in unison in the K&C (STOP BEING SO CUTE I SWEAR TO GOD)

Marina saying ‘look how gorgeous Tessa looks’ and Scott saying ‘thank you’ (stop it boy I’m gonna squish you)

Jesus Christ they really need to bring back the CD like half these teams weren’t good anyway so what does that say about senior teams that never did/have done CD’s - like it just goes to show how much you can hide when it’s all your own chore designed to hide weaknesses

This was fun!! Let me know if I should do this on the other VM oly replays

[daimyosprincess]

jjjjjuuuuuUULLLLLIIIIEIIEEEEEE

THE FLIRTING

THE TENSION

THE DRAMA

I'm 💀💀💀

Tepid air breezed through her long dark hair as she stood on the platform for the airtram, carrying the cool tang of fresh rain with it that was never present in the stale atmosphere of recycled air in the underground world.

That description 🤌🤌

“Mari… please. It’s too early to be banging on shit,” he grumbled, motioning for her to come in and rubbing his temples with his fingertips. “This is black caf…y-you know my caf order?”

Fox, my beloved!! It's little scenes like this one where she knows his caf order that show how much Mari truly cares for the clones

It was good timing because Mari had been toying around with finally moving on. Not to her next sexual conquest, but to something real. Someone special and different who cared about the galaxy and her place in it. Sleeping around wasn’t fun anymore and taking the long break she had from serious dating after Kiro was allowing too much of her loneliness to factor into her decision-making. She did not want to go back on her promise to herself because she couldn’t stand being alone for long enough to wait for the right guy.

Mari my beloved you deserve the world, don't worry bby a strong blond clone captain is on the wayyyyyy

In all seriousness tho, getting more of Mari's backstory is great

Fives shook his head, stunned by her temptatious flirting. She’d knocked him off his feet in a way he absolutely wasn’t prepared for. “Uh yeah sure I guess. But when he inevitably and stupidly says no, promise you’ll let me dance with you?” he bartered, gently grabbing her shoulder. While he certainly was nice enough, he was definitely the heartbreaker of the bunch. He was too smooth not to be. 

Fivesssssssssss ilysm come over to mine, I'll make you feel even better than better I promise 🤭

Mari stepped forward, completely unfazed by the tension of the situation, and sat in the empty chair beside him. He reached forward to take the whiskey from her hand, but she jerked it away.  “No, the drink is for me.” She brought the glass to her lips and sipped, maintaining direct eye contact with him as her tongue slipped past her lips. He raised a confused brow and cocked his head slightly before she set down the glass and slid forward in her chair. She leaned into him, staring deeply into his brown eyes, and ran a few gentle fingertips along his durasteel jaw. “I’m your gift,” she whispered, running a thumb across his bottom lip and smirking at him. 

Rex baby you're stronger than me I would have simply melted right through the floor straight to bisexual hell if Mari did that to me

Shooting another glare at Fives, he pulled her forward, patting his upper thigh and boldly inviting her to sit in his lap, exciting her even more. He was definitely tense and preoccupied, but he wasn’t innocent. Mari obliged, sliding over to position herself on his lap and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He eased his strong biceps around her sides, a large splayed hand supporting the small of her back.

LAP SITTING MY WEAKNESS!!!! MARI BRINGING OUT REX'S BOLD SIDE!!!!!!! I'M DYING!!!!!!!!!

Stars-- look what you do to me…” he sighed, rutting his hips up into the space between her thighs to make her feel him. The black fabric tented beneath his codpiece, the length of him even harder than his armor. “I can do that without touching you? What’s gonna happen when I get my hands on you?” Mari whispered in his ear, letting her lips brush against his neck. He growled softly in response, his hands coming down to grip her hips powerfully. Maker, he was strong.

When a day or two went by without even so much as a message from him, Mari sulked in her apartment pathetically and mourned something that never even existed with someone she wished she didn’t have to see the face of everywhere she went.

Me: knowing that this is going to happen Also me: 😰😰 oh no what if they never see other again, they have such chemistry what if something bad happened, no he seemed like a good guy, oh noooo, rexxxxxxxxx where ya atttttttt

Unwritten

The Captain's Log Prequel

A Captain Rex x OC: Mari Vontas Origin Story

Chapter 1: Someone New

Series Summary: Mari Vontas has spent nearly twenty years of her life rising to the surface of the bustling ecumenopolis of the Republic Capital planet of Coruscant. Now, about a year into the conflict known galaxy-wide as the Clone Wars, Mari finds herself on a Civilian Rights Committee serving closely under none other than Senator Padmé Amidala. Though her passion for justice fuels her professionally, her personal life has yet to catch up. That is, until a night at the clone bar 79s changes her passion for her job, her historically rocky love life and the trajectory of her destiny forever.

Series Tags/Warnings: Rated E (18+ Only MINORS DNI), canon compliant, canon typical violence, political themes, war references, battle trauma and loss, human rights discussions and most importantly lots and lots of smut and heartstopping relationship drama and fluff.

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Pairing: Captain Rex x OC Mari Vontas Word Count: 8.8k Series Rating: Explicit (18+ only, Minors DO NOT INTERACT) Chapter Summary: The Captain's Log prequel has arrived :) Your favorite couple had to start somewhere… Chapter Warnings: 18+ as usual but SFW, No Smut this time, Mature Themes, Suggestive Situations, Language, Political References, References to Canon Plot, References to Canon, Mutual Pining

21 BBY - One Year into the Clone War

A great outfit and a steaming cup of caf in hand were all Mari ever needed to start her mornings. Before she moved up to the planet's surface where the sun could actually reach her at the break of dawn, caf was the only thing strong enough to wake her and trick her body into realizing it was the start of a new day. Coruscant’s lower levels never got sun, and those who called it home had to rely on stimulants and artificial sunlight to feel even a fraction of the climate the surface did.

No matter how long she lived above the cityscape horizon line, she could never get used to it. Tepid air breezed through her long dark hair as she stood on the platform for the airtram, carrying the cool tang of fresh rain with it that was never present in the stale atmosphere of recycled air in the underground world. The warmth that came from this system’s sun, instead of a manufactured heat source, tinged her exposed shoulders as it rose to start the day.

The platform continued to crowd with lifeforms of more species than she could count. The place seemed more crowded than usual as beings of every kind tried to make their way to work on time. No surprise there, as the galaxy’s capital flooded with more and more refugees from planets consumed by the Clone War.

The war tore entire worlds apart, contributed to mass organized crime and terrorism, and displaced millions every day. The Republic Senate had already spent an entire year funding the conflict, and discussing interplanetary negotiations and organizing relief efforts had become part of Mari’s daily life. Every conflict prompted relief bills, investigative committees, and political lobbying. It was a lot more than she had initially signed up for–an entirely different world than the spying and whistleblowing she had done in the Coruscanti underworld as a young girl.

Still, she could help people–people lost and alone like she once was–without any family to turn to or a place to live. She could make a difference. Luckily, she was placed under the best senator in the galaxy, Senator Padmé Amidala, Representative of Naboo. Padmé headed the special interest Civilian Rights Committee to which Mari had been assigned close to a year ago. It was little more than admin work at times, but it was less dangerous than being a double agent and far better than being a thief.

The airtram approached with a slow, steely screech, doors opening and allowing passengers in and out. Mari filtered in with the crowd, taking the lone seat at the end like she always did. She had a perfect view of the surface this way and, even on her worst days, it made her realize how far she’d come after nearly 20 years on her own. Now, she spent the majority of the short ride to the Senate Rotunda mentally preparing herself for the day ahead. 

General Kenobi had recently reported back to the Jedi Council and Republic Senate after freeing a small handful of Ryloth’s population from a Separatist hostage situation, and the details so far were extremely grim. With the Republic quickly working to provide support to the Twi’leks, Mari and Padmé had spent the last few weeks exploring every humanitarian avenue they could to find covert ways to provide emergency relief supplies to those suffering in the midst of their battle for liberation. 

As Mari watched the airtram approach the Senate Building stop, she sincerely hoped either Padmé or Bail had come up with some ingenious way to transport the starving people some food and medical supplies. Maker knew Padmé’s close ties with her Jedi friends often helped the committee break barriers that other Senators or special interest groups would have trouble circumventing.

The crimson halls of the Senate Building always energized Mari, even when the work got hard. Every one of her colleagues was highly regarded throughout the galaxy and it was an honor to have even a tangential association with any of them. 

She made her way through the bustling lifeforms to the lifts that led to her office. The quick rides were always the same. Most senate staffers like her were too busy to have a real conversation, and senators themselves didn’t concern themselves with the staff of colleagues they weren’t directly involved with.

That left Mari with only one option for socializing outside of her direct coworkers: The hard-working and friendly clone troopers of the Coruscant Guard. The elite troopers were assigned to deal with issues on Coruscant, guard the Republic Senate staff, and even directly assist the chancellor himself.

Mari exited the lift and made a beeline for her favorite trooper’s office. Coincidentally, the senate had given Amidala’s special interest committee an office that was only a few doors down from his, and Mari was overjoyed at the opportunity to annoy him with her presence even more than usual.

She approached the doors to his office, knocking a few quick times and hoping he was there already. Before she could knock again, the doors hissed open and she was greeted by a set of dark-circle-rimmed brown eyes and an exhausted scowl.

“Mari… please. It’s too early to be banging on shit,” he grumbled, motioning for her to come in and rubbing his temples with his fingertips. His office was an orderly mess, flimsis stacked on every corner of his desk and datapads taking up the rest of the space behind them. Mari had tried to help him organize it on more than one occasion but he liked it this way. He seemed to thrive on chaos. That was all he knew as Commander of the Coruscant Guard.

“Well then, Fox, good thing I brought you this,” she smiled, extending him the cup of caf she had carried all the way from her place. He leaned on the front of his desk, looking up at her as his scowl broke with the tiniest hint of a smile.

“Nah, c'mon. I can’t take that. That’s yours.” He waved her off, trying his best to refuse the one thing he obviously craved. Mari knew better than any civilian just how much Fox went through on a day-to-day basis. She could see it in the exhaustion behind his hooded eyes and through the graying hair at his temples that he was far, far too young to have. He never outright admitted that he struggled with a lot of his overwhelming duties as Marshal Commander of an entire planet’s armed forces. But Mari knew, so she did her best to look out for his well-being as much as she could.

“Fox…” she narrowed her eyes, scolding him gently, “take it. I’ll make more in our office.” She stepped toward him, offering it insistently and smiling at him, taking full advantage of the effect her big, pleading, brown eyes had on most men.

He rolled his eyes, sighing as he took the cup from her and shook his head. “Probably gonna be too sweet for me,” he grumbled, friendly irritation creeping into his deep voice. She arched her brow at him, folding her arms as she waited for him to take a sip. He did and his body language immediately changed to one of soothing relaxation, at least as much as Commander Fox ever could relax. “This is black caf…y-you know my caf order?”

“I’m observant. The Senator and I keep extra stocked in our office if you ever need it. That goes for all of you, actually,” Mari pointed out, patting Fox on the bicep and turning to head out of his office.

“Thanks, Sunshine. But the boys and I try our best to avoid being anywhere near Amidala. That’s the Torrent boys’ problem,” he chuckled, referring to the men in General Skywalker’s battalion who always seemed to be around and available if the senator ever needed extra help or security. Fox and the Corries had enough to worry about without getting sucked into anything General Skywalker was doing.

“Well then if I ever see them, they’ll get the good caf before you,” she laughed, turning on her heels and walking out his door. “See ya later, Fox.” He waved back, taking a few more hearty sips of caf as a final response. 

Her office door was already open, filled with more and more of her colleagues starting their long day. She took a deep breath and followed inside, fully prepared for a day of emotionally taxing humanitarian work.

“Good morning, Mari,” a pleasant and gorgeous Senator Amidala called from her private office on the other side of the room. “Your plan to send hydration boosters to Ryloth was a huge success. They were extremely grateful. Look at you, making a difference,” she giggled approvingly, making her way toward Mari’s desk.

“Thank you, Senator. Just tried my best to think of what I wanted when I was in their position. Helps to recall your own experience at times,” Mari explained, drawing upon times she wished she could forget now that she was in a better place. Padmé stopped at her desk and sat gingerly on the edge, adjusting a few of the lights and decorations that came with it.

“Of course. That makes perfect sense. You’re very empathetic and helpful. It’s one of the main reasons I wanted you on this committee. You care,” she sighed, looking out her massive office window at the sun now fully risen on a new Coruscant day. “It’s not always easy finding those who do these days. Compassion is a choice that not everyone is strong enough to make. I’m glad you’re one of those people, Mari.” Padmé smoothed out the wrinkles on her elegant purple robe and stood up, pointing at something on my desk just out of sight. “By the way, I left you a cup of caf. I saw you came in without one. Enjoy and good luck today.”

Mari turned over her shoulder to a massive cup of caf sitting just beside her holopad, already pinging with tasks assigned to her for the day. She smiled gratefully, sitting down to take a sip. Milk and two sugars. Exactly how she liked it. Padmé was truly one of the most thoughtful and giving people she knew.

As she settled in at her desk for the day, she scrolled through her holopad notifications to sort out which tasks warranted action first. Most of them were the usual report write-ups being due or news from Jedi Generals on different battlefronts across the galaxy. That meant a long, long day of typing on a screen. 

Hours ticked by before she could look up from her desk again. The senator was stuck in closed-door holocalls, likely for the rest of the day, and her coworkers had seemingly already taken their breaks. Mari gathered her things and followed suit, heading out of her office and toward the dining hall on the outside patio. Her personal comm that she’d left on silent during her working hours was flooded with messages.

Three of her girlfriends had been concocting a plan for tonight. They’d been trying to coordinate schedules to plan an outing for weeks now, especially to distract Mari from the disastrous end of her last relationship with an ambitious banking clan advisor named Kiro Jorr. Kiro, annoyingly, was the sender of another string of messages.

She perused through his thread first, rolling her eyes at the shallow excuse for an apology he’d been trying to communicate to her since the beginning of the week. There wasn’t anything he could say that would change her mind. He’d done nothing but treated her like a trophy, an object to be marveled at and never heard or listened to. He liked how she looked, voluptuous and curvy in all the right ways, but didn’t ever care about her thoughts or feelings. 

Mari had finally had enough of being seen as only good for one thing and broke it off with the person she thought she’d grow to love someday. She wasn’t exceedingly heartbroken by it. It was a necessary change and she dealt with the loss the way she always did– a few casual hookups and many drunken nights with her friends at 79s. It also helped that her best friend was one of the most well-liked bartenders there.

Siviee Vilhar was the peppiest, daintiest Mikkian in the history of forever. Her pale green skin was tipped with deep purple on all her appendages, and her tinted lips always wore a pleasant smile. She and Mari had grown up on the streets together, supporting themselves by secretly filtering underworld crime dealings and intel to the political committees dedicated to ending such corrupt behavior on Triple Zero. While Mari had her sights set on joining the Galactic Senate, Siviee was more than happy to take the credits as a reward for her work and live a comfortable life being everyone’s favorite vivacious bartender. 

Naturally, having all her girlfriends at the bar dominated by Republic clones was a great way for her to get tips and for the girls to have a guaranteed great time. Nearly all the messages were Siviee encouraging both their friends, Dara and Jamelle, to convince her to join them all out tonight. Mari quickly grabbed salad that had just enough in it to interest her and made her way out to the courtyard to find a quiet place to sort this all out.

It was good timing because Mari had been toying around with finally moving on. Not to her next sexual conquest, but to something real. Someone special and different who cared about the galaxy and her place in it. Sleeping around wasn’t fun anymore and taking the long break she had from serious dating after Kiro was allowing too much of her loneliness to factor into her decision-making. She did not want to go back on her promise to herself because she couldn’t stand being alone for long enough to wait for the right guy.

No. Tonight could serve as her last hoorah, saying goodbye to the reckless party girl who took home anyone she needed to satisfy her. Maker knew she’d never been interested in adding her personal baggage onto the already impossibly full plate of any clone, so 79s would be as good a place as any to dance and have fun for once. Since most clones weren’t interested in long-term relationships, she could go out without any expectations, and no one would get hurt or attached. If she ended up wanting to have a final one-night stand with a clone, then so be it. She could start fresh in the morning with no one holding her back either way.

She erased the meaningless, pleading apology thread from Kiro once and for all and blocked his channel from her comms. That way she’d never be tempted to go back there. She was a different person now. A better one who put herself and the good of the galaxy first– just like her wonderful mentor, Senator Amidala. 

She pinged the thread with her girlfriends immediately after that, solidifying her plans for the night with just two little words:

I’m in. :) 

—

Every goddamn clone in 79s had their eyes on her. The bolder or more experienced ones tried buying her drinks or asking her to dance. They were all handsome in their own ways, but their approach was wrong. Most of the time, the legions of clones who hung out in the bars were there to blow off a certain kind of steam, and Mari was still deciding whether or not she was up for that this evening.

More than a few times, Mari had indulged in heavy flirtation and banter with clones from lots of different regiments. They were all nice enough, but the days of taking men home to have her way with them were far behind her. She wanted something new, something more stable if she could find it. Stepping foot in a bar filled with conscripted clones--destined for, at best, a very unstable long-term relationship and, at worst, tragic death--was not a great start.

Tonight, the bar was filled with an especially raucous and celebratory group of blue-and-white-marked clones. The notorious and renowned 501st. Mari always heard stories from her other senate-adjacent friends about this particular group’s antics, and the second she saw them milling about the club tonight, she knew she was going to be hounded by all the wrong types.

These boys were definitely fun, rowdy, loud, and entertaining, but Mari’s long days of diplomatic strategy meetings and seminars made her incredibly wary of men like this. This did not stop them from trying their hardest to get her to come home with them. Mari and her friends, Dara and Jamelle, were encircled by a particularly boisterous group of men at the present moment. 

One was tattooed across the face almost entirely with the Republic cog, cementing a permanent and intense loyalty to the Republic. He was the first to ask her to dance, politely offering his hand and nodding coolly when she stepped all over his pride by declining him. He turned to Dara, who looked at her like she was crazy, before accepting the hand he’d just offered her and leading him onto the dance floor herself.

The next smirked at Mari devilishly. With a small 5 tattoo on the upper right of his forehead and dark facial hair covering his strong jaw, he was definitely making her second guess her no more sleeping around rule. This group of clones was already strikingly more individual than the guys from the Corrie Guard she saw at work nearly every day. Reading her body language enough to know she wasn’t repulsed by the sight of him, he chuckled, “What do you drink? Would buy a girl as stunning as you whatever she wanted…” He nodded at Siviee, who started fixing what she could only assume was his usual.

“No– no that’s alright.” Mari smiled gently trying to decline him before she made a decision she knew she’d regret. Mischief twinkled in this clone's eyes like he knew he could probably charm her into accepting it. He’d definitely played this little game before.

“Well at least let me introduce myself then. Fives. The name’s Fives,” he confessed, accepting a drink that looked like purple poison from Siviee, who shot her a holy shit he’s into you glance.

“Yes, I gathered that. It’s tattooed on your forehead,” Mari chuckled, motioning casually to it and rolling her eyes. He laughed and shook his head, amused at her ability to keep him on his toes. She gripped her glass, the few final drips of Corellian Whiskey in it begging to be finished. She tipped it toward herself and sipped slowly.

“Whiskey huh? That’s a big drink for such a pretty little thing,” he flirted, elbowing a third brother who was chatting respectfully and kindly to Jamelle, his chest plate covered in a blue handprint. This man smiled at Jamelle to excuse himself before turning toward them.

“That’s our captain’s drink,” he spoke, much softer than his very brazen, flirtatious brother. “Which…you still owe him, Fives,” he reminded, clinking their glasses together and gesturing over their shoulder at another yet unseen clone. The crowd was buzzing with similar blue and white men, bobbing up and down to music or laughing amongst friends.

Fives sighed out loud, “Oh yeah. Better grab that or he won’t let me forget it.” He waved Siviee over again and motioned for her to grab another glass of whiskey for Mari. 

Siviee glared at Mari as she handed her another drink, motioning obnoxiously to make a move, encouraging her to maybe entertain herself with the exceedingly handsome clone for one last time. 

“Hey, don’t be so hard on him. He never comes out with us,” the quieter one said, turning back to Jamelle and shrugging in annoyance at his brother’s constant interruptions.

“That’s because he doesn’t know how to have fun, Echo,” Fives replied, rolling his eyes while accepting the drinks from Siviee’s bright smiling face.

“That’s not fair. He just doesn’t have the time. As much as he could use it. He works too hard.” Echo shrugged, patting Jamelle on the hand before motioning for her to head out to the dance floor while he waited for their drinks. 

That piqued Mari’s interest slightly. Yeah. A guy like that. Focused on his job, doing what needs to be done. She admired that kind of drive and focus so much in a partner; That same kind of drive she was trying to embody as she grew out of her wild child partying days.

Mari tapped her new glass back onto the counter and tossed her hair behind her shoulders, straightening her body up against the bar top. Fives’ brows raised as he side-eyed her very full set of breasts outlined by her tight black dress. She spun her chair around to look out into the crowd for this hard-working, focused captain of theirs. A guy like that wouldn’t be hard to spot. “Now helping a guy who needs to have a little fun… that’s something I’m interested in,” she mused, leaning back on the bar top on both of her elbows. Fives gaze traveled down her body and she let him stare, silently flexing the power she knew she currently held over him.

He shook his head. “Good luck. Captain’s never so much as talked to any of the girls in here. Usually comes back late to sweep us all up off the floor,” Fives laughed, holding two drinks in his hand and sipping the purple concoction from his own.

“Hmmm… hard-working, responsible, a leader… that’s checking a ton of boxes,” Mari smirked, bringing her new cup to her lips and starting to scan the room to guess which one he was. He couldn’t be any of the ones dancing carelessly in a crowd of equally drunk party-goers. He also wasn’t likely to be one of the very sloppy and reckless ones engaging in something salacious around the back hallways by the refreshers. That left the tables and booths. Each was dotted with men wearing lots of colors, talking to women and men of many different species. Most clones were generally pretty open when it came to the company they kept.

Squinting through the pulsing neon lights, a lone circular table in the corner caught Mari’s eye–just a few clone brothers gathered around talking. Some wore shades of yellow, but most wore the same blue as Fives. I definitely found the right table, but which is the captain?

A group of fair-skinned Twi’lek women walked past them, turning the heads of nearly every man at the table from their decidedly unimportant conversation. All except one, who’d barely even looked up from a datapad he’d been perusing through, and who didn’t have a drink in front of him.

His armor was a scratched-up mess, only certain parts of the white plastoid polished up. His helmet sat on the table in front of him and proudly sported an emblem Mari recognized. Jaig eyes. A symbol of undeniable valor awarded for particular acts of bravery. Not a common signet to wear. If this wasn’t a sign of something different and special about him, then the buzzed and definitively blonde hair was. Mari had never seen a blonde clone before, and she’d seen and met dozens of them.

“Any chance that’s him over there?” she asked Fives, pointing at where he sat with his eyes buried in the datapad at the table. “Captain Jaig Eyes?” Mari smiled fondly, batting her lashes flirtatiously at such a pretty, stoic, and enticing man.

Fives rolled his eyes and nodded. “You’re good. How’d you pick ‘em out so easy?” he laughed, still eyeing her like something he’d love to devour for his last meal. 

Mari took the whiskey from his hand, looking down at her lap before flicking her alluring eyes up to meet his gaze. “He’s the only one at that entire table that didn’t look at those Twi’girls like he wanted to pounce.” Mari smiled up at Fives, well aware of how good she must look to him right now while thinking only of his superior. “Mind if I take this over?” she asked, easing herself down onto her heels.

Fives shook his head, stunned by her temptatious flirting. She’d knocked him off his feet in a way he absolutely wasn’t prepared for. “Uh yeah sure I guess. But when he inevitably and stupidly says no, promise you’ll let me dance with you?” he bartered, gently grabbing her shoulder. While he certainly was nice enough, he was definitely the heartbreaker of the bunch. He was too smooth not to be. 

Sleeping with him would either end in Mari hating herself for going against what she’d promised herself she wouldn’t do or hopelessly falling for someone who didn’t want to commit to her. Stars, if meeting such a unique clone captain tonight didn’t work, then what was sleeping with one more dashingly handsome clone gonna hurt? No, I can’t. She thought. This captain was who she was meant to meet tonight. She had to tell herself that until she believed it.

Mari turned to Fives and patted his cheek softly, “Maybe, but I don’t make promises I can’t keep, Fives.” She looked up into his deep brown eyes through her own hooded lids and blinked away the sultry stare she was using on their captain from afar. She sauntered away from him, feeling his dark, brooding stare on her bouncing behind. “That lucky bastard,” she heard him curse under his breath as she crossed the crowded floor.

The men at the table were happily chattering away about battle plans-this and mission-that. Two sporting yellow armor were arm wrestling loudly to the right, taking turns sipping their drinks, but never giving up their death grip on each other. Next to them was a medical trooper, a red health signet on one of his blue and white pauldrons, casually sipping on sparkling blue liquid and conversing with the others. Directly across from the medic and the yellow boys was another 501st man, his right eye marked with a bright blue geometric tattoo that mimicked the piping he’d painted down the right side of this chest plate. This crew and their tattoos were certainly very unorthodox for having such a supposedly responsible captain. Their captain was tucked into the booth side of the table, propping his head up on a palm in tired frustration, eyes still on his datapad. Mari knew she could break that frustration easily with just a few touches.

As she approached the table, the eyes of every single man seated turned to stare at her with very serious intrigue, even halting the arm wrestling. She held her ground, her tight black dress highlighting her every curve and only serving to boost her outrageous confidence. 

The medic spoke first, “How can we help you, pretty lady?” His brown eyes crinkled into a very kind smile, not a hint of the suggestive nature that twinkled in Fives’ dark pupils before.

“Actually, I’ve got a gift for Captain Jaig Eyes, here,” Mari said rather seductively, twisting the very full whiskey glass in her wrist and biting her bottom lip into an alluring smile. The captain looked up with a jolt, the medic’s elbow to his bicep pulling him from his concentration on the datapad.

“Huh? Did Fives ever get my dri…?” He froze, as his beautifully warm amber eyes traveled from the glass in her hand up the curves of her side to meet her gaze. His mouth dropped open in surprise and his eyes went wide, in shock at the sight of Mari before him.

It was actually quite cute to get such an innocent response from the most highly regarded man at the table. The two yellow clones across from them whistled an amazed approval of her and suddenly the captain was very aware of every set of eyes around him waiting to gauge his response. But he didn’t move. He sat dumbfounded before her, his mouth unable to form the rest of his sentence.

Mari stepped forward, completely unfazed by the tension of the situation, and sat in the empty chair beside him. He reached forward to take the whiskey from her hand, but she jerked it away. 

“No, the drink is for me.” She brought the glass to her lips and sipped, maintaining direct eye contact with him as her tongue slipped past her lips. He raised a confused brow and cocked his head slightly before she set down the glass and slid forward in her chair. She leaned into him, staring deeply into his brown eyes, and ran a few gentle fingertips along his durasteel jaw. “I’m your gift,” she whispered, running a thumb across his bottom lip and smirking at him. 

He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh, setting his datapad on the table. He ran his gloved hand awkwardly down his buzzed blonde hair at the nape of his neck and met her gaze again. He looked nervous, but the excited sparkle in his eyes was all she needed to see to know that he was more than interested.

“Boys… give me a minute,” he finally huffed out, glaring at the rest of the table and silently ordering them to get lost. Mari smiled at the gesture, grateful that he wanted to talk–just the two of them alone. Already a good sign of how respectable he was, even when she was being so bold.

The hastily dismissed soldiers muttered excitedly to themselves, giggling like schoolboys at their captain actually trying something for once. They all filed away from the table toward where Fives stood with his jaw dropped at the bar. 

“So, do you have a name or am I going to have to keep calling you Captain Jaig Eyes?” Mari joked, pointing to his helmet in front of him. 

He smiled, impressed that she recognized the symbol so easily. “The name’s Rex. Don’t think it’d be polite to have you call me any of the other names I usually prefer,” he said, shrugging casually as if he hadn’t just commanded at least four men to do exactly as he asked without question.

“Rex. Nice to meet you,” she complimented, the name rolling off her tongue delightfully. It was fitting for him. Intense and rough, but something still so perfectly familiar and safe about it. 

“And who might you be?” Rex asked, settling back in his seat.

“I’m Mari,” she responded, watching his eyes crinkle joyfully like his medic brother’s had before. 

He had such a handsome face–a strong rounded jaw, a broad nose, and plush lips quirked into a sideways smirk that fit him so well. His clean-cut blonde hair and long, dark eyelashes highlighted the pools of his honey-brown eyes that reflected almost golden in the right light. He was expressive, too, with any emotion he felt written all over his face.

Yet, he did seem tense. Lines and scars etched on his face showed an incredible sense of wisdom and reflected the struggles of every battle he’d lived through. The war was brutal to those fighting it, and he certainly seemed like he’d seen a lot more than most. The worry on his face was evident, but he was still so pretty, and he needed someone to remind him of it.

“Fives sent you over here, huh?” he asked, looking over her shoulder at his brother, glaring at him in annoyance. Fives was clearly bothered by the fact that somehow his brother had beaten him to the most beautiful woman in the bar without even trying.

“Well, technically I sent myself, but he talked you up. I wanted to help ‘the man who works too hard’ loosen up a little. Have some fun,” Mari said, placing a hand gently on his knee. He looked down at her hand and gulped, evidently not used to getting this much attention.

“Y-you? Want to help me?” he asked in disbelief, letting out a scoff. “The prettiest girl I’ve ever seen wants to sit here with me?” he asked again, leaning forward to grab the drink in her hand. She handed it to him, sliding her other hand further up his thigh.

“Yep. The prettiest girl in the bar wants to spend time with the only man here who I find interesting,” she reaffirmed, placing her now free hand on top of his gloved one. His breathing quickened, his hand turning to grip her delicate fingers. He looked down at her hand on his thigh and his expression changed from one of surprise to determination. 

Shooting another glare at Fives, he pulled her forward, patting his upper thigh and boldly inviting her to sit in his lap, exciting her even more. He was definitely tense and preoccupied, but he wasn’t innocent. Mari obliged, sliding over to position herself on his lap and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He eased his strong biceps around her sides, a large splayed hand supporting the small of her back.

“Well then, what do you want to know, pretty girl?” he asked, looking up into her eyes with an emboldened and hopeful gaze. He certainly didn’t come to 79s tonight thinking he’d have any girls in his lap, much less someone he was this attracted to. He drew her possessively into his torso, exploring all the features on her face with his expressive eyes. He had passion, that much was evident from the desperate and sultry way he looked at her.

She tipped his chin up with a few gentle fingertips before trailing those touches down the front of his chest plate. “Tell me how you got those jaig eyes, Rex. From what I understand, they don’t give those out to just anyone.”

He hummed in response, impressed by her knowledge and happy that someone was taking an interest in what he had to talk about. “Well that’s a long story…” he muttered, brushing a few strands of hair off her face and tucking them behind her ears. Mari bit her bottom lip and smiled, the gruffness in his voice was somewhat different than his brothers’ and sent butterflies to the lowest part of her stomach.

“I’ve got time, Captain,” Mari replied, “plenty of time.”

__

The bar was absolutely buzzing with life, more so than it had in a long time. This 501st crowd really did know how to party. They’d just come back from a long tour of duty. For as hard as they always fought, Rex let them party twice that whenever they came home. It was the best way to reward his men for all their good work and distract them from whatever horror or atrocity they had to witness or commit.

Rex talked a long while and Mari listened, slowly brushing flirtatious circles along the top of his chest. He was highly intelligent, more so than most diplomats and senators she was forced to work alongside. He was funny, too, with a penchant for sarcastic and slightly dark humor.

In all the time he spoke, he barely even touched his drink. It seemed like he preferred keeping all his senses at attention to focus on her. He could get alcohol anywhere, but he couldn’t easily find a distraction like her. He looked at her like she was the only person there, completely uninterested in the party atmosphere. Every time Mari spoke up to comment on some part of his story, his eyes lit up and his cute little half-smirk broke up his serious, hardened face.

His grip on her lower back kept her tight to his side as if anything looser would result in her slipping away, never to be seen again. It was the almost subconsciously desperate hold of a man who hadn’t been touched like this in a long while, if at all. He was showing an inexperienced hand–unusual for a man who was so well-versed in nearly every other area of his life. He knew where to hold her to pique Mari’s interest in that way, which proved he wasn’t inexperienced in that department. No, it was deeper than that. It was like he couldn’t believe his luck at having someone he’d barely even let himself dream about sitting in his lap.

The tiredness and frustration that was written all over his face when she first sat down had been erased almost instantly. He looked refreshed and like he was genuinely enjoying himself for once. His heavy brows weren’t scowled in concentration anymore, the tension in his shoulders completely fading away just from having a conversation. Fives wasn’t kidding. Rex didn’t know how to have fun and he really did need this. He looked so much more content than he had just a few hours ago. 

Mari wondered just how much happier she could make him tonight. Her mind wandered to what his bronzed skin might look like under his armor, how incredibly built he must be, and how each little muscle would contract under her touch. She’d never wanted to sleep with someone so badly just after talking to them. She shook the thoughts from her mind. No. He is far too respectful to do all the kinds of debauched things I’m thinking about. He wasn’t the type to take a girl home after one night. Fives said it himself, he never talked to girls here.

Before she could realize she’d been staring, his thumb and forefinger cupped underneath her chin. He tilted her face toward him and she couldn’t help the unintentionally tantalizing look she gave him. 

“You’re not used to this,” Mari giggled, running a hand down his chest further and feeling him lean into her touch.

“I’m not. Especially not from someone as gorgeous as you,” he grumbled, his voice dropping and matching her energy. He pulled her impossibly closer to him, his eyes trailing down to where her breasts were now pressed up against him. He shifted underneath her, his body starting to betray the restraint he’d been holding onto all night.

“Maybe you need to get out more. It’s a shame I hadn’t met you sooner,” Mari pouted, ever so slightly rolling her hips against him.

“Definitely won’t need to go out anymore. Think I might’ve already found what I’m looking for. Or she found me,” he smirked, his face inches from hers, his breathing slow and focused. He was sweet when he was tempting her, cleverly baiting her to go after him. He’d already fallen hard for her but was dragging the moment out. The longer they played this game, the longer they could sit here like this together.

“Hmm… you catch on quick.” She smiled, biting her lower lip to tease him right back. She’d noticed that he couldn’t keep his eyes off her lips every time she did that, and she was sure her lipstick was probably faded from it by now. 

There were more than a few intrigued eyes on them at this point, nearly all of them his men watching from the bar–both impressed that she’d had the guts to go after him and astounded that their captain had actually accepted. How far was he willing to go? 

Mari had promised herself she wanted someone nice, someone respectable. She didn’t want to regress back to the girl who took home whoever she wanted, but who no one ever seemed to need. But those big, desperate, golden eyes of his. Maker how could I resist? She thought desperately. He needed this. He needed to go home with someone who understood him, who had a real connection with him, and who could take his stress away and remind him how fucking good it would feel to be cared for. This wasn’t even about her. She wanted it for him. And she didn’t trust that anyone would take better care of him than she could.

Mari wanted to be the one who tore that armor off him and kissed down the perfectly toned chest she knew he had–to draw away the pain and bruises and brutality of all the battles he fought. She wanted to give him his own personal reward for fighting so hard to protect everyone around him. She could only imagine how good he’d look with his head thrown back, that strong jaw clenching as she swallowed him down the way he needed. He talked for hours about missions he’d been on. Now she had one of her own.

She turned in his grasp, rotating her hips and hiking her dress up slightly to straddle his lap. With her entire center pressed against his, he sat back, letting out a strained breath. He could resist almost anything. But this? This he couldn’t fight. She was everything he dreamed about at night, sprawled across his lap and fawning all over him. His rough, gloved hands ran down her sides, feeling the way her body curved beneath his nimble fingers.

“Stars-- look what you do to me…” he sighed, rutting his hips up into the space between her thighs to make her feel him. The black fabric tented beneath his codpiece, the length of him even harder than his armor.

“I can do that without touching you? What’s gonna happen when I get my hands on you?” Mari whispered in his ear, letting her lips brush against his neck. He growled softly in response, his hands coming down to grip her hips powerfully. Maker, he was strong.

“Kinda want you to find out.” He nibbled at the space beneath her jaw gently. “Do you wanna get outta here?” He asked politely, freeing her hips from his death grip on them and pulling back to blink at her hopefully. 

Mari told herself so many times that this wasn’t who she was anymore. Casual sex wasn’t something she wanted to do anymore. She was looking for something better, someone better. A commitment, a partner. She searched his face for any sign that she shouldn’t do this. Anything suspicious or disrespectful, but she didn’t find it. Everything about him felt safe, understanding, and even protective of her–like there was nothing he would ever do to let anything or anyone hurt her.

He was overwhelmed, too, his pounding heart making his chest heave with anticipation. Every second that went by as he waited for her answer felt like another bit of time she was wasting by thinking too much.

Before she could open her mouth to speak, his hands found the sides of her neck and his lips crashed into hers, as if to convince her in action instead of with all the words he couldn’t find. His lips surrounded hers, tenderly separating them with his tongue. It was heavy and desperate, and a jolt of what felt like a thousand volts of electricity shot down Mari's spine. The subtle tang of surprisingly good whiskey hit her tongue as she remembered the brown liquid they had both left nearly untouched on the table while they talked.

Tension stronger than a tow cable wire suddenly snapped and she relaxed into the mind-numbing kiss. As he pulled away, he rested his forehead on hers and huffed out shaky, lust-laden breaths over her face. 

“Woah,” Rex muttered, blinking up at her in shock over how that felt. 

She smiled and leaned forward to place another few featherlight kisses on his lips. This was something. Whatever this feeling was between them, they both knew it was there, and that was enough of a good sign for her to take the leap.

“Let’s go, Rex,” Mari tipped her head toward the door, suddenly hyper-aware of the entire crowd of people around who probably just watched them pounce on each other.

“Yes ma’am,” he chuckled darkly, his lust-blown eyes now a much deeper and almost threatening shade. She swung herself off his lap quickly, tangling her fingers in his very large armored ones as he stood up. He scooped up his helmet in his other arm and followed her like a lost tooka.

His brothers from across the bar were stunningly quiet, watching in disbelief at the scene unfolding before them. Mari could feel Fives’ eyes especially, wide in shock as he pieced together what was happening. She didn’t just talk about successfully capturing their immovable captain’s attention, she had done it.

The sea of blue and white armor began to hurriedly part for them as they made their way to the door, taking note of the girl who had enraptured Captain Rex. It was like the whole battalion was watching in shock as one of the most notoriously by-the-book captains of the entire Grand Army threw the regulation manual out the window. Although, she was sure it was probably just her imagination.

What was it about her that struck him? Sure, she wanted him and went after him because she never denied herself what she wanted. But why this time around did he accept?

His large hand crept up her forearm, holding tight as he shouldered through the crowd. The room parted for him, barely having to say two words to anyone to get them to follow his lead. It was incredible to watch him so easily demand respect from hundreds of people without batting an eye or getting cocky. 

She’d never seen such humility in a clone leader before. Mari had met dozens of clones, but most were pretty much the same as any nat-born. They were all handsome, built, and smart. They had plenty going for them and they knew it, especially the ones that held high ranks. Fox certainly had an air of untouchable authority about him around his troops, but not Rex.

The men they passed gave him various acknowledgments: friendly cheers, formal salutes, and even what felt like celebrity fanfare. But his reaction to them all was the same: a slow, short nod of appreciation and that cute little sideways smirk, as if the glory and attention meant nothing to him and he was just another ordinary man. 

But he wasn’t. 

No man, and especially none of the other clones Mari had ever spoken to before, had made Mari’s insides tremble and her heart ache like this. Not the ones she saw at work. Not Fox with his sarcastic quips and blunt honesty. Not even Fives’ insanely handsome face. As much as she wanted to be a new person, to not drag herself through another night of meaningless sex with some guy, she wanted Rex badly. The need to have him overwhelm her was too great. Yet, being in his atmosphere felt like a promise of something more.

Her arms erupted in goosebumps as they approached the sliding blast doors, the cool air of the night washing over her overheated body. She pulled herself into his side, clinging to him like he had been to her in the booth. His hand slid down the small of her back, politely guiding her outside first. He looked left and then right, scanning the area slowly for something unknown before turning to her.

“My apartment is on the uppermost levels by the Senate Building. It’s… kinda far.” Mari sighed, doubting that either of them could make it much longer.

“Our barracks isn’t that far, but I didn’t think you’d want to go there. It’s not exactly romantic,” he scoffed, using the hand on her back to guide her closer to him. 

“My place is fine then. It’ll be a little more… private,” Mari muttered suggestively, her pulse thrumming as he held her into his body. “We’ll probably be needing that, won’t we, Captain?”

He let out a deep exhale, clearly trying to contain himself as his title falling from her lips did something obscene to him. “Definitely… especially if you call me that again.” The way he looked at her felt like he could see so much more than just her desirable physical presence before him. His interest was beyond skin-deep; he saw all of her and wanted to keep digging, to explore more of the person he’d clicked with so perfectly. 

Just as he stepped forward to hail a hover cab for the both of them, his comm blinked twice and he froze in place. He shook his head and dropped his eyes to the ground, pinching the bridge of his nose with two fingers. “This cannot be fucking happening right now.” He shrugged and let her go, the few steps he walked away to answer the call felt like lightyears all of a sudden.

Mari felt her heart sink to the ground at her feet. She knew this was too good to be true. There had to be a catch. There always seemed to be for her. “Is everything ok?” she mouthed and he shook his head, his expression fading to one of deep regret and apology, unable to hide his disappointment.

“Yes, General?” He paused, looking over at her nervously like he too felt the cloud of the dream they’d just lived in drifting higher and higher out of their reach. His entire demeanor seemed to sink as his eyelids dropped shut and his shoulders sagged. “N-no, sir. I’m not busy.”

Mari clenched her jaw and closed her eyes, trying her damndest not to get misty-eyed over something that probably would never work out anyways. The way he made her feel could only ever happen in her dreams. She was sure they both knew it. The hovercab they were hailing had finally approached and was starting to get antsy.

“Right away, sir. See you in ten.” Rex hung up his call and walked back over, completely deflated and as stressed as he’d been when she first laid eyes on him.

“Well?” Mari sighed, asking a stupid question she already knew the answer to.

Rex motioned to his comm and then to a building not far from where he’d mentioned the barracks would be. “I’m… I’m sorry,” he offered, stepping forward to rest an apologetic hand on her arm. Mari backed away, not wanting him to come any closer if this is how it was always going to end.

“I get it,” she said bitterly, crossing her arms to her chest to reassure herself since he couldn’t. “Duty calls.” She turned on her heels to enter the cab, but he caught her arm and yanked her back. “What?”

“I…” he stuttered over his words, exposing just how much this was uncharted territory for him. He stopped himself and flashed her that endearing half-smirk that made her heart jump through her chest in a way she didn’t want to admit meant something to her. “I can give you my comm frequency. If you give me a way to reach you, too… ” he laughed, nervously trying to downplay his disappointment.

For the first time, Mari couldn’t read the expression on his handsome face. Somewhere between desperate for this to work and doubting it ever would. He was trying his hardest to do anything he could think of to prevent her from slipping away. 

“Okay. Fine,” she relented. She uncrossed her arms and took out her personal comm, sighing to prevent herself from letting her anger at her plans being shattered ruin the moment. She shared her frequency with him and received his in exchange, raising her finger in wait to hold the cab just a few seconds longer. “But you better contact me.”

“I will, Mari. Promise,” Rex nodded, awkwardly trying to think of anything else to add and sorely wishing he could feel any of the obvious spark they had only a few minutes ago.

“That general of yours better be dying or something,” she joked darkly, turning to finally sit in the hovercab.

“Sometimes I’m surprised he hasn’t by now,” Rex quipped, folding his arms and rolling his eyes playfully. He let his laughter die down and his brows furrowed again, “I won’t forget how you made me feel anytime soon. I promise, Mari.”

Mari sat with her hands in her lap, blinking up at this handsome, noble captain professing something more to her than she could understand right now. She swallowed thickly and blinked up at him, wanting to reach out the cab window and kiss his face all over again. “I know. Take care of yourself, Captain.” That was all she could manage to say as the cab revved up and took off back to her apartment, leaving a crestfallen blonde clone captain standing alone on the platform with his helmet tucked under his arm.

When a day or two went by without even so much as a message from him, Mari sulked in her apartment pathetically and mourned something that never even existed with someone she wished she didn’t have to see the face of everywhere she went.

--

notes: AHHHHHH ok hi bbys. this series has been a long time coming. Mari's official by name debut has me SO excited. these two are truly everything to me and I hope you love learning about their journey as much as I love telling it.

taglist coming soon! comment on this post or message me if you'd like to be added :)

[gar-trek]

As per tradition, although I’m pretty sure no one reads these, here are my thoughts on TNG season 4!!!!!! just like last time, it literally took me like 10 days to finish, and I’m still like freaked out that I watch it this fast. My pace is probably going to slow down because of school. 

General thoughts: 

The show is really keeping its quality up!! I think last time I was really shocked going from season 2 to 3, it was like watching two different shows almost. I think this season was almost as good as season three, like the good episodes hit just as good, but this season had a couple more duds then the last. I felt like they had some ideas that were interesting, they just weren’t enough to fill out the whole 45 minute run time. But really, it was a super solid season and I’m not disappointed at all. Also, I am enjoying this whole Klingon empire civil war overarching plot, the polotics are just a little too complicated for me. I feel like I didn’t catch what was going on from the beginning and now im just a bit confused. but that’s my fault for being dumb lol. 

Least favorite episodes: 

Suddenly Human: I feel like when they focus too much on non-recurring characters, it’s in detriment to the show. This one was so focused on that teenage boy protagonist but I just couldn’t get myself to care much for his story. Also, the moral struggle was between taking the boy to his place of birth verses letting him stay in his culture and its just like???? it was so obvious to me that they should have let him stay with his adopted father despite the fact that he was human. It just seemed stupid that the federation would even be envolved in an incident like that.  

Remember me: interesting concept and points for being a Crusher centric episode, but it dragged on wayyyyyy too long. If it was half the run time I would have enjoyed it much more, but they didn’t have much to say other then “wouldn’t that be fucked up”. also the traveler showed up, ugh 

Half a Life: Oh my god, I guess I can just like, officially say I don’t like Lwaxana Troi episodes. WHICH IS SO SAD! because I like her character. they just literally cannot give her anything interesting to do. This was probably my least favorite episode of the season, it was just sooooo boring. Why do they keep making Lwaxana episodes boring??? she is such a fun character and then they give her literally nothing to do and its hard to watch. Huge stinker. 

Best episodes: 

Brothers: God, this was probably my favorite episode of the season (well, tied with the host) it was just SO GOOD!!!! I love Lore so much and any time we get to see him in action its just so good. I still think about this one all the time even though it’s been a bit since I watched it. Any data backstory we can get is just so *chefs kiss

Future imperfect: I honestly didn’t even think this one was that great, it just left a big impression on me. Something about seeing the future of the enterprise (even though it was all fake) was like, so nice??? like I realize it wasn’t canon AND it’s not even real life, but there was something comforting about the fact that 16 years in the future the crew was still all together, still doing what they loved. Like am i so dumb for that? like i know that’s not what I was supposed to get from that episode. well its how I feel. as much as things change they stay the same. 

Datas day: Okay yeah I don’t need to say why this one rocks we all know it, I’m super basic for even including it 

Night Terrors: I just liked the spooky vibe, this was so fun to watch home alone at night lolll 

Nth Degree: I like Barclay, okay? I’m one of those bitches I can’t help it. I have a soft spot for super awkward pathetic guys, alright? This episode was literally so insane. I’m laughing just thinking about it. the part where they reveal Barclay has hooked himself up to the computer and he’s in that insane gamer chair with the concert lighting, ugh, I literally died it was so good. Just like, peak everything. okay see i love super awkward pathetic guys, but when super awkward pathetic guys become unhinged - **chefs kiss 

Qpid: the outfits. My favorite moment in the whole thing was when Geordi was just like strumming on his little loot not even playing anything, just like having a little fun. 

the host: SO GOOOODD!!! i already put my thoughts about this one but i LOVE batshit episodes and this one was INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! im still thinking about it, I’m still laughing. I’m laughing as i type this. ugh so good. 

okay that was soooo incoherent but no one reads these anyway. they are for me. good night  

[arogaba]

Not Another Simblr Tag

Tagged by @hiddenspriings and @nikatyler thanks guys!

Rate in order favorite to least favorite, Sims 1, Sims 2, Sims 3, Sims 4: Sims 3 > Sims 2 > Sims 4 > Sims 1. I don’t really have any reference for TS1 as I don’t think I ever played it though.

Favorite expansion: Hoo boy... Bon Voyage for TS2, Showtime, WA, or ITF for TS3, and I haven’t played TS4 in a hot minute but I always liked City Living.

Small pets or horses: Small pets definitely! I do like horses and wanted to try it with the next gen of the Lockes, but yeah I just wasn’t feeling it.

Favorite active career: I’ve always enjoyed Ghost Hunter in TS3 myself. That seems to be my go to usually. I also like the Singer profession too. As for TS4 probably Scientist.

Favorite LTW/Aspiration: Don’t really have any that I can think of :/

Whims, wishes or wants and fears: Wishes.

Favorite occult: Definitely witches! That’s the occult I like to go use the most often. After that it would probably be a close tie between fairies and vampires.

Cowplants, Bonehilda or Social Bunny: Bonehilda for sure.

Favorite non-PC Sims game: Sims Bustin’ Out for the PS2. I played that game so much when I was younger!

Favorite spin off game: Idk if it counts but Castaway Stories was really fun.

How do you pick the names for your Sims: Uhh it really depends. 

With my berry sims I have a lot of the old berry name lists saves, so I pull from them a lot.

For vanilla sims it’s more varied. I’d say the majority of the time I’ll just go with whatever sounds right, or I might pull a name out that I’ve seen or heard recently. In some cases (such as the Lockes) I’ve been using themes per generation. So for example the generation 1 theme was planets so we had Mars, Jupiter, and Venus.

Create a spouse or find them in game (townies): I usually create them or get them from another simblr! If I do get a townie spouse it’s usually one of the SP generated kids from a bunch of random sims I’ve populated the world with.

Do you prefer following storytelling simblrs or gameplay simblrs: Currently I prefer gameplay simblrs, just because I don’t have much time to get on nowadays and sometimes my activity can be pretty spotty so it’s hard to keep up to date with storytelling simblrs.

What year did you join simblr: I don’t remember the exact date but if you look back on my archive my first post (which technically was a reblog) was from wayyyyyy back in December 2011 😳😳

tagging: @amixofpixels, @poisonfireleafs, @cherishsims, @dragonplumbobs, @vintageplumbobs, @cas-sims but feel free to ignore if you’ve already done this or don’t want to fill it out! :)

[cactusandfir]

Ummmm yes!!! I now need a McDavid/Marner body switch fic!!!!!!

okay so based on this picture, here’s a little bit of what i was thinking!!

the way they’re mirroring each other made me immediately think of a body swap. i know i know it’s just like, basic faceoff positioning, but something about the mirroring makes me absolutely feral. i think it’s from like, yesterday? but i’m thinking about last season, or early this season i guess, before they both seemed to buy-in to their respective teams and drank whatever goal scoring juice is being doled out in the north division

they wake up swapped on the morning of a game against each other and mitch is the one who calls connor first because he wants to DO something about it, while connor definitely went back to sleep hoping it would go away when he next woke up which obviously it didn’t because there’s his name on the caller id on mitch’s phone waking him up...

i think this would be a universe where they would not be REQUIRED to keep the body swap a secret, like maybe it’s a well-known thing that happens (for whatever handwavey reasons) and resolves itself once the appropriate lesson is learned as in the common narrative of the trope, but connor and mitch DECIDE to keep it a secret because they think that they can power through hiding it until they figure out what they need to do to switch back

 obviously this results in a comedy of errors beginning and ending with their drastic difference in personality. connor has no clue how to pretend to be excited about everything and visibly happy to be there, while mitch cannot, for the life of him, shut up. but i am most interested in how this plays out on the ice. i think this is a criminally underrated aspect of body swaps in sports fandom, although my own hockey iq is moderate?? so i will do my best but i think the way they move is quite similar? watching them circling in front of the net is imo, A++ soothing hockey ANYWAY they don’t find it too hard to mimic each other’s play style, except maybe for connor passing first isn’t his usual mo and mitch is thrilled at the speed he’s picked up

then mitch(in connor’s body) gets kicked out of a faceoff for leon and goes to square off and who does he find himself up against? connor. and in the couple seconds they’re pressed against each other waiting for the puck to drop he notices their stances are a mirror image and like, they’ve been playing each other for almost ten years so is it really a surprise that picked up some similar habits from watching each other? then mitch realizes he has a good 20 lbs on connor now and he uses that weight to move him the fuck aside and steal the puck

 throughout the game they realize they’re having FUN with their new bodies. connor, while he doesn’t enjoy getting knocked on his ass as much as mitch appears to, can loosen up a little and have fun with his line mates who are maybe a little more creative than what he’s used to, and hey, he can feed people the puck if that’s what they want, he likes being useful and he’s good at following through. and mitch, mitch loves going fast and scoring goals. sure he’s good at reading the play but it’s a hell of a rush to be skating circles around everyone on the ice, and if he crashes himself into the boards a few times just to feel the impact who’s going to tell on him?

so i think the thing they had to learn to undo the swapping was an appreciation for their own strengths/teams. it’s not that they were unhappy before, but like, being amongst the oilers and in their sort of toned-down room compared to the leafs was the refresh mitch needed to fall back in love with his guys, and connor got to put the weight of captaincy down for bit and fall back in love with just playing the game. i think they stay swapped for a few days at least, long enough to absorb that info, but i am terrible at endings so they swap back but i don’t know how all i do know is that they’re relived to be back in their own bodies and they maybe rekindle a bit of their friendship they let go over the years now that they understand each other a little better.

wow okay that went to a wayyyyyy softer and less horny place than i originally thought it would, although I think there’s a shippy version where connor/leon and mitch/auston are together and connor and mitch still agree to hide that they’ve swapped and they realize that neither of them were in very healthy relationships and there’s a lot of messy shenanigans before they learn how to communicate BUT that is for another time as ive rambled for long enough!

[miraculousmarifan]

Felinette Month 2020 - Day 6: Detective

Enjoy this unedited, angsty fic for another wonderful @felinettenovember prompt. I attempted to do something different but I’m seeing wayyyyyy too much of my own thought process projected onto both Marinette and Felix. 

Have fun! Around 1700 words

"Stop laughing at me! I'm telling you that I think she's cheating on me. Why are you still laughing?" Felix spiraled while Claude continued laughing. 

"This is Marinette we're talking about! What could possibly convince you that she was cheating?" Claude gasped out between laughs. Felix had been growing redder by the minute under his indignation.

“She has been sneaking around, avoiding me whenever there is a spare minute to chat, whispering to her friends and suddenly quieting and flushing whenever she catches sight of me. She won’t even look me in the eyes anymore. All I wanted was to ask her on a date for tomorrow, take her someplace nice and quiet where she can relax and we can just talk. I even got her a nice necklace that will be gorgeous with most of her outfits. How would you explain her sneaking off every day?” Felix had already worked himself into a panic, rolling it around in his head over and over until he came to the only explanation that made sense. Marinette had to be cheating. He didn’t know with whom. She was so lively and sweet, friends with everyone, and many guys (and a few girls) had a thing for her. It could be just about anyone. 

“Marinette has the decency to at least break up with you if she was going to choose another guy. You know that. I know that. Let’s not pretend like that is even possible.” Claude sobered, finally realizing that Felix wasn’t in a good enough place with this. “Look, I know she’s the best thing that’s happened to you in a while and that you’ve been really stressed out lately, but you need to take a few deep breaths before you drive yourself crazy. Don’t you think that it’s more likely that she’s just busy and stressed out working on some project? Don’t her classmates constantly ask her to design and make them stuff, especially for events? Isn’t that more likely?”

“That’s not it. Trust me, I can tell. Just because this is our first Valentine’s Day together, doesn’t mean I'm new to her patterns. She is avoiding me,” Felix glumly asserted. The bell sounded, releasing them from school for the day. Felix grabbed his bag and quickly walked towards Marinette’s class. At the last moment, he changed his mind about going directly to her and hid near a column.

“I’m just nervous that he’s going to find out. This isn’t something small to hide and it’s been really hard. I can’t even look at him right now.” Marinette sighed to Alya, walking quickly towards the door. “I need to hurry so I’m not late to meet Luka. Thanks for listening to me rambling!” 

Felix tried to quickly follow out of the school, sneaking to find out why she was so determined to meet Luka. He hadn’t met Luka yet, but he knew from context that he had already confessed to Marinette, prior to when they began dating, and Marinette had seriously considered dating him. Instead of accepting she chose to wait and see how I felt about her… Oh no… she regrets it but doesn’t want to ruin my Valentine’s Day! 

Felix fought against the overwhelming weight of self-depreciation and fear, trying to follow Marinette down the street towards the Seine so he could at least confirm with his own eyes. He was so caught up in his own panic that he nearly lost her when she stopped in line to grab two hot chocolates. Ducking into a shop when he realized his mistake, he watched and chastised himself. This is why Marinette is going to him. Even when I’m trying to focus on her, I’m only thinking of me.

Within a few minutes, Marinette was on the move again with Felix secretly in tow. Luka was waiting outside the house boat and gladly accepted the hot chocolate. Felix couldn’t believe that he tried to hand Marinette a few euros to cover the cost. Luka handed her back the hot chocolate and quickly jogged onto the deck to grab his backpack. With an overly full bag, the two started off again, talking quickly as they walked swiftly. Felix knew he needed to focus on how they interacted before confronting Marinette about this. She shouldn’t be stuck with him if she was unhappy, even if it would make Valentine’s Day disappointing for him.

Soon the pair were turning down a strange alley, not sketchy per say but definitely not where Felix was expecting. He tried to peer around before turning in but quickly realized he was alone in the alley. He hurried in, looking around for where they could’ve gone before noticing a ladder leading up to a small terrace, mostly hidden from view. The flush that was developing from all of this exercise quickly drained and the pit steadily growing in his stomach became unbearable.

Marinette’s laugh rang out from above. If he backed up and peered up, Felix could see some hanging lights and possibly some lawn furniture. They were definitely up there. He knew he wouldn’t have the courage to wait for them to leave to confront them, so he needed to go up. Another deep breath first, to steady his nerves.

He grabbed the ladder and started to climb. Poking his head up through the opening to the terrace, he glanced around and saw unfinished decorations in excess. Marinette still trying to hang some things up, curtains? And Luka setting up a table with candles and fake flowers? Oh god. I walked in on them preparing their date… I need to get this over with. 

“Marinette…” his voice came out shakier than he wanted but he hoped she wouldn’t notice. He moved to sit on the ground near the ladder. Her head turned in a strange, jerky motion that betrayed either fear or guilt, Felix couldn’t decide. Her mouth dropped in surprise.

“What’re you doing here right now? You weren’t supposed to see this yet,” she blurted out. Luka also looked over at the two and looked embarrassed at being there.

“Unless you want me to stay and help you with anything else, I think I’ll just leave now.” Luka picked up his bag and walked towards the ladder, faster than a walk but smooth enough to not really look like running away. Felix looked him in the eyes as he approached.

“That’s probably a good idea. I’m sure that Marinette will fill you in on anything important later,” his tone was sharp, nearly accusatory. He didn’t feel much patience towards the other boy right now, even if they weren’t actively engaged in anything when he got up to this hideaway.

“So Marinette, do you want to discuss why you’ve been avoiding me lately and going to secret places alone with Luka?” Felix hoped he sounded more calm than he felt as he stared coldly at Marinette. It hurt to look at her like this, to feel so abandoned by the one person that felt like home.

“Well for one, this is the first time that Luka and I have been alone and others are planning on coming, unless Luka texted them not to. I’ve been enlisting his and a few others’ help to get this set up,” she turned, gesturing to the decorations set up. “The only parts left to do involved putting up the canopy, just in case it gets wet before tomorrow night, the curtains, for a little more insulation from the weather, and to set up these last few details that might’ve blown away if I left them outside. It was a rather big project so I wanted to make sure every piece went smoothly. As for the avoiding part… it’s actually rather difficult not to talk about this and ruin the surprise for you but I guess that won’t be an issue anymore,” Marinette grinned sheepishly at the floor. She took a few steps closer and sat down on the ground, a few feet from him to let him process, but looking more earnestly at him. He appreciated that she knew how he preferred space while working through topics but loved contact the moment he was done, and this was definitely a lot to process.

“I need you to explain more clearly what is happening. This all seemed like you were cheating on me, or at least planning to break up with me, but your words don’t make sense with that right now,” Felix couldn’t keep from pleading. She had thrown a lifeline while he was drowning but that didn’t mean she was planning on helping pull him back to the boat. He remembered her firm insistence that he treat others with better manners outside of formal events and added after the moment’s hesitation, “Please.”

“Oh Felix… I’m so sorry that this gave you the impression that that was happening here. I knew you’d been getting busier at home and wanted to throw you a little getaway where we probably wouldn’t be found by your bodyguard right away so you could relax more… I needed help from the others to find this place, get approval to use it for about a couple of weeks, and to set up all of this without the risk of it getting ruined. I just wanted the best surprise for you for our first Valentine’s Day together…” As Marinette spoke, Felix’s eyes widened before dropping his head into his hands.

“My god Marinette. I am such an idiot. Here I thought I was some amazing detective, figuring out the mystery and really I just worked myself up. Claude was right. I was thinking so much about everything that I drove myself crazy,” Felix couldn’t help but bitterly laugh at the idea. 

“So he didn’t tell you what was happening when you were freaking out?” Marinette straightened up and pulled his hands into hers, eyes deadly serious.

“What do you mean? He just told me that you cheating wasn’t possible and I needed to take a few deep breaths to calm down…” Felix couldn’t quite grasp why Marinette looked flabbergasted.

“Well Claude and I need to sit down and discuss when it’s an appropriate time to break the code of silence for a surprise. Spiraling like this is an appropriate time to let you in on the surprise. My goodness…”

Felix finally understood.

“I’m going to kill him for not telling me at that point.”

[sleepless-in-starbucks]

if love was a snake, it’d have bit you

Ao3

Summary: Remy, Patton, and Drew are dating. This is a fact. Remy, Patton, and Drew refuse to admit they are dating. This is also a fact. Guess it's up to Roman, Virgil, and Emile to force them to acknowledge the truth. Content: Some swearing, kissing (mostly face kisses, but some lip kisses too), nb!Patton + nb!Emile, genderfluid!Remy, oblivious gays, seriously guys, so much obliviousness, the obliviousness might kill you, gods know it killed me, Disneyland cast member AU Pairing: Romantic Mosleepceit Additional notes: So many additional notes           -Big thanks to @emo-disaster for beta-ing for me and confirming the gays in this fic are wayyyyyy too oblivious           -This fic is almost 11k words. it was meant to be around 3k. I’m so sorry.           -Inspired by, but not actually based upon, this disneyland cast member au           -This is probably hella inaccurate to real Disneyland but i don’t care alright           -This fic is a (late) b-day gift for the one-and-only @notveryglittery !!! She’s an incredible person who I’m extremely happy to know, and I’m really hoping she even kinda likes this mess of a fic dsfbcdsjf

~~

    “-and if you’ll just sign here, I can finalize that upgrade for you.”

    The woman smiled at Remy as she accepted the pen he offered her. She looked tired, her entire appearance screaming ‘overworked mom’ even without the literally screaming (playfully, but still screaming) kids behind her. She definitely needed the vacation.

    “I can’t thank you enough for this,” she said gratefully, quickly signing the paper Remy offered her.

    “It’s no problem, ma’am,” Remy said, smiling politely as he took the paper and pen back, hitting a few keys on his computer as he did. “Just happy to make your stay as magical as possible. Here’s your keycard.”

    The stressed mother accepted the keycard from Remy with another smile. “Thank you.” She reiterated the sentiment before convincing her children to give her their hands and heading off for the elevators, her wife following with the luggage. Remy smiled after them, briefly letting the last of the room change form sit unfinished on his screen.

    “You’re going to get yourself fired for that eventually, you know.”

    Remy’s smile only grew at the sound of the all-too-familiar voice. He turned back to his work then, enough of Roman in his peripheral for Remy to tell he was strutting his stuff as a friend of Flynn’s. “Ah, you know they love me too much for that.”

    “More like they don’t look hard enough to catch all your illegal ‘on-the-mouse room upgrades.’” Roman corrected, leaning against the back of the receptionist desk. “Though if they ever do? You’re screwed.”

    “Shush, I’mma be gay and doing crime til Disney falls.” Remy responded cheekily. “And speaking of people who are going to get themselves fired, shouldn’t you be over in the good ol’ Disneyland already?”

    Roman shrugged. “Shift doesn’t start for another half an hour. I’ve got time.”

    “Time for what, exactly?”

    Roman grinned at that. “Gossip, of course!”

    Remy grinned now, too. “Well, if you’re looking for tales, a little birdy’s been keeping me updated on a blossoming relationship between one of the friends of Rapunzel and one of the friends of Snow White-”

    “Oh, not that kind of gossip.” Roman interrupted, waving his hand dismissively. “I’m talking the good gossip- preferably about you and your boos.”

    Remy scoffed, shaking his head as he hit the enter key and finished out the form. “Hard to gossip about those which I do not have, hun.”

    Roman groaned, slumping against the desk and throwing his head back. “Oh, please, Remy, don’t tell me you’re still in denial.”

    “Denial about what?” Remy asked, finally turning his full attention to Roman. “The fact that I’m single?”

    “The fact that you have not one but TWO partners!” Roman answered, dramatically holding up two fingers. “Not only are you being a proper partner HOG you are refusing to admit as such.”

    “Well if you’re just looking for someone to be the soul to your mate, handsome, I think I can hook you up.” Remy said teasingly, briefly lowering his sunglasses to wink at Roman.

    Roman met the wink with a deadpan stare. “You’re a taken man.”

    “Only if you make it so.”

    “You can’t keep pretending your partners don’t exist.”

    “I can if I don’t have any partners.” Remy told him, finally pushing his shades back over his eyes and giving up at his mock attempts to seduce Roman. “Now, of course, I have two very close friends with whom I do many things with, but given I’m not dating either of them, calling them my ‘partners’ seems a little much, don’t you?”

    “I get it, I get it, I have good friends too.” Roman said, as if he were going along with what Remy was saying until he quickly added, “Except I’m not obviously DATING them!”

    “You’re hopeless, princey, truly hopeless.” Remy said in response, smirking as he patted Roman’s cheek. “Ya gotta stop finding romance where it simply ain’t.”

    “The only thing I am finding is the truth behind all the bullsh-”

    “Remy!”

    Both Roman and Remy turned from each other, gazes moving to the entrance, where the voice had originated from. The owner of the voice was hurrying over to them, their blond curls pulled back into a loose ponytail, keeping their hair out of their face and allowing them to smile brightly at both Roman and Remy. They stopped in front of the receptionist's desk, taking a moment to catch their breath and straighten their relatively small red tie.

    “Heya sunshine.” Remy greeted easily, smiling at Patton in a way that was a little too soft to be a proper smirk “May I ask what brings you here in the middle of your shift? You’re gonna get yourself fired.”

    “‘Worth it for a chance to see you.” Patton told him sweetly, giggling just a bit and ignoring Roman’s expression of self-confirmation. “Buuuuuuuut I'm on lunch break. Just came over to ask what you wanted for dinner. I know the plan for tonight was take-out, but I just realized that we have all the ingredients to make lasagna- aside from the noodles, which we can pick up on our way home- so I thought it might be fun to make that tonight instead!”

    “Sounds wonderful to me.” Remy answered. “We’re going to keep it a secret from Dee though, right?”

    “Of course!” Patton agreed. He leaned over to stage whisper to Roman, “It’s his favorite.”

    “Oh, you guys know each other’s favorite dinners, do you?” Roman asked, smiling in a knowing way and wiggling his eyebrows at Patton. Patton tilted their head to the side, clearly confused, while Remy answered casually,

    “Of course! You can only live with someone for so long without picking up on what they like to eat. Dee’s favorite is lasagna. Patton’s favorite dinner- which is coincidentally their favorite breakfast, lunch, and dessert as well- is waffles. And mine, of course, is a nice big cup of espresso-”

    “Don’t lie!” Patton cut him off, smiling as they leaned on the counter and ended up within an inch of Remy. “Your favorite dinner is chicken soup!”

    “Remy hates soup.” Roman said, raising a suspicious eyebrow.

    “Not chicken soup.” Patton confirmed, not looking away from Remy. “That’s his favorite, no matter what he says.”

    “Mmm, nice try, Pat, but that’s not it.” Remy denied. Patton pouted at him then, and almost immediately Remy relented with, “My favorite dinner is your chicken soup. You’re the only one who knows how to make it right, hun.”

    Patton giggled. “I make it just like anyone else would!” they insisted, though their smile brightened even as they spoke.

    Remy’s smile grew as well as he leaned forwards just a bit, pressing his forehead against Patton’s. “Nah, honeypie, you got somethin’ all the other recipes don’t.”

    “And what’s that?” Patton asked.

    “Loooooooove.” Remy answered, grinning broadly, seemingly happy to ignore how cheesy his answer was.

    Patton didn’t mind the cheesiness. “You’re too much,” they said, too playfully to be chastising.

    “Better than being too little.”

    Patton just grinned at that. “I have to go.”

    “Alright, sweetheart.” Remy said, expression seemingly not changing, though a close observer (aka Roman) might have noticed his smile dip just the slightest. “See you at six?”

    “Mhmm!” Patton confirmed with a hum. They pulled away from Remy, pressing a quick kiss to his forehead before they ran off, waving one last goodbye as they reached the doors before disappearing outside. Remy lazily waved his fingers after Patton, watching the doors a moment after Patton was through them before turning back to his computer and his work.

    “Ready to admit you’re definitely dating at least one of your partners?”

    “Nope,” Remy replied without missing a beat. “Though if you really want me to have a partner, you’re single… I’m single…” Remy waggled his eyebrows at Roman.

    Roman ignored his advances. “The chemistry between you and Patton is so strong I’m surprised nothing’s exploded yet.”

    “That was weak.”

    “Shush.” Roman waved his hand dismissively. “I mean, for the love of Apollo, they kissed you goodbye!”

    Remy half-shrugged. “They do that with all their friends.”

    “They didn’t give me a kiss.”

    “They were in a rush.” Remy explained away. “But if you really want a kiss-”

    “-I will get it from my darling friend of Rapunzel,” Roman finished for him, having leaned over to check the time on the bottom of Remy’s screen. “I got so distracted trying to get you to tell me the truth I lost track of time.”

    “What truth?” Remy asked, tone light. “The one about us making a perfect couple?”

    Roman smiled sweetly at him, as though Remy was naive. “Maybe in a universe where you didn’t literally live with your soulmates,” he said, patting Remy’s shoulder before he turned and headed towards the door. He raised his hand over his shoulder without turning back, half-waving at Remy as he added, “Call me when you’re done being in denial!”

    Remy just let out a light huff of amusement, shaking his head and turning back to his work. Roman could say whatever he wanted, but the fact remained: Remy was (un)happily single and most certainly not dating his roommates.

    Yeah, sure, maybe he could’ve mentioned that his ‘best friends’ were also his crushes, but, hey, it wasn’t like that was that important, right?

    ~~

    Patton was staring intently at the floor. Well, more technically, they were staring intently at the mess on the floor and trying to convince themself they were supposed to be cleaning up said mess and not doing anything else with it.

    The bell near the front of the store rang as the door swung open, but Patton ignored it. Plenty of people filtered in and out of the store. They did, however, pay attention when the sound of approaching footsteps got closer than the signs should have allowed.

    “I’m sorry, this aisle is currently closed, if you don’t mind-” Patton started immediately, tone polite as they looked up, fully expecting to find an angry customer who refused to go over one extra aisle for whatever sweet treat they were looking for. They stopped when they saw who it was, polite-but-fake smile being replaced by a genuine one. “Oh, Virgil, hello there!”

    Virgil smiled back, half-waving before he turned his focus to the floor, careful to step around the mix of glass shards and chocolate-covered balls of something as he came up next to Patton. “Busy day?”

    Patton shrugged. “It was fine until someone didn’t put the jar fully back on the shelf. I’m just glad no one got hurt.”

    Virgil nodded. “That’s good,” he agreed. “Waste of some perfectly good candy though.”

    “It is,” Patton bemoaned, looking sadly at the mess. Virgil side-eyed them.

    “Pat, you haven’t been considering eating the fallen candy, have you?”

    “Maybe?” Patton tried, looking at Virgil only to find his expression completely disbelieving. They sighed. “Yes. It just looks so yummy! Even mixed in with all the glass! Because the glass sparkles and makes it kinda magical looking and it couldn’t hurt to have just one-”

    Virgil put a hand on Patton’s shoulder, stopping them from bending down and grabbing one of the candies before they could move an inch. “All the candy here’s magical. Eat some of the candies that aren’t also glassy.”

    “Mhmm,” Patton hummed in sad annoyance. “But it’s such a waste… I can stop it from being waste…”

    “You could, but should you?” Virgil asked.

    Patton groaned. “I shouldn’t,” they said. “But I want to…” They sighed, turning their gaze from the tempting mess to Virgil. “Distract me. Why are you here?”

    “Other than to stop you from making poor dietary choices?” Virgil asked rhetorically before going on, “I’m avoiding Roman.”

    “Avoiding him?” Patton repeated. “I thought you two were getting along. Don’t tell me he started another prank war-”

    “No, he’s just being annoying,” Virgil answered. “He wouldn’t stop bothering me while I worked, because Remy apparently hadn’t been in the mood to entertain his gossip, thereby making me the person stuck listening to it. Guess Kev’ decided letting me walk it off for half an hour was better than me tearing a costume in frustration.”

    Patton nodded as they moved to once more hold their broom, beginning to sweep up the mess as they said, “What was the gossip?”

    Virgil leaned back on the shelf behind him, waving his hand pointlessly. “Oh, same old same old. Just talking about you and your partners, mostly how oblivious Remy is- which, I get it, Remy can be obtuse, but that doesn’t mean I want to hear about it all morning-”

    “What?!” Patton cut him off, voice a higher pitch than they had intended, stopping halfway through a sweep to look at Virgil in disbelief and confusion. “My- what partners?!”

    “...Remy and Drew. Duh,” Virgil said slowly, blinking at Patton as if they were missing something incredibly obvious. “You know. The people you live with. And are clearly dating. Those partners.”

    Patton laughed, a weird hybrid sound of amusement and awkwardness. “I think you’re a little confused there, kiddo. I’m not dating Remy or Dee- they’re just my friends!”

    “Yeah. Friends you’re dating,” Virgil said, raising an eyebrow at Patton. “Don’t tell me you thought I wouldn’t notice. It’s fairly obvious.”

    “I don’t know how it can be obvious if it isn’t true.” Patton responded, going back to sweeping as they looked away from Virgil. “We’re just friends. At least I am, anyways.”

    “What does that mean?”

    Patton briefly looked up from their work to look at Virgil instead. “Aw, shucks, Virge, you’ve seen how Remy and Dee look at each other. If anyone’s dating, it’s them.”

    “And you?” Virgil pressed, prompting Patton to look down again at their work. “I’ve seen how Remy and Drew look at each other, but I’ve also seen how you look at them. They’re pretty similar looks, my dude.”

    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Patton answered, even as their cheeks flushed a light shade of pink. They risked a glance at Virgil, only to find him looking at them disbelieving. “Okay, maybe I love them a little more than just as friends.” Continued disbelief. “A lot more! But that doesn’t mean we’re dating.”

    “And why does them looking sweet at each other make them dating, but you doing the same just makes you just friends?”

    “Because I think I’d know if I was dating them, silly.” Patton responded simply.

    Before Patton could continue, or Virgil could speak up, they were interrupted by the sound of quickly approaching footsteps and the slight crunch of glass as the newcomer misstepped and stepped on the mess. “Well this looks… delightful.”

    “Dee!” Patton said, dropping their broom against the shelf as they carefully (but still hurriedly) stepped around the mess to approach their roommate. He was dressed as a friend of Aladdin’s, wearing baggy pants and a raggedy shirt-vest combo, his small red hat carefully hiding his bun, presenting the illusion of him having short hair. Slight touches of make-up highlighted the scar running from beneath his left eye to the bottom of his jaw, Drew always happy to tell the very dramatic tale of how he got it in a sword fight (when the truth of the matter involved a very long story having to do with toast, ferrets, and the reason why he wasn’t allowed to use the ice machine anymore). “What’re you doing here?”

    “Why, unhappy to see me?” Drew asked sarcastically, though he was smiling at Patton.

    “Never!” Patton responded resolutely. They wobbled a bit as they got closer to Drew, almost stepping on a particularly ugly shard of glass, but Drew reached out and grabbed one of their hands before they could fall, stabilizing them and helping to lead them right up in front of him. Patton giggled at his help, not releasing his hand even once they were done moving. “Just curious. Shouldn’t you be at the wishing well?”

    “Oh, I was,” Drew told them, free hand rising up to tuck a stray curl behind Patton’s ear. “But then I wished to see the loveliest face in the world and found myself here with you.”

    Patton giggled again. “The wishing well must be broken if it didn’t just provide you with a mirror.”

    A touch of pink coloured Drew’s cheeks at Patton’s words, and in the background Virgil turned from watching the two of them to stare blankly at the shelf across from him, as though it was a camera and he was in The Office. 

    “Trust me, angel, it made no error,” he said, despite his minor blush. “But to better answer your question, have you noticed how bright it is outside?”

“Of course I have,” Patton answered. “It must be warm out there.”

“It is warm,” Drew confirmed, sounding as if there was more he wasn’t saying but wanted Patton to pick up on anyways. “Some might even say it’s hot.”

“Just like you?”

Drew’s blush grew. “I think you’re missing the point.”

Patton’s smile turned a shade mischievous. “I’m not. I’m just waiting for you to admit to it.”

“Cruel, sweetpea, cruel.”

“Just admit it already!”

Drew sighed dramatically. “Alright! I fold! I admit that hydration in the face of the harsh sun is important.”

“Andddddd?”

Another sigh. “I admit that I forgot my water bottle, which I likely wouldn’t have done if I had simply used one of your sticky notes.”

“I even doodled a snake on your reminder!” Patton said, lightly hitting Drew’s chest. “It was cute AND helpful.”

“Just like you,” Drew commented, moving his hand from Patton’s hair to cup their cheek as they flushed. “And I’m sorry, dear, I really didn’t think I’d need it.”

“And yet, you’re here,” Patton teased lightly before turning towards Virgil, extending a hand. “Virgil, there should be a water bottle behind you- think you can hand it to me?”

Virgil did as he was asked, glancing behind him and finding that, yes, perched on the shelf was a metal water bottle covered in snake stickers. He grabbed it and turned back towards Patton, passing them the bottle. Patton took it and turned back to Drew, offering it to him.

“Oh, must I take it?” Drew asked, looking reproachfully at the bottle. “You’re so much nicer to hold.”

“Mmm, you need to get back to work before they catch you slacking,” Patton told him. “I’ll still be around to hold later.”

“Is that a promise?” Drew asked, even as he let his hand fall from Patton’s cheek to take his water bottle.

“Even better,” Patton answered, letting go of Drew’s hand so that they could loop their pinkies together instead. They raised their now joined hands so that they were in easy sight of Drew. “It’s a pinky promise.”

Drew smiled. “Good,” he said, bending his pinky a bit to squeeze Patton’s. “I’m holding you to it,” he punned before reluctantly stepping away, letting his and Patton’s pinkies remain linked until he was forced by distance to let go.

“So,” Virgil spoke up, slightly startling Patton, who had been waving at Drew until he walked out of sight. “You’re not dating them, you lied?”

“I didn’t lie!” Patton defended, moving back towards the broom as they spoke, once more careful to avoid the glass as they stepped. “I’m not dating him! Or Remy!”

“Oh, yeah, because calling each other petnames and trading compliments til you’re both blushing and not wanting to let go of each other and looking at each other like you’re the other’s world is really just ‘best friend’ behaviour,” Virgil said, voice thick with sarcasm.

“We’ve lived in the same apartment for months, Virgil, we’re close!” Patton said as they went back to sweeping. “That doesn’t make us partners.”

Virgil let out a breath. “I know, Pat, but you really should see the way you two were looking at each other. It sure as hell wasn’t plain-ol’ friendly.”

“Language.”

“Stop dodging the point.”

Patton stopped their work, turning to look at Virgil as they rested their chin on the broom handle. “I don’t know what point you think I’m dodging, kiddo. Dee- and Remy- are my friends. They’re dating each other, but I’m not dating them. It’s not that hard to understand.”

Virgil didn’t respond to that at first, instead just blinking slowly at Patton a few times. “I’m starting to understand why Roman was in such a mood,” he finally said as he pushed himself away from the shelves. “If Remy’s half as oblivious as you are, I’d be complaining too.”

“Oblivious about what?” Patton asked, confused. “They know who they’re dating and who they’re not.”

Virgil didn’t answer, instead just chuckling and shaking his head. “I should get back before Kevin decides to be less lenient about my wandering time. See you later, pine-on.”

“Bye, Virge!” Patton said cheerily. “And good pun!”

Virgil responded with a half salute behind his head as he wandered off. Patton watched him off as they resumed their sweeping, focusing on their work and not any of the interactions that had just occurred. Say what he would, Virgil was wrong- Patton’s relationship with Drew and Remy was strictly platonic, and they had no plans to mess with what the three of them did have (an amazing friendship) anytime soon.

~~

Drew dropped his bag before he collapsed against the wall, sliding down it halfway as he let out a huff. Though the day had been no longer than any other, the sun had been much more annoying than usual, and he was ready to be home and surrounded by not only air conditioning but also people he could stand. Absentmindedly he rubbed at the remains of make-up on his face, the only part of his costume he was still in since having changed out at the end of his shift.

“Are you suffering from heatstroke, or just bored?”

Drew looked up, finding Emile in front of him, smiling in amusement.

“A bit of both,” Drew answered truthfully. “Forgot my water bottle at home, though Pat had grabbed it for me at least. But neither their shift nor Remy’s is over for at least another fifteen minutes, so…”

“So I’m just someone to distract you until one of your partners can take over?” Emile asked, teasing.

“My partners in crimes, you mean?” Drew said. “Because I’ve told you before, Em, I really shouldn’t be talking about them here- you’re going to ruin our plan to invade ‘Beauty’s palace and get the treasure.”

“And what treasures are you going to find in there?”

“Hopefully, the key to a full hundred years of rest,” Drew told them before adding, “And gold. Mostly going for the gold.”

“Mhmm.” Emile hummed. “Happy to hear you’ve got your future set. Your criminal enterprises sound like they’re going to go over very smoothly. Now, as to your actual partners…”

“Do you think I’m cheating on my current criminal partners?” Drew asked, sounding offended. “With whom, another team? Emile, I thought you knew me better than that.”

“I think we both know I’m referring to your romantic partners.”

“Ah, yes.” Drew crossed his arms and leaned further back against the wall. “You’re referring to my roommates, who somewhere along the line you got confused as also being my romantic partners. They’re not very good at crime, you know.”

Emile grinned. “Not even good at stealing your heart?”

Drew just waved his hand dismissively. “Patton steals the heart of everyone they meet. Remy is not subtle at all when they go for the steal. Neither of them would make it a day in the world of crime.”

“But you admit that they’ve stolen your heart.”

“I admit they steal everybody’s heart.”

“But not like they’ve stolen yourssssss.”

Drew sighed, pulling his water bottle out of his bag and taking a sip of the water while he waited for Emile to stop. “Don’t be like Virgil and Roman, Emile. You’ve been given the precious gift of actually having a brain cell. Don’t waste it.”

“You can say whatever you want, Drew, but that doesn’t change the truth, even if you’d like to pretend it would,” Emile replied calmly, sounding smug. “We’ve all seen the way you three look at each other. You can’t lie your way out of love truer than that of Tiana, Naveen, and Charlotte’s.”

“Don’t have to lie to tell the truth,” Drew responded, returning his water bottle to its place in his bag. Before Emile could rebuke his words, the door that led outside of the first aid station opened, and two people walked in.

“Excuse me,” Emile said politely to Drew before they headed towards the people. After a brief moment of conversation, Emile walked further into the building with one of them while the other came over towards Drew.

Drew smiled when the newcomer was close enough for him to identify. “Hello, darling.”

Remy returned his smile, leaning against the wall and facing Drew. Remy was clearly off-shift, both costume and nametag removed, and was now sporting a sea-green bracelet. “Good evening, charming. Miss me?”

“Constantly,” Drew answered effortlessly. “I assume the same to be true of you?”

“I miss you every second you’re not in my presence more than the moon misses the sun,” Remy answered, maintaining veir composure for a moment before veir expression broke and ve laughed. “Like that one? I heard someone in the lobby tell it to their husband.”

“It is unbearably cheesy,” Drew told ver. “Though I’m sure also very sweet, if you mean it.”

“Good thing I mean it then,” Remy said jokingly. “People suck. I got yelled at twice today. I missed you and your not-yellingness.”

“Is that all you missed about me?” Drew asked, smile turning sly. “Because I know I miss you for more than just your sometimes-not-annoyingness…”

“Oh really?” Remy asked, shifting so that ve was facing Drew even more. “Well, I miss you for your not-yellingness, and for your looks- scar most certainly included, hun, it makes you look roguish- and for your mind, and your charisma, and, of course, your snark.”

    “You flatter me.”

    “Look in a mirror, sugar, you make it easy,” Remy told him. “Now I’m dying to know why you missed me.”

    “Oh, how could I not?” Drew asked rhetorically. “There’s your charm, as sarcastic as it may be, your humor, your refusal to stand down against idiots, and your sense of fashion- though I must confess, I consider it a sin to hide such dazzling eyes.”

    “Compliment my charm when you’re the real charmer ‘round here- I see how it is,” Remy said playfully, smiling.

    Drew returned the smile. “I’m just telling the truth.”

    “Mhmm,” Remy hummed non-committedly, though veir smile didn’t drop. Ve reached forward, brushing some of Drew’s hair behind his ear before moving to run veir fingers through it. Drew leaned his head closer, allowing ver easier access to his hair as ve pulled it over just one of his shoulders. “Your hair’s a mess.”

    “It’s been in a bun all day.” Drew explained, closing his eyes and focusing on the soft and calming feel of Remy brushing through his hair, occasionally scratching at his scalp. “It got tangled.”

    “Too lazy to fix that problem yourself, sweetheart?”

    “I like it better when you do,” Drew admitted.

    Remy chuckled as ve continued, veir attention turning more towards gentle touches against Drew’s skin as ve worked. “I should braid your hair tonight. Might not tangle as quickly that way.”

    “If we do that, we’ll need to stop at the store on the way home,” Drew said. “Our beloved sunbeam will want to put flowers in my hair, and I do not believe we have any at home.”

    “We already needed to stop for some dinner fixin’s anyways,” Remy told him. “We’ll just add ‘flowers prettier than your face’ to the list, though I’m afraid if we go looking for those we’ll never find them.”

    Before Drew could return the compliment, the sound of approaching steps stopped him. He opened his eyes just enough to see that they belonged to Emile, who was smiling broadly and just a touch satisfiedly at them, before he closed his eyes once more.

    “Hey there, babe,” Remy greeted. “How you?”

    “I’m peachy keen!” Emile answered enthusiastically. “Yourself?”

    Drew didn’t need to see Remy’s face to know that ve was smirking. “I’ve got the prettiest man in the world melting into my touch, so I’d say I’m doing pretty swell.”

    “Bold words from the most gorgeous being to ever grace this planet’s surface,” Drew countered, opening his eyes so he could return Remy’s smirk. “And I’m not ‘melting into your touch,’ I’m giving you easier access to the hair you so wish to tame.”

    “Whatever you say, sugar.” Remy responded casually, right before ve ran veir hand through his hair again, stopping halfway through to press veir fingers against the base of his neck, rubbing just the slightest of circles into his skin, which was cheating, because ve knew perfectly well that was one of his weak points. The motion alone had Drew leaning closer towards Remy, letting out a small sigh that morphed into a huff halfway through.

    “That’s cheating,” Drew said, trying to sound accusing but only succeeding in sounding tired and slightly whiny.

    Remy laughed. “Don’t care, darling, not even a little.”

    Drew hissed at ver, only earning himself another laugh.

    “Well you two certainly seem happy,” Emile pointed out, the slightest hint of trickery in their tone.

    “I’d like to think we are, yes,” Remy said.

    “Not that it’s surprising,” Emile continued, failing to sound very innocent. “I’m sure anyone’d be happy spending time with one of their partners.”

    “I’m sure they would,” Remy said neutrally. “Not sure what that has to do with anything right now-”

    “They’re talking about my partners in crime.” Drew interrupted. “I told them earlier about my plan to raid Sleeping Beauty’s class and steal her secrets to a hundred years of sleep.”

    “I see. Well I do hope you plan on sharing those secrets because goodness knows I could do with a good century of napping.”

    “Goodness and me,” Drew agreed, reaching forward and pushing Remy’s sunglasses up a bit, frowning at how dark the bags under veir eyes were. “Why else would I steal the secrets if not for you?”

    “Awwww, you care,” Remy cooed, tone a mix of goodheartedly mocking and sincere. “And what do you mean, ‘goodness and me’? Hun, you are goodness.”

    “You’re sweet, but we both know that’s Pat.”

    “I don’t see why it can’t be both of you.”

    “This is getting ridiculous!” 

Drew and Remy turned towards Emile at their outburst, Remy tilting veir head to the side in confusion while Drew asked,

    “What is?”

    Emile waved their hands at the roommates. “You two! You three! This!”

    Remy and Drew glanced at each other before looking back at Emile. “This?” Remy asked.

    “You’re so oblivious it puts the Scooby Gang’s obliviousness to Shaggy’s godhood to shame!” Emile said, thoroughly exasperated.

    “I’m sorry what was that-”

    “I mean, look at you two!” Emile said, gesturing at where Remy’s hand was still running through Drew’s hair. “All you do is compliment each other and worry over each other and know exactly what to do to make the other melt into your touch!”

Drew shrugged. “So? We’re friends.”

“And we’ve lived together for months,” Remy added. “Kinda hard to not pick up stuff about each other.” 

“This moved past friendship weeks ago,” Emile told them, crossing their arms. “You can pretend to be sly, but you aren’t.”

“We’re not pretending anything,” Drew replied, raising an eyebrow. “Are you alright, Em? No offense, you seem a little... agitated over this.”

Emile squinted at them. “You’d be agitated if you were me.”

“Huh. Vaguely ominous,” Remy commented idly, unperturbed by the conversation. “You should really talk to Roman though. He’s been having the same misconceptions about me and my roommates’ relationship. I’m sure you two lovelies can find the truth if you talk it out.”

“We’ve already found the truth,” Emile said confidently.

“If you say so,” Remy responded, reaching into veir pocket as ve spoke, pulling out veir phone and checking the time. “Patton’s shift should be over in a couple of minutes. Wanna go greet them?”

“The only sunshine I always want to see,” Drew answered. “Don’t tell them we’re going to braid my hair just yet, though, alright? I’d prefer to surprise them.”

Remy grinned. “Of course, hun.”

Drew returned the grin before shifting over so that he could pick his bag up, ignoring Remy’s protest at his hair moving out of playing-with range. “You do know that going to Patton requires moving, right?”

“I do, but that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.”

Drew chuckled as he straightened up, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “You can play more with my hair when we get home, starlight, don’t worry. Come on, let’s go get Pat.”

Remy pouted, but ve still lifted veir arm and allowed Drew to slot himself in against veir side as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Remy’s arm wrapped around the top of Drew’s shoulders, holding him close as they headed towards the doors.

“Have a goodnight, Em,” Drew called over his shoulder right before they left, door lightly thudding as it fell shut behind them.

Emile let out a little huff. “Night-night lovebirds,” they said, even though they knew the couple in question couldn’t hear them. They waited a moment after they left before pulling out their phone, flicking to the group chat they, Roman, and Virgil had lovingly nicknamed ‘operation Get These Gays Together’ (originally known as ‘operation if they don’t get together I’m going to shoot them and then myself’ when Virgil named it) and sending a quick but vital text.

Usually, Emile preferred the passive route. They preferred to push people towards the solution, help them subtly, let them figure it out for themselves with only a bit of their help.

But that method was driving Emile (and Roman and Virgil) insane. They had tried the easy, passive way.

It was time to be aggressive.

~~

The first thing Remy registered upon waking up was that they’d really rather not. The little bit of sun that made its way through their half-open eyelids was already too much and they were almost a hundred percent certain they still needed another five hours of sleep to be anything close to well-rested.

Therefore, immediately after opening their eyes, they shut them once more, rolling over and pushing their face into the surface beneath them to try and drown out all possible light. While this did solve the immediate problem of ‘too much light,’ it presented a new one for them to deal with- the fact that something close to him was warm and moving.

The discrepancy between where they remembered falling asleep last night- on the couch, alone- and where they must be now- somewhere big enough for more than one person to be sleeping, and apparently not alone anymore- was enough to convince Remy to open their eyes again. It was easier if only for the fact that the sun was now behind them, illuminating the sight in front of Remy instead of blinding them.

Remy was unsurprised to find the warm moving ‘thing’ was, in fact, their roommates- Drew curled up against Patton’s back, arms wrapped around their chest, one of Patton’s hands resting on top of Drew’s and their other sprawled out across the bed, almost touching Remy.

The sight made Remy smile. They reached out to lay one of their hands over Patton’s outstretched one, gently rubbing circles and nonsense patterns into their palm while they waited for them to wake up. While they would like to figure out how they ended up in bed instead of on the couch, and while they knew all three of them would eventually have to get up for work, they didn’t see the point in rushing anything. If they were already late for work, hurrying now wouldn’t change that, and Remy had decided long ago that there were few things in the world that mattered to them more than seeing both Drew and Patton rested, relaxed, and happy.

Slowly but surely, Patton began to wake up, shifting around in Drew’s grasp for a moment before their eyes fluttered open and they saw Remy. Upon seeing them, Patton smiled a sleepy but fond smile.

“Good morning, sweetie,” Patton greeted them, yawning partway through their sentence. They twisted their hand a bit so that they could hold Remy’s, beginning to rub circles into the back of Remy’s hand. “You look nice.”

Remy found it doubtful that they, in all their sweatpants, ratty t-shirt, and disheveled hair glory, were looking like anything more than a mess, but they were loath to reject any compliment that came from Patton.

“You look just as cute as always,” they returned, smile growing at Patton’s small giggle at their response. “I am, however, a little curious as to why I’m seeing your beauty right now.”

Patton’s brow furrowed in confusion for a moment before smoothing out as they realized what Remy was asking. “You fell asleep on the couch last night, right?”

“Last I recall, yes, and I’m sorry to say I don’t remember coming to… wherever this is.”

“It’s my room,” Patton answered. “I was cold, and I had pinky-promised Dee we could cuddle. We were goin’ to ask you to join, but you fell asleep while we were putting away the lasagna and we decided we didn’t want to risk waking you to move you. You’re such a light sleeper… and Dee said you hadn’t been sleeping as much recently.”

As Patton finished speaking, they reached out to brush a thumb underneath one of Remy’s eyes, as if they could erase the bags that were there.

Remy reached up with their free hand to catch Patton’s, gently pulling it away from their face and intertwining their fingers instead. “Don’t worry about me, sunshine, I’m fine. Just a few more sleepless nights than usual.”

Patton hummed, clearly not satisfied, but they didn’t say anymore on the topic. “I know I didn’t bring you in here,” they said instead, looking forlornly at the space roughly a foot long between them and Remy. “I wouldn’t have brought you in here for cuddles and then not cuddled you,” Patton explained, sounding melancholy.

In an attempt to at least partially console them, Remy scooted closer to Patton, narrowing the gap to only a few inches. They kept themself from moving all the way against them only because they knew exactly what would happen, knew Patton’s arms would wrap around them and hold them close, trapping them in the cuddle pile they’d have no will nor want to escape, and, as nice as it sounded to let reality drift away as they sank back into sleep so close to their two favorite people in the world, Remy knew they couldn’t, knew they had to be at least a little bit responsible and wake up and go to work and do more than just waste the day away holding each other.

Though damn if that wasn’t a tempting thought.

“So does that mean Dee moved me?” Remy asked.

“He must’ve,” Patton answered before frowning. “Though I don’t ever remember him getting up… here, I’ll just ask him.”

Patton turned over slightly, letting go of one of Remy’s hands so that they could gently shake Drew’s shoulder. “Dee? Dee, honey, do you think you could wake up for me? Please?”

In response, Drew half-groaned, half-yawned, and shifted so that his head was pressed into the crook of Patton’s neck, effectively hiding him from both his roommates and the sun. Patton giggled quietly at his action before they titled their head around and pressed a slightly awkward kiss to the top of Drew’s head. “I know you don’t want to, love, but you’ve gotta get up.”

Drew didn’t respond for a moment, but eventually he sighed, lazily lifting his head away from Patton’s shoulder. He returned Patton’s kiss atop their head before shifting his attention to Remy, blinking blearily as he focused on the third person in the bed.

“Mornin’ darling dearest Dee,” Remy greeted. “Sleep well?”

“Mhmm,” Drew hummed noncommittally, but from the way his arms tightened around Patton, holding them closer, Remy could guess he had slept very well curled up with Patton. “What’re you doin’ here?” he slurred, awake enough to realize Remy should still be out on the couch if not awake enough to speak properly.

“We were kinda hoping you could answer that one, hun,” Remy said. “Because I don’t remember coming in here, and Patton doesn’t remember moving me.”

Drew frowned. “I didn’t move you. Wanted you to sleep.”

“So I’ve heard,” Remy commented, now frowning themself. “So. If none of us put me in the bed, and none of us have any sleep walking and/or possession problems we haven’t told the others about…”

“How did you end up here?” Patton finished for them, completing the trifecta of frowns.

The unanswered question finally convinced Remy to sit up, squinting as they looked around the room for some explanation. It did appear to be Patton’s room, from the animal posters hung on every wall to the rainbow they had painted onto the light switch cover with nail polish, so it was unlikely they had all been kidnapped, which Remy was going to consider a good thing. Something did stand out to Remy, however.

“Hey, Pat, you haven’t put any random notes on your door recently, have you?”

Patton shook their head in confusion. “No. Why do you ask?”

Remy didn’t answer them immediately, instead sliding out of the bed and heading towards the door. Tapped to it was a folded note, ‘to the oblivious gays’ scrawled on the front of it. Remy pulled it off the door, unfolding it and quickly scanning the message inside. When they finished, they groaned.

“I’m disowning all of our friends.” Remy said, tossing the note to the side in annoyance as they grabbed the door handle, trying (and failing) to turn it. They groaned again. “Fuck.”

“Language.” Patton said automatically as Drew pushed their glasses onto their face for them, Patton blinking a few times as they stopped needing to squint at everything. “What is it?”

Remy ran a hand through their hair as they moved to the only window in the room, attempting to open it for a moment before deeming it a lost cause. They sighed and turned back towards the bed. “We’ve been locked in.”

This got both Patton and Drew to sit up, both looking more awake as they frowned at them. “What do you mean, we’ve been locked in?”

“Exactly what I said,” Remy replied, leaning back against the wall behind them. “Our most lovely friends have locked us all in a room together and apparently won’t let us out until we ‘confess’ or some bullsh- bullcrap, because this is 2012 and we’re a story on fanfic-dot-net.”

“Confess?” Patton repeated before realization dawned on their face. “Oh. I- Virgil was talking about that yesterday, but I didn’t think he actually- well I didn’t think he really meant anything by it.”

“Same with Emile,” Drew said. “They talk about it so often I just figured it was some sort of joke for them.”

“Roman was talking about it too,” Remy added unhappily. “He pointedly ignored all my advances as well, which was rude. I like to think my distractions are at least worth one returned flirt.”

A moment of silence stretched out between them before Drew sighed and said, “So they did this, huh.”

“That’s why I’m disowning them, yeah,” Remy informed him. “Also on the list of disownments is my cousin, because apparently he’s the one who gave them the key they used to break in here and set this whole mess up.”

“Logan’s not usually the type to go for this sort of thing,” Drew pointed out.

“He isn’t, but I think he’s still annoyed about that one time I stole all his Crofter’s.” Remy said. “Though now he’s indirectly keeping me from my coffee, so who’s the real monster here?”

“At least you’ve got us,” Drew offered.

Remy smiled at that, annoyed expression softening. “Yeah, that I do,” they agreed, pushing off of the wall and padding back over to the bed, joining the semi-circle and leaning against Patton’s side. Drew wrapped an arm around both Patton’s and Remy’s backs as soon as they were settled, holding the three of them together.

“So now what?” Patton asked after a moment of comfortable silence. “Should we call in to work sick?”

“The note said they’d cover it,” Remy answered with a scoff. “No clue how they plan to do that, but they’ve made it into a them-problem.”

“And when are they going to let us out?” Drew followed up. “Because we’re going to have to eat soon.”

“I have a bag of emergency cookies in the closet, if worse comes to worst,” Patton added.

“Of course you do,” Drew said, though he sounded only fond.

“They said they’ll swing by around lunch to free us and, I quote, ‘congratulate us on the proposals,’” Remy laughed. “Roman’s words, if you couldn’t guess.”

Drew chuckled. “And if we try to break out of our makeshift prison?”

“They’ve stolen our phones and tapped them to the door, so if we break it down, we risk breaking our phones.” Remy explained. “Logan also reminded us that glass is sharp and dangerous when broken so we shouldn’t even think about shattering the window.”

“So no breaking out,” Drew summed up. “Guess we really are stuck here ‘til they return.”

“Yep,” Remy agreed. They turned their head so that they could plant a kiss against the side of Patton’s head. “At least I’m stuck with y’all. Better be trapped with angels than free with demons.” Remy smiled when Patton blushed a shade of red that Remy thought just made them look even prettier.

“Well someone’s getting awfully poetic,” Drew quipped, though he was also blushing.

“It’s what happens when I don’t have my coffee,” Remy said offhandedly. “Deal with it.”

“Only if you accept that you yourself are also an angel.”

“Oh, rude, babe, real rude to ‘u-too’ my own compliment back at me.”

“If you want to make this easier on yourself, just accept it, my dear,” Drew advised. “I can wax just as poetic as you can, and will if I think I must.”

Remy sighed, holding out the sound for a moment before they folded. “Fiiiine, I’m an angel.” They leaned around Patton, getting close enough that they could press a kiss to Drew’s forehead. “But you’re still the prettier one.”

Drew gasped dramatically at that, but before he could respond, Patton sighed, sounding fond and vaguely melancholy. Remy pulled back from Drew just enough to look at Patton.

“Aw, our sunshine feeling left out?” Remy asked teasingly, kissing Patton’s forehead as well and wrapping their arms around Patton’s waist. “Don’t worry sweetheart, you’re just as pretty as Dee.”

“Oh, no, it’s not that, I promise!” Patton reassured them with a laugh. “You two are just so cute together, that’s all.”

“We’re all cute together,” Remy said, pressing a quick peck of a kiss to Patton’s chin. “Helps that we’re all cute.”

Patton laughed again. “No, I mean- together-together, you know? You’re a good couple.”

Remy and Drew reacted to that, both glancing at each other in confusion and uncertainty. “Couple as in two people, or…?” Drew asked.

Patton raised an eyebrow, now looking confused themself. “I mean, I guess that too, but I mean- well, I mean romantically.”

Another uncertain glance between the supposed ‘couple.’ Remy laughed awkwardly. “Hate to break it to ya, hun, but I think I’d know if I was dating such a cutie.”

“Same here,” Dee echoed.

“Oh. Oh!” Patton said, blushing red now in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry, you just- the way you act together, I- you’re so comfortable together-”

“We’re all comfortable together,” Drew pointed out, albeit quieter than he had been speaking a moment ago.

“I know, you just- I- oh, I’m so sorry!” Patton repeated, hiding their face in Drew’s shoulder. “I feel so silly,” they added, their voice now muffled.

Remy chuckled, reaching forward to card their fingers through Patton’s hair. They scooted a little closer to them as they scratched at their scalp as well. “Don’t worry about it, honey-love. Everybody makes mistakes.”

“No, it’s not that, I just…” Patton cut themself off before actually getting to their point, shaking their head a bit before they pressed their face even further into Drew’s shoulder.

“Oh, come now, beloved,” Drew coaxed, rolling his shoulders and trying to convince Patton to lift their head. “You don’t have to hide anything from us, much less your beautiful face or heavenly voice.”

“It’s silly,” Patton whined, just loud enough to be understood. Remy laughed gently, brushing their hair to the side so they could kiss the back of their neck.

“That’s okay. We’re not going to make fun of you or anything,” Remy assured them.

Drew leaned over and kissed the top of Patton’s head, pulling back only a little. “What’d you say, love? Can I see those pretty, pretty eyes?”

It took another moment of Remy playing with their hair and Drew sweet talking Patton before they were convinced, slowly lifting their head up just enough so that Drew could see their eyes. Drew smiled at them. “There you go. Isn’t this nicer?”

A little smile slipped onto Patton’s face. “Your eyes are much, much more gorgeous than the fabric of your shirt, yes.”

“I should hope so,” Drew replied, leaning his forehead against Patton’s. “Now, I’m sure both me and our lovely moonbeam are very curious as to what’s got you trying to hide from us.”

“Yeah, sugar, you’re not usually like this,” Remy added, though they didn’t sound worried, just sweet. “What’s got you feeling so silly and shy?”

Patton rested their cheek on Drew’s shoulder, looking between their roommates. “Promise you won’t hate me?”

“We could never,” Drew and Remy said at the same time.

Patton nodded, took a breath, squirmed a little in place, and finally said, “Y’know how I’ve never really said that you guys are together, even if I had no reason not to say it?”

“Uh… yes?” Remy answered, sounding slightly baffled by the question.

“Yeah, well… there was a reason for that.”

“...Okay?” Drew said, tone matching Remy’s.

“It’s because I didn’t really want to accept the fact that you two were together.”

Twin silence from Drew and Remy. Patton let out a little sigh, sounding more amused than annoyed.

“I didn’t like acknowledging the fact that you were both taken,” A pause to give their roommates a chance to finish for them; when neither of them spoke, Patton continued, “because I didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that you were both taken but neither of you were taken with me.”

Another pause, another stretch of silence as Drew and Remy each processed Patton’s words, the confessor themself once more hiding against Drew’s shoulder. Then- dawning understanding.

“Oh,” Remy said first, looking at Drew with wide eyes. “Oh. Patton, I-”

“It’s really okay if neither of you feel the same, really, I don’t even expect you too, we’re friends, and that’s what we’ve always said we were and always been, and that doesn’t need to change I just-” Patton laughed, slightly breathless as they tried to fit everything they wanted to say in only the space of a few seconds, “I just feel silly that I never even bothered to tell you guys because I thought you were dating, that’s all.”

It was quiet as Drew and Remy processed that, Drew looking at the bed as he thought while Remy looked off at the wall, clearly lost in their thoughts. It only took a moment for them to sort them, however.

“Hey, Patton?” Remy said, getting Patton to lift their head once more from Drew’s shoulder and look at them, Patton’s expression a mix of pained and hopeful. Remy reached forwards, cupping one of Patton’s cheeks with one of their hands, smiling a little stupidly as they did so. “Wanna hear a silly little secret of my own?”

Patton's eyes widened, suggesting that they knew exactly what the secret was, but they still said, in a quiet, almost awed voice, “What?”

Remy giggled, just a little, reaching out with their other hand as well and holding Patton’s face in both their hands as they answered, “I have a crush on both my roommates too,” they said in a mock-whisper, as if they were at a sleepover and they were all twelve. “I never told them because I thought they weren’t interested in me like that, but recently I’m starting to think I might be wro-”

Remy’s confession was cut off by Patton letting out a little squeal of excitement, pushing themself forward so that they could wrap their arms around Remy’s midsection, knocking them over and ending up with them both sprawled across the bed. Remy had just barely recovered from the action when Patton started peppering kisses across their face, going over their forehead and both their cheeks before they ended with a kiss on their lips, one that was brief but still sweet and loving and warm and undeniably Patton.

“You jerk.” Patton said, though there wasn’t a hint of heat in their tone as they laughed. “Why didn’t you tell me this three months ago?!”

“I had this whole friendship thing going on that I didn’t want to ruin!” Remy defended with a laugh of their own. “Though, if I had known that’d be your reaction, I’d have gone off and ruined our friendship long ago, sweetness.”

Patton’s smile broke into a grin and they kissed the tip of Remy’s nose, eliciting a quick but joyful giggle from them. “You’re forgiven for your slowness in telling me for how utterly perfect you are.”

“Why thank you, angel,” Remy said, pushing themself up just enough to give Patton a fast nose kiss as well. “But don’t you think we’re missing something- or, better put, someone- from this ‘perfect’?”

Patton’s eyes widened at the reminder. “Oh my gosh, you’re right!” they said before turning around to look at Drew. He was still sitting in the same spot he had been. It was clear he had been watching Patton and Remy, but upon them turning their attention to him, he seemed to suddenly find the entire rest of the room much more interesting to look at.

“Dee?” Patton said, forcing the aforementioned to turn his attention back to them or risk being rude to one of the people he was currently locked in a room with.

“Yes?” Drew asked, trying to sound aloof and neutral. He failed horribly, however, his voice coming out as something closer to mock-formal.

“Me and Remy have both made our confessions… do you have one of your own?” Patton asked, once more sounding hesitant.

When Drew didn’t respond instantly, Remy rushed to add, “It’s completely alright if you don’t, of course. No pressure whatsoever, we can still be friends, it’s just- well, not to sound like the people who locked us up in here in the first place, but I kinda feel like that’s not really what we should be.”

“I-” Drew started before cutting himself off, looking down as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “I do love you guys, really; I mean, who couldn’t after living with you for so long, you’re too incredible not to love, but… I don’t know how I love you.”

“...Care to elaborate?” Remy pushed after a minute stretched in silence.

Drew shifted in place. “I guess… we’ve spent our entire friendship doing everything a couple might do- spending time together, learning each other’s favorite things, getting stupidly domestic, literally sleeping together, cuddling, sharing little kisses, and I just… don’t know if I love you romantically or not.”

“Alright,” Patton said slowly, nodding their head before frowning. “I’m… not sure how to figure that out.”

“Me neither,” Remy admitted. “There must be something romantic we haven’t done with you, right?

Drew shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ve covered all of the bases, as far as I can tell. No wonder everyone thought we were dating…”

“Not all of them,” Patton said, pulling Drew out of his barely started musings. They smiled at him, softly and sweetly and just a bit shyly. “Dee?”

“...Yes?”

“Do you want to kiss us?”

“Kiss you- I already have kissed you, what do you…” Drew cut himself off as he realized what Patton meant, his cheeks quickly turning a crimson red.

Remy chuckled as they sat up, Patton shifting a bit to their side so that they could properly sit up. “Hate to put words in your mouth, sweetheart, but I’mma guess that means yes?”

“I… yeah, yeah it does,” Drew conceded, chuckling a little awkwardly. “That sounded awfully charming.”

“Everything you say is charming when you’re a charmer,” Patton responded, and Drew’s cheeks turned a shade darker as the awkwardness in his expression relaxed into something more akin to soft adoration.

Patton patted the bed directly in front of them and Remy. “Come over here, lovely.”

Drew did so willingly, pulling himself over so that he was once more part of the group. Patton smiled tenderly at him as he settled himself before reaching out and gently taking his face in their hands.

“Stop me if you need to, okay?” Patton said. Drew half-laughed, half-scoffed.

“I doubt I’ll want you to stop, much less need you to,” he told them, and Patton smiled wider at him before leaning in, their careful and loving hold on Drew’s face holding him still until their lips were connected.

The kiss was longer than Patton and Remy’s had been, more planned, but it was still just as welcoming and comfortable, as if this wasn’t their first kiss but instead their hundredth; somehow both oddly familiar and excitingly new.

Without even realizing it, Drew found himself leaning it, placing his hands on Patton’s waist to hold steady as he did so, more than happy to drown in the kiss as much as he could.

Patton pulled away when he was reaching the edge of breathlessness, smiling brightly at Drew even as they moved back, still holding his face. “How was that?”

“I love you,” Drew said as an answer, letting out a laugh in the form of a huff as he went on, “Oh, god be damned, Patton, I love you.”

“Language,” Patton chided lightly, though they both knew it meant nothing.

“Hey now,” Remy spoke up, drawing Drew and Patton’s attention. They were pouting, though amusement flashed in their eyes. “I’m feeling a little forgotten over here.”

“Forget you?” Drew asked, normally suave tone now simply breathless and incredulous. “I could never.”

“Then prove it,” Remy demanded, reaching out and making grabby hands at Drew despite the fact that he was barely two feet from them. Drew didn’t mind it, however, simply laughing at the display of affection. He gently took Patton’s hands off his cheeks, kissing the back of both of them (to the delight of Patton) before releasing them and closing the small gap between him and Remy.

“There you are,” Remy said, as if Drew had been hiding somewhere far off and not simply kissing their partner (their partner, not just his partner but Remy’s too) instead of Remy. “Do I get kisses now?”

Drew laughed. “Yes,” he said, not bothering to drag the moment out as he reached forwards, cupping one of Remy’s cheeks in his hand and pulling them closer. “You get kisses now.”

He kept to his promise as he kissed Remy, not holding it out for one long kiss like he and Patton had done but instead kissing them over and over and over again, quick little kisses that lasted seconds but still meant worlds to the both of them, that were still caring and inviting and loving even if they were brief. It worked better that way, Drew decided, especially when Remy evidently grew bored of just kissing his lips and moved on to covering the rest of his face with kisses instead.

“I’m starting to think I really am a jerk for not confessing anything sooner,” Remy said when they had, apparently, deemed Drew’s face properly kissed, now pulled back so that they could look Drew in the eyes as they grinned lopsidedly. “I’ve been severely neglecting giving you- and Patton- all the kisses you two deserve.”

“Not that that ever stopped you when we were friends,” Patton pointed out, leaning against Remy’s side and reaching out to hold one of Drew’s hands as well.

“That’s because even then I knew I was making a mistake,” Remy said, happily taking advantage of the fact that Patton was once more close to them to kiss their forehead.

“I just can’t believe the people who locked us up had it right,” Drew said, squeezing Patton’s hand as the hand he had been using to cup Remy’s cheek moved to hold one of Remy’s hands. “We really have been horribly oblivious, huh?”

Remy laughed. “I’d say that’s pretty accurate, yeah,” they agreed before smiling mischievously. “We’re not going to let them know that though, right?”

“Oh, goodness, of course not,” Drew responded. “Otherwise they might start thinking locking people up will always work, or, even worse, they might get an ego boost.”

“I think Roman will explode if that happens- his ego’s already big enough as is,” Patton added. Drew’s and Remy’s attention immediately turned to them, both looking shocked, to which Patton defended, “What? I can be petty towards our friends too!”

Drew chuckled as he quickly kissed Patton’s cheek. “That you can, dearheart, that you can.”

“It’s not like you’re wrong either,” Remy pointed out. “Really, letting Roman know this planned work might kill him. We’re just going to have to pretend it didn’t, for his sake.”

Patton and Drew both nodded as solemnly as they could given the circumstances. “I vote that we tell them this experience has really brought us closer together in our friendship instead,” Drew offered. “That way we can still be horribly obnoxious-” Drew paused to peck quick kisses to each of his partners’ noses to prove his point before continuing “-and also keep Roman and his ego safe.”

“A perfect plan,” Patton agreed. “Though… what do we do if they catch us calling each other partners?”

“We tell them how we decided we really felt like ‘friends’ no longer properly described how close our friendship was, so we decided to start using partners,” Remy answered immediately with a grin. “Really, we can turn anything into just another extent of our ‘friendship’ is we try hard enough. The real question is for how long do we do that? When do we give them their satisfaction?”

Drew hummed in thought for a moment before he said, a wicked smile racing his face as he spoke, “I’d say we’ll have to wait them out at least until we get married. We can tell them it’s for tax benefits.”

“We’re going to get married?!” Patton exclaimed, eyes shining at the thought.

“Well, I mean-” Drew floundered for a moment, clearly having gotten so caught up in how to best taunt their friends that he hadn’t even considered the implications of what he had said “-we’ve only just got together, but- if this lasts and we don’t regret anything, well-”

“We’re going to get married!” Patton repeated, this time with no question in their tone, tugging Drew closer to themself and pulling Remy closer as well so that they were all squished against each other. “We’re going to get married and we’re going to move out and find a better apartment with one huge bed- oh, or we could get a house with one big bed, and we’re going to adopt a dog- no, two dogs- no, ten dogs!- and-”

Drew gently stopped Patton’s rant by kissing them until they were breathless, resting his forehead against theirs when he finished. “And we’ll drive our friends absolutely insane with what a lovely life we’ll be living,” he added softly.

Remy moved to press their forehead against both of their partners’. “And we’ll be in love forever,” they added, which was an extraordinarily cheesy thing to say, but in the moment, it also felt like the right thing to say.

In fact, pressed against the two most important people in the world to them, still feeling giddy at everything that had happened in the span of barely fifteen minutes, Remy felt as if, for the first time in a long time, absolutely everything was just as it should be.

They were looking forward to getting used to that feeling.