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spencers-renaissance · 3 years ago

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you know that a boy who likes boys is a dead boy

Summary: Spencer's gay. He joins the BAU and befriends the team, but it is 2003. It's a secret he has to keep. He just didn't expect it to be this hard.

Tags: gay!spencer, coming out, hurt/comfort, insecure!spencer, misunderstandings, angst with a happy ending, dad hotch, protective!hotch, protective!derek, childhood trauma TW: one instance of explicit homophobia, but it is referenced a lot, as is Spencer's internalised homophobia at the start of this fic. A shit ton of heteronormativity but tbh that's just canon lol

Pairing: Spencer Reid/OMC, Spencer Reid & Derek Morgan, Spencer Reid & Aaron Hotchner, The BAU Team & Spencer Reid

Word Count: 6k

Masterlist // Read on AO3

Consider this my contribution to pride month 😌 I've waited so long to post it and I'm so glad I'm finally doing it because it's definitely one of my all time favourites <3 Gideon is here somewhere but just like with all my early season fics he's not really part of the plot I combined my moreid and gen taglists bc it was hard to know the audience for this, but just ignore it if you're not interested!

you know that a boy who likes boys is a dead boy, unless he keeps his mouth shut, which is what you didn’t do, because you are weak and hollow and it doesn’t matter anymore. — richard siken, a primer for the small weird loves

Spencer has only told one person in his whole life.

His mother guessed. For as long as he can remember, she’s used gender neutral pronouns when talking about his future partner, read him all the gay literature she could find, promised him that he’s perfect just the way he is.

The trouble is that Spencer only believes her until the first grade, when Ryan Sampson shoves him over in the playground and calls him gay. His mom had only ever used that term in a sweet, loving way, taking care to associate such words with positivity, as long as his dad wasn’t around to hear. When that word comes out of Ryan Sampson’s mouth, it is not said with sweetness and love; it is said with venom, and Spencer learns quickly that his mom is wrong. He is not perfect just the way he is.

And so, he keeps it a secret. When his mom notices him getting uncomfortable at the mention of future partners, she stops bringing it up, though she refuses to give up the diverse education she provides for him outside of school. His dad tells him that one day he’ll be a strapping young man and marry a nice girl in a church, and Spencer nods along. He ignores the way his stomach turns with anxiety at the thought. Ignores the screaming match his parents have that night. Ignores the fact that it started because Diana chipped in with ‘or boy’.

He’s in high school by the time he’s twelve, and the only part he’s grateful for is the absence of pressure to get a girlfriend. His dad’s out of the picture now, and Spencer tries not to let himself think that maybe if he wasn’t like this he might have stayed. Diana’s so out of it most days that she doesn’t remember what she noticed about him when he was a child, only recalling the last few years of shoving himself so far back in the closet he can hardly see the door anymore.

It feels like he’s lost his last ally.

(He hates that a small part of him feels relieved she doesn’t remember; that he almost feels assured by the fact that the last person to know who he really is has forgotten. There is only this version of Spencer Reid now. No other exists.)

He makes the mistake during his second undergraduate degree. He’s just turned eighteen but he is already a doctor and, fortunately, this alienates him from most of his peers, but someone manages to slide past his defences. Ethan Miller is twenty, in the second year of his (first) undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering, and he’s nice. Spencer doesn’t have a lot of experience with friendship, but they get on well and Ethan makes him laugh. For the first time, he feels comfortable in the presence of anyone other than his mother.

They slip into an easy friendship: waiting for each other after class — Spencer back in the undergraduate buildings now he has his first PhD under his belt — and going out for ice cream and pizza and Thai food. Ethan goes to parties while Spencer studies, and then they reconvene to watch Doctor Who and play cards.

For almost a year, Spencer keeps his secret carefully locked up, hidden behind the mask he’s perfected after so many years. Even though he’s eighteen, nearly nineteen now, he doesn’t try and explore that side of himself. No, that’s far too risky. He doesn’t try and pretend any other way either, he just stays silent and lets people’s assumptions lie for him, but he can’t help the longing that claws up his throat when he locks eyes with a passing guy on campus. One time, he’d seen two men kiss on a bench in the city, and he’d run back to his dorm and had a panic attack. Why couldn’t he have that?

The feelings don’t stop, and he doesn’t know how to make them. He hates that he isn’t normal, but still longs for the touch of a man, the feeling of being wrapped up in strong arms, of being kissed by dry, chapped lips, and falling asleep to a heartbeat approximately 11% slower than that of a woman’s.

It’s a constant battle inside him, emotions raging, and he struggles to control it, suppress it, tame it.

He pays a sorry price.

Ethan makes him feel comfortable, and that turns out to be a detriment. He relaxes around the other boy: he tells him about growing up as a pre-teen in a high school, about how a child feels living 260 miles away from home, even about his mother’s illness.

And one day, it slips out. They’re on the beach, lying on towels as they look up at the blue sky, talking about what their futures will look like: Ethan will be a successful chemical engineer in Berlin, and Spencer will work for the FBI, profiling serial killers.

“You’ll have to marry a German girl,” he tells Ethan. “It’ll be tough to convince an American girl to move all the way to Germany as soon as you graduate.”

“Yeah, and what about you? You’ll be off fighting crime around the country, not much of a life for a family.”

“Oh, I imagine my husband will be the type to—”

“Husband?”

Spencer freezes. It shocks him as much as it shocks Ethan. He doesn’t even pay much attention to Ethan’s disgusted face and his outraged tirade. He hears slurs and insults, hears him say that he can’t believe Spencer tricked him like this, that he was probably waiting to make a move on him, that he was never to look in Ethan’s direction again, but Spencer is frozen in time.

He’s never allowed him to think much about what his personal life might look like in the future, but he’d said ‘husband’ on instinct, without thinking, and it’s clearly something he actually wants. Ethan’s words sting, but the moment brings about a realisation Spencer is thankful for; it instigates a journey of self-discovery and self-expression, of the joy of living as your true self.

He loses his first and only friend, but he gains something much more valuable. He visits gay bars — nervously sipping a non-alcoholic drink in the corner at first, before soon becoming confident enough to respond to the men who sidle up to him and ask for his name. He lets go and dances the night away, sometimes going home with one of the many dance partners he acquires during the night, sometimes heading back to his own dorm happily alone.

Makeup and dresses and skirts and heels make their way into his wardrobe, and he befriends girls and drag queens and other gay men who encourage him to be exactly the way he is. And the best part is, he never has to come out to any of them. All of them know, and that’s good enough for everyone.

The fun comes to a sad sort of slow, however, when he joins the BAU. Everyone knows law enforcement’s relationship with the LGBT community is less than adequate — Spencer’s seen it with his own eyes: butch lesbians and men in dresses getting roughed up by angry police officers for ‘lewd behaviour’ or ‘drunkenness’ when they’re just being themselves. It’s not safe for him to tell anyone, so he doesn’t.

He still goes out with his friends when he’s in town and wears makeup and dresses and crop tops when he’s at home, but presents as rigidly straight Dr Spencer Reid to his team at the BAU.

The hardest part about it is that he loves his team. He’s known Gideon for years — and he wouldn’t be surprised if he suspects something after coming over to his house unannounced one night, only to have a man other than Spencer open the door — but he settles into a comforting dynamic with Hotch. He can’t help but see him as something of a father figure, and he knows Hotch has a soft spot for him, always looking out for him and taking him under his wing without a moment’s hesitation.

Elle, JJ, and Penelope all take a shine to him, too, teasing him without a hint of malice in their tones, only the kind of playful kindness that reminds him of his mother. He forms a special bond with Penelope and they spend hours watching Doctor Who together and geeking out on all the areas their interests overlap, and the comfort he feels with her matches the comfort he’s found with his new group of queer friends.

(She doesn’t hold a candle to Ethan, he decides one night, after he’d cried at a movie she’d made him watch and she felt so bad she made him hot chocolate and jam toast and cuddled him until he felt better.)

Derek becomes a brother to him. He puts him in a headlock at least once a day — which Spencer has been reliably informed by multiple sources is a very brotherly thing to do — and teases him relentlessly, while simultaneously being fiercely protective of him. Enough so, that Spencer sometimes wonders if he even has Hotch beat in that department.

He loves his team and his team loves him. It should be simple. It is still 2003.

He comes in one morning late for a briefing, his shirt buttoned wrong and his hair is a mess, and he’s fairly sure that his attempt to cover the hickey at the base of his neck with concealer has been ultimately unsuccessful. It’s obvious why he’s late. Gideon is too engrossed in the case file to notice, but Hotch raises an eyebrow, an amused look on his face as everyone else immediately takes to teasing him.

“Who’s the lucky lady, pretty boy?”

Elle raises an eyebrow to match Derek’s shit-eating grin, “Someone definitely got some strange last night.”

“When do we get to meet her, Spence?” JJ asks, smirking as he takes a seat.

He’s bright red — as if he needed to look any more debauched — and Spencer tries to ignore the hurt that seizes his chest at the reminder of his need to stay quiet. This team respects him, and he can’t throw that away just because Spencer gets too comfortable.

God, he wishes Penelope was here.

“None of your business,” he mutters, trying to keep his tone light. He fails.

Naturally, Hotch notices and swiftly moves the briefing on, and Spencer keeps his gaze locked on the case file, not missing the absence of a reprimand from his superior. He’s constantly thankful for the older man, but in this moment, he wishes he could hug him.

(A voice that sounds dangerously close to Ethan’s rises up and taunts him in his ear: he wouldn’t want a dirty homo like you anywhere near him—)

Derek doesn’t let up on the case, continuing to bug him about the special lady in his life. He does concede that it could’ve been a one night stand, which is one front he’s right on, but a couple more concessions are necessary before Derek comes close to the truth of last night.

Eventually, Derek stops, and Spencer notes that the cessation of comments comes suspiciously close to the last time Derek and Hotch were alone together. He doesn’t have it in him to feel angry at Hotch for stepping in when he had it handled; doesn’t have the energy to act as though his pride is wounded, because really, neither of those things are true, and he doesn’t need to add another item to ‘Spencer Reid’s List of Things He Pretends to Be.’

The situation is forgotten, and time moves on.

Things change when he finds his first proper boyfriend. He doesn’t know what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the giddying rush of emotions it turns out to be, and Spencer spends his days smiling as he daydreams his time away.

His name is Oscar Wilkins, a History professor at Georgetown University, and Spencer falls quickly in love with him. Ever since their mutual friend had introduced them at a gay bar one evening, they’d spent all their free time together. He’s kind and gentle and understanding of Spencer’s hectic and unpredictable job, and he finally has the chance to experience everything he quietly and shamefully longed for as a teenager.

The only downside is the silent breaking of Spencer’s heart that the most important people in his life can’t meet his boyfriend. He longs to show Oscar off, to hold hands in front of his team, lean up to press a tender kiss to Oscar’s lips. He wants to put a framed picture of the two of them at the Washington Monument on his desk to remind him of why he needs to get through the hard days; he doesn’t want to have to sneak out of the hotel room he shares with Derek to whisper hushed, loving goodnights over the phone.

But he’s too scared. Too cowardly.

It’s different being who he is with his gay group of friends littered with wlws and drag queens and other gay and bisexual guys. They understand.

But Derek and Hotch are two extremely masculine, alpha men: Derek’s a ladies’ man and Hotch is married to a woman he met in college with a baby on the way and both have a strong and dominant energy that still sometimes manages to intimidate Spencer even after all these years. And Elle and JJ are lovely — some of his closest friends, really — but sometimes they remind him a little too much of the mean girls he went to high school with.

The hardest person to keep his secret from, though, is Penelope. She’s his best friend and he desperately wants to give her all of him, but he’s so scared. He’s lost a best friend to this secret before, and even though he’s certain she’d be fine with it, what if she accidentally let it slip to Derek? What if Hotch found out and didn’t see him in the same light anymore? What if the girls started teasing him? What if Gideon didn’t want to mentor him anymore?

The fear paralyses him. And it’s a cycle he doesn’t know how to break.

Fear, though, doesn't stop everyone from noticing his daydreaming, his dopey smile when he checks his messages, his urgency to get home where he would’ve stayed until the small hours of the morning before. As excellent as he is at hiding his sexuality, he’s fucking terrible at hiding the fact that he’s in love: it was easy enough to pretend he was straight, but hiding something this all-consuming is an impossible ask.

Derek comes over to perch on the edge of his desk one afternoon, sighing as he sits down. “Pretty boy, this is getting ridiculous,” he says, snatching Spencer’s attention away from his phone. “You’ve been grinning like an idiot for the last twenty minutes as you’ve texted Future Mrs Reid. When are we going to meet her?”

(He hates the new nickname the team has given his mystery significant other, although Oscar had found it hilarious. “It’s funny because when we get married, we’ll hardly be able to tell,” he’d argued through his laughter. “Neither of us will change our name because of our academic profiles, and we’ll both still be ‘Dr’. Our wedding rings will be the only indicator.”

Spencer hadn’t argued back, because he’d been too tongue-tied and flushed pink at Oscar’s use of ‘when’ in regards to their hypothetical nuptials. It was only made bearable by Oscar kissing him gently and tucking him under his arm, not embarrassing him any further as Spencer had sort of anticipated, warmth settling over his chest at the thought of their future together.)

“You won’t,” he replies, perhaps a little too curtly.

Derek starts at that, clearly not expecting it. He definitely should’ve tried to play it off as a joke. “What— should I be offended, pretty boy?”

You wouldn’t call me that if you knew who I really am.

“That’s up to you, Derek,” he says calmly, although he still can’t meet his eyes, “but you won’t meet the ‘Future Mrs Reid, so I think it would probably be best if you left it alone.”

“Damn,” Derek mutters under his breath, clearly pissed off and probably more hurt than Spencer ever intended. “Suit yourself.”

And with that, he gets up and leaves his desk. Spencer’s only solace is the text message he sees on his phone when he picks it back up: I love you so much. You know that, right?

The light-hearted ridicule comes to an abrupt halt after the incident with Derek, and it’s clear that he had been the biggest contributor to the teasing. He’s thankful that the jokes have stopped, but he wishes desperately that it didn’t come with the growing distance between him and his team. Loneliness takes the place of his previous irritated anxiety, and he isn’t sure what’s worse.

It all comes to a head at the end of a case in Michigan. They’re stuck in the lounge of the small inn they’d stayed in the last few days, a snowstorm having blocked them in and grounded the jet, although Gideon had long since retreated to his room. The fire’s going and they’re the only guests around, so it’s cosy enough, but Spencer can’t help but feel sick at the idea of another night away from home.

It’s only been two weeks since he’d snapped at Derek, but the chasm between him and the team is only widening with each passing day. He knows it’s not a case of ‘pick a side��, but the team’s morale relies on light-hearted banter and teasing, and him not being a part of that anymore has only brewed awkwardness. Everyone’s trying to give him space when space is the last thing he wants.

Oscar’s keeping him company over the phone at least, but it’s not quite enough to quell the loneliness swimming around his stomach, and the 'discrete' sideways looks he gets from the team only make him feel worse.

“At least it’s nice and toasty in here,” JJ sighs as she takes a sip of the hot chocolate the kindly inn owner had made for them all.

Elle hums in agreement. “There are worse places to be grounded.”

“I dunno, man, I just wanna get home,” Derek says, not taking his eyes off the fire. Spencer can’t help but agree.

“Oh, come on,” Hotch muses, considerably more jovial now the case is over, “we’re here, and that’s not going to change any time soon. We should make the most of it.”

“It’s at least nice to be somewhere sort-of Christmassy now it’s December,” Elle points out. “We could be stuck in a dingy police station like we probably will be next week.”

“Ooh, I noticed that Jemimah and Kiran started planning the Christmas party last week,” JJ says, smiling at them. “I offered my help, but they seem to have it covered.”

Hotch raises an eyebrow“That’s probably a good thing. You don’t need more work on your plate.”

“Not gonna argue with that,” she murmurs, smiling as she brings her mug to her lips again.

Spencer doesn’t miss that Derek is still stewing on the opposite side of the room.

“Are you looking forward to the Christmas party, Spencer? Will you come?” Hotch asks, clearly trying to rope him into the conversation, which he appreciates. He’s been making a lot of effort with him the past few weeks, and it’s just about the only thing that’s getting him through each day.

Before he can reply, though, Derek erupts from the other side of the room; an already pissed-off man being pushed over the edge. “He won’t even let us meet his fucking girlfriend, Hotch, he’s not gonna want to come to the Christmas party!” he yells, throwing his hands in the air as he glares at Spencer with a stormy expression raging across his face.

Suddenly, Spencer can’t stay silent anymore, and his retort shocks himself just as much as it does everyone else. “I don’t have a girlfriend!”

It might be the loudest he’s ever shouted in his whole life. He’s always been quiet and restrained, the type to state his feelings as calmly as possible no matter how he’s feeling on the inside. Even in the biggest fight he’s had with Oscar, his voice was barely loud enough to qualify as a shout.

There’s a brief stunned silence, but Derek quickly slices his way through it, voice raising to meet Spencer’s fiery emotion, fierce and loud. “Oh, don’t even go there, Reid, you’re really gonna try and argue that? You’re gonna lie about her as well as not let us meet her? What a boyfriend you are.”

“I don’t! I don’t have a girlfriend!” he repeats, voice catching this time as tears rise unbidden to the backs of his eyes and all the emotions of the journey he’s taken with his sexuality over the years flood him in a wave of intensity he’s not prepared for.

“You’re fucking lying—!”

“I have a boyfriend!” he yells. “Alright? I have a boyfriend. I’m gay.”

The anger and emotion quickly dissipates, and he’s left standing alone in front of the team he’s put so much effort into hiding this from, watching shock spell out across everyone’s expressions. He’s never felt smaller than he does in that moment, and he quickly grabs his phone before running upstairs to his room, locking the door behind him.

“Oh God, Oscar, I fucked up so bad,” he cries over the phone as soon as his boyfriend picks up.

“Hey, hey, breathe, baby,” Oscar says gently, but Spencer can hear the anxious concern in his voice, “it’s gonna be okay, I promise. I’m here. Do you want to tell me what happened?”

“I just— Oh God, I just told the team.” A new wave of horror rolls over him as he realises what he’s done. Times might be changing, but it’s still only 2006, and he doesn’t know each and every nuance of his team members’ political positions and, fuck, he hates that his existence is a fucking political position.

Oscar’s been so understanding of his reluctance to not tell the team, even though Spencer’s met pretty much everyone in his life. He isn’t sure what he’s done to earn such a gracious and understanding boyfriend, but he’s not about to question it.

“Baby, I know it’s scary, and I know you’re really worked up right now,” he counsels, voice soft and reassuring, using the nickname he knows Spencer loves the most to make him feel as safe as he can from 700 miles away, “but it’s probably not as bad as you think. From what you’ve told me about the team, they love you so much, and even in the case that in the past they've had some issue with gay people, I can't imagine they’d ever actually think of you any differently when it comes down to it, Spencer.”

He’s crying too hard to reply, and Oscar understands immediately, gently transitioning into a story about his day that slowly starts to calm him down, and by the time he’s wrapping it up, his tears are starting to subside.

“Thank you, Ozzy,” he whispers into the phone, lifting himself up off the floor and making his way to sit on the bed instead.

“You know I’d do anything for you, sweetheart,” he murmurs warmly. “Do you want me to stay on the phone for a bit?”

“Yes please,” he whispers again, holding it as close to himself as possible, drawing all the comfort he can from his boyfriend’s voice.

He lies there listening to Oscar’s voice and trying not to think about the disaster downstairs for a good ten minutes before there’s a tap at the door.

“Oz, there’s someone here,” he says, voice panicked.

“I think you should probably speak to them, baby,” he urges. “I’ll stay on the phone with you while you do, if you like?”

“Please.” He gets up from the bed gingerly, keeping his phone tightly gripped in his right hand as he slowly unlocks the door with his left, revealing Hotch on the other side.

“Hey, Spencer. Do you mind if I come in?”

He’s riddled with nerves, but Hotch is smiling warmly, and he’s never said a harsh word to Spencer, so he steps aside and lets him into his room.

Hotch quickly notices the phone in his hand, visibly still on a call. “Is that your boyfriend?”

Spencer nods.

“Do you mind if I talk to him?”

His brows knit in confusion and his lips part slightly in surprise, but it’s all he can do to hand the phone over, watching Hotch carefully.

“Hi, Spencer tells me this is his boyfriend?” Hotch inquires politely into the phone, his tone still warm. “I’m Hotch, Spencer’s boss.”

He can vaguely hear Oscar speaking on the other end of the line, and he worries slightly that Oscar will somehow give away the familial feelings he holds for Hotch, but the conversation doesn’t last long enough for the anxiety to really take over.

“Everything’s fine here, I just want to have a conversation with Spencer, so is it alright if we hang up and I talk to him alone for a minute? He can call you straight back afterwards.” After a brief pause in which Oscar says something, Hotch looks back up at him. “Are you okay with that, Spencer?”

He nods hesitantly, and Hotch says a quick goodbye to Oscar before surging forwards and wrapping Spencer in a hug. It catches him off guard, but he doesn’t waste any time in burying his face into Hotch’s neck and soaking in the comfort and warmth that always radiates from his father figure.

“Come on,” Hotch says softly as they pull away a good minute or so later, “let’s sit down, shall we?”

“You’re not mad?” Spencer can’t help but ask, the question burning his tongue as anxiety — however quietened from Hotch’s hug — still swims around in his stomach.

“There are many things that could make me mad, Spencer,” he says earnestly, “but this is not one of them. I would never be angry at you for being who you are, okay? I might… I might be overstepping here, and if I am, then tell me and I’ll back off, but I’ve always seen you as a mentee, and over the years that’s developed— well, I see you more as a son these days. And part of that is wanting to protect and support you no matter what you do or say or who you are.”

Spencer wastes no time in diving back in for a hug, clinging onto Hotch for dear life as he hugs back, rubbing his back gently.

“I’m so sorry you didn’t feel like you could tell us sooner, Spencer,” he says in a voice soft with affection and regret. “But I’m so glad you’ve told us now.”

He only presses closer at that, tears springing back to his eyes. “I didn’t want to lose you.” He knows what he’s implying, and even in a roundabout way, he’s glad he’s telling Hotch.

“Oh, Spence,” he sighs sadly, “you couldn’t do a single thing to lose me. I’m in it for the long haul.”

“Really?” he asks, hating how insecure he sounds.

“Really,” Hotch promises, pulling away as Spencer does. “Now, you have a whole team of agents downstairs who are feeling very sorry for themselves and really want to see you.”

Nausea rolls in his stomach and panic springs back up as he looks at Hotch, desperate for some sort of grounding. “Are they angry at me? Do they hate me now?”

“No one hates you, Spencer,” he says firmly. “I promise you that. Everyone just wishes that they’d made you feel more welcome and comfortable. We all hate that you felt you had to lock up something so integral to who you are, and we can’t help but feel we played a part in it.”

“No,” he protests — the last thing he wants is family blaming themselves when it has nothing to do with them, “it’s not your fault, it’s just…”

Hotch nods. “I understand, it’s okay. Now, do you want to go down and see them? You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but it might help ease your mind to see that they really don’t hate you.”

Spencer pauses, taking a moment to think. “Can I see Derek first?”

“Of course,” Hotch says understandingly, and the comforting smile that crosses his face makes Spencer feel safe and taken care of. “I’ll send him up?”

Spencer nods and Hotch hugs him once more before leaving the room almost reluctantly. He wastes no time in picking up his phone and sending a text to Oscar. You were right. Hotch is fine. He’s just sending Derek up before I go and see the team but he says that no one’s angry and I think I believe him. Thank you, Oscar. I love you.

Not even half a minute goes past before his phone lights up with a text back. I’m so glad, baby. Call me later, okay? I want to make sure you’re okay before I go to bed. I love you more.

Before Spencer can argue that actually, he is the one more in love with the other, a hesitant knock sounds on his door. Nerves suddenly flip his stomach, and he clenches and unclenches his fists a couple of times before forcing himself to cross the room, revealing a very worried and regretful-looking Derek.

“Oh, pretty boy,” he says sadly, before crushing Spencer in a warm and tender hug. Immediately, he relaxes into the arms of one of his best friends, and relief courses through his blood at Derek’s reaction. “I am so sorry that I ever made you feel like you couldn’t tell me that you were gay or had a boyfriend. That’s completely on me. I don’t care who you love, Spencer, I just want you to be happy, okay? And if this guy makes you happy, then that’s fine by me. But if he ever lays a hand on you or—”

“Derek, Derek,” he laughs, “it’s fine I get it. Thank you, though, I’m… I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you earlier and for snapping at you in the bullpen that time…”

“I understand, Spence,” he promises. “It’s in the past, okay? And I’m sorry for pushing so hard. I mean, I’d love to meet him but if you don’t feel comfortable or you don’t want to, that’s fine, too. It’s your life, man.”

“No, I… I think I want you guys to meet him. It’s been so hard to keep him away from the people I consider my family, you know?”

“Yeah, I know. Maybe after Christmas, we can all have dinner or something.”

Spencer smiles shyly. “Well, Oscar’s a great cook, so I reckon we could work something out.”

Derek grins, throwing an arm around his shoulders as he immediately jumps back into teasing him as they make their way to the door to go downstairs and see the rest of the team. “Ooh, lover boy’s got him a chef, hey? What else does this Oscar have going for him?”

Spencer chatters eagerly about his boyfriend to Derek, barely skipping a beat when he joins everyone downstairs, his friends taking his cues and joining in with the conversation seamlessly. He’s had enough fuss for one night, and the warmth and understanding on everyone’s faces tells him everything he needs to know.

“Do you have any pictures of him?” JJ asks, raising an eyebrow with eager expectancy as they all settle back into their seats by the fire, a warm and unbelievably happy feeling settling in Spencer’s stomach.

He blushes, digging out his phone from his pocket and unlocking it. “More than a few, I think.”

He finds the most recent picture of his boyfriend — a candid shot of him cooking in the kitchen, spatula aloft, and a huge grin on his face — and hands the phone around.

“Oh wow, you like them buff, huh, pretty boy?” Derek teases as soon as he gets his hands on it, and Spencer’s stomach twists in a sudden bout of fear, expecting to see some hesitancy or even disgust on his friend’s face. What if he thinks that Spencer has a crush on him? What if he’s uncomfortable around him now?

But if Derek’s having any of those thoughts, they don’t show on his face. He’s smiling widely and openly, all the pent-up anxiety and frustration borne from hurt gone from his body language, and he looks completely comfortable sat next to Spencer, his arm stretched out behind him on the back of the sofa.

They sit happily around the fire for a couple of hours, settling into a happy, intimate familiarity Spencer hadn’t realised was missing when he was hiding something so integral to his being from his family, and he’s still smiling when they finally part ways to head to bed, the clock ticking closer and closer to 1 am.

He gets ready for bed quickly, brushing his teeth and throwing on the top he’d stolen from Oscar the first time he’d stayed at his place; a welcome change from his worn and wrinkled suit. As soon as his teeth are brushed and the lights are all off except for his bedside lamp, he pulls out his phone, knowing there’s one more thing he has to do before he goes to sleep.

“Spencer?” Penelope’s voice sounds down the line, clearly concerned. “It’s almost 2 am here, are you okay?”

“I’m gay,” he says, getting straight to the point. The main reason he ever kept it from her was because of his fear of it accidentally getting out to the team rather than fear over her reaction. After all, multiple of his drag queen friends are also hers.

“Oh my God,” she says in that small voice she uses when she’s not actually talking to you, before finally actually replying to me. “Spencer, I’m so happy you told me!”

He doesn’t miss her choice of words, or the way she says them and he tilts his head suspiciously. “You already knew, didn’t you?”

She sighs. “Yeah. I’m sorry, a couple of months ago I saw a text from Oscar on your phone when you went to the bathroom during one of our Doctor Who marathons, and it wasn’t hard to figure out the relationship.”

“And… wait, you’re not mad at me for not telling you sooner?”

“Spencer! Of course not. I was waiting for you to be comfortable enough to share it with me. I felt awful that I knew without your consent but I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want to catch you off guard or make you feel uncomfortable. It’s fine that you waited, baby genius, I’m just so happy you told me now. What finally gave you the courage?”

“Well, it might have slipped out in front of the team this evening,” he admits sheepishly, “and the only reason I never told you was because I was scared that it would slip out somehow — accidentally, of course, I didn’t think you’d tell anyone on purpose — and now everyone knows. It’s been killing me not to tell you, Penelope, it really has because I love you so much and you’re my best friend and I trust you with my life, it’s just…”

“Whoa, slow down, Spence,” she laughs fondly, “you don’t have to explain yourself to me, I understand. But I’m glad you finally told everyone and you can be yourself completely with us, now. We all love you no matter what, you know that right?”

“I do now.”

“Good. You should get some sleep, baby boy, it’s late and you’ve had an emotional evening.”

Spencer smiles. “Yeah, I know. You should, too, Pen. I’ll see you when we can finally make it home, okay? Love you.”

“Love you, too, 187,” she says softly, and Spencer can hear the smile in her voice. “Goodnight.”

As soon as he hangs up, he settles down into the bed, turning off the light and pulling the duvet up over his shoulders before dialling one more number.

“Hey, baby,” Oscar says, voice as gentle and caring as it always is, although thicker with tiredness now. “I take it everything went okay?”

“Yeah,” Spencer murmurs, already feeling tired as the safety he always feels at the sound of Oscar’s voice settles into the fibres of his being. “It went so well. I can’t wait for you to meet everyone.”

“I can’t wait either, sweetheart. Are you in bed now?”

“Yeah,” he sighs. “Can you talk to me as I fall asleep?”

“Anything for you, Spence,” he says softly, before transitioning seamlessly into a story about the professors on campus, and his gentle comfort and the knowledge of the unconditional love his family has for him finally lulls Spencer into the best sleep he’s had in weeks.

taglist : @criminalmindsvibez @moreidstrobed @suburban--gothic @strippersenseii @takeyourleap-of-faith @negativefouriq @makaylajadewrites @iamrenstark @livrere-blue @hotchseyebrows @reidology @i-like-buttons @spencerspecifics @bau-gremlin @hotchedyke @tobias-hankel @goobzoop @marsjareau @garcias-bitch @oliverbrnch @physics-magic @sbeno22 @temily @enbyspencer @im-autistic @anxious-enby @kuolonsyoja @reidreids (add yourself to my taglist via this form!!)

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deannaroxannewrites · 3 years ago

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Tropetember Day 2: Coffee Shop / Tattoo Parlor / Flower Shop / Other Retail AU

Coffee and other ways to heal the soul.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x GN!Reader

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Rating: General Audiences

TW: Valhalla arc (mentioned), coffee, NCIS cameo

AN: Day 2 of @tropetember. I was really struggling with the coffee shop AU but once I got going, really got way too into it and could probably pad this out into a short series. Is that something people would be interested in?

Also, not really sure if I managed to capture Spencer but remember this is an AU and that's my excuse!

Enjoy!

Find this story on Ao3 here.

Word Count: 2.4k

One of the biggest advantages of owning one of the few coffee shops in Quantico that wasn't part of a massive chain, was the constant stream of senior FBI and Navy personnel desperate for high quality, well made coffee. It had become such a lucrative venture in fact that you could afford to hire enough staff to rarely even have to be behind the counter at all.

The surge in popularity has even allowed you to convert one of the spare upstairs rooms into a meeting room. In hindsight, you should have converted more because once your regulars found out about it, there had been outright war between the Navy and FBI to try and get meetings booked in. A couple of your regulars had even managed to get both institutions to hardwire connections so they could host even more briefings and meetings in the friendly, comfortable space.

Today's winners were a Unit from the FBI, who had booked it out for a whole day. Aaron Hotchner, the BAU chief, came in most mornings and was a real sweetheart. You'd been trying to get him to drink something other than his normal americano since his return from Afghanistan a few months ago, but had not been successful so far. You were excited to meet the rest of the legendary team. He always spoke fondly of them when he bought extra coffees to boost morale.

With that in mind, you quickly throw together the pastries and beverages he'd preordered for the start of their session and head in to do a quick check that everything was ready.

Like any meeting room, there was a large table in the center but you'd made sure to surround it with comfy and artfully mismatched chairs. The floor was a deep walnut colour and matched the numerous floating shelves which were covered in plants and books. The place was homey and extended the cosy chic look you had been trying to achieve throughout the shop.

After a little bit of organising, including making sure the FBI cables were accessible and tidying any of the Navy’s equipment, you head downstairs to the main space.

Charlotte and Jessica were behind the tills this morning, making quick work of the line and exuding friendly helpfulness out of every pore. They were both grad students and you were already dreading them graduating. Their natural effervescence would be impossible to replace.

To pass the time until your booking arrives, you catch up with NCIS Agent McGee who is on the coffee run, trying not to hold him up too long in case he ends up getting in more trouble with his big bad boss. Apparently Agent DiNozzo had knocked over Gibbs coffee but McGee had then slipped in it and done some minor damage to some of the equipment. He told you he much preferred coffee run to door knocking duty round a 6 block radius like DiNozzo.

As you wrap it up, a group of people enter the shop, led by a woman in colourful clothes and a sunshine demeanour. It's not until you see Agent Hotchner's suited and booted presence bringing up the rear that you realise this is the infamous BAU.

Donning your friendliest persona, you politely excuse yourself from McGee and head to greet them, calling Aaron's name across the way.

The profilers seem surprised by your use of their bosses name but quickly shake it off as introductions are made. You receive hand shakes off most of them with the exception of Penelope, who gives you a hug because of course she does, and Dr Spencer Reid who gives you a shy wave and looks like he'd rather be anywhere else.

It didn't take a profiler to see the physical distance between the genius and the rest of the group. He was always a step away from the nearest person and automatically avoided any physical contact from them.

How strange.

Brushing it off you lead them upstairs and get them settled, letting them know that they're welcome to come and go in the shop as need and that all their drinks would be added to the discounted tab and left them too it, all the while trying not to puzzle over the handsome loner and his cute sweater vest.

-----

If there was one thing Spencer Reid hated more than anything, it was team building.

Normally, back before everything happened, he would just grit his teeth and bear it. That's been a lot harder after finding out that Emily was alive.

Processing the joy at her being alive and the rage at being led to believe she was dead in the first place, particularly by the people he trusted the most, was not easy. He was trying to forgive them. He was trying to let it go, to accept the damage but move forward.

It was still a work in progress.

That's why, when Hotch announced a team building/meeting day, he had momentarily considered resigning. Though there was no longer outright hostility between himself and Jennifer, things weren’t exactly comfortable between himself and half of the team. The only bright side to this whole endeavour was the location. No coffee shop lasted long in Quantico unless the coffee was actually good. It was a small mercy.

He followed the rest of the team into the coffee shop, eyeing the surroundings and taking note of the other visitors. As the rest of the team joked about, he stayed back, simply waving at the nice owner of the shop when Hotch introduced them.

They appeared to be about his age which was very impressive considering the success of the café. And there were a couple of sci-fi references hidden in the décor that he would have loved to ask about, but he doubted they’d appreciate him going off about Star Trek this early in the morning. Instead he just gave a tight-lipped smile and followed the team upstairs.

Spencer tried his best to concentrate throughout the morning but to say he was relieved when they were left to their own devices for lunch would be an understatement.

-----

After a productive morning in the office, you wander back out to the main part of the shop to check on things. The lunch rush can be unforgiving but the girls seem to have it in hand. Nothing out of the ordinary for a Tuesday lunchtime.

What you didn’t expect to see was Spencer Reid hidden away at one of the back tables with a ginormous book in front of him, a small scowl on his face and the rest of his team nowhere in sight.

You agonise silently with yourself for a few moments before you decide to head over. You figure if he doesn’t want company he’ll let you know but you feel drawn to him. It was strange. Maybe it was just your instinctive need to collect strays.

You smile gently at him when you reach his table, indicating the seat opposite him in question. He gives a quick nod but doesn’t fully look at you.

“Everything ok?” you ask.

He takes a moment and seems to be considering his options. He looks at you with a little tilt of his head, likely questioning your motives.

Finally, he seems to decide you have no sinister intention and quietly replies “I just wish things could go back to how they were”.

You had heard about the events involving the BAU in the last year or so. It had been a hot topic of gossip in the shop numerous times. Aaron also occasionally talked about his guilt at what he put his team through when he stopped by, needing a friend to talk to. It’s the first time, however, that you think in depth about how faking a close friend's death likely affected the team members who were unaware.

This isn’t to say you didn’t care or didn’t think that it must have been terrible for them. You did, but had agreed with the justification that it was for Agent Prentiss’ safety, that finding out she was alive would make up for it. It’s apparent in the sadness of Dr Reid’s expression that that isn’t the case.

“Can I touch you?”

His eyes shoot up in surprise and he hesitantly nods. You gently grasp his hands, wrapping your fingers around his.

“I can’t even imagine,” you begin slowly, “how difficult this must be. But if you ever need to talk to someone, you’re always welcome here”

He gives a short, sharp nod and squeezes your fingers which you take to mean thank you.

“Also, this is totally not my place but, a therapist, one outside the Bureau? Might not be such a bad idea?” You give a sardonic grin and admit ” It worked for me”

After you give his hands another quick squeeze, you leave him to ponder your statement and head back to your office. Paperwork doesn’t do it self after all.

You hope Spencer manages to find some support though and decide that if he wants it, you’d be more than willing to help him.

---------------

It was a few weeks before Spencer Reid showed up in the coffee shop again.

It was early evening and you only had a few people in. You’d opted to close up tonight to ensure Jessica, who had been on the afternoon shift, had time to work on her assignment for class. She’d been complaining about it for the last few days.

The sound of the front door opening distracts you from your thoughts and you glance up to see who has entered. When you realise who it is you can’t help but smile.

“Fancy seeing you here Dr Reid” you say in greeting. He gives you a small smile in return.

“Well, it’s good coffee and, erm, the company’s good?”

You understand the question implicit in that comment and glance around at the few remaining patrons. They all have a beverage and it’s a quiet night so you can afford to take a step out behind the counter between orders.

“Sure, let me make us both a drink and then I’m all yours.”

You take his order (how much sugar?!?!) and get you both sorted out and settled into a small booth. You look at him, taking in the nervous expression on his face and let him settle in and start the conversation.

“I, erm, I took your advice”.

“That’s good. Are you finding it’s helping? Having someone outside of work to talk things through with?”

He nods his head.

“One of the things she pointed out was that so much of my life is wrapped up in work, that when things go wrong I don't have an external support system. Not that I didn't know that already but, someone else pointing it out made me realise how much if an impact it has.”

You bob your head thoughtfully, acknowledging his comment but not forcing him to say more.

“She suggested I try to find people outside of work to talk to. I was... I was wondering if you could be one?”

His nerves seem to have failed him slightly as he can’t look you in the eye, but you give him a big grin. Of course you want to spend time with this lovely man.

“I’d love to” you say, which gets him to look up and give you a smile in response.

You spend nearly an hour, with occasional breaks to serve customers, chatting to him before it becomes necessary to close up. He starts gathering his things but you’ve been enjoying his company so much you can’t bear to let him go. Instead, you check if he’s in a rush and, after confirming he has nothing else planned, invite him to hang around and grab something to eat from the diner down the street.

By the end of the night, you’re glad the diner is 24hr. You completely lose track of time, fascinated by the sheer amount of information he can provide and the passion with which he infodumps. It’s extremely endearing.

“I had a lovely time tonight” you tell him as you walk towards your apartment. You don’t live too far from the coffee shop and he had very gallantly offered to walk you home. “I’d love to do it again some time?”

He smiles and nods in agreement before asking for your phone number.

“I don't really like technology that much so I don’t have a smartphone and I don’t really check it that much and prefer speaking to texting…”

“Spence” you say, a little laugh in your voice as you interrupt. “Whatever works best for you. I’m not going to suddenly vanish on you, promise.”

You seem to have hit his worries a little too closely as he sways a little awkwardly, gaze wandering down to his feet.

“Can I hug you?” you check. His answer is to wrap his arms around you and you gently sway the both of you side to side.

He lets go and turns to head back out into the night as you call out “If you’re ever missing me, I know a place you can get great coffee. I can get you a good discount.” A laugh stutters from his lips and he wishes you a good night.

Leaning against your door you sigh happily to yourself. It’s always a good feeling making a new friend.

--------------

It had been over a year since the last time the BAU had booked (and managed to attend the booking). In that time, you’d converted another room upstairs into a meeting room, as well as setting up a shared work/study space in a room out the back.

You grin as you see them all enter, fascinated by the way this family of agents interact with each other. There’s even a tall, handsome genius who stands within the group, laughing and joking along with the rest.

Spencer greets you with a gentle kiss to your lips and it causes uproar from his colleagues. You don’t react much, you just turn to them and shrug.

“Do you know how many germs are passed in a handshake? It’s much safer to kiss.”

Your genius just laughs and wraps an arm around you, guiding the whole group upstairs, his friends playfully demanding details the whole way.

#Trope: Coffee Shop AU #Criminal Minds #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x you #tropetember #fanfiction #unbeta'd

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actuallyintro · 3 years ago

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Could you write something about Ed and Lorraine dealing with insults and taunts from the media? Like, in the middle of a talk show they’re trying to stay calm and stop each other from losing their composure (or punching the host’s teeth out, in Ed’s case).

Hi anon! I'm back with a fic for you. This one ended up taking a little longer than I had originally planned but I did research for it. I wanted to base some of it off of the University scene from the "Conjuring 1" and the interview scene from the "Conjuring 2" so I tried to find the actual scripts for those scenes. I hope you enjoy it and always feel free to send in another anon prompt!

Summary: While taking part in a media interview, one of the other guests manages to insult both Ed and Lorraine, causing Ed to come to his wife's defence. Luckily, she knows how to tell when he's upset and how to calm him down. (And yes, she does.)

Wordcount: 2051 - I do apologize for how long this ended up lmao. Once I started, I realized I had quite a few scenes I wanted to add.

Untouchable

“Heros or a Hoax?” Lorraine read quickly, looking at the article in front of her as she took a sip of her morning tea. What had started out as an attempt to peacefully read the morning paper, quickly turned into her reading an article all about both her and her husband.

With their profession, she’d quickly learned that no matter where they went, who they talked to, controversy or opinions followed never far behind.

They’d been relatively successful with the different college classes they’d been invited into, often finding the younger generation more susceptible, more willing to believe in what they did day to day. They asked questions and had a pure curiosity, something they didn’t often find in people their own age.

She’d found that being in front of people, the two of them presenting together made it a lot easier for people to accept what they were talking about, compared to the few times they did public interviews. The interviews always came in with the bias of being sceptics, and while she understood why, it made it a lot harder for either of them to explain what they both did.

As she thought back on it, one interview always stood out to her. It was always the interview they had participated in right before they’d been called into the Hodgson case. Lorraine wasn’t one for such public interviews, never wanting to put her gift on show for the world, but they’d been persistent and eventually, they both gave in, agreeing to be a part of it.

They’d gotten dressed that morning, matching his tie to her skirt like usual. She knew Ed would never admit it, (too much pride) but they both enjoyed matching, it made them feel connected. Their strong bond evident, even if just in their clothes.

Ed drove them to their interview, noticing right away just how nervous his wife looked. While driving, he reached over and lightly grabbed her hand, hoping she’d talk to him. Not wanting her to put all the pressure on just herself.

“Lorraine.. we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. We can just tell them we changed our minds.” He told her seriously, looking over to her as much as he could before refocusing on the road. He’d always been more willing to try and embrace the media than Lorraine, something both of them understood.

Ed knew he didn’t have a gift to protect, at least not in the same way Lorraine did. While the cases and the stories affected him from time to time, he knew it was nowhere near how it affected Lorraine. Where he always ended up thinking back to the time she locked herself away for eight days.

Letting out a small sigh, Lorraine shook her head. “It’s alright Ed. I saw the newspaper this week, the way they’re talking about us. It’s important to set things straight.” She told him, still holding his hand.

Ed nodded, not wanting to push the issue this close to the scheduled interview. He trusted her judgement and trusted her to know her limits, what she could and couldn’t handle.

As they arrived at the interview, Ed opened the passenger door for Lorraine, letting her take the lead in this process. He figured that if nothing else, giving her the chance to be in control, might help how nervous she was.

Once they were inside, they were both quickly rushed off to the last minute microphone and makeup cheeks. Lorraine didn’t enjoy the feeling of the makeup they often tried to use on her, preferring the feeling of her own brands, the brands she knew she liked.

“You look beautiful,” Ed told her lightly once they were reunited. Not much had changed but he still noticed the makeup she was wearing, something she hadn’t been when they’d left earlier that day. Lorraine smiled over at him, happily accepting the compliment as they made their way to the interview stage.

They took a seat next to each other on the interview stage, waiting for the rest of them to arrive.

One other “expert” joined the stage, sitting opposite of Ed before the interviewer took a seat at his own desk. Lorraine let out a small breath as she waited, hoping this could be over as soon as possible.

“And we’re rolling in 5-4-3-2-1.” Lorraine heard the cameramen announced as they started filming.

“Today, we are pleased to announce our guests, both Ed and Lorraine Warren and Dr Steven Kaplan and we’d like to thank all of you for being here.” The interviewer told all three of them, as the camera panned to show each one on screen.

The first half of their interview went as well as Lorraine could have expected. She noticed Kaplan didn’t say too much, mostly observing both of them. But she also couldn’t quite get over a bad feeling she had about him, that he was waiting to say something.

After the first half was done, the cameras were paused, giving them all a few minutes for a break. Lorraine grabbed Ed’s hand as she led them off-stage, into a part of backstage where nobody else was around. She didn’t need to talk, words weren’t necessary but rather she wanted to know he was there. He took the hint right away, pulling her into a tight hug as they stood in the quiet, Lorraine listening to his slow heartbeat as he did.

A few minutes later, they both knew they couldn’t avoid going back out there any longer. He wanted nothing more than to keep holding her, hoping she’d let him do just that once they got back home, but hearing the noise from the stage, Ed knew it was time to go back.

“Ready?” He asked quietly, looking down at her as he did.

Lorraine nodded, grabbing his hand as they headed back to their seats, only separating once they sat back side by side.

“And we’re back with paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, talking about their experiences at the Amityville house and the name they’ve made themselves in their profession.” The interviewer started once the cameras were rolling again.

‘Now, we’re going to talk to our next guest, Dr Steven Kaplan. He says the investigations the Warren’s conducted into the Amityville haunting happens to be a load of hogwash.” He finished, as the camera panned over to Kaplan, sitting up and looking smug in his seat.

Ed looked between the two of them, before interrupting, “And why is that?” He kept his voice as calm as possible, not wanting to say something rash.

“Well, it’s well established that Amityville was a blatant hoax. There’s no evidence to prove anything happened here.” Kaplan told him, his voice matter of face. He was confident in his research and the knowledge that nothing bad ever happened at Amityville.

“That’s never been proven-” Ed started before being cut off, Kaplan trying to finish with his reasoning.

“But yes it has. The Lutz family made everything up so they profit off of all the publicity. The book-deals, the movie contracts and the public interviews.” Kaplan finished, never wavering from his stance.

Lorraine could tell her husband was getting agitated, knowing all the ways he tried to hide it. She could tell as his posture tensed up and how his once relaxed hand, now sat clenched together at his side.

“That's just not true.” He started, looking directly over at Kaplan. “Understand, we see this all the time. It’s very easy to sit on the outside and pick apart their story. But it’s something very different to have been there and experienced it for yourself.”

Rather than wanting him to get more upset, Lorraine took a chance and reached over to grab his hand. She sighed silently in relief when he unclenched his fists, feeling them relax against her own.

“Listen.” Kaplan reclaimed, focusing all his attention back on the interview.

“Ed Warren’s never seen a house that he didn’t think was haunted. And by the time his wife is done blowing smoke and ringing bells, they’ve got everybody else believing in ghosts, too.” And for Ed, that was the moment he stopped playing nice. It was one thing to question him, to question the things he did, but it was another thing entirely to question his wife.

“What exactly are you a doctor anyway?” Ed asked, his voice sarcastic as if he dared Kaplan to keep speaking.

“Come on, Warren. Try and show a little class, will you?” Hearing those words, Lorraine flinched slightly, knowing nothing good would come from that. She held his hand tighter, hoping it would be enough to calm him down. Just long enough so they could get out of there.

“I’m not going to show class to somebody sitting here telling lies about my wife and I.,” Ed said, refusing to take him seriously anymore. He understood why people could be sceptical, what they did… what they experienced wasn’t something most people would ever come into contact with. But that didn’t mean, he’d let him sit there and insult who there were as people.

“Be careful who you call a liar,” Kaplan told him, leaning back into his chair as he looked over at Ed.

Before either Lorraine or Ed could respond, the interviewer stepped in at the direction of the director.

“And that’s all the time we have tonight. We’d like to thank all three of you for being here again.” The interviewer told them as the cameras stopped filming and the interviewer let out a breath he’d been holding.,

Once “cut” was called, Lorraine practically pulled Ed out of his chair, not wanting him left alone with Kaplan.

She pulled him backstage, handing him his coat as they got ready to go, knowing neither of them would want to be there longer than they needed. “Lorraine... I’m sorry.” He told her as he put his coat on, figuring she’d already be upset with him.

Lorraine put her own coat on, ready to head out, just as they were stopped by one of the members of the production.

“Mr and Mrs Warren, we know things were slightly tense out there, but we wanted to thank you both again for agreeing to this interview.” The crew member told them, reaching out to shake both of their hands.

Smiling as much as she could, Lorraine shook their hand back, telling them, “Thank you for having us. We appreciated the opportunity.” Once they were done, she let out a small breath as they made it back outside, finally feeling like she could breathe again.

However, rather than getting right into the vehicle as Ed had expected, Lorraine pulled him over to the side of their car, giving him a tight hug. Slightly surprised, it took a second for him to react before quickly hugging her back, relieved it seemed she wasn’t overly mad at him.

“I didn’t mean to react the way I did. I know.. people don’t usually get it, but I just hate hearing the way people talk about you.” Ed explained as if it wasn’t something she already knew. She knew he was protective, especially about her and their daughter.

“Ed, I know. I know he was trying to get under your skin and I know you were just trying to defend me. Obviously, I don’t love when you’re short like that, but I get it.” She emphasised, wanting him to know that no, she wasn’t mad at him.

Looking down at her, he ran a hand through the top of her hair before eventually moving back just enough from their hug as he placed a hand just under her chin so he could lean down to finally kiss her. “I love you.” He told her sincerely.

“I love you, too,” Lorraine told him, still holding his hand before looking up at him with a mischievous smile.

“Is now the appropriate time to say I told you so about interviews?” She teased lightly, letting him open the passenger door for her, ready to finally get home. Judy was staying at a friend's house for the night, meaning she’d get her husband all to herself for the night. And no matter how much she could admire him defending her, she enjoyed cuddling up with just so much more.

#The Conjuring #The Conjuring Universe #ed and lorraine warren #Intrononymous #Fanfiction Prompt

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gofancyninjaworld · 3 years ago

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OPM Manga Chapter 149 Review: Ambush

Story: The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves

Operation Sundew, that ad hoc plan of the cadres to simply kill the heroes by virtue of outlasting them, is well underway. It looks to be reaching its inevitable conclusion with Homeless Emperor joining the fray to give Golden Sperm a hand. Vomited Fuhrer Ugly is considered surplus to their requirements - the hobo thrashes him soundly and the monster crawls off in search of tastier prey, like Bang.

Golden Sperm has a lot of fun knocking Darkshine around, first mocking the guy, then punching his lights out. Speaking of lights, Homeless Emperor showers the swordsmen with fireballs, not caring that Iaian and Spring Mustachio appear to be able to deflect them with their swords. They can’t attack him and eventually, they’ll be too tired to move. He can wait.

The remaining unfused Black Sperms are also busy. A detachment of ten thousand watch over Vomited Fuhrer Ugly, determined to ensure the monster can’t feed and so dries up and dies. They get a little interrupted by Metal Bat’s arrival. Next time just answer the hero’s question. Another lot have been busy wearing down Tatsumaki and Genos and eventually they overcome them.

While that’s going on, we get a scene of Child Emperor sending a desperate text message to Metal Knight, reviewing the situation and reflecting that he’s unlikely to survive this. He pleads with Metal Knight to come through for the heroes, if not as the hero Metal Knight, then as the man Dr Bofoi. Fortunately, he’s not left to suffocate in his little prison. Puri Puri shows up as an only semi-welcome savior. But saved’s saved so phew!

Up above ground, we see that the Black Sperms have won and have surrounded Genos as he tries to drag Tatsumaki to some semblance of safety...with his teeth. As they close round and mock him, they hear a ‘BA-DUM, BA-DUM, BA-DUM’ sound resonating through the darkness and look up to see...

...King! King has finally made a stand and even as we know that his heart thuds so loudly from pure terror, he does cut a most impressive figure, which is a great place to leave off on.

Here to save the day... probably. Possibly. Actually why is this happening to him again? He doesn’t know what he’s going to do. But he looks good doing it!

Meta below the cut

Meta: The Chickens Aren’t Roosting Yet, But They Are Circling

(bonus points to someone who points out that chickens don’t fly well enough to circle anything)

What’s the good of a strong spirit if the body can’t keep up?

That question from Bakuma keeps coming back. This chapter apposes two characters to show us just what the difference is. Relatively lightly injured (surprisingly, his wounds look to be skin-deep after all) is Superalloy Darkshine. It has got to hurt. However the way he has completely collapsed into a snivelling mess is difficult to read. As a person who built himself up by comparing himself to others, the sight of Golden Sperm’s shininess and musclature seems to have provoked one of the worst breakdowns we’ve seen on One-Punch Man.

It’s so bad that Golden Sperm’s taunts just have the air of truth bombs rather than mere disparagement. Telling him that he has no business to call himself an S-Class hero if even light injury is enough to make him cry and want to run away is just the truth.

nothing about this panel is okay to me

Superalloy is a nice guy but going into heroism to feel good about yourself is entirely the wrong way to approach it. And the veneer has come off, literally.

And on the other side, with a spirit that far exceeds his body’s capacity to contain it, we have Genos. Fighting with everything he has, even repurposing his torn-off arms to fight independently alongside him. Even without a hope of success, Genos isn’t quitting. Watching him drag the broken, bleeding Tatsumaki by his teeth, one can’t help but admire his grit; as long as there’s anything he can do, he’s doing it. I was a little surprised at the fact that he kept both his promises to Fubuki -- first, not to use his full power lest he overheat again and second, to be there for Tatsumaki no matter what. But I shouldn’t have been surprirsed -- keeping his promises is core to Genos. He’d be breaking faith with himself if he reneged on one.

It’s an ugly situation all round, but there’s no comparison as to who is the better hero here.

I just clocked the gouge marks in the rock by Tatsumaki... damn, Genos has dragged her quite a ways. Painful.

Fuck masters, I guess

OPM looks to have declared open season on masters. Choose: do you want your master/mentor/teacher/benefactor to die horribly, or do you want them to be fine but not be able to stand the sight of you?

Just sticking with the manga, over on one side, we have Atomic Samurai and Spring Mustachio bewailing over Option 1. Over on the other side of the battlefield, Bang and Garou are slugging it out over Option 2.

And down in a hole, over one text message. Heck over one screen, we see that something went badly wrong in the previously close relationship that existed between Dr Bofoi and his one-time assistant who would become the hero Child Emperor. To think that their last text conversation were Bofoi asking Child Emperor to bring junk food along with him... a year ago. Just like that, that hit me in the feels. As well as piquing my curiosity as to what went wrong at that fateful last visit that reduced the two to talking only professionally.

this has to be one of the top ten saddest panels in the series, made sadder by our knowledge that Bofoi will almost certainly leave it on read.

Speaking of student-teacher relationships yet to be exploded, we’re due to see what’s between Psykos and Fubuki within this particular story. Whether it has much to do with the webcomic, I don’t care. Just gimme!

The best defense may be a good offense, but a good bluff is the next best thing.

I am so glad that King made a positive decision in the manga to bluff as long as he could in the faith that Saitama will eventually appear. I did like the accidental version of the face off he had in the webcomic. I am very curious to see what happens when he does so deliberately.

Moving on

We still don’t know what’s happened to Zombieman and Amai Mask, but it all looks like the promised grand synthesis of all these disparate struggles is going to be delivered on.

#OPM #manga #review #whew this is a tough one #the partnershp between Golden Sperm and Homeless Emperor is looking devastatingly effective #things are looking so desperate for the heroes #and yet there's still hope in the form of Metal Bat King and who ever literally pops a head up above ground

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raymondebidochonlifechoices · 4 years ago

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Portrait of the FBI trainee as a young adult

or Some thoughts on how Riverdale aged up their teen protagonists

Jumping seven years in the future over the span of just seven days is not an easy feat, but it can certainly be done: changes in physical appearance and “adult” stories are very useful tools. But this is Riverdale, which means that, while all characters are adults in season 5, some characters are more adults than others.

Jughead Jones, Veronica Lodge and Toni Topaz, in particular, come to mind.

Adult Veronica has been blessed with a new sensational wardrobe befitting a more mature character. To be honest I’ve never met a 25-year-old dressed like Ronnie, however, her clothes are those of a grown up. Character-wise nothing has changed for adult Veronica. However, she had always been portrayed more like a young adult businesswoman than a typical teenager. So, in a way, post-time-jump Veronica hasn’t so much changed, as grown into her age. As a result, she might not be different from her pre-time-jump self, but she is convincing as an adult.

Toni had a similarly drastic change of wardrobe, accompanied by equally drastic changes in terms of her character: Toni is now pregnant but -most importantly- in a position of authority. She might not have her own story line yet as advertised (so far, she has supported the plots of Big Bad Hiram, Hero Archie, Investigator Betty and Isolation Queen Cheryl), however, in every scene she has been portrayed as someone dealing with adult responsibilities and being successful at that. She runs the Whyte Worm, she used to work at Riverdale Social Services, she’s Riverdale High School’s guidance counselor, she secures financing for the school and its activities, under her captaincy the Vixens have become a winning sports team heading out to championships. Adult Toni is drastically different from teen Toni.

The most adult character, however is Jughead. In terms of physical appearance, he has ditched his trademark beanie and very recognisable wardrobe for a new set of clothes, a couple of tattoos, glasses and facial hair (that some love and some hate). In terms of story lines, like Toni, he has the most adult ones. And the most different ones from those of his youth. He has meetings with his agent where he talks about his job. He no longer investigates to unravel Riverdale’s mysteries as much as he interviews people for a book, for which he already has a contract and a deadline. He takes a second job to make ends meet. He faces debt. He (supposedly) drinks a lot. As a teacher, his storyline has been the most realistic of them all. Instead of condoning dance-offs with 25-year-old Cheryl or being given a class of minions like Veronica (wasn’t that a very taciturn and obedient bunch …), Jughead is shown staying out late to prep for class and giving pop quizzes to students who are actually unprepared/bored/rude. Mobster-like debt collectors and alcoholism aside, his “adultness” is the most relatable and the most easily recognized as such.

And then, there’s Betty … Who, apart from her longer hair, has been given a mixed wardrobe of 1. new adult capri pants and heels, 2. her old high school combo of sweaters and collars (that she often wears when she investigates – which makes for quite the visual throwback to her high school sleuthing years) and 3. an FBI jacket than makes her look even younger than when she was blackmailing Donna back in the day. Betty’s natural make-up makes her look especially young. (Hadn’t Lili commented once upon a time about how they had gradually darkened Betty’s make up in s2 or 3?) In terms of characterisation, unlike Toni and Jughead, and much like Veronica, Betty is given the exact same material: in her case that’s: “investigating sleuth usually barging into places demanding answers”. Unlike Veronica, however, Betty has not grown into her role, because from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Nancy Drew, the teenager-badass-investigator-played-by-an-older-actress has been an effing trope, and, so far, the writers have failed in differentiating between 18-year-old Betty and 25-year-old Betty in terms of dialogue, set ups, story lines, agency. In other words, FBI trainee Elizabeth Cooper lacks adult gravitas.

Disclaimer #1: this is in no shape or form a diss on the actress, whom I like a lot. This is a diss on the writers, who didn’t bother to update an extremely tropey character, when they updated her on-screen age.

Disclaimer #2: neither is this a diss on the actor playing Jughead, whom I also like a lot. Just because he’s getting better material, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t put in the work: from suggesting the glasses to Jughead’s fed-up, weary, disbelieving or conspiracy-excited new mannerisms.

Then there’s also the matter of how Veronica, Archie and Jughead, all have regular partners for their post-time-jump story lines, whereas Betty has been given the short end of the scene partners stick.

>> Veronica’s foe is daddykins/Chad (who is, anyway, just another version of daddykins).

>> Archie’s story is Archie & his posse against the world. His partners even dress alike to reinforce the idea that they act as one unit! In 5x5 it is Archie and his posse of similarly leather-clad friends against the Ghoulies. In 5x6 it is Archie and his wannabe Bulldog students against the illusive football funding. In 5x7 it is Archie and his similarly dressed merry band of volunteer firefighters against the blazing inferno that is Riverdale.

>>Jughead shares half his scenes with the same new, exciting and extremely likable Tabitha Tate.

>> Betty’s scene partners, however, are seemingly whoever is available at the moment. Polly. Alice. Kevin. Archie if naked. Glen. A trucker. Dr Curdle Jr, A victim’s mother. Reggie. None of them stands out. As this is Riverdale, it’s hard to tell if this is bad writing (focusing on other characters and letting, for some reason, Betty fend for herself, counting on her popularity to maintain the viewers’ interest) or a conscious choice to portray her as being isolated. If, however, it’s the latter, it does the character no favours at all. Jughead’s also isolated, but his plot is new and exciting. In Betty’s case, 1. we’ve already watched the story of her searching for her missing sister when she was a sophomore and 2. I don’t particularly care about any of her scene partners, who are either secondary characters or people we’re not going to see ever again! And this makes her storyline, for lack of a better word: boring (or, in naked Justin Gingerlake’s case, extremely annoying).

I’m absolutely elated to see Betty investigate with Jughead, not only because this will eventually lead to Bughead, but also for the possibility that her mystery plot line will finally become more engaging. That’s not a very nice thought to have for your favourite female character. That’s not a very nice way to treat your most popular female character, especially when you have previously “gifted” her with a cheating story line and the least popular ship (yes, barchie, that’s you).

5x7 came and went and I’m still waiting to see what’s new about Betty Cooper and her storyline. (This is true about Veronica and Archie too, however, this is a bughead blog, so Jughead and Betty take priority! – and, also, let’s be honest, I never cared much about Archie.)

I do not appreciate that FBI trainee Cooper is written exactly the same way as teenager sleuth Betty. Why affiliate her to the FBI if you’re not going to give the character real authority? I do not appreciate the writing choices that make 5x5-5x7 Betty’s plot boring. Why come down so hard on your show’s most popular female character? I love Betty Cooper, both with Jughead and on her own. Likewise, I love Jughead both as part of bughead and on his own. Adult Jughead definitely has my attention. So, when may I have my interesting adult badass female character back?

#Riverdale season 5 #Riverdale writers negativity #Betty Cooper #anti-barchie #this was triggered by the scene of Glen's phone call #the only thing missing #was that damn Lollipop ringtone

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tigerkirby215 · 3 years ago

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5e Dr. Mundo, the Madman of Zaun build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Alex “alexplank” Flores made for Riot Games.)

Honestly with my new summer job I’ve been having less and less time to both write builds and play League. I could really use a character who requires very little effort to play in LoL, who’s also very easy to translate into D&D...

Oh wait!

GOALS

Mundo's pain always at zero - Above all else Mundo is a big bulky boy with many an option to become bigger and bulkier.

Take two of these! - We need to throw a lot of bonesaws. Like, a lot of bonesaws.

Electricity make the brain work good - The only truly “magical” effect in Mundo’s arsenal is the ability to charge the area around him with lightning.

RACE

Mundo’s hardly a human anymore, and I can’t just make every character a variant human or custom lineage. I’m not going to get a chance to make a Goliath anytime soon so Mundo may as well be one! As a Golliath you get a +2 to Strength and a +1 to Constitution. You are a Natural Athlete with proficiency in the Athletics skill, and have a Powerful Build to carry more Bonesaws.

You can get some innate magic resistance, as being Mountain Born gives you resistance to Cold damage. But most importantly you can choose to just not take damage thanks to Stone’s Endurance. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to roll a d12. Add your Constitution modifier to the number rolled and reduce the damage by that total. After you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

ABILITY SCORES

15; CONSTITUTION - Mundo is a tank above all else, and additionally you have a +1 in CON thanks to your race so you’ll have nice even stats to start out!

14; STRENGTH - Healthy boy building a healthy body~

13; DEXTERITY - Don’t get me wrong Mundo is a slow lad, but DEX saves are useful as is having good AC.

12; CHARISMA - Charisma is tied to intimidation as well as good bedside manner.

10; WISDOM - Isn’t Medicine a Wisdom skill? Why, I don’t believe this man has ever been to medical school!

8; INTELLIGENCE - "Mundo not remember Mundo before Mundo was Mundo."

BACKGROUND

There isn’t a doctor background... but Plaintiff from Acquisitions Incorporated is surprisingly close! You get proficiency with Medicine and Persuasion (feel free to swap this out if you desire) as well as an Artisan’s Tool of your choice (you say Carpenter’s Tools, I say medical tools!) and a language of your choice (pick your poison.)

Your feature of Legalese can be replaced with knowledge of medical terminology like “pharmacistcistist”, “prognosis“, and “anesthesezee.” Who knows? Doctor knowledge may help if you talk to other doctors!

(Artwork made for Riot Games.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - BARBARIAN 1

I hope you weren’t expecting anything fancy from a guy whose kit consists of “hit stuff”, “hit stuff”, “regen health”, and “hit stuff.” You get two skills from the Barbarian list like Intimidation and Survival (which is more just you being lucky and built like a walking tank.) You can also walk around in “medical scrubs” thanks to Unarmored Defense equal to 10 plus your Constitution modifier and your Dexterity modifier (so currently 14.)

But of course the main trait of a Barbarian is Rage to go where you please. A Maximum Dosage of Rage gives you advantage on Strength checks and saves, extra damage with Strength weapons, and resistance to Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage. Basically it makes you hit hard while taking no damage. You have a limited number of uses of this ability as shown on the Barbarian table.

LEVEL 2 - BARBARIAN 2

Second level Barbarians can inflict some Blunt Force Trauma with a Reckless Attack, giving themselves advantage while also giving enemies advantage to hit them. You can also further go where you please thanks to Danger Sense, giving you advantage on Dexterity saves against effects you can see coming at you. It’s almost like negating the effect entirely.

LEVEL 3 - BARBARIAN 3

Third level Barbarians get to choose their Medical College-I mean Primal Path, and for those of you who know a thing or two about Barbarians you know of the only way I have to give you Heart Zapper: Path of the Storm Herald. When you pick this subclass you can choose between one of three Storm Auras, and while Desert would work if you want to play pre-rework Mundo Sea is far better for post-rework Mundo and in general. As a Bonus Action while raging you can choose one other creature you can see within 10 feet of you. The target must make a Dexterity saving throw or take a of d6 lightning damage, or half as much damage on a successful save.

Now might be a good time to talk about your choice of weapons as Mundo: your main weapon is definitely a Hand Axe that you can throw around, but the thing about Hand Axes is that they have a low range and cost a ton. So I’d actually suggest using Javelins for your Infected Bonesaw.

As for your secondary weapon I’d suggest a Light Hammer as your Doctor Bag (for Blunt Force Trauma) but as a Storm Herald you won’t have a Bonus Action to use for Two-Weapon Fighting. So you can focus on dealing as much damage with your main attacks using a d8 martial weapon. Basically I’m suggesting you carry a Battleaxe in your main hand and have your off-hand open to throw Javelins at the enemy. Or run in with a Greataxe if you want. Heck you can even pick up a shield if you want: make your own Mundo!

Also Tasha is a very good doctor, as she fixed the Barbarian to give it Primal Knowledge! You can get one more skill from the Barbarian list like Perception, because why not be more useful outside of the medical ward?

LEVEL 4 - BARBARIAN 4

Want to actually be a doctor? Grab the Healer feat to do some doctoring. Want to be a canonically bad doctor? Just take more Constitution and live forever lol.

(Artwork by Marie Magny and West Studios. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 5 - BARBARIAN 5

5th level Mundos can auto attack cancel and attack twice with Extra Attack! You also get Fast Movement to further chase down your foes with cleavers and lighting!

LEVEL 6 - BARBARIAN 6

6th level Storm Herald Barbarians can go where they please thanks to Storm Soul. It grants you resistance to a specific type of damage and for you that damage type would be Lightning. You can also go into a specific environment if you desire, and as a Sea Barbarian you get a 30 foot swimming speed! River Mundo.

LEVEL 7 - BARBARIAN 7

7th level Barbarians have a Feral Instinct for doctoring! You get advantage on initiative rolls, and in addition you can’t be surprised as long as you Rage at the start of your turn!

Tasha’s also gave you an option to reach out and zap someone thanks to Instinctive Pounce, letting you move up to half your movement speed when you Rage!

LEVEL 8 - BARBARIAN 8

You might be thinking I’d grab more Strength at this point... Ha ha no; Mundo goes where he pleases, and more Constitution will give you the health and AC to do so.

(Artwork by Terence Cantal and West Studios. Made for Riot Games)

LEVEL 9 - BARBARIAN 9

9th level Barbarians get Brutal Criticals without building for crit chance! If you crit you roll 3 damage die instead of 2, which is good because your Strength isn’t doing you many favors in the damage department.

LEVEL 10 - BARBARIAN 10

10th level Barbarians can help the comoonity thanks to Shielding Storm. Now all friends and fellow doctors within 10 feet of you get resistance to Lightning damage! Oh and speaking of Lightning damage: your Storm Aura now (finally) increases to 2d6, meaning that you can get some value out of your big CON to do damage!

Additionally Tasha’s lets you have even more Primal Knowledge at this level: Animal Handling will help you talk with your nurse? I dunno; Mundo doesn’t exactly strike me as a knowledgable guy really.

LEVEL 11 - BARBARIAN 11

11th level Barbarians simply have too much health to die! If you drop to 0 hit points while you’re raging and don’t die outright, you can make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. If you succeed, you drop to 1 hit point instead thanks to Relentless Rage! Each time you use this feature after the first, the DC increases by 5. When you finish a short or long rest, the DC resets to 10.

LEVEL 12 - BARBARIAN 12

“12th level Barbarians can finally increase their Strength!” I hear you say. Lol no. The Slasher feat will give you some much-needed slows to keep enemies close, and will let you increase your Dexterity by 1 for more AC. Having the Slasher feat also finally gives a convincing argument for you to throw Hand Axes as opposed to javelins, which is nice.

(Artwork made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 13 - BARBARIAN 13

13th level Barbarians get even bigger Brutal Criticals that do 4 total damage die of damage! Mundo does as much damage as he pleases!

LEVEL 14 - BARBARIAN 14

At level 14 the Raging Storm of the Sea forces enemies you hit within 10 feet to make a Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. Honestly while the rest of this class was kinda a bust inflicting Blunt Force Trauma on your foes is huge, as being knocked prone gives all melee allies advantage to hit an enemy while also forcing an enemy to spend time standing back up.

LEVEL 15 - BARBARIAN 15

15th level Barbarians are always regenerating health, as Persistent Rage is permanent until the duration expires or you fall unconscious. (Or you choose to end your Rage.) That’s really nice because your Storm Aura now does 3d6 damage, meaning you can keep zapping with your Heart Zapper!

LEVEL 16 - BARBARIAN 16

Strength for damage man; Mundo not damage man! Mundo doctor, and Mundo goes where he pleases! Take the Tough feat for 32 more health now and up to 40 more health when you reach max level!

(Artwork by Xu “Crow God” Cheng and Alvin Lee. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 17 - BARBARIAN 17

17th level Barbarians increase their Brutal Critical to roll 5 die total on a Nat 20. Because whether you want to do the most damage, take the most damage, or you know... fucking both then Barbarian is the right class for you.

LEVEL 18 - BARBARIAN 18

18th level Barbarians get Indomitable Might, letting them replace a roll on a Strength check with their Strength score if their check is lower than their total score. Man this sure would be more useful if we didn’t basically dump Strength.

LEVEL 19 - BARBARIAN 19

So how about we finally stop dumping Strength and bump it up to an 18 with our last Ability Score Improvement... Eh it’s still not great...

LEVEL 20 - BARBARIAN 20

Well thankfully Primal Champion is here to increase your Strength and Constitution by 4. And want to know what’s great about this ability? It also increases your maximums for those abilities to 24, meaning that you will have a grand total of 22 in Strength and 24 in Constitution!

And to top it off your Storm Aura now does a whopping 4d6 Lightning damage, which means you can officially say that Storm Herald was a better pick than Berserker or the Polearm Master feat.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

One-bajillion drops of healing juice, stat! - While I wasn’t able to give Mundo his health regen I still got him some crazy high health values. When I was done with this build I genuinely looked at the character sheet and said “I have never seen a character with 325 health before." 325 health along with 19 AC means that you can damn well go wherever you please.

How we doing patient; you numb yet? Mundo is! - While you don’t have the same near-endless supply of resistances as a Bear Totem Barbarian resisting two types of magic damage is useful. Feel free to play pre-rework Mundo with the Desert Aura if you think Fire damage will be more common in your campaign. And I dunno: maybe try to get some magic items to resist more elemental damage types?

Huh? Supposed to be painless - Even without big investment in Strength the Storm Herald Barbarian is quite good at quite good at dishing out DPS, with a big burst of magic damage every round and the ability to knock enemies prone which will really help your melee allies. Not to mention that Brutal Critical means that your Nat 20s will really help you cut off some limbs!

CONS

Beep... beep... beeeep... - Dumping your mental stats has its penalties, and you’ll be failing most of your saving throws. You could’ve perhaps grabbed the Lucky feat for some health insurance (honestly if you can max out your CON and STR before level 20 I’d suggest grabbing Lucky just to reroll some saves), but let’s just say you aren’t completely CC immune.

Me forgot how to doctor... Back to medicine school! - Low mental stats also hurt in roleplay, and while you have a surprising amount of proficiencies (thanks Tasha’s) most of them are for rather niche skills with the exception of perhaps Perception and Persuasion.

Patient; why you out of bed?! - You can throw axes but you’re not exactly a ranged combatant. Most if not all your abilities have very short range, maxing out at around 10 feet. You’re extremely hard to shake off if you can get close but enemies that can kite you will give you a lot of trouble.

But if you want to run in and hit stuff while never dying then Mundo is the man for you! Replace all your brains with brawn to truly go where you please. Just remember that unlike League you’re not completely immune to CC, meaning that it’s more than possible to get put in time out for awhile. But it’s okay if you do; everyone has to take a sick day sometimes!

(Artwork by Terence Cantal and West Studios. Made for Riot Games.)

#dnd 5e #dnd #dnd build #dnd guide #League of Legends #League of Legends Mundo #Dr. Mundo #League of Legends Dr. Mundo #dnd barbarian #Mundo #goes #where #he #pleases

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nbapprentice · 4 years ago

Note

You said a while back that while Supergiant games (Bastion, Transistor, Hades) was mostly okay, you had some words about them. I was curious as to what those words were, since Hades' full release is soon.

okay. alright. ive been playing hades lately so i definitely want to give my two cents (or dollars by the size this is gonna get). but let’s go Step by Step

the good: i want to throw a whole Endorsement over supergiant games with the art direction and its characters, which is what keeps me coming back again and again, and what i can assume is that most people are attracted to.

gameplaywise, they have a Format they stick to which has become their staple, not to their detriment but to their advantage, like... gameplay tropes, so to speak, that they stick to (such as the addition of special conditions that give a disadvantage in exchange for more long-term rewards)

i fucking adore that they take one concept per game, go for it, and when they’re done they are Done; they don’t bother with sequels, they don’t want to run things to the ground and i fucking respect that. They have their themes, and they stick to them (to various degrees of success).

that said, like every piece of media, they are not perfect and this has to be analysed and spoken about

CONTENT WARNINGS: genocide and ethnic cleansing, antisemitism, misogyny, homophobia, suicide, and mentions of incest, and a general Spoilers warning

bastion: touches on ethnic cleansing, and not in a way i’d say is satisfactory. our narrator and one of our Sympathetic characters is one of the men who worked on a world-ending weapon meant to use against the Ura (a group of people coded as East Asian) which after a bit of googling is literally called “the final solution” if there was ever a war between the Ura and the Cael (who feel like rly tan white people to me). jesus fucking CHRIST.

we also meet more Ura other than our two named characters and we have to kill most of them. so that fucking blows.

the game tries for “being a genocidal monster will get you fucked up and blown up” which duh, but i feel we shouldn’t have had a person responsible for war crimes be one of our friends no matter how bad he feels about the whole thing, or the people victim of war crimes become villains in the latter half of the game. zia’s father could’ve taken ruck’s role ez pz.

transistor: the weakest of their games, imo; the lore and writing are fairly flimsy and i did not come out feeling Satisfied, especially because it had this rly good build-up that did not pay off. not to mention... their villains? 3/4 were gay people. lol. two married guys (not even explicit, you only realize by their shared last names) and the ps*cho lesbian trope (iirc she wanted to kill the protagonist’s lover or something). the female protagonist also ends up killing herself to live forever in a digital paradise with her dead lover. it’s. god.

very Aesthetic, GORGEOUS music, interesting gameplay; had potential, i do not feel like it lived up to it at least as far as the story goes.

pyre: now this one. this one’s BEEFY. where transistor felt flimsy, pyre is rich; lots to sink your teeth into, rich in lore and loveable characters, again w the beautiful music, themes of cooperation and togetherness. my favorite of the cast is volfred sandalwood, the only Black (or, well, Black-coded) revolutionary i’ve ever seen portrayed with this amount of sympathy.

onto the bad: they literally have a Class of character named “Savage”; there’s the “mystical mentally ill person” trope; there is an overwhelming amount of explicit m/f pairs (one of them being. a romance that formed in a single day and then both of the characters were somehow willing to risk it all for each other? PLEASE) while the only hints of gayness are... hints. especially when Jodariel (another of my favs) is teased to have feelings for the player regardless of gender then only gets an ending with a male character with whom she has nothing in common 🙃

hades: and now. this one. music: gorgeous. character designs: spectacular (aphrodite is straight up naked but it’s so... natural and casual, it doesn’t feel sexualized at all). voice acting amazing. character interactions charming and endearing. as a greek mythology nerd, it was nice to see them go for the obscure shit like Zagreus at all, NOT portray Persephone and Hades as a loving couple, AND portrayed the gods as the bunch of petty assholes (some more benevolent than others) that they are. imo they’re too generous with their portrayal of achilles but i’ll allow it.

and finally... it seems all those criticisms about having all the gay characters hidden in the shadows paid off, cuz we got (aside of patroclus and achilles) a bisexual polyamorous protag. Holy Shit! and it’s not even playersexual, romance whomever you want shit without the routes recognizing each other: he explicitly talks about how he’s thinking abt them both (though it’s like “yeah usually mortals take one lover but gods love many huh�� polyamory is a human thing too bro!!!!!)

and this is where it all goes, well, at least vaguely downhill lol. ok so the incest warning i gave up there? well. it’s not... outright incestuous. but it has some ugly implications. i want to emphasize: the characters never refer to each other as siblings, nor do they treat each other as such (thanatos, in fact, only recognizes hypnos as his brother, and megaera only sees the other furies as her sisters), but they were all raised by the same woman, Nyx... zagreus and thanatos even grew up together (im assuming megaera didnt meet zagreus until he was fully grown).

this is complicated even worse by the fact that they tried to trick zagreus into believing Nyx was his mother. he realized pretty early on this was not true but like... adoptive mothers, anyone? granted i can believe that bc of the attempt at deception that probably ruptured any attempt at actual familial closeness, and it’s not like hypnos and thanatos saw zagreus as their brother at any point, so they were p much aware of the truth too. with the fact that thanatos even looks like goth miles edgeworth (im not kidding you can google him up right now its literally edgeworth in a cowl) i rly feel they were aiming for Childhood Friend Anime Rival Man than the “surprise kiss bc ur not actually related <3″ shit. zagreus never once refers to nyx as his mother in-game, and also refers to thanatos and hypnos as her sons, never his brothers.

so yeah, like. if one’s feeling generous, zagreus and thanatos are more of a “my father is emotionally closed off and neglects me so my best friend’s mother basically raised me” kind of situation... just pulled off in, perhaps, the worst way possible (why didnt they just say Zagreus was told Hekate was his mom, that’s such an easy fix? or that he was born of nobody other than Hades??? [gestures at athena])

but then, the gods. aaaaaaaahhhhahahahh the gods. demeter shows up! and she calls zeus, hades and poseidon... her foster-brothers. which somehow would make the persephone thing less fucking awful, apparently. they really. really really did not need to do that. she could’ve just said “my fellow gods” or whatever. or my “god-brothers” or something, to pretend it was just a weird god alliance thing??? i dont know but implying that foster family isn’t family is just... bro, the dynamics still exist.

Don’t Like That.

i even contacted supergiant games over this. they reassured me they were even trying to avoid the incest of the original myths bc they didn’t want to mess with such a heavy theme. i believe them... but i really think they didn’t think this through. compared to something like fire emblem fates this is nearly benign, but the implications don’t look good :/

tl;dr of the tl;drs: i admire their artistic philosophy and the heavy emphasis on fresh gameplay, characters and their relationships; i appreciate that it seems that they listen to criticism?; i don’t appreciate that they didn’t think to at LEAST talk to adoptees when making a game about family.

#Anonymous #asks #mod nba #supergiant #supergiant games #bastion #transistor #hades #pyre

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trashyswitch · 4 years ago

Text

Logan's Trip to [REDACTED]

Chapter 1: The First Ever Foreign Visitor

Logan visits one of the SCP Foundation sites, that houses SCP's of different classes. Though most of it should remain classified information, Logan is allowed to interact with the SCP's of the safe class. This is where things get much more interesting...

WARNING: Bits of the writing had to be redacted and expunged to keep names and locations classified.

Ever since I found out about SCP-999, I wanted to make a fanfic on it. It's SO CUTE!!! I WANT ONE!

Logan had brought Thomas, Patton, Virgil, and Roman all together to discuss a mostly classified trip he was going to take. Though he couldn't tell them where exactly he was going, he could tell them the name of the company and fill them in on the creatures he looked at and interacted with.

"So...how long will you be gone for?" Thomas asked.

Logan looked at his watch. "My ride should arrive at 12 am exactly, and I will be back at 12 o'clock noon, on Saturday." Logan replied.

"Okay. Very specific." Thomas commented.

"I'm aware of how specific it is. This is a highly classified trip that has been rewarded to me for...reasons I'm not aware of. But, it is a one time opportunity I could never say no to. I am very excited to go." Logan told them.

"I can't wait to hear all about it! Especially that orange goop one." Patton commented.

Logan looked at the paper he had in front of him. "I believe you mean SCP-999. And yes, I am eager to see what that SCP is like." Logan replied.

"Are there any SCP's you're nervous about?" Virgil asked.

Logan thought for a moment. "I am a little nervous of seeing SCP-173...And SCP-682. 173 being the baby thing, and 682 being the strange alligator being." Logan replied.

"Is there anything specific you're bringing for the trip?" Thomas asked.

"Yes, there is. I have been granted permission to give certain safe-class SCP's gifts. I wish to give SCP-2295 some fabric ribbon and needles. I hope to give SCP-131-a & b a couple hair accessories, or a couple toys they may like." Logan started. Patton let out an 'aww'ing sound at the cute idea. Logan continued. "I would also like to hand SCP-914 a piece of wood, and see what the machine creates out of it. To end it off, I want to offer SCP-999 a package of M&M's, and Necco™ Wafers." Logan told them.

"Didn't the Necco™ Wafers factories closed? And I thought they no longer sell them?" Thomas asked.

"They are in high demand and in low numbers, but I successful in finding a couple packages of Necco™ Wafers that were on sale on Amazon. I opened one package of them already to taste them, and determined that they weren't expired. Then, I decided to share them with Virgil, Patton and Janus." Logan explained.

"Nice!" Thomas replied.

"They were so good!" Patton exclaimed excitedly, remembering the taste of the wafers.

"They were, honestly. It was a nice treat." Virgil commented.

Logan smiled. "I'm glad you two liked them." Logan commented.

"So...how do you feel about it the transportation aspect?" Thomas asked.

"It's a lot, but I can manage. I won't be able to tell anyone how I got to the site, or how I got back. What I DO know, is that according to the handbook: I'll be taken to the site in a jet." Logan told them.

"Ooooh! Sounds fancy!" Roman reacted. Logan shrugged.

"It's certainly gonna be a new experience." Logan told them.

After everyone bid their goodbyes to the logical side, Logan calmly kept himself busy while he waited for 12 o'clock midnight to roll around.

By the time 12 o'clock had rolled around, Logan had already packed his bag and was all ready with an empty notebook and a pen. When Logan had walked up to the car with his suitcase, Logan got to see the two unidentifiable passengers that were going to drive him to the jet. The driver and the passenger were both completely bald and dressed in identical suits, with sunglasses on their faces. They looked like something out of Men In Black.

Before they left, A few precautions had to be taken: the driver had taken hold of the suitcase and his backpack, and began checking both bags for liquids, weapons and any other dangerous or illegal items. At the same time, the passenger on the right had walked up to Logan and had quickly checked him over for any harmful weapons. With Logan confirmed to be unarmed, the passenger instructed him to take off his prescription glasses. When his glasses were in his case, the security guard took them from him and placed them into a small compartment in his backpack. Then, the passenger placed an eye mask onto Logan's face that surrounded the skeleton holes of his eyes with comfortable memory foam. This memory foam helped to block out all light and therefore: all sight. Thankfully, Logan was well aware that this would happen. Logan had received a book of information that would prepare him for the trip. The book even gave him a warning that he would be blindfolded on the way to the jet location. Logan was prepared with something to busy himself. Logan had put a pair of air-pods into his pocket, and put together a playlist of his favorite songs and his favorite audio-books, to listen to on the car ride down. Though the extra precautions seemed over-the-top, Logan understood that the precautions were for the safety of himself, and the safety of the SCP Foundation. They didn't want anybody getting tortured into giving away top secret information.

Logan listened to his playlist on the way to the jet location. Surprisingly, the ride wasn't as boring as he thought it would be! It was really fun! He even went as far as to start dancing to his music on the way. Sure, the passengers might've judged him. But, Logan didn't care. They needed to know that he was human, and allowed to have lots of fun. Another surprising part, was that the car ride was shorter than he expected. By the time Logan had gotten through only half of the playlist, Logan had gotten a light nudge to the shoulder. Logan carefully took out his air-pods.

"We're here." someone told him.

Logan nodded. "Okay." Logan replied. Someone turned his head around to reach the back, and carefully removed the mask from his eyes. Logan had to take a moment to get used to the light. When he did though, travel became a little more smoother. Logan went through another quick round of body checks and luggage checks before Logan was led out towards the jet out in the field. The jet was big, but somewhat small compared to the usual airplane sizes. Logan climbed into the jet, and walked into the sitting area inside the jet. Logan smiled at the interior. It wasn't luxurious, but it wasn't poorly designed either. It was a pretty nice interior for a middle class flyer. Logan happily took a seat in one of the chairs, placed his backpack under his seat and readied himself for the takeoff. Logan couldn't wait!

Logan listened to the plane safety information that usually came with it, before hearing the flight attendant announce the jet's take off. Logan opened the window flap, and watched as the jet started rolling. Logan watched as the fields flew by faster, and faster and faster, until the plane started flying up! The ground became smaller and farther away, while the view down became larger and larger and larger! Then, the view was sadly forsaken, and replaced with fluffy clouds. Now the entire view was a mix of dark clouds and dark sky. Logan sat back in his chair, and sighed with a smile. This is the life.

A long 5 hours later, and Logan was getting ready to leave the jet! The announcer gave him the orders to fasten is seat belts, and Logan began to feel himself descending. Soon, the wheels hit the landing spot below, and slowly brought itself to a nice, perfect halt. Logan smiled and waited for the announcer to give him and the rest of the staff a go ahead to leave the plane.

"All passengers are ordered to leave the plane and descend the staircase below." Logan heard. Logan was ready. The door opened, and Logan collected his stuff and gave everyone a polite 'thank you', before walking himself down the stairs. A couple new security guards gave him his luggage, and instructed him to follow them. Logan did as he was told, and dragged his wheeled suitcase behind his back. Logan was led right into the main opening of the SCP site. A man with darker skin but similar attire to the passengers, met Logan at he entrance.

"Mr. Sanders. I'm Dr. ████, The General manager in this corporation." The man said.

Logan shook the hand. "I'm honored to be here and under your care, Doctor." Logan replied to him.

"How was the flight? Fairly smooth, I hope?" Dr. ████ asked.

"The most smooth plane ride I've ever experienced." Logan replied.

"Excellent. And can you tell me how you got here at all?" the Doctor asked.

"Nope. Not a clue." Logan replied.

"Perfect. This is a very special privilege. We wouldn't want to ruin it with unwanted leaks." Dr. ████ explained.

"Understood." Logan agreed.

"Shall we take you to your room?" Dr. ████ asked.

"Of course." Logan replied.

"24639 and 58227, lead the way." the doctor ordered.

"Yes sir." 24639 and 58227 both said. The two men began leading the way, while Logan and the Doctor talked.

"So Sanders. Are you overwhelmed yet?" The doctor asked.

"A little bit, yeah. But, it's nothing I can't manage." Logan replied.

"You're keeping in good spirits. I like that." The doctor commented. "Say, how many rumors have you heard about?" The doctor asked.

"Uuuuh...A couple. The only rumor I personally knew about, was SCP-173." Logan explained.

"Oooh. What about it?" The doctor asked.

"Barely anything. Just one leaked photo, and that it's dangerous." Logan replied.

"Okay. I just wanted to make sure I clear up some rumors, if you've heard any. But, it looks like you haven't. So, that leaves us a bit more time to talk." The doctor said.

"Okay." Logan replied.

"Are there any SCP's you'd like to look at?" The doctor asked.

"Yes, actually. I'd like to look at SCP 173 and SCP-682, if that's possible." Logan commented. "I don't wanna go into the actual room with them, but I would like to look at them through a window." Logan further explained.

"Aaah...I see. Anything else?" The doctor asked.

"Yes. I also want to look at SCP-067, SCP-294, and SCP-530." Logan replied.

"Okay. So, the World War 2 pen, the vending machine and the dog with multiple limbs. Alright." The doctor replied.

"I really wanna see SCP-131-a and 131-b. And perhaps I could see SCP-999?" Logan added.

"Of course! Those are the most playful SCP's we have." The doctor told him. Logan smiled excitedly. "And, here we are!" The doctor told him. The doctor opened up the door, and allowed Logan a chance to drop off his suitcase.

"I'm gonna let you get comfy in here. When you feel ready, just give us a call on our walkie-talkie." The doctor ordered before handing Logan a walkie-talkie of his own.

Logan looked at the walkie-talkie, put it up to his mouth and pressed the button. "I'm ready now." Logan told him.

The doctor's eyes widened in surprise. Really?! Even after all that, Logan wanted to start now?!

"Okay. Here's your map, and your key-card. Just highlight where you wanna go, and follow the map." The doctor told him. "And don't think of doing anything stupid. I have eyes on the entire building. You will be kicked out of the building site." The doctor warned him.

"I fully understand. No need to worry. I am capable of following proper guidelines and regulations." Logan replied humbly.

The doctor smiled at the man. "Okay. Just be sure to give us updates on your observations." The doctor ordered, before walking away. The Doctor truly believed he could trust Sanders. It was a nice change. Perhaps he had been blessed with a wonderful first-time tourist...

Logan opened up the map and opened up his handbook, and began highlighting the specific SCP's he wanted to check out and/or interact with. It took a few minutes, but Logan soon had a list of SCP's to visit and interact with.

Can you guess which SCP was the nearest to him? It was SCP-294. The vending machine! Logan walked himself up to the door, and used the key card he had been given earlier, to get into the door. When it opened, Logan pulled the door open and walked in. Logan walked himself up to the vending machine, and eyed up the big thing. It looked like your typical large click-and-pour coffee machine, but it came with a keyboard below the touchscreen that presented itself in the top right corner of the coffee machine. Logan walked himself towards the keyboard, and began to think of what he wanted. He could ask for any typical beverage. A soft drink, a glass of milk, an alcoholic beverage, or even a smoothie! But Logan began to wonder what other things can be made with the coffee machine.

Logan decided to test it. Logan typed the following words into the keyboard:

[Chicken nugget smoothie]

When he felt ready, Logan clicked enter. Logan watched as a paper cup fell into the machine dispenser, and produced a orangish-brown looking thick substance. Logan removed from the dispenser, and took a breath before taking a sip...Logan let out a dry heave in disgust, but stopped himself when he realized what he was actually tasting: chicken meat split up, breaded and deep-fried...Also known as chicken nuggets.

Logan threw the rest of the chicken nugget smoothie into the garbage, and smirked as he type in his new request:

[Juiced Strawberry Crofters Jam]

Logan clicked enter and licked his lips as he waited. The coffee machine spit out a paper cup, and dispensed a red-looking liquid with teensy bits of strawberry seeds mixed into the liquid. Logan took the paper cup out of the dispenser, and looked up at the touchscreen. The touchscreen had a few words displayed onto it: 'Crofters, the only jelly I will put in my belly'. Logan giggled at the message, and brought his walkie-talkie up to his mouth. "I was able to make liquefied versions of food options from the machine. Not only did I get an actual Chicken Nugget Smoothie, I was also successful in getting a liquefied, strawberry-flavored jam." Logan told the Doctor.

"Crofters?" The Doctor specified.

Oh gosh...He watches the YouTube channel..."Yup. Crofter's jam." Logan replied with an awkward chuckle.

Next: Logan moved onto the next SCP on his list: SCP-067. Logan used his key-card to unlock the door. When it allowed him in, Logan opened the door and looked inside. Inside of the room, was a table with a felt-covered wooden box. Logan looked around the room as he walked himself closer and closer to the middle of the room. In the middle, there appeared to be a wooden desk and a wooden chair. Logan took a deep breath before sitting himself down and opening up the drawer. On the inside of the wooden desk, was a built-in drawer that held pages of lined paper. Logan pulled two pieces of lined paper out of the drawer, and placed it onto the table. After taking one more big breath, Logan picked up the pen. Almost immediately, the pen began moving his hand. This was to be expected. The pen was known for taking over a person's arm until they placed it down. So, Logan allowed the pen to do its thing. The pen began to write in a pretty, but somewhat messy version of cursive. It looked like the type of cursive that had been worked on by a person for decades. This was very strange because Logan has never developed legible cursive of his own style. Logan was simply a printer, who often started every single word he wrote, in all capitals.

Logan watched as the pen continued to write out a long page of writing. As his hand was taken over, Logan skimmed through some of the writing. It appeared to have been school notes Logan could recognize from one of his high school years. The subject appeared to be science, and the writing had also recalled the following units: [DATA EXPUNGED]

When the pen was done, Logan's hand had placed the pen down and gave Logan control over his hand again. It was a strange, but interesting experience. While the pen dried, Logan kept on skimming some of the words on the page. The writing had showed him some of the chemistry and biology he had taken back then. A lot of the notes appeared to resemble Logan's...cheat sheet for the exam. Logan's eyes widened at the unbelievably accurate resemblance of his cheat sheet. Logan nodded his head slowly and nervously, before lightly pushing the paper aside and pulling out his own pencil. Using the second piece of paper, Logan described his science exam and the cheat sheet he had made at the time. He explained how the writing wasn't his own, but that the words written and the format of such words were perfectly replicated by the fountain pen, in great detail and accuracy. It was as if the pen had collected all of his high school memories of the science classes he had taken, had re-entered his mind for a good half an hour! It was strange, but very fascinating. When the ink appeared to be dried enough, Logan put the two papers together and inserted them into a hung up mailbox, for research purposes. When Logan left the room, he told Dr. ████ that the written paper was in the mailbox, and ready for analysis and research.

Next on his list, was SCP-2295. Logan used his key-card on the door, and opened it up. Upon looking inside the containment locker, Logan smiled as he gazed his eyes upon the multi-fabric teddy bear that sat onto the ground. Logan placed the key-card into the slot and removed it as he opened up the door.

"Hello." Logan greeted. The teddy bear seemed to not be asleep, but rather unresponsive. Logan closed the sliding door behind him, and knelt down a few meters away from the teddy bear. "My name is Logan. I believe your name is Kairos, right?" Logan introduced. The bear seemed to stay unresponsive for a bit...Logan slowly sat himself down in criss-cross apple sauce, and gently waited for SCP-2295 to make a gesture. After a minute of waiting, Logan pulled out his walkie-talkie and began talking into it. "This is Mr. Sanders, giving you an update. The bear appears to be unresponsive, which is unfortunate considering I brought it a little gift." Logan said.

"Can you specify what it is? Or would you like me to wait and see?" The doctor asked.

Logan waited a couple seconds for the teddy bear to do something. He was about to reply with a hint, but immediately stopped himself when he saw a small wave from the bear. Logan made a slight gasp, before answering the doctor's question with a small smile. "I'm gonna let Kairos open it up and reveal it." Logan replied. After he placed his walkie-talkie down, Logan decided to open up his backpack and gently pull out a little boxed present wrapped in fabric and ribbon. "I brought you a present. I thought you might like it." Logan told it, before gently dragging it across the floor towards the teddy bear.

Though it took a bit, the teddy bear moved his head! The teddy bear gave itself a scratch on the ear, and slowly brought itself up onto its feet. Logan's smile grew wider as he watched the teddy bear walk over to the present. The present appeared to be more than half its diameter, but quite long and wide. The teddy bear grabbed onto the ribbon with both of its hands fabric hands and pulled the bow on the top free. The bow collapsed onto the present, and allowed Kairos to unwrap the fabricated wrap. When the wrap and the ribbon was removed and pushed aside, the teddy bear opened up the box lid and pulled out the contents inside: It was fabric! Tons of different-colored fabric! The teddy bear's sewed-on smile widened as it looked at around 15 different patterned fabrics. The box also included multiple sewing thread colors! Black, pink, yellow, blue, red, even a light pink-colored thread! Kairos made an excited smile and showed off all the different fabrics he had now!

With his fabric stack all filled up for a while, SCP-2295 placed the fabric onto the floor in the corner of the room, and walked up to the generous man. Kairos reached his arms up, to ask Logan to pick him up. "You...want me to pick you up?" Logan clarified with a smile. The teddy bear nodded in reply, and reached his arms up as high as it could reach. Logan giggled and picked the guy up by the middle, like he would a toddler. The teddy bear reached his arms out in front of him this time, as if to ask for a hug. Logan didn't wait even a second, and happily gave the teddy bear a hug.

Logan had been hugging Kairos for about 2 minutes, when Kairos had taken something out of his mouth and had began...tickling him with it! Logan let out a few surprised giggles, and pulled away with an eyebrow raised in curiousity.

"Whahat are you dohoihing?" Logan asked. The teddy bear had held up a multi-colored feather with yellow at the top, and red and black at the middle and bottom of the feather. It was really pretty. "That's a lovely feather." Logan commented. the teddy bear's smile got bigger as it brought the feather onto Logan's neck and began fluttering it quickly. "Hehehehey! Thahat tihihihicklehehes!" Logan giggled, tilting his head to the side to cover up the spot. Kairos stopped the feather for a moment, and switched hands. With the feather in his right hand now, Kairos started fluttering the feather onto the right side of Logan's neck."Hahahahahaha! Stahahahahap thahahahat!" Logan told him through his newfound giggle fit. If Kairos' button eyes could've gotten bigger, Logan thinks they would've. Kairos must've discovered something new!

Logan stuck his tongue out at the teddy bear playfully. When Logan tried to get a better grip on the bear, Kairos made a jolt and dropped the feather in surprise! "Oh! Sorry, buddy." Logan apologized as he continued to grip the bear better. Amidst Logan's moving and gripping, Kairos started shaking and pushing at the fingers. Logan lifted an eyebrow. What was he doing? Logan paused his gripping for a moment, before continuing with it a second later. Kairos started shaking again and this time, it started covering its mouth with it's left hand! Logan gasped as it all clicked in his mind! "Are you...laughing?" Logan asked. The teddy bear gave Logan a small, but visible nod of the head. As a test, Logan tried squeezing the bear's side. The bear actually jumped again and began shaking with laughter! Logan's smile got wider as more puzzle pieces fit into the puzzle. "Are you ticklish?" Logan asked in a teasy voice. The teddy bear nodded back! He WAS!

Logan cradled Kairos with his left arm. When it was balanced enough, Logan began skittering his fingers all over Kairos' tummy and sides and started making ticky-ticky noises to further tease the bear. Kairos jolted in surprise and began shaking with laughter and squirming back and forth. When the bear wasn't reaching for Logan's fingers, Kairos was covering its mouth with both hand stubs to almost cover up the giggles and laughter. Unsurprisingly, Kairos didn't really have a laugh that came with a sound. Its laughter was merely shaking. Its hand-covering actually helped a little, to prove that he was laughing happily. Logan began to giggle along with the teddy bear as he tried out different spots. Unsurprisingly, the bear's big, multi-colored belly seemed to be the only spot that got it squirming and shaking the most! The sides still kept it laughing, but the squirming would lessen a bit. Logan even gave the ears a few tickles! And amazingly, the bear had covered its eyes and began rocking left and right uncontrollably! It was a very cute sight to see.

After a few more seconds of tickling, Logan stopped tickling the bear. Even though the bear didn't really have a pair of lungs, Logan still wanted to make sure he didn't go overboard. This was only a one time event. When the bear stopped its heavy breathing, Kairos lifted itself up onto Logan's arm and began giving Logan another hug. Logan lifted the bear up a bit, so it could hug Logan around the neck again. Logan gave the bear one last hug before saying good bye. The bear happily waved Logan good bye, and sat back down to resume to its inactive state. With the bear now inactive, Logan put his backpack on and left the room.

Logan pulled out his walkie-talkie as he walked. "It would appear that SCP-2295 has nerves. He's pretty ticklish." Logan told him.

"Interesting...I wonder if SCP-2295 might like SCP-999?" Dr. ████ asked to himself.

"Maybe..." Logan replied before putting away the walkie-talkie.

Walking down the hall, Logan smiled as he looked at the map. It looked like SCP-131-a/b was next! Logan walked himself up to the door, and placed the key-card into the slot. when the door opened, Logan walked into the room and walked up to a vault with a huge window that showed him the artificial teardrop-looking eyeballs. Logan made a smile when he saw that SCP-131-a & b had a Kids Road play mat on the ground. Logan watched as the two eyeballs rolled around on the rolling ball that was attached to them. They were tiny, but quite quick and observant (I mean, they are eyeballs afterall...). Logan walked up to the vaulted door, and placed the key-card into the slot. When given the right code, the door vault slid open on its own, revealing the eyeballs in its full glory. Logan walked in, gave the little eyeballs a cheerful "Hello", and knelt down to look at the little rolling balls. The eyeballs appeared to be teardrop-shaped Cyclopes. One of them was darker orange-colored, while the other was a darker, pretty yellow color. Logan smiled and gently scratched his fingernail around the bottom of the orange one's point on its head. The cyclops creature closed its single eye for a moment, and let out an electronic, cheerful noise in reply.

Wow! The eyeballs really are like house cats!

Logan gave them a small smile and offered a hand to jump onto. The orange one happily rolled itself onto his hand, and looked up at Logan. Logan carefully bought SCP-131-a up closer to inspect it. He tried caressing the left side of the eye pod, to see what would happen. Logan watched in admiration as the orange eye pod's eye dilated happily, and closed a little bit as it melted into the touch. Logan realized the orange eye pod liked to be petted too! Logan slowly moved his right hand away from the eye pod, just to make sure that the eye pod wouldn't try to roll off his hand or something.

When he felt he could trust the orange pod, Logan grabbed his walkie-talkie from his pocket, and clicked the button to talk. "Dr. ████: With your permission, I have brought a few of the safe SCP's little gifts for them to enjoy. for SCP-131-a & b, I have brought a couple customized wooden cars that I made and customized myself." Logan told him.

"Oh wow! You say you made them yourself? Okay. You can give them to the eye pods." Dr. ████ replied.

"Thank you." Logan said, before placing the orange eye pod down. Logan reached into his bag and pulled out little wooden toy cars, little pieces of black shoe lace, and little plastic rings that were meant for a toddler. Logan placed the shoelaces and the rings aside, to see what the were capable of.

"Here." Logan said, giving them each a little toy car. Both cars were a blue color, with black windows, a black windshield and grey small handles painted on. Logan had covered them in clear varnish to make them shine and keep them from breaking down. To encourage them to push it, Logan gave the car a light push. SCP-131-b looked at the car curiously, and tried pushing it with the side of its body. The yellow pod repeated the pushing, and even went as far as to roll itself around while pushing the car to go faster. Amidst the 'running', the car slipped right off the eye pod's body and slowed its rolling almost immediately. But, much to Logan's surprise, the eye pod couldn't stop itself! It didn't have a brake system! Logan covered his mouth as the eye pod hit a glass wall on the other side of the containment room. Luckily for Logan, the eye pod seemed to be okay after it shook itself off. Logan walked up to it, knelt down to the pod's level, and gave it a few pets to keep it calm. SCP-131-b gave Logan a little babble that could've been its version of saying 'thank you'. Logan smiled and began working on the cars.

Logan had a sense that because the SCP's lacked arms, Logan would need to customize the wooden toys further. Logan had actually prepared himself for such a repair. Logan pulled out the shoelace and the plastic rings, and placed them onto the ground. While one set of lace and ring was set out for the eye pods to investigate, the other shoelace and ring was being tied together, and tied the shoelace to the car. Beforehand, Logan had drilled a small hole into the car so that he could do this. But if it ended up not being needed, then it could be left there as a hole.

When he finished customizing both cars, Logan got their attention by waving the rings in the air for them to see. SCP-131-a rolled itself up first, followed SCP-131-b. Logan placed the ring around the little narrow cone on the top of the SCP's. Then, Logan gave the car a little push to encourage them to try it out. SCP-131-a was the first to go. The orange eye pod started rolling around slowly, just to test out the wooden car. When the wooden car started rolling too, the orange eye pod started going faster and faster! When the eye pod would roll itself faster, the car would roll faster as well! SCP-131-b had turned itself around to face the car, and was currently rolling around the room backwards! Logan giggled at the adorable sight, unable to take how cute and hilarious this was!

After a few minutes of having fun with their new wooden cars, SCP-131-a and b rolled themselves towards the door. Logan smiled and pulled out his walkie-talkie.

"Dr. ████, would I be allowed to let the SCP's roam the wider room with their new cars?" Logan asked.

"Of course! These SCP siblings are one of the only SCP's we allow to roam around." The doctor replied.

Logan smiled as he put the walkie-talkie away, and opened up the automatic door. Almost immediately, the two SCP's went barreling into the wider space with their car toys! Logan giggled at the silly eye pod creatures raced each other around the room. They drove around towards walls, and soon learned how to turn themselves around before they hit the wall! It was like seeing Star Wars-looking droids driving around while high on caffeine AND sugar all at once! It was really funny, and slightly fear inducing! But, they seemed to be having fun. After a few minutes of rolling around to the speed of race cars, SCP-131-a and b rolled themselves over to Logan and began babbling to him. SCP-131-a was attempting to fling the toy off its cone, while SCP-131-b was trying to help its twin. Logan smiled and removed the ring from the orange eye pod's cone. The orange eye pod began rolling around again, and brought itself over to the other door. When the yellow pod's ring was removed as well, SCP-131-b followed its twin over to the door. The two pods started jumping on the spot excitedly. Logan bit his lip. He wasn't sure if the SCP's were allowed to completely leave the perimeter...

"Hey Mr. Sanders..." The walkie-talkie talked.

Logan picked up his walkie-talkie. "Yes Dr. ████?" Logan replied.

"I think you should open the door and follow them. They want to show you something." Dr. ████ told Logan.

Logan nodded. "Roger." Logan replied before putting away the walkie-talkie. Logan walked up to the room button and clicked it to open the door. As soon as the door slid open, the two SCP's headed out the door and began rolling down the hall. "Wait up!" Logan warned them. Thankfully, the SCP's stopped and turned themselves around to wait up for their new slow friend. Logan did catch up though, and even kept his map in his bag to keep it a surprise.

Interesting enough, the eye pods stopped in front of SCP-173's door. Logan kept his key-card in his pocket, but did look inside to take a peek. The gigantic baby-looking statue was standing in the corner of the room, with its black eyes staring at him from over its shoulder. Logan's eyes widened at the size of the statue, and became more and more intimidated by it, the longer he stared. Logan took a moment to blink. When he opened his eyes, the statue had turned itself around! Its front was now facing him, and its black eyes were staring directly back at him. Logan gulped and looked down at the eye pods. Both of the eye pods were looking in SCP-173's direction. They were staring at him through the door, and making sure they didn't take eyes off him. When Logan looked at SCP-173 again, the SCP hadn't moved places at all. Logan narrowed his eyes curiously. The eye pods seemed to understand that they needed to look right at SCP-173 to remain safe. While Logan had been gaining fear from staring at it, the eye pods seemed completely un-phased by it. Logan decided to walk away from the window and keep on going.

When Logan started walking, the eye pods took their eyes off the SCP as well and sped right past Logan! They began leading Logan further down the hall, and stopped in front of one of the rooms. Logan caught up to them, and looked at the door label:

[SCP-999]

Logan immediately made a toothy smile. Logan had been waiting to see this one! But, it looked like the Eye Pods wanted to visit the slime as well! Or, the eye pods wanted to introduce Logan to the SCP. Logan pulled out his walkie-talkie. "SCP-131-a and b have led me to the chamber of SCP-999." Logan told the doctor. Logan out the walkie-talkie back into his pocket and pulled out the key-card, before placing it into the slot to open the door. When the door opened, Logan let the eye pods go in before him, so that Logan didn't have to worry about stepping on them by mistake. Logan closed the door behind him, and walked up to the chamber window. It looked like some kind of translucent orange slime. Logan smiled upon looking at the slime, and walked up to the chamber door. Logan placed the key-card up to the door. When it read it, the door slid open to reveal the orange slime. Logan looked down, and watched as the eye pods rolled excitedly towards the slime. The slime turned around to face them, revealing its black eyes and orange mouth, and happily pulled the eye pods into a big group hug. Logan smiled at the cute scene. While he waited, Logan walked further into the room and closed the door on the inside.

He pulled out his walkie-talkie. "I'm in the room with SCP-999 right now. SCP-131-a and b are hugging it happily." Logan updated.

"Do you feel 999's effects yet?" Dr. ████ asked.

Logan smiled and blushed. "I do feel some of the effects." Logan replied.

"A little warning: People have stated that the longer they stay in there with SCP-999, the more giddy and happy they get." Dr. ████ warned him.

Logan nodded. "Okay." Logan replied, before putting his walkie-talkie into his pocket again.

SCP-999 walked itself up to Logan, with the eye pods in its slime hands. SCP-131-a and b hopped off 999's hands, and rolled themselves behind Logan's feet. They began rolling and attempting to push Logan's feet closer, to meet the slime.

Logan giggled. "Okay, okay. I'm getting there." Logan told them. Logan walked a little closer and knelt himself down. "I'm Logan. I'm visiting the safe SCP's for research and tourist purposes." Logan told the slime. The slime didn't seem to get what Logan was saying. What it DID get though, was that Logan is not a very emotional person. Why, how can that be? That just won't due! A person must express their emotions. It's healthy that way!

SCP-999 brought itself closer to Logan with a smile, and brought him into a big hug with its stubby pseudo-pods. After turning himself around to face the front, Logan gasped as a sudden wave of happiness took him over. The slime was cuddling him firmly, giving him nuzzles with its cheek while making gurgling noises. If it weren't for the overwhelming feeling of happiness, Logan might've felt some awkwardness with this hug from an orange slime. But...the slime was giving him so much happiness! To top it off, the smell of cookies was filling the air as he was being cuddled! How can one feel anything but happiness when you're being cuddled while cookies are baking?!

Logan's toothy smile was impossible to wipe off, and it didn't take long for small, joyful giggles to start pouring out of his mouth. the gurgling and cooing noises the slime was making, only added to the happiness! Things got better and a little more silly, when Logan began feeling the slime suck him into the slime's body. Logan's giggles got a little louder as he felt ticklish sensations against his entire upper body, and some of his lower body as well.

"Hahahaha! Hehehehehey! Yohohohou're tihihihicklihihing mehehehe!" Logan reacted. The slime seemed to like this reaction because the tickling sensation got stronger and stronger. "BAAA! NAHAHAHAHAHAHA! IHIHI'M TOHOHOHOHO TIHIHIHICKLIHIHISH!" Logan shouted.

The slime began letting out excited cooing noises in reply. He hasn't said stop yet, meaning he could keep going! SCP-999 began enveloping its slime around the bottom part of Logan. Now, his belly to his ankles was covered in orange slime, that was tickling him! Logan let out a long, high-pitched squeal! "WAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WAHAHAHAHAIT! NAHAHAHAT MYHYHYHY KNEHEHEHEES! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Logan yelled desperately. Logan began to lose some of his balance. So, SCP-999 brought him down with its pseudo-pods, before continuing the tickle-fight. With two of his stubs, SCP-999 managed to make them thin enough to tickle Logan's armpits. With another stub, SCP-999 continued tickling Logan's belly and his belly button. "NOHOHOHO AHAHAHARMPIHIHIHITS! GAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STAHAHAHAHAP IHIHIHIHIT! IHIHIHIHI CAHAHAHAHAHAN'T!" Logan begged helplessly. There it was! There's the word! SCP-999 lessened its tickles exponentially, and only continued the tickling on his belly. "HAHAHAhahahahaha! Ohohohohokahahahay...thahahahahat's behehehehetteheheher..." Logan reacted as his laughter turned into giggles.

SCP-999 smiled and got off of him. The slime slid itself towards Logan's backside, and placed its pseudo-pods onto Logan's shoulders. Logan gasped at the touch, but slowly relaxed as the SCP gave it little massages on the neck and shoulders. The massages were really nice. They were a teeny bit tickly, but nothing that Logan couldn't handle. Logan let out sighs of relief as he melted into the touch. It felt unbelievably relaxing for him. It wasn't painful like most massages were. This was just a gentle, slightly tickly massage.

SCP-999 must've noticed the small smile that was showing up onto Logan's face the higher it went, because the moment SCP-999 began to massage Logan's neck, Logan bursted into giggles. "Cahahaharefuhuhuhul. Thahahahat tihihihicklehehes!" Logan told the SCP.

"Hey Mr. Sanders," Dr. ████ said through the walkie-talkie. "I don't know if you know this, but SCP-999 has also been nicknamed 'The Tickle Monster' by the staff." Dr. ████ told Logan.

Immediately following that helpful fact, SCP-999 abandoned its massages and started enveloping Logan in its orange slime! Logan immediately knew what was next. He could already feel the tickle sensations against his ribs. Logan's giggles continued to fill the room as the eye pods watched eagerly. The eye pods seemed to make Logan slightly more giggly. Why, you may ask? Because it was like having an audience! To top it off, Dr. ████ was also watching him get tickled by 'the tickle monster'.

"Ohohohokahahahay, Heheheheheh! Ohohohokahahahahahay! Thahahahat's ehehenouhuhuhugh nohohohohow!" Logan warned. SCP-999 seemed to have thought otherwise, because the SCP made a gesture that was similar to a shake of the head. SCP-999 brought an pseudo-pod up to the back of Logan's neck, and began tickling there as well. Logan let out a squeal and lifted up his shoulders. "NOHOHOHOHOHAHAHAHAHA! IHIHIHIHI SAHAHAHAHAID THAHAHAT'S EHEHENOHOHOHOUGH!" Logan reacted, squirming around as much as he could through the slime. Surprisingly, the slime was thick, but still movable! It...kind of reminded Logan of peanut-butter. Amazingly as well, none of the slime seemed to stick to him or detach from the SCP at all! So, Logan didn't end up with any slime pieces stuck on him.

SCP-999 began letting Logan go and making apologetic gurgling noises. Logan laid himself down on the floor and panted in exhaustion. Worried for their new friend, the eye pods rolled themselves onto Logan and jumped onto Logan's belly. Logan made a surprised yelp from the sudden feeling of pods on his belly, but quickly fell into a fit of giggles as the pods rolled themselves up Logan's ribs. SCP-131-a started letting out electronic babbles in worry.

"Ihihihi'm fihihihine. Cahaharfuhuhul whehehre yohohou're gohohoHOHOHOIHIHING! IHIHIHIT TIHIHIHIHICKLEHEHES!" Logan reacted, falling on his back as his laughter hot louder. SCP-131-b had started attempting to climb up Logan's body, but was stuck rolling on the spot on Logan's belly. Logan's hands were squeezed into fists, as he struggled to not squirm too much to the point of knocking the pods off him. Now that Logan had let his giggles out of his mouth, he couldn't even try to push them back in. It was impossible. "GEHEHEHET OHOHOHOHOFF MYHYHY BEHEHEHELLYHYHY!" Logan begged. The yellow eye pod didn't seem to understand. So, it just kept on attempting to roll itself off the man's belly. This only made Logan's laughter continue. "THEHEHE ROHOHOHOLLIHIHIHIHING IHIHIS SOHOHOHOHO BAHAHAHAHAHAHAD!" Logan yelled. Again, SCP-131-b didn't understand him through all his giggles. But what 131-b DID understand, was that the blue man's belly was very bouncy.

Thankfully for Logan, SCP-999 seemed to understand him perfectly. SCP-999 slid itself over to the yellow eye pod, and picked it up with one of its pseudo-pods. With the other pseudo-pod, SCP-999 picked up the orange pod. Now that both eye pods were no longer tickling him, Logan could finally get some air. Logan stayed laying on the ground, and kept on giggling amidst his breathing. When the eye pods were placed aside safely, SCP-999 picked up Logan and engulfed him in a big, cuddly, slimy, yet comforting hug. Logan happily took the hug, and began to hug SCP-999 back. SCP-999 began nuzzling its cheek into Logan's scalp, and gently ruffled Logan's hair with a third pseudo-pod.

"Ihi lohohove yohohou too...Ihi lohove yohohou tooho, buhuhuddy..." Logan told him, giving it a few light touches on the cheek. Logan gasped at how squishy and surprisingly soft 999's face was. "You're so squishy! You're such a squishy-squish! You're such a good squishy-squish!" Logan cooed in a high-pitched voice. SCP-999's eyes widened as its smile grew wider. If it were a dog, SCP-999 would've probably wagged its tail and jumped up onto its hind legs in excitement. So in happiness, SCP-999 gave Logan a few more tickles with its pseudo-pods. One of them tickled on the neck, while the other two went for Logan's belly. "Ohohokahahay. Ihihihi gehehehehet ihihit...Yohohohou lohohohohove mehehe toohohohohoho..." Logan replied.

To further prove the SCP's love for Logan, SCP-999 tickled Logan under the chin as well. Logan made a wide smile and let out a cackle, before pulling his chin away. When his chin left the pseudo-pods' grip, SCP-999 made a forth pseudo-pod and tickled under his chin on the other side! No matter where Logan would move his head, SCP-999 would tickle his chin. Soon, Logan was letting out little snorts as well! SCP-999 AND SCP-131 a & b were all excited to hear THAT!

Even the doctor had something to say about it! "Wow! Even serious men like you can snort when tickled hard enough! No wonder SCP-999 loves you!" Dr. ████ reacted through the walkie-talkie. Unsurprisingly, this bit of teasing, along with SCP-999's cooing and gurgling noises, were all making Logan's face turn red! Logan was unbelievably embarrassed. He should've known that something like this would happen. He should've prepared himself for lots of tickles and giggles from SCP-999! But...he didn't! And now, Logan was really regretting it.

"HEHEHEHELP MEHEHEHEHE! IHIHIHIHIT'S *Snort* TOHOHOHO MUHUHUHUCH! *Snort* HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Logan yelled through his laughter.

"Okay, okay, okay. I'll help you." The Doctor replied. Logan let out a breath of relief. He was finally gonna get out of here! He loved it, but BOY, was it tiring! Logan made his body go limp as he believed he was getting free.

But suddenly, a vibrating feeling could be felt! Right on Logan's hip! Logan squealed and attempted to reach for the walkie-talkie that was in his front, right pocket. But, SCP-999 had grabbed his hands and placed them above his head! How DARE HE! That doctor is SO gonna get it!

"WAHAHAHAIT! LEHEHEHET MEHEHE GOHOHOHOHO! STAHAHAHAP IHIHIHIHIT DOHOHOHOCTOHOHOHOR!" Logan shouted, hoping the doctor could hear him through the cameras. But, the walkie-talkie didn't stop! It just kept on going and going! The worst part, was that it was right on the hollow of his hip! That's what was making it tickle so much! The walkie-talkie was right on a really bad spot! "PLEHEHEHEHEAHASE STAHAHAHAHAHAP!" Logan begged. SCP-999 looked at Logan with a confused expression. Why was he laughing? What was making him laugh so much? Even though the SCP loved hearing his full-blown laughter, it also wanted to know what was causing it. Thankfully though, the eye pods seemed to have figured it out! SCP-131-b rolled itself over to Logan's pocket and made babbling noises at the slime. When it got the slime's attention, the yellow pod stared right at the bulging pocket. The slime let out a few surprised gurgling noises!

SCP-999 let go of one of Logan's hands, and reached for the walkie-talkie. But, Logan beat him to it. Logan grabbed onto the top of the radio, and clicked the talk button to stop the vibrations. Then, Logan pulled the walkie-talkie out of his pocket, and slid it away from him. As the walkie-talkie slid away, the walkie-talkie buzzed and vibrated all over the ground. To make matters even funnier, SCP-131-a and b took off racing after it! It was like a new toy to them, that they could chase! Logan giggled at the scene, while SCP-999 made little happy gurgle noises.

"Thahahank yohohohou, Nine-nihihine-nihine." Logan said, giving the slime a few light pets on the head. SCP-999 happily melted into the calming touch. It appeared that SCP-999 liked being given touch as well as touching others! Logan smiled at the reaction it gave him. "Ihihi have aha gihihift fohohor yohohou..." Logan told SCP-999. The slime let Logan go, and began making excited gurgling noises while bouncing around excitedly. Logan smiled and opened up his backpack. Excited to see the slime's reaction as well, Logan pulled out a pack of M&M's, and a pack of Necco™ wafers. Upon seeing BOTH of the slime's favorite food, SCP-999's mouth started watering profusely. Logan smiled and opened up the M&M's. When the smell of M&M's filled the air, SCP-999 started bouncing around, clapping its pseudo-pods together and sliding around the room.

"Wow! What a lucky slime! That slime gets to have a bedtime snack!" Dr. ████ reacted from the walkie-talkie. Logan looked over, and noticed that the walkie-talkie was right beside him now. Then, he noticed the pods, happily squirming in place and waiting for a reaction. Logan smiled happily. "Thank you." Logan said before dumping out the M&M's for the slime. After the garbage ended up in the bag, Logan reaching his hands out to give them both 'good boy' pets. Upon the invitation, both pods came barreling over to Logan for pets. Logan giggled and began caressing, petting and scratching the little guys. "You too are such good pods! Yes you are! Oh yes you are! Such good little pods!" Logan cooed in a high-pitched voice. Both pods closed their eyes happily and deeply melted into the loving touches. The hands were so soft, so caring, so delicate! It even got to the point where the pods turned themselves so far to the side, that they just flopped onto the hands. Logan tittered at the reaction, and held them up in his hands.

"You know what? How would you like to come over and visit the safe SCP's more often? I think we need a person like you, who's loving, understanding, and very playful. Often the thing the SCP's miss, is the playfulness. And you seem to have it." The doctor offered.

Logan smiled and looked up at the slime. SCP-999 offered its pseudo-pod to Logan, and Logan calmly placed the orange pod into the slime's makeshift hand. With his hand now free, Logan picked up his walkie-talkie. "I'd love to!" Logan replied.

"Excellent! Would 20 bucks an hour work?" Dr. ████ asked.

Logan blinked, confused. "...What?" Logan clarified.

"Would 20 bucks an hour work? For looking after them?" Dr. ████ explained further. "You're getting paid to play with them. This is a one-time opportunity, that's being extended under the SCP Foundation. You minus well get paid." Dr. ████ further explained.

"I...I appreciate the offer, but..." Logan attempted to reason.

"Is that a yes for hourly pay?" Dr. ████ asked.

"I- No." Logan replied.

Dr. ████ paused his speech. "...What would you like then?" Dr. ████ asked.

"I'd like to play with them for less money. Much less. Heck, I'd love to just volunteer my time." Logan told him.

Dr. ████'s eyes widened. "...Are you serious? You want to volunteer your time to play with a bunch of unknown SCP's for a few days monthly?!" Dr. ████ clarified.

Logan smiled. "Yes. As long as they're safe, I'd love to do that." Logan told him.

Dr. ████ didn't know what to say. "...Wow...I-What can I even say to that? Other than...thank you!" Dr. ████ reacted, unable to properly process the information he was hearing.

"You're welcome. I'd love to help. I love these SCP's. I don't normally form bonds with people very quickly, but this...was an extraordinary experience." Logan told him.

Dr. ████ smiled. "I'm glad you agreed to my invitation." Dr. ████ said.

"I'm glad I did too. Though, who can turn down a chance to visit a predicting pen, a surgeon teddy bear, a coffee machine with endless beverages, a couple eye pods and a happy slime? I certainly wouldn't." Logan told him.

Dr. ████ let out a chuckle. "I'm glad to know." Dr. ████ replied.

Suddenly, Logan was pulled out of the conversation by an alarm clock in the room. Logan looked at the time.

[8:30 PM]

"That's the 30 minute warning for workers. It's their time to ready themselves to head home. You can choose to leave if you want. If you are going to leave though, I'd like you to take the pods back to their chamber." Dr. ████ told him. Logan looked at the pods, and noticed they had woken up and were ready to go.

"Okay. I'm gonna take them back then." Logan told the doctor.

"Alright." Dr. ████ said. "Have a good rest then." Dr. ████ told him.

Logan smiled. "Thanks, you too." Logan replied. Then, Logan picked up his backpack, and began zipping it up. As Logan began to leave, Logan couldn't help but notice that the pods were getting slower and slower. Their eyes were starting to droop as well. So, Logan stopped in front of them, and opened up a small, front pouch. "Here. You guys can ride in here." Logan told them. Logan lifted up the orange pod first, and placed it into the pouch. Then. Logan lifted up the yellow pod and placed it in beside the orange one. When the two pods were ready, Logan carefully carried the backpack up to their chamber door. When the door unlocked with his key-card, Logan opened up the door and walked into the room. After opening up the sliding door with the key-card, Logan walked in and placed the backpack down. Logan carefully lifted each pod out one at a time, and placed it onto the kids play mat they had.

Then, Logan gave them one last good night pet before walking out the door...

#ticklefic #fluff #scp foundation #field trip #human sides #sanders sides #scp-999 #scp-2295 #scp-131 #switch!logan #fandom fusions

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embeanwrites · 4 years ago

Text

Finding Home Gavin Reed x Reader

Chapter 9

Masterlist

I hadn't realized I had fallen asleep, but then I heard my dad calling from the kitchen "You two really stayed out here all night?"

I jerked up, groaning when I felt the crick in my neck from sleeping on the couch.

"Are you alright (Y/N)?" I whipped around.

"Oh Connor! I'm sorry, you should have woken me up. What time is it?" I stood up and stretched, Sumo mimicked me and stretched. He walked over to the front door and whined.

“It’s 8:16 am. I’m going to take Sumo for a walk. Would you like to come, (Y/n)?” Connor stood up and started walking towards Sumo. I blinked a couple times, still trying to force myself to wake up.

“Connor, I think she’s going to need a couple minutes to wake up.” I nodded in agreement and reached for my backpack.

“Sorry, Connor. I’m exhausted. I’m gonna shower and then we can head to the animal shelter, is that okay?”

“Of course.” Connor clicked on Sumo’s leash and left.

“You can use my soap in the bathroom, there’s some towels in the closet in my room.” My dad was holding his keys and getting ready to leave. “How are you guys getting to the animal shelter? I’m taking my car.”

“We’ll just get a taxi.” He nodded and I made my way to my dad’s room. I heard his car start as he left. Sighing, I opened the closet and grabbed a towel. Before leaving his room, I glanced around. There wasn’t much. My book was sitting on his nightstand. Smiling, I walked over to see how far he got. Flipping through it, his bookmark fell out. I bent down to pick it up, an old piece of paper, halved and soft with age. I opened it and felt my eyes start to burn, obviously a child's drawing that was once colorful but was now faded with age. I couldn't make out what it was supposed to be, and I couldn't remember drawing it but my name spelled out clumsily in purple crayon gave away that it was mine. I couldn't imagine my dad keeping something like this for so long. I folded it up before the tears could fully form and escape my eyes, tucking it back into the book, and placing it back on the table before walking into the bathroom.

After showering and changing into a t-shirt and denim cut offs, I walked back into the living room. Connor was sitting in the kitchen watching Sumo eat his breakfast. He had changed since coming back, he was in another plain shirt and khaki shorts. He looked up at me.

“What do you want for breakfast?” I shrugged and walked over to the fridge. I grabbed an apple and bit into it.

“I’m guessing you bought the fruit. There’s no way dad would.” Connor smiled.

“I’ve been trying to get him to eat better. I’ve had mixed success.” I nodded and jumped up to sit on the kitchen corner. “(Y/n), may I ask you a question?”

“You don’t have to ask if you can ask me questions, Connor. If I don’t want to answer the question, I’ll let you know.” He nodded as I continued munching on the apple.

“You change your syntax when you reference Hank with Officer Chen and Detective Reed, with them you say 'my dad,' but when you reference Hank to me, you just say 'dad.' Why?" I hummed, swallowing the bite of apple in my mouth and pausing for a moment before responding.

“I hadn’t noticed if I’m being honest. Do you want me to just say ‘my dad’ when I’m talking to you?” I looked at Connor, he was staring at his feet intently, his LED was spinning yellow. Without looking up he shook his head no. “Okay, I can keep just saying dad. Connor are you okay?” He finally looked up, eyes wide.

“Yes. I just don’t want to upset you or make you uncomfortable.” I smiled, finishing my apple and throwing the core in the trash.

“Connor it’s okay, don’t worry about it.” I patted him on the shoulder. I hopped off the counter and walked towards the table, where my phone was and picked it up. “Hey, can you call for a taxi?” A notification popped up when I unlocked my phone, Tina had texted me back while I was asleep.

Oh my god! That was so long ago!

I know! I was showing Connor some old pictures last night.

“One will be here in five minutes.” Connor walked over and stood next to me.

I put my phone in my pocket. I figured she was probably sleeping or with Valerie. I felt bad for Tina since she probably had a lot of long nights. I was glad to know that, for the most part, my long nights were in the past. I knew I’d be having more in the future with grading tests and working on my research, but at least now I was paid for my long nights.

“Are you excited?” I asked, looking over at him.

“Yes. I hope Sumo won’t be jealous when we return.” I laughed and Connor smiled.

“He’ll get over it. Let’s go wait for the taxi outside. Do you have a key to lock up the house?” Connor nodded, pulling a keychain out of his pocket.

After a short ride, we arrived at the local shelter, the Michigan Humane Society Pet Adoption. I probably should’ve called ahead to see if they would let us walk some of the dogs, if they didn’t, we could always just pet them under the guise we were looking to adopt.

Walking in, I noticed there were only a few people in the building. There was a woman and little girl looking at some cats, an android receptionist, and another android feeding the dogs. I walked over to the receptionist, a ST300, wearing light blue scrubs and she still had her LED.

“Hi, my name is Dr. (Y/n) (L/n) and this is Connor…Anderson and I was wondering if we could help out for a bit. Maybe take some of the dogs for a walk?” She smiled at both of us and handed each of us an electronic clipboard.

“Please fill these out and show me your IDs.” I nodded getting out my wallet and pulling out my state ID.

“Connor, do you have an ID?” I asked him as I handed her mine.

“I already sent it to her.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” I started filling out the form. It was very general, asking for full name, address, and a statement of consent. I looked up and handed it back to her, Connor had already given it back to her and was staring at the dogs.

“Tereasa over there will introduce you two to a couple of dogs.” She said gesturing over to the android feeding the dogs. “If you need any help, my name is Stacy.”

“Thank you, Stacy.” I said as I followed Connor over to the dogs. Tereasa got up and looked at both of us with a smile.

“Hi! You two got here just in time for Sophie and Rudy’s walk.” She gestured to a timid black lab and a golden retriever mix who was trotting in front of the door to the kennel, huffing impatiently to be let out. She grabbed two leashes and let them both out. She handed me the leash for the black lab and Connor the leash for the golden retriever. “Sophie is the black lab and Rudy is the golden retriever mix.” She reached out and touched Connor’s arm. Her synthetic skin pulling back. “That’s the path we take them on. It’s about half a mile, but feel free to take your time. The dogs love going out.” Connor nodded and gently ruffled the deceptively fluffy caramel colored fur on Rudy’s head.

“Come on, (Y/n).” Connor started walking and Rudy ran ahead of him and yanked on the leash. I smiled as me and Sophie followed them outside. “Rudy has a lot more energy than Sophie.”

“I think she’s just anxious.” She was staying very close to my side. I moved the leash to my other hand and scratch behind her ear. “You’re okay.”

“You should get a dog for your place.” Connor managed to slow Rudy down enough that we were both walking next to each other.

“My apartment is way too small for a dog. Plus, I’m going to start my research interviews soon, so I’ll be out and about a lot.”

“I want my own dog. Hank is worried Sumo would get jealous and annoyed if there was another dog in the house.” I hummed in agreement.

“Sumo is dad’s baby. He takes better care of Sumo than himself.” Connor nodded.

“What will you be researching now that you’re in Detroit?”

“WSU has asked me to research and write a book over the android revolution and an analysis of why it happened when it did. It’s going to be a challenge piecing everything and the timeline together. I haven’t started planning much yet, I’ve been trying to finish my class material first. Eventually I’ll probably interview you and dad, if you’re okay with that.”

“Of course. I know a few other people who may be able to help as well. We spoke to Elijah Kamski during our investigation, he may be interested in the project.” I laughed.

“I know, Eli. He was one of the contacts that reached out to me early on during my research. He’s even edited some of my work. He reached out to me when I was trying to get some of my articles published. We still talk occasionally.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah, I was surprised when he reached out to me and asked to help with my research. I figured I would get a cease and desist letter from Cyberlife, not a friendship with the CEO. I felt my phone start buzzing in my back pocket and stopped. “Oh, hang on a second, someone’s calling me.” Connor took Sophie’s leash and I answered my phone, it was dad. “Hey dad, what’s up?”

“I talked to Fowler; we’re having that meeting in an hour. He said if you wanted to come and give advice, you could.”

“Me and Connor are walking some dogs right now, but we’ll head there as soon as we’re done.”

“Tell Connor we’re going to be in the meeting room. He’ll show you where to go.”

“Alright, see you soon.” I hung up the phone. “Fowler said I can come give advice at that meeting today. It’s in an hour, do we have time to finish their walk and get to the precinct?” Connor’s LED started spinning.

“Yes, but we should probably hurry.” I nodded and followed him, feeling bad for ending our time here early and for rushing the dogs who clearly wanted some outside time.

“We can come back on your next day off or do something else.”

“That would be nice.” I grinned at Connor as we continued walking the dogs.

#gavin reed x reader #gavin reed #detroit become human #hank anderson #connor is like a son to hank #connor has major little brother energy #rk800connor #dbh #dogs

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thorne93 · 5 years ago

Text

Inside the Criminal Mind (Part 20)

Prompt: You’re married to Dr. Spencer Reid of the BAU, and are a distinguished doctor yourself on the team. You’re sent down to Miami, Florida for teaching and as a side request from the FBI, to investigate a string of missing persons. When you think you’ve figured out who the unsub is, your life becomes more complicated than you ever could’ve imagined.

Word Count: 2430

Warnings: (throughout the fic –>) death, blood, gore, killings, language, disturbing mental notions, mentions of rapes/murder/etc (You know, Dexter and Criminal Minds related business)

Notes: Thank you so much to @arrow-guy, @carryonmyswansong, and @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo - without each of you, I couldn’t have finished, written, or properly navigated this story. Each of you helped me fish out details that were incredibly important to me. Beta’d by @carryonmyswansong and @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo… Aesthetic by @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo

This is a crossover of Criminal Minds x Dexter. First time writing Dexter.

Also, the timeline is after Season 1 of Dexter, but during season 14-ish of Criminal minds into Season 15. Enjoy!!!

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

When you got up the next morning, you felt like a truck had hit you. You slept maybe thirty minutes, if that. The anxiety settled on you heavily. Your marriage, career, and freedom were on the line.

The worst part was you knew if you lost one of them, you’d lose them all. Everything that had transpired between you two lately seemed so insignificant at that thought. Yes, you were the one doing the killing, being the accomplice, but suddenly, the problem with JJ felt miniscule. When Spence was kidnapped and you weren’t sure you’d ever see him again, you still wondered how he felt about her, how you two had a future together.

Yet, now… now you were terrified you’d pushed him into her arms. Between keeping your distance physically and emotionally, and literally admitting to being a serial killer, you weren’t sure there was much hope for your marriage.

How did it all go so wrong, so fast? Six months ago, you two were the picture of a happy, perfect marriage.

Now you’d spend the next two weeks looking over your shoulder, wondering when and if your husband would show up with the handcuffs -- and not for pleasure this time.

You only had to teach ten classes - two a day each day this week. Then next week, you would be giving out finals. This was your late afternoon Monday class, and you were just getting started.

“Alright everyone. Hope you had a great weekend,” you said with a cheery smile, thinking about how you had a horrendous weekend. “Today, we’re going to be talking about resolving the case. You’ve found the killer, now you’re at trial. We’re going to talk about everything that could go right, or wrong, and how a forensic psychologist might be able to help with this.”

Just then, the door towards the back of the room opened and you saw a very familiar face. It was Rossi.

Your gut dropped. Oh no, did Spence tell the team to just go ahead and come arrest you?

But his face said otherwise. There was no disappointment or grimness, or hesitation. No, actually, he had a shiteating grin on his face.

“Well, look who it is everyone. This is my very esteemed boss, David Rossi,” you announced as he made his way to the front of the lecture hall. “Are you here to ream me on my teaching?” you teased.

“Even better, I plan to sit in on it and correct you when need be,” he stated cheerfully before slightly turning to your students who laughed.

“It’s always a pleasure.”

He smiled at you before pulling a spare chair up to sit somewhat behind you in the corner as you taught and went through your powerpoint. You were only on your second slide when he interjected. You’d just asked the class, “What does it mean if a defendant wants to plead NGRI.”

A boy who usually spoke up in your class, raising his hand. “It means not guilty by reason of insanity.”

“Right, and what happens when they plead that?”

“They get cut slack and the jury sees them as insane. Then instead of going to prison, they go to a mental institute for a shorter amount of time,” the student explained.

“Actually,” Rossi started before standing up, “that’s not usually the case. An NGRI is only successful 1% of the time, and when it is, the defendant has to usually stay in a facility for a lot longer than the prison sentence would’ve been and they have to prove themselves capable to a doctor.”

At this point he was pacing and you couldn’t help but grin fondly as you gave him the floor.

“This actually reminds me of a case I word back in the late 80’s,” he continued. With that, he took off down memory lane. It was one epic story after another. Some included you, some were decades before you, but all of them had the kids on the edge of their seats, soaking up every one of his words. After each anecdote, the kids had questions.

Before you knew it, class was over. Rossi sort of touched on the points you wanted to, but mainly it turned into a lot of his exciting tales of being in the field. Which was ultimately fine. You’d just post the lecture notes online for the kids tonight.

When the kids left the lecture hall, you gathered your things and turned to Rossi as you exited the room.

“So what brings you down, other than crashing my lecture?”

“That was it. Hadn’t seen or heard from you in a while, thought I would come visit the ole sunshine state,” he informed. “How’s it going down here? I hope I didn’t step all over your class.”

You shrugged. “Oh, it’s fine. You talking about the glory days is a lot better than me droning on about court cases.” You laughed slightly.

“So you sad to leave it? I know your classes are almost up.”

“No, not really. Teaching is fun, but I miss field work. Actually catching criminals, instead of teaching how to catch them.”

“I think your husband might say the opposite.”

At the mention of Spence your heart hammered and went icy.

“Spence would probably say that because he doesn’t like the fact that we do have to do our jobs.”

“This is true.”

“Hey, you wanna grab dinner? You flew all the way down.”

“I’d love to, kid,” he agreed, taking you up on your offer.

“Awesome. I know a great seafood joint nearby. I know you might prefer italian but maybe a change of pace would be nice.”

“Just point the way,” he said, gesturing forward. You smiled and led him to your car where you two piled in and drove about five minutes away to a nice restaurant. You got in, ordered your drinks, and settled in.

“So you ready to be back in the field?” he asked with a grin.

“Yeah, I think I am. Every time Spence calls and mentions a case I’m profiling immediately,” you stated with a slight laugh, trying to hide how you felt like you were dying inside. Your stomach was a war of anxiety, dread, depression, and a tiny flicker of hope.

“Yeah, he tells us,” he remarked. “So your time as a professor down here is ending. What’d you think? Would you want to keep it up back up at Quantico?”

“You offering me a job?” you teased.

He shrugged, raising his eyebrows. “The academy is always looking for teachers. But I’m curious. I know Reid loves teaching, didn’t know if that extended to you now.”

“Well, if it was back in DC and it didn’t take me too far away from the BAU and Spence, yeah I’d probably be up for it.”

“See? You were nervous for nothing.”

You chuckled. “Hey, I’d never done this before!”

“Talking to a crowd of people is a lot easier, and safer, than talking to one unsub.”

“I’ll drink to that,” you said as soon as the drinks hit the table.

“Are you going to miss all this sunshine?”

You peered around the restaurant, as if you were actually gauging it. That’s when the question hit you -- if, by some miracle, Spence didn’t turn you in, you would be leaving behind Dexter. Your truest friend. You’d miss him dearly. He was unusual, yes, for an FBI agent, but he was also… very real. You could joke, be yourself, not be judged around him. He wouldn’t take what you said too seriously or get offended. He found your dark humor delightful. You hoped that he found a friend in you too.

Yes, despite everything, you’d miss Dexter, the one person who truly knew every part about you.

“I’ll miss some things about the state. Yeah,” you admitted with a fond smile.

“Well you can always visit,” he reminded as he raised his glass.

The two of you talked, caught up like old friends. Shop talk was little, and you discussed life with Spence, kids, the marriage. You pretended he didn’t know you were a serial killer and you weren’t on edge, wondering if you were going to prison any second. Rossi didn’t know about JJ, or if he did, he didn’t say one word and you didn’t feel like airing your dirty laundry. So you left the topic alone.

Other than that, it was a great dinner with a friend. He said he and Krystal were on their way to a little resort for a few days. She was sightseeing in Miami while Rossi visited you. As soon as he was done with the restaurant, he was going to meet her at the resort.

Unfortunately for you, your distraction was gone now, and you were back to being consumed with anxiety. Seeing Dexter didn’t help either, or at least, you didn’t think it would.

-------------------------------------

The next day, around 4:30 pm, you got a text from Dexter asking if you’d want to grab dinner. You agreed.

The two of you met at a little outdoor restaurant. It was a beautiful night. Very warm, but a cozy kind of warm, not a strangling type. The ocean breeze was doing an excellent job at calming your nerves.

You were daydreaming, wondering when or if you’d ever see or feel anything this beautiful again when Dexter took a seat right in front of you.

“Hey,” he greeted, a slight smile on his face.

“Hi,” you softly said. Not one little part of you was mad at him. Maybe some part of you should’ve been, but how could you be? You were the authority in this relationship. You could’ve locked Dex up a long time ago, not looked back, and been a local and FBI hero. But no, your personal vendetta and vices got in the way and you gave into a darkness inside you that you never knew you had. Not until you met Dexter and knew what a good vigilante looked like.

“How’s...uh, how’s everything going?”

“As good as can be expected,” you truthfully stated, frowning a bit. “Listen I’m so sorry I--”

He held up his hand. “Nope. No. You don’t have to apologize. I knew that there was a risk in teaching you. I knew that one day your coworkers might figure it out. I was sort of hoping they’d only take you down though,” he stated with a grin that made you laugh. “But seriously… I knew the risks. I could’ve said no. Like I said, if this is how I go out, then your husband is a worthy opponent.”

A sorrowful smile touched your face for the briefest of seconds.

“So you’re not mad?”

“Mad? Y/N, I’m the killer. I know the dangers I face every time I take someone out. That was happening long before you were in the picture.”

“Yeah but having an FBI agent for a partner must not be ideal.”

“On the contrary, there might be hope. Do you really think he is going to turn you in? Turn us in?”

You heaved a large sigh. That’s all you’d thought about since the words came out of your mouth and you were still no closer to an answer.

“I honestly don’t know. The fact that it’s been a few days and we haven’t been arrested is a good sign. But, Spencer is practical too, he may be waiting until I get home to sort out details of the marriage, the home, and everything else before asking me to give myself up.”

He nodded. “I don’t know him as well as you, so I can’t say anything on that. But we should take it as some form of hope that there aren’t feds at our door.”

“Yeah, I suppose so.”

He eyed you up and down, seeing as you were clearly miserable.

“Hey, well, worst case, he does… Don’t spend your last days of freedom sulking. Spend them doing what you want. Go take a tour, go see a museum, go… do whatever it is you do to relax. Speaking of, do you ever relax?”

A half smile perked up on your face. “Yes, Morgan, I do relax.”

“Oh, ‘Morgan’, did I hit a nerve, Agent?”

You shook your head and laughed, sticking your tongue out.

“Hey, Dexter…” you started, your eyes down at your fingers that were playing with each other. “I want you to know that you’re a really good friend. If it wasn’t for you when Spence got kidnapped… I would’ve been a mess. I would’ve gone off on JJ. Hell, I’d be a lot of things.” You took a deep breath. “But not just that. Spence, he knows me inside and out. He even knows about my… secret now, but you… Well you saw all of me and didn’t judge me. I mean, you know I’m an agent and you didn’t give me a lecture.”

“That’d be a bit of a double standard, don’t you think?”

You shrugged. “Maybe, but you could’ve, and you didn’t. I appreciate that. Even when we weren’t… teaching, I liked just hanging out with you. It was nice to have a friend that wasn’t so by the book. I mean, the BAU is great, and we’re a family, but I can’t be my morbid self with them. They just don’t share my ideals and if I said half the shit I did to them that I did to you, they would be so offended that I’d be sent off for a psych eval faster than you could say ‘unsub.’”

He slightly grinned. “Yeah, I liked our time too. It was nice to be myself too. Harry… he did his best but I could tell he didn’t accept me, not all the way. With Deb… shit, with Deb, she barely knows me. Rita sees a little bit more. She can tell when I’m upset, or agitated but… yeah it’s nice to have a real friendship. I’m going to miss this.”

“Yeah… me too.”

“Thanks… for looking behind the mask and not being afraid.”

“Thanks for letting me look behind the mask,” you countered, raising your beer, clinking it with his.

The rest of the evening was spent just talking. Not about kills or teaching. Not about prison. Just about your accomplishments, why they meant so much to you, what you’d seen, what you loved about Spencer.

But something had clicked with you. Dexter said something and it resonated deep inside you. So you set the plan in motion when you got home that night.

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

Tagging:

Forever Tag:

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#inside the criminal mind #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fic #spencer reid #dexter #dexter morgan #dexter fic

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crying-gay-tears · 4 years ago

Text

Brighter Than The Sun

Chapter 2: The First Day

“G-Gon?” Killua’s mouth fell open in surprise. “What are you doing here? How did you find my room?” Gon looked so excited and he had no idea why.

“Killua!! I didn’t know this was your room! I just got home and wanted to meet my roommate!”

“Home? Wait, does that mean-” realization hit him suddenly. “Are you in 405A??”

“Yes! We’re roommates!”

Killua stood in stunned silence for a moment, unsure of how to feel. Of all the people on campus to have as his roommate, it turned out to be Gon, the bubbly and strange boy he had ironically just been thinking about.

“Can I see your room? I peeked in earlier when I arrived but it was empty.”

“Uh, sure” he stepped to the side, letting him into the room. “I haven’t really done anything in here yet. I got in right before orientation, so I didn’t have time to start unpacking. When I finally got back after the library I put some stuff away, but I’ve mostly just been hanging out.” Killua blushed, suddenly hyper aware of the chocolate robot wrappers on his desk, and his haphazardly arranged belongings. His suitcase was lying open on the floor beside his dresser, stacks of books were scattered across the desk and floor.

“I think it looks great already! I haven’t had the chance to unpack or decorate at all yet. Is this your favorite band?” He nodded to the crooked poster on the wall above the bed.

“One of my favorites, yeah. It’s the one playing right now.” He motioned to the bluetooth speaker sitting on the windowsill.

Gon walked over, sat on his bed, and began bobbing his head to the music.

“They’re really good! You’ve got nice taste in music.”

Killua chuckled, “This is only one song! I like a lot of different stuff, there’s a lot to listen to.”

“Well, you’ve got the whole school year to show me!”

His smile was warm and real and it shook Killua up quite a bit. No one had ever really shown interest in the things he enjoyed before, but here was someone he had just met, genuinely excited to be listening to underground rock with him.

They hung out while Killua finished unpacking his suitcase and getting settled. After that, Gon wandered back to his own room to start his unpacking and when he did Killua followed and this time Gon played the music. His taste was a little weird, and mostly pop, but Killua didn’t mind. He was enjoying the view as Gon danced around his room, tossing clothes into his dresser and arranging trinkets on his desk.When he went to the bathroom to unpack his toiletries, Killua stood over the desk, checking out all of the small momentos Gon felt were important enough to bring with him to college. Among them was a few seashells, a green ring, and a fishing hook in a small glass jar. A photo in a blue frame near the corner of the desk caught his eye, and he leaned in for a closer look. Gon, wearing a graduation cap and gown, was facing the camera, eyes squinted with a beaming smile on his face. One arm held his diploma in the air, while the other was wrapped around a teary eyed woman. Her head came up to his shoulder, and where her hazel eyes and orange hair bore no resemblance to him, her warm and genuine smile was a spitting image. She must be-

“That’s my Aunt Mito!” Gon chirped, eyes lighting up as he walked over to where Killua was standing. “She burst into tears right after this picture was taken. I know she was proud and happy for me, but I’m pretty sure she was really sad that day. Mostly worried about the future, I think.” His face fell a bit. “She knows I want to follow in my dad’s footsteps, and since he’s so busy and always overseas I think she’s worried I’ll just leave and never come back.”

“What does your dad do?”

“He’s an archaeologist.”

“Wow, that’s so cool!”

“Yeah, that’s why I want to see for myself! If his job is so amazing that it was worth missing out on my life and Mito-san’s life, then I want to know what it’s like!”

Killua felt kind of bad hearing that. He knew what it was like to have a dad ditch you for work, but at the same time, his parents were also very involved with his life. Suffocatingly so. They had appearances to uphold, afterall. His parents were far from perfect and even farther from pleasant, but he still couldn’t imagine one or both of them just leaving and not returning. Plus, what would Gon do if he finally got the job and it wasn’t as amazing as his dad made it seem? Killua knew from experience that hope usually just led to disappointment.

He pulled out the desk chair and swung his leg over it, nestling backwards in the seat, his arms folded across the top rail of the chair, and his chin resting on top of them. “So what’s your dad like?”

Gon sat on his bed across from Killua and was lost in thought for a moment. “Well, I’ve only really seen him a few times in my life. . His name is Ging. Ging Freecs. He’s pretty rough around the edges, but well respected. He’s famous in parts of the world for his finds and research. I don’t know much else, except a few stories Mito-san has told me from when they were kids on Whale Island together. She says I’m a lot like him though. ” He shrugged, “By her tone of voice, I can never tell if she means that as a good or bad thing.”

Killua surprised himself when he spoke, “Whether you're like Ging or not, and whether that’s good or bad doesn't really matter. You’re you. And for what it’s worth, I think you’re pretty cool.”

They locked eyes and a huge smile broke out on Gon’s face.

“Thanks, Killua. I think you’re really cool too! I’m glad we’re roommates!”

Killua just grumbled a bit in response, his mouth set in an awkward smile. Gon could be so embarrassing sometimes.

They slipped into a comfortable silence after that, music still playing softly through the room as Gon continued organizing his stuff and Killua scrolled on his phone. After a while Gon let out a huge yawn and decided it was time to call it a night. They were both mostly unpacked, and even though classes didn’t start for two more days, he wanted to get up early to explore the campus some more. Yawning himself, Killua followed suit and once behind his closed door, stripped to his boxers and flopped onto the bed. Staring up at the ceiling, his mind began to drift.

It had been a hell of a day. Aside from his text letting them know he arrived safely, he hadn’t spoken to his parents at all. Where this wasn’t too different from the norm--they were usually too tied up with work and social ladder climbing to give him much attention--it was still nice to have space from them and his life back home. He’d been so excited for the freedom college was going to provide him. Freedom from the claustrophobic walls of the Zoldyck estate, from his siblings, and best of all, freedom from his parent’s cold judgement. He was finally able to live his life without them breathing down his neck and criticizing his every move. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life, but he was so happy to finally have the space to explore and figure it all out.

The only thing he was really worried about when he left for college was who his roommate would be, and he was pretty relieved to have Gon. They’d barely known each other a day, but he had the feeling that living with him was going to be a good time. He’d never met someone so… open and warm. His joy was almost contagious, it was a nice contrast and welcome change from his boarding school roommates and family. For the first time in a long time, he fell asleep excited for what the future would hold.

~~~~~~~~

The next two days were a blur of course catalogues and video games with his roommate, and before he knew it, Gon found himself on the way to his first college class, Biology 101. He was practically skipping down the brick walkway and, thanks to all of his previous exploring, he was able to find the classroom with no issue. He snagged a spot towards the front by a window, and as he sat, noticed a neatly bound packet lying face down on the desk. He was curious, but resisted the urge to flip it over, choosing instead to check out his surroundings. There were a few other students scattered at the tables around the room, and a short woman with green hair stood at the front. He watched as she neatly wrote in neat and swoopy cursive across the white board.

Dr. C. Yorkshire

Adjunct Professor

Biology 101

Fall Term

Class A

So she was the professor, Dr. Cheadle. She looked put together and kind, but he’d be lying if he said her calm demeanor was enough to soothe his nerves. School was never really his thing, he much preferred to be outside learning with his hands and on his feet, and his grades usually reflected the trouble he had with studying. His teachers in the past had always been nice enough, but he hated disappointing them with his test scores, and he wanted college to be different. He wanted to put his best foot forward with his new life and really prove himself. He was determined to give it his all.

A few more people shuffled in and filled the open desks, and when the wall clock marked the top of the hour, the professor faced the class and cleared her throat.

“Good morning everyone, and welcome to Biology 101. I’m Dr. Cheadle Yorkshire and I’ll be your professor. As you should know, this class is accompanied by a mandatory lab that will meet once a week. You’ll all be partnered off and expected to work together for the lab as well as in class activities.” Her eyes scanned the room, mouth set in a stern smile. “To kick things off, I’d like everyone to turn over the packet in front of you. This is a copy of your class syllabus, I took the liberty of binding them for you, as you’ll be referencing it throughout the entire semester. It contains all of the information you’ll need to be successful in this class, including classroom policies, expectations, assignments, required reading, my office hours, and more!”

Gon held the syllabus in his hand and was staring at it like it was made of gold. Everything he needed to do well in this class? It was like he’d been handed a treasure.

“Now, I’ll call out the lab pairings, and you can find your partner and arrange your seating accordingly, then we can begin our first activity!”

When Gon’s name was finally called along with his partner’s, he was giddy with anticipation and just as he stood to scan the crowd for his partner, a blue satchel dropped down on the table and a tall boy sunk down into the seat next to his. His blonde hair framed his face and hung just above his shoulders, his smile was tight but genuine as he held a hand out to Gon.

“I’m Kurapika, nice to meet you, partner.”

Gon shook it and chirped back “I’m Gon! Nice to meet you too!”

They sat in silence while Cheadle finished calling out the rest of the pairs. When everyone was settled, she addressed the class.

“Alright, now that everybody is paired off, we can begin today’s activity! In order to get to know your syllabus and your lab partner, I’ve created a scavenger hunt! Simply peruse your syllabus and use what you read to answer the questions on this handout!” She waved a stack of papers in the air and with a proud smile on her face, began handing them out. “You can begin as soon as you get your worksheet and you are dismissed whenever you finish!”

When their worksheets were placed in front of them, Kurapika turned in his chair to face Gon.

“Well, I suppose we better get started, eh? We can both read through the syllabus and then answer the questions together, does that sound good to you?”

“Sure!” Gon nodded in response and they got started. Gon was a little overwhelmed with the amount of information on the syllabus. It was pretty stressful seeing an entire semester of work listed out like that. He was excited for the lab though, all of those assignments seemed pretty hands on and a few of them were even supposed to be done outside. Maybe this class wouldn’t be so bad afterall. After a few minutes, they began answering the questions together. It wasn’t too tough to find the answers, and with two people it went by pretty quickly. Gon didn’t want the whole class to pass without getting to know his lab partner though, so he tried to strike up a conversation between questions.

“So, Kurapika, what’s your major? Are you a freshman here too?”

Kurapika didn’t look up from the worksheet when he answered. “I’m not a freshman, but I am new. I’m a sophomore and I transferred here this year.I’m double majoring in Psychology and Criminal Justice.” He glanced up and over at Gon. “What about you? Have you decided on a major yet?”

“I have! Well, kinda. I’m considering Anthropology or maybe Environmental Biology. Still trying to figure out which would be best, but I don’t think I could handle double majoring like you. Your majors sound really great! What do you want to do with your degree?”

“I want to become a detective, I’m still deciding between public and private.” He scribbled something on his paper. “The answer to number 12 is ‘Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3-5pm’ by the way. Three more and we’re finished.”

Gon was hastily writing in the answer when Kurapika asked,

“What do you want to do when you get your degree?”

“I want to become an archaeologist, like my dad! Or possibly a similar job within the field.” He perked up when he noticed that Kurapika had put down his worksheet and turned his focus to their conversation instead.

“So you're a transfer student, how do you like it here so far? Where did you transfer from, and what made you leave?”

“Woah Gon, you’ve almost got more questions than the assignment.” Kurapika chuckled but still pressed on. “So far it’s fine, but I’ve only been here for 3 days so we’ll see how it goes. I transferred here from Meteor City Community College, but I never really wanted to go there in the first place. This was my first choice school, but I wasn’t able to move here last year because of some family stuff. This year I was able to, so I did. And how are you liking it here? What made you choose YNU?”

“It’s my dad’s alma mater, so it was an easy choice. So far I’m really liking it! I was a little nervous before I got here, but everything has been pretty awesome. I’ve gotten to know and love the campus already, and I’ve got a great roommate too! Plus, my first class is going well! And that’s what I was the most nervous about.”

“It’s good that you like your roommate. That can cause a lot of trouble for some. It definitely did at my last school, so that’s actually what I was most worried about here.”

“I’m sorry you had trouble last year, but is your new roommate nice I hope?”

“Well, I actually lucked out and got a suite to myself. I requested one when I filled out the transfer paperwork, and told them about my last experience. I wasn't counting on it to work out in my favor too much, but it did.”

“I’m glad it did!”

“And I’m glad you’re feeling better about your classes now that you’ve got one under your belt.” He slid his worksheet over with a pale slender hand, the last three answers were written out neatly.

Gon quickly jotted them down and slid the paper back to Kurapika. “Thank you!”

“No problem, it was a team effort after all.” He smiled as he slung his satchel over his shoulder and stood up to turn in his paper, Gon grabbed his backpack and followed behind him.

After they handed her the worksheets, Dr. Yorkshire complimented their effort and teamwork, and dismissed them for the day. They were in the hallway and Kurapika was waving goodbye when Gon spoke again.

“Kurapika, do you wanna grab lunch sometime? I know we’re just lab partners, but you seem really cool and I’d like to be friends!”

Kurapika looked puzzled for a moment but his voice was soft and sincere when he spoke. “I’d like that, Gon.”

With that, they exchanged numbers and went their separate ways.

The rest of the day breezed by, and Gon was pretty much on cloud 9. He was excited about his classes, and even more excited about the people he met in each one. He had lunch scheduled with Kurapika for later on that week, and he decided to check out some of the clubs a few of his new friends suggested to him throughout the week as well. It was going to be a great year! He texted Killua and they decided to meet up for dinner in the cafeteria, so he headed that way after his last class.

When he arrived, he scanned the room until a crop of silver hair caught his eye at a small table by the dessert station in the far corner. He made his way over and plopped into the seat across from Killua, who was surrounded by plates of different desserts.

“Gon, the dessert bar is amazing. You’ve gotta try the chocolate cake, and there’s cookies too!”

“It looks great! I’m gonna go grab some, and maybe some regular food too!” He stuck his tongue out teasingly, Killua just rolled his eyes in response.

“Have you been here long?”

“Nah, I got here a few minutes before you. I just headed straight for the dessert.”

Gon laughed out loud. Dessert for dinner, Mito would’ve killed him. College really was a different world. “Do you want me to grab something else for you while I’m up?”

“Eh. I’m fine for now, might grab some pizza or something in a bit.”

Gon nodded and left to make his plate. When he returned, Killua was scrolling on his phone, fork in hand hanging lazily at his mouth.

His stomach growled and he quickly twirled a bite of spaghetti around his fork. The day was so eventful he hadn’t even realized he was hungry.

“So, how were your classes? Did you like your professors?” he asked, shoving the huge bite of pasta into his mouth.

Killua put his phone down and draped his arm over the back of his chair. “They all seem pretty boring, but I’m mostly getting gen ed classes out of the way for now, until I decide what I wanna major in, so that’s probably why. I don’t even remember any of the professors’ names, so that answers that question I guess,” He shoveled another bite of cake into his mouth, “What about you?”

“They all seemed nice enough, but I think I liked Professor Satotz in Anthropology the best. He seems interesting, so I’m excited to see how that class goes. Did you make any new friends?”

Killua quirked an eyebrow at him. “Uh, no. Did you?”

“I did! A few people, and I actually have plans to hang out with one of them! I’m gonna check out some clubs here too, I can definitely make some new friends there! And you’ve gotta come with me Killua! We can check them out together!” As he spoke he was practically buzzing with excitement.

“What clubs are you going to?” Killua asked, his curiosity piqued.

“Well, There’s a bunch of them to choose from, but the Great Outdoors Club, the GSA, and the Ultimate Frisbee Club were all recommended to me, so I’m gonna start with them I think.”

“GSA?”

“It stands for Gay Straight Alliance.”

Killua almost choked on his last bite of cake. “O-oh. Right. Why are you going to that one? Are you... gay?”

Gon’s face scrunched up a bit, his gaze suddenly intense.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that if you are!” Killua backpedaled. “Just asking!”

“Yeah, I’m just thinking about it. I guess I don't know? I was gonna check it out ‘cause I liked the idea of an alliance, and I wanted to go to show support I guess, but hey, maybe the club will help me figure it out!”

Killua’s cheeks were tinged pink. “You don’t know? Haven’t you ever gone on a date or to a school dance or something before?”

“Well, I’ve gone on dates with girls before, never with any boys though.” He rested his chin on his hand. “To be honest, I’m just not sure. I guess now I’m pretty excited to see what I learn from this club!” His eyes squinted up in a bright smile.

“You should come with me when I go! It’s for everyone to come together, so I don’t think it even matters if you’re gay or not anyways.”

“Yeah, maybe, we’ll see.” He awkwardly rubbed at the back of his neck. “ I’m gonna go grab some food, be right back.” He stacked his dirty plates and quickly shuffled off.

Gon leaned back in his chair and rubbed his full belly. He looked around the cafeteria, already starting to recognize people from his classes amongst the crowds at tables and in line at food stations. His first day was really amazing and if this was what the year was going to be like, he was so ready for it.

~~~~~~~~

After wandering between the different food stations for a few minutes, Killua finally returned to the table with a plate of spaghetti and some soda. The food on campus was actually pretty good, so that was a plus. It was almost good enough to distract him from the nagging questions that the mention of the GSA brought up. Almost.

He really hadn’t thought too much about his own sexuality, or sexuality in general. He’d never even gone out with anyone before. Well, there was the one time he agreed to go to the winter formal with a girl he knew, but that night was a disaster and he only went because his brother had been giving him shit about his social life.

It’s not like he never found anyone attractive before. But now that he thought about it, most of the time when someone in a crowd caught his eye, they happened to be a boy. Like at orientation just a few days ago... But what did that say about his sexuality? How did anyone actually know if they were gay or straight or whatever? And what would you even do with that information once you managed to figure it out?

“Killua?”

“Eh?” The sound of Gon’s voice snapped him back to reality and when he looked up he was met with a pair of honey eyes burning into him.

“What?” He gulped. Had Gon been sitting this close to him the whole time?

“I asked if you were ready to go.”

“Oh, yeah, sure.”

They grabbed their bags and began the trek back to their dorm. The cool night air was a welcome relief from the blush that spread across his face and up his neck.

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