#sloan cartoon therapy

[naminethewriter]

How It All Began

Chapter One: A Lonely Island, Right?

Masterpost | Next | Ao3

Story Summary: Remus, son of a simple fisherman, had worked hard to become the captain of his own pirate ship. And in his humble opinion, it was going great! His crew was small but reliable and they had just stolen something that could them some nice cash from a military vessel they happened to cross on the open sea. They just needed to hide it somewhere until it was safe to sell. How lucky for them that they come across a nice, uninhabited island.

Little did Remus know just who he would find on that little piece of land and how it would change his life entirely.

Content Warning: Pirates, Innuendo, Minor Violence, Pistols

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

“Land ahoy!”

Remus could just hear Sloane’s shout through the open porthole in his captain quarters. With a hum he put away the star chart he’d been studying before standing up to look out the window onto the unusually calm sea. According to his maps, they weren’t close to any inhabited islands, which meant that he should be able to find a good hiding place for his newest acquisition.

He glanced over to the box he had placed the seal in when a knock sounded from his door.

“Captain?” It was Patton. “Can I come in?”

“Sure, daddy-o, if you wanna take the risk!” He could practically see Patton hesitating, wondering if he was ‘indecent’ as he called it. Still, a few moments later the door opened and his friend poked his head in, prepared to flee if Remus was not properly dressed after all. He let out a sigh of relief to see his Captain wearing all his clothes.

“Sloane spotted an island. What should we do?” Normally, Remus would tease him a bit about his continued shyness even after travelling with them for over two years now, but he had more important things to deal with at the moment.

“I’ll take a look myself.” He grabbed his hat and with measured steps moved past Patton, who closed the door behind him and followed. “Anything suspicious so far?”

“Not that I know of. We haven’t come across anymore ships since the Admiral’s. And I still have a bad feeling about that one, how come it was only the one ship and not a fleet?” Out of the corner of his eyes, Remus could see Patton wringing his hands together nervously. Remus couldn’t understand how he was still so uncomfortable with the pirate lifestyle. At least he wore the outfit with more confidence, his light brown curls held back by a bandana and his skin having a healthy tan.

“There’re all kinds of reasons that could happen, Pat, it’s not unheard of. And nobody’s following us, so there’s no need to worry about it anymore anyway. We did the hit, we got something out of it, nobody saw us. Everything’s peachy.”

“Well, if you say so…”

“I do. Trust your Captain, Paps, by the time they’ve noticed that the seal’s gone, we won’t have it on board anymore. In a few months, when they stop the extra controls to look for it, we’ll get it back and sell it for a nice price.”

They reached the main deck at that point so Patton didn’t bother to respond. Remy spotted them immediately and yelled, “Capt’n on deck!” Upon his call, Sloane hurried down from the crow’s nest, hurried over to them and handed Remus a spyglass. The lithe young man could have been an acrobat in a circus with how skilled he descended the rope ladder, his dark blond hair dancing in the wind.

“It’s right over there,” Slone said as he came to a stop next to Remus, pointing north-west, a little off their current course. “So far I haven’t spotted anything in the vicinity.”

“Should probably do a sail around to be sure,” Remy commented, also now standing next to them. “The forest on there’s pretty thick, we can’t see the other side.”

“Boatswain! Your thoughts?” Remus called up to Corbin currently at the helm. Of course he trusted Remy as his First Mate and he probably would order a sail around anyway, but he liked to hear the opinion of his crew on matters like this.

Corbin was a great navigator with a more calculated approach that was very unlike Remus’ style, so it was nice to hand off the more responsible stuff to him. But it also meant that sometimes he had to wait for Corbin to finish thinking things through and Remus hated waiting. He used the time to take a look at the island himself with the spyglass Sloane had handed him.

It wasn’t a big chunk of land. He estimated they would need about three hours to sail around it with the wind they were having today, and they should be able to do that before sundown. The forest, as Remy had called it, was more akin to a jungle, which for the purposes of hiding stuff was always preferrable. Maybe he could even find a cave or two in the cliff faces surrounding the eastern side.

“I agree with the First Mate,” Corbin finally called. “We should make a wider berth in case of reefs since this part of the ocean isn’t as well chartered yet.”

“Let’s do that then. Pat, inform the rest of the crew, we’ll most likely drop anchor there tonight.”

“Aye aye, Captain!”

“And you go back to your post, Sloane.”

“Aye aye!” With that both of them were gone and he was left alone with Remy.

“Anything to report?” Remus asked, not really expecting much of an answer. Don’t get him wrong, he liked Remy and he was a good First Mate most of the time, but in situations like this where they’ve been just sailing for a while, he tended to slack off a bit.

“Nah, everyone’s fine as far as I know. Well, Toby’s a bit salty that we didn’t shoot at the Admiral but other than that.”

“What else is new?” Remus chuckled. Toby was a more than enthusiastic Man-at-arms with a love for explosives, though he preferred to shoot at objects and not people. He had practically begged Remus to let him fire at least one shot at the Admiral’s ship as they sailed away, but giving up their cover for that was chaos even Remus didn’t endorse.

Remy snorted in response before looking more serious.

“What are your orders for when we land? Who stays, who comes with?”

“If the cost is clear and we land, I’ll go alone. The rest of you have some free time.”

“You sure?” Remy glanced at his captain over the rim of his darkened glasses. “We’ve got no idea what’s on that island.”

“’Course I’m sure. The less you all know of what we got and where it is, the better. I can handle myself against whatever inhabitants there are.”

“If you say so,” Remy shrugs. “I won’t say no to an evening off.”

“Didn’t think you would.”

“I’m gonna go prepare for landing then.”

“Go ahead.” Remus watched Remy walk away. No doubt his First Mate was off to grab some booze and his boyfriend instead of actually doing what they need to drop anchor. Well, he couldn’t blame him, in his shoes he would do the same. After all, they’ve done this exact same thing a million times before. Still, as Remus caught sight of Elliot hurrying across deck, he told them to get everything ready for landing instead. Better prepared than dead is a philosophy even Remus could get behind.

~~~

By the time the rowboat with Remus, Patton and Elliot hit the shore of the island, it was nearing sundown. Remus guessed he had about another hour or so to scope out the place for a good hiding spot. For now, he had left the box containing the seal on the ship but it would be ideal if he could get rid of it early tomorrow morning and then they could sail off to the nearest harbor.

Not wanting to waste more time, he turned to his two crewmembers.

“I’ll take a look around and come back. Neither of you get off this beach unless it’s life or death, you hear me?”

“Aye aye, Captain!” Patton agreed while Elliot simply nodded. They seemed tired, so Remus thought giving them a break off of the ship and away from everyone for a few hours would do them some good. Patton could keep an eye out for trouble. With a grin, Remus pulled out his machete and made his way across the beach and into the jungle.

The smell in the air shifted quite noticeably as Remus continued into the greenery. He couldn’t place the scents, but it was a much heavier air than on the open sea. His eyes flitted about, searching for any dangers. He could hear animals rustling in the leaves and spotted shadows move but nothing big enough to truly worry him. He knew how to look out for snakes and spiders that might be venomous, but he didn’t feel like risking getting attacked by an ape or something similar, though the island was too small to house them anyway.

Remus made his way through the greenery, hacking away with his machete when he couldn’t find another way through the underbrush when he spotted what looked like a path. Not a well-travelled one, but a path nonetheless. Once he reached it, he crouched down to look for tracks on the ground, either human or a large animal. He found what looked like boot imprints, though several days old. Still, they were fresh enough for him to identify. But they hadn’t seen any ships or even rowboats on their sail around, so he couldn’t imagine someone remained on here.

Curiosity beckoned him along the path however, and he continued forward, keeping his machete in hand. He had to duck under some branches here and there – he paid attention to keeping his hat, he liked this one and was not keen on trying to find a replacement – but otherwise it was a quiet trip. Remus figured it was about time he started heading back to his crew when the path lead past a chasm that looked somewhat deep. Now that he thought about it, he might have been travelling on an incline. From where he stood, Remus couldn’t see the bottom of the pit. Maybe he should throw a rock and listen to how long it took to land? Or maybe just take one small step closer, get a better vantage point?

“I would advise you to stay away from the edge. The ground is quite unstable, and the fall would surely lead to death.”

Remus spun around, raising his machete towards the stranger that had suddenly appeared behind him. The man looked at him through a pair of glasses that looked like they went out of fashion several decades ago. His clothes didn’t look better, though they were rather plain looking. Pants, a long-sleeved shirt that was rolled up to his elbows and a vest. Still, something was off about the outfit to Remus. He narrowed his eyes until it hit him – the clothes were worn down sure, but otherwise the stranger looked too clean for someone who apparently lived on an abandoned island. His black hair was neatly tied into a ponytail and not a single hair was on his face, nobody bothered to shave when they’re trapped on an island!

The stranger continued staring at Remus, his brown eyes drilling into him and suddenly he remembered how to speak.

“Where the fuck did you come from?” he exclaimed. The other cocked his head before motioning towards the path leading further into the jungle.

“I came from my camp. I was on my way to examine some fungal growth I have been observing for my research. Where did you come from?”

“My ship.” Remus gestured behind himself as he slowly moved away from the chasm towards the direction he came. The stranger looked harmless, but he knew that appearances can’t tell you everything. For all he knew that man could try to attack him at any moment and standing next to a cliff definitely wasn’t where he wanted to be in that moment.

“We did a sail around. There were no other ships.”

“Indeed.”

“Then you shipwrecked?”

“No, I came here on purpose.”

“Without a way back?”

“Without a ship, yes.”

“Alone?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“For research purposes. There are many species that only live on this island or can develop freely here without the influence of humans.” The calmness of the stranger was very unnerving to Remus. He was holding a big ass knife after all, but the man didn’t seem bothered by it in the least. Instead, his eyes wandered around until he seemed to spot something of interest on the ground and casually kneeled down a few feet away to inspect it. Remus used that opportunity to switch the machete for his pistol.

��You are a scientist then?”

“Yes. And you are a pirate, I presume?” Remus narrowed his eyes. He grew up the son of a fisherman, he knows when something smells fishy. And this stranger smelled very strongly.

“What off it?”

“Nothing. I was merely attempting to converse with you. Whatever your business on this island is, it’s no concern of mine as long as it doesn’t interfere with my research. So please try to not disturb the wildlife as much as possible during your stay.”

“Why did you approach me if you didn’t care about what I do here?”

“Because I feared you might fall.”

“The fuck do you care whether I fall or not?”

“I simply do, is that so surprising?” The stranger stood, apparently done inspecting the ground. He watched Remus, seemingly very curious about his answer.

“Well, yeah. Most people I’ve met don’t care about others just ‘cause. ‘Specially not a castaway.”

“I am not a castaway.”

“Yeah, just a weirdo on a deserted island.”

“Think of me whatever you like, it is none of my concern,” the man sighed before looking up to the sky. Remus followed his glance for a second, seeing the first stars appear. He needed to make his way back.

“You should return to your ship,” the stranger said as if he read his mind and that was just too freaky for Remus to handle. Without another thought he took aim at the stranger’s shoulder and pulled the trigger. He hit his mark – of course he did, he was one of the best shooters on the seas – causing the man to stumble. To stumble right towards the chasm.

To Remus it was like time slowed down as he watched the ground under the stranger break away. He lost his footing and suddenly, he was out of sight. Remus stood frozen, listening to the sounds of the body colliding with stone several times before a loud crunch announced its arrival at the bottom. The man was surely dead.

Another look towards the sky reminded Remus that he should make his way back to the ship pronto. He pulled out his compass just to make sure he didn’t get lost on the way back. A last glance towards the chasm before he disappeared back the way he came. It wasn’t the first time he killed on accident. By tomorrow, the weird feeling in his stomach would be gone. He was sure of it.

[thomas-sanders-shipname-glossary]

The Plan so far

So, this blog was a very spontaneous idea I had yesterday (very late in the evening). So I took some time to think it through today, as well as get some more lists from other Fanders.

The plan now is to first create lists for the separate facets of the Thomas Sanders fandom, i.e. Sanders Sides, Shorts Characters, Cartoon Therapy and Roleslaying with Roman. (I'm sorry that this means I need to split up Remy and Emile for now, we'll get to crossovers later.)

For that to work, I need a comprehensive list of characters first. So this is my call for your help! I'll put a list of who I got so far after the cut and you can reply to this post or send me an ask about more characters I can/should include!

I'm really happy with the positive reactions I got for creating this blog, thank you for your support! 💗💙💖💙💜💛💚

Sanders Sides:

Patton

Roman

Logan

Virgil

Janus

Remus

Orange

Thomas

Nico

King

Dragon Witch (unsure if I should include her but if I do, this is where she'll be)

I know King is most commonly used as a sort of fusion of Roman and Remus but for the purposes of this list, I will see him as an entirely separate character and as such include ships between him and Roman and/or Remus.

Shorts Characters

Remy - Sleep

Teal/Teagan - Teacher

Dayd - Dad

Pryce - Prince

Andy - Anxiety

Dice/Anton/Cedric - The Critic

Linda - Thomas' Cowlick

Missy - Misleading Compliments

Nathan - Crimefighter Dude

Detective Sanders (from this series which I found through this post by @loganslowdown4!)

Percy/Magenta - Printer

Harley/Hart - Heart

Immy - Immune System

Brian - Brain

Dean - Denial

Sabina - Spam Bot

Ishmael - Ice Machine

Jasper - GPS

Scot - Scam Likely

Wieland - WIP

Phaelan - Phone

Fane - Fan

Steven - Electric Stapler

Ace - Action Hero that can't catch things

Rian - Rain

Mike - Microwave

Nessy - Illness

Apollo - Sun

Jericho - Moon

Taz / Tucker - Task

Bouce/Boucy - The Bouncing Ball

Anton - Antagonist

Pranks - Disney/Pokémon Pranks

Asher/Rudolph - Christmas

Jasper - Thanksgiving

Months

Jaana - January

Fabian - Feburary

Mara - March

April - April

May - May

Junie - June

Julia/Julian - July

Augusta/Augustus - August

Seth/Ember - September

Toby - October

Nove - November

Demetri/Odessa - December

Zodiacs

Ariel/Ari - Aries

Leona/Leonard/Leo - Leo

Candace/Candy - Cancer

Phillipa/Pip/Pippy - Pisces

Schuyler/Sky - Scorpio

Tara - Taurus

Sarah/Sally - Sagittarius

Caprice - Capricorn

Gemma - Gemini

Virginia/Ginny - Virgo

Liberty/Libby - Libra

Quinn - Aquarius

Cartoon Therapy (as far as I know, all the characters in this series are adults)

Emile Picani

Elliot

Mitchel (I don't actually know if that's how you spell his name)

Dot

Larry

Sloane

Corbin

Kai

Lauren

Sam

Roleslaying with Roman

Roman of Reston

Youngblood

Noise

??? (Mike)

Flow

Britney

Djembe

Bob Normie

Criss

Cross

Mother

Bard King

Ryker

There are many more characters in the series of course, but I do not know which it makes sense to include here, so please let me know! Also if there is another part of the fandom I forgot to include entirely.

[loganslowdown4]

So I’m just going to throw this out there for future Cartoon Therapy episodes if Thomas and his team can ever get back former patients 😄🤞

Here’s some future Cartoon Therapy predictions!

☛If they can get back Larry and Dot: they have to have matching outfits again

☛They will bring up the stolen Stitch doll again and/or finally return it to Picani, who will say that he knew they had it the whole time

☛Larry will mention his pop pop

☛Dot will say ‘Gee Minetti!’

☛It’s been a while so they might have a child now!

☛If they can get back Elliott: they definitely broke up with Mitchell and met someone new. They might still have issues with their dad.

☛If they can get back Corbin & Sloan: they’re definitely married now

☛If they can get back Kai: Kai is a top gamer now and has fully embraced their geekiness. Lauren is still their girlfriend and they support each other dearly.

☛If they can get back Sam: Sam finally makes friends at school and has quit their medical degree for art full time!

☛If they can get back Dalton: he has to show up again randomly trying to sell us sandwiches or something, I just miss Dalton lol

☛And Picani will of course play his ukelele again

Plus I made another bingo card!

I just really like Cartoon Therapy lol

[tulipanthousa]

rewatching cartoon therapy and wow. huge dom vibes coming off sloane. you were completely right. god damn.

i knoooooooow he just screams "spoils the hell out of you while telling you what a needy little sweetheart you are" vibes

[remusownsmyuwus]

Back in Baltimore

Warnings: Implied abuse, cursing, drugs/drug mentions, the foster care system, violence (some doodles Remus made), death mentions.

Prompt by @lance-alt 

They were barely three. They'd been called in for a special day, so they packed their garbage bags (no one ever donated suitcases, and it wasn't like anyone would give them anything not required by law) early in the morning and ate a rushed, stale breakfast. The woman whose foster home it was crammed them in her van with the other six kids staying with her. There wasn't enough room and since they were the youngest, Remus sat in Roman's lap, looking out the window and bouncing his leg.

They got out at a nice park and the woman explained that today was a day where all the foster kids were going to be here to meet with "possible candidates" and maybe find new moms and dads. Remus picked at the grass, his fingers not yet precise enough to tie the blades into knots. Roman sat next to him, listening attentively until the woman clapped her hands twice.

Roman jumped up, beckoning to Remus. Remus followed, chasing Roman around the yard, his stubby legs propelling him forward.

Roman's foot caught in a hole in the grass in front of two men who were looking around at the kids playing in the park. He fell catastrophically, tumbling over himself and hitting against one of the men's legs.

"Well hello there!" The man said to Roman, ignoring Remus who had run up behind his brother, checking to see if he was hurt.

The man reached down, helping Roman to his feet. "I'm Corbin," he said, and then gestured to the man next to him. "This is Sloan, my husband."

"I'm Roman!" Roman said. Remus stood behind him. He wanted to speak, introduce himself, but... Roman looked so happy. And Remus suddenly felt very uncomfortable. This wasn't his place, not at all. Maybe.... Maybe these were Roman's new dads, and maybe.... Maybe Remus would find new parents somewhere else.

He walked away, sniffling. He didn't want to cry in front of Roman, then Roman would try to cheer him up. And that would be... That would be... A bad way to say goodbye.

★★★★★★★

"Fucking hell. I fucking hate Baltimore." Remus slung the garbage bag over his shoulder. He'd been kicked out of another foster home (this time for selling drugs, which sucked, because not only was he caught, but he had also been here a good few months and actually had a few regular clients.) And now he was going back to Baltimore. Home-sweet-fucking-home, Baltimore. There hadn't been any open houses in the area so booting his scrawny seventeen year old ass over a state and into his least favorite city was obviously the best thing to do.

He'd start at his new school tomorrow. He stepped down, thanking the bus driver, and relished the silence walking to his new temporary home. As he walked up the short pathway to the door, he heard yelling inside. Good to set your expectations right early, right?

He knocked on the door, rather loudly, and the yelling stopped.

"Oh, hello, uh...." Said a wiry woman who came to the door.

"Remus. Your new.... Kid," he supplied. He adjusted the garbage bag on his shoulder, hearing some of his few prized possessions clink together at the bottom of the bag.

"Right, right, come on in. You'll be sharing a room with Virgil, since you and him are about the same age." The woman beckoned him in, showing him up the stairs and into a room that was papered with band posters.

"'Sup," said a emo boy sitting in one of the three beds in the room. "I'm Virgil, but you can call me Virge. I guess we're roomies now?"

"That's basically the deal, yeah. I'm Remus." Remus walked to one of the beds and set his garbage bag down gently on it.

"Weird name."

"Says the guy named after a Roman poet who wrote about bees and flowers," Remus looked over his shoulder, watching the boy of maybe fifteen or sixteen crack a smile.

"Touché."

"What grade are you in? And do you go to the local public highschool? Because I'll need a tour guide tomorrow." Remus started to pull things out of his trash bag ""suitcase"" and organizing them.

"Tenth, and yeah. I'll take you around." Virgil hummed along to the song playing in his headphones.

"Fucking Baltimore."

★★★★★★★

A substitute teacher for his first class on his first day of a new school. Fucking spectacular.

"Hello class, I'm Ms. Mason. I'll be your substitute for today. First off, roll call." The teacher, about 30, with short brown hair, bent down and retrieved a clipboard, brushing some hair out of her face, and started to read names.

"Duke, Remus?" She said, after a few names.

"Here." He'd been garnering looks since he came in, because having a new student is fun and exciting for everyone else.

The teacher nodded, moving on down the list. Remus ears pricked. "Prince, Roman?" Remus looked around, somewhat frantically.

"Here," Said a boy with light brown hair, a few rows in front of Remus.

Remus craned his neck, trying desperately to get a look at Roman's face. It was super duper unlikely, but there's only so many "Roman"s in Baltimore. Remus thought about the name. If he really was.... Remus couldn't even think it.... If he really was him, then when he'd gotten adopted he'd changed his name... He'd upgraded, from a Duke to a Prince.

Ms. Mason finished calling roll, setting down the clipboard and picking up a thick stack of papers. "This is your worksheet for today, it's due at the end of the period." She maneuvered around the teacher's desk, handing out papers. Remus took one distractedly, still watching the back of Roman's head.

He didn't dare to hope, and yet here he was, hoping, desperately. Desperately, that this was his Roman. His brother.

He spent the rest of the class nervously fidgeting with his paper, doodling people's heads being cut off and swords being shoved through people's guts. When the bell rang he had already stuffed the paper in his bag, and he made his way toward Roman. What if he was wrong? He couldn't be. But what if he was?

"Do you need anything?" A voice said with a thick New York accent, and Remus met the eyes of a tall, thin boy wearing a leather jacket and sunglasses.

"Your number?" Remus cocked his eyebrow. If the boy was straight he'd be scared off and if he was gay... Well, Remus wouldn't mind.

The boy leaned down a bit, hugging Remus around the neck. "Type this into your phone," he whispered, starting to say his phone number after Remus had opened his contacts app. "And, the name is Remy, by the way. Toodles, babes."

Remus grinned, typing in the name and putting his phone in his pocket. He looked up, only to see the last of his classmates filtering out, and no Roman in sight. Fuck.

★★★★★★★

His next two classes were fine. He didn't pay attention, mind too distracted by Roman and Remy...

The lunch bell rang, and Remus was already out the door of AP calculus, pulling out his phone and tapping Remy's name.

"Babes?" Came the sarcastic, New York accented voice.

"Where can I meet you for lunch? It's Remus, by the way. From first period."

"A building, the one by the West gate. I'll be at the door and we can drop by Starbucks or something."

Remus hung up, walking through campus until he found the A building and spotting a shiny pair of sunglasses. "Hey there Remy. You said something about Starbucks?"

"Hey babes! Nice to see you again," Remy slung an arm over Remus' shoulders. "And yes. Starbies."

Remus chuckled. "Which direction?"

Remy gestured with his free hand, slipping his phone in his pocket. "What brings you to Baltimore? The big b?"

"Got kicked out. Again." Remus shook his head at Remy's concerned look. "Don't worry, my birth parents are dead." Remus laughed at Remy's shocked expression. "Don't worry about it. But, any chances you know that Roman Prince guy?"

"Yeah, we've talked a few times. Talks a lot about his dads, real family loving kid. I guess." Remy blew some hair out of his face, gesturing for Remus to turn a corner.

Remus was practically holding his breath. "And his dads, do you know their names?"

"Corbin and... Sloan? Shaun?"

"Sloan." Remus pushed open the doors of the Starbucks. "That's definitely him, then. My brother. Roman Duke. Or well, these days, Roman Prince."

"Isn't that dramatic? Damn, your life is like a soap opera or some shit, babes."

"Yeah, I guess," Remus laughed. "What do you want?"

★★★★★★★

Ask if you want part 2?

[marvelfangeek09]

Ok so I’m feeling very emotional about Dr. Emile Picani so here we go

I just love how respected he is. The weakest reputation he has with his clients are probably Corbin and Sloane (also known as Corne). When Corbin asks Sloane where he’s heard of this guy Sloane simply replies internet. Which 1) is hilarious and 2) does show that Picani is well known enough for him to come up as an option and seem to be the best person for them to talk to, at least in their price range.

Then there’s Larry and Dot. They were actually recommended to go there by a friend. Specially Dot says “Listen, Shelly told me this guy is a great therapist! His practices are a little unique, but he gets great results!” They come in there bc they received a glowing recommendation from a friend and Picani is well known enough for them to know a friend who would say this.

Then Kai and Lauren (Kai’s girlfriend if anyone doesn’t remember). We have Lauren really talking Picani up, “Kai I’m just trying to help, and he’s a really good doctor, and I think it would do you some good to talk to somebody.” Not only is Picani recommended by previous patients, but he’s has a reputation as a good doctor! Someone who has a large enough reputation that his name actually means something

Why is this making me emotional? Because we see all this but then Picani comes in and it’s this guy

He’s loud, weird, and he likes cartoons. He’s allowed to be silly and goofy. But that never takes away from him being an incredibly capable therapist. He’s one of the best and he pushes all the characters to be more honest with themselves. It’s so incredibly rare to see a character like Picani not being taken entirely as a joke. It’s so refreshing to see a character that is allowed to have fun but doesn’t take away from him being a capable adult

[dominoeswrites]

getting surprised by a nose kiss for corbin/sloane :D

But of course, my dear violet! /platonic

Warnings: none that I'm aware of

Blind Date

Blind dates weren't exactly Corbin's thing. He'd never liked the idea of going out with someone who he hadn't ever talked to before. What if they had nothing in common? What if the other person was unbelievably racist? Or panphobic? Or aphobic? What if they ran out of things to talk about? What if they just ended up hating him?

But here he was, sitting at a table, in a restaurant, waiting for a friend of a friend who had said, "Sloane is a great guy, you'll get along great!" and then immediately booked them reservations at his favorite restaurant.

Corbin looked around the restaurant, then back down at his watch. This Sloane was almost ten minutes late. Five minutes, he could understand it being traffic or some other hold up, but ten was stretching it. Corbin decided to give it another five minutes before he decided this was a waste of time.

No sooner than he'd decided that did a white person in a somewhat wrinkled suit rush in through the front door. They spoke to the hostess, who pointed in Corbin's direction. The person looked at Corbin and smiled wide at him as they started walking over. Corbin gave an awkward smile back.

"Corbin, right?" they asked as they put their hand on the back of the chair across from him.

Corbin nodded, not really sure what to make of the person in front of him.

Their grin somehow got even bigger, and they pulled the chair out. "Cool! I'm Sloane, he/him, and it's so nice to meet you! Roman's told me so much about you!"

Corbin felt the corner of his mouth twitch into a more genuine smile. "He has?"

Sloane nodded eagerly as he scooted his chair in closer. "Yeah! And I'm really so sorry about being late, it's just that I left later than I should have, and then there was this one light that took forever to turn green, and then after that, the person in front of me just wouldn't go..."

Sloane kept going on and on, one topic leading into another, then another, and soon he was talking about work and family, and for some reason, Corbin found it hopelessly endearing.

And then when Sloane turned the conversation over to Corbin ("Oh goodness, I've been taking up the whole conversation, I wanna hear about you!"), he listened. He sat there, and listened to Corbin talk with this adorable fond look on his face, only occasionally interrupting with "aww"s and "no way"s and "oh my gosh"es where appropriate, and god if Corbin didn't find himself more and more attracted to this guy as the night went on.

They stayed at the restaurant pretty late into the evening, talking about life, shows they were into, politics (which Corbin was pleasantly surprised to find that Sloane agreed with him that if you couldn't talk about politics on a date with someone, then what was the point of getting to know them), and pretty much anything they could think of.

As they were leaving, Corbin decided to take the initiative and said, "I really had a great time tonight. Can I give you my number so that we can maybe set up a second date?"

Sloane gasped and pulled out his phone, almost shoving it into Corbin's hands "Of course! Oh my gosh, I'd love to go out with you again!"

Corbin smiled and put his number into Sloane's phone, then handed it back.

Sloane grinned and leaned toward Corbin.

Wait, was this happening? Was Sloane going to try and kiss him right now?

But instead of the lips, Sloane placed a tiny kiss on the tip of Corbin's nose, then pulled away and said, "I'll text you!"

Corbin felt heat rise up on his cheeks and really hoped that Sloane couldn't tell that he was blushing right now. "Yeah, sounds good."

[awkward-pics-of-therapy-crew]

Button your shirt up goofy, this is therapy, not a bar

[anxious-fandom-bean]

October 14th, 2020

797 Days

since doctor emile picani has been spotted

[ravenhilarious]

I just realized that I'm pretty sure that Kyle has brown eyes but ssshhhhh this is a cute drawing it is pride month and I wanted to draw some cartoon therapy characters at pride and here they are enjoy this

[naminethewriter]

How It All Began

Chapter Two: Living Legend

Masterpost | Previous | Next | Ao3

Story Summary: Remus, son of a simple fisherman, had worked hard to become the captain of his own pirate ship. And in his humble opinion, it was going great! His crew was small but reliable and they had just stolen something that could them some nice cash from a military vessel they happened to cross on the open sea. They just needed to hide it somewhere until it was safe to sell. How lucky for them that they come across a nice, uninhabited island.

Little did Remus know just who he would find on that little piece of land and how it would change his life entirely.

Content Warning: Innuendo, Reference to Past Trauma, Past Parental Death

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

Remus set off to the island again early the next morning. He hadn’t slept much, the sound of bones breaking upon hitting rocks bouncing around in his head the entire night. Instead of fruitlessly fighting his insomnia much longer, he got up with the rising sun, stuffed the box containing the seal into a satchel, found Sloane already up and about and dragged him along to the rowboat.

As he had done yesterday with Patton and Elliot, Remus left Sloane at the beach to look for a hiding place by himself, this time choosing an entirely different direction from the day before. He was looking for a spot that was easy to remember but hard to get to – he didn’t want to bury the box, because one, that was totally cliché and two, he really didn’t want to do all that digging – so a cave or hollow tree would be perfect.

It took him a while before he found an opening between two cliffs that looked somewhat deep. It was small and dark though, squeezing in there might not be the smartest move. Before he could even try, he was startled by a voice.

“You will not fit in there.” In a very reminiscent way, Remus spun around to face… the guy from yesterday? They stared at each other until Remus found his voice again.

“Wha- How? I killed you!”

“Falsehood. The injuries from the fall killed me, not your… bullet I believe they are called?” Remus just continued to stare at him in disbelief.

“Who the fuck cares how, you still died!”

“Indeed.”

“So how are you here? Are you a ghost? Am I being haunted?!” That thought honestly excited Remus a bit. He tried to look closer, maybe he could see through the guy now but nope, same as yesterday. Not even his clothes had changed.

“I am not a ghost. I died and then came back. I do not see how you are not understanding the situation.”

“Dead people don’t just come back to life!”

“That is true.”

“Then why did you?”

“Because I am immortal.”

“What?” The man cocked his head to the side.

“Do you not know of the legends of Immortals? When I was young they were quite commonly told.”

“Of course I know the legends!” Remus sputtered. “If the Elemental Spirits find one worthy, they can grant even a human the gift of immortality like the sirens. But they’re just that: legends! Like I expect some random guy I shot on a random island to just come back to life!”

The stranger nodded in understanding as if this was a typical discussion topic and he hadn’t just turned Remus’ entire world view on its head.

“I suppose that is true. Though considering you are a man of the sea, I had expected you to have some experience dealing with sirens, so I am surprised this comes as such a shock to you.” Remus was once again at a loss for words. Sure, as many others had, he had hoped that the stories were true, that humans could gain immortality the sirens had from birth, but there had never been any proof. All accounts of supposed Immortals were dubious at best. The Elemental Spirits were known to dislike humans, even before they took over the lands and destroyed many forests. It was the main reason the seas were dangerous to travel, the Spirits would not let humans take more control.

For an immortal to be in front of him now… it was a dream come true! A switch flipped in Remus’ brain and his wariness of the stranger simply evaporated. Instead, excitement shot through every fiber of his being at the realization that the one thing he had feared was impossible for him to achieve was directly in front of him. A real Immortal! He got to meet a true immortal human being! A grin broke across his face and with quick steps he made his way over to the man who was now the one to look startled.

“That means you met the Spirits? The real deal? And they approved of you? You really can’t die no matter what??” Their faces were now inches apart. The man blinked at him, the sudden change in his demeaner had probably thrown him off, before he took a step back and cleared his throat.

“Yes to all of those questions. Unless the Council deems me no longer useful and revokes their gift to me, I will revive no matter the injuries.” Remus’ grin grew impossibly wide and he let out a loud cackle. Then he grabbed the man’s hand and shook it wildly.

“Name’s Remus, Pirate Captain, and you’re going to tell me everything right now.” The man eyes him for a moment before pulling his hand back and rightening his glasses.

“Logan, biologist and botanist. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

~~~

“So how long have you been immortal?” Despite only just having properly met the man in front of him – Remus, if he remembered correctly – Logan could already tell from the expression on the man’s face that he would not rest until he had answers to all his questions. His green eyes were wide open and curious, a look Logan knew he had often worn himself as a young child and lost sometime on his way into adulthood.

Regardless, if Remus was going to question him for hours, they might as well be comfortable.

“Before you start your interrogation, would you like to accompany me to my camp? I can make us some tea and we could sit while talking.” The other blinked, obviously not having expected the invitation.

“Yeah, sure! Whatever gets you into the mood, four-eyes!” He wriggled his eyebrows in what Logan could only guess was supposed to be a suggestive manner. He decided to ignore the innuendo.

“Then please follow me, it is not far.” Logan turned around and headed deeper into the jungle. He’d been on this island for almost ten years now, he knew every nook and cranny, no need for a compass. Remus followed close behind him with loud steps.

“You can answer while we walk though, right?” The pirate captain apparently was not a patient person but that was unsurprising. Over the years, Logan had learned that few of his kind were.

“Very well. You asked about how many years it has been since I have gained my immortality, correct?”

“Not in those words but yeah.”

“I can’t say with absolute certainty, I spend a lot of time alone so keeping track of dates is not something I do diligently, but I can estimate that it was around 140 years ago.” His companion whistled.

“And you’ve been here the entire time?”

“No, I have relocated a few times once my research concluded.”

“And then you just go looking for another place to do the same thing again? Sounds pretty dull.”

“It is anything but dull,” Logan responded more sharply than he had intended. “I do this work because I enjoy it, it’s what I always wanted to do with my life.”

“And that’s why you sought out the spirits? To give you more time to do your research?”

“I didn’t seek them out which is probably why they chose to accept me.” They arrived at his camp just in time for him to dodge the follow-up questions Remus surely had in mind. His home was quite simple, and he liked it that way. It was a clearing, small enough to still be mostly covered by the canopy of the trees above to give shelter from the simpler rainfalls but big enough to give room to move around in. He had set up a fire pit in the middle of the space with an old but durable cauldron held up by some sturdy branches above it. It was currently empty; he would need to fetch water from the stream nearby.

“Please, make yourself comfortable.” Logan motioned for Remus to sit on his bed which was essentially just a collection of moss on a flat stone but being blessed by the Spirits meant more than just gaining immortality and said moss was as soft as the finest mattress money could buy. His bed, along with a large chest containing his few sets of clothes, notebooks, and other personal items, was located underneath a naturally formed stone awning that kept him completely protected from the occasional storms. He stored most of his food supply in a cave not far away where the temperature and humidity were much stabler than out here, thanks to his blessing.

“I will fetch some water, if you know how to use flint to start a fire, I would appreciate the assistance. More firewood is over there.” It was a small stack of logs and twigs inside a hollow tree nearby. Logan grabbed his bucket, also wooden, and headed towards the stream. With his free hand he made sure that the key to his chest was still on his person. He shouldn’t be gone long enough for the pirate to pick the lock.

The babbling of the water always had a soothing effect on Logan. The gentle sound calmed him and he took a deep breath. He hadn’t expected Remus to react the way he had. He didn’t get visitors often, he never had on any of the islands he inhabited after making his deal with the Spirits, and when he did, he tried not to engage. He talked to Remus the day before since he feared the other could get hurt in a moment of carelessness and he had similar motivations earlier as well. The few others he had talked to before also met him with suspicion, in rarer cases with curiosity but most of those encounters ended with Logan’s death. Pirates were ruthless after all, and soldiers often assumed the worst of him. Merchants didn’t come to places like this.

So to have Remus believe him and be excited about talking to him was something new to Logan. And he was entirely out of practice regarding his social skills. His only contacts were Janus and occasionally Virgil but neither sirens were super friendly with him. And then there was his patron, a spirit of the earth on the Council, but he spoke to her only every few years.

Having a human in his camp? Exciting and worrying at the same time. He shouldn’t leave him alone for too long.

Logan took another deep breath before kneeling by the water’s edge and dipping the bucket into the stream to fill it up before making his way back. To his surprise, he found Remus actually crouching by the now lit fire, watching the sparks with a delighted expression on his face.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” Logan nodded to him as he carefully filled the water from the bucket into the cauldron to avoid killing the flames accidentally.

“No problem! I’ll never say no to a bit of arson!” the pirate grinned at him.

“I see. Is that a part of the reason as to why you chose your profession?”

“Not really but it definitely was a plus! I just wanted to be on the seas, and being a merchant’s errand boy seemed boring, as did becoming a fisherman – I mean my father was one, so I knew it wasn’t exciting most of the time – and I was going to off myself before even thinking of joining the naval forces. Becoming a pirate was just the most fun in my opinion.”

“You are quite odd,” Logan commented after pausing for a moment. He meant nothing bad by it and judging from the grin on Remus’ face, he hadn’t taken it as an insult.

“So I’ve been told!”

“I hope you don’t mind me asking some personal questions. I am quite curious about you.”

“Wow, you’re blunt! If you wanna take this to your moss bed, I would be down!” The pirate captain wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Logan couldn’t fight the blush that spread across his cheeks.

“That was not what I was referring to,” he clarified after clearing his throat. Remus cackled.

“Yeah, I know. I was just messing with you, though I do mean that I am totally open to tango with you, if you did want to.”

“Please, let us get back on topic,” Logan sighed and the pirate seemed to understand that he reached a limit.

“To answer your question: I don’t mind you asking some stuff in return. Though if I don’t wanna answer something, I won’t. Of course, that goes for you, too. I’m not gonna be too nosey.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome! Now, tell me more about how you met the Council! They’re the big bosses of the Spirits, right?”

“They are a collective of spirits that act as a sort of government, yes. Most of them are older than we could possibly imagine. They keep the balance of the natural world.”

“That is so fucking cool! And how did you end up meeting them?” Remus was leaning very close to him, staring at his face with an intensity that made Logan a bit uncomfortable. Thankfully, the water in the cauldron was now boiling, so he could flee to fetch two cups and the tea leaves. He put the leaves in the cups, then carefully added the water before handing one of them off to Remus and moving to sit on his bed with his own. Remus followed but decided to sit on Logan’s chest instead, creating some much-needed distance between them – well, needed by Logan at least.

“I will not go into detail,” Logan started, staring at his cup while it brewed, trying not to dive too deep into painful memories, “but I was brought along by someone against my will. Why exactly they took me, I do not know, I was barely conscious, but I believe my captor thought having a sacrifice might be a good back-up plan if his meeting with the Council went sour. I don’t think he lived long enough to offer.” He chanced a quick glance up at Remus who was sitting eerily still as he listened.

“When I regained my bearings, I was alone with the Council. They asked me questions and I answered honestly. I was quite afraid. But they understood that I bore no ill intent and thus offered me a deal. A chance to do the research I always dreamed of doing, for as long as I wanted, as long as I shared my findings with the Council.”

“Why were they so interested in your research? You said you dabbled in biology and botany, right?” Logan nodded in confirmation, making Remus narrow his eyebrows. “Shouldn’t they already know everything you could find? They’re basically nature itself, right?”

“Yes, most of my findings are simply confirmation of what they already know. But nature is unpredictable and so there are some developments – mutations if you will – that even the Elemental Spirits aren’t aware of. Nature adapts and that can happen in many unexpected ways.”

“That’s so fucking cool,” Remus cheered, kicking his legs like a child. Logan smiled, glad to share his passion with another and receive a positive response. Even back during his studies he had rarely met like-minded people. He took a sip of his tea before asking the pirate a question he’d been wondering about.

“Do you have any background in academics? You said your father was a fisherman, did you receive any education? I’m afraid I am not knowledgeable of the current rate of literacy amongst the populace.”

“You talk funny,” Remus snorted. “But yeah, that’s fair, I guess. I did learn how to read and write as well as basic math but not much more than that.” Logan noticed one of Remus’ hands fiddling with his shirt at his chest but decided not to pry.

“Were you a special case or is that the standard education nowadays?”

“Standard, I think. I mean, I could have gone to school longer, but it wasn’t really my thing. Ro stuck around longer, but he was always the smarter of the two of us.”

“Who is ‘Ro’ if I might ask?”

“Roman, my twin brother.”

“Is he part of your crew?” Remus barked out a laugh.

“Fuck no. He’s too righteous for that. Nah, he’s a sailor, works for whoever will hire him last I heard. Well, not everyone. He stays away from any military vessels, we both learned young what shitheads they are.” By now, Remus was tightly gripping at his shirt and Logan couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer.

“What is under your shirt?” A poorly phrased question, he quickly realized. Remus looked shocked for a moment, seemingly not having noticed where his hand had wandered before a wide grin split his face and he leaned closer to Logan.

“If you wanna see me with my clothes off, you could’ve just asked,” he teased. Logan sputtered for a moment, face bright red, before he managed to protest.

“That is not what I was referring to and you know it!” The pirate leaned back and laughed loud and long. By the time he stopped, Logan’s blush had mostly receded.

“Sorry, that was just too good for me to pass up.” Remus wiped a tear from his eye. “But I guess it’s only fair now that I spill the tea.” Jokingly, he raised his still steaming cup, but placed it on the ground without letting any of the liquid escape. Afterwards he pulled on a chain around his neck, revealing a locket from underneath his shirt.

“This is a family heirloom of sorts. My dad had it made for Mom in place of an engagement ring since it was cheaper and they couldn’t really afford more. Later, he got another one made on Mom’s request so they could match. She said it made her feel better about sending him out to sea. Ro has the other one now and I kinda see where mom was coming from. Knowing he has the other makes me feel like we’re connected still.”

“That is a wonderful story, Remus. I am sorry if this is overstepping a boundary, but am I right in assuming your parents have passed?”

“Yeah.” The pirate looked solemn and Logan had to suppress the urge to grab his hand in support. “Ro and I were away; we were doing an apprenticeship to learn to sail on something bigger than a fishing boat. There was a pandemic in our hometown. By the time we heard and made our way back, Mom had already passed. Dad had managed to survive the illness, but it left him severely weakened. He was bedridden when we saw him. Told us that Mom said sorry she left without saying goodbye. That he was sorry he wouldn’t stay either. Ro and I sent him off. I never expected him to make it long without Mom, he basically worshipped her. If Ro and I had still depended on him he might have been able to pull through, but I guess he didn’t have much to live for anymore.”

“My condolences.” It was all Logan could think to say.

“It’s been a few years, I’ve come to terms with it,” Remus waved him off, though his smile was wavering. He put the locket back under his shirt. “Anyway, let’s switch to less depressing topics! How does reporting back to the Council work? Like do they summon you or something?”

“In very rare cases,” Logan explained, glad as well that they changed the direction of discussion again, “but most of the time they send a representative, usually two sirens that go by Janus and Virgil.”

“Sirens?!” Remus eyes were wide and he leaned closer. “What are they like?” Logan raised a brow.

“You’re a pirate. Surely you have encountered sirens before.”

“Nope, actually! At least not up close! We know better than to sail into their territory. I’ve seen some shapes that I think were sirens but I can’t say for sure. I always wanted to meet one!”

“You seem to be very interested in anything that has to do with Elemental Spirits.”

“Duh! It’s fascinating stuff!”

“I think so, too, but most see them as a bother more than anything else.”

“Yeah, I know. Really stupid in my opinion. Like they were here before us, we’re the ones intruding. They’re just defending what’s theirs.”

“I am glad you think so as well. I always found it incredibly rude how people talk about nature like it is something we need to fight instead of adapting to co-exist with it.”

“Exactly!” They smiled at each other, though Logan broke eye-contact when he felt his blush return. He cleared his throat.

“To answer your question about Janus and Virgil: they both are rather brash. Janus dislikes humans and staying on the surface too long, especially on sunny days. Virgil is skittish, and though he doesn’t necessarily dislike humanity, he fears us to a degree, so he’d rather stay away from the surface as well. He does come by occasionally to just chat which Janus is much less likely to do.”

“A siren fearing us sounds strange to me.”

“Well, as far as I understand it, there are Siren Hunters out there that specialize in capturing them. And siren scales are quite valuable, with their immortality and regeneration, if they are trapped, it is likely to end in torture for them.”

“Oh, I fucking hate the Hunters. Total dicks. Think they’re the shit, better than anybody else. Shot one in the head once, his face as he realized what was about to happen was so funny.”

“Please tell me more about your travels. I am quite curious to hear about the daily life of a pirate.”

“Sure! But you gotta tell me a bit more about your research too!”

“Gladly.”

~~~

They talked for hours about Remus’ life on the sea – even a bit about his childhood adventures with his brother – and Logan’s time as an immortal. Remus noticed that he avoided talking about his life before that for long, all he learned was that Logan grew up as the fourth son of a noble and after finishing his studies at his university didn’t get the funding for his passion project, so he worked as a navigator for hire to try and fund it himself. The pirate didn’t press him for more details than he was willing to give, they had only just met after all.

“I should head back to the ship soon,” Remus commented once he saw the sky turn orange through the canopy of trees above him. Logan startled, apparently not having noticed the passage of time.

“I apologize for holding you up for so long. Your crew must be worried.”

“It’s fine,” Remus waved him off, though he did get up to his feet, Logan close behind. “This isn’t the longest I’ve been away from the ship. They’ll send a squad if it gets dark though, so I should get back before then.”

“I agree, that is for the best. I would prefer the wildlife to remain as undisturbed as possible. Where is your ship? I can guide you back.”

“I mean, I got a compass, so I’ll be fine on my own.”

“I would prefer to guide you, it will be faster and again, it will cause less disturbances.”

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. We’re anchored on the south-western coast.”

“Very well, then please follow me.” Logan walked off, back into the jungle, and Remus hurried to follow him.

“Can I come back tomorrow? And bring a friend?”

“Just one?”

“Yeah. I’m sure the others would be curious, too, but Pat is the calmest one amongst them, as well as the one most interested in the topic.”

“Very well. If your supplies allow you to stay, I do not mind.”

“They should. I think.” Logan looked back at him with a doubtful expression. “I’m gonna check in with Pat on that to be sure, I promise. And I still need to hide this thing now that I think about it.” He gestured to the satchel at his side. Logan stopped and fully turned towards him.

“How big is it?” Remus pulled the box containing the seal out of the bag and showed it to the immortal, who looked it over once. “I believe I know a good place to store it. I can show you tomorrow.”

“That would be awesome, thanks.”

“My pleasure.” They continued on their way for a few more minutes until Logan stopped again, pointing further ahead. “We are not far from the beach, just continue straight ahead. I will meet you here again in the morning.”

“Got it, thanks, Death Defiant!” The nickname made Logan scowl, and Remus laughed as he jogged passed. True to Logan’s word, the captain soon broke through the tree line to a by now familiar looking beach. There was a rowboat pulled up on the sand but instead of Sloane, Remy and Emile waited for him.

“There you are, Capt’n,” Remy yawned. “We were starting to worry.” Considering that his First Mate sat on the beach leaned against his boyfriend, both wrapped in a blanket and looking very relaxed, Remus found that hard to believe.

“Yeah, yeah. I know I’m probably getting chewed out by Patton, let’s just head back.”

“Do we have to?” Remy whined, cuddling closer to Emile. “I don’t wanna move.”

“The captain has spoken, love, up you get.” Emile unwrapped the blanket and gently pried Remy off of him who let out another whine but complied.

“Fine! I was getting hungry anyway,” he pouted before climbing into the rowboat. Emile rolled his eyes at his dramatics but followed. Which left Remus to push the boat back into the water, but he managed it without much struggle. Remy and Emile were lighter than they looked.

Back on the ship, Patton indeed scolded Remus for remaining gone for the whole day and especially for leaving Sloane behind (Sloane himself didn’t seem to have minded it, actually).

“Did you at least find a good hiding spot?” Patton sighed, probably having noticed that he wasn’t getting through to his captain.

“Not yet, but I did find something far better,” Remus grinned. Patton tilted his head, looking like a confused dog. “I’m gonna show you tomorrow. Everyone!” he called, getting the attention of his crew that had gathered on the deck in preparations for dinner. “We’ll be staying here one more day! Or like half a day, we can afford that, right, Patton?”

Patton looked annoyed to be asked that after Remus had already made the announcement but nodded.

“Do we get to know why?” Missy asked.

“Nah, it’s a secret for now!”

“Figured.” The crew turned back to what they were doing before, all knowing better than to question their captain when he gets like that. Remus was so proud that they knew him so well.

“Now, let’s get some food, I’m starving!”

[shootingcookielover]

Thomas sanders hunger games - night 2

Link to explanation/list of tributes/beginning:

https://shootingcookielover.tumblr.com/post/617463816468545536/thomas-sanders-hunger-games

And so the second night begins!

Larry thinks about his family.

Elliott cries himself to sleep. (Well this night seems rather sad so far)

Toby, Virgil, Orange and Brain sleep in shifts, trying to protect each other. 

Dad, Janus and Emile get in a fight. Dad quickly kills them both. (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Janus!! D:>!!)

Kai stays awake all night on pure adrenaline.

Logan tries to treat his infection with water and grass.

September lets Remy into his campsite.

Sloane thinks about his family.

On this night we suffered great, great losses.... (R.I.P. Janus) (& Dr. Picani) (Sorry but Janus is my fav) :( Let’s hope the next day brings more joy.

[that-spider-fan-over-there]

I miss Emile Picani a lot, and now I'm like. Imagining. Karma by AJR and Cartoon Therapy. More accurately, I'm imagining the patients leaving his office as this part plays:

"To give some diagnosis of why I'm so hollow," - Dot.

"Please give me instructions, I promise I'll follow!" - Elliott.

"I tripped on my ankle and fractured my elbow," - Kai.

"But doesn't that mean that the tour's gonna sell, though?" - Larry.

"I tried to explain the good faith that's been wasted," - Sloane.

"But after a hour, it sounds like complaining." - Corbin.

"Wait, don't go away, can I lie here forever?" - Alternating between characters.

"You say that I'm better, why don't I feel better?! The universe works in mysterious ways," - Emile himself, as he looks at everyone in sympathy.

"But I'm starting to think it ain't working for me, doctor, should I be good?" - A last look in his office for the day...

"Should I be good this year?" ... And the session is over.

... IT JUST FITS!

[lemonyellowlogic]

the harder the rain, the sweeter the sun: chapter sixteen

-o-

masterpost

first

previous

-o-

chapter sixteen: the morning

During dinner that night, Emile told his friends and nephew everything about his life, but at the same time, hid so much. 

He told them about Remy’s job helping to keep the border safe but didn’t tell them about the rumors they had heard about the avian village. He told them about Roman, the new addition to their family, but didn’t tell them he was a human, lying and saying he was a mage. 

Emile loved his family, but he knew that telling them the whole truth would do nothing good, just scare them and make their feathers worn. 

Emile knew Logan wouldn’t take the news about a human living with Emile well, seeing Emile’s own brother and sister-in-law were killed by them, but Emile knew Roman was different.

 Emile was just going to slowly introduce Logan to the idea of Roman and gradually reveal his true identity. He knew the two boys would either get along wonderfully, with their sharp minds and wit connecting them or absolutely terribly, with their sharp minds and wit opposing them.

No matter that, Emile went to bed on the couch and ached as he woke up, his back feeling tired and worn after only one night on it. He groaned, rubbing it as he was reminded where Roman slept and made sure to remind himself to get the boy a bed soon.

“Oh, Em, you’re up!”

Sloane walked into the living room, yawning as his rust wings stretched out behind him.

“Come, I’ll make tea.”

Emile smiled, standing up as well and creeping over to the kitchen table, where he sat as Sloane lit the stove and began heating the water. The man then sat across from Emile and mirrored his smile.

“I’m so glad you’re home, Emmy. People have been getting more nervous with time and so seeing you safe is a relief.”

Emile grabbed his hand, his smile softening, “I’m glad too. I’d heard rumors of human soldiers getting closer to the village, but now that I’m here I can see that you’re safe.”

Sloane nodded, asking curiously, “So, why didn’t Emerson come along? You said they loved the village?”

Emile nodded, “They do, it’s just that they’re worried about an attack on the village, and so we decided it was safer for only me to go. And also, it’d be difficult bringing the boys along, and we didn’t want to leave them alone together, “ Emile raised his eyebrows as he spoke and Sloane grinned, “And so we decided it was just better overall this way. Next time though, once things have calmed down, they’ll be sure to come along.”

Sloane opened his mouth to respond but the kettle began to whistle, and so he swept himself up and quickly took it off the heat, bringing it to the table with a small cup of jasmine tea leaves and small cups.

“Oh, I understand. But the boys?” Sloane raised an eyebrow as he grinned, spooning the leaves into the cups before dousing them with water. He slid one over to Emile and the man gave him a small bow of the head in return, thanking him.

“Oh yes, the boys. You know, Remy and I always knew that Virgil and Diego had some sort of…” He gestured vaguely with one hand, “Feelings for one another, but it seems as if introducing a new person, they were finally able to show it to each other, and as time passed, to Roman as well.”

Sloane hummed, taking a sip of his tea before sighing, “Roman is a mage, correct?”

“He is,” Emile nodded, sipping the tea in his hands to cover his horrible poker face.

Sloane hummed into his cup, “Well, I hope Remy and he are connecting well, does Remy teach him much?”

Emile smiles, remembering just how close the two had become, “They are connecting amazingly, Roman has wormed himself into the family perfectly, I honestly can’t imagine the family without him, but I also thought that before Virgil, so maybe I just like kids.”

Sloane and Emile shared a laugh, and they continued to drink in comfortable silence. 

Emile cleared his throat, “So, it was Logan’s birthday last week, was it not? Seventeen?”

“Yep, he’s getting so old now.”

“You’ve had him for thirteen years now then, that’s crazy to imagine.”

“I know, isn’t it? But I’m still so grateful that the stars aligned themselves so we could have him, even though...well...you know.”

Emile smiled sadly, “Yeah, but even still, I’m glad too.”

He gave a sly grin to break the sad mood they fell into, “You know, my boys are all around that age too.”

Sloane snorted a laugh, “Oh goodness, do you remember him and Diego when they first met?”

Emile giggled, “Oh, my goodness, those two couldn’t stop blushing.”

“Who couldn’t stop blushing?”

Logan sluggish walked into the kitchen, Corbin close behind, and Emile and Sloane burst out laughing. Logan looked extremely confused and Corbin just clasped his shoulder, walking the two of them into the room before sitting down and pouring himself a cup of tea.

He sipped it, but cringed. His husband gave him a small glare, “Corbin, stop taking my tea if you dislike it.”

“Mm, or I can keep drinking your tea and you just deal with it.”

Sloane snathed the tea out of his hand, almost spilling it, but Corbin just laughed, Emile joining in while Logan stared at the splashed tea in slight panic. Emile patted Logan’s shoulder, grinning up at the teenager, “Come on, chickadee, sit down.”

Sloane snorted into his cup as Logan turned bright red, stammering. Emile reached around and pulled out the chair next to him, and Logan grumpily sat in it, Corbin ruffling his hair with a soft smile.

Emile cleared his throat, “So, the festival is tonight then, hmm?”

Logan rolled his eyes, groaning into his hands and Sloane smiled and nodded.

“You excited then, Logie?” 

Emile poked Logan’s shoulder and he swatted at him, “No. It’s a waste of time, Emile.”

Emile stood up, walking behind the boy and wrapping his arms around him, ignoring his annoyed squawk as his wings became pinned to him, “Aw, come on, you’ll be spending time with family, and I get to meet your friends!”

Logan paled, looking up at his uncle in horror before squirming out of his arms and running out the door, shouting, “Absolutely not!” over his shoulder as he went, leaving the adults cackling inside.

-o- 

next

[asterythm]

A is for Amour || As We Find The Pieces (10)

Pairings: Slow burn Logicality, eventual Prinxiety (also bonus Cartoon Therapy Corne for this chapter!!) Word Count: 4.9k Chapter Summary: Chapter ten seems like the perfect time to set some friendly matchmaking into motion, wouldn't you agree? (Patton certainly might, if he didn't have so much respect for the fourth wall.) Chapter Warnings: food, caps lock, alcoholism mention, neglectful parenting mention

<< First Chapter || < Previous Chapter || Read this chapter on AO3

***

"Patton. Patton. Paaaaaattonnnnn...”

The owner of the name in question barely blinked in acknowledgement of the beckoning voice; eyes seemingly fixated on an invisible point on the air, the only indication that he was alive at all was the movement of his jaw as he chewed thoughtfully on a handful of pretzel sticks. 

“Patton? Hello? Foley!” 

Moments after the last word, a tiny, greasy object launched across the table to smear against the lens of Patton’s glasses, jolting the boy back to reality at long last. “Huh? What?” Patton looked around in confusion, first at the french fry in his lap, then across the table at Sloane, whose arm was already rearing back to throw another. “Hey!”

Sloane grinned, triumphant. “There he is. Welcome back to the land of the living, ya goof.” The second fry bounced uselessly off the side of Patton’s head.

“What was that for? I’m already listening!”

“Just making sure.”

Next to Patton, Valerie shovelled a spoonful of chocolate pudding into her mouth before giving Patton a big grin. “So what had you so distracted there, Mister Plato?” she teased, poking the plastic spoon in Patton’s direction.

“Oh, you know… just thinking,” was the vague reply, delivered offhandedly as he glanced at the empty spot beside Sloane. Contrary to his previous protest, he still seemed distracted. “Where did Corbin go?”

“Bathroom, I think. Or maybe he just got tired of waiting for you to tell us what you were thinking about,” said Valerie, tossing any semblance of subtlety out the window with a raise of her brows. There was an expectant lull in the conversation as the two friends waited for Patton to fill them in. When it became clear that he wasn’t about to, she turned to Sloane with a roll of her eyes. “Guess we have to figure this out on our own. Hmm, let’s see. What new factors have entered Patton’s life recently that could be distracting him this much?”

Sloane caught the meaningful lilt in his feisty friend’s voice without missing a beat. “Well, I can think of at least one thing. One person, to be precise.” He tapped his chin with another fry, pretending to think hard. “What was his name again?”

“Leonard? Liam? Maybe Luke? Something with an L. Cute tutor guy, right? The one with the swoopy hair and —”

“And dreamy eyes —”

“Okay, alright, fine! Enough!” broke in Patton, red as a tomato. “First of all, his name is Logan, okay? Which I know you know — Sloane, he’s in the same grade as you, for crying out loud!” 

Sloane, to his credit, at least had the decency to pretend to be sheepish, even if his best efforts couldn’t mask the impish gleam in his eye. The same could not be said of Valerie. “So you were thinking about him!” she said, triumphant. “Damn, I’m good.”

“Um, actually, no. For once.” The tips of his ears had begun reverting to their regular shade for a moment, but now the bright red glow returned, twice as strong as before. The words hanging on Patton’s lips couldn’t get out fast enough. “I mean, don’t get me wrong — I’ll be the first to admit that he does have just the cutest hair and eyes, and he’s super smart, which is obviously a plus, and it’s so adorable the way that he’s always adjusting his glasses and necktie as if they’re not already perfectly in line with the rest of his outfit — hey, speaking of, have you noticed how you never see him wear the same necktie twice? Where is he even getting those things from? D’you think he might have some kind of secret necktie stash or—?”

“Patton. Breathe.”

“Right, okay, sorry, I... yeah." Patton clamped his lips together as he sucked in a huge breath through his nose, grateful for the timely reminder. What were we talking about again?

“You’re still avoiding the question,” supplied Valerie. “Don’t think I didn’t notice. If it’s not thoughts of cute necktie tutor guy distracting you, then...?” 

“Oh! Well, I don’t think I’ve mentioned this to you guys yet, but there’s this one really nice guy who works at the library where Logan and I meet up for our sessions. His name is Virgil. Super sweet guy, really cool nails.”

“Aha!” Valerie leaned forward. “So Logan’s getting some competition now, is that it?”

Patton laughed freely at that. “Oh, no — ha! — no way. He’s, like, twenty years old; pretty much the same as Roman, probably. No, we’re just friends. At least,” he added, furrowing his brow, “I think we’re friends. He seems pretty shy, though, and we’ve only really talked twice, so maybe he doesn’t actually consider me a friend yet?”

“Acquaintances, then.”

“Sure. Close acquaintances. Anyway, we were having a pretty nice chat while I was waiting for my mom to come pick me up from my session yesterday. He kind of fell asleep halfway through, but —”

“Back up,” Sloane interrupted, “fell asleep?” At Patton’s nod: “Sheesh, man. I thought you said he was this ‘super sweet person’.” He made little air quotes with his fingers as he spoke. “Checking out mid-chat doesn’t exactly scream sweetness. You’re sure you’re not just too nice to realize his true colours or whatever?”

“Wait, wait, wait, don’t jump to conclusions yet. I was just about to get to that. See, the poor guy had an absolutely exhausting day yesterday. He told me all about it after his, uh, energy crash. Because I invited him to, not because he just decided on his own to go ahead and dump his worries on me,” Patton added as he saw Sloane readying another protest. “But, see, here’s the thing: I don’t think that the whole streak of bad luck was the only reason for Virgil’s stormy mood yesterday. I mean, maybe I’m just overthinking, but both times I’ve talked to him so far, he’s just had this kind of… permanent tiredness. Not as in I-want-to-take-a-nap tired. This feels way deeper than that. Almost hollow.

“You should see the way Virgil carries himself. His shoulders are always curled in, for one, like if he makes himself smaller, the empty whateverness inside of him will get smaller too. And he keeps his hands really close to his chest when he’s not typing or knitting or something, like he always needs to be ready to shield himself from someone trying to reach in and tear that hole any larger. And he never smiles without ducking his head a little, as if...”

Noticing for the first time since he’d begun his strange monologue how blank his friends’ faces had grown, Patton trailed off sheepishly. 

“You know what? Never mind,” he dismissed. “I didn’t mean for that to get so heavy. Sorry. Um, so yeah.” Patton shifted in his seat uncomfortably he continued while he turned to address Valerie, who was so lost that her eyes were fixed on a point above Patton’s head as she tried to understand.

“Patton, if I may…”

Oh, wait. So that’s what Valerie was staring at! Hearing the new voice join their conversation, Patton turned around with a delighted smile. “Corbin, you’re back!” he cheered, all thoughts of holes in chests disappearing to the back of his mind as he leapt to his feet to greet the new arrival.

“Oh my g— you’re just as bad as Sloane,” grumbled Corbin in response before sliding back into his spot next to his boyfriend. Contrary to the studious disinterest he’d been feigning at first, Corbin couldn’t resist giving Sloane a quick but affectionate smooch on the cheek. He waited until his arm was wrapped securely around his boyfriend’s shoulder before continuing, the sting of his words somewhat dampened by the way Sloane was already nestling into the crook of his arm, almost purring in contentment. “Seriously, do none of you have any chill? At all? I was gone for less than five minutes.” 

“Sure, but I missed you!” Patton said with a pout.

“Looks like you didn’t miss my pretzel sticks,” shot back Corbin, gesturing to the now-empty container in the middle of the table. “That was basically full when I left!”

“Sorry, Corbin,” chorused the three friends, not sounding sorry in the slightest. 

“Yeah, yeah, save it. Anyway,” continued Corbin, turning to Patton, “I couldn’t help but overhear your desperate plight.”

“He means he was eavesdropping.”

Corbin lifted an eyebrow at his boyfriend’s interruption. “It’s not eavesdropping if I would have been a part of the conversation in the first place anyway!”

“Mm, not how it works.”

“You shush or I’m taking this arm away.” Taking Sloane’s protesting whine as a sign of surrender, Corbin returned his attention to his cousin. “Patton, I totally get where you’re coming from. I think that this library guy just needs a friend.”

Patton’s forehead creased. “A friend? But I’ve already been trying to be his friend!”

“Yeah, but… look, obviously, it’s great that you’re already spending time with this guy —”

“Virgil.”

“— sure — spending time with Virgil after your sessions. Super thoughtful of you. But honestly, you know as well as I do that half an hour of small talk twice a week is hardly enough time to really get to know someone.” Corbin idly messed with Sloane’s hair as he spoke. “Not that I don’t think those half-hours are helping — I’m sure they are! I just… you said that he’s older than us, right?”

Still listening attentively, Patton nodded. “A few years.”

“Well, then, maybe you could try introducing him to someone else around the same age. Someone with a little more control over their own schedule than a high school student would have. Do you see what I’m getting at?”

“Uh… sure do.” Patton did not.

A fact which did not escape his cousin’s notice. Corbin exhaled. “Alright, here’s the thing. It’s not that I doubt your ability to befriend someone older than you. I know you, Patton, you could probably make friends with a rock if you put your mind to it. Actually, scratch that — you have made friends with a rock, haven’t you? Remember Percy and Pierre, your ‘twin’ pebbles from when you were in, what, grade two?”

In spite of himself, Patton laughed. He remembered, all right. “Pretty sure I might have paid more attention to the well-being of those rocks than I did to myself.”

“Okay, yeah, see? That’s my point exactly. You’re a really friendly, caring, all-around great guy — impossible not to like. But if I’ve learned anything from all those post-secondary preparation lectures they make you attend in twelfth grade, it’s that uni students’ schedules and high school ones don’t always mix; they might be busy in the mornings and evenings with classes and work, but have most of their afternoon open, or vice versa. It’s a mess.” Corbin shrugged. “Hey, if anyone could make a friendship thrive under those weird hours, it’s you. But I still think it might be a better idea to find someone who’s around the same age as this Virgil guy.”

While Patton thoughtfully processed his cousin’s suggestion, the table lapsed into comfortable silence for a spell. Across the table, Valerie finished the last of her chicken and rice. It was as she was screwing the lid back onto her thermos that a question appeared to hit her. 

After a moment’s hesitation, Valerie had to give voice to her curiosity: “Hey, Corbin, it seems like you really know what you’re talking about. If it’s alright to ask, why is that? Are you speaking from experience, or...?”

She trailed off as both she and Patton noticed the worried expression Sloane now wore. He shifted on the cafeteria bench to glance up at Corbin. “You don’t have to share if you don’t want to,” he murmured.

“No, it’s fine.” Corbin punctuated his words with another bite of his apple, which he took his time chewing, carefully formulating his answer before swallowing to speak again: “When I first entered ninth grade — so, two years ago, you and Pat would’ve still been in seventh — I was... going through a bit of a rough patch. That was around the time my dad packed his stuff, and a few weeks later, my mother started to drink. A lot more than she should have, probably. 

“Patton, you might remember that we weren’t at the family reunion that Christmas. That’s because neither of us were in any shape to go to a party; things had gotten really messy at home, to the point where I was skipping school almost every day to make sure she didn’t — uh, to take care of her.” Corbin rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “Long, long, long story short? First semester of high school was not a great time.”

Valerie blew out her cheeks. “That... sucks, Corbin. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well. Things got better.” Down came Corbin’s hand as he glanced at Sloane, whose head hadn’t moved from Corbin’s shoulder since he sat down. The moment his eyes fell on his boyfriend’s face, it was almost as if Patton could see his walls coming down, too. “And believe it or not, the improvement began in History class, of all possible places.”

“Our teacher’s seating plan put us next to each other.”

“I was trying to get some dramatic buildup going there, but… yeah, basically. My home situation was a little better by second semester, so I started coming to class more often. Sloane moved from Clivesdale right around the same time. As luck would have it, he wound up next to me for homeroom. The fresh transfer and the kid who never came to school. Probably the only thing we had in common besides a similar desk arrangement was the fact that neither of us had any friends, though not for lack of trying on Sloane’s part.”

“I baked cookies for everyone my second week there! Cookies, and no one besides Corbin even tried one!”

“Dang, so that’s how your whole love story began? Cookies?” quipped Valerie. “Those must’ve been some good baked goods.”

Corbin snorted. “No. I mean, yeah, they were good cookies, but it would have taken a tray a day to break through the angst-barriers shielding me from the rest of the world back then. No, it was that dumb A Moment in Time project. You know, the one where you and a partner have to prepare a full-length presentation to ‘transform the classroom’ and ‘take your peers back’ to a decade they assign you?”

Patton nodded. He remembered it well. 

“Man, I have no idea where they come up with this stuff. Anyway, the point is, being the only ones in the class who had no pre-established connections with any other classmates, the two of us were kind of forced to partner up through process of elimination.” The last of Corbin’s apple slices gone, he paused to slide the container back into his lunchbox. 

Sloane picked up the narrative where he’d left off: “I ended up inviting Corbin over to my house, I think about two days before the deadline? I told him it was to put some finishing touches on our Swing in the Roaring Twenties poster, but honestly, I just wanted to get to know him a little better.”

“We both knew it was an excuse—”

“He never suspected a thing.”

“I absolutely did.”

“Not a clue. Nada. There’s a reason they call me Sloane the slick.”

“No one calls you that,” insisted Corbin. “Besides, I knew all along. Our posters had been done for a week.”

Sloane gave Corbin a playful nudge. “Then why’d you agree to come, hmm?”

“I guess... because a part of me didn’t hate the idea of having a friend,” Corbin had to concede. “Actually, I’m not sure what I was expecting to get out of our little meeting, but a total mental breakdown at a near-stranger’s house definitely wasn’t it. Took both of us by surprise. I’m… still not entirely sure why it happened.” 

Patton had his suspicions; he’d met Sloane’s mother before, and she was the epitome of sweet and affectionate. His voice softened. “Aw, Corbs.” 

To his surprise, though, Corbin smiled. “There I was, a snivelling mess on the carpet of a guy who until then had been a friendly acquaintance at best, but instead of judging me or getting uncomfortable, Sloane just… sat with me. Listened. And eventually, gave me comfort when I was ready for it. That’s where this quote-’love story’ began, Valerie — having someone to lean on was so helpful in getting me through the rest of the year, and by the time my mom finally cleaned up her act, our relationship had long since moved from partners in History class to, well, partners in just about every other sense.” 

“Corbin’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Sloane added. “Man’s witty, sweet, and so easy to talk to it’s stupid. All I really wanted after transferring here was a casual friend or two. Corbin turned out to be way more than that; he’s been my rock. My loneliness-b-gone, know what I’m sayin’? Nothing can mess with my funky flow when he’s around.”

“Hey, Sloane?” 

“Yeah?”

The corners of Corbin’s eyes crinkled affectionately. “That didn’t make any sense.”

***

By the third time the lead on the tip of his pencil snapped off, Patton could no longer ignore the voice in his head telling him to just give up for the night. He pushed his homework to the side and closed his eyes in a lazy attempt to calm the headache that had been steadily growing over the past half hour. This effort — if you could even call it that — proved futile; the image of the trigo-whatsit cosine graph he’d been staring at moments before was burned firmly in his mind’s eye. If he focused hard enough, he could even make out a colourful impression of the curvy lines faintly floating against the dark backdrop his eyelids provided. 

Patton yawned, wishing he hadn’t left his math homework for last. Talk about not making sense.

The bizarre pseudo-graph starting to psych him out, Patton opened his eyes back up with a yawn. His gaze landed on something bright blue: the cat-eared case of his phone, lying face down on the other side of his little desk so as not to distract him from the homework he was supposed to be doing. 

Fat lot of good that had done him. He’d been eyeing the thing all evening. 

Try as he might, Patton couldn’t get his lunchtime conversation with his friends out of his mind. Corbin’s story in particular had given him a lot to think about regarding Virgil’s predicament, and it hadn’t been very long after when Patton realized he knew exactly what to do. The answer was blindingly obvious in hindsight, really. 

Admittedly, he had yet to actually act upon his “master plan” — he’d been pushing the thing aside in favor of trying to make sense of his math work for most of the day. But now that Patton had, er, selflessly decided to sacrifice the completion of said work for the greater good, nothing was left to stand in his way.

Except possibly a lack of cooperation, but he could cross that bridge when he came to it.

After the briefest of internal debates, Patton’s hand reached out to make contact with something bright blue. Moments later, the brightness of a phone screen lit his features from below:

TheJollyJollyFoley (7:59pm): rooo

TheJollyJollyFoley (7:59pm): romannnn

TheJollyJollyFoley (7:59pm): roman my mannnnnnn

TheJollyJollyFoley (7:59pm): heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

le-petty-prince (8:00pm): Sorry I was just watching the clock change from 7:59 to 8

le-petty-prince (8:00pm): What can I do for you pattington bear?

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:00pm): ooh new nickname :DDD

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:01pm): anyways i just wanted to ask a question for science reasons

le-petty-prince (8:01pm): Well that sounds completely normal and not at all suspicious even the slightest amount! Ask away, O Vaguely Cryptic One

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:02pm): you ever wish you had friends

le-petty-prince (8:02pm): ???

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:02pm): wait no that came out weird let me try again

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:03pm): “how would you like to add a new friend to to your already existing large roster of many cool and awesome friends” <<< pretend thats what i said the first time pls

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:07pm): u still there?

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:12pm): hello?

When a few more minutes of waiting yielded no response, Patton’s brow furrowed. What if he had accidentally offended his older brother? 

Just as he was seriously starting to worry he’d blown it, though, his phone vibrated in his hands:

le-petty-prince (8:21pm): Sorry. Back. Monet says hi

le-petty-prince (8:21pm): Anyway!! Im intrigued!

With a sigh of relief, Patton tapped out his instinctive response:

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:21pm): hi intrigued im pat ;))

le-petty-prince (8:22pm): Funny

le-petty-prince (8:22pm): Now call me crazy but something tells me there was a little more than ordinary curiosity motivating this Friend Roster Expansion hypothetical

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:23pm): science reasons, roman, i told you

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:23pm): ..but yeah also another less sciencey thing

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:23pm): well i guess he could be sciencey? V was playing minesweeper last time we talked which seems like a smart-people kind of game but idk where exactly it would fall on the spectrum of scienciness

le-petty-prince (8:24pm): To be fair, its gotta take great courage to play minesweeper in public. Whoever this V person is, I deem them worthy of my respect

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:24pm): i assure you it was a very cool and respectable thing

le-petty-prince (8:24pm): In that case, I would be honoured to meet such an indisputably Cool Guy

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:25pm): !!! YESS

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:25pm): ok so i was thinking you and V could maybe meet up over coffee or something? theres this one really cute place that opened up recently, best cronuts youll ever taste <33

le-petty-prince (8:26pm): Ngl cronuts sound EXQUISITE right now

le-petty-prince (8:26pm): Why dont you send me their contact and I can try to schedule something, say next week?

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:26pm): ooh uh

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:27pm): thats the thing

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:27pm): i kind of dont really have any of V’s contact info BUT!! he works at the library so i’ll see him on friday and i can set up a time and place for you two then!!

le-petty-prince (8:28pm): Hmmhm

le-petty-prince (8:28pm): Funky circumstances but I trust your judgement! If you like V this much then Im sure he must be a real grand guy, I cannot wait to meet him!!!

le-petty-prince (8:29pm): Oh shoot sorry I need to go, Ive got a date to get ready for. Im super into this though so we can work out the details tomorrow, capiche?

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:29pm): caposh~

TheJollyJollyFoley (8:30pm): be safe!! dont have TOOOO much fun ;)))

le-petty-prince (8:33pm): Pfft. Bye dingus

***

“I just don’t get it!”

“Heard you the first time, bud,” quipped Valerie through a wry smile and a bite of celery. “You’re absolutely sure you didn’t… I don’t know, misinterpret something?”

“Yeah, I — no! Maybe?” Patton first tossed his phone onto the cafeteria table, then his hands into the air, frustrated. “I just don’t know why the sudden change in heart, Val. You know?”

“Who knows?”

“I know!”

“Okay, no. Press pause.” All eyes at the table turned to Corbin, who in turn was squinting through his glasses at Patton. “Guys, I’m barely following. Could you maybe explain what’s going on one more time?”

“Alright, you remember how I was telling you about Virgil yesterday? Lonely librarian guy? And you told everyone your and Sloane’s backstory and recommended I play friend-Cupid and all that jazz, right?” At Corbin’s nod: “Well, I tried it with Roman, and everything seemed to be going just peachy last night. He seemed really excited! But now all of a sudden… well, here.” Patton retrieved his phone to show his tablemates the messages. “Look.” 

le-petty-prince (11:12am): As I was saying though: I do hate to rain on your parade but to be frank I think Im uhh

le-petty-prince (11:13am): Good? Friendwise I mean

le-petty-prince (11:13am): Real sweet of you to reach out though

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:13am): wait what? really??

le-petty-prince (11:14am): Sorry there are just so many complications

le-petty-prince (11:15am): Im unbelievably busy these days, for one

le-petty-prince (11:15am): So so busy

le-petty-prince (11:15am): Student life, man. Busy with college

le-petty-prince (11:15am): Essays and stuff

le-petty-prince (11:16am): Look frankly I hardly even get to see my other friends anymore, if I went through with this the chances are pretty good that Id meet him for cronuts or whatever this one time and then never find time to hang out with him again

le-petty-prince (11:16am): Which just seems boorish. It would probably do more harm than good for poor V frankly

The last text appeared as Patton’s friends were still reading; with a frown, Valerie handed Patton’s phone back to him. “He is acting kind of weird.”

“Right? I’ve got to get to the bottom of this.” Patton looked up at his friends apologetically. “Is it okay with you guys if I text at the table today?”

An indifferent shrug was his response. “Go nuts, man.”

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:17am): hey ro? can i be straight with you for a sec?

le-petty-prince (11:18am): Good luck with that

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:18am): -_-

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:18am): no points for the gay joke today, however tasteful it may have been. serious business here

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:18am): roman, what changed your mind really?

le-petty-prince (11:19am): Huh

le-petty-prince (11:19am): Wdym

le-petty-prince (11:19am): Didnt I just say? Haha

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:20am): mm i dont think you did

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:20am): you keep talking about “complications” and youre using the word “frankly” a lot and i know for a fact that you only ever use those words when youre hiding somethin

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:21am): nice try though!! but i did grow up in the same house as you did so im gonna need you to give it another go

le-petty-prince (11:22am): I dont know why youre being so weird about this pat

le-petty-prince (11:23am): I mean sheesh maybe I really am busy okay?

le-petty-prince (11:23am): And for the record that maybe is actually a resounding REALLY

le-petty-prince (11:23am): Look see I didnt even say anything to do with frankness that time! Absolutely zero traces of frank in this honest fellows messages right now

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:24am): -___-

le-petty-prince (11:24am): Frank? Whos that? Dont ask roman, he wouldnt be able to answer you!!

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:24am): -_______-

le-petty-prince (11:25am): Okay sorry youre right Im done

le-petty-prince (11:25am): Seriously though I dont understand how this warrants such a fuss? I just thought it over some more and realized it would actually be a bad idea to meet V for aforementioned reasons, et cetera et cetera. Why does that have to be such a big deal

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:26am): i…

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:26am): okay youre right i dont really know

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:26am): i guess this is just a really quick turnaround and it doesnt seem like something youd typically do??

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:27am): i mean you were all for it yesterday. you said, and i quote, “I cannot wait to meet him!!!”

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:27am): THREE exclamation marks and all!!! 

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:28am): besides, maybe college is busy but theres no reason you should be any busier now than youve always been and

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:28am): whew. sorry for being pushy. i didnt mean to sound like i dont respect your choice, ig im disappointed is all :(

le-petty-prince (11:29am): No thats ok

le-petty-prince (11:30am): Ill tell you what. You said youd see V on friday right? And todays thursday.

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:30am): uh

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:30am): yeah..

le-petty-prince (11:31am): So hows this: Ill think it over some more during rehearsal this evening, and if I have another change of heart Ill get back to you tomorrow.

TheJollyJollyFoley (11:31am): !!!!!!!!

le-petty-prince (11:32am): Its still not a yes!! 

le-petty-prince (11:32am): But… consider me solidly in Maybe territory.

le-petty-prince (11:32am): Capiche?

***

The majority of “tomorrow” had come and gone, and Patton still had yet to hear from his brother. 

He’d been glued to his phone all day, checking his messages with a near-obsessive frequency in hopes that Roman might text him to say he’d come to his senses after all… but as Patton buckled into the passenger seat of his mother’s tan SUV on its way to the library, he had to admit the odds were getting pretty slim. 

His mother, misinterpreting his solemn expression, shot him a quizzical glance out of the corner of her eye. “I thought you said the tutoring was going well.”

Before Patton could answer her, a quiet chime sounded from within his backpack — barely audible, but Patton’s ears had been piqued for it all day. Instantly, he scrambled to retrieve the bright blue source of the sound, perking up as he saw the screen was already illuminated. As Patton read over the contents of the notification, a wide grin spread across his face.

“Yeah,” Patton said out loud, addressing his mother with his words even as his fingers were already moving to type out a reply to someone else. “Tutoring’s great.”

le-petty-prince (3:44pm): Ah, what the hell. Im in.

***

A/N: me, rushing in more than a month late, starbucks cup in one hand and this update in the other: HEY GUYS DONT FORGET TO LIKE COMMENT AND RING TH -- wait where did everyone go

for real though, i'm so so sorry about how long this mediocre chapter took to go up!! this was the first chapter that i HADN'T finished the rough draft stage of during nanowrimo, and i huuuugely underestimated how long the unfinished portion would turn out to be. couple that with this weird writer's block that's been following me around wherever i go for a little over three months, and, well... you'll end up with this ^^; thank you so much for sticking with me though, and i hope it was at least semi-worth the wait?

[next chapter]

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[sandershospitalau]

I hope you are doing okay I appreciate the fact that you notice when something is not working and that you work to improve, it shows the hard work you do. remember to drink water! And for your other surgical character I like the idea of Kai being a orthopedic surgeon/resident (they work with bones his disability could be a reason he went into that type of surgery) or Corbin and Sloan could be transplant surgeons (one to remove the organ and one to place in new person) -Tired Tree

Thanks Tree. You sound a bit like my mom- she’s always telling me to drink water.

I love your suggestions! They make a lot of sense. I think the term for the transplant surgeons is a general surgeon since they deal with some of the usual transplants. Since Deceit is known for his speciality in burns and elements of plastic surgery, Sloane and Corbin could be known for their excellence in transplants. And Kai’s job makes perfect sense.

Yeah, I realized that with the jobs I’ve placed my main characters in, while I can deal with a lot of interpersonal issues and hospital politics and some intense cases, I was mostly locked out of one of the main elements of medical dramas- surgery. Patton‘s probably the only one I have so far who does surgeries (which might be pushing his job as head of Pediatrics a bit, idk). Since I want to have more options in the stories I tell, I figured it was time to add another character.

Have a good day-

- Mod Em