#the tail was way harder to figure out than it should have been lol

[elkkiel]

Sleeptober day 19 — Waves

he's grooving!!

[itjazzbicch]

Free

Pairing:  Havik (Dariou) x Reader 

Summary: Once a slave who helped build the realm of Seido, the reader has always lived their life in fear from the trauma the realm has caused them, only to be blindsided by Havik, who comes to free them, destroying Seido with Rain's assistance, and promising the reader a new, better life as they are free...

Requested by: @isimpformaskmen (Ya asked for some Havik, so I hope you enjoy it!)

Warnings:  Havik's Tower ending spoilers, Reader was a former slave, Reader uses Havik's real name, Dariou. The reader is also a little crazy like Havik is (lol)

Word Count: 0.7k 

Seido wasn't the glamorous realm that everyone thought it to be. It was built on the back of enslaved people such as me, living through horrors and strict laws. Most people were afraid to make so much as a tiny, meaningless mistake because there was a chance that they'd be imprisoned for it.

I lived much of my time as one of the commanders' servants. It wasn't the best, but it was better than being in prison or dead.

"I'll be right back with what you requested, sir," Bowing my head to the commander and going about my way, I started daydreaming like I always did, thinking of a better life and startled by screams that I heard in the hall.

In fear, I quickly hid against the wall, covering my mouth and panting as I heard more screaming. It sounded like some guards were fighting someone, that someone letting out a deep but low laugh with the screams silencing.

Panting harder, I could hear the footsteps getting closer. I didn't want to be next, but I was afraid to move, seeing a figure pass by. Somehow, they didn't notice me, my hand falling limp as I recognized them:

"D-Dariou?"

He recognized my voice, slowly turning to me:

"Y/N. I found you."

I was shaking, struck with shock as I saw his disfigured face, beginning to ramble out of fear:

"W-What are you doing here? We'll be killed!"

"Oh no, we won't," He growled, taking my hand, "Tonight, our lives will change for the better. Now, we must leave. Immediately."

"O-Okay," I nodded, following him as Dariou was my only friend in this forsaken world. We managed to make it out unharmed and no one on our tail, heading clear up to the mountain top, nearly crying as I pleaded to him:

"Dariou, tell me what's happening. Please, I'm scared."

"There's no need to be afraid," He sighed, finally at the peak of the mountain, holding my hand as I stared at him; his scarred face still took me aback, a tear dropping to my cheek as I caressed his cheek softly:

"What happened to you while you were gone?"

It was apparent that it was a sensitive subject as he turned away from my hand, but I quickly held his hand again, reassuring him:

"I don't think of you any differently. I've just worried about you so much, and I can tell you've gone through a great deal of pain."

"I have," He murmured, pulling me to him and keeping me under his arm, "But that's all about to pay off. Rain!"

Who? I was confused but stayed put, still scared and so, hugging Darriou's torso, watching as this man dressed in purple with a staff stood at the peak:

"Leave the rest to me."

Suddenly, thunder started cracking in the sky, and that alone showed me that this, Rain, wielding strong magic, his arms raised to the sky as it began to rain and that water grew more and more into waves and quickly after, a gargantuan storm, flooding the capital of Seido.

I was scared but was smiling for some reason as Havik left me where I stood to take a closer look, hands also raised to the sky as he was laughing chaotically:

"FINALLY! FINALLY, SEIDO FALLS!"

The entire capital was destroyed, but I was grateful for Dariou because I still could've been down there.

"This-" I whispered shakily, looking at Dariou, "This is why you came for me?"

"You've suffered as greatly as I have, Y/N," Coming back to me with his arm over my shoulder again, he brought me to see the destruction, "But now, we're free! As we always should have been!"

"We're f-free?" I cried softly, my throat closing from holding back tears, "We're free!"

As I watched the waves of the storm cascade with destruction, I couldn't help but cry, squeezing Dariou as his arm wrapped around me, embracing me as he whispered:

"I told you I'd come back for you and make our dreams a reality, remember?"

What I thought would be a dream was coming true, and as I picked my head up to wipe my tears, I was smiling again, beginning to laugh along with him:

"It's come true. We're free!"

"Yes indeed, my dear!" Still holding me, we stared at the destruction of Seido with smiles. It was the beginning of a new era, his voice confident as he swore to me, "And no one will ever shackle us in chains ever again!" 

2023 © itjazzbicch — do not repost or translate my work. Likes, reblogs, and comments are always welcome 

[deathsbestgirl]

been thinking a lot about season 7 (which i normally don't do), and how if mulder hadn't been abducted, maybe they would have healed and a, well not normal, but normal for them life. they would have had considerably less trauma to deal with. maybe it wouldn't have taken until the revival years to learn how to communicate with each other.

thank you so much for coming to me with this <3

i think they had learned to communicate (pretty) well by iwtb...but they couldn't talk about william, not like they did in the revival. something i've noticed about scully is it takes a lot for her to talk about something. she struggles with that vulnerability a lot, and she retreats & isolates, and mulder tends to take her lead with it because he respects her and doesn't want to force her. we see traces of that in the first season but i think the most obvious time is the cancer arc, memento mori & elegy specifically. beyond the sea, irresistible, emily. he tries to let scully know it's okay to take care of herself, her feelings aren't wrong or bad, he's there for her. but she usually refuses it until she can't, or she's gained enough distance or made sense of it on her own.

one thing mulder & scully majorly have in common is they try to take care of everything on their own, but part of their coping is the work which puts the other in the middle of it every time. they didn't have that between season 9 & iwtb. scully eventually had her work as a doctor, where she tried to save children and it was killing her. mulder didn't have anything but scully and they had a shadow of the life they wanted with the grief of william hanging over them. it makes sense to me that we don't see that change until the revival, when they have to confront everything surrounding william. they've matured enough, they've learned to make sure the other understands/they understand the other, and they come back to the x files together after years of trying to move on & it not working. both of their answers lie in the x files.

i just don't think there's anything like giving up a child you desperately want and love. there's no blueprint for how to live with that, how to go on with your life. i'm sure at some point they resented each other, but i think they mostly blame themselves. they both struggle deeply with guilt and taking responsibility for things that aren't really their fault, or making a choice when every option they have is bad. they just did the best they could.

there are certain ways they've always communicated well (their cases), and ways they always struggled. they had to learn to say the things and you can see the progression through the whole series. they always told each other hard truths (and avoided samantha as much as possible). they had to learn the other's language and create their own. they had to share more than their work. they had to learn the other's desires & needs (and their own lol) and get on the same page. but part of communication is also being able to hear what the other has to say. they were always able to do that with the work, but to be able to hear & accept the responsibility they should take, that they have nothing to be sorry for, that it isn't their fault — with how deep losing william marks them, it just takes a while. two steps forward and three steps back, snake eating its own tail. like kae said once, "memorizing everything that someone has ever said can be a curse when you first have to hear it through your own perspective" which feels to me, like the crux of their miscommunication until they're able to look past that.

we've seen scully go to therapy, and they reference mulder taking medication in the revival. they had to figure some stuff out on their own before they could bring it back to each other & move forward. it's a harder road for them, with a lot of complex trauma. i was thinking last night that these two were never going to have a normal life, they're just not normal people and they purposely choose the paranormal, the x files. the very difficult road of helping the victims and trying to uncover & expose a global conspiracy. but genuinely, i think this is what makes them so compelling. their struggles, while set in a fantastic world, are still very relatable. the violence, abuse & violations, the loss, disease, infertility, medical abuse, etc etc.

and my thing is, like i think scully was always going to be abducted, mulder was too. (at least with how long the show was on.) it brings everything full circle, every loss & traumatic experience is shared, yet different because of when it happens and the different circumstances (like being a child vs an adult, not even partners vs in a relationship).

anyway. no idea what i said here. maybe they could have healed differently, but they would have been on the run with a baby and william would have been in danger the entire time. i think a split would have been inevitable. just a different kind of trauma & looming fear over them trying to protect william from their situation with the fbi & the conspiracy dangers.

[catboyklug]

Characters: Sonic [ he / it ] ; Tails [ they / them ] ; Dr. Eggman [ he / him ] ; Infinite the Jackal [ ??? ]

Warnings: Vaguely described blood/injury ; Sonic Loses Lol

Notes: dividers by @rookthornesartistry !! ; this is the first in a series i'm making where i just. rewrite forces from the ground up. very excited about it

Word Count: 1.9k

As always, Sonic did what he did best - race through the track he was given.

Eggman had been leading frequent attacks against the more urban areas dotting the planet Earth, and now he had finally decided to reveal his master plan - a plan for war.

Apparently, he had built a new Death Egg, and was launching it near one of the most densely-populated cities on the planet. Though nobody was sure about the finer details of this new model, one thing was for certain...

Things were about to get messy.

So Sonic ran, past every second-rate badnik and "deadly" lazer, closer to the Death Egg Mark...

"Hey, Tails," Sonic called through his communicator - a handy-dandy wristwatch that Tails was still thinking of a more sci-fi name for, "Which version of the Death Egg are we on, now?"

"I think we should be on--well, technically we're on Mark III..." Tails's voice crackled due to nearby interference - weird, but not unheard of.

"Technically?" Sonic hummed.

"There was that first one you destroyed with Knuckles, then the second that we raced on," he started explaining, "Then the one we all fought to blow up, the... one with Emerl... and then the one he sent at us on the anniversary of you and Amy meeting!"

"But, two of those were considered the Death Egg Mk.II, and the other three just the Death Egg, so I have no idea what Eggman thinks of this one."

"Looks like Eggman's as good at naming things as he is planning ahead," Sonic remarked, audibly grinning.

Even though it was absolutely nothing as quick quips go, Tails bursted out laughing, which prompted a smile from their brother.

"I'll talk to you later, little bro, think I'm almost there," Sonic says, "You keep up the good work over there!"

"Oh, thanks, Sonic-" Tails flushes, "I mean! Good luck to you, too, big bro!"

With an encouraging smile, Sonic ends the call, picking up the pace as he nears the Death Egg launch site.

Now at the city's edge, Sonic noticed the sheer amount of Badniks in the area, and how weirdly placid they were.

Sure, they took a swipe at him if he got too close, but otherwise none of them even bothered turning his way.

Not to mention, they're at the edge of the city. Eggman's only been attacking the most populated areas for a while...

Just as he tries to figure out a reason for these oddities, though, he notices a massive blockade in front of him.

With his depth perception, he can't tell how big they are, but he figures he can just jump over them if there's a ramp nearby.

He notices, almost too late, that there isn't.

Skidding to a halt right before he crashes into them, he prepares to run the opposite direction to look for a building to run up instead, but...

He's surrounded.

It was a trap.

He tries to spindash underneath them, but their legs are too tight together. He can't burrow, since the ground under him is concrete...

Even bashing them seems to be out of the question - they're harder than bricks, and he can't even make the slightest of dents or scratches on them.

At least they aren't trying to attack him back...?

If he had more room, he could build up some speed and make shrapnel of this new plating. But this weird arena's barely big enough for him to jog in, and every time he starts gaining speed he ends up just smacking against one of the drones.

Just as he tries formulating a plan, he hears a familiar, annoying laugh behind him.

He turns, crossing his arms and tapping his foot at the new arrival.

"Sonic, you're just in time to meet my newest pet project," Eggman grins, "Meet Infinite Mechanism - the greatest weapon I've had the pleasure of working with."

This "Infinite" is tall, towering above Eggman. Long and lanky, and Sonic thinks he can see bones through the thin fur and skin.

Or... maybe not bones. They look sharp. He notices a metallic sheen coming from a particularly papery part of skin.

Creepy...

Oh well.

"Infinite Mechanism, huh?" Sonic grins, keeping his confidence close and arrogance closer, "Guess it's better than Monkey Dude..."

Despite how weak the 'insult' was, his enemy seems to immediately deflate upon hearing it. For a moment, his stance changes, and his height makes him look less terrifying and more like a stretched-out piece of plastic about to collapse in on itself.

"Come on, Infinite! You're one of my greatest creations yet!" the doctor roars, apparently offended, "Defeat this blue brat! Put him in his place as punishment for insulting you!"

And there he goes, right back up to pompousness.

No big deal! Sonic's faced off with tons of uppity jerks before, and each time it's been their self-assured swinehood that was their biggest weakness.

There's no doubt that this Infinite guy was briefed for hours about each of Sonic's offensive moves, so he decides to make fun of 'em by keeping it simple.

A light kick there, a weak punch here... He doesn't even spindash, keeping his moves entirely to running around and occassionally taking potshots at his new rival.

When Infinite gets more aggressive, Sonic responds by zipping around the arena as well as he can - not a tactic that could help him get out, sadly, but more than good enough to tease.

He dodges a punch by speed-walking to the other side of the arena and avoids a spinning kick by just... leaning out of the way.

Absolutely enraged at this point, Infinite picks up the speed, trying to reach Sonic, and Sonic takes the opportunity to bait him, tripping him up in mid-air and sending him crashing into one of the badniks making up the arena.

"You're supposed to be Eggman's greatest weapon? Seriously?" he huffs, "This fight's so boring it's making me miss Metal."

"INFINITE!"

Both the combatants turn to Eggman, one absolutely less amused than the other.

"IGNORE THE RAT, FOCUS ON ME!"

"You're more powerful than he could ever dream of being!" the doctor barks, "You have him in the palm of your hand, now - CRUSH HIM!!"

"Talk about ignoring the truth, huh!" Sonic chuckles, crossing his arms.

Before he can finish the quip, though, Infinite barrels him over, grabbing his arms and forcing him to the ground.

He draws a massive, red sword from his belt, raising it above Sonic's neck -

"WHOA!"

Panicking, Sonic kicks him in the stomach and runs to the other side of the arena - wait, is it getting smaller?

No time for that - to take this bigshot down, Sonic needs an opening...

"So you've got a fancy weapon, big deal!" Sonic yells, "I don't need weapons to take anyone down, especially not a loser like you!"

It seems Eggman's 'speech' really got through to him, and Infinite is now completely ignoring Sonic. Drat.

"Keep going, Infinite!" Eggman cheers, "Put that rat in his place!"

With each word Eggman says, Infinite seems to only grow stronger. He fights quicker, harder, and smarter - still no match for Sonic, but... he's getting there.

To prove this point, he makes a sniper rifle appear out of thin air, and aims it at Sonic, pulling the trigger the second its sight meets his head.

Only having dodged because he was dashing when Infinite fired, Sonic's definitely getting a little shaken up now.

For his own sake, and to not power Infinite up even further, he keeps a cool head - and sticks his tongue out when Infinite turns to see if their shot hit.

Outraged, they throw away the now useless rifle and supplant a sword for it.

Infinite can't hear him, but he sure can see him...

Sonic looks, extremely disappointedly, at the sword. Shaking his head to truly convey how upset he feels at Infinite trying to use the same trick twice in one battle. He knows Infinite can do better!

This tomfoolery, albeit nonverbal, seems to get Infinite back to that deflated state. In fact, he seems positively depressed as he halfheartedly swings at Sonic, rendering the sword practically useless.

Well, it would be useless, if it wasn't still incredibly sharp!

Too worried about what'd happen if he tried jumping over a sword in such a tiny arena, Sonic gets backed into a corner, and the realization of this seems to reinvigorate his enemy.

He raises the sword, not too dissimilar from earlier,

Swings it down,

And Sonic kicks it away.

High on adrenaline, he rushes behind Infinite, kicking him down.

"One..." he breathes, "Two... three..."

"Four, five...!"

But before he can call it a knock-out, Infinite shakily pushes himself off the ground.

For a moment, he simply stands facing away from Sonic, and the air stills.

He starts shaking, but with his mouth hidden in a mask, Sonic can't tell if he's laughing or crying.

Thankfully, the awkwardness of the moment is shattered when Infinite swings a new weapon his way - a ridiculously oversized flail, with huge spikes to match.

Starting to get bored of how often he has to quickly dodge out of the way instead of just pummeling the dude, Sonic sighs as he runs away again, keeping his distance.

Deciding not to try his luck against something twice as big and three times as pointy as he is, Sonic uses his new 'running away' position to see if there are any other weaknesses he could make use of. Then notices-

Every time Infinite attempts to draw a new weapon, he has to take several seconds to fish something out of a satchel on his belt.

Great! Now if Sonic could just catch him unawares when he-

Throws the flail, and grabs several daggers.

Sonic might be tired of dodging, but he's absolutely not tired of speed. Or showing off.

A dropdash into a kick off the ground into a frontflip and he sticks the landing!

He gives a joking bow to several of the eggpawns surrounding the arena, making sure to sprint to each one individually and in random order, throwing off Infinite's aim.

Or maybe not.

He realizes, a little too late, the flow of wind as another dagger is thrown at him - and it hits his waving arm.

Shocked by the pain, and the blood, Sonic staggers.

That's... bad.

He grips his arm, trying to slow the flow of blood, but it's hopeless - the blade hit at an odd angle, and the wound is too wide.

It hurts too much to do anything but grip it, however, and the sight of the blood pooling at his feet makes him feel dizzy.

While he's preoccupied with his injury, Eggman lets his egg carrier float into the arena, taking in the sight with glee.

"Each picture is worth a thousand words," he grins, "But I believe this scene only requires three..."

"Good boy, Infinite."

With the praise, Infinite practically glows.

He advances on Sonic, a dark gleam coming from his mask.

Gently, he puts his hands on the sides of Sonic's arms,

Sonic hears a sickening crunch,

And everything goes black.

"Sonic! You there?"

"I managed to drive off all the badniks! Something really strange happened, though... seems like they all turned heel and ran off."

"I guess Robotnik must have called them back..."

"Wait, that means they're headed for the Death Egg!"

"If I'm right, do you need any help over there? None of my 'drones are any worse for wear, so we're all here if you need us!"

"I bet you could handle anything Eggman threw at you, though, big bro!"

"..."

"...Sonic?"

[destiny-in-the-universe]

The Nine Realms: 1/? [RC9GN Brainrot]

well, here we go again lol-

i did allude to this a while back and was originally not going to do this until later because i'm struggling to make sense of what is basically just fanon interpretation, but the brainrot is killing me all over again- hence why this chaotic post now exists. rc9gn was an amazing show with so much potential which means i want to explore a lot with what happened post-season two because oh my god why, but to spare irrelevant rambling, i figured we could talk about the nine realms and my thoughts of what we might've been able to get in further seasons (this show better come back, istg)

fair warning: this post is a bit informal and fairly long, so if you don't want to sit around and deal with my brainrot rambles- well, i guess this isn't for you? and so we commence!

first of all, the nine realms are meant to get harder and harder for the ninja as the seasons progress- we know about the land of shadows which apparently isn't even the worst out there; the way i see it- the land of shadows is dealing with threat and fear, more so conditioned terror than anything truly dangerous. well, the sorcerer could've been a bigger threat if the show had been allowed to be a little more unhinged- (he did wipe out an entire clan meant to stop him, and they had to be at least a little op, so- i'm sure his power in rc9gn could've been stronger)

the land of shadows is tied to monsters- creatures that seem almost primal in comparison to other dangers; personally, i do believe that it's mostly just an open realm where these monsters, which are more like hounds you could say, exist but at the end of the day they can easily be defeated because as i said- land of shadows is about fear and likely primal feelings but of course, there are other realms

which brings us to the second realm- i genuinely would like to believe it's tied to one of the "core elements", or in simpler terms: fire, earth, wind, and water. i'm still trying to decide which element (though at the same time, i have an idea but that deserves its own separate post-) and that now the ninja would likely have to face a completely different set of trials- but i'm getting ahead of myself: i did a bit of digging into japanese folklore and myths, and decided the yokai should become a more prominent theme in rc9gn

i feel that in the case of the shadow warrior, while he probably didn't originate from this second realm- that he still will become a potential major antagonist (alongside with the idea that the sorceress could come back-), but the second realm deals with oni- now to briefly explain, oni are essentially demons in japanese myths; they're creatures that would be a far greater foe than a mere stanking, but let me get right to the point

i don't know why i'm struggling to articulate my thoughts so much, but the second realm is also a place where unrest happens- the creatures there are hungry and if they're released, well, i can't say that would be good for anyone huh? but to put this into more perspective, the realms have specific adversaries that get tied to a lesson the ninja has to complete (which will not get breached yet-)

i will say that my thought that each realm correlates back to the norisu 9 will continue happening, but let's back to just the second realm-

the second realm is not as seemingly empty as the land of shadows appeared to be; oh no, this is now home to monsters which will come after you on a second's notice- it's an ominous threat where things are watching your every move and almost like something is tailing you and will bite if you get too close; it leaves you on guard, and this realm is whispering into your ear but the only way out is to take on these threats head on and not find yourself looking in the wrong direction

the shadow warrior would be a smaller adversary in comparison to the danger randy would face in the final arc but i like to imagine that the shadow warrior was a source of dark magic that, while it had the potential for good- it still had just as much of a capability of being used as a source of wrong. of evil, to say the least but again, we'll talk about that more later

second realm is all about keeping your eyes set for danger, and the oni are not something to be reckoned but would randy be able to take them head on?

i swear, creating original lore can be a little painful but once this becomes a little more coherent- well, i'll send a new post where i can talk about this in better detail. until next time!

[imaginedisish]

I Know The End (Loki x Reader)

A/N: Hey guys!!! Sorry for the wait, but here it is! This is based off of the request I posted last! I really hope you guys enjoy! PS, it’s somewhat inspired by I Know The End by Phoebe Bridgers. Although, the tail end of the song doesn’t exactly match the vibe of the fic, so if you intend on listening to the song while reading, I’d say hit the rewind button as you get to the end of the song LOL. Anyway, my requests are still open, and ENJOY!

Summary: Thor and Tony tease Loki about never being able to find love. That’s not true, as far as you’re concerned, especially given your feelings for Loki. Except there’s one issue: He doesn’t know about them, at least not yet. 

Warnings: A good deal of angst, but it turns into fluff, cursing, maybe some grammar mistakes? I think that should be everything lol.

Word Count: 3,211

“Oh come on, you so totally would!” A voice shouts in the near distance.

The words snap you out of the deep sleep you had been in. Soft rays of light stretch across your face, creeping in from the small cracks and crevices of your white curtains. You groan in annoyance, grabbing your pillow from under your head and shoving it over your face. You know it can’t be later than 8:30 in the morning, because that’s when your alarm should have woken you up. 

Instead, as always, Tony and Thor decided that this was the type of morning to be incredibly loud. It also wasn’t convenient that your room was dangerously close to the end of the hallway, allowing for all the noise from the kitchen and living room to flow directly into your ears. 

“Oh please,” A familiar voice chimes out. “I’ve had more people in my bed than the amount of whatever midguardian currency you have sitting in your silly little bank.”

The rest of the conversation is unintelligible as you force your pillow down harder over your ears. Thankfully, all you can hear now are the mumblings of annoyance coming from those distantly recognizable voices. Still, you know you won’t be going back to sleep any time soon, so you have no choice but to force yourself out of bed and out into the conversation that somehow seems to be growing louder and louder. 

You rip the pillow off your face and push yourself up onto your fore arms, listening a bit closer to the conversation. 

There’s a powerful, booming laugh. “Well brother,” Thor chants, “The people amount of people one has in bed most certainly does not equate to the love one holds in one’s heart.”

Loki stays silent, but Tony’s laugh is audible as ever. “Proverb Thor 3:5 makes an excellent point,” Tony mutters. “And if you’ve slept with more people than the amount of money I have, I think it’s time to get that thing checked out, Reindeer Games.” 

You roll your eyes, knowing full well that the conversation must be bothering Loki. As much as he pretended to be a cocky asshole, he was truly a rather vulnerable, hurt, damaged, yet kind person. At least to you, that’s what he showed himself to be. His god-like, sarcastic, cynical front was just an illusion to keep his true self hidden. 

But he didn’t hide that true self from you. 

You swing your legs around to the side of the bed, and force yourself to face the cold hard wood floors below. You walk towards your door, twisting the knob and making your way out into the hall. 

“Good morning sleeping beauty,” Tony chimes in as you enter the kitchen, pouring himself a cup of coffee in the process. Loki stands up from the barstool he had been sitting on and begins to walk over towards you. 

“Morning Loki,” You say, your voice still hoarse with sleep. 

He sends a soft smile your way, but doesn’t respond. He leaves the kitchen and heads off down a hallway, disappearing into a room. 

Your heart sinks down deep into your chest. Whatever Tony and Thor had been teasing Loki about had truly gotten to him, and you couldn’t help but feel as though your presence somehow made it worse. That was the last thing you wanted. You wanted to be there for him, to figure out what was wrong, to fix whatever was hurting him. 

You really couldn’t bare to see him that way, you never could. The amount of hours you spent next to Loki, talking about everything and nothing, all to make sure he was okay, were absolutely innumerable. Sometimes you two would sit in comfortable silence, your shared presence saying more than words ever could. Sometimes you’d keep a TV show on in the background, but you were never paying attention. You’d sit on the couch next to him, resting your head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. 

To be honest, you would do anything for him. You would sit with him for days on end if you had to. You believed in him more than any other Avenger. You saw the good in him the very second you laid eyes on him, as impossible as that seems. He didn’t have to prove himself to you. He didn’t have to jump through hoops or pass stupid, foolish tests. 

He was Loki, and that was enough. 

You finally decide to speak up, completely ready to interrogate your teammates. “What did you two do?” Your voice is strong, a little bit too strong. You were just a tad too easy to read. Immediately, Thor and Tony can tell that there was something else causing you to react this way. 

Everyone did. In fact, everyone had admitted it already. Everyone had discussed it with each other at least once a day. Everyone could tell so easily. But you and Loki couldn’t. 

There was something between you two. It was impossible not to see. 

You could never tell him how you felt. Never. You couldn’t even tell yourself. It didn’t matter how bad you wanted him, how terribly you loved him, how horrifically head over heels you had become for him. Because, at the end of the day, you had lost far too much to lose something, someone, like that. Of course, losing him would hurt regardless. Maybe it would hurt even more if you never got the chance to see how things played out. But still, it felt safer not to try. It felt safer not to let those three words free themselves from their chamber at the back of your throat.

So you wallowed in silence. You felt in silence. You dreamt in silence.  And that was okay. 

This, however, Loki feeling pain, was not. 

Tony finally decides to speak up. “We were just messing with him. I didn’t know Reindeer Games had any soft spots. Guess he does.” 

You scoff. “He has emotions, you know,” You say, your eyebrows furrowed. You weren’t having Tony’s bullshit today, no matter how close you two were. He had become something of a father figure for you, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was always the greatest influence. 

“Couldn’t tell, to be honest,” Tony says back, sarcasm heavy in his voice.

Before you could think of a comeback, Thor interjects. “He’ll be alright, (Y/N),” He says, his voice much softer than usual. “He always pushes through.” But his words weren’t reassuring to you. 

You shake your head. “What were you even talking about? What could you have been possibly saying to make him so upset, hm?”

Tony smiles, laughing a bit. “I said,” He stops, his laughter growing, “Thor I can’t say it, it’s too damn funny.” Tony bends over, his cackle filling the room. He mutters something under his breath, and he laughs at whatever it was he said. 

Thor chuckles. “Tony said Loki would have to pay someone to be his girlfriend, and I agreed. Jokingly, of course.”

“As funny as it was, it wasn’t a joke to me!” Tony shouts, laughing even harder now. 

Your mouth falls open. “You assholes!” You yell, your voice booming against the walls of the kitchen. 

Tony looks at you, his eyes wide with disbelief. “What, you really think he’ll ever be able to find true love?” He asks, the remnants of his laughter still thick in his voice. “I mean come on, you know him better than anyone else here, don’t you? Even better than Thor?” 

Thor nods. “That’s probably true.” 

“Yeah, it is,” You respond, “Which is exactly why I know he will, and that he’s worthy of every ounce of it.” Your commanding, serious voice cuts the jovial tone of the room in half, leaving a feeling of tension and conflict in the air. Tony and Thor take their eyes off of you. The only funny thing about this was how intimidated they had become of you in a matter of seconds. 

After a minute of silence, Tony’s head whips back towards you, as if he’s had some sort of epiphany, some sort of grand realization. He laughs to himself.

“What, what’s so funny now?” Your voice doesn’t waver at all as you slam your fist on the cold, marble countertop. 

Tony shakes his head and chuckles once more. “There’s no skepticism left in me. I wasn’t entirely sure about this, but now I am. Thor insisted it was true. So did Nat. Even Bruce knew it. I thought maybe you were just that nice. You’re too nice sometimes. But now, now it’s crystal clear.” 

Tony stops his tangent, leaving your heart thumping out of your chest. “What the fuck are you talking about Tony?” You say back. 

He stays silent, and smiles softly. You look over at Thor, waiting for him to speak up. 

“I think you already know the answers to your questions, (Y/N),” Thor says finally. “We’ve known for quite a while. It was only a matter of time before you finally acknowledged it too.” 

Everyone knows, You think to yourself, slightly embarrassed. It was a lot to process, although it made complete sense. You thought back to the time they had caught you and Loki sitting on the couch, watching some stupid horror movie. Despite being a goddess, you found yourself stuck under the crook of Loki’s arm, shaking like a leaf in fear. You burrowed your head into his chest, and he tightened his arm around you. When they walked in on you two, all cuddled up, they made some snide comments, but that was it. 

Then there was the time Tony had found you two on the couch, sound asleep at 2:30 in the morning, clung together underneath a blanket. Neither of you could sleep alone that night. Nightmares plagued your mind, and oddly enough, Loki was in the same boat. You had made your way out into the living room to watch the city streets below, and Loki showed up just a few minutes later. After talking for a while, you felt yourself growing tired, but you were afraid to be alone. So, he stayed with you on the couch, all night. Tony went to grab a glass of water, and that’s when he saw you. By the next morning, everyone knew. You took the jokes and made sure Loki was never uncomfortable about any of them. 

But there were far more times than that. Far more times than you could even begin to count. And they were all hitting you now. It was undeniable, your words, your actions, your feelings. It was all so abundantly clear, not only to yourself, but to the world. 

You wondered if they were clear to Loki too. Maybe he thought you could never love him, all over some stupid jab from Tony and Thor. That stung. The thought that he truly believed you could never love him was enough to drive you to tears. The idea that Loki seriously believed that he would need to pay you to love him was far too painful. You needed to set the record straight. 

Now or never. 

“You two fucking suck,” You say angrily, punching the marble countertop again before storming out of the room. You walk towards the hallway Loki had traveled down, and knock on the door. 

There’s no response. 

You knock again, and when there’s still no voice on the other side, you choose to open the door. You feel your stomach twist when you see that there’s no one inside. “Loki?” You call out, but there’s still nothing. You step back out of the room, shutting the door behind you. 

That’s when an idea pops into your head, and you immediately storm towards the doors to the balcony entrance at the other end of the hallway. 

And, of course, there he was. You push the doors open. You watch Loki stare down at the cars rushing by below. It’s almost as if you can feel how lost he feels, how hurt he feels, how confused he is. A shiver runs down your spine as you finally start making your way over to him. Your footsteps are audible, but he doesn’t turn around. He stays exactly where he is. It feels like he’s hiding from you, like there’s something he doesn’t want you to see. 

“Loki?” You whisper, finally reaching the place next to him, where you’ve always felt you belonged. 

You let your hand place itself in between his shoulder blades, rubbing slowly. He shudders under your touch. You finally look over to his face, his tear stained face. That’s what he’s hiding, You realize.

“Oh, Loki,” Your voice is quiet and filled with sadness. You bring your other hand across his chest and up to his shoulder, wrapping himself in your arms, bringing him into a tight hug. You bring your lips to his ear.  Your voice is incredibly low, so only Loki can hear you. “They’re wrong. You know that, don’t you?” 

Loki brings his hands to your waist, giving into the hug and bringing you closer to him. He shakes his head into the crook of your neck. “No, they’re not, and that’s the problem.” After a few seconds of silence, he pulls away from you, leaving you feeling cold and empty despite the cool touch of his skin. 

He walks a few steps away from you, and begins to pace back in forth. Every now and then he’ll bring his hands up to his face defeatedly. It kills you to see him like this. 

“They’re wrong Loki, I promise you. They’re completely, entirely and insurmountably wro-,”

He whips around to face you again. “No, they’re not!” He shouts, tears falling from his eyes, smacking the ground when they land. “I’m unlovable. I’m nothing. I’m unworthy of so much, (Y/N). Of Asgard, of a real family, of friends, of love,” He pauses, his voice softening with every word, “Of you.” 

Your eyes begin to well up. You blink and the tears free themselves, trickling down your cheeks. You catch the salty taste as one falls to the corner of your mouth.

“That’s not true and you-,” 

But he cuts you off again. “It is true! Of all the things I just mentioned, I don’t deserve you the most. I will never deserve you. Why are you even here? Why do you stay? Look at me, I’m a monster.” 

You shake your head, pinching the bridge of your nose as you take a few steps towards his frozen body. You scoff and part your lips. “Because you’re not a monster. You’re not whatever the fuck you think you are. You’re so much more, Loki. You’ve shown me more love than I’ve ever seen in my entire life. You’ve been there for me, and I’m always going to be here for you,” Your words are shaky. You pause, out of breath, trying to speak in between sobs. “And don’t you dare, for a single second think that you don’t deserve me.” 

“And what makes you think that I do?” He questions, his voice much quieter this time. 

You look to the city streets below, searching for the perfect thing to say. But that’s when it dawns on you, that there’s no need for some perfect way to come out and say it. Nothing is ever perfect. It doesn’t need to be. It shouldn’t be. Life would be shit if everything was perfect, You think to yourself. You and Loki were most certainly far from perfect, and yet, you knew that he was all you wanted. You knew that you belonged with him. 

You knew that no matter what your story was, it would end with him. 

“Because I know the end, Loki,” You say, stepping closer to him. “They know it too,” You say motioning towards the door behind you and him. You figured the entire team was watching, but neither of you looked to see. 

Loki closes the gap between you and him. “What are you talking about, (Y/N)?” He questions, taking your hands in his. 

You blink some more tears out of your eyes to see his face more clearly. You take a deep breath, allowing the words to fall out of your mouth. 

“I love you, Loki. That’s the end. You and me. No matter what. No matter how many times you and I try to push each other away, no matter how many stupid jokes they make about you never finding love, no matter how you feel about yourself, I will always love you. I always have and I always will.” 

There’s a pause, a moment of disbelief between the two of you. You can’t help but worry he won’t feel the same.

“Y-you love me?” A genuine smile plays at the corners of his mouth. His blue eyes widen. 

You nod once. “Yes,” You say simply.

Loki brings his hands to the sides of your face as his lips come crashing down onto yours. You swear you can feel a strong ray of sun break through the grey cloudy sky, reaching the exact spot you and Loki are standing in, as if the heavens decided to open up, as if some sort of order had been resolved within the universe. That’s exactly how the kiss felt, as if everything was in its right place, as if this was exactly where you were supposed to be. 

Loki separates his lips from yours, a single tear falling down his cheek. “I love you, (Y/N), and I mean that.”

“I know, I know,” You say back, “I know you do.” You knew he wanted you to understand that this wasn’t some trick. But there was no need to prove a single thing to you. You knew how he felt. There was no doubt in your mind now. 

“Thank you,” He says, resting his forehead against yours, squeezing your hands with his own. 

“For what?” You ask. 

He smiles. “No one has ever made me feel this way. No one has ever treated me with so much kindness, with so much trust. With so much…” He trails off, his eyes shutting tightly. “Warmth.” 

“You don’t need to thank me, Loki,” You say, squeezing his hands back. 

Loki squints his eyes, confused. “Why not? You deserve it.”

You shake your head. “Because that’s what love is. I’d do anything for you, no questions asked. I’d chase you into a tornado. I’d drive into the sun with you. I’d face the end of the world with you,” You pause, swallowing the lump in your throat. “Forever.” 

“Forever?” Loki asks. 

“Forever.” You say back. 

He wraps his arms around you, bringing you tightly into his chest. You didn’t care if the team was watching. You didn’t care who saw. 

He was yours. 

Forever. Never to be alone again. 

Either way, we're not alone

I'll find a new place to be from

A haunted house with a picket fence

To float around and ghost my friends

No, I'm not afraid to disappear

The billboard said "The End Is Near"

I turned around, there was nothing there

Yeah, I guess the end is here

Tags: @lokissuper​

[stuff-from-the-void-matron]

Into The New (chapter 1: Brand New World)

-0-

(a/n: Hey again guys! Here’s the first real chapter of this Origins fic! It’s a little on the shorter side but I hope you like it. The pacing will be a bit different than the DSMP one hopefully. More lighthearted and silly like the OSMP itself lol~ But please lemme know if you guys like this by commenting and reblogging! It keeps me writing and inspired! QwQ Thank you! 💗)

-0-

You were… at a loss to be honest.

When you woke up the second time you just stared down at your now animal lower half. 

What else could you have really been expected to do??

I mean it wasn’t every day you woke up… wherever the hell you were with a horse(??) body for your lower half. Well… you’d first assumed it was a horse half anyways. But once you’d entered a state of semi calmness you actually inspected it further and realized it wasn’t a horse at all. Because you’re pretty sure horses don’t have cloven hooves. …Or antlers.. …Or short little deer-like tails. 

So… reindeer? Or maybe a caribou? You’re not sure to be honest. You’re pretty sure there’s a difference between the two but you’re not savvy on what it is. Maybe caribou were bigger? Either way you’re a reindeer centaur thing now. You guess it could be worse. You could be half an animal that didn’t have legs, like a walrus or something. Or god, what about a water based animal like a fish. Would you have been given gills or just left to suffer? You try not to think about it. Just look on the bright side! ….The antlers are cool, if not a bit cumbersome to get used to. 

So-... okay. You’re not sure where you are. No, scratch that. You’re pretty fucking sure you’re IN(??) Minecraft. Like 90% sure if the blocky way everything looks is any indication. But that didn’t really give you much to go with. Though you supposed it didn’t matter either way. This was obviously a dream or something. You’ve never really lucid dreamed before but you’re guessing this is what it’s like? It was pretty cool, if not a bit frightening. Though you guessed you could just enjoy it while it lasted. Who knew when you’d wake up. 

With that settled you decided to just.. go with the flow.

And the first order of business for you to handle was actually just figuring out how to walk with four legs. But if newborn animals can do it practically in no time then you should have no trouble at all!

-0-

Okay it’s harder than it looks.

You’d tried getting the back legs up first before moving onto the front ones, but they’d started wobbling and you’d nearly face planted into the grass. Thankfully you’d been able to catch yourself in time. You wished you could use a tree or something as support but you tried and only succeeded in getting your antlers stuck in the damn branches. So that was a no go.

But after some embarrassing trial and error you were up and standing! And thankfully not too much later you were tentatively walking around. And to your delight it was very fun to trot. Soon you were picking up speed and cantering around the small clearing. Giggles bubbled in your chest as you went even faster, heading into the woods, galloping between the trees now. Peals of giddy laughter echoed around you as you ran. You can’t remember the last time you’d had so much fun running around, if ever. 

You were having so much fun that you sort of glossed over that you weren’t really getting tired, despite running through the woods for nearly 10 minutes straight..

After running around for a while longer you eventually slowed to a stop before really taking in your surroundings. Which were lovely by the way, all green grass and tall trees. Though you couldn’t take the scenery in for long before you realized that it was getting close to dusk.

It was at that point that you heard shuffling behind you, and when you turned around you saw a creeper inspecting you. That… scared you more than you cared to admit and without thinking you screamed and kicked the poor mossy thing. Killing it instantly. It didn’t even survive long enough to get thrown back, it just poofed from the kick itself. Guilt briefly flooded you, the poor thing hadn’t even been going to explode, it looked like it was just checking you out curiously. Which was understandable. You are a reindeer centaur thing now..

But now that you’re more or less used to being… this. You’re not sure what to do.

-0-

Okay so you decided to explore. You’d have gone to sleep but… you’ll need wool to make a bed and you felt bad about killing the sheep just for their wool. And you didn’t have any iron to make shears so no sleep it was. Pulling the all nighter wasn’t so bad though, you didn’t even feel tired! Plus all the extra time let you work to get yourself some materials. You got wood, stone, and then some tools to go mining! Though you had to mine a 4x4 hole to be able to fit.. 

You’d been sure to take into account your antlers when marking how high to mine (after knocking them into the low ceiling first..) but you’d mistakenly only mined a two block wide hole first and then after running out of torches you tried turning around to go back to your crafting table outside and… couldn’t. You weren’t able to turn around all the way, what with the whole caribou lower half and all. That’d been embarrassing. So you’d just walked backwards until you managed to squeeze out. 

So much trial and error.

But you didn’t get discouraged! You just kept on going. 

And soon you mined enough iron to craft some armor! Not that you’d actually need it though.. Every mob you’ve come into contact with has been utterly benign towards you. Just watching you curiously or ignoring you entirely. Which was just fine with you, because it sure made things like mining easier..

Oh! The chestplate fits great! The whole crafting table thing was still odd, what with you feeding assorted things into the patterns on the ‘screen’ that appeared over the table, just to have them sort of… shift? Into the desired object you’d been waiting for. Weird, but definitely very cool. You’re surprised that your brain came up with such an awesome idea for your dream.

Now onto the other pieces of armor!

….

……..

..You can’t wear the iron leggings…

They don’t fit your lower half! 

..Unsurprisingly, you guess, what with you being uh… quadrupedal down there these days.

Though now you just feel like a dumbass for making them without thinking. You facepalm and mumble to yourself that of course regular bottoms won’t fit you. You look at them and sigh, figuring they were now just a loss since you couldn’t (to your knowledge) reverse craft something to get your ingots back.

But the longer you look at the leggings the more an idea forms in your head. 

Why can’t you just melt them down, back into ingots? You’d watched enough niche metal working youtube videos at 2am to know how it was done. At least enough not to fuck everything up. All you would need would be a forge, a crucible, a bellows, and some time. 

And to make those things you’d need sand, clay, leather, wood, and fire. So it looks like you’ve got the rest of your day planned out. 

With that settled you started working to see if you could actually melt down iron stuff. Making the forge was easy. All you did was make a ‘skeleton’ frame out of wooden sticks, then you mixed together clay and sand before building it up around the frame. Then it was as simple as starting a fire inside it to ‘cook’ it so it would harden up. The real hard part was making the bellows. You needed leather for that, which meant killing cows.. Which you felt guilty about.

Hoping you maybe had some leather in your inventory, you opened it and accidentally brushed against the line at the bottom, revealing the Creative inventory. You gaped before giving a shocked,

“YOOO!!!” 

This was such a cool development! It’s like your dream (or whatever the hell was going on) heard your thoughts and gave you unlimited stuff! Honestly you were just pumped that you wouldn’t have to kill any more cows. They were so sweet and gentle, killing them made you feel so guilty. Especially when they moo’d so sadly.

“Now I can make the bellows!” You cheered while grabbing some leather from the inventory.

The rest of your day and night was spent hyper focused on the forge. 

…You never noticed that at no point did you become hungry or thirsty.

…Nor did you notice you hadn’t technically slept for far over a day.

But finally around early morning you had everything set up and the iron heating up in the melting pot. And after heating it to red hot temperatures you managed to melt down the iron leggings. Then you took the crucible of molten metal with a pair of tongs you made and poured it into the dirt ingot shaped mold in the ground.

Idly you noticed the familiar sound of you getting an alert for making an advancement, but you were too focused to check on it.

Reader has made the advancement [Forged In Fire]

Oh, but everyone else noticed…

[snailor-bee]

Fools Rush In

I wrote a fun thing for myself! I took my OC Carys and wrote an interaction with my self insert. <3 It was a lot of fun and purely for my own enjoyment lol. For more information about Bee, I have a separate self-ship blog! @bee-quake

OC and S/I + Mentions of Whitebeard/SI and Marco/OC | SFW | 5.2k

Excitement beat through her as she cut easily through the ocean’s tides. A lithe figure whose blue body almost blended in completely with the water around her, if it wasn’t for her long black hair and the kimono wrapped around her hips.

Carys frowned with annoyance at how the fabric dragged on her body slightly, making her push a little harder with her tail to propel her forward but it was a minor annoyance at best. The crew’s obvious relief when she didn’t show up naked was worth it although she bore it with ill-grace.

As always, the sea chatted in her ears as she went along. It talked about things that had happened, things that might happen, and things that were happening now.

Did you see that school of fish? Lovely, isn’t it? / A shark not far behind / Remember when there wasn’t any fish roaming our waters at all? / One day there won’t be any fish left, if humans have anything to say about it / Perhaps one day our waters will consume all the land there is—

And on and on. Constantly talking. Carys tuned it out with practiced ease, only paying attention to any news relating to the Whitebeard Pirates or their ship. That’s what she was looking for, after all.

There it was, a whisper on a current, another batch of fresh voices from the sea from the opposite direction. The Moby Dick was close. Carys quickly swerved; the maneuver effortlessly graceful before she took off in the direction of the ship.

Poking her head above the waters, she could just barely see the bobbling wide smile of the ship’s mascot. The voices of the sea that followed the ship told her Marco once again wasn’t onboard. Disappointment filled her gut and she sighed gustily. Annoying but oh well. She’d come back another day.

A crack like thunder startled her before Carys could dive back down. The sea grumbled around her and she paused to see what had happened to change its mood so.

There she goes again / I dearly hope she falls this time / Who cares? They’ll just pull her out / Drown her in our waters

The last voice had a bit of a push to it, an echo of a command that Carys ignored.

“What is happening? Who?” The sea pushed her attention towards the sky and she could finally see a small figure bouncing. It looked to be a human sky walking, hardly an unusual occurrence and something the sea normally cared little for. “So?” Carys asked.

Get closer

Intrigued, Carys obeyed, ducking below the surface and she sped towards the figure. As she did, even below the waves she could hear the sound of Whitebeard’s powers. Popping back up, Carys’ green eyes watched carefully now that she could see better.

It was a lone woman, attempting to bounce through the sky, in the strange way humans ‘walked’. However, unlike most, each time she put her foot down, there was an answering crack that split the ocean below her temporarily.

Carys recognized it as Whitebeard’s devil fruit, from the sound and the way the woman’s foot had the recognizable blue orb around it before she brought it down.

Quickly, Carys stretched out her senses. Had Whitebeard died? The sea should have said something and the ship would be in mourning if that was the case but perhaps she had been gone too long…

But no, his presence pressed back against her, steady and strong. Her heart settled.

Well, it was a mystery but one she didn’t care overly much to dissect. Marco wasn’t around and Papa would appreciate her returning home sooner than planned. She dove and started to leave, content to ask during the next visit.

Bee bit her lip, forehead sweating as she focused. Using Eddie’s devil fruit powers should normally be easy, as effortless as if the man himself was doing it. That was what happened when you had the same devil fruit for years and years, a lifetime’s worth of experience—one got used to it.

Still, he rarely used it on his feet and had never used it the way Bee was attempting to do. Which meant her Bond-Bond fruit’s copy of his Quake-Quake was of little help. It copied the ability completely so she could do everything Edward himself could, but with their love bond she should be able to find new ways to use it as well. 

With anyone else’s she wouldn’t be able to do this, confined to using a devil fruit power exactly the way the user did. But with their bond, it opened up new ways of creativity.

Such as attempting to ‘sky walk’ but with his devil fruit power. It was clunky and not at all graceful but she felt like she was getting the hang of it. Practicing over water seemed like the best bet in case she fell and didn’t have to worry about splattering against the ground (or leaving behind craters as she went).

They had Namur on standby in case she messed up and crashed into the sea. It hadn’t been necessary yet, despite several people’s fretting. Marco, she was coming to learn, was hiding a tendency to worry beneath that laid-back expression.

Eddie had laughed outrageously when she’d mentioned it to him.

Semi-distracted by the thought, she missed the next step and had to quickly shuffle her feet to get back in a rhythm before a sudden shock of Edward’s conqueror’s haki burst through the air. For a moment, all the air left her lungs in surprise.

Bee was able to take in a lungful of air right before the ocean waves rose up to meet her and she hit them with a loud slap.

Immediately, the strength seeped from her body as it went limp and useless. She stared up at the sunbeams that shone from the surface as the remaining air left her mouth in little air bubbles, brushing past her lips.

She wondered, for a moment, when the last time she swam was. She still had a memory of swimming, of a strangely warm ocean and how she kept diving under the waves to curl up in a ball and let them push her along until her back hit the sand and she sprang out of the surface drawing in air before doing it all over again.

How long was that now, ten, twenty years? She was so young when she ate her devil fruit…

Strong arms grabbed under her armpits and dragged her up. The tranquility of her descent was suddenly broken the moment her lungs sucked in the first breath, releasing some locked-up fear that hadn’t really touched her as she sank. Bee sucked down water and she coughed violently, struggling to breathe past the waves that broke against her face. 

Her body was still weak and plaint and as she was moved, the ocean sloshed into her mouth, filling it with more saltwater and she really began to panic, feeling suddenly like there wasn’t enough air, and she flailed in the firm grip.

Something propelled them from underneath and they landed on the sun-warmed wood of the deck. Bee pushed away the hands that were still holding her and bent on all fours as she coughed and vomited. 

After several minutes, her ribs aching, she finally sat back, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Immediately there was a face shoved into her own and she jumped, scooching back on her ass to put a few inches between them. 

The woman simply followed. "You smell like Eddie!" she said eagerly, bright green eyes wide on her face. She was stunning and not at all who Bee was expecting to see. Who was this?? Confused, she couldn't formulate an answer before the woman went on, "Are you his mate?" 

Loud, boisterous laughter shook the air and both women looked up to see Whitebeard leaning back in his chair, hand pressed to his forehead as his body shook from his laughing. 

"Eddie!" The woman cried before arms suddenly were around Bee, picking her up easily in a bridal carry before trotting towards the chair in the middle of the deck. Blinking with confusion, Bee struggled but accomplished nothing, the arms like iron bars around her. 

"I can walk—" she tried but was immediately talked over. 

"When did you get a mate?" the woman—Bee still had no idea who she was—demanded, stopping in front of the man's chair. She tilted her head. "Did you change your hair?" 

Whitebeard chuckled as he leaned closer, blonde locks falling over his shoulders. "I did. Ask me about it later. For now, Bee, meet Carys, this is Marco's girl." Bee felt the woman straighten, obviously preening under the comment. "Carys, this is Bee, my" —His eyes were filled with mirth— "mate." 

Carys made a noise like a rumble, Bee could feel it from where her arm was pressed against the woman's chest, her blue tank top drawing the eye to the numerous scars that dotted her tan skin. Carys rubbed her cheek against Bee's temple, as her chest vibrated with something similar to a... purr? 

"It is so good to meet you!" Carys exclaimed.

Bee nodded back mutely before she wiggled a bit. "Can I be put down now?" 

Immediately, Carys set her down on her bare feet. Bee shifted, feeling the water pulling awkwardly at her clothes. The woman leaned too far into her space, and Bee felt awkward under the force of her intense attention. "I should go change." 

"Oh! I'll help!" Carys said before twisting her hand in the air between them. Bee could feel the water leave her skin and clothes, dragging off her body before floating around Carys' held up hand. Her mouth dropped. 

"Oiiiii, Carys!" Ace's voice interrupted them and the taller woman turned before her face broke out into a large smile.

"Ace!" Happily she skipped over as Bee watched silently before a large hand scooped her up. 

Bee frowned as Edward brought her to his chest, hands holding her gently before settling back with a pleased sigh. "Good to have you back," he said with a smile, pressing a kiss to the side of her face. Her frown didn't lift, despite the warm words. 

"She calls you Eddie?" Bee blurted out immediately. She hadn't known anyone else called him that, she thought it was only herself. 

He shrugged. "Likes the nickname. Friends of my childhood used to call me that." He jostled her teasingly. "Looks like things got a little hairy out there, hm? Told you it was a bad idea." 

Her temper—and pride—flared. "If you hadn't used haki I wouldn't have fallen! Why did you do that anyways??" 

"Don't be upset," he chided gently, not at all calming her temper. "I wanted Carys to meet you. She won't come aboard if Marco isn't here unless I get her attention." 

"She has her own ship?" Bee questioned, patting absentmindedly at his collar so he would drop her into his lap. Her brown eyes watched as Carys was quickly surrounded by various crewmembers, chatting loudly. 

Edward handed her the shoes she had left with him and she pulled out the rolled-up ball of socks, bending to put them on. 

"No," he answered. "She's part sea king, Carys swims everywhere." 

Bee froze with a sock halfway on her foot. "I'm sorry she's part what." 

"Sea king," Eddie repeated with a grin. "When she gets wet she'll change into a mermaid. Pretty cool right?" 

"Super," Bee said weakly. 

After spending some time with Edward, Bee headed down to the galley. She was hungry from all her exercise and subsequent dunk in the ocean. 

Once there she heard nothing else but stories about Carys. Picking at her food, Bee overheard or was told directly all about her. There seemed to be no end to the information and she wondered where this was coming from. In the three months she'd been on the ship, Bee had never heard her brought up. 

Except for a few choice comments made to Marco about missing his girlfriend but Bee hadn't paid much attention to that. Marco had merely rolled his eyes and changed the subject so Bee had figured it was just a joke or he didn't want to talk about it. 

Right as she was finishing up, Carys herself peeked into the galley, looking around quizzically, ignoring the various greetings she got. When her eyes landed on Bee, her face brightened and Bee sucked on her straw harder. 

Carys came up to her side right as she was getting up from the bench. "Bee! Eat with me!"

"Ah, sorry I'm already done," Bee replied holding up her tray. Carys looked it over critically. 

"You did not eat enough," she pointed out. 

Bee pursed her lips. "I'm full." 

Carys frowned before her expression lit up. "Perhaps we could take a bath together!" 

"I was going to shower in my room." 

"Then a spar!" 

"I don't, uh, spar with people." Or she hadn't, not yet. Although she had a fair amount of fighting abilities she hadn't really been in a position to use them. Not since the 'accident'. 

"What about a—"

"Carys," a sharp voice interrupted from behind them and Bee sighed with relief. This was getting painful. "Leave Bee alone, she's finished eating. Go get your own food." 

"Aw, but—" 

Lacey appeared beside them both, towering over them. She was a tall woman, the head nurse and had a no-bullshit attitude that made her well suited to the role. She had dark skin with equally dark eyes and crimson dreadlocks that she piled into a large bun during her shifts. Right now, her eyes glared down at Carys. 

"I mean it, go on now." 

Carys pouted but did as she said and wandered off, shoulders slumped with defeat. 

For a moment, Bee was relieved until those piercing eyes landed on her and she barely withheld a flinch. "What's the matter with you? Don't like Carys?" 

"I'm just a little overwhelmed," Bee said honestly. 

Lacey nodded with understanding and something in Bee's chest tightened. "Yeah, she can be a lot at first. You get used to it. Better get out of here now before she comes back though." 

"Thanks Lacey." 

After beating a hasty retreat, Bee stared up at the ceiling of Edward's room. She hadn't been an occupant in here long and the room still felt like 'his' rather than 'theirs'.

She prodded at her feelings. Why was she acting this way? Bee wasn't normally this anti-social and while her reasoning to Lacey was true, it wasn't the whole story. Except she wasn't even sure what the whole story was. 

Turning over she thought about it. It wasn't jealousy, right? There was that recognizable burning within her but it wasn't the same that she was used to... It wasn't related to Edward or being worried about his attention waning in the face of some pretty thing. While Bee might hold that fear out in town, she knew with absolute certainty that he would never go for someone one of his sons was dating. 

So what was it? 

"Bee!! Yo, Bee!" Furious knocking broke her train of thought and she glared at the wall as she heard the doorknob jiggle. Ace. Why he couldn't learn to knock and wait. At least she remembered to lock the door, unlike Edward half the time. 

"What," she yelled back, annoyed. 

"Carys wants to hang out with you!" Ace shouted through the wood.

Bee flinched as she heard a woman's voice join Ace's. "Why are you shouting?" 

"So she can hear me, duh." 

"I'm going to take a shower!" Bee broke in before they could both start yelling at her. 

"Awww," two voices in unison whined. 

Bee rolled towards the edge of the bed. 

"I can join you!" Carys offered and she winced. 

"No that's okay." 

"We'll come back later!" Ace cried out. "Come on Carys," he said softer, but still loud enough to be heard through the door. He wasn't quiet by any means, Bee wasn't sure why he felt the need to yell. 

"But Aceee," Carys complained as her voice got further away. "I wanted to see Bee!" 

Guilt hung heavy over her before she hopped off the bed to actually take a shower. She might as well at this point. 

After showering, Bee found herself deep below decks, far from the usual hustle and bustle. She ran her fingers across the wood of the hallway, trying to work out her tangled thoughts. Figuring it would be safer away from the room in case Ace and Carys decided to come back, she took the time to puzzle it out. 

What was bothering her? Sometimes she got like this, where she was overwhelmed by the amount of people or a situation. Still, she was normally nicer. She'd usually let Carys talk herself out before beating a retreat. Instead, she was avoiding the other woman like the plague. 

Partly it was jealousy, she could admit that to herself. Bee always felt a little plain, always 'cute' rather than 'pretty'. Carys was gorgeous and in the short time she'd been onboard, Bee heard the men fawning over her enough to know that everyone felt the same. 

But it was more than that too. Edward didn't allow female fighters on his crew, only as nurses or other nonfighting roles. That hadn't changed with Bee. Edward viewed her as safe enough with her devil fruit power and the fact that she always had himself or several of his sons with her whenever they went on land. Bee wasn't convinced that was enough but was hesitant to bring it up. 

The moment she got caught with sea stone or haki, she was no better than a civilian in battle. Yet Bee had witnessed enough examples of Edward's overprotectiveness with females to know that it would be a fight regardless of how she brought it up. They were still early enough in their relationship that she hadn't wanted to risk a blowout over it. Their bond was still fresh and she wanted to wait until she was more on sure footing in the crew and her place in it. 

Carys, on the other hand, was a fighter through and through. It wasn't just the scars that lined her body, it was there in the way she moved and how she seemed to ooze confidence. Bee had seen that same confidence in the commanders and the way they could easily back it up. All this she knew at a glance before she even heard tales of Carys' strength from others in the galley. 

Was it that? Feeling like a burden next to someone who could protect themselves—and others—easily? Perhaps. It was probably a mix between the two. 

Feeling silly, Bee stopped and sighed at herself. Alright. Enough wallowing, it seemed like she was only upset because of not knowing about Carys until today and suddenly feeling as though the other woman was better than her in every way but that was just her self-doubt talking. Carys had been sweet to her and Bee felt bad enough about putting her off. Time to change that. 

Squaring her shoulders, Bee turned and hurried to check out the top deck. 

Carys pouted from her place on the armrest of Whitebeard's chair. The man in question was drinking from a large mug, the scent of ale heavy in the air. She folded her arms and huffed, glaring at nothing. 

Ace poked at her tail. "Can I get up yet Carys?" 

"No," she answered back sharply. "You are my friend, are you not? Sit with me." 

"We're not doing anything though," he whined. 

Carys hardly heard it, just squeezed her tail harder, making him wheeze. 

Lacey had cornered her and forced her into the bath, brushing and shampooing her hair, ignoring Carys' threats and arguments. She'd pulled on her kimono and tanktop (she liked to leave the sleeves hanging off her body) and then refused to shift into her human form. 

She'd crawled along the deck but humans never seemed to like that much. Ace eventually grabbed her and carried her to Whitebeard's chair. Once he had deposited her, she wrapped his upper torso with the bottom of her long tail, trapping him in Whitebeard's massive lap. 

Annoyance clawed through her and even being close to Ace and Whitebeard wasn't helping like it normally would. 

"What's eatin' at you Carys?" Ace asked, voice sounding as annoyed as she felt. "Why do you wanna hang out with Bee so badly? Just forget it." 

"It's important!" she argued. Whitebeard had already explained his newfound bond with Bee. "If Eddie has gained a lifelong mate, I have to make a good impression." 

Ace leaned his head back, his black hair tickling against the scales of her tail as he looked up at her. "So? You're already gonna be mates with Marco, Pops has already given you his approval. Why's it matter if Bee does too?' 

Carys growled with irritation. Humans and their lack of care for the family bond. 

"Because," she began, "Eddie is the leader of your family. What if something happens to him?" 

"Marco takes over, as the first commander," Ace answered easily. 

She nodded. "Yes, if Eddie dies. Then Bee will also die and the point is mute." Carys ignored how Ace flinched at her flippancy. "However, let's say Eddie is sick. Who takes over in that case? He's not dead and should get better." 

"It's still Marco." 

"Marco gives the commands, but who will the crew look to see if they should obey? Marco has earned the loyalty of this crew with time and they trust him. Still, Bee will have a lot of power simply as Eddie's mate. If she disagrees with a decision, who will the crew listen to? Who does the crew turn to, if Marco is dealing with commanding? Bee is the likely choice. It's important for me to make a good impression now if I want to be accepted easily into the family clan. If there's friction it will make it harder." 

Carys sighed. "And with how often I am away, I already don't make a good position to challenge Bee for clan rights, if she decides to push me out." 

"She wouldn't," Whitebeard interrupted with a chuckle. She frowned. They still didn't get it. 

"That's not the point! The point is that a family is only as strong as its unity. If there are fractions within the clan, it causes problems until it eventually breaks under its weight. Marco wants to stay here I need to make sure I will fit in here, with this clan. Fights, especially with the top of the chain, will end badly otherwise." Carys' shoulders slumped with disappointment. "I also just want to meet Eddie's mate properly, she must be amazing to be chosen as a lifelong mate." 

Her green eyes rose to meet Whitebeard's blue. "You have never had a long-term mate before, no?" 

"Never," Whitebeard agreed, grinning. "Never thought I would either until I met her." 

Carys squirmed with excitement at the statement and Ace oof-ed at the accidental squeeze. "You see? It matters. Perhaps I should get her a gift..." 

Ace groaned. "Don't get her a sea king again, that's better suited for Thatch." Carys swatted at his head. 

"That was a gift for your crew not for an individual. Does she like treasure?" She looked up at Whitebeard who shifted guiltily. 

"I'm not sure," he said at last. 

"What about a snail, Carys?" Ace asked. "It's more like a pet when you make them all" —he gestured vaguely with a hand— "not sleeping all the time. Awake or whatever. It could be nice, you could customize it for her and it'll be safer too, huh Pops?"

"It would be," Whitebeard agreed. Carys had the ability to talk to snails and could turn off the mechanism that made them sleep for most of their life except for phone calls and eating, while still being able to be used as a phone. They could bond to the owner and alert them when someone was listening in on a conversation, as well as pick up conversations that were happening nearby. It was incredibly useful. "It's as good a gift as any. We haven't done gifts really yet so I couldn't help you with anything else." He glared as Ace snickered. 

Carys' brows furrowed. "No? How did she ask you to be her mate?" 

Whitebeard smirked. "How do you know I didn't ask her?" 

Oh. Hm. Carys thought about that for a minute. "Is that standard for humans? Did you?" 

"No, she asked him," Ace broke in and leaned away from the pinch Whitebeard gave him, laughing. 

"In my culture, Bee would be the one who asked you," Carys explained after Whitebeard was done trying to pinch Ace through her tail. 

"Why's that?" he asked with interest. 

Ace tried to sit up and lean away from her, possibly trying to escape and she tightened her grip until he fell back against the meat of her tail. 

"She's weaker than you. Sea Kings can easily overpower a weaker mate and take, and they frequently do. However for a seasonal mate or a lifelong mate, generally there is a process to things. Bee would ask you because she is weaker and thus show her interest that she would like you to court her. You would then bring her gifts and prove your worth as a mate." 

"Well he definitely didn't do that," Ace muttered. 

"Now listen here you little shit," Whitebeard growled dangerously. "I went and got her didn't I?" 

Ace hummed. "More like the crew did that for you." Before Whitebeard could say anything else, Ace perked up. "Oh look, Bee's coming this way. Can I go now?" he asked while pointing to where Bee was walking across the deck. Carys gasped and released Ace quickly. 

The fire user shot off, likely unwilling to get caught up in more comfort squeezing. Carys fidgeted as Bee made her way closer. 

"What should I say?" she asked Whitebeard in a low whisper. 

"Just be yourself, it'll be fine." His voice was warm but it did nothing to calm the racing in her heart. 

Bee stopped before them, looking awkward. "Uh, hi, mind if I interrupt?" Carys frantically shook her head, wanting desperately to spring over to her and hug the woman tight but she figured that wouldn't go over so well. Whitebeard leaned forward and grabbed her with two hands, quickly bringing her to his face while she struggled. When he started planting kisses one after the other in quick succession over her face and body, she shrieked, but the sound was joyful and Carys watched with hungry eyes. 

Love radiated off them both as Whitebeard withdrew and Bee giggled slightly as he dropped her down onto his lap. She brushed her hair from her face, shaking out the black curls. Carys took a deep breath in. 

They smelled of each other perfectly and it calmed her. Like the scent of flowers carried on a sea breeze. Her tail twitched with longing. Here were Marco's family clan's leaders, no matter that Bee had just joined, Carys knew how these things went. 

If Marco ever led the family clan, many would follow him without question but many more would turn to Bee to see how she would react. Marco was Whitebeard's chosen son, the one to bring the clan forward but if Bee were around, she would be considered the heart. 

And, if Carys was being very honest with herself, she had always valued the approval of parent figures. Whitebeard was older than her, but only barely and Bee was obviously much younger but tradition burned in her veins. It told her to respect and obey. 

Carys was not a leader by trade, she would help support Marco but would never be in an equal role as him. 

She'd like to be what she assumed Bee would become for the Whitebeard Pirates. A protector and defender, the one to hold up the ship in whatever means necessary, while their mates led them. 

Because wherever their mates went, the rest would surely follow. 

Carys blinked back into herself as Whitebeard rubbed her head affectionately. "Carys? You there?" She ducked out from under his hand. 

"Yes, yes, my apologies." 

"Actually, I wanted to apologize to you, Carys," Bee said and she stilled. "I'm sorry I've been... distant today. I was just surprised but that doesn't excuse my attitude. I'm so sor—" The woman wheezed as Carys threw herself at her, cutting off her words. 

"It is okay!" Carys said loudly, rubbing her face against Bee's, combining their scents, rumbling loudly in pleasure. "I am just happy to meet you!" 

Soft hands grabbed at her elbows and gently gilded her back. Carys followed the motion easily although her tail swished against Whitebeard's thigh with disappointment. 

Bee smiled at her and Carys drank in her face. Dark brown eyes set in a soft round face, a beauty mark on one cheek. She looked very kind. "It's nice to meet you too, Carys. I hope we can be friends." 

Carys flung her arms back around Bee's shoulders, hugging her tight. "Yes! I would love it!" 

Whitebeard chuckled above them, approving and Carys pressed her face into the crook of Bee's neck, rubbing her nose against her skin, wanting to rub herself even harder on the woman. 

Gentle hands began running through her hair and she sighed dreamily. 

Yes, this is what she wanted. To be loved and accepted by Marco's family clan, all of his clan. Bee's support would be invaluable, Carys knew, moving forward. But more importantly was the want to be accepted. The way she never was in the world of Sea Kings. 

Carys pulled away and pushed at Bee until the woman, confused, ended up in a seated position with her legs crossed. Then Carys plopped her head between them, raising her arms up to wrap around Bee's waist as her tail flopped against the edge of the chair's armrest. 

"Tell me," she said, "what is that drew you to Eddie?" 

Bee blinked down at her before she laughed. She exchanged a look with Whitebeard and Carys thrilled to see a look of understanding pass between them. Oh, how she hoped her and Marco looked like that to others. 

"Well..." Bee began slowly with a secretive smile. "It was all a bit of a blur at first. I was mostly happy I didn't have a crush on him, to begin with." 

"Hey now," Whitebeard interrupted. "That's not how I saw it. You were smitten the moment you laid your eyes on me." 

Bee barked out a laugh. "In your dreams maybe!" 

Carys relaxed into Bee's lap with a large smile on her face as she listened to the two banter back and forth.

Seemingly without realizing it, Bee's fingers had found her hair and were trailing through it, before they hit Carys' arm and her nails lightly scraped down the skin before following it back up to her hair and she purred with delight. 

Content and happy to be surrounded by their love. 

[gingercauldron]

Quiet Brilliance (Spencer Reid x BAU! Reader)

A/N: Here is my offering to the Criminal Minds fandom. Also this is my first time really writing fanfic? Just really wanted to have Spencer impressed by the reader and fall in love with them. So I hope you enjoy!! This is totally not an excuse to somehow make random stuff I’ve read about relevant in BAU cases lol

Pairing: Spencer Reid x BAU! Reader

Synopsis: Spencer notices how intelligent you really are, as well as how shy you are about it. He can’t stop thinking about you, your brilliance, and how much he just wants to hold you.

Warnings: None really, just fluff, and normal Criminal Minds content

Wordcount: 1.9k

No one in the BAU seemed to give you enough credit.

Not that it was their intention, of course, but Dr. Spencer Reid could not help but notice all of the times that your quiet brilliance went by as unremarkable. He might have had an eidetic memory, carrying a labyrinthine of facts and figures in his head - but you knew things that even he had not come across. He could tell that you were a researcher, that you would explore through files for knowledge because you wanted to.

When Spencer would pull a fact or statistic out of the air, you would be listening raptly. On several occasions you would scribble something down afterwards, and it made Spencer’s heart swell. This was how he first became so attuned to you when you joined the team. After that, he made sure to observe you.

He noticed that you would duck your head into files of each case, going through detail after detail with a furrowed brow. You would write in a frantic scrawl on post-it notes as a cue to do further research.

The most endearing part of it all, was that you would do the same thing even if there wasn’t a case. You would carry a tome with you, with the tails of post-it flaps coming out the side, each one crowded with writing. You were smart, Spencer learned, and he wondered why it wasn’t seen as big of an asset as it truly was to the team.

At first he could pretend that his interest was merely for the good of the team, learning more about you and what you were capable of. Obviously you were hired for a reason, likely your careful observations and sharp psychological profiling — but there was so much more. Spencer was finding it harder to pretend that this interest was not at all motivated by the affection that was developing for you.

He had three PhDs and was the so-called “resident genius,” but he wondered if you could give him a run for his money. The thing was, because you were quiet and private, he didn’t know — and that in itself was exciting.

On one case where you were observing the body at the scene, a particularly strange case where the jaw of the victim had swelled with tumors, you quickly told everyone to back up.

“What is it?” Hotch asked.

“It looks like possible radiation poisoning because of how localized the tumors are — like the unsub had the victim consume radium.” You said. “I could be wrong, of course. We could check her teeth.”

“Teeth?” Morgan asked.

Spencer quickly replied. “Radium has properties that make it glow in the dark, it was used as a novelty for that reason well into the 1970’s before restrictions were placed on it, actually. If the victim had been ingesting radium it is possible her teeth might glow. In 1938 a case was settled where a group factory workers sued their employment because they had been encouraged to lick paintbrushes covered in radium in the course of their work, resulting in massive tumours around the neck and jaw.”

“And the factory workers had tumours like this?” Hotch asked. He was asking Spencer now, not you.

“Remarkably similar.” Spencer replied.

Spencer glanced at you, but it didn’t seem to bother you that he had jumped in. In fact, the only that seemed to be upsetting to you was the fact that the unsub was on the loose.

“I’ll call some radiologists in.” Hotch said, already lifting the phone to his ear.

It turned out, that you were right. It was in fact radium, and you made sure that the team was safe by telling them to keep their distance from the body. The radiation levels on the body were dangerous.

On the plane home from that case Spencer had sat beside you, and he couldn’t stop thinking about your astute observation. You smiled up at him when he settled next to you, looking back down at the book in your lap.

“Hey, Y/N?”

You looked back up at him. “Yeah, Spencer?”

“That was a good catch with the radium.”

“Oh, that. Thank you.” You beamed. “But you would have caught it if I hadn’t.”

Would he? With all of the gruesome things he had seen they all morphed together, he wasn’t sure that he would have jumped to radium, of all things, as quickly as you had. That he would have been as cautious in avoiding the body to investigate if you hadn’t said something.

“I mean it. It was good catch. It was pretty brilliant, actually.”

“Thanks, Spence.” You said softly.

He knew he should let you get back to your book that was covered in post-it notes, but there was a thought that kept nagging at him. “Y/N?” He said again.

“Yeah?”

“Did it — did I overstep when you were telling the team about the radiation? Because if I did—”

“No, I got to stop you there. You helped. I’d rather not have the attention.”

He furrowed his brow, but didn’t say anything more, letting you return to your book.

After that it seemed that the rest of the team was starting to pick up on your fierce intelligence, too. It was hard to ignore the books you carried with you, but Spencer thought it would have been impossible to not notice you. Not just because you were utterly beautiful, but because everything about your mind was captivating.

Morgan remarked on it when you found a pattern in the artwork of a string of victims’ homes. The artwork looked nothing alike, but you picked it up.

“This painting.” You said, pointing at it. “It’s German expressionist.”

“Okay?” Morgan said.

“It could be nothing, but the last victim had a print of German artwork in their home — it was from the dada movement — but they’re both from the same time period. The other two victims had books on the Bauhaus — an influential German design school that operated between the first and second world wars.” You explained. “I wouldn’t have said anything, but the average joe wouldn’t have German post-World War One art. All of our victims are interested in the same time period for art — seems like too much of a coincidence.”

Morgan stared at you.

“What?” You asked sheepishly.

“Did Reid just possess you for a moment there? How’d you know all that?”

You shrugged and changed the subject. “I’ll call Garcia and see if she can connect the victims through local art groups or galleries.”

Morgan stared at you as you walked off, phoning Garcia. Spencer came up beside him and squinted at the painting on the wall.

“I think I know how the victims might be connected.” Spencer said to Morgan, analyzing the painting.

“The art?”

Spencer looked at Morgan in surprise. “You know about German art?”

Morgan snorted and shook his head. He gestured to you. “Y/N is calling up Garcia right now. Can’t imagine how she knew anything about it.”

Spencer furrowed his brow. “I knew it, though.”

“Exactly.” Morgan patted Spencer’s shoulder and left to talk to Hotch.

You put the phone down and turned noticing Spencer looking at you. You smiled when you saw him. He loved the way you smiled at him, as if he was the only other person in the entire world. He felt his heart rate increase and new, scientifically speaking, that he was completely infatuated with you.

“Garcia found a connection.” You told him.

You said nothing to him of the connections you had made first, but it made him appreciate the fact that he knew all the more. You downplayed your accomplishments. He wanted nothing more than to be by your side so that he could learn about every one of them.

Rossi noticed during a case, when Spencer was reading one of the unsub’s journals. Flipping through the book quickly and absorbing the information.

“Hard to believe the kid can read that fast sometimes.” Rossi said to you. “He reads 20,000 words per minute.”

“It’s over 60 times the norm. He’s pretty amazing.” You said back.

“The norm?”

You nodded. “Yeah, average adult reads between 200 to 300 words per minute, he reads around 333 words per second.”

“You some kind of whiz kid, too?” Rossi asked.

You scoffed. “Hardly. I just read a lot.”

“So does Reid.”

“You know what I mean.” And with that you left Rossi, effectively stopping the conversation.

Spencer smiled, having overheard you two. Whether you wanted to or not, you would slip little bits of information that show just how much you were thinking. You couldn’t hide your mind completely, and Spencer couldn’t stop thinking about what conversations would ensue in just spending a day with you alone.

Your voice saying he’s pretty amazing kept playing in his head and he could feel his face flush. Did you know how that sounded? You thought he, of all people, was amazing - not his brain, or his skills, but him. Did you mean it to sound like that?

Rossi turned to Spencer. “You know your face is red.” He said.

Spencer stared at Rossi, but he couldn’t make his mouth form any words. A grin spread across Rossi’s face, reading Spencer like a book.

“It’s okay Doctor, I won’t tell anyone.” Rossi said, and got back to his own work.

The rest of the day Spencer could hardly focus on anything, constantly aware of where you were in the bullpen - or distracted when you left the bullpen to see Garcia because that meant you were gone. He tried to keep his head down and look at evidence, but you were so close and you thought that he was pretty amazing, and it was nearly impossible to think about anything else. By the time he felt satisfied enough with the work he had done that day to maybe pack up it was already dark out.

Spencer saw you reading at your desk in the bullpen. Everyone had gone home already, but you were there scribbling notes down. When Spencer neared your desk he saw the book, a book he had been reading two days ago.

You looked up and smiled at him in surprise, with those dazzling eyes of yours. You pushed your hair behind your ear and all that Spencer could think about was what it would feel like to touch.

“Hi, Spence.” You said. “What’s up?”

Spencer swallowed, and his world came to a standstill. The words came out of his mouth before he could stop them. “I think I love you.” His eyes suddenly went wide when he realized what he had said.

He turned around on his heel and rushed towards the door. He could hear your chair scratch against the floor and you called out.

“Spencer!”

He stilled, his hand on the door. He wanted to run, to get as far away and hopefully have you forget about it and not lose your friendship. He never wanted to disappoint you or make you uncomfortable, but he couldn’t turn his back on you either. He turned his head slowly, afraid to see your face.

You didn’t look angry. You had a small shy smile on your face.

“I think I love you, too.”

He dropped his hand from the door. “You do?”

You nodded. “I do.”

He laughed, feeling giddy. “I can’t stop thinking about you.” He confessed. “About your kindness and your brilliance, and just, you. I just — can I kiss you?”

“Why, Dr. Spencer Reid, I would like nothing more.”

That was all he needed before he was across the room, holding your face in his hands and kissing you. Spencer, with his eidetic memory, could not remember having ever been so happy.

[asthmark]

❝ 10 things i know about you ❞ l.jn

synopsis → there are ten important things you learn about lee jeno during your time in quarantine.

request → “if you're still accepting requests, can u make a domestic roommate!jeno? 🥺🥺 thank you and have a nice dayyy”

word count → 7.1k (bruhhh)

sharing an apartment with lee jeno isn’t ideal.

it’s not that he’s a lousy roommate or that you disliked him in any way; you just didn’t know him. you had first met through a mutual friend. they knew jeno was looking for someone to split rent with and that you happened to need a place to stay. they promised you he would give you privacy and assured jeno you were excellent roommate material. with that, arrangements were made and soon enough you moved in together. of course, it was a bit awkward at first but you two eventually got used to each other’s presence. although you were never in the same room for too long and oftentimes went days without speaking, you coexisted.

for a long time, you only knew a couple things about your roommate. for example, you were aware of his strong love for cats, especially his pet calico, seol. you also knew he kept the freezer stocked with pizza rolls that he would use as energy when he stayed up all night playing video games.

what you didn’t know, however, was that you would be spending the next couple months locked in your apartment with him. on top of that, you would begin to learn more things about him—his life, his personality, his feelings.

there are ten important things you learn about lee jeno during your time in quarantine.

       1. he’s a heavy sleeper.

at 10:28 in the morning you find yourself seated at the dining table in the kitchen, spooning froot loops into your mouth. as you stuff your face, you scroll through your phone for entertainment. you decide to open instagram first but you quickly find that to be a mistake. as soon as you open the app a picture of lucas and who you thought was his ex-girlfriend greets you. if that was bad, the caption hits you like a ton of bricks.

@lucas_xx444: should have never left you

in only five words, lucas has completely erased the months you spent dating. it meant nothing to him. sure, things hadn’t ended things the best way but going right back to his toxic ex and even admitting to missing her—now that was a new low. was this his way of getting back at you? his way of making you hurt just like he had throughout your entire relationship? the thought alone leaves you feeling sick.

you decide you’ve already had enough social media for one morning so you decide to check your messages instead. your friends usually left a couple of them overnight. to your surprise, you find that your main group chat has accumulated 241 messages.

[10:48 am] you: good morning i see u guys have been vry chatty

[10:49 am] yeji: ur finally awake!

[10:50 am] yuna: we thought u died lol

[10:50 am] lia: YUNA

[10:50 am] lia: NO

[10:51 am] ryujin: the timing for that joke could not be worse

[10:52 am] yuna: humor is my coping mechanism leave me alone

[10:52 am] you: ??? what happened

[10:53 am] chaeryeong: we left msgs for a reason dummy read them!!

[10:53 am] you: umm there’s over 200 and im not abouta read all that

[10:54 am] yuna: well then lemme break it down

[10:54 am] yuna: the world is ending :)

[10:55 am] you: welp it was about time

[10:55 am] lia: why r u guys like this

[10:56 am] yeji: there’s been a covid-19 outbreak and it’s spreading like wildfire so the government issued a stay at home order :/

[10:57 am] you: omg WHAT

[10:57 am] ryujin: ikr it’s crazy we literally can’t go anywhere

[10:57 am] chaeryeong: and we can’t get boba today either ;( i was so looking forward to that

[10:58 am] ryujin: let’s pls take a moment of silence for all the current and future boba dates that will have to be cancelled

[10:59 am] yuna: no way am i gonna let some wannabe flu make me go boba-less i’m still going out >:(

[10:59 am] lia: ...ur joking right

[10:59 am] yeji: what color casket do u want yuna?

before the groupchat can distract you any further, you place your phone down on the table. you sit back in your chair and let the newly revealed information sink in.

you were stuck inside.

you sigh before standing to clean your dishes. as you’re scrubbing away at your bowl, you feel something brush against your leg. you smile, not even having to look down to know it was seol. the cat would often wander into your room or sleep next to you when you watched tv on the couch. in fact, you were pretty sure you spent more time with seol than his owner.

you gaze at jeno’s room. as always, the door is shut. you wonder if you should let him know what was happening. you two usually kept your distance but you figured that the circumstance you found yourself in was an exception. you quickly dry your hand and shuffle towards his room.

you knock once, quite softly. you assume he’s asleep so you try again, this time a little harder. still, no avail. the third time you put even more force into it. by this time, seol has found his way beside you and claws at the door.

“jeno?” you knock a fourth time. “jeno! lee jeno!”

after more shouting accompanied by incessant meowing, you hear some muffled movement. moments later the door knob twists open and there stands your roommate with disheveled hair and a robe that had obviously just been thrown on his body. seol has taken the open crack in the door as an invitation inside the bedroom.

jeno blinks a couple times as he watches the feline get himself comfortable on his bed. he turns back to you, looking slightly disoriented. you’re not sure if he’s half asleep or your sudden presence has thrown him for a loop. his voice comes out raspy when he asks, “was he, um, bothering you or something?”

you shake your head, vigorously. “that’s not why i came. it’s just that my friends told me that there’s been some kind of virus outbreak and we’re supposed to stay home. so, i thought i’d let you know.”

his face softens. “oh, cool.” suddenly, the look changes. “not the virus thing! that’s totally not cool. i meant, it’s cool that you let me know and stuff. you just saved me a huge freak out so, uh, thank you.”

you smile and nod. “no problem.”

jeno’s eyes linger as you retreat back into your room down the hall. the sound of his door shutting is heard only once you’re out of his eyesight.

   2.    he can cook better than you.

most of the time, you would go out to eat dinner with your friends in the evenings or at least stop by a drive thru. obviously, this was no longer possible in the midst of a pandemic. you found that to be incredibly frustrating as you sat on your bed, stomach empty. no matter how badly you wished to fix it, your laziness had gotten the best of you. apart from that, you already knew how unlucky you were when it came to cooking—the memory of burning noodles at lia’s house one night had been permanently seared into your brain.

you almost believe your mind is playing tricks on you when you catch a whiff of pasta in the air. for a moment you think it’s your next door neighbor, taeyong, cooking again. you knew he was quite the chef. but, the smell is getting stronger by the second and you decide it must be in your apartment.

you wander into the kitchen, only to find jeno standing over the stove. he’s stirring red sauce in a pot when he notices you watching him.

“oh, hey,” he greets with a polite wave.

you can only stare at the rest of the kitchen—pots, pans, and ingredients all over the place—in utter awe.

he chuckles, awkwardly. “yeah, sorry about the mess. i’ve been told i’m a decent cook but i can never seem to get the tidiness down.”  

“no, it’s not that. this just all seems so... professional.” you sniff the air once more. “smells amazing, too.”

he smiles, sheepishly. “thanks. are you a fan of spaghetti?”

you nod.

“good. i wanted to make something you’d like.”

“you really didn’t have to,” you say, leaning against the fridge. “i mean, i’ve never done anything for you.”

he uncovers a pot to check on the pasta. you watch as hot steam rises out of it. “what about this morning?”

you can’t help but laugh. “that most certainly does not count. you’re making an entire meal. that takes a lot of effort.”

he waves a hand, dismissively. “i used to cook a lot with my old roommate, doyoung. the guy was an asian gordon ramsey, i swear. so, yeah, this is nothing too crazy. and i really do enjoy it.”

“well, i’m still gonna repay you.” you fold your arms.

he looks away from his dish to raise a brow. “is that so?”

you nod in confirmation. “definitely.”

“tell you what, if you wash the mountain of dishes that are gonna be left over, we’ll be even.”

you stare at the sink that’s already overflowing with dirty kitchen tools. that wasn’t even half of it. “uh, sure, sounds good.”

he laughs at hearing the uncertainty in your voice. “that’s the spirit.”

   3.    he’s allergic to cats.

the familiar sound of soft purring is what pulls you attention away from the movie playing on your laptop. already knowing exactly who it is, you launch yourself off your bed to allow your furry guest inside.  

“hey seol. what’ve you been up to?”

the calico meows, almost as if he were responding to your question. you close your door and go back to your original position. you notice seol sitting directly in front of your bed, looking up at you with wide eyes.

“come on up.” you pat your sheets, invitingly.

he obeys and stretches before laying down beside you.

“have you ever watched ‘avengers’?” you ask, eyes going back to the explosive fight scene on the screen.

this time, seol doesn’t even bother humoring you with a meow. he stays silent with his head tucked into his paws.

you scratch his head and his tail wiggles. “i’ve gotta stop asking you questions.”

both you and seol’s heads snap towards the door when you hear a knock.

“come in!” you call out.  

jeno swings open the door. his eyes briefly scan the room before landing on the furball on your bed. the unmistakable look of adoration shines in his eyes when he sees how lovingly you caress him.

“seol! what are you doing in here? bothering y/n?” the cat jumps off your bed and towards his owner standing in your doorway. jeno scoops him into his arms and faces you. “i’m so sorry. he saw me running a bath for him and bolted.”

“it’s all good. he’s a great movie buddy. besides, i could always use the company.”

jeno curiously glances at your computer screen. “is that ‘avengers’?”

“yep. i’ve seen it like a dozen times.”

“same here.“ he pauses. “hey, if you ever need a movie buddy—like you know, one that talks—just let me know.”

your face lights up. “i’m gonna hold you to that.”

”i hope so. well, if you’ll excuse me, i’ve gotta give this guy a bath.”

seol yowls as if he understands the meaning behind the words and attempts to escape jeno’s grip.    

“here we go again,” he mumbles under his breath.

you snicker at the sight. “looks like you could use some help.”

“oh, no. it’s fine. he can just be a little bratty someti—seol!”

in the blink of an eye, the feline has successfully hopped out of his arms and made a run for it.

jeno gives you an exasperated look before rushing off to catch his runway pet. you find yourself caught up in the excitement so you follow him, the two of you now in pursuit of the calico. you’re sure the image of you both chasing the fluffy animal around the apartment looks like something straight out of a comedy. even you and jeno can’t contain your laughter when he finally catches seol only for him to slip out of his hold a second later. this exact situation repeats itself a couple times before you finally get lucky.

“i got him!” you screech. “jeno! oh my god! what do i do?”

“bathroom, bathroom, bathroom!” he chants in response.

you head in that direction with jeno trailing behind you, ready to catch seol if he somehow manages to get out of your death grip. you bend over the bathtub, slowly lowering the cat into the water. it’s clear he doesn’t have a problem with making a fuss as he wails and flails his limbs around.

after a while, he finally calms down enough that you can lather him in shampoo. jeno insists on scrubbing him, arguing that you had already done way too much. you sit back on your heels, observing the way the seol leans into his delicate touches.

“looks like he likes it now.”

“he likes to make a big deal but he ends up enjoying it every—“ jeno cuts himself off with a sneeze.

“tissue?” you offer.

he shakes his head. “that’s okay, thanks. i’m used to it. i’m just surprised my allergies haven’t acted up ‘til now.”

“allergies?” you echo.

“yeah, i’m allergic to—“ another sneeze. “cats.”

your eyes widen. “really? and you still have seol?”

“i could never get rid of him. he’s too good of a boy. isn’t—“ sneeze. “that right?” he tickles seol under his chin.

“wow. you must really love him.”

“so much.”

“he’s lucky to have you.”

“what about you? you get both of us. doesn’t that make you the luckiest?”

you snort. “i guess it does.”

   4.    he makes a good shopping buddy.

“i have officially cooked everything we have.”

“i can order some takeout, if you want?”

he juts his lower lip out and gives you puppy eyes. “but i like to cook for you.”

you laugh at his expression. “oh god, you look like that one pouty emoji people use when they try to be cute.”

he sits up. “did it work?”

you nod and pinch his cheek.

he yelps. “ah, stop! you’re acting like my grandma!” he manages to get out of your grasp. he rubs his face, soothing the spots you had squeezed. “seriously, though, we really do need to stock up on food.”

“i’ve already been looking into it.” you show him the screen of your phone. “says here you can still go shopping as long as you wear a mask and try to stay six feet away from other shoppers.”

he cringes. “i don’t know if i like the idea of being so close to so many people.”

“i can go by myself, then,” you suggest with a shrug.

he doesn’t hesitate to deny you. “no way are you going alone.” his possessive tone has you staring at him curiously so he adds, “you know, in case you can’t reach something on the top shelf.”

the teasing comment paired with his innocent smile makes you gasp in disbelief. “lee jeno! that’s low! and to think i almost thought you were worried about me.”

“who said i wasn’t?” he smiles at you again before standing up. “i’m going to find us some masks and then we can head out.”  

once you arrive at your local grocery store, you find it to be packed. everyone seems to be in a hurry, grabbing things left and right.

“wow, it’s already gotten crazy,” jeno mumbles, stopping to stare at the flood of people that rush by.

you don’t hesitate to scold him. “well, don’t just stand there! we gotta get our stuff before there’s nothing left!”

without another word you slip into the frenzy of people. jeno struggles to stay behind you. after almost losing sight of you a couple times, he walks a little faster to catch up and places his arm firmly around your waist once he does. you look up at him, your mask covering your slightly agape mouth.

being the gentleman he is, he apologizes. “sorry but i don’t want us to get separated.”

you can only nod and mumble, “good idea.”

jeno pushes the shopping cart with his right hand and holds your figure with his left. once in a while, you’ll break apart from each other to grab an item you need but once it’s in the cart, he’ll make sure you end up in the same position. after an hour or so, you’ve grabbed enough and you decide it’s time to pay.

despite the mask she has on, you can tell the middle-aged woman behind the cash register has a big smile on her face once she catches sight of you and your roommate.

“well, just look at you two.” she sighs. “how cute.”

“oh.” you glance at her then jeno then her again. “oh, no. it’s not like that.”

you attempt to move yourself away from jeno only to find his grip to be so incredibly strong that you almost begin to think he’s trying to hold you in place. once you finally detach yourself from him, you begin loading your groceries onto the counter for the employee to scan. she does so, but not before giving you a displeased look.  

“oh really? he holds you like that because you aren’t together?”

jeno assists her in placing the scanned items in bags. “i didn’t want to lose her.”

she pauses scanning a can of tuna to stare him down. “darling, that sounds like a line from a cheesy hallmark rom-com.”

you can’t help but chuckle. “what he means is that there’s a lot of people here and we didn’t want to get separated.”

jeno adds, “desperate times calls for desperate measures.”

the woman adjusts her glasses. “well, you do certainly seem desperate to have her close to you.”

jeno doesn’t say a word as he continues bagging but his smile reaches his eyes.

   5.    he works out.

why did the pandemic have to hit in the middle of summer?

you often asked yourself this, complaining about how inconvenient it was. especially on the days that made your apartment feel like it was on fire. the days that required a thin tank top and shorts. even then, you found yourself to be drenched in sweat.

you sprawled your arms and legs farther on the sofa, the leather material proving to be very uncomfortable. it was either that or your bed with the warm cotton sheets that stuck to your body. just thinking about it brings you discomfort. the only relief you could think of was a cold shower. you would have already taken one if jeno hadn’t been hogging the one bathroom in the apartment.

“jeno!” you yell.

silence; other than the sound of the water running.

“lee jeno!”

the water stops, temporarily for him to shout back an answer. “what?!”

you wipe at the sweat that has accumulated on the bridge of your nose. “hurry up! i’m melting!”

the water starts back up again and you groan. hoping to distract yourself, you pull out your phone. the group chat with your friends is surprisingly silent so you go to instagram for some entertainment. this time, your ex-boyfriend’s post isn’t the first thing you see. it takes you some scrolling but you do end up seeing another one of his pictures.

it’s simply two intertwined hands with a black and white filter. you identify the one on the left as his and although you aren’t as familiar with the one on the right, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out who it belongs to. contrary to the last, this photo has no cheesy words for a caption, just a red heart.  

but, your stomach doesn’t drop. you don’t feel hurt, either. obviously, you still don’t enjoy seeing him just because of all the awful memories that came with it but other than that, you feel unaffected by the image.

in fact, you feel so confident in yourself that you block him.

you’re surprised you hadn’t done it sooner. you had known you didn’t need him in your life any longer so why keep in contact? you feel like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders when you press the red button that would keep him and his girlfriend out of your life. you knew with your whole heart that you didn’t need to see either of them.

before, a bit if you had felt the need to keep an eye on him. to see how he was handling the breakup and torture yourself with the fact that he didn’t seem to care. now, you could say you truly didn’t either. you didn’t need him or his stupid pictures. you had other, better things.

your friends.

your cat (yes, you considered seol to be yours).

your roommate.

you had to admit, jeno was the best thing on that list. quarantine had brought you and him significantly closer and you were over the moon about it. he was so wonderful that you kicked yourself for having lived with him for so long without ever really getting to know him. but it was easy to say you two were making up for lost time seeing as you spent every waking moment together. the record long showers jeno took being an exception, of course.

the moment the door to the bathroom opens, you rush into your room and quickly grab an oversized t-shirt and loose pajama pants to change into after your shower. you nearly drop them when you’re met with jeno’s soaking figure in the hallway.

his hair is damp and you can clearly see how long it had become. his skin looks healthy and moisturized, lotion among other skin care products had probably been applied. what really has you in a shock is the fact that the towel barely hangs below his waist. the droplets of water that fall from his hair and down his neck trail down his chest and toned torso towards the only area he has bothered to cover up. his bulky arms are also slightly wet, his veins popping noticeably. he shakes his head in an attempt to rid his hair of any water. then he runs his fingers through it, his muscles flexing ever so slightly as he does so.

“dude!” you exclaim, without a second thought. “you’re ripped!”

he smiles, his round cheeks growing at the unexpected praise. the way he could have such a rugged body but soft-featured face puzzled you to no extent. “thank you. i lift sometimes.”

“sometimes?” you repeat. “don’t be so humble! you’re basically hercules!”

he clicks his tongue. “ah, c’mon. i’m just an athletic person.”

you keep admiring his physique. “clearly.”

“oh god,” he groans, obviously flustered. “you’re looking at me like you’re gonna eat me or something.”

you hold yourself back from making a less than appropriate innuendo. “no comment.”

his eyebrows shoot up in disbelief. “quarantine is really making you go crazy.”

you point a finger at him. “you try being stuck inside with your hot roommate!”

“trust me, y/n, i know all about hot roommates.”

you tilt your head, acting purposefully oblivious. “are you talking about doyoung?”

“what? no i—“ he sighs. “you know what, just take your shower.”

   6.    you can’t say no to him.

jeno ruffles his black locks with his hand and frowns.

you give him a disappointed look. “knock it off, you’re gonna get dandruff in your soup.”

he ignores your comment. “i look like a hobo.”

you pause, spoon halfway to your mouth. “this i know.”

“y/n, this is serious!”

“okay, okay. what’s the issue?”

“i already told you! i’m a bum!”

“you? a bum?” you pause to think about it. “i mean, mentally? maybe. but physically? no.”

“my hair, though. it’s so long.” he grabs a strand of it and pulls it to emphasize his point.

you shrug. “if having lots of hair is the standard for being a bum, i think most of the population is.”

“i want to cut it,” he announces.

“you should,” you say, pointing your spoon at him. “wanna know why? because if you mess up, no one will ever know. other than me, of course. but if you pay me enough i’ll let you forget it.”

he smiles at the joke for a moment before he leans forward and his face goes serious. “will you help me?”

“what? no way. i’ll mess up. and it’s only funny if you do it.”

he pouts. “please?”

you stir your soup around. “just watch some youtube videos. after three, you’re automatically a professional.”

“i want you.”

the statement has your neck snapping up from your bowl to him. the smug grin on his face lets you know that he was well aware of the double meaning behind his words. it was clear he was trying to fluster you enough to get a yes.

“you think you’re flirty enough to straight up brainwash me into doing stuff?”

“well, i wanted to say that to you anyway but... kind of?”

you feel a smile creep onto your lips at hearing the genuine tone in his voice. you down your last few spoonfuls of soup and quickly stand up. jeno looks up at you, eyes hopeful.

“finish your dinner. get the scissors. meet me in the bathroom.”

not even ten minutes later, jeno practically dances into the bathroom, a pair of red craft scissors in his hand. he sits on top of the toilet lid, figuring that’d be the easiest way for you to reach him. you walk in moments later.

“i’m pretty sure we’re not supposed to be using these types of scissors for hair,” he mumbles as he hands you the sharp utensil.

you twirl them in your hand. “oh, definitely not. do you want to wait then?”

he shakes his head, his shaggy bangs swaying with the movement.  

“alright, let’s get this going then.” you thread your hands through his thick locks to collect some of it in between two of your fingers. you bring the scissors forward and snip the small amount just to test the waters.

you slowly begin to get more comfortable and once you feel like you’re in your element, things begin to speed up. you move and cut faster but with efficiency. you do the spots on the back of his head and work your way forward. when it finally comes time to touch up his bangs, your small bathroom proves to be an inadequate spot to be doing this.

you end up standing balanced inches above jeno’s thighs that he’s pressed together tightly in an attempt to give you more room. you’re constantly readjusting your stance and when he notices, his hands go to your hips. you know he’s just trying to help you stay upright so you do a decent job but you still inhale sharply at the feeling of his hands on you.

not long after, you’re standing next to jeno as he inspects himself in the mirror. his fingers flick his newly shortened bangs around.

“not bad.” he tilts his head in a new angle and nods. “looks super good to me.”

you tuck the scissors into your back pocket with a relieved sigh. “oh thank god. i didn’t want to tell you before we started but i only watched two youtube tutorials on trimming hair.”

he runs a hand through his hair with a chuckle. “now that’s truly worthy of praise. and a tip.”

you raise a brow. “oh yeah? what’s th—“

he cuts you off by pressing a chaste kiss to your forehead. he pulls back and drags his thumb over the skin that has come into contact with his lips. “thanks again.” with that, he leaves you standing in the bathroom, eyes wide and face warm.

   7.    he has six best friends.

“can i borrow your laptop?” asks jeno, from outside your door, nearly breathless.

you look up from your book. “uh yeah, sure.”

he rushes in your room and takes the item off of your dresser. “do you happen to have zoom on it?”

you shake your head and he groans. without another word, he disappears, running off into the living room. you hear his frustrated sighs as the minutes pass and he attempts to download the application. you finally decide to go check it out once it becomes too much to bear.

“it sounds like you’re in pain over here,” you comment.

he runs a hand through his hair. “i’m supposed to meet with my friends through a zoom call but it’s so complicated.”

you put a hand on your hip. “bet you five bucks i’ll be able to get it in five minutes.”

“are you kidding? i might be technologically challenged but i’m not stupid. i know you can do it fast, just help me out already, would you?”

“alright, grandpa.”

you type and click away at the screen, jeno watching you do so, entranced but equally as lost.

“well, i was wrong,” you say after a couple moments, leaning back in your chair.

“you couldn’t get it?” asks jeno, worriedly.

“no, it’s not that.” you click something on the screen and the app opens. “turns out i could do it in three.”

he rolls his eyes and shoos you out of the chair. he sits down and enters the code and password for the zoom meeting. it takes a minute, but he finally connects. you count six other people in the call. they all immediately cheer at seeing jeno and you hear them excitedly exclaim his name.

“hey guys,” he says, a smile already reaching his eyes. “it’s so good to see your faces.”

they all nod to agree. you get a good look at each one of them and realize they’re all boys. your eyes read over each of their display names.

mark me in ur heart

hyuckie~~~

moomin enthusiast

nananananana

chnele

lil huddy

“nice name, jeno,” ‘moomin enthusiast’ guy comments, snickering slightly. “glad to see you finally came to terms with it.”

‘jenojam’, his name reads. the rest of the group laughs, also teasing him about it. you assume it’s some kind of inside joke.

the self proclaimed ‘lil huddy’ furrows his eyebrows. “wait, did you choose that name yourself?”

jeno simply nods in response.

he glares into the camera. “donghyuck, you told me i had to put this as my name or else it wouldn’t let me connect!”

donghyuck—or ‘hyuckie~~~’, you presume—shrugs. “oops. guess i was wrong.”

you laugh at the humorous exchange. it seems like the sound has drawn some attention to you when ‘nananananana’ speaks up, eyes trained on you.

“um jeno? don’t you want to introduce your guest?”

jeno beams, dragging you closer into the frame. “i’m sure you all know about my roommate. say hi, y/n.” 

you do so, waving and smiling politely at the group.

“you know, even though we used to always hang at jeno’s, i don’t think we’ve ever actually seen your face,” ‘chnele’ says, tilting his head.

you agree. “me neither. i’ve mostly just heard you guys.”

the ‘mark me in your heart’ boy sheepishly rubs his neck. “sorry. we tend to be a little loud.”

‘chnele’ lets out a high pitched screech of a laugh. “only a little?”

“i recognize that laugh!” you blurt. “i would hear it all the time!”

”that’s our little dolphin,” coos ‘hyuckie~~~’.

“oh god, stop. i hate that stupid nickname.”

“it’s well deserved.”

“i think you should apologize to y/n for being a nightmare to her eardrums.”

“and ours, for that matter.”

“what about all your little freestyles? i’ve had to sit through hundreds of them and i never got an apology!”

“because they’re not bad! could you do any better?”

“you’re a soundcloud rapper, i think anyone could.”

jeno turns to you as the bickering on screen gets louder and louder. “this is gonna be a long call.”

once the group has moved on from roasting the life out of each other, you’re able to engage in some good-natured conversation. jeno teaches you the names and the other basics about the group. some points that stand out about the group is that mark is the oldest, renjun specializes in contemporary dance, jaemin inhales six cups of coffee on the daily, and chenle is insanely rich.

“what about jeno?” you ask them. “anything i should know about him?”

“he’s allergic to cats but the idiot still adopted—“

“she already knows about that, renjun,” jeno chuckles.

“oh. well. that’s pretty much the only interesting thing about him.”

jisung pipes up. “oh wait! he works out religiously too!”

you and jeno share a look. you burst into laughter and he simply glances away, slightly embarrassed. “oh yeah, i know that all too well.”

“and what about the unhealthy cooking obsession?”

you nod at mark’s question. “that too. he cooks dinner almost every night around here.”

renjun purses his lips. “he already cooks for you? wow. he must really like you.”

“you think?” jaemin asks. “didn’t you read any of the messages in the group chat? he’s practically in love with her. his words, not mi—“

“okay! i think it’s time for us to go! bye guys!” jeno doesn’t even give you a chance to say your own goodbye before he’s clicking the ‘end call’ button in the bottom right corner.

you give him a confused look. “what was that all about?”

“they’re crazy.” he laughs. “well, if you need me i’ll be in my room screaming into my pillow for the next couple hours.” he dashes off leaving you standing alone, trying to comprehend what had happened.

   8.    he‘s a great listener.

jeno has officially replaced seol as your movie buddy, not that you have a problem with it. you thought it was nice to have someone you could actually converse with but of course, you make sure seol still sits in.

“what i’m saying is that iron man just wants to protect his team.”

“well, if they sign the accords, they basically surrender themselves to the government.”

“and?”

“you don’t see a problem with that? see, captain america knows what he’s doing. he’s literally an avenger—“

“so is iron man!”

“let me finish! so, he’s an avenger, right? he has the best judgment because he’s saved the world countless times. he knows how to operate his team and do the right thing.”

“okay but there’s casualties. and that’s what iron man is trying to fix.”

“how do you save the world and not have casualties?”

“you just—“ your phone rings mid argument and you raise your finger towards jeno. “this isn’t over.” you put the phone to your ear, not bothering to check the caller id. “hello?”

“sweetheart?”

you feel a chill go up your spine. was it him? no, it couldn’t be. you had blocked his number shortly after you did so on all your social media.

“baby, don’t be so shy. i know you’re there.”

you can’t hold back. “please don’t call me that.”

he chuckles, breathlessly. “oh, c’mon. you used to love it. you still do.”

“no, i don’t. actually, i don’t want to hear your stupid pet names or stupid voice or see any of your stupid posts. just go bother your girlfriend and leave me alone.”

you notice jeno perk up beside you out of the corner of your eye. he must have been caught off guard by your irritated tone.

as always, lucas is unaffected by you. “i’m being nice and giving you a second chance. i even called you behind soyeon’s back.”

“is that something i’m supposed to reward you for?” you scoff. “congratulations, you’re now awful, toxic, and a cheater.”

he growls. the sound was familiar. in your relationship, if you heard it you knew he was going to snap at you until he had the satisfaction of making you cry. “i know you miss me so don’t say things you’re going to regret later. because even when you’re back in my arms, i won’t let you forget it.”

the thought of being back with him made you feel icky. but the fact that he sincerely thought you would crawl back to him set your entire body on fire. “are you joking? i was always aware of the fact that you treated me like the dirt you walked on but do you seriously think that lowly of me?”

you’re rendered speechless and apparently, so is he because the other line stays silent.

“i wouldn’t go back to you if you were the last person on earth,” you spit. “you treated me horribly, wong yukhei. i won’t ever forget it. move on. i have.”

you glance at jeno, his expression more serious than you’ve ever seen it. his eyebrows are furrowed and his eyes are trained on your cellphone. the glare he gives the device is so strong you wouldn’t be surprised if even lucas could feel it, wherever he was.

you hang up and block the number, wishing to never talk to him again. you toss your phone onto the sofa with an exasperated sigh. you find jeno’s gaze to still be focused intensely on it.  

“if you gave lucas that look, i’m pretty sure he’d cry.”

he breaks his concentration, eyes going to you instead. his entire face softens. “all i’m going to say is he better pray we never cross paths.”

“well, if you happen to, call me up. i wouldn’t mind helping you beat the crap out of him.”

jeno chuckles for a second then lowers his voice to a whisper. “he was really bad to you, huh?”

you nod. “he messed me up. i hate to admit it ‘cause i know i was stupid to stay with him for as long as i did.”

your roommate shakes his head. “don’t say that. it’s not your fault he messed up the best thing that would ever happen to him.”

“i thought i was the problem for so long, jeno. i was so blinded by love. then, i realized there was no way he truly cared for me when he treated me like i had no heart to be broken.”

jeno scoots towards you and rubs soothing circles into your arm. “you have such a big heart. and i can’t tell you how sorry i am that he took advantage of that. i’m sorry that you were stuck with someone so insecure and ignorant. please, don’t think about him anymore.”

you hold in your tears. you refused to cry over someone like lucas. “i know. i try so hard not to.”

jeno holds your head into his chest. his arms are placed securely on your back. “oh, baby.”

when jeno uses this pet name on you, it feels so completely different from lucas. you could tell me meant it. he wasn’t using it to make you stay a little longer, to assure you he loved you. strangely enough, you do not need to be convinced of that. you feel like you have known it for a long time.  

   9.    he likes to be the big spoon.

you’re not sure how he’s done it but you end up falling asleep in jeno’s arms. you assume it had been so long since you had been cradled and rocked so delicately that the foreign yet extremely delightful sensation knocked you right out. even seol is deep in sleep, laying down peacefully at your feet.  

you relish in the feeling of jeno pressed right into your back. he fits so perfectly against you that it reminds you of a puzzle piece. to be exact, the moment when you connect the last two pieces and the full picture becomes complete. that was how you felt—complete.

with jeno’s soft breaths tickling the back of your neck and his soft snores filling your ear, you know there’s nowhere else you’d rather be. his arm that is wrapped around you makes sure you can’t escape his embrace. you are positive that even if you had the liberty of doing so, you would stay exactly where you were.

you lean farther back into your pillow, closing your eyes. you let every thought fade away as you try to fall back asleep as soon as possible. you wanted the moment you found yourself in to last as long as possible.

   10.    he has feelings for you.

jeno mumbles sweet nothings into your ear as he toys with your hair.

it just seemed right to him. like something he was meant to do with you. he had seen these types of things in films and shows before. it was intimate and touching, the scenes were always meant to tug at the audience’s heart strings and show how in love the two characters were. perhaps, even though you lay asleep in his arms, he wants you to finally know.

“honestly, being inside with you all the time is kind of the best. i know the whole virus situation is less than ideal but being able to spend so much time with you... that’s all i could ask for.” he pauses. “isn’t it so crazy how before this we were all weird and awkward around each other? well, i guess we still kind of are. that’s mostly my fault so... sorry. i just don’t know how to act around you sometimes. we’re barely getting close and i’m already this attached to you. as jisung would so kindly say, ‘i’m simping’.” he chuckles to himself. “all jokes aside, i really do like you. ever since you moved in here all cute and nervous, you’ve taken your own little place in my heart, as cheesy as it sounds. and these past few weeks, you just keep on taking up more and more room in there. not that i have a problem with it. i just...” he stops as if he doesn’t know how else to express his feelings. “really, really like you.”

“thanks.”

you feel him jolt then abruptly stop stroking your hair. there’s silence until he asks, “you don’t happen to be a sleep talker, do you?”

you shake your head.

“and did you hear like, a lot of what i said?”

“only the important stuff. like how awkward you are and how much you like me.”

“o-oh.”

“but don’t worry. it’s mutual.”

you feel his relieved breath hit the skin of your neck. “that’s the best thing i’ve heard all day.”

you tilt your head back and stare at him, confused. “what, did you seriously think i wasn’t into you?”

he shrugs. “i was too busy simping, i guess.”

you can’t contain your laughter at the use of the slang. “park jisung would not be proud.”   

[hairringtonsteve]

wrong house, right time

[joaquin torres x reader]

summary: Sometimes, life just sucks and nothing can be done. But when one (1) Joaquin Torres shows up to fix for air conditioner, your week gets just a little better.

word count: 2,262

a/n: I wasn't going to post this publicly, but @anna-phora told me to do it, so I'm accidentally stepping into MCU fic. Which like... was the eventual plan if I'm being honest. but this was written specifically for her because I'm a great friend. (edited so it's not including her name, lol)

________________________________________________

There are some weeks that are worse than others. You know this. You have accepted this It’s par for the course in life. But really – couldn’t Teacher Appreciation Week be better than the other weeks? It doesn’t even have to be by a lot. You’d take a smidge at this point. Hell, you’d take just about anything. You rested your head against the cool wood of your kitchen cabinet and sighed. On the counter, your phone chimed, signaling a text. A moment later, it chimed again.

“Better be something good,” you mumbled. You fumbled for it blindly, refusing to look for it. This week was exhausting. You weren’t going to move more than you had to for the next two days. After a few seconds, your fingertips bumped up against the edge. Unlocking it without looking, you finally cracked an eye open, pulling away from the cabinet just enough to catch a glimpse of your screen.

A second later, two more texts popped onto the screen.

You let out a snort of laughter as you read the messages. You’d almost forgot. One of your neighbors had recommended him, saying that a friend of a friend was pretty handy with fixing things, and would probably do it for a small fee. You’d hesitated at first, but thinking about how much money a handyman would be had swayed you over.

Glancing down at your dog, Darcy, you hummed softly. “If you’re extra nice, maybe he won’t charge us.”

You ran a hand over your face as you headed through the kitchen and to the front door. You hadn’t heard any knocking, so you assumed he was right in that he was at the wrong house. Opening up the door, you peered through the screen. It took a few seconds, but you spotted a guy slowly wandering down the sidewalk, eyes glued to his phone with a toolbox in his free hand. Every few seconds he would glance up, frown, and then look back to his phone. You figured that it was him, but you didn’t say anything. It was the safe thing to do, to not yell at random men from your house.

And besides, he was cute.

Your gaze slipped over him as he walked. Short hair, strong shoulders. Despite the distance, you could tell that he was handsome. A few more steps and he was one house down. Finally, you decided to put him out of his misery.

His head jerked up as he looked around, his gaze eventually settling on you. You quirked a brow at him and he held up his phone in question. You nodded, motioning for him to come inside. A grin stretched across his lips and something in your chest twisted.

Oh.

Oh no.

Oh no, he was really cute.

Very cute.

Handsome.

Shit.

You swallowed and mustered up a grin as he started up the steps. Darcy started barking, excited at the prospect of meeting literally anyone. You unlocked the screen door and took a few steps back, hooking your fingers through her collar to make sure she didn’t take a running leap at him.

“It’s open,” you called as he reached the door. Darcy barked, tugging forward in Joaquin’s direction. “Sorry about her, she’s just really friendly.”

Joaquin was already kneeling down, setting his toolbox down beside him. “It’s fine, I love dogs. You can let her go.” He paused. “If that’s okay?”

You shrug as you let her go. Darcy shot forward, leaping towards him with an excited bark. She was all over him, unable to decide whether jumping or nuzzling was the way to go. You straightened up, your heart already doing triple time at the sight.

“So,” he started, taking his eyes off of Darcy for a second to look up at you. “Your AC is acting up?”

You nodded. “I have no clue what’s going on with it, but it won’t work. Thank you so much for coming to check it out.”

“Oh, no problem at all,” he said, rubbing Darcy’s ears. Her tail wagged furiously. “Especially for a pretty girl.” Red crept up from his neck to his ears, flushing his face in a way that made him even more attractive. He ducked his head, bashful, as he focused solely on Darcy. “So what’s her name?” The sentence came out fast, like one long word.

“Oh, um, it’s Darcy.” Words were hard to form when the phrase ‘pretty girl’ was echoing around your brain.

“Like the author?” He lifted his head as he asked, a small grin tugging at the corner of his lips. “I had to read a lot of her stuff in high school. Pride and Prejudice was always my favorite.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he grinned. “You read a lot?”

You shrugged. “Well, I am a high school English teacher.”

Joaquin laughed and nodded his head. “So you read a hell of a lot, then?” His grin settled more into a smile as he -- somewhat unsubtly -- looked you up and down. A beat of silence, and then: “So, you wanna show me the unit?” He grabbed his toolbox and stood up, arching his back a little as he tried to stretch it out from being crouched down.

“Sure,” you said as you started up the stairs. It was quiet as the two of you walked.

“So when did it stop working?” Joaquin asked, breaking the silence.

“The other day. It just started to sputter a little bit and then quit after a few seconds.” You opened up the door and motioned him inside. The AC was still in the window, still mocking you as it sat in the hot, unmoving air.

“And it hasn’t started up since?”

“Nope. I’ve been dying of heatstroke since Wednesday.”

“Makes sense,” he said as he began to shrug off his jacket. The black t-shirt underneath fit him well.

A little too well, if you were being honest.

He stepped over to the unit and began to lift the window up, as though he were planning to get it out by himself when it was clearly a two-person job.

“You need help?” You asked, already moving towards him.

“I’ve got it, I’m strong,” he said, waving you away. You went to argue with him, but he was already wrapping his arms around the thing. With his attention focused on lifting the unit out of the window, you were free to watch as his muscles strained. What was a two-person job for you was easily a one-person job for him. He took his time in setting it on the ground, guiding it down gently. He pressed his lips together as he sat down on the ground and reached for his toolbox. He looked up to where you were still standing.

“Oh, did you want me to -- I can head downstairs? So I don’t bother you?” You took a step back, but paused as he shrugged.

“Or you could stay up here. I wouldn’t mind the company.”

Your stomach flipped. You stepped inside and took a seat on the ground a few feet away from him, making it a little harder for Darcy to investigate what he was doing. That was it. You were there to keep Darcy away. But as you sat there, you realized that you had no clue what to talk about? What was he into?

It was quiet for a few seconds before he asked what your favorite movie was. And suddenly, the two of you were off. Time passed quickly as you spoke, moving from favorite movies to books to exchanging family stories. You learned that he was in the military, and traveled often. You’d asked what he did, and he just shrugged his shoulders, looking from the AC unit to you, and smirked.

“Stuff.”

“Like top-secret stuff?”

“Oh yeah,” he’d said, holding the smirk for another second before laughing. The corners of his eyes crinkled when he laughed.

You liked it.

Despite it feeling as though no time at all had passed, he announced the culprit -- a bad wire -- and it seemed like once he’d figured it out, he was done. But when you glanced at the time on your phone, your eyes widened. Two hours had gone by.

You shifted your gaze over to the window as Joaquin straightened up and tried out the AC unit. It worked like a charm. He nodded and gave the unit a little pat, as though silently congratulating it for working once more.

“So how much do I owe you?” You asked as he turned to face you.

“Nothing, that was easy.”

“That was two hours, I have to give you something.���

He shook his head. “Your company was enough.”

“Come on, let me--”

“Y/N,” he said, taking a step forward. “Your company was worth it, I’m not accepting your money.” He pressed his lips together, looking as though he wanted to say something more when his phone went off. He glanced down at it and sighed. “One sec?” He asked, already swiping to answer the call. “Hey Mom, yeah I -- yeah. Yeah, yes. I can pick that up. You want me to snag one for Grandma, too? No, I just finished fixing up the AC, I -- She’s -- Mom.” You couldn’t tell what was being said, but his cheeks were starting to flush. You could hear laughter on the other end of the line. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve got to go. I’ll see you in a bit.”

You raised a brow. “Your mom?”

“Yeah, she wants me to stop by the store on my way to visit her.” He glanced from you to Darcy and sighed. “I should probably be on my way out.”

Disappointment made itself at home in your chest. “Right, yeah,” you said, heading towards the door. The two of you made your way down the stairs, Darcy following happily behind. When you reached the first floor, you went to lean against the couch. Joaquin had his hands in his jacket pockets as he made it a few steps after you. He stood there, shifting his weight awkwardly from one foot to the other.

“Thank you, seriously. I cannot thank you enough for fixing that,” you said.

He shook his head and grinned softly. “It was no problem, Y/N.” He took a few steps towards the door before turning back to look at you. “I’ll see you around?”

You returned his grin with one of your own. “You’ve got my number.”

His grin grew even wider before he turned and headed out the door. Darcy trotted over to the door after it closed, her eyes tracking his every move as he headed towards the sidewalk. You watched for another second before calling Darcy away from the door. A minute and one treat later, the two of you were cuddled up on the couch. Idly, you switched tabs from Facebook to Tumblr, trying your hardest to avoid thinking about the last couple of hours before you heard your phone go off. Thumbing into your messages, your face instantly lit up.

________________________________________________

Two months later, you found yourself walking towards a small, hole-in-the-wall bar tucked into a sidestreet. Joaquin’s hand on the small of your back as you walked, you trying not to laugh as he gave you what felt like a rundown before one of his missions.

“Just… ignore them if they try to embarrass me, okay? I’m much cooler than whatever they say.”

You laughed. “Are you, though? Are you really?”

“Hey,” he said, giving you an indignant look as he held the door open for you. You stepped inside, taking note of how warm it was inside. People crowded around tables, the low hum of voices occasionally getting louder when the television in the corner showed someone making a basket. Joaquin tapped your shoulder, nodding to the right. “I am very cool, I’ll have you know. Just last week, I –”

“Hey, Torres!” A voice called from a back booth. Joaquin sighed as he stepped in front of you and lead you towards the booth. “Weren’t you the one to say, ‘be there at seven and don’t be late, I really like this girl?’ And you’re what, thirty minutes late?”

“Thirty-two minutes late, by my count,” another voice chimes in as the two of you get closer. You’re already grinning as you note how Joaquin ducked his head.

You lean forward, just close enough so he’ll be able to hear you. “You really like this girl, huh?”

It was difficult to hear his response with his back turned to you, but you watched as his shoulders slumped and caught what sounded like a “not you too.” You tilted your head back and laughed, bright and airy, as you approached the table. Your eyes settled on the two men crowded into the booth, your laugh cutting off as recognition settled in.

He hadn’t said that they were these friends.

“Y/N, we’ve heard a lot about you. Like a lot about you.”

He’d only ever talked about work in the abstract, which made sense. It wasn’t like he could go on, telling you all the details about whatever mission he was on. But he’d spoken of coworkers and even one that had become a friend. But he’d never mentioned names, or the context of things, or…

“Honestly, the kid doesn’t shut up about you.”

Or the fact that they were literal Avengers.

Joaquin groaned. “Can you two—”

Sam Wilson settled back into his seat and grinned as he motioned for you to sit down. “I’m Sam, this is Bucky. It’s good to finally meet you.”

[sasarahsunshine]

You want fluff?

Ok here’s fluff and smut:

Alpha Aaron comforting Omega Spencer because he’s self conscious about how he looks.

(This is another super old ask that’s been getting dusty in my inbox, so I figured it’s about time to dust it off and give it a proper answer that it deserves! Also all fluff, no smut sorry lol. Maybe I’ll do a follow-up! TW: body image issues, A/B/O, and hints at Aaron’s breeding kink lmao).

Spencer has always thought himself weak. Small. Too thin, his own mother pointed out often. Gangly and willowy, he heard Penelope say once. “Like a newborn foal,” Emily joked. Ungraceful, angular, boney.

He’s stared at himself in the mirror many mornings, trying to fix his hair, his clothes, his everything. His cheekbones made his cheeks look sunken in, his jaw was too sharp—like the rest of him. Hipbones and collarbone poking out. Clothes hung off him awkwardly, and he could never make his hair look like he wanted. Put hair products in it? No, that makes it look greasy and too straight. Too flat. It makes him look like a teachers assistant. Let it be natural and curly? No, then it looks messy and unwashed.

He hated how he looked. Weak and thin and not attractive in the slightest. Not a good choice for a mate. Not a good Omega. Good Omega’s had nice hips and strong arms for bearing pups, then being able to carry them.

Aaron deserved a good Omega. Not Spencer Reid. He’s not a good Omega. And he knows that as he watches other Omegas fawn over his Alpha. He sits still, hands wrapped tightly around his coffee cup, eyes locked on the two female Omega’s who are desperately vying for Aaron’s attention.

He’s expecting to see his Alpha take the bait. To see Aaron lean down and scent the females who are purposefully baring their necks, who are batting their eyes and spinning around to show off their assets. Beautiful bodies, wide hips, gorgeous features. They’ll make amazing mothers to his pups if he chose one or both.

(More under the cut)

Instead, he’s actually surprised to see his mate dismiss them both with a warning growl. One of them takes the hint and leaves with her metaphorical tail between her legs. The other presses herself against him, trying to wipe her scent on him, Spencer guesses, to entice him.

He’s expecting Aaron to accept her offer. She’s pushy and pretty. A good Omega.

But Aaron steps away and bares his fangs, one last warning for her to back off. Spencer can almost hear the snarl, even through the glass wall that separates him from his mate.

Finally the female takes the hint and makes a point to walk off as though he’s offender her, not the other way around.

Aaron walks straight into the conference room, closing the door behind him a little harder than necessary. Spencer flinches, watching his Alpha carefully. He can smell the frustration, the annoyance.

“Aaron?” His voice is soft as he tilts his head, releasing his own scent into the room.

Aaron visibly relaxes, the tension leaving his shoulders as his scent slowly goes back to normal, a small smile on his face. “Spencer,” he greets, walking over and wrapping his Omega up in his arms.

Which only confuses Spencer.

After a second, Aaron pulls away, brows knit together. “You’re tense. What’s wrong?”

Spencer purses his lips together, fingers tapping on the empty coffee cup he almost refuses to set down.

Aaron cups the Omega’s face between his hands, thumbs tracing over his cheekbones with care. “Omega,” he soothes, “tell me what’s on your mind.”

Spencer feels his lower lip wobble. “Those other Omegas,” he starts, pausing, hesitating.

Aaron sighs before kissing Spencer’s forehead, “I’m sorry, I tried to keep them from scenting me. I told them repeatedly that I wasn’t interested, that I was taken already. I had to snarl to get them to leave me alone. If you can smell them on me we should fix that as soon as possible,” he suggests, kissing his loves nose next, then going for his lips—but Spencer pulls away, leaving Aaron confused.

“Spencer?”

“Why are you with me?” Spencer asks, taking a step away to put distance between them, his hands now shaking as he tightens his grip on that damn coffee cup. “Why haven’t you picked a beautiful Omega to be yours? Why me? I’m not a good Omega, I won’t make good pups or, or, or be a good mother! I’m not attractive or pleasing to the eye or—“

He’s interrupted with strong arms wrapping around him, the scent of oak and spiced wine and a crackling fireplace enveloping his senses. He drops the cup and buries his face in his Alpha’s neck, inhaling that scent of warmth and safety. Of home.

“Oh, Spencer,” Aaron sighs, one hand going to the back of his loves head, his fingers threading through his hair. “I wish you could see yourself how I see you. I wish you could look in the mirror and see the most gorgeous Omega I’ve ever laid eyes on. I wish you could see you through my eyes,” he murmurs, placing a kiss on the top of Spencer’s head.

“I feel so lucky every day to have you,” he continues, feeling Spencer’s shoulders shaking a little. He tightens his hold on his Omega. “You’re so kind and thoughtful, selfless, intelligent. You’re sweet and silly. I love your rambles and your mind. I love your body. I love how you feel in my arms, how you feel under me or on top of me. I love being able to hold you. And I think you’d look absolutely beautiful if you were to be pregnant with my pups,” he adds quietly, whispering in his mate’s ear.

Spencer sniffles, tilting his head to glance at Aaron from the corner of his eye. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” Aaron confirms with a kiss to his temple. “God, I love you so much. I’m so lucky to have you as my Omega.”

Spencer doesn’t look convinced, his eyes still watering with unshed tears. He glances away. “You could have any Omega you want,” he tries to say, but Aaron cuts him off, “I can. And I want you.”

Spencer shakes his head, burying his face back into his Alpha’s coat, hiding his shame and embarrassment. “I shouldn’t be what you want,” he mumbles into the fabric.

Aaron sighs, his expression sad. He sits down and pulls his Omega with him, encouraging Spencer to pull his legs up, almost folding him in order for Aaron to hold him in his lap. He keeps his grip on Spencer tight, arms wrapped all the way around him, his nose pressed into Spencer’s temple as he breathes in the scent of sugar and honey and peaches. The scent of Spencer.

“My Omega,” he rumbles, soothing, “I love you so very much. I courted you for years, and in all that time I only had eyes for you. I still only have eyes for you. I refuse to look at any other Omega when I have my soulmate in my arms.”

Spencer looks at Aaron, shocked. “Soulmate?”

“Yes, that’s the only way I can explain it. I can’t imagine my life without you. I want my future with you and you alone, my Omega. My Spencer. I want you to have my pups,” he drops his voice, nosing down to Spencer’s neck, “I want to raise them alongside you. I want have a home full of laughter and little feet.” He kisses the skin bared to him, right near the mark that he left on his mate during their first shared heat and rut.

Spencer whimpers, a few tears finally racing down his face.

“I want to watch you teach our pups everything you know. I want to see your bright hazel eyes in them. I want them to have your curly hair and your adorable nose. I want to watch them grow and learn and dance with you as their mother. And I want to lay in our nest every singe night with you in my arms.”

Spencer sniffles, smiling just a little. “Really?”

Aaron kisses the mark that claims Spencer as his, then up his jaw, his cheek, and finally his lips, slotting them together like pieces of a puzzle, perfect for each other.

“Really,” he breathes, their lips gliding together as he speaks. He can taste his love’s tears and uses a hand to wipe them away, kissing Spencer again. “Only you. The most beautiful Omega I’ve ever laid eyes on. I only want you.”

Spencer’s smile grows until he lets out a soft laugh, kissing his Alpha back. How can he argue when his Alpha sounds so sure, so confident in his love and attraction for him?

He pulls away a little, wiping at his own eyes with the back of his hand. “Okay. Okay, I believe you. I love you.”

Aaron smiles and kisses his nose, “Good. I love you too.”

————

Tagging: @bau-gremlin @ris-criminal-mind @tobias-hankel @ssa-noa @foxtrot91 @dumpsiteforfics @kuolonsyoja @multixfandomwriter @marvel-ous-m @thaddeusly @spencers-renaissance @reidology @physics-magic @brillianthijinx

Let me know if you want to be tagged in future A/B/O posts!!

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

Flight Cycle Animations

Made em myself and oof I am exhausted. I had one animation class in college. Just the one. I can’t do much more than these short cycles (though I am working on some longer ones at the moment).

Disclaimer: these gifs are not a perfect reference for flight, I recommend looking up videos of birds and bats flying in slow motion for better references. These are just meant to be samples of how winged people would need to move their wings and whole bodies a lot more than we usually see in movies and tv. I figured it would work better as a visual in motion as well as a written description.

(Description: a bird winged person and bat winged person flying in a looped gif. They are shown from the side here, with their wing bones highlighted in red.)

It was hard to keep everything consistently sized, but anyway. Heads should stay pretty still, this is called "head tracking" and if a flying creature can’t do this they won’t be able to see straight while they fly. Hips should move a lot when flying, because tails are just as much a part of the motion as wings are. In the case of birds, their tails tend to move opposite to their wings, flaring outwards as well. In the case of bats, their wings are attached to their legs and tail if they have one, so their hips will follow the motion of the wings. (And with bat winged people it’s always a tail because the wing membrane would disrupt the bipedalism otherwise).

Bat wings usually have a deeper downstroke than bird wings, and their finger joints allow for more precise wing shaping in flight, curling upwards close to the body for the upstroke. Bird wings in casual flight will have shallower wing strokes than bat wings, sometimes not even coming all the way up depending on the flight speed. They also keep their wingtips closer to the body on the upstroke. Like how when you’re swimming it’s easier to pull your arm up elbow-first to avoid drag.

Definitely look up specific birds and bats in slow motion if you can, flying is a very complex and nuanced form of movement and I can’t describe every detail of it myself. Wing shape, flight speed, air currents, etc can all affect the way a creature flies.

(Description: same as above, but now the winged people are shown flying towards the viewer, and their wing bones are not highlighted.)

Honestly it’s a little easier to draw normal flight from the front lol it lets me show the movement of the wings better. (Foreshortening wings is freakin tricky and I’ve been working on that for years, it’s so much harder than foreshortening other limbs.) It’s a bit easier to see the bird tail motion here, the way it flares out when it dips down.

(Description: a looped gif of a bird winged person and a bat winged person hovering, shown from the side. There is also an example of how not to hover, depicted by a common trope of a winged person floating vertically in the air with their wings held straight out to the side. Their body kind of bobs up and down while their wings move mainly from the shoulder, looking more like signal flags than actual flapping wings.)

Not all birds and bats can hover and it kind of requires extremely fast flapping, with a very particular motion to it which is hard to depict at any angle. But it’s okay to fudge that a little for the sake of your winged people. The motion is rather circular, wings go out to the side, push down, and then the wrist pushes forward. On the way back up, the wrist folds straight back and the whole wing will fold in super close to the body, then quickly rotate outwards to come back straight out behind the body and repeat. That’s how it works in the best videos of hovering birds I could find, which were kingfishers. I could not locate a video of a bat hovering that was quite as thorough but I gathered that it works in a very similar way.

Except hummingbirds, those are a whole category of their own. I might have to make a specific post on hummingbird wings someday because they are just that unique.

And as seen on the end there, my pet peeve. I see this in live action and cartoons. The weird vertical hover where the person just sorta floats there and moves their wings flatly up and down (or worse, they don’t move their wings at all). This is not a functional way to fly. The wings are not catching any air. They’re going to fall right out of the sky. And what is the point of giving a character wings as an actual body part if you’re just going to depict them magically floating? It’s not nearly as fun.

(Also here is the previous post where I go over some movie/cartoon gifs of people with wings)

[helsknight]

whoops i sent this to betweenlands first like a derp lol, anyway: scp au; may as well round out boatem, what're mumbo, pearl and impulse?

oh you are SO on point i was actually just thinking abt pearl while i was at work all day. you'll have to forgive me bc im not as familiar w her as i am w some of the other hermits (including mumbo and impulse) but i HAVE been thinking of her ....okay okay so

- pearl is probably the least human-looking out of boatem. honestly even if she DIDN'T have any anomalous properties (which she definitely does) she'd probably get contained anyways simply because she does Not look right. she has two sets of wings, being owl wings near the top of her back and dragon wings closer to her tail--which she has too because of course <3. her body is sort of wyrm-like but distinctly humanoid, and her head has anomalous shadows falling over it which echo the moon phases! it's a human face, but there's a permanent shadow where the moon is shadowed--for example, on a new moon, all of her face is shadowed over even if she's in full direct light, and on a full moon she emits light just to be seen. this is regardless to whether or not the moon is actually out at the moment--works in full daylight, etc etc. finally, additionally, she's a prophet! she knows way more than the foundation figures she really should, and she claims to have seen things like this in potent visions. i have a lot of ideas and little quirks for her visual design so i WILL draw her soon but basically ummm I care her <3

- mumbo jumbo is less of an anomalous entity himself and more of...one who CREATES anomalies and acts like that's fine. thats normal. if you leave him in a room with a frankly pitiful amount of supplies he can make virtually anything work if he wants to. example: once they tested out if he could make a working robotic arm out of literal trash electronics, and he came out with a completely functional and high-tech arm, including additional materials that he didn't have to start with and using science that isn't obeying the laws of physics. whenever he tries to explain something, it's virtually unintelligible because he references many rules of science, mechanics, and physics which just DON'T exist. this frustrates doc, an actual mechanic, very much. these rules don't even work for other people. he's contained in a very loose sense of the word, in that he's allowed to explore the facility but ISN'T allowed to leave the building. he's also the one who made pretty much all of the cybernetics that belong to people in the building, EXCEPT for doc, because doc likes to repair his own things and doesn't trust mumbo.

- impulse is a funnyman. he's humanoid, sure, but he's not actually THERE. he's made of energy and light, and there's pretty much no actual matter attached to him. despite this, his hologram-like form follows most laws of physics, except for having weight and being affected by gravity. he can't go through walls, and he can't just Disappear, but if he's flashed out with enough energy or light that ISN'T 'him' he will sort of...fade out, like a washed out photo. he'll come back, but he's harder to see and it's like theres. less of him there. he's kind of like a ghost! he's also a complete and utter nerd. he claims to have pretty much always been like this, and he likes hanging out with mumbo because he wants to desperately understand what he's talking about but. you know, he Can't. in return he lets mumbo use him like a charging outlet <3

[hockeyisit]

Something Important

Summary: Auston and Amelia get high together.

A.N. Hii I wrote this because I was in the mood and I was high. Sooo sorry if its terrible. Also hope everyone saw the game last night it sounded amazing. I wasn’t able to watch it because I’m not from Canada but I was listening along and wished that I could have seen it live lol! Anyways always avaible to talk and always open for request. Also I plan to write about Auston and his hat trick as soon as I get a minute. I am also still working on part 4 of we lost and that sadly might be a minute before its out. 

Master List

Word Count: 2,406

Unedited

“Hey babe,” Auston said, slipping his arm around me and pulling me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around him before leaning back to give him a quick peck with a bright smile.

“Hi, sorry about your game,” I said growing slightly. They had played against the Dallas Stars and lost 3-1. Despite the loss the guys had still decided to go out to the bars and invited the  WAGs. I met them there by taking an Uber.

“It’s okay. You look beautiful,” he said his eyes hungrily eying my body. I had decided to wear my favorite lacy black lingerie underneath a denim skirt with a black top. I pulled him into a more hidden spot and guided his hand to the top of my shirt above my bra. I then moved my top slightly so he would be able to see the lingerie.

“So I grabbed something from your apartment before I came here. I hope you don’t mind,” I smiled innocently at him as I pulled the gummy worm edibles I had shoved into my purse out. He laughed as he took a few from my hand and ate them.

“Oh please tell me this is going to lead to high sex,” Auston mumbled against my shoulder once he had leaned in. I giggled as I pushed him away.

“You're terrible,” I joked. He laughed before pulling me in so that our lips were almost pressed together.

“You love it,” he said gently. I blushed dark red before connecting our lips in a filthy kiss.

“Get a room Tony,” Hollsy called as he walked by causing us to pull apart. Mitchy laughed as he pulled Steph along to the bar. She sent me a help look and I pulled Auston along as we followed them to the bar.

“Did you take any edibles?” Auston asked as he crowded me against the bar. I turned my face to him and shook my head no.

“I smoked with Macy. I didn’t want to use your edibles when I can smoke,” I told him knowing he didn't have that many left. He tightened his grip on me as a man crowded into our space.

“Can I get a pink vodka lemonade for her and a bud light for me,” Auston said once he had flagged the bartender down. Once we had our drinks we made our way over to the table the team had selected.

“How are you feeling?” Auston asked in my ear once we sat down at the table. I grinned at him as I climbed into the booth. I had been really excited to come out and spend time with Auston tonight but honestly I couldn't wait for us to head home.

“I’m good,” I grinned at him. “Let me know when that edible hits,” I continued glancing over to Steph.

“Hey what’s up?” she asked as she slid herself into the booth Mitch following closely behind her. I smiled at her feeling more high than anything as I leaned against Auston. The joint I had smoked with Macy was really starting to catch up with me.

“Oh nothing, I hadn't realized it's been so long since I’ve seen you,” I said smiling sadly at her. Truthfully it had been almost two weeks since I had been out with any of the WAGs. I had been so busy with work and classes that I hadn't had any time to go out and have fun. Even seeing Auston had been difficult as off late. I knew that I wanted to stay and catch up with Steph and some of the other girls but really I just wanted some alone time with Auston.

“Amelia it’s been forever since I’ve seen you,” Willy said approaching the table and holding his arms open. I grinned widely as I stood up from the booth to hug him back.

“Oh my god Willy!” I exclaimed as I threw my arms around him.

“I missed you,” I said against his shoulder with a loud laugh. He pulled away laughing and then turned to give Auston a bro hug. I stared off at the dance floor casually sipping my vodka drink as Willy and Auston stood chatting for a bit.

“Can we dance?” I asked tucking myself into Austons side and interrupting the conversation he was having with Willy. He stared at me for a moment before nodding his head.

“I’mma dance with her. I'll talk to you later,” Auston told Willy nodding down at me and then led the way to the dance floor for the two of us. Once we made it to the dance floor Auston moved up close behind me so that I was grinding into him and the two of us danced like that for an hour as we sipped on our drinks.

“I’m starting to feel it,” Auston mumbled against my ear as our bodies moved to the beat. I grinned as I grinded back into him before turning around.

“Babe, I’m still so high from the joint I smoked with Macy,” I said smiling as I pressed a quick kiss to his neck.

“Do you want to head back?” he asked, moving his hands from my waist higher up. I nodded my head with a smile on my face as I turned around to face Auston. He took his hands off me and reached out to grab my hand leading me over to the table.

“Hey, we're heading out,” Auston announced as we got back to the table. We got a few nods in return, so I quickly said goodbye to some of the girls and then we made our way out of the bar.

“Babe,” Auston said, pulling on my arm and coming to a stop.

“What?” I asked, reaching up to run my hand through my messy hair.

“Can you get me a hotdog at that stand?” Auston asked, pointing to a hotdog stand at the end of the block. I let out a giggle as I nodded my head. The two of us made our way to the end of the block and I ordered the hotdog for Auston making sure to get no ketchup and then paid.

“Alright we're going to walk is that okay with you?” I asked Auston noticing just how crossed he was. He nodded his head and the two of us started our way to his apartment. His hand slipped into my back pocket pulling me closer.

“Babe you didn’t put ketchup on it,” he whined as he took his bite.

“You know I don't like ketchup,” I reminded him, taking it out of his hands. He stopped walking and sent a glance my way.

“I didn’t say I wanted to share this,” he said as he pulled it out of my reach.

“Auston,” I whined, turning to face him. He laughed as he took another bite of the hotdog. Ass.

“Auston what?” he asked after he finished chewing.

“Quit being an ass,” I laughed as I lightly hit his arm. He laughed harder as he finally handed me the hotdog.

“Alright let's go it's cold out here,” Auston said, reminding me that it was cold and I wasn't wearing a very warm outfit. I shivered as I tried to walk closer to Auston for body heat. He glanced at me and noticed my shivers and took off his suit coat.

“Here,” he said handing it over and taking the hotdog from me so I could put the coat on.

“You know what Auston,” I said coming to another stop in the middle of the sidewalk. He kept walking for a second before noticing and then turned around to face me.

“Amelia. What are you doing? Remember it's cold out?” he asked, confused as he tried to grab my hand to keep us moving.

“Auston stop, this is important,” I said, not budging from my spot. He turned back to face me again and gave me an encouraging nod.

“What?” he asked, entertaining me.

“I don’t know if I want to tell you anymore,” I said pretending to move forward, only for his hand to stop me.

“No no no. You said it’s important now we have to hear it,” he grinned down at me.

“Well now you're being a jerk so I don’t want to tell you,” I stared up at him. He didn't say anything and just stared at me waiting.

“I’m sorry I really do want to hear what you have to say,” Auston said trying to apologize. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pecked his lips.

“I just love you. And you're a really good boyfriend when you're not being a jerk,” I told him as I pulled back with a wide grin spread across my lips.

“Oh. Thanks babe,” Auston responded surprised. He pecked me on the forehead before pulling me the rest of the way to his apartment building and into the elevator.

“Let’s just go straight to my room and put on a movie,” Auston mumbled as he unlocked his front door. Felix greeted us excitedly, his tail wagging.

“I should probably take him out,” Auston groaned as he reached down for Felix’s leash. I nodded as I took my shoes off and offered him his jacket back. He took it shrugging it on.

“You can go change into something comfier in my room,” he said nodding in the direction of the bedrooms before making his way out.

Once I got to Auston’s room I immediately went to his closet and looked around at all the different things hanging. I glanced between his Maple Leafs jersey and a long sleeve button up trying to figure out which one he would find sexier. Deciding on the jersey I threw it on before making my way over to the bed and sitting on top of the comforter.

“Babe do you want popcorn?” Auston called from the kitchen once he had gotten back.

“Only if you do,” I called back. I heard him shuffling around in the kitchen for a few more moments before he started to make his way down the hall.

“Can we watch the Avengers,” Auston asked as he pushed the door open and walked in with a bag of chips and a plate of strawberries. I nodded as I reached over for the remote and turned on Age of Ultron.

“I brought you strawberries. I remember that one time you told me about how they are better when high. I even cut them up for you,” Auston said shoving the plate my way. I laughed as I took the plate from him.

“Thanks. How was it taking Felix out?” I asked moving the food to the side table and then crawled on top of Auston so that I was straddling him.

“Good. You look so sexy in my jersey babe,” he moaned sliding his hands up my waist feeling the lacy lingerie under the jersey.

“Can’t believe you wore this to the bar tonight,” he muttered, hiking the jersey up so that he could take in more of the lingerie.

“I couldn't stop thinking about you all night,” he leaned up and placed a kiss on my lips before pulling away and flipping us over so that he was on top. He pulled the jersey up higher so that he was able to take in my whole body. He leaned down and started placing light kisses on my belly and moved up towards my breast.

“What do you want from me tonight?” Auston asked, pulling the jersey off and then leaning back down so that he could start sucking a hickey into my breast. I moaned loudly as I pushed into him.

“Tonights all about you babe,” I said, pulling his face up with both of my hands so that he was looking into my eyes. He stared at me hungirly before pulling me into a deep kiss and letting his hands rome my body. I moved my hand that was playing with the end of his hair down his body so that my hand was resting just above his waistband. Just as I was about to tug his pants off there was a loud knocking on the door. I threw my head back with a loud groan.

“Did you invite someone over?” I asked. He shook his head no leaning back.

“Maybe if we ignore it they will go away,” he suggested leaning back in to kiss me again only for the knocking to continue. This time Felix started barking back. Auston groaned as he climbed off the bed and made his way out of the room. I laid down into the bed relaxing as I waited for Auston to come back. I waited for another five minutes before deciding to throw something on to go check on him. Once I was dressed in his sweats and a sweatshirt. I followed the conversation coming from the kitchen.

“Freddie,” I smiled as I approached the two standing at the counter. I walked over to Auston and he quickly wrapped his arm around my shoulder pulling me into his side.  

“Sorry it's so late,” Freddie apologized to me. I gave him a polite smile and shook my head.

“Don’t worry. Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Freddie here just needs some friends to hang out with tonight,” Auston squeezed my shoulder giving me a soft smile.

“Well Auston and I were watching Age of Ultron. I could put it on the tv out here,” I suggested. Freddie gave me a grateful smile while Auston nodded along.

“Freddie we’re just going to turn the tv off in the room and grab the snacks,” Auston said and then the two of us made our way towards the bedroom.

“I’m sorry that I invited him to stay, he’s been feeling really homesick and the media has been so brutal on him lately,” Auston started saying the second the door was shut. I leaned forward and placed a kiss on his lips cutting him off. I loved how much Auston cared about the people he loved.

“Don’t worry about it Aus. Freddie is always welcome here,” I smiled at him pressing another quick kiss to his lips.

“Now go turn the movie on I just want to take my lingerie off,” I said, nudging him out of the room. He laughed pressing another quick kiss to my cheek and leaving the room.

[ofcowardiceandkings]

UH WHOA not only am i posting art but theres so much of it lmfao

ive been meaning to do this for mmmm a long time, and i decided to get it cleaned up so i can present folks with my homebrew/headcanon/thingy for the d&d playable races !! i know ive missed a few off but these are ones ive seen more of over all in my own travels in Nerd Game lol

ive only DMed one thing so far (our lost mines of phandelver adventure was a total blast but oh boy the shenanigans) but im like ... drowning in it all, have been for a loooonng time since i first played Neverwinter Nights when i was like 11, i just didnt have a party to mess with yet lmao (fingers crossed our schedules get sorted so the campaign goes ahead soooooonnn).. so ive been developing some of these various homebrewy headcanons for uh over half my life

getting them all together in one place like this was unbelievably fun !!

gonna yell under the cut for a bit about it more but very shortly i’ll be opening for d&d character / item / creature commissions so watch this space or pop me a message to get in a queue <3

these headcanon things are half based on “that looks cool” and Sciencing. a lot of the more humanoid in some way races ive really pulled on human ancestors a lot, as well as muscle development in different sports. And Animals, because ye

i haven’t included humans in this mammoth endeavour because we should all know what a Human People looks like, and their proportions aren’t any different in the world of D&D i run at least lol similarly, because they’re an exact intersection between humans & either elves or orcs, the half-species arent included on here either [shrugs] i WILL talk about them some here though !!

i might eventually update this with some npc generators ive made using my own descriptors and headcanons >.>

ELVES av height; 5′6 | heads-high; 8.5 generally long limbed, with fine wispy hair, elves senses are very heightened. helping in this, their eyes are almond-shaped with slightly narrow pupils, their large radar-like ears are very mobile, and the underside of their noses are covered in a lightly damp pitted leather. part of their ability to maintain grace with an elongated frame, aside from longer springy feet, is aided by a tail built somewhat like a horse, with a skirt of hair down its length, only with a slightly longer bone to it than would be seen in the typical pony. excepting a very light dusting on their lower limbs, they typically have very little body hair. sometimes their skin shimmers, or freckles sparkle.

GNOME av height; 3′6 | heads-high; 6.5  gnomes are almost like diminutive elves with a few key differences. their hair tends to be wild if left alone, but is often styled wildly anyway. set rather low on rounded but long faces, their large almond eyes are keen, and small hands very nimble. it’s not sure if its due to their close environments or frequent encounters with accidents in experiments, but their skulls are surprisingly hard, and they possess small horn nubs made of bone and coated in keratin. their small petal-shaped ears are set low and point outward, and are able to move a little to catch sound. they may look fragile due to their size and build but they are pretty hardy and more than capable.

HALFLING av height; 3′ | heads-high; 6 a very hardy but soft and welcoming folk, halflings are built for walking and surviving well, often coming from a semi-nomadic tradition. they typically have round faces with stronger jaws and soft round eyes, and their large ears are pointed upright. their figures easily get a little curved and chubby, especially when they have easy access to decent food, in preparation for harder times and the odd period of hunkering down for some downtime, say in poor weather. truly the most functional part of a halfling is their short powerful legs with big fairly flexible hard feet, and lion-like tail for balance, both insulated by hair.

DWARF av height; 4′3 | heads-high; 6.5 dwarves are accustomed to life in tougher terrain, typically with large parts spent in the ground. their broad frames are also squat down with thick short limbs, for huge power and for life in tunnels. wide feet keep them steady and sensitive to significant seismic energy in the earth, and wide hands aid in their work and the feel of the rock. their large round ears stick outward and are slightly mobile, large noses help condition the air, and high-set eyes with huge irises aid their vision in darker spaces and the ability to peek over things without being fully exposed. their skulls are also very thick just in case of falling rocks. all dwarves are very hairy and grow beards, taking pride in keeping and styling it.

GOLIATH av height; 7′6 | heads-high; 10 a totally different variety of rock & mountain people to dwarves, they do share a few traits. a goliath’s thick limbs are long with a big reach and huge stride, with big hands and feet for steady movement. as well as being hugely tall, they are broad, especially in their shoulders, with a long neck elevating their head further. their facial features tend to be very sharp, but long. they have little to no body hair, and they often dont grow head hair either, but decorate their skulls with tattoos. as they get older, the upper surfaces of their body develop pebble like growths under the skin, often in similar patterns to their habitats.

FIRBOLG av height; 7′6 | heads high; 9 firbolg typically live in deep forests but are actually a giantkin - although not too unbelievable given their huge height and thick build. large parts of their body are hairy, nearly furry, and their head hair is thick and wild, and they often have facial hair too. their large heads have long thick noses with an almost bovine leather to their top lips, and wide set eyes. their fluffy ears are very mobile, but when relaxed they drop and point downward. their nails are thick and sturdy, aiding in being even more dexterous while being so big. sometimes they are covered in layers of clothing, but they possess a tiny goat-like tail.

DRAGONBORN av height; 6′6 | heads-high; 8 dragonborns diverged from true dragons in the ancient past, likely due to a strong magical influence of some kind, but not so long ago that the bloodlines of dragons are absent from the race of dragonborn. (the illustration shows the typical head-shape and placement of ears, each bloodline has its own features). their chest is still very round like an animal, with deep chest muscles, a slightly less mobile shoulder, and short upper arm. their 4 clawed hands and feet somewhat resemble that of a true dragon, but smaller and a little less dangerous. the length of a dragonborn’s tail can vary from just the length from hips to floor, or up to their full height, and as well as being very useful for balance and dexterity, can be used for fighting. different bloodlines can interbreed, with it being a matter of chance which line is present in offspring (although metallic is more dominant over gemstone, and chromatic over both ... (ah yeah gemstone, ill get to that soon))

AARAKOCRA av height; 5′ | heads-high; 8.5 as an avian species, especially one capable of flight, the aarakocra’s bones are hollow, making them on the one hand very agile but a little fragile. their large wingspan nearly brushes the floor, and their wings attach high on their back, through to a deep avian keel. their arms have a long forearm, which is covered in bird-like scutes, and their 4 clawed hands are still remarkably talon like which quite short palms and very mobile thumbs. their legs are very long and powerful, and backed by a typically wedge shaped tail. more often than not, their physical appearance takes after raptor species of birds, but different populations can trend towards many different appearances, including parrots and waterfowl.

TABAXI av height; 6′6 | heads-high; 9 tabaxi are an unusual sight in many places still. their cat-like bodies are very flexible and suited to their athletic climbing lifestyle. their long hands and feet have very a powerful grip, and they can retract their front claws. their long feline face is something like a cheetah or a clouded-leopard, with large highly mobile ears, large eyes and a strong nose. 

ORC

av height; 6′6 | heads-high; 8

orcs are very powerfully build, with heavy muscles and thick bodies overall. compared to other humanoids they can look a little gorilla-like. their short legs are usually a little bent to carry weight better instead of busting knees when locked. their course wiry hair grows profusely all over their body. their strong nails often grow out a little pointed. their large thick heads have high heavy brows and protruding lower jaws, short round noses and low bud-shaped ears which stick outward. the lower jaw and sometimes upper contain tusks, sometimes multiple tusks, which are greatly cared for and very impressive.

HALF-ELVES av height; 5′6 | heads-high; 8.25 a half-elf’s build will be somewhere between human and elf, often inheriting something of an elf’s eyes and nose leather, shorter elf ears, and maybe a small tufted tail something like a rabbits

HALF-ORCS av height; 6′ | heads-high; 8 a half-orc’s build will be somewhere between human and elf, often inheriting something of an orc’s skin colour and dark and profuse wiry hair, shorter orc ears, and some small tusks.

GOBLIN av height; 4′ (stood straight) | heads high; 5.5 bat/cat-like ears, nose something like bear/cat, domed head, arms/legs same length, sparse wiry hair, claws, short digits, lithe but very strong and hardy

HOBGOBLIN av height; 5′3 (stood straight) | heads high; 8 bat/cat-like ears but pinched at the base, nose something like bear/cat, very domed head, arms slightly longer than legs, claws, sparse wiry hair, quite broad

BUGBEAR av height; 7′ (stood straight) | heads high; 7.5 bat-like ears, long domed head something like a lion/bear, arms very long, nearly totally covered in thick fur, big tusks and often fangs, very bear-like hands/feet, big claws, very broad

TRITON av height; 5′2 | heads high; 7.5 lithe but well muscled, quite streamlined for a humanoid, frilled ears, pretty flat face, fins on limbs/back, “hair” is tendrils/fins/etc, short strong legs & long arms, long webbed fingers, long flipper feet, gills along front/side of chest

YUAN-TI PUREBLOOD av height; 5′9 | heads high; 9 domed angular faces, lips are not humanoid, triangular eyes, scales, quite flat nostrils with sense pits following along underside cheekbones, very little cartilage in ear, some may have cobra hoods extending out of ear instead, very tall and thin with small hands/feet, reptilian claws

CENTAUR av height; 7′ | heads high; 10 fairly stocky pony body (usually about 4′10 at withers), very muscled front end, long neck & sloping human-shoulders, long faces with long broad noses, prominent lips, horse-like ears sticking up and out, their whole scalp can grow hair but shaved sides are common, can grow hair nearly all down human-spine

KOBOLD av height; 2′6 | heads high; 5.5 almost alligator-like head & eyes, tiny nub horns, quite animal-like chest, arms/legs same length, thick stubby tail same length of body, 4 digits with stubby claws, lithe but strong for their tiny size

KENKU av height; 4′ | heads high; 5.5 corvid features, deep chest but no keel, longer arms than legs, 4 digits with talons, hands human-like but scaled, wedge-like tail half of leg height, not-quite fully bird feet.

LIZARDFOLK av height; 6′6 | heads high; 7 iguana-like, egg-shaped head, neck wattle, line of back spines varies in height, long arms and legs, very reptilian hands and feet with long claws, elbow spikes

GRUNG av height; 3′ | heads high; 6.5 large heads, neck leads nearly directly into torso, super flexible, very long limbs, triangular body, short upper arm, shorter thigh, large hands/feet, 4 digits

LOXODON av height; 7′6 | heads high; 5.5 large head, trunk as long as torso, short legs / long arms, huge bones under thick muscle, thick skin, 4 digits with thick nails, large hands / rounded cushioned feet, v e r y broad and thick build, small tail with tuft at the end, 

TORTLE av height; 7′6 | heads-high; 7 thick wrinkled skin encased in huge shell, stooping posture with neck extending forward, very long arms & short legs, 5 digits with reptilian claws, boxy head, heart shaped from above with features set far forward, tail to balance stoop

MINOTAUR av height; 7′ | heads-high; 9 powerful build with thick bones, typically well muscled, bovine head on thick neck, often very large horns, fairly long tufted tail, big hooved feet, broad 4 digit hands with thick nails, hair length varies

PLANE THINGS ???

listen this was a lot easier in the edition i first encountered lol anyway, until anything else comes up in extra material im just applying a few square & rectangle venn diagram rules

a useful word; planetouched. i dont really know why WotC seems to have dropped that term for at least 5e (i missed 4e entirely) but it refers to a “mortal native outsider” with lineage or influence from a plane other than the material, so “a material plane native creature with non-native plane influence, which can die”

GENASI height depends on material plane parent the result of a material plane / elemental pair (usually genies). they usually take after their material parent in build and broader features, but their elemental heritage comes through in features like magical hair, bright coloured eyes, unusual body temperatures, innate magics, etc.  genasi can interbreed with themselves, and the crossing of two elements can produce some interesting results (im working on that :>)

TIEFLINGS height depends on material plane parents this is the first of the squares & rectangles, and tbh its basically canonical. a tiefling is the result of a material plane humanoid being born with fiendish* influence. the word ‘tiefling’ refers specifically to a human with fiendish influence, but is also an umbrella term for ALL fiendish planetouched creatures. these DO have some names mentioned in the play material ! fey’ri = elves, tanarukk = orcs, wisplings = halflings, maeluth = dwarves, etc. so all fiendish planetouched are tieflings, but not all tieflings are human-based. the fiendish influence can be dormant for years or just string along for decades. AnyWay, all of them have horns, most have tails, odd skin or eye colour, and others can have all sorts of extraplanar features. *(fiends are another venn diagram thing in D&D, its an umbrella term for both demons and devils) 

AASIMAR height depends on material plane parents aaand this is the second of the squares & rectangles, the not-strictly-canon one. okay duplicate what i said about tieflings, but make it about celestials not fiends, basically lmao. aasimar is an umbrella term, but also a human/celestial planetouched specifically! unlike the above, since its my homebrew concept i dont have other words specifically for other races’ celestial planetouched, but i’ll get there watch this space lol EnyHoo, they all tend to have a strange glow about them in general, but usually in their eyes, and maybe hair especially. it isnt uncommon for them to have a kind of halo around themselves, or glowing glyphs/runes/sigils on or around them either. while MOST dont have full wings, a dusting of feathers isnt unusual. the features of celestials can vary a lot more. for example, unicorns and leonals are actually celestials!

aaand the slightly odd-ball;

WARFORGED height depends on build purpose these are an interesting case, as warforged are actually constructs, brought into this world by the fusing of organic muscle (like wood or leathery material) to an inorganic shell (like stone or metal), imbuing a life-giving fluid of some sort to act like blood, and bringing life to it by a powerful ritual - a unique glyph etched into their heads. as their name suggests they are usually created to become soldiers, or other army positions, although they could be suited to other purposes. unlike most constructs, they are fully self-aware and have a mind on par with humans. they do not need sleep (but require rest) and they also do not naturally reproduce. if they live longer than their purpose, then they are turned loose to deal with the world as they wish. as they are MADE they can vary greatly depending on who made them, and for what exact purpose - although they tend to have beak-like mouths, and 3 digit hands and 2 toed feet.

AV. HEIGHT CHART FROM LEFT TO RIGHT !!! human - elf - dwarf - gnome - halfling - orc - goliath - firbolg - dragonborn - aarakocra - tabaxi - kenku - hobgoblin - bugbear - yuanti - triton - kobold - grung - lizardfolk - tortle - centaur - minotaur - loxodon

oooboy that was a lot of waffle :L