'They're children and its incest!!' They're also fucking elves. Like it's not that serious
(Also that post of yours was very well said, someone needed to show 16 year old anti me that)
I think there's a balance. On the one hand, yes, it's a middle grade elf series. On the other, the topics of morality in fiction, media censorship, the distinction between endorsement and depiction, etc. are all serious topics worth discussing.
And there are a lot of valid thoughts and concerns wrapped up in it. I don't want to ignore and dismiss their points--that'll just shut everything down further. They're right to worry about children and harm, we do want to create safe spaces and a better world. I just disagree that policing media and fandom spaces achieves that. (insufficient summary of everything, I know there's more to it)
And it's like I was saying--fiction can serve as practice, though it's valid in its own right too. We're forming opinions about the topic, supporting our positions and making claims, engaging with others and seeing if they hold, etc. And there's that larger margin of error i mentioned because this is fiction; the worst thing that'll happen is fandom discourse/a shift in mutual groups. it's not like laws are being based on any of this or something
Essentially, both serious and unserious elements. And thank you--I tried to be clear and thorough, because getting heated never helps. Though people also have to be willing to converse and engage--that's why I frequently have "if you behave in this manner, I'll stop engaging" in those posts.
I'll have the discussion, but I won't do pointless arguing
Happy [late-] 10 months, @andromedaspace !! I love you to the moon and back, starlight!
Pairing: Moxiety
Warnings: food/eating, sickness, hurt/comfort, Virgil makes a ‘or ur homophobic’ joke but its all lighthearted
Characters: Patton, Virgil
Character notes: ADHD nonbinary Patton [they/fae], autistic genderqueer Virgil [xe/he]
Fic summary: Virgil’s sick and grumpy, but Patton makes xem feel okay.
Wordcount: 1042
Virgil sniffled slightly, feeling xyr bones ache as xe attempted to get out of bed. To his knowledge, xe was home alone, meaning xe had to care for himself without any sort of help. He blinked harshly at the outside light, limping over and shutting the curtains; it only slightly helped xyr pounding headache. He stretched a tiny bit, taking one of his blankets from his bed as well as the dog stuffed animal, Leo, Patton got xem. Xe hugged the stuffie close, sighing softly as xe tried to gather the strength to walk downstairs. A few minutes passed of xem just standing in the middle of his messy room, but he eventually was ready to start moving. Slowly, trying to make his body hurt as little as possible with xyr movements, xe left the room, keeping the stuffie close to xyr unbinded chest. Xe winced as he opened the bedroom door, the hallway lights seeming much brighter than they really were. A noise similar to an upset hiss left xyr mouth, looking down and stumbling towards the top of the stairs.
The hissing noises alerted Patton, making faer look up. They'd been quietly on their phone for the past few hours, cuddled up in blankets on the couch. Fae stood, walking slowly towards the movement, "Virge?"
Xe jumped a little, coughing slightly, "uh- yeah?"
"Are you alright?" Patton stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up to their partner, "you look... pale."
He chuckled sadly, continuing to make his way down the stairs, "I'm always pale, sweetie."
"Paler than usual," they walked up a few steps, offering their arm for support, "what's wrong?"
"Don't feel to good, but I'm-" coughing cut him off, taking a shaky breathe after the small fit, "I'm fine."
Faers frown grew more, "you don't look fine, love." Patton led him to the couch, gently lying xem down. They kissed his head, walking away from xem.
Virgil whined loudly, "Pattyyy."
"I'll be 2 minutes, love!" Fae called, switching the living room lights off and heading to the kitchen. A small "hmph" was heard from the couch, Virgil cuddling close into Leo. Xe took some shaky breaths, trying not to cry purely from just feeling ill. He squeezed xyr eyes shut, sighing into the material of the stuffed dog. Only a few moments passed without Patton, but it truly did feel like an eternity. After no less than five minutes, his partner came back holding a bowl of tomato soup. Fae gently set it on the coffee table, kissing Virgil's head, "hey love."
The only reply heard was another whine, looking out from the blankets and stuffie. Xe relaxed slightly when he saw his partner's face, making upset grabby hands towards faer.
"I'm here, love," fae smiled, gently getting under the blanket with xem and wrapping an arm around xem, "I've gotcha."
He sniffled, nodding and leaning into faer, "thanks, Patt... I'm sorry."
"Hey, it's alright darling," they kissed his nose, reaching over for the soup, "I got your favourite honey."
Xyr eyes lit up, taking the bowl and holding it to his chest to warm him. He mumbled appreciation to Patton, sniffling again.
"I love you honey," fae smiled, wiping his nose with a tissue and hugging him closely.
"Love you," xe mumbled sleepily, his arms to achy to feed himself.
Patton chuckled softly, kissing xyr cheek as fae got rid of the tissue. They cleaned their hands with some hand sanitiser quickly, taking a spoonful of soup in faers hand. "You need some help?" Fae was slightly teasing him, but it was a genuine question.
"Please..?" his voice was more obviously weak now, holding Leo closely. The shorter smiled to their partner, humming as they fed xem - Virgil appreciated the hums filling the otherwise silent room. Xe ate happily, the warmth of the soup relaxing xem and making him feel slightly sleepy.
Patton let out a coo at xyr half-closed eyes, "is my love getting sleepy?"
Virgil tried to deny it, lazily shaking xyr head - the yawn xe let out revealed the lie. He pouted at his own body, continuing to just eat after the yawn.
"I think you are," they teased gently, kissing his nose, "and that's alright. You deserve a nice nap, Vee."
"Don't wanna moveeee," xe whined quietly, soup around the edges of xyr lips. He wouldn't usually mind sleeping on the couch, but he knew it would just make xyr achy joints much worse.
"Let me carry you," they cooed, putting the finished soup bowl to the side and kissing xyr hair. "If that's alright?"
Xyr face burned red, holding Leo closely, "I- uh- please?"
"Of course," they stood, taking Virgil in faers arms with the blanket still wrapped around them gently.
"What about the uh, the washing up?" xe asked weakly, nodding towards the soup covered bowl.
Fae smiled gently, starting to walk upstairs, "I'll wash it up later. Right now, you're my number one top priority!"
A smirk slipped on Virgil's face, looking away from xyr partner, "dork... I love you."
"I love you too, darling. Now!" Fae smiled, standing at the top of the stairs, "do you want to cuddle in my room or yours?"
Xe leaned into faers shoulder, relaxing in the older's arms, "your's? I like your lights..." Patton owned both fairy lights and LED lights.
"Of course," Patton entered their room happily, gently setting Virgil on the bed between their many stuffed animals. Xe wiggled out of his own blanket, getting comfy and nuzzling into the softness of all the materials.
"You're adorable," faers cooed, lying down next to their partner.
"Only because I'm ill," xe teased, smirking towards Pattona and holding xyr arms out to them. "Now, gimme cuddles or your homophobic."
They chuckled gently, wrapping their arms around xem, "of course, love. But you are always adorable, even when you're being all angsty."
Xe chuckled gently, cuddling into their chest, "heh, thanks angel."
"Of course stormcloud," they rubbed xyr back, "Nini."
"Night," xe mumbled, shutting xyr eyes.
Patton put their glasses to the side. They kissed xyr head, smiling, "Love you."
"Lovie..." xyr words were slurred and hardly audible.
Patton sighed happily, continuing to rub the back of their love. "Sleep well, darling."
Happy [late-] birthday @andromedaspace! I hope you’re having a good week!
Pairing: mutual pining Analogical, romantic Analogical at the end
Warnings: homophobia, hurt/comfort, quite a lot of cursing, kissing, so much awkward silence
Characters: Logan Sanders, Virgil Berry, Roman Smith
Character notes: autistic nonbinary Logan [they/them], autistic trans Virgil [xe/xem], genderqueer acearo Roman [he/prince]
Fic summary: Logan had known Virgil for a while now, but when they start getting gay thoughts, they consult Roman to help
2,921 words 16,543 characters
you can also read this over on AO3
It had been about three or so months since Logan had met Virgil. Since their original run in with each other, the two had been hanging out quite a bit, not restricting themselves to just the forest they first met each other in. Unfortunately for Logan, xe did not go to their highschool, but was rather homeschooled; this didn't stop Virgil in any way, however. After a week of knowing them, xe started to wait outside the school gates for Logan, making a habit of walking them home. This day was not any different, Logan making their way out of a particularly uninteresting English lesson - it did lift their mood knowing Virgil would be waiting. They were one of the last one's out, looking around for xem. Anxiousness started to consume them, unable to see xem outside - did xe just leave them?
They frowned slightly, taking their phone out of their pocket to see if they had any message. Logan jumped a little when everything went dark, panicking slightly, before realising somebody was just covering their eyes.
"Guess whoooo?" Logan relaxed at Virgil's voice, gently removing xyr hands with their own.
"Hey Vee," they smiled, turning around, "I thought you had left."
"Nope, just this guy was talking to me. Think he was British?"
Logan's eyes widened slightly in realisation, "Roman?"
"Yeah! Prin was asking me about you," Virgil took Logan's hand, as xe usually did when they walked home together, "he sorta... gave me a shovel talk? The whole 'hurt them and I'll hurt you' schtick."
A whine escaped Logan's mouth, "I told prin specifically to not bother you. I'm sorry, Virge"
"Hey, it's okay, it's cute how much your friends care about you," xe chuckled softly, checking both directions before leading the two across the road. Logan blushed a small bit at the comment, going to speak again. They were cut off by a yell from a passing car, making the pair turn their heads. The engine was so loud, Logan couldn't make out what whoever was in the car said exactly, but they could make out the last few words.
"What are you, gay!?"
It was said with so much bitterness, so much hatred. Several conflicting feelings started to consume Logan - anger, sadness, a small tang of guilt. They looked at Virgil with a hard to make out expression, their mouth unable to mutter anything, but their mind screaming. It told them to run in the opposite direction, to yell at their friend, to apologise, to kiss Virgil. Why did they want to kiss Virgil?
A few seconds passed, both of them clearly uneasy. Virgil shifted xyr hand slightly, making it obvious xe was considering letting go. Xe spoke after a few more seconds of silence, "I'm sorry, L."
"'s fine," Logan refused to look at Virgil, rather staring at the interlocked hand. As much as their brain begged and screamed for them to let go, they didn't. It was nice, they felt loved for once.
The older one nodded, swallowing dryly and starting to walk again, "right, right. Let's just get you home, hm?" No more words were able to escape Logan's mouth, just nodding and gingerly following xem. To their mutual dislike, the next ten or so minutes were spent in complete awkward silence. Both opened their mouths to speak at a few points, but not a word was said from either of them. Neither pointed this out, eventually reaching the door of Logan's block of apartments.
The building seemed to loom over the pair of friends now, making Logan feel as if they were shrinking into a miniscule room with just Virgil, forced to be close. It was an uncomfortably claustrophobic feeling.
"I'll uh, I'll get going," Virgil finally said, "see ya."
"Bye," Logan mumbled, quickly letting go of xyr hand and making their way upstairs without looking back at xem. On most occasions, Virgil would walk them to the front door, and xe would then call them on xyr way back to their own home. None of this happened though, sulking their way into the kitchen. Anxiously, Logan peered out the window to see where Virgil was - it did make them feel a bit creepy for doing so, but they were worried. Xe ended up making uncomfortable eye contact, the two immediately breaking it once they had noticed. As if their world was falling to pieces, which is what it felt like, Logan poured themselves a glass of cold water and hurriedly walked to their own room. It was quiet. Virgil wasn't being called, their parents weren't home, the AC was turned off. It was quiet.
Too quiet. Logan hated it, reaching their room and shutting the door with their foot. Everything in their brain yelled at them to just slump onto the floor with their back against the door, but they decided against it. They hung up their bag, walking to their bed and taking several long gulps of water. It was cold, numbing their teeth slightly. Iciness rushed to their brain, resulting in a groan and a small pampth where they fell onto their back and shifted so they laid on their pillow. Everything was fine until those kids. They harshly blinked a few times before staring at the green stars, planets and moon that were stuck above their bed, reaching out gently. Logan "grabbed" the moon next to the Earth with their hand, closing it into a fist as they were holding it. Nothing else changed, the room staying still. It couldn't have been more than a minute before their arm started to become tired, letting out a built up sigh and letting their arm flop next to them on the bed. The moon reminded them of Virgil. In an, only somewhat successful, attempt of getting their mind off their friend, they started to count the plastic stars.
Twenty six... twenty seven... twenty nine- wait, shit, they messed up. Logan groaned loudly, rolling onto their side. Nothing could make them stop thinking. With thoughts still buzzing, they wiggled out of the dark jacket they were wearing, taking their phone into their hand before throwing the clothing onto the floor. On most days, they'd be extremely strict with themself about keeping their room clean, but at this point, they had no energy to care. The phone was unlocked, showing the background - a selfie Virgil took of xem and Logan. It had a corny SnapChat filter on top of it, a black bar at the bottom with white text reading 'my nerd <4'. Great, now they were overthinking if there was any hidden context to that. Yet again, they sighed, opening their contacts and scrolling to the bottom. Logan's thumb hovered over the contact name 'Virge<3' for several seconds, before scrolling up an embarrassing amount from the V contact page to the R contact page. They hesitantly clicked on the contact name 'Ro 👑’, sitting up and leaning their back against their headboard.
Ring ring. "C'mon, Ro, pick up," Logan mumbled impatiently," ring ring, "c'mon, please..." ring ri-
"Yellow?" Roman's voice came from the other side, the soft sound of Mitski in the background.
"Roman, I think I've fucked up."
"You, fucking up?" Roman was heard sitting up, "that's a change. What happened?"
"Virge and I were walking from school and... and it was fine, until this group of kids sped past us in their shitty car. They said some shit and we ended up walking home in silence," they groaned loudly, "xe didn't even call me after xe left, just... walked away."
"What did they say, Lo?" The younger's voice was much softer now, the background music turned down so prin could listen better.
"We were holding hands and they-" Logan swallowed dryly, slipping down the headboard, "they yelled 'what are you, gay?'. I can't stop thinking about it."
"They just saw two masculine presenting people being close friends and jumped to conclusions. Plus, you two are gay, just not for eachother."
"I- I guess, but now I'm just confused," Logan laid back down onto their back, "my brain was yelling at me to do so many things at once. To run away, or yell at xem, or kiss xem, or say sorry-"
"To kiss xem?" Roman repeated, a chuckle at the bottom of his throat, "I think you may be slightly gay for xem."
Logan groaned, "I'm not." They looked away from the direction of the phone, despite the fact Roman could not see them. "At least, I don't think I am," they mumbled the last part quietly.
"Logan," prin was heard shuffling on his bed, sounding as though he sat up, "what made you concerned? What those assholes said, or the small chance you may be in love with Vee?"
They didn't reply for a few seconds, taking several deep breaths. Logan shifted uncomfortably, "I actually... think it's more of the second option. I... the other thoughts didn't even really bother me, because I know I wouldn't run from xem or yell at them. But I know I would happily apologise and-" they bit their lip, "and I would... happily... kiss xem..."
"I'm glad I gave xem the shovel talk now," Roman chuckled softly, "listen, do you want my shitty aro advice, or do you want to suffer with whatever your feelings are?"
Logan let out another mix of a sigh and a groan, "sure. Something is better than nothing."
"Tell xem - listen, before you go on a rant about how you can't," Logan shut their mouth which they did open in protest, "tell xem how you feel. This isn't the first time you've had these gay feelings for xem, is it? You like holding xyr hand, spending time with xem. Hell, you've called the time you spent in the forest with xem 'dates'! On multiple occasions. It's clear you like xem - it may not be romantic, but you like xem so fucking much. You were both outcasts, weren't you?"
Logan took a shaky breath, processing all the information they were just told. They blinked once or twice, "yeah, neither of us really had... many friends when we met. Virge was homeschooled and I only really knew you and Patt at this point."
"You have a genuine connection, everyone can tell that - even the fucks who taunted you. You love xem, and xe loves you. Your feelings are the reason you enjoy being physical, loving to just be in each other's company; why you had such a knee-jerk reaction to the thought of kissing xem. You probably had similar thoughts before, haven’t you?" Roman silently waited for them to reply.
Thinking back through the month's they had known xem, Logan realised the answer was yes. They mumbled the response quietly, and prin did hear it.
"But you're thinking so hard into this because for once, somebody else recognised this. Those kids... they mocked you for potentionally liking xem, they made you realise that you may actually be gay for xem. You've always seen xem as attractive, haven't you?"
Their world seemed as if it was shrinking in on themselves at the realisation, but was able to squeeze out a few more words, "yeah, since... since the moment we met. Even though xe was teasing me when I first saw xem, it... I appreciated how attractive they were. Fuck."
"You alright?" Roman's tone shifted - it was no longer their serious and lecture-esque voice, but soft. It sounded, as Logan liked to put it due to being an only child, like a protective brother's voice.
"I think so? Thank you, Ro, so much," Logan let out a small, happy noise, "I should text xem."
"Yeah," it was almost as if Roman's smile could be felt from the other side of the phone, "yeah, you should. Good luck, Lo-gay."
"I told you to stop calling me that," they ruffled their own hair, a habit they had picked up from both Virgil and Roman, "thank you, Ro, really. Bye, I love you."
"I love you toooo~” Roman sang the last word, "farewell!"
Once the call was over, the room went back into being too quiet, too cold. They lowered the phone from their ear, looking at the screen; underneath Roman's contact name was the call time - almost fifteen minutes. That conversation lasted for that long? Attempting to ignore everything else that was currently happening at the moment, pressing the back button and scrolling to Virgil's name in their contacts. At first, they were going to just call xem to ask, but opted to just texting. Logan bit their lip, anxiously writing out a message in an attempt to follow Roman's advice. Triple checking the message, though it felt as they read it back over a thousand times, they finally hit send on the message.
'Hey, Virge, I'm so incredibly sorry for the walk home today. I just froze up. Can we meet up at the place we first met to talk?'
They closed the texting window, looking back up to the ceiling stars. Nothing in them was really expecting Virgil to be that happy to talk to them again after what had happened, so you could imagine their shock when the phone almost immediately chimed. Logan pulled the phone to their face, clicking on the notification from Virgil, to their surprise.
'itz alr , l , promis . not mad ! u mean by the lake? cus if so , i ' ll see you ther in uhhh'
'10 minz?'
As usual, xyr typing ended up comforting Logan. They smiled sadly at the message, starting to sit up as they wrote a reply.
'Yeah, the lake! I’ll see you soon, Virge?'
‘ yea yea ‘
'<4'
For no particular reason, the difference of how Virgil typed emoticon hearts made Logan feel all bubbly inside. A green bag was slung over their shoulder - the bag which contained all their forest-exploring gear. Anxiety still consumed them for the most part, but knowledge that Virgil was safe and wasn't mad soothed them. Knowledge seemed to comfort them often, slipping on some black Doc Martens. The phone was gently placed into their pocket, leaning down and lacing the shoes up. They took a large, deep breath and left the apartment, humming to themselves to divert any nervous thoughts from their mind. Warmth covered their body almost as soon as they stepped outside their block of apartments, making their way towards the forest.
It didn't take long for them to reach the still lake, noticing Virgil sitting in the same place where they first met. Logan swallowed dryly, sitting opposite to them and leaning against their favourite moss-covered rock. They didn't want to have the first word.
"I'm sorry, L," Virgil repeated their same statement from a while earlier, "I should've broken the silence and said something more."
"It's okay, it wasn't either of our faults. I-" they refused to make eye contact, "I spoke to Roman about what happened."
"What did he say?" xe gently took one of their hands. Logan didn't reply, not holding Virgil's hand but not pulling away either. "L, what did he say?"
"He comforted me and made... made me think about shit."
"Think about what?" Virgil's voice was gentle, rubbing xyr thumb over Logan's hand gently.
"I wanted to kiss you."
"Oh."
"Sorry," it was the only thing they could think of. Truthfully they didn't know why they were apologising, or what exactly for. Virgil didn't visibly look uncomfortable. Were they apologising for having queer thoughts?
"Don't be," xe never stopped stroking their hand, looking down at it and processing what xe was just told.
"I still want to kiss you."
"Oh," Virgil repeated, but still didn't stop. Nothing Logan did could make xem stop attempting to calm them. "I, just- why?"
"Because you're... you. You're fun, and kind, and cheer me up," Logan's voice slowly grew more confident with each word, "you always make me smile and I enjoy the time we spend together. You're pretty, and a bit sarcastic, but still so loving and- and you're Virgil. I love you because you are Virgil."
Xe didn't reply for several seconds; Logan held their breath, going to apologise before getting cut off by xem.
"Kiss me, idiot."
Logan flushed slightly, the stars in their eyes. They gently leaned closer, softly kissing xem. It wasn't the best kiss in the world - neither of them having that much experience. Even so, it was tender and love-filled, Virgil pulling back after a few seconds. Xe breathed out deeply, chuckling when xe noticed how Logan now had slightly black stained lips.
"Shit, I-" xe smiled, "kissing before marriage?" Virgil gently smudged the transferred lipstick around their mouth with a thumb. "So..."
"I liked that," said Logan, leaning into xyr hand, "I like you."
"So much you want me as your boyfriend?" It was slightly jokingly, but truthfully it was the only thing xe wanted at that moment.
Logan paused, kissing xyr nose, "please?"
Virgil chuckled, peppering kisses on their face, "of course. I love you, nerd."
"I love you too."
Logan leaned their head on xyr shoulder, smiling widely. They'll be okay.
Happy 11 months, @andromedaspace ! I love you more than words can describe
Pairing: currently platonic Analogical, future romantic Analogical
Warnings: some cursing, cult joke, one line mentions bullying, “nerd” used affectionately, some of Vee’s teasing makes Logan upset but xe comforts them, brief blood mention, anxiety
Characters: Logan Sanders, Virgil Berry
Character notes: autistic nonbinary Logan [they/them], autistic trans Virgil [xe/xem]
Fic summary: As they usually do, Logan adventure’s into the forest. But when they explore somewhere they haven’t been before, they meet somebody new
1,795 words 10,235 characters
Logan, despite how well they behaved academically, was never one for following orders. Whether it was pirating a video game, or staying up until 2am on a school night, they didn't mind bending a few rules. More often than not, as well, they weren't caught. Their rule breaking wasn't confined to their own apartment either, occasionally exploring the forest by their highschool, staying out ten minutes to several hours too late. No matter what weather or time, they loved to walk through the trees that towered over their, now seemingly small, self. Nature was so fascinating to them. Books about plants and animals were scattered in their room, as well as writing in a journal about their favourite parts of the world.
They brought along the book on this particular day, tucked away safely in their messenger bag, along with pens, coloured pencils and other essentials. Wind barreled through the trees and their hair, making Logan subconsciously pull their hoodie closer to their skin. It was surprisingly cold for an average windy day, possibly too cold. Logan mentally pinned it down on being close to water, taking a seat next to a large, moss-covered rock. Whilst humming along to the sound of the birds, they started to remove their journal and stationary from their bag to comment on the plants around them. They opened the book to about three-quarters through, jotting the date down on a clean page. It was starting to become difficult to find new information, laying the book open on the dirt in front of them. A small, but happy, sigh escaped their mouth, turning to the rock behind them and starting to inspect the moss, their pen balanced in their mouth.
Hardly any sound surrounded them now, only quiet chirps and now softer wind being heard. Logan looked back behind them, where-
"Oh..?" Logan breathed, now slightly concerned at the lack of their book. It wasn't as if the wind blew it away, the pencils were much lighter than the journal, and yet they were in the exact same place. Attempting to not panic, they looked to the lake first, then to the tree's, before finally looking up.
"Looking for this?" Logan gasped shakily, finding their book in the hands of a stranger.
"Give- give it back!" It became embarrassingly obvious Logan had never been in a situation even slightly similar to this one.
The stranger, dressed in dark, just laughed softly, "what even is this-" they shut the book, the only thing on the cover being a name and a small yellow, white, purple and black flag, "Logan?"
"It's a journal, now give it back!" Despite their tone attempting to be intimidating, Logan still sat on their knees, seemingly shaking. "Who... who even are you!?"
"Well, I know your name, so it's only fair if you know mine," they jumped down from where they perched on a tree branch, starting to walk over, "it's Virgil. Don't laugh."
"Why would I... I laugh?" Logan's voice was now unmasking their anxiety, watching as Virgil moved closer. Along with their dark black clothes, the way they walked only made them look more bat-like.
Virgil shrugged, crouching in front of them, "people can be rude. You're alone in a forest, you probably know that well enough." They squinted their eyes slightly at the anxious person, "but you don't look like an outcast."
"Look closer at the cover," they mumbled, biting their lip slightly. Logan turned their head away, but kept their eyes focussed on the odd stranger. Virgil did as prompted.
"It just says Logan Sanders? That isn't a weird name," it slightly surprised Logan that a nice comment escaped their lips.
They took the journal from Virgil, poking at the flag, "Nonbinary."
"Ah."
"Yeah," they started to pack away their stuff, "just call me a name. I'm leaving. This is obviously your turf."
Virgil gently grabbed their wrist, "no. I didn't mean it like that, I'm just dumb and-" they sighed, unzipping the black and purple patched hoodie with their free hand and pulling one side back to reveal a trans patch on their chest. "Xe/xem. My dumbass just didn't process the flag."
What felt like a boulder of anxiousness was lifted off their chest - this was somebody in their community. Of course, that doesn't make xem an inherently good person, but it helped Logan feel safer.
"That's valid. They/them," Logan anxiously held out their hand. Is this how people introduce each other?
Xe looked at the awkward hand, "are you sure you're not a part of a forest cult and this is a blood pact?"
As if Logan was literally invited to said imagery cult, they let out an almost anxious gasp. Virgil's teasing smirk started to fade, "I'm kidding, L. You just don't know how to socialise." Xe gently shook their hand.
"That's- well-" Logan tried to gather words to defend themselves before just sighing, "yeah, you're correct. I don't."
Yet again, the forest fell silent, bar the sound of the wind. By this point, Virgil let go of their arm and hand, moving back by a foot or two. Logan took this as a sign to silently unpack their bag yet again, gently laying their beloved possessions back onto the dirt. Xe glanced at the bag. "Got anything else in there?"
Logan couldn't help but interpret this as a taunt, lowering their head to focus on finding today's page in their journal, "just general stuff." They didn't look back up, still sorting through the papers, until they felt a gentle hand on their shoulder. Even a gesture as simple as that made their soul melt in the best way possible, making them crack the first smile Virgil saw of them.
"Hey, L, I was being genuine. What do you have in there?" Xe smiled back, showing sharp teeth.
Trying to not focus on how attractive that was, they nodded and pulled the bag between the two of them. Virgil let go of them, sitting opposite Logan.
"You probably now think whatever's in here would be amazing, but it's really not," Logan frowned a little at the thought of letting their new possible friend down, opening the bag wider so they could both gaze in. "It's really just essentials other than what's already out - food, water, cellphone, nature books. There's some small scissors in one of the closed pockets in case I need a sample for something. I rarely test on plants, and never on animals, but sometimes it can be pleasant to just own a part of nature." They froze up slightly once the ramble escaped their mouth, "Oh- I'm sorry for speaking so much, Virgil."
The taller one just smiled, "no, no, don't apologise. I like hearing about all your nerd ramblings, it's sorta... sweet, how much you care."
They nodded, a small smile cracking onto their face again. "Thank you. Do you uh- do you have anything in your..."
"I don't have a bag, if that is what you're asking," xe chuckled a little, inspecting the book labeled 'Common Berries and Mushrooms', "most of my stuff is kept in the jacket. Same stuff as you, mostly. Just replace books with crystals and your journal with headphones."
Logan didn't know whether to question xem about the crystals or what kind of mystical jacket could contain all those things, resulting in them blurting out the gibberish of "how crystal fit."
Xe chuckled at them, "you're adorable, L. The jacket was modified to fit more shit, deeper pockets and that. And I work with crystals, if that's what you were trying to ask." They nodded in understanding, breathing out what sounded like 'fascinating'. "So, what brings you to the forest?"
Trying to gather themselves again, Logan cleared their throat and starting to flick through one of their several books, "I find nature amazing. How a single bug could run the entire forest... it truly is beautiful. I like coming down to the forest, usually after school or dinner, and just walk around, commenting on everything I see - new or known. I love learning. I hadn't been to this part of the forest before, I tend to turn right when entering, but this time I chose the left path."
Nodding along, Virgil listened intently to another one of their infodumps, which ended in xem learning new information about the forest as well. Xe couldn't even blame Logan for finding the forest interesting once xe heard it from their perspective. In all honesty, it made xem want to learn more so they can have genuine conversations about it, as right now it was similar to Logan literally talking to a plant. The ramble continued for almost twenty more minutes, Virgil warming up to asking questions and even making a few notes in xyr phone about this all. It slowly started to form into a proper conversation, eventually leading Logan to politely question the crystals xe carried, which in turn led them to dedicating an entire page to the rocks.
By the time both had worn themselves out with talking, Virgil smiled at the orange and purple sky, "I think it's getting quite late... do you need help packing your things up?" In the time they were infodumping, they also shared a picnic of sorts, leaving a lot more mess than Logan usually had at the end of their forest sessions.
"No, I'm alright..." They smiled, starting to gently stack the large informative books at the bottom of the bag, so they would not crush anything else. "Thank you for this, Virgil, it was nice to talk to somebody."
"Virge."
"Mh?" Logan looked up, Virgil appearing half-blurred as their glasses had slightly fallen down.
Xe chuckled, pushing the glasses up for them with what seemed like a fountain pen, "call me Virge, it's what my friends call me."
Blushing at the gesture, Logan went back to packing their bag, "we're friends?"
"Of course, I don't sit in the forest for hours with strangers," Virgil smiled warmly, the sound of pen scratching being heard as the rest of the forest seemingly fell into quiet. The sound stopped, "well, I better get going back to my dads. I'll see you around, nerd."
As Logan looked back up, xe was already in the tree's. They chuckled softly, "bye Virgil- Virge." After a few more minutes of rearranging their items, the bag was now almost fully packed. Logan took their journal from the ground, about to close it but noticing some new writing. It was in bright purple pen and scruffy handwriting, standing out amongst the neat, black text on the rest of the page.
"Call me - +1-541-555-0130"
They smiled gently, shutting the book and placing it at the top of their bag. Maybe they should.
@andromedaspace Thank you, hun! 💖 I've yet to decide if this conversation will even make it into the fic, but here's a snippet of something I've drafted for a future update of cards on the table (we're both showing hearts)...
northernattitude (he/him)
Nina has held me captive to six seasons of Love Has No Eyes.
midsummerghost (she/her)
I don’t think that’s what it’s called…
caneandable (he/him)
It’s called This Is Stupid.
heartshapedbox (she/her)
Okay, first of all, Matty… who was holding who captive? Don’t play this game with me, lover. I’ve got your DNA on a bag full of tissues.
Second of all, Brekker? Shut the fuck up.
