Prompt: Any intense emotions your soulmate feels you will also experience.
Word Count: 1,730
Main Taglist: (Send an ask to be added or removed!) @starlocked01, @spoopy-turtle, @lizluvscupcakes, @more-fandon-than-friends, @i-cant-find-a-good-username, @vindicatedvirgil, @star-crossed-shipper, @justaqueercactus, @gayboopnoodle, @sanderssidesweirdo, @the-sympathetic-villain
Soulmate taglist:(Send an ask to be added or removed!) @elizabutgayer, @melodiread, @tsshipmonth2020, @mikalya12
CW: Panic attacks, anxiety, mentions of self depreciation, mentions of horror.
Logan felt another burst of anxiety deep in his gut and sighed. This was the tenth time in three days, he was starting to be worried for his soulmate. He focused on his breathing, feeling for the familiar tug of emotion. After years of doing this, he’d ‘hacked the system’ so to speak by figuring out where the emotional connection was in his head. Once he’d figured that out, it was a simple matter of pushing emotions across it. So, he did that. He pushed a strong calm over to his soulmate, hoping their anxiety would lessen. He breathed out a sigh of relief when it did, when the pit of doubt left his stomach and his throat opened back up, when he didn’t have to struggle to keep his thoughts clear instead of giving in and drowning in the hate his brain spewed at him in that moment.
He hated the way the anxiety made him feel but also knew that his was tame compared to his soulmate’s. To combat it, he started happy stimming, flapping his hands near his face until he was grinning. He didn’t realize he was pushing his happiness through the connection until he felt the joy being radiated back. He stopped stimming, letting his hands falling back onto the library cart bring him out of his thoughts and remind him of his current task: to reshelf books.
Logan loved working at the library. He loved getting to read as much as he wanted, to have the ability to interact with a bunch of people or choose to stay by himself. The best thing about working in the library is that he got to see people’s faces light up when they found a book. Whether it’s the next book in a series they were reading, a book they’d almost forgotten about, one they had cherished memories of as a child, or a new one they were finding for the first time, he loved seeing the different expressions on peoples faces.
Today would be a good day for that as the library had invited a local author to come in and read his books aloud. Not many knew this, but he had two different pen names. One he used to write children’s books, the other was used to write horror stories with the main focus being human vs nature. Logan had researched the man extensively last night, not getting to sleep until a few hours before he had to get up for work.
The door jingled and a man in a hoodie walked in, making his way over to the children’s section. Logan watched him go, wondering what brought him here today, the reason for his visit to that particular section. When Logan saw him reach out a brush a spine, a soft smile lighting his face, he knew it was a nostalgic visit. He went back to his work, finishing in the adult section and moving to the children’s.
He saw that the tall man had sat down in a comically small chair compared to his height, his leg bouncing in some sort of anticipation. Logan felt the anxiety curling into his stomach again, making him want to curl up on the ground or scream in an emotion he was unable to put words to. Instead, he finished putting the books away and walked up to the man, ignoring the voice in his head that was telling him everyone was watching him at all times.
“Are you waiting for someone?” Logan sat on the ground beside the man, watching the way his head ducked further into his hood.
“Something like that.” The man muttered. His fingers were pulling on his sleeves even while his leg was vibrating. There was something unknown but familiar in the man that made Logan curious about him.
“You look like you could use a distraction.” He said, finally pinpointing the reason the man looked just the slightest bit off.
He chuckled but Logan knew there was little to no mirth in it. “Sure, that’d be nice.” Even so, his voice was genuine.
So, Logan started talking about bookbinding and the differences between modern and medieval Europe. He talked for a half hour or so. During that time, he felt the knot of anxiety untie and slip away, his thoughts clear, and an almost giddy sensation come from across the bond. He paused and realized that the giddiness was coming from him and being reflected back across the bond like a loop.
Logan smiled at the man sitting next to him, carefully watching him. He was no longer hunched into himself, no longer hiding from the world. He seemed to be relaxed, his shoulders were down and his head was up, hood thrown back. His leg was no longer bouncing and his hands were no longer tugging at his sleeves. He had a smile on his face and, in that instance, Logan was sure he could talk to this man for hours and never lose his attention.
Logan didn’t resume talking about his latest hyperfixation, glancing at his watch instead. “I need to get ready.”
The man reached out as Logan stood, helping him up but also glancing at his watch before a panicked look crossed his face. “Shoot, is it really that time already?”
Logan nodded. “My watch is always on time. Do you have somewhere to be?”
“Here. I just didn’t expect time to fly so fast.”
“Well, you know what they say about having fun.” Logan began tidying up the area, getting the small chairs and soft sitting surfaces to face the chair the man was sitting in as it seemed to be against the wall already. He found the copy of the book that was to be read and placed it on the table nearby before standing by the door.
The head librarian walked up to Logan. “What have you been doing with V. A. Strand this whole time?!”
Logan’s head would have spun around if he were in a cartoon. “What do you mean? Are you telling me that the random man I helped down from a near panic attack is the author who’s reading to the children today?!”
She looked at him like he was stupid. “Of course!”
Logan looked back to see the man, V. A., smiling and greeting all the children and parents who filed in. He politely refused autographs and pictures but did allow the children hugs, which Logan thought was sweet. He hadn’t realized he’d been talking to one of his favorite authors of all time about bookbinding of all things for half an hour. Logan shook his head, perfectly content with the way the conversation went, the way he was able to calm the man down, the smile he got at the end of it. None of that time was wasted, neither was it made more special simply because he now knew the man’s identity. It was simply a slightly shocking discovery.
He nodded at that thought and turned back, watching the way V. A didn’t have to look at the book, knowing exactly which words were on which pages, what the pictures looked like. Logan wondered how many late nights he spent, pouring his ideas into words. Logan knew the man illustrated his own books and wondered how long it must take.
The reading was over before Logan was aware. About halfway through, he’d been told to get back to work so he grabbed a new cart and was at it reshelving books. He tried to listen in to the reading, wanting to keep talking with and to V. A., someone he’d only exchanged a few words with but he was already desperate to know their opinion on anything and everything. He wanted to know what he had rattling around in that head. After all, no one can be that quiet without having something on their mind. True, they could simply be quiet, but that meant they were either allowing their mind to wander or they were having thoughts on the discussion. Either one deserved to have those thoughts heard and appreciated.
Logan hadn’t noticed the reading was over until a hand tapped him on the shoulder. He turned his head to look and found the object of his thoughts staring back at him, hand retreating back into his hoodie pocket. Logan smiled. “Can I help you with something?”
He nodded. “I think we might be soulmates?” The sentence came out as a question rather than the statement he surely must have meant.
Logan’s smile only faltered slightly in shock, the thought never having crossed his mind before then. “Why do you think that?”
He seemed to draw into himself, his shoulders rising and his head ducking down the slightest bit. Logan wanted to reach out and hold his hand, to tell him everything was going to be fine. He didn’t, instead, he waited for him to speak. “Earlier when you helped calm my anxiety, I could feel a calm and almost giddy feeling as you talked. I don’t find bookbinding particularly delightful so I knew it had to come from someone else. I don’t know, I guess you seemed to be the obvious choice.” He shook his head. “Sorry, it sounds stupid now.”
He turned to go but Logan reached out a hand and gently grabbed his elbow. His hoodie fabric was as soft as it looked. “Hey, no. It’s not stupid. I hadn’t thought of it until now, too caught up in enjoying talking with you, but it feels like it’s possible. You wanna test it?”
He turned back, leaving Logan’s hand on his elbow. “How?”
“How many times have you panicked or had excessive anxiety over the past three days?”
“Including both times today? Eleven.” The statement was accompanied with a wince of embarrassment, as if he were ashamed of having emotions.
Logan nodded, a smile splitting across his face. “That’s as many times as I’ve felt it from you.” His shrug was much more nonchalant than V. A.’s was just now. “So, do you wanna get a donut from the shop down the street and chat sometime soon?”
He laughed. “That sounds nice. Although, I guess we should exchange names and numbers as well.”
They did so and V. A., no Virgil, walked out the library door, waving to Logan on his way out.
Alright, I’ve only seen these kinds of posts a few times, but even when I see them, they’re always Virgil. (Virgil is super cool I just wanna see the other sides too.) So here we go!
Logan
Quick thoughts/Aesthetic
Coffee shops and libraries
Dark blue notebook
Running out of ink
Quiet typing of keys
Actual writing stuff
I’d usually feel compelled to say realistic fiction- but I feel like he could write a really good sci-fi book. He’d plan out the settings, the slang words, and many of the characters.
Person: How’s your writing going?
Logan: It’s going spectacularly, I made a map of their world yesterday! I still need to finish their neighboring city and some of the government’s regulations but that should be finished by tonight.
Person: Nice! What’s your word count?
Logan: Well, you see-
He’s dabbled in realistic history but he doesn’t really care for it too much.
He’s collabed with Roman many times for his book. Sometimes it’s for a fresh idea and sometimes Lo just needs a little bit of validation.
Speaking of Roman
Quick thoughts
Quick typing in the early morning as he jots down his newest idea
*sees a pretty notebook at the store* You already have enough, you already have enough, you already- *buys it*
Tiny notebook he always keeps on him in case he needs it
Writing goes brrrr
Although he’s helped Logan many times, Roman just feels like it’s hard to write a proper book.
The commitment to one storyline? No thank you, how about a few dozen wips
He mainly writes fanfiction.
80k enemies to friends to lovers? He’s got you.
He’s not the most popular blog in the community but he does have a decent following.
Every now and then he gets some hate but Virgil tries to help him not dwell on it for too long. Sometimes he directly helps, and sometimes Roman gets a distraction.
He lives for those typing sprints.
(There’s still more! I just cut it for length reasons.)
Virgil
Quick thoughts
Late-night writing
Writing on his arm if he gets an idea
“I swear I hate writing so much” *continues writing*
Making aesthetic posts for his characters
Coherent thoughts
He doesn’t really like sharing his work.
The anxiety from knowing someone is reading over your work but also knowing that they’re judging it is the worst
The first person he shows his book to is Patton.
He draws art of some scenes to help him get a consistent picture of it.
He totally doesn’t draw as a way of procrastinating
He goes on late night drives to help plan out the storyline.
He always stops at 7/11 for some snacks. The person at the counter now recognizes him. Virgil has chosen to go to a new gas station for now on.
He has planned out the pet’s favorite food and personality but not the side character’s backstory.
Brain dump
He has some characters based on his friends but he’ll never reveal who’s who.
The others have a group chat to try to decide.
When his friends aren’t feeling well he’ll write a fluffy fanfic of their favorite ship.
He usually doesn’t dabble in fandoms but sometimes it really helps him out of a writing block. Plus, he can get some instant feedback.
He wishes he could listen to some happy piano or background music but it always distracts him from writing.
Misc. stuff
Almost all of them met at their local book club.
They all just drifted together and decided to make their own meetings and group chats. They also have writing sessions together.
When they have big group writing sessions; Patton brings snacks, Logan brings drinks, Roman and Virgil bring blankets
They originally made their group chat so if one of them knew a meeting was canceled then all of them would, but small talk slowly turned into conversations.
“Why aren’t Janus and Remus here?”
I didn’t have any original ideas for them. But y’all are 100% welcome to add them.
