#Four Cords & Several Years Ago

[aikastales]

i’m drunk, i love you (jk)

𝗌𝗎𝗆𝗆𝖺𝗋𝗒: with only a day before graduation, you make a promise that you will not only graduate from university, but also from your feelings for your best friend of seven years, jeon jungkook.

𝗉𝖺𝗂𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀: film student!jungkook x med tech student!fem!oc (named sola)

𝗀𝖾𝗇𝗋𝖾𝗌: heavy angst, unrequited love, jungkook as an isko agenda, set in the ph 🇵🇭

𝗐𝖺𝗋𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌: this story is fiction. it does not represent the members of bangtan or any of the idols here in real life. all resemblance to real life characters, institutions, associations, places, events, among others are either purely coincidence or depicted in a fictitious manner only. there’s really no warnings for this story other than it’s a self-indulgent fic to get me back to writing. the smut isn’t that severe. just kissing, nipple sucking, and grinding. this is based on the film, i’m drunk i love you, which i highly recommend you watch. i didn’t alter much of the plot & scenes bc i think they’re already great as it is, but i did tweak a bit here and there. i hope you enjoy! let me know what you think by reblogging/commenting. ♡

𝗍𝗈𝗍𝖺𝗅 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗇𝗍: 5,784

You were never quite the believer in love at first sight, but what you felt that night was the closest thing to that feeling. 

He was one of the freshmen performers during your orientation, singing Adam Levine’s Lost Stars. Like the entire audience, you were captivated by his heavenly vocals and charisma as he performed on stage with an acoustic guitar one of the seniors lent him. Not only that, Jeon Jungkook wasn’t bad looking either—quite the opposite, really. 

However, after the orientation, you didn’t get to see much of the dark-haired handsome boy. You were studying at UP, the biggest state university in the country, and so your paths were bound not to cross. Until, your older cousin, who was a senior at that time, invited you to eat dinner with him and a couple of his buddies after seeing you strolling around campus alone. When you arrived at the eatery, you not only saw your cousin Yoongi’s friends—Yijeong and Woosung—you also spotted the boy who hadn’t left your mind since you saw him over four months ago at that time. 

You sat across from him and you tried your best not to freak out as Yoongi introduced the both of you. Apparently, he had already known Jungkook because he was the younger stepbrother of his other friend, Namjoon. During the course of your dinner, you and Jungkook didn’t really talk much. But you would muster up the courage to ask him some basic questions such as his program, why he went to UP, if he joined any orgs yet, etcetera. Jungkook was polite enough to answer your inquiries. 

He was a Film major. He went to UP because everyone in his family went to UP so it was the most obvious choice for him and he was a member of the Film society. In return, Jungkook asked the same set of questions. You were a pre-med student, Medical Technology, to be exact, and you went to UP because it was your dream school. You were also a member of the College of Arts and Sciences’ student council. 

After your meal was finished, Yoongi entrusted your care to Jungkook as they were going to meet up with some of their friends and you were both living at campus dormitories anyway. So, you hopped into his old army green Toyota Rav4 and needless to say, the ride back to UP was awkward. So, to get rid of the awkward silence, you asked if you could play some music. He said sure and handed you the aux cord already connected to his stereo. Once you had the other end connected to your phone, you played one of your favorite songs—Waltz of Four Left Feet by Shirebound and Busking. 

To your surprise, Jungkook also knew the song and just like that, the awkward silence was gone and you became inseparable ever since. 

Music became the bridge that connected you and Jungkook. Whenever you would hangout, it was always your topic—your favorite artists, songs, original scores in films, best albums, underrated artists, overrated artists, the current state of music, everything. He also became your gig buddy—seeking out mainstream and indie artists you both liked and going to their live performances downtown bars, jam packed arenas and stadiums. 

But your favorite would always be watching him perform. After his performance at the orientation, he naturally became one of the popular students at UP. He wasn’t popular like a celebrity or an influencer, but heads would turn whenever he walked around campus. Also, he still had the luxury of privacy on his side, but if you looked at the right places, you would find small accounts on social media dedicated to him. He didn’t care for the attention, though, and just went about his day as normally as possible. 

His performance did land him some gigs here and there. You found it cute whenever he’d turn to you to ask if he should accept the invitation or not, and you would always tell him to do whatever he wanted. Most of the time, he accepted, especially if it was at Route 96, a historic venue for aspiring musicians. 

It was here that he performed the first song he wrote by himself called Still With You. It was also during this performance that you began to see him in a different light—quite literally. He was performing with the bar lights off, only the lights on stage and the spotlight illuminated the entire establishment. When the spotlight on him turned purple, you felt a whole new admiration for your best friend. It wasn’t the “Oh god I’m so proud of my best friend” kind, rather it was the “Oh fuck I’m in love with my best friend” realization. 

But like every other story where someone falls in love with their best friend, you kept your feelings hidden, hoping someday it would go away. However, you soon realized, once you fell in love with Jeon Jungkook, there was no going back. It was a rabbit hole. 

The more you spent time with him, the more you fell in love with him and all of him—from the way he smiles to the sound of his laugh, how he would always annoy the shit out of you when you were supposed to be studying to how he would remember small things about you like your favorite snack at the vending machine, how you’d be the first to know his test results to how you’d be his first audience for the short film they needed to produce for that semester, how he would lend you his jacket when you ate bingsu because he knew you’d get cold easily to how he’d send you random memes he found funny out of the blue. 

It was so easy to fall in love with Jeon Jungkook. Thus, everyone else did too. For seven years, you watched on the sidelines as he dated several girls and loved them how you wished he’d love you. 

“In one day, you can finally lay your hands on Jungkook,” your best friend, Mingyu, teased as he took a sip from his beer. 

You let out a sarcastic laugh, head resting on your palm, elbow propped on the wooden table in front of you, a bottle of beer in the other hand. You were bordering on getting tipsy now as you had been drinking since you arrived at La Union with Mingyu and Jungkook in the afternoon. You didn’t even know why you agreed to your best friend’s idea of going to the province for a music festival when you had your graduation—the very graduation that was seven years in the making—on Sunday.   

“Fuck you, Kim Mingyu,” you told the honey-skinned man across from you with a chuckle. 

“What? Let this be your final test before finally graduating. Are you ready?” a lopsided grin appeared on his handsome face. 

Under the orange light, Kim Mingyu was easily one of the most handsome men you ever laid your eyes on. He was also tall, well-mannered, smart, capable, had a stable job while being a med student, and the textbook definition of a walking green flag. In another life, you could imagine yourself falling for him instead of Jungkook. But in the current universe you were in, he was one of your trusted friends who had known about your crush on Jungkook since first year. 

The waiter arrived to bring you your order of another bucket of Red Horse beer. Mingyu took a bottle from the silver bucket and opened it. “Happy horse for the happy whore,” he told you as he handed you the fresh bottle of beer. You gave him a middle finger. He laughed. “What? Am I not right?” 

“You’re the whore,” you replied. “I saw you with that cute chinito by the beach earlier. What happened to Mino?” 

He rolled his eyes at the mention of his ex—or you believed was his ex. You never really know with Mingyu and relationships. He was the complete opposite of you. While you were a hopeless romantic at heart, he didn’t believe in love—or so he says. 

“Seven years,” Mingyu mused, glancing towards the beach. “You didn’t stop falling in love with your best friend. Now, it looks like you don’t even plan to stop.” 

You sucked your teeth, tracing the water around the bottle due to the ice with your fingers. “Do I just throw it away?” You weren’t sure if you were asking Mingyu or yourself. “We make a good pair.” You laughed to yourself. 

“Except?” Mingyu pointed out the harsh reality. 

“Except,” you took in a shaky breath. “He doesn’t love me back. Maybe.” 

Mingyu sighed deeply, looking at his watch. “Time check: you still have your hopes up.” 

“It’s still early,” you argued. “I still have two days. Just give me time.” 

“Give me time?” Mingyu repeated, taking a sip from his beer. “What the fuck are you talking about, Sola? The universe has given you all the time. But you did nothing.” 

You groaned, throwing your head back as a realization hit you. “Fuck, Gyu, I just—I just realized. Is it right that we’re here? Was it the right decision to come here? My mom’s gonna be so mad once she finds out I’m in La Union.”  

“It’s all you. You’re a raging masochist,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “Anyway. Let’s just play a game. Let’s enumerate all the things you did with Jungkook. Those are seven years worth of memories, Sola. Game?” 

“Game.” 

“What year did you first meet Jungkook?” 

A smile immediately creeped up on your face. “2017.” 

Mingyu waved his hand at you. “Wow! You can do math! But I just thought of something—instead of just general memories. Let’s make them specific. Let’s list down all the stupid things you did for Jungkook for seven years.” 

“The fuck are you talking about?” you let out a scoff, drinking your beer. 

“What? Now you can’t remember?” he challenged. 

You clicked your tongue. “Fine, you stupid bitch. Ask away.” 

Mingyu grinned. “2018.” 

You hummed before saying, “Jungkook was heartbroken that year. I was back at home and he was at UP. But I rushed into the city to be there for him. I remember because I was supposed to attend this baptism with my parents but I snuck out and got an earful from my mother the next day. I was completely hungover too because Jungkook and I went bar hopping the entire night.” 

“Jesus Christ, Sola.” 

“Don’t judge me. It was my decision, okay?” 

Mingyu rolled his eyes. “Okay. 2019.” 

You stared at Mingyu, laughing as you recalled the memory. “2019. Me and Jungkook walked from UP to Aurora Boulevard just to tell me how Song Areum became his girlfriend.” 

He shook his head. “2020.” 

“2020—he was sick. I had an exam that day, but I quickly answered it so I could buy him his favorite, Tapsilog from Tapsi ni Vivian, before it ran out ‘cos it runs out quickly, right?” Mingyu nodded. You licked your lower lip then let out a small laugh. “But when I got to his dorm room, his roommate already told me Areum brought him to the university hospital. And I failed my exam ‘cos I didn’t answer the back part.” 

“2021, go!” 

“I loved him for four years now and counting. Is that good enough?” 

“Okay. I’ll accept it. 2022?” 

“2022—I’ve been in love with him for five fucking years already, fucking shit!” you exclaimed, feeling the alcohol in you boosting your confidence. 

“Okay. We’re in the last year, girl. What about in 2023? What was the stupid thing you did for Jungkook last year?” 

You gulped. “I’m two years delayed.” 

Mingyu exhaled deeply. A moment of silence settled between the two of you. Then, she asked, “Sola, it all boils down to this: when will you end this?” 

You sat up straight, taking a deep breath. “You mean when will I stop with my foolishness?” Mingyu nodded. You purse your lips. “Maybe when I’m done with UP. When I’m done with UP, I’ll graduate from everything—including him. Especially him.” 

When you got back to your shared room with Jungkook and Mingyu, you were already tipsy. You almost fell face flat on the floor when you opened the door, feeling lightheaded, but luckily, your best friend was there to catch you. 

“You’re drunk, Sola,” Jungkook chuckled deeply. You could smell his expensive cologne—the one you bought for him for his birthday last year and it brought a huge grin on your face, knowing he wore it. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.” 

“I’m fine, Guk. I’m not that drunk. But I do need to sit down,” you said followed by a set of giggles as you let Jungkook walk you to the bed you shared with Mingyu, and then you threw yourself on it, back against the mattress, arms spread like an eagle. 

Jungkook sat down beside you. “Are you still mad at me?” 

The question seemed to sober you up instantly. The truth was—you could never stay mad at him. For anything. Sometimes, you’d think he could do the most painful and hurtful thing to you, deliberately, and you would still forgive him even if he wouldn’t apologize. 

“I wasn’t mad. I was just… I just wished you would’ve told me the real reason why you wanted to come here,” you replied softly, biting your lower lip. 

“Would you have come? If I told you I wanted to go here because my ex wanted to reconnect—would you have come?” Jungkook matched your tone, looking over his shoulder to look at you. 

Instinctively, your eyes also darted towards his. The lights in the room were dim, only the lamp, the light coming beneath the bathroom door, and the moonlight outside illuminated the room. Jungkook looked especially beautiful in the dim light—long black wavy hair all messy from his habit of running his fingers through it, hooded eyes staring at you like he was memorizing every inch of you, the gentleness of his features made him look like an angel in this light. 

But then you’d see his dozens of piercings in his ears, eyebrow, and lower lip; his tattooed arm and hand, and the way he looked sexy as hell with his thin white long sleeved, sleeves rolled up to his elbow, and his white beach shorts that hugged his strong muscular thighs, and you’d realize he was more of a Greek god than an angel. 

“I’ll go wherever you go,” you told him, swallowing the lump in your throat. “You know that.” 

Jungkook lied down beside you and you felt your heartbeat racing. His tattooed arm was brushing against yours. His head was tilted, close to yours. 

“Will you go with me to the moon?” he asked. 

A small smile ghosted on your lips. “I will, Guk.” 

“How about Saturn?” 

“I’ll be with you there, too.” 

“Law school?” 

You turned your head to him. He was already looking at you. “Law school? Why?” 

He brushed the hair on your face aside with his fingers, making you tense. But you kept your composure. “I passed UP LAE.” 

“But,” you began. “What about film? I thought you didn’t wanna become a lawyer like your parents.” 

Jungkook looked at the ceiling. “It’s not that bad. Being a lawyer. Besides, I like studying.” 

“You’ve always wanted to become a director, though.” 

“I’m not good enough for it,” Jungkook scoffed. “All my batchmates are already directing their films and showing them at festivals here and abroad—yet here I am. Still here.” 

You turned on your side, propping your elbow to support your head as you looked at your best friend. It was rare for Jungkook to open up. Even to you. He was always someone who kept all his innermost thoughts and feelings to himself. In the seven years you’d known him, it still felt like there was a wall around him that you never managed to climb on or punch through. For seven years, it felt like you simultaneously knew everything and nothing about your best friend. 

“It’s not the end of the road, Jungkook. So what if they’re showing their films at festivals? You can do it too. At your own pace, in your own time,” you said. You wanted to reach for his face, to make him look at you, but you were scared. “You’re a great filmmaker, Guk. The best direk ever.” 

He looked at you once again. “You’re drunk, Yu Sola. Go to sleep.” 

He sat up, carrying your legs over the bed. You let out a groan. “I’m not drunk, Jeon Jungkook. Why do you always do that?” 

“Do what?” he asked, chuckling. 

“You always cut the conversation when you’re beginning to open up. You always clamp up, Guk. I wish you didn’t do that. I’m your—,” you bit the inside of your lower lip. What right did I have to demand him to open up to me? “I’m your best friend.” 

“I don’t clamp up. I just have nothing else to say,” your best friend replied with a shrug, fixing his hair as he looked in the mirror across from your bed. “Go to sleep. You’ll get a massive headache tomorrow. I’m just going to meet with Areum and her friends.”  

Then, you blurted it out. It just happened. You didn’t even know how. You always had this grand idea in your mind to do it after the graduation ceremony, that way, you could immediately leave. That way, you didn’t have to see him all the time. You would have enough time to move on and move forward in your life. 

But nothing in life truly went according to plan. 

“I love you, Jungkook,” you confessed. Your heart felt heavy and you sat up, head hanging low as you picked on your nails. Tears were beginning to form in your eyes. “I’ve loved you for seven years now.” 

And you sobbed, burying your face in your hands. Then, moments later, you felt your hands being taken away from your face. You lifted your head and saw Jungkook kneeling in front of you, holding your hands. He let one go to wipe away the tears on your face, to tuck your hair behind your ear. 

And then, ever so slowly, Jungkook leaned in and kissed you softly. A tear rolled down your cheek. His lips were soft while yours were chapped and wet from your tears, but he didn’t seem to mind. You were still in shock. This was not the response you expected. Not even in your wildest dreams but it was happening. 

Jungkook held your face, tilting his head as he continued to kiss you more—only this time with more need and passion. Your body reacted. You began to reciprocate his kisses, hands wrapping around his wrists. He tasted of toothpaste and mouthwash. 

He pushed you onto the bed, one hand remaining on your face while the other held your waist. Your fingers curled the ends of his hair. You could feel his growing member on your stomach and feeling it was enough to make your cunt wet. His lips then traveled on your jaw, down to your neck. You were breathing heavily as he nibbled on your sensitive skin, making a soft moan escape your lips. 

His hand made its way under your shirt and your breath hitched, causing Jungkook to lift his head from your neck, and look you in the eyes. 

“You okay?” he asked softly. 

You nodded. “I’m okay.” 

“Okay,” he smiled, making your heart skip a beat. “Is it okay if I take this off now?” 

“I—,” you were at a loss for words. Was this really happening? It seemed too good to be true. But it was happening and you wanted it more than anything else. “Okay. Yes, you can.” 

Jungkook peeled your shirt off, exposing your naked chest. You didn’t wear bras; found it too much of a hassle and you always hated the feeling. Instead, you wore nipple tapes. 

“What are these, Sola?” Jungkook asked with a chuckle, making your cheeks heat up. 

“They’re nipple tapes, you dumb ass,” you replied, smacking his arm lightly. 

“Okay. Do I just take them off, like, tape?” 

He was adorably cute. “Yes, you just take them off like tape.” 

And so he did just that. The coolness of the room and your arousal instantly perked your nipples. Jungkook took your breasts in his hands, massaging and squeezing them, making you arch your back ever so slightly. Then, he dipped his head, capturing one of your nipples in his mouth while remaining to massage the other. 

The sensation was simply divine. You didn’t know if it was the alcohol in your system, your feelings for your best friend, or just Jungkook in general that made you feel so good at that moment. Your hands traced the outline of his toned biceps through his thin polo. 

You were so wet and when Jungkook began to grind his hard cock against your clothed cunt, you felt another wave of wetness. You wanted him—all of him—and so you began to rock your hips against him, making him release a moan. 

He lifted his head, staring at you with those doe eyes you have loved for seven years. “Are you sure?” 

Those three words held so much. Once you crossed the line, there was no going back, and both of you knew that. 

“I’m sure. I want this, Guk. I want you.” 

That was all he needed to hear to make love to you the whole night. Once both of you came, Jungkook laid beside you, chest heaving. For a while, the both of you lay in silence. 

“Will you be here in the morning?” you asked, turning your head on the pillow to face him. 

He did the same. “I will,” he promised. “Go to sleep now, Sola.” 

But he wasn’t. 

When you woke up the next day, the other side of the bed was empty. You sat up, burying your face in your hands. What the hell have I done? What the hell have we done? 

You left the bed, entering the bathroom, and proceeding to take a shower. In there, you cried, because nothing was going to be the same after last night. You couldn’t blame it all on Jungkook either. You also made it happen. You desperately wished it was just a dream—another wet dream you had of your best friend—but the traces of his cum were still on your inner thigh. 

It happened. There was no going back. Everything was going to be different now and most of all, you didn’t know if you still had your best friend. 

When you finished showering and getting dressed, you made your way down to the beach. You had texted Mingyu while getting dressed and he told you he was there with the chinito you saw him with, Wonwoo. Arriving at the beach, you pulled your phone out of your back pocket, about to text the honey-skinned med student when you saw Jungkook with Areum in the water, his strong arms that held you throughout the night, now wrapped around her waist. Fits of giggles escaped her lips as Jungkook wrestled with her in the water, a huge grin on his handsome face. 

Your heart shattered. 

You quickly looked away, a fresh set of tears forming in your eyes. As you were about to turn away, you heard Mingyu’s familiar voice which caused you to stop on your tracks. 

“Sola, hey, there you—what’s wrong?” The concern in his voice was palpable. You felt his arm around your shoulder as he pulled you closer to him. 

“I—I finally told him, Gyu,” you said, taking in a sharp shaky breath. “I finally told him.” 

Mingyu didn’t ask for more details. He knew. He led you back to your room, promising Wonwoo to text him later. Once you were back, you just cried on his shoulder. He didn’t say anything and neither did you. He just let you be until the tears finally stopped. 

“I’m sorry I pulled you away from Wonwoo. He seems like a nice guy,” you said after a while, voice raspy from all the crying. 

“It’s fine. We’ll be seeing each other often anyway,” Mingyu shared. 

You looked at him, surprised. “Really?” 

Your friend nodded, laughing to himself. “You know, all those times I teased you about your being a hopeless romantic and believing in love—I think it’s backfiring on me now with Wonwoo.” 

“You love him?” you asked. 

“I don’t know, Sola. But I know what I feel for him is different,” he answered. “It’s terrifying. How quickly someone can change your perspective on something.” 

You couldn’t argue with that. 

“What’s your plan now?” Mingyu asked. 

You sighed deeply. “I think I’m going to head back. My graduation is tomorrow anyway. Do you mind booking the bus ride home?” 

“I’m staying here, Sola. I—I want to be with Wonwoo more,” Mingyu confessed, smiling at you apologetically. 

“Gyu…” 

“Please be a friend to me now, Sola.” 

You pressed your lips tightly. Then, you nodded. You wanted your friend to be happy. 

“I’m gonna pack now,” you announced. 

“Okay. Just text me if you need anything,” Mingyu gave you a hug and kiss on top of your head. “I want you to know I’m proud of you, Sola.” 

Once Mingyu left, you began to pack. You didn’t bring a lot of clothes, but you were still biding your time. A part of you didn’t want to leave. You wanted to stay here and never graduate. But that illusion was quickly broken when you saw your mom’s contact flashing on your phone screen. 

You sucked your teeth before answering, “Hi mom.” 

“Sola? Where the hell are you? Why haven’t you been answering my texts? Your graduation is tomorrow. Everyone is looking forward to it!” she exclaimed frantically. 

“Mom, I’m sorry. I’m in La Union with Jungkook and—,” 

“What the hell are you doing in La Union?! You better get back instantly, Sola. I’m not kidding. If you don’t graduate now, I really don’t know what I’m gonna do. It’s been seven years! Please let me graduate too.” 

“I’m already packing and I’ll catch the bus home soon. I just—Mom, I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it in time for the ceremony ‘cos—,” 

Your phone was suddenly snatched from your grip. You looked up and saw Jungkook standing beside you. 

“Hey tita, it’s Jungkook. Yes. Don’t worry. I’ll take her home. She’ll make it in time. Yes. We’ll be home before the ceremony, tita. Okay. Bye.” 

He ended the call and sat down on the bed across from you, handing you your phone back. You grabbed it from him. “You don’t have to take me home.” 

“I already promised tita I will,” he answered. 

“You didn’t have to,” you muttered, folding your shirt. 

Silence. Jungkook was just staring at you the entire time as you folded your clothes and packed them inside your bag. Then, he said those two words. 

“I’m sorry.” 

You bit the inside of your lower lip. What was he exactly for? For having sex with you? For spending the night with you? For not feeling the same way as you? All of the above? 

As if reading your thoughts, he added, “For everything.” 

You nodded. “You don’t have to apologize for anything,” you told him. “It’s not your fault you don’t love me the same way.” But why did you kiss me? Why did you make love to me? 

Jungkook lowered his head. You zipped your bag. “Let’s go. I still have a graduation to chase.” 

“What’s this?” you asked, eyebrows furrowed when you saw Areum standing beside Jungkook’s car with her luggage and bag. 

“I’ll drop Areum on the way,” Jungkook announced, grabbing her luggage and putting it at the back of his car. 

You pressed your lips in a line. “Fine.” You stepped into the back passenger seat, quickly grabbing your phone and earphones from your bag, and plugging it in. 

Lowering yourself on the seat, you rested your head against the window as Areum stepped into the passenger seat while Jungkook sat on the driver’s seat. You caught him glancing at you from the corner of your eyes, but you didn’t look back. Instead, you turned the volume up. Moments later, he began to drive. 

You decided to sleep the entire ride. However, when you woke up, you immediately realized Jungkook wasn’t driving in your hometown. “Where are we?” you asked, taking one of your earphones off. 

“I’m dropping Areum first,” Jungkook replied. 

You frowned. “I’m the one chasing a graduation, remember?” 

“Shh, just go back to sleep. Here,” he threw something at you—your favorite candy, Butterball, landing on your lap. 

You grabbed it, tempted to eat it, but you threw it back at him and went back to sleep. By the time you woke up again, you were at Areum’s house. She turned to look at you, smiling. 

She was really beautiful and kind. You began to feel guilty for hating her so much the entire time. “Congrats on your graduation, Sola. I’ll see you around, okay?” 

“Thanks Areum.” 

After Jungkook walked her to her door, he came back to the car. “What are you doing there? Come here,” he said, patting the passenger seat. 

“I’m fine here,” you replied. 

“Sola, come on. Please? I drive better with you beside me.” 

For the rest of the ride to your home, you sat beside Jungkook. Unlike before, where your car rides were filled with music and random conversations, tonight it was silent. You didn’t plug your phone into his stereo and you kept your eyes closed the whole time, listening to your music. Once in a while, Jungkook would try to make small talk, but you would only give him short replies, then went back to sleeping. 

When you arrived at your family house, you stayed with Jungkook outside for a bit, both leaning against his car. 

“It’s your graduation in four hours.” 

“Are you not going to come to yours?” 

“I don’t see the point,” Jungkook replied. 

You nodded and pushed yourself off his car. “I’ll head inside. Thanks for the ride, Jungkook.” 

He grabbed your arm before you entered the gate. You stared into his eyes. You couldn’t quite place what held them right now. Maybe you never really knew Jeon Jungkook after all this time. 

“I’m sorry, Sola.” 

“Why do you keep saying sorry? I told you—it’s not your fault and I’m fine. I’m over it now. See you around, Jungkook.” 

You head back inside. Graduation was in four hours. 

You wore a traditional Filipiniana dress, a pair of white heels that were already scraping the skin at the back of your feet, your mother’s pearls, and your sablay when your name was called. You came up on the stage with your excited mother, shook hands with your Dean, and finally grabbed your diploma. You always imagined graduation to be something so spectacular, but the moment you received the piece of paper that confirmed you had, indeed, graduated—you just felt the same. 

After the ceremony, you went back to your house where almost all your relatives from your mother’s side were waiting for you. A tarpaulin with your graduation picture and the words, “Congratulations Yu Sola!” printed on it and hung outside your gate. You greeted everyone on your way, telling them thanks, before retreating in your room to change out of your dress and into more comfortable clothes. 

While you were slipping on your shirt, your phone buzzed on your nightstand. When you grabbed it, you saw Jungkook’s message on the lockscreen. 

Let’s go, it said. 

You knew it meant one thing: a beer and butterball at Route 96. There was still a part of you that wanted to go because you always went when you received a message like that from Jungkook. It was always a yes when it came to him. But now that you confessed, something shifted, whether he admitted to it himself or not. 

So, you put your phone in your pocket, and went down. But as you do so, you felt your phone vibrate again. You pulled it out of your pocket and Jungkook texted you another message. 

Please? One for the road. I’m outside. 

You bit your lower lip. Then, you made your way out. There, you saw Jungkook wearing his barong and sablay, leaning against his car like hours ago. He smiled as soon as he saw you come out. 

“You still have it,” he pointed to your shirt. 

You looked down on it and realized you had picked his shirt of all things. It wasn’t anything special; just something he bought at a boutique. But it meant a lot to you because he gave it to you after you spilled beer on your shirt years ago. 

“You attended your ceremony?” you asked, crossing your arms over your chest. He nodded. “I thought you didn’t see the point.” 

“I changed my mind.” 

You wished you were just as quick in having a change of heart. 

“One for the road?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. 

You took a deep breath and nodded. “One for the road.” 

“Shit, I forgot it’s Sunday. It’s closed,” Jungkook sighed, seeing the steel gate at Route 96. 

“It’s fine. Let’s just go,” you told him, grabbing the beer he bought beforehand and making your way up to the bar. Jungkook followed behind. 

You both leaned in the railing before you, beer in hands. Another silence. 

You couldn’t believe this was the culmination of the seven years you spent loving Jeon Jungkook. You thought, after confessing, you would never speak again. He’d distance himself from you but here you were—having a beer with him at your favorite place in the world. You wished you knew what was going on in his mind right now. You wished you could dissect his mind and learn every thought he had ever since you confessed. 

Because you never really knew Jeon Jungkook. You were just so in love with him and idealized who he was over the last seven years. Suddenly, all the stupid memories you shared with Mingyu flashed in your mind and made you laugh. 

“What’s funny?” Jungkook asked, chuckling. 

You shook your head, drinking your beer. “Nothing.” 

He nudged your side. “Come on, share it.” 

You took a deep breath and for the first time, you looked at Jeon Jungkook and saw him for who he was; not the man you have loved for the past seven years. 

“I graduated, finally.” 

↪˚ author’s note: if you want to donate to me via kofi or gcash <33 i would appreciate it a lot. thank you & see you in more fics later on.

↪˚ permanent taglist: @whoa-jo @kookieandjoonberries

all rights reserved. 2024. belovedguk.

[cloudygreece]

With the time we have left together

Pairings| mute!Fem!readerxpostwar!Giyuu

READING TYPE| ANGST~some fluff (no happy ending) POV: 3rd person Fem!reader

SYNOPSIS| You finally get the life that you had always deserved. Unfortunately it will only last for 4 years. The mark of thr slayer slowly draining the life from your soul and body as you draw nearer to your impending doom, however you get to spend what little time you have left with the people you love.

CW! Themes of pregnancy, childbirth and death are present in this writing! (Its also pretty cringy, I wrote this at 2am)

A/N: just to clarify, y/n became mute due to an injury that was inflicted on her during the fight with muzan, one of her two vocal strips were severely damaged causing her to lose her ability to speak. Yes she did learn sign language after healing. (Italicized texts means y/n is signing) Y/N was a Hashira, there are also mentions of a Tsuguko (an apprentice of a Hashira) she will be present throughout the whole story (please give them a name if you haven't made one. You can use mine if u can't figure one out :D ~ Hanami Ito <3). Giyuu is a bit older than you! However the time of death due to the slayer mark never specified how long after turning 25 until they die.

Word count 1.5k

Key

(Y/n)-Your name

(T/n)-Tsuguko name

(B/s)-Breathing Style

⋆｡°·☁︎Hope you enjoy☁︎·°｡⋆

It was unfortunate. Her romance with her one true love started off so much later than she expected. By the time they were married, they both had only a year or two left; that was the price of the mark. The mark that both of them used to defeat the demon lord four years ago...

Two months have passed... ...and the former (B/s) Hashira is still healing. However, with her vocal cords and her breathing being weak, she could never explore the world outside of Japan. All she could do was stay at her shared home with her former Tsuguko (T/n) and Giyuu Tomioka, the former water Hashira that she once fought the demon lord head-to-head with. 

It was difficult at first for all of them. None of them were able to communicate with (Y/n) about her thoughts, wants, and needs. Any noise she could make sounded like gurgled croaks and strained whispers, too soft or incoherent for anyone to understand. She had to learn sign language, and so did the others if they wanted to know what she was saying. Tirelessly, they all learned together; it was a good thing she didn't lose her hearing as well. Tomioka, with only one hand, felt relieved that (Y/n) didn't get injured even more. As time grew on, they became fluent in sign language, being able to interpret her words to others through the flow and movement of her hands. 

Five months passed after the war ended... ...(Y/n), with nothing else to do, started to take an interest in baking. She would always find herself giving the sweets that she made to the last remaining slayers, who were finishing up their final recoveries. The three of them realized that the former (B/s) Hashira had a talent for cooking and baking.

With the money she and the other two had saved, they all opened up a bakery. They produce delicious breads and desserts. The trio had to spend countless nights trying to find the perfect recipes for them to sell, even though it caused some sleepless nights. It was the perfect life compared to what they endured in the earlier years of their lives for the two who formed the mark. As time grew on, their bonds grew ever closer, making it seem as if they were a family. However, the two slayers who formed the mark were becoming a bit fonder of each other. 

1 year and 8 months had passed after the war had ended...  ...when (T/n) noticed that the two started to catch feelings for one another. (T/n) would find ways to excuse themselves from the presence of their master and her unrequited lover, always leaving them alone as they held somewhat silent conversations with each other about the most mundane things.

2 years and 6 months had passed after the war had ended... ...and they finally tied the knot.

"Finally! Took you guys long enough! When's the wedding?"

(Y/n)'s hands flew around excitedly as she signed

"Oh, probably in 5 months! We'll make the cake, and we know where we're going to do our wedding and who we're inviting. We just need to figure out the flowers, catering, and our attire."

(T/n) has never seen their master this happy before. They could almost hear the excitement bubbling from her throat as she tried to speak. The burn and slash marks on her neck, covered loosely by her scarf, reminded the apprentice of how little time the couple had left. They cast their eyes down to avoid eye contact between the two; they knew it was inevitable, and yet they were able to find love with one another. 

Suddenly Tomiokas voice broke the silence

"(T/n) We both understand your concerns about our health, and we are very aware of how much time we have left. Don't stress yourself out too much."

His tone was very dull, but his eyes weren't. His dark blue eyes showed kindness and reassurance toward the young apprentice. As Giyuu spoke, his one arm wrapped around her (Y/n) side, pulling her body closer to him. They both starred at each other lovingly, before walking over to (T/n) to give them a nice, warm, reassuring hug.

2 years and 11 months had passed since the war had ended... ...The cherry blossoms fell as (Y/n) walked down the pathway towards Tomioka. Her eyes darted across the aisle as she saw those in the corps who she had fought together with to finally bring peace to their homes. All of them were smiling as they watched her with the man she always dreamed of, officially joining together as man and wife. Words (and signs) of joy, affermation, sadness, and hope were given to one another. Finally, they slowly approach each other to signify their unity with a kiss. As flower petals coated the air with a flurry of pinks, blues, and whites, everyone cheered as the pair finally had one another.

3 years and 6 months had passed since the war had ended... ...The couple both started to show signs of weakening. (Y/n) began to cough and wheeze if she did too much work, while Giyuu became much more lethargic and weaker. However, the small family was blessed, with another member soon joining them. 

"(T/n), I'm pregnant!"

(T/n)'s jaws hung low in shock as they dropped the pan full of freshly baked bread. (Y/n) quickly scampered towards her to help pick up the food. She signed slowly as she tried to calm her apprentice down.

"I haven't told Giyuu yet. Let's surprise him!"

The woman's face brightened the whole room as the two of them baked a small cake with the Kanji saying 'omedetou'. After closing down the shop, (T/n) called over Giyuu as the two showed him the cake.

"Huh? Why are you guys saying congratulations? Who are we Congratulating..??"

He looked at the cake bewildered, before he slowly looked up at (Y/n).

"Are you.."

She nodded eagerly before she was swooped up by her husband. Even with one arm and his strength weakening, he was still able to pick her up so easily. Happy giggles erupted from the mute woman. It was hoarse, but...she hasn't laughed in such a long time. It still sounded like how it used to. The sight of hearing her laugh after 3 years couldn't help but draw out tears in (T/n) and Giyuu. After a few minutes, everyone was bawling their eyes out. 

I wish this happiness could last forever..

It's been 4 years and 3 month since the war ended..

A hoarse wail could be heard from the couple's room. (T/n) rushed ahead of Giyuu, who was struggling to walk in the direction of the cries of his wife. As they entered the room, (T/n) could see (Y/n) clutching the sheets of her bed, her knuckles turning white, and her hair disheveled as strands fell from her loose ponytail. The midwife next to her was coaching her through every step, calling over (T/n) to bring the towels that they had brought. Fear clouds the apprentice's eyes as they see their mentor's head fall back onto her pillow, her breathing shallow as she looks at her apprentice with tearful eyes. Her mouth slowly opened through hastened breaths.

"Today's.. my....birthday...."

She croaked out. Suddenly, Giyuu weakly enters the room. His footsteps were heavy as his knees fell onto the tatami mats next to his wife's mattress. Her hands fiercely wrap around his as she screams, pushing one final time before a small cry could be heard from around the room. 

(T/n) just stood there. The realization hits them as they watch the baby being treated by one of the midwives. 'birthday..? Well, then that means she's...'

Their gaze reverts back to their mentor's body, her breath becoming more labored as the light in her eyes slowly starts to fade. Her hands gingerly passed by Giyuu's cheek as she smiled at him weakly. She mouthed something; (T/n) couldn't quite see it from where they were standing; in fact, they couldn't move at all; all they could do was watch as (Y/n) passed. Giyuu, now realizing what's happening, called one of the midwives frantically as they tried their best to resuscitate her. 

'She turns 25 today..'

(T/n) already knew it was useless.

It's been 3 months.

There (T/n) stands in the rain, a baby strapped tightly against their body with a white cloth. The soft snore coming from the child brought warmth throughout their whole body as they stood in front of two graves.

A soft voice could be heard from behind.

"I'm sure Giyuu-san and (y/n)-san would be happy to see you taking care of their child."

Four other people slowly approached the apprentice and the baby. Tears streak down their faces as they place flowers on the graves. (T/n) sniffled and nodded as they turned towards them, their own eyes full of sadness as they watched the last remaining bloodline of the two former Hashira's being swaddled in the former tsuguko's arms.

"Thank you Tanjirou. I'm sure they both enjoyed what time they had left. Together."

Closing notes~ this kinda cringy :)

⋆｡°·☁︎requests are open☁︎·°｡⋆ ~Sincerely, Greece

[ilikebookssomuch]

Hi! It's been about a week since I last posted this fic, but we've been traveling and we just adopted a dog, so not a lot of time to work on it. But yeah, in case you haven't seen it before, it's an alternate ending to book 1 of kotlc when Sophie and Dex get kidnapped.

So this is part 4 of my fic and also I will link the first 3 parts here(pt1), here(pt2), and here(pt3)

now enjoy part 4!

Edaline’s POV

It had been four days since Sophie went missing. 

Four days of Hydrokinetics searching the sea and finding nothing.

Four days with no sign of Sophie or Dex.

Edaline couldn’t help but think the worst.

She had already lost one daughter. She couldn’t lose another, especially after Sophie thought Edaline didn’t love her enough to adopt her.

She and Grady were sitting at the table, which seemed empty without Sophie there. Grady was reading a scroll from the Hydrokinetics, but clearly, their update was unhelpful.

“Still nothing?” Edaline asked, reaching over to grab Grady’s hand. He shook his head and pushed the scroll to the end of the table. Just then a loud knock on their front door rang through the house. Edaline got up, brushing her messy hair out of her face. When she opened the door, they found Councillor Emery and Councillor Oralie holding up two dripping registry pendants. 

“You. . . may want to sit down for this,” Oralie whispered. A solitary tear trailed down her rosy cheek.

“We’ve told the Dizznees to come over, and then we’ll explain what happened,” Emery said. Soon, Kesler, Juline, Edaline, and Grady were sitting on the giant couch in Havenfield’s living room. Emery and Oralie were in the plush armchair across from them, but no one was relaxing.

“Where did you find them?” Grady asked, clutching Sophie’s registry pendant. Edaline noticed it had been cut off, the cord severed in the back. She really hoped that didn’t mean Sophie was. . . . No. Just because their registry pendants weren’t physically on them, didn’t mean Sophie and Dex were dead. Yet.

“One of the Hydrokinetics found these in the bottom of the ocean. And given the evidence of a tidal wave, we think it’s the only plausible explanation. . .” Oralie trailed off, her voice catching. 

“So you’re telling us that our son is dead.” Kesler’s voice was cold, but his breathing was ragged. “At least have the decency to say it!” Edaline could tell he was angry. After all, the council had messed with his life enough. He was Talentless, a bad match, and a father of triplets. And now his son was dead.

 “Yes. Sadly, it seems that young Miss Foster and Mr. Dizznee are no longer with us.”

Grady and Edaline managed to hold it together until the councilors left and the Dizznees went home to grieve. Then Edaline went to Sophie's room and curled up on the bed. Ella was still leaning against the pillows, so Grady handed it to her and lay down with her. After that, Edaline started sobbing. She still had the registry pendant in her hand, and she could faintly feel it making an indent in her palm, but she didn’t care. 

When the sun sunk below the horizon, Grady got up. “Where are you going?” She asked, her throat scratching and dry. 

“I’ll be right back, Eda.”

When he returned, Edaline didn’t have to look to know what was in the mug he handed her. She recognized the scent of slumberberry tea from sixteen years ago when Jolie died. As she drained the contents, her brain whispered one thought: Don’t give up yet.

(eeee I like it! Hope you did too, part 5 is coming soon, hopefully next week)

Some tags because...why not: @myfairkatiecat @alaydabug2, @ham-cheese-toastie @stunning-mess, @lisalovesapplesauce, @mushroom-snake-coding @thoughtlescat @ilov3b00kss0much

[that-g3-artist]

Very tempted to ask for another ghost fic snippet because it looks really fun so far but instead I'm gonna go for the modern reincarnated one. Also, where do you post your fics when they're done?

I post all my stuff on my Ao3! I usually post links on my tumblr too, but that's where they go lol

For the modern reincarnated au--it's basically a rehash of a botw au i was rotating in my brain a few years ago (i think i posted it somewhere but i'm not linking it lol its bad) but make it lu! It's several thousand years after botw (i'm ignoring totk cause i have Issues with it), Hyrule is now in the modern age, and all of the Links have been reincarnated as themselves at the same time. the only clue they have are these vague dreams about their past lives and a sense that something Really Bad is going to happen Really Soon. it's kind of like a mystery, trying to figure out what's up with their shared dreams and how to stop the bad thing

I don't have much written, but here's a little snippet :]

"Alright, children," Warriors called as he pulled up in a beat-up, old minivan. "Did everyone get their permission slips signed?"

Sky laughed. Legend flipped him off.

"You know, I didn't picture you driving a mom van, Captain," Four said. "Are we going to soccer practice?"

"Ha ha, very funny. And no, it's not mine,"Warriors shot back. "And unless you've got something better that'll seat seven people, it's the best we've got."

"Get in, already!" Wind yelled from the passenger seat. "Let's go!"

Warriors elbowed him. "In the back, punk."

"What? Come on, that's no fair!"

"Yes, fair, Twilight's navigating. Go sit in the back."

Wind shot him his fiercest glare, crossing his arms. Warriors simply raised an eyebrow.

Wind went to sit in the back. "This is such bullsh--"

"Hey!" Twilight and Warriors warned at the same time.

Legend and Sky had already claimed the two middle seats, so Wind ended up squeezing into the backseat with Four and Hyrule. Four, at least, was kind enough to give him the window seat.

Twilight swung into the passenger seat, and with that, Warriors shifted the van into gear. "Everyone ready? Seatbelts on?"

"Yes, mom," came Legend's voice. The younger boys laughed from the back.

Twilight chuckled too, pulling up the directions to the Great Plateau. ETA was a little over two hours, Warriors noted. Switching on the radio, he desperately hoped it wouldn't feel as long as it actually was.

"Ugh, nobody wants to listen to your trash pop, Wars," Legend groaned.

"Hey, my music isn't trash!" 

Sky made an uncertain noise. Rude!

Twilight reached for the aux cord. "Here, I'll put on something--"

"No!" Warriors and Legend shouted together.

"Why not Twi's music?" asked Four.

"He only listens to country," Warriors shuddered. He turned onto the highway.

"Hey now, country's good!"

"Yeah, no, sorry Twi, I'm with them on this one," Four said. "Let's stick with the trash pop."

"What's wrong with country?" Hyrule asked softly.

Legend gasped. In the rearview mirror, Warriors could see him twisting around to face the backseat. "Oh, you poor, innocent child," he exclaimed. "I need to show you some actually good music."

"I'm, like, two years younger than you--"

"I bet he listens to a bunch of emo shit," Wind not-so-quietly whispered to Four.

"Alright, shut it, all of you!" Warriors called back. "Driver picks the music! Anyone else complains about my trash pop, I'm giving Twilight the aux cord, capeesh?"

"Yes, mom," came a chorus of voices.

Warriors sighed. Something told him this two hour trip was going to feel more like eight.

(yes wild and time are absent, yes there is a reason for that)

[zeke-in-devildom]

Dissonance - Chapter 1: Exchange Dilemma

The planning stages of the exchange program were almost complete. Things were moving forward smoothly, with three of the four students coming to the Devildom already selected and on board. All that was left was to select the second human that would accompany Solomon, and they had already decided on one very specific requisite for the candidate. The second human had to be one of hers. 

Barbatos knew that the young master had made this decision with care. Lucifer had been faithful to his promise to serve, and this was to be his reward. Of course the human wouldn’t be her but to reunite the brothers with even a piece of her would surely do them well. The young master was worried about them. Thousands of years to adjust to life in the Devildom and yet they still didn’t seem quite whole. If the butler had any doubts on if this human could actually help, well he kept them to himself. The task of choosing between her descendants had been tasked to him, and he would be certain to choose carefully.

That was what Barbatos thought. Sifting through candidates to find the perfect one to suit the brothers should have been simple.

It should have been.

An unfamiliar feeling was creeping through the unflappable demon. When Lilith had first been reincarnated as a human all those years ago, Barbatos had kept a casual watch on her, then her children, her children’s children, and so forth, but things had seemed rather uneventful and progressing smoothly. Her human bloodline should have continued to expand with each generation, branching out further and farther - and for a long time it had. Admittedly it had been several centuries since the last time Barbatos had glimpsed through her family, but with each dull, broken thread of fate that he followed, the more a sense of unease filled him. So much misfortune and tragedy marred the bloodline now. 

Had he truly committed such a gross act of negligence?

No, it could not be the end. The young master had only promised to reincarnate Lilith into a human, and he had done so, Lucifer could not say that Lord Diavolo had promised any more than that. That said, the young master had such a deep admiration for Lucifer that he had asked Barbatos to check in from time to time, to make sure that Lilith’s human legacy not be broken - an act of good faith - the young master had called it. He had not wanted whatever was left of Lucifer’s sister to fade into nothing, the fate Lucifer and his brothers had fought and fallen in an attempt to fight.

The endless dull, dead threads accompanied a rising sense of panic and dread. It could not end like this, he would not fail his master. Barbatos did not fear that Lord Diavolo would punish him, but he would not tolerate being the cause of his lord’s disappointment.

At last, in the endless twisting of fate, there was a faint glimmer of hope - one single thread. Barbatos seized the softly pulsing strand and followed it. It alarmed him how dull and frayed the cord seemed. By the state of this thread of fate the demon had expected to find someone old and nearing their end, imagine his surprise to find it lead to a young man with haunted eyes. They were a striking purple, which was certainly odd, humans did not tend to have eyes that color, more shocking was that when he quietly entered the proper flow of time and space those eyes immediately looked up from where they had been intently staring at a laptop screen to meet his gaze - unflinching. 

That should not be possible. Barbatos was certain that he had concealed himself with magic. No human should be able to see him. They simply stared at each other for a long moment, neither daring to speak or even breathe.

The human broke eye contact first. He simply turned his eyes back to what he had been working on prior to Barbatos’ arrival and did not acknowledge him further. Was it a coincidence then? Surely if the human had actually seen him he would not wordlessly return to his task. He felt a moment of doubt. No, he was sure the human had seen him. 

“Can you see me?” The words tumbled out of Barbatos before he could stop them. A most curious thing on its own. He did not do things without thought.

“No.” Was the human’s immediate response, although he did pause typing on his laptop to open a desk drawer and pull out a bottle of medicine. The young man took one of the pills before tossing the bottle back into the drawer and shutting it harder than necessary, clearly somewhat agitated. He was pointedly trying to ignore Barbatos now, which contradicted his answer. Of course, answering at all also made it clear that he was lying.

Barbatos was…intrigued.

Ignoring the human that was ignoring him, the demon began to explore his surroundings. This was a rather small apartment. A studio with an open loft. Only the bathroom seemed a separate, enclosed room. It seemed rather barren and sterile, the only real indication that someone lived there was the desk where the human sat, and three bookshelves behind him. There was no couch, no tv, no armchairs. The kitchen did appear used, but immaculate. Everything was neatly tucked away into the cabinets, only a coffee machine, a toaster, and a knife block decorated the counter tops.

Barbatos moved to the bookshelf, examining the titles curiously. He was surprised to find that a large section of the books appeared to be occult in nature, genuine magical tomes, as well as books on the paranormal. Most of the rest were fiction - horror, suspense, mystery, with a smattering of fantasy.

The human was still ignoring him.

There was a box set of books that Barbatos recognized. It was a rather popular supernatural mystery series called The Cohen Files by E.J. Novak. There were few books or series that had extensive followings across all three realms, but The Cohen Files was one of them. If Barbatos recalled correctly, both Satan and Levi were fans as well. Although Levi’s interest in the series was probably more to do with the video games based on the series, as well as the tv and movie adaptations. This seemed to be a limited run first edition box set, and it appeared to be signed by the author.

Well at least the human would have at least something in common with some of the brothers. Given their taste in books it seemed that the human would not be completely blindsided by magic altogether either. If the only descendant currently left had been completely unsuitable for the program that would have been most unfortunate. It bore further investigation however.

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

Barbatos slipped back out of present time and decided to start at the beginning and move forward. Since the descendant was young, it was worth looking forward to his offspring and beyond to see if any of them were a better fit. The program could always be delayed by a century or two, given that none of the other exchange students would be greatly affected by such a change. 

He watched the human’s life from beginning to the point Barbatos had already stepped into, now understanding why the young man’s thread had seemed so dim and worn. It seemed that this Ezekiel Jada Pendergast had not had the easiest life. Death and tragedy seemed to hang around Lilith’s recent bloodline. Like a dark shroud. Or a curse. He also now understood why the human could see him when he should not. 

Psychic abilities were quite rare in humans.

Following the thread further, expecting to find new strands as he slowly ventured into the future. Instead he was jerked to an abrupt halt, stepping into the “present” again. The bright violet eyes that had held his gaze before were dimming rapidly. Where they had snapped to Barbatos immediately before, they were sluggish as they drifted towards him almost aimlessly now.

They were on a crowded street. Barbatos stood among the panicked humans. None of them saw him.

The only human that saw him was struggling to take in each breath, a crimson pool growing with each slowing heartbeat. Barbatos could only look down at this human he barely knew in shock and vague horror. Ezekiel was still so young. Was Lilith’s bloodline truly to end like this? With her last descendant bleeding out into the dirty street with a crowd of onlookers gawking?

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

The student council room was silent and still. Lord Diavolo and Lucifer had closed the identical folders that Barbatos had set in front of them over an hour ago. His report on the last candidate - the only candidate - was absolutely objective and clinical in presentation. Devoid of any emotion, and as he stood by awaiting further instruction, his face betrayed nothing. Lord Diavolo looked troubled. Lucifer’s expression was unreadable to most, but the butler knew that the mighty firstborn was barely controlling a tempest of different emotions.

Silence dragged on for what seemed an eternity, the atmosphere of the room only growing more grim and heavy with each passing second.

“I won’t allow it to happen.” Lucifer finally broke the silence, drawing the gazes of the two other occupants of the room. “If he comes here, then this future won’t happen. I won’t let it end in murder again.”

“Lucifer…” Diavolo looked at his dear friend sympathetically. He could only imagine what his friend was feeling right now.

“He is the only candidate that meets the requisites we agreed on, Lord Diavolo. We will bring him here as our final exchange student. Your program will be able to move forward now.” Lucifer spoke calmly, rationally.

“Yes, but the exchange is only intended to last a year. Will you be able to let him go?” Diavolo already knew the answer, and knew it would be a lie.

“Yes, of course.” Lucifer said with all the self-assured confidence expected of the Avatar of Pride. The others only gave him a knowing look.

“Very well.” Diavolo finally answered, giving a dismissive glance to Barbatos. The butler bowed before opening a portal. He had a human to fetch. They would worry about trying to pry him away from the brothers later.

[sod4leaf]

STAR ARCHIVES: 2

Talun are semi bipedal scavengers, and one of the oldest sophont species. Talun society is ancient, having begun the long road of civilization 250.000 years ago. It's worth noting however that for a vast majority of this time they were in a stone age, their bronze age equivalent only beginning some 12.000 years ago, their first satellites being sent into space 6400 years ago.

They evolved to live in small isolated packs of scavengers eating anything they can find. It's a common misconception that they are bipedal, as they are actually more comfortable to walk on all fours. It's however seen as disrespectful to walk on all fours in the presence of people not from their close knit family units or trusted friends, so they are most commonly seen walking on two legs in public.

Their two small arms above their mouth evolved to pick apart food more easily and are now used for more finer tasks like art or writing (art made with their hands is called "Lukuk" while art made with their jaw appendages is called "alak")

The arms, called "talak" in their language, formed from a split upper jaw commonly found on their homeworld due to an primordial common ancestor.

Taluns and their cousins the Todoa are the two founding species of the solar union, creating the alliance roughly 900 years ago. They eventually allowed other species to join, eventually creating the modern day union.

Some 6400 years ago, before the discovery of wyrmgates, the talun began space colonisation through generation ships, sending several arc ships with thousands of individuals into the depths of space on routes to distant worlds. One of these ships was the origin point of the Todoa, Taluns who after their ship's gravity failed modified themselves for life in zero-g. Over generations they lost the ability to inhabit planets, having to use specialised suits to do so.

Their society, by necessity, is extremely collectivist and values the collective over the individual. Talons usually wear suits that are connected directly to their nervous system and act as a second skin. These are used to directly interface with the gravity suits, aswell as access the solar web. A collective web of information similar to the internet, however isolated to the todoa wich they can directly link their brains to using the two cables at the back of the suits which is grafted to their spinal cord.

Todoa don't colonise planets, instead simply building habitable stations in the orbit of suitably resource rich worlds, and send robotic drones to the surface that are directly controlled by an operator linked to the solar web. One operator can control several dozen drones (depending on experience sometimes more) The drones are used to scout for resources, and establish mining or research outposts.

Todoan´s and talun´s re-established contact some 1100 years ago, and after some first small hostilities soon learned to cooperate and even thrive together.

[alaydabug2]

Tag list: @sparklenarniawizard @imobsessed123 @nowjumpinthewater @ilikebookssomuch

Broken heart/Broken mind

Chapter Seventy

(Human AU)

Sophie and Keefe met in the children's hospital when they were little. Because of how long they were confined to the four walls of the hospital, they became very close during their stay.

As the years pass, they wind up being in the same classroom together due to their physical conditions. This makes their bond deepen.

But are they able to handle when life gets tough, throwing problems and complications their way?

Sophie drove into the driveway. Keefe climbed into the car, untangling the oxygen cord.

"Ready for your first day back?" She smiled at him.

"As I'll ever be," he shrugged.

Sophie went through her day at school. Eventually, lunch came around. She took her seat at lunch as the rest of her friends slowly filed into the room, filling in the table. Keefe was the last one to sit down.

"Hey guys! So what have I been missing. What's the rumors going around? Anything juicy?" He asked.

"Welllll," Tam said. "You've been the rumors."

His eyebrows rose. "Wow. I have?" He laughed. "Nice to see that people care about me."

Sophie wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his shoulder. "Of course people about you."

His smile softened when his eyes met hers. A warmth replaced playfulness in his eyes. She let him lean down to connect their lips together and cup her face.

Gagging noises cut them off. They pulled away to find Tam making overdramatic retches. Sophie rolled her eyes when Dex shouted out, "NO PDA!"

Several heads in the room turned their direction. Sophie went and shoved him.

"I'm going to keep that in mind, Bangs Boy," Keefe said, pointing at Tam. "You're going to have a fun time when I run across you're and Marella's make-out spot."

Tam sighed. "Listen, I'm glad you're better. But CHILL!"

He crossed his arms. "How about no?"

"I give up," Tam decided.

"Don't worry," Sophie assured him. "I gave up a long time ago. I've had to accept that here's no cure for stupid."

"Hey!" Keefe pouted.

Sophie laughed. She brushed his hair away from his eyes.

"Pda!" Dex yelled.

"Who are you? The Pda police?" She accused.

"Why, in fact, I am."

She was taken aback when he reached into his bag to pull out a badge that read 'PDA police'. She had several questions. First of all was how?

"Why?"

Dex giggled. "Found it on Amazon. Couldn't resist."

"Of course you did," she exasperated. "I'm going to remember that."

On the drive home from school, Keefe looked stressed. He kept fidgeting with his oxygen tube, twirling it around.

Sophie reached for his hand. "You alright?"

He nodded. "Just class work. I have about two full stacks of it that need to get done. You'd think about dying would cut me some slack, but nooooo," he muttered bitterly.

She squeezed his hand. "I'll help you with it," she promised. "It'll get done."

He sighed, leaning hus head back in the seat.

[hezzabeth]

Revati stormed out into the hot, heavy darkness. Everything was quiet and still, the dead hair dryer was smoking. In the distance, someone was singing. Revati walked towards it, her feet stumbling over tree roots. Bridgadeiro Bun was sitting next to a tree.

"I told you to wait at camp," Revati gently scolded him.

"I got bored! Are you ready to go? Mama hates it when I'm late for Apple day Dinner," Bridgadeiro taking her hand.

It was a new vibrant gesture.

One that for a long time Revati never dared wished for.

A gesture that began a few short months ago with a dance.

Bridgadeiro's eyes suddenly widened with surprise and he gasped. A thick plastic cord had sprung from the feel, wrapping itself around his neck.

Three hair dryers remained, and Revati had one more to confront.

"Will you please just let him go? I have a weapon," Revati addressed the darkness.

An older hair dryer appeared, its black cord attached to its base.

"You humans killed my husband, the least I can do is kill yours," the hair dryer said in a lady's voice. Strictly speaking, the appliances didn't actually need electric cords or genders, or spouses for that matter. For a species that despises humans, they did seem to copy them quite a bit.

"He's not my husband!" Revati pointed out. In truth, she wasn't sure what Bridgadeiro was. When she said goodbye to him four years ago at the end of an empty train ride, she was sure she'd never see him again. But then a week or so later, he appeared "just to check up on his tent." This happened quite often, no matter where Revati went. When he wasn't visiting, he sent messages to Revati's bangle, photos of random things he had spotted, such as a butterfly on a garbage bin, sincere questions about what she was up to. Every year, Revati put her foot down and insisted on traveling back to Olde Landon for Diwali, and every year for three years running, Bridgadeiro Bun was waiting at the gates.

One year he had actually, much to everyone's horror, brought the infamous ex-girlfriend, Margarine. She was a short and extraordinarily pretty girl with freckles and Snow White hair. Whenever she stood next to Bridgadeiro, she clung to his arm in a way that showed off her cleavage. They stayed for the entire two-week festival. Margarine kept exclaiming over how "adorable" everything was while also bragging about her family's "modern living orb." She insisted on sleeping with Bridgadeiro in the greenhouse but complained the next morning about how the soil bags hurt her back. It seemed like she was obsessed with getting every single resident's name wrong. Needless to say, everyone was happy when Bridgadeiro arrived alone the next year.

"Then you don't care if I kill him?" the hair dryer asked.

"Of course I care!" Revati protested. Last Diwali, during Lakshmi Pujan, Bridgadeiro had helped her walk up and down Baker Street, handing out firecrackers to all the residents.

"I can't believe you brought these all the way from your space station!" Revati remarked.

"Well, your Nanni said last year she missed being able to say goodbye to your ancestors properly," he said with a small shrug.

"You're far too helpful! Look at everything you've done," Revati remarked, gesturing about. The plants Bridgadeiro had grown on Baker Street were still thriving. Several of Dusk's students were picking winter berries.

"It's not that much, and it's the least I can do," he replied.

"You repaid me for saving your life a long time ago," Revati said, glancing toward him. They were standing so close together their hands were almost touching. When Revati turned her head toward him, she briefly felt one of his cotton candy curls brush against her cheek.

"Oh no, I do all these things because I like you," he replied. The space between them was very close. In the distance, Revati could hear the whoosh and bang of firecrackers.

Revati swung the mace with a practiced, perfect motion, slamming it into the hair dryer. The air filled with beautiful bright sunlight, and the hair dryer collapsed. Bridgadeiro fell to the ground, still gasping desperately.

"Did you... have to kill her?" Bridgadeiro gasped.

"She's an AI machine; they're probably uploading her brain into a new dishwasher as we speak," Revati reassured him.

There was a clanking sound, and the android appeared.

"Good evening, your majesty," Bridgadeiro wheezed.

"I thought you told your pet clown to wait at the tent," the android remarked coldly as Revati helped Bridgadeiro up.

"He got bored," Revati said as Bridgadeiro brushed down the front of his blue-checked shirt.

"No real harm done! Do you want to head back to the tent to get your luggage?" Bridgadeiro asked Revati, who nodded as something twisted in her stomach. Nerves.

In the year 3556, there were exactly four hundred and eighty-seven major religions across the solar system. There were the old classics such as Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. There were the meta religions such as the Lovecraftians who worshiped fictional kings in yellow. There were the cults that worshiped objects such as carrots and shoes. Then there were the historical figure faiths. The Church of Dollyhart. The Temple of Sweet Baby Elvis. One of the largest historical religions was, of course, "Goupism," or as Nanni called it, "That parasite cult."

As far as Revati could tell, Goupism centered around a beautiful lady who long ago stole hundreds of ideologies. Of course, "Goupers" didn't call it that. They called it "mindful integration."

Bridgadeiro wasn't a religious nut. He didn't force people to wear nothing but an assigned color. He also didn't spray people with "psychic vampire" spray. He did, however, have faith. Faith wasn't something Revati really encountered.

"So, this holiday you're taking me to is to celebrate the existence of apples?" Revati confirmed as they stumbled upwards in the dark.

"Apples, ridiculous! In my court, we only attend festivals that are at least a thousand years old," the android remarked, its eyes lighting the way.

"It's to celebrate both apples and the goddess's daughter. It's about how such a simple universal fruit can be used to fulfill so many needs," Bridgadeiro explained to the android.

"I do like apple juice and apple pie," Revati conceded.

"Not to mention apple cider," Bridgadeiro added.

Up ahead, Bridgadeiro's tent shimmered in the dark. When Revati first heard about Bridgadeiro's tent, she was expecting an all-terrain raincoat propped up on a stick. Instead, the tent was a massive blood-red bioluminescent mushroom. As they approached the tent, Bridgadeiro gently pushed aside some of the fungus, creating a small opening. Once they were inside, the fungus sealed behind them. The inside of the tent was filled with sinister red light. A light Revati had long ago gotten used to.

"You know in my court, we have a massive Chocovale festival! We create an entire palace using only the finest Neptunian cocoa," the android declared as Revati grabbed her luggage. Her luggage consisted of a battered backpack stuffed to the top.

"That's nice," Revati replied. It was best to act as polite and dull as possible whenever the android went on one of her "court" rants.

"Never settle for apples when you can have chocolate, my dear," the android replied, and Revati smacked the android with the side of her bag.

"I thought we agreed when I signed my working contract that you would stay out of my personal life!" Revati snapped back.

Four years ago, Revati had been nothing more than an unpaid sidekick. Three years ago, however, when it became obvious that Dityaa did not want to be found, Revati almost went home. Then the android started doing something extraordinary. The android started paying her. Paying her to follow along, changing parts, and polishing metal as they traveled from city to city. Paying her to fight off bandits who were trying to steal the android's eyes. Sometimes it seemed like she paid Revati just to listen. Revati didn't want to think about being a ghost haunting an android for money.

"We did, but your personal life is interfering with your work! We are so close to finding Perdita! Closer than we've ever been! And you're running off to pick apples with your beau," the android snapped.

Revati glared at the android before grabbing Bridagdeiro by shirt and defiantly kissing him.

"My holiday break started twenty minutes ago! If I want to pick apples, I will pick apples," Revati spat back after letting a shocked Bridgadeiro go.

"We don't actually pick the apples on apple day; we did that two weeks ago," Bridgadeiro remarked, touching his lips and looking stunned.

"Really, Revati? You can do so much better than this! Once I find Perdita, I can find you a spouse that rules an entire moon," the android sighed, and Revati folded her arms.

"Maternity droid, open up battery-saving mode," Revati said.

"Don't you dare!" The android shrieked.

"Enter sleep mode until the battery is fully charged," Revati said, and the android slowly made a clicking sound as it powered down.

"Her battery won't start charging until the sun rises, and then we'll have ten hours," Revati said, pulling a small eye dropper out of her pants pocket. Carefully, she squeezed a drop of liquid onto the tent's walls, and they exploded in a cloud of glittery spores. Revati put the eye dropper away and pulled out a small plastic box, using it to scoop up some of the spores.

Revati was going to reluctantly miss the rainforest; it was nice being able to go out at night without freezing to death.

"You kissed me," Bridgadeiro stammered as Revati put the box away.

"I kissed you to prove a point," Revati replied, holding up a hand.

"The last time you did that, you said it was never going to happen again," Bridgadeiro replied, gently grabbing her hand.

Revati stared at it briefly, remembering last Diwali, the fireworks crackling in the sky, Bridgadeiro's hair smelling like lemon and spices.

"Because of Margarine! You kept breaking up and getting back together with her so many times it gave me psychic whiplash," Revati said, snatching her hand away.

"And I told you that night it was done," Bridgadeiro said gently. It was that same gentle voice that so many fell in love with. Everyone adored Bridgadeiro, the way people loved marshmallows and pillows.

"And I told you I'm nobody's second choice," Revati said firmly before scanning the dark, trying to find the track that eventually led to the forest's main town.

The sort of people who loved Revati were the crazy ones who loved ghost peppers and hardback chairs.

"You're not second! I invited you to Apple day," Bridgadeiro said as Revati began to walk down the path, leaving the sleeping android behind.

"Let's just keep going! The town is an hour's walk away," Revati replied.

"Can I hold your hand? You might slip in the dark," Bridgadeiro replied.

"Fine," Revati conceded. In the buzzing insect darkness, someone watched them go.

[pandappuccino]

Sorry for shite quality, the sketchbook is gigantic and I wouldn't be able to scan these in normally

Anyway I got Splatoon 3 a few weeks ago for me and my mom to play together and I may or may not have been coming up with my own idol group, specifically a boy-band group, after finding out that the Octarians go through some wild shit and genetically engineering a weapon wouldn't be too far out of the question and it just snowballed from there. The group's tentative name is Tydepool but it's not in stone, and these designs are p rudimentary.

Details abt the characters under the cut (spoilers for Splatoon 2 and 3)

SHOAL: A 19-year-old Octoling who was first inspired to try escaping the underground and move to the surface following Octavio's concert with the brainwashed Callie, having heard the heavenly melody for the first time. When he tried to make his escape, he stumbled upon "Project Leviathan", a top-secret superweapon program to create a soldier that combined the strongest traits of an Inkling and an Octoling, with the result being a quiet and emotionless teenager. He risked his escape to break them out, bringing them up to the surface with him. He is the band's DJ, modeling himself after the legendary DJ Dedf1sh; his alias is DJ R33f.

BARRY: A 20-year-old Inkling from Splatsville who goes with the flow and lives in the moment, preferring not to stress over the small things. Unfortunately, going with the flow doesn't pay the bills, so he works for Grizzco (unaware of what Mr. Grizz was actually doing with the Golden Eggs) and takes on back-to-back shifts and overtime to make ends meet. He found Shoal and his unnamed companion while on one such overtime shift, and even though there was a language barrier and extra mouths to feed he let the two live with him. He is the band's vocalist and writes the lyrics to their songs, feeling a "vibe" that dictates how his words flow in turn with Shoal's mixing.

CORAL: A genetically-designed hybridized inkfish that combines traits from both an Inkling and an Octoling, which are visible in their features: they have the mask and rounded ears of an Octoling and their tentacles have outward-facing suckers, but both ears are concave, they have the squared-off fingers of an Inkling, and they have six tentacles instead of four. (I haven't decided what fangs they have yet.) They were created by forcefully infusing the ink of a captured Inkling (which had been partially sanitized, thank you Tartar) into an unwilling Octoling child and performing heavy tests and modifications. Their goal was to create a powerful weapon larger and stronger than a Kraken Royale transformation, and as a result Coral's "swim" form is naturally several times larger than a normal Inkling or Octoling. It is also very unstable, as their body contains far more ink than normal, meaning it takes little effort to splat them--and they can splat themselves while transformed if they aren't careful, because they absorb so much ink. Coral is entirely mute, having been modified to lack vocal cords because weapons don't need to speak, yet they act as the band's PR manager, promoting them and their performances.

[timeofjuly]

hi hello i binged resisting the current and the side stories too and absolutely loved it so far. this is the most excited ive ever been for a fic and i have never been more invested in anything oc related but quinn is just so??? i dont know i just lover her charm so much. though when i was reading the part where black lists down mc's crimes, i was curious about the incident when mc fought with quinn's father. i was wondering what led up to it and the aftermath?

Thank you so much!!! I'm so happy you're enjoying it and Quinn! I would LOVE to tell you about that incident. I don't want to spoil anything because it'll come up in the story, but here are some of the things already in the text that allude to it.

So in chapter 6 during the dinner, Black specifically mentions two charges of battery in that passage that MC identifies as being from Quinn's dad.

MC has this to say about it:

You’d given that fucker one hell of a shiner, and even though it’d been a massive legal headache, it’d been well-worth it.

In the following chapter, Black says this to Quinn:

"The electrician was arrested and charged for assault against Mark Lawson twice. I read the report for those charges, Quinn – in the first, she struck at him with a box cutter following an altercation at his home. Your home then too, I imagine, as you would’ve been a minor at the time. In the second, she broke his nose and occipital bone. Do not tell me those were senseless acts of violence."

In the first incident, Black notes that Quinn was a minor. MC, however, was not - that's why it's on their record. This incident happened in Quinn's family home when Quinn was 17 and MC 18 following an 'altercation'.

When MC is thinking about the 'hell of a shiner' they gave Quinn's dad, they're referencing the second incident. It was a lot more than that, though. And as Black points out (which in of itself is pretty telling, considering that, prior to actually meeting MC, he absolutely believed that they were the kind of person who would attack someone for no reason. MC got through to him more than he probably realises during that dinner), it wasn't a senseless act.

MC, in that second incident, broke Mark Lawson's nose and occipital bone. We can imagine a broken nose pretty easily, but the occipital bone is a thick, curved bone located at the back of the skull, so not anywhere near the nose. This wasn't just a slap or punch to the face.

The occipital bone also doesn't break easily and really only does due to severe trauma, such as a high-impact injury or a forceful blow to the head. It's a serious injury to get; it can potentially cause brain injuries, spinal cord damage, nerve damage, impaired vision, and long-term there's the risk of cognitive impairment and other neurological deficits.

So this was a pretty big deal! No wonder Quinn doesn't want to talk about it!

MC also has this to say in chapter 6:

It would’ve been difficult for them to do so, considering that the court granted Quinn (and you) a restraining order against them, but that restraining order expired eight months ago. You renewed yours, but what if Quinn hasn’t?  

These things are all connected! Notably, MC has a restraining order against Quinn's dad, but not the other way around, even though MC has been charged for attacking him twice and the last time, very seriously.

I also wanna pull this bit from there will be no answer from one single thread of gold.

Quinn’s own parents have told her nothing at all because she hasn’t spoken to them in almost a year. That, at least, is a blessing. It’s been years since she’s had to deal with them without you. She’s not sure that she remembers how.

So that fic is set four months after the break up, which happened when MC and Quinn were around 21-22 (Quinn is 26 at the time of RTC). Quinn stopped talking to them nearly a year ago from twbna, so she was around 20. So the first incident happened at 17/18 and the second a few years later. These things are also connected!

Sorry for the massive answer but all will be revealed!

[thetrashbagswasteland]

Get to know your fanfic writer!

Tagged by @teamdilf several days ago woops thank you tumblr WILL NOT give me notifications When did you post your first ever fanfic? I wanna say 2008, it was a beyblade/doctor who crossover and about what you'd expect from a 12 year old 😂

First Character(s) you wrote? Kai from the original Beyblade series', as far as I can remember.

Main Character(s) you’re currently writing? Castis Vakarian, Avitus Rix and Macen Barro. Also maybe my AU femShep (Mass Effect)

Character(s) you haven’t written about before but plan to write about soon? Astarion (BG3) because alas I am not immune to the appeal of a shitty little vampire twink nor to the brainworms that game seems to give everyone who plays it

Fandom(s) you’re currently writing? Mass Effect (Trilogy and Andromeda)

Platonic pairing(s) you’re currently writing? Saren Arterius & Avitus Rix Sara Ryder & Avitus Rix

Romantic pairing(s) you’re currently writing? Avitus Rix/Castis Vakarian Macen Barro/Avitus Rix Vetra Nyx/Sara Ryder

Your top AO3 tags? Angst, Pre-Canon, Established Relationship and Hurt/Comfort

Current platform you use for posting? AO3 all the way thanks, that's my bestie

Snippet of the WIP you are currently working on? Here's some Tolerance Tested - Chapter 9: Muddied Waters; in which Macen has some awful realisations and far more truth than he ever wanted

Macen remained quiet, finding it hard to breathe if he were quite honest - here, in the quiet of the pre-dawn, a million kilometres and more than a decade away from the horror, he was still scared to hear the culmination of the tale. But Avi carried on regardless, desperate to get to the end of it, he thought. “Caught them in night-shift, just a couple of kids on duty. I ordered them to open fire and… when they refused, I shot them.” This time, he contemplated the bottle in his hands before sipping it once more. By all rights he shouldn’t be able to speak clearly at all at this point and yet here they were. “Two more for my conscience, for what they were worth. Then I trained the main gun on the outpost’s oxygen converters. Didn’t take much- two shots’d have done it, but I went with four, made damned sure it was a crater- made sure there was no more Dregir.” His mind supplied, uselessly, intrusively, platitudes about how little those people would have suffered; igniting their oxygen supply would have meant they’d have died from rapid decompression at worst and simply burned away in a fireball at best. Either way would have been ruthlessly efficient and mostly painless - likely dead before they knew what had hit them. It did plenty to explain the little moniker he’d heard though. The Reaper of Dregir. Horrific as it was, it wasn’t surprising- well, no, what was surprising was that the hierarchy hadn’t covered it all up. “You didn’t have a choice, baby.” Macen murmured, not daring to reach out again with physical comfort he was almost certain would serve only to put him on edge. “They must have seen that- you couldn’t have done anything different without the fallout being made your fault.” “Maybe.” Tension-cord tight, his voice nearly broke with the word, and then Avi shook his head. “Didn’t matter. One thousand and ten casualties, someone had’ta pay. I did my duty and trusted that they’d stand by me- what’s twenty two years of loyalty worth, huh? Turns out, shit-fucking-all.” Their eyes met and he couldn’t help but see resentment there - maybe not aimed at him directly but certainly at the ideals he chided Avi to go along with. “They threw me in a cell under Eldis; kept the court case small, blessedly, just some good ol’ silver barking questions and getting psychiatrists to prod at me, but it was still hell. Promoted beyond my capabilities and without sufficient consideration to my limitations - that’s what they decided in the end, and that fair enough, they’d let the victims families have my life for it.” Perhaps his surprise at that was too blatant, his instant, roiling disgust that they’d blamed it all on him too loud, given how Avi chuckled - dry and humourless. “Firing squad, Mace, that’s how they said they’d do it. One of the guards complained that t’wasn’t a hangin’; apparently the hanged dance for over a minute after death, d’you know that? He showed me, too.” Macen clenched his teeth, determined not to let his disgust at that slip out, if only because he suspected it’d come out as nausea instead. “I got the last laugh though. Hours before my big day, Saren turned up with a council-ordered stay of execution an’ demanded to take me away for their investigation.” Hours. Hours had been between Avi and being essentially murdered for the crime of doing the right thing- and with that, Macen knew for certain that he definitely had some calls to make. How could he not, how could he live with that information? But…. It did at least make it far more evident just why Saren had earned his devotion and loyalty; why he’d transferred whatever confidence he’d had in the hierarchy before then straight over to him. “He saved your life, quite literally.” Until that point, he’d assumed he’d meant it in the more figurative way but, no, he had genuinely saved him, hadn’t he?

“Dunno if that was his intention to start with.” His boyfriend shrugged, maybe leaning a little closer, looking a little more regretful instead of simply broken. “But he got everythin’ he needed outta me and hadn’t yet put a round between my eyes, so I started to get spooked. Asked him t’just be up front about it and… he put a gun in my hands- put his gun in my hand. Told me that if I couldn’t live with what I’d done, he’d understand and it’d be a right damned shame I’d managed t’get it off his hip and kill m’self before he had a chance to react but if not, that he thought it’d be a waste of a useful soldier.” His mandibles twitched with some half-lost in-joke. “Dunno why I said yes, in hindsight an’ given the hell he put me through in the name of training, but I did and…” “And here we are now.” This time, Avitus didn’t resist when he took his hand, just nodded and transferred the bottle to his other hand so he could keep going, as if he still had more demons to chase away with drink alone. Over a thousand- he had to have a fair few. And… that had been in one go. How many more ghosts had he gained since then? How much blood was on his hands that he blamed himself for? How had he lived with that?

tagging @spaceouttatime, @callista-curations, @ferowyn and anyone else who fancies doing this and hasn't yet!

[valiantvillain]

WIP Tuesday

Apologies for the late reply to @adflictionem tagging me. It's been a busy time lately.

So this time around I decided I'd share a snippet from the prologue of the original project I've been working on called Into the Wilds.

__________

In a four-poster bed, canopied and adorned in velvet and brocade whilst propped up upon a mountain of tasseled pillows, a boy no more than six years of age once burned from the inside-out. Sweat ran down his frail body in rivulets, coated him in a slick layer of suffering and sick that soaked through the satin sheets as surely as the magic fighting to escape the bonds of his body sparked and crackled like kindling. Flesh burned and bubbled as the fires raged beneath his skin, glowing like embers behind his fluttering eyes and singing his lashes short. Every exhale scorched the air and the boy trembled and writhed with each wave of roiling arcane flame beneath his skin. Desperately trying to kick off the sheets for some sort of relief with every rising and falling bulge of hot air that distorted his small body. Charred lips coughed forth ash and vomit in equal measure while his attendants worked furiously to ease his pain, brows beading with perspiration from the proximity and lips moving in fervent incantation behind their masks.  

They had tried to don the typical masks with their long, curved beaks full of fragrant herbs, their meager respite from the stench of bile and malaise and threads of magic gone rotten and withered. But in addition to scaring the child, an already addled mind warping them into nightmares, they had only melted and peeled away in his presence. So sweltering and relentless had he turned the very air itself. The three of them had scarcely been in the room for more than an hour and already Randel’s robes cleaved to his damp skin, his throat as bone-dry as a desert and he had to wipe the sweat from his brow against what little purchase could be found on his shoulder. He dared not lower his arms for if he did, he could not guarantee they would come back up again. There was only so much thread one could pull from the Great Tapestry and if one kept spinning and weaving then maybe you could convince it to let you eke out a bit more, and he had been coaxing it to allow him a stretch more for several minutes, shifting spells like notes in a song through gritted teeth and bleary eyes. He feared that if he stopped for a single moment, even just to rest, he would cut the cord entirely. Whether temporarily or for good, well, no one knew anymore. Not these days. Not when any day you could awake to find the very same threads you once called friends strangling you, dragging you down into the depths of the illness you had been called to cure.  

Nor was Randel’s job the simplest. A year ago, his greatest feat had been piecing together a bone nearly shattered to splinters. A long and laborious process that had lasted days, hours spent coaxing and weaving to put every meticulous piece back in its place like a mosaic and fuse back together again. If only he had known the incident would have made him invaluable, given him an air of expertise he had not felt then and certainly did not now. He had cleared the rot from lungs, purged impurities from blood, and reconstructed the odd mauled limb or face. But to knit the delicate tissues of organs back together only for his carefully stitched seams to be ripped apart by the raging arcane in one’s own body and be forced to re-repair the damage even as he worked to shield another from the onslaught...that was another matter entirely. It was exhausting. Even more so when you were all too aware that the very same could happen to you, and you might not even have the luxury of a mother holding back tears at your bedside unable to so much as hold your hand.  

Across from him, Kinbor’s slender fingers shook, and her eyes welled with tears of frustration as every summoned sheet of ice melted and steamed in an instant. The woman was a war magus, far more accustomed to conjuring storms from across a battlefield and cooling the fever of an injured soldier than bearing witness to babes slaughtered from within. They were all called to a single cause now whether they liked it or not. Trying and usually failing to pull the lives of their fellow mages from the brink, and then praying to all the kids they’d live long enough themselves to see the end of the scourge.  

At least if he died here, Randel’s parents could say he made it to the royal palace. Maybe they would even frame his letters. He did not care to think how creatively the plague might turn his own magic against him. Maybe his blood would turn to bile. Maybe it would choke him by calcifying his flesh to bone. Or maybe everything in him would simply wither one part at a time. He had yet to personally see how it ravaged one like himself, though he knew it had happened. Such was the nature of disease and the death it carried. 

What a time to have finished his training. What a way for so many to awaken to what should have been the greatest cause for celebration, the realization of grand potential and opportunities. Only for it all to be rendered a death sentence.  

Behind him, the sister sobbed, her face buried in her mother’s skirts just as it had been the day before. The boy was lucky, Randel had surmised in the span of his first week coming and going from the lad’s finely furnished room, spares were often given far less. After all, another could always be made. Yet even as the many toys had been cleared away for the ease of the stampeding steps of healers and doctors alike, no expense had been spared. Had it not been for the other two lots now recovering in their borrowed chambers, they would have known no rest caring for him around the clock as they were.  

Were they not constantly checking themselves for signs, they might have felt more automatons than people. Did they even taste the food they shoveled into their mouths these days. 

The boy’s mouth moved, but only parched breaths came out.  

“Somebody, get the lad some damn water,” wizened Jackin hissed beneath the strain of fruitlessly seeking the heart of the ailment yet again. Each day seemed to bear him yet another gray hair.  

“I-I’m a little busy,” chattered Kinbor, every word wisping pale before her blue-tinged lips.  

They knew better than to make demands of Randel at this point. Restoring life to the charred and blackened half of the boy’s spleen was currently taking up half his focus, the other was preoccupied with fending against the voracious flames licking at his liver.  

It was the mother who dutifully put the bowl of tepid water to her son’s lips. He swallowed weakly, wheezing and sputtering as she pressed her lips into a thin line. Half spilled down either side of his wan face, hollowed out by the weeks of illness and confinement.  

[chroniclingworlds]

Ossaforms

Although the Ossaforms have no true approximation of a spinal cord, they have a centralized nervous system and their bodies are supported by several connected rib-like arches in their torso which house the nerves. These flexible structures allow for a wide range of movement while also providing enough support to grow large.

The ancestral Ossaform was a small, fish-like animal that lived in the shallows of the Great Southern Sea. Aquatic Ossaforms have four bony fins and two eyes, with a wide variety of jaw types. Terrestrial Ossaforms evolved from a strange semi-aquatic animal that had eyes divided into two parts, similar to Earth’s Anableps anableps. This allowed them to have one set of eyes out of the water to look for prey while the lower set kept watch for predators. Eventually, these two eye hemispheres split into two entirely separate eyeballs.

Today, all terrestrial Ossaforms have several things in common. They have two eyes on each side, one which has specialized to see the red/infrared end of the light spectrum and one which has evolved to see the blue/ultraviolet end. However, there is little overlap between the two, rendering them colorblind in much of the visible spectrum. The cartilaginous crest on their head functions as the ear. Many species, including the Xaraka, also have the ability to detect electrical activity with this crest. Jaws contain sharpened bony plates which act as teeth, much like the placoderms of ancient Earth. Originally, all Ossaforms had four limbs, but can now be categorized into quadrupeds and bipeds.

Pictured: the Zandrake, a domesticated Pennipesa kept in almost all Xaraka societies.

As their names suggest, the quadrupeds have four limbs. The bipeds walk on two legs, and the front pair has either atrophied to the point of uselessness or completely disappeared. The quadrupeds were once the most diverse and dominant group of animals in the south, but the mass extinction 155 million years ago decimated many of them, resulting in the quadrupeds becoming a fragmented group of distantly related animals. The bipeds make up much of the current population of large herbivores and predators, and all have one or two toes similar to the hoof-claws of the Rostertia. Incredibly, this arrangement seems to have evolved independently in the two groups.

[whennnow]

Making a Regency Soft-Crown Bonnet

April 22, 2021

[Image ID: A blue soft-crown bonnet with white ribbon and a white feather displayed in profile on a foam mannequin head. A blue and white drawstring reticule and a pair of white leather gloves are displayed next to it.]

With the underthings and classic white dress for my Regency wardrobe done, I can focus on expanding my wardrobe with accessories! Several years ago I bought maybe a yard or so of a silk-like polyester in a lovely shade of blue. I've already made an embroidered Regency reticule out of it, so I decided to make a matching bonnet!

I opted to get the Zenobia Regency bonnet pattern and kit from Timely Tresses, since this is my first foray into millinery, and chose brim 1 with the 8-piece crown. The kit comes with everything you need to make the bonnet except for thread, fashion fabric, and trim.

I started by prepping the brim as the instructions say - cutting the brim out of buckram, attaching the millinery wire to the brim, and then covering the edge with crinoline tape. Attaching the wire was a bit of a struggle! The edges of the buckram kept catching on my sleeves and the wire was jumping all over the place. Thankfully that was the hardest part of the whole process.

I decided to interline both sides of the brim with the netting that came with the kit by using a running stitch to attach the net to one side at a time.

Binder clips came in handy on this project! Buckram is stiff and hard to pin into, so I used the clips to "pin" the crinoline tape in place, then the netting, and later the brim fashion fabric, which I'll get to in a moment.

The brim then gets traced onto the brim fabric and cut out with a half-inch seam allowance, which I sort of eyeballed. The outer edge of the brim gets sewn together, then you turn it inside out (and you should probably press it, but I didn't) and put the brim inside. I used the binder clips again to hold the fabric in place securely so I could baste the inner edge of the brim closed tightly.

With the brim prep done, I cut out the crown pieces from my fashion fabric and the linen lining from the kit. I chose the 8-piece crown, so I pinned two pieces together, sewed those four "pairs" together, then sewed two pairs together which left me with halves that could be sewn together. A complicated explanation of a simple process.

Those seams then get pressed open and you can sew in the center circle. That took a bit of fiddling, but I got it done and pressed the seam. Then the seam allowance at the outer edge of the crown (on both the outer and lining fabric) is supposed to be pressed in but I didn't do that. After that you can insert the lining. The instructions say to use a slip stitch but I decided on a whip stitch instead and found that the curved millinery needle included in the kit helped with stitching into the brim fabric without having to warp the buckram and wire in the brim.

I actually added a step before I attached the lining! I had some leftovers of the white cord I used on the embroidered reticule that perfectly well along the seam of the brim and crown, so I attached that before the lining so I could hide my stitches and the ends of the cord. The cord was actually a few inches too long, so I coiled it up at one end and am using it to hold the feather in place and hide the end of the feather.

Once I went back and attached the lining I could finish the decorating. I had two yards of 1" wide white silk ribbon that I had left over from the straps of my 1920s combinations. Based on some fashion plates (like these from May 1800, September 1800, 1801, 1803, 1804, 1808, September 1808) I decided to attach the ribbon toward the back of the bonnet, tack it down at the ends of the brim, and leave the ends loose to tie either below the chin or wrapped back up to tie on top of the head.

And then I was done!

Making a bonnet was way easier than I expected and I'm in love with the results! I do wish the pattern instructions had included more tips (like when to use the curved needle or how best to attach the circle in the crown), but I was able to figure it out. There weren't really any new skills needed for this, any difficulty just came from how fiddly some steps were.

But if you give a girl a matching bonnet and reticule, she might want a bodice to go with it, so stay tuned ;)

Stay warm. Stay safe. Stay healthy.

[mythica0]

We’re in this together

Chapter summary: Tello and Raphie are starting to remember their time in the afterlife, and the teens get curious about certain scars. (Not in that order)

A/N: wohoo update time! I’m getting ideas for plot slowly but surely, but mostly this is a slice of life fic incase you couldn’t tell. (Which means minimal angst! :D) any questions about the AU? Ask!

TW: swearing, mention of past self harm and other forms of violence. Discussion of scars(including SH)

Chapter 4: Discussions of Memories long.. future?

After a long cry with his dad, Nardo emerged from the medbay with a newly wrapped stump.

Angelo floated over to the two of them. “Oh thank pizza supreme I don’t have to look at a bare stump anymore.”

Nardo rolled his eyes, but there was still a fondness behind them. “Yeah, yeah, you happy?”

Angelo makes a noise of confirmation and nods.

While the rest of the table talk, Tello looks at Raphie.

“Have you been getting… memories?” He whispers. He doesn’t want to draw attention.

Raphie nods. “Yeah. I don’t know how, we were taken from before we…” he clears his throat. “Yeah.”

Tello furrows his still drawn-on brows in thought. “It is strange… do you think Karai has something to do with it?”

“Gram-Gram? Maybe… hmm. We should discuss this later, you know.. alone.”

“Mm-hmm.”

They stop their whispered conversation just as the attention of the group turns back to the table.

“Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking! of course Mikey wouldn’t-,Tello, Raphie, were you even paying attention?” Angelo calls to them from their loud conversation.

“Oh, uh- yes?” Tello lies, very badly. He never got over his inability to lie well.

Raphie just rolls his eyes. “No, we were talking to eachother, what’s up?”

“I was wondering whether or not Mikey could float yet, cause I learned to at about that age, but then I realized how dumb that was! I was about to tell the story of when I first flew!”

“Wasn’t that the day you got the scar on your arm? The non-burn scar, obviously.” Tello questions, brow raised.

“Mm-hmm. The kids wanted to know about the scars anyways!”

“Alright, we’re coming.”

For the next hour, the four of them told tales of their scars.

Angelo got his big gash in his arm from trying to fly and falling down, scraping his arm on metal. That was so long ago and yet the scar hadn’t faded.

Nardo lost his arm in an incident with a Krang hound. He got bit just above the elbow, and it had to be amputated lest he get infected. He also had several other scars from battle, claw marks, mostly.

Tello had lost his vocal cords in a collapsing building. A piece of debris fell on his windpipe and vocal cords, causing him to have to make himself a technological copy. He had to communicate in entirely sign language until they were done, and also had problems breathing for months.

Raphie’s black eye was a whole…other thing. He didn’t know exactly how it happened, but the Krang did something to him on a mission one day, and then his pupil grew larger until it took up his whole eye. That eye can see in the dark very well, but can’t handle bright light at all, so often during the day Raphie will wear an eyepatch to keep the brightness at bay. He also had a long scar along his tail from where a Krang hound had dragged him, a chip in his shell from a strong impact. And…. Tiny thin scars littered his arms.

Donnie recognized them immediately. “Those are-“

“Self harm scars, yeah.” Raphie spoke and smiled, bittersweet.

“…I started to feel a lot of guilt, anger and sadness about five years into the apocalypse. I felt as though I could never protect my brothers, and all of those negative emotions made me turn to a.. less than healthy coping mechanism.” His words were hesitant, but not sad or fearful .

“I ended up cutting my arms almost every night for two years before Nardo caught me in the act one night. He and the others helped me overcome that obstacle in my life, and now I wear my scars proudly as a way to show how strong I was to overcome it, and as a reminder that even the strongest of people need help sometimes.”

Raph spoke up. “That um- that was very brave of you, bigger me.” His words had some implications that Raphie picked up on. He had some of the thoughts at about Raph’s age, after all. “Hey, don’t worry big man. Your family is here to help you, you will never need to resort to that. Come talk to someone if you need to, okay?”

Raph nods, “t-thanks.”

A tense silence filled the air for a moment, but it wasn’t long before Mikey silently stood, walked over to Raphie and Raph, and pulled them into a huge group hug.

Raphie smiled as him and his younger version were pulled together by Mikey’s tiny form, followed by the rest of the crew gathering around the two snapping turtles.

They stayed like that for a while, then slowly pulled away one by one.

After that, everyone separated off to their own spaces to relax, however, Donnie and Raphie both went into the kitchen to have a private conversation.

“Soooo,” Tello draws out the word, “we have confirmed that both of us are getting memories from the spiritual plane.”

“Yup. I definitely remember looking over our brothers and Casey. And all the emotions I felt during that time.”

“Yeah… I remember seeing you up there, once I joined you.”

Raphie nods again. “It’s… strange. I don’t remember my actual death but I remember everything after it.”

“The main question is still, why. Why are we getting these memories if the Angelo’s portals took us from before our death. Time line shit is just wild.”

“You said it.” A pause, then a smile.

“Do you remember the time when we watched Casey completely wreck Kraang prime.”

Tello breathed out a chuckle, “fuhuckin, yeaha. He was all like: ‘come here you rotten strawberry lookin motherfucker!’”

Raphie smiled more, “and then my response was-“

“Language!” Both turtles replied in sync, before bursting out into laughter.

Through his laughs, Tello tried to speak, “ehe-Ehevehen thohohough yo- yohou knehew he cohohou- cohohouodnt hehear yohou!” Sending them both into further hilarity.

After a minute the two calmed down.

“Woo, man,” Raphie spoke, wiping a forming tear from his eye, “that was a day.”

“You bet.”

Maybe they would be fine. All of them. Together.

—————————————————

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[koficlouds]

Whumptober Day 4 Dead On Your Feet

Fandom: Youtuber Egos

Characters: Septiscape Henrik, Joline, Baby Emma(the child), the egos

Relationships: Henrik/Joline

Triggers: Pregnancy death, infant death, uterine rupture, premature death

Prompt: Can’t Pass Out

Henrik stood by their usual waiting spot, the same stargazing hill they met by all those years ago. Today they were on their way to the Mindscape’s Hotel Inn. They’d be meeting up with the other egos to have some fun and have a small vacation. 

His wife, Joline, had been going on about how much he really needed this break. He wouldn’t lie, but he was pretty excited about this mini vacation he’d have. Around 6 months ago, Joline discovered she was pregnant with their first child. And they had already planned the name for the little one. 

Emmaline or Emma, if it was a girl.

Ryder, if it was a boy.

When the others had found out about the pregnancy Chase had recommended they plan a get together some day, and today was that day.

“Henny!” A voice called. When the German turned, he smiled, seeing the woman he’d fallen in love with all those years ago walking up to him. “Are you ready to head on over?” Henrik asked, to which he got the positive response in return. 

And with that they were off.

A few days in, while Henrik and Joline were out bird watching, Joline started to suddenly feel a lot of pressure. But how was that possible, the baby shouldn’t be born yet. It’s only been 6 months.

Just as soon as it passed, her water broke. She lost her balance and collapsed, only to be caught by her husband before her head hit the ground. “Joline!” Henrik had a worried and concerned expression on his face, nervous.

Joline put on a reassuring smile, weak at it’s best, on her face. “I..I’m fine Henny...Ah!” She felt a strong contraction, worrying her German husband even more. “No you’re not! You don’t just collapse if you’re alright!” 

She looked up at him, her face pale with fear and confusion. “W-We need to go..the..the baby’s on it’s way..!” His face paled with the same fear and confusion as hers when those words left her mouth. But he rushed her to the hospital, deciding he’d call the others once the baby was born.

During the labor, Joline started having several complications, causing an emergency C-Section to be done. Words cannot describe how much Henrik’s hands were shaking. His phone blowing up with calls and texts which he simply ignored. He could not possibly leave his wife on such occasion, or more plainly; he couldn’t bare to leave his wife to fend for herself or die.

Henrik had finally cut the umbilical cord, and removed the placenta. He quickly stitched Joline’s abdomen up and left her to rest as he went to clean and make sure his baby girl was healthy.

While doing so, he heard it. The sound of the heart rate monitor. 

It wasn’t beeping.

It flatlined..

The one thing he dreaded to hear, occurred during the situation he was scared of. He set his now daughter, only family member, Emmaline or Emma in her small crib. Rushing over to his wife he paled. Her eyes, which used to be filled with life and the nicest deep brown eyes; now pale and lifeless just as cold as her skin. He’s lost her. No pain could compare to what he felt that moment, but he had to pull himself together, for his daughter; for Emma. 

Since the newborn was premature by 3 whole months, she had severe breathing issues and heart palpitations. She’d need to be under heavy watch. 

Time flew by, and before he knew it. It was 3 in the morning. He hadn’t been sleeping well due to his anxiety so his eyes were heavy as he attempted to keep himself awake. He wasn’t going to let himself fall asleep, he couldn’t pass out. Not now, not yet, not until he knew she’d be alright. He’d stay up for days if he had to. He’d to anything if he needed to.

By four, he could slightly feel himself passing out. The last thing he heard was the sound of little Emma’s soft cooing noises in front of his desk.

“I can’t...pass..out...not yet..” He mumbled under his breath, head on his arms before his eyes started to flutter shut and sleep took over his body. “Can’t..pass out...” It wasn’t even a whisper anymore, he was out like a light now. And it was silent.

He woke, a good 8-9 hours later, and heard nothing. No cooing, no babbling. Not even the sound of faint newborn snores. Only dead silence. 

.....

He passed out that night, and she died when he was asleep. 

.....

.....

.....

That would be a guilt he’d never forget..or forgive himself for.