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lovelywoos · 2 years

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then came you | l.jh

genre: opposites attract au, highschool au, strangers to friends to lovers; fluff, comedy, angst!!

pairings: introverted!woozi x extroverted!reader (y/n uses they/them pronouns, but small scene where it mentions that y/n wears a skirt)

word count: 7.9k... jfc

warnings: swearing, a fight scene (not violent, more like a lot of swearing), and the fight scene has a lot of repetitive swear words because i don’t swear that much help :”)

description: in which you, the student council vice president, and lee jihoon, the quiet boy in the back of the class, fell in love despite your differences.

a/n - this was a lot of fun to write but near the end of editing it i was literally pushing SHOVING this out of my drafts to publish im so sick of it now. i rushed the editing so ... forgive me pls. ***fight scene is also inspired by the ep 3 of the kdrama “our beloved summer.”

one. meet cute

well, if it wasn’t for the consequences of your actions smacking you right on the face. yes, you should’ve studied more for that physics test. and studied harder. but also yes, student council duties needed attention. that group project for math was very time-consuming as well in your defense!

all those excuses and yet you still broke down.

sitting and hiding under a table in your school’s music room was becoming familiar. sometimes you wish you weren’t so outspoken or eager because now you’ve bitten off more than you can chew and are suffering the exhaustion from it.

but anyways, thank god for sound-proof music rooms! (your sniffles were beginning to inch their way towards sobs…)

“you okay?”

you jump at the sudden voice, head bumping against the desk with a heavy thud.

you blink up at the voice’s owner, furrowing your brows in annoyance.

the pale boy stammers in shock, struggling to put together his words. he heard you crying while entering the room, but seeing your puffy and bloodshot eyes made him wonder if he should’ve just made a 360 and left the room the first time he heard sniffles.

“s-sorry! i didn’t mean to scare you!” he stutters, rushing to you as you make your way out from under the desk. he quickly puts a hand under the desk, making sure you don’t bonk your head a second time.

you get up, quickly wiping your tears away from your face with the sleeves of your school uniform, the boy could get a good look at your face.

l/n y/n. student council’s vice president and class representative. he knew you very well. everyone did really. you were always all over the place talking to people, socializing, getting things done, and leading the way. you definitely didn’t know him though (he was right).

“it’s fine. don’t worry about it,” you assured, smiling slightly in an attempt to ease his obvious nerves.

you sigh before adding, “just don’t… tell anyone, yeah?” you read his name tag pinned on the chest of his uniform. lee jihoon.

“of course, don’t worry about that.”

“okay well, i have to get going now! see you around!” you send a friendly wave, walking for the door as jihoon interrupts you.

“wait! here, ta-take this,” he hands you a wrinkled napkin he had just pulled from his pockets.

when you stare at his outstretched hand, jihoon explains, “for your tears… although you’re not crying anymore, huh.”

you hold in your smile seeing the napkin most definitely from lunch that was just placed in your hand. so cute.

jihoon watches as you make your way out of the music room, thanking him, making him promise one last time to not tell anyone about today, and saying a goodbye.

so when you close the door behind you, he sighs with a gentle smile on his face. so cute.

two. i hate everyone but you

“lee jihoon!”

before becoming friends with lee jihoon, people should know that jihoon hates five things: people who touch him, annoying people, talkative people, being told what to do, and opening up.

and you haven’t seemed to pick up on these things yet after being friends for about… two months? but for you, it was bearable.

so whenever you march up to his desk, he doesn't complain.

“your group mates just told me how you haven’t attended any of the work meets they planned!” you sighed, pressing your lips together. “and take those damn earbuds out!”

“okay, okay. sorry,” jihoon leans back in his chair with tired eyes before explaining, “i’ve been doing my share of the work anyway, so why does it matter? i can’t be needed that much.”

you pout before sitting at the empty desk in front of him. you also notice how his eyes seem so focused on his hands all of a sudden.

you poke his forehead with your forefinger, making him look up to look at you with wide eyes.

“it’s just me, be honest,” you say in the gentlest tone jihoon’s ever heard from you.

he takes a moment to think before nodding. you smile and lean in, ready to hear his side of the story.

“they’re not the greatest people. i overhear them sometimes and they’re always gossiping. i don’t think i’d be able to stand being in a room with all of them talking for like two hours,” jihoon finally explains, but he’s taken aback as he sees your attentive and genuine expression.

he clears his throat and adds, “in conclusion, they give me a headache, and being with them for hours would drain my social battery for the day, no, week.”

jihoon forgets to mention that being around his group would be unbearable also because you were a common topic amongst their gossip. he remembers the day when one of his partners said you were such a teacher’s pet only for the sake of impressing the student council’s president, choi seungcheol.

he quite literally had to take a step outside before he said something he would regret because l/n y/n doing something for male validation? he would laugh in their faces if he had the courage.

“i see… it’s alright, i’ll see what i can do. don’t worry, jihoon! just focus on your part of the work and let me do the talking!” you grin, standing up abruptly.

jihoon just smiles up at you and nods, not surprised at how you were going to speak in his defense once again (this was becoming the new norm as you two became friends).

before turning to leave, you reach a hand out to ruffle his dark black hair, messing it all up. you quickly dash off, not letting jihoon scold you.

he hides his smile and growing blush as he reaches up to fix his hair.

jihoon still hates five things: people who touch him, annoying people, talkative people, being told what to do, and opening up. but if they come in the form of you, he doesn't seem to mind so much. especially if every time he reluctantly opens up, you always seem to understand him.

three. what was this feeling?

“i swear to god if i don’t beat her, she’ll never let me hear the end of it!”

jihoon was about to lose it. you were pacing back in forth in front of him. every time you had finally stopped moving or talking, he would place the sunscreen in your hand so you could apply some on your face yourself before your race. but every single time he did, you just gave him a look and shoved it right back into his hands, continuing your rant.

“she keeps going on and on about how the class representative should be good at everything including athletics and so sports day should be a breeze for me! why do class representatives have to go last in the relay? it’s so weird! i could be helping student council pass out waters right now or something like…”

your words fade away as his attention diverted to the couple a few feet down the bench from you two. the girl squeezed some sunscreen onto the back of her hand before applying it to her boyfriend’s face.

and to be honest, he couldn’t even remember who you were talking about anymore! yuna was it? or maybe yuri? yura??

so fuck it.

“i think she’s just jealous she’s in a lower class than me! because what other reason could—"

jihoon grabs your hand, pulling you down next to him. as your mouth hangs open in surprise and confusion, he twists the cap off, throwing it to the side and squeezing some onto the back of his hand. he takes a deep intake of breath.

jihoon slaps (not that hard actually) his sunscreen-covered fingers on your forehead making you freeze. unable to form words, sounds even, you just stare at his focused eyes, the slight furrow of his brows as he spreads the sunscreen on your face.

you curse the heat, maybe also your flustered emotions, as your cheeks warm up when you take in the close proximity between you two and also because his cold, pretty hands were on your face!! he was so gentle and cautious with you that you had a feeling he was as panicked as you were right now.

as you were freaking out and praying he couldn't hear the pounding of your heart, jihoon was busy wondering if this was too much. was this weird? was he making you uncomfortable??

jihoon, now much more uncomfortable with the sudden silence, began to change the subject. “you know someone so thoughtful of their skincare shouldn’t forget to put on sunscreen.”

when you responded with a flustered silence, he snorts as you refused to maintain eye contact with him.

he takes your silence as pre-anxiousness for your event, instead of it being because of his bold actions. “you’ll be fine in your race. so beat yuri, get this day over with, and let’s do something after school together, yeah?”

so he did listen to your rants.

it made you think. when was the last time someone paid attention to your rambling? when was the last time someone cared enough to want you to put sunscreen on? when was the last time someone comforted you even when you didn’t show you were troubled?

"anyways!" jihoon yells as he jumps up from the bench, "you still have some sunscreen on your face, but I've done enough so..." (way to ruin the moment, jihoon...)

you felt your heartbeat quicken when jihoon pulled you up from the bench by hand and gave your head a couple pats to calm the anxiety.

“so remember why you wanna win and use that to motivate you. you got this, y/n!” he holds a fist up, truly wishing you the best even though you very well knew he had no care in the world for today’s sports day.

what was this feeling?

four. it's love

the moment you start running, jihoon felt his hands get clammy and heart start pumping though he wasn’t even running. okay, so maybe he was completely listening to your rants even if he didn’t want to. maybe he did want you to beat yuri because he loved seeing you so passionate about something and always rooted for your success.

so as you passed yuri in your relay right before the finish line, maybe he did jump from his seat and start cheering. for once, he ignored all the stares from people around him who were shocked to hear his voice louder than class-speaking volume. he was just so so excited to see you sprint past the finish line with the biggest smile on your face as your classmates rushed over to congratulate their class representative.

he watches as you scan the bleachers, eyes lighting up as you find his eyes and mouthed the words, ‘i won!’

jihoon nods with a smile, sending you two thumbs up as you laugh before turning away to talk to your friends.

despite you being surrounded by so many people and him on the bleachers by himself on sports day, he still can’t help but finally realizes he likes you. he always has despite all the differences. lee jihoon likes you. and his smile never fades away upon processing this fact.

five. the argument

it’s been 11 days, 10 hours, and 34 minutes since jihoon had spoken a word to you. at first, you decided to keep track of the days so you could use it as a point to argue with jihoon. but that was ultimately thrown out of the window when jihoon remained giving you the silent treatment and no argument, not a single word from him was in sight (you did not expect this). he probably just needs some time alone... right?

on the other hand, jihoon could always feel your burning, infuriated stares burning a hole in the back of his head. it came to the point where walking by you in the hallways felt like he was on fire.

lee jihoon was conflicted. he enjoyed being your friend (even if it felt like it should be more sometimes), but at what cost? his mind just kept going back to your friends' conversation that day.

just as jihoon was about to unlock the restroom stall, his hand freezes at the mention of your name from someone's mouth. his name as well.

"you think y/n is actually friends with that loser?"

"who?"

"the nerd who always listens to music in the back of the class!"

"ah, lee jihoon? i mean... i doubt it. they're probably hanging with him to make him feel like he belongs, you know? he has no friends so that's probably why."

"holy shit, that's so depressing."

"right?"

and when jihoon is conflicted, he did what he does best: stay silent. because yes, being your friend made his year. should he keep being your friend even if he knew you were doing it out of pity? would he go that far for his crush?

as jihoon makes his way to the music room after just finishing his lunch, he decides to just stay silent forever! confrontation is difficult... so none of that!!!

he reaches his hand out to turn the knob of the music room, but lets out a pained groan as the door flies into his face unbeknownst to you who just got too excited at his presence because now you could finally talk to him alone!

"jihoon! i knew you'd come here! let's talk," and suddenly all your angry, violent thoughts that said to be angry at lee jihoon for ignoring you for so long flew out of your head. all rational thoughts: gone. you grabbed his hand that wasn't rubbing his now red forehead and pulled him into the room.

jihoon sighs. so much for no confrontation.

when jihoon closes the door behind you both, you take a deep inhale of breath and exhale to calm your nerves. you've been thinking about this moment for ages, don't mess it up now!

you turn swiftly to face jihoon with a bitter expression on his face, making you gulp as the nerves begin crawling back.

"li-listen, whatever i did i'm sorry. i truly didn't mean to hurt you, so please, tell me what i did wrong so we can talk it out and i can apologize properly!"

for the first time since being pulled into that room by you, he looks at you to meet your eyes. how could they be so... genuine?

he looked at you in a way that made you want to sink to the floor. "well? are you gonna say anything?" you frown as he stares at you wordlessly.

"why are you friends with me?"

you blink at him in shock. "w-what?"

jihoon sighs and repeats, "why are you friends with me?"

you struggle to form the right words to say. "well... we kept running into each other and i liked talking to you so i just stuck around.” that could be worded much better, you think.

he didn’t believe you.

“you’re only friends with me because you’re vice president and it’s your job to help your peers, right?”

your jaw went slack.

“where did you get that from??”

this look was different. not mad, but hopeless. “not important. just answer me, is it true?”

“of course not! who told you that? why would you even believe that?” okay, now you were starting to get worked up because that’s such a horrid thing to assume of you! did he have that little faith in you?

his fists tighten because suddenly pin-pointing all the flaws in his friendship with you became easy.

“hey, but to add on to that, why do you baby me?”

your eyebrows knit together because you just got even more lost if possible. “baby you? since when? how? where did any of this come from, jihoon?”

“can you quit being so focused on where this is coming from? it’s coming from me, okay? it makes sense anyways, i am nothing like any of your friends. why me? why be friends with me—“

“why can’t i just be friends with you because i want to?? do all my friends need to be the same?”

he lets out a menacing scoff. “okay, so am i some charity case then? a friendship made out of pity because i can’t seem to ever speak up for myself and you always have to swoop in to save me? i can defend myself, y/n. why do you act like i’m a defenseless loser that needs to be protected and babied?”

“i have never thought about you that way! first of all, whoever told you i was friends with you because it was my job has no idea what you and i are. you’ve never given other people the time of day to listen to their stupid opinions, so why now, huh?”

because it was about you.

“second of all, you always complain about people not understanding you or mistreating you! you always let people walk all over you! i am sick of having to watch you pretend like you’re cool and unbothered at what people say about you, so forgive me if i’m standing up for you because i care. it’s not my job, i’m doing it because i’m your friend. and if you were uncomfortable about it, just tell me! set boundaries! not give me the silent treatment.”

“well i don’t want to be your friend anymore.” his words were eerily cold. he gave up. he clearly didn’t want to try for this or you anymore.

your gentle pants from your yelling fill the silent and tense atmosphere of the music room where you two first met. silent because his words were still processing in both of your heads and tense because this was probably the end of your friendship. you both couldn't meet each other's eyes.

as jihoon was gauging your troubled expression, a pool of heavy guilt filled his stomach. that sentence was not how he imagined it would go. he always thought it would be said bravely. lovingly. like in a confession. not like friends breaking up!

so you decide to give up too because what’s the point in trying when he doesn’t trust you.

“okay then. i respect that. i have nothing else to say. do you?”

he grimaces at the way your voice shakes. the way your nose scrunches unpleasantly. and his heart regrets the way your eyes shine over with tears. jihoon would never believe that he would one day be the cause of your pain and tears.

“no.” goddammit, that’s not what he wanted to say. why was he such a coward?

“okay.” your voice was just a whisper as you breeze past him, not wanting him to see you cry a second time.

when the door of the room shuts behind him, he cries. for the first time in a long time.

he can’t even remember what he was mad about. he could only remember your broken expression and your broken tone. he messed up something beautiful all because it was hard believing that someone as amazing as you would want to be his friend. and possibly like him.

six. right person, right time

22 days, 12 hours, and 16 minutes. why are you even keeping track anymore at this point? you two are not friends. period.

you weren’t even friends with him for that long! you had your other friends too anyways so why did cutting things off with him hurt so much? (i wonder why).

after not talking to jihoon, you start to realize how being his friend was such a breath of fresh air. a break from life. a good and genuine change. it was great. this was probably because how jihoon had no care for social cliques or no expectations or just no interest in things outside of grades and music!

and so for the first time in a long time, someone wanted to talk to you about something that had nothing to do with student council, clubs, school, volunteering, or community service. meeting jihoon was a quick and sharp realization that all your friends, all the people you surround yourself with, are people from the student council or simply smart-popular people! over-achievers! nerds!

maybe jihoon was right when he said you were the definition of a nerd who also happened to be popular… (which you refused to believe because how could a nerd be popular, jihoon?)

nevertheless! jihoon’s interest in music, critiquing animes, playing instruments for fun (not just in school like what), and best of all his carefree attitude, truly make all these nerds around you so bland and basic.

like finally, someone who busies themself with something, not about school or accomplishing something worthy enough to put on a college application.

and about his carefree attitude, it’s crazy how you never noticed until jihoon mentioned how uptight some of your friends were after hearing a close friend of yours, who was also secretary of the council, talk to you about something school related. all you and your friends talked about was school.

so yes, being friends with lee jihoon was beyond eye-opening and more life-changing, but it also made you view your friends differently. were they even your friends? if you weren't a part of all your extracurriculars, no, if you just weren't smart or outgoing, would they care about you at all?

this epiphany has let you see your friends for the people they are. you indeed saw this for yourself when some dumb boys began picking on him.

"seriously, i get if you don't like us. i respect that even. but failing us just because you think we're inferior to you makes you look like a fucking loser," park junghyung laughed cynically as he pulled a chair next to jihoon's desk, getting all up in his face.

if you don't see it, it doesn’t exist. jihoon has been repeating this sentence for the past five minutes because junghyung and his friends couldn't stand not being carried through group assignments for the first time in their lives.

"i didn't fail you, that's up to ms. lee."

with that, junghyung's tight-lipped smile dropped and his "patience" ran dry. he shot up from his seat and kicked it to the floor, the loud clanging sound making people gasp and begin to watch the situation unfold.

yeah, maybe removing his entire group's names from the presentation before submitting was too bold of a move. well, they should’ve done shit to help if they didn’t want a failing grade, right? after all, you always told him 'be bold and be strong! don't let stupid idiots walk over you! run over them instead!' wait, why as he even thinking about you in this situation?? damn it!

so, cue you walking toward jihoon's classroom, ready to confront some bullies and you’re only doing this because it’s the right thing to do, not that you still like him or anything (lie)! you don’t dare to hope you two might reconcile and maybe even become friends again after this because that’s so dumb (lie). and hopefully, jihoon won’t think you're babying him, you just want to clear his name! (truth).

however, seeing your crush (100% truth) lee jihoon being cornered by park junghyung who was grabbing his collar while everyone was staring and recording was not what you expected! are you seriously about to walk into a fight for your crush… (yes).

"you must think you're all that to pull such a move, huh. in reality, you're just a pathetic shit who can’t even pull bitches because they all pity you.” was he talking about you?

now that he thinks about it, the voice in the restroom that day was him. it was park junghyung.

honest to god, jihoon 100% firmly believes the best choice in this situation would be to run because he cannot fight. he guesses he can try, but unfortunately, junghyung is a fit dude. a big dude. if only he didn’t talk about you and insinuate you were a bitch.

jihoon grabs junghyung’s collar and throws him off. he’s at his limit right now.

“if you didn’t want to fail, maybe stop partying and getting drunk of your ass to get away from your fucked up home life? maybe actually use that empty shit brain of yours and do something with it? maybe then you wouldn’t have to ask your rich dad or student council friends to pull favors so you don’t get pushed down a class or kicked out of school even.” jihoon is suddenly very memorable of all the school gossip you’ve told him before.

junghyung laughs in disbelief. “you’re asking for it, you little fucker.”

well. this was it. this is when jihoon gets sucker punched.

“y-you dickhead!”

woah, was that… you??

everyone, including jihoon and an impatient junghyung turns to see you pushing through crowds, and marching your way in between junghyung and jihoon.

junghyung rolls his eyes when you grab jihoon’s hand reassuringly and glare up at him.

“come on, y/n. quit the charity act. it’s getting annoying now. move aside, yeah?”

a slap resonates through the filled classroom. gasps fill the room as even more phones go up to record the student council vice president slapping it boy park junghyung across the face.

jihoon’s eyes go wide. wide! he instinctively pulls you behind him, shielding you from a fuming, red junghyung.

he side-eyes you who was also very shell-shocked at your own actions.

“y/n, what the hell are you doing?” he whispers as junghyung’s group goes up to him to ask if he was okay.

“to be honest, i don’t know. just know i am not babying you. i’m doing this and have always been doing this because i care about you, now move. i’m not done.”

jihoon’s eyes soften as he caresses his thumb over the back of your hand. he doesn’t deserve you.

junghyung lets out a laugh of disbelief. “you know what, you two deserve each other. you’re both fucking insane.”

“well, you and your friends are all fucking stupid.”

yes, you knew his friends (also your friends) were in the room watching. yes, you knew you would be losing a lot of friends today if you continued talking. yes, it’s worth it if it’s for lee jihoon especially if they all think of him the same way junghyung does.

junghyung clenches his jaw before taunting, “oh really! i wonder what our friends will think about that,” he turns around to the crowd of people with arms wide, “what do you guys think about the genius and model student y/n swearing and assaulting other students? their own friend at that too!”

you scoff and roll your eyes at this boy’s sheer audacity. he was never your friend.

junghyung gets more pissed off at your reaction and says, “since when were you such an annoying bitch?”

you cross your arms across your chest impatiently. did he think he was that intimidating? “i’ll start being a bitch because it’s sickening watching you push everyone around. what? do you think i’m like everyone else?”

jihoon panics when he feels you try to push past his arm as junghyung does the same also while his friends attempt to hold him back.

jihoon laughs awkwardly, trying to calm the situation. still making sure to keep an arm between you an junghyung, he apologizes, “they’re just a bit mad at the unnecessary crowding and recording haha, please understand.”

you whip your head to glare at jihoon, “quit apologizing when you’re not in the wrong. now move.”

you move closer to junghyung staring at you with cursing eyes.

“woah junghyung, you gonna slap me back? punch me? like you do with your classmates and call it messing around?”

“man, this bitch is fucking insane!”

“i’ll show you how insane i can be if you keep taking advantage of jihoon or anyone else just because they’re nice people.” you feel jihoon turn around to face you completely, but refuse to look at him because you knew you would melt instantly. you missed him.

you hold his hand tighter before concluding, “now you’re always gonna be known as an idiot who bullies smart kids because he can’t do shit in school. i really won’t let it slide if you mess with jihoon again,” you turn to scan everyone who was in the room recording, “send that video to the principal if you want i don’t care!“

you pull jihoon away from junghyung who punches the nearest desk before letting out a frustrated yell.

“move. move!” you shove your way through the crowd as your friends, well, maybe not friends anymore after they had just seen you slap and swear at someone… but it didn’t matter you’d see them tomorrow for student council stuff anyways if you still had your position after this.

you and jihoon walk away from everyone who began to disperse, gossiping because how could model student y/n act so aggressively?

but that was the last thing on your mind because you felt like there was a lot to discuss with jihoon.

jihoon who just trails behind you, hands still entwined with yours, was zoning out thinking about what just occurred. you stop abruptly, making him walk into your back.

“s-sorry-“

you pull him into an empty classroom and shut the door behind you, letting go of his hand.

you sigh and put your hands on your knees, trying to catch your breath for a moment. you had so much adrenaline running and you could even hear your heartbeat in your ears.

you still manage to slap jihoon’s hand away when he attempts to turn on the lights, “no lights right now.”

he nods, staring at your tired figure awkwardly.

jihoon scratches the back of his head, not knowing what to say. does he thank you? scold you for nearly getting beat up for him? risking your spot and position in the student council?

his thoughts clear as you begin rambling. he sighs internally hearing your panicked tone. “i know, i know! we’re not friends anymore and you didn’t want me to speak for you or to you anymore, i know. i’m sorry. i just… i care about you so so much, even if we're not friends. i never approached you after you caught me crying because i pitied you and felt it was my duty to be there for you. th-that was never the case. so please don’t be mad at me, we can go our separate ways after today. just know—“

jihoon grabs your arm, pulling you towards him so he could wrap his arms around you. he cups the back of your head and in a hushed tone says, “it’s okay. i’m sorry. i was wrong. it was my fault. i still wanna be with you. i was just lost for a moment, i’m sorry i hurt you. you didn't deserve to be treated like that by me. i hope you can forgive me even if i don’t deserve it.”

tears brim your eyes as you nod, sniffling. you hope he understands what you were trying to say wordlessly when you wrap your arms around his waist tightly, not wanting to be apart from him again.

jihoon never knew what to say to people, especially when it came to comforting someone. but then came you. and the words flowed so easily.

seven. because i like you

your phone buzzes in your pocket, you glance down cautiously, avoiding getting caught by your teacher. back then you would have never check your phone for anyone else, but you had started to for jihoon. you blame him for being a bad influence on you, but he said you were being a bad influence on yourself.

hoon: i’m in the music room rn. can we talk?

you: yes, please. i’ll be there in ten after my council meeting

you sigh. this felt like deja vu. hopefully, it wouldn’t end up too much like last time you both were in here though.

you turn the knob and pull the door open, making eye contact with a lee jihoon who was sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall.

he couldn’t even say a word as you let go of the door, closing it in your face. you were not as mentally prepared as you thought you were.

moments later, the door swings back open and you speed walk over to him, plopping down on the floor in front of him.

“sorry. i just needed a moment,” you mutter, looking down at your shoes.

he chuckles at your cute antics, “that’s okay.”

jihoon then pulls out a wrapped triangle gimbap in one hand and a yakult in the other, hands both outstretched to you.

you blink owlishly at the two snacks in his pretty hands as he sighs with a slight smile, “it’s for you. i know you didn’t get to buy lunch because your student council meeting just ended.”

when you still didn’t move after his explanation, jihoon just places it down in front of your legs.

“a-ah! thank you, jihoon! you didn’t have to…” you clear your throat, realizing how affected you sounded by his actions.

“i wanted to,” jihoon replies nonchalantly, taking off his jacket at the same time.

you peel back the wrapper of the gimbap with a throbbing heart and smile, also trying to change the subject before you combust, “is it hot in here?”

without a response, jihoon drapes his jacket over your legs, which were also sitting uncomfortably because of your skirt.

you look up at jihoon looking off to the side with timid eyes, “sorry, i shouldn’t have sat on the ground. you can use my jacket for now.”

you punch his shoulder with a giggle, thanking him as he groans.

“since when were you such a gentleman, gosh jihoon.”

he rolls his eyes in a joking manner, “since always, you just never notice.”

“sure sure. anyways, what…. did you want to talk about?”

the light and comfortable atmosphere and banter between the two of you just now had made you completely forget this was the first time you talked to jihoon after the junghyung incident. though it was only two days ago, you were busy talking to the principal and dealing with the whole situation, which left you no time until now to talk to him. which still wasn’t even enough time!

“oh yeah,” jihoon looks up from his lap to make eye contact with you, suddenly in a serious mood, “i just wanted to see how you were. did you get in trouble?”

“mm, yes and no? like principal han was pretty mad, but all those years of sucking up to her did me good because she said she still thinks i’m a good student, i just handled the situation wrong,” you say while trying to peel off the lid of the yakult.

jihoon notices, taking the drink from your hands and poking a straw through it for you…….

was he hiding the straw from you just so he could do that….cheeky idiot. anyways!

“continue?” jihoon inquires softly, handing the drink back to you.

“t-thanks. uhh, i have to make a formal apology to several classes tomorrow morning! i think just the classes in our hallway because those were the ones that gathered to watch us the most, which was so rude by the way?? why would they just stare and record? couldn’t someone get a teacher? ugh, but i also have to do a buuunch of community service this weekend with everyone who hates me now after the whole thing.”

jihoon frowns. he forgot that you defending him that day ended up making your friends distance themselves from you. he can’t help but feel at blame. at fault. did you even have friends anymore?

your eyebrows furrow when jihoon’s expression began to get cloudy and disturbed all of a sudden.

“jihoon? what’s up?”

“i’m sorry,” he replies almost instantly, making you blink in shock.

“i’m sorry that helping me that day made you get on bad terms with everyone. god, they’re your friends and fellow members… you’ll have to see them everyday a-and i made them all turn on you. i’m sorry, i shouldn’t have said anything to junghyung that day. i shouldn’t have let you talk to him. i shouldn’t have—“

you lean forward on your hands, landing a peck on jihoon’s cheek, successfully shutting him up from his intrusive thoughts.

“geez, jihoon… i thought you said you have trouble expressing your feelings! why are you only expressing the negative ones to me??”

jihoon’s cheeks grow and feel fiery as his hand goes up to his cheek, fingers ghosting over where your lips were just a moment ago. the feeling was still there.

not noticing his blushing state, you continue ranting, “even if i knew the outcome of that fight, i still would do it all again in a heartbeat. a heartbeat! i did it because i like you, okay? i wanted to. it’s not your fault, so why would you apologize?”

jihoon’s eyes shoot up to meet yours. “you like me?”

now it was your turn to become shy. did you really say that…?

your heartbeat pounds against your rib age, not knowing what to say. “do you?”

“yes. and i have for a while.”

you nod, managing to calm your heart. you suddenly find your gimbap very interesting now. “good. we’re on the same terms then.” but then you thought about how jihoon remembered you had meetings on wednesdays and never got the chance to eat lunch.

your heartbeat goes wild again. (gosh, him and his acts of service!!!)

jihoon shakes his head with a quiet laugh at your response, “i guess we are.”

sensing how you seemed very overwhelmed with the unexpected confession, which was not how he imagined you would react if he ever confessed (not that he imagined it or anything…..), he decided maybe making another move or establishing anymore between you two would be for another day. for now, he likes you and you like him. that’s enough for the both of you to be on cloud nine.

eight. closest to the heart

today was the day. lee jihoon will be giving you his nametag today because even though you kissed him that day, nothing has been established since you two refuse to talk about it! although you both can tell the other has some sort of interest or feelings for the other, that was all. nothing more, which was enough for a few days. then jihoon got sick of it and wanted to officially be yours.

hoon: music room after school?

you: yes but buy a cola for me this time too please

hoon: of course :)

you: last time you forgot

hoon: no i ran out of money and offered you mine anyways

you: you’re a bad liar

hoon: i’m sorry

you walk into the music room with a bright smile. any bad memories of this room were quickly replaced with fun, heart-aching memories of him. memories of spending all of lunch eating in here, gossiping away at your now ex-friends. memories of watching him in amazement as he composes a beautiful melody with the several instruments in this room just with the talent of his mind. memories of your feelings only growing more and stronger for him.

waiting for jihoon to arrive, you walk around the room, smiling at all the instruments jihoon has played for you. he was so different from you in such a good way. you who only took up extracurriculars for the sake of having something to put on a college application versus jihoon who did non-academic activities just because he genuinely found peace and joy in them. he was so amazing in your eyes. you wish he could see himself the way you saw him.

while scanning around the room, your eyes land on a piece of paper with writing on a table. you raise an eyebrow. barely anyone else comes here and jihoon always comes here with you? or so you thought?

you walk towards the paper, picking it up to read it. instantly, you recognized it to be jihoon’s writing. you have never met a boy with such nice handwriting before until him.

he had made a short bullet point list.

don’t stutter. look them in the eyes. don’t ramble and be straight to the point. be honest. finally, give them the—

a high-pitched yell interrupts your reading. “Y/N!!”

you yelp as jihoon comes speeding at you, swiping the paper off your hands and into his pocket.

he pants, a hand gripping the table as you look at him bewildered.

“jihoon, what the heck?”

“s-sorry, just boy stuff, you know?”

you stare at him with a blank expression, not believing his lie for a moment. “no, i don’t know.”

jihoon laughs awkwardly with gritted teeth, desperate to move on to another topic.

“oh! i have something to tell you! that’s why i asked you to come here today.”

you nod, gesturing for him to continue.

he clears his throat, fixes his posture, and takes a breath.

“y/n. i already told you this, but i want to tell you again. i like you. i’ve liked you since the early days of our friendship when you kept following me around and i tried to make you leave me alone by constantly saying that you talk too much. that was a lie. well, you do ramble, but i didn’t mind because i do too. i just didn’t know how to deal with such a pretty person wanting to talk to me every day.”

he smiles unconsciously because even the thought of you made him smile. just the thought of you alone.

“i began to like you more when you would come to the music room with me during lunch even when you said your friends wouldn’t stop complaining about it. i liked you more when you texted me good morning and goodnight, when you asked me if i ate, when you wanted to listen to my music, and when you were just you. i don’t think i’ve ever shown my music to someone before, but you’re a special person to me. you will always be a special person to me. and… i hope to be a special person to you as well…”

with a shaky hand, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his nametag. jihoon grabs your hand and places it in your palm, closing your hand around it.

your confused expression sends jihoon into a whirlwind of panic.

“i like you too, jihoon. you’ve always been a special person to me, though.” jihoon falters when you undo the pin of his name tag and attempt to pin it back on his uniform.

“are you rejecting me?”

the absolute seriousness but also slight wavering of his voice makes you nearly drop the name tag.

“what?” you shriek, “of course not! i thought we were making this official!”

jihoon thinks, trying to connect the dots together... nothing’s connecting.

“we are. and i wanna be your boyfriend…but why are you giving me back my name tag?”

you glance down at the his name tag in your hands puzzled.

“i thought you wanted me to pin it back for you. as in like ‘i like you so much here’s the honor of letting you pin my name tag on me,’” when you take in the horrified look on your now boyfriend’s face, you laugh awkwardly, “isn’t that what you wanted me to do?”

“no! oh my gosh, i would never confess to you in such a douchey way. ever. i just…” his words trail off when he realizes maybe you didn’t know what giving a name tag to someone meant. that never occurred as a possible situation in his head. and trust when i say he thought he mapped all the possible situations that would result from him confessing.

“wait, don’t you know what giving you my name tag means?”

you blink twice.

jihoon lets out a sigh of relief and then laughs at your adorable, lost state.

he collects himself, but one look at you makes him melt and throw his arms around you in a hug.

your breath halts when jihoon practically puts all his weight on you, snuggling his head into your neck.

his soft voice makes your body shiver.

“there’s basically this … tradition where a boy gives his name tag to his crush as a way to confess his love because name tags sit close to the heart.”

the wheels in your head begin turning again.

“so … in way, i’m giving you my heart.”

when you response with a sniffle, jihoon pulls back from the hug immediately.

“are you crying??” he looks at you with wide eyes, cradling your head.

you pout, “no, but i might. that’s so cute, jihoon. i love it so much.”

your hand grasps his name tag tighter. he just gave you his heart.

you pull his hand, closing the distance between you two once again.

you lean your head on his shoulder, whispering out five words so quiet so only he could hear, “i love you so much.”

“i love you too,” he responds almost immediately.

you hold in a giggle when you feel his pounding heart as he holds back a quip when he also hears your heart beating erratically in the silence and comfort of the music room.

nine. a love that lasts

“highschool love never lasts.” okay tell that to you and jihoon then.

“are you… crying??”

when those words slip from jihoon’s mouth, a sob escapes your throat.

you hid your face with your sleeve, tears falling nonstop and crying, “you wrote a song for me!”

jihoon gawks at you because he was baffled. were these good tears? bad tears? shocked tears? angry tears??? he should be good at reading your emotions by now! he’s been dating you for seven years now. eight years as of today because it was your relationship’s anniversary! and he's written you several songs before??

he stumbles out of his chair to you as you continue to cry (sob).

“y/n, what-what’s wrong? whatever i did, i’m sorry. it's my fault,” he sits beside you on the couch of this recording studio, rubbing your back comfortingly.

“no, you did nothing wrong at all,” you sniffle, “i just love the song so much. i love you so much.”

jihoon bites his lip, holding back a chuckle. he turns your face toward him with both of his hands, cupping your face so he could wipe your falling tears away with his thumbs.

his hands pause as he squeezes your cheeks. “i love you too. i’m glad you like the song so much. happy 8th anniversary, y/n. thank you for loving me all these years even though i was so difficult and still am.”

you close your eyes, more cries erupting as jihoon dares to laugh at you and pulls you in for a warm, but a crushing hug.

you sometimes wonder how you would’ve survived high school without jihoon. then and now, he has been someone who helped you breathe when things began to get overwhelming. he was your anchor. for jihoon, he was speeding through life, wanting to grow up as soon as possible. that was until he fell in love with you. you made him feel want to cherish his days and live happily. his life had meaning again. his days had the motivation to do more. you brought out the best in him.

he now begins to wonder how you’ll react when he pulls out the rings and asks the biggest question of his and your lives. however, he has a feeling it’ll be a good cry as well.

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martsonmars · 2 years

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Hello friends! I'm having a super busy week (which is really unusual in this period of my life), so I had no time for new words. Which means, different kind of post.

I need to keep working on my COBB because I really want to have a regular posting schedule, but I have to avoid feeling stuck with it. I'm a WIP hopper, I need to follow inspiration and start new projects all the time, so feeling like I have to work on ONE fic and nothing else kills my creativity. So, I want to continue one of my other WIPs. But I have too many shorter projects that are equally close to being finished (which means... 25 to 50% drafted), so I'm asking for help to choose one to continue.

It's possible I'll ignore your suggestions in the end, but help me choose anyway! (Usually receiving suggestions when I can't decide between some options makes me realise that deep down I had already chosen, and I just needed someone to suggest another option to feel disappointed and be like ok but actually I wanted to do that other thing—)

Anyway. WIPs and tags under the cut!

1. pirate blouse

I started this fic to reply to an ask after one of those prompt things I reblog sometimes. It's half written, I think.

Plot: Simon is a stressed TA and Baz shows up to his class in a... provoking outfit. Simon loses it.

Quote: Nobody's paying attention to their insane TA going off on one of their mates. Good. I don't need a complaint for assault to drive my doctorate even farther away from my grasp.

I just need Grimm-Pitch to leave my classroom and come back wearing proper trousers before my overworked brain cells decide to go on permanent strike. (I'm not sure they haven't deserted me already.)

2. holiday

I haven't written much of this one, but I have the whole thing in mind. Just need to find a way to turn my ideas into words.

Plot: Friends to lovers. Simon goes on holiday with the Grimms. He and Baz have to share a bed in the same room as Malcolm and Daphne.

Quote I've already shared: When I wake up with my erection pressed against Baz's arse and his father snoring five feet away from us, I remember why I didn't want to come.

3. pine baz

I wrote half of this fic in a couple of hours and then didn't touch it for almost 2 months. Now that I've reread it I really want to continue it.

Plot: Baz is a dryad. Simon's a woodcutter. Imagine the rest.

Quote I've probably already shared: “Who are you?” the man asked, blue eyes squinting up at Basil's shadow.

“I am the pine.”

~~~

Simon didn't know many things, but he was pretty sure that pines weren't pretty men with long dark hair and pouty lips.

4. mosquito fic

This one is me channeling my hate for mosquito and mosquito-sponsored sleepless nights into a fic where the Mosquito Tragedy that ends better for Simon than it ever does for me.

Plot: Simon's haunted by a mosquito. Who might this mosquito be???

Quote: It looks like it's trying to connect his moles in constellations with its bites.

For fuck's sake.

See what this whole thing is doing to him? It's making him poetic. Making him describe his morbid relationship with a fucking bug like a fanfiction writer would.

I thought I had more WIPs to share but I realised I'm not in the mood for any of the others (mainly because they're all fics I barely started writing, so they're nowhere close to being done, unlike the others). I'll just leave the working titles, happy to say more about them in the comments if you ask:

- cooking show

- cat door

- simpard baby

- pasta trauma

- cheeseburger smut

@wellbelesbian @urban-sith @tea-brigade @sillyunicorn @mostlymaudlin @facewithoutheart @palimpsessed @otherpeoplesheartachept-2 @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @forabeatofadrum @johnwgrey @fatalfangirl @prettylightsbigcity @whatevertheweather @jbrrring @confused-bi-queer @moodandmist @bookish-bogwitch @letraspal @dragoneggo @captain-aralias @takitalks @theotherhufflepuff @otherworldsivelivedin @excalisbury @shemakesmeforget @starwarned @cutestkilla @ileadacharmedlife @gekkoinapeartree @bazzybelle @bloodiedpixie @stardustasincocaine @aroace-genderfluid-sheep @angelsfalling16 @basiltonbutliketheherb @messofthejess @ivelovedhimthroughworse @nightimedreamersworld @artsyunderstudy @foolofabookwyrm-activated @ionlydrinkhotwater @yellobb @orange-peony

#wip wednesday #my writing

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ventureawaybitches · 2 years

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My analysis/interpretation/opinions on Sawyeh's not-death at the Veil. Be ye warned long post ahead.

Contains major spoilers for campaign 1 ep. 86/87, major character not-death, gore, canon-typical violence, Rem apologist (kinda) musings.

This is basically an analysis of Sawyeh’s not-death, and yes unnecessarily Rem focussed, but that should be expected by now. Relistening I’m just like…it’s very clear that what happened happened but I’m going to detail it all here anyway. I haven’t listened to those episodes in a long time and I thought it was more implied. And behold! supporting quotes!

Mila tells Sawyeh that "Rem wanted me to tell you that you have to leave or she’s going to kill you" and Sawyeh refuses. After Mila vanishes the minotaur at the bridge gives Sawyeh a key, and a few moments later she feels "a sudden sharp horrific pain in her chest" and falls unconscious.

The rest of the Maidens run into their cottage to find "blood everywhere, smeared along the walls and the floor, and lying in the centre is Sawyeh who has been expertly disembowelled, slashed to pieces”. Sawyeh regains consciousness thanks to Kara casting death ward on her before they left (honestly I would have chosen to pass out again rather than deal with that).

The immediate assumption is that Rem did this, because the whole hoard of the undead + dracolich was a distraction so Rem could burn the book of mazes and kill Sawyeh if needed, it’s also a massive statement and warning to the other Maidens a look what happened to her, stop this or it’ll happen to you too. BUT we then get this:

Something is very weird about this scene, all of this blood everywhere around this room, and you start to notice, looking on the floor, it seems to have made some sort of pattern. It looks like a maze. A maze has been made out of Sawyeh’s blood. Like someone has left you a key.

Looked like her chest cavity had been ripped open, so much so that pieces of her had spilled out onto the ground, and someone had painted a maze around her body on the ground.

They confirm there is no physical key on Sawyeh’s person or in the room.

And here are my thoughts with no finesse to them.

Why would Rem, who was trying to keep them away from mazes, make a maze for them, even if it was a statement, or warning, or even to mock them?

While I have no doubt that Rem is capable of eviscerating someone, it makes no sense for her to do it here because; there are quicker ways of killing someone and she’s probably trying to be quick, Mila is there and I’m 99.9% sure Rem wouldn’t disembowel someone in front of a seven year old she almost sees as her own child, and this doesn’t fit with how Rem has killed before.

Rem killed Kara and Baltana narratively ‘on screen’ (and I’ll be including Arafel in this too). Both Kara and Arafel died instantly with a very slim blade between their eyes. Baltana was killed in a single unspecified strike. Rem's general murder technique is a single quick precise attack because she's a rogue, and making a mess isn't really her style.

When Sawyeh tries to speak they find another wound "a very neat precise cut across her throat that certainly would have been a killing blow if not for the death ward" which is absolutely fits how Rem does murder. Further investigation reveals that the throat wound probably happened before the chest wound, leading to the assumption that there were two separate causes.

From the above I think the moment Mila vanished Rem cut Sawyeh's throat and the two of them left. Sawyeh then received the key and left the demiplane, her body being disembowelled and the maze painted in her blood. The blood maze gave her the ability to cast the maze spell.

I accidently posted this instead of saving as a draft and there is no conclusion, anyway. Defence against Rem having disembowelled Sawyeh ta-daaa!

There's a whole lot in these episodes I'd love to go into but don't have enough info, like what exactly was draining the pylons, Rem, the Avatar, or Valerius, and why? To what extent was Valerius involved cos he was totally involved? Where did the dracolich come from? The decision to trap Alistar in an antimagic orb instead of killing him?

#venture maidens #venture maidens podcast #venture away #dnd #venture maidens spoilers #if you want my opinions/analysis of any other scenes from any of the campaigns drop it in my asks #they don't have to be rem based!#i want to be three dimensional!#venture maidens meta #lovely and eloquent? maybe #analysing murder techniques? definitely #sawyeh noor #rem #mila shadewalker #fate spoilers #venture maidens fate

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inkofamethyst · 2 years

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October 19, 2022

[May 5, 2019]

hey let’s play a fun game: you dare me to go to sleep and i do it in under five minutes

[today]

That was from an old old old draft but I think it’s relevant. Also what was I so tired for in May of my senior year? The show was done, no marching band.. maybe it was those four APs I took? I think AP tests happen around the first week of May?

UMM. Paradise Killer?? The premise of that game is actually insane. Like, insane in a way that I can’t even consider how someone would come up with it. I do kinda wanna play it now though. And by “play it” I of course mean “watch a lets-play” naturally.

A fairly famous comedian came to campus for a show a few days ago and he was not funny lol (and based on what I knew about him, I (and my parents) figured it was going to go that way). Like, the warmup acts had me in tears with laughter, and I sat through his whole set waiting for him to actually, you know, not rattle off jokes I’ve heard before??? Half of the jokes were unoriginal lines I’ve seen online elsewhere, and none of them made me laugh so hard my sides hurt. I smiled, I chuckled, I left feeling disappointed. I’ve gotten better comedy from college students, from middle school honors students who didn’t want to do classwork. They were all like, two sentence buildup followed by a punchline and then a non-sequitur to another joke with the same structure on a totally different topic. Good comedy has a flow to it, it’s in conversation with itself... This guy just stood there awkwardly at points and openly admitted that he was thinking of what to say next. Granted, I am not a comedian. Comedy was always difficult for me to really grasp in theatre, I couldn’t do it. But this man gets paid to be funny. So.

Speaking of non-sequiturs, I saw a tiktok about how some girl was reading her journal from senior year and she was so filled with despair during college app season that she expressed that the process needed to be outlawed and you know what?? I’m with her on that one. Barring the end of 2020/beginning of 2021 which was a nationally traumatic event compounded on top of some personal stuff, the college app season was probably the lowest I’ve ever been from a mental health standpoint over an extended period of time. I’m talking months of bleakness. Something has to change, but I sure don’t know what.

Nowadays I’m not feeling that same kind of despair, I’m just tired.

I did receive another soft rejection today (they weren’t taking another student) which I much prefer to paying an application fee and working on a personal statement and then receiving a rejection that I could not have done anything better to change. Also I wasn’t very heavily invested in the guy anyway, so I’m guuci. The other dude I could be interested in at that department looks too close to death tbh.

Also it’s actually really hard to try to “fill up” my schedule with classes in case I can’t TA. Like I’ll need two more “real classes” when I register in two weeks but I simply do not have the desire to ~think~. Maybe I’ll see if I can take a real bioanth class through the consortium. But then I’ll still need another option. Obviously I’m hoping my Master Plan works out, but I want a solid backup plan just in case, you know?

Last thing, I’m currently in the middle of CR C3E36 and I think it could be the best Critical Role episode I’ve seen yet out of all the campaigns. I’ve been so smiley, so giggly, so positively joyful this whole episode, I just feel fantastic. I’m having literally so much fun with this. And I mean, there have, of course, been great episodes in the past, but this is sort of like a major crossover event, like Avengers: Infinity War, just an overwhelming feeling of :D and I haven’t even finished the episode yet.

Today I’m thankful that I went to the anthropology meet and greet today!! Partly because there was food there and while I do have stuff prepared in the fridge, I also love getting free food, especially when it’s not pizza lol (not that pizza is bad, just that so many events serve pizza because it’s simple). Partly because I got to connect with some of the people in my classes and they’re really cool! Partly because I got to connect with a professor for whom I would like to TA next semester, and I should be able to get a good section for that (aka not the 8 am ones). I’m also thankful for my mom, like so so so thankful and I hate the fact that I can be so neurotic but UGH I’m just so thankful that she cares for me enough to not turn me away or shut down my feelings. I’m also thankful that my ecoanth prof and my archaeology prof canceled class tomorrow (two class day!!)! I’m thankful that my presentation in archaeology went well (I think I might’ve almost convinced my prof that I didn’t do the readings the night before (but also he’s not the type of guy to care even if I did)). Last but not least, I’m thankful to finally have finished twisting my hair. As cute as the headscarf looked, it was getting a little old. I just wish sometimes that my hair didn’t shrink up so much, but ultimately I don’t mind because a) I have hair and b) I can do a lot with it and c) it’s relatively healthy. Lots of things to be thankful for today.

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jeysbvck · 1 month

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Hiii ♥️

hahaha nooo the ask game is in your blog! I saw it a while back and then I couldn't find it so I had to hit the search button on your blog for #ask game and it popped up 😆

Anyway I had a great Easter thanks, just with the fam and a lot of food! 😅😂

Ugh ikr. It's hard when you get hooked onto a book. I have lost sleep in the past cause of it 😔😁

You lucky duck ALL three of them just for youu 😏 I don't think I'd be able to to handle it either 😌

I'm sure you'll figure it out! (jealous!jey) hope you have fun doing it 😊 can't wait!

🐨

aaahh i found it!! i had to search tumblr but luckily it came up pretty quick!!😭 im glad you had a great easter!😊

oh im soooo excited!! it's a great way to spend my birthday honestly😍😍 and i think ive figured out the beginning, so hopefully the rest will follow!!🤞 ONTO THE ASK GAME😊

🍓how did you get into writing fanfiction? - now that is the question, isn't it?😭 ive always loved writing stories, but i had a hard time creating original stories (or more so, just fleshing out the worlds & "focusing too much on things that don't matter" as a teacher put it) & then i fell into putting celebrities into stories that i wrote (i'd use their looks, but always give them a different name) & then i started reading stuff on fanfiction.net & wattpad & kinda realised i could just use characters!!

🎲 what stops you from writing more in your free time? - honestly all i have is free time, i do not have a life! but its usually more lack of motivation (most of the time i'll open my wips & just stare at the document!), and also i watch tv while im writing up a draft, so i get distracted😂

🧸 what's the fastest way to become your mutual? - don't be a minor, & post any one (or more) of my favourite things! literally, if someone's following me, i check out their blog & if they're 18+ & they've posted ONE gifset or even fic of something i like, i follow back!!

🏜️ what's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work? - i truly love all (nice) comments, they validate me & make me smile! but if i had to pick, i'd say when someone picks out a line or snippet of the fic that stuck with them, or just telling me that it's beautifully written (because i really really struggle with finding the right words when writing!)

🪲add 50 words to your current wip and share the paragraph here. (have 58 words instead).

Jey would be the first person to tell you that when this started, he hated Sami.

Okay, maybe that was a little too much. He didn't hate Sami, but he didn't like him very much. He didn't like his stupid beard or his stupid curly red hair, and he certainly didn't like those stupid brown, puppy dog eyes.

writers truth or dare!!

#🐨 tag #shan shouts into the void #ask game #fanfic ask game

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the-letter-horror-lover · 2 years

Text

Red repeated.

"I know right?"

"she don't look like da teacher type."

"I know but she did teach me."

You were hoping the car would swallow you. This was one of the worst reactions you had ever got from someone. Please someone end this quickly.

"when did that start?" Red asked.

"When I was kicked out."

"that's kinda nice ta 'ear."

You looked at Red who had a fond smile on his face. When he realized you were looking it was quickly replaced by his blend smile.

"No funds, no school. I took care of the bills and Stitch worked hard to achieve her goals."

"it's nice ta know ya had someone taking care of ya."

"Could not have done it without her. Whatever Lilo told you."

His grin grew wide and he cooed the next words.

"let's jus' say ya sista ain't 'dickin' around."

You both laughed while Stitch looked mortified.

"Oh my god Red. You had to say that!"

"I like your humour Red."

"i know, made it maself. now go back ta sleep kid, so i can have a nice chat with ya sister."

You both laughed and the ride went on for the next few hours. Red seemed nicer now. He was listening to you and Stitch, making jokes once in a while. He was great with words and you enjoyed how he complemented the atmosphere. You would like to think staying with him for a while wouldn't be so bad.

The sky got darker and as you stopped on the side of the road for a quick diner you felt a strong presence behind you.

...

Notes:

I think I'm going to start uploading chapters officially on Thursdays. (I always end up posting them there anyway.)

[It's no 'skin of my bones' (/^.^)/ *runs away*]

Anyway like always I'm leaving you all on a mild cliff-hanger. The next few chapters are well planned out and involve blood, gore and the mention of rape. Please steer clear of those if you do not like that kind of content. I will put the top notes as content warnings.

If you enjoy this kind of content let me know. I also like chatting and if you have any suspicions on what happens next I'll gladly entertain you in the comments.

Now that all of that is done. Head over to my Tumblr . My ask box and dm will always be open.

Soon enough you will also get an alternative story called Moon, stars and Sun (MSS). These will include scraped ideas, Stitch PoV, Red PoV and many more.

Chapter 5: Oh...

Summary:

Finally I have come out of my writer's block on this story. I also realized that my writing style has greatly changed in the past year. Thank you for the patience of those who wanted to read this lovely piece of zombie fiction.

With this I promise to try and publish a sixth chapter in the near future. This fifth was really hard to write and basically now has ten drafts. I hate it but it is what it is.

Now on with your regularly scheduled piece of littérature.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

You saw Red tense up when you did. Both of you were preparing for a fight. A light chuckle had you turn around to see who was there. You heard a struggle happening behind you but the man in front of you had a gun now pointed at your skull.

"Nah, do one wrong move and her skull explodes."

You dropped your stance and raised both arms above your head.

"What do you want, Fin?"

He smiled and waved his gun around. A few more men came out from the roads to the sides. They carried heavy weaponry and had their fingers on the trigger.

"I want what I'm owed and you owe me your life."

He pointed the gun at your head.

"But I'm willing to trade."

You rolled your eyes totally baffled by his behavior.

"Spit it."

"I promise to let both of you go if you give me... that monster."

"what!"

Red tried to walk but you pushed a hand in front of him. You saw his sockets were missing their usual lights. You grabbed him by the shoulder and applied some pressure to it.

"I can't let you do that, Fin."

"Why's that?"

Two of the men came with Stitch in tow. Your sister snarled at them, shaking the touch of one of them trying to reach her ass. She pushed him off and he fell flat on his ass. She came to stand on the other side of Red. You looked at one another and you cleared your throat. Your sister took notice of this and started speaking.

"He's our prisoner."

"am what?"

Rule # 16 (opportunity knocks)

You applied more pressure on his shoulder. Your sister must have done the same thing on the other side. She went on explaining to Fin and his men how you had stolen him from a monster camp. If you hadn't been there you would believe her. She could have been anything she wanted with all her smart and wits. You smiled and nodded when your sister needed you to confirm her saying. She probably wanted to give them Red but with your refusal to cooperate she had to find an alternative. Stitch continued retelling the story until Fin was satisfied. Just to nail it in you decided to try yourself with one of your techniques.

"They'd probably kill us if two little princesses showed up on their doorstep but with some knights and their prince... Who knows how it could turn out."

Stitch opened her mouth and told you off for calling her a princess. He called out her poor taste in fashion and how it was probably the reason she had poor taste in men. She yelled at him that he'd be better off with you since he needs a princess. He blushed and looked at you.

Oh no, the conservation was steering that way. It actually worked. He was actually looking kind of nervous now when he stared at you. Stitch must have caught on to that. She went on and on about how monsters with their magic could kill you in a second. How their heavy artillery was needed. He asked why Red hadn't killed you both.

"He can't. He doesn't have any magic."

That's the most blatant lie you've ever told one but it should do the trick since Red didn't try anything yet.

"Fine, fuck I don't want these fuckers finding us. If you promise me eighty percent of the ransom. I'll let you both live."

Your sister looked at you and nodded. You walked forward and shook his hand. You could feel the grime and sweat from his palm.

"Where's this meeting?"

"The city of Hamilton. It's in between their base and where we got him."

He smiled and he looked more than pleased with himself. That didn't sit well with you. When you turned to look at your sister she also looked peeved by it.

"Good our base is in Atlanta so you don't mind spending the night with us?"

Were they bringing you back there? Their base is a death trap if you've ever seen one. Maybe with a bit of luck you can wiggle your way out of this.

"But Fin, we kinda told them we'd be here tonight. Can't you make an exception?"

Stitch nodded and you had to stop yourself from punching him when he came closer and took you by your arm.

"Well princess, I hope you know I'm up for negotiating your current terms if you are willing to spend time with me."

He gestured for his men to lower their weapons. He must have no longer felt threatened by you. He also had no clue what Red could or couldn't do.

"You won't mind joining me on our ride back won't you? We left on such a sour note last time. We don't want something like that to happen again do we?"

You shook your head but before you could move to get in your car, he took you by your hand. He whispered in your ear how you were going to come with him.

"Your sister doesn't need you. She can drive with that thing while you stay with me."

He had this deep voice which may have worked on other girls but you just found him disgusting. He abused of his power and tried to touch Stitch last time. You faked a smile and turned to Stitch.

"You know where to go. Lead the way with him."

Red and Stitch got into the car. You took Fin's arm and followed him to one of the cars that had pulled up here. He continuously grabbed at your thigh and you had to stop yourself from swatting him off. You continued taking in his slight groping since it wasn't anything too bad. At least this way you were all safe. You hoped Stitch and Red were coming up with a plan.

Meanwhile on their side Red was freaking out. She kept arguing on why she had to drive now of all times. Red forcefully coached her into using the car. After a while she got the hang of it. Red was surprised but he couldn't help but comment once in a while on things she was doing wrong.

"shit can't we jus' dust 'em all?"

"No Red! Lilo is still with them. We need to make an escape plan for all of us."

She started fidgeting with the clip of her holster. She didn't like what they had planned for you. The way he looked at you made her feel uncomfortable. Red looked at Stitch unsure on how to comfort them.

"do ya 'ave a plan?"

"We have half an hour before we reach Atlanta and another ten before we reach their base. Don't worry I'll have one."

He looked back towards the vehicle that were now following them. He kept thinking about what you and your sister had just done. It didn't make any sense to him. Why would you both stick up for him and not just sell him? He would have sold himself! He'd just have to stick around and figure out what made you both so special. Stitch ended up coming up with what Red believed to be both incredibly dumb but also the most effective plan. They talked the details over while nearing the city.

"Better put your hood up. Here they don't really like monsters."

He didn't argue, he knew that humans were just a bunch of racists. What he didn't expect was that she would flat out tell him.

"You wouldn't know but Lilo is probably coming up with an even more brilliant plan than me. If it wasn't for her I would have given you to them without a doubt."

"wow thanks for that."

He rolled his light and looked back at her. She seemed wise beyond her years. He felt a similar connection between her and his brother. Not that he'd ever tell her. She seemed genuinely strong and intelligent, something he didn't see in a lot of people. Of course Lilo was a lot like that as well but it's like comparing oranges and apples. They might both be fruits but in terms of looks and taste they are worlds apart.

"Lilo likes you by the way. I can't see what she sees in you but I guess it's because you are an honest asshole. Cause it's definitely not because you are kind."

Rude but he'd let it pass. He cracked a genuine smile and looked towards her.

"guess am one of a kind."

He winked saying the last part and Stitch audibly gagged.

"Never do that in front of me please. This is embarrassing."

She massaged the side of her head with one palm while keeping the other on the steering wheel. He kept commenting on her driving skill but she didn't let that phase her. She just nodded and applied what he was saying, after all. This was her first time actually driving. She felt some shivers when she saw how the walls surrounding their base were looking. It was like they were preparing for the biggest horde of the year. She took note of the terrain and all of their preparations.

You were nearing their base having entered the city a few minutes ago. You knew he wouldn't put you in one of his lower floors this time around. It would be too easy for you to escape. You have to make your plan once you are back on the road. With the number of people on this base making an escape inside seemed almost impossible. These guys were armed with heavy weaponry and they didn't hesitate. You and Stitch learned this the hard way last time. You asked yourself again and again on the most efficient method of escaping but you couldn't come up with anything. It might be a spur of the moment kind of thing. You never know with that brain of yours. You can usually act composed but once in a while you slip up. You had a feeling this might be one of those days.

Once all the cars reached the garage Fin got out of the vehicle. He told you to stay so you obeyed. You didn't like having to answer to the likes of him but that didn't matter to you. Right now you need a moment of calm to properly think and sort through your thoughts. When Fin came back it was with Stitch.

"Where's the hostage?"

"He's waiting in my office."

He grabbed your arm and you looked at Stitch.

"Would you mind if I check my sister over? Your knights rough handled her a bit too much to my liking."

He smiled and motioned for you to proceed. You shook your head and told him you wouldn't do that in front of an audience. He asked if you prefered his office. He also specified "that thing" would be there to watch. You knew he meant Red but didn't comment on it. He walked you through the halls until you reached a set of elevators.

"Wait, they actually work?"

"Of course they do! It's my most prized possession. Jealous now are you?"

He brushed your cheek with his hand and you endured. This time you had to play nice.

"It's really impressive. I love the looks of it. Although it must take a lot of electricity to power this thing."

While you were talking he had taken the time to press the elevator buttons and it was slowly coming back down to this floor. You smiled and tried to get your sister to join in on the conversation. She right out refused to do so and even gave you the silent treatment. It was probably part of her plan. She would be the type to try and instill doubt in between the both of you, or at least make it look like that. When you tried to reach for your sister's arm in a "last ditch effort" he smiled at that while you looked hurt.

"Don't worry princess. She's probably hurt and doesn't want to show that she's in pain."

"You think so?"

You turned towards him and started tearing up. He grabbed your hand and massaged the top of it. You let him do it this time and even smiled when he looked up at you.

Once the doors opened, that was all Red saw. You giggling while holding this motherfucker's hand. He had to keep calm. He knew part of Stitch's plan involved getting you chummy with this guy. Did you really have to make it that obvious that you were flirting with him?

He dragged you to his desk and you had to hold in a gag. He smelled so bad before. You asked Stitch to show you her wounds. She still wouldn't talk to you. She showed you a few bruises you knew weren't inflicted by his man but still you could try. You pouted and you turned towards him. You taped your foot on the ground and crossed your arms.

"I want the man who did this to be punished, my sis isn't talking to me because of him!"

You tapped your foot a few more to ring it in. Fin actually looked distressed when you did that. Maybe your sister was onto something.

"I want it done NOW!"

He tried to regain his composure but you could see through it now.

"Of course whatever my princess wants."

He snapped his fingers and the two guards that were in the room with the both of you left. Probably to give a few hits to the poor bastard who had "hurt" Stitch. You had to give it to her. Your sister was right about this guy's kink. You could take advantage of that. Your sister didn't stop pouting, maybe she wanted to push it and see how far he'd go. Hurting some of his own seemed excessive enough but maybe not for him.

Red was looking at this perfectly trammed narrative you and your sister had. It was like you had practiced it over and over. Or maybe you had. Your sister knew about your body count. Maybe she also learned about kinks and she saw a common link between guys that have the same kink. He just couldn't believe how bad this guy was biting your act. You had just pouted and asked that your sister get some monster food so that she'd heal up. Monster food is expensive; he wouldn't just cough it up. Or so he thought. A few minutes later a plate of monster candies and an assortment of other treats were placed in front of you both.

You were now trying to get to his pride spot. You wanted to stroke his ego for having so many amazing things. Was he a narcissist? The corner of Red's smile pulled up while admiring your creativity. He then made a comment on his metal baby.

"Why do you drive that piece of trash? I could get you a much better car."

He appeared so smug and you just bounced on your heels while looking at him. Red had to remind himself that it was all just an act.

"Really can we go see them?!"

You squealed and your sister turned her head like she wasn't already listening. She whispered in your ear, you took that little window of opportunity to sneak the key to the hummer in her hand. You walked elegantly over and whispered in Fin's ear. He smiled and looked at Red. Red backed away from the guy he didn't trust. Red was now on the corner near the table full of monster candies.

"Seems like they think you'd be a mighty fine pet to walk around. Let's get a nice leash to go with that collar you got."

You turned to fully face Red and he had this absolute look of disgust. Maybe this wasn't a good plan. While Fin was busy looking through his "special" stash, Stitch was pocketing monster candies and putting them in Red's jacket. You saw the light inside of Red's socket tremble. You got close to his ear (?) and whispered.

"I promise, I won't let him hurt you."

Fin came out with the leash and you took it out of his hand. You winked at Fin and walked back to Red. You brushed right under his chin and it was like his light finally came back. You lowered your eyes and looked at the leash. He followed your eyes and you felt like you could understand one another in that moment. He felt how sorry you were. You didn't know what made him react that way but you knew it wasn't good. You tried the leash to the front of his collar and walked with him. He followed behind you and you proudly showed off to Fin. What a dickhead falling for such a cheap trick. Well with a bit of luck you'd be out in less than an hour.

While you went down the elevator you had to make small talk and flirtatious remarks to Find. It wasn't at all what you had planned for the day. Red at one point broke character when you called Fin handsome. He just started snickering and Fin was about to hit him. So you thanked the leash close to you.

"Pet's can be taught to speak on command. Did you know that Fin?”

He had such a yearning look for you and just straight up licked his lips. You felt a shiver run down your spine. At least he was an easy target for you. Once the elevator stopped, Fin walked out and extended his hand. Stitch was slowly following behind. Everywhere you went dozens of eyes stared at you. It was probably normal for Fin to walk around with a girl like this. You just hoped you made your act sellable. Further down the path your host announced your arrival at his garage. Hundreds of cars lined perfectly. You feigned an impressed look and twirled around. You took him and squeezed his arm right against your breasts. You ignored his handful on your rear and squealed at every expensive car you saw.

He bought it. He was now giving you the grand tour and promising that any of these would be yours if you stayed with him. You continued making all kinds of comments. Saying how you'd need one with a lot of room in the back. He wasn't an idiot at least and understood you were talking about fucking him.

Your sister had walked away and was now looking for the car. Or that's what you were guessing. You entertained him while Red kept looking around. His eyes darted everywhere and it was now making you anxious. Fin took the leash from your hand and brought Red really close to him.

"Is he bothering you princess?"

You tilted his head in your direction hoping to turn his attention away from Red and onto you.

"Don't worry about him. I think you were about to show me a pretty yellow Mustang weren't you?"

He shot a look at Red and focused on you. Your monster companion was definitely wondering if you had a plan at this point. When he heard tires screech in the distance and saw his baby coming down at full speed, he smiled. He genuinely started laughing. Fin didn't like that. You had basically shoved him to the ground as soon as you saw Stitch was close enough. You went to Red who had dropped the leash from his collar and turned around to give the middle finger to Fin. You saw his eye light turn big at that exact moment when you whirled around Fin had a gun pointed at Red. Fin was aiming at Red and in that moment you couldn't think but you acted. You moved in the way of the gun as you were filled with [bravery].

Rule # 17 (Don't be a hero)

Maybe today was also a rule breaking day. You felt a rushing and burning sensation in your chest. The ringing in your ears didn't help. For some reason you were grabbing your chest. It hurt so much. Why wasn't the pain stopping? Your sister stopped the car and you looked at her and smiled.

"Finally took you long enough."

"Don't fucking "finally" me bitch! Red get her in the fucking car. You are driving."

He looked baffled and told her so.

"the fuck i gotta do that?"

She glared at him and pointed in your general direction.

"Know how to stop bleeding on human tissue?"

He whirled around to look at you and realization dawned his face. He shook his head and placed you in the back seat. Stitch joining you. You heard screams and shouts from everywhere around you. More bullets were fired. None of them seemed to cause any real damage. You looked at your sister and she had a worried look on her face.

"Don't worry it's just a scratch. I'll walk it off."

She swatted your hand that tried to reach for her face.

"Don't move, you'll make it worse."

At some point the car ride seemed too tranquil and you felt an immense need to sleep. You tried to fight it but all you could do was tell her this one phrase.

"Like the sun in the sky..."

She didn't have time for tears you'd make it.

"And the moon and the stars."

With those peaceful words you finally left for the world of dreams. Stitch looked kind of panicked and started to breathe heavily but after a quick check of your pulse she felt you'd be fine. While you were still under the effect of adrenaline she had time to take the bullet out. It didn't pierce any major arteries. She just hoped you'd make it.

Red on the other hand was sweating profusely looking back every once in a while and always looking at his rear view mirror. Those fuckers hadn't tried to chase after them. Probably too stunned. Red had the brilliance of mind to use a bone cage to trap the asshole after his initial shot. Stitch didn't comment on it and you were too out of it to realize. He scratched the back of his head and looked at Stitch. They had just gotten out of these shitheads' radius. He stopped the car in a nearby alley and turned it off. He looked back at you and your sister. She was offhandish but knew you probably needed his help.

"ya promise not ta hurt me?"

She looked between you and him and decided to trust the semi trustable character that was Red. He extended his hand.

"ma name's red."

She nodded and extended hers. Instead of the shock like you were given she felt the wrinkle of plastic in her hand. When she looked at it, a monster candy was placed in her palm. She immediately forced your mouth open and placed it inside. It instantly disappeared and she waited for something to happen.

...

She started getting anxious and Red looked at her. He shrugged and told her.

"s'not like she only needs one. i got plenty' where that came from."

He wiggled his brow bone at her but he was indeed handing her more monster candy. She took it and continued feeding them to you until the wound looked like it had scarring tissue. Red did warn her that if infection were to set inside the wound you'd be better with antibiotics. That's when both of them felt a deep rumble under their feet. They looked out of the windows and couldn't spot what was wrong. Red stepped outside of the vehicle and walked back toward the main road. When the bridge of his nasal bone peaked toward the street he immediately darted back into the alley. He was now full on sprinting which had never happened as far as she was concerned. Stitch panicked and when she saw Red reach for the emergency stairs he finally spoke up.

"ther's a horde of da fuckers. we gotta find high ground."

Stitch grabbed you and followed Red. He pulled down the ladder and had you placed safely on the first floor with your sister. After that he went back for the bags. This monster had the brilliance of mind to open the hood of the car.

"What the fuck are you doing Red???"

"makin' sure ma baby doesn't scream while we there."

Smart she had to give it to him. He climbed up and joined your sister and you on the first floor. He yanked the ladder up and you all entered through a window that had been left open. Thank you apocalyptic convenience. You were shifted onto the office couch of this building and Red started making rounds for possible infected. When he came back empty handed Stitch had to break it to him. You didn't have enough antibiotics to fight off an infection.

"how much she got?"

She sighed and looked at him.

"Three pills. That's a day and a half."

Notes:

Let me know what you thought about this chapter ^^ I'm always ready to answer questions!

Chapter 6: Welcome back

Summary:

Stitch and Red have to work together to make you recover from the wound. Hopefully everything goes according to plan.

Chapter Text

When you came back to your sense you felt an overwhelming amount of anxiety thinking about your wound. You flung the covers off yourself. You checked yourself over and found that your wound had been wrapped. You gave yourself a once over before deciding to get up. Stitch was sleeping while sitting. You took the time to take the previously discarded covers and wrap her in it. She must have been so scared for you.

You continued looking around for a clue on where you were. The constant noises from outside kept distracting you. You looked from the nearest window and saw what you had feared. It was like a tidal wave of them. Was Stitch okay? She had to be, considering she had carried you here. Or maybe that was Red. You looked around for the offending skeleton. He wasn't anywhere near from what you could see.

That's when you spotted the emergency stairs from the side of the building. You climbed through the window not without swearing a few times. This wound was painful hopefully you didn't tear any stitches open. While looking to the sea of undead you realized that the car was there. So you were definitely out of the group's range. You wondered how it all happened. It was still fuzzy in your head considering the hole that had been made in your stomach. You climbed up the stairs until you were all the way to the top. You couldn't help but admire the view. The night sky illuminated by the stars. It was truly a breathtaking view.

In the distance with his feet hanging from the rooftop was Red. He was contemplating the sky. You called out to him, he must have been too lost in his own thoughts as he didn't react. You continued walking to him and when you reached him you placed a hand on his shoulder. He jolted a bit and looked at you. You smiled and asked if you could sit.

"Thanks for saving me."

"don't 'ave ta tell me twice. jus' didn't want ya sis ta kill me."

You nodded and chuckled lightly. It had been so little time with him but you were already feeling closer to him. That's what the apocalypse does to people. You might have to permanently scratch off rule #5 (No attachments) or maybe consider him rule #8 (Get a kick-ass partner). With this you sat down next to him. You kept looking between the stars and him unsure if you should start talking again. To your surprise he was the one to speak up.

"ya told me ya know 'bout stars."

You nodded and he continued.

"cause i save'd ya, ya betta show me them stars."

This was probably his way of asking for you to show him. What a tsundere. Or maybe it was just the way he was raised. You had been at it for about half an hour when you felt the chills run through your spine.

"Hehe, I guess I'm , chilled to the bone."

Red snorted and you had to stop and look at him. You suddenly bursted into giggles alongside him. After a few seconds he calmed down but you wouldn't stop.

"uh, lilo? i think ya had 'nough laugh for a nigh'."

You weren't stopping and now he was panicking. He saw how flushed your face was and asked you what was wrong. You answered him that the sky was spinning. That's when realization dawned on him. You were being delirious. That must have been one of those human fevers Stitch was talking about.

"okay i need ya ta stop laughin' am gonna get ya your meds."

You stopped but only to look at him. You grabbed his head with both of your hands and placed a big smooch in the middle of his forehead. A deep crimson blush covered his cheek bones while you just snuggled against his forehead. That's when he felt it. You were so warm. That was totally unexpected and he felt ashamed for not thinking of your health. He carried you down the steps back to the first floor while you continued nuzzling his neck.

"she jus' delirious she ain't meanin' ta be like that."

"Meaning to be like what, Red?

Stitch was on her feet and had her arms crossed while looking at Red. Beads of sweats were pearling down his skull while he looked at your sister. He smiled warily and placed you on the couch. At this point your sister had reached over and told you to take two pills. She had explained to Red that one was to lower the fever while the other was to fight the infection. You had fallen asleep immediately after. Which meant that Red was faced with his thoughts and one angry younger sister. She tapped her foot and waited for him to speak up, when he didn't she sighed and asked him what had happened.

"she came ta see me on the roof top. we had a chitchat 'bout stars 'nd that's when i realized she wasn't ther'."

"So you thought it was a good idea to bring someone sick on a roof top in a freezing cold temperature.

"i didn't think. us skeletons don't feel the cold. i'd make a joke 'bout that but don't think ya much into jokes right now."

She was really annoyed but understood what Red had meant. Reasonably she knew you would be the kind to climb and have a chat even if you were on your deathbed. She went and looked through her backpack. Red stayed next to the couch where you were laying peacefully. Red kept looking at your face now that he had to coherent thoughts to himself. He realized how pale your skin looked.

"how much blood ya think she lost?"

"Enough to weaken her, why? The monster candies will fix her up won't they?"

He scratched the back of his skull unaware of how to phrase it.

"they don't replace blood."

Great so now Stitch had two problem on her hands. A need for pills to stop the fever and a need for a blood transfusion to strengthen your immune response. You'd basically be useless until the antibiotics kick in.

"I don't think we even have enough food to survive this horde. We need to think of a plan."

Red and Stitch brainstormed for a while. Since they can't go down to the lower floors, Stitch will explore the building. Red would go outside since he was a monster the undead seemed pretty uninterested in him. Stitch showed him a city map and pointed which direction he'd have to go. They also thought about moving you to a locked office in case zombies somehow made their way to the first floor. You were still pretty out of it and let Red drag you there. Stitch and Red came back with the couch and you crashed on it. Rendering you a pile of goop once again.

"What will you do Red?"

"I'll get ya supplies. da meds ya need 'nd if i find somethin' for blood i'll figure it out."

She nodded in agreement. Hopefully she'd find a few vending machines of the other floors. They made sure you were secure in there before parting ways. Stitch waved to Red as she saw him exit through the window.

It was now his time to shine. Red could get out use the excess magic he had built on this. He'd find you food, he'd find himself more mustard. He'd probably go to a clinic or hospital or something to find what Stitch had asked of him. He shortcutted to the rooftop and looked around. The closest rooftop was only a shortcut away. He made the trip swiftly and came upon a gruesome discovery. A couple who had probably commited a double suicide here. He was now really happy he stopped in that alley. One before and you wouldn't have had a pleasant night with the sky. He continued shortcutting between roofs until he was right on top of the supermarket.

He used a couple of bones to make a dent in the roof. The part he had targetted easily collapsing. He entered the alleys and quickly grabbed a cart. He'd make use of this extra time away from you to expend his magic. Not that he didn't trust you or your sister but the fact that someone could know how much damage his magic could do still scared him. What if you thought less of him for it. He had to keep these negative thoughts at bay. Your survival was on the line. He didn't want to go too big so he summoned some bones here and there knowing full well that if he made too much of a ruckus the zombies would pummel inside. He was surprised enough to see that they weren't already but when he looked at the entrance he realized why. The entrance had also collapsed at some point in the past, he'd guess month or so.

He fought and demolished the few infected that were inside. His nose cringed not at the smell of the undead but the putrid smell of fruits and meats that had long ago perished.He look for the canned isles and anything he knew you could make something yummy out of. Or maybe that was more of Stitch's thing. He'd find out soon enough. If he wanted to find common ground and work together with Stitch he knew he had it badly for you.

He continued picking things left and right. Even remembering to pick up hygiene products for his lady friends. That would surely work in his favor. Isle after isle is cart kept piling up. He couldn't believe how huge the place was. He kept finding things to add to the pile without knowing where he was headed. This would be more than enough to survive the herd and if not he could come back once it was over. He'd probably make you both wear masks so you wouldn't throw up anything on top of the already rotting food. He was getting rather annoyed by the lack of yellow gold. His steps and kills getting harsher by the second. He finally found his holy grail, yellow American mustard. He guzzled the first bottle he grabbed realizing only after it was emptied that he was falling into bad habits. He needed to keep his focus, after all you were waiting for him. He shoved a bunch into the cart hoping he would have enough for now.

His steps stopped when he found something he never thought he would. The giant sign with the logo of the national superstore brand. He facepalmed. This wasn't just any supermarket, it was a *super* supermarket. The kinds that had a lot everything and more. That's why he had felt so lost earlier. Red's attention snapped to the rooftop where some rubble had just fell from. That's when he saw a shadowy figure retreat.

"not happenin' pal."

He shortcutted to the roof and saw the man running for the escape ladder. A quick shortcut in front of him had the man stumbling for words.

"an' where do ya think ya headin'?"

"Holy shit they've evolved!"

"ain't a fuckin' zombie am a skeleton monster dipshit."

The man in front of Red suddenly turned red. Was he emberassed to have mistaken the skeleton monster for one of the undead. Red's smile grew wide as he took a step forward.

"listen 'ere. i ain't got time to spare. i got a sick human an' unless ya a doc or somethin' ya not worth my time."

His eyes grew wide as Red got closer with a summoned bone in his hand. This was just getting the anger out. If he's helpful he'll play along with Red if not, good bye little man. The man cowered behind his baton and Red took sick pleasure in watching his face twist with horror.

"No! Don't hurt daddy!"

A little figure popped out of the shadow and rushed to her father's side. The little dark head of hair stood firmly in front of Red giving him the stink eye. He stared at their soul and was quite shocked what awaited him. The father was a kindness soul with no LV to his name while the daughter was a determination soul. He looked to her small frame and was reminded of his Frisk.

"tch, i guess ya get to live 'nother day."

He started walking away when the little girl grabbed him by his jacket. He went to swat her away but she held firm to him. Not wanting to put up with the little human he glared at her dad. The little kid shook him by his coat and spoke up.

"Daddy isn't a doctor but mommy is! If you help us, mommy will help you."

"Tina! I'm sorry Mister skeleton. We'll get out of your way."

Tina shook her head. She held firm to Red's coat and looked him straight in his lights.

"We need food! If you go and get us food from down there, mommy will treat your friend!"

Red looked at the little girl and her father. He sighed.

"fine, ya get what ya want an' i get what i want."

He ruffled the child's head and the small one finally let go of him. She stood proudly by her father's side while the father tried to give his daughter a lecture. Red just shortcutted back inside the market and took another cart. He went and gathered the same kind of thing he had gotten for him and the girls except no mustard this time around. He shortcutted back to the rooftop with both carts. The little girl jumped and danced around while Red went to talk to the dad.

"ya wife, she's for real?"

"Yes, although she isn't mentally stable right now. She doesn't know about the apocalypse and I've been sheltering her from it."

"ya think that's helping her?"

He shook his head.

"No but it's the best I can do. Last time I tried she almost killed Tina to protect her."

He gestured to the child.

"How old even is she?"

"I'm 7. Daddy says my birthday is when the leaves fall off the trees."

Red commented on how clever the child was before turning to the father. He asked what was the plan if she didn't know the world was in shambles, how they would make her believe in their cause.

"We'll have to play pretend. That's how I usually move her around."

He turned to his daughter who looked back at him with joy in his eyes.

"We get to play pretend! What's the game this time?"

He looked Red up and down and an idea seem to sprout. He asked the skeleton not to get offended about his next request. Red said he would try his best.

"I think a pretend mafia scenario works best here."

Red gave him a side eye look before the father explained himself.

"You have to hold my daughter hostage until we treat your precious person. Does that make sense? We can say you kidnapped us and will only release us once that person is treated."

Red knew Stitch wouldn't like that plan. He'll he didn't like it either.

"Does the pretend plan work well?"

Tina nodded and got close to him. She gestured for him to lower himself which he did begrudgingly. She whispered in his ear cavity.

"If we play pretend mommy never gets mad."

He sighed. The problem was moving them around now. That's when he realized. How did they even get around with the horde under their feet. He voiced those thoughts and that's when the little girl showed a plank bridge linking the supermarket to the next roof over.

"Daddy is an engineer. He makes cool stuff."

Red nodded and left his cart there. He followed them with their cart and shortcutted from roof to roof until the father asked him to wait. He entered the complex and that's when he saw it looked brand new. No mold, no dust, it's like this place was apocalypse free. He whistled which caught the attention of someone. The little girl asked to climb in Red's arms and he silently took her.

"Honey, did you bring home company. I haven't had time to make dinner yet."

The father whispered in his ear.

"Hit me. Trust me it will work."

Red looked at him completely incredulous but decided to believe the man. So he punched him right in the guts. He wretch but didn't throw up. What a strong resolve. The wife heard him and went to look for her husband.

"Hailey, stay there!"

The wife stopped barely inches away from the door Red and the duo were at. She screamed and called for her husband's name.

"Robbie! What did he do to you?"

"Stay back Hailey and listen to him. He just needs you to help his friend. He promised to let us go if you help."

She looked startled but saw her daughter in Red's arms.

"You kidnap little girls to get what you want how despicable."

Red didn't let it affect him.

"ya want ya family back or not?"

She moved back but didn't move anymore. He saw her fist shake in anger but she steadied herself.

"What do you need from me."

#undertale

0 notes

remember-to-be-gentle · 3 years

Note

what about reader summoning a demon in desperation after losing their job but they summon the wrong one? (Enji? Madara? Dabi? Miruko? Up to u it could be any1)

I made a header for this fic because it kept getting buried in my drafts also this fic is for you demon tail fuckers.

Subject: BNHA, Demon!Dabi aka Touya Todoroki

Title: How Much Does a Pound of Flesh Cost? (NSFW, fem reader)

Trigger Warning: Murder, demon summoning, workplace harassment, non con, cannibalism, loss of virginity/bad women’s anatomy, tail penetration, blood, crying, reader is in pain multiple times

You couldn’t take it anymore. The harassment, the taunting, the rumors. HR didn’t help and God knew if your lazy as hell boss was going to so much as glance in the direction of your problems. So you’d had to turn to other means.

It was a last resort, you’d told yourself that over and over again, only to be used if there was no other option. You couldn’t leave the job, it paid too well and no where would hire someone who quit after just three months on the job. Wiping tears out of your eyes, you drew the last parts of the upside pentagram on your hardwood floors, the chalk coming off in puffy chunks.

The upside down pentagram was ugly, no lines straight or even, but it should work, after all, summoning a demon didn’t require artistic talent, just desire. You grabbed the demon summoning book you’d gotten off Amazon and flipped to the page you’d bookmarked with sticky tabs and dried tears. In broken Latin and probably the worst accent ever, you read the words you’d only spoken in your fantasies and closed your eyes.

There was power in them, you could tell, though you weren’t sure exactly how much power would come from them. And just as quickly as the power had built, it crashed. Terrified your eyes shot open, fear gripping your heart. Had you failed? Did you really fail in your final attempt to save yourself?

And then you saw it.

Him.

The demon in the circle.

He smirked at you from where he laid in the chalk, hair so dark red it was black, eyes blue as the hottest part of the flame, skin either charred in patches or pale and smooth, staples keeping it all together. Two bull-like horns grew from his head and a long devil’s tail whipped about behind him. “Hey, doll,” he said, “what can I do you for?”

You’d prepared yourself for this. Demons were tricky with their words and quick to act, it was best to find out what they wanted before you told them why they were summoned. “Tell me what I have to pay first.”

“Doll,” he groaned, his body rising like a rag doll. His head flopped forward, those burning blue eyes zeroing in on you, “I can’t bill you if you don’t tell me what you want.”

Shit, maybe you didn’t have the edge you thought you did. You swallowed and said, “I want... I want to make my coworkers suffer like they made me suffer. I want them to hurt—on the inside! I don’t want to see them bleed out or anything...”

The demon made a rumbling noise, your apartment shaking with him, picture frames rattling and furniture shaking. “You wish for them experience the same pain you did, pain that’s on the inside...” He drifted closer to you, an electric aura of malice surrounding him, “And you don’t want to see them bleed. Tricky, tricky.” His tail whipped again. “I think I would like my price to be...” He stopped right in front of you and smiled wide, showing off sharp canines built for tearing flesh, “My price will be your mucous.”

You blinked. “My mucous?”

He whipped his tail again, the tip of it suddenly right at your nose. “If you agree to the terms then eat of my flesh and your will shall become mine.”

“Wait,” your mind was steal reeling from his price and now he wanted you bite his tail off? The book hadn’t said anything about this.

“Every second you hesitate,” the demon growled, “is another second of your torment. Eat and be fulfilled.”

“Fine, okay.” He really wasn’t giving you time to think about this. You opened your mouth and he thrust in his tail, hard, the tip making it halfway down your throat, choking you for as heat crowded your face. For several swollen seconds you stayed there choking on his tail before instinct had you slamming your teeth down.

The tail snapped apart easily, the taste of pig skin a ghost on your tongue as the tail dropped down your esophagus and into your stomach. The weight of your deal hung heavily in your belly.

Heat erupted from your stomach, the taste of smoke overpowering your senses, burning your nose until you collapsed on the floor gasping for breath. Tears spilled over down your cheeks, carrying with it the sensation of burning, as if you’d been consumed in hellfire. The weight of the demon’s tail vanished.

When you finally caught your breath, you saw the demon was gone, leaving no trace behind except for the chalk circle that had been reshaped to read D̦̠̝̻̱̦̮̲̫̅̃́͂̈́͢͝͞Ȧ̸̧̫̠̦̬̞͛̽͐͆͜͝B̵̝̼̗̠̺̳̓̈͌͊̔͊́̀͞I̵͎͔͔͍̫͛̊̏͘͜͠.

*******************************************************************************************

With no idea when the demon would come back for his payment, you were left with no choice but to go to work. Your stomach twisted in terrorized knots. You didn’t want to confront them, look them in the eye and know that their hatred wouldn’t vanish without demonic intervention, but you’d used all your sick days and your rent wouldn’t pay itself.

The building was empty, which wasn’t unusual this early in the morning, though it concerned you the security guards weren’t in their places. You got into the elevator and took a deep breath. Alright,

You slowly entered the office and noticed first the silence. No fingers clacking keyboards. No rising bubbles from the water cooler. No idle chatter. No one seated in their cubicle. Nothing. Not even security making their rounds.

As you walked through the maze of cubicles, a terrible stench invaded your nostrils, making your stomach twist. It was coming from the board room. You slowly made your way over, bile lapping at the back of your throat with each step closer, nausea swelling in your skull until you were dizzy. The carpet had claw marks coming from all over the office, as if something had been dragged away. Some cubicle walls were smashed or broken. You kept walking toward the smell.

And then you saw it.

Inside the glass meeting room, surrounding the large wooden table, were all your coworkers. Not a single one of them so much as twitched, their skin was purple and blotchy, nearly black in some spots. Internal bleeding, you recognized immediately, they’d either been beaten so bad their organs ruptured or something inside them had been torn them apart. Either way you needed to get out of—

“Hey doll,” Dabi the demon slithered out from the shadows, his voice making the room rumble like he had in your house, “like what I’ve done with the place?”

You stared at him in horror. “You... you did this?”

“I did,” he floated toward the table, newly regrown tail whipping behind him, “and it was fun, too. Its been a while since I’ve been asked to kill without leaving a trace. You’re a surprisingly naughty girl.”

“No! I didn’t want you to kill them! I wanted them to hurt like I did—”

“Doll.” His voice terrorized you and forced you still, a demonic force so dark and ugly that your nearly vomitted. “You asked me to hurt them like they hurt you. You understand I can’t make them feel anything that isn’t...” He ran a blue fingernail over one of your coworkers darkened faces, “physical.” He wrapped his tail around their throat, shaking their head back and forth. “So I did what you asked, I made them hurt without letting them bleed out. All the bleeding is internal, where it’s supposed to be, and just like you requested.”

“No, no, you should have said something if that was the case! I didn’t want anyone to die!”

“But then you wouldn’t have taken my deal,” he pouted, releasing your coworker to approach you, still floating, “and then I wouldn’t have gotten paid. Besides, didn’t they hurt you so badly you wanted to die? You summoned a demon to hurt them after all, and even agreed to pay my price.”

His payment that’s right it was... mucous. “Why do you want mucous, anyway?”

He ran a hand down your nose and then hooked his finger into your nostril, forcing you to look up at him. Sharp pain erupted in your skin but the deadly look in his eye made you keep quiet. “Did you think this is what I wanted? Oh no, you poor silly, little thing. I don’t know a soul would have use for your disgusting boogers.” His tail whipped forward and slid into your pants, ungraciously rubbing against your slit, “This is the mucous I want. Your hymen.”

You tried to step away but Dabi hooked his fingers deeper, pulling up and making you scream from the pain. "You tricked me! I didn't agree to this!"

Dabi chuckled darkly. "Next time ask clarifying questions, babe." He sharply removed his fingers, letting you fall on the floor. He didn't let you catch your breath, grabbing you by the back of your shirt and throwing you on the table.

Your head hit the solid wood first, hard, marking your teeth rattle and skull bounce, the rest of your body forcing you to slide to the end of the table. A groan escaped your throat and when you tried to sit up, your face was just inches from your dead boss's. You shrieked and tried to scramble away, but Dabi pinned you down, one hand on your back, the other yanking your pants off. “Stop!” You screamed, “This isn’t what I wanted!”

You felt his tail circle your entrance, the tapered point pressing into your clit until you squirmed. It pulled your panties aside and felt the slick that had gathered, far too much for just rubbing your slit. It must have been some kind of demon magic that got him what he wanted faster. “This isn’t about what you want anymore,” he sneered in your ear, “your request is fulfilled, now pay up.” His tail slid inside you, suddenly much larger than you remembered seeing or swallowing, stretching out your insides as the tapered point met your cervix.

But it kept growing.

The tail’s girth continued to swell inside you, breaking your tight rings of untouched muscle as your core clenched around it. No matter how much you wanted to hate it, it felt good all the way inside you, reaching parts of you that had remained clean until now, and then the pain kicked in again.

The discomfort before had been an uncomfortable adjustment, slightly itchy if anything, but now it was searing, your insides feeling like they’d been torn apart and gutted. You shrieked, nails digging into the wood of the table. You swung your hips back and forth as if that would make him remove his tail but it only made the tip press harder against your cervix.

Dabi shoved your hips back down against the table. “Relax, I’m almost done.”

Each swell of his tail was excruciating, tears welling up in your eyes from the pain.

It seemed to reach a maximum painful girth, stuck inside you as your insides twisted. And faster than it had grown, his tail shrunk back down to normal and slid out of you. You could feel blood following after, dripping out of your entrance and onto the board meeting table.

Dabi started to lift himself up and you thought he was done, contract complete, but you heard him unzip his pants and before you could process exactly what was coming next, something new pressed inside you. It didn’t hurt as much as the tail, but it was much hotter, pushing all the way inside you until something warm and squishy pressed against your clit. Your sore insides itched and clung at the object, making you whimper. “This,” Dabi groaned, “is your tip.”

He pulled back and slammed back in, your torn core making you see stars from the sharp pain. His dick. He’d put this demon fucking dick inside you. You screamed and tried to thrash, but Dabi was so much bigger than you. So much stronger. All you really ended up doing was humping his cock and crying.

He simply ignored you and pumped roughly into you, his heavy balls slamming against your clit with each downstroke. You kept crying and thrashing and Dabi must have gotten annoyed with you because he growled, “You’re making this harder than it needs to be. Just stay still and let me take what I want.”

You choked out a sob, failing at swallowing the tears that slid down your cheeks and onto the table. With your boss’s dead eyes staring into you, you did your best to ignore the rough thrusting of the demon you’d sold your virginity to. You’d paid for revenge and lost far more than you’d bargained for.

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themadauthorshatter · 3 years

Text

... I’ve already made a draft of this and deleted it, but I’m going back in.

This is an AU of what would happen if Mareven was healthy and the end game.

I apologize in advance for any and all MareCal shippers, including myself.

SO! What happens?

Simple.

Everything remains mostly the same in the story except we get more of a doubtful and uneasy Maven as the story progresses, as in he hugs Mare a little longer and is genuinely perturbed when he hears about the ‘bomb’ that went off and looks terrified of Cal when he returns and orders Farley to be tortured. He’s also more hesitant to listen to his mother.

He still offers Cal’s legion to the Guard, but is a little sadder to say it.

THEN WE GET TO THE PLOT TWIST OF THE STORY!!!!!!!!!

Maven plays along, but, as he stands by his mother’s side, he mouths, “sorry” to Mare and goes for a gun on Arven’s belt, shooting him in the leg and warning him not to try silencing him or he’ll aim for something more vital.

It catches EVERYONE off guard, especially Elara, who’s about to risk having Cal or Tibe out of her whispers to get Maven back in line.

Instead, Elara asks what he’s doing and why, as she thought this was what he’d always wanted.

“It’s what you want, Mother. Not me. None of this is right. You’re already the Queen. What else do you want!?”

Elara bares her teeth. “Are you saying you want to live your days with a Red rat?”

Maven pulls Mare to her feet and pushes her behind him, keeping the gun at them, nodding. “I’m saying I'm not following your plans or listening to anything you have to say. I'll die before I let you in my head again!”

Well, wish granted because Mare senses the cameras turning back on and Elara lets Tibe and Cal go.

Only to force Maven to shoot her and Tibe, though Maven actually misses him.

Mare breaks free and they make a run for it, Elara shouting that they are traitors and to arrest them, though she does force Tibe to play the part of concerned husband.

Cal isn't in the room because he races after Maven and Mare.

Speaking of which, Maven leads Mare through the castle and finds a hall that goes toward a servant's passage, so they can escape.

Too bad there are guards that round the corner and take aim at them, not only for staging a coup de ta, but also for attempted regicide.

Cal's there too, aiming a handgun at them and telling them to submit to arrest.

They do and are sent to the Silent Stone cells.

Mare is confused and livid and doesn't want to talk to Maven, who keeps pacing and clutching his head and telling someone to be quiet.

Mare mentally tells him to maybe practice what he’s preaching, but wonders what the hell all that was when they were captured.

Maven sighs and sits down, back-to-back with Mare, and asks her how good she is at picking locks.

Her hands are for picking pockets, not locks.

Maven lets out a semi-bitter chuckle and regards that he shouldn’t have bothered asking because of course she’s better at pockets. he then admits that he’d been so scared of the cells as a boy, his young mind tricking him into thinking that there were monsters or prisoners in the cells.

Speaking of the cells, Mare breaks her silence and asks why it’s so hard for her to use her powers, even asking if Arven is close by listening to them.

Maven admits it would be useful to do that, but no. The cells are made of Silent Stone, which is basically Arven being there without him really being there.

Although she already knows what’s going to happen, Mare wonders what will happen to them, in the Bowl of Bones.

Maven lists off a firing squad, some Silvers, maybe some animals, and the fact that no matter what, the show will not be short; the people want blood and Tibe is going to give them blood, even if it’s his own son’s.

“Not if he can’t find you.”

Both Mare and Maven stand as Cal walks in, dressed formally and holding a set of keys to the cells.

Maven asks what this is and what Cal’s doing as he opens both Maven’s and Mare’s cells.

Cal explains that he’s already had to give Julian a head start and hopes that Maven and mare can do the same, can vanish into thin air before their execution.

Mare asks why they should accept the help, seeing as Cal’s the one who arrested them, but Cal counters by asking who’s idea it was to get them arrested, glaring daggers at Maven.

Maven has his own question: How does Cal know they won’t be seen?

Cal looks away and admits that he hopes there aren’t any Red servants that know how to fix the security system.

Maven and Mare exchange a glance and start walking, but Cal gets between them, shackles them, and grabs their arms, telling them to play along and make it convincing so no one questions anything.

They both do their best reluctant prisoners act up until they pass by Sonya, who inquires as to where Cal’s taking them.

Cal states he’s just taking them to get some cardio before their execution, seeing as how they’ll need every ounce of strength they’ll need.

Sonya spits that they shouldn’t and should actually fight with nooses around their necks so they’re easier to grab and throw around, but drops it anyway, eying Cal before she leaves.

Time’s almost up, so it’s a good thing Maven leads Cal to a servant passage, where they stop and get free, Maven getting his flame-maker bracelets back.

Maven opens the passage, but Cal stops him and Mare, telling them to be careful now, because if they manage to escape, they’ll be fugitives and will get hunted like deer for treason, Maven for attempted regicide, from what narrative that now exists.

They nod and thank him for the help.

Before Mare can follow Maven, Cal grabs her arm again, which makes Mare turn to him.

The two stare at each other, realizing what’s happening and what’s going to happen.

The royals will figure out that Cal helped them escape and will probably have him killed for letting two traitors run free.

Cal is the one who helped her in the first place by getting her the job at the Summer Palace, and now he’s saving her life again, this time also saving his brother’s and risking his own.

Maven shouts for Mare to keep it moving and Mare pulls out of Cal’s grip, backs away, and races after Maven, Cal watching her leave before closing the passage.

His face contorts with sorrow, regret, anger, and pain and he clenches a fist as he hears a sentinel shout that Mare and Maven are missing.

Cal shouts, “They’re this way!” and races down the hallway and away from the bookshelf, trying to make it look like they outran him.

In the passage, Maven leads Mare by the hand as they soon find themselves underground and under the streets, overhearing an announcement to keep an eye out for the two of them because both are armed and dangerous, Mare especially.

Maven groans at his father’s words and muses that at least they’re out.

Mare isn’t as relieved and asks what he was planning with his mother.

Maven stops in his steps and states that she already knows.

Mare does know, she just wants to hear Maven say it.

Maven bites his tongue and clenches his fist at his side, not turning to face Mare as he asks what will happen if he doesn’t tell her.

She’ll make him tell her, make him talk or she’ll shock him until he dies.

Maven tightens his fist but then drops it, admitting he and Elara planned on killing Tibe and using Mare and Cal as scapegoats, sending them to the Bowl of Bones, and having them executed to wrap up the story and solidify Maven as the new King, with no Scarlet Guard and no loose ends to ensure the story of Mare being a Red would slip out.

Mare demands he define ‘loose ends.’

Lady Blonos. The servant girls who dressed Mare as a Silver. Lucas. Julian. Sara. Mare’s family. Kilorn. Cal. Mare herself. All the Reds on the list Julian gave her.

Mare gasps at that last one, sliding down a wall as Maven explains in increasing panic and with his eyes growing teary that he was along with the ride and all for getting the throne the way his mother planned, but then he began to feel genuine feelings for Mare and her plight and no matter how much Elara tried to take those feelings away, they always came back. She did the same with Tibe, making Maven lose his love for him, and had semi-success with Cal, but didn’t fully remove his love for his brother. It also changed when they killed Blonos and the servant girls, and when Tristan died. It opened Maven’s eyes and made him realize that he was going to kill someone he didn’t want to die. he’d already lost Thomas and it was his own fault, but if he was the reason he lost Mare, too, he’d lose his mind.

Maven stops his rambling and joins Mare against the wall, admitting that he knows he deserves whatever comes next, but whatever does happen, he just asks that mare know that he is sorry for all of this, for putting her in such danger that now they’re on the run and risk execution if they’re caught.

Mare turns to him and asks if Elara has the list, if he told her about the Newbloods.

Maven shakes his head; the raid was going to happen in a few hour hours, so there wouldn’t have been enough time for Elara to look through his mind, write down all the names, and the find them in the blood base, so they have a good head start there, too.

After a minute of collecting themselves, and a glare from Mare, the two stand up and keep walking until they reach a fork in the path and wonder which is safer.

The only answer they get is a gun pushed against the back of Maven's head and a certain blaonde telling him to go right or she's painting the tunnel Silver.

Mare turns and sees Kilorn and Farley, with the addition of a certain Barrow we all still mourn, don't lie.

"Shade!"

Mare and Shade reunite, though Maven voices confusion as he thought Shade had been executed.

Shade explains that they tried and failed, making an example by teleporting in front of and behind them, saying with pride that no one's faster than him.

Mare is a mix of happy and sad at the news, but Farley brings them back and reminds them they need to keep going or they'll get arrested and killed.

Maven also gets put back in shackles, but acts as a good sport and doesn't burn them off.

They continue throught the tunnel until they reach a train, climb aboard, and get to riding, merrily on their way to nowhere in particular.

Back in White Fire, Elara slaps Cal HARD in the face and demands to know what he was thinking and where Maven and Mare are.

Tibe gets between them, but Cal admits that he didn't fully know what he was thinking, just that he couldn't let his brother be forced to fight when he's still in training. It would be a bloodbath.

Elara asks if that's the same reason why he also let Mare go, or if there's something he's not telling them.

Tibe also wants to know. He understands letting Maven go, but why a Red rat like Mare? If the people see her lightning powers and Red blood, there will be Hell to pay.

Cal's silent, but Elara solves that with a quick look into his mind, seeing all the moments of Cal and Mare being close and friendly with each other.

Elara asks Cal if he's more interested in dirt than diamonds and Tibe gets the picture instantly, upon seeing Cal's reaction.

Change of plan: Cal is getting his legion back in action, and an additional two hundred soldiers to locate and either capture or kill Mare and Maven. No more catch and releases or else it's Cal who fights in the arena and he'll have nothing but his wits to defend himself.

Cal pales at this and gasps that they can't kill him, because then Norta has no heir.

Tibe only glares at him and tells him not to fail before leaving to let Cal get his army ready.

Cal watches his father leave and is broken by the fact that he legitimately screwed up and that his father, as King, needs Maven, his own son, executed with Mare, someone who never should have had her powers to begin with.

Elara glares at Cal for a moment longer and also walks out of the room, leaving Cal on his own.

#red queen #mare barrow #maven calore #tiberias calore vii #cal calore #tiberias calore vi #elara merandus #au #ua #mareven #healthy mareven #I'm making Cal the antagonist and I'm so sorry #sorry to marecal shippers everywhere

35 notes · View notes

verfound · 3 years

Text

WIPWed: Festering Folder Edition: Legally Blonde AU

@mintaka14 asked about the Legally Blonde AU, which the Disco witnessed the birth of and was briefly mentioned in the notes for "Move Like Jagged". So. Yeah. This is the latest crack AU I've been working on. 😂

See, for my last project for those unit classes I had to take for work, I was talking about different reasons conflict can pop up in your kitchen and how to deal with them. And one of the ways to deal with conflict is by staying positive - you can't control what other people do/what happens, but you can control how you react to it. And that got "Positive" from the Legally Blonde musical in my head, which got me thinking who would be who in a LB AU, and...it all just ran away from me so hard. We have a Plunny Adoption channel in the Disco, and I dropped it there because I did not want another WIP, and the next thing I knew I was 1700 words into the Bend & Snap scene and no one else had adopted the plunny come on guys. 😂

So. Yeah. This is happening. I'm maybe a third of the way through the outline with about three scenes fully written out. 😂

The setup: Marinette is an aspiring fashion designer in her senior year at UCLA. Her life is all set up: she's going to graduate and marry her perfect boyfriend Adrien Agreste, who's on his way to becoming a lawyer and future president of the United States. Everything's perfect until he suddenly dumps her, claiming he needs someone more serious. He moves back out East to start at Harvard in the fall, where he's now dating childhood friend and fellow Snobby Harvard Girl Kagami Tsurugi. Marinette realizes that if she's gonna get her man back, she's got to be someone serious, too - someone lawerly! Someone who wears black when nobody's dead! So Marinette follows him out to Harvard, where she's...let's face it. The laughing stock of the school. But with a little determination (and the help of her super sweet TA Luka Couffaine, who's convinced she's not as Dumb as the others paint her) she's going to show everyone she belongs there - and win her Adrien back in the process!

So Marinette's Elle, Adrien is Warner, Kagami is Vivian, and Luka is Emmett. I'm putting Gabriel as Callahan, with the idea that part of the pressure on Adrien is that his father is this super successful lawyer & professor at Harvard who's expecting him to follow in his footsteps. (Also there's a line in the finale of the musical that says "Warner quit / Says he makes more modeling anyhow!", so while he's at UCLA I have Adrien modeling on the side and he totally goes back to it. 😂) Mylène is Paulette and Ivan is Kyle (the UPS guy). Rose and Alya are Marinette's Delta Nu sisters/best friends, and Juleka is still Luka's sister; Rose and Alya come out and the end to cheer Marinette on at the final trial, where Rose and Juleka meet.

Jagged is Brooke. He's being accused of murdering Bob Roth, his former label owner. He's innocent, but he refuses to give Gabriel his alibi (he was...getting...botox). He was Marinette's neighbor back in LA, and she designed his favorite leather jacket - so he freaks when Marinette walks in with his Estranged Son as part of his legal team. Luka and Jagged have a...tenuous relationship. Jagged is Luka's father, and Luka used to love music/want to be a rocker. He toured with Jagged for a year or two when he was younger as his opening act, but it really disillusioned Luka to the Music Scene. So he ended up pursuing law (thinking he could get into the legal side of things, and Anarka's always in and out of jail anyway so she'll need a good lawyer?), and finds out he's good at it & really enjoys it? It wasn't the career he thought he'd have, but he's happy.

I'm still kicking stuff around & writing the outline, but that's the bare-bones. 😂 And as much as I love the LB movie, the musical is one of my favorites. There's...guh ok I'm not gonna start gushing on how perfect the musical is bc we'll be here all day. 😂 But it is absolutely perfect, and this AU is going to be a blend of the movie and the musical.

Case in point: the song "Take It Like A Man", where Elle repays Emmett by giving him a makeover. It's the scene where Emmett realizes he's fallen in love with Elle and absolutely adorable ("God, I love shopping for guys - watching them change right before my eyes!" "...stop watching me change.").

As for a scene y'all haven't seen yet...I think you've seen a handful of sentences from this one? It's all new for Tumblr, but I think I shared a few sentences on the Disco. 😂

“Hey, Luka, what are you doing tonight?”

Luka looked up, his eyebrows lifting at the smile Marinette was giving him. Her chin was propped in her hand, her eyes looking over him like…well, a little like she was undressing him, if he was honest, and he wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that.

“Er…prepping for tomorrow?” he hazarded. “Big day in court? Opening statements? Have to make sure we’re ready so my dad doesn’t swing.”

She rolled her eyes, and then she rolled her chair over to his. He jumped when she laid her hands over his.

“You’re ready,” she said. She squeezed his hand, and he swallowed thickly as she continued to look at him like that. Why did his throat suddenly feel so dry? “Can we go somewhere? I…I want to do something. To thank you. For…everything, really. Please?”

“You don’t need to thank me, Marinette,” he said, wondering what exactly she had in mind. Maybe dinner? He was getting kind of hungry, and he’d be lying if he said he wouldn’t mind spending more time with her away from the law books…

“I do, though, Luka,” she said earnestly, squeezing his hand again. “You…you’re the only one who’s believed in me this entire time. You’ve done so much to help me, and…I just wanted to do something for you, too.” She took his hand and held it to her chest, pouting her lips and batting her eyes at him, and when had the heat kicked in? It was almost May – it shouldn’t be so hot in the old, draft library! “Please?”

“I…um��ok?” he finally squawked out. He cleared his throat when she hit him full-force with her mega-watt smile, hoping his face wasn’t as red as it felt as she squeezed his hand tighter. She gave an excited little squeal-giggle-bounce that had him smiling fondly. “What…what did you have in mind?”

“Well,” she said, releasing his hand and turning towards the table. She began gathering the files they’d scattered over the surface, tidying up. “You know I used to want to be a designer – you’ve heard Jagged go off about that coat.”

“His little frock star,” Luka snickered, and she gave him an exasperated little smile.

“If I had the time, I’d love to design you something,” she said, tapping the folders against the table to straighten them, She turned to him, hands on her hips. “But given we need you ready by tomorrow, that’s not possible. So, Luka Couffaine, I am going to give you…a makeover.”

That…was definitely not what he’d been expecting.

“Er…thanks?” he asked, because by the little hitch in his voice he was definitely asking, because he was definitely confused. A…makeover? But…why? Her expression fell a little, and he coughed as he reached up to loosen his tie. “I mean…it’s just…I didn’t think I needed one?”

And I was kind of hoping you’d suggest dinner?

“Luka,” she sighed, still exasperated. She grabbed his hands and hauled him to his feet before dragging him over to the fireplace. She gestured to the mirror sitting above the mantle, where he could clearly see his…ok, yeah, he looked a little disheveled, but they’d been in the library all day! He was expected to look rumpled! “Look at yourself.”

“I am,” he said, trying not to sound offended. She smoothed her hands over his shoulders, trying (unsuccessfully) to even out the wrinkles in his shirt. He tried to ignore the shiver that wanted to race up his spine at her touch. Focus, Couffaine, he thought. She sighed, turning him towards her, eyeing his clothes rather critically.

“Luka, you know I adore you,” she said, and he tried to ignore the way that made his stomach flutter, “but look at you. This is a high-profile, celebrity case. It’s going to be televised, and you’re going to show up looking like your only suit came from a Goodwill?”

“Hey,” he protested, weakly. He could feel the heat rising on his cheeks again. He looked at the floor and rubbed the back of his neck. “I have two suits, thank you very much, and only one came from Goodwill.”

He glanced up at her to find she had lifted one of those perfectly sculpted brows at him, and he grinned sheepishly before adding: “…the other came from Salvation Army.”

“Luka!” she laughed, squeezing his arms, and his grin warmed into a smile. He liked making her laugh like that. He… “That’s my point, you dork!”

Her laughter petered off, and she started fiddling with his tie. He glanced down at his outfit and tried to see her point, but he honestly thought he looked fine? Rumpled, sure, but that wasn’t anything a good tumble in the dryer or some ironing couldn’t fix. The gray slacks weren’t bad, and the white dress shirt with the thin, dark blue check matched his dark blue tie. Sure, his shoes were a little scuffed, but no one was going to be looking at his shoes. Marinette sighed again, and he looked back up at her.

“Luka, do you remember what I told you I did? Back at UCLA?” she asked. He nodded.

“You had a 4.0 in fashion merchandising,” he said, making her smile. “You wanted to design clothes.”

“So let’s just say this is something I’m actually good at,” she teased, and he frowned as he reached up to lay a hand over one of hers. He squeezed, making her look up at him.

“Hey…you’re good at this, Marinette,” he said. Her smile said she didn’t believe him, so he squeezed her hand tighter. “I mean it, Marinette. I may have helped you study, but all of this was you. You got Agreste’s internship all on your own. You went from the bottom to top of your class on your own. You put the work in, Marinette. You’re so incredibly smart, and you’ve got this…this…gift. You see things others don’t. You aregood at this.”

He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t for Marinette to throw herself at him in a bone-crushing hug. He stood there for a moment, dazed, but before he could move or think or respond she was already pulling away and wiping at misty eyes. She smiled up at him, and he wondered if it would be ok if he hugged her again. He kind of felt cheated out of the last one.

“Thank you, Luka,” she said, shaking her head to clear it. “Ugh, ok, but seriously! This is what I was originally good at – so let me shine, ok? Look. You’re good at this, too. You’re such a talented lawyer, and if Agreste gives you half the chance you’re going to blow them away in court – but no one’s going to be thinking about how brilliant you are if you show up looking like a bum. Luka, it’s…it’s me showing up to a costume party dressed like a bunny!”

He blinked at her, remembering all too well that night he’d bumped into her at the bookstore and she was dressed in nothing more than a one piece, bunny ears, and tail.

“The look is half the fight,” she said, taking his hands in her own. “Don’t give them a reason to judge you just because your shoes are old. Please? Let me buy you a suit. Let me do this for you, Luka.”

He still didn’t get it – not really, if he was perfectly honest – but when she looked at him like that…

“…ok,” he said, and the smile and second hug she gave him made it all worth it.

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rhapsodyinviridescentgold · 2 years

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hello! i'm an amateur calligrapher and mapmaker, and i'm in the process of drafting a map of your rivendell in NGCS. i have. uh. fifteen pages of notes, but also no real sense for the overall distribution of the village beyond "south-facing, in a valley" and a bunch of connections between individual locations. it's super clear that you've put a ton of thought into the layout, would you be comfortable drawing a rough sketch that i could base a detailed piece on?

hi!!!!! <3 first, take my admiration for being a calligrapher and mapmaker because that's so impressive!! i wish you all the luck with the craft you've chosen to love! okay, so! a) i got really excited about this ask bc!!! i have spent so much time!! thinking about this!!!! not to be a nerd, but i love thinking about the layouts of towns and cities in fantasy stories. and their infrastructure (if the ramblings about toilets don't clue you in)

b) before i share, do keep in mind that i am NOT an artist. i haven't ever been able to draw something more complex than a stick figure in my entire life. that said, i did work about 2 hours trying to make this look at nice as possible. HOWEVER what i lack in artistic talent, i shall make up for with explanation

ta-da!!! forgive my messy writing and the faded words in places, but i'll endeavor to explain so it's more clear.

i guess the general description i can give for the overall shape of Rivendell is: it's kinda like a comma? thick where the main buildings are and then gets smaller and thinner the farther from it you go. if that makes sense. or a tadpole! it kinda looks like a tadpole....huh...

anyways! first, there are four levels of Rivendell. there is the main level, where the Last Homely House and Craft Hall are on. The level below that is marked by the diagonal slashes and outlined with the weird braces-looking line, which includes areas such as the Barns, Vineyards, Farms, Orchards, and Apiary, as well as the Guard House and Stables on the other side of the main halls and the Craft House. you'll notice that the Craft Hall is on a distinctly higher elevation than the Guard House, yet the bridge that crosses the river next to the Stable directly to the Healing Hall seems to draw even. that is because i envision an incline starting from the Guard House going up so that it eventually draws even with the first level, but i was unsure how to depict that. the level above the main level is outlined with dash marks and a checkered pattern, where the Resident Housing is. This is, again, a natural looking elevation in my mind, as described in Chapter 16. the level above THAT is outlined in with a thick dotted line and more or less horizontal lines, which is the water processing plant for Rivendell.

so let's start with what you would see first when entering the valley. as you can see in the image, there is a diagonal bar, meant to represent a bridge over the river as seen in this picture, upon which i based most of my map of Rivendell on:

(i found the image on google and have no idea who the artist is. if someone knows, please tell me so i can cite them properly) see that singular bridge crossing the water? yes, that's what it's supposed to be. now, as we know, Imladris/Rivendell was originally a refugee settlement that had to endure sieges from Sauron's forces for quite a while--before they were even established as a realm, honestly. so i figure with that in mind, they probably have only one public access point that they allow people to enter the valley through, creating a nice little choke point if any invaders want to test their luck. there are, of course, alternate entrances and exits, but those are known only to the residents of the valley. the first building a visitor would come in contact with is the Guard House, which...well, has guards. It's in the name. This is where visitors are checked over and their identities are confirmed and so on and so forth. it also contains their armory and weapons storage. again, this is critical to defense as it provides a choke point to make it easier to focus fire. i imagine the building itself is likely two stories and surrounded by towers to give elves the advantage of higher ground to bombard potential attackers.

the ground would slope UP to the stables, where confirmed visitors would settle their animals and unload their gear and be greeted formally. they would be lead across this second bridge into the Last Homely House.

okay, so. the Last Homely House. as you can see, i've depicted it as a gargantuan structure, but in reality, i imagine it's not such a singular thing. rather, it's probably separate buildings connected to each other with bridges or breezeways or other paths. most buildings are about three stories tall. but it's mainly broken down into six parts:

1. the Healing Halls - where Elrond and Co practice their craft. located the closest to the stables for quicker delivery of injured patients 2. the Offices - where offices are and where all the work gets done to keep up the running of Rivendell. also where a lot of storage areas are. 3. ** the two little stars are where the biggest of the inner courtyards are, famously where Cyr dangled off a rooftop in Chapter 11 4. Guest Quarters - as it says on the tin, where Cyr spent half of one night in Chapter 12 before escaping again. Also where some normal residents of Rivendell live if they don't want to trek to work every day 5. Kitchens - HUGE. I SERIOUSLY CANNOT OVERSTATE HOW LARGE THE KITCHENS ARE. there's also ample storage for food here as well as the daily dining hall 6. * is the formal hall where the Solstice Celebration took place!

not pictured are the many, many alcoves and small gardens

in front of that is the Library. a truly enormous building filled with basically all the knowledge of elvenkind, painstakingly gathered by Elrond and everyone else in Rivendell.

in front of that is the Hall of Fire, where most elves gather to tell stories and songs. it is sometimes used as a multipurpose room.

now, at the back of the Last Homely House is where the earth slopes up again into the protected cove that makes up Resident Housing. an excerpt from Chapter 16: "From anywhere in the central hub, this place would be totally unnoticed, since the trees help disguise the path and the slope. The optical illusion makes it seem like the back of the main house is right up against the cliffs, when in reality there’s so much more space. For as hidden Rivendell is in the valley, the main residential area hides yet more people and buildings, of which there are many." again, this place was built with strategy and protections in mind. there are many single houses here and yet more house built into the cliff side itself. at it's peak, Rivendell used all of it's space to maximum efficiency, but as the Third Age continues and more sail west, these cliff homes are becoming less and less used.

now, if i may direct your attention to the braces-looking line again, you can see some parts of it are circled. that is to indicate the pathways that wind down further into the valley to get to the farming areas.

as you can see, the Farms are the south-most, enabling the plants to get ample sunlight. the Vineyards are north of that, and the Barns that hold the animals are yet more north. to the west are the Orchards and the Apiary bc elves care about bees. also something to note about these areas are that there are small hamlets in each area to house the farmers that work there. i didn't draw them because honestly, i forgot about them until just now. but!! they're there. because someone needs to watch the crops.

now there are two rivers that cut through Rivendell, and they're very faint on the image here, but to identify them: the first river cuts off the Craft Hall, the Guard House, and the Stables from the rest of the Homely House; and the second river cuts the Barns, Vineyard, and Farms from the Orchards and Apiary. a third river also cuts the valley off from the other side of the gorge, but we knew that already.

anyways, i generally think that Rivendell can be classified as a "town" and can support about 6,000 people with supplements from hunting the nearby Trollshaws and trading some goods with the Greenwood and the kingdom of Arnor and it's later incarnations. i keep going back and forth on the actual number of people in Rivendell at this time, but i think around 4.5k is comfortable to keep it running at this stage of the Third Age.

whew! okay, so this is very long, but i hope this helps clarify how i've depicted Rivendell in Nothing Gold Can Stay!!!! and if you do make that map, please please PLEASE tag me

#long post #richard talks #ask #kanithos #forgive me for nerding all over your dash #also for that horrendous map

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ronoken · 3 years

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WIP Snippet

Okay, so this story is fucking fighting me. I’m (checks) 72 pages in, and I feel like it’s mostly forced. I know that’s common with first drafts, but still, this one is rougher than most. Maybe it’s because I’m borrowing from myself here and there and that’s making me constantly compare it to another story?

Anyway, here’s a snippet from a WIP. This takes place after our hero has had her first rough day. Those familiar with my work might notice a familiar name or two, and maybe a familiar character voice or two.

Shut up. I like them.

***

Gina finally got a moment to herself when she removed the charm bracelet. Like magic, Annie disappeared from her side, and the bathroom was blessedly quiet.

The silence and privacy gave Gina a chance to finally reflect on what had happened. She stood in the steady stream of hot water and stared off into space as the fight replayed itself in her mind. She thought about Andre and how frightened he looked. She thought about how close she came to dying, the ghost lady who was egging her on, the whole superhero thing, ghosts, life…

Gina only snapped out of it when the hot water heater ran out of hot water to give. She quickly rinsed off and headed to bed, grateful for the day to be over.

As she lay buried in her comforter and dressed in her freshly washed pajamas (which consisted of some boxer shorts from Target and an old, faded PJ Harvey concert shirt her mother had tucked away in the back of a dresser), she held up the charm bracelet and lazily twirled it between her fingers.

Finally, after some internal deliberation, she slid it back on.

She didn’t hear anything immediately, but she did notice the room was now glowing with a faint, blue light.

“Annie?” Gina asked into the dark of the room.

“Yeah?” Annie’s voice quietly replied.

Gina kept her eyes on the charm. “You’re, um, you’re dead, right?”

“Ah yep. Passed on in ’26.”

“What was it like?”

Gina waited. At first, she thought that Annie hadn’t heard her. The silence lasted so long that Gina startled a bit when she heard Annie’s voice. It was quieter, muted. It felt to Gina like Annie was a million miles away as she spoke.

“…Well, I suppose you could say it was a relief. I was sick for a while, an’ the doctors could never get what was wrong with me quite down. Said it was anemia, but I was never certain.”

“How old were you?”

“I was sixty-six. I’d just moved back to Ohio after doin’ a lil’ revival tour and, well… Life happens, I reckon.”

Gina lay in silence for a bit. Outside, the muffled sound of the EMT vehicles pulling away could be heard.

“Did it hurt?”

Gina’s voice was quiet, even in the stillness of the room. She felt something gently press on her shoulder. When she opened her eyes and looked, she saw a glowing blue hand.

“No, sweetie. It didn’t hurt. It felt like, well, like when you’ve been runnin’ and runnin’, and all you wanna do is rest, but you feel like you just can’t stop, but when you finally do… You just let go. The world gets all soft around the edges, sounds slip away… It was like falling asleep.�� Annie let out a small laugh. “And then I woke up tethered ta that there charm. Guess I did a lil’ too well at runnin’, seein’ as how someone decided I should keep it up.”

“Should I take you off for bed?” Gina asked. She was trying to keep her eyes open, but they were so heavy, and she was so tired.

“Don’t you worry yourself about it. I’ll be here when ya wake up. Besides, it’ll be nice to stretch my legs, such as they are.”

Gina didn’t answer, as she was already slipping away due to exhaustion. She only mildly registered her comforter being tucked up around her as she finally drifted off to sleep.

#writing #work in progress

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cybiluncivilised · 3 years

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Yucky Dirty Medieval People

So, I posted a video about this to TikTok, in which my hair is awful and I framed it badly... I think the worse my videos are the more comfortable I feel putting them up.

I keep seeing videos and posts on how people were not dirty in the medieval era and apparently we're still needing to get the message across. I've seen a couple of people mention that Medieval People (people from an incredibly broad 1000 year era in history) thought that water wasn't good to wash with because it spread disease. This was a renaissance era belief, apparently, and we have very clear guidance on bathing and when and how to do it in the medieval era.

I actually am not a huge expert on this, but think it's worth discussing. In the parts of Europe the Reenactment Soc I'm in represents, bathing was discussed as a very decadent and vane thing to do very often. I tend to take the opinion that if someone was complaining about it, then people were definitely doing it.

I would really appreciate if someone who had better knowledge than me tagged me in a post that basically covers good facts and resources on this! I'd det it up for a scheduled reblog quarterly to make sure people kept seeing it because why are we talking about this?

It was a lot of effort to get a nice warm bath going and in the cooler places like the United Kingdom you were starting with basically colder water but people are recorded to have still bathed in rivers. People definitely sponge bathed often with linen cloths and towels, they definitely took measures to smell nice including wearing perfume and brushing their teeth. What they had and how well these things worked depended on where and how people lived, a lord might chew on a piece of cardamon for sweeter breath and a peasant would go for something more like mint.

I also personally believe what was considered "clean" and what was considered "moral" were very linked in those days. The line between being pious and being clean were a little blurred, I mean. Right now it's easy to see that being clean in a world of disease and infection is a social responsibility. A person who doesn't practice good infection control is a "bad person".

When I see more discourse on how people covered their hair as a religious principal it really hammers it home for me. Protecting hair keeps it cleaner, we know this. People washed their hair less often, but they covered it up because it's just absolutely unheard of, vane, unpious, to not do so.

Clothes

This is what I actually made my TikTok about.

I went on a pilgrimage with our Master at Arms (the person who inspects all the hard kit in our society) and we got lovely and muddy! I left my stuff with him, because he was going to wash his kit he may as well wash mine as well. Honestly, I was tired, lazy, and just couldn't be bothered to carry two bags home from his instead of one. I KNEW that there was a high chance he wouldn't do it straight away. I KNEW what would happen if he didn't. I feel guilty for putting him in that position but the repercussions are mine to deal with so that's ok. His stuffs fine so ladeedahhhh XD

People absolutely, completely, definitely washed their clothes pretty much as soon as they got muddy. Having sat and made this kit, knowing that fabric was more expensive as a proportion of your costs overall and that you'd actually want to look after these things, knowing the labour I put into these garments, I know no one would let this happen.

I'm going to keep working on washing these. I could pick up some materials to make lie from my parents, who have a log burner, but I'll give handwashing with a bar of soap a go.

This is, for me, a demonstration of how important experimental archaeology is. I could make a post on what I learned specifically from the pilgrimage.

Things I feel certain of, women probably wore winningas and I'm sure they pulled their skirts up, or at least their underskirt somehow. Just avoid getting mud on your linens, if you can. Wool seems to cope better with it in general, or maybe ours did because ours were all in brown and brown adjacent colours.

Winningas are long strips (like, 10-14') of about 3" wide, hemmed wool, secured around the foot and calves under or sometimes instead of shoes.

We did speculate that a lot of people would get more comfortable with a wimple falling off during a long pilgrimage but I'm honestly thinking maybe not, still. I think that people who wore wimples and veils and such every day were much better ta wearing them than me.

Anyway, my reflections on medieval laundry are flawed by my personal feelings. I strongly feel that someone who spent money and time making something, in a world where being dirty might make you a "bad person" but also made you look poorer and everyone hates poor people, would want to keep their linens looking as good as possible. Linens had the function of protecting your outer clothes from sweat from your body, so it may have been an accepted fact that they were just "dirtier", even though their smell deterring, sweat whicking, purposes only actually worked if you washed them quite often - like at least twice a week maybe.

Maybe I should do a few weeks in medieval kit, tilling some land and such. See how well I can cope, mostly having sponge baths, mostly just washing the linens. Hahahaha

Thank you for reading, I really enjoyed getting this off my chest!

(I spent ten minutes earlier editing this post before posting it and it somehow still posted my earlier draft FFS so sorry if you read this the awful time round!!! It's super annoying that it did that and I'm super pissed thank you Tumblr.)

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doctolka · 3 years

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Introducing the Wonderful, the Magnanimous, the Infallible D.O.C. Tolka!

Ok, ok. None of that's true. My apologies...

Introduction...

So... I'm seeing that a lot of my fellow writeblrs have these little blurbs about themselves and their writing pinned on there blogs... so, I guess I might as well make one myself?

Anyway. I'm D. (but you can call me Clowny McFearson for all I care), American (sadly), in my early 20s*, and for the sake of privacy my pronouns are whatever the hell you think they are**. My music tastes (are irrelevant, but) lie on this strange plane of existence that spans classical and hard rock. I wrote a lot when I was younger (can I get much younger?) but stopped because I was told I needed to focus on realistic things...

Whelp. I no longer give half a rat's ass about those hooligans...

So here I am, looking for support for my work. Obviously, this is a writeblr (did I already say that?). I mainly focus on high or epic fantasy, though I enjoy a good sci-fi, cyberpunk, what-have-you. Also, I do enjoy horror... just not horror for the sake of horror. So like, dark fantasy, I guess. Note that I do post things that might be a tad unrelated, but that I think are important. Or cool. Probably not gonna post many (if any) memes. Many apologies.

WIPs:

Current: The Flame of Imbanor***

This follows a wide selection of characters over my wide world of Adoana, as they basically try to figure out what's going on (because everyone loves a clueless protag, right?). The world has all sorts of monsters, and magic systems (and ya-de-da) and its own mythos (some of which is based heavily on folklore from around our own green planet), etc.

I've got (insert number of words here) almost 60K words right now, so I'm about half-done with the first draft (WHICH MEAN I'M STARTING TO LOOK FOR BETAS! [I think. I may be getting ahead of myself]), but the plot's kinda hard to explain... 'cause there's a LOT (actually it's probably really simple and I'm just dumb).

Other: Tales of the Champion of Peace***

This WIP is currently just in its "this would be dope!" stage, but it essentially follows an individual (a hunter from a Viking/Spartan culture) who gets exiled after they flee from a battle ('cause they're like, young) and wanders about for a bit before coming upon this thing called the Dream Well (kinda loosely based on the one from Nordic mythos) where they get a glimpse of the future through a place called the Transmortal Plane. This 'dream' sets them off to instill peace between the various sects of people that inhabit the planet, with all sorts of adventures along the way. It also takes place on Adoana

I'm planning it to be a series of short stories, hence the planning stage. Also I've written all of two sentences about it...

Wow! Thanks for sticking with me! I may, I think, be a tad long winded (this is where you say "Oh, no! You're just passionate!"). Ta-ta, for now!

*Subject to change. Time, you know, is a funny thing

**Also subject to change, if I ever get rid of my damnable paranoia

***Title subject to change (is this too many disclaimers?)

#me #about me #wip #writeblr #writersociety

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ikingsley · 3 years

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Ina x MC: Post New Year’s

Summary: Ina and Luna talk about their New Year’s celebrations and future holiday plans.

Warnings: Fluff, some angst.

Tag: @samanthadalton

Author’s Note: A little fic that’s been in my drafts. It’s actually the first fic I’d ever written, but I just decided to publish it (after changing the holidays lol). For context, Ina and Luna are close but professionalism!!!

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Ina sat at her desk staring blankly at the stack of essays she had left to grade. Despite the fact that she had much to accomplish, she couldn’t seem to focus. Her mind wandered freely; she remembered the lively discussion in her Anthro 101 class, her fabulous New Year’s celebration with Lilian and Charlotte...

Her face fell when she realized that her publishing deadline was for the following day. “Crap! Simon’s going to be livid,” she said as she ran a hand through her hair, a manifestation of her stress.

“Good morning Prof!” Luna said cheerily as she entered the office, bringing Ina to the present. The professor looked up quickly, grunted in reply, and continued to pretend to read essays.

Luna pulled out the chair and sat across from Ina, placing two cups of coffee on the desk. “What’s got you so indifferent towards me all of a sudden?” Luna asked. “That’s assuming I was interested in you in the first place,” Ina quipped. “Hilarious. Seriously though. Talk to me, Ina,” Luna replied as she looked straight into Ina’s eyes. She’s drop dead gorgeous, Luna thought silently.

Meanwhile, Ina froze momentarily at the use of her first name. Instinctively, she broke eye contact with Luna and looked around, only to realize that she was accompanied only by her TA in her office. It still amazed her how one night altered her life forever; how could she be so paranoid because of someone yet still be attracted to them?

Ina rose out of her chair and walked across the room. She paced around the bookcase, absentmindedly reading the titles of her collection of books. Luna looked over at Kingsley, noticing her changed form since before break. “You still haven’t answered my question,” Luna reminded her.

Luna was beginning to lose patience with Ina. As much as she tried to get Ina to open up to her, she still felt shut out from Ina’s life. Sure she knew a lot more about Lilian and Charlotte than most students at Belvoire, but then again, she was Ina’s TA. Even though Zoey pleaded with Luna to ask Ina about the status of their ‘relationship,’ Luna couldn’t bring herself to do it. She didn’t want to further strain their, for a lack of a better term, connection. Did Ina want to be with me or not, Luna thought for the umpteenth time.

Luna was lost in her own thoughts when Ina’s voice brought her back into reality. “I just have so many deadlines to meet,” Ina said wistfully. Her tired eyes stared wearily into Luna’s sympathetic ones. “I know you’ve got a lot on your plate. You amaze me sometimes, you know,” Luna said with a smile. “Only sometimes?” Ina shot back quickly. Luna chucked softly. “Come on, let’s get through these essays so you can stop giving me sad puppy eyes.”

The two worked in comfortable silence as Kingsley graded the essays and handed them to Luna to put into the grading software. When there ceased to be essays left in the stack, Luna appropriately broke the silence.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice your, uh, new figure,” Luna joked. “Hey! I had a good, satisfying break,” Ina replied defensively. Luna smirked but dropped the topic; she always thought Ina always looked great.

“Well, what’d you do for New Year’s, Professor?” she asked as she made small talk. “It was quite lovely. I was able to see Lilian and Charlotte.” “So what you’re saying is, you entertained Charlotte while Lilian had to do all the New Year’s cooking?” Luna retorted. Even though Kingsley rolled her eyes at her TA, she still had a grin on her face.

“I admit, cooking is a weak spot for me. Either way, I had a wonderful time. Charlotte and I read a lot together,” Ina remembered fondly. That kid’s gonna be the next Marie Curie, Luna thought. Though she admired Ina and swooned over her skills with children, Luna replied cleverly. “Did you make Charlotte suffer through one of your ‘anthropology dictates human life’ tangents?” “Given the fact that you wanted to be my TA so desperately, I wouldn’t complain about my anthropology tangents,” Ina said smugly. Luna could only hold her poker face for a few seconds, but quickly burst into laughter. Ina followed, and their full laughter filled the office.

“Anyway, enough about me. How was your break?” Ina asked. Luna laughed to herself before replying. “Well, I went back to the farm. And it was, well, exhausting. I was home for maybe three seconds before Papa told me I had to go clean the stable.” Ina had to cover her mouth as she cackled. “Talk about a crappy start to the holiday,” Ina remarked. “Stop it,” Luna said rolling her eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about Luna,” Ina replied innocently. “The dad jokes. They’ve gotta go, Professor,” Luna said. “Never,” Ina said laughing heartily.

Desperately trying to find another conversation topic, Luna blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. “I don’t think I could ever imagine you doing manual labor,” Luna said as she poked at Ina’s pride. Ina’s next reply shocked Luna. “Actually, my uncle had a farm in Upstate New York. We’d visit every summer and he’d put Lilian and I to work,” Ina remembered nostalgically. “It’d be nice to see what farm chores I remember from those days.”

Luna and Ina gazed at each other, lost in their own thoughts and frankly, each other’s eyes. Luna loved how open and warm Ina could be if she wanted to. It was one of the main features that attracted her to Ina when they met; she loved how free and light-weight their conversations could be. Luna hated the protective walls Ina put up in the name of ‘professionalism.’ She could only imagine what Ina was thinking at the time, but she knew that Ina couldn’t deny their connection and how much they just clicked with each other.

“Anyways, I’m going back to the farm for the Epiphany soon,” Luna said after their prolonged period of silence. “Oh, that sounds wonderful, Luna,” Ina replied dryly, still lost in her memories.

Luna struggled with her next question to keep the conversation alive. Her brain fought against itself. Should she ask? Should she just leave it as they were? I mean, they did make progress today, did they not? Luna decided to jump in with both feet and shoot her shot. She knew she’d regret it if she didn’t at least ask. Not to mention the fact that Zoey would berate her if she didn’t.

“Ina,” Luna said sternly. “Look at me for a second, seriously.”

Ina sucked in a breath and looked deeply into Luna’s eyes. She had an inclination as to what Luna would ask, but this time, she tried to force herself to not let her walls up. She could hear Lilian’s voice ringing in her head. If what you’re telling me is true, you're falling for her, Ina. You’ll regret it if you lose her, she won’t stick around forever.

Ina trembled with anticipation, and Luna finally spoke up. “I know we’re in a bit of a...umm...confusing place right now. Well honestly, I don’t even know if there’s an us right now.” Luna chuckled as she reached forward and clasped Ina’s hands. “Either way, I’d love for you to come to the farm. For the Epiphany. So you can see how many farm chores you remember from your childhood, of course.” The women smiled at each other fondly. “Really though, we’ve got something I can’t explain, but I know you feel it too.” Ina’s heart throbbed in her chest. Whatever they were, they did have something magical. “I’d love to, Luna,” Ina said tenderly. Luna’s heart filled with joy.

Both women got up from their chairs and met at the halfway distance. Ina’s eyes bore into Luna’s. Luna cupped Ina’s cheek and Ina could no longer hold back. She pulled Luna closer and kissed her passionately. Ina could taste the sweet coffee Luna had just consumed, while Luna tasted Ina’s bitter coffee on her tongue. The two were almost out of breath when Ina’s phone rang. Damn, they both thought, especially Luna.

Just when Luna had finally got through to Ina, she was interrupted. She angrily stole a glance at Ina’s phone, but it was face down.

Ina looked at the caller and shot Luna an apologetic look. “Sorry, I have to take this,” she muttered.

Even though Ina wasn’t whispering, Luna couldn’t focus on the words Ina was saying. Who could’ve interrupted their special moment? she thought fully irritated. It was only when Ina softly touched her should that Luna came back to awareness.

“Luna?” Ina asked as she placed a hand on Luna’s shoulder. “Sorry. Zoned Out. Who was that anyways?” Luna asked inquisitively. She wanted to know who had the audacity to ruin their moment.

“Just Lexi,” Ina replied. UGH, of course, Luna thought. How. DARE. She. “What did she want?” Luna asked. She couldn’t even try to hide her annoyance. “She was just asking about my upcoming paper,” Ina said evenly. “That and trying to flirt with you?” Luna mocked. “Well, I suppose. But she's got nothing on you,” Ina jumped in quickly.

Both women were surprised with Ina’s words. “I-” Ina began but failed to finish her sentence. A flash of recognition passed through Ina’s eyes, and from that moment, Luna knew the answer to her previous question had changed.

“I’m sorry Luna, I cannot accompany you to your home. I just...I can’t,” Ina replied, backing away from Luna, enough so that she could no longer feel the heat radiating from Luna’s body.

“I figured,” Luna said both irately but also heartbroken. Luna began to pick up her belongings, and on her way out of the office, she grabbed what remained of her now-cold coffee and threw it in Ina’s face.

Ina stepped back instinctively, but she agreed that she had fully deserved it. “Wait- Luna!,” Ina sighed. Despite the shock, Ina tried to follow after Luna to explain, but it was futile. Luna stormed out of the office and slammed the door shut.

Ina raked a hand through her hair and kicked her desk angrily. She’d done it again, just like Lilian had told her not to. Why don’t I ever take Lilian’s advice to heart, she thought falling into the armchair, letting out a sob.

#ina kingsley #ina x mc #luna garcia

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