I’m going to continue obsessive Johnny on lunch break BUT I need to get this out because the smut audios are smutting-
Serial killer ghost who’s all set to kidnap you, torture you, and murder you. He marked you from the minute you walked in the bar and bumped into him. Mumbled something he couldn’t make out, and then got dragged off by your friends.
He watches you get drunk, nearly abandoned by your more outgoing friends. Sees you make your excuses and head outside. Sees you rub your eyes with a sigh when you see that your phone is nearly dead - no Ubers for you. No walking either, it’s pouring and you’re not dressed for early November.
He offers you a ride. You hesitate like a good, sensible girl should. But you’re miserable and tipsy enough to take the chance. It’ll be your last.
You climb into his passenger side, buckle in saying thank you and then grimacing.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, I’m getting your seat wet,” you lament. “Do you… have a spare towel? I don’t want to ruin it…”
“It’s fine.”
You hum and settle in. Tell him a street (but no address, too little too late, but good try). There’s music on the radio that you tap your little fingers to in your lap.
“Oh, by the way - I think I bumped into you earlier? That was you, right?”
He grunts an affirmative.
“I tried to say sorry but my brain messed up and I ended saying ‘sorry’ and ‘excuse me’ and it came out ‘sarcuse’ for some reason? And then Addy yanked me away but - I mean, I’m sorry. Like, so sorry. I know i spilled your drink everywhere. If it makes you feel better, I think it stained my tights?”
He doesn’t know what to say, so he just grunts again. You speak softly for a drunk person - like you’re too aware of how inebriated you are. You sit quietly, shiver a bit in the cool air of the car but don’t ask him to turn on the heat. Just sit and nibble on your lip as the lights pass.
When he’s one turn away from your street, you perk up.
“Oh, can I get you gas as a thank you? Or like.., a coffee or something? I know you’re not a taxi service so I appreciate the ride.”
There’s a gas station up ahead. Curious to see if you mean it, he pulls in. You hope out, fiddle with the cap and the machine, rocking on your reasonable little heeled boots.
“Ooh, do you mind if I run in for a snack? We barely ate before going out.”
“Be quick.”
You don’t seem bothered by his shortness. Leave the gas running as you trot inside. You come back with granola bars, a bottle of water, and a muffin.
“Okay I don’t know what you like, so if you want anything I grabbed, have at it.”
He doesn’t. You’re careful not to get muffin crumbs anywhere, holding a napkin beneath your mouth to keep things tidy. Fold it up and shove it in your pants pocket to deal with layer.
The gas tank is full. You smile at him as you buckle in again.
“Thanks again for the ride!”
Hes going to take you anyway but… damn it you’re too nice to die.
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MDZS and asshole victims: thoughts on the second siege of the burial mounds scene
this post is not about morality judgments. this post is about reader sympathies only.
one rather clever rhetorical trick MDZS employs is putting all the more background "surviving victims of wei wuxian's actions" into one big angry mob at the second siege of the burial mounds, instead of letting them crop up anywhere else in the story. it's easy for a first-time reader to write off the guy who lost a leg at nightless city, or the guy whose parents died at nightless city, because both of those guys are being dicks. they're part of an angry mob baying for wei wuxian's blood--unfairly baying for wei wuxian's blood, because this time he didn't even do the thing they're saying he did. by putting these two victims into a mob of not just fellow victims but also unaffected individuals (ie. sect leader yao, who just showed up for kicks), the story can effectively equate these victims' grievances (ie. "you killed my parents") with unreasonable mob rule--even if these two things might not actually be equivalent.
the effect of this rhetorical trick, then, is that the reader can at once perceive the themes about mob mentality MXTX wishes to convey, and also effectively write off the victims' complaints. "yes, i did that to you, but i literally died already, what more do you want me to do? shall i walk on my knees repenting?" becomes easier for the reader to accept. and more importantly--wei wuxian's likability as a moral and just protagonist is not impacted.
ngl tho. it would be a bit more difficult for the reader to write off these victims' complaints if, instead of meeting said victims in an angry mob, the reader instead met these victims almost anywhere else. imagine if, instead of meeting mr. "you killed my parents" at the second siege of the burial mounds, we instead met him getting smashed at the local bar and crying about how his parents are dead. imagine if, instead of meeting mr. "you chopped off my leg" as a member of an angry mob, we instead met him begging for alms on the side of the road because his disability rendered him unable to work in a wuxia-esque setting. or imagine--if either of these background characters, overcome with survivor's guilt and trauma from nightless city, hung himself in his bedroom, and the next day his body was discovered by his 15-year-old daughter.
all of these scenarios are entirely plausible. you could easily include any of them into the story without changing the main plot at all. but suddenly shit just got a lot more depressing.
however, no such scene would ever be included in MDZS. the reason is that, as a work of fiction, MDZS's single most ardent goal is for us the readers to conclude not just that "we like wei wuxian as a character," but also that "wei wuxian is ultimately a morally righteous person." when the narrative focus shifts onto the people who were actually helped by wei wuxian's actions (mianmian and her family, lan sizhui, the few months of dignity the wen remnants were afforded) this becomes much easier for us to conclude; wei wuxian does indeed look like a hero. but the more narrative focus is given to the negative impacts of wei wuxian's actions--the more the "victims of wei wuxian" (whether actual victims or not) are given a face, instead of abstracted away by broad summaries--the more the reader might side-eye wei wuxian instead. every new victim given a name, given narrative attention that isn't just focused on making them look like an asshole, arouses the reader's sympathies in the opposite direction--and thus increases the risk that the reader might ultimately disagree with the novel's conclusion of "wei wuxian is a righteous person."
tbh, this does not seem like a risk MXTX particularly wants to take. instead, she's mastered the art of writing Asshole Victims.
which is an entirely valid writing decision, because imo basically every work of genre fiction out there does this to some extent.
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HIII can u do the prompt number 5 for floyd pls :D (romantic)
Also i saw that you eanted ppl to put 2 backup characters and prompts so my backup characters are lilia and leona and my backup prompts are the fairytale scene and the taste of salt :D (also romantic)
Take ur time and ty ! 😍
Tandem Bike; Floyd Leech
Content; Fluff, gender-neutral reader, established relationship
Content Warning; Swearing(?), semi-serious mortal peril /hj
Word Count; 650+
Author's Note; I hope you know how to ride a bike, cuz Floyd is no help in the matter! Hope you enjoy!
As a reminder, do not put my work — or others for that matter — into AI as it steals. Link to Masterlist
“I don’t think this is a good idea, Floyd,” you gulped, looking down the hill.
Floyd laughed behind you on the tandem bicycle, and you could feel the bike reverberate from it. “Ehhh, are ya scared?~”
You dug your heels into the ground, making sure that the both of you wouldn’t end up going down the hill without knowing where you were going. The last thing you needed was to hit a pothole or a big enough rock and end up getting hurt. “Not scared,” you huffed, “just thinking.”
Floyd rolled his eyes, “We’ll just be up here all day then! Come on, Shrimpy.” He nudged your feet, but you dug your feet in further, cementing the bike into place. Floyd sighed and slumped his head on your shoulder. “You were the one that wanted to ride this thingy, but now you’re gettin’ cold feet about it?”
You took in a deep breath. Yes, it was your idea to take the cute tandem bike you found in the shed out for a spin, but your cycling partner had never ridden a bike before, and you also didn’t want to crash. “Just give me a minute, okay.” You clenched your hands on and off the brakes.
Floyd just looked at you curiously, before a wild smile took over his face. And when you eased up on the brakes again, he pushed you both forward. “Minute’s up!~”
And down the hill you went. Being angry could wait for later, as your main concern was making sure you were both staying upright and avoiding the aforementioned potholes and rocks. Floyd was cackling behind you, helping you steer a bit, but mainly just enjoying the wind wiping up his hair and watering up his eyes. And eventually, you started slowing down, coming to a more manageable pace that didn’t leave your hands clenching for dear life on the handlebars. But once you came to a complete stop you exploded in laughter; a mix of relief that you hadn’t died, of pure joy, and the infectious cackle that was coming from behind you.
“See, Shrimpy! That was fun,” Floyd poked you in the back.
You got off the bike, legs a bit shaky from the adrenaline. “Yeah, it was a little bit fun.” Wait, I'm supposed to be mad at him! You could never stay mad at him for very long though.
Well, gravity is a thing, a thing that Floyd was not accounting for, and he wasn’t supporting the bike up, so he and the bike tumbled to the ground. And instead of sulking, he just laughed and got right back up.
“Wanna go again?~ This time I’ll steer!” He laughed, and hugged you, squeezing you gently.
You let out a long sigh, decompressing. “No, absolutely not,” you pushed against him slightly so you could put your hands on his shoulders.
Floyd pouted, “You’re no fun ya know.” There was no bite, he was just being pouty since he was planning on making you shriek as you both had no idea where you were going, but downhill, and downhill fast.
You hummed, kissing his cheek to bring him out of the dour mood. “And you’re no fun if you can’t go on little adventures with me. Can’t do that if we crash on that cursed thing,” you pointed your chin at the bike.
Floyd looked briefly at the bike before turning his attention back to you. “Okay, okay, okay, I got the memo, Shrimpy…” He placed a quick kiss and bite on your lips before pulling back with a wink, taking a look at his handy work.
You could feel the slight sting. His bite wasn’t sharp enough to draw blood, but it was enough to make them puffy. “Are you proud of your handiwork?”
“Mhm!~” Floyd pressed another kiss to your lips, but this time it was gentle, soothing the stinging sensation.
And you bit his lip back, deciding that you deserved some sweet vengeance.
Floyd pulled back, and the shocked look on his face turned into pure glee and he was doubled over laughing again. “Damn, Shrimpy! I should do that more often!~”
Wait, what?
~~~~~~~
Tags: @azulashengrottospiano, @eynnwwyjth, @hydra-sea, @identity-theft-101, @krenenbaker, @officialdaydreamer00, @twistwonderlanddevotee, @xxoomiii
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