#I am glad I have almost a year until I have to cast my vote for Prime Minister | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

parkersbliss · 4 years ago

Text

Together | Minho

pairing: minho x female reader

warnings: swearing? violence?

wc; idk like 1.6k??

summary: kicked out of the maze, only to run into the people that did it to you in what should be the safe haven. how ironic.

a/n: bruh it’s been so long I don’t even remember how to type me thing up there ^

request by: @elizabeth-brown

—

Hate is a strong word.

That’s why it was so perfect to describe how you felt about them.

You hated them, all of them. It was their fault you were cast out, left alone to fend for yourself. It was because of their actions you were taken, tortured, and then escaped only to be met with nothing.

Trauma doesn’t just disappear, and forgiveness doesn’t just happen.

...

“What does it say?” Newt asked, pushing his way to the front and grabbing the note from one of the other Glader’s. His eyes skim over the paper, mouth parting slightly before crumbling it back up and shoving it in his pocket.

“Newt?” You questioned with furrowed brows.

He coughs, extending a hand to the greenie, “welcome to the glade.”

“Are we just going to ignore the note?” Gally asked arms crossed over his chest.

Newt glares at him, “yeah, we are mate.”

Gally scoffs, “We’re a team here. I think we deserve to know what the note says.”

The other gladers nod in agreement, crossing their arms as they stare expectantly at Newt, you included.

“It said if we sacrificed (Y/N), they would let us out,” The glader who first had the note blurted.

Newt slaps him upside the head, giving him a stern look as murmurs pass through the crowd.

Of all the things to be written on a note, it was that. All eyes are on you, suffocating you with their stare and whispers. It was only a matter of time, wasn’t it?

“Who’s (Y/N)?” The greenie asked, eyes blown wide as he realizes he was trapped in here. “Please, I want to go home.”

Alby drags a hand down his face, “Keepers and (Y/N), meeting hut, now.”

The gladers watch as you all disappeared, their gaze burning holes in your back until Minho slams the door shut.

“Well?” Gally starts.

“We’re not sacrificing her,” Minho said firmly. “Are we supposed to suddenly trust them?”

Winston purses his lips, “They do supply us with food and what we need to live. We don’t exactly have a reason to not trust them.”

Newt rolls his eyes, “How about the walls they trapped us in?”

“We don’t have to be trapped if we let her go,” Billy said softly.

“You want to risk that?”

“Yeah, maybe. It’s not fair to us if we don’t try.”

“How many more people have to die before we’re free?” Zart questioned.

Alby exhales, “we’ll take a vote.”

The minute the note was read aloud, you knew your fate. It wasn’t something that had to be thought about much. Was it fair? No, but it’s not like you got a say in this anyway.

“All in favor, raise your hand.”

The only people without their hands raised are Frypan, Minho, and Newt.

“Then it’s settled.”

“This isn’t fair,” You protest. “What if they’re lying?”

“And what if they’re not?” Billy retorts.

Gally seizes you roughly by the arm, throwing you in the dungeons until dusk.

…

“You’re alive?” Minho asked, still reeling in shock. He couldn’t quite wrap his head around it yet. The morning after you had been thrown into the maze he went after you. He ran the entire thing until the cycle was complete.

He never found you or anything that even convinced him you had been there. It was almost like you just vanished.

But everyone knows when someone just vanishes, it means they were dead.

So he came to terms with that fact. He accepted it and tried to move on.

It was harder than he expected. After all, people only realize the truth when someone is gone. It’s not until someone is dead that people begin to care.

Miss you when you’re gone, didn’t care when you were there.

Cruel place, isn’t it?

“I am,” You said bitterly. You quickly notice that the group you had been in the maze with was reduced to almost nothing. More specifically, the people that had voted you out were gone. At least, you presumed that.

“Who’s that?” You asked, pointing to the brunette who had not been part of your original group. Two other girls flanking his side, it burned you from the inside out. Had they been part of the maze? They probably weren’t kicked out like you were.

He shuffles awkwardly on his feet, “I’m Thomas.”

“He’s the reason we got out,” Newt explained. “I don’t think we’d be anywhere without him.”

“But what about you?” Minho asked, “How are you alive?”

...

The night was cold. You had been too afraid to even move from your spot in the vines. You can hear them, the creaking and whining as they stomp past. God, you wished you never had to experience this.

You wouldn’t even wish this upon the people that cast you. Actually, you just might. You keep yourself awake, digging your nails in your palm every time your eyes get heavy.

Survival means staying awake, just a few more hours.

A few more hours…

And then you woke up in a lab, and that’s when things got worse. Being someone’s lab rat was certainly not ideal. You sat in your room all day, with nothing but a bed until they took you away, running all sorts of tests.

At first, it was painful, but then you just felt numb. Some people tried to fight it, but you’d just relax and let them do whatever it is they’re doing. You figured that’s why they tested you so much; you were the calmest.

There wasn’t a point to fighting it; there wasn’t a point too much now. Every day was the same, and although sometimes you missed the runner with a bit of sass, you endured this.

You didn’t know why, but there was a bit of hope. It was quickly diminishing but it was still there, a small flame that maybe you’d see him again; that you might escape.

And that day came. After what must have been a year of all this testing, WICKED had lightened up on you. They gave you full freedom, no longer locking you in your room.

But they made the mistake of keeping a door open, a door to the outside. You didn’t think; you just ran.

You ran until your legs gave out, and you were gasping for air.

You had escaped.

…

“I could ask you the same thing,” You said bitterly.

The people before you had voted for you to stay, and you should forgive them, but you don’t. They didn’t do anything to save you, to stop the others from throwing you in the maze. They stood by, and they watched.

They watched as you begged and pleaded for your life.

“I’m sorry,” Minho said, reaching out to you, but you back away.

“Sorry? You’re sorry?” You laughed, “Sorry doesn’t make up for being tortured by them, by having to survive on my own, to fight for my life because of a stupid note. Tell me, did they keep to their promise?”

Newt hesitates, “no.”

“That’s what I thought,” You spat. “Look, I’m glad you’re alive, but don’t come here thinking we can all be friends. You go your way, and I’ll go mine.”

They watch you leave, Minho biting his lip as he watches you walk away from him again. He can’t lose you, not when you never really left.

Minho chases after you, grabbing your wrist. “Please, hear us out. Our story isn’t that different from yours.”

“I bet her’s is, I bet she didn’t get kicked out of the maze,” You said, motioning toward the other girl and shrugging Minho off.

“We fought the grievers,” Fry said suddenly. “All of us and we were taken by WICKED.”

“And they told us it was safe, but it wasn’t,” Minho chimed in. "They tested us, some more than others, but we escaped.”

“Don’t forget how Thomas threw a gun at the guard,” Fry added.

Newt shakes his head, chuckling. “or how Minho totally kneed one!”

“Right that, and we escaped into the scorch. We lost Winston to a group of cranks, we found the city, and then Thomas was drugged at a party.”

“We took a guy hostage.”

“Grabbed his car.”

“And now we’re here.”

“Oh and Gally died, Minho shot him.”

“You what?”

Minho rubs the back of his neck, “it was bound to happen eventually, he killed Chuck, but you didn’t know him. And he was gonna kill Thomas. He also… killed you, in a way.”

The boys smile sheepishly, “look you don’t have to forgive us, not right now, but (Y/N) we’re here.”

Minho nods, grabbing your hand and you let him this time, but not without a warning glance.

“You went through a lot more than we did, but we’d like to take down WICKED together.”

“Together?”

“Together.”

— END —

#minho #maze runner minho #tmr minho #minho fluff #minho x y/n #minho x reader #minho x you #tmr minho x reader #the maze runner x you #the maze runner x reader #the maze runner #the death cure #the scorch trials

228 notes · View notes

whump-a-la-mode · 4 years ago

Text

Nemesis - Part 8

This one is... something. I was supposed to be asleep hours ago. The sun has come up. But it was all more than worth it, and now I am going to pass out.

Based on votes from last time, option B was chosen-- speak to Leader and Hacker. There’s going to be a little flip in allegiances this time around, and some questions will finally be answered! The choose your own adventure aspect is going to be a bit different too, this time around, but more detail about that at the end.

For now, I hope you enjoy!

CW//Drugged whumpee, confusion, nightmares, past trauma, murder, strangled to death, minor body horror (shapeshifting)

The wave of cool water felt heavenly as it washed over Villain’s throat. Even as the movement exhausted them, they drank every drop as if it would be their last, and, when the last drop was at last reached, they whined.

“There you go.”

The voice felt closer, this time, coming from behind only one layer of fog rather than a thousand. It was close, just like the warm hand, wrapped around their shoulders, keeping them upright.

Everything was so warm...

“Hero... Hero warm...”

A slight chuckle replied to that, the hand on their back gently rubbing between their shoulder blades. Making them feel like they had blood, like there was something inside them other than dry ice.

They had been so cold, just a moment ago, mind spiraling with something... something bad. What had it been? Had it been anything at all?

Did it matter, now that Hero was here?

“Yeah. Hero warm. Are you warm enough?”

“Mhm.” They purred. The silk webbing wrapping around them, that which had once been uncomfortable, restraining, now felt so soft. They could sink into it forever...

“Do you need anything?”

“Tired.”

“You want to go back to bed?”

“Yeah. Hero stay...”

“Yeah. Yeah, Hero stay.”

“Okay. Goodnight, Hero.”

“Yeah. Goodnight, Villain.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The warm body in Hero’s arms, hardly recognizable beneath layers of fleece and fabrics, took only a moment to turn heavy and limp, breathing slowly until it was only shown by the slow rise and fall of their chest.

Even as exhaustion tugged at their own limbs, even as they wanted more than anything to curl up in those blankets themself, they knew they couldn’t. Hero couldn’t stay.

As gently as they could manage, given Villain’s limp weight, they laid their ward down on their side. The unconscious person murmured and twitched as the blankets were readjusted, but did not stir.

Villain was comfortable. Villain was safe. That was what mattered. Even though...

Hero took their phone from their pocket, flinching at the blazing screen light.

Seven in the morning. They had hoped to be able to claim a few hours of rest alongside Villain, but their own worry had made that impossible. Now, it was already morning.

Hell, they were supposed to be eating with their team by six thirty. Yet, no one had knocked to awake them, yet.

Hero hauled themself to their feet, limbs aching and joints popping all the way. They hardly registered the chill beneath their feet as they made their way to the door.

Only for it to nearly slam into them. They leapt backwards, barely catching themself.

“Oh, shit, sorry!” Leader’s wide eyes showed that they had been expecting Hero just as much as they had been expecting them. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, you didn’t hit me.”

“Good.” Their gaze cast downwards, to the item carried in their arms-- a platter of food. Fortunately, none had fallen.

“Is that for Villain?”

“No, dimwit. I don’t think they could get anything down if you forced it down their throat. This is for you.”

“Oh.”

“When is the last time you ate?”

“Um...”

“Lunch yesterday, got it.”

“It’s... Isn’t everyone else already eating?”

“They’re already done. I told them you needed your rest. Thought you’d prefer eating in here.”

Hero shook their head, pointing back at the snoring pile of blankets.

“Can’t wake them up.”

“Oh.”

“I can just, um, eat out there.”

“No, you’re going to-” Leader bit their tongue, reformulating their sentence. “Um, how about you come and eat with me in my office? I haven’t eaten yet, either.”

Hero was in no way used to such a delicately formatted request.

“Sure.”

“Alright.” Leader nodded, handing over the platter, which they gratefully took. The two moved out of the room-- the former taking surprising care to close the door gently, so as to not make any noise.

The common room was deserted, thank the heavens. There were no distractions as they moved to Leader’s office. The chairs still hadn’t moved since their discussion last night. Hero sat.

“So...” Leader maneuvered around their side of their desk, seating themself. “How did you sleep?”

“Didn’t.”

“Not at all?”

“Maybe a bit. I’m not sure. Villain woke up and...” They trailed off.

“And?”

Leader had no need to know of Villain’s words.

“I had to get them back to sleep. They drank some water, too.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah.” Hero perked their ears, hearing a noise beyond the office door. “I’m surprised that they’re leaving us alone.”

“I told them to.” Leader speared a chunk of scrambled eggs with a fork, raising it to their lips.

The events of last night came flooding back.

“What did you tell them? What did you tell everyone? I thought they’d have been all over me once they knew I came back. They do know, right?”

“They certainly wanted to bother you.” Leader swallowed the chunk of egg. “I didn’t let them.”

“So they do know?”

“Kinda.” They straightened themself, playing with the food upon their plate momentarily. “I told them that I came back last night, and found you here. As far as they know, you escaped on your own, and Villain’s whereabouts are unknown.”

“And they believed you?”

“I think they were just glad to know that you were okay. And, y’know, not dead. You’re probably going to get hounded with questions later, but, for now, I made it very clear that you’re to be left alone.”

“Thank you.” Hero spoke half-breathlessly.

“It’s not a problem. You’re officially relieved of mission duty until you’ve recovered.”

“R-Really?”

“You need to rest. Even if you aren’t injured, you’re exhausted.”

“Yeah...”

“So, until you’re feeling better, let me handle that.” They took another bite, making Hero note the fact that they hadn’t so much as looked at their own food. Even the thought of eating something made their stomach twist.

“Thank you.”

“Really, it’s fine. So... How is our, y’know, secret?”

“Villain?”

“Duh.”

“They’re... they’re fine, I think. Still out of it. But, like I said, I got them to drink some water. And they seemed to recognize me.”

“They didn’t recognize you before?”

“No. I don’t think so, at least. They were really out of it.”

“Are you ever planning on telling me what happened to them?”

Hero had almost forgotten that Leader was in the dark about the whole thing. Yet, they were being so trusting. Hell, they hadn’t even trusted Hero when they hadn’t been lying to them.

“Um...”

“You don’t have to.”

It was the first time they’d ever heard Leader string those particular words together.

“But, I would like to know. You need your rest, and Villain needs a caretaker. I was a nurse once, y’know.”

“You were?”

“I don’t know if your surprise should insult me. But, yes. I can keep watch over them while you sleep, but it would help if I actually knew what was wrong with them.”

“Yeah.” Hero scratched the back of their neck. “Thing is, um, I don’t really know?”

“Well, you said they were drugged, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know that for sure.”

“Do you know what with?”

“About that...”

Leader raised a brow.

Hero let their next words tumble out of their lips like a waterfall, unable to stop once it had begun to flow.

“Villain has been kept sedated to unconsciousness for the last year. They were supposed to be rehabilitated, but they were drugged instead. I don’t know why.”

Leader dropped their fork.

“Oh.”

“I don’t know what drugs they were given. Just that they were sedated.”

“I see. How did... How did they leave the rehab facility.”

Hero diverted their gaze.

“That’s not really important.”

A sigh.

“Okay. We can talk about that later. Thank you, for telling me. Was there... Was there a reason? They wouldn’t just be drugged for no reason.”

Hero shrugged helplessly.

“I don’t know.”

Leader bit their lip.

“With everything going on recently, I hesitate to ignore the possibility that Director had something to do with it.”

“You really think so?”

“Maybe. You aren’t planning on eating, are you?”

“I...” Hero felt their face flush. “I don’t feel too well.”

“That’s fine. I’ll clean up. You go get your rest, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I’ll keep everyone away from your room. And, Hero?”

“Yeah?”

“Sleep in your own bed. I can keep an eye on Villain.”

“Thank you.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Collapsing onto their own bed felt like falling onto a cloud. The mattress curved, shifting to cradle their aching body. For a moment, Hero could not help but nestle themself in it, letting their pillow almost envelope their head.

Birds had long since begun their outside chirping, but that was inconsequential. At that point, Hero could have slept through an earthquake.

But, apparently, not through a phone call.

The ringing noise jolted them from their blissful repose. Without thought, their hand blindly searched for the vibrating device on their nightstand. They blinked against the screen’s bright light.

Hacker. A wave of relief filled their chest-- they were okay. Without thought, they accepted the call, placing the phone to their ear.

“Hero?”

“Yep. Hey, Hacker.”

“Oh, thank god you’re alright! Though you do sound a little bit like garbage.”

“Hey.”

“I’m just saying, just saying. Oh, you have no idea how worried I was. The news only just broke this morning. I could hardly sleep, last night.”

“I thought you were like, nocturnal.”

A stutter.

“I mean, you kept me up all day, so. You know how it is. But I’m just really glad. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m okay. Just tired.”

“You must be. The news... that wasn’t right, was it? They said you escaped from Villain.”

“The reports are wrong. I never got captured in the first place. But, I’m just fine.”

“I’m glad to hear it. How is...”

“Villain?”

“Yeah.”

“Fine. Really out of it, but fine.”

“That’s good. Look, I know you’re tired, but I just found something that... Well, I think you’re really gonna want to hear it.”

“What is it?”

“Not here. Not over the phone. Too dangerous.”

“You want to meet up again?”

“Mhm.”

“Are you sure that’s, like, a good idea?”

“Not in public like before. That wouldn’t be good for either of us, I don’t think. But I know another place.”

“Oh?”

“It’s, um, so, this is gonna sound bad. It’s this abandoned warehouse thing. And I know that sounds sketchy as hell, but it’s fine, I promise. I’ve been to a few parties there. The underground kind of people use it a lot, so it’s perfectly safe.”

“Um... Okay. Where is it?”

“Ashworth, on the East side. It’s pretty obvious once you see it, but the number on it is 62.”

“You’re sure this is a good idea?”

“Yeah. It’s not exactly, like, it’s abandoned, but there’s parties there all the time. And it should be empty during the day. How fast can you get there?”

“Um...” Hero blinked with leaden eyelids. “Does it have to be right now?”

“I guess it could wait. Why?”

“I feel like I’m going to collapse. I’m exhausted, Hacker.”

“Oh. How about tonight?”

“Tonight is fine.”

“Does eight sound good?”

“Mhm.”

“Okay. Uh, sleep well.”

“Yeah. Thank you.”

And, with a collapse onto their pillow and the click of a hung-up phone call, Hero was out.

Yet, as they fell into unconsciousness, a single thought couldn’t help but worm its way into their consciousness:

Hacker hated other people. They wouldn’t be caught dead going to a party.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“Villain?”

It was a soft voice, yet marked with a distinctively higher pitch. Villain stirred, kicking at their layers of blankets.

“Hey, Villain. Can you open your mouth for me?”

The voice was odd, yet warm. They blinked their eyes open, letting the world come into focus around them.

A figure, kneeled down in front of them. A face...

They knew that face.

Someone familiar. Someone they’d fought before...

Leader. Why was Leader here?

“You need to open your mouth for me, okay?” It was Leader’s voice, but not their tone. It shouldn’t have been that soft, right? Or maybe their memories were simply foggy.

Regardless, they allowed their jaw to fall open. The taste of plastic filled their mouth as an eyedropper was placed upon their tongue, followed by the bitter taste of medicine, sliding down their throat. Villain struggled to cough up the liquid, but their jaw was gently held in position until they had swallowed every last drop.

“There.” The taste of plastic retreated, disappearing as a few sips of water were washed down after. “Thank you.”

“W- What is...”

“It’s gonna make all that drug withdrawal easier.”

The face went out of focus, replaced by a black dot, in the center of Villain’s vision. A spoon.

“Can you look at this?” A fingernail tapped the plastic dinnerware. They nodded.

Slowly, at first, the spoon began to move. First left to right, then up and down, before moving around more erratically. After a few moments, Villain blinked, shaking their head, eyes exhausted.

“Thank you.” The spoon lowered out of view. “You’re gonna need a bit more time to recover, but you’re getting there. Do you want to go back to sleep?”

“Mhm.”

“Okay. Goodnight, hun.”

Villain let their heavy eyelids fall closed, barely registering as their blankets were tucked back in around their chest. Warmth enveloped them, mind wrapped in blissful heat, until...

Chill. An unmistakable chill biting their skin, nipping at their reddened nose. They blinked, rubbing their eyes with one hand, the world around them taking shape.

Taking shape...

Taking the wrong shape.

Where were...

They blinked once more, their surroundings coming into focus. Far more focus than their vision had permitted them in a very, very long time.

The building before them was large enough to block out the sun.

It could only be described as a brick-- that was what it was, a brick of concrete, marked by little more than faded graffiti and tattered signs that may have once warned against trespassing. The only marking that remained clearly visible was the number-- the building number, sticking out in brown-painted metal.

62.

Villain felt bile rise in their throat. They knew exactly where they were. The car they’d used to get here was only a minute’s walk away. They needed to get to it, to run, to turn and leave as fast their legs would take them. This was it! Their second chance! Their chance to leave, to make everything right again. To unmake the decision that had ruined them.

But they could not turn. Their legs would not move under their command, instead, alien limbs began to move forward. Towards the building’s entrance.

No, no, please no!

They needed to turn, to leave, but...

They did not have the power to make that decision. They could only watch.

Why had they been here in the first place? All that time ago... To confront someone. To find Supervillain. They’d done something. Hurt someone, maybe?

Panic twisted their thoughts far too much to allow them to focus on such far-away memories. The panic of moving, moving eternally forwards. To the entrance, through the doorway.

Into the warehouse.

Inside was terribly dark, small slivers of light illuminating only an expanse of boxes long since left abandoned, their cargo doomed to rot. They had never understood why Supervillain spent so much time here. Certainly they could have found a better hideout.

But, Supervillain was strange. No one understood them.

They were here, though. Villain could feel them, hear heavy breathing, sense the way their presence disrupted the psychic landscape around.

Villain stilled.

Leave. Turn around. Go! It’s not worth it, they begged themself. But...

But their hand reached for their pocket, producing a phone in trembling hands. They tapped the screen, activating the flashlight, flooding the concrete floor with illumination.

However, they hardly needed the light to remember what came next. The image would never leave their mind, they were certain of it. Never remove itself from where it was burned irreversibly into their corneas.

One figure, leaned over another. Holding them to the ground.

Hands over their neck.

If Director had at any point struggled, their straining had long since ceased. The only sign of life they displayed came in the way they weakly kicked against Supervillain’s unyielding grip.

Villain was not the one being strangled, but they could not breathe even so.

“Who the hell is there?” The voice, that furious, terrible tone, echoed off of every concrete wall and rotten crate.

Supervillain looked up from their victim, gaze meeting that of their newfound witness.

“Who!”

Villain’s legs went stock-still. They could have run, at any point, they could have run, they could have run.

But...

Director stopped struggling. Supervillain stood, rolling out their shoulders.

For a moment, their body twisted, snapping and curling in on itself. Bones morphing, shrinking or extending, muscles rearranging themselves in a horrible scene.

Villain had forgotten just how horrible it was, to watch Supervillain use their powers.

When, at last, their transformation was complete, Villain was staring back at the living face of Director.

Cold, grey eyes met theirs.

“Villain?”

Supervillain, the new Director, grumbled, moving over to the corpse of their victim. Prying a walkie-talkie from their belt.

Holding it to their own mouth.

“Hello, HQ? I’m going to need some backup, here.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Inside the warehouse was terribly dark.

Hero’s legs felt nearly numb, wandering within, only the slightest slivers of light able to creep in through the door. They walked by those shreds of light, though they hardly did so much as allowing them to see their own feet before them.

Still, they walked. The building smelled terribly of rotten wood.

“Hacker?” Their voice echoed off of every concrete wall and rotten crate. “Are you here?”

“Over here.” The voice called from the other side of the building-- how had they gotten all the way over there?

“Where? Is there a light in this place?”

“It’s been abandoned for half a century. No, there are no lights. Doesn’t your phone have a flashlight?”

“Oh. Yeah.” Hero fumbled in their own pocket for a moment, taking out the device. Even with the flashlight, however, the darkness still seemed to envelope the whole world. They cast the beam of illumination around, scanning, yet finding nothing but crates and graffiti. “Where are you? I can’t see you.”

“Here.”

A figure stepped out from behind a support beam. Hacker’s small frame looked even more minuscule, surrounded by crates twice their height. They were half-hidden by an oversized hoodie, yet, their hood was not pulled up.

They always pulled their hood up.

Hero shook their head. They were being paranoid.

“I’m so glad to see you’re, like, alive.” Hacker smiled, approaching at a quick clip. Their laptop bag was hung across their chest, bouncing with their movements. “You aren’t hurt or anything, right?”

“No.” Hero shook their head, moving forward to meet their friend in the middle of the building. “I’m okay.”

“That’s too bad.”

“What?” Hero rubbed an ear-- had they heard wrong?

“I always heard you were a fucking idiot. Guess I just never realized to what extent.”

That... That was not Hacker’s voice.

Hero took a step back, a chill filling their chest.

Hacker’s form quickly began to fill their formerly oversized hoodie as, below them, their legs extended with a horrid noise of cracking and popping. Their facial features did the same, shifting as though molded in putty.

Director was taller than Hero.

Hero gulped.

Director took a step forth-- polished shoes clacking against concrete. How had Hero not noticed the shoes? Hacker would never wear something like that.

They...

Director held out a hand. To shake.

Hero raised an upper lip, baring their teeth.

“Where is Hacker?”

Laughter echoed against the walls.

“That’s what you’re worried about, right now?”

“They’re my friend!” Hero stomped. “And a civilian. Don’t bring them into this.”

Director smirked.

“I assure you, your friend is fine.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“Well, right now, you’re going to have to.”

Hero took another step back, turning to run, already feeling their heartbeat elevate to a quick tattoo in their throat.

But...

There was nowhere to go.

“I didn’t bring you here for no reason, dear.”

There must have been a dozen of them, if not more. A dozen figures, scattered in loose formation, blocking the entrance. Surrounding them.

Hero spun back around. They were there now, behind Director, too.

And they knew every last face. Every reformed villain. Every rehab center graduate.

They gulped.

“Now.”

Hero didn’t realize how close Director had gotten, not until they laid a massive hand upon their shoulder.

“We are going to talk.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Thanks so much for reading! This time, the choices are going to be a bit different. In the way of, there are no choices! At least, none that I am coming up with. You guys have given so many amazing suggestions in the past, so I thought, how about you suggest what happens next in our story.

Instead of giving you guys choices, its up to you to decide what our Hero will do next. If you really like another person’s suggestion, you can vote for it! Otherwise, I will choose what I find the most interesting.

I’m hoping that this will be fun. If it proves to be difficult/complicated/etc, I can certainly add choices, but I thought I’d do something a bit different this time around ^^

#nemesis #choose your own adventure #choose your own whump #villain whumpee #whump community #whumpblr #whump #hero villain whump #hero caretaker #supervillain whumper #supervillain

79 notes · View notes

shintorikhazumi · 3 years ago

Text

(Diakko Week) There’s no way she- (2): “There’s no way she did that.”

@dianakko-week

A/N: BOY, OH BOY. I DIDN’T THINK THIS STORY WAS GONNA GO THIS WAY, BUT HERE WE ARE, I GUESS? Please do enjoy, I’m not sure about the quality of this chap, but I personally am enjoying this story so far an I hope you all do too!

Again, Enjoy?

~Shintori Khazumi

Day 2: Trust

“There’s no way she did that.”

Diana was seething at her desk, Hannah and Barbara desperately trying to calm down their long-time friend with a cup of tea and some rationality.

She wasn’t having it however. Not even the tea.

“There’s no way. There is just no. Possible. Way. That Akko would so such a thing!” Diana growled, head whipping in the direction of her poor friends-slash-secretaries-and-attendants. “Right?!”

Barbara nodded wordlessly, clearly unnerved by Diana’s foul mood while Hannah sighed, moving the teacup away from the clearly miffed Diana before any mishaps could occur.

“Yes, Diana. We think so too.”

Diana released a heated sigh, nostrils flaring as she slumped against her leather chair. Today just wasn’t her day.

Never mind it being only her second week of being chosen for the grand magical council and being harassed with much work simply because she was the youngest to enter at the tender age of twenty-three. That same council of old pricks were now interfering with her personal life by giving her a case that made her burn deep with rage.

They dared accuse Diana’s girlfriend of magical misconduct when Diana-for a fact- knew that Akko read the terms and conditions of being a traveling magician- yes, ALL the terms and conditions- back-to-back. Back-to-back to back-to-back. Diana had found it both unnecessary and incredibly endearing, and sweet Akko- oh, bless her sweet soul- had wanted nothing more than to be able to share the magic of dreaming to all sorts of people, gain experience as she traveled; and hoped to overall just help people along the way on her cross-country journey.

Sure, she had left her incredibly stable position as one of the council’s security personnel, and the job paid extremely well- especially for people who were relatively fresh from school. It really did. However, Diana knew Akko was far from happy with that job. In a somewhat similar position to Diana, she had been made a lackey by her seniors and superiors, and though she loved helping people through her job, it just wasn’t worth staying. She couldn’t even be assigned to Diana! Thus, Akko had resolved to go independent, under strict supervision and conditions.

That had been five months ago.

Sure, Diana had missed the other woman dearly and hadn’t seen her for all that time, but Diana knew this was what the other woman wanted to do- to make people smile. She loved making smiles blossom from one person to the other. Diana wanted to support her in her endeavor. She believed in Akko and in what she wanted to accomplish.

And anyway, Akko had always made it a habit to send one of her familiars to bring Diana little souvenirs of her travels, accompanied by the sweetest words on paper, reassuring her girlfriend that she was well and good, and living life to the fullest, and that she’d surely be back in a year.

She was coming back sooner than they’d both expected, and for reasons neither had desired.

Diana ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, massaging her scalp to nurse the quickly growing headache.

She hoped Akko would come home safe at the very least.

“Miss Diana Cavendish. Could you repeat those words to me one more time? I might have misheard.”

“I said. I refuse to vote against Atsuko Kagari’s innocence. I know her, and I know her well. She would never ever do such horrid things.”

Diana watched the council secretary bristle, eyes burning at her response.

“You can never know someone too well. You don’t know what people are capable of. They can cha-”

“And I trust that Akko only ever changes for the better.” Diana cut off, casting her own glare over the two high council members who held the papers and a sum of money in front of her. “I know nothing of what the inner circle of the council has been up to, but I can’t believe they would try something so terribly scandalous such as bribery and false report! Dare I assume you are hiding something worse-”

“One more word from you, and you will suffer the consequences. Not that you already haven’t.”

Diana would have lashed out had she not needed to remain calm for Akko’s sake as well.

“This is our final offer, Miss Cavendish. Push for her guiltiness, or lose your seat in the council.”

Diana’s eyes widened, fists clenching. These people-

“You have no authority over this matter!”

She shivered in repulsion at the grins that grew on their hideous faces.

“Oh, but we do.”

Kagari Atsuko, twenty-three years of age, stood at the podium in the courts of magic with steely eyes and a rigid frame. She dared not glare at the jury nor the judge, but she would like to at least show them her determination in proving her own innocence.

Chancing a glance at Diana who was sending her worried looks from the jury stands, Akko reassured her with a gesture that all was and would continue to be alright. Returning her attention to the presider of the meeting, Akko readied her words, carefully crafted by herself and her lawyer who ironically just so happened to be Amanda O’Neill. Akko tried her best to keep a grin from forming at the hilarity of that fact. She was, after all, still on trial. She had to keep things professional.

“Kagari Atsuko. What do you have to say for yourself?” The judge questioned after all her supposed ‘charges’ had been read out.

‘Magical misuse, abuse of title as a former council official, trafficking endangered species across borders, and exploiting my audience, huh... Honestly, what a bunch of-’

“Bullshit.”

Akko’s eyes widened, and so did everyone else’ at the accidental slip-up.

“I-I mean... I apologize, your honor. I didn’t mean to say that. Ehem. I’d like to plead not guilty of these accusations.”

With brows raised, the judge continued on with the ruling, the tension in the room not once lowering. Akko just hoped this would end smoothly, and end soon.

She didn’t know what the council got out of this, to be honest. To go so far as to forge evidence against her, what had she done against them? Honestly, this new council, with almost all-new members weren’t doing a good job in succeeding their predecessors.

If the whole jury hadn’t been bought out at this point, she really could only hope for the best.

“Thanks for driving me home, Amanda.” Akko bowed to her friend, clutching her suitcase.

“Hey, hey! None of that. C’mere.” Amanda pulled her shorter friend into a tight hug, patting her back firmly. “I’m just glad it all worked out in the end.” She sighed, running a hand through her hair after they pulled apart.

“No kidding.” Akko chuckled. “You’re the best, bud. Totally fit for this job.” She giggled, as Amanda rolled her eyes with a shrug.

“I know, right? Obviously knew this is what I wanted to do for a living all along.”

They shared a laugh before Amanda had to leave, having work to do the next day. Waving at the car until it had disappeared far beyond what her eyes could perceive, Akko turned to the porch, taking careful steps to the front of the door.

Facing that familiar wooden barrier, she took a deep breath before allowing her knuckles to meet with the hard material.

No sounds, no response. Not even the slightest shuffling could be heard from within. Akko’s brows furrowed, teeth biting her lower lip nervously. This was their house... This was the Cavendish manor... right? Amanda was above pranks as evil as this, especially after what had just happened, so there was no way that-

“Mrrmmhpphhggh! Mmrhg!”

Akko struggled against the hand covering her mouth, desperately trying to reach for her wand, however her assailant had already figured her out, catching her hand and holding it against her back...

-before releasing her completely.

“A-Akko?! I! I’m sor- wait, no time to explain, come.”

And Akko was dragged into the house by Diana herself who rushed her up the stairs and into their bedroom.

“Akko, do you have all your essentials in that suitcase you hold at the moment?”

“Huh? Diana, what is... why are you home already? Don’t you have a council meeting running until late-”

“Grab anything you’d like to bring with you. Hurry!”

“But Diana!”

Akko felt a duffle bag hit the back of her head, and she whipped her head around only to find her prepared glare fading at the sight of a scowling Hannah.

“Do what she says, idiot. And make it quick.”

Diana seemed as caught off-guard by the presence of Hannah and Barbara as much as Akko was.

“You two! I... You can’t be here. Go back to your home, and from this point forward, don’t come back to the manor. I’m relieving you of your duties as my-”

If Akko and Diana’s eyes could widen any more, they’d surely be the size of Diana’s large serving plates. Hannah had clapped her hands against both sides of Diana’s face, shaking her lightly.

“Are you truly going to just leave us?!” She hissed.

“Diana... we know we were wrong to snoop around, but... couldn’t you confide in us for something this important?” Barbara said, teary-eyed. “I know we can’t ever replace what Anna was to you, and when she... when she left, we didn’t know how else to help you after losing your only family. But we still wanted to be by your side.” She smiled, placing her hands on Hannah’s shoulders to rub them, getting her partner to calm down.

“Did you really think...” Hannah sniffed, wiping her tears off her sleeve. “That we wouldn’t make you take us with you?” She finished with a grin. “You are never getting rid of us, honestly.”

Barbara nodded, reaching forward to ruffle Diana’s hair before she was met with a deep frown because of the gesture.

“Sorry, always wanted to try that.” She said, not sorry at all. “To sum all this up, Diana. You are taking us. There will be no further argument.”

Diana couldn’t help the relieved smile breaking across her face, her two longest companions also sporting their own. Tears slipped from her eyes as she pulled them into a long embrace.

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” She sobbed quietly, feeling arms rubbing her back from each side. “Thank you.”

“You better be thankful. We’ll never forgive you if we’re not the maids of honor at the wedding.” Hannah declared, half-joking.

“Wedding?” Diana parroted, pulling away as she wiped her remaining tears away. “Whose?”

Both girls simply rolled their eyes as Hannah walked over to Akko who felt seriously out of the loop. Barbara patted Diana’s shoulder, shaking her head, amused.

“Hannah? Barbara?”

She was promptly ignored from that point onward.

“Come on, idiot. Get packing. I’ll even graciously offer you my superb assistance.” Hannah said with a smirk, opening the closet she knew was designated for Akko’s belongings. “We don’t have all night.”

“I still... I still don’t understand what’s going on.” Akko stated, but began to do as she was instructed anyway. “What are we doing? Where are we going?”

“What part of ‘no time to explain’ don’t you understand?” Barbara quipped, before going over to assist the brunette pair. “I could’ve sworn we informed Amanda about this.”

“Even O’Neill knows?!” Diana continued to be ignored. “Okay, great. So who doesn’t know about this getaway?”

“Calm yourself, Diana. We only told our little circle of friends.” Barbara spoke over her shoulder as they finished closing Akko’s suitcases with a click. “Amanda and Constanze prepared as a cloaked little vehicle until we leave the country. You should be grateful.”

“Jasminka should be here to pick us up any minute now.” Hannah commented.

Diana remained slack-jawed, amazed at the follow-up her attendants had done.

“You didn’t think we’d just let you fly off on a broom in the middle of the night again, did you? Really Diana, we’ve been with you so long, your smarts should have rubbed off on us even the slightest bit.” She grinned. “The magical council really aren’t all that smart, huh? Look at their dullness contaminating our brilliant, Diana.” She shook her head in dismay.

“A shame indeed.” Barbara agreed as they began carrying their luggage out.

“No one’s still told me anything!” Akko announced, scratching the back of her head with her free hand as she followed Hannah and Barbara out with her own possessions.

She turned to Diana at the sound of a lock clicking in place, the former heiress running her hands over the grooves of the wood and the carvings.

Placing her things down momentarily, Akko walked over to wrap Diana in a hug from behind. “I hope we can come back one day. To the place where you began.” She whispered, placing loving kisses against Diana’s shoulders. “I’ll make sure we can.”

Akko’s heart cracked as Diana began to tremble in her arms, a hand going up to cover the sobs that were escaping her lips. All the memories of her family, her mother- they were probably much too painful for Diana to leave behind, but she had to. They had to.

Akko walked the mansion halls one last time with Diana as they locked each door one at a time, Diana embedding every room, every window, every banister into memory.

They finally came to the front door where Hannah and Barbara had awaited patiently, bags already loaded into their vehicle.

“No longer asking where we’re going, love?” Diana questioned Akko who had seemed to accept whatever was happening already.

“Do you trust me, love?” Akko responded with a question of her own, earning her Diana’s smile accompanied with raised brows.

“More than anyone and anything in the world.” Diana replied.

Akko gave her a chaste kiss as they all boarded the vehicle, watching the mansion disappear with an area cloaking spell that would hopefully keep it safe for as long as they were gone.

Squeezing Diana’s hand, Akko spoke. “Then know that I think the same. No matter where we go, how far away we are from here, and what we end up doing, just know... Just like those two dorks there,”

Akko laughed as the two snorted from the seats in front of them, knowing they were rolling their eyes at her.

God, she was thankful for them. For all her friends. For Diana.

Taking Diana’s hand in hers and entwining their fingers together, she placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand, laying all her worries to rest. They would figure things out. They all would- together.

“I trust you with all of my believing heart.”

A/N: WHAT��S GONNA HAPPEN NOW, WHERE ARE OUR BABIES GOING? OOOHHH. SEE YOU ON DAY 3!

~Shintori Khazumi

#dianakko week 2021 #happy dianakko week 2021?#diakko #fanfic #hanbara #diana cavendish #atsuko kagari #hannah england #barbara parker #amanda o'neill

43 notes · View notes

btssavedmylifeblr · 4 years ago

Note

I forgot to send on my voting story. Ok so my brother and I both got mail in ballots, and let me tell you how we both forgot to mail it in so we just thought to bring them to our voting location. The lady there kinda yelled at us? She was confused and didn't know how to go about it. And honestly I just took it because we were the idiots who didn't mail in our ballots. We had to rip them up and they just us new ones to fill out in person and submit. Not exciting, but a story for void snippet. 👀

Anonymous said: Hi!! I'm so excited for void! I voted today around 30 minutes before the polls closed in my neighborhood because I had to wait for my dad and brother to get home from work since they wanted to go all together hehe. It was a pretty fast process! We just pressed buttons on screens (compared to last election where we had to bubble in everything by hand) plus, I got to keep the stylus that they gave us and it works on phones too! 🥰🥰 Thank you! I love your writing so much 💜💜💜

Anonymous said: I did mine through mail me and my husband did and we went to the post office a little while back and then he took us on a nice little date afterward and we got ice cream! Also I love void💖 keep up the good work

Anonymous said: VOTES FOR VOID??? I love democracy and I love VOID! So since May I've (temporarily) moved back home from New York to Indiana RE: covid; I've voted absentee for the both the primaries and presidential election (I'm still in IN rn...blah). I voted early and mailed in my ballot for the presidential election (about 3 weeks ago). Made sure my family was voting (brother mailed it in, mom dropped off a ballot, and dad did early voting) and encourage them to put up a Biden sign in our yard <3

Anonymous said: HI BEE! I ALSO VOTED TODAY! IM 21 SO THIS IS MY FIRST TIME VOTING FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION (my 18th bday didnt make the cutoff since im a december bday) im so happy to have done my part! I made sure to study up on the judges and policies and everything! Luckily the polling place didn't have a line so i was able to get in, get my ballot, and fill it in right away! I even dragged my mom and cousin to come with me. I made a joke on snapchat to encourage my friends to vote too. It was a pic of my "i voted" sticker with a caption saying "omg youre so sexy when you vote aHaha" -🦙

Anonymous said: this is my first time doing this so, so i hope i’m sending this correctly! i voted early in late september by mail! i live in a swing state, so it’s really important for me to vote and not waste time!! bc of my age, this is my first time voting so i’m really nervous 😅

Anonymous said: I voted by email! I'm overseas so I wasn't sure if my ballot would actually make it through in time, so I decided to go electronically. Had to sign a waiver saying I understand that my vote won't be anonymous but I haven't been given a reason to suspect voter suppression/fraud in my state, so I'm happy I think...!

Anonymous said: hi, i voted early on oct 24th. my absentee ballot didn't come in, so i had to travel back home to vote (~3 hour drive). when we got there, there was a ton of people outside the polling place, but no lines, so i was in and out pretty quick. it was my first time voting, so i had all the candidates i was voting for written down on a tiny receipt so i wouldn't forget 😅. my mom was with me, so she voted too. took a pic with my sticker (mask on for extra covid-ness) and went home. drove back the next afternoon!

whippedforkook said: Hi Bee. 💕 I voted in early October - nearly a month ago! 😱 It’s been really weird with all the lead up to the election because it felt like it should have been done once I cast my ballot! A lot of my friends have volunteered to get out the vote: writing postcards to voters, texting, phone banking, working the polls, curing ballots. I didn’t volunteer at all this year, but I hope that all of my friends’ hard work and everyone else’s is enough. I’m also hoping and praying that I will be in a better place mentally for 2022 so that I too can volunteer. Our work starts with 2020 not ends. 💕 Wishing you well. 💕

begineuphoria said: I went and voted last Friday as it was our last early voting day. No way was I going to wait until today with the crowds of people in my area that still act as if masks are somehow infringing on their rights. 🙄 It was a rather normal experience for the most part. Other than having to use a coffee stir stick to press the buttons on the machine to vote. In and out within five minutes.

Anonymous said: I voted down the street at this pretty park this morning. I got up at 5:30 and it was freezing. Luckily I wore like 30 layers and stood outside for 2 hours. Some nasty orange man supporters were rude but everyone else was pretty nice. A really cute older couple was playing soccer with pine cones and kicked it towards me to play too. Not the worst time tbh.

Anonymous said: Did mail-in voting in California! Extremely exhausting and took forever to research all the propositions - they are notoriously tricky in hiding their flaws and one side tends to outrageously outspend the other. But in the end I felt really good about my research and decisions! No need for you to post a snippet for this story - would like to save that to read sometime in the future ;) Thank you so much for doing this!

joonsgotthejuice said: Votes for void??? I am here! I went last Thursday and it was chaotic bc I kept going past the poll place but the line was soooo long so my mom called me and woke me up like "its pouring rain and the line is super short get up I'm gonna pick you up" so thats the story of how I got dressed in 5 minutes and dragged my ass to vote in the rain <3

Anonymous said: i voted early on thursday it was cold and rainy but i went in the late afternoon and thankfully the only waiting i did was a few minutes for an elevator i got very lucky and while waiting for the results is awful the relief that came from voting in general was just great

Anonymous said: Wheeew the polls just closed and I finally got to cast my ballot yayyy ( I was the one working the polls from earlier) it’s been a really really long day and we actually had surprisingly good turnout. I saw a woman try to vote for someone else who claimed to be “helping” and I saw a woman who I’m pretty sure was on some typa something 👀 Overall though I really I’m really thankful for people like you who encouraged people to get out and vote. I hope the odds are in our favor❤️🤞🏼

chelsea-chee said: Hello Bee! Today surprisingly my elderly father wanted to vote so I brought him out with me. He only cared about voting for Biden, which meant I got to help decide who he should vote for with the rest of the candidates and amendments! Say hello to baby bee for me as well! 💖

Anonymous said: Okay I gonna got a chance to vote today and the process wasn’t that bad actually. I went in just now and it wasn’t that busy( thankfully) so no lines. I’m from Texas and it’s gonna be almost impossible to turn this state blue, but every vote counts! I love that you are getting people to vote and also sharing your experiences as well!

owl-orgy said: Dropped off my mail in ballot at a polling location! I originally wanted to vote early in person because I was worried my signature wouldn’t match closely enough but ended up just turning it in and double checked today to make it said “ballot accepted and counted”!

Anonymous said: I voted in person this afternoon, better late than never I guess. I was gonna go last week but then I got cramps from hell. There was no one in line in front of me, I think my county early voted because it was packed everyday the last few weeks

Anonymous said: I voted early a couple weeks ago. Exciting thing though that did happen was I got both my parents to vote for their first time ever.

Anonymous said: I had a mail in vote. So, I filled it out and dropped it in at the ballot box at my library. (I also checked out books for the first time in years, so I had fun!)

bubblyjiminnie said: I literally just finished voting. Lucky for me, the line and wait wasn’t very long, and it was a nice enough day that the short amount of time I had to spend in line outside of the building wasn’t too bad. My social anxiety when it comes to stuff like this tends to be high but that’s what I get for waiting until Election Day instead of going the mail in route. This was only my second time voting, but I’m glad that I did 😊

Anonymous said: I turned my ballot in last week :) I’m not a big fan of crowds and I hate make spur of the moment choices but despite that the first time I was able to vote back in 08 my Mom pressured me into voting in person because “you’d have to experience it at least once in our life”. And ever since then I comfortably vote by mail. I take my time, do all of my research, listen to music, and best of all don’t have to deal with people.

Anonymous said: here in Washington state it’s super easy to vote. I dropped my ballot off in mid-October and it’s already been accounted for! Mail in voting and drop box voting is fantastic and provides equal opportunity and access. Sad to see some people in red states misinforming Americans about it! We also have a referendum for implementing mandatory sex ed, including teaching respect, empathy and consent as part of the curriculum so I was happy to vote yes on that too!

unionrox006 said: I voted about 2 weeks ago by doing a mail in ballot. The other eligible to vote members of my household did the same. We chose to vote by absentee ballot because both my mom and I have an autoimmune disorder, so we have to be careful going out in the pandemic. Tbh, the ballot layout was a bit confusing at first as was all the paperwork and required IDs and documents. But my dad explained it to me and we got them filled out and mailed off. Kinda mad I didn't get a sticker for it though

bluetostone said: Love this and so excited for the next chp of void! I early voted a few weeks ago and because I live in a pretty rural county I was in and out of my polling place in a few minutes. No sticker though 😢. I live in a swing state so it could go either way in terms of delegates. Just praying everyone is safe tonight as the results roll in...though, won't we not know for sure for a couple of days or weeks?

Anonymous said: My mom, sister, and I received our early voting ballots a while ago and I took the longest to fill mine out because it was making me anxious :,( but I did return it before it was due. I checked our ballot statuses and mine and my moms were accepted but my sister’s said they hadn’t received hers back. Then she got another ballot so she filled that one out too and I took it yesterday 👍👍 I think she got two because she changed her address late so they sent two?

vixsynsblog said: Non-interesting voter story: I'm paranoid and live in a highly divided area, so I filed mail-in ASAP, mailed it a few days after cause neighbors are nosy and don't understand boundaries. Was able to track my ballot through my credit company, which was nice. Only thing I was missing was my sticker. Never got one✊😔. So I had to improvise and write it in pen on my disposable mask. I'm working all this week so if riots break out from either side, I'll be at work. Prayers for the safety of others🙏

______

Waaah!!! Thank you all for voting!! You are all my heroes. I am so grateful and proud of you. I’m sorry I ran out of time to respond to you individually. I’m going to drop two big scenes from Chapter 7 in gratitude (one of which will be familiar to my patrons and one won’t). I’m hopeful I will have the whole next chapter out very soon. Love you all!

Void spoilers below the cut.

When you wake up in the morning, there are still no signed HR forms in your messages. Had you been a fool to think they were interested? How much time does it take to decide such a thing? Perhaps just by putting the idea out there explicitly, it had lost all of its taboo appeal.

There is a calendar reminder waiting for you: Today is chili pepper pollinating day. At least this gives you an excuse to talk to Hoseok.

You find the science officer in the lab as always, sitting with his knee up against his chest. Hoseok doesn’t look well. He’s got dark circles under his eyes.

“Hey, um…” You shuffle your feet. Want to fuck me? No wait…“You don’t look good. Were you here all night?” you ask.

He blinks at you, bleary-eyed. “Um, was I? Yeah.. I suppose. Lost track of time.” He rubs his eyes, before looking you up and down, then casting his gaze back to the floor.

All you want to do is ask about the forms. Or the meeting. Or what he thinks of you now. But you don’t. “I need to pollinate the chili peppers today.” Usually Hoseok is the person who assists with that. “But I can get one of the other guys to do it if you need the sleep.”

“No!” Hoseok lurches forward, standing up a bit to rapidly and needing to put his hand back on the bench to steady himself. “I mean, I’m fine.”

You should disgaree with him. He is exhausted. But you’d like more time to talk to him.

Pollinating the chili peppers is both time-sensitive and time-consuming, hence why it took two of you to get the job done. There were no insects on your ship to do the job for you and if they didn’t get pollinated, they wouldn’t bear any fruit. Your chili peppers were your favorite crop. Not only a vital source of Vitamin C, but all your food benefitted from having a bit of spice added to it.

You and Hoseok head for the greenhouse together. The intital set-up gives you something to talk about in the beginning. Hoseok gathers the pollen from one flower onto a paintbrush, then hands it over to you to paint onto the stigmas of each little flower on the next plant in the line.

Slowly the conversation dries up as you fall into a silent rhythm. Other than just enjoying the chili peppers, you must admit that this was one of your favorite tasks on the ship because of the high likelihood that the two of you would brush hands peridically. Always gave you butterflies. But today he seems extra intent on keeping his distance from you. Was he disgusted by you now? His hands are trembling.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

His hand twitches so hard that a little rain of yellow pollen cascades onto the floor. He curses in frustration before turning to face you. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Um, yes, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“This, um, plan of yours…” he gestures to the vague tension in the air. “It doesn’t feel like you.”

“I’m trying to save the mission. That has always been my top priority.”

“Yeah, I’m still not clear on how this benefits the mission.”

“Yoongi said…” you start to say, but are cut off my Hoseok’s derisive snort.

“Look, if you’re in love with Yoongi, just go date him, okay? Don’t feel obligated to include the rest of us out of pity.”

You frown. “I’m not… I’m not in love with him. It’s just sex. Just biology.”

“This isn’t you!” Hoseok argues back. “You hated the idea of anyone of us ever treating you that way. And now you just want all of us to… to… use you like that?” He splutters out the end of the sentence.

“No one is using me! This is my plan! I’m in charge!”

He sighs. “Well, I can’t be a part of it. Excuse me.”

______

Taehyung finds you in the gym. It’s good to see him up and about, even if his arm is still in a sling.

“Hey, so I need to talk to you about this, um, ape sex thing.” He fishes awkwardly into his pockets and pulls out his tablet. Maybe Jimin was right. Is Taehyung going to be the first to take you up on your offer?

You pause your jog on the elliptical machine. You wish you weren’t so sweaty and gross for this conversation. Taehyung is such an intimidatingly attractive man with those strong eyebrows and that perfect skin.

Taehyung opens up the tablet and flips to the form. It’s happening. He’s going to sign the form. Shit. Then what will you do? It’s one thing to say you want to have sex with your whole crew, but what if he’s hoping to go right now? You need a shower.

Taehyung has really nice hands. Long strong fingers delicately navigating the touch screen. It seems totally improbable that a man this attractive would be into you, even if you were the only woman in the universe. It just adds to your suspicions that hormones are driving everyone crazy. Perhaps if you slept with him once, he’d lose all interest.

He finds the form and then turns his gaze up to you, staring you down with those eyes. It’s a good thing that Taehyung rarely turns his full gaze on you, because it is almost too much to bear. Shit, is he just going to sign it? Is he waiting for you to give him some sort of signal?

“You can’t do this to Jimin,” he says.

“What?” Not what you were expecting. “Do what to Jimin?”

“This.” He gestures over the HR form. “Signing these forms with everyone. Having sex with everyone. You’re going to destroy Jimin.”

“Jimin’s the one who suggested this whole thing in the first place.” It’s a lie. You know its a lie. Or at least a gross exaggeration. But Jimin was the one who first brought up the idea of sharing. All for the benefit of the man in front of you now.

“No way.” Taehyung scoffs, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. “No way was it Jimin’s idea that you sleep with the whole crew.”

“Well…” You can’t bear his gaze anymore and look down at the floor. “He wanted me to sleep with you.”

That surprises Taehyung. He puts down the tablet. “What? Why would he want that?”

This is awkward. “He, um, thinks you’re in love with me.”

“What?” There is only surprise on Taehyung’s face. It’s actually a relief to see that Taehyung is just as shocked by that idea as you were. “Why does he think that?”

“I don’t know…” You feel kind of dumb now. Of course, Taehyung doesn’t feel that way about you. Look at him. “Cause you told him you were jealous. Cause you can’t stand to be in the same room as us…”

Taehyung bites his lip. “Oh, um, shit, sorry, that’s not what I meant.”

If Taehyung isn’t jealous of Jimin...

“Taehyung…” He looks up, biting his lip. “What did you mean? Who are you jealous of?”

Taehyung’s eyes widen, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead he reaches for his microphone and mutes it. Out of respect, you mute yours as well. He glances toward the camera in the corner of the room, then stands up and begins unzipping his jumpsuit.

“Um…” You are distracted by the golden arms that peak from either side of the tank top as the zipper reaches his groin. “What are you doing?”

“Need something to block the camera.”

“We have towels,” you mutter. But he’s already stripping out of his shirt. The musculature of his back ripples. He hangs the shirt off of the camera to block the rest of the room from view.

“Yeah, but this way anyone watching will think we’re having sex.” His chest is just as attractive as his back and you flush at the sight of it. Mercifully, he zips back into his jumpsuit as he returns to his position in front of the exercise machine.

“You want them to think we’re having sex?”

“Don’t you? It plays right into your whole save the mission with bonobo sex plan.”

“I suppose.” Though the plan was also supposed to be that there would be no more secrets between the crew. “What plan of yours does it play into?”

“The one where Jimin doesn’t realize I’m in love with him.”

“You’ve never tried to tell him?”

Taehyung laughs wryly and shakes his head. “How would that conversation go? Hey man, I know we’ve known each other for years and I’ve already seen you naked and that you just think of me as a friend, but I’m in love with you. I know that’s awkward but now you have to spend the next twelve years with me, knowing that I’m attracted to you when you don’t feel the same way.” Taehyung sighs. “Doesn’t sound like a good plan to me. If he doesn’t feel the same way, I’ve just ruined the friendship for nothing and then I don’t even have that.”

“Yeah… I get that.” There’s something touching about realizing that Taehyung has been fighting the same battle as you for the last two years.

“I couldn’t tell anyone before launch because what if they wouldn’t let me go then? You know?”

“Yeah, the director wasn’t big on sending anyone who might ‘complicate’ the mission.�� The two of you share a sad knowing smile.

“Yeah… And I thought it would be fine, you know? I like women too. I’d just date women until launch and no one would know. I wasn’t planning on falling in love with my roommate.”

“I don’t think any of us really knew what this would be like.”

“I knew it was going to be a problem. I should have pulled out…”

Your mind flashes back to that moment of doubt when Hoseok talked you into still coming on the mission.

“But I couldn’t just let him go off into space without me. Even if he’d never feel the same way, at least he’d still be in my life.”

The emotion in Taehyung’s words makes your eyes begin to mist. “You really do love him.”

“Yeah,” Taehyung sighs again. “But he’s in love with you.”

“Well, he thinks he is.”

“What does that mean?”

“He only feels like that about me cause he thinks I’m the only option.” You wonder if maybe he would feel differently if he knew about Taehyung’s feelings.

Taehyung frowns and shakes his head. “You don’t give him enough credit.”

“Oh come on, you know him. How many women did he date while we were in training?”

“A few…”

“And how many of them was he in love with before he found the next one?”

Taehyung bites his lip. He can’t really argue with that. “So why are you with him then, if you don’t think it’s real?”

You shrug, rubbing your arm. “He wants me. It’s nice to feel wanted, I guess.”

“You know you could have that with any man on this ship right?”

You scoff. “They’re all suffering the same delusion. It’s only-available-vagina syndrome. I just want us all to fuck and get it out in the open. Maybe if we could get it out of our system, they would see I’m nothing special. And then we can get back to the mission.”

Taehyung eyes you up and down. “You don’t give yourself enough credit either.”

You shrug. “You wait and see. Jimin will get bored of me. They all will.”

The two of you both slump backwards in your seats, mulling over your shared woes. Taehyung bends down and picks up the tablet again. “So what should I do with this?”

“Obivously, you don’t have to sign it. I should have realized that not everyone would be interested.”

“Jimin thinks I’m in love with you?”

“Yeah…”

“Is it okay if we let him think that for now? At least until I figure out how to tell him the truth?”

“Okay.”

Taehyung smiles and signs the bottom of the form, then sends it to you. Your phone lights up with a message. “Thank you,” he murmurs before he leaves.

#I'm not going to answer asks about the spoilers right now #because I want people to be able to avoid them until the chapter drops #but that should be sometime in the next week or so #votes for void

69 notes · View notes

mytwilightimagines13 · 4 years ago

Text

Amnesia (Book Two)(Part Fifteen)(Alec Volturi)

The final witness

Then Alice danced into the clearing from the southwest, Jasper was only inches behind her, his sharp eyes fierce. Close after them ran three strangers; the first was a tall, muscular female with wild dark hair - obviously Kachiri. She had the same elongated limbs and features as the other Amazons, even more pronounced in her case. The next was a small olive-toned female vampire with a long braid of black hair bobbing against her back. Her deep burgundy eyes flitted nervously around the confrontation before her. And the last was a young man... not quite as fast nor quite as fluid in his run. His skin was an impossible rich, dark brown. His wary eyes flashed across the gathering, and they were the color of warm teak. His hair was black and braided, too, like the woman's, though not as long. He was beautiful. As he neared the vampires in the meadow, a new sound sent shock waves through the watching crowd - the sound of another heartbeat, accelerated with exertion. Alice leaped lightly over the edges of the dissipating mist that lapped at Bella’s shield and came to a sinuous stop at Edward's side. Bella reached out to touch her arm, and so did Edward, Esme, Carlisle. There wasn't time for any other welcome. Jasper and the others followed her through the shield. All the guard watched, speculation in their eyes, as the latecomers crossed the invisible border without difficulty. The brawny ones, Felix and the others like him, focused their suddenly hopeful eyes on Bella. They had not been sure of what her shield repelled, but it was clear now that it would not stop a physical attack. As soon as Aro gave the order, the blitz would ensue her. Edward, despite his absorption in the coup he was directing, stiffened furiously in response to their thoughts. He controlled himself and spoke to Aro again. "Alice has been searching for her own witnesses these last weeks," he said to the ancient. "And she does not come back empty-handed. Alice, why don't you introduce the witnesses you've brought?" Caius snarled. "The time for witnesses is past! Cast your vote, Aro!" Aro raised one finger to silence his brother, his eyes glued to Alice's face. Alice stepped forward lightly and introduced the strangers. "This is Huilen and her nephew, Nahuel." Caius's eyes tightened as Alice named the relationship between the newcomers. The Volturi witnesses hissed amongst themselves, including Jane and Alec, but Maeryn did not join them once again. She felt intrigued by the newcomers. So there were more male vampires impregnating female humans. The vampire world was changing, and everyone could feel it. "Speak, Huilen," Aro commanded. "Give us the witness you were brought to bear." The slight woman looked to Alice nervously. Alice nodded in encouragement, and Kachiri put her long hand on the little vampire's shoulder. "I am Huilen," the woman announced in clear but strangely accented English. As she continued, it was apparent she had prepared herself to tell this story, that she had practiced. It flowed like a well-known nursery rhyme. "A century and a half ago, I lived with my people, the Mapuche. My sister was Pire. Our parents named her after the snow on the mountains because of her fair skin. And she was very beautiful - too beautiful. She came to me one day in secret and told me of the angel that found her in the woods, that visited her by night. I warned her." Huilen shook her head mournfully. "As if the bruises on her skin were not warning enough. I knew it was the Libishomen of our legends, but she would not listen. She was bewitched. "She told me when she was sure her dark angel's child was growing inside her. I didn't try to discourage her from her plan to run away - I knew even our father and mother would agree that the child must be destroyed, Pire with it. I went with her into the deepest parts of the forest. She searched for her demon angel but found nothing. I cared for her, hunted for her when her strength failed. She ate the animals raw, drinking their blood. I needed no more confirmation of what she carried in her womb. I hoped to

save her life before I killed the monster. But she loved the child inside her. She called him Nahuel, after the jungle cat, when he grew strong and broke her bones - and loved him still. I could not save her. The child ripped his way free of her, and she died quickly, begging all the while that I would care for her Nahuel. Her dying wish - and I agreed. He bit me, though, when I tried to lift him from her body. I crawled away into the jungle to die. I didn't get far - the pain was too much. But he found me; the newborn child struggled through the underbrush to my side and waited for me. When the pain ended, he was curled against my side, sleeping. I cared for him until he was able to hunt for himself. We hunted the villages around our forest, staying to ourselves. We have never come so far from our home, but Nahuel wished to see the child here." Huilen bowed her head when she was finished and moved back so she was partially hidden behind Kachiri. Aro's lips were pursed. He stared at the dark-skinned youth. "Nahuel, you are one hundred and fifty years old?" he questioned. "Give or take a decade," he answered in a clear, beautifully warm voice. His accent was barely noticeable. "We don't keep track." "And you reached maturity at what age?" "About seven years after my birth, more or less, I was full grown." "You have not changed since then?" Nahuel shrugged. "Not that I've noticed." "And your diet?" Aro pressed, seeming interested in spite of himself. "Mostly blood, but some human food, too. I can survive on either." "You were able to create an immortal?" As Aro gestured to Huilen, his voice was abruptly intense. Bella refocused on her shield, but Maeryn no longer paid attention. This was something new to her kind, something interesting. And she wanted to know every last bit of it. "Yes, but none of the rest can." A shocked murmur ran through all three groups. Aro's eyebrows shot up. "The rest?" "My sisters." Nahuel shrugged again. Aro stared wildly for a moment before composing his face. "Perhaps you would tell us the rest of your story, for there seems to be more." Nahuel frowned. "My father came looking for me a few years after my mother's death." His handsome face distorted slightly. "He was pleased to find me." Nahuel's tone suggested the feeling was not mutual. "He had two daughters, but no sons. He expected me to join him, as my sisters had. He was surprised I was not alone. My sisters are not venomous, but whether that's due to gender or a random chance... who knows? I already had my family with Huilen, and I was not interested" - he twisted the word - "in making a change. I see him from time to time. I have a new sister; she reached maturity about ten years back." "Your father's name?" Caius asked through gritted teeth. "Joham," Nahuel answered. "He considers himself a scientist. He thinks he's creating a new super-race." He made no attempt to disguise the disgust in his tone. Maeryn shared this feeling. It indeed was disgusting. Caius looked at Bella. "Your daughter, is she venomous?" he demanded harshly. "No," Bella responded. Nahuel's head snapped up at Aro's question, and his teak eyes turned to bore into Bella’s face. Caius looked to Aro for confirmation, but Aro was absorbed in his own thoughts. He pursed his lips and stared at Carlisle, and then Edward, and at last his eyes rested on Bella. Caius growled. "We take care of the aberration here, and then follow it south," he urged Aro. Aro stared into Bella’s eyes for a long, tense moment. Maeryn had no idea what he was searching for in Bella’s eyes, or what he found, but after he had measured her for that moment, something in his face changed, a faint shift in the set of his mouth and eyes, and Maeryn knew that Aro had made his decision. "Brother," he said softly to Caius. "There appears to be no danger. This is an unusual development, but I see no threat. These half-vampire children are much like us, it appears." "Is that your vote?" Caius demanded. "It is." Caius scowled. "And this Joham? This immortal so fond of experimentation?" "Perhaps we

should speak with him," Aro agreed. "Stop Joham if you will," Nahuel said flatly. "But leave my sisters be. They are innocent." Aro nodded, his expression solemn. And then he turned back to his guard with a warm smile. "Dear ones," he called. "We do not fight today." The guard nodded in unison and straightened out of their ready positions. The mist dissipated swiftly, but Bella held her shield in place. She analyzed their expressions as Aro turned back to them. His face was as benign as ever, but unlike before, there could be a strange blankness sensed behind the facade. As if his scheming was over. Caius was clearly incensed, but his rage was turned inward now; he was resigned. Marcus looked... bored; there really was no other word for it. The guard was impassive and disciplined again; there were no individuals among them, just the whole. They were in formation, ready to depart. Once Alec’s mist had returned to himself, Maeryn took off the glove of her right hand, showing her porcelain skin to the sun. Alec did the same to the glove on his left hand and grabbed Maeryn’s hand tightly. It felt good to feel each other’s skin touch one another. Now they could feel their connection much better than before. The Volturi witnesses were still wary; one after another, they departed, scattering into the woods. As their numbers dwindled, the remaining sped up. Soon they were all gone. Aro held his hands out to the foes, almost apologetic. Behind him, the larger part of the guard, along with Caius, Marcus, and the silent, mysterious wives, were already drifting quickly away, their formation precise once again. Only the three that seemed to be his personal guardians lingered with him. "I'm so glad this could be resolved without violence," he said sweetly. "My friend, Carlisle - how pleased I am to call you friend again! I hope there are no hard feelings. I know you understand the strict burden that our duty places on our shoulders." "Leave in peace, Aro," Carlisle said stiffly. "Please remember that we still have our anonymity to protect here, and keep your guard from hunting in this region." "Of course, Carlisle," Aro assured him. "I am sorry to earn your disapproval, my dear friend. Perhaps, in time, you will forgive me." "Perhaps, in time, if you prove a friend to us again." Aro bowed his head, the picture of remorse, and drifted backward for a moment before he turned around. The foes watched in silence as the last four Volturi disappeared into the trees.

Once back in the castle, Jane, Alec and Maeryn made their way towards Jane’s room. Jane was boiling with anger and she threw some expensive vases against the wall on their way to her room. Maeryn and Alec skillfully avoided the porcelain shatters and followed their sister to her room. Once inside, Jane grabbed her pillow and ripped it in half. Alec let go of Maeryn’s hand and pulled his sister in a tight embrace. Jane used her gift on him, but Alec kept on holding her, not once making a sound of agony. Soon enough Jane calmed down, and as soon as Alec released her, she fell onto her bed that was now covered in feathers. She picked one up and studied its form with her magnified sight, seeing every little detail. “Don’t fret sister, there will be a day we can defeat them.” Alec said. “At a moment when they least expect it.” Jane said, slowly grinning again. "We got all eternity to plan it ." Maeryn said to Alec and Jane. Both the twins grinned. Maeryn grinned along, though she could not shake off the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

#alec volturi #volturi #volturi imagine #athenodora volturi #twilight imagine #twilight

10 notes · View notes

pyrrhesia · 3 years ago

Text

FF14 Write - ‘Destruct’

In which Ysabet Sable puts her pride aside.

The forest canopy hummed with life. Songbirds boomed out their mating cries, the autumn-fall of leaves drifted to the floor, and underneath it all, the whispers of viera footfall glided unnoticed through the chaos. All that drew attention to them was the brewing argument between the three figures. Viera remained alike the other warmblooded races in a few aspects, not least the fact that any trio of adolescents could immediately be carved into three archetypes: the brash one, the clever one, and the one who ensured the three would actually make it to adulthood. Even if they did not fit these roles alone, any group of three would slide into the same, time-honoured dynamics. The tallest one, Kjva, represented the first archetype; given this, it was an ill sign she was the one carrying the bow. "You're fretting for nothing, Thrjs. The beast is old and slow." "So let it die!" Thrjs argued. "If it represented a threat unaccosted, the hunters would act. You'll only to madden the beast." "And risk it preying on helpless foragers? What do you think, Mrdja?" The third of the crew shrugged. "I'm here, am I not?" "There, a vote of confidence!" "Besides, you'll need someone to pry you out of the thing's maw when it has you." Mrdja grinned. "This is a terrible idea, Kjva, and you are an idiot. But you are my idiot, and life would be dull without you." "Mrdja, you're as bad as her!" Thrjs despaired. "Sh!" Kjva gestured frantically to the others. "I've found the beast's tracks." Silence lasted almost a full second. "Don't sound so pleased with yourself," said Mrdja. "They're the size of tree-trunks." "Tracks as wide as trees, and we're going to follow it," said Thrjs, rolling her eyes. "Idiots the both of you." It did not take them long to catch up. The beast was slow, lumbering through the woods with all the grace of a light-drunk moth slamming into a window. It had uprooted a number of trees on its trail of carnage, and, judging by master tracker Kjva's evaluation of a massive haemorrhage in the middle of its path, had probably eaten recently. They found it in a clearing, outside a cave. A great, slavering canine creature, dragging a deer carcass in its maw. It dropped the carcass outside its lair, and a few pups came bounding out eagerly, worrying at the remnants. Mrdja marvelled. "The size of the thing... !" Its work done, the patriarch shifted over towards a maggot-ravaged corpse, a smaller mirror in duller colours. It licked it a couple of times - Thrjs gagged - before almost mournfully seeming to sit by its side. "A hyur arrow through its throat," Kjva said, softly. "That must be the mate. No wonder the beast went feral." Thrjs turned to her. "Well, master archer, I doubt even you could miss that thing. Care to take your mark? I promise to clap when it's over with." Kjva re-evaluated the task, and her bravado in relation to it. "Uh," she said. "What was that you were saying earlier about heroes, Kj?" Thrjs never could resist twisting a knife. "Let's just go--" She took the first step, tugging Kjva's sleeve, and stepped on a thin, dry branch which snapped underfoot. The beast turned, and reared up. The three of them stood petrified for a moment, before instinct took over. Kjva nocked and drew the arrow in a single fluid motion, but as the beast lumbered towards the three of them, her heart raced and threw off her aim as she let fly. The arrow sank into one of the pups, which whined and scattered into the woods. The beast bellowed a roar which shook the woods. The three young viera bolted, all thoughts of glory gone, the only thought on their mind getting back to Camoa, not daring to look behind them but hearing the thundering of paws, the trees in their way being bulldozed aside, and Mrdja stumbled on a rock and fell heavily on her ankle, cried out, shut her eyes and waited for death. There was a silken sound, and the rush of air overhead as a volley of arrows struck their mark, tearing through flesh. The beast gave out a final, defiant roar... before collapsing with what seemed almost like a sigh. Mrdja opened her eyes. Grim-faced figures slipped away from the shadows, surveying the scene. A familiar voice cut through. "Idiot!" shouted Irsa, Kjva's mentor, pushing through her companions to loom in the time-honoured 'I'm so glad you're alive but you are in so much shit' posture adopted by all adults at one time or another. Kjva bowed her head in shame. "We wanted to be of use to our people." "Be of use by staying alive, you stupid girl! Seven years I've taught you, barely even a start to your training, and you want to throw it all away? Selfish idiot!" There was just one course of action remaining to Kjva. She burst into tears. Irsa gritted her teeth, clenched her fists, performatively huffed before finally enveloping the girl in a hug. "Just don't scare me like that again..." Thrjs stepped forward, felt it was time to claim her credit points as The Good Influence. "I told her it was madness! I told them both, but Mrdja just kept egging her on, just because she wants to kiss her, everyone knows it--" Irsa glared at Thrjs. "Yet did you stop them? Or did you just want to crow over the bodies of your dead friends?" Thrjs looked stricken, but had no answer. But Mrdja was still dreadfully pale. "We committed a crime against the wood," she murmured, eyes locked on the corpse of the beast. Irsa cocked her head. "It was old, feral, without a mate. Its part in the cycle was over. It was not your role to end its life, but this in itself is no tragedy." From the cover of her arms, Kjva glared with sudden don't-you-dare hatred. It was too big a secret to keep, even for her sake. "Kjva's shot missed. She struck a pup." The other hunters glanced among each other. That was a different matter. "But..." Mrdja rallied. No, she could still fix all this! "I can make this right!" "Mrdja, no--" "No, I can! Ljda's taught me well! Let me make atonement, I beg you!" And she turned and slipped off into the woods before anyone could stop her.

It had not made it far from the cave. Mrdja followed the trail of blood until she found the pup, shivering and whimpering, coiled up under a tree. The shot had taken it through the shoulder and throat. Mrdja clicked her tongue. It was a grievous wound, and simply pulling the arrow free would push the pitiful creature over the edge. It struggled at first under her hands, but lacked the strength to resist. "Calm, now," she murmured. "It will be alright." Mrdja kneeled by the pup for hours as the sun set, ministering to its wounds, her fingers stroking its soft, downy fur and letting her meagre stores of aether seep into the wound. It whined softly as she broke off the broadleaf arrowhead, trying to prise it free as slowly and as gently as she could, not even noticing the pup lash out with its claws and tear a bloody score in her arm, her energy focused on mending its wounds as she went... before, at last, pulling the thing free. It mewled, wretchedly. Mrdja held it down firmly with one hand, fumbling for her poultice and bandages with the other. Her ministrations did not stop when it cried out one final time. They did not stop when it went still. "Mrdja." "I can still save it," she muttered. "Mrdja." Firmer, this time, and accompanied by a hand on her shoulder. Mrdja squirmed violently away from it, turning to face the new arrival as she still protectively clutched the pup in her hands. Her mentor stood, watching her impassively, leaning on an old, gnarled staff. "It's over, girl," she said, not unkind but certainly final. Mrdja pushed back, a rush of anger boiling over. "You don't believe in me? After seven years your student! Have I not shown you--" Ljda tutted. "Seven years my student and you still can't see its heart stopped minutes ago." Mrdja's mouth opened and shut, but the words wouldn't come. Ljda supplied them for her. "I know you did what you could. You found a dying creature that would have succumbed in minutes and drew its suffering over a matter of hours." "That isn't fair!" Mrdja said, the words sounding hollow the moment . "I... I tried everything I knew..." Ljda took a deep breath. "No. It wasn't fair to the poor creature that your pride blinded you to the truth." Mrdja blinked, her eyes damp. The weight in her hands felt so horribly light. "You should have said something," she said, thickly. "How long were you there? And you just let this happen?" The old viera smiled, sadly. "I will not always be there to guide you, you know. Not because I plan to die," she added, seeing her student look panicked. "Because of you. Already, I can see your eyes casting beyond the forest. I suspect there is an itch you cannot quite resolve in Camoa. So I must prepare you for the world, proud little Mrdja, and if you are to call yourself a healer, there are things you must know. What if I had told you, hm? Can you really say you would not think to yourself, you knew better than your Ljda? This way you know. Deep in your bones, I think." They buried the pup under the tree.

Several generations later, by Eorzean reckoning, the aftermath of battle proved no respite for Ysabet Sable. Her cuirass was dented a thousand ways, cuts on her cheek and thigh had scabbed over, and she was acutely aware she was fortunate to still be standing. More than anything she wanted to sit, or better, to sleep. To find some respite amidst the chaos. Yet she still had the privilege of her strength, and a way to make a difference. The indulgence of rest would cost lives that could still be snatched from the brink of death. "Hey! You!" Ysabet was not accustomed to being a 'hey you', but too tired to argue. Wearily, she looked over her shoulder, saw two partisans dragging a comrade between their shoulders. The man was unnaturally pale, his coat closed tight with a dark, sodden patch around his midriff. His head lolled, trying to put Ysabet in focus. He tried to speak. "Just rest, Garwyn," soothed the other partisan. "You'll be alright." "The fucking tree-shaggers are holding out on us!" fumed the first. "Talking about the will of the elements. How about our fucking will to string 'em up, eh? But I heard some say you were some kind of a witch!" "Hush," said Ysabet, firmly. She glanced at the man. She remembered, to her bones. This was no time for pride. "Lay him on the slab, then give me space." The Ala Mhigans rested Garwyn down. Ysabet did not need to open the coat to see the wound. The smell told her everything. "Leave us," she commanded. "You'll save him, right?" "I will do there is to be done. Go do what you can for some others." The tent-flap rustled as they stepped away. Ysabet hissed out a breath between her teeth, pinched her temple. She was so dry of energy, but even with a day's rest and three square meals there would be nothing to do but this. She placed two of her fingers on Garwyn's temple. His mouth opened, but could not shut, as failing eyes cast about looking for a focus. Ysabet leaned in close. "Just rest your eyes, now," she said, softly. "Your pain is too great to be borne. I will free you of its burden."

#FFxivWrite2021 #destruct #OC: ysabet sable #cw: animal death

3 notes · View notes

one-leaf-grimoire · 4 years ago

Text

“triad”

Chapter 3: the wager

Why do I do this to myself. Here’s a link to the Ao3 chapter.

Ch Summary: The election of the 29th Wizard King continues. MC (Lisa? Idk what to call her at this point) finally has the attention of all 9 captains, and she’s going to hold it until the votes have to be cast. Who will be the first to obtain the required 5 votes?

No one dares speak for the next few moments, the weight of my words finally sinking in slowly but surely. Then, the first person to move is William, who hasn't looked up from the table since he gave up his candidacy. He doesn't say anything, and his face barely betrays any emotion but... interest. But it's the first movement after I made my move, a movement that's opened the door for more.

Several people start talking at once, faltering once they realize that they're all talking over each other before starting up again. The only people not talking are Yami and William. William just stares at me, while Yami just closes his eyes and starts to laugh, adding to the growing dihn.

"You?"

"Ka ka, you really just said that to a room full of captains?"

"Wah! That was just out of left field!"

"Did you and Julius talk about this beforehand?"

"Hold on, hold on! Let me explain myself!"

I hold up a hand and, to my delight, they immediately fall silent. I raise an eyebrow at the weirdly-quick response, then let a smile grow on my lips. Maybe they're just afraid to offend me because I'm a widow now or something... but I'm going to spin this as hard as I can. "See? It seems like you all already hold a little bit of respect for me. After all, most of us have been comrades for years and years, right?"

A few of them nod. Charlotte doesn't speak again, but is obviously sizing up my every move. Jack leans back in his chair, tapping his long nails on the arm. Kaiser fiddles with his mustache, distracted, but doesn't take his eyes off me.

"So... how long have you had this in mind?" Fuegoleon is the next one to speak, leaning forward slightly on the table, his one flickering arm of fire reflecting off the shiny wood surface. His eyes are hardened, almost... pained? I hope I didn't actually hurt his feelings or something, but I can't blame him for being shocked by my declaration that I was serious about this. Because, at the end of the day, it wasn't premeditated. Not... technically.

"Not long at all. If you think this was something I've been plotting for a while, I'm sorry to disappoint you." I fold my hands neatly on the table, glad that I seem to be staying calm for now. "It wasn't until... well..." How do I explain that I talked to Julius in the afterlife? That's going to sound fake... So, I decide to lie. "Right before the operation with the Royal Knights. I... I told him that, if something were to happen to him, I would be willing to step up and take his place, and he agreed." That part isn't a complete lie, because he did answer "good" when I told him. "Trust me, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think it was in the Kingdom's best interest."

"The Kingdom's best interest..." Nozel coldly repeats my last phrase. "Care to explain why you think it is?"

"Why yes, no need to be so harsh, Nozel." I keep my smile on my face, remembering how Julius always managed to be kind to people who were pissing him off. Nozel is far from the worst people I've ever met, but his sudden hostility is off-putting, especially since he seems to be dragging Fuegoleon along with him. "I don't doubt that you or Fuegoleon would do great, but this is a tricky situation."

Fuegoleon's eyes narrow even more. "How so?"

"Well, just look around-" I point out the window. "The Kingdom is in shambles. We're more fragmented than ever before, and that makes us vulnerable to attack. I wouldn't be surprised if the Diamond or Spade Kingdoms started an invasion campaign within the next few months. We need someone who can hold this all together, and provide the most important strength we can get... continuity." I can tell I have their attentions now, so I don't let go of my audience while I have this chance.

"On average, the Wizard King rules for 17 years. Julius only got 8, not even half of what's normal. This kind of transition is rough, so the prime candidate to succeed him is someone who worked closely with him, who understands Julius's kingdom better than anyone else. And that person is me."

"So? Anyone could do that," Dorothy finally decides to speak up, a little smile on her face. I have a feeling that she's just throwing her opinion into the fray for fun. "We're all part of the upper echelon of power here, don't you think we all have a good understanding?"

"Good point!" I hold up my hands sheepishly. "But that's the thing- Now more than ever, we shouldn't remove a Captain from their post."

"What? Why not? For continuity?" Nozel asks before I can explain further. "The Wizard King has always been promoted from Captain. It's been that way for years."

"Yes, yes, I know! But think about it," I insist. "We need experienced captains in charge of their squads right now, changing anything that important right now could cause problems down the road. We need stability in our squads if we're to have stability in our Kingdom, so removing a Captain would be irresponsible."

"Irresponsible? That's a bit bold of you." Kaiser chuckles, shaking his head. "Even if you're right about this attack, do you think you'd be approved by the King?"

Uh oh. I was afraid they would bring this up. My history with Augustus is... rocky, to say the least. "Are you saying that just because I'm a commoner, Kaiser?"

He shrugs. "No... well, that's definitely a factor to bring up-"

"Well, I am a commoner. But I'm a commoner that has a more intimate understanding of this Kingdom than any of you do." I don't mean for my words to come out so harshly, but he hit a nerve that's pretty close to my heart."

Ka ka, intimate, is that because-"

Jack makes the wise decision to shut up when I shoot him a glare.

"You've all seen my magic, right?" Everyone nods one after the other, all staring at me with the same look in their eyes. For a moment, that look makes me want to shrink down into my chair and disappear under the table.

It's like... they're afraid. Not afraid of me, but afraid for me.

"Then you know... I can use Julius's time magic, because of this magic mark on my head." I point to the mark, my voice soft and metered despite the waves of emotion tumbling within me. "That's not the only thing of his I have... because of my Dyad spell, I have a shard of his soul within me. And along with that, his memories. The last part of him left on this earth... I'm the one who carries it."

Well... it's not the only thing of his left. Under the table, I let my hand drift up and ghost over my stomach softly, protectively at the reminder that I carry another shard of his life there.

"I know I'm just a commoner, part foreigner, someone who was even kicked out of the Magic Knights. But despite all that, Julius trusted me with everything he had. So... make me the Wizard King. I'm the one who can lead this Kingdom back to our peak."

There's really not much else I can say. The second phase of my plan will have to commence after the first vote... which, if everything goes according to plan, will not result in my victory. In fact, it won't result in anyone's victory. That's the wager I'm making, and there's just a few moments left before I have to spring back into action.

"Well, if we're ready, we'll vote." Marx finally steps in to keep things in order before more people can challenge me. "I'll conduct the election, since I'm er- impartial." He shoots me a glance, but I know he's just as powerless as me in this situation. "You ready?"

"But first-" I look over to see Nozel pointing at me. "You can't be in here."

My mouth nearly flops open at the order. "C-Captain Nozel, she's a candidate, she has as much right to be here as you-"

"I don't want anyone other than those casting the votes and you to be in here-" Nozel cuts him off, his voice like ice. It takes everything I have to keep from wincing- his words hurt just like the icicle I just referred to. "I wouldn't want to do anything to corrupt the legitimacy of this decision."

I finally let my displeasure show on my face. Nozel is pushing me to my limit. "Excuse me, bt-"

"Nozel, don't make trouble." We're both interrupted by Fuegoleon, who has closed his eyes, giving in. "I just want to get this over with."

Nozel sniffs in a long breath before nodding. "Fine."

"Yeah, after all, braid boy-" Yami finally speaks up, smirking around his cigarette. "You'll probably have to call her King soon. Now's not the time to burn bridges, hehe."

Everyone stares at him as if he grew a second head. Oough... that's not a good sign. "...Y-Yami..." Charlotte whispers, her eyes wide. "You want to vote for her?"

For some reason, that statement from Charlotte hurts more than anything anyone else has said today. Just a few weeks ago, she and her were shopping together for my wedding dress, and I was teasing her about her crush on Yami. But... even she won't give me the benefit of the doubt? So... the captains are just that hostile to the thought of an outsider becoming Wizard King. Well, if that's really the case, it makes me want it even more.

"Why not? She made a good case." Yami leans back in his chair, a shit-eating grin on his face. "It'll be fun, anyway."

I give him a small smile, but Marx butts in before I can say anything else. "Alright, alright, if that's settled, we'll begin the voting." Marx produces a paper and pen before taking a deep breath. "We'll go clockwise around the table... starting with you, Fuegoleon."

I quickly give the table a once-over, seeing what order the voting will happen in. Ooh! This is good... All the important votes are earlier on...

"Fuegoleon?"

"I vote for myself."

"Nozel?"

"Also myself."

"Yami?"

"Forehead girl."

"Please use proper names. Dorothy?"

"Nozel!"

"Kaiser?"

"Lord Fuegoleon."

"William?"

"...."

"...William?"

William closes his eyes.

"Abstain."

"Huh? You can't do that!" Yami points at him accusingly. "You're going to mess up our quota!"

"Quorum," Marx corrects, staring at William with concern. "Captain... are you sure about this?"

William nods. "Yes. Please."

"...alright, then." Marx gulps nervously before marking something down on his paper. "Julius didn't leave instructions behind for this situation... so we'll move on as usual. The winner will still have to get 5 votes. So-" He looks up. "Rill?"

"Ahhhhh.... er..... umm.... Fuegol-"

"Got it. Jack?"

"Fuegoleon, I guess, ka ka."

"And Charlotte."

Charlotte stares at the table as if it's the most interesting thing she's ever seen. "...Nozel."

"Alright then, the results..." Marx holds up the paper, and I turn in my seat to see it a little clearer.

Alright... I expected at least two votes, but this should be okay...

One vote for me. Three for Nozel. And 4 for Fuegoleon.

That was close...

"So, what now?" Nozel asks, glancing at Fuegoleon, who is smiling a little to himself. This isn't good. One slip up and he'll get the last vote he needs.

"Now, we discuss it more, and vote again," Marx answers, holding up Julius's will again. "The winner has to get five votes."

"I have an idea!" I blurt out, putting a smile on my face as I suddenly stand up, catching everyone's attention. "Why don't we take a break... let's all go off on our own to figure out our strategies and get votes, hmmm?"

"We don't have that kind of time," Fuegoleon reminds me. "Remember? We're all supposed to be helping with the cleanup-"

"I told you, didn't I? I sent orders to all your squads before I called this meeting," I retort. "They'll be fine for the rest of the day."

"Damn. See? She's on top of it-" Yami chuckles and points at me.

"Right... do you even have that kind of authority, though?" Kaiser asks me. "I mean... they are our squads."

"Of course I do." I give him a smile despite how his words are slowly but surely pissing me off. So entitled... "Who do you think has been holding this place together these past few days? Now-" I back up towards the door, giving them a wave. "I'm going to walk around and think about all this. You know where to find me."

Without another word, I turn and push open the door, and walk off down the hallway, a little smile on my face.

Good... now...

"Wait! Hold on!"

I turn to see Marx running up, and a few other Captains leave the room and walk off out of sight. "Look..." He skids to a stop, a worried expression coming onto his face. "I get what you're trying to do here, and honestly, I'm all for it. I think I could work better with you than any of them, after all."

"Oh, how nice of you Marx." I pat him on the shoulder, but to my surprise he winces. "What, is there some other problem? Enlighten me."

"... just... listen to yourself."

... huh?

Marx's eyes turn from concerned to just... sad. I recognize this look, it's the same look all the Captains gave me earlier.

"Marx... don't tell me you're afraid for my well-being or something."

"Well, I am!" Marx bursts out. "Listen! I've known you for 8 years! Every time something bad happens, you shut down like this, you avoid the problem... but it's never been this bad. I haven't seen you cry, not once."

"Cry? Marx-" I cross my arms, gritting my teeth a little.

Don't think about it don't think about it-

"Do you think I should go in there and cry? Do you think that will convince them to vote for me?" I demand. "I'm just trying to make the best of a bad situation-"

"Well, you're freaking everyone out."

We both turn to see Yami saunter up. All playfulness is gone from his eyes. "All I'm saying is that you're acting awfully ambitious for someone who's husband just kicked it."

"Yami, you voted for me," I remind him.

"Yeah, because I think you should be the Wizard King. But I don't think you should keep acting like nothing happened." Yami's eyes crinkle with concern. "I don't want to see you isolate yourself from this... it has to hurt, right?"

...

I didn't realize it before, but I've been clenching my fists so tight that my nails start to leave a mark.

"...of course it hurts."

I suck in a deep breath. Then another. And another.

...J-Julius...

The moment passes.

"But if I acknowledge it now... I'll fall apart. So... I won't. Not until I've achieved my goal."

Then, Julius... I'll go visit you. I promise.

I don't let either of them say another word, I just turn and walk away. They both let me go. Once out of sight, I reach up and wipe away a tear that somehow managed to escape the tight, dark prison I confined it in before.

Keep pushing forward.

I look up, feeling determined once again.

It's time to get those three crucial votes.

A wager has been made, but will MC be able to pay it off? Find out next time in Chapter 4: the three votes

#nozel and fuegoleon are not actually assholes #they just don't know what to do once a third rival joins the fray lol #meanwhile #Lisa's just imploding #oops #triad #fic

3 notes · View notes

kennoellblogs-blog · 6 years ago

Text

My Review of the 73rd Annual Tony Awards

The 2019 Tony Awards came faster this year than I thought they would (can’t believe it’s almost July man). Although I had not become familiar with some of the shows in this years line up, I loved each and every performance. Throughout the awards, I did notice more technical difficulties than I have in the past, and I wonder as to why.

James Corden’s opening numbers always amaze me. Can we just hire him to do more musical things yet, please? It was amazing that’s all I gotta say.

Now, let’s talk about the actual shows:

Ain’t Too Proud is not a show I had become too familiar with. I mean I’ll be honest and say I hadn’t even heard of it until a few weeks before the awards when I was voting. I still do not know much about the show, I really enjoyed their performance. After the show, I listened to the soundtrack and can say I give it around an 8/9 out of 10.

Tootsie was another show I was not familiar with until the week before the show. Even though their performance was great, I have my problems with the show, such as most of their transphobic aspects. It’s basically another “Oh it was a good movie, let’s make it a musical,” type show in my eyes. Soundtrack rating 7/10.

Now, LET’S TALK ABOUT THE PROM!!! I absolutely adore The Prom and I love the message it sends across to the LGBT+ youth and others across the world. With such a diverse cast and a great message, I feel as if it deserved more awards. Also, the performance was totally awesome. Soundtrack rating 10/10

Here get ready for a doozie with this one. Beetlejuice deserved the best set and scenic design and I am still salty about it. I absolutely love this show and the music. I feel as if it would have won more awards, however, if they had been able to release their soundtrack sooner. I knew some of the songs but did not get the chance to fully grasp the show until only a few days prior. If people were able to listen and fully grasp the show, I feel as if they would have voted for it more. But still, it should have won best scenic design. Soundtrack rating 10/10

Hadestown was the show that took home the most awards at the Tony’s this year. Even though I really love the soundtrack for Hadestown, their Tony performance just did not blow me away. I felt as if they could have done so much more and included the cast in a better way. I do feel as if they deserve the awards they won, however. Soundtrack rating 10/10.

The Cher Show is also a show I was not very familiar with and have yet to listen to the soundtrack. BUT STEPHANIE J BLOCK FINALLY WON A FREAKIN TONY SO LET’S GO!!!! (Side Note: I was so excited that I actually cried tears of joy.)

The biggest pet peeve I had about this year's Tony Awards was how they did not giver credit to Be More Chill or Joe Iconics during their parody of “Micheal in the Bathroom.” While changing lyrics without Joe’s permission is one thing, but the definitely should have given them at least some credit. The Tony’s later came out with an apology, but I still feel as if what they did was very unprofessional. Joe Iconics gave a very formal response and I applaud him for doing so.

Kiss Me Kate and Ooooooooooklhoma gave wonderful performances and I will always rate those shows a 10/10. I am glad that they have made such wonderful revivals. I am also so proud of Ally Stroker :,). Choir Boy also gave an amazing performance and I really want to look into the show more.

Overall, I was happy with this year’s Tony Awards. I feel as if most of the awards were fair and every who won a Tony was absolutely deserving. Broadway has always been a huge part of my life and I cannot wait to see what it holds in the many years to come.

27 notes · View notes

teriiiwrites · 5 years ago

Text

2019 Writing Wrap-Up

I typically do this on my main rather than here because I always forget this exists, but not this year!

Another year where I didn’t end up sharing a single thing I wrote in its entirety so I’m sticking with my trend there lmao. Good to know that some things never change. But I have taken the first steps towards that - namely, starting this blog to give myself a place to talk more about writing.

Now, onto the stats!

Total for 2019: 104,374 words!

I actually wasn’t expecting to even near the 100K mark this year, so the fact that I passed it was a pleasant surprise. It’s significantly less than I hit in 2018 (over 170K), but I’m still very proud of what I accomplished throughout the year.

My focus over 2019 was based a little less in silly concept story ideas (which I still love dearly and want to do more of this next year) but I tried to focus a little more in diversity. In the types of stories, the characters in them, and how they were written. I did my best to push my boundaries with it, which often led to taking longer with my writing and probably is one of the reasons the word count of the year wasn’t as high as last year. But I felt it was important for me, and I’m glad that I worked on what I did.

The longest piece I wrote was my WIP NaNo novel, Castle on the Hill, which hit 57,037 words. I’m hoping to work a little more on it in 2020 and maybe finish up a first draft over the summer, when I have a little more time.

With that, here are some of the highlights:

“They say the British are starting to listen to our people there! That they might consider changing some of the voting laws!” He preaches with the pride of a man who has always believed in the good of the British, but it is confusing to hear him speak like this.

Wasn’t it only months ago when his father spoke of the evils of the British invaders? Of the unforgivable things they’d done? How is it that, now, he draws his own family closer to the center of their spiderweb?

(A Wanderer on a Scorched Path)

That night in the motel had turned into a week, which turned into a month, and so on until all Laine’s memories of her early childhood involved Do Not Disturb signs and vending machine dinners.

(A Walk Down Memory Laine)

In hearing of her success, the townsfolk quietly cheered for her, disregarding their previous contempt for the malicious girl who’d tormented them. She was all at once one of theirs. Hadn’t they laughed with her, waved at her, made faces at the small girl who had seemed so unlike her family? And perhaps all of their attempts at kindness were being paid off. Finally, here was a Grey who would break the curse of her cruel family and be a decent sort.

(The Grey Manor)

A familiar coach split the crowd, curtains drawn over the windows. It was almost easy to believe that the Greys were inside, eager – if Greys could be eager – about reuniting with their youngest. But there was only one Lady Grey left.

(The Grey Manor)

It was during one of these heavy snowstorms that the Visitor arrived in town. None could claim to know where she came from, and fewer still knew her name. Even the details of her appearance never quite matched up – some said she was an old woman, with hair like straw and wearing rags better fit for carrying potatoes than being worn. Other claimed she was no older than thirty, that the apparent age was only due to her gravelly voice and wild, fair hair. They said that though her clothes were faded and tattered and too large on her tiny frame, one could still see the frayed ruffles and faint design of what once must have been a fine gown.

(The Grey Manor)

Years had passed since the doctor’s apprentice had last been to the Grey Manor. He’d been one of many who had taken a thrill at the abandoned house while Lady Grey had been away. He now considered himself above such superstitions. Yet the effect of the snow-covered cemetery and the sprawling, leafless ivy across the outer walls could not be blamed wholly on the overcast sky.

(The Grey Manor)

The doctor’s apprentice made his way deeper into the house, but the Grey Manor felt more fit for ghosts than the living.

(The Grey Manor)

“Good afternoon, Clara!” I greeted as I waved for her to take a seat before my desk.

“Doctor,” she responded in kind. She pulled back the chair and fell into it in one fluid motion. “Things are on the up-and-up!”

As much as I appreciated her enthusiasm, having supervillain clients typically meant having to gently discourage their flavor of ‘on the up-and-up’.

(The Desk of Dr. Isselhardt)

“I think I’ll start off with a vacation. I was initially thinking of revisiting the city I grew up in, but finding a kennel for my hellhounds would be a nightmare, and I just know none of my friends would take them in.”

I had met Jekyll and Hyde once, when I’d bumped into Clara on my morning jog in the park, and I couldn’t blame them.

(The Desk of Dr. Isselhardt)

The angelic child screamed like a demon, yet Camila adored her more than she’d known she was able.

(Quinta and Her Cat)

Amara leaned back against the door, staring at the ceiling. “Your Guardians don’t seem as sympathetic as you make them out to be.”

Deirdre kicked out her foot, but only caught the edge of some piping. “They have to choose their battles. They’re strong, but not so strong as to fight all of them.”

“Legal skirmishes between the elite is apparently a higher priority than the oppression of thousands,” was Amara’s reply.

Deirdre didn’t respond; she had nothing more to say.

(The Great Guardians)

One of the aliens is moving quickly towards me, and I realize my impression that they are humanoid was a little premature. Though its head, neck, and torso are vaguely like mine, the bottom half of their bodies are more like a spider. A gray, spider centaur. With no face.

A small part of my brain asks why I'm not terrified. I have no answer for it.

(Alien Abduction)

Sir Michel had been in Eastcairn Keep only once before, but the imposing walls of stone were as familiar as if he had grown up here. The halls were cold and impersonal, as though acknowledging that they'd been around long before Sir Michel had arrived and they would stand the same long after he was gone.

(Foul Play)

"I have a sister." Andromeda's voice was soft, but it carried as though all of the forest had quieted to listen. "The kingdom is in no great danger of losing an heir."

Sir Michel chuckled at her naivety. "Princess, if you believe that your father will allow for this - "

"Then let him come to tell me himself."

Never before had Sir Michel been interrupted by a woman. His laughter caught in his throat, and, for a moment, he was too stunned by Andromeda's audacity to respond.

(Foul Play)

"The King is busy running a country, as one day your future husband shall."

"And I suppose you think that by carrying me back to the Keep, you'll be given the position?" Andromeda asked bitterly. She brushed a loose braid behind her shoulder. "You, a man with nothing but a meager title, sitting on the throne? No one with sense could expect such a fate for you, yet here you are."

"Yet here I am," was the knight's weak response. He couldn't understand how it was that he spoke far louder than the princess, and yet his words didn't seem to carry half as well or ring half as true.

(Foul Play)

"One of your men killed Tihomil, but not you. The trial is not fair."

"We don't fight fair when it comes to your life."

(Foul Play)

Andromeda pushed herself away, pulling her dagger with her. When she lifted a part of her skirt, Sir Michel saw that it was strapped to her leg, a place no honorable man would've thought to check. When she bent down again, her face was no more than a foot from the knight's.

"I don't fight fair when it comes to my life," Andromeda hissed. She wiped the blood staining her hands onto Sir Michel's breastplate, trailing red across its center.

(Foul Play)

As his vision began to tunnel, Sir Michel the Righteous' last sight was that of the princess stealing off into the night, her movements as feral and graceful as something too wild to be contained in the Keep.

(Foul Play)

Josef Weber was a quiet and privileged man, and the two together gave him the appearance of being far prouder than he actually was. This view was encouraged by the fact that he surrounded himself with few friends, and that those he kept were similar in stature and wealth to himself.

(Castle on the Hill)

The night sky was illuminated by fireworks, casting a scarlet glow over the small, German city of Heidelberg. Its castle stood imposingly atop a hill, awash in the red, mimicking fires that had taken the structure from what it had once been to the ruins that now overlooked Old Downtown. Crowds of thousands had flooded the streets, watching the annual celebration in awe as the fireworks reflected in the Neckar River below.

(Castle on the Hill)

“Shouldn’t you be running back to Hulmarra? I thought you were loyal to your lady.”

Theren’s laugh was abrupt and loud, but when he stopped, his voice was coldly stern. “We’re loyal to two things. Gold and discretion. It just so happens Lady Iltazyara is well equipped with both.”

Verna smirked. “Only those two things? If I paid you to kill your sister, would you do it?”

“That price would cost far more than you have,” Theren said with a condescending smile.

“You’d be surprised how much I have at my disposal,” Verna taunted.

“Then we can talk later.” Theren winked in her direction and grinned broadly at the impatient look on Rowan’s face.

(The Virtuous Seven)

#writing #2019 writing wrap-up #2019 #writeblr

2 notes · View notes

mysweetestcreature · 6 years ago

Text

Wish Upon A Star (StepBro!Harry) Extras: The Third Time

A/N: Just a little something about jealous Harry xx

***

There have only ever been two times when Harry has been jealous.

The first time was when he was fifteen and a boy––Caleb––had beaten him out for football captain by a single vote. It wouldn’t have struck a nerve as hard as it did if Caleb hadn’t bribed half the team with promises of supplying them with monthly editions of the latest Playboy Magazine since his brother had a part-time job as a bookstore clerk.

The second time he felt jealous was when he was twenty-four and he had to watch the most conceited man to ever walk the earth kiss his girl. Fucking William. The name still makes his insides twist, and he can’t even imagine what violent reaction his body would provide him with if he were to ever see his face again. Just thinking about how had been able to roam his hands around his wife’s body and touch her in a way that only he’s allowed makes him sick. If there’s one thing Harry hates, it’s when someone that isn’t him so much as looks at his wife with any bit of indecency.

Harry’s not a jealous person, but tonight might have been the third time he’s ever wanted to knock someone’s teeth out.

It’s been nearly half an hour of this James Dean-wannabe hogging Y/n’s attention since passing through the threshold into the banquet hall for her company’s charity dinner. Damien is his name, his hair up more volumes than normal with the slick of gel casting the faintest glow against the bright lights of the room.

“-and then I had to practically beg Gretta to let Malcolm head the project because he was too afraid to talk to her after he totally ditched her on their third date, well...” Y/n pauses momentarily, looking behind her to check if the coast was clear. “...he doesn’t know that she climbed out the window when she went to the bathroom,” Y/n whispers then stifles a few giggles. Damien hunches over and exaggerates a hearty laugh that booms through Harry’s ears like aftershocks of an earthquake.

“I’m really glad you could make it, Y/n. Can’t imagine how boring this thing would be without you here,” Damien says, eyes twinkling as he lightly grazes her arm once over. His touch lingers at the tip of her elbow before slowly falling back down to his sides. Y/n looks unphased by the contact and just offers him a sweet smile and nod of acknowledgement. A quick burst of red flashes before Harry’s eyes. Hs fingers curl into his palm of the hand in his pocket, while the other one wraps around his wife’s waist, pulling her flush against him.

The drive home is too quiet for Y/n’s liking. They’re on their way back from her company’s charity benefit and hasn’t spoken a word to her since dinner. She isn’t sure what’s gotten over him, after all, they had arrived at the banquet hall with full radiant smiles and had exchanged sweet little kisses all throughout the first portion of the night before the entrees had been served.

“Baby, are you alright?” she speaks up. “Been awfully quiet. I’m not used to it.”

She hears Harry’s knuckles crack as his grasp around the stirring wheel tightens. “Weren’t paying me any attention when you were talking to Damien,” he sneers, pulling at his tight to loosen the knot. “I was just sitting there like a complete idiot.” He flickers towards her for a moment but shakes his head and redirects towards the road.

Y/n shrugs back in her seat, mulling the words over and wrapping her mouth around each word. Not a second later she fights back a smile and cranes her neck towards her husband. “Are you...Harry, are you jealous?” He doesn’t answer at first and ignores the way her hand reaches over to rub against his thigh. “Aw, baby. Why’re you-”

Harry suddenly pulls the car over on the side of the ride on an empty street. “Back seat, now.” He unbuckles his seatbelt and steps out of the car. Y/n’s heart stops when he slams the door shut. She watches as he walks around the front of the car and appears at her door.

He opens it. “Don’t make me ask again, love,” his voice low and daunting. Y/n bites her lip and hops out, a feeling of excitement pulsing in her panties.

“Yes, daddy,” she meekly responds, and Harry presses up against her so her back is in full contact with the side of the car.

“You gonna be a good girl now? Gonna give daddy what he wants?” he husks in her ear, nibbling on her lobe and taking it between his teeth. She gasps in response and nods. “Good girl,” he whispers, then takes a step back leaving her feeling cold. “Now get in the back seat.”

She climbs into the back and lays down on back-down on the seat. She waits in anticipation for him to join her and has to hold back a moan when she hears the jingle of his belt buckle come undone.

“You think it’s fun making me all jealous like that?” he growls, shutting the door behind him as he climbs on top of her. “Like watching me lose it when someone else touches you?” His calloused fingers trail up her bare leg ever so slowly as his lips nip at the base of her neck.

Her back arches towards him. “No, daddy, promise,” she gasps wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders.

“I’m the only one who gets to see you like this, understand?” The tip of his finger surpasses the fabric of her silk panties and swipes along the juices that trickle from her core. “Only one that gets to feel you around my cock.”

“Only you, daddy” she breathes out as he pushes past her folds and circles around her hole. The juices collect all over his fingers and he rubs it between his thumb and index finger. He withdraws from her and admires the way they glisten in the moonlight peeking from the window. Harry brings them to her mouth, tapping on her bottom lip until their encased in the heat of her mouth, her skilled tongue cleaning his fingers of her sweet-tasting arousal before burying his nose in her neck.

She can feel the way he smirks triumphantly against her before biting down on the exposed flesh that has her mouth hanging open in a perfect o-shape. “That’s my girl,” he praises, then pulls away to sit back on his knees. All he has to do is give her a look and she knows exactly what she needs to do. And no matter how many times they’ve done this in their years together, it’s as exhilarating as the first. Her nimble fingers work on the button of his dress pants. His head falls back as she pulls him out of constrictions and the cold air touches his sensitive member. The sight of his erection all red at the tip with dribbles of precum leaking down the its length makes her mouth water and the dampness down below exceed all other sensations running through her like electricity at high voltages.

“Suck,” he orders, and she wastes no time wrapping her lips the tip. She licks all traces of precum away, basking in the feeling of how it slides down her throat with most delightful burn that settles down in her stomach. “That’s it,” he lets out a shaky breath. He gathers her hair to one side, so as to admire how she looks around him. Her perfect lips all plump and red with lip taint makes his head spin as her cheeks hollow as reaches the base of his cock. “Always suck me so good, baby.”

He looks down at her through half-hooded eyes, bucking forward enough send him deeper into her mouth and feel the tightness of her throat engulf him. “Fuck,” he mutters and continues his shallow thrusts, “so fucking good.” His gaze lowers down her body and he bites down hard on his bottom lip, eyes darkening, when he notices how her fingers disappear under her dress with small jagged movements. “What’re you doing there, pet?”

She pulls off him with a pop and blushes as she meets his eyes. “Nothing, daddy.” She bats her eyelashes at him and lays back down on her back, thighs barely clamped together as she slowly raises the hem of her dress further up. “Was just excited. Want you so bad.” She reaches out and wraps her fingers around his hard cock, strokes him and down before she pulls him lightly towards her.

He tuts his tongue at her but allows himself to be pulled along. “So impatient,” he says. “What am I gonna do with you, hmm?” His touch moves up and down her curves until they settle on her abdomen and presses down.

“Fuck me,” she playfully suggests as his lips wrap around her pebbled nipple through her black satin dress.

Harry lets out low chuckle. “I dunno, baby,” his hot breath sends shivers all the way to the base of her spine. “I’m still a little peeved about earlier.” This causes her to whine at him. At this point Y/n’s so riled up and desperate for him to fill her up that she thinks she might explode if he doesn’t touch her the way she wants. “Still not convinced that you’re a good girl.” His kisses trail up along her jaw and hover just beside her mouth. “Only good girls get fucked proper.” He ghosts his lips along hers and moves a stray hair from her face. “What do you think?” He loves teasing her when she’s in this state, all vulnerable and needy for him to satisfy her. The way she reacts to even just a waft his breath against her skin leaves him speechless at times.

Y/n shakes her head. “I’ll be good! Promise!” Her fingers entangle themselves in his curls and pull lightly at the root. “Please! Want to feel you inside of me. Already so wet for you, daddy,” she cries, lifting her hips in search for any type of friction between them. “Baby, please.” A pout appears on her lips, something she knows very well will get her what she wants.

Without another word, Harry aligns himself at her entrance and gives her one last look before entering her in one swift motion. Y/n clings to him almost instantaneously as she feels all her nerves catch fire and her walls flutter tightly around his hard cock. He thinks he might cum right now. She’s just so fucking snug around him that he swears shouldn’t be possible after having given him three beautiful children.

“Christ, love. Can barely move with you squeezing like that,” he grunts as he tries to pull out.

But she stops him before he’s able to inch out. “You feel so good inside me, feel so full. Always feel so full when you fuck me,” Y/n says, her head all up in the clouds and her toes curling with her heels digging into his lower back. She pulls him down for an open-mouthed kiss as she sinks her nails into the apex of his ass to encourage a deeper connection. His movements are long and slow but the way he stretches her out with each thrust cause both of them to be reduced to nothing more than impassioned moans that are swallowed between their battling lips completely swollen.

“Love you so much,” he says against her, “so fucking much.” He quickens his pace to reach that next level ecstasy for the both of them.

“Love you,” she manages through uneven pants that leave her each time he pounds back into her needy cunt. He tries hard to focus on his breathing before he shoots load prematurely into her. No, not yet. With the last bit self-restraint he has left, he detaches himself sitting up but still keeping their bodies intertwined. He pushes her knees up against her body and both groan at the newfound depth. “Just like that, daddy! Don’t stop!”

He lunges his full length back into her. “You like that, baby girl? Like it when I fuck you like this?” He pushes his matted curls away from his eyes so he can get a good look at his girl writhing deliciously beneath him, her chest heaving as she hums a response. His hand finds one of her breasts and squeezes at it as he feels his orgasm fast approaching. He tweaks one of her nipples through the satin material which leaves her crying out in pure bliss.

“I’m gonna cum,” she gasps, her walls closing in on him even more than before. “Baby, I’m so close.” Her hips buck up to meet his every thrust, his balls slapping against her ass each time, the sound pushing her closer and closer to the edge of an anticipated release.

She slides her fingers between them and rubs furiously on her button, rubbing fast circles around it until she’s able to see a hot cloud form behind her eyelids that bursts with white the moment she feels a wave of pleasure wash over her. Through glossed over eyes the sight of her touching herself and coating her delicate fingers with their cocktail of arousal makes him lose control of his pacing and begin to frantically buck into her as though his life depended on it. With a high-pitched moan, she releases on top of his cock while he chases after his own relief. She hugs him tightly with her legs locking around him, and that’s the last bit he needs before tensing above her and spilling into cum-needy pussy.

He collapses on top of her, his tired limbs entangling with hers as they take a moment to catch their breaths. They lay there for about ten minutes, simply enjoying the feeling of being in each other’s embrace. The windows have now just begun to rid themselves of the fog caused from their steamy exchange of desire.

“Should we,” Y/n begins, still breathless, “should we pick the kids up from Mum and Dad’s?” She places a chaste kiss to the side of her husband’s head. He shakes his head against her and sucks gently on the place beneath her ear.

“Tell ‘em to keep them overnight,” he says, lapping his tongue over the spot he’d been ravishing. “I’m not done with you yet. I think I need some further convincing.”

#stepbro!harry #stepbro!harry blurb #harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles smut #harry styles fanfic #harry styles x reader #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles drabble #harry styles fluff #one direction preferences

445 notes · View notes

maddiealdens · 6 years ago

Text

(cisfemale) haven’t seen MADDIE ALDEN around in a while. the HALSTON SAGE lookalike has been known to be (+) COMPASSIONATE & (+) GENTLE, but SHE can also be (-) ANXIOUS & (-) OVEREMOTIONAL. The 20 year old is a SOPHOMORE majoring in INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS. I believe they’re living in AUDAX but I popped by earlier and no one answered the door. (kayla. 23. central. she/her. )

hi everyone! it’s kayla (flynn’s mun) coming at you with another muse now that college has released me from its suffocating grasp (save for one final essay) :) was talking to my mom about how glad i am to be out and she was like “yeah, me too. didn’t think you were gonna make it.” and while i was low-key offended at her lack of faith, i also didn’t think i was gonna make it there for a minute. but *wipes sweat from my brow* now i’m back and ready to roll. so lemme tell you all about my soft gorl.

*the second youngest of the Alden clan. the order is Meredith (18), Maddie (20), Miles (21), Miriam (22), Millicent (24), and Mackenzie (27).

*considers her family her “built-in best friends” and is kinda clingy with them? there was probably a time when she was younger where she didn’t want to seek out relationships with anyone other than her siblings bc she’s shy and “you guys are more than enough for me”, but she’s gotten better about it.

*her mother had a nomadic soul and was constantly traveling until Meredith was born. Maddie would listen to stories of her travels with starry eyes and just fantasize about roaming the world herself one day. She led her to her interest in learning about different cultures and languages.

*she has something of a knack for acquiring languages and currently speaks 7 of them. English, Spanish, French, Russian, Mandarin, German, and Korean. She’s also currently trying to learn a little Dutch for Amsterdam (her first actual venture out of the United States), so catch her obsessively reading up on that at any given time.

*she also picked up a love of writing poetry from her English professor father, and you’re likely to find poems in various languages littered around campus and signed as “anonymous”.

*speaking of, aside from anonymously casting them out into the world, Maddie is super private about her poetry? her brother Miles is the only person she indiscriminately lets read over her poems. she will read love poems she writes about them to people she’s involved with if it’s serious, but the millions of crushes she collects like pokemon? eyes on your own paper!

*she’s a complete hopeless romantic, raised on fairy tales and happy endings. she wants to believe that everything works out in the end, often at the cost of blinding herself with idealism and ignoring the less desirable qualities of the people around her.

*but this unwavering belief that people are good, and karma sorts out everything in the end has carried her through some pretty dark times, namely the deaths of her uncle, father, and Tatiana.

*(anxiety tw, mental health tw) suffers from social anxiety disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. a double whammy!

*connection to Tati: Maddie looked up to Tatiana when she was dating Miles and viewed her as another sister. Being a hopeless romantic and seeing the way her brother’s eyes lit up when he talked about her, the young girl just assumed they would be sisters one day. She was distraught when Tati later broke his heart. As an act of passive revenge for her brother, she chose Tatiana’s name. Tati also dated her high school sweetheart, Alex James, but this did not contribute to her reasoning for voting for her.

MBTI: INFP

Enneagram: 4w5

Moral Alignment: Neutral Good

Soul Type: Artisan

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff

aesthetics: blonde hair clipped back with a butterfly barrette, a cabinet filled to the brim with sugary children’s cereal, Grimms’ Fairy Tales left open on unmade satin sheets, the feeling of your heart skipping a beat when you see someone you have a crush on, the sting of tears, writing a love poem in a coffeeshop for a perfect stranger ordering a macchiato, the frustration when you try to translate a phrase from another language that’s untranslatable, hastily scribbled notes of encouragement in the notebooks of your friends for them to find later, poems about a lover written in their absence uttered breathily in their ear whilst making love, a floral-patterned sundress, a smile as warm as sunshine itself, sweaty palms, binge watching Disney movies at 3 a.m. when you’re too anxious to sleep, gathering books in the library until your arms are too full to carry any more, almost walking out into a busy street because you are too busy daydreaming about traveling the world one day, sending dog memes to your siblings in between classes, gasping every time you see an animal in public, leaving anonymous poems around campus in other languages, a daisy chain made into a crown, etc.

Potential Connections: a squad (a group of people outside of her family that she feels comfortable with), friends of all degrees of closeness, exes (f, m, nb), fwb (f, m, nb), hook ups (i don’t imagine there’s very many of these, but maybe there’s a couple of drunken hook ups that maddie acts kind of awkward around), family friends (the aldens are pretty close with the lock woods,craigs, and samuels), a crush or 200 (people that maddie will become a flustered motor mouth around), a good influence, a bad influence, study buddies, a tutor, someone maddie tutors, partners for a class, a muse, mental health buddy (someone who talks about her anxiety with her and makes sure she regularly attends therapy and vice versa), someone maddie really dislikes, someone who dislikes maddie, mutual dislike, someone who speaks another language that maddie can brush up on her languages with, toxic friendship, etc.

anyway, i think that’s everything? feel free to send me an im, or tap that little heart and i’ll cha cha slide into your dms <3

#water:intro #anxiety tw

14 notes · View notes

niafrazier · 6 years ago

Text

Making the Case for Beto O’Rourke

Full disclaimer: Beto is one of my top picks amongst the 2020 democratic field as of now. I’m a supporter but am in no way affiliated with his official campaign.

At a certain point, Beto O’Rourke was hailed by the media as basically the second coming of Obama, RFK, JFK, [insert any popular democratic figure from this past century… oh and Abe Lincoln]. After he unsuccessfully attempted to unseat Ted Cruz in the senate race, many people across the country were calling him to run for the presidency. He even surged in polling being just behind Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, both who virtually have 100% name recognition. His senate race garnered national attention and even caught Oprah’s attention (she practically begged him to run on her show FFS). Many (including me) grew to admire his authentic, organic, and down-to-earth approach to politics, which is especially refreshing to see given the fact that everything seems so contrived nowadays. So, he wrestled with his decision thoughtfully and eventually came around to the idea, officially tossing his hat into the ring on March 14th, 2019. But now? Right out the gate, the narrative has shifted, and to the mainstream media pundits and Twittersphere, he is seen as an empty-suited, entitled, misogynistic, arrogant dude dripping with white male privilege. What changed? How is it that the media, the very one that contributed to the rise of “Betomania,” subsequently went into a frenzy and poo-pooed all over his rollout? The faux outrage, double standards, and cynicism directed at Beto by opinion writers, pundits, etc. have basically motivated me to give my own takes on the most common criticisms I’ve seen thus far. So, here we go:

“ ‘Man, I’m just born to be in it?’ ”

I’m not gonna lie, taking a look at the Vanity Fair cover and seeing that quote was a facepalm moment. As predicted, this quote sparked outrage fairly quickly… given the optics of a privileged straight white man joining a race of several qualified women and POC… Understandably so. However, upon reading through the whole article, I was able to grasp the essence of Beto’s words. Here’s what he says leading up to his declaration, expressing urgency:

“This is the fight of our lives…not the fight-of-my-political-life kind of crap. But, like, this is the fight of our lives as Americans, and as humans, I’d argue.”

And now here’s the full quote: “Man, I’m just born to be in it, and want to do everything I humanly can for this country at this moment.”

He’s not so much saying that he was born to be in a position of power, rather, he’s expressing that during such dire times, especially in U.S. democracy, he could not in good conscience be complacent and not take action. Just as he was drawn to serve his district in El Paso as a 6 year city council member and a 3-term congressman, he believes that at this moment, he has a purpose to serve the whole nation by being as actively involved in the national discussion as possible—to stand up to bigotry and divisiveness displayed by the current administration of the White House. Beto basically confirmed what I had thought after further inspection when he clarified his statement later (Google it. I’m having trouble with my hyperlinks right now). Could he have worded it better? Sure. I just reject the notion that this one gaffe is supposed to sum him up as an egotistical maniac… please.

“He adds absolutely no value to the race”

This is arbitrary depending on what your key issues are, but I’m gonna give my take on why I think he’s an excellent addition to the race. So, I’ve been intrigued about the possibility of an O’Rourke presidential run since he’s hinted at it back in November. I really didn’t know much about him until toward the end of Midterm season, but the more I learned, the more impressed I became. (Side note: it was this clip that first caught my full attention.) What really fueled my interest in Beto though, was his stance on immigration. As a first generation Nigerian American, this topic is pretty personal to me. My parents were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to immigrate to America and raise me and my three other siblings. However, I’ve also seen firsthand the difficulty of not only getting through with the ridiculous process but also assimilating into this country. For so long, the Democrats haven’t really made immigration a central issue, until the Trump administration hijacked it and pushed the Overton window all the way to the right. With heightened xenophobia running rampant in this country as a result of this abhorrent presidency, it is pertinent that the Democrats not merely pay lip service to this issue any longer and take serious action. Beto has an advantage here: He’s grown up in and served as a U.S House Rep. in the border district of El Paso, also home to the largest binational community in the Northern hemisphere. He can add a lot to the national discussion and debate on the matter. When Trump came to El Paso, the local community organized a counter rally where Beto gave an impassioned speech about the border wall and immigration. It’s pretty long, but I highly recommend the watch. Furthermore, Beto has outlined a 10 point proposal on how best to approach the immigration issue, along with some facts about the border’s history, which you can read here. Immigration hasn’t really been a winning issue, and I honestly don’t see it being one in 2020. With that being said, I respect the fact that despite this, Beto has shown that this is an issue that he deeply cares about. If I’m being honest, even though comprehensive immigration reform is universally called for amongst Democrats, I doubt that anyone in the field will truly make immigration a main priority in their prospective presidencies. To me, Beto has shown that he will. Even if he doesn’t clinch the nomination, it still means a ton to me that we can have the potential to change the narrative of immigration in this country with serious discussion. With the way Beto is able to convey his message, I am hopeful for what’s to come.

So, let’s talk about Texas. With the way Beto was able to energize the Democratic base in Texas, Democrats have the opportunity to put the Republican bastion state into play. With 38 electoral votes at stake, Texas is extremely crucial for the GOP. To put things in perspective, if Texas turned blue in 2016, President Hillary Clinton would have been a thing.

*Bonus: “He Lost to Ted Cruz lol… already a nonstarter”

Yes. But you know who else lost to Ted in Texas? Donald Trump. Cruz obliterated him in the Texas Republican primaries. I’m not saying Texas is guaranteed to turn blue with Beto on the ballot, but if we learned anything in 2016, it’s not to underestimate the possibility of seemingly blue or red states to flip at any given moment. The GOP has taken note of this. We’ve seen that Beto has a ton of appeal in Texas amongst not only Democrats but Never-Trump-Republicans and independents as well! If Beto is on that ballot, the GOP will most likely exhaust a ton of resources and money into Texas to keep it from going blue. This will only make other states that Trump won with the slimmest of margins vulnerable. Also… I find it disingenuous to make comparisons between Beto and other senators that hail from deeply blue states regarding electability. If Beto lost to Ted in California, then yeah… we could have a conversation about that.

“A woman running mate is his preference? Who does he think he is?”

The backlash on this surprised me, to be honest… Even Whoopi Goldberg blasted his ass for the statement on The View. If I had to go on a whim here, I feel like it was the Vanity Fair article that sort of set the mood for Beto’s campaign thus far… because otherwise, I believe that this really wouldn’t have been a story. In fact, Beto is not the only male candidate to call for a woman VP. Cory Booker and Bernie Sanders have strongly hinted at choosing a woman running mate. Interestingly enough, I didn’t recall there being any backlash. Here are Beto’s full remarks on choosing a woman as his running mate:

"It would be very difficult not to select a woman with so many extraordinary women who are running right now, but first I would have to win and there's-- you know, this is as open as it has ever been."

This is very much the response I expected from Beto. Time and time again, he has openly acknowledged his privilege, even before getting hammered about it on social media. In the Vanity Fair article, he states his stance on lack of representation in Washington:

“The government at all levels is overly represented by white men,” he says. “That’s part of the problem, and I’m a white man. So if I were to run, I think it’s just so important that those who would comprise my team looked like this country. If I were to run, if I were to win, that my administration looks like this country. It’s the only way I know to meet that challenge.”

Furthermore, he is understanding and considerate of the fact that people are craving for diversity. Here’s what he says:

“But I totally understand people who will make a decision [cast a vote in the primaries] based on the fact that almost every single one of our presidents has been a white man, and they want something different for this country. And I think that’s a very legitimate basis upon which to make a decision. Especially in the fact that there are some really great candidates out there right now.”

I know I don’t speak for all POC or women, but as a WOC myself, I took no issue to his statements. In fact, I appreciate his sensitivity to the issue and the fact that he doesn’t shy away from addressing uncomfortable topics in politics, such as race and representation.

Let’s just be glad he didn’t pull a Hickenlooper…. Jesus.

“Light on policy… but he stands on counters amirite?”

To discuss this point, it’s important to understand Beto’s campaign style. Beto is more like a blank canvass. What he does is first listen to people and their concerns, and then from there, he shapes his policies around that. He feels that this is the best way to serve the people. The point of his road trips and tours was not to lecture people on full fleshed policy proposals. There is debate on whether or not this is an effective strategy, and I do understand that people do like to know exactly what they’re signing up for before casting a vote. That’s why some people will more likely gravitate toward candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren who have been consistent in their messaging. However, I also think people underestimate the power of simply listening. Take these comments that a potential voter made concerning Beto’s ability to listen during his stop in South Carolina for example:

"I think if he keeps talking to the people and being able to listen, and not talk at the African-American voters. Talk to us. Listen to what we have to say… As long as you listen and then actually put forward ideas that are legitimate ideas to do things, then he will be fine.”

While policy specifics are important, this is still the early stages of Beto’s campaign. Specifics, of course, will have to come at some point, especially when debates come around. Another critique I hear is Beto not having any policy proposals on his website yet. He’s not alone though. Several candidates who have been running longer than he has don’t either. It’s also important to note that while people in the race most likely have been mulling a presidential run for several months or years, this has been something that came around to Beto as recent as November 2018. Stuff like this takes time. I think he has potential, however, in this area. For instance, as I mentioned earlier, he has put out a 10-point proposal on immigration. He also has a brief 5-point plan regarding criminal justice reform and legalization of marijuana. (Fun fact, he even coauthored a book concerning the legalization of weed.) And it’s not like he hasn’t taken stances on issues ever either… I mean, he has a whole congressional record, and his townhalls give you an idea of where he stands on key issues.

Oh... and about the countertops. Ugh. The fact that this really sparked outrage is comical. I’ve seen all sorts of takes on this from asserting his male dominance to throwing his youth in Bernie and Biden’s faces (lmao). At a campaign stop, the owner of the coffee shop that he was at asked him to stand on the countertop because people complained that they weren’t able to see Beto amongst the crowds and camera equipment (despite him being 6’4’’, ha). So then it just became a thing since. And he’s respectful about it in case anyone was wondering, lol. But there’s one thing I think both the Beto detractors and I can agree on: why tf is this getting media coverage? I do agree that there should be more coverage for other candidates concerning the real issues. However, the response shouldn’t be to go after Beto or chastise him for doing harmless acts during his campaign stops… Talk that up with the media. The ironic thing about this is that some of the media pundits complain about giving Beto so much coverage… all while giving Beto more coverage about the coverage he’s receiving… 🙄

So if you made it to the end of this extremely long effortpost, thank you. I actually had tons more to discuss but I’m not trying to make this into a novel. Anyways, I’ll say one last thing:

Before going along with groupthink or engaging in the toxic political echo chamber that is Twitter, I implore you all to take a step back and actually get to know these candidates. Seek after local news outlets when candidates visit to get a feel of the vibes from locals. Go to Beto’s Facebook page and watch a town hall or two. You may come home with a different impression than what is portrayed in mainstream media. I can tell you that when I did this, the difference was night and day. We have such an amazing field of contenders to choose from, and I’d hate for misinformation or bad-faith arguments to warp perceptions.

#beto o'rourke #2020 #democratic primary #2020 election #politics

7 notes · View notes

jinkisbelly · 6 years ago

Text

Champion No More 3/?

First Chapter, Second Chapter, Ao3 link

Rating: pg -13 (Talk of Death)

Pairing: Jongyu

w/c:1.8k

Summary: In a neighboring Kingdom where criminals and captives are forced to fight to the death, a Prince finds his past can no longer stay in his distant memories.

21 years prior, age 10

“Your Highness, you are getting a new personal servant.” Jonghyun looked up at his nursemaid he’s known most of his life curiously.

“A personal servant?” He softly questioned.

“Yes, your highness.” She smiled warmly, her grey hair falling in her face as she gestured toward the door. “He’s only to serve you, My Prince.”

Jonghyun looked toward the door when he heard the quiet footsteps against the floor. Coming in was a young boy with messy red tinted, dark hair. His eyes were cast toward the floor as he shuffled in front of his prince and bowed. “My name is Jinki Lee, and I am pleased to be in your service, Your Highness.” His voice was soft and muffled, as if shy and timid.

“It’s grand to meet you, Jinki Lee.” The Prince smiled before looking back up at the older woman behind him. “Can you leave us alone, Miss Cho?”

“Of course, dear.” She curtsied before heading out, “If you need anything, Your Highness, just ring.”

He nodded in her direction, but his eyes never left the boy in front of him. He was taller than he was, but it was obvious how nervous he was with how his eyes hadn’t lifted very high for more than a few seconds when he thought the prince wasn’t looking at him. “Do you know how to play checkers Jinki?”

“I do, sir.”

Jonghyun giggled, startling the servant boy. “My father is sir. You can call me Jonghyun, Jinki. I have a feeling we’re gonna get to know each other a whole lot. Come~”

Jinki was gently smiling as he rose his head and followed his prince over to the table in the middle of the room, climbing up onto the plush seat and setting up the game. It was the first time he didn’t feel as nervous as he had nonstop since he was told he had gotten the prince as an assignment.

-----

Present

“Do you remember when we met?” Jonghyun quietly asked, back against the stone wall, where on the other side Jinki was pressed against it too. With the break between fights being longer to prepare for the final of the season, there were fewer guards walking the halls of the individual cells.

“Of course,” Jinki responded, there was a light laugh in his voice. “I was scared shitless the Prince was going to order my head to be cut off because I didn’t pour his porridge just right.”

“Is that why I always won in checkers?”

After a moment Jinki softly answered, “Maybe.”

Jonghyun looked at his hands, remembering growing up with Jinki as if it was yesterday. So many vivid memories of the skinny boy with red tinted hair who turned into the love of his life. “When they told me I was getting a new servant I picture some old man telling me I was wearing my ceremonial coat wrong. Not a boy 4 months older than myself.”

“Even after everything that happened, I’m glad they put me on Prince duty and not barn duty.”

“You just don’t like horse poop.” Jonghyun mumbled.

“No. I couldn’t imagine a life where I never loved you.”

Jonghyun let out a deep breath, Jinki’s words hitting him straight in his chest, “Don’t say things like that.”

He heard the noise, felt the jarring through the wall, and he figured Jinki had hit his head back against the wall. “There will come a time I won’t be able to say anything to you Jonghyun.”

“Jinki-”

“I know you wish not to do what I ask of you,” Jinki’s deep sigh could be heard, “But it’ll just be like the last thirteen years. You’ll have closure this time. You can move on.”

“I don’t wish to move on from you. I never had.” Jonghyun bites his lower lip so hard he can taste the metallic blood against his tongue. “Ever since that day at the tournament, when your big headed self-got yourself into trouble and we kissed, I never wanted to spend a moment without you. Don’t you remember how that felt?”

“Of course I do Jonghyun. I couldn’t forget.” Jinki laughs quietly to himself. “Believe me. I’ve tried.”

-----

17 years prior, age 14

If Jinki had to hear the insufferable girl giggle one more time he was going to jump into the wild boar pit with a scream. The visiting Princess had spent almost every waking minute hanging onto Jonghyun’s arm and off every word he said. Jinki was tired. Tired of her voice. Tired of the way she smelled. Tired of the way her dress ruffled around as she moved. And tired of how close she was to Jonghyun. They were supposed to be watching the tournament in front of them, not gazing at each other like they had a painting plastered to their face. Before he could stop himself his feet were moving until he was between their chairs, and with a slight tilt, the wine on his tray fell all on the Princess’ dress, staining the light colored fabric a deep red.

To make matters worse, Jonghyun rushes to help pat the wine from the dress, apologizing profusely about his servant’s behavior and how he’s normally not like this, but most of the words were easily ignored with the anger rolling through Jinki’s mind as he glared at the two of them. The Princess rushes off, embarrassed and almost crying, and Jonghyun’s gaze lands on him. He lifts his hand, curling his finger towards him to signal he wishes Jinki to come near. When he does, Jonghyun tightly asks, “Can I speak with you in my tent, Jinki?”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

As soon as the flap of the tent is closed Jonghyun hisses, “What in all hells was that?”

“It slipped.”

“It slipped my royal ass.”

“I made a mistake. I’m SO sorry I ruined one of her million handcrafted dresses.”

Jonghyun is fuming, “She’s a visiting princess, a guest in our Kingdom. You should have apologized Jinki.”

Jinki mumbled, “She’s lucky it didn’t end up in her humongous hair.”

“What was that Jinki?”

“Nothing, My Prince.” Jinki quickly replies, flashing a smile as he raises his gaze to look at him.

Jonghyun sighs, falling back into a chair and he runs a hand over his face.. His elbows are on his knees, his posture completely improper for a prince as he asks. “Jinki, be honest with me. Did you do that on purpose?”

“There’s a high chance that it might have been done on purpose.”

“Uh huh, and why did you spill it on purpose,” Jonghyun rested his chin on his palm, “Hypothetically of course.”

“I didn’t like her.”

“You didn’t like her.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“She seemed to have negative alternative motives.”

“Oh? And you can tell this by standing three feet behind me and over the sound of the crowd?” Jonghyun’s fingers are softly tapping on his chin as he speaks.

“Yes, precisely.”

“And yet, you can’t hear me call your name across an empty ass room.” It wasn’t a question, Jinki knew.

“Hey, those dome ceilings mess with the sound.”

“Jinki,” Jonghyun chided, “You just embarrassed a Princess from a very important Kingdom. I’m going to have to explain this. You’ve never been like this before. What’s gotten into you?”

"I don’t know what you mean. I’ve always looked out for your wellbeing.” Jonghyun just stares at him, not blinking and doesn’t say a word. “What?”

“You’re so full of shit your hair is turning more brown than red.” Jonghyun then leans back into his chair, tapping his fingers on the arms of the chair, and studies him, sadly. “My father, her father, are going to call me to fire you, do you understand?”

Jinki pales, “What?”

“I would do it if it saves the relationship between our Kingdoms.”

“Jonghyun please-”

“Why did you do it?” When Jinki doesn’t answer he asks again. “Give me something to work with Dammit.”

“I love you!” Jinki blurts out, quickly covering his mouth with both his hands.

“Excuse me?”

But then he softens, and his voice is quiet as he looks at his boots. “I love you. I didn’t like how she was flirting with you… so I poured it.”

“Jinki I-”

His head was hung low, eyes closed as he says, “I understand the consequences. I’ll make my leave now your grace.”

He places his tray on the table before turning and heading out of the tent. His fingers are grazing the tent flap when something warm curls around his wrist and pulls him back. Before he can ask what was happening, Jonghyun’s kissing him. It’s sloppy and rough, mostly teeth, but Jinki is frozen as Jonghyun withdraws. Jonghyun is scowling, serious, as he states. “I never dismissed you yet, Jinki. You can’t leave yet.”

Jinki licks his lips, fumbling horribly to find any word to say. He opens his mouth and a jumble of words come out in no particular order. “Jonghyun what kiss that huh?” Then Jonghyun kisses him again, but this time it’s slow, more in control, and softer. No teeth. It seems to reboot Jinki’s mind. “Is this a new way of letting someone go because I don’t know if I could kiss the King.”

“Jinnnnkkkki.” Jonghyun whines. Being the common occurrence as it was to hear that, Jinki grinned.

“Does this mean I’m not fired?”

----

Present

“How did you become a captain, Jinki?”

Jinki picks at the hole in his pants, just above the knee, as he contemplates his answer. “The Captain of the ship at the time, I was 19, he wanted us to kill this entire village of innocent people. Full of women and children, and I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t watch the men I had grown to have a comradery with do such a thing. Such a thing plagues your dreams. I told the Captain no. He took it as Mutiny and charged. I killed him protecting myself.” Jinki ran his tongue over his dry lips, looking through his fringe. “The role of Captain usually falls to the First Mate then, but he was old, wanted to retire to land to die. The crew voted me to be their Captain.”

“You’ve always been meant for leadership,” Jonghyun recalls fondly, a smile on his lips. “How they ever thought you’d be a good servant is beyond me.”

“Hey!” Jinki scoffed, insulted. “I was a damn good servant.”

“You always ate half my breakfast before it got to me.”

“Only the muffins.” Jinki corrected, but his voice was soft, happy, as he remembered. “You never would eat them, always waiting until the very end and being too full to eat them, so I’d take them.”

“I never ate them because I knew you wanted them.”

That gave Jinki pause, “I started eating them when we were twelve.”

“I know.”

“But.”

“Did I just make the great Captain Speechless?” Jonghyun laughed quietly when he heard Jinki’s mumbled shut up. His expression fell as he quietly asked, “Did you ever find someone else? Is.. there someone waiting for you out there?”

“For some time I was sexually involved with my First Mate,” Jinki was staring straight at him, at least from what he could tell with half of his expression seen. “However, it was purely physical and did nothing to help me forget you.”

“Thank you for being honest with me.” Jonghyun softly states, gaze falling to his lap.

“I wish I never had to run away like that.” Jinki sighed. “I wish I could have stayed with you, even just for a little bit longer.”

“That morning when I woke up, I knew something was wrong. I knew deep down you wouldn’t be coming back.”

----

13 years ago, age 17

Jonghyun could sense it was morning by the light falling upon his face from the window across the room. His bed felt colder, but he reached out instinctively to pull Jinki closer. His hand only grabbed freezing bedsheets. Curious, he twisted, softly running his palm over the space. It was too cold to be recently vacated and a feeling of dread descended over him. He had overheard some of the guards during sparring talking about the new bounty over the Prince’s lover’s head. He wondered if his father had figured out it was Jinki and had taken him away.

Surely he’d have woken up if that happened, right? Jinki would have made some type of scene, wouldn’t he? When breakfast, and Jinki, never came, Jonghyun got dressed and went to check his servants quarters. Maybe he had slipped away in the middle of the night and was simply oversleeping. However, as he pushed open the door of the room was in disarray, looking like someone had ransacked it looking for something. Even Teacup was gone, missing from the small makeshift bed she usually slept in. A lump formed in his throat as his knees felt weak, buckling from under him. He wrapped his arms around himself, silent sobs racking his body as he curled into himself. Jinki was gone. Most likely killed for simply falling in love with him.

How could he forgive himself?

----

Present, the night before the final fight

“Tomorrow is the big day.” Jinki softly mumbled. The sun was low, or he assumed so with the low light coming in from the small window in his cell. His back was pressed against the wall he shared with Jonghyun, knowing the man was leaning on the other side. He knew Jonghyun had heard him, because of the sharp intake of breath coming from the man’s cell. “Tomorrow you’ll earn your freedom.”

“What is freedom carrying around your death over my head?”

“Jonghyun.” Jinki warned, voice stern.

“You can’t expect me to do it. I won’t. I refuse.”

Jinki ran a hand over his face, staring at the swinging pendant held by his left hand. Slowly he pushed off the ground, walking to where the bars of the cell and the stone of the wall met. “Jonghyun.. Come to the bars. Hold out your hand.”

Hesitantly, Jonghyun did as he was asked. His fingers brushed Jinki’s for a moment before he felt a braided thread. He grabbed it carefully before pulling his hand back. When he lifted his gaze from the pendant he had carved for Jinki all those years ago, he stumbled back, far enough to be able to see his face. “Jinki.. I-”

“I’ve kept that with me, a connection to you all these years. I’ve always thought it’s protected me somehow from death.” Jinki took a ragged breath, tears visibly falling down his cheeks. “It’s only right that I return my heart to you before it ends. Promise me you’ll keep it.”

“Jinki-”

“Please.”

Finally, Jonghyun relented tears of his own falling. “I promise.”

“Never forget that I love you.” Jinki sniffled hard, falling apart at the seams when finally facing what awaited them when the sun rose again. “Please remember how much I love you. That everything I ever did, the mistakes I made, leaving.. I did them thinking of you, even if they were wrong.”

“I know Jinki.” Jonghyun let a broken sob escape, quickly composing himself more. “I love you.”

“Oh, do I.”

#jongyu #onjong #shinee #onew #jonghyun #jinki #fight arena au #I think that's quite enough updates #sorry for the spam asdijasd #I hope you enjoy

13 notes · View notes

chuckling-chemist · 6 years ago

Text

Extra 2: Crowning

((This was the already planned extra, as like last year I wanted to actually write something to have to do with the crowning. I realize it’s late but I finished it at like 1:30 a.m. and wanted to actually sleep. Honestly pretty straightfoward in all sense. Like I said in the tags of the last one, not nearly as dark.))

“Esteemed guests of the 12th Perigee Ball, may I please have your attention for the moment I’m certain many of you have waited eons for!”

It took some time, but with the quieting of the band, so too did the crowd of trolls scattered throughout the ballroom. A flashy tealblood dressed poet’s shirt decorated in a teal, double breasted vest and ascot, pranced up to the stage. The faux feathers attached to the vest moved the barest bit, enough so no one watching them too close would make unfortunate presumptions about the construction of his suit. Zamiir Paradi, the host. Who else deserved to announce the prestigious winners?

The stage lights centered on him. He pulled a gold-adorned envelope out from his sleeve dramatically, flourishing it underneath the bright lights to give it a shimmer. A wide smile graced his face as he scanned the letter.

“It appears this sweep, our winners are the gorgeous model Ferroc Lutris and stunning Grubtube star Kinesa Mamono!”

The crowd exploded into uproarious applause before Zamiir had the chance to request it. They were celebrities, well-liked and even better-known. For them to win was only natural.

Still, a seadweller and brownblood hung against a wall, eyeing the winners graciously taking center stage suspiciously. The brownblood wore a short, loose bright red dress that draped around her knees with a black tie around the back holding the whole thing together. Mayola wore the same outfit. She’d gotten too attached to the dress.

“You know who they hell they are?” Valeba asked. She hated to admit she focused on such a frivolous crowning as much as she did, but after the events of the early morning she needed the distraction. If she focused too much on the world outside sanitized highblood life, she might go crazy.

“Uh...the tacky jade’s a model. Think I’ve heard Ace drop his name once or twice whenever she bitched about them. No idea about the other jade though. Guess she’s Internet famous? For whatever that’s worth.” Mayola shrugged helplessly. Valeba could tell Mayola was doing the same as her, trying so damn hard to ignore the stupid riots. “Then again, guess if she weren’t famous we wouldn’t be seein’ her here, huh?”

“Guess not.” She crossed her arms. Dontoc had told her all about last sweep, when two lowbloods won. She’d even drummed up some excitement to see it happen again. Oh well. Who knows, maybe the rebellions scared them.

The two watched silently as the whole crowning ceremony started up. No matter how much she focused, the only things returning to her vision was what she saw on the screen. Did they not know here? Or did they just not care?

Mayola glanced slyly over at Valeba. She must’ve been thinking the same thing. “Ya know...if we dip now, everyone’ll be too busy to notice royalty slip away.”

Those were the best words Valeba heard all night. “Oh God, yes.”

The two trolls accepted their crowns, both equally decorated in diamonds that sparkled underneath the lights. Zamiir managed to slide Kinesa’s on without much work, the two trolls being almost matched perfectly in height. Ferroc’s crown troubled them more. The jade ended up taking a kneel, dipping his head to let the host place it atop his head. It rested just above his horns. The two crowns weren’t identical, but they were close enough.

“Two jades, eh? Interesting. They even look matching, just like everyone else. Maybe I can get in and talk to them. Get an interview about why they think they won,” Gonzor said. Not a single piece of his attire from last night changed. He liked it. The colors looked good on him, he thought. They drove attention away from other, less Empire friendly aspects about himself. Not even his position much changed. He sat at the bar, away from all other trolls to observe the spectacle safely from a distance.

The bartender gave him a cold smile. “Good luck with that one. I’m sure once they realize who you are, any interest in drumming up notoriety will disappear in a snap.”

Gonzor laughed. The longer he was here, the more he relaxed. Better than the alternative, anyway. “Ah, they’ll never know. Trolling Stone’s pretty underground all things considered, and my artist isn’t here to completely fuck up my chances.”

The bartender smiled coldly at him. “Perhaps. But they’re smart. Business trolls tend to be, of course. I’m sure they’d pick up on whatever intent you have.”

“Eh, maybe. Who knows. Most trolls don’t if ya think about it.” Gonzor pushed his sunglasses up, keeping light green eyes obscured from the bartender. “Do you know?”

The bartender only took a cursory glance at Gonzor before he answered. “You’re a reporter. Paparazzi most likely. An oliveblood looking to write a juicy article on the celebrities here to achieve a blip of fame. They’re the only ones who come here.”

He grinned. “Sounds about right. That’s all Trolling Stone is, after all. Just another plain tabloid.”

Oh, how wrong he was.

The band started softly, with little more than the percussion tapping off a basic rhythm to keep the tealblooded singer on tempo. Dontoc glanced up from reading a host of frantic messages from Pallia on his palm husk just long enough to catch the Ball King and Queen collect on center stage to dance. That was something they did, apparently. A cute concept, even if it wasn’t much his thing to try to win himself. The whole thing also kept Careen off his back, which let him message Pallia to affirm he was perfectly safe sorry for taking so long, ask what on Alternia she was talking about, and if she was okay or if he placed undue stress taking so long. He only hoped she saw it soon.

“They’re just so deserving, don’t you think? Better than last sweep, anyway.” Careen sighed, resting a cheek in her hand. “How fitting that a glamorous fashionista and a model get paired up to feel like seadwellers for a night. Sure they’re jadebloods, but jadebloods are just so special in our society.”

Dontoc chuckled. “I suppose I shall take your word for it; however, I am afraid I do not know who they are.” Careen’s disappointed expression made his own pleasant one evaporate immediately. “Ah...forget I said anything,” he added.

“I didn’t think you voted for them though. Or wait, did you?” Atenic asked curiously. “After all, you’ve always preferred two trolls of the same or similar caste together!”

Careen answered with little more than a scowl thrown in Atenic’s direction. She turned back toward the scene at the center of the floor, enraptured by the glittering gold and colorful patterns the two had. The perfect distraction for him to catch his palm husk’s message from Pallia before it buzzed. don’t worry about it. you’ll be at ssandyhorn tomorrow right? I can explain then. jusst glad you’re ssafe :)~

Yes, I Should. For Once, I Shαll βe Home For 12+h Perigee.

Dontoc paused with a frown. The message felt like it...missed something. He looked up for a brief second to scan the table. Whatever he wanted to send, he didn’t want them watching. Careen, naturally still seemed completely unconcerned with him. Atenic stared longingly at the two trolls on the dance floor while she absently pushed crumbs around her plate with a fork. Sireot and Pereon were nowhere to be found. He only imagined Pereon had somewhere better to be. No one here noticed him. Not that he could blame them, all the glittering gems and gold jewelry reflecting from the lights managed to distract for a second until he remembered there was something more interesting.

Reαlly, I Miss You +erribly, Pαllia. I+ Shαll βe A Relief +o See You Once More.

He stared at the message. Was it too much? He hoped not. It felt right to say, but he’d been wrong before. Then again, in direct concern with Pallia, they’d been mostly on the nose as of late.

With a slow breath, he hit send. No point going back now.

Her response was equal parts instant and gratifying, slowing down his already racing heartbeat. Figures of all trolls, Pallia would know better than to leave him in wait.

missss you too. leasst i get to sssee you ssoon?

Sooner +hαn βo+h Of Us An+icipα+e, If We Are Lucky.

The song ended on a few gentle piano notes. Spotlights turned back off, letting the usual 12th Perigee colored lights take hold of the room again. He looked up to see the two jadebloods laughing as they parted, making a joke of some sort most likely.

Zamiir tapped the microphone on the lapel of his vest. “That’s it for the 12th Perigee King and Queen. Thank you to everyone for participating in the vote! You’re the reason this stunning event stays alive. Happy holidays to all of you!”

The song shifted from a pleasant, upbeat tone to a soft piano piece. Whatever hold the song and dance had on Careen released her, and she turned back around to the table. “Dontoc, dearie, we should dance! We only have until midnight.”

“Indeed we do, Careen.” He thought back to Pallia, imagined her here with him right now instead of Careen, and the smile on his face almost felt genuine. He’d be away from Careen and with Pallia soon, anyway. “May as well take advantage of it while we can.”

#12th perigee ball 2018 #fantroll #fanfiction #fantrolls #long post #my writing #a tale of 12th perigee #tbh it's still less joyous than i anticipated #but after writing there's fucking riots like a city or two over really makes this all less joyous for me

2 notes · View notes