#I just finished Chapter 89… I don’t know what else to say… I have a lot to say… but… like… no. Just no. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

no--envies · 3 years ago

Text

It’s hard to tell how much WWX was actually affected by his demonic cultivation during his first life. He's still the same person as he was before practicing it and the differences in his temper could be easily attributed to circumstances. I think it's important for the themes of the novel, because MDZS is not a story about someone corrupted by his powers; the point of everything that happened isn't that WWX's cultivation method was harmful and he shouldn't practice it anymore. This is clearly not what the novel is trying to tell us.

Part of WWX’s character arc is about facing his limits and accepting that despite being incredibly talented and skilled, there are things beyond his control. The loss of control of his demonic cultivation is connected to that theme.

He was the one who couldn’t control such a weapon. He was the one who grew too confident in his own abilities. He was also the one who ignored all of the ominous indications that had happened up to now, with the belief that he could suppress any loss of control.

(Chapter 76)

WWX himself admits that he “ignored all the ominous indications” because he felt sure that he could suppress any loss of control. This doesn't necessarily mean there's something inherently harmful about demonic cultivation, but using it as much as WWX did, especially in stressful situations, is not a good idea since it's clearly affected by the state of mind of the person practicing it. The problem isn't that WWX was so arrogant that he thought nothing could go wrong, but that he didn't really have another choice. Instead of worrying, he chose to keep an optimistic mindset and put his trust in his own abilities, as he always does.

I don’t actually consider what happened at Qiongqi Path his fault, since JZXun really pushed him beyond what anyone could reasonably stand, but WWX's thoughts indicate the loss of control wasn't something that happened suddenly. There had been signs before. Other than being plausible, this is important for the themes of the novel: this is a moment where WWX is faced with his own limits. Despite being a prodigy, he's still a fallible human being. He can get tired, stressed out, make mistakes and fail.

Taking all this into account, the signs mentioned by LWJ when they met in Yunmeng were probably real and he hadn’t imagined them. I don’t think LWJ would have been so worried otherwise.

Lan WangJi, “Last time, during the hunt on Phoenix Mountain, have you noticed certain signs?”

Wei WuXian, “What signs?”

Lan WangJi, “The loss of control.”

Wei WuXian, “You mean me almost getting into a fight with Jin ZiXuan? I think you got something wrong. I want to fight with Jin ZiXuan whenever I see him.”

Lan WangJi, “And the things you said afterwards.”

Wei WuXian, “What things? I say so many things every day. I’ve long since forgotten about the things I said two months ago.”

[...]

Lan WangJi, “It is not too late yet. In the future, even if you regret…”

Without waiting for him to finish talking, Wei WuXian’s expression changed. He suddenly stood up, “Lan Zhan!”

Behind him, red light had begun to glow within the eyes of the girls. Wei WuXian, “Stop it.”

Thus, the girls lowered their heads and retreated, but still they stared unwaveringly at Lan WangJi. Wei WuXian turned to him, “What can I say? Even though I don’t think that I’ll regret it, I don’t like it when people take guesses at how I’m going to be in the future, either.”

After a while of silence, Lan WangJi replied, “I am the one who was out of line.”

(Chapter 71)

LWJ’s way of approaching the issue could have definitely been better and it was a source of misunderstandings between them, but he did have a point. I think it's telling that WWX got very defensive every time LWJ brought up the subject. Although part of it was understandable irritation for feeling always judged by LWJ, I think he himself had probably already noticed the signs, but since he couldn’t really do anything about it (it’s not like he could go back to cultivating with spiritual energy) he chose to ignore them and believe in his own ability to suppress any possible loss of control. Having LWJ constantly reminding him that something could go wrong - especially without offering any feasible solution - only irritated him more.

After WWX came back, LWJ stopped being so insistent about the potentially detrimental effects of demonic cultivation, because he understood that his own attitude during WWX’s first life hadn’t helped at all and had only caused the rift between them to become worse, to the point that before he died WWX believed even LWJ hated him like everyone else:

Wei WuXian spun around to dodge the attack and laughed, “Fine, fine. I knew since the start that we’d have to fight a real fight like this one sooner or later. You’ve always found me disagreeable no matter what. Come on!”

Hearing this, Lan WangJi’s movements paused, “Wei Ying!”

(Chapter 78)

After losing WWX, LWJ had a lot of time to reflect on his mistakes and come to terms with his regrets. We see the result of this in all of LWJ’s actions during WWX's second life. LWJ is done with being still and waiting: this time he’ll actually do everything in his power to support WWX and keep him safe. As long as WWX seems unaffected by demonic cultivation, LWJ will never bring it up again. LWJ probably realizes WWX must have his reasons to cultivate that path (we learn in chapter 89 that LWJ had his suspicions and thought WWX’s spiritual powers were somehow impaired), so this time he chooses to just trust WWX’s judgement. LWJ’s own character development also made him become a lot more tolerant in general and less rigid about some things, so he doesn't care about traditions as much as he did when he was younger.

In conclusion, WWX's loss of control might have been due to inherent effects of his cultivation method, but it’s not meant to portray demonic cultivation as something that should be avoided no matter what: it's part of larger themes like facing one's limits and coming to terms with one's failures. I think it's highly unlikely that WWX will lose control again in the future: we see him using his powers with more moderation in his second life and, more importantly, his current state of mind is a lot better than when he was in the middle of very stressful situations. As much as WWX is mentally strong, he spent years isolated from the world, with a group of people under his protection and without knowing when someone would decide to attack him. Having to shoulder all of this alone would put a toll on anyone, so it's no wonder he lost control in the end. Now he has LWJ by his side, so he doesn't need to do everything by himself anymore.

#mdzs #mdzs meta #wei wuxian #lan wangji #wei ying #lan zhan #demonic cultivation

94 notes · View notes

im-immortal · 3 years ago

Text

2021 Writing Wrap-Up

Here we are, at the end of another year, and of course I started more WIPs than I finished. But what else is new. I’m proud to say I didn’t experience any real bouts of writer’s block, although I did have a pretty big life-changing event right in the middle of the year that halted the process for a few long months. But I came back with more inspiration and motivation than ever before, and everything has worked out for the better, so I’m choosing to be grateful. I finished one WIP, started and finished another, and kept up with my longest and most popular WIP! Also, not only did I turn 30 this year, but I got fucking engaged ?!? So that’s pretty awesome. Anyway, I’m very proud of the couple of things I finished this year, and just as proud of the progress I made on some WIPs. And who knows, maybe 2022 will be the year I finally finish at least one of my longer WIPs? Here’s to hoping.

A list of all the works I posted/updated this year:

lost in the sauce: 47k+ words; 10/10 chapters Ideally, this fic would’ve been finished last year, but I managed to finish it before the first month of the year was over, so that’s an accomplishment in my eyes! Also, I immediately moved on to the next part of the series, which I feel turned out even better than this one. I still can’t believe how much positive feedback I received!

In Toto Corde: 6,823 words; one-shot This wasn’t a new fic, but it was a rewrite of one of my favorite fics that I wrote years ago. I’m very proud of it, even though it’s not popular at all. And I love the plot so much that by the time I finished the rewrite, I already had ideas for a sequel, which I’m heavily into and working on steadily. It will definitely be much longer, but I’m hoping to post it sometime next year.

thirsty: 219k+ words; 46/46 chapters My most popular fic... possibly ever. And damn, am I proud of it. This was so much fun to write, and I really dove head-first into the universe. It’s also probably the most smut I’ve ever written in such a short amount of time. I still can’t believe I managed to start and finish it in the same year. I’m already working on the next part in the series, with way too many damn ideas for future parts.

Let us always find each other: the mermaid & the man / the bandit & the criminal / gamers I’ve been writing these little AU ficlets for a while and posting them exclusively to tumblr, but this year, I decided to officially post them as a collection. The mermaid AU was inspired by the time I spent in San Diego during the spring, and I was downright itching to write it by the time I got home from spending days on the beach and in the rainy/humid weather. Then the criminals AU, which was just for fun, and the gamers one was even more fun, an idea that had been sitting in my head for some time and that I miiiiight turn into a full-fledged story one day. I had way too much fun coming up with the mechanics of the MMORPG!

what we gotta do: 20,282 words; one-shot I don’t know where exactly this idea came from, but when I searched for “fuck or die” fics in the tag, I found a shockingly low amount, so I decided to take it upon myself to change that. It’s probably one of the most depraved things I’ve ever written, but I’m honestly very proud of how it turned out, and even more proud of the feedback I received on it. And of course, as I am prone to do, I already started a sequel because I had so many damn ideas floating around in my head before I’d even finished it. So hopefully I can finish the sequel and post it sometime next year!

Don’t Make Me Haunt You: 433k+ words, 89/? chapters And of course, my current baby! Easily the most popular fic I’ve ever written. Also the most fun! I didn’t get a chance to update quite as much as I would’ve liked to this year, but that seems to be changing as I get back into a routine with it and head towards the climax and final resolution. For the last 2 years, I’ve been saying, “this will be finished by the end of the year.” LOL I clearly overestimate myself. So I won’t make any bold statements like that this year, I’ll just cross my fingers and hope for the best and keep on writing.

To everyone who’s read my fics, shown some love, or just helped bounce ideas around with me... thank you endlessly! Happy New Year and I’m very excited to see what 2022 brings for us :)

#bethyl fanfiction #2021 wrap-up #writing #my year in fanfic #SquishyCool

29 notes · View notes

cherripeach · 4 years ago

Text

Chapter 9

Little Match Maker

Summary: Your life motto is “I have the power of god and anime on my side, don’t mess with me,” and you stand by that with your life. No human, magician, or random creature could ever stop your firm belief in it.

However, getting transported to this world that seemed to turn your already bad luck worse was not what you wanted to be in your life story, but you made the most of it. Making friends, enemies, and disasters, you were in your prime in this world, and so you decided to help as many people as you could flourish, at least what you believed to be.

Chapter 1:1-4: Road work ahead? Uh yeah I sure hope it does.

Warnings: Curse words, jokes about committing crimes

Words: 4.3k

Relationships: developing but future twstxreader

Waking up to a banging at your door only encouraged you to commit a crime. You had finally gotten an hour of sleep once someone began to bang at your door, and you had to go check it or else you would never be able to know who to put blame onto. Grim was also kicking you once you woke up, taking up the middle of the bed, mumbling something about the ghosts. You left the cat to nap upstairs if it meant he wouldn’t have to annoy you.

And going downstairs and walking to the door to hear the oh-so-arrogant Ace pleading to let him in made your day, “ It’s me, Ace… Can you let me in for a bit?”

You opened the door to find Ace standing there with a large collar around his neck which was something you’d never thought you would see, but here you are. And you can’t thank all of the fanfiction that led you to this moment because it did not prepare you for this.

“Ace,” You yawned at him, “It’s like three in the morning. What the fuck are you doing here?”

The male had more spunk than you and declared, “I’m never returning to Heartslabyul. I’m gonna be a member of this dorm from here on!”

You sighed and pointed to the couch, “Okay, the couch is yours.”

Ace paused for a second, “You're not gonna ask why. Aren’t you concerned?”

“As I have said before, it is three in the morning, and you just interrupted the only hour of sleep I have gotten in the last 36 hours about. Either you shut up and sleep on the couch, and I’ll deal with it in the morning or you leave and sleep outside.” All of this drama was giving you a headache so you rubbed your head to get it to go away while motioning to Ace to sleep on the sofa.

Ace got situated on the sofa and thanked you, “I owe you one, supervisor.” Within the minute he passed out.

You headed back upstairs to see Grim still in the middle of the bed, and you just fell into the chair trying to go back to sleep.

You never did.

Once the sun came up at maybe seven o’clock, you got out of the chair to go downstairs. Grim woke up once he saw you move and made grabby hands for you to pick him up while he yawned. You ran to the bathroom once you had Grim in your arms and placed Grim down on the countertop of the bathroom so that you could put back on your cloak and brush your teeth (there was a toothbrush in the bag of food that the Headmaster gave you). You spit out the toothpaste and gazed in the mirror to find your hair a little less of a mess than before but your face worse; the dark circles and maybe even acne could maybe be considered trendy and so you just went with it.

You grabbed Grim and trudged downstairs to find Ace still asleep on the sofa with a towel thrown over him.

You turned on all the lights and sweetly ripped the towel off him to persuade him to wake up which did not work, so you pulled his hair. That did the trick in five seconds with him moaning and groaning about how you should be kind to your oh-so fragile friend.

You slumped into the chair with Grim laying on your legs across from Ace staring at him as Ace rubbed his eyes and yawned while sitting up.

“So why did you get kicked out?” You asked.

Ace pulled on the collar, “I ate a tart.”

“Okay… what kind?” You probed.

“Strawberry.” His gaze shifted down before it flew back up, “Wait, why is that important?”

“I don’t know. Was just curious.” You shrugged your shoulders.

“Whatever,“ Ace shook his head, “But that’s all that I did! Only that! I got hungry, so I went to the dorm’s kitchen. The tart was just sittin’ right there inside the fridge. And like, three whole ones! That’s why…”

~~~~ A good old flashback montage was set up with Ace in a kitchen with no lights on:

Ace was mumbling to himself, “ It’s only the first day and I’m so tired~ I missed dinner, so I’m very hungry. Wonder if there’s anythin’ in the fridge... Oh, found a tart! Looks delish~!There’s a lot, so I’m not sure if I can finish it all Thanks for the food~ Whoa, what the heck?! It’s so good!”

He ended up eating the entire thing.

“Of course, it would be delicious. After all, anything that Trey makes is bound to be exquisite.” A new voice emerged belonging to a short, young man.

“Nah, man, this is something else! It’s better than the ones at the shops…” Ace nodded his head before his eyes widened while he spun around, “Wha– Prefect?!”

The short male pulled out a pen from his pocket, “Quite the boldness you have there for touching something that belongs to me. Queen of Hearts Rule #89: ‘You shall not eat tarts prepared for the Queen ahead of her.’ Larceny of the Queen’s tarts is a capital crime!” He pointed it at Ace and yelled, “OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!”

“AHHHHHHHH!” Ace now had a collar around his neck making his head weigh more than it normally would which is still too much for a normal head. ~~~

“And that’s what happened…” Ace turns to you with a look of defeat.

You pause thinking of the correct words to say when Grim jumps on the table.

“You’ve only got yourself to blame,” He wagged his finger at Ace.

You rolled your eyes, “Honestly-”

“But ain’t it overreacting to seal my magic just ’cause I ate his tart?!” Ace interrupted you, “It’s practically the same as tying my hands and my feet! Plus, there were three whole ones! He can’t possibly finish all of those! There’s a limit to how heartless he can be!”

You put your hand up flat in Ace’s view, “Dude, for one thing, rude. Don’t interrupt me. Next, both of you are at fault. He can’t be an asshole and take away your magic for this, but you also shouldn’t have taken his food. I would have smacked ya if you had taken mine.”

“But..” Ace turned to Grim.

Grim placed his hand on his chin if that’s what you would call it, “Ah! Wait a second... If there were three whole tarts, they might’ve been prepared for the party, yanno? Like for someone’s birthday? Man, I’m such a great detective, huh!“

“Birthday?” Ace tilted his head.

You responded, “Maybe not even a birthday, but a welcome party. Something that would open up the school year. Eating an entire cake for that is kinda bad, dude.”

Ace pouted, “uh... I came here thinking that you’d agree with me about the Prefect being a little tyrant…”

“I mean, he is. But you aren’t exactly a rule follower either. Neither of you are fully at fault and neither of you are out of blame.” You motioned to him.

Grim agreed, “You are at fault for eatin’ his food.”

You shrugged, “We can try and apologize, but the best action would be to get him another tart. He is the dorm leader, so you should probably try and suck up to him.”

“Grudges over food are scary. Ah! Speaking of which, I still haven’t received my canned tuna from the Headmaster!” Grim turned to you and began tugging on your cloak repeatedly.

Ace scowled at Grim and you, “I get it. I just have to apologize, right? You suggested it, so you better come with me, Prefect…”

You rolled your eyes and nodded at him.

Grim started another opinion, “Were you here-”

Until a knock on the door interrupted him.

Ace jumped up and ran to the door while dodging dust that was falling from the ceiling shaking, “What the, who the hell’s pounding on the door so early in the morning? Ugh...! This dorm’s seriously raining dust! Got it, got it! I’ll open the door, so don’t break it!”

A laugh burst from your lips, “Imagine having to live in it.”

Ace made it to the door right before another knock caused the house to shake and more dust to fall.

“Shut up!” Ace yanked the door open, “Deuce! What are you doing here?!”

Hearing Ace’s reaction to who was at the door you stood up and dragged yourself over to him, “Deuce can’t possibly be here at this hour-” And standing right in front of Ace was a perfect uniform Deuce with no problems besides slightly red cheeks and heavy breathing.

Deuce straightened himself up when he met your eyes but then, turned to look at the kid next to you, “I knew I would find you here.”

“Deuce??” Both you and Ace were clearly lost.

“I heard about the situation from our roommates. You ate the Prefect’s tart, so now you’ve got that collar on, haven’t you? You’re an outright idiot.” Deuce’s lecture was not helping at all by the looks of Ace curling both his hands into fists trying not to punch him.

Ace snapped, "Shut it! I don’t wanna hear that from you!” He shrunk back soon enough, “ So... Is the Prefect still mad at me..?”

Deuce shook his head, “Not completely. He’s in an irritated mood and about three people who didn’t follow the waking up routine suffered the same fate as you.”

“‘Not completely,’ my ass! He’s totally mad!” Ace whirled to you, “Prefect, can’t you please come and help me. He can’t get mad at you.” He stuck his bottom lip out and fluttered his eyelashes.

You grinned at him, “You aren’t getting out of this you big baby I won’t help you at all, but I’ll be there for moral support.”

Ace sighed, and that began the journey for you three to go to the dorm with Hearts in its name because you really don’t know the name.

You three were on the same street where Grim almost blew up a statue by the time a new conversation started.

Grim had decided to not latch onto you like a leech and instead walk by himself in front of you announcing that, “Hey! Make way, make way! I, a full-fledged Night Raven College student, is passing through!” and pulling at his collar, “Look at my collar! My collar is totally awesome compared to yours!” and then, turning to Ace to boast, “And you can’t use your magic now, can you? Guess I can have you cleaning the schools as part of your chores or something? Nyaha, this feels so good.”

“I love being surrounded by assholes.” Your eyes did not reflect the smile on your face instead they seemed to be empty and hollow.

Ace puffed out his chest, “You better remember this when I get my magic back.”

Deuce shook his head, “The Headmaster just scolded you for a ruckus you caused yesterday, remember? In any case, you won’t be able to attend classes since your magic has been sealed. How about you go and apologize to Prefect Roseheart so he can take that off?”

You nodded, grabbing Ace’s collar, “That's exactly what we were doing. Isn’t that right, dumbass number two?”

“You have me numbered?!” Ace shook to get out of your grip but you just smiled and tightened it while many other students who were passing by observed your group.

Grim voiced his thoughts, “I mean. We still have time before the next class. Plus, I’m interested in the other dorms. Let’s go observe while we watch Ace apologize.”

Ace pulled on your hands while using his legs to try and kick Grim who just chuckled and backed away, “I’m not some kinda exhibit, damn it!”

The three of you continued with Ace being dragged behind you to the ‘Mirror Chamber’ or something as Deuce said.

It was the wack place with seven large mirror gateways or something. Deuce headed to one that was slightly in the middle with a plaque shaped like a heart with a crown on top. Deuce motioned to that gate with his eyes on you as if he wanted some praise. You used your hand to ruffle his hair and then pat his head while he tilted his head further down and fidgeted with his hands.

He faced the gate and began to walk through. You followed him with Grim and Ace behind you.

Grim leaped in front of you to gape in awe of the dorm, “Whoa~! This is super fancy! It’s completely different from our dorm!”

You nodded, “It looks like it does not violate any health codes.”

A voice gulped from the maze of roses, “Oh, no. I gotta hurry and paint these roses red.”

“Oh, someone’s over there.” Grim pointed to the exact place you heard the voice.

The three of you walked until you found a male with a bucket of paint at his feet and a ladder to the left of him….. or right- directions were never your forte. The male was around average build and height with neck-length light orange hair, some pulled back. He also had earrings on, giving you somewhat e-boy vibes but not all the way. There was also a little diamond on his left cheek. There is definitely a word to describe his aesthetic, but you cannot put your tongue on it. (He gives you the vibe that he would get a tongue piercing for fun (or that he already has one))

He didn’t notice you until Grim tripped over a bucket of paint, causing you three to scramble to clean up his mess.

The male spun around to stare at the four of you trying to clean up the paint off the grass, “Hm? Did you guys need something?” Certainly seeing two teenagers one with a cloak and a rat’s nest and another who looked very similar to a mix of a delinquent and a perfect student scooping up paint would put anyone through a state of shock.

You had let go of Ace when you fell to the ground to clean up the paint, letting him sit criss cross style right behind you and Deuce so that he could be the calm one to ask, “What’re you doin’?”

The male motions at the bush, “This?” He then places one hand on his hip and the other grabs the magic pen from his blazer pocket, “As you can see, I’m painting the roses red.” He winked in the direction of your group.

You paused picking up the goopy paint to gaze incredulously at the male, “wHO the fuck paints roses? Isn’t that like not good for plants?” However, a memory was pulled from your mind from the movie Alice in Wonderland where the cards were singing a song about painting the roses red, and you could only compare the movie to this and find that there is a connection between both. You even thought back to the moments when Ace was describing the ‘Great Seven’ or whatever and mentioned the Queen of Hearts.

Deuce knocked you out of your gorgeous analytical skills, “Yeah! Why do such a thing?”

“Hm~ Your reactions are so fresh it’s kinda cute~!” The male observed all four of you and continued, “Now that I look at you closely, you guys are the freshies who totally wrecked the 10mil chandelier and caused a ruckus yesterday.”

Ace pouted behind you, “I feel like they won’t let the chandelier thing go until we graduate.”

You nodded at him, “Def.”

The male snapped his finger then pointed at Ace, “Ah, and you’re the super sinful kid who stole the Prefect’s tart! I’m so lucky to meet the rumored freshies so early in the morning~♪”

You chuckled at Ace, “It seems that what you did might be more of a concern.”

The male pulled the three of you up and fished a phone out from somewhere in his blazer, “Hey, hey~! Let’s take a pic together!” He situated the three of you in a line where he then grabbed Grim and placed him in your arms. He put the phone on camera and flipped it so it was aiming toward you five. Even though nobody was ready besides him he still snapped several pictures before letting you four go, “Yay~! Hey, can I upload this? I wanna put hashtags so tell me your names.” The male did not even give you time to consent to this picture, but he also did not seem like the type to take ‘no’.

Deuce spoke out first, “I’m Deuce Spade.”

Ace went next, “Ace.”

Grim who was still in your arms because of the male announced his name, “I’m Grim and that’s my follower,” He didn’t even state your name.

You just sighed and told the orange haired male your name, and then apologized for all of the problems your little group has caused.

The male was just fidgeting with his phone not even paying any attention to you, but once a noise came from his phone he looked up at all of you, “Alright, upload done~♪ Oh, I’m Cater Diamond, a 3rd year. That makes me your senior~ Call me Cater-kun, okay? Cate’s fine, too~♡ Heya, heya”

You just wanted to get this whole experience over with, “Sure, senior-dude.”

Cat turned to you and tried to start a decent conversation, “Oh, you’re the new prefect for Ramshackle Dorm! I’m surprised you can live in a place like that~! It’s so dark, and I feel like something’s gonna pop out~ I feel for ya”

“I don’t need your pity but thanks.” You smiled at the male holding back your urge to leave the conversation.

Grim crossed his arms, “This guy’s being pretty rude.”

“Oh, I shouldn’t be standing here and talking! The party’s the day after tomorrow. It’s off with my head if I’m late.” Cat walked in the direction of the flowers he was working on before everyone entered, “Hey, hey, freshies~ Can you help me with painting the flowers?”

Ace shook his head, “Why’re you doing somethin’ so strange?”

“And why do we have to help anyway.” You were getting a headache from this conversation alone.

“I mean, won’t it be more photogenic if the roses were red for the party~?” The orange head leaned back with his hands behind his neck while whistling, “I’m really busy because I’m also in charge of coloring the flamingos for the croquet match~”

Grim barked, “Dying the flamingos?! That’s a pretty weird job.”

“So, the tarts that Ace ate were to be used for the Prefect’s birthday party? I see now.” Deuced muttered out to himself in realization, “So that’s why he was so mad…”

“What?” Cat made an ‘X’ sign with his two arms, “That’s not it.��

Ace interrogated the senior, “It ain’t?! Then whose birthday is it?”

Cat shook his head, “It’s no one’s birthday. The day after tomorrow is our Dorm’s legendary Unbirthday Party. It’s a tea party that the Prefect felt like doing, so he chose a day that doesn’t fall on anyone’s birthday.” The male grabbed his pen and began to mumble something before a light came out of the pen which he then flicked onto the roses.

Ace did not want to finish the conversation, “The hell’s that?”

“In any case the reason can wait.” He waved his hand back and forth motioning to your group to join him, “You just have to help me paint the roses!” He turned his vision away from what he was doing to look at your group, “Deuce-chan and Grim-chan can use magic, right? Ace-chan and Prefect can’t use magic, so here’s a paintbrush~” He pulled two paintbrushes out of nowhere and gave them to you and Ace

Deuce and Grim started panicking and asking Cat all sorts of questions about magic and changing the color of a rose, but you just gazed at the paintbrush in absolute confusion.

“Wait, where is my consent in this?” It seemed no one would ever listen to you.

A song filled the air once the three with magic got to work, causing you to twist your head in every direction to find where it was coming from. It did not affect any of the others as they were still working on painting the roses. The four even had at least two different conversations about the roses to the beat of the music where the music would quiet and slow down for them. This further confused you until Cat yelled at you to “Get to work because I am not getting younger here.” So you lept to work and ended up only painting one still in pure shock from the fact that only you can hear the music.

Once the music stopped and Grim tugged your arm to get you to move to a certain section of the mush where he announced his accomplishments, “Behold! I made them all red this time!”

You clapped and snorted out, “Congrats, oh, Great Grim.” However, it didn’t really seem to offend him even with your blandness as he just skipped over to join Ace and Deuce to get back to work.

The music returned after that.

The three troublemakers of your group were in a conversation with the senior talking about “tradition” or something like that. You just tried to get another rose painted before school started.

You finished the rose and joined the part of the conversation when Ace asked Cat, “Oh, that’s right. I don’t have the time to be standing here. I got something to discuss with the Dorm Head. Is he still inside?”

You slapped your forehead and muttered, “Of course, we forgot that.”

“Hm? I think he should still be there…” Cat put his chin in the middle of his thumb and pointer finger, and then he made a finger gun motion to Ace, “By the way, Acey who stole the Prefect’s tart~ Have you brought some tarts to make up for what you took~?”

“Eh? I came straight here, so I got nothing…” Ace even pulled his pockets inside out to emphasize that he has nothing.

“Oh, man~ Izzat so? Then, since Rule #53 of the Queen of Hearts states that “You have to replace things that you stole.” I can’t let you back in the dorm.” Suddenly, a glare was on Cat’s face as he grabbed his magic pen.

A bolt of lightning struck the ground next to Ace’s feet. “Huh?! What the heck?!” Ace jumped back to join your group who were all slowly walking away from this situation.

Cater twirled his pen in his hand, “You have to follow the rules if you’re staying in this dorm. If I let it slide, then it’s off with my head, too. Sorry, but I’ll have you leave before Riddle-kun notices.” The pen was now pointing at your group.

Ace stepped behind you, “Wha—He looks totally serious…! You guys, do something!”

“Why me?” Deuce looked flabbergasted at the male.

Ace connected his hands and fluttered his eyelashes in Deuce’s direction, “I’m begging you! I can’t use magic right now–!”

“Fine, fine, fine. You just owe me one.” You threw your hands up in the air in defeat just wanting to get this over with.

“Ah, here he comes!” Ace bellowed out.

The battle commenced between Deuce, Cater, and Grim, but your idiots seemed to be losing. While their attacks were hitting Cater, he popped back up almost as quickly as he fell. The three were slowly pushed back and back into the hedge behind all of you, shoving you up against it while Ace was right in front of you.

You solved him off, “Get off! We aren’t gonna win, so let’s get out!”

The three heard you, nodded, and followed swiftly behind you.

Ace grumbled, “What’s with that guy?” He shook his head while all three of you walked out of the rose maze.

Deuce tilted his head, “He came standing back up no matter how much we hit him. Is it illusory magic, I wonder…?” He raised one of his eyebrows because shaking his head.

“Maybe he’s just trying to be an ass,” You just giggled from where you were walking behind the two idiots while Grim was on your shoulder. Both of them were lowkey panicking from what you could tell.

Ace stomped his feet and threw his hands up in exasperation, “I can’t get back in without a tart, right? I’ve been empty-handed since forever, man. He kicked us out after he made us help with the flowers, too!”

“I’m disappointed.” Grim crossed his arms while he was on your shoulder.

You narrowed your eyes, “In who, Grim?”

“Then, we’ll have to prepare some tarts to make up for it. After school would be” Deuce clenched his fist, but then looked at his watch and screamed, “—Ah!!!! This is bad!!!!”

“Huh?” You and Grim were puzzled by the boy’s sharp and erratic movements.

He grabbed your hand and started to jog while staring at his watch, “This is bad, it’s way past call time! We’re going to be late!”

“It's not the end of the world” You brushed your hand through your hair.

Grim jumped off your shoulder and started to run in front of you, “Uwah! The first day of my shining school life will be tarnished! Let’s hurry to the classroom! Come on!” He pulled on your cloak to get you moving.

“Oh, no late on the first day.” You placed both of your hands around your mouth as if you were making a surprised or scared face, “At least I showed up to class.” You rolled your eyes.

“Speaking of, what’s your class?” Ace faced you questioning, “You’re a 1st year, right?”

Grim nodded his head, “The Headmaster said we’re in Class 1-A!” He smirked at you.

“Wait, when did he say that?” Your eyes widened and you halted your step. “Did he ever say that?”

“Right after he gave you the ghost camera thing,” Grim shook his head.

Deuce hit his open palm with his fist, “Oh, then we’re in the same class.” He took out his schedule, “First period is all about Magical Alchemy.”

Grim pumped up his fists, “Yahoo! That sounds fun!”

“I can't use magic, remember? Am I gonna be okay…?” Ace whined while biting his thumb’s nail.

“Definitely. It’s probably just syllabus week anyway.” You shrugged your shoulders, “Also what’s magical alchemy?” You hope it's something that makes explosions.

And the three of you were off to your homeroom of the day, starting your high school career at Twisted Wonderland with these idiots.

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst #twst x reader #deuce spade #ace trappola #twst grim #cater diamond #riddle rosehearts #twst x you

43 notes · View notes

marleyrose17 · 4 years ago

Text

Almost Paradise ( Owen Patrick Joyner Fic )

Hey everyone! This story is gonna be a Owen Patrick Joyner story and I will be pairing the reader with Owen, so I’ll put Y/N anytime the main character is mentioned or is talking. This is my first story since high school so please bear with me as the writing will slowly become better the more I write. I hope all you fellow Owen simps like myself like this story. FYI this story takes place if COVID 19 never existed. Please check out my best friend Sydney ( @imsydneywalker) for cute Charlie Fics. Love Yall.

Summary: Y/N just turned 22 and decided to make a spontaneous trip to L.A California USA from Dieppe,New Brunswick, Canada to visit her best friend Charlie Gillespie for her 22nd birthday present to herself. He doesn’t know she’s coming, hence the surprise. But little does she know would she get a little surprise of her own on her way to America.

Chapter 1: Someday

House outfit: https://urstyle.fashion/styles/2814065

*Week before Reader’s birthday* 2021

Y/N’s thoughts: It has been forever since I’ve last seen my best friend Charles Jeffrey Gillespie or how I like to call him Arlo *as I hold onto the necklace he gave me for my 15th birthday*. Weird nickname I know, but I’ve been calling him that since kindergarten and I’m not changing it. It’s almost my 22nd birthday so I felt like I should treat myself to a present of seeing my best friend for a little while. Momma bear doesn’t know yet but I don’t think she’ll care as much since she loves Charlie as one of her own kids, so just taking a trip cross country shouldn’t be too hard to tell her. Right? Let’s find out.

*Y/N walks down to the kitchen from her bedroom*

“Hey mami,” Y/N says as she sits on one of the barstools, popping a green grape and dipping it into nutella into her mouth.

“Yes Y/N nickname?” Y/N’s mom says in a what do you want tone, while finishing cleaning up the kitchen after dinner.

“What?” Y/N asks.

“I already know you want something. You never come back downstairs after dinner unless you’re getting a snack or you want something. I’m your mother, remember.”

“Damn, that predictable huh? Anyways, yes I wanted to ask you something or more like tell you something. So I was thinking for my 22nd birthday I could possibly fly down to America and see your adopted son for a couple weeks. You know I’ve been wanting to move down to L.A so why not go for my birthday. I’d obviously stay at Arlo’s, money shouldn’t be an issue since I’ve been saving plus birthday money from past years. Sooo?” Y/N finishes saying while looking at her mom with puppy eyes.

“You already bought your plane ticket didn’t you?” your mom says while staring at you with one eyebrow raised.

“.... maybe…. no actually, I wanted to see what you’d say first before splurging.” Y/N says while looking down at the bowl of grapes and looks up again to smile cheeky at her mom.

Your mom rolls her eyes and laughs. “ Sure, why not. Do you want me to call Maman J so she can tell Charlie?” your mom asks.

“No no, I want it to be a surprise. It’s kind of a birthday present to myself since Arlo decided to be like “ I wanna be an actor and blah blah blah”. You say mimicking him.

“Alright, well as an early birthday present, I’ll buy your ticket. Should I make it a round trip or a one way?”

“Ummm make it a one way trip, I’ll let you know when I want to come home. You know Arlo, he always has some random hiking trip he wants to take, and knowing him he might drag me to one of those trips” you say rolling your eyes.

“No problem. You better go upstairs and start packing.” your mom says.

*You dip one last green grape into nutella and pop it into your mouth before you hop off the bar stool to give your mom a kiss* “You’re the best mami!”

*You run back to your room and start planning the whole trip*

*5:30pm One day before reader’s birthday and your flight*

*you're sitting on your bed finishing up some last minute packing, when you hear a knock at your door.*

“Come in.” Y/N says without turning around.

“Hey hun.” your mom says.

*you turn around to face your mom* “Hey mami, whats up?” *you say while sitting on top of your luggage trying to close it*

Your mom chuckles, “Here is your plane ticket for your flight, it's at 5:55am, you have a connecting flight to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma which will have a connecting flight to L.A.X.”, your mom says handing you the tickets. “So you better finish packing and get some rest.”

*You reach for the tickets while trying not to fall of your luggage* “Awesome, thanks mami.”

“No problem, just get some rest ok. I will drive you to the airport.” your mom says while walking out of your room.

“Ok!” you yell through the door. *You finally got the luggage to close* “YES!” you say standing up on the edge of your bed but then proceed to fall off your bed in the process which leads to a loud thud hitting the floor. “I’M OK!” you yell before your mom asks.

You place your luggages and carry ons by your door and start getting ready for bed. You look into the mirror one last time and stare at the picture of you and Charlie at the waterfront, ( https://www.instagram.com/p/B-suC_WF8Cu/) ( just pretend its yall, I know its like his cousin or friend)

“L.A.X I’ll see you tomorrow.” you say to yourself before walking to bed.

*Reader’s birthday* 3:00am

Airport Outfit: https://urstyle.fashion/styles/2813992 (girl on the left is what your hair looks like)

*your phone goes off at 3:00 am with the song I See Fire by Ed Sheeran playing from your phone softly.*

*You groan annoyingly wondering why you’re up so early, when you realize it is your 22nd birthday and you have a flight to catch in two hours. You spring out of bed, pop your airpods in and blair The OtherSide from The Greatest Showman and begin getting ready for your long day of flying*

*Dancing towards your bathroom, you turn on your shower to warm up and start brushing your teeth. You lay out the outfit you will be wearing to the airport on your bed, take out your headphones and head into the shower.*

*20 mins later. You hear a knock on your bathroom door*

“Almost done sweetie?” your mom asks.

“Yes, I’m just finishing up, I’ll be down soon.” you say through the door.

*Because you’re going to the airport you didn’t put too much makeup on, just enough to make yourself look kind of awake on the flights. You put your hair in a messy bun, put on your jean jacket, take one last look in the mirror before you shut off the light and head out.*

*You look around your room to make sure you grab any last minute items for your carry on. Especially making sure you have your Beats, charger, spare hair elastics and gum. You go to grab your luggage when you realize your mom already did and placed them in the car. Best mom ever. You grab your guitar case and your bag and head out.*

*Skip the car ride, you’re already at the airport*

“You’re sure you have everything right?” your mom asks while taking the stuff out of the car.

“Yes, I promise, I have everything I need. If I forgot anything important I will call you and have it shipped to Arlo’s.” you say while closing the trunk of the car.

“Alright, have a safe trip hun, please be safe and try not to get Charlie in too much trouble ok?” your mom says while hugging you goodbye.

*GASP* “ HEY! I’m a good noodle, Arlo’s the one who dared me to jump in the fountain at the mall. You know me I could never pass up a good dare.” you say while breaking the hug.

“Haha, yes I know which leads you to getting sick. Remember, it was winter.” your mom retorts back.

“ Yeah yeah I know, I’m still a good noodle though.” You chuckle while grabbing your stuff again.

Your mom shakes her head, “Go before you miss your flight silly.” She says while turning you around.

“Ok, ok I get it you want me gone.” You say laughing while walking towards the automatic doors.

“OH SWEETIE!” your mom calls out.

You turn around. “Yes?” you ask

“Happy Birthday!” your mom yells in front of everybody.

You stare at her like really. “Thanks mami. I love you too”

*You walk inside the airport and walk towards the check in line to check in all your luggages.*

*Skip to you’re already on the plane before take off.*

*You check your phone for the time, plug in your Beats, place them on and hit shuffle before. You look out the window watching the sun just barely starting to rise before you close it and begin to read your book, for the next 4 hours.*

*4 hours later*

*You finish up one of your books, you pull off your headphones just in time to hear the pilot announce that you guys are about to land. You place your book and headphones back into your bag and prepare to land.*

* You get off the plane and check the time on your phone to notice that your connecting flight is almost here and you begin to panic. You check your ticket and realize that of course your flight is on the other end of the terminal, so you begin to run and book it to the other end, hoping you’ll make it on time.*

“Excuse me! Sorry! Sorry! Excuse me!” you say as you weave through airport traffic.

*Half way through your running spree you look down at your phone again to make sure you didn’t miss your flight when you feel your arm get tugged from behind you. You notice one of yours and someone else’s luggage clipped each other by the wheels and they both go flying. “Sorry, my bad.” you say as you grab a luggage, not even looking up to see who you collided with and go back to your sprinting.*

“Yes!” you say to yourself as you make it to your gate. The flight hasn’t boarded yet so you take a seat and wait for your row to be called. You get to your gate, hand the lady your ticket and proceed to board your flight.

*You place your carry-on luggage into the overhead bin and take your seat, when you notice a very sweaty guy just barely making it onto the flight. You chuckle to yourself.*

*3 hours later*

“Alright passengers, we will be landing very shortly. The weather today is 89 degrees, partly cloudy, and 40% of humidity. Welcome to Los Angeles, California passengers.” the pilot announces over the intercom.

*You place your headphones back on, and calmly this time walk off the plane and head towards baggage claim*

*As you’re waiting your favorite song Someday by Max Schneider starts to play. You begin to sway back and forth, humming to the tune when you then feel a tap on your shoulder. You turn around to see who it was and begin to stare at him weirdly wondering why you can’t hear the guy talk*

“Oh shit, my bad. Forgot.” you say as you take off your headphones to actually hear what the guy was saying.

“It's cool, all I was saying was that I was sorry for colliding with you back in Oklahoma. I wasn’t paying attention, I was in a rush and didn’t see you. It wasn’t until after that I noticed that the gate was in the opposite direction.” A dirty blonde guy explains to me.

“Oh no, it was totally my fault, I should have been looking up instead of on my phone. I guess we were both in a rush. But hey, I like your jean jacket. Pretty dope.” I say to him.

“Right back atcha.” he retorts.

*Awkwardly stands next to each other waiting for your luggage to arrive*

“Welp, that's my luggage. Have fun in L.A.” The guy says as he grabs his other luggage and heads towards the exit.

“Thanks, you too crash buddy.” you say back.

*you grab your luggages from the conveyor belt and pull to the side so you’re not in the way of people. You go to open one of your luggages to make sure nothing spilled on the flights/crash over, when you notice that the things in one of the luggages isn’t yours.*

“Shit, I must have accidentally switched luggages with that guy back in Oklahoma.” you say to yourself as you look around to hopefully see if he is still around.

*You close up the luggage, and begin to gather your things and head towards the exit, hoping the guy hasn’t left the airport yet. You get to the exit, head outside and don’t see the guy you bumped into.*

“Damn it!” you say defeated, “How will I ever get my stuff back? What a way to start off my birthday.”

*You get an uber and head towards Arlo’s place*

#Owen Patrick Joyner #OPJ #julie and the phantoms #JATP #owen joyner x reader #oklahoma #fanfiction #julie and the phantoms fanfic #owen joyner's hats #bindi

65 notes · View notes

batterycityghoul · 4 years ago

Text

There’s a Bad Moon on the Rise (Ben Hanscom/Reader) (1/3)

Summary: You're Richie's twin sister and a member of the Losers' Club. When the other members all pack up and leave town, you elect to stay behind with Mike to wait for It to come back. After 27 years pass and Pennywise returns, will you and the other Losers be able to finally defeat him?

Pairing: Ben Hanscom/Reader; Richie Tozier & Reader; Background Richie Tozier/Eddie Kaspbrak

Word Count: 6.2k

Author’s Note: This is finished at 16k. I decided to split it up into three parts to make it easier. If you enjoy this, then letting me know would make my day! If you’ve seen It: Chapter Two, then you know what you’re in store for regarding warnings...but with the added fun of some canon divergence!

Masterlist / Read on AO3

The summer of 1989 was one of the most terrifying and exhilarating times of your life.

Growing up, all you really had was your twin brother, and by extension, his group of friends. The girls at school never gave you the time of day, which was the way you preferred it, and most of the guys were completely disgusting.

By the time school let out in June of '89, your only plans involved hanging out with Richie and his friends while avoiding Henry Bowers and his gang if at all possible.

Of course, you didn't count on Pennywise.

The Losers’ Club rose and fell that summer all thanks to the clown who seemed hellbent on traumatizing you all for life.

You were used to the little group that consisted of you, Richie, Eddie, Stan, and Bill. You had grown used to their antics and usually had to be the first to talk them out of their more dangerous plans. Most days, they drove you absolutely crazy. You figured that was probably par for the course since you were the only girl among a group of boys.

Surprisingly enough, you got along with all of them. Richie was your twin and the person who knew you best. Out of anyone else in the world, you knew that if you had to, you would die for him. He could be a bit of a jackass, but he loved you in his own way.

Eddie was the worrier of the group. He was always the first to voice a concern, no matter how outlandish it might seem. You spent half your time with Eddie reassuring him that he was fine and the other half trying to get him out of his own head so he would actually enjoy his time with the group.

Stan was the other much-needed voice of reason for the group. Both of you had to work overtime to keep the others out of trouble and ended up bonding because of it. When you were just a little too done with the others, you looked to Stan to pick up where you left off. Richie liked to joke that maybe you were misplaced at birth and actually Stan's twin since you two were so alike at times.

And then there was Bill. He seemed to be the unofficial leader of the group, because everyone always turned to him for a plan. He was sweet and despite the tragedy he went through with Georgie, he always wanted to help.

He was also the one in the group that you had a giant crush on.

Crushing on one of your brother's best friends was inconvenient at best. Mostly, you were sure Bill only saw you as his best friend's sister and left it at that. At the very least, even if you wished he saw you as more, you could still always count on Bill to have your back.

So, while you were more than happy with the friends you had because of Richie, you couldn’t help but wonder if your little group would ever grow.

Fortunately, that summer, three more kids joined The Losers' Club.

Ben Hanscom, or Ben Handsome as you liked to call him, literally dropped right into your lives. He was shy and sweet and you found yourself gravitating towards him as time went on. He seemed to have a doomed crush on Beverly while you were totally miserable over your feelings for Bill. You spent many moments with Ben, both of you commiserating over the wreck that was your love lives.

After Ben joined the group, Beverly Marsh was soon to follow. She was funny and fierce and fearless. You couldn't help but admire the way she absolutely took no shit from any of the others and even managed to fit in with the group of misfits that made up The Losers' Club.

Mike Hanlon seemed to be the final piece of the puzzle you didn't even realize was missing until the infamous rock war against Henry Bowers and his gang. To your surprise, you and the other Losers managed to win, and it seemed the prize was Mike Hanlon. He was studious and calm in a way that leveled out the group. You were grateful for his presence when he joined, because he soon became your only anchor in the whirlwind that was soon to overtake your life.

You were glad for the friends you made that summer. Without them, you weren't sure if all of you would have survived. Pennywise would have come after one or all of you and without the others, you might not have made it.

Storming Neibolt House the first time was only the first fracture you experienced as a group, though. After Eddie broke his arm and everyone went their separate ways, you were scared about what it would do to you. As a group, you all stood a chance against Pennywise. But alone with only your brother to fall back on? You couldn't help but think that it would be oh-so-easy for Pennywise to take his revenge on you all.

You spent most nights terrified out of your mind that the shadows on the wall spelled your doom. The near-constant fear seemed to only help you bond with Richie more. You spent most nights in his bedroom, staying up until all hours of the night, and doing your best to not flinch at any and every strange noise.

You watched Richie slowly fall apart without the other Losers. You knew there was one in particular he was missing the most, but you didn't push him to talk about his feelings for Eddie. Derry in '89 wasn't the most welcoming place for what Richie was going through and Henry Bowers and his bigotry in no way made it better. All you could do was let Richie know you loved him and accepted him no matter what and he seemed to take solace in that.

The group didn't reunite until Beverly was taken by Pennywise.

Going back to Neibolt House to confront Pennywise felt like the most idiotic decision you had ever made, but it was your only choice if you wanted Beverly back. You were so terrified that she would be dead like the other missing kids, and even though you tried not to let fear rule your movements, it was hard not to jump at every shadow or errant noise down in the tunnels.

In the heat of the battle against Pennywise, when he flashed his several rows of sharp teeth your way, you almost hesitated. You could easily imagine those teeth tearing through your flesh and ripping you apart. It was Bill's voice urging you to swing at Pennywise that had you using the piece of wood in your hand to attempt to hurt Pennywise.

By the time Pennywise had managed to escape, you were exhausted. Stan was hurt. Beverly was acting odd. Bill had broken down after having to essentially kill Pennywise's borrowed form of Georgie. The rest of you were still shaken and terrified, but everything you suffered through only seemed to work in your favor afterwards. The group came back together and you couldn't help but think that you felt invincible. If you could go up against a murderous clown with your best friends, then there was absolutely nothing you couldn't do.

Despite everything you all went through and achieved that summer, it wasn't long before the group broke apart again. By the end of that summer, The Losers lost a member. It was a trend that would continue over the next few years until there were only two left in Derry.

Beverly was the first to leave. She promised to write, but something weird happened. Once Beverly left Derry, you didn't hear from her. You could tell it worried Bill and the others, but a part of you wondered if it wasn't for the best after everything Beverly had endured in Derry. If you could, you would have wanted to cut ties with the town as well. Although, you hated that she also seemed to be cutting ties with The Losers’ Club.

After Beverly, Ben's family left. And then Bill. And then Stan.

By the time it was only you, Richie, Mike, and Eddie, you started to wonder what the future held for all of you. You started to wonder if they were ever coming back.

Eddie and Richie planned on leaving for college, but you had known that you were going to hang back in Derry. You were going to stay with Mike and wait for It to return.

It was something both of you had decided on and while Mike insisted he would be fine on his own, you knew that it would be a very lonely existence to spend twenty-seven years in Derry just waiting for Pennywise to resurface. You knew that Mike would need someone to help him through the worst of it and while you knew it didn't have to fall to you, you also didn't notice anyone else sacrificing themselves.

It didn't make it any easier to say goodbye to Richie and Eddie once they finally left.

"Are you sure you don't want to get out of this shithole?" Richie was watching you as if he had half a mind to just shove you in his car and drive as far away as he could. "You don't have to stay."

"Yeah," you told him with a sad smile. "I kind of do."

"Well, I'll call," he assured you with a pat to your shoulder.

"Sure," you agreed. He wouldn't. He would forget. You were sure that was what happened when you left Derry. You just forgot. Forgot the town. Forgot the life you led there. Forgot everything.

If you forgot Pennywise, then how would you ever know to come back and try to finish the job? No, you would stay in the cursed town with Mike and wait. That was all you could really do.

You watched Richie go with a feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach.

It wasn't so terrible at first. Pennywise wasn't around to terrorize the residents of Derry or making meals out of fearful children, so a sleepy contentment settled over the town. It was peaceful, but incredibly boring.

Mike managed to secure a job at Derry Public Library while you started working the check-in desk at The Derry Townhouse.

You found that even with Mike's company, you still felt incredibly lonely. You found yourself flipping through photo albums and wishing that Richie would call. You wanted to hear how Beverly was doing and if Bill was working on a new book. You wanted to ask Richie if he ever made a move on Eddie or if they went their separate ways. You wanted to see how Stan was doing and if Ben was making a name for himself as a renowned architect.

You never did, though. If the others didn't remember Derry, then maybe it was for the best.

You usually spent most nights having dinner with Mike. He was doing his best to research Derry's history and figure out Pennywise's origins. He figured if he could just figure out one weakness, then it would give you all a fighting chance when Pennywise inevitably came back to wreak havoc on Derry.

Despite how much you hated it, time wore on. Some years seemed to drag on while others flew by. It seemed like you were bringing Mike a sandwich at Derry Public Library when he mentioned forgetting his lunch at home in 2009 and then suddenly it was 2015 and you were starting to see Christmas decorations appear around town.

You were at the library one night in mid-December, waiting for Mike to finish shelving returns so you could eat dinner together. It was your turn to cook, so you were planning on making spaghetti and meatballs. Mike had already mentioned the leftover birthday cake in the staff breakroom that was up for grabs, so you were hoping to have some for dessert.

You were sitting at the front desk, scrolling through a news article about Richie adding more dates to his US tour, and trying to distract yourself from growling stomach. You felt a strange mix of grief and pride as you read the article. You were so proud of your brother, but you mourned the years you missed watching him grow in his career and as a person. There was an ache you got every time you checked up on the other Losers, but it was especially fierce when you came across any news about Richie. It seemed unnatural to have to go without your twin for nearly twenty-seven years and some days you didn't know if you could stand it anymore.

"You know what's coming, don't you? You know what has to happen?"

You startled at the sound of Mike's voice coming from just behind you. He was reading the article over your shoulder, a sad smile on his face when he looked to you.

You bit your lip before nodding your head. "They have to come back. They have to help us."

Over the years, you had both talked over the possibility that Pennywise would be back numerous times. You half-hoped the evil fucker wouldn't dare show his face as long as there were any Losers left in Derry to protect it, but you knew better. Your luck had always been rotten and it wouldn't be long before the murders and reports of missing people started featuring in the news again.

You had spent so much of your time with Mike trying to convince him that you didn't need to involve the others. Two was always better than none, and while you wanted to see your brother and friends again, you didn't want to risk their lives. Mike was adamant that they all had to come back, though. He insisted it wouldn't work otherwise.

Mike was incredibly vague about what he meant by that. You knew there was something he was hiding from you. It had to do with the research he had carefully hidden from you, prompting you to believe that there was something heading your way that was likely to kill you all. You hated that after all these years together, he still didn't fully trust you. He had only ever asked that you trust him. He claimed that whatever he had discovered was the ace in the hole you needed to defeat Pennywise.

You felt a sinking feeling in your gut with each day that passed during the year of 2016. You weren't sure when Pennywise would resurface, but you instinctively knew he would reappear during the summer. It only seemed fitting that the summer of 1989 started this strange and horrifying journey, so why shouldn't it be the summer of 2016 that would end it for good?

You thought it was morbid that you found yourself thinking that either you would die and Pennywise would continue his reign of terror, or you would somehow live and defeat him. With each passing day, Mike's confidence seemed to be infectious. You caught yourself thinking wistfully of a future away from Derry. You weren't sure where you would go or what you would do, but after so long spent trapped in the tiny town, all you knew was that you wanted out.

Even though you seemed to always be waiting for his return, Pennywise still managed to catch you by surprise. You were going over the books for the Townhouse, having managed to successfully buy it from the owner in 2014 when he decided he wanted to leave Derry, and bemoaning your choice to become a business owner, when the phone rang. You absently reached out to grab the receiver, frowning down at the numbers that you were sure had to be complete bullshit.

"Derry Townhouse," you muttered into the phone. "How can I help you?"

"He's back," Mike said, his words immediately sending a chill down your spine. "I need you to meet me right now."

You weren't really sure how you got from being on the phone with Mike to standing at his side, both of you struck speechless by the bloody message Pennywise had left behind for you to find.

"Come home," you muttered, feeling fear begin to settle deep within your gut. You tried to fight it off, knowing that was exactly the reaction Pennywise was looking for from you, but you couldn’t help it.

Mike sucked in a deep breath, as if steeling himself, before he put an arm around your shoulders. "Let's go back to the library," he suggested with a weight to his words that let you know what was coming.

Mike volunteered to make the calls. He seemed a lot more level-headed about what had to happen than you did. You felt like you were sentencing everyone you loved to die. You didn't know how Mike was able to stomach calling each and every former Loser and reminding them of the oath they had sworn in 1989.

Mike had always been resolute in doing what it took to survive, though. Trapping himself in Derry for twenty-seven years, with the memories and ghosts and fear, was more than enough proof of that.

When the last phone call was finished, Mike turned to offer you a grimace.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens now. But I think they'll show up. They have to," he added with a tone that told you he didn't fully believe that. "Do you have any open rooms at the Townhouse?"

You couldn't help but bark out a surprised laugh. "Business isn't exactly booming," you offered when Mike shot you a confused look. "I can house the Losers."

"Then all we have left to do is wait," Mike added with a wry twist to his lips that told you what he was thinking.

You had both done nothing but wait for the last twenty-seven years.

It was later that night, after you managed to drag yourself back home, when you got a phone call from a number you didn't recognize.

"Hello?"

"How the fuck did I forget I have a sister?"

You laughed, a smile on your face. "That's the magic of Derry," you said. "Hey, Richie. I've missed you."

"I think I've missed you too. Fuck," he hissed. "This is so fucking weird. I can remember Mom and Dad, but not you. How the fuck is that fair?"

"Mom and Dad eventually left. I never did." There was a heavy silence left on the line that made you mourn the easy communication you used to share with Richie. "How did you end up with my number?"

"When I stopped freaking the fuck out, I called Mike back and asked him for it. It's funny," he mused with a tone that suggested it was anything but funny to him. "I always felt like there was something missing, but I couldn't figure it out. Like there was someone there who should have been. I guess it was you," he offered with a sigh. "So, hey, you know I'm famous now?"

You felt a genuine smile break out on your face as Richie launched into telling you a story about an afterparty he once attended that resulted in him getting so wasted he accidentally threw up all over a former Spice Girl.

Later, as you were settling down in bed, you couldn't quite fight off the anxiety that had taken hold of you. If Richie came back to Derry, then Richie would have to fight Pennywise. You couldn't quite justify the idea of making your brother relive some of his worst memories, but you knew that it had to happen. If you believed Mike, and you did, then it would have to be all of you. It didn’t mean you had to like it, though.

You reached over to turn off the lamp on your nightstand, plunging your room into darkness.

Moonlight peeked around your bedroom curtains, lending you enough light to just see the outline of the other pieces of furniture in your room. You started to close your eyes, but you caught sight of something that looked out of place.

There was a figure standing just near the foot of your bed. You felt your breath hitch, a familiar thrill of terror coursing through you when the figure seemed to take a step closer. You heard a wheezing, rattling breath as a hand reached out to rest on the edge of the bed.

You gasped out a choked breath before you made yourself move, quickly turning on the lamp again. When you looked to the end of your bed to see that there wasn't actually anyone there, you let out a relieved breath. It had seemed so real and with Pennywise back, you couldn't help but wonder if this was It's doing.

You felt like a child when you left the lamp on, only managing to doze off every once in a while, before jerking back awake to hastily check and make sure no one was standing at the end of your bed.

You remembered the sleepless nights you suffered in ‘89 because of the same brand of fear you felt that night. There were nights when you swore there was someone else in your room while you were trying to sleep. Whether it was Pennywise’s demented giggle jolting you out of sleep or the feeling of fingers drifting over your ankle accompanied by the sound of a rasping, wheezing breath. You weren’t sure you actually got a full night of sleep that summer and you worried you were in store for the same now that Pennywise was around yet again.

You spent the next day booking rooms for the other members of the Losers’ Club and counting down the hours until you were all supposed to meet for dinner. You felt a nervous excitement at the idea of finally seeing everyone again. You weren't really sure how everyone would react to remembering Pennywise and the summer of 1989, but you were nearly relieved that it wouldn’t just be you and Mike any longer. It felt like you had been carrying around a terrible secret for years and now the burden would finally be lifted just the slightest bit from your shoulders.

When you got to Jade of the Orient, you had to sit in your car for a few moments and take deep breaths. You weren't sure why you were so nervous, but you couldn't help but fear that the group dinner was going to be disastrous. You didn't know how much the others remembered, but you were sure once the full effect of Derry began to hit them, it wasn't going to be pretty.

As you walked up to the restaurant, you noticed a man and a woman standing near the entrance. You felt a smile break out at the sight of the red hair on the woman. You knew instinctively who she was as you got closer.

"Beverly?" You couldn't help but ask as you considered her.

Beverly turned to look at you, her eyes narrowing for a split second as she attempted to recognize you, before her eyes went wide. "Y/N?"

"Yeah," you confirmed with a nod of your head as you moved to pull her into a hug.

"God, it's been so long," Beverly said as she pulled back. You noticed her look at the guy standing just behind her before she glanced back to you. "Ben," she mouthed with a tilt of her head, silently clueing you in to the man's identity.

"Ben Handsome," you started as you took a step away from Beverly. "Is that you?"

You noticed a blush spread across his cheeks before he ducked his head, suddenly sheepish. It was a gesture you recognized from childhood and you couldn't help but let out a pleased laugh as you moved to tug him into a hug as well.

"It's good to see you, Y/N," he murmured in your ear.

You pulled back and let yourself fully consider Ben. You couldn't help but think that he was remarkably handsome and you felt yourself blush when your eyes met his. His hands were on your shoulders and even though it was well past the moment when you should have stepped away, you felt nearly transfixed by him.

You were struggling to think of something to say, not sure if the moment was turning awkward or oddly heated, when you were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat.

You glanced over to see Richie standing just a few feet away. "Well, you all look amazing," he observed as he studied you, Beverly, and Ben. "What the fuck happened to me?" He wondered with a self-deprecating tilt to his lips.

"Richie," you couldn't help but say as you practically flung yourself at your brother.

"Hey, Y/N," he said with a delighted chuckle before he brought his arms up to embrace you. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Too long," you agreed with a sigh as you pulled away from him. You stepped back so he could have his own little reunions with Bev and Ben as well.

"So, were you guys going to stand out here all night or are we going to get on with this impromptu Losers' Club meeting?" Richie asked after hugging Beverly and shaking hands with Ben. "You three looked kind of cozy out here," he added with a raised eyebrow in your direction.

You shook your head and turned towards the entrance to the restaurant. "Beep beep, Richie," you muttered before you pulled the door open and stepped inside.

Reuniting with Bill and Eddie felt just as bizarre and surreal as seeing Richie, Beverly, and Ben again for the first time. Your eyes kept seeking out the empty chair at the table, however. You wondered where Stan was, but like with every meeting of the Losers' Club, it quickly turned loud and chaotic.

Richie couldn't help but poke fun at Eddie and while you were onto him, it felt like you were able to breathe again after years of suffocating within Derry's walls. You had felt trapped for so long that you forgot what it was like to have almost everyone back with you again. You listened to everyone catch up, your eyes seeking out Bill from time to time. You could still feel the remnants of your childhood infatuation and a part of you wondered if you would ever be over him. You kept glancing to where a wedding band had recently resided on his left hand, surreptitiously reminding yourself that while Bill was recently divorced, it was unlikely that he would ever feel anything for you.

You focused on the little things that made you feel at peace for the first time in years. Mike's small, proud grin as he listened to Bill talk about his new book and the way Richie kept glancing at Eddie, as if he couldn't believe they were in the same room again. You also saw the spark of interest in Richie's eyes once Eddie mentioned he was separated and well on his way to a divorce.

You noticed the soft, private grins Beverly shot Bill and the way Ben kept watching Beverly with a reverence that told you his childhood crush was still in effect as well. You let their laughter wash over you as you ate and drank, your thoughts turning to Stan more and more often as the evening wore on and he failed to appear.

"So, Y/N," Ben started as he leaned forward in his seat, focusing on you. "What have you been doing all these years?" You knew he was trying to deflect after Richie had embarrassed him by calling him hot, so you decided to have mercy on him.

"I, uh," you started before taking a sip of your drink. "I've been running Derry Townhouse for the past few years."

"You own that shithole?" Richie asked with incredulity in his tone.

You rolled your eyes before reaching across Beverly to pinch Richie's arm. "Yes," you answered. "And since you're all staying there for free, I'd like a little more gratitude."

"Thanks, Y/N," you heard Ben pipe up before the rest of the Losers toasted to you.

You had fooled yourself into thinking it might be a nice, uneventful reunion, but you should have known better. Pennywise had to take the first shot at the Losers' Club through the most disturbing and grotesque display.

The Pennywise bomb had just been dropped on the rest of the Losers right before the fortune cookies were dropped off at your table. Mike had reminded them of the oath they had all sworn and while Richie had attempted to lighten the mood a bit, you knew that everyone was well on their way to freaking out.

Once Eddie pointed out that his fortune was just one word printed on the small slip of paper, you realized that none of your fortune cookies actually contained a typical fortune.

After you deciphered the message from the fortune cookies, an ominous warning about Stan's fate that read 'I Guess Stanley Could Not Cut It,' chaos erupted from the bowl of unopened fortune cookies in the middle of the table.

You barely had time to process the fact that you were all being attacked by nightmarish monstrosities when you felt a hand wrap around your bicep, quickly pulling you away from the table. You looked over to see Mike, his eyes wide and frightened, as if he too had allowed himself to forget for a moment why you had been forced to call the Losers back to Derry.

It wasn't long before there were horrifying creatures flying about the room, knocking into the light fixtures and diving towards you all.

You heard Eddie scream and glanced over to see Ben trying to shield Eddie from something attempting take a bite out of him. Richie yelled Eddie's name, concern and fear clear in his voice. You only had a moment to make sure your brother was safe before something big and terrifying and screeching flew right into you.

"Fuck!" You blurted as you tried to ward off whatever was trying to sink its talons into your forearm.

You felt an arm around your waist before someone spun you away from the threat. You were suddenly facing the wall while someone stood at your back, shouting as they tried to face the creature that was just attacking you. You were panting for breath, not sure if it was out of fear or the adrenaline crashing over you, as you turned to see it was Bill who had saved you.

"Y/N! You okay?" You heard Richie ask, but you didn't get much of a chance to respond before Mike picked up a chair and began to smash it over the middle of the table in an attempt to destroy the rest of the fortune cookies, insisting that what you were all seeing wasn't actually real.

You were all more than a little jumpy as you finally gathered outside Jade of the Orient. After the hilariously inappropriate way Richie had yelled at a kid, forgetting for a moment a line from his own comedy routine, you were more than ready to crawl into bed and forget everything.

You didn't even realize that Beverly was trying to get in touch with Stan, because you were so distracted by the way everyone else was freaking out. Richie and Eddie were yelling at Mike for lying to everyone by conveniently forgetting to mention Pennywise when he called everyone home while Ben and Bill seemed to be silently trying to process everything that had just happened.

Mike was doing his best to keep everyone from skipping town when Beverly turned to face the rest of you, her phone held to her ear. She quickly put the call on speaker, allowing all of you to hear who was on the other line.

It wasn't until you heard Stan's wife confirm that Stan was dead that you realized all of your worst fears were coming true. The Losers' Club hadn't even had an opportunity to really face Pennywise and one of you was already gone.

You were barely aware of the fact that you were struggling to breathe. Stan couldn't be dead. Stan was always the shared voice of reason with you and one of the first to try to talk some sense into the Losers’ Club. He was Stan. Steady and dependable and sarcastic as hell. And he was dead.

"Mike," you called, tears starting to track down your face. "Did we kill Stan?" You whispered as you rounded on him, your breath stuttering in your chest at the thought. "When we called him, did we kill him? Did we do this? Is it our fault?" You could no longer justify calling everyone to ask them to return to Derry. Stan was dead and you couldn’t help but feel like it was all because you weren’t capable of facing Pennywise by yourself. Your fear of getting everyone you loved killed was washing over you and stealing your breath away.

"Y/N, no," Mike murmured before he moved to pull you into his arms. You only had a moment to rest your head on his shoulder, the tears flowing freely as guilt threatened to overwhelm you, before you were tugged out of Mike's hold.

"Hey, what the fuck did you do to my sister?" You heard Richie ask as he pulled you into a hug.

"Yeah, fuckwad, why are you making Y/N cry?" Eddie jumped in. His specific brand of indignation in his tone had you laughing somewhat hysterically into Richie's shoulder.

"He didn't do anything," you assured them as you finally managed to calm down. “I’m just upset about Stan.” You knew that what you were feeling in that moment was just going to give Pennywise nightmare fuel against you later. How was he going to twist this to haunt you? You shuddered at the thought before you patted Richie on the shoulder and stepped back. "I'm okay," you managed to say as you reached up to hastily wipe away the tears still tracking down your cheeks.

You felt someone place a hand on your shoulder and you looked back to see Beverly standing there. You noticed the tears welling in her eyes and the haunted expression on her face and knew that Stan's death was hitting her just as hard.

"Come on, Y/N," Richie pleaded as he pulled your attention back towards him. "Let's just get the fuck out of this shitty town."

"I’m not going anywhere, Richie. I live here," you reminded him with a helpless shrug of your shoulders.

"Well, you're moving," he told you as if it was that easy. He let out an incredulous laugh as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his coat. He looked like he was trying to resist the urge to reach out and grab your arm, as if he was toying with the idea of dragging you out of Derry if he had to. "I can't believe I let you stay here," he muttered.

"I had to," you argued with a shake of your head. "I couldn't leave Mike alone all these years."

Richie snorted before he rolled his eyes. "Just, come on," he insisted as he nodded over towards his car. "You too, Eduardo. Let's go."

"Yeah, I'm right there with you," Eddie agreed as he made a break for his car.

"I drove myself here," you reminded Richie when he seemed like he was about to herd you towards his car.

"Fine. Fuck," Richie sighed as he glanced away. "Meet us at the Townhouse," he conceded before he took off across the parking lot.

You turned and met Mike's gaze, silently asking what you should do now.

"I've got him if you've got them," Mike said as he nodded over towards Bill. "There's something I've got to show him. But we'll see you at the Townhouse."

"Yeah, okay," you allowed with a grimace.

"Y/N," Mike called before you could fully turn away from him. He pulled you into a hug, letting you rest your weight on him for a moment.

"It was Stan, Mike," you muttered into his shoulder. "Stan."

"I know," Mike soothed as he pulled you closer for a brief moment. "We're going to kill It this time. We'll make It pay. But we can't do that if the rest of us don't band together."

"Yeah," you sighed, understanding what he was telling you to do. You had to go to the Townhouse and make sure none of the Losers were trying to skip town.

"Y/N," Mike called again just as you were reaching your car. "Thanks," he said when you turned to look at him. "I really couldn't imagine doing any of this without you."

You offered him a weak smile and a nod before you got behind the wheel of your car.

If you cried all the way to the Townhouse, mourning Stan and wishing that you could go back in time and stop Mike from calling him, then no one had to know but you.

#it: chapter two #it 2019 #ben hanscom x reader #richie tozier & reader #richie tozier x eddie kaspbrak #reader insert #it #it imagine #reader imagine #the losers club #the losers x reader #reader insert fanfiction #it fanfiction

81 notes · View notes

space-helen · 4 years ago

Text

Where Have You Been? - Chapter 11

Words: 1000

Pairing: Jack Thompson x Reader

PART 1 - CH1 CH2 CH3 CH4 CH5

PART 2 - CH6 CH7 CH8 CH9 CH10

PART 3 - CH11 CH12 CH13

______________________

You swung the door open to Jack's office and reached for a file on his desk “I’m telling you Mr Cook has been running the whole thing since Mr Martin was arrested. I was so dumb to let him go.” you flipped open the file on the relevant pages and slapped it down of the desk for Peggy and Daniel to see.

You rubbed your hands across your face before storming out in the bullpen “I want 3 of you to go to Mr Cook’s house and if he’s there arrest him and bring him in. I want a team of you at Agent Sanchez’ wedding reception venue scouring the property for any evidence or witnesses you can find. The rest of you chase up leads on anyone that is connected to Mr Martin and Mr Cook that might have taken the Chief and bring them in if they aren’t already behind bars.”

You moved back into Jack’s office and sat in his chair “I guess you’re taking responsibility of the branch now.” Daniel questioned.

You looked at him quizzically “huh?”

“I mean the way you just commanded that room and everyone’s following your orders. You’re sitting in the Chief’s chair.” Daniel stopped for a second “What I’m trying to say is that someone has to now head the New York branch while Jack is missing and that can either be you, and you’ve proven you’re capable, maybe too closely associated and have a conflict of interest, but nonetheless capable of running the branch, or me or Pegg can take over.”

You weighed it up “I’d love to but I’m not sure that’s a decision I should be making.”

“I think Jack would want no one else to be leading the investigation.” Peggy added, coming forward and putting a hand on your shoulder.

“Alright I’ll do it.”

Daniel Nodded “Alright Chief Y/L/N, where do you want us?”

The rest of the night had been hectic, people coming in and out of your office and presenting leads to you. “We’ve brought someone in.”

“Who is it?”

“Mr Cook’s old friend Michael Days, there’s proof that they’ve been in contact with each other recently.”

You walked up to the Agent and took the file and documents from him “Get him ready for an interrogation. I’ll be over in a second.”

You downed some water and picked up some more files from your desk before quickly heading to the interrogation room, Peggy caught you by your bicep and you stopped in your tracks. “Y/N are you sure that you’ll be able to handle this?”

“I’ll be fine Peggy. We just need to find him soon.”

“I’ll watch the interrogation and if I see anything I don’t like I’m pulling you out.”

“Fine.” you shrugged out of her grasp and into the interrogation room, the door clicking shut behind you. You looked at the well dressed man sitting at the table, his face held a smug smile. “Mr Days, I’m just going to cut right to the chase.”

You sat opposite the man “From our investigation so far we know that you’ve been involved with Mr Cook. You two were, well I supposed I could say are still good friends correct?”

You paused and waited for his reply but the man stayed quiet and relaxed into his seat. “The silent treatment huh? All I want to know is where Mr Cook is. You don’t have to give anything else up just his location. Hey, who knows we might even let you walk free after if you cooperate.”

He slowly leant forward, his chair squeaked under his movement. “You know and I know that I’m not walking free so there’s no point me telling you where he is. I’ll give you one thing though.” he leant back “That body with the gunshot wound. I shot him, another guy getting anxious about plans so there was only one way to deal with him.” he shrugged. “I know they took your Chief but what intrigues me is how upset you look. He’s more to you than just a boss, you care for him don’t you? I heard he cares for you since he gave us that information, albeit false, to make sure you were safe.”

“Where is he.” you asked coolly.

“He’s probably wondering where you are. That’s if he’s conscious.”

“Where is he.”

“Knowing what they have in store for him.”

You slammed your hands down onto the table and shouted “Where is he!”

There was silence for a second before he leant forward and spoke “What, am I getting under your skin?”

You harshly pushed the table into the man and winded him before storming out of the room. You heard Peggy's footsteps trying to catch up with you but you were soon pushing the Chief’s office door open and sliding into the chair.

Running your hands through your hair they caught on the sunflower which was clinging onto it’s position. You gently took it in your hands and brought it in front of you, this was all it took to properly break you, unstoppable tears streaming down your face.

Peggy walked in just in time to see you crack, she instantly came to your side and hugged you. “It’s going to be ok. We’ll find him.”

“This always happens to me. I’ll never be happy. It’s all my fault.”

“Don’t you dare blame this on yourself.” you pulled away from Peggy and wiped at your cheeks, silent tears streaming now. Peggy knelt beside you, “I’ll finish the interrogation. I want you to stay in here and go through files, have a coffee and I’ll tell someone to get you something to eat. I know you, you just need to cool down and you’ll be on the top of your game” she put a hand on your leg and gave it a reassuring squeeze before pushing herself up to her full height.

“Thank you Peg.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Next Chapter

Tag List: (open)

Jack Thompson: @fandomsandxfiles @itsmissdahliahayward @vintagelavenderskies @britishcorporal @ravennaofasgard @spunky-89 @darkusangelus96 @marinettepotterandplagg @fandomsandxfiles-writes @okkulta @gavemesomuchtoremember @remmyswritings @marvel-jackt-loki-buck

All MCU:

#jack thompson x reader #chief thompson x reader #where have you been #where have you been?#mcu x reader #agent thompson x reader

22 notes · View notes

spectraspecs-writes · 4 years ago

Text

Korriban - Chapter 90

Link to the masterpost. Chapter 89. Chapter 91.

@averruncusho @ceruleanrainblues @chubbsmomma @strangepostmiracle thank you for reading, you get a tag. @skelelexiunderlord thank you for support, you get a tag.

A/N: Guess who’s typing at work again. This bitch

-------------

Hoo, I need to catch my breath a bit. I wasn't expecting that at all. I have to say, every time I imagined that, I didn’t think it would be so… fantastic! A bit itchy - the beard and mustache thing. But overall, wow! Kinda need to… focus a bit.

Jolee keeps grinning at me like a child, I feel like I’m floating. We head towards the Valley, I’ve got to meet Lashowe.

Carth looks back at me and does a bit of a double-take. “Are you all right?” he asks, “I’m sorry, I know that was a bit… sudden, I thought…”

“I’m fine,” I say with a grin, “Sudden, sure, but not at all unpleasant.”

He sighs in relief. “Oh, good, I was worried that-”

“Don’t be,” I reassure him, “Really. It was great. And if we didn’t have other things to do…” I smile and shake my head wordlessly. “But we do. So -”

“Right.”

“That’s that.”

Jolee scoffs. “Do the two of you ever finish a complete sentence around each other?” he asks rhetorically. I chuckle a bit. We do have a tendency to finish each other’s thoughts. And I’m not even reading him most of the time, I guess we’re just on the same wavelength a lot.

There’s saber practice going on in the chamber before the door to the valley. Sith saber forms don’t look all that different from Jedi ones - I guess there’s only so many safe ways to handle a lightsaber. And over in the corner is a Twi’lek, tidying up. That’s Adrenas, that’s who Master Uthar told me to give this datapad to. I think. Best to check. I walk up to him. “You’re Adrenas, right?”

“Yes, I am,” he says in the Twi’lek tongue, “Greeting, student.”

I hand him the datapad. “Master Uthar told me to give you this datapad.”

“He did?” he says, “Allow me to see that for a moment.” He takes it and reads it. “Ah, yes, I see,” he says, “I will do as Master Uthar requests, of course. Thank you for bringing this to me.” He puts the datapad in his pocket, and that’s that. Now all I have to do is make it to the tomb for the final test. But for now I just need to head for the Valley of the Dark Lords. What an overly dramatic name.

Wait a second. Somethings out there. Something not good. Something familiar. But only vaguely familiar. Trask… it was something on the Endar Spire. Something about Trask. “Guys,” I say to Carth and Jolee, “be ready.” Carth doesn’t waste a second and has his blasters out. Jolee opts to wait and see.

The door to the Valley opens before me, and I don’t see anything right away. Not until the door closes. Then it’s almost like it comes out of nowhere. Three Dark Jedi. Nothing I haven’t faced before - I wonder why I--? That feeling again. Trask - I saw one of them before. “At last, my search is over!” the leader says, “I was beginning to fear someone else had killed you and deprived me of the pleasure.” He scoffs. “You may have defeated the pathetic bounty hunter my Master sent after you, but you are no match for me! I have studied at the foot of the Dark Lord himself!”

Trask - why do I keep thinking about Trask? I can hear his last words in my head - “Damn! Another Dark Jedi! I’ll try to hold him off, you get to the escape pods! Go!” And I didn’t hear anything else after that. Maybe a few blaster bolts, a swish of a lightsaber, but nothing really. Trask was dead. He didn’t have even a chance to get to the escape pods, not that there was one left for him. Carth and I took the last one, and he knows we were the last Republic people left alive, he said as much. Why am I thinking about Trask now? I take another look at the Dark Jedi, I know that face. “You were on the Endar Spire,” I say finally, “You killed Trask.”

He scoffs. “I shouldn’t be surprised,” he says, “I’ll make your death as quick and painful as his!”

He throws his lightsaber. I jump reflexively. Jolee starts on one of the Dark Jedi flanking the leader while Carth lays down cover fire. My jump takes me right over the three of them and close to the entrance to a cave. A group of shyrack is lingering near the cave entrance, I can hear them. I can use this. I roll a flash grenade towards the entrance and it startles the shyrack. Just as I thought, they fly out of the cave, seeking vengeance on whoever threw the grenade. They’ll bother the Dark Jedi just as much as they bother us. Moreso if I can just… connect with them, tell them… They fly right past me and ambush the man who killed Trask. He can’t focus on us and the shyrack, which gives Jolee and me the time we need to take down the Jedi at his flank. Jolee has the one handled, so I lead the other away from the group so I can face them one on one. They step closer, I step back, back and back up until we’re both on level ground. Never been in a fair fight on unlevel ground. But by the time they realize what I was doing they’re already eye to eye with me - no more high ground advantage. They pull out their lightsaber and it clashes with both of mine. They’re a Guardian, same as me, and we’re a match muscle for muscle. But I’ve got something I know they don’t, and I know they don’t because it’s obvious from how they fight. What I have and they don’t is a lot of experience fighting outside. I’ve dueled on pretty much every terrain, including swampland, and it’s different than dueling inside, or even just practicing inside. The land breathes, it has its own rhythm that you lose touch with if you only ever fight inside. When you’re outside, you learn to use the terrain, the rhythm of the land, to your own advantage. Every rock, every insect, every particle of dust, becomes a part of your strategy. As a scout that was second nature to me even before I started dueling - getting in touch with the planet’s rhythm is crucial when you’re tracking animals or looking for water. A shift in my footing flings a rock at the Dark Jedi’s knees - not even a big rock - and they jump. If a single rock throws off your whole rhythm, then you’re not in tune with the rhythm of the land. Something I could easily use to my advantage. I catch them in a saber lock and take a deep breath. Using the Force to summon all the nearby pebbles and rocks from behind me. I close my eyes as the Jedi is pelted with rocks. They back away, waving away the rocks because they can’t see, but I can feel them through the Force, I don’t need to open my eyes. I sweep with my lightsaber, first at their legs, then the arms, and finally, when they’ve fallen backwards, I deal the final blow, and let the rocks fall.

This just leaves Malak’s apprentice, who is still being swarmed by shyrack. No doubt he can feel me through the Force just as easily as I can feel him. This fight will not be determined by the Force. Having finally had enough of the shyrack he blasts them with lightning and they fall dead at his feet. At the same time Jolee deals the killing blow to the other Dark Jedi, so Malak’s apprentice has all of our attention. But the apprentice only focuses on me for some reason. I can handle it, I can handle it.

He doesn’t fall for me trying to lure him off the high ground. He just uses the Force to try to lure me back closer to him. I’m easily more stubborn than he is, so this could easily be a standoff between–

HOLY FUCK THAT HURTS! Stop it stop it bastard stop –

“Rena!” Carth shouts, and the pain stops. What the hell was that? Is that what Force Lightning feels like? That was awful! I never was to go through that again! I take a quick second to regroup before I look up and see the apprentice heading straight for Carth. Oh, hell, no, you’re not going to do that to Carth! Without even thinking, I leap up and land right on top of the apprentice.

He lets out an involuntary “oof” before throwing me off, but he seems oddly pleased. “I knew I could get you to come closer,” he says with a smirk as I pick myself up, “Your passions will always betray you, as they always have.”

“You talk too much,” I say before rushing him with my lightsaber. He twists around, trying to fight both me and Jolee at the same time, but really focusing mostly on me. Carth keeps laying down cover fire, distracting the Jedi before he can make a killing blow to either of us. He manages to back me up against the cliff face, pushing me harder into the wall. He uses the Force to blow Jolee back, and he holds his lightsaber against me in a lock, I can feel the heat on my face.

“How ironic that it would end this way,” he says, his voice oozing, “And you don’t even know why, do you?”

Hang on. Oh, that’s gross but brilliant. “You don’t pay a whole lot of attention to your surroundings, do you?”

Well, he shouldn’t have put his hand so close to my mouth if he didn’t expect to get bit.

He recoils, as much in surprise as in pain - when the chips are down, I can bite pretty hard - just in time for Jolee to come at him from behind. Now the apprentice is reduced to fighting one-handed, which is nigh impossible to do with a double-bladed lightsaber. And when fighting two opponents it’s even harder. All we need to do is keep at him until he loses his footing. Then he’s mine.

He stumbles against a rock. Without a moment of hesitation I deal the killing blow.

God, I need a minute to catch my breath. I still haven’t fully recovered from the lighting. I lean against a rock, just breathing for a minute. I need my water. Carth and Jolee both gather around me. “That Force Lightning is no joke,” I say, gasping a bit.

“I almost thought he was going to kill you right then,” Carth says.

“If I’m being honest, so did I,” I say, and I take another drink of my water. “It would have been preferable to being shocked anymore.” That’s a place I’ve never been before, and I hated it. But, I’m good now. Caught my breath. “So,” I say to both of them, “where do you think first? Cave or tombs? There’s some renegade students in the tombs that master Uthar wants dead so of course I’m going to let them live, but there’s also some prestige to be earned from the tombs, so I’m told.”

“Do you think the students will still be there if we hit the tombs first?” Carth asks.

“Well, I told Lashowe about them, but she’s not a concern. They aren’t exactly a secret, I heard people talking about it in the library, but the caves are pretty treacherous if I heard right.”

Carth smirks at me. “You really want to go into the caves now, don’t you?”

“I’m super excited about the wildlife, yes,” I admit.

Jolee scoffs with a smile. “Why am I not surprised?” he asks rhetorically.

#star wars #knights of the old republic #kotor #autistic artist #fiction #specs writes stuff #kotor fic #rena visz #oc #fem!revan #ls!revan #carth onasi #jolee bindo #darth bandon #i realized while writing this that he never says his name #we know it because we saw the cut scene but the pc never does of course #korriban #chapter 90 #swearing tw

7 notes · View notes

victoriousscarf · 4 years ago

Note

Can I ask about the path you took toward working in public history? I'm in grad school at the moment. (I also have a complicated family situation and the world is kind of a mess so I'm not necessarily expecting an answer that gives some kind of set path I can follow, I'm just curious.)

Ok... So ...

Like I think it's always hard to be in the public history field and be like yeah! You're totally gonna get something! Because of my like cohort when I started grad school I think... 3...no 4 of us have stable employment in the field. One I know of is field adjacent. One left to become an artist, one has never held a job in the field at all, and a lot have either struggled with work or been underemployed. So it's rough and I think the pandemic has made library/museum/archives jobs way harder.

But.

I went to school specifically in a program for archives and records management. That program no longer exists, and most archives jobs want an MLIS anyway. (I've gotten some shady looks from hiring managers not in the field because they're like... It's not an MLIS and I'm like no? Because it was way more specialized?? Like I am super qualified okay I promise). This was... Not a great idea. The more specialized you are, the harder to switch tracks it is. I've been considering going back for a museum degree just for more flexibility because that's honestly the only way to survive in this field. Right now I'm seeing more museum jobs than archives, but my curator friend was insisting it was the other way when she was applying so it's also just luck of the draw.

So I have super specialized education. Pros and cons.

I then took an internship as an interpretive ranger at a national park site. And that was the best thing I ever did for myself. There are several programs that do internships with the NPS, but a lot of them are age specific. The one I did was for 26 and below, so it wouldn't be useful for older folks going back to school but! There's also federal jobs that are either for people still in school (I think it was called pathways back then?) Or some jobs are only open for recent grads. It was paid and they provided housing. A lot of internships don't do that and it's awful and there's been a slow but steady reckoning in the field that unpaid internships are bad and exclusionary to people who don't have any support sytem backing them.

Working for the NPS opened up a lot of doors for me. The federal government is very difficult to break into. It doesn't really matter what the job posting says, if you don't have experience, you probably aren't getting through the questionnaire. (And yes. There are questionnaires. So. Many. Questionnaires). But if you luck into an internship, you learn about the system and you get experience and no matter where you go after that, it's good to have in your pocket in case you need it again.

After that I also lucked out with a partnership program through my old grad program. It is definitely worth checking to see what sort of connections the program might have. Because I got something like 9 months of work that was paid for by my grad program to work in an entirely different state to finish a project for them. Look around, connections really matter in the public history field. If you have the chance to go to a conference, yeet yourself toward it. It's hard to like meet people, but the nice thing is most folks in the field are fucking nerds who are probably socially awkward too. Archives potlucks are hailrious because 89% of the folks have got social anxiety. They all wanna bring a book and sit and read quietly. But the more people you meet, the more connections you make, the better (also Archivists looooove twitter. Ugh. And there's a lot of really good archives/library/museum groups on facebook. I'd recommend them).

The more weird shit you can put on your resume, the better. Saying which parks I worked at (sometimes very famous ones) made me stand out. I also ran a day long academic conference in grad school and was president of a student chapter of a professional organization. It almost killed me, but it stood out in people's minds. One of my co workers did field work in Eygpt, and our supervisor mentions seeing that on her resume all the time. Like that was part of what drew him to it. Again, money is an issue for most people and this is hard to pull off, but weird shit helps you stand out. Emphasis anything cool you've ever done in your whole life. I also did national history day in high school. That meant I was our education specialists favorite person when it came time to help high schoolers on their project. Even if it's too late for you to do that in high school, see if you have a regional competition nearby. Or state even. Volunteer. That's also something that stands out (plus helping wee history nerds can be a treat... When you're not being reminded why high school was so terrible lol).

I also moved to 6 states in... 5 years. And I don't mean neighboring states either I mean I started on the west coast and flung myself all the way to the western side of the Mississippi River. And then North. And then South. And then West again. This is not possible for a lot of people because a) money and b) family. Even with all that moving I was unemployed for 6 or so months in the middle of it. It is hard to be looking for work so constantly and then packing up your life and yeeting yourself to another state /again./

I also have a chronic condition with regularly scheduled flare ups. Moving away from my family for work has sucked, being in pain and having to explain to a new boss I'll have to take some time off every year to like, lay on the floor in pain, sucks. So like. It can be done even WITH stuff like that too.

But I have been incredibly lucky. Because I got a few breaks when I needed one. Because I was in a position to go for what I could take. I also missed certain chances I should have been able to take. That's never a good feeling but it doesn't mean one missed chance or fuck up is the end of the road.

So yeah, as you said, every circumstance is different, every road is different, but I do think hearing a) it can be done and b) different approaches to how it can be done, can really help. Like even if you can't do the same stuff, maybe there's something in there that can help out. Some spark of an idea of something to try.

(I'm also making this public in case it helps anyone else ... I hope that's okay).

(this got long lol. But I was trying to think of like any advice that could help. There's a lot of pathways to get into the field, but volunteering, weird shit on that resume, being willing to go the extra bit, those are probably the most basic take aways anyone could try).

#vs does an ask #vs does a text post #public history

5 notes · View notes

itscookieoverlordtoyou · 4 years ago

Text

40 Questions — Meme for Fic Writers

Don’t you sometimes see those ask games and wish you could just fkg do them all? On this sunny Saturday, we make our dreams reality lolol

1. Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.

Short fic, I usually get a small scene I want written so I write around it, plus I love short stories with interesting punchline.

2. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

Probably, I don’t know them all ^^’

3. Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

Writing about stuff that disgust me I guess.

4. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?

Like 5-6? I want to write about a restaurant but set in a world where people have powers I think the combo could be very funny. The main character has the power of insight, the plonge is a giant pool where you swim around cleaning. Backstories of characters with shitty and amazing powers and how they ended up here. Rival to lover character that has the power to see into the future.

5. Share one of your strengths.

Dialogues, subversion, and humor; classmates often said I have a touch to spin a sad story into something positive/happier.

6. Share one of your weaknesses?

I get tired when I describe something for longer than 4 sentences.

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

“In what kind of trouble have we walked right into?”, I ask my companions as they’re idly fixing their attire. Together, we’ve face many perils and this mission ranks among one of the most dangerous. Yet, the others had been…how should I say it…professional! Rescuing kidnapped princesses, vanquishing terrifying monsters, quests to restore mythical artifacts, save nations from insidious plots. Oddly enough, “Does this dress make me look fat?”, is not the answer I’m looking for.

Ribbon in my hair is the first time I wrote about my knights, I first dreamt about them when I as 18, my boyfriend at the time called my idea stupid and my world building pointless so I only started writing about them when I was 21. Now I write about them a little bit every year :)

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

“Do you really want your last words to be complaints?”

“I die as I lived.”

“Will we become a fruit tree?”

“I don’t think so, it’s never been the case for my ancestors.”

“I’d love it if we could turn into a banana tree.”

“I’m not from the southern regions, plus I like apples more.”

“Just imagine, our fruits could have been banana flambée”

This death scene was a big finale to a story I wrote for a class in Uni, a story of war between clan of forest and volcano people, of the supposedly brutal death of a Goddess, of a mysterious apple tree whose fruit give vision of the past. I should revisit it.

9. Which fic as been the hardest to write?

My analysis on D’Artagnan and the figure of the hero. Granted it’s an essay for school but I deeply loved it. I was too afraid to write or ask for help from the professor in charge of me (which made our relationship tense ^^’) but when I did, it was beautiful and I was very proud got 89% :D

10. Which fic has been the easiest to write?

A play called Adelaide where an old couple reads their old fairytale book about a Prince on a quest to save a Princess. They bicker about the other misreading the story but we finally get to the part where the Prince tosses the princess apart to get a better view of the dragon of which he falls instantly in love. The book is actually their wedding album.

11. Is writing your passion or just a fun hobby?

It’s one of my passions, but it’s not something I think I could live on so I delegated it to my hobby.

12. Is there an episode above all others that inspires you just a little bit more?

The wedding scene in Shrek 2, my mind was blown when I saw it in theaters and when I need inspiration to write, I rewatch it.

13. What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Presentation is important. If trying to read you gives people headaches, they’ll stop. Choose a nice big font, space with paragraphs, be mindful of your spelling and missing words. Read out loud because some things written are bad said.

14. What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?

I must’ve been lucky in this regard, I don’t think I’ve ever received advice that made me go NO, but I did have to listen/read stuff that made me gag.

15. If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

I would love to the Adelaide acted out, some adjustments would be required because I’m no expert in play writing but I think I’d be great.

16. If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be?

Luyenor’a and Taram, names are placeholders as of now but they’re two of my knight, being the “only pairing I’m allow to write about forever” means I’d get more knight shenanigans done.

17. Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

I’m doing bullets point of what I want to happen and write stuff without much order. Some days I have no inspirations for what goes in the beginning but have loads for a later point. I surf the wave when it presents itself.

18. Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines?

Word on my computer, a notebook in my bag, the note app in my phone.

19. Stephen King once said that his muse is a man who lives in the basement. Do you have a muse?

I have little trinkets all around my computer to invite inspiration.

20. Describe your perfect writing conditions.

Freshly woken up, having eaten, drinking something sugary and sometimes apple cider because the alcohol help lower my inhibition.

21. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

I read out loud at least once the whole thing, helps with missing words but dude I reread my stuff on ao3 and always find mistakes still ^^’

22. Choose a passage from one of your earlier fics and edit it into your current writing style. (Person sending the ask is free to make suggestions).

I’m not going to put here because it’s in French and I don’t want to translate now but I wrote Vision of a world, mine when I was 16 and damn was I already depressed then?

23. If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?

The Princess and the Soldier, some gay fairytale I think my first one, I’m sure I can do better bow

I also have one about a janitor and it’s a murder mystery I could redo

24. Have you ever deleted one of your published fics?

Once by accident, I was so angry I never rewrote it.

25. What do you look for in a beta?

I don’t really use beta (beta reader right?) but I guess I’ve had like 3-4 when I was in Uni and had to read people’s wip and they read mine. They’d talk about what they liked, links they noticed, things that seemed weak or to change

26. Do you beta yourself? If so, what kind of beta are you?

I usually just point out the stuff I like

27. How do you feel about collaborations?

For a class in college, we had to act out a play we wrote collectively. Ten sketches written in pairs/alone. I made sure I was alone so I wouldn’t be saddled with someone else to write my sketch

28. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

I don’t follow fic writers; I just am in a mood for a ship and read what’s available. I do like my friend @alumort ‘s fics tho ^^

29. If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

There was a Phineas and Ferb fic focused on Perry I really loved. Their world building was something I’d never seen and they abandoned the story, so I did fanfic of a fic. Never dared to post it anywhere I mean it was their world to begin with.

30. Do you accept prompts?

Of course, when inspiration is given I accept

31. Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?

I don’t care about canon but I do love using it when there are little trivia to enrich the character.

32. How do you feel about smut?

Love to read it sometimes, would love to write it. Some I’m like………….youveneverhadsexhaveyou…………………

33. How do you feel about crack?

Love it!!!!!!!! I’m too self-conscious to write it tho. Oh maybe that could be a never before written trope I could try?

34. What are your thoughts on non-con and dub-con?

Rape I can’t, dub-con where underlying requited feelings exist but anxiety™ don’t let the characters express them but they’re drunk so it surfaces is okay

35. Would you ever kill off a canon character?

Hell yeah! I do when/if the death makes sense (I am still pissed at Kishi for Neji)

36. Which is your favorite site to post fic?

Ao3 is where I post,I used devianart when I had one

37. Talk about your current wips.

Marry Me for the Love of Cake: God I’m so sorry to the few people who followed it, I said I’d pick it up before the end of 2019 and well……I have the ending in bullet points

Yours, with Love: I hope I’ll finish it…I have most of the ending in bullet points

I guess I’m into rom com at the moment lolol

38. Talk about a review that made your day.

I made my best friend read All this for a Roll Cake, and she laughed so much at my work, I took a picture I look at from time to time to remain humble.

39. Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

Thankfully I’ve never received a rude review. My professor once told me it seemed kinda unnatural how unlucky my protagonist was vs. how lucky his love interest was (All this for a Roll Cake) but that was the whole point of the story so I just ignored her.

40. Write an alternative ending to [insert fic title] (or just the summary of one).

Writing this I realised I lost my final version of All this for a Roll Cake T^T so I guess I’d rewrite the ending I have of the before the last version I still have.

Well this was fun ^^ got to revisit my works and remember many beloved pieces of fiction I wrote, I look forward to my next projects

#have fun reading lolol #will writing this inspire me to continue my wip?#who knows

5 notes · View notes

chubbyooo · 4 years ago

Text

Blurred Lines: Cursed Past Chapter 89 - The Pitch of Revolution

it took 89 chapters for Gacen to interact with the Alliance but he's finally here XD Gacen arrives on Odessent to pitch their revolution to Lana

Gacen sat in the cockpit looking at his datapad intently, the blue hum of hyperspace was the only sound as he tried to calm his nerves. He had to pitch the idea of helping Dubrillion to the Alliance, at first he thought it’d be easy but they were gearing up for a war he doubted they’d give their full support. Nonetheless they had contacted Lana and set up the meeting with the Voidhound with little detail about what it was just calling it a proposition, Gacen was glad they had met before otherwise this would’ve been a lot harder he didn’t know quite what Lana thought of him but clearly it wasn’t awful.

Risha came through in his ear “you got the pitch ready Gacen?” Gacen didn’t normally practice for things he was more someone who’d wing it but for this and for her he’d made sure to practice vigilantly

Gacen nodded “yep I got it all written down in a datapad I’m gonna blow them away I promise Rish” he sounded a lot more confident than he actually was, he took a swig of his flask to calm his nerves

Risha responded “thanks Gacen I know this is a big ask” Gacen smiled he never minded at least it was something to do, Risha had helped with his directionless feeling but he still felt as guilty as ever. He doubted that would ever change though there was nothing he could do about that except move forward and also the obligatory booze.

Gacen leant back “hey anything for you Rish you know I’m all in” Risha chuckled clearly a little embarrassed by the kind sentiment

Risha smiled “I know but still it means a lot after I trusted you with your past” Gacen felt a knot in his stomach knowing that trust is what had separated them for years “Besides I think it’ll be good for you to visit Odessen” Gacen frowned she was pretty adamant of that

He sat up “you keep saying that, what’s so special about Odessen?” he couldn’t tell if Risha was just messing with him or not

He heard Risha stifle a laugh “nothing much I just think you’ll prefer it to the republic and the empire, management is more your speed” Gacen nodded he guessed that made sense

Soon the ship dropped out of hyperspace and the lush green planet of Odessen came into view, it was surrounded by all manner of ships; this place surely looked like the heart of an organization capable of taking down the Eternal Empire. In a way he’d been glad to miss out on a lot of the danger of the Eternal Empire but the prison and separation from everyone he cared about rather overruled that sentiment.

After receiving a clearance to land he piloted the ship down and the Alliance base came into view, he smiled it certainly was impressive, it kinda reminded him of Gabredor and Risha’s base but if she’d had an army behind her. He had no idea where to park and just found the first place in a clearing near some form of Hanger, it looked like there had been a ship on it for a while with the grass marks where it once was.

Once the ship was parked he strolled out of it and breathed in “wow Rish you were right this place is wild, it’s certainly nicer than Coruscant or Dromund Kass” he walked towards a bridge looking at the script on his datapad

Risha laughed “yes well it was built during the Eternal war so had to be discrete and hidden while also being close to Zakuul” Gacen had never been to Zakuul from what he heard after the fall of the Eternal Empire it was just full of snobs but that may just be rumours.

Gacen smiled strolling towards the entrance “well whoever designed it has style that’s all I can say” some style he was being polite it could be better, he made his way into the hanger and after a bit he saw a figure walking up to him.

As she got closer Gacen recognised the blonde hair in a bun and set of armour “Elara! Is that you?” Elara walked up to him seemingly unfazed by his surprise

She nodded “yes it is Gacen I believe you’re here to meet with Miss Beniko right?” Gacen was very surprised to see her here wait til Ash gets a load of this

Gacen smiled “still as monotone as ever I see Elara come on give me a hug” he outstretched his arms but Elara just gave him a look

She turned around leading him to the elevator “I see you haven’t changed much, Miss Beniko is a little busy right now but she should be able to fit you in” Gacen followed her into the elevator

He had a million questions “wait so what are you doing here” Elara turned to him clearly surprised he was asking

Elara answered “I was recruited by the Basen’thor after some business on Iokath she rather impressed me with her resolve” Gacen nodded that did add up Kavaraa had always been very convincing

Gacen cocked his head at her “aren’t you gonna ask me how I’m doing” Elara shook her head “really not even how Ash is doing?” her eyes went wide and she turned to him suddenly much more interested

Her stoney expression broke a little “you’ve seen Commander Ash?” Gacen nodded as the elevator stopped and they began walking through another hanger

Gacen answered her “yeah I mean we’ve lived together for two years, she’s on a mission right now for me” he may be sharing a bit much but he knew he could trust Elara

Elara nodded “I see I always assumed she’d come back to the republic if freed” Gacen realised that may be a little awkward

He reassured her “I think after everything that went down with the republic she wasn’t very enthused to go back, but she was enthused with the possibility of working with the Alliance I’ll tell you that” Elara’s expression brightened a little

She continued walking through the corridors “I suppose that makes sense that’s why I joined despite the cons it does house, well if your meeting works out I look forward to seeing her�� Gacen smiled those two had always been close, the whole of Havoc had he wondered who else was here.

They arrived in what Gacen could only assume was the war room and his eyes widened, it was full of people coordinating things, displays and monitors he didn’t understand and in the middle Lana Beniko stood talking to a Voss woman.

Elara led Gacen to her “Gacen Zandar meet Lana Beniko advisor to the Commander” she moved back leaving them to talk

Lana didn’t turn around for a second finishing her conversation with the Voss, but soon she turned to face him looking tired “wow you’ve certainly got a lot on your plate Beniko” Lana rubbed her forehead looking at him

She gave a half smile “you don’t know the half of it but someones gotta keep this ship running” Gacen nodded looking around weren’t there supposed to be more leaders? “Most of our advisors and the Commander have found themselves busy with personal matters so the work has fallen to me and Theron Shan, although mostly to me” Gacen winced he could barely manage himself let alone an alliance

He gritted his teeth “yeesh my condolences to your spare time” Lana let out a half laugh rolling her eyes

She folded her arms “so what did you want Voidhound some kind of proposition, and please don’t waste my time” Gacen did his best to consult the script he wrote

Gacen held his neck “uh well I’m afraid we’re gonna have to speak about it in private some of these details need to be kept secret” Lana frowned at him her eyes narrowing

She walked up to him “if so I’m gonna need some kind of insurance policy to make sure this isn’t some kind of trap” Gacen’s eyes widened why would he do anything like that?

He gasped shocked “Lana come on you know me why would I do that” she raised her eyebrow “ok fair enough but here I’ll give you my blaster as insurance that’s plenty” he went to get his blaster but found his holster empty “ah shit I left it on the ship” he hadn’t been in a fight in while now he thought about it, he had no idea where it was.

Lana pinched the bridge of her nose and smiled “alright that proves to me I’m in no danger even if you are trying something come with me” Lana led him out of the war room to an empty chamber she pressed a button and a number of blast doors and soundproofing tiles came down from the ceiling “I had this installed after our last spy incident we should be fine to talk in here not even a Jedi could get through those walls” Gacen had a feeling he’d walked into a nest of paranoia

He laughed nervously “wow this is quite the setup” Lana tapped her foot impatiently “right yes well my proposition; as the Alliance I imagine you want capital and land with no allegiance to the republic or empire due to the coming war” he was reciting the script the best he could which was making him sound like a bad holonet salesman “but that’s pretty uncommon giving both their long histories but don’t worry I have such a planet for you with just a little investment on your part” Lana didn’t look impressed so far

Lana cut him off “Gacen I swear if you’re suggesting stealing a planet I’m going to throw you out of my base” Gacen was shocked he obviously wasn’t being clear, although that wasn’t a bad idea.

He shook his head “no no no don’t worry I’m getting there, the planet of Dubrillion is ruled by a paranoid King who’s making his whole planet contribute nothing to the galaxy at large annnd you see that’s not all, I have a rightful heir and replacement for that ruler” Lana nodded her expression changing from complete disinterest

Lana questioned him “I assume that this heir is your wife Risha?” Gacen gasped he hadn’t said anything about her how had she known, Lana read what he was thinking “Gacen she’s the only noble person you know who else would it be?” Gacen nodded that was fair admittedly

Gacen continued “well yes it is she’s got a legit claim to the throne and more importantly the King is actually subjugating his people and being a huge tool, if we were to take control we would not only contribute Dubrillions sizeable industry and military to your cause officially joining your alliance but also stop the subjugation of innocents, all you have to do is give us some backup during our planned revolution” Lana seemed to be interested but she still looked skeptical

Lana held her chin “admittedly that could be very helpful but I have to know this is legitimate and you haven’t just come here with an idea” Gacen nodded that was absolutely fair

Gacen grinned “well that’s good then as Ash’shen’tor former Havoc Squad leader is currently on Dubrillion on a mission and Master Sumalee is on board to help us, I promise this is a legit operation Risha has been planning it for 5 years this isn’t an idea I came up with on a whim” Lana nodded she seemed to be coming around

She paced around the chamber “that does sound promising I have to admit but we’re stretched pretty thin at the moment I’m going to need some time to think over what we could supply and discuss with other advisors” she looked at him and smiled “how about you stay here until the end of the day and I’ll give you an answer then” Gacen nodded that was fair although he didn’t like waiting

Gacen shrugged “that makes sense I really hope you can supply us with some good help just from looking around it’s clear you have a great operatio-” Lana stopped him with a frown

She tutted “flattery will not get me to change my mind in fact it’ll do the opposite” Gacen nodded and rightfully shut up as Lana lowered the security

Gacen stammered “uh what should I do in the meantime” he didn’t like the idea of waiting around in his ship

Lana gave him a map “there’s a bar that I think should suffice your needs” Gacen smiled and chuckled

He took the map “this place is the best you have a bar in your secret base!” Lana grinned nodding as she walked back to the war room and Gacen made his way to the lift

Suddenly his comm cut back in “Gacen are you there is everything ok?!” Risha said seeming rather panicked

Gacen realised what had happened “Oh yeah right we were speaking in private so I guess it cut the signal don’t worry I’m ok” he heard a sigh of relief on the other end

Risha shot back “tell me next time ok Dumbass” Gacen walked to the elevator and headed up

Gacen defended himself “I didn’t know trust me I would have otherwise” that seemed to calm her down “hey do we have a bar in our secret base?” if not those droids had a new job

Risha nodded “yeah we like three, cocktail, regular and wine why do you want a new one?” Gacen cursed himself for not having seen them yet

He shook his head “no the Alliance just had one and I didn’t realise we had them, we have to go to them when I get back” Risha seemed very into that idea

The elevator arrived and he walked out “ok but just don’t order that weird spicy cocktail you always get” Gacen gasped that was his favourite he knew everyone else hated it he had a very unique palette

Gacen pouted “that drink is delicious and you know what I’m gonna order it just to spite you” Risha gave a over the top gasp

Gacen walked into the bar and sat down it seemed like a nice place “you wouldn’t dare you monster” Risha teased as he looked around

Gacen chuckled flirting back “oh just watch me Rish, one Spiced Rancor’s Toothpick please” the bartender nodded seemingly a little bemused by the zabrak talking to himself

Risha laughed “wow you betrayed me how could you” Gacen chuckled even though they had been back together for a bit now he still had missed it so much

The bartender passed him his drink and he sipped it the twinge of spice making him smile “sorry Risha you know you married a bad boy” there was a very condescending laugh in response

Risha then gasped “wait what are we talking about tell me how it went stop talking about drinks” Gacen’s eyes widened oh yeah he hadn’t told her

Gacen rubbed his forehead “oh yeah sorry I got caught up in the flirting, Lana seemed enthused by the pitch but they’re ‘stretched thin right now’ so she’s gonna discuss it with people before she makes a decision on the degree of help we’ll get” Risha took in the information quietly

She sighed “well I suppose that’s better than nothing but being patient is a pain” see this girl just got him “was the Commander there? are they going to discuss it with Lana?” Gacen doubted the Commander would deal with this sort of business whoever she was

Gacen shrugged and sipped his drink “I dunno she’s not here right now ‘off on some personal mission’ or something like that” I doubt she’d concern herself with Dubrillion though, what with the war and such” he really had to educate himself on the Alliance a bit more if they’d be working together he hadn’t even known Elara was here.

He guessed that was the penalty of being drunk or in prison through the majority of their creation and rise, Risha tutted “don’t be so sure I think she would, either way let’s hope they agree to give us proper help this is going to take some doing” Gacen nodded as he sipped his drink he wondered who else was here that he’d met, Dzûsa and Lana had a thing right?

Gacen smiled “well I don’t mind waiting this place is quite nice” he certainly liked the bar it was pretty his speed

He was glad he hadn’t messed up the pitch “if you have the time then we should probably tell Sumalee” Gacen groaned he felt like he wouldn’t be able to drink while explaining it to her

He sighed “alright but afterwards I’m going right back to my drink” he walked out to the balcony to give Sumalee the sorta good news, she was about to ask a million questions he’d have to be careful weren’t overheard...

5 notes · View notes

theprodigypenguin · 5 years ago

Text

Writing Commissions {open}

As most of my followers know already, my laptop very recently broke, and I haven't been able to write as frequently or in as much volume as I usually do.

At the same time I've been going through a rather hard time, and writing is one of my main coping mechanisms, how I leech myself of toxic emotions and relax, do something productive with my anxiety and depression.

Thanks to my broken laptop, I have not been able to cope productively or in any healthy way at all, which is not good for me, but it has taken a LOT longer than expected to save the money I need to replace my laptop.

So, I made the decision to open writing commissions. I imagine I'd get more luck if I was an artist, but alas, I am not, so here I go shooting my shot. If you're not interested, don't feel bad about ignoring this post. I'll add the information in a "read more", as it will likely be a long post.

Feel free to reblog this if you want, but you are under no obligation to do so.

~~~~~

You can call me Nico (formerly amelia vale). I've been writing regularly for about 10+ years with a small handful of local college writing courses under my belt (I actually won an award in my first creative writing course. It was a college course and I believe I was 13 or 14 at the time (my charter school allowed me to take college classes while still in highschool)). I've also won a few local essay contests in my town, which probably doesn't mean much, but that's my history.

In my time writing I've finished 11+ novels (some of which reached 50 chapters+, and some which are not posted anywhere online yeet), and over 30 one shots, drabbles, and novellas, with a handful of in-progress novels and shorter fanfictions. I've written both fanfiction and original novels of varying genres.

I am by no means an expert in my craft, and while I do dream of publishing professionally some day, I am nowhere near that goal. I'm certainly hyping myself up, but I just wanted to express the experience I have with writing in general to assure possible consumers that I at least 89% know what I'm doing 🙃 I've also already done a few writing commissions in the past, which can be found on my DeviantArt, but you can find more recent examples of my work on Wattpad and Ao3.

Fandoms I've written for: Harry Potter, The Cursed Child, Riordanverse (notably PJO, HoO, and Magnus Chase), OHSHC, Voltron: Legendary Defender, One Piece, Hetalia.

Note that my main focus currently is Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Jeddy and Jegulus mostly) but I have some experience writing in the fandoms above, though not all of those fics are posted online, and not all of them are incredibly recent.

I'm comfortable and have experience writing in an assortment of genres and themes, including smutty or sexual themes, incredibly graphic and triggering themes including r@pe, assault, abuse, neglect, torture, self harm, suicide (please note I wrote these themes as a form of therapy, not cuz I'm creepy), fluff, whump, dystopia, post apocalyptic, werewolf, vampire, etc (please ask if you want to know if I've written in a specific genre or theme not listed).

*important: just because an author may write something, does not mean they support that theme. I've written about graphic violence, r@pe, and racism, but I do not in any way support that crap.

Most Recent Examples of my Writing:

Chances || Venom || Broken Doll (rated E, very graphic)

Examples of Smut/Sexually Themed fics:

Say My Name || Chances || Rythmn of the Night (wattpad) || Encantador de Serpientes (wattpad)

Examples of Original Work:

Pigment || What Happens in Vienna || Love at First Crepe

Fanfic Examples:

The Hyacinth Prophecy(PJO) || Road to Ruin(PJO) || Serpentine Curse(PJO/Magnus Chase) || Make Peace(VLD) || Something Just Like This(VLD) || Stupid Deep(HP) || Recovery(HP)

So if you've gotten through all the above 👆👆👆👆 (it was actually lowkey stressful to write cuz I'm very bad at complimenting myself, A for effort) and still are curious or interested in commissioning, then below are prices, things I will and won't write, payment methods, etc:

Things I won't write:

incest, pedophilia, graphic depictions of r@pe or any form of sexual assault, marginalization of a race or group I have no personal affiliation with* (I won't write about a black woman enduring racism because I am not a black woman, etc), underage relationships (both characters must be over 19, unless it's a strictly familial fic).

*I will happily write a black character or any other race/minority, but I do not believe I have any right to add in their racial experiences as I have not experienced them for myself, and that would be wildly insensitive of me. I've written about marginalization from a second perspective before, but I had a lot of help from a POC reader while I was writing.

Things I will write:

fluff, smut (within reason plz), whump, romance, familial, Original work, OCs, fanfiction*, pretty much everything else that isn't in the "won't" list. I'm pretty flexible.

*Disclaimer: All characters in any of the fanfiction I write belong to their respective owners, and I claim no rights to them or to their individual stories. I do not own any of the properties, I am simply producing fan works based on or inspired by them.

Prices:

$15 - for fics under 3k

$20 - for anything over 3k words

$30 - $40 - for smut (smut is extra because I don't write it a whole lot, but I CAN write it, and normally smut fics end up much longer than general fics)

*MUST BE 17+ TO COMMISSION SMUT (if your age isn't already in your bio I have every right to decline the commission. I just don't feel comfortable writing smut for anyone under 17. I know youngins will read it anyway, but this is just a personal pet peeve of mine)

Payment Methods:

You can pay either through Ko-fi or PayPal, whichever you prefer.

Rules:

PLEASE be kind and respectful to me.

Stay in contact with me as MUCH as possible.

I prefer a lot of communication, especially during my writing process, as I want to be sure I get every detail of the fic right for you.

Full payment upfront (this may change later, but currently I would prefer it upfront)

I do not have a time limit on my writing, that kind of thing stresses me out and my writing quality suffers, which commissioners do not deserve. I can however guarantee that I WILL finish your fic.

Please do not increasingly pester or ask me if the fic is finished or how it's going, I promise I will give updates when they are necessary.

The more enthusiasm and details you give regarding the kind of fic you want, the faster I will finish, because I'll probably get just as excited as you. Basically hype me on the theme and I'll be dying to finish.

I need money because I need a new laptop but I still want this to be fun for me, and for whoever commissions me.

I have a right to refuse any commission request without explanation.

This is NOT first come first serve. I will choose the commissions I feel I can do my best on to ensure you get the best quality writing.

Due to the fact I have a fulltime job already, and I can't write that much on my phone or tablet, and the fact I'm saving up to buy a laptop, I will only be taking two commissions at a time, so as not to overload myself and so I can provide a piece of writing to the best of my abilities. When I finish those two commissions, I will reopen these again, until I've saved enough for a laptop. I figure between commissions and work, I could afford one… maybe February if I'm lucky.

After which I will likely shut down commissions (unless something super serious comes up again).

Slots:

#1:

#2:

CONTACT:

You can DM me on Tumblr or email me at [email protected]

If you do not want to commission me, or can't commission me because you are also broke (same bro) then feel free to reblog if you want (you have no obligation to).

If you still want to support me somehow but can't afford that much, you can donate to my Ko-fi. I actually don't drink coffee, I drink tea, so I'll have to change the caption from "buy me a coffee" to something else, but yeah.

Thank you greatly to the people who read this far, even if you don't commission. I appreciate all of my followers and whoever decides to help, as well as people who can't. I know commissions are a luxury, so if you can't afford it, don't feel bad, you don't need to apologize, cuz that makes me feel bad too. It's totally okay.

And for people going through a similar crisis, hang in there. It can only be shit for so long after all.

NOTE: COMMISSIONS DO NOT INCLUDE PROMPTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN SENT TO ME, so if you have sent in prompts in the past, THEY ARE NOT COMMISSIONS. I asked for writing prompts/requests, so they are no included in this.

18 notes · View notes

boogiewrites · 5 years ago

Text

Choking On Sapphires 89

Characters: Alfie Solomons x Genevieve (OFC)

Title & Song: Bad Company

Summary: Genevieve begins standing up for herself and others with her new found sense of self. Alfie sits back and enjoys the show.

Warnings/Tags: Language. References to assault and violence.Verbal fighting.

Click on my icon then go to my Mobile Masterlist in my bio for my other works and chapters. (Had to do this since Tumblr killed links, sorry.) Please like, comment and reblog if you enjoyed it! It helps out us writers A LOT!

Alfie and Genevieve were working again, and more importantly, working as one cohesive unit. Still light with his affections, trying to appreciate the subtle physical affection between them that was backed with a more mature and solid love behind it nowadays.

They focused on tone and respect, checking in on each other and being understanding of the others space and feelings. Gen found herself enjoying her time with Alfie more now that she was spending less with him. She had time to paint and think again, two things she had sorely needed more of in her life to get herself straight again. She was figuring out who this new woman was, and how she fell into place with Alfie and who he was at this juncture. It led to more confidence, better communication and a deeper intimacy outside of sex for them. Which at Alfie's age his back and hips truly appreciated.

They talked with tea and biscuits before bed every night. A rundown of the day and the questions and concerns it brought them putting it all away with the China when no more could be done for it. In turn the lack of talking led to more tenderness, small kisses and strokes as they wound down together, Genevieve letting her guard down only for him most days now. It let her feel cared for and safe as he’d wrap her up and hold her close as she fell asleep and it gave him the protective and providing feelings he needed as a man. They were evening each other out, finding their new roles within the relationship and the pieces were beginning to fall into place.

———

With a pin-straight posture and the newest in women's business wear from Paris, a treat to herself for her recent successes, Genevieve sits perched on a wooden chair that must be as old as the school building itself for how uncomfortable it was. She sits across the long banquet table in the great hall from a man who could also be considered dated and out of fashion, the same as his surroundings. There was only one other woman in the group for instructors and heads of the art department, and she taught dance. She was older but fit and always wore her hair in a tight bun that did her frail and gaunt face no favors. Her attitude also didn’t help her seem any more approachable but that seemed to be common among the ballet type. They were all tight strung and old fashioned, strict and elitist, the same could be said for everyone else on the board except Genevieve. She was the youngest by around two decades and the only with a tailor that wasn’t an octogenarian.

“Everyone who votes for Beatrice Langston, a show of hands.” The head says as his slumped posture from being bent over a desk his whole academic life, makes him look like he struggles to lift his head to see a show of hands. Everyone but Genevieve.

“Really?” Genevieve asks with direct eye contact with each person after the count was finished.

“I’m sorry Miss Durand but majority rules.”

“You are all going to sit there and tell me with a straight face that Beatrice is better suited for the scholarship than Hazel?” No one speaks and avoids her aggressive gaze. “Beatrice is rudimentary at best. She lacks the understanding of color theory and her depth of field is just...well it’s lacking. To put it politely.” Gen speaks with an animated tone and body as she moves paintings around on the table. “Look at these Hazel has done! Brilliant use of color and saturation, everything is scaled to perfection and her abstract art evokes emotion and shows a much deeper grasp of the poetry and psychology of color and space!” Gen raises her voice and holds up a painting with both her hands, shoving it in the others faces from where she sat. “Beatrice hasn’t even DONE an abstract piece!” She tosses the paper and sorts back loudly in her chair as it scoots.

“The vote is final Moss Durand, I’m sorry you-“

“No, you’re not!” She scoffs and his eyes go wide. “I know why you’re all voting for her and you should all be ashamed. You should have your educator privileges revoked because you don’t give a damn about these children and nurturing them.” She speaks from the heart, fully upset and letting it show.

“Miss Durand that is quiet enough.”

“So you’re going to tell me you’re voting for Langston because of her skill and NOT because of who her father is?” She crossed her arms and leans toward the annoyed-looking man.

He says nothing in reply. “Our vote is-“

“Yes final!” She throws up her hands and rolls her eyes. “I am so completely disappointed in every single one of you for not voting for talent over a name. Hazel could use this scholarship, Langston has money! And no talent.” She shakes her head. “All because of who her father is! Ridiculous!” Genieve huffs.

“Like you’ve never benefited from who your father is.” One is the men say with a cold side-eye that they would soon regret.

“Excuse me, Garrett?” She stands slowly and others sink back into their chairs.

“Miss Durand pl-“

“NO!” She shakes her head and begins speaking with her hands to the head. “No, I will not sit here and be spoken to in such a way.” She trots right across from the formerly brave academic and scolds him like a child with a pointed finger. “You don’t know a damn thing about me you glorified bookend! I lost my connection to my father and his name at seventeen! Everything I have has my blood sweat and tears in it! I have worked My arse off for my successes and you, nay, no one will say otherwise because it would be a lie.” She hisses and shouts. “A girl should get this scholarship on hard work and talent, not a name! Just because you’ve never worked for anything doesn’t mean others aren’t deserving! We can’t all be born with rich fathers and cocks and just waltz into whatever sort of life we want! Some of us have to work for it! And since all you’ve done is make theories and sit on your fat arse and read your whole life you can’t relate! Doesn’t make it not true!” She shouts and throws her arms in the air.

“MISS DURAND! That is enough!”

“And YOU! You ancient fuck. You can piss off. The lot of you! You only represent the past and have no interest in catching up with the rest of the world on modernity. I don’t want any part of a board or school who doesn’t give a fuck about its students. I love art and I want to help those that love it as well.” She speaks and moves to gather her things as she keeps scolding. “And as a woman who knows the rampant sexism and abuse of power in academia, you should be ASHAMED!” She points at the other woman in her group. “I’d like to let you all in on a little advice before I part. Garret your beard makes you look like a pedophile. Quinne, your hair pulled back like that makes you look like a shaved fanny. Richard, you always smell like bloody mothballs and Turner, your cologne smells like horse piss. And you Gerald.” She scowls at the head. “ Everyone knows your poor dumb secretary sucks you off in your office. You’re a lousy liar and make noises like a dying cow when you ejaculate. You aren’t fooling anyone.” She sasss. “You’re a sorry lot and I’m sorry that these students have heartless twats for professors!” She begins to trot off, her heels clicking over the old stone floors in a hurry in her anger.

The look on her face gives away her anger before she’s even in the car to meet Claire.

“That didn’t take long.”

“I left early.” She spits out and sits and seethes.

“May I ask why?”

“I quit.” She says finally looking to Claire sat next to her.

“You bloody what?” Her voice breaks.

“They wanted to give the scholarship to a girl

Based on who her father was. Not on talent because the simple thing couldn't evoke emotion with art if her life depended on it. They just want bloody money from her family!”

“So you quit?”

“Yes. I don’t want any part of that crock of shit.”

Claire opens her mouth and then closes it. There was a paycheck lost but truly not much else. Genevieve could just paint to sell and easily make up the difference. She could set up anyway and teach just for the love of it, so Claire simply nods.

———

“She’s in a right mood.” Claire warms Alfie, setting the table for tea as he trumps into the house.

“Why?” He demands in his usual confident way.

“She quit the teaching work today.”

“Fuckin wot? But she loves it!”

“She loves it and that’s why she quit.” Claire shrugs.

“Is no one makin' no fuckin' sense in this madhouse?” Alfie barks.

“What are you shouting about?” Genevieve comes around the corner with her little glasses on that matches Alfies and a stack of papers in her arms.

“What’s this bout you quittin?”

“Come sit and I’ll explain.” She nods and puts her hand to his back. Her calmer approach caught him off guard. He was expecting a loose canon from Claire’s warning but he only saw a very present woman in her eyes and appearance.

“Ya fuckin better.” He says loudly as he sits and she ignores his needless pompous nature.

“Aggie before our meal, some chamomile perhaps?”

“Lovely idea dear.” Aggie praises and Gen sits next to Alfie in their little corner of the table. Her in her large decorative, plush velvet chair at the head.

“I quit the board and the teaching job today.”

“Yeah, I got that much.”

“Do you want to keep interrupting me to hear the sound of your own voice or do you want me to explain?” She asks with a tilted head and removing her glasses.

His chin sinks into his neck in surprise at her quick wit and he gestures for her to continue without a word.

“Thank you.” She says with a large nod. “The scholarship vote was today and in short they chose name over talent. A girl who’s father has political connections was chosen over an immensely talented girl. For the money I’m guessing. I tried to convince them and they would not listen. I expressed my disappointment in their decision and one of the men thought it wise to make a remark about me. I-“

“Who fuckin said wot love, I’ll get the bastard.” Alfie swoops in protectively, still touchy about people smart mouthing Gen with the ongoing fight over gossip.

“That’s very nice of you, Cheri but not needed. I set him straight with words. Much less mess.” She pats Alfie's arm and despite his hard brow of anger for someone having the balls to speak poorly towards her, he couldn’t help but admire the unbothered face she held. “I don’t want to be a part of an organization that runs in such an unfair and uncaring way.”

“I never liked those wankers. Always acted betta than me.”

“And you are smarter than any of them could ever aspire to be, I assure you.” She praises and begins laying her papers into piles.

“Fuckin right I am.” He grumbles in agreement but feels the compliment make his chest warm. “You seem to be takin' it well.” He remarks, seeing her put her glasses back on.

“I was well miffed at first. But turns out Spite is an excellent motivator.” She says with an amused smile.

“That it is.” He nods. “And what is it motivatin'?”

“I am going to start my own scholarship.”

“Oh! Lovely idea that.” He nods approvingly. “Total control or no control I always say.”

“You do say that.” She remarks, thumbing through a stack.

“Where exactly ya gonna get the money for such a thing?” He flatly asks. “Ya kinda lost a source of income there dinnit ya?”

“I did but I can manage. I did it because I loved it, not the money.” She shakes her head. “I plan on selling some pieces, then gathering funds from the community in support. I’m going to make it one, especially for Jewish girls. I plan to give Hazel the first.”

“Hazel?”

“The girl that should have gotten the scholarship to begin with. Sweet and inwardly little girl. Bright as the sun and so much promise.”

“And Jewish?”

“And Jewish.” She nods.

“Well, that’s lovey then, yeah?”

“I certainly hope so.” Gen glances over to him. “Lots of paperwork involved in such a thing of course. I’ll have to go by the lawyers later in the week to set it all up. But I’m the meantime I can sell and do private lessons for a price. Perhaps portraits? Be far less time consuming for me anyway.”

“And make a hell of a lot more money.”

“Yes. That as well.” She huffs out a laugh and nods.

“Where ya gon sell at?”

“Nothing in mind yet. Places. Pieces I do have a few landscapes that are easy sales I believe. Once I had all the legal pieces in place I Was moving onto that next step.”

“How’s about me club?”

Gen stops and looks up at him. “Really?” She says with narrowed eyes of disbelief.

“Sure. Can be a little coming out party for ya. Invite all those posh cunts and take their money.” He grins.

“You’ll have to come up with a new name for them if we’re going to be asking for money.” She smirks.

“Eh.” He shrugs. “I just won’t say it to no one's face.” He promises and they share a mutual smile of hopefulness for both endeavors.

——————

His club would be full of what half his usual clientele was on this particular evening. The usual ruffage replaced with the wealthy that Genevieve had invited not only to get money from but to put any rumors to bed about how she might be now since the whispered about incident. It was easy enough to show she wasn’t pregnant, especially in the tight dress she’d chosen. Which was purposeful.

“I can’t help but feel a bit fat in this.” She mutters, smoothing over her well-rounded hips where she was now carrying most of her weight gain.

“You’ve gained weight but you look healthy again.” Claire insists. “Which is what you want. You look well fed and cared for. No signs of weakness or poverty.”

“That’s all well good but what happens when I slap some twat for calling me a cow.” She snaps back.

“Ya first have to get over me slappin’ ya for sayin’ such a thing bout yaself.” Alfie says loudly as he enters the room in his usual dark suit.

“But I have gained weight.” She insists on her correctness.

“Yes and what of it? Who the fuck cares? Not me. You shouldn’t. Ya look lovely. Gorgeous. Green like money and soft like royalty.” He declares with his hands on her bare arms.

“But I have-“

“Shut your perfect painted mouth love.” He shakes his head and tsks her. “I won’t have you speakin' of yaself in such a way. Not with me round to hear it and not when I’m away, yeah? You are a dream in the flesh, Genny. Always have been, always will be.” He kisses her blushed cheek.

“Yes, Alfie.” She sighs.

“I know ya can lie betta than at!” He grins and puts his arms around her in the emerald dress. “You are confident. You are in control.” He says with a squeeze to her. “Now you.” He nods his head forward.

“I am confident. I am in control.” She tries to put forth some faith in her voice.

“You will get the money you need tonight and you will charm the pants off everyone.” Claire adds supportively.

“Thanks.” Gen says with her hands resting on Alfies around her. “Last time I tried this it went miserably and I believe it’s getting the best of me.”

“You are a different woman now.” Alfie declares proudly. “I have total faith in you. As should you.” He kisses her cheek and gives her bum a light pat before pulling away. “And you do look stunnin’ love. You know I’d tell ya if I thought otherwise.”

“And I don’t know yet if that’s a blessing or a curse.” She smirks.

“There She is, right?” He laughs and pinches her cheek, smiling proudly.

——

Genevieve did muster up the hutzpah she needed before exiting the car with Alfie opening the door for her. A gentlemanly hand out and waiting patiently as he heard her measured breathing to set herself. When she emerged, she was a fully evolved woman of means who didn’t give a damn about anyone she didn’t deem worthy.

He loved watching her now, not like he hadn’t before but now in public there was a hardness that wasn’t there before. Even though she was looking for money from these people, she wasn’t kissing any arse. She stone-faced bad, sexist jokes and when turned to see what was wrong with her, Alfie would give them no reaction as well. Solidarity and that. She didn’t clutch her chest and bend and laugh like an angel for them, she spoke clearly and in an informed way like the well-educated businesswoman she was. She wasn’t boozy and lusty and playing up her chest or hair. She wore it pulled back with a lovely bejeweled comb, her dress perfectly tailored and her jewels classic and expensive. She only

wore kitten heels, concealed under the long hem of her gown instead of her usual height giving ones since the healing had left her back a bit worse for wear. But she didn’t look any less put together for it. Alfie rather liked the shorter stature for her as he got to put his arm around her easily and whisper how proud he was of her for not giving in to their expectations of her. Everything was going swimmingly, money being signed over, appointments for teaching sessions filling up on the list. But a woman, for whatever her reasons were, decided to make a spectacle of herself. And Genevieve was happy to oblige her.

“Yes I’m doing very well.” Genevieve nods and gives a polite tone. “The new contracts with Fortnum and Mason as well as a large yield

This season for both honey and fruit. Soon I’ll be adding my hat to the gin game with my high-grade juniper.”

“I heard you got fired from the school.” The wife of the man who was being a gentleman and speaking to both Gen and Alfie equally chirps into the conversation. “So with that monetary loss

You can’t be doing as well.”

Genevieve narrows her eyes at her but keeps her cool. “I stepped down from the board and quit my teaching position. I was not fired. I didn’t believe in how they were running the school. Since I worked there out of love for the arts and the students, not the money, that is why I am starting my own scholarship and offering lessons. Which is why you are here tonight.” She clarifies.

“Gen has been very hands-on with the building of it, suited the work helps fund that of others. She’ll be having her bat mitzvah soon and with these new business endeavors I could not be more proud.” Alfie adds to help cut the tension

“Thank you darling.”

“Well good thing everything has lined up so well for you both now, yes?” The man gives a polite smile.

“It is a blessing, surely.” Gen nods graciously.

“Especially after all that….” the man shakes her head. “All the bad sort of things that transpired for you. Well good that you have recovered so well!”

“Yes, a product of hard work I assure you.”

“Hard work will get you whatever you desire,

I always say.”

What a capitalist, Gen muses.

“Rather, suspicious though isn’t it?” The wife turns as if she’s only speaking to her husband.

“Uh...what is dear?”

“Or rather ... convenient that all this happens around this time? right after your supposed incident..”

“Supposed?” Genevieve’s voice shows bite and the man is clearly made uncomfortable by it.

“Yes if it was so bad you don’t seem to be bothered now.”

“I am a businesswoman. I try not to mix personal and professional.” Alfie could see Gen's eyes dilate and change. He watched her closely with great interest.

“I’d heard no one saw you for months and then you pop back up just fine. Seems like if all that happened like I’ve heard you’d still be at home. Not out working. Like a man.” She shoots her eyes at Alfie who gives her a quirked brow and a snort at the audacity to come after his masculinity.

“Besides taking care of her when she was first home, my business wasn’t affected.” Alfie speaks in a cold and calculated way.

“I’m sure it wasn’t.” She looks Alfie up and down. “But funny how this all cleared right up when it was time for you to ask for money. Yes? When you would require others kindness?” The hairs on the back of Genevieve’s neck stand up as he watches her brow lower and her eyes go black. “People in your sort of...business…” she drags out and looks to Alfie for a moment with clear disapproval on her face. “Are known to, shall we say, over-exaggerate the truth? And as I said, awfully coincidental on the timing when you needed people to feel sorry for you.”

Genevieve moves so fast Alfie doesn’t have time to do much but scoff out a laugh after she has the woman by her neck and against a wall.

Genevieve sinks her nails into the unmarked skin of the woman’s weak throat. Her hand squeezing as she holds her up as sputters, eyes wide showing she didn’t expect to get what was coming her way.

Gen leans in close, nose to the woman’s cheek and ghosts over her skin and ears as speaks low and slow so only she can hear. The rest of the room falls silent and turns to watch the altercation, disgustingly interested to see if the rumors of Genevieve's ruthlessness were true.

“The things I went through would’ve killed an ordinary man.” She hisses and the woman kicks her feet. “You would’ve died one day in.” She growls. “If you lasted that long.” She spits venomously. “I owe you nothing. But I will tell you the horrors and trials I have gone through are something that will haunt me for the rest of my life. Torture. Rape. Mental and emotional manipulation. I’ve moved past all of it. My body and mind have healed so I can make a better life for myself. Cunts like you make it so I Have to push forward, be better, be more and prove myself time and time again to make it in this world. You prove nothing with your accusations. Only that you are a weak, soft submissive lemming, a pathetic excuse for a woman for those of us who have known true oppression. A judgemental miserable old hag with nothing better to do than talk about others because you have nothing of any substance to say. You are nothing. You aren’t worth my time. I am only using you as an example. Because I know others think like you. And I will continue to be better than you. To thrive despite your disapproval. To be happy and fulfilled in ways you could never imagine.” She lets go of her throat, her feet full on the floor again as she gasps and holds her neck. “That is my revenge. A life more fruitful and whole than your small mind could ever hope for. And if you ever think to even insinuate that I am a liar again. I will not use just my words against you, you rotted gash.” Genevieve stands like a snake watching its venom take down its prey slowly.

The woman does not respond. The blood under Gen's nails and the energy around her speak enough.

The husband looks to Alfie while this all happens, who only shrugs and watches with fully entertained eyes. This old horse got what was coming to her as far as he was concerned. He was only disappointed Genevieve didn’t slap her at the first insult. But this was well worth the wait.

“If anyone else has any remarks about my abduction and the events around it I suggest you keep them to your fucking self. No self-respecting person would ask someone about such a horrible thing. And they won’t if they want to keep their tongues in their mouths.” She stands tall, proud and strong in the face of all eyes gazing upon her. She speaks from the gut, and only truthfully. She held no question as to who she was in that moment as she boldly met the eyes that stared at her with mixtures of fear and interest.

Alfie stood as tall and proud as she, solidarity with his love. He gave her an approving nod when she met his eyes across the room. The deep rich brown so black when she tapped into that killer instinct now. This was a power move, strength and control. The restraint but an expression of her feelings showing growth beyond what he could’ve hoped for her. She was truly one of his own now. His warrior queen, his panther wife and hopefully the fearless and just mother to his children one day. He was overtaken with emotion, his heart hard thumping in his chest as she moved back towards him in the crowd like a snake in her green dress. She was brilliant, everything he needed in a companion. She wasn’t taking shit from anyone now, for any reason. Gone through hell and lived, came out the other side stronger and smarter and more ruthless. Same as him. She was a gangster now. Worthy to carry the Solomons’ name. He couldn’t wait to make her his own.

Please like, comment and reblog if you enjoyed it! It helps out us writers A LOT!

@jaegeeeeer @cosettewinchester @lookuptheskyisfalling-blog @brianaisasongbirdd @cry5t4l-w4rri0r @jess2464 @hardygal69 @thegarrisonpublichouse @a-flock-of-angry-pigeons @pootle@negansdirtygirl22 @musingsby-night @shine-dont-shadow@inkinterrupted @vale0413 @emerald-bijou @elaenom @give-jack-a-lightsaber @ultrablackwidower @tinastarkandco @arrowswithwifi@marvelgirl7 @they-are-not-just-stories @ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes @alitheamateur @gold-trashbag @divadinag

#alfie solomons #alfie solomons fanfic #alfie solomons au #peaky blinders fic #peaky blinders fan fic #alfie solomons fic #alfie solomons fan fiction #alfie solomons fanfiction #alfie solomons fluff #alfie solomons angst #alfie solomons x reader #alfie solomons x ofc #peaky blinders au #peaky blinders fanfiction #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders fiction #tom hardy fic #alfie solomons imagines #peaky blinders fandom

63 notes · View notes