#elsie will kill you herself if she has to

[rypnami]

andrea oneil is the worst character i ever made and i hope you will all end up hating her as much as i do. she's genuinely terrible. she's if elsie was an actual mean girl. i was going to pick one of the random npcs to be like a transphobic bad guy mcbad for my fic, but i didnt want to offend anyone making their favourite a bigot so i pulled her back from a oneshot from a year ago as a stand in. she was originally a slytherin but honestly i don't like that slytherins are always the bad guy. let some of the other houses have villain rep!!!

[synnthamonsugar]

DESTINYTOBER: Day 2 - Tower

. . .

Sometimes the tower rests on a dark plain at the foot of the mountains. Sometimes, it rises from the rubble of the destroyed Last City, the debris fields of the Reef, or the Golden Age ruins of Venus, or a hundred other locations throughout time, real or imagined.

Today the tower cracks through the fields of Rathmore Chaos, ice sheets upturned to it from its violent eruption. The Pyramid hovers above, basking it in coils of red-orange energy, the darkened outline of Juptier behind.

Elsie is opposed by an army of three. The Guardian is flashy in their use of stasis, but she is able to parry their verglas daggers, evade their rime-encrusted fists, getting the upper hand with a foot sweep that drops them to the ground and allows her to drive an icy polearm straight through their chestplate. She lodges a knife into the eye of their Ghost when it arrives for the rez. 

No sooner than, the Drifter flanks her from a distance, pistol aimed. Tumbling, she dodges his shots before drawing her own rifle from a kneeling stance, a burst of rounds dropping him on the spot. His ghost attempts to change her, but she catches it midair, its sharp flanges thrashing against her until its eye gives way under the pressure of her fist. Metal crumples and glass shatters and she throws it aside. 

When Eris Morn arrives she's more human than Elsie has ever seen her, two dark eyes exposed, full lips bent into an almost-smile. Elsie thinks of negotiating but the thought disappears when Eris attacks, first with the Light, then soulfire to stasis to resonance. As she does, she physically transforms — from human to what most people would recognize her as, to something like a hive knight as chitin engulfs her body. She grows in size and ferocity as she takes on her hive-god form, before chitin peels away revealing the sleek blood-slick body of a Disciple, three eyes like spotlights beating down on Elsie as she runs from beams of resonance that crater the ice like shells on the battlefield. 

One hits her arm, ripping it off, another tears through her side, throwing her off balance without downing her. Rolling into one of the impromptu foxholes she fires off a barrage of stasis that encases her legs, toppling her with a monumental shudder across the ice. Before she can regain her footing, Elsie draws forth a gelid sword, leaping for Eris' mouthless face and driving it to the hilt through one of those bio-mechanical eyes —

Elsie wakes with a violent start, jolting onto her side and almost off the bed completely.

Disoriented, she takes stock of herself and her surroundings. The hum of the heater, the whistle of the wind outside the yurt, the myriad lights from the gadgets within the outpost, her cooling fans rattling her frame as they buzz as maximum capacity. 

A half-arm away from her on the bunk lay Eris Morn, straight-armed and open-eyed in the darkness.

"Sorry for waking you. I had a — a nightmare."

"There's no need to apologize," Eris replies. Before they agreed to share the cot, they'd both discussed the lightness of their sleep, their tendencies toward night-terrors, so perhaps it was unfounded. 

"I dreamt I killed you."

"Unforgivable." There's a wryness in her voice, a slight upturn in her mouth that eases a bit of the heaviness in Elsie's chest. This Eris is not the Eris of her nightmares, or the corrupted Eris of any of her countless timelines. This Eris is her confidante, and comrade against the Darkness.

"I saw the tower . . . the deep stone crypt. Not the Deep Stone Crypt, the one from our dreams."

"Eriana spoke of it." Sadness in her voice, but tenderness too. "May your next dream be of elysian fields. Of gentle passage to the tower."

Elsie rolls onto her back and rests her head against the pillow, fans powering down as her heatsinks dissipate built-up warmth. Powering off her optics, she settles in for what she prays will be a peaceful rest. "Thank you Eris. I hope so too."

[aceofwhump]

Have you made a list or notes on whumpy Hallmark and if so where?🥺

You know what, I haven't yet! Let me do that for ya now. And if anyone wants to add their favs please do so!

A Gift To Remember: Darcy (Ali Liebert) hits Aiden (Peter Porte) while riding her bike and he gets knocked out and loses his memory. It’s pretty good.

Love on the Sidelines : Laurel (Emily Kinney) is a struggling fashion designer who finds herself with a job as a personal assistant for Danny (John Reardon), a quarterback sidelined with an broken ankle. Danny is on crutches for most of the movie and is recovery from his injury.

Spirit of Christmas: A young lawyer (Jen Lilley) finds romance with a spirit (Thomas Beaudoin) that takes the form of a human 12 days before Christmas. He was murdered and there are flashbacks to him being attacked and killed.

Christmas Homecoming: Stars Michael Shanks (Daniel Jackson from SG1!!) as an Army Captain recovering from an injury in battle. He's got a broken leg and suffers from survivors guilt and ptsd.

Hailey Dean Mysteries: Deadly Estate for some good poisoning whump of a medical examiner. You want unconscious? medically induced coma? respirator? bedside vigils? worry? waking up with a twitching hand? walking down the hospital floor holding onto their iv pole? Then this is the movie for you!

Love Blossoms: one small part when the main guy, Declan, gets sick with a cold during the movie. It’s kind of cute but the rest of the movie's got nothing.

Second Chances: "A badly injured leg forces fireman Jeff, who lost his father in a fire as a young boy, to rent a ground floor room during his recovery. Thus he moves in with Jenny, a 911 emergency call center operator, and her two young children, Luke and Elsie, who soon dote on him as an ideal substitute father and try matching him with their mother."

My Gal Sunday: Henry (Cameron Mattheson) gets shot in the beginning of the movie.

Signed Sealed Delivered Lost Without You: Oliver goes on a hike with his father. His dad trips and gets a seemingly innocuous injury on his leg but the two of them get lost in the woods and the injury turns out to be life threatening.

A Godwink Christmas Miracle of Love: Eric (Alberto Frezza) is run over by a plow near the end of the film. There's lots of surgery, worry, hospital stuff.

Retreat to Paradise: "Jordan is recovering from a shoulder injury and his grumpiness tempts Ellie, his carer, to leave him to his misery. But will romance finally blossom?"

The Christmas Waltz: Roman (Will Kemp) hits his head due to slipping on an icy sidewalk and has to go to hospital

Taking a Shot at Love: "Sparks fly between a ballet instructor and a professional hockey player as she tries to help him recover from the same injury that sidelined her dancing career." It's not got a lot of whump but it is about a hockey player in rehab.

Martha's Vineyard Mysteries series: The whole series. Jesse Metcalfe's character Jeff was shot on a previous case and the bullet is still in lodged in his back and it causes him pain a lot AND he continually has nightmares about the incident. It's great.

Mystery 101: Killer Timing: Travis (Kristopher Polaha) gets blown up and even though the aftermath doesn't last long its still wonderful. He gets knocked out, there's an ambulance and hospital scene (kinda), worried family members.

Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater: Maggie O'Donnell (Ashley Williams) accidentally breaks Lucas Cavelli (Niall Matter)'s arm while carrying a Christmas Tree and offers him a room to stay in when he can't find a hotel room cause she feels guilty.

A Timeless Christmas: Charles Whitley (Ryan Paevey) passes out in 1903 and wakes up in 2020.

Aurora Teagarden A Bundle of Trouble: Martin Bartell (Yannick Bisson) gets shot in the shoulder

Christmas on the Range: Clint McCree (Nicholas Gonzalez) is attacked and beaten up pretty badly.

Mix Up in the Mediterranean: Josh (Jeremy Jordan)'s twin brother Julian gets hurt and can’t do a cooking competition so Josh takes over.

The Christmas Cure: Mitch (Steve Byers) falls off ladder and gets a concussion

Love's Christmas Journey: Sheriff Aaron Davis (Greg Vaughan) gets shot in the leg while chasing a robber. His injury is bad and gets infected. He gets a fever and is rescued by an old man who cares for him. The wound needs cauterizing and he suffers fever, chills, and more.

Hearts in the Game: Diego Vasquez (Marco Grazinni) is a hot shot baseball pitcher who has a panic attack during a game which costs the team the game. Turns out it was triggered by the anniversary of his moms death and he has another panic attack later in the movie as well.

Fourth Down in Love is about an athlete who is sidelined by an injury. Broken ribs I think? 

Rip in Time: Another fun time travel movie. Rip (Niall Mater) gets knocked out at least once. 

Three Wise Men and a Baby: Paul Campbell's character has social anxiety and has a sort of panic attack in the park at the beginning of the movie.

Jolly Good Christmas: Will Kemp's character falls into a frozen river and he comes out shaking and shivering and she gets him a blanket and tea and he needs a hot shower. 

That's all I've got for right now. The bolded ones have the best whump in my opinion so definitely check those out first :) Love's Christmas Journey and the Martha's Vineyard Mysteries are A+ whump hallmark movies. Do those first ;)

[raniamich]

CANDELA OBSCURA FINALE PREDICTIONS, EXCEPT I'VE LOST MOST IF NOT ALL HOPE

Cosmo Grimm : Dies. I'm almost certain. I want him to live and be a happy little old fellow but, I strongly doubt it.

Dr Elsie Roberts : Dies. I do not think our good doctor is escaping this. Now I did read a theory that the beast is what keeping her alive and grew super fond of it, therefore, I think she either gets separated from the beast and ends up dying or eventually turns, most likely hurts or even kills someone on the party and ends up killed herself.

Rajan Savarimuthu : I'm 50-50 because he's my favorite and I am probably delulu, as they say. For Raj, my mind is making up a lot of things, especially after that very slick We from Nosh in episode 2. Not to mention the welcome home. I believe Raj is either killed by Elsie or dies as a heroic / dramatic sacrifice. Though he is most likely dying, I want to have hope on two alternatives. Alternative one, he makes it out alive but is overtaken by the hive or alternative two he makes it out and his villain arc begins. I know it's probably not happening but I'm still manifesting alternative 3 that is Rajan Savarimuthu happy ending.

Oscar Grimm : I'm also very 50-50 when it comes to our favorite immortal father. He either cures himself and finally dies, which is probably a happy ending for him or survives despite everything and most likely ends up in jail with survivor's guilt. Like stated above, I hope there's an alternative 3 where him and Rajan get to be happy but, I doubt it.

Cordelia Glask : I'm kinda hopeful but at the same time I'm not, if that makes sense. I want to imagine she's the only one that has the most chances of getting out alive but there's this what if scenario in my head. What if everything goes sideways and she's killed during the assignment? OR what if something happens to Mina and she ends up giving her life to protect her?

And that's all folks! As you can see, I'm not super hopeful but this is candela after all! I'll come back to this in two days to see how accurate my predictions were 😭 Lemme know what you think!

[sh4tt3rg1rl]

FRANTIC FANFICS

TITLE: For the funny (is this even for all ages??) FEATURING THE CHARACTERS: sun, gnagle WRITERS: elsie, xeya, tailsbot RATED ALL AGES

One day, Gnaggagngle and Sun decide to go to therapy. Unfortunately for them, the only available therapist is Ragatha, who immediately has a mental breakdown because girlie needs help.

This now turns to Gangle, Sun, and Ragatha all crying together, doing pure crack as they did so. Wh.. do I even want to know?

Anyway, Sun then flared and died, falling facedown onto the table in front of them.

So now a high Gangle and a high Ragatha are next to a dead body.

"wow, that sure did happen, im still depresed" says Gnangel "Lets go kill Jax, for the funny!" ragatha exclaimed "For the funny!" gangle replied

so then the two went and found jax, who was chilling in a t pose as one does "Jax we here to kill you" said gagnle "No u" says Jax 'oh ok" replies ragatha, as both her and gnglea do the family guy death pose and die.

"wow! they had crack on them!" says Jax "im gonna do the crack, and then ill blow up Mars!" Jax proceeded to do the crack, and blew up mars

Jax then proceeded to become the new tumblr secymand

TITLE: Gangle's Secret love FEATURING THE CHARACTERS: gangle, james/mask WRITERS: gummy, tailsbot, xeya RATED ALL AGES Gangle and Mask were at a cafe, waiting on their order. Gangle had been showing off her sketchbook to Mask, flipping through pages, when suddenly Gangle remembered a particular sketch that was in there… Gangle was too late to snatch the sketchbook back, when Mask flipped the page. "What the hell is this?" He said incredulously. "NO NO NO NO NO!" Gangle screeched.

Unfortunately, all had been revealed…

as her life crumbled before her, she sat, watching the terror in masks face, as they witnessed the page. Her biggest secrets, shown to the world, now everyone would know that

Gangle drew herself, KISSING ZOOBLE!

Mask stared down at the BEAUTIFUL AND TERRIFYINGLY DETAILED DRAWING and slowly turned to look at Gangle. "Are you…" they began, their voice trembling… "…a homosexual?" Gangle profusely denied, but the truth was out. Gangle was gay for Zooble. "Gangle.. why didn't you tell anyone?!" "It was… sniffle… it was too much!!! I COULDN'T!!! ZOOBLE WOULD FIND OUT IM GAY FOR THEM!!!" Mask committed a hit and run on Gangle by smacking her upside the head with her sketchbook and ran over to Zooble. "GANGLE IS GAY FOR Y-" Mask was pulled backwards into the shadows by a mysterious ribboned force and was never seen again… Emerging from the shadows was Gangle! "Hello! Everything you just heard is WRONG." Gangle faded away.

"…What the f-"

TITLE: TOP TEN ANIME BATTLES: #1: SANS VS FREDDY FEATURING THE CHARACTERS: sans, five nigt fredy WRITERS: xeya, gummy, elsie RATED ALL AGES Sans was gearing up for battle against Freddy Fazbear. He shined his Gaster Blaster and FUCKING obliterated a dummy. (mad dummy)

Freddy Fazbear showed up in a full blown mechasuit.

What the fuck.

Sans chuckled as he brandished his weapon. "I know your sins, Freddy. This won't end well for you." Freddy chuckled. "you may be strong, but you're still just a skeleton. One hit and you're done. I know you have a limit. How fast can we reach it?" Sans's eyes narrowed, and he pulled a hand from his pocket, his fingertips glowing blue. The bell rang, and the battle began, Sans dodged Freddy's attacks left and right, shooting arrays of bones in every direction. Freddy was hit several times, but this old bear was strong, and resisted the damage enough to keep going. "You're bear-ly taking a hit, arentcha?" Sans, joked, winking. Freddy Fazbear ignored this, and kept swinging.

Sans kept dodging attacks, but wondered how long he could keep this up…

And then he realized Freddy’s weakness… He’s electronic. And Sans has a bucket of water from an old door prank…

SPLASH

It was done.

@zooooble @thecomicallytragicgangle we wrote shipfic about you by the way

[rou-luxe]

Ikevil OC: Elsie Juniper

The Juniper Tree fairytale is very violent. If you search it up, do so with caution.

I drew this a while ago but I forgot about it 💀

more under the cut

Elsie Juniper. Quiet and deadly. If she snaps, no one is making it out alive.

Birthday: May 14th (Taurus)* Height: 160 cm Affiliation: Theater, Crown (temporary) Curse: The Juniper Tree: Marlinchen *not intended to be recently, that's just a coincidence

"My mother she killed me, My father he ate me, My sister, little Marlinchen, Gathered together all my bones, Tied them in a silken handkerchief, Laid them beneath the juniper-tree, Kywitt, kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I!"

In "The Juniper Tree", Marlinchen's tears assist in bringing her brother back to life. Following the tale, her tears provide physical comfort to someone for a set amount of time, but like numbing rather than anesthesia. She tends to use it more on people suffering a fatal wound, to let them pass in peace. Elsie is rather sensitive and prone to crying... in conjunction with her ability, her ability tends to be rather inconvenient for herself...

She hates the stench of blood and flesh. However, her ability does come in handy when helping out Roger (he tends to accidentally cause more damage to the person when this happens because he doesn't know when he's going too far) Roger sometimes uses the tears as numbing.  Then the members have to drag her away from Roger lest he get turned-

She works as a costume designer for the theater where Liam works at. Occasionally she writes her own plays. Sometimes she'll go to the bar and write with quill and pen for hours on end...

Relationships (read: delusion / headcanons)

oh lovely sylvatica... yk how Alfons loves watching Liam at plays? Elsie likes to watch front row seat to see all her hard work and Liam usually has them sitting next to each other* Elsie can't take much more flirting. Save her. Please. + their relationship is a complicated one. might write sometime.

Ah, yes. Coworkers and great friends. Elsie loves designing new outfits for Liam ❤️ He's really good at comforting her and Elsie repays him any way she can. Always the small things. She probably loves messing with his hair.

Elsie is painfully honest. Harrison teases her a lot about how obvious it is whenever she lies. He doesn't even need to use his ability. They both love sweets, though, and Harrison loves treating Elsie to the bakery. (BIG BROTHER FIGURE SPOTTED!!)

William and her are on okay terms. Elsie respects him a lot. wtf what else do I say (<- just finished William route but is still confused)

Elsie feels really comfortable around Elbert. They can have silent moments in peace, and she likes taking care of him, whether it's making sure his hair is brushed or making him tea. He is ADORABLE.

Victor has too much energy for her, but she sometimes helps him take care of Crown. She loves messing with Victor's hair also...

Other than to study her ability, Elsie and Roger don't interact often...

She's constantly under the impression that Jude is really scary. She once bumped into him and wouldn't stop apologizing

*I CAN SEE LIAM BEING A MATCHMAKER SO BADDD THIS HEADCANON LIVES IN MY BRAIN I NEED TO SEE MORE LIAM AND ALFONS RELATIONSHIP PLEASE CYBIRD

In the Victorian era, if a woman was single, it was commonplace for a woman to be escorted by an older male servant (like a butler) or an older family member. If she was NOT single, the woman would typically be escorted by her lover. Alfons takes advantage of this fact

Of course, Liam wants Elsie to be safe, so he asks Alfons to sit next to her. Alfons is already there, anyway. He can trust his coworker enough in case anything goes wrong... right? 😇

(she has her own backstory with explanations of certain likes / dislikes, but I'm not revealing it. maybe in a separate post. I don't want to traumatize anyone just looking at this)

watch me forget she exists

"...What do you want from me?"

[townsenddecades]

1325 – Day 4 – Watmore Farm

Elsie is sitting quietly in their cottage, humming to herself she knits. She likes the days when she is all alone at home; she doesn’t hear much aside from the snow crunching under the occasional passersby’s foot, and she has leisure to let her thoughts wander. Even Wilfred isn’t at home; he’s at a neighbour’s house, practicing archery with their sons.

Her solitude is noisily broken by loud crunching outside, followed by the door being thrown open with so much force it clatters against the wall. She shrinks back, expecting a brigand that means to harm her and rob their house, but then she recognizes her uncle Alaric, his face red and twisted with fury.

She shrinks back even farther, especially when his eyes land on her.

“Where is Noah?”, he barks.

“I…I don’t know.” Her heart is hammering so much that it is hard to form words. “He went out shortly after you did, but he didn’t tell me where he was going.”

“What use are you, girl?” He takes a step towards her. “Your duty is to keep this house. For that, you should know where its inhabitants are. Do I have to do everything around here?”

“I’m sorry, Uncle Alaric.” She doesn’t understand. Usually, he is such a calm, friendly person, but now, he is screaming at her, and she doesn’t even know why. “Did…did something happen?”, she asks, timidly.

“You could say that. Your uncle decided to get into a brawlwith Freddie Branson, Sibyl went running to the earl, and now, the earl’s man has come for us. We are to pay a fine for disturbing the peace. And your damned uncle hasn’t even warned us.”

“What?” Elsie blinks at him. “But how…how are we to afford something like that?”

It’s the middle of winter. They have hardly anything as it is. They can’t pay a fine, neither in money nor in goods. Her uncle balls his hands into fists.

“I don’t know. We’ll have to scrounge it together. But I’ll kill your uncle, first.”

Prev: 1325, Day 4, Part 1/4 <--> Next: 1325, Day 4, Part 3/4

[mk-writes-stuff]

OC Interaction Tag

Rules: post a description of one of your OCs and how theg would interact with the tagger’s OC

Thanks @somethingclevermahogony for the tag! Sorry to anyone whose tags I’m being slow in or missing, I’ve kind of been dropping the ball recently but I’m trying to get back into it

C’s OC: Zatar is the spearmaster under the employ of the King of Labisa, Akard. His past was rough, a quarter demigod, born to a runaway warrior from the north and a Kishite lord. His mother abandoned him, and his father followed soon after. He grew up in the streets alongside his sister. Zatar is often cold, he rarely laughs or smiles, the only emotion he ever expresses to any great degree is rage. Zatar's life is defined by his loyalty to his King and to his sister, and his distaste for most of the nobility of both Kishetal and Apuna. Zatar is an incredibly violent and bloody person. Unfortunately for those that face him, his temperament is paired with an unmatched skill in ways of war and combat. He is obsessive, and will seek to complete a goal, even at great physical or mental expense to himself. While vicious, he does not necessarily seek violence, his actions are always in service of his king, he will almost certainly ignore anyone whose existence does not in some way help or hinder the ambitions of Akard.

My OC: Cassiopeia is the noble head of Sixth Station, the station focused on materials manufacturing. She is a tall, slim woman with long, curly blonde hair and heterochromatic eyes - one blue, one purple. She dresses elegantly, typically in blue and gold (the Sixth Station colours). Cassiopeia is believed to be a well-intentioned, well-mannered woman who is good at station management but fairly harmless. However, contrary to popular belief, she is actually a cruel, clever, and manipulative woman who is extremely power-hungry. Her secret aspiration is to bring all the Seven Stations under her command as queen. Cassiopeia is a highly skilled manipulator capable of wrapping almost anyone around her finger. She isn’t a fighter - she has no issue with physical violence, but tends to do it to those who can’t fight back, in order to reduce the risk to herself - but rarely is pushed into a situation where fighting is necessary. Her dirty secret is that she farms her clones, and those of her brother, for magic, brutally killing them in the process.

How they’d interact: I think Cassiopeia would like Zatar quite a bit if she could convince him that their goals are aligned. She would try to convince him that she and the king he serves are allied or at least fighting for similar goals (even if it isn’t true) and would attempt to use him that way. If it succeeded, I think she would find his combat prowess and his obsessive nature very useful to her. On the other hand, if he didn’t like her and saw her as one of the nobles he despised, I think she’d be in for a bad time. Cassiopeia and her bodyguards can handle themselves in a fight, but I don’t think any of them compare to Zatar’s skill, and, while their weapons are definitely more advanced, I imagine he’d have the presence of mind to steal their weapons and turn them against them, which would leave Cassiopeia in a bad spot.

This was fun! I hope you like this interaction, I’d loge to know which way you think it would go :)

@illarian-rambling @elsie-writes @autism-purgatory want to play this one?

[zumpietoo]

Oh One More Little Wimmin Thing...

On top of everything, the entire book ultimately, actually, betrays its own/the publisher's Elsie Dinsmore goals (a self sacrificing life of goodness will lead you to a happy ending as a wife and mommmeeeeee.....)......

Meg (whose, again, defining characteristic is "kinda pretty, unwittingly self righteous"), marries an actually jerky dude who seems to largely be primarily interested in her cuz how she looks/that he can feel superior to her, cuz "smarter".....sacrifices every time the "sin" of having any small nicety for herself, stretches herself horribly thin to look after his juvenile ass, while caring for newborn twins after a difficult pregnancy/delivery (cuz duh) AND he dies, leaving her ever moar poverty-stricken, with 3 small kids to feed, ALONE, as a young widow in the mid 19th century (and OFC she never remarries, cuz "virtue").

Jo, marries an old asshole who puts down the one thing she enjoys/is proud of (tho, TBF, since Jo probably wrote as shittily as Alcott, he might've had a point), so she fully ditches it (despite it having been part of why she rejected the way better dude's proposal, earlier), devotes her surprising entire inheritance to HIS vanity project of a BOY'S (cuz OFC) school (that loses $$$), never has kids of her own and, again, gets to spend her life toiling away for a bunch of other people's kids.

Beth? Her sacrificing for others literally kills her. Gets NOTHING, cuz ded. And, by all accounts, Lizzie Alcott, on whom she was based, had an absolutely horrible, lingering illness into death.

Conversely....

Amy? Her "selfishness" (of seeking to be happy/pursue personal goals, enjoyment and art) nets her a grand tour of Europe with new clothes and marriage to a hot, rich, way nicer dude than any of the others were "rewarded" with.....

[bubblegumfanfictions]

Down the Rabbit Hole |A Zack Foster Fanfiction| Prologue: The Facility.

Fandom- Angels of Death

Ship- Zack Foster/Original Character

Warning(s)- Mentions of Death and Torture, Poison

Summary- Elizabeth is bored of her living conditions

Word Count- 522

Elizabeth groaned, her eyebrows furrowed as she lay back in her hammock, held by two large cherry-coloured mushrooms with cream-coloured spots. Despite the overwhelming beauty of her floor, she had to admit that she was bored. When she joined the facility, a bright-eyed serial killer of 17 years old she was elated at the idea of being able to kill people with no repercussions. But after four years it was losing its appeal.

There are only so many ways you could kill someone and Elsie has gone through many of them. Poison, Torture, Beheading, Drowning, Stabbing. She found her favourite way to kill someone was to earn their trust and then poison them, the look on their face made her heart hammer.

A notebook sat unused in her lap, open on a page with a drawing of a green and brown butterfly, followed by some writing that started with ‘dear diary.’ Elsie was truly lost in her thoughts, weighing out the pros and cons of being there and chastising her younger self for not reading the fine print that stated she couldn’t leave the facility under any circumstances.

Elizabeth gazed around blankly at her floor. The large glowing mushrooms, the assortment of tall flowers of all species and colours, projections of the Cheshire cat popping up haphazardly on different parts of her floor, a never-ceasing grin plaguing Elizabeth’s thoughts.

Then her eyes landed on the eyesore that was an iron door. It led to her bedroom full of books, everything from Science, Poisons, and Torture to fairy tales, and books on flower language. 

A loud bell tolling made the girl physically jump out of her thoughts. She huffs, climbing out of her hammock. She looks down at her Pajamas, “This certainly won’t do.” She walks over to the locked iron door as a voice over the intercom speaks.

"The girl on the bottom floor is hereby a sacrifice. All floors please make preparations." 

“Yeah, Yeah, I know. We hear this every week. Jesus Christ.” She mumbles, rolling her eyes as she groans, yet again. She strips out of her Pajamas and exchanges them for a more suitable get-up. Once she was dressed she gave herself a once-over in the mirror. 

She is wearing a blue dress with puffy sleeves that goes down to her knees, a white apron that stops just shy of the bottom of her dress, a black bow to cinch in her waist, and a bow around her neck. She put on some thigh-high white socks and finished off the look with a black bow in her hair, some white lace wrist gloves, and a pocket watch which she attached to her waist. 

“Okay, done.” She starts to walk out of the room before her eyes widen, she quickly goes back in and picks up a small bottle of Cyanide. The party table has an extensive number of real-looking cakes and other foods, it is situated in the middle of a clearing surrounded by a mix of (fake) pine trees and a few large glowing mushrooms. Elizabeth metaphorically rolls up her sleeves and gets to work on the tea. 

Art by Baicalpascal

[rockislandadultreads]

LGBTQIA+ Pride Month: More Fiction Recommendations

My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson

Earl "Trey" Singleton III arrives in New York City with only a few dollars in his pocket. Born into a wealthy Black Indianapolis family, at 17, he is ready to leave his overbearing parents and their expectations behind.

In the city, Trey meets up with a cast of characters that changes his life forever. He volunteers at a renegade home hospice for AIDS patients, and after being put to the test by gay rights activists, becomes a member of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). Along the way Trey attempts to navigate past traumas and searches for ways to maintain familial relationships—all while seeking the meaning of life amid so much death.

Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer

"Go get lost somewhere, it always does you good."

For Arthur Less, life is going surprisingly well: he is a moderately accomplished novelist in a steady relationship with his partner, Freddy Pelu. But nothing lasts: the death of an old lover and a sudden financial crisis has Less running away from his problems yet again as he accepts a series of literary gigs that send him on a zigzagging adventure across the US.

Less roves across the "Mild Mild West," through the South and to his mid-Atlantic birthplace, with an ever-changing posse of writerly characters and his trusty duo - a human-like black pug, Dolly, and a rusty camper van nicknamed Rosina. He grows a handlebar mustache, ditches his signature gray suit, and disguises himself in the bolero-and-cowboy-hat costume of a true "Unitedstatesian"... with varying levels of success, as he continues to be mistaken for either a Dutchman, the wrong writer, or, worst of all, a "bad gay."

We cannot, however, escape ourselves--even across deserts, bayous, and coastlines. From his estranged father and strained relationship with Freddy, to the reckoning he experiences in confronting his privilege, Arthur Less must eventually face his personal demons.

This is the second volume in the “Arthur Less” series. 

Rosewater by Liv Little

Elsie is a sexy, funny, and fiercely independent woman in south London. But several things in her life have gone terribly wrong. She's estranged from her family; is failing to make it as a poet; and has just been evicted from her social housing. As fierce and independent as she is, even Elsie must admit that being a carefree 28-year-old is proving difficult--and that she's running out of options.

Juliet, her best friend since childhood, has always been Elsie's lifeline. So even though they haven't spoken in months, Elsie is soon snuggled up on Juliet's couch, back at home among the mismatched cushions and knit blankets.

Between their reruns of Drag Race and nights smoking on the balcony, something surprising begins to glimmer in Elsie's heart. And as the days turn into weeks and then months, this feeling quickly becomes too fierce to ignore. Will Elsie be brave enough to open herself up to love?

The Fake by Zoe Whittall

After the death of her wife, Shelby is suffering from prolonged grief. She’s increasingly isolated, irritated by her family’s stoicism and her friends’ reliance on the toxic positivity of self-help culture. Then, in a grief support group, she meets Cammie, who gives her permission to express her most hopeless, hideous feelings. Cammie is charismatic and unlike anyone Shelby has ever met. She’s also recovering from cancer and going through several other calamities. Shelby puts all her energy into helping Cammie thrive—until her intuition tells her that something isn’t right.

Gibson is fresh from divorce, almost forty, and deeply depressed. Then he falls in love with Cammie. Not only is he having the best sex of his life with a woman so attractive he’s stunned she even glanced his way, he feels truly known for the first time in his life. But Gibson’s friends are wary of Cammie, and eventually he, too, has to admit that all the drama in Cammie’s life can feel a bit over the top.

When Gibson and Shelby meet, they realize Cammie’s stories don’t always add up. In fact, they’re far from the truth. But what kind of a person would lie about having cancer? And what does it say about Shelby and Gibson that they fell for it?

[carewyncromwell]

“Everyday people, in their own sweet way, Like to add a coat of paint and be what they ain’t! That’s how our little game is played, Livin’ like a masquerade, actin’ a bizarre charade, While playing the saint!”

~“Facade” from Jekyll and Hyde

x~x~x~x

Ahhh, no!! Carewyn!! D:

Ahem -- yeah, this is a counterpoint to a piece I’ve done in the past about Jacob and how he got ensnared by Charles Cromwell and R’s web...but this is going to take a little bit of explanation! First, though, my musical accompaniment while working on this includes Things Are Not What They Appear from Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, Elsie Lovelock’s cover of Trust in Me from The Jungle Book, and Wolfsong by Omnia. 😊

Okay, right to it. Those of you who know Hogwarts Mystery, there’s a moment toward the beginning of year 6 where MC meets Jacob in his old room at Hogwarts, after following Sickleworth the Niffler, who’s carrying a white quill that it turns out is a threat from R, reminding MC that R still intends to “collect” on one of their friends’ lives. Well, this scene has always bugged me, because Hogwarts is supposed to be nigh impregnable, to the point that even Voldemort couldn’t get inside during the First Wizarding War -- so how does a non-Hogwarts-graduate like Jacob get in so easily?

My answer -- that is not really Jacob. In my canon, the person Carewyn instead meets is an agent of R, who -- with inside help from another agent who plays as the newest Defense Against the Dark Arts professor -- was able to sneak into the school and impersonate Jacob with Polyjuice Potion. And this agent impersonating Jacob is none other than Carewyn’s maternal uncle and heir to the Cromwell Clan, Blaise. 

Blaise Cromwell is a character who -- quite honestly -- I think deserves multiple punches to the face. He is ridiculously possessive of his family, seeing them as akin to prized toys that no one else is allowed to touch but him, and his sister Lane and her children are no exception. Blaise is just as determined as Charles is to force Lane, Jacob, and Carewyn back into the fold of the Cromwell Clan, and he has no moral compunctions that might temper that desire. He’s more than willing to lie, deceive, torture, or even kill to achieve that goal. And because he was raised by Charles -- who like Jacob and Carewyn was born with immensely powerful Legilimency -- Blaise became a master of Occlumency at a young age, all in the effort of maintaining some privacy in and control over his own mind. This Occlumency and Blaise’s rather convincing act makes it so that Carewyn at first has no idea that she’s not speaking to her brother...at least, not until Blaise as Jacob collides with her in Knockturn Alley, while Carewyn herself is disguised as Patricia Rakepick. But for now, Carewyn is completely unawares...not just because Blaise was so good at capturing Jacob’s mannerisms and overall attitude, but because he sounded so sincere, speaking of his desire for their family to be as it once was. It made it so that when he so “reluctantly” accepted her help with the Vaults on the condition that she not involve her friends “unnecessarily” the way he did Duncan and Olivia, Carewyn didn’t suspect anything amiss. And well, Blaise does want his family as he once had it. He wants his sister Lane back at the Cromwell estate...and he does want her children there with them. Sure, for her and them, it’d be a cage, but they’d learn to accept it. They were family, after all -- the Cromwell estate, and the Cromwell Clan, was where they belonged. 

For however terrible of a person Blaise is, however, I will point out that the moment Blaise collided with Carewyn in Jacob’s old room was the first time he’d really been able to interact with his niece. And however much he was focused on his goal, it didn’t mean he felt nothing, seeing her for the first time. 

Lane had been Blaise’s favorite sibling when they were young -- admittedly largely by default since they were closest in age and Lane was both intellectual and disinterested in social gatherings enough that Blaise enjoyed her company -- so her departure had a profound impact on Blaise, just as it did the rest of the Clan. He missed his third sister dearly, and hearing that she’d not only married a Muggle, but that that wretched man then proceeded to abandon her and her children upon Jacob’s Hogwarts letter arriving at their door, Blaise felt a surge of overprotectiveness toward both Lane and her children. They deserved better than what they’d had to live with -- they deserved to live well, not in poverty; they deserved to be treated like high society, not like freaks; they deserved a real home with the Clan, not living in a Muggle gutter. Jacob and Carewyn’s experience with their father should prove to them the superiority of wizardkind over Muggles -- not drive them further into the arms of Muggle lovers like the Weasleys or Mudbloods like Olivia Green or Ben Copper. With Blaise himself a widower and single father, he’s imprinted some of those twisted paternal instincts onto both Jacob and Carewyn as well -- and when he met Carewyn for the first time while disguised as Jacob, he witnessed her capacity to love first-hand. For while he wore her brother’s face, this usually stoic, pretty little teenager fussed over Blaise, fixing his robes and expressing sincere and open concern for his safety. The closest comparison point Blaise had for Carewyn’s behavior was that of his own deceased mother, Marilyn -- and yet there was no sense of asserting control here, with Carewyn. Charles only used “concern” as a means to an end -- to get a better read on who he was talking to. Even Marilyn would express concern by taking some authority over her children -- telling them to sit up straight, fixing their collars and hair to make them look perfect, because she wanted them to succeed, which would also reflect well on her. But not Carewyn. Her caring was given with no caveats or conditions -- no semblance of dominance or control. It was so...selfless.

Blaise had had no concept that any relative of his could be so weak-hearted. And yet all it did was make him want to bring her into the fold more.

People are rife to take advantage of a child like this. The people around her already have taken advantage of her. These ‘friends’ of hers that she’s so desperate to protect from us...what have they done, to deserve her caring? Who are they, to deserve her loyalty? Muggle lovers, Mudbloods, paupers and orphans...they are not her family -- we are her family!

The thought made Blaise’s inside flare with resentment and anger. 

And I intend to treat her like it. 

At one point during their meeting, Carewyn asked the man she thought was Jacob if something was wrong. Blaise tried to play this off, simply claiming he was lost in thought. Sensing Carewyn might be starting to pull away from him, Blaise offered a shred of vulnerability. 

“...It’s just...the last time I saw you...you were only a child. You still would be a child, if not for the Cursed Vaults...”

Some resentment slipped out despite himself. As much as he wanted his family back together, and as much as he knew his father Charles’s word was law so long as he was head of the Clan, Blaise really hadn’t wanted his son or any of his nieces and nephews to be involved with R. He’d fought hard to keep Tristan and Pearl and Claire’s children out of this whole mess. 

“...I wish I could shield you, Pip. I wish that...things could be just the way they were.”

Carewyn’s eyes softened. Feeling compassion in her heart for who she thought was her brother, she then opened up her arms and encircled “Jacob” in a hug. The gesture made Blaise flinch. 

“Me too,” Carewyn murmured. 

The warmth of her embrace flooded Blaise with a strange, trembling kind of pain -- an ache he hardly knew the origin of. He so rarely received hugs as it was, but this kind of hug in particular -- however much it comforted Carewyn as much as him, once again, there was no sense of transaction, no sense of control. She was just offering him comfort, and she found comfort herself just in giving it...such a weak-hearted gesture, and yet expressed by such a firm, warm embrace. 

Abruptly, before he fully knew what he was doing, Blaise had lashed his arms out and seized hold of Carewyn, cradling her against his chest the way he did his own son, Tristan. The strength of his hug made Carewyn give him a light squeeze in return, which in turn made tears clutch at Blaise’s throat. Forcing them back fiercely, the heir of the Cromwell Clan simply held on tighter, resting his head on top of Carewyn’s as a choked song drifted absently from his lips. 

“The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms... When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken, So I hung my head and cried.”

Blaise hardly knew the origin of the old song anymore, aside from it being his main choice of lullaby for his son, Tristan, when he was young. Carewyn seemed to know it, though. Her lips even curled up in a small, sad smile of her own as she sang the chorus with him --

“You are my sunshine...my only sunshine... You make me happy when skies are gray... You’ll never know, dear...how much I love you... Please don’t take my sunshine away.”

Patricia Rakepick had told Blaise that Carewyn was a true Cromwell, when she sang. Seeing what she meant, by hearing the warm, trained tone of his niece for the first time, made Blaise squeeze Carewyn that little bit tighter.

Oh, if only his mother could’ve heard her, Blaise thought of Marilyn at the grand piano so many years ago...if only she’d had the chance to hear Lane’s daughter sing...

“We can’t forget Laney’s baby. We must get something for the baby...”

When Blaise finally forced himself to let go of Carewyn, he cleared his throat, trying to pull himself together as he turned away. 

“...I should go. The longer I’m here, the more of a chance someone’ll see me. Can’t afford to get you in more trouble, on my account...”

Carewyn frowned. “Mm...”

Even with how disappointed she looked, she still nodded. Blaise turned to her much more seriously. 

“Best not tell anyone I was here, Pip,” he said. “If your friends are anything like mine...I doubt they’ll just stand back and watch, if they know you’re helping me with the Vaults.”

Carewyn’s eyes fell away as she nodded again grimly. She clearly didn’t need to be convinced -- she’d already come to that conclusion herself. 

Good, thought Blaise coldly. The more she separates herself from them now, the easier it’ll be for her to let go of them and return home to us. Then she’ll know what home and family truly are.

The memory of trying and failing to completely modify Ben Copper’s memory outside the Ice Vault -- of seeing him fearfully mumbling Carewyn’s name in his sleep in the Hospital Wing, after he was recovered -- made Blaise’s fist clench around his wand as he left the room and disappeared down the hall. 

Everything would be the way it should be, Blaise thought, once he brought Lane and her children home. He’d make sure Lane, Jacob, and Carewyn had everything they could ever want, once they came home to the Clan. He’d make sure they were content -- that they’d have everything they needed, at home, where they belonged.

Then they’d stay. They’d stay, and never leave again.

[sa7abnews]

2 stabbed, including 11-year-old, in London's Leicester Square, 1 man in custody

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/13/2-stabbed-including-11-year-old-in-londons-leicester-square-1-man-in-custody/

2 stabbed, including 11-year-old, in London's Leicester Square, 1 man in custody

Two people, including an 11-year-old girl, were rushed to the hospital after they were injured in a stabbing attack in London’s Leicester Square in the United Kingdom on Monday.In addition to the young girl, a 34-year-old woman was also attacked. Police have not identified either person and have not said whether they are related. Police took a man into custody in relation to the attack, but they have not offered any details about his identity.The victims are now in the hospital, but police have not confirmed the severity of their injuries.”Officers are at the scene of a stabbing in Leicester Square. A man has been arrested and is in custody,” London police said in a statement posted on X.VIOLENT UK PROTESTS CONTINUE FOR 7TH DAY IN RESPONSE TO DEATHS OF 3 YOUNG GIRLS”We don’t believe there are any outstanding suspects. Two victims, an 11-year-old girl and a 34-year-old woman, have been taken to hospital and we await an update on their condition,” the statement added.BRITAIN REMAINS ON ALERT FOR FURTHER UNREST, EVEN AFTER ANTI-RACISM CAMPAIGNERS FACE DOWN FAR-RIGHTPolice added that paramedics treated the two women at the scene before sending them to a major trauma center.The attack comes less than two weeks after a 17-year-old went on a stabbing spree at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class for young children in the U.K.Three children were killed in the attack, while five more children and two adults were put in critical condition.Authorities charged Axel Rudakubana for the attacks. He was born in Wales to Rwandan parents. The attack set off a storm of anti-immigrant sentiment across the U.K., resulting in violent clashes between anti-migrant groups, police and groups of migrants.UK GOVERNMENT WARNS ‘THINK BEFORE YOU POST’ AMID THREATS TO ARREST CITIZENS FOR OFFENSIVE RHETORIC ON SOCIALSRudakubana was seen smiling in his first court appearance after the attack. He is charged with the murders of Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, as well as 10 counts of attempted murder for stabbing eight other children along with two adults who tried to help them.Swift herself said she was “completely in shock” and still processing “the horror” of the attack in the days that followed.”These were just little kids at a dance class,” she wrote in an Instagram story. “I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.” 

[potatoesandsunshine]

Same anon as before, I loved the lil fic you did abt Astarion and Taryn, you captured his personality SO well. And Taryn, beloved girl. Absolutely fascinating character study. I’m very curious abt your cleric as well!!

bg3 anon my best friend bg3 anon <3 tysm!! i was really proud of that astarion characterization and i'm glad it was good. i'm juggling a couple ideas with her along with this new playthrough - cried my way through the game epilogue but i just wasn't ready to put her down.

currently chipping away at the postgame waterdeep newlyweds era - the idea of 'tav' as a character taryn has made up to deal with it all is just. she's so much. she can find a way to be honest about her feelings as long as she's pretending to be someone else. and thinking about her and tara is like... the friction between them dissolved when tara realized 'oh, another one'. anyway, i have to learn to write stage direction before i go any further with this idea but it's like five stories smashed together right now (taryn missing the rest of the party/newly married bliss/the sheer trauma of the waterdeep tower/the play within the play/can you befriend a tressym who has decided, no, i'm adopting you) oh! and there's also the alfira story but i think that's a separate fic.

and my cleric!!!!!!!!

this is elsie <3 (a blue tiefling cleric? groundbreaking.) she's got SO much wrong with her she is PERFECT to me. she's a tempest domain follower of talos, but it's kind of the classic 'surely this cheerful character can't be serving evil, can she?' situation. she can be. she's not actually sure WHAT she's doing on any given day. anyway, some elsie fun facts!

her name isn't elspeth, which i think would make more sense for the nickname - it's elisaveta, because a cleric being called 'god is my oath' made something insane happen in my brain. literally it would only be better if she were a paladin. elisaveta storm-heart welcome to the world it will be bad for you.

on my end of it (in the game she's got the acolyte background) when she was fifteen she... ran afoul of(?) and/or was chosen (?) by talos - in a blatant karlach parallel, he ripped out her heart and put a storm in its place, which is how i think of that tempest cleric reaction where you can zap people manifested

this has led to a... kind of weird perception of gods in general? i've got the idea for a conversation between her & one of the companions where she says something like "I've heard of people who choose their gods, but in my experience it's always the other way around" // she would be super insane about the gale-mystra situation but it's only act 1 she doesn't know about it

every misfortune in her life is attributed directly to the god she worships. yeah the logic just isn't there but when she was young and freshly-zapped by lightning the group of talos cultists that picked her up just said this is how it is.

she has fully outsourced her moral compass to wyll, which is honestly one of the best moves she could've made. you're welcome faerun.

i also characterize her as someone who has very strong initial emotional reactions to things - she's a crier, she stomps her feet, she throws things if she's by herself, little lightning bolts from her fingertips etc. taryn shifted into resignation so quickly, but elsie is really different! she's bad at hiding how she feels and she feels strongly. who's crying behind the last light inn? elsie. who's screaming at ketheric while he tries to monologue? elsie. who ran back to the enclave and killed kahga before considering any other options? elsie.

we're really early game with her so she doesn't know about any of the dead three stuff but she's going to be VERY unimpressed. if she didn't hate gortash already for the whole selling her girlfriend to hell thing, she'd hate him as... a religious obligation? and not in a sexy way like whatever he had going on with the bhaalspawn, more like a 'how dare these worms try to end the world that's literally what i was given the holy mission to do (that i've been ignoring)'

anyway she's super cute she has gray hair streaks for fantasy bullshit reasons and she's pretty sure talos never actually checks if she's doing her homework so it's fine, really, everybody's getting dramatic over nothing

[farmergilesofham]

Hey there Jimbo, just popping by to add some extra stuff

Rasputin is now dead, at the time of the Traveler deciding to dip out of Earth's atmosphere (although technically it might still be in the far upper atmosphere, but that's somewhat irrelevant), because the only way Bungie ahem aheoguh-- sorry, I mean the only way The Vanguard could think of shutting off those big space lasers that once shot down the Almighty was by killing the AI controlling them.

Because as we all know, the moment Valve switches off the TF2 servers, the entire game and every SFM animation on the internet will suddenly cease to exist.

Anyways.

The Witness (of whom we got hints as early as Forsaken and Season of the Dawn) happens to be the one who inspired the exo programme, led to a Vex incursion on Europa, induced the Collapse, and is an indirect reason for Banshee-44's existence. Banshee, by the by, is a memory-wiped clone of Clovis Bray: a.k.a. the biggest cunt in the entirety of Destiny lore. Banshee's nice though, and aims to keep it that way.

The vanilla D2 planets that went missing are mostly still gone, but we're getting new seasons that are bringing back the locational vendors, such as Asher Mir most recently. I trust that Sloane has been fighting the hive, Doomguy-style, for the entire time since Titan vanished - which is a good point to bring up. The planets weren't destroyed, but they have been bottled up like the ships in PotC 4 (or brainiac's city vault, if that's a better example) and some of them are present in the new raid.

Mars has some time anomalies that haven't been explored at all (which is a travesty, imo, 'cause they look extremely cool in the opening mission of Witch Queen).

So, remember that one time the Speaker told Ghaul to go kill himself? Yeah so that speech, the whole "bravery leads to sacrifice, sacrifice leads to death" thing was completely literal. Savathún sought out the Traveler in the hope of freeing her species from their reliance on the Worm Gods (for which, all things considered, you go girl), and managed to die within sight of it, thus fulfilling the parameters for revival, and netting herself some cool new Light powers. Ghosts which had hitherto never been able to find their Guardians suddenly began rezzing Hive, creating the Hive Lightbearers - a somewhat annoying set of enemies, but God damn if they're not dripped tf out. As these things tend to go, the Young Wolf merked Savathun, solo, but her Ghost Immaru got away.

On the subject of Savathun - have you ever read the Books of Sorrow? If you haven't, the quick rundown is this: king of krill (proto-hive) found a funky dried-out worm thing that told him secrets 'n' stuff. He went mad, the worm husk went "ah well ok then" and something happened then the worm did not expect; it was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable: the king's kids, who had rather disliked the Weird Bug Thing that ole dad had kept on the dresser. Yet the time would soon come when those kids would shape the fortunes of all (on fundament). One magic road trip later in a stolen school bus, having had a chat with the Leviathan and told him to Kindly Piss Off, our three husketeers had acquired their own live worms, and the godlike powers of HRT. BUT! We found out in Witch Queen that all this had been set up because the Traveler had almost arrived, and was gearing up to grant the Krill some good old-fashioned Light Blessings. The Witness took exception to that, and created the single most deadly race since that one grand prix in the 50s (I don't know racing history, just trust that I'm right in everything I say). Which, as you may imagine, slightly perturbed Savathun.

However, as she is currently dead and in custody, I don't think her opinion matters much.

As for Stasis, you already got most of the info you need. One extra thing is that the Exo Stranger is also Elsie Bray (and happens to be the baddest of bitches, in pretty much every conceivable way), and her weird undulating fish friend is actually from Neomuna.

WHICH BRINGS ME ON TO

Neomuna

Snazzy place, all told. Nice and sleek and apparently built on top of a massive conduit of Light or... something. It's not really altogether too clear what the Veil is, though we know it relates to a particular (real life) philosopher's view of the universe. By the by, Neomuna was apparently founded by Maya Sundaresh. If you don't remember her, she's one of the founding members of the Future War Cult, the one who did a lot of the Vex experiments on Mercury back in Golden Age, and I believe also helped someone who'd been stuck in the Black Garden.

On that note, the Black Garden was apparently built to emulate the Veil - or, particularly, the Heart of the Black Garden was. Context clues and a general look a the way things are going suggests that the Veil may have been created in the very distant past by the Vex, or whatever the Vex were before they were all... goopy. Hagfish slime-looking mfs. But, we're not sure. The Vex are being a bit of a nuisance on Neomuna, and apparently have been for centuries, but hey that's what you got the Cloud Striders for.

oh yeah, forgot to mention

Neomuna is a PROPER, ALIVE CITY So long as you discount that everyone's been turned into 5G because of a city-wide lockdown due to all the dangerous shit happening from Calus invading, the Vex invading (again), the Guardians not-invading-but-being-the-mess-they-usually-are, the Taken being there too for some fucking reason, and ole Nezzy boi.

The Shadowkeep expansion (revolving around the Scarlet Brood of the Scarlet Keep, which I gotta say is some rad naming, those guys have style) featured the "Garden of Salvation" raid, which was a return to the Black Garden to go fight some funkye neue Vexe. They are pretty funky, gotta admit. This was technically the first time we heard about Guardians using the Darkness in our timeline, and it didn't really go altogether too well for them.

Also, allow me to apologise for how disorganised this all is. I probably have some kind of ND, but I'm not about to sit down here and play ADHD bingo.

Oh you've also missed a really cool arc for Eramis - in Beyond Light, she was the desperate Fallen villain type whom we defeated with friendship And This Ice Knuckleduster We Found, then got frozen for a while because the Witness saw us using Stasis and was like "actually, no", so Eramis became a lovely desk ornament for a bit. There was a bit where one of her generals started a cult in her name, but that was put down pretty quick. But then! She came back! the Witness decided it actually did want an unstable pirate on its side, and so Eramis returned.

Except - horror of horrors! - Eramis began to key into the fact that the Witness not only doesn't care about the Eliskni, but also has a deeply twisted sense of humour. Case in point, the Witness took the corpse of one of Eramis' friends, revived it using the Darkness, and then just nonchalantly passed this Demon Creature From the Seventh Hell Dimension off to Eramis as if it were a birthday gift or something. So, now sufficiently creeped out, Eramis has begun acting like more and more of a goodie. We even got some really beautiful development in Season of Plunder (which, man, I'm sorry that you missed. We got to ride a freaking pirate ship, to go attack another pirate ship, in space, jumping across the space gap to go battle the space pirate ship's captain and get a ton of loot. Also, emoting became a legit way to get more booty) where Eramis got to talking with Eido, Mithrax's daughter.

Mithrax is the fallen captain we saved on Titan in Vanilla D2, who now leads the House of Light currently shacking up in what used to be the surface of a Raid Lair in the City. They're pretty chill, except for when Mithrax turned around one time and politely and definitely not at sword-point pointed out to Spider that if that smarmy leech ever tried to peddle his bullshit to Eido, he'd wake up with a dead horse's head in his bed, next to a signed tripmine grenade.

So Mithrax used to be a pirate! Who'd'a thunk it?

ANYways, Eramis and Eido got to talking, and Eido - happy, lovely, optimistic crabcake that she is - managed to sway Eramis a bit with the prospect of using the protection of the Traveler (and, by extension, the Guardians) to help the Eliskni people get back on their feet for the first time in like 1000 years. So now Eramis is only slightly grouchy, still doesn't like the idea of shacking up with people who've been her enemies for like 400 years (which... fair, tbh), and saved Mithrax's ass at least twice in the past year.

So that's about all I have time for right now, I've gotta go pick up some groceries. Hope this tangled mess of a reblog helps!

Another thought

What with my Guardian being in a stasis void and all that (I got axed by Code Weasel and haven't played since like, I dunno, 2018), and all the recent news about Destiny 2, it's left me a little bummed, and a lot short on past events.

So, now that I am mostly (Air quotes, because I am still missing some very large blank spots) caught up on all the recent lore stuff, could I get a rundown from the general community of everything leading up to this?

Like, the Traveler left. What the fuck. How did that happen. Who the shit is the Witness and why is he a white cum smokestack. What does he have to do with the Darkness.

Is Failsafe still alive? Are all the planets still there???

What in the SHIT happened with Eramis' House and how did it evolve into Guardians getting Darkness powers. How did Savathun get Light.

What in the FUCK happened with Eris and the Hive. Why were there red ghosts.

Somebody help me out here, I'm begging

[gamerwoo]

[SKZ Imprinted] Jeongin: Youngblood

Anonymous asked: Hi rocket don't know if you've gotten any requests for jeongin's mate but I'm super curious about her. Can I perhaps request something with them? Maybe something leaning more on fluff since the other parts have been angst filled? If not, maybe full on angst is also the way to go!

Characters: Jeongin x female reader

Genre/warnings: werewolf au, college au, a little angsty but it’s mostly fluff, mentions of not eating and also depression

Word count: 6,915

Summary: Despite being the youngest of the pack, Jeongin has imprinted way before most -- if not, all -- of his brothers. Unlike his brothers, though, he never found the courage to tell you anything. But if what happened between Minho and his mate aren’t enough proof that Jeongin needs to figure out how to confess his biggest secret to you, he doesn’t know what is. So since he needs to figure things out fast, and his pack is zero help after everything that’s happened, Jeongin finds himself relying on someone he least expected just to make sure he doesn’t mess things up with you.

a/n: things in bold are in english. also might change the title of jeongin’s part because i can’t decide what i want it to be lmao

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Shit had hit the fan, and the next few days were spent with everyone just trying to unpack everything and sort through their feelings -- namely Ryujin and Minho. However, the pack was also pretty upset with Minho’s mate -- and rightfully so since she almost got all of them killed -- and so they kept giving their two cents despite the fact that Minho had been essentially dead silent since coming back from the hunter HQ.

But this situation had also prompted Jeongin to start acting out again. The pup used to always run off on his own, but he’d gotten a little better at listening to his alpha and sticking around the area. But for the last few days, he was nowhere to be found. Chan searched everywhere and even called in for help looking for him, but Jeongin was completely MIA. His parents were naturally worried and were getting a little bit on Chan’s case about finding him, so he reluctantly had to call in someone else for help.

“You want me to find him?” Elsie scoffed when Seungmin had called her.

“If anyone could find a werewolf, it’s you and Ryu,” Seungmin sighed, “but...I doubt she’d wanna go. Look, we just need to make sure he’s safe. You don’t have to do it, but Chan’s willing to pay you if he has to.”

“How much?” she asked, eyeing her depressed sister from where she was standing in the kitchen. Ryujin hadn’t moved from the couch since coming home and she wasn’t eating much. Naturally, Elsie was worried, but she wasn’t quite sure what to do with her since she had similar issues to sort through herself. “My prices are kinda high.”

“He said he’ll borrow some through Changbin,” Seungmin replied, “though, he never really paid back what he owes, so... I guess I was hoping I could convince you to do it for free.”

The older girl scoffed, “And why would I do that?”

“Because deep down, you have feelings for me,” the smirk Seungmin wore could be heard in his tone.

Elsie frowned, “I’m charging even more now.”

“Okay, okay,” he sighed. “Because...I can talk to Minho for you and Ryu. He might rip my head off, but I figure this is a fair trade.”

“How’s that fair, dumbass? That pup can’t kill me.”

“You haven’t seen him when he’s like this.”

-

Tracking Jeongin down wasn’t necessarily the hardest thing to do, but it was a bit of a pain in the ass. Knowing his pack would not only personally go searching for him but also knowing they’d call in Seungcheol’s pack, Jeongin had to skip a few towns just to be alone. 

Elsie just so happened to live a few towns away.

Jeongin sensed her before he saw her, the hair on the back of his neck instinctively standing on end as his eyes narrowed and he slowly lifted his head from where he sat on a park bench. But once he caught wind of the vaguely familiar scent of his brother’s mate, all he did was sigh.

“Fancy seeing you here, kid,” Elsie said as she strolled over, hands in her pockets. She stopped in front of Jeongin and looked down at him. “Finally fed up with your brothers? ‘Bout time someone around here got their head on straight. Poor Jinnie’s still whining over that one dickhead.”

Jeongin really couldn’t tell if Elsie was sent to find him by his brothers -- it was a long shot she’d agree but he figured she’d eventually cave if Seungmin bothered her enough, which Jeongin knew he’d absolutely do -- or if she just happened to run into him and was trying to figure out if there was a reason why he left the pack so she could find a weak spot. Elsie was still difficult for him to read...

“Shouldn’t you be with Ryujin?” Jeongin asked, deflecting the elder’s questions. He wouldn’t look back up at her, though. He just stared at her dirty boots as she kicked the grass lightly every now and then. “You went through all that trouble for her just to ditch her and come complain about her?”

Elsie raised her eyebrows, actually taken off-guard by Jeongin’s attitude, “Alright, snippy, relax. I was just trying to lighten the mood.”

“And why?” he asked, suddenly looking up at her with a clenched jaw. “My brothers sent you after me, right?”

She shrugged, “Yeah, but I only did it because Seungmin promised to talk to Minho for Ryu.”

“So what, do you have to snitch on me now? Capture me and keep me at your place until Chan comes to pick me up or something?”

“I mean...I guess, but you’re an adult, right? 

Jeongin’s eyes narrowed and he studied Elsie for a moment. There weren’t any weapons or restraints on her that he could see. Actually, she was in some leggings, some old-looking t-shirt, and a jacket. She looked...somehow non-threatening.

“So...you’re not gonna tell anyone?” Jeongin quizzed slowly.

Again, she shrugged, “I don’t see a point. Besides, calling them over clearly won’t help whatever’s going on. Seems like it’d make it worse. So, I dunno, you can do whatever you feel you need to do.”

“...Why?”

“I dunno...I’ve been there, I guess.”

Jeongin made a face, “Are you relating to me?”

Elsie made the same face, “Fuck no. I’m just... Ugh! Look, kid, I’m trying to be nice! Ryujin likes you dogs so much, and I want her happy over everything else. If that means I have to keep you safe just to have Minho acknowledge my sister for five minutes, I’ll do it.”

“Well I’m not gonna go off and do anything reckless, so you can stop pretending to care,” he scoffed, standing up from the bench with his arms crossed. He wasn’t much taller than the older girl, but it still made him feel a little better that he had maybe an inch or so on her. “Tell Seungmin I’m fine and I’ll...go back eventually.”

Elsie sighed and dug around in her pocket. She pulled her phone out and handed it to Jeongin, “Here.”

Jeongin stared at the device in her hand in confusion, “...What?”

“Grab a coffee with me,” she offered, still offering him her phone. “I won’t call them unless you want me to.”

“Why...?”

She just shrugged, “Like I said: I’ve been there. Let’s talk for a bit, kid. Coffee’s on me.”

-

It was a little awkward at first as Jeongin sat across from the girl who’d been trained to kill him. She sipped her latte or whatever the hell she got, and just looked around the shop --  anywhere but at him. Jeongin leaned back in his chair, staring at his to-go cup and then letting his eyes flicker up to study Elsie again. 

Elsie suddenly nodded her head toward someone, muttering, “That guy has like, four teeth.”

Jeongin’s eyebrows furrowed before he whipped his head around to see some messy-looking man who was chomping on a breakfast sandwich. He was chewing very obnoxiously with his mouth open. He turned back to face Elsie.

“Why’d you point that out?” he asked.

She shrugged, “Don’t know. Figured I should fill the silence. It’s kind of uncomfortable to be honest.”

“You can leave,” he pointed out with a little venom in his voice.

But Elsie didn’t seem angry that he was giving her attitude. She seemed almost...impressed. One corner of her mouth twitched up a little, “Yeah, I guess so. But you still have my phone, so maybe you wanna keep me here.”

Jeongin frowned back at her, “No. I just forgot I had it.”

“Hey, it’s totally fine, kid,” she chuckled, hands up slightly in surrender. “I’m not here to judge whatever you’re feeling. Hell, look at me and Jinnie.”

He stared at her for a little longer, taking in her words. Then he let out a sigh and cast his gaze downward, one hand coming up to cup his drink.

“Whatever you’re going through, you can talk about it,” she promised in a softer tone that didn’t even sound like Elsie.

“How do I know you’re not gonna tell Seungmin?” he asked, still looking at his cup.

She let out a laugh, “If I gave that much of a shit, don’t you think I’d have called them already?”

“Okay, fair. Then why do you care about helping me? You hate werewolves.”

Elsie shrugged, “Yeah. But I’m nosy and I wanna know what’s going on with the angsty teen.”

Jeongin looked at her again, staring daggers, “I’m literally an adult!”

“Yeah, yeah,” she waved his words away. “So what’s the deal with the pack? Why’re you so pissed off? I wanna talk shit.”

The pup studied her for a little longer. Honestly, what did he have to lose? Chances were low that Elsie would tell his pack since she really only cared about them for her sister’s sake, and he knew none of his brothers would listen to him since they were so wrapped up in the Minho/Ryu thing -- he’d tried but it went about as well as he expected. The only reason they were worried now was probably because his parents were bugging them.

He sighed, “There’s this girl...”

“You imprinted, right?” Elsie guessed.

He nodded, “Yeah. Her name’s _____. We went to high school together and we ended up going to the same college. We’ve always been sorta friends but not good enough friends to really hang out outside of class. She’s like, the super nice popular girl, y’know? And I’m the weirdo who ran away sophomore year. But like, even when I came back home after that, she ran up to me and smiled and said she was glad I was okay.”

“Sounds like a goody-two-shoes,” Elsie commented in a thoughtless mumble.

Jeongin growled lowly.

She chuckled, “Sorry, my bad. I didn’t mean it like a bad thing. Honestly, that’s probably better. But, I’m assuming you’re going to tell me you haven’t told her anything?”

He shook his head, “Not at all. And now after what happened with Minho and Ryujin... I’m kinda terrified.”

Jeongin let out a short, quiet, sad laugh. Elsie watched him as he continued to just sit there and hold his drink with one hand, eyes on the table. 

“I mean...at least she’s probably not a werewolf hunter,” she offered.

“But who says I won’t scare the shit out of her?” he countered. “That’s a lot to put on a person. Like, admitting to being a werewolf is bad enough, but then I have to be like, ‘Oh, by the way, you’re actually my soulmate that I’m meant to be with for the rest of my life and if you leave me I will literally die. No pressure, though!’ If I were her, I’d file a restraining order.”

“Well yeah, if you say it like that,” Elsie laughed. “Dude, just like, become her friend and then come clean with the werewolf thing. And she feels a little of the pull too, so you can ask her on a date at some point and when you feel comfortable, you can explain everything. And if she ever asks questions, just be honest with her.”

“How do I get closer with her?” Jeongin whined. “I can hardly say two sentences to her.”

“Ask her to hang out or something, how should I know?”

“Oh, I forgot, you don’t have friends anymore.”

Elsie narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to make a witty comeback or to yell at him, but nothing came out. Jeongin even flinched a little, waiting for hell to rain down on him.

Instead, Elsie brought her cup to her lips and said, “Touché, kid. Touché.”

Jeongin let out a breath, looking back at his cup. He finally raised it to his lips and took a sip before setting it back down, still staring at the table.

“You’re not as evil as I thought you were,” he muttered.

She chuckled, “You’re saying that to a hunter who’s probably gonna be the reason your brother dies.”

His eyes flashed up to meet hers, “You haven’t technically denied him yet, have you?”

She let out a sigh, being the one to drop her gaze this time, “It’s...complicated. But we’re not talking about me, this is about you. Why don’t you wanna go back home?”

“They weren’t gonna listen to my problems and honestly, I’m really fucking stressed.”

“I get that. Sometimes you just need to be alone for a bit.”

“Speaking of alone, shouldn’t you be getting back to Ryujin?”

“Probably, yeah,” she breathed before standing up, taking her drink with her. “Wanna come? I can drive you home whenever you feel like going back.”

Jeongin looked up at her for a moment, weighing his options. But he finally stood and took his cup, “Yeah, I guess. She won’t be upset seeing me?”

“I think it’ll make her feel a little better that someone doesn’t completely hate her.”

“I mean...she almost got us killed.”

“Okay, well you can pretend like you don’t completely hate her, and then I won’t make you pay for gas on the way home,” Elsie smiled before leading the way out of the shop.

-

‘Just ask her to hang out. That’s all you have to do,’ Jeongin reminded himself as he walked onto campus alone, ‘Ask her to do something like go to the mall or grab lunch today. Something that can’t be skewed as a date. Something that won’t freak her out or come off too strong. Yeah, easy.’

Except it wasn’t easy because his heart was going a million miles a minute and his hands were shaking so badly that he had to hold onto the straps of his backpack that were resting on his shoulders.

Jeongin spotted you at the same time you saw him. Your eyes widened and you turned to run toward him, calling to your friends that you’d catch up with them later. Jeongin hadn’t been seen or heard from the last few days so you were excited to see him again.

Jeongin wasn’t necessarily someone you were super close with, but you always thought he was a sweet guy. Whenever you had to do projects in the class you had together, he was your first pick for your partner. He may have been a little troubled -- more so in high school when he ran away that one time -- but he was still nice. Maybe he was just misunderstood. Either way, you found yourself oddly having a soft spot for Jeongin.

“Jeongin!” you grinned when you got closer. You started to slow your run as you got closer, stopping in front of him and squinting against the sun to look at him. “Dude, where-- Oh damn, what happened to your cheek?”

He put a hand lightly where the bruise on his face was. He got it from the hunters and forgot in his nervous state that it was even there.

“Oh, uh, I walked into a wall,” he lied.

‘You sound like a fucking idiot,’ he told himself.

But, thankfully, you giggled, “I’ve been there. Where’ve you been the last few days? I asked your friends but they said they had no idea.”

His eyes widened slightly, “Y-you...asked about me?”

“Yeah, I was worried,” you shrugged. “I mean, I know you used to skip out on class a lot before but you had a pretty good streak going.”

The way you said it was like you were encouraging him; like you were telling him he was doing a good job. It made his heart flutter and his face warm.

“O-oh, yeah, u-um...” he stammered. “I went to visit a f-friend out of town for a few days...”

“I have all the notes and lessons if you want them,” you offered. Then you tried as confidently and as casually as possible to say, “Maybe we could go get dinner and I can help you?”

Jeongin’s eyes widened to the size of golf balls. He felt like his breath was caught in his throat. 

You’d been looking for a reason to ask Jeongin to hang out after class, and this was perfect. Were you nervous? Yes. But you’d had a little crush on him for a while and why not try? Especially after you thought he was missing again. You had to take the chance.

‘Say something, you idiot!’ Jeongin reminded himself after just staring with his mouth hung open like a moron.

“U-u-uh, y-yeah!” he finally stuttered, face redder than a tomato. “Yeah, th-that would be c-cool.”

“Cool,” you grinned. “Is tomorrow night okay?”

“Y-yes!”

“Awesome. I’ll catch ya then,” you nodded before turning to go to class. “Bye, Jeonginnie!”

He watched you go, his face burning. He didn’t move or breath or even think for that matter. He’d basically short-circuited.

“Yo, Jeongin!”

The familiar voice of one of his brothers pulled him away from his internal meltdown. He turned to see Felix and Sam, holding hands as Felix walked her to class.

Seeing the bright red color of the youngest’s face, Felix cocked his head to the side, “You good?”

Numbly, Jeongin nodded, “Y-yeah.”

‘Now what?’ he asked himself.

Because it was then, watching his brother and his mate walk away while their hands swung between them, that he realized he had to actually, y’know, go on this date -- or whatever it was -- with you, and he wasn’t sure how to do that. Jeongin had never even hung out with a girl alone who wasn’t one of his pack sisters! 

But he had seven brothers who clearly had experience. One of them should be able to help -- well, maybe not Minho right now...or Hyunjin... But maybe one of the mates could even tell him what to do, too.

For now, Jeongin had to get to class.

-

The first place he stopped was Felix and Seungmin’s apartment. Since they lived on campus, it was closer. He figured maybe at least Felix would have good advice considering him and Sam were doing pretty well. But when he knocked on the door, it was just Seungmin who was home.

“Felix is working,” Seungmin replied when Jeongin wondered where he was.

“Well...can I ask you for a favor?”

Seungmin sighed, “Not really. I’m kinda busy.”

“It’ll be really quick.”

“I have to go talk to Minho for Elsie, so I don’t really have time for this. Sorry, maybe ask like...Jisung or something.”

With that, Seungmin closed the door in Jeongin’s face. But the younger boy decided to take the advice, so he went to Jisung’s dorm across campus. Jisung’s roommate was some guy he was randomly assigned, so Jeongin wasn’t even really sure who it was who answered the door. 

Jisung moved his roommate out of the way before saying quickly, “He’s cramming for his math test tomorrow. He doesn’t want any distractions.”

“Do you wanna go grab an early dinner or something, then?” he offered.

The older boy shook his head, “Can’t, I’m on tutoring duty before I have to--”

“Jisung!” his roommate barked.

“Sorry, Jeongin!” Jisung gave him an apologetic look before closing the door.

He tried going to Chan’s apartment next, even though he already knew what would happen. Him and Changbin all but ignored Jeongin’s existence because Minho was depressed and couldn’t decide what to do about Ryujin. He tried texting Hyunjin to see where he was staying, but he got no reply. He tried calling but it went to voicemail. 

His brothers were no help, and according to all of them, their mates were busy, too. Jeongin had nobody to help him and he was supposed to be seeing you tomorrow night. What the hell was he supposed to do?

‘There is...one person...’ he reminded himself. But he quickly shook the thought away, ‘No, I can’t go to her. That’s stupid. She’ll think I wanna be friends or something. ...But desperate times...’

Jeongin sighed as he got off the steps that led to the apartment building he’d just left, walking to the nearest bus stop.

-

From _____: How does getting some ramen sound? I know a place not too far from campus :)

To _____: That sounds great! Did you want to meet there or meet on campus?

“Can you relax? Your hands are shaking so bad you can hardly type.”

Despite the spike in his heartrate when he read your text, Jeongin looked up from his phone to glare at Elsie.

Unfortunately, Elsie was his only hope for any sort of advice on what to do next. He was panicking and knew he would never survive this hangout without making an absolutely idiot of himself. But now he was starting to wonder if that would be worse than putting up with Elsie.

Elsie grinned as his glare, “You can’t get mad at me, I’m the only one who listens to you.”

“Yeah, for whatever reason...” Jeongin muttered. He dropped his guys and continued, “Th-thanks, by the way...”

“Yeah, don’t mention it,” she nodded, patting his shoulder. “Seriously, though. Don’t.”

From _____: We can meet up by our building! 6 sound good?

“I don’t even know what to do,” Jeongin stared at your text hopelessly. “What do I say to her? How do people keep conversations going without it getting awkward and boring?”

“Uh, I’ll let you know when I figure that out,” she snorted. “Hey, if you get into an awkward silence, you can always shift in the middle of the restaurant. That’ll really spice things up.”

Jeongin huffed, rolling his eyes, “Can you be serious, please?”

She shrugged, “I can only find it in me to help you so much.”

“Why are you helping me? You’re the only one who will even listen to me for two minutes.”

“Honestly, kid...it’s kinda sad. You’re like a desperate little lost puppy. Kinda tugs at my heart strings.”

“As if you wouldn’t kill me if your sister didn’t have the hots for my brother,” he scoffed.

Elsie laughed softly and nodded, “Yeah.”

“Nah,” a tired, quiet voice spoke up, entering the kitchen. Ryujin was wearing the exact same thing Jeongin had seen her in the day before -- the same thing she’d been wearing since Elsie brought her to her apartment. She walked by the pair to the cupboard to get a glass. “She’s getting a soft spot for you.”

Elsie looked enraged while Jeongin looked surprised.

“I am fucking not!” Elsie insisted as Jeongin asked, “Seriously?”

Ryujin turned to look at her sister, “It happens. You realize they’re not as bad as you were raised to believe. Doesn’t help that you’ve been looking after him for the last two days and letting him trauma dump on you.”

“Yes, I pity him,” the older girl clarified.

“Trust me, no you don’t,” Ryujin promised before turning back to the fridge. She opened it and grabbed the juice, pouring it into her glass.

“You can’t live off of juice forever,” Elsie mumbled, changing the subject.

“I’m still alive, aren’t I?” the younger sister deadpanned.

“Only because I have to fight you to jam food down your gullet!”

It was actually sad for Jeongin to see Ryujin like this. Yes, he had every right to be upset with her and hold his and his pack’s almost-deaths against her, but she used to be so bubbly and warm. Now she never smiled, her eyes were dark and didn’t sparkle anymore, and her aura was so...dark. She was a completely different person than the girl him and the pack had become so fond of. He had started to see her like he saw the rest of the mates: like a sister. So the fact she was like this now still made part of his heart hurt.

After putting the juice back in the fridge, Ryujin turned to look at Jeongin, “You want advice for _____? Don’t lie to her. Come clean the first chance you get. Don’t ever pretend to be anything but who you are.”

Jeongin just stared back, a hint of sadness in his eyes as he saw hers fill with tears. After a beat of silence, she left the kitchen, sniffling.

Elsie and Jeongin just stared at whatever, not knowing what to say next. But finally, Jeongin broke the silence.

“Elsie?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you think will happen? Between her and Minho, I mean.”

She sighed, “That’s up to him at this point. Your guess is better than mine.”

“What do you hope happens?” he asked instead, turning his head to look at her.

Elsie paused, biting her lip and thinking it over before replying slowly, “Despite how I feel toward werewolves...for her sake...I hope he comes around. I’ll...deal with it, I guess.”

There was another beat of silence before Jeongin said again, “Elsie?”

“Yeah.”

“I think you’re pretty cool,” he admitted sheepishly, “and...I really appreciate that you listen to me. You don’t treat me like a child. Thank you.”

Elsie smirked to herself and nodded before lifting her head to meet Jeongin’s, “Yeah, whatever, kid. Just don’t go telling anyone that I ‘have a soft spot for you’ or you’ll wind up like Minhyuk.”

“Who’s Minhyuk?”

“Exactly.”

-

“Just be yourself, don’t overthink it, and if all else fails, crawl out the bathroom window,” Elsie told Jeongin as she drove him to campus where he’d be meeting up with you. “I’ll come pick you up.”

“That last one doesn’t make me feel any better,” Jeongin admitted, rubbing his sweaty palms on his jeans. “Actually, it makes me wanna throw up.”

“Relax, it’s a joke, kid,” she chuckled. “It’s not gonna go that badly. Worst case scenario, you make a bad joke that doesn’t land or there’s a few awkward silences here and there. But that girl of yours seems too nice to like, walk out on you or something.”

“Sh-she’s not...my girl,” he mumbled, his heart skipping a beat just at the thought of it.

“God, you’d really think you’re just some pup newly in love,” she scoffed. “I’ve never seen a werewolf this lovesick from the pull.”

“Shut up,” he grumbled, his cheeks already heating up.

Elsie dropped him off in the parking lot closest to the building he was meeting you at. As far as his pack was concerned, they didn’t even know this date was happening. The only person who knew was Elsie, who never even mentioned it to Seungmin like she promised. Was she actually getting soft for the pup? She would never say. But either way, Jeongin appreciated that she somehow became the only person he could rely on. She promised to pick him back up in the same spot at 9, or any other time he updated her with. If needed, she’d go to the restaurant to get him, too.

After wishing him luck, Jeongin walked toward the building to see you were already waiting there with your purse slung over your shoulder, and your notebook held to your chest. He kinda forgot you were supposed to be helping him with the work he missed the last few days...

“Hi!” you chirped when you saw him.

“You weren’t waiting long, were you?” he asked as you jogged over to greet him.

“Oh, no!” you quickly reassured him. “Only a few minutes. But there’s a bus in 15 minutes that goes to the ramen shop I was telling you about.”

“Yeah, let’s go. Do you want me to carry that?”

“That’s okay, it’s just a notebook. It’s not--”

Jeongin held a hand out for it anyway. You handed it to him, trying to act totally casual even though butterflies erupted in your stomach. Why was he so cute all the time?

“Let’s go,” he smiled softly, turning to lead the way.

You weren’t really sure what to say, so you rambled about everything he missed. Jeongin didn’t know what to say either, so he let you ramble. He liked hearing you talk, anyway. And you seemed so interested in what you were saying, so he found it endearing. Little did he know you were just as nervous as he was.

Except he could hear the rapid beating of your heart. He chalked it up to you just being nervous in general, but he couldn’t help but think, ‘what if?’.

On the bus, you asked him about his trip to see his friend. He told you a little bit about Elsie and how she had a “thing” with Seungmin, but they were really...rocky.

“Do they argue a lot?” you asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“Um...more like bickering,” he said. “She kinda acts like she hates him, and he pushes her buttons, but...you can tell they like each other. I don’t know, old people are weird.”

That made you laugh, and Jeongin found his cheeks heating up once again as he smiled to himself.

The two of you sat at a counter together once you got to the ramen shop. You ate and studied, you tutoring Jeongin on what he missed. You were leaned in toward each other, knees practically touching since you were turned toward each other on your stools. You were so close you could smell his cologne and it made it difficult to focus. Your palms were clammy and your face felt incredibly hot -- maybe you could blame that last one on your food.

Meanwhile, Jeongin was too caught up in his own nerves to notice the patterns of how your heart raced a little faster when he got closer or smiled at you. He didn’t catch things that would’ve been blatantly obvious to any other werewolf. But it was okay because things were still going better than he could’ve expected. There were a few awkward-ish moments, but they were easily laughed off and made to feel way less embarrassing than they felt at first.

Between studying, the two of you began to learn little things about each other. Sure, you knew each other enough because of class and being partners, but the two of you never knew little things, like favorite colors or most embarrassing moments. In class and during projects, the two of you mostly talked about surface-level things like how Jeongin’s cat was doing that you saw when you went to his house to work on a project, or talking crap about the kid that sat behind you guys who smelled like onions and cinnamon all the time. Something about you two hanging out this time felt...different. And while maybe you did want it to be a date, you never specified that. And what Jeongin wanted it to be one, you never said it was so he didn’t think it was.

But...it kinda felt like one.

“Okay, sorry, I was rambling again,” you laughed softly as you tried to get back on track from rambling about some family vacation you went on.

“No, no, don’t worry about it,” Jeongin chuckled. “I liked the story. Though, I’ll never look at you the same knowing a dolphin stole your swim bottoms.”

“Yeah, you better watch out,” you giggled, “he can get very jealous.”

“Why would he need to be jealous?” Jeongin smirked.

Your eyes widened, and your cheeks had never felt so warm all night.

“U-uh, I didn’t mean-- I j-just--”

But then Jeongin was worried he made you uncomfortable, so his eyes went wide and his face began turning red, “Oh, I-I was just joking! I w-wasn’t--”

“N-no, I didn’t think it was weird or anything! I j-just--”

“No, you don’t have to explain, I-I’m sor--”

“No! Jeongin, I--”

“I’m s--”

“Jeongin?”

The awkward stammering finally came to a stop. Jeongin just stared at you with doe-eyes, waiting for you to keep talking.

“Is this a date?” you blurted, wanting to just take a chance and be straightforward.

He looked taken off-guard and you considered trying to take the question back, but instead he said, “I-isnt that up to you? S-since you asked...m-me?”

“I guess...” you trailed off, unsure what to say next. Were you supposed to confess to him now? Tell him you wanted it to be a date? Or was that weird? Did he even like you back?

“I-I--” Jeongin began to speak up and you gave him your full attention, which made him pause for a moment and rethink speaking from his heart, but he took a deep breath and pushed himself to do it. “I wouldn’t...mind if it was a date.”

“W-wouldn’t mind?” you repeated.

His face flushed a deep red and he mumbled as he looked down at his hands on the counter, “I’d...r-really like if it was, actually...”

He heard the way your heart raced at his confession and it managed to put him a little more at ease. 

“R-really?” you asked.

“Y-yeah.”

You nodded, trying -- but failing horribly -- to not grin ear-to ear. Jeongin looked up at you to see you trying so desperately to not smile like an idiot, and all it did was make him smile too.

“So it’s a date,” you giggled, trying to not squeal, either.

He nodded, “Y-yeah. A date.”

And while Jeongin was on cloud 9 with you for a moment, his heart suddenly fell into his butt.

After putting the juice back in the fridge, Ryujin turned to look at Jeongin, “You want advice for _____? Don’t lie to her. Come clean the first chance you get. Don’t ever pretend to be anything but who you are.”

Elsie made it seem like Jeongin had time to make better friends with you and then start to come clean, but now he had skipped several steps. So was he supposed to jump right in and tell you now? Or was he supposed to try to avoid the topic for a while as to not come off as a liar? But when he finally came clean down the road, how would he not come off as a liar? This was a big secret that you had to know. If he hid it from you, he was a liar nonetheless!

The thought weighed down on him as much as he didn’t want it to. He tried to carry on as normal, but you could tell something was off about him now. However, to avoid another awkward moment like the stuttering incident, you decided to wait until you were back on campus. You were nervous your excitement scared him.

The bus ride back wasn’t awkward, at least. It was quiet, but it was getting late and both of you were tired.

Once off the bus and you began walking back, you finally decided to ask what was going on.

“Are you okay, Jeongin?” you asked when it felt like he was about to say goodnight and leave.

He sighed and stared down at the grass, “Um...actually...._____, I...r-really like you.”

Your heart fluttered at the confession, “I-I like you too, Jeongin.”

“So...if I want to make this work, I need to be honest with you...” he lifted his head, and he looked scared. “I have to tell you something.”

-

Chan was frantic. How could Jeongin be gone again? He hadn’t seen or heard from him since the day before when he’d shown up at the apartment, but Jeongin didn’t say much before leaving. Him and the pack had been trying to get ahold of him but he wasn’t answering his phone, so they decided to go looking for him instead.

Chan drove with Hyunjin in the passenger seat, and Seungmin and Jisung in the back. They were trying to find any clue as to where he went, and his parents said they hadn’t seen him since he left for school. So they went to campus to try and follow his scent from there.

“Wait,” Seungmin suddenly spoke up as they drove to campus. Chan slammed on the breaks and him and Hyunjin turned around to face him. Seungmin’s eyebrows furrowed as he said, “Elsie’s nearby.”

“Elsie?” Hyunjin repeated. Then he scoffed and turned back around, sinking into his seat, “Does that mean traitor’s around, too?”

“That’s not the point,” Seungmin sighed. “I don’t know why Elsie would be around here.”

“Unless she has something to do with Jeongin,” Chan suggested.

“Maybe she’s kidnapping him!” Jisung gasped.

Seungmin rolled his eyes, “I doubt it.”

“Where is she?” Chan asked.

“Keep going toward the school,” he told him.

And sure enough, driving around campus and following Seungmin’s instincts led them to Elsie’s car parked in one of the empty lots. Elsie looked up when she saw the headlights, and groaned when she realized who it was.

Chan pulled up to her window, their cars facing opposite directions. He rolled his window down, so she reluctantly rolled hers down.

“Reason you’re hours away from home?” he wondered, his tone unreadable. She couldn’t tell if he was pissed or if he was trying to be nice.

“Um, I’m older than you and have a license and a car,” she grinned. “What’s it to ya?”

The back window rolled down, and Seungmin leaned over Jisung, “Do you know where Jeongin is?”

“Hm, shouldn’t his pack know where he is?” she asked sarcastically. “Or were you guys ignoring him again?”

“We don’t ignore him!” Hyunjin called.

“Yeah, that’s why you guys knew exactly where he was a few nights ago,” she nodded. “Oh wait, that was me. And it was me who made sure he was safe and brought him home. Maybe I should be getting a ‘thank you’ instead of the attitude.”

“Elsie, we’re serious,” Chan sighed.

“So am I,” she stated.

“If you don’t tell us where he is, I’ll get out of this car an--”

“Relax, dog,” she interrupted Hyunjin’s threat, nodding her head in the direction behind them. “He’s right there.”

The four turned their heads to see him walking with you.

“Were you waiting for him?” Jisung wondered.

“Is he with _____?” Chan asked.

You nodded and clicked your tongue, “Yeah, kid had a date tonight. You would’ve known that if you, y’know, talked to him. Instead I’m stuck playing pack mom because somebody’s unavailable.”

Chan just looked back at her and shot her a look before turning back to Jeongin.

They couldn’t quite hear what was being said, but they saw Jeongin backing up while you continued to stand there and stare at him.

“What’s he doing?” Hyunjin mumbled.

And then they saw him shift.

Jisung gasped, covering his mouth with his hands as he watched from the rear window. Chan was out of the car in seconds with Hyunjin, ready to run over there.

“Hold up!” Elsie got out of her car and went to stop them, grabbing Chan by the arm since he was closest.

Thankfully, Seungmin caught Hyunjin before he could even get a few yards away from the car.

“Let the kid do his thing,” she prompted.

“What?!” Hyunjin demanded.

“He knows what he’s doing,” she told him harshly. “Does it look like he’s going to hurt her?”

The boys looked back at the scene. You had stumbled backwards even farther with the initial shock, and you had continued to keep your distance. But as the pack watched, they saw you take a few hesitant steps forward. And then you closed the distance, standing right in front of Jeongin and reaching a hand out to his muzzle.

“See?” Elsie smirked.

Hyunjin scoffed and rolled his eyes, “Whatever, you were right. Big deal.”

Chan sighed, becoming visibly less anxious, “Alright, well...at least everyone’s okay.”

“And?” Elsie pressed.

Chan sighed again, but this one was more tired than relieved, as he turned to face the hunter, “Thank you, Elsie.”

She grinned smugly, “Yeah, you remember that I did this for you the next time you dogs wanna talk shit.”

“Your sister still almost got us killed,” Hyujin spat. “We’re not even.”

Their bickering was cut short by the werewolf trotting over to them. Jisung had gone into the trunk to get the spare clothes they kept back there, tossing a pair of sweatpants to Hyunjin while Jeongin shifted back. Then Hyunjin passed them to the youngest.

“So how’d it go?” Elsie asked.

Jeongin looked at her, then looked at his four brothers. He wasn’t sure what they were doing there, but his confusion was overtaken by the sheer joy and giddiness he felt, a bright smile taking over his face as he began to pull the sweats on.

“She said I’m cute,” he giggled.

“Did you tell her she’s the love of your life?” Hyunjin teased.

Jeongin looked at him, raising an eyebrow, “Did you?”

Elsie chuckled at the comeback -- along with the pack -- and Hyunjin turned to glare at her, “He’s been hanging out with you too much.”

“So does that mean we’ve got a second date?” Chan asked with a smile.

“She said she’d text me since the conversation was pretty one-sided,” Jeongin explained. “But it went well. She was kinda surprised, but then she got this big smile on her face and she said it was cool.”

“Well, at least you haven’t done the worst out of all of us,” Seungmin said, clapping his brother on the back. “Good job, Jeonginnie.”

Jeongin felt proud of himself for managing to not completely fuck things up, but his eyes flickered over to the werewolf hunter. He opened his mouth, but Elsie spoke up first.

“See ya ‘round, kid,” she smiled slightly with a nod of her head, getting back into her car and driving away.