#literally as soon as i finished that chapter i closed the book to post this | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

dinoplantsghost · 4 months ago

Text

pairing: Tom Riddle x fem! original character

warning(s): tom is a warning in itself, 1940s: time-accurate prejudice, violence: t0rture (Cruciatus Curse), teenage behavior: drama and language, mentions of weed

word count: ~6383

Disclaimer: I have a huge google doc that holds all of my drafts and I'm quite literally just copypasting everything, so if there are any typos/errors, no there isn't!! :)

-- this chapter is so goofy, i've been holding off posting this one because of a summer assignment that i just finished

Chapter List

Plans, Delusions, and Yappers [5]

“Look, she’s back at it again.”

“She’s embarrassing me, she needs to stop…”

Miles, with a teasing smile, patted Orion’s back as the boy pressed his forehead against the wooden table, his cousin’s scratchy voice digging into everyone’s ears as she attempted to intimidate the new girl after class.

It was 16:45. DADA had finished 15 minutes ago, and students were left with about an hour and a half before their last class of the evening. While it was implemented for students to catch up on work, many used it to talk amongst themselves in the classroom.

Orion’s cousin, Walburga Black, had a reputation for screaming. She had many suitors, as well as many enemies—ones that she made herself with her bad attitude. Orion explained it as her parents’ coddling her since birth. One thing she was known for was her obsession with the boys she fancied—with Tom Riddle being her ultimate infatuation.

It wasn’t surprising, though. Many girls had attempted to win the boy over. Letters, boxes of chocolates, even love potions were sent to him on the daily, annoying his followers whenever they would find a new object at the foot of their dorm entrance. A common theory is that Tom wasn’t attracted to girls at all, but of course anyone who voiced that opinion would be left with scratches on their face by infuriated, hormone-driven girls.

“I heard how you hurt Tom,” Whined Walburga, arms crossed as she stood in front of a startled Saoirse. “I heard he could have died! What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Well, he didn’t die,” Saoirse shrugged. “He’s right there. I’m sure he can take care of himself, whatever your name is.”

Pointing to the boy in one of the higher rows, Saoirse went back to writing notes, until Walburga snatched the parchment from underneath, her quill digging into the pulp and ripping a tear in the middle.

“He could have,” she cried. “And my name is Walburga! Walburga Black!”

As the girl spit in Saoirse’s face, garnering the attention of the entire class—Professor Merrythought was long gone in her office—the boys in the upper rows watched with intrigue.

“Why is she yelling,” Orion groaned, on the verge of ripping his black locks off his scalp. “I don’t want to write to my Mum again, Yule Break is going to be filled with gossip and I hate it.”

“Speaking of writing,” Miles said, turning to lean in close to Tom. “I wrote to my mother, like you asked. I got the same results; she knows nothing. She’s getting irritated by it, so I don’t think I should be asking her anything anytime soon.”

Tom huffed, his nostrils flaring as he glanced up from his book. “Then help Abraxas and Orion with their task.” He uttered, drooping his head back down away from the rest of the world.

Miles caught his words on his tongue, hands waving as he looked at the other two in question. Abraxas pressed his lips together in a line, gathering all his energy before standing up. “I have an idea about what he wants.” He sighed, pulling Orion and Miles with him as they walked down the steps between the rows of seats.

“Tom said to keep her close,” Abraxas said. “And I assume he means to befriend her. He doesn’t make sense sometimes.”

“Tell me about it.” Miles nodded; his eyes wide. “He’s literally been asking me to do the same thing for months, and he thinks Merlin is going to bless us with a different answer; he’s just lucky my Mum likes him.”

“He never gives me anything to do,” Orion said quietly. “It makes me wonder if he likes me at all; I don’t know what I’m doing in the Inner Circle. Last night was the first thing I’ve been tasked with in a while–and we didn’t find a bloody thing.”

The three boys stood behind Walburga’s own posse. “Well, you’re our orator; we’re putting your smooth talking to work, mate.” Abraxas said.

“We’re all orators; we’re blue-blooded, ‘Brax.” Sassed Orion.

Waving a hand, Abraxas coughed in his fist before shoving the girls to the side, Miles doing the same with a happy smile on his two-tones lips. “Excuse me, ladies, hot men coming through.”

“What do you three want?” Walburga asked, hands on her hips as she glared at her cousin and his friends.

“Cousin, you need to stop with these dramatic debacles,” Orion frowned. “I don’t want to write to my mother again; you’re embarrassing.”

Walburga scoffed. “You wouldn’t understand; you’ve never been in love.” She made a face, her eyes scanning the three boys in front of her. “Unless you’re here to save the girl. Surely not, right?”

“No,” he stiffened. “Why would that cross your mind, that’s not—look, just stop yelling. Tom doesn’t need someone to ‘stand up for him’ if that’s what you think you’re doing.”

Miles and Abraxas nodded. “Yeah, and to be honest, Tom doesn’t like you at all—he thinks you’re annoying.” The boy with dark skin said, happy to see the hurt look on the girl’s face.

“You’re wrong, I’ve been getting to him! Just the other day, I made him flustered by the way I caressed his arm.”

The boys coughed. That was the night of their first meeting of the week. He hated the way she touched him. He came into the Room of Requirement with a green, sickly face.

“That’s not what happened.” Laughed Miles. “But anyways, we’re done talking to you.” He pushed Walburga to the side, unaware of his strength as she fell to the ground.

“Saoirse,” Abraxas said, getting the attention of the girl with blue hair. “Do you happen to have the notes from today’s lesson? Miles and Eloise were bothering the rest of us during class.”

The bespectacled girl looked up, “Why don’t you ask for notes from Riddle? Aren’t you friends with him?”

Before Abraxas got a word out, Orion blurted out: “Yes, but he’s been in a bad mood lately. We just thought we’d ask you since word’s been going around that you have really good marks.”

“Also,” sang Miles. “A friend of ours has what we like to call a ‘crush’ on you. The boy with the pepper hair and glasses—the nerdy one.”

Following the finger Lestrange held out, Saoirse turned around to see the boy in question with his head down, a quill of black tufts wiggling around with each letter and word he wrote. Sensing the pairs of eyes staring in his direction, he looked up, his blue orbs locking with her jade ones before his cheeks turned pink.

“Why does he want to crush me?” Saoirse asked, concern on her face as the three Slytherins in front of her laughed.

“No, what Miles meant is that Patrick likes you,” explained Abraxas. “He wants to get to know you, with the intention of starting a romantic relationship rather than a platonic friendship.”

Scratching her head, Saoirse cursed mentally at how confusing English euphemisms and idioms were. “I could talk to him,” she said boldly. “A boy’s never been interested in me; I want to know what that’s like.”

As the girl stood up to pack up her belongings, the boys stood with open mouths. They didn’t expect her to go along with it. Miles was only joking, after all. “You, you want to talk to him, right now?” Miles asked, leaning against the backs of the two boys in front of him. “That’s nice of you and all, but I don’t think that’s necessary—”

“No, I want to,” she said, putting on her crossover satchel. “You can lead the way up the stairs.”

The boys led in silence, throwing each other glances as the girl followed them from behind.

As they made their way to the top, the others in the group did a double take, with Eloise yelling out in surprise for a moment. “What is this,” he cried. “How did you get the pretty girl here? Did she finally realize how amazing I am—wait where is she going?” He frowned, gasping when he watched the girl tap Patrick on the shoulder.

“Excuse me,” she said quietly. “Your friends told me that—I apologize if I say this incorrectly—you have a crush on me. I would like to entertain your feelings.”

Patrick, his scribbles coming to a halt as he looked up to see sparkling jade in his vision. Her looks were a fresh breeze among the muddle beauties in west Europe. Like the moon, only a lucky few truly understood the beauty she held. However, unlike the moon, her beauty was her own, not something that is borrowed from another source. Patrick would spend all his time staring at the moon if he could. Seeing Saoirse made him appreciate Astronomy class a bit more.

“Who told you I fancied you?” He mumbled, his fast heart stopping the moment he heard the laughter of Miles, Abraxas, and Eloise, with Louis and Orion smiling as well.

“That Lestrange boy told me,” Saoirse said, her lip wavering in a smile. “But I came here on my own accord; I don’t usually see eyes like yours. They’re pretty—like the ocean.”

Meanwhile, Eloise was punching Miles on the arm as Patrick moved his belongings to the floor to make room for the girl to sit next to him. “How could you do this to me?” He cried. “I can’t be losing her to that nerd—all he ever talks about are those books he has, he’s going to bore her to death!”

“I don’t think so,” Louis laughed. “Look; they’re both smiling at his book. It sucks to be you, Avery.”

“You can’t be saying anything,” huffed Eloise. “Especially since you don’t get any girls. At this rate, I’m starting to think you’re one of those homosexuals or something.”

Before Louis could get a word out, Eloise left the group to join his other Slytherin friends on the other side of the room. “I’m sure he’s just joking, man,” Orion said. “You know how he is; don’t let it get to you. His pride is a wee, fragile thing.”

Nodding, Rosier smiled at his friends tight-lipped, silently appreciating the way Miles patted his back.

“They wouldn’t get it at all,” muttered the curly haired boy. “You’re a good guy; Cassius is just too dumb to realize it. It’ll get through his thick, empty head eventually.”

Louis sighed, tugging at the elastic in his hair. “Yeah, sure.” He ran a hand through his yellow strands. “Cassius doesn’t even like guys, anyways, Miles, who are we joking?”

“Come on, man, don’t say that,” stressed his friend. “That’s some weird brain you have, Louis. My gut tells me that Cassius feels some type of way for you—something definitely not friendly in any way; he calls you Rose for Merlin’s sake, that means something, yeah?”

At the mention of the nickname, Louis’ cheeks turned pink. “I guess so, but he only says that because we’re best friends. We knew each other before we could walk.”

Miles scoffed. “No one else gets to call him Cass’, and he gets mad whenever we try to call you Rose. Don’t be dumb, Louis.”

Orion leaned back, throwing himself into the conversation again. “Hey, did we ever figure out what her blood status is? I would hate Patrick to fancy her if she weren’t a Pureblood.”

The other two looked at each other, the previous conversation vanishing the moment someone else joined their exchange. “Does that really matter,” Miles asked. “I thought we were going to—you know—after we got what we needed from her.”

“I thought that was a last resort type of thing, was it not?” Louis said, his confusion synonymous with his friends’.

Plans never went well with the Knights of Walpurgis. Even before Tom joined their group—when they were younger and much more naïve. Whenever they would hang out, they could never consolidate their plans for the day, and it eventually left them stuck in a garden or in a forest behind the manor they were at for the time being.

Orion sighed, looking back to Patrick and Saoirse, who were happily chatting away about whatever the boy had in his book. “Merlin’s balls, we’re fucked.”

┌────── ⋆☆⋆ ──────┐

23:47 - Astronomy

The night was sparkling as usual, the wind chipping away at Patrick’s lungs every time his chest would take in a breath. Somehow, for whatever reason, Professor Jensen paired him up with Saoirse. He had to stand next to the girl for three hours until class ended at 1:00. Patrick was sure he was going to die by the end of it.

“I’ve never seen these constellations before,” Saoirse muttered, her eye pressed against the telescope. “This star is usually connected to this star—the Rigel. We call it Heike-boshi; it represents the war between two clashing families.”

Patrick could only nod, his mind too drunk on the scent of jasmine and sandalwood drowning his nose. “Well, we call that star Betelguese,” he cleared his throat, his stomach flipping as he moved closer to write down on the chart they were given. “The red one; it connects to Alnilam and Bellatrix. We call that constellation Orion’s Belt.”

Saoirse made a sound of wonder, removing her face from the telescope to rub the red circle around her eye. “When I was younger, my mother used to tell me stories about the stars.”

Patrick smiled, taking the telescope from her to look at the stars on his own. “What’s your family like? I’m sure they’re wonderful, considering how great you turned out.”

“That’s an overstatement,” blushed Saoirse. “I don’t really talk to my parents all that much anymore. I haven’t gotten a letter from them since I started school; Mahoutokoro usually takes children in at the age of eleven, but some join as early as seven. The only letter I’ve gotten from them was when I got expelled, and that was only a couple of days ago.”

The boy frowned, setting the telescope to the side as he looked over to the girl. “That’s really brutal,” he adjusted his glasses, “Why don’t they talk to you? Is it a magic thing? I know that some Muggleborns and Half-bloods don’t talk to their parents for religious reasons.”

“No, that’s not it; I’m a Pureblood. I never knew why they stopped talking to me. It never crossed my mind to ask, actually.”

“Well, whatever the reason, I think it’s good you don’t have them in your life; it wouldn’t be fun having people who don’t like you micromanaging your every move and whatnot.”

Saoirse laughed, “Are you speaking from experience?”

Her laugh made Patrick’s stomach explode. “A little bit,” He shrugged. “Being a Pureblood in Europe is kind of brutal, especially since my family is part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight; it’s some elitist group and it’s not worth knowing in my opinion. You have to present yourself in a certain fashion; know this, be discouraged from that. It’s all a bunch of rubbish, really…”

Saoirse nodded. She opened her mouth to respond, but the professor announced that class was about to end. “It doesn’t feel like we’ve been here for three hours.” She muttered.

“Time goes by faster when you’re enjoying yourself.” Patrick said, his frames covering the dust of pink and red on his skin.

As they packed up, picking up pens and other instruments, their hands brushed against each other every now and then, almost purposefully. For once Patrick didn’t mind that his friends dragged him into their shenanigans.

“Hey, Quidditch season started not too long ago,” he started, adjusting his satchel on his shoulder. “I was wondering if you wanted to watch the first match with me? It’s on the first Saturday of November; it’s Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff, and even though I’m not on the team, I know enough to teach you the rules.”

Saoirse smiled, nodding at the boy. “Sure, I’d like that.”

As the two departed, Patrick left the girl with weak legs, his heart beating out of his chest. Fumbling to clean his fogged up glasses, a pair of Oxford shoes filled his blurry vision. Looking up, he recognized the fuzzy figure as Tom.

“Nott,” he said, a frown apparent on his face the moment Patirck put his glasses back on. “Walk with me.”

The commute back to the Slytherin common room was quiet, Patrick’s heart still beating out of his chest out of fear rather than anxiety.

“What did the girl say to you?” Tom asked.

A breath fell from his nose as he replied, “She’s a Pureblood, and she doesn’t have a good relationship with her parents; that’s all she told me. I was going to ask about spells, but class ended not long before.”

Tom nodded. “Despite that information being useless, you obtained more than the other three, and Avery who is supposedly infatuated with her; good job.”

Patrick fumbled a ‘thank you’ from his thin lips, unfamiliar with the boy’s praise. Tom left him by the Slytherin entrance in the dungeons, turning the corner to begin his Prefect rounds for the night.

Heaving out a large sigh, the Austrian entered the common room, his feet dragging him up the left staircase that wrapped around the humongous statue of Salazar Slytherin in the middle of the room. Opening the door to his shared dorm, he rubbed his tired eyes and kicked his shoes off, his satchel falling to the floor before he fell to his duvet. He groaned, gaining the attention of the three boys he’s shared a dorm with for the last four years: Orion, Miles, and Eloise.

“You okay, mate?” Miles asked, his body lounged on the carpet near his bed.

“I think I asked Saoirse on a date,” he mumbled, his neck and ears steaming and his cheeks burning red. “And she said yes…”

Eloise, who was playing Wizards Chess with Orion, gripped the board before slamming his castle into the offensive position. “You’re joking,” he yelled. “You have to be bloody joking, Patrick—how?”

“I don’t know, it just slipped out of my mouth; I asked her to watch the opening Quidditch game with me that’s in two weeks—I’m fucking screwed!”

Orion laughed, unable to focus on the chess game in front of him. “And what did Tom think about that? Is he mad that you’re having fun with her?”

Patrick sat up, his peppered hair a mess and his glasses toppled on his nose. “I forgot to mention that part to him; I only told him that she said she was Pureblood and that she doesn’t like her mum and dad.”

“She’s a Pureblood?” Miles gasped, his chin propped in his palm and his feet swaying in the air behind him. “Oh, you got lucky, Patrick; I’m so proud of you!”

“I’m not,” scowled Eloise. “This bastard doesn’t even know how to dress for a date—a date that’s a school Quidditch match, mind you!”

His face was as red as his hair, his hand haphazardly throwing his pawn away. Orion shrugged, using this to take the game and gain an easy check. “I don’t know why you’re so offended, El’,” he said. “You don’t actually like Saoirse, do you?”

“Well—no,” he scoffed. “But I haven’t had a girl in a while and Patrick single handedly gained the prettiest one I’ve seen since Gemma Nettles from Gryffindor.”

“Gemma Nettles graduated two years ago.” Miles commented, to which Eloise cried out dramatically in response.

“Exactly!”

┌────── ⋆☆⋆ ──────┐

The following two weeks passed by, each day causing more and more butterflies to develop in Patrick’s stomach. He lost sleep, tossing and turning at the endless possibilities for disasters to take place at the game. His glasses could be crooked, the Quaffle could fly and hit his face, hit her face; Hell, a bloody Bludger could come and hit both of them!

Every time he saw her during class, he hated it. He never met a girl as academic as she was, not in the way others were at Hogwarts; she was different. He was lucky he only saw her a few times throughout the week. Astronomy class had to be his favorite, though. Professor Jensen, bless that man, decided to keep the pairs permanent for the rest of the school year, meaning he had three hours of Saoirse to himself, for four days out of the entire week.

Of course, Tom would ruin it the moment class was over, demanding for a ‘status report’ as he always called it. Truth be told, Patrick had been avoiding the questions he needed to ask her; he lied to Tom, saying that Saoirse was very tight-lipped and would always change the subject. She always had something interesting to say, whether it be something Patrick already knew or something new entirely; he just loved hearing her talk.

Her voice; it was probably Patrick’s favorite thing about her. Whenever she would speak in her mother tongue, trying to teach Patrick some things in their spare time, she was like a siren. She would lure him in with her voice, her melodic tones as she kept her voice down to a mere whisper, tingles teasing his back and his ears.

Her lips were pretty too, in his mind. They were very plush and pink; it always reminded him of a bunny’s nose. For once, he wondered what it would feel like to have them pressed against his.

He found himself thinking about her almost obsessively with how he started to pick up romance books for the sake of imagining her in those scenarios. He had to hide those books under his pillow, of course, as he wouldn’t see the light of day if his friends ever found him reading about a domestic life and two cats.

When Sunday finally came, the first of November, he balanced on the balls of his feet as he waited near the Ravenclaw Tower, the bronze eagle head keeping him company on the door. Even with all the winter clothing he had on, he felt a cold sweat coming. He was a nervous wreck, to say the very least.

‘What if she sees stains on my clothes?’ He whined, a frown on his face as he watched people in blue leave the tower one by one.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour, Saoirse’s voice hit his ears, like a feather bouncing on a fluffed up pillow. “Sorry, I didn’t expect it to be this cold; I had to change into something warmer.”

Looking down at the shorter girl, he was glad the cold had something to do with his flushed cheeks. Her face was covered up with her blue and bronze scarf, a puffball situated on the top of her head from her winter beret. Her hair, brighter than any blue she was wearing, was in disarray underneath all the yarn.

“Are you okay? You look like you’re suffocating under all that clothing, Schatzi.” He smiled, his fingers finding their way to her beret to readjust it on her head.

His mother always told him that women liked having special names specifically for them; he recalled how often her face got red whenever his father called her sein hase. He always liked how German terms sounded over English ones.

“Schatzi,” Saoirse echoed, her accent jumbling her voice as she tilted her head to the side. “What does that mean?”

Patrick shook his head, too embarrassed to explain now that he had the confidence to say it to her face. “It’s nothing, Saoirse; don’t worry about it.”

Being the courteous boy he was raised to be, he offered an arm, his smile growing when Saoirse took it. “In Quidditch, there are two teams with seven players each.” He explained, leading Saoirse out the castle and down to the Quidditch pitch in the grass. “There are three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper, and one Seeker. Chasers focus on a ball that’s called a Quaffle, and the Keeper has to make sure it doesn’t go into their team’s goals. The Beaters focus on the Bludger; it’s a mean ball that attacks the Chasers. And finally, the Seeker has to look for the Snitch. If the Seeker catches the Snitch, the game ends and their team gets one-hundred-and-fifty points.”

Saoirse nodded, her eyes squinting as the heavy winds chilled her skin. “I think I know that game, Japan has a National Quidditch team, I believe.”

“Really? That’d be good to mention to my friends—most of them are on Slytherin’s team. Orion is the captain and Keeper, Cassius and Louis are the Beaters, Abraxas and Miles are Chasers, and Eloise is the Seeker.”

“Who’s the other Chaser?” Saoirse asked.

“Some seventh year. Orion will have to hold tryouts for that position next time—that is, if the guys keep their positions into our sixth year.”

When the pair made it to the stands, Patrick made it his mission to have an iron grip on the girl’s hand, afraid of losing her in the tough crowds of Slytherin as they yelled across to the students in yellow who were equally as passionate and loyal to their respective team. Patrick led Saoirse through the green, eventually moving to wrap his arm around her as they navigated towards a certain spot the boy was trying to find.

“There you are,” Patrick said, sighing as he sat down next to his fellow bookworm. “I was worried you got so bored of the game that you decided to sit this one out, Riddle.”

Saoirse looked on with surprised eyes to see Tom sitting in the stands, his usual pout evident amongst the loud cheers and swears of his peers. When he looked up from his book, he looked equally surprised to see her holding Patrick’s hand.

“What are you doing here?” He asked.

“Patrick asked me to join him for the evening. What are you doing here?” She asked, returning his question as she sat close to the Austrian boy.

“Riddle has to be at every game, to make sure people don’t go crazy in the stands.” Patrick explained.

“Good evening, ladies and gents’,” yelled a voice, the crowds screaming at the top of their lungs. “Welcome to the first Quiddtich match of 1942! My name is Tracy Mayfield—fifth year Ravenclaw—and today I am accompanied by my good buddy, a seventh year Hufflepuff—one of the very few Americans on campus—give it up for: Eugene Griffin!”

“Good evening, everyone! I hope you’re all doing mighty fine on this very windy day. With us, we of course have mister Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore! A long name for an awfully old man—hm? ‘Just get on with the match’? Okay!”

Saoirse, recognizing those names, tugged on Patrick’s sleeve. “I know those two boys; they checked up on me when I was in the Hospital Wing a couple weeks ago.”

“Really? Even that Eugene guy?” Patrick frowned. “I heard bad things about him—my friend, Eren, said that he’s kind of on ‘active duty’—promiscuous, if you will. He’s not someone you should be around, and that includes whoever he’s friends with.”

“Tracy was really nice, though, and so was Ava-Lynn from Gryffindor.” Argued Saoirse.

“People aren’t always what they seem, mein schatzi.”

The girl pouted, her shoulders sagging as she huffed. Turning back to the field, she held onto her beret as stripes of green and gray filled her vision.

“There they are folks,” yelled Tracy. “The Slytherin Quidditch team, and their leader Orion Black! Always so poised and quiet, that boy.”

Eugene screamed, his lanky figure almost halfway off the spectator’s tower. “And there’s my house’s team, led by the absolute beauty of a girl, Annabeth Clearwater! You know folks, Tracy and I made a nasty bet for this match—20 Galleons is a lot for me, guys, please win!”

In his microphone, Eugene coughed. “Fuck—Professor don’t elbow me like that…yeah, yeah, it’s not gambling, sir, I promise. I don’t even know what gambling is! No, I don’t use it for weed—why, do you have some?”

The game blitzed past Saoirse, the impact of the teams’ brooms whipping by the stands causing her to hide her face in Patrick’s arm the entire time—not that he minded. Luckily she was able to keep a mental image of the game with Tracy and Eugene’s commentary, along with Patrick’s since the other boys would get off topic, especially Eugene.

Within the next hour, the two teams were neck-and-neck, with Hufflepuff having 20 more points than the snake team, who was at 190 points. With the high energy swirling around the pitch, both Patrick and Saoirse were on their feet, hands clasped against one another as they yelled and complained every time someone on Slytherin’s team gained a foul of some sort.

Tom, on the other hand, held his book in rigid fingers, his knuckles white with fury every time he was bumped in the back or shoulder. It especially didn’t help since Patrick, someone he knew—or at the very least thought he knew—was quiet, now wasting his voice on a stupid bloody game, with a stupid bloody girl.

He knew he lied; he knew Patrick wasn’t telling him everything Saoirse told him. The boy wasn’t the best liar in all honesty. Despite the valuable information the girl held, she wasn’t worth losing a follower over. All of this goopy, lovey-dovey feelings his researcher had developed was turning his sharp mind into mush. Tom would be having a conversation with Patrick soon enough.

“Oh, and there you have it, folks! Slytherin wins with three-hundred-and-thirty points!” Yelled Tracy, his voice wavering as he was shaken by his tall friend beside him. “Suck it, Eugene, I won the bet—no, we don’t get to split, you stupid piece of—”

“We won!” Laughed Saoirse, her glasses lopsided as she jumped to wrap her arms around Patrick’s neck in a fit of emotions.

His nose was engulfed in her jasmine and sandalwood scent, slowly but surely buried itself in cerulean strands of hair. “Yeah, we won,” he chuckled, his hand going to her upper back. “You have a lot of Slytherin pride to be a Ravenclaw, you know.”

“I don’t think I would mind being a snake.” Muttered Saoirse, pulling away from their embrace, much to Patrick’s disappointment.

As the two made their way down the stands, with Tom dragging his feet in tow, they congratulated the Slytherin team on winning the first game, a sign of good luck for the rest of the season.

For once, Saoirse enjoyed being around loud people, despite how sweaty they were when they pulled her into the group hug they shared. In all of her life, she never laughed this much before; Mahoutokoro was never a place for laughter, after all.

The group made their way to the locker rooms, with Eloise, Miles, Abraxas—and to Saoirse’s surprise, Orion, all sang boisterously with their arms hooked together as they skipped their way across the field.

“Saoirse,” a voice said, the figure tapping on the girl’s shoulder. “I need to talk to you for a second.”

Turning around, Saoirse looked up to see Eugene staring down at her.

“You can talk to her later, she’s busy.” Said Patrick, his eyebrows set in a scrunch as he pulled Saoirse gently by the wrist.

“Please, I just need to ask a question—it’s about Ava-Lynn.”

“Patrick,” Saoirse said softly. “I think I’ll be fine, don’t worry; I’ll find you later, okay?”

With a smile, the girl slipped out of the boy’s grasp, walking back out into the middle of the field to speak to the Hufflepuff.

“Have you spoken to Lee lately,” Eugene asked. “I kind of got into an argument with her a week ago, and I haven’t seen her since.” He sighed, his hand disappearing behind his neck.

The two sat down in the grass, the cold sending chills up Saoirse’s body as the dew drops made contact with her shins.

“Usually I would talk to Tracy about this, but he talks to her frequently so…but basically she led me on, I have no other ways to describe it other than that. For weeks, I put everything into her—into us, what we could have been; I was just waiting on her, and I’m just starting to unpack it now. It hurts—she hurt me; she put me through so much, just for it to end in a few words. I did everything for her; she said she loved me multiple times, too, but then she had the gall to tell me that she ‘didn’t want this outcome’ like I was the one who said we couldn’t be together.

“And I would sit there, plead with her; tell her everyday why I loved her, why I thought she was so unbelievably amazing in every aspect. I just…I put so much time and energy into her for weeks, for someone who I thought loved me, to someone who actively said they loved me. And I would have been fine if we were still friends, but she had the nerve to make me go through all of that just to tell me, ‘I’m not going to talk to you anymore.’ Like, who the fuck are you? I did nothing but make you comfortable and safe and you want to leave me in the dust? I never want to be spoken like that ever again, just for someone to say ‘I don’t want you in my life anymore.’”

Saoirse sat stunned in the grass. She was never close to Eugene, she had only known him for about two weeks, after all. He seemed so sad, his lanky body almost collapsing in on itself as he held his head in his hands. She couldn’t tell if he was crying or not, but she wouldn’t be surprised if he was weeping into his palms at the moment.

She didn’t know how to comfort him, let alone comfort someone in general. After all, Patrick was the only boy who’s shown any genuine interest in her; Saoirse had never experienced heartbreak of any sort before.

“Well,” she coughed. “It’ll all pass, won’t it? I don’t know you all that well yet, but, maybe it’s for the best. People come and go, and only the people that truly matter in your life will stay. It’ll be a slow process, I’m sure, but eventually you’ll be a brand new person with a brand new perspective. Always focus on yourself, Eugene; never pour your energy into people who don’t want it, especially now that you know she doesn’t want it.”

The boy, silent, muddled over her words, his tongue pressing against the inside of his cheek. “I guess so,” he sighed, “and I’m sorry for pouring all of this onto you—you barely know me, like you said.” He laughed, though without any humor left in his tone.

“That’s okay, stuff happens.” Saoirse shrugged.

“Why are you so nice? I would be so annoyed if I were in your position.”

“I guess I’m just nosy, but I’m not annoyed at all. You seem like a good guy to talk to, and I’m sorry you’re going through a hard time right now. It must be difficult to keep to yourself. I’m really flattered that you feel comfortable enough to tell me this.”

Eugene gave her an upside-down smile, his downturned eyes blinking wet tears away as he sniffled. “Thank you, Saoirse.”

───────────

The boys each plopped onto a nearby cushion in their dorm, bodies complaining as they ached and begged for a soothing touch.

“I’m so exhausted,” Eloise coughed. “That ice bath didn't do a thing, I could barely walk here.”

A knock was heard from the door, “Hello, room service!”

In the entrance stood Cassius, with Abraxas and Louis all in comfortable clothes, their hair cascading down to their shoulders. Tom, as the others expected, strutted in with his robes rippling behind him, a hardened look on his features as he walked up to Patrick.

The boy, currently on his back and staring at the ceiling in thought, was thrown into a world of knives and needles as the Slytherin Heir used the Cruciatus curse.

“You really think you had me fooled,” drawled Tom, the other boys stumbling in a line as they witnessed their friend seizing up in the comfort of his own duvet, sweat dripping down his temple as his glasses fell to the side of his head. “That girl is turning your brain into pulp; you need to focus on your objectives—your loyalty to me and me only.”

“I am focusing on my tasks,” Yelled Patrick, blue eyes wild with fear and anger. “I’m getting information from her, and I’m keeping her close—which wasn’t something I was supposed to be doing, by the way! Abraxas and Orion were supposed to be doing that, not me!”

“Don’t talk back to me!” Tom chastised. He jabbed his wand to the boy, the curse stabbing into every inch of his skin and twisting into his guts.

“My Lord,” Abraxas stuttered, taking a brave step forward. “Patrick is doing all he can—”

Tom craned his head in the blond’s direction, his lips set in a thin line as he flicked his wand. The Knights fell to the ground, their already exhausted bodies pleading for a blissful death as they met the same fate at Patrick.

“I think all of you are forgetting our mission.” He seethed, lifting the curse, but only just.

The boys were silent, now nothing but limp figures—puppets for Tom to manipulate at his every whim.

“That girl,” he muttered. “Is a threat to us getting to the Chamber—I cannot have her alive while I do all that I can for us— for our livelihoods!”

He paced around on the carpet, his heavy step echoing with the pulsating aches of their heads. “I have done so much for you, and this is how you repay me? Running off to snog a girl, wasting time with a pointless and outrageous sport; it’s pathetic…”

With a quick flip of his pale wrist, Tom had fifteen minutes before Astronomy class. He straightened his robes, a hand running through his sculpted hair before turning his focus back to the shivering young aristocrats on the ground.

“I do believe I have enough time to stress the importance of my words.”

Credit(s): Dividing banner (^^^) by Chen Lu (1436 - 1449) - "Plum Blossoms in Moonlight" scroll painting; sourced through Pinterest

#tom riddle x reader #tom riddle #tom riddle fanfiction #harry potter fandom #harry potter fanfiction #fanfiction #original character #fanfic #decade: 1940s #1940s #cw: homophobia #on wattpad

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gaslysainz · 1 year ago

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Lost (PG10) pt.2

Summary: The world is utterly unfair. He was her most prized possession, her life, her first ever commitment of love. But to him, she was just a mere person lost in his big world.

warnings: ; unrequited feelings; Pierre is a douche , arrange marriage, angst, explicit scenes and languages.

Author's Note~ Heya guys! So a few days back I posted the first chapter of my first ever fanfic! And I'm overwhelmed by the response ❤️ Really Thanks a lot to everyone who had liked the story so far. It's just the beginning of the journey, there's a lot to come. Love You All 😘 Here's my first ever story for you guys. As soon as I finish this one, I'll start taking requests maybe! Till then please show your love and support for "LOST".

Journal Entry -2

A new episode and a new day of my life. Never in my 24 years of life have I ever thought that I would have to come across this day. This awful day when i would have to sit through a whole day in my room crying my eyes out and coming out of my room only when i'm called for causes like "Julia needs a glass of water, you need to clean Julia's dress, Julia accidentally dropped food on the floor, clean up the mess" so on and so forth. Today was the day when I had to look at the most heart wrenching thing ever...

So here's what happened

*FLASHBACK*

I was reading a book in my room and suddenly someone knocked at my door. I opened the door and came across Pierre!

"H-hey! you need something?"

I noticed him looking inside my room at our wedding picture hanging on the wall right above my head. Obviously he'd be curious about my room cause he's never been inside my room before. I actually felt a little awkward so i cleared my throat to get his attention.

"Uh! yea actually Julia was having a headache, go and make some soup or something and bring it up to my room along with some medicine!" There was that tone! Full of despise for me.

"Sure" By saying that i went down to the kitchen to make some soup for her.

That's what my job in this house is after all, looking after the house and the people in it. Oh! Did I mention? We do not have any maids. Cause apparently according to my husband's mistress, I'm not any different than a maid so why waste money on hiring one? Anyways, after making the soup and being satisfied with it I went towards Pierre's room and stopped once I saw something that no married or committed person should ever see. My husband was on top of my sister thrusting deep inside her and them moaning out each other's name.

You must be thinking that what am i so shaken up about? I should've been used to this by now, Well this is the first time i'm seeing them doing it in front of my eyes. Yes i admit it that i've heard them before but seeing it live, right in front of me is a whiplash of a whole lot of negative thoughts. And what did I do in that situation? Nothing! I just closed the door silently, kept the soup and the medicine outside the room and came back to my room and cried my eyes out! Why did they have to keep the door opened? Did my husband really become so heartless? Did he really want me to see that I can never get his love? Did he really have literally shove it in my face that he belongs completely and soulfully to his mistress and I can never take her place?

Oh! and the agony! My Step sister saw me standing outside the room and smirked!

Yes she had the audacity to smirk at me....

*FLASHBACK ENDS*

I know i'm young and naive. My sister is 27 and i'm 24 years old. She's more mature than I am, sexier, prettier, and more perfect , with an hourglass figure, amazing style. But all that, with a nasty heart it seems. She can easily go out wearing anything and everything that she wants whereas I tend to gravitate towards PJ's, hoodies and oversized clothes. The only time I wear dresses are at the parties that I attend with my husband. But still, he never looks at me the same way he looks at her. She is definitely Pierre's s absolute match in all spheres. And here I am, stupid little girl crying my eyes out inside my room cause my husband is making love to my step sister.

I, Mrs. Y/n Gasly is once again LOST!

LOST in my sister's PERFECTION!

PS - Please lemme know what do you think about LOST and also let me know if you wanna be added to the tag list ❤️

@peachiicherries @crimeshowjunkie

@oblomovissad ❤️

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televinita · 1 month ago

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Reading Triage

I'm in a bit of a reading slump at the moment (a word which here means: I have only finished 4 books in 2 weeks), so what better way to fix it than by chucking back all my library books, picking out a brand-new set and/or placing holds, and then talking out the options!

CURRENTLY READING / LISTENING

1. A Study in Drowning - Ava Reid: this was all the rage last fall and I shrugged it off as "fantasy, not my thing," but fantasy IS kind of turning out to be my thing this year. So when I saw the new special edition w/ stenciled edges (featuring shelves of old books) in a Goodreads giveaway, I immediately investigated it further and oh, we're starting in dark academia, in an architectural college?? There's a house design contest?? Well that sounds great! So I'm giving it a go; got about 40 pages in last night.

2. The Spellshop - Sarah Beth Durst: this is my 2nd time around with it, because I wanted to hear the audiobook version. About 90 minutes left, and I better hop-to because it's due in 2 days.

3. One Of Our Own - Lucinda Berry: this is a just-under-4-hours audio exclusive thriller (is thriller the right word, it seems like a pretty domestic mystery), and I am literally only here because it's dual narration and the main narrator is A.J. Cook. The plot looks bland and unpleasant and after only 8% in I can all but guarantee it would be a 2-star in print, but I might give it 3 because listening to her voice is a treat.

AVAILABLE NOW

4. Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree: attempt #2 to salvage the cozy coffee shop vibes out of an otherwise uninteresting story, now that the temps are finally about to drop down into at least the 50s, and if it doesn't work this time I quit forever because I have better fantasy places to be (but I really do wanna savor the romanticizing of coffee + baked goods).

5. Strongheart, Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen - Candace Fleming: I didn't buy it, but I am now more motivated than ever to read this. It's actually much shorter than I thought, being about 50% illustration, and I want to dive right in. Might even do so as soon as I post this, tbh.

6. Passenger Princess - Morgan Elizabeth: I feel honor-bound by winning it to read enough to offer a review. Honestly, the first chapter was quite fun, so if I just go in with determination to skip straight over the porn and judge the rest of the story on its own merit, I might enjoy it. (I will of course be judging more harshly for its Goodreads rating)

7. In The Shadow of Lakecrest - Elizabeth Blackwell: a 1920s Rebecca-esque novel that I own and have been meaning to read for 2 years now. I got so close to cracking it open this time...and I still might, but more likely the other books on this list will take priority.

8. Final Girls and/or The Last Time I Lied - Riley Sager: the references in Middle of the Night finally got me interested in these 2 I skipped the first time around, but it's still just...so hard to convince myself to try them, even when I crave a guaranteed good thriller. There's a reason I skipped over them the first time around, and that reason is they just look and sound generic as hell.

9. The Book of Cold Cases and/or Murder Road - Simone St. James: I spent literally the entire month of October a) not reading any ghost stories for lack of good options and being sad about it, and b) forgetting about this author literally every time I went to the library until the 28th. But now they're here! So...maybe! (more than likely pushed off til next year though. I don't feel particularly excited when I look at them, even though the first book at least has been on my TBR since its release)

10. The Widow of Rose House - Diana Biller: almost forgot one of the few remaining from my last round! A random checkout because it looks like an unusual sort of historical romance with like seven different appealing elements; lemme just copy the summary:

It's 1875, and Alva Webster has perfected her stiff upper lip after three years of being pilloried in the presses of two continents over fleeing her abusive husband. Now his sudden death allows her to return to New York to make a fresh start, restoring Liefdehuis, a dilapidated Hyde Park mansion, and hopefully her reputation at the same time. However, fresh starts aren't as easy as they seem, as Alva discovers when stories of a haunting at Liefdehuis begin to reach her. But Alva doesn't believe in ghosts. So when the eccentric and brilliant professor Samuel Moore appears and informs her that he can get to the bottom of the mystery that surrounds Liefdehuis, she turns him down flat. She doesn't need any more complications in her life--especially not a handsome, convention-flouting, scandal-raising one like Sam. Unfortunately, though Alva is loath to admit it, Sam, a pioneer in electric lighting and a member of the nationally-adored Moore family of scientists, is the only one who can help. Together, the two delve into the tragic secrets wreathing Alva's new home while Sam attempts to unlock Alva's history--and her heart

COMING SOON

11. Tracker's Canyon - Pam Withers: a YA novel about a teen using his outdoor/trailing skills to find his dad and evade people who may want to harm his dad (or him). It's been on my Goodreads TBR for 5+ years, picked when I was scrolling through looking for I.L.L. options. Looks fun and also relatively short, under 200 pages. Should be here in a week or two at the most.

12. A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking - T. Kingfisher: library doesn't have a physical copy so waiting on the e-book, estimated 3 weeks. I haven't read her before but I kept seeing this on BookTube and its title and cover looked so fun and cute. Probably a 3-star time but I still want in.

13. Piranesi - Susanna Clarke: this was on my original fall TBR at the beginning of September, and I've been slowly making my way towards it. No promises I'll read it this year, but if I don't get too distracted by the new shinies, the fact that this is much shorter than I thought has made me more willing to listen to its many rave reviews. Currently on a waitlist; "my" copy is due back on Halloween but I of course have zero faith in the people of this county at this point, so I'm going to bet more realistically on the second week of November (next copy is due back 11/9).

14. Before We Were Us - Denise Hunter: romance about an engaged woman who develops amnesia, not only forgetting her (relatively new) relationship but still viewing her middle-of-nowhere job at his family resort as a pit stop and ready to get the hell outta dodge; he must convince her to fall in love with him again. I WILL be going full Chuck/Sarah with this. Currently on-order at the library and I am first in line.

15. Beyond Ivy Walls - Rachel Fordham: This whole summary just sounds Immediately Great and like the kind of historical (1903) romance I love; wish I had access to a physical copy but waiting on the audiobook instead, estimated time 3 weeks. Love 2 have everything come crashing in at once!

All of Monticello believes Otis Taylor has been away fostering his musical genius. But the truth is that his father exiled him long ago, rejecting Otis's appearance and the scars that came with it. . . . At twenty-three years old, Sadie West left her family farm and found employment at the Hoag feather duster factory. Desperate to save money and help her family make ends meet, she trespasses and finds shelter in an abandoned building--and is thrown in the path of the town's mysterious bachelor. Otis's wounds are deep, but as Sadie's friendship with him grows, she begins to fall for the man beneath the mask

COMING EVENTUALLY!

16. Graveyard Shift - M.L. Rio: the reviews are so middling and I am also sure it will be a 3-star at best, but damn it, I got excited about this one months ago and now I HAVE TO KNOW (this is why knowing about new releases sucks! don't do it!). Waiting on an ebook copy because the library doesn't have a physical one. It is an absurdly long wait for such a short book (14 weeks?! i am PRAYING for a physical copy to be ordered soon).

17. Games Untold - Jennifer Lynn Barnes: on the other hand I am first in line when this releases in a couple weeks. Beyond excited for a collection of short stories and novellas aka BONUS SCENES for The Inheritance Games. (sometimes knowing about new releases doesn't suck)

18. 26 Ways To Come Home For the Holidays - Jennifer Joy: a "Thanksgiving to Christmas" novella romance about a department store in the 1940s. I have been excitedly waiting for it to be seasonally appropriate (for maximal impact) since spring. I still gotta give it 3 or 4 weeks though.

19. What Does It Feel Like? - Sophie Kinsella: 12th in line for 8 copies, at the library that doesn't show due dates so I'm guessing this may not arrive until December, at which point I might roll it over to the new year. Still, if it comes sooner, interested in this novella mirroring her real-life health crisis.

#there. NOW I am invigorated about reading again!!#reading triage #with more than a month's worth of titles now at the ready I definitely will not finish all of these this year but it feels good to say Mayb

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angst-in-space · 7 months ago

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april '24 writing progress

words written: 11.1k

most words written in a day: 1,123

least words written in a day: 0

yearly total: 46k

projects worked on:

ya sci-fi book rewrites

adult fantasy book edits

finished editing ch 10 of sylvix dreamscape fic and sent to betas!

planning bsd regency au

started soukoku oneshot

works published in april:

none

april goals:

sigh well….you know….finish my ya sci-fi book rewrites MAYBE.

finish sylvix dreamscape ch 10 edits

start soukoku oneshot… maybe try to finish a first draft

make some progress on some other fics???

may goals:

sigh i don't know, maybe just rewrite ONE CHAPTER of ya sci-fi book? 🥲 hopefully a bit more than that but idk we'll see lmao

implement beta feedback + post ch 10 of sylvix dreamscape fic??

edit & post chapter 16 of altea rising maybe?

continue working on soukoku oneshot

finish an outline of bsd regency au

mayyybeee work on other fics? specifically maybe sylvix pacrim au...i miss it...

notes:

well i'm still feeling a little discouraged about my progress but WHATEVER WE PERSEVERE... as usual i still have not finished rewriting my ya sci-fi book, but i did finish chapter 32 rewrites, which means i'm now on chapter 33/36 AND I REACHED THE CLIMAX so we are getting there. i think ch 33 is really going to kick my ass, so that might take me the whole month. but optimistically, maybe i will finish that and at least start ch 34??

i also started my soukoku oneshot, but by "started" i mean... literally just that lol, like i have less than a page so far. 😂 i got kinda stuck right away because i was struggling with designing an original villain character BUT i'm excited with what i came up with and feel more prepared to delve in now. so, hoping i can at least continue drafting that this month!

i've also been planning another long bsd fic (i think i mentioned this previously?) - it originated as a shin soukoku pride & prejudice au but has since morphed into a super long joint skk & sskk regency au (still very p&p inspired but...not as closely based on it lol). i have pretty much all the major beats planned out but still have a few gaps in it i want to flesh out before i start writing. so i'm hoping to finally finish my (terrifyingly long) outline for it, so i can maybe start writing it soon???

as usual... i would love to make some progress on some of my other sadly neglected fics. in particular i've been thinking a lot about sylvix pacific rim au again so i may return to that if i have the time/energy.

i also would love to update at least one fic this month. I FINALLY FINISHED EDITING CH 10 OF SYLVIX DREAMSCAPE FIC and sent that to betas, soooo might be able to finally finish posting that by end of this month!! while i'm waiting on beta notes on that i was considering doing edits of ch 16 of altea rising and maybe posting that too. :)

so yeah, much to do this month but a lot of exciting stuff!! 👍

#brigidposts #writing updates #monthly writing updates 2024 #original fic #fanfic #text #long post

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littlelcvestory · 1 year ago

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thank you @wesperbrekkered for tagging me even though im so inactive on like all my fandom accounts 😭😭😭

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

i have 13 :)

2. What is your AO3 word count?

29,858 words 😭 thats kinda crazy for me ngl

3. What fandoms do you write for?

my main is six of crows! my ao3 still has my fics from when i wrote solangelo tho lmao

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

sparks fly (whenever you smile) with 268 (wesper)

we were in screaming color with 244 (solangelo)

Doctor Death (god this fic is so old i hate it 😭) with 236 (solangelo)

i wanna teach you how forever feels with 221 (wesper)

time can't stop me quite like you did with 205 (i wrote this for a school assignment, it's from the book they both die at the end)

i strongly dislike this list mainly because of solangelo being on there and how long ago i wrote those fics because theyre really bad now 😭 perhaps leave more kudos on my wesper fics :)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

YES it makes me so happy that people enjoyed what i wrote. i'd like to say it's author fuel but i have not touched any of my fics since august but they ARE author serotonin

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

it's either time can't stop me quite like you did (because he literally d!es) but none of my SoC fics have angsty endings, because none of them have endings. haha

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

uhh i'd say it would be i wanna teach you how forever feels purely because it's a cute domestic post-ck wesper

8. Do you get hate on fics?

i dont think im widespread enough to have haters on my fics tbh 😭

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

nope, i am literally 16 !! although i have written a few very intimate passages but theres also taught you the way you call me baby which is the closest i'll ever get for now

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

my wesper romeo and juliet au like fire and powder that i havent touched since august! this was like my most big brain idea ever but i'm torn between discarding it and starting from scratch or continuing as it is right now

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

i dont think so, and i hope not !

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

no :)

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

also no

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

wesper. next!

15. What’s a WIP you’d like to finish but doubt you ever will?

THE ROMEO AND JULIET AU I AM CRYING i need to continue it as soon as possible oh lord

16. What are your writing strengths?

not sure tbh! i do find writing dialogue easy but it also leads to my downfall sometimes which i'll explain in the next question

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

inner monologues, because they jump around too much and i eventually stray from the original thought. or anything thats not closely tied to a character ... i'm really strong with character driver things but if you hand me a plot, i'm gonna struggle (which may be why the r&j au is failing LMAO) and how i said with dialogue, it ends up being dry and makes the scene move a little too fast. i'm really bad at slowing down scenes 😭

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

never done it before hehe

19. First fandom you wrote for?

percy jackson, i think

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

my romeo and juliet au because its the most ambitious thing i ever tried to accomplish. i really want to get back to it because i'm still so intrigued by the idea of it and i was shocked i wrote 10k for the first chapter but it felt like it was being squeezed out of me... i'll do my best to get back to writing i've had insane weiters block (no thanks to school 🙄)

thanks for tagging me rae :) i'm tagging @artsypretzel @jazzythursday and anyone else who sees this and wants to do it :)

#six of crows #fanfic #fanfic author #fanfiction #wesper #wesper fanfiction #wylan van eck #jesper fahey

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syncopein3d · 5 months ago

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Been working on novel projects, sorry for not updating Tolly and Arden for so long. Not being able to do July was discouraging when I was so excited about it, but now I am stringing together these disparate whump character threads into more of a plot. I poke at the next T/A chapter periodically, but it may be mostly trope posts for a bit.

Everything comes second to the Big Weird Fantasy Novel, which is currently at 210,000 words and on Volume V. I should actually finish it soon. Then I start my editing pass before basic cleanup before I hire an actual editor.

Will anyone pay to read this? Not many. There's a pretty small niche audience for queer regency-inflected* fantasy that is written text and not shoujo comics and webtoons. There's a smaller audience for doorstopper sized books, too. I figure if the first volume is free, I have a chance at finding the fellow weirds who would want to read it.

But in the end I didn't write this to be marketable, I wrote it for fun, and because I wanted it and nobody else was going to write something like it.

With any luck, the vampire/witch/hunter universe will be more interesting to a wider audience. That's fairly queer too, but modern/dark fantasy seems to be a popular and approachable genre for most people.

*In the sense that medieval fantasy tends not to closely resemble the medieval era, either, but also that it takes place in another dimension on another planet and magic is real, so it's not literally the English Regency.

#whump #writing talk

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thedawningofthehour · 1 year ago

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Hi!! Yes, hello, I cried again, thank you for that. Even though you said we „shouldn’t expect too much“, my heart is still very much cracked haha

ANYWAY, since the guessing game is still on, I was thinking a lot during this chapter. My guess is, either Raph has a really stupid idea that he‘s thinking through right now and that‘s why he‘s been so quiet OR smth happens to the Hueso place and he like sacrifices himself to get his family to escape like idk maybe EPF or smth knocks at the door and he holds them off

And so I was wondering if you could tell us when this stupid thing is gonna happen, I have a feeling it might be like the book 2 finale or somewhere close to that??

ALSO, I was wondering how you organise your chapters and the plot you write about. Do you have like a pinboard and put the NYC map on it and connect the dots with red yarn? (Detective style) or do you use some program or are just…weird and memorise it all?

Maybe he hasn't actually had the stupid idea yet, but he's definitely ruminating on everything that eventually compels him to make that decision.

The stupid thing will be a direct consequence of the final climax, so it'll be coming up here soon. I'm going to put up a poll probably after the next chapter.

I'm giddy that we're getting there, honestly. There's a foreshadow I put in literally in the single-digit chapters of Book 1 and when I wrote that I couldn't imagine actually getting to that point. I always feel like I'm going to die or something before I finish stuff, like, I was shocked when I finished doth.

Oh my goooood I am so terrible about plotting and outlines and stuff. I always, always feel like I'm in elementary school filling out a worksheet. I am basically this guy

except there is no paper because I haven't written anything down I'm just sleep deprived and rambling and smoking copious amounts of weed. (I have never smoked weed)

I know generally how the plots go, and as chapters draw closer I start thinking more specifically about where parts should go and where they would fit best. The whole war kick-off thing, that originally was going to happen after the third reverse-kidnapping, (the mall with the mercenaries one) but Gale and Mikey were still having their library trips, and that just seemed like an...awkward thing to have hanging over them. And it just didn't have to be. I could have cut that arc short, delayed the third reverse-kidnapping until after after the library meetings were discovered, or I could push off the war. And the war didn't need to happen then-if anything, it complicated the other plot points that needed to happen. And I think it worked out for the better this way.

I'm not totally satisfied with this method though. When I was writing Book 1, I had probably about half the fic written before I started posting-it was all in one document, Donnie's scenes were all together and Leo's scenes were in some incomprehensible order and often unfinished because I wasn't expecting to post anything and would just stop when I felt like it, when I finally committed to putting it to order I think I had like eight documents open at one point and three different highlighter colors to denote what I'd done in the master document, it was an ORDEAL-but it meant that I could group scenes together based on what was most effective, move things around very easily. The fact that Leo and Donnie's chapters were pointedly not happening at the same time helped a lot too. In Book 2, I end up writing with two, maybe three chapters planned ahead in my brain, and I feel like that forces me to sometimes rely on short-term climaxes that add to the word count but don't really do much for the story overall, or put off certain things that I don't particularly feel like writing at the time or don't know would work there. Book 2 would probably be significantly shorter if I'd plotted it out the way I did Book 1.

...What were we talking about? Oh! I do actually have a map of NYC open pretty much constantly in my fic window, it probably shows when they were driving around last chapter that I was literally going along the border with my pointer finger. But I'm terrible and I don't write any of this shit down. I usually remember, but there have been occasions where I've completely forgotten what I was going to do, and I think it was chapter 32 where I had pretty much finished the rest of the chapter and then realized I'd forgotten the final Leo scene-which was a pretty major scene. So I guess...yeah, weird and memorize sounds correct, but I don't actually do it that well.

#if you can parse anything here bless you #i wasn't planning on typing this much so it's very much stream of consciousness #doth asks

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wetcatspellcaster · 8 months ago

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After the last chapter of Honest Lie, I want to hold Rose close, hug her tightly, because damn, how relatable personally to me is she with "I never expected to use that knowledge in practice, but I'm forced to now, and I have to pretend I did it for my whole life". It made me honestly tear up, because it hit so close to home.

How gentle she was with Astarion, and how nosy he was with her, I love it. Such a sweet reprise, and I can just feel how much drama and angst there will be in the next chapters.

Will there be a side-quest for Rosalie as a character somewhere in the city? Or will it be managing anxious and scared Astarion her main job there?

*gasp* didn't Threnn move to the city at some point for her work in the Party's Favours timeline? Oh no. Rose and Astarion stumble into Threnn and Llamril at some point? Astarion having a "oh, that pitiful woman is the reason you are like that?" moment, and Rose is trying to hold it together so as not to give too much... Oh. Oh no.

Also, it makes me even more sad for how Rosalie is in Pieces, because she just wanted to study things, not use them, and I just want to see her happy, buried under the books somewhere in the library, with Astarion grumbling at her side about how bored he is, with banana muffins and cats all around them. I just want her to be safe and have a chance at the life she wanted for herself once.

Thank you so much for this chapter! And congrats on finishing your work!

hello anon, thank you for reading the chapter :D I'm glad you enjoyed it! <3

Rosalie is a walking mask lmao. The imposter syndrome is real in that one, and there is a lot of pressure to hold the mantle of leader of the group (I absolutely love the tumblr post that went around a while ago about the pains of a level 1 tav who's actually level 1, versus everyone else who's been nerfed by the tadpole, because that was Rosalie's life).

I don't want to give away too many spoilers for Act 3 bc I'm actually really excited for the instances of canon divergence I'm planning to bring in. I've felt very conflicted over whether to bring in Threnn... I feel like Party Favours did that, and did what I wanted to do with that 'meeting the ex' trope, so I'm not sure I want to reprise it here. The biggest reveal of this fic, that's coming soon, is instead that her current personality is being facilitated by the tadpole. Which is reveal that's obviously now nearly 3 years in the making, so I'm very excited.

What I will say is, Rosalie has two personal quests in Act 3, but I've stolen some canon content for them. I will also say. That. The House of Hope (in which a woman who literally embodies hope has been held captive in a house while she struggles with mental illness) can be something that is soooooooo personal.

#asks #anons #wip: an honest lie

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skvaderarts · 9 months ago

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Saudade Chapter Eleven: Stormy Stay

I'm just now realizing that I probably didn't post every chapter of this series to Tumblr (and with everything going on I sure as hell probably shouldn't aside from a link) but this is a stand-alone series. It ties into the larger Soliloquy Saga, but the chapters of this book are all individual shorts. So you don't need to read the others to know what's going on. Reading up to at least chapter 45 of Petrichor would give you a tiny bit of probably unnecessary context, though. But otherwise, you're fine. You can still read it either way.

Chapter Eleven: Stormy Stay

Note: Wow. It’s been a LONG TIME since I’ve written a chapter for Saudade. February 18th, 2022 in fact. That feels like a lifetime ago! Enjoy! March is going to be… fun.

(-~-)

Outside the wind whipped with gale force, carving a path through the narrow streets and quiet alleyways like a flood. Wind and water combined to make a spectacle of freezing water and cutting wind that tore through coats and umbrellas alike. Dim lights flickered in every room of every home as the majority of the city stayed within the confines of their cozy little bunkholes, warmer by leagues than they would’ve been should they have ventured outside. Few were that brave. The rattling of their windows and the quaking of their front doors were warning enough.

The rain was cold. Colder than most rain ever got the chance to be. At a mere 34 degrees Fahrenheit, it was quite literally just warm enough to still be raining outside and an overnight drop in temperature that would send the city plummeting into the low twenties guaranteed that it would progress from nearly freezing, to freezing rain, and finally, true snow. Perhaps even thundersnow or some hail. But until that time came to pass, it was storming. And it was storming with a vengeance. As though some primordial god had awoken that day and grown tired of the sight of that entre hamlet, deciding to wipe it and all traces of it from the surface of the planet with a storm of legendary proportions.

Returning to the more sensible confines of the apartment, Sirrus entered the apartment and closed the doors behind himself. It took both hands as he had to force the wind out with the double doors acting as a sort of wind sail, but he succeeded after some measure of effort, letting out a huff from exertion as he locked them and turned back towards his living room. He was going to need a towel.

“Well it’s… not exactly improving, I’ll say that much.” He said as he walked through the living room, heading towards his bedroom. He entered, grabbed a towel that he intended to use to dry himself off, and then slinked out of his clothes, draping the wet clothing over the edge of his bathtub. He would worry about laundry later. This wasn’t going to be the only time today that he got sopping wet.

Returning to the living room with drier skin and warmer clothing, Sirrus turned his attention back to the windows around him and the storm beyond. He sat down in his lounge chair next to the couch, taking the time to enjoy the scent of the candles he’d lit earlier that morning. He was going to need to replace a few of them soon. They’d lasted quite a few lightings as they were handmade and high quality, but some of them were melted down to the very ends and would need to be retired. A pity. He wasn’t sure where to find a few of them. But that was a worry for another time. For now, he was going to relax and enjoy the company of a friend.

V had long since parked himself on the couch in Sirrus’s living room, allowing himself the perfect vantage point with which to enjoy the storm. He understood that many people found storms of this magnitude terrifying, and with good reason, but he had never felt that way about them. Bundled under a plush blanket and having just finished a mug of real, genuine, actual hot chocolate (not the powdered stuff that was always slightly too weak but the kind that required the melting of chocolate into actual milk with other possible flavors such as vanilla and cinnamon mixed in) he knew he was safe and that the storm couldn’t touch him. This was a cast iron building in the rough shape of a triangle. Its shape was practically built to redirect water and not fold under pressure.

He’d spent the last two hours or so merrily dancing through the pages of a book that he’d snagged from Sirrus’s rather impressive collection of classical literature. He had taste. The sheer variety of genres, authors, and cultures represented in his home collection was staggering. Almost as staggering as his desire to sit here and read them all and never get up to do anything else ever again. He had everything from Frankenstein, Les Miserables, and The Tale of Two Cities, to The Yellow Wallpaper, the King in Yellow, and No Longer Human.

A captivating mixture of science fiction, mystery, suspense, and various forms of long and short-form poetry and epics, there was no shortage of things to read. He was positive he’d ever seen The Illiad and Dante’s Inferno mixed in there somewhere along with Paradise Lost. There were plenty of contemporary works and even a few notable manga present. Full collections of some of them, in fact. V had never realized that Sirrus was that avid of a collector. After all, how did he own all of the current volumes of the Berserk Omnibus for hell's sake?! They could be notoriously difficult to track down from what he’d heard. Some of these had probably been hellish to procure. Many of the books in his collection were even first editions!

I suspected as much.” V said almost tiredly, stifling a yawn as he responded to his friend’s statement from a few minutes prior. He hadn’t wanted to yell across the house so he’d decided to wait. That would’ve been in poor taste. One look out those windows was enough to tell him that it was best to stay inside unless he absolutely had to go out there. He didn’t mind being wet, but he didn’t prefer being soaked to the bone and being wet. That was rarely his preference. “Is this normal?”

Sirrus stretched out, allowing the heat from the wood-burning fireplace just a few feet away to warm him back up. He shivered harshly for a moment as the warmth overcame him and he started to warm up. He was privileged to live on the very top floor like he did. His suite was the only one with space for the ventilation required to have a wood-burning metal fireplace like this. After the building had undergone renovations a few decades back, the others had been replaced with gas or electric ones if they hadn’t been scrapped altogether. He was the only one with one of these beautiful cast iron statement pieces. And he would never get tired of that smell.

“Seasonally? Quite. In general? I can scarcely recall the last time it stormed like this.” Sirrus said as he leaned back in the recliner. He remembered the time that V had fallen asleep in it. That was a pleasant memory, much like the quiet time they’d enjoyed today. It had been entirely uneventful, but getting to share a quiet moment together like they were right now was something that he would never say no to. Just touring his library with V earlier that day had been a blast. This was nice. And the day was still young, too.

“I see…” V said as he looked up at the window again, regarding Sirrus pleasantly. He still couldn’t believe that he’d gone out there. V had always enjoyed a good storm, but it was horribly cold out there. “It is beautiful though, isn’t it?”

Falling silent for a minute or so, Sirrus closed his eyes and took in the moment. He’d finally warmed most of the way up. But he was going to have to get up and add some more wood to it sometime soon, so he couldn’t get too comfortable.

“Yes.” He said softly. There was something to a day like this to be savored. He didn’t mind the sun or a clear blue sky, but there was something about the majesty and power of a good rainstorm that captivated him. And he didn’t need to ask V to know that he felt the same. He imagined that slowing down and reading a good book like V had decided to do today would be a nice change of pace. Perhaps he’d grab one when he got up to add wood to the fireplace in a little while.

“What did you end up picking?”

V turned the book so that Sirrus could see the cover, peering over the top of it as he spoke, his gaze still half on the words on the page in front of him. He obviously wanted to make sure that he realized that he was paying attention to him, and talking directly into a book without making eye contact with someone was just awkward to begin with. “The Portrait of Dorian Gray.”

Sirrus went quiet, but not in a relaxed way, something that V seemed to sense as he lowered the book and gazed over at Sirrus, noting the perplexing look on his face. It appeared to be a mixture of nostalgia and heartache in equal measure, almost as though he’d just stabbed him in the chest out of nowhere. That had not been the answer he’d expected, but he wasn’t angry. He was… wounded?

“Ah… That one. How ironic.” He let out a chuckle that indicated a slight tinge of disbelief. Nearly a thousand books in his collection and he’d picked that one. A breathless look crossed his face as he looked out towards the balcony again before lowering his gaze. He needed a moment, to be sure. It was undeniable. “A solid pick, to be sure. I’m curious to see what you think of it.”

Closing the book and placing a bookmark that he’d borrowed from a small bowl of them that Sirrus kept on his bookshelf (yes, really) he closed the book, still grasping it but more curious as to what had just happened than he ever could be about the contents of the book he’d been reading. “There’s a story here. I can feel it.”

Sirrus nodded silently, glancing back over at him. There was a glimmer of something distant in his eyes. A trace of a longing for something long since passed. He almost seemed to regret something that V couldn’t place and it made the young summoner wonder what had happened in his past that had hurt him so deeply.

“I… was close to someone with the same first name once. Although they were born considerably before the release of the book. It was one of their favorites.” He said, a sort of sadness hanging in his voice. He almost sounded like he was describing someone who was no longer alive. Someone he’d lost forever. And although V wasn’t sure that was the case, he still felt for him. “He had the most radiant smile. It was like sunshine parting through storm clouds. And his hair shimmered like gold. And the sound of his laughter…”

Sirrus stopped there, sighing heavily as he shook his head and allowed his chin to rest in his cupped palms, his elbows on his upper legs as he looked out across the sky. He spoke as though his heart ached to think of him. But just as V was going to reach over and ask him if he was alright and tell him that he was free to drop the subject, a small but genuine sad smile crept across his face, an unmistakable wetness to his eyes. He looked back over at V and at the book, clearly deep in thought. “I hope he’s found new love. The kind he truly deserves. The kind he gives.”

Things hadn’t ended well between them. He didn’t get the impression that they had ended in anger, but there had certainly been pain. But he wasn’t going to dig. It wasn’t his place too. But V would wonder. Wonder what had happened between them that brought such pain to the surface of what had been such placid waters. And what made Sirrus long so for things to be better for him? He wondered who this individual was and what had made them mean so much to him, once upon a time. He recognized the emotion he saw upon his friend’s face now. Bittersweet.

“I want to make sarmale.” He said with a sort of sigh, clearly ready to change the subject. This had been a trip down memory lane that he hadn’t expected to take today and while he didn’t hate it, he was ready to get off at the next stop, so to speak. He stood up and stretched, his arms out in front of him as he straightened out his back. He wasn’t stiff, but he did just want to stand up for a moment. Take a deep breath before fully settling back in. “It’s the perfect weather for it.”

V’s ears perked up as if he’d just heard something he’d never heard before in his entire life. He was quite obviously intrigued, to say the least, but for reasons that were uncertain to Sirrus. Had he accidentally just suggested that he make V’s favorite dish or something? “Make what?”

Sirrus folded his arms around himself, quietly thankful that his windows weren’t nearly as drafty as they could’ve been when the age of the building was taken into consideration. There was still a slight draft, to be sure, but he’d gone through the lengthy expense some time ago to have the windows painstakingly replaced with double-glazed ones that matched the originals almost perfectly. The historic state of the building had to be preserved by both his own personal standards, and those of the city council. This much glass in a building of this age was stunning visually, but the building had been erected quite a while before that technology had been in vogue.

“Sarmale. They’re cabbage rolls. Quite simple to make, at that. You just-”

“You’ve said enough. Yes. Why are we still in your living room and not in your kitchen making them?” V said, completely straight-faced. He couldn’t fathom why they were talking about how delicious they were and not making them so that they could devour them whole like barbarians. Food like that on a day like this was the sort of thing that made him crawl out of the grave in the morning. He wanted this. Now. And he was willing to put in the work.

Sirrus blinked blankly before chuckling, an amused smirk crossing his face as he scoffed softly. I wicked almost knowingly wolfish grin spread across his handsome vassage. “Well because… that would require a trip to the grocery store. I’m out of everything but the spices.”

V quirked an eyebrow, weighing his options for all of about half a second before setting the book he’d been reading down on the end table next to him, shrugging out of the blanket he’d been under, and standing up to go get his coat. It wasn’t waterproof by a long shot, but there was no way in the nine circles of hell that he was going out there in that with just a sweater on. No umbrella was that strong… But no storm was going to keep him from eating a delicious regional delicacy, either.

As he returned from the guest room with his coat he was only half surprised to find Sirrus by the door waiting for him already, coat already zipped tight and ready to go. Sometimes he genuinely forgot that Sirrus could move that quickly. The young summoner shook his head as he slipped into his coat. It was going to be cold as hell outside. Hopefully, the stores were still open in this weather. He wanted to be back in front of that fireplace as soon as possible. Especially since Sirrus had understandably tuned it off while he was getting his coat.

How had he done all of that so quickly…

V could only dream of that level of coordination when it came to mundane things. In combat? Sure, sometimes. But he would’ve tripped over the rug or something if he’d tried moving through this apartment at that kind of speed. It seemed that Sirrus had him beat in that department. How funny, indeed. But enough of that. It was time to go. They had places to be. And places to return to.

“Let’s just hope this trip to the grocery store goes better than the last one…”

Sirrus blanked for a second before a look of horror crossed his face. “By the gods, yes. Let’s hope so…”

(-~-)

This was a fun little change of pace for a moment before things get real in the main book. And I mean REAL. Phew. I’m not ready. But I hope you liked this chapter! I’ll see you in the comments and next Friday on the 8th of March. Take care out there. The weather been very stupid where you live, too? I hope not. Bye-bye and see you soon! Thanks for reading!

#Soliloquy Saga #V #Vitale #Sirrus #DMC #DMC V #DMC 5 #Devil May Cry #Devil May Cry AU #Post DMC5 #Post DMCV #Post Devil May Cry 5 #Post Devil May Cry V #Post Devil May Cry 5 AU #Post Devil May Cry V AU #Post DMC5 AU #Post DMCV AU #AU #OC

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jazzyslibrary · 2 years ago

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warriors: the new prophecy #4: starlight

date started: 05/02/2023 | date finished: 26/02/2023

i love how mothwing is basically still an apprentice because she hadn’t finished her training before mudfur died, but also she’s riverclan’s only medicine cat. she’s stuck in-between being an apprentice and an experienced medicine cat. the other medicine cats can’t really argue with her decisions, like to swim across the lake to go to the gathering island. she seems so lively and fun and kinda childish but no one can question her. i like it a lot.

they have hinted at the idea that tallstar would appoint onewhisker to succeed him when he dies by having him tend to tallstar all the time and mudclaw be argumentative with thunderclan which is contradictory to the behaviour of the rest of windclan. i do like that tallstar values friendship over uhh “strong leadership”, although i am not sure if strong leadership is exactly what mudclaw has but whatever. i’m glad that tallstar appointed onewhisker, and i also like that onewhisker is close to tallstar.

i just bought tallstar’s revenge today (17/02/2023) and i know that onewhisker will be in that book so i’ll have to read that soon!

firestar is once again being told by a good friend of his, while dying, who he should appoint as deputy. and why are they always so wrong about the choices? tallstar and whitestorm are both smart kitties.

i didn’t like that tallstar commented on brambleclaw being a good potential deputy. i just think brackenfur makes more sense. graystripe already offloaded his responsibilities as deputy onto brackenfur earlier in this series (which is kinda sad because he also neglected his responsibilities as brackenfur’s mentor in the first arc). just because brambleclaw is the main character in this arc doesn’t mean he needs to be deputy! not that i remembered this, but i saw a post yesterday discussing how brambleclaw was appointed as firestar’s deputy right after he hesitated to stop hawkfrost from murdering firestar. like how does that make sense. firestar is like “well you almost let me be killed, but you didn’t. and for that, i will reward you by giving you responsibility for our clan!”. we will have to see how much that frustrates me in the next two books.

ugh and further along brambleclaw is literally saying to himself that he deserves to be deputy! i don’t think that’s ever been how it works. like you don’t become deputy after filling out your good boy points. i mean, he hasn’t even had an apprentice yet, which is one of the rules about becoming deputy. why is he so entitled! and i think that we are supposed to interpret firestar as being unreasonable. i mean, maybe he should appoint a new deputy. but it certainly shouldn’t be brambleclaw. ridiculous!!

and the next chapter, brambleclaw loses his temper at mousefur and brackenfur diffuses the situation and brambleclaw even says to himself that brackenfur deserves to be deputy over him, and other warriors too! but he blames it on his heritage rather than the fact that he’s inexperienced and entitled. firestar obviously trusts him if he gave him his warrior name, let him lead the way to their new territory, has him next to him and onewhisker while their mutual friend speaks his last words. grrr gimme back leafpaw and squirrelflight povs please!!

firestar asked brambleclaw to do an “apprentice task”, which was collecting moss for bedding. i don’t really like that tasks that help the clan have some sort of respectability tier list to them. like caring for the elders shouldn’t be a shameful task given to naughty apprentices. but brambleclaw is very upset that he’s given such a task, because he’s suuuuuch a respectable warrioooor. meanwhile we swap to leafpaw’s perspective and she mentally praises him for taking on that responsibility because she thinks he’s doing it to be helpful. if brambleclaw really cared about helping the clan, he wouldn’t care that he has to do tasks he doesn’t like. i don’t think brackenfur would be such a sourpuss about it, i think he would take on any responsibility. maybe that makes him boring with no personality, but i don’t mind a background character having no controversial thoughts. hating on brambleclaw can be fun!

i know brambleclaw has been hated on a lot from the fandom, but mostly after omen of the stars, and because he is a terrible partner to squirrelflight. i honestly think he was nice enough in the first three books of the new prophecy! i didn’t care too much for the development of his relationship with squirrelflight, but it was okay! i mean to be honest, so far, none of the romances i have read about have been interesting at all. maybe it’s because they’re cats? but i doubt it, i think that a lot of the characters just are underdeveloped. so the characters i care about are ones that i have nostalgia for and also ones that are discussed on tumblr and people have headcannons that make me think of the characters in a different way.

anyway i hate spottedleaf blah blah blah. i can’t wait for her to tell leafpool to be with crowfeather because starclan needs “the three” to be born and then shame leafpool for doing the very thing she told her to do!! i hate how much leafpool idolises spottedleaf, like i hate her for the whole firestar creeping thing, but u know, honestly that’s not as bad as how awful she’s going to be to leafpool. i wish yellowfang could have been her starclan “mentor” or “guide”. but then again, they did make yellowfang say the most foolish thing ever while she was in starclan (the thing about ashfur’s only fault being that he loved too much) so maybe it’s better that she isn’t in leafpool’s dreams too much. but yellowfang broke the same rule that leafpool did, so maybe (if someone who actually cares would write it) she would have been sympathetic to leafpool rather than shame her. spottedleaf just has no actual connection to leafpool apart from the fact that she creeps on firestar, which makes it so weird that she comes to leafpool in her dreams. if it was yellowfang, it would be because she saw firestar as a second son, and she cares about cinderpelt’s apprentice because she also took on a motherly role with cinderpelt. i just!!! wish that was the case.

if i was a writer, maybe i would do a rewrite of the new prophecy and just kick stupid spottedleaf out of the story. it would probably seem that i have a bias for certain characters though. i would want bluestar and yellowfang to have more uhh “screen time”. although that would probably make it less exciting when they do finally appear. maybe just yellowfang then. although i would also like to hear from cats like whitestorm, lionheart, redtail, stonefur. if i recall, lionheart and redtail have only appeared for firestar’s leader ceremony. and stonefur, i don’t know if he ever has interactions in starclan with his mother and mosskit. i’d like to think that when mistystar finally died they had a family reunion with crookedstar, silverstream, feathertail.

back to leafpool, and the actual contents of the book. i’m happy she finally got her full name! it’s kinda weird when siblings don’t get their names at the same time. plus leafpool has been a great medicine cat even before the big journey to the lake territory. and i love how mothwing was so proud of her. actually i just quite like the medicine cat relationships. they’re all cool and i like seeing it from their perspectives, having interactions with cats from different clans without hostility is nice.

i am wondering how hawkfrost managed to get cats from shadowclan to help him, is it because he is tigerstar’s son and there is still cats in shadowclan that would follow tigerstar were he alive? but why do they care about helping mudclaw? like hawkfrost has some motivation if mudclaw told him he would make him deputy if onewhisker is overthrown. it all seems so silly, and kinda rushed too. like if we compare it to tigerstar trying to overthrow thunderclan and taking control of shadowclan and riverclan, that happened over the course of several books. perhaps hawkfrost and mudclaw overthrowing windclan could have been interesting if it wasn’t squeezed into a couple chapters.

our only hints that this could happen are that squirrelflight, leafpool, and mistyfoot are distrustful of hawkfrost. but only because he is too “ambitious”. and then the rest was mistyfoot straight up telling thunderclan what was happening. i think it could have been interesting for thunderclan and windclan to not be sort of in an alliance for once. i like that they are friendly with each other, but maybe it would have been cool to see the friendship between firestar and onewhisker tested a bit?

i was watching sunnyfall’s trip through time video about this particular book (as i have been doing after each warriors book i’ve been reading) and she brought up that this books main plot points revolve around windclan and the leader/deputy drama. i agree that we should have had some chapters written from his point of view. why does brambleclaw need to be there for tallstar’s death? we could have been seeing it from crowfeather’s point of view. there’s so many interactions with windclan that it really would have benefitted from seeing it in their perspective.

the scene with leafpool and crowfeather at the end of the book was … strange. like those two shadowclan cats, why were they running to thunderclan anyway? and they’re just mysterious unnamed cats, because the writers don’t feel like fleshing out the rest of the clans with real characters. oh and of course they brutally die by snapping their necks, which is supposed to make me feel like, oh my gosh that could have been leafpool if crowfeather didn’t help her! and the confessions of “love” like, all of the intentional romance in these books is so bad. you guys are infatuated with each other you are not in love come on now. it’s very silly.

and i guess squirrelflight and brambleclaw are officially broken up for now because he continues to trust hawkfrost. like even if mudclaw is lying about hawkfrost’s motivations to help him, how does that change the fact that he helped a cat from another clan try to overthrow their leader? what is going on inside brambleclaw’s mind here? squirrelflight is so right for giving up on him at this point. he’s being wilfully ignorant. i mean that’s not what the erins intended him to be, he apparently just trusts his brother after all this? and despite denouncing the actions of his father every chance he has had previously, he didn’t seem to have a problem chatting to him in a dream? i know he doesn’t seem awfully evil when he’s chatting away with his sons, but he also didn’t seem awfully evil, or at all to all of thunderclan when he had literally killed redtail, attempted to kill bluestar, etc. i still remember when fireheart was filling in for bluestar at a gathering and tigerstar was there as shadowclan’s leader, and fireheart decided not to warn the other clans about his actions because “maybe he has changed!”. it’s kinda annoying for characters to be uncharacteristically stupid for the sake of the plot. it takes you out of it and makes you question the authors rather than wonder the motives of the characters.

mudclaw dying to a falling tree made me wonder, how many cats have died to trees throughout the series? off the top of my head i thought of mudclaw, firestar, and longtail. luckily the wiki is extensive enough to have a complete list, which includes micah (i didn’t know of micah because i haven’t read moth flight’s vision yet), mudclaw, firestar, rainwhisker, and longtail. and briarlight was paralysed.

#my reading journal #author: erin hunter #series: warriors #series: warriors: the new prophecy #genre: fiction #genre: fantasy #genre: xenofiction #year read: 2023 #it took me a while to finish this one off #had some trouble actually sitting down and reading #hopefully i can get through the next two books in this arc faster #because i am quite eager to read the hobbit!

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dianight · 1 year ago

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@mind-blaze ---

Otherside Picnic (dynasty, ongoing): Originally I read the manga up to chapter 50 something, then the novel because it was just that good. Go read the synopsis, maybe a few chapters. If you like it you'll absolutely love the novels.

Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete (dynasty, ongoing): Found this one browsing dynasty scans when it had like 5 chapters. Main character gets recruited to fight magical girls, at first she's not too happy over time she starts getting into it. Kinda horny, slow start and it ramps up. An anime is coming up but my expectations are low since it's a pretty explicit series.

Qualia the Purple (dynasty, completed): I saw it mentioned at some point and gave it a chance. It's a story about two childhood friends, one of them perceives humans as robots and the consequences of this condition. Slow start and a bit text heavy at times, it's a short series about how we percieve each other and how our actions affect people close to us (<- subjective).

Asumi-chan is Interested in Lesbian Brothels! (dynasty, ongoing): Another gem from browsing dynasty scans, this series is literally a self insert fantasy (<- for me). Asumi is still not over a crush and she finds out that she might be working at a lesbian brothel, so she books a date in order to meet her again. Story goes from there as she meets more people. From mangadex synopsis: "Thus begins a journey of self-discovery and sexual exploration as she sets out to find her one that got away."

Mage & Demon Queen (webtoon, completed): Malori (mage) tries to defeat marry the Demon Queen. Although a typical hero-must-fight-demon-lord-queen story it is enjoyable and charming enough that I feel it deserves a recommendation. Pretty funny, slightly too long for the story itself. The character interactions are what carry the series.

Sorry, but I’m Not into Yuri (dynasty, ongoing): In which Toudou tries different schemes that eventually backfire getting more and more girls into her. Very funny series about a scummy lesbian in denial who happens to charm any girls she interacts with. I've seen this series described as "trashy" before, not a fan of the term but I can see what people mean by that. Check the author's other works btw.

Watamote (ongoing, there's so many doujins in dynasty that I don't know if the actual series is in there): Very difficult recommendation, this series has what in video game lingo would be called a very high difficulty curve to get into. I've posted about it before.

Magirevo (dynasty, ongoing): Princess in a world with magic with no magic and memories of a past real life world. Surprinsingly fun read with the kind of character development that seems realistic enough to keep my interest.

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Other series that I am either catching up/rereading because I started them at some point and they were not finished.

Cheerful Amnesia (complete): Lighthearted series about a couple where one of the girls has lost her memories. Started this one years ago when it had a couple chapters, will finish it soon (<- when I can).

Can't Defy the Lonely Girl (complete): Literally reading this, paused to type this post. Honour student Ayaka couldn't get into her high school choice due to pressure, so she gets roped into getting Sora to attend school in order to get a recommendation.

SHY (dynasty, ongoing): Superhero story with tons of undertones. Another dynasty find back when it had ~10 chapters. At some point I lost interest but recently I decided to bring back it to see if I can catch up.

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Other series that are less yuri if that even makes sense but it's still there.

Bocchi the Rock! and the Hiroi spinoff (both ongoing): A group of girls starting her rock band and tumblr's favourite series according to my dashboard. And the daily life of Hiroi Kikuri.

100 Kanojo (ongoing): Although very clearly a harem, due to character interactions over time (Hakari and Karane in particular) I'd say it counts. Probably the only "harem" I'd praise due to its parody nature and how it avoids sidelining any of the girls.

What Happens Inside the Dungeon (completed but resumed with a "sidestory" that is just a contination): Hilarious series about an elf woman in a continent where people are very open about their sexual interests. Although not yuri exactly, the main characters are a group of women that often fuck each other so I felt like it deserves a brief mention.

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Some of those series are not done justice by my lack of eloquence but surely we can get find something interesting, right?

In a yuriful mood. I've been catching up on many manga and finishing a few aswell.

#manga recommendation

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bebepac · 2 years ago

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The Best Part

This is part two of the final installment of the Rotten Apple. I really have enjoyed this and I’m a little sad I’m close to finishing it. I decided to split the chapter again, As the “final chapter” would have been over 7000 words and I’m still not done with that part yet.

The Book: TRH and Beyond The Series: The Rotten Apple 🍎 The Parings: Eleanor x Nico (Eleanor x M!OC) Word Count: 4278 Warnings & Ratings: profanity, lemony, 🍋 18+ Song Inspiration: Meet Me At Our Spot by The Anxiety Summary: Elle settles into life with Nico and Ana in Greece.

Original Post: 11/15/22 at 11:45PM EST.

"Elle, I bought you some clothes, I saved the receipts in case you don't like what I picked out for you."

"I'm sure it's fine Nico. The last time you picked out a dress for me, I loved it."

Nico smiled at her sheepishly as he continued speaking.

"I just want you to be happy with all of it, with us."

"I will be. I already am. Don't worry about that.”

“Are you sure the air isn’t too much?”

“Nico, relax. It’s just fine. It actually feels great. Are we almost there?”

“Yes, a few more minutes. Are you nervous?”

“I’m nervous and excited. This is what we talked about for so long, when you and I…. were different people."

"Yes we were, but we still made it to this point."

“You’re right. I will get to tuck Ana into bed tonight… if she still likes that.”

“She does, and I’m sure she’ll want you to tuck her in tonight.”

“Nico…. You really think so?”

“Yes, Don’t worry Elle. It’s okay. You’re okay. We’re okay. This is a big change for all of us, so we will just take things slow, alright?”

“Okay.” Nico took her hand he was holding and softly kissed it.

“Look, we’re here.”

Nico opened her door so she could step out of the vehicle. The house she was staring at was literally out of her dreams; it was the perfect little house. It looked lived in, and full of love.

“It’s just like I wanted.”

“I know, I had it built with you in mind. It’s been the perfect place to raise Ana.”

The door opened, and Ana came running out of the house into Elle’s awaiting arms.

“Mommy!!!!! You’re finally home! You’re really here!!!”

“Yes, I’m home, Honeybee.”

“There’s so much to show you!!! We’ll start with my room first!!!”

She grabbed Elle’s hand, pulling her towards the house. Elle smiled as Ana talked nonstop taking her on an impromptu house tour of their house. She stopped at the mantle in the picture of her and Nico when they came to Greece for Christmas.

“That’s You, Papa, and me.”

“That’s always been in this house?”

“Since I can remember.” Ana said.

“Looks like it’s time to update this picture, because we can’t see you in that one.” Elle tickled Ana’s nose and she giggled.

“We should think about doing that soon. Even though we just recently shared what was truly in our hearts, we really thought a lot about you, Elle.”

Nico's mother lightly cleared her throat.

“Eleanor, might I have a word with you?”

“Mother…..”

“It’s alright…” Elle glanced at his mother’s face. Her expression gave away a lot.

“I think….”

They stepped out onto the patio together. The last time she had been with Nico’s mother, it was calming and peaceful, this time, there was uncomfortable silence between them. Elle decided to be first to break the silence.

“He told you everything, didn’t he?”

“Yes, of course he did. He is my son, and we have always had a very close relationship. In spite of all, he still carried you in his heart all this time, and lovingly took care of the child the two of you conceived together.”

“I know, and for that I feel almost undeserving, but at the same time, truly grateful.”

“Woman to Woman, I feel like I need to tell you this. I love my son and my granddaughter dearly. So….do NOT let them down Eleanor. If you don’t think you can really give them your all, you need to leave now, before Ana gets too attached to you.”

"That’s why I stayed in the hospital, I needed to stay there, because, if I hadn't, I would have let them down. I couldn't even control my temper; I don’t want to be that person anymore. I am here for them, I love them. They mean everything to me. I hope that in time you will begin to believe that and through my actions, believe in me. I want to be here with them, and finally I am healthy enough to.”

The look on Nico’s mother’s face changed as Elle continued speaking.

“This is the first time in my life I've felt truly wanted by everyone around me. This place was where I was supposed to always be. I know it because nothing feels like it. And I finally feel like I’m at home with my family, and they want me here. All I’ve ever wanted was to be wanted… and needed.”

That evening, Elle, Nico and Ana had a relaxing dinner together on the patio. It felt almost like that first day they were all together at the hospital. It felt new and exciting to Elle. After hours of talking and lightheartedness, Ana yawned, and Nico looked at the time.

“It’s way past someone’s bedtime. Mine too for that matter.”

They all filed back into the house.

“Mommy can help you get ready for bed while I handle the dishes.”

“Okay Papa.”

Ana reached out for Elle’s hand leading her back to her bedroom once more.

“This is my pj drawer.”

The drawer was full of different little pajama sets.

“Do you want to wear the ducks, teddy bears, or princesses?”

“Princess! I’m a princess like you Mommy. I have a crown and everything.”

Elle wanted to say, she wasn’t a princess anymore, and that wasn’t her life, but she felt like that would be the wrong thing to say trying to bond with her daughter, so instead she smiled.

“Yes you are Ana, and don’t you let anyone tell you otherwise. You will always be a princess.”

“And you’ll be here in the morning when I wake up?”

“Yes, I will.”

“Do you pinky swear promise me?” Ana held out her pinky finger. Elle clasped her pinky finger with hers.

“Yes, I pinky swear promise.”

“And Papa too?”

Nico walked into the room and stood by Elle's side, putting his hand over Elle and Ana’s linked hands, engulfing their hands with his.

“And Papa too, I promise. Both me and Mommy will be here in the morning when you wake up. We’re not going anywhere.”

“That’s good. Can you sing Kounia Bella to me?”

“I don’t think Mommy knows that one, how about Mommy sings one you do know, and tomorrow we’ll teach her Kounia Bella together?”

"Okay."

Elle gently tucked the covers around Ana, and sang the only lullabye she knew, which was the one her parents had sung to her, that her mother stopped, but her father continued.

“Papa sings that one to me too; I like it.”

Nico patted the covers gently.

“You're all tucked in. Time to spread your wings and fly to dreamland Honeybee.”

Nico kissed her forehead, and Elle kissed her cheek.

“Sweet dreams.”

Ana snuggled into the covers. Elle watched her for a few moments, then followed behind Nico, and gently closed the door. “She’ll be out for the count in a few minutes max.”

“You taught her my family’s lullabye?”

“I tried to incorporate pieces of you into her life Elle, even though it hurt.”

Elle took Nico’s hand. “That really means a lot to me.” Nico in turn stepped closer to her. Her heart was racing. He reached out to touch her face then he hesitated, clearing his throat and pulled away from her.

“I didn’t want to be presumptuous when it came to you, to us.. and what all this means, and I also wanted you to be comfortable, and not be pressured, by me, or even yourself Elle. I want us to take things slow. We are getting to know each other as the people we are now, so…..”

He opened the door to a bedroom.

“This is your room, for as long as you want it to be. It's your own personal space Elle. I’ll be right across the hall, if you need anything. Look through your closet, and if there is anything you don’t like, we can go to town tomorrow, and exchange it out for something else.”

“Thank you. I will.”

He started to walk out the room.

"Nico?"

He immediately turned around, approaching her.

"Yes Elle?"

"I……" She couldn't get the words out.

"What is it Elle? You can tell me anything."

He slowly lifted her chin so her eyes would meet his. He looked concerned.

"Talk to me….. For this to work…us to work, we have to be able to communicate with each other. You have to be able to trust me enough to tell me what you need from me."

Nico waited patiently for Elle to gather her words.

"I trust you Nico…. I just don't want you to go."

"Okay. I'll stay with you. I need a few things, and I'll let you change. There are some night clothes in the dresser."

Elle changed into the pajamas and braided her hair. She went through the closet admiring her new clothes. Nico probably had help, but she liked all the clothes, especially, one in particular, a sexy burgundy dress. Nico was back shortly while Elle happened to be holding up the dress to her body.

"Thought maybe we could go out for a nice dinner somewhere, if you wanted to. Do you like the dress?”

"A fancy dinner sounds wonderful. This dress has a retro feel, I love it. You did good."

"I asked for help, but that dress, I picked that one myself. I thought it would look nice on you. It's not designer…."

"That doesn't matter. You know that never mattered to me."

"I know….Do you mind if I read for a little while before bed?"

"Not at all."

Elle got into bed first. Nico followed, shrugging off his robe wearing a white beater and navy pajama pants. Last he slipped on a pair of glasses.

“The glasses are only for reading.”

She smiled. They made Nico look distinguished, sexy. The years had been very kind to Nico, he was still very attractive to her.

“Are you sure the lamp isn’t going to bother you?”

She shook her head, getting under the covers. She realized how much she had missed him being next to her.

Nico glanced over to Elle; her back was to him. He read for about thirty minutes, or at least he tried to, but his eyes kept drifting to Elle, laying in bed next to him. He had read the first line of the chapter at least twenty times. Finally realizing he wasn’t going to pay attention to it, he flicked off the lamp and settled into bed next to Elle.

“Are you sleeping?” he inquired softly.

“No, I’m still awake. I wasn't ready to sleep yet. Will you hold me, Nico?"

Almost immediately Nico pulled her closer to him, his arms tightening around her in a secure embrace.

"Better?"

"Much. Now I can rest."

Nico softly kissed her shoulder. “Me too. I think I told you this one, but I sleep better around you too.”

The next morning Elle woke up feeling like she was being watched. She startled herself awake.

“I’m sorry Mommy, I didn't mean to scare you. Good Morning.” Ana whispered.

“Good Morning Ana."

Ana climbed into the bed giving her a hug. Elle peppered her face with kisses.

"What are we going to do today? Can we go swimming?"

"I don't see why not, but we'll ask Papa later. He might have something planned for us."

“Papa is still sleeping."

"Papa is awake, and can hear you and Mommy talking."

“I’m hungry.”

“I know. I hear your tummy growling, Ana. Yours too Elle, so let’s start breakfast.”

Nico gathered ingredients and put them on the counter.

“May I help?” Elle inquired.

“Me too.” Ana chimed in.

Together, the little family made breakfast. Under Nico’s watchful eye, Elle made her very first dish of baked eggs

while Nico chopped up fruit, cheese, and bread to go along with it.

“Is there more? Mommy cooks good.”

“Well, Ana.” Nico gently corrected.

“Mommy cooks well.” Ana repeated.

“Yes she does.” Nico smiled at Elle who was beaming.

“Yes, there’s more, I'll get you some.” Elle smiled, taking Ana's empty plate.

Everything felt so relaxed there. Elle remembered even being at the palace never truly doing much but always being on a strict schedule. Even at the hospital, she had a schedule she had to follow strictly between appointments and therapy. She always had somewhere to be. Here, it was like time was limitless, and she could just for lack of a better word BE.

Later that morning they packed their bags for the beach. Nico had brought several swimsuits for Elle, one of which one was a sexy Mediterranean blue bikini. Elle had never been ashamed of her body, and she loved the color, so Elle slipped on the bikini with the coverup. When they stripped down to their bathing suits, they were all wearing the same color blue. She felt Nico’s eyes on her when she pulled off her coverup. His eyes longingly roamed her bare skin; he was still attracted to her. She found her eyes wandering over Nico’s body, he had kept himself in very decent shape. Not quite the physical level he was at when he was in the KingsGuard, but Nico was still very muscular.

They spend the day at the beach taking in the sun and water, only taking a minor break for a late lunch which was a short walk up the boardwalk a bit to a restaurant with outdoor seating where Nico picked a light meal with a huge helping of watermelon with feta and mint to finish.

When they headed back to the beach Ana was playing in the sand a little distance from them.

“Is this really our life here Nico? I feel like we’re on vacation.

Isn’t Ana in school? and I’m suspicious that ‘real life is going to come at me fast’.”

“Elle, I decided to keep Ana home for a few days, I thought it would be good for all of us. I told you, your father’s stipend he’s been sending us, has afforded us to have a different kind of life than what I could have provided for you. Before he began sending it, I lived with my mother and I worked on the fishing boats, just like I used to. Ana barely saw me. I’d be gone twelve hours a day at a time. My mother was caring for Ana more than I was. With the money your father started sending, I don’t have to work, and neither do you, and I’m glad as it allowed me to be so present in Ana’s life when you couldn’t. Now, that you’re here though, I do want to find a job somewhere. Not right away, because I know Ana is so used to me being around, but now, you’re here…..”

“So…. it’s my turn now?”

Nico grabbed her, shaking his head.

“I didn’t mean it in that way, Elle, not like it sounded. Ana needs to spend time with you. She wants to spend time with you. I’m also a man, and I don’t want to live off another man’s money.”

“We don’t have to take it anymore. We will be fine.”

“Your father shows up when he can, to visit with Ana. But I understand why he does it, it makes him feel connected to Ana, making sure she has every possible thing she could ever want or need in his absence.”

“That sounds a lot like my father.”

“And I miss working. I’ve been working some sort of job to financially contribute to a household since I was eight years old. I want to provide for my family. You and Ana are my family.”

“I understand, let’s wait a little bit longer, then you can start looking for work.”

Nico nodded in agreement. “Thank You Elle.”

Over the next several months Elle and Nico started getting closer. It was like they were dating. Elle was wearing the burgundy dress and Nico a suit, and they were having dinner on the dock decorated very similarly to that night Elle and Nico had shared that Christmas Eve night, years ago before their world unraveled.

Ana loved her parents getting closer; she loved watching them. They looked happy. They would hold hands, her Papa would bring home flowers for her mommy. He smiled so much more now, than Ana had ever seen. Her Papa looked so happy. Even though Ana wanted to always be with them, they started to want to be together sometimes, just them. Her parents were dating. Ana watched them that evening on the docks in awe. They first ate a candlelight dinner, all the time shyly smiling at each other, talking and laughing, then he reached out his hand to her. He pulled her close to him and they slow-danced on the dock.

She jumped when she felt someone grab her arm.

“Yiayiál!"

“I knew you would sneak out to follow them.”

“I wanted to see.”

“This is not for your eyes. We’re going home.”

Mama K stood for a moment watching the pair. Their movements slowed until they were at a standstill staring deeply into each other's eyes and they shared a tender kiss.

“Your parents are in love, that’s all you need to know. They love each other. We’re going home now.”

“Can we stay a little longer?”

“Now Eliana, we’re going now! Let them be.”

Mama K grabbed Ana’s hand giving Elle and Nico the true privacy they needed.

Elle pulled away from his deepened kiss.

“I’m sorry. I’m just not ready to do this with you.”

“It’s alright, our past has been difficult at times. You don’t have to explain.”

“Yes I do. That first time, a long time ago, when I gave myself to you, I was using my body as an object of lust to control you, and to manipulate you. Now, I understand how special that moment should have been between you and I, and it wasn’t, because I wasted it.”

“We were both different people then. It’s alright, we will wait then Elle, that’s all. Until the moment feels right for the both of us.”

“Looks like tonight the moment is right for you.”

“Whenever you are ready, as am I.” Nico smiled. So they decided to continue on at their pace.

Nico had gotten a job at a local museum. He was given a decent wage given his past of being a member of the KingsGuardsmen. His job allowed him to have all his meals with Elle, and have both breakfast and dinner with everyone. Elle always had lunch for him waiting when he came home for his break. Elle enjoyed being at home, taking care of the house, and the family, and had become quite the cook with Nico and Mama K’s help. It was a simple life, a life Elle didn’t know she wanted, but she loved.

That afternoon when he came home for his lunch break, Elle was nowhere in sight, and the air didn’t smell of a meal heating up for him; the table was empty.

“Elle?”

There was no response to his call, so Nico continued to investigate. Before he reached Elle’s room, he heard soft music coming from it, the door was slightly ajar. He pushed the door open calling her name.

He saw her reflection in the mirror first.

She was sitting at the vanity as her eyes met his. Nico couldn’t control the audible grunt that escaped his mouth.

When Elle stood and faced him, Nico immediately dropped his bag, walking into the room, his eyes traveling up and down Elle’s form.

Elle was wearing a very revealing sexy black lace dress? Robe? Lingerie? He had no idea what the hell it was that Elle was wearing exactly, but he did know one thing; she looked absolutely amazing in it. And the sensual outfit she was wearing didn’t leave much to the imagination.

Nico pushed the door closed locking it. A little smirk formed on Elle’s face.

“Hungry?” she asked him.

Nico slowly nodded in affirmation. “Starving.”

Elle’s hands went to the bow tied slightly above her hip.

“No, let me get that. I want to unwrap my present.” Elle repositioned herself, one hand laid at her side, the other rested on her hip. Her eyes had him entranced as he approached her.

Nico’s fingertips grazed the portions of her bare skin until he reached to bow, nimbly untying it, causing the garment to fall away from Elle’s body. She was still absolute perfection to him in every way.

“You’re even more beautiful than I remember.”

She smiled at him, as she helped him out of his clothes. His body trembled under her touch.

“No one has ever made me feel like you do Elle.”

The way he touched her was never rough but for some reason at that moment felt more gentle.

“I could say the same about you Nico.”

“This is our first time.” Nico whispered.

“We have a child together.”

“And I say we can still start over. So let’s start over. Let me show you what that night should have been like for the two of us."

"I have a question for you."

He loved the mischievous glint in Elle's eyes.

"Hmmmm?" He groaned softly.

"What would you like?"

"I would like you to open your legs for me so I can eat."

She complied to Nico’s request as he slid down her body.

Elle cried out in pleasure, which made Nico persist that much more to please her. She bucked her hips giving him more access to her. His grip tightened on her thighs holding her in place burying his face deep into her center.

How had she forgotten how good he was at doing that to her. She tightly pulled his hair as she began to experience a body trembling release. The first of several that afternoon.

He slid back up her body wedging his body between her thighs.

“Say yes to me Elle.”

“Yes.” she whispered.

Nico gently rolled his hips and slowly and passionately made love to Elle.

Elle woke up to Nico’s soft kisses to her skin.

“We need to get up, Ana will be home from school soon.”

“You stayed with me?”

“Of course. You think I was going back to work after that?”

“I hoped not.”

That afternoon Elle started moving her items into Nico’s room.

Christmas Preparations

“You know how big of a deal this is right?”

“What?”

“My mother asked you to help prepare the Christmas meal with my sisters.”

“I mean, I thought she was doing it to be nice to include me.”

“My mother lets no one into her kitchen unless she thinks they can cook. And being asked to assist with a holiday meal, is a really big deal Elle.”

“Really?”

“My sister Nia still only decorates the table.” He chuckled loudly.

“Wow. Mama K is savage.”

“She’s honest, if Nia was cooking Christmas dinner, we’d all starve.”

“I take that back, Mama K isn’t the only one that’s savage, so are you Nico.”

"The apple never falls far from the tree you know."

Christmas Dinner

Elle chuckled softly at Nia setting the table.

“Stop it!” Mama K swatted Elle’s arm.

“I’m just glad to be here. My second Christmas dinner with you all, with my family.”

“Yes and our family is going to get bigger.”

“Huh?”

“I keep having dreams about fish.”

All the women in the kitchen stopped preparing their dishes looking around at each other.

“What does that mean?”

Everyone turned to look at Elle like she had sprouted a second head.

“Mama’s dreams are always dead on.”

“But what does it mean to dream of fish?”

“One of you is pregnant, now or about to be soon.”

Elle laughed.

“You really don’t think that’s a real thing right?”

We’ll see who’s laughing in a few more weeks, Eleanor.”

Christmas dinner with the Karahalios family was just as she remembered it. Loud, full of laughter, celebrations, and food. Lots of food. Elle ate to her heart’s desire, and when she glanced down at her mini sitting next to her, her plate was filled as well.

“You’re just like your mama, you're a very healthy eater, and your Papa, never turned down a plate either.”

After dinner, Elle helped Mama K put away the food. She noticed Mama K watching her intently.

“What is it?”

“Nothing, considering your upbringing and the life you lived in the palace, it’s surprising you fit in so well here.”

“Well… I always felt like I never fit in there. This always felt like home to me, even from the first visit. Nico always tells me I have the heart of a Greek girl.”

“I see that.”

Three Weeks Later

Nico had come home on his lunch break.

“You’re not eating?”

“No, I’m not very hungry.”

“Something’s going on with you. What is it?”

Elle took a sip of her drink for her coffee cup.

“We’ve talked about a lot of things, different subjects since I came home.”

“Yes we have.”

“There’s one thing we didn’t talk about though.”

“Okay……” Nico put down his fork completely and stopped eating.

“We haven’t talked about the possibility of more children.”

Nico looked surprised. “Oh.”

“Just wondering what you think about that.”

He wiped his mouth with his napkin. “I’ve thought about it. We talked about it before, a long time ago.”

“Is it something you might still want…with me?”

“Yes it is.”

“So a few weeks ago I laughed at Mama K, because of a dream she said she had.”

“What was the dream about?”

“About fish.”

Nico sat up straight in his seat.

“Turns out she was right.”

Nico got up from his seat walking over to her. He picked up the cup she was drinking from, smelling its contents. It was the Apple Tea recipe his mother had given her all those years ago. A prideful smile slowly emerged onto his lips.

“Say it Elle.”

She took a deep breath.

“I’m pregnant.”

#bebepac writes #the rotten apple 🍎#elle x nico #evil ellie rys #choices fanfiction #play choices #trr fanfic #trr fandom #choices fandom #choices fic writers creations

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jiffygis · 2 years ago

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[SILHOUETTE] John Doe X Reader.

So this is the chapter two of this fanfic. As always, it was originally written and posted first on wattpad (@CassTea) so you can find more chapters and faster updates in there.

No warmings for this chapter, and the reader is Female presenting.

Also, I added a small mention from my favourite book, with a mention of a character from it. Nobody seemed to notice it, so I may aswell just say it. I won't put the name of the book tho, I still hope to find someone that knows it lol.

Tangling your fingers, you stood in the cold and poorly lightened subway station. It was obvious how whoever was in charge, truly didn't care about giving maintenance to this old place; it had obviously seen better days, the traces of that were still there, hard to find but there if you looked right.

It wasn't way too early in the morning, of course, after all your shift started at 4 pm and ended at 11 pm, when your "co worker" (if you could call them that because you knew literally nothing about them) would arrive and take your place. Yet... It was way too empty. This was a busy hour, usually there were students, workers and many other people around, waiting to catch the bus but today, it was... You looked around. - It's literally empty...-

Soon after, the fast yet not too violent wind hit your face and scrambled your hair all over the place. This took you by surprise, you quickly stepped back with an exclamation, -JESUS FUCK-. You were so lost half in your thoughts and the rest on your phone, that you hadn't noticed how close you were to the edge. You were exactly stepping the yellow line that was there to warn you. It was a beautiful "I'm literally the most bright colour down here and you still can't see me dumbass" yellow.

This however, woke you up.

It was a weird phenomenon. When you used to go to school, you would sleep at 2 in the morning and wake up at 5 am. You were tired and cold all damn day. Now you had all the time in the world to sleep, but there wasn't enough time in the entire universe that could possibly be enough for you. You would usually sleep between 10 - 11 am and woke up at 2 pm to go to work. You sometimes pondered where the hell your time went, because you could somehow never seem to finish anything you started.

In your mind, those weird and tall gray men that deceitfully stole people's time making them believe they were actually investing it and saving it for later, were the ones who were taking it away from you, only in silence. You weren't accompanied by a turtle with a weird name tho.

- seriously, Casiopea?? I mean it's not bad but... - you were discussing the turtle's name with yourself as you set foot inside of the empty wagon. It didn't took you long to notice tho, only after the doors closed and you looked up did your eyes captured the body chilling image in front of you. It was empty, completely empty. There were times you had used the subway and there weren't many people, but it was never empty.

You calmed down, surely the other wagons were crowded but you were lucky enough to have a whole wagon to yourself? It was... Great! It was great.

You smiled and sighed, it wasn't too bad- you were just overthinking.

-I can sit wherever I want?- you held the power now. (Y/n) ruler of the empty wagon, magic less witch yet the most powerful sourcerer that would ever set foot in this old wagon.

You swinged yourself in the pole, then started to quietly sing a random song, which quickly turned into a full opera concert in which you played three roles: the singer, the public and the director.

You were having way too much fun over nothing, and you looked ridiculous without a doubt, but honestly you deserved it, you deserved a break.

The sudden stop of the subway took you by surprise and made you loose your balance. Had you already arrived? But that was way too fast!.

The doors hadn't open, it was weird. - Maybe some malfunction? Damn it, you were gonna arrive late. You threw yourself at one of the seats, huffing and crossing your arms. Such luck.

As if by your doing, the doors opened not soon after. Looking outside you could see how empty it still was.

A poisonous seed of fear was planted into your chest, liberating uneasiness and, of course, fear as soon as it bloomed.

The place was poorly iluminated by some led lights and dragged hollowness along with it. You never got down on this station, but you did knew it because of the subway always stopping to let some people out... But you could've sworn this was 5 more minutes up ahead; you were very familiar with your schedule and you knew the time it took from station to station.

A void started to fill your chest. This isn't right, no no it isn't. Something bad was about to happen, you could just feel it.

You stopped staring outside but you couldn't take your frozen hands off of the frame of the electric doors.

There was no one there, it was impossible for there to be any sort of sound yet the more time that passed, you could slowly start hearing whispers.

It took you a while to process the sounds, because you just couldn't- how? Who could possibly be talking? And it wasn't two or three people, it was a multitude. When you did notice tho, when you finished processing this, your stomach dropped.

You could've sworn you were seeing movement that shouldn't be there at the corner of your eye.

"Please, to whoever listens my full yet weak words, and whoever has the power to get a hold of this situation, help me".

You were so desperate for the doors closing that you started talking nonsense out of fear.

Who were you even talking to? Who were you asking help to? There was no one there. Your words, even if they had value and intention, they had no power.

If someone did heard you, however, they were a merciful being.

Creaking a little bit, you snapping your body back in, the metal doors closed. You kept on looking outside the window, watching how the dark and hollow station started to be left behind.

You stood there, sighing. You leaned over the door, feeling as if that small moment had taken years out of your lifespan, exhausted because of the amount of fear you had felt in such a short moment.

you hadn't noticed the new entity that had shaped it's form into the almost empty space in which you were now standing, but it wouldn't let you take too long since almost right after you turned your back to the door, you heard a small cling in one of the poles. Of course this didn't get a big reaction out of you because, well, you were in a subway after all, it wasn't weird to hear metal sounds. This, however would trigger a bigger reaction after the sound made you look up, at it was at that moment when you noticed the figure standing there, right hand holding onto the silver pole, left hand playing with it's fingers, standing in an awkward, curvated pose that obtruded with the position of their legs bending them in an awkward manner. They were wearing quite a normal outfit, from which the most attention calling things were a black, poorly worn hoodie, a plain shirt with a red eye painted on it and a pair of black converse that looked like they were in a damn crime scene... not all of that brownish oozy thing could possibly be mud... tho it was weird that it didn't stain the floor; of course it should've if they entered by the door, like a normal human being. Their appearance was the last thing that made you jump in fear, rather what made you jump was the fact they just... appeared there. You would've noticed if they had come in but they just appeared there. They weren't even looking up, they were looking down at their fidgeting fingers, face covered by a massive amount of black, messy and tangled hair.

The few lightness that was left in that damn wagon completely dropped and was dragged and replaced by a heavy aura. You felt so uneasy, this had never happened before while on a moving vehicle, but you got nauseous. You felt a knot in your throat, your clothes got uncomfy and the area that hurted the most in your head was your forehead, making all the way down to your eyes, which you felt were gonna explode.

You had to sit down before you puked or something, which you did, the farthest from that person the better.

You were full on alert mode, ready to jump at any suspicious movement. It was already extremely, suspiciously weird they were the only person in the wagon, but ok they were already there what could you do about it, however you would be alert.

How you spoke big ass words for such a damn small brain, because not even 3 minutes after, while playing with your legs, you accidentally kicked your flask. A damn miracle the floor wasn't covered in water right now because the cap of the flask used to malfunction, but while thank goodness that wasn't a problem, you heard the metal clank against the floor and it s l o w l y rolling and making all its way to the feet of that person. This had to be staged, for the love of God no one but you had bad luck like this, "when I look up there will be cameras recording, this is all just part of a stupid YouTube video". Damn right it wasn't, of course not, the idea itself was dumb but you were desperate.

Carefully looking down their way, you could see how their fingers stopped fidgeting, they just looked down at the flask, not moving a muscle, not grabbing it just standing there.

Thank you for your services my loyal companion, but alas, today is the day we part ways my beloved, malfunctioning flask. The partially broken cap was part of your charm, I'll never forgive yo-

- I believe this is yours - spoke a high pitched, yet kind of soft voice.

Jesus Christ just keep it man.

-Oh!- you acted surprised... emphasis on acted, - I'm sorry, I... hadn't noticed -, with the thick ass glass surrounded by metal on the outside, everyone in the North Pole heard that damn flask. You smiled awkwardly.

...

They clearly were waiting for you to go grab it, so against every inch of meat and common sense in your body, you stood up and began walking towards them.

It was a quick action, the apparently kilometre long wagon grew short as you walked down it and, faster that expected, you were grabbing the flask from the floor.

If looks could kill... You would still be alive tbh but if looks could melt you'd be a wiggly liquid by now. You made sure to keep your body not too close and reached out with your arm, when you had the great idea to look up.

Underneath that nest of a hair, was a thin face with a thin nose, elements for a common face but wide open eyes with deep dark, redish eyebags planted underneath them and an almost inhumanly wide smile with very... Very thin teeth were focused on your bent form.

It happened in seconds, but you could've sworn those damned black pupils dilated a bit when you made eye contact. The sudden sight made you stumble and fall on your butt, - owie - you said out of habit, but the light words weren't matching your sloppy and nervous actions, because right now you were rapidly dragging yourself away from the person in front of you. They didn't seem to want to hurt you tho, because in fact they stepped back a step after watching your awkward figure trying to get away from them. You stopped when you made a weird movement and your wrist popped, it didn't hurt as much as the sound scared you because right now you were thinking only the worst, and the worst in this scenario was a broken wrist. It was an exaggeration of course, but you didn't know that at the moment.

At that moment, they stuck out their arm and reached for your flask, grabbing it and bringing it up. Not a word came out from their mouth, they just let go of the pole and reached out their hand towards you.

You weren't a rude person but this literally wasn't the time to give two flying fucks about that, so you stood yourself and stepped back before standing still and firm, trying to show confidence you really didn't had at the moment. - Please give that back - you said signalling at your flask. Stupid moronic flask, it had given you more trouble in 20 minutes than your own dumb actions in the entirety of your life.

That smile on their face didn't disappear at all. - sure - they said, handing it over to you.

In that small exchange, a question popped in your mind, "Do you think he's cute?", Him? - him? -, you and your gigantic mouth. -me?- he said grinning, -you? Uhm, no- do I? No, no comment- you weren't actually talking to him, you were answering the question that popped in your mind... out loud. -on what?- he asked, -hmm- you hummed to God knows who while grabbing the flask out of his han- dude you're so awkward what. He didn't say anything and just let go of it.

-uhm, thanks- you said. Of course you were still scared as shit because of his eyes on you, but at least you were safe... You guessed.

He didn't say anything, just smiled wider if that was even possible.

Not really knowing what to do anymore, you just, sat down back at your place.

My god did you have something in your face?? Why was he staring? He didn't even try to hide it he just literally stared straight at you; was he even blinking? Maybe he did when you did.

And many other dumb questions surged in your mind.

To try and distract yourself from the thought of him pulling out a knife and jumping at you, you took out your phone. You didn't even have internet si you were just looking through your gallery. It was better than nothing.

Slowly you started to fade out of consciousness, but the weird thing is that you didn't even notice when you did, you were just asleep out of nowhere and the next thing you knew, someone was tapping on your shoulder.

"Must be that weird guy" you thought.

However, you were woken out of your slumber by an unknown voice.

-Excuse me, miss?... Miss?- the security guard was shaking your shoulder.

When you opened your eyes, you caught a full sight of your surroundings. There were many people sitting, others standing, people coming in and out of the wagon. -Where did all of them come from?- you mumbled, still not knowing what the fuck was going on.

-This is the last station. Someone brought to our attention that you've been sleeping here for over hour and a half. I'm sorry but you need to exit the wagon if you're not actually going somewhere.

-uh, sure- you said frowning -sorry-. You stood up, and before exiting the wagon you asked -this is the last station, you say?- -that's right- the guard politely answered.

Shit,

you were so late for work.

#fanfic #john doe x reader #john doe x you #john doe #john doe game #horror games #mortisfox

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