#save for a few words depending on my mood i guess

[nescaveckwriter]

Smoky Old Barrooms, Saving Grace & Guitars - Chapter Three

A/N: … Y'all this one is just so Awwww we find out what's the matter with Grace, we meet her sister Kelly and her fiancé Benny, and then we see what Dean is feeling and the rest is just beautiful but sad moments. I hope y'all like it, also just a little side note, the song/poem that was used was written by me. Okayz that's it for now my bugs, I hope you enjoy, let me know okay. Love y'all, bye-bye Warnings: 18+ Only Mentions of a medical condition, bit swearing, heartache, Characters: Dean Winchester, Bobby Singer, Benny Lafitte, Grace Tucker, Kelly Tucker Words: 1474 Cover & Pictures: Pinterest, Canva, Google Side Note: Please check out my Masterlist for more, epic stories

Also song is: Charles Esten "Out of the blue" - Yes I am struggling with my Signal, some stuff works the rest doesn't. Xo but anywayz love y'all.

There's melodies playing over the radio station as the Chevy Impala roars down the road, Dean hums with the Led Zeppelin song, as he takes in the early sunrise, he always tries to drive out to the spot where he clears his mind, sometimes with some black coffee, other times with some beer or bourbon, it just really depends on the mood. But this morning he feels lighter, after the last couple of weeks, he met that beautiful woman again, turns out she was the other artist Bobby wanted him to sing with, not that he's complaining, there's something about her, he just can't explain, but her light is so contagious, she seems so carefree so happy. Oh damn and her voice, she sounds like an southern angel. The Radio presenter breaks his deep thoughts.  "And now, what we all have been waiting for, Ladies and Gents, Cowboys and Cowgirls, the one and only Grace Tucker" Dean immediately turns the radio up, what are the odds.

Her sweet voice comes over the speaker, "Howdy Rick," she let's out a soft giggle "I'm so honored to be here with y'all, thank you for having me"

"So tell me Grace, how did you manage it to bring out two albums in a year?"

"I've got a great manager and producer, Kelly, my sister, and if the creativity has a hold of you, you got to run with it"

Laughing now, "It must be fun working with your sister?"

"Yes, she is amazing, she keeps me in line and helps me remember the important stuff, I love her so much, and wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for her, and all of you of course"

"You don't see family working so closely together anymore, so tell me Grace, do you think your new album with reach platinum status?"

Laughing, "I'm not sure, I guess it depends if the listeners will like it"

"Tell us a bit more about your song's please"

 "Well Rick I draw inspiration from everyday situations and experiences, it's mostly about things about the heart you know, we all take it for granted sometimes, but its one of the most complex parts of our human existence"

"I have no words Grace, that is enough to make some of our listeners cry so early in the morning"

Grasping "Oh my, I'm sorry, not my intention, but I love it when it awakens everyone's emotions"

"Miss Tucker, that's the one thing all of your songs, does, so without further due, would you please sing us a little something"

"Oh I would love to, thank you, y'all will be the first that hear my new single" Picking up the guitar, adjusting the microphone, smiling "this one's called, 'No Good No More' I hope y'all enjoy it"

I heard the news today

No use for any further delay

My heart's no good no more What else could I ask for

A few more years Without all the heartaches and tears

A few more memories A few more stories

Could someone please tell me why Why I should leave And say goodbye Help me to believe

In something more than just me Leaving behind what I know, how can this be

I've gotten the news today And there's no other way to say

My heart's no good no more It will never be the same as before

So with one last wave I ask you to keep this memories save.

I will walk away right about now Before this heartache starts to show

The moment her sweet voice stopped, the were hands clapping over the radio, Dean sat there, looking out over the city on that hilltop, he felt mesmerized, that felt so personal, so real and authentic, the question is who would break her heart.

As she walked out of the studio, to the parking space, that's when she felt the old familiar wooziness, heart beating rapidly it feels like a drummer's trying to figure, if he's playing a rock or a love song, dryness in her mouth, croakiness in her throat,  the ground and sky is spinning in front of her eyes, a total blur in front her eyes, trying to get something to hold onto, to steady her in place, but nothing it didn't take long for her body to plunge towards the ground, she just sat there in the middle of the road, trying to find her balance, find strength to get up, but the exhaustion took over, placing her hand over her chest, trying to calm it down, she used the other hand to pull out her phone, pressing down '1' she's got her sister on speed dial, it felt like the phone was ringing forever, her voice friendly "Hey Gracie, what's up? Done at the studio?"

She can barely form audible words, "Kelly, help" is all she could get out, before her world turned dark.

"Grace, Gracie, come on, open your eyes for me please sweetie" Kelly pleaded 

Her eyes started to open slowly, glancing into her sister's brown watery eyes, her voice hoarse "Hey sis, you came" 

Overjoyed "Of course, I came you called, you scared the hell out of me, you know that?"

Coming up to her elbows, realizing she's in her sisters bedroom, the only noticing Kelly's fiancé, "Oh hey Benny!, didn't see you there" looking in her sisters direction again, "I'm sorry Sis, I didn't mean too"

Benny just nodded, when she said hello, but he stays quiet for most of this, he struggles to find the right words, how does he comfort the love of his life, when they all know the inevitable, its  only a matter of time, before Grace says goodbye forever. It broke Kelly when Grace told her, she's in her final stage of heart failure, the doctors said she had a year left, maybe! He's the one who hold's his bride to be, sobbing in his arms every night. This is supposed to be a joyful time for him and Kelly, but instead their heartbroken, he's known Grace for ten years and she's like a little sister to him. He can't deny it, the moments when he's not around Kelly or working he would occasionally break down as well, due to the fact of how unfair life is. No one deserves it, especially not her. Kelly's voice shook him out of his deep thoughts. "Baby, could you please grab a glass of water" nodding "On it darling" Benny said with a small smile curving on his handsome features.

"Grace, you need too take it slower, please, you need to get enough rest"

She just faintly nods, her voice brittle "I'm sorry, I will I promise" Kelly sits down on the bed, wrapping her arms over her sister's fragile body, kissing the top of her head, saying softly "I love you Sis"

Tears streaming over her cheeks "I love you too!" trying too clear her throat she breaths "I'm scared" 

Kelly thumbs away the tears, trying to cover the pain in her voice, "Me too sis, me too" 

Seeing the old man, with his ball cap sitting at the table busy with the contract that was sent him, for Dean's and Grace's duet. 

"Hey Bobby, how's things looking, when can we start with the tour?"

Irritation clear on the old features, "I am not sure if this is going to work boy, Grace's manager has stipulated that the two of you can do the show together, but there will be no touring"

Confused "But why? I thought the whole point of this, was to release an album and do a country wide tour, maybe even world wide!"

"Exactly, I will get on the phone and set up a meeting with her immediately" 

"Thank you Bobby, I really want to make this album with her, I've even started working on a couple of new songs"

Bobby just smiled and nodded.

"Speaking of songs, do you know if everything is alright with Benny, he just ran out, after he had a call from his fiancé and I haven't heard a word from him yet, we are supposed to work on that new song?"

Bobby just shook his head and went on with reading the contract further, making notes about what he wanted to remember. 

Dean just walked out of the office, humming Grace's new song to himself, it's stuck in his head but he doesn't really mind, everything about her is burned into his memory, her sweet angel voice, the stage lights dancing around in her eyes, her strawberry hair flowing in the night sky, and then her lips, wondering what it tasted like, knowing he probably shouldn't , but he's falling in love with her, he felt alive for the first time in so long, new music is running through his veins, as for his heart, it was somewhere between beating rapidly and coming to a stand still. Wondering if she might feel the same.

[softxsuki]

Could I request a letter for your Valentines Day Letter Event? I would love love LOVE a letter from baji. We've been friends since middle school and we became offical when we went to the same University. (He does veterinary medicine and I do art.) I'm 20 and he's 21 (dating for a couple of years at the time of him writting ir) and well... he does call me a variety of pet names depending on his mood (just wanna be call dollface/cutie). TONE: I'm thinking about a hurt to comfort letter where I get hurt/bullied (harassed and peer pressured by bullies and idk how to response bc i thought uni wasn't the place for bullying and high school drama. Guess not 💀) and he saves me but I don't respond bc i feel week and I should have done something instead of waiting for him ro come save me and I just feel undeserving of his love and isolate myself in my dorm (we live in different dorms). Baji not being sure on what to do/not wanting to pressure me (ik he isn't like this but shhh it's for the sake of the letter) write a letter expressing how much he genuinely cares for me and loves me (without it being out of character) and that I'm not alone and I have him. Location: it takes place at uni (so he slips it through underneath the door. After I read it, he comes in and we just cuddle and watch a movie (whilst hes holding me in his strong arms. He stays the night and makes me breakfast, also he "talks" to my bullies so that when I see them again they all run away 🏃 (they want no smoke). Other information: I'm usually the more affectionate one between us and like he reciprocates (was quite shy at first but warmed up to it and how he starts it... it gets a little heated sometimes if he's jealous 😳). I hope I'm not coming off as ooc by saying this (please correct me if I am). I feel like baji is somewhat reserved in public (unless he's jealous) like the most he'll do if give me a kiss or a brief hug (maybe ruffle my hair) but like o can tell he cares. I can't proprrly articulate it but he isn't just a feral troublemaker, he's more than that (acts of service - giving me water, snacks if so I don't get hungry or thirsty/reminding me to like eat and hydrate. Also I can confinde him about anything and he won't judge me for it. Also he doesn't judge me for my autism (actually G checks and fucks up anyone who tries it) and he doesn't care if I'm stimming or pacing around and like it's just really nice to not be seen as weird. Also like he's really attentive like if I'm having a shitty day he wont just not say anything, he'll pick up on it and do his dammest to make it go away. Like giving me advice (amazing if not a bit blunt), or doing what he can. Also I sometimes draw portraits and art of him bc I love him (and my hobby is art) and even if he insists I don't need to. I always make sure to buy him gifts (new cat toys/food, veterinary resources, yskisoba and snacks, etc) bc I want to give back to him.

But yeah that's all there is to it. I hope it isn't too much. Thank you for accepting my request and letting me send this in.

I hope you have a nice day. Ur amazing.

Baji's Comforting Letter to His Girlfriend

This event is now CLOSED, but you can view the masterlist for the other letters here.

| Pairing: Baji x Fem!Reader | Genre: Comfort, Fluff | Post-Type: Letter | Word Count: 1.1k|

Warnings: mentions of bullying, reader feels a little insecure

Note: Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you enjoy your letter from Baji :)

Baji feels awkward standing in front of your dorm door, his letter grasped between his fingers. You had run away from him a few days ago after he helped you out upon seeing your classmates harass you. Not knowing what to say after that, he gave you your space, but you still hadn’t reached out to him at all.

Worry filled him after your silence. Were you upset with him for some reason that he didn’t immediately reach out to you? Anxiety bubbled up within him as he stood outside your dorm room. It was Valentine’s Day and while that usually meant just staying indoors and ordering takeout with you like any other date, Baji felt like he had to do something extra for you this year to cheer you up. 

He wasn’t used to expressing his affection for you verbally, especially not in a letter since his handwriting was horrible and he couldn’t spell to save his life, but this is what lots of guys did for their girlfriends, right? Maybe it would help you feel better.

Swallowing his pride and brushing his embarrassment away, he slips the letter under your door and knocks a few times before rushing to hide behind a nearby wall so you wouldn’t see him.

You, busy sulking on your own in your dorm, jump slightly at the sudden knock on your door. You were  embarrassed that you had run away from your boyfriend after he helped you out. Of course you were grateful for his help and having him protect you like that sent butterflies erupting in your stomach, but you had let your classmates' words get to you. You felt undeserving of Baji’s love, how could you possibly deserve his attention when you were just you?

Sighing, you stand from your bed that you were wallowing away on, and approach your door, seeing an envelope in front of it. Curiously, you pick it up and see your name written on it. You look through the peephole of your dorm door but don’t see anyone outside it, opening the door slightly just to make sure no one was there, before closing it again.

You take a seat on your bed again as you open the envelope and begin to read its contents;

Hey Dollface,

Did I scare you off the other day? Or were you embarrassed that I found out you were getting picked on? You know I don’t care about things like that, but I wish you had told me yourself so I could have helped you out sooner. Don’t worry about those idiots, they won’t bother you again, in fact, no one will bother you again, I’ve made it very clear to them that they shouldn’t mess with my girl…

I’m sorry if I upset you for not running after you and giving you space. I should have looked for you and comforted you right away. But just…don’t feel like you’re alone. We’re partners, I want to share the pain you feel and I want to know when someone is bothering you so I can sort it out quickly. I love you too much to see you throw yourself down like that. If anything, I’m the one undeserving of you.

Anyway, it’s Valentine’s Day and I heard guys write stupid letters like these or something, so here it is. I really don’t get it, but if it makes you happy then good. I love you.

From,

You know who, do I really need to say it??

You smile to yourself as you read the letter, it was so like him. Super curt, straight to the point,  and probably took him forever to write out properly since the grammar and spelling were perfect. You read through the letter one more time, your eyes always stopping at his words ‘my girl’. You were his girl, despite how many times you may have thought you didn’t deserve his love, Baji would never pretend to be interested in you, he knew what he wanted, and that was you.

The only thing you’d ever picture him doing is pushing you away if you were ever in danger because of him. But he’d never lead you on and pretend to care for you, so why were you so worried in the first place?

You laugh to yourself and quickly grab your things, wanting to see him as soon as possible. Two days without being in his arms was long enough. You open your dorm door, but you definitely don’t expect to see your handsome man in front of you already. He backs you up into your dorm room and closes the door behind him, his eyes never leaving yours.

You could see his red ears, hinting as his embarrassment from his letter, but he still stood tall, his confidence never leaving. 

“Did you read it?” He asks, a hand coming up to rub your arms.

Baji had never been one to initiate affection with you, but since dating you for a while and getting used to your touchiness, he finds himself reaching out to you first now more often. He loves it.

“Mhm, thank you,” you smile, leaning in to press a kiss to his lips. “I loved it, and I love you. Thank you for stepping in the other day for me…and I’m sorry for running off on you like that without a word, I just felt embarrassed.”

He shakes his head and laughs huskily, pulling you into his arms, his chin leaning on your shoulder as he squeezes you tight, “You don’t need to apologize. It’s my job to look out for you, just know that they won’t be bothering you again. They know what’ll happen if they do.”

You hug him back, missing the feeling of having his arms around you

“I’m sure you did. Thank you,” you hum, before a teasing smile graces your lips, “Happy Valentine’s Day. Such a romantic gesture to threaten my ‘bullys’ for me.”

He groans in your neck, guiding you back to your bed where he pushes you back into the mattress, hovering over you, “Yeah yeah, Happy Valentine’s Day. As long as you’re happy.”

And happy you were as he leaned down to pepper kisses all over your face.

Your day of love was spent cuddled up together with a movie playing in the background as Baji later attempts to cook brunch since it was still early on in the day. It wasn’t perfect, but you could care less as long as you got to spend it with him, that’s all that mattered.

Posted: 2/14/2024

[the-stove-is-divorced]

Op i have a question about your writing process

I'm trying to make a project rn, and one of the problem I'm stuck at is making characters feel more than just a few trait. Like, characterization wise, what I'm trying to do is make them more,,, humane??

I'm not sure how to describe it but in your writings, characters always feel like their own selfs? Like, they have words they repeat more than others, they notice certain things faster than other certain things, and even the way they talk is /them/

The way they anger or react to things and all of that is usually unique to their own selves and what I'm trying to ask is, how do you characterize your characters? How do you add more than one layer to them? What exactly do you ask yourself to understand more about these characters?

Just, how do you characterize?

(also bonus question how do I find a destination to my writing? Cause there is several ending in my mind and all depends on a specific character, so what one should I choose and why??)

I’m flattered I can hopefully be of assistance!! (*´▽`*) All of these are difficult questions, but I’ll do my best! And thank you kindly! ♡ This got long, but I wanted to make myself clear!

For characterizations, I think about a lot of things that I'm condensing into the main question(s) of:

How and how often do they get in their own way? What do they fear, what do they want, and how do they act upon both? Are they actually successful in both? Either one? Do they think they're successful in either? How do they cope with failure? With victory? What's their mood? And then how would that mood impact their goal, like how their fears will impact their pursuits of xyz.

"Want -> but fear -> so act" setups help me keep characters in character! Like how Mark wants to save lives, but he's scared of confronting his father, so he's convinced someone else should handle his Dad. MK also wants to save the day, but he's scared he isn't worthy, so he's trying to prove himself by dealing with the enemy (mostly) on his own. Steven 2.0 (more fear driven) wants to prove his way of thinking is correct, but is scared his way he's lived was never necessary, so he doubles down to avoid thinking he was wrong. This helps gives their general goals way more shape, as their fears narrow down their decisions, and in turn, makes them feel more human, especially when they make mistakes (getting in their own way)!

Wanting this, but they fearing this, so they do this, also what helps me just destinations! Imma use how much can you fit under your skin as an example again, considering it's actually completed! Keep in mind I am a "chapter by chapter with vague plot points or scene(s) in mind that are barely connected" kind of author, as I am not a detailed planner and will never be ＼٩(๑`^´๑)۶／

Anyways, MK's main problem is he doesn't think he's worthy (via above), and his mood is notably anxious (he has his worst enemy in his head), desperate (to somehow succeed in doing this on his own), and irritable (from stress), SO he's more prone to make mistakes (which he’ll beat himself up about) and thus get in his own way. Now we can guess where the story will go (failure and desperation), because as more things fail, the more MK will unravel, worsening his moods until uh oh! Breaking point. ��(× ×)۶

It’s also way easier to guess where the story needs to end, emotionally, by how they start. If MK starts the fic thinking he’s not good enough/unworthy, he needs to remember that he always good enough by the end (for a happy ending at least). If he doesn’t depend on anyone to help him, he should succeed only because they are helping him (lesson learned, huzzah!). How this happens depends on how you set this all up and how much you’re gonna bring back. Like, in this fic, MK constantly compares LBD to ice, painfully cold, so by contrast he needs warmth, which meant I needed to bring in something to create that warmth, hence bringing in the trigun furnace in the last chapter!

In terms of specific narrative characterizations from pov, like what words they use, what they repeat, what they stress, paying attention to their dialogue and guessing what they would say, are much harder for me to explain tbh (″ロ゛) !!! I write dialogue by literally imagining whether or not I can hear them saying this (mostly, and I'll re-watch clips of them speaking to help with this). I also consider whether this character would be this honest? This blunt? Additionally, do they ramble? When do they ramble? Do they choose their words carefully, or more loosely? And internally, what do they misunderstand? What do they miss? Do their thoughts contradict their feelings/actions? Are they trying to convince themselves something? And again, mood! Do their fears/anger/pride get in the way of what they understand?

I think misunderstands, misconceptions, limitations help make them feel human. What do they miss? How do they limit themselves? What mistakes do they make? Which sounds incredibly negative, but I found it very compelling, haha! (///￣ ￣///) Failure and success are equally important for characters, especially what it takes for them to accomplish either.

I hope these are helpful? Again, I've never really reflected on my own process beforehand, and I'm certainty not an expert by a long shot! ヾ(。＞＜)シ A lot of my writing is constant re-working, rewording, complete overhauls and scrapped chunks, if not whole chapters. I pride myself on focusing on consistent characterization (on top of being very flowery and descriptive since it's what I would want to read), as it's infinitely compelling thinking about putting a mf in a situation. If they act out of character, why put them in this situation in the first place?

Again, hope this helps in any way possible! (´꒳`)♡ Please let me know if I need to elaborate on anything, I'll do my best. (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡

[simp999]

A New Home Ch. 11

Various Splatoon Manga x Skilled! Isekai'd! Reader

Wc: 1.2k

Back to the start! Previous Next

"OH MY COD, YOU TWO KNOW EACHOTHER?!"

You're quick to wave your hands dismissively, attempting to cut Leo off before he can assume anything. 

"We only sometimes see each other when watching battles, is all. Don't get too hyped." 

You can see how Leo's mood immediately dropped, maybe he wanted to use this as a chance to get closer to Rider? He is a lot of people’s idol. You assume that that's going to be the end of that, but you assumed wrong. Thanks to his character development, Rider's a tad more friendly than he was at the beginning of the series. What a pain.

Rider notices the way Leo got all mopey, and he can recognize a fan from a mile away. 

"If you care all that much, did you want an autograph or something?"

Milo and Leo jump at the idea and almost out of their seats, but you grab their shirts, forcibly sitting them back down.

"Battle's not over, you idiots." 

They're giddy in their seats, excited for it to be over. You side eye Leo. 

'Seriously? You'd rather miss out on Skull's battle for an autograph?'

It didn't take long for Goggles to lose his footing, and manages to strike Skull with a shot from his inkzooka midair. Without a moment to spare, Leo and Milo shoot up from their seats. You had no excuse to stop them this time, so you and Tasha slowly followed behind them. The rest of the Yellow-Green team were watching the battle too, apparently, which led to Tasha and Bamboo chatting. With very few words, of course, given their personalities, but it seemed they were getting along. Not as an idol-fan type of relation, but more as acquaintances. It's good to see Tasha find someone who she may get along with. You stood near the back of the group, still trying to avoid everyone, but someone else decided to slow his pace to match yours. You don’t think too much of it, he is known to be shy. Maybe he just wanted to avoid the group, too.

“Hey! Um, I just wanted to say that I, uh, respect your level of skill. You’re really good with your weapon!”

You look over at him, Stealth, but he’s looking away. You catch the way he plays with his fingers nervously, it must have taken a bit out of him to speak up. You focus back on what’s in front of you, not wanting to bump into the others.

“Well thank you, sweetheart. I appreciate it.”

He stops walking for a second, surprised at the nickname. You snicker to yourself when he can no longer see your face from behind. He catches back up to you, he quickly tries to organise his thoughts.

“I forgot to introduce myself, didn’t I? I’m so sorry, my name’s Stealth!”

“Yeah, I know.”

You both keep walking without a word being discussed. It takes a bit of effort to keep your laugh in, but it’s worth it to see his face slowly become an even darker shade of green. 

‘Oh yeah, I guess people would blush a different color here? Depends on their main ink color I suppose. Did he always have freckles? That’s cute.’

Stealth decides that he wouldn’t be able to take another nickname, so he does a quick little jog to catch up to the rest of the group. Rider notices his teammate and takes a quick look back at you, who’s looking away, pretending to be innocent. 

‘A bit of banter can’t hurt, right? It’s not like this’ll change a big part of the story or something.’

Finally you make your way over to the centre of the Plaza, where Leo and Milo are already posing next to Rider.

An inkling with dark blue ink runs up to Leo and gasps, then quickly turns his head towards Rider.

“YOU MADE FRIENDS?!”

“Shut up! We’re in the middle of the plaza, idiot!”

Hm. He doesn’t deny it right off the bat, but his mind seems to be preoccupied with getting attention off of him, thanks to everyone in the vicinity being curious at the loud shout. Leo saves you, just saying that your team are just big fans.

'Hey, wait! Leo, you dork, don’t get me involved!'

You don’t clearly remember what happens after this battle, but it hits you when you spot a wide variety of ink colored cephalopods walking your way. Crap, this is when they all have curry together.

'How can I get out of here? I can’t just say I gotta go fold the dishes or something, they wouldn’t get my humour and Milo would definitely just laugh it off and encourage me to ‘step out of my comfort zone for a bit’. Hey, I could just play it off like that! Yeah, I just get nervous around my ‘idols’ is all. Yeah, perfect.'

You look around nervously at how many people were here. Usually this many people would make you a little nervous, but you know all of these characters too well, almost like old friends, in a way. You decide to spend this time taking mental notes on how these characters are out of battle.

You slowly make your way behind Milo, who managed to sneak his way over to Army and talk about whatever Army cared about. Which ended up being curry of course, which is what lead to everyone eating curry.

'Oh, being here changed the interactions, but not the end result. Odd.'

Milo realises that you made your way behind him and being the sweet other brother type that he is, he shields you from the group. When Army turns to berate Aloha for being too much of a party animal for a second, Milo assures you that he doesn't want you to be too uncomfortable, but that you should step out of your comfort zone and try to make some friends. He knows that you're a fan sorta, so he wants to encourage that, too.

'Milo, I love you and you're the sweetest person I know but not now! Not like this, don't make me interact with these people!' 

Milo gently encourages you to move out from behind him, and you let your nervousness show by playing with the hem of your top, and only taking quick glances at the others at most, not letting your attention linger too much. This paint on the sidewalk is much more interesting than the S4 right now. You consider if having curry right now or eating supper later would be better, but you see that the rest of your teammates already had their share and won’t want supper tonight. Also, it’s free. Can’t pass up free food.

You make yourself a plate, finally getting closer to the group. Physically. You haven’t warmed up to them just yet. 

Next Part

May.2.23

[mdelpin]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

thank you @celestialtitania for the tag!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Looks like 183, which is pretty nuts considering I remember thinking when I wrote my first fic that I'd probably never do it again. Hahaha, shows what I know.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

1,233,329 words and hopefully counting, but I haven't written much lately...

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I've mostly written for Fairy Tail, but I wrote a few fics for Given.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

All Fairy Tail

Gay Does Not Just Mean Happy

The Red Dragon

The Scarf that United Us

Good Intentions

Burst Your Bubble

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

It depends on my mood. While I love comments, sometimes I don't know what to say. I try my best to respond when I can.

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

Hmm, that would have to be either I Will Keep You Safe or Winter in the Sun. I actually don't have that many, most of my fics have humor or have hopeful/happy endings.

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

Damn, I'm having trouble quantifying that... apparently I lied before. I do mostly hopeful endings. 😆 I guess I'll go with Through the Spyglass because it has a happy ending, and it makes me happy every time I read it.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yeah, mostly on fanfiction.net, though. It was enough to make me delete all my fics on there.

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

I've written some. It's not really my favorite genre, but I'll write it in if it fits the story.

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

Not sure if it counts as crossovers but I've transplanted Natsu and Gray into other worlds. For example, I reimagined the first arc of Rascal Does Not Dream of a Bunny Girl Senpai with Natsu and Gray in Natsu Does Not Dream of a Stripper Senpai. The craziest is probably To Kill A Dragon where I threw in Tiamat from Dungeons and Dragons/Forgotten Realms.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, but I stopped checking years ago.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, two of my Given fics were translated.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Have I? 😆 Yes, back in 2019 I met my writing partner @oryu404 during a Fairy Tail LGBT event I was hosting. We've gone on to create many stories and AUs together. I credit them with bringing back my love for Fairy Tail. I think at last count we've written ~80 fics together?

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

My one true pairing is Natsu and Gray from Fairy Tail. No other ship comes close to what I feel for those two.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Oh God, I don't even want to think about WIPs but realistically probably To Save a Dragon because it requires a complete replot and rewrite and I'm not sure if I'll ever be motivated enough.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'm not really sure. I think my dialogue is usually decent and I'm fairly good at planning/plotting a story. Also, maybe humor? I think I do that pretty well.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Description for sure. I'm not very observant by nature, so it's hard for me to describe places well. It's a work in progress.

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

I actually don't mind it. English isn't my first language and AO3 has great mechanisms you can use to translate within the story without being too distracting. Although, I did do it once, and I remember people being why's Natsu speaking Spanish? It was pretty funny.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Fairy Tail

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

There are a lot of fics I've written that I love for different reasons, but I guess The Red Dragon would probably be my favorite. I think I managed to include just about everything I wanted for that one and at the end of the day, that's what makes me the happiest.

Thanks again @celestialtitania for thinking of me. It's been a hot minute since I've been on here consistently but it's nice to know I'm still remembered.

Tagging (only if they want to) @aki-natsuko @oryu404 @faery-snow

[crows-home]

for the get to know your fic writer thing- 3, 7, 17, and 11!

(3 - Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic)

(7 - How do you choose which POV to write from?)

(17 - What do you do when writing becomes difficult? (maybe a lack of inspiration or writers block)

(11 - Link your three favorite fics right now)

This answer got a little long uh. oops! ^^" Here's my silly answer, but my more in depth answers will be below the cut

3. Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

Usually it starts with a little idea in my brain. A "gosh wouldn't this be such an interesting/ fun scenario?" They're usually just for me to play in my own brain as bedtime stories, and nothing more. But sometimes I'm hit with that itch to write and get something out there.

I do what I like to call "word vomit." Just. Writing whatever the hell comes to my mind. Here are some examples I found in my doc that make me laugh looking back now

The beginning phase is just me going ham!! Throwing ideas at the wall, typing whatever's in my head without spell check or care. Like i'm writing notes to myself.

After that I do "scenes." Basically just breaking down big moments of the fic that I have in my head and writing them down. You know those moments/ideas that you come up with in your head that you can't stop relaying? That.

After that it's just connecting the dots, making everything fit together. I like to think of it like painting. Mixing together colors, seeing what fits and what doesn't, using different brushes. Sometimes I'll get through a scene and realize I'm rambling too much, it has too much dialogue, it doesn't make sense with the story- so I scrap that piece or find a way to save it for a different part of the story.

Then editing. A lot of editing. And hating what I wrote, wondering why people like it. Leaving the canvas alone for a while, coming back and going "actually i really like this. this is so fucking cool, especially for what i have planned at the end hehehe" Sometimes I polish it up in a way that i like, sometimes I go "fuck it. it's good enough"

And THEN it's done :)

7. How do you choose which POV to write from?

It's a few factors! Sometimes it's based on what I think would be fun (ex: "What if I wrote a fanfiction from Sonic's perspective. What might he have been thinking/ going through?") But sometimes it's what I want my readers to see.

Like, in the last chapter of "You are at your lowest", I wrote in Rouge's perspective during her meet-up with a certain character. That's because I intentionally didn't want the audience to have the other character's P.O.V. I wanted to leave readers wondering/ guessing/ confused.

17 - What do you do when writing becomes difficult? (maybe a lack of inspiration or writers block)

Depends!! If I'm not feeling inspired, I'll usually check on Tumblr or instagram to get back in the mood/ vibe or read some comments that people have left!! They really pull my head out of a dull space when i need it :) <3 If I've got writer's block, I'll either take weeks off writing or force myself to sit down and just write, no matter how bad it is. Then I just work with what I have.

11. Link your three favorite fics right now

aaaaaaa ok i love reccing fics and i have a lot but here's a few:

Slumber Party by Detton

Summary: Edward Richtofen and his traveling partner, "Tank" Dempsey try to survive in an ice apocalypse.

It's been years since i've played CoD- probably almost a decade, now- but a while ago went looking for Zombies fics for the nostalgia of it. And ough, this fic has my heart!! A Dempsey/Richtofen WIP that includes the main four and their interactions in an ice apocalypse. i just really like it a lot, and if this is your thing, i recommend it!! It's super sweet, and has superb writing 👌

The Buzzsaw Dilemma by redpenship

Summary: How do you stop an unstoppable force?

Three weeks after meeting Sonic, Tails is kidnapped by Doctor Eggman and tasked with building a machine capable of defeating the hedgehog. His success marks his first day as the doctor's secret apprentice, in which he must help the Eggman Empire against his will.

Tails becomes determined to use what little power he has to reduce the empire’s harm. When larger threats arise, he realizes that he can use his influence to save the world—and if all goes well, destroy the empire from the inside out, too.

If only alien invasions didn’t make things so complicated.

OUOSUDHFSFHSDH OBSESSED!!! oh man, a WIP about Tails being forced to help Eggman, and I'm super stoked to see where it goes. But heed the tags, because it does say "Major Character Death" and "Animal death"!! I'm so enthralled by the world building and reading this take on Sonic and Tails. Brainworms!!

Lastly I'm gonna link Sometimes the Picket Fence isn't Perfect by @skimmingmilk. It's a whole series on Sonic and Tails finessing their way past Mobian CPS and it's just so hasdkasdbkhas.

i'm still getting caught up, but i watched the last bit of the latest work being written on stream a few days ago and i 🥹🥺😭 they're so cute. They're brothers your honor!!

[sergeantsporks]

💋 First kiss fics. Love em or hate em?

🎶 Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

🛠What tools/programs/apps do you use to write?

⛔ Do you have a fic you started, but scrapped?

🙋‍♀️ Do any irl people know you write fanfic?

🍦 What's the sweetest fic you've created so far?

🍷 Do you drink and write?

🍆 Do you write the spicy stuffs? If so, what's your most popular nsfw fic?

First Kiss Fics: Kinda neutral on them, I guess. I mean, I'M probably not gonna write any, and I'm not gonna seek them out, and obviously it all depends on whether or not I actually ship the pairing in quastion, but I don't have anything against them. If a first kiss happens in canon, I guess there's not much need, but if they don't kiss in canon? Hell yah, make those guys kiss for the first time!

Music: Yes! Mostly if I'm in a noisy environment or where there's talking, but sometimes just to set the mood. It's gotta be instrumental, though, maybe singing in a language I don't speak. I can't have words in my ears and words on the paper at the same time. Right now I'm specifically listening to Lindsey Stirling, but most of the time I just look up "classical music" or "writing music" or "battle music" and just start a 10 hr long video

Program: It's Word for me. We'll see how that changes once I no longer get that from my university. I hear Scrivener is good

Scrapped fics: Yep. There's a few. One I started pre s2b, where Belos' plan was to use Hunter's body as a vessel for the titan, which got scrapped for obvious reasons. A couple of tales of arcadia fics (which I did start to post and did not ever finish. RIP)

Irl people: 2 of my siblings know, my best friends know, and my writer's circle knows. Honestly, I don't care that much about keeping it a secret except for my family (save the 2 siblings) because I don't want them reading it. Feeling cringy about writing fanfic was for baby high school me.

What's the sweetest fic: proooobably Tiny Shards of Glass. I can't really think of any fics that were just straight fluff, but that one was pretty close. Another Shot at Life was pretty sweet too, though!

No drinking and writing for me. Or, at least, I don't think I'd ever purposely pair the two together.

LOL. Funny question. I definitely do not write spicy fics.

[krakrac]

gonna ramble a bit about ocs because i feel like it teehee (its long)

(skipped a few questions because idrk how to answer them. might answer them later if i get some ideas for them)

2. nyr looks friendly, approachable and perhaps kinda shy i think. maybe a bit too serious when he is frowning at something. he is the kinda guy you feel safe around even though you dont know him at all. visually not that interesting, but i think people might notice his eyes, grey and with slight epicanthus

yrsk is a bit harder to read, it really depends on his mood, the circumstances under which you meet him and what he notices about you first, but the feelings he evokes usually range from "i am Not talking to him go away" to not really approachable at best. also not really visually appealing apart from a scar here and there, you would only notice him in the crowd if he didnt wear a shirt (scars + tattoo)

yeah this is really gonna be about these two only, so shortly about other particularly noticeable ocs:

hara - loves elaborate hairstyles so you would probably notice her hair first

nihka - they are tall. like really fucking tall. bro is like a tower in a crowd (if he ever stepped into a crowd but they are Not doing that willingly). also frowns all the time and looks pissed all the time even though they dont mean it and most of the time he is just no thoughts head empty and is actually a golden retriever kinda guy

kristjan - at first glance you just Know its a wry asshole

4. nyr is completely oblivious (he just like me fr) so he doesnt even know he has a crush and just treats them like a good friend. might subconsciously search for reasons to touch them and be physically close to them.

yrsk is also oblivious for a while but then the realization hits him like a truck and he tries really hard to shove the feelings away for Reasons(TM) (trauma) which is futile and even though he thinks he is over the crush, he keeps them close to himself, both physically and emotionally.

(literally just described what was going on between the two before they FINALLY kissed and were like "oh i like him like this". anyways younger yrsk would not hide the crush at all, would look all flustered and shit, your typical deep love crazy "i would die for them" typa teen shit. would try to seduce you with shitty compliments)

snori would tryna play it cool and badass but she would be SCREAMING internally every time she glanced at them

hara is actually playing it cool and badass

(snori x hara is also canon lmao)

veran is raging aroace he doesnt even know what a crush is

kristjan would straight up ignore it he doesnt have time for such trivial matters

8. never really thought about it because i myself dont wear jewelry at all but apart from cultural reasons for wearing jewelry, i think only hara genuinely loves it and enjoys wearing it. that how you know someone is a true rasanian, they love wearing shiny things lmao

9. yrsk loves to affectionately call nyr "ňouma" (english equivalent would be dork i think. simply silly person idk). he doesnt necessarily overuse it but its the typical yrsk word. ofc swear words are very common (kurva vole jebat tuhle píčovinu vyser si voko zkurvysyne kokotskej)

11. i love to associate greyish light blue with nyr, green with yrsk and snori and red with hara

12. nyr and yrsk are constantly touching, its those little things like leaning against each other while sitting, squeezing each other's shoulder encouragingly, this kinda stuff. also constantly saving each other's asses from death. and nyr just wont give up on trying to teach yrsk not to judge and kill people, i think he would quickly give up if he didnt love yrsk.

i didnt really thought about hara's and snori's relationship but i think its similar to nyr's and yrsk's. physical touch, but a lot more kissing i think.

13. i think i projected my undiagnosed autism onto nyr so his eye contact is kinda poor but i guess its still better than mine. yrsk tends to stare sometimes but anyway its similar to nyr. the rest of my ocs also dont really like eye contact or dont mind it? though none of them love it me thinks

16. nyr's childhood was fine, tries to see good in all people and the entire world (and yrsk shows him its stupid, whereas nyr shows him its not okay to assume people are evil) and cant really adjust to southerners' lifestyle (tfw you have been raised on a snowy plain) because they fight over fucking everything.

yrsk learned that punching people who piss you off is satisfying. later in his teens also gained trust issues, trauma, depression, all kinds of fun things that made him this lowkey grumpy guy who just tries to survive in the world and protect his loved ones by any means necessary (controversial moment). you could also says he views himself as nothing but a weapon which really fucks with his self-perception sometimes and adjusting to living outside of the sor desert

snori is kinda similar to yrsk? she learned too that the world is cruel to her but she coped better than yrsk and is far more content with her experience. she got worse in her adult years tbf but it got better again. def did more reflecting on her actions.

hara grew up in a far more better conditions than the three disasters above. she is a noblewoman, you could even say royalty, studied on the best university on the continent but still, she and her people have been oppressed by the lynirosans for centuries and she had to deal with this all the time. so that definitely did something to her but instead of killing lynirosans out of pure hatred (like certain someone named yrsk), she chose to fight diplomatically.

sorry its long and i doubt anyone is gonna read allat but as you can see i am Not normal about my blorbos

✧ OC Asks! ✧

I compiled a short list of some questions that I hadn’t seen yet to help you (and me) have some fun while developing OCs. Feel free to answer these yourself, or ask someone else!

1. How does your OC feel about their full name?

2. What do strangers notice about them first?

3. How does their social personality differ from how they act when they’re alone?

4. How do they act around a crush?

5. Do they have a “tell” for when they’re lying?

6. What do they smell like?

7. What is their hair texture like?

8. How much jewelry do they wear, and do they have a favorite or distinguishing piece?

9. Do they have a word or phrase that they tend to overuse?

10. What is a weird quality that they have (ie their hands are always cold, they’re always hungry, they snort when they laugh, etc)?

11. What color do they look strikingly good in?

12. How do they show affection to someone they love?

13. Do they make strong/frequent eye contact when they talk to someone?

14. What attributes do they have that are inherited from their parents or shared with their siblings/other relatives?

15. Are their greatest flaw and their greatest strength related and in what way? (ie very caring and helpful but a doormat, or very observant and shrewd but often paranoid)

16. How has their childhood affected the way they view an aspect of their life (people, education, society, themselves, etc)?

And that’s all! Remember to reblog with your answers, I’m genuinely curious to hear about other people’s characters/writing processes!

Part II: https://liliamoon.tumblr.com/post/671647292219097088/oc-asks-part-ii

[casspurrjoybell-26]

💖Sweet Revenge💖 - Chapter 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Aaron Keene

The bell over the door chimes and I look up with my best customer-greeting smile.

"Good morning...Oh, it's you," I say, my smile vanishing.

My semi-dependable employee, Kate Kwon, sweeps into the shop like a gale-force wind.

Her perfectly styled hair falls over her shoulders in smooth brown waves and her dark eyes are wide and sparkling with excitement.

"Aaron," she runs forward and plants her hands directly on the glass countertop I just finished cleaning.

I notice that her nails are painted like cupcakes.

"Guess what."

"Let's see... your grandma died... again... you got evicted by your evil landlord... again... and your car blew up and that's why you're an hour and thirty minutes late."

Kate's excuses for failing to show up on time tended towards the dramatic and also seemed to be on some sort of rotating schedule.

She'd exceeded the maximum believable number of dead Grandmas a few months back.

"No, ass-hat. I'm late because my neighbor got arrested for having an alligator in his bathtub and I wanted to see it. Guess again."

"Kate, just tell me."

I'm not in the mood for games.

My least favorite holiday is right around the corner and it's already making me miserable.

Like a lot of chronically single people 'Valentine's Day' is a loaded phrase for me, though for more than the usual reasons.

Unfortunately, I can't just ignore it and pretend I don't care or 'celebrate' with a tub of ice-cream, a side of self-loathing and a rom-com.

I own a candy shop, after all and as much as I hate it with my entire heart and soul, February 14th is good for business.

The shop... 'Sweet Revenge'... is already decorated with gaudy red and pink accents, hearts, cherubs, flowers and 'obviously' lots and lots of candy.

Kate takes care of the decorating, which is one reason I keep her around and I make the candy.

When I fail to play along with her game of 'guess the thing' Kate pouts.

She has the kind of face that looks cute with a pout or any expression really... which is the other reason I keep her around... Kate can sell candy to straight guys like nobody's business.

Well, technically it is my business and she's good for it, even if she does miss half her shifts.

Not that I don't do my share of the sales work.

I've been told that I'm just as cute as she is but my looks appeal to a somewhat different demographic.

With a slim frame, porcelain pale skin, black hair, blue eyes and annoyingly delicate features, I look like someone who... as Kate puts it... shits glitter.

It used to bother me.

Now I'm just glad it saves me the trouble of having to come out.

At the moment, Kate is watching me with wide eyes, her glossy lips turned down in a slight frown.

"C'mon, Aaron, guess," she prompts.

My choices are limited.

I can either lose my patience or give in and because at the end of the day I really do like Kate, I give in.

"Uh... you're getting married," I guess at random.

"Wrong," she says, tippy-toeing around the counter in her precariously high-heeled boots and seizes my arms.

She's practically radiating excitement,and I figure whatever the hell she's about to tell me must be big news.

Then again, Kate gets this excited when her favorite makeup is on sale, too.

"The space across the street finally got leased and the new owner is SUPER HOT," she shrieks the last two words so loudly that my eardrums ring.

"Kate. Keep it down, for fuck's sake."

"Why?" she frowns, clearly disappointed that I'm not dissolving with thrills over her announcement.

"We don't have any customers."

She whacks my arm.

"And don't swear in the store, Aaron. What if there were kids in here?"

"If there were kids in here, then I wouldn't fucking swear," I retort.

"Yeah, well if there were any customers, I wouldn't yell, either, so we're even."

"Fine."

"Fine."

She glares at me a minute and then grins again.

Her moods are giving me whiplash.

"Anyways... come see, come see," she says, digging her nails into my arm and dragging me around the counter and towards the door where we stand with the sides of our faces pressed together, peering out across the street like a couple of freaks. 

"Look... there he is. Maybe he's gay and he'll ask you out or you can Grindr him or whatever you do."

"I don't... never mind."

On the opposite side of the street, I can make out the figure of a man standing on the far side of a delivery van parked in front of the space that has sat empty for the past four months.

There's a brand-new sign in the window that says 'Ardent Cycles' which from the logo I gather is a kind of bike shop.

As I watch, the man comes around the side of the van and if he's the new store owner, then Kate is right.

He's got the muscle-definition of a young God, sun-bronzed skin, surfer blonde hair and the jawline of a model.

"See," Kate smirks, accurately interpreting my stare.

"He's hot."

At the moment, the guy's looking down, talking on his cellphone, probably to his equally hot girlfriend.

I'm about to agree with her when he looks up and I see his face. 

If I'd been suddenly hit by a bus, I would not have been more surprised 'and/or dead'. 

It's not that he isn't hot.

He is.

He's gorgeous.

Blake Welling is just as blindingly handsome as he was all those years ago in high school.

He's also the reason that 'Valentine's Day' is my least favorite day of the year. 

[thevoyageurmoteplass-writing]

Another new character that I’ve not done much with: Katarina ‘Rina’ from my Magical Crime Story.

1. When is the moment that you are the most happiest?

‘Surrounded by friends and doing something together, even if it’s just chilling,’ I admit, a small smile curling easily onto my lips.

2.Do you have any guilty pleasures?

‘Do salt and vinegar crisps count?’ I ask, before gently tapping on my teeth. ‘Because those things are good, and I should probably eat less of them.’

3. What do you look in a partner?

‘Someone kind and thoughtful,’ I say simply. ‘Taller than me simply because then at least one of us can reach high things, but it’s not the end of the world if they aren’t – heels are a thing. Just, as long as I like them in general.’

4. what is your relationship with your family?

‘Decent enough,’ I say, though I can hear the uncertainty behind my own voice. It’s because of them that I’m here, really. But, they do write to me and stuff, which is better than could be said for some.

5. When did you make your first friend?

For a moment, I’m silent as I try remembering the first that isn’t somebody else’s memory; a story shared because it’s too far back and I was too young for it to stick.

‘I remember playing in the park when I was about seven, and basically joining myself into a game with people who looked like they were having fun. Ben was there, and he let me tag along without so much as batting an eyelid. So, I think then.’

6. Where you ever betrayed by someone you loved? Did you betray someone you loved?

Betrayal is a difficult thing; for some the worst ones are the little things that shouldn’t matter but they really do.

‘I don’t think so,’ I say after a few moments, not even able to dredge up something small and so insignificant that it might be funny. ‘Unless being sent here – the school - counts, but I don’t think it does.

‘And I don’t I’ve betrayed anybody myself.’

7.Are you a leader or a follower?

‘Leader,’ I say without a moment’s hesitation, and then feel a slight blush flooding my cheeks. ‘Only because, I hate indecision, and following sometimes means that that happens without you having the choice to stop it.’

8.Do you have someone that you ca talk your problems?

‘Not really,’ I say, but even as the words come, I know there are a few people I could talk to. There was a time when it was my father, but it’s become harder to find the time to speak to him recently. ‘I guess Tamsin?’ Though, I’m not sure if that’s because she was the first name I could think of, or because I actually think she’d offer good advice.

9. What do you like to do in your free time?

‘Nothing,’ I say, a soft chuckle behind the word. ‘I guess I like relaxing, and if that means having a book or watching a movie or something, then so be it. But, I also like days with friends, exploring and stuff. I guess it’s really mood dependant.’

10.Do you lie often?

‘Not too often,’ I say, because little white lies are all too easy to come tumbling out, and there are some things that are best left unsaid in the school if there’s any hope of getting out of it.

11. Have you ever manipulated anyone?

‘Not that I can think of,’ I say, mulling the question over nonetheless. But nothing obvious comes to mind.

12. Would die for your friends?

I exhale slowly. ‘It’s a romantic notion,’ I admit, thought part of me knows that I probably would, that I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from running headfirst into danger if it might help save a friend. ‘But probably not the best of ideas.’

[katkalis-the-fanartist]

Random Katkalis voice fact: To non-southerners, I sound southern. To southerners, I sound northern.

[la-principessa-nuova]

Thanks for the tag! Took me a while to get around to it, but I finally did it!

nine people you want to get to know better

last song: Does Teenage Rebellion by Sarah Barrios count from watching the intro on the latest D20 episode? Well I guess it doesn’t matter if it does because I didn’t remember the last song before that and shuffled the playlist I was listening to so I could pick a random song from it and it was Teenage Rebellion anyway.

favourite colour: I’ve been saying turquoise for years, but I don’t think it is anymore. Lately I’ve been drawn to pink, but I think that’s just temporarily overreacting to suppressing my positivity towards it. Maybe atomic purple?

last movie/tv show: If Dropout counts (which I’m not sure why it wouldn’t, but it kind of feels like maybe it wouldn’t), then Dirty Laundry. Otherwise, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies.

sweet/savoury/spicy: On a ideological level, sweet. But in practice, I like all 3 in moderation and none an extreme amount. Or maybe it’s that sweet is my favorite but I have the lowest tolerance for it.

last thing i googled: So if we want to be technical about it, it was “google search history” and before that “macos smb share so slow” (yes I put the word so in my query because I think it was mostly to vent while I waited for my files to transfer because searching didn’t find the answer the last 10 times). But some other recent searches were “scarred elf” (looking for some inspiration photos for a D&D character who is an elf wild magic sorcerer), “Fabian Aramais Seacaster”, and “edwardian era”. Oh yeah, and I guess I was accidentally in a Private tab, but “transbian” a few minutes ago because it looked weird when I wrote it and I wanted to make sure I was spelling it right.

current obsession: my gender, Dimension 20

last book: I’m currently reading Save the Cat Writes a Novel and The Magicians as research for the novel I’m writing (can’t write a magical school series without having read one of the most popular magical school series), but when I’m done with these the next one I really want to read is either Leah on the Offbeat or Legends & Lattes depending on the mood I’m in.

last fic: It’s been a while since I’ve read one, so I’m not sure. Only ones I’ve come across lately are… steamy in nature, so I haven’t really been reading. There was one for Your Name I read recently with basically an alternate version of events where Mitsuha and Okudera end up together (as it should be!), but it wasn’t very good.

looking forward to: Leaving my current job within the next year or two. There’s a lot to love about it, but the parts I was excited about turned out to be way more work and more stressful than I expected, and other responsibilities got piled on that are just completely incompatible with my ADHD and sap all of my energy and motivation. So I have a plan to try and get my own stuff off the ground by the time I finish grad school next year (making grad school pointless, but I don’t want to leave with half a degree), and if I don��t, I’ll have a shiny new Masters degree in my field to find a new job.

tags (I didn’t know of enough people, so I went through my recent posts’ notes and grabbed some names of more people that seemed interesting, so no pressure if you don’t feel like it. I won’t be offended if you don’t do it): @sierraisboring @haydenthewitch @soulsnatch-art @skyewilloweby @janpiki @yeehawcracy @math-rocks-and-lizard-bats @notabraincellinsight @lunarbepsi. If anyone else wants to do it, don’t let me stop you!

thank u thank u @fiddleleafedfig for the tag !!

nine people you want to get to know better

last song: when i opened the tag, 'alien blues' by vundabar but currently i'm listening to hozier 'would that i'. as of finishing writing this, radiohead. there you have it.

favourite colour: a deep cherry red. the kind that would make a really lovely lipstick gloss.

last movie/tv show: i'm terrible with shows and movies, but i was watching the bowie doco (moonage daydream) the other day, keeping on brand ik. i also love british comedians so 'would i lie to you?' is probably up there as well.

sweet/savoury/spicy: sweet if it is really well done. i'm talking specifically that one pub down by where i live that for some reason makes the best chocolate lava cake ever. if not, savoury forever.

last thing i googled: beatles guitar songs for beginners. i've decided to relearn guitar and i'm back to the absolute basics.

current obsession: concerts! this is a long-standing love but it is very evident lately. the way concerts down here work is that no one comes for years bc of the trek to aus, and then randomly there's this one month period where everybody is here at once and suddenly i have to choose between favs. that has been this month! hard on the bank account but my soul is thriving with a concert every other week. saw noah kahan, it was life-altering.

last book: i'm between the '50 yrs of led zeppelin' biography by mick wall, and 'anna karenina' by tolstoy atm. (adding it) last fic: blends by rvltn909. finished it yesterday and oh my god. the crime that was me putting it off.

looking forward to: still a little ways away, but i'm moving to america for (my) winter-spring!! i've work in the states, which i'm thrilled abt. it also means i am tracking down artists who refuse to concert in aus (hozier for the love of god) and trying to sneak them in as well.

np tags (apologies if you've already been tagged): @fairylittlebitch @alltoounwellll @the-moon-says-hi @just--vi @whyistarchaser @bellaxisworld @feminist-cult-following @none-of-it-was-accidental @svnflowermoon + ofc anybody else who wants to. tag me. let me know you all.

[mc-lukanette]

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6]

—————

A few days had passed since Marinette had burned the Adrien photos, and Luka was relieved to note that they hadn't come back since. Marinette seemed equally at ease, their daily calls becoming more and more relaxed with each time she told him about her still-empty wall. He did wish he could do a little more concerning the red string around her neck, but his mind was drawing a blank and she was happier than before regardless.

The main problem however, was the relation to the miraculouses. Everyone knew that Ladybug wasn't interested in Chat Noir, a fact that made the knowledge of the red string even worse. He wasn't sure if the red strings were tied to the miraculouses or not - or how if they were indeed connected - but he speculated that it was about more than just talking to Marinette about Adrien; Chat was a factor as well. He couldn’t imagine the societal pressure of Ladybug and Chat Noir being a couple, and no one had to do much research to realize that Chat Noir was okay with it while Ladybug was very much not.

He'd have to take on the red string from both sides of the masks, and it took one particular day for him to get his chance.

"You want me to go on patrol with you?"

Ladybug nodded, balancing herself on his windowsill as she replied, "If you'd like to. Chat Noir is busy tonight, so the position's opened and you're one of the people used to having a miraculous."

Luka caught himself before he could start smiling too much, knowing that it was Marinette under that mask and she wanted him to go on patrol because they were friends.

"I'd be honored to."

She beamed at him, and after the snake miraculous was on his wrist, he was transformed and the two set off for the rooftops together.

—————

Viperion glanced left and right as he went along with Ladybug. He'd been called enough by then to have gotten used to superheroing, though it was his first time actually on patrol. Given the situation they were in, he was thankful that Adrien was busy that particular night with what Viperion could only guess was Gabriel's orders.

The red string was still dangling around Ladybug's neck, though Viperion'd grown attuned enough with his fate sensing that he could stop focusing on it and simply see her if he chose to. It didn't stop him from thinking about it, but it helped.

Ladybug seemed to know the route to take, so he mostly followed after her, but it was partway through where she'd decided that they should take a break. Paris was always quiet right after akuma attacks, meaning that they could afford to take it easy since there'd been one just that afternoon.

They leaped buildings until they reached the Eiffel Tower, scaling the monument until they reached the top platform. He didn't miss that she'd avoided using her yoyo for the job, possibly to put them on an even playing field.

Letting out a breath, Ladybug leaned against the railing and she gazed over the city. Gesturing to the view, she explained, "We'll have a good vantage point from here in case anything happens."

Viperion chuckled. "You really do think of everything."

She blushed faintly, but took the compliment casually. "I'm just doing my job." She turned her hip to more easily grab her yoyo, then opened it and reached inside. "Anyway, are you hungry?"

He tilted his head in curiosity, then grinned as she pulled out a bag of macarons from the Dupain-Cheng bakery. It wasn't anything suspicious given that it was known as the best bakery around.

"Thanks," he replied gratefully, taking one of the macarons she offered him.

She grabbed one as well and they took a simultaneous bite of their respective treats. He was a little surprised to hear that she brought along snacks, but supposed it made sense if breaks during patrol were a common thing after akuma.

They settled down on the ground, Ladybug placing the open bag in-between them so they could pick them out at equal leisure. Tossing him an apologetic but teasing smile, she added, "Sorry, but cushions wouldn't fit in the yoyo."

He raised his brows at her, then glanced down at the hard ground below them. He snorted at her joke, noting, "It's nice to see you outside of akuma battles, where you can relax and play around more."

She smiled shyly at him, in a way that was so Marinette that he couldn't believe he hadn't figured her out sooner. "Thanks. Chat says I have no sense of humor."

He frowned, replying without hesitation, "Chat's wrong."

She waved him off, though he could tell that she appreciated the comment. Hearing that Chat had told her something like that was news to him, despite all the research he'd done into their relationship. Granted, he imagined that anything could be said off-camera and he couldn't have known.

"Does he say things like that a lot?" he asked, hoping he wasn't prodding too much. There was just something about how casually she'd said it that unnerved him.

"Huh?" She blinked, thrown off by the question, then rubbed the back of her neck. "Well... most of the time, he flirts instead. It's..." She hesitated, like she wasn't sure that she could talk about it. Glancing at him, then back to the open sky, she relented and added, "—it's a lot sometimes, but he does his job well enough, so it’s not like it’s a serious problem. I don’t know, it’s not like I’ve never wondered about the what ifs of having someone else, but whenever I think about it, I just—"

She squinted at nothing, Viperion's gaze flickering down to the string, which had became visible now that he was focusing on it.

It had tightened, pressing into the black of her bodysuit in a way only he could see, and he found himself squinting just like she was.

"—I can't imagine being Ladybug without him," she said.

He pressed his lips together, trying to suppress any reaction to the comment. He'd suspected it for a while, but actually seeing it was something else entirely.

The red string demanded dependency on Ladybug's part. He wasn't sure how much it pulled Chat on the other end, but judging from what he'd gathered from Marinette's luck and fate's blatant favoring of Adrien, he could guess.

Ladybug peeked up from her macaron when he remained silent, confusion passing over her features. "What? You look like you have something to say."

"Ah—" He looked down, brows furrowing as he hoped even more that he wasn't pushing boundaries. "—just... I know that he's been with you since the beginning, but I don’t think you need Chat Noir to be an amazing Ladybug."

She straightened, dropping her treat in surprise and then fumbling to catch it. Perhaps she hadn’t caught onto what her words implied, or had said them without thinking due to the string and was now facing it head-on.

He continued, "You've dealt with akuma plenty of times without him, and you work well with all your heroes. I'm sure you could make the best out of any partner you had." He smiled reassuringly at her. "Maybe Chat Noir only seems as good as he does because he's at your command."

Ladybug's cheeks tinted red, nearly matching her mask, as she ducked her head at the high praise. She raised the macaron back to her lips, chewing on it as if that helped hide her face.

It was only after she'd slowly nibbled the treat all the way down and swallowed that she replied, "T-thank you."

He shrugged, having only been honest.

"Chat Noir..." She cleared her throat. "Well, Paris would disagree with you."

"Paris is wrong too," he replied in the exact same tone as when he was discussing Chat. After careful consideration, he asked cautiously, "Do you mean how—"

"Yeah, the—" She frowned and waved both hands vaguely in a gesture that no one but him would've understood. "Yeah."

So she was all too aware of their status of a "couple" in the eyes of Parisians. It made sense with everything he already knew, but he hadn't wanted to be right.

The phrase she'd used when talking about Adrien resurfaced in his mind: made for each other.

He clenched his fist. She was being pressured on both sides of the mask, towards both sides of Adrien's mask.

"I don't like it," she admitted, "but Chat drinks it up and I guess the public is into the idea of this superhero couple. They see us like celebrities."

"It's not right," Viperion hissed, and Sass would've been proud of it. "You save Paris every week and you deserve to be respected."

"There's nothing I can do about it," she told him, almost in defeat. "Besides, Chat... he needs a pick-me-up every now and my pep talks don't always work on him. He pouted when I brought in a male hero for the first time."

"That's not your fault!" he argued. "Chat needs to be confident on his own. He can't keep relying on you or make you feel like you can't do anything without him doubting himself. You're under enough stress as it is, and—!"

He caught himself, his mouth shutting tight before he could reveal exactly how much he knew. Ladybug blinked at him, seeming puzzled by the outburst but not suspicious at least.

He took a breath, reminding himself to stay calm. Reaching back, he grabbed hold of his lyre and brought it in front of him, strumming a few notes and letting them settle the discordant song that was playing in his stomach.

"My point is... Chat shouldn't be someone adding onto the pressure. That's not a partnership."

Her shoulders relaxed, her eyes darting around as she processed his words. She looked conflicted.

"...I'm sorry," he added, settling his lyre in his lap. "Not for what I said, but—I didn't mean to bring the mood down."

"No, no." She shook her head, pulling her knees to her chest. "It's good that you did. I've actually—" Her voice grew quiet. "—been thinking about it lately."

"About what?"

She made the same vague gesture from before. "All of that. There's been a lot going on and it's given me a lot to think about."

He knew immediately what she meant.

"It's... frustrating," she groaned. "I don't like Chat that way. I mean, maybe sometimes he said or did something that I found charming, but that's just—not enough for me, you know? To only feel something like that for a second or two." She averted her gaze, growing distant. "Everyone seems to think we belong together, and... I hate that they might be right."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed. "Well, I'm a hero; a permanent one. I need to be there all the time. Every akuma, every purification, every Miraculous Ladybug. Only I can do it." She hugged her legs closer, burying her face in her knees. "I want a relationship. I want someone to date and be close to, but I can't have it. I'm always running away; always going somewhere with some excuse so I can go deal with the akuma, and I can't tell anyone! Can you imagine how that'd make my date feel?"

He opened his mouth, but a thought occurred to him at the last second that gave him pause.

"You... so you think..."

Once again, he hoped to be wrong. He wanted so badly to be wrong.

But Ladybug looked up, her expression pained as she confirmed, "There's only one person I could be with where it wouldn't have to happen."

His blood ran cold, he felt sick, and the memory of the red string flashed in his mind, wrapped around Adrien's ring.

Fate didn't just tie her to him; it wanted to make her believe that he was her only choice.

Viperion's grip on his lyre tightened, his teeth grinding together behind closed lips as he tried to maintain an aura of calm. He wasn't just angry anymore, he was livid, and he silently wished that the face on the other side of the butterfly miraculous was the universe so he could give it a piece of his mind.

How could you do that? How could you take a girl who's always worked so hard and tried her best, and treat her like she's nothing? No, not nothing, because then at least she'd be left alone. How could you treat her like a plaything, as if she's some prize for a guy to win no matter what? How could you manipulate her to think that everything's her fault, just so she never thinks to fight back against the ones putting pressure on her?

What's love if it's gotten through such force?

"V-viperion?"

A hand falling upon his jolted him back to reality, his head snapping up to see Ladybug there, her pupils shrunken in and her brows knitted in worry. Whatever his face had looked like, it'd scared her.

His first instinct was to feel guilty. He was supposed to be comforting her, not making things worse by letting all of his emotions show on his face.

His second instinct...

He tossed his lyre off to the side, Ladybug's gaze briefly following it until his hands fell upon her shoulders. Her eyes widened, and she let out a squeak as he pulled her onto his lap and into a hug.

The only thing he was grateful for in terms of her superhero status was that he could hug her as tightly as possible without hurting her.

"A-ah..." She seemed tempted to say something, but fell silent soon after and hugged him back, burying her face into the side of his neck. He felt her strength in the way she squeezed him, like she was starved for his affection despite them being in a similar position not too long ago.

He understood. Before, they were tackling her problems when she was Marinette, but Ladybug had never had someone to personally confide in concerning Chat.

She'd needed this.

"You already do so much," he whispered. "You should be allowed to be with whoever you want, and you shouldn't have to settle when it comes to love."

She sighed against him, like she knew deep down that he was right. "You don't know how bad it could get. Some hypothetical boyfriend wouldn't deserve that kind of treatment."

"I get why you'd feel that way," he said, "but I'd hope that this hypothetical boyfriend would know that you're worth it."

Her fingers twitched against his spine. "...You don't even know me."

"I know that you're creative. I know you're smart. I know you work harder than anyone else to keep Paris safe. I know you have a right to feel however you want, and if you think you need to earn being with someone who's not Chat, then you've more than done that." He slid his hand up to squeeze her shoulder. "I also know that you'll find a way to make it work, if you put in even half the care into it as you put into Paris."

"Vi—" She paused, her voice softening. "Luka..."

They stayed like that for a while, the bag of macarons going untouched an arm's reach away. Viperion just held her, sensing that she was feeling out what he'd said and that they didn't need words for it. That was fine with him; her love life was none of his business. He only wanted to help her have the choice to live it.

A breeze blew by, their bodysuits protecting them from the wind chill factor as their hair was lightly shifted by the gentle air. Ladybug stirred, letting out a noise like she felt personally slighted by the wind, then pushed herself up, her hands on his shoulders as she pulled away from him.

"We...we should get back to patrol," she admitted.

He offered her a small smile, noting that she seemed to be in better spirits at least. "Alright." He let her out of his lap, leaning over to the side to pick up his lyre.

He heard her retreating footsteps, along with a light, "You can keep the macarons."

He glanced up at her, surprised. "Are you sure?" he asked, knowing that he was mostly responsible for them not eating all of them. "Is that what you usually do on your breaks: let Chat have them?"

"Oh." She stood awkwardly in place, looking off at the sky before dropping her gaze to the ground. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she grinned sheepishly and replied, "Actually..."

He tilted his head, curious.

She peeked over at him, eyes half-lidded as she told him, "I've never done this with Chat."

He raised his brows, as if that would make her clarify, but she simply turned away from him and started doing a few stretches, clearly prepping to head back out.

Pursing his lips in thought, Viperion turned his back to her, giving attention to the little plastic bag resting neatly on the ground. Even though it was open, the little ribbon that had held it shut was still around it, suddenly feeling more special now that Ladybug had said something so... cryptic.

He looked out at the view they had, then Ladybug, then back at the bag, feeling extremely slow on the uptake as his brain pieced things together based on what information he had.

Then, suddenly his brain supplied: Wait... was this a date?

He buried the thought just as quickly, shaking his head and scolding himself for jumping to that so fast.

"Are you ready to go back to leaping rooftops?" Ladybug asked behind him, her tone light even if she was still in her own head.

"Yeah," Viperion replied, picking up the little bag like it was something precious. Hoping to lighten things further, he then added, "I'm new to this, so I might lag behind."

She chuckled. "You might. Apparently I'm a really amazing hero according to someone I know."

He grinned to himself. Even if she was just teasing, it felt good to hear her compliment herself in a way.

He had just tightened the ribbon to seal the bag back up, listening to the sound of Ladybug's foosteps, when he felt a sudden niggling sensation at the back of his head, or—behind him? He turned, puzzled, then leaped up as he caught sight of a teal wisp in Ladybug's path.

He rushed over as she yelped and tripped over what would seem like nothing according to her. Catching her just in time, he also realized belatedly that it may've been an overreaction, given that she was in superhero form; he could only blame it on reflex.

Ladybug stood up with a start, covering the lower half of her face in shame. "Ugh, that was so embarrassing, I'm sor—"

"It's not your fault," he hurried to say, not explaining further as he grew lost in thought, staring silently at the place where the wisp had formed itself.

He hadn't just seen the wisps this time; he had sensed them. That was new, and he wouldn't have questioned a new addition to his fate sensing had it not been the fact that he hadn't particularly done anything as Viperion; it usually took an instance or two of him using his power for something to manifest, but here...

He glanced up when he realized that Ladybug was looking at him curiously. Debating with himself for a moment, he ultimately trusted his gut and met her gaze, asking,

"Do you mind if I talk to Sass again after this?"

[griffintail]

The Lost Ones

Summary: Several of the SMP members find an infant in a place they didn’t expect and decide to care for them.

Pairings: Platonic! Parental! Tommy, Wilbur, Philza, Technoblade, Eret, and Dream x F! Child! Reader

Next

Warnings! : Swearing, Village Raid, Minor Violence, Minor Deaths (Mostly mobs), mentions of blood

A/N : I’m the biggest sap for child readers. Dating back to 2014. I literally couldn’t help myself. Just so everyone knows, I suck at writing in gender neutral terms, that’s why the reader is specifically female in all of these (Including Tommy’s, Minor Spoiler, Tommy’s just an idiot and doesn’t look). So, sorry about that.

I’ll most certainly will make more of these. I won’t always have it just like this, I might write a certain character individually in a scenario. It’s all dependent on my mood. I might add more characters! This is just basically the introduction. So yeah...ENOUGH RAMBLING! Hope you enjoy :)

       Tommy (Before the First Disc War)

        Tommy smirked proudly to himself as he tucked his new disc safely into his inventory bag before starting the walk back to his home. His adventure was successful, he managed to get a rare disc and it was now all his. Walking through the small bit of woods, he rested his hand on his sword handle. It was still night time after all and the monsters were out to play.

        As he could see the lights from the small town of the Dream SMP, he heard a cry. Looking back into the woods, he frowned before grinning.

        Someone is in trouble! He’d save them and get a payment—er— “willing reward” from them. Pulling his sword, he ran over towards the sound of another cry, this time the sound being continued. He rolled his eyes, someone was crying, what a pussy. As the crying was practically on top of him, he frowned in confusion as he only found a skeleton, which was trying to shoot at a basket hanging in a tree. There was no one there to be crying.

        He shrugged regardless, taking his shield off before going for the skeleton. It only managed one arrow before Tommy killed the mob. Looking at the basket, Tommy hummed before putting his weapon and shield away to climb up. As he got to a safe place to reach the basket, the crying now made sense as his eyes went wide.

        “You’re a fucking baby!” He shouted in surprise.

        Said infant noticed the new face and their wails quieted, but small cries still came out.

        “Quiet down. You’re going to bring monsters!” He hushed, moving carefully, getting the basket off, and brought it to himself. “How the hell did you get up here? Who just leaves a baby?”

        He looked down at the baby as he sat back in the tree. He couldn’t help but think how small she was, had he been that small when he was this young?

        “Guess you got nowhere to go huh?” He asked as the child looked up, their cries having gone silent seeing the boy much closer.

        They played with their blanket and he hummed as he held the basket close, making his way down the tree.

        “You’re lucky, a big man saved you! I don’t live far, so you’ll come with me. Of course, I wouldn’t just leave you here again.” Tommy rambled, despite knowing the infant couldn’t respond back. “I’m not some kind of monster!”

        He made it back to his home, putting the basket on his bed, and looked down at the baby with his hands on his hips.

        “If you were left out there like that, you’re alone.” This time, the baby gave a small babble and he couldn’t help the small smile that came on his face. “Well, then I’ll take care of you! I’m a big man and can do it easy! Phil took care of my brothers and me after all and he’s old and stupid. I’m young and very wise, so I can do it. I suppose you’ll need a name now.”

        If anyone had been in the room with Tommy, they’d be surprised how gentle he picked up the small human. Carefully, he held them properly, only knowing how as Phil had once shown him when they were helping a village out after a raid when he had taken the younger boy to trade.

        “Hmm, I’ll call you (Y/N)!” He decided. “And I will be the greatest father ever! And I know the perfect way to celebrate today!”

        Going into his bag, he grinned as he pulled out his new music disc. Putting it on the jukebox, he sat on his bed as the infant looked over at the object making the beautiful sound. His grin went into a gentle smile as he watched (Y/N) listen to the music. They’d both be happy; he’d make sure of it.

        Twenty Minutes Later…

        Tubbo sprinted down the stairs of his house as he heard frantic knocking on his door and the sound of crying. Swinging the door open, he let out a startled noise seeing a distressed Tommy holding a wailing baby.

        Of course, he’d need some help since there was just a little bit of a learning curve.

          Wilbur (Right after Declaration of War)

        Times were hard. Wilbur had just started a new nation to free himself, his friends, and his family from the iron grip of Dream and his friends, but they did not like the loss of power and declared war on him. As well as the war, Fundy had become a rather rebellious teenager and Wilbur wasn’t sure how to handle all of it. He didn’t let it show to the others though. He’d be a strong leader for them.

        He looked over his map of L’Manberg. They needed better defensive points…they fought with their words but Dream fought with weapons of destruction. They needed safe spaces to protect themselves…

        Wilbur jumped, knocking over an ink bottle over on the table when there was pounding on the van door.

        “Damn it.” He grumbled, quickly flipping the bottle back up and moved the map out of the way before going to the door.

        He opened the door to see Eret standing there, making Wilbur raise an eyebrow as Eret was on guard duty at the moment but looked shocked seeing what the other man was holding.

        “Hello, sir. They were just outside the gate. I didn’t see anyone else around.” Eret rapidly explained to his leader, the small infant wiggling in his hold. “I brought them here because they were cold.”

        “Get inside,” Wilbur instructed, going into the back of the van again quickly.

        He heard the door close as he grabbed his spare coat.

        “Hand them over,” Wilbur muttered, Eret carefully transferring his hold to the other man.

        Wilbur saw they had a blanket but it was thin and the child was cold to the touch. Wrapping his coat around them, he instructed Eret to light a furnace, which he did post haste.

        “Hello there, love.” He whispered quietly to the infant, rocking them lightly. “We’re going to get you warmed up and something to fill your stomach, how does that sound?”

        The baby didn’t fuss, too tired and cold to even thinking about making one. Wilbur stood next to the now lit furnace and looked up at Eret.

        “Is anyone out there?” He asked, his proud leader voice coming out.

        “No sir, I was worried about the child.”

        Wilbur nodded. “I commend you for saving their life, but I have it from here. Send someone to fetch milk and then please stand guard again.”

        Eret nodded before leaving the van.

        Once the two were alone, Wilbur sighed heavily as he sat on the floor, still close to the furnace. He felt the child’s forehead, feeling them warm up to his relief.

        “You gave us a scare little one.” He chuckled quietly. “But don’t worry, you’re in a safe place. L’Manberg will care for you. I suppose it was lucky you were left here rather than the Dream SMP.”

        He hummed quietly as he gently rocking the child, their eyes closing as they relaxed in his hold. As they relaxed, he gave a quick check for their gender.

        “Welcome little one. You’re the first woman of L’Manberg.” He smiled lightly.

        For a short while, he was able to forget about everything outside the van. He could relax himself and let his mind clear as he watched the little girl in his arms. They were both at peace.

        After a few minutes, he looked up as he heard the van door open. As he was standing up carefully, his own son Fundy came in holding a bucket.

        “Hey, Eret said you needed…What the hell is that?!” Fundy exclaimed in surprise, startling the girl in his arms, tears appearing in her eyes.

        “Shh, it’s alright,” Wilbur whispered to her as he rocked her again and he wiped her tears away with one hand.

        Fundy cautiously came over, raising an eyebrow. “Who are they?”

        Wilbur paused thinking for a moment, before smiling. “Meet your new little sister my son. (Y/N), the newest member of our great nation.”

          Philza (Right before Wilbur’s Betrayal)

        Phil shook out his wings as he landed in a village. He needed to rest them for a bit before continuing on his journey to L’Manberg. He had gotten word of how the tides had turned badly for his sons in the new nation they made to try and live peacefully. Originally, they hadn’t asked for his aid as Tommy and Wilbur had made contact with Techno and they believed with their older brother, they could surely turn it back. Yet, Tommy had sent him a letter with worry for Wilbur’s state of mind and Phil decided he needed to be there for his sons.

        Yes, he wanted them to learn the world on their own but there were some times when Phil needed to be there to help them.

        Looking at the sky, the night was fast approaching so he managed to get a house in the village for the night. Keeping his sword by his bedside, he went to sleep for the night…

        Startling awake, Phil heard the sounds of the village bell.

        “God damn it,” Phil mumbled, scooping his sword and bag before putting his hat on his head.

        Running out, he saw the cause of the panicked ringing. A pillager raid, and it was already out of control. Fires were crackling madly and blood littered the paths.

        “Shit.” He swore as a pillager spotted him and he dodged the arrow before running them through with his sword.

        The few surviving villagers ran from their homes and Phil went to follow when he heard a wail, the wail of a child. His throat tightened as he looked back to the burning buildings, his fatherly instinct along with his good nature kicked in.

        “God…” He muttered before spreading his wings.

        With ease, he was able to dodge between pillagers and ravagers alike as he followed the sound. Landing at the house that was most certainly ablaze, Phil kicked in the door. Holding his arm to his mouth and nose, he rushed in and found a small nursery, the flames engulfing the walls and ceiling. Rushing to the crib, he found the small child and quickly picked them up.

        “Let’s go kiddo.” He said as he rushed back out.

        Once he was outside, he took flight again and flew high enough to be out of arrow range, and flew far from the village. As he did, he looked the small child, of which he found out was female, over for injures as she screamed and cried. She had no visible injuries but Phil knew she had to have inhaled smoke. So, after a handful of minutes flying, he landed and shushed her quietly.

        “It’s alright kiddo, hang on,” Phil told her quietly as he went into his bag taking out a health potion. “I got something that can help you.”

        Being gentle, he gave them a few drops of the potion to hopefully clear out any smoke and heal the damage it might have done. The little girl gave hiccups and small cries.

        “It’s alright. You’re safe now.” He bounced her lightly, slowing down her cries to nothing. “There we go. We’re ok. Once morning comes, we’ll find the others of the rest of your village and see if we can’t find your parents.”

        The little girl’s eyes merely drooped and he gave smile before he frowned as he looked up to see the fires in the distance. They were a human child and he didn’t remember seeing any humans running away with the survivors but he’d try. And if not…

        “Don’t you worry, I’ll take care of you,” Phil assured the now sleeping infant.

        Technoblade (Start of Retirement)

        Techno shouldered the bag of wood he had gathered over his shoulder, his axe on his belt as he made his way home through the snow. The voices were relatively calm, not hungry for blood at the moment, and Techno was able to have a peaceful moment. As he trudged closer to his house, he slowed to a stop seeing footprints by the stairs and the voices kicked up as his thoughts went wild.

        Phil always gave him notice on his walkie if he was on the way and whoever had been there had gone up the stairs then walked away in a different direction from where they came.

        The voices were bringing up the question of if he was being scouted out. Who could have found his house? How did they find it? They started to demand blood.

        Technoblade took his axe off his belt while putting down the bag of wood. Going towards the porch carefully, he held it ready to expect the worse when he entered his house but he didn’t even go up the stairs to find something. On his doorstep, there sat a large huddle of blankets.

        Furrowing his eyebrows, he came up to the huddle carefully and slowly with his axe raised. Stopping when it was fully in view, he stared in even more confusion.

        “What the hell?” He questioned, lowering his axe slightly as he looked around the snowy tundra. “Who leaves a child on my doorstep!”

        In the middle of the huddle of blankets was a sleeping child, who wiggled slightly at the loudness of his voice.

        They’re an orphan now

        You know how you feel about orphans

        Blood for the Blood God

        Techno winced at the sounds of the voices as he looked at the child. They were right…they were an orphan now. Someone had left them on his doorstep and now they were abandoned. He gripped his axe tightly as he looked down at the infant.

        It’d be quick and easy…

        The small human opened their eyes slightly, squirming slightly as they saw him. Techno’s grip loosened, the voices screaming in protest. They were so small and so defenseless…he wasn’t calling for blood anymore.

        Grunting, he put the axe away, going back down the stairs to grab the bag as he clenched his jaw at the loud noises of the voices before going back and picking up the child with surprising gentleness as the child was startled slightly. He shouldered his door open, dropping the bag of wood next to the unlit fireplace before making his way upstairs to his bedroom. He put the child down, who watched him in silent curiosity as Techno took the walkie off his belt.

        “Phil, you there?” He questioned into it.

        It took a minute but the device crackled.

        “Yeah, what’s going on?”

        “I got a…issue. Come over as soon as you can.”

        “An issue? What kind of issue?” Phil asked in surprise as usually, Technoblade could handle most of his issues.

        “It’s hard to explain, just come over.” Techno rubbed his temple at the screams of the voices.

        “Alright, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

        He put the walkie down as he looked over at the child watching him.

        “What?” He huffed.

        Then the child gave a small giggle, trying to get their hands free to hold them out to him. The man stood there in shock as his heart melted. He had not felt something like that in a long time. Scrunching up his nose slightly before coming over and taking the infant out of the blankets and holding her as he used to with Tommy.

        “What the hell am I going to do with you?” He muttered and the small human held lightly onto his shirt, making even the voices slow down.

        He down a level in his home to wait for Phil, keeping the child in his hold as he just decided to do his normal routine. He started a fire and began to brew a few potions when the knock came on his door.

        “Come in.” He called.

        In stepped his father, who immediately dropped his bag in surprise seeing what Techno was holding as he added a new ingredient to his potion.

        “Hello.” He greeted the older man without looking at him.

        “What the hell did you have?” The older man questioned.

        Techno looked over at him confused. “Blaze powder.”

        Phil took his hat off as he ran a hand through his hair. “I meant the baby!”

        “Oh! Yeah, this.” Techno said casually, the older man freaking out. “Someone left them on my porch.”

        “Oh god…are they ok?” Phil asked, coming over.

        “Yeah, they’re fine. They were swallowed by blankets.”

        The child tried to take a bottle in their hands and Techno simply moved it from them and kept working like it was the most natural thing in the world. Phil stood in surprise at how casual Techno was, he knew about the orphan thing and how vicious the voices in his head could be.

        “What…what are you going to do with the child?”

        “That’s why I called you,” Techno said, before holding the child to the man. “You take it.”

        “What?! Techno, I can’t just take this child. I…” Phil’s hand shook slightly at the thought of Wilbur. “I can’t have another child right now. And L’Manberg will question where I even got them in the first place.”

        “Well then what do I do with it?!” Techno huffed as he was surprised by the quietness of the voices.

        “Well…you could take of them.”

        “I don’t know how to take care of a child. I don’t even like children, have you seen me with Tommy?” Techno rolled his eyes.

        “You seem to like this one.” Phil pointed out as Techno was holding them willingly and at the gentleness, he had with them.

        Techno frowned as he tried to think of a good reason. “That’s because they’re quiet.”

        “Look…I know you don’t want to hear this but maybe you should look after them, even just for a while. I can see if I can find someone who wants a child.”

        No, you found them.

        They’re rather cute…

        Keep them!

        The voices had done a full turn around from when they first saw the child. They were demanding Techno care for them and protect the fragile being. Techno couldn’t disagree with them because in his heart…he wanted to protect the child that had been left on his doorstep.

        “Fine, I’ll take care of them for a while but you need to help me, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”

        Phil chuckled. “Of course, son. We should look them over first to make sure they’re alright.”

        Techno rolled his eyes but agreed, listening to Phil as he told him what to do. The father was smiling proudly as even though Techno was frustrated with the new task, he continued with it. Once she, as they discovered, was checked over, Phil put a hand on his son’s shoulder.

        “What do you want to call her?” Phil asked.

        He looked down at the child, who was giggling as Phil smiled at her.

        “Blood Child.”

        “Techno!”

        Later, Techno actually decided on (Y/N) and for once, the voices were on his side.

          Eret (Before the founding of L’Manberg)

        Eret chuckled to himself as he walked down the path back towards his castle. Tommy’s antics for the day had been particularly ridiculous that it still brought a chuckle to the older gentleman as he went back to his home. He knew the days around the Dream SMP certainly wouldn’t be boring.

        Walking to his castle, he stopped as he noticed a basket left in front of the door and peered inside.

        “Why hello there.” Eret smiled seeing a small face peering back up at him as they squirmed slightly in discomfort. “What are you doing here little one?”

        He carefully picked up the basket and went inside his castle. As he got to his bedroom, he carefully took the infant out struggling a bit but managed before searching a bit in the basket.

        “Hmm, no note or anything.” He muttered as he looked at the child squirming around. “Well, someone made a mistake leaving you behind. Let’s see if I can’t figure out what’s making you so fussy.”

        After a bit of trying, first checking to see if she needed a diaper, he figured she needed some food and managed to get milk, putting it in a clean potion bottle to help her drink it easier. That also took a few trials, but he managed to help her drink until she stopped fussing.

        “There we go, now I can see your lovely face better.” He smiled as he sat on his bed, wiggling his finger in front of her making her giggle.

        As he played with the small girl, he frowned slightly as he looked over the basket that she had been left in. Why would someone leave someone so precious on the doorstep of his castle? It was truly a shame for those that did leave the little girl as Eret couldn’t help but slowly smile again as the little girl grasped onto his finger.

        “You’re not going to have to worry little one. You can stay here with me and you can be the princess of this castle.” He promised her, hugging her lightly, making her giggle. “I’ll make sure you’re safe and happy. It will take me a little while to learn how to do it all properly but I’ll learn. How does that sound…(Y/N)?”

        He chuckled as he moved his head back as she reached for her glasses. Yeah, this sounded like a beautiful idea.

          Dream (The Very Start)

        Dream rolled his eyes behind his mask as he heard George screaming in the distance, Sapnap laughing wildly in return. Those two never know how to stop.

        “Come on you two! We need to build a house before the night comes.” Dream called to them. “Stop goofing off.”

        Yet, he could still hear George’s high-pitched scream and he just chuckled and shook his head at his friends’ behavior. They were the company he kept and he honestly wouldn’t trade them for anything.

        Eventually, they did stop screwing and they were able to get to work on building their first home of the new land they had. The three of them joked and there was some arguing still between Sapnap and George but it just made it peaceful for the three of them. It was how their lives were.

        Dream went to go look for some sheep to get wool for beds before night fully struck, leaving the two “children” at the house. As he went searching, he jumped when he heard the sound of screaming, but it wasn’t liking George’s scream. It was quieter but still a scream.

        “Hello?!” Dream called as he pulled out his stone sword.

        As he went towards the noise, he realized it wasn’t a scream of terror as he first thought it was. No, it was a screaming cry, the kind a child would make. He started sprinting at that thought and skidded to a stop as he found the infant that was making the sound laid on top of a rock, a group of three zombies trying to get it.

        Dream gripped onto his sword before shouting to get their attention and moved back, quickly taking care of the mobs. He pushed his smiley mask to the side of his face as he finished them off and rushed over to the baby.

        “Hey! Hey. It’s ok now.” He told them as he climbed up next to them, dropping his sword at the bottom. “All the bad things are gone.”

        He gently picked up the baby, shushing them as he put a hand on top of their head. Slowly, they quieted down and Dream smiled wiping their tears away.

        “Hey, there you go. See? There’s nothing to cry about.” He chuckled before screwing his face up to look funny.

        The child giggled and he grinned.

        “There we go. Now, let’s check you out.” He muttered, looking them over. “No injuries. That’s very good princess. Now, what are you doing out here?” He asked as he looked around, seeing no signs of human life other than the two of them.

        Dream’s blood boiled slightly. Someone would just leave a child out here? If it wasn’t for him, she would have died!

        “You got nowhere to go huh? Well, you don’t have to worry.” He said, carefully sliding down.

        He picked up his sword, putting it back in its sheath, before walking back towards his friends.

        “I’ll take care of you. You’ll be the princess of our new land! You, me, and your two idiot uncles.” He laughed, the tiny girl giggling at the sound. “And I’ll make sure you always have a reason to smile.”

[btssaysstudy]

Salvage - 1 || jjk/kth.

Summary: After your confession, it's safe to say that there was nothing left to salvage between you and Jungkook. However, things start to change when a new hurdler joins the team. Genre: college!au, track!jungkook, track!taehyung, track!reader, angst & fluff Pairing: jungkook x reader, taehyung x reader Warning(s) : unrequited love, alcohol (drinking) mentioned, swearing Chapter Word Count: 3.7k a/n: My first mini series! Let me know what you guys think and the ending depends on your feedback :) taglist: do let me know if you want to be added to the series taglist

series masterlist

“Wake me up when you’re done.”

“Alright, alright. I’m done.” Your body got up from your seat, but your gaze still glued on your laptop screen and hands on your keyboard. Your roommate groaned, marching her way to pull your hands away from the laptop.

“Yn, it’s a Friday night. Let’s go! Namjoon’s waiting for us downstairs.”

“Yea but,” You sighed, your eyes on your work, “I still have quite a lot of things to do. Maybe I’ll skip this party—“

“Like how you missed Hoseok’s birthday party? I’m sure he’s going to hunt you down later. You still have the weekends to complete your work and you’re already dressed up.”

You knew your roommate was right. You had agreed to go for this party since it was one of Namjoon’s close friends’ birthday. Though you weren’t close to the birthday boy, you were close to Namjoon and his girlfriend, who also happened to be your roommate - Miya.

“Okay, okay.” You quickly saved your work and turned your laptop off. “Let’s go.”

Miya squealed in excitement, linking her arm around yours as she pulled you towards the door. The two of you went down to meet Namjoon who had been patiently waiting for you to get down.

“Sorry for wait.” You gave an apologetic smile. “No worries! We’re still early. Good to miss the first few awkward minutes of the party.” He chuckled as he opened the car door to let you both in.

Miya truly hit jackpot with Namjoon. He was the whole package - athletic, smart and a gentleman. Miya was a great catch herself and you were thankful that she was your roommate.

Miya had been your roommate since freshmen year and ever since, you both always wanted to dorm together. Miya was very caring and gentle yet blunt at the same time. You both were awkward beings when you first met, and you were worried how dorm life would be with a stranger.

Thankfully, Miya, being the straightforward person, immediately went out with setting the ground rules together and suggested for a roommate date to get to know each other.

The rest was practically history.

Miya had been there for many of your significant memories in college - the good and the bad.

She was also there when you met Jungkook.

“Do you have any clubs in mind?”

“Actually, I do. I’m planning to sign up for track.”

Miya gasped and giggled in excitement, “No way, I want to join track too!”

“That’s cool! Shall we head over then?”

The two of you made your way to the track and field booth, sharing about what events you partake in. Miya was a hurdler while you weren’t. Nonetheless, it was pretty amazing to you two that you were both signing up for the track team.

“Hey freshies! Here to sign up?”

The two of you converse with the seniors to learn more about the try-outs and practice sessions.

“Psst,” Miya nudged you as you filled up the sign-up form, “On your left. Isn’t he cute?”

Your gaze turned to see a tall, buff boy, who seemed to be signing up for track as well. “He’s pretty cute.”

“I’m going to say hi. Wait for me.” Miya winked at you before approaching the boy - little did she know at that time that he was going to be her boyfriend.

“See you try-outs!” You smiled at the senior as you handed the form.

Your eyes wandered around the nearby booths as you waited for Miya to come back.

“I’ll just look around.” You mouthed at her when she turned to make eye contact with you.

“Hey! Interested to join Photography club?”

“Freshies! Come join the Badminton club!”

The atmosphere was completely chaotic with seniors shouting at the top of their lungs to promote their club. Slightly disoriented from the ruckus, you had bumped into a stranger.

“I’m so sorry—“

“So sorry about that—“

The two of you took a step back to meet each other’s eyes. “Sorry about that.” The black-haired boy gave a sheepish grin as he rubbed the nape of his neck. “I was kinda too excited to sign up for a club.”

“No worries, it’s my fault as well. I wasn’t looking.”

“All’s good. B-But… Any chance that you happen to know where the track and field club booth is at?”

Your eyes widened slightly in amusement, “Yea I do. I was just about to head back to meet my friend.”

“Oh! Could I follow you there?”

“Sure.”

Your eyes took a quick once-over, it wasn’t hard to notice that his built was athletic, donned in sweats and an oversize black shirt, this guy looked like the poster boy of college dudes.

“My name’s Jungkook. What’s yours?”

“Yn. Did you run track before college?”

“Yep, I do 4x100s.”

“Oh, same here!” You flashed a smile. “Wow, what a coincidence that I’d bump into you huh.” Jungkook chuckled and you did the same. “Must be a sign that we’ll both be teammates.”

“Not a bad sign at all.”

“Yn!” Miya waved her hand wildly amidst the crowd. “I was about to leave the booth to go find you! What booths did you— Oh hi, I’m Miya, you are?”

“Jungkook. Nice to meet you. You must be the friend yn was going back for.”

Miya gave you a subtle look which you chose to ignore that day.

“Jungkook,” Miya grinned, “It’s nice to meet you too!”

“Speaking of the party, yn, you know Jungkook will be there as well, right?”

“Yes, this is the tenth time you’ve told me that.”

“Sorry, just another reminder before we pull up to the party.”

Besides having a ton of workload to do, you also had another reason for having second thoughts.

That reason was Jungkook.

“Thanks for your concern. But it’s been a year, I’m long over it.”

“That’s great to hear, I’m proud of you yn.” Namjoon piped in as he parked the car. “And we,” He placed his hand on Miya’s, “Should trust our friend’s word.”

Miya glanced at you before sighing, “Alright. I do. Now, let’s go greet the birthday boy.”

The three of you left the car and made your way to the party venue. The birthday boy was clearly loaded as the venue was huge. You jaw dropped in awe, “Why is this party so extravagant?”

“Good thing our birthday gifts are more drinks.” Miya nudged you and you laughed, nodding your head.

You were all greeted with blaring music from the stereo and neon lights to add into the ambience. People had already begun drinking and some were busy eating dinner.

“Yn!! I missed you!” A very familiar voice erupted as you spotted a figure rushing towards you.

“Hoseok!” You grinned, extending your arms out for a hug.

“You didn’t come to my party!” He pouted as he pulled away. “But I visited the next day as a surprise!” You defended yourself.

“That’s true… Still feels like forever since I saw you.” Hoseok pulled you back in for a hug.

The four of you made your way to one of open rooms which had been turned into a buffet area. You had helped yourself to the wide array of food and found a table to eat with your friends.

“We have a new hurdler joining us. He’s our batch but he only joined the club this try-out round.” Namjoon filled you in since you were the only non-hurdler in your group.

“Oh, who is it?”

“Kim Taehyung.”

“Wait, Kim Taehyung? Isn’t he from table tennis?”

Namjoon shrugged his shoulders, “Guess he wanted to try something new. I was there during try-outs and he’s a really fast runner.”

—

Since it was a huge party and you weren’t close to the birthday boy, you didn’t need to spend the night entertaining the main character of the night.

To make full use of the amenities at the booked venue, the four of you started playing different rounds of games.

You were paired with Hoseok against Miya and Namjoon. The first round was charades and you lost to them. Hoseok found the game Just Dance and proposed it as the next round.

Jungkook had not been on your mind the entire night as you busied yourself playing games with your friends.

“What else can you do?!” Miya exclaimed, stepping in front to take over Hoseok’s spot.

“More like what else can you not do?! That was amazing!” You pulled Hoseok in for hug, “We’re gonna win this. Get ready to treat us for a meal!”

Namjoon chuckled, “We have to do another game after this. Hoseok basically created the game Just Dance. He followed the moves to easily.”

“Don’t whine, just dance!” Hoseok teased, pulling you back on the couch as you both watched Miya and Namjoon do their round.

“Didn’t want to ruin the mood but… He’s watching.” Hoseok leaned in to whisper in your ear. Your eyes slowly wandered around the venue to spot a familiar figure hanging around a crowd of people.

You both made eye contact and you decided to cast a smile at his direction. In return, you received a quick and small smile before he looked away, completely avoiding your direction.

“That went well.”

“Give him time.”

“Hobi,” you deadpanned, “I’m pretty sure one year is a lot of time.”

Hoseok just shrugged, “I know but… Okay, I have nothing to say to defend him.”

You chuckled, turning your attention back to Miya and Namjoon, “You don’t have to defend him.”

“He’s my close friend too.”

“I know, and I feel bad that you have to split yourself in half every time—“

“No, no,” Hoseok nudged you to get that thought off your mind, “I don’t feel that way. Besides, I met the two of you on separate occasions as well. Please don’t feel guilty about anything.”

You gave him a thankful smile, “Thanks Hobi.”

The Just Dance bet ended with your landslide victory thanks to Hoseok’s hidden dance skills.

Namjoon insisted for another game to even the playing field and Hoseok went out to the backyard to set up the beer pong table. Miya and Namjoon had gone to the kitchen to grab the cups and drinks and you had volunteered to grab more titbits to snack on.

Thanks to your luck, Jungkook had busied himself with filling his plate with snacks as well.

“Hey.”

Jungkook jumped upon heading your voice, quickly steadying the plate on his hand. “H-Hey.”

“How’s the party going?”

You attempted to start a conversation with him as you grabbed a plate yourself. Jungkook awkwardly cleared his throat, “It’s a huge party… H-How about— Are you enjoying it?”

“Yea, there’s tons of things to do. How about you?”

“Yea.” Jungkook fiddled with one of the serving scoops. You pressed your lips in a tight smile, recognising the awkward atmosphere engulfing the both of you.

It hurt you to know Jungkook was still feeling awkward around you. It always reminded you that you had made the wrong choice. That you had ruined everything between the two of you.

“Right, I guess I’ll head off first. See you at practice?”

“Yea… See you around.” Jungkook nodded his head, his gaze locked on the table filled with snacks as you left the area, feeling dejected from your encounter.

“What’s with the long face?” Hoseok asked as you approached your group. You looked up to meet his eyes and he immediately knew, sighing as he pulled you into a comforting hug.

“It’s not your fault.”

“Still feels like it is.”

-

“Is it just me or am I still hungover from the party?”

You laughed, “You had a whole Sunday to rest.”

Miya sighed as she started doing hip circles. “I know, I must be getting old.”

“You probably are. Anyway, where is Namjoon?”

Just as you had asked, you heard his voice calling you and Miya. The both of you turned to see Namjoon heading over your direction with someone unfamiliar next to him. Namjoon was goofily waving his hands to grab your attention while pointing to the male next to him.

As they got closer, you managed to recognise the person next him. It was Kim Taehyung. He was popular in college because he was very talented at table tennis. It shocked you when Namjoon said he had joined the track team as a hurdler.

“You two must be Miya and Yn. I’m Taehyung.” He stuck out his hand for a handshake.

With a light smile, you reached out to return the handshake. Taehyung had a welcoming aura around him. He had a friendly and approachable vibe. He was tall, athletic, and good looking.

“So, what made you join track?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “It’s our last year in college, wanted to try something different.”

“Hope you like it here.”

Taehyung glanced back at you, casting a boxy grin your way, “I think I will.”

The coach blew their whistle to grab everyone’s attention. Everyone made their way to the centre of the field to start physical training. Training started with light warm-ups before rounds around the track.

While running, Taehyung was happily chatting away with you to get to know you better. “That sucks, so you’re not a hurdler?”

“Nope, I do 4x100s.”

“So, I’ll only get to see you once a week.” Taehyung pouted and you chuckled, “You can see me on other days.”

Track had 3 sessions a week - one combined with everyone and two within your own events. The combined session was physical training for all, hence why you were running rounds with a hurdler by your side.

“I’ll take that up!” He winked at you before speeding up slightly, “Catch me if you can!”

From behind, Jungkook watched you and Taehyung converse with a scowl on his face.

Why were you even talking while jogging? Was Taehyung flirting with you?

He used to be the one disturbing you during these rounds.

Jungkook tried to shrug off the scene of you and Taehyung together, ignoring the bitter feeling growing in his chest.

-

“Don’t feel bad. You’re sick, I’ll bring up some food for you.” You grabbed your student ID and phone as you insisted that Miya stayed in bed. Casting you a weak smile, she thanked you as you left your dorm to head off to the dining hall.

You lucked out when you saw Jungkook standing at the end of the queue, scrolling through his phone. With a deep breathe in as you made your way to join the queue. “Hey.” You gave a cautious greeting towards his way. Jungkook’s heart jumped, his grip tightening on his phone as he looked up to see you smiling at him.

“Hey.”

Jungkook hated how awkward he felt with you. It never used to be that way. Then again, that was a year ago.

You also never understood why Jungkook was the one avoiding you when you were the one who got rejected.

“Today was fun.” Jungkook gave you a toothy grin, “Yea it was.”

“Definitely my new favourite restaurant. I’m so full!” He playfully patted his stomach and you chuckled, “Looks like I know where to go when you start being grumpy or stressed.”

“That’s easy, you don’t have to take me to that restaurant. I just have to spend time with you and I’m good to go.” He shrugged his shoulders. Your heart fluttered at how nonchalant his words were yet so genuine. You had been thinking about it the entire afternoon, contemplating if it was the right decision. But you knew you had to let it out before it was too late.

“You good?” Jungkook pulled you out from your thoughts. “Mm? Oh yea, I’m good.” Your feet lazily kicked a stone in front of you.

“Hey,” Jungkook stopped walking, gently placing his hand on your arm to turn you around to face him. “You can always tell me something.”

“I know, I’m… I’m just tired that’s all.”

Jungkook pursed his lips together, “How about we head over to my place to watch a movie?”

“Sure.”

You let Jungkook choose the movie for the night as your head was far away. Jungkook nudged you, shimmying his shoulders. That was always his signal when he offered his shoulder for you to rest on. You gave him a small smile as you leaned your head on his shoulder.

Despite loving Marvel, you found yourself not paying a single ounce of attention to the movie. Jungkook seemed to have noticed that as you weren’t bantering with his small comments to the movie.

You were brought back to reality when you noticed the movie was paused.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, sitting up to face Jungkook.

“I was about to ask that.”

“I’m… I’m tired. I think I’ll just head home for the night.”

Jungkook frowned and you had to look away to save yourself from crumbling into pieces.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about what’s on your mind?”

You sighed, this was it. You just had to let it out.

“Promise me you won’t hate me?”

“Hate you? Jungkook repeated, “I would never hate you.”

He placed his hand on your knee, encouraging you to continue. “I’ve liked you for a while.” You paused, allowing the words to sink in. You could feel his hand stiffen and you were sure he could hear the loud beating of your heart.

The silence was deafening.

Your confession repeating in both your heads.

As every second dragged on, you started to regret it even more. You had made a terrible mistake and there was no way you could take it back. Life had no re-dos.

“I’m guessing you don’t feel the same way, given the response.” You clicked your tongue together, gathering the courage to look up at him.

Jungkook was lost for words. He would have never expected to hear a confession from you that night. From his closest friend. From his best friend.

Your words left a funny feeling in him that night, but he could not tell whether it was a good or bad feeling.

“Well, don’t worry.” You forced a laugh, “I didn’t expect much anyway. I just wanted to let it out. But I’m guessing I just ruined our friendship.”

“N-No, uh… I just… I just need time to… to absorb all of this.”

You nodded your head, “I understand.” You took it as a cue to get up from the couch, Jungkook’s eyes following your figure. “I’ll see myself out. Sorry for ruining the night.”

“T-Text me when you made it home safely.” Jungkook called out as you headed for the door.

Terrible. Even after ruining your friendship, Jungkook was still looking out for you. You hated how that made you feel. You turned around to face him one more time, a smile plastered on your face.

“Will do. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

It pained Jungkook to see you holding back your tears. If he could have another chance to replay that night. He would’ve stopped you from leaving, he would’ve told you that your friendship wasn’t ruined.

He would’ve done anything he could that night to stop you from leaving his life.

But in reality, he did none of those.

When you texted him that night that you were home, your message was left unread.

You took it as a message to give him time to process everything. A night turned into a day. A day turned into a week. A week turned into a month. A month turned into a year.

It was because of your confession, you both had become strangers once again.

“Yn!”

“Oh, hi Tae!”

Despite using his phone, Jungkook’s attention was on your conversation with Taehyung. You were already calling him ‘Tae’? Since when were you that close with him?

“Namjoon told me Miya’s sick. She alright?”

“Yep, just grabbing food for her so she can take her meds and rest.”

“Need my help?”

“Oh no, all’s good.”

Taehyung nudged you, “It’s alright, you have to get your own food too. I’ve already eaten, I can help carry her food up to your dorm, check up on her as well.”

“Sure, if you’re free, that is.”

“Free for you.” He teased and you laughed, looking away momentarily to see Jungkook who seemed to be invested in his phone.

“Oh, Jungkook! Didn’t recognise you at first. How’ve you been?”

Jungkook looked up to greet Taehyung, “H-Hey, I’ve been well.”

Ever since meeting Taehyung, he got along with your group easily. In fact, he got along with everyone effortlessly. He knew almost everyone in the track team only after 2 weeks. That meant only 2 combined sessions. Somehow along the way, it seemed that he had introduced himself to Jungkook as well.

Taehyung was amazing with people and that was admirable. The more you got to know Taehyung, the more you looked forward to hanging out with him.

“See you next practice!” Taehyung happily patted Jungkook’s shoulders goodbye as you two went off a different direction towards your dorm.

You barely register their conversation as your head was somewhere else, recalling the night you had confessed.

“Hey, are you okay?” Taehyung’s concerned voice made you look up to meet his eyes.

“I’m okay.”

Taehyung frowned, glancing behind to see Jungkook looking at the two of you walking away. Jungkook shook his head, quickly glancing away as Taehyung caught him looking.

“Something to do with Jungkook, perhaps?”

Taehyung was very observant and you knew you couldn’t fool him as well.

“Sort of… We just used to be close but... He’s been avoiding me and I’ve been trying to salvage whatever’s left. But it doesn’t seem to be working.”

Taehyung pursed his lips together, “It’s not fair if only one party is putting in the effort, you know.”

“I know, it’s just that… We used to be close.” You sighed as you stepped into the elevator with him, your gaze on your tray of food.

“Still, it’s not worth salvaging if you’re the only one putting in the effort. I’m sure you’ve done your best. Sometimes, you just can’t force things to happen.”

As the elevator opened to your level, you allowed his words to sink in.

“Miya! We come with food!” Taehyung grinned, bringing the tray to your sick roommate as she thanked the two of you for your help.

Your eyes trailed to Taehyung who was helping Miya grab her medicine and a glass of water.

Maybe Taehyung was right. Maybe it’s time to stop trying.

[browneyes-issac]

🥰💞 thank youuu for the tag @supernaturalgirl20 !

15 questions

1. Are you named after someone?

Kind of. My parents were big fans of insane clown posse and they had a band on their label with some of the other artists names Dark Lotus. They had an album come out around when I was due in 2002. So I was named after them. Also they wanted a unique name for me. 🥰

2. When was the last time you cried?

I actually don't remember... I've gotten teary eyed recently but haven't had a good cry in a bit.

3. Do you have kids?

No. But I want some. 🥰

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Definitely not.. 😆🤭 I definitely do though.. I use a lot when I'm nervous.

5. What's the first thing you notice about people?

I've never really thought about that... I guess their level of niceness to others. Because yes I talk about being irritated with everyone... But you have to be nice to anyone ya meet because you never know who they are or what they are going through..

6. What's your eye color?

Brown. Half the time I wanna say black.. 😆 So in other words I really dark brown.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Both? 🤷‍♀️ it just depends on what I'm in the mood for because I love both.

8. Any special talents?

🤷‍♀️ I for real don't think I have any... I mean if you count having good will power not to let my anger out around people that make me mad... 😆

9. Where were you born?

US

10. What are your hobbies?

Reading, writing, watching movies/tv shows, collecting a few things.

11. Any pets?

No. I am wanting to get a dog or a few. I just need to save money up to get them. As much as I want puppies, I am planning on going to the shelter and adopting. 💞

12. What sports do you play/have played?

Never did any sports besides doing them in pe class.

13. How tall are you?

5'3/5'4

14. Favorite subject in school?

English and history.

15. Dream job?

I've changed it so many times since I was a kid.. 🙈 But I've always wanted to do something that involves helping people or animals. I suppose I'm kinda doing that working in a nursing home. 🥰

Np tags: @stxrrylunatic @guess-my-next-obsession @grogusmum @heythere-mel

Thanks for the tag Naomi @scorpio-marionette

15 Questions

1: Are you named after anyone?

Yes! My mam named me after her sister who passed away a day after she was born. I like to think she’s looking out for me 😊

2: When was the last time you cried?

Ehh!! Last week. Just got very overwhelmed with a lot of things and my kids were very sick and I could myself coming down with something too so it all just got too much.

3: Do you have kids?

Yes. I have three beautiful babies. Two girls and a boy. (Yes he is a mammy’s boy and gets away with murder 😍)

4: Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Me. Sarcasm. NEVER!!!!! 😜

5: What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Their eyes. They can tell you a lot about a person. I also watch how they carry themselves. I’m a bit of an introvert so I like to hang back and observe. I can usually tell if I want to get to know someone by how they interact with others.

6: What’s your eye colour?

Blue. A deep sea blue. Their my favourite feature.

7: Scary movies or happy endings?

Scary movies hands down. I also love to scare people. I’m wicked!! 😏

8: Any special talents?

I’m a fairly good writer and great cook. You can give me any set of ingredients and I’ll make something delicious 😋

9: Where were you born?

Ireland

10: What are your hobbies?

Reading, writing, baking, I love doing a bit of DIY and re decorating the house every so often.

11: Have you any pets?

I have three cats and I do want a dog but I’m gonna wait until the kids are older.

12: What sports do you play/ have you played?

I used to play hurling, football and tennis and I also used to be a swimmer but do none of those things now.

13: How tall are you?

I’m 5:3.

14: Favourite subject in school?

Maths and science.

15: Dream job?

Child psychologist. I did touch on psychology with the degree I have but I want to go back and study this. Ooh and an author, maybe 🤔

NPT: @practicalghost @browneyes-issac @iccedays @toomanystoriessolittletime