#wip: the untitled stories

[simplegenius042]

WIP Wednesday & Last Line/s

Tagged by @socially-awkward-skeleton @noodlecupcakes @voidika @imogenkol @josephseedismyfather @aceghosts and @inafieldofdaisies

Tagging @icecutioner @derelictheretic @shallow-gravy @shellibisshe @direwombat @strangefable @rhettsabbott @josephslittledeputy @cloudofbutterflies92 @skoll-sun-eater @cassietrn @carlosoliveiraa @adelaidedrubman @g0dspeeed @wrathfulrook @afarcryfrommymain @strafethesesinners @turbo-virgins @raresvtm @softtidesworld @starsandskies @ladyoriza @la-grosse-patate @florbelles @titiagls @minilev @yokobai @thewanderer-000 @omen-speaker @justasmolbard @alypink @thesingularityseries and @nightwingshero + anyone else who'd like to join.

Guess who finally got their documents working again! Anyway, WIPs and Last Lines for The UnTitledverse and The Silver Chronicles. Specifically; a WIP for Jurassic World: Before The Storm and The True Sinners, and a Last Line for two Classroom Of The Elite fics and Silva's Hope and No Snake, Only A Boa In The Garden. Kind of a lot, but I've missed this so much. You can find these below the cut:

Here's a WIP for Chapter 2 of Jurassic World: Before The Storm:

Regret.

That is what overcame me when I followed Lisa off the ramp of the ferry.

Once I stood on sturdier ground, the unforgiving heat swept over me quickly.

Lisa had told me to put some summer clothes on; the sleeveless shirt and accompanying short skirt that she had paid for had been her initial suggestion. But I didn’t want to wear those. I didn’t want strangers to see how scrawny and soft I was. And the loose long-sleeve shirt, long baggy pants and my jumper were just too cozy, even if they were more for the colder months.

The uncomfortable temperature had me reconsider if this was a small lapse in judgement.

But no one was paying me much mind, so maybe the clothes helped. If that’s right, then maybe a little heat wouldn’t be so bad.

“Jackie,” Lisa gritted my nickname past her teeth, impatient towards my slow pace. I hadn’t realized that my baggage would be so heavy. I obliged her by picking up the pace.

Though I sped up in pace, Lisa was swifter, and the increasing amount of people clustering together made it more difficult to stay behind her lead.

Luckily the crowd started to dissipate.

I rushed to be by Lisa’s side, lugging my baggage with as much force as I could. The sun lifted an unwanted blanket of hot air over us, and I could not find it in my heart to appreciate the climate. In response to this uncomfortable pressure, I unzipped my jumper. I took a glance at Lisa and found her attention elsewhere.

Here's The True Sinners WIP, where Silva's planning murder while making coffee... but who can blame someone whose recently been kidnapped by the resident ginger soldier:

Jacob dragged Silva through the halls of the old veteran's center, his right hand gripped onto the hem of her dirty coat.

They reached what she assumed to be his office. Jacob opened the door and unceremoniously threw her forward inside. She caught herself from falling, twisting around to face her captor.

He shut the door behind him, the handle's lock clicked in a twist. Jacob crossed his arms as he regarded her, face thinned into a stoic mask.

Blue eyes raked over her disheveled body, specifically how she positioned herself; legs spread apart and slight bent, her left arm spread forward in preparation while her right arm remained closest to her hip, and her dull grey eyes glaring at him. Focused.

He sharply exhaled through his nose, almost like a whistling snort. He leaned against the wall next to the door, eyes on her. Silva didn't drop her guard, not even when he gestured over to a small table.

"Coffee," Jacob tells her. Silva remained in her stance, though confusion did etch across her face.

Jacob gestured once more to the small table. Silva hesitated, eyed Jacob's stature. She took a brief glance over to the table, not enough to lose Jacob in her peripheral though, and opted not to change her stance either, just in case.

She spotted a kettle and some paper cups, and what she assumed to be a jar of grounded coffee beans.

She swiftly placed her eyes back onto him, uncertainty and anticipation brewing within her. Jacob must have noticed, as he stated, "Get yourself a cup of coffee. And if you get one for me, I might be open to explaining your purpose here."

Her eyes narrowed, but refrained from speaking. Silva wasn't sure what his game was. She focused past him to the office door.

She silently exhaled, taking small steps toward the table, grey eyes always on Jacob in case he made any sudden moves.

Once she planted a gloved hand on the small tabletop, she gave one more glare towards him before reluctantly turning her back to him.

With an ear out for any inconspicuous movements Jacob could make, Silva quickly pressed a knuckle against the kettle. Finding it lukewarm, she flicked down the switch.

She dared another glance at Jacob while the kettle heated up, only to stiffen when their stares connected. A palish blue invading her dull grey. A contrast to the sharp grey of Father and the pale hazel of Paul.

He was a militar man. The green forest jacket with the Americana flag was enough to tip her off when they first met, but the ambush... the training grounds of the veteran center had all confirmed her suspicion.

She had been unprepared when she fought back during the raid, only managing to catch him off guard with an admittedly surprised hit, but nothing that could have incapacitated him with his support running at her.

But now they were alone... and once she heard the rising whistle, she twisted her fingers around the handle of her new weapon.

Here's four Last Lines, two each for The UnTitledverse and The Silver Chronicles.

The first Last Line is for a Classroom Of The Elite chapter in The UnTitled Stories (a collection of short fics). Ayanokoji and Horikita have lunch together:

"So," I had paused to swallow down the crumbed fish before I asked you, "The first step is to rehabilitate the failures?"

It hadn't been an unsound plan. In fact it was quite logical, which made sense, in hindsight.

"If you've grasped that, you can guess what I'm about to propose," you had told me, and you were correct. The implication was as easy to notice like a car speeding down a crossing.

My initial response was to decline. The word 'no' was on the tip of my mouth, but I refrained. I took a glance at you, and reconsidered my reply.

Knowing you thus far, you would never have allowed me to get as close as you'd already let me back then if I had rejected your proposal. You had made sound points and made your intentions clear. While I had no ambition to reach Class A, as it had not been my goal, you were a curious oddity that I wanted to learn more about. And helping you meant getting one step closer to the answer I sought.

So, I made the only acceptable answer.

"Okay, I'll help."

"I thought you'd say-," you had paused mid-sentence, my words being swiftly picked apart in your mind as you realized what I had said, "Wait, seriously?"

"Dead serious," I parroted your words back. I'd imagine the look of momentary shock should have been amusing, though I couldn't find much humor in the displace as my chopsticks picked up the rest of my crumbed fish.

The second Last Line/s is for a "What If?" Classroom Of The Elite scenario where Amasawa and Yagami went with Ayanokoji to the school. Anyway, have Class D's reaction to the trio:

As Ayanokoji began to depart from his desk, he paused. Horikita heard him let out a sigh, and much to her confusion, dropped his bag on top of his desk.

"What are you-?" Horikita wanted to question, but Ayanokoji soon interrupted her.

"Accepting my fate," he disclosed, not with much emotion, but certainly not his regular monotone.

Horikita blinked at him, shaking her head in confusion, "Huh?"

Ayanokoji only pointed toward Class 1-D's door in response. She turned her gaze toward it, the sliding door left ajar by the few students who left for break. She wasn't sure why...

She stopped her thoughts when she heard it; the rushing steps of someone fast approaching. It wasn't until a familiar magenta-haired fiend slid in front of the door way, cast her gradient dark-red eyes onto her target and propelled herself inside the classroom at such unnatural speed.

"Senpai~!" the twin-tailed girl cheered out as she threw herself at Ayanokoji, who (reluctantly) welcomed her with deflated open arms. The girl tackled Ayanokoji, the force causing both of them to crash to the floor. The ruckus caught the remainder of Class D's attention.

Before Horikita could process what she just witnessed, she heard another rush of footsteps towards the doorway, but this one slowed down to reveal the second of Ayanokoji's companions; a boy with brown hair and green eyes, softly panting and non-discreetly leaning against the frame to recover from the chase.

The third Last Line/s is for Silva's Hope, and Silva gets a short break and a new friend:

"Hey, Dep, so... you hungry?" Boshaw asked, fidgeting with the beer bottle in his hand. Silva glanced at him, raising a brow, "I was gonna heat up the leftover pizza I had in my fridge, and since you're crashing the place, I'm just wondering if you want some."

He seemed anxious, giving her a forced smile as he awaited her answer. At the mention of food, the rumbling pain in her gut demanded she attend to its needs. Silva blew out a relenting exhale.

"Honestly Boshaw... I'd love some pizza," she told him, and she saw how his brown eyes lightened up; like how Elsa was given permission to do a dangerous stunt or Hurk given the go-ahead to blow a Peggie chopper out of the sky. Or given the thumbs up to set something ablaze.

With that reminder, she quickly added, "As long as it's not reheated with your flamethrower. Understood Boshaw?"

Boshaw blew out a playful huff as he stood up on the trailer's roof, "Nah, I learnt my lesson last time I did that. Gets too charred. Don't worry, I've got a microwave laying about inside. And ya can call me Sharky, Dep."

Silva chewed the inside of her cheek, but after some thinking, couldn't see the harm of calling him by his preferred name, "Alright Sharky... as long as you call me Silva. I'm doing a lot more than what's in a deputy's paycheck. Deal?"

She opened out a gloved hand for him to shake on, and it lightened her mood to see the wide cheerful grin as he took her hand, and managed to pull her up onto her two feet, "You've got a deal there, Silva."

The final Last Line/s is for No Snake, Only A Boa In The Garden, and have a crumb of Hudson and Pratt content... as they chat waiting for a passed-out Coroner!Silva to wake up:

Watching how quietly [Silva] slept on as Pratt had loudly chugged down his coffee, Joey couldn't disagree with Pratt's comment, regardless of how ill-mannered the jest was.

She's almost like a corpse, she conceded, frowning at the soft breathes she could barely see part their coroner's lips, the egg-shaped timer ticking beside the dark-haired woman's head, within arm-length.

"Hudson, you need to relax. She's a grown woman, remember? She's made the decision to deal with her personal issues herself," Pratt yapped on, and shared a thought, "Not the best way to deal with any issue, true, but it really isn't up to us to interfere if it hasn't affected her job thus far. Besides, you've got to admit she's a bit fun when she's tipsy. Night-outs are never short of entertaining when she's around. Cheeky and funny, too."

Joey gave Pratt a deadpan look, and sighed, "I don't know Pratt. You ever wonder why she drinks though? It worries me. We're pretty much the only ones here she goes out of her way to talk to, with exception to Earl. And she's just cooped up in here, surrounded by... death."

She gestured around the morgue, to the units housing whatever bodies were brought in this week. Once again, she settled her gaze on the deep bags under Silva's eyes, a combined result of the coroner's known insomnia and the amount of effort in she puts to stretch herself thin in overworking herself. Joey huffed, a somberness in her voice, "It's so... isolating. She never shares anything outside her personal life either, and we're the closest people to friends that she's got. It's not normal."

[something-tofightfor]

WIP Wednesday on Thursday

Thank you for tagging me @justagalwhowrites

I also agree that it feels weird to post as if everything's business as usual, but the only way out is through, and the only way through is to take part in the things that make us happy and keep us going, right? I've found some solace in writing Joel over the last couple days, and this is two excerpts from what is tentatively called "Untitled" - and is a TLOU AU where there's no outbreak and Joel is a successful - but somewhat retired - musician. Currently I've got about 4.5 chapters and 52k words for it, so we'll see when it's ready to post.

If you want to post what you're working on, please feel free to do so - consider this an open tag!

[jessmindspace]

An old Jariadne piece I never got around to posting (aside on Patreon) since it was supposed to be my Valentine's Day pic for 2023 but I didn't like how it looked so I went a different route lol

Despite having to take on new identities and live on a mining world without all the frills of court, Judd and Ariadne embrace their new lives in exile. They enjoy the simplicity of their hectic new world, finding time to have some quiet moments together when Judd isn't busy in the mines and Ariadne isn't caught up in her archeology research (and when the kids aren't all keyed up after school lol) 🩵

[bardic-tales]

Tumblr Game: Heads Up. Seven Up.

Thank you so much for the tag, @oh-no-another-idea. I really enjoy the dialogue in your snippet.

Rules: Share the last 7 sentences you wrote.

This is from an upcoming short story that I am writing, featuring my Bianca Moore, my Nephilim character, and the Cult that is chasing her. My passion project is a huge dark fantasy that spans original and fandom content.

This is the first introduction of Bianca. I've been out of practice since I haven't really wrote anything worthwhile since last November. But I always believed that writing is like riding a bike. Your talent is always there. Just need to dust it off.

The sun sat low in the sky, as bands of oranges and reds blazed across the Heavens. A white mist slowly rolled over the hills and down into the valley, reaching out to the cars, houses, and trees like skeletal fingers seeking to squeeze the life out of the sleepy surroundings. Ever seeking the Destroyer of the Multiverse — or whatever that meant.

Bianca Moore sat in the middle of her bed and watched the scrambled lines on the blocked premium cable station, squinting to see the movie. She wanted to cover up with the itchy, beige wool blanket that was so thin that she shivered each chilly night, but the stains upon the thin material gave her pause. Who knew what caused the splotches of red and white?

From the tender age of ten, Bianca knew motels like this were not known for their stellar cleanliness.

Open Tag and Tag List (no pressure and soft tagging)

@writingpotato07 @worldstogetlostin @garthcelyn @wordsformysoul @thecorneroftheweirdone @eleanorawritesfantasy @cbolandwrites @rungojira @that-bi-chick-kaya @faelanvance @dogmomwrites @jjm-blogspot @justwriteyoudummy @violetcancerian @dragonthusiast @korblez   @deadblvcknerd  @aether-wasteland-s @captain-kraken

@residentdormouse @arrthurpendragon @arrthurpendragon @prehistoric-creatures @serenofroses

@megandaisy9 @asirensrage

@creativechaosqueen

[ladypepperofdavenshire-archives]

Stories Masterpost

Parallels

Genre: Superhero, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Spy, Mystery

Synopsis: A group of ordinary people who live mundane lives all wake up together in a dreamworld/other dimension where they have superhuman abilities. This other reality is parallel to theirs, just with scifi/fantasy elements thrown in that are typical of a superhero universe. Part of the mystery is finding out how they are all brought to this other reality, and why they were “chosen” to connect as dreamers/heroes, but it becomes more difficult since the dream picks up where it left off if they go unconscious in the Superhero Reality/Mundane Reality, which leads to realities blurring.

I haven't really explored The Mundane Reality parts all that much yet, so this is mostly the superhero aspects that I've been developing/posting 😅

Tags: #parallels comic project | #parallels

Knightsbridge Hollow*

Genre: A mix of mystery, comedy, fantasy, spy, and slight horror

Setting: 1961-62, British Countryside

Synopsis: Set in the Parallels universe, immortals John and Muriel Traxton move to the little English village of Knightsbridge Hollow after a disastrous attempt at living in the city outside of the pocket dimension they had been calling home since their marriage. Muriel wants to attempt a "normal" life, and John is just going along with it because he loves his wife and wants to support this endeavor. This, however, comes to bite them when it turns out that Knightsbridge is a magnet for all sorts of mana-infused people and creatures...and it seems like all of the creatures are working under someone who has it out for Muriel...

*Current comic project I'm working on | you can follow the blog for more updates too

Tags: #knightsbridge hollow

Sci Fi WIP Universe (it has a name but you have to find out on Patreon hehe)

Genre: Sci Fi

Setting: Thousands of years in the future, after humanity has colonized the known galaxy

Synopsis: I have three stories (so far) in this universe, all at different points in time!

Main Story - The one that I hope to write in the future that serves as the introduction to the universe these stories are set to take place in. Thrust into the seat of power after her father was assassinated, Empress Ariadne Fenway II has to contend with a planet of people who have been under the heel of the Fenway Dynasty for far too long and are ready to revolt as she tries to enact reforms to help make reparations. Ultimately she is forced to flee when a charismatic member from the Priest Sect who calls himself “The Demagogue” joins forces with a rival noble house on the planet and enacts a coup.

Tags: #untitled sci fi wip | #untitled sci fi story

Assassin Story - Follows two genetically-engineered assassins--Taran and Renata--as they navigate their new lives after breaking away from their masters and deciding to do things on their own terms. They have to come to rely on each other to avoid bounty hunters and other mercenaries sent after them, oh, and the Death Squad the Assassin Makers send to liquidate their AWOL assets. Set a century or two prior to the Main Story.

Tags: #assassin story

Shadow Sector - Takes place about a hundred years after the Main Story. The setting is on a massive research station in what has become known as "The Shadow Sector," following a widower, Shaw, and his three girls as isolationist genetically-engineered human societies start reintegrating back into the Imperium. This includes Representative deGrav'aine being sent to the Station as part of an exchange program for the GEs and Baseline humans to trade their knowledge. Unknown to the Imperium at large, there are some GEs and Baselines who are opposed to the commingling of races, and will do anything they can to put a stop to it, even perhaps starting a war.

Tags: #shadow sector

Okay. That's it. THERE YOU GO

[wandixx]

Wip Ask Game

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it!

Me: Hey it's looks fun, let's do it!

Also me: *second later, after realizing that about half of my WIPs don't have a title because I'm writing it on paper at school* Oh. Oh no. Not the title!

Me: *next second later, realizing that I'm a mess so most of these papers are out of a satchel I brought among other purposes, specifically for that* Well, gotta pull Drake and ignore my responsibilities to dig some shit up :D

I managed to get through both of these inconveniences so here we are, ask if you want. Most of them are one-shots but some (majority) are on their way to becoming something like my contingencies prompt fill (40 pages in Word document, over 20,000 words :D)

Wally&Danny are chaos incarnate

Dani's dress up game and Batman's rouge gallery

GIW made a lot of mistakes and the biggest one was going against Young Justice (cartoon)

I got feels moment so Danny gets hurt

J'onn J'onzz raids GIW to help white Martian. He meets one and a half ghost instead

Phantom is part of Young Justice

do barely organised worldbuilding notes count? I could tell you some things about it and maybe finally go back to working on it. There are deified turtles

That's it? I honest to God thought there was more to it, but well I was mistaken once again. Ask away I'm more than a little excited to ramble about all of this (maybe not the feels one because there really isn't much more to it but I can share some pieces)

If you want you can specify in ask if you would like a snippet or some info. If you don't do that you are condemned to whatever I'm more excited about.

I hope you all will like it

[clairelsonao3]

Happy STS, Claire!

Do you ever have projects you plan to keep just for yourself? Something no one else will ever see?

If your answer is yes, feel free to answer any or none of those as well:

Are there any exceptions to "no one else?"

Do you sometimes change your mind later?

Do those have something in common?

Thanks for the ask, Elli, and sorry for the delay! I took a minute to go through my drafts today after being in a writing-moving-starting-more-WIPS-god-knows-what hole for a while and prove to people that I'm still alive.

And, yes. I definitely DO have projects that either A. started out as private projects but that eventually did see the light of day B. projects that started out as "real" projects but that for other reasons I don't anticipate showing to anyone ever. There's no real common thread to any of them, but largely they either just a. didn't turn out how I wanted, or b. did turn out how I wanted but are just too damn embarrassing.

Things change sometimes, though.

For instance, Jude's story aka Silly Whumpy Prison Non-Story (and another thing I did that's basically an AU of that story in even whumpier circumstances) which I either posted elsewhere or didn't post at all because I was too embarrassed to post them where anyone knew me, are both now getting incorporated into another WIP (or rather series of WIPs, because I get carried away like that sometimes) that I very much WILL hope will see the light of day. (More on that later).

[mareenavee]

WIP Whenever, once again <3

Hi Friends!!!

I'm swamped with holiday stuff, work for Skywind, fic, and also a significant novel collab I'm working on with a very dear friend of mine! Original, too! We're in the prewriting stages and I'm HYPED.

(This is why I am not tagging anyone on these, I have vanishingly few minutes for Tumblr.)

But back on the fic wagon, I have been working on both World Chapter 32 and an Untitled Ghost Story set in Morrowind-times, speaking of Skywind.

My same very dear friend and I have adopted these OCs from cut content in another project and I've decided to write him a fanfiction.

Veru Bavani belongs to Indoril Jinumon. Ulpar Enakul is, technically, both of ours. (:

The palindrome verse was Indoril Jinumon's work, originally, written for this character's dialogue.

The Ald Chimeris below was written originally by Strager (on AO3) and means: "You dare come here!?"

CW for canon typical violence and general spookiness!

Without further ado, under the cut, today's selection is from Untitled Ghost Story! 798 words.

Veru’s heart sank. Enemies from all directions, and this was how they treated their captives. She closed her eyes and bowed her head in a silent prayer, just in case nobody had bothered to remember this one when they were alive.

As she was recounting her verse, she could have sworn she heard murmuring and then movement in the air, as if someone had walked past. She opened her eyes and whipped around to check, but the corpse was exactly as she left it. Everything remained as unchanged as it had been when she’d discovered this place. A chill ran down her spine, air going cold—or so she thought. Was that her breath fogging? Of course not—it was as dry and overly warm as it had been for a while now. She exhaled through her nose and turned on her heel. It was a dead end, anyway. She would have to climb back out to the main chamber and try again. As she began her ascent, she turned and looked over her shoulder one last time. Wait—had the skull shifted? No. No. Don’t be stupid. Let the dead rest.

Back at the main chamber, she chose the middle path next, marking another Vehk rune before she moved on. This one was pristine in a strange way, the rocks beneath her feet smoothed over as if, long ago, it had once been a kind of road. Now nothing remained, not even an echo of the civilization which had made their last stand here. Nothing except ashes, if even that.

Veru walked for what seemed like hours, the gloom crushing in around her as she descended further into the depths. She stopped only to carve more Vehk runes, the first ever. This could have been below the citadel—the way seemed correct, the last she was able to determine. As she made her way, the stalactites thinned, replaced instead with high ceilings of twisted, once-molten rock, sharp and curled like the spiked armor on a dremora. The light of her torch did nothing to alleviate the oppressive vastness into which she could not see. Anything could be up ahead. Her throat felt like it would close in the silence, but it would not do to risk her voice now, when anything could be out there and so much was at stake. Gritting her teeth, she stepped carefully in time with the verse in her head. She drew her sword and adjusted her grip on the torch. The flame flickered, her shadow like a monster merging with the greater darkness. She inhaled deeply, eyes wide and watchful for any hint of movement. 

Swords, like words said with pride, cutting pride with said words, like swords.

Between one inhale and the next, something screeched out of nowhere in a rush of freezing wind which smothered the flame of her torch. Though blinded, she was prepared for something like this—some nefarious Dwemer abomination. There was another screech to her right, and with a yell, she struck out with her sword. She was met with the pale green-blue glow of a revenant, its sword locked with hers, ice crystals crawling along the blade of hers. His face was twisted in an ugly snarl, eyes not inches from hers as he advanced with all his strength.

“Ni kana shanta sino?!”

The voice sounded myriad, like a thousand-thousand souls had been woken from their slumber to scream the words. She didn’t know this language, and in her inability to respond, the spectre was thrown off guard, just so. It was enough. She parried, the sharp screech of ethereal metal against glass echoing out into the void around them. The ghost charged at her again, sword raised, leaving him wide open. Veru stepped left, dodging his strike only to stab into his ectoplasmic form from the side. A shriek unlike anything she’d ever heard before pierced her skull. She cried out and tried to block out the noise with her hands. The ghost disappeared and reformed feet in front of her, the noise of its scream still disarming her as it reverberated.

He raised his sword, and in a flash that stung her eyes to tears, flames sprung up around the perimeter of the room from sconces in the wall. Veru wiped the sweat from her eyes and rushed in for another hit. The ghost was faster than she anticipated, and struck out with the pommel of his sword, uttering another sharp shriek that seemed to come from everywhere all at once. The pommel connected with the side of her head, sending another explosion of pain through her skull, enough to pull the darkness back into the edges of her vision. She screamed and, though dizzy, moved in for another stab in the opening his ill-advised blow left.

[deciphered-narrator]

thinking about hiding the (fairly obvious) plot twist in this wip that the main character's brother is still alive by just making him trans. mfw i'm looking for my "sister" and some guy who looks like "her" tries to kill me

[avatarskywalker78]

Character Introduction!

Maia Curry (fc Erana James) is Arthur's fifteen-year-old cousin (his aunt's daughter), strong-willed with a sense of humor, and due to knowing Arthur well-aware that non-humans exist and is entirely unfazed when others start showing up later. She shares her uncle's belief that her Aunt Atlanna is really alive due after he told her about her fighting prowess, figuring that if anyone could survive deep-sea monsters it would be her (and is freaking delighted when this turns out to be the case.)

Family's pretty important to her and she quickly accepts Atlanna and also Orm, once she gets to meet him, and the latter's practically her cousin anyway, right? (Orm isn't entirely sure of this, Arthur finds the whole thing hilarious). She likes to joke around, make references she knows no one else is going to get, and will randomly make food for family members regardless of whether they asked or not - but there's no doubt she loves them very much.

One thing she's truly passionate about is the environment - she has very strong opinions on environmental issues, has already gone to a number of protests, raises awareness wherever and whenever she can, and is a furious debater once she gets going. She's not entirely sure what her career is going to be, only hat it'll be something to try and help save the planet however she can.

And as though this going to be difficult enough, unbeknownst to her she is a dormant metahuman - and it won't be long before her powers awaken...

Taglist: @shrinkthisviolet (let me know if you want to be added or removed)

[druidx]

[Muse Monday!] Nessy! Do you have any coworkers, or is it just you and your boat for your boat tours? If you've got coworkers, have any of them come close to discovering The Truth about you?

Ahoy there.

Aye lassie (//squints// or is it laddie? Anyhoo...), I've co-workers (family too, but I'm sure you're not as interested in my wifey and not-so-wee bairns). The company I work for has 3 great boats we rotate through the season, and each can carry up to 200 passengers. I'm but the guide and storyteller; the young lads and lassies (and Ol' Petey) are the ones that keep us sailing.

As for discovering me truth... //scratches at his chin// If anyone's got their suspicions they've not said as such to my face, neither've me and the missus had any ill dealings with folk making accusations. I reckon if anyone's had any inklings it'd be Ol' Petey. Known him since we was nippers and worked the boat for years too. But as I said, the old man's kept shtum.

Ye have t'understand, m'wee friend, I'm not the first 'Monster of the Loch', and with grand-babbies on the way, I doubt I'll be the last. After Aunty Aileen's little debacle back in the day, we like stirring up a bit o' mischief every so often. Gotta keep the tourists coming back, aye?

Thanks for the chat, hen. I'd best be getting on...

[simplegenius042]

Music Monday & WIP Wednesday

Tagged by @josephseedismyfather

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Music for A Radioactive Calamity Of Love, Bombs & Gore and The UnTitledverse and WIP snippets for The UnTitledverse and The Silver Chronicles. Listen and read below the cut:

First song for my Sole Survivor OC Nate Gust Sarid from my Fallout 4 WIP A Symbol For A Better World in my A Radioactive Calamity Of Love, Bombs & Gore series. Nate... is amongst many of my Fallout OCs in particular who goes through a rough stage in his life. The life he knew originally ends with a bang, he and many of his neighbors are frozen in stasis and he witnesses his wife die and his son get taken and wakes up again decades later as the "Sole Survivor" (...or is he?) in a world trying to heal but still under conflict. And while he wants nothing but to find his son and avenge his wife, he instead gets caught up in helping the factions around the Commonwealth just to get the resources and aid necessary to find his son (as well as make the Commonwealth safer for his son when he brings him home). The only one who seems to just want to help him with no strings attached is strange flippant woman named Ress who really wants to kill her own dad (whoever he may be). Honestly Nate gets the most depressing narrative for a Fallout OC of mine and his arc is to find hope again (which starts with his friendship with Ress, which kickstarts her own arc of becoming someone more than she perceives herself to be, e.g. a symbol of hope instead of a bad omen like her father). Putting him up there with Alph Dolen (my Lone Wanderer OC) and Finidy Mona (my Chosen One OC). Anyway, song below:

"High, high hopes."

"Had to have high, high hopes for a living Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing Didn't have a dime, but I always had a vision Always had high, high hopes ("High, high hopes!") Had to have high, high hopes for a living Didn't know how, but I always had a feeling I was gonna be that one in a million Always had high, high hopes

Mama said, "Fulfill the prophecy Be something greater, go make a legacy" Manifest destiny, back in the days We wanted everything, wanted everything ("High, high hopes!") Mama said, "Burn your biographies Rewrite your history, light up your wildest dreams" Museum victories every day We wanted everything, wanted everything

Mama said, "Don't give up, it's a little complicated All tied up, no more love and I'd hate to see you waiting"

Had to have high, high hopes for a living Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing Didn't have a dime, but I always had a vision Always had high, high hopes Had to have high, high hopes for a living Didn't know how, but I always had a feeling I was gonna be that one in a million Always had high, high hopes ("High, high hopes!")

Mama said, "It's uphill for oddities Stranger crusaders ain't ever wannabes" The weird and the novelties that don't ever change We wanted everything, wanted everything ("High, high hopes!") Stay up on that rise Stay up on that rise and never come down, oh Stay up on that rise Stay up on that rise and never come down

Mama said, "Don't give up, it's a little complicated All tied up, no more love and I'd hate to see you waiting" They say it's all been done, but they haven't seen the best of me-eh-eh-eh So I got one more run and it's gonna be a sight to see-eh-eh-eh

Had to have high, high hopes for a living Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing Didn't have a dime, but I always had a vision Always had high, high hopes ("High, high hopes!") Had to have high, high hopes for a living Didn't know how, but I always had a feeling I was gonna be that one in a million Always had high, high hopes ("High, high hopes!")

Had to have high, high hopes for a living Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing Didn't have a dime, but I always had a vision Always had high, high hopes Had to have high, high hopes for a living Didn't know how, but I always had a feeling I was gonna be that one in a million Always had high, high hopes!" ("High, high hopes!")

Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz, Kool Moe Dee & Eric Nally's "Downtown" is a song I typically listen to when working on my Detroit: Become Human WIP called Detroit: Battleground from my The UnTitledverse series (I also listen to Nicki Minaj's "Starships" while working on the WIP but that's a post for another time). And I gotta be honest... I don't know why. Does a song about an interaction between a shopper and a moped salesman got anything to do with androids fighting for their rights with the help of a cat and dilophosaurus as a malevolent virus goes around killing the rich and wealthy while stealing autonomy away from sentient androids got anything to do with each other? Unless you're really looking deep into things... not really. I'm sure if you squint you could find something, like how I imagine Detroit to be this downtown city even though I've never been there and I'm probably wrong. Like yeah... I just think the WIP and song vibe with each other on the level that Madonna's "Like A Prayer" vibes with Deadpool and Wolverine... neither had anything to do with each other but they still work! Anyway, listen below:

"Downtown, downtown ("Downtown!") Downtown, downtown She has her arms around your waist With a balance that will keep her safe (Downtown)

Have you ever felt the warm embrace (Downtown) Of a leather seat between your legs? (Hey, hey-ey-ey, hey, hey-ey-ey, hey, hey-ey-ey, hey, hey-ey-ey!)

Downtown You don't want no beef, boy Know I run the streets, boy Better follow me towards

Downtown What you see is what you get, girl Don't ever forget, girl Ain't seen nothing yet until you're

Downtown You don't want no beef, boy Know I run the streets, boy Better follow me towards

Downtown What you see is what you get, girl Don't ever forget, girl Ain't seen nothing yet until you're Downtown!"

First WIP is for the FC5 Bloodborne AU, showing a snippet where John and Jacob had rallied their followers to attempt their first assault to take the Convent back and confront Vicar Faith... but just before they encounter a powerful obstacle in the forms of the Church Hunters, and very much before they notice the first sign that somethings different about the Bliss. Read below:

Passing by the rocks, John looked out his side of the window, and saw the glimpses of the Convent; a property that once belonged to the Project before they made the deal with that deceitful snake, Paul Yellowjack.

As Jacob turned the corner, John could see how drastically it changed since last they handed it over.

The congregation hall was bigger, altered into a chapel. The dormitories were present, but seemed to be in disuse; and given the bodies of black-garbed Hunters laying outside the small stone walls, John made an educated guess as to why.

He grimaced at the distant sight of the so-called "Church Hunters" patrolling within the vicinity of the Convent. Adorning large wide-brimmed hats, cloaked in white over their dark hooded garbs, the hulking creatures were far from human; they were twice as tall as ordinary people, their skin drained of all colors except a ghostly pale, their features eternally etched in a ghastly stiff and emotionless face, their glazed blank eyes somehow more soulless than their shorter and more temperamental cousins.

John wondered how this one night managed to have him prefer their twitching, jittery and screaming Angels to the Monastery's stoically calm, sluggish moving and low moaning Church Hunters.

Though John could easily explain that as away as the result of the former being volunteers or those too full of doubt that Bliss was needed to elevate their minds, even if John didn't like it. Meanwhile, the latter were a vehement vileness towards the beauty God their souls' vessels, nothing more than husks that the disgraceful Saint Matilda managed to gain since Faith was appointed the Monastery's vicar.

The reminder of their astray "sister" was enough for a scowl to nearly break through.

"Guess Dansky was right for once," Jacob spoke up, surveying the Convent from afar as he pulled the truck to a stop, thankfully not pushing any further, "They're keeping people out, even those who are supposed to be their own."

That detail both disturbed and confused John; despite their lives often being full of vice, the Hunters risked their lives and sanity ensure the safety of everyone, regardless of affiliation, from the vile beasts that roamed the county, compared to the Church Hunters, who resided around properties owned by the Monastery, like guard dogs.

Such a quality was something that John and his brothers could agree on finding an admirable trait about the Hunters. But to see them so callously murdered by trusted affiliates just for seeking a well-known safe haven to recover made his blood boil. Though it also raised questions about tonight.

Like, why?

Why reveal their true colors on this night of all nights? What was the purpose of disposing their only forces against the beasts? How does the "Hunt of the Long Night" differ from previous nights? Was it a similar case to the "Night of Flames"? But why does Paul continue to broadcast his warnings and reminders to the civilians if he's assumed to be behind this?

John didn't have answers. Neither did his brothers nor any of their followers. But... perhaps their wayward sister did.

The other envoys full of Jacob's Chosen and John's bravest men and women also pulled to a stop, awaiting further action.

John reached to the backseat for the automatic rifle he stored in there, with Jacob checking the ammo of a pistol in the glove box.

Jacob looked to John, watching as his younger brother checked the magazine and loaded it back it upon seeing it was full, flicking safety off. John was surprised when his older brother placed the pistol against his chest, forcing him to hold it.

"Take it," Jacob gruffly ordered, gesturing to John's empty holster. When John tried to refuse it with a push away, Jacob stared at him harder, and looking into their shared blue eyes was something John didn't see much often in his older brother; behind the insistence was worry.

Not that John could blame him... tonight had been rough on his older brother, especially with the failed arrest nearly costing Joseph's life and the compound being uninhabitable due to the Beasts lured over by the helicopter's crash.

"John. Just take it," Jacob insisted roughly, and though John wanted nothing more to show his brother that he was capable on his own, he gave in, taking Jacob's pistol.

Jacob gave a satisfied nod, patting John's shoulder before exiting the driver's seat, going to the trunk to get his rifle.

John looked ahead to the convent, where he saw the blue hue of some Church Hunter's lanterns illuminate, grimly alluring.

He swore he could see the outlines of a green mist swirl along the walls, but when he blinked, it seemed more like fog.

Shaking his head, exhaling a breath to steel his nerves, John exited the truck to help Jacob rally their faithful together.

Another FC5 snippet for my You're Almost Like Family WIP where John is able to have a (somewhat) civil negotiation (after many failed and fatal attempts beforehand) with Silva at a gas station with neither having any weapons on hand to defend themselves against unknown stalkers with murderous intent... Enjoy reading below:

John straightened up as soon as he saw her silhouette approach closer, eventually watching the Deputy enter the gas station.

When she turns to him, his eyes instinctively checked her over. He's relieved the moment he saw no gun and no knife. No weapons means he said and done the right things this time, though he's not foolish enough to believe she trusts him... after all, she doesn't need weapons to end his life once again.

He gives her his biggest, most welcoming smile that he can. The Deputy responds by narrowing her grey eyes at him, clearly suspicious.

Alright, John thinks as he grits his teeth, We'll work on that.

"Ah, Deputy," he greets with wide arms, without his coat this time, showing that he too had honored the agreed conditions with his empty holster, "You don't know how glad I am to see you make it here."

The Deputy didn't immediately respond, instead observing and analyzing him. John's heart quickened in pace; being in close proximity of her didn't ease his nerves. He prayed that he didn't make the wrong move, say something that would mistakenly tip her off to some non-existent threat.

She was a skittish thing; easily on guard by the smallest movements, tense from the slightest change in tone, most likely to strike if she feels threatened. Even if John wanted to poke fun at her previous failed attempts to get here, he knew she didn't know about those cycles, so his phrasing just comes across as odd.

He almost exhales aloud the breath he was holding in when he sees the neutral stoic expression return. Not a scowl, not wide alarmed eyes and most definitely not a confident smirk before he sent him to suffer through another agonizingly long cycle.

She crosses her arms, her gaze focused on him as she curtly replied, "I'm here now. Spill or I leave."

Straightforward as always.

This next part had been something he'd been practicing for a while. Taking in account the previous attempts ultimately leading to failures, John had been extra cautious this cycle; he did everything he could to avoid her wrath, her distrust and a reason to immediately kill him.

He left the Ryes alone - hell, he even spared Rae-Rae and her mutt - he gave his men strict orders to not kill anyone they detained, even if some were traitors like Alex or resistant like Wendell, and left Fall's End just north of the gas station they were in alone after she reclaimed it once again. He refrained from... getting Deputy Hudson's confession, at least just yet. Nadi was sore about the disuse of the Revelator, but if she knew of what he was going through, he's sure she'd understand the necessity.

He allowed the Deputy to escape, twice. Gave her the tools to escape. He hoped this could at least spark an interest or a benefit of the doubt, at least to hear him out.

Her life depended on it. And his sanity too. Lord, he hopes they can work together to put an end to her untimely demises. At least to stop him from restarting back to the night of the arrest.

"Straight to the point then?" John questioned, one of many that he'd rehearsed throughout these botched attempts to talk with her. She gave an affirming nod, though this time without the irritation that broke through the stoic expression, but John didn't waste time to speak, "As you know Deputy, the Reaping has split us into those who believe in my brother's project and those who disagree with his vision."

The Deputy's brow furrowed, but John continued before she made a snide remark towards him and his family, "Yet through the gaps of this conflict, my best men and women have reported to me a string of strange behavior we believe originates from an unaffiliated and rogue party to our factions."

That wasn't exactly a lie; Sinclair and his faithful brothers and sisters had all, along with himself, witnessed Silva's demise to assassinations and sabotage from an unknown assailant... unlike him, they just don't remember the previous cycles.

Silva looked to him at the mention of "unaffiliated" and "rogue party", processing the information with scrutiny. As expected, she asked with a raised brow, "What makes you say that?"

"Well-" John said with a suave tone, attempting to lean on the kitchen counter, but misplaced his hand, unintentionally sliding a plate off the counter.

The plate's impact on the floor shattered it to pieces, resulting in a reverberating crash across the Golden Valley Gas station upon the dishware breaking.

The Deputy looked alarm, her arm reaching for her holster, though found no handle since it was thankfully empty. She relaxed, and stared at John with an incredulous expression for a short moment of silence.

John just covered his face and coughed to hide the embarrassment. Surely no one passing by would be able to hear that, right? It'd be quite inconvenient if the Deputy and himself were discovered together, not because they'd might mistake one or the other for working together, but because the Deputy would throw him under the bus, at the best and most hopeful scenario she'd just arrest him... though knowing her, she'd equally consider killing him to clear up any misunderstandings.

Not that such a thing had happened... yet.

He just hoped the chances of anyone walking or patrolling nearby was extremely low.

"Ahem," he faux coughed, hoping to get back on topic as he let go of leaning on the bench, "As I was saying- you see, your Resistance may not be aware of it yet, but there's been a low number of activity in murders towards members on both our sides; most that result in shells of a unique bullet that I know neither of our people use, capable of breaking through the human body with extreme ease."

Again, that was technically true; he's seen plenty of times when that bullet propels through the air and always creates an entry and an exit wound upon fatally hitting it's intended target- the Deputy.

Although the "murders on both sides" was a little speculative. John just assumed given the first time he witnessed the Deputy's demise, it was likely the assailant had been disguised as a Chosen, given Alexander seemed to have noticed them first. As for the Resistance... well, the assassin must have retrieved their disguise from somewhere during one messy attempt to recapture Fall's End.

Regardless, the Deputy appeared to be very attentive to his words, which was a good sign. It meant she either knew something or was believing him.

He's still standing uninterrupted, which is a testament in of itself.

"So... an unknown third-party is killing both of our members? If that's true... why are you bringing it to my attention? Why not protect your own and leave this boogeyman to come after the Resistance?" the Deputy questions, looking John up and down, trying to catch the slightest tic of deception.

John grins, and he finds a small vindication from the Deputy's huff of regret, especially from all the times she was snide with him, "That's because, my dear, I have reason to believe that you are this "boogeyman's" intended target."

Another WIP snippet for the Classroom of the Elite chapters of The UnTitled Stories collection. Or Ayanokōji recounts everything from Year 1 right up to the end of Year 2, How I Met Your Mother Ted Mosby style, the series:

"You're pitiful."

I had directed my gaze from my observations on our peers towards you; my sneering, obnoxious desk neighbor.

I remember raising a brow at you, with your poised shoulders and chest held up high with such assurance that I wondered if it was possible for you to lose balance and fall flat on your face.

A rather uncouth and petty fantasy, sure, but I stand by the fact it would have been well-deserved considering your attitude back then.

"Pitiful? How?" I had questioned you. I hadn't understood your comment, nor what prompted it.

You hadn't wasted a second when it came to mocking me, "'Oh, I want to eat with somebody', 'I wish someone would invite me to lunch'. Your thoughts are quite obvious. It's utterly pathetic."

I had observed as you unwrapped your grilled cheese sandwich, a delectable food, one I would have felt envious for.

You were always good at reading me. It left me baffled by just how many times you accurately discerned my intentions. I suppose it shouldn't have been a surprise that we'd flock to one another, despite how impossible it should have been...

Though as you know, I couldn't leave you to ridicule me without poking a jab in myself, "Aren't you also alone?"

My attempt to insult you back was ultimately nullified from your next immediate response, "That's true, but I for one prefer to be alone."

You easily bit into your grilled cheese sandwich just as you easily deflected my comebacks. Knowing further derisive comments would ultimately end in failure against you, I had accepted defeat with a soft exhale.

I peered towards our other classmates; watched at how most of the other girls flocked to either Hirata or Kushida, and noticed the absence of Sudō and the other boys.

I had hoped helping him out the day before would have sparked an interest from him, but I supposed my demeanor wasn't as approachable as I thought it was. I hoped he hadn't noticed my desperateness to gain a friend, considering how distant the girls are.

With nothing left to do for the lunch period, I had announced, for your ears only, "I'm going to hit up the cafeteria."

Once I had exited our homeroom, I had came to terms with the fact that I would likely spend most of my years here alone for the foreseeable future.

What I hadn't anticipated was one of our peers going out of her way to seek me out.

"Um... you're Ayanokōji-chan, right?"

I had stopped in my tracks to turn back around, to see the owner of that familiar voice.

...Yes, it was Kushida. The same girl with short beige-colored hair and gradient crimson eyes to compliment her well-endowed figure and shorter stature, especially in that uniform. You know, the school-approved shorter skirt one?

...Yes, those were observations I had made, it was the first time I'd actually met her face-to-face. The relevancy of these details shouldn't be the focus here.

Continuing on, I gave her my attention, and as one of the leading girls in our class, regarded her with respect as well.

"Yes, that's correct," I had answered her, and made her brighten further when I responded, "And you're... Kushida?"

She had seemed quite impressed that I had remembered her name at the time, I had been uncertain as to why though, but I could guess now that she was glad her reputation was spreading, especially within our class.

"I'm glad you remembered my name," she had told me with a overly cheerful smile, "I wasn't too sure if you paid attention during introductions, but thanks anyhow."

I had merely hummed in reply. I hadn't gotten used to being paid gratitude towards yet, so it was quite awkward for me at the time to receive it, especially for something so trivial.

Kushida's adorable expression shifted to something slightly nervous, her hands clasped together in front of her as she softly asked, "It wouldn't be much trouble if we talked for a sec?"

Her small and non-threatening demeanor hadn't alarmed me back then, even when it should have, so I gave her an affirmative nod as she led me down the hall a bit, away from our homeroom.

It was there where she revealed her intentions to me, "The reason I stopped you is because, well, I wanted to ask two very small questions."

I had nodded, letting her know to continue. I had a lot less stress that far back, so it left me free to pursue my growing curiosities.

"Well the first was if I could get your phone number?" she had asked, making me blink in momentary surprise before she elaborated, "I wanted to get it yesterday, but I had been preoccupied with everyone else that you managed to slip away before I could ask you, and I got the impression that you maybe wanted to be left alone as well."

It wasn't an illogical point of deduction, nor an incorrect assumption, considering how fast I wanted to leave, especially after how I blew my introduction. It was worse than Inogashira's, and her timidness managed to earn her encouragement whereas my awkwardness and social ineptitude cost me such sympathies.

I'm getting off-track. From there, I had answered with a resounding and hopefully excited, "Yeah, we can exchange phone numbers, I don't mind. What was your second question?"

Kushida's elated expression of victory toned down when she got to what I know she actually wanted to ask, "Well, Ayanokōji-chan, I wanted to know if you were on good terms with Horikita-san?"

I had tilted my head at the mention of you, almost glancing back to our homeroom to ascertain whether you were secretly close by, eavesdropping. But I dashed that ridiculous thought away, since I determined you weren't that kind of person at the time.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," I had informed her, where her shock broke through her expression, "I wouldn't go that far. We're barely acquaintances, really. Why do you ask?"

I was curious to know how our peers perceived the two of us; I thought it could have been vital knowledge to know, especially when weighing our interactions thus far.

All I received were a confirmation of misconceptions since the beginning of the school day, "Really? You two seemed really close, though. She never lets any of the other girls talk to her, and from what I've seen, you're the only one in our class- in the school, really- that she seems to ever talk to."

She looked away for a few seconds as she stated, "I thought that... maybe you would have the best insight on how to best approach her? She turned me down yesterday, and refused me earlier this morning. It's my goal here to be friends with everyone, especially in our class, but she doesn't seem to want friendship at all. But since she talks to you, I was hoping that maybe you could tell me what kind of personality she had, or if she was the type to share her mind only with close friends?"

I think I would have frowned in that moment, hearing how you flunked your chances to get familiar with the class, though I was a bit preoccupied with Kushida's cute pout. In spite of that though, even if I was still learning on who you were as a person during that time, I knew I couldn't give what I did know away, even if it was to Kushida.

So I had gone for the safest response, "I think that's just the kind of person she is. I can't really help much, I only met Horikita yesterday."

Kushida appeared to be disappointed upon hearing this, her shoulders slumped down. It was a strange moment for me, considering I didn't know if it was appropriate to console her over something that seems so small now.

However, there was a passion that had reignited in Kushida, one I would witness grow throughout our years here, as she grappled onto my hands and declared, "But I still need to be friends with Horikita in spite of all her refusals. No one deserves to live their entire school year alone. It's just not right."

She had looked up at me with pleading eyes, "Could you... maybe help me?"

Her extreme insistence to achieve your friendship should have tipped me off to her actual intent, but I'm sure you can understand why I overlooked this, given her convincing facade.

Admittedly, I too was desperate to gain the friendship of one of my fellow female peers, considering just how poorly my luck was going.

Even if she and I weren't really friends back then, I'd like to think that's where the spark began.

And finally a snippet for my "Kiyotaka Ayanokōji went to ANHS with Ichika Amasawa and Takuya Yagami at beginning of First Year" COTE AU in my What If? WIP. During the Mixed Training Camp exam, after a rendezvous with Karuizawa the day before that involved, ahem a promise~, Kiyotaka is subsequently harassed later the next day during lunch by his fiendish kohais who were hiding in the bushes to witness such a private moment, and they will not stop their relentless teasing. Witness below the average older sibling experience when the younger devils discover the existence of your unofficial and refused to be stated in all but name girlfriend, enjoy:

[Note: Bit rushed here, will edit in final product]

I wondered what was going on with them. They were staring at me with such intensity that it was disrupting my desire to finish breakfast.

Yagami, Amasawa and I were sat at the same table; not an unique sight, given what the classes believe our history to be.

They glanced to one another, then back to me. Yagami observed me with curiosity, hands clasped together resting under his chin, which isn't unusual, as he's done it multiple times over the course of the year.

But his behavior combined with Amasawa's intense staring at me while she rested her cheek against one hand with a big teasing grin on her face and those familiar devlish eyes?

"So, anything you want to share with us, senpai~?" Amasawa was the first to speak, leaning forward as her grin grew manic, and glancing to Yagami, I may have caught a small smirk from him.

Something was off. I wondered... was today the day they'd betray me? Had Yagami finally played his hand against me, made his move to overcome me? Would this be the day I would be expelled, unexpectedly and without anyway to prepare myself? While I was not against improvisation, nor did I appreciate not being informed that I was playing into this trap, I would be sufficiently pleased if I was undermined by a fellow pupil after so long being father's "masterpiece".

However, it turned out to be something so, so much worse.

"Share what?" I questioned cautiously, clueless.

Amasawa and Yagami shared another amused glance. I felt like I was in danger, like when Horikita brings out her compass kind of danger.

"Oh, don't play dumb with us senpai~... there's no point in hiding it," Amasawa pushed further, much to my own growing confusion.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about?" Really, I didn't know what this was in reference too.

"Oh, you know Ayanokōji-san," Yagami spoke up next, trying to goad me into revealing something I was still out of the loop of, "It something that pertains to the relationship of you... and a certain blond classmate of yours... does that ring any bells?"

...Were they referring to Kei? What would she have to do with anything?

"...I don't follow," I told them, considering they already know that Kei was an accomplice of mine, and yet they seem to be acting clueless of that fact.

The two devils made eye contact with each other, with Yagami giving an affirming nod as he and Amasawa did the worse thing possible.

Play into their dramatic antics.

"Oh Kiyo~, tell me, if I ended up in the same situation as Tachibana-senpai, would you save me?" Amasawa, most inaccurately, reiterated Kei's words with such overt exaggeration.

"Kei, I won't let you be expelled. I'd do whatever it takes," Yagami impersonation of me, although slightly less monotone and with subtler emotion, was uncannily close to perfect.

Never in my life did I feel I would be capable of feeling flabbergasted by what I was hearing. Their commotion got a few side-eyes our way, but no one seemed that invested.

These two giggling hyenas were quite troublesome.

"I thought we were being watched," I shook my head, "Where were you hiding?"

"The bushes," Amasawa answered, and looking to Yagami, I received a nod of confirmation.

"So how does my choice of words towards one of my accomplices have to do with my relationship with her?" I questioned, still lost on their reactions.

"Aw senpai~, don't be dense with us now," Amasawa stated, her teasing grin never slipping.

"Of course we've observed how you act towards most of your accomplices and allies," Yagami explained, "Horikita being a prime example. Your investment in her may have been confusing at first, but it was understandable; she's useful in ways the others may not be."

"Same with your "friend" group," Amasawa added, jerking her head over to a direction where I could distantly see Keisei, Airi, Akito and Haruka sitting nearby each other, "Most of them are useful to your personal goals and learning. Not necessary, but useful nonetheless."

"However, with them, you don't find it necessary to protect them, even if they have lower grades like Sakura-san," Yagami pointed out, "Horikita-san's already gained your confidence where you don't necessarily have to protect her, as she can do that herself, but you'll still watch out for her. But with someone like Karuizawa-san, whose grades are poor, usefulness decreasing now that Horikita's leading presence within the class is increasing, not to mention..."

Yagami leaned forward, a faux yet pleasant smirk clearer on his lips now, "You claimed to us that you had no need for her anymore months back, whether it's because her usefulness was at its end or you wanted a low profile notwithstanding... but when Ryūen took her instead of Amasawa and I as you initially believed? You dropped everything, had us drop everything to get her back."

Yagami leaned back, green eyes maintaining an air of assurance, "You've promised to protect her, from others and expulsion. I can guess you'll want to teach her to defend herself too, academically and physically. If I were to really stretch far enough, you're going to get rid of any threats to her well-being too."

"Admit it Ayanokoji-kun... you've gone soft for her," Yagami finally states. It was almost irritable, though I can't deny he had a point.

Learning these observations from these two was odd; being made aware to my behavior outside-perspectives usually involved being made privy to the fact I can't emote, like when Satō pointed out I apparently never smiled on our date, despite the fun things we did.

That was expected though. However, these two shared my history; raised in the same White Room, though with slightly different methods.

For them to take note of behavior unfamiliar and unusual would be something think on.

However, I couldn't tell whether they were being serious, jesting or determining an vulnerability to target, so I wasn't to sure how trustworthy their words were. Besides, I didn't feel anymore different towards Kei, so they had to be wrong. Yes, that had to be it.

"I'll need to return to my group for the next stage of the exam," I excused myself, grabbing my unfinished tray as I made my exit.

Yagami didn't make a comment as I set off, merely enjoying his tea, but Amasawa, true to herself, was set on causing trouble for me, "Be sure to say hi to your GIRLFRIEND for us, senpai~!"

That got the attention of most of the remaining students present for breakfast, and I made haste in my escape to avoid prying eyes connecting back to me.

Such troublesome kohais.

[cassmouse]

Working on my new main original project atm and-

'I'm not gonna go overboard on the poetic romance'

'I'm NOT going to make this too much of a romance'

And then

Oh my god I am going overboard with the romance

[jessmindspace]

Parallels

Genre: Superhero, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Spy, Mystery

Synopsis: A group of ordinary people who live mundane lives all wake up together in a dreamworld/other dimension where they have superhuman abilities. This other reality is parallel to theirs, just with scifi/fantasy elements thrown in that are typical of a superhero universe. Part of the mystery is finding out how they are all brought to this other reality, and why they were “chosen” to connect as dreamers/heroes, but it becomes more difficult since the dream picks up where it left off if they go unconscious in the Superhero Reality/Mundane Reality, which leads to realities blurring.

I haven’t really explored The Mundane Reality parts all that much yet, so this is mostly the superhero aspects that I’ve been developing/posting 😅

Tags: #parallels comic project | #parallels

Knightsbridge Hollow*

Genre: A mix of mystery, comedy, fantasy, spy, and slight horror

Setting: 1961-62, British Countryside

Synopsis: Set in the Parallels universe, immortals John and Muriel Traxton move to the little English village of Knightsbridge Hollow after a disastrous attempt at living in the city outside of the pocket dimension they had been calling home since their marriage. Muriel wants to attempt a “normal” life, and John is just going along with it because he loves his wife and wants to support this endeavor. This, however, comes to bite them when it turns out that Knightsbridge is a magnet for all sorts of mana-infused people and creatures…and it seems like all of the creatures are working under someone who has it out for Muriel…

*Current comic project I’m working on | you can follow the blog for more updates too

Tags: #knightsbridge hollow

Sci Fi WIP Universe (it has a name but you have to find out on Patreon hehe)

Genre: Sci Fi

Setting: Thousands of years in the future, after humanity has colonized the known galaxy

Synopsis: I have three stories (so far) in this universe, all at different points in time!

Main Story - The one that I hope to write in the future that serves as the introduction to the universe these stories are set to take place in. Thrust into the seat of power after her father was assassinated, Empress Ariadne Fenway II has to contend with a planet of people who have been under the heel of the Fenway Dynasty for far too long and are ready to revolt as she tries to enact reforms to help make reparations. Ultimately she is forced to flee when a charismatic member from the Priest Sect who calls himself “The Demagogue” joins forces with a rival noble house on the planet and enacts a coup.

Tags: #untitled sci fi wip | #untitled sci fi story

Assassin Story - Follows two genetically-engineered assassins–Taran and Renata–as they navigate their new lives after breaking away from their masters and deciding to do things on their own terms. They have to come to rely on each other to avoid bounty hunters and other mercenaries sent after them, oh, and the Death Squad the Assassin Makers send to liquidate their AWOL assets. Set a century or two prior to the Main Story.

Tags: #assassin story

Shadow Sector - Takes place about a hundred years after the Main Story. The setting is on a massive research station in what has become known as “The Shadow Sector,” following a widower, Shaw, and his three girls as isolationist genetically-engineered human societies start reintegrating back into the Imperium. This includes Representative deGrav'aine being sent to the Station as part of an exchange program for the GEs and Baseline humans to trade their knowledge. Unknown to the Imperium at large, there are some GEs and Baselines who are opposed to the commingling of races, and will do anything they can to put a stop to it, even perhaps starting a war.

Tags: #shadow sector

Thanks for checking out my blog!

[justsomechai]

hi it's wip wednesday!! here's the demo of the fic thing i'm working on :D

don't play from mobile devices smaller than an ipad, it kinda fucks up on tiny screens :(

don't play using an incognito browser, and make sure your browser cookies are on to use the save button

when i'm finished with track 1 proper, it'll probably get an ao3 page, but it won't be fully posted there cuz it kinda... can't be. don't think i can embed a twine project into ao3 directly, and i wouldn't want to either for various reasons lmao.

anyway, enjoy this preview!! :9

[ladypepperofdavenshire-archives]

A conceptual piece featuring the Junkyard Planet in the WIP; the Empire uses this one planet to dump all the derelict ships, starfighters, etc…but that doesn’t mean people don’t eke out a living on there too…