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snoffyy · 1 year

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New Zhayu AU

Zhao is a moderately successful podcast host and narrator with a show that straddles history, spiritualism, military practice through the ages, philosophy, and — weirdly — all things astronomical. Not horoscopes, but more of a Farmer’s Almanac approach to lunar phases and how various cultures may have interpreted seasons and calendars according to the night sky.

Yue is a grad student studying politics (?), medicine (?), arctic climate conservation (?) and is recommended the podcast by a friend who admits: “I don’t really know anything about what he talks about, I just find his voice puts me to sleep.”

Stressed from school and naturally interested in at least a few of his talking points, Yue subscribes and turns into an avid listener.

Sorry for the delay in answering!

tbh I don't listen to podcasts myself; never managed to get into them. But I love the idea, especially with the fact Zhao would definitely use a podcast as his outlet to nerd out lmao.

Below is a little something I tinkered with based on the AU hehe:

“No idea who this guy is, but he puts me to sleep – not because he’s boring or anything! Although, heh, okay, fine, I don’t always understand what he’s talking about. He’s into a lot of niche topics. Anyway! I know you’ve been looking for new podcasts, and this guy has a really soothing voice. You’ll know what I mean.”

She’d been curious the first time. Late in the night, having submitted her assignment at 2:32 AM, her fingers aching and her brain in a fog. She was a night owl anyway. But even so, the adrenaline-fuelled wave that had carried her through her mad dash to get her assignment completed hadn’t yet subsided.

Without anything else to do, she’d looked up the podcast her friend had recommended and selected the most recent one. The description had told her it was on the Old Farmer’s Almanac and how it differed from the modern versions. It seemed to be an incredibly dry topic, but Yue had thought to give it a chance when she noticed that the podcast had a surprisingly high following.

It started there. When the host began talking about how the changes in weather patterns could be chalked up to climate change and how the constellations had differed in position since then because of a natural phenomenon called precession, Yue found herself finishing the episode in the blink of an eye before mindlessly scrolling back down and starting from the very first one.

The Knowledge Seeker was what the podcast was called. An apt name, she thought, when the host would discuss topics she’d barely, if ever, given thought to at all. It almost became a game to figure out who this guy was just from listening to his voice and picking apart the topics he’d chosen. He likely had a military background, given the familiar, knowing way he’d spoken about the origins of naval slang, and how the insight he had when talking about past battles was unparalleled.

Over time, she slowly familiarised herself with his speaking habits. The confident drawl of his words, the thoughtful pauses between sentences, the way he enunciated every syllable, forming each word with clarity and precision. He spoke like he was used to speaking to large crowds, the cadence of his voice mesmerising and compelling her to hang onto his every word.

Yue had no idea when or how her obsession started, but the podcast became her solace on bad days, a balm to her weariness, and a release from the stress of studying.

“… animals have long played a role in military settings,” the host was saying in this week’s episode, several months after she had first subscribed. “In fact, and this is a personal story of mine, I suppose I should divulge the meaning behind this podcast’s name.”

Yue straightened up, setting down her pencil. Whoever the host was, he was a reclusive man, rarely letting slip of anything about his personal life.

“When I left the navy, I left with, um, PTSD. About a year after I left, my friend called me and said he was bringing something over to me: a puppy he’d found in a box behind the public library. I was in a bad state at the time and reacted poorly to the news. But, stubborn bastard he is, he brought the dog over and, well, I guess the dog grew on me because he’s still with me now. In fact, he’s currently sitting on my feet because holding me hostage is apparently his favourite way of taking a nap.”

A chuckle, and Yue was not ashamed to admit she’d replayed it several times over.

“His name is Seeker. He’s the cutest fucking thing in the world as well as the most spoilt thing. I suppose the latter is on me. I never learned how to say no when my friend brought him over, and I never managed to learn after that.”

Yue couldn’t help cracking a smile. Somehow, she couldn’t imagine him as a doting pet owner, but here he was, rambling on about his dog’s annoying habits with an obviously fond voice. Eventually, he must’ve realised that he had gone off on a tangent, as he abruptly cleared his throat and returned to discussing messenger birds.

She was standing directly behind a man at one of the local coffeeshops, wondering if she should try sneak a photo of his adorable dog. It looked like a Shiba Inu, curled tail wiggling excitedly as it rested its front paws against the counter wall. A red collar was barely visible around its neck, buried by a thick scarf of fur.

Yue really wanted to sink her fingers into that fur.

“Black coffee and a little something for your pupper,” the barista’s voice broke Yue out of her canine reverie as she looked back up just in time to see the man accept his cup of coffee along with a smaller cup filled with whipped cream.

“Thank you.”

His voice was deep, honeyed and warm. There was something familiar about his voice, but Yue couldn’t put her finger on it. Maybe she’d heard it in passing one time on campus. This was a coffeeshop beloved by students, after all. Although, the man did sound like he was older. Maybe a professor?

She didn’t catch any glimpse of his face. Only the slope of broad shoulders, a ramrod straight back, and neatly combed brown hair. But what truly caught her attention was when, as the man stepped out of the coffeeshop, he clicked his fingers at his dog and said –

“Come on, Seeker.”

The world seemed to slow around her as Yue whipped her head back towards the man, craning desperately to see if she could, just for a moment, catch sight of his face. But it was too late. A swarm of students passed by, swallowing up man and dog from view.

Oh, come on.

Yue internally cursed at herself. Figures the one time she did manage to coincidentally stumble upon the elusive podcast host, she failed to recognise his voice despite listening to it almost every night. For who else could it have been? She’d practically engrained his voice into her head, and yet – and yet…

“Coffee’s ready, miss.”

Yue jerked her head up, meeting the friendly gaze of the barista who plonked her sugary concoction onto the counter.

“Oh – thanks,” she stuttered. “Sorry, I was lost in thought.”

The barista winked. “The dog?”

Yue stubbornly denied the heat clawing up her neck. “Yes, the dog.”

“He comes in every Friday afternoon,” the barista said slyly. “Always with his dog. You should say ‘hi’ sometime. He’s grumpy, but he means well.”

“The dog, you mean?” Yue said somewhat drily.

The barista’s smile broadened.

Yue was about to say something else, when, catching sight of the clock on the wall, her heart nearly jolted to a stop.

“Thanks for the drink,” she said hurriedly, snatching her frappe. She had five minutes before class started, and the lecture theatre was on the other side of campus. There was no time to be thinking of cute dogs and cute men right now.

No, not cute men. She didn’t even see his face.

Yue ducked out of the coffeeshop to join the teeming mass of students, picking up the pace as the minutes started ticking down.

And if anyone asked; no, she had not been on the lookout for tall men or fluffy dogs during her sprint across campus.

#thank you!#zhayu #fried fish #idk it'd be cool if zhao was somehow a professor in a really small field as well or smthg #set up for a cliche teacher/student romance??#perhaps XD #also zhao owns an instagram account where all he does is post photos of seeker #maybe that also has a large following too HAHA

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authorjoydragon · 3 years

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20 Questions for Fic Writers

I’ve seen this floating around so I’m stealing it. (Even though I should be doing like anything else rn.)

How many works do you have on AO3?

41, but that’s across five different fandoms.

What’s your total AO3 word count?

214,041 and I’ve got more on FF but too lazy to try to figure that number out lol

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Fairy Tail, Voltron Legendary Defenders, Miraculous Ladybug, Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra. I’m thinking about writing for My Hero Academia, just haven’t had any good ideas yet. (I have the inklings of a kacchako fic started in my head)

I have written Harry Potter and How to Train Your Dragon fanfic.... I just never posted those and I have no plans to lol.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Interruptions (ATLA) at 486 kudos

Accidental Rendezvous (ATLA) at 463 kudos

The Cat’s Out of the Bag (MLB) at 396 kudos

Happily Ever After? (ATLA) at 291 kudos

Tumblr Requests (ATLA/LOK) at 261 kudos

I think my stuff on FF has more likes but I’m too lazy to look.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Uhh I sometimes do? Sometimes I don’t have anything to say back LOL if someone has a really excited or detailed comment I’m more likely to respond.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Oh definitely any of the prompts from Taangst Week. That shit hurted.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

I’ll be honest, most of my fics have happy endings bc I’m a sucker for fluff. The one that sticks out to me most is On The Precipice, that whole fic was just the sweetest thing I have ever written.

Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Crossovers are really not my thing. I’ve had many people ask me to do crossovers, and I just... don’t want to, I’m sorry. They’re fun to think and talk about but actually writing it would be a lot of work and time. And I’m just not really that into it, ya know? Maybe if I collabed, I would do it. But eh.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Lol, yep. Wish people would keep some thoughts to themselves. It’s v easy to go read something else!

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Oh yeah, I think I’m mostly known for my smut writing actually. As for the type? Um, sexy and funny is my niche I guess? People have told me it’s hot as hell and I mix in fluff, realism, and comedy really well. I’ll take it lol.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes. It sucks.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I think so. I’ve had a few people ask if they can at least, and I told them to credit/link me. I’m not sure if they did but I hope so!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

@gimmezutara and I talked about collabing on a FRIENDS-esque ATLA fic, if we ever get around to it LMAO

And I’m always down to give people ideas and suggestions!

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

What a hard question wah! Currently I’d say Taang.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Oh you mean all of them?

Sksksk uhhh probably the first thing I posted for ATLA. A fic titled Almost Lovers. It’s a lot of conflict and angst and I’m not great at writing those so... Not sure if I’ll ever write it the way I want it written.

What are your writing strengths?

I am great at dialogue and actions. And I think I’m pretty good at making people feel what the characters feel.

What are you writing weaknesses?

Hands down any kind of scene setting/world building. Just not my forte.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

If it’s called for I think it’s fine. I’ve done it before for a bilingual character, and I make sure to translate correctly. (Of course if it’s not, feel free to let me know so I can fix it!) I don’t do complex sentences in hopes it’s not translated wrong.

I’ve read lots of fics with other languages too, and I like it when the author includes the translations at the bottom :)

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Fairy Tail! I miss it sometimes.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Ooooh, tough one. I enjoy my writing, I like to go back and read it myself. I’d say my faves are On The Precipice and Happily Ever After. They’re fluffy and sweet and slow burn. I’m really proud of them!

Tagging: @gimmezutara @thesavagedaughter0627 @evergreenonthehorizon

#writer things #author interview #authorjoydragon #my fics

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clumsyclifford · 2 years

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oh yes i saw about visiting your friends that sounds nice :) i hope you enjoy your time in your south american/dutch island. oh to be you going on a plane again. i haven’t traveled anywhere outside the country since covid and i just miss Being On The Plane

i may have to crack and read some of your 5sos fic. i’ve been watching interviews too and stuff it’s been sooo long since i’ve got into a new band this is exciting. (on that note any recommended videos or anything? and fic recs).

okay my fic yes i promise it has a happy ending (well. i hope it will. i kinda wrote way past what i planned for and i’m just writing with no set goal in mind. but me being me i love a happy ending so) it’s a little bit of a roller coaster but a lot of fluff between the not so fluff moments.

yes it was very nice!!! and i hope the island is fun. honestly i reeeeally don't care for plane rides. ALTHOUGH! i will say. that is probably at least partly because i'm used to traveling with my six-person family, which is a hassle and a half. plane trips and airports in general are WAY easier when it's just me traveling alone. so there's that. also on my flight home from austin i did have an entire row to myself which FUCKIN SLAPPED

oh my god ali lmao you are going to open a can of worms here that will never be closed. but yes GOOD you SHOULD do that. in terms of recommendations i'm worried that if i start i'll never stop so i am just simply going to give you my absolute favorite 5sos video series, the tower of truth equivalent: cocktail chats. i might recommend listening to youngblood the album before you watch it but it's. really not required. i mean half of it is talking about the album but the important half is just them getting wasted and being ridiculous. i love cocktail chats so fucking much. and it has a jack cameo at the end!

as for fic recs wowww it's been a minute since people have asked me for fic recs let me uh. let me think. um. okay. okay. this is fine i can do this. i'm going to give you like. a handful of fics that i consider both essential and/or my favorites. this is fine i can do this like a normal person i can give you a manageable amount of fic to read

first of all, helen @calumcest is the reason for the 5sos fic renaissance (that's a slight exaggeration but honestly not a big one) all of her fics are essential if you ask me BUT this one is the most essential: make me a promise here tonight. malum (michael/calum) fic. the second essential helen one is as the night gets older of you i grow fonder, a lashton (luke/ashton) fic. helen would tell you that her 2014 fic is all garbage but helen is wrong about many things. that being said her more recent fic is also great it's just also mostly incomplete chaptered fics so i cannot in good conscience recommend them.

next absolutely unquestionable essential is one of my favorite fics ever, @calumsclifford aka maggie's fangirl AU, the words you want are out of reach (but they've never been so loud). lashton fic but sneaky background malum. ive read it like. a million times. it is the best ever. i love it so much. i love maggie so much

i have a couple little niche ones as well, not written by friends. Influencer, a lashton fic, which is one of the only fics under 1k that i have read, not to mention read over and over and been obsessed with, but i'm literally obsessed with influencer. like we always will, a cake (calum/luke) fic that completely 180'ed my view of cake as a pairing. i'm a puppet on a string, lashton fic that. i mean. idk i just love it. Destination: Perth another awesome lashton one, and can't control myself, a FANTASTIC muke (michael/luke) fic, like truly one of the best muke fics.

and then you get to the ones that are clearly just my subjective favorites but i love them dearly to death! All I Really Want is You by hazel @allsassnoclass, a mashton (michael/ashton) fic that possibly invented romance. also the flatmate arrangement by meg @kaleidoscopeminds which is a cake fic but also combines two of my favorite things: epistolary characteristics and a cute little girl OC character. katie if ur reading this i love u.

there's the creek walk small talk malum series by adri @cringeycal that i'm in love with though in truth im in love with all of adri's writing, sorry to throw a series at you but the fics are short and all equally amazing.

you may have read this already but in case you haven't, meghna @reveriesofawriter wrote What are you after? Some kind of disaster, a malum/jalex fic that is essentially the story of malum through jalex's pov and it's amazing like everything meghna's ever written.

and of course i can't possibly exclude some of my favorite fics of all time for the most selfish of reasons: in a world of black and white by the aforementioned meg, a lashton fic written for me for the very first club fic exchange. it has a bit of sneaky jalex if you want that as well. and it's amazing and i love it so much. also i was just an only child of the universe (and then i found you) by sam @tirednotflirting a lashton fic she wrote me for my birthday last year.

i want to say this for the record: having typed this all up i swear on my life i tried to keep it to the important few but that's pretty much impossible considering (a) how many talented friends i have and (b) overall how much incredible fic there is out there. even the fics that i haven't read i can tell you that there are loads of people who love them and i have no reason not to believe those reviews! and just because a fic isn't in my, like, very top cream of the crop tier of recs, doesn't mean i don't strongly recommend it in general or love it with all of my heart. like please understand how difficult it was for me to narrow it down even just to this. so like feel free to request more recommendations (though this may have cautioned you away rip) for fics or writers or fics for a more specific pairing or word count or vibe or WHATEVER (like i tried to at least get one of each pairing on this list but i know there's no cashton and i am sorry for that it's not because i don't love cashton i do i promise). anyway you should never have asked me this question but you've done it now and there is no going back.

final note: i am excited for your new fic. tentatively. as long as there's a happy ending i'm fully down.

#oh by the way i have a tag for this as well it's #fic rec list #i think #it's an unofficial tag #so if you feel like scrolling that maybe afterwards. there might be something of value idk #guys this was so hard i felt like i was choosing favorite children #yes i put fangirl au but did i put magical bakery au???? no so was it really worth it????#also like. just. ahhhh #i have the most annoying fic taste because i read no fic ever #and also a lot of the fics i love are ones that aren't by friends. like they're older ones or orphaned ones #and im terrible at keeping up when people post fic #because if it's longer than like 5k i just can't sit down and read it #trying to work on not being like that but it's a work in progress #so many great fics out there that i just. haven't read.#molly im so sorry #one day ill read bake off au. i swear to god.#ask #this got so long im so sorry #i should put it under a cut but i am not that nice #ali #propertyofawg #ali there are also writers in this fandom who have like certain specialties like meg and molly write mostly cake and #anna writes a lot of longfic and jess writes a lot of smut so like #whatever you vibe with there is probably someone who writes it #ahhh #to be clear this does not mean the writers aren't versatile. they are. all incredibly talented people. ahgfgfdfmlj fuckvgin hell #this is #help me

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rsmrymnt-tea · 2 years

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Yes, same anon about the OC ask! I asked that because I have an OC I feel she's weird? I made her to be Lilith's twin, Lilibeth and I just feel it sounds weird because I haven't seen others create an OC to be the a sibling of the brothers and well kinda shy to bring her in cuz yeah. Or maybe I should feel special because my OC's the first OC sibling created for the Bros? I dunno, in my own AU the MC descendant thing doesn't exist, Lilith dies for real and doesn't get to become a human so that makes Lilibeth(my OC) the only sister. Well um, that's all I have for her

Dunno about first but @revirushifaa definitely has OCs that are siblings for the brothers. >.>;; So you’re not alone, at least! You guys fill a niche for OM! OCs that I also haven’t seen a lot of people make OCs for

It definitely sounds like an interesting premise for an AU! And honestly anything goes with an AU. More explores their dynamics as a family without MC, I assume? It must be kind of rough for Lilibeth though, especially if she’s an identical twin. What’s she like and what did you make Lilith like?

Oh and the fact that Lilith doesn’t get reincarnated as a human by Diavolo makes me wonder how different everyone’s dynamics are there? Because it’s that reincarnation that drove Lucifer into becoming Diavolo’s right hand man forever, and possibly what had him and his brothers become royalty in the Devildom.

And how do the twins feel about Lilibeth? Considering that they were extra close with Lilith. I have questions, anon. 😆 Having an extra sibling that fell with them that’s also Lilith’s twin is a lot to think about.

Also… I swear I’ve probably seen your OC in a roleplay somewhere?? A really angsty one I remember seeing bits of lmao is that weird of me to say shsjshajaha

#luna!! 🔭#chat & colloquy #sibling OCs are so interesting to me because I never even thought of making any #just having them really changes up the dynamic between everyone imo #especially yours since the fact that Lilith’s assumed dead by everyone but was actually reincarnated human is a huge point #in the game

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prinsesa-ng-musika · 3 years

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My Reactions to Zephyrus (the EP) by The Oh Hellos 🐇

Hello yes I know this is months late but hey have it as a Christmas treat I guess XD (also stream The Oh Hellos’ Family Christmas album!). Anyway I had the recording in my phone for a couple of months now and it’s time

Under the cut! Also btw I already read the lyrics before listening, for context.

1. Rio Grande

-WAIT I KNOW THIS MELODY this is hieroglyphs-

-”grand”

-wow this is so catchy

-aww okay i’m gonna cry

-thankfully this actually has a refrain (idk why i said thankfully i think i meant that it would be easier to memorize lol)

-okay. but whatever one of them says “our” it feels like their talking about all of us and not just like themselves, and it feels so personal <3

-awww that was cute

Intermission

-me, after the song ends: spotify you better not ruin my stream

-spotify: *proceeds to give me an ad*

-me: -_-

-well at least that means it won’t give me an ad between howiab and theseus bc that’s probably gonna be a more smooth transition, it’s better that the ad is before the instrumental rather than after

2. Holding on Where I Am Able

-this sounds like planetarium stickers (at least the vibe of the instruments becoming more prominent every now and then then fading out)

3. Theseus

-(in regards to the funky intro) um. okay, what- what is this- oh my goshhh the electric-ish vibe it reminds me of murmurations. maybe that’s where it got it from?

-”closing round it” ROUND!!!

-waitttt this lyric (”at the edges of my fingers, never quite closing round it” gives me eurus vibes, specifically “like the wind, it slips again, out of my fingers”

-”ways don’t ever...” that’s a good lyric

-ohhh this was the line maggie was talking abt abt canyons (the canyon line lol)

-is this the lapis lazuli melody??? it better be (the riffs in the background)

-aw yikes (in a “this called me out” sense”

-that’s the boreas theme-

-(a very niche reaction but) why does this remind me of reunion by paradise fears-

-d a n g

4. Zephyrus

-oh... aww

-this is so tender

- maggie got the lead in three of the titular songs oof

-*lots of active listening... i didn’t say much but i knew i was in love*

5. Murmurations/Reading the Augury -already heard in 10.2.2020

- I really really like this instrumental

-I’m aware this song is a mixture of many songs but I have a terrible ear so I literally do not here it lmao

6. Soap

-THE TRANSITION BETWEEN MURMURATIONS AND SOAP THO 😍

-already heard this before duh but still love it

-*bops and sings happily*

-this is the point where I started genuinely crying

-the callback to theseus and its theme of fixing

-I THINK THAT YOU’RE WORTH KEEPING AROUND!!!! 😭

7. Rounds

-ooo pretty instrumental

-i like how they decided to end it softly instead of going with an all-out closer

-*patiently waits for the vocals*

-*realizes this is gonna be a minute long intro*

-*starts crying even harder*

-this is bc i realized that i was focusing on the lyrics bc i wanted to get as much information/words in my ear as possible, but with this long instrumental, i felt like the heaths were giving me a break and telling me that hey, you’re allowed to slow down and enjoy the simple sound of instruments

-you don’t always need to analyze, you sometimes just need to feel

-THE BOREAS MELODY!!! (”on and on and on again” = “round around a round again”)

-it’s so cyclical... adore

-thank you to the oh hellos

Andddd that’s where the emotional ride of the Anemoi EPs ends folks!!! My favorite is definitely Rounds, especially since I’ve had time to relisten now. Thanks for reading!!!

#the oh hellos #zephyrus #rio grande #theseus #murmurations #murmurations/reading the augury #soap #rounds #maggie heath #tyler heath #reactions #music #folk music #berry shares #hope this post is worth the wait

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angeltrapz · 3 years

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helo beloved mutual connor, im sorry ur goin thru it rn but i come bearing asks n a heart emoji (💗): bcuz i have had this thought floatin around for a lil bit, wld love 2 hear ur takes on an Adam/Eric/Mallick (+ Art too if u want!) road trip vacation! how long wld they go, do they get motels or camp or just sleep in th car? whats everyone's favorite road trip snack? what sorta shit do they like 2 stop for? (weird tourist traps like giant balls of yarn etc, small town main street stores, cool looking restaurants, nature sites, Actual Destinations, so on n so forth!)

fjkdsd thank u beloved mutual adam,,, <3

ohhh I love tht idea!! road trip fics/hcs are one of my weaknesses,,

but um!! I rly like the idea of th four of them going camping a few hours up north!! (we... don't rly know where. SAW is set so just. imagine a vaguely rural campground lmao. I'm used to camping in th upper peninsula of MI so) it's smth tht Art did a lot w his family when he was growing up, so he's th most familiar w it - Eric went a few times as a kid too, Mallick went Once, n Adam has never rly been camping, w his family or otherwise (he's slept on a trampoline at one of his friends' houses once tho). Art is p excited abt it tbh, it's not exactly smth he gets 2 do often so he's got this whole list planned of things he wants 2 show them!!

it's easiest 2 just take a week in late August, bc they can head back home on a Friday n have the weekend to settle n readjust b4 th coming week + they have to go back 2 work. so they head out around ten on a Monday morning 2 kind of get ahead of th traffic (or at least try to). Art drives both bc he insists and bc he knows they can switch if he needs to, which he does later w Eric. it's a good couple hours (at least 3) b4 they get 2 th campground Art wants to take them to, so clearly it is Music Time + Adam made sure 2 bring CDs! a lot of that time is just spent vibing 2 th music and singing very, very loudly (ESP on Adam + Mallick's end). Art's up front like u three are so fucking goofy (affectionate), but eventually he starts singing too lmao.

Mallick starts th Colour Game, where they try 2 find a car fr every colour of th rainbow. it's smth Eric is familiar w as well bc he used 2 play it w Daniel sometimes, and it's good until they come to purple bc how often do u see purple cars??? so Adam's just like "we're not gonna find pink either" n tht's when this fucking pink pickup truck (noticeably spray-painted, + not done well) passes them n Adam just groans n thumps his head against th window. Mallick is like, trying rly hard not to laugh by pressing a hand over his mouth + Art is biting his lip, but Eric is very openly cackling bc "u see what happens when u assume???" (he gets a very light slap 2 th shoulder but it's still very gentle)

ANYWAY. favourite snacks!! Adam can eat Way Too Many Sour Patch Kids. sour anything, actually, as long as it's candy. yes his tongue hurts and no he doesn't regret it. Eric just gets goldfish bc he tends 2 get a lil carsick + bc it's a food tht's familiar n comforting, n he doesn't rly want 2 be eating anything Too heavy (he's up front w Art, so he can sit by a window in case he needs some fresh air at any point). Mallick likes m&m's, but he switches fr cheez-its every once in a while bc he can only eat so much chocolate. Art likes those peanut-butter filled pretzel bites! he's also partial 2 animal crackers tho. they also bring a good amount of snacks/things they can b sure th four of them like, bc yeah there's a lil store abt a half hour away frm their campsite + they can go there to pick up things if they need 2, but it's easier 2 bring things they like, too. (there's also a mcdonald's in tht town n. they do go there at LEAST twice.)

th campsite they stay at has a lake + a beach, n one of Art + Adam's fave things 2 do is walk along it to see if they can find anything interesting! Mallick goes sometimes too, but mostly he stays w Eric bc Eric can't do tht fr as long as Adam + Art can (not tht he's resentful of it tho). he n Mallick chill on th beach w a blanket (it's kind of like. not necessarily sandy?) n just kinda sit against/lay on each other n read sometimes. Adam + Art come back 2 where they're set up to find them sleeping n Adam has never been more thankful he thought 2 bring his camera!!

on th second day Art + Mallick want 2 go swimming, so th four of them come back out to th beach, but Adam stays out of th water + Eric stays w him. they both know th water will be cold, even if it's late summer, n Adam rly doesn't like being in cold water ESP if it's over his head/he can't touch th bottom. fr Eric th cold can b kind of painful, so they chill n walk along th beach fr a little bit n just talk. Adam gets some good pictures n even gets some of Eric! he also does take a selfie of them, he can't help it. he gets a couple of Mallick + Art too. it's honestly such a nice thing fr them n it just feels like they can breathe easy, not having 2 worry abt looking over their shoulders constantly (tho they're all getting better abt that).

th third day they spend around th campsite to kind of unwind n relax. they might walk th beach a little bit again, but mostly they just sorta chill n walk some of th trails around the campground itself. when night falls they light a small bonfire (Mallick is still iffy around fire, understandably) n they sit around it in their folding chairs w th cupholders (Adam gets red, Eric has green, Art gets blue, + Mallick gets dark green) n make s'mores. they talk abt anything n everything until they're barely able 2 keep their eyes open, n then after making sure th fire is pretty much out they kinda just stumble into th tent n none of them r awake for very long after (they specifically got one tht cld comfortably hold th four of them).

fourth day!! they pack up n head into another little town about 45 minutes away; it's bigger than th one around th campgrounds. after they get situated in a motel room w two beds, they do some window shopping + going into lil stores that interest them! Adam def buys some niche graphic tees tht aren't going 2 make sense to anyone other than th four of them n he's delighted abt it. I like 2 think Eric gets a worry stone, specifically made out of rose quartz. Mallick too, but his is made of amethyst! he also gets a rly cool multicoloured jacket in a thrift store they duck into. Art gets a hoodie w th town's name on it n he's pretty happy w that. they get a few more lil things, just little knick-knacks while they're there, n then they have dinner in this lil diner they'd walked past earlier bc it's inexpensive + the atmosphere is very lowkey n honestly just Nice. there's not a bunch of ppl, the servers r rly kind n the lights aren't too bright, which Eric rly appreciates. it's such a tender moment bc they're squeezed into a booth, Adam + Mallick on one side n Art + Eric on th other, n they're talking n laughing n stealing bites of each other's food n it's Comfortable.

then they head back to th motel n channel surf while unpacking enough 2 get to their sleep clothes. Adam + Eric r sharing a bed n Art + Mallick r sharing th other one, tho Adam is very tempted 2 just push them together so they're all close by (th distance btwn th beds isn't tht big to begin with, but it's the principle of th thing). mostly tho, until they go to bed, they're pretty much just all stretched out Everywhere. Adam is only discouraged frm jumping across th divide btwn th beds bc Art breaks out his Lawyer Voice, despite trying rly hard not to laugh, to say Yr Going To Hurt Yrself, Don't Do That. he grumbles n whines abt it but Adam knows he's right jdhjks (th way he sees it is like. he can b silly sometimes. he's Earned It, but he also trusts Art + wasn't super serious abt tht idea). eventually tho Eric can hardly keep his eyes open n Mallick is just straight up asleep while he's still sitting up so tht's when they all go to bed after making sure every1 is comfortable. they leave a lamp on.

fifth day they pack everything up again n stop 2 walk th trails of this lil park b4 they head home! there's a lil shop near th parking lot so they spend a lil bit of time looking around in there first. they probably pick up a few lil things, souvenirs, n Adam walks around 2 get some pictures. he gets this rly cool one while they're on a bridge, th sun peeking thru the clouds a lil bit n shining down on th water. he's super excited to develop tht one (but he's excited to develop All of them, bc this is his family!!!) + he n Art discuss whether or not they're gonna need another cork board lol. eventually tho they round back to th parking lot n on th way home, they stop at another lil hole-in-th-wall kind of place, but it's just as nice as the first one they'd been to. after tht Eric switches spots w Art n he drives them home!!

they're all exhausted when they get back but they have room to crash w each other while they nap so tht's what they do. they fall asleep all tangled together, Art stretched out w Eric's head on his chest, Adam curled against Eric's back, n Mallick w his head on Art's stomach. there r arms n legs everywhere n tht is okay. they're happy. they love each other. they had a lot of fun on their trip n they're tired, but they're comfortable!! tht's what it's all abt!!! it's just such a good n relaxing experience fr them after all th shit they've been thru.

#can u tell I. love camping jdkfks #saw #art #adam #eric #mallick #ty ty!!! I rly appreciate it #I'm doing okay now mostly I think. pretty much always open fr saw asks tho djhfkjsd ESP if they're abt the polycule!!#I literally Do Not get sick of talking abt them dkjdskd #asks #gotta update th masterpost later!! I remembered yesterday but I was up fr too long lmao #real talk tho. thank u fr sending me asks they're my fave <3

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the-evisceration-station · 4 years

Note

I’m so exited for the next piece of for you above all, I love loveee your dead doves and angsty stuff bc you do subjects that most people won’t touch ( and you don’t even do it cringly Lmao ) but you rarely write soft and happy addybeth so I’m very excited for the next part, also I really love that series as a whole ❤️ I think you’re the only addybeth writer left standing and it’s so good to see you keep writing for them and talk about them here and even take prompts, I appreciate it so much 🥺

Hey, dude! Thank you so much! I know it’s taking me a long time to finish the for you, above all pieces, but like...the soft stuff just honestly doesn’t come to me as easy? I spend a lot more time messing with my softer pieces, scrutinizing and rearranging, and deleting shit cause it looks bad to me.

I definitely have more experience writing the nasty shit other people don’t want to touch, like damn. Most of my early fandom days were in horror fandoms, horror threads, stuff that has more gore and dark content in canon so I’ve spent a lot more time developing my dead dove craft than anything else tbh. These days I’ve been branching out for a lil bit now, and oh shit I’m rambling, what was my point? Oh, oh, it’s that I find softer/romantic pieces more challenging so it’s another reason the updates on those tend to be more spaced out.

Also because half the time in a canon part of whatever story, something bad happens. Cause something bad always happens, right?

And see, this is the part where lotta folks go, “how can I make this better?”

But it’s the part where I go, “how can I make this even worse?”

Nonetheless, I do greatly enjoy exploring the potential of Addy and Beth to have a healthy relationship!! I think that potential does exist for them in canon, but because of the events that unfold and their failure to resolve the issues between them before those events, that possibility is never realized. Their relationship is so fascinating to me because it’s so deep, so layered, so embedded into them. Addy and Beth can bring out the worst in each other and they can also bring out the best in each other. These things are not mutually exclusive. Canon plays out the way it does, I’d say Addy is almost unintentionally Beth’s ending and Beth is very intentionally what Addy believes is her beginning. It’s not happy or pleasant, but it is powerful. But I love both of these characters and no matter how canon actually is, I adore the idea of them being happy together. In another world, at another time, or under different circumstances, I think they could have that, and I like the idea of giving them that. It’s why I started that collection!

I am not the only writer left standing though! I refuse to believe it, I’m positive of it! I’ve even seen other writers talking about working on Baddy fics, or planning Baddy fics, and what have you. I think it maybe just feels like I’m the only one, because I tend to post one-shots as opposed to longer pieces. So the pieces that a different author might post might be like, like 20k or something. While the average lengths of one of my fics is probably like 4-5k. So when I’m whipping out four or five shorter fics a month, it’ll amount to another fic that someone else might be working on that’s like one longer story.

Does that make sense? It probably takes the other person more time since they like, are writing a longer thing. Wow. I could’ve just said that and been done with it. Why do I make things more complicated than they have to be? Why do I drone on and on about nothing? Well shit, that’s actually the first series I posted on the Ao3 I associate with this account. It’s some Riverdale shit, the first part is like 3k of pure torture porn and then the rest of it is just going on and on about nothing. Absolutely nothing. I wrote 30k of nothing because I was disappointed and spiteful, imagine that. Why am I telling you this?

Because it’s my patten. I am answering your ask the same way, going on and on about absolutely nothing. Is it annoying? Amusing? Somewhere in between? Neither? I have a knack for nothingness. I’m still doing it. I can’t turn it off. Or can I?

I should go up and delete all that, you didn’t ask for any of this, my dear nonny. In my defense, I’m kinda high and I’m not even really answering your ask anymore. I’m just typing out my stream of consciousness at this point but I’m about to scroll up, reread, and regroup here.

Well, just reread. And with that, I am going to thank you again! Your kind words warm my wicked little spade. I’m still accepting prompts too. I obviously take a long time to get to them, and no, I don’t write all of them. I’m honest if there’s one that I’m going to turn down, either because I feel it’s already been done or because it’s not an idea I feel equipped to write or particularly interested in. But that isn’t to say I’m not up for at least hearing out whatever, cause I totes am. I’ve written some weird shit, my dude. I’m up for hearing. Literally. Whatever.

On that note though, have you considered writing, my dear??

Because while I absolutely believe I am far from the only writer left standing in our fandom, it never hurts to have more join the pack! Maybe you should try your hand at it? Realize some obscure but beautiful vision you have for Baddy and share it with the rest of us? Headcanons for RiRi you’d like to explore more in depth since it’s very likely we’ll never have more canon info on her??

I’m not saying you have to write, buddy. I’m not trying to put any pressure on you. Not by any means. Even if I was, you don’t have to listen to me, who the fuck am I? Some internet rando who’s not wearing pants. You’ll allowed to do whatever you want to do with your own free time! I’m just throwing the idea out there, in case you might be interested. I’m always here to encourage you, if you’re feeling it but not sure how to get started, or something. A fandom can never have too many writers, especially not rather niche ones, like ours.

Well dude, sorry for rambling on so and losing track like ten times. Anyway, um, yeah. I appreciate you and I’m gonna keep chugging along here. I’m glad you’re excited, though I can’t promise when I’ll update that collection exactly. It’ll definitely be this month though, at least. My aim is to finish and post three of my Baddy fics this month. And also, rest assured, I’m sure I’m not the only one!

#anonymous #asks #answers #cringe fics #also flattered you think i don't do it cringely #tho that's kinda funny considering my username #and i def have before #albeit 21 yr old me's fanfic is probably objectively less cringe than 12 yr old me's fanfic #which was still dead dove: do not eat #bwahahaha #i was a disturbing fuckin kid wtf #nvm all kids are disturbing #when aren't kids disturbing #never they just are #the ones who seem like they aren't are the most disturbing

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raiswriting · 5 years

Text

muse

request: art major!reader w law major!doyoung pls :cc bullet note format if u can!!!

a/n: he’s a year older than you but it doesn’t matter that much

warning: a few swear words oopsie

genre: fluffy college!au

pairing: doyoung x reader

summary: ummm basically just how you and doyoung meet and get to know each other

word count: 5.1k (oops)

lets GOOOOOOOO

okay so basically college has been a JOURNEY

people ALWAYS had some shit to say as soon as they found out you were an art major

it was usually “what are you going to do with that” “do you know how unsteady that career path is”

liKE I GET IT

do they really think they’re telling you something new????

oh I’m sorry your majoring in business Susan™ and you decide to throw away your passions just because some high school counselor told you that you wouldn’t be able to support yourself but IM going to make my passion a career

lol sorry I have a lot of feelings

now onto how you met your mans doyoung

your freshman and sophomore years, you had only seen him in passing

tbh you barely recognized him when you saw him more than once

you knew him as “that one dude that i always see in the dining hall wearing suits”

then junior year you got a job at the convenience store on campus (lets get this BREAD)

pls tell me it isn’t some weird niche thing that only my school has

aNyWHO he started coming in around 2 am right before closing

and ALWAYS picked up 3 coffees all of which had double shots of espresso

this happened about 2 or 3 times a week

(which is very unhealthy guys gals and nonbinary pals pls try to drink cold water instead, it helps wake me up or green tea)

so despite seeing him so often at work, he began to appear less and less everywhere else

were you lowkey kinda sad about it???

mAYhaPS

that was until winter quarter started

you needed an elective class, SO you figured ‘eh why not take philosophy’ you had heard around that the professor is really chill and overall the class wasn’t supposed to be that bad

WELL GUESS AGAIN

because that really nice professor that everyone loved isn’t the one teaching the class this quarter

but hey you figured let’s go into this with an open mind and hope for the best

well on day one of this class (which is a 9 am by the way) guess who struts through the door

mister “that one guy i’d always see wearing a suit” who became mister “that one dude who always buys too much coffee at 3 am”

the man… the myth…… the legend………….MISTER KIM DOYOUNG

yep and ya boi decided to sit 2 seats down from you, it was too far to say hi or anything (esp bc you had never really spoken to him before) but like he was also just close enough for it to be awkward

so class went by normally you found out that the new professor wasn’t THAT bad but there was definitely gonna be a lot of work involved

so yeah life carries on as normal

you still see him all the time at the convenience store

one night it had been a particularly rough shift

your alarm didn’t go off, so you were running late, it had started to rain on your walk to work, and when you finally got there your manager apparently had someone piss in his cheerios because he had S U C H an attitude because you were

TWO

MINUTES

LATE

you were sat behind the counter after what felt like hours of sweeping and mopping the floors

that’s when he walked in

you didn’t even lift your head to greet him as “hi, welcome” crawled itself out of your mouth

you did however notice when he sat his 3 cans of coffee in front of you

“hey your y/n right?”

“that’s what it says on my nametag”

“haha yeah it does. i think i have you in my philosophy class”

when you finally met his eyes, you felt a little bad

you had kinda been giving him the cold shoulder for something that wasn’t his fault

you gave him a little smile

“yeah i am. doyoung right?”

he nodded slightly

the air was a little awkward and silent as you scanned his coffees

as you handed him the receipt he asked “hey do you maybe want to study together sometime. i mean our test is in like two weeks and it’s a quarter of our grade so like if you were free we could hang out and get some work done?”

dUDE you froze

here he was standing right in front of you; messy hair, sweatpants, a sweatshirt repping your school logo and looking very nervous (but very attractive lmao)

i guess your reply took a little too long because he quickly started to back peddle

“i mean if you prefer to study alone that’s cool. i just always see you during lecture and you look like you understand the material and sometimes i get a little lost in terminology but if you don’t want to that’s fine too.”

you quickly snapped out of your haze

“no, no. i would love to study with you. here let me give you my number so we can meet up. most of my classes are in the morning so any time after like noon should be fine.”

you grabbed his receipt back and quickly scribbled your number on it before handing it back

“just text me when you want to get together”

okay honestly you had never been one to give out your phone number just like that and you didn’t really like studying with people

but something about him made it so hard to say no

you just had this urge to get to know him

so when he texted you a few days later asking if you were free to study that night

of course you said yes

and it went pretty smoothly

he has a much better understanding of the material than he let on at first

he even ended up helping you understand a few things

you got together w few times over the next couple of weeks

each time you met you got to know each other more and more

yall quickly became friends

well yall became friends after the first night studying because lets be real it was awKWARD

like neither of you felt particularly comfortable yet because this was the first time you had actually hung out with each other despite knowing of each other’s existence for two years

oh yeah that’s something you found out after getting to know one another

he had always seen you around campus and wanted to get to know you but never did because he thought it’d freak you out having a random stranger coming up to you like

‘hey I know you don’t know me but I see you all the time. let’s be friends.’

which isn’t THAT crazy but to each their own

okay but let’s jump to the time 2 days before your exam

you guys agreed to meet up at the library and the plan was to study for A WHILE just to make sure you were prepared ya know?

so like you get there and he was already sitting in a room waiting

when you open the door he gets up to hug you

which he hasn’t ever done before

and like tbh he was really warm and smelled really nice like it his cologne wasn’t too strong, and it smelt sweet but also very inviting which isn’t really a scent but like do you get me? and he gave a really tight hug like the type that you didn’t want to let go of it felt as though you could stay there forever (this is also where you lowkey start having feelings for him but shhh because you don’t realize it yet)

so back the point

obvi you start studying and besides the hug nothing was really that different

you got through the material, quizzed each other, talked a bit

ya know the usual

time flew by and the next thing you know it’s 12:30 am and the library would be closing at 1 so you decide to wrap it up

“alright doyoung i’ll see you in class. get some rest before the test okay?”

“yeah yeah i will” he rolled his eyes a little bit

“seriously dude. i know you. go straight to sleep when you get back to your place”

he worried you sometimes. He really wanted to do well and the applications for law school were opening up soon, so he’s been kinda stressed no matter how much he tried to hide it and this test coming up isn’t helping

“i will. i promise.”

he walked you out of the library and you two would usually part ways and walk alone to your apartments

before you could turn and say goodbye doyoung was already speaking

“hey it’s a lot darker out here than usual”

you looked up at the pitch-black sky

“yeah I guess it is, oh well at least I have my pep-“

“what? you have your pepper spray right?”

“no i forgot that i let my roommate borrow it. she’s going to a sorority thing and won’t be back until like 3 or 4. it’s fine though my apartment is only like a 10-minute walk. goodnight do”

“wait y/n. i’ll walk you back. it’s way too late and too dark for you to go home”

“no i couldn’t ask you to do that. you’re law and society class is at 8 am tomorrow so you need to get some sleep.”

“well i won’t be able to sleep anyway if I’m staying up worried about you. so lead the way.”

despite the cold fall air, your face felt hot

like you know that it’s normal for friends to be worried about each other but that didn’t make doyoung saying it any less charming

the walk back was nerve wracking

you guys normally don’t hang out outside of the context of studying

so like this was weird, nice but weird

and once you go to your door there was a cast of silence

doyoung was just looking at you

normally it would make you kinda uncomfy/insecure but right now you were calm

there was something about looking into his eyes

the brown was so warm and inviting

after a few seconds of the comfortable silence, he finally looked away

and I awkwardly cleared my throat “thank you for walking me home doyoung”

“of course, i’m just gald to know you got here safely”

“so um, i was gonna wish you luck just in case we don’t see each other before the test but i mean judging from our study session you won’t need it though.”

he giggled and i swear someone could have mopped up your heart because it was in a puddle on the floor

“shut up y/n. thank you though. i always appreciate your kind words. do you want to meet for lunch after the exam? i usually have a lab afterwards but it got cancelled so if you’re free we should meet up.” asjdjjklcbclkNCKDLSNCOS

“yeah i am free. i guess i’ll see you then.”

he took a few steps back “yeah i guess you will. goodnight y/n”

“goodnight doyoung. actually get some sleep tonight, yeah?”

you could see his shoulders shake with laughter as he walked down the steps

to say you were smitten would be an UNDERSTATEMENT

the smile that showed up didn’t leave even after you fell asleep

when you get to class on that friday morning, doyoung is already sitting in his usual seat

the bags that usually take their place beneath his eyes are barely visible today

hopefully he took your advice and actually went to sleep

after the test you both got some burgers for lunch and just talked it had nothing to do with the test which was nice

i guess y’all make a great pair because once the scores came out, both of you got A’s

after that studying together became a routine

every tuesday, thursday and saturday leading up to the next test, you guys would review or sometimes just hang out

it was a mutual decision to help each other study

even if you didn’t share the class, one would be there to quiz and make sure the other focused (most of the time it worked, other times you’d be the reason they got distracted and vice versa)

the two of you would go out for lunch on those days instead

as the quarter drew to a close and the break got nearer and nearer as did finals week

you and doyoung tried to keep up with your study schedule but it was getting harder

you had artwork due

you were particularly stressed over a sculpture that was assigned

your teacher gave you those choice of clay or marbleas a medium and clearly you chose clay

you were going to do marble but then you remembered the other 3 tests you need to prepare for and a portfolio that had to fit the theme of mythology

so basically you had a lot of art to produce and NO INSPIRATION like none, zero, zip, zilch, nada

you sat in the room you had reserved in the arts building

a pile of clay sat atop a slab of rock, a blank page of a sketchbook sat next to that

scrolling through pinterest had stopped working long ago and at this point you were losing hope

ring, ring, ring

doyoung’s name popped up on your screen

it was odd because you two usually texted for everything

“hey, do what’s up?”

“hi y/n i was just wondering if you wanted to grab some fro-yo. i just got out of another test and could use some company”

“ahh, doyoung i’m sorry but i’m stuck doing work. do you remember that mythology sculpture i told you about? well, it’s due next Wednesday and i haven’t even started on it yet”

his voice sounded so concerned “is everything okay? how are you doing?”

“i’m doing okay, just tired. i’ve been trying so hard but can’t find any inspiration” you sighed into the phone, looking out the window of your room

“what room are you in?”

“room 247 in building B. why?”

“just sit tight.”

the call ended before you could ask any more questions

okay when i tell yall it was less than five minutes and he was walking through the door just know that what i really mean is he rAN FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF CAMPUS TO COME COMFORT YOU

so yeah, he got there huffin and puffin, ready to blow your house down (with love)

“doyoung, what are you doing here?”

“well you were upset.” his tone was so matter-of-fact, and his eyes were so wide and innocent

honestly he looked so cute but like you were still very confused

what was he doing there?????

yeah you were upset but you also didn’t want to worry him

he casually walked over to a seat beside a window and pulled something out of his backpack

as he got closer and reached his hand out for you to take it, you noticed it was a sandwich

“it’s ham and cheese. light mayo, no lettuce or tomato”

when your eyes looked up at him he wouldn’t make eye contact

“you said this is the only way you take your sandwiches”

yALL

you only told him this once in passing because he was eating a sandwich with mayo

but pls tell you are putting the pieces together

he stopped to get you food and made it across campus in 5 minutes

the walk alONE SHOULD HAVE TAKEN 10 MINUTES

HE STOPPED AND GOT YOU FOOD TO MAKE SURE YOU WEREN’T SKIPPING ANY MEALS

MARRY THID MANFSJDLFG

alrighty anywho

obviously you took the sandwich and spent 5 minutes thanking him for getting it for you

he sat back down in his seat near the window as you guys chatted for a bit

the conversation slowed slightly and you were able to just look at him

the light was bouncing off his face perfectly

his eyes looked like freshly brewed coffee. they were warm and inviting

his smile somehow managed to outshine the light pouring in

there he was

in all of his glory

your muse

your inspiration

his expression shifted to one of confusion

“y/n, why are you looking at me like that”

he could be your subject for not only the sculpture but also the portfolio as well

“okay this may be an odd favor and you can feel free to say no”

your leg couldn’t stop bouncing up and down and you thought your hands might catch a cramp from all the wringing they were doing

“don’t be silly. what is it?”

“well, i was thinking maybe you could be the model for my sculpture.”

“of course i will but i thought it was supposed to be about mythology and i’m no greek god”

he chuckled a little bit

“shut up do. are you kidding me? your shoulders are like a mile wide. you have a great jawline and that smile? you’d have all the mortal girls falling for you i mean i did. that sounds like god-material to me”

he threw his head back laughing

mostly to hide the huge blush creeping up his cheeks

“okay, okay. i’ll pose for you. what do i have to do?”

“just sit still so that i can take some measurements of your face and then i’ll take some photos for reference afterwards.”

doyoung did as he was told for the most part

he sat there patiently

he kept peeking at your sketchbook as you laid out the rough ideas for a few of your other pieces

tbh you hadn’t even noticed

you were in the ZONE, you hadn’t been this inspired in a while and you wanted to take full advantage of it

you also hadn’t noticed the ,,,, um,,,, lack of space,,,,,, between the two of you

well doyoung had, to say the least

he sat there desperately hoping and praying that you wouldn’t notice how sharply he would breathe in everytime your hands touched his face to move its position

or that you couldn’t notice how much his hands were shaking and how he was constantly wiping them on his pants because they were very sweaty

finally, you had all the information you needed

as you stepped back and over to your chair in front of the clay, doyoung could finally breath

“doyoung, do you have any other classes today? i don’t want to keep you here if you have plans. you can go i can work off of the reference pictures”

he very vigorously shook his head

“no no, i’m free for the day.”

“okay. you should probably go get something to eat while get this started. this will probably be a long process.”

“yeah sure. do you want me to grab you anything while I’m gone?”

“nope i’m good. i already had the sandwich you brought me.”

“okay then i’ll be right back”

after he left it easy to feel the emptiness of the room

even though you were enveloped in your work it was still noticeable

the absence of his presence was palpable

the lack of it was almost suffocating

while you were worked on getting the basic shape and structure you found yourself unsettled

unable to get back into the ‘zone’ you found yourself in before

still, you pushed through the weird shift in the air, but it wasn’t long before doyoung came back with a bag of food

“hey doyoung.”

he glanced over at your pile of clay

“whoa. you made a lot of progress. okay i know you said that you didn’t want anything to eat but i brought burgers and some chips and stuff just in case.

“doyoung, you really didn’t have to. i would have been fine.”

he rolled his eyes but didn’t reply. he simply sat back in his chair and ate some of the fries that came with his burger

the hours seemed to fly by once doyoung returned

it also helped that you played music on the speaker that you brought

before you knew it, it was 5 pm and the sun was setting

you leaned back from your chair to stretch before standing and taking a good look at the sculpture

after about 4 hours of work, you were almost done

of course there were still things that needed to be touched up, like the hair and the eyes

you had decided on a pose of doyoung looking up and off into the distance

you turned and washed your hands in the sink at the back of the room

“here’s your burger if you want it. it might be a little cold, but it doesn’t have any mustard, lettuce, tomato, or pickle. that’s how you like it right?”

YALL HE DID IT AGAIN

HE REALLY JUST OUT HERE BEIN A WHOLE SWEETHEART

“yeah, how’d you know?”

“remember we met up for dinner before a study session a few weeks ago? that’s how you ordered your burger and you told me about how dill pickles were the bane of your existence”

“which they are” you chuckled “but i can’t believe you remembered that”

“of course, i did. i remember everything you tell me”

your heart melted for like the fiFTH TIME TODAY

you smiled and blushed before grabbing the wrapped burger from his hands

you guys sat and ate in comfortable silence

once you had finished you turned to him

“if you’re ready to leave you can. i just have a few things to add but it’ll be okay if you aren’t here. i’m just about out of daylight anyway.”

he playfully cocked his head to the side and crossed his arms

“y/n. i have a feeling you’re trying to get rid of me”

“maybe i am doyoung. whatcha gonna do about it?”

“cry.”

you both busted up laughing

once you had calmed down you looked at him

“seriously do. if you wanna go study or sleep or something go ahead”

he stood up and began to walk closer to you

“oh stop that. y/n it isn’t a burden for me to stay here with you. i’m honored that you would choose me to be the subject of your work and i love spending my time with you”

at this point he was standing right in front of you. looking down into your eyes.

there was no hiding the redness flushing your skin

after a few moments of silence, you looked back down at your hands

he speaks again as if you two hadn’t spent the past minute just staring into each other’s eyes

“so what next? are you gonna keep sculpting me or are you gonna draw and paint a bit?”

“ummm ,,, i kinda want to just finish the sculpture so that i don’t have to worry about it ya know?”

“yeah. where is the light switch?”

“right by the corner near the door”

as he flipped on the switch and light once again flooded the room

you were able to get a good look at the sculpture

despite it not being finished, you were still incredibly happy and proud of it

you sat back down in front of it ready to finish the work

it only took another hour or two to finish once you really got back into it

you spent the bulk of the time adding in all the little details

and you also decided last minute to add a wreath atop his head and the top of a toga

you took a final step back before sighing in relief

you were finished

you almost wanted to cry

while you were staring at the piece doyoung got up to stand behind you and look at it as well

“wow y/n. it’s beautiful.”

“well it’s you so i hope it is.”

LOOK AT YOU. BEING BOLD. OKAAYYYY

before he could say anything else, you walked back to the sink and while washing your hands, asked his help to put it in another room to dry for a few days before it goes into the kiln

“it’ll take a while to dry so i’m going to leave it here and head to bed”

“okay well i can walk you back to your apartment”

“alrighty”

okay so you grabbed all your stuff (with his help because doyoung is too nice to just walk beside you as you try carry 4 different bags filled with art supplies)

the walk back was kind of uneventful

you invited him in to drop all your things off before he headed out, not until you thanked him for spending the day with you and being your subject

okay so 2 weeks pass

you and doyoung meet up a few times because you need him to model a few poses for your portfolio

but FINALLY you finished your portfolio and sculpture and turned it all in

since then you have been relaxing, getting ready for winter break

well “relaxing” is a loose term

tbh you had been kinda stressed over the scores you were going to get on the artwork

and today, the day before the quarter ends, your professor would be handing back your portfolio & sculpture with a score

you decided to text doyoung after getting dismissed from class

y/n: “hey i get the score for my art project back today. do you want to meet up and we can find out together?”

doyoung: “oh my gosh yes. but are you sure you want me to be there?”

y/n: “of course do. you were such a big part of this, i couldn’t leave you out of it. besides you haven’t seen the finished portfolio”

doyoung: “okay. same art room as last time?”

y/n: “yep. i’ll see you in 20”

you were nervous. as you waited in the room, your legs couldn’t stay still so you decided to pace in hopes of calming yourself down

or at least having something to do

when he walked into the room, your eyes met

there was no hiding the frantic look in them either

“hey y/n. do you have it?”

you pulled a card from inside the front of your portfolio and set it down on the table

doyoung’s voice was soft and calming as he walked up to you

“can i look at it?”

he picked up the large folder

in a large gold print:

PROMETHEUS, he dies everyday but wouldn’t wish for any other way to spend eternity

“you chose me to represent Prometheus? what’s his story”

you began to recount the tale as doyoung slowly flipped through pages of your artwork

· “well he was the youngest of the titans, which were the creators of greek gods. it was said that he was also the kindest. when he looked upon the earth and saw how the humans were struggling, Prometheus felt pity and decided to give them a gift. he gave them a divine secret of the gods. he gave them fire. he did this despite knowing that Zeus would punish him if he found out. which he did. the other titans and gods were furious, so they tied him to a rock near the sea. every day an eagle would come and rip out prometheus’ liver and he would die. every night it would grow back bringing him back to life. this torturous routine goes on every day and night and according to the myth it continues until this day, as it will forever.”

as you finished the story doyoung closed the folder

all he said was “wow”

it made you nervous. “so ,,,,, do you like it?”

“y/n. this is beyond words. this is amazing. and you chose me?”

“well yeah i mean. you two just seemed to fit each other. you are the kindest person i know. you’re very generous too. so really it wouldn’t have worked if i had chosen anyone else or any other myth.”

he said nothing. just set down your work and hugged you.

you embraced each other. sharing this moment.

“y/n no matter the score on the other side of that car, just know that your work is beyond incredible. not just because it’s of me”

you both laughed before he continued

“seriously. you are an amazing artist. your art moves people. it makes me feel emotions that i haven’t felt in a while. it takes me on a journey.”

he pulled back and gave you one last smile before grabbing the card off of the table

“on 3”

“….1”

“….2”

“….3!”

a 97 was written in bright red marker

“oh my gosh y/n”

you two jumped back into each other’s arms

the smile on your face was ear to ear. there was no way it was going to fade any time soon

“I knew you could do it.”

“not without you i couldn’t have,” you say leaning back slightly, your arms still around his neck

he rolls his eyes at you

“seriously doyoung. if you hadn’t come by that day i don’t know what i would have done. you were my muse”

his arms were wrapped tightly around your waist

your eyes would have met if his weren’t staring at your lips right now

“y/n.” he whispered

“doyoung?”

“can i kiss you?”

“absolutely”

FUCKING FINALLY

ahem sorry I got a little excited for you

it was great. what can i say

it was everything you expected to be

before you thought that the whole “fireworks” thing was just movies overexaggerating

but NOW you can attest to that

the kiss with doyoung had so much built up tension and caring and passion and just wowza

when you finally pulled apart

both of you were slightly out of breath

doyoung still had this cute, dumb smile plastered on his face

he gave you a few more pecks

which of course made you have a big dumb smile plastered on your face

you actually pulled apart and out of his arms this time and took a look at the score card

beneath your score the professor left a little note

“i hope you don’t mind but i emailed the art gallery about your work. they have a small exhibition open if you’d like to showcase your art. here’s the email: _______. please consider it. you have serious talent.”

“an art gallery doyoung. an exhibition in an art gallery.”

tears fell down your face

this was an amazing opportunity

a dream came true

“i can come over tonight and we can email them.”

you just nodded your head

tbh you were still in shock

this was a huge opportunity

“so y/n. i know there is a lot going on right now but I can’t wait. will you be my girl/boy-friend?

“doyoung of course. can you help me take this stuff back to my apartment then if you want we can go grab something to eat?”

he nodded happily and grabbed the sculpture

THE END

goodness gracious that took a while

I hope you enjoyed reading this 5 thousand-word trainwreck

I know some of the stuff about creating sculptures isn’t accurate, but I need to make it work with the timeline I had in my head

I hope it didn’t bother anyone too much

but yeah

thanks for reading

also I didn’t proofread this so hopefully there aren’t many mistakes

if there are just message me and I’ll fix them

also also here’s a sequel type thing that doesn’t have to be seen as a sequel umm it isn’t as good as this one but here ya go

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cosmicmoved · 4 years

Text

ok so a new oc concept came to me yesterday on the bus home and i wanted to wait at least a day to see if the idea stuck with me before i talked about it but like.....this is a muse who exists in the same general plotline as rika (my witch oc), meaning that he’s also a witch or whatever, and he’s not strictly connected to rika in any way but he’s the same general age as hayato, rika’s co-worker and the nephew of the owner of the shop where he and rika work, so i’m gonna say this new oc knows hayato in some way. maybe they studied together or smth. anyway, the general concept for this guy is Witch Detective. but, like, without any of the serving justice part because he doesn’t give a shit about that, he’s just nosy & likes helping people solve mysteries. maybe he comes from a family of witches who specialise in divination or something (idk for sure, i’ll have to research it a little more so i’m not just making a fool of myself) and he uses that ability to help him solve cases. but also he’s a pain in the neck bc all my ocs are. he’s an insufferable flirt, for one thing (but like,,,in a fun way, not a gross way bc um..i have taste and am not interest in writing pervs), and honestly not the kind of guy you want on a dangerous or risky case bc he’l talk shit and end up nearly getting everybody involved killed BUT he’s also good at solving shit so you just have to put up with him ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ he’s not actually a detective in ANY real world sense and he has no police training. he doesn’t even LIKE the police. it’s probably a stretch to call him a detective at all but ‘witch detective’ is title HE gave himself. again, his focus is strictly solving mysteries and working shit out. he prefers to avoid actual conflict and violence because that’s sooooooo not his area.

basically, i’ve always wanted to write the ‘eccentric detective’ trope in some way and this is what’s come to me. side note that...by flirty, i mean....less sincerely hitting on people and more winking at ppl and idk, acting like he’s made of glitter or some shit. anyway, i’m v aware this post is a little rambly and all over the place but i wanted to get it out of my system bc i think he sounds like a FUN oc concept! i’m still workshopping the backstory a little bit but i do have ideas & i think he’s a muse who’d work just as well for more light-hearted plots as darker stuff (bc i strooooongly believe that writing a muse with potentially comedic elements does NOT mean that muse doesn’t work for grittier stuff & tbh i love Contrast). i also think he’d probably work in multiple locations and settings bc the fact his job description is kind of uhhhh niche means he’d probably be willing to move around a lot.

ever since i made rika like...over a year ago now?? i wanted to make other muses in her general ‘verse’ because i thought it’d be an easy setting to populate? so this guy’s sort of like a spin-off character to her plotline, even if he probably does more stuff than her in general lmao?? they probably HAVE met but i think rika wouldn’t be his biggest fan bc she’s pretty shy and he’s kind of Too Much.

#« 𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐍 (ᴏᴏᴄ) » / 「 text. 」#i have an fc in mind too hehe #ive wanted to use this fc for a little bit but i couldnt think of anything that worked until right now #the muse concept came first & then i thought 'oh actually this fc works' ASDFDSASDF #anyw sory for the word vomit or whatever but typing this up DID help me get used to the keyboard a bit more #if u see any typos...ignore them im TRYING #this concept might be a mess actually but whatever im trying to have fun #i know i said i wasnt going to add any more male muses until i added another girl but.... :pensive:#i might remove ace at some point bc i haven't written him & he's kinda tied to someone else's plot/lore #and they're not active on tumblr anymore so i don't feel 100% comfy keeping him #hard 2 explain....#also this isn't based on ANYTHING but a vague idea that came to mind yesterday so if it's by any chance similar to smth else...#that was unintentional x_____x #i always panic abt that when sharing new oc concepts even though i don't think it's ever come up ASDFGHGFDS

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saltbaes · 5 years

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Didn't you have an AU that was like GMW as children of The 100??! I know I didn't imagine that lol what happened to it? Gimme the deets, Feli. Gimme the feels. Gimme all the Murven, Bellarke and Rucas. GIMME.

i did but it was a looooong time ago and it wasnt a fic it was more of an edit thingy lol all i remember from it was that i made riley bellarke’s daughter which i still stand by btw !!!

but now that i’m actually into the show and murven is my #1 ship i have some more thoughts – here me out tia……. lucas as murven’s son.

the rest will be under the cut cause….this is a long one haha.

anyway i realize this means having to racebend lucas (and riley) which i’m 100% down for – a latino lucas friar? um hi yes sign me tf up amirite ?!

and then i found out that blake jenner is half cuban and i had a galaxy brain moment cause i mean, look at him

THIS IS MURVEN’S SON. THIS IS LUCAS FRIAR MURPHY. ^

okay so: murven never really talked about having children, theyre both pretty traumatized from their childhoods so the thought of bringing a child into a post apocalyptic world seemed…illogical? or at least thats what raven points out one night when theyre laying in bed and murphy’s like ‘so, no rugrats?’ and raven simply offers a ‘probably not’ and thats the end of that discussion.

but see…the thing about raven is she’s observant especially of the man she loves – he’s never once pushed her to have children or even discusses having them after their one conversation, but she sees the way he interacts with the kiddos in their ‘community’ and how he took monty’s son under his wing, she sees how surprisingly good he is with children and it plants a little seed in her mind and suddenly the thought of having a family of her with the man she loves doesnt seem so illogical after all

needless to say lucas is conceived shortly after.

lucas “friar” murphy is the perfect mix of his parents: he’s an intelligent, hands on, loyal fighter like his mother and a snarky, sarcastic, survivor like his father… he hates that people base their behavior towards him on how much or little they like his parents (specifically, his dad) his nickname “friar” was given to him as a joke when he was a child due to his unwavering devotion to whatever cause they were fighting at the time – lucas struggles with being his own person, he doesnt want to be seen as a raven or murphy 2.0, he just wants to be himself but he’s afraid that might not be enough for some people…

___

as for bellarke, in my mind, their daughter riley would look something like this:

THIS IS BELLARKE’S DAUGHTER. THIS IS RILEY BLAKE. ^

riley might have bellamy’s olive complexion and brown hair/eyes but everything else is all clarke – she’s headstrong, determined, dependable, intelligent, fair, selfless, caring, and loyal to a fault just like her mom (she also has her lips, chin, nose, mannerisms and even her beauty mark but thats beside the point lol) HOWEVER where riley differs the most from both of her parents is her naivety and relentless optimism.

riley, unlike her parents, is extremely trusting of everyone she meets and more often than not it’s the reason behind all of her arguments with her parents and older sister madi – they just want her to be safe and riley just wants to prove to them that good people do exist despite you just have to give them a chance to prove that they can be good – clarke and bellamy are like ‘lol no’

___

ANYWAY as for the rucas of it all --

a new big bad something or another shows up posing a threat to them because of course it does this is the 100 after all and lucas is very much “must kill them before they kill us” and riley is very much “lets talk it out” and its the whole “wolves eat sheep” tlk from wot3 in gmw

lucas basically is like ??????? where are your survival skills????????????? how are you still alive rn???

and rileys just like ???????? youre a misunderstood soul who needs a friend to see you for who you really are

and lucas is like !!!! accurate af but i’ll never ever admit that also how dare you

basically lucas is absolutely in love with her lmao joking but not really

their dynamic is a little reminiscent of s1 bellarke where theyre forced to work together for the greater good but its also reminiscent of murven where murphy is clearly enamored by raven but wouldnt dare speak it aloud, lucas is a pining from afar kinda guy just like his dad, he feels like he isnt worthy of riley so he does his best to keep his distance but of course it fails because riley sees right through him and its the first time he feels seen and its just

ugh i love them

also how cute, bellarke and murven being eventual in laws hahahaha

also also i realize how niche this au is for anyone who is reading this and has no idea who rucas is or worst, doesnt ship them but does ship bellarke and murven lol

sorry not sorry

look at how beautiful they are together -- wow, we stan.

OH YEA FORGOT TO MENTION NONE OF THOSE GIFS ^ ARE MINE -- FOUND THEM ON GOOGLE AND AM BY NO MEANS TRYING TO TAKE CREDIT FOR THEM, JUST USING THEM AS AN EXAMPLE THATS ALL OKAY BYEEEEE.

#immuredinheaven #so very niche #whoops #went off #tell me your thoughts tia #rucas #murven #bellarke #gmw au #the 100 au #girl meets the 100 #haha #rucas au #murven au #bellarke au #ok im done #byeeeeeeeeeeee

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alluringoneirataxia · 4 years

Text

About Me

Astoria Cathryn Andromeda

I am 19 years old. I had blonde hair for my whole life until last month when I dyed it dark brown with blue underneath. I am an electrical engineering student. I had an internship at NASA Ames Research Center last summer. I work on my university's small satellite research lab, mainly on electrical hardware. I think calculus is fun as long as I'm not confused. I hate coding, no matter how useful it is, I hate programming. I like skateboarding with my friends in random parks, making a fool of myself, reading books, being a whore for attention, being a whore for the trope enemies to lovers in literally any form. I like swimming in the ocean until a fish touches me. I love my fraternity, it's a co-ed professional engineering fraternity. Dogs are pretty fantastic, I think cats are too but I am much more allergic to cats than I am dogs even though I have lived with at least two dogs since I am home from the hospital. I like cats, but my body doesn't. Technically my body doesn't like anything furry, or anything outside, or gluten. I always say natural selection should have taken me if modern technology wasn't a thing. I hate overhead lights, especially white ones. I am always in low lighting. I love the sun, I love summer and swimming, and I wish I could get tan, but I just burn. For Christmas, my mom is buying me a piece of land in the Highlands in Scottland, so I can protect it from being commercialized and I get the title Lady. My mom's maiden name is Scottish, so there's that, but also I feel very strongly about the environment. I hate it when they start to build new stuff. I think the human race should end with Gen Z, jokes. I really love the smell of books, but I prefer reading stuff on my phone or kindle which is super backward I think. I really only eat salad, chicken, cliff bars, and gluten pasta with nothing on it. My car's name is Djibouti, named after the capital city, not the country to be specific. I love her, she has front pinchers very badass for a Toyota. I really hate the Christmas season like in general. I especially hate Christmas music, or the number of covers, and how long they play it on the radio. I mean I like getting gifts, but everyone is very joyful and lovey and it's sickening to me. Idk be a good person all year, and stop being sickly fake sweet right now. Yes I know I'm a grinch. I like Halloween and Thanksgiving. I just think Christmas is overhyped, and I've been over it since I was 12 so sorry. I mean I still think Micheal Bubble is a fine guy, I just don't like the season in general. I prefer big dogs over little dogs. I really have always wanted a little black cat and name it Harley, but I am quite allergic. The protein in the cat's salvia is what most people are allergic to, and there are certain breeds that produce less of it, and female cats produce less, and lighter colored lights produce less, but that pretty much destroys my dream of having a little black cat. I don't know where that came from, but I've always that it was dope. I am from suburbia of America, and I went to crazy shit competitive high school, so I thought I was average intelligence until college and I found out I am slightly below average. Like 70 people went to ivy leagues, my class. I hate the two-party system in America, I think it literally reserves any progress this country could have made. I think like every white guy in your history textbook gloried. Like Trump said he's done more for African-Americans than Abe Lincoln did, and let me tell you that asshole literally only freed the slaves in the states that were rebelling. There were still slaves in like the in the middle area, and he also was responsible for the largest mass hanging in American history, and guess who it was. Some Sioux tribe Native Americans and they did it to them on their own fucking land. If you think Thomas Edison is cool, well I am about to ruin it, he was a fraud and a snake. All he did was be big charm big business man and steal patents and pay people to make stuff. My dude, Nikola Tesla though, you can trust him, he's real. He didn't get any money for all the scientific discoveries, because they were stolen, or he literally just didn't care. He was just in it for the science, man and that's respectable. I really like music. I really like a lot of different kinds of music. My spotify be popping, but for only me specifically and my very specific music taste. There are two people in this world that share 70% music taste with me. If you know who Usui is, um that's my dream man email me so we can simp. legally I do not drink alcohol or smoke oui'd or do psychedelics. legally in this written statement. I do not. Um I can't think of anything else, but I'm sure I'll come back and add more. I hope this was not your stereotypical bio. Making bios are boring as shit. Oh I love Rick & Morty. Love Get Switfy, Existence is Pain, definitely Pickle Rick, and that fucked up dragon one. Hilarious literally peak humor. I like Futurama too, and New Girl. I used to be fucking ripped as shit when I as gymnast, and then I switched to swimming and weight lifted and I was still ripped as shit but like in a more long way, and then I stopped swimming when I went to college and I lost 23 pounds of muscle. So yeah that interesting, I was like wow didn't know I could weigh this little, and then my legs will hurts when I walk up the stairs and I'm like woooooow you are weaaaaaaak, you used to swim for like 5 miles straight and do flips the fuck. But I don't care enough to work out again. I don't like to do it by myself. I was on my university club swim team for like a hot second, but the practice was at 9pm and I got cold waiting o the bus after so I stopped lol. Things I recommend:

niche youtube documentaries

pdfdrive.com

bookbub

excel is fun like if you just do it for fun like for you lmao

Things I don't recommend:

skipping your programming class before a pop quiz on Friday

sitting in this hunched position I'm in my back hurts

thinking too much or too little: they both hurt

taking things for granted: I do this a lot😕

"Tu ne me manques pas"

Bis später,

Astoria.

#actually aspie #mentalheathawareness #rick riordan #pjo series #rick & morty

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jennycalendar · 6 years

Text

adapting

ao3

He should place some sort of advertisement in the paper. Wanted: Childcare for Potential Vampire Slayer; Emotional Support for Watcher.

(in which giles and buffy adjust to living on a hellmouth. well. mostly just giles)

lmao remember when i was talking about how this fic was going to be angsty? that fell tf apart. it has angsty parts but it’s a short fluff piece; one more of these & then i think we might get to some Actual Plot Things!

tagging @theforestlesbian as always <3

Giles had been in Sunnydale for two days when he nearly got jumped by a vampire on his way back from the grocery store, and it was then that he started considering that he'd made a pretty serious mistake coming to an active Hellmouth just to get away from the Council monitor. Keeping Buffy in his care was definitely not as important as keeping Buffy alive, and living here alone with no one to take care of Buffy if anything happened to him was most certainly a bad idea, which was why Giles was panicking at two in the morning and couldn't go to sleep.

Buffy was awake, but not because she'd been crying. Giles, wanting to remind himself of the one certainty in his life, had picked her up and out of her crib while he paced around her bedroom. She seemed somewhat upset by his anxiety, and kept on making concerned little whimpering noises that didn't really alleviate Giles's stress. He should place some sort of advertisement in the paper. Wanted: Childcare for Potential Vampire Slayer; Emotional Support for Watcher.

"You," he said to Buffy with some exhaustion, "need some sort of reliable care that isn’t me, because sooner or later I'll probably get murdered by some sun-resistant vampire. It's California, after all. I expect these people can withstand five thousand bloody degrees of heat even after they’re dead." He bounced Buffy in his arms, trying to distract himself. "I'd give you back to the Council if they weren't likely to just lock you in a room and set up a few magical wards to make sure you don't die before you get Called—"

Buffy began to cry.

Giles felt more than just a little bit horrible for passing his worry to Buffy. Part of him wished he'd just stayed at his desk job in the Council, never mind the shame he'd have brought on his family for not accepting a Potential when offered one. Maybe then Buffy would at least be with someone who could keep her safe, if not happy.

But Giles hated the thought of Buffy being alone—that was why he wanted her to have the chance to meet other children. She was such a social butterfly, always smiling and laughing at complete strangers, and Giles knew that the Council didn't approve of Potentials as mischievous and charismatic as Buffy, and who better to take care of her than someone who had dealt with mischievous, charismatic people on a daily basis back in college—lord, was that only seven years ago? It felt like so much longer.

"Shh," Giles murmured, bouncing Buffy in his arms. "Hush now, dear, everything's all right."

It wasn't, really, but he certainly shouldn't be worrying Buffy. Giles did wish there was a manual for rogue Watchers trying to secretly raise a child instead of prepare a Potential, something with affordable resources and self-help tips. It would be a niche sort of book, certainly, but it'd be better than whatever the hell seemed to be going on with him right now.

Buffy had stopped crying, but she still looked upset. Giles took her tightly curled fist in his hand and hummed an old song his mother might have sung to him, once.

There were two daycares within Sunnydale city limits, and both were absolutely out of the question when it came to finding safe and affordable care for Buffy. One was two blocks away from a location where new vampires seemed to enjoy going to spend time, and the other had a two-hundred-dollar entrance fee and was located in the distastefully wealthy section of Sunnydale that Giles was trying his hardest to avoid.

Putting an advertisement in the paper did next to nothing except make Giles panic even more about the possibility of the Council finding it and asking questions he wouldn't be able to answer without incriminating himself and losing Buffy. Adding to Giles's panic was his worry that he was creating a negative home environment for Buffy anyway with all this worrying. He couldn't believe he was even thinking this, but he very much missed Los Angeles.

Growing more and more desperate, Giles decided to check out the two-hundred-dollar daycare. He could always dip into his emergency funds, if need be. Perhaps just a little time, enough for him to figure out something more permanent and definite.

"Hgb," said Buffy from her car seat. She'd started to vocalize a bit more precisely as of late, though nothing amounted to an actual word just yet. Currently, she was chewing on the arm of the small cloth doll Giles had bought her back in Los Angeles. She had grown incredibly attached to that doll, even more so than her old baby blanket.

"Right," said Giles with nervous determination, and pulled into the parking lot of Bright Smiles Daycare. In Giles's opinion, that name better suited a dentist's office, not some ridiculously overpriced daycare full of tiny children with extremely wealthy parents.

After getting out of the car, unbuckling Buffy from her car seat, and picking her (and the doll) up, Giles locked the car and surveyed the daycare from outside. It looked quite nice, it was in the part of town that seemed to have quite a lot of mansions, and it was well protected by a solid brick wall with a mural featuring many eerily smiling children painted near the gate. Giles wondered how desperate for childcare parents had to be in order to walk their children past these small painted goblins every day.

Then again, he thought, I seem to be rather desperate myself at this juncture.

"Welcome to Bright Smiles Daycare!" gushed a young woman standing at the door. She was holding a small child in her arms that looked perhaps Buffy's age, if a bit smaller. "You must be Rupert Giles! It's always a pleasure to meet a new member of the Bright Smiles family!"

Stepping into the perfectly symmetrical hallway and neatly organized artwork, Giles was very vividly reminded of the cult he'd had to join as part of an intelligence-gathering mission for the Council. He held Buffy protectively to his chest (Buffy, of course, was at this point very involved with babbling to her doll and didn't really notice) and stepped closer to the woman, inquiring, “Do you, um, have anything to eat?”

“Oh, of course!” said the woman warmly. "We have snacks for you, applesauce for your daughter—"

"Oh, she's not my—" Giles began reflexively, before remembering that he was trying to seem relatively normal to this perfectly nice young woman. "allergic to applesauce," he finished awkwardly. "Which is perhaps very good if that is what you have."

Buffy, taking advantage of her close proximity to the first child her age she’d ever met, threw the cloth doll at the other baby as hard as she could.

"Buffy," said Giles, mortified.

The doll bounced off the other baby’s face, and the other baby began to cry. The woman, whose expression had suddenly changed, said awkwardly, “Cordelia’s parents make very generous donations that help finance most of this daycare. I’m terribly sorry, but if your Buffy doesn’t get along with her, Bright Smiles might not be the best fit for you.”

“No, this is just her way of saying hello,” said Giles helplessly. “I think.”

Buffy was watching Cordelia with a sort of scientific interest. Cordelia seemed wholly unaware of the fact that she was being observed, too focused on crying as loudly as possible.

“I’m so sorry,” said the woman again, “but Bright Smiles can only afford to take on well-behaved and well-mannered children.”

Giles had accounted for the fact that he might not be all that good at finding Buffy a daycare. He hadn’t considered that Buffy might not be all that good at daycare in the first place, and it was very difficult to understand, particularly after spending so much time with Buffy. Buffy was excitable and sweet and, well, perhaps a bit rambunctious, but she was most certainly a lovely young girl that any daycare would be lucky to have, and—and he was still just standing here, not saying anything. “Well,” he said finally. “I’ll just search elsewhere, then. Good day to you.”

“Mr. Giles, we can perhaps discuss—” the woman began, but Giles was already turning and hurrying out of the daycare.

As soon as they were outside of Bright Smiles, Buffy began to wail. Giles turned and saw the woman, struggling with a still-sobbing Cordelia in her arms and Buffy’s doll in one hand. “I really am sorry,” she said apologetically. “We’re just a very exclusive place. We can’t afford—”

“Yes, thank you,” said Giles exhaustedly, and took the doll, handing it to Buffy. Buffy sniffled and stopped crying, going back to her usual pastime of chewing on the doll’s arm. “I expect we’ll need to look elsewhere, at any rate.” Turning, he hurried to the car, unlocking the door and placing Buffy into her car seat before climbing into the backseat himself.

“You’ve made my life very complicated, you know that?” he said softly to Buffy. “It’s rather impressive. You’re quite small, and yet you’ve caused nearly as much upheaval as Eyghon.” This was quite a exaggeration, but Giles just liked talking to Buffy. As of late, she rarely ever paid any attention to him while he talked, and it was strangely endearing. She lived in her own very happy little world.

Giles leaned back into the seat, thinking. It wasn’t just that Buffy had made a bad first impression, it was that he didn’t want Buffy to be in a place where he constantly felt like he was walking on eggshells. He didn’t want Buffy’s daycare to be dependent on how much money he could shell out to cover any misbehaviors, and he got the distinct sense that this was the sort of place that catered to the rich part of Sunnydale. All the parents who wanted an exclusive experience with only the most well-behaved children.

“I feel a bit bad for that Cordelia girl you threw your doll at,” he said to Buffy. “That sort of place seems as though it might not be the kindest.”

“Pshhh,” said Buffy happily.

Really, Giles thought, he needed some guidance, and there was only one resource in which he’d nearly always found consistently good advice.

Buffy, sitting on the sofa with her beloved cloth doll, watched Giles with a large smile as he entered the room with the third box of books. Giles smiled back, feeling more than a bit reassured by the fact that someone seemed to have steadfast faith in him, even if that someone was a six-month-old who wasn’t well-behaved enough for daycare. “Daycare is rubbish anyway,” he informed her. “I didn’t go to daycare, and look how well I turned out.” He considered this, then winced. “Well. There are plenty of other people who didn’t go to daycare and turned out just fine.”

Buffy held out the cloth doll to Giles.

“Oh—” Giles placed down the box, crossing the room to take the doll from Buffy. “Thank you,” he said very seriously. He knew it was a bit early to start on good manners, but there was a parenting book he’d read recently that said encouragement was extremely beneficial to a growing child. Besides which, he did appreciate the gesture; Buffy didn’t give her doll to just anyone. Buffy did throw her doll at just about anyone, but giving her doll willingly was reserved for only Giles.

Tucking the doll into his front pocket where Buffy could still see it and know it was being taken care of, Giles turned back to the books. He’d brought along a few copies of Watcher journals that the Council had gifted to him, as infant Potentials weren’t generally all that common and the Council seemed to think Giles could use some frames of reference. Giles had been mostly ignoring them out of spite, but quite frankly, he was getting desperate. Perhaps among one of these books he might find some kind of a solution, some Watcher who softened to their Potential and wanted a better life for them.

But after a good two hours spent researching (or, more accurately, one hour spent researching, half an hour spent playing with Buffy—she was such a sweet child, and Giles didn’t want her to feel neglected—and half an hour preparing dinner for the both of them), Giles really hadn’t found anything of use. The Watchers’ diaries were dispassionate and disinterested in their charges, and Giles had the strong sense that these had been specifically selected to encourage a similar mindset for him.

It did make him very aware of one thing, though. These Watchers never really seemed to mention any sort of community or resources, instead putting a specific emphasis on how solitary their lives had become. One Watcher boasted that his Potential’s first encounter with another child didn’t take place until she was eight years old, and even then it was under incredibly controlled circumstances.

“The system is broken,” Giles informed Buffy, and was unexpectedly reminded of Ethan, both of them sprawled in the grass talking lazily about burning the world down. Giles had been frightened, he realized, by what had happened with Eyghon, stumbling to distance himself from rebellion so that no one would ever get hurt again. Choosing to raise Buffy the way he thought would be best was a sideways way of rebelling against the Council without really rebelling against the Council, and it still didn’t really address the actual problems he was creating with his careful approach. He had no real way to make sure Buffy wouldn’t go to another Council operative in the event of his death, no contacts he trusted, no community to fall back on, and he still felt as though impulsive, rebellious behavior was the absolute wrong way to go.

Buffy made a small whining noise and stretched a tiny hand toward the doll in Giles’s pocket. Turning, he absently handed it back to her, but she grabbed plaintively at his hand instead.

“Hello,” said Giles tiredly, managing a smile. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long day.” He sat down next to her on the couch, thinking. He couldn’t at all handle the idea of hosting some neighborhood get-together to meet people; pretending to be a single father for a long period of time would be difficult when faced with cheerful Americans eating his food. All he really wanted was someone he could reliably count on to take care of Buffy if anything happened to him—

The solution to his problems occurred to him quite abruptly. “Idiot,” said Giles to himself, picking up Buffy and making sure to add for her benefit, “Not you, dear, you’re very smart and let no one tell you otherwise.” Carrying Buffy down the hall to her bedroom, he placed her gently down in her crib before hurrying back to the living room to find a pen and paper.

“You’re not serious.”

“I assume you received my letter?” said Giles cheerfully.

“We did. We’re calling to inquire what on earth would make you think legally adopting the Potential would be a good idea.” Travers’s voice was clipped and irritable. “That sort of thing makes placing her with another Watcher extremely difficult in the event of your demise. It would be significantly different were she British, but there is only so much we can do in regards to the American legal system.”

“Oh, I’m aware,” said Giles, who was feeling thoroughly proud of himself at the moment. “I simply feel that—well,” here he dropped his voice a bit dramatically, “I’m of the mind that it also makes things more difficult for any family member to step in. You don’t want just anyone swooping in and claiming guardianship of a Potential, Travers, do you?”

On the other side of the room, Buffy noticed a dog outside and started shrieking with delight.

“What on earth is that racket on your end?” Travers demanded.

“Television,” lied Giles, making a shh motion to Buffy (who, as usual, happily ignored him and pressed her hands up against the window while she stared at the dog). “Listen, Travers, I’ve been doing a bit of digging,” this part actually wasn’t a lie, “and this particular Potential has quite a few relatives in this area. I’d move, but I’m taking my research responsibilities quite seriously.”

“Mr. Giles,” said Travers, “tread carefully.”

Giles winced. That didn’t bode well. “I’m sorry?”

“These constant changes in your approach to training your Potential are giving me doubts,” said Travers. “I will support your request to adopt the child and pull a few legal strings, but only because you claim that there is danger of a relative ‘swooping in.’ I hope you understand that you make any more requests and we will conduct a very thorough investigation.”

Giles felt almost dizzy with delight. He did feel awful about using Buffy’s relatives as though they were pieces in some horrible game of chess. But he’d be able to make legal arrangements that would keep Buffy out of the hands of the Council in the event of his death, and that was truly comforting to him.

Buffy, meanwhile, was still very distracted by the dog, which was chasing a squirrel. “Go!” she shouted suddenly, and Giles nearly dropped the phone. “Go go go!”

“Mr. Giles?”

“Go!” Buffy crowed, and hit the window as though watching a high-speed chase.

Giles stared, eyes wide, and a slow, proud smile spread across his face. “Yes, of course,” he said. “Good day, Travers.”

“Good day.”

Giles waited for the click of the receiver before crossing the room to scoop Buffy up. She uttered a whine of protest, peering over his shoulder at the dog and the squirrel. “Go,” she informed Giles sulkily, which did make it a bit unclear as to whether she knew what she was saying was an actual word.

Giles chose to believe that she was just trying to be mysterious. “Yes, it did go,” he agreed. “But you can’t hit the window.”

To celebrate their small victory, Giles decided to take Buffy on a walk to the nearby park. She’d been mostly cooped up since the daycare incident a few days ago, and he thought they could both do with a bit of fresh air. Besides which, he was more than a little bit proud of the high-quality stroller he’d gotten for Buffy, and he wanted to see if it worked as well as advertised.

Buffy was always very happy about getting dressed and going outside; she was a very sweetly cheerful little thing. Carefully buttoning Buffy’s tiny sweater, Giles lifted her up and into the stroller, tucking her doll in with her. “Now, if we meet any new children, kindly try not to throw things,” he instructed her.

Buffy smiled. It was very clear that she had no qualms about throwing things.

They lived in a refreshingly shady part of Sunnydale. Giles was not at all fond of the sun that the town’s name advertised, and very much missed the chill of England. Buffy very clearly loved the sun, but was willing to settle for the breeze and shade that the many trees in their neighborhood allowed. It was pleasant, Giles had to admit, and very lovely to walk with an excitable Buffy in her stroller (who had just seen a pigeon and was babbling happily in its direction) without all that many plans for the day. It felt like the sort of break he needed after the panic of their first week in Sunnydale.

“Do you suppose things will settle down?” Giles asked Buffy, stopping the stroller to peer down at her.

Buffy gave him a very irritated look, crossed her arms, and said, “Go.”

“You’re quite a demanding little girl, aren’t you,” said Giles affectionately, and went back to pushing the stroller.

#fic #giles raises baby buffy au #buffy and giles #you'd better believe i'm going to reblog the hell out of this later today #i'm feeling that midnight anxiety so i have 2 crash now #but appreciate this please!!

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