#bendis qcc

[apocalypsewriters]

12 days of self appreciation day one: hug

From @writeblrfantasy event. It’s a little late but that’s okay. Admittedly I don’t write nearly enough hug scenes so I’m going to rectify that.

Bennie crushed Cuckoo to their chest. Her eyes widened in surprise but she said nothing. Ben’s arms wrapped around her like a viper, one sliding up and dislodging the gold detailed bandana across her hair. Weakly, she pushed against his chest, where her arms were pinned, but she didn’t move. Resigning herself to the situation, she inhaled deeply. Ben smelled like metallic earth and growing things, even though he hadn’t been gardening for a month. Old sweat faintly broke through the green of his scent and Cuckoo wrinkled her nose. Though she was originally resisting this, the hug was kind of nice, not awkward like she worried it would be. The weight of it seemed to be blocking out her worries, the pressure pulling her attention to be solely on the little world in Ben’s arms. She didn’t have to worry about the consequences of her actions, what the others would think of the stunt she pulled, how she would rectify, and wanted to rectify, any damage she had caused. That could be dealt with later. For now, her focus could be on herself and the care she needed, wanted, had from Ben. It would be enough, and things might be okay.

#12 days of writers self love #writeblr #my writing #hug #writers on tumblr #a quest of cards and calamity wip #bendis qcc #cuckoo qcc #this was so soft and lovely to write! #this scene would be pretty late into the narrative #so enjoy the teaser

[apocalypsewriters]

12 days of writer self love day 3: repulsed

I know, I know it’s late and out of order, but I’m kind of okay with that. At least it’s here. I really like this piece. I think I almost imagined myself in this situation if I hadn’t found out about my orientation when I did, or if my attraction turned out slightly different

It was an alien and unexpected feeling when it happened the first time. Bendis thought it was attraction, but when the other boy went to kiss him, his initial reaction was to pull away. The other boy, the baker’s son, Francesco, mirrored his action, his eyebrows knitting together in concern.

“Are you okay?” Francesco asked, rubbing the back of Ben’s hand with his thumb.

Ben’s hand went tense under the contact, then relaxed somewhat stiffly. He nodded, swallowed once, then leaned in. “Fine. I’m fine,” they reassured, voice shaking. Francesco pretended not to notice. “Now what were we doing?”

As they kissed, Ben tried not to squirm at the contact and the sheer amount of fluids being exchanged. That night, he lay in a resting patch of his garden and shoveled dirt onto himself as he fell asleep watching the stars.

The next time it happened, they again tried to stifle their reaction. The bard was charismatic and patient, and frankly very good-looking. They’d laughed and joked together for hours, Ben lamenting his lost potential at a similar career path. Ben had even taken a day away from the apothecary to spend time with them.

“It was a pleasure getting to know you, Du Kahoari,” they said, as they raised Ben’s hand to their mouth and pressed a kiss on it.

Ben retracted his hand as calmly as possible, resisting the urge to wipe it on his skirt. Similarly, they hid the tremor in their voice. “Likewise. I wish you happy travels.”

The bard bowed, and as soon as Ben was out of their line of sight, he ran back to the apothecary to wash his hand.

The time after that it wasn’t even happening. It had been a months-long relationship with Sonya the blacksmith’s daughter, so it was bound to come up in conversation. She sat them down on the haybales behind her mother’s shop, taking their hands in her own.

“So, we’ve been together for a while,” she said, pausing to wait for Ben to nod. “So I think it’s time to talk about…”

Ben’s eyes glazed over. His hands went clammy and he pulled back. They tucked their knees against their chest. His breaths came in small bursts. “Say… say that again?”

“...? That’s what I feel like we should talk about,” Sonya said, cautiously now. She shuffled around to face him, careful not to brush their skin.

Swallowing hard, Ben opened his mouth, shut it. His adams apple bobbed again. “I don’t think I’m ready to talk about that,” he managed.

“Okay, that’s okay,” Sonya said, words rushed. “We can take as long as we need.”

Under his breath, Ben asked, “Is this what you want from a relationship?”

Sonya was caught off-guard and stopped moving towards Ben. “I- I think so?”

“Then I don’t think I can be with you,” choked Ben.

“Oh, um,” she stalled. “Are you sure?”

Ben hid his face in his knees. “No,” he said. “I’m not. And if you ask me again, I’ll do it. I’ll say yes. Because it’s what you’re supposed to do, right?”

“Can I touch you?” Ben’s head snapped up at Sonya’s words. He nodded. She placed her hand on their back and rubbed circles into it. “There’s no ‘supposed to’ in any relationship. Relationships are whatever you make of them And if two people want different things, they can compromise. Sometimes that means they keep going as they are. Sometimes that means doing things differently. No one knows what they’re doing all the time. But if you think we don’t work, then we don’t work. That’s okay. I’ll be okay. We’ll be okay. Okay?”

Ben nodded into his knees.

“Do you need space?”

They nodded again.

“Alright,” Sonya said, groaning as she stretched out of the haystack, pulling a few pieces of straw from where they stuck into her skirt. “I’ll be in my mother’s shop if you need me. And for what it’s worth, these last few months were amazing. I hope they were for you too.”

Shoulders curling inwards, Ben couldn’t bring themself to reply. All his partners, fleeting or long-lasting, affectionate and timid, had been so wonderful. There was no reason for him to feel like this. But he did, and it ate him up inside. They rolled over and screamed into the straw, trying to free himself of the fundamentally wrong feeling inside him.

#ace spec #sexuality crisis #12 days of writers self love #writeblr #my writing #a quest of cards and calamity wip #bendis qcc #he’s developing 🥺🥺 #this does happen prior to the main narrative so he knows his stance on attraction and relationships as much as anyone can

[apocalypsewriters]

12 days of writer self love day 2: crown

I saw the time and wrote this in a rush and I’m obsessed. This scene takes place after the narrative and is just so soft and sweet and domestic.

“This is so frustrating!” Alex fumed as they snapped another dandelion stem.

Cuckoo watched them upside down from the tree they were hanging from, two completed flower crowns layered over their bandana across their forehead. “I’m sure you’ll get it. You’ve always shown such prowess for fiddly tasks. Your skill with detail is unparalleled.”

Ben, sitting behind Cuckoo, shuffled forward and tugged on their dangling arms. They fell down with a thump into his lap and glared up at him good-naturedly. He ruffled their hair and turned back to his own garland. They had a dwindling pile next to them as what had been taught to be a flower crown was now turning into a rope taller than they were. Cuckoo picked up part of the chain and twisted it between their fingertips, squishing the petals out of shape.

“Don’t be cruel, Cuckoo,” Stella admonished. “It’s okay if you don’t finish. We have plenty to go around.” She tossed a finished daisy crown at Alex where it landed lopsided on their head. They grimaced cheerfully in thanks, brow furrowing again as Alex turned their attention back to their four linked dandelions.

“You mean you have plenty to go around,” corrected Maggie. A stack of flower crowns adorned her heads, all unique. Her braids were hidden and her eyes were partially blocked from the sheer volume of them.

Stella, offended, said, “I do not! I don’t have a single flower crown to my name. So, I’d better make one.”

“And declare me ruler again?” Maggie suggested with a knowing look.

“You do rule my heart,” Stella said, tilting Maggie’s chin up to give her a kiss.

“Get a room!” Cuckoo yelled from where they were still laying on Ben’s legs.

“You dare order her majesty around?” Stella flew to her feet, the half finished crown falling to the floor. She tackled Cuckoo onto the ground, and the crafting fell into giggles as the sun sank in the sky.

#writeblr #writing #12 days of writers self love #my writing #a quest of cards and calamity wip #alex qcc #cuckoo qcc #bendis qcc #stella qcc #magnolia qcc #I love them all so much

[apocalypsewriters]

☕️ and ⛸️ from this ask game, pls? also good to see you around, eve! sending good ~~ vibes ~~ and good luck to ya. :3 - 💫 (@enchanted-lightning-aes)

enchant you're an angel <33 sending good vibes back because you gave me no names, I will take the liberty of picking two characters for each question from a quest of cards and calamity ☕️ Hot Cocoa: what do your OCs do if they need reassurance or comfort? Do they talk to someone/fall back on a certain activity? Alex (prior to the narrative) often needed reassurance and comfort, since their curse messed up interactions with people and basic tasks, yet they believed the faults were their own. So there are many afternoons where they are found sitting on the large windowsill in their room with the windows flung open, vibing with the animals - a capybara on their lap, a tapir by their side, and various birds on their shoulders and in their hair. Animals don't judge and no one goes to that part of the forest. Bennie destressed in his garden. After a long day dealing with customers who could somehow never interpret his painstakingly simple instructions correctly and minor injuries they could have tended to at home, they find no better place to be than among dirt and leaves. Covered all the way up to his elbows in earth, weeds curling and dying in the folds of his skirt, and a trowel waiting to be used by their side.

⛸️ Ice Skating: tell us about a skill your OC has. Is it unusual? Something they worked hard on? Does it ever come in handy? Cuckoo (when magic was around) was really great at manipulating the taste of things with their illusions. She would mess with people at the circus, often making some panic by making them think they were eating something they were allergic to when they were actually okay. They used it often when bouncing from village to village - she'd make chefs or patrons think food had spoiled so they would throw it out for her to eat. Though, sometimes she still made a scene in a restaurant. Just for fun. Maggie translated her wealth of knowledge for intricate braids - which came from days of practice being shut up in the house for her own protection - to learning to tie a myriad of sea-worthy knots. She hasn't used that skill yet, but she's sure it'll come in handy someday. Maybe. Hopefully.

ask game is linked in the ask (thanks for that)

#thank you for the ask this was so much fun to write #a quest of cards and calamity wip #alex qcc #bendis qcc #cuckoo qcc #magnolia qcc #ask game #winter ask game

[apocalypsewriters]

hello!!! <33 🧣 and ❄️ for the winter asks please!! i love you so much klsdjfasdf

I love you more!! And I included your favorite <3

❄️ Snowflake: talk about a unique trait or aspect of your favorite OC. Have they been living rent-free in your brain? It’s time to talk about them!

While I’m not saying it’s a good thing, I’m obsessed with how cuckoo interacts with the world. Any action she takes is almost guaranteed to increase chaos in any given situation. Chaotic neutral leaning on chaotic evil - she doesn’t want to kill anyone but if that will cause the most havoc, things will be as they be. I love thinking up plans she’ll concoct and not communicate simply so see what she articulates fall through. She lives for the look of horror on people’s faces and I love that for her.

🧣Scarf: tell us about a secret your OC has and what would happen if they revealed it.

In the village where everyone comes from, bendis is widely regarded as a competent healer, taking over his parents business with an unrivaled passion. He tends a beautiful garden and they only sometimes cheats with magic. However, not many people know that he’s an avid poisonist. Tucked away in a corner of the garden, he meticulously grows toxic and deadly plants that could kill with a single leaf. Though some can be used in medicine when prepared appropriately, the majority are sold on the black market. Since Ben is known as an upright citizen, it could tarnish their reputation for dealing in seemingly nefarious places with sinister business. He sees it purely as another source of income since he employs help in the shop, and genuinely enjoys the challenge of raising then deadly crops.

#winter ask game #ask game #ask #cuckoo qcc #bendis qcc