#meanwhile Gil is like you just don't understand her

[softquietsteadylove]

Hello! 🫣

I had this idea: thenamesh academic rivals?

Gil is a top student, mostly getting a mark of 100. but whenever Thena asks her rival what he got he always says a lower point (for example he says 97 and she got a 98) , hiding his exam behind his back 🫣

Thena glared at the chair next to hers as it was taken.

"Uh," Gilgamesh attempted - yet again - to strike up a casual conversation, "hey."

Thena tapped her papers on her desk, waiting for the professor to come in, as well as tell them how they would be conducting the labs with their students for the day. "I trust you've already looked up what your score for the mid-term was."

"What was yours?"

Thena clenched her teeth in her jaw. It didn't matter what she got, he would get just the same, if not better. She had worked her whole life to become a historical scholar, as was expected of her. And this guy always managed to stand shoulder to shoulder with her, seemingly without so much as blinking. "I achieved 98. I believe the two point demerit was due to my oversight in the essay section."

Gilgamesh merely nodded, offering a nervous kind of smile. "Ah, well, the essay parts are always the toughest."

She slid her eyes over to him. She didn't truly wish to know, but she also couldn't resist knowing. "And you?"

"Ninety..." he trailed off, as he always did when they were discussing their academic performance. She glared at him to finish, "seven?"

Thena smiled, although she did her best not to appear smug and unbecoming. "An admirable mark."

"Thanks," he laughed off, like it was nothing. Professor Stoss was a famously tough professor despite his young age, and getting any good mark from him was already a feat.

Thena did somewhat believe that the affability Gilgamesh possessed made people go easier on him. And even then, she had to concede that he was intelligent and competent in their field of study. It infuriated her.

She had the weight of the world on her in the expectation to perform. She was even a teaching assistant entirely to advance her studies and career. Otherwise, the interaction with other students was far too much for her own preference.

But Gilgamesh said he was good in historical studies merely because his mother had possessed a fondness for them. Thena devoted hours to studying and research and Gilgamesh worked part time at a diner close to the university. And yet he used to consistently beat her in every assignment and quiz and test.

Only in recent months did he seem to be coming just a single point under her, and even that was not enough. Thena had already heard from her own family how outstanding this no-name student was and how those in their field of work were asking about him.

"Did you...do anything this weekend?"

Thena looked over, somewhat astonished that he was still trying to make conversation with her.

He shrugged, tapping his fingers anxiously on the cover of his textbook. "I heard there was a fancy party for the TAs, I mean. I assumed you went."

Thena frowned. There was indeed an event for the faculty and their chosen assistants--those who showed promise enough to earn extra credits in teaching. She hadn't attended because she felt no need (nor did Phastos, in her defense). "I assumed you had gone."

"Oh, no," Gilgamesh smiled down at the desk. "I take the late shifts on weekends. They're long, but we don't get many people, so I can get studying or work done, y'know?"

Thena swallowed her words. She had all this envy for his natural skill, but his work was just as legitimate as hers. And he worked to pay his rent, living off campus, while she lived in a dorm for female academic leaders. Gilgamesh stole his time studying as opposed to building his entire life around it.

"You deserve to enjoy yourself a little."

She looked at him again, still frowning. "I beg your pardon?"

"S-Sorry." He went back to staring down at the tattered edges of his textbook. But she kept looking at him, waiting for him to elaborate. The silence worked, dragging his words out of him. "I just mean...you work really hard, right? You're always top of the class. You should be allowed to have some fun, sometimes."

She did work hard. She devoted every waking moment of her life to her studies, and the one person who continuously thwarted her attempts at perfection was the one to point it out?

It would be easier to be angry with him if he were dislikeable in any way. As it stood now, all she had to go on was that he always beat her in academic achievement, and so effortlessly at that. But even with that, she had to concede that he worked just as hard, if not harder than her for it! And it was infuriating!

"Sorry," he repeated, looking away from her glowering at him.

She sighed. "No, I'm sorry. It was an innocent question."

He looked at her, completely astonished. She would like to snap at him for thinking she couldn't even just apologise for being overly adversarial with him. But that would defeat the point. "Well, I know you don't really like small talk."

It was that she wasn't good at it. She angled herself in her chair, destroying her perfect posture to face him somewhat more properly. "Should you not have also...enjoyed yourself? When do you have time to socialise if you are either studying or working?"

"Well, I have friends I can see in my other classes," he shrugged.

Oh. Yes, of course. Thena felt her hackles raise again at the idea that she was so unfamiliar with the idea of having friends in any of their classes. But she was trying to be nicer to him.

"But," he offered another sheepish smile, bending closer to whisper like children trading a secret in grade school. "This class is my favourite."

Thena just stared at him. She supposed that made sense. He always said he had the same like of history and classics that his mother had. But the idea that she was included in the categorisation of his favourite anything; a warm feeling spread in her chest.

"The lovebirds are here already."

Students began filtering into the small lecture hall, facing them seated at the front of the room. The one who made the comment plunked down close to the door. Another one looked in their direction, "don't you two ever sleep in?"

They got jokes and insinuations that they were together all the time. Apparently, everyone could see some kind of brewing, invisible tension between the two of them. Thena always found it ridiculous.

"We don't-!"

The student startled, as did the rest of the room slowly taking their seats. The declaration was sharp, and loud--far louder than was needed for a room this size.

Thena felt warmth rush to her cheeks, first for the outburst, then the realisation that it seemed overeager to deny something that wasn't even said. She cleared her throat, turning towards the board (since she had shot to her feet in her denial). "Sit down and start copying."

The student body present groaned but obeyed. Gil was the far preferred teaching assistant because he didn't scare anyone, and even if they under-performed, he had kind encouragements as opposed to scathing condemnations.

"Guys, come on, you heard her."

Thena barely glanced over her shoulder. There was nothing new about their students complaining about her teaching methods. But Gil usually didn't take quite so stern a tone with them. Even in her defense.

He peeked at her with a smile, perhaps hoping to show that he was indeed her ally and not her enemy.

Thena whipped her head forward again. So long as they were pitted against each other in any setting, he was no friend of hers. No matter how winsome his smile was.

#Thenamesh AU #a true enemies to lovers #thank you for the ask sweetheart #I really like this suggestion! #I think there's a delicate balance in enemies to lovers #and Gil is so sweet #he just wants the mean girl he teaches with to smile sometimes! #everyone says Gil buddy I know she's pretty but you've gotta give up on the wicked witch of the west branch y'know? #meanwhile Gil is like you just don't understand her #he does lie #he says that he gets one point below her #specifically because if she finds out he scored above her #and be furious at him #he can say oh it slipped my mind it's only a two point difference #Thena absolutely hates that he's always beating her #but don't be mistaken #she knows she dislikes him for completely illegitimate reasons #and she doesn't tolerate any disrespect of him #she hears a couple students laughing because he served them at the diner #she gives them two extra assignments each #and marks them so harshly they go crying to Professor Stoss #Phastos: I dont' like you either you have bad attitudes and you use AI to write your essays get out of my office #Thena's roommates notice her daydreaming more often #Sersi asks hey so what about that guy you TA with #Thena: WHAT ABOUT HIM #Makkari: *she knows*

[iamtaran]

WIP Title Game! oh good lord

rules: in a new post, post the names of all the files in your wip folder regardless of how nondescriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet and tell us about it!

thanks @allyunabridged for the tag! Lmao I stared down the barrel of not one, but two google drives to gather these and all I can say is

😬

IN AN ORDER ONLY THE GODS UNDERSTAND:

The Twilit Gate (BG3, when in want of more fey bullshit in your BG3, do it yourself!!! TavxAstarionxGalexliterally everyone i'm gay alright???)

Island (The Guest/손 AU, horror and survivalism; Hwa Pyung, Choi Yoon, and Gil Young follow Park Hong Joo's and Park Il Do's machinations out to open sea, to an island with long forgotten history where the real struggle for survival begins.)

But For Grace (SW:Preq's, modern-character in GFFA aka "what to do when you accidentally change things and the Chosen One dies?", started as a silly question but now I'm committed; Qui-Gon Jinn lives; what would happen in a galaxy without Anakin Skywalker?)

The Mage's War (DA2 + DA:I, what if Bethany Hawke was the Herald, Modern/Avvar OC, playing Fade chicken with the Dread Wolf nbd, put on my tinfoil hat for this one re: the Fade, the Abyss/Void, Forgotten Ones, etc.)

In God's Eye (Vampyr, human!Jonathan, ekon!McCullum, Mary lives, I'm a hobby WWI & Spanish Flu researcher so hold your britches I have FEELINGS)

For Want Of Two (Vampyr, wanted more mythological beings & nemrod lore so I'll do it myself gdi, put-that-thing-back-where-you-found-it-or-so-help-me-god.gif ; JxMcCxOC)

Lights All Hung On Nothing (Star Wars Preq's to Clone Wars era, modern-character-in-SW with a big twist, Force + time fuckery, Ani + Obi focus, the butterfly effect changes everything)

The 72nd Cycle (SW: Mandalorian, AU - Grogu is not the only Force sensitive prisoner Gideon had captured. Without room in his ship for multiple students, Luke tags along, not expecting the sad Mando's ride Boba Fett (w h a t) to show up and offer the poor guy use of his bacta tank; well, soon-to-be-his. He just has to kill its current owner, Bib Fortuna, first. You know. On Tatooine(WHAT!!). Meanwhile, on Tattooine: Cobb Vanth gets the nagging feeling his life is about to become much more stressful.)

A Heavy Thing (KOTOR, amnesiac Revan works a shitty food service job on Taris and definitely isn't a Jedi/Sith/Soldier, I mean, clearly. Slice of life becomes tragedy becomes adventure becomes mystery becomes ??? RevanxCanderousxCarth DON'T LOOK AT ME)

Life, Happening (The Shining/Doctor Sleep introspective piece on Danny Torrance, life & death, what it means to be gone, and not gone.)

Led To Water (Mandalorian, Din takes off the armor having broken his Creed and, unsure what to do next, returns to Kuiil's homestead to brood and sweat manfully through his existential crisis; his friends help him through it.)

Mando'ad'ika (Mandalorian/Original SW movies, The Mandalorian is taken into custody and now Leia has to deal with a sweet but stressed frog lady, a green gremlin with too much Force power, and this intimidating tin can who won't budge. Since Han laughed at her, she decides to make it his problem, too.)

Time Travel, & Other Ways To Die (Mandalorian/SW:Bounty Hunter video game, Din & Jango centric, whilst trying to get to Grogu on his magical big rock, Din & Grogu end up chucked through time onto an outlaw space station. Jango Fett's no good very bad day begins. Coincidentally, it coincides with Din Djarin's SUPER no good very bad day. They most assuredly do not bond over this.)

I am, or was. (Dragon Age: Inquisition, a spirit takes an interest in Solas after he helps it in the Fallow Mire and begins following him around like a lost puppy. Which would be cute, if it weren't possessing more and more alarming vessels to do so. The Andrastians are starting to get a bit twitchy.)

Rookie, Shiny, Soldier, Spy (Mandalorian/Clone Wars, Din Djarin accidental time travel into the Clone Wars AU. Caught without his 'gam on a battle field and forced once again to wear trooper armor, he is Not Impressed--and why do all these guys look like Boba?)

This Prodigal Son (Hades/Dragon Age: Inq, Zagreus goes through the wrong Chaos portal. Magister Alexius finds a powerful spirit in the Fade and, as is his way, decides fuck it, we ball. Also his way, it doesn't go very well for him.)

Send me a title via ask and I'll post my favorite bit I've currently written!

Lmao this was wild to throw together given how many WIPs of age past are staring me down; these are just all the recents. Go ahead and chuck some WIPs out there if you're interested @singoallala @narwhalninja @mauverawrites @in-a-trans-like-state @terresdebrume and @jackironsides ! And if you don't/aren't currently writing, everyone loves to see the pet tax paid C:

#taran writes #also hi everyone i'm still alive and hope you're doing well c:

[kellachfromthewoods]

Identities 1

"Rhasif, we've your next match lined-up. I tried to get you an easier opponent but the coliseum committee think you're ready for this one."

A gruff roegadyn man was standing over a youthful Highlander gladiator sitting on a bench, resting from another day of training.

"So, out with it man. Who am I facing?" The youth smiled, so sure of her victory and with it, her ascension to the upper eschelon of gladiators. Whoever told her Pearl Lane folk had it rough obviously lied - all they had to do was be good at fighting and they could easily stake a living.

"You'll be facing this guy."

"He's registered as a competitor under the name Sabotender Ciclope and so far, he's taken two losses. Even with that, he's been granted the honor of participating in high-stakes matches, yet he's always refused. I think he views himself as more of a gatekeeper and those are always dangerous."

"Like that matters, I'll grind him into the sand. He's a pugilist who forgot his station." Rhasif smiled. Her sponsor did not approve.

"I've put too much gil in your training for you to not take this seriously. This is your ticket to the big time. Me, I can always find another fighter. It's not like the gladiator guild is lacking in fresh meat." Rhasif fell silent. She hated being reminded of her origins, and much more how disposable she was, but without this sponsor she would never have gotten as far as she did.

"That being said, I want to make sure you succeed because when you succeed, I succeed and when I succeed, you get higher-paid matches. I've arranged meetings with the two gladiators who've beaten him, and sparring sessions with pugilists. That should get you to where you need to be. Meanwhile, I'll try finding out more information about him." The man stated before giving his protégée a slap on the back.

* * *

Chechemara Shushumara was an immensely popular newly minted top-level gladiator. It helped that his dunesfolk status endeared him to the majorly lalafellin citizenry of Ul'dah and a simple look at him would make most understand why. A dashing example of a lalafellin warrior, many had referred to him as the "Pipin Tarupin of the Sands".

He'd been the first to defeat Sabotender Ciclope, and while their bodies could not be more different, Rhasif was intent on learning if there was a weakness she could exploit.

"I'm assuming your trainer's asked for sparring with puglists, right? That's a mistake - He's more comparable to the monks of Ala Mhigo than Ul'dahn pugilists. How else would he have been able to keep his rank this high? Now, I was able to escape half of his arts because I'm small, but in your case that'll be difficult. Keep him at bay with your sword and aim for his legs - if he can't come in, he can't hit you with one of his palm strikes. If you slash his legs, he loses a lot of his aerial mobility and his coiling techniques.

The most important thing is to not underestimate him - He doesn't have a weapon because he doesn't need one. He hits as strong as a desert bear, and can fly through the air like the Zona Seeker if you let him jump. So don't let him hit you, and don't let him jump. If you can keep him locked down on the ground, you'll win sooner than later."

Rhasif stood there, unimpressed. Part of her upbringing was to never show weakness, but when a gladiator with the pedigree of this one says something like that, it's hard to not be fearful.

* * *

A few days before the match, the pairing of gladiator and sponsor reunited. The gruff roegadyn looking particularly apologletic at his obvious failure.

"So you're telling me that you asked Hamon Holyfist personally, even bribing him with a massage given by one of Ul'dah's finest dancing girls, and he still couldn't tell you anything?!"

"I'm sorry Rhasif! Whoever this Sabotender Ciclope is, he's got nothing to do with the pugilist guild. I've tried asking Erik, you know, that monk-obsessed scholar, but he brushed me off due to me even thinking whatever this man's doing even resembles Ala Mhigan arts." Rhasif had never seen her sponsor like this. Suddenly, an idea.

"...what if you aimed to rip off his mask?"

Rhasif blinked while the roegadyn's face looked more and more assured.

"Anyone who's put this much effort to conceal themselves' gotta have something to hide. Expose it, and you'll win a lot more than just the match!"

The two of them grinned - They had a plan.

#Kellach Woods Identities #FFXIVRP