if you haven’t gotten asked/answered this question yet, how many chapters of smashing pumpkins will there be? do you plan on making it a long series? take your time thinking about this! i don’t wanna sound pushy or anything!
side note; i love your writing so much!! it’s like, so satisfying!! <3 take care and have a safe, happy halloween! 🎃🧡
i plan on it being 6 parts!! last part will probably be longer bc it’s the finale but also if it’s way way too long then i’ll prob split into two parts and post one after the other before halloween :) so maybe 7 parts since i haven’t written the end yet
thank you for asking dear!! i’m so happy you’re enjoying the series :D 💞 have a happy halloween!!
note: i had no idea that i posted this almost an entire WEEK AGO?? istg it was only 2 days ago 😭 sorry for the wait lovlies, here's some unhinged content for you ❤️
the next few weeks passed in a dizzying flurry. work became busy and you got caught up between group work and your personal life—an old friend from college visited town, your mom and dad’s memorial service passed in a flash, and you worked at the halloween costumes, carving a few little pumpkins every now and then as decor for the church stands. the halloween festival was just hours away, and there was another group meeting scheduled just before it.
you dreaded it.
Simon and you had not spoken once outside of the meetings. just polite remarks and a yawning chasm that cleaved the space between you. to say it was awkward was an understatement.
you thought back two weeks prior when you were isolated in the church basement.
you didn’t mean it?
yeah. none of it.
the memory was a splintering reminder that Simon didn’t want you. at least, not in the way you wanted him. retracing the footsteps of your mind over and over, you tried to figure out where you had gone wrong.
maybe from the beginning, you thought bitterly, failing to forget your rude, blunt behavior towards him. you guessed you deserved his treatment, though you didn’t expect him to make fun of you the way that he did.
have you never dated before? do you even know how to kiss someone?
just the thought of it made you wince as you entered the meeting room, later than usual. a dozen faces stared back at you, and Kate stopped mid-talk, eyes narrowed with something only you could decipher as worry. you just mumbled a quick apology, settling in your seat in the circle across from Simon, avoiding his eyes.
Sarah nudged you with her foot in greeting as Kate continued whatever talk she was going on about. out of habit, you half-tuned her out as Maya pat your knee softly.
from what you absorbed out of the random bursts of Kate’s words, the group met early to set up the stalls in front of the church. there’d be a costume rack, photo booth, pumpkin carving booth, face painting, and a couple tables for the bake sale—which wasn’t really a bake sale, but free baked goods because it was sinful to sell on church property, or something like that.
the church did the same events every year so none of it surprised you till Kate was saying, “now get dressed into your own costumes.”
what?
that was definitely new, you realized with a stiffness, looking around the group moving toward the exit of the meeting room with bags of, what you assumed, to be costumes.
when you didn’t budge, Sarah and Maya standing and grabbing their own things, they both paused, giving you curious looks.
Maya called your name in question and you just stayed stock still in your chair, feeling like life was being drained from your blood.
“oh my gosh,” Sarah said, a slow, impish smile spreading over your lips. Kate’s head immediately snapped up from her desk, looking pale and panicked.
“what? what is it?”
Maya pointed at you. “you didn’t bring a costume.”
your voice was high strung and tight. “i didn’t know we needed one.”
Sarah laughed out, long and airy, before gliding out the meeting room, absolutely beside herself.
Kate sounded peeved. “did you not look at the email chain?”
email, you thought, a stale taste in your mouth, who the fuck uses email these days?
Maya offered you a look of sympathy. “maybe run home really quick?”
Kate stood at her desk, just shaking her head. “don’t worry. i planned for this.”
she shooed Maya away and tugged over a plastic box from her desk, popping open the lid. inside it were an array of outfits.
she gestured to it. “pick one.”
sighing, you crouched down and pulled out the first costume that caught your eye—a greenish, white airy dress. turning it around, you realized floppy wings were already sown into the back of it.
snatching up your purse, you tucked the dress under your arm, about to make a beeline for the bathroom when Kate clutched your elbow, pulling back to her.
with a muffled noise of surprise, your brow furrowed at the pinched look of concern over her face.
“halloween is your favorite holiday,” she chewed out, “why aren’t you acting like it is?”
“what?” you spluttered. technically, halloween was in two days. the festival happened just prior.
you could’ve been a smart ass about it, but instead you bit back the retort, because you knew what she meant. usually, you’d be ecstatic the whole month before halloween. but these days, only a circling, endless pit of dread followed you to sleep, and was still there when you woke every morning.
“what’s wrong, hon’?” she pressed and you just shook your head with a laugh, lying through clenched teeth.
“nothing.”
you knew she didn’t believe you for a second because her grip only tightened on your elbow. “is there something going on between you and Simon?”
your gaze widened for a split-second, before you blinked it away, eyes darting away from hers. “of course not.”
she just scoffed. “like hell there’s not.”
you rolled your eyes. “not in the lord’s house, Kate—”
“listen to me,” she said, jerking you closer to her, and you muffled a yelp. “if there’s not something wrong with you, then there’s definitely something wrong with Simon. he was doing better. now he’s… acting strange.”
you cocked a brow at her. “he’s always a bit strange.”
she eyed you in return. “not as strange as how you’ve been acting.”
“ouch. that hurts,” you deadpanned, shaking free from her grip. she relented with a low grumble.
rubbing at her temple, she sighed as you turned from before, stopping you when she said, “just smooth out whatever’s going on between you. he’s going back for work soon.”
your blood ran cold. “what?”
“he won’t be on leave for another couple of months, so i suggest you talk to him today,” she said, moving to her desk.
you stared after her, wanting to ask more, but bit down on your tongue when a couple girls, chattering between each other, returned from the bathroom.
in their stead, you trudged down the hallway and into the old bathroom with a flickering, artificial lighting burning down overhead. in a stall, you stripped yourself and shimmied into the dress, the cheap fabric grating against your skin, but you wouldn’t complain since this situation had arisen due to your own fault.
moving past a couple other girls by the sinks, exchanging a couple words with them, a genuine smile twisting your lips, but then you looked at yourself in the mirror and almost cringed. the dress was a lot more revealing than you would have ever chosen for yourself in public—hugging at your body in the way your baggy outfits did not.
Iris stepped out of one of the stalls, whistling lowly. “lookin’ good, girlie.”
with a blush, you mumbled a thanks, digging around your purse for your makeup bag that you, thankfully, had shoved into your purse on a whim before work that morning. opening it, you began to apply a thing base, then soft shimmers around your eyes, attempting to look as fairy-like as you could.
“who are you trying to look good for?” Iris asked beside you, squinting into the mirror to brush mascara over her lashes.
with a bitter feeling, you noticed its brand. dior.
you choked a strained laugh, waving her off. “just the endless line of ladies.”
“right,” she sang, and you flinched when she put down the tube of makeup with a loud clunk against the porcelain sink. “‘cause you and i both know that you’re lesbian.”
you paused at that, brushing away the last bits of powder on your face. through the mirror, the girls behind you, Iris’s friends in the group, had fallen silent.
you glanced at her through your peripheral. “what do you mean by that?”
she turned to you, lips screwed in a thin line, hand on her hip.
“how long have you been fucking Simon for?”
jaw dropping, and you turned to look at her, taking in the intensity of her hot glare and the angry twitch of her features.
you should’ve denied it, but remembering the way she clung to Simon after the night of the party, all bashful and talkative with him, your own anger simmered to the surface.
“none of your business,” you said in a cool voice, turning back to the mirror to finish with a light blush over your nose and cheeks.
she scoffed. “you’re a bitch.”
your brows twitched together, and you reached up to rub at the spot, willing it away. “okay.”
she stepped towards you, jerking her hand up so it almost knocked against your face, the tip of her acrylic pressed to your cheek.
“you always complain about how much you hate men, but as soon as you go near one, you’re start fucking them.”
you completely ignored her. “i don’t know what you’re talking about. why do you care about my personal business?”
she laughed, long and mirthless. “because you’re airing it out at every meeting, whore.”
you screwed your eyes shut, an icy feeling churning inside you. this was exactly what you were afraid of when new members joined the group. your simmering anger rose to a boil, and you swallowed the heat down, trying to lock it down in your stomach.
“don’t you have a husband? maybe you should pay more attention to that cheating bastard than a random guy you met at a support group.”
“excuse me?” she seethed, and you couldn’t help but give her your most shit-eating smirk.
“what? too boring being a housewife, doing nothing all day long? fucking men for money—”
the noise she let out was carnal, raking a hand through your hair and jerking on it hard, so your head pulled back with a painful snap. the girls behind you screamed, and a blur of a person rushed forward to clutch tightly at Iris’s neck and push her off you.
“you bitch-ass, motherfucking whore—”
your jaw dropped at the sight of Maya slamming her against the tile wall, clawing at each other like two rapid cats before Sarah stumbled through the scene from a bathroom stall, screaming bloody murder.
one of Iris’s friends came up and fixed the state of your dress and hair, apologizing profusely for her friend, and you didn’t know whether to be angry at the girl, or thank her, as Iris’s friends scurried out of the bathroom quickly. you felt like you were in a daze, watching Iris drag Sarah by her hair before Sarah reached up and ripped through Iris’s hair so they were locked between each other, hands tangled in each other’s hair.
Maya was clutching at the wall, gulping down mouthfuls of air before she limped over and stomped on Iris’s open-toed sandals with a ferocity. she screamed, crumpling to the floor, releasing Sarah from the bind as she fell to her knees.
the three women stilled for a moment, panting with effort.
“what in the actual fuck…” you trailed off, unsure what to say after the scathing events of the fight.
Sarah’s hands were on her hips, knees looking wobbled as she rasped between gasps, “we couldn’t let this whore bad-mouth you like that.”
she jerked a thumb over at Iris who had braced herself against the floor, leaning over her palms with heavy, gasping breaths.
Maya stumbled over to you, wobbly on her heels, and you enveloped her in a hug, trying to smooth out her hair to the best of your ability.
“you guys…” you started, choking up when tears brimmed at the edge of your eyes. Maya only hugged you tighter and Sarah limped over, cooing softly as she joined the hug, squeezing you tight.
“don’t ruin your makeup,” Maya sniffled against your shoulder, your dress absorbing her tears.
you quickly wiped at your face with a nod, clutching at Maya and your other hand holding Sarah’s cheek.
when Iris stood, leaning against the bathroom sink, the hug broke apart.
she glared at you, clawing the hair from her face. “are you done?”
sending Sarah and Maya a quick glance, you gave them a curt nod, and they obliged, stomping out of the bathroom. Sarah turned to flip Iris off on her way out, the latter girl just rolling her eyes at the sight.
when there was silence once more, you turned to the girl, taking in how disheveled and… normal she looked for once.
“your hair—” you said, pointing to your own head, and she whipped around to look in the mirror. hastily, she scrambled around for her brush but you just sighed and picked up your own on the sink, stilling her with a light grip on her shoulder. you brushed through her brunette curls with a soft hand as she glared at you through the mirror.
“let’s talk,” you offered, putting down the brush when you were done. “and let’s be civilized about it.”
she hmphed, not looking at you. “what is there to even talk about?”
you shrugged. “clearly, something is bothering you.”
“yeah,” she said, rolling her eyes. “your relationship with Simon.”
you bit back your own retort to remind her that she was married. “we’re just friends.”
her brow quirked at that, looking unconvinced. “really?”
“for now,” you said with a nod, and her shoulders deflated.
“i knew there was something going on,” she said, sounding morose, eyes flickering with a distant haziness.
“you could’ve just asked me,” you sighed out, and her eyes snapped to yours again, flashing with irritation now.
“i did.”
how long have you been fucking Simon for?
at the memory of it, you flinched. “maybe more politely next time.”
she just huffed, brushing out the wrinkles of her witchy dress. “you won’t tell Kate about this?”
you scowled at her before, slowly, your lips twitched into a devilish smirk. her eyes darted nervously through the mirror, inching away from you.
“i won’t, because we played fair and square today.”
“what do you mean?” she chewed out, voice icy.
“you got to talk shit, and my girls fucked you up,” you said with a nasty grin, wholly enjoying when she shivered.
stepping away from you, she cleared her throat. “right.”
it was like she remembered where she was and who she was again, gathering her things and shoving them into her stupidly expensive bag with a poised expression. you watched in amazement at the calm, collected veneer that overtook her in a second, turning on her heel to strut out of the bathroom with an elegance before jumping with a shriek at the entrance.
you quickly trailed after her, rounding up your things in one, sweeping armful and shoving them into your own purse, your eyes moving up the way her spin shook to the sight over her shoulder.
a foot away, a man stood in front of the women’s restroom, a white, plastic skull outer layer over a black balaclava. at the sight of him, you muffled a squeak, bristling with shock.
but then your eyes trailed down to the rest of his attire—a sweatshirt, jeans, boots, and… gloves. skull ones, in fact.
“Simon,” you deadpanned, glaring at him from over Iris’s shoulder, “what the hell are you doing?”
“this is Simon?” Iris shrieked, shuffling backwards, knocking into you.
“i heard screaming,” he said, voice gruff and slightly muffled under the mask. “is everything alright?”
you rolled your eyes. he was a bit late for that.
“everything’s fine,” you confirmed, gently pushing Iris out the doorway. she squeezed past Simon, not giving him or you a second glance as she rushed down the hallway and into the meeting room.
the hulking man stared after her, before turning his head to blink down at you. even under that stupid mask, his big brown eyes were still the same.
“what happened?” he asked and you just shook your head.
“you really don’t want to know.”
he let out a low noise of disapproval and you waved him away, edging forward so he stepped further back into the hallway.
“there is one problem though,” you said, cocking your brow at him.
he stepped forward again, reaching a hand out to you, but you just shook your head again with a huff. “that mask.”
suddenly, his eyes pinched, and he reached up to trace the divets of the outer skull layer.
“what’s wrong with my mask?”
the genuine hurt in his voice had you smothering a smile. “nothing. just not for children. you can’t wear that at a church halloween event.”
he was silent for a long moment, eyes narrowed like he was weighing the pros and cons of what you had just said, before sighing out.
“fine,” he grumbled, unclasping the front of it and pulling off the baclava, leaving his hair slicked up in a strange, messy clump.
biting back a laugh at the sight, you made your way back down the hallway. Simon’s careful footsteps were just behind you as you stepped back into the meeting room.
the girls were loitering around for a bit, gathering up needed materials to set up the booths. Sarah and Maya chattered with the better half of them who were blissfully unaware of what had just gone down in the bathroom. Iris eyed you from her posse carefully, watching you move near Kate with a tenseness, but you just passed her, instead moving to the box of adult costumes. you rummaged around in it, struggling and failing to find any size that may potentially fit the massive man.
groping around at the very bottom, your hand closed around something small and prickly, and you pulled it from the box with a snort, eying it in your hand.
turning around, you shoved it against Simon’s chest, and he didn’t even flinch, just taking the thing from your hand slowly.
“no,” he said immediately.
“it’s the only thing we have,” you said, sighing out, gesturing to the box behind you. Kate looked up from her desk curiously now, eyes flitting between you and Simon, then seeing the thing in his hands and choking down a laugh.
he glared at her from his peripheral, his scowl deep when he tugged it over his head.
a smile tugged at your lips, and you pressed them together, failing to hold back a little giggle at the sight of the tinsel cat ear headband on his head.
“adorable,” you cackled, slapping two hands over your mouth, trying to muffle your laughter beneath your palms but you couldn’t cease the shake of your shoulders.
his scowl only deepened, shoving his hands into his pockets with a grumpy look.
Kate hummed approvingly by your side, failing to keep her voice even. “looks great, lieutenant.”
he shot both of you a glare before slinking away and taking a seat nearby, but not before he was flanked by some of the girls fussing over his costume. they insisted on painting a nose and whiskers on him in loud, sharp demands and he didn’t even try to hide their irritation with them. but nonetheless, he relented, and Sarah pulled out her liquid eyeliner.
you watched the whole scene with shaking trembles of silent laughter, crumpling into a seat near you, and he kept glaring at you from his peripheral. once your laughter subsided, you leaned back into your chair, the sight of the girls pester him, full of laughter, and the smallest smile stretching Simon’s face had your chest feeling full of gooey content. he lazily looked over to you, a small black nose and whiskers across his cheeks, dark eyes sparkling as his warm gaze ran over you.
cute, you mouthed, pointing at your own cheeks and he just scoffed, turning his gaze from you, but his smile only widened.
yeah this part's kinda crazy (and maybe borderline cringe?) but iris had it coming for her so idkkkk—
i am currently on that writing grind today. was feeling a bit out of it after college apps and end of quarter 1 in school 😭 plus feeling sickish from vaccinations oml 😭 BUT I AM BACK AND BETTER (?) THAN EVER
ok so this isn’t necessarily directed at anyone in particular, but some of you readers need to be more patient with Quim and when she updates 😭 all she throws out are masterpieces & THOSE TAKE TIME !!! be nicer and more patient!!!!
don’t let anyone rush you or make you feel bad! our entertainment is not more important than u/ur real life priorities. ANYWAY LOVE UR WRITING SM
THE WAY U EDITED THE PHOTO FOR MY USERNAME HELLO?????? you are so kind 😭
thank you so much darling :))) life situations have been giving me some writers block for a while now but your support helps give me motivation!! truly!!! thank you 😭💞
hellooo ♡ you dont have to feel bad if you dont update on the original date/time - sometimes life just gets in the way (or not! it's all up to you at the end of the day and ill still be grateful for it)
hope youre doing ok!! 💠✨️
thank you darling :,)
i promise that im working on body & soul!!! hopefully i will get it out this weekend... its been taking me a while to get the ending how i want it 😭
Everyday i wake up and check your page to see if you've posted a new chapter of body and soul or smashing pumpkins. Like i honestly have no idea what i'm gonna do when you finish both series???? I'm sure you'll keep blessing us with your beautiful writing on other series but still 😭😭😭😭
awwwwelsjsljsjg more parts on both series to come i promise!!! once they're both over... im not sure where ill go.
i have quite a few requests to do but im thinking of a period!au for simon...... like high society bridgerton pride and prejudice type thing 😭 (if u cant tell i love writing historical au's LMFAO)
im not quite sure but we'll see!! thank you for all the love and support!!!! ❤️
I rarely actively follow and wait for updates with fanfics but you genuinely have me checking Tumblr every few days or so for new chapters. Your fics have me in a chokehold, like you're cookin up something special here buddy😳👍 I think you capture the characters personalities very well. We get limited info and content on the characters but I think you have a very reasonable take on them. I've seen some absolutely stinky spins on them but yours all feel very human and authentic to the source material. Take your time with updates, you come first above all and rushing these things just ruins them. Excited to see what happens in future updates x🧙
thank you so much anon 😭 that means so much to me :,))
truly your support makes writing all the more enjoyable... 💞 and im so happy that you like my take on the characters! i like to try and stay realistic-ish according the context of the plot :)
I love the way you write Gaz in Body and Soul omg!!!! Do you think you’ll write for him in the future?
Anyway i love fics so much. Literally me when you upload
YES I WANT TO but i feel like i have a lot of hot takes on gaz…..
i see him almost like a mini younger simon and bc he’s younger, he’s like simon but feistier and a bit more naive from lack of experience. i don’t really seem him as a sweetheart or anything (i feel like a lot of the fandom seems him that way from what i’ve read in tumblr and i feel like there’s a very fine line between “he’s a sweetheart” and lowkey coddling him sometimes 😭)
but he would definitely treasure his very special one and only s/o. he’s giving ride or die boyfriend lowkey 🤭
oh and also bc he’s like younger simon i def see him looking up to simon. i hate that they have no interactions in the games like that’s an older brother younger brother duo waiting to happen. also i know technically soap looks up to ghost as well and they have a brother dynamic but to me it seems more like similar sibling age, almost twins/friends type thing. but gaz is like his baby brother that ghost wants to look out for
ok sorry didn’t mean to ramble but thank you for asking darling!! and ty for reading my silly little stories 💞
i’m sorry i didn’t make an official announcement or anything like that but i’ve been so swamped with work and i want to get the last chapter right so i’m not trying to rush it ya know?? 😫
i hate making you guys wait tho so i’m truly sorry about that :(
BUT I WILL NOT ABANDON THIS STORY!!! the last part will be posted at all costs i PROMISS!! (and hopefully soon too, sorry for being so vague ><)
Just wanted to say I adore your work, like all of it is amazing. But it also inspired me to start writing fan fiction myself which I’ve never done before so thank you hun. 💗💗
OMG NO WAYYYY IM SO HONORED TRULY. I WISH YOU UR BEST ON YOUR WRITING JOURNEY LOVE 💞💞 send me updates if you wish 🤭
this is crazy bc i was just a ff reader a couple months ago until i started writing …. i love that for you darling <3 best of luck!!! and happy writing!!! 💞
