#thrice branded

[imjustlo]

“So were you cursed by a witch?” a man asked.

“Had your voice stolen from you when you were an infant?” a woman added.

The person next to her leaned forward. “Or maybe it turned itself into a snake and slithered out of your mouth on it’s own.”

“Or it got frightened,” someone far down the table chimed in. “Moved far in and hasn’t dared venture forth.”

“A talented magic user might bring it back. Or return it to you.”

“A quest might be requested, though.”

“What might a priest ask in return for a voice?”

“A favor,” someone suggested.

“A heart,” said someone else to a chorus of appreciative oohs.

“A child, perhaps,” was another suggestion, and the chorus repeated in a higher octave.

“Guys,” Myungdae said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Andreas, who was born with a medical condition that severely limited the usage of his vocal cords, merely smirked into his cup.

[imjustlo]

alwaysatomicconniseur replied to your post: alwaysatomicconniseur replied to your post: ...

What kinda dance? Does he go for acrobatic style or partnered, slow, fast? traditional or experimental? C'mon man I need all the details!

“I take interest in couple dances,” Andreas signed. “They are always so chaste.”

“As is proper,” Myungdae said. “Or so the bishop lectures.”

“The old dances were not so,” Andreas signed. “The old ones touched all over.”

“Yes,” Myungdae said. “It is my understanding that many of their children were conceived during these rituals.” He shook his head. “Not something we should covet, is it?”

Andreas shrugged. “I take inspiration from it. I do what I can to strike a balance between the two styles.”

“So you’re a historian as well as a choreographer,” Myungdae said. “A jack of all trades, apparently. I fancy myself a scholar as well.”

“I am hardly a scholar,” Andreas signed with a dismissive grunt. “Besides for choreographic purposes, I do not have much interest in the ancient ways. I like intimacy. I am interested in how it came to be locked behind closed doors and how it can be brought out into the public eye again.”

“Intimacy,” Myungdae said.

“Was our dance not intimate?” Andreas asked.

---

A small excerpt. Andreas’s own words on the matter. Man likes sexy dances.

[imjustlo]

“You two are... involved?” the general asked.

“Involved in about seventeen separate cases of manslaughter,” Halsten said without looking up from the table.

“We’re also in a romantic relationship, yes,” Myungdae added with a smile, taking Andreas’s hand.

[imjustlo]

I’m feeling low and @thebibliosphere inspired me with an ask she legit just answered and had replied to by @gallusrostromegalus , so: the Absolute Worst Outfits Your OCs Would Wear Challenge.

Myungdae: He wears some pretty great stuff (though ridiculous by today’s standards; Thrice Branded is inspired by the 13th century, and while the fashion takes an “I’m the Author and Also this is World Building” turn since the Aerling Isles are populated by those stemming from various cultures, and also cuz I say so, some of those 13th century fashions are indeed ridiculous as shit), but he never really chooses his outfits. There is a Way to dress when you’re a young count of a distinguished (yet disgraced) nation. There is also a Way to dress when you’re a uniformed public servant. Myungdae never really took to the rules, however, not like his Seventh brother. If taken out of his timeline and given a modern classic, he’d likely gravitate toward the functional and comfortable. A hoodie and cargo pants, probably both of them black, so he could hide all the knives and also blend into the background whenever he needed to. Throw in a few studded belts and bracelets and... oh god. My MC is an emo kid. Don’t know what to do with that.

Andreas: Now, this is a man who knows how he looks and knows how to accentuate certain features to his benefit. He is acutely aware that how one dresses can influence how one is perceived. He also can’t fucking stand that nonsense. The entire Lunorian social system is built upon reputation preceding financial status, and a poor man with a good rep is more revered than a rich man with a bad one. Lunorian fashions are bare minimum of functional, and nudity is seen as a natural state of being. Andreas would spend his life naked if he could (which scandalizes his Shilgavian (and apparently emo) lover-boy many times over). So within modern standards, would that look more like dressing like a homeless man? Perhaps a hipster type of dress before it became mainstream? I’m more inclined to say even clothing that was intentionally ugly and flamboyant. Neon colors, booty shorts with the word HORNY on the butt. Crop tops. That was, if he was left to his own devices. Neither Myungdae nor Halsten would let him leave the house in booty shorts. The crop top, however, Myungdae would lose the vote on.

Halsten: Another character who would rather spend his days naked, but alas, that is not an outfit. Halsten’s culture--not his *culture* culture, his heritage or even where his culture was not a hundred years ago, but his day-to-day-I-grew-up-in-this-mess culture--doesn’t have fashions, per se. Not anymore. Not in Halsten’s lifetime. If it fits, it’s kept until it’s worn out its use. But Halsten knows what he likes and what he’d wear if things were different. He’d kill for a decent shopping mall. If this medieval fantasy realm had fashion magazines, he’d hoard them, pour over them with Bae. He’d wear it all: rainbow suspenders, bi pride flags, he/him pronoun buttons and T-shirts, sometimes even walk around in nothing but a binder and a pair of board shorts. It would be difficult to pinpoint a worst outfit because he’d slay in them all, honestly. On a sleepless night, he can be found running to walmart in nothing but one of Andreas’s shirts (that goes down past his butt), Myungdae’s boxers, and his own combat boots, maybe his fishnet stockings still tucked in from fun times hours before, picking up oreos and ice cream to wake up his boyfriends with their terrifyingly loud blender.

... And now I want to write fluffy modern AU fic.

I’d go into other characters but it’s late and that takes effort :P It would only be a few sentences for each, anyway.

[imjustlo]

A Star Going Red Giant

This isn’t the first time Andreas has felt someone else’s bones breaking under his fists, but the sensation will never be normal. Nor should it be, he supposes. It’s important to not normalize extreme behavior.

The thought doesn’t stay his hand, however, not until there is no longer a struggle. Then he pauses, examines what he’s done. Blood pooling across the tiles, a corpse rapidly chilling to the touch. He sighs, blinking away the rage.

He needs a shower.

~

“Look,” Jim said, cigarette hanging from his mouth, “it’s not like I make the rules.”

Andreas cocked his head, stilling in his polishing of the bowling sneakers behind the counter.

“What?” Jim asked. “You think I can do anything about it? You want to say something. Put the rag down. Let it out.”

“He’s a child,” Andreas signed.

“Well—” Jim grimaced. “Well, yeah. But the rules say to tell the parents.”

Andreas stepped away from the counter.

Jim fell silent as he watched him grab the baseball bat leaning against the wall. Calm, ever so calm.

“You’re not hazing on me, are you, Andreas?” Jim asked only half-jokingly.

Andreas shook his head. He crossed over to the door and flipped the sign to closed.

“Listen,” Jim said, voice rising in octave. “I don’t have anything against them!”

“His parents are known abusers, Jim,” Andreas signed as he loosened his tie. “They’re also known transphobes.”

“But I’m not,” Jim replied. He took a step backward.

Andreas didn’t argue that point, but he’d overheard the phone conversation. He knew what Jim said.

“I looked up to you,” Andreas signed, moving ever closer. “I really did. You gave me a job when no one else would take me. You let me make a fresh start as I worked through my therapy. I’m grateful for that.”

“Good!” Jim said. “I’m glad! So you can forgive an old man a few mistakes?”

Andreas sighed. “Afraid not, Jim.”

Jim tried to bolt; Andreas was faster.

Jim squealed as the first blow took him to the floor, scrambled to see Andreas standing over him. He whimpered.

“I’m grateful,” Andreas repeated, “but I think the relationship has run its course. Consider this my resignation.”

Jim screamed as the bat came down again.

~

Now, in the aftermath of it all, Andreas is struggling to feel shame. He wonders how he’ll board the train bloodstained as he is, thinks of how he could dispose of the body with as little evidence left behind as possible, even considers calling Halsten to apologize for ruining his favorite tie, but shame is eerily absent in this quiet, red-splattered place.

In the next four hours, he ignores the increasingly worried calls from his boyfriends and cleans the entire store, disposing the body as best he can to give them a few days to get out of town. It’s methodical, it’s deliberate, it’s safe.

The shame sets in when he sees himself in the alley’s restroom mirror, when he looks at his phone to see 16 missed calls, when he presses redial. When it rings one and a half times before being picked up by a flustered Myungdae. When Halsten’s loud cursing can be heard in the background.

Andreas releases a low whistle into the receiver.

Myungdae stops his babbling to cluck his tongue. “So you’re okay,” he says. “Text us the details.” He hangs up.

Andreas opens the alley doors only when Myungdae and Halsten arrive with the car.

“What happened?” Myungdae asks as Halsten speaks over him, “What did you do?”

Andreas shows them.

Myungdae pales. Halsten sighs. Andreas watches them both.

Then very, very quietly, fists balled at his sides, Myungdae asks the both of them, “Where are we running?”

And Andreas knows he’ll never feel more loved.

[imjustlo]

Twice Branded

So since I'm writing a book now with original characters and an original world and all that, I figured I should introduce the OT3 a bit. So here goes:

First off is Shim Myungdae (or Myungdae Shim, if you prefer), our main character and the youngest son of the Count of Shilgavia. Myungdae is someone who knows what to say when prompted with the right questions, but when taken off guard, his genuine thirst for knowledge and understanding shines through. While not a warrior by any means, he is quick-witted and empathetic, two traits that have earned him the moniker of diplomat by those who know him and quite a few that don't.

He's the type to memorize all the Hamilton lyrics and belt them out at the top of his lungs when he thinks he's home alone.

Next is Andreas Demon Floros (pronounced DEH-mon, thank you very much, though Myungdae will correct you before Andreas will), Myungdae's first love interest and heir to the Lunorian throne. Being mute, Andreas communicates via Signing, an archaic form of sign language Andreas himself is ever expanding. His silence makes him aloof and interesting to those who don't understand him; to those who do, he is a jack of all trades and a master of one: war.

Andreas is the type to write Hamilton, though not star in it. He would humor Myungdae's obsession by dancing along with him to the music, though.

Finally, we have Halsten (just Halsten), Myungdae's and Andreas's second love interest and instrument of the gods. It's difficult to write much about him without spoiling half the story, but he has a mouth on him that could dethrone a king and an intellect that's on par with Andreas's. (He's also a trans man, if that's something you'd like to know off the bat.)

He's the type of person a play like Hamilton would be written about.

And there they are. Please ask me any questions you'd like if you're curious! I'm always willing to rant about my children!

[imjustlo]

I try to keep most things about Halsten quiet cuz I don’t want to spoil half the saga but this:

“Whatever assumptions you have about me,” Halsten said, “it would do you well to forget them.”

is the most iconic line I’ve ever written

[imjustlo]

Okay, Andreas, I know you love your murder husband but I’m gonna need you to chill.