polyphonics | REALISTIC COLLEGE AU MEME, 2K17

REALISTIC COLLEGE AU MEME, 2K17

I. living conditions

01. my roommate’s boyfriend is staying over so can I please sleep on your floor
02. all our friends are drunk
03. we live in halls opposite one another and i keep seeing you change in the window please close your blinds
04. you’re the RA and you’re trying to bust me for having hermit crabs
05. you’re baking cookies in the communal kitchen at 3am and I’m angry but also really hungry
06. clearly we’re both really uncomfortable at this party
07. you peed on my car. you were drunk. I was in the car. there will be hell to pay.
08. my friend dragged me to this party and I just saw my ex quick make out with me
09. sorry my roommate puked on your shoes
10. my roommate borrowed your contraband hotpot and managed to set it on fire

II. chance meeting

01. it’s pouring and my final paper is in my backpack so I guess we’re stuck under this tiny awning together. do you think they’d deliver pizza here
02. waiting outside for pizza to be delivered but both of ours is super late
03. I know I keep coming to this [cookie/coffee/etc.] shop and for some reason it’s always your shift but don’t you dare judge me I need this for my sanity
04. I found your USB drive still in the computer (and potentially regret finding out what's on it)
05. you decked me in the head while you were playing frisbee golf
06. your school mailbox is right next to mine
07. what do you mean we’re under a tornado warning?

III. campus community

01. I’m really passionate about this cause and I will give you this flier if I have to shove it down your throat
02. it’s 3 am and I’m still in the library studying for finals and I’m losing my grip on reality and I think I just saw a ghost
03. we’re the only two people in this club. what is this club even for
04. humans vs zombies, all bets are off, friendships mean nothing
05. I thought I was the only one who liked the waffle station in the cafeteria
06. we’re studying in the library and there are two people very obviously fucking in the stacks and we keep sharing embarrassed glances
07. what are you doing at this table at the career fair
08. I saw you sneaking captain crunch and cutlery out of the dining hall
09. my computer crashed and you’re the student worker at the IT center
10. we’re both on athletic teams that aren’t as cool as the football team and they give us shit
11. you’re part of the guerrilla theater club on campus and crashed my class for a performance

IV. credit hour woes

01. hey I have to [photograph/draw blood/film/insert major here] someone for class, will you be my guinea pig
02. we’re the only people who ever talk in discussions it’s awful
03. group project
04. both of us turned up to the wrong room for this lecture and neither of us know where it's supposed to be
05. we’re both donating blood in the blood donation van in the quad to get out of the same class
06. wait, I actually have a competent lab partner?
07. waiting for office hours
08. we started racing up the three flights of stairs to class for some reason and we can’t stop
09. vicious battle over the only left handed desk in the room

V. limited resources

01. you keep using my preferred shower stall in the floor bathrooms when I’m trying to get ready for class
02. you keep parking in the space outside my student house you absolute asshole
03. you're the only person in the room when i break the printer and i'm panicking (so don't be a dick about it please)
04. neither of us bought the expensive textbook but there is only one copy in the library and it can’t leave the building
05. this awesome professor only has one TA slot and we’re rivals
06. you keep reserving the good study room in the corner of the library with the windows
07. I’ve been sitting in this seat all semester why did you decide to sit in it today
08. you’re REALLY GOOD at using the right search terms for the academic databases and I’m on a deadline
09. we’re always at the fitness center at the same time and end up competing on the treadmill
10. can I borrow a dryer sheet? I ran out and the ones in the vending machine give me a rash

MUSELIST

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Ah, there's the knife! He's just going to...stare at the fire. Or stare at her over the fire, so he doesn't have to see her hands making quick work of Mr. Fluffybuns and his family (may they rest in peace).

As he speaks, he continues to add wood to the fire, so it continues to build. Not a moment too soon, either - it's starting to get a bit chilly. ]

Well - sure. But, uh, my buddies do more of the actual hunting than I do. I'm just there to occasionally shoot things and look pretty.

[ Two more of his talents, on top of air hockey. ]

[ look away prompto, this is a messy process.. but alisaie works quickly. the sun is waning and she can feel the first nibbles of hunger gnawing at her belly; the faster the fluffybuns family is dressed and butchered, the better. alisaie's smile twists. ]

I see.

[ casually degloving these rabbits of their skin, one by one.. lopping off the heads and feets.. now at least you don't have to look at their dead eyes anymore?? ]

Still, that means you have the raw talent. I am good with traps and passable with a bow, but I've never learned how to shoot a gun.

[ wanna teach her... ]

[ That's something?! He keeps his focus on the fire, anyway, as it slowly grows big enough for a log to be added. Look at that! He managed something outdoorsy. He's on a roll. ]

Really? I could show you. [ And then it's his turn to flush. ] I mean, i-if you wanted me to.

[ no prompto don't blush, it's like a plague it's contagious ugh look she's caught it already, her ears are going pink. she'll look pointedly away and busy herself with the chopping, hacking off limbs to set them on the rack. at this point it looks pretty much like grocery store chicken so he can probably stomach it. well. except for the fact that she's scooping out the guts next.. gross. for a moment she contemplates keeping the edible organs, but you know, that's probably too advanced for him right now, so all of the slop goes into the pot instead. ]

That's - I'd like that, yes.

[ she's got great aim, almost like she has elf eyes or something. ]

[ Yes, hard pass on the edible organs. He might have no problem eating meat but he'd draw the line on bunny hearts, thanks.

Now that the fire is built, Prompto settles back onto a log (because of course there's a log) to sit on. ]

Really? You - would?

[ He shouldn't be all that surprised, considering she'd agreed to go camping with him, but still. It sounds ideal to him. She's pretty small, it'd be easy to put his arms around her and show her how to hold - umm, never mind!! ]

Ah - do you need any help with...that?

[ He's still blushing. ]

[ bunny hearts are so good for you, prompto!! ]

No, I've got it.

[ he can't even watch her skin the bunbuns, she's not about to ask him to handle guts. his wee soft sensibilities aren't ready for it. besides, he might pass out, or throw up, or both, and that would be super embarrassing and also inconvenient. let's avoid that.. ]

There are carrots and onions in the cooler, if you'd like to cut them up.

[ a job she's pretty sure he can handle.. for now, alisaie tosses the heads and footies and odds and ends all into the pot, then stands and lifts it with her, stepping away from the fire and back toward the path she'd come from. ]

I won't be long.

[ she's definitely not gonna think about his arms around her teaching her to shoot a gun while she's going.. shutup don't look at her. ]

O-o-okay! You got it. Um - and be careful!

[ It's getting kind of dark! Don't get lost, please...search and rescue is not how he wants this date to go!!

But while she's gone and he starts cutting up the carrots and onions, he starts thinking about how he does want this date to go. He'd spent so much time anxiously waiting for the day to arrive that he hadn't spent much time thinking about what would happen once they actually got here. But here they are, camp set up and preparing dinner, and...

Well? They'll eat dinner, presumably, and talk, get to know each other better, maybe roast some marshmallows and look at the stars. Maybe they can sit next to each other by the fire, and maybe even...hold hands...

The thought alone has his heart hammering in his chest, and nearly has the knife he's using to cut the veggies slicing through his thumb. NO, NO MORE INJURIES AROUND HER, he's had enough of that. ]

[ don't cut your finger off while she's gone prompto??

she's also not gone particularly long. just long enough to dump the gross stuff far enough away from camp, then rinse both her hands and the pot in the fresh nearby stream. after that, she fills it up with water and oof it's heavy - she's ambling by the time she returns, some water sloshing onto her shoes, and with a puff of effort she sets it down. ]

All finished?

[ she's getting to work quickly anyway, first rinsing the prepared meat with water because they don't want any bunny hairs or grass in their dinner, then all of it goes into a skillet with some salt, pepper and oil. the rack goes over the fire, the skillet onto the rack, and the pot of water beside it. cooking is hard work.. ]

[ He didn't!!! Give him some credit. He's not that accident prone...

...Most of the time.

When she returns, he's wiping at the corner of his eyes - it's the onions, okay! - but he has a tray of nicely cut veggies in front of him, so he grins up at her through the tears. ]

You bet! Just look at these finely diced bits here. Did I deliver, or did I deliver?

[ Look, he's proud of himself. And also throwing the vegetables into the skillet. THERE ARE SO MANY MOVING PARTS TO THIS...good thing she only made him responsible for one small thing. ]

How'd you learn all this, anyway?

[ an hour into their date and he's already crying, things are going so well.

though.. is it a date?? she doesn't know. it.. it isn't, right? it's not as if she'd suggested that it be, they're.. two new friends enjoying a weekend together.

god, she hopes it's a date. ]

Ah, mostly practice..

[ she looks a little abashed, but proud nonetheless, carefully tossing the meat and vegetables in the skillet until they begin to sizzle nicely. ]

If you want the honest answer.. well, I have a twin brother, and he is terribly, maddeningly good at nearly everything he does. He's never been particularly outdoorsy though, so I seized the chance to excel at something he failed at very young, if only for the express purpose of rubbing his face in it.

[ she's a nice sister.. ]

[ He chuckles, watching her as she works, fingertips bouncing together in his lap like he's not sure what to do with them now. It's so easy to lose himself in watching her that he doesn't respond for a moment, but then he realizes she probably thinks he's being a creep and straightens up again, staring off at some...point in the distance. ]

O-oh, yeah? Sibling rivalry? [ He STARES INTO THE FIRE. This is probably a tactic Gladio recommended, tbh. ]

I didn't know you had a twin. What's that like?

[ .. stare into the fire and ignore the girl?? ice her out, is that it? don't try to play hard to get prompto it won't work for you bud. ]

It's.. well, I don't have any other siblings, so it's the only thing I've ever known, but -

[ she smiles wryly and shakes her head, sighing heavily. ]

I love him dearly, but the comparisons get very tiring. Since we were very young we were always expected to.. compete, I suppose. To challenge one another.

[ and in nearly everything alphinaud is a hair ahead of her, easily dismissed by anyone else of course, but a perpetual thorn in alisaie's side. it doesn't help that he can be a bit of a smug little shit sometimes. ]

And he's incredibly smart and talented, so sometimes it feels exhausting to try to keep up with him.

[ His staring into the fire tactic isn't going to last long anyway, because as she talks more about her brother and their competitive nature he looks up again, head tilted, listening intently. It's a world he's never known, being an only child. It's hard to imagine that kind of relationship, but it's not just that that has him puzzled. ]

What do you mean? [ His brow is furrowed, and he leans forward, elbows on his knees. ] You're the one who's so incredibly smart and talented, and funny, and cool, and pret... [ He catches himself too late, but he can't not finish now. ] ...ty.

[ NEVER MIND, TIME TO STARE AT THE FIRE AGAIN. Maybe that will hide how red his face has gone. Maybe. ]

A-anyway, I'm just saying - I bet he feels like he has a hard time keeping up with you!

[ He says this all very much in a rush. ]

[ oh.

well, he's not the only one who looks away. alisaie's face flushes straight to her hairline, her ears burning hot but she's.. smiling, smiling in that goofy, unstoppable way you do when you're very happy and can't push it down. that he thinks so highly of her is flattering, and she doesn't quite know how to take it. alisaie doesn't receive compliments often, her parents are quite stiff, always expecting excellence, and it's not as if she has any real friends.

and that's fine, really, she doesn't require validation from others to stay her path, but it's still left her entirely unequipped to accept it gracefully. ]

T-thank you.

[ she stutters out, eventually, her face still very much on fire. but the meat and vegetables have caramelized nicely by now, so she upends the contents of the skillet into the pot of simmering water, and pops the lid on top. ]

You're.. very sweet.

[ Oh no, now she's blushing, too, why did he have to be so mushy - but she's smiling, too, in a way that isn't at his expense. Was she...actually flattered, then? That he thought those things about her?

It seems impossible. She's so out of his league, he still couldn't believe she'd given him her phone number in the first place. He'd still thought it was maybe only because she'd felt sorry about the whole air hockey incident, but now...

She's still blushing!! ]

H-hey, I'm just calling it like it is! [ He laughs nervously, but it's genuine, too. ] I've never met anyone like you before. So I just, uh...wanted you to know.

[ And then, he lifts a finger to the corner of his eye, where there's still a light scab from where the air hockey puck had hit him. ]

Air hockey tactics aside.

[ what a thing to say. never met anyone like her before? surely that must be nonsense. there's nothing special about her, are hundreds of thousands of studious, nerdy girls in the world to choose from.

but.. whether or not it's true, that he thinks it makes her heart flutter pleasantly.

but then he's bringing up the scab on his face and alisaie groans, wrapping her arms around her knees and burying her face against them. don't look at her.. ]

God.. I am sorry about that. I suppose I got a little too, um, aggressive.

[ not for the.. first time.... sweats ]

[ He laughs again - okay, at her reaction this time, but really, her embarrassment about it is pretty cute, coming from someone he's come to learn can be pretty hot-headed. He doesn't mean to make her upset or anything, but he can't help to tease her about it. It was funny, okay! ]

Don't be! It's a good story. And it's healin' up nice! In a few more days, my face'll be good as new.

[ He looks at her a moment longer, at the way she's buried her face against her knees, and he smiles warmly. ]

Besides...if you hadn't, we probably wouldn't be here.

[ He's just saying! ]

[ he says funny, she says mortifying?? teen magazines do not suggest winning a boy's heart by cracking him in the face with an air hockey puck. but then, prompto is no normal boy. she will still be embarrassed about it for the rest of her life though okay.

his assurance has her lifting her head enough to peer at him over her arms, her eyes narrowed, but soon she's chuckling. ]

I.. suppose that's true.

[ and since there's nothing left to do but wait for the stew to, well, stew, alisaie scoots back a little to rest against the log. ]

But you never know. I may have worked up the nerve to give you my phone number, eventually.

[ He's probably just going to have to get used to perpetually blushing for as long as this thread of conversation continues, but he just can't help it. He'd been so impossibly flattered when she'd set that number against his skin. He'd had plenty of crushes before, plenty of failed attempts at flirting, but with her...he hadn't even really been trying. Or rather...it had just felt more natural. Either way, he hadn't expected it at all. ]

Maybe so. But all things considered, I'm pretty okay with losing a little blood if it means I-I get to spend time with you.

[ Oh my god, he's going to die. How is he even saying this without going catatonic? It is truly a mystery. ]

[ that is the biggest mystery of all.

but she's glad of it, even if it's making her face burn hotter, and brings her heart to pounding in her ears. she feels like a foolish, lovesick schoolgirl but god it feels.. nice. for once. to be acting her age.

alisaie looks down almost demurely, tugging at her fingers for a lack of something better to do with them; now that there's nothing left to do but wait on the food she has little enough outlet for her fluttering, nervous energy. ]

Well, I.. certainly hope you won't need to shed blood next time you want to see me. I'm not quite that demanding.

[ He feels a little funny talking to the top of her head like this, so he slides down off the log to sit next to her so they're a little more at eye-level (but even in AU land can she escape being shorter than him??). There's an openness to those words that has heart fluttering in his chest. Next time? He's been so preoccupied thinking about this time, that he hasn't considered whether or not there would be a next time yet.

Did that mean...she wanted there to be? That can't be right. God, this is all so confusing.

- He still hasn't quite gone catatonic, but he is staring at her fidgeting fingers, at her hands that look so warm, his tongue feeling like lead in his mouth as he tries to work out what to say to that. ]

I'll keep that in mind. For...for next time.

[ He can't keep the sound of his grin out of his voice when he says that. ]

Edited 2017-11-03 02:55 (UTC)

[ oh no, he's coming to sit next to her, and part of her wants him to go away because she can't stand the way it makes her stomach clench up in excitement, but the other part is stupidly glad for it. that part is the stronger part.

her eyes flicker up to his again and she bites her lip. god, he's so cute, this close she can see all of his freckles, his eyelashes, the soft blue of his eyes. this is the first real time they've spent together without an air hockey table between them, with no distractions, nothing to keep them occupied but one another. it's positively nervewracking. ]

Y-yes.

[ smooth. clearing her throat, alisaie sucks in a quick inhale, determined to stop behaving like an idiot, but she's likely going to fail at that, too. ]

You may choose the venue, next time.

[ Her answer will see a smile slowly claiming his face, impossible to keep toned down even if he should maybe be playing it safe. In that moment, he doesn't care. He's so happy to hear her say that that it can't be helped. She wants to see him again... ]

Great! That's...really great... [ He trails off with a laugh, before he realizes he might've been staring into her eyes for look long and then his gaze drops to her hands again. Oh god. Okay. He's gonna do it. He's gonna...

...He's gonna do the slow hand slide. It seems far too bold to just take her hand outright. Far too bold indeed! And they're both already blushing like complete dorks. He doesn't want to make that any worse, even if he's fairly sure, after what she'd just said, that she'd be okay with...

Holding his hand. Oh be still, his heart.

But his hand stops on the ground between them, twitching nervously, and he shoots a cursory glance at her. ]

U-um - maybe...we could go...on a good, old-fashioned dinner-and-a-movie date?

[ This is date, right??? ]

[ you go prompto, so bold, so suave, putting your hand on the ground next to hers. what a man.

she may or may not be staring a little too much into his eyes as well, so if he's being weird about it, she's being weird right back. but she can't help it, okay, she could spend all day counting his freckles, and he has such kind eyes..

god, she's appalled by herself. who even is this girl?? thankfully her eyes follow his when they drop, breaking the moment a little, at least until he's using the word date and her heart skips in her breast. that's.. that's good. foolishly shy as alisaie may be about all of this, she prefers things upfront, and knowing that this is a date - well, it.. it clears a few things up, gives her some relief, even if it has her heart thrumming like a hummingbird.

in a burst of courage, she swallows thickly, then.. slips her fingers over his. in the grand scheme of things it's such a tiny gesture, and alisaie's embarrassed that she's so shy about it at all, but it still feels like a leap, and has her stomach clenching up. ]

I'd.. y-yes, I'd like that very much.

[ they can play pinball and eat french fry ]

[ Look, he wanted to make sure they were on the same page here first!!!

But evidently they must be, because he's getting lost in the sound of her voice again, in the sweet words she's saying that play like music to his ears, in the sudden, warm sweep of her fingers over his. He gasps outright at the feeling of it. Yes, it may be a simple gesture, but it's so much more than that. It's...delightful, in every way, her fingers so soft that it makes his tingle. It's so nice in so many ways and has yet another laugh bubbling out of him, irresistible. ]

I-I'm, um - glad we s-see eye to eye on this!

[ And then he looks into her eyes again, his hand turning beneath hers and threading their fingers together. It's so good, and perhaps it's just the warm feeling in his chest talking, but so perfect, too, how easily their fingers slip between each other's. Like it's a perfect fit.

But he gets the sense of that by touch alone, because his eyes still haven't left hers. He swallows against a dizzying, honey-sweet feeling in his throat, eyes traveling the short distance to her lips.

For a...pretty long moment, he lets his gaze linger there, at the curl of her lips, the shape of them, contemplating how soft they must be while his stomach bunches up in knots. He doesn't catch how his eyes have lidded, how the fire crackling is the only sound he can hear, until a few heartbeats more, and his gaze snaps back up to her eyes again. ]

U-um - we should -

[ IS DINNER READY YET, he needs a distraction, or something, before he does something crazy. Like kiss her. Which would be crazy. Totally crazy. You don't kiss on the first date!!!

(This was Iggy's advice, probably.) ]

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