tfln + overflow/open post

[excubia]

(mostly doing this because i don't wanna deal with captcha.
also open to text//pic//quotes//action prompts!)

1. I know how to kill a man with nutmeg and a sword. You in or not?

2. Look, he's a hot korean guy with a motorcycle and a great ass. I'm gonna do head-tiltingly kinky shit with him.

3. Don't judge me like that. At least the house is getting cleaned. If I have to drink and listen to Disney music on repeat for that to happen, so be it.

4. Come over. We have half a bottle of jumbo champagne left and no boyfriends to slow us down

5. and if anyone tells you differently, just say that cussing is an indicator that you're in touch with your emotions, thank you very fucking much

6. text her!

Comments

[getbit]

maybe you just need to wait for the right opportunities, idk.
there's no need to rush anything, especially not this important

and yeah that's super important too :C

i wish i had more helpful advice...but as we both know i'm not really great at relationship stuff so i'm not sure what else i could do to help
besides listen
i'm still super good at listening!!!!

[excubia]

oh
oh no
I might have my answer already

[ She sends a screencap of the first two texts from this exchange. ]

[getbit]

😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

OMG HE MUST REALLY LIKE YOU A LOT

[Sunhi...]

[excubia]

I
I don't know
oh god
I'm trying not to freak out

[getbit]

don't freak out!!!
find out if he's being serious
investigate!!!!!!!!!!!!

[excubia]

I'll try?????

[getbit]

you can do this!
i have faith in you madsen!
you can figure out what's going on and maybe figure out how you feel in the process????

[excubia]

hopefully?
oh god
I'm
I'm honestly terrified on how this is gonna end

[getbit]

it's okay i am here with you the entire way!!!

[excubia]

thanks
though I think I'm going to have to break into the good stuff if this doesn't go well
ex-soldier and entrusted with the will of a goddamn phoenix
and yet I can't decide who I like between two guys I know and care about

[getbit]

do you want company?
i can come over and drink with you
i'll just grab a cab and be right there
or you can come here?
you're always welcome

[excubia]

pls come over here
I don't trust myself to not go and do something stupid after this

[getbit]

okay okay i'm on my way
i'll be there soon just don't do anything stupid until i get there!

i mean
don't do anything stupid!!!!

[excubia]

right
I'll
try

[ meanwhile:

INTERNAL SCREAMING INTENSIFIES ]

[getbit]

[Sunhi shows up 15 minutes later, knocking firmly on the door so that Madsen won't miss that she's there and ready to be supportive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

[excubia]

[ ... well, at least she's not trashed, but Madsen looks pretty goddamn shaken, and for someone who tries to stay calm and collected for the most part, that's pretty jarring, especially in comparison to how she was at Jeju. ]

... Hey.

[getbit]

[Sunhi's eyes open wide at once and she rushes in.]

What's wrong? What happened??

[excubia]

[ Madsen sighs, wordlessly handing her phone over to Sunhi to show the rest of the conversation she had with Sejun.

At the same time, she gestures for her to come in and sit down at her couch. There's already a bottle of wine cracked open and a glass sitting out as she sits back down with a hand at her face, letting out a long sigh. ]

[getbit]

[Sunhi takes the phone when offered and starts reading.]

Oh...

[She reads more.]

Ooh...

[And more.]

Oh noo...

[She looks up to Madsen, then reads even more.]

Oh Madsen. Oh wow. That...That is so much and wow. Oh my god. [Time to join her for some of that wine because this is definitely not a thing to deal with sober. And Sunhi would never make a friend drink alone.]

[excubia]

I fucked it all up.

[ Madsen's voice cracks now that Sunhi's inside and in her living room, as if waiting for her to finally let her facade break down, and she looks visibly horrified as she slowly drops her hand down from her face to drop into her lap. ]

I just had to be honest with him and now ...

What am I gonna do, Sunhi. I can't lie to Tae about this, it's going to come out one way or another. And then what.

[getbit]

[Sunhi has never seen Madsen look like this before, and it shakes her. Madsen's always been a rock, to Sunhi. Strong and firm. Unshakeable. At once, she rushes to Madsen's side and slips an arm across her back, trying to give her some comfort.]

Look, it's okay. It's going to be okay. You did what you felt was right and it makes it harder and scarier but it doesn't necessarily mean it was wrong. And...no, you can't lie to Tae about this. But you can try to talk to Sejun more first, try to figure things out before you go to Tae about this. It will be better to know how you feel one way or the other, how Sejun feels and all of that before you open up about all of this. [Sunhi gives her a small, wry smile.] Garbled, emotional word-vomit doesn't really go over well with people compared to something a little more...reasoned. Tae will have questions, and it'll be better if you have answers for him, right?

[excubia]

[ She's good about keeping up that front, always has been so she could make sure her comrades and friends were okay. It's when it comes to her own life and her own problems that she falters. So worried about taking care of others and protecting them that she doesn't do the same for herself.

She ends up leaning into Sunhi's arm around her back, trying to take deep breaths and keep herself from breaking down even further. It's not going well. ]

... yeah. And if I make it clear, it may not be as bad but at the same time, this ... [ She makes a wild gesture at herself and in front of her where her phone is sitting now ] whole thing with Sejun, never mind with the kids... god, what the hell kind of mother am I. I don't even know where Sejun is right now to try and smooth things over.

I can't string him along, and I'm not going to hurt Tae by suddenly up and leaving him for his assistant. I can't. I refuse to put him through that and just reinforce his dumb thought process about how he should've always been alone. He's finally making progress in understanding that there are people willing to be here for him.

[getbit]

[Sunhi takes Madsen's leaning as an invitation to try and comfort her more, and though she's not sure how her friend will respond, Sunhi does reach up a hand to smooth over her hair, trying to soothe her as best she knows how.

It's always worked when her mother has done it for her.]

It's good, and that's important, and it's wonderful that he's making that progress and that you're helping him get there... [She doesn't tell Madsen that she's responsible for always making Tae feel that way, however.] But...you really have to try hard not to panic. Panicking won't help anything, trust me, I know.

Don't worry about the what-ifs yet, worry about the what-cans. Like, what can you do? Maybe start with Sejun and try to reach out to him again, just to ask him not to do or say anything impulsive because you're still trying to figure things out?

[excubia]

I'm trying, this is just all ...

[ She rubs her face again, taking a deep breath. She knows panicking is just going to make it worse, cause knee-jerk reactions that will just make things worse in the long run, but there are moments when it's tempting. But she has more discipline than that, and instead reaches for her wine glass to take a large gulp of it. ]

... a huge fucking mess. I mean, I'm fairly sure that Sejun was drunk as hell in that initial text. So maybe we can talk about it later once we've both sobered up.

[ Because she sure as shit isn't going to be dealing with this sober at the moment, for better and for worse. ]

[getbit]

[Okay. Okay. Sunhi's got this. She can be calm and collected and helpful!!! She can be there for Madsen.]

Okay. Then. If you can't talk to him tonight then I want you to give me your phone for safe keeping. Then you won't be tempted to text him more or Tae, and if someone gets in touch then you have me as an excuse for why you can't reply!

[This is a great idea.]

And then you can just...keep [drinking wine] trying to relax and calm down and I'll have a drink too and I'll listen all night, I promise! And tomorrow we can tackle this together if you want.