WASHING MACHINE HEART

hey guys!! it’s adri, back at it again with msu3rd! i’ll try to be brief with her intro so we can get to plotting! under the cut, you’ll find some background info + connections for cora and if you would like to plot, just like this post and i’ll hit you up on dms on either tumblr or discord! let’s get to it!

lost and afraid

✘ CLOSED STARTER — @msucora​

Honestly, Kevin just came in here to get a good look at himself. He always knew that he’d look pretty bangin’ in spandex, but he didn’t know just how bangin’ until now. After taking a few selfies to post up on Zimzalabim once the chaos of Halloween had passed, the boy just wanted out. That, however, ended up being a lot more difficult than he’d initially believed. Was he stuck here forever? Should he just wait here and hope that his mom has some kind of telepathy going on and comes to save him? It’d be difficult without any magic of her own, but mom’s had a whole different power, so Kevin was certain she could manage something.

At the sound of footsteps, the boy’s head shot up immediately. Did it really work? And that fast? His mouth gaped open as he tried to peer around the corner, but his vision was still only filled with reflections of himself. In a desperate attempt, Kevin tried to call out to whomever was near.

“Mom? Is that you?”

with how many times she had to help students out of the mirror maze that night, cora considers herself an expert by now. after the second or third incident, the prefect pretty much figured out the ins and outs of the maze which made her job much easier. it was just a bit surprising how often the students have gotten lost. by the time her shift ends, cora was sure the numbers would have doubled at least.

speaking of which--

it has been at least twenty minutes since she had seen kevin walk into the maze. even with the maze’s complexity, she was sure the geumseong male would have walked out by now whether it was by actually figuring out the clues given out by sir hendrick or leaving out of discouragement after failing completely. however, neither of those things happened leaving cora with the responsibility of finding him instead.

so she enter the now familiar maze, her eyes peering into each reflection looking for any signs of the missing sophomore. it was then she saw the reflection of his back. she was getting close. it was when she finally turned the corner that she finally spots the real kevin; however, his words make her pause briefly, her lips pursing together in subdued amusement.

@msuelias​

“should a future doctor really be smoking?” the question was rhetoric, a common turn of phrase, a joke really whenever of their own would catch the man in question fumbling with yet another smoke. this time around, cora had caught the man nursing a cigarette near the forest behind the school, far away from any of the noise and excitement that came with the halloween event. in all honesty, she wasn’t that surprised to find elias here. he wasn’t too keen on social events, especially when they were overcrowded and filled with people he didn’t particularly care for. so seeing him alone sitting on the overgrown root of some oak tree was sort of an expected sight.

@msunicky

cora knew she shouldn’t have accepted that potion from professor jung. with the slight smirk from the older woman and the aggressive shove of the glass vial that was placed in the prefect’s hands, cora knew she should have trusted her gut instinct and threw the potion out the first chance she got. but with the young woman’s curiosity getting the better of her and the strong insistence from lia for her to live a little, she ended up taking the potion in one go. she regretted it soon afterwards.

soon enough, cora became hyperaware of everything around her and not in the way one would expect. rather than the eye contact she would usually give to others, her full concentration would now land on their lips -- the way they moved, pursed, puckered. details she would have never paid attention to before aside from-- no, no. stop there, cora. you are not going there.

she has to hide. after realizing exactly what this potion was, she knew she had to find somewhere safe. the best thing for her to do is wait out the effects of the potion until they wore off. it was simple. it should be simple. but where exactly could she hide with the most minimal human contact as possible? 

the carriages, of course. 

the plan was perfect. all she needed was to ride the carriage alone a few times and then she would be home free. simple, right? right. or, so she believed.

she figured the carriage had been empty; but of course, with her luck, she was dead wrong in that department as well. not only was she now trapped with another living soul in such a confined space (the heavy locking of the carriage door behind her definitely sentenced her to that demise), but now she was locked inside the carriage with her ex-boyfriend of all people. just great.

“i--” well, this was certainly awkward. clearing her throat, she took the empty seat beside him trying her best to remain civil and certainly trying her best to not look at him which, at this point, was easier said than done. less than a moment later, the carriage started it’s journey, not giving either of them a choice to choose otherwise.

“you can ignore me.” she finally decided to say after some silence, her hands fidgeting on her lap. her throat was becoming dry and her heart was pounding inside of her chest, but whether it was due to the potion or her own conflicted emotions, she couldn’t tell. this was definitely not the way she wanted her night to go, but seeing as there was nothing really she could do about it now, cora just had to bear with it for twenty minutes. she can do that at least, right? 

@msuseojun

msu halloween 2020: cora han as athena, goddess of wisdom and war strategy