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myonepiece · 3 years

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Hello 😳 so I saw your post about Kyoshiro and Bartolomeo with a clingy short fem!S/O who's also a scary cat, and let me tell you, that post AWAKENED something inside of me 🤤💞 so I would like to request a King, Sanji, and Mihawk with clingy short fem!S/O who's also a scary cat if your request are still opened that is 😚👉👈 thank you in advance, and you can ignore this request if you want. I hope you have a good day or night luv 😚💗

King, Sanji with a clingy short fem!S/O who’s a scaredy cat

King x Reader, Sanji x Reader

Description: King & Sanji (seperate) with a short fem!S/O who is clingy and gets scared easily + oneshot/drabble with her getting scared and hiding behind character

Warnings: very mild implied sexual harrassment (in King’s oneshot), mild cursing

A/N: I’m so glad you liked it, it was so fun to write! 💐 (I love how you used so many emojis in your request) and I hope it’s okay I only did sanji and king, it’s just that this situation ends up fairly long 💕

*for King let’s say you’re around his height, the top of your head is a little above his waist

King is definitely not the most affectionate person, he’s not a fan of PDA other than having you sit on his lap. if you get too physically affectionate (which is very) then King will warn you in a stern voice to stop, and if you don’t then he’ll move you away or simply place you on the ground and push you away

in private he’s more okay with you being clingy, still not the fondest though

he has nothing against your height, he (secretly) finds it adorable and he likes to watch you walk around the Beast Pirates crew because he finds it amusing to see the height differences between you and everyone else, your height is another reason he prefers having you stay on his lap often or at least have you right next to him- he’s worried someone (Kaido) will step on you

he also likes the way your hand looks on him, whether it’s resting on his arm, his chest, or his own hand, he always stares at the interaction and admires how precious and sweet you look

he sometimes finds your cowardness irritating, but even as he scolds you or strictly teases you for being scared so easily, he’s happy that you come to him to feel safe- honestly he never thought someone would feel safe with him nor did he want someone to until he met you

and after he scolds you he always pushes you away or behind him so he can handle whoever messed with his angel (usually it’s Queen, he likes messing with King and one of the most effective ways to do that is to mess with you) he also uses his wings as somewhat of a shield for you, providing cover usually

+ oneshot

You tentatively walked through the dimly lit hall in the Beast Pirates base, the cold stone chilling the air around you and creating a slight echo of the patter of your shoes.

keeping your eyes trained on the ground while a few lesser crew members passed you, you followed the little cracks in the stone, branching out and creating intricate patterns- your eyes fell upon a pair of shoes and you froze midstep, looking up and perceiving Queen staring down at you, an unsettling smirk contorting his face

you smiled slightly up at him, trying to step around him and continue only to be stopped by his hand reaching out and tilting your head to look at him, the touch seding shivers down your spine, the bad kind of shivers

it wasn’t unusual for Queen to mess with you, enjoying your disturbed and fearful reactions as the sadistic man he is, and the reaction he gets from King is pure gold to him- he enjoys making King get protective so he can tease him for being so smitten

“______, how bout you come with me! some of the crew are going to sumo wrestle! come see their heads pop off!”

Queen laughed at your unsettled expression before leaning down a bit and blowing smoke out into your face,

“or maybe I should snap the collar on you an’ throw you into the ring”

you gasped, causing Queen to chortle in amusement- you took the moment of his distraction to move away from his touch and scurry off down the hall, hearing Queen call after you in a mocking tone and follow in pursuit

you hurried through the halls and spotted King at the end in the large room at the end, he stood at the table conversing with Jack, though clearly uninterested with the subject

you picked up your pace and your heels clicked against the ground alerting King, who knew you are the only one who wears shoes that make that sound. he turned to the entrance happy to have something to do other than play with Jack, but he didn’t like the worried expression on your face- nor Queen rounding the corner after you having all too familar mischievous expression on his lips.

scurrying into the room, you ran over to King and hid behind his large wings. his glare never left Queen as the large man entered the room and moved towards where you stood huddled against King’s wings, stopping in front of the armored man and taking a long drag on his cigar.

“what are you doing you moron”

Queen laughed at King’s protectiveness already showing, finding amusement in his crewmember’s smittenesque.

“I was inviting her to play a game you jackass!”

he laughed heartily at King’s insulted and angry expression. your boyfriend took a step forward, now only a few feet away from Queen- the atmosphere in the room grew tense and Jack was watching with wary eyes matching yours as you watched the two calamities square up, both ready to strike if it came to it. but King is observant, he saw that Queen had no intention of hurting him, he simply wanted to scare you and get a rise out of him.

he scoffed and turned begrudgingly back to you, moving to take a seat at the table and lifting you onto his lap with ease. you settled against his steel covered chest, still slightly shaking from Queen’s scare- King’s eyes narrowed at Queen when he chuckled again and sat in the chair between King and Jack, throwing a wink in your direction. King visibly flinched and his behind left the chair momentarily before returning, remembering that’s what Queen wanted- and you were safe on his lap.

Sanji is super clingy himself, he has no problem at all with your affection and neediness. he’s always more than happy to hug you or cuddle you or kiss you, it’s one of his favorite things to do- he’s constantly asking himself how he got so lucky to have a girl like you

one of the things Sanji finds most adorable about you is your height, no matter what you do Sanji thinks you’re the cutest thing ever, he’s always offering to carry you, he always pulls you onto his lap- back hugs are another one of his favorite things because your body is so much smaller than his own and he thinks it’s adorable how perfectly you fit in his embrace, and don’t even get him started on how cute your hands look holding onto his hand

your slight cowardness gives him an excuse to hold you even more, he offers his hand or arm for you to hold, and whenever you grab onto him he has to fight back the squeals and focus on the problem at hand, making sure you feel safe and are completely out of harm’s way

+ oneshot

the island you docked at had a quaint little town, small but bustling with life- you had gone to look at a store for some new clothes. unfortunately you couldn’t find anything and you had to head back to the ship empty handed. to make things even worse, while you were watching the ground you bumped into someone, who happened to be much bigger than you and piss drunk.

“oi! what the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

you swallowed the lump in your throat, stuttering out an apology that only seemed to make the man madder.

“you need to fucking watch where you’re... you’re going”

he swayed on his feet and leaned down so that he was face level with you, pointing an accusing finger in your face and once again his alcohol filled breath invaded your senses.

“you-you have no idea who you’re dealing with”

his words slurred together and his unbalance caused him to lean forward slightly and you took a step back- all of a sudden you heard a familiar voice over the crowd’s chatter.

“______-swaaaan!!”

you looked to the side and spotted the relieving blond hair bouncing through the crowd while your boyfriend quickly weaved his way through the crowd towards you. stopping beside you and throwing his hands wielding shopping bags into the air.

“I got you gifts my beautiful _____-swan!”

this is when he noticed the man far too close for his liking, his face fell with his arms, turning to one of suspicion and confusion, then to one of disgust and slight anger. he handed you the bags gently and stepped in front of the man, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“why are you bothering my little _____-swan?”

his voice was tight and you could tell he was mad, but the strager didn’t seem to pick up on the danger in his drunkness. you reached up and clutched the bottom of Sanji’s jacket in your hand, he felt the action rigth away and his anger dissipated and his face broke into a huge grin. he spun on his heel and threw his arms around your waist, picking you up and smushing his cheek against yours while he rambled about how adorable you are- his perfect moment ruined by the stranger’s words.

“she ran into me you bastard, make her *hiccup* apologize before I do”

“oi, don’t ignore me!”

Sanji’s smile faltered slightly and he lifted his foot, spinning quickly and kicking the man with such force that it sent him flying away through the wall of the shop behind.

“I’m trying to hug my angel! don’t interupt you idiot!”

“_____-swan I’m so sorry you had to see that~!”

you giggled at Sanji’s foolishness, leaning you head down to peck his nose- making his cheeks turn an even brighter red and he squealed.

“ooh we need to get back to the ship so you can try on the clothes I got for you my dear!”

he placed his arm under you, switching to holding you in a bridal style, and he pranced off down the street towards the awaiting ship- his face still dangerously flushed and his eyes closed in joy.

#one piece #one piece headcanons #one piece imagine #one piece x reader #sanji #sanji x reader #sanji headcanons #sanji imagine #one piece sanji #one piece king #king the wildfire #king headcanons #king imagine #king the wildfire imagine #king x reader

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chalkrevelations · 3 years

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OK, wow, Episode 29 of Word of Honor, and that was A LOT. There is just A LOT going on, and all of it is A LOT.

(Spoilers. Scroll on past and come back later if you need to.)

Well, you know where this is going to start: Both A-Xiang and I are resolutely NOT crying. Yet. But you know who is? Cao Weining. We literally get a single crystalline tear drop, and oh god, I can’t take this, the mood swing from their adorable forest stroll and the way she noms up her corn family and the way he tries to blow away misfortune from the well of her palms and the way she looks up at him as she realizes how much he wants to take care of her and protect her forever – to this poor cinnamon roll and his eyes filling up with tears as he realizes the enormity of who A-Xiang is, the enormity of what he’s potentially done bringing her back to his sect and giving the Ghost Valley a way in, the way she’s hidden something so important from him. That she could have been stringing him along this whole time? That Wen Kexing, who he knows, who he knows as a good guy, is apparently the terrifying leader of the Ghost Valley? Nothing he knows is real, none of it makes sense, and it kills me, the wordless communication between him and A-Xiang, after she finally says it, finally lets him know who she is, and he just looks at her for confirmation, because he can’t believe it, and she gives that tiny little nod, placing all of this knowledge and her fate in his hands, the hands she’s held as he’s promised to stay with her and protect her always, to not fail her. OK. I take it back. A little bit, I’m tearing up. And then he doesn’t. He doesn’t fail her. His shixiong can’t figure out what Cao Weining and A-Xiang are apparently fighting about, because apparently Cao Weining hasn’t told anyone who she is!

Also, I have to yell excitedly about something here for a minute, because OMG THE MIRRORING they continue to maintain between Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu and Gu Xiang/Cao Weining. (!!!) I really want to point this one out, because it’s subtle but I think incredibly important, and you lose it if all you’re able to follow is the English subtitles. I have to give props to another Tumblr user (whose post I cannot for the life of me find again, and if anyone does, please let me know, so I can update this post), because I wouldn’t have caught it, with my Level 2 Duolingo Mandarin, if they hadn’t done a post a while back about the nuances of the use of “外人” (I think that’s correct) between ZZS and WKX in Ep 25 (and possibly Ep 26). In Ep 25 at 45:53, there’s a conversation about training Chengling – ZZS says something about getting WKX to do some of the training, WKX responds with something about letting “someone else” teach your disciple, per the English subtitles, and ZZS responds with “And you’re ‘someone else’?” Youku is using “someone else” here as a translation of 外人 (“wairen?” is maybe the transliteration of it?) which actually seems to mean “stranger” or more specifically “outsider” – someone who’s from “outside.” I presume in this context, specifically from outside your sect/family (which gives the whole conversation more layers, because by using this label for himself, Wen Kexing gives us another example of how he’s still resisting the idea of himself as a shidi of Four Seasons Manor, at that point, and is still unable to accept the full scope of his relationship with ZZS, even though he wants it so badly, because he is so terrified of getting it and then losing it). In Ep 26, 外人 comes up again, at 5:00, when ZZS finds WKX giving training advice to Chengling. SO, props to this currently unknown Tumblr user, because even though I kind of quickly scrolled past the post without fully reading it - because I hadn’t reached those eps yet, and I didn’t want to see too many spoilers - the post did alert me to the word “outsider” as a meaning of 外人. And without that, I probably wouldn’t have twigged to A-Xiang’s use of “outsider” at the very end of this episode, when this shining, clever, fierce girl, who’s been taught to survive above all else, tells Cao Weining’s shixiong that he can’t just send her away for her own protection, that she’s going to stay and fight and die with the rest of them because he can’t take back his words about her being family and now treat her like an outsider. This time, the English subtitles actually use the word “outsider,” and yes, I checked the Mandarin subtitles, and she uses 外人 to claim her place as part of Cao Weining’s sect/family, the same word WKX uses – and ZZS challenges – to try to maintain his distance from ZZS’s sect/family. Ugh. My heart.

So, yeah, that’s a whole lot about A-Xiang in this ep, and it’s about 1/5 of everything that happened, so let me see if I can keep the rest of this from overwhelming anyone’s dash:

Han Ying. >: ( Show, gdi. It’s not like I haven’t said from the minute my dude gazed adoringly at ZZS, 20-something episodes ago, that he was a goner, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. This death and the scenes focused on it give us a LOT, though: Yikes on WKX’s desperation to save him, and flashback to the Four Sages of Anji – WKX knows he’s going to be out there digging another grave with a sword, and he really does not want that. Flashback to Eps 22 and 23 when Cao Weining told A-Xiang that he wanted her to be more careful because she would actually feel bad if she killed someone innocent, and ZZS told WKX he didn’t want him to have any more sins on his hands. Not to mention, literal flashback to the death of WKX’s parents, the most traumatic event of his life. Also, I noticed the difference here between WKX’s reaction to Han Ying the last time they met, which was pure vinegar, and his acceptance of him this time along with his desperation to save him, not even really for Han Ying, himself, so much as for ZZS.

Duan Pengju, omg, this asshole. Meanwhile, Chengling is getting to indulge his newfound bloodthirstiness, with the approval of his shifu. That’s right, Chengling, you should burn down his little battalion. Fucking superb, you funky little goldbean. Of course, then, we’re going to re-visit the most traumatic event of your life because everyone gets a little bit of PTSD triggering in this ep. As a treat. I … love? … that is maybe not the precisely correct word … how ZZS reassures Chengling that no, Tian Chuang will keep him alive - ZZS knows, like the rest of us, that creepster Prince Jin wants a piece of him. I do actually love how Chengling’s response is to try to wake up Wen Kexing, because he knows no one is laying a finger on ZZS if WKX is around to say anything about it. I also love the way ZZS sends Pengju scrambling backward just by stalking toward him. The minute he steps outside the Manor gate, ZZS is clearly the person in control of this faceoff, and the only reason he’s headed back to Jin in leg irons and a cage is because he’s allowing it to happen. I have a whole … thing about Zhang Zhehan’s physicality as an actor that I’m working on putting into words. Maybe next time. Also, just an aside, I cannot thank Zhang Zhehan enough for having his hair long during filming so that they’re able to integrate his hair into his wig and keep his natural hairline. It looks so much better than the typical wig sideburn look, and this scene is one of the places where it particularly strikes me, for some reason.

Last but not least, AAAHHHHHH. OH MY GOD. Stranger Danger in WKX’s dreams/memories was AWFUL YIFU. Zhao Jing, you really are THAT AWFUL.

#gu xiang #cao weining #wen kexing #zhou zishu #han ying #zhang chengling #duan pengju #zhao jing #zhang zhehan #word of honor #word of honor episode reax

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we-always-hit-our-ass · 4 years

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Pecks and Clementines (George Luz x Reader)

Author’s Note: After this, I’ll shortly open my inbox so please stay tuned! I apologize in advance if any of my lovely readers are allergic or dislike clementines hnhh. Also also- I love you guys, that is all.

Warnings: just a few swear words, nothin’ too major +its pretty fuckin long cause ahaha slowwww burn with luz hnghh

Words: 7.1k (my essays are quaking)

Description: A simple interaction shared between you and George leaves him enamored and he finds himself having feelings for you. You soon follow suit. Who knew giving clementines could get you someone as amazing as George?

Taglist: @deldontplay, @thatsonefishyboi,@noneofurbusinez, @meteora-fc, @gutsandgloryhere, @hihosilvers, @rayleighshughes, @floydtab, @wexhappyxfew, @sherlollydramoine, @meganthesunflower, @3milesup, @jamie506101, @sunflowerchuck, @softlieb, @k-websters, @punkgeekchic, @speirs-crazy-ass, @hellitwasyoufirstsergeant, @runtdrummer, @fromtheoldtimes

+if ya wanna be added, dont be afraid to send an ask or dm!

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A gesture was all it took.

What happened wasn’t even something intimate; it was more of a touch that was commonly shared by acquaintances or strangers rather than lovers. To briefly put it, that gesture was just you offering him a clementine. He remembers how he was fixed upon the bright orange clementine in your soft hand, ripe and just begging to be peeled and eaten.

A kind, old woman generously handed you plenty back in England and so you thought you’d share. George was the nearest to you and so he was the first one who received the sweet citrus fruit, something he never thought he’d be thankful for.

Passing it along to him, you thought nothing of the interaction as a mere act of kindness. However it felt like so much more. How an act as simple as that made him burst into flames is an enigma. Not to mention how your hand ever so softly brushed against his. The touch lingering mere moments longer after the deed was done and George couldn’t help but feel just a tad disappointed when it finally disappeared.

He didn’t even know if he felt it... But he did, and with that one coincidental incident--he was hooked. A magnetizing presence was what you had, and like a piece of metal, George was instantly drawn to you.

Who wouldn’t?

There was something unique about you, something he had never seen or experienced before. That moment back in England felt so far away but also felt like it just occurred yesterday. The technician thought about you for weeks, the beautiful and more than capable soldier who put up with the company.

(Y/N) (L/N)... (Y/N) (L/N), he kept repeating in his head, your name ingrained in his head and it spilling out of his lips like a mantra. Thoughts about you in his head bouncing around like how a ball would when thrown against a surface.

The young man couldn’t identify how to describe how he felt, what he was experiencing only categorized as a deep and sensual longing. Of course George knew that it was way more than a passing fancy, for it was exponentially deeper. Complicated were the feelings of love, and George was yet another who got caught in the mystery of it.

His heart fluttered whenever his honey brown eyes laid upon yours, that radiant (E/C) hue that seemed to reveal your innermost secrets yet simultaneously concealing them from the outside world. Of course for the past few months of his newfound attraction towards you, he’d dismiss it as nothing serious.

But one cannot plainly deny fate and George soon accepted that fact. Now, he made more of an effort to see you--to interact more with the woman who’d captured his heart. But moments with you were scarce, making it even more a reason to cherish and savor them for as much as he could.

Easy Company had been staying in Normandy, the events of D-Day all too fresh on everyone’s minds. A break was what they needed and the men indulged themselves in the quiet and peaceful moments before they would move out again. They were stationed in a quaint town where they were now resting.

Perconte was showing off the many watches he had snagged from dead soldiers to Blithe, who was only silent and once again zoning out. Banter was frequent and it comforted the both of you, a homey and cozy feeling enveloping your forms. But all good things come to an end and Welsh had told the company that they would be capturing a town called Carentan. Welsh had just informed the men, who were still tired and perhaps a bit sluggish, that General Taylor would be sending the whole division for this.

“Remember boys, maybe three days and three nights of rough fightin', and you will be relieved!'" George rang out towards the group. The ebony haired man receiving a few laughs and an especially amused look from 2nd Lieutenant Welsh as well. George cracked a smile of his own as he continued.

“Another thing to remember boys, flies spread disease, so keep yours closed.” Laughs were plentiful then, one soldier even jokingly telling him to shut up.

Then… That’s when he heard it--your laugh. George had never heard anything more beautiful in his entire life, and for once in the war, he felt like he was floating his way to heaven. He never noticed you were so close to him, as he was preoccupied mimicking the General himself. George let his jaw go slack and gazed at your twinkling eyes, your lips still stretched in a smile. His own orbs never left your form and while his mouth was parted, no words came out.

“Ello, Georgie, you were imitating Taylor a lil while ago, what’cha mimicking now? A rock?” A devilish grin was on your face and George felt himself heat up, a light rouge color dusting his cheeks.

You chuckled as you walked alongside him with the rest of the men. The technician’s eyes only widened for a second before reverting to their normal size. “For your information Corporal (L/N), I was imitating a soldier who was left speechless from looking at a beauty.”

After his remark, it was your turn to flush. Turning your head sideways so as to not let George see your face from picking up any more color. Triumphant and feeling a bit proud in himself for making you react like that, George nudged you and you were met with a smirk. You two stuck by each other’s sides as you and the rest of the company kept on marching to their next destination, butterflies in your stomach the whole journey through.

Happiness was what you felt, and you found yourself experiencing them when you were with George. Silence took over you both, it was comfortable and quiet, even if the rest of the boys weren’t. For George, it wasn’t like him to be silent--little did you know that he was only like that because he was far too afraid to embarrass himself.

Prior confidence be damned, the poor boy was reduced to a puddle when around you, and you could say the same about yourself when you were around him too (you were just a tad bit better at keeping your composure than George).

Deciding to strike up another conversation with him, you looked up at him and your two eyes met for a short time before turning back to face forward again. “You all good, Georgie?”

“I’m good.” Warm hazel eyes glanced at your being next to his, the corners of his lips tugging into another one of his dopey smiles.

The way the sun played upon your hair, the beams reflected on it making it seem like you had a halo, and after taking note of that his smile only grew bigger. “Very good, (Y/N).”

And George knew that no amount of his jokes or imitations could hide the fact that he was head over heels.

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Carentan was nothing short of traumatic, it was something else and the thought of it left a foul taste on George’s tongue. It made him queasy just thinking about it and while he knew these sorts of things would happen, George would rather much prefer if these events were shoved deep in the back of his brain.

A lot of things kept his mind running though, like Skip’s hilarious recountings of what he did in his hometown, Johnny’s quips and sarcastic comments, and Guarnere chipping in his opinion on obscure matters. And of course, how could he forget you sitting right beside him--so close it was almost unbearable. You two joined in whatever conversation the men close to you were having and George felt as if he’d been blessed every time you giggled at one of his jokes.

Then all the sudden Smokey was reciting a poem he had made, much to the chagrin of Talbert and Smith. “Night of the Bayonet” as he had called it, and George exhaled air out his nose the moment he started speaking. Talbert and Smith were good-natured about it though, and every time Gordon finished a rhyme, a chorus of light chuckles followed. It was amusing, seeing one of your fellow soldiers like this and you were grinning throughout the entire thing.

“Never knew Smokey was Shakespeare.” You comment under your breath, and George perked up almost immediately as soon as your melodious voice flowed to his ears.

“Neither did I, but we’re all full of surprises aren’t we?” George playfully replied, reveling in the smile you sent his way before turning back to the standing soldier. Smokey went on in the background, making everyone in the mess hall chuckle.

Finishing his poem, with a slightly embarrassed Talbert and Smith still trained on his figure, Smokey took off his Purple Heart and announced how he’ll give it to Talbert. The mess hall erupted in whoops and cheers as Gordon handed it to a more than gleeful Tab. The atmosphere was right, and it was all smiles and laughs, how glad George was that Carentan was far behind them. Conversations danced in the air, easily coming out and before George could engage a talk with you, Lipton’s voice filled the air.

Words ceased and heads turned, their attention fixed on the Sergeant.

“Couple of announcements, men.”

“And woman.” George turned his head at you, his head of soft, dark hair taking up most of your vision.

His quiet comment and signature smile made you a bit more relaxed as you had quite stiffened up ever since Lip stood up. You playfully smack his arm and George raises his hands in a faux surrendering motion. The young man sticking his tongue playfully at you as you mockingly rolled your eyes before reverting your attention back to Lipton.

Apparently, their training had been canceled and you wrapped your arms around Babe (the replacement who you and Guarnere quickly got along with) and George briefly while cheering, the latter returning the gesture. Not even a second later, Lipton then announced how their passes were revoked. Smiles turn into light frowns and George’s happy mood deflates, he could feel your arms slowly dropping from his shoulders.

To further add salt to the wound, Easy Company wouldn’t be returning back to England. They were heading back to France, and they had to pack up all their gear and get a move on. Plans you had hoped to do in England were now unceremoniously pushed out of the window, your eyebrows now furrowed hard. You puffed your cheeks out in annoyance and in quiet exasperation as the building turned silent.

George and you exchanged glances at one another, George mouthing ‘what the fuck?’. That made you chuckle louder than you expected and during the Sergeant's announcements, and few men craned over to where you were, giving you a confused glance. Your head dipped from slight embarrassment and you teasingly glared at Luz, who only mouthed back a simple ‘not my fault’, which in return you softly elbowed his upper arm.

“As you were,” and with that, Lipton’s announcements were concluded.

Everybody remained silent for just a little bit longer, seemingly trying to process the new information, but it wasn’t long before chatter rose up. The table, however, was noticeably not the same old happy table they were before. Skip and Luz only looked down and you glanced at black haired individual, thinking of ways to cheer him up.

“Hopefully there’ll be sweet old ladies who give out a store’s worth of clementines in France too,” you said while nudging the technician.

The way you had said was almost wistful, dreamy even, as if you genuinely hoped that you would get at least one of the fruits that you have come to love. Luz immediately mentally makes a note to get you some soon.

George immediately let a wide beaming smile fill his face, his head replaying the memory of you ever so graciously handing him one--the moment where he realized that he had become smitten by you. In a singular moment, you noticed how the whole table seemed to brighten up. What you didn't notice was how George’s gleaming eyes were glazed and a light pink color situated itself on his cheeks.

“(Y/N), of course there’s plenty of them in France. I’m just not sure if they’ll give any to you though.” You feigned hurt at George’s joke, dramatically wiping nonexistent tears as you pretend to not stand George’s presence any longer.

Like a sappy movie, George imitated a heartbroken man and you broke your act, laughing hard at George’s ridiculous imitation. That same warm feeling returned to his chest seeing you clutching your stomach, laughing heartily at something he did.

It was surreal, transcending all human comprehension.

Skip and Martin were caught up conversing on a subject George couldn’t care less about and Guarnere and Heffron seemed to click instantly and they discussed things back in Philadelphia. Recovering from your fit of laughter was no easy task and you begged George to stop messing around or else you wouldn’t be able to breathe.

“You’ll make history Corporal (Y/N), can you imagine--the first soldier to die of laughter rather than a battle wound.”

“And you Luz--the first soldier without a brain to survive a war.”

Proudly smirking at his widened eyes and gaping mouth, it was beautiful seeing it bloom into another one of his charming grins. With no one really paying you two any mind, your smile to George felt different. No longer was it friendly, it felt almost more at that moment. In the frame of just a few seconds, you knew that there was something else.

The chatting in the background kept you tied down to Earth before you could further float away in the moment you and George silently shared. You two were just chatting mere seconds ago, so why now does George look so…? Look so handsome, why now do you only notice that? It was nothing, it was natural to acknowledge an attractive person, and so you paid no mind to that fluttering feeling located deep inside of you.

Clinking from the white porcelain dishes snapped you out of you and George’s reveries and you blinked a multitude of times to get a sense of what just happened. Skip ruffled your hair as if to catch your attention, and it worked.

“The “I’ve-Been-Scared-Shitless-by-the-Ghost-of-my-Great-Uncle” look doesn’t really suit you two.” Skip had said to you as he finished messing up your hair, you turned to give him a deadly look only for it to look like a pout--which he laughed at.

George stood up from the bench and situated himself next Skip before gracefully putting his arms around his shoulders in an exaggerated manner.

“Are you done shitting on the face my mother gave me or is there something else, Mr. Warren ‘My-Dick-was-Baptized-in-the-Niagara-River’ Muck?”

Skip quirked his eyebrows up at George, and a sound that seemed like a combination of a snort and an ambulance left the dirty blonde man. Amused and cheery, the three of you erupt in a burst of subtle chuckles and your exuberant beam dies as you three begin to quiet down.

“Well, if you two weren’t so busy ogling each other, we’re goin’ out already. Need to pack our bags and head out to France, just our luck.” Skip’s thumb pointed to the exit, a steady flow of soldiers already heading out the wooden door.

You grumble quietly, remembering what Lipton had said prior to all this and George couldn’t help but notice your slightly sour mood. Skip was well ahead of you and George, as the both of you took your time getting ready to leave. That same comfortable silence in which you two were so familiar with encompassed you both, but it was slightly dampened from that inconspicuous frown you brandished on your lips.

Finally standing up and smoothing down the wrinkles that have accumulated on your skirt from sitting down, your gaze fell to George. He was patient and didn’t mind waiting for you, but on his face a concerned expression makes itself known.

You attempted to reassure him with a smile, which only seemed to make his eyebrows furrow more. Walking towards the exit and subtly pushing your way through the soldiers by the door, you spoke up about your worries and frustrations.

“I’m just upset, y’know?” Your hands gestured to yourself before falling limply to your side, the both of you subconsciously walked back to the barracks--already having memorized the path to it.

“Oh wow, who would've guessed? Jesus Christ (Y/N), your frown is as noticeable as Malarker’s hair.”

George’s response made you blow out air from your nose, your tense soldiers relaxing before they went stiff again. The raven haired technician placed a reassuring hand on the back of your neck, immediately relieving you.

“But don’t you think it’s too soon?” You questioned him, “We only just got back from Carentan and we lost 65 men there. 65 men, Georgie!”

Immediately hands turned your body to face the man in front of you, and your lips briefly opened from the suddenness. Even after you had already been put forward his hands rested on your shoulders, lightly gripping the fabric of your uniform. Your breathing evened out, no longer the erratic rhythm it took on just a few moments ago. The dirt road you two occupied to the barracks were surprisingly barren, despite the many soldiers who seemed to have been more than eager to head back.

“It’s alright (Y/N), it’s goin’ to be alright.”

“And if not..?” That tinge of desperation in your voice slightly broke something in George and it struck a chord in his heart.

He didn’t want you to be like this--in fear of what the future holds. To see his crush and closest friend look so defeated and frustrated left a deep sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach and he desired nothing more than to see you beam again. Oh how he wanted to just swoop you up and kiss you until nothing other than him was on your mind, but he restrained himself. A genuine look nestled itself in George’s sepia eyes, and his hands loosened their grip on your shoulders.

“Well, you still have me.” A shit-eating grin that exudes cockiness replaced his once serene one. He was obviously trying to cheer you up, and of course it worked.

“Oh, shut up, George.”

“And you think that you saying that will make me?”

Your hand went to playfully shove him, but his arm wrapped around your body, pulling you flush against his side. That same beautiful laugh of yours rang out in the air and the once tense and melancholy atmosphere from just a few moments ago dissipated like smoke on a rainy day. The sun could only hide in shame when it saw your blinding smile and George never felt so happy. Previous negative emotions also washed away, being replaced with a soft feeling of bliss.

You two walked back to the barracks, laughing on the whole journey there. The both of you seemed to forget how you still have your arms hanging around each other’s forms, too wrapped up in the conversation you shared with George. Either way, if you did notice, you didn’t think that you would ever want to let go. And for once you let your mind slip about what will happen in the war.

Like what George said: you did still have him after all.

-----------

Returning back to France wasn’t as bad as you had thought, maybe it was because you now grew closer to the ebony haired technician. Mourmand-le-Grand was a quaint little commune and news said that you’d be occupying the small town until Easy Company received orders for another assignment. For the most part, it was so serene, quite the opposite of what you were actually feeling.

A cacophony of little tiny voices of your head screaming at the same time and a discord and flurry of emotions swirled in your chest--restless thoughts about George occupied the space of your brain, turning it into a pig sty of complicated feelings.

After that day, your feelings for George surged through the roof, and what you thought was just as a simple crush turned into something more. Spending time with George went as usual, but you noticed a few additions. Both you and George acknowledged this, but you two were too unsure of the signs to ever push things forward.

Maybe it was the way your hand was lingering longer on his shoulder, the way George looked at your direction for a few more seconds than necessary, or the persistent emotion that always flourished whenever you were near him. That same persistent feeling that could be compared to honey--sticking no matter what and saccharine sweet.

You two knew about your feelings toward each other, hell you even accepted the fact that you did! But how come you two never did anything else? It was if you two stumbled across a brick wall blocking you both from the next step, and instead of trying to find a way around it or break through it, you two just sat there. It just never picked up, and you really didn’t know what to do about it.

If someone were to tease you and George by calling you two a couple or ‘good match’, the latter would always erupt into flames. You would stammer, denying all claims even if they were so fucking obvious and clear as day-

Malarkey and Skip always pestered you to make a move, for he was as in love with you as much as you were with him. They’d try to goad you to finally make the relationship official, often asking you what were you waiting for. You dismissed their ideas and swatted their suggestions to do so, much to the chagrin of the two. It wasn’t as if you were afraid that he didn’t reciprocate your feelings, you knew he did. It was just…

God, why was it all so complicated?

“I don’t get it (Y/N), I really don’t,” Skip propped his elbows on the wooden table, “What’s the point of waitin’ around, you’re just making it harder for yourself.”

Malarkey scooted his chair closer to you and Skip, deciding to hop on the conversation you two are having, “Yeah, you two are practically a couple by now, why are you stalling?” He added, his flaming hair emphasizing the look of disbelief and confusion on his face.

“Well, it’s going to be weird, George is my friend!”

“He also happens to be a friend,” Skip raises his arms to put air quotes, “who is in love with you!” The blonde man quickly quips back, his hands gesticulating wildly in the air to highlight the absurdity of your predicament.

Not having the energy to respond with one of your own snappy remarks, you let Skip’s words sink into your mind. You exhaled and slowly slumped on your chair, your warm forehead making contact with the cool surface of the table. A groan from the back of your throat left your lips, your two confidants giving each other looks before turning back to focus on your hunched form.

“How about you tell him tomorrow?” Malarkey casually suggests, not noticing the way your eyes grow big.

The question punches you deep in the gut and you struggle to form a cohesive thought for a second. You raise your head to give an incredulous look to Malarkey, “And what makes you think I’ll agree to that-”

“Just think about it, (Y/N). You both still have your weekend passes, right? So maybe you two can have some quality couple bonding time with each other--tell him how you feel then you two can do whatever it is couples do.”

Your head went up at the idea, Malarkey grinning when he saw you do so. Your eyes flickered between Malarkey’s face and your lap, your (E/C) orbs deep in thought. Suddenly your face grew warm at the idea of you and George spending time together, and maybe actually going on a date. (Well technically you two actually went on plenty of dates and things like that, you both were just too stubborn to ever call it them that or admit it.)

“And you won’t even have to worry about the rest of us bothering you two because we’d probably be too shit-faced to.”

Skip let out a cheeky smirk and gave a knowing glance to both you and Malarkey, the both of you playfully rolling your eyes at the man. You contemplated for a few more moments, trying to wrap your head around what you’re going to get yourself into. It was a bit stupid--how you were waiting and putting things on hold. Maybe Skip was right about you making it more difficult for yourself and George. Your fingers and fingernails drummed against the wooden table as you pressed your cheek into the palm of your hand.

The two men only glanced at your figure, still idle on the chair. Waiting for an answer, you finally broke the stale, silent air. You released a breath you didn’t even know you were suppressing and gazed upon the expectant looks on Malarkey and Skip. They were on the edge of their seat, looking like a kid waiting to open their presents on Christmas.

“Fine. Tomorrow. If it doesn’t go well I’m going to replace your bullets with stale bread.”

Your thinly veiled threat, which wasn’t even a threat but more of a joke, didn’t deter Malarkey and Skip from bursting into a fit of cheers. Their loud whoops and shouts made you smile and gave you just a bit of reassurance for the next day. The blond and ginger man could be seen giving each other high-fives and patting each other on the back, clearly they had been anticipating this moment for a very very long time.

You knew these two will never shut up about them being you and George’s wingmen if the date goes as planned.

“Stop moping (Y/N), before y’know it, you’re going to be asking yourself why you didn’t do this sooner!”

You looked at Malarkey quizzically but as soon as you did your expression turned into something of the brightest of smiles. The two of them sunk back into their chairs, clearly proud of their feat of finally convincing you to go on an official date with George Luz himself. Both of these idiots are the both the best and worst things to have ever happened to you.

But you now had a date to worry about, and you prayed heavily for it to go well.

-----------

So that’s where you found yourself currently, fussing over your uniform even if you usually didn’t. Tilting your cap so it rested perfectly on your head and adjusting your tie ever so often. Adrenaline pumped throughout your body and a surge of excitement plowed through your being every few minutes.

You remember the pep-talk your two friends have given you (if you can even call it that, it was just Skip teasing you and Malarkey reminding you to stay responsible like a mother). Their reassuring smiles as they left the door brought a feeling of consolation to your nerve-wracked figure.

“--go get him, (Y/N)!”

“And don’t forget to use a condo-” You never shoved anyone so fast out the door so hard in your life.

“Why can’t you two just hurry up and get drunk sooner?”

Your exasperated tone did nothing to hide your clearly warm and flushed face, but your eyes could’ve most definitely paralyzed the men. Skip and Malarkey chuckled loudly before Skip stopped right in front of the door and took off his cap and bowed. Malarkey soon did the same gesture.

“You wish is our command, m’lady.”

Sarcasm flowed from every pore of that statement and you can only huff in amusement at their antics. The two men rushed to the pub where most of the other soldiers were, their arms raising up to bear you farewell, more words of encouragement leaving their lips. A cheeky grin flashed on Skip’s face as he gave you one last joking middle finger--which of course you returned to him.

Their forms disappeared around the corner and you took all your willpower to calm down your rapidly beating heart.

It was now or never, you had guessed.

Even with the two men always pouring you with comforting remarks and consoling you, your body soon soared above the skies with anxiety once again. Oh, you didn’t even know what you were worried about--you like him and he likes you.

In what part of this date was making you so nervous, you two had done it plenty of times. Perhaps it was because you finally came into terms that you did indeed have feelings for him, for all the other times you were so blissfully ignorant of your special bond with him. Shaking your head to relieve yourself of any more questions, you opted to stay silent for the duration of your wait.

So you patiently waited for George near the dirt road where you had told him to meet you. Your thumbnail was placed between your lips and your left foot drummed against the dry floor in a very antsy manner. Seconds rode on achingly slow, it was if they wanted you to suffer. Maybe this was a bad idea, and maybe he wasn’t going to come after all. Why’d you ever listen to those two? What good ever came from actually paying heed to them? With a defeated sigh, you kicked a pebble near your feet and maneuvered your body to head back to the barracks-

“Hey, (Y/N).”

Fuck.

So you turned slowly, your form still in the middle of trying to walk back. And as soon as you did, you thought you were blinded from the sheer beauty that George exuded. Your voice got trapped in your throat and you swore you forgot to even breathe for the briefest of moments. George Luz, standing in front of you with the brightest smile you ever saw him wearing. Both of your lips slightly parted as you took each other’s appearances in, gawking not so subtly at each other.

If you fainted, you wouldn’t exactly blame yourself--just look at him! His soft and short raven hair picking up light from the sun’s rays, giving it a sheer glow. And that damned smile of his, the same one he always wore--and every time they captivated you, this time was no exception. His uniform was clean and crisp, fitting him quite nicely. All you wanted was to stop time so you had just a moment to gather yourself. Instead of fluttering butterflies, you had a whole stampede of elephants occupying your stomach.

“You don’t look half-bad yourself, Georgie,” The amount of effort you put to make your voice sound presentable, you would’ve squeaked it out if you just let it out.

George only hummed in acknowledgement at your greeting, clearly distracted by your presence as you were with his. Your hands shuffled nervously, catching his eye. And the way your (E/C) gleamed as they always had, and despite you acting so flustered, that same spark you carried with you was noticeable. Your lips were caught between your teeth, and he laughed almost sheepishly when you noted his look. Beautiful… You were so beautiful in his eyes.

Time whizzed by and the date for which you two came for flew over your head. Stammering at the realization, you snapped out of daze and walked forward to stand face to face with George.

Forgetting the basket in his hands, George raised it up for you to see. You didn’t even notice that he had a basket for you, as you were too caught up admiring him. It didn’t even take a second for you to immediately recognize its contents. The vivid orange color of the many clementines that were nestled in the straw basket made you beam. After taking one into your hands and inspecting them, you turned your head to look up at George.

“You remembered! How’d you get these?”

Before his response could leave his lips, you pressed your index finger at his lips--effectively shushing him and making him flush.

“Wait no let me guess-” Your fingers snapped before pointing at him, “An old woman came up to you and ever so generously handed you these.”

George laughed and while shaking his head briefly, and that sent shivers crawling down your spine, and you felt aware of the close distance you two shared. You stepped away cautiously, as to not put attention on your form. George eyed the basket one more time before locking his chocolate eyes onto yours.

“Where’d you get 'em then?”

“Saw a tree down by the road-” Cutting him off you glanced at the orange citrus before playfully shoving George.

Shameless was George’s expression, he even seemed pleased even. You gawked at his nonchalant attitude, and George passed the straw basket to you.

“Oh, George you didn’t!” Strolling to your intended spot with George was filled with quips and chuckles, but you couldn’t conceal the surprised expression you held in your face. Eyes still blown wide and mouth stuttering. George stole these clementines… For you? He surely must be joking-

“Oh yes, I did.”

“George Luz, holy shit, where’s your dignity?” You teasingly questioned him.

While you seemed reluctant and against the idea of stealing the possessions of others, you didn’t even hesitate to let your fingers snatch up a small clementine from the basket.

“I never had any in the first place.” He replied, to which you giggled at.

Finally arriving at the place where you and George had agreed to spend your date at, you plopped yourself on the grass with the grace of a new-born deer. You were quite glad you and the technician decided this to be the place. It was simple, really, just a tree near a meadow. The spot wasn’t that far off from the main road and you had a clear view of the serene commune. The sky was absolutely beautiful, a gorgeous azure color--free of any clouds with the sun blessing you with its warm, welcoming rays.

The basket was set between the two of you, giving you a bit of space. The tree provided you with shade, the rustling of the leaves making for relaxing background noise. You would’ve heard the birds singing if it weren’t for the incessant pounding of your heart--it still manages to run a marathon even after it had surely been beating since the beginning of the day.

While your gaze avoided that of George’s, he was quite the opposite. George rested his eyes on your figure, trailing over your form and taking in every single detail. Adoration stretched across his face as the day continued, the two of you staying in a cloak of comfortable silence.

The clementine from earlier was still pressed snug against your palms, and to keep your head busy, you decided to peel it. Using your nails to shed the outer skin and popping a piece into your mouth, immediately hitting your tongue with the fresh taste. Growing bold, you picked a piece and reached your arm to offer it to George.

As if a movie reeled in his head, he was reminded of the first time he had ever interacted with you. George took the piece in your hand, his fingers brushing against your palm--offering him that same shock as the moment you two had shared in England. Muttering his thanks, he concentrated on how utterly peaceful you looked (even when on the inside, you were practically having all natural disasters occurring within you).

You grabbed another clementine from the basket, and once again offered a piece to George, who only looked pleasantly taken back. Breaking the silence, conversations soon flowed easily, like a stream. Hugging your knees close to your chest, you chatted with the black haired man, laughing and giggling ever so often at one of his stories. No longer the silence you two had shared at the beginning, but rather that same banter and ridiculous back-and-forth you always had with each other.

“Did I ever tell you the story of how I stole the neighbor’s dog?”

“You did what?”

“Don’t worry--I gave it back, naturally.”

Letting his words sink in, you grinned--your lips reaching the corners of your eyes. For a second, you felt slightly guilty for laughing at the whole thing. You raised an eyebrow at him, urging him to tell you more.

But you leaned back, still in disbelief at his words and still finding his antics just a bit amusing all the same.

“Well did I ever tell you the story of how I’m going to smack you so hard, they’ll give you a Purple Heart?”

His soft head of hair turned back in a flurry, his hands flying up to shield his upper arms. Giggling, you reassured him that you wouldn’t.

“I’m only joking, calm down!”

Settling down, George continued the many stories of his shenanigans back at his hometown. You gazed in wonder the whole time, nodding your head absentmindedly at each syllable that spilled out of him. The digits of your hands slowly inched closer to his, George also unknowingly doing the same.

The timbre of his voice and impressions left you breathless, your chest almost hurting from the countless times you let out a long chuckle. The grass felt nice upon the surface of your skin and you resumed your conversation with Luz, until you felt something warm against the back of your hand.

Visibly tensing up, you realized that George’s hand was on top of yours. Slumping and relaxing your shoulders when figuring out, George’s words came out fuzzy. Muffled and incoherent, you no longer paid them mind--instead bringing your fingers to intertwine with his. Your companion stopped speaking, sentences refusing to leave his lips.

Without even having to utter a word, the two of you were drawn to each other. Leaning in closer to close the proximity between you two, the basket placed in the middle was knocked over--the small clementines falling out and rolling a short distance before stopping. The clementines were strewn about, but you and George paid no mind. Tantalizing, his lips were right there in front of you--slightly parted and ever so rosy. And with a burst of passion, you leapt to capture his mouth in a slow peck, one that only lasted for a few seconds.

You did it. You actually did it.

“I love you so fucking much, (Y/n)--”

But before George could even say anymore, you silenced him with yet again another short kiss. Your reply was as clear as day, and George looked so enthusiastic and happy you could’ve giggled just a bit at his reaction if it weren’t for the current ardent atmosphere.

George’s cheeks were warm to the touch, and as you pulled away from the brief kiss he could only watch as you breathed heavily. Silently and deliberately, you leaned in--much slower this time. The peck from before laid forgotten in the fervent kiss you gave him.

Your (S/C) hand resting on the side of his head, cupping his head gently. Fingers that were once only loosely connected were tautly wrapped around her each other, his thumb brushing over the supple skin of your hand. In a moment that lasted for what seemed like forever, when you finally stopped--you only craved more.

It was so feverish and heartfelt, yet so tender and like a feather barely ghosting over the edges of your body.

Was this really the same George you knew all this time?

“Wow…”

That was all George said, he himself finding no words to even capture what he felt earlier. Captivated by you, George let his hands grab onto both of your wrists, slipping them down from his face so he can hold them in his own hands.

Deciding to tease him just a little bit, you smirked.

“Was I really that bad?” The way his face turned from a sappy, adoring look to a flustered emotion gave you happiness you couldn’t really fathom.

“Of course not- (Y/N)... You were-- You were amazing.”

“Real smooth, ain’t cha Luz?”

Still wrapped in each other’s embrace, Luz pulled you forward, setting yiu down on his lap as he wrapped his arms around you. Burying his nose in the crook of your neck, you relished in this intimate moment you shared with George. Sitting dormantly with limited movement, the world went still for a moment.

The early morning turned into a bright afternoon. Scooped in his hold, you pressed compassionate kisses all along the edges of his face, his eyelashes fluttering subtly whenever you did so. With the grass matted around your bodies, George’s voice--like music--peppered sweet and quiet declarations of love into your ear.

As you were about to doze off with the feeling of glee surrounding your head, George leaned forward, effectively knocking off your stupor on his shoulder. Light fingers brushed the skin of a nearby clementine--the rest still dispersed in a small pile. Bringing it up to your half-lidded eyes, you twinkled at the sight.

“Clementine?”

The simple act of you two offering the other the sweet fruit seemed like it was you and George’s own unique way of saying ‘I love you’. Sparing not even a second, you brushed what seemed to be like your 1,000th peck of the day on his nose. A fond feeling bloomed in his chest and he was sure that if he wasn’t already sitting down, his knees would’ve given out then--no matter how many times you did it.

“Of course.”

The cotton white clouds aimlessly moved in the sky as the leaves rustled all the same. There laid two people enveloped in each other’s presence. Silently vowing to forever love each other til the end of time. Chestnut eyes focus intently on your (E/C) ones, an affectionate grin setting deep in you and George’s features.

A clementine is shared, just as how the both of you shared your love with one another. Both of your lips move to meet, the whole world once again stopping as you finally do.

-----------

Author’s Note: (*slaps fic* this bad boy can fit so many words in it) Fucky fucky fuck- wow was that absolutely a long ride. As I have mentioned before, I’m finally going to open my requests really soon (whopeee)! I’m sorry if I sound like a wanna-be poet, my vocabulary and grammar skills do be lackin’. I may have a few mistakes here and there and I also apologize for that.

Hnghh, but I hoped that y’all liked this fic! I love you all for takin’ the time to read it. 😩💕

#band of brothers #band of brothers x reader #band of brothers fanfiction #george luz #george luz x reader #george luz fanfiction #hbo war #hbo war x reader

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camrensrealbish · 4 years

Text

Camila’s spotify playlists 2015 part 1

I found Camila’s playlists recently and they definitely don’t get enough attention from us. There is so much valuable information there!! Ok, here we go..

2015

Let’s see what the songs are about and what was on August 2015 Camila’s mind.

- You’re still the one by Shania Twain

When I first saw you, I saw love ----- from how Camila and Lauren described how they met, it was attraction from the first sight ---- And the first time you touched me, I felt love ----- but every touch is oh lalala (Señorita)---- And after all this time You're still the one I love, mmm, yeah

Looks like we made it Look how far we've come my baby We mighta took the long way ----- it took you 2 years to make up your mind (Should’ve said it)---- We knew we'd get there someday

They said, "I bet they'll never make it" But just look at us holding on We're still together still going strong

You're still the one I run to ----- I should be running, you keep me coming for you(Señorita) --- The one that I belong to You're still the one I want for life (You're still the one) You're still the one that I love The only one I dream of ---- all I do the whole day through is dream of you (Dream of you)---- You're still the one I kiss good night

Ain't nothin' better We beat the odds together I'm glad we didn't listen ---- My mama doesn't trust you, baby And my daddy doesn't know you, no (My oh my); And papa says he got malo in him(Havana) ---- Look at what we’d missin’

- Kiss me by Sixpence None the Richer

Kiss me out of the bearded barley Nightly, beside the green, green grass Swing, swing, swing the spinning step You'll wear those shoes and I will wear that dress

Oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight Lead me out on the moonlit floor ---- Expectations MV---- Lift your open hand Strike up the band, and make the fireflies dance ---- Burning, fire and dancing are everywhere in Lauren and Camila’s songs---- Silvermoon's sparkling So kiss me

- Fly with me by Jonas Brothers

If time was still The sun would never never find us ---- SUN!! We could light up The sky tonight ---- MOON!! I would see the world through your eyes ---- Camila is obsessed with Lauren’s, also “ When I look in your eyes / I see through to my soul” (No way)----- Leave it all behind

If it's you and me forever If it's you and me right now ----- All the strangers are gone (In the dark)----That'd be alright Be alright If we chase the stars to lose our shadows

Peter Pan and Wendy turned out fine ---- Camila loves Peter Pan, also Camren talking about Tinkerbell and Wendy in this interview ---- So won't you fly with me ---- Camila’s fairy wings and angel references in Romance ----

Maybe you were just afraid ---- Lauren had hard time admitting she’s attracted to women ---- Knowing you were miles away From the place where you needed to be And that's right here with me

- Sweet disposition by Tamper Trap

-----Lauren’s tumblr name------

Sweet disposition Never too soon Oh, reckless abandon Like no one's watching you

A moment, a love A dream aloud A kiss, a cry Our rights, our wrongs ----- the inconsistency of their relationship, expectations, moments - only having the nights for each other, not too many days off---- A moment, a love A dream aloud A moment, a love A dream, aloud

So stay there 'Cause I'll be coming over ----- I love it when you call me / you keep me coming (Señorita); this love calling my name (This love) ---- And while our blood's still young It's so young, it runs And won't stop 'til it's over Won't stop to surrender

Songs of desperation I played them for you

- Drops of Jupiter by Train

Now that she's back in the atmosphere With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey, hey She acts like summer and walks like rain --- loving you was sunshine, but then it poured (Consequences); Will you be the sun or the pouring rain? (Who are you)----- Reminds me that there's a-time to change, hey, hey Since the return of her stay on the moon --- MOON She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey Hey, hey

But tell me Did you sail across the sun? ----SUN Did you make it to the Milky Way ---- All night MV ----- To see the lights all faded? And that Heaven is overrated?Tell me Did you fall from a shooting star --- I thank God and my lucky stars Darling, don't you know what you are? (Beautiful) ----

One without a permanent scar? ---- Everyone comes with scars but you can live them away (No way) ----

But tell me Did the wind sweep you off your feet? Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day --- instead of just at night in secret?? ----

And head back to the Milky Way? And tell me, did Venus blow your mind? Was it everything you wanted to find? And did you miss me while you were Looking for yourself out there?

Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken ---- Chickens!! :) ---- Your best friend always sticking up for you Even when I know you're wrong? Can you imagine no first dance, freeze-dried romance Five-hour phone conversation The best soy latte that you ever had, and me?

- I’ll be your man by James Blunt

Too many voices, too many noises ---- Little voices in my head (consequences)----

Invisible wires keeping us apart --- management?---- So many choices, but they're all disappointments And they only seal me away from you

Climb into our own private bubble ----secret relationship --- Let's get into all kinds of trouble

Slide over here let your hands feel the way --- touch me till I find myself in a feeling (Easy)--- There's no better method to communicate --- Tell me with your hands slow (Living proof) --- Girl stop your talking words just get in the way --- Baby, could you shut up? / 'Cause I don't need you to come up with excuses / I just need your eyes on me (Back to me)---- I'll be your man So baby come over from the end of the sofa --- this couch is getting smaller (Into it)---- I'll be your man, I'll be your man

So many faces, staring at their shoelaces When all anyone wants is to be seen So tonight let's be honest We only want to be wanted And darling you got me wanting you

What are we all looking for? Someone we just can't ignore it's Real love dripping from my heart You've got me tripping What are we all looking for?

- No air by Jordin Sparks

Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air?

If I should die before I wake It's 'cause you took my breath away Losing you is like living in a world with no air, oh ---- Losing you I couldn’t face but to love you is worse (This love) ---

I'm here alone, didn't wanna leave ---- Up in bed, all alone (Expectations)---- My heart won't move, it's incomplete Is there a way I could make you understand?

But how Do you expect me, to live alone with just me? 'Cause my world revolves around you It's so hard for me to breathe

I walked, I ran, I jumped, I flew right off The ground and float to you There's no gravity to hold me down, for real

But somehow I'm still alive inside You took my breath but I survived I don't know how but I don't even care

Camren supposedly broke up in the second half of 2015, but I think this song is not about this break up yet, since they were all added to the playlist on the same day.

Expectations, consequences, In the dark, Real friends, This love, More than that can be related to this period. Read Karlaswine’s analysis of In the dark, some great insights there.

They probably got back together in the beginning of 2016. (Songs to fall in love to playlist from Feb 2016)

Conclusions

Every single song on this playlists has so many Camren references. They are all love songs except for the last one, so we can assume it was still ok in August 2015. I’m really suprised how much sun and moon Camila can find in other’s songs. Also these songs seem to fit her writing style and her vibe.

I’m gonna analyse the other playlists too and it gets interesting in the following years when she starts going back to songs from 2015 2016 in e.g 2018 ---> Camren is still alive? Stick with me ;)

#camren #gaymila #lauren jauregui #camila and lauren #camila cabeyo #camrenisreal #fifth harmony #camila #lauren #romance #expectations

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birdwonder · 4 years

Note

Hi! I've been watching Brooklyn 9-9 and I just had a thought: a detective!reader who's like Jake Peralta 80-90% of the time (and who's also a stand-user) with Bruno. Maybe reader helped him when he was injured but didn't know that he's a part of mafia but then boom, they meet again when reader went undercover maybe, so reader is just ":0!!!" Sorry if it's weird, have a nice day/night!

|| so sorry this took so long ! i tried to watch some Jake Peralta scenes to help me since i haven’t watched Brooklyn 99 before but i didn’t really capture his character at all. the mood of this story is like. entirely different from the request and i didn’t add the stand user part bc i forgot- sorry! it was meant to be better but somehow my tab deleted with my first version of the story. :,) honestly i’d be happy to try again for a more light hearted story if you want to request again!

Bruno Bucciarati | Second Meetings

“Truth be told, I never wanted us meeting like this,” he confessed, wine glass in hand while he purposefully turned it in circular motions to watch the red liquid swirl. It was like you - rouge lips, red dress and the perfect pair of heels to match.

“Honestly, I didn’t think we’d meet again.” You laughed softly, your own wine glass empty and placed on the balcony’s fence. The moon was full and the night was far from cloudy. A perfect excuse not to look at him, not yet at least. Let it all sink in first.

You had waited endless days, months and almost a year to be given an assignment as important as this; the amount pleading and begging you had done was unmeasurable. Of course this is what you wanted, ever since you become an official rookie cop. No - ever since you were old enough to realise the truths of the country you lived in.

Here, the weak are preyed on and the wealthy get away with it all. Street thugs to Mafia members go unpunished while others suffer for their wrong doings, and it’s the furthest thing from fair. That’s why you committed not only your heart but every moment of your life training to become the person you are now, a police officer who can at the very least help a town become a safer place for everyone who lives in it and visits.

Still, you never expected to be in a situation like this.

When you had asked your boss to give you a more important task outside of street patrol and parking ticket duty, you were expecting to be sent to do arrests and investigate some crime scenes, but you were sent on the cheesiest mission in the world. None of your coworkers even expected it, seeing you - the woman who sent the whole station into a riot on your first day just by cracking a couple of jokes - in a dress that showed more than what a modest person could imagine.

The plan was to investigate the members attending a party that only the ‘underground’ members of society could attend, try to overhear any plans, find out the statuses of some mafioso’s and if you were lucky, talk to a Capo. Gain their trust and let them have something slip. You just had to be careful they you weren’t found out and killed. They were the sort of men and women who were merciless when outsiders tried to interfere with their business and you being a cop wouldn’t help at all.

When you entered the party hall, well decorated and filled, you instantly knew this was going to be harder than it initially seemed. ‘There’s no way I could find out anything just by asking questions, it’s too suspicious. I’ll just drink and blend in until I can strike up casual conversation,’ you explained to yourself as you approached a silk covered table, glasses filled with all sorts of beverages on top.

Wine seemed like a good choice, you weren't much of a drinker at all but whatever calmed the nerves! If it did at all. Again, you weren’t much of a drinker. You threw your head back as your lips pressed against the rim of the glass and downed all of what the glass contained in seconds - the flavour barely hitting your tongue and the drink simply running down your throat. Something fizzy was definitely better.

A low, impressed whistle was then let out, followed with a few claps and a voice, “impressive. I can’t say I’ve seen anyone here finish a drink as fast as you have!”

That was the start of leading you to your current predicament.

“You still have that middle aged woman hair cut I see.” Light teasing, nothing truly offensive and even he chuckled a little, head shaking at your comment. You had described it just like that when you first met, insulting him at first until you apologised sincerely and cracked some self deprecating joke about your own messy hair.

His lips held onto the rim of the glass and slowly the wine was disappearing. He seemed calm and relaxed but even he would be a bit on edge in a situation like this.

Bruno knew you were a cop, a truly good hearted one at that, you had told him about it the day you met and proved it through your conversation and actions alone. That was the problem however, being a police officer while he was the Capo you were looking for. It was a tragedy you two met again like this, and he knew you couldn’t leave this place without something to help the police force. You just had to help others in some way. He didn’t know many people who would help him out in a situation like the last.

It must have been a month ago, more or less, and he had fallen by your doorstep due to exhaustion from who knows what; he never told you after all. You never asked questions though. When he awakened, you can imagine his surprise to find himself in a stranger’s home with a woman only feet away, humming to herself as she prepared a meal. That was one of the more noticeable things about your home, how close everything was together.

“Where am I?” He asked out loud, knowing that keeping a level head would be the better option instead of panicking right off that bat. Thankfully, it had caught your attention and you rushed to his side immediately, checking to see if he was alright before explaining to him how he had passed out in front of your home. It was confusing but the pieces came together quickly. Right before blacking out, Bruno was going against a stand user who was trying to climb the ranks of the mafia and though he had succeeded in winning, the exhaustion of the battle had gotten to him too quick to comprehend.

“Name’s [F/N] by the way, I’m a cop so don’t worry about me doing anything shifty while you were asleep! Your outfit’s a bit too whack to touch anyways.”

It was just his luck that a police officer was the one who had helped him.

Still, he was grateful and even more so when you started offering him the food you were making.

“I’m Bruno, a pleasure Miss [F/N].” Better not use last names.

When you parted ways, you jokingly pouted at him, “need to go so soon? I was just about to get used to you being my new room mate, bob cut.”

“How sweet you of, perhaps I’ll be seeing you later,” he laughed, detesting the nickname while simultaneously appreciating your light-hearted and humorous nature.

“I hope that’s more of a promise than a farewell!”

Luck wasn’t kind to him again. Seeing you here like this was a curse, a mistake, anything that he could easily say was the cause of the small break in his heart. It was wrong to even feel that pain, you didn’t deserve a gangsta. Not when you were so purely justice driven.

“So you really are a capo, hm?” You didn't sound angry nor disgusted. More detached if anything, which you were. You wanted to let go of this reality and assume this was a dream mixed with a nightmare.

Now two empty glasses resided on the balcony, along with two young adults who just didn’t know where to go from here, Bruno only nodding in response to your question.

A small sigh left your lips, shaky from either the cold whipping against your exposed skin to which you tried to cover by crossing your arms, or from the nerves. “You’re not going to um-“ Noticing your shivering, Bruno had moved closer beside you and wrapped an arm around your shoulders, pulling you closer towards him so that he could shield you from the wind. Not entirely effective but the gesture threw you off from the horrific question you were going to ask.

He answered anyways. “Kill you? No, no, I don’t even think about hurting those you don’t deserve it. [F/N], you’re a good person. A sweet one who shouldn’t be risking herself by coming here and yet you have. I respect you far more than I show - you have to leave soon before someone notices you.”

You shook your head in response to that. You couldn’t leave! Not yet, not when you barely had any information to report. You had gotten this far, you just had to find something good, something worth knowing. “Bruno I can’t! I have to stay, just for a bit longer!”

“And risk someone finding you out?” He sounded harsh, just for a second. He softened once he noticed your worry. “I’m sorry, but you can’t just risk yourself like that. I’m going to get you out of here.”

“Bruno…”

“If it helps. Some people have been talking about terrorising the main street in a week’s time. Scare off the locals and rob what they can before anyone tries to stop them so,”

“Beef up the patrol there and we should be good,” you finished for him. It wasn’t exactly ‘take down the mafia’ intel but the fact you were alive was a miracle. “Thank you. I- I’m glad there’s at least some good in gangs, even if you seem like you’d be a better cop.” Your smile was thanks enough to him. How unfair of the moon to highlight your face like an angel’s when he should be telling it ‘goodbye.’

“Call us even, for last time.” His arm around your shoulders then lowered to be around your waist, guiding you away from the balcony and back inside, voice much lower now. “Let’s get you out of here now, if anyone asks I’ll just say you were my date who had to leave early.”

You giggled at that, “your ‘date’?”

“Hey, it makes for a good story. Plus, it makes me look good too, having a beauty like you on my side.”

Neither of you should be joking like this, the attachment was wrong. It wasn’t stopping you though, the two of you continuing to chortle at each other’s words. Quipping back, you teased him, “I don’t know if they’ll know which of us is meant to be the woman here, bob cut.”

When you were by the exit, you two made the mistake of looking into each other’s eyes, you taking a moment to appreciate his blue orbs and him doing the same with your own.

Pulling away from each other’s gaze was harder than you thought it would be. You tried to play it off by snapping your head to the side and faked a cough. “So I guess it’s goodbye again now, right?”

Bruno was looking elsewhere too. He seemed more interested in a potted plant or the wall when really he could only think of you. “Well, for now maybe. If we’re lucky, I’ll be seeing you soon.”

Was this excitement? Compose yourself, [F/N]! You were still on the job. “Make it next Friday soon, you know where to find me.” So much for composure, you were smiling.

“It’s a date.”

#Bruno Bucciarati #bruno x reader #bruno bucciarati x reader #request #jjba x reader

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ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes · 5 years

Text

Dawn in Your Eyes Alfie SolomonsxOC (Part 1)

Summary: Alfie has little to no idea why Caroline ever gave him the time of day. The blind woman seemed far too sensible to even speak to him. But soon he finds himself falling helplessly in love.

Everyone in Camden Town always greeted Alfie. Whether it was a tip of the hat, a polite greeting, or simply keeping out of his way. Hardly anyone caught his eye though. He merely grunted in brief acknowledgment to those who greeted him. There were only a few people he truly interacted with on his walk from his flat to the bakery.

His elderly neighbor who knew his mother, the postman, and the boy at the corner who gave him the daily paper.

“Morning, Mr. Solomons.” The boy greeted with a bright smile. The gangster was his best customer. Always consistent and always gave a little extra.

“Morning, Timothy.” Alfie reached into his pocket to retrieve a few coins. “How’re the headlines?”

“Going on ‘bout all the strikes, sir.” The boy handed him the newspaper. “Communists.”

“Fucking hell,” Alfie muttered and bid Timothy a good morning before moving along. He glanced up from the front page of the paper and noticed possibly the biggest dog he’d ever seen. Previously it had been Cyril but this dog had to be more than ten stone. An absolute sucker for dogs, he decided to go over and ask about him.

Standing beside the massive Newfoundland was a petite woman with a thin cane in hand. She kept the dog’s leather lead gripped tightly in her hand. Her ashy brown hair was pinned up and partially hidden beneath a dark maroon cloche hat.

“That’s quite a beast you’ve got there,” Alfie said as he approached the woman.

Her head tilted slightly toward him but her eyes remained straight ahead. Still, Alfie could see a smile form on her face. “Thank you.” She spoke softly.

“Fucking hell, like a horse.” He remarked and took in the dog’s heavy black coat and bushy tail. “A Newfie, innit?”

The woman still didn’t turn to look at him. She nodded slightly. “Yes, his name is Pilot.”

“That right…I’ve got a bull mastiff. But he ain’t nearly this big.” He chuckled and reached out his hand for Pilot to sniff. Instead, the dog remained absolutely still, ignoring him just as the woman appeared to be. Alfie frowned. Cyril could hardly contain himself when a stranger came to pat him. “Don’t like people?”

“He’s trained not to lose focus.” The woman replied and slightly turned her head in the direction of his voice. That’s when Alfie noticed her eyes were clouded over. It wasn’t a foreign sight to him, it was exactly the way his young cousin’s looked.

“Sorry, didn’t realize…” Alfie cleared his throat and felt embarrassed. Such an unfamiliar feeling. “Me cousin is blind. She’s got a dog too. A nice Labrador.”

The woman didn’t seem to mind his mistake. She merely smiled and nodded.

“Name’s Alfie. You from around here?”

“Yes, I’m Caroline. I’m Julia’s niece.” The woman said and gently rested a hand on Pilot’s head that stood just above her hips.

“Oh right, yeah…” He ran a hand over his beard. Julia was a big figure in the Jewish community. Especially when she began a charity for the blind. The woman had told Alfie the reason for starting the charity, citing her niece who was born blind. But he’d never met Caroline before.

“You donate a good sum of money to her charity.” She spoke so gently but had steady confidence behind her voice. She wasn’t timid or afraid of the world despite her disability.

“Right, well, think is great what she does, innit?” The gangster began to realize he was staring at Caroline. She was beautiful, a beautiful Jewish woman, the kind of woman his mother always wanted him to find. He swallowed hard.

“Of course.” Caroline nodded. “She speaks very highly of you, my aunt. What is it that you do?”

He furrowed his brow and glanced down at Pilot for a moment. “Me? I own a bakery. One down the road, end of Bonnie Street.”

“I didn’t picture you being a baker.” She admitted with an amused smile passing over her pink lips. “My aunt makes you out to be a big scary man.”

Alfie chuckled sheepishly and shook his head. “Don’t believe everything you hear, love.”

“I tend not to.” Caroline reached out an arm. “You could escort me. I’ll be traveling past Bonnie Street. You can tell me about your bull mastiff.”

He raised an eyebrow. Most people were too intimidated to be close to him. They were afraid of the reputation he held. What they saw scared him. What they heard about him scared them even more. “Sure.” He carefully took her arm in his, escorting her down the street.

Pilot began walking to her left, the large dog plodding along dutifully. He didn’t care if Alfie was there or not, he would guide Caroline, his job was never done.

“What’s his name?”

“Cyril,” Alfie answered. It was strangely relaxing being in her presence. She soothed him and it felt like the world around them was muted. “S’an idiot.”

Caroline laughed. “Oh, I’m sure that’s not true.”

“Nah, tripped, right, on his own fucking feet this morning.” He told her. “Would be the worse seeing-eye dog. Would lead me right into the fucking cut.”

It was lovely listening to her laugh so genuinely. “But you love him.”

“’Course. Had him since he was just a little runt. Found him tossed on the side of the fucking road. All ‘lone in the rain.”

“Oh, how awful.” Caroline frowned. “How could someone abandon him?”

“Fucking soulless person, that’s who,” Alfie grunted in agreement. “You’ll hafta meet him though. He’s a love, ain’t as well behaved as Pilot is.” He could hardly believe how silent and subtle such a large dog was.

Caroline smiled. “I would like that.” She disagreed with her aunt who said Alfie was crooked. Julia respected the man for donating to the charity but she sure as hell didn’t trust the man. But Caroline couldn’t imagine a man who rescued a puppy from death would be crooked. There was so much she didn’t know but there was so much she wanted to know.

“Yeah? I’ll bring him ‘long to work tomorrow. Will you be out for a walk?” He wondered hopefully.

“I was planning on it.” She stopped when she felt Alfie standstill in front of a building. She heard the sounds of men shouting back and forth inside.

“Then I’ll see you ‘round. Try to make sure Cyril’s on his best behavior.” Alfie smiled and reluctantly let his arm slip away from her.

“I’m looking forward to it.” Caroline smiled. “Have a good day, Mr. Solomons. Come along, Pilot.”

Alfie stood by the doors of the bakery, watching her walk off with Pilot, her cane tapping on the ground. How wonderful it was to not be judged based on appearances. It was an interesting concept and he wanted to explore it further with Caroline.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Very seldom did Alfie ask for life advice. He was typically the type of man who walked through the world pretending he knew everything, even if he was clueless. But in his eyes, weakness wasn’t an option.

Still, there were some people he trusted. Very few people. Probably less than ten. But Ollie was one of those people; he had to be trusted in his position at the bakery. But their families had known each other for a very long time. Camden’s Jewish community was very tightly knit, but some families were closer than others. Especially when it came to Alfie and his men. Some disapproved while others saw him as a leading figure despite what he did behind closed doors.

But in such a close community, no matter what opinion you held, rumors got around about everything and everyone.

“So, I heard you were seen with Julia’s niece.” Ollie tentatively brought up the conversation as the two made their rounds in the bakery.

“Yeah, who’d you hear that from?” Alfie asked grumpily. He wasn’t happy to hear people were gossiping about him. As a gangster, he liked a high measure of secrecy and enjoyed his private life.

“Shayna,” Ollie admitted.

It was difficult to be upset with his assistant’s wife. She was a good Jewish woman who always offered a place in her home for the bachelor gangster. But she had a bite to her as well and if you passed by their flat at the right time, you could hear her shouting in Yiddish. Alfie liked her enough to let the gossiping pass.

“We were just talking ‘bout her dog,” Alfie explained. “Never met her ‘fore.”

Ollie nodded and became a little distracted from the ledger in his hand. His wife’s words from the previous night echoed in his head.

‘Eva saw them walking together. Said Alfie couldn’t keep his eyes off her.’

He cleared his throat and tested the waters a little bit. “She’s beautiful.”

“Fuck off.” Alfie’s defenses immediately spiked up and he rolled his eyes.

“Sorry.” Ollie dropped the subject, well accustomed to picking and choosing his battles.

But the mention of Caroline’s beauty stuck a pin right in Alfie’s heart. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. She had become a part of his morning routine. After getting his paper, Alfie greeted her and Pilot at the corner. He’d have to rein back Cyril so the mastiff didn’t distract the Newfoundland.

They would walk together towards the bakery, sometimes taking a longer route just to spend more time together. Caroline always rested her hand on Alfie’s arm. They would talk about simple things in their life, nothing too deep. His occupation and her blindness were never topics of conversation.

Despite the casual morning chats, Alfie felt a solid connection to the woman. Normally, it took years for him to truly trust anyone or to feel a real bond. It was one of the many reasons he’d been single for so long. But he was so intrigued by Caroline.

She experienced the world differently than others did. She approached things from another angle. Being a Jewish woman in a fairly Orthodox community, she had a measure of expectations placed on her. But she was like Alfie. Her disability made her adjust her priorities and crack the mold she was supposed to fit. Unmarried and childless at twenty-nine, she didn’t follow the life her family assumed she would have. But her independence was one of the things she treasured most. Pilot gave her a level of independence that she thought she would never have. Now she was mostly on her own. Took care of her own needs and felt the freedom she always craved as a blind teenager.

Alfie loved that about her. A strong woman with good Jewish morals was an unbelievable find in his opinion. Something he didn’t think he deserved but it was nice to think about. He wasn’t heartless.

He ran a hand through his hair and grumbled. “How’d you…you know…” The words were failing him. “Fuck, I just don’t know how to talk to her.”

Ollie did everything he could to hide his amusement. It was nice to see a softer side to the man though. “Well, what have you been talking about?”

Alfie furrowed his brows. “Just little things. Can’t really tell her that…” It was unbelievably frustrating for him. Dictating his emotions was something he didn’t do often.

“Sir,” His assistant smiled sympathetically. “You obviously like her. Maybe you should just tell her that.”

“Great, yeah, I’ll just tell her that.” Alfie rolled up the newspaper in his hand and used it to whack Ollie on the back of the head. “You thick? She’d fucking laugh at me.”

Ollie rubbed the back of his head and sighed. “Just trying to help, sir.”

“Just tryna help.” He muttered and stormed towards his office, leaving the young man behind him. “Fucking hell.”

Alfie had a feeling he would just run around in circles before he ever mustered up the courage, to be honest with Caroline. In fact, he was just waiting for the day she decided he wasn’t a man to waste time on. Maybe her aunt would tell her more about what he did. Her friends would warn her of the danger. Something he might say could push her away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

But the morning after he spoke to Ollie, she was there on the corner as usual. She smiled when she heard Alfie’s familiar shuffling gait approaching her.

“You’re late.” She informed him with an amused glint in her eyes.

“Late?” Alfie chuckled. “You think so?”

She reached out and he offered his arm to her. “Pilot and my aunt keep me on a pretty good schedule.”

“Wish Cyril would do that. But he likes to sleep in.” They began to walk their normal route, Pilot dutifully walking beside Caroline. Cyril’s tongue lolled out happily as he loped along.

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t keep me too long.” Caroline smiled and tilted her head towards Alfie. “You’ve become one of the best parts of my morning.”

The simple sentence socked Alfie right in the gut. He suddenly felt thrilled and dumbfounded at the same time. “Really? Your morning’s that terrible?” He joked half-heartedly. He couldn’t believe that he would be the best thing or her morning.

“You sound surprised. Have I not made my feelings towards you clear?” She stopped walking for a moment.

Alfie paused and turned to face her. He gently touched her cheek and guided her eyes to his. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t see him; she could feel him deeper than anyone else. “Tell me.” He coaxed softly. It was a relief to have her break the ice. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to muster the courage that she had.

Caroline smiled and shifted her hand from his arm and placed it on his wrist. “You’re the first person who doesn’t treat me like I’m…less of a person. When I’m with you, I don’t feel different.”

Alfie’s heart was hammering against his chest. “Nah, love, you’re different. You’re a good person, right, and that’s fucking rare, innit?”

She bit her lip and a blush formed on her cheeks. “Alfie…”

“You’re the best part of my morning too. I’m just sorry I can’t-” He frowned and withdrew his hand from her cheek. But she slipped her hand from his wrist and went to lace her fingers with his. He glanced at their entwined hands. “I can’t be the man you need.”

“What do you mean?”

Alfie wrestled with the part of him that wanted to protect her from himself and the part that was selfishly yearning for her. “Lotta things I’ve done that you should never have to know.”

Caroline didn’t look worried or even hurt. And she didn’t let go of his hand. “I’m not afraid of you, Alfie.”

He laughed anxiously and shook his head. “I’m terrified of you, love.”

“Me?” Her face scrunched up in surprised amusement. “Why in the world would you be afraid of me?”

“’Cause you’re everything I want but know I can’t ever have. Beautiful, intelligent, patient woman. Too good for my world, ain’t ya?” He went to slip his hand away from hers. But she relented and tightened her grip.

“Alfie, you’re so silly.” She smiled teasingly. “Would you please just stop doubting yourself? I know you’re a lovely man.” She turned and went to start walking again.

He followed her, stunned by her indifference towards the potential danger he posed to her. “You so sure ‘bout that?”

“Yes.”

When they approached the front of the bakery, Alfie seriously considered allowing himself to follow his desires. “You’re something else, you know that?”

Her coy look made him nearly lose his mind. How could such a perfect creature be drawn to him? “Don’t be late tomorrow.” She warned and let go of his hand.

“Could take you out to dinner or somethin’.” He offered hopefully.

“We’re Jewish, Alfie, you’ll have to meet my family first.” She called over her shoulder and let Pilot lead her down the sidewalk.

“Fucking hell.” Alfie couldn’t get the grin off his face.

Part 2

Masterlist

#alfie solomons #alfie solomons x oc #peaky blinders #peaky blinder imagine #peaky fookin blinders #peaky blinders fanfiction #fanfiction #ollie #cyril solomons #romance #blind character #oc #ofc

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thewarriorandtheking · 4 years

Text

Small Talk

This little scene has been sitting in my WIP file for a month. I am still not happy with the title, but the scene came out so cute I have been dying to post it.

The Warrior and The King MasterList

Warning: Pure fluff

*********************************************

There were no parties so grand as those held in the great Dwarf city of Moria. The Great Hall in the palace lit by a hundred lamps, the golden light reflecting off the mithril-plated ceiling onto the noble guests in all their finery. At one end of the hall couples took their places for the next dance as the band struck up a tune, at the other end drinking games were held in earnest at the long bars. Between there were groups deep in conversation, on soft couches before blazing hearths pretty girls were wooed and deals were made. Tonight was the social event of the season, everyone who was anyone was there, Dwarves from the noble families, Lords and Ladies from among the Men who lived in Moria, all in their finest regalia. Thorin Oakenshield and his wife Kaylea Wolf, the former King and Queen of Erebor, were the guests of honor. It had been many years since they had visited Thorin’s son Durin, who was King of the ancient city, he and his wife had recently welcomed their second child – a boy who would inherit his father’s kingdom. A new grandchild always meant Thorin would visit, and Durin’s wife never missed a chance to throw a party.

Thorin had been talking new mining techniques with some of the Dwarven foreman and had quite lost track of time when his companion paused mid-sentence and stared at something past his shoulder. Thorin did not have to look to know it was his wife coming up behind him. Kaylea Wolf was a vision tonight in a Dorsai-style dress, close-fitted and one-shouldered, a sweep of dark blue silk that brushed the floor. On her breast was the necklace of fire opals he had only just finished. There were no jewels in Middle Earth to compare with the blazing stones from Caladan, Thorin had only been waiting for mithril to complete the settings.

Thorin smiled as his wife came up beside him, he slid his arm around her waist and took her aside, guiding her to an unoccupied couch in a quiet corner near one of the hearths.

“Are you enjoying yourself, my love?” Thorin asked, kissing her beneath her ear.

“Yes, my king,” Kaylea snuggled against him. “I believe your necklace is a hit.”

Thorin chuckled, running his fingers over the stones. They were larger than he usually used, over the years he had gradually been training his wife to wear proper jewelry. “I do not think everyone is looking only at the necklace.” His hand found the slit in her dress and traveled up the inside of her thigh.

Kaylea smiled at him. “You are a naughty boy.”

Thorin grinned wickedly back. “Says the naughty girl not wearing any underwear.”

Kaylea pulled him to her and kissed him. Her man had such skill in his hands. A few moments later a servant came by with a tray of drinks. Thorin sat back and took two, handing one to his wife.

“If you only knew what I have planned for later,” Thorin gave her a smoldering look. “You are going to be sore for a week.”

“Promises, promises,” Kaylea replied, running her fingers over the bulge in his trousers. She drew back as a richly-dressed Dwarf approached.

“Excuse me, your majesties,” he said, bowing low. “I hope I am not intruding?”

“Not at all,” Thorin shifted in his seat and motioned to the chair on his left. “You have met my wife, Kaylea Wolf? This is Roald Greyhammer, Durin’s brother in law.”

“I have not yet had the pleasure,” Roald replied, bowing low again. He had only recently come to Moria and never seen Kaylea Wolf except from afar, he had to remind himself not to stare. She was striking enough in her plain black riding clothes, in that dress, dripping with jewels, she looked like a warrior goddess straight out of the old tales. “At your service. I was wondering if I might ask you a few questions?”

“Ask away,” Thorin replied. He could see Roald was nervous, looking down, turning his glass in his hands. He wondered what was on his mind that made him so embarrassed. He sipped at his drink, waiting for him to speak.

“Was it difficult, marrying a Human woman?” Roald asked at last.

“Difficult?” Thorin shrugged, looking sideways at his wife. “In what way? She certainly made it difficult by making me wait so long.”

Roald looked surprised, but quickly shook his head. “I mean, was it hard with the differences in your cultures?”

“Those were certainly very great,” Thorin said. He and Kaylea exchanged quick glances. “But I make all the decisions. I am the the King, so I am always right.” Thorin winced as Kaylea jabbed him in the ribs. “Truthfully, any successful relationship must be built on compromise. If you love each other, you can make it work.”

Roald nodded slowly. “But did you not worry about what the other families would think?”

Thorin frowned. “I have never given two copper pennies for what the other families think of me. I would have married Kaylea Wolf the night I met her.”

“But you did not marry her then?” Roald was taken aback. He had never imagined Thorin would risk that kind of scandal, especially as a newly crowned King.

“She would not have me,” Thorin laughed. “She told me great Dwarf Kings must marry Dwarf Princesses and have children of pure blood.”

“The responsibilities of kings,” Kaylea chimed in.

Thorn rolled his eyes. “If I had a mithril ingot for every time we had that conversation, my treasury would be the equal of Moria’s!” Kaylea laughed and kissed him on the cheek.

Roald blinked at Thorin, as if seeing him for the first time. He remembered that Kaylea Wolf had been Thorin’s Woman since before he was married, but he always assumed that was Thorin’s choice. His way of showing the other families that the King Under the Mountain was powerful enough to have not just one woman, but two. Watching the two of them, Kaylea curled against Thorin, his arm over her shoulders, the love they radiated for each other was so intense Roald found them difficult to look at, as if just this simple act of sitting on a couch was too intimate to be witnessed by strangers. He did not know what astonished him more, that Thorin would have thrown away his reputation for her, or that Kaylea would have ever refused him. There were many stories told about Thorin and his warrior woman, some of them quite fantastic. Roald longed to hear their whole story, but he reminded himself to stay focused. He took a deep breath and asked the question he most wanted answered. “Of course, it is not only our cultures that differ. There are the…ah, physical differences.”

“There are not many physical differences between Dwarves and Men,” Kaylea smiled, running her hand up the inside of Thorin’s thigh.

Thorin smiled at her, his hand stroking her shoulder. “You do not notice the height difference when you are laying down,” he chuckled. “Of course, Human women are nearly hairless. I like it personally, others may think differently.” He leaned over to kiss Kaylea’s neck.

“We are embarrassing the poor man, husband,” Kaylea said, looking over at Roald, who had turned several shades of pink under his beard and was trying not to look at them. She sat back, her eyes narrowing. “If I may ask, why the questions, my lord? One might think there is a Human girl who has caught your eye.”

Roald smiled, a bit nervously. “And you would be right. A girl from Gondor, in fact.”

“A girl from Gondor? Tell us about her.”

Roald took a deep breath. “She is from a very old family. Her father and brothers are stonemasons, a family trade for generations. She and her father were here last year, not trading, just to tour the city. I met her one day in the First Hall, she was sitting on the floor sketching the columns in her book. I offered to show her around and after that we became inseparable.” Roald sighed. “I wanted to ask her to marry me before she left, but I worried it would not work out because of our families. I wish you had been here then to ask for advice.”

Thorin chuckled. “I am hardly the first Dwarf to marry a Human.”

“You are the only one I know well enough to ask,” Roald replied. “And you are certainly the most famous one who has done it.”

Thorin shrugged. He leaned back, stretching out his legs in front of him. He gave Roald a sly smile. “If you and this girl were really inseparable, you should need no advice from me about physical differences.”

Roald flushed bright scarlet. “I do not know anything about that!” He stammered. “She is a respectable girl!”

He saw Kaylea smile, and lean to whisper something in Thorin’s ear. He smiled at her and whispered something back. Roald felt the heat rise to his face, feeling again that he should not be watching them. Kaylea’s hand was still far up on the inside of Thorin’s thigh, his arm pulling her close. However. Kaylea noticed his embarrassment and moved back, sitting straight beside her husband.

“There is something you should think about, and consider seriously,” Kaylea said. “If you marry this girl, you will outlive her. The span of years granted to Men is only half that of Dwarves. I am not saying you should not marry her because of this, only that you must fully accept it.”

Roald nodded, his face grim. “My sister said much the same to me,” he said. “I admit I had not considered it.” He looked at Kaylea. “But I will still love her, even as she grows old.”

“Of course,” Kaylea nodded. “But you must go into it prepared. To know that you will one day bury her. And it will be as hard on her as it is on you.”

Roald felt a sort of chill run up his spine. Bury her, it had such a ring of finality to it, it gave him pause. The way Kaylea spoke, it sounded like she had experience. Everyone talked as if she was of the race of Men, but she obviously was not. She was as ageless as an Elf, and there had been much speculation about how she had healed Thorin after the Battle of the Five Armies. He had lived more than twice as long as any Dwarf before him and now looked even younger than his own son. There were some who wondered if his warrior woman was also a powerful wizard.

“Have you asked the King for his opinion?” Thorin asked.

Roald nodded. “His response was much like yours. He asked why I had not married her already.” He grinned sheepishly. “He asked me to invite her back so he could meet her.”

“King Durin has done much to strengthen the alliance of Men and Dwarves in his kingdom,” Kaylea said. “For a member of the royal family to wed a Human would be a clear signal that he is serious.”

“Yes, of course,” Roald looked startled. “I had not thought of that.” Is talking to Kaylea Wolf always like this? He felt as if she was already ten steps ahead in the conversation.

Thorin seemed to read his thoughts. “If you are wondering, she is always like this. Took me quite a while to get to her speed.”

“I must thank, your majesties,” Roald said, moving to get up. “You have given me much to think about.”

Thorin was smiling at him. “You look as though you have many more questions you would like to ask.”

“I admit that I do,” Roald replied. “But I do not wish to take up any more of your time.”

Thorin shrugged. “The night is still young.”

Roald sat back in his chair. “After our conversation, find myself wishing I knew your whole story. How did you finally convince Kaylea Wolf to marry you? Did her family accept you at once? Was it very hard to learn their customs? And is there some kind of magic involved in why the two of you do not age? You have both lived far longer than any others of your races, longer by far.” He found the questions spilling out of him. “I would love to know if all the tales they tell about you two are true. Did you really fight Ringwraiths and visit Lothlorien? And defeat some great evil in the Blue Mountains?”

Thorin and Kaylea looked at each other and laughed. Thorin took a deep breath. “I would not take no for an answer. Her family took to me at once, though they were shocked to hear she was married, and learning their customs was a very long process. The secret to our long lives is not magic, though some might call it that,” he said, matter-of-factly. “As for the stories, they are all true. Though almost nothing happened the way it is told. I suppose we should set the record straight one of these days.”

“You should write them all down, husband,” Kaylea teased. “Like that hobbit you once knew. Put it in a book.”

“The quill is not my best weapon,” Thorin said. “I challenge you to write it.”

“Ah, but I would write the true version,” Kaylea replied. “The one where I make all the decisions.”

Thorin slapped her leg playfully. “Obviously we remember things differently!”

Now Roald laughed. “I will take my leave now, before this becomes a fistfight.” He rose and bowed low. “Thank you, your majesties. I will look forward to reading that book!”

Thorin kissed his wife, relishing the taste of her. After a long moment he pulled back, running his fingers over her necklace again. “I rather like the idea of a book. To read Bilbo’s version, one might think the retaking of Erebor was all about him.”

“He was writing for his audience, there is no harm in that,” Kaylea said. “Yours could be the Dwarven version.”

“You mean the true account.”

“There are three sides to every story, my king,” Kaylea said playfully. “Yours, mine and the cold hard truth.”

“Mmmm…my version of this party ends with us leaving early. How about yours, my love?”

Kaylea stood up, still holding his hand. “Mine ends the same way. Imagine that!”

@thophil2941btw @emrfangirl @thequeenoferebor

Read the complete adventures of The Warrior and The King on AO3 & FanFiction, author is akdogdriver. Now also available on Wattpad.

#thorin fanfic #fanfiction #thorin x oc #the hobbit #tolkien fanfic #true love #middle earth #thorin oakenshield x oc #fantasy adventure #fluff

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cyberneticlagomorph · 4 years

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> 🔴 cyberneticlagomorph is live on caster

Music plays over a cute screen of a cute doodle of Jack sitting on an upturned teacup, kicking his legs peacefully. His eyes are closed, tail thumping contentedly.

Jack's voice comes in clear over the music as the chat in the corner of the screen starts to become lively as people log in, "Right, ok so... I'm doing things a little-- well, a lot different tonight."

A pause, and the cheerful music stops.

The stream changes then, to Jack sitting in a very lush vivarium with plenty of climbing trees and ledges and places to hide, Jack himself is sitting on a lush cushion on the ground, a long cord snaking away from his back and curling around to the monitors in front of him. He's got a handheld camera, that much is obvious at least.

"Tonight's stream is sponsored by the Lobotomy Corporation! These guys are doing me a solid and keeping me under close observation while I game tonight, so hopefully nothing horrible will happen this time... god I hope I didn't just jinx myself." He makes a sour face, after a beat he clears his throat, "Anyway... let's get this started, yeah? The site went down for maintenance last night, so we probably won't have any problems this time... hopefully."

He's visibly uncomfortable, maybe even afraid. The camera cuts off and we are met with that familiar splash screen. Jack logs in, the loading screen that follows is a sketchy drawing of something vast and terrible reaching up and up and up in order to devour the sun, Jack finds himself reading the tooltip text aloud, "Sand fallen, sun consumed, the War was all for nothing, our stuffing is the only softness left in this world - Stitches 5:24"

A shudder seems to rip through the entire stream, a concentrated wave of unease.

For a lot while there is only a heavy silence until the game finally loads in.

Jack's avatar is outside the doll hospital again, rocking back and forth in a cute idle animation. He can finally see the town around him, brightly lit by lanterns full of green fireflies. The streets are made of obnoxious bowling alley carpet, and the grass is an assortment of fluffy shag rugs.

The town itself is full of players wandering here and there, going into shops, and chatting with each other. Someone flying on an obnoxiously pink cloud swoops low enough to nearly decapitate Jack, he barely has time to duck. The sky is normal again, dark purple with green stars, and that sad, jagged moon hanging limply in the sky.

For the first time, he can hear the background music and it sets him at ease. He wanders away from the hospital, looking for something to do.

The cloud flyer swoops back around and coasts next to Jack, low enough to make polite conversation, "Sorry about almost running you over like that, I just got this thing and I'm still learning how to drive it..." her avatar is almost as pink as her cloud, some sort of frilly undead opossum with a skeletal tail and toothy mouth where her sternum should be, "You ok? You look kind of lost."

"Oh, uh, it's fine!" Jack stops, unsure of where he even wants to go, "I'm new, I just got past the weird door tunnel monster like, yesterday."

"The Snarl, you mean?" The possum tilts her head, "I'm Keerah by the way, but yeah the big scary boss thing at the start of the game is called the Snarl, you're supposed to try and run from it but it always catches you and you end up in this damsel in distress situation and black out it's An Ordeal!"

Silence, "I just sorta... ran straight at it?" Jack laughs awkwardly and fiddles with his claws. Keerah gawks.

"No way?? No... way??? You can DO that??" She makes a disbelieving noise in the back of her throat, "Jeeze, that's probably what broke the game last night, you went full hero and confused it."

His head snaps up, "That can happen!?"

"No! No, I was just teasing, sorry." Keerah reaches over and pats Jack's paws, "The glitches have been a thing for awhile but they've never been this bad before, like sure sometimes an npc would lag out or something but never whatever the hell last night was." She shivers, "Hopefully maintenance fixed everything... so, where ya headed if you don't mind me asking?"

Jack just shrugs, trying to keep his mind off of the... everything, "Dunno, I'm like brand spanking new at all this, I don't even know what the main storyline is..."

"Oh that's because there really isn't one! Quests, plots, and character motivations all vary by server, so players have complete control over their play experience," she grins in a wistful kind of way, "Isn't it great?"

"Yeah... great... uh, where do I want to go if I want to take up a quest?" Might as well actually play the game instead of standing around, waiting to get spooked

Keerah points towards the massive Lego brick wall that seems to wrap around the entire town, "Head back towards the doll hospital and go north until you hit the barracks, you can't take any real quests until you learn how to fight, y'know how it is with these kinds of games..." she looks like she's turning to go at first but stops herself, "Oh! Before I forget, let's add each other as friends!"

She produces a cute pink coffin shaped smartphone and holds it out for Jack to take. There's a moment of awkward silence, "I don't... know how to do that yet."

"Just check your pockets, it's ok, this game really hates holding your hand when it comes to mechanics, everyone was a confused noob once in their life!" Keerah smiles again and the caster chat fills with heart emojis. Jack will now die for this complete stranger.

He finds his pockets, and his phone, along with the prescription bag he got from Ribbon. He hands it to Keerah and watches her enter her information into his contacts the same way one would do a normal phone.

Cool, not everything in here is ridiculous then.

The phones are swapped back and the two part ways.

The barracks aren't hard to find, a squat Lego brick building sprouting from the inside of the huge wall like a tumor.

It's dim inside, and crowded with new players sparring against each other. Some with swords, some with magic.

Others seem to bend the darkness to their will.

Another player let's out an ear splitting cry and sends their sparring partner flying through a nearby wall.

"Well... looks like I'm in the right place..." Jack muses. A mangled looking stuffed dog strides up to him, missing an eye and more patches than plush, his fur has been stained camo print and he looks deeply unpleasant to be around.

"You there!" He barks, the remaining fluff on his top lip looks like a droopy mustache, "What's your business here?"

"I came to train!" Jack barks right back, the old dog looks taken aback but just starts to laugh heartily.

"Well then, why didn't you say so! Welcome, new recruit to the first day of your new life in service to Haven and all those who live safe within her walls, my name is Sargent Barker and it's my job to whip limp ragdolls like you into shape!" Barker turns quick on his heel and marches away, "Come along now, we don't have all night."

Jack follows, his excitement evident in the way he wiggles, bouncing up into a rare binky. Barker stands before a wall covered in weapons, each polished so bright that Jack can see his reflection.

"Now then, I can't train you until I know what you want to be, so go ahead and pick whatever speaks to you, and we'll go from there." The old army dog stands aside, hands behind his back. He's wearing little polished black boots on his feet, that's not entirely important to the situation right now, but Jack things it's awful cute...

The wall glimmers with promise and dulls with the dust of heros past. Jack stands there, trying to decide, while the chat loses its entire mind trying to get him to pick the sick looking anime sword in the top right. His hand ghosts over the one thing that looks out of place, a bandaid with a smeared lipstick print on it. He looks at Barker, and the Sargent tilts his head, "Ah... the Ragged, toys that have been loved to death by their humans and are now more patches than fluff..." he clears his throat, "Not that I'd know anything about that! They're a peculiar class of folk, can heal themselves as well as their friends on the field of battle, and they know more than anyone how to strike down the Fears that plague mankind, would you like to be one of them?"

A pause. That didn't sound like him at all, he broke things, he didn't fix them! He was a manmade monster, not fucking Mercy! He opened his mouth to reply to Barker when the cheerful background music slammed to a literal screeching halt. The entire world seemed to bend and slant, like a cardboard box in a trash compactor. The npcs lost their textures, t-posing brokenly as their heads twitched and snapped back in ways that shouldn't be possible.

"Another glitch, hopefully it will pass." The fear in Jack's voice is evident, he can taste his own lies.

None of the players seem to be able to move, just standing there, helplessly watching as the world becomes flat and colorless. Textures and lighting melting away until there is nothing but the bare framework of the game all around them. Escape is impossible, any attempts to log out fills the screen with endless error messages.

Jack swore and screamed, but made no sound.

The ground beneath them all became a chasm yet again. That same impossibly black pit that stretched forever and ever.

Hands snaking up through the emptiness, grabbing players the way one plucks fruits from the vine.

Long and disfigured fingers with far too many joints wrapped around Jack, leaving him only slivers to see through.

Down.

The darkness swallowed him whole and the entire stream suddenly goes dark.

#long post #ask to tag //#ursumbra online #caster stream #viewable icly #glitches

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agirlinjapan · 4 years

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Red Data Girl: Ice Shoes, Glass Shoes (Story 1: Week 3)

Red Data Girl: Ice Shoes, Glass Shoes By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Read Part 1 of the first story here.

Read Part 2 of the first story here.

We’ve arrived at the third and final piece of ISGS’s first story! I hope you’ve liked it so far.

A reminder-- There will be no ISGS next week. I’m updating ISGS as I finish each story. When I finish story two, I’ll start posting it!

Red Data Girl: Ice Shoes, Glass Shoes By Noriko Ogiwara Story One: The Puppet Show- Miyuki Sagara- Third Year of Middle School- Start of Summer Part 3

There was no track and field club at Awatani Middle School.

However, the Karasawa region was famous for track and field and Awatani always chose the fastest boys and girls to participate in the 400 meter relay event at the district competition. It seemed to be a tradition from back when the school did have a track and field team and no one would let go of. At first, Miyuki, who had been chosen as one of the fastest boys, had refused, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to stay for the afterschool practices. But then Mr. Karasawa had readily offered to drive him back up Mt. Tamakura himself.

After consulting with Mr. Nonomura and getting permission, he decided to join the event. It so happened that Ayumi Watanabe had also been chosen as a member of the team.

Ayumi had attended the meet the year before and naturally had a lot she could share with the other students. It seemed easy for her to switch from simple member of the group to a mentor as she spoke at the practices, her voice carefree.

That day, Miyuki decided to casually talk to her after practice. That was when striking up a conversation would seem most natural.

“Ayumi, why do you look out for Izumiko the way you do? It’s not because you want to mess with the student government group, is it?”

Ayumi turned to face him in surprise. “Yikes. Whenever I see you, Miyuki, you look so prickly. Oh. That’s right. You live in the same house as Izumiko, so you’d notice those sorts of things, wouldn’t you.”

“I don’t live in the same house as her. I only live on the same property,” Miyuki said, going out of his way to point out the difference. Ayumi didn’t seem to be the sort of person to object to such a living arrangement though.

“I guess Haruna and I look out for Izumiko because our houses are the closest to hers. I say close, but seeing as the shrine’s on the top of Mt. Tamakura, we’re not exactly neighbors or anything. When Izumiko’s absent, we take her schoolwork and stuff over to her. We’ve been doing it since grade school.”

That made Miyuki’s eyes widen. He hadn’t expected a reason like that.

“Is she absent a lot?”

“She used to be out a lot before. She has a chronic fear of strangers, so it usually takes a few years before she works up the courage to talk to anyone new. She’s gotten better recently though, I guess. It seems like she’s trying hard to open up.”

A fear of strangers, huh?...

Miyuki tilted his head, thinking back to when he had been little and had come to the shrine for the first time. He remembered thinking that Izumiko, with her short, little braids, had seemed awfully timid and weak. Seeing as they had still played together though, he had decided to repeatedly throw a ball at her head to toughen her up.

“How did she develop a fear of strangers when she lives in an area with no strangers? This place is so small, everyone knows everyone here,” Miyuki said.

Ayumi laughed. “I said, it’s chronic. When I first met her, it was so bad that she would shut down if she was around more than three people at once.”

Just then, Haruna jogged cheerfully over to them. She wasn’t a member of the team chosen for the track tournament, but it seemed as if she had stayed behind after school that day to walk home with Ayumi.

“Ayu, what are you talking about?” She leaned towards Ayumi as she spoke, only appearing to notice Miyuki after a moment. Haruna had a muscular build from all her time playing basketball, but she still acted very much like the young girl she was.

Still smiling, Ayumi explained, “Miyuki seems to think we only take care of Izumiko to annoy the student president and her group.”

Haruna sucked in a breath and then enthusiastically said, “That’s not the only reason, but it’s an added bonus. You don’t hang out with the president, do you, Miyuki?”

Miyuki gave a weak laugh. Misa had been watching him for some time now, but at least he had known she was doing it.

“I don’t hang out with her. But please don’t ask me why.”

“Ah. Yeah, gotcha.”

The three of them stood there for a bit, talking. Their conversation didn’t last long, but from the short time they spent together, Miyuki could tell that Ayumi and Haruna were everyday girls. As long as he smiled as they talked, they were kind to him. They had no ulterior intentions and had nothing bad to say about Izumiko.

After that, Miyuki talked with Ayumi and Haruna from time to time. When they asked him to help them with their English sentence translation homework, he agreed, too. As he had prepared for their study session, he had assumed Izumiko would be lured into joining them. After all, Ayumi and Haruna were her friends and they all had the same work to do. But instead, her expression had only grown darker and darker when she heard about the plans. Whenever Miyuki hung out with Ayumi and Haruna, Izumiko would never come anywhere near them.

I’m finally only with people she’s comfortable around, and it still didn’t go the way I planned…

Even though just about all the third-year students at Awatani Middle School had gotten used to Miyuki by then, Izumiko still didn’t seem to like him.

All of these thoughts went around Miyuki’s head as he pulled a bowstring back.

On the days he didn’t stay late at school for track practice, he came back to Tamakura Shrine, changed immediately into his training clothes, and had lessons with Mr. Nonomura. According to Mr. Nonomura, shooting an arrow wasn’t just about hitting the mark, but also making use of one’s inner discipline.

“Every day, you should try to shoot as many arrows as it takes to clear your mind of intrusive thoughts. Savor the feeling of hitting the target and when you miss, consider why it was that you did not make the mark.”

Izumiko is so stubborn that once she makes up her mind, she won’t change it…

If on the slight chance that he did transfer to the high school at the foot of the mountain with her, he had to assume that he would be in for a gloomy few years.

Then again, I couldn’t get her to like me before I started ignoring her either…

His idle thoughts refused to leave him and he missed the target so many times that he grew fed up with the exercise. He even wondered if there was something wrong with the bow. Deciding to readjust the bowstring just in case, Miyuki reached for the nock of the bow. It was then that he noticed a person’s faint shadow nearby.

Turning his head, he saw that it was Izumiko. She stood there, still in her school uniform, an anxious expression on her face.

“What?”

“My mom sent me a cellphone,” she replied. Her voice carried a slight tremor to it. “This her response to the letter I sent.”

There was a white envelope in Izumiko’s hand. She offered it to him and he frowned a little, looking at it.

“I can read it?”

Izumiko gave a small, determined nod.

She’s giving me Yukariko’s letter…

Strangely enough, his mood lifted.

For a second, he looked at the face of the small girl with her braids. She was the same girl who had chased after him when they were little, saying she wanted to play. He didn’t say it out loud, but looking at her now made him think about that time. She had sullenly told him she didn’t remember his first trip to the shrine, so he had told her he didn’t remember either, but those had just been words.

He opened the envelope and scanned over the words on the paper. Noticing that Izumiko had crept closer as he had read, Miyuki wondered how much of the relief he was feeling was visible on his face. Maybe she didn’t hate him so much after all.

#isgs #rdg #red data girl #ice shoes glass shoes #translation #isgs story 1 week 3 #rdg ice shoes glass shoes

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telltalia · 4 years

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wuɳɗɛʀรcɦöɳ, PT 1

Wuɳɗɛʀรcɦöɳ, Germany x Reader

Word Count: 3,253

Written back in 2017 during my crazy Germany phase and when I was just starting my German lessons. Now, I’m starting my 3rd year of the German language. Wow. Time is an illusion. It might be a bit cringey because I had just begun writing at the time, but I was really proud of it and still do kinda like it.

-December 23-

'Shit, shit, shit.’

You were currently wandering, lost, through a city miles and miles away from your hometown- scratch that- your home country! Such a good idea to try to navigate through a foreign country without knowing a speck of the language. Well, other than simple high school education. How did you end up in this situation again? Oh yeah, your sister. Your sister's boyfriend, to be exact.

Your sister decided to move to Germany with her boyfriend Gilbert a few months ago, and she wanted you to come to visit. Of course, you've always wanted to visit a foreign country, but sadly, this meant leaving your safe, warm house and heading out into the cold foreign lands. You still remember that phone call. "Hey, (Y/N)! Gilbert and I think it would be awesome if you could come to visit us over Christmas! We'll even send you money for a plane ticket if you need it!" After a lot of persuading, you finally gave in and promised to come as soon as you could. "Awesome!" Gilbert had answered. "When you get off the plane head to the train station! I'll have my brother pick you up from there." They were strange instructions, but Gil was a strange person. So you packed a duffel bag of the essentials, and here you were, a few weeks later in the German city of Munich. It was quite beautiful, but sadly you were too busy focusing on the cold. You knew it'd be cold, considering its winter, but not this cold! You made a mental note to kick Gilbert once you saw him again. Furrowing deeper into your coat, you looked up to the sign once again with determination. What does it say? It can't be that hard to figure it out. "Damn it..." you muttered softly. If only you could use your phone to translate it. But sadly, you didn't have Wifi, and you were stupid enough to forget to download something beforehand to help you. Now, here you were with only a heavy coat and a stressed mind, standing in the soft winter flurries. All you needed was the train station. But sadly, you didn't recognize any of the words on this sign. Sighing deeply, you stepped back and moved to the side so that other people could read it, not noticing the pair of soft blue eyes that followed you gently. Spotting a small bench, you brushed the snow off of it and sat, discouraged. It was only a few moments until: "Entschuldigung, ist alles in Ordnung?" You jumped a bit and glanced up to make eye contact with a sturdy man, who immediately glanced away shyly. "Es tut mir Leid. Es geht mich wirklich nichts an." He continued talking, and you panicked. ‘Okay, okay, think!’ You ordered yourself. ‘High school German class, come back to me!’ "U-uh. I-Ich... sp-spreche kein... or is it keine? No... shit." The young man glanced back at you with a patient look in his eyes, and under his soft blue gaze, you felt even more shy. "I-Ich spreche kein Deutsch." You finally managed, though it sounded more like a question than a statement. The man ran his hand through his slicked-back blond hair, raised his eyebrows and nodded in understanding. Both of you seemed a little bit awkward. "Oh? Englisch?" You nodded, finally feeling a glimmer of hope on this trip. Maybe he could help you. "Do you know any English? I-uh... I mean... sprechen du... I mean Sie! Sprechen Sie Englisch?" Your cold cheeks practically lit aflame when the man let out a stifled, barely noticeable chuckle at your attempts. "Yes, I know English." You never thought you could fall in love with a voice, but that low German accent speaking in English was the nicest sounding thing you've ever heard. God... you don't even know the man and you're imagining what his voice would sound like whispering words of endearment. It sounded so gentle the way he spoke. "Well..." You began with a sigh. "That's a relief." "I... um," the man stumbled over his words a bit. Maybe it was because he wasn't used to speaking in English, or maybe it was simply because he was shy. Either way, you found it cute, almost endearing. "It may not be my business, but you looked a bit stressed. I suppose it's because you couldn't read the sign back there?" "Yeah." You nodded shyly, feeling silly. "I was, uh, looking for the train station and I couldn't tell what the sign was saying. I'm surprised I got this far." "I could get you to it if you want." Quickly, you shook your head. "I don't want to inconvenience you! I'll find it eventually!" "Nein, nein. I was on my way there anyway. I'm supposed to pick someone up." Suddenly, something hit you. Metaphorically, that is. You knew there was something familiar about his face. As strange as it seemed, you felt as if you had seen this stranger before. And you had. When your sister first met Gilbert, she would send emails and messages every night. Some of these messages included photos of her and Gilbert. Most of the time it was just her showing something stupid Gilbert was doing- drunk or not- and other times, it was both of them, pulling a prank on Gilbert’s poor, unsuspecting brother. You always thought that he was kind of cute but, if this was him, he’s certainly more than you expected. "I, uhh." How could you word this that doesn't make it sound creepy? "You wouldn't happen to know a Gilbert, would you? Beilschmidt?” The man’s face twisted up in confusion. “Yes, I do. He’s my brother.” “Well. Then I think you’re the person I’m looking for.” You stuck out your hand for him to shake. “I’m (Y/N). My sister is dating your brother.” You cringed a bit at the last line. ‘Wow, what a way to introduce yourself. Smooth.’ “Well, that’s convenient, isn’t it?” He shook your hand, eyeing you in curiosity. “Ludwig.” He introduced himself simply, nodding. After introducing himself, he pulled his hand away and ran it over his smooth hair again. This seemed to be a habit of his. Maybe he was nervous- or just shy. He continued analyzing you, with a soft look of bewilderment on his face, making you feel all the more uncomfortable. You took the quick chance to inspect him as well. He stood quite a few- and I mean many- inches taller than you, and behind the thick winter coat, you could tell he had a sturdy and firm build. He must definitely work out. He had light blonde hair slicked back on his head and adorned with a few unmelted snowflakes, and baby blue eyes. Eyes that met yours. After only a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, he looked away quickly, focusing his gaze on the ground with a blush on his face. “You’re different than I thought you would be.” your cheeks lit up in embarrassment. Did that mean he was thinking about you? What did he think you were going to be like? And why did something as little as that matter to you? “What did you think I’d be like?” “Well, your sister is quite…” he paused, looking for the right word. It was obvious he didn’t want to offend you or your sister. “Annoying?” For the first time since you’d met him, Ludwig let a small smile span across his face. “Annoying, ja. Almost as much as my brother. But you on the other hand.” He paused again, “You seem like a nice woman. Smarter than your sister. More modest. And a lot smarter than Gilbert, that Dummkopf. It’s nice to know I won’t have another idiot in my house.” That complement left you flushed, not in embarrassment, but in satisfaction. “O-oh.” you smiled at him. “Thank you.” “Bitte.” Another moment of silence followed his response, and you decided it was time to go. “Do you have a car? We should probably get to Gilbert’s house. Or is it your house?” “He lives in my house. But I have Gilbert’s car right now.” he waved his hand in a 'come along' fashion and turned towards where the car apparently was. He opened the door and motioned for you to get in. "I can put your bags in the trunk if you wish." He suggested hesitantly. It was obvious he didn't talk to girls frequently. "T-thanks." You smiled at him, and he quickly looked away, putting your bags away and then sliding into the driver's side next to you. As he started the car and began the drive, you tried to strike up a conversation. "So... how far is your house?" "Ehhm, nicht weit. Not far. Just outside the city. About 10 minutes." Silence once again. You gazed out the window a bit, taking in some of the passing houses. This was such a pretty town. "This is such a pretty city." You sighed dreamily. "Ja, it's one of my favorite places in Germany." Ludwig responded. "How many other places have you been?" You glanced over at Ludwig and met his gaze. He immediately looked back to the road with a blush. "Well, mein Bruder and I lived in Berlin for most of our lives. We came here for Oktoberfest one year and he liked it so much he wanted to move here." He let out a soft scoff and you couldn't help but imagine Gilbert drunk off his ass and begging to live here. "I prefer the North. Although Munich is sehr schön." You almost melted at the way the German word rolled off his tongue so naturally. He glanced aside at you awkwardly. "S-So... how long are you staying?" "Just three days. Until Christmas evening. I don't have much family at home so when my sister called I decided 'Why not?' Just a few days won't hurt." "You don't have any family at home?" "Well, you know. Everyone is too busy to celebrate Christmas with me. So I'm usually alone on Christmas." A slight look of pity crossed Ludwig's eyes. "How long have you been living alone? You don't look that old." "No, I'm only 20. I've been on my own since I turned 18. I was pretty good financially, so as soon as I was done with high school I moved out." "Well, this year I'm sure Gilbert and (S/N) will make sure to have a big celebration." He glanced at you reassuringly. "It sounds like them." You laughed. Looking out the window a bit, you noticed Ludwig pull into a driveway surrounded by trees. "Are we here already?" "Ja, come on." You hopped out of the car and went to help Ludwig with your bags. "Nein, (Y/N). I've got them. Go tell them we're here." You gave Ludwig a small nod of appreciation and turned towards the house. It was nicely sized, and made of stone. You stepped up the steps to the door and knocked, from inside you could hear several bodies scrambling to the door. Suddenly, the door was thrown open and you were surrounded by different sounds, feelings, and smells. "(Y/N)! (Y/N)! OH MY GOD, YOU'RE HERE." Before you even noticed the dogs, you were stumbling backward into a sturdy chest. Ludwig held you protectively and quickly got the dogs to back down. "Aster, Berlitz, Blackie! Halt! Runter!" You glanced at Ludwig and he at you for a few moments before the three dogs sat obediently in the doorway, moving aside so that Gilbert and your sister could tackle you with hugs. "Man! I haven't seen you in so long! This is awesome!" Your sister examined you, taking in the slight differences. "How'd you like my lesser awesome little brother?" Gilbert. Separating from Ludwig, you gave Gilbert's shoulder a light punch. And laughed. "He was nice. Stop it." "Ow! (S/N), she's abusing me!" "Come on sis, I'll show you where you can put your stuff." You took your bags out of Ludwig's hands, glancing up at him in thanks once again, before following your sister. As she was walking you through the halls, she nudged you gently. "Sooooo... what do you think?" "About what?" Your sister snickered softly. "About Luddy." A blush lit you face up quickly, and your sister immediately noticed. "Aha! You like him." "N-no! It's not... It's not like that. He's really nice!" "And hot too, right?” Judging by the embarrassed look that spread across your face, she continued “Come on. Even if you don't like him, you've gotta admit..." you stayed silent for a few moments, before deciding it was useless to argue with her. "Okay... yeah, I think he's kind of hot." you smiled softly, instantly regretting it when your sister let a wide grin spread across her face in a “ha-ha, I got you.” kind of way. "Oh man, you do! You're in lo~ove." “What?! But you just said-” your sister cut you off, arriving in an empty room. “Okay, (Y/N). You wanna know the real reason I wanted you to come over here?” “Because you miss me and wanted me to experience traveling to another country?” you asked dryly. “Well, that too. But mostly, I wanted you to meet Luddy. I mean, he’s perfect for you! Plus, both of you are lonely as shit. So I wanted you to get to know each other.” you turned bright red. "You mean the only reason I came here was that you wanted to set me up?" "Okay, I can understand if you're mad. But seriously. Ludwig's just your type. You even said he's really nice." "I think a lot of people are really nice. It doesn't mean I want to date them!" You sighed and set your stuff down on the bed. “Is this my room?” “Well, it's actually mine. But you can sleep in here tonight. I'm gonna be with Gilbert.” she winked at you suggestively and you groaned. “God, please keep me out of your sex life.” “That's gonna be hard to do tonight. It's gonna be a bit loud.” Before you could attack your sister, Gilbert burst into the room. “Yo! We made food!” “You mean I made food!” Lud’s voice boomed from down the hall. "Was? Come on, I helped!" Gilbert then turned to (S/N) and they started intensely making out. You stood quickly and walked out. "Tell mein Bruder we won't be having dinner for a bit." Gilbert said, as he and (S/N) made their way to his room. You groaned and Ludwig came down the hallway in a black tee-shirt and sweatpants, an apron draped over his shoulder. "Aren't they coming?" You have him a look, and he suddenly understood. "Ugh." He shook his head. "Well, you're still a guest, and you must be hungry- " As if on cue and trying to embarrass you, your stomach grumbled softly, and you blushed. "Ja. Really hungry." He turned and you followed him to the kitchen, where he motioned for you to sit before setting a large bowl of food in front of you. "It's just some soup." Ludwig explained softly, now seeming embarrassed himself as he set some food down for the three dogs and then sat across from you at his own bowl. "It's good." You stated simply. You couldn't help but feel awkward around him now. You thought you were making a friend, and then your sister had to tell you she wanted to set you two up. You couldn't see him any differently now. You glanced up at him discreetly. His smooth blonde hair was still slicked back, and his blue eyes were closed as he swallowed down some soup. Your observation from earlier had been correct. He was muscular; he definitely works out. But at the same time, he wasn't bulky. Now wearing short sleeves, you could see his strong arms and through his sweatpants, you could see his muscular legs, and you could just drool at it. He looked... amazing. Soon you were both done eating, and you offered to help him wash the dishes. "No, no, no. You're a guest." "Well, I can't let you do them alone. I don't want to feel like a burden." After a bit of persuasion, you were drying the dishes for him, and you couldn't help but think back to what your sister said earlier. Why would she want to hook you up with him? You'd only be here for a few days, and she knew you weren't the kind of person to have quick flings with people. As much as that was true, if you weren't just visiting... if the circumstances were different... you definitely thought Ludwig was a good person, so... It would be an understatement to say that you blushed at that thought. Your face completely lit up bright red. "Hallo? (Y/N)? Bist du da?" Ludwig's low voice snapped you back into the moment. "W-what?" "You were spacing out." "Sorry." "I was wondering if- um... if you were planning on doing anything the next three days?" "Well, really, I was just going to try to survive with both my sister and Gil in the same house." Ludwig smiled at your honesty, looking away slightly to try- and fail- to hide it. "How about I show you around München? You seemed so interested earlier. I-If you don't have anything else to do, that is..." "You'd really show me around?" Your eyes lit up in delight. "It's kein Problem. I'd be happy to show you around the city. You just seemed so amazed by it earlier." "What are we gonna see?" You could no longer contain your excitement. You were in Germany, for Pete's sake! "I mean, I am in Germany. I may as well do something fun." "I actually don't have any ideas yet. We could visit the Christkindlmarkt and you could get (S/N) a gift." Ludwig rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "That would be great, thank you!" In the joy of the moment and the idea of spending the day in a Christmas market with a potential friend, you wrapped your arms around his firm midsection in happiness, momentarily forgetting who you were talking to. "Thank you so much." You felt Ludwig's entire body stiffen up noticeably, and you heard a dish crash into the sink. When you came to the realisation of what you did, you pulled away quickly. "Oh God, sorry! It didn't break, did it?" "Was?" Ludwig was extremely flustered as he looked back towards the sink and the broken plate. "O-oh. Ja..." "Oh, God... I'm so sorry." "It's fine, (Y/N)." "I've barely been here an hour and I already broke something." "(Y/N). Keine Bange. That plate wasn't important. Ich verspreche." Carefully picking the pieces out of the sink, he gave you reassuring glance. "I'll buy you a plate tomorrow then!" Ludwig simply sighed. "If that'll soothe your conscience. Go ahead." Standing there for a few moments with an embarrassed blush on your face as he cleaned up a mess you had caused, you decided to head to bed. "I- um, I'm going to get to sleep now. Jetlag and all..." "Alright." He replied, not meeting your gaze. "Gute Nacht." Quickly, you left the kitchen and found your way to your sister's room. Thankfully, she and Gilbert were still... ahem, busy, so you had the room to yourself. You changed into your sleep clothes and slipped under the warm covers, letting sweet dreams of Ludwig fill your mind.

Translations

-Hopefully, they’re all at least kinda correct but at the time I had only taken a few basic German classes. -

Entschuldigung, ist alles in Ordnung?- Excuse me, is everything okay?

Es tut mir Leid. Es geht mich wirklich nichts an- I'm sorry. It's really none of my business.

Ich spreche kein Deutsch- I do not speak German.

Sprechen Sie Englisch?- Do you speak English?

Dummkopf- idiot

Bitte- you're welcome

Nicht weit- not far

sehr schön- very pretty

Halt, runter- stop, sit

Bist du da?- Are you there?

kein Problem- no problem

Keine Bange- don't worry

Ich verspreche- I promise

Gute Nacht- good night

#germany x reader #reader insert #aph germany #ludwig beilschmidt

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cozycosplaycorner · 4 years

Text

The curious incident of how I made cosplay friends

Hobbies are great. Whether you paint, read, or play a musical instrument, having a hobby is a source of joy and self-actualization (shoutout to homeboy Maslow). But often what makes a hobby great is having people to share it with. This is why you used to blabber about Naruto to your poor, innocent classmates in middle school – you had no one else to share it with (points if you also showed them how to Naruto run).

It’s very much the same with cosplay. I’m an introvert and have at times been called a downright loner, so sitting hours bend over a sewing machine is actually classified as FUN in my house. I love the process of making the cosplay, getting it just right, doing the make up and seeing it all come together. But once I am finished, I’m dying to share it with the world! Look! I made this thing! With my hands! I love this character and this show so much SHARE MY LOVE. This is the entire reason we have apps like Tik Tok and Instagram, to share our common passion.

I have never been a many-peoples’-friend-person. I’m not good at, nor interested in being friends with everyone I meet. I’m (Batman) more the type who has a few tight friend groups and I stick to those. Really, you should be taking advice from my girlfriend Joshi, she can make friends with just about everybody. But you’re stuck with me, suckeeers! Actually though, I want to stick with Joshi a little while longer. When I first entered cosplay, I was 16 and I knew NO ONE in the community. I didn’t even know there was a community here in Denmark. All I knew, was that Comic Con was coming to Copenhagen for the first time and six years of larp had prepared me for it. I spend three weeks making a mediocre Harley Quinn cosplay and then me and my then boyfriend hopped on a train to the big city.

I was overwhelmed with how many cosplayers I saw that day. So much talent in one place. I got a picture with a God Tier John Egbert! I didn’t even know other Danes READ Homestuck! I had a great day... but didn’t make friends. Of all the things I suck most at, striking up conversation with complete strangers is definitely in the top three. Also posture and remembering laundry in the washer are up there somewhere. I was an outsider. This continued for a year or so. I met a girl who needed someone to help her get to a con (she’s in a wheelchair) and just hang out with her there, so I volunteered, and we had a great time! (I here reprised as Edward Elric). A few months later another con came up and I went with two friends from my French class and boyfriend once again, this time as Juuzou Suzuya. (Fun anecdote time: I actually saw Joshi there as Levi Ackermann and thought she and her friends looked so cool, I didn’t dare say hi. Boy, if you had told me I would one day date that girl... Holy smokes.) One final con I also made it to, still an outsider! I didn’t dare talk to people, I was timid and had a good but also slightly awkward time.

I didn’t cosplay for a full year. I didn’t have the motivation. Where was the fun if I didn’t have a community to share it with? No one I knew was interested in cosplay or even really nerds, my exboyfriend and I went our separate ways and cosplay just kind of... died. Until! Aha, you knew this was coming! I discovered Voltron. Yes, I know, cliché blah blah blah. But yes, I got into Voltron just before season 7 came out and I ate the entire show raw in three days. I was obsessed like I hadn’t been in a long time, and actually got the guts to chat with some fellow Danish cosplayers about it. One day, one of those cosplayers invited me to join a call where we would show off our Voltron cosplays and I had actually pulled of a very shabby Lance. I remember that call very clearly. After a while, a Keith cosplayer joined us. This is how I met your mother.

It’s funny. I almost said no to that call. Just because I wasn’t sure about it, sure about my cosplay, sure about what I would say. I can, no joke, say with full confidence, that if I hadn’t said “what the hell” and just went for it, I wouldn’t have been a cosplayer today. I wouldn’t have the friends I have today. I would never have met my girlfriend and that sucks so much to think about, I can describe it, but I really don’t want to.

So do it. Go for it. If you really love to cosplay and don’t want to give it up, prioritize making friends in the community. I don’t care how much of an introvert you are, cosplay without friends WILL suck. Going to cons alone without talking to a single person there WILL be a crappy experience. And it really doesn’t have to be. You don’t have to leave Comic Con with 42 new facebook friends. I started with about four or five, and that got me miles. Joshi is a force of nature when it comes to making friends, and for some reason she took a liking to this sad excuse of a social being, and through her I got to know so many awesome people – Anso included! All because I sewed some yellow arm patches on a H&M jacket and joined a group call.

#josie's corner #cosplay #making friends #cosplay community

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rainsonata · 5 years

Text

Doppelgänger 3/15

Chapter 03: Mind and Body

Fandom/Pairing: Elsword; none Rating: K+ Word Count: 6,368

Summary: It was like looking into a mirror. What happens when one’s reflection talks back and throws uncomfortable questions? El Search Party struggles to find entrance into the Demon Realm, but Dominator has a plan.

Alternative Title: Dominator fucked up and now everyone meets their alternative selves

AO3 Link / FF.NET Link

— [Chapter 01] [Chapter 02] [Chapter 03] [Chapter 04] [Chapter 05] [Chapter 06] [Chapter 07] [Chapter 08] [Chapter 09] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapter 14] [Chapter 15] —

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Class Notes:

Canon Path: Knight Emperor, Aether Sage, Daybreaker, Rage Hearts, Code: Esencia, Comet Crusader, Apsara, Empire Sword, Doom Bringer, Ishtar and Chevalier (Innocent), Bluhen

Alternate Path: Rune Slayer, Oz Sorcerer, Anemos, Furious Blade, Code: Ultimate, Fatal Phantom, Devi, Flame Lord, Dominator, Timoria and Abysser (Catastrophe), Richter

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Rage Hearts

A couple of dark elves were stationed when the El Search Party arrived at the outpost with heavy eyelids. The dark elf elder must have instructed them to stay behind if they were still in the process of evacuating the village. White masks obscured their faces, but their sharpened knives and bows positioned for an ambush made it clear they weren’t letting their guard down.

The sentry guardians let them cram under a tent for shelter from the rain. Black clouds clustered together in an erratic array, thunder striking against Rage’s eardrums as rain overflowed the undergrowth. Lightning flashed in irregular intervals as he and his friends waited in painful silence.

Packing that morning was less than a hassle. Apsara only forgot to retrieve her spare weapons once and it took less than three trips to pack Cavalier’s elaborate tea set customized from Lanox. Being a soldier himself, he didn’t own a lot of possessions. He spent most of the morning making sure nothing was left behind and that everyone was present and accounted for. They were waiting for Aether and Crusader when one of the dark elves spoke.

“Your party number seems to increase every time we meet.”

“I’m sorry?” Perplexed by what the dark elf meant, Rage did a mental headcount. There were nine of them, which was three short because Knight was gone and they were still waiting for two party members to rejoin. Did the dark elf mistaken?

“No, there are nine of us,” Apsara waved her finger in the air to recount their team members.

The dark elf didn’t falter from her statement, “I saw humans in the forest last night. Elder Edith told us not to attack on her command, but if you are hiding more humans...”

“We’re not,” Rage said. “If there were more of us, we would have told you.”

“How many people were there?” Code: Esencia asked.

“At least a dozen,” the other dark elf replied. “They were in smaller groups as you were.”

“Sorry for the wait,” Aether stepped under the tent. Her staff raised above her head to form a magical barrier shielding her from the rain. In contrast to the El Search Party, Aether remained dry aside from a few wrinkles that needed to be ironed out. “It took longer than I thought to get here with the sudden rain.”

“We’ll be outside if you humans need us,” the dark elf said. Her comrade nodded to the party and excuse themselves from the tent.

The dark elves have left the El Search Party with new information that must have been baffling for them because Daybringer had ceased talking to Bluhen, who had a sullen expression but nodded when she stopped to explain something. Empire, Ishtar, and Chevalier discussed among themselves on the implications of potential human allies. Esencia and Bringer were silent on the affair, deep in their thoughts and had nothing to contribute to the conversation.

There at least a dozen humans beside them! Rage was shocked by the number. They haven’t had new members join the El Search Party since Cavalier and Ishtar, who arrived as a pair in Lanox. Regardless, with strict policies to outsiders, it was unlikely for humans to settle in Varnimyr without the dark elves’ notice. Who were those strangers and what were the chances of coming into contact with them? With their luck, very likely.

“What’s going on? Everyone’s quiet,” Aether frowned.

“Sorry, Aisha. I could hardly sleep last night.” Apsara wiped her eyes to dust away a tear, “It was hard to.”

“Sorry about the late letter,” Aether chuckled. “Didn’t want you to worry for not saying where we were.”

“Where’s Chung?” Rage noted the absence of the young man.

The mage stuttered, “He’s occupied at the moment. Don’t worry, he’ll be here soon!”

Aether smiled, but her brows visibly twitching at an intensity that left little of her answer to be believed. Sitting between Rage and Apsara, she had her hands over the helm of her skirt, picking at a loose piece of thread she found. Worry and discomfort were apparent in how she crossed her legs with restlessness.

“What did you want to tell us?” Empire sat next to the mage.

Aether hummed, “There’s a trail leading to clues that might tell us what happened to Elsword. You must have seen the forest before you arrived.”

It was unlike anything they have seen before. Unevenly burned and charred, the trees were stripped bare of their bark and collapsed at the slightest human contact. The smell of smoke was still fresh in Rage’s mind. Parts of it were still burning from yesterday when Bluhen found the battle site until the downpour started. It was no ordinary fire. The burn marks stopped abruptly midway through the woods and the destructive path it laid in ruins was too well calculated to be of natural occurrence.

Albeit the clumsiness and likely lack of control over their magic, Rage could see the power in what was leftover from how through the fire was. He had doubts they would find anything of use from the remnants of the burned down forest. Broken bottles and discarded glass jars told the mercenary the damage was likely caused by another human. An arsonist in the Demon Realm? The magic humans used for magic was different than the blue fire Ishtar and Cavalier used in battle. Not as destructive as demon fire, but just as unpredictable and difficult to control without proper training.

“There were footprints, but as you may guess, most of it was gone by the time we found them.” Aether said, “Human footprints mixed with-”

“Corrupted Elrianode monsters,” Bluhen finished, long eyelashes brushing over green pupils. “Elsword wanted to assess the cause of the sudden spike in the presence of El. I agreed to go with him to ensure his safety, but we were split apart when we saw the monsters.”

That was new information for the El Search Party.

Bringer’s scowl grew deeper, uttering incohesive words that were less than savory. Apsara looked at Empire with concern as the red knight’s shoulders stiffened at the mention of her brother, clamping her gloved hands into tight fists. Quiet chatter spouted between some of the team members, words of hushed worry and fear.

Esencia wasn’t as transparent in her emotions, but the sadness in her eyes was apparent. The Nasod queen placed her weight on Remy and Moby, patting them with gentleness unlike one of a Nasod.

“That idiot,” Aether growled. Red flashed across the mage’s features, a mixture of anger and regret, even guilt from how hard she gripped her staff if that was any indication. “He could have waited for us to help him with the investigation. Why does he think he has to deal with everything by himself?”

Knight would have taken their concern with a bashful laugh. Flustered but with an appreciative smile before covering his embarrassment with an apology, leaving one to wonder if the man was aware of the effect he had on others.

He was not the most intelligent of the bunch, but his impressive stamina and strive to move forward was admirable. That was what made Knight approachable and likable because he wasn’t threatening. Rare naivety for someone his age, yet it was his strength to explains why he had supportive friends willing to stay by his ideals.

“Um… The dark elves said they saw humans.” Apsara decided to change the topic to break the silence, “What does that mean? I thought we were the only ones. Did you see them, Aisha?”

The mage shook her head.

“It’s not improbable,” Ishtar said, the former demon monarch idly flicking her tail. “It would be naive to think we were the first outsiders the dark elves have met. Demons have invaded the human world before, so it’s not unlikely the same has happened in reverse.”

“Is it an invasion if there are only twelve of them?” Chevalier mused.

“Humans are capable even in small numbers,” Esencia stated.

That’s why humans won the Nasod War, Rage thought. Humans do not have half the abilities demons, but their adaptability and tenacity made up for it, as he had found out when he met the El Search Party. No one else was as foolish or stubborn as the children that were willing to put their lives on the line to rescue a bizarre cyborg experiment.

“Should we warn the dark elves?” Daybreaker asked.

“We don’t know what kind of people they are,” Apsara argued. “We should watch them first before we do anything. They could be new allies!”

“Or they can be new enemies,” Bringer drawled. “But still, not a bad idea.”

“I sense their El,” Bluhen said. “But they share the same wavelength as us. They have better control over it than the demons do.”

“What you described sounds like the shadows we fought in the Hall of El.” Aether crossed her arms.

The shadows’ physical appearances, movements, even their voices mirrored their real counterparts. They were manifestations of the El, whispering sweet promises and luring them into a false sense of security. It was a good thing none of them caved in because the El Search Party could have disbanded from missing members.

Daybreaker crossed examined the purple-haired woman with the eyes of a medic, taking note of the lack of open wounds or injuries. It didn’t appear that Aether partook in a recent fight. “You seem to be in good health, but what about Chung? Are the potions for him?”

“I guess you can say that,” Aether rubbed her forehead. “He’ll be here soon enough, hahaha…”

Her nervous and forced laughter left more questions than answers. She was going to leave red marks on her forehead if she kept rubbing it.

The mage mumbled, “What’s taking him so long?”

Rage narrowed his eyes. Aether was an intelligent young woman, but hiding information from the group was not what the mercenary appreciated if they were discussing the health of a fellow team member. Opening his mouth, he was ready to interrogate her before Empire interjected.

“We can wait for Chung, but you need to be honest with us if he doesn’t come in fifteen minutes.” Empire warned Aether, “I understand if he wants you to lie to spare our feelings, but we don’t have the time to play these charades.”

“Right…” Aether’s eyes averted.

“Did you find the remains?” Bringer ignored the leers Bluhen was sending him. “We found the loser’s scabbard. Did you call this meeting to tell us what we already know?”

It was strange his scabbard was the only thing remaining. Where did Knight’s greatsword go? His scabbard was identified closer to their campsite than where Rage thought the battle between their former leader and the monsters took place. The ones Bluhen fought must have been the last of them because they did not come across any on their way to the resting station to reunite with their teammates. Those beings held no inhibition or motivation of their own unless controlled by a Henir cultist.

“Remains?” Aether gawked at the brawler, “What are you talking about?”

“Ow, let go!” A familiar voice whined from outside the tent.

A male voice exclaimed, “You’re going to reopen your wounds if you walk like that!”

“Your grip is going to reopen them!” They huffed, “When did you get this strong? Easy on the hand holding!”

The voices grew louder in a cacophony.

Drenched from the rain was a young man emerging into the tent. He wore an unbuttoned thin white jacket with red lining on the edges and belts, which was also soaked from the inconvenient weather. Metallic pieces plated over his thighs for reasons Rage couldn’t understand. What were those plates supposed to protect? Red runes etched over his bare tanned skin on his arms and lower stomach, revealing more runes carved into his palms when he opened them.

Behind him was Crusader. The ponytailed man had an umbrella over his head with a medical kit in hand. Destroyer was strapped to his back and one arm interlocked around the other. His determination was visible as Crusader tugged his elbow inward and pulling them towards the center to Aether’s fire to warm up.

“If you don’t stay still, those scars will become permanent.” Crusader chastised.

“What’s another scar to add to the many?” He shrugged, “It’s not like we have a healer or anything.”

“We have Ain.”

“Since when does Ain heal?”

Aether groaned.

Long tangled hair tied into a lower ponytail, bangs pulled back by a black headband that did little to keep his fringe out of his eyes. Eyes the color of fire matched his hair. Rage gawked at his choice of clothes. What was he wearing? Those plates weren’t going to protect him from anything unless the demons wanted to attack his thighs.

“Why are you all so serious?” The man let out a nervous chuckle at his new audience, “You all look like someone just died.”

Empire stepped forward, eyes glazed over him. Arms across the newcomer’s shoulders, she croaked at the familiar face.

“Elsword?”

--------------------------------------------------

Devi

The sun warmed the frigid forest undergrowth with tenderness. Devi smelled smoke coming from the fire Abysser kept alive throughout the night, waking up in hourly shifts to rekindle the dying light. It was a commitment she admired from a distance, not wanting to bother the demon in his morning ritual. Pots and pans clattered in the background as Abysser gathered ingredients he had stocked in Elrianode in preparation for breakfast.

Marigold glowed in the lower portion to indigo and maroon where the horizon was, a mild portion of the sky in what Devi assumed was what mornings were like in the Demon Realm. In contrast to the numerous moons rotating on their axis, the lonesome sun dipped past the hills. The forest’s chatter dismissed from activity as Devi examined her fingernails, curling them tight in anticipation with quivered lips.

She promised she would follow Flame.

Despite the inconvenience she had brought to the El Search Party because of Ran’s actions, Flame waited for her. What started as routine sparring sessions blossomed into more. They talked about their brothers, their hometowns, the food and people they saw, and the wonders they experienced on their journeys. Although the red knight wasn’t the brightest and sometimes needed things to be explained, her presence was candlelight when Devi was in a dark place.

Resting her head on her bag, Flame remained exhausted and woozy from last night fight, restless in sleep. Red strands fluttered past her face as she slept on her side, arms tucked into her body. Her chest rose with each passing breath, unaware of Devi sitting close by on a fallen log and watching over her.

The Rune Master meant the world to Flame. Devi understood the feeling of losing a close family member after finally catching a glimpse of them even for a short period of time. Raised in the army and asked to lead at a young age, Flame admitted that her happiest moment wasn’t reuniting with her father, but seeing Rune again and joining his band of oddballs in Velder. Devi couldn’t forget the rage and panic Flame had when she almost lost her brother to the El.

It was unfair to despise the boy for playing martyr out of the selfless belief that it would restore the El and everything would be fine and dandy. If that was his idea of justice, Devi could respect that, but placing his life in danger shortly after affected her more than she had expected herself to be.

Rune could have chosen not to listen to her story after she had blocked them from attacking her brother. No one was forcing him to accept Devi into the El Search Party or provide her the resources to strengthen her spear. Kindness seemed to run in the family because Rune never judged her for her decision to pursue power over more noble goals

“It sounds important to you, so I trust you.” He said when Devi gave him a quizzical eye.

Missing him? Eun asked.

Only because he brings her pain, Devi replied. She could hear the doubt in the fox spirit’s thoughts but knew better than to probe further.

If it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t have met Flame or the other party members, who were just as accepting. It was the kind of trust that could easily be taken advantage of by others.

Devi smelled the eggs and steamed rice. She considered offering a hand and helping Abysser set the table, but arrangements were already made with plates and bowls ready, utensils lined up and ready to feed five people.

There’s only five of us, Eun reminded her.

Six if we count you, Devi held a blank expression on that line of thought. They were seven people short with Rune’s whereabouts unknown. Flame was insistent on regrouping with the rest of their friends. When Devi woke up for her shift, Abysser passed a message that Dominator had found a way to reach them over their communication devices. They were going to leave after breakfast.

Flame moved. Stretching her limbs, she reached for her bag to retrieve a hairbrush to untangle her hair and rolled to the side to greet Devi.

“Mornin’” The fire knight yawned. “Did you sleep well?”

Smiling at her, Devi shook her head. “You know I can’t sleep through the night as well as you can.”

Which was true, because the Demon Realm wasn’t free from crickets. Their loud chirps made the forest come alive and left Devi lying in cold sweat from moving in her sleep. Summers in Demon Realm couldn’t escape insects either, it seemed.

“What’s on your mind?” Flame teased, “You look like Eun just told you Elsword ate the last steak.”

“I didn’t know he could eat that much!” Devi fumed, feeling her cheeks flush red and stuttered. “You should get ready for breakfast. We’re leaving after to meet up with the others.”

“You heard from them?” Flame was impressed. “That was quick!”

Devi thought about the effort Dominator must have put into making their means of communication functional despite Dark El tempering with it. His fascination with Nasods wasn’t something she understood nor did she care for, but if it helped them on their journey and made things more convenient, then she wasn’t going to complain. It wouldn’t surprise her if the scientist pulled an all-nighter.

“Why stop when you can make more improvements?” Dominator would have puffed his chest with pride.

Breakfast was a quiet affair with humble food and bread rationed among party members to last them for at least a few days for their upcoming expedition. With only five mouths to feed, although that would soon bump back to eleven, it didn’t take long to wash the dishes and clean up afterward. It felt like they were camping outside Atlas Station again, surrounded by a foreign environment and little known information to what was in their future.

It started raining when they finished packing. Water droplets pelted them as Devi clenched her gown to the side to avoid getting it wet, grumbling to herself with dismay. It felt like years since their last experienced proper rainfall, which was when they stopped at Atlas Station. Clouds cluttered and darkened without warning, releasing a downpour over their group as they searched for higher ground to avoid the overflowing river.

“Where did you say we were meeting them again?” Flame pressed her forehead against her palm, rubbing her eyes.

“I told them where we were,” Phantom said. “Hopefully they can find out through this rain.”

Phantom had a baby blue umbrella over his head and a matching scarf. Equally blue eyes locked into Devi’s, still shorter than the older woman even with the added centimeters from his armor. Gray clouds reflecting off his pupils, difficult to read and unpredictable as the way he fought the Hamel demons on their first meeting.

The other half of their group contacted him when Phantom was on patrol duty for the night. From then, the message was passed down the rest of their small group with Devi being the last to tell Flame.

“What are you going to do once we find Elsword?” Phantom asked.

“The same as before,” Devi flashed a sharp-fanged smile. “Ran is still out there and those demons won’t slaughter themselves.”

Phantom didn’t flinch at the half threat, but the disapproval was clear. If he was requesting for a different answer this time, then the guardian of Hamel was in for a disappointment.

Devi let out a humorless laugh. Her brother was still a high priority on her list and taking down the demons that brought him to his fate was her answer. She wasn’t going to pretend it wasn’t a selfish act. It was personal and had little to no involvement with the grander scheme of the El or those involved with it. Ran was but a mere pawn to the demons that wished to invade Elrios and use their resources.

Strange how life played its pieces into place. She was on the same side as the man who wanted to take down her brother despite the risks that may jeopardize their relations.

“I hope you understand what it means if you can’t make him change his mind,” Phantom chose his words with care.

“I know,” Devi gripped her hands around her umbrella. They would have to take him down, a thought that had her clenched her teeth on the possibility. “I see them.”

She made out the outlines of Oz’s hat and Dominator’s drones residing behind the scientist, their shadows obscuring the other half of the El Search Party emerging from the storm. They regrouped under the trees, laying their weapons and possessions against the tree trunks. Most of them wore raincoats that went down to their knees with matching umbrellas.

“I hope there was no trouble getting here,” Phantom said. “Did you come across any demons?”

“Not as many as I thought there would be.” Anemos was apologetic, “Sorry for the wait!”

“Let’s not do this again,” Oz wiped her brow. “This place is big enough as is when we’re together.”

Devi agreed. They had wasted a day searching for each other and avoiding bringing attention to themselves because of their unceremonious entrance into a new world. Too many detours like in Elrios. They could be searching for answers on the Dark El, but time was running out.

“Any signs or clues to where Elsword is?” Abysser asked.

Richter leaned closer to where Anemos was and averted his gaze when addressed by the demon. Long strands of hair combed over his eyes. The priest stood still under the tree, rain trickling down his pale neck as he engaged in a locked staring contest with Abysser.

Abysser was the first to blink.

“We didn’t find anything, but there are tents nearby.” Abysser took the lack of response from Richter and the others for a no. “I think we’ll have luck if we ask the residents living here.”

“I see.”

Displeasure appeared on Richter’s face not unlike her own, just as irritated on the suggestion of cooperating with demons. They have a poor track record with demons outside of Timoria and Abysser, although that was to be expected with their reputation for giving demons trouble.

“Eve, is there a way you can search for Elsword?” Flame asked.

Gazing at her with sympathy, Ultimate said. “Remy and Moby can run a scan, but it will take time. They need time to analyze.”

“Thank you,” Flame was appreciative. “I guess that brings us back to square one on finding Elsword.”

“Unless we run into ourselves,” Blade mumbled.

“What?” Devi stared at the mercenary with intent, waiting for Blade to say he was joking. Okay, the old man was as likely to start joking when Dominator would stop gushing over ancient codes.

“I...may have brought us into the wrong Demon Realm and we might run into ourselves,” Dominator admitted with a sheepish grin.

Devi groaned, “Is that going to give us problems?”

There were correct Demon Realms now? Devi covered her face with a gloved hand and choked on her saliva. There were only so many times she could handle dimension-hopping. First, there was Elysion, then Elrianode, she guessed Demon Realm was another to add to the list.

“If they’re anything like us, they might be helpful in finding the brat,” Dominator mused. “Assuming they don’t see us as a threat.”

How reassuring, Eun yawned.

Not if we take them down first, Devi thought.

“Wrong Demon Realm or not, we still need a starting point to find Elsword.” Blade said, “I think Ciel is right in asking around. We can learn more about the Demon Realm and where we are.”

“We can do that after the rain stops,” Flame stared at the gray skies. “I doubt we’ll find anyone in this weather.”

Devi gazed at the sky too. It was the kind of weather for her and brother to sit around the fire for a cup of tea after dinner. She was always careful not to add too many tea leaves after the one time she forgot and used all of them in one sitting. Ran wouldn’t stop laughing about it afterward, but it didn’t make her feel bad because he offered to make a new pot of tea. If they were in a different Demon Realm, did that mean this Ran wasn’t the one she grew up with? Devi didn’t know what to think of that.

Alternatives of themselves. What were they like? Would her counterpart be nothing but a shadow of herself like those manifestations in the Hall of El? Or would the look-alike be a mirror image for Devi to notice the visible flaws until she had enough and lose her mind? If there was another Flame, would they still get along? Devi laid her head down and sighed. She had enough of this dimension bullshit.

--------------------------------------------------

Knight Emperor

“Who are you?” Knight stared at the sleeping figure. A trap set by demons? What were they doing here?

That couldn’t be a civilian. They shared his face. Not an exact copy because they wore their hair like they left a late-night party and had questionable clothes, but that wasn’t the point! How could that be possible? They felt too real to be an imitation like the shadows he had fought in the Temple of Trials.

“Ugh, my head hurts.” They stood up, wobbling with their hand over their head. “Woah, did I hit my head that hard? I see two of me!”

“You’re telling me,” Knight crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side, studying his look alike. The red markings reminded him of the runes he studied when he still bothered going to school before picking up a sword. Well, they couldn’t both call themselves Elsword, so his counterpart was going to be named Rune. Wait, he was getting distracted... “Why are you here?”

“Better question,” Rune laughed. “Why are you here?”

“I don’t have time for this,” Knight groaned at the question flipped on its head and back to himself. “Earthquakes are going on and we still don’t know anything about the Dark El. I need to get back to my friends and-”

“Wow, you’re searching for answers on that too?” That perked Rune’s attention, “I guess you really are me!”

Knight wasn’t as keen on being associated with his counterpart. Past experiences with similar entities were unpleasant and often ended in brawls. Would that happen again with this one? Knight closed his eyes. He was still exhausted from the fight.

“Hey, don’t space out on me. Are you okay?”

Knight jerked his head forward to the sound of rattling, his mind paused on the present and went to autopilot. Twisting his body, Knight threw himself in front of his counterpart and blocked a set of sharp teeth with his sword, shoving his counterpart to the ground with his free hand and away from the attacker. Knight opened his mouth to scream at Rune to leave, but nothing came out. He could feel the demon breathing down on him as it pinned him.

The demon attacked.

Water dripped from the high ceiling, echoing within the walls of the enclosure with no interruptions. The ground was damp and had a mossy smell to the gravel beneath Knight’s boots. He woke up to the sight of a sharp point of a crystal growing from the ceiling, pointing down to where he laid. Knight held his breath and pulled himself away before he could hurt himself from wanting to touch the crystal to see if it was as tough as his greatsword.

Fluorescent light radiated from crystals on the sides of the walls in pink, orange, blue, and purple, some as tall as a human adult. Some of the crystals sprouted from the ceiling and the ground up, forming an effective wall and blocking possible exits. Smaller rocks were placed strategically in the corners of the confinement. Shelves carved into the walls behind him with nothing but dust to greet Knight.

Where was he? Peeking through the gaps between the crystallized wall, repeated formations of crystals and boulders expanded with no end in sight. He was inside a cavern. A metallic smell stuck to the walls, one that Knight was well accustomed to by now. It smelled like blood.

Was this the Shadow Driller’s hideout? Knight turned around frantically in search for the demon that brought him here. It resembled the Shadow Snipers invading Hamel almost two years ago, but it looked stronger. Thorns protruded over its head and orange scales plated over its spine and limbs, standing on hind legs and claws reached out for him. It was easily taller than him by at least one to two heads. What was Knight supposed to do if there were more of them?

He needed to leave.

The Emperor Knight reached for his greatsword from the sheath on his back, feeling for his weapon and moving his arm back further when there was nothing. His blood turned into ice. The absence of his weapon was apparent.

He failed to keep his promise to his friends and got himself caught in a sticky situation. How long would it take for the El Search Party to figure out where he was? Knight himself didn’t know how far he was from his friends. He didn’t remember seeing a cave or a cavern close to their campsite.

Where did he drop his sword? It was by his side when Knight fought off the Elrianode monsters and found Rune, who was nowhere to be found.

A hollow feeling rose from his chest. Did Rune understand his intention and escape while Knight fought the Shadow Driller as a distraction? Or did Rune stay behind to fight and get caught as a prisoner?

His counterpart was less fazed by Knight’s existence than vice versa, but he didn’t seem to have bad intentions if his first response was to talk things out instead of attack. That was a change in pace for Knight after dealing with demons who felt more obliged to slice him in half rather than hold a conversation.

Rune said something about researching the Dark El. It sounded similar to the resolve Knight made with his friends after they pulled him out of the El’s influence. Determination mirrored back when Knight looked at his alternative, purpose and responsibility weighing on the shoulders of an eighteen-year-old with battle scars. Those scars looked worse than his, making Knight gain sudden self-conscious over his body. If it wasn’t for Bluhen, would he be similar to his other self? They had minute differences, but their mind and body were the same.

If Rune existed, then did the rest of the El Search Party exist as well? Knight tried to imagine meeting Aether or Bluhen’s alternatives, but the image of them wearing clothes as meager as Rune wasn’t something he was going to forget. Did it matter if they were different? They would still be his friends.

This was something Bringer would have enjoyed discussing because the brawler held a fascination for alternative dimensions and the like. Knight was sure he would explain how people like Rune were possible when they held more free will than any of the shadows they have encountered before. Until he could break his way out and find his friends, he was on his own.

Lifting his head, Knight was greeted by a pale face.

“Aaah!” Knight knocked his head against the wall, covering his head in pain. Hitting his head on a stone wall was a bad idea.

The small figure giggled, their face was well hidden by the hood they wore adorned with cat ears. A child? Not as tiny as Ishtar, they stood up to his shoulder in a one-piece suit and a jacket hoodie zipped up. Thin chains extended from their tailcoat with sharpened ends, matching the magenta-colored gloves they wore. The child’s clothes held no wrinkles, the insides of their hood patterned in purple diamonds and they weren’t sweating like Knight was. A recent captive?

Knight apologized and rubbed his head. “I didn’t know you were in there. Sorry if I bothered you.”

Were they always there? They looked so small with the layer of clothes on them. Assuming the silence for shyness, Knight didn’t push on the child and offered an encouraging smile. He had to stay strong. The child didn’t need to see him in distress or panic that he had no idea where they were. That’s what Empire did when they were children because she wanted him to believe in her. He would do the same for the new child.

“You don’t happen to know how to get out of here, do you?” Knight asked.

No response, not even nodding or shaking their head for any indication they heard him. They were holding something. The child held up a leather bag that was easily half of their weight, prompting Knight to accept it.

“You want me to open it?” Knight forgot to tell the child that it was his bag. How did they take it without his notice? Was he surprised to see another human being that he had let his guard down?

Knight emptied the bag and laid the contents side by side, gesturing the child to sit next to him. Snow fruits, desert sweet potatoes, and bulky carrots were bred to be sturdy vegetables, but he felt guilty when he saw how much they bruised. Expired tickets and flyers from COBO services came out of the back pockets, colors and lettering faded away and smelled like Sander Jerky. A leather sack held hundreds of millions of gold coins Knight had been saving to upgrade armor and weapons. Spices for food and fragment powder for crafting them into El Tear fragments were organized by color and type.

Initially organized into smaller compartments courtesy to Bringer, who complained about his habits for tossing everything together in the bag, well… Old habits are hard to break and Knight was back to square one. Elixirs, potions, crafting material, accessories, clothes, certificates, scrolls, and stamps cluttered his bag.

The child glared at the growing pile of trash.

“I know it’s a lot,” Knight was embarrassed. “There’s nothing to do here, I guess now is a good time to start organizing.”

He was never going to hear the end of this if Aether or Bringer found out that he forgot to keep his stuff clean. With two people, it was still a Herculean task sort out the trash and know what to keep. It was tempting to hold on to everything, but Knight felt a pair of eyes dig into the back of his neck when he suggested keeping the old coins the town alchemists no longer accepted for crafting services (1). Couldn’t a guy get a little nostalgic?

“That’s the last of it!” Knight smiled when they finished cleaning. “You didn’t have to help me, but thanks!”

The child ignored him, turning their head away from the knight. The disappointment was apparent at the mess he was making. Knight laughed nervously when he saw where they were looking. Kept in a flask the color of the wind El, he made out the cursive writing on a label “Blessed Giant Hand Potion” (2).

Next to it laid a greatsword Knight didn’t remember owning. Bulkier in appearance, the crossguard was more circular than what he was used to and the hilt had red belts attached. The blade itself was as wide as his head but thinner at the point. When Knight tested the greatsword, he was shocked that it was lighter than it looked. At closer inspection, he recognized the symbols on the hilt and blade to be runes he couldn’t understand. Was this Rune’s sword? What was it doing here and how did he pick it up without knowing? But still, this was good to have something to defend himself when they make their breakout.

“You think this will work?” Knight asked. What a dumb question, he thought, but he missed having someone to talk to despite their conversations being one-sided.

Knight sweated when the child smiled at him full of sharp teeth. They were going to break out with sheer force. That could work.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Knight chuckled, “Stay close to me.”

He choked on the breath-taking hold the child had, wrapping their arms in a binding hug around the waist. Knight gently tapped on their gloved hands to let go. The child loosened their grip, backing away and giving him room in preparation for their escape.

Feeling his hand over the crystallized wall, Knight snapped his eyes tight, concentrating on the spot with the weakest support. Unbottled elixir in hand, his lungs were on fire like he had inhaled sugar into his nostrils. His hands enlarged and Knight breathed.

One, two, three!

“Hyaaaah!” Knight charged.

--------------------------------------------------

Notes:

Old coins (1) - Once upon a time, Elsword had Secret Dungeon coins and separate crafting material for each Secret Dungeon set.

“Blessed Giant Hand Potion” (2) - An elixir that causes the character hands and weapon to become bigger and have an increase in damage boost.

#elsword #eltag #Elsword fanfiction #Doppelganger (Elsword)#mywriting #my writing #Elboy #Aisha (Elsword)#Rena (Elsword)#Raven (Elsword)#Eve (Elsword)#Chung (Elsword)#Ara (Elsword)#Elesis (Elsword)#Add (Elsword)#Lu (Elsword)#Ciel (Elsword)#Ain (Elsword)

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virryth · 6 years

Text

Classmate!AU Jun

before we start can I disclaimer: this went on for longer than expected;; also it’ll be a little more emo than the rest of the classmate!au bc i got emo lol

1874 | Bullet | Fluff

where weak-hearted Jun signed up for a horror film class on a dare but you signed up to nap

Analysis of Modern Horror Films is the easiest class for anyone who wants to knock out the required cultural credit

It’s 6 hours once a week, and class lecture consists of watching one movie and a short analysis at the end of class wow it’s literally The Easiest class for nappers and busy non-liberal art kids who just want an easy A

And that’s why you’re here, your pre-med major literally sucks the life out of you and this is the perfect time slot to take a quick nap in the back corner

Except.. it’s not that easy

The dark and cold auditorium is the perfect environment, yes, but the sound system works a bit too well, and even though you’re a heavy sleeper it sometime gets too loud you wake up 20 minutes into a nap and couldn’t go back to sleep

On such a day you usually just sit and watch the movie since there’s not enough light for you to crack open your books and study

That day “The Conjuring” was shown, and you didn’t think this movie was super scary the first time you watched it but the guy sitting 2 seats from you certainly did

For the whole ten minutes where there was silence building up to the jump scare, the guy had his hands over his eyes and both of his legs pulled towards his body

The hood of his hoodie all the way stringed up so only his nose and eyes were visible

Also it’s kind of strange because you’ve never seen anyone all the way up at the top where you sit, it’s usually just you and another (probably premed) kid napping away the hours

Anyway, you watched the guy for the whole ten or so minutes and it’s super amusing bc he flinches at every single little noise but kept watching it through the gaps between his fingers

You got curious so you move to sit next to him and you wait for the jump scare and then you just.. poke his arm when the jump scare happens

I kid you not the guy jumped so high up in his seat and, since his legs were already drawn up, almost tumbled and fell over

But you caught his shoulders like a ninja right before he fell so you technically saved him from hitting his head on the seat in front

Even though it was because of you that he fell over

The guy turns and looks at you in horror

“sorry sorry I just wanted to scare you a bit,” you mumbled an apology between quiet breaths of laughter, both surprised and impressed that he didn’t scream

But the guy, instead of getting mad, clutched your hands and in a low, shaky voice asked if you could hold his hands until the movie finishes

And you’re still laughing, but a bit taken back

Usually you find skinship bothersome, but today.. you feel kinda bad for scaring the poor guy so you agree

For another hour you sit in darkness as the boy duck his head and occasionally squeezes your hand so tight you were sure there would be marks (and there were)

At the end of class the light goes back on and as usual the professor told the class to write a reflection and turn it in at the back door

Now, this is when you expect him to let go of your hand because the movie is over and, well, you have a reflection to write

Not that you need your right hand since you’re left-handed

But you’re also not gonna play bff and stay for the aftermath to comfort him

“J-just a few more minutes,” he takes a deep breath and swallows, “please.”

Now that the lights are on and you can see his face, he’s pretty cute

aNYWay you’re not kind enough to lend a shoulder to a total stranger but he honestly looked so shaken up he might pass out if he tries to stand up

So.. you think of it like helping a small animal

“I’m Jun, by the way. What’s your name?”

Honestly there really was no need for introduction as you were sure you’d never sit here again, but you conceded, partly to calm him bc you can feel the shakiness in his voice

Then Jun apologizes, something like this is the first time you’ve meet and he looks like a total loser

But you shake your head like no no it’s fine lol

And you catch a glimpse of the quick relief that spread across his face. Wow this guy is really good looking–

“Why do you take the class if you can’t stand horror films?” You managed to ask before the blood rushes to your face

At this he seems to hesitate, clearing his throat as he regains his composure

“I did it on a dare.”

“Just go ahead and laugh,” Jun broke into laughter as you epically failed to hide yours

He signed up for 6 hours a week of something he hates.. bc of a dare

Is he stupid or is he stupid–

“Sorry, I just.. it’s not everyday you meet someone signing up for a class they absolutely hate on a dare. Have you attended every lecture until now?”

Jun nodded a yes and you starts feeling some sort of respect for his bravery

He said something along the line of bringing ear plugs and secretly listening to music during class but to no avail, he always ends up covering his face with muffled scream because nothing had worked until today when he held your hand

This entire time you’re talking to the guy his hand still clutches to yours, and for the first time you feel slightly bashful about that huge small fact

As the both of you finishes the reflection, you said goodbye and left first since you have another class right after this

But Jun just looks at you after you left like you’re the most peculiar human he’s ever seen

“First of all, she didn’t know who I was”

Chan looks at Jun in disbelief, his mouth stops chewing the fish cake he was having for lunch

“What do you mean?? She doesn’t know Wen Junhui astrophysics and dance double major president of the school’s track team?”

“Isn’t that better?” Jihoon chimed in, taking a sip of his dark black coffee, “a clean slate. You hate people who only only sees you for your looks anyway.”

“I don’t hate them,” Jun clarified. It’s just that he finds it hard to connect with someone on an emotional level when all they care about is his outer appearance and reputation

But Jihoon’s words gave him something to think about

So the next time he saw you in class, you were in a different corner than where you usually were, so he went over and sit himself next to you and try to strike conversation

And at first you’re like.. who are you again?—ok just joking, but seriously why are we talking again lol

But he keeps trying every time to talk to you that eventually you just gave up

Talking and being next to you makes Jun feel a bit calmer in horror film class

Even though he still jumps every now and then, and you still scare him every now and then for your own amusement

Jun doesn’t mind it though, he loves interacting with you

Your personality is quite similar to his friend Jihoon— straightforward, a bit shy and silly, extremely unbothered sometimes but can be warm and engaging once your attention is focused on something or someone

And once that someone is Jun you give him your full attention because you’ve never met someone that responds to you with so much warmth

Even when he receives full attention anyway from the stares of girls and guys alike, nothing makes him feel as important and appreciated when it’s you

Sometimes he lay awake at night, unable to fall asleep, but when he does he’d wake up in the middle of the night and his thoughts would wander to you

Jun didn’t realize he was falling for you until one afternoon at a coffee shop, when Jihoon had played him a demo of a self-composed track, Run To You, and at that moment Jun had never wanted to see anyone else so badly

And as you’re walking to your last class at 2pm in the hot afternoon, in the distance you see Jun

He’s running towards you and jumping over fences and side-stepping so many people

He’s running so fast he almost tripped over a pot of plant around the corner and you gasped because be careful!!

And he makes you laugh again and again, like that time he was drinking water and a scary scene jumps out so he choked and coughed for a good ten minutes he almost had to leave class for making so much noise

Or that time you study together for a midterm and the both of you fell asleep against a bookshelf in the library but stupid Jun’s Attack on Titan alarm went off so loUD you woke up and bumped heads against the shelf

And a few books fell down but Jun shielded you so he got hurt instead, yet he was still smiling and laughing like an idiot

the many times he unintentionally did something either dumb or cute, he makes you laugh, and you were sure you’d never laugh so much if not for Jun

Jun stops in front of you to catch his breath, eyes never once left yours

For the first time he wasn’t smiling when meeting you, instead there was something desperate in his eyes

And in yours, too, perhaps, because in that moment you had realized how much he meant to you

“I have something to say,” he started between sharp takes of breath, “even if this doesn’t reach you, I—”

You don’t say anything to that, instead you pull his collar and kiss him

Jun is like!!! he can’t believe

But he reciprocated and you two kiss for a long time dndrjkgjfkd

In the middle of the courtyard

With everyone staring

And from that day on you two are known as the campus power couple

You bring each other coffee and have lunch date with talks over quantum fields theory and the expansion of stars it’s cute [and informative] bc it’s mostly Jun talking and you smiling

And he’s smiling at you and you’re just there like “Jun please we’re already dating stop giving me heart eyes”

But he can’t stop bc you’re adorable and you rarely initiate skinship with him in public but when you initiate to hold hands his heart leaped and he’s the happiest man in the world

And he’s one of the types that will interrupt you mid-sentence to kiss you and snuggle into your neck and you have to tell him to stop bc you keep losing your train of thoughts

“No I’m listening I’m just not mentally here hehe you’re so cute”

Minghao joked that seeing you two is like seeing Jun date Jihoon bc you’re both so similar

And Jihoon is like gross but he’s nodding at you from across the table in mutual respect

“Jun you have cool friends”

“I do. wait just my friends am I not cool?”

“no”

“?!?!?!? D:::”

“just kidding ilu”

“;DDDD <3333”</li>

#ughhh i love jun so much #protect the baby #svt au #seventeen au #sfw #jun #jun au #jun scenarios #jun imagines #classmate!au #seventeen scenarios #seventeen imagines #seventeen jun #virryth #Junhui #Junhui fluff #Junhui fic #jun fic #jun fluff

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princess-of-the-corner · 6 years

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Okay, I know we all have various problems with several Disney Movies. None are big enough for me to ‘hate’ a movie, but I just kinda want to rant on possible scenes to make things a little better.

Some are my own complaints, others are common complaints from the masses. And some of these suggestions are more than scene, but something that would derail the movie.

Also, to mention, while I’m pointing out and fixing flaws, this is more me having fun with some stuff. So it’s not all complaining.

I think I’ll go in order, and also focus mostly on the Princess movies since those problems are discussed a lot so let’s start at the beginning:

Snow White - Many people complain about Snow White trusting strangers too much and taking the apple. But I think that they should put a little more emphasis on why she trusts the old woman. I already had an interpretation of why, and this works off it.

Have the local forest creatures that she talks to say not to trust the old woman offering apples, she smells weird. Snow White then scolds them for judging others by smell, and assures them it’s fine. After all, if her evil stepmother knew where she was, she’d probably show up and upright stab her or something. Why would she send an old woman with apples?(Where were you on that one Grimhilde? This is what you get for being all Extra™ and going for Magic Transformation and ‘poisoned’ apples that don’t even kill her, just put her to sleep until ‘True Love’s Kiss’. Seriously, if you want to be ‘fairest in the land’, putting the prettier girl in a coma ain’t the best way to get rid of the competition. )

Cinderella - First off, changes that don’t derail the original plot:

1.) I will always insist her name is Ella due to most other Cinderella stories having it as her real name, while ‘Cinderella’ is a cruel nickname her stepmother gave her. It gives an extra level of showing off the abuse. I want it not only mentioned in the film, but I want it right at the end when the Prince comes to take her away. The Stepmother is still scolding her for escaping, trying to convince the Prince that he deserves better than the servant girl, all while still using the name.

The Prince notices the way she flinches at the name, and ignores the stepmother to ask her directly ‘What is your name?’(They hadn’t given names before because, well, he’s the Prince so she should’ve known his, and she believed that the few hours they spent together would stay as a memory and they’d never meet again, so she never gave hers,). She turns to him and says with more confidence than she probably feels “Ella. My name is Ella.”. And when he says it, tests how the name rolls of his tongue, she melts, because it’s been years since anyone has called her by her name.

2.) Secondly, if you want my opinion on the changes to make her a stronger character in the remake, let me refer you to the Nostalgia Critic’s “Old Vs. New”��for my opinion there.

3.) As for other changes, I would give her more time with the Prince. At least, more time that we actually see.

In the original Disney movie, their interaction is in a song montage. But we do see that the two meet, dance, and spend the rest of the time until Midnight talking and taking a walk through the palace gardens, but we don’t hear their conversation, just the love song.

Side note: Ella doesn’t even know he’s the Prince when she falls in love with him. Seriously, watch it again, when the clock strikes Midnight and the Magic begins to run out, she begins making excuses for why she has to leave so quickly. One excuse she gives is ‘I haven’t met the Prince yet!’. This confuses the Prince, but I think it makes him love her more. Because she thought he was just some random guy and yet spent all of her time with him instead of trying to find the Prince.

But yeah, I would like to see more than their implied bonding. Give a full scene of them walking and talking and.... okay, it’s not the best example, but go watch Frozen’s “Love is an Open Door” sequence where Hans and Anna are running around, talking, and having fun. Give me that, but with Ella and her Princ.

4.) Also give the Prince a name. I’m partial to Freyr myself, but according to the Wiki the names listed are Henry(or Henri, as that info came from the French Blu-ray release), Alto, or Otto. But Disney’s never given a real answEven most of the Merchandising just calls him “Prince Charming”. Hell, are we just supposed to believe that it’s like the guy from Shrek 2 where his name actually is ‘Charming’ and he happens to be Prince of the land? If so, that’s one of the dumbest, ‘I want to slap your parents for that’ names I’ve seen in fictional characters. (Some MLP characters still win. I think Filthy Rich is runner up to his wife, Spoiled Milk.)

5.) Another thing is to give the step-sisters more character. This is mostly because of the sequels they made, and how it really got me to love Anastasia, but I think you could do similar stuff with Drizella. After all, Lady Tremaine is not really nice to any of them in the movie, though her abuse of her own daughters is far different than the abuse she puts Ella through. I’d say maybe do something like the fic Cinderella:Redo, where they help Ella under their mother’s nose. But at the very least, I would like to show off more of the fact that Lady Tremaine abuses them too, and that they only join in abusing Ella because they were trained to think that it was okay, and are afraid of what their mother would do if they didn’t. Perhaps when Ella begins to leave with the Prince, they gain the courage to apologize to her for the part they played in making her life miserable, maybe even deciding to collect their things and move out of their mother’s home, even if they don’t quite have a proper place to go planned out. (Ella might be kind enough like she is in the sequel movies and helps them, letting them come with her to the castle until they can make it on their own).

As for a change I’d like that would derail the original plot

When the Faerie Godmother shows up, instead of giving just giving her a few hours of a Magic dress, she takes Ella to the Fae Realm. You could even have it round its way back to the Ball and Shoe plot. The Faerie Prince(or Princess?) is going holding a masquerade to find a wife or Magic Soulmate since they’re Fae and can have something like that. Ella goes just to have fun and dance, since she didn’t get to go to the last ball she was ‘invited’ to. She meets someone, talks and dances with them, and begins to fall in love, and then the person reveals that they’re the Prince(Princess?), and have found their Soulmate. But because Ella is scared that the Prince(Princesss?) just chose her, the human who came from nothing and was a servant most of her life, to be their Soulmate/future wife, she runs off and accidentally leaves the shoe(Or possibly, scared as she is, leaves the shoe on purpose because she did love them, and it’s the only thing she can leave for them to remember her by).

The Fae Royals go on the shoe quest, testing it out on everyone in the Realm. However, the reason the shoe doesn’t work for anyone isn’t ‘magic’ or just the size only fits her perfectly. It’s because when the Godmother made them, she was clever and put metal decorations on the shoes. Since metal burns Faeries(well, there’s debate on which metals and how much it hurts, but I’m generalizing), Ella is the only girl who can wear the shoes without pain.

Sleeping Beauty -

Let’s start with the ‘derail the plot’ ones first this time:

1.) The changes from Maleficent. I like the idea of her having an actual vendetta against Aurora’s father, and a very rub-salt-in-the-wound reason for making the cure to the Curse be ‘True Love’s Kiss’. And I especially love the whole thing where she watches Aurora as she grows up, like a ‘Fairy Godmother’, and comes to truly care for the girl. She loves her the point where she realizes the error of her ways and tries to revoke her Curse, and when she can’t do it she tries all she can to find the guy to give her ‘True Love’s Kiss’. And of course, I love the fact that it was her ‘I’m sorry I failed you’ forehead kiss that counts as ‘True Love’s Kiss’ and breaks the spell.

2.) Another version I would like is a full on Faerie War. Like, I can’t find the Tumblr post that pointed it out, but a lot of the original movie had to do with Fae Politics, oddly enough.

I think it’s less ‘good Faeries vs evil Faeries’ and more differences between groups(even though the four are the only ones we see, both are representatives of their ‘group’). The ‘good’ Faeries are the ones who go out of their way to help and interact with Humans(though can be mischievous and even cruel), while the ‘Evil’ ones stay more in the realm of Magic. They’ll deal with Humans in two instances: 1.) if they find one they like and 2.)in a matter of respect. Neither is really good nor evil, but I’ll refer to them as such because not only is it simpler, but because the Humans here see things more ‘black and white’ so to them it is ‘good and evil’.

In the movie, the King and Queen invite the ‘Good’ Faeries to celebrate Aurora’s birth, but purposely leave out the ‘evil’ Maleficent. However, in doing this, they have officially sided with the ‘good’ faeries and offended Maleficent(because ‘evil’ or not, she is a being who deserves respect and should be invited). She gives them a chance, showing up anyway and asking if it had been an oversight, or perhaps her invitation got lost in the mail. But they officially offend her and she curses the baby in response.

Now, while this to the Fae this is just retaliation for disrespect, Aurora’s Father declares war against the ‘evil’ Faeries for what Maleficent did. Since the ‘invite the ‘good’ Faeries and offend the ‘evil’ one’ bit means that he has aligned his kingdom with the ‘good’ Faeries, they are part of the war as well.

In this, I think I’d have the war wage on while the ‘good’ Faeries try to protect Aurora, but we get some of the stuff from Maleficent’s movie, where she shows up and influences the girl’s life, and both influence makes her a bit more Fae.

By the end, Aurora is no longer Human, but not quite Faerie. And as she was influenced by both sides, she is not a neutral player but part of each side. With that, she is able to see past ‘good’ and ‘evil’, and calms the war. Not sure how the Curse plays in, but it’ll get there. Or maybe she figures out a way to break the curse herself.

3.) Remember all that stuff I said about Fae Politics last time? Let’s have the version where Aurora’s parents did invite Maleficent out of respect. The Faeries would’ve been trying to one-up one another with their Gifts. Do you have any idea what Magical gifts they’d give Aurora just to show off?

As for things that don’t change the plot:

There’s only one scene I want to add. Well, more a montage of scenes. But I want to make the ‘Once Upon A Dream’ bit literal.

Aurora and Phillip are not just an arranged marriage, they’re some kind of Magically Connected Soulmates and that’s why the marriage is arranged when they’re born(not to mention that joining the kingdoms is a good idea that they might’ve been pushed toward anyway.). Of course, they don’t get to meet because Aurora is cursed by Maleficent and the Faeries take her to the woods and raise her as Briar Rose.

As the two grow up, they begin having these strange dreams. Dreams of someone else, who is just as intrigued by these dreams. They start out vague at first, impressions of feelings, blurry figures. Aurora sees someone tall and strong, Philip catches a glimpse of golden hair. As time goes on, the dreams become clearer.

Things are still a little blurry, they can’t make out one another’s faces, but they can talk, they can touch one another within this space. They spend countless nights creating songs and dances shared only with one another. And even though their faces and features are still a bit fuzzy, they can recognize the gleam in each others’ eyes when they smile and laugh. Every morning they hold one another close as they know the dream is beginning to end, as they know they’re waking up. Every morning they wake up heartbroken, having fallen in love with a person that they believe is only a reoccurring dream.

And then, one day, Phillip is out riding in the forest and he hears a voice that pulls him in. Wandering closer, thinking it impossible, he finds a girl, far too familiar, singing and dancing with the animals that stole his cloak and boots.

She’s familiar enough, but that’s not what makes his breath hitch. The song is one he knows as well as his own heart, and the dance one he could do in his sleep, one he has done in his sleep.

So he steps into place, dancing his own part, singing the lines with her. He didn’t mean to scare her, but he couldn’t help but fall into place. And at first, she’s scared, because the man from her dreams couldn’t be real, he has to be a stranger. But he just smiles and reminds her, they’ve met ‘once upon a dream’, and as he sings lines that only she should know, she realizes how real this is, how real he is. They’re both real, and have finally found each other.

The plot continues from there, pretty much the same as before. But it adds so much more to the romance.

The Little Mermaid - Not sure how to put this. But basically, put more emphasis on Ariel’s love for Humans in general. I mean, it’s already there and people kind of ignore it. She already wanted to go to the Human world and learn about it, but not only meeting/saving Eric, but her father’s rage at her interest and the destruction of her secret grotto is the tipping point that leads her to making the deal with Ursula.

Maybe have her be more of a self-taught anthropologist. Cut out the bird that has no idea how Humans work, have her just studying the items herself and guessing what their uses are for. Maybe she still gets some things wrong(like the fork being for hair), but she’s trying to figure out what all these items are and how Humans and their culture work.

And have it continue a bit more when she gets to the Human world. Sure, she focusing on flirting with Eric because of Ursula’s spell needing ‘True Love’s Kiss’, but have her stop and be fascinated by Human objects or what they’re doing. In my mind I can already write a scene where Eric is watching Ariel dismantle a clock, and he just falls in love with the delighted fascination she has every time she figures out how a part works.

Beauty and the Beast - Have the Enchantress be the villain. Like, okay, you can keep Gaston as a side antagonist because he and his song are fun, but that fucking Enchantress!

Like, Imagine you’re a 10 year old Prince. You open the door to an old woman who says ‘hey, so, can I just waltz into your house full of treasures and also a very young and vulnerable political leader to spend the night? I’ll give you this pretty flower as payment?”. Hell no. As much as I want to help the old lady in the storm, I’m closing the door on her ass too.

So not only did this Enchantress set up this bullshit test, but decided that in looking after his own well being, he was obviously a ‘just being a total douche’. So she decides to punish not only this 10 year old kid by turning him into a monstrous Chimera, but also the entire castle full of servants, who had jack shit to do with this exchange, are turned into various inanimate objects!

What a total bitch.

Anyway, have the Belle fall in love with the Beast ‘reverse the curse’ at the beginning of the climax instead of Gaston going full evil villain(Still give us the song though). Then the ex-Beast explains the curse to Belle when she’s like ‘what the fuck why’d you all turn into people?”.

Being clever, Belle puts all of the pieces together(like the Prince being fucking 10). She makes her way back to her little town, stomps over to Gaston and is like “Hey, I’ve never loved you, and even if I were marrying for social status, my new fiance is a Prince who outranks you, but you’re the best hunter I know. Think you can help me find an Enchantress? Because I have some ass to kick!”

The Lion King - Honestly? Include the stuff from the Broadway version where Scar is going fucking nuts. Have him go full-on insane from seeing Mufasa’s ghost haunting him(Or him hallucinating Mufasa’s ghost. Who knows if it’s real or not). Maybe include the full ‘Madness of King Scar’ scene because even though it’s disturbing as FUCK it’s a good villain moment to have him creeping on Nala(”My... how you’ve grown...” Ugh. Talk about lines that make you shudder.)

Maybe go more into Simba’s guilt over thinking he caused his father’s death, but also let him talk about it! When Nala asks why he’s pulling away, let him tell her that it’s his fault! Let him finally break down, and then have her be the one to convince him to come back home anyway because everyone would understand, and you need to move forward to help, face it instead of hiding away and pretending nothing exists.

She sneaks him into wherever the other lionesses are(and Simba gets a reunion with his mom). He tells them what he believes to be the truth, and they’re all upset but can see the toll guilt has taken on him and they know that it was an accident. So they decide to follow him anyway and pull a full uprising against Scar.

We still get Scar revealing that he killed Mufasa, but we also get a bit about how it only halved Simba’s guilt because even if he didn’t start the domino effect that killed Mufasa, he was still a part of it.

Pocahontas - Don’t. Just.... don’t. Don’t make it ‘based on true events’(based on my ass). Don’t make it seem like ‘and then the natives and the white men lived in peace’. I get that y’all were trying to make a movie about how ‘all races can get along’ but this is not the way to do it. Do it in, like, something more realistic. Or don’t do it at all, just have characters of various races and interracial couples without addressing it as a big thing.

That said, ignoring those problems it’s still a good movie. Maybe it could’ve worked if you didn’t make it with a set of races? Though even fictional races would have certain implications and.....you know what? Just make Romeo and Juliet. That’s pretty much what this movie was. It’s Romeo and Juliet, except after Romeo kills Tybalt, the Capulets capture and plan to kill him before they and the Montegues go to literal war, and Juliet stops them by talking some goddamn sense into these idiots. Just add in the song numbers and animal sidekicks.

Hercules - While I love this movie, for the love of god, or gods in this case, do better with Greek Mythology. There were references to actual myths and stories, but they were warped and shoved in and I just, ugh. It’s still a fun movie, but a lot less enjoyable once you learn more Greek Myths.

Also, STOP MAKING HADES THE VILLAIN. Even fucking Percy Jackson only used Hades as a fakeout villain! And it was only the first book! The rest of the time he was only as much of a dick as the rest of the gods! Seriously though, leave Hades alone and stop shoving your Christianity view of the afterlife onto him and making him Satan. He just rules the place, he’s not evil! He’s the fucker who names his giant, three-headed, guard dog ‘Spot’ and fell in love with a beautiful Goddess of Springtime(Side question: was she just, like, Goddess of Flowers or something before the whole pomegranate thing crated changing seasons?)! Let him just stay home while he and his wife take turns playing fetch with Cerberus!

Mulan - Make it gay. Okay, I could say that for all of these, but fucking- just- we all joke about how Shang was falling for ‘Ping’ before he knew that ‘Ping’ was Mulan, but how about we actually get it? Like, Shang falls for ‘Ping’, has the Bisexual Existential Crisis, and then pursues the romance on the down low. Also, have him still be Bi even after we get the reveal that ‘Ping’ is Mulan. Like, yeah, ‘he’ was ‘she’ all along, but Shang was Bi the whole time and falling for ‘Ping’ was just the slap-in-the-face realization he needed.

Okay, other more story-related suggestions.

First, have Mulan be less of a fuck-up in the beginning. Like, yeah, there’s kind of the thing of ‘bringing Honor to the Family in a way that isn’t “being the perfect bride”’ plot. But I feel like it’s a better message if Mulan had the option.

Like, while she’s not that interested into going to the Matchmaker and all, she is good at it. She’s good at being ‘girly’, and would make the perfect Bride/Wife/Mother that she’s expected to be. But maybe she’s on her way to the Matchmaker when horses ride into town and announce that one man from each family is being summoned to war. The Matchmaker visits are canceled, and everyone in town goes home to have a quiet goodbye dinner for the sons, husbands, brothers, and fathers that are being sent to war.

Now we have the rest of the movie go as originally, all the way up until the scene where they reveal to everyone that ‘Ping’ was a woman disguised as a man.

It starts to go the same, with the friends she made trying to protect her and Shang feeling conflicted because his duty should be to kill her or throw her out, but it’s ‘Ping’. Okay, her name is Mulan, but it’s still ‘Ping’. And as he’s debating, Mulan shouts that she only did it to save her aging father from dying in battle, and he makes up his mind.

He orders everyone to keep this secret. Some protest(especially that adviser guy), but he’s just like ‘no. This might be a woman, but she’s still the one who kicked ass and saved our lives.” So they all stick with her and bring her with them to see the Emperor.

The rest of the movie goes similar. The Huns survived and kidnap the Emperor, and Mulan convinces them to crossdress(Or just get in a dress, in her case) to sneak into the palace. She defeats the Big Bad in a firey explosion, etcetera. She can’t get back into ‘guy clothes’ before the Emperor congratulates her, and even if she could the adviser guy outs her for what she did, but the Emperor does the same as in the original with the whole “Hey, you saved my life. I don’t give a fuck what gender you are.”

The Emperor’s New Groove - I don’t fucking care about anything else, just give me Kingdom of the Sun! For those who don’t know, Kingdom of the Sun was one of the other Disney Movies that were in development, and is basically the Emperor’s New Groove’s first draft.

The plot of that had kind of a ‘Prince and the Pauper’ thing going on where the Emperor finds a peasant who looks like him, and has them trade places so he can fuck off and have fun. Yzma is an evil witch who learns about the switch and uses it to her advantage. She wants to summon a evil God of Death/Darkness to destroy the fucking Sun so that she could have Eternal Youth. It got cut for various reasons and a lot of what they had was reworked into this movie.

And honestly? I just want the original Yzma. As fun as the one we have is, the one from Kingdom of the Sun is so much more interesting, and you could’ve still had the rest of the movie we all like, even Yzma’s humor too, just give her those original motivations as a villain! Fucking- just listen to Yzma’s villain song! Yeah, Kingdom of the Sun made it far enough along that they had Eartha Kitt singing the villain song! Tell me you don’t want this version of the movie!

Tangled - There’s a bit too much focus on the side characters. Like, the best parts of the movie are pretty much everything after they get to the castle town. Have more of the quiet adventure, you know? More of the two of them interacting and less of the horse and the chameleon and the bar full of criminals.

Also... Okay, the only reason I want to keep the whole ‘Magic Flower gives her hair(and tears) glowy healing power’ thing is for the end of the movie. But in terms of why Gothel kidnapped her.... probably my second favorite reason? I think my favorite Gothel Backstory is from the Barbie version where she’s the psychotic ex girlfriend who kidnaps your child because��‘she should be mine anyway!’ and maybe that just set the bar too high.

Frozen - First off, I still love this movie.

That said, cut out the characters that are only in existence to be marketable (Olaf. He did jack shit). Give a little more and a little less to the Trolls. Like, take out their song and replace it with a little more on what all they can do.

I think Hans needs the most work, but not in the way you’d think. Make it clearer what kind of situation he’s in. Like, one of Anna’s scrapped songs is called ‘more than just the spare’, where it’s made clear that she’s only there and only taught how to rule because they need a ‘spare’ in case something happens to Elsa. She’s only kid #2, Hans is #13.

How do you think he feels? His only chance of being anything, of ruling any kingdom like a Prince should, is marrying a Princess and taking her kingdom. Emphasize that this is why he’s rushing into marrying Anna. But also, change the fact that it’s villainous.

When Anna comes to him desperate for ‘True Love’s Kiss’, instead of the full heel turn, have him confess everything. Confess that he’s not her ‘True Love’, because he doesn’t love her. Again, not in a villainious way, but more of a sad breakdown through realizing how much this will hurt her and that there’s no way out that won’t hurt her.

So he tells her of the family that sees him as nothing. He’s not even the ‘spare’, he’s #13. He has brothers who spent two years going out of their way to pretend he didn’t exist. That’s not ‘brotherly teasing’, that’s some level of abuse. And I doubt it stopped there.

Marrying a Princess or Queen of another land was his only option to be worth anything. And yes, he admits that it would be better if he seduced Elsa and married her, he even admits that the thought crossed his mind to marry Anna and fake an accident for Elsa. But he would never bring himself to do the second part.

Marrying Anna though, he had thought that was still a way out. He could marry her, move into her Kingdom and never have to deal with his family again. And while he isn’t in love with her, perhaps over time he could grow to love her like that.

Except Elsa forbid it, and told Anna that if she wants to marry Hans, they have to leave. He didn’t want to go back home, and even if he was forced to, he wouldn’t bring Anna into that situation.

And through all of this, since Elsa and Anna’s fight at the Coronation Ball, he’s been trying to figure out what to do. But now she’s here hoping he’s her ‘True Love’, and he’s breaking her heart.

All he can do is offer to take her to where Elsa is. He still had to imprison Elsa, because she’s a danger to the kingdom, but he helps Anna make her way down there because either she help Elsa control herself, or this would let her give a proper goodbye, since there’s no ‘True Love’s Kiss’ to save her.

The Act of True Love that isn’t a romantic kiss could be a number of things here. It could be Anna’s act of sticking by her sister, despite all that’s happened(Storge, Family Love). It could be Elsa finally giving in and letting herself feel, because keeping everything locked inside hurt her , and her sister, in so many ways(Philautia, Self Love). Even Hans confession and deciding to care for the girls and help them because it’s the right thing to do, even if all he can do is tell the truth they deserve(Agape, Selfless Love).

Okay, I’ve run out of Disney Films I either have strong ideas for, or have seen. So let’s end this.

#Rant Tag

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vrepitsorrynotsorry · 6 years

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Suuuper Late Black Paladin Week Day 2

I’m both lazy and busy, but I’m currently at the dealership getting an oil change and am using the waiting area time to write. Sorry, @blackpaladinweek!

Title: All in Your Head Theme: Divergent Rating: PG Pairing: Intended Gen, but feel free to interpret subtext as you so choose. Warnings/Spoilers: There’s some mild violence. I also intend no offense regarding mental health issues. Spoils through the end of Season 4. A/N: I have found I really enjoy having Lotor annoy Allura and by extension, pretty much everyone else... This one’s a little late because I waited too long to start writing and got sleepy. (Bad me!)

Shiro awoke in his quarters from a strange dream he couldn’t quite remember. It had something to do with space, and oddly, lions. He hadn’t been assigned a mission since their successful return from Kerberos months ago, so he wasn’t sure what had prompted it.

For a few moments his right arm seemed oddly heavy. He must have slept on it funny because the sensation disappeared quickly.

At the back of his mind, there was a nagging feeling that something was off, but he had things to do. It was probably just that strange dream.

The Garrison had promised him further missions in the future, but at the moment he was guest lecturing at the Academy. He enjoyed being close the Keith and able to see him on a daily basis. Matt’s younger sister was starting at the Academy as well, and she might be too clever for her own good.

Life wasn’t perhaps as exciting as he’d imagined when he started at the Academy, but he’d flown into deep space and brought his crew back safely. His life was comfortable. What more could he want?

He went for a jog around the campus before heading back to his quarters for a quick shower before lunch at the cafeteria. The special was a stew that filled him with nostalgia for his own days as a student.

It was Wednesday, so Keith’s lunch break didn’t line up with his own, and Shiro sat alone at a small table in the corner. He was so engrossed in his meal, he didn’t notice someone had approached his table.

“Shiro?” a woman’s voice asked, and he looked up into an unfamiliar face. The woman had warm, brown skin and very light hair and eyes. It was a combination striking enough that he was sure he would remember if he had met her before. She was dressed in a stylish but professional outfit rather than a uniform, but she didn’t appear to be much older than some of the students.

“Yes. Can I help you?”

“It’s me, Allura.”

Shiro racked his brain for any connection to the name, but nothing sprang to mind. “Have we met before? I’m sorry to say I can’t recall.”

Allura sat down across from him. “Yes, we have met. We’ve worked together for quite some time now.” Shiro started to protest, but she carried on over his objections. “I know that’s hard for you to believe, but it’s true.

“Everything around us right now is an illusion. You’re not on Earth at all.”

Shiro raised an eyebrow. “I’m not?”

“No. You and the other paladins went to investigate an abandoned Galra outpost after Keith and several Blade of Marmora agents didn’t return. It was a trap. It wasn’t abandoned at all! They left behind a telepathic spy who picked everyone off one by one and trapped you in false realities inside your own minds. It didn’t work on me for some reason, and I managed to get the rest of you out of there.

“Matt and Coran found a way to program the training deck on the castle ship to allow a connection to your consciousness so an outsider could penetrate the illusion. I need you to focus, Shiro. I need you to come back to reality.”

They stared at each other in silence for a few moments after she finished speaking. Shiro wasn’t quite sure how to respond. This young lady was either delusional or this was some kind of strange prank. He decided to assume the latter for the moment.

“Has someone put you up to this? I have to tell you, I’m really not finding this amusing.”

She frowned. “This is not a joke, I assure you. I know you must have picked up that something isn’t quite right here. When is the last time anyone here, besides myself, spoke more than a few words to you? Look at the people around us--they’re not even really saying anything to each other and there are a limited number of unique faces because that kind of detail would take too much time for the telepath to arrange.”

It was true that he couldn’t make out any of the conversations at nearby tables, but the acoustics in the dining hall were horrible. Yes, many of the students looked the same, but there were regulations on hairstyles and they were all dressed in uniforms.

“Look,” he explained in a firm but gentle tone, “I’ve only been into deep space once, and that mission went fine. I have no idea who these ‘Galra’ or ‘Blade’ people are. I think perhaps you’re confused. I can bring you to the administration offices-”

She huffed and rolled her eyes, cutting him off with a raised hand. “No, the Kerberos mission did not go ‘fine.’ The telepath picked up on it as a place to diverge the timeline in a realistic way that would eliminate knowledge of what happened after. Please, try to remember! It’s all still there in your mind somewhere.”

She stopped speaking abruptly and cocked her head to the side as though hearing a voice he did not. “No,” she mumbled under her breath, “I don’t think a sudden shock will be helpful. I can reach him if you give me more time. I only need a few more minutes.”

The main doors to the dining hall slid open again and a tall, thin man in an officer’s uniform walked briskly over to them. It was odd that he hadn’t even had to scan the room to find them, he just made a bee line for their table.

“We don’t have the luxury of doing this nicely,” he told Allura as he stood next to her chair. The man was very pale with platinum blond hair. Shiro didn’t recognize him, so he must have been a recent transfer.

“Who let you in?” Allura glowered at the man. “What makes you think you’ll be able to get through to him? You barely know him.”

“Never underestimate the power of shock value,” the man replied, glancing around the room and then heading for the stand where the eating utensils were stocked. He grabbed something Shiro didn’t see and returned to the table.

“Right.” He made eye contact with Shiro. “Hold out your right hand, please.”

Shiro reluctantly slid his hand onto the table, and in the blink of an eye, this new stranger stabbed the back of it. Allura let out a surprised squeak and Shiro himself jumped, but there was no pain.

He looked down at the back of his hand to see that all the tines of the fork the man had used as a weapon were bent away from the back of his completely undamaged hand.

“What just happened?” he murmured. He’d meant it rhetorically.

“Deep down,” the man answered anyway, “you know that your right arm was replaced with a metal one. You know instinctively that a...frak?” He looked at Allura for confirmation of the word.

“Fork,” she corrected him sullenly.

“You know a fork won’t hurt it, and this thing isn’t even real.” The stranger waved the mutilated fork in a little circle and then tossed it over his shoulder. “You’ll notice that nobody in here reacted to a stabbing in their midst, either.”

“You certainly have a flair for the dramatic, don’t you, Lotor?” Allura sniffed in disdain and crossed her arms.

“Look at us again,” Lotor instructed. “And really focus. We both have pointed ears. I’m purple and she’s got little pink marking on her cheeks.”

Instead, Shiro was still staring at the back of his hand. Everything seemed to shimmer for a moment, and then everything came back to him and he was standing in the training deck of the castle ship.

“Is everyone else all right?”

“Well,” Allura began, a little flustered, “we’ve gotten Pidge, Hunk, and Lance out of their illusions. Pidge pratically pulled herself out when she realized how off everything was around her in the fake reality. Hunk was also fairly easy to convince--mostly because the telepath didn’t know how to fake the flavors of food very well, apparently. We sent Hunk in for Lance since they’ve known one another so long. Kolivan was also able to pull his own men back to reality.”

“You haven’t mentioned Keith. Why didn’t you send him in for me?” Shiro asked.

“We thought it would be best in your case to send in someone who clearly didn’t belong in your divergent reality,” Allura told him, refusing to make eye contact. What was she hiding?

“Also,” Lotor added offhandedly, “Keith is still stuck in his illusion and we’ll probably need you to help pull him out.”

Allura socked the Galra prince in the arm. “I was trying to break it to him more gently!”

“Again, we simply don’t have time for that.”

“I’ll do it,” Shiro volunteered. “He’s right. Keith’s been in longer than the rest of us. There’s no time to waste.”

“Just signal if you’d like any assistance,” Lotor offered with a smirk.

“I don’t think I’ll need it, and Keith would probably stab you back, just so you know,” Shiro informed him. Then he walked out of the room so they could set things up to save Keith. He had a job to do.

#black paladin week 2017 #day 2 #takashi shirogane #princess allura #prince lotor #ficlet #season 4 spoilers #vld

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