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foxyanon · 2 months

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Zahkriisos

Summary: No summary, just notes. So for those who don’t know anything about Skyrim, I’m going to give a simple overview of a few things. The Dragonborn is essentially (in its most basic form) a hero of legend. Hermaeus Mora is a Daedric Prince (kind of like a demon) and his realm of Oblivion (kind of like hell) is Apocraphya (he’s know for being a hoarder of knowledge, hence the book named world). The title of the story gets its name from a dragon priest mask, which means Bloody Sword or Sword-Blood.

Pairing: Cultist!Masema x Dragonborn!Reader

Word Count: 2772

Rating: 18+, Minors DNI

TW: Implied smut, blood, mentions of death, Dragonborn is a Breton but no other descriptors used, religious references

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Wheel of Time or The Elder Scrolls nor do I own any of the images used.

Dividers by @arcielee

Masema had been found on the shores of Solstheim by the Skaal, having washed ashore after a bad storm ravaged the island a couple years ago. He had foggy memories of his life before, but he did know he was a warrior and not from here. He was taken in by the Skaal shaman, Storn Crag-Strider, and nursed back to health, so he felt he owed it to the old man to stay and help out as needed. Even though he never felt connected to the All-Maker the way everyone else in the village did, he was still respectful of the religion and the culture. Even though he wasn’t born of the people, they still treated him like one of their own which is why the shaman decided he should help protect the pilgrims during their pilgrimage to the All-Makers stones. It was to be a long journey, one that would take months as the stones were scattered across Solstheim’s landscape.

It was at the Beast Stone, just beyond the borders of Thirsk Mead Hall, where he felt his lord’s presence for the first time. They had traveled to all the other stones and this was the last one before they would return to the village, something Masema was grateful for as he was tired of living on the road. It’s not that he didn’t enjoy spending time in nature, but the northern part of the island was all snow and ice which meant it was really fucking cold all the time. He was standing guard over the camp when he heard Lord Miraak’s voice call out from the stone before he was enthralled, the entire party starting to chant about the return of the Dragonborn and erecting shrines to their new overlord. Masema followed the orders of Miraak, first through entrapment and then of his own free will as it was the closest he had felt to any divine being in his entire existence.

As the Cult of Miraak grew, he moved through the ranks and eventually was the one giving orders to the new recruits from the Temple of Miraak. When rumors of another Dragonborn reached his ears, Miraak had given the command for Masema to send people to eliminate the ‘false Dragonborn’ in Skyrim and upon proof of their death, he would be rewarded. At first he sent out some recruits who were eager to prove their loyalty, but when they didn’t return, he started to get suspicious. There were reports of what this mysterious person was capable of, claiming they could slay dragons single-handed and were currently one of the more well known adventurers of the land. After the third attempt at killing this person, Masema started sending the more skilled men and women. After eight months of failure and many dead worshippers, Masema was well and truly pissed. If he wasn’t needed at the Temple, he’d go out and handle business himself but that just wasn’t possible right now. Preparations for the return of Miraak to the island took priority, so he resigned himself to sending another small group in the hopes this thorn in his side would finally be dealt with.

It was another cold day in the temple when Masema heard the most wonderful news. The other Dragonborn had sailed from Skyrim and was currently at Raven Rock, thanks to none other than Gjaland Salt-Sage, the same ship captain he “persuaded” to send the cultists to Skyrim originally. He even learned that the secretive person was a Breton, but no name was ever revealed to him. He thought things were finally looking up and that he’d be able to deliver the body of the false one to his lord, but how seldom does the fantasy match the reality.

As it turns out, this mysterious creature was working with the Skaal to remove Lord Miraak’s influence from the island. Somehow, on one of his trips away to check on a few things at the Earth Stone, this infuriating Breton got into the temple, killed all the cultists there and stole the Black Book from its pedestal. The nerve of that foreigner to desecrate sacred ground really solidified his resentment for them. Masema decided to take matters into his own hands and search out the defiler on his own, swearing to his lord he would handle matters before he set off in search of his target. Naturally, of course, this would be a monumental task as he would have to be careful to avoid the people he once called friends and his elusive prey seemed to be a master of hiding in plain sight. The only identifying thing about them other than the full set of ebony armor was the mask they wore, the ebony metal hiding them from the world. He recognized it as Zahkriisos, the mask of the dragon priest that was buried in Blodskal Barrow, an old Nordic ruin north of Raven Rock.

He tracked his query across all the island, but they were always one step ahead of him. With the help of Frea, Storn’s daughter, they slowly but surely cleansed the stones and cut off Miraak from speaking with any of his worshippers. After the second to last stone was cleansed and the false one had obtained all of the Black Books, Masema knew he needed to return to the temple and try to defend the last stone. It was here that he heard his lord’s voice for what would be the last time, telling him that all was as it should be and that his destiny was to battle the Dragonborn at the summit of Apocrypha. Lord Miraak claimed that the fate that had been chosen for him would come to pass and that he was pleased with the loyalty and devotion Masema had shown him.

It was here that Masema was waiting for them, standing in front of the Tree Stone in his robes and mask, the last member of a once strong cult. He saw the Dragonborn glide down the hall, their cloak flowing behind them and the mask covering their face as well. He tried to determine the identity of the Dragonborn, but their armor covered them from head to toe, the ebony metal muted in appearance and fitted in the most generic of ways. The soft clanking of their boots on the stone echoed down the hall and into the chamber he occupied, steadily getting louder the closer they got. When they finally stopped several feet away, the tension was palpable as they sized the other up.

For a moment, they both stood there and stared at each other in silence, the weight of their respective destinies entwining with one another in the space between them. He noticed they traveled alone, the Black Book in their hands as they prepared for the final battle against Miraak. There was an energy that clung to them and their armor, the kind that only the favored of the gods could possess and that gave him pause. He found he had no desire to fight them, the futility of their situation coming into focus for him. He could not prevent their destiny from playing out, but he could choose whether he be another body for them or to stand aside and live another day. He chose the latter.

”I will not interfere with what fate has decreed. I shall watch over your spirit as you do what you must,” Masema stepped off to the side, head bowed slightly as he addressed the Dragonborn. The only response he received was a simple nod before the masked warrior opened the book, the tentacles of Hermaeus Mora bursting from the enchanted pages, wrapping around their form and pulling them into Oblivion with a sickeningly green flash of light. All that remained of the mysterious Breton was a spectral image, one that offered no insight to the identity of the physical person.

After what felt like an eternity of pacing back and forth in front of the stone, the book came alive and unceremoniously spit the body of the Dragonborn back out. Masema was startled at the sudden appearance, until he saw the blood dripping from a wound on their side and off their blade onto the stone ground beneath them. There was a new crack in the mask, their shoulders heaving as they pant in an attempt to catch a breath. No words needed to be said, Miraak was dead and the victor returned to the land of the living.

Wordlessly, Masema helped them up, careful not to agitate the wound as the two staggered down the dank halls of the crumbling temple. The walk to the old medical room passed in silence, the sounds of footsteps and heavy breathing bouncing off the stone walls with a soft echo. He helped the Dragonborn onto a wooden cot draped with furs before wandering towards the shelves in search of healing herbs or potions. He hears the telltale signs of the wounded Breton removing their armor, the sounds of metal and leather hitting the ground while his back is turned. When he turns around after having found a single healing potion amidst the disorganized shelf, he nearly drops the glass vial when he sees the Dragonborn for the first time.

He’s surprised to see a woman sitting on the cot, a thin wound bleeding from her hairline and the once pristine linen tunic sticking to her torso, the gash on her side bloodying the fabric. He was frozen in place, her eyes capturing his and the smirk gracing her lips indicating she is used to such behaviors. She holds her hand out, waiting for Masema to hand her the potion he holds. Even though her injuries look serious, she doesn’t push or taunt him, simply being patient as he collects his thoughts. With a shaky breath, Masema closes the distance and hands her the vial, watching as she downs it in one. He’s so caught up in being in front of such beauty that when she speaks, it startles him.

”What is your name?” She asks simply, her voice soft as she lifts her tunic and gets a look at her injury. She lifts her hand, a warm light emitting from her fingers and wrapping itself around her like an aura as she casts a healing spell that closes the wound better than any stitching. Masema watches a little starstruck as the woman literally glows for a moment, forgetting she had asked a question. When she raises a brow at him, he blushes furiously and swallows hard, having been caught gawking at her.

He clears his throat and looks at the ground, grateful for his mask hiding his face from her. “My name is Masema, Dragonborn,” he spoke quietly, fidgeting with his gloves and taking a few steadying breaths.

”A pleasure to meet you, Masema,” she gave him her name and he tasted it on his tongue, finding that the name suited her beautifully. “Would you mind if I asked your story? You are the only cultist who hasn’t attacked me outright and I’m curious as to why.”

He nodded in agreement and they proceeded to talk for hours, the candles burning low by the time they finished. She listened to his story, no judgment or anger in her eyes when he told her the truth of his involvement with Miraak. About halfway through, Masema felt comfortable enough to remove his mask and the act of trust made her smile, something so minor but it made his heart beat a little faster.

After she decided needed to leave the ruins to find food and clean up, Masema found himself unwilling to leave her side. He followed behind her after she got dressed again, letting her lead the way through the labyrinth of halls. Once outside, they both breathed in the cold fresh air, a far cry more refreshing than the stale air inside the temple. He hesitated as she started off in the direction of Thirsk, wanting to stay with her but unsure if she would want that. He looked around at the landscape, trying to gather the words to ask, but she beat him to the punch.

She was stopped several feet away, Zahkriisos held loosely in her hands at her side as the sun shone brightly behind her. ”Masema, how would you like to adventure with me?” Her question offered him the choice to walk away, but when she was looking at him like that, he couldn’t resist accepting her offer. He’d follow her to the end, to the very halls of Sovngarde and beyond if she’d let him.

She smiled and nodded, looking out over the horizon before turning and continuing on her journey. Masema breathed a sigh of relief, a smile on his face as he looked at the yellow mask in his hands. It was a symbol, a reminder of a life he was no longer living. With a sigh, he left his mask on the stone steps of the now deserted place he once called home, leaving behind one life and eagerly walking towards the next.

Masema had been traveling with the Dragonborn for several months now and he learned a lot about this woman in that time, like the reasons his assassination attempts never worked. For starters, she was the leader of half the guilds in the damned kingdom. He also learned that she only used her respective titles when outright doing business for them and wore different masks when dealing with the general population, only a select handful of her closest allies knowing her name. He practically swooned upon learning she had trusted him enough to know her identity, even more when he discovered through a friend of hers that she rarely kept traveling companions for more than a few weeks. Apparently this was to help maintain her secrecy, but since he had proven himself to be trustworthy and loyal to her, she kept him by her side.

His life finally had purpose again, serving and protecting her on their travels having made him realize that Miraak was a fraud, using his divinely given powers to assert dominion over the people he was meant to protect. Whenever he felt shame for his past actions, she was right there to tell him that his future doesn’t need to be weighed down by the consequences of the past. She did, however, prevent him from falling down the same path of reverence he once showed Miraak, claiming that she had no desire to be worshiped by the masses and that history wasn’t kind to those who sought such power. Even if she wouldn't have a following like her predecessor, Masema had no qualms being wholly devoted to her. He found her desire to aid everyone, even the poor and displaced, inspiring. It’s no surprise her kindness towards him and everyone else had him falling in love with her.

It was during one of their adventures, camped somewhere in Whiterun Hold under the stars and two moons of Nirn, when he finally confessed his feelings to her. He had felt nervous, his palms sweaty and avoiding her gaze as he stared into the small campfire. When he heard her get up and walk over to him, he finally dared to look up at her and was shocked to see her hand outstretched towards him, a silent request to take it as she stood there in the low light of the fire. He placed his hand in hers, standing up and following her towards their shared tent, his breathing uneven as she pulled him along behind her.

No words were said, their lips finding the others in the darkness of the tent and hands pulling at laces and straps of their garments. Masema laid her back on her bedroll, taking his time to learn her body even if he couldn’t see it. His fingers traced over old scars, his lips following close behind. He licked, kissed and bit her skin, leaving physical marks on her the same way she had done to his soul. He doesn’t know how long they stayed wrapped in each other, just know that it wasn’t nearly long enough. They fell asleep in each other’s arms, the sounds of her soft breathing as she rested her head on his chest the most wonderful thing he thought he’d ever experienced. Masema sent a silent prayer of thanks to the Creator and the Divines for giving him a chance to find redemption, feeling a sense of certainty spread through his veins at the idea of aiding the true chosen of Akatosh.

Taglist: @valeskafics @sihtricfedaraaahvicius @whitedarkmoonflower @gemini-mama @alexagirlie @thenameswinter99 @mrsarnasdelicious @synintheraven

#masema x reader #masema dagar #masema #Dragonborn!reader #skyrim

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imperatorrrrr · 4 months

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YOU ARE AMAZING! I really love that it was from Luke’s pov. And the way Nico approached it, knowing that Jack feels like it’s on HIM to be the best and not doubting that he is a team player but reminding him it’s not all on him. 🥲 Would read 107k more of this. 🤍

Phew! I'm glad!

I didn't feel confidant enough to give you a POV of Jack or Nico themselves, so I thought an outsider POV might do the trick and Luke's right there, plus, he's a perfect conduit for it. Not to diminish Luke as his own character, but just for this instance. Luke knows Jack really well and by this point he's experienced Captain Nico as well, so I thought it would be a good balance.

Plus, I really do think there's a bit of a cyclical nature to Jack's on ice play right. Like, Lindy et al, double shift him, put him out for nearly all of OT because he's really just that good and then at the same time Jack knows what he means to the team so sometimes he'll stay out longer on his shifts trying to create something, he'll be chomping on the bit to get back on the ice in OT, instead of changing along with his linemates he'll stay out there. And Lindy et al feed into Jack and Jack feeds into the coaching staff.

You know?

And someone needs to just like remind him that he can be all of that, but he still needs to remember the basics, needs to remember that sometimes his brain goes faster than his skating does, than his stick does, than the puck does.

Anyway, sorry we've been without hockey for like forty eight hours and I'm turning into this, my bad.

I am so so so happy you enjoyed it! It means a lot! Truly!

#Ask #Text #Anonymous #Question #was getting carried away and going way off topic my bad Anon!#also other Anons! don't worry your prompts will be completed!#I'm trying to do the Christmas ask before Christmas is actually over!

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novadodson · 9 months

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"so come home" said ground control.

Is that NOVA DODSON? A SOPHOMORE originally from PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE, they decided to come to Ogden College to study ENGINEERING & MATHEMATICS on an ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP. They’re THE SUPERNOVA on campus, but even they could get blamed for Greer’s disappearance.

‘‘ｓｏｃｏｍｅｈｏｍｅ’’ said the voice from the stars.

STATISTICS;

BASIC INFORMATION;

full name: noelle nova valerie dodson. nickname(s): n/a. age: twenty-two. date of birth: febuary 8th, 2001. zodiac: aquarius. hometown: portsmouth, new hampshire. current location: ogden, new hampshire. ethnicity: african-american & caucasian. nationality: american. gender: non-binary. pronouns: they/he. orientation: panromantic & pansexual. religion: agnostic. occupation: student & employee at rainbow road. language(s) spoken: english, chinese, spanish, tagalog, vietnamese.

FAMILY;

father: andrew ellis. september 14, 1973. mother: rose dodson. february 14th, 1978. sibling(s): n/a. children: n/a. pet(s): n/a.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE;

face claim: quintessa 'q' swindell. hair color: dark brown. eye color: dark brown. height: 5'6''. weight: 121 lbs. tattoos: multiple, scattered. ● behind left ear. (1, position) (2, artwork) ● left shoulder. (1, position) (2, artwork) ● right shoulder. (1, artwork) ● left arm. (1) ● hands. (1, artwork) (2, artwork) ● left ribs. (1) (2) (3) ● right thigh. (1, artwork) ● left thigh. (1, artwork) ● undecided position. (1, artwork) piercings: left nostril, lobes on either side (multiple), septum.

PERSONALITY;

character trope: the supernova. additional tropes: the astrophile, the cataclysmic, the connard, the dirtbag, the insurgent, the interstellar, the lothario, the lovable rogue, the miscreant, the phoenix, the rebellious spirit, the sabaist, the trickster, the vainglorious. character inspirations: bex mack (andi mack), brianna hanson (grace and frankie), captain james west (wild wild west), colin shea (what's your number?), lila pitts (the umbrella academy), lorelai gilmore (gilmore girls), martin whitly (prodigal son), max black (2 broke girls), nadia vulvokov (russian doll), robyn brooks (high fidelity), rue bennett (euphoria), shane madej (yes, just shane madej). positive traits: creative, optimistic, egalitarian. negative traits: rebellious, restless, unyielding. skills: adaptability, perseverance, speed reading. smokes: yes. drinks: yes. drugs: yes.

SCHOOLING;

attending; ogden college. major: engineering & mathematics. sports: n/a. extracurriculars: robotics club, math club.

BACKGROUND;

TW: death, parental loss, homelessness, murder, juvenile detention, prison. ● Nova was raised by a single mother, Rose Dodson, their father never in the picture as he had abandoned her the moment he found out she was pregnant. ● It became clear at a very young age that Nova was advanced and at only four, he took a Mensa test and was admitted as one of the groups youngest members with a score of 142. ● By age eight, Nova seemed entirely sure of who they were; they spoke to their mother about their identity and their future and Rose was nothing short of supportive, embracing her child and supporting them the way they always had. ● Unexpectedly, Nova's mother fell sick and passed away by the time he was twelve and they were placed with relatives. However, due to not knowing how to handle him, Nova was bounced around and eventually, ended up drifting between relatives homes, couch-surfing with friends or simply sleeping on the streets. ● At fifteen, after getting involved with the wrong people, a robbery Nova was a part of went wrong and he was charged with felony murder. They had never had a weapon or touched anyone, but due to their involvement with the original crime, they were charged as an adult and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. ● Nova graduated high school on their own while in juvenile detention and even helped tutor and push other kids to do the same but once he reached eighteen and was transferred to an actual prison, something shifted within them and they gave up on themselves. ● A mentor from Mensa who had known Nova since he was a child refused to give up on him, visiting monthly and attempting to encourage him to continue fighting for the future he'd planned and when Nova was finally released, they used their connection as an alumni of Ogden to get Nova a spot despite their background. ● A sparks seems to have lightened back within Nova; he's brighter than he has been in the past four years, attending classes and excelling as they had been as a child but even they're not entirely sure what they want for their future or if their dream is any longer worth pursuing.

BIOGRAPHY;

TW: death, parental loss, homelessness, murder, juvenile detention, prison. Under Construction.....

EXPAND ON HOW THEY EMBODY THEIR SKELETON TROPE;

While most of the life of a star is stable, as it burns through its fuel and begins to cool, the outward forces of pressure drop until it's low enough for gravity to take over and cause it's collapse — a supernova. It's chaotic, bright, powerful, beautiful. It's also essential to life, a source of elements including the very iron in your blood and in their wake, can leave either a black hole or a new star. Balance was taken from Nova a decade ago, forcing them to drop further and further downwards, a decline they had long since lost control of until gravity or fate intervened. What was becoming a shell of the luminary Nova had once been was thrown into chaos; a new world, a new environment and perhaps, a new start. Chaotic, bright, powerful, beautiful. It was essential to his survival, his life. The only question that remains, what will be left in their wake?

RELATIONSHIP TO GREER;

Nova's relationships to Greer seems to exist more on a hypothetical than any reality. Their arrival was meant to be a new and exciting change, a return to the life they were meant to have, one that ended up all but cloaked by the darkness of Greer's missing status. It seemed to be everyone's focus and to some degree, Nova was thankful for it, his arrival able to slip mostly under the radar. After all, who held interest in your story when the school's golden girl had up and vanished?

LINKS;

#ogdenintro #death tw #parental loss tw #homelessness tw #murder tw #juvenile detention tw #prison tw

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thewardenofwinter · 11 months

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💔 please!

💔: give a brief character bio of your 3-5 MCs

Aw lawd, here we go again. Thank you Sam for the ask! OG post here for those who missed it.

🌊 Give No Quarter: The Marauder's Mutiny

𝒞𝒾𝓇𝒸𝑒

Circe (pronounced sir-sea) is a sorceress turned pirate who ravaged the Caribbean and North American coast in the latter half of the 18th century. Following the death of her mother six years prior to the book, Circe became hellbent on revenge for the people who drove her mother to madness. Circe, along with the captured pirate Adam Bonny, managed to escape both of their respective captive situations and flee to the Caribbean where he employed her as an undercover spy aboard his ship in exchange for his allyship and passage for her voyage.

Circe is a mysterious and mystifying woman with the ability to captivate every person she meets— land or sea. She lives up to her namesake well, a truly powerful enamoring enchantress that will ultimately be the cause of your demise. Her bewitching beauty coupled with her sharp tongue and intellect allow her to get her way no matter what, and there are very few things she cannot execute (or get out of) without poise and precision.

𝒜𝒹𝒶𝓂 𝐵𝑜𝓃𝓃𝓎

Adam Bonny, better known by his alias The Sea Devil, is an infamous English pirate and captain of the ship The Dread Anne and a prominent member of The League of Marauders. A failed promise, an ambush, a stolen map, and a mutiny among their faction leaves Adam and his allies in the hands of the French, captured inside of their fort and awaiting a noose around their neck in two weeks' time. But unlike his brothers at arms who’ve all but given up on the prospect of their freedom after all this time, Adam has never been one to give up easily: for better or for worse.

A true pirate in every sense of the word, Adam is a rowdy, greedy marauder with a certain charisma to him that captures people’s hearts. Constantly on the search for something new, his exploits drag him around the world while his arrogance and temper drag him into trouble. His charm and good looks may make up for his lack of basic morals, but his argumentative nature and quick temper tend to overtake any good traits he may or may not have.

⚰️ What We Undertake

𝒟𝑜𝓁𝑜𝓇𝑒𝓈 𝒞𝓁𝒾𝓋𝑒

Dolores Clive is the only daughter of Elektra and Warren Clive and the owner of the Clive Family Mortuary, having been left to her after her father's death a year prior to the book taking place. When Dolores was thirteen Warren Clive remarried Rebecca Lynch who herself had a daughter named Rosamund, making the two step sisters.

Dolores lost her mother at eight years old in a carriage accident that injured her left leg, leaving her with a permanent limp that she aids with the use of a cane. She was also severely concussed, taking a blow to the let side of her head that resulted in sever anisocoria in her eye. Ever since this incident, Dolores has been left with the strange ability to see and sometimes even communicate with the dead.

🗡️ The Resurrectioners

𝒮𝒶𝓂𝒶𝓇𝒶 '𝑀𝒶𝓇𝒶' 𝒟𝑜𝓂𝒷𝓇𝑜𝓈𝓀𝒾

(TW: s*icide)

Samara Dombroski, better known by her nickname Mara, is the POV character of The Resurrectioners. Samara grew up in Pittsburg alongside her father, a lawyer, and her mother, a phony fortune teller. Her oldest sister, Helena, was three years older than her and was suspected to have schizophrenia and her younger sister Cassandra was diagnosed with autism. Samara was largely ignored by her parents due to them having to focus on caring for her sisters. Samara being the only 'normal' child who did not need help was left to raise herself.

Following her father dying of lung cancer and the deaths of her two sisters in a freak car accident, Samara successfully makes an attempt on her own life but later finds herself every much alive and trapped in a large estate populated by other people who share her same story. Following her resurrection, Mara has been gifted with the ability to see into the past of a person or object via physical contact.

Whew, and that's not even half my MC's lol. I will be posting Mara's actual character sheet later today so be on the look out for that one! Thank you again for the ask!

— M. Warrin

#the resurrectioners: mara #the resurrectioners #GNQ asks #What We Undertake #ask games #writeblr #writeblr community

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sleepyone2three · 1 year

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That whole last ending sequence in the final episode episode of Arlong Park really hits hard though 😭 This whole arc has absolutely wrecked me though. My standards are too high and I fear nothing will live up to it. Final Thoughts 👇and they're in no particular order/all over the place since I wrote them as I thought of them.

Fuck Arlong

The hat scene wrecked me

Again, the whole ending sequence from the note placement to that last pinwheel spin is so good I can't even put it into words

All of the meaning behind Nami's new tattoo down to the aesthetic. Such a simple yet elegant design too.

"I'LL always be YOUR friend, Nami!"

Luffy just took down the man the literally owned and made Nami miserable for the past eight years and is using the most non possessive verbage possible he's letting her know it's always her choice at the end of the day I can't with this boy 😭

We'Re NoT goNna hUrt HeR

With grease and meat all over his face and his mouth still stuffed

It was at that moment Genzo realized he had nothing to worry about

Nojiko getting the tattoo for Nami though! She's such an amazing big sister

Oh my goodness yes doctor man please tell Zoro off for not taking better care of himself because I will if you don't

Usopp's fight was honestly pretty funny and I enjoyed it

Oh my God I just remembered the sea monster cow and I felt for so bad for it, Sanji and Luffy were so mean

On that note, wtf is up with Luffy and hurting cute animals? First Shushu and now this? Someone call peta on this boy

I wasn't a huge fan of how obnoxious johnny and yosaku were but I loved that they were basically a stand in for the audience/riff on oc fan characters and self insert fics (which I totally don't write all the time whaaaaat why would you ask) and so self aware that I can't even be mad most of the time.

Nami stealing everyone's wallets is such a rad way to prove she's self sufficient and going to be okay out on her own

Also not letting anyone say thank you is such a mood

She does what she wants

Luffy you're the captain, you sweet stupid enabler

The pacing of the hat scene in so good of my gooooosh

Weirdly this arc has had some of the best edited recap intros so far

I honestly kinda wish we got to see Nami throw down in the final battle. She goes up ready to fight and then just doesn't, I'd have liked to see her at least beat up one fishman. But I also love how much the others go all out for her

I really liked the moment in Usopp's fight when he was going through all his lies and his tone gets more and more unsure and how it builds up to him declaring he'll never pretend to be a pirate again because he's going to be a pirate

Sanji trying summon good vibes? That's so dumb and cringe but I love it

Speaking of Sanji, I love that he thought to blow into the gills I was not expecting that kind of solution

Also, I love Sanji's character... as long as he isn't around women. Let him be a bitch to everyone, not just the guys.

And the the wounds opening up as the as Hachi is swimming? That was a great payoff

God the Mirabelle scenes hurt

Genzo's an amazing character and I really like him

Hajiko too, she's awesome

The little kid feels super tacked on tbh. He disappears for half the story and then comes back for a hamfisted monologue. Is this different in the manga? I sure hope so

I kinda love the Hawaiian shirt and bandages look on zoro, heavy trans masc vibes which I love

Yikes on the scene where Arlong rips off Zoro's bandages though dysphoria kinda triggered uhhg

I bought Sanji's cook book and there was no special orange sauce sauce recipe why did he not ask for crew contributions?

I'm honestly shocked the town had enough food for Luffy to gorge himself like that for three days, they're gonna need the money Nami left to recoup their losses

The ship flying and Luffy just having a blast the entire time had me wheezing

Stretching Luffy's head above water was such a brilliant and creative solution. Makes me wonder if the same could work for Buggy if he chop chopped his head off before sinking.

All in all, these dorks are so good for each other

#but then i found out #there's a buggy episode soon and got happy again #one piece #arlong park #spoilers #new to the fandom #watching one piece stoned oops

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ask-de-writer · 2 years

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SULA’S SONG : Part 63 : DECISIONS, DECISIONS : A World of Sea tale (Work In Progress)

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SULA’S SONG : DECISIONS, DECISIONS

Part 63

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

149971 words presently written, WORK IN PROGRESS

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Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may reblog the story. They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions. I will allow those who do commission art works to charge for their images.

All sorts of Fan Activity, fiction, art, cosplay, music or anything else is ACTIVELY encouraged!

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NEW TO SULA’S SONG? READ FROM THE BEGINNING.

PART 1 is HERE

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The story was, as expected, pretty bad. At the end of the tally of ships damaged by attack, panic or both, it was Captain Aril who summarized, “Basically, the actual fire attack did major damage to nine ships that are, thanks to pressurized water fire fighting gear, going to be pretty easy to repair. None sank and none took major hull damage. That was the good news.

“The bad news is that ships trying to get away from the smoke had, what? Seven with severe rigging damage and minor hull damage from collisions and another eight that got rigging damage from bowsprits breaking it loose in very near miss situations.

“You have most of the rigging and minor hull damage repaired already. Three of the burned ships really need a building raft to repair properly. Personally, I would raise ONE of our building rafts and set to work!”

One of the listeners raised his hands for recognition and Captain Edvard called on him, “Captain Norin! What say you?”

Standing by his seat, he asked, “How do you plan to defend that raft? We only have the two and they are in basically the same spot. That will make them prime targets.”

Captain Mogar responded, “They already are prime targets. My guess, from what I have seen of them, the Borens would try to capture our rafts. Whether they kept them where they are or float them into Boren waters is a moot question. The thing that is NOT a question is whether they would try to use them against us. We know that they would.”

Hulden added, “That brings up a really good idea that we discussed on the way back here. WE can capture the last one of their private rafts! We could sever its anchorage hawsers and tow it into OUR waters. We were thinking of anchoring it at Sanch's Shallows. That would make it handy for us to use. We could use it for both repairs, war construction and as bait!”

“Bait? What do you mean, bait?”

Hulden snorted, “What do I mean? First, it will be a long way from OUR Gathering Rafts. Second, we are going to have to start making some serious weapons of our own. Better to make them on the Boren raft than ours. They are sure to strike at our production center. They might even sink it! If they do, they will be sinking their own raft! That is what I mean by bait!”

Captain Allison agreed, “The basic strategy is a good one. It will require us to engage at least several of the Boren fleet ships in the process. I KNOW that some of you want to give them back what they give us, I mean sinking them and either killing or leaving the survivors to drown.

“THAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU MUST NOT DO! The Dark Dragon is here to restore the Ten Great Laws. Nothing else. We can fight by any means at our disposal. If we break those laws, that ship over there will attack us with the same efficiency that they are now using against the Boren fleet.”

“With that in mind, I move that we organize our first independent strike against the Boren fleet by taking that last privately held construction raft and bringing it here for our own use!”

With some grumbling about the restrictions on how they had to attack, the motion passed and committees were formed up to deal with the details. This was not going to be some strike concealed by the dark of the moons.

A separate committee was formed to deal with critiquing and setting up the logistics of the new defensive formation for the fleet at night. That was not going to be simple clear weather sailing! It was going to be far more complex than what they had been doing, sticking together as an organized group.

Far to the south, holding a course that only a few knew, the World Strider was being host to a convocation of Captains. The huge GREAT CABIN was crowded, each one supplied a stool which gave them a comfortable seat and ensured that all were below Karl on his high throne.

He had some of his animals circulating among the Captains, delivering packets of parchment. Done with the task, they quietly returned to Karl's throne, where leads were attached to their collars and they sat on the upper two steps of the dais until their services should be required again. One had served before and listened with care, having ideas of her own. Those had been shared among the rest of the World Strider's animals, who all now listened to everything that could be learned.

Karl opened the meeting by saying, “You all know of our War with the Corlis fleet. This meeting is to tell you all of the present situation, which has both good things and some problems.

“The war opened well, in spite of the loss of the whole battle group at their Gathering. Their fleet was thrown into disarray and shortly divided into three smaller groups. We were besieging the parts with one battle group to each part, intending to simply starve them into submission by keeping them from redweed harvesting and skelt fishing. As you all know, without those two things, people will starve, no matter what else they eat. That plan was working well.

“Just in case, we were building a substantial number of new fire-sloops and catapult bearing ships to use to attack and reduce any of the groups that did not wish to surrender to us.”

Karl gave a winning smile and lifted his hands in a gesture of humorous resignation. “Unfortunately, someone in the northernmost group of the Corlis fleet actually learned to THINK. We did not see it happen and the reports of our spies in the fleet have limited reliability. They broke the siege, destroying the entire battle group.

“They then used their tactics and numbers to free the remaining two parts of the fleet and rejoined the parts to make a not really well organized single fleet. However, they have attended to resupply fishing for redweed harvest and skelt fishing on a large scale.

“I know this for certain because I do have a captain who runs the supplies north. He is a cautious man who posted a high lookout at the top of a whipstaff. The high lookout not only reported what he saw, he assisted in keeping them from being seen. The supply ship returned with reliable news.

“We sent that mixed fleet that we had been building north. It was commanded by an able spy of ours who escaped from the Corlis fleet after the attack on their Gathering. He was chosen for knowing well how their thoughts work.

“You have all heard about the disaster that attack became. That was due to a new vessel entering the fray. Purportedly, it came from a secret fleet up in the Dragon Sea, though we did not learn that until later. In your packets, you will find all that we know of that vessel. Study that information well. I shall want your thoughts on how to deal with it.

“The attack fleet was intercepted while on its way north. That ship and two from the Corlis fleet struck at our attack fleet. It appears that about half of the fleet was either captured or sunk. In spite of that reverse, they persisted, setting up and executing a strike at the Corlis fleet.

“The spearhead of the attack went almost exactly as planned. Instead of the panic that was expected, several ships executed a turn, tacking into the wind in an organized fashion and met the spearhead directly, forcing it to break to the north and south. Only the southern action was visible to my watcher.

“As the spearhead broke to the south, catapult fire from the Corlis fleet took out some of the jibs of our ships, causing loss of control and confusion. One of the ships from the previous attack closed in on them and did much rigging damage and apparently put several into a sinking condition.

“That was when that big black ship closed in from the east, out of the sun, and trapped and smashed the rear of the attack. Our watcher did not stay to be caught. In spite of its size, that big black ship is very fast.”

Karl leaned back on his throne and casually stroked the head of one of his animals. “The Corlis fleet has not had it all their way. On the recent Moonsless night, we had a good solid strike against them. When our ships left, we had no casualties of any sort. The same cannot be said for the Corlis fleet!

“They had nine ships afire and seven more damaged by collisions caused by panic. They did have the toxic smoke of nine burning ships to avoid! That panic was not wholely unjustified!”

One of the assembled Captains, leafing through his packet, raised a hand for recognition. After he got it, he stood and shook his head, “We were not the only ones to use the Dark of the Moons. I see that you have informed us about the sinking of the Norden Group's building raft at the same time that we were hitting them.

“Is this not a serious disaster? How shall we make more weapons without a building raft to make them on?”

Karl nodded, beaming as he leaned forward intently, “Excellently asked, Captain Greis! The new weapon is a small, extremely simple dory built boat with some special design and building features. Essentially it is a very cheap device for using anhydrous drier in strong alcohol and light oil to create a large fire that will spread widely! They are so simple that they can be made on shipboard! The only real limit to making them is the available supplies!

“Those ships who will undertake this task, will receive supplies to work with and provisions for your crews.

“I have been candid with you because I want your ideas. While we are awaiting the banquet that is coming, I want you to confer with each other. We are seeking ideas for neutralizing that ship. If we can capture it, that would be best. Anything that might sink it is good too. Any weapons that might harm it are worthwhile.

“Now, let us go up on deck while our banquet is laid.”

<==Previous Next==>

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#SULA'S SONG #Part 63 #World of Sea #Written by De Writer #WORK IN PROGRESS

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chernobog13 · 3 years

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HAPPY STAR TREK DAY!

(although if you live in Canada, “Star Trek” day was two days ago, because the show was broadcast there first)

Today marks the 55th anniversary of the Star Trek franchise. Premiering on the NBC network at 8:30 pm, the country encountered most of the crew of the USS Enterprise for the first time in the episode The Man Trap.

Although it was the first episode broadcast, The Man Trap was actually the sixth episode produces. However, it was a good choice as a premier because it included most of the main cast as well as many of the elements that would become staples of the series.

First and foremost being the USS Enterprise, a ship unlike any other ever seen.

Ah, the old NCC-1701! She is a thing of beauty!

The episode, of course, opens with the familiar voice over “Captain’s log,” which was a wonderful storytelling device for setting the narrative. But even though we hear Captain Kirk’s voice first (although we don’t know his name yet), Spock is the first major character we see. The log entry informs us that Spock has been left in charge onboard the Enterprise.

We also get our first glimpse of Lt. Uhura, seated at the navigator’s station. It won’t be until a little later that we learn that she is the communications officer for the ship. But this quick scene establishes that the Enterprise’s crew is very diverse (an alien and a Black female both on the bridge), which raised more than a few eyebrows back in 1966.

Next we get our first view of the transporter effect. There is no explanation given as to what is happening, other than Kirk’s voiceover stating that he and Dr. McCoy are “beaming down” to the planet’s surface. Star Trek, especially in the early days, decided the audience would be able to figure out what was happening.

Then we get out first look at Captain James Kirk and Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy. The scene immediately establishes the friendship between the two, with Kirk’s gentle teasing of his ship’s doctor. Also note, this is the shortest you’ll see Kirk’s hair in the entire series. He’s got a proper military cut here; by the end of the third season he almost looks like a hippie.

There’s also a great bit later on, when Kirk and McCoy are speaking to each other on the ship via viewscreen. McCoy tells Kirk he’s having trouble sleeping. Kirk’s reply: “Try taking one of those red pills you gave me last week. You’ll sleep!”

Throughout the episode we’ve seen Kirk as the tough, no-nonsense, by-the-book captain who commands the respect of the people he leads. But these bits with McCoy show his humorous, human side that makes him a great character. I truly miss first season Kirk, especially the first part of the season, because that’s my favorite version of him.

Peppered throughout the episode are shots establishing many of the other characters who will become regulars on the series. Here we have Yeoman Janice Rand, who we learn is the captain’s yeoman and quite popular among the male crew members.

Unfortunately, Yeoman Rand only appeared in eight episodes spread across the first half of the season.

Rand delivers the tray of food at the botany lab, where we meet Sulu for the first time.

Since this is the first time the audience see Lieutenant Sulu, it would be understandable if it was assumed that he was just a botanist. Actually, Sulu had a few different positions in the first season (he was a physicist in the second pilot Where No man Has Gone Before, which would be broadcast 2 weeks after The Man Trap).

Surprisingly, Lieutenant Uhura seemed to get the most screen time of all the secondary characters. (not that I’m complaining; Nichelle Nichols is absolutely gorgeous!). Earlier on the bridge she was flirting with Spock (with Spock subtly tugging on his shirt collar, indicating his discomfort), and then chastising him for his apparent lack of concern when he learned that a member of the landing party is dead. Here she is being the queen that she is, teaching two other crew members proper turbolift etiquette: you let the person in the lift get out before you get in (same goes for elevators, just in case you didn’t know).

Two other recurring characters, Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott and Nurse Christine Chapel, are the only two not seen in this episode. Scotty’s voice, though is heard on the communicator responding to Kirk from the transporter room. As for Nurse Chapel, she was not introduced until The Naked Time, which was the next episode (#7) produced, but the fourth to air.

One thing which I didn’t notice until I rewatched this episode just now (or maybe I did notice, but just forgot) is that Kirk is carrying a phaser almost the whole show, even while on the bridge.

Sharp-eyed viewers may also spot various crew members in older uniforms, like those worn in the two pilots, The Cage and Where No Man Has Gone Before.

Some people may call these continuity errors, or chalk it up to the wardrobe department recycling costumes for the extras. But anyone who’s been in the military knows there’s always a transition period when new uniforms are introduced. For example, my Basic Training class was the absolute last in the Army to be issued the old olive drab green fatigues. The next class was issued the new woodland camouflage BDUs that became the standard for the next ten years. I was given six months to purchase a full set of BDUs (you read that right: I had to buy them with my own money). However, unless BDUs were specifically designated as the uniform of the day I was able to wear the o.d.green fatigues for another two years until they were phased out completely. I imagine these crew members are in a similar situation.

A few more Star Trek “firsts” from The Man Trap:

Kirk (or any crew member) using the communicator. Kirk is on his communicator a lot this episode.

The Enterprise on red alert.

A gun - or, more correctly, phaser - battle. Here we see Professor Crater armed with an “old style” phaser, but really just them same type that was used in the two pilots.

The very first phaser shot, as Professor Crater snipes at Kirk and Spock.

Kirk firing his phaser. Don’t worry, it’s set on “stun.”

Professor Crater getting struck by phaser fire. Don’t worry, it was set on “stun.” He’s going to talk like he’s drunk for the next few minutes.

Kirk and Spock planetside, establishing that the two highest ranking officers will beam down alone to handle a dangerous situation. It’s not like they have an entire Security Department on board the ship.

The very first meeting in the Briefing Room.

The crew at various stations on the bridge, although Uhura and Sulu are not at their usual posts, which just shows that this crew is highly competent and can handle multiple duties. Oh, and two of them happen to be women, and tow are people of color.

Sulu chiming in on the meeting via viewscreen.

And then, because it was a science fiction television show in the 1960s, the network insisted there be a monster. So we got the salt vampire, the shape-changing creature that had been killing all sorts of people by sucking the salt out of their bodies. Not too scary by today’s standards, but I wouldn’t want to run into it in a dark alley.

The first time we get to see Kirk make that face as he screams in pain.

And the first time we see a dead monster/alien on the Enterprise.

The, finally, the what will become familiar denouement with everyone on the bridge as Kirk gives the order for the Enterprise to break orbit and proceed to its next assignment. Notice that Sulu has finally managed to make it to the helmsman’s station.

Headed off into space for another adventure next week!

1966 was a great year. It gave us Ultra Q. Ultraman, Ambassador Magma (aka The Space Giants), The New Adventures of Superman animated series, the Slurpee and, of course, Star Trek.

55 years later Star Trek is more popular than ever, with several new television series available, and another feature film in the works. Here’s hoping for another 55 years of exploring the galaxy!

#Star Trek: The Original Series #Star Trek Day #USS Enterprise #NCC-1701 #Captain James T. Kirk #Mr. Spock #Dr. Bones McCoy #Lt. Sulu #Lt. Uhura #Yeoman Rand #Salt Vampire

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13uswntimagines · 3 years

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Better To Be Friends Than Competition (Lindsey x Reader)

Author’s Note: This Technically wasn’t requested, but @literaryhedgehog and i had a blast writing this. It’s the Harry Potter AU. Basically, reader is a muggleborn who really wants to be a chaser, but maybe there’s a better position for her on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. This is the beginning of what will be a multi-part series following the building romance between two amazing characters and how our golden octet help them out along the way.

@sleep-deprived-athlete

“Alright, you’ve all been told the rules and had the chance to warm up. So let’s start by dividing into groups. Anyone who wants to be a seeker follow Mia there to the far side of the field. Beaters to the left with Foudy. Keepers to the goalposts with Hope. And chasers with me up top,” Brandi said with a wave of her hand, kicking off of the ground and heading towards where her group was going to meet.

You snuck a glance to either side of you as you also kick off and head to your position, trying to guess who out of the eight students around you is going to be your biggest competition. Surely you thought more people would have wanted a chance at a spot on one of the best teams at Hogwarts. Tryouts had been packed for the last two years.

You wondered which drill Brandi was going to start with as you approached the group (said woman was idily tossing a quaffle lightly in her hands as she talked to another one of your competition). For the last 2 years it was always a set of passing drills, where would-be chasers played a very complicated game of catch up and down the pitch.

Maybe those tryouts were supposed to be private, but how else could you prepare for them if you didn’t know what to expect?

Quidditch was honestly a really weird sport. Well, American football made less sense, but you hadn’t exactly studied the rules as extensively as you had Quidditch. Like, the game literally would not end until someone caught the snitch. According to Quidditch through the Ages a game had literally lasted for months. You remembered watching a tennis game that lasted for four days before, but generally the muggle sports you grew up with were more consistent in how long each game took.

“Oh yeah”, you thought, watching the beaters line up across the pitch, “and there is also a ball charmed to try and knock people off their broom. That’s not normal.” Though it was something your dad found hilarious.

Sports were always something the two of you could talk about, even before you found out you had magic. He loved the fact that you loved football as much as he did, and was thrilled by the fact that you had enough talent to play it in your primary school.

Though with your hand eye coordination you had done better with cricket, and baseball the few times you had a chance to play it in gym. So when you had joined the wizarding world you naturally had gotten into quidditch. Learned everything you could about the game so you could give him detailed play by plays about the games when you sent owls home.

At this point you were dying to play. You were too short to be a beater or a keeper, but you knew you could be a chaser. You could catch like nobody’s business, and you had at least half of the tactics in The Beginner's Quidditch Playbook memorized. You were going to be the best damn chaser Hogwarts had ever seen.

“Hey space captain, you ready for this?”

“What?” You froze, heat flooding your cheeks at being caught not paying attention. You slowly turned to face the new presence.

You knew the girl. Well. You knew of the girl (it was impossible not to know about the very pretty blond girl). She was in your house and year (and therefore in your dorm as well as all your classes) but the two of you had never really interacted before. She seemed to already know everyone and everything when she got to Hogwarts, so it didn’t really seem like she was looking for friends, and it was hard enough trying to figure out your new life without having people look at you strangely when you didn’t know a word they used. Not that Lindsey, you thought that’s her name anyway, had done that, but other purebloods did. It was easier figuring things out on your own to start, and by the time you did, you and Lindsey had already established yourselves in different friend groups. Was her name Lindsey? A Slytherin in your year was always calling her strange nicknames, so it was hard to tell.

“The drill. Are you ready for the drill space captain?” The girl asked again.

“Yeah, but I’m not a captain. I’m a second year, like you,” You said softly, your eyebrows furrowing. Maybe that was a wizard saying, but you had no idea what she was talking about. Your heart also dropped just a touch because if she thought you were a captain then she had absolutely no idea who you were.

She shook her head with a giggle (showing off her dimples). “My dad says that’s what muggles call a person with their head in the clouds,”

You cocked your head to the side, your brain running a million miles an hour to try and figure out what she meant. But then it clicked. “Oh you mean space cadet,”

“I guess,” She shrugged, seemingly unbothered about the correct verbiage.

The whistle blowing brought both of your attention back towards Brandi and the first set of would-be chasers beginning the crossing drill. You coughed to hide a scoff when Lynn Williams raced at breakneck speed up the pitch, and released the quaffle at least 30 feet off where the chasing captain had instructed.

You shook your head at the play. It was too sloppy, too open and it would never connect well with JJ and Alex up top.

“Not impressed by what you see?” Lindsey asked, her eyebrow quirking up (trying very hard to pretend she wasn’t interested in your answer. You were her competition after all).

“Not after Alex basically destroyed the same course last year. She’s got an 85% accuracy rating on goal and nearly 60% of her shots come off of left crosses. Williams isn’t getting high enough on the pitch to provide an adequate pass,” You mumbled out quickly, wincing when Lynn made the same mistake on the way back, nearly sending her partner (a girl in the year below you named Mal) into the stands to catch it (though you were slightly impressed that Mal managed to grab it before it landed in the seats).

“Yeah, I see what you mean. Her throws tend to either go too short or too long. Even if it doesn’t go directly to her partner it at least needs to be consistent so during a game the person she’s throwing it to knows where to intercept it before the other team does,” Lindsey said, taking a hand off her broom to shield her eyes.

“She’s fast but it won’t help if she forces the other chaser off her line to provide service to Alex in front of the posts,” You huffed. Having her on that side would be a positioning nightmare. It left the team open and vulnerable to so many different attacking options.

“I am not entirely sure what that means,” Lindsey said, smirking as she looked sideways at you, “but it sounds like you don’t think she’s competition, which is good news for us!’

You opened your mouth to respond, only to be cut off by Brandi’s whistle. “Alright next pair up,”

You gulped and tightened your fingers on your broom “Guess it’s showtime,” You muttered, surging forward to the starting line.

“Good luck space captain, you’re gonna need it,” Lindsey called back towards you with a wink, taking the ball from Brandi.

You shook your head. You wouldn’t need luck. A fucking golden retriever could beat out the performance you had just whitnessed. As long as you didn’t fall off your brooms, you both would be fine.

***

You raced towards the hoops, reaching your arm out to pluck the perfectly timed ball out of its arc towards the ground. Okay, Lindsey was good. Really good. She HAD to have known how bad Lynn’s throws were, because hers were positively perfect. Your throws were good, but Lindsey had this way of arching the ball up through the air if a perfect loop so it practically fell into your hands. There was no way she didn’t practice over the summer.

You neared the posts, starting to make your u-turn to pass the ball back when a flash of gold caught your eyes. Before you really thought it through, the hand anchoring you to your broom had already lifted to snatch it out of the air on instinct. You had played cricket for most of your life- it was instinct to reach out and grab a ball that looked like it was about to fly into your face.

The next few seconds happened almost in slow motion. As your fingers closed around the cool metal, you realized just how far to your side you had to lean to reach the object, and how far off balance it had put you. Your legs crossed tightly as you flipped completely upside down on your broom, entirely unwilling to let go of the object you had just caught or the large quaffle still tucked tightly under your arm. Before you really knew what was happening, you were staring straight at the ground, your legs the only thing keeping you in the air.

“Holy shit, holy shit. Um, hey Lindsey?” You called, eyes on the ground below you.

“What?” You heard her call. You idly wondered why one of the captains hadn’t put a stop to this yet and put you out of your misery.

“Catch?” You threw the quaffle, well tossed it really, up into the air towards where you thought the other girl was. You knew it was going to be short, but also knew that she was going to catch it anyway. She really was that good. With your now free hand you reached up and grabbed the handle of your broom so you could pull yourself to it and rotate back to an upright position.

Only then did you look down at the tiny ball fluttering in your hand. The tiny, almost leathery, wings flapped like it was waving hello. You stared at it in awe, your lips ticking up. You had just caught the golden snitch. You never thought you would get to touch the snitch, much less catch it.

“Hey you” a voice called from the pitch behind you. You turned to look as Mia flew from where the seeker candidates were staring hopelessly at the sky around them to land on the pitch. “Get down here. Yeah, you on the drills.” She motioned down to the pitch, indicating where you should land, then turned her head to call over her shoulder, “Brandi I’m taking number 2.”

You quickly flew towards where she had pointed, shakily dismounting from your broom. You weren’t sure if it was fear, adrenaline or nerves, but your legs felt like jelly. You clutched the little ball in your hand so tightly that you were sure there was going to be an imprint in your palm later.

“What in Merlin’s name are you doing in the chaser section?” Mia said, tucking her broom under her arm and throwing her hand up towards the group of would be chasers throwing a ball around at varying distances. (You tried not to wince when Lynn nearly pegged Mal in the face again).

“Um, trying to be a chaser? I was always a good forward so I thought it might fit?” You mumbled with a shrug, scratching the back of your neck with your free hand. a light shade of pink covered your cheeks. It was a little embarrassing how clueless you were with the magical world sometimes, and how even after being here for two full years, you still felt completely out of your depth.

“That’d be like using a cauldron as a teacup because they’re both the same shape. It’d work but what a waste!”

“I…- I have no idea what that means. I know I caught the wrong thing, and I’m sorry. I’ll leave now if that’s what you want,” You stuttered out, suddenly finding the way your shoe poked the pitch underneath you interesting.

“No, kid you misunderstand me. Look, you, what’s your name again?” Mia stepped closer, tilting her head as she looked at you.

“Y/n. Y/n Y/l/n,”

“Right, Y/n, you could play chaser. You’d even be a decent one with a bit of work. But that’d be a damn waste of talent. You’re a natural seeker. I’m not upset with you for catching the wrong ball, I’m upset you weren’t over in my section trying to catch the snitch in the first place. Look at that lot over there, they still think it’s somewhere over the stands.” Mia stepped next to you and turned, gestured to the group of seeker hopefuls flying in circles near the Ravenclaw seats.

“Oh,” You breathed out, following her hand to look at the large group. They were squinting towards the stands and swooping low at whatever they thought they had spotted, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the snitch had been caught on the other side of the pitch and that Mia wasn’t even paying attention to them anymore.

“I’ve had a lot of practice spotting this ball,” Mia said, tapping the snitch trapped in your hand. “I was able to see it within about a minute of it being released, and have been watching it since. None of them saw it when it was on their side of the field, but you saw it instantly- even when you were focused on something else. That is a talent Y/n. Why didn’t you try out for seeker in the first place?”

“I didn’t know how to practice for it, and that-. It wasn’t like any of the other positions I have ever played,” You muttered, trying to cover your insecurity with a nonchalant shrug. It seemed like the position that required the most innate ability, and as a muggleborn you didn’t think you had any.

Mia nodded slowly looking at you. “Right,” she said, turning and mounting her broom, “I wanna run you through some drills. Come on.”

You blinked at the woman as she hovered in front of you. Your eyes darting between Mia and the object still clutched tightly in your hand. Where were you supposed to put it? Were you supposed to let it go?

You brought your palm up so it was level with your eyes and opened your hand, half expecting the snitch to fly away. It didn’t. It’s wings slowly unfurled and it waved docilely at you. Like an old friend.

“What’re you waiting for?” Mia called down at you.

“It won’t fly away!” You called back, looking up at the woman, who rolled her eyes indulgently.

“Of course not, it’s yours. You caught it, and you can watch it like some love-struck puppy later- stash it in your pocket and come on!”

***

You were having a fucking blast, even though you had no idea what you were in for when you joined the seeker group. Every year when you watched tryouts, you never payed attention to what they had to do, as you never thought you would have to do it. Even without the advantage, you were killing it.

You had been separated into pairs, just like the chasers were, but Mia had enchanted clear balls (the size of tennis balls) to randomly fly through the air. The balls were given a 5 second head start before you and your partner were allowed to race to catch it. Now this was familiar, the jostling of arms while racing after a ball and trying to prevent someone else from getting to it before you. Only once out of five rounds did your opponent get to the ball before you, but really, that elbow to your ribs was a red card if you’d ever seen one.

Then everyone took turns hovering in the air as Mia took ten of the enchanted balls and flicked them up haphazardly one by one every five seconds. The goal was to catch as many of them as you could before they hit the ground, even as they were sent up in different directions and some much higher in the air than others. You didn’t get all of them, but the seven you saved still seemed to impress the other seeker candidates who didn’t scowl. The second highest number saved was six, but that girl still congratulated you as you got off your broom, since “those last few of them went way further out than they did for me- and you were an inch away from that eighth one!”

You nodded, smiling at her, though you were probably more embarrassed than she realized about that eighth one. That one had been sent towards the far side of the field, where you looked up to meet Lindsey’s eyes. You had been placed perfectly to catch the ball as it started falling from it’s apex, but in the moment your hand faltered, and it brushed by your hand instead. You cursed and considered going after it, but then you flew back to where Mia had already released one of the last two on the other side of the field.

“Alright, for our last drill, we’re going to try to catch a real snitch again,” Mia said, pulling another golden ball out from inside her robes and holding it between her thumb and pointer finger. Its wings sprung out and flapped wildly, unlike the slow waving of the one in your pocket.

Everything in you wanted to catch the little golden ball. To tame it like you had the other one. For it to sit calmly in your hand and wave hello like an old friend.

“Isn’t the other one still out there?” The same girl asked, her head tilting to the side.

“It’s been taken care of,” Mia smirked and shook her head, sending a little glance in your direction. The girl stared at her wide eyed, opening and closing her mouth as though she wanted to say more, but Mia again cut her off with a stern glare. ”As I was saying, the first of you to catch it gets to keep it and also gets a boost to the points on their scorecard. Now line up,”

You all flew low on the pitch, forming a circle with Mia and the snitch at its center. Your eyes never left the frantically flapping little ball as you waited for her whistle to blow. There was no way it was going to escape you and if you got to show off for the would be chasers watching you near the posts, that was fine with you too.

***

“Congratulations Y/n! There’s no way you won’t get picked to be seeker,” the girl said, after Mia released you, promising that the results of the tryouts would be posted next week.

“Oh, um thanks-...” You said trailing off towards the end, awkwardly rubbing the back of your neck. You didn’t know her name.

“Oh, sorry. You missed introductions at the beginning. I’m Savannah, from two years above you.” Savannah grinned at you, a bit ruefully. “You know, I thought this was going to be my year to nail the seeker position. But with you on the team, there’s no WAY we’re gonna lose to Slytherin. And Lloyd can stop looking so smug about the cup win last year.”

“The only reason they were better is because they had Amy and Sydney scoring. They won despite her and her stupid tactics. If Slytherin actually got a decent seeker then we’d be in trouble,” Lindsey said, throwing her arm over your shoulder and stepping to walk between you and Savannah.

“Carli’s decent, just distracted I think. She had NEWTS along with scouters and stuff,” you muttered, a bit defensively. You know you weren’t supposed to like the Slytherins- house competition and all that- but Carli’s strategy was pretty impressive. The recruiters certainly seemed to think so, you heard rumors that the recruiters from the Wasps and Arrows had a bidding war before the Harpies showed interest.

“Pshh it was just the Harpies recruiter. Even if they have Potter, she’d still probably tank their win streak. At least that’d help my team,” Lindsey snorted, shaking her head.

Your eyebrows furrowed. The Harpies were the second oldest team in the league, and since they recruited Ginny they had been on a tear taking down the Cannons and the Magpies in the final games of the European cup three years running. You thought Carli’s strategy would fit nicely in their ranks.

“I’m pretty sure there were Wasps recruiters and Magpies guys here too,” Savannah said to Lindsey. You noticed her eyes glanced towards Lindsey’s arm around your shoulder as she smiled widely. Lindsey dramatically rolled her eyes.

“Which team is yours?” You asked softly, leaning your head on Lindsey's shoulder as you trudged towards the locker room, ignoring Savannah.

“The cannons of course,” Lindsey said confidently. Savannah seemed to be hiding a smirk, and waved goodbye at you as she headed into the locker room.

“They’re pretty alright, but Ronaldo is a little too cocky for me. Sinclare and Potter together are a lethal combo for the Harpies and with Angerer in goal they’re like unstoppable,” You hummed thoughtfully. You also liked that the Harpies were an all female team.

“Ugh, you sound like Emily,” Lindsey said, rolling her eyes. “She and Sam are giant Magpies supporters.”

“I mean the Magpies have a 75% score rate while the Cannons are only at a 60. And Messi catches the snitch within the first hour 80% of the time, while Ronaldo’s catches take about 85 minutes on average,” you rattled off. So maybe you were a little too into statistics. At least your dad never had to worry about your math skills.

“No way, they’re super into team stats too! Maybe you can help me convince Emily and Sam that the Cannons are the best team!”

“But Emily and Sam, whoever they are, are right. The stats don’t lie,” You said with furrowed eyebrows.

“Oh, Emily is my friend in Slytherin and Sam‘s in Hufflepuff. I’ll introduce you later.” Lindsey said waving a hand in the air. “Anyway, the Magpies may have Messi, but the Cannons have heart! And isn’t that what really matters to make a good team great?”

You paused, pulling Lindsey to a stop beside you. “I know they don’t teach math here, but Statistics beat heart any day.”

Lindsey laughed and shoved you playfully to the side. “You haven’t even met them and already you’re ganging up on me.”

“I’m just stating facts. The hat almost put me in Ravenclaw cause I just love random factoids so much,” you smirked, tucking yourself back under her outstretched arm (it was just so warm and it made you feel… safe).

“Well, I’m glad you’re in Gryffindor. It's way better to have you as a teammate than competition Space captain. Now let’s go- if we hurry we can probably get to the library to work on that potions essay before curfew.”

#uswnt x reader #uswnt imagines #uswnt imagine #literalhedgehog #harry potter au #hogwarts au #quidditch au

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eyayah-oya · 3 years

Text

I never knew what I was missing

Cloneship Week Day 2 - Soulmates - @cloneshipweek

Jesse/Kix

Rating: T

Canon typical violence, major character injury (I don’t go into graphic detail of the injury, though)

Ao3 link

Since the moment Jesse was decanted, there was an ache in the back of his mind, as though he was missing something important, but could function without it. He’d heard whispers from other cadets that they felt the same. They all had to be careful to not let the Kaminoans or the Cuy’val Dar know about this strange emptiness in the back of their minds for fear of what would happen to them. Surely, this deep-seated need for something was some kind of defect the longnecks hadn’t expected.

As Jesse got older, he began to hear even quieter rumors, basically legends, that said some of the clones found something to fill that aching emptiness. According to those rumors, it wasn’t something that helped, but someone. But it wasn’t until Jesse was eight that he learned about soulmates.

The Alpha class somehow managed to get access to the holonet, and they found the information on soulmates and what it means to have one. The Alphas then passed that information down to the CCs, who passed it down to the CTs, always careful to not let any of the trainers or Kaminoans come across the information.

A soulmate is the term used for someone that they couldn’t live without, who, once they met, would complete each other in a way that no one else was able to. Soulmates could be platonic, familial, or romantic, but they were supposed to be the one a being could always rely on. There weren’t any particular abilities or tactical advantages that came from finding and connecting to your soulmate, but Jesse found he rather liked the idea of having someone that was meant for him specifically. Clones weren’t allowed much in the universe. They weren’t even allowed to have names, though most clones gave themselves one just to prove that they were people, too. But Jesse’s soulmate was his, whoever they were. And that meant everything.

Jesse first watched a brother find a soulmate just before all the battle-ready clones were sent out to Geonosis with General Yoda, Grandmaster of the Jedi Order. He’d stepped foot inside a gunship along with his squad and a squad of brothers he didn’t know. His batchmate was pulled across the gunship until they were standing face to face with another clone, helmets off so they could see each other. The pure joy radiating from them bolstered everyone’s spirits even higher than they already were. After all, the Jedi had finally come, and they would be able to finally fulfill their purpose.

Two hours later, he watched his batchmate get shot in the face by a Geonosian and the newly found soulmate nearly break down from grief and pain. Less than a minute later, and the other clone met his own end.

So many clones died on Geonosis. So many who had never found their soulmates. So many that had, and were now separated by death itself. And there were many who followed their soulmates quickly into death, rather than survive and live a life without the other.

Following that battle, Jesse found himself fearing that void in the back of his mind where his soulmate was supposed to be. Had they died before they’d even met? How did he know that his soulmate was gone if they’d never found each other? Was it an awful pain like he’d seen with his new squad in the 501st? Would he ever be able to find out, or would Jesse be stuck in an endless ignorance?

There were no answers. Fellow clones, vod’e, couldn’t answer him, and nat-borns had rarely had to worry about that kind of thing until the war broke out. Sure, there was probably someone, somewhere who might know the answer, but there was no way to scientifically prove anything as no one knew their soulmate until they met.

As the war progressed, Jesse did his best to ignore everything about soulmates. As soldiers, they were supposed to be the best fighters, defending the Republic against the Separatist droid armies. Worrying about his soulmate would only distract him and put everyone else in danger. He’d seen vod’e self-destruct after their batchmate or cyare were killed, and Jesse could admit that he never wanted to deal with anything like that.

It wasn’t until a difficult battle on some Outer Rim planet that was mostly marshes that he was abruptly confronted with the idea of soulmates again.

“Get down! Get down!” Jesse shouted at the group of shinies he had been put in charge of. The blast of a cannon from one of those octo-droids nearly blew the head off of a kid who was cackling madly as he shot the incoming droids with his Z6. Jesse managed to pull him behind shelter just in time, practically flattening the kid to keep him safe.

“What the kark do you think you were doing?” Jesse ground out. He pulled the shiny up enough for them to crawl away from their current position to try to find someplace a bit more defensible. He’d already lost two members of his squad in this skirmish and he didn’t want to lose any more. The shiny just scrambled after his squadmates, pausing every few feet to take out the droids that were getting too close to their position.

Christophsis was a nightmare. They’d taken the city easily enough the first time, but with the spy that had taken out their weapons depot, the Separatists were winning against both General Skywalker and General Kenobi. Too many men in both companies were dying, and from what Jesse understood, no one was answering their plea for reinforcements.

New orders came through over Jesse’s HUD, and he quickly turned to gather the eight shinies he had left. “Retreat and regroup with the main army. Keep your heads down and blasters up.”

“Yes, sir!” they chorused.

The extra shooty shiny cackled wildly. “Let’s get these clankers!” he shouted and popped up to mow down a row of clankers with his Z6, completely disregarding the blaster bolts headed his way.

Jesse tugged the shiny back down and glared extra hard at him, hoping that he would be able to feel the glare despite the bucket. “Keep your damn head down or you’re going to get it blown off. Stick with your squad and head back to the base,” Jesse ordered angrily.

With a sheepish salute, the shiny turned and followed his squadmates as they ran back to the base. Jesse covered their flanks as they ran, taking out as many B-1s and SBDs as he could as he followed a minute later. The whine of a cannon sent Jesse diving into cover. He gulped in lungfuls of air as desperately as he could while he had a second of respite until the droids would reach his position and he’d be forced to move again. At least his shinies made it back to base safely.

The giant crystal Jesse hid behind glowed a brilliant blue-green and he had only a second to think “Oh shit,” before the world around him exploded.

He lost time, though he wasn’t sure how much. There was a sharp pain in his chest that hurt with every breath he took, but especially when he coughed. Something metallic lingered in his mouth, making him gag from the awful flavor, but there was nowhere to spit it out. Protocol had been drilled into his head from the time he was decanted: Never remove your helmet in an active battle. The last thing he wanted was to have nasty tasting spit inside his bucket.

Blaster bolts flashed overhead, blue and red striking against the green crystal the city was built of. It was strangely beautiful, the danger adding to the beauty in a way that Jesse couldn’t describe. Soothing. Reality warped a little, and Jesse began to drift. Drift far away, following his brothers who had marched on.

Something deep in the back of his mind snapped into place, filling the empty space that had always existed. Jesse jolted as if he had been shocked, and let out an awful sob at the pain coursing through his chest. His immediate instinct was to curl in away from the pain, but something was holding him down, keeping him from moving. Somehow, that was more terrifying than anything else he had experienced since he’d first been deployed to Geonosis.

“Stop moving! I need a stretcher, stat! Massive bleeding from the chest cavity, but I have a pulse and I plan to make sure he has a pulse by the end of the day.”

Jesse relaxed as he recognized a brother’s voice. A helmet appeared in his visual range as something pressed against his chest. A scream wrenched from the depths of his chest in response, heaving sobs making the pain worse with every breath and every slight shift in movement. It was worse than anything else he had ever experienced in his life.

And yet . . .

The hole in his mind had been filled. Jesse, sometime between long moments lost to agony, realized that meant he had met his soulmate. It took long minutes later, when the medic managed to get him onto a makeshift stretcher for transport back to the base, that he realized the medic was his soulmate. His other half. The one that was supposed to complete him in every way.

A feeling pulsed from the area that Jesse knew his soulmate now occupied, though it was barely noticeable with all the pain signals firing in his brain. It was a warm, soothing feeling, almost like a hug, or praise from the Captain or the Commander. Warm like the rare sunny day on Kamino and warm like the jungle sims they trained on. Warm like batchmates piling together in the same tube for comfort. It was as comforting as a hug from his batchmates, though all of them had been killed on Geonosis. In the middle of treating his life-threatening wounds, his soulmate was making sure Jesse felt safe and cared for. Whoever this medic was, Jesse thought that maybe, just maybe, he could fall in love with them.

Well, at least I know I’m in good hands, Jesse thought deliriously. The medic would do everything he could to make sure Jesse lived to see the end of the day.

Every step of the way back to base jolted his injury further, and distantly, Jesse wondered what, exactly, had put him in this condition. Blaster wounds didn’t usually bleed since they instantly cauterized the wound. Maybe shrapnel? Definitely something sharp and definitely something poking his lungs. Jesse did not recommend lungs being poked. Universe, kindly kark off and never let something like that happen to him again, please and thank you.

“Move! Out of the way, soldier!” the medic snapped and Jesse could hear a mad scramble as whichever brothers were in his way scampered off to the side.

“Is he gonna be okay?” Jesse recognized the voice of his shooty shiny, though how he managed to do that while delirious with pain escaped him. Maybe it was the number of times the shiny seemed to put himself in danger during the last few days.

“I will do everything I can to make sure he is,” the medic responded, very carefully not promising anything. Good vod. It’s a bad idea to give false hope, just as it’s a bad idea to promise something he wouldn’t have much control over. Jesse would die when his time was up, and until then, he would fight to stay alive every second.

-------

“You’re lucky you survived,” the medic said later, after the battle was saved and both the Resolute and the Negotiator were headed to their next mission. Jesse didn’t know the details, and he didn’t care to, either. What he did care about was the fact that his soulmate was sitting beside his bed and had saved his life and Jesse still didn’t know his name.

“I had a good medic,” Jesse quipped. He groaned as he began to test the mobility of his extremities. Chest wounds were awful, and he desperately hoped he would never have to live through one again.

“It was a close thing. You had to be put in a bacta tank for two days before you were healed enough to be put in a bed. A few more minutes out there and you would have bled out.”

From what Jesse remembered, that made sense. “What impaled me?” he decided to ask.

The medic grabbed something from the tray beside his bed. A green crystal shard from Christophsis the size of his thumb lay innocently on the medic’s palm. It glinted innocently in the harsh lights of the medbay, ethereal and stunning. And yet, that thing had nearly killed him on the battlefield of Christophsis.

“Guess the most beautiful things really are the most dangerous,” Jesse said.

The medic snorted and turned to fill out some forms on his datapad. Jesse shamelessly used this opportunity to study his soulmate. The vod had intricate designs cut into his hair, which was cut down to a buzz. He had sharper cheekbones and a thinner face than most other clones, though for any nat-born the difference wouldn’t be noticeable. There was also a tattoo on the side of his head that read “The only good droid is a dead one.” Jesse agreed completely. Mostly. The mousedroids and the General’s R2 unit weren’t bad. Any Seppie droid though? Yeah, they were only good when they were reduced to scrap. The medic’s hands were slimmer than Jesse’s, the way most medics’ hands were. It was easier to treat delicate injuries if you didn’t have to worry about thick fingers getting in the way. Some brothers called medics delicate, but Jesse had never thought that way. Medics were stronger than the average clone, simply because they had to pick up and haul brothers far from the battle while they were in their armor. Plus, they had to deal with the deaths of thousands of brothers without breaking themselves. Medics were the strongest vod’e.

“Have you finished your staring?”

Jesse smirked. “Nope. But I would like your name.”

The medic answered with a sharp grin. He leaned forward, his elbow on Jesse’s bed and his chin propped up on his fist. “What makes you think you should have it?”

“I’d like to know who my savior is,” Jesse answered. He felt a flicker of amusement coming from the space in his mind where the medic had taken root. “You and I are gonna be close, I can tell.”

“Those lines don’t work on me,” the medic said, his smile still razor-sharp. “I only give my name to a di’kutla runi that doesn’t end up in my medbay bleeding from their chest.”

Jesse’s heart fluttered in his chest, broadcasted to the whole medbay by the karking machine monitoring his vitals. The medic had called him “runi”. Soul. The Alphas had overheard that word from some of the trainers on Kamino when they talked about families left behind or marching ahead. The medic really was his soulmate.

Said medic was a karking bastard though and should definitely stop smirking like that every time Jesse’s heart literally skipped a beat. That smirk was doing dangerous things to his mind, and he hated that he was stuck in a bed in the medbay for the foreseeable future. At least he’d be able to talk to his soulmate and get to know him. If said soulmate would karking cooperate.

“Kix,” the medic said after a few minutes of Jesse trying to tamp down his blush and get his wayward heart to stop betraying him.

“Huh?” Jesse said intelligently.

“My name. Kix. With an x.”

Kix. Jesse rolled the name around in his head for a few seconds before he decided that the name suited his soulmate. “I’m Jesse. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“You too.” The smirk shifted into a softer smile. One that reminded Jesse of the warmth he had felt when their connection had snapped into place and Kix tried to comfort him while treating his shrapnel wound. The warmth that delirious Jesse had decided he could easily fall in love with.

With a clap of his hands, Kix turned away from Jesse’s bed, who immediately ached to reach out and keep. He didn’t want to be alone and he certainly didn’t want his soulmate to leave.

“Now that you’re awake, I have a pack of shinies that I am officially making your problem.” Kix opened the medbay doors and waved to someone down the hall. He turned and flashed that same dangerous smile. “Good luck. You’re gonna need it.”

Jesse decided that he would deal with a hundred shooty shinies if it meant he could hear Kix’s laugh again when the reckless one (who promptly declared that his name was Hardcase, given to him by Captain Rex himself) started talking a minute at Jesse without getting a single breath between sentences.

It would definitely be worth it. After all, the Mandalorian wedding vows (stolen off the holonet in a Mando’a learning module) mention raising warriors together. Who better than the shinies of the 501st?

#clone/clone #jessix #jesse/kix #clone trooper kix #clone trooper jesse #clone trooper hardcase #look a wild hardcase appeared #haha how did he get there #soulmate au #cloneshipweek2021 #day 2 | soulmates #cloneshipping

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cybernaght · 3 years

Text

Detective L: Sherlock but make him jazzy

So if you were wondering why I’ve been slow to update with my next Guardian recap, it’s because my partner and I have spent every evening this week binging the hell out of Detective L/绅探, a procedural show set in 1930’s Shanghai, with Bai Yu in the lead role. Yes, we have watched it in a week. No, we don’t have any regrets.

“Well this is so far basically Sherlock”, messaged a friend of mine as she was watching this one a few weeks before I have gotten to it.

Alright, I thought. Great. A western IP-inspired period procedural? That sounds fun!

And then the opening credits start, and...

Oh. Ohhhh.

This is not inspired by Sherlock Holmes, the Conan Doyle series. This is inspired by Sherlock, the BBC series.

Right from the opening, right here. This is extremely close to The Game is On from the Sherlock soundtrack.

The parallels become apparent in the script, as well as some of the visual short-hands for the titular detective’s deductions. So, if this review is looking at it from this angle, Detective L brought it onto itself. But don’t worry, the comparison is mostly favourable.

Our point of view character, a rookie policewoman called Qin Xiaoman, moves into a shared house which is owned by a boisterous landlady who is definitely not a housekeeper. Xiaoman discovers that her neighbour is a consulting detective called Luo Fei, and, after a brief misunderstanding in which she attacks him, the two become partners. They then go on solving a series of complicated crimes some of which may or may not be tied to a criminal mastermind known only as the Captain.

The actual procedural side of Detective L is highly enjoyable, albeit rather formulaic, even for the genre.

The show’s 24 episode runtime is divided into eight cases, each three episodes long, and each case goes roughly like this: a seemingly trivial crime occurs, something piques Luo Fei’s interest enough to investigate it, a wrong person gets arrested, then a set of clues point to the case being actually about something else entirely, protagonists find themselves in peril, the culprit is caught, there is a last minute twist addition to the case, and the characters are enriched by the events. Sometimes the order of those narrative beats changes, but all of them are present in most of the cases. That said, the elements within this structure are well presented. The audience is given enough information to follow the twists and turns of the investigation, and to reach correct conclusions around the same time Luo Fei does, but not enough to feel smarter than the protagonist.

If you are familiar with the genre tropes, you will be able to predict, at times, exactly where the cases are going, but honestly, I prefer old fashioned well plotted murder mysteries over more outlandish ones that rely on critical information which is delivered by an omnipotent detective, and could never have been observed by the audience in the first place. I personally watch procedurals for the experience of solving the case alongside the protagonists rather than to marvel at the lead detective’s big brain. And if me saying this sounds like a jab at BBC’s Sherlock, it’s because it is.

Detective L does not take itself too seriously, either, mostly due to its unyielding pace.

The episodes are short and snappy; discounting previews, recaps and occasional screwball comedy specials tagged at the end of the cases, the actual runtime of each episode is about 30 to 35 minutes. And there is a lot that this show can cram into half an hour. Detective L simply does not have time to be pretentious. It’s fast, and loud, and over the top, and thrives that way. The action shots are incredibly idiosyncratic, equally loud and fast, chopped in a way which is almost reminiscent of comic book strips - but I genuinely think this is the only way they can offer any escalation to already relentless pace of the show.

The aforementioned little extra featurettess tagged onto four of the main cases are an absolute delight: they are charming, there’s some genuinely expert comedy, and pretty ballsy forth wall breaking. This show’s ability to not take itself too seriously pays off there as well.

Production-wise, it’s beautiful. I’ve no idea where it was actually filmed - but the locations are stunning, the set design is wonderful, the costumes are jaw-dropping. It’s well lit; it’s mostly well shot and well edited, and, discounting the opening credits, pretty well scored. Tencent has money, and it shows. In every way you look, beautiful really is the word that comes to mind. Although I am currently rewatching Guardian so any show that has actors wearing foundation that matches their skin tone, and sets which are not held together with papier-mâché is going to be beautiful.

The only fault I’d say it has is wanting to be BBC’s Sherlock so damn badly, it introduces us to elements of Mind Palace-type arrangement, as well as superimposed effects explaining some of the deductions.

While those are done reasonably well, not all of them are strictly speaking necessary, and their presence was at times distracting in a meta kind of way.

I had a fear very early on that Detective L’s hectic pace would mean that it would be void of any breathing room for the characters, but thankfully the show found time to linger on those. Thus, Luo Fei is actually a very interesting subversion of the Unsocial Detective trope. He is flippant, blunt and, yes, not very good with people: these are all parts of his public persona, which allows him to use sharp words to ensure that he is given space to be effective. The more the show progresses, the more of Luo Fei’s caring, kind heart is revealed to the audience. He is a character who would be beastly to his partner to her face, and then fiercely protective of her reputation behind her back; would verbally dismiss an emotional response to the resolution of a case, and then proceed to financially support those wrecked by it.

It is also interesting that Bai Yu puts a lot of foxy energy into his character’s enthusiasm for crime-solving, there is a bubbly twitchiness to his physicality; and even the harsh words the script makes him say are mostly a played as a joke, a tease, a deflection. All of this makes Luo Fei infinitely likeable.

Qin Xiaoman, the female lead and point of view character, is there, technically speaking, to have things explained to her, and, by extension, to the audience. Making her a detective herself gives two additions to that: one is maintaining a link between Luo Fei and the actual police force (which I’m like 90% sure is another censorship thing), the other is giving their relationship a mentor/mentee flavour. But - again, in a lovely twist - she is a protector more than a caretaker. She would be the one ducking out of the cover in a gunfight, she would be the one taking the bad guys out in hand to hand combat, she would be the one providing a shield to Luo Fei. And none of it would be played for laughs. It is a given that she is not just stronger than her partner, but stronger than most men on the show.

The two have a will they/won’t they dynamic, complete with a set of romcom tropes, which include such things as accidental tumbling on top of each other with slow-motion yearnful gazing, and comedic bath times.

Still, the two characters’ relationship is still mostly based on mutual respect, and the resolution to the will they/won’t they question is entirely contextual. Bai Yu and You Jingru have a lovely chemistry, which is also a plus.

It’s also... kind of interesting that Luo Fei is portrayed as having a close relationship with the coroner, Ben Jie Ming (or just Benjamin), in a way that has an almost OT3 kind of vibe. It could not have possibly been deliberate, but the protagonists’ romantic entanglements can absolutely be read as casually polyamorous. Which is a lot of fun to see.

Aside from the two mentioned above, Luo Fei’s team contains an overworked superintendent, an enigmatic psychologist and a narrow-minded rival, which pretty much ticks every box there is for a group of misfits solving crimes together.

Detective L’s shortcoming mostly comes from the last case being somewhat weaker than the rest: it is quite blatantly overwritten, almost as if the show ran out of time before it could put all the moving pieces into place, which really is a shame. “Oh boy, I hope they manage to salvage this” is not a feeling I like to experience before hitting “play” on the series finale. Thankfully, they do manage to salvage it, playing out a very well placed, and extraordinarily satisfying gambit. Make no mistakes through, this show does not wrap itself in a tight little bow, instead ending on a suspenseful, poignant, note. In many ways Detective L ends in a way which screams for a second season - only the second season never arrived, and, considering that this has been released in 2019, is unlikely to do so.

I wish there was a season two, and a season three for that matter; I would happily watch many more adventures of Luo Fei and his team.

—

This is not a comment on the show itself, but subtitles it comes with on YouTube and WeTV are so poor they cross all the way into sublime, and include some highly memeable content.

I feel like I need to clarify my feelings on BBC’s Sherlock, because I kind of ended up dunking on it here quite a bit.

As a person alive on the internet between years 2010 and 2017 I was hurt by it: not just because of blatant queer baiting (while I was definitely shipping Johnlock, I did not have any hopes for BBC actually delivering on their relationship as endgame), but because the quality of the later seasons highlighted just how poorly plotted it was overall. Season four made every bad writing decision on this show retroactively apparent: every time a plot resolution came out of nowhere, every time it hyper focused on the protagonist over the story, every time choices were made with the female characters.

BBC’s Sherlock is masterfully crafted from the visual standpoint. The camerawork is out of this world. It’s well acted. David Arnold and Michael Price’s score is wonderful. But I honestly cannot in good faith call it a good procedural. I’m not even into Conan Doyle’s writing, being more of an Agatha Christie gal, but even I had to sometimes question whether decisions made with the source material were wise.

YouTube essayist hbomberguy has a savage dissection of that show, which I think very accurately analyses its failures.

#detective l #绅探 #bai yu #You Jingru #review of sorts #now with gifs #I am watching entirely too many shows #spoiler free

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bluebellhairpin · 3 years

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( Notice: OKAY - The pic there says ‘The Hobbit/LOTR’ but for times sake, and my own sanity, there is none listed thus-far (same goes for the ‘other’ category’). Merci for understanding! )

So I’ve been meaning to do this for a while, and I already have a blog for it ( @nemosrepost ) but that doesn’t get too much attention. Thus, here we are!

(This was a nightmare to get done - it took weeks to get all the links and pics done up in my spare time - I hope you appreciate that.)

They’re all sorts here, from Medieval Marvel AU’S, to Modern Attack on Titan one shots. They’re all organised via fandom, and I’ve tried my best to link and tag everything properly, but that is a difficult feat, so beware - for some it may not have worked too well.

Like my *actual* masterlist, this will be updated regularly with new fic recs, and even new characters and fandoms as I read them. All fic’s currently listed (as of November 26, 2020) are found on my reblog account.

I’ve also tried to add in a ‘recommendation summary’ thing of each - so basically just my thoughts on the fic(s). But anyway, have fun browsing, and overall - enjoy!

(AND also - LMAOOOO - Have fun scrolling lololololol!) - Nemo

( Pre - Warning: I am not tagging anything as NSWF, 18+, or triggering content. However some fics listed do contain such material. Please refer to the warnings or Authors Notes on each Fic before reading. Stay safe guys! I love you! )

Bluebellhairpin’s Masterlist

Bucky Barnes

Knight in Rusty Armour - Medieval / A/B/O AU! Series - by @revengingbarnes Honestly I binged the first eight chapters (+ prologue) in close to one sitting. That was mostly because that was all that was published at the time. It is completed now. I love both these AU’s, and I love Bucky - win, win!

Flowers Bloom - Soulmate AU! Series - by revengingbarnes Another great series, and honestly I’m a slut for soulmate au’s, so this author might be coming after my heart - keep up that good work, if you know what I mean.

The Great Build Up - Modern / Firefighter Au! One Shot - by @thottybarnes This ones goes from cute, to hot and steamy, to angsty, and back to cute again. A one shot rollercoaster, and I thoroughly enjoyed every word of it.

Maybe This Time - Mob Au! One Shot - by @propertyofpoeandbucky Okay, so if there’s one thing I like more than an mobster au, it’s adding children into the mix. Something about big bad guys going all soft for this tiny human - and then making them - and that’s called perfection.

Whatever It Takes - Biker AU! One Shot - by @sgtjbuccky He like’s to be loud, so what. He rides a bike, so what. I what to ride him and his bike, so what.

(Un-Named) - One Shot - by @softlybarnes I’ve never liked Bucky’s metal arm more in my entire life. Using it for a baby going through teething? A+ idea.

Hero, Waiting - Medieval AU! One Shot - by captain-ariel-barnes Sadly, this fic is unavailable now, and that - obviously - makes me sad. But I’m adding it her anyway because of how much I adored it. The love triangle between Bucky, Reader, and Steve was amazing, and the feelings? Phenomenal.

Steve Rogers

If Walls Could Talk - One Shot - by propertyofpoeandbucky I’ll recreate my original comment on this fic - ‘Ouch’. And that’s all I have to say about that.

The End of the War - College AU! One Shot - by @redgillan There’s nothing quite like a enemies to lovers trope that’s well-written. But then throw in fight club, a jerk date, ice-cream and pizza - just read it. You’ll understand then.

The Edge of the Water - Mermaid AU! Series - @floatingpetals I have to admit now, I haven’t read all of this yet. But I also have to say, what I have read was fantastic. Mermaids - and Mermen - they just hit different, you know?

Pseudo Princess - Medieval AU! Series - by @shreddedparchment To date, it’s one of the best fics - nay - stories I’ve ever read. I’d dare to say it’s easily the length of a novel, so if you’re up for the long haul, I’d definitely recommend it. It’s worth the wait - trust me. Op obviously put a hella lot of work into it, and it shows.

Loki Laufeyson

Loki’s Happy Ending - Series (?) - by @gingerwritess Listen, I have been and forever will be a Loki girl. Nothing will change that. And every scrap of content Theo produces for Loki I will cradle in my palms and keep warm until they’re ready to go out into the world or whatever - point is, read this.

Just One Quick Glance - One Shot - by @imagines-trashcan After watching ‘Endgame’, and squealing at every moment Loki appeared on screen, only to not have him show up in the final battle - this was one of my comfort fics.

thunderstorms. - One Shot - by @tarynkauai Naturally, Loki’s child would inherit his unease of thunderstorms. And naturally, seeing Loki as a dad makes me happy.

Stitches - One Shot - by @lokibug Loki being nice. I like that. We stan.

Quentin Beck

The Curveball - One Shot - by @healingchurch Listen, this is on here for a reason. I didn’t really like Mysterio ‘cause of what he did to Peter, but hey, some people are good actors, and some write characters acting very well.

Stephen Strange

(Un-Named) - Imagine / One Shot - by @archieimagines A cocky bastard and a shy Reader, as far as I’m concerned that a one-way ticket straight to my heart. *wink wonk*.

(Un-Named) - One Shot - by @whirlybirbs Honestly, there are multiple fics of hers on this list, and that’s because she’s a damn fine writer, and her stories are just that addictive. This one is no different. I was preparing to read more and then it ended. But all good things, right?

Crash and Burn - One Shot - by @lilyswritings The angst, and the angst. I cry, you cry, everyone cries. Unfortunately there is only the one part, but much to my personal joy that means I can interpret the after-ending however I want!

Frank Castle

(Un-Named) - One Shot - by @alexsunmners This is just cute okay? I have no other words except this was plain and simply very, very, very nice to read, and that it makes me feel very soft right here on the inside.

Peter Parker

Super Smooth Genius - One Shot (?) - by whirlybirbs Back at it again with the cute, awkward, friendly, neighbourhood, Peter Parker.

Just Don’t - Soulmate AU! One Shot - by @papel-creativo What’d I tell you about soulmate au’s? I can’t resist them. And of course Pete being a caring bf with his hero s/o. So nice.

Ronan the Accuser

Make You Proud - One Shot - by @kayleighhalliday2203 This is justifiable because I was going through a Lee Pace faze and I found it and loved it immediately.

Ultron

(Un-Named) - One Shot / Series - by @snarky-badger This I can also justify having read, because (and if you know me then you know) the robot thing ... Doesn’t bother me as much as it should. And I binged all of it on ao3, so.

Poe Dameron

(Un-Named) - Masterlist - by propertyofpoeandbucky Okay, I know there’s a lot on this list, and it could take you a while to get through it all, but trust me - it’s worth it. Lani likes Poe, and it shows. He’s written so well.

Dashing - One Shot / Series ? - by whirlybirbs Birbs does it again. She’s got Punchy!Reader, and if there were a legal way to get all of this Poe thing down into a written book, I’d do it.

You Can See Me? - Modern / Ghost AU! One Shot - by @tintinwrites I just this this one’s really cool. And what Poe does for the reader at the end? So sweet! He would totally do that!

Across the Hall - Modern / Nurse AU! Series - by @starryeyedstories It’s cute, it’s fun, it’s got tension, and a little drama - plus a smidge of angst and Corgi!BB-8. If perfection were ever made into a Modern/Nurse au Poe fic - this would be it.

Deepest, Lightest Secrets - One Shot - by @writefightandflightclub It’s got the humour and overall feel you’d expect to come from something Star Wars related - honestly I had so much fun reading it, and I’ll happily do it again.

Levi Ackerman

Names for Him & You - One Shot - by @commanderserwin Again, op is one of my main sources for fic’s in this area - so there could be quite a few of them listed here. But this one? Cute as heck.

Levi’s Secret - Modern AU! One Shot - by @theamberwriter This one was damn funny in my opinion. Nothing can ever be hidden from Hange for long.

You Look So Beautiful In White - Modern AU! One Shot - by @alrightberries This fic, it carved out my heart, diced it, shoved it in a blender, then made it into an atomic bomb. I - I was not okay. That amount of angst shouldn’t be allowed. Read it.

Abeille - Modern / Mafia AU! Series - by @ackermans-freedom-inc Honestly, this isn’t finished yet but, honestly, I’m not ready for it to finish. The heartache. The betrayal. The child. I can’t even.

Lights - Modern AU! One Shot - by commanderserwin This was the first fic I ever read of op’s, and I couldn’t believe what I read so I went back and read it again. I can’t tell you how much I love it, or how I feel about it, so just go read for yourself and you’ll know.

To Build a Home - Modern AU! Series - by @vennilavee If you’re a fan of Levi, you must go read this. It’s so detailed, and just so perfect - whenever a new part comes out I have a quick reboot before going to read it.

Erwin Smith

One of Us - Modern AU! Miniseries - by commanderserwin I’m not going to lie, this one is here because I requested it, but also because I really liked it, and cried while reading it. So there.

Reiner Braun

Service to the Crown - Medieval AU! Miniseries - by @present-mel It should probably be illegal to write Reiner or Medieval au’s this well, and yet here op is writing both. Like, McScuse me, where do you acquire such talent and can I have some?

Toshinori Yagi

Flirting with All Might - One Shot - by @lemonlordleah-shinzawa-kitten Toshi. The great. The hero. The awkward. He’s a blond boy doing what blond boys do even if he’s a little older he’s still part of the crew.

Stitches - Villain AU / Mini Series - by @itsallmightbitch Okay, so I said above that I wouldn’t put warnings on these - but this time I have to. Nothing I’ve read in my whole life emmits such an amount of pure horniness - and I love it.

Godless - Fantasy AU / One Shot - by @pleasantanathema Another ‘All Smite’ fic, yes, I know. But god. They’re so good. This one is another real horny one, so if you can’t tell there is a slight theme running here. And - sksksksks - this is actually from the same ‘general area’ as the Reiner fic listed above (Service to the Crown). There was a event. I read everything.

Keigo Takami

Preening - One Shot - by @shoutaaizawas Literally the softest and cutest damned thing I’ve read for Keigo. No, I’m not just ‘saying’ that, it’s genuine. The feelings I get - or lack thereof due to them turning to mush - it too much for words. Honest.

Seasonal Special - One Shot - by @keiqos I’ll say this now and I’ll say it first - any Hawks fics written by op are *chefs kiss*. They’re amazing. Secondly, rut!Hawks is my weakness - this fic is one of such weaknesses.

Shouto Aizawa

(Un-Named) - Series - by @theamberwriter This is *technically* the second part in the series, but it’s the only part I’ve read and goddamnit, I’m in love. Hubby Aizawa. The disappearing Baby-Zawa.

I Miss You Texts - SMAU - Kuroo Tetsurou, Bokuto Koutarou, Nishinoya Yuu - by @briswriting I miss them too. They ain’t dead. I just feel like I haven’t seen them in so long.

Little Things - Headcanons - Karasuno - by @haikyuudreaming Every single one makes me feel so nostalgic, and I feel so much longing. I love. I loose. I pine. I want. And yet I cannot have. I only dream.

Cheerleader - Headcanons - Karasuno - by @imagine-101 I want to be their cheerleader. Now I am able to be. Op, many thanks for the feeding.

Tsukishima Kei

Cherry Wine - Single Parent AU! Series - by @bakugou-jpg I’m gonna head out and say that Tsukki was my first favourite Haikyuu character - then I ‘character developed’ but that only went so far as to give me more favorites. But deadass - read this and you won't regret it.

Ukai Keishin

(Un-Named) - Ballroom/Latin Dancer AU! Headcanons - by @imagine-that-haikyuu I know nothing about dancing. Or ballroom dancing. But I do know I’d love to dance with Ukai. So how’s that for ‘middle ground’?

#fic rec #masterlist #marvel x reader #bucky barnes x reader #steve rogers x reader #loki laufeyson x reader #quentin beck x reader #stephen strange x reader #frank castle x reader #peter parker x reader #ronan x reader #ultron x reader #poe dameron x reader #levi ackerman x reader #erwin smith x reader #reiner braun x reader #karasuno x reader #tsukishima kei x reader #ukai keishin x reader

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ariel-seagull-wings · 3 years

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TOP 12 CINDERELLA PORTRAYALS

@superkingofpriderock @metropolitan-mutant-of-ark @lachica50 @sunlit-music @princesssarisa @mademoiselle-princesse @amalthea9 @captain-dad @astrangechoiceoffavourites @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @anne-white-star @littlewomenchannel @lieutenant-hel-odinsdottir @filmcityworld1

Rodopis. Ye Xan. Cenerentola. Cendrillon. Aschenputtel. Aschenbrödel. Zolushka. Cenicienta. Gata Borralheira. Cinderella. The heroine has several names around the world, but all of them experience the same tale: young ladies who are opressed and marginalized by father and stepfamily, but, thanks to their kindness and bravery, receive assistance to rise from the ashes more strong and beautifull, learning to love themselves and eventually finding the love of a prince that will make them happy. The tale is very old, its first writen version dating back to Ancient Egypt, and has been told, retold, writen and rewriten in several different versions, and has been adapted into a variety of media like cartoons, films, radio shows, and comics from around the Globe, wich possibilated anyone to choose their favorite versions. And today, i will share with my favorite portrayal of one of the most iconic fairy tale heroines of all time.

12º Daphne Zuniga in Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (1995)

This animated fairy tale anthology series produced by HBO camed with the twist of transporting well known european versions of fairy tales to different cultures, like China, Cuba and the Caribbean. In this episode, they adapted Cinderella by setting the story in a Kingdom that had culture and population inspired by Mexico, making it one of the first portrayals of the character as a mexican, wich turns it a very significative work. Cinderella herself could show a bit more range of emotions, because in this portrayal she is at her most passive, her voice is always very sweet and low and she rarely her smile facial expression, but the character design and how she interacts with the colorfull and creative world and characters in the episode still makes it wort checking it out.

11º Aylin Tezel in Sechs auf einen Streich (2011)

Grimm’s Finest Fairy Tales (Sechs auf einen Streich in Germany and Holland) is a live action TV Movie anthology series from Germany made between 2008 and 2019. In 2011, they released their adaptation of Cinderella (Grimm’s Aschenputtel) staring german-turkish actress Aylin Tezel. Tezel brings a sense of playfullness to the role, as well as a sense of altruism in helping the servants in her Stepmother’s house and a wild free spirit that she fights to keep despite the opressive rulling of her Stepmother over her life. She is basically borrowing some elements of the humanity that other actresses before her brought to the role, while making this version of the character her own, wich is not easy feet, and deserves all the praises in the world.

10º Mitsuko Horie/Lara Cody in Grimm’s Fairy Tale Classics (1989)

Another fairy tale anthology series, this time made as a japanese anime that, despite the title, didn’t necessarily limited itself to the tales written by the Grimm Brothers. But in the case of this Cinderella episode, the Grimm’s version is the one they choosed to adapt, excluding the gory element of the sisters cutting their feet. This encarnation of Cinderella is probably the one with the most highlighted innocence, wich could both bring people to love and help her, but also be turned against her by the villains. The moment where this is most explicit is when after returning from the ball, she casually comments with the birds about the tree that gaved her the ball gown to wear, without knowing that the Stepmother is listening, and later her Stepmother not only locks her in the attic, but calls a woodcutter to cut down the tree, leaving poor Cinderella to suffer in deep guilt. It’s not often that a Cinderella adaptation explores the character’s innocence having negative consequences for her, and that is what makes this portrayal of one the most refreshing.

09º Maria Kawamura in Cinderella Monogatari (1996)

The Story of Cinderella (Cinderella Monogatari) is an Italian-Japanese anime television series of 26 episodes, wich were later edited into a two part feature lenght movie. This Cinderella is the 16 year old daughter of a rich Duke who dreams of someday going to live in a castle, having her own horse and many friends. But those dreams start to become remote for her when her father has to make a long travel and her Stepmother and Stepsisters reveal their true faces: Cinderella is taken out of her room, turned into their servant, often receiving hard tasks in short spans of time, and several times is exposed to situations of danger and harm by her Stepmother, like when she is unfairly framed for stealing grapes from the royal vines. Her situation is one of the most vulnerable, and troughout the series we get nervous to see if she will keep being a hopefull teenager, or if the hardships will crush her spirit despite the support that she has from her friends.

08º Ilene Woods in Disney’s Cinderella (1950)

Going from a teenager who has just recently started to experience adversity, to a grown adult who has experienced adversity since childhood. Having lost both of her parents as a child, it becamed more easy for Lady Tremaine to lock Cinderella away from the world and educate her to be an apparently perfect servant who does every domestic shore well, fast and without any sign of complaints. But, when she is alone with her animal friends, is the moment that Cinderella voices her fealings of fear, longing, anger, sadness and tiredness, dreaming of someday becoming free. She also gives them food and handmade clothes, showing how thankfull she is for their friendship, and this inspires the animals, as well as the Fairy Godmother who sees everything, to want to help her. And in her night out at the ball, she shows a natural grace and sweetness that charms people like the Prince to instantly fall in love with her. Basically, an inspirational role model.

07º Gemma Craven in The Slipper and The Rose (1976)

An intersting bridge between Disney’s Cinderella and Cinderella Monogatari. Like Disney’s Cinderella, she is a grown adult orphaned of both parents. Like Cinderella Monogatari, since her father died when she is an adult, her entrapment into servitude is more recent, wich makes clear that she has difficulty with domestic shores and also gives her a more intense will to rebel, to the point that this is one of the few portrayals of Cinderella that says “I hate you” in her Stepmother’s face. And the rebeliousness is well mixed with a very romantic personality that specially shines after she falls in love with the Prince, who is also an idealistic rebel that matches perfectly well with our relatable heroine.

06º Drew Barrymore as Danielle de Barbarac in Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998)

In american cinema during the 90s, it was growing in popularity the fantasy heroine who was a warrior rebel and an intelectual bookworm. Capitaling in this fenomenon, Ever After: A Cinderella Story, was made, eschewing the magical elements in favour of Pseudo-Historical Fiction retelling.

The story begins when The Brothers Grimm are invited to the home of a French noblewoman who tells them how much she enjoyed their story of Cinderella, but that they got some details wrong. She then proceeds to tell them this story: Danielle de Barbarac is the beloved only child of the widowed Auguste de Barbarac and his late wife, Nicole de Lancret. When she is eight years old, he remarries the Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent (Anjelica Huston), and brings her home along with her two daughters, spoiled and cruel Marguerite and gentle but weak-willed Jacqueline. Shortly thereafter, he dies, leaving Danielle to the care of her stepmother, who already resents the love that he displays to his daughter (especially as he calls for her over his wife in his final moments), and the estate's three devoted servants - the housemaids, Paulette and Louise, and the retainer, Louise's husband Maurice. The movie skips ahead ten years, to when Danielle is eighteen. Their estate has fallen onto hard times and things keep "disappearing," to the anger of the Baroness. Danielle has, of course, become a virtual house slave to the family, but takes comfort in the familial love she shares with the servants and the kindness she receives from Jacqueline. One morning, she is gathering apples in the estate's orchard when she spies someone stealing the horse of her late father. Enraged, she chucks apples at him, ultimately causing him to fall. It turns out to be the Crown Prince of France, running away from a father who wants to marry him off. To buy her silence, he gives her a great amount of gold. Danielle and the Prince meet again when Danielle, disguised as a courtier and using her mother's name, goes to the castle to rescue Maurice, whom the Baroness had sold into slavery to pay off some of her debt. The Prince is intrigued by "Nicole's" beliefs and courage, and asks to meet her again. A courtship ensues, in which Danielle keeps trying to tell Henry that she is really not a countess and the Baroness gets increasingly suspicious of Danielle's odd appearances and disappearances. The King and Queen, desperate to marry their son off, are delighted that he has found a girl... but are keen to meet her, something Danielle wishes to avoid. Meanwhile, Leonardo da Vinci, who has been invited to court, befriends both Danielle and Henry and everything seems to be going along well, save for Danielle's growing anxiety about maintaining the masquerade.

Barrymore’s Danielle channels the idealism and dreaminess of the Cinderella character trough her love of books, specially Thomas Moore’s Utopia, and also expands the rebeliousness brought by her predecessours by being writen as skillfull in swordfight, making her able to save herself and the ones she loves in more than one ocasion, wich was a very new take. At least for american audiences in the 90s, anyway, but we will get there later...

05º Brandy Norwood in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997)

When i was kid i watched mainly three film versions of Cinderella: the 1950 Disney animated film, Ever After: A Cinderella Story, and this TV Movie production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical released by the Disney Channel. It was one the first examples of a diverse, colorblind period fairy tale production i remember seeing, and it was an important mark for me ever since.

As played by pop singer and actress Brandy Norwood, this encarnation of Cinderella is a courteous, gentle young woman who is nevertheless unafraid to speak her mind, ocasionally making snarky comments as a way to cope with her stepfamily’s abuse. But she is still shown to need some boosting in confidence by her Fairy Godmother, who teaches Cinderella to see the valour and beauty in herself, and never stoping asking for the impossible.

04º Lesley Ann Warren in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1965)

Whereas Brandy Norwood’s Cinderella would more easily find a way to confront others who mistreated her and become a confident person, Lesley Ann Warren’s Cinderella was a more shy and frightened person, who had to take a more slow path into becoming confident and take her chance of happiness. Because of that, the viewer has the more intense feeling that when she goes to the ball in the beautifull magic gown, she is a more glamorous and happy person, different from the meek and sad lady who usually hides around the fireplace. This was Warren’s first starring role, and we must commend her for portraying two faces of the same character in her debut as a leading lady.

03º Jennifer Beals in Fairy Tale Theater (1985)

The most simple, straightforward adaptation of Charles Perrault’s Cinderella ever made, and the simplicity is its greatest strenght. That strenght is personified in Jennifer Beals’s performance as the title character. This Cinderella is the quintessential no nonsense girl next door, who even tough finding herself in a situation of unimpowerment, always refuses to accept the absurd injustice of her exploitation as a servant, speaking her mind clearly to her stepfamily. This make all the more satisfatory when she receives the visit of her Fairy Godmother, and is reward with the deserved rich and happy life that she was loosing hope of ever receiving.

02º Libuše Šafránková in Three Wishes for Cinderella (1973)

This czech film is one of the first cinematic portrayals of Cinderella as a wild, adventurous, free spirited trickster character, who with the help of three wish granting magic nuts, can go outside and woo her beloved Prince. She enjoys horse riding, trowing snow balls, and hunting, as well as wearing pretty dresses to dance at balls. A highlight is when she cleverly hides her face with a veil to avoid being recognized by her stepfamily, and teases the Prince with riddles about who she is. You can see that she oppened the door for portrayals like Barrymore’s and Tenzel’s.

And my number one is the version that opened the door for her and many others...

01º Leslie Caron in The Glass Slipper (1955)

In this ballet-movie, french-american ballerina and actress Leslie Caron portrays Ella, a girl who not only is abused by her stepfamily, but also ostracized by the people in her village due to constantly apearing covered in ashes and not being traditionally beautifull with her short hair and big teeth. Because of that, Ella grows into a lonely, awkward and agressive person, whose only refuge is the prophecy of a fortune teller who told that someday she would live in the beautifull Palace of the Duke, and the daydreams in wich she imagine herself as a gracious ballerina. One day, Ella meets two people: Mrs Toquet, an old lady who everyone calls crazy, and a young man who presents himself as son of the Palace’s Cook, but is secretly the Duke’s son, Prince Charles. Those two are the first people who treat Ella with kindness, and because of that, she slowly blooms into a more merry person, who learns to love herself and accept the love of others.

This adaptation is very influential, being one of the first where the heroine’s birth name is Ella (wich would be later used in Ella Enchanted and Disney’s Cinderella 2015), one of the first that makes the supernatural elements more subtle (paving the way for Ever After’s complet schewing of them), one of the first that portrays a more angry and rebellious Cinderella (paving the way for Three Wishes for Cinderella, The Slipper and The Rose, Fairy Tale Theater, Ever After and Aylin Tezel’s 2011 Cinderella) and one of the first to make her meet and fall in love with the Prince before the ball, without knowing his true identity (paving the way for Three Wishes for Cinderella, Ever After , Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella 1997 production and Aylin Tezel’s 2011 Cinderella).

And because of how awkward and agressive Ella acts in her everyday life, her ballet daydreams and the transformation in the mysteryous “belle of the ball” feels more radical, like two different faces of the same coin, thanks to Leslie Caron’s full of range performance. For being the version that brought the raw humanity to Cinderella, influencing several portrayals ever since, is the reason that Leslie Caron is my number one favorite portrayal of Cinderella.

Honorable Mentions: Kim Crosby in Into the Woods (1987), The Triplets (1998).

#cinderella #fairy tales #genre fiction #fantasy #literature #folklore #pop culture #wallpaper

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wiypt-writes · 3 years

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Stark Spangled Banner

One Shot: Phobias

Summary: Katie encounters an enemy FAR WORSE than anything she’s seen before. Can Steve saver her before it’s too late?

Pairings: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Language, Spiders, and a little bit of fluff

A/N: So this is a little one shot/drabble that came to me after my husband saved my life from a monster in the bathroom...

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 7

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

“SSSSTEEEEEEEEEVE!”

The scream made the glass of water in Steve’s hand slip to the point he almost dropped it. Placing it down with a slam on the coffee table he stood up and bolted down the hall towards his bathroom only to be met by Katie, who was in her bra and denim shorts hurtling towards him.

“What is it?” He frowned, instantly placing himself between her and the bathroom, looking at the door.

“In there.” She muttered, and as her hands gripped at his hips he could feel her shaking behind him.

“Someone’s in there?” He looked over his shoulder and down at her.

She shook her head, stuttering a little in fear. “I… just… I can’t…”

Steve was really puzzled now. Not a lot phased Katie Stark. She had fought alongside him in the battle of New York, facing off against God Knows how many Aliens. The year before she had tackled the Mandarin with her brother, then there was Loki in the Desert, countless missions with SHIELD, so what on Earth had got her so petrified, in his bathroom no less, that she was trembling behind him?

“Stay here.” He instructed, gently before he crept forward and stepped to the bathroom. The door was wide open and he could see or hear nothing. Frowning he looked behind the door, in the tall cupboard that housed his toiletries, towels, bedsheets etc… all clear. He was just about to ask her what the fuck was going on when a movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He glanced into the shower cubicle and there was the culprit.

“Jesus Christ sweetheart.” He groaned, with a somewhat exasperated sigh as he looked at the spider. “You nearly gave me a heart attack. I thought someone had broken in and was about to kill you.”

“Something did break in!” She squeaked back, still from her spot in the hall “It’s gonna eat me!” Steve rolled his eyes to himself. It was nothing more than a house spider. A fairly big one, he had to admit, but utterly harmless. Nevertheless, he knew Katie was petrified of the damned things. She had admitted to him post an incident with one on a Quinjet that she had woken up when she was three with one on her face and had been scared witless of them ever since.

“Katie, it’s not gonna hurt you.” he reasoned.

“I don’t care!” her voice was high pitched “Incy Wincy fucking Gorilla needs to leave” That did make him laugh. “Okay, Okay.” His chuckles died down. “I’ll sort it. Don’t panic.” Luckily for her, spiders fascinated Steve. He had always found their webs a thing of beauty, and in the army had often wandered the woods early in the morning to see them speckled with dew in the growing light of the sunrise or frost in the winter, sketching the particularly intricate ones he found. He bent down, scooped the arachnid in to his hands careful to keep it enclosed and headed back into the hall. “Where is..is it IN YOUR HANDS?” She shrieked, eyes wide as she backed away from him. “Why didn’t you kill it?” “I’m not gonna kill it!” he said, shaking his head “It isn’t his fault you’re scared of him.” “But…”

“Honey, it’s fine, I’m gonna let it go outside!” He tried hard not to laugh at the sheer look of disgust and horror on her face. “Just open the door for me ok?”

“Outside outside or like the hall way outside?” She said, looking at him. He paused for a moment, he had been thinking just the hall- it was a house spider after all. But he could hear her reaction already- I’ll just come back under the door…

“Outside outside.” he confirmed, and her shoulders visibly sagged as she exhaled and headed to the doorway. She opened it, then backed away from him to let him out. Giving her a smile he headed outside, spider safely contained in his cupped hands as he headed down the stairs to the main door of his apartment block. Using his foot to keep the door jarred open, he stooped down and gently let the spider go. It scurried off and he wiped his hands on his jeans before he took the three flights back up to his floor two steps at a time. Katie was in the kitchen, still in her bra and shorts, a glass of water in her hand. He leaned in the doorway looking at her for a moment, smile playing on his lips. Even when she was being absurd he loved her.

“You can stop looking at me like that.” she said to him.

“Like what?”

“Like you think I’m utterly ridiculous.

”Steve cut her off with a chuckle “You are utterly ridiculous.” he said, striding towards her to give her a hug. She let out a noise that was half chuckle, half groan as she pressed her face into his t-shirt. “But I love you, arachnophobia induced drama included.

”She stayed still, her cheek pressed into his chest as his hands gently held her close, palms warm on her bare back.

“Gonna go for my shower now.” She mumbled.

“Ok” he pressed a kiss to her head “You coming back out or going straight to bed?”

“Bed.”

“Alright, I won’t be far behind you.”

She smiled up at him, before she headed out of the room and he watched her go, her hips swaying gently as she walked.

The water was hot as Katie stepped underneath it. She hated being that petrified of something as stupid as a spider, she really did. Logically she knew it was daft, they were so small in comparison to her. Tony had constantly told her whenever he had to rescue her from the eight-legged-freaks, ‘they’re more scared of you than you are of them’, but that was utter bollocks. Frankly, she’d take fighting off ten men single handed against dealing with one of them.

With a sigh she washed her hair, turned the water off and then set about cleaning her teeth before she headed out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. Steve was already in there and as she walked into the room he gently tossed a clean t-shirt onto the bed for her and she grinned. She loved sleeping in his shirts, for no reason other than they were his. And he loved the fact she loved to sleep in them for the same reason. He dropped a kiss to her cheek and told her he was going for a shower himself before he headed into the bathroom himself. She dried off, braided her hair before shrugging the T-shirt and settling down between the sheets of his bed. Steve returned a little under ten minutes later, chest speckled with drops of water he hadn’t dried off completely.

“Honey do you want a drink or anything?”

“No I’m good, Stevie, thanks.” She mumbled, eyes closed as she snuggled further into the bed. He dressed in a pair of sweats, leaving his chest bare- another thing he’d started doing since they’d been sharing a bed as Katie much preferred snuggling into him like that- and he began the usual routine of checking the doors and windows before he returned and slipped under the covers next to her. She let out a sigh and moved so that her head was lay on his chest, her hand gently tangling into the smattering of dark blonde hair that was there. He could tell she was wide awake, pondering something.

“What’s the matter?” he asked gently.

“Do you think I’m a dumbass, you know, because of the whole…spider thing? I know it’s ridiculous, but...”

Steve took a deep breath and moved so that he was led on his side, facing her. She pouted at being jostled off his chest and he smiled at the look of indignation on her face as he tucked a stray hand of hair behind her ear.

“Clowns.” he said gently.

“What? What has that got-“

“I hate them.” He gave a little shrug. “They freak me out. Big time. Can’t stand to look at them let alone be in the same room as them.” “So that’s why you don’t wanna watch IT.” She smiled softly “You’re scared of Clowns?” He nodded “Once when we were kids, there was a Carnival down at Coney. Bucky and I went in this like maze thing. Contained a load of mirrors and stuff…but the last room you went in was basically nothing but clowns, and you had no idea which one was the mirror and which one was the real thing.” He gave a shudder at the memory and he felt his girl’s hands warm on his chest. “Well, when the damned thing moved I had a complete melt down, asthma attack, you name it…”

“Why have you never told me this before?”

“Doesn’t do my Captain Badass image any good, does it?”

“And my spider phobia doesn’t do mine any good.” She chuckled a little. “Especially seeing as one of my best friend’s goes by the code name Black Widow.” He gave a little chuckle and wrapped his arms around her, as she turned over to get comfortable. He pulled her to him, her back pressing to his chest, and closed his eyes as he wrapped himself around her. She sighed, happy to bask in his warmth.

“Thank you for rescuing me” She mumbled and he gave a laugh that vibrated through his chest into her.

“Isn’t that what a man is supposed to do? Be his Dame’s Knight in shining armour?”

“Yeah but most Knights slay fire breathing dragons…” she said, before pausing slightly. “Oh God can u imagine? A fire breathing spider?” she shivered.

“Ok. Honey, now you’re being ridiculous again.” he said, eyes still closed.

“Hey, for all we know it could exist, like in the deepest, depths of Peru somewhere, just hasn’t been discovered…”

“Well, lucky for us we aint in Peru.” he said with a sigh, as he dropped a soft kiss to the back of her neck. “Now go to sleep.”

**** Chapter 8

#stark spangled banner #one shot #steve rogers #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers fic #steve rogers x ofc #steve rogers x original female character #Katie Stark #chris evans #chris evans characters

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