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the-winter-spider · 2 years

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Love You More | Pt.6

Word Count: 1.7k

Warning: Swearing, talks of depression.

A/N: Ive never had a story planned like the way this one is, so its just an absolute breeze to write. In case theres any confusion this is a flashback part of the reader briefly during the couple months after Endgame + after Bucky told the reader he needed space.

Not Edited or proof read.

Masterlist (coming soon) | Masterpost

2023

You sat in the same spot you’ve been in since you got home from what you thought was your first real date with Bucky since the 1940s but you were so wrong. Disgustingly wrong.

You werent mad at him you could never be mad at him but god was your hesrt fucking shattered. You have no idea why you even bothered to get your hopes up anymore, especially after everything you’ve been through. How the hell did you not learn by now?

You were a mess and even that was an understatement you were a shell of a shell of a person you once were. Steve would have tried to talk some sense into you, try to reason with you about how the world needed you, and you’d reluctantly give him a nod, swallowing any and all feelings to the pits of your mind, turning into what he wanted, a soldier ready for a war.

Or, Tony would come by and first try to coax you out with humour. If he would even see a sliver of what he thought was a smile or a groan that sounded like it could be a laugh he’d consider that a win, and even though he tried so hard to be cool and collected because he had to be, he would let a sliver of that giant heart out and how could you say no to pushing through this for someone who wanted the best for everyone and only saw the best in you.

And Nat, would sit and wallow with you until you were done. She's there for you without doing too much but it was more than enough. She’d make sure you got off your ass and took care of yourself. She’d put you before the mission, before the avengers, before herself. And seeing her show you such love even if it was subtle and not in spoken words but actions, you’d be sure as hell to show her you accepted that love and got off your ass.

Your mind played out each scene. You felt the way Natasha would lean down in front of you, the way Tony would give you a shoulder squeeze pulling you in for a side hug, the way Steve’s voice would bounce off the walls. It's like you could see them, feel them, hear them but they of course weren't there.

None of them were here anymore. They were all gone, they all left. They’re all dead and not coming back.

Your eyes were focused on the TV playing in the background, well was playing in the background till you saw the ‘NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA’ flash across the screen and it most certainly wasn’t Sam.

You tried your best to get your ears to focus but you could only hear ringing, you pulled yourself back in just in time to hear the woman on TV talking about you and your family.

“Now that Steve Rogers, Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff are gone, who do we have left to save us if something happens again?”

The male news anchor weighed in “We have Spider Man”

“He’s got to be just a kid, the Falcon — Sam Wilson gave up the shield that Steve Rogers gave to him, how can he be reliable after that”

“Y/N Y/L/N”

She scoffed “How can we rely on someone who falls off the edge of the world after The Winter Soldier breaks up with her? The video of her aggressively walking out of that restaurant went viral for a reason and it wasn't because of her being an Avenger but from the storm that followed, she should be locked up, someone with her capabilities she's too unpredictable, unsteady”

“Now Sally, don’t you think you're being a little too harsh on the girl? She lost her family while trying to help bring the rest of the worlds theres back”

“All I'm saying is when you're a human with super abilities you have a certain responsibility to uphold and she's just not doing that for me. I think the Avengers are over. I don't feel safe with people like them hiding right under our noses”

“Y/N i know you're in there, open up doll please” His voice was soft he was resting his forehead on the door. It had been almost a month since he last saw you. He walked by your apartment countless times. It was nowhere near his or near his therapist office but it was the only way he could feel close to you any more.

Especially when you wouldn’t answer his calls, you wouldn’t answer his texts and the only reason he figured out how to remotely do that was to reach out to you but he settled for listening to your voicemail the “Hi you’ve reached Y/N if you have this number odds are your probably in the compound with me and are too lazy to come find me” it would pause and you could hear Natasha in the background say “It was one time… okay maybe more than 10” then Steve and your laughter was heard before you continued “But if not i guess leave a message” then Tony shouted “She won't get back to you bye!” before the beep was heard.

But 4 weeks was far too long he had to know you were alright. Sam told him he stopped by 2 weeks ago and could hear the TV on, and see your shadow under the door but you weren’t answering him either. So Bucky was hoping this wasn’t about him telling you he needed time. He felt so stupid doing that, he talked about it with Steve after you left, the night Steve told the two of you he was going to stay.

Steve told him he was being stupid, that it wasn’t by chance all three of you were alive just like it wasn’t by chance when he went to collect the infinity stones with Tony he just so happened to hide in Peggy’s office. It wasnt by chance, it was simply fate.

Bucky knew he was being stupid, he knew everything Steve and you had done for him, to get him back to save him. All the sacrifices you made but it was just so easy for Steve to toss him and you to the side he was scared that once you realized he wasn’t the same Bucky anymore you’d do the same. But you also weren’t the same Y/N he fell in love with anymore and nothing scared him more than falling out of love with you.

What was a little more time he thought?

You stood there staring at the door, you could see his shadow from under the door frame. You felt like you were on fire, it was quite literally possible for you to set yourself on fire too and you would set yourself on fire if it meant Bucky was here to beg for you back with ring in hand.

“Please, it's about the shield about Steve. We need to get it back, back to where it belongs”

Burning.

“I'm done Buck” Your voice was hoarse, your throat scratchy, you're positive he wouldn’t have even heard it if it wasn't for the serum.

“What do you mean you're done?” He banged a little harder “Open the door, let's talk please”

“Go away, James. I don't want you here”

He scoffed “You're really going to do this? After everything Steve did for you?”

You winced, the glass cup in your hand shattering to the ground, water pooling around your feet. Putting out the fire that was burning in you momentarily.

It was silent for too long you didnt move, you stood there in the water, surrounded by glass shards.

“Y/N I didn’t — Im sorry” And he stood there a little longer, the floor creaked as he walked away.

“Bucky told me he came by” Sam paused hoping you’d say anything, he felt stupid talking to a door so he closed his eyes and pretended it was you “Y/N i know your hurting, i cant try to help you or to try and understand what your feeling unless you let me in. We dealt with loss and it hurts. I get that I do but we need to carry on for them, we need to pave the path for the future.”

You were laying on your couch watching your ceiling fan spinning around and around. It had been 12 weeks since Bucky stopped by, he didn't call, he didn't text. You were almost positive that this was Sam’s last effort in trying to coax you out but the truth was he wasn't Natasha, he wasn't Steve, he wasn’t Tony. And you weren't even you.

You wanted to try so bad for Sam, he was so good, he was light, he was airy, and god was he so easy to talk to. Maybe that was why you couldn’t bring yourself to talk to him because then everything would come bubbling over, who knows what would happen then. Sally, the news lady was right, you were unpredictable, unsteady and not safe to be around. You didnt even wanna be around you anymore.

“I’m not sure how much of the news you’ve seen but a lot has happened” Pause “Bucky and I are going to work again, who knows we might even become friends, he's going to help me with our family boat — We could use your help to, not just with the boat but to keep us from killing each other” He let out a small laugh “Ill text you where we’ll be, call me anytime y/n. Take care of yourself”

The floor started to creak, he was leaving. You tried to imagine what Sam looked like standing there, the truth was you forgot what he looked like, you forgot what they all looked like, they were burning memories fraying away. You’re sure you’d forget the sound of his voice in a couple weeks too, just like you did with all of them.

“Almost forgot… we got the shield back”

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killthe-illusionarydreams · 4 years

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Ashes To Ashes

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Reader

Request: ‘Please could you write a Fred Weasley imagine where you’re inside the burrow when Bellatrix sets it on fire and Fred runs in to get you out?? Thank you, I’m really loving you writing!’ For anonymous

Ps- i havent read the books or seen the movies in a while so I kinda went w the time it was fleur & bills wedding & intergrated it w that, sorry if its not what u wanted but I did write Bellatrix’s attack in x

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Today was the big day. For today was the the day where Fleur & Bill were finally to be wed. For their celebration to erase war from anyones thoughts, today they were just two kids in love, not undercover Order Workers. Today they were simply girl & boy.

“Oi Y/N hurry up, Fleur’s asking for you” Ginny shouts practically breathless as she runs past your room, trying to find Hermione for the bride.

You pick up the gorgeous bouqet that earlier today you picked up from the florist for the woman and made your way downstairs into the living room. As you take a closer look, you notice something is off. Fleur was standing rigidly still, looking in the mirror unblinking.

“Fleur, darling, are you alright?”

The woman remained silent, Y/N had no idea what to do, she’d never seen her friend so paniced, so immobile. Ever since Y/N’s sixth year (after the Triwizard Tournament) the two kept in contact, maintaining a solid friendship with the other, who wouldve known that years later Fleur would join the family that you had already been apart of.

“Its okay to be nervous.” You sit beside the Frenchwoman “Just talk through it” grabbing her hand you pull her down to sit beside you.

“It’z all so scary Y/N. I love Bill, I really do, but what if he realises he doesnt feel the same about me and leaves me there?” She faces you, eyes glossed over

That caused you to frowm slightly “Bill loves you more than he loves life itself Fleaur, everybody knows that he’d do anything for you just to see you happy- not many can say that they have a person like that.” You smile lightly, thinking about your person. “You constantly say how much you love him, so if you stil feel that for him, theres no need to be scared of getting married-These are the normal pre wedding doubts, none of them are true. Besides, I’m sure if Bill tried to run away from such a gorgeous and talented person as you, Molly would raise havoc and go to the ends of the earth to get him back.”

Fleur looks up at you, smiling, but with stray tears going down her face “Thank you Y/N” she throws herself forward and hugs you “It’s just a big step & I’ve been so emotional lately because of-“ she hesitates

A look of realisation dawns on you and you beam, hugging her once more but tighter “You’re joking? Congratulations!” You give her a peck on the cheek “Does Bill know?” You queried as she shook her head

“Non, I only confirmed it a week ago. Please dont tell anyone Y/N.” She looks at you with pleading eyes and you vigorously nod

“Of course. I wont say a thing, this is your secret. But how about we start getting ready for your wedding hmm.”

As Y/N started to do Fleurs makeup, Hermione rushed in with the wedding dress that her and Molly had been making final adjustments to, Ginny was running around frantically trying to get all the guests in the right places and seats. Once commisioning your help to shout at a group of loiterers to leave the premises because they wouldnt listen to the red head girl. All in all, after many hours, Fleaur was ready.

“You look gorgeous.” Gabrielle beamed at her sister

“Stunning.”

“Ethereal.”

“I might just steal you from Bill” you wink and cause her to laugh and blow you a kiss “I’ll go get everyone ready, you still have plenty of time to relax.” Handing Gabrielle the bouqet, you rush out of the room, which proved to be quite difficult in heels. But bearing through the pain, you get outside and see rows and rows of the fragile golden chairs set on either side of the long purple carpet. The supporting poles to the gazeebo top were entwined with gorgeous white and gold flowers. As you look to where there was supposed to be an enormous bunch of balloons, you frown to see it bare.

“George!” You shout getting his attention “Wheres Fred? You were supposed to the balloons up ages-“ you feel strong arms pick you up and spin you around, making you let out a shriek of surprise, thankfully not loud enough to get the attention of the others

“I’m here my love, disposable at your command.” He purrs into your ear, sending chills down your spine

“Put me down asshole” you laugh and turn to face him, before you could manage to say anything you were taken aback at how he looked. “You got a haircut.” You stated plainly and ran a hand through his hair as he put his arms around your waist.

“Correction, George cut my hair when I wasnt paying attention so ‘people would be able to tell the difference between us’” he wrinkled his nose

You stare at him, dumbstruck “As if the hole on the side of his head wasnt enough.” Fred laughs and says thats what he said “I like it, it suits you.”

Fred grins and kisses you, “Lets face it Y/N you like anything when its to do with me.”

You roll your eyes and hum in agreement “Thats because I love you Fred. But I will seriously consider breaking up with you if you dont get the balloons up as you promised.”

Fred gives you a small peck & jumps back from you “I’m on it!” and runs over towards his brother to finally do what he had to. You smile at him, reminiscing at how you managed to fall in love with such an idiotic man, yet you could never wish for more. Fred Weasley was truly perfect.

Shaking your head you turn back to the guests that were not where they were supposed to be before shouting “Get to your seats and away from the food please! Thats for after the ceremony!” You swat their hands before adding “If you dont know where youre supposed to be, go to Hermione and Molly, they will tell you.” You motion to the pair before walking around to make last minute adjustments.

The wedding ceremony went beautifully, Fleur was walked down with her bridesmaids: Gabrielle & Ginny. When in sight, she rendered everyone breathless, she was ethereal, the most gorgeous a person could possibly look. Molly teared up from the get go at the sight of her eldest marrying, many more joined in when they said their vows. You could not believe that the day of your friends wedding had finally arrived. Throughout the entire sitting down portion of the ceremony, Fred was holding your hand and rubbing circles on it, an assurance that through everything you went through- you were still together- still alive.

The loud music was ringing through the field, dancing bodies surrounded you, but you paid them no mind, your main focus on Fred.

“Did I tell you how gorgeous you look Y/N?”

You laugh lightly as you sway to the beat “No, I must’ve missed it the other ten times you said it”

“Well you do, absolutely bewitching, are you sure you didnt use a love poition on me? I never knew feeling this was possible.” He jokes as he spins you

“Must be my natural charm and charisma that got you so captured Fred.”

“Must be.” He mutters softly looking into your eyes. Fred was completely besotted by you, more than anyone had ever seen him be, he just knew that Y/N was perfect. The way that she’d light up any room she walked in, the way that she’d never back down from a challenge, and just simply how she made him feel. Dear Merlin he loved the girl. “After this do you fancy going away for a bit?”

You look at him sceptically “Planning out your murderous fantasies are we?”

He laughs and shakes his head “You’re impossible. No, since the shops closed I thought we could go away somewhere before everything with the war kicks off, I want as much time with you as I can get.”

“Oh” you forgot that the wizarding world was on the brink of war “Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that. But if you sneak George along i swear to Merlin I will live through my murderous fantasy & kill the pair of you.”

Fred chuckles again, before nodding “Promise, no George. I think he got an eyefull when he barged into our room without knocking.”

“Serves him right.” You mumble “I told him on multiple occasions to knock.”

The rest of the song died down and you stayed in Freds arms for a moment, before he was being wisked away to dance with Aunt Muriel, he held an awfully sour look as you giggled when she hounded on him to straighten his back, then saying that he was too tall.

“I’m a bit cold, I’ll go get a jacket then I’ll be right back” Y/N kissed his cheek & left to get back inside the burrow. Thinking nothing of it, she poured herself another drink, smiling to herself at how Fred would have to have another dance with Muriel. What an awful woman.

Unbeknown to the girl, a silver patronus intruded on the celebration to announce grave news. “The Ministary has fallen. The Minister of magic is dead. They are coming. They are coming.” Everyone scrabled to find their loved ones, to make sure that they were safe, but before Fred even had the chance to look for Y/N, everything burst into havoc. The gazeebo was now engulfed in flames, Death Eaters showing up everywhere to curse them.

“Y/N!” Fred shouted, frantically looking around for the girl “Y/N!”

He turned around and was greeted by a paniced Mr Weasley “Theres not much time Fred, I dont know where she is, you need to get to safety and leave. Now!”

Fred ignored his fathers protests and ran, dodging various spells being shot from either side. He had to find you, he had to know you were safe.

An abrupt crash jolts you back into reality, you get up to run and go outside but with a sudden ‘whoosh’ and black smoke- two Death Eaters appear infront of you.

“Shit.” You mumble & grab your wand, quickly dodging their spells you manage to knock one out & try to deal with the other. “You’re quite persistant-“ blue sparks shoot from your wand, the figure ran upstairs & you follow.

“And you’re associated with mud-blood scum!” A flash of green emerged from their wand that narrowly missed you, you grin

“You missed.” You kick a chair at the figure, momentarily distracting them to cast a spell “Stupefy! Petrificus totalus!” As the figure was knocked out & bound together, you walk over and spit out “Get a life, prick” snapping their wand in two.

In the middle of your fight, you had not noticed that the commotion outside had turned to an arsonists playground. looking through the window you call for Fred, hearing no response your heart stops, you leave the room & try to get down the stairs but now they were already engulfed by flames.

“Oh shit” you panic and shoot spells at it to stop the fire from spreading, but to no avail, it only got worse. Smoke was now clouding your vision, realising that if you were not to jump down you’d perish in this fire. Letting out a short breath, you hype yourself up for the leap of your life “You can do it Y/N. Come on” violetly coughing, you jump. Unfortunately landing a fair few stairs too high. Unbearable pain shoots up through your leg & you cry out in pain.

Sinking to the floor you couldnt even move, the pain in your arm and leg restricting you. This was it, this would be how you die. All alone, with no one to help you, no one to save you. In a burning house. Yet the only thought racing through your mind was ‘Is Fred safe’. Thankfully most of the fire was behind you, the staircase had completely gone up in flames however, the roof was begining to crumble down. A plank toppled down, narrowly missing you, but making the room next to you catch on fire.

As you were losing conciousness you hear a strained yell “Y/N!” You try to respond, but all that came out was a series of violent coughs “Y/N im coming, hang on!” You couldn’t see what was happening, i dont know if it was the thick cloud of smoke or the fact that you were breathing most of it in, but your vision blurred.

A faint figure emerged, breathless, trying to get through the flames & to you fast enough “Hey Y/N ive got you, im here.” You felt yourself being picked up & your body fell like a ragdoll. “Oh merlin dont die on me Y/N.” Was the last thing you heard before passing out.

The abrupt light and noise woke you up, yet you were unable to open your eyes, they were far too heavy for the little energy you had. Were you dead? Is this what death felt like?

“Stop pacing Fred, she’ll be fine.” You heard a voice say, however, unable to distinguish who it belonged to “shes a strong girl, the nurses said so.”

“Yeah they also said she’d wake up yesterday, so my apologies if I dont believe what they have to say.” He snapped

Fred. Oh yes, Fred. He came into the building to save you didnt he? So that answered your question of being dead. You were very much alive, but dear Merlin you were in unbearable pain.

“She’ll be up and about soon though? Her body was exhausted thats why shes sleeping so long right?” He continued, sounding unsure. Well if this is how they reacted to you passing out you wouldn’t want to know how theyd react if you died.

“And id appreciate it if I could sleep some more.” You croak out as you let your eyes open. Coming to face the whole clan of distressed red heads, Harry, Hermione & Fleur.

Fred snaps to face you and a look of relief washes over his features “Y/N” he whispers and rushes to your side hugging you “You’re okay. You’re alive. Thank Merlin.”

You try to chuckle, which abruptly turns into a wheze “I’m okay yeah, in a lot of pain but I’m fine.” Fred retreats from you, an apologetic look on his face.

“Come on kids lets give them some space.” Molly ushers everyone out of the room “I’m glad you’re okay Y/N” she sends you a smile and leaves the room for you and Fred to be alone.

Moments pass with Fred just looking at you with glassy eyes before he abruptly let out “You bloody scared me half to death!”

You motion for him to help you sit up “Oh I do apologise that me nearly burning in a fire scared you. I wasnt very happy about it either.”

Fred looks at you speachless, confused at how you can joke about it so soon. He remains quiet before letting out a big sigh and hanging his head into his lap “I thought I lost you.” He mumbles, barely loud enough for you to hear

“Hey, look at me.” You say and put his face into your left hand with the little energy you have “I’m okay, I’m alive. And so are you” he smiles faintly before you continue “Obviously as gorgeous as ever, so nothing irreversible happened.”

He laughs “Obviously.”

While in the room Fred filled you in on what happened, that after the Death Eaters showed up & they fought them off- Bellatrix Lestrange set fire to the burrow & he ran in to get you out. He told you that you passed out & that you had to be taken to St Mungos to treat your broken leg and the burn on your arm.

“The nurses said you were lucky to get out alive Y/N” he said lowly, not being able to bear the thought of your death.

“Im alive because of you Fred. Thank you.” You offer a weak smile “There were two Death Eaters in the house when it burned up-“

“Thats not on your concious to bear, Its on Bellatrix Lestrange.”

You nod, in all honesty you didnt feel bad that they perished in the fire- their downfall was their own undoing. But what was on your mind was the fire burn “When I’m better do you recon I’ll l have a cool badass scar?”

Fred shakes his head as he holds your hand, of course thats what Y/N is thinking about “‘course you will, It’ll become part of badass backstory.”

“Good” you mumble and close your eyes. After a long silence you relax back into your pillow, the sleeping draft & skelly-grow hitting you like a brick. You begin to mumble incoherent sentences

“Hey Freddie?”

He looks at your peaceful face, all calm against the pillow and responds “Yes my love?”

After a little pause of small mumbles, you ask “When I’m better, can we leave for our trip?”

“Whatever you want Y/N.” He smiles lightly & watches you drift off to sleep, hoping that ‘better’ would come along faster.

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Ahh okay hi! Omg this took so long to write, again sorry its not the actual bellatrix fire story, i jus forgot how it happened & when I remembered I wrote too much of it. <33

#slytherin #harry potter #hogwarts #hufflepuff #gryffindor #ravenclaw #james potter #remus lupin #sirius black #draco malfoy #fred weasley x slytherin #fred weasley imagines #fred weasley imagine #fred weasley #fred and george #fred weasley x slytherin!reader #hermione granger #ron weasley

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yukiwrites · 3 years

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Drunken Proposal

Thank you so much for the support as always, @ramann! I had so much fun writing this I got a bit carried away ;v;)!! I hope you like it!

Summary: Chrom finally works up the courage to propose to Robin, right after the war against Plegia -- but when he meets her, she’s way more than a bit tipsy.

Commission info HERE and HERE!

______________________________

The war with Plegia ended, leaving a blur of emotions inside Chrom's chest.

The soon-to-be Exalt couldn't have done it without his allies, -- each and every one of them played an important and irreplaceable part in helping him through all of that -- but it was true that the one he owned to the most was none other than his tactician, Robin.

She had been there from the start, fighting a battle that wasn't hers -- all the while serving as his pillar of strength during his moment of weakness. He owned so much to her, he wasn't even sure how he could ever repay it.

That was also while not considering the feelings he harbored for her that were locked deep into his heart; feelings that now had a fertile soil to grow, away from any conflict threatening their borders.

He had vowed to himself that he would give Robin the ring which was passed down as heirloom within the Royal Family -- the Queen's ring, given to the first wife of all Kings in the Ylissean history -- once this war was over. Of course, he didn't want to impose any more on her plate than he already had with all that went on after they met. If she denied his feelings, he would simply pull away and continue their relationship as friends.

What was important here, most of all, was how Robin felt. As for Chrom, as long as he could spend time with her by his side in any fashion, he was already satisfied -- knowing that no one would truly be worthy of the Queen's ring as much as Robin, though vowing to bury his feelings if need be.

Chrom shook his head to dispel the gloomy thoughts, though it was a hard task in and of itself to even focus on thinking amidst all the noise around him: they were in the middle of the first celebration to the war's end, still in their camp at the border of Plegia's capital.

It was a necessary relief for the soldiers who risked their lives to protect their halidom, as well as the first step into the peaceful era that surely would follow after Gangrel's demise; even if Chrom didn't actually feel like partying.

He had lost too much to be able to leisurely forget his troubles by drinking away into the night, though he would still attend to boost the morale of the Shepherds.

Actually, he had just come back from his quarters -- after the initial speech, he quickly went back to fetch the Queen's ring, intent on gifting it to Robin that night without fail -- so he was still searching for a spot to sit when somebody arm-locked him under their shoulder.

"Theree's our man! I thought you left, pal!" Vaike snorted, his breath stinking of beer, if his rosy cheeks weren't proof enough of his drunk state. "I was already gonna," he hiccuped, "call dibs and say I won against'cha in a drinking comp'tition!"

Chrom was well used to Vaike's armlocks, but the drunk man was gripping at him harder than usual, so it took the prince longer than usual to slip out of it. "I'm pretty sure you won, Vaike, yes." He cleared his throat, though Vaike's tipsy roar of victory filled the air with his thundering voice before Chrom could even think of the next words to say. "Anyway, have you seen Robin anywhere? Last I saw her, she was at Lissa's table, but none of them are-"

"Hahaw!" Vaike interrupted, simply pointing to somewhere behind Chrom.

The prince saw everything in slow motion, to the point that even the noise started to deafen around him. Still, there was a lot of noise.

Amongst all the yelling, all the laughing, all the mug-clicking, there were countless drinking competitions: People clapping and chanting, 'Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink!' in all directions.

The spot Vaike pointed to was the center of the biggest of such gatherings, of which Robin was the protagonist.

Gregor, Basilio, Flavia, Lissa, Sully and Gaius sat around the tactician and were the main instigators of the chanting, with a myriad of rank-and-file soldiers surrounding them. To Chrom's surprise, Robin and Lon'qu were the ones in the middle of all that tom-foolery.

Befuddled by the unexpected development, Chrom approached by huddling himself against all spectators. "What- what's Robin doing there?" He didn't notice he had to voice his own thoughts to be able to hear them.

"Oh, darling, she tried her hardest to resist." Maribelle of all people spoke calmly right beside the prince -- he had managed to huddle all the way towards where his little sister was sitting, beside whom stood Maribelle as a watchful guardian. "It seems Basilio taunted Flavia by saying his 'champion' -- that is, dear Lon'qu over there who keeps getting redder and redder as he chugs down this sewage they call beverage -- could outdrink anyone she picked and, alas, our tactician was her target."

"She was as somber and sober as me when this all started -- how could it develop into this within the minutes it took me to go to my quarters-"

"It was a rather amusing show, allow me to say-- ah, Lissa, darling, do not put that thing in your mouth," she interrupted the instant Lissa tried to take a sip of Gaius' drink, tapping the princess' shoulder without batting an eye. "Where was I? Ah- yes, it was an entertaining show, dear Chrom. Shame that you missed witnessing the unwashed masses gathering faster than ants on a cube of sugar when the word 'bet' was mentioned."

Chrom would laugh if all of it hadn't happened the same night he had been planning to propose of all things. Huffing, the Prince shook his head. "This has to stop -- Robin will hate herself tomorrow for doing this."

"Ah, the rumored 'hangover' of the commoners. Do tell me when she wakes up, yes? I want to bear witness to it." Maribelle giggled with amusement, taking her eyes off Chrom towards the climax of the competition: Robin managed to chug the gigantic mug down without passing out in the middle, thus being deemed the winner.

"WOOOOOOOOO!" Bellows of victory roared here and there -- Chrom wasn't even sure if those were louder than the ones they uttered after they won the godsdamned WAR -- along with the clinking of coins that streamed from the losers to the winners.

"And THAT is your proof," Robin lifted her finger as her head spun around the moment she banged the mug on the table, "that you should not underestimate women, that we can even outdrink you!" Her voice was sleazy with the stupor, though her passionate speech got her from applause to approving whistles and yells, all of which made the rosy-cheeked tactician nod with a silly-looking, triumphant smile. "With that- I take my leaave." She wobbled to her feet, ignoring or not noticing how Basilio threw promises of calling her in whenever he needed a beer-chugging champion. Her steps were uncertain and, well, tipsy, so it was no wonder she tripped the moment she was on her feet. "Whoa there-"

"Careful," Chrom managed to catch her on time, his expression half worried, half amused -- to someone who took everything so seriously as Robin too look as foolish as this was a sight to remember, honestly.

"Chrom! Juust the man I wanted to zee! Did you see me jus' now? I moooped the floor with that woman-hating, fig-dodger Lonk!" She tried to gesticulate, but she was still with both arms wrapped around Chrom's waist.

"Hah, yes, I did see it. C'mon, let's get you out of here." He picked her up on his arms, careful not to do it too fast lest she got dizzier than she already was, moving her towards another, quieter, tent. "There, do you want me to fetch some water? You're not gonna enjoy waking up tomorrow..."

"Water... Water would be good, yeah..." She shook her head, as though the stupor of alcohol had started to loosen its grip on her after being taken away from all that excitement. "Waaater..."

Snorting, the prince turned around towards the water barrel, not realizing something fell out of his pocket.

"Muh? Wazzat, Chrom?" Robin pointed to the velvet little box just as Chrom had filled a cup with water.

"What's wha-AAAT?!" He threw the water, the cup and both hands up in surprise, drenching himself in the process as he quickly took the little box to shove it back into his pocket. "It's- uh, nothing, I just- well, I-"

"Chroom, you're blushing. You're so cute when you blush..." Robin laughed heartily before patting the prince's head since he had been kneeling right in front of her. "What really was that, hmm? Some big secret you can't tell your better half?" Robin snorted, "no, wait, clearly you're the better half here-"

"Marry me."

"-cause you've given me everythin-" Robin froze on her words, feeling like that water had fallen on her head instead. "Marry-"

"Uh, I mean, would you- gods, this was not how I expected this to go." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, not really minding how his entire hair was drenched by now. "I had a plan and it didn't involve you getting drunk on me, but- I'll make sure to ask you again tomorrow... But for now, I want to give you this: it's the Queen's ring-"

"Queen?"

"... yes, the Queen's ring, passed down from generati-"

"Me?"

"-ons of Queens... This is going nowhere, is it? Haha!" Laughing, Chrom slumped on the floor, with the little box wide open to show the wonderful heirloom.

Little did he know that while he laughed, Robin picked the ring and placed it in her left finger. "I'm gonna be queen?"

"Well, that was the plan- wait, Robin?!" Chrom had barely lifted his gaze to Robin when he saw her getting up from her seat and loudly open the flaps to the tent they were in.

"I'M GONNA BE QUEEN!!" She shouted atop of her lungs, so loud that it managed to deafen all the other sounds.

"Robin?!" Mortified, Chrom fidgeted behind his fiancée(?).

"PAY UP!!!" Gaius' voice echoed from somewhere around the loudest tent, bringing even more mortification to the prince's heart. He hid his face between both hands, wanting to disappear.

Yet, why wasn't he able to hide the huge smile apparent on his lips? Everything about this was so silly! To the failed proposal to the drunken acceptance to-

"Ah, Chrom, I forgot to say something important!" Robin turned to him with a foolish, pink smile. "I do!"

... to the two words that made him the happiest man in all realms.

#chrobin #chrom fire emblem #chrom #robin fire emblem #my writings #yuki's commissions #fire emblem awakening

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sergeant-donny-donowitz · 4 years

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Tough Guy Pt. 2 (DonnyxFem!Reader)

Pt. 1 Here :)

(theres a few call backs to it ^^^)

Requested by @sodapop182 and @deadways

@owba-chan @war-obsessed @inglourious-imagines @tealaquinn @struggling-bee @frozenhuntress67 @kwyloz @sodapop182

Let me know if you wanna be added to the IB or OUATIH taglists! :)

Requests still open! ____________________

"Meet me after everything...When the war's done..."

You promised to meet him right there, in that little town, just a few miles away from Paris...

But there was a slight change of plans.

Alarms rang, calls were made, orders were given...

The war was over?

It was the middle of the night.

You stood on the cobble stone path where you watched Donny leave with the basterds only days ago.

"Nurse."

You turned around, spotting the jeep taking you to Paris.

"Lucky you. You get to see the boys that done it!"

You raised your eyebrow, a little distracted as you watched the town roll by.

What if Donny came back and you weren't there?

"The boys that killed Hitler. Lucky them, I should say. They get a medic like you, they'll be fine."

You were a bit overwhelmed.

Frankly most of the nurses were...

The war just...ended... The news hadn't even broken out to the public yet.

So you smiled...

What else could you do?

Maybe...maybe this meant you had a chance of getting your sister back.

Maybe...if you hurried, you'd get back to the village before Donny.

No sooner did you step off the jeep, were you met by a high ranking nameless OSS officer giving instructions out to everyone.

"Right this way, lieutenant. They're in bad shape."

"How many?"

"Four survivors. Our two boys and the owners of the cinema. The owners are being treated already. One of your nurses is with one of the soldiers already. Right this way." He showed you to the sidewalk across the smoldering carcass of what was once a cinema.

Your heart stopped.

There he was.... lying on the ground, covered in blood, ash, and burns, half of his leg blown off in the explosion.

His eyes shot open with a smile when he saw you, "So this is heaven, huh?"

You rolled your eyes as you started checking his pulse.

"I turn my back on you for a second and look what happens!"

He groaned a in pain, as you started to take a look at his leg.

He tried to keep his mind off it, by thinking of you. "Weren't you gonna stay and wait for me there..."

"This is the only way to keep you around, isn't it?"

He smiled a little, but then it hurt a little too much. "FUCK! SHIT Y/N IS IT BAD?"

Then it all came back to him, he shot up, sweat rolling down his forehead, "Where's Omar?! And Aldo? He never made it! And the lady?! Von Hammersmark! Wh-"

"Hey! Take it easy!" You helped him back down, "That kid over there Omar? The one winking at the nurses with his good eye?"

Donny glanced over and mumbled through a smirk, "Yeah...yeah that's him!"

"I heard your lieutenant is alright and one or two of your boys are with him." You started to stop the bleeding, "Some of the resistance found your German friends. Three right?"

"Ones a British officer."

"They're in our hospital now. There alright. I promise, Donny."

He gave you that look.

That feverish look of uncertainty.

You gently rested your hand on his chest as it moved eratically. He raised his hand shakily, and dropped it over yours. His chest began to steady a little and you smiled, "They're alright now, Donny. Everything's alright. You just won the war."

Donny nodded slowly, his eyes looking up at the stars in your eyes. "Ya know..." His voice was strained, but his smirk was his own, "I took down Hitler."

"My hero," you chuckled as you wrapped up his wound as best as you could. He'd need a surgeon but for now this was all that could be done by any nurse.

But you weren’t just a nurse.

You were in love.

And all you could do wasn't enough to you.

You needed to keep him steady, take the pain away as much as possible.

"And all without your bat, huh tough guy?"

He took a deep breath, and tried to focus on you, but you seemed hazy...

He would have been perfectly fine with dying in an inglourious haze of revenge and justice. It was Operation Kino... he could’ve gone out like any basterd could hope for...

But then he met you...

He wanted to know what would have happened if he made it back to that little village.

He knew what revenge was... But now that it was all over, he wanted to know what more life could offer.

He'd wondered that before.

What could life give him after the war?

Well when war gave him the best it had, life gave Donny the best he could have.

The answer had been in front of him before, and stood between him and death twice.

It was you.

And now that he knew the answer to the questions he'd asked himself for years...he wasn't sure he could let go anymore.

Not now...

"Y/n..." He managed to mumble through the blood in his mouth.

"Yeah Donny?" You looked up from a harsh burn you were treating.

"Don't....don't let me go..." He pleaded softly, his eyes torn between victory and goodbye.

"Hey...your job was to kill the enemy. Mine is to keep you alive. You did your part now I'm gonna do mine and-"

"S-save me?" He grinned throufh the pain and blood.

You nodded as you fought back the tears, seeing he could still remember the night you met, "Yeah. You."

He smiled.

Nothing had changed since the first time you met.

He looked up, now at the stars of the free sky...

He got too quiet for your liking ... He was Donny Donowitz for crying out loud. This was too quiet for him.

"Do me a favor...be a tough guy now, huh..."

There was a pulse. Barely there, but better than nothing.

You sighed, "You did it tough guy... Rest up. It's ok."

Suddenly, you heard him mumble, "You'll be there...when it's all over, Right?"

Your heart stopped as a knot in your throat threatened to take the stars from your eyes.

There was nothing more you could do.

But...you didn't lie to him.

So you took his hands in yours and smiled softly, "I promise, Donny...I-"

His eyes shut, and a faint smile because he trusted you.

You leaned over him, a tear falling over his soot covered cheek, as you finished your broken thought, "...promise."

**** When Donny opened his eyes, he was in a hospital. His heart leapt initially, believing he was back in the place he met you... But he wasn't. He was in an actual hospital. He could hear people celebrating in the streets... He looked around, and once again, you were gone. Dull pain in his leg, the room spinning around, he mumbled your name. He knew you wouldn'r lie to him, but you had your orders to follow, too. He couldn't blame you for that. How could he be mad at the nurse that saved him....twice... He knew there were countless more that needed you more than he did. Still, it broke his heart. Then again, when he sat up, and looked at the cots next to his, he spotted Hugo, Wicki, and Omar. "Donny!" He cracked a wide grin, and turned to the door, spotting Aldo leaning against the doorway.

"Yeah?!" He sat up, spotting Utivich and Hirschberg behind him. Aldo chuckled, and Donny noticed he was wearing civilian's clothes...new ones, that weren't covered in blood and dirt. "At ease, son, at ease." The moment they were all quiet, Omar asked with a sly grin, "Who's Y/n?" Aldo shut his eyes in frustration. He told that boy a million times not to ask. "Fuck did I tell you!?" Wicki smirked, "That's all you've been saying in your sleep, you know?" Aldo sighed, and smirked a little, "That wouldn't be the perty lil' nurse hangin' roun' here all night, would it?" Hirschberg frowned a little, thinking out loud, "Say ain't that the dame we saw you with back in that town?" Donny smiled softly, "Yeah...that's her..." Smitty sighed, "Oh...well....I saw her leave this morning. A lot of nurses got shipped out..." Donny nodded, "I know, kid...She's got work." Aldo sighed, "Well, Donny, maybe you'll see her again before y'all get discharged." Omar grinned, "Before we go home." Home... His heart sank a little, though he smiled softly. Maybe you'd get that root beer float then. Maybe you'd get your sister back... "Maybe, sir... Maybe." ******** Months passed... It was finally all over. The basterds were in D.C., getting the medal of honor. Donny looked out onto the crowd, and spotted his parents, his little brother... When did he get so tall? And his sister. Married already?

His parents... His dad had more grey hairs, his mother looked tired from worrying... But they were happy now. His eyes then fell on one more familiar face in the back, jet lagged, but just in time. He smiled when he saw you, and didn’t stop.

And in all the pictures taken that day, Donny was the basterd with the widest smile. When the cameras stopped flashing, the speeches were done, the goodbyes were made, and the hellos were given, there was time again. "Goin' my way?" He winked, and you laughed, as you threw your arms around him, "You know it." He chuckled and kissed you. "Pick me up, Friday at seven?" You winked and slipped a piece of paper in his hand. He looked down and spotted an address and number. He smirked, "You know it." So less than a week later, you'd both gone home, back in Boston... You got more phone calls from him than you could count. And one lucky Thursday night, a knock on the door. "Donny, can't you wait until tomo-" Your heart stopped, and you sobbed, as your sister stood there. Things were finally the way they should have been... And only getting better. Because the next night, Donny was the one at the door. He waited for you to get that piece of pie. Boston cream pie.

(A/N Art by @sodapop182 !!! She’s so talented y’all should check out her blog its amazing! ;-;) _____ It became a tradition. Every Friday night, at the same booth, same order. A slice of pie and a root beer float to share. Some nights, you worked late at the hospital, but that was ok. He'd be waiting outside at the end of your shift, with the pie, knowing you were hungry and tired. One Friday night, not long after, there was pie, a root beer float, and a diamond ring. A year or two later, there were three people at that table, then four, then five. It was 1952 now. Your two year old daughter was sitting in his lap, as he chuckled, "Come on, kid sit still!" desparately trying to wipe away crumbs of pie from her face. Your two sons, four and six years old, rushed to the juke box. You looked up at Donny, laughing as you watched your sons dance. "They have your moves, tough guy." He smirked a little, though he was looking down at his baby girl, straightening out the bow in her short, black, curly hair, "They have your smile, doll." He scooped some more pie in a spoon, and fed his daughter, "Ain't that right kid?" She just giggled, and in that moment, everything was perfect. At that table, Donny wasn't a sergeant, he didn't need to be a tough guy anymore. He was wearing the same wife-beater, as always, still loud and obnoxious like any guy from Boston, and he was still a basterd at heart... But he still wore the same smile he had the moment he fell in love. Things had changed so much since you both shipped out overseas, but that smile stayed the same, and always would.

#donny-donowitz #donny donowitz imagine #donny donowitz x reader #Donny Donowitz #Inglourious Basterds #inglourious basterds imagine

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agirlunderarock · 4 years

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How I accidentally wrote 20 page paper on Boromir for one of my Final Ever University Papers PART 3

Okay folks so I think we’re a little more than halfway through? I think??? I don’t freaking know this is the exact same feeling I had while writing the paper-

Will I ever come to an end?

We just don’t know

If you missed Part 1 and Part 2 just click the text and it’ll take you to the link

So where did we leave off last time?

I told you exactly how academics where taking a crap on the goodest boi and so this time I’m going to explain why Faramir is the better character foil. Because instead of using Boromir as foil for say Aragorn or Sam, I say they should be using Faramir. I think specifically I left you guys with this lovely little picture I made myself of their character arcs:

If you can’t read it, I’m sorry its pixilated, thats just how the program gets when you try to make an image that compact to fit on a large presentation poster with an already large image. But anyway the important thing in this image isn’t whether or not you can read the damn thing, no, its that Boromir and Faramir’s character arcs are nearly exactly the same.Boromir and Faramir face political, and familial pressures, and faced with the question of what to do about Frodo and the ring. Both brothers are introduced in places that are supposedly out of their element. Boromir is seemingly described as more prepared for battle and fighting, yet we meet him in a council meeting of all things, and Faramir who is supposed to be #intellectual we meet after he and his men have just conducted a raid on an enemy patrol. They’re later both faced with questions of doubt and what they feel they need to do to protect their people. Denethor asks a lot of them and it takes a toll in some way shape and form. but the main points of their character arc ultimately come down to the conflict of family, country, and the fellowship.

like okay I’m not gonna lie, I really just want to put this picture in here and I have a funny story about how this picture made it in the research project but basically even the movie backs up that Boromir’s real foil is Faramir.

shit what was I saying?

Oh yeah

so basically in this flashback from the two towers we get a good side by side comparison between the brothers. Clearly they look alike, but look at how they’re dressed. Boromir’s in full armor my dudes, sword looks like its partially out of the scabbard- but really the main thing you need to focus on is the costuming in this shot, because the costuming here is, of course a reflection of their roles as military leaders, but also a major reflection of their personalities and really how their character arcs play out as a whole. Boromir is usually on the defensive (note I say defensive not ready to throw down) not just in battle because Mordor is like constantly like “Knock Knock can we come in?” but when he gets the Rivendell too, he’s being defensive because it almost sounds like these people half way across the world are going to forsake his home and the people he loves. So yes, I’d say my boi gets to be a little abrasive and wear emotional armor. He’s got a lot of feelings and he doesn’t get to talk about them because either 1. he’s with his troops or 2 he’s surrounded by people he doesn’t know that well i.e. the fellowship early in the story.

Faramir on the other hand is wearing some pretty light armor. He’s more open than Boromir, and if I remember correctly its said in the book that Faramir had taken to talking with Gandalf often when he was young and stuff- I don’t remember tbh I’m at that point where I haven’t read a book in a year cause I’m so damn tired, and I get canon and fanon mashed up sometimes. But what I’m trying to get at is, Faramir lets himself be open to more ideas, to more people, he’s more trusting of people’s intentions probably that numorian thing that he and Denethor have tbh. So basically what I’m trying to say is the main difference between the two brothers is how they deal with fear and anxiety.

Again Boromir tries to hide and swallow his fear and anxiety- he has to as a military leader shit happens. Faramir, looks for as many plans as he can to relieve some of his fear and anxiety- he’s also a leader shit happens.

So remember back when I said that Aristotle said some bullshit about how betraying your father is like the shittiest thing a person could ever do ever? Or when I said the heroism through obedience is absolute bullshit? If not too bad that was your reminder, though I genuinely don’t remember if I talked about the latter.

Denethor becomes the focal point of how these characters are compared. I say this because there is never a moment in the books were we actually have a conversation with all three of them present, but we know that he makes the same demand of both of his sons, that being find out what Isildure’s Bane is and then find a way to protect Gondor by any means. Not necessarily a bad request, its just HEAVY and the way its delivered in Return of the King is heavy and hurtful. I sir I know your mad stressed but also

YOUR SONS ARE MAD STRESSED SO CAN YOU PLEASE NOT HAVE CONVERSATIONS LIKE THIS:

“‘Your bearing is lowly in my presence, yet it is too long now since you turned from your own way at my counsel. See, you have spoken skillfully, as ever; but I, have I not seen your eye fixed on Mithrandir seeking whether you said well or too much? He has long had your heart in his keeping.

‘My son, your father is old but not yet dotard […]

‘If what I have done displease you, my father,’ said Faramir quietly, ‘I wish I had known your counsel before the burden of so weight a judgement was thrust on me.’

‘Would that have availed to change your judgement?’ said Denethor. ‘You would still have done just so, I deem. I know you well. […]But in desperate hours gentleness may be repaid with death.’

‘So be it,’ said Faramir.

‘So be it!’ cried Denethor. ‘But not with your death only, Lord Faramir: with the death also of your father, and all your people, whom it is your part to protect now that Boromir is gone.’

‘Do you with then,’ said Faramir, ‘that our places had been exchanged?’

‘Yes, I wish that indeed,’ said Denethor. “For Boromir was loyal to me and no wizard’s pupil.” (Return of the King 794-795).

Like thats a big load for two dudes to carry man

Like I get it but thats heavy and I cri for both my bois having to deal with this war their whole life

But you see what I’m getting at here. Theres a lot of expectations for these boys, and really they just need hugs, and I need a hug rewriting this part into non academic language because it makes me BIG SAD

But whats interesting about the expectation that his sons only be loyal to him, is that in attempting to obey their father, THEY GET FUCKING WRECKED. Boromir ends up scaring Frodo to the point the Fellowship breaks up, and Faramir ends up like almost dying and gets his men wrecked. Now I’m not saying Aristotle is full of bullshit, but he’s full of shit, and I’m gonna learn you why.

So before I say which critic actually puts everyone else to shame by praising two hobbit bois, let me make this clear: Boromir does not die trying to obey his father, he dies actively disobeying him. Instead of trying to find Frodo and still get the ring like Denethor would have wanted, Boromir goes dies defending Merry and Pippin. HE COULD HAVE LEFT THEM IN FAVOR OF GOING AFTER THE RING BUT HE’S A GOOD MAN WHO WANTED HIS HOBBIT CHILDREN WHO ARE TECHNICALLY JUST AS OLD AS HIM TO GET AWAY AND BE SAFE AND HE DIED. Faramir on the other hand nearly dies while trying to carry out his father’s orders and thats tragic but again- shit happens.

According to no braincells Aristotle, one of these is right, even with the tragic outcome and one is wrong and deserved to die.

WRONG

In Ian Romuald Lakowski’s, "Types of Heroism in The Lord of the Rings," he acknowledges that through Merry and Pippin there is heroism in DISOBEDIENCE. For Boromir and Faramir this means obedience or disobedience is not a simple right or wrong choice, and in both of them being disobedient to their father is a more sure sign of their heroism.

I mean think about it, the very action every critic characterizes Boromir for is based off of his obedience to his father. He’s villainized for trying to take the ring from Frodo, when the reality is, the man was struggling with trying to figure out what the right course of action was. ITS THE SAME REASON FARAMIR TAKES SO DAMN LONG TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH FRODO AND SAM. THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

So what ends up happening? Faramir is praised a good guy for disobeying, and really in the end the real Boromir comes back when he disobeys Denethor too.

But we’ll come back to some of that in a bit,

Because STRESS is not enough to bind these two as better foils than other comparison that can be made. Because again, critics like to praise Faramir and elevate him and I’m not about to put them against each other.

Like despite their differences Boromir and Faramir’s relationship with one another isn’t characterized by fear or power or even that #stress but genuine love for one another. And this is important, because though no critics ever sighted a page for their reading of Boromir as a greedy little shit, I believe their interpretation comes from second hand accounts of his character. Instead of actually looking at what he says and does to be his true self. They characterize Boromir by his single action of trying to take the ring from Frodo instead of looking at him as a whole.

Boromir’s relationship with his brother is incredibly important because given the circumstances and everything that they’ve been through and even though they have very different thought processes, they should have a rocky relationship, but they don’t. They have a very good relationship.The appendices give a nice description of the things we never got to see happen in the book

“…there was great love, and had been since childhood, when Boromir was the helper and protector of Faramir. No jealousy or rivalry had arisen between them since, for their father’s favour or for the praise of men. It did not seem possible to Faramir that any one in Gondor could rival Boromir, her of Denethor, Captain of the White Tower; and of like mind was Boromir” (1032).

Actually

I take it back

Never say never get to see because in the council of Elrond, Boromir literally shows us his relationship with his brother and what kind of person he is.

“ Therefore my brother, seeing how desperate was our need, was eager to heed the dream and seek for Imadris; but since the way was fully of doubts and danger, I took the journey upon myself,” showing that he willingly put himself in danger to protect his little brother (The Fellowship of the Ring 239).

The reason I bring this up is because I don’t think critics look at what Boromir actually says and does through out the book. I literally don’t understand where or how they would even perceive this as an ulterior motive or that he does anything with ill intent. AT THIS POINT THERE IS NOTHING THAT SUGGEST HE MIGHT BE. BECAUSE LITERALLY EVERY ACTION BOROMIR TAKES IS TO PROTECT SOMEONE ELSE

Like maybe they take the first description of Boromir to be negative:

“a tall man fair and noble face, dark-haired and grey-eyed, proud and stern of glance,”

But none of these are inherently negative. Proud and stern aren’t negative words. Proud doesn’t become negative until you pair it with the action of taking the ring from Frodo and THATS ASSUMING that he’s taking it for himself to use and that he himself wants power.

BUT HE DOESN’T- and we’ll get to why later

OR maybe they’re trying to take what Faramir has to say about his brother to the extreme end:

“‘And this I remember of Boromir as a boy, when we together learned the tale of our sires and the history of our city, that always it displeased him that his father was not king. “How many hundreds of years needs it to make a steward a king, if the king returns not?” he asked. […] Alas poor Boromir. Does that tell you something of him?’

‘It does,’ said Frodo. ‘Yet always he treated Aragorn with honour.’

‘I doubt it not,’ said Faramir. ‘If he were satisfied of Aragron’s claim, as you say, he would greatly reverence him. But the pinch had not yet come. They had not yet reached Minas Tirith or become rivals in her wars” (The Two Towers 655 ).

Which I’m gonna be honest is fair assessment. But like Boromir’s asking these questions 1. as a kid, and as I myself was a child who hated incompetency, ITS CONFUSING AND FRUSTRATING TO BE DOING ALL THE WORK AND NOT GET THE CREDIT? (RIGHT NOW I’M LOOKING AT PEOPLE WHO REPOST FAN ART WITHOUT THE CREDIT- I WILL FIND YOU AND SMITE YOU)

but anyway, yeah you know what that question about kingship tells me- HE WANTS TO KNOW WHERE THE FUCKING KING IS???? Like thats not inherently a greed thing- Only if you’re looking at it from like a religious standpoint and blah blah blah Catholic teachings about- but again

Then good boy Frodo looking out for him, I’m gonna cry, points out the obvious- that Boromir respected Aragorn, and Faramir has the nerve to say- yeah but wait until the group project falls apart- then see what happens

and let me just say

Faramir

sir

my boi

YOU CLEARLY HAVE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE A GOOD TEAM FOR YOUR GROUP PROJECT BECAUSE LET ME TELL YOU. IF ARAGORN WENT IN THERE AND THINGS STARTED GOING WRONG AND PEOPLE STARTED DYING OF COURSE BOROMIR WAS GOING TO BE PISSED- LIKE THEY WAITED HOW LONG FOR WHAT????

It’d be like if someone you didin’t know came over to your house told you not to make dinner in your own house, that they knew their way around the kitchen- WHEN THEY DON’T KNOW YOUR’RE ALLERGIC TO PEANUTS, proceed to start a fire while trying to fry up some chicken, and then saying they’ve got it under control, but the fire dept can’t put out your oven. I mean thats worst case scenario.

I’m sorry but just the thought of someone I know/am related to coming into my room and touches my goddamn light switch gives me anxiety- BOROMIR HAD TO TRUST THIS STRANGER WITH HIS COUNTRY

But like the movie tries to get you to agree with the line of thinking, that Boromir is about himself and doing it to glorify himself. take THIS SCENE

You know the one, that shot in Rivendell and Boromir is exploring on his own and casually picks up the sword, you know THE SWORD and kinda low key plays with it for a hot minute- you know, the way you walk by the nerf swords at a walmart and you pick one up to wack your bro with it, but then you remember you’re 23 and he’s 18 and taller than you now so he’ll beat the shit out of you if you start shit. But anyways, Boromir picks up the sword and cuts his finger, is amazed that its still sharp, and then puts it back only to have it teeter off and he walks away quickly like nothing happened. If you’re a small brain critic you’ll see this scene and say “Ah yes, in picking up Narsil Boromir displays a desire for power for himself, and in cutting his finger it shows that this desire is his ultimate demise. He might think he’s ready for power and deserves more, but by walking away he shows that he’s actually irresponsible guffaw” I demand you go back and read that in your guadiest accent. But hear me out. Remember that nerf sword you picked up in the toy aisle, instead of being the grimlin you know you are deep in your soul, you take a few practice swings for your audition fantasy and put it back and start walking away just to realize that the walmart employee had been watching you the whole time and the whole bin of plastic and foam swords comes tumbling down bring with it a Hot Wheels track and collectible cars, and you just look at the employee, and they just look at you, and then you brain just short circuits and so you keep walking down the aisle away and laugh cry across the store because you don’t know what the fuck just happened. And thtas the energy that scene gives to me.

But I’m getting away from it all because the real arguement against the way this scene is framed is one question he poses right before he attacks Frodo:

“What could not Aragorn do?” ( The Fellowship of the Ring 389).

He makes a big speech here about Frodo giving up the ring, but he doesn’t talk about him using it himself, instead he wonders, What would Aragorn be capable of?

Does that sound like a question someone crazed with a drive for power would ask?

I don’t think so

Why even mention Aragorn if he wanted it for himself right?

We’re dissect the fuck out it in the next part don’t you worry.

I think I’m almost done

#Boromir #The Lord of the Rings #character analysis #character development #Character Study #Sierra vs the Academics #I just really love Boromir guys #This one took forever to write and its not the best #Can you tell when I finally hit my beats #I had to stop though because I was about to introduce another major idea but we'll get to it later

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the-lupine-sojourner · 5 years

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Takara’s Hero Academia, Season 2 Episode 2 [Eijiro Kirishima/OC] [Female!Aizawa/Hizashi]

Okay, so here we finally are. I feel like it’s been forever since I updated this story. Sorry!

Anyway, um, I do now have a Patreon, in case anyone wants to actually pay me to write or whatever. Seriously, though, don’t feel pressured to do anything with this. I am just seeing if anything will come out of this.

Moving on, I’ll do the taglist. @elite-guard-hardygal @dailyojiromashirao @souskena and @fandoms-fandoms-everywhere99 . I apologize for not having this up last night!! I thought I’d be able to sit down and get it done but then I ended up getting sidetracked and then it was midnight and--whoops. I might post what I did instead later. It’s kinda cool! Hardygal knows what it is, lol. XD

Okay, so lemme add the link for this series’ Masterlist!

Okay, now let’s get to the story! :)

God Bless and Good Day!

~The Lupine Sojourner

By the time the final bell rang, I was exhausted.

I yawn and stand, gathering my things up before Eijiro grabs them and slips them into my backpack for me, and I blush a little. He was still distracting me! I thought I was going to try to pull myself together around him! Regardless, I smile.

“Thanks, but you really don’t have to keep doing this kind of thing for me…” I mumble, scratching the back of my neck. Eijiro shrugs.

“I want to.” He replies and my blush goes a few shades darker.

“O-oh…” I mumble. “Okay.” Then, Ochaco opens the door.

“Uhh...why the heck are you all here!?�� I look up and see the doorway packed with students.

“Do you students have some business with our class?” Tenya asks. No one replies. I shift awkwardly, shrinking back a little into my seat. The spotlight wasn’t something I was used to. If I had to guess, they’re here to scout out the class that’s fought villains...greeeaaaattt.

“Why are you blocking the doorway?” The class pervert asks. “I won’t let you hold us hostage!” I roll my eyes. Like he could do anything about it. Katsuki, backpack over his shoulder, stalks toward the door.

“They’re scouting out the competition, idiots.” He growls. “We’re the class that survived a real villain attack. They wanna see us with their own eyes.” I gulp, standing. If he was leaving, I should, too. I needed to find Mom and Dad, anyway. Eijiro takes my backpack and walks toward the door with me. I smile gratefully at him. “At least know you know what a future pro looks like.” Katsuki continued. I roll my eyes, the smile dropping.

“Katsuki, enough. We’re all striving to be heroes. Technically, that makes us all potential future pros. Stop.” I call, but it doesn’t make a difference.

“Now move it, extras!” Katsuki snaps as the crowd goes quiet.

“Katsuki!” I bark, hobbling over.

“You can’t just go around calling people extras just because you don’t know them!” Tenya interjects, his arms waving wildly in his emotional state. I open my mouth to add my own lecture, but then a voice rings out and I freeze.

“So this is Class 1-A.” It was Hitoshi! “I heard you guys were impressive, but you just seem like an ass.” He was talking to Katsuki as he made his way through the crowd as I crutch over.

“Shinso!” He never liked me calling him ‘Hitoshi’ in public. He smiles briefly at me, nodding subtly, then turns back to Katsuki.

“You know this clown?” Katsuki growls. I glare at him.

“Yeah. We went to middle school together.” It was a reason I know his name, at least. I didn’t need to go further and embarrass Hitoshi.

“I was sad to come here and find a bunch of egomaniacs in her class.” He continues, sighing a little and rubbing the back of his neck.

“It’s just how Katsuki is,” I defend, “but seriously. Not all of us are like him.” Katsuki glares at me. Hitoshi closes his eyes.

“I wanted to be in the hero course.” He says to no one in particular...or maybe Katsuki. Or 1-A. I’m not sure. “But, like many others here, I was forced to choose a different track.” I suddenly realize why Shinso was here; part of it might be checking on me, but a larger portion must be him declaring what he intended to do. He wanted to win the Sports Festival or do well enough that he can be moved into the Hero Course, like Mom did when she was in high school. “Such is life.” His eyes narrow at Katsuki, who’s remaining surprisingly calm. “I didn’t cut it the first time around, but I have another chance.” I knew it! “If any of us do well in the Sports Festival, the teachers can decide to transfer us to the Hero Course, and they’ll have to transfer students out to make room.” Oh, no...this was a declaration of war. “‘Scouting the competition’?” Hitoshi asks rhetorically. “Maybe some of my peers are, but I’m here to let you know that if you don’t bring your very best, I’ll steal your spot right out from under you.” Hitoshi tilts his head a little. “Consider this a declaration of war.” I blink.

“Shinso…” I murmur, biting my lip. The rest of the class flinches in shock, but I look at Shinso dead in the eye. Hitoshi was serious, but only glaring at Katsuki, who was glaring back. Was he just acting tough to push himself?

“Hey, you!” Comes a new male voice, and someone else forces their way to the head of the crowd. He had incredibly thick blonde eyelash-looking things around his eyes, with silver hair and a fire in his eyes to match Katsuki’s. Oh, great. Another hothead. “I’m from Class B, right next door to you! We heard you fought some villains and- -oh, shit.” He stops short when he sees my boot and crutch. I sigh and gesture to the boot.

“Yeah, we fought villains.” I reply. “And I got the injuries to prove it.” He takes a step back, then scoffs.

“Well, looks like the rest of your class are brats who think they’re better than us!” He challenges. I roll my eyes and point to my backpack, in Eijiro’s hand.

“That’s my backpack, but it hasn’t been on my shoulders since I got here. Eijiro here was the one who got me out of the villain attack and he’s been helping me ever since. The rest of my class are great people, too. Bakugo’s just...headstrong and doesn’t listen to anything or anyone.” The guy turns to Katsuki.

“Oh, great! Talk all you want, loser! It’ll just be more embarrassing when you’re K.Oed!” Katsuki just scoffs and walks away.

“Don’t you ignore me!” The newcomer roars angrily. I move to get Katsuki, but Eijiro beats me to saying anything.

“Dude, where’re you going?! You gotta say something! It’s your fault everyone’s hating on us, Bakugo!” Katuski just glances over his shoulder.

“These people don’t matter.” He growls.

“Huh!?” Eijiro snaps.

“The only thing that’s important is that I beat them.”

“Katsuki, stop!” I snap. “Yeah, we have to beat them to win, but heroes also need to have good teamwork with others. You need to work on that if you want to be the top.”

“Says who?” Katsuki retorts, then walks away before I can say anything else. The silver-head pops up again.

“Hey! I’m coming for you!” He exclaims. Katsuki ignores him. I go to chase him down and talk sense into him, but then decide against it. Right now, Katsuki’s only focus was winning the Sports Festival. If I were to talk to him, he’d only see it as me trying to undermine his chances somehow.

“I hate that that was such a manly exit…” Eijiro grumbles, clenching his fist. I bite my lip.

“Yeah, but...there’s no way he’ll win the Festival if he pisses everyone off.” I reply.

“Meh. He’ll be fine.” Sero counters.

“Besides, he wasn’t wrong.” Fumikage points out. “We have to beat them.” Kaminari groans.

“Yeah, sure, but this sucks!”

“So let’s prove them wrong.” I call, coming back further into the class room. “Don’t be what everyone thinks we are. We’ll prove them wrong.” Denki groans.

“But he made us everyone’s enemy!”

“Yeah, and all these dumb idiots will be gunning for us in the Festical now.” Mineta adds. I shrug, not looking at that little creep.

“Look, just keep training hard and don’t be an asshole and we’ll prove them wrong.” I retort, looking at Kaminari. He laughs.

“Kinda blunt, Yamada, but I like your style!” I chuckle and wave him away.

“Call me Takara, and thanks.” Eijiro then calls me and puts my backpack beside my desk for me. I notice he’s glaring at Kaminari, so I try to distract him by smiling at him. “Thanks.” The students outside slowly go away, talking about this and that, and I have to restrain myself from giving some big speech about how great my class is because the truth is...I don’t really know them yet. I don’t know enough to definitively stand up and say what I want to say. I then look up as Shinso walks over, giving me a small smile.

“Hey.” I smile back.

“Hey.”

“I’m glad to see you’re better. You had me scared for a moment.” Anyone who didn’t know Shinso might think he’s just saying that. His voice didn’t give much emotion away, but I understood. He meant every word.

“That was some speech.” I note, sighing.

“I meant that, too.” He says, leaning against the desk in front of me and crossing his arms. Most everyone’s left and I wanted to talk to Shinso, anyway, so I stay.

“Don’t lie; you just wanted to see me.” I tease, smiling.

“And what gave you that idea? I just wanted to send my message to 1-A.” He retorts. I roll my eyes, then sigh and pick at my skirt.

“...I’m worried, Shinso.” I confess softly.

“About what?” He asks, brow raised.

“About the Festival, and...and if I’ll be healed enough to prepare myself to fight. I just...my ribs don’t hurt that bad, but my leg still needs work. And I still need to train. A lot. I just...Mom and Dad will be watching. The world will be watching. I want to make a good impression.” Eijiro apparently takes that as a kind of cue, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

“You’ll make a great one!” He assures me, daring to squeeze me close enough to mush our cheeks together. I blush and laugh.

“If you say so.” I reply, squeezing him in return. He straightens up, lets go, and puts a hand on my shoulder.

“But seriously; don’t sweat it. You’ll be great!” I grin and put my hand over his in a moment of boldness.

“If you say so.” I retort. Eijiro understood the deeper meaning; I support you, but think you’re downplaying yourself too much.. It was somethign we’d done for each other a lot as we approached this school year and the challenge of learning how to be a pro hero. Shinso pushes off the desk.

“Well, it was nice chatting, but I should be going.” He says. I stand, too, and hug him.

“Thanks for coming.” I murmur, drawing away.

“Your friend’s right, Takara; trust yourself. Besides, your parents adore you. No matter what you do in the Festival, their love won’t change.” I nod.

“Yeah, yeah. I just can’t help worrying about this whole thing.” Hitoshi shakes his head, chuckling.

“Don’t.” With that, he shrugs and waves as he walks away. I watch him leave and then pick up my backpack, slinging it over one shoulder, insisting on carrying it this time, despite Eijiro tugging on it.

“I got it. I’m not going far. Just to the teacher’s lounge to find Mom and Dad.” Eijiro pouts.

“Takara, you shouldn’t overdo it.” He mumbles. I smile, adjusting the backpack a little.

“I’m not.” He suddenly leans forward gives me a hug. I wonder where this is coming from, but find that I really like this. His hug is strong, but not overwhelming, steady and warm. I feel so safe and secure, I lose myself for a second and bury my face in his neck. He smells like cologne and men’s bodywash. One of those two things had teatree oil in it, something that made him smell amazing!

I then feel Eijiro stiffen and come back to reality and I blush almost blood red as I release him. Our eyes were so wide, they might have popped if they were balloons. “S-so-sorry!” I stammer, grabbing my crutch and running as quick as I can out of the classroom without using the crutch. Eijiro hadn’t moved, so I had a headstart, managing to get away before he- -”Ow!”

“Oof!” I blink, my leg flaring a bit as I realize I’ve run into somebody. Instantly, I stand and apologize. The person I hit laughs.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. It happens sometimes.” It’s a female, third year if I had to guess. Her Quirk makes her look wolf-like, her fur a mottled grey, black and earthen brown. It was so pretty! Her eyes were sapphire blue on the outside and emerald green on the inside and her tail flicks back and forth mindlessly and I have to remember to talk. It was rude to just stare.

“But still. I’m, um, Takara. Takara Yamada.” Her eyes light up.

“Oh! My dad works with your parents!” I raise a brow.

“Really?” She nods.

“Yeah! Oh, sorry! I’m Asami. Asami Hamato.” I grin.

“Like Hamato-Sensei that teaches the second years’ literature?” Asami laughs.

“Yeah. He might quit after this semester, though. He wants to start a self-defense dojo for people with less, um, combative Quirks.”

“Wow, that’s amazing!” She nods happily.

“Thanks.” She hands me back my crutch. “Here you go.” I take it. She pauses. “Wait...you’re in 1-A, right?” I nod.

“Yeah.” She gestures to my boot.

“This from that USJ incident?” I nod.

“Yeah...turns out your leg breaks when a superhuman grabs it to slam you into your mother.” I tried to sound light, like it was a joke now...but my voice wavered. Asami winces.

“Yikes. I’m glad you’re doing better, then.” I was grateful she didn’t press me for more details as I squirm.

“Thanks. I should probably let you go. It was great meeting you.” Asami smiles.

“Yeah, it was great meeting you, too. Maybe I’ll see you around, okay?” I nod, starting to walk off.

“Yeah.” We wave at each other and I continue on my way. Luckily, Eijiro hadn’t pursued me. I blushed again just thinking about that moment…

What was I thinking?! I’d just...it’d felt so good having his strong arms around me, his warmth making me feel safe and at ease, even if it was just for a moment. And then I went and ruined the mood by sniffing him! Ergh!

Finally, I reach the teacher’s lounge. “Hey, champ!” Dad calls. “I was just gonna come looking for yah!” I walk further into the room.

“Hey. I was just talking a bit with the others before I came up here.” he smiles.

“Okay.” I decided to focus on Asami, not that. I’d never hear the end of it if I told Dad I sniffed someone (especially Eijiro) out of nowhere.

“I met a third year on my way here.” Dad tilts his head.

“Oh? Who are they? I might know her.”

“Asami Hamato.” Dad grins.

“Oh, yeah! Her dad works here; Hamato Yoshi. He’s a nice guy. Kinda quiet, doesn’t say much, and doesn’t hang around the school a lot.” I shrug.

“Asami also said he wants to start a self-defense dojo for people that don’t have very combative Quirks.” Dad��s eyes go wide.

“That’s great!” I grin.

“I know, right?” Dad then grabs his stuff.

“Alright. Shota’s resting on the couch, but it’s time to go, so I’ll get her.” I nod.

=#=#=#=#=

The next few days went quick, and after school, I’d pop in for a little healing. Never anything extreme, but enough that in those few days, I was healed enough that Recovery Girl gave me the okay to start getting back into exercise and training, warning me to take it a little slow at first.

At that particular session (when I was cleared for training), All Might happens by the door. “I didn’t know you still needed healing…” He mumbles, walking slowly into the room. He looked guilty, but I don’t know why.

“Well, I didn’t want to drain my stamina too much because of school and stuff, but, um, yeah...I should be all healed soon, though, right Recovery Girl?” She chuckles.

“Yes, I believe so, now hold still so I can use my Quirk.” I do and find the healing sensation something I’ve gotten used to at this point. I watch Toshin-Oji go into his real form and sigh heavily as he sits on a cot.

“Takara, I...I wanted to say I’m sorry.” I blink as Recovery Girl moves away.

“Wait, what?” I ask, genuinely confused. “What for?”

“I couldn’t be at the USJ because I wasted my time as All Might that morning being heroic. I was stupid and now you, Shota, and Izuku paid the price.” I blink, remembering that Izuku’s legs seemed broken when he leapt out to protect All Might at the USJ. I wince.

“Is Izuku okay?” I ask automatically.

“He’s fine.” Recovery Girl assures me. “Besides broken legs, he only had minor injuries and two broken fingers.” I breathe out.

“That’s good.”

“How’s Shota?” All Might asks, bringing us more or less back to what he’d said. I sigh.

“She’s...coping. It’s not easy for her to adjust to needing to wear casts on both of her arms, but she’s happy she’s not blind.”

“She could have been blinded?!” He asks sharply in shock. I pale. Wrong thing to say!

“...Her orbital floors were pretty badly damaged, but Recovery Girl managed to heal them. She’s fine...or, at least, better then she used to be.” I chuckle awkwardly, and All Might smiles in relief, exhaling.

“That’s great news. Frankly, I was worried about you two, even after I heard you were stable. When I saw you on the ground, caught under Nomu’s foot...I didn’t know what had happened, just that it pissed me off so much I saw red and next thing I knew, I had you in my arms.” I blink. He’d been feeling this way since the incident?

“Toshin-Oji, you really can’t blame yourself- -no, seriously- -the only ones to blame are the villains.” I reply, holding up a hand when he tried to interrupt. “Even during the fight, I knew as long as I could hold out until I got to Recovery Girl, I’d be okay. I knew my injuries were bad, but I always had that notion in the back of my head.” I realize what I’m saying and turn to Recovery Girl. “I mean, not that I assumed you’d help me or anything! I just knew there was a possibility that I’d be healed pretty quickly!” She holds up her hand.

“I knew what you meant, dear. And, unlike another student, I haven’t had to heal you much, so of course I’d help you out. You and your mother were hurt pretty bad. I knew I could help, and I did, so let’s all agree to put this behind us, okay?” I smile.

“Yeah...okay. Toshin-Oji?” He turns his head to look me in the eye. “I love you.” He blinks.

“I love you, too.” He says and I swoop over to hug him. “You truly are a treasure.” He murmurs, squeezing me just a little harder and kissing my temple. I tear up a little in happiness and bury my face in his chest.

“Hey, Tik--...am I interrupting?” Dad asks, trailing off when he saw what was going on. I pull away and smile at Dad.

“Nah, we were just clearing some things up.” I reply, winking at Toshin-Oji. Dad seems to read the subtext and nods.

“I see. Well, Shota’s ready to go, so let’s not keep her waiting, okay?” I nod.

“Okay.” I turn back to the office. “Bye, guys!” I call, waving as I walk out of the room, thankfully not needing my boot. “Thank you, Recovery Girl!” I add.

“Don’t overdo it, dear! Start slow!” She calls back and I nod in acknowledgement.

“Hey, Tik-Tak, there’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.” Dad says as we walk, and I nod, wondering what he could possibly want to talk to me about.

“Okay.” I prompt. He wraps an arm around my shoulders.

“Shota and I have been talking, and we think it’d be best to move into the faculty facility here on campus. That way, Shota doesn’t have to be driven to work everyday and we all have a bit more independence. Would you want to do that?” I nod.

“Yeah, Mom mentioned you two were toying with the idea, and I told her I could have my stuff packed in, like, two hours. Honestly, I think it’s a good idea!” He ruffles my hair.

“Thanks, Takara. Frankly, I’m using the whole move as a way to help Shota.” He sighs, slumped and looking away. “She’s taking this hard. Villains got the drop on us and she’s still trying to cope.” I blink.

“I...I’d imagine so.” I mumble. “Honestly, I haven’t been sleeping too well, myself. I keep waking up to nothing, feeling on edge for some reason, wondering what woke me, but I’m able to go back to sleep. Sometimes, I swear there’s someone in a room, but when I do the vibration thing, no one’s there.” Dad looks at me somberly, hand on my shoulder.

“That’s completely normal, Musume. Even Shota’s been having nightmares. She keeps waking up, clutching her face and staring around the room with her Quirk active, like she’s looking for enemies. It’s hard to get her to calm down.” I sigh. Figures Mom has her own demons to deal with.

“Maybe we can have movie night? Watch some corny comedy or something?” Dad chuckles.

“Maybe. Or we can ask Toshinori for show suggestions to watch as a family.” I nod eagerly.

“Yeah!” I’m already whipping out my phone and typing up a text as Dad laughs.

“We’ll look up recipes for popcorn and make a night of it. What’dya say?” I grin at him, sending the text.

“I say ‘hell yeah’!” I reply, high-fiving dad. This was a great idea!

Within five minutes, I get a text back.

Toshin-Oji <3:

Well, if you’re looking for something that makes for a good distraction, I’d recommend some of the older movies by an American film studio called Walt Disney. They have an interesting 2-D style in their early works and I find the stories charming. As for shows, I’m not sure...maybe look around and see if something appeals to you all.

I smile. That was an interesting idea, for sure.

=#=#=#=#=

The next day, we were at the fake city from the entrance exam, training. It was a lot of fun, even if I couldn’t really work myself the way I wanted to without making my leg cramp and spasm even after healing the broken bone. It was slowly coming back to normal, though, as I practiced simple kicks and stuff after a really short run to build that muscle back. My ribs forced me to take breaks, as well, if I pushed it too hard, but they were coming along great, too. My phone buzzes as I finish a pretend fight, so I check who the text is from.

Eijiro Kirishima:

Hey, come look at the tall building’s roof!

Confused, I decide to go ahead and walk over. I knew Eijiro was in the same area as me, so I knew which tall building he meant. However, it was so tall, I couldn’t see clearly what I was supposed to see up there. All I saw was a small blurry thing that might be Eijiro.

Me:

Ok, I’m here. What do you want me to see? I can’t really see anything…

Just a few seconds after I sent that, I hear a faint yell and then look up to see- - “Eijiro!” I scream, backing up toward the building make sure I wouldn’t be hit. I knew what he was doing; practicing falling long distances and using his Quirk to survive them. It was just training, but...still. If he didn’t activate his Quirk in time...thankfully, he lands and comes back up almost instantly, thrusting dramatically through the cracked pavement.

“Yyyeeaaahhh!” He roars, grinning wildly at me as he walks over, dusting himself off. His grin then turns into a smirk. “Impressed?” He asks, one hand on his hip, the other on the wall. I snort, blushing a little as he leans in just a little.

“You’re insane. You could have died...but to answer your question...yeah, it was kinda impressive.” I reply with slightly pink cheeks, chuckling and walking away, when Eijiro puts his other hand on the other side of my head. I turn to look at him. His face is intense with some unreadable emotion as he stares at me.

“So...did I smell good?” He asks, leaning in. I blush and lean back against the wall. Where was this coming from!?

“Um...what?” I ask stupidly, my racing mind unable to process what he might be talking about.

“What happened after the final bell yesterday...that hug…” My blush darkens. Oh shit! I’d almost forgotten! I lick my lips.

“I- -I’m so sorry about that!” I squeak, unsure how to take this reaction. Was he mad? Disgusted? He was so hard to read right now… “I, ah, I mean…yeah...you did smell good.” Why was that hard to say? It was a fact, nothing more...right? He then smiles, laughing (I swear he’s blushing, too, though) as he leans back, keeping one hand on the wall. I blush darker and want to sink into the ground.

“Takara, relax! I was just teasing!” He chirps. “But, good to know!” I exhale, then smack his arm.

“You jerk! I thought you were mad at me or something!” That, and I thought maybe...that was leading somewhere- -stoppit! This is not the time for those kind of thoughts! He’s just a friend! Stop!

“Aww, Takara, I could never be mad at you for long!” He replies, patting my arm and moving away.

“Good to know, jerk.” I grumble, the tone undermined by my smirk, then I sigh and nudge him. “You know, you’re a good man, Eijiro.” I mumble, cheeks red again “You didn’t have to help me, but you did, and I want you to know it means a lot to me.” He’s definitely blushing as he walks beside me. I wanted to make sure he knew how much all his help meant to me.

“Takara, I’d do it again. Anytime.” I feel an instinct to hug him but refrain and settle for smiling at him as we walk back toward where the others were training.

“And I’d do it for you.” I reply, just letting myself enjoy this moment. It was two friends affirming their bond...and that’s it…

So why am I blushing?!

(I promise I don’t mean to keep forcing KiriKara down your throat but most of these moments write themselves. Hope y’all don’t mind! (: Can’t wait to show you all the Sports Festival!)

#Fanfiction #OC Insertion Series #OC #original character #Original Female Character #MHA #BNHA #Eijiro Kirishima #Eijiro Kirishima X OC #Eijiro Kirishima X Takara Yamada #Takara Yamada (OC)

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vincent-marie · 6 years

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A Look Back on TREASURE PLANET

So recently I rewatched TREASURE PLANET for the first time in about fifteen years and… I'm not gonna lie, it's still my personal favorite of the 2D Disney animated features from the early to mid-2000s.

Let's be real. Of the 2D features Disney released around that time period, TREASURE PLANET is one of the more solid films. ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE had some interesting ideas and some really nice design work and animation, but it really needed to be at least two hours long if it wanted to flesh out the characters and the world-building without requiring supplementary material (like a special edition of Disney Adventure magazine). Hardly anybody remembers BROTHER BEAR was even a thing, and the less said about HOME ON THE RANGE, the better. (Seriously, that movie wasn't even worth the Steve Buscemi cameo.)

The only other film of that era that has really held up was LILO AND STITCH, and I'll admit it's probably a better film than TREASURE PLANET. It took more risks in terms of character, setting and originality, and emotionally it leaves more of an impact. (That scene when Nani sings to Lilo makes me cry like a baby every time.) My only problem with it is it always felt like two entirely different movies collided with each other and it never felt like they really meshed well. Otherwise, I agree with most fans that it’s a good film.

Also, of course, there was the excellent THE EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE, which was just such a huge departure from Disney’s normal schtick and trying something more Tex Avery-esque, only for it to be a perfect storm instead of a total crash and burn. That is much to be proud of.

Going back to TREASURE PLANET, I can understand that most folks walk away saying it’s an "okay" film. I, however, am not one of those people. I've had a real soft spot for this movie ever since I saw it, but now I appreciate this film for additional reasons.

Namely, the animation and effects work. Holy crap, is this movie gorgeous! It's like watching Don Bluth's ANASTASIA, except I don't have to feel guilty about historical inaccuracies. (Now it’s just scientific inaccuracies, but STAR WARS gets away with that all the time.)

Directors John Musker and Ron Clements had apparently wanted to do a sci-fi retelling of "Treasure Island" since before they started working on THE LITTLE MERMAID. With that in mind I do feel like this movie would have fared better with critics back in the early 90s during the Disney Renaissance. However at that time they would not have had such elaborate and detailed CG effects within arm's reach. There's something I really enjoy about the use of 3D backdrops so that they may do sweeping camera movements, and that's not even getting into the lighting effects to establish atmosphere.

What's more, there are a lot of subtleties to the character animation that I never appreciated until now. You could just pick one character and focus on him or her during the whole movie and find a lot of fun little quirks in their dialogue or walk cycles.

Admittedly, much of this film’s appeal probably depends on how much of an animation fan you are. In my case I was watching John Silver’s animation and I suspected that Glen Keane was probably in charge of animating him (as there are moments when Silver looks so much like Ratigan). Those suspicions were confirmed during the end credits and I was delightfully geeking out about it.

It’s also easy to see where this film might not have had a lot of mass appeal. Most of the focus on the story is on Jim Hawkins and his daddy issues, which by the early 2000s was already a cliche of a character arc. And it’s not helped by the fact that Jim himself is... well, kind of on the bland side as a protagonist. There’s not a lot about him that makes him any more or less interesting than any other teenage male lead. But for what it is I think the movie did fine at establishing and building the relationship between Jim and Silver, which does have its warm and comforting moments. For both of them.

And at least the film is straightforward with its plot and characters and it’s not a structural mess like HERCULES, a previous venture by Musker and Clements.

Something I’ve noticed over the years is that TREASURE PLANET has a little bit of a cult following. I distinctly remember this one time when I was taking a storyboard class in college; we were assigned to do a “Master Study” assignment by recreating the key story frames in our favorite scene in a favorite animated movie. One of my classmates picked the scene when Jim is brought home to the inn by the police and embarrasses his mother. I recall being so impressed, and even a little envious, that she got the character design style down to a T. (If you’re wondering what movie/scene I picked for my Master Study, I picked the Big Ben scene from THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE.)

Then, of course, some friends and I suspect that TREASURE PLANET might have fared better if it had been released a bit later, more towards the height of the Steampunk craze. It’s not quite what I would call “Steampunk”, as it takes place in a sort of alternate universe version of the 18th century and not the Gothic era, and most of their transport is solar-powered and not steam-based. Nevertheless it’s easy to see how fans of Steampunk could find it appealing, with its mostly earth-tone color pallet to evoke the painted illustrations of the classic novel it was based on. Also that combination of a pre-20th century aesthetic with out-of-this-world science fiction elements is pretty much, in my opinion, what makes Steampunk so much fun to play around with. Also, a robot made out of copper. End of story.

In terms of why this film didn’t do so well when it was released, I suspect what stunted its success was the marketing. I could be wrong, as I was actually living in Honduras at the time of the film’s release, but we got some TV stations from Denver, Colorado. I remember a lot of the TV spots spent most of their time highlighting the goofy comic relief moments with Morph, and there was a real emphasis on the presence of B.E.N., even though he's in less than one-third of the movie. In other words, the film's success might have been partially sabotaged by a marketing team that seemed to think if you don’t take your film seriously at all that will somehow draw in the crowd.

Although speaking of the comic relief characters, I actually don’t mind them that much. I always thought Morph had a lot of cute, funny moments that weren’t too obnoxious. As for B.E.N., I kind of have mixed feelings for him. On one hand, the directing team made better use of Martin Short’s improvisational skills than PEBBLE AND THE PENGUIN or WE’RE BACK! ever did. But on the other hand, does B.E.N. have to be so loud and shouty? However, while B.E.N. is a real screw-up, he’s not so much to the point where I want to see him get smashed with a sledgehammer. He’s generally likable, not at all loathsome, and just annoying enough, but not TOO annoying.

However while we’re still on the subject of B.E.N., I’d just like to add that the CG animation on him is really nice. Making him 3D gives him a sort of sense of solidity compared to his hand-drawn humanoid compadres, and to top it off his animation isn’t at all stiff or feels like the CG is holding him back. There is some really expressive squashing and stretching going on with his dialogue. It’s so subtle in places that you’d probably miss it if you’re not looking for it. A lot of CG animation studios at the time like Pixar and Dreamworks had not quite mastered squashing and stretching themselves, so kudos to Disney for pulling it off so well.

Now if I may indulge a little on why I remember this film fondly, my favorite characters were always Dr. Doppler and Captain Amelia. They are both fun and engaging on their own, but together they are weirdly adorable. Granted, I've always thought them getting together at the end was a bit rushed, but I still totally buy it.

(What I don't buy is that they'd be so eager to have kids after Doppler showed such annoyance and revulsion towards that toddler alien girl at the beginning. I get that the creators wanted some visual shorthand to indicate that they're an official couple, but they could have just been wearing wedding rings or throw in a little more of them dancing together.)

Part of the reason I love these characters on their own is the casting. I was already familiar with Emma Thompson from Ang Lee's adaptation of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, and her character of Eleanor Dashwood was very quiet and reserved. You can imagine my disbelief and delight hearing her play an assertive, witty badass as Amelia. (As if I didn't already think Amelia’s design was cool.)

As for David Hyde Pierce, I had only occasionally watched FRASIER growing up, but when I saw this movie I was familiar with him through some other memorable voice acting roles, particularly that excellent Season 8 episode of THE SIMPSONS, “Brother From Another Series.” In other words, I already knew him to be funny, snarky and charismatic.

While I'm on about the casting, I feel like there's a totally wasted opportunity to have these two characters in a room together, say, before the black hole scene, exchanging witty banter to show how compatible they are in a casual setting. It’s a shame that Emma and David didn’t record their dialogue together, because with her being an accomplished writer and with his skills at improvisation, there could have been some good verbal combat by way of “Much Ado About Nothing-Meets-Frasier.”

But looking back, I remember I immediately loved Captain Amelia just on principal. As a kid I never really gravitated that much to any of the Disney princesses. I can’t really describe why, but it was mostly how they were marketed as just looking pretty and (arguably) kind of passive in their own stories. Not to mention how when Disney Princess became a brand, they really amped up the girly cutesy-ness to their preexisting images. Not to say there’s anything inherently wrong with cute or feminine things, but it really made me feel like a weirdo who somehow wasn’t fit to be called a girl.

Captain Amelia, on the other hand, had her own style of femininity by wearing a classy, more masculine captain’s uniform along with thigh-high high-heeled boots (that she has no problem running in). She had a no-nonsense attitude, she was focused and cool-headed in a stressful situation, she was downright snarky and took crap from no one. In other words, she was the type of woman I wanted to be when I grew up, and to this day she is my favorite Disney Lady, bar none.

And while I’m at it, I’m just going to add that I’ve always found Dr. Doppler more attractive than your standard Disney prince. Besides his character design looking like a canine version of Roger from 101 DALMATIONS, he just always seemed like he’d be fun to get a coffee with.

Well, that’s about all I really want to talk about regarding TREASURE PLANET. It’s a shame it’s not remembered by more people as it does have some really good elements to it, but in some regards I can kind of see why it wasn’t a huge critical success. If you haven’t seen it already I recommend checking it out as it’s a pretty solid standalone film that doesn’t need supplementary material and covers all the bases with the plot and some fun character moments here and there. If you’re an animation fan I cannot stress enough how you really need to watch it, or even rewatch it, because, again, the animation and effects work is just a real feast for the eyes.

#treasure planet #disney #animation #review #captain amelia #dr. doppler

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ropedropnet · 5 years

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Star Wars – Galaxy’s Edge – The First Tours

There’s a ton of Galaxy’s Edge news out today, but I want to focus on this article from Matthew Panzarino at TechCrunch that is one of the most comprehensive pieces I have seen. On some level, it’s the type of analysis that I would think friend of the site Wes would give if he was given access to land while it’s under construction (and, honestly, that’s about the highest compliment I can give.)

If just the concept of Galaxy’s Edge doesn’t get you excited, maybe this information will:

At risk of being too susceptible to marketing speak, I’d have to agree with this particular statement. What is being built here has little parallel in terms of immersion and ambition in an amusement park or out. And it’s going to blow Star Wars fans, casual and involved, away.

Though all of Panzarino’s article is worth a read, here are some standout parts for me. First, why Disney elected to set the land on a “new” planet:

“Why not make a place that is very familiar from the classic Star Wars films, a Tatooine, a Hoth, or one of those places? The answer really is we know those places, we know those stories that happen there, and we know that we’re not in them,” said [Disney Portfolio Executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, Scott] Trowbridge. “This place, Black Spire Outpost, is an opportunity. It’s designed from the very get‑go to be a place that invites exploration and discovery, a place that invites us to become a character in the world of Star Wars, and, to the extent that we want to, to participate in the stories of Star Wars.”

…

“I want to walk into this land and be in the same level as everyone else, from the really hardcore Star Wars fan to someone who knows nothing about Star Wars,” Managing Story Editor at WDI Margaret Kerrison recalls saying in the first pitch meeting she attended for Star Wars land. “I want to have that urgency to explore, to discover, to run around every corner, and to meet every single droid and alien in this land. I want to not feel like I’m at a disadvantage because I don’t know all the nitty‑gritty details as a hardcore Star Wars fan would know.”

Next, is the explanation of how involved people from all part of Disney and LucasFilm were in creating the land:

People from props, set dressing, construction, merchandising, food, ride systems and technical departments all worked together from ideation onwards. On a normal production, they are typically brought in at various phases — but for Batuu, everyone had to be on the same page from the very beginning

and how the land will work to feel alive while you’re there:

“Our world, where guests are this close to something, it’s got to be that next level. A good example of that is, droids move through our land. That’s part of the story that we’re trying to tell. We got access to one of the original Kenny Baker, New Hope, 1976‑1977 era droids. We took rubbings of the bottom of the droid feet. We turned that into a set of three files, which then, we turned into a set of 3D wheels. We built a little droid trolley, which Kirstin [Makela, Art Director] and team used.”

“I’ll set the scene for you,” says Makela. “You’re on a busy construction site, there’s lots of people around. There’s some people pouring hardscape concrete, all dirty and all their tools and their stamping. Then all of a sudden, one of them just jumps on this little trolley and someone else pulls them through the concrete, leaves a little trail of droid tracks.”

On that front, I can’t even fathom this description of the animatronic Hondo Ohnaka:

The animatronic figure itself is around 7 feet tall and uses the latest in electric motors instead of hydraulics. Hondo’s figure includes around 50 functions (movement points) total and is the second most complicated animatronic in Disney parks. The most complicated, for the record, is the Na’vi Shaman … which has 40 functions in its face alone, not to mention the rest of the body. We had the Shaman at our robotics event a couple of years ago, it’s incredible to watch. Hondo isn’t far behind, with fluid movements, smooth facial contortions and believable interactions between himself and his R5 droid.

(Though the biggest selling point will obviously be the Nien Nunb animatronic.)

Of course, it wouldn’t be a theme park without stellar attractions. Based on Panzarino’s description, Disney seems well aware of that as well. I only skimmed over the description of the Rise of the Resistance ride to avoid “ride through” style spoilers, but I had to read the description of the Falcon:

Approaching the Falcon from one of the entrances to Batuu for the first time is a surreal experience. This is a full-size 110-foot version of the ship as you’ve seen it in the movies. It’s meticulously detailed and acts as a center-piece for the area. The ship will periodically vent out gas and Hondo’s tinkerers are constantly working on its engines. It’s a living thing inside the land, a character.

…

Entering the cockpit was an out-of-body situation for me, I’m not ashamed to admit it. It’s wild how right it feels. The six seats all feature belts and the familiar weathered look. More importantly, each of them has a wide array of buttons either to the side or in front of them if you’re one of the pilots. Every square or rectangular button has a light up ring around it which will indicate which of them you need to press for the best result during your moments to act during the ride. The toggles have small LED indicators built into one end that do the same indicating job. I am happy to report that the large, satisfyingly chunky toggle switches and satisfyingly clicks buttons have been very well chosen and require enough force to push without stress but with satisfaction. They’re the right switches.

I cannot be more ready to give that a shot.

Overall, Panzarino’s observation that–in hindsight–Pandora seems like it was a test run for Galaxy’s Edge is something that I have felt since we started hearing about the immersive aspects that are now currently found in the Valley of Mo’ara. If Disney can accomplish that level of immersion in a universe that people have a much stronger connection to, than Galaxy’s Edge is going to be really, really special.

The post Star Wars – Galaxy’s Edge – The First Tours appeared first on Rope Drop [dot] Net.

from Star Wars – Galaxy’s Edge – The First Tours

#walt disney world #disney #Featured #The Studios #galaxy’s edge #star wars

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smushingthefandoms · 7 years

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I had so much fun at TBF this year, if any of you live near Rochester, NY I would 100% recommend coming next year and meeting all of the fantastic authors! It’s a super fun, engaging, and easygoing experience.

****Caution: Spoilers Ahead****

The panels throughout the day were run by a moderator and no audience questions were able to be asked due to the sheer volume of people that attended the event and the length of the panels. This is what I found out through the moderator’s questions:

Sarah was an intense badminton player in college (really. really. intense.

Sarah’s had always hoped that her patronus was a velociraptor, but in realty its an Occamy

Reneé is obsessed with snake rings.

Reneé loves bingeing True Blood and eating Hot Cheetos for hours on end.

Reneé’s patronus is a Rat- something that she originally took great offense to, but has now come to terms with.

Reneé once watched a seven hour documentary on how to make a katana

Both authors spend copious amounts of time learning about random (and not so random) information about different cultures and time periods.

Both authors really really really love Tamora Pierce. At separate times, they met the author and had complete meltdowns trying to tell her how awesome and amazing she is, and how much work she did in the way of paving the road for other female fantasy writers.

Sarah even told us a story about how she read this very cool article she read explaining the history behind painted on beauty marks. She said that at their beginning, they were different shapes, like hearts, stars and circles, that were cut out of black silk. The number of shapes on a person’s face was reflective of their place in society- the more designs that a person had, the more likely it was that they were a prostitute, using the wild decorations to cover up sores from STDs and their inaccessibility to health and skin care.

Both authors also talked about their obsessions with mythology. They both really enjoy the Russian folktale of Baba Yaga, who is essentially the most evil ever, and makes the Weaver look like a fluffy baby duck.

Sarah also touched on her adoration for the Norwegian fairytale East of the Sun, West of the Moon. It tells the story of a girl who finds her true love, only to have him stolen away by an evil fairy queen. The girl then decides to go after him, having to solve riddles and best monsters in order to save him- which she eventually does. Sarah actually based the original plot of ACOTAR on East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

Rhys wasn’t actually supposed to have the role that he did, but then he presented himself at Calanmai and Sarah couldn’t deny Feyre's and Rhys’ chemistry. When she would write Tamlin and Feyre having intimate moments she would cringe so hard. Then she would write a scene between Rhys and Feyre and almost not be able to be around them because they were so intense together.

Which fictional villain would Sarah and Reneé most enjoy taking down?

Dolores Umbridge: In the end, she gets what’s coming to her, and it’s satisfying because everyone has a Dolores in their life, where most people never really encounter true, pure evil like Voldemort.

Sarah’s Fictional BFFs are:

Hermione

Sailor Moon

Katara

Buffy

Reneé’s Fictional BFFs are:

Aria

Breanne of Tarth

Crushes:

Reneé-

Jason Momoa

That Hot South Korean Body Guard

Rhys

Sarah didn’t even get to her list- she looked up the body guard and then spent like five minutes ogling the body guard and wiping her sweaty palms on her pants and being very flustered.

Favorite YA Ships:

Reneé:

Alliyah and Darkling from Leigh Bardougho’s Shadow and Bone

Feyre and Rhys from Sarah’s ACOTAR

Alanna and George from Tamora Peirce’s Song of the Lioness Series

Sarah:

Karou and Akiva from Lani Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Shazi and Khalid from Reneé's The Wrath and The Dawn

What kind of Instagrams would your characters have?

Shazi: Selfie Queen

Dorian: All of the books. His account would be called “Hot Boys Reading"

Aedion: Shameless Selfies

Rhys: “Candids” taken by Feyre that showcase Rhys’ endless beauty

Is there a Theme Song for series or any part of your books?:

Sarah:

Throne of Glass, Killer Queen by Queen or Back in Black by ACDC

Sarah meditated to Kanye in order to get in the headspace to write Heir of Fire

A Court of Wings and Ruin: Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine

Sarah meditated to Kanye in order to get in the headspace to write Heir of Fire

Reneé

The Wrath and The Dawn: The civil wars

Flame in the Mist: Bangarang by Skrillex

What Reality TV Shows would your characters excel at?:

Aelin (depending on her mood): American Ninja Warrior, Say Yes to the Dress, Real House Wives

Feyre: “She’s not cheery enough” She would try to be on an art show, and then just be like, “So yeah, this is my painting"

Shazi: The Price is Right, “The Long Lost Kardashian"

Mariko: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

Who Would be the Best Dressed at Prom?:

RHYS. He would most likely do the most dramatic entrance possible. He would enter at the top of a grand staircase, and a spotlight would focus on him and he would open his wings, and glitter would fly everywhere- making him look like pure magic.

Khalid would see Rhys enter and would just feel so upstaged, and would be looking very beautiful himself, but then theres RHYS and he just spends the rest of the night sulking in the shadows, following Rhys.

What would your characters major in in college?

Aelin: Music

Feyre: Art or Art History

Shazi: Political Science or English (something with a lot of analytical thinking)

Favorite Strong Female Characters:

Both authors understand why this question is necessary, but they wish that is wasn’t. Reneé said that to her, a ‘strong character’ is just a well rounded character, whether thats a man or a woman. Strength isn’t just physical, it’s mental, and of the soul and of the heart. Sarah said that one of her favorite female heroines that exemplified this is Buffy- Buffy is a badass, but she’s also girly. Buffy is who she wants to be, and who she needs to be. She’s brave, and intelligent, and kind and beautiful, and all of those characteristics make her into the amazing heroine that she is.

Sarah, what’s coming next?:

Tower of Dawn: Get the tissues ready. Sarah sat down to write a novella, and at the end of one day, she had 20k words- at the end of five she had 100k. Now Tower of Dawn is about the same length as Empire of Storms. She said that she can’t share anything about the cover yet, but we should be getting a cover reveal soonish, and she really loves the cover. Tower of Dawn was and is a story close to her heart, and it didn’t and still doesn’t feel like work to write it. The events of this book take place at the same time as Empire of Storms, and you absolutely have to read it in order to understand the action that takes place in the last book. She also said that the culture in the Southern Continent is loosely based on the Mongols and Genghis Kahn- she’s obsessed with the culture and the time period.

Catwoman: Sarah is working on a retelling of the origin story of Catwoman, one of her favorite anti-heroines ever.

World of Throne of Glass: Super exciting project, it’ll be almost like an encyclopedia of names and places and facts about the series and the world it’s set in.

The Final Throne of Glass book. Sarah said that this summer will be the summer of many tears as she sits down to end the series. She’s both excited and terrified, because this story has been part of her for so long

Reneé’s new series, Flame in the Mist, features Mariko, a super badass girl who is almost assassinated, but then disguises herself as a man and infiltrates the organization of assassins that tried to kill her. Reneé said that the story pulls elements from 47 Ronin and Mulan, and features all of the gender bending- something that she is very excited about.

Sarah told us that she’s a cinematic writer, meaning that as she writes, she sees the events playing out like a movie in her head, and really gets to experience everything with her characters. This is part of the reason she loves bingeing TV so much- she likes learning about new and different ways of storytelling. The storytelling in TV is a lot like the storytelling in books- each episode is a chapter and each season is a book. Sarah and Reneé agree that watching TV is great research because it allows your mind to put away little tidbits for later, but also be sort of mindless.

Towards the end of the day, I asked Sarah my burning question for her: How did Aelin get the name Celaena? Did she choose it herself? Did Arobynn pick it? Will we ever find out?

Sarah responded that she couldn’t actually tell me because it was going to be a /thing/ in either the last Throne of Glass book, or in a “novella” but we all know how things went when she wrote Chaol’s novella, so you never know.

If anyone has any questions feel free to message me! I would love to hear from you!

#sarah j maas #reneé ahdieh #tbf #throne of glass #a court of thorns and roses #the wrath and the dawn #the rose and the dagger #flame in the mist

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writingguide003-blog · 5 years

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NBA 2016-17 predictions: our writers forecast the playoffs and award winners

New Post has been published on https://writingguideto.com/must-see/nba-2016-17-predictions-our-writers-forecast-the-playoffs-and-award-winners/

NBA 2016-17 predictions: our writers forecast the playoffs and award winners

Will anyone stop the Warriors? Who will be named Most Valuable Player? Guardian writers give their takes on whats coming up this season

Im most looking forward to watching …

How teams deal with the Warriors. Or how the Warriors deal with themselves. Ill go with both. Seeing teams try to defend a lineup that has Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green will be fascinating. As will seeing how the Warriors keep everyone happy in an offense that features Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. DG

Last year injuries kept the Utah Jazz from making the playoffs but by January they should be completely healthy. Utah might not be the most exciting team but they are deep, good defensively and well coached. LC

How the Golden State Warriors are going to integrate Kevin Durant into their already historic offense. If anyone answers this differently theyre lying. HF

The most significant move of the NBA off-season is about to become the biggest story of the regular season. Just how might free agent signing Kevin Durant change the dynamic at Golden State? If he gels as quickly as pre-season suggests, the Warriors could push for 70 wins again. If not, theres the potential for the drama of disharmony. CS

Im least looking forward to watching …

The inevitable demise of Russell Westbrook. The (lone remaining) Thunder star plays with an edge and tenacity like no other athlete in sports and this season hell be more motivated than ever. But without Durant around anymore to help, the Thunder dont have a real shot no matter how well or angry Westbrook plays. And thats pretty depressing. DG

While most people will be excited to see how Golden State will fit all their stars into one lineup, there are enough players without big egos to make this work seamlessly. Perfection might actually make the Warriors more boring than people expect. LC

The New York Knicks, on and off the court. Its almost depressing to realize that Kristaps Porzingis is tied to this horrifically dysfunctional franchise. HF

The Houston Rockets. The NBAs most uninspiring team undermined my efforts to stay awake for last seasons midweek west coast games. Beyond the strange fascination with James Hardens beard, Ive no idea why theyre on TV so much. CS

The biggest surprise will be …

The Timberwolves grabbing a playoff spot in the West. A team featuring Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine (reportedly now armed with an NBA-quality jumper) nabbing a playoff spot in the West with 40-45 wins may not shock avid NBA watchers. But the Timberwolves have missed the postseason 12 years in a row. Basketball being played in Minnesota in late April would be news. DG

The Minnesota Timberwolves showed signs of growth last year with the growth of Karl-Anthony Townes and Andrew Wiggins. Now they have added the promising Kris Dunn to a backcourt with Zach LaVine. By seasons end they should be playing excellent defense. LC

The Eastern Conference will be more competitive and more entertaining than the Western Conference (Warriors excluded obviously). HF

Will this be the year the Clippers finally put it all together? Nope. Rather, itll finally sink that in Griffin, Jordan and Paul wont bring a Championship to LA. The Clips will lose in the first round of the play-offs and Paul will take a giant deal elsewhere next July. CS

The biggest disappointment will be

Will the Nets fail again this year? Yes, they probably will. Photograph: Noah K Murray/USA Today Sports

The Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are expected to be awful and will likely have the worst record in the NBA. So where does the disappointment come in, you ask? Its because the franchise and their fans will get almost nothing out of suffering through this season. Thanks to the Paul Pierce-Kevin Garnett trade with the Celtics in 2013, Boston has the right to swap their first-round pick with Brooklyns in the 2017 draft. So the Nets are going to lose most of their games AND lose out on the opportunity to bring in a franchise savior. Lets hope that 2014 trip to the Eastern Conference semis was worth it. DG

New Orleans tumbled last year, but really should be a better team than their record showed. They have the talent to be a playoff team just as they were two seasons ago but it seems like the mix still isnt there in a deep Western Conference. LC

The Chicago Bulls are going to drop off despite the addition-by-subtraction of losing Derrick Rose and bringing in a motivated Dwyane Wade. The pieces wont fit. HF

Having offloaded injury-prone Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, the Chicago Bulls snubbed a refresh and a chance to hand the reins to Jimmy Butler. Instead it signed Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade, who have beef going back to the Celtics-Heat wars and will both want the limelight. On the Chicago sports scale, the Bulls will be far more Bears than Cubs. CS

LeBron James is

Durable. James has now played 1,186 NBA games in his career between the regular season and playoffs. Thats already 77 more than Michael Jordan logged in his career (not including his two forgettable seasons in a Wizards jersey). Theres a lot of mileage on LeBrons legs, but other than a slight reduction in minutes from his early twenties, there are no signs of slowing down. We are all witnesses to a man who has only aged along his hairline. DG

Not going to be able to pull the Cavs over the Warriors this time. LC

Already, at the very least, the second greatest basketball player who has ever lived. And hes not close to finished. HF

The man. Regardless of who performs miracles during regular season play, can we please refrain from proclaiming Curry or Westbrook or Durant has usurped him as the games best player? They wont have. Games 5-7 of the Finals where it James played-out the longest con in the history of sports – put that debate to bed until the post-season. CS

Steph Curry is

Now a full-on villain. If Kevin Durant is a bad guy for joining Golden State, Curry looks even worse for needing another superstar to get back on top. A fresh-faced NBA superstar everyone was rooting for two years ago today is today the face of a team many want to see crash and burn. Every behind-the-back pass Curry chucks out of bounds this season will be a moment of viral glee. DG

A player too unselfish for his own good. His need to please others sometimes destroys his focus. LC

The most embattled reigning MVP for two years running in NBA history, or at least among those whove won a ring. HF

A man with something to prove once again. Although an ill-timed knee injury may be mitigating, the undisputed league MVP had a Finals series to forget. LeBron made him look like a pretender again, now well see what Currys really made of. CS

One change to improve the NBA …

This will never happen because it would be a significant change to the entire sport of basketball but, hey, if the floor is mine: get rid of the free throw and penalize players who commit a foul by removing them from the floor for 30 seconds, hockey-style. This ends the awful free throw-fests that mar the end of so many basketball games and we also get some fun 5-on-4 action. I await your call, Adam Silver. DG

Revive the draft lottery reform that owners rejected two years ago that would havegiven all seven of the worst teams a better shot at the No1 pick thus reducing the incentive to tank. LC

Theres no reason that the NBA season should be 82 games long other than money. Unfortunately, thats more than reason enough for owners to continue with it. HF

Two free throws plus the ball if deliberate Hack-A fouls are committed more than three times a game on poor FT shooters like DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard. Theres no channel-turner in basketball like a Hackathon. CS

One bold prediction …

Joel Embiid will win rookie of the year. Picking a 7ft 0in center who can do this and this might not seem incredibly bold, but injuries have kept Embiid from playing in a single NBA game since he was drafted No3 overall in 2014. Predicting he stays healthy and plays well and that something good happens for the Sixers is as bold as bold can be. DG

Luke Waltons Lakers will have surpassed his entire 2015-16 loss total (four) by the time they face the Warriors for the first time (in their sixth game). LC

LeBron James will have a tough time leading the Cavaliers to another title. Photograph: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

Im going to keep predicting that the Minnesota Timberwolves to end the season over .500 every single season until it actually happens. HF

Miamis resigned center Hassan Whiteside will win Defensive Player of the Year. The $98 million man, who finished third in voting last season becomes the focal point of a Heat team minus superstars. If pre-season is anything to go by, he looks ready for the responsibility. Hes also a triple double machine in the making and, as he likes to say; aint nobody doin it with blocks either. CS

Which rookie will impress the most?

When Ben Simmons returns from injury – hopefully by mid-season – hell quickly add footage to his passing highlight reel. (And many of those passes will go to Embiid, my bold Rookie of the Year pick. Hey, great choice!) DG

Kris Dunn, the Timberwolves point guard from Providence, looked fantastic in the Summer League and might be the most polished rookie in the league. LC

If Joel Embiid, who finally will be making his NBA debut with the Philadelphia 76ers, counts as a rookie, then it will be him. The 76ers will still be awful, though. HF

With Ben Simmons out until January, this is more open. Bostons Jaylen Brown drafted third out of Berkeley will have plenty of opportunities to shine in a big market team thats primed to contend. While the short forward might struggle for ROTY-worthy minutes/numbers behind Jae Crowder, he could be the most impressive. CS

Wholl win the MVP award?

Russell Westbrooks consolation prize in losing Kevin Durant might just be the MVP. If he can keep the Thunder above .500 and reach the playoffs, hell win the award and he surely wont thank Kevin Durant or Kevin Durants mother. DG

While I would be tempted to pick Russell Westbrook who could run free to as many points as he wants in the Thunders offense, the smart pick here is LeBron James. LC

Russell Westbrook. If he remains healthy, the Oklahoma City Thunder point guard is going to have a monster year now that he doesnt have to share his the ball with Durant. HF

Steph Curry will split the limelight with Kevin Durant, while LeBron James saves his absolute best for the postseason and hasnt won the award since 2013. Russell Westbrooks numbers will explode without Durant and theres a legit chance he can smash last years tally of 18 triple doubles. CS

Atlantic winner

Toronto Raptors. DG

Boston Celtics. LC

Boston Celtics. HF

Im going with the Cs. CS

Central winner

Cleveland Cavaliers. DG

Cleveland. LC

Cleveland Cavaliers. HF

The Cavs will take this. CS

Southeast winner

Atlanta Hawks. DG

Atlanta Hawks. LC

Orlando Magic. HF

Close. Atlanta is the favourite, but Charlotte or Washington could easily take this one. CS

Northwest winner

Portland Trail Blazers. DG

Utah Jazz. LC

Oklahoma City. HF

Utah and Portland look strong, but OKC will win it. CS

Pacific winner

Golden State Warriors. DG

Golden State Warriors. LC

Cant see anyone but Golden State. HF

Although last years regular season dominance could be beyond the Warriors, theyll win this division by at least 10 games. CS

Southwest winner

San Antonio Spurs. DG

San Antonio. LC

San Antonio. HF

Business as usual for the Spurs. CS

Eastern Conference Finals prediction

Cleveland over Indiana. DG

Cleveland over Boston. LC

Cleveland Cavaliers over literally any opponent they could face. Lets say the Boston Celtics. HF

A comfortable series for the Cavs, wholl win in five. CS

Western Conference Finals prediction

Golden State over LA Clippers. DG

Golden State over Utah. LC

Go for the Golden State Warriors over the San Antonio Spurs. HF

Warriors in seven in an all-time classic. CS

NBA championship winner

Everyone knows the classic scene in Gullivers Travels where the resting giant is overrun by tiny Lilliputians and secured to the ground by strings. Thats kind of how I see this NBA season. LeBron is the giant of the sport and no other player is close to matching him, but in adding Kevin Durant the Warriors now have enough to take down even the biggest star in all the game. Now I should probably note that Gulliver broke out of those strings in the story and that LeBron never rests. But Ill still give the Warriors 3-1 odds. DG

Last spring Golden State appeared certain to win their second-straight NBA title against Cleveland. But Draymond Green was suspended for a game, Steph Curry lost his focus and the Warriors were outplayed by the Cavs and LeBron James. They signed Kevin Durant to make sure that doesnt happen again. The same two teams are destined to meet once more but this time Golden State will have too many elite players to slump again. Expect a more locked-in Curry, a motivated Durant and enough contributions from Green and Klay Thompson to go the distance next June. LC

The Golden State Warriors, taking out the Cleveland Cavaliers. Yes, I know, this would be the third straight Warriors-Cavaliers finals, but its hard to imagine this season going any other way barring injuries that are too depressing to contemplate. The funniest possible result would be for the Cavaliers to take a 3-1 series lead this time around, only to lose to the Warriors. Call them the meme busters. HF

The Dubs will have learned a lot from last summers humbling loss to Cleveland and its all the motivation theyll need to put it right. Should the NBA Finals be a three-peat, Im picking Golden State to take a 2-1 lead over the Cavs in Finals match-ups. Warriors in six. CS

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us

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a-2-da-g-2-da-u-2-da-std · 7 years

Text

So here it is. this is only like 5 songs Katie and hasn't been spell checked and needs a lot of development but these are the rough ideas basically.

UsUK cardverse Raleigh Ritchie au

Story begins before music plays, with a monologue of sorts from narrator[Arthur] set out like a fairytale beginning, but with mentions of darker things, death and famine and plague.

Werld is mine-light intro and humming like a heartbeat to the song. Begins on the light piano with Arthur stalking through a lavish castle, passing deep, age old tapestries hung up, with the view being glimpses of Arthur caught, a glimpse of a crown, the footfalls of soft leather riding boots in black that reach mid calf, a ring finger weighed down by a deep cobalt sapphire. All dark ambient lighting, as if something sinister is unfolding. As the bass kicks in more, enter a glimpse of Alfred, just as passing as of Arthur, both glancing over at one another as servants rush around, preparing and preening the monarchs ,heated loaded looks between the two rulers. 1st verse delves into memories that correspond with the lyrics. ‘Fucks given at an all time low’ flashes back to Arthur, head held high and a dangerous glint in his eyes. At ‘sticks and stones.. I don’t know any better’ more flashbacks to show glimpses of their journeys to being together, of how they started apart, with hatred, and have grown closer, how they are now in love and in power. Slow focus in on both getting dressed and made into their royal images. ‘Take take me away’ Arthur is shown leaning in for a deep kiss and Alfred inhales as if Arthur’s his oxygen, as the ‘I wanna live forever...but honey this world is mine’ plays, and the focus is back again on Arthur, who has a small smirk and a put upon self confidence that carries his hidden past, and the audience sees the first real look at both monarchs together, something dark and fiercely protective and utterly in love between them. Back to piano is focused on their achievements. ‘I wanna live forever’ focus on their deep relationship, flashbacks of their love. ‘I wanna be better’ their royal relationship focus on their crushed velvet robes and glinting crowns. ‘I wanna be scared’ personal turmoil, war, plague, famine, all part of a rulers plight. Ending of the two walking out to face a full audience of court, heads held high as last line is sung, ‘this world is mine’.

[the next ones Stronger than ever and it shows their bond and sort of delves into their relationship. its introduced by another monologue, which speaks of a pair of lovers so deeply infatuated that theyd tear the stars from the night sky if they should so scald the other. a king and queen so deeply in love that the ruled alongside one another, in tune with one another, as no such monarchy had done before, or with such a deep dedication]

Stronger than ever-Beginning to show how they got to the throne, Alfred’s background as hes growing up and trained from a young age how to be a king, how he must be a soldier from a young age and fulfil his duties to his kingdom. and Arthur’s brief background, how he was on the verge of death so often, a bastard child of some nameless whore, thrown out onto the streets from the day he could walk, growing up on an empty stomach and only his own grit and wits. and now how they have so much power and grace, and how they support each other, how their pain has brought them to where they are. When gets soft ‘this is easy’ shows a scene of marriage, a softly illuminated scene in a grassy field, beneath a silk canopy and the softly setting sun. both are in crowns of wildflowers and loos white clothing without shoes or any significance of royalty, the lighting surrounding them orange and gentle as they look over at one another fondly. (note arthurs bouquet.White lilies - Virginity; Purity; Majesty; It's Heavenly to Be with You.Yellow lilies- I'm Walking on Air; False and Gay. ORANGE BLOSSOM IVY - Wedded Love; Fidelity; Friendship; Affection. FERN - Magic; Fascination; Confidence and Shelter.FERN Maidenhair - Secret Bond of Love - Innocence; Eternal Love; Marriage and Fruitfulness. AMBROSIA - Your Love is Reciprocated. AZALEA - Take Care of Yourself for Me; Temperance; Fragile Passion) then the drop in the music, and theres a sudden flash of two perspectives, both of theirs, of war and pain, and then the mention of family is them back to back, looking as though the shaodws falling across their faces were closing in on them. The soft next part shows them facing trials together and rising better from their experiences.

Was not always this way . cue some dramatic monologue

Bloodsport- shows forced marriage between the prince who is grieving, and despises the impoverished background of Arthur. Arthur is trying to earn his respect, fighting against him, for the people, in political matters. Shows shouting and sparring, until soft part where they dutifully pick each other up. I am all yours is Alfred knighting Arthur, begrudgingly. As the song picks up again they seem to keep disagreeing and fighting, yet still picking each other up, though Alfred still distrusts Arthur greatly which causes them to fail as one monarchy unit. They’re shown in a carriage in soft silence, Alfred refusing to look at Arthur, Arthur looking out of the window resignedly. Just before slow soft part around 230 the scene breaks to heavy bootfalls and fire, the monarchs being ambushed on their carriage ride. Alfred thrown out the carriage and Arthur grabs his hand helps him up, beginning to kill their ambushers, ‘ill protect... might need me later’ Arthur takes a knife wound instead of Alfred, both meeting eyes, alfred gaining respect. Flashbacks to their sparring at the castle as outro plays, then Alfred catching Arthur before he falls.

[Arthur gets medical help as narrator talks of this event spurring on the beginning of an alliance between the two monarchs, and then a conversation can be overheard between the two monarchs in the carriage ride home, Arthur pale and leaning heavily against Alfred. The scene is slow and soft and the beginning of a curious love between the two. ‘So where are you from, Arthur?’ ‘N- Northern peninsula.. Albion- in a fishing village not far from one of the main ports.. i.. I forget the name of it..’ ‘oh? Friends, family there? What’s your story?’..’ my story?’]

I Can Change- focuses on arthurs upbringing, parents no where to be seen, a starving toddlers, turning to a street urchin, up to a sneaky teen, to a 16 year old kissing a girl against an alley wall. ‘see my lady’ focuses on the lovesick daft grin on his face despite their surroundings. Arthur leans in again and resurfaces signing contracts he cant even read to be enrolled in a higher purpose. Switch to ‘this is my calling’ and ‘more mature’ enrolment into the army, and an aggressive fight between Arthur and his lady, as she screams and tells him hell never find better and that no poor man gets in and that to even attempt is showing her how little worth she is to him ‘cant live without..’ shows clips of the army training, and how he almost beats a man to death whilst thinking back to the fight, having to be dragged away by officers. Cut to the officer speech as Arthur is displayed before the rest of the army, being beaten and flogged. Cut to him ‘rid of the excess pain’ boarding a sailors ship, when the outro plays it shows arthurs ship getting blown to pieces by a pirate ship, and Arthur being tied up with the rest of his ships crew, when a pirate offers him a hand ‘seen enough of those army pigs to know a good fighter flogged.. make your choice, well not cause you that flogging..’ the music fades as Arthur grabs the pirates hand, being welcomed with a warm embrace to the pirates family.

[’they’re the family I ‘ad, that ship.. ‘til we got cocky, too far intae naval waters. Captured us in th’name of th’ king, s’mthin’ about a queen’s mark. Course I ‘ad it. Took me aboard, locked t’others in dungeons..’scene is Arthur lying, bandaged, in the castle, drifting into sleep with Alfred sat beside him ‘ill get them out, I swear, arthur’ ‘ta, Alfred’ and shows Arthur fall asleep. narrator speaks of how since then the two found company in one another, visiting more often through the weeks of arthurs recovery, culminating at a soft warm early summer evening, when Arthur and al sneak out in the evening]

Keep it simple- Alfred and Arthur sneak into the small seaside town, grinning and playing as commoners, Alfred grabbing arthurs hand at ‘I know I don’t know you’ marvelling at the sights, sounds, the gaslamps and the seaview, walking along the ports promenade, following the lanterns above their head celebrating the beginning of summer, until ‘im full of shit sometimes...’ when Alfred glances over at arthur fondly, as Arthur looks around in quiet awe and soaks in the smells of fresh food and the salty breeze off the sea. Alfred is pulling Arthur onto a ship, and Arthur grins as they pull it away from port, Alfred watching in slow gentle awe of love as Arthur controls the ship with practiced ease, hanging from ropes in commoners clothes with practised ease as if this is comfortable for him more than riches. Alfred smiles, and shakes his head- scene cuts to Arthur laughing and shaking his head at Alfred fondly as Alfred shoves food into his mouth, both adorn in flower crowns, walking back to the castle arm in arm, tipsy and warm and looking both at each other with the same awe and love that was never before realised. Scene fades to the night sky, and then to Arthur smiling up at Alfred as Alfred presents him with plans to improve the naval fleet, with Arthur being allowed his old crew and ship back, and free reign over spades expansive seas of spades and the whole naval fleet, and a faint, sincere thank you is heard as the scene fades to narrator.

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captainjimothycarter · 3 years

Text

I will never drop my HC that Bucky, in the start of being the Winter Soldier was sent to kill Peggy, the new director of Shield at some point.

Maybe even at the threshold of Shield there's an attempt, when everything was still in plans and slowly coming together. Maybe they'd just laid the groundwork for it.

He doesn't meet her face to face in that time. He tries to shoot her from afar but she avoids it narrowly thanks to honed skills. He tries again and fails, this time its not due to her skills, its his memory.

His ears are ringing, heart pounding in his throat. He's losing all his focus. Theres a metallic taste in his mouth. His head is splitting open like someone's taken an ax to it.

He sees her in another light. She's wearing her military uniform, sitting at a large desk in their underground bunker, going over a huge map with a familiar blonde. He tugs at a certain spot in Bucky's chest too.

He's sitting away from them, listening to their hushed voices and polishing the shield the blonde has discarded. The shield seems familiar but why?

She looks up when he drops it due to the slickness of the polish and makes a face at the metal breaking the tender silence in the room. "I'm amazed sometimes you can even hold a gun," she quips with a smirk that makes his eyes roll. "You can do my shoes next."

His reply is lost to his own ears but it makes the love-sick blonde between them snort. That's a good enough reward for him.

He's gone by the time she arrives to the rooftop, the only thing left in place is a coin. One that has a bullet hole through it, it has his, Steve's, and her initials ingraved into it.

Hydra doesn't make him try again for a long, long time. He needs more training, more programs. They have other ideas to take Shield down from the inside out.

He meets her again. She's aged and so has he. Maybe not as much in the years as she has. She wears her age with pride and poised, shoulders back and chin raised for anyone to defy her. Shes even more dangerous. He's aged but hes still young. Younger than any should be of his time.

He has one mission, one time to do it right. Kill the director.

He's sitting in her hotel room when she arrives, as if hes always belonged. Right in that wicker chair in the corner so he can see the whole room. She knows hes there, she's not dumb. Her skills had improved with age. He's left signs. He wants to be found.

It's just them in the room. No bugs. No trackers. This is his first mission alone.

She stills in the doorway for fraction of a second before closing it behind her and locking it. As if a flimsy lock could save her.

Her eyes never leave his as the lights are slowly turned on until hes sitting in a halo of golden light.

Shes either brave or stupid as she approaches, her trademark red nails catching his skin lightly as the mask is removed. Her entire frame freezes and a breath is drawn from her lips at the familiar sight.

Withered, scarred but there's no denying those eyes.

She takes two steps back, mask still in hand to give him space. The silence is deafening and this time there's no headache, no blood in his mouth from a bitten cheek. He knows her. He knows that he does.

"I didn't want to believe it to be true," she whispers, her voice emotionless. She has to force herself to speak in a tone, he can see her pinky finger twitching. "I made excuses from the coin to the reports and to the photos. I made excuses to myself because I didn't want to believe. I was happy in denial."

She reaches around her neck and pulls out a chain that was tucked into her blouse. On it are war tarnished dog tags, from here he can read the names: Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter, Michael Carter, and James Barnes. Next to it lays the coin. She slowly takes the coin and dog tag off, tossing them both to land in his lap.

The metal hand flashes as he picks it up to turn the metal pieces over.

Still, she continues. "I did some research of my own. Some digging. I have been looking for you but they know that, dont they?" A slight nod. Just a bare bob of his head.

She sighs. "That's why they sent you to me now. To kill me."

Another nod.

"I can't let that happen. I can't let you go, James."

Silence. His eyes bore into hers.

His mouth opens, then closes, brow furrowed as he tries to think of the words. His voice is like gravel, broken from lack of use.

"They told me...they told me...Steve is dead. Is that true?"

Her eyes flash with a sudden hint of pain. It's all the answer he needs.

"Missing in action is what his reports say."

"He...crashed a plane into the water?"

"Yes. He was going after Schmidt."

Silence. This time, his head aches but its nothing compared to the void in his chest.

"He loved you."

Her bottom lip quivers before she gives a small, sad smile. "I know. He loved you too."

This time he does nod, his eyes dropping back down to the items in hand. "He loved us both."

"We were truly lucky to have him. Its why...I can't let you go, James. He wouldn't let me. I can't live with myself if you went back."

He stands but she doesn't move, not even as he takes the mask and replaces it with the tag and coin. He can do it. He should do it. His training screams at him to, the programming is breaking. Stuttering. Hurting.

He can't do it. It be easy to choke her, breaking her neck, hurt her. He can't.

Because he loves her.

Because he can't forgive himself if he does.

"If I dont, there will be thousands of people at risk. I have to go back."

Her lips are pressed firmly together. Shes thinking - a dangerous pastime.

"They'll punish you for not completing the job."

He nods and theres a flash of his old self as his shoulder shrugs. "It's worth it for you."

"You're stupidly stubborn, do you know that?"

She's desperate, but she knows he's right. What's the risk of her selfishness to thousands of innocent lives? She can't even on goodfaith consider it.

"I know. I get it from you."

"The hell you do." This time she laughs, its strained but it's a laugh. "I won't stop fighting, I wont stop looking."

He turns to look at her, the flashes of gray and green in his silver eyes make him look almost inhuman. They're full of despariation, silently begging. "Don't."

He leaves the same way he's entered, through the front door.

The next day, she wakes up to news that her next in line choice is found dead in their hotel bed. A single bullet through their skull.

She knows who did it. That he completed the job to a bare, minimum degree.

For now, he's safe but who knows when they'll meet again.

#steggy #stevepeggy #peggy carter #steve rogers #bucky x peggy #bucky barnes #winter soldier bucky #captainjimothycarter fic idea

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