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my-pjo-stuff · 5 months ago

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For the Great PJO Ask Analysis event: (ask no. 3)

You've got a topic in PJO you'd like for me to analyze?

The way demigods inherit their godly parents powers. Percy has a long list of abilities compared to Annabeth/Clarisse/Beckendorf, etc.

Want to share YOUR analysis of stuff with me and my followers?

Grover Underwood is an incredibly complex character who tends to get forgotten both by the fandom and the author. As satyr, he's got different aging to demigods and while Annabeth and Percy know him well, they don't seem to completely know. He doesn't talk about his family, his relationship with Juniper and is generally used as comic relief. His status as Pan's legacy holder seems underdeveloped as well. Thoughts?

Want to hear my take or shares yours of different characters and aspects of the PJO universe?

The exploration into the realms of Greek mythology is interesting. The Underworld is relatively easy for the trio to get into and for them to escape which seems to contradict the Underworld being a terrifying place with Tartarus, etc.

Nico and Bianca Di Angelo's storyline seems rather complicated and doesn't really explore them as characters. Opinion?

The way demigods inherit their godly parents powers. Percy has a long list of abilities compared to Annabeth/Clarisse/Beckendorf, etc.

Now I'm going to be honest and say that in my opinion there isn't much to analyze? Like, at the start of the series it seemed pretty obvious to me that powers are rather rare to be inherited from godly parents. Instead, it was more like talents that were passed down (Apollo kids being good at archery, Athena kids being smart etc.) For Percy's powers I honestly just assumed it was because he was the MC, and thus obviously had special or cool stuff to make the story interesting. In universe I chalked it up to just being a genetic lottery like irl in which actual powers were like a super recessive gene.

There's always a chance you'll inherit it and it'll show, it's just VERY small. Then as the book went on and more and bigger threats got introduced, as well as more characters being thrown into the mix a classic case of power creep set in. 'Cause you need the new characters to be interesting for the reader to get invested, while also needing to up the stakes from time to time to keep it interesting. Yet at the same time the characters also need to be able to reasonably defeat the enemies. So the most logical way to solve all that is to introduce new powers.

And I honestly there's not much more you can really analyze or explain. It's not really a coincidence that most characters introduced in the first five books didn't have any powers or only relatively weak ones, while those later introduced tend to have them or have them more powerfully.

Grover Underwood is an incredibly complex character who tends to get forgotten both by the fandom and the author (....) Thoughts?

I think Grover is one of the many wasted characters in the PJO books, he specifically having suffered from being treated like a side character despite having the setup of a main one. You already pointed out that Grover is very interesting as a character and has a lot going on- which, in my opinion, would have been better explored for a character if they had been a demigod.

Grover is in this sort of weird position where while yes, his themes are very cool and even relatable, they are not relatable enough. Because who do you think would children (aka, the books target audience) rather read about? The cool human demigods their age who look pretty and do cool stuff? Or the satyr guy who doesn't fit conventional beauty standards and isn't human? Fact is that Grover just isn't really as "attractive" as a character compared to others- he always seemed to take more of a background role supporting other characters. Which yeah, is most definitely a HUGE waste (which I honestly don't think I need to elaborate on further). And I honestly blame the fact that he just isn't pretty enough. Is he ugly? No, but he certainly isn't pretty or very fandomizable. He doesn't really have popular ship options and already gets pushed into the background of the books to make room for Percy and Annabeth. The fact that thus the fandom largely ignores him and he seems to lose importance as the story goes on doesn't seem suprising to me.

Again I'll just have to go meta and say, I think it's just the fact that they are in a children's book. It would get pretty boring to just always stay in America/the "human" world with a setting that could offer locations such as the Underworld, Tartarus, Olympus etc. so logically Rick searched for ways and reasons to get characters down there to use them. PJO and HOO being a kids' book series of course meant that he couldn't truly portray places like that as horrifying and dark as they should be, so he had to tone it down to keep it child-friendly. Same goes for the escapes from Tartarus and the Underworld- Rick can't just have his characters die, so he has them come out relatively unscathed. That's personally one of the reasons why I think that PJO would have been much more interesting had it been a young adult or teen series, since it would have allowed darker themes to be explored more thoroughly than they were. 8Some examples being locations like the Underworld, the true dystopia that a world would be where demigods just straight up have no human rights, the systematic issues with CHB ect.) Nico and Bianca Di Angelo's storyline seems rather complicated and doesn't really explore them as characters. Opinion?

I mean Bianca's only major character trait was just "Nico's sister". She was as flat as a piece of paper, died a few chapters after her introduction and really just served as a plot device for Nico's storyline. So I honestly don't think I have to say and go over the exact same talking points as everyone has gone over with her before. Nico on the other hand had some very cool set up where we could explore HIM growing angry with the gods. I mean, Zeus was the one who killed his mother, no? His father (even with good intentions) just straight up erased his and Bianca's memory completely. Bianca ended up dying not only for a god (Artemis) but also indirectly because of the gods (the scrapyard they have and the robot thingy). And Hades just also straight up attempted to semi-kidnap him and train him up to be the Child of Prophecy for what I can only assume to be his own gain. Not to mention the disrespect children of Hades got at camp. Nico is, as much as I see it, one of the characters with the most reasons to be hostile towards the gods. Right up there with Luke and Ethan for what I see. Unfortunately though that was never explored, purely because Rick either A) didn't have the time or B) couldn't have the antagonist look too good. I'm not yet finished with all the books, so there is a chance that the part about the story being overcomplicated could refer to something else- but as of now I gotta assume it's the "he's from ww2, actually!" thing. Which, honestly? To me, it is much less overcomplicated and more underdeveloped. Nico's "time travel" is, when it boils down to it, just a loose excuse for Rick to have another kid of the Big Three there without anyone breaking their vow. We could have had a cool exploration of how demigod life changed over the decades or an interesting arc of feeling displaced in time. Instead, we got none of it because, frankly said- for Nico as a character right now that backstory just frankly isn't important. Nothing would really change for him as a character if we just push away that time travel thing. All we'd need to say is that he and Bianca got their amnesia in an accident and then BOOM. Nothing would change for their characters at all really. We could easily say that Maria was killed by Zeus together with her unborn child to get Hades to curse the oracle and keep the time line in check. So yeah, to me their backstory is more of an excuse to have them here and is severely underutilized and unexplored- and Bianca is just a dumpster fire overall.

#pjo #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #bianca di angelo #nico di angelo #grover underwood #rr crit

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leopeiros · 3 months ago

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The One in which Wei Wuxian Died

Got an idea for an au in the dead of the night which I might flesh out later. Idk. But for now, here’s what it amounts to.

Wei Wuxian, post-canon, happily married to Lan Wangji, is not in fact getting along with his in-laws. And by in-laws, I mean Lan Qiren. Lan Qiren is convinced that Wei Wuxian is the devil incarnate that stole away and seduced his well behaved nephew, corrupting him. Nothing new from the man who held a grudge against a literal fifteen year old. He does not hide the fact that he believes things would be better off had Wei Wuxian not existed in the first place.

Wei Wuxian, who is in fact a talismanic genius, decides that if Lan Qiren wants a world where he doesn’t exist so badly, he’ll help the man out. He then spends the next few weeks developing a talisman (or array, if that works better) that will allow Lan Qiren to view an alternate timeline in which Wei Wuxian does not exist. He promptly presents it to Lan Qiren, explains the concept, and laughs as he tells Lan Qiren to use it whenever he wants to relax.

Most importantly, Lan Qiren is a spectator to this timeline. He is unable to influence it.

(While Wei Wuxian perhaps no longer blames himself for certain events, like the Wens attacking Lotus Pier, considering they likely would have done so no matter his perceived slight, he does not think through the effect his not being there would bring about during other such events. So while self blame is not as prevalent as it once would have been, he does not think the world would find detriment in his absence. He is wrong.)

Now, with the initial setup out of the way, let’s dive into this alternate timeline, starting with the first divergence; Wei Wuxian himself.

In this timeline, Wei Ying, nearing six years old, succumbs to a fever brought about by infected dog bites after his first encounter with them on the streets. (His little spirit is very happily enjoying spending time with his parents in the afterlife. he’s probably the only carefree individual in this timeline.)

Lotus Pier, despite Wei Wuxian having never stepped foot within it, is still wrought with tension. Jiang Cheng still develops an inferiority complex, and Jiang Yanli still takes it upon herself to parent her little brother in the absence of any real parenting from Madam Yu and Jiang Fengmian, who are too busy fighting with each other to pay much attention to their children aside from using them as ammunition for their ire. While the main family is dealing with this infighting, the Jiang Sect stagnates and weakens under the mismanagement of their appointed Head Disciple until Jiang Fengmian finally catches wind of this during one of Madam Yu’s night hunts when she’s not around to distract him. A new Head Disciple is chosen, but the damage will take time to repair.

Cloud Recesses is relatively calm, the year Wei Wuxian was meant to attend. With a few distinct differences. Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang are not friends without Wei Wuxian to act as a buffer between Jiang Cheng’s headstrong personality and Nie Huaisang’s far meeker disposition. Lan Wangji does not spend the year falling in love with a troublesome rule-breaker, and continues to seclude himself away behind an icy disposition. Su She drowns during the confrontation with the Waterborne Abyss. The students come, study, and leave. Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan’s engagement remains intact by the end of the year. Lan Wangji does not come out of his shell, and Lan Xichen continues to worry about his brother.

Wen Chao still performs poorly during the archery competition. The Lan sect is still burnt down. The indoctrination still occurs. Mianmian is branded on the face. The disciples manage to escape with few casualties, but the Xuanwu of Slaughter remains alive. Lan Wangji will never regain full mobility of his leg despite the strength of his golden core.

Lotus Pier still burns. Jiang Yanli, safe in Lanling at the time, becomes the sole survivor of the main family. Without Wei Wuxian there to temper his impulsivity, Jiang Cheng joins back in the fight after being sent away and dies alongside his parents. The Jiang sect dissolves with so little members left with no one suitable to lead them. Jiang Yanli officially marries into the Jin sect the year after.

The Sunshot Campaign is still formed, but lacking the support of both the Jiang and the Jin (whose contribution is so minimal it barely counts for anything), it was doomed from the beginning. The Wen storm Qinghe Nie whilst the Sunshot Campaign gathers its forces, and Wen Xu takes Nie Huaisang hostage to force Nie Mingjue to come fight them. The Sunshot Campaign is thusly defeated, and as it’s figurehead, Nie Mingjue is beheaded.

Following this, Jin Guangshan openly allies himself with Wen Rouhan, whilst both the Lan and Nie are absorbed into the Wen sect. Anyone who protests this is executed or used for more of Wen Rouhan’s experiments regarding resentful energy.

It is during this lull in activity that Jin Ling is born to Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli. Things are peaceful in Lanling for approximately two years until Wen Rouhan sets his sights on completely conquering the cultivation world and targets the Jin sect. Jin Guangshan dies after his core is crushed by Wen Zhuliu. Following a promise made to Jiang Yanli, Jin Zixuan flees with Jin Ling after Jiang Yanli is captured to buy them time to escape (the only reason it is not Jin Zixuan buying time for Jiang Yanli and Jin Ling is that he has a better chance at being able to protect their son, given Jiang Yanli’s weaker cultivation). She is brought to Nightless City after Wen Xu takes an interest in her.

After an entire year on the run from the Wen, Jin Zixuan is finally caught in Yiling. He puts up a significant fight to protect Jin Ling but is ultimately injured. This is where Xiao Xingchen and Song Zichen show in the narrative. They help Jin Zixuan fight off the Wen soldiers, but Jin Zixuan is dying. He entrusts Jin Ling into the care of the two rogue cultivators, making them promise to keep the boy safe. The two agree. So they leave Jin Zixuan in Yiling and travel to the safest place Xiao Xingchen knows; a place he knows accepts orphaned children. He takes Jin Ling to the Celestial Mountain, upon which resides none other than Baoshan Sanren.

(Jin Zixuan, for his part, does not die. Wen Qing, who although has since been called back to Nightless City to resume her work as Wen Rouhan’s personal physician, occasionally travels to Yiling to check upon the supervisory office still under her management. Wen Qing, who has developed a tentative friendship with Jiang Yanli, chances upon Jin Zixuan and beyond all odds, recognizes him as Jiang Yanli’s husband from before her capture. She promptly smuggles him into the supervisory office to treat him. His core is irreparably damaged by a poison made from resentful energy that Wen Rouhan has Wen Qing helping to develop. If left unchecked, it would continue to ravage through the meridians until the pain immobilizes the affected cultivator, leading to eventual death. To prevent this, Wen Qing surgically removes Jin Zixuan’s golden core.)

That’s where my subsequent timeline ends, but there are still ideas for this that I have. Because without Wei Wuxian, the solution for this timeline’s happy ending is far more complicated.

These new circumstances, however, lead to some pretty interesting dynamics that can be explored. My main idea obviously centres around Nie Huaisang, who with the loss of his brother is most certainly plotting the downfall of Wen Rouhan. But the most interesting dynamic I can think of would have to be between Meng Yao and Mo Xuanyu. Meng Yao, who did not stab Wen Rouhan and therefore was never acknowledged by Jin Guangshan. Meng Yao, who with Jin Guangshan dead, has no way to obtain that approval, and so therefore does not align his entire being with being the perfect son. And Mo Xuanyu, who without Wei Wuxian to invent demonic cultivation, might just end up as the founder in this timeline (because he’s pretty and tragic and I adore him).

Either way, the main rebellion would likely consist of Nie Huaisang, Meng Yao, Mo Xuanyu, (perhaps) Lan Wangji, Wen Qing, Wen Ning, Xiao Xingchen, Song Zichen, Jiang Yanli, and Jin Zixuan. (And if this lasts long enough, Jin Ling as well.) I say perhaps for Lan Wangji due to his injured leg, though he could still contribute utilizing musical cultivation.

Oh, and the Xuanwu of Slaughter is still an issue in this universe. Unless they can weaponize it against the Wen, which would be pretty cool.

(Wen Chao does in fact become the Wen’s very own version of Jin Guangshan, leaving illegitimate heirs all over the place.)

Of course, none of this is set in stone. If anyone wants to play around with this au, you’re totally free to do so however you’d like. I’m sharing this mostly in case anyone else finds it interesting, and because I’ll probably never actually write a fic for it. This mostly just started out as a brain teaser trying to figure out what would happen if Wei Wuxian wasn’t part of the plot, considering that although he did contribute quite a lot to the canon events, a lot of things were set in motion long before he was even born (like Jin Guangshan’s corruption and Wen Rouhan’s plans to conquer the cultivation world).

#mo dao zu shi #mo xiang tong xiu #alternate universe #fanfic ideas #fanfic #wei wuxian #alternate timeline #mdzs #mxtx mdzs

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blumineck · 2 years ago

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apologies if you’ve already answered this question (I’ve scrolled down quite far and didn’t see this answered) but how did you learn archery, and do you think it’s possible to “self-teach” yourself (through books and videos?) i was betting it'd take longer, but im honestly just looking for a new hobby if anything but dont wanna hurt anyone/myself in the process! many thanks!

I might have done, but I can answer it again!

I learned archery by going to a beginner's course at a range about an hour's drive away for 6 weeks. After that, almost everything has been 'self taught' (i.e. Learning from people on youtube, and a lot of trial and error trying different things).

If at all possible, I'd always recommend doing some kind of basic training at a proper range with qualified instructors, even if you're not going to go regularly afterwards. They should be able to get you on a good path and give you a grounding in the practical and safety aspects that will be harder to pick up otherwise.

After that, you'd need to check what the law is near you (do you need insurance, etc.) and make sure you have a setup that's safe, but if so, then you can pick up a lot through books and videos 😁 but yeah, I'd recommend a starter course if you can!

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adelha-mathilde · 21 days ago

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Simeon tends to visit Adelha's Apothecaries twice a week. Which has many a person wondering why he frequents the shop of a Fae so often for rumors to abound. With Solomon and Luke soon doing much the same for the entire Devildom to speculate.

It isn't until Lucifer joins Simeon in these twice weekly visits that anyone decides to investigate. Mephistopheles actually following Simeon to then just walk right into Adelha's shop and demand an exclusive interview for the school paper. Which has Adelha sigh to escort Mephistopheles to her backyard.

There in the vast back garden, is a setup for swordsmanship. From kendo to fencing to even a space set aside for archery. Luke currently doing maintenance on a wooden sword to be fully focused on his task at hand. Solomon was bandaging his fingers to smile at Mephistopheles with warmth. While Simeon and Lucifer are currently matched against each other to look like they are having the time of their lives in the moment. While Adelha's guardian Claude stands at full attention to referee the current match.

Mephistoles is stunned as he watches the match with silent awe. The angel clearly taking a more casual approach as Lucifer gets his swings in with masterful movements. While Adelha moves to sit with Luke and set the blonde angel in her lap for them to also watch the match. Twenty minutes go by before Claude raises his hand to state the match is over. With Simeon and Lucifer looking all sweaty and yet they have the biggest smiles on their faces to laugh and look elated.

Adelha walks up to hand them both towels. The Dragon maiden soon showering Simeon with praise as she rubs the towel to his nose in a showing of affection. While Luke runs up to praise Lucifer on how amazing he is. Which has Solomon smile as Mephistoles starts clapping to declare it was a fantastic match. This has everyone finally notice he's there to pause. But Adelha just grins to have them gather in a circle and speak with Mephistoles at length about their training regiment and how it's more a family get together thing.

The next week is spent with many a soul trying to get pictures of these training matches. With all attempts failing horribly due to magical reasons. But Asmodeus and Mammon do bring their pact human to join the others for social reasons. Even Thirteen decides to join them on occasion to just visit with the spectators.

#obey me!#obey me shall we date #obey me! shall we date?#obey me: one master to rule them all #obey me! one master to rule them all #obey me #obey me swd

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littlesparklight · 2 months ago

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Hector and Paris having a wholesome activity to bond over that they both like is just, so tasty. Little Paris being awkward at first because everything is very new and he doesn’t know how to act with this new big brother he just suddenly acquired. And then big bro bring him to animals! Paris know animals! And then he gets to ride them! And he’s actually good at it? And Hector is so delighted and proud of him and Paris has never quite had this before but he think he could get used to it. And he think maybe he can do this whole prince thing too.

Going riding on horse is probably also a nice way to just, go escape a bit when things get too overwhelming or Pris just need to go away for a bit. And no one make pointed comment on that activity like they do with his lyre playing.

And maybe one time that Paris left to go ride a bit and maybe hunt a little, he gets ambushed by some Achaean. And he only has a bow and his horse. And if he get down from the horse, he’s fucked. And he’s a good rider right? And this horse is one he knows well and who also know him well. And if there’s one thing Paris is good at, it’s archery. And listen, he’s fucked if he does nothing or just try to run away. He might as well try something crazy. So he sends a quick prayer to Apollo and draw his bow.

… now I want to draw Paris doing archery. Goddamnit. *adds it to the pile of Paris drawing wip*

The animals - horses or not - is SUCH a good point of departure for bonding!! For both of them, certainly!

Hektor loves horses and Paris is fond of animals and probably really excited about horses since they're not the type of animal a slave would get anywhere close except to care for. And only if they work more close to an elite family, in the actual stables or whatnot. And auugh, little Paris feeling he can do the whole prince thing because he can do riding and Hektor's proud... <3 Yes.

Going riding alone as an escape... ;; Hey, another way to fit in though lol, I bet a lot of the princes do that! But yes - it'd be both "useful" and something not "work", and completely out of both the palace and Troy.

Ohh I love that idea though. Of course he wouldn't have taken a sword or spear with him! Perfect setup to do some horse-mounted archery, and maybe he doesn't intend to do it with the horse moving at first, but the Achaean is quick and gets too close so he keeps having to move and so... it's just better/easier to keep moving. And he is used to doing archery on something that's moving (chariot-mounted archery would be important to get him used to doing!), so - trying archery from horseback is just omitting one of the steps (the chariot), right?

:v yes good hehe. Do it!!

#asks #paris of troy

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fanfoolishness · 2 months ago

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Rook questions!!! 9, 19, 29, 39, 49?

9. What is Rook like on the battlefield?

Asla Mercar is a rogue. She dabbles in dual blades, but archery is where she really sings (she, Lace and Varric made quite the sniper trio). She wound up taking the Lords of Fortune artificer specialization and could lay waste to the battlefield between her ever-present arrow turret, her reeling electric bolts and the clouds of necrotic-tipped arrows. My final build for her had stacks and stacks of bleeding and necrotic weapons enchantments, and it was a blast sniping darkspawn in the head and seeing necrosis splash onto the surrounding battlefield.

19. What is Rook’s love language? What love languages do they respond best to?

Rook might joke a lot, but she goes absolutely twitterpaited for real earnestness. Lace's sweet smile and giggles and heartfelt confessions struck right to Rook's heart like one of Lace's well-aimed arrows. While she does love physical touch, it's not as important to her, so she was okay that they took their time while Lace worked on mastery of her lyrium powers. She loves it when Lace thinks of little things, like bringing her coffee (while Lace is a tea fan, she asks Lucanis to teach her how to brew coffee for Rook) or new flowers from her room in the Lighthouse. Sometimes she's just so comforted by quietly sitting near Lace while they read or write letters, then glancing up to see her smile at her.

29. Any vices?

Rook used to have a gambling issue when she was younger. She'd bet on horses and magic competitions, though she realized later on that several of the human magic matches were slave teams. She eventually lost her stomach for gambling after learning what would happen to losing teams. She likes the Lords of Fortune setup much more, but was able to tell herself they had to focus on other things besides brawler matches and she only lost a few sovereigns before she let it go.

39. What is their room at The Lighthouse like?

Rook's room has trinkets from important things on her journey. She's drawn to dwarven artifacts, carvings, tablets and tapestries, and decorates the entire Lighthouse in a dwarven theme; she's never been close with other dwarves before Harding and Varric, and her understanding of her people expands enormously during DATV. But she also loves plants from Arlathan because they remind her of Harding and Bellara both, two of her favorite people. She also likes weird sculptures, and has a Dalish nug sculpture as well as some rather forbidding sculptures from Tevinter. She keeps a bed on the floor for Assan and has a puzzle box that she gives to Manfred to play with when he wanders in.

49. What will always make them laugh?

Animals being silly. She grew up petting the strays of Minrathous, and is utterly charmed at seeing wild creatures like nugs or griffons gamboling around in nature. She still pets every cat she finds.

#dragon age #datv #dragon age: the veilguard #datv spoilers #dragon age: the veilguard spoilers #lace harding #rook x harding #mercar rook #mercar rook x harding #harding x rook #asla mercar #rook dragon age #ask meme #thank you!!

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ultfan · 8 months ago

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battle stats.

general.

★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ — strength ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ — offense ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ — defense ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ — speed ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ — durability ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ — accuracy ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ — agility ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ — stamina ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ — teamwork ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ — stealth

specifics.

★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ — close combat ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ — bladed weapons ( swords, daggers ) ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ — blunt weapons ( clubs, staffs, axes ) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ — ranged weapons (archery, guns ) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ — superpowers / abilities ( magic ) luck ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ — traps / setups ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆— medic

any lasting injuries from combat ? less from combat and more from incidents he's gotten involved in. burn scars, cuts, scratches, etc, etc. his body his covered in a myriad of scars. and, of course, his left hand.

fighting style ? ( bold any that apply. )

commander / duelist / honorable / dishonorable / would have others do their fighting / stealthy / long-ranged / melee / technological / sorcery / superhuman abilities / has fought in a tourney / a lover of fighting / a hater of fighting / cowardly / reckless / strategic / uses underhanded tricks / renowned for their skill / trained / untrained / keeps skills a secret / won a battle / lost a battle / ruthless / merciful

#♡₊˚ 🍀・₊✧ » ic : dash game ─ 𝘞𝘐𝘓𝘓 𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘚 𝘉𝘌 𝘎𝘖𝘖𝘋 𝘓𝘜𝘊𝘒 𝘖𝘙 𝘉𝘈𝘋 𝘓𝘜𝘊𝘒.ᐣ ❞#♡₊˚ 🍀・₊✧ » ic : study ─ 𝘏𝘖𝘗𝘌 𝘚𝘗𝘙𝘐𝘕𝘎𝘚 𝘌𝘛𝘌𝘙𝘕𝘈𝘓 𝘍𝘙𝘖𝘔 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘏𝘜𝘔𝘈𝘕 𝘉𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘛. ❞

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liljakonvalj · 1 year ago

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I watched Disney's Robin Hood tonight, and here are some of my highlights:

This movie is so FUN. Even as an adult who has seen this movie so many times I laugh out loud multiple times when watching it

Prince John being fooled by The cross-dressing Robin Hood and little John because he cannot fathom the idea of Female robbers

Everything about their heist is fun- but especially kissing away the ring jewels, the entire conversation between Robin and prince John, Prince John's reflection in the ball, sir Hiss being stuck in a basket and the thieves colliding when running out with their bounty

We're really shown how wicked the sheriff is, stealing coins out of the cast of a cripple, the birthday gift from a kid and a beggar

Robin is very good with kids and gives the birthday boy a bow, arrow and even his own hat

Turns out both Marian and her Lady in waiting Kluck are also terrific with children and their little playing with the children is absolutely adorable

Marian having a wanted poster of her beloved in her room is so funny to me, I cannot get over it.

Robin being a horrible cook because he is thinking about his lady love 😍

The cartwheels he does when he hears that the winner of the archery competition will get a kiss from lady Marian!❤❤👌

Also he has zero chill during the competition. Someone with brain cells might think that he should mess up a couple of the shots to be more inconspicuous, but not him.

Cleaving the sheriff's arrow with his own is a Legendary TM moment though

The little turtle cheering for his dad was adorable. I really enjoyed the looks of all the contestants too!

Robin and Marian's love confessions when he's been found out 😭

Little John is literally saving the day multiple times during the aftermath of the contest while wearing a crop top. Also him just vibing with the prince, or "PJ", is a testament to his acting skills.

After the fight breaks out Robin and Marin agree to marry, where to go for their honeymoon and discuss their future number of children (robin:"We'll have six children". Marian: "no, a dozen at least") They both have zero chill and are so hot for each other, it would be sickening if i didn't love it so much

Lady Kluck literally being Player of the Game during the fight, every single thing she does is a win

The entire fighting sequence is a joy from start to finnish

The song "Love" while Robin and Marian just walk around in the forrest talking and being well ... in love 😭😍❤

The scene with the warerlillies, fireflies and the flower-ring while they gaze into each others eyes is the textbook definition of Romance

Much of the animation in A Phoney king of England is borrowed from earlier movies, but I like the little game I make of trying to remember wich animations are from which movie

I also like Friar Tuck's little theatre setup and Robin using his bow as a, well, bow when playing the violin

The song becoming such a hit in the town that Prince John raises the taxes even more, resulting in several people being put in jail (The jail part is not a favourite but the song being a hit is)

Friar Tuck absolutely losing it when the sheriff steals from the box for the Poor in his church.👏👏

The double take Robin does when he hears his friend is to be hanged on the morrow, first out of character then in character as the beggar.

(In the swedish version Trigger, who is suspicious of the beggar remarks that "han har en räv bakom örat" lit. trans ="he has a fox behind his ear" which means that he is up to something. I thought it was a fun pun considering Robin is a fox)

I view the whole breaking into the castle sequence each Christmas (as is tradition) but I always forget how much from the movie they cut out of the Christmas show

(The whole sequence with Robin masquerading as Nutsy, John freeing the prisoners and about half the fight/flight when they escape is cut from the Christmas show)

Trigger being unable to properly secure his crossbow is a great running gag. He calls his crossbow "gamla Bettan" in Swedish- probably translated: "Old Betsy". I wonder what he calls it in other languages?

And each time I watch I lament that Robin gets too greedy, just leave that last money sack that the prince is cradling in his arms!!

Robin (and little John) turning around to fetch the little bunny is so in character and kinda heartbreaking because Robin almost dies

Robin is really fearing for his life - especially in the burning tower

Robin's face after his escape and Skippy claims that he could've swum double the distance

Was the ending rushed? Yes. Do I care? No.

#robin hood #Disney's robin hood #there was so much more i liked. but i couldnt fit it all #i tried using pictures here. hope you like it #robinxmarian #disney #blomsterspråk #yes i am in a robin hood mood!!

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365days365movies · 1 year ago

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Action January II: Captain Blood (1935)

Part One: By the Sword

Fun fact about me: I am a non-classically trained fencer.

By which I mean I went through formal training as a child (starting at 6 or 7), then continued it sporadically through my youth and college. Kept up with it a little after college, but I'm no longer a fencer. Still, it was a pretty prominent part of my life, and one of the more bougie facts about me (of which there are admittedly many; I am, for example, struggling to not type bourgeoisie). I look back on it fondly, but it's not for modern-day me.

Still, I've always had a soft spot for swashbucklers, especially in film. Sure, traditional épée fencing doesn't resemble your typical swashbuckling film fight, even a little bit. Usually, épée with the fencing gear is put in a movie or TV show to demonstrate that the character or establishment practicing it is high-class or rich. Instead, I suppose cinematic swashbuckling is more similar to sabre fencing, which has a larger target zone than épée fencing, and usually involves grander movements...but even then, I've never seen any sabre fencer swing from ropes and rafters like, well...

Zorro is a character that I've talked about before on this blog. I've also covered the swashbuckler briefly in that post, but let's get a little more comprehensive this time, shall we? Zorro is maybe the prototypical swashbuckler character, starting with Douglas Fairbanks' epic film The Mark of Zorro in 1920! Yeah, old as hell. He was daring, dashing, and debonair; dressed in black and fighting for justice to get the girl and save the day, armed with only a sword and his wit! The prototypical action hero! Throw in some great choreography and epic music, and voila! A swashbuckler! To put one together properly, we need:

A dashing hero, with devil-may-care attitude that fights for the moral right. If we're talking in DnD terms, you can call this person chaotic good alignment, usually. Swinging from the rafters, a sword in hand and often a smile on their face. And, of course, a romantic aim and goal.

Swordfighting. Kind of critical to the genre. Swashbucklers are films that use swordfights as the driver for the plot. While not every action sequence may involve a sword fight, the main hero is always either armed with their sword or looking for it. And then it's time for the climax, you better believe we've got a big-ass swordfight on our hands. The villain of the piece, at least one of them, should also have a sword in hand.

A sweeping score is a very typical piece of these films. Whether in the past or present, swashbuckling can't be done without an iconic leitmotif for the hero, and battle music times to the clashes of steel. Usually throw some brass or strings in there, and you have a swashbuckling score.

Now, of course, there are a lot of swashbucklers out there based on those definitions, and...yeah, there are a lot of swashbuckler films! While The Mark of Zorro is typically called the first swashbuckler, it's not the first film to involve narrative swordplay by any means. The Count of Monte Cristo (1908) is probably the first of those, but there are others like The Prisoner of Zenda or Kidnapped. You may also notice that some of the classic swashbucklers are based on classic literature, like those above, and like Cyrano de Bergerac, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Man in the Iron Mask, and the most prominent of these...

It's funny, for a character best known for his archery skills, Robin Hood gets into a lot of swordfights. Some of the most iconic filmed swordfights come from the emerald archer from Sherwood, and for good reason! There have been countless adaptations of the original stories, which are crazy cinematic, and they all take place in medieval England, during a time period where swords were predominant weaponry. Combine that with the fact that Robin Hood is, in many retellings, a nobleman who would've been trained in fencing, and you have a natural swashbuckler setup!

And honestly, Robin Hood is sort of the perfect swashbuckler. A morally good hero fighting against the evil establishment, for his friends, contrymen, and the woman he loves. Epic music, daring setpieces, classic fights, a lot of swingin' rafters...yeah, it's perfect. And again, one day, I'll talk about The Adventures of Robin Hood from 1938; one of my favorite action films, and my favorite adaptation of Robin Hood for sure.

But there's another type of swashbuckler that's just as iconic as those listed above, also involving a setting conducive to sword-based action, but often with heroes that are...a little more morally grey.

Pirate films are essentially a subgenre of the swashbuckler (yes, a subgenre of a subgenre of a subgenre), focusing on high-seas action rather than fighting in a hall or castle. The pirate film is a curious beast, appearing in film history in sporadic bursts, with no real period to call its own. They were popular from the '30s through the mid-'60s, had a tiny boom in the '80s, got badly nuked in the '90s, and then had another tiny boom in the '00s with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. They're always around, but never the first genre you'd think of when you think of action films.

Still, pirate films have an iconic feel to them all their own. The wind in your hair, the daring sword fights against a surly knave or an overzealous government stooge, depending on the nature of your morally dubious hero. Hell, maybe the hero has resorted to piracy after being wronged or lost at sea, and we're rooting for him and his lost honor. Either way, he's got an open shirt and a sword in his hand, and his crew are there to back him up (or betray him; again, depends on the narrative). You know a pirate film when you see one. And that's where I'm headed today: to the open seas with Captain Blood, starring an iconic action star of the 1930s and '40s. In fact, he's so iconic, almost every one of the above GIFs includes him.

Errol Flynn is undoubtedly a major film figure of his day. He's also got a fascinating and...sometimes troubling personal history, putting him up there with some of the great Australian film actors in cinema. But as much as I'd like to talk about Errol Flynn (and I probably will later), I'd like to finally jump into the film that made him famous: Captain Blood, a 1935 film directed by Michael Curtiz, another interesting figure with some...interesting history with Flynn. Again, more later.

Flynn was an unknown before this role, and immediately became an audience and studio favorite, essentially succeeding Douglas Fairbanks as a films and action star. Only 26 at time this film came out, Captain Blood was the beginning of an often turbulent career for Flynn, who would die at only 50 years old. Again, more on him later. And so, without further ado...SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

It's 1685 in England, and there's a rebellion happening! Known as the Monmouth Rebellion, it involved the deposition of James II, after succeeding his brother as king of England, which was contested by Parliament and Protestants, as James II was a Catholic king. Anyway, during the rebellion, Doctor Peter Blood (Errol Flynn) is summoned to aid a friend injured in a skirmish. A retired adventurer and swashbuckler in his own right, Blood is determined not to re-enter the...fight...

Is this Commando? Like, where a retired hero is forced to come back to fight for his country, and won't come back until a personal tragedy or offense is done to him? You know, like Commando? Just calling it now, before it happens.

As Blood is helping his friend, he's taken away and sentenced by Judge George Jeffreys (Leonard Mudie), who accuses him of being a liar and traitor to the crown, despite his complete innocence. Imprisoned and set amongst a group of similar prisoners for months, he attempts to defend himself on the stand, only to condemn himself even further beneath a biased kangaroo court. And for the record, Flynn immediately proves why he's so beloved at this time. He's an excellent actor in this scene, and I immediately sympathize with Peter Blood.

Meanwhile, King James II (Vernon Steele) is convinced by his advisor to send the convicts to the West Indies as slaves, as actual slaves are too expensive, and these guys are free of cost. So, yeah, British monarchy not looking too great. In any case, we set to sea for the first time, in the belly of an unrealistically humane slave ship. In Blood's words, the King was "granted their lives in exchange of an uncertain death". And with that, Blood and the convicts are sent o Port Royal, in Jamaica.

The convicts are set for sale (hate it), and most of them are sold to Colonel Bishop (Lionel Atwill) and his niece, Arabella (Olivia de Havilland). When she observes Blood's rebellious nature at being inspected like cattle, she decides to keep him from working in the mines on her own spoiled whims. Blood's not a fan, and the two immediately clash. Which, obviously, means they're gonna fall in love by the end. Come on, we know how this goes.

Blood's sent to work on the plantation with Bishop's other slaves, on a grinding mill that loves like it's ripped out of Conan the Barbarian. We see the indignity of slavery through...white slaves. Yeah, trying not to think about it, since this is a thing that happened, but it's tough. Anyway, our traitors are taught a lesson about treason, as an escapee is branded on his fucking face, and the prisoners all say how much they hate the fucking King. Great job, James, really fanning the flames of patriotism there.

Meanwhile, the uncaring and selfish governor, Steed (George Hassell) is complaining of gout, and is in need of a physician. Knowing of Blood's former profession, Arabella recommends him as Steed's physician, and is mostly elevated from the role of slavery, which seems...insanely easy. Irritatingly easy, even. But whatever; at least he hasn't forgotten his friends, his actual station, or the fact that Arabella bought him for 10 goddamn shillings! He's still understandably bitter about that.

However, he's in very good favor with the governor for relieving his gout, unlike the previous doctors Bronson (Hobart Cavanaugh) and Whacker (Donald Meek), who attempt to plot to get rid of the much more competent Blood. He puts them in their place, but begins a plot of his own. With the other slaves arrested for treason, he plans an escape attempt from Port Royal, with the help of friend (and the guy who got him in this mess to begin with, Jeremy Pitt (Ross Alexander). However, in the process, Colonel Bishop suspects some kind of plan, which is only circumvented with the help of Arabella. In the process, however, Pitt is captured and flogged for questioning.

While his friend is getting horribly whipped by the Colonel on the stockades, Blood and Arabella flirt (as expected), although a kiss from Blood is received poorly due to his status, leaving the encounter on a sour note. Peter goes back to care for the Governor before their escape that night, then finds Jeremy at the stockades and cares for him as well. He's caught by the Colonel showing mercy, and is about to share Jeremy's fate when a ship attacks the port.

This ship belongs to the Spanish, and the sailors aboard lay waste to the port. It's at this point that the slaves see an opportunity, and make their way to the ships. They take over the Spaniard's ship, and wait until the morning to take out the returning Spaniard captain and soldiers. With navigator Pitt and new gunner Henry Hagthorpe (Guy Kibbee), the new crew sets sale and escapes, under the purview of the new Captain Blood.

Colonel Bishop, like...like a fucking idiot, sails out on a rowboat to thank the men, not realizing it's his own slaves. And then, when he finds out, he still intends to keep them as slaves. THEY HAVE A SHIP, DUDE! You're fucked. Instead of killing him, which they consider, they toss him overboard, and Blood's crew sets sail for the Caribbean Sea, leaving Arabella behind. They abandon their citizenship, and officially become pirates.

The crew of Blood becomes famed and infamous across the seas, to the irritation of King James II himself. With Governor Steed having lost both money from the Spaniard assault, and being unable to reign in Blood in the first place, his appointment as Governor is given to Colonel Bishop, who swears to take care of Blood once and for all. Arabella is conflicted about this, but she's shipped off to England along with Governor Steed.

On Tortuga, Blood signs a deal with another captain, the French Levasseur (Basil Rathbone), and the two become partner pirates. Later on, Arabella finishes her extended holiday in England, traveling alongside Lord Willoughby (Henry Stephenson), who has been tasked to take out Captain Blood. On their journey, they see Levasseur's ship, which attacks them and takes the passengers hostage on a nearby island. They are soon joined by a surprised Peter Blood and his crew, who pretends not to know her.

Blood and Levasseur engage in an argument, as one of the articles of their contract was that no female prisoners would be taken. As a compromise, Blood pays for her ransom, both to save her and as payback for his purchase of her many years ago. This still enrages Levasseur, who wanted Arabella for himself, and he forgoes his honor to challenge Blood to a fencing duel. Fun fact, by the way: Basil Rathbone was an actual fencer, classically trained, and far better than anyone he ever fenced with on-screen, Flynn included. But, since he always played the role of a villain and cad, he was always forced to lose. And this fight is no exception.

Levasseur is killed by Blood...which is crazy, since he's Basil fucking Rathbone, and he was in this movie for maybe 5 minutes altogether as essentially a cameo, but...c'est la vie, et la mort. Arabella and Willoughby are brought on board, only for Arabella to angrily reject him. And yes, she's absolutely a goddamn hypocrite, but she's not fully unjustified. She puts Blood down as a beast like any other pirate (unfairly, of course), and Blood angrily rebukes her in turn. Even then, he plans to bring the two hostages back to Port Royal, where they are certain to die.

Willoughby and Arabella speak, where he convinces her that Blood's genuinely not a dick, and tells her that they're headed to Port Royal. At the same time, Blood's crew refuses to sail to Port Royal, officially acting in mutiny against Blood. And Blood...gracefully surrenders his command of the ship, admitting his affections for Arabella to be driving him against logic. And that ironically turns the crew back to Blood's command. I can't tell if that was a sign of their actual bond, or some straight gatekeeping-girlbossing-gaslighting from Blood, but...yeah, they're still going to Jamaica.

As they approach Port Royal, though, they find it being attacked by two French ships. Willoughby, finally being able to speak with Blood, informs him that France and England are at war. To their surprise, though, Governor Bishop isn't present, nor is the English fleet, since they're out chasing pirates. And so, the only ship to defend Port Royal against the French, is...well, Blood's.

It's then that Willoughby finally reveals his purpose for seeking Blood and his crew: the King has pardoned him. Obviously, they're not a fan of King James II given what he'd done to them, and refuse the offer. But then, Willoughby reveals the other political change: James II is out as King. With that knowledge, Blood and his men decide to fight for the English Navy, and for the new King William III.

Arabella is shuttled ashore, while the ship sails under a French flag to disguise themselves. They easily ambush the French ships attacking the Port, wrecking one and causing it to fucking explode. Honestly, it's pretty sick. The other ship mounts a harsher assault, and Blood's crew is forced to abandon ship. Instead, they simply take the French ship for themselves. And as the Captain swings over, you realize something: this is the prototypical pirate movie.

Yeah, OK, earlier films like The Black Pirate, as well as later ones like The Sea Hawk and Treasure Island, would be a major framework for pirate films in the future. But good goddamn, if this doesn't feel like a pirate movie, I don't know what does. The score is sweeping, the action is epic, and it's honestly just fun. And the most ironic thing is, this is happening at the point in the film when they aren't technically pirates anymore! Hilarious.

Anyway, Blood's crew wins the day for England, only for the Governor to finally return from his futile journey. Arabella, seeing Blood return and knowing her uncle's hatred of him, tries to warn him away while admitting her love to him. But to the surprise of her and her uncle, Bishop is officially deposed as Governor for abandoning his post in times of war to pursue his vendetta, even though he knew Willoughby was coming. He's at the mercy of the new Governor: Doctor Peter Blood. Honestly, it's funny as fuck. Blood bids him "Good morning, Uncle.", and the film comes to a close.

That's it for Captain Blood! Gonna do an old-fashioned review set-up and have a separate post for the Review! And that's because, while the review won't be terribly long...I would really like to talk about the man, the myth, the alcoholic legend himself, Errol Flynn.

See you in the Review!

#user365 #365 days 365 movies #365 movies 365 days #365days365movies #365 movie challenge #365 movies a year #action january #action #action movie #swashbuckling #pirate movie #pirates #captain blood #michael curtiz #errol flynn #olivia de havilland #basil rathbone #action genre

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narugen · 7 months ago

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my brain started cooking up narumina high school au and now i kinda have to write it

au where mina is part of a shooting club (don’t know if this is a Thing or sport in japan but it is in some places so) and she’s the Only Member. the only other member (kafka) graduated before they could do it together so . it’s just her now and Has been her ever since her first year (she’s a second year now)

cue: narumi. annoyed. frustrated. angry. at some stupid shit the teacher said about him skipping classes or playing games in class and the baseball club doesn’t want to let him use their bat and he’s not a member bc they have practice and he doesn’t have any other outlet so he’s trudging along the school compounds walking further and further away from the main buildings when he hears a loud Bang

he doesn’t know what it is, but he plays enough games to recognize a gun going off. he doesn’t run, just finds his aimless walking a bit more pointed. more motivated. as he walks in the direction of the noise

there he finds. to his surprise. a shooting range. there are targets placed on the opposite stretch of the …?? grass?? idk i’m visualising a setup similar to archery rn but once i do more research this is subject to change the MAIN part is that the targets all have bullet holes in them and they’re ALL bullseye

he drags his eyes away from the targets and finds the source of the damage.

a girl with short hair he feels like he’s seen before Somewhere and she’s in her pe uniform the jacket sleeves rolled up to her elbows with the little googles and headphones on and narumi watches in (he hates to admit it) admiration as she loads up the gun with such precise accuracy he can’t follow with his eyes and the next moment he hears another resounding bang

“holy shit.” he finds himself saying and in the next moment the pin drop silence as she aims at the next target is broken because she turns to him immediately.

thankfully the gun isnt pointed at him, and she’s kept her arms in position. the only thing that’s moved is her head and narumi sees the pure confusion on her face and wonders if he’s somehow walked so much he isn’t on the school grounds anymore

“oh.” she says, and puts the gun down and pulls the headphones off her head and keeps them resting around her neck. “it’s you.”

and narumi knows what that tone means. she knows him. he doesn’t know her though.

narumi hates to think about how his face must scream confusion because she follows up before he can say anything with: “we’re in the same class.”

he doesn’t attend classes often. or at all really. so that’s why she seemed a bit familiar. like a blurry after image.

“what is this place,” he says, not a question because narumi doesn’t ask questions, he simply gets answers.

“a shooting range.”

“i’ve never heard of a shooting club in this school.”

“because it doesn’t exist.”

he waits for an explanation. because a building so obviously made to host students or whoever with all this equipment and yet there’s no club?? narumi doesn’t believe it. but he doesn’t think she’s lying to him either.

she takes a painfully long time to find her words, or maybe she just doesn’t want to talk to him, because she keeps her eyes trained on the targets far away.

“i’m the only member. so it doesn’t exist.”

narumi thinks he’s heard somewhere that school clubs need a minimum number of members. he never really cared though. since his after school activities consisted of doing what he does during school hours - play games, pick fights, etc. he doesn’t go to school in the first place. so he doesn’t need an after school club.

he looks at the guns lined up. they’re all clean. he looks around him. everything is spotless. no indication of abandonment.

“well. i don’t care about your circumstances,” he says, and points at the gun she was holding. “i want to shoot too.”

he recalls the image of his form teacher, or maybe it was his science teacher, narumi doesn’t know - he doesn’t even know why he came to school today

(but he does. it’s because they kept begging him to attend at least once a week and narumi can’t say no to family)

but that teacher. with his bald head and smoker breath just kept on saying he should be more responsible blah blah he’s almost a third year god what does narumi care? he shouldn’t even have lived this long but here he is! and just thinking about it has narumi balling his fists up in anger.

“you need to be a club member.”

“does that really matter.”

“yes.”

she’s finally looking at him again. and narumi observes how she has really round eyes. a mole under each one. despite looking pretty innocent, she seems to be serious about this, mouth drawn into a frown and eyebrows furrowed.

narumi can’t really be bothered but he has so much pent up energy. and shooting a gun sounds really fucking awesome.

“okay. whatever. just let me shoot.”

she hurries off somewhere, through a door narumi hadn’t really noticed before and he takes off his school jacket, rolling his sleeves up.

he observes the equipment on the table, and then sees there’s spares in a nearby box. those will have to do.

as he puts on the goggles, he looks around for headphones, ear muffs, whatever, narumi knows their purpose - doesn’t need to know what they’re called but can’t find any.

the girl. he doesn’t know her name still. not that it matters. returns with a piece of paper and he almost barks out a laugh

“fill it in.”

“you’re not gonna tell me to wait until it’s approved before i get to shoot, are you.” he glares at her, because narumi seriously doesn’t want to wait any longer. he wants to let out all these restless energy now.

“i’m the one approving new members.”

“you’re not a teacher.”

“i’m a good student.”

he doesn’t know what the fuck that means but it manages to piss him off a bit more so he scribbles his details into the damn form and shoves it at her.

“approve it.”

“say please.”

he feels himself snap.

“are you trying to piss me off?”

she’s not the least bit intimidated. in fact she doesn’t look away from his glare. most people in the orphanage would have run away by now. and she repeats herself, “say please.”

he takes one look at the gun on the table. the guns on display. the painstaking effort of keeping all these equipment clean despite no one using them. the painstaking effort of keeping a club no one cares about alive.

“please approve the fucking form.”

if she has a single thing to say about it, she doesn’t. she doesn’t say anything. takes a stamp out from her jacket pocket and stamps his club registration.

it takes him a bit later to realize he’s joined a fucking after school club.

he’s being handed a gun, similar to the one she was holding and he grabs it. she doesn’t tell him to watch and follow when she starts loading it up. he got the memo the moment she side eyed him and started preparing, much slower than she had earlier when she was alone.

that annoys narumi a bit.

but he follows everything to a tee. commits the steps to his memory. doesn’t know why. doesn’t think he’ll be back. but he makes sure to remember anyway.

she looks around the area for a bit, as narumi feels the weight of the gun in his hands.

while he’s distracted, he doesn’t realize she’s in his personal space until she is, and he has to hold back from throwing a punch.

their heights aren’t that different, which adds to narumi’s list of annoyances from today, and he takes the split second to calculate how tall the girl must be. above 165cm that’s for sure.

how surprising, she’s got a baby face, so narumi had expected her to be shorter.

when her face is finally drawn away from his, he feels the weight of something around his neck and understands what had happened. she could’ve just passed the ear muffs to him though.

what a weirdo.

she puts her own earmuffs on, and narumi mirrors her actions.

she shifts her stance, and he follows.

she shoots and narumi forgets how to breathe.

the atmosphere around her changes for the split second she releases the trigger, and for once - narumi feels fear.

everything seems to move in slow motion, as he watches her. her face. her eyes narrowed. concentration the only thing there and time resumes as the bullet pierces through the air.

narumi doesn’t have to look to know she’s hit bullseye again.

it’s a challenge. to him, at least. he knows she probably doesn’t care about him. but narumi wants to shoot like that too. so he takes a deep breath and steadies himself and pulls the trigger.

“you’re surprisingly bad.”

not a single bullet hit even remotely close to the center of the target.

“aren’t you just absurdly good?! who the fuck hits bullseye consecutively? look at all your targets!” he screeches, tugging the ear muffs off.

“kafka-kun did say i was weirdly accurate…” she muses, has to think about it- as if she wasn’t aware. as if she only had this realisation.

narumi wants to sock her in the eye or something.

he lets out a deep sigh. at least he released his pent up anger. although he’s kind of angry at a whole other thing now.

“so? what the hell are you doing here if you’re this good. there are competitions aren’t there.”

he doesn’t know why he’s making conversation

“i’m just taking care of the club.”

“the club that doesn’t exist.” he points out.

“i made a promise.”

and narumi remembers he’s not the type of person to give a shit. so he shrugs, ending the conversation.

he refuses to ask for help. for advice. so he keeps his eyes on her as she shoots, and narumi thinks there’s no need for her to train at all. her. accuracy is crazy. he doesn’t know why she even bothers coming here.

by the end of the day, two hours later, he’s managed to get a bit better. or so he likes to think.

he can’t believe he stayed until the sun is about to set. in school.

as she starts cleaning up, narumi finds himself mimicking her actions, the same way he has been doing the entire time.

to his own surprise, his back is sweating, and it must’ve taken a bit more effort than he’d considered.

“ashiro!” somebody calls, and narumi nearly jumps out of his skin. he doesn’t get surprised though. so he pretends he isn’t.

ashiro. he says the name in his head. so that’s who she is.

doesn’t ring a bell.

“hoshina.” she says, and despite a friend (?) - narumi presumes, showing up to this side of the school - she doesn’t smile.

in fact, narumi doesn’t think she’s seen her make any sort of expression that wasn’t a straight face or brief concentration.

well. not that he cares.

“who’s that?”

she looks over to him.

and he looks back at her.

“narumi. from my class.”

so she does know his name.

“ahhh the problem child?”

this guy is pissing him off.

“and who the hell are you? club activities ended ten minutes ago, for your information.”

he doesn’t know if they did end ten minutes ago. but it’s when ashiro started packing up. so he assumes that’s the case

the guy laughs - loud and annoying and narumi held back against punching ashiro but he won’t back against this guy.

“you bastard-,” he growls, walking up to him and glares at ashiro who stops him.

she doesn’t stop him. per say. doesn’t say anything really. but she’s moved closer to him. and she has one eyebrow raised.

“whatever.”

he doesn’t know why he stops.

narumi gen doesn’t stop for anyone.

and that annoys him even more. his list is pretty long now.

longer than it should’ve been.

“so you managed to increase your club numbers? good for you.”

it sounds so sarcastic, but narumi knows it’s not. everything just kind of sounds like shit when it comes from that guy.

“i’m not-,” narumi starts, and then stops. that’s twice now. “i’m not.”

ashiro holds the piece of paper up. the fucking club form and points at the stamp in red. “he is.”

“i’m not coming back here.”

“you probably should though? your aim doesn’t seem to be the best.”

the guy says, and damn this fucking bowlcut guy because the next time he speaks narumi will definitely slam this guy face’s into the wood floor.

“hoshina.” she says, and the tone is a warning. narumi doesn’t need somebody else giving out warnings for him. “your aim is just as terrible.”

“but i’m not a member of the club.”

“he’s new.”

narumi doesn’t know if she’s insulting him or defending him. doesn’t think he’d like either option.

the guy shrugs. before looking at ashiro. “are you done? let’s go.”

she nods and turns to him. they walk out together.

ashiro locks up, and narumi leans a little away from her to take one last glance at the shooting range.

“see you tomorrow, narumi.” it’s the first time she’s addressed him by name. even though she knew it.

“i’m not coming to school.”

“you’ll be here though.”

she doesn’t have to specify for him to know she means here - as in the shooting range.

“i’m not coming to school.” he repeats.

she shrugs, like she already knows.

narumi watches as the two leave, talking about something he can’t hear from where he is, still standing by the door of the shooting range.

he’s not coming back tomorrow.

“you’re here.”

“took you long enough. unlock the door.”

“i told you so.”

“shut up.”

#egg boils #let me dump the entire scene that occured in my brain during my shower so i don’t forget #idea bank #what the hell happened this wasn’t supposed to get so long i laughed #my brain…#i’ll copy it over to google docs later #narumina #also mina keeps the club alive bc kafka wants it to stay alive and i Know a shooting club and KAFKA? but idgaf my world #i just think she’d be good at it but has no motivation other than keeping it going. keeping the equipment clean #she doesn’t want other people joining tho. that’s why she doesn’t put posters up. it’s her safe space. her secret sanctuary #and then comes narumi stumbling in. but she doesn’t mind. mina is shocked she doesn’t mind. the only person she hadn’t minded was kafka #and yeah idk maybe they go to competitions together i didn’t think that far

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edenityy · 7 months ago

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( chapter twelve ! )

"Whoa, you brought two really cute fellows, huh."

A calm breeze swishes through the air of the Noah's Ark Circus grounds, creating a faint chill in the February air. Despite the cold season, the sun still shines down bright upon the people, working to make it harder to see for Leah's sensitive eyes.

Standing before a group of performers, Leah and Ciel are dressed inconspicuously to perform an entrance exam for the circus. Both teenagers wear clothes in muted shades of brown and white, far from the prestigious clothes they are used to that adorn their bodies on the average day.

Leah herself stands in a simple dress and shoes, shifting uncomfortably against the material but trying to brush it off to not blow her cover. Her hair is not styled this time, lying straight across her back. The only thing to see is the hardly noticeable waves that naturally work through the strands of brown.

Observing the two, Joker stands with his hands on his hips and looks closer at Ciel. "Are you a boy?" he asks.

"Yes, I was a pageboy at the manor," Ciel pauses for a brief moment. "My name is Finnian."

Joker shifts his gaze to Leah who stands tall beside her fiancé, engagement ring no longer sitting on her finger. "You're a girl?" he asks.

"Yes.. My name is—" Leah struggles. "Anna.."

"Are you sure? Your shoulders are a bit broad. And you're quite tall!" Joker comments, earning a look of hurt from the brunette.

Pursing her lips, Leah swallows hard. "I'm sure." she forces a toothy smile.

"Alright.. Well if you join, we'll give you stage names. But cuteness isn't enough to join the circus. If you can't perform, that is," Pulling away from their faces, Joker takes a step back. "What are your strong points?"

Ciel's face blanks, a small bead a sweat dripping down his face. "...Darts?"

"I am good with a sword. I'm flexible and good at mounted archery as well. Or music.. perhaps languages, I'm not sure.." Leah stammers, trying to recall anything she is capable of that could be of use for a circus.

Stopping to think, Joker presses a finger to his jaw, showing off the checked waistcoat he wears. There isn't any silence to accompany these thoughts though, as they are surrounded by small chatter of the people around them to observe.

"In that case, let's do knife-throwing for the boy and contortions for the girl. Dagger, lend him a knife," Joker smiles brightly.

Retrieving a set of pointy knives, Dagger drops them in Ciel's hands with a friendly grin. "Here ya go."

"Hit that target from over here," Joker says, pointing his prosthetic finger in the direction of a board at least ten feet away.

The air goes still when everyone hears this, observing the setup as crickets threaten to fill the tension. Ciel adjusts his stance to hold his knife in the manner he would when fencing, but that hardly helps his case.

"Ah, ah, Boss. you're mean," Dagger grins with a small sweat. "With those skinny arms, he can't reach that."

Joker smiles passively, allowing Dagger to lean on his left shoulder. "It's not mean. It can't be closer for the show," he explains, cockney accent shining through.

Pointing the knife before him, Ciel takes in the encouraging smile from Leah and flings the pointed object with all his might. But to no one's surprise, the knife begins to fall short of its target by a few feet.

"Aaaaaah, yep.." Dagger — and the others surrounding him — give a pitiful smile.

Just moments before the Phantomhive can accept defeat, the knife diverts from its path and slams into the target.

All of the people observing stare in shock. "No way!" Joker and Dagger yell.

Ciel smirks and eyes the smiling Sebastian, once again throwing another knife to which the butler flicks a pebble to change its course. They continue this until thirteen knives have cluttered the area of the target.

"Is this all right?" Ciel asks with a smirk, holding an arm out in gesture.

Walking over to stand before him, Joker crosses his arms with an impressed smile, Dagger behind him observes the target in a sweat. "Seems like you've got control over it. Now let's have the girl do some contortions." he claps his hands together.

Leah shifts uncomfortably in her spot, "But I'm wearing a dress.." she mumbles.

"What was that?" Joker cocks a brow and leans his face in closer.

"I'm wearing a dress!" Leah repeats, albeit a bit too loudly.

Blinking a few times, Joker begins to chuckle. "Oh, don't worry about that! No one's looking, just do your stuff!"

Pressing her lips together, Leah eyes Ciel who only gives her a look to go ahead and fights back a sigh. She starts by pulling her right leg up and positioning it straight next to her torso, Sebastian steps in to move her dress around to ensure that it is covering what it needs to be.

Bringing her leg around behind her, she lifts it to put herself in the needle position. Leah finishes her warmup and moves to the ground, trying not to grimace when she touches the grass and dirt and does a back bend with pointed legs, head nearly touching her behind.

Situating her body in a couple more strange positions, Leah is met with applause and a smiling ginger. Ciel on the other hand, stares in mild surprise that someone of her status is capable of such an act.

"Good job! You can really move your body," Joker nods. "All right, next!"

"Tightrope walking!"

Atop a tall platform sit Ciel, Leah, and Doll. Ciel is standing with his shoes no longer on, clenched hands as he stares down at the ground many meters beneath him. Behind the Phantomhive, Doll tightly secures a rope around his torso while Leah sits beside her, tightly holding onto the bar in fear of falling as she awaits her turn.

"Doll~ Tie the lifeline tightly!" Joker yells up with a closed-eye smile. "It's dangerous if a beginner falls!"

Taking another glance down below, Ciel tries not to sweat out of nervousness. "Can't I do some sort of music test instead?" he asks, raising his voice so he can be heard.

"Hmm? D'you wanna retire already boy~?" smiles Joker teasingly.

"N—No! But if there's something else.." Ciel trails off.

"If you're serious, don't deandre and do it fast!" Joker calls out, singing his final words.

Releasing a noise in aggravation, Ciel hesitantly moves forward on the rope, leaving Leah and Doll behind him. For a split second, he holds himself upright before nearly losing balance, shaking with barred teeth until he's hit in the side with a pebble by Sebastian in an attempt to keep him up in the air.

"He recovered, he recovered."

Watching as her fiancé drifts further from her, the young Barrett turns to face Doll with an awkward smile in reluctant anticipation for her turn. Doll — dressed in her flowery costume — gives a kind smile in return that reaches her eyes, feeling a faint sense of recognition when she sees Leah's pools of dull blue.

Leah is so caught up in her thoughts that she hardly notices that Ciel has gotten down from the tightrope. It's not until she feels a tightening sensation around her waist that she looks down and sees the rope being fastened, Doll uses most of her strength to make sure it's tight enough.

Clearing her throat, Doll looks at the back of Leah's head. "Sorry.. Needs to be tight," she whispers.

"It's alright," Leah uncomfortably smiles, showing off a nice set of teeth. "Just uncomfortable is all.."

Standing on her feet, she stares down at the ground beneath her and eyes her fiancé who stares back up at her, grumbling as he rubs his behind. Leah takes a deep breath and settles her gaze directly in front of her before moving her bare feet to take her first steps, wobbling on the rope.

Pushing forward, the brunette does surprisingly well with her first couple of steps and only seems to wobble. But on her fifth step, Leah begins to tilt and fights back a scream until she feels something pelt her side and shift her back into place. 'What was that?!'

Leah shakes her head and decides to not dwell on it, going across the rope faster to get the activity over with. Some more wobbles and near-deathly falls later, she finally reaches the other end of the tightrope's platform and releases a victory sigh. Peering down beneath her, she can see Ciel with relief painted over his face as everyone else around him claps and smiles.

"That's great! I didn't really think you'd be able to do it!" Joker claps happily, watching as Leah climbs down from the platform with the rope no longer around her.

Striding over from the ginger's side, Dagger leans on Ciel and aggressively pats his head. "So don't demote these cute lil' kids, Boss!" he smiles, not seeming to notice the look of pure aggravation on the Phantomhive's face as he stares forward.

"Not yet. The boy hasn't done something real important," Ciel perks up in surprise when a bony prosthetic finger is pointed his way. "A big ol' smile!" Joker smiles brightly along with his words.

Ciel's eyes widen, "Wha..."

"C'mon, smile!"

Off to the side, Sebastian is shaking in an attempt to control his laughter that threatens to spill. Leah also giggles but in response to seeing Ciel clench his cheeks and fist, shaking in anger. A pregnant pause fills the room before Ciel lifts his head and flashes his best closed-eye smile, sweating as he tries to not think about his gushing fiancé or laughing butler.

— ౨ৎ —

Only half an hour later, Leah shifts uncomfortably outside of the main tent as she glances down at her new attire.

Her outfit consists of a clean white base. The main piece is a corset that has golden stripes going from the top to the bottom. It displays a heavy amount of skin including her larger-than-average bust and her behind, hardly covered by fabric, stockings that cut off at the top of her thighs come up and sit secured with red ribbon.

The detached sleeves are in a similar style to the corset and are flared near the wrist, with little red hearts sitting at the top near her upper arm. On Leah's lower back is a large red bow with black stripes, and a short top hat having a similar accessory wrapped around its middle. The brunette has tied-up hair that sits low enough to cover the back of her neck while simultaneously showing off a white choker with gold stripes at the top and bottom, accompanied by a simple white beaded necklace. Finally, on her feet are heeled boots in a shade of gold, similar accents dancing across the plane, and a small red gem sitting center of where her foot sits inside the shoe.

As good as Leah looks in the outfit, she's naturally an aristocrat. To be seen in an outfit this revealing is much too scandalous, the style of a prostitute. 'If someone were to me like this—’

"What's taking ya so long?"

Silencing her train of thought is none other than Joker, walking towards her in slow strides under the moonlight. His face is one of confusion as he looks down at the teen, tilting his head as he observes how Leah can't seem to sit still.

"I— I can't go out there like this!" Leah stammers, flushed face taking over her once porcelain skin.

Furrowing his brows, Joker pouts his lips. "Why? Ya look great!" he smiles in an attempt to reassure.

Leah furiously shakes her head, "No! Not at all!"

"Don't be silly, c'mon!" Joker grabs ahold of Leah's wrist and walks her around the tent, dragging her inside with her horrible attempts at protest.

Kicking her feet and trying to remove her arm from Joker's grasp is hopeless for the Barrett, as she is not naturally strong without a weapon the majority of the time. Her fighting only amplifies when others — especially a certain blue-haired boy — come into view.

"Look, your friends are doin' fine! Nothin' you need to worry about!" Reassures Joker, pushing Leah into place beside Ciel.

Cautiously eyeing her fiancé, Leah notices how Ciel's face is just as red as hers. The Phantomhive tries hard to not let his eyes wander and keeps his gaze trained on Leah's own blue eyes, clearing his throat at the awkward exchange and nature of her clothes.

"Everyone! From today on, we have some new friends," Joker announces, looking out towards the other circus members. Dagger observes with a snicker while Doll keeps a more straight face, gaze trained on Leah and Ciel, and Beast looks away in annoyance with crossed arms at Sebastian's presence.

People's eyes settle on Sebastian who kindly smiles in a suit, holding a hat in front of him. "New-comers Black."

"I'm Black. It's a pleasure," Sebastian introduces himself.

Pointing a finger at the brunette dressed rather promiscuously, everyone's eyes follow. "This one is Diamond."

"Hello.." An embarrassed wave leaves Leah with minimal eye contact.

Finally getting to Ciel, Joker smiles brightly. "And this one is Smile!"

Ciel's face contorts into one of aggravated shock, "Sm..."

"Let's get along well, everyone!" Joker wraps his arms around the three, facing them off towards the crowd of mixed reactions.

Smiling in feigned kindness, Sebastian gazes at Ciel who sticks close to Leah's side. "Come on, Smile, greet your elders."

"Eh?" Ciel's eye twitches as he looks out at the people and back and Leah who gives him a faint encouraging smile, still trying to hide her embarrassment. "It's— It's nice to meet you.."

"C'mon, Smile, smile!" Joker nods and raises his voice, a bright smile flashing to show his teeth.

Not long after their introductions, the crowd disperses to go about their typical daily activities. Some stretch and some immediately get to work on their routines but Joker stays behind.

"Now I'll take you on a quick tour of the backstage area," he says, holding out a cane-like item to point at the exit. "Follow me."

Heading out of the main tent, the group of four trudges through the circus grounds under the starry sky. There's a still silence that falls upon them, only being broken by Joker's welcoming voice to point out different locations.

"First, these're the rents you guys'll sleep in. It's where the backstage workers an' newcomers — the 'second tier' members — live," Opening up a tent flap, Joker invites the trio to take a peek inside. The two nobles stare incredulously at the sight. "'About two or three people share a room."

They all take a step back from the tent and continue, Leah sticking close to Ciel's side. However, unlike all the times before, she doesn't firmly attach herself to his arm, instead choosing to let hers occasionally brush against his.

"An' that's the mess hall and the storeroom. S'an important job of the new recruits to provide the grub, so good luck!" Joker points his thumb over before switching to his can, pointing it at a new tent. "The center one is this area's first aid tent. An' the most central ones the main cast's private tent."

Sebastian's gaze darkens when he takes a look over at the tent in the distance behind Joker, casting an askew look at his master. Leah, unsurprisingly, is hardly paying attention and keeps her gaze towards the ground.

"Private?" Ciel asks.

"S'a private room you get if you're real good. Ah, an' that's snake's tent, so stay away from it for your own good. A buncha poisonous snakes're roaming free, so if you get bit even once, you're off to the Underworld," Joker doesn't notice the brief look Ciel and Sebastian share, the younger nudging Leah to make sure she's paying attention and pushing her away from the tents general direction. "Snake an' his friends're still shy, y'know? Careful of their poison, you three. Now, let's move on~"

Continuing about their tour, the four leave the other tents behind them as they turn around. Thin light poles illuminate the area as they pass them by, adding a soft atmosphere to the dark grounds. Their single-file formation is broken by Leah who walks to Ciel's left, judgingly glancing at the tents they pass.

"...By the way. What happened to your right eye, Smile?" Joker questions, not bothering to look back as he asks.

"Eh?" Ciel reaches a hand up to his eyepatch, painted nails on display. "Ah.. This is.. There was an accident.." he murmurs.

"Is that so," Lifting his prosthetic hand, Joker brings it to Ciel's left cheek and looks at him solemnly. "So young, but you've been through a lot."

Ciel watches as the ginger's expression changes to a small smile, patting him on the head.

Sneaking around, Joker places an arm around Ciel and gives a wide grin, showing off a singular sharp tooth. "Well everyone here's been through something, so you'll get along well with 'em."

"Y—Yes," Ciel sweats and removes himself from Joker's grip, opting to take ahold of Leah's wrist and drag her along. "I can't with these people.." he mutters, leaving Joker and Sebastian behind him.

Giggling, Leah falls into step beside her fiancé. "Well.. They're quite nice, I'll give them that."

Approaching a much larger tent, Leah stares up at the top, almost intimated by its size.

"Right, this's the practice tent." Joker opens the tent flap to allow them inside.

Throughout the tent, many individuals fill the inside to practice their acts. Some are on the trapeze while some are on the tightrope, with quite a few practice juggling, and some balance on balls. Even off to the side, there is a caged tiger that only serves to intimidate the young Barrett even more.

"New people practice over an' over here. Aiming at making their debut in a real public performance," Explains Joker, shows off some people climbing poles, jumping on the trampoline, and going through hoops. "Work on the basics first. Warm up carefully and—"

As Joker attempts to get the trio accustomed to their surroundings, noting how they all stare around in wonder or bemusement, he is promptly interrupted by Beast entering the tent.

"Joker! It's almost your turn!" she calls out.

Surprised by the sudden entry, Joker makes no complaints and starts on his way out. "Go ahead an' go all out, you three!"

Ciel and Sebastian both stand as straight as a stick, unlike Leah who is off behind them and staring at an extremely low-hanging chandelier. Reluctantly, the pair begin to stretch. Following in their footsteps, Leah does the same and practices her contortions while hearing bits and pieces of their conversation.

"—Enter the private tent— First-tier members..?"

"—Feel any sign of the children's presence—"

"She wishes for the children's safe return."

The young Barrett never seems to truly know what's going on, only understanding that they are meant to be searching for missing children. 'Perhaps I should stop visiting Ciel if this is the kind of thing I have to do..'

"Hey! Don't stretch so sluggishly, you guys!" Dagger peers down at Ciel who is currently lying against Sebastian's back.

A couple of feet away, a man glances over in surprise. "Boss Dagger, what about your performance?" he asks.

"Today I was the top batter! I'm already done and observing practice," The blonde smiles, tilting his body at the waist before turning to Ciel who is no longer on Sebastian's back. "First you gotta decide your program. What're you hoping for?"

"A program that doesn't involve using my body for something like tightrope walking would be good.." Ciel deadpans as he recalls himself earlier that day. "Seriously."

Stepping up beside her fiancé, Leah can't hide her flush when he looks at her, still holding a hatred for her outfit. "Contortionist," she mumbles.

"Then, I'll be earnestly teaching Smile knife-throwing," Dagger smiles eagerly. "What about you, Black?"

Sebastian's expression hardly moves, "I don't have any particular preferences."

"You've got good reflexes, don't you? If there's something you see and it looks like you can do it, give it a try." Dagger encourages, not expecting Sebastian to speed past him with a simple 'yes.'

Running across the tent, the demon butler is quick to get up on the trapeze and perform a flying blanco. Mere moments later, Sebastian is juggling, followed by pole climbing, passing through fire, high wire, and trampoline. Though, just as he attempts to perform sword-eating, Dagger is quick to cut in.

Waving his hands in a sweat, the blonde stares up at the butler clad in black. "Enough, enough!"

"Show off.." Leah mumbles. "Just like Thomas."

Ciel stifles a giggle, though that isn't hard when he's now aggravated with Sebastian. "Hey! You're getting too carried away! Act a little more like a new—"

"C'mon, honestly! Another super newcomer appeared? I won't lose, y'know!" Dagger smiles brightly with crossed arms.

"See, he already has his eye on y.. Hm?" Ciel turns his head around to look at Dagger with knitted brows. "..'Another'?"

"There's this amazing guy who just joined. Look, over there. He was some sorta government worker and he's totally serious, see." Dagger points up at a tall man on the tightrope. "Hey! Come down for a sec, Suit!"

William, under the name of Suit, glances down and releases a breath of air. "I thought I sensed an unpleasant aura. So it was you, was it? Honestly." Stabbing his death scythe into the floor, Ciel nearly throws Leah out of the way before she can be impaled. "What did you come to fish around for this time? You devilish fiend!" he points the scythe to Sebastian's neck, now gaining a crowd of scared individuals.

The demon remains unexpressive, keeping himself in front of the two nobles. While Ciel is staring in dread, Leah is quick to fix her clothes around to hide any piece that came out of place when she was moved, determined to show as little skin as possible.

"De..vil?" The crowd begins to talk amongst themselves with wide eyes.

"Even under the best of circumstances, in this time of Grim Reaper shortages.. With a demon appearing like this, I suppose it will throw off my schedule." William complains.

Leah pauses and tilts her head. ‘Demon?’

Stepping forward, Ciel begins to come undone at the idea of Sebastian's true nature being revealed. "H..Hey, what the hell are you talking abou.."

Dagger stares incredulously, "Grim.. Reaper.. you.."

"N—No, this is—" Ciel tries to explain.

"Give it up, forehead! You said it with such a straight face, I couldn't tell you were joking!" The tent erupts in applause as Dagger slaps a hand to the side of William's forehead. "Since the first day he came here, this guy's been telling jokes. Stuff like 'How about this soul.' He's a real hardcore occult fan!" he points a thumb to William, who is now smoothing down his hair with a comb.

Lifting a hand, William adjusts his glasses. "Though they're not actually jokes."

"I'll introduce you. These guys just joined today. The blue hair who won't leave the girl's side is Smile," Dagger points at Ciel. "The real pretty girl is Diamond and the serious one is Black."

Confused but keeping her manners intact, Leah gives a small smile accompanied by a wave. Letting yet another person see her in such a way hurts her but the teen has accepted her fate. 'Kill me now..'

"Well, bond over your hopes and get along well!" Smiling brightly, Dagger claps a hand on William and Sebastian's shoulders.

William swiftly turns around and begins to stride back towards the tightrope, "Sorry, but there's no way I'll get along with a savage beast."

Listening to Ciel and Sebastian whisper, as well as the other voices filling her ears, Leah sighs in exhaustion no longer has the will to keep up.

"So am I meant to be left in the dark on this one?" she asks, posture slipping.

Turning his head, Ciel gets a good look at his fatigued and sluggish fiancé before being interrupted just before his eyes can drift, and before Leah can hit him.

"Hey! What're you doing, Smile?! You can't just just stand with Diamond the whole time, you gotta practice so you don't lose to Black! Practice! Both of ya!" Dagger appears behind the two teenagers, wrapping an arm around them before dragging them off to another section of the tent.

'Men are so lucky it is impolite to slap them.. So lucky.' Allowing herself to be dragged, Leah looks to Ciel and drags a finger across her throat, mimicking her want to die in the moment.

— ౨ৎ —

Standing uncomfortably in the corner of the tent, Leah waits impatiently for Ciel and Sebastian to return. The butler had left to follow after William, her fiancé leaving as well to fetch them upon Dagger's request.

After only a few more long moments of waiting, the young Barrett has had enough and walks out of the tent. Shivering under the cold air of the night, she walks until she hears a voice that sounds awfully like Ciel.

"—Hear from some glasses who can't even sneak in properly."

"It's not Glasses. It's Suit."

Rounding a corner, Leah comes across William, Sebastian, and Ciel in a staredown. Under the average circumstance, she would care but the poor girl is beyond tired and not willing to take place in her fiancé's typical shenanigans.

"What is taking so long?" Leah puffs her cheeks. "Hurry back inside before we start seeming suspicious."

Surprised at Leah's sudden entry, Ciel whips his head around before his eyes soften. "Let's go, Sebastian."

With that, the four all go their respective ways and walk back inside the tent, thinking over their interaction.

— ౨ৎ —

"Thanks for waiting! It's time for the new arrivals' room assignments!" Joker sings a bit too cheerfully for the dark atmosphere of the night.

Seated on a crate, Ciel is doubled over in exhaustion while Leah leans against him, struggling to keep her eyes open. Beside them, Sebastian stares down at them with Dagger behind him, arms behind his head.

"Huh, Smile's not very cheerful~ Smile, Smile!" Joker pulls a smile of his own to try and brighten the younger boy's mood, only receiving a struggled 'yes' in response. "For fairness, these're the results of a lottery. Smile's in tent eight. Here's your roommate."

Putting a hand on Doll's shoulder, Joker brings her forward for Ciel to see. The girl is no longer dressed in her circus attire, letting her brown hair down and wearing comfortable daily clothes with two hands in her pockets. She could almost pass for a boy.

"Black's in tent nine," Joker announces.

Ciel nearly gasps. "Seba.. Black and I aren't rooming together?!" he shouts.

Dagger laughs, "Smile really sticks close to Black, huh? You'll be independent soon."

"T—That's not it—" Ciel protests, sweating. "Black and I should be together after all—"

"Black's roommate is Suit!"

The air goes still for a moment when Joker says this, both William and Sebastian giving each other a deep and unsettling glare.

"Wha?!" Ciel yells.

"Black and Smile already get along well, so this is your chance to make new friends!" Dagger smiles, standing close to Joker.

Preparing to walk off, Joker is promptly stopped by Leah approaching in slow, small steps.

"Wait.. I didn't get an assignment," she bites her lips, not looking the ginger in the eye.

Tilting his head, Joker double-checks his paper with surprised eyes. "Huh. How'd I forget about ya? Well, no worries, just go with Smile!" he nods.

This immediately causes Leah to perk up from her half-asleep state, "But Ci— Smile is a man?!" she fights back a yell.

"So?" Joker asks.

"So I'm a woman! I can't sleep in the same room as a man!" Leah nearly shakes in her spot. 'Sleep in the same room as a man?! That is even worse than the clothes. If anyone were to find out about this.. I'd surely be ruined! No one would ever want to be seen with me again. I'd have to demand Ciel to marry me and protect my name.. That—'

A laugh sounds from Joker as he pats her head with his prosthetic. "Nonsense. Now, let's split up!"

Leah barely has a moment to fight before both Joker and Dagger walk off, leaving her in a state of dread and reluctance to move. However, she ignores her reluctance and slowly approaches Ciel and Doll, keeping her gaze trained on the ground.

"It's nice to meet you, Smile! Diamond!" Doll smiles brightly, holding out a hand.

"..Yeah.." Ciel responds warily, shaking her hand. Leah on the other hand refuses, caught up in her thoughts and trying to not contemplate killing herself.

"I will be ruined by the end of this.."

#ciel phantomhive #fanfic #black butler x reader #female oc #oc #black butler #sebastian michaelis #elizabeth midford #lau black butler #joker black butler #doll black butler #beast black butler

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