#foggy essays

[londonfoginacup]

An Essay about Carolina, the classic song by Harry Styles, that becomes slightly unhinged as it goes along

Harry Styles has long been known for his incredibly nonsensical lyrics. By now he features a three-album catalogue of songs that the average listener thinks, “I might know what this is about”. The more advanced listener, who has then looked up the lyrics, follows that thought up with, “Actually I have no clue what he’s talking about.” This has long been a problem for Styles’ fans, who love to extract knowledge from his lyrical essays. I, personally, have spent hours pouring over lyrics in order to bring you, dear reader, the truth. 

In this essay, I will show how the classic Harry Styles song Carolina is, in fact, a song about the Queen of England.

Now the first thing to remember while deep diving on this topic is that Harry is British. This may be a difficult thing to remember, because his accent has only become more and more transatlantic nonsense over the years, but is very important to the context of this song. 

Now, to take a look at the first set of lyrics;

She's got a family in Carolina

So far away, but she says I remind her of home

The Queen could, of course, have any number of family members in Carolina, as North and South Carolina, as the combined populations of the two states amount to over 15 million. However, I believe he’s referring to Sir Walter Raleigh, the founder of North Carolina, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I. Sir Walter married one of her ladies-in-waiting, which the Queen at the time did not appreciate, but that does make him an in-law of sorts. 

Now, it is pertinent to point out that the first American football that the Queen ever watched was a Maryland v UNC (University of North Carolina) match, so she could be referring here to her family-on-the-field, as it were. Regardless, while attending a football game, the Queen would think that Harry, with his British sensibilities of preferring to watch men in shorts running around, would remind her of home. 

Feelin' oh-so far from home

She never saw herself as a west-coaster

Moved all the way 'cause her grandma told her

"Townes, better swim before you drown"

The Queen’s grandmother was Mary of Teck, a woman who didn’t look particularly like a queen when I looked her up just now on Wikipedia. Mary of Teck died when Queen Elizabeth was reigning, although she had not yet been crowned. We can see how the phrase “better swim before you drown” would be used here, as the Queen was in her mid-twenties at the time and, as they say in the hit musical 1776, there was “a war on.”

(Okay there wasn’t actually, but I had read the year as 1925 instead of 1952, and had already written that stellar line, so we’re keeping it).

Regardless, the Queen obviously never saw herself as a west-coaster because she lives in England, not North or South Carolina. 

She's got a book for every situation

Gets into parties without invitations

How could you ever turn her down?

There's not a drink that I think could sink her

Now this may seem obvious, but one would never turn down the Queen if she were requesting to get into one’s party. Can you imagine turning her away from a rager? From a kegerater? Obviously you cannot. She is the Queen, and probably had very large bodyguards who would be more than willing to force their way in so that she could daintily sip her lukewarm post-beerpong-beer. 

Now, on the subject of books, a quick google search will come up with article after article. “4 Fascinating Books About Queen Elizabeth II”, “8 Best Queen Elizabeth II Biographies to Get”, “The 20 Best Books About Queen Elizabeth II”. I think we do not need to name every book about her to be sure that there is a biography for every situation. My personal favourite is an odd comic book I found where a younger version of herself seems to be crowning an older version of herself. Very mysterious. 

How would I tell her that she's all I think about?Well, I guess she just found out

Obviously, we can know this song is about the Queen because Harry has put so many references to the Queen in it, and she is a wise woman who listens to all of his albums on release day, because he is a British icon.

I met her once and wrote a song about her

I wanna scream, yeah, I wanna shout it out

And I hope she hears me now

I do not know whether the Queen ever heard him, although I assume she did, as I stated above.

Now, dear reader, this concludes my deep dive into Carolina, but this does not conclude Harry’s tributes to the Queen. Just two albums later, he followed this clear Queen-love-letter up with a second, just-as-obvious love letter.

Love of My Life.

Harry has stated in interviews that this song is about England. And it clearly is, but it is moreso about the ruler of England, the woman who made England what it is (or something. She sold some plates with her face on them at least, that wouldn’t be there otherwise).

I take you with me every time I go away

In a hotel, usin' someone else's name

I remember back at Jonny's place, it's not the same anymore

This song is a crooning sigh of longing for Harry’s good old friend the Queen. Clearly he uses the name Elizabeth in hotels. Someone should check on that.

Baby, you were the love of my life, woah

Maybe you don't know what's lost 'til you find it

It's not what I wanted, to leave you behind

He lost the Queen, likely while they were playing hide and seek. But then he had to leave on a plane for a show, and it seems as though he never found her again.

Don't know where you'll land when you fly

You usually do, actually.

It's unfortunate, ooh

Just coordinates, ooh

Maybe Harry doesn’t know how to read a map.

I don't know you half as well as all my friends

I won't pretend that I've been doin' everything I can

To get to know your creases and your ends

Are they the same?

This is a complaint that, after Styles started his many world tours, the Queen began going to parties without him. Which is fair, because she can’t just be sitting reading books about herself waiting for him to come around.

But, baby, you were the love of my lifeNote the use of the past tense here. This album came out in spring, and the Queen passed in the fall (I think. I’m not looking anything up anymore). Could this be… premonition? Planning? Another vehicular manslaughter crime under Harry’s belt? Who’s to say? Certainly not the Queen…

[mindfogs]

a brief comparison of compleately different medias that rewired my brain. yes i'm aware the target audience of this post is me only.

It was supposed to be a joke but I can’t do anything casually so a more vaguely detailed analysis under the cut.

spoilers for all three obviously but vague spoilers about themes and not plot points. i could have gone more in the specifics but it's late and i don't want to fall in this rabbit hole right now i need sleep.

If you strip these stories of all the cool visuals and funny jokes, if you take away their narratives with the world about to end, you're left with pure, naked, vulnerable love that is such a core essence of any of these characters. Love is what can destroy or save the world. Love is what drives the heroes forward. Love is what keeps them from dying.

I think all three stories are about being loved and accepted for who you are. Even if you've changed and you don't like yourself, even if you've stayed the same and you don't like yourself.

They're about tearing yourself apart, throw up, slashing yourself open in front of the one you love. Let them see everything, the bad and the gross and asking "do you still love me?".

They're about enduring, sacrificing yourself, everything, sacrificing the world, God, the entire universe for the one you love.

They're about trusting to choose each other over and over again, everytime, in every universe, even if the next time you see me I may not be what you remembered. Even if you don't recognize me.

They're about eating, gnawing, cannibalizing each other over and over and over in a mutual exchange of obsession.

They're about carving your own peace when you don't even know what peace it's supposed to be like

They're about grief and loss and learning to be whole again.

They're about submitting oneself to the horrifying oredeal of being known in order to allowing the reward of being loved.

It's about "it's rotten work" and answering everytime without esitation "not to me, not if it's you"

[my-soul-stays-silent]

Cries I literally can’t stop thinking about Paul and Emma nobody gets My Vision

[mezimraky]

love waking up in the morning with an Illness and discovering an email from one of the external teachers that he can't manage to put my grade in the system and that "i should really see someone about that if i want that grade" meanwhile i struggle to get out of bed :')

[froggynelson]

related to the last post, it really is something that i have seen happen again and again in the dd fandom, mostly wrt shipping, where people come up with 'what if foggy was secretly buff'/'what if foggy worked out' takes, and it ends up being the only way some people can engage with the idea of matt being actively attracted to foggy, or of them as people being attracted to the character. that being said, while most of these people don't make foggy stop being fat, i do think it's weird if someone can only frame fat men as being attractive if they're strong and more masculine lmao

plus requiring foggy to change for you to like him more is a Failed Step One of liking foggy

[reasoncourt]

no but actually tell us 1 of those salacious controversial opinions and no kendall isn't straight us kendall scholars can tell

roman ripping up that cheque in front of the kid was hilarious actually and he should do it again. if u dont love roman at his cheque-ripping class-consciousness-awakening slay then u dont deserve him at his shows-mild-human-decency-to-kerry slay. that's just the facts. like if u dont like roman when he's roman then u don't like roman

[donnies-low-empathy]

Think about Donnie’s “For you? Anything.” to April every day god to have what they have

[ciaran]

complaining

i have 4 essays to do and 5 days to do them and i am sick and cannot get extensions on any of these; i have to muddle through somehow, but it genuinely fucking sucks that i can try so hard to pace out my work and get things done on time and still end up turning in shitty work bc my brain also doesnt work when my body is sick and also like. im tired i dont want to work i want to sleep and write porn and sleep and have weird feverish dreams about writing. not that i WANT to do any of those things but if im sick then that should be something i get to do and anyway i am just so tired by everything

[starstaiined]

the urge to write this one scene in have on loop in my head, between a very young tatum and mr. riley

[iridescentis]

how do i make myself do something i don't want to do

how to i learn 100 years of french history in a weekend

how to i write an essay while so zoned out i can barely read

pleas

tell me how

[thefightinfoggy]

I hate them (affectionate)

(From Daredevil/Spider-man #4)

[butcherb1rd]

uh oh i’m feeling a lil sick today :(

[tsukasageorge]

In such a madoka magica mood

[baby-prophet]

im still testing positive.. :(

[soaplickerrr]

Could you possibly write something for Niki along the lines of the reader is tired from uni and he comes home and they’ve fallen asleep at the coffee table doing an essay and he helps them get ready for bed and then maybe a soft cuddle moment with them talking about their days and eventually the reader falls back asleep to Riki rubbing their back and holding them? Also don’t forget to drink water and take care of yourself and that you are amazing!!!!

Sweet Dreams

Non Idol! Nishimura Riki / Niki x Reader

It’s late and the apartment is dark, save for the warm hue of the desk lamp, its light spilling across the living room.

It shades a soft halo around your form that’s hunched over the coffee table, where you’ve been working restlessly for hours.

Your scattered surroundings were proof to the hours of work, tumbled notebooks, crumpled pieces of paper, and the laptop screen before you- the essay still open, cursor blinking.

You couldn’t recall falling asleep- just your heavy head laid against your arm, an ache in every inch of your body from complete exhaustion.

University has been unforgiving, one assignment after another, and those deadlines seem to always be hanging over your head.

But none of that matters right now, as the night quiets, your worn-out body finally gives in.

The jingling of keys in the door barely reaches the apartment as Niki steps inside.

He stops and looks, eyes softening, taking in the scene in front of him, you’re fast asleep, still in the middle of your work.

A little smile tugs at a corner of his mouth as he sets his bag down quietly, his feet falling light as he walks over with care to not wake you.

He drops to his knees beside you, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair back behind your ear, his fingers linger for a moment.

You look so peaceful, he thinks, the faint crease still in your brow as if even in sleep, you're worrying about the work you left unfinished.

"Y/N," he says softly, his voice barely above a whisper, as he leans in closer. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

You stir, fluttering your eyes open, and the first thing you see is Niki's face, that soft smile, the warmth in his gaze that makes the stress of the day seem like it belongs to another world.

For a moment, you’re puzzled, the fogginess of your sleep makes everything seem dreamlike. His hand on your shoulder anchors you though, the touch soft, reassuring.

"Niki?" you mumble, rubbing your eyes as you sit up, half-asleep.

"Yeah, it's me," he says with a soft chuckle, wrapping an arm around your waist to steady you.

"You fell asleep at the table, pretty. C'mon, let's get you to bed."

You sigh and turn back to look at the scattered papers guiltily. "I didn't finish the essay," you murmur, but Niki just shakes his head and tugs you to your feet carefully.

"It'll still be there in the morning," he says softly. His thumb rubbing soft soothing circles against your waist. "Right now, you need rest. I'll even help you finish it in the morning, okay?"

You manage to give him a small nod, too tired to argue, he leads you down the hall, his arm around you, stable and reassuring.

You lean into him and let his warmth and presence strain away the stress weighing on you.

He helps you get comfortable once you’re in your bedroom, carefully and gently, as if he’s scared he might disturb the silence that has settled around you both.

Once you’re changed and in bed, Niki gets in beside you, wrapping himself around you, and holding you close to him, you nestle your head up against his chest.

His heartbeat is steady and calm beneath your ear, and you let yourself deflate into the comfort of his arms.

"Long day?" he asks in that soft, deep voice of his, nearly a whisper, as he starts running his fingers along your back with smooth, soothing strokes.

You nod, eyes half-lidded, slumping more against him. "So much work," you mutter, your voice trailing away as the tension has been pulled from your body, replaced instead by a comforting sleepiness. "Feels like… like it's never going to end."

He hums softly, his hand continuing its soothing stroke up and down your back, each stroke lulling you closer into sleep. "You're doing amazing, you know that?" he says, the tone of his voice warm and sincere.

"I see how hard you work, how much you put into everything… and I'm so so proud of you. Even when you don't finish everything, you're still doing the best you can."

You let his words wash over you, the small smile pulling at your lips as you lean closer, letting the heat and solidity of him calm you further.

"Thank you," you mumble, barely understandable once more as sleep pulls at you again. "I'm glad… you're here."

He chuckles low in his throat, shifting to press a soft kiss to the top of your head. "I'll always be here," he whispers, his hand slowing into soft, rhythmic rubs on your back, the touch lulling you back into a peaceful slumber.

Wrapped up in his arms as you drift off, your overwhelming thoughts displaced by the quiet and steady comfort of Niki's presence beside you.

This was kinda cute lolz :3

[leonw4nter]

There Are No Cute Officers In The Station!.. save for one

RE2R!Leon x Teacher!F!Reader

“Tehila Kaufman.”

“Here!”

“Antonia Lange.”

“Here!”

“And… Sherry Birkin.”

The lack of a response caught your attention instead of her voice. You call her name again, looking around in the bus for any sign of the blonde 12-year-old. You observe each seat, counting and checking each student for any sign of Sherry.

“Sherry!” A classmate of hers calls out, shifting in her seat and pressing her hands into the foggy windows. You remind the class to stay put in their seats and be on their best behavior as you exit the bus to greet your pupil and her guardian, who looked a little frazzled.

“Sherry! Good morning, I was looking for you,” you say with a soft smile as you ruffle her hair which is styled into a braid paired with a strawberry clip near her temple.

“I’m really sorry, miss. The taxi we rode on the way here got pulled over by cops and it took us quite some time to find another one,” her guardian Claire apologized with a meek beam.

You smiled and nodded, understanding her situation; you have enormous respect for Claire, juggling an odd job along with college while also taking care of a 12-year old. Despite all the odds stacked against her, the teen always managed to make sure Sherry was ready for school, which included making sure she had complete supplies and was sent to school before the school day started. You reassured her that all is fine before informing her that Sherry should board the bus now since the bus is scheduled to leave for the Raccoon City Police Station soon to begin the whole-day trip.

“Bye, Claire! See you later! I’ll try to bring home a souvenir if I can afford some!” She excitedly beams, to which she chuckles brightly at. With one more wave and a hug, she finally hops on the bus and goes to her designated seat.

After doing one final headcount of all the students and asking any of them if they needed to go to the restrooms, you give the driver a go signal to hit the road. Since the elementary school was just 15 minutes away from the museum-turned-police station, you advised that the students take a quick nap before they arrive at the destination. You look back and see some students already taking their naps, though some were talking with their peers or snacking on some energy bars. With a small smile, you turn back to the brochure you were sent and go over the paper. The program would start with a quick greeting by the lieutenant Marvin Branagh before he hands over the main task to officer Leon Kennedy for the rest of the afternoon before ending the tour with a quick video presentation and an essay-writing activity on their experience. Since you went over everything that needed to be checked and there would be some moderate traffic on the way, you decided to also catch a nap of your own.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────

After that short nap, you spent most of the time reminding the children not to touch anything they weren’t given permission to touch and to avoid bothering the other officers there since they had work to do. You also reiterated rules once more which included asking questions respectfully, asking permission to go to the restroom, and no rough playing. You considered it perfect timing when your reminders came to an end, the driver announcing that the class had arrived at the RPD. All the students pressed against the windows nearest to the station’s gates, oohing and aahing at the sight in front of them.

“That’s so cool! Look at that!”

“I can’t believe this place is a police station now. It still looks fascinating!”

“I wonder if there’s going to be any cute officers in here,” you hear a pupil giggling to her friends. You chuckle at her outlook on the situation before responding to her, her cheeks burning pink like her sweater.

“There won’t be any cute officers, Clara. Admire the art and not the cops, okay?”. She responded with a giddy grin and gave you a thumbs up, still giggling with her friends. Well, that was as much as an adolescent girl can promise but you didn’t mind too much as long as she didn’t get in trouble. After all, it’s not like you could judge her when you’re out on a personal mission to find a worthy bachelorette for your coworker Lilia’s affections; she could really use some help in rekindling her love life.

After a few minutes, you instructed your students to leave the bus in an orderly manner before lining them up by girls and boys in order to enter the beautiful station. The last thing people expected a museum to transform into is a police station and the RPD did a damn good job at it. Although much of the museum has been changed to fit a more police station feel, there were still remnants of the past museum that stayed like puzzle mechanisms, the statue up front, and the library that still stood according to the contractors involved in transforming the building. Those were only what you’ve read somewhere so of course, there’s going to be more locations within the precinct that were left unchanged during the renovation. Now that all your students have finally calmed down and straightened their lines,  you begin leading them inside the gates and eventually into the precinct proper. The entire way to the large brown doors, your students quietly observed the various red and green herbs near the fences along with other ornamental flowers but occasionally oohed and ahhed some more, especially when officers started coming out of the door to welcome the eager students. The giggles and excited chuckles increase in volume, the electric excitement sizzling in the air– even the officers were excited, some of them also giggling and beaming widely; it seems like they’re just as excited as the kids are. Now that the class is right at the entrance of the precinct proper, you give them the cue to quiet down before greeting the three officers ‘good day’.

“Good day, officers!” They all greet in unison, genuine smiles on their lips. Their greeting pulls gleeful laughs from the officers before one of them speaks up.

“Good day to you as well, students. I’m Marvin Branagh, the Lieutenant for the Raccoon City Police Department but you may call me Officer Branagh. Here with me are officers Jill Valentine and Brad Vickers. They will help me in explaining the history of the museum up until recent renovations and then we’ll hand over the task to Officer Kennedy, who is waiting inside. He will act as your tour guide around the station– he may be a rookie but he’s well-versed in the rooms and artifacts in here so I trust that he will be able to execute his job well.”

The students nod, most of their gazes now peeled on the door instead of the officers. Jill chuckles and looks at you, giving you a kind smile.

“I guess you guys look ready to head in. Do you wanna head in now?,” she asks with a bright beam.

“Yeah!” Your students respond all together. Brad chuckles, giving Jill a friendly smack to the back.

“Hmm, I don’t feel the energy. Are you guys really ready?”

“YEAH!” They respond even louder, some of them cupping their hands to their mouth. Jill looks pleased with the hyping she’s done, giving Brad a confident look before she directs them in. “Alright. Let’s head in.”

With a small grunt, she and Brad open the doors to reveal the interior of the station. As soon as the kid last in line enters, you follow and take a look around for yourself. Your gaze falls on the ceilings and the wooden accents on the walls, stairs, and pillars before you really drink in the sight of the marble statue right in front of you. The Statue of the Winged Goddess is a lot taller than you thought, pictures now seeming to not capture the breathtaking marble sculpture. Even your students were stunned into silence, quietly appreciating the statue and the rest of the station’s wonders. “Wow, it’s so pretty” you think to yourself. “I should visit here again by myself sometime.”

“I see everyone’s got their breaths taken away by the beautiful Goddess in our station,” Brad’s voice snaps everyone out of their trance, you included.

“I get it, I was like that too when I first got there. Couldn’t stop staring and marveling at her, she’s a beauty isn’t she?”

The students murmur some “uh uh”s, unable to really tear their eyes off. You managed to snag your attention away from her, a little surprised at how your students were more enamored by the statue than the remnants of the museum that remained in the form of wooden accents and carvings on the Roman Tuscan columns.

“Alright, class. Eyes on Officer Vickers, he’ll be explaining the history of Raccoon City and the museum before it got renovated and reworked into a police station,” you say. They lead the students towards a room and they take their seat, sitting with their friends though you reminded them not to be too noisy.

“I advise that you take out notebooks and pens because you will have a written reflection activity by the end of the trip.”

The news of an essay activity due soon drew groans and complaints from your pupils but they still brought our paper and pens, ready to listen to the presentation.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────

After the 30-minute long presentation on various facts and information regarding the city and the station’s history, Brad finally wrapped it up. In the first half of the presentation, Marvin left the room and went somewhere to go look for someone, Officer Kennedy you assume. Jill and Brad took turns presenting, the pair doing their best to make this as interesting as possible for the children to keep their attention hooked on the slides and the short video that will be shown later on. Jill and Brad shared stories about how they came to work at Raccoon City, their younger years, their experiences when they were rookies, among many others.

“Jill here nearly got crushed during an investigation up there in the Arklay Mountains, carried around the ‘Jill Sandwich’ nickname for a bit,” Brad reminisced with a wicked grin while Jill was in the corner, arms crossed with a smirk while she tilts her head down and shakes it, brown strands swaying along to the motion.

Some students giggled, laughing along to their jokes; though it was easy to make them laugh, you’d bet that their cheeks would hurt by the time they got home due to how wide they were grinning. Sherry was talking amongst her friends, beaming and whispering every now and then. She seemed a lot more excited than the rest, if that was even possible; she kept looking towards the door where Marvin left but you didn’t really mind since it didn’t look like Sherry was too bothered by anything yet you made sure to still look after her well.

“That is it for our presentation, how was it?” Brad asked. “Anyone got questions? Clarifications? Insights?”

“Calm down, Vickers. Let the kids choose what to answer man,” Jill teased.

Casey raises his hand, waving it in eagerness to share what he possibly has to say. Jill nods to him, giving him the go-ahead to speak.

“It must be so cool working here! I mean– you got cool lookin’ statues and puzzles everywhere!”

Brad nods, smiling sincerely at the boy. “Yeah, it’s cool working here but it gets boring sometimes. Sometimes the day is slow and police work isn’t all going on missions and shooting guns– there’s times where we just sit at our desks and read mountains of reports but I love my job.”

Jill agrees, sharing an experience of her own for a few more minutes before officially wrapping up the presentation. “Now that everyone’s run out of things to say and ask, it’s time for the station tour to be led by our own rookie, officer Kennedy.”

You hear the door slightly creak along with the shuffling of shoes, soft taps of the soles of their footwear against the marble floors. You turn your head to observe where the sound is coming from and you swear you saw the sun walk in clad in blues and RPD badges. You try to stop staring at him shamelessly, to not gawk with your jaw parted but you fail; the longer you stared, the surroundings blurred into insignificance and all noise died down, the cheesiest romantic song you know seemingly playing in the distance the more he walked. It seemed perfect that this tall glass of water walking towards the front of the class worked at a building that used to house the finest pieces of art; this man looks like he was sculpted by a maestro. He didn’t say or do anything but his presence commanded your eyes, drawn to him like a moth to a flame. He must’ve really had you under his spell since you didn’t notice your grip loosening on your tumbler, the metal bottle falling and creating an irritating clanging sound. The pretty officer whips his head towards your direction, his gaze aimed straight for your eyes before dropping down to the tumbler on your foot. Before you could bend down and pick it up before mumbling an apology to everyone, he rushed towards your direction to pick it up for you. Neatly trimmed nails and long, slender fingers wrapped around the bottle to hand it to you. As he stood back to original height, he locked eyes with you before extending his hand.

“Here. Cute stickers, by the way,” he softly whispers with a small smile. A warm gust of air escapes your lips, exhaling a breath you didn’t know you held. You could simply nod and look dumb in front of who is possibly the most gorgeous man you’re ever seen, what a way to create a first impression. You take the bottle from him, the tip of your finger brushing against his hand causing your finger to feel an electric tingle on where skin met.

“Thanks,” you mumble with a wonky smile. He nods at you before heading to the front to really start the tour.

“Leon!”

You crane your head to where Sherry is standing– or, was standing. She shot up from her area and ran towards Leon, giving him a big hug with her arms wrapped around his waist. Leon looked pleasantly surprised, returning her hug with a hug of his own, his hand around her shoulder. “Don’t worry guys! We know each other,” Sherry explained coolly. Leon chuckles, nodding along and confirming her statement. He gives her kind pats to the back, the room looking a lot brighter every time he chuckled; the way his eyes wrinkled when he grinned big reminded you of a golden retriever puppy, down to the color of his sun-spun hair and his overall aura. You had to blink away the trance he unknowingly set on you, turning your attention back to the students and the other officers in the room, acting as if your heart wasn’t rattling at the rib confines of your chest. You hoped that your cheeks weren’t a vibrant red, standing out from the rest of your appearance.

“Good day, students. I’m Officer Kennedy and I’ll be your tour guide around the station. Although you are free to look around and take pictures, I’m going to set some rules down for the class, does that sound great?” He throws up two thumbs up, looking at the children for confirmation. You swore that your nails would dig into the paint of the tumbler, causing the paint to chip away a little bit due to the sheer force you were exerting into holding on that tumbler just to stay calm. You couldn’t possibly have a crush on an officer in a station you visit for a trip! You’re not even sure if you’re going to come back here anytime soon! Now that the kids had given him confirmation, he puts his hands down, and chuckles a little more before continuing on with the explanation.

“As I’ve said earlier, you can take pictures and take sketches but please do not place your hands on the display, draw on any surface, or play with the artifacts. Most of these are old and possibly even the only of its kind so we advise you to proceed carefully. Everything clear?”

The students once nodded again, some students repeating “clear” back to the man in front of them.

“Okay. Now that that’s done, I would like to ask you to form a line outside the briefing room before we start.”

You direct the students to get up and form a line of two but surprisingly, Leon helps you even if the task doesn’t seem to be bothering you. He shoots you a small smile as he continues to assist you in arranging the students, which didn’t take much. Now that everyone was arranged accordingly, he began to lead the class around the station while receiving smiles and thumbs-up from his coworkers who seemed to be hyping him up while Marvin looked on proudly. You smiled at the thought since it was nice that they all seemed to have a bond closer than you thought. Leon was just about to look ahead again, turning his head back to face the corridor ahead when he caught your gaze.. He held eye contact for a little bit before breaking away and you swear you left behind your soul downstairs. This is going to be one interesting trip, especially with a charming officer charming his way into your heart.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────

All went smoothly until you noticed the line looking a little too odd. Well, that’s because someone happened to be missing. The moment you realized that someone had managed to slip away and wander into the myriad of rooms in the upper floors of the station. As soon as you noticed, you made the children neaten up their line before giving Leon a tap on the shoulder.

“Officer,” you whispered. “I’ve got a missing student! I don’t know where they are, probably in one of the rooms. I swear I saw them just a few moments ago, must’ve slipped away.”

His eyes widen but not before he takes one more glance at the line of children, curious as to why the productive tour suddenly stopped. Some students seemed to have picked up on a missing student, asking where their peer might’ve gone off to. Leon places a reassuring hand on your shoulder before reaching into his walkie-talkie to radio to the other officers to look for a missing student, giving descriptions of their hair color and clothing. The tour had to be put on hold, Leon directing them back to the holding area and making sure no one else slipped off. Leon took your hand and looked into your eyes, determination and hope shining bright in those eyes of his. He gave your hand a gentle squeeze, instructing you to stay with your students for the meantime.

“Don’t worry, miss. We’ll find them in no time. In the meantime, please ask officer Bass to reach into the drawer to my right and get the bags of mini donuts. The kids deserve a snack.”

He nodded and began to walk off before turning around to face you again. “Help yourself to some too. It’s been quite the morning.”

As soon as he left, another officer came in. “Bass”, his patch reads. Leon must've called his attention before he left, telling him to come in. You told the officer about Leon’s directions, disappearing through the door before coming back in with bags of mini donuts for the class. You open up bags and instruct students to take what will satisfy their hunger, making sure that there’s other pieces for other students. You decided not to have some, anxiety disabling your ability to feel hunger at the moment. You can only hope that this issue is resolved before parents get involved.

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“Miss Y/N. Found them,” Leon says. His large hand is on the student’s shoulder, the student looking a little sheepish after realizing he got the class worried. They were fiddling with the straps of their bags, gaze downcast towards the ground as the officer walked him towards you. “Found them in the entomology room, was sketching some beetles.”

You walk towards your student, checking around if they lost anything or appeared injured even if they were just sketching some insects.

“Are you alright? When did you slip away from the rest of the line?” you softly ask. “Why didn’t you ask permission?”

Your student stayed silent, a little too shy to answer any questions for now. Eventually, they spoke up but in a hushed voice.

“I got a little distracted with the longhorn beetle display and forgot to tell everyone else that I was there at the insect-display room,” they explain. “I didn’t mean to make everyone worried and I’m sorry for causing a fuss all over the station.”

Leon chuckled softly and bent down to his level, a kind smile displayed on his face. “Hey, it's fine. Just make sure to tell your teachers or any adults if you’re going to go somewhere, okay? Nice drawing back there though. You’ve got a knack for art.”

The student smiles a little bit though they’re still stiff. You lead them to the rest of the group, the tour day ending. Some students pass a few mini donuts in their direction. You finally call up the driver to come pick everyone up and go back to the school, where their guardians will fetch their children.

“I don’t think you had a donut,” Leon asks with a boyish grin.

“Yeah. I didn’t,” you softly respond.

“Anxious?”

“Yeah. Well, I was because that’s my student and how could I be so careless to let something like this happen?”

Leon stays silent, standing right beside you as he observes the kids along with other officers deployed during the incident earlier.

“They’re here now, safe and sound too. I guess this is a learning experience for all.”

His comment pulls a small grin from you. What he said wasn’t even remotely funny but it somehow made you smile. God, were you all sappy for him already? Well, it is easy to make you smile. Maybe you’re subconsciously using smiling as a way to calm yourself down and try not to be too overwhelmed with the incident from earlier.

“Well, since you didn’t have a snack earlier… What if I take you up on a donut run one of these days? Next week, maybe– or any time you’re free?” He asks. “I know a couple places.”

His cheeks flush to the shade of cold watermelons on a hot summer day, the sudden burst of color a contrast to the pale skin of his face. You noticed him fidgeting with a loose thread of his pants, a little nervous on asking you. You beam wider, accepting his offer and setting dates, exchanging numbers. Just as you finish writing down the last digit of your number, the bus arrives. Quickly, you arrange your students again and begin leading them out the station, reminding them to thank the officers for their patience and time.

“I’ll walk them out,” you hear Leon say to his superior as he accompanies you to the bus and helps the students jump up on the steps, reminding them to be careful and to have a safe ride back home.

"You too, miss Y/N. Have a safe trip back home.”

“Will do, officer.”

He takes your wrist and gently helps you up even if the height isn’t even that great to begin with. You give him a thumbs up before waving him bye. You’ve already made a mental note to come back there and sign up on an itinerary tour as soon as you arrive in order to take some time admiring the architecture for yourself but turns out you’re going to be coming back to admire someone who you wish will be all to yourself soon.

NOTE - This was supposed to be posted 3 days ago in time for my birthday but I was busy with so much school work, I wasn't able to post this on the date I set for myself 😭😭 My birthday was cool actually: I almost got lost in another town, I passed an admission test that I got sick and miserable for, and my best friend got me a Chris Redfield capcorom!!!!! Taking Chris wherever I go now like I'm out here greeting him good morning or good night before I go to bed 😭😭 I forgot to ask my mom if I can get a birthday cake so I was unable to print my Leon, Dante, Vergil, and Nero cake-toppers BUT IT'S FIINEEE. I was losing motivation due to being unable to work on this because I have requirements due and this fic was marinating in my document for 2 weeks so... yeah :| Fic releases will be less frequent since I've got so much things to do lately. I'm also still accepting requests so feel free to drop by in my asks. OH RIGHTT my team for our sports festival on dodgeball won despite having absolutely ZERO practice so I'm proud of that :) Anyways, that's it and thank you so, so, so much for reading my fics!!!!!! I <333333 UUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!

The dividers are from @plutism , the images are made by me (sourced from Pinterest).