#it's all very complicated I shall simply have to continue to ponder

[schleckermaul]

🍭 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙨! ice cream 🍦 — by @nobully

break was, very much, trying to have a good time. the odd walk has become much more pleasant in the warmer seasons, especially since he's found an umbrella reminiscent of his old one at the local market. it doesn't cover much of anything other than his head, but he can twirl it against the unyielding glare of the sun to protect his sensitive skin. his cane guiding most of his way, he only talks to mad hatter once, asking for assistance as they navigate through a rather large crowd of people all trying to purchase an ice cream from a seemingly popular stall at the side of the road.

   he's about to navigate himself towards one of the adjacent tables, apparently also offering shade with much larger umbrellas attached to the middle of them, as mad hatter notes a threat.

   break stands still, pondering, and sighs.

   tucking his umbrella into a bag that seems much too small to hold it, he expertly swoops through the line of people waiting to put in their order, cane bumping a few ankles on his way to the very front. once there, he listens for the conversation between owner and customer for a short second, and snatches the ice cream straight out of wang yi's hand, immediately taking a bite.

   ' he— hey?! ' there's the initial protest, similar to the small outbursts from the other customers as break passed them, that morphs into recognition with wang yi registering just who's stealing his treat. break ignores him and turns towards the owner.

   ' another two scoops, please. one vanilla and one raspberry, this time. with sprinkles. he's paying. '

   wang yi is frowning, break can tell as he answers. a soft downturn of one side of his mouth, break's ears catching the sound of his brick being unlocked. ' i guess i am, ' he mumbles as he holds it out for the owner to take the wanted amount of dust with his own device. it's all a bit too complicated for break to truly get, but he knows that his food was paid for, so he doesn't really care.

   ' splendid. let's sit, shall we? '

   his gaze lingers on the boy for a second too long to be comfortable, red eye boring into him. there's no real space for a refusal, and still break adds a light, ' before people start rioting about my meeting up with a dear friend at the counter, huh? '

   so, they sit.

   break's smile drops after that.

   ' you can stop worrying, you know. ' his cane leaning against the table, break has taken the seat on wang yi's opposite, crossing one leg over the other. licking a bit of ice cream from the corner of his mouth, he regards the other lazily, as if there was no intent at all behind any of his behaviour.

   wang yi seems to know better, the unease hanging in the air tensely. something that's bound to happen, considering he now knows that break is capable of much more violence than a first glance would betray. however, the pathetic air of guilt still hangs over him, and break is already fairly tired of it. ' for the moment, ' is added when wang yi takes a second too long to reply.

   ' how reassuring. can we just get it over with? you kill me and walk off without anybody noticing? '

   break frowns. wang yi continues, seemingly talking into his ice cream. or at the very least staring down at it. ' have fun explaining that one to nicolette. or zhilan. '

   and that, that's enough for him to lean forward and demand the attention of a boy who realizes break is blind. where he would be careful not to reveal it to anybody else, now, break can simply glare ahead, a warning in red eyes. ' if you have something to say, ' he starts lowly, before reaching out to trace a knuckle across the side of wang yi's throat, grin forming on his lips, ' out with it. '

   wang yi only straightens a bit, to his credit. ' i'm just saying, it's a bit cruel to drag it out this much. you're gonna kill me anyways. isn't that what you said? '

   ' i said it, and i meant it. ' honest truth in those words, with less of a threat. matter of fact, if you will. break sighs again, flopping back onto his seat without much theatrics, taking another bite of his ice cream. ' but nicolette and zhilan already know about the parts i'd like you to keep to yourself, so i'm less concerned about that, and more concerned about your grimy little hands on them. '

   ' how noble of you, ' is muttered into wang yi's cup of ice cream. ' so i get to be dragged along a bit more. '

   ' you're the one who insisted on being with nicolette. ' his voice drops into something of a deadpan neutrality, break's gaze drifting across the other tables around them. he's aware that there's more to it, that nicolette wants this just as much— which is the only reason he's here in the first place. ' how about some terms? '

   ' what, like terms and conditio— is that a piece of paper? you actually wrote something down? '

   break raises an eyebrow that seems to shut wang yi up as he slides the paper across the table after having rummaged around in his bag, ice cream cone carefully balanced between his teeth. he digs around some more for a pen. ' which immediately brings me to my first point. if we're going to do this— and i mean being around each other, you're going to have to stop mothering me. i don't appreciate it. you've made it perfectly clear that you have plenty of information about my condition, and i'd like you to show an ounce of respect and shut your mouth about it. '

   ' as if you care about respect, ' wang yi counters fairly quickly. ' what, don't want zhilan to know you're rotting away? '

   ' he knows. '

   ' ... oh. '

   break starts biting at his waffle. ' indeed. you can forget about that bargaining chip. '

   ' that's not— alright. what other terms do you have? '

   ' one, ' break starts, counting with his finger after pointing at the paper again. ' you stop mothering me. i stop accepting your help. two, you shut your mouth about my past, i won't kill you. three, you keep your nose out of my business, and i keep my nose out of yours. as long as nicolette doesn't tell me to hurt you, i won't. '

   ' not very reassuring either. ' it is, admittedly, a bit funny to hear a bit of humor in that response, and break grins as he bites down on the last of his ice cream cone.

   ' well, it's the best deal you're going to get. take it or leave it. quite literally. '

   ' ... if i take it, ' comes slowly, as wang yi seemingly starts to correct the spelling on break's written list of the previously mentioned terms. ' and these stupid terms are broken, what then? '

   break shrugs. ' depends. i might just beat you up. if there's special requests, i'm inclined to hear them out. otherwise, we'll have to go case by case. '

   whether that's satisfying or not, break doesn't know. there's, at least, a long moment of silence between them, where he cleans himself up a bit, grabs his cane. wang yi, looking back up at him, has apparently made up his mind.

   ' i— '

   ' i don't need your answer right now, ' break replies deftly, standing up after giving the boy a pat on the cheek that's slightly too hard. grinning, he pulls out his umbrella. ' think on it, let me know next time we inevitably stumble across each other. and if it's a denial— '

   raising his cane, he tips the end of it underneath wang yi's chin. ' you'd better make sure you knock me out first this time. hear that? '

   whether it's an empty threat or not, whether wang yi takes him seriously or not, break tilts his head with a wide smile. ' i'm ordering another ice cream on your tab. thanks for the treat. '

   and with that, xerxes break leads himself through the array of tables, straight towards the counter, leaving wang yi with another bill and a poorly written note.

[dcbutinamrev]

“Look me in the eyes and repeat what you just said.” 👀👀

Ask and ye shall recieve!

~~~

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton sits down at the aide-de-camp office with a grunt. He tries to remain his focus on his tasks at hand, completeing more corrospondences for General Washington, shuffling through Lafayette's rough drafts and occasionally checking any spelling errors as the Frenchman is still learning the American language. But he couldn't help but feel his eyes tick up towards the narrowed staircase a few feet behind him. His chest fills with fire, ready to burst.

Hamilton forces his eyes back down towards his papers in hand, yanking the quill near the new aide-de-camp, James McHenry, who was recently added to Washington's staff not long ago. A few days ago perhaps and Hamilton must admit it is a surprise, indeed, that he's caught up with the routine quite quickly. As quick as Laurens.

Hamilton scowls and shivers at the thought of Laurens, his words--hurtful words--echoes through his mind as he clutches onto the quill tightly. He presses his lips together and bites his tongue behind clenched teeth in hopes it would hold back the low growl cojming from the back of his throat. His fingers curl tighter around the stem of the quill as the tip scratches Washington's name near the bottom of the corrospondence.

"Hamilton?" a voice says, snapping him out of his thought. A Southern voice, might he add. It's not as distinct as Laurens' but Hamilton can hear a twinge of the South in the man's voice.

He ticks his eyes towards his peripheral, his brows furrowing together to form a crease in his forehead and swallows hard when he sees Richard Kidder Meade seated beside him with a worried expression upon his face and a hand clamped onto the Caribbean's shoulder. Hamilton relaxes at Meade's touch but still is somewhat tense.

"Kidder..." Hamilton sighs as he runs a hand through his dark red hair and puffs out a breath, his freckled cheeks puffing out as he does so.

Meade smiles softly as he pulls the wooden chair beside him out and slides on down next to him. He folds both arms over his chest and leans against the edge of the table with his head tilted to one shoulder. He presses his lips together, pondering what to say next before finally clearing his throat and leaning back, somewhat relaxed.

"Are you alright, my Little Lion?" Meade says affectionally. In all honesty, Hamilton loves it when his dear friends call him their little lion, especially by Laurens.

Hamilton sighs audibly through his nose, setting his quill down after signing his corrospondence. He shakes his head. "No. I...well...perhaps...."

"Perhaps?"

"Yes...it's just..." Hamilton shakes his head, glancing over his shoulder towards the stairs where Laurens still remains in the bedroom where they shared their last argument. A childish argument, Hamilton thinks. One of Betsey and one of his roles as a soldier and him insisiting I be locked up here like a woman.

"Alexander?" Meade tries again.

Hamilton sighs, finally explaining, "It's Laurens." A pause. Hamilton glances up at Meade, expecting him to question him but thankfully he doesn't. Hamilton continues. "He...he...he and I...we had argument..."

"Oh..." Meade says softly. Hamilton nods.

"Yes." A pause. "I just don't understand him, Kidder. Can't he see how much I care for him? As much as I care for her? As much..."

"Her?" Meade prompts, quirking an eyebrow, though he has a feeling he knows who the "her" is.

"Betsey," Hamilton says, taking a small sip of his coffee before setting it back down. A loopy grin on his face as he sees his beloved newly wedded wife before his eyes, her dark eyes on his, entrancing and almost like a bottomless pit, her dark hair--dark as chocolate--loose around her shoulders. Her pale blue dress down to her waist... "My wife..."

"Ah," Meade says, pating Hamilton's arm. "I'm sure he understands. He knows how much you care for him."

"Yes, but..." Hamilton sighs. "It's..." He glances back up at the stairs, his expression of what was once anger now disappiated into softness. "It's complicated, Kidder, between us." A short pause. "You wouldn't understand."

"I know," Meade says. Hamilton whips his head over his shoulder towards Meade with surprise, his face paling and his blood goes cold. Meade chuckles, causing Hamilton to frown with confusion and tilt his head to one shoulder. Meade, however, continues chuckling and and pats the redhead's shoulder. "I know. Oh, trust me, Alexander, I know. I know love when I see it."

Hamilton swallows but Meade only returns the expression with high, arched eyebrows. Hamilton glances back up at the stairs and instantly scoots his chair back, his chest squeezing as though a hand were clamped around his lungs.

Perhaps there was one.

Hamilton fumbles over the flaps of his buff blue Continental coat as he stumbles his way up the stairs towards his and Laurens' shared bedroom. He slams the door open rather ungentlemanly and marches two steps forward before slamming it shut behind him. He sees Laurens plopped down at the desk where Hamilton would usually work into the late night hours if he had extra work to finish, scribbling something onto paper.

"Stop," Hamilton says, catching his breath, breathing sharply in and out.

Laurens surprising stops without a protest, the tip of his quill hovering above the parchment. Laurens doesn't say anything.

Of course, he doesn't.

He's waiting for an answer. He's wanting Hamilton to answer.

"Stop it, John," Hamilton huffs.

Laurens lowers the quill scarily slowly yet gently as well and cranes his neck of his shoulder to glance at Hamilton before him, both eyebrows high and a small smirk of amusement? on his face.

"Oh? And why should I, Hamilton?" Laurens says. "You've made your point very clear."

As soon as Laurens turns around in his chair, Hamilton rushes forward and instantly dropping down to his knees and grasping both of Laurens's hands in his. Laurens freezes, his eyes narrowed at the paper before him and breathes in slowly, his breath hitched at his throat and holds it in place.

"Enough of this, John," Hamilton whispers, reaching out to tuck back a loose stray honey colored hair behind his ear. "You know where my heart lies."

"And it lies with that woman!" Laurens hisses, barks loud enough to be mistaken as a dog.

Hamilton flinches but tries to remain calm and steady. He never takes his eyes off his beloved Laurens' even though Laurens may take his eyes off of Hamilton himself, avoiding his gaze entierly. Hamilton shakes his head.

"No," he says, catching Laurens' attention. "It lies with you as well."

Laurens opens his mouth to protest but Hamilton promptly cuts him off.

"What is wrong with me loving another as much as I love you?" Hamilton whispers.

"That's not how relationships work, Alexander. You've never been in a relationship with anyone besides me. Haven't you? You don't know what heartbreak is like."

Hamilton feels his lips twist into a tight scowl and scoots foward onto his knees so he's in between Laurens' legs, his hands still clutched into his. He gives it a firm shake as he snarls, his eyes eyes twitching, "Look me in the eyes and repeat to me what you've just said."

Silence.

"I have experienced heartbreak throughout my childhood, John," Hamilton explains in a quick, hushed voice. Almost like a snake. "My father abandoned me when I was ten. My mother died because of an illness the doctors couldn't treat while I survived. My cousin committed suicide not long after my brother and I moved in with him. My brother, the only person I had left, was seperated from me. A hurricane destroyed my fucking home. Demolished it. Burned it to ashes! Killed thousands and thousands of people...innocent people...John."

A pause.

"So don't you dare tell me what heartbreak is like, I know what heartbreak is like."

"That's besides the point," Laurens growls. "That's different. I'm not talking about that. If you would just stop blabbering and just simply listen."

Hamilton growls low, yanking his hands off of Laurens and standing upright, placing his hands on his hips now. "Well then perhaps you should do the same."

Laurens pushes himself up from the chair and towers over Hamilton, so Hamilton has to shrink slightly. Laurens folds his arms over his chest.

"You did the exact same thing he did," Laurens growls as he shakes his head, blinking his eyes. His voice cracks, causing a spear to go through Hamilton's heart. "Claimed you loved me. Say that you loved me. And I thought you were mine, you said you were mine! I...I wanted..."

"And you are!" Hamilton whimpers, cupping both of Laurens' stubbled cheeks in his palms. He searches the blonde's face, his eyes ticking back and forth quickly. "You are, John! You are mine and you always will! I love you...so much...just as much as I love Betsey!"

"No!" Laurens snaps. "You stated yourself there was no one you loved but her!"

"I had to say that, John! I had too!" Hamilton cries. "We were surrounded by the others! You know..." Hamilton pinches the bridge of his nose and huffs out a breath, trying to calm himself. "John...I love you..."

"No," Laurens says instantly. Hamilton sniffs and glances back up at him. Laurens rests a strong hand onto Hamilton's freckled cheek, the pad of his thumb wiping away a stray tear Hamilton didn't realize had escaped. Laurens smiles, though the anger and annoyance is still clear in his bright blue eyes, and leans down to press a kiss to the edge of Hamilton's mouth, his nose nudging against his cheek. "You should be married." Hamilton lets his eyes flutter shut as Laurens pecks his earlobe and whispers, "For both of our sakes."

"Jack--" Hamilton begins but Laurens cuts him off with a sudden kiss.

Hamilton hisses sharply through his nose, taken aback and completely off-guard. He lets his eyes slip closed and slowly lifts both hands up to squish Laurens' cheeks together while Laurens lets his hand slide down Hamilton's sides and grip his wrist, pulling him close so his chest nearly touches the blonde's.

Laurens tilts his head, trying to find a perfect angle, letting his lips trail down the side of Hamilton's neck and up his jaw. Hamilton grips Laurens shoulders to keep himself steady as he tilts his head to the side to allow Laurens room. Laurens, however, gets a little greedy, needy and slams Hamilton against the closed bedroom door, pinning his arms to the side as he kisses the redhead's lips, his knee nudging agianst Hamilton's inner thigh, causing Hamilton gasp sharply with surprise. Laurens grins with triumph, the corners of his lips quirking up.

"John..." Hamilton gasps against Laurens' rough, yet soft rosy pink lips. "John!"

"My apologies," Laurens sighs as he pulls back, pressing his forehead against Hamilton's. "Do not leave me, my dear boy."

Hamilton hums, a small smile on his face, slowly opening those breathtaking deep blue eyes. Laurens' heart flutters and his breath hitches in his throat when he sees flecks of violet in those deep ocean blue irises.

"I won't leave you," Hamilton promises. He pauses, furrowing his brows in thought as he scratches Laurens' light stubble with his fingers. "But..." Laurens raises both eyebrows, gesturing him to continue. "You have to promise me not to leave me as well."

Laurens breathes in sharply. A curt nod.

"I promise."

That will be a lie.

[writeyouin]

Hey there! Your fanfics are incredible! Could you please write a Will Turner X Reader one where the reader goes back in time after watching Pirates of the Caribbean and then the reader and Will fall in love? Thanks a lot in advance! :)

Will Turner X Fem-Reader - Life Inside a Movie

A/N – All better from being ill, so here is a fic.

Warnings – None.

Rating – T

You leaned over one of Port Royal’s railings, humming a tune that only you knew in this time period. From afar Will Turner watched you, listening to the occasional lyric that you whispered under your breath; the song was just as unusual and out of place as you were.

“Dancing in the moonlight, everything is weird and out of sight,” You sang, staring up at the night sky. 

It was something you did every night. Once, shortly after Will had found you and given you a place to stay, he had asked you why you were so obsessed with the sky. You had told him that where you came from you could never see any of the stars because of something called light pollution. He hadn’t understood what that was, even when you tried to explain it, nor did he understand how one place could have less stars than anywhere else, but he did like that the sky brought you peace. He just wished you didn’t insist on going out every night to view them because there were some nights he couldn’t be out to protect you, and even a peaceful place like Port Royal had its fair share of criminals.

“You can join me if you want,” You said, fully aware that Will had been watching you from afar.

When the two of you first met, Will would have found your forward manner and your knowledge that he was there unnerving; now it was starting to rub off on him as one of your many qualities.

“It would me my honour, Miss (L/N).”

“I’ve told you before, where I’m from we always use first names.”

“And I have told you, it is my pleasure to use your beautiful last name and give you the respect you deserve.”

You smiled to yourself, thinking about how different life had been before you had come to this time. How sad it was to think that chivalry eventually died out, and yet how nice it was to be one of the few from your timeline to receive it.

You thought about the film Pirates of the Caribbean which you had watched the night that the mysterious portal opened in your apartment, leading you into the film itself.

When you first arrived, you had fallen right into the forge, spraining your ankle in the process. Fortunately, the Forge’s owner and Will’s master was asleep, so he didn’t notice the portal that had brought you to Port Royal; you had a feeling that if he had seen it, you would have been in the gallows for sorcery.

Shortly thereafter, Will had returned from a delivery and found you. At first when he saw your strange clothes and unusual hairstyle, he had considered reporting you to the royal guard, suspecting you to be a pirate. It was only when you begged him for help that he paused. It soon became clear that you knew nothing about the finer arts of piracy; you couldn’t even hold a sword properly and that would have made for a very poor pirate indeed. All the same, Will still didn’t trust you so he demanded to know your story, otherwise he would have no trouble seeing you imprisoned, for they very rarely hung women unless the offence was as bad as murder.

Knowing Will was an honourable character from the many times you had watched his film, you came up with a story for yourself that sounded fairly reasonable. You told him you were a simple bookkeeper from a foreign land, who had been stolen by pirates along with a great many others. In the tale, you alone escaped on a lifeboat and had made your way to the nearest island. All in all, you didn’t think it was a bad explanation. The bookkeeper was a reasonable job that would explain why you could read and write so well, and if Will asked, you could say you sprained your ankle upon escaping.

With a few more questions, Will soon believed you and he offered to take you to the boarding house where he lived, even paying your rent until you could get a job. You insisted you would pay him back, but Will thought little of it; after all, he was far too concerned trying to figure you out.

To be frank, you scared Will at first. In Port Royal women and even most men didn’t know how to read. Then there was the fact that you were educated in even more fields than the governor himself. You knew maths, geography, world culture, and more science than anybody he had ever met. While you were only of average intellect in your time, you were a fountain of knowledge in this time. Will asked you where you had learned such wondrous things and you had replied that you had learned all you knew in school and college, but what schools even let women in? He thought you must have been fabulously wealthy in your old land to receive such a fine education.

Although you gave Will much cause for concern, your friendly attitude and the fact that you didn’t scorn his lack of schooling made him begin to trust you. Instead of fearing your knowledge, he began to ask questions of you. He started to think of you less as his responsibility and more as a friend. Given time, he even found a job for you as a secretary for the governor himself, though it took a fair amount of convincing that a woman could do the job.

You offered to pay Will back for the money he had lent you thus far but he rejected the offer, claiming it was the place of any gentleman to help a lady in distress. At that, you started paying your own rent, and to repay Will’s kindness you had taken to cooking him meals after his long days at the forge. Although you weren’t the world’s greatest cook at home, it seemed your knowledge of ingredients and flavours made you an excellent cook in Port Royal; Will often said you ought to open a restaurant after you had introduced him to pizza.

You hummed thoughtfully, leaving your reverie far behind to simply enjoy Will’s company on the Port Royal balcony.

“What great aspects of the world are on your mind tonight?” Will asked, loving your ever-intelligent answers.

“What in the world, you ask. That’s cute. One should never have just the world on their mind, Will.”

“Oh? So what do you think of instead, if not the world?”

“I think of the universe and my new place within it.”

You had explained the concept of the universe to Will before but he wasn’t sure whether to believe it. People were still discovering new islands of the sea from one week to the next. How could anyone possibly know if there were other planets if the human race hadn’t even discovered everything on Earth yet?

Despite his personal opinions of the universe, Will liked the sentiment of your words. “And where do you think your place is?” He asked.

You yourself pondered the question. It was a hard one to answer. In Port Royal, with your education, the sky was the limit, but you were a woman. At home, you had the freedom to do what you wanted when you wanted, but everyday life was lonely and filled with a world of people that didn’t care for anyone but themselves. Truthfully, it didn’t matter where you would have liked to be. It all depended on whether fate would ever reopen another portal and throw you back where you came from or whether you would be left in Port Royal forever; perhaps it would be a continuous loop of being thrown back and forth, though you highly doubted that.

You realised that Will was waiting you an answer, so you smiled, tucking your hair back behind your ear, “I don’t know.”

“Perhaps then, Miss (L/N), if I may be so forward as to say so, you might find that your place is here.”

“In Port Royal?”

“By my side,” Will corrected, swallowing nervously when you turned to face him.

At home, people who said such things to you were always just playing a cruel joke, but you knew Will was being sincere; he always was. For one guilty moment, your thoughts lingered on Elizabeth Swann; if you accepted Will’s proposal, then she would never experience his love, nor he hers.

“I-” Playing things safe for a moment, you dared to ask, “William Turner, are you saying what I think you are?”

“Miss (L/N)- (Y/N),” Will grabbed your hands earnestly. “I was a simple man before I met you, but you have opened my eyes to a whole new world. I may not have much to offer in respects of wealth or position and I have no doubt that you deserve somebody of better station than myself, but I love you and that is something I can offer you now and forever. You have my heart, if you will take it, and even if you do not, it shall still be yours, for I shall never offer it to another.”

“I don’t- I mean- What about Miss Swann? I thought you loved her.”

Will grimaced. He himself had also believed he was in love with Elisabeth Swann, but now after feeling real love towards you, he realised that what he had felt for Miss Swann was merely infatuation after she saved him during their shared childhoods.

“No (Y/N), I can say without a doubt that I love you most ardently. I understand if you do not wish to be with me or if you need some time to think-”

“No,” You interrupted curtly. You shook your head, searching for an explanation at Will’s curious expression, “I- I don’t need time to think. I just- Wow, um- Sorry, I know I’m messing things up here.”

Will managed to chuckle at your ever-strange manner of speaking, putting you somewhat at ease.

“At home, I could never have expected such a wonderful proposal, from anyone. I would say that except for a small few, romance is dead and most marriages are… well, complicated for lack of a better word. It seems that where I’m from, we write a lot of love songs and books just dreaming about the life we want. Nobody would ever even talk to me with the respect that you do; only royalty get spoken to like that.” You realised you were saying a lot of things Will would never understand, but what else could you do when you were sorting through your feelings for a film character. “Will- I- I love you.”

Will released his breath, feeling his heart pound ecstatically. He wanted to draw you into his embrace, but he still kept to his own gentleman’s code.

“(Y/N), with your permission, I would very much like to kiss you now.”

“I- Yes.”

Will raised a hand slowly to your cheek, stroking it gently. His eyes searched your face, memorising every detail of what would be his first kiss. He wondered if this was yours too, considering how different both your homes were. Trailing his hand down to your chin, he tilted your head up.

“You’re shaking,” He said, worried that you had suddenly changed your mind about him.

“I’ve never had anybody look at me the way you do,” You whispered anxiously. “It’s terrifying, in a good way.”

Will gave you a small smile, leaning in slowly to press his lips against yours. He did nothing to deepen the kiss, keeping it simple; it would be improper to do more when the two of you had only started courting that very night. However, as his lips parted from yours, he knew he would take every future opportunity to kiss you, his new love.

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[frightfurtabby]

HimiKiyo Week 2021 Day 4: I Am Not Your Queen

// Mastermind Kiyo AU for day 4! Because that’s a pretty good reason to be enemies. Could things be different? It’ll take a while for these two to figure out.

Word Count: 2848

Links-

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34159447

Amino: (coming soon)

“That’s right. If all other alibis check out…” Shuichi said, hand on his chin. This was the final class trial, everyone’s fate hinged directly on what was going to happen next. It depended on the case they’ve built up so far being absolutely correct. One irrefutable accusation and the mastermind’s entire game was crumbling to pieces like a house of cards. “Then there can only be one person that was behind the lies that killed Kaede, Rantaro, and all our other friends.” 

His finger pointed across and to his left, at the person standing between Tsumugi and Maki at their trial bench. “Korekiyo Shinguji, you’re the real mastermind behind the killing game!”

The detective's words echoed throughout the room, bouncing off the walls. Himiko, in spite of how many times others called her “slow” grew increasingly silent as the discussion kept going back to them and their actions from earlier. They had been outed as a serial killer in a previous trial but in spite of everything they helped Himiko at her lowest point immediately after what had happened with Angie and Tenko. 

She remembered crying on Kiyo’s shoulder, listening to their soothing voice put her at ease, advice like a wise sage being passed down. Each and every time she needed it, she would go to that anthropology lab. Each time her footsteps took her in, her feelings only grew stronger. Her first kiss was in there, with them. Before what happened there was a pull she felt, but she never got much of a chance to get close with how intimidating they came off as.

Kiyo, who was now replying calmly as though none of it was bothering them. This was how it started in the other trial too, So that should be reassuring right? 

“Yes, it was me.” they said, “I just so happened to pick up my own after noticing Kaede had taken one with help from my nanokumas.”

Oh. 

Oh no.

And now it felt like the world was crumbling again. Only instead of feeling deflated and alone she was enraged. Enraged that the case against Kiyo didn’t have any holes in it. How could it be true? And now just admitting to it?

“Was all of that… was all of it a lie Kiyo?” she begged that what they had was real. Even now standing across from them as enemies. 

“No. I’ve been up front with you this whole time. There were simply parts of the story you weren’t ready to know. And you still… aren’t ready yet.”

“But you- but you-” words escaped the Mage, leaving her unable to think calmly and properly. “You could have stopped this at any point, but you kept going.” She didn’t even notice they felt a tinge of fear underneath the words she was replying to.

“Why assume I have enough control to end it early, that would be going far off-script.” A small bead of sweat formed which the killer wiped away. 

Wait… off script? What did something like that even mean?

Himiko turned to notice that Maki was giving them a death glare. “Because you’re the mastermind, obviously.”

“Oh, I see. In that case… no, I wasn’t working alone to do this.” they began to explain. “This wouldn’t have been possible without Team Danganronpa and all the fans watching right this very minute!”

“T-Team… D-Danganronpa?” Tsumugi stuttered in shock.  

“Yes, the studio that put together the killing game with me on the ground so to speak to act on their behalf. We are not actually the only ones left alive, there are more humans alive than any other time in history and millions upon millions of them tune into this program.“

“The world is… fine?” Kiibo pondered. The revelation made him tense about what his inner voice may be.

“Why would the world want a killing game?”

Kiyo responded “It works as a kind of release valve, I suppose. Conflicts have dwindled over the existence and increasing popularity of this show after all.”

“Can we… Can we go home? Kiyo please, let me go, let *us* go. You can do that right?”

“Even though it is not destroyed, you still cannot.” The other voice came from Korekiyo once more. Sister was back in action. Sternly she looked over each of the remaining survivors. As though she was looking down on them.

Himiko glared at her from under her hat. “You again.” While she was feeling so complicated about Korekiyo right now, she unambiguously disliked their “Sister”. Then it hit her. Maybe if the Sister personality was the one that was the one really in charge she could forgive them… maybe.

It would take a lot after something as horrible as this. Especially since Maki and Shuichi swore to never forgive the mastermind, she was certain that she wouldn’t either. Even if Kiyo was just a lackey it would take time to trust again.

“I’m pleased you’ve all made it this far.” Sister said, sounding incredibly pleased with herself, rather than anything they’d accomplished. “I wasn’t sure you had it in you. I’d like you all to meet the fans.” 

The blush bear sweated, making the cartoon ‘awooga’ sound like a character seeing an attractive person. “Yes ma’am.”

Futuristic gears spun in front of Monokuma, bringing a keyhole to in front of him, he stuck the key in and several screens proceeded to descend. Faces appeared: Asian, white, black, men, women, even children. Various expressions across their features. None of them stayed long enough for any witness to recognize, even if they remembered anyone they had known.

“These are the fans of Danganronpa.” Sister explained. “Danganronpa is their collective favorite show. The 53rd season has been one of the most successful in years.

The discussion was halted. It was surreal, more so than even waking up here originally was. All of those people had been watching the whole time. 

Himiko asked “So the fans they saw… everything?” Did they know who the mastermind was?”

“I presume some of them did, but this reveal is equally for their benefit. There’s a vibrant debate each season about who the mastermind is and how they did it. Occasionally spoilers will get leaked.”

“So this… was the killing real?” Tsumugi’s voice wavered as she tried to speak up.

“Yes, that part was real. The people playing those eliminated characters are gone from this world as well as the real one.” Sister took off Kiyo’s hat and put it across their chest looking solemn. “They knew there was a strong chance of that, and signed up like many other fans before them.”

“Was it you or Korekiyo who committed Rantaro’s murder?” Shuichi prodded. The shock was wearing off. The trial was continuing at last in the wake of 2 extremely unnerving revelations.

“I feel like that’s a question dear Korekiyo should give the answer to.” Their shared body pulled up the mask and Kiyo began to speak again 

“It was as I said many times, I’m only meant to be an observer. I… admittedly broke that role when I chose to do what I did. I even apologized to them, to myself for it.”

“Then why, surely you must have had a reason.” Shuichi prodded. 

“Regrettably for my ethnography, our class that should have been in a completely fresh, sealed environment was muddied when I did it. Sometimes what I want comes into conflict with a higher power and they were banking on Rantaro Amami’s death being the hook for the episode.”

“So then Kaede’s shot put ball really missed…then why didn’t you kill all of us when we got the answer wrong? Simply f--for Television ratings?”

“I’m afraid the answer to that is yes. That is why everyone survived the sham trial. The fans would have completely revolted.”

“But maybe we’d be spared this revolting game continuing. Do you understand all of this is wrong?” Maki shot at them. 

“Those are quite the harsh words from a professional killer. Though… maybe I shouldn’t say that, your backstory is fake after all.”

“So then… I didn’t spend all that time…” Maki muttered. That wouldn't stop all of it from feeling deeply real. 

“No you did not. That is part of the Ultimate Real Fiction.” Kiyo explained. “It was put into your mind by the flashback lights, as Shuichi deduced. All of our lives were.”

“Being fundamentally changed into a completely different person with a completely different life… what kind of cruel person would force someone to-” Maki

“Forced to?” Kiyo asked quizzically. “No, I can assure you every one of you wanted this. Team Danganronpa takes all of your input very seriously.”

“Our… input?” Himiko asked.

Kiyo clapped their hands together. “Of course. Now I shall show you!”

The screen cut away from the faces of the fans and to some kind of tape. Shuichi Saihara stood in front of the camera. He spoke about how he loved Danganronpa and wanted to be a detective character.

He finished with “ And I’d do anything to be in danganronpa. I will come up with the best, most gruesome murders. Everyone would love it! And, a detective character hasn’t been the blackened yet, so I’m sure I could do that. I’m even thinking about the perfect punishment… for the ultimate detective.”

His glee was evident. Someone so against the killing right now had been one of the biggest fans ever, with a Junko like joy in thinking about how he would be punished as the culprit. It really was like before coming here he wasn’t the same person.

They even went so far as to play Kaede and Kaito’s revealing in part they had said things like “I don’t have any faith in humanity” and “I’m going to kill everyone and win.” respectively. 

“So you see… none of us were the same. If you like how you are now then you may stay perhaps? Finish the fight of hope against despair. Or we, as friends, could all stay here?”

“No, we won’t do that.” Shuichi said, pointing dramatically. “Right guys? The only way to get through and win this. It’s to reject hope and despair. The very premise of Danganronpa.”

It was put up to a vote. Before that, the outside world had tried to argue Hope or Despair, reinforcing the choice. But the cast continued to refuse. 

“We’ll end this with our own hands!” 

It came and went. And… Everybody abstained.?

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

Kiibo flew out of the trial room, determined to end the entire killing game now no matter the cost. Everyone would finally be free. All he needed was to finish off this prison school with his upgrades. Rocket boosters made it easy to fly to the next part to blow up.

Down below him, the remaining survivors stood in the courtyard. Kiyo had stopped right before outside. Himiko stopped as soon as she noticed they weren’t running like the others. And those three stopped everything because their friend was endangering herself.

She approached them, which caused a curious head tilt. They had been waving before that moment. It should have been goodbye forever.

“I can’t… let it end like this. It shouldn’t end with you dying like Junko.” 

“Why not? Do you not doubt my feelings? I’m just playing my part after all.”

“Your part, look… about that, listen.”

“And what a grand p-” It seemed like they wanted their final words to be some grandiose speech. 

“We don’t have time, please.” She grabbed them by the hand, watching the school building collapse further as it became less able to hold its own weight with all the holes punched in each wall. Over her shoulder she pleaded with Maki to help move the obstinate murderer. 

The rock above must have spurred Maki on. If she had done nothing, surely both of them would have been crushed. And as painful as it was to keep someone who worked for the captors around she wasn’t about to lose another friend after watching what had happened with Kaito and Kokichi getting themselves killed in that harebrained scheme. 

If it ended like that, it felt like it was disrespecting their plan to stop the killing.

Maki also helped Himiko pull Kiyo away towards an opening that formed after Kiibo blew himself up to take the cage down with him. Four people crawled through, blinded by a bright expanse. 

Birds chirped. Several voices could be heard shouting. It was time to go home.

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

The campus was in a bright field. In fact they could clearly see the ruined courtyard from where they all stood. The wall was broken down and so all that was left behind was the twisted, warped metal of their former cage and the buildings they had walked for the several months they were in a fictional world cut off from everything else.

The line separating the two worlds was broken. It was really that thin the whole time. And it reflected the true reality they found around them. 

It was as unfamiliar as their memory of waking up inside what they had just left. Nobody but the mastermind retained any memory of ever being in this place.

They were led to a hallway by uniformed employees, many rooms lining each side of it. It looked exactly like the dorms that had been in the fictional hope’s peak. Save for the fact all the placards were for them: the survivors and the deceased. 

If there was much spoken, Himiko didn’t pay attention to it. She didn’t know what to say, how to process much of it internally. 

Korekiyo was much more aware and listened, chiming in hoping to be helpful in spite of the fact none of them would want their help. 

The mastermind was almost always scripted to be killed, to be thoroughly and finally defeated by the hope of the students. It was in fact what they had agreed to happen. This class was very different. Shuichi and Kaito and Maki of course, but the whole time Himiko was special too. 

And she didn’t remember why that was. 

They had agreed in private at some point before the procedure to fully become their characters but after the first scene’s rehearsal that it would be terrible if only one of the two had to die. In the moment of escape there was a split second where Kiyo could swear a spark in her eyes indicating some kind of memory of this.

Was it an unspoken acknowledgement? They had to check. If she had really remembered something, then maybe there wasn’t a need to perform a routine as enemies. And they could be forgiven for what happened. At least, more easily so than if she did not recall what things were like leading up to the actual game.

After things settled down, Himiko and Kiyo privately met once again. Both were nervous. 

“Himiko Yumeno. I… would like to ask you something.” 

She didn’t look up, just sitting in the chair and debating whether or not she should be afraid of them. They could go back to being Sister at any point, and that would really freak her out. 

“Go ahead.” the redhead muttered.

“Why did you save me?” Kiyo leaned forward trying to listen more closely.

“I don’t know. I… maybe it was a mistake letting you live. For some reason though I felt… like I had to.”

Maki, Shuichi, and Tsumugi certainly let her know how much of a mistake they thought it was. It didn’t feel good, even if the latter two tried their best to be polite about it. 

“If it makes you feel any better I’m not sure how I feel about this either.”

“Do you… no, did you want to die Kiyo?”

“Yes. I was quite fine with it.” they held their tongue upon finishing, hesitating. That statement was not entirely true. They had accepted it, but part of them still felt bad that only she would get out of this if they had. And that was debatably the worst outcome. The other two options would have been preferable, and they got one of them!

“I… well you know how much I wanted to die in the killing game. How scared I was.”

“I knew how much you wanted to die before, from your audition.”

That reminded her. “Why didn’t you show any from mine then?”

“I…” Kiyo started, rubbing the back of their neck. “I was sure you would hate me even more than you already should if I showed it the way I did the others.”

“Can you show me it?” she perked up a little bit. Why were they so concerned about if she hated them? They certainly seemed willing to tell her all sorts of things even though they were enemies.

They nodded and produced a USB drive. They walked over to a laptop and put it in. “And if you don’t remember anything after this, I’ll tell you everything.”

“Promise?” she pleaded with them.

“Yes.” a small smile was hidden by their mask. Maybe being enemies wasn’t a forever thing.

[a-jumped-up-pantry-boy]

The Secret Stealer

Trees took graceful waltzing steps and swayed their leaves as the breeze hummed a secret tune, while striped and spotted dresses lackadaisically bobbed from one side of the street, which was coloured only in varying shades of brown, to the other, much like ducks on water - only without any purpose. They brought a much needed shock of colour to the otherwise miserable location, although many would insist that the plain street was charming, rather than personalityless. Inside the whimsical tea-shop, the interior of which was far more resplendent, and generally more pleasant, than the exterior, teacups danced between their owners’ hands and the saucers they paired with, creating an orchestra of clinking crockery, delicate spoons tapping against the sides of cups as the beat, and the main melody being the hums of appreciation from the grateful customers as they sipped their drinks. 

“Thank you, sir, but I’m rather sure this topic is just far too complex for a woman to understand, no matter how competent you are at explaining it. Might I propose moving onto an alternate field of conversation, instead?” An asinine creature giggled and twirled a lock of honey coloured hair around a perfectly manicured finger she spoke, leaning across the table under the guise of reaching for the sugar pot to send a simpering smile at the way of her companion. 

“Of course, Miss Alward. I understand completely; this topic is very complicated and you’ve far too much to think about without me trying to make you ponder something much too difficult for your brain. I imagine all your time is spent choosing new dresses, yes?” Her companion spoke considerably louder than she did, his arrogant tone attracting glances from many people at other tables. 

“Well, what other activities would I be partaking in?” The young woman readjusted her skirt, flashing her ankle at the man who sat across from her for only a second, and giggled, a light sound that could come only from a head filled completely with air, glancing at him to make sure he took notice of her guilty show of ankle, looking satisfied when he continued to stare down at her feet. Drawing small circles with her left hand on a small piece of paper covered in patterns, she used her right to stir her tea as she continued to smile at him, seeming to have no aim other than to win a touch of her hand or a predatory leer disguised as an adoring smile from him. “The weather is very pleasant at the moment. I imagine your mother has been having many garden parties at the moment?” She continued to glance up at him from under her eyelashes every few seconds while he spoke. 

“Unfortunately not. She’s been rather sick recently, and has been confined to the house, but she’s sorely missing all her parties.”

“Perhaps I could pay her a visit soon, to lighten her spirits?” He nodded and smiled at her again, as if she'd said something particularly endearing, and began talking extensively at the poor girl, making the mistake of assuming she held any interest in the least important aspects of both his and his mother's lives, simply because she'd made a polite inquiry, and incorrectly presuming her vacant smile, which was actually just covering her wandering imagination as she completely ignored every word the verbose man threw at her, was a sign of deep interest. As he began to talk about his third butler’s recent antipathy to the ducks in his lake, she felt overcome by a deep lassitude and began nodding in time to his lilting speech, contemplating how long it would take her to drift asleep that evening if he sat beside her bed later, still talking, and she observed the shambolic tweed jackets that contained women heaving stacks of books along the street, leaning against Picasso painted parlours and shooting sardonic smiles at the candy coloured dresses who stared with horror at their hair, clothes and literacy that they displayed with shocking confidence. Soon his stream of conversation, although really it was like a vicious river that never ended, moved onto a new topic, and she repressed a sigh, wishing she was imprisoned anywhere but that tea-shop. 

A dress, made of light fabric where blues mingled in with browns, wandered along pathways that would be impossible to navigate, had the wearer not basically grown up in those woods, whilst the girl trapped inside it fiddled with her gloves and parasol as she wandered, staring at the sky and trees. Eventually she strolled into a clearing, flinging her arms open wide, dramatically greeting the other girls who resided there, hanging from trees and perched on rocks. The only woman there who was older than 25 made her way towards Clarissa, while a girl followed from behind her, shooting a grin towards her friend. 

“Why, pray tell, does your dress have the contents of a teacup over it?” The woman asked, her eyes running over the stained dress a few times before she stepped forward and began scrubbing it with a handkerchief that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. 

“Mr. Lowood was the most tedious character I’ve ever had the misfortune of meeting, and I had to spill my drink over me just so I could escape his company. Oh, Anne, why did you send me there?” Clarissa cried, stepping back from Anne’s rough hand and gently scrubbing at the dress herself, scowling at the persistent stain. 

“Away with the dramatics, for Goodness’ sake. I’m hoping you found out something useful before you decided to jump ship?” Anne just gave the girl a disapproving look as she began to dance around the clearing while humming, then singing her message.

“His mother is sick, so I shall pay her a visit soon, and hopefully in her delirious state she’ll accidentally give us some information. And his butler, the third one, hates their geese and ducks, so perhaps if we threaten him with some aquatic birds he’ll-” 

“Any other helpful information?” Anne’s question was greeted simply with a fast shake of Clarissa’s head and a disgruntled look at being cut off before she could finish her duck-based proposal. “Then I suggest Miss Reid accompanies you to change out of your dress,” she finished, then glanced at Clarissa once more and swept off to go and discuss matters, most of which were secret, with one of the other young women. 

“This role is insufferable!” Clarissa muttered, stalking through the trees until she reached a sheltered spot, stopping underneath and struggling with the fastenings on her dress. “Whenever I gather secrets, I’m treated as nothing more than another silly little creature they can exploit and then abandon. Of course, I’m not, but it’s demeaning to have to pretend to be dim just so that I’m considered pleasant company.” She finally undid the buttons and pulled off her dress, glaring at it as it sank to the muddy floor in a depressive heap of heavily starched fabrics as if it was the sole reason she was forced into something that made her so unhappy, immediately stepping into another with no care for its delicacy, only being more careful with it after she heard snapping threads. 

“Surely you realise what you do is important? Without you, I doubt we’d be able to...persuade men to do what we want. A business of secrets is barren and useless if there’s not a soul collecting the secrets. What did you discover today, at tea?” Catherine calmed Clarissa’s intense fury almost immediately, her soft breeze, which matched the soft ringlets that framed her face and light colours she always wore, putting out the fires Clarissa’s tenacious temper wouldn’t fail to set alight. 

“At the expense of my happiness, peace and feeling of any emotion other than eternal boredom, I collected a few secrets. Nothing on their own, of course, but paired with the facts I’m sure I’ll discover during my meeting with Mr Lowood’s mother, there’s not a single situation I can imagine in which we fail. I don’t want to dwell on the possibility that we might fail; this is an important mission, even I understand that, for all Anne doesn’t trust me, and there’s an awful lot that seems to be resting on my shoulders. Mr Lowood seems about as harmful as a spaniel, but I’m sure his acquaintances could damage us if they saw fit, which they would if we threatened him. Truly, there’s no room for error.” Clarissa had by now fasted her dress and was pacing around the clearing, gesticulating wildly, while Catherine sat on the edge of a rock, smiling slightly. 

“I’m certain nothing will go wrong; you’ve prepared for this mission for so long now, you have a plan for every possible error. And besides, Anne trusts you, you know she’s awfully fond of you, and she doesn’t trust many people. You’re truly a special creature if she has faith in you. However, she has nothing but stern feelings towards me, that must be why I’m still only allowed to sort through correspondences, the most tedious task of them all! But, tell me more about Mr Lowood’s misdemeanours,” Catherine answered, more eager about Mr Lowood than she had been about any of Clarissa’s previous cases, although she was sure that was just because she’d complained more about him than anyone else, and so of course her friend would be more intrigued by him. As she quietly uttered the secrets, careful nobody else could hear, she began tugging on her gloves, which seemed to be bound to her skin, mindful of the delicate spot by her thumb where a hole had broken the last time they had an argument, and which had been shabbily mended just after they made peace with each other. After Clarissa had finished discussing the “insufferable, eternally mundane Mr Lowood'' with Catherine, her friend suddenly dashed off, and she was left standing in the woods alone. 

Rain, laced with knives shot down, soaking Clarissa to the skin as she ambled away, alone. 

The secrecy was difficult for the women of the society to live under, as the pressure often suffocated them, which wasn’t unexpected, as they were forced to leave the entirety of their lives behind to become someone new and help the movement. This secrecy, a burden that all of them carried, flowed through their veins constantly, becoming a part of them, until it was difficult for even them to be able to tell the difference between the lies in their lives and the parts that were true. This secrecy had broken families as easily as dried leaves, their cracks on display to everyone else in their circle to observe, for as good as these women were at hiding, they could hardly hide from people who were as good at lying as them. This secrecy had caused women to pull away from their families completely because of the lies which comprised them so entirely, they were nothing but a series of stories.

Anne sat in a different clearing to the one all the younger women congregated in, bathing in the melody of the river tumbling over the rocks that inhabited it, thanking the stars that were just emerging that she didn’t have to assimilate any more information about the most fashionable style of dress, or listen to anymore mindless chatter that the girls pertinaciously assured her wasn’t utterly inane. Clarissa stumbled into the clearing, soaking wet. 

“Why is it that I play this role, rather than someone else?” Clarissa’s voice was soft, not with anger - her anger was blazing and impossible to miss, it scorched the Earth and nothing was left untouched - but with confusion. Her hair, wild after sprinting through the trees in the way she so loved, curled around her face, not framing it as a beautifully decorated picture frame would a masterpiece, but surrounding her face as a cloud of smoke would an explosion. 

“Many of the other girls want this role because they want to feel important. You, however, care nothing for the opinions of others. You wanted this, although you don’t anymore, because you wished to change things. These girls, of course they hope to witness and cause a change, but your sole purpose is to set things alight and rebuild cities after the flames, and this is a fact you’re well aware of,” Anne stated, her focus shifting from her umbrella to the girl stood in front of her. 

“What about Catherine? Is she not filled with a flame, as I am?”

“Catherine...possesses a warmth, not a fire. Her wish is to change, but she has not the drive, nor the passion, that you do. A role, any role, isn’t suited for her any more than a life of complacent marriage is suited to you. She resents me for my observations, and yet she doesn’t aim to disprove them. That’s how I’m sure she’ll never burn as bright as somebody with a scorching soul will.” At Anne’s words, Clarissa nodded her head, never arguing with her statements about her friend. Catherine was dear to her, the closest companion to her soul she suspected she’d ever have, but she wasn’t tempestuous, possessing no storm behind her eyes, no wind to stoke the embers in her heart, no soul that seemed to drive her every move. 

“When we first started this, my dearest friend and I, we thought it would work perfectly. We fit together as opposite pieces of the same puzzle. But there was a fantastic upset between us, and we discovered we weren’t from the same puzzle at all. Her shades of blue for the sky was actually the colour of the sea for me. We were so contrasting. She wanted to use the information we found to ruin gentlemen’s public image, while I wanted to use it to...convince them to do as we pleased. An enormous case, the one that finally snapped the last threads between us, was with a middle aged gentleman on a big council, with a plethora of people he could influence. We’d made it known to him that we had news of a scandal concerning him, a very secret one I doubt even his wife knew about, and my wish was to use this information to persuade him to add three women onto the board of the council, and to publicly support our ideals for equality so people would listen, for without a voice-”

“We can never gain equality. Anne, that expression seems to come out of your mouth more and more these days,” Clarissa’s tone was jesting, but her countenance had turned grim and there wasn’t a hint of a smile anywhere except her mouth. 

“I say it because it’s true. As I’m sure you know, because your work does a great deal for us and our case.,” Anne shot Clarissa a meaningful glance, but she was too busy glaring at the river as if it were responsible for all her troubles to notice the look coming her way. “While I was eager to be more persuasive, my companion simply wanted to blacken the name of the mayor. I suspected she wanted to seek revenge, as opposed to making a legitimate change, and I said as such to her. My accusation excited her greatly, and before we knew it we’d spoiled the entire plan by causing a rift in our friendship. The mayor was unaffected, because our force wasn’t enough to make a difference as just one person, and it was many years wait before another chance came in which something could be done.” Throwing herself up again, Clarissa began striding across the river, alternating between kicking dirt into it and pulling leaves off the tree that shadowed over it, her mouth set in a firm line the entire time. Without either of them realising it, the rain had stopped, and as suddenly as the drops had stopped pummelling the Earth, her face cleared again, divested of all worry and anger that had overtaken her just seconds before. 

“How can it be that what I do is important? Surely-” As she spoke, her clear expression remained, and her tone was thoughtful rather than virulent. 

“We use information we’ve gathered to prevail upon authority to make the right decisions. There have been arguments that what we do is culpable, that threatening to sully a gentleman’s reputation for our own gain is unladylike or disreputable. But in such circumstances where we have no power, we must use whatever opportunity that comes our way to gain some semblance of authority, which we cannot do without means of control. By collecting the secrets, you give us a way to enforce that control.” Clarissa nodded throughout the entirety of her guardian’s speech, sitting uncharacteristically still.

“I suppose I should pay Mr. Lowood’s mother a visit and gather some secrets. I do enjoy this, I admit. It sometimes feels irrelevant, almost, what I do. But, I suppose you’re correct, and it can be of some importance, even if it doesn’t seem it.” Although she was prepared to leave, pulling her hat back onto the mess of curls and pushing her fingers back into her gloves, she remained in the clearing, some matter of deep thought overtaking her features and causing her expression to look even more vacant that it did when in the company of Mr Lowood. “What happened, after your disagreement with your companion?” 

“Although we tried to come to peace with each other, we were far too different, and we ended on unhappy terms. It’s wrong, but I can’t say I’m upset with what occurred. We only caused each other vexation.” Anne glanced at the girl, who was once more lost in thought, as she strolled out of the clearing, her expression betraying nothing other than cogitation. 

Many weeks later, seated in the parlour Mr Lowood’s estate, listening to his unsought after explanations as he began to sort through a shambolic bookshelf in search of an illustration of a butterfly she had no interest in seeing, Clarissa adjusted her hair and surreptitiously peered at the clock, praying more reverently than she had ever done before that it was finally 3 o clock and Catherine was close to arriving, so she could persuade, or blackmail, Mr Lowood to publicly condone the women who protested for jobs and equality, and to publish complementary features in his newspaper about their doings. An echoed ringing of a bell was heard by Clarissa, and no sweeter sound existed in that moment, and only seconds later an efficient housekeeper bustled in, announcing the arrival of Miss Catherine Reid. 

As her friend walked in, Clarissa felt more confident, standing up, although nowhere near the height of Mr Lowood, and searching his face for a sign of confusion or fear as she spoke, but finding none. Still, she persevered, darting a glance over to Catherine to check that she was indeed saying the correct things. 

“My dear Mr Lowood. I have heard recent news which rather shocked me, entailing details of your dealings with The Times Newspaper. Of course, I don’t suspect any accusations which charge you with publishing false, slandering reports of your rivals to be true, but it would be an awful shame if this information was heard all over respectable society. One could say your reputation would be ruined, just as your competitors’ were. I should hate for this to happen, and I dare say such trouble could be avoided with just a few simple acts from you.” Although Clarissa was threatening the man, he seemed awfully complacent, and she risked a glance over to Catherine to try and see if she had an explanation. A feeling of suspicion and inevitable trouble bloomed inside her at the smile Catherine was giving Mr Lowood, a suspect grin shared between people with a plan.

“Unfortunately, such accusations definitely are false, my dear Miss Alward,” Mr Lowood laughed, not sinister in any way, but disconcerting, taking into account the situation, nonetheless. “However, I also have heard what I’m sure are untruths concerning your relationship with important members of society. Dare I say you are a secret seller? Or a secret trader, whichever term takes your fancy. Your companion, Miss Reid over here, has been having very interesting conversations with me. How much you can learn when talking to somebody. Just as you learnt so much about me when you visited my mother, an elderly sick woman whom you manipulated. Your methods are rather sly, aren’t they? Of course, you’ve convinced yourself it’s for a good cause, but taking advantage of vulnerable members of society and then blackmailing people such as myself isn’t particularly virtuous.” Here he broke off, staring at Clarissa as she watched her world crumble. Catherine, a girl she was utterly assured was her friend, had betrayed her, selling her secrets on. She searched throughout her mind for answers as to why she would betray her as one would search for a missing sock: desperately, and to no avail. Although she was in an undoubtedly serious situation, in which it would be incredibly inappropriate to laugh, she found the irony of the situation amusing. A secret seller, having her secrets sold on to the very person she stole them from? 

“Catherine?” Clarissa muttered, and staring right at her with no remorse on her features, no sentiment of apology, Catherine just nodded at the silent allegations and questions of guilt. 

“I never was of any use. You complained about your role continually, but at least you were important. I was disposable, utterly forgotten in the tide of everyone else,” she said, a humourless laugh escaping her lips, although the only one smiling was Mr Lowood. 

“Now, we can’t have women strutting around, believing themselves to be important, or superior-”

“We don’t wish for superiority, only equality. Surely that’s an admirable motive?” Clarissa interrupted Mr Lowood, her temper suddenly switching from hilarity at the irony to fury at the injustice. 

“Maybe admirable to you, but if I’m to be tainted in your quest, then I disapprove. Now, I’m sure we can come to an agreement and you can forget your trade of stealing secrets, yes? Get married, live life as a mother rather than a rebel,” Mr Lowood continued to grin as he spoke, enjoying the situation far too much for Clarissa’s liking. “Of course, you can choose not to agree, but by doing that, you’ll be resigning yourself to a life of imprisonment. I have great influence over judges, and I’m sure a jury wouldn’t take kindly to your case. Do you agree?” All Clarissa could do was nod, but as she did so, she noticed that her glove, which she’d been pulling on nervously, had ripped, a hole breaking out in the exact spot it did the last time it broke.

@sharing-a-room-with-an-open-fire Thanks for reblogging the November prompts list because I wrote this using it (the prompt I chose was historic)!

[deathflares]

» ffxivwrite day #05 — matter of fact

wol & thancred, implied wolexarch&thanuri, 1k words, mature.

[ao3 mirror]

Shiori’s drunk—like, actually might either start telling people things she’ll soon regret or pass out on the spot at any moment drunk. It’s been a couple years since she has been this wasted, but gods damn it, she’s earned herself some respite, alright?

She sits on a table further away from the crowd for now—as much as she appreciates the people of the Crystarium and their attempt to show her and the Scions their gratitude by means of a terribly extravagant party, she’s never been much of a people person, and huge gatherings like those tire her out very quickly, the alcohol in her blood notwithstanding.

And, well. From here it’s easier to watch him, and wallow in her own misery without being disturbed.

The man in question is currently surrounded by the same Mystel children that had braided her hair and woven flowers into it, all the while bombarding her with more questions than she could manage to answer with one mouth—the usual why did you become an adventurer and how did you get to be so strong, with some more complicated ones such as how did you and the Exarch meet and are you guys going to get married thrown in at times.

Right now he’s kneeling among them while they curiously marvel over his crystal arm and his intricate robes, some playing with the whitened tips of his hair and one actually trying to weave a flower into his locks like they’d done with yours. He entertains them with gentle hands and patient words, no sign of the cheeky, if a little brash young man she had met four years ago to be seen.

Thoughts of he’d make a good father and would he be that patient as he ran those judicious hands through her naked body, teasing her until all she can do is beg cross her mind, and she briefly ponders the pros and cons of throwing herself down the stairs of the Mean. The children ask him something she can’t hear, and he for once appears actually flustered, throwing a nervous glance in her direction. Shiori schools her expression into something neutral as quickly as she can, giving him a wry smile. They’re your problem now.

“Considering they’re being held in your regard, I fear you staying away from the festivities defeats the point of them, my friend,” she hears.

She glances up to see Thancred, tankard in hand, already moving to sit on the chair beside hers.

“They’re not only for me,” Shiori answers, “and even if they were, should I not be able to do as please, as the subject to be celebrated? I feel I’ve earned myself a breath of respite.”

“Oh, is that why you were here? I thought you had merely sought the best vantage point to ogle the object of your affections, if the way you’ve been staring at your new old friend like a lovestruck schoolgirl is anything to go by,” he says, the shite-eating grin spread over his face tempting Shiori to dump what remains in her own tankard over his clothes.

“Speak louder, why don’t you,” she hisses instead, glad she can excuse the flush on her cheeks as a consequence of the alcohol.

“Forgive me the nosiness. I am simply surprised to finally meet the one able to win your heart, after all the lords and ladies that have battled for your affections. But I suppose no one has quite crossed the bounds of time and space and laboured a hundred years to save your life like he has.”

Shiori groans, taking another long chug of her ale. Nevermind what she’d thought earlier—she is definitely still not drunk enough for this.

“I don’t mean to pry,” Thancred says, prying, “but pray answer me this—why not tell him? Surely you don’t doubt a man who calls you his inspiration and has dedicated a century of his life to saving yours isn’t, at the very least, madly in love with you.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” she says. “He is, as a matter of fact, in love with someone—but that someone isn’t me. She’s the brave warrior from the tales he read in the future he comes from, the fearless, dauntless hero who ended wars and liberated nations and who was somehow still a beacon of hope for the people in a world she failed to save. She’s the Warrior of Light, flawless and immaculate—not the woman behind the title, with all of her flaws and weaknesses and baggage. She’s not—me.”

Nothing like being stupidly drunk to make her unusually honest. Thancred is silent for a long moment, and while she can feel his eyes on her, she keeps her own gaze pointedly on the table in front of them.

“You are more than your flaws, Shiori,” he says finally, voice unusually gentle.

So what if I am, she thinks. I’ll still never be good enough for someone like him. G’raha is kind and selfless, loved by an entire nation for his compassion and leadership. He is the one who gave up his life to wait in slumber for the sake of a future he would one day inherit; who freely gave a century of his years to save two stars from certain doom. His warm and gentle hands have given life and protected it; hers only know how to destroy. What right does she have, to tarnish his gleaming light with her dreary darkness?

“He still deserves better than this, after all he’s done,” she says instead, quickly forcing her lips around a smile before continuing. “But you surely seem interested in my love life, when you have plenty of turmoil on your own, master Waters. Pray tell me, when do you intend to tell our resident astrologian about your certainly not platonic feelings?”

That gives him pause, to no shortage of her satisfaction.

“I,” he says, averting her eyes, “haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about, my friend.”

She laughs, turning her voice into her best impression of Thancred-from-four-years-ago. “I guess poetry only falls unbidden from your lips when there are no complicated feelings involved, my dearest minstrel.”

“Must you humiliate me so,” he asks.

“You started it.”

“Then I shall end it,” he says, standing up and offering her his hand. “Join me for a dance, my lady, that we may forget our emotional turmoils even if just for a few minutes?”

She laughs, but in the end, she takes his hand.

[seyaryminamoto]

Which of Gladiator's villains/antagonists could be capable of a redemption arc after part 3's final, and which would be incapable or redemption. Redemption is a weird concept since its basically just surrendering to the views and morality of others by choice and rejecting your own prior outlook, so its all subjective. Also, this question assumes all antagonists survive part 3 for the sake of the hypothetical, since I'm starting to suspect some of them will bite it in the final cough-Ozai-cough.

... See this question is difficult to answer for reasons that shall become obvious as the story progresses (... certain people on this list won’t bite it at the end of part 3 but much sooner, oops :’DDD). But,as we are where we are now, I guess I’ll answer with all our most villainous characters up to date:

Ozai: strangely, Ozai is not incapable of redemption, not completely. I just have to break him bad enough that he ends up questioning himself and the world around him and just about everything that ever happened to him (?) So it’s difficult, but not impossible. He’s a terrible person for sure, but the show itself tried (admittedly, in a half-assed way) to present that he wasn’t born this way. There’s some things that could lead Ozai to ponder if his path in life isn’t quite what he had always believed it was. Now, full-blown redemption as in “Ozai becomes a cutie-patootie who wouldn’t hurt a fly?” Hell no. But a certain degree of change and evolution... that’s not out of his grasp.

Zhao: it’s actually funny but we’re even witnessing his “redemption”, in the way you defined it even, throughout all of Part 2. He’s not being redeemed in the classic concept of going from villain to hero, but the moment he decides that maybe Sokka isn’t complete trash just because he’s Water Tribe, he’s already rejecting something that was fundamental in his way of thinking up until Part 2 begins. On his first encounter with Sokka in Part 1 he’s outright AFFRONTED that this guy would even SPEAK to him... and nowadays he sits beside Sokka on the floor of an airship, trying to help him come to terms with his internal darkness so he’ll be able to use it more effectively to protect Azula. Like... okay, I didn’t ALWAYS plan to write Zhao this way, but we’ve definitely seen him evolve over the chapters he’s been involved in the story xD is he a totally innocent guy? Once again, hell no, and he has nasty plans in mind, especially after Hahn’s revelation about the Spirit Oasis. But is he still as bad as Azula always believed he was? Actually... no. The real question is... will Zhao continue to change his views? Or will he actually take a wholly different path once Part 3 comes around...? :’D

Seethus: eh. He’s kind of a weapon more than a human being, to be honest. You can’t redeem Seethus any more than you can redeem a gun: the guy is completely attached to Ozai and does ANYTHING Ozai wants of him. He practically makes no decisions of his own, everything he does is for Ozai. He’s the most loyal character in the story in the most fucked up way possible: Ozai’s commands are all he cares about. He doesn’t take pleasure in fulfilling his commands, he doesn’t take pleasure in anything at all, he’s just there to be Ozai’s secret weapon. So, if Ozai decides to change and stop using Seethus for wicked schemes... that’s still not Seethus making the decision on his own. He takes no sides, he just obeys. Therefore... I don’t think Seethus is capable of redemption, not as you described it, nor with a simplistic change of heart, because that implies him having a set of beliefs beyond following Ozai blindly and he absolutely doesn’t have them.

Iroh: ... yikes to the max. Despite the above ones aren’t exactly easy characters to discuss redemption with, Iroh is by far the more complicated of the bunch so far, even if he feels less dangerous than the others. Gladiator’s Iroh hasn’t done his worst yet... and some people already have guessed what that will be. I can say for certain that he will come to regret his actions, many of them, and he’ll undergo a terrible “holy shit what have I done” process... but that he regrets his actions doesn’t mean he’ll be forgiven by the victims of his ploys. He won’t really go through a full-blown redemption in terms of changing his mind/goals/beliefs... he’ll just be sorry that he was shortsighted, I suppose, and he’ll regret that he clung to those things so tightly that he caused terrible harm to those around him. But will he change his views and goals completely? Eh... not really. And it’s not like his goals are completely terrible, he does want to end Ozai’s tyranny and that’s not an unworthy goal... the problem is the extremes Iroh is willing to go to in order to succeed at that. As for his views, he’ll certainly change them a couple of times in the upcoming arcs, but in the end he’ll still stand by what he has believed ever since he came back from his Spirit World journeys and shenanigans, no matter if such beliefs aren’t quite as spot-on as he has convinced himself of...

Rhone: Frankly, of all characters in the list so far, Rhone is the first one who is a classic villain of the “I do awful things because I want to” type, to the point where I can safely say that his biggest “redeeming moment” is already behind us (the Fire Lord’s Shadow arc). If anything, he’s well on his way towards cementing his fatalistic, nihilistic and Fire Nation-despising ways in the coming arcs, and it doesn’t really matter what Sokka does, says or tries with this guy, Rhone won’t change his ways. There’s a sort-of deep reason why he’s doing everything he’s doing... but this guy is simply not okay. His mind is a mess, his heart is pretty much dead, and he doesn’t really know how to care about people anymore... and doesn’t care to learn again either. Soooo... not redeemable. Nope.

Jeong Jeong: I guess most villainous characters are Fire Nation, no matter which side of the war they’re on :’D Jeong Jeong is worse than Iroh though, this guy will only be willing to open his mind to other possibilities A TEENY TINY WEENY BIT, but largely he’s unrepenting and unwilling to change his current course. My depiction of Jeong Jeong is definitely painting him in a terrible light, there’s no lie there, but this guy is just not going to adequate himself to anyone else’s ideals or views. He’s stuck on his current mindset most willingly and deliberately, and he’ll do whatever it takes/whatever he wants to defeat Ozai’s regime once he has enough resources to make a proper move again. Don’t hold your breath over him changing considerably because... yeah. Not happening.

General Shaofeng: :’DDDDD this one goes right up there with Rhone. Absolutely not qualified for redemption of any sort. Shaofeng is one of the worst people in this story, morally speaking -- I have no idea if anyone has guessed why just yet, or what he’s up to, or why he’s so twitchy over Azula, but I think the next chapter will shed enough light on who he really is. So... no redemption for him, no chance at all for that with someone like him.

Renkai: I almost feel bad about listing him here despite he’s still such a weird, complicated and sketchy spy in the midst of Azula’s old guard... but Renkai is 100% on his way to a strange redemption. Yes, strange because he hasn’t done anything too dreadful yet... though yeah, okay, he did try to reveal his suspicions about Azula and Sokka to Shaofeng and got shut down immediately x’D but Renkai has had a few moments of doubting his current course in life already, and some upcoming chapters will set in motion actions that will redefine Renkai’s role in the story for good... :’D

Aonu: so very eligible for redemptions, but in more of a “Here, have a Snickers” way rather than a “I WILL CHANGE MY MIND AND VIEWS COMPLETELY!” sense... Aonu isn’t necessarily BAD right now, let alone would I deem him as villainous, but Aonu is a complicated guy who doesn’t quite think too often about anyone’s problems other than his own. Once he comes out of his shell and starts seeing things more clearly, Aonu will prove to be a much more decent guy than anyone would expect of him. Therefore, not exactly redemption but he’ll still evolve in a good way.

Combustion Man: ... nope. I did get a few suggestions on how to make him a more compelling character but frankly I don’t think I particularly need him to be more compelling? Much like ATLA never cared to go in-depth with Ozai, I don’t really care to do it too much with Busty over here. Soooo... no redemption. He’s a bit like Seethus, a living weapon, but this guy actually thrives in blowing things up and finishing his missions for violence’s own sake... so yeah, he’s not going to change that mindset. Not eligible.

Chan: ... hahahahahahahahaha WHY WOULD CHAN BE ON THIS LIST WHEN HE HASN’T DONE ANYTHING SINCE CHAPTER 12 AHAHAHAHA......Well, true, but that wasn’t the last we’ll see of him :’D and I’m honestly just adding him here to say... this guy is unexpectedly eligible for redemption, what’d you know? :’DDDDD (and I mean the son, not the father, the father is NOT eligible, he’s doomed for good (?))

... So, that’s that :’D I don’t know if maybe I’ll come up with some new villainous character in the future, though I think it’s not very likely... this is a relatively comprehensive list as it is, other characters that come to mind are probably too mysterious still for anyone to say for sure that they’re heroes or villains, but if anyone has any other character they’d like to ask about, feel free to do it by reblogging or replying to this post! :)

[fangsmyth]

i’ve been meaning to analyze the shit out of his poem but..... i’m on break now so i have time

it’s prefaced as “ a poem written in free verse, based on something haunting me as of late reflecting on one of my most complicated and passionate past relationships ” so while i know for a fact i could derive MANY different meanings i’m focusing strictly on this intention

i’m normally really bad at analyzing poetry but..... for Him i will Try ( this is a lot of nonsense rambling please do not mind me i am a fucking idiot if anyone has any other onions i’d love to discuss! ....p-please do not steal;;; )

gaslighting and emotional abuse warning under the cut but who’s fucking surprised

What is the meaning of a memory? A question I oft ponder Intangible and untraceable by anything but the mind Yet so potent as to leaVe one sick As if poisoned or Wounded in a literal sense.

just kind of setting the stage i guess is the best way to call this part? his first fucking stanza is god damn terrible memories leave scars that no one can see i could’ve come up with this in my goth phase

And What meaning is there in regret and longing? Can my lamentations change the past? Will they moVe the future? Shall they amount to much more than What unmoors my here and noW?

p self explanatory imo? this goes into a bit of detail about how despite the relationship being over, he’s still thinking about it and he feels bad about what he did and how he treated them.

‘ Will they moVe the future? ’ implies that despite his regret, he doesn’t feel like he’ll learn from his mistakes since he’s made them so many times before. especially so with the next line ‘ Shall they amount to much more than What unmoors my here and noW? ’

he already feels insecure, and any future mistakes he makes are just going to contribute to that;;

If I restrict my World to that but Which is before my eyes To those Whom I may touch, to that Which I might alter; One Would no doubt conclude that thoughts of You are last among What I could consider to “matter”.

this a really interesting stanza, recognizing that the past and present don’t matter, much less any people in the past that hurt him. he knows he should be looking at the here and now, but he can’t help but feel anxious about what happened and what will happen in future relationships.

( also keep in mind that ‘You’ is capitalized, not as a part of lanque’s quirk despite how naturally it seems to fit with his quirk. i kind of ended up interpreting it how ‘You’ is capitalized like you would ‘God’ and ‘Lord’ implying lanque puts this person on an insanely high pedestal? )

it’s super interesting imo that he chooses to say ‘could’ instead of ‘should’, implying he sees it as an option to stop thinking about the other but not a necessity or, for that matter, the best option he has. 

it implies that he recognizes that he has the option to learn from his mistakes, but........

And still You haunt me yet, like a scar, like a disease uneager to abate. Who are You and Who am I, after so long Without You?

it kind of hit me at this point that despite the fact that it was something lanque was recently thinking about, it’s... possible that it wasn’t a recent relationship. he’s clearly fully submerging himself into the role of the victim in this horrible relationship with emotional abuse to the point of forced codependence.

i’m legit having a hard time telling whether this is a matter of lanque making himself out to be the victim ( as emotional vampires often do ) or the very real possibility that he honest to god was the victim of a horrible relationship that left him..... permanently scarred to the point he feels like all relationships are just SUPPOSED to be that way 

i’m gonna mainly use language that points towards the latter despite the fact that i honestly believe the more obscure and difficult to explain possibility that this is him trying to put himself in the shoes of someone he treated like garbage ( since idk i feel like he’s really good at recognizing and understanding peoples’ emotions, just not so much feeling them himself )

talking about it as if he were actually the victim just makes this a lot easier to analyze

i’m kind of...... getting ahead of myself though lemme lay down the next stanza

I knoW I don’t knoW I Won’t knoW; What do I knoW but What I knoW and What can it eVen mean to KNOW?

an allusion to gaslighting. i’m bad at writing out definitions i literally just know things my brain is huge and you’re all just jealous so to copy paste from the wikipedia google search result

Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation in which a person seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or in members of a targeted group, making them question their own memory, perception, and sanity.

i *loudly gestures* i don’t feel like i need to explain much further! going between saying he knows and doesn’t know, literally talking in circles and questioning what the concept of keeping knowledge even means!! this relationship kind of fucked him up!!!!!!

knoW, knoW; No!

kind of redundant that this line is on its own, just implies getting fed up and ready to leave?

Agh, though it so Vexes me, Though so little I Valued it When it Was before me, a thing and a You I could touch and see and knoW and hate and Wonder. (reVile/Worship).

AH HERE’S THE GOD SHIT AGAIN I KNEW IT WAS HERE SOMEWHERE!!!

lanque didn’t see this person as such a central figure when he was in the relationship, or it’s possible that he simply didn’t realize how important they were to him. their godliness implies that this person was always above him, that it was a privilege to be graced with their presence alone.

this (reVile/Worship) shit in my mind reads very similar to one of the ten commandments saying ‘we must fear and love god’ or some shit like that, but it doesn’t quite fit. it’s highly probable that it just implies that the relationship walked on a very fine tightrope between kismesis and matesprit ugh i went so long without using homestuck terms i’m sad now.... anyways this is call back to that implication of choice i was talking about earlier that’s built on more immediately

NoW it, and You, are a traceless ghost, and I preoccupy myself With nothing but futile tasks of (RE)definition and (RE)interpretation and circuitous dWellings on that Which I understand eVen less noW.

SUPER obvious but the person in the relationship is gone and lanque doesn’t know what to do without them. goes over how it’s hard for him to tell whether this is a refining of his pre-existing personality or just a brand new one all together. again, a choice as to whether or not that’s how he wants to approach it

the path to this reinvention is brought about through a bunch of rebounds and new relationships, ‘circuitous dwellings’ implying he possibly stayed in some of them for too long and he honest to god has no idea why? like he wasn’t enjoying himself, he wasn’t really being reinvented. it solidifies that it was flat out a new definition as lanque is more or less going through the motions

than in the times When my Wonderings might’Ve been so easily ansWered With a question or a bite or a kiss, or eVen a single Word, spoken honestly.

STRANGE to me how this starts as if it continues the past sentence despite the fact that it DEFINITELY ends in a period i double checked 

anyways

he also finds himself having a MUCH easier time following the motions than trying to internalize and understand this relationship. ‘wonderings’ being... pretty obviously just anxiety thoughts like you know how your brain just says things that aren’t true

and figuring out if they were would’ve been easy if he just said something or did something!!

Pressed though I am to giVe color to our bond I look not to onyx nor ash but that Which pulses Within our Very Veins: that so blinding jade, hard as the stone for Which it is so named,

interesting that this sort of starts an outline towards giving the subject an actual identity?

like specifically saying “pulses within our very veins: that so blinding jade” OBVIOUSLY says that it’s another jade in the cloister that this is about?

usually i’d like to say that writers usually don’t do this without reason but despite the praises i constantly speak alone in my room about the endless array of implications in every other thing that comes out of lanque’s mouth i also know v is a fucking hack and a got damn terrible writer

some gremlin at 3am whispered in my ear in the middle of the night saying this is about a past relationship with bronya and i did have some points but bronya is too good so i’m going to tell that gremlin to go fuck himself

tWisted and pulled hammered and forged shaped, unnaturally as if a chain.

there were so many things they went through to try and get this to work, but it kind of just came up as an obviously fucked up mess. likely considering that it would’ve ended/ran its course a lot better if they didn’t even try getting together. 

i wish every stanza was this simple

A stricture Within scriptures; a certain so meaningful tincture.

calling back to that whole “easily answered with a question, or a bite, or a kiss, or a single word spoken honestly” and those whole religious undertones that i keep pushing this solidifies that i’m not fucking crazy

GOD there’s so much in this little piece the very fact that his object of affection’s voice and words alone leave him feeling that he literally has no room to speak. the stricture is like a noose around his neck if he talks out of turn, hence the frustration that he knows something his wrong but he simply isn’t allowed to say something.

until he gets his hand on that ‘meaningful tincture’. alcohol gives him the courage to speak up and defy that gospel, alluding to his dependence on drugs and why they’re so important to him! it’s a lifestyle he wouldn’t give up because he’d hate to be silenced again!

Resent You though I must, EnVy You though I may,

emphasizing that shit i was talking about earlier with could vs. should, lanque feels like the right thing to do is look back at this in scorn. he should despise this person he idolized so much and envy how easy it was for them to lock him in such a vulnerable position for so long yet here he is..... thinking about them again

NoW leagues and leagues stretch betWeen us And I make peace With not but What I say.

these lines are pretty transparent. this was never resolved, there was never a proper conclusion to this relationship. they kind of just drifted apart, but lanque can take solace in the truth and completion of this poem. he makes peace with the fact that he acknowledges all of the problems in the relationship, and chooses to make them a part of him rather than something to just scowl and scoff at

You are only that Which is Within me, my blood and my mind and that is at once nothing, and the most elementary definition of eVerything.

i’m tired man i wrote like what 5 google drive pages about it i feel like i’d be repeating myself since this is his equivalent of wrapping it up and tying it in a lil bow

just because it happened and ultimately doesn’t matter doesn’t mean he didn’t internalize it?

this sort of ended up defining the person he became since it just shook him that badly man

do i need to go into more depth than that i just want some fucking chicken

[imagine-loki]

Of Numbers and Strange Friendships

TITLE: Of Numbers and Strange Friendships CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: 39/?

AUTHOR: nekoamamori ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki being friends with Peter Parker RATING: T

NOTES/WARNINGS: None so far.  Also on AO3 here

Sigyn laughed at the silly boys.  “I’ll show your student the gardens, shall I?” Sig asked. The girls would let Loki have his fun. She figured that Wanda wouldn’t want to go down to the dungeons and turn criminals into goats. Wanda wanted to see more of Asgard and really had no desire to see the dungeons, so she agreed to see the gardens with Sig.  

“If Sif doesn’t find you two first,” Thor replied with a smirk.  He knew something the girls didn’t.  Thor didn’t smirk for no reason, unlike Loki, who seemed to always be smirking.  

“Why would Lady Sif be looking for us?” Wanda took the bait and asked the question. 

Thor’s grin only grew.  “Sif wished to goad you into sparring with her.  She wishes to see the might of the little lady on our team on Midgard.  As well as Loki’s protege,” 

Wanda raised an eyebrow.  “Lady Sif wants to spar me?  That hardly seems fair…” Wanda’s tone made it clear that she didn’t think Sif stood a chance in a fight with her.  She had a lot of power and Loki was teaching her magic and combat.  

Thor boomed a laugh.  “She wants to see the spiderchild in action as well,” he explained. Peter shrugged, he was game for sparring with an Asgardian besides Thor and Loki.  Thor grinned.  “Good, I will let her know,” he grinned and headed off to find his lady and give her the good news.  And probably make out with her.  A lot. 

Sig and Wanda waved and headed out to the gardens and Loki led Peter down to the dungeons.  He took his friend the long way, giving him a tour of the palace (and letting the annoying little spider take pictures of everything).  And they just so happened to make a stop by the kitchens on their way.  The two of them quickly came up with a hair-brained scheme involving an illusion, a small explosion, a lot of spiderweb, and a water balloon and left the kitchens with a basket full of pastries, desserts, and meat filled pastries.  They left the kitchens laughing like children and continued on their way down to the dungeons.  

Loki gave Peter a tour of the dungeons, telling him of the crimes of the criminals they passed as they did.  “Choose your victim wisely,” Loki warned Peter.  “I’m only giving you this ability once,” 

“Is it possible to give someone magic?” Peter asked curiously.  Damn kid was too curious for his own good.  “Someone who didn’t already have it?” he pressed when Loki hesitated to answer.

Loki paused.  “There are ways to unlock a being’s magical abilities.  All living things have magic.  There is magic in life itself.  Only those of us born with seiðr, with traditional magic, ever manifest those powers without external stimulation,”

“Like how Wanda got her powers from the mind stone?” Peter asked too astutely.  The boy picked up any piece of knowledge placed in front of him.  Or that he wasn’t supposed to know.  He was like a sponge, especially about magic and science.  

Loki inclined his head.  “Very much so.  She never would have gotten her powers otherwise.  She needed that catalyst to unlock her potential.  And there is no guarantee it would have worked.  Hydra had many experiments that failed before the experiment on Wanda and her brother succeeded.  I will not risk your life by experimenting on you,” he told Peter firmly before Peter could ask.

Peter hung his head. He had been about to ask.  “Alright, Mr. Loki,” he replied meekly.  This once, Loki knew the old term of address meant that the teen really was taking him seriously.  

Loki nodded, accepting that the arachnid wouldn’t ask him, and Loki wouldn’t do it even if he did ask.  “This spell, however, is just to let you borrow my abilities for the length of one spell.  You are simply using my power.  Now, let’s go over the spell,” Loki told him and led Peter through some complicated hand movements.

“You’re just doing this to make me look stupid,” Peter protested.  “You don’t do all this to turn someone into a goat.  Most you do if flick your wrist,” he grumbled.  He wouldn’t put it past Loki to make him do all these stupid gestures.

Loki huffed a sigh and rolled his eyes.  “I am a master magician of Asgard.  I learned this spell centuries upon centuries ago.  I no longer need the silly hand movements to channel the power properly.  This is the very first spell you are doing.  You need the hand movements,” Loki replied and continued his work.  “Now, which victim would you prefer?” Loki asked the teen once he had the movements down.  

Peter pondered the now terrified prisoners.  None of them wanted to be anywhere near Loki teaching magic to someone.  From their expressions, this had happened before and the results weren’t always pleasant. Peter finally picked someone who’d attacked a village of innocents, slaughtering them until the einherjar had caught him.  He was destined for the axe as soon as he could be brought before Odin.  Loki kept his hand on Peter’s shoulder, feeding him just enough magic as the teen walked through the spell.  Loki was also making sure it didn’t go wrong and a moment later, the power flowed through Peter to the man and there was a goat in the cell instead.  Peter whooped and jumped in joy.  “That was amazing!” he moved closer to the goat to get a good look at it.  He also snapped a picture.  Loki couldn’t help chuckling at the spider’s excitement.

“Congratulations on a successful first spell, spiderling,” Loki told him with a smirk.

Peter laughed and hugged Loki.  “I’ll never be a master magician like you, witch, but that was fun!” 

Loki chuckled.  “You’re quite welcome, arachnid. I’m glad you’re in a better mood. Now let’s go find the girls, shall we?” he asked and turned to lead Peter from the dungeons to go find their wayward ladies.

[theirwarmth]

Yusuke receives a text in the dead of night. It's frantic, grammar thrown out the window for what can only be best described as slurred crytyping. Thankfully, with enough squinting, actual words can be translated from the mess of hysterics: "New game... Akinabara... wrong stop... lost... Shinjuku??... HELP... only one... please." The rest is unintelligible, but its all she can send before curling up into ball, sobbing into her knees.

late nights.  //  @prsstrt

      IT’S  NOT  UNCOMMON  FOR  HIM  to  be  awake  at  this  hour .  of  course  as  someone  who  does  their  best  to  be  a  honorable  &  orderly  student ,  yusuke  tries  (  emphasis  on  tries  )  to  go  to  sleep  at  a  decent  time .  however  his  mind  is  ever  restless ,  ever  wandering .  if  he’s  not  thinking  of  future  projects  for  his  art  he’s  pondering  the  complicated  elements  of  life  or  figuring  his  budget  for  the  week .  &  that’s  not  even  mentioning  the  times  where  he’s  actually  risen  from  his  bed  to  pursue  some  art  endeavor  in  the  wee hours  of  the  morning .

      HE’S  LYING  AWAKE  IN  BED ,  scrolling  through  his  phone  on  some  art  blog  hoping  to  gain  some  piece  of  inspiration .  however  it’s  been  hours  at  this  point  &  he’s  close  to  simply  calling  it  a  night .  he  has  little  awareness  of  the  lateness  of  the  hour  nor  does  he  really  care .  he’s  gone  without  sleep  plenty  of  times .  once  more  will  hardly  do  any  harm .

      HE’S  JUST  ABOUT  TO  TURN  OFF  his  phone  &  going  to  sleep  when  a  notification  appears  on  his  phone  screen ,  the  vibration  of  his  phone  stirring  him  into  a  more  awake  state .  he’s  not  surprised  that  the  message’s  sender  is  futaba .  as  far  as  he’s  aware  she’s  the  only  member  of  the  team  who’s  prone  to  late  night  rendezvous . however  message  itself  is  befuddling ,  barely  any  clear  words  typed  upon  the  text  message .  though  one  word  stands  out  to  him  ‘ HELP ’  written  in  all  caps .  yusuke  would  not  necessarily  consider  himself  heroic  despite  being  a  member  of  a vigilante  group  but  he  cannot  abandon  such  a  blatant  cry  for  help  from  a  friend .

      HE  RISES  FROM  HIS  PLACE  IN  BED ,  quickly  throwing  his  tan  jacket  over  his  striped  periwinkle  pajama  set  &  putting  on  a  pair  of  slippers  before  exiting  his  dorm  room .  he  moves  with  surprising  swiftness ,  his  expression  stony  as  he  takes  long  strides  to  the  subway  station .  there  is   worry  in  his  wake  as  he  moves  though  it’s  not  at  all  evident  within  his  expression  nor  his  body language .  he’s  learned  how  to  visibly  hide  his  emotions  throughout  the  years  when  need  be  due  to  madarame’s  dislike  for  him  causing  a scene  when  he  was  younger .

      YUSUKE’S  RARELY  TRAVELED  THROUGH  THE  CITY  so  late  at  night .  under  madarame  he’d  had  a  fairly  early  curfew  &  otherwise  he  really  never  saw  a  need  to .  while  the  city’s  nightlife  greatly  intrigues  him  from  an  artist  standpoint ,  it  only  goes  so  far  &  he’d  rather  not  be  out  alone  at  night  simply  to  observe  people .  not  that  he’s  against  going  out  at  night  should  need  be .  if  he  was  he  wouldn’t  be  out  right  now  despite  his  lack  of  navigational  skills  &  knowledge  of  the  tokyo  subway  system .  he  wonders  if  he  was  perhaps  the  wrong  choice  to  contact  in  this  state  of  emergency .  hopefully  he  doesn’t  get  them  further  lost .

      HE  STRUGGLES  WITH  THE CONFLICT  of  wanting  to  arrive  as  soon  as  possible  but  also  desiring  to  be  careful  with  his  directions  to  avoid  getting  lost .  therefore  he  travels  at  a  staggering  pace ,  at  some  points  moving  fairly  quickly  &  others  moving  a  slow  as  time  trying  to  understand  his  surroundings .  but  he  does  eventually  make  it  to  shinjuku  in  a  little  under  an  hour .  now  the  only  task  is  locating  futaba .

      EVEN  IN  BROAD  DAYLIGHT  yusuke  considers  it  difficult  to  find  the  hacker  in  a  crowd .  futaba  is  significantly  short  &  tends  to  only  wear  muted  colors  that  blend  into  the  background .  had  her  hair  not  been  so  vibrantly  red  he’d  consider  her  almost  always  indistinguishable  amongst  the  crowd .  considering  her  dislike  of  crowds  &  public  attention  perhaps  she  intends  to  be  that  way  yusuke  wonders .  in  any  case  yusuke  has  a  more  keen  eye  for  detail  than  the  average  tokyo  citizen .  therefore  he  can  locate  futaba  faster  than  others  about  80%  of  the  time .

      HIS  EYES  ROVE  FROM  STOREFRONT to  storefront  as  he  moves  down  the  bustling  city  street .  how  fascinating  that  even  at  such  a  late  hour  the  city  is  still  full  of  people  wide  awake  in  search  of  adventure .  though  he  wonders  if  that  has  anything  to  do  with  the  fact  that  the  red  light  district  was  in  this  are .  he  gains  multiple  sets  of  eyes  following  as  he  searches ,  the  night  lurkers  perhaps  curious  of  his  slight  frantic  behavior  or  amused  that  he’s  clearly  out  in  his  pajamas .  nevertheless  yusuke  pays  no  mind  to  it .  he’s  been  stared  at  before  —  in  fact  he’s  been  stared  at  all  his  life .  people  would  gawk  at  him  like  he  was  a  strange  creature  in  a  zoo  or  a  precious  artifact  in  a  museum  &  no  in  between .  it  may  have  bothered  him  when  he  was  a  child  but  he’s  long  grown  numb  to  stranger’s  gazes .  besides  he  has  more  important  things  to  worry  about  than  people  who  can’t  mind  their  own  business .

      ONCE  HE  REACHES  THE  AREA  in  which  futaba  is  finding  yusuke  finds  her  almost  instantly ,  stopping  dead  in  his  tracks  as  his  eyes  catch  a  familiar  flash  of  red  hair  close  to  the  ground  in  front  of  a  shoddy  looking  bar .  with  no  hesitation  he  strides  over  to  her ,  his  ever  growing  worry  finally starting  to  show  across  his  face  as  he  reaches  her .  

      FUTABA  IS  ON  THE  GROUND ,  huddled  up  with  her  arms  wrapped  around  her  knees  &  her  face  buried  in  her  legs .  even  in  the  low  city  lights  yusuke  can  see  her  trembling  slightly .  the  whole  situation  is  unsettling  to  him  as  to  be  expected .  however  unlike  a  more  prepared  individual  yusuke  has  no  idea  how  to  go  about  the  situation .  

      HE’S  COME  TO  FETCH  HER  from  places  before  but  she’d  been  ready  then .  this  encounter  is  completely  unmarked  territory .  he  doesn’t  know  if  he  ought  to  try  &  soothe  her  or  if  she’d  find  that  demeaning .  seeing  her  in  such  a  low  state  tugs  at  his  heartstrings  in  a  way  he’s  not  familiar  with .  his  heart  feels  heavy ,  felt  heavy  ever  since  he  first  got  her  message .  could  this  heaviness  be  sympathy he  wonders .  in  any  case  whatever  lay  in  his  heart  gives  him  the  courage  to  move  forward  &  outstretch  his  hand  down  towards  her .

      ❛    FUTABA  —    ❜  his  is  softer ,  gentler  than  it  is  normally .  in  fact  the  tenderness  in  it  even  catches  him  by  surprise .  nevertheless  he  continues ,  trying  not  to  further  scare  her  as  he  speaks .  ❛    are  you  alright ?  i  apologize  i  possibly  could  have  arrived  sooner  but  …    ❜

      YUSUKE  IS  UNABLE  TO  GET  OUT  another  word  as  with  startling  swiftness  futaba  rises  from  the  ground  &  throws  herself  at  him .  she  knocks  the  wind  out  of  him  as  she  does  so ,  the  action  of  wrapping  her  arms  tightly  around  his  middle  effecting  him  like  it’d  been  a  punch  to  the  stomach .  he  gasps  quietly ,  eyes  wide  as  his  gaze  finds  her  just  as  she  buries  her  face  in  his  chest .  upon  impact  he  can  feel  his  pajama  shit  grow  damp .  oh  —  she’d  been  crying .  

      “    YUSUKE !  YOU  CAME !    ”  the  lack  of  his  affectionate  nickname  for  him  catches  him  off  guard .  &  here  he  thought  she  was  done  with  surprising  him .  “    i –  i  wasn’t  sure  at  first  if  you’d  come  but  …  i’m  glad  i  made  the  right  call .    ”  her  voice  is  significantly  more  fragile  &  broken  than  it  usually  is  &  yusuke  feels  that  pull  against  his  heartstrings  once  more .  it  allows  him  to  relax  &  reciprocate  the  hug  he’s  been  given ,  one  arm  wrapping  around  her  waist  &  the  other  rising  to  pat  her  head  soothingly . 

      WHEN  FUTABA  PULLS  AWAY  yusuke’s  able  to  see  the  the  splotchy  redness  within  her  eyes ,  confirming  his  suspicion  that  she’d  been  crying .  there’s  something  odd  to  him  about  the  way  she  looks  at  him  now .  her  eyes ,  usually  narrowed  in  focus  or  annoyance  &  marred  by  her  habitual  sleep  deprivation  —  they’re  wide  &  innocent  like  that  of  doe  in  the  wilderness .  he  can’t  deny  there’s  a  strange  sort  of  beauty  to  the  way  she  looks .  there’s  something  so  pure ,  raw  about  it  but  perhaps  that’s  maybe  because  she’s  shown  such  vulnerability  to  him  personally .  he  has  yet  to  decide  how  he  feels  about  it .

      HE  COUGHS  SLIGHTLY  AWKWARDLY ,  forcing  himself  out  of  his  state  of  observation .  now  was  not  the  time  to  be  analyzing  her .  he  had  to  take  her  home .  ❛    well ,  i’m  glad  i  was  able  to  find  you  in  one  piece .    ❜  his  voice  returns  to  it’s  usual  polite  formalness  though  it  sounds  slightly  forced  this  time  around .  he  takes  a  step  into  the  street ,  turning  back  &  offering  his  hand  to  her  once  again .  he’s  not  one  to  initiate  touch  as  it  makes  him  uncomfortable  but  tonight  he  will  cast  aside  his  own  discomforts  to  ensure  futaba  feels  safe .  ❛    shall  i  escort  you  home ?  i’m  sure  sojiro  is  concerned  of  your  whereabouts .    ❜

      FUTABA  NODS ,  THE  SMALLEST  OF  SMILES  appearing  on  her  face  as  she  gingerly  takes  his  hand  into  her  smaller  one .  his  pace  slower  than  it  had  been  when  he’d  arrived  in  shinjuku ,  yusuke  leads  her  through  the  crowded  streets .  he  does  his  best  to  be  careful  with  her .  not  that  he  thinks  she  necessarily  needs  to  be  protected  &  sheltered  but  he  understands  she’s  in  a  very  fragile  state  right  now  &  it’d  be  best  not  to  add  to  that .

      THE  WALK  IN  SILENCE  for  several  minutes  until  they’re  about  halfway  to  the  station .  he  feels  a  gentle  squeeze  to  his  &  turns  to  see  futaba  giving  him  that  wide  eyed  look  that  had  so  surprised  him  earlier .  "    inari ?  thank  you  for  coming  to  get  me .  i  don’t  know  what  i  would  have  done  if  no  one  came  for  me .  you  didn’t  have  to  come  but  you  did  so  …  thank  you .    ”

      ❛    OF  COURSE .    ❜  he  says  a  smile  appearing  on  his  face  for  the  first  time  tonight .  ❛    if  you  are  unable  to  have  akira  fetch  you  in  the  future  you  can  always  contact  me .  i’d  rather  not  have  you  in  this  state  again .     ❜  this  statement  strangely  brings  a  light  blush  to  the  girls  cheeks ,  completely  confusing  yusuke  as  she  nods  in  silence  before  shifting  her  gaze  to  the  ground .

      THEY  CONTINUE  TO  WALK  IN  SILENCE ,  futaba  appearing  to  be  too  embarrassed  to  further  speak  &  yusuke  having  no  need  for  it .  however  just  as  the  near  the  train  station  futaba  speaks  again .  “    i  like  your  pajamas  …  they  suit  you .    ”  now  it’s  yusuke’s  turn  to  be  embarrassed .  he’d  forgotten  he’d  traveled  here  in  his  nightclothes .  feeling  his  face  grow  warm  he  nods ,  unable  to  turn  &  meet  her  gaze .  neither  of  them  speak  up  again  the  entire  trip  back  to  yongen - jaya ,  both  stewing  in  their  own  embarrassment .  however  even  so  the  pair  refuse  to  break  apart  their  clasped  hands until  yusuke  watches  futaba  safely  enter  the  house .

[tatticstudio55]

Parallels between Rhaena I Targaryen and Daenerys - discussion

Ever since posting about the parallels between Daenerys and Rhaena I Targaryen, I’ve been thinking. @kallypsowrites, @thousandeyesand-one, @rainhadaenerys and myself have been pondering on what such parallels could mean, and, well, some things take days to chew properly (that, or I’m just a slow chewer). In the end, I’d like to suggest something, though of course this remains up for discussion.

I think Daenerys was meant to tie the ends Rhaena left loose.

Because when you think about it, a good deal of Rhaena’s tragedy laid on close miss and what if. The last years of her life are spent at Harrenhal (pretty much the castle of ghosts) and she, herself, becomes a bit of a ghostly figure, as hinted from passages like these:

Her hair of gold and silver turned white before the end, and the smallfolk of the riverlands feared her as a witch. Travelers who turned up at the gates of Harrenhal in hope of hospitality were given bread and salt and the privilege of a night’s shelter during those years, but not the honor of the queen’s company. Those who were fortunate spoke of glimpsing her on the castle battlements, or seeing her coming and going on her dragon, for Rhaena continued to ride Dreamfyre until the end, just as she had in the beginning. – F&B, 254, 255

Not to sound too tinfoil here, but after all, aren’t ghosts supposed to be wandering spirits with unfinished business down here? In my opinion, there’s three major misfires in Rhaena’s life:

She sat out a battle

Her brother-husband Aegon (yes, I said Aegon) flew his dragon Quicksilver in battle against Maegor and Balerion. Had he won, Rhaena would’ve been queen of the seven kingdoms and her life, I assume, would’ve turned out drastically different. But Aegon and Quicksilver were killed. Although Rhaena also had a dragon, she didn’t partake in the battle, having just given birth to Aerea and Rhaella and (as the book implies) wanting to protect her daughters. It’s believed that even if she had joined her husband in battle with Dreamfyre, it wouldn’t have made a difference (Quicksilver and Dreamfyre were too young and small against Balerion), but… there’s still a what if.

All that is known for certain is that Rhaena remained at Pinkmaiden Castle with her daughters when Aegon marched… and with her, Dreamfyre, Would the addition of a second dragon to the prince’s host have made a difference when battle was joined? We shall never know… - F&B, 91

She couldn’t make amends with her mother

Moments later, Dreamfyre descended, silver crests flashing along her back as her pale blue wings beat against the red dawn sky. Rhaena Targaryen had come to make amends to her mother. She came too late; Queen Alyssa was gone. Though the king told her she did not need to look upon their mother’s mortal remains, Rhaena insisted, ripping away the bedclothes that covered her to gaze upon the maester’s work. – F&B, 218

Nor her daughter

Little and less need be said of the return of Rhaena Targaryen from Estermont after her daughter’s death. By the time the raven reached Her Grace at Greenstone, the princess has already died and been burned. Only ashes and bones remained for her mother when Dreamfyre delivered her to the Red Keep. “It would seem that I am doomed to always come too late,” she said. – F&B, 253

To a certain extent, one could say that Rhaena failed as a spouse, as a daughter and as a mother. Daenerys not only shares many parallels with her, but there’s also an interesting possibility for Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion to be the offspring of Dreamfyre… Rhaena’s dragon. So, one might wonder… is Daenerys set to “correct” the misfires above?

Will not sit out the battle

-The battle between Aegon II and Maegor I happened above the Gods Eye. Some have theorized that the final battle between the livings and the Night King would happen on the Gods Eye (check out Smokescreen’s channel on YouTube) or, at the very least, that the endgame would involve the Gods Eye, somehow.

-Maegor the Cruel is sometime referred to as the “dead king”, or the king raised from the grave (Night King, anyone?)

For twenty-seven days Maegor Targaryen lingered at the point of death […] Tyanna was a tavern dancer who had risen to be a courtesan. She was rumored to be a poisoner and a sorceress as well. Many queer tales were told about her… yet as soon as she arrived, Queen Visenya dismissed her son’s maesters and septons and gave Maegor over to Tyanna’s care. The next morning, the king awoke, rising with the sun. – F&B, 77-78

Jaehaerys was oft bruised and bloody by evening, to Alysanne’s distress, but his prowess improved so markedly that near the end of his time on Dragonstone, old Ser Elyas himself told him, “Your Grace, you will never be a Kingsguard, but if by some sorcery your uncle Maegor himself were to rise from the grave, my coin would be on you.” – F&B, 153

It had been long years since the Black Dread had last been seen in the skies above the city, and the sight filled many a Kingslander with dread, wondering if somehow Maegor the Cruel had returned from beyond the grave to mount him once again. Alas, the rider clinging to his neck was not a dead king, but a dying child. – F&B, p. 246

-Two dragons against one: it could’ve been Quicksilver and Dreamfyre against Balerion. It will (or might) be Drogon and Rhaegal (and Daenerys and Jon) against Viserion (and the Night King).

Will make amends to a mother

We’ll recall that Alyssa died of complications related to her pregnancy, and that as a last resort, the maester had her belly cut open to retrieve (and possibly save) the child. Knowing that, we can imagine what Rhaena saw when she ripped away the bedclothes covering her mother’s body.

Daenerys also has a vision of a woman’s battered body in the House of the Undying. It’s generally accepted that the woman was an allegorical Westeros ravaged by the war of the five kings:

In one room, a beautiful woman sprawled naked on the floor while four little men crawled over her. They had rattish pointed faces and tiny pink hands, like the servitor who had brought her the glass of shade. One was pumping between her thighs. Another savaged her breasts, worrying at the nipples with his wet red mouth, tearing and chewing. – Daenerys, ACOK

So while this might be tinfoil, it’s possible that the “mother” from Daenerys’s arc be Daenerys’s motherland, Westeros. The what and the why of these amends would mostly be speculations at this point: it could be a reconciliation between the realm and the Targaryen name (and Daenerys did apologize to Jon, on behalf of House Targaryen, for her father’s crimes). Or maybe it simply means that Daenerys reached Westeros in time to “save” it from the white walkers (whereas Rhaena came too late). Or maybe something else – hard to tell at this point.

And a daughter

I’ll let the speculations fly on this one for now: Daenerys has a lot of children, and has failed many: when the freed slaves of Astapor and Yunkaï were enslaved again. When Astapor was sacked and she couldn’t intervene. When she locked two of her dragons. When the Sons of the Harpy were murdering her “children” in Meereen. When unknowingly sacrificing Rhaego. The “daughter” could also be her subjects in Westeros, or the northerners (who might reject her at first, but eventually warm up to her.)

I expect Daenerys’s endgame to bring a sense of closure to what was left undone in Rhaena’s life. There!

[tokoyamisstuff]

so I was asking myself if you could do a oneshot about an insecure Loki? whatever you prefer thank you!

Oh sweetheart, when it comes to self-doubts you can always rely on your weird goth aunt.

This was made at 4am so expect a low quality production.

Summary: After a coincidental turn of events, you and Loki confessed to each other. But the relationship Loki thought the two of you have shouldn’t last long, since your behaviour tells him a complete different story…

(Takes place somewhat after Thor 2 with the typical setting - you and Loki being part of the Avengers for quite a while, living at the Stark Tower together with the rest of the crew.)

Warnings: Angst I guess but nothing major. Jealousy. A tiny bit NSFW.

Words: 3476

As you hastily pulled up your pants, a loud yawn interrupted the flood of thoughts that was rushing through your mind. Startled by the movements behind your back, you winced and almost fell.

When you turned around, you saw Loki who tried to surpress a gloatingly chuckle about how clumsy you can be at times. His eyes showed confusion, but he still put up with that proud, cheeky grin of his. “You’re leaving already?”

Well, here you are. It was only yesterday evening that - after way too much alcohol and a very awkward confession - both of you realized that the romantic feelings you were holding for each other were mutual ones.

You felt your face heating up, probably already brightly red while you thought about yesterday evening.

God, Loki had been at least as drunk as you, but insisted on cuddling and talking only, since he didn’t want to ‘take advantage of your intoxicated state’. Yet drunk as you were, you stripped down until your underwear, trying to seduce him until you simply passed out. How embarassing…

“I hope that doesn’t mean your words yesterday were just the alcohol speaking…” he pondered, making you finally turn around.

“No!” you blurted out without second thought, immediately jumping onto the bed and onto Loki. “No, everything I said was true!”

Loki smirked as he saw how flustered you were at that moment, so he pulled you towards him to engage in a breathtaking kiss, claiming what was his from this moment on. You could feel his cold hand absentmindedly slide over your still undressed back - and his touch felt so good.

“I love you, Loki” you whispered as he finally let go of your lips, both of you gasping for air. “You are simply amazing.”

“Then why do you want to leave just yet?” he asked as if he wanted to invite you to stay in bed this whole day.

You got into an upright position again, sitting on the edge of the bed and putting on your shoes. It was really hard to resist the temptation to just sneak under the covers again, where your new, incredible handsome boyfriend was waiting for you, yet…

“I promised Thor to go training with him” you shrugged. “I don’t like breaking promises, but I’ll be back afterwards!”

Loki frowned, but tried to hide his hurt pride. Why does it have to be his brother of all people? But he really didn’t want to be an asshole, so he’d just swallow it. You’re free to go wherever you want of course, but deep inside he was afraid that you might change your mind when he lets you leave without even having had a proper…bonding.

Before you could even react, Loki embraced you from behind and began kissing your neck, softly rising blood under the skin. You tried to choke your moans as you felt his hand slipping into your pants, softly rubbing just inches away from your weak spot.

Biting your lip in pleasure, you whimpered “Loki, please…” At this moment, you were completely at his mercy. Damn, how could he have such an effect on you with only so little effort?

“Oh, little dove, you seem to enjoy me touching you like this” he teased as he firmly grabbed your breast. You could feel how something hard pressed against your back as he pressed your body against yours, whispering “Too bad you have to go now…”

Like that, he simply let go of you and fell on his back, covering himself with the blanket. You frowned in frustration, doing your best to act like nothing happened and finished getting fully dressed. Loki’s eyes never let go from you, smirking mischievously.

“Well, if you want us to continue where we left off, you have to come back to me, my love.”

_______

“Ugh, now I can’t concentrate. Wonderful.”

Those were your first and only thoughts when you entered the kitchen to find some food. Natasha, Thor and Tony were already eating, and they awaited you to join them. The past weeks have been pretty hard for them, and you were always a good friend to help them with their personal problems.

“Greetings, Lady [___]!” Thor cheered as he saw you stomping into the room, not even doing so much as look at them. “Why the grumpy face?” Tony added.

“Huh? Oh, sorry. I was buried in thought” you mumbled as you hastily cooked some eggs, still not turning around to deal with your friends right now. You simply weren’t in the mood, still tired and to add to that now horny, too.

Tony loved to mock you, but he was awkwardly quiet today. You knew the reason, but you didn’t want to push him into opening up in front of everyone. “No sassy comment, Tony?” you scoffed as you gave him a challenging grin. Did he have a fight with Pepper again?

Before he could say something like he’s simply not in the mood, you saw Bruce entering the room. It was obviously Natasha would rather jump into the next hole than to spend any second with him in the same room. Well, they had a complicated story, after all, and you were sure they needed to talk this over properly. Not that it was your business or something.

After Natasha mumbled something about having some important tasks at hand and fleeing out of the room, Bruce greeted you and walked towards the kitchen unit to get some cereals, doing his best to act like that weird scene didn’t just happen right now.

“[___], is that a hickey?” he whispered as he stood next to you and eyed your neck, but managed to do it so loudly that anyone heared. At least the uncomfortable silence was finally gone.

“N-no, I…uh…Got punched during training” you blurted out, and as you expected, no one believed you. They just rose their eyebrows at that stupid excuse.

Tony crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, stating “We were searching for you yesterday after the party, but you haven’t been in your room. Where have you been?” Probably they just wanted you to listen to their problems.

“About that…” you heared a familiar voice coming from the hallways. Damn, not right now…that…just wasn’t the right time.

Loki strode into the room, his stance confidently as ever. “You know, last night, me and Lady [___]-”

You stood in front of him in an instant, covering his mouth with your hand. “Were going for a walk together! Y-yes, I-I wasn’t feeling so good, so Loki helped me!”

Those words made Loki frown. Were you embarassed to have been with him? “Yeah…right” he answered with a grim tone hiding in his voice, as he balled his fists in frustration. “That’s how it was.”

“Oh, how noble of you” Tony mocked him. “For someone who always acts so high and mighty.”

“I don’t care what you mortals think of me” was his plain response. Tony was right, though, Loki was still very cocky around anyone else. Unapproachable, you might even say. But when it came to you, he had always been very polite, caring and honest. You bit your lip as you thought about how your reaction might seem wrong to him, but you didn’t really think it would hurt the man with the biggest confidence in the nine realms.

“Uh, [___], your eggs are turning black” Bruce, who already sat down, said.

You yelled some curses and tried to save your breakfast, but it was already too late. “Why didn’t you say something sooner? Or help me instead of sitting down?!” All of them chuckled. Wonderful friends you have there.

Okay then, cereals it is. For weeks you haven’t had anything else, and you’ve grown sick of it. But not enough to start cooking, to be honest. So you took the frying pan and tried to clean up your mess, Loki still standing but a meter besides you, seeming to debate something mentally.

When you saw him coming closer in the corner of your eye, panic rose up inside of you. What to do now? The moment Loki wanted to grab your wrist and embrace you from behind, you quickly turned around and took a few, firm steps back, to bring some distance between you and him. Most of your friends were busy with their food and Tony finally turned the radio on, so you hoped that no one noticed.

“Sorry Loki, but…I don’t have time for this right now. Thor’s probably waiting.”

“Then I shall accompany you!” Loki cheered as he followed you outisde the kitchen where your friends were already buried way too deep into their own problems to notice.

You stopped your movements the moment you heared about Loki’s intentions. “Yeah…about that….Clint is with us. And he still doesn’t really feel comfortable around you because of that mind control thing, so…”

When you turned around to look at him, his expression was very hard to read, as usually. But the crack in his voice should’ve told you how he was really feeling on the inside. Yet you were too naive, still unaware of how you had hurt him. Looking to the ground, he picked on his hand before hastily walking the other direction.

“Oh, I get it. Have fun, then.”

_____

“Am I really this horrible to be around?”

Loki was trying to distract himself this whole time, but always ended up pondering about you.

Up until now, he never even realized how jealous he became to have you surrounded by so many different men. After all, they are way better than him when it came to their achievements. They’re heroes, and he’s just a criminal who’s allowed to work here as means of punishment. With you to have this great variety of a choice, he didn’t get why you’d chose him in the first place.

But this was probably the confict he was feeling inside of you, right? You were most likely to regret this last night, and were just too kind to turn him down. You were such a wonderful, pure being that it broke his heart sometimes…He knew he didn’t deserve you, but even the God of Mischief could dream of happiness, couldn’t he? Damn it!

“Just voice your feelings instead of torturing me like this…” Loki thought as he aimlessly wandered around in his room, not able to get the images of you sparring with his brother, your sweating bodies pressed close to each other.

Yes, compared to himself, Thor was way better at any point. Loki on the other hand was bothering everyone, so he’d always end up killing the mood or hurting someone. Why would it be so surprising to him that you’re embarassed of him liking you? You are probably also worried your friends would avoid when you’re with him. There are just too many reasons for you to reject him…

All in all, he was only causing trouble for you, with no positive things to provide except for his love. It was only logical for you to have changed your mind about the two of you.

Yes, Loki should probably mentally prepare himself for what’s to come…

____

For the rest of the day, Loki wouldn’t talk to you any more.

No matter how many times you knocked at his door and told him you wanted to talk to him about something important, he didn’t open or answer you at all. Little did you know he was just too afraid of what you wanted to tell him, that you would break up with him…

You jumped onto your bed and buried your head into your pillow. Did you really hurt him with your attitude? It was pretty clear that it would seem weird to Loki, but for it to have affected him this much?

Or maybe it wasn’t that. Maybe you just hurt his pride. Could it be that he didn’t intend to make this any more than just some casual sex? He was a trickster god after all, and maybe now he is just angry that he wasn’t the one to end this farce and humiliate you in front of everyone…

No. This isn’t the Loki you got to know. You knew this much - that the side of him he revealed to you, this vulnerable, hurt but affectionate man, that wasn’t fake. It couldn’t be.

Suddenly, your thoughts got interrupted by a hesistant knock on your door.

“Another party?” you thought as you saw the note Tony shoved under your door. Tony would always host a stupid party when he had a fight with Pepper. How childish.

Well, maybe it would provide some distraction from the situation at hand. If you let Loki have some space, he’ll hopefully come back to you at some point. He was like a cat sometimes - if he wants to be with you, he’ll be sure approach you.

No matter the outcome, at some point the two of you would need to be honest with each other.

____

“Why am I even going?”

That was the first thing you asked yourself, but still, you were wearing your most prettiest dress and skillfully put on some make-up. You were sure to enjoy yourself tonight - without that much alcohol this time, though.

On your way through the hallway, you saw many strangers filling up the giant hall. Tony sure had a lot of ‘friends’ he’d always invite, and even pay some models to attend his festives to ‘lighten up the mood’. Ugh…

But this wouldn’t be the only thing you didn’t need to see this evening. Probably the most unpredictable sight was the tall, silhouette you could see across the room - it was Loki.

It didn’t take you much time to notice this, even though you couldn’t see very clearly because of this fog machine and the bright, annoingly colourful lights. Yet one question was still burning into your mind, making your heart pond against your chest: Who is that woman standing besides him?

Slowly but steadily, you approached the two without getting noticed. Loki was wearing his black suit, his locks tamed by a braid. He held a cocktail and seemed to was really invested in his conversation with the woman who seemed to be one of the models. The way she smiled and giggled at anything he said told you everything you needed to know about her. And then the next song started.

You saw Loki, reaching out his hand for the woman and leading her to the dance floor. Not knowing what to do, you just stood a safe distance away at the bar, ordering some pure whiskey to numb the pain you felt when you saw him fooling around with that whore.

She put her arms around his neck, and in an instant, his hands were on her hips, pulling him close to him. This wasn’t even dancing anymore - that was dry-humping. Stay calm, [___]…contain yourself.

But when he whispered something into her ear and she got brightly red, something inside of you snapped. Just a brief moment before their lips were about to touch, you ran over the whole room and poured your drink into Loki’s face.

“[___]?! What are you doing here?” Loki stuttered quite embarassed.

“Fuck you!” you hissed, tears already running down your cheeks. You didn’t look at this other woman, but from the sounds she was making she seemed to be both amused and shocked about the sudden scene you were making.

Like this, the evening was over for you.

____

So it was true, after all.

You were only a playtoy, a pastime to have some short fun with. Oh man, how blind you were. And you couldn’t tell anyone about your pain. How often did your friends tell you to stop being so naive? Yet you couldn’t just listen to them for one time, couldn’t you?!

Quickly undressing yourself and throwing the dress in a corner of your room, you punched your wall so hard that your knuckles bursted open. “Fuck” you whimpered as you cleaned hands under cold water. “What should I do from now on?! I can never look into his eyes again!”

“[___]? Are you here?”

It only needed his voice to make you break down completely. All of the shame, the guilt and the self-loathing you were feeling right now were just too much to bear. You sank down on the bathroom floor and broke out in uncontrolled sobbing, trying to keep it as quiet as possible so he wouldn’t hear. But much to your surprise, he already stood in your room, his expression as worried as you’ve never seen before. No mask to cover up his emotions, just genuine concern.

Loki fell on his knees and pulled you close without any second thought. “My dear, you are bleeding! How did this happen?!”

“None of your business, Loki” you mumbled as clearly as the lump in your throat allowed you to. With your face leaned against his chest, you could clearly hear his heartbeat - it seemed so fast that it might as well explode this very moment. Why, though?

Loki furrowed his brows. “I know it isn’t. But I still want to help you.” His voice was so kind and soft that it hurt, even when he gently covered your injured hand with his, his healing magic feeling like a warm embrace.

“Why are you here?” you asked, trying to surpress your love for him and showing only your anger.

He didn’t react at first. What kind of question was that even? “What kind of man would I be to leave the woman I love alone in that kind of situation?”

Your only reaction was a loud, mocking laughter. “Love? Oh, did you tell that other woman, too? Is that how you behave in a relationship? Humping other girls as soon as your girlfriend isn’t in range?!” Oh, how hard was the temptation to slap him, but you managed to hold back.

“We are in a relationship?” he said with confusion. “My dear, you didn’t give me the impression that this might be the case.”

He was right, so you looked down in shame. Maybe you weren’t all that innocent. You were guilty of how things turned out as well.

“I wanted to talk to you today, Loki. Explain myself. But you wouldn’t answer the door.”

You couldn’t see since you tried to avoid his gaze, but Loki teared up as well. “I…was afraid you only came to reject me.”

“What???” you yelled, grabbing his shoulders. “Are you insane?! I love you!!!”

Loki gulped as he heared those words. He was craving for them ever since he first met you, but he always was so afraid you’d just laugh about him or would be disgusted or afraid of him like anyone else. All those months, he thought when he couldn’t be with you, he could at least try to be a good friend - and be close to you like this.

“My dear…” you began as you buried your head into his neck, your tears running down his skin, “This wasn’t about you. You did nothing wrong! It’s just…You know Natasha and Bruce are having a complicated relationship right now. Tony is having many arguments with his fiancée, and Thor’s girlfriend just broke up with him. I didn’t want to shove my own happiness into everyone’s faces while they are suffering this much…”

Now his tears began to run freely. How could he ever doubt the intentions of an angel as you were one? Loki pressed your small body tightly against his as he tried to regain his voice.

“My love, please forgive me! I was such a fool!” he cried out, remembering what he just did to you on the dancefloor. He finally had his chance to be with the only woman he ever truly desired, and he’d risk it just to make out with another, because of his low self-esteem.

“It’s okay, Loki” you cheered weakly as you cupped his cheek. “I should’ve told you earlier. I never wanted to hurt you, I swear! I’m not embarassed of you, neither do I regret anything! I am so happy to finally be with you!!!”

“As am I” he whispered while your face were getting closer and closer, until your lips merged perfectly. When you looked up, you saw that Loki had regained his usual, cheeky grin.

“Oh, I sure would love to mock everyone in this building with the fact that you are now mine” he cooed as he covered your face in kisses, “But I’ll respect your decision.”

“Well” you snickered as you felt his cold lips on every inch of your head, “We might begin with spending as much time together as we can, right?”

_________

I honestly lost track of who wanted to be tagged in Burning Passion only, and who wanted to see all Loki content, so just ignore or send me a message if you don’t wanna see this! Sorry.

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[ellienightengale]

The bitterness of Immortality

(In which Eleanor makes a mighty offering to a Loa)

Eleanor had pondered over this trifle thing called age ever since she had met Um’tika. It saddened her he would be gone in the blink of an eye and for months she had looked for ways to stop that or at least slow it down enough so she could enjoy the days spent with him.And then it came to her in some stroke of brilliance; Eleanor would cut her own life in half and give it to Um’tika. Both would live their days out by thousands of years, having all the fun in the world! “But how?” Eleanor had mumbled to herself as she sat hunched over a desk; endless parchments astray. The elf had considered the pools of Youth in Pandaria but after witnessing what it does, she scratched that idea out. There was little to nothing on how she could extend his life without paying some type of boon, and she knew Bwonsamdi was out of the question.

That Loa she did respect but had little trust in him and his deals. Not that she’d admit it to his face! She had yet to get a definitive answer on how this rather complicated endeavor was to be pulled off. The seat of the Pantheon she considered, then realized they were not in Argus anymore; having already won that battle they retreated elsewhere. That left not nearly enough powerful titans to grant Eleanor her boon.

A sigh would come from her as her quill scratched out another shot down plan on the parchment. A headache was forming just from the sheer volume of thinking Eleanor had done over the past few months alone and it was starting to take its toll on the elf. Rajah had been slumbering and was starting to wake up from his light dozing when he heard “Ahah!” come from the desk. In red, was a name circled upon the parchment and Eleanor smiling in victory.

Um'Bwati

Eleanor could recall the bits and pieces of that Loa from her wonderful talks with Um’tika. He was life and death, two halves of the same coin. Without even hesitating; Eleanor began scrambling around her home to pack the supplies she would need for that journey. Food, water, offerings, a tent were the most Eleanor would bring since she could easily find an inn and sleep for the night.  It would be a day or two before she would set her sights upon the altar belonging to the Loa umtika’s family. Settling down, Eleanor took the moment to observer her surroundings.

The jungle was an assault on all senses. The virescent hues were the foreground, the background and as high up as you could see. The heat and humidity pressed in on the skin making sweat pointless. The air tasted both sweet and fresh, like flowers blooming on your tongue. It was little wonder that Um’tika loved his home so much and fought for it with heart and soul.

A platter of food was slowing being prepared along with silvermoon port. The heavenly and delectable scent of the food was then placed on the altar as a means of an offering to the loa. She then began to pray. “ Loa of my beloved’s family, I ask you to come forth and hear my prayer; I am in need of your assistance with a mighty gift I wish to bestow upon my beloved” Eleanor prayed.as she made her offerings and called out her prayer she would feel as if a presence was watching her, before too long, it would grow very dark around her and she would hear the sound soft barefoot steps around her followed the tapping of what sound like something  wooden covered in metal. As she waited, what would greet her was  what looked to be an old Zandalari, he held in his right hand  a cane in the shape of a devilsaur in traditional Zandalari design, "Well now, I was wonderin' when you would be contactin' girl'eh. what can Ol' Um'Bwati be doin' for y'ah," though his voice had a heavy roughness, he spoke with the energy and vigor of a younger looking troll.

The area she knelt down in grew darker and the gentle thudding of feet indicated her prayer has been heard and well received. Wood tapping against stone brought her head to slowly tilt up to meet the gaze of Um'bwati; he appeared much as Umtika described: two halves, life and death. before her appeared  a wizened troll that had seen much and could teach her much. " Honorable Um'bwati, I wish to seek your help in a mighty gift I want to bestow upon Umtika." She would ask him and then faintly blushed at her next little confession of love and devotion. " I want to spend my days with him, I love him dearly. But I cannot help but fear my immortality will prevent me from being with him; it saddens me to think I will outlive him with our future children. I, I want to give him immortality; half of my lifespan"Um'Bwati listened to her prayer, her desire, and would place his hand on his chin as if in thought, with his free hand he waked it clearing the darkness around them and it would seem she had transported to a small room made to simply relax and speak he would sit on one of the silken seats which sat close to the floor he motioned to the other right across from him for her to sit, "Come child sit and we will discuss this dire request you be wantin' t'ah give."

She could tell he was thinking on this one and Eleanor understood it.Her request was a strange one, if not dire; not many people were willing to give such a great gift so easily. In Eleanor's case, she just wanted more time to be with Umtika; a hundred years was a mere blink in the life of an elf. The clearing morphed into a small relaxing room suddenly with silken cushioned seats.

Eleanor approached and took the seating across from him and awaited his wisdom in how to go about this dire request of hers.he would think for only a moment longer as she would find herself comfortable, "Now girl'eh, you know d'at even transferin' life force be very hard even for a Loa, now you be offerin' somet'ing d'at, yes would make it easier, but d'ere could still be consequences," he spoke calmly to her not wanting her to be afraid, but of course to understand the dangers, "You spoke of living on wit'out him along wit y'ah future children, one downside to what y'ah askin for could be d'ah inability to bear children, deary," he would lean forward a little resting his cane against himself, "D'ere are minor t'ings, but i would be able to wave d'ose away, anot'er major one is your life entirely," he said that one in a more sadden tone, "And i don't want to take d'at chance girl'eh, however, i might have somet'in'.”

Eleanor listened to him speak of the consequences her actions could have upon her. She would be happy yes, but she would also be suffering with the inability to bear children if that happened. The other one major one would just make everyone miserable and sad. At the mention of having another trick up his sleeve, Eleanor leaned forward just a fraction with interest showing in those golden orbs " You have another way?" There was a faint spark of hope in her voice as she spoke.He would nod to her wisely, "There be much you still need to be learnin about us Loa, if we be needin' some one to stay alive, we can take d'at mortal spark and simply ignore it, allowing said Devout to live well beyond d'eir years, now, I could also somewhat  mix in, your little idea, but it will take me some time t'ah make sure it is flawless and it may not be ready till you two be ready t'ah bear y'ah first child."

Her head canted to the side at his words and she nodded along, clearly listening to him." I have not heard of a Loa able to make a devout immortal by those means; yet not many are immortal among the living, just long lived" Many called the elves immortal,yet they were the ones considered long lived; even they died. " I, I see, so years is what I am to understand?" Eleanor had done a mental tally of how long that would be before she was mated/married to umtika and able to conceive their firstborn child."it is how Rastakhan was able t'ah live for so long, girl'eh, I can make him long lived yes, at least until d'ah little plan you had hatchin' in y'ah head comes to its conclusion, and i can see y'ah doin' d'ah tallies in y'ah head," he chuckled  as he would reach over and lightly tap her nose, "Let y'ah feelin's guide d'ah time it takes, y'ah und'ahstand, not d'ah days," he would chuckle softly as he leaned back in his seat.

" What will happen once I bare him a child?" she asked, only to wrinkle her perky little nose when he tapped it. She furrowed her brows and simply let a small smile come forth at the mention of letting her feelings guide her down the path " Feelings are indeed what brought me to this dire point in my long lived life" Eleanor also leaned back in her chair just a bit since this conversation was going to take awhile."I know, I know, girl'eh, and what i be sayin is I got y'ah back in d'is, y'ah don't need t'ah worr'eh after all, before i became a spirit Loa i was a watcher of man'eh little ones, and i treat d'ah Wraithtusk and all who help or become apart of d'em just as I would one of d'ah family," he would give her almost a fatherly smile, "And tell y'ah dadd'eh t'ah not worr'eh so much, I be lookin' after his little girl, cross my heart."

Eleanor could only chuckle and agree with him " I shall endeavor not to worry so much Um'bwati" Laughter would come from Eleanor at the mention of her father and his worrisome ways. " A father is a father, no matter what. He;s doing what he can from the Emerald Dream. He only wishes to be here physically" No matter how old she got, he would be a father, a worrisome father. " I shall pass the message along to him when I enter the dream realm next."

"D'is i know, and he be a good fadd'ah," he would shake his head and raise his hand gesturing for her not to worry, "You continue being you girl'eh," he would chuckle heartily, "now was d'ere anyt'ing else y'ah wanted to discuss, while i be here d'at is." he offered incase there was maybe something she was still confused on or if she simply wanted a little advice.

" Yes, he still is." She took the gesture with good will and smiled while being able to mentally breath for once. The whole time she was conversing with him, Eleanor could feel a million things racing through her mind until they finally hit a wall and just stopped. " I can certainly do that Um'bwati" She motioned to herself with a quick sweep of her hands. " That was all, I had been thinking on this insane request for months, every since our courtship deepened. I do not know what else advice you can give; but I will gladly take any you can offer me"

"Oh i know , child, I be watchin' y'ah for some times while you lost sleep over d'is, even though y'ah nev'ah prayed t'ah me I still watch ov'ah d'ah Wraithtusk as a whole," he said getting up and propping himself on his cane and reaching  over and ever so gently giving her cheek a pinch much like a grandparent would their grandchild, "And d'at means you, y'ah be one of  my children, now more so cause you made an offerin' a ver'eh fine one at d'at."

" Yes, I've lost sleep over the sheer fear of losing Umtika. Not through wounds, but through time, I just wanted to see if I could find a way to prolong his life on my own; but I know now I should've asked for help in this matter" Eleanor felt her cheek being pinched, similar to a grandparent that is cheekily scolding their grandchild. " I have nothing more to give him but myself, body and soul; that includes my life"

"D'en until y'ah  need me again, little  Eleanor, i will return y'ah to  d'ah altar y'ah came t'ah, i hope i be see in' y'ah again, girl'eh," he would chuckle heartily as he and the area he made manifest would slowly fade, leaving her in the same area she was once before, but this time hopefully more at ease and enlightened.

" I thank you Um'bwati for your wisdom and council in this matter and I shall certainly call upon your aid should I ever need it" The area around them dissolved and she realized the two were back at the altar, as if they never left. She did indeed feel more at ease and light hearted. As if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. " I can expect all the family loa to come to the wedding?" She jokingly asked, yet probably knew they would make appearances. "Don't y'ah be worrin' we be there, wouldn't miss it for d'ah world, Girl'eh, same for Nak'tika, and Cammotz... oh and Baleloth, Hero's very first Companion d'at i help get ascended," he said chuckling, "We will all be d'er."

Nodding in acceptance and a bit of excitement, said elf boldy reached out to Um'bwati, wrapped her arms around his body and hugged him for a few moments before letting go and smiling brightly at him. " Thank you, for everything" She would say. feeling her hug him only beckoned for a gentle chuckle as he would do the same to her, giving her a gentle hug, "I be seein' y'ah, and nev'ah be shy to leave an offerin ever'eh now and d'en," he said chuckling as he would vanish slowly  in thin air his chuckling echoing into the distance.”I won’t!” Eleanor called to the fading Loa and she turned to walk back to the temporary lodgings, a spring in her step.

[myaekingheart]

15. Complicated

read the scarecrow and the bell on ao3

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                “This is hands-down the best thing I have ever heard in my entire life!” Naru shrieked, stamping the floor happily. Rei sipped her tea nervously and prayed that her friend would quiet down. She didn’t need the entire village knowing the details of her love life. She glanced around the dango shop and prayed no one else was paying attention. “So when’s the wedding? Do you have invitations picked out yet? Can I be the maid of honor? All of your bridesmaids should wear blue, because blue is the—”

                “Naru, oh my god, stop” Rei interrupted. The blonde blinked a few times, stricken. “Just…calm down for a second, alright? It was one date.”

                Naru waved off the redhead’s comment with a despondent gaze. “Oh shush, I know what I’m talking about. You have this in the bag. I would kill myself if things didn’t work out for you and Kakashi, and they will. I just know they will.”

                “That’s extreme” Rei replied. “I don’t think my relationship with Kakashi is worth suicide over but go hard, I guess.” As much as she appreciated her best friend’s support, Rei had to admit that Naru’s enthusiasm was a little exhausting. Like she said, it was only one date. If it was even that. Despite the arguably romantic nature of their night together, Rei couldn’t truly be sure whether that was what Kakashi had intended. And even if it was, one date didn’t mean anything. Nobody becomes a couple after one night.   

                “So when are you seeing each other again?” Naru then asked. It was the most reasonable question she had posed all day.  

                “I don’t know” Rei said. “I don’t even know what we are to each other at this point. It’s so…complicated.”

                “I don’t see what’s to think about” Naru replied. Just as she spoke, the waitress arrived with their order of dango. Naru slid a dumpling off it’s stick and sighed as she chewed, clearly pleased with her food. “I think it’s safe to say you’re officially off the market, Rei” she added, mouth full.

                Rei shook her head, sliding one of her own dumplings into her mouth. “I still feel nervous around him. I saw him the next morning while the hokage was dishing out missions and it was so awkward, there was this weird energy between us even though we weren’t even looking at each other.”

                “That’s how you know it’s real” Naru commented, waving her now-empty stick at Rei’s face.

                “Oh, how would you know? Have you ever been in love?” Rei asked. It was a valid question. Naru had many escapades but none of them were ever very long-lasting. Then, shaking her head, Rei added, “We never talked about what we are to each other. The only thing ever mentioned was that I was an old friend, and that he missed me. Maybe this is just platonic, maybe we’re just friends and nothing more.”

                “Friends who reserve tables in expensive restaurants and bring meaningful flowers? Yeah, okay” Naru said, unconvinced.

                “It can happen” Rei argued. “Or at least, I’m pretty sure it can.” Deep down, she was starting to grow rather uncomfortable with this topic. She hated not having a definite label for what she and Kakashi actually were. Naru seemed so sure of herself, so confident in her opinion. Rei wished she had felt the same way, but she simply did not want to jump to conclusions. She didn’t want to put her faith in something so fleeting and uncertain. She had already done that one too many times and ended up with nothing short of heartbreak. She was positive her sanity could not handle yet another depressing blow.

                That afternoon, as she returned to her apartment tired and uneasy, she thought of Kakashi. She thought of their night together, replaying every scene in her head ten times over. She cursed herself for being so analytical, but she couldn’t help it. Overthinking was just part of her nature. All she really wanted was to just climb into bed and take a long nap in hopes of erasing all of these wild feelings. And maybe when she woke up, she’d be able to contemplate this further with a clearer mind.

                Reaching her front door, she dug into the pouch at her hip only to find…her key was missing. Shit. She pressed her forehead against the door and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to mentally retrace her steps. She definitely had it when she left that morning, or else she wouldn’t have been able to lock the door. But where she lost it was another matter entirely. Konoha was large, and it could be anywhere. She groaned and slammed a fist against the door, cursing herself for being so stupid.

                “Well, well, well. What do we have here?” a voice then spoke from behind. She recognized it immediately: sultry, dark, condescending. Tenshi. “Looks like someone’s having a little trouble! And you call yourself a ninja” she teased.

                Rei clenched her fists at her sides. “Shut up, Tenshi” she growled.

                “Karma’s a bitch, isn’t it?” she continued. She pouted her lacquered lips and crossed her arms across her chest as if Rei was a child who had stolen one too many cookies from the cookie jar.

                “The hell are you talking about?” Rei asked, finally turning to her.

                “Oh, don’t act so dense” Tenshi replied. “This is payback for the other night.”

                It took Rei only a moment to understand what, exactly, it was that Tenshi was talking about but once she understood, a burning anger rose in her chest. “What did you do with my keys?!” Rei shouted, surging forward. Tenshi stepped out of the line of fire and shook her head innocently.

                “You act like I’m the bad guy!” she pouted. “When really, I did absolutely nothing. This is all a result of your own ignorance.”

                Ignorance. Tenshi knew nothing of ignorance. Rei clenched her fists and her jaw, her anger growing. “Are you really that petty that you would go so far as to think I deserve this just for spending time with a guy?” she asked through gritted teeth.

                “Let’s call it by its name, shall we? You went on a date” Tenshi said condescendingly. “And I’m not very fond of that. I don’t think you quite understand the kinds of games you’re playing here. How many drugs did you have to give him to get him to go out with you?”

                “Uh, none?” Rei replied. “Excuse me for asking, but what kinds of drugs are you on right now? Because clearly there’s no way you’re sober.”

                Tenshi rolled her eyes, flicked her ponytail over her shoulder, and straightened her back with a disgusted glare. She was growing impatient, that much was obvious. Rei’s refusal to bend to her will made her squirm. She was like a venomous bug threatening to poison everything in its path, one that needed to be squashed quickly. “Listen here, Red, I’m going to tell it to you plain and simple: Kakashi wants nothing to do with you so give it up. He’s just being polite but at the end of the day, you are nothing compared to what he could have. When I see something I want, I get it, no questions asked, and what I want is him so I suggest you try not to get in my way because I fully intend to get into his pants no matter what.”

                Rei glared back up at her, matching her intensity. “Is sex really all you can think about?” she asked with a disgusted scoff. Really, it was as if she saw men as nothing but toys for pleasure. Fortunately, Rei was a little more intelligent than that. And besides, she had known Kakashi since before she even understood what sex was. To say Rei was driven solely by bodily urges was a vastly inaccurate statement.

                “What else is there to think about?” Tenshi asked. “Is it so wrong to just want to eat a big, fat—”

                “Dumpling?” a voice from behind them interrupted. The two women turned to find none other than the man in question standing before them, a book propped open in his hand. “What seems to be the trouble? If you’re hungry, the sweet shop is right down the street.”

                Tenshi’s face went beet red at the sight of him, her eyes darting down to his pants momentarily. Drive a kunai into my eye sockets, Rei thought to herself. Tenshi, however, quickly composed herself and began her usual routine of accentuating her breasts and trying to act cute and flirtatious. “Wow, I totally forgot! That sounds great right now! You should come with me—those dumplings are so big, I doubt I can eat one all by myself!”

                “Sorry” Kakashi replied bluntly, “I have some unfinished business to take care of, but I’m sure Tenzo down the hall would be happy to go with you.” A soft smile touched his face, showing through his mask in the way his one revealed eye squinted. Tenshi’s face fell and in that moment, Rei felt a sickening sense of pride. Eat that, bitch.  

                “I-I mean…” she stammered, as if grasping for the last little bit of hope she had, “I don’t think Tenzo would, I mean, I don’t know him very well and—”

                “Then this would be a great opportunity!” Kakashi interrupted. “I’m sure he would be happy to go with you.”

                Tenshi blinked, the heat rising in her face, and then glared back at Rei angrily. Perhaps she was finally beginning to understand the conditions on which their date the other night was founded. No matter how hard Tenshi tried, Kakashi simply wasn’t interested in her. After another moment of frustrated stammering and sighing, the brunette groaned and pushed past Kakashi toward her apartment. “Nevermind. I’m not so hungry anymore” she muttered, then slammed her door shut.

                “I wonder what’s gotten into her” Kakashi pondered, turning his attention back to Rei. She shrugged awkwardly, feigning ignorance. They stood there in a moment of awkward silence before Kakashi nodded and then said, “Well, I guess I better be on my way. I have a few things that need some immediate attention.”

                “Right, right” Rei said in agreement. As Kakashi walked away, however, she was reminded of her dilemma. She squeezed the doorknob and sighed softly. She supposed the only option she had was to call the landlord, even if she’d get charged extra for needing the master key. She reached into her pocket for one last look, holding out the tiniest bit of hope, but to no avail. Before she could do anything else, however, Kakashi cleared his throat and she looked up to find him standing before her.

                “By the way” he said, reaching into his own pouch. “I found this in the street and realized you might be missing it.” Then, in front of her face, he held up her very own apartment key.

                “H-how did you--?” she stammered, but Kakashi shook his head and dropped it into her hands.

                “No need to thank me” he said, turning on his heels and heading back toward his own apartment. Without looking back, he waved his hand dismissively and said “Consider it a friendly favor.”

                Friendly favor. The phrase stuck in Rei’s head, triggering another round of questions about what they were to each other now. She wanted to call after him, to ask him about it, but he had already shut his front door. She knew she could’ve just walked over there and knocked but she didn’t want to seem desperate. There was a barrier here that she was not about to cross lest she misinterpret the situation. No, for now she was forced to remain uncertain about the whole thing. Perhaps everything would even out eventually, or else maybe they were just destined to live the entire rest of their lives like this: always on the precipice but never falling over the edge. Truthfully, Rei wasn’t all too fond of living in perpetual uncertainty but she wasn’t sure she was prepared for the certain, either. Upon entering her apartment, she tossed her keys onto her desk and flopped face-first onto her bed with a groan. She thought back to her conversation with Naru earlier in the dango shop. Her statement about her relationship status couldn’t have been truer. This really was so…complicated.

[airoasis]

How to learn any language easily | Matthew Youlden | TEDxClapham

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/how-to-learn-any-language-easily-matthew-youlden-tedxclapham-3/

How to learn any language easily | Matthew Youlden | TEDxClapham

Translator: Hoa Pham Reviewer: Denise RQ studying a language can believe slightly like rocket science, something out of this world and out of reach for the giant majority of us. This is not a belief, nevertheless, just held by way of many English monolinguals on our island. It is usually shared with the aid of many of our linguistic cousins further afield, say, in the us or Australia. Let’s be sincere: in relation to studying languages or speaking them, we are the style of people that likes to believe we’re fluent in a mess of numerous languages akin to Geordie, Kiwi, Cockney, or what about Canadian? Do not get me incorrect.I’m very, very happy with my Mancunian heritage, but i wouldn’t recommend it can be a separate language just but. In the end, we don’t want subtitles after we are looking at Coronation street, now will we? Even though i can see you two pronouncing, "I do." (Laughter) yet, despite this, in the event you have been to cross the Channel, or say, if you are feeling somewhat extra adventurous, go the Severn Estuary into Wales, there you could possibly in finding that speakme a different language or being bilingual is simply a truth.Yet, there and extra afield, many are still convinced of the very fact this can be a long, challenging, fairly painful, and dare I say, daunting project. In this room of a hundred humans, i would bet that as a minimum 15 other languages are spoken apart from English. Actually, the final census of 2011 published that a magnificent 22% of Londoners – that is 22%, one in 4, practically – communicate an extra language at home aside from English. I myself, at the same time as a Mancunian, communicate roughly 20 languages, and of those, around 1/2 I communicate fluently. And the query I get asked by way of men and women probably the most is, "Why?" (Laughter) well, the reply, for me as a minimum, is as a substitute easy. I’m satisfied studying languages, any language per Se, is without a doubt convenient. And that i wish to exhibit you how.As a linguist, a polyglot, and a lecturer, i do know what it entails to be taught and study a language. And some of the greatest obstacles we’re faced when learning are myths. And that i clearly suppose that we ought to debunk them. So as to bear in mind these extra with no trouble, I got here up with the best and pleasant sounding acronym D.I.E. (Laughter) which funnily sufficient, should you write it out now not pronounce, should you write it out, it is one of the words for ‘the’ in German. Fantasy quantity one: finding out a language is easily too complicated. I’ll on no account be capable to communicate a different language fairly just like the language I used to be born with. Technically, you’re not born with a language. Every body here would have ended up, with say, eastern as our first language. We were quite simply surrounded or immersed within the language most often from an extraordinarily early age. There are humans, nevertheless, out there – many of them, actually – who began to study a language, the second or might be even the 0.33, a lot in a while in life.And guess what? They’re now entirely fluent on this language or these other languages even perhaps more so than of their so-known as mom tongue. Why is that this? Considering the fact that there is not any cutoff date in which you ought to have realized one other language. Feel about what number of people who say, "Ugh! My youngsters are doing French in institution. I fairly want them to become fluent.But I can’t, no approach, it can be impossible. I will have to’ve without problems paid more concentration when I was once at school." good, stories divulge that at the same time children generally are a lot faster at choosing up a brand new language than humans older than them, it can be simply us – which you can simply breathe as a sign of comfort – it’s us, the adults, who are extra robust at finding out them. Why is that this? Considering that now we have the experience of learning. We know how one can learn already. Myth quantity two: languages are with ease beside the point. I don’t need to study one other language at all. And as we hear, and regrettably hear fairly a lot – I used to be going to do in a cockney accent, but I is not going to do it at all. I’ll spare myself the embarrassment of doing that – languages … Every person speaks English, anyway. Good, apart from the obvious benefits of talking an extra language – for example, monetary advantages and intellectual benefits, i.E., better pay, extra job possibilities, preserving us mentally fit, and virtually serving to to stave off neurological diseases equivalent to Alzheimer’s- there are actual hidden gemstones we can discover when we converse a further language. How about getting an upgrade in your hotel room, as was once recently the case with my uncle earlier than going to Turkey on vacation? He asked me if I might ship him over just a few phrases and greetings within the language that he would try out within the hotel.Turns up, caught over this suitcase, throws out a few sentences in Turkish, and bam!, he is given an improve on his motel room immediately. (Laughter) You might no longer normally get an upgrade to your motel room. I can’t promise you this. Nevertheless, i will be able to promise that you just possibly simply maybe, via an extra language, will meet the love of your existence. We all don’t forget Jamie from Love sincerely finding out Portuguese for Aurlia. And in fact, practically one in ten Brits is married to any individual who was born overseas. Additionally, the Guardian reported on study showing that folks who are ready to speak two languages or extra higher adapt or are better prepared at dealing with problems, that they are better at multitasking and prioritizing duties. That is surely a so much sought-after ability in our day and age when all and sundry appeared to be glued to our phones. I ponder how many individuals now who’re watching this shall be glued to their telephones, and what number of are actually going to bilingual? Fable quantity three: you have to be an expat and be in a location the place the language is continuously spoken, even to just get a grab of the language.There is no harm in without difficulty packing up and moving to a village within the core of nowhere, however it’s not clearly fundamental. Now the high-quality unknown: my brother and i – i’ll depart you to decide who’s who; he’s virtually my twin brother – my brother and that i whilst being based in Berlin, Germany, decided to undertake the project of studying Turkish in simply seven days. We decided to undertake the assignment of finding out Turkish in just seven days in order to show what you are able to do through conveniently striking your mind to it. I am no longer saying all of us have to be going available in the market and learning a language in per week nor that it is virtually feasible to gain knowledge of undoubtedly the whole lot there is in such a brief space of time. I will assure you, it’s not. Perfection isn’t the purpose here. The goal, nevertheless, is to get as excellent as we almost certainly can in a special language, within the shortest time viable. This means to the dismay of university academics all during the globe, "Take shortcuts." The great thing about these shortcuts is we will practice them to any language that we wish to learn.And moreover, they are so easy, you perhaps left thinking at the finish, "Why did not I consider of that?" So let’s take a appear at these shortcuts. Number one: analyze the similarities, focus on identical elements. As audio system of English, we already comprehend a lot about different languages, given the fact that our language itself, very nearly, is a Germanic language with the wealth of influences and vocabulary from a mess of one of a kind languages as diverse as Latin, Hebrew, or Hindi. Doing this may occasionally help boost patterns in the language and likewise will help us to wager the that means and formation of phrases and things that we do not yet recognize. As you see in this slide, for illustration, we will see how closely associated English is to fellow different Germanic languages and even to languages which might be, on this case, Romance languages, besides the fact that children that English is a Germanic language just about.Shortcut number two: hold it simple. In the beginning sight, you might feel you are learning a language that doesn’t have that much in long-established with our own, but by way of focusing on handy elements, we will be capable to study it much rapidly due to the fact every language has easy factors to it. Some languages simplest have two or three tenses. For example, you end up saying ‘I had,’ on this one form, for ‘I had,’i have had,’ and ‘I had had,’ and ‘i’m’ also can also be ‘I will be’ and ‘i would be.’ In different instances, if we look at, for instance, German, now we have a case of developed vocabulary that is derived from a few simple words or verbs.In this case, we’ve got the verb ‘sprechen’ which is ‘to converse,’ which has now long past on and lent itself to become ‘besprechen’ – to talk about, ‘entsprechen’ – to correspond, ‘versprechen’ and ‘absprechen,’ and so on, and so forth. Shortcut quantity three: keep it primary. Primarily on the commencing of our method, we need to ensure that it is principal to us. Not all people is learning German as a way to speak about industry with colleagues in Berlin. Suppose about this. As speakers of English, we do not know each single phrase in the Oxford English Dictionary. So why will have to we worry about remembering every single word we encounter within the new language? We quite simply must make it relevant to our possess specific challenge correct now.With regards to finding out a language, perhaps essentially the most critical detail is time. And through time, i do not imply years upon years of never-ending finding out as some people nonetheless like to think. How long does it take to gain knowledge of a language? How about if I had been to inform you that half-hour per day are a satisfactory and mighty start? Thirty minutes – these are minutes all of us have. Be ten within the morning, ten in the afternoon, ten within the evening, or 30 minutes in effectively one go in order to work, to tuition, to tuition, out in the night, meeting associates, at the same time we’re on the coach or bus.All of us have all these minutes that we will decide to learn. In addition, by using learning for smaller periods and usual intervals, we is not going to consider so overwhelmed by the language. And even higher, studying for normal durations signifies that it is extra robust, considering that possibilities are that if you are finding out for once a week or as soon as a fortnight, by the time you next come to gain knowledge of, you’ll have already got forgotten what you at the beginning learned. The intention accordingly is to fit language studying into our every day routines and no longer the opposite direction round. And by means of doing this, there isn’t any reason why after easily one month, you can’t get by means of for your new language. These lively types of studying, we ought to compliment them with what i would like to consult as passive types of finding out.Having breakfast: swap the radio on and take heed to a station in the language, grow to be familiar with the music of the language. The track is not going to most effective help you get used to the sounds, to the intonation, and to the rhythm but the words you’ll hear will also aid you partner them; since the songs, and you’ll be able to be competent to companion them with these songs, as a result increasing our vocabulary.Had a difficult day? Treat yourself to a television series or a movie in the language, and put subtitles on, in English, after which, others can become a member of and watch with you as good. We all know how everyone appears to be going loopy about this Scandinavian television crime sequence on the moment – a few of which had been dubbed into English; preserve it fashioned. By means of doing this, this may occasionally get you off to a great begin to move on and to clearly grasp your language. There are three principles, i like to consult them as the golden ideas of language learning, that every and every body of us must be doing when going about finding out a language.The primary rule is – watch for it – the primary rule is live the language, communicate it, read it, write it, dream in it, sing it even; sing to yourself. My brother and that i when we started learning Greek, we determined to write down songs in the language. Don’t worry, i am no longer about to embarrass my brother, and i definitely is not going to be singing for you all this morning. That said, as a way to master the language, you need to make it yours, possess the language.So why no longer put your cellphone or pc within the language you’re finding out? Quantity two: make errors. Yes, you heard me adequately. Make as many as you want. Why? On account that we be trained by means of making mistakes. It’s in reality the only manner we are able to get matters correct. As youngsters, we’re even anticipated to make them. However as adults, we are frightened considering the fact that they make us suppose vulnerable. Admitting from the starting we don’t know most likely everything there’s to learn about this new language won’t prevent us from finding out it. Additionally, it’s going to certainly give us the liberty to move on and to grasp it. So go forth and make as many mistakes as you adore. The last rule, and that is the main one, and that is most important: make it enjoyable.Grammar rules don’t seem to be consistently fun. I imply, i really like grammar, however I understand that now not all people is so captivated with it; not certain why, although. However don’t forget, some thing you can do in English, you are able to do in some other language, so make it enjoyable. And absolutely, by way of making it enjoyable, with the aid of making the method unique, you are serving to yourself stay inspired. And the extra prompted you’re, the better your possibilities are of succeeding. So go out and let your creative juices glide. The nice thing as well is why no longer try and get humans, other humans, concerned? Say, colleagues, neighbors, and switch it into a small, pleasant competitors. Sincerely, reviews exhibit for those who get a friendly competition going, that your chances of succeeding are significantly better, and they increase your efficiency. Languages are traditionally perceived to be the great unknown. We prefer to suppose of them as whatever unfamiliar, and yet, we know a lot about them given that all human languages have their own bizarre but gorgeous approaches of expressing strategies, concepts, and fact, even supposing we’re no longer aware of it to start with.By way of now delving into the unknown and realizing the acquainted, we will be competent to master one of the crucial pleasant, lucrative, and efficient expertise we possess as humans: human communique. And who would withstand looking to gain knowledge of a language with these linguistic pearls? The primary one could be, as you say in French, (French) Ayez Les dents longues, (English) which is ‘be ambitious.’ It literally means, nonetheless, ‘have lengthy teeth.’ (Laughter) Mine are not that long. I’d prefer to desire you all in Italian (Italian) In bocca al lupo, (English) which is ‘good luck,’ but literally way ‘into the mouth of the wolf.’ (Laughter) And subsequently, as we say in Ukrainian, (Ukrainian) Skilky mov ty znayesh – stilky raziv ty lyudyna, (English) which means that "The more languages you already know, the more folks you might be." experience learning a new language.(Applause) .

[batterymonster2021]

How to learn any language easily | Matthew Youlden | TEDxClapham

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/how-to-learn-any-language-easily-matthew-youlden-tedxclapham-3/

How to learn any language easily | Matthew Youlden | TEDxClapham

Translator: Hoa Pham Reviewer: Denise RQ studying a language can believe slightly like rocket science, something out of this world and out of reach for the giant majority of us. This is not a belief, nevertheless, just held by way of many English monolinguals on our island. It is usually shared with the aid of many of our linguistic cousins further afield, say, in the us or Australia. Let’s be sincere: in relation to studying languages or speaking them, we are the style of people that likes to believe we’re fluent in a mess of numerous languages akin to Geordie, Kiwi, Cockney, or what about Canadian? Do not get me incorrect.I’m very, very happy with my Mancunian heritage, but i wouldn’t recommend it can be a separate language just but. In the end, we don’t want subtitles after we are looking at Coronation street, now will we? Even though i can see you two pronouncing, "I do." (Laughter) yet, despite this, in the event you have been to cross the Channel, or say, if you are feeling somewhat extra adventurous, go the Severn Estuary into Wales, there you could possibly in finding that speakme a different language or being bilingual is simply a truth.Yet, there and extra afield, many are still convinced of the very fact this can be a long, challenging, fairly painful, and dare I say, daunting project. In this room of a hundred humans, i would bet that as a minimum 15 other languages are spoken apart from English. Actually, the final census of 2011 published that a magnificent 22% of Londoners – that is 22%, one in 4, practically – communicate an extra language at home aside from English. I myself, at the same time as a Mancunian, communicate roughly 20 languages, and of those, around 1/2 I communicate fluently. And the query I get asked by way of men and women probably the most is, "Why?" (Laughter) well, the reply, for me as a minimum, is as a substitute easy. I’m satisfied studying languages, any language per Se, is without a doubt convenient. And that i wish to exhibit you how.As a linguist, a polyglot, and a lecturer, i do know what it entails to be taught and study a language. And some of the greatest obstacles we’re faced when learning are myths. And that i clearly suppose that we ought to debunk them. So as to bear in mind these extra with no trouble, I got here up with the best and pleasant sounding acronym D.I.E. (Laughter) which funnily sufficient, should you write it out now not pronounce, should you write it out, it is one of the words for ‘the’ in German. Fantasy quantity one: finding out a language is easily too complicated. I’ll on no account be capable to communicate a different language fairly just like the language I used to be born with. Technically, you’re not born with a language. Every body here would have ended up, with say, eastern as our first language. We were quite simply surrounded or immersed within the language most often from an extraordinarily early age. There are humans, nevertheless, out there – many of them, actually – who began to study a language, the second or might be even the 0.33, a lot in a while in life.And guess what? They’re now entirely fluent on this language or these other languages even perhaps more so than of their so-known as mom tongue. Why is that this? Considering the fact that there is not any cutoff date in which you ought to have realized one other language. Feel about what number of people who say, "Ugh! My youngsters are doing French in institution. I fairly want them to become fluent.But I can’t, no approach, it can be impossible. I will have to’ve without problems paid more concentration when I was once at school." good, stories divulge that at the same time children generally are a lot faster at choosing up a brand new language than humans older than them, it can be simply us – which you can simply breathe as a sign of comfort – it’s us, the adults, who are extra robust at finding out them. Why is that this? Considering that now we have the experience of learning. We know how one can learn already. Myth quantity two: languages are with ease beside the point. I don’t need to study one other language at all. And as we hear, and regrettably hear fairly a lot – I used to be going to do in a cockney accent, but I is not going to do it at all. I’ll spare myself the embarrassment of doing that – languages … Every person speaks English, anyway. Good, apart from the obvious benefits of talking an extra language – for example, monetary advantages and intellectual benefits, i.E., better pay, extra job possibilities, preserving us mentally fit, and virtually serving to to stave off neurological diseases equivalent to Alzheimer’s- there are actual hidden gemstones we can discover when we converse a further language. How about getting an upgrade in your hotel room, as was once recently the case with my uncle earlier than going to Turkey on vacation? He asked me if I might ship him over just a few phrases and greetings within the language that he would try out within the hotel.Turns up, caught over this suitcase, throws out a few sentences in Turkish, and bam!, he is given an improve on his motel room immediately. (Laughter) You might no longer normally get an upgrade to your motel room. I can’t promise you this. Nevertheless, i will be able to promise that you just possibly simply maybe, via an extra language, will meet the love of your existence. We all don’t forget Jamie from Love sincerely finding out Portuguese for Aurlia. And in fact, practically one in ten Brits is married to any individual who was born overseas. Additionally, the Guardian reported on study showing that folks who are ready to speak two languages or extra higher adapt or are better prepared at dealing with problems, that they are better at multitasking and prioritizing duties. That is surely a so much sought-after ability in our day and age when all and sundry appeared to be glued to our phones. I ponder how many individuals now who’re watching this shall be glued to their telephones, and what number of are actually going to bilingual? Fable quantity three: you have to be an expat and be in a location the place the language is continuously spoken, even to just get a grab of the language.There is no harm in without difficulty packing up and moving to a village within the core of nowhere, however it’s not clearly fundamental. Now the high-quality unknown: my brother and i – i’ll depart you to decide who’s who; he’s virtually my twin brother – my brother and that i whilst being based in Berlin, Germany, decided to undertake the project of studying Turkish in simply seven days. We decided to undertake the assignment of finding out Turkish in just seven days in order to show what you are able to do through conveniently striking your mind to it. I am no longer saying all of us have to be going available in the market and learning a language in per week nor that it is virtually feasible to gain knowledge of undoubtedly the whole lot there is in such a brief space of time. I will assure you, it’s not. Perfection isn’t the purpose here. The goal, nevertheless, is to get as excellent as we almost certainly can in a special language, within the shortest time viable. This means to the dismay of university academics all during the globe, "Take shortcuts." The great thing about these shortcuts is we will practice them to any language that we wish to learn.And moreover, they are so easy, you perhaps left thinking at the finish, "Why did not I consider of that?" So let’s take a appear at these shortcuts. Number one: analyze the similarities, focus on identical elements. As audio system of English, we already comprehend a lot about different languages, given the fact that our language itself, very nearly, is a Germanic language with the wealth of influences and vocabulary from a mess of one of a kind languages as diverse as Latin, Hebrew, or Hindi. Doing this may occasionally help boost patterns in the language and likewise will help us to wager the that means and formation of phrases and things that we do not yet recognize. As you see in this slide, for illustration, we will see how closely associated English is to fellow different Germanic languages and even to languages which might be, on this case, Romance languages, besides the fact that children that English is a Germanic language just about.Shortcut number two: hold it simple. In the beginning sight, you might feel you are learning a language that doesn’t have that much in long-established with our own, but by way of focusing on handy elements, we will be capable to study it much rapidly due to the fact every language has easy factors to it. Some languages simplest have two or three tenses. For example, you end up saying ‘I had,’ on this one form, for ‘I had,’i have had,’ and ‘I had had,’ and ‘i’m’ also can also be ‘I will be’ and ‘i would be.’ In different instances, if we look at, for instance, German, now we have a case of developed vocabulary that is derived from a few simple words or verbs.In this case, we’ve got the verb ‘sprechen’ which is ‘to converse,’ which has now long past on and lent itself to become ‘besprechen’ – to talk about, ‘entsprechen’ – to correspond, ‘versprechen’ and ‘absprechen,’ and so on, and so forth. Shortcut quantity three: keep it primary. Primarily on the commencing of our method, we need to ensure that it is principal to us. Not all people is learning German as a way to speak about industry with colleagues in Berlin. Suppose about this. As speakers of English, we do not know each single phrase in the Oxford English Dictionary. So why will have to we worry about remembering every single word we encounter within the new language? We quite simply must make it relevant to our possess specific challenge correct now.With regards to finding out a language, perhaps essentially the most critical detail is time. And through time, i do not imply years upon years of never-ending finding out as some people nonetheless like to think. How long does it take to gain knowledge of a language? How about if I had been to inform you that half-hour per day are a satisfactory and mighty start? Thirty minutes – these are minutes all of us have. Be ten within the morning, ten in the afternoon, ten within the evening, or 30 minutes in effectively one go in order to work, to tuition, to tuition, out in the night, meeting associates, at the same time we’re on the coach or bus.All of us have all these minutes that we will decide to learn. In addition, by using learning for smaller periods and usual intervals, we is not going to consider so overwhelmed by the language. And even higher, studying for normal durations signifies that it is extra robust, considering that possibilities are that if you are finding out for once a week or as soon as a fortnight, by the time you next come to gain knowledge of, you’ll have already got forgotten what you at the beginning learned. The intention accordingly is to fit language studying into our every day routines and no longer the opposite direction round. And by means of doing this, there isn’t any reason why after easily one month, you can’t get by means of for your new language. These lively types of studying, we ought to compliment them with what i would like to consult as passive types of finding out.Having breakfast: swap the radio on and take heed to a station in the language, grow to be familiar with the music of the language. The track is not going to most effective help you get used to the sounds, to the intonation, and to the rhythm but the words you’ll hear will also aid you partner them; since the songs, and you’ll be able to be competent to companion them with these songs, as a result increasing our vocabulary.Had a difficult day? Treat yourself to a television series or a movie in the language, and put subtitles on, in English, after which, others can become a member of and watch with you as good. We all know how everyone appears to be going loopy about this Scandinavian television crime sequence on the moment – a few of which had been dubbed into English; preserve it fashioned. By means of doing this, this may occasionally get you off to a great begin to move on and to clearly grasp your language. There are three principles, i like to consult them as the golden ideas of language learning, that every and every body of us must be doing when going about finding out a language.The primary rule is – watch for it – the primary rule is live the language, communicate it, read it, write it, dream in it, sing it even; sing to yourself. My brother and that i when we started learning Greek, we determined to write down songs in the language. Don’t worry, i am no longer about to embarrass my brother, and i definitely is not going to be singing for you all this morning. That said, as a way to master the language, you need to make it yours, possess the language.So why no longer put your cellphone or pc within the language you’re finding out? Quantity two: make errors. Yes, you heard me adequately. Make as many as you want. Why? On account that we be trained by means of making mistakes. It’s in reality the only manner we are able to get matters correct. As youngsters, we’re even anticipated to make them. However as adults, we are frightened considering the fact that they make us suppose vulnerable. Admitting from the starting we don’t know most likely everything there’s to learn about this new language won’t prevent us from finding out it. Additionally, it’s going to certainly give us the liberty to move on and to grasp it. So go forth and make as many mistakes as you adore. The last rule, and that is the main one, and that is most important: make it enjoyable.Grammar rules don’t seem to be consistently fun. I imply, i really like grammar, however I understand that now not all people is so captivated with it; not certain why, although. However don’t forget, some thing you can do in English, you are able to do in some other language, so make it enjoyable. And absolutely, by way of making it enjoyable, with the aid of making the method unique, you are serving to yourself stay inspired. And the extra prompted you’re, the better your possibilities are of succeeding. So go out and let your creative juices glide. The nice thing as well is why no longer try and get humans, other humans, concerned? Say, colleagues, neighbors, and switch it into a small, pleasant competitors. Sincerely, reviews exhibit for those who get a friendly competition going, that your chances of succeeding are significantly better, and they increase your efficiency. Languages are traditionally perceived to be the great unknown. We prefer to suppose of them as whatever unfamiliar, and yet, we know a lot about them given that all human languages have their own bizarre but gorgeous approaches of expressing strategies, concepts, and fact, even supposing we’re no longer aware of it to start with.By way of now delving into the unknown and realizing the acquainted, we will be competent to master one of the crucial pleasant, lucrative, and efficient expertise we possess as humans: human communique. And who would withstand looking to gain knowledge of a language with these linguistic pearls? The primary one could be, as you say in French, (French) Ayez Les dents longues, (English) which is ‘be ambitious.’ It literally means, nonetheless, ‘have lengthy teeth.’ (Laughter) Mine are not that long. I’d prefer to desire you all in Italian (Italian) In bocca al lupo, (English) which is ‘good luck,’ but literally way ‘into the mouth of the wolf.’ (Laughter) And subsequently, as we say in Ukrainian, (Ukrainian) Skilky mov ty znayesh – stilky raziv ty lyudyna, (English) which means that "The more languages you already know, the more folks you might be." experience learning a new language.(Applause) .