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yeonchi · 3 years ago

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Kisekae Insights #24: GJ Club - how a spinon became a spinoff featuring Kyōya and Kasumi Shinomiya

(Art by 結城辰也)

The Kisekae Insights series has allowed me to bring the spotlight back on Waifu Network animes that I haven’t posted much about in the past due to lack of fanart or lack of interest. Like Hidamari Sketch in the last instalment, GJ Club will be no exception until I continue posting the usual content in my anime posts. Honestly, it was good while it lasted.

While Hidamari Sketch is a fairly popular and notable anime, GJ Club, sadly, isn’t. The anime was adapted from the light novel series written by Shin Araki and it only received one 12-episode season in 2013 and an OVA in 2014. Since it is a slice-of-life series, not much is known about the characters’ histories, which made it very easy to adapt into my personal project. All these factors coinciding with it being the 50th anniversary year of Doctor Who made GJ Club the perfect anime to adapt and expand on.

Background information

For some reason, the light novel has been a bit hard to find. In short, while you are able to read it online, the sources are unfortunately scarce.

From 2013 to 2015, NanoDesu Translations posted translations of the light novel. They published a PDF and EPUB of the first volume (which is available on archive.org) and translated up to Chapter 17 of the second volume. It was then abandoned for two years before Haraguro Scanlations picked it up. As of September 2018, they only finished up to Chapter 3 of the third volume (with the first chapter being translated by Shadowys on Baka-Tsuki) and there are no further updates after that, with the exception of a one-off chapter released in November 2020.

As of August 2021, however, all the original translations by NanoDesu seem to have been deleted from their site. All the translations are available on AsiaNovel, but there are no illustrations because the reader doesn’t seem to support images. If the images weren’t discarded in the code of the novels, then all they would need to do is add support for them and then they would appear.

There are 9 volumes and two special volumes for GJ Club along with 8 volumes and a special volume for its middle school spinoff. It’s honestly telling how popular the series was when the translators have all but abandoned it.

Shin Araki also wrote an additional spinoff to GJ Club, namely GE: Good Eater, and a sequel, namely KB Club. GE is set in a fantasy world with the characters being based off the characters of GJ Club, while KB Club turns everything meta by having both series be the creations of a high school light novel club, with the characters of GJ Club being based off the members of said club, right down to their names. Honestly, I’m not a big fan of that approach given how I’ve adapted GJ Club into my personal project. In the end, I guess we’ll never really know what happens in the novels, but at least we have this.

Watching the anime and listening to the character music was how I first realised that anime was sexist to males because of the female-centric focus in most animes. Kyōya only gets one character song in the series, and even then it’s a duet with Megumi. If that isn’t sexist to you, then I don’t know how I can convince you that a lot of animes are sexist.

In January 2015, I published two posts outlining my idea for an English dub of the series that also fits with GJ Club’s depiction in my personal project. The setting would be changed to London, England, specifically the areas of Chiswick, Ealing and Acton (where their school is located) and the characters would speak with British accents. The images in the original post are dead because I idiotically copied the images from the site instead of saving and reuploading them to the post, but since I’m grubbing for content anyway, I’m going to repost my character details as follows:

Kyōya: The protagonist of the series. When he started Year 10, he was kidnapped by the girls when he walked into an old school building, hoping to find the Culture Club. He moved to London from Manchester just before he started Year 7. His best friend outside the club is someone named Tesshin Yokomizo (横溝徹心) who is a local and not seen in the anime. In the GJ Club, he is nicknamed “Kyoro” and despite his spinelessness, he seems to have talent in dealing with the girls around him. His birthday is December 18. Due to a crisis involving his family during his childhood, he and his sister Kasumi were left in the care of a family guardian just before they moved to London, but she left when Kyōya started Year 10. It might have been that childhood incident that emotionally scarred him and left him spineless…

Mao: The Year 11 president of the GJ Club. Her family is rich and they live in a mansion in Ealing. She has a habit of biting and picking on Kyōya when she is bored or angry. She always reads books and watches shows without kissing scenes.

Shion: The only daughter in her family, Shion is an expert chess player with many brothers, all experts in some kind of activity. She speaks in a Birmingham (Brummie) accent because her mother and a few of her brothers were born in Birmingham. It is unknown if Shion was born in Birmingham herself.

Megumi: The calm and nice middle sister of the Amatsuka family. She likes knitting and she is always seen making tea and cakes in the club room. In the same year level as Kyōya.

Kirara: Born in Swansea, Wales, Kirara is the tallest and strongest member of the club. She speaks English in simple, monotone sentences. Welsh is her first language. Kirara can be seen eating meat, sometimes sharing it with Kyōya, but not with anyone else. She is afraid of spiders and has little tolerance to alcohol.

Tamaki: (voiced by Karen Gillan!) The newest member of the GJ Club when Kyōya becomes a Year 11 student. Like Kyōya, she is kidnapped and forced to join the club. Her nickname is “Tama”. Her family is from Glasgow and they run a Shinto shrine in Acton. She has several younger siblings.

Kasumi: Kyōya’s younger sister, who was born in Manchester. After a visit to the GJ Club, she becomes inspired to start a middle school division when she starts Year 7. She has a brother complex and she mistook Mao for being a primary school student when she met her. Her proficiency in Welsh is better than her brother’s, who can probably speak at a beginner level.

Geraldine: Shortened to “Jill”. She moved to Chiswick from Swansea to be with her sister, Kirara. She first met Kyōya at Ealing Broadway Station when she had difficulty buying a Tube ticket. She didn’t really understand how to use the ticket machine, so Kyōya went to help her. After this, Jill considered Kyōya her “samurai master”. Jill doesn’t speak English fluently, so she relies on her whiteboard to communicate with the others. She is as strong as her sister and she joins Kasumi’s GJ Club when she starts Year 7 in Chiswick.

Seira: The youngest sister of the Amatsuka family. Though she speaks in a typical London accent, she sometimes talks through her cat clip in Received Pronunciation (the Queen’s English/RP) using ventriloquism to state her true feelings to Kyōya, who she has a grudge against.

Mori: The maid of the Amatsuka family. She likes to ride a motorcycle. A running gag is her twirling before Kyōya much to his pleasure and annoyance to the rest of the club members. Sometimes, her mother takes her place without the family even noticing due to their identical appearance.

Kyōya, Kasumi and Momoka: The Brother, the Child and the Yandere

Normally in previous instalments, I would have described each character separately, but because their backstories are heavily intertwined, I will introduce them all at once in this section. Most of the backstory takes place around the Battle of Koshi Castle in December 2013 and during the Manchester Campaign of 2005-2013, which I have already covered in #15.

When Hiroki Ichigo’s twelfth incarnation was killed at Koshi Castle, he managed to escape in his TARDIS, where he regenerated into his new prototype, namely a four-year-old Kyōya. The TARDIS crashes outside North Manchester General Hospital on 11 December 2005.

Earlier, Hiroki and Akari’s gametes (along with those of Hiroki’s brothers and their families) were taken by Reona Yukawa and placed in the Progenitor so that they could breed super-soldiers out of them. When Takumi Kamijō and Kyōko Sakura manage to escape from their cells (saving Nodoka Manabe and Azusa Nakano in the process), he changes the destination of the baby about to be released into the Progenitor’s time portal. That baby was Kasumi, one of the super-soldiers grown from Hiroki and Akari’s DNA. She ended up at the same hospital as well and was about to be taken home by a couple when Girl Power killed them, resulting in Kasumi being taken by Akari and Shaun.

What remained of Hiroki was contacted by the spirit of Walpurgisnacht. Making a deal with her, Hiroki regenerated into his thirteenth incarnation, the female Momoka Mizutani. No, Momoka is not an OC for GJ Club, but she is based on the character of Apple Lam Chung-yan from the TVB drama A Great Way to Care II, played by Tavia Yeung. Momoka takes Hiroki’s TARDIS and heads to Salford, where with the help of Walpurgisnacht, she establishes a cha chaan teng café in the middle of a trading estate and hires a group of red drone Daleks as her workers, hiding their identities by having them disguise themselves as humans.

Over the next eight years, Momoka gets close to the new Shinomiya family by influencing them through Kyōya’s dreams to come to her café. Eight years later, on 11 December 2013, the Fourth and Fifth Doctors come in with their companions. When the Shinomiya family come in, a confrontation with Ayaka Kikuchi and her army ensues before Momoka transmats the Shinomiya family to a Dalek spaceship, where she prepares to execute them using the Yashio’ori. However, the Yashio’ori is sabotaged by the enemy army so that the laser beam would not charge.

As Ayaka and her army attack the Dalek ship, Momoka uses the Dalek-enhanced machine guns to fend them off. While two Doctors confront the Master, Momoka is killed by Girl Power officers, resulting in Walpurgisnacht taking over her body as she regenerates, maintaining her current appearance. Read #15 to find out what happens after this.

Once the Battle of Koshi Castle and the Manchester Campaign conclude, the Fourth Doctor helps Kyōya and Kasumi move to Chiswick in 2008. Five years later, the events of the GJ Club anime take place. During his time in Chiswick, Kyōya gets a job at the post office there and later, studies a double degree in Japanese Studies and Politics at SOAS in the University of London while also learning Cantonese, Mandarin and Welsh in weekend and evening courses (apparently he also wanted to learn Taiwanese but they weren’t running any courses, but that’s alright, he can always learn it somewhere else, which he presumably did).

On a side note, I volunteered myself to be Kyōya’s English voice actor, so I’ve practiced my Mancunian accent by watching actors like Christopher Eccleston, Stephen Tompkinson, Karl Pilkington and maybe a bit of Peter Kay as well. The only problem was that I’m not even sure that my accent is even Manc because I can’t tell if I’m getting it wrong and sounding like someone from Liverpool, Yorkshire, Newcastle or even Scotland. Oh well, that’s what happens when you really get into things.

I don’t buy expansion packs, I make my own (budget allowing)

So as I said, GJ Club only got one season and an OVA to go with it. Do Kyōya and the GJ Club make further appearances in the series? You bet your ass they do.

After being absent for much of the Next Gen Series in 2014, Kyōya and Kasumi receive a letter from their aunt, Narutaki, asking to meet in Hong Kong after their mother, Akari, went missing following the Siege of Ōsaka, only to be followed by Mao and the rest of the GJ Club, who learnt where he was going and managed to get on the same flight as them.

Narutaki, who had taken her Girl Power friends and established a rogue faction separate from the main group, takes the GJ Club to Nijō Castle, where she explains the background behind the Manchester Campaign and the events of Series 8 and 9. Soon after, Girl Power’s commander, Daniel, sends his brother, Nathan, out to find Narutaki. Kyōya tries to contact Hiroki, but he is unable to get through to him. Luckily, the TARDIS arrives and the Doctor and Hiroki help Angela and the others repel the attacking Girl Power forces. Some more things happen and by the end of the story, we learn that Kyōya and Mao are dating.

That Christmas, Kyōya and Kasumi head up to Manchester, but the Doctor briefly takes them and their friends back to Hong Kong for a picnic with Hiroki and the rest of the Zhuge family.

A few years later in 2018, the GJ Club and Momoka get a cameo at the start and end of the Gokaiger TV movie special. By this point in time, Momoka’s café in Manchester has expanded to many other branches around the UK and in Hong Kong.

The next year in 2019, Kyōya, Kasumi, Mao and Megumi are featured in a four-part adventure in Soulbound Series 3, helping the cast solve the mystery of Parker’s past and Shinbu’s origins. Two years after in 2021, Kyōya and Kasumi move to Hong Kong (along with the GJ Club) and join the Superhero Project as the new ShinkenRed and ZyuohTiger. You’d think Kyōya would be against violence given his harmless tendencies, but I suppose his character has developed over the years despite having abandonment issues.

So this has been the involvement of GJ Club in my personal project. It’s a shame the series wasn’t more popular or it could have gotten a second season, a manga, more (and frequent) translations of the light novel or hell, even a licenced release. This series is just like Sea Princesses in how popular it was, but despite the number of episodes the anime got, at least Shin Araki hasn’t abandoned the series (by putting it in a spinoff no less) unlike Fabio Yabu, who hasn’t made anything new for Sea Princesses since 2010 after getting more animated episodes than GJ Club did. On the other hand though, neglected series with little material has been good development fodder for my personal project as it allowed me to bring awareness to the existence of those series while also developing backstories and afterstories for them.

#kisekae insights #gj club #doctor who

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fionaroleplays · 3 years ago

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Did you delete your RPH blog?

I didn't delete it. It kind of just...vanished from the account where it was a side blog (didn't even get an email from Tumblr). I have tried contacting Tumblr staff for the last two weeks but i've heard nothing so far. Not even a reason as to why it has been suspended (as of this afternoon i've sent 3 customer support emails etc). I know it hasn't been deactivated otherwise it would show up in source/via etc as roleplaytipsandadvice-deactived (or similar). See below read more. I couldn't delete it anyway as I made sure another account had admin privilege.

I had a stat counter on it and last activity on it from when people went on that blog was Thursday 5th August around 9pm (not sure if GMT or EST). I realised that it had gone on the Saturday morning. I certainly didn't deactivate it.

If I hear nothing by end of August then i'm going to make a new RPH with similar name and repost A LOT of guides, fc help responses, masterlists etc etc. Thanks to 8 years worth of Wayback Machine screencaps I now have nearly 200 original things I can post (it will be queued to post slowly this doesn't include guides, gif hunts etc in my likes from other people which is about 1000). I also have in the past saved gifs on imgflip and there's 6000+ gifs saved on the account there. Just need to sort through it all.

I don't trust Tumblr and never have. It is why i'm prepared for this kind of thing. Hell I have saved character bios and log ins on Tumblr, Discord and my own email drafts.

It helps I have the code for the sidebar, old fc directory and new fc directory which i'm working on saved elsewhere. I also don't delete lookalike images (and have them saved on a back up USB).

I'm a determined bastard who doesn't give up easily. Especially when Wayback Machine even saves things like read more guides, navigation page and your gif hunt masterlist template.

Any future news about it you can check here, Glee RP Confessions or rptipsandadvice-resources which is a side blog I only opened earlier in the year to repost stuff. I have the old layout on there right now while I save things to drafts etc.

I've not really acknowledged it on Tumblr because real life stress to do with work has kind of taken over. So i'm not that annoyed by it because there's worse things going on in the world than a Tumblr blog issue/drama. I'm not even checking other people blogs or rph tags to keep my stress levels low.

An example of when a blog is deleted using my theme blog as an example as you can easily see the source.

When deactivated by user

When not deactivated by user (I assume)

#personal #what do I tag this as #rph stuff

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vulnerabledime · 4 years ago

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Another Rainy Day

This is just a repost because I had deleted my old account and I’m scared that I’ll never find this again. Plus, I’m working on creating a masterlist of all of my works and stuff, so this way it will be easier to find everything. So re-enjoy this story! Also, this one comes with a faceclaim for Amena as well. I didn’t realise she didn’t have one before.

Prompt: You both reach for the last umbrella in the store on a rainy day.

Word Count: 1,561

Characters: Bobby X Amena

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“Man. I really should have bought a jacket,” Amena complained to herself. She stood inside, watching the rain pour down from above, soaking the streets and people that walked by. Amena bit her lip as she cursed herself. Why didn’t she listen to her conscious earlier before she left her house? She should have known better than to trust that lying, no good, weatherman anyway. His inaccurate weather reports were starting to get annoying, and now poor Amena was paying the cost.

“I could always order a taxi,” Amena offered her choice and frowned when she realized she wouldn’t be able to afford it. Amena was in the process of trying to save for a better apartment within the new year, and spending money on a taxi could get expensive. Amena sighed, realizing she had no choice other than to walk. But did she want to walk in that? Amena sighed, biting her lip and looking around her colleagues work stations. Not a jacket or umbrella-

“An umbrella!” Amena smiled to herself when she remembered the corner store just two buildings away. She could just quickly walk to the corner store and purchase an umbrella and then walk home. Problem solved. So, with that final decision made, Amena promptly opened the doors and rushed down the street, leaving work behind.

“Ahh!” Amena yelped as the cold and harsh rain beat itself against her head and skin. As she ran, Amena groaned as she tried to avoid large puddles without bumping into random people.

Amena rushed into the small shopping center, grateful that she could escape the harsh rain outside. Amena felt a shiver rise through her body as she felt the cold air inside. Amena dried her hands off her damp pants before rubbing her arms, trying to gather some warmth, before making her way down the random aisles.

“If I were an umbrella, where would I be?” Amena asked herself. She was now in the medicine aisle and gasped as he passed a mirror. Her hair that she spent two hours straightening with flat iron last night was now wet and curled back to its natural form. Don’t get Amena wrong, she loved her natural curls, but now she felt as if her time was wasted on getting her hair to that silky smooth straight that she liked to pin in different styles. I guess she’d have to do a quick wash and maybe Flexi-wand her hair for tomorrow. Shrugging, Amena walked away from the mirror and smiled when her eyes set on the basket of umbrellas ahead of her. Luckily, for her, she was about to grab the last one.

Amena was just about to place her hand on the large black handle when another hand grabbed it at the same time. Amena and the stranger both jumped back startled off each other.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Amena sheepishly smiled at the man across from her.

“No, my bad.” The stranger replied, smiling at her. Amena didn’t mean, and she didn’t want to, but she couldn’t help but notice how handsome this man was. Amena was never a fan of dreads, but for this stranger, Amena wondered why she was ever against them. He complimented them so well that Amena wanted to run her fingers through them. She wasn’t sure what she appreciated most from his brown skin, but it was either the cute small freckles surrounding his nose and face or his hazel-brown eyes that shined when he smiled at her. Oops. She was still staring at him. Amena felt her cheeks warm underneath her skin.

“I’m glad I got your attention,” The stranger teased.“ I was saying that you could have the umbrella.”

“Oh! Thank you, but if you really-” Amena started to say but was interrupted by the handsome stranger in front of her.

“Nonsense. There is no way I could let a girl as cute as you get all drenched from the rain.” Amena felt small butterflies in her belly. He thought she was cute? Amena looked down as he guided the umbrella to her hands.

“Oh. Well, thank you.” Amena thanked him as she took the umbrella from his hands.

“No problem. Anyway, see you around.” Amena watched the handsome boy walk away in wonder. Amena wondered where he came from. She’s never seen him around before. And he openly admitted that she was cute! Amena facepalmed herself. She should’ve tried to start some conversation with him, but instead, she let the awkwardness get the best of her. Oh well, another one bites the dust.

Amena paid for her new umbrella and sighed in relief as she exited the store. Hearing the rain padding on the top of the umbrella was annoying, but at least the rain wasn’t beating on her any longer. She took a couple of steps to her right when she stopped walking. Standing, a couple of feet ahead of her, was the man from the store. He was standing underneath a balcony as he stared at the sky. It looked like to her he was waiting for the rain.

Amena bit her lip. She now felt terrible. Even though he handed her this handy device, she didn’t like that he now had to wait for the rain. It just didn’t sit right in her stomach. Her mother always taught her to be kind to those in need, and it seemed like this cute stranger needed her help. Plus, he was just too cute to stand in the rain. A plan formed its way in Amenas mind. Maybe, she could make up for her lack of conversation earlier. Taking a deep breath, Amena walked over to him.

Upon hearing her steps, Amenas heart skipped a beat when his head turned her way. That same kind and a flirtatious smile appeared on his lips as he watched her approach.

“Hello,” Amena greeted with a small smile. “I’m Amena.”

“Hello,” he replied. Amena didn’t hear it before, but she caught his Scottish accent this time. “I’m Bobby.”

“Thank you again for letting me have the umbrella,” Amena mentioned.

“Don’t even mention it. It was no big deal.” he shrugged.

“Well, I would like to return the favor,” Amena told him. Amena watched Bobby raise his eyebrows as a frown replaced his smile.

“How?” He questioned. Amena looked at the sky. It didn’t look like the rain would stop anytime soon. Bobby would be standing underneath this balcony for a while. But maybe he didn’t have to.

“Well, I now have an umbrella, thanks to you. I could always walk you home.” Amena offered while gazing back at him. Amena could see the end if lips twitch.

“That’s very kind, but you don’t have to do that.” Bobby declined. Amena felt a piece of her courage dissolve.

“Are you sure? I don’t think the rain will stop anytime soon.” Amena bit her lip, hoping he would say yes.

“That’s alright, but you don’t have to walk to me.” He declined once again. There it was. Rejection. I guess he didn’t think she was that cute after all.

“Alright, stay dry.” Amena gave him a smile before passing him to walk off. Amena wanted to scream once she was a couple of feet away. She thought asking him to walk with her would be her redemption, but she failed. Well, that’s the last time she goes and makes the-

“Amena, wait up!” Amena stopped walking and turned to find Bobby running after her. What is he doing? Amena let him stand underneath her umbrella with her.

“What’s up?” Amena asked. Amena noticed that he looked nervous and uncomfortable. Whatever he was about to say was hard for him.

“It’s not that I don’t want you to walk me home, because I do, it’s just that I was hoping to um-.” Bobby cleared his throat.“-to walk you home instead. Maybe that would’ve worked out better if I bought the umbrella instead, but then I’d look like an asshole, and I don’t want to look like that type of person to you.” He finished releasing a breath. Amena felt the same small little butterflies from earlier reappear in the pit of her belly.

“You want to walk me home?” Amena asked out loud.

“Yeah, but only if you’re okay with that! It seems like we are headed in the same direction as well.” Bobby gave her a nervous smile, which made Amena feel better. He was shy around her too.

“Okay.” Amena accepted his offer, and Bobby returned her smile.

“Awesome! Let’s go!” Bobby said, taking hold of the umbrella. It turns out Bobby just moved into the same apartment complex as she is. Bobby lived a could of buildings behind her, so they were close. Bobby walked Amena to her front door, but not leaving without giving Amena his number.

The next morning Amena just finished making her morning coffee when she heard the annoying platter of rain on her window. Groaning, Amena was prepared to hunt for a jacket, when a text beeped on her phone.

Bobby:

Another Rainy Day! I got the umbrella handy! Pick you up in 5?

Amena smiled, quicky replying to Bobby. It looks like she wouldn’t need a jacket after all.Amena smiled, quicky replying to Bobby. It looks like she wouldn’t need a jacket after all.

Amena Faceclaim:

#Another Rainy Day #Repost #bobby mckenzie #litg #bobby #writing prompt #writing #writing by diamond #this a repost fic because I deleted my old account

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baezen · 5 years ago

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hush | c.b

pairing: chris beck x reader word count: 4461 warnings: tooth rotting fluff,

prompt: librarian!au | college!au

summary: in which the good guy gets the girl

author’s note: repost

oneshot | masterlist

If there was one thing she needed tonight, more than anything, was for the floor of her dorm not to host a party. Yet, as she shoved her earbuds into her ears, she’s already packing her books and laptop into a backpack. The earbuds do nothing to hide the fact that Ruby and her latest beau were going at it in the room next door, even with the music at a deafening volume. The bed squeaking obnoxiously and the frame connecting with the wall.

Y/N makes sure she’s got her key and purse before she leaves, locking the door to make sure no one goes inside. It’s happened before and things have gone missing. At least her roommate has finished her exams and gone home for break, which means no one will accidentally leave the door unlocked.

Y/N nipped into the pizzeria on her walk to the library, tucking her earbuds into the pocket of her jacket as she ordered a large pepperoni. Only needing to wait ten minutes before it was ready and she was carrying it into the library.

You weren’t supposed to have food in the library, but the librarian on Tuesdays was more lenient than the one on Wednesdays or Fridays. He didn’t mind if you ate, so long as you kept your area clean and didn’t use the library’s computers while you were eating. The same went for the books. Always keep them clean.

The only reason she needed the library tonight was because of how quiet it was compared to her dorm currently. She had one final exam to study for, which wasn’t for another two days, but she didn’t want to be cramming the night before. She wanted to go to bed feeling well rested and prepared. But knowing her, she’d be cramming, stressed she wasn’t going to pass.

As Y/N entered the library her gaze turned towards the librarian’s desk. He barely looked up from his astronomy textbook as she took a seat at a large group of desks. Setting the box on the table as she unloaded her laptop and books from her bag.

Y/N looked towards him, the librarian, as he scanned a few books for a customer. Making small talk as he entered the card number in the system.

He always looked so soft, wearing a slightly larger grey hoodie with a NASA symbol on the breast, his hair usually a mess from running his hands through it constantly. Circles under his eyes making him look perpetually exhausted, which wasn’t a shock to any college kid. Sleep was scarce around exam season. Hell, it was scarce any season. Y/N should know, the bags under her eyes were constant.

The second she opened the box of pizza she’d caught the librarian’s attention. He was in her space science class, but she’d never learnt his name. He kept mostly to himself, except for when he dominated their professors questions, whereas almost every one else struggled. He was effortlessly smart, and she’d admired him from afar for the longest time. Noticing how some days he’d come to class wide awake and alert, but more often than not, he looked as exhausted as the rest of them.

His fascination with space was incomparable to anyone Y/N had ever met. His vast knowledge of the cosmos was intriguing. Endearing. It made no sense to her that she never saw him with anyone around campus, no bros, no girls. It was always just him, with his nose buried in a new space book each time.

Y/N typed with one hand as she ate, her eyes skimming her books for anything that she knew she needed to elaborate on with a further explanation. Her hand grew tired of typing quickly and she sighed, wiggling her fingers and taking a break from staring at the screen of her laptop. The bright white occasionally hurting her eyes, this time no different.

She yawned as she shut the pizza box, unable to finish the last few slices. Casting her gaze towards the librarian who’d gotten up from his desk and wandered towards a section of books, placing the ones from his arms back into their rightful places.

Y/N looked at the clock hanging on the wall and groaned, it was almost eleven, which was when the library closed. She rubbed my hands over my face to wake herself up a bit and started packing her things back into her bag. She hadn’t thought it was that late when she’d first arrived, but clearly time had gotten away from her. Taking one too many ‘breaks’ to admire the cute librarian as he spoke in a hushed whisper to himself.

Scribbling out a little note on a scrap of paper before placing the half eaten pizza on his desk, the note sitting atop it. Telling him he could’ve asked her earlier for a slice if he was as hungry as he looked, and leaving her name and number on the off chance he wanted to use it some time.

+++

After Y/N left the library she had turned her phone off, too scared to learn whether or not he’d sent her a message at all. She had a sudden burst in confidence, yet couldn’t even handle learning the truth; if he was interested in her or not. No matter how hard a pill rejection is to swallow, no one wanted to learn that the person they’re interested in doesn’t share those same feelings. It’s hard.

At least that’s what Y/N kept telling herself.

The day of her exam she turned her phone back on to see if he’d sent anything. Clearing the notifications from a couple of apps, her breath catching in her throat when she realised there was a missed call from an unsaved number and a voicemail that’d been left. She checked the voicemail first, holding her phone to my ear.

“Uhh, hey, Y/N. It’s Chris, uhh, the librarian you left your pizza for. I’m just, thank you so much, honesty, I’ve been studying my ass off for finals and keep forgetting to eat. So thank you. You didn’t have to, but I’m glad you did.”

Y/N smiled at the recorded message, finding Chris’ rambling adorable. And his voice, god, his voice was like heaven. She never wanted the rambling to stop.

“I’m c-calling from the library’s phone because, well, long story short, I-I dropped mine in a puddle and someone d-drove over it. And I don’t know w-why I told you that! It’s not relevant, shit. I’m s-sorry. Um, I was just k-kinda hoping that m-maybe, on the off chance that you d-don’t already have plans this F-Friday, if you’d like to j-join me for dinner? I, uhh,–” he couched to clear his throat, a nervous laugh sounded in the earpiece. “I’ll be at t-the library all day T-Thursday if you wanna g-give m...”

The dial tone sounded, letting her know that the message had been cut short since he’d exceeded the time limit. But luckily he’d left another message which started off with a small nervous laugh.

“I’m s-sorry, the last message was s-supposed to say I’ll be a-at the l-library all day Thursday if you w-want to give me a c-call or s-stop by. I m-mean, if y-you don’t that’s...l’life, I guess. I m-mean, I h-hope you do, b-but no p-pressure. I – J-Jesus, you’re r-really nailing this w-whole thing, B-Beck. Real s-smooth. If I s-see you, I see you, a-and if I-I don’t, w-well, I’m sorry for w-wasting your t-time. Good n-night, Y/N. T-Thank you again for t-the pizza.”

She saved the messages to her phone, unable to bring myself to delete them. Spending ten minutes replying to a few texts before grabbing everything she needed and heading to her exam, a plan in her head to catch up with Chris at the library afterwards.

+++

Y/N spent a total of two hours and thirty seven minutes in the exam, making sure she’d answered everything to the best of my ability before handing my paper in and making her trek across campus to the library. SHe was nervous, to say the least. Her hands sweaty as she gripped the straps of her backpack. Blowing out a shaky breath as the building came into her line of sight.

Campus was dead. There were only two more days of exams and then it was Christmas/New Year break. A few lights were strung up around the courtyard as she walked down the alley between two buildings. The library was one of the only places still open, housing a few students sipping coffees from the shop next door as they tried their hardest to absorb any information they needed to prepare themselves for their exam.

It was weird feeling like she’d done well in my exam. Like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders the second she passed through those doors. But it could have also been because she was going to see Chris at the library and confirm their date for tomorrow night.

Y/N was excited. Exams were over and she potentially had a date with the guy she’d been crushing on for months. And it was Christmas in a little under a week. Even though she wasn’t going home for the holiday there were a bunch of students in the dorms staying back and were planning their own Christmas shindig. They had a tree put up and decorated on the 8th floor. Y/N was making one of her favourite desserts.

Hannah, on the third floor, had a friend who’d been buying them alcohol to stock up on since the shops would all be closed and the majority of our plans consisted of drinking. Once they’d opened presents, of course. They’re not totally uncivilised.

Y/N unwrapped her scarf from her neck as she entered the library, automatically engulfed by a wall of warmth. She walked towards Chris at his desk. He was currently serving a customer but looked towards her when he noticed someone was standing to the side. A grin forming on his lips as he went back to serving the customer.

She didn’t mind waiting. Watching him bumble around, stammering over his words as he kept sneaking a look in her direction. The guy walked off with his books, leaving the pair alone to talk.

“H-hey. Uhh, hey,” Chris greeted nervously, walking out from behind the desk. Rubbing the back of his neck as he walked towards her.

“Hi,” she replied, breathing out a smile. “I guess I should properly introduce myself, huh? I’m Y/N.”

Y/N held her hand towards him and he smiled down at it as he grasped it with his own. “I’m Chris.” He looked up at her with the most mesmerising smile, his blue/grey eyes catching the light from above.

“So, tomorrow night…”

“I was h-hoping I could c-cook for you,” he said, rubbing his arm. “I’m a p-pretty good cook, and I-I’m kind of too b-broke to take you a-anywhere nice right n-now.”

Y/N laughed, appreciating his honesty. “A home cooked meal sounds lovely,” she assured him with a smile. “Did you want me to bring anything?��

He shook his head. “Just yourself.” He reached toward his desk for a pen and a piece of paper, quickly scribbling down his address before handing the paper to her. “Does s-six-thirty suit?”

“Perfect,” she replied, folding the paper and tucking it into her pocket for safe keeping. “I’ll see you tomorrow at six-thirty, Chris. Have a good night.”

“You too, Y/N,” he farewelled, cheeks tinged with warmth and a smile on his lips. “See-see ya tomorrow.”

She gave him a slightly awkward wave before turning around and leaving the library, taking a peek over her shoulder to look back at him. Still smiling after her. Raising his hand in a wave before she braved the cold weather outside. Wrapping her scarf around her neck and disappearing out the door.

+++

Y/N stood in the middle of the room dressed in only her underwear, hands on her hips as she looked at the selection of clothes laid out. A pair of jeans and a woollen jumper. A cute dress and some stockings, with a lovely warm coat. Her pyjamas.

A chill ran up her spine, making her reach for the jeans even though she desperately wanted to put her pj’s back on and go to bed. She wiggled the denim up her legs, doing a little hop, step and jump to bring the material over the curve of her ass. Huffing as she finally managed to pop the button through the hole and tug the zipper up. Grabbing a singlet to wear under a long sleeved shirt before putting a jumper on.

Her bed looked extremely inviting, piled with a thick duvet and deliciously soft, warm blankets. Still unmade from earlier today when she’d finally decided to crawl out of the warm nest and venture to Bobbie’s, since she’d agreed to buy her a nice bottle of wine for her date tonight.

She was nervous for her date with Chris, but was also extremely excited. It’d been awhile since she’d last been on a date, the last few having gone awry. But those guys weren’t awkward, stuttering Chris Beck. They were the over-confident, bordering on cocky assholes that assumed after a date she’d be willing to fuck them as a thank you. The first couple of dates had been average, as well as the sex, so eventually she just stopped going on dates.

She didn’t need a half-assed attempt at conversation when they both knew what direction the date was heading in, and more importantly, she didn’t deserve to be left high and dry after they came and left her to take care of herself. College guys are the worst. But she got the feeling that Chris wasn’t like that. Even though he planned on cooking her dinner at his place, it didn’t feel like an attempt to get her into his bed. she was excited to see how the shy, quiet guy treated a girl compared to the arrogant jerks she was used to seeing.

Y/N spent a small amount of time on her makeup, since she’d already applied it this morning. Just touching up a few areas here and there. Not wanting to overdo it, but still wanting to look nice.

She blew out a breath as she packed her makeup away and stuffed her feet into a pair of boots, sitting on the end of her bed as she laced them up. Taking a minute to gather er nerves as she looked at the alarm clock sitting on the bedside table, the glowing red numbers reading 18:04, letting her know she had less than half an hour to get to Chris’ place, and that her Uber should be here any minute.

Rising to her feet, Y/N shrugged into my jacket and tucked the bottle of wine into her purse. Her phone buzzing with a text from the Uber driver, letting her know he was outside, so hastily making her way down. Locking her dorm behind me.

The ride to Chris’ place took just over 20 minutes, Y/N’s leg bouncing with nerves the whole way. Rubbing her sweaty palms against her thighs. Thanking the driver as she climbed out of the car and walked up to the house, knocking on the door thrice.

She exhaled heavily, a smile coming easily to her face as soon as Chris opened the door. A bright smile on his own face.

“H-Hey, come in,” he greeted, stepping aside so she could come in out of the cold, already shrugging out of her coat.

“I know you said not to bring anything but I couldn’t show up empty handed,” Y/N said, hanging her coat up and pulling the wine from her purse, handing it over to him. “The finest wine eight dollars can buy.”

Chris chuckled as he closed the door. “Then l-let’s open it. S-Shall we?”

Y/N was already on her second glass when Chris finally served dinner, the delicious smell of a homemade roast chicken with all the fixings filling the little space.

The house itself was cozy. He lived with three other guys who were all home with their families for the holidays, but it was kept nice and tidy. She suspected because it was just him there at the moment.

They sat at the dining table to eat, a candle was lit between them, their glasses full of wine. A warmth to Chris’ cheeks from the alcohol, or from Y/N’s flirting. Perhaps both. Asking each other why they were still here instead of with their families. Her reason being that she couldn’t afford it, and his being that it was easier being apart for the holidays. Family is messy. That didn’t mean it was an easy decision for him to stay away. The hurt she saw on his face told her there was more to the story, but that he wasn’t ready to share it.

Dinner had been amazing, to the point that after they finished eating they stayed at the table drinking. Their faces lit up with the flickering light of the candle dancing over our skin.

He was beautiful. The way he spoke, wise beyond his years. Voice smooth, the alcohol ridding him of his stuttering, but slurring his speech. The corners of his eyes crinkling with each laugh, his hand covering his mouth as he giggled.

God, she was in deep, and it was only the first date.

+++

Y/N ended up inviting Chris to the halls for Christmas, telling him a bunch of them had plans to eat and drink and celebrate together because they couldn’t be with their families. He’d agreed to think about it, but when she’d swung by the library to see him on the 23rd he’d told her he’d be there.

It’d been a couple of Christmases that he’d spent the holiday alone, and now that an opportunity presented itself where he didn’t have to be, he’d be stupid not to go at least for a couple of hours. That was what he’d told her when she’d happily embraced him, anyway.

And now it was Christmas day and Y/N was waiting in the lobby of the building to let Chris in. He’d said he’d be there around ten, and it had just gone five past. She was starting to get a little fidgety when he knocked on the glass door. She stood up to open it for him, my mood changing from upset to happy upon seeing his face.

“S-Sorry I’m a little l-late,” he apologised, shrugging out of his jacket. “It’s i-icy and I k-kept s-slippin’ over.”

Y/N laughed and shook her head. “I’m sorry for laughing,” she replied. “I’m glad you made it here in one piece, though.”

“So am I.” He smiled.

“C’mon. The party’s already started.”

SHe took his hand in hers and led him towards the elevators, his gloved fingers slipping between her own as the doors opened and they stepped inside. She hit the button for the eighth floor and held her key to the sensor, and only then did the elevator work. Taking them up to the eighth.

“Thank-thank you for i-inviting me again,” he said softly.

“Thank you for agreeing to come,” she told him, smiling up at him and giving his hand a squeeze.

The party was in full swing when the elevator doors opened. They had to wait for a couple of guys racing on swivel chairs in the hallway to roll past before they could exit.

“You can chuck your stuff in my room to keep it safe if ya want,” I offered and he nodded, letting her drag him around the hallway until they reached her room. Using her keys to unlock the door and then pushing it open, letting him walk in first.

He sat his bag on the desk and hung his coat up on the rack, unwrapping his scarf from his neck. “I h-hope ya d-don’t mind,” he said as she leant against the doorframe. “B-But I bought u-us a b-bottle of that w-wine.”

“I don’t mind at all,” Y/N said as he handed the bottle to her, smiling at him as she grabbed two plastic glasses from her desk drawer and set them on the desk. Opening the bottle and pouring themselves a glass each. Ignoring the chaos out in the hallway, handing one of the glasses to him. “To the finest wine eight dollars can buy.”

His hand came up to cup her jaw, thumb brushing over her cheek lightly as he stared at er. Gaze flickering from her eyes to her lips and back to her eyes.

“And to n-not being alone on C-Christmas,” he added softly.

“And to not being alone on Christmas,” she repeated, clinking her glass with his and having a sip as he did the same.

“Can-can I…” he stuttered, looking back down at her lips as he shuffled closer.

“Kiss me, Chris,” she whispered.

He dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers, no trace of hesitation in his actions. Kissing her with certainty. Lips firm against her own at first, softening when she kissed him back almost instantly. Tasting like the wine they’d just drank.

Only detaching when Brooke waltzed in and announced it was time for presents. She was gone as soon as she arrived, moving onto the next room.

“I, uhh...” Chris downed his drink. “I’m not c-expectin’ anything in r-return, but I wanted to g-give you some-somethin’.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a tupperware container. “I m-made you some cookies. F-Family recipe. I-I hope you l-like ‘em.”

Y/N rose to her tiptoes and pressed another kiss to his lips as she graciously accepted the container from him. “Thank you, Chris,” she replied, smiling as she set the container and her wine on the desk. Opening one of her clothing drawers and pulling out a hoodie she’d seen at an op shop. “I haven’t seen you wearing this design so I wasn’t sure if you’ve got it or not.”

He took the hoodie from her and his eyes lit up when he unfolded it, a large grin spreading across his face. Reaching for the back of the current sweatshirt he was wearing and pulling it over his head so he could put it on.

“I wasn’t sure about the size…”

He shook his head after pulling it over his head, sliding his arms through it. Wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her off the ground, a laugh escaping her lips before he silenced her with a kiss.

“It’s great–it’s the greatest g-gift anyone has ever g-given me,” he confessed. “Thank you, Y/N. S-So much.”

Y/N laughed and shook her head. “You’re welcome,” she told him. “Merry Christmas, Chris.”

“M-Merry Christmas, Y/N,” he said back, the most joyous expression on his face.

“You wanna go and watch everyone else open presents or stay here and make out a little bit?” She asked him, her hands running through his hair.

Heat rose to his cheeks as he coughed. “Uhh, m-make out a little b-bit,” he replied honestly.

+++

With the holiday’s over and done with, a mistletoe kiss and a New Years Eve kiss crossed off her bucket list, college classes had officially started back up. Chris and Y/N had made things official before they welcomed in the New Year together, and they’d been on several dates since he first cooked her dinner.

She’d met his roommates, mostly because she spent a lot of her free time at his place. They seemed nice enough – typical guy behaviour trying to piss Chris off by hitting on her. Though he knew she only had eyes for him.

He’d met her roommate, who’d badgered him with question after question since she’d given her no warning that she now had a boyfriend. So she’d returned back from break to find him asleep in Y/N’s bed. No funny business had been happening. They’d just been sleeping after a long first day back of classes.

Her flight had been delayed time and time again, which was why she had no idea when she was coming back; because she didn’t know herself until she was boarding her flight.

It was fine. She was cool with it. And she was happy that Y/N’d finally met a guy who treated her the way she deserved.

Y/N was too. He was so good to her. And she always made sure to look after him, too. When he let her.

It was Tuesday today and he still had his shift at the library to complete before he’d go home. She knew he never took anything to eat with him – knowledge she’d gained from past experience, – so after making her own dinner, she took a container full of lasagne to the library for him.

It was still warm when she got there, sneaking up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist, tucking myself under his arm.

“Hi-hi, beautiful,” he greeted with a soft chuckle. “I d-didn’t think I’d get t-to see you today.”

Y/N hummed as she leant up to press a kiss to his cheek. “Brought you dinner,” she told him. “Because I know you never bring anything to work.”

“Thank you,” he told her, kissing her forehead as he took the container from her hand. “Lasagne?”

Y/N hummed, producing a fork from her pocket and placing it on top of the container. “Yeah. I hope you enjoy.”

“Can’t stay?”

“Afraid not,” she replied. “Got a lot of reading to catch up on that I was supposed to do over the holiday but I got a little sidetracked.”

“It’s that b-boyfriend of yours, I t-tell ya,” he said, nuzzling his nose into her hair. “He’s a b-bad influence.”

Y/N laughed. Loud. “He’s lucky I love him.”

“He–you, what?”

“I love you.”

And she did. He was the kind of guy you knew from the moment you met him that you’d fall in love with him. All the blushing looks and nervous laughter, piled in with how much of a genuinely nice guy he was...it was a no brainer. She’d happily fallen in love with him.

“I-I love you, too-too. Shit, no. I can say this without stutt-stuttering.” He took a deep breath and steadied himself, cupping my face with both of his hands. Dinner all but forgotten about. “I love-lo, no. Wait-wait. I love you too.”

#chris beck #chris beck x reader #chris beck x you #chris beck fanfic #chris beck fanfiction #*hush

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asongofmarvelanddc · 5 years ago

Text

Sworn Enemies PT2

PAIRING: Alfred X Reader

WORD COUNT: 2914

THEMES: Fluff, Ivar being Ivar.

SUMMARY: Ivar finds out about your secret relationship with Alfred, and Alfred makes you a proposition.

A/N: This is a repost because my old blog got deleted. There’s a few changes tho. Reblogs and comments are always appreciated 💛

It had been more than two weeks since your talk with Alfred and you had not stopped seeing him despite your little brother's growing suspicions. He made sly comments and stared at you every time you were in his presence. You knew you weren't doing what he thought you were doing, but you still found yourself feeling guilty. That was because you knew that your relationship with Alfred was a greater betrayal than giving up battle secrets.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" Alfred's blue eyes flicked up from your intertwined hands to look into yours.

"You ask me that question every day before we part," you smiled softly at his question, "You know better than to ask me." You leaned up and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips, his hand cupping your cheek. When you pulled away, his hand didn't leave your cheek.

"I shouldn't feel like this," he murmured, his eyes looking into yours as his thumb stroked your cheek softly. You swallowed thickly at the intensity of his stare.

"Feel like what?" you whispered, your voice coming out huskier than you had intended it to, but Alfred was unfazed.

"Like I love you," he said almost in a daze, then his eyebrows furrowed and his gaze focused on yours again, "I love you."

You let out a breath at his confession and dropped your eyes to the damp ground. Aside from your father, your mother and every brother with the exception of Ivar, no one had ever told you they loved you. No one. That was probably the reason why you felt hot tears prickling in your eyes.

"You do?" you felt your eyes well up as he nodded, a small smile gracing his lips, "I do too...I love you."

A wide grin broke out on your face at the realisation. Alfred leaned down and pressed a kiss to your cheek, but before he had a chance to pull away, you grabbed his face and smashed your lips against his. He pulled you flush against his chest as he kissed you back with just as much passion and fire in your hearts.

Your hands left his face and you wrapped your hands around his neck. You wanted to keep yourselves locked in this embrace, and you knew that without the extra encouragement, Alfred would have pulled away long ago.

During your heated kiss, you heard a crackle behind you, and apparently Alfred heard it too, because he pulled away from you just as abruptly as you did him. Your head snapped around to look behind you.

"Did you hear that?" Alfred whispered to you, his eyes looking in the same direction yours were.

"Who's there?" you called out. You listened as more footsteps retreated quickly and you turned to Alfred with alarmed eyes.

"You should go back to your camp, Alfred," you said, your voice panicked as you tried to push him to go, "It's not safe."

"They could be my men, then it's not safe for you," he gripped your upper arm to stop you from heading towards danger.

"I don't mean to insult your men, but I have no doubt that I can handle them," you smiled, your hand resting on the axe on your hilt. He looked down to where your hand rested and smiled.

"I forget your women are not like ours," he said before leaving. You knew you could handle Alfred's men, what terrified you was the thought of your men spying on you, and you felt sick at the thought of them reporting what they had witnessed to your brother.

__________________________

You walked into Ivar's version of the Great Hall in Kattegat and felt eyes staring at you as you walked towards his high table. He was sitting on it, legs dangling in front of him as he had some leftover meat from the meal he had just finished. Hvitserk stood somewhere to the left of you, leaning against a wall. His eyes followed you as well, but he didn't look angry, he looked...disappointed.

But Ivar...He didn't look like anything. Over the years, he had learned to conceal every single emotion he felt with what others would call an ‘evil grin’. He believed that since he already had a weakness, in the form of his legs, his emotions shouldn't be one too. The only way to tell what he felt was by looking into his eyes. From where you stood, you couldn't see them, so you didn't know what he was feeling right now, but you could guess: betrayal.

"Where have you been? Hm?" he asked once you stopped in front of him. He leaned forward, and at your silence, he simply shrugged and ate another piece of meat.

"I will tell you where I've been, hm?" he raised his eyebrows looking almost amused, "I went for a walk to...stretch my legs," he joked, garnering a few laughs from the audience, "Imagine my surprise when I found my dear, sweet sister in the arms of a Christian Prince."

Oh.

The rustle in the leaves wasn't Ivar's men. It was Ivar.

You felt your heart drop to your stomach as you looked down at your feet guiltily.

"The son of the man who is leading the slaughter of our men right now," he chuckled, but then his voice changed - it became harder, "The grandson of the man who sent our father to his death."

Your eyes snapped up to meet Ivar's and you found that they were bluer than ever. He had dropped the tight, fake smile and replaced it with a scowl. Never had you ever been afraid of Ivar in your life.

Until now.

"Why?" he asked, his voice sounding sinister. You looked away from him again and avoided the gaze of the other men and women in the room.

"He's not the man you think he is," you whispered, but gaining more courage, you looked up to Ivar, "His father and grandfather's sins are not his own."

"'Sins'?" his eyes narrowed and you knew what he was thinking - that you sounded just like them.

"He's a good man," you said, defending Alfred before your brothers and your army.

"He's a Christian," Ivar spat the word in disgust, anger evident in his eyes. You frowned and jutted your chin out. Suddenly, you weren't afraid anymore. The truth in your words helped to build your confidence.

"The man our father trusted and loved more than anyone else in this world was a Christian," you reminded him of Athelstan, a man Ivar never met. Ivar's left eye twitched as he sat back and stared at you with hard eyes.

"If you are going to kill me for my betrayal, little brother," you stepped forward so you were at least closer to him as you whispered, "Go ahead and do it." You stayed there in that position, waiting for him to react and when he didn't, you felt as though you had won.

You turned around and began to walk briskly out of the hall, but as soon as you reached the doors, you felt two men at your sides grab each of your arms. You struggled against their holds, but even you knew that it was no use.

__________________________

The men dragged you to the dungeon underground and chained you to the wall. Ivar had told you that before he and your father parted, Ragnar was kept in a place just like this one. You didn't know whether it was the setting or the fact that you were sure your death was looming, but you felt closer to your father than you had in a long time.

You heard footsteps outside the dungeon, and from the grunting and shuffling, you knew it was Ivar. He appeared in front of the barred door, two men at his sides to hold him up, but he grabbed onto the bars as they opened it before he dismissed them.

Once the men were gone, he let himself drop to the ground. You watched silently as he crawled towards you slowly, his eyes never leaving yours. You were sure he was trying to intimidate you. He kept crawling until he was beside you before propping himself up into a sitting position and leaning against the wall next to you.

You were both silent for a moment. You didn't know why he was not speaking, because it seemed like talking was Ivar's favourite thing to do.

"There is going to be a battle here tomorrow," he suddenly broke the silence and you turned to look at him. His eyes were on the floor, and he looked dazed.

"Many people will die, and most of them will be Saxon," he said, letting out a little chuckle as he turned to look at you with glee in his eyes, "What I have planned, they will never see coming."

"We will take them completely off guard, and they will die in the hundreds," he continued with a small shrug, "You better pray to the Gods, to Freya, that I don't catch your Saxon Prince. Because if I do, I won't spare him."

You gasped at his statement and watched wordlessly as he pushed off from the wall and began to crawl out of the dungeon.

"All my life, I have done nothing but love you," you began and he froze, "Despite the horrible things you would say to me, and our brothers. Despite mother treating you like a King and leaving the rest of us to fend for ourselves. Despite you murdering our brother."

Ivar's whole body tensed at the mention of Sigurd, but he still didn't turn around to look at you.

"I loved you through it all," you choked back a sob, "Why are you doing this me?"

He turned around slowly, his eyes soft.

"Dear sister, don't you see?" his head tilted to the side, and he looked...caring, "I'm doing this because I love you."

A gasp escaped your lips. This was the first time you'd ever heard him say he loves you. The second time you'd ever heard him say he loved anyone.

Without another word, he turned around and crawled out of the dungeon, his men barring the door after him.

__________________________

You didn't see anyone again until the next night. You had heard the fighting earlier in the day, and from the cheers after hours of gnawing on your nails and balled up fists, you gathered that your people had won. You had waited in agony for Ivar to come down with news. Any news.

The waiting was the torture. You wanted to know Alfred's fate whether he was alive or not. That was the only thing you cared about since Ivar had left you alone the day before. You had not slept a wink all night and day, the thought of food never even crossing your mind. You thought he would come down to brag abut murdering your love, if he had killed him, but it had been hours and not one person had come down.

It was nightfall when someone finally did. Ivar sauntered in on his crutches with two men who brought food for you. They dropped it along with water in front of you, but you pushed them aside as you stared at your brother, waiting for him to speak. After a minute of you staring at him, he finally did.

"What?" he asked in fake confusion, his eyebrows raised.

"Ivar!" you yelled at him and pulled at your chains, but he didn't even flinch. He simply let out a hearty laugh.

"Calm down, sister, I have good news," he smiled at you, and your heart leapt to your throat. Good news for you, or for him? From the smirk on his face, you guessed it was the latter.

"We are going back home. Tomorrow," he smiled with mischief in his eyes, and for a moment, it looked like he had been possessed by Loki himself. As soon as he announced that, he turned and began to limp out of the room.

"Ivar!" you called out to him angrily and he let out an annoyed sigh and turned to look at you, "Is he dead? Alfred...Did you kill him?"

You could feel tears welling up in your eyes already. You were pleading with him to tell you the fate of the man you loved, and he could not even give you that. He simply narrowed his eyes at you, before limping out of the room.

That was when you realised your punishment. It wasn't this dungeon. It wasn't even going back home. It was never knowing what happened to Alfred.

__________________________

It had been a month since you had returned to Norway, but you were at Vestfold, King Harald's Kingdom. Ivar had still refused to tell you Alfred's fate, even though he saw how much not knowing had devastated you. You barely spoke to anyone, not even Hvitserk who was adhering to Ivar's wishes and refusing to tell you Alfred's fate either.

Your violent self had taken over, and with a refusal to talk to anyone, came a hatred for everyone around you. Anything as minor as someone standing in your way when you wanted to walk past would cause you to snap and injure someone.

Which was the reason why you chose isolation. You were at the river bank, cleaning your sword as well as sharpening it, when you heard footsteps behind you. In the blink of an eye, you were standing upright with your sword pressed against the stranger's neck.

"Who are you?" you asked as you eyed the man. He had long black hair and a scruffy beard, but something about his eyes made you believe he wasn't one of you. He wasn't Viking.

"Forerynel êow Y/N?(Are you Y/N?)" he asked, his eyes narrowing at you.

"Gêse yfel. ðêos ârweorðung êower?(Yes I am. Who are you?)" you demanded his identity as you pressed the sword against his throat harder. You assumed he noticed the uncertainty in your tone, because he began speaking in your language.

"King Alfred sent me," he said and you felt your throat hitch. Did he just say what you think he did?

"King Alfred?" you breathed, tears welling up in your eyes as the man handed you a letter, "I thought he was the Prince?"

"He was. The King died, and Prince Aethelred declined the throne," the man answered and you struggled to control your breathing.

You thought about the possibility of this being an elaborate hoax set up by Ivar and you imagined him hiding behind the trees, laughing to himself. The thought made you feel sick.

The seal on the letter was not broken, so you knew this man was trustworthy, however, when you read the letter, you thanked the Gods that this man had not read it, because if he had, you doubted he would have brought it to you.

Y/N,

I hope this finds you well.

When I didn't see you again after that day, I assumed that your brother had discovered us. I was hoping to find you some way, but then I found out that you had returned home. No doubt your brother’s doing.

But I’ve been doing some thinking, and it doesn’t have to end like this. What I'm going to ask of you may seem impossible at first read, but I want you to consider awhile before you make a final decision.

Come to Wessex and marry me. Together, we can come to a solution about this war that your brother and I could never reach. We can bring our people together, the way your father and my grandfather failed to do so many years ago.

But above all that, I love you, Y/N, and I want you by my side.

Please consider my request. I will wait for you, however long it takes.

-Alfred

You noticed the royal stamp beside his name, and it made his words all the more real. You hadn't realised you were crying until you finished reading. You wiped your eyes and dried your cheeks before looking up, only to find that the man was gone. Back to Wessex, probably. You looked down at the letter in your hands with a heavy heart.

You had never felt more relief in your life.

Alfred was alive.

A breathy laugh escaped your lips as you dropped to your knees. You lay down flat on the ground as you absorbed everything Alfred wrote. You had a choice to make.

Your brothers. Or your lover.

#alfred #alfred the great #king alfred #alfred vikings #alfred x reader #alfred the great x reader #king alfred x reader #alfred vikings x reader #ivar the boneless #ivar x reader #hvitserk #vikings #vikings season 5 #vikings fic

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fakeyellow · 5 years ago

Text

Repost because it got deleted?!?! (Not a new chapter)

After dinner, a Feral, and a multitude of passport photos, Kamilah finally connects the dots behind Anya’s true identity.

Summary: Kamilah and co. win the war against Gaius but at great personal cost. Fifty years have passed since their pyrrhic victory when a stranger, looking exactly like the woman they lost, enters their lives. Part 1. Part 2. Part 3.

“I’ll have the ribeye, rare,” Kamilah said smoothly as she handed him the menu she hadn’t bothered to open, “and bring us a bottle of the 1994 Châteauneuf du Pape.”

The waiter nodded and turned to Anya expectantly.

“I’ll have the same, thank you.”

When the waiter returned with the wine, Anya eagerly took a sip of it, glad to have something for her hands to do. A week had passed since she’d moved to New York and her days had been filled with the exhaustive task of cataloguing the CEO’s extensive collection of ancient artefacts; they were meticulously organised but mostly unlabeled.

But she hadn’t seen Kamilah since that very first day until she’d received an invitation for dinner via Gabriel earlier this day. Anya didn’t quite know what to do with herself.

“Enjoy the wine?” Kamilah asked with a hint of a smile and Anya blushed upon realising she’d drank the entire contents of her glass.

“I don’t really like wine but this is amazing,” Anya admitted, already feeling a bit flushed from the single glass of wine.

“I’m glad it’s to your taste,” Kamilah said as she poured more wine into her glass.

“So tell me about yourself,” There was something deliberately nonchalant and innocent about the question but this escaped Anya’s notice as she savoured the taste of the red wine, licking her lips in thought.

“Mmm… I studied archaeology with a concentration in Egyptology at Cambridge but I didn’t feel quite ready to settle down or look for a job as a museum curator so I joined an archaeological dig in Egypt after I graduated. And now I’m here,” Anya finished plaintively, taking another generous sip from her glass.

The steaks arrived at that moment and they fell into a pleasant silence as they began eating. Kamilah broke the silence after raising the glass to her own lips for what Anya realised was the first time.

“I was hoping to get to know you beyond what I’d read on your resume,” She said with a small smile before asking with an almost hesitant air of curiosity, “Was it hard moving to America?... Did you have to leave anyone behind?”

“No,” Anya admitted and she wasn’t quite sure if it was because of the strange familiarity she felt with Kamilah or the exorbitant amount of wine she’d drank, but she continued, “I don’t really date.”

“Oh?”

Anya quickly said, “Well, I mean I tried in college. My friends tried to set me up with someone once but… it just never felt right. She liked me more than I could like her.”

Kamilah stared at her with an intensity that made Anya flush deeply with an unknown emotion and Anya hurriedly broke their eye contact, “I do have a very close friend though. She was an immense help after my accident and I don’t know how I’d survive without her. Actually, I have to call her soon. I moved so suddenly that I wasn’t able to tell her and I’ve just been so busy lately.”

“Accident?” Kamilah asked, her eyes sharpening at the word.

“I was in a pretty bad car accident five years ago,” Anya answered with the patience of someone who had explained the story numerous times, “I don’t have any memories of the first 18 years of my life.”

She let out a small, bitter laugh and shook her head before repeating in a lighter tone, “I don’t know what I would have done without Sera…”

But Kamilah had stopped paying attention, her mind whirring furiously as she strove to make sense of this new information. Nothing seemed to fit. A 22-year-old with no memories of her past and the appearance of a woman who had died fifty years ago.

What was she missing?

—-

Anya hadn’t meant to walk so far from the restaurant- she’d simply been waiting outside as Kamilah made a call before they walked back to the company building together.

But the streets of New York had called out to her, and she’d found her legs taking her on a path that she didn’t recognise and yet somehow felt familiar. The crisp air was a balm against her still flushed skin and Anya exhaled. It still didn’t feel real that she was in New York, living in her dream apartment and working her dream job. Not to mention the mystery and alluringness of her new boss.

There was a guttural growl and Anya snapped around just as a gaunt figure melted out of the shadows. It was a grotesque monster of a being with its mottled, pallid grey skin that barely seemed to cover its bony figure. Anya took a slow step back as it came even closer to her, and in their proximity, Anya saw the bright red of its eyes and its salivating, fang-filled mouth.

Panic consumed her throat and she felt the need to scream or run or do something before she was killed when suddenly a freezing calm washed over her.

“You dare? Your blood is mine, your soul is mine,” she hissed and she reached out her hand.

The being froze in its tracks, and as her hand closed into a fist, she watched mercilessly as it fell to its knees. It let out a horrible, keening wail as its body began to contort around itself until finally, it crumbled away into ash.

—-

“Anya?” Kamilah said warily and Anya jerked out of her stupor at the feeling of the hand on her shoulder.

“Huh?” Anya asked, momentarily confused before she began to reassure the woman that she was fine, simply taking a break in the cool New York City air.

But Kamilah’s frown didn’t go away.

Because for a split second, Anya’s eyes had been red.

—-

(3 days later)

Kamilah stared at the three blown up ID photos Gabriel had spread on her desk.

They were all of Laia although her hair was different in each one: from long black tresses to deep crimson waves to straight platinum blonde locks. After allowing her a brief moment of silence, Gabriel continued.

“These are the passport photos of Eden Auclair, Celia Favre, and Amanda Klein. Eden Auclair was a French citizen from 2019-2034, Celia Favre was a Swiss citizen from 2034-2049, and Amanda Klein was a German citizen from 2049-2064. Each woman lived for approximately fifteen years before dying in their early 30’s… It seems that Anya Altomare is the newest reiteration.”

And Kamilah could deny it no longer. There was no doubt that these pictures were all of Laia. Which meant that Kamilah had seen correctly: she’d seen Anya’s eyes turn red that night at the restaurant.

Which meant that Anya had been a vampire for the past 50 years.

Which meant that Anya was Laia.

But why did she show no recognition of Kamilah? Why did she continuously reinvent herself every fifteen years? What had happened to make Laia forget or at least pretend to forget all of her past memories?

And then Kamilah froze.

She’d dismissed the rest of Anya’s words as soon as she’d heard about her 18 years’ worth of missing memories. She’d thought Anya had been talking about a mere mortal friend.

But she’d been wrong. She’d focused on the wrong information.

Because Anya hadn’t been talking of a Sarah. She’d been talking of Sera.

Serafine.

—-

A/N: So I have no idea what happened but for some reason, my original post is gone... Which is fucking annoying because I have a bad habit of doing all my final edits on Tumblr instead of on the doc itself.

I tried to fix what I could remember but I’m not sure if I got everything so I’m sorry for any mistakes. SIGH.

Again, there should be one more long chapter unless I decide to split it up into two.

Thanks for the support

#bloodbound #kamilah x mc #kamilah sayeed #My writing #playchoices

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