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she-wolf09231982 · 2 months

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Chapter 10- It Had To Be You

Summary: Easy Company is finally in Germany and are pushing the Germans back…Nothing could be better; some soldiers are already saying the war is over. The boys make another jump near Thalem, Germany only to soon find out there is something more sinister in the dark, and they soon realize the Nazis are worse than they'd ever dreamed. This particular situation weighs heavy on Joe, sending him into an infuriated mental state where he instinctively lashes out at you, causing a serious strain on your relationship.

A/N: Mature audience, Joe LiebgottxFem!Medic, She/Her Pronouns, Y/F/N, Y/L/N, Cursing/Swearing, Derogatory Slurs, Womanizing Comments, Aggression, Angst, Confrontation, Military Terminology, 1940’s slang, Inappropriate Nicknames, Band of Brothers References, Mentions of Weaponry, Yiddish/German language with English translation, Soft Sexual Content, Smoking, Crying, Banter, Pining, FOREVER FLUFF

German is identified with (g)

Yiddish is identified with (y)

This grand finale is for my Liebgott/McCall squad 🪖 ♠️ 🦅❤️

@mrs-greenside @wordsaresimple-imnot @awaterfalls @skiesofrosie @aliciax3

*These stories may not fall entirely in accordance with the TV series timeline. I do not know the real soldiers the actors portray in this series, so please understand I show no disrespect. Some or most of historical events and character interactions in my fanfics are fabricated purely for the sake of the enjoyment of fiction*

~~~~~~~

April 1945 Sturzelberg, Germany

For once, the men of Easy Company enjoy themselves. Captain Spiers continued mailing home several valuables he's plundered from wealthier houses. George Luz and Frank Perconte forage at a farm for eggs while a farm girl stumbles upon the men in her family’s barn. George ultimately gets slapped in the face after attempting to flirt with her. While the boys kept busy with their activities, President Roosevelt was pronounced dead back in the states.

The company prepares to move on to their new headquarters in Landsberg to deal with bands of Waffen-SS whom Hitler has ordered to fight a guerilla war in the Alps. The men hastily loaded up their duffels and gear onto deuce trucks.

“I got it, Gams.” Liebgott insisted as he took your gear bag from you tossing it up to Webster on the bed of the truck.

“Danken dir, meyn libe.” (y) (Thank you, my love). You say while you affectionately squeeze his arm as you pass him to board the truck.

Webster offered his hand to you to help you up while Liebgott lifted you by the waist.

“Up ya go, doll.” Liebgott grunted as he hoisted you up with ease.

~~~~~~~

The ride through the mountains could be considered almost a pleasant experience. With the sun shining and the spring scenery through Bavaria had the men in high spirits as they begin singing "Blood upon the Risers.” You listen to the boys singing and enjoying themselves eliciting a smile from you. For once they sang for you and not the other way around.

🎶“Gory, gory what a helluva way to die! Gory, gory what a helluva way to die! He ain’t gonna jump no more!” 🎶

They all belted out in unison.

“Hey, Y/F/N, you ain’t singin’!” Luz declared.

You chuckle, “I’m relaxin’, George. I’ll sing for you boys when we get there.” You reply with a wink.

~~~~~~~

As the company arrived to a village halfway to the destination, the officers were in agreement to stop and rest for the night. Speirs ordered Easy to clear a lavish building with many flats to designate as billeting for the men to sleep for the night. The occupants of the home were resistant, and were quite vocal about being evicted from their ritzy residence.

“Was machst du!? Raus aus meinem Haus! (g)(What are you doing!? Get out of my house!)” A German woman of one of the apartments yelled repeatedly at the men when they stormed in.

“Tell her she’s got five minutes.” Speirs called over to Liebgott.

“Raust! Raust! Du hast fünf Minuten! (g) (Out! Out! You got five minutes!)” Liebgott barked at the woman.

The woman shrilled pleas in German to him while Joe tried to talk over her cries.

“Sir, she says they’ve got nowhere to go, but the house next door is empty-“ Liebgott translated.

The rest of Easy ushered men, women and children from other living quarters out into the hallways and out the main door.

“We’re only gonna be here one night! You got four minutes!” Speirs shouts over the woman’s protests.

Joe relayed Speirs’ message to the woman as he shooed her out of the room.

~~~~~~~

You lug your bag up to the second floor of the building, looking forward to the hot shower you’re about to have. You peek through the first door at the top of the stairs and see a well put together parlor with a welcoming seating area and a full liquor display on a bar trolly in the corner. You find the master bedroom with a bed fit for a queen. You release a long sigh of relief as you imagine the restful night of sleep you’ll have later.

You set your duffel on a antique bench seat at the foot of the bed, then sit on the chair at the vanity table to untie your boots when you suddenly hear the door to the apartment open and slam shut.

“Honey, I’m home!” Liebgott’s voice carried through the flat.

You giggle as you shake your head while you proceed to remove your boot.

“Hey, Gams, where you at?”

“In here, Joe!” You call out.

Liebgott appeared in the door way. When he saw you sitting at the make-up table, he smirked as he leaned on his elbow against the door frame. He stood there staring at you as you started removing your other boot. You look up at him.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” You ask him as you eyeball him skeptically.

“Like what?” He scoffed.

You laugh, “Like you’re starved and I’m a T-bone steak.”

Joe chuckled as he slowly strolled into the room towards you.

“I was just thinkin’.”

“About what?”

“About the last time I was alone in a room with you.”

You feel a flutter in your stomach, “Oh? In Holland?”

Joe nodded, “Yeah, when you were fixin’ my neck up in that barn.”

He stood in the middle of the room with his hands in his pockets studying you adoringly with a lazy smile. You smile at him as you stand to walk to him.

“An unforgettable day that was.” You say.

His smile widened, “That was five months ago, ya know?”

Your face twisted up as you recall how long ago Crossroads was.

“You’re right. Time flies when you’re having fun, huh?

He hummed in agreement. You turn away and enter the bathroom undoing your hair from the bun you had it in.

“Have you found a place to sleep?” You project from the bathroom.

“Sure did.” Joe replied as he situated himself onto your bed, getting comfy.

You walk back into the room, “Oh no you don’t.” You scold.

“What?”

“You can’t sleep in here.” You state.

“And why the hell not?” He retorted.

“Well, what would people say? It’s not-” You try to continue, “-It’s not proper, you know?”

Joe raised his eyebrow at you.

“Since when have I been proper?” He asked seductively with a wink as he got up from the bed, making his way towards you.

“Joe…” you cautioned as he progressively closed the gap between you.

A mischievous grin tugged at the corners of his mouth as he slinked his arms around your waist, “What?”

You rest your hands on his chest giving him a gentle push as you lean away from him. You knew what he was up to, and you weren’t going to cave to him. His hands were firmly pressed against the small of your back pulling you closer to him.

“You ain’t gettin’ rid of me that easy.” He said in his low gravelly voice.

You felt yourself unravel in his arms, fighting the smile he was bringing to your face to not fuel his behavior.

“Joseph Liebgott, what would everyone think if they found out you spent the night in my room with me!?”

Joe chuckled, “I think they’d say, about time!”

You let out an exasperated sigh, “Joe, I’m serious.”

He rolled his eyes, “Look, Gams, we ain’t gotta do nothin’, aight? I just wanna hold my girl until I fall asleep. Just the two of us. Nobody’s gonna say anything, ok?” He reassured.

You narrow your eyes suspiciously at him.

“Besides, there ain’t no way I’m not staying in here with you tonight. I’ve been waiting almost two years to hold you in bed without all the guys snoring in the same room.” Joe added.

~~~~~~~

The following morning, Easy loaded back up onto the trucks to Landsberg. Along the way, they witness over 300,000 newly-surrendered German POW's marching past; noticing that they continue to march proudly even in defeat, Webster begins ranting angrily at the Germans for starting a war they could never have hoped to win, and uprooting his and his fellow soldiers' lives.

“Hey, YOU! You stupid Kraut bastards! That’s right! Say hello to Ford and General fucking Motors! You stupid fascist pigs! Look at you! You have horses, what were you thinking!?” Webster bellowed out at the sea of marching Nazi soldiers.

Webster sat down hard on the bench of the truck, running his hands through his hair mumbling expletives to himself before standing to erupt more shame at the Germans.

“What the fuck are we doing here!?”

Everyone remained silent, allowing Web to violently rant because they agreed with every word he said. As the trucks approached the entrance of Landsberg, they witness French soldiers summarily executing three Germans. A replacement is shaken, looking to you and the boys alarmed, but Perconte simply shrugs at him, while Liebgott looks smug.

The trucks roll up to the town square and come to a halt. The men begin to stir, offloading from the rears of the vehicles with their gear.

“I wanna send out some patrols. We’ll have Dog Company here in the village, and easy and Fox in the woods.” Winters directs to Speirs and Welsh.

Speirs turns to Welsh, “Easy Company’s gonna take the North-West. LT Lipton.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Have 1st and 2nd platoons swing up to the woods, and have 3rd swing around. Make sure they bring a medic.” Speirs ordered.

~~~~~~~

Easy trekked through the thickets surrounding Landsberg, bantering and joking like they’re strolling through a park.

“O’Keefe-“ Bull said as he tapped the replacement’s arm.

“Sarge?”

“Why the hell you so jumpy, boy?” Bull asked smirking when he saw O’Keefe’s worried expression.

“I-I’m not jumpy-“

“You can hear your heart pounding in Arkansas, boy.”

You scoff, “Give the kid a break, Bull.” You say with empathy.

“Hey, George, does this kinda remind you of Bastogne?” Perconte asked.

George looked around, “Yeah, now that you mention it. Except, of course, there’s no snow, we got warm grub in our bellies, and the trees aren’t fucking exploding from Kraut artillery. But, yeah, Frank, other than that, it’s a lot like Bastogne.” Luz replied sarcastically.

“Right?” Perconte agreed.

“Bull, smack him for me, please?” Luz called back to Randleman.

Bull smiled through his cigar as he swat the back of Perconte’s helmet.

“Thank you.”

As you all came close to a clearing at the tree line , you can hear shuffling and rustling near by. The platoon made their rifles ready in case it was the enemy.

“Stay behind us.” Bull whispered to you. You nod.

As you all entered the opening beyond the woods, your eyes fall upon an encampment of some kind. Rows of long, narrow ‘hut’ like buildings locked up within fence line. You look through the barbed wire walls, and see a handful of sickly beings shuffling aimlessly on the main path.

“What is this?” Luz asked baffled by the scene.

More people in striped clothing emerged from the huts, lining up along the inside of the fence.

“Looks like—a prison.” You say as you slowly make your way forward in front of the guys.

~~~~~~~

Perconte was sent back to the town to retrieve Winters and the rest of Easy Company to see what they found on patrol.

Winters and the rest of the company arrive on the scene, all eyes glued to the horrific display beyond the barbed wire. Winters and Nixon walked up to you, Bull, and Luz. Winters surveyed the sullen faces that stared back at him through the fence. Eugene came straight to you as soon as he got off the truck.

“Hey, Y/F/N.”

“Eugene.” You greet dryly.

“What’s happening ‘ere?” Gene asked motioning with his head to the camp.

“They’re definitely POW’s. Just look at ‘em…those poor souls.” You reply softly, too emotional to raise your voice.

Nixon came to you and Eugene.

“I want you two to take Dog and Fox medics and give these guys a look over once we get in, ok?”

“Yes, sir.” Eugene confirmed.

Perconte and Christenson opened the first set of gates for Winters. As Winters entered, he directed them to open the second gate. You and Eugene walked ahead motioning the other medics to follow.

The prisoners were all male, skeletal with sunken faces and ghostly complexions. The smell of rot and decay filled the air. The residents of this hell began tugging and grabbing at the soldiers as they entered, muttering implorations in a different language.

All the prisoners are near death, seriously ill or starving, some so weakened that they collapse as they try to approach the Americans. While many more are dead as corpses litter the area, Malarkey and Heffron grimly note the number tattoos on dead prisoners' arms marking them "like cattle.” Randleman and Luz discover a hut jam-packed with living and dead prisoners lying shoulder to shoulder.

“Christenson, any of your men speak German?” Winters asked.

“No, sir. But we got Y/L/N here that does—”Christenson offered.

“I need Liebgott..LIEBGOTT!” Winters yelled over the men, “Lipton, find me Liebgott.”

“Sir, I can help.” You insist to Winters as you push through the rabble.

Winters looked at you, “These people need care, you go ahead with Doc Roe and figure out how to help these people.”

Liebgott pushed through the crowd, “Right here, sir.”

One prisoner Winters had pulled aside started speaking to Joe in German.

“He said the guards left this morning, sir—they burned some of the huts first…with the prisoners still in them, sir—alive.”

“Jesus Christ.” Nixon uttered in disgust.

The man continued.

“Some of the prisoners tried to stop them…some of them were killed.”

Liebgott paused to listen, “They didn’t have enough ammo for all of the prisoners, so…they killed as many as they could…before they left the camp…they locked the gates behind them and headed South.”

“Someone in the town must’ve told them we were coming.” Nixon said.

“Yeah, I think so.” Liebgott agreed.

“Will you ask him what kind of camp this is? Why are they here?” Winters requested.

“Was ist das für ein Lager? Warum bist du hier?” Liebgott relayed.

The man struggled to answer.

“He says it’s a work camp for, uh, ‘unerwunscht’… I’m not sure what the word means, sir. Uh, unwanted, disliked maybe?’

“Criminals?” Nixon asked.

“Eh, I don’t think criminals, sir,” the man proceeded to explain, “…doctors, musicians, tailors, clerks, farmers, intellectuals, I mean, normal people.”

“Juden…Juden…” the man repeated.

Liegott’s jaw clenched.

“They’re Jews…poles and gypsies.”

The prisoner began to sob, pointing beyond the trees stuttering and hiccuping as he spoke.

“The women’s camp is at the next railroad stop.” Liebgott revealed.

The man walked away wailing, unable to speak anymore.

~~~~~~~

Easy rushes back into the village of Landsberg to gather food and water for the survivors of the camp. Each company raided bakeries, delicatessens, and cheese shops hurrying back to distribute the rations to the prisoners.

When Col Sink arrived with the battlefield surgeon, Winters and Nixon are told they must not continue feeding the survivors. The surgeon claims the survivors' vital systems are unable to handle massive food intake, and they need to be closely monitored during their recovery.

“If we give them too much to eat too quickly, they’ll eat themselves to death. We need to keep them in the camp until we find a place for them in town.” The battlefield surgeon explained to Winters and Nixon.

You walk up to Sink, Winters, and Nixon with a report on the POW’s when you hear:

“You want us to lock these people back up?” Nixon asked in disbelief.

Your eyes widen as your breath catches in your throat.

“We got no choice, Nix.” Sink replied plainly.

“Otherwise they might scatter. we need to keep them centralized so we can supervise their food intake and medical treatment. So, until we find some place better…” the surgeon added.

“It’s a cryin’ ass shame, but let’s get it done.” Sink ordered as he walked away.

“Sir?” You squeak, looking for confirmation on what you just heard.

Winters looks at you with regret. The prisoners were to remain inside the barbed wire fence of the camp to prevent them from potentially spreading diseases…an announcement which Liebgott would be ordered to make.

“Nix, find Liebgott and have him explain to the prisoners what needs to happen-”

“Sir, with all due respect-” you begin to contest.

“Not now, Y/L/N-” Winters replied sternly.

“Sir, you couldn’t make Joe do that. It’ll haunt him for the rest of his-”

“You heard the doctor, Y/F/N. Eating too much could kill them. Go on back and triage as many of the prisoners as you can before they get locked back up.” Nixon pushed back.

You release a breath of defeat, looking over your shoulder to find Joe about ten feet away speaking to another prisoner as Winters and Nixon B lined him to tell him the message that he was to announce.

“I can’t tell ‘em that, sir.”

You run up to the group and stand next to Liebgott.

“You’ve got to, Joe.” Winters replied.

You squeeze Joe’s tricep gently, letting him know you’re behind him.

Joe averted his eyes to the ground, his jaw once again clenching as he internally battled his thoughts and emotions.

“…Yes, sir.” Joe complied under his breath as he turned away from the officers and you to mount the rear of a truck to address the sea of prisoners.

“Aufmerksamkeit! Aufmerksamkeit! (g) (Attention! Attention!)” Liebgott projected over the crowd.

Liebgott reluctantly explained in German to the POW’s what was about to happen. The further along Joe got in his explanation, the more the prisoners contested and weeped. He did his best to provide reassurance that it was in their best interest, promising them it is only temporary and that food, supplies and medicine were coming, but they shook their heads and continued to beg to keep their freedom.

Joe struggled to continue, but he pushed through. His words trailed off when the rest of Easy began ushering the prisoners towards the entrance of the camp. Feeling the most utter sense of shame, Joe hung his head, unable to look at his own people in the eye. He staggered backward onto the bench of the truck, allowing his tears to fall.

~~~~~~~

May 1945

Easy arranged for long term sleeping quarters in the town’s abandoned buildings that were still intact. One evening, you find Joe sitting on a bench at the end of the cobblestone side walk at the edge of Landsberg.

“Hey, Joe.”

He gave you quick side eye, but didn’t say a word. You look at your boots, searching your mind for the right words to say. But you knew better. Nothing you say could help him feel any better. You can see he was stuck in his thoughts about what he just had to do.

You clear your throat, “Winters assigned me to a mission just now.” You began.

Joe remained silent.

“They’re sending me to Dachau until they can get enough female field nurses to tend to the women prisoners over there. They’re terrified of men so they won’t let any of the male medics near them. I don’t know how long I’ll be there.” You elaborated.

Joe lit a cigarette.

“Roe’s going, too.” You add.

Joe scoffed.

“Yeah? Well hope you two have a good time.” He hissed.

You placed a hand over your stilled heart.

“What?” You choked.

“You heard me.” Joe spat back taking another drag from his cigarette.

“Joe, how could say such a thing? I know you’re hurting-”

“You don’t know a goddamn thing!” He barked, “You ain’t even Jewish! How could you know how I feel!? You go around talking the language like you know somethin’ and you think that makes you one of us? You’re a dizzy dame, you know that!?” He proclaimed.

You push down tears, fighting the urge to cry. You take a deep breath.

“Ok, Liebgott,” you begin as you collect yourself, “see you around.” You say as you turn to walk back to your building.

“Yeah, high tail it and run away like the rest of ‘em.” Joe sneered.

You stop abruptly. You wouldn’t allow it. You turn back and stomp back to him.

“You don’t think I understand pain? Or loss? Defeat? Well, I do! Maybe not through your eyes, but I’ve endured my own, Joseph Liebgott. And until now I thought I’ve suffered the worst of them all.”

“Oh yeah? What’s the worst you’re suffering now? Go ahead and enlighten me!” Joe replied viciously as he stood up hovering in your face.

“Heartbreak! Watching the love of my life slip away because he’s completely submerged in hate and anger!”

Joe stared at you in awe, taken back by your response. He grinded his teeth as he flicked his cigarette butt.

“My condolences.” He sneered as he breezed past you leaving you shivering in the dark alone.

Tears cascaded down your cheeks as you sat on the bench Joe had been seated on.

~~~~~~~

June 1945 Thalem, Germany

You remained in Dachau for the duration of May and June with no hope in sight of returning any time soon until the first week or so of July when medical relief finally arrived. Joe had written you a letter the week after you had gone but hadn’t received a response. He had half a mind to go AWOL and hitch a ride to Dachau first chance he got so he could see you again.

Luz, Perconte, Liebgott, Webster, and Randleman sat on the second floor of a bombed out home overseeing the townsfolk in the streets when Nixon joined them. The locals remove the rubble of houses and buildings from the street, as a string quartet plays a somber song in the middle of the square.

"Tell ya one thing about the Krauts, they sure clean up good." Luz expressed.

"Yeah. All you need's a little Mozart." Liebgott added.

"Beethoven." Nixon corrected as he entered onto the landing.

"Sorry, sir?" Liebgott replied.

"That's not Mozart," Nixon repeated as he stood to listen to the melody, "that's Beethoven."

Nixon looked over at Liebgott.

“Any word from Y/L/N?”

Joe shook his head.

“Hm. You sent a letter?”

Joe nodded, “Four pages long.”

“Did you apologize?”

Joe looked at him unamused.

“Yes, sir, I did. Multiple times.” Joe replied dully.

“I see. She’ll come around.” Nixon reassured.

Joe nodded.

“I don’t know, he said some pretty nasty things to her before she left.” Webster declared.

Joe shot him a look of disdain.

“Shut it, Web.” Joe warned.

“He’s right, Lieb.” Bull interjected, “She told me what you said. You’re a goddamn knucklehead, boy.”

Joe released a frustrated sigh.

“Ok, I fucked up! Alright? I was wrong for saying what I said, but you know what? I can’t change that now.” Joe exclaimed as he stood up and began pacing the landing.

“I ain’t gettin’ her back by writing letters.” Joe thought outloud. He looked at Nixon.

“Sir, if I could just get assigned to a detail to Duchau—”Joe began to negotiate.

“You know I can’t do that, Lieb.” Nixon stated before he could finish.

“But, sir—”

“We can’t just send you off to Duchau to play Romeo, Joe, it’s a waste of man power, I’m sorry. You’re also our best German linguist so we can’t be losing another translator since Y/L/N left.”

Joe looked towards the ground deflated.

“Right, sir.” Joe groaned as he slumped onto a chair.

Everyone remained silent for a minute or two before Nixon spoke again.

“Hitler’s dead.”

The boys all looked at him.

“Holy shit.” Joe breathed.

“-Shot himself in Berlin.” Nixon added.

“Is the war over, sir?” Bull asked.

Nixon looked at him, “No. we have orders to Berchtesgaden, be ready to move out by 0700 tomorrow.”

“Why? The man’s not home. Should’ve killed himself three years ago, would’ve saved us a lot of trouble.” Webster said.

Nixon smirked weakly as they all started to exit the landing.

“Yeah, he should’ve,” Nixon concurred, “but he didn’t.”

~~~~~~~

“Allied forces discovered numerous POW, concentration, and death camps. These camps were part of the Nazi attempt to effect the ‘Final Solution’ to the ‘Jewish Question.” At least five million ethnic minorities and six million Jews were murdered- many of them in the camps.” -BoB close out description on Episode 9- Why We Fight

July 1945

You were finally released to Easy Company at the end of June, and were on your way back to Thalem by the first week of July to link up with them before they left for Austria. The only communication you’ve chosen to have with anyone about your status since you left was Major Winters and Captain Nixon. You transmitted a telegram to Winters from Dachau about your completed mission, and also made it quite clear not to tell any of the guys about you coming back. You didn’t want anyone making a fuss about your return.

The truck you had been on for transport to Thalem came to a sudden stop in the plaza, conveniently where Bull, Luz, and Webster had been hanging out in front of HQ.

“Well look who it is!” Luz whooped.

You smile as you approached the three soldiers.

“Hey, boys! Missed me?” You ask as you approached.

Bull greeted you by giving you a quick bear hug.

“We sure did, girl, good to see ya.” Bull professed as he took your duffel from you.

“We didn’t know if you were ever coming back. When did you find out you were coming?” Webster queried.

“I knew about a week ago.” You confess.

Their eyes widened.

“And…you didn’t say anything to anyone?” Luz asked.

“Just Winters and Nixon.”

“Ah.” Luz confirmed.

The air was thick and awkward.

“What?” You ask.

“Well,” Webster began, “we thought Liebgott would’ve been the first to know.”

You sigh irritably, “I am no longer on speaking terms with Liebgott.”

“He said he wrote you a letter.” Luz affirmed.

“He did. But the damage has been done.” You finalize as you adjust your grip on your other bag.

“Come on, boys, leave it alone. All’s that matters is she’s back.” Bull inserted, “Come on, Y/F/N, I’ll show you where the females be stayin’ at.” Bull offered.

~~~~~~~

“What the fuck did you just say!?” Joe snapped.

Webster’s eyes widened, “Uh, she’s in Thalem. She got here about 20 minutes ago.”

Joe suddenly had a thousand mile stare, looking beyond Webster into the distance out the window as his heart hammered against his rib cage.

“Meine Liebe kehrt zurück. (g) (My love returns).” Joe whispers to himself.

He looked back at Webster and grabbed him by the shoulders, “Where is she?”

“She’s getting cleaned up at nurse’s billetting.” Webster disclosed.

“Why didn’t she tell me she was coming back?” Joe asked out loud as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“I think you know why, Joe.” Bull’s voice rang out as he entered the room.

Joe hurried towards Randleman, “How is she, Bull? Is she ok? Does she look good?” Joe rambled.

Bull chuckled, “She’s just peachy, Joe. Give her some time to get back into the swing of things, though, before you go smothering her, ok? You’ll have plenty of time to talk to her on the way to Austria.”

~~~~~~~

You already picked your seat on the bed of one of the trucks before the rest of Easy showed up. You had your nose in a medical journal, completely absorbed in the chapter when you’re startled by the abrupt collide of someone sitting next to you. You gasp and come face to face with Liebgott. You furrow your eyebrows at him.

“Isn’t there another truck you could’ve picked?” You hiss before turning back to your book.

Joe scoffed, “Nice to see you, too, Gams.”

You huff as you shift your back towards him.

Joe stretched his arms over his head bringing his right one to rest on top of the truck bench behind you. He gazed upon you while you made yourself busy reading your book. He hesitated to speak, hoping you would say something first. He clicked his tongue while his leg bounced with anticipation.

“Why didn’t you write back, Y/F/N?”

You half looked over your shoulder at him annoyed.

“Why do you think?”

“Because I was an idiot.”

“That’s putting it gently.” You retorted.

The rest of the company loaded up and the trucks were on the move.

“So you got my letter?”

“I did.” You replied simply.

“Well, did ya read it?”

“Yes.”

“Gams, you gotta give me somethin’ here, it’s like pullin’ teeth gettin’ answers outta you!” Joe pleaded.

You turn to him, “I don’t owe you anything, Joe Liebgott. Not anymore.” You grit at him.

Joe looked around at the rest of the guys sitting with you on the truck.

“Look, you were right, and I was wrong.” Joe admitted in a hushed voice so the conversation was between you and him.

“Go on.” You urge.

“I am an angry, ornery son of a bitch, and the only time I was happy was when you were around. The day we found that camp—” Joe paused to hold his composure, “—it broke me down…almost to the point of no return. I lost it.” He looked at his boots.

You study him with compassion, your heart simultaneously breaking and melting for him.

“After you left, I became a shell of a man because of everything. I couldn’t shut my eyes without seeing your face or the faces of those prisoners, so I started drinking so I could sleep. Ended up gettin’ into a lot of scraps with Fox and Dog Company. Major Winters talked me into cuttin’ back when he said I’d get court marshaled and sent back to the States without seeing you again.”

He fell silent, afraid to look back at you from shame. You sigh, and take his hand. Joe’s eyes eagerly met yours as his hand squeezed yours.

“This war broke all of us at some point, Joe. Ain’t nothing to be ashamed of. But it’s important you don’t push away the people who care about you most.” You exhibit.

He nodded, “I was so lost without you, Y/F/N.”

He cupped the side of your face with his hand as his thumb gingerly rubbed along your cheek. You put your hand over his, leaning into his touch as a single tear escaped the corner of your eye. Joe bowed forward to rest his forehead against yours, your noses tenderly touching.

“Ikh hab dir lib (y) (I love you).” He breathed tilting his head forward until his lips brushed against yours.

Your lips gently lock onto his, each of you inhaling eachother’s breaths. You pull back to look into his honeyed brown eyes.

“I will never disrespect you again.” Joe vowed quietly.

You fall into him as he embraces you. His heartbeat drumming in your ear while your face presses into his chest.

“I love you, Joe.” You reciprocate.

“Ok, you two, you kissed and made up. Can we dispense with the sappy stuff now?” Luz complained.

You giggled as you pull back from Joe’s arms.

“Hey, Y/L/N, you owe us a song!” Luz pointed out.

“Hm, I suppose I do. Any suggestions?”

“I don’t know, surprise us, don’t make me think no more, we just need something nice to hear.” Luz rattled off.

You take a moment to think, until inspiration struck you. The boys wait with anticipation all over their faces, waiting for you to start. You look around the truck, smiling mischievously. You take a deep breath…

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🎶“It had to be you, it had to be you.

I wandered around, finally found , the somebody who,

Could make me be true, Could make me be blue—”🎶

The boys leaned in, already entranced by your soothing voice, relishing the classic you selected. You stood so they could all see you, slipping your hand into Joe’s as you continued to perform.

You glance at Joe and wink, “Das ist für dich (g) (This is for you).” You whisper real quick before the next verse.

🎶“For nobody else gave me a thrill,

With all your faults, I love you still,

It had to be you, Wonderful you,

It had to be you— *GASP!*—”🎶

The truck violently quaked as it hit a pothole in the road, throwing you off balance causing you to stagger forward. Joe once again swooping in, hooking his arm around your hips in front of you before you could fall to the floor. The guys whooped and hollered with laughter and applause.

“Now where have I seen this happen before?” Luz questioned sarcastically rubbing his chin.

You return a hearty laugh and sit back on the bench next to Liebgott.

Joe angled in close to your ear, “Told ya I’d always be there to save you.”

You meet his stare with a smirk as he winks back at you.

~~~~~~~

Berchtesgaden

You arrive in Austria and take Eagle's Nest with no resistance. All you find are dead German officers and a considerable amount of war loot. After the men seized Hitler’s private fortress and officer housing surrounding it, Winters announced the war's conclusion in Europe and you were all directed to remain in place until you had to move on.

The guys wasted no time raiding the fully stocked wine cellar, popping open champagne and brandy, drinking from the bottles before claiming a space in any of the empty chambers of the castle and officer’s housing.

As evening approached, Easy lounged around the common room in front of a roaring fire in the massive fireplace, each with their own bottle of wine smoking and joking about anything and everything.

“I suppose you’ll be staying with Y/F/N?” Luz asked Liebgott.

“You bet your ass I am.” Liebgott confirmed.

“Yeah? Well, here’s a couple of extra bottles for ya to bring to the room.” Malarkey hinted with a wink passing Joe two unopened bottles of Cognac.

Joe smirked roguishly at Don, “Ya think I need liquid courage, Malark?”

Don chuckled, “Nah, just settin’ you up for success for the rest of the night.”

“Yeah, you better go to her before she falls asleep, pal!” Perconte teased.

Joe’s smile widened as he pointed at Frank, hastily standing up to rush towards the grand staircase.

“Go get ‘er, Lieb!” A couple of the guys shouted after him as the rest cheered him on.

~~~~~~~

You found a sleeping chamber with a balcony and one hell of a view of the mountains. You lean on the wall of the stone terrace, amiably staring at the warm hues of the sky as the sun set sun set beyond the blue, snow capped Alps with the lake glistening and sparkling below.

Joe meandered into the bedroom and quietly ambled onto balcony. He set the bottles down, sneaking up behind you wrapping his arms around your waist from behind, pulling you against him.

“Joe! You startled me!” You feign as you hold his hands in front of you.

Joe nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck, inhaling the scent of vanilla and lavender on your hair.

“You smell incredible, doll.”

You rest your cheek on the side of his head.

“Why thank you, Mr. Liebgott.”

Joe took you by the shoulders to turn you towards him. He affectionately kneaded your arms as he beamed at you.

“You owe me a dance.” he declared.

You tilt your head at him, “You know what? You’re absolutely right.”

You ardently look back into the room.

“Hold that thought.” you prompt him.

You hurry back into the room to the gramophone that sat in the corner of the room. You finger through the record collection and find a song you were familiar with, and prepare it on the turntable. You crank the handle and gently place the needle on the record until the sound of “Sleepy Serenade” by The Andrew Sisters materialized through the horn.

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You turn to see Joe’s reaction.

“Guess the Krauts appreciated The Andrew Sisters, too, huh?” He quipped.

“I suppose so.” You snickered.

Joe’s eyes seductively looked you over from head to toe, then casually beckoned you over to him.

“Don’t keep me waiting, Gams.” He hummed flirtatiously.

You sashay over to him as Joe offered his hand. When you were close enough, you place your hand on his to which he grasps it tenderly and proceeds to twirl you around then gracefully pulls you into him, holding you tight and flush against him by the waist as you sway dreamily together to the angelic melody.

Joe led you through the threshold of the balcony and around the room until you feel the back of your knees bump into the edge of the bed. Joe held you steady gaping into your eyes as he brought his hand up between you to caress your cheek. You lull your head onto his palm, your heart beat drumming.

“Marry me.” Joe purred.

Your mouth collapsed from shock, “You mean it, Joe?”

Joe rest his forehead on yours, “Absolutely. I don’t want to spend one second apart from you ever again.”

Your lips collide, locking onto each other in a deep lustful make out. Joe pulled away.

“So, is that a yes?” He said through his signature grin.

“Yes.” You moan into his mouth as you pull him back onto the bed with you.

~~~~~~~

You consummate your engagement with a night of pure, passionate love making. A heated, desirous adventure neither of have ever experienced before. Your souls became one that night in Berchtesgaden, never once to be separated or without the other ever again.

The End

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ritens · 6 months

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∞ Arisen & Pawn Character Introductions

Original template by @arisenreborn

Probably will come back to edit this at some point. I wrote it while numbed out of my mind from medicine.

♛ THE ARISEN:

NAME: Raures AGE: 123 (whatever that means) RACE: Elf PRONOUNS: he/him PREFERRED VOCATION: Magic Archer FAVORED GIFTS: fish, selfmade things FAMILY: no longer in the picture. They fell to the dragon.

POSITIVE TRAITS: gentle, keeps his word, patient, hard-working NEGATIVE TRAITS: stubborn, huge flirt, gullible LIKES: fishing, exploring and gathering materials for various craft projects. DISLIKES: rainy muddy days

1. What was their life like before becoming Arisen?

Rau lived with his parents away from other elves. They preferred a more simple but labor-intensive life among humankind’s common folk. Father was a hunter and taught Rau the way of the magic archer. Mother was a mender with a great knowledge of medicinal herb usage. Humans taught Rau archery and thief skills for wilderness survival. He also learned their language.

The family moved towns and villages every 10 years to conceal the aging differences between the two races, essentially avoiding the possibility of becoming chiefs or other figures with higher responsibility.

Raures became Arisen in an attempt at buying time for his parents to escape the burning village. The attempt was unsuccessful but the dragon deemed him worthy.

2. How do they handle being Arisen, and the responsibilities that come with it?

He is mourning the family he lost but even so he does his best to move forward and do what is expected of an Arisen despite his pawn’s chagrin. He doesn’t fully grasp what he’s doing, just feels like he has to.

3. What are their thoughts on Pawns in general?

Pawn rights activist. He finds all of them to be quite cute.

4. What's their relationship like with their main Pawn?

Rau opted to “adopt” an existing pawn to be his main instead of shaping his own perfect image of a pawn to avoid bias. The two have a lot of opposing opinions on matters and Rau has no idea that Lane already has a bit of his own will which he's maintained from master to master throughout his conscious life.

Raures sees Lane's episodes of fear and paranoia as normal pawn behaviour, but treats his companion with care and respect no matter what may come up. He is very fond of Lane and forbids the pawn from traversing the rift to other worlds to assist other Arisen who may call upon him. He doesn’t want Lane to end up as brutalized as he was when Rau first met him.

5. Do they have any interest in being Sovran? What are their opinions on the politics of the world in general?

He’s too much of a farmboy to care much about what goes on in the life of the rich and noble. The prospect of being Sovran seems exhausting to Rau, but if need be, he would take on the role. But avoid spending much time at the palace. It’s also likely Lane would hold him back from all this mumbo jumbo anyway.

6. Who are their love interest(s) and/or closest friends?

Rau’s closest companion is obviously his pawn. He doesn’t form lasting relationships with people aside from the local baker. And he indulges in short lived dalliances now and then.

7. What drew them to their preferred vocation? Do they have history with it?

He keeps pursuing the way of the Magic Archer as a way to honour his elven roots but isn’t bound to just one vocation. Survival asks for many skills and he hones whatever he can.

8. Do they have any hobbies? Any way of relaxing between all that monster-slaying and traveling?

Suck and fuck. He enjoys fishing a great deal which is a rather fruitful hobby as it’s fun and it provides food. Rau has been making birch skin baskets and other tools since childhood. Originally picked up the craft to avoid buying these items in bigger cities as travel by oxcart often ends up being catastrophic. Now as an Arisen who is constantly on the move, he makes the baskets and leaves them as gifts for the villagers he happens to visit.

♟︎ THE PAWN:

NAME: Lane AGE: appears young adult RACE: human PRONOUNS: he/him PREFERRED VOCATION: Thief FAVORED GIFTS: soft warm clothes, bread INCLINATION: Calm

POSITIVE TRAITS: clever, creative, humble, observant NEGATIVE TRAITS: withdrawn, fearful, unreliable, low self-esteem LIKES: bread, Raures, afternoon naps DISLIKES: stale bread, being manhandled, loud people

1. What was their life like prior to being summoned by their Arisen?

Lane served many Arisen. His first was Amaury from Gransys who summoned him in the shape of their deceased brother. The pawn ended up a tad corpse-like in appearance and while it didn’t bother Amaury at first, it eventually resulted in them becoming uncomfortable once they accepted the fact their real brother is gone for good. By that time Lane had already developed his own bit of will, and sapped enough of the Arisen’s spirit to also develop Amaury’s negative emotions (and even a streak of their golden locks of hair). Lane ended up killing his own master out of fear during an argument.

He didn’t return beyond the rift afterwards and became a street rat who survived by using his strider->thief abilities to steal from people.

Plagued by aimlessness the pawn answered the summons of other Arisen in other worlds who would order him around, sometimes harshly and cruelly. But the pawn desperately desired a sense of purpose and so he went with the flow, ignoring his human aspects as best as he could.

2. What is their opinion on the Arisen? How do they view their relationship?

Lane was stunned when he first saw who had summoned him in Vermund. The face of his second Arisen from ages past in a different world. The first Rau had summoned him and made Lane his main pawn in a similar fashion. He was Lane’s favorite master. But, unfortunately, he fell in battle against the dragon.

As Lane learns more of this Vermundian Rau, he gets more and more determined to prevent the same outcome that his former master was fated to meet. Lane selfishly and desperately clings to Raures and does everything he can to get the Arisen to settle and let someone else take the wheel of the cycle.

3. Is there anything about the Arisen they find troublesome?

The pawn is very much bothered by the Arisen’s frequent visits to the Bordelrie though he won’t say a word about it. The Arisen does get treated to a cold shoulder for it though.

4. What is their specialization and is there any story behind how they cultivated that skill set?

Raures taught Lane elvish language as a bonding exercise. But now Lane uses the skill to listen in on conversations he has no business knowing about.

5. Do they have any thoughts on the politics of the world and their place in it as a Pawn - or how Pawns are treated?

He accepts things as they are for the most part but has his low moments where he wishes more people treated him as something other than a resource.

6. Does their journey with the Arisen change them in any significant way and how?

Though he himself doesn’t realize it, Raures helps Lane calm down and open up to the joys of life outside servitude. Lane learns what fun is, what friendship is and what it means to love unconditionally. He begins to stand up for himself.

7. Is there a reason they chose their preferred vocation?

Lane is a thief in the literal sense of the word. He had to get by while Masterless and he did so by stealing.

8. Do they have any hobbies or preferred past-times?

During his time on the streets post-Amaury Lane picked up drawing with coal on cobblestones and has since moved on to other mediums and continues to hone his art skills. He usually scribbles sceneries and detailed drawings of plants, but lately has been toying with human silhouettes as well.

#dragon's dogma 2 #arisen-rau #pawn-lane #TRIED TO DRAW #forgot rau's markings...

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enlighten3d · 5 days

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guys im going so insane rn why are they letting me think abt both rau and poetry at once oh my gods

I NEED TO EXPLAIN RAU TO TUMBLR. PARROT KILLS WIFIES BY ACCIDENT BCS HE THOUGHT THAT HE WAS THE CLONE AND THEN THE CLONE (lastfies) REPLACES WIFIES AND PARROT DENIALS/GASLIGHTS HIMSELF INTO THINKING THAT WIFIES NEVER DIED AND THEN HE HAS TO UNLEARN THAT AND LASTFIES IS FUCKED UP AND KILLS PEOPLE INCLUDING KEN BCS KEN DOES NOT LIKE THE SITUATION AND PARROT BLAMES HIMSELF FOR EVERYTHING AND O H M Y G O D S

theres. so much symbolism and cool shit and aaaaaaaaaaaa i love this au deeply. im not normal abt it. i love lastfies. hes fucked up (bcs this is based off The Post and hes the last living clone). and theres the thing of it being a tradition to the clones to rip off the part of the headband that says that clones number when you kill them so when lastfies kills ken (bcs ken and parrot were arguing abt the whole wiifes is dead thing (ken didnt know), parrot was getitng upset and lastfies does anth for parrot bcs parrot saved him and he respects parrot (aka completely misunderstands his grief as approval), lastfies gives parrot kens earring. so. whats another guy dead. he doesnt know ken.

and parrot cant even look at the moon or the stars anymore bcs wifies liked the stars and lastfies doesnt. and when he finally makes a grave for wifies he talks to the stars and imagines him (and ken) as one of the stars looking down at him. and the graves are in the place where parrot buried wifies headband, and the place where he leaves flowers upon flowers, two yellow carnations (one for each of them), and endless apologies, and he gives ken the explanations that she never got but ken doesnt hear them because shes dead.

and wato saw wifies die, saw parrot leave with the wrong wifies, but maybe it was a dream, maybe it was their memory being fucked up after the mask. they stop putting in the personal touches in the escape room, make them a bit easier. the new wifies never was as good at escape rooms. the point isnt to trap lastfies and parrot in them forever. and he cant even grieve because hes not going to fucking talk to parrot, and kens still stuck in proton (HES DEAD KEN IS DEAD HE DIED AT THE END OF PROTON BUT PARROT TELLS NO ONE AND EVERYONE THINKS THST HES ALIVE, JUST TRAPPED IN PROTON FOREVER), so she waits for ken yo show back up so they can figure it out, but ken never shows up.

and the memory of who wifies is is as fucked up as ever. evilfies was wifies, clonefies was wifies, and now its lastfies. clonefies (our wifies) never got an identity of his own, he was always just wifies, no one ever knew that he was separate from Before Wifies (evilfies), and no one now knows that lastfies is a different wifies too. and parrot accidentally killed the memory of clonefies too, not just because he literally killed him but because he never talks about him.

and lastfies thinks that parrot is proud of him, that hes doing the right thing, bcs lastfies has never known anything other than violence and betrayal and tearing off a part of who ones victim was as a keepsake, as a tradition, as maybe a higher chance his number will get called. and parrot is strong in his eyes, parrot just killed yet another wifies, parrot is proud of him because he wears the victories (he keeps that bloodied spyglass on his belt and ties that earring onto a piece of string tucked amongst his feathers and he never lets them go) that lastfies gave him. all of lastfies victories (branzy, thing 1 and thing 2 (kier and dev) (yes those three are dead), and ken) are now parrots bcs hes given them all to parrot. parrot has everything of lastfies thst has ever mattered and lastfies doesnt mind because parrot is his everything and his only friend and ally and as things have always gone that means thet psrrot will kill him eventually and lastfies will accept that when the day comes because hes only ever known betrayal.

fuck im not okay this au is all that i have been thinking for the past three days. fuck. @milo-the-mage thank you for coming up with this idea but also fuck you /pos

gods. sorry this is so incoherent but PLEASEEEEE ASK QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE THEM, THERES SOOO MUCH I COULD EXPLAINNNNNNN

fuck

#💥#im so fucking insane hhhhhhh

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thehistorynut19 · 11 months

Note

Hmmmmmm, let's see your spicy stuffs with the bunny ;))))

god

gODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Unsurprisingly, Sento has a lot more stamina than Rau in this department. But she has a good amount. These two literally cannot keep their hands off of one another.

In public, Rau has slapped and grabbed Sento's ass a lot, whispering that he is hers just to see his reaction~

Another thing Sento is weak for is when Rau grabs his hair and just...tugs on it. Especially when she's riding him, gripping up and making himm look up at her, witnessing the sun stride so confidently across the sky. "Look at me properly when I'm riding you like this~"

It's not to say that Sento doesn't get his time in the spotlight...

"You...teased me far enough." the hiss leaves his lips as he glares down at her, knowing that she is forgone a bra (again) when she had pressed her upper body to him. It's a game she adores playing, how long they can go until they fucking snap.

His cock thundering inside of her walls as he pound into her, listening to her cries as she "apologizes" for her "sins" against him. "You wore that shirt because you knew it's my favorite. You knew that I would fuck you like this~" and why is he complaning when she screams his name so heavenly...

#kiryu sento #spicy yo #s/i: rau #s/i stuff #pls dont look at me

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eriexplosion · 7 months

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Small little interview on three of the ladies from this episode. Highlights include:

Ventress is coming in as an important part of Omega's story - "A lot of that came from [Clone Wars’ unfinished episodes], so we were really, really excited to be able to honor that, and in Bad Batch for a very specific reason [as part of] Omega’s story."

Looks like we might only get one episode with Fennec and it seems to be a Wrecker and Hunter focus episode - "I think it speaks to what Hunter and Wrecker are willing to do in order to complete the mission, and the deals they’re willing to make." and "Having them in this episode [with her] doing what they do, I mean... it was fun from breaking the story all the way to the end of animation. I was just like... loved to have her, love to have her in many other things!"

Plus a little bit more on Emerie - its not much but I'm absorbing everything I can.

#the bad batch #the bad batch spoilers #tbb spoilers #WHERE IS ECHO THIS SEASON Im still heavily theorizing that they're directly working with Tech #no one has said ANYTHING about what Echo's up to #also 'complete the mission' is interesting in its vagueness because it would be easy to say 'to get Omega back'#but complete the mission could mean anything

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byz-was-here · 1 year

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Matoro, waking up on Mata nui:

"Why is that person over there talking in bird? Why does everyone look confused?"

Nuju, blinking as the ko matoran that used to run an illicit pet shop strolls up and starts translating: ''' '''' '' ''''''

Nokama, having realized her Rau no longer translates speech: "Oh, thank Mata nui, you understand him."

Matoro: "Wait... how do I understand him?"

Vakama, pulling some s-tier improv skills: "It is as the legends foretold."

#bionicle #bonkle #Matoro #turaga nuju #turaga nokama #turaga vakama #it is as the legends fortold really is just an A-tier excuse isnt it

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erigold13261 · 2 years

Note

Why are there so much queer people in NSR? Is there a gay agenda going on/j was it intentional on Tatiana’s part or something that happened (I love your takes)

NSR is putting chemicals in the water to turn the fricking artists frogs gay! /j (and thank you!!!)

And no, it wasn't intentional on Tatiana's part. Pretty sure the only artist to be out publicly when hired was DJSS, and even then he didn't like flaunt it, but it wasn't hidden.

The Sayu Crew wasn't out publicly at all when hired, only out to certain family members and with each other. And even when hired they probably came out only to the other artists later on in their career when they felt safe.

Almost everyone thought Mama was fully straight instead of poly, and no one is questioning Yinu and how she identifies. So they were not known as queer when hired.

Neon was definitely not out at all when hired. He did his very best to disconnect from his past to the point a Tatiana couldn't even find out anything when she searched him up after hiring him and 1010. And 1010 didn't even know they were gay when they were hired.

Eve was probably the only other artists closest to being out, but she never identified as bisexual or demiromantic at the time (fun fact, but apparently Eve was confirmed demisexual! I think I might change my headcanon to that, gotta think about that) so when she was hired she saw herself as straight (or she tried to make herself think she was).

Tatiana, and whoever is judging with her, also chose people off of their talents (with a little bias to the genre) so she had no prior connection to the NSRtists before their light up auditions. MAYBE she had a slight connection with Eve, and she did technically have one with Neon but just didn't know it, so Tatiana did not purposely choose people she gaydared as queer.

Though, with how supportive NSR is of the queer community because of how Tatiana identifies (even if her labels are not public) it is safe to assume she would fire anyone who she hired that turned out to be a bigot. She'd cultivate an environment that allowed people to feel safe to come out and protect her artists who decided to make it public. So even though all the queer people in NSR was a coincidence, it is not a surprise considering how things are being run.

#nsr #no straight roads #eritalks #noart #asks #love that we are using tone indicators #makes me happy #also #i like how writing this #i realized why so many of the artists in the f/rau #don't come out when in nsr #they don't feel safe because of the environment #otherwise s/ayu's crew would try to be open about their identities #at least with the other artists in meetings #but they don't believe they will be accepted #and think they might get fired #or their lives progressively worse

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wordsandrobots · 1 month

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Wishing on Space Hardware: Trivia and the cutting room floor

Having finished the single longest writing project I've ever done, I find myself with a number of bits and pieces left over.

To be fair, I also invite you to contribute to the pile by letting me know if there are any extra scenes you'd like to see based on my truly excessive amount of Iron-Blooded Orphans fanfic. The ask box is open for that and anything else you'd like to prompt me to write about.

However, there remains a bunch of stuff that never made it into the final story and a lot of little details I feel are worth commenting on. So as I luxuriate in not having to spend the week editing chapters any more, I thought I'd share a couple of quick lists regarding the process and what got cut out of it. For posterity, at least.

Spoilers for the fics, obviously, and since they're post-canon, spoilers for IBO as well (go watch it if you have not, it is very, very good, hence the 656,000 words I wrote as a direct consequence [not counting the essays. Jeepers, I'll have to tot it all up some day and get the grand total).

Ahem. Anyway. Trivia!

First up, I must publicly credit penitence_road (on Tumblr as @stillness-in-green)’s excellent IBO fics for inspiring one of the major threads in WoSH (I've mentioned this in author notes but the debt cannot be overstated). The phrase 'Almiria's Adolescent Apocalypse' lodged in my brain and became a mission statement. I did try to steer in a completely different direction regarding the specifics (hence why Todo is very much not a part of the core gang), but the main thrust was all about taking that description and seeing how I could flesh it out. (Go read these fics, my goodness.)

Second, there are, of course, mythology gags referencing the wider Gundam franchise sprinkled liberally throughout. Some I've already called out in author notes, but I believe managed to reference Gundam 79, Zeta Gundam, Gundam ZZ, Char's Counterattack, Gundam Wing, Turn A Gundam, Gundam SEED, Gundam 00, and Reconguista in G in more or less explicit ways. See if you can spot them all!

I named Skoll and Hati with specific reference to their roles in the Poetic Eda. That is, I thought of them as 'the moon-hunter Gundam' and 'the sun-killed Schwalbe', respectively, in reference to their rolls harassing the Arianrhod Fleet (formally the Outer Lunar Orbit Joint Fleet) and destroying the Ahab reactor factory. But also they reflect their pilots' temperaments, with Skoll 'the mocker' being flown by Embi and Hati 'the hater' by Lin.

Spaceships Baldr and the Váli were named in a similar fashion, for their connections to Ragnarök (Váli is Vidar's brother, another of the gods who survive the final battle), and I chose to describe the finale as 'Ragnarök' in the first place because in the sagas, it represents a renewal of the world, rather than a complete end. Quite apart from the Norse influence on Gjallarhorn's whole deal, the cyclical nature dovetailed nicely with what I was trying to do with the story.

I had a very near miss with Skoll in that I wrote it as being based on ASW-G-15 Eligos, named after a demon that took the form of a handsome knight who can see the future. Some months later, the IBO-G app would reveal ASW-G-16 Zepar, the very next Gundam in the sequence, whose namesake's appearance as a red-garbed soldier seems to have been muddled with Eligos in some of the sources I checked. I am really quite relieved I didn't have to rework anything there, but it was close!

Visually, the deconstructed Char-clone that is Almiria's gang channel aspects of other iterations of the trope, with Asher obviously replicating Montag, Embi settling vaguely in the region of Quattro (that is, a more civilian-mode masked man), and Almira assaying McGillis in a way that probably lands not a millions miles from Rau. But I was primarily thinking of Relena's Sanc Kingdom outfit for her, so the 'general's' coat is a lot fancier.

The media-savvy ally to Victor Handa in Revolution for Beginners... is the same cameraman who filmed Kudelia's pivotal broadcast at the conclusion of Season 1's Dort arc. Those events seemed like they would have consequences for the journalists involved and in Hajime's case, that involved being swayed fully over to the workers' movement.

I invented Alessio as a character to counter-balance Iverson and ensure I had some non-villainous non-binary rep. That I picked the stoutest background character model I could find was not unrelated to this, though it's also an *interesting* model, especially coupled to the ones around him/them in the big group shot.

Doc Chaifin, meanwhile, just sort of happened. Sometimes characters do that.

I wrote a significant chunk of the sex scene (well, post-sex scene) in To Catch a Falling Star while sitting in a car park, waiting for my partner to come back from an appointment. This was mainly because the fic was absolutely consuming my brain and I'd discovered the joys of using a mobile phone to write notes (I put off getting a smart phone for a long, long time).

With respect to the Calamity War recording segments of Eugene Sevenstark and the Hesperus Treasure, my working head-canon is that Agnika Kaieru had a science/engineering background. Or, well, I think he moved in a social circle full of scientists and engineers before getting started on the war effort. I also have this notion that his parents at least were part of the corporate class, distinct from the aristocratic class from which people like the Bauduins and Fareeds emerged. But I never sat down to work it all out in full, as that wasn't required for the story.

Regarding Hesperus, I kind of fudged a lot to get the story to work. I'd sort of assumed Radonitsa Colony was a post-War construct rather than something pre-existing, which isn't really supported by the Urdr Hunt game. So the idea of it being a composite of different space platforms bolted around a space elevator terminal is perhaps a bit of a stretch. I still like it though, the basic concept of doing archaeology on space stations.

There's a lot of stuff I did in the moment, to get an individual fic to work, that I was later able to basically repurpose as long-term plot-points. I didn't actually intend for the 'There are three things you need to know to understand what comes next' bit to set up the salvager ship in the finale, or the pluma in Let Sleeping Angels Lie to set-up for what the McGillis faction would do with the leftovers of Season 2's events. But having those things set up gave me some wonderful 'ah ha' moments as I marshalled the overall plot. If nothing else, I got quite a rush out of realising both Gaelio's weaponised wheelchair and the beach house's lethal defences were there to use.

...try not to think too hard about how excited I got figuring out a convoluted assassination method. I'm certainly going to try not to.

The plot really kicked into gear for me with The Ares Affair. Up to then, I'd been coasting on character interactions and fix-its. But then all the consequences suddenly coalesced in my brain and I went, 'oh, this is what we're doing, is it?'

In addition to the playlists I've already put up, grown-up!Almiria's theme is Bach's Polonaise in G Minor on the harpsichord because it is *precisely* what you'd get if you pitched Rustal Elion's theme higher and more playful.

I still have no proper explanation for why A New England stuck in my head so hard when I was writing th first few fics. But I'm glad it did because it gave me a killer series title, if I do say so myself.

I tried extremely hard to make sure everyone in the anime cast got some kind of moment in the spotlight or at least a mention. Think I did a pretty good job on that front, overall.

And to wrap up on that point, yes, the narrator who occasionally addresses you directly is a character from the show. I'd be terribly interested to hear if any of you've worked out who. (It might not be strictly guessable, since there isn't anything gesturing at it per se; I just imagined it being their voice and it kind of fits, thematically.)

Now let's open the door to the cutting room!

The big one is that when I originally planned out the plot of Revolution for Beginners and Polyamory for Dumbasses, a key part of the uprising in the Dort Colonies was going to be the hackers allied with Ride knocking out the nearby Ariadne beacons in order to blind Earth to what was happening. Gjallarhorn would then have analysed the computer virus they used, and that would have been the basis for them messing about with the Network in the final stretch of fics. In the end, there simply wasn't enough room to fit any more threads into that fic and the more I thought it over, the more I decided this would be weighting the balance of power wrong. It'd be too much of a flat-out win for the colonists. Joshua's appearance on Ariadne One -- which had been intended to set things up for the beacon-hacking -- remained, just recontextualised as a clue to who was responsible for the attack in Frozen Sunlight, and a small bit of character development for this OC. I repurposed the remainder of this plot as a way to tie Ride's arc into Almiria's (she taps him for the hacking resources as a result of them messing with Ariadne One's sensors instead) and made 'Höðr' an entirely Gjallarhorn project.

The delay to the release of the Urdr Hunt mobile game drastically changed the opening to arc 4 and had knock-on effects for how the grand finale worked. Because I thought I'd have more to work with in terms of plot and characters of the game when it came time to do the writing, I'd assumed I'd be able to work in appearances from Urdr Hunt's cast. I'd planned a much bigger pay off to the idea of Radonitsa Colony's tourist board trying to get the Martain Chairperson to visit, which was that Atra and Akatsuki would have gone alone with Eugene and Sri. The whole 'let's pretend we're here to assess the facilities on behalf of the Martian government' would have been more than a passing joke and instead been a full-on cover story, with Wistario and the his friends scrambling to put on a good show. This would, I admit, mainly have existed to set up a rather dumb gag whereby Sri and Akatsuki would have been the only ones not distracted by Nanao Narolina's everything in a room full of straight male or bisexual adults. But with the delayed release of the game, I needed a drastic rethink, hence bringing in Zaza and having the whole adventure take place with the Urdr Hunt characters off-screen (I even made it vague as to whether they were the ones running the colony, just in case I needed to swing it as someone else taking over following a tragic or failed ending). Ultimately I am very happy this happened, since I didn't especially gel with the protagonists of the game and it gave me greater opportunity to play with my beloved manga cast. But it did mean my idea of having both spin-off heroes come to the rescue at a dramatic juncture never materialised.

This proved to be single biggest alteration to my plotting for the final arc, too. Initially, the escape from Earth was going to be a lot more dramatic. For one thing, I was planning for the whole 'Yamagi gets left behind' element to happen in orbit, with Shino and Eugene actually present. Some sort of ship to ship transfer going wrong, people going adrift in space, that kind of thing. For another, I had the idea of bringing both Gundams Astaroth and Hajiroboshi into play, for a proper 'fight our way through the blockade' moment. Wistario was going to swoop to the rescue as the shuttle broke atmosphere, there'd be pursuit, and I'd wreck as many cop cars Grazes as I could get away with in some protracted chase sequence before we got to the big NOOOO moment. Yeah. But obviously without knowing Wistario's real personality or situation post-game, I didn't have enough material to work with and plans changed. For the better, I think, given the characters moments it allowed me to have and given that Wiz's character is one of my least favourite parts of IBO's extended media. But yeah. I was aiming for a proper team-up, the kind where you could have different people's theme music kicking in as they swooped into view, and it was not to be.

History of a Catastrophe. Oh boy. As I noted at the time, this one got away from me a lot in terms of length. I ended up cutting three complete scenes in an effort to contain the sprawl. The first to go was one focused on Ville Klaassen, (main?) villain of the Moon Steel manga, who I'd already had cameo in Of Obsessions and Erotemes. I wanted to gesture more towards a conclusion for the manga's story, extending from what I'd laid down previously, but ultimately that was too low a priority to justify adding to the word count, so out it went. Given the alternating structure of this fic (it switches between what is broadly 'Julieta's strand' and 'Almiria's strand), that meant cutting a later scene as well and I opted to ditch a brief cutaway to Embi, mainly because it just repeated stuff I'd already establish in A Handful of Rusted Petals. And possibly because of this cut, or because I'd just mucked up the ordering at some point, I also had to get rid of a scene between two of Gjallarhorn's high command that, while cute from an office politics point of view, didn't really contribute much else.

Actually, since these are all quite short, I might as well put them in here so you can see what you weren't missing!

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P.D. 327 – In the middle of entirely unrelated events; Gjallarhorn branch office, Prague

“I'm sorry, is this a bad time?”

Ville Klaassen pushes his briefcase and hat across the desk, out of sight of the terminal screen. “Not at all. I'm just in the middle of preparing for a business trip.”

The Police Bureau officer's eyebrow twitches. “Hopefully this shouldn't take up much of your time. I'm calling regarding two cases you worked on in the aftermath of the McGillis Fareed Incident.”

That explains the highly-secured channel, which demanded Ville confirm he was alone before it would establish an encrypted link. “Oh yes?”

“I'm specifically referring to events at Research Station AD-5, and the investigation into the Fareed Charitable School.”

“The Alaya-Vijnana research? Of course.” The murdered scientists, the destroyed data – evidence of a zealot's self-mutilation turned to so much ash and broken glass. “What of it?”

“This is your official notification that information on these cases has been deemed deleterious to the public good and will henceforth be restricted to category five clearance.”

Interesting. The research Ville can understand, but a school –? Oh, that's right. Those rumours concerning Lord Iznario's predilections. “I was only peripheral to the second investigation. I wouldn't even have been on the ground for the first, had internal affairs not been so short-handed.”

Clearly the exact details of the involvement are irrelevant. “Please sign the forms now being sent to your inbox to confirm you have received this notification. Since you only hold level four clearance, you are not permitted to discuss the indicated cases unless ordered to do so by a superior with level five clearance or above. I am additionally required to run a remote-access search on your Gjallarhorn-issue devices to purge any data pertaining to these cases.”

“Remote access?” Ville asks, a drop of sweat forming at the top of his spine and seeming to fall right the way down it. “Now?”

“The scan must be run as soon as is viable.” There is an overly-deliberate pause. “Do you object?”

Such a rookie error. Ville curses himself inwardly. “Naturally not.” He casts a glance at the pad on the other side of his desk, still displaying the surveillance feed from this morning. “Will you need to scan my personal devices as well?”

“I am not authorised to do so, since under level four clearance, you will not have been permitted to take personal copies of relevant information.”

“Forgive me, I merely wished to be certain.” Opening the security menu on the terminal, he checks his settings. Shouldn't be too much of a risk since he isn't amateur enough to conduct his outside dealings using work equipment. “Please go ahead.”

“Thank you,” says the officer once the progress bar has run its course. “No excisions required.”

“I try to keep things tidy.”

“Please sign the forms promptly. Good day.”

Doing as instructed, Ville wonders what will become of the staff and 'students' of the school. They must surely know plenty of juicy details that would be deleterious to Gjallarhorn's good name… on any other day, he'd consider stretching feelers in that direction, just to see what he might find…

The pad twitters. Fresh footage of two people on a street corner, a skinny blonde with a crutch beside a big, white-haired man, both huddled in cheap anoraks.

Ville snarls, grabbing his hat and dialling furiously. “Nanao,” he snaps as soon as the comm connects, “the Warren boy and his employer's pet thug are right outside the building! I cannot have them causing a scene here. Where the hell are you?”

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P.D. 327 – More than two years after Tekkadan's last battle; Chryse, Mars

First time Embi takes Fly-Away, he doesn't stop giggling for four hours.

He floats on a cloud of painlessness, the ghosts and memories lost somewhere way below him as the vapour swirls happily inside his head. His brother is dead. He's constantly surrounded by the people Elgar died for. And right now, he doesn't care. About any of it! It feels so good!

Crashing afterwards sucks. Not getting the shakes bad. It just stinks to be stuck with all the usual feelings. He has fucked-up nightmares about carrying Elgar through the desert, a dead weight clinging tight to his back. Barely gets through the day without starting a fight. Tries to punch Hirume for asking what's wrong.

The solution is obvious. Embi gets some more Fly-Away and the second time is even better.

So it becomes a pattern. Get the money to buy what he needs to make things a little less shit for a while. Burn through that. Rinse. Repeat.

Everyone keeps telling him he needs to find something to live for, right? He guesses this is it.

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P.D. 329 – Some time later; a private dining room at The Blue Horn, Vingolf

The Director General of the Inspection Bureau sniffs, as he is wont to do whenever he wishes to delay speaking. “Lord Iznario's death is being ruled misadventure. As… anticipated.”

The Regulatory Chief of Staff eyes him from across the table, fingernails digging ever so slightly into the white cloth laid between them. “Indeed it is.”

There is a heavy pause, the kind filled with common understandings that cannot be said aloud.

“You don't think…”

“I wouldn't know.” The Chief of Staff adjusts her forks. “That falls in your purview, not mine.”

“The Police Bureau is… not my bag either. Unless there's evidence of misdemeanour, the investigation is beyond our scope.”

“Is there? Evidence?”

The Director General fiddles with the cuffs of his tunic. “Seems the old man just muddled his tablets and didn't care about watching his diet.”

“The Seven Stars always thought they were above mere mortals.”

“Yes. Yes…”

Another, heavily pause.

“Convenient, at least,” concludes the Chief of Staff. “One less remnant of the old order, hanging around.”

The Director General coughs. “You know I'll be retiring in the new year? Lord – I mean, Commander Elion has some up-and-coming young fellow picked out to replace me.”

“I heard. Is he up to the job?”

“Mm. Probably. Didn't… get much say in the decision.”

“How democratic.”

“Hm.”

A waiter glides into the third silence, bowing obsequiously. “Madam, sir? Your entrées.”

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As I said, nothing especially mind-blowing. I also had a slightly different opening to the segment featuring the pluma, which I again cut for length, but that I rather liked, as a conceit.

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Can a machine remember?

It is possible for a machine to record. Pluma ASW-A-H-011_sub:27 can access data on its previous combat deployments at any time, to support its tactical algorithms. It can return the dimensions of the space freighter it disabled on its last activation, the topography of the desert it traversed during the battle before that, or images of the colossal detonation that led to it becoming buried for ERROR: UNABLE_TO_SYNC years.

But that is not remembering as you would understand it. Memory is imperfect, riddled with loss of clarity and skewed by emotional prejudice. A machine records raw, uncaring facts, free from conscious understanding of why they occur. Even if it performs tasks based on the patterns it detects, even if that performance resembles intelligence, it is most likely nothing more than a cascade of hollow logic, as insensible to wider context as a pebble dropping into the sea.

These, then, are the facts.

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On the subject of aborted starts, here is something I sketched for a putative 'Wistario segment' of the Arc 4 opening story, which as discussed never materialised:

Wisterio Afam is having a bad day. That is to say, he's not having a good day. In the grand scheme of things it probably doesn't count as truly terrible given that nothing is presently on fire and as far as he knows the colony isn't being attacked right this minute. He personally is being assailed from all sides but that largely seems to be on the scale of a cosmic joke whereby all his carefully laid plans are coming apart at the stitching.

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And finally, just because I thought it was clever at the time, a reprise segment from Love, Death and Cannoli that I again cut for length, but that would have repeated the echoing memory trick from To Catch a Falling Star chapter 11, with Yamagi recalling lines of dialogue with Shino that were (mostly) from my fics rather than the anime:

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Suns turn into black holes if they get too big and die. So it is with his feelings. Gravitationally crushing.

I don't want perfect. I want you.

What a dumb thing to say.

(There's something wrong with me.)

But isn't it better to be wrong together than apart?

Do you think if we're both worrying it's our fault, that's a sign of something?

At least there are similarities in how they're screwed up, for whatever comfort that is.

(You're here and you're – you're mine.)

And Yamagi will hold on with hands and teeth and everything he's got.

Jeez, you're so uptight sometimes.

He can be fierce too, if it's necessary.

(Of course I want to be out there with you.)

Right to the very end.

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I've a few more partial scenes in my planning document, but they're mostly things I reworked for the actual posted versions, rather than cutting entirely. Stuff like some of the flashbacks Shino has to his pre-Tekkadan days were originally in different places and the conversation between Yamagi and Ordsley wound up requiring a lot of changes as the story developed. I think that about covers all the major deviations from my original outline.

Oh, except for Gundam Paimon. I swear I meant to figure out what to do with that thing, eventually, but in the end it just remained hanging on the wall. Ah well.

#wishing on space hardware #fanfic #my fic #gundam #gundam ibo #gundam iron blooded orphans #g tekketsu #tekketsu no orphans #notes #writing #a peek at the process #there's probably a bunch more stuff I could have listed by this is all I can think of for the moment

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