#younger me would've killed to get the place we are today as I was growing up

[murmeloni]

This! For the longest time I didn't even realize being bi was a real thing because early 2000s movies were so freaking horrible about it. Made me feel like shit for years.

[athena-is-a-chaotic-lil-shit]

Of Ice and Blood

Part 6

Part 6~ cuz I love y'all <3 don't forget to drink your vitamins and keep hydrated! Stay safe and healthy my loves :)

Word count: 3k+ words

Pairing: Tai'chi Kashharzol (Orc) x Pearl Blackbell (Human OC/Reader)

Warnings: None. (tis a fluff-filled chapter)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

* beware of little shifts in perspective from two characters, we will be jumping casually from their minds.

*

You caught the orc staring at you again, with a smile that made his tusks jut out more. "H-Hi!" you blurted out, waving.

As you began walking towards him, you found yourself losing balance, your legs giving out. You closed your eyes reflexively and expected to land face-first on the tiled floor.

Only you didn't.

You felt a strong arm around your waist and a large hand on your back, nearly covering the expanse of it. Instead of the floor, you found yourself smushed against something warm, and that thing, you figured out a second later, was Tai'chi's chest. You became flustered and felt your cheeks and ears redden. Your nose was practically inhaling his scent now, all that musky and rich smell of his making you light-headed. Stuttering, you pulled your head back.

"I-I-I— Ta-Tai'chi???"

Congratulations self, that was perfect, wow.

"Hm? Oh, uh, sorry. I acted on impulse when I saw you collapse." He said as the grip he had on you slackened and moved to hold your shoulder to support you in case you fall again, his other hand, though, remained in its place behind you.

"Don't w-worry about it. My legs just gave out, haha."

That came out awkwardly.

Damn, he is fast.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked, his words filled with genuine concern. Your ears were sporting a tinge of red, he noticed. Your scent also changed, signaling you were flustered.

"Ye-yep! We should uh, head back to class now. Oh! We haven't eaten anything for lunch." You said and as if on cue, your stomach grumbled to agree, followed by another grumble but louder, it wasn't yours but Tai'chi's.

The two of you laughed from the sounds they made.

"You're right. How about we go to the cafeteria first to grab something before we head back to our classroom?" He asked, smiling down at you.

"Great idea!" You agreed, a little too eager than you would've liked.

"We should get going then."

He straightened up and removed his hand from your shoulder when he was certain you wouldn't stumble again. Though, he let his hand on your back linger a bit longer even after you left the office.

**************************************

The trip to the cafeteria was peaceful, minus the sounds of muffled talking coming from the rooms. Tai'chi was beside you as you walked down the halls, thankful that your legs found their strength again.

Arriving at the significantly less crowded canteen, both of you went ahead and ordered some food before finding a place to eat. Spotting a vacant one a few tables from the main entrance, you trudged to it, Tai'chi following close. You sat down and got a clearer look at his tray.

It was a lot, though you expected it to be. There were more vegetables than meat though.

"Not a fan of meat?"

He looked at you and laughed, echoing through the whole cafeteria, which resulted in some students glancing in your direction.

You were a bit taken aback, not expecting that sort of reaction from him.

"I'm sorry. I just- I don't know why I found it funny. I meant no offense."

"None taken."

"To answer you, I'm a huge fan of meat, red meat to be exact. This was the only portion that's left when I asked for more. And I'm still growing so I made up for the lack of meat with the vegetables. We orcs love a healthy and hearty meal."

What he said made you smile even more.

"What about you?" He glanced at your tray to see a portion almost similar to his albeit more assorted. This made him look back up and you, flabbergasted. "You can eat all of that?"

You looked down to inspect your food choice, and you instantly felt self-conscious.

"I...Uhm yes. I can." You replied, albeit meekly.

Tai'chi noticed the sudden change in your voice and made himself clear; "No, no I didn't mean it like that. I'm just, well, as you already know I haven't met many humans aside from the ones in a village back home, so I was just surprised." Watching him explain himself made you smile again. The thought of you being repulsive vanished out into thin air.

"I eat a lot. Though sometimes I eat more junk than healthy food. Anyways, let's begin, shall we? We're already late and I'm starving!" Laughing, you both know today's attendance in class isn't much of an issue. They did say there won't be any lessons today to give time for 'socializing' instead.

You stopped in your tracks when you realized you haven't shown him your face ever since you met. You looked around to see if anyone was watching and stole glances at the one in front of you. You slowly removed your mask and revealed your face. Not many have seen you without it, only those who are close to you, specifically your family.

"I guess this is the first time you've seen my face, huh?" Nervous, you asked.

Tai'chi stared at you so intensely you felt self-conscious once again. "I-Is there something wrong?"

'Shit, does he find me unattractive? Weird? Not that I expected the opposite but —'

"No. No, there's nothing wrong. You-"

"I'm what?"

"You're beautiful."

'Did he just—'

Your face heated up again and this time you had no mask to hide it.

Hastily, you covered your face with one hand and looked away.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when you did, coughing into his fist before he started eating.

Once you cooled down, you did the same. Trying to focus on the savory food they served in the uni.

Eat, damn it.

You barely noticed the orc, or perhaps you chose not to, as you wolf down your food like you haven't eaten for weeks. Another thing he found admirable and attractive. You ate cleanly, not letting a single piece of food go to waste.

He'll have to find some time later to formally introduce himself, along with other...things.

***********************************

You leaned back on your chair, noticing Tai'chi doing the same, as you let the feeling of content wash over yourselves. The food was great! You made a note to thank the cook later.

You sat up after a moment and arranged your dirty utensils. You were against the thought of making the cafeteria's job of cleaning harder than it is. So you cleaned up, stacked plates properly in your tray with concentration, you didn't realize until later that you did the same to his dishes. You didn't spare a peek up into his eyes or else you'd make a fool out of yourself again. Taking a napkin, you wiped your mouth clean before you quickly put on your mask, much to Tai'chi's dismay.

You stood up but before you could walk away, a hand reached out to grab your arm, stopping you. He stood up from his seat.

"Pearl."

"Uh, yes?"

"There's still time before our next class starts. Would you mind taking a stroll around the campus with me?"

"Y-Yeah— sure. I wouldn't mind." You replied, avoiding his gaze.

The two of you strolled around the quiet grounds of the campus. There were trees, younger than the ones in the forest. You took in the nice scenery before you, feeling the fresh, cool air, the gentle rustling of leaves, calming, and the scent of your companion to your left, relaxing and sweet. You were in a daze, barely paying attention when Tai'chi said your name and stood still.

"Hmm?"

He chuckled lightly at your response.

"I want to continue where we left off in the forest."

"Oh. Oh, of course."

"I want to know more about you, Pearl. So I'll start with my true name." He knelt down which startled you momentarily.

.

"I am Tai'chi Kashharzol, eldest of five siblings, son of Durog and Gala. I come from the Northern stronghold of clan Fatof'san. Before I came down to the city, I was trained and taught basic socialization by an old human who lived in the village under our protection.

"I went through one of my clan's traditions and hunted down my first Snow Bear. The elders gave me an honorary title to carry, right after my kill."

You stood there listening to him earnestly as he told you all of this with pride, taking in each word and committing them into memory.

"I was given the name, 'Frostbreaker'. It is my warrior name." He took a breath before he asked. "Will you honor me of becoming my friend?"

All of this sounds like a confession— technically it is but there's something, intimate about it. The way his eyes shone with such determination and something you can't figure out.

Should I ask? He stopped talking, snap out of it–

"Oh, wow. I mean yes! Yes I'll be your friend. I'd be more than happy to. The honor is mine!"

You beamed as he returned a toothy grin.

"Right. I should also say something like that, well, uh, wait." You were slightly nervous as you removed your mask, offering a shy smile before speaking.

Breathe in.

And out.

"I am Pearl Blackbell, only child and daughter of Leon and Athena Blackbell. I'm from a town, West of here, Red Springs is its name. My parents taught me martial arts, and, uh, the use of self-defense weapons." You paused and showed him your crimson knuckles. "This is my favorite one to use, I'm sure you noticed already. My father... didn't want me to leave home without any assurance that I can defend myself. You were right when you said I have experience in combat. A decent amount of it," you sighed.

"I always, almost every day, get into trouble standing up for someone, bullied, or abused. I also held my own when someone tries to harass me, smashing their faces in."

Tai'chi in turn listened closely, his gaze intense on you. He was concerned about what you implied. Many attempted to assault you? How many times? Did they hurt you? Your smile faltered as you told him the next things about yourself.

"I... didn't have friends as I grew up. People tend to be afraid of what they do not understand, y'know? They didn't want me near them, finding me weird for wearing a mask, plus my reputation for punching humans didn't help," you laughed self-deprecatingly. "So I spent my whole high school years training, mastering my art with the help of my father, who was of course, very strict and hard on me." Finding nothing else comfortable to say at this stage, you went quiet.

"Can I ask you a question?" The orc said a moment later. He was bothered by the fact you had no friends, not even one. And training, training meant pain.

"Only if I can ask one in return." You replied, feeling bold all of a sudden. He grinned at this.

"Why do you always wear a mask?"

There was no trace of ulterior motive in his scent, not the usual annoyance you smelled every time someone asked the same question. So you answered him, honestly.

"Promise you won't get weirded out?"

"I swear on my name."

"Oh. oh, okay that's good. You see, my nose, or my sense of smell specifically, is err, not normal."

Now this made Tai'chi's eyes widen. Did you have an illness of sorts? Is your health in danger? Were you h–

"I can tell how someone is feeling based on the changes in their scent. My nose is very sensitive to odors so I keep wearing a mask every time I go outside. It has been like this since I was born. My doctors say it's rare for a human to possess, they say it's special, a gift from a higher being."

"When we went in the cafeteria after our first class, "—Tai'chi inserted— "Was the reason you stopped advancing inside further, the sour and disgusting smell of the students in there?"

"Yes, actually— Wait, how did you know?" you asked.

How does he know??? Did he just smirk?

"I can smell them too."

"You can?!"

"Yes."

"So you mean to tell me, my nose functions similarly like yours?"

"Yes, perhaps, a little bit differently. Or maybe it's because you didn't hone it."

"How can you say so?"

"I can block out certain smells if I want to. And based on your reaction early on, you're having a hard time doing so, is that right?"

"W-Well, yes. You're right. Usually, I'd wear a mask with a basic filtration device, but that doesn't work when I'm inside a closed space and the scents are all mixed up and concentrated."

Tai'chi nodded in reply. He began to stand up and you were met with his towering form once again. You took a step back so you can put less strain on your neck from looking up.

"You still owe me an answer to a question by the way."

"Go on and ask then."

"So, uh, is it just me or when you told me about you...it kind of felt different from how talking to a friend sounds like..." You fidgeted, a certain heat slowly creeps up your face again as you looked around not wanting to meet his gaze. You felt your heart rate increase as you noticed his scent change, telling you you were right.

Tai'chi sighed heavily and rubbed his temples before gathering the courage to talk.

"Yes, it was different."

"So..."

"We use that kind of formality, usually towards someone we want to court."

Did he say 'court'?!

"C-Court??" you squeaked. Pretty sure your face is redder than the color of your brass knuckles, your heart hammering in your chest you believed he could hear it.

"Courting, or dating, or whatever everyone calls it down here." Breathing in deeply, he returned to kneel before you and took your hands into his, large palms caressing your small ones.

"I'll have to rephrase my words."

He locked his gaze into yours, deep blue eyes to your mahogany ones.

"Will you allow me to court you, Pearl Blackbell?"

"W-Why would you want to court me?"

The hell would someone want to court me? I'm seen as a freak by most people and I'm not soft or girly like the others. I don't like skirts or dresses. I hate makeup. I have calloused hands, scars hidden under my clothes. I don't understand —

He gave you a soft smile, cutting off your train of self-deprecating thoughts. "I can hear your mind, Pearl. Don't think low of yourself. You are amazing, y'know that? The first time I saw your eyes, and the moment you fought for my sake, I knew I was smitten. You are graceful, each motion fluid and filled with strength, people would never expect you possess until they feel it through a punch you throw. You are kind, righteous, beautiful, strong, with a heart of gold. It is a shame how most people do not see it. I want to prove myself to you, and win your heart properly."

You were about to pass out from his confession when you remembered you need to respond! Gathering what courage and energy you have left, you answered.

"I...Oh my God... I don't know what to say— I've never experienced this, ever! I'm afraid I won't know what to do- what if I mess up? What if I—"

"Listen, liga ni..." He cut you off as he rubbed circles on your hands, that small shift of language sent his voice into a guttural one. "This is also a first for me, and I share your fears in this. But my wish to pursue you remains unwavered. I will try my best to woo you, and if I do something you didn't like, it is up to you to end the courting, any time you want, and I will stop immediately. I hope we would stay friends if it comes that..." He said as he broke eye contact and looked down.

"Tai'chi..." Seeing him sad like this made your chest twist in discomfort.

Steadying yourself, you studied him, his scent was pure, no malice within his words, he was speaking from his heart. With renewed confidence, you finally decided.

"Tai'chi Kashharzol...I wish to court you as well."

He snapped up his gaze back to you and saw you smile. He scented you just to make sure you weren't doing this out of pity. The moment he realized it was genuine he lifted you in the air and spun you around. You were surprised at the sudden outburst but laughed together with him once you got over it. He set you down after a while and moved his face close to yours but halted immediately when he saw your eyes widen.

"Too forward?" He asked.

"Y-Yeah." Your heart was doing backflips, even if that sounds so ridiculous.

He understood. "I apologize, I got carried away." But before he pulled back you pressed a quick kiss on his forehead. He almost purred from the gesture but suppressed it as not to scare you in any way. You were new to this after all. He cleared his throat and reached out a hand to you.

"We should head back, our class will start soon."

"O-okay." You moved to wear your mask again before taking his hand, enjoying the rest of the walk in silence. You were still nervous, but you decided to focus on the now.

I've never felt like this before... Is it a good thing? I think it is.

And with that on your mind, you let yourself relax.

*

A pair of cruel eyes witnessed the whole exchange, remaining unnoticed as he hid behind a tree, a good distance from where you stood. They watched you and the orc walk away before they went the other direction.

"She will be fun to break. A female, human Blackbell, tempting. This will be a great chance to demonstrate and prove how monstrous an orc could be." They snickered. "I will enjoy this, exceptionally."

"In time, Pearl. In time."

****************************************

Now now who is this suspicious person?!

Liga ni — means 'little one' (as an endearment) in Orcish

Tags: @crackinanutshell @kokokatsworld @mitchiesdungeon

[enchantedbyhiddles]

I'm from the US, never been to Germany, but from what I've heard of it, y'all are at the top of the list when it comes to being regretful about the Holocaust (appropriately so) and doing your best to take no backsliding about it. Of course the Jews weren't the only victims of it; black people were also very much targeted. So even if Germany is very homogenous, I would've expected there to be more care shown about racism by how much awareness is paid to past atrocities. I'm kinda shocked.

I think with you being from the US, as weird as it sounds, here the understanding about racism is totally different from yours.

One thing that everyone from the USA needs to understand is that you have to go by a totally different mindset. While you think that talking about differences helps being anti-racist, the official stance here is different. It is more about “we are all people, lets focus on that”. Talking about races is absolutely racist here. During the holocaust we saw the most atrocious crimes, murder and genocide, because people were divided into groups by their ethnicity and how they looked. So you’ll find nothing like that in Germany today. There are no official papers, where you can check your ethnicity or anything. The only thing that gets noted is your nationality. And that is a slippery slope, because you aquire German citizenship by blood-relation, not by being born here. There are nationalities that are non-German, but aren’t discriminated, while others are. Even though from the US-POV they are all white. (*There is something like “immigration background” what is often cited to say “Germans from foreign origin”, but this includes everyone, who has a parent with a non-German passport or being born outside of Germany and is not the same.)

Actually because of the holocaust and because people are really indoctrinated to be aware of the atrocious antisemitism, we developed the arrogance that we aren’t racist. “I heard about the holocaust for years in school. I know everything about it, so people shouldn’t try to educate me on that.”; ”Our constitution states right in the first few articles that we don’t discriminate. It is a written law, so it must be true.” Similarly “Antisemitism lead to people being killed, so something like the N-word or Z-word is comparably not bad at all, so people are too sensible and should shut up”. I hope you understand, what kind of thinking many people here developed? We are in the beginning and very much talking basics here. There are a growing number of people who “get it” and understand racism, systematic racism, micro-aggressions (like not always and not perfectly, but they are aware that such things exist and try to work on that), but there is still the majority for whom you have to really spell it out.

Black people weren’t actively targeted as a group in Nazi-Germany, because there were so few. Like while they were seen as “inferior” and faced incredible racism, it depended very much on the individual case, how they were treated. There are now much more black people (especially in former West Germany), because of immigration, but also to a certain degree because of US-soldiers. Black/mixed-race Germans of a certain age were for part of their lives seen as children of an occupational power. Black people from the US often face more discrimination than black people from Africa, because of that.

I know many US-Americans can’t imagine such a world, but as I grew up in former Eastern Germany, I saw the first black person where I lived, when I was 18. Most of the families have lived there for a few hundred years. They simply can’t imagine that people move to different places. You’ll always be an outsider in such a place, even if you are a white German. For people that have a different ethnical background such an area is the worst racist nightmare imaginable. Even those that are open-minded and positive towards a non-German, will throw around racist remarks by the douzen in minutes. And there will be no one to correct them.

While in the USA racism is often very much seen as black vs white, here in Germany it is most often that we all look very similar. If there was a group of 100 Germans and all look white and you make an antisemitic or antizigianist joke, you wouldn’t know that there is a Jew and a Sinti in that group. This stereotyping and racism is much more sinister. There are many, many minorities and the younger people with influence from the internet and other societies (like the USA), develop a different kind of conscience of what they find acceptable and what not. I mean, e.g. for the Roma, they are German nationals and lived here for centuries and German is their mother language. When they talk about themselves many will use the Z-word, because that’s the one they know. That doesn’t make it okay for German ethnicity Germans to use it. There’s an ongoing emancipation.

The biggest problem is faced by the Sinti and Roma. Like they’ve been here for 700 years, they are German, they have typical German names, and for all the time they faced horrible antizigianism. If you are from a different area, you wouldn’t know that this particular family is Sinti, yet in their area people know that they are and discriminate against them. There are still so many prejudices and they are seen as “lazy, only living from wellfare, too many children”. From a huge part of society.

They are the forgotten victims. Even after WWII, when everyone regretted the Holocaust, they were still persecuted, because they deserved it. They were “Asoziale”. They weren’t even acknowledged until the 70s or 80s. In school you learn about them being victims of the Nazis, but never in an explicit way. Like they are just part of the list with homosexuals, “disabled”, criminals, and “Asoziale”. (see the problem in that list?) So if it comes to Z* the idea that it is racist, is very much non-existent. 

And this doesn’t even start on the racism that is faced by the many immigrants and their children. For US-Americans lot of that wouldn’t even be considered racism, because it is against Italians and Greeks, now people from Eastern Europe. Compared to the discrimination against Turks and people from the middle East and Northern Africa. From a German POV though, the discrimination they face is very much from the same origin. Those people were invited, because Germany needed workers. There is a great sentence by Max Frisch about that “We called for workforce, but people came.”

[btskismet]

Kismet (Chapter 18): A BTS Jin Imagines Fanfic

First ever fanfic. Contains some fluff and smut. Please read sequentially as it is a long story arc. Please provide feedback! My IG is btskismet.

November 7, 1944

Jun-seok was staring at a short Japanese man with a funny mustache. It was as if this man was trying to copy Adolf Hitler's tiny mustache. However, his mustache didn't seem to grow as well as Hitler's so it was half the length of the German dictator's, which made it look slightly skewed.

He expected for the Shosa (Major) to look a little more... refined. After all, he was the highest ranking officer in this district so far. He overheard that General Isumi was traveling to the capital of the country but would be back soon. So, Shosa Kimori would be calling the shots in this district for sure.

The man was smoking a tabacco as he was sitting inside what used to be a meeting room in the government building. He was looking at several papers placed on top of the table beside him.

He saw that he was looking at the military application form he filled out when he applied to be part of the Japanese Army. As the man looked at each page intently, Jun-seok shifted his weight while standing, anxiously waiting for what he had to say.

"So you know how to speak both Japanese and Korean, eh?", the man asked.

"Hai, Shosa Kimori", Jun-seok answered with a loud voice.

"Oh, I'm not Shosa Kimori. I'm Tai-i (Captain) Yuzawa. The Shosa couldn't meet you today. He went to the next town."

Jun-seok bowed really low and expressed his apologies. He felt stupid and for sure, he would be getting a beating. What a horrible mistake.

"It's alright. Stand up. I have another question for you.". Captain Yuzawa said, motioning Jun-seok to stand up straight.

"Do you know how to speak English?", the Captain asked, looking up to Jun-seok with one of his eyebrows raised.

Jun-seok hesitated. He thought he might need to lie because he might be sent to the enemy lines if he said he didn't speak it well enough, especially after what he said earlier. Would it matter if he didn't?

Before he was about to respond, the Captain raised his right hand and waved it slightly in front of his face. He was letting Jun-seok know that he didn't need to answer. "If you don't know, it's fine. The Mayor has someone in his family who can speak Japanese. It's important that you can speak both Japanese and Korean. Not all the locals speak very good English either."

Captain Yuzawa sets aside the papers and stands up to look out the window. He smoothens the creases on his pants. Jun-seok can tell that this man was stern and very detail-driven - his office was impeccably clean and all items on his desk, though minimal, were placed in a very purposeful way. Nothing was out of place.

When he faced Jun-seok, he started to speak in a very firm voice and said, "First of all, I don't agree having you here, Ittohei (first class private) Sakurai. We are having problems with some of the platoons here so if you do the job Shosa Kimori wants you to do, I think it will cause more trouble."

The Captain came up close to Jun-seok, peering into his eyes as they were of the same height. "Do you think you can speak to your fellow stubborn-minded Koreans to stop killing the populace?"

Jun-seok was flabbergasted in so many levels with the Captain's question. Yes, he heard the blatant insult to his race but what perplexed him was the fact that they were killing people and he was challenged to stop them.

"I will do my very best, Captain.", Jun-seok said as firmly as he possibly could. He knew he wasn't as confident as he would've liked, especially in front of this man who has profound disdain of his presence.

"Tch.", the Captain muttered and sat back down. "Dozo", he said and offered the seat across his table for Jun-seok to sit on. "I have a lot to share regarding your orders. Sit."

They spoke for almost an hour about what Jun-seok was ordered to do. It involved him knowing all the Korean platoon leaders and soldiers in the camp.

Lieutenant Akagi aka Gang Cheol was the one the army had most trouble with. Since he was the only commanding officer in certain remote areas of the district, he was the one who gave orders of having several locals killed on the spot. He also executed them as well. Though he was diligent in following orders from up top, if he was the lone officer with his platoon, he would exercise brutality in the most horrid way. 

“Lieutenant Akagi's platoon is fiercely loyal to him because they are all Koreans. But a few follow him because they are afraid to be beaten up.”, the Captain said with a bit of displeasure. Jun-seok thought that the Captain probably had several issues with Lt. Akagi in the past. After all, the lieutenant reported to him. He must’ve been reprimanded before in not being able to keep Lt. Akagi in line, he thought.

"We are stern and brutal if we need to be, especially to set examples to the locals. But if we just randomly kill them, then it doesn't serve our purpose here. Plus the Shosa is friends with the Mayor and he needs to have the coffee fields removed so we can build the tarmac. But he can't just order them to be done or else he destroys the friendship he has with the Mayor."

"Why is the Shosa friends with the Mayor of the town?", Jun-seok asked.

"Wouldn't you be if the man saved your life?"

The Shosa was in camp the first few days he arrived to the country and then rebel forces infiltrated it. A bullet struck the Shosa's abdomen and was bleeding heavily. The Mayor was on his way to the camp since he was summoned minutes before the fighting broke out and to take cover, he went inside the tent where the Shosa was at. He saw him and instead of running away, he dragged him to a nearby jeep and drove to the town hospital and had him treated. If he didn't do that, the Shosa would've died.

"Since then, Shosa Kimori wants to respect the Mayor and his community's needs to keep the town's resources running and for them to keep supporting us. Akagi and his platoon's antics are ruining those chances."

Jun-seok assessed how dangerous this was going to be. He knew that he would have extreme difficulty dealing with Akagi-san if he found out that Jun-seok is really Kim Man-seok's son. He had to make sure they thought of him as purely Japanese. But he won't be able to communicate with them if that's the case; they would shut him out.

"Captain, none of them must ever know that I am Kim Man-seok's son." Jun-seok said hurriedly. "Or else I'll never get close to them."

The Captain nodded in agreement. “Yes, you would have that difficulty. We have to make sure they don’t know. Did your face appear in any of the photos in the newspaper?”

Jun-seok tried hard to remember. He knew it was only photos of his father and brother that appeared in the papers. Since he was younger then, his mother made sure that he was not exposed to the media as his father and brother were recovering in the hospital.

“No. I’m sure of it”, he replied to the Captain.

“Alright then. You are to mingle with the rest of the platoon and make sure to get the others soldiers to change their mind about Akagi so they will follow him less. If Akagi sees that his soldiers are not as loyal to him, he would be less confident and then we can easily move him out of the platoon. If we did that now, his platoon will rebel against the higher officers and we will never get anywhere. Knowing them, they would kill everyone on sight. And I don’t want to lose soldiers anymore by executing them. We still have the rebel factions to deal with and I have less troops as it is.”   

Jun-seok nodded and understood his orders. He also surmised that he had to be crafty to make this work. His life depended on it too. Looking at Captain Yuzawa, he wasn’t one who would accept failure. He wouldn’t hesitate to execute Jun-seok if he failed.

“Before we assign you to the barracks to meet the platoon, you will have to report to the Jun-i (Warrant Officer) Watanabe. He handles our military equipment and you’ll be reporting to him. He is aware of your ‘other’ mission and agreed to help you.”

Jun-seok’s face lit up as soon as the Captain mentioned about the warrant officer and the latter noticed. “Yes, you are getting what you wanted, private. We are not going to let your skills go to waste. After all, you are going to work to get that tarmac built - it’s only fitting you get to work with actual aircraft.”

“Yes, sir! You can count on me, sir!”, Jun-seok said, beaming because of this news.

“You are dismissed.” 

Jun-seok stepped out of the office and was given information by the other private outside. He had to pick up supplies from the local market and meet the warrant officer there.

He couldn’t contain his happiness with the news. Finally! I’ll be able to do what I really wanted to do.

Jun-seok was pleased and he did a bit of a skip as he was walking to the market. He was smiling to himself, thinking of what it would be like to get close to an actual fighter plane. “I hope I can work on a Zero* or even the new Hayate**! That would be so cool!”, he thought with a huge smile. 

He was jostled from his thoughts of fighter planes when he reached the market. It was a busy area that morning and he was surprised that a lot of the locals were there and it was pretty noisy. He noticed that the locals didn’t seem to be too scared of the soldiers here as they were also quietly mingling with them, buying produce and food. The locals were selling their wares of vegetables, fruits, rice and fish. The smell of coffee was pretty strong as there were stalls brewing coffee and selling coffee beans. 

He came upon one stall and looked at the beans being sold. They were of good quality and they smelled wonderful. A young man talked to him in broken Japanese, asking if he wanted some. He said yes and he was given a small bag of ground coffee. When he was about to pay, the man decline. “Muryo de (free of charge)! Ok?”, the man said.

He bowed and thanked the man. As he walked away, he put the bag near his nose. The coffee smelled so good and this made Jun-seok smile. But he stopped in his tracks when he was in front of the sundries store where he was to meet Warrant Officer Watanabe.

“There she is again.”, he muttered. He was looking at the young woman he saw earlier who helped the man who was beaten up by the soldier. She was still wearing the same clothes and the nice 1940s hairstyle she had. She was smiling and talking with a Japanese officer in a very respectful yet comfortable way. he could see that the officer was smiling and acknowledging her, pleased that they were conversing.

She was bowing slightly for every comment the officer gave and though she moved respectfully, he could see that she was comfortable in her own skin. Like she was not about to be bossed around. She was very confident, even though she was acting gracefully and respectfully towards the superior officer. 

“She really is beautiful.I wonder who she is.”, he thought, observing her intently.

He started walking towards her and the officer but as he was about to approach them, she started saying goodbye to the officer.

“Gokigen'yō, Jun-i! Atode mata hanashimashou!” (Have a nice day, Officer. Talk to you later!), the lady said to the officer and waved. She didn’t look where she was going and bumped into him, which startled her. 

“Ah, gomen nasai, Yakuin (I’m sorry, officer)!”, she said loudly and bowed her head low.

Jun-seok gave a short chuckle as soon as she bowed, finding her quick change of disposition amusing. Because of this, it made her look up quizzically.

“Daijobu desu (It’s fine).”, he said softly. This made her stand up straight and bowed slight before walking away quickly. 

He looked back as she walked away, quite curious about this beautiful woman who was sparky and exciting underneath the surface. And to his surprise again, she looked back at him with that intense stare before walking away.

“I will meet you again.”, he declared in his mind before his attention was called by someone.   

 - - - to be continued - - -

*Mitsubishi A6M fighter plane - used by the Japanese army from 1940 to 1945

**Nakajima Ki-84 - a well-known Japanese fighter plane introduced in WW II in November 1944

[randomlywanderingmoth]

Simulation Camelot, location Hidden Village.

Master had brought us out here for what she referred to as, "Bond Farming." Mash elaborated that it was a good place to grow socially close with other Servants, for reasons that made no sense to me.

Be that as it may, it was my turn to "Bond Farm."

Well, mine, alongside Morgan, and all three of her Tam Lin.

And so, here we were, tending a fire, and periodically fighting hostiles- or rather, periodically watching as Morgan reduced the hostiles to smoldering ash with extraordinary proficiency.

Barghest and Melusine had got it into their minds to spar. I didn't mind that so much, a chance to watch two of Fae Britain's greatest fighters go at it. Some would've paid good money to see that fight.

Baoban Sith had gotten it into her mind to chat up Ritsuka. That I minded a bit more, but Ritsuka waved me off. I could read between her motions (fae eyes helped), she was socializing. Making bonds with my Servants. Nothing for you to get jealous over.

Mash was coming in and out of the simulation with apple pies, apple fritters, boxes of apple juice, and sometimes plates of sliced apples, cut into little bunnies. Golden apples, meant to rejuvenate us. At some point Baoban Sith complained the lack of variety, and so the support team relented and sent curry. I wasn't going to thank her for complaining where I wasn't about to, but I was quietly grateful for the reprieve in the unceasing flow of apples.

That left the two Avalon le Fae. Me, squatting down, tending the campfire with a stick. Morgan, sitting in a mock recreation of her throne, watching me tend the campfire.

I felt uncomfortable with the silence. "What?"

Morgan passed a dry glance directly through me.

"Are you still mad that I ruined your Britain?" I shot.

"You didn't do anything. Aurora ruined my Britain. You were simply an impediment." Perfectly emotionless.

She was baiting me. If I were a slightly younger me, I would've taken the bait. "Doesn't change the fact that you've been staring at me like I did something to you personally." I was feeling rather catty.

"You completed the pilgrimage."

I was staring into the fire instead of into her. "Because you wouldn't. Because you decided not to. Because you decided you wanted to play Queen and force the Inner Sea to cough me up."

"You sacrificed your life."

"To kill Cernunnos, not to forge the sword. A job that wouldn't have needed to happen if you'd done yours." If I hadn't been pulled from the Inner Sea, if I hadn't been born, I wouldn't have needed to experience everything I had been put through. I wouldn't have needed to experience Fae Britain. All that selfishness, that spite, that pointless cruelty and hatred.

"And you never would have met Master."

"Don't you dare make it a good thing!" I was to my feet, glaring daggers at her. "Don't you dare make it out like suffering through Tintagel was somehow worth it!"

"It wasn't. But you survived it. And you're here now."

"Like you fucking did it for me." I was fit to burn, smoldering angry with her. I had no chance of beating her in a fight, but I was fit to try a shot anyway.

"You met Master, and yet you sacrificed your life." Confusion. Ah. Her deadpan was making it hard, but my eyes had sorted it out. She didn't understand me. She wanted to understand.

"I sacrificed my life for her." She was one of the few good things in my life, so of course I would die to keep her safe. I would've regretted it if my other self in the Inner Sea hadn't given me the chance to save her again, but it was enough to lay down everything I had to save her twice.

Silence.

We both quietly stared into the campfire together.

===== =====

"Well, union rules are union rules, that's all for today!" Ritsuka skipped merrily, kissing me on the cheek, waving at Morgan and the Tam Lin, and ambling away from the simulators. I tried not to blush too hard while the others were watching.

Mash politely bowed to Morgan, and left with the faerie knights. I elected not to mention the obvious similarity in emotions- the only thing lacking was color in the queen's own cheeks.

I would've left too. I was half looking forward to eating something prepared by the cooking Servants. Steak and fries sounded nice.

"Wait."

Oh good. "What?"

"It would be unfair if I learned about you, and you failed to learn about me. Come along. I'll only be a moment." She promptly strode into the simulator room.

I raised an eyebrow, but elected to humor her. I followed her back in.

===== =====

Somehow, Morgan was able to make the act of reprogramming a simulator seem dignified. I would've been more impressed if I didn't know what a ridiculous and overpowered Servant she was.

What appeared was a different sort of village. A town, a city center. I recognized it easily. "Orkney."

"Formerly home to the Rain clan." She turned her wrist in the air, and the ruined city shimmered like a mirage. The ruined and dilapidated buildings were neatly replaced with seamless architecture. Flower bushes rose out of the stone planter boxes. I heard birdsong. More pressingly I saw people.

"The Rain clan," the queen exposited, "were good faeries. Kind faeries. Gentle faeries."

"And they died," I shot back.

"And they died," she repeated in agreement, lifting an arm to point. I followed the line of her finger, to a girl among the faceless masses.

She looked like me, and yet unlike me. Her hair was well kept. Her clothes looked soft. She was wearing glasses.

"That's you," I muttered, realizing.

"Aesc, the Witch of Rain. Aesc, the Savior. Unbeknownst to Fae Britain at large, the sole survivor of Orkney's massacre." There was a puzzle, clicking and clacking about in my head, completing itself slowly. Morgan filled in missing pieces. "I did not understand why they loved that Britain, but they did. Living with them, I also learned to love that Britain. I wanted to make that Britain, my Britain, something good. Something beautiful. I wanted to save my Britain."

"You failed," I blurted out.

"I know," Morgan replied.

I watched the memory of the other girl smile in a way I didn't think an Avalon le Fae could. I watched her talking with the other, less distinct figures. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I quietly envied her.

The queen's voice never cracked. Her stone expression never faltered. "I don't remember them anymore. But I knew I loved them once."

Click. "That's why you made Camelot, and put all the faeries of Britain under heel. So that they couldn't mess up the Britain your family loved any more than they already had." If something came after Chaldea, Ritsuka would likely have fought with similar fervor, if perhaps different means.

I glanced over at her, and for the first time I saw a shift in her expression. A turn of the brows, a purse of the lips. "I could not bring myself to end the Britain that they loved, the Britain that I loved, the Britain that I wanted to save." She glanced at me with a forlorn gaze. "To put in a way you could understand. If you had to kill Ritsuka, could you do it?"

I didn't have a response, out loud or in my mind. We both watched the shifting view of her memory of Orkney together.

I want Castoria and Morgan to talk and come to an understanding. Perhaps neither sides will ever forgive each other and perhaps neither side will ever love the other but. At the very least a catharsis has been reached and both can have their hearts be at ease.

Oh ho ho!

[notesofarichlycolorednight]

Hi! Am I the only one who ever thought about what would've happened if Percy had been killed in the end of The Lightning Thief? I mean,we have other children of the Big Three. And the prophecy would've been fulfilled anyways, IMO.

i wouldn’t say you’re the only one, but i definitely have’t thought abt it

i tried to when i got this ask and my brain malfunctioned bc percy is my boy

like maybe it would’ve been an interesting thought experiment after i’d read tlt and before i read the rest of the series, but seeing as i came late the pjo party, i read the books in succession bc they were already all out

and by the end, i loved percy. and i still do. i love him so much, so to think abt him dying so early on is painful. not to mention that as we continue into this bad timeline (irl) and i go to fiction to escape this bad place, i don’t really like thinking abt my faves dying

either early on in the series, or as angsty™ fic

/tangent (sorry)

i do think that other children of the big three being the prophecy child would be really interesting though…

i think if percy was out of the picture (rip my boy, just in this thought experiment) and we ignore the roman demigod lol, i honestly think nico or bianca could become the prophecy demigod

like, a large part of thalia’s decision to join the hunters was the fact that she figured she didn’t have anything to grow old for (i.e. her brother, whom she thought was dead). also, i think something abt luke’s betrayal seriously hurt her, and that also pushed her to join the hunters

first she loses her brother and considers him dead, for the sake of her own sanity. then she finds a family in luke and after sacrificing herself for them, she comes back yrs later to find out that luke has now joined the side of the titans. considering she still has the emotional maturity of, what like a 14-15 yr old? so she’s gonna react in a way that’s not healthy, not rational, and probably that blows things out of proportion (which is’t a bad thing, that’s just how kids and teens be sometimes ya know)

“well, i’ve lost my brother, and now i’ve lost luke. annabeth has percy, so she’ll be fine. i think i’ll join the hunters.”

i hope that makes sense. like yeah these demigods have to go thru a shit-ton, but i think a crucially important thing to remember is that they are only mature for their age and when comparing that to, say, a 20, 30, 40 yr old, their maturity means peanuts

anyway, so thalia’s out. (i’m not going to go too much into detail abt the events that lead up to that decision, tho, since that kind of revolves around the fact that percy’s alive lol, and if i did, we could be here all day)

however, i do think that with percy out of the picture, hades would then take his children out of the lotus casino much sooner. i can’t exactly rationalize why hades wouldn’t immediately send them to camp (maybe bc he knows they might not be accepted), but it’s also a dangerous gamble to send them to some boarding school and hope that a satyr, compared to a monster like thorn, would find them. esp considering the fact that they’re two kids of hades

so i opt to think, weighing the risks and benefits, he takes them out of the casino and gets them to chb. i think, to try and avoid any discrimination they may face, only chiron knows they’re children of hades, and hades asks chiron to keep that a secret for as long as possible (rumors spread like wildfire)

since bianca doesn’t meet the hunters, she doesn’t join them (whoo!) and doesn’t die. [aside] i’d like to think she makes such good friends with the ppl at camp, and so does nico, that that burden of looking after her younger brother completely disappears. so if she ever does meet the hunters she doesn’t feel the pressure to get away from that responsibility (see what i mean abt maturity and not reacting rationally?) so rn she’s the prophecy kid, since she’s older than nico

okay lbr, she is the prophecy kid, i’m not gonna kill her in this au lmao, that’d just be cruel

idk where i was going with this, i’m sorry. mostly, i think it would be interesting to develop nico, bianca, annabeth, thalia, and grover’s relationships with each other.

also ppl getting over their shitty prejudice toward hades and his kids. like, i think since at first they aren’t introduced as hades kids, they’d have the potential to make a lot of friends. without a tragedy similar to what befell nico hanging over them, nico is still that excited, bright-eyed 10-yr-old and bianca, now free of responsibility, can be more carefree, a teen girl

so like, i think that annabeth, thalia, and grover would be really great friends with them. and i think they’d make a lot of friends at camp too

once bianca learns of the prophecy, i’m sure she had a phase of not accepting it. like she just got free from her responsibility as an older sister, and now she’s got the responsibility of the whole world on her shoulders

and like a teen do, she doesn’t want anything to do with it at all. classic hero’s journey, though, maybe smth happens and nico is seriously injured, and she decides that maybe she doesn’t want to accept it, but she’s the eldest, and so she will. for her brother and for hades.

like it’s pretty cliché, but it makes for a great story arc/character growth arc

sorry abt the vagueness of it all. thinking abt all the details makes my head spin, and i want to focus on my current fic. but this is really interesting, and i may flesh it out more when i have more time. despite the prospect of my boy dying T_T (maybe i can find a loophole)

thanks for sending this in! i’m sorry that it took me so long to get here. like i said before in a separat post, i’ve just got a lot of projects i’d like to finish before i go back to school, and i’m having trouble balancing/prioritizing them

i’ll try to get to the other two anons i have sitting in my box today. if i don’t, just know it’s bc of my prioritizing issues XP

thanks again for sending this in!

FEED ME SEYMOUR