#my point is that they used to be in a more like. trivial fun spirit. not heyy do i practice mon mental health. hm. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thezanyarthropleura · 11 months

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rewatching the Dinotopia 13-episode miniseries and just wanted to say I concur with a lot of your takes. Hopefully it's ok to infodump about it in your askbox?

26 is adorable and heart-stealing (as is Karl's love for her) and she still looks so lifelike even after 20 years since the show's airing--the combination of lower-tech puppetry and higher-tech animatronics just hits perfectly. I just want to hold her and carry her around and tickle her little head. I feel weird calling her 'lifelike' considering none of us have seen Chasmosaurs(sp?) in the flesh, but the way she blinks and shakes her head and squeals just feels authentic somehow?

'Contact' is one of my favourite episodes as well, as it legitimises this version of Karl who in earlier episodes risked coming across as trivial/annoying/shallow (I love this Karl fwiw, more than the previous 'better' series' take). The connection between Karl & Gracie is so touching and raw, and it seems like the most important thing that happened to Karl at that stage in his life, as well as a turning point in the way he relates to female peers. While I am a fan of Karl's himbo side, I appreciated seeing him finally show expertise and determination in something other than mixing drinks and flirting and wheeler-dealing, as well--after all, he's Frank's favourite son and an adventurer in his own right, why shouldn't he be capable? (we also saw his resourcefulness in 'Lose & Found').

As for Lesage, your thoughts about her past relationship with Rosemary really have me thinking as well. The reference to their fling was so fleeting that I missed it first time around, but it's definitely critical to understanding both their characters imo. Lesage definitely seems the free-spirited fiery rebellious type to run off with a woman to have sapphic adventures in the wild, even if it took said sapphic partner to bring that out of her (and it's SO interesting that Rosemary was *Lesage's* closet key). What would Dinotopia make of lesbians disrupting their natural order and their status quo? (upon which they rely for their coveted peace...) The mind reels. And I agree about the relief and pleasant surprise that this mature dark woman wasn't 'tamed' or domesticated in the storyline's conclusion, it would have been so banal if the series went that route. She clearly isn't the type who wants a traditional family, a secure home or a regular Joe older man with kids.

That said, I must confess to wanting Lesage coupled with David, as I've noticed that from their very first meeting there is deliberate tension and foreshadowing included to put them in a shippy light, and their personalities/chemistry really spark and pop off the screen more than any other pairing (probably why the actors/character got a 2-hander episode to themselves?). Also, in-keeping with 'Lesage does what she wants and breaks the mold', I think Lesage would LIVE for scandalising Dinotopia by taking their Skybax Squadron Commander/favourite Offworlder and seducing him. David for his part would go willingly I think, as he seems captivated and chagrined by Lesage, more than he is by Marion (who imo he *wants* to want and thinks he should want romantically/sexually, but deep down doesn't). David for his part clearly needs a challenge and a foil to get the most out of his life, and Lesage offers that in spades. Where are the fics is what I wanna know

Am still combing over a few of the episodes in more detail, but overall I enjoy it so much despite all the inaccuracies and how off-model and off-book it is, and for the time you can see how it broke some new ground. It's pacey, it's a good time, it's got a little bit of everything from drama to adventure to fantasy to anarchohistory/steampunk. The story and characters remind me of Xena in the way you can read them in a campy/fun way or a serious way, and it works either way. Idk why it isn't on streaming and remastered, though the selfish gatekeeping part of me is kind of glad it's not exposed like that..

Always ok!

I do wish we got more of 26 in The Cure Part 2 that wasn't plot-mandated immobility, because that small bit at the end of Part 1 where she's doing her little scamper around on modern sidewalks is such a cute and defining moment for the series and I would've loved to see her run around through crowds or make an escape through the museum. I'd say even her CGI is some of the best-looking now, probably because of working with an easier scale (although I feel like dated CGI is always going to look like dated CGI, and so try to judge it more on whether or not it emotionally connects, and 26 definitely does).

They say it like "Chasmiosaur" in the show but the dinosaur is spelled Chasmosaur/Chasmosaurus. It's real interesting that both the live-action and book versions of Dinotopia used lesser-known ceratopsians instead of the obvious triceratops.

Agreed on Karl, sketchy/sleazy relationship drama is SO not my thing and I'd say I was only tolerating it for the dinosaurs, but the way this show does it is just so over-the-top that I can't help but be at least a little entertained. Night of the Wartosa is fun to watch in an uncomfortable train wreck sense, because we see Karl at his worst and it's so agonizing, but at the end of the day it's self-aware, it's intended as a wake-up call, and we're meant to be rooting for him to become a better person and laughing at him along the way. And by Contact, we're shown he can be serious when it counts, and his story takes a deeper turn into the heartfelt that solidifies his arc.

Since it's Hallmark, I'm sure they'd find a way to make even the dinosaurs scandalized by anything non-straight. "Why yes, our ancient society founded primarily by non-humans, with its own code of conduct distinct from other world philosophies, has the same puritan sensibilities as early 2000s daytime television." I guess there's a small chance the show actually did mean they only considered themselves sisters, and that very obvious pause didn't mean anything at all, I guess we'll never know *shrug* (but since it was a show cancelled after one season, I'm gonna say that from the 2020s we can go ahead and retroactively assume it must've had lesbians).

Freely admit that if I didn't pick up on anything hinting LeSage/David, it's probably because I only really have shipping goggles for f/f relationships, and also carry around the associated 'just friends' goggles for what are often clearly intended het pairings. To each their own, I suppose, and to both of us, the tragedy of liking a piece of media that very few people have ever seen, and even fewer have seen in any way that made them think of it positively. Highly doubt the internet 20 years after the fact would have much appreciation for my 'LeSage x pachycephalosaurus chariot driver OC' daydream musings but you can bet that's probably what I'm thinking about every time I hear "Fast Car."

Oh, if this show was on streaming, people would expect WAY too much from it. It's in the backwoods of Youtube and on cheap DVDs, and I feel like that's it's natural habitat. I can only really imagine people truly liking this if it's a formative memory, they found it in some obscure corner on a rainy day and gave it a chance only half-seriously, or the rare case where they wanted to watch a dinosaur show enough to turn it on but were secretly looking for... this. It's such a fun time, but I feel like for most, you'd need to know what you're in for or it just won't click.

#dinotopia #dinotopia tv

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algumaideia · 2 years

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I don't think being in a relationship with Will is good for Nico's character because of how Rick writes him. It is like that while being with Will, Nico's struggles and way of being will be misinterpreted.

First examples:

"Nico di Angelo.” He studied me, his eyes sharp and colorless, like broken glass. “So it’s true. You’re completely mortal. There’s an aura of death around you—a thick possibility of death.” Meg snorted. “Sounds like a weather forecast.” I did not find this amusing. Being face-to-face with a son of Hades, I recalled the many mortals I had sent to the Underworld with my plague arrows. It had always seemed like good clean fun—meting out richly deserved punishments for wicked deeds. Now, I began to understand the terror in my victims’ eyes. I did not want an aura of death hanging over me. I definitely did not want to stand in judgment before Nico di Angelo’s father. Will put his hand on Nico’s shoulder. “Nico, we need to have another talk about your people skills.” “Hey, I’m just stating the obvious. If this is Apollo, and he dies, we’re all in trouble.”

This was not the first time that Rick implied that Nico lacked social skills and it impacted his relationship with people.

Go ahead, she seemed to be saying. Nico needs practice talking to people.

And while there is nothing wrong with not being good socializing this is simply not accurate to Nico's character. Yes, he is lonely but this has nothing to do with social skills. Nico knows so many people throughout the series. He was sucessfully communicating with the troglodytes, would be in good postion in both camps and in no point he had problem talking to people. Sometimes he was evasive or asnwered angrily to a question, but this wasn't him not knowing how to talk. It was just him not wanting to say certain things about himself.

And the way Nico talked about death is not like him. As I talked in this post, Nico doesn't talk about death just because he is an emo that doesn't know how to act in social situation or to scare people or be mean. When he mentions death, he is often making a warning, letting people know the situations they are in, and to also show concern.

Some examples:

“Dear Grover,” Pan said. “You must accept the truth. Your companion, Nico, he understands.” Nico nodded slowly. “He’s dying. He should have died long ago. This...this is more like a memory.”

"Rachel," Nico said, "your life aura almost faded completely. I could see you dying."

Do you guys realize the difference in tone? How there is kindness in his words? Even other moments, he talks about death with more seriouness then this.

"I wanted to see Daedalus for myself. Minos was right, in a way. Daedalus should die. Nobody should be able to avoid death that long. It’s not natural.”

"Will you take my soul for ransom, then?” Daedalus asked. “You could use it to reclaim your sister.” “No,” Nico said. “I will help you release your spirit. But Bianca has passed. She must stay where she is.”

Daedalus turned toward Nico, who drew his sword. At first I was afraid Nico would kill the old inventor, but he simply said, “Your time is long since come. Be released and rest.” A smile of relief spread across Daedalus’s face.

Even while threatening Kronos he doesn't talk about death in such trivial way like it is nothing or a quirk of his.

"Son of Hades." Kronos spit on the ground. "Do you love death so much you wish to experience it?" "Your death," Nico said, "would be great for me." "I'm immortal, you fool! I have escaped Tartarus. You have no business here, and no chance to live." Nico drew his sword—three feet of wicked sharp Stygian iron, black as a nightmare. "I don't agree."

And, well Rick makes Nico act this way because of his relationship with Will. To make their dynamic work.

Second example:

“Nico,” I said at last, “shouldn’t you be sitting at the Hades table?” He shrugged. “Technically, yes. But if I sit alone at my table, strange things happen. Cracks open in the floor. Zombies crawl out and start roaming around. It’s a mood disorder. I can’t control it. That’s what I told Chiron.” “And is it true?” I asked. Nico smiled thinly. “I have a note from my doctor.” Will raised his hand. “I’m his doctor.” “Chiron decided it wasn’t worth arguing about,” Nico said. “As long as I sit at a table with other people, like...oh, these guys for instance... the zombies stay away. Everybody’s happier.” Will nodded serenely. “It’s the strangest thing. Not that Nico would ever misuse his powers to get what he wants.” “Of course not,” Nico agreed.

This feels like a punch in the stomach after the way Rick wrote the seven treating Nico. Literally minutes after being rescued from the jar he was already being called creepy. And well, then Rick goes and makes it all a joke. He makes Nico transform his situation on a joke.

Nico's loneliness shaped him in a negative way. He suffered greatly because of it. In the end of pjo it seemed that things were getting better, but then Rick decided to make things even worse in hoo. And then he has the courage (I think the best expresssion would be ele tem a cara de pau, but as far as i know there is no truly equivalent expresssion) to joke about it. It is infuriating.

Some examples of Nico suffering from his loneliness, mostly caused by others (he does isolates himself as a consequence of all the rejection he gets):

"Really? That would be a first. I'm the son of Hades, Jason. I might as well be covered in blood or sewage, the way people treat me."

“It hasn't been easy, you know. Having the dead for company. Knowing that I'll never be accepted by the living. Only the dead respects me, and they only do that out of fear.”

“He remembered how nice the kids at Camp Half-Blood had been to him after the war with Kronos. Great job, Nico! Thanks for bringing the armies of the Underworld to save us! Everybody smiled. They all invited him to sit at their table. After about a week, his welcome wore thin. Campers would jump when he walked up behind them. He would emerge from the shadows at the campfire, startle somebody and see the discomfort in their eyes: Are you still here? Why are you here?"

“Nico was devastatingly alone. He’d lost his big sister Bianca. He’d pushed away all other demigods who’d tried to get close to him. His experiences at Camp Half-Blood, in the Labyrinth and in Tartarus had left him scarred, afraid to trust anyone.”

“He carried so much sadness and loneliness, so much heartache"

#nico di angelo #rick riordan critical #anti solangelo i guess???#nico di angelo analysis

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makinggarbo-blog · 4 months

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Balance and Design Goals

Today I got to thinking; what the hell am I doing? This was brought on by my attempts to balance a system for the wrong reasons and I thought it was a moment that could be learned from.

In short I think I was trying to balance for numerical equality rather than equality of player engagement and perceived competency. I was caught up in the weeds and needed to take a step back. In my design of an as of yet unnamed system I was working out how much damage different items should do and decided screw it, what happens if I make some items simply better than others without any drawback. This got me to wondering why balance is important in the first place.

I've recently been on a Cyberpunk 2020 streak playing it in solo and duo games with a friend and it's been interesting to see how that game handles balance. It feels like there is a significant lack of it, some items are wildly overpowered. Combos can break the game in half, trivializing combat. I haven't found these reduce enjoyment however, in a game where one character struggles for combat prowess they can be just as engaged because of the other systems in place.

An example is the current game I'm running GMless with a friend where our two characters are wildly different in competence, mine a retired solo who can barely function without cyberware because of a few bad rolls on character creation and his a solo/fixer optimized hybrid making big deals. In terms of balance traditionally I would've said that there's a problem here, on jobs he does all the heavy lifting while I struggle to take out 1 or 2 goons he's dropping bosses like it's nothing. I find however that in terms of engagement I'm still right there in the action. Part of this is how flattened in terms of power players are, every hit feels lethal if placed right, every shot potential death whizzing through the air.

When I step back and look at the game I find it makes it fun to be un-optimal. After all one of the main things it tries to drill into you is style over substance. I wonder now how I can apply these teachings to my system. Do I even want to? It's impossible for tabletop RPGs to fully forget their wargaming roots where combat balance has the purpose of ensuring that the better player wins, where in a patched battle skill is more important than luck, to a point at least.

Nobody likes to lose all the time, but winning all the time is much more boring. Part of the enjoyment of being un-optimal is the mechanical struggle bleeding into narrative struggle. As my solo struggles to re-enter a world that's moved past them how they adapt is a major component of the story.

This brings me all the way back to my beginnings of a new system. What kind of balance do I want? What do I want to encourage? I think that for now keeping things in broad, vague strokes is best but these fundamental design questions need answers early own to inform the process. As for balancing player engagement I've got a few tricks up my sleeve.

My plan (subject to change) is to give each player effects which can be used to operate on the level of the story, rather than the characters. By shifting the world around their characters they may change each other's fates. This is done in the form of cards representing the magical energies of the Spirits of the world, linking it to the lore. The system is far from finished, or even in a state where I'm comfortable naming it but slowly taking shape.

#ttrpg design #ttrpgs

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lespetitestortuesdemer · 2 years

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Elden Ring is a fantastic game, but it's relationship to bosses is kinda... busted. All of the main bosses are absolutely gorgeous and awesome set pieces. The design and the spectacle is amazing. But so many times now, I have felt that this spectacle get's in the way of the gameplay and balancing of the fight itself.

Now, I haven't finished the game yet, I'm currently stuck at Malekith and I've yet to finish the Haligtree, however, Mogh made me realise this.

I love Mogh's bossfight. It comes after a not too long quest from Varré and is a great payoff for you meeting this character at the very beginning of the game. Mogh has such a great presentation, his design is very imposing. Mechanically, him counting down is just so cool. It's truly a great mechanic and it put's a lot of psychological pressure on the player. However, the fact that you cannot avoid the damage at all during the transition between his two phases is... not great. Purely as a set piece, it is an incredible payoff. Mechanically, however, it felt really out of place. I kept trying to interrupt it, because at this point, no attack had felt like the damage was absolutely unavoidable. And I kept dying until I looked it up online and saw that indeed, this damage is unavoidable an can only be mitigated.

This compulsory damage makes the difficulty threshold so much higher, I feel, because you have to give up three charges of you flask for it. But of course, maybe you're going to say "well there is this specific crystal tear that will negate all of it, so it's not that big of a deal". But that takes me to my next point.

Mogh's boss fight was ridiculously easy to break, at least for me. I read online about the purifying tear, but I hadn't picked it up yet and I didn't want to go on a whole side quest to find it. So I ended up using the Crimsonwhorl Bubbletear instead, which transforms incomming damage into HP. I thought that this would mitigate the damage of the Nihil attack, but it turns out that doesn't. What did happen, however, was that every other attack he dealt in his second phase was basically healing me. All of this area of effect around him, all his magic, everything was healing me. I was absolutely unstoppable. And it just... broke the boss. I defeated him easily, without truly knowing what I was doing, wailing around and trading blows because he could not do any significant damage. I ended the fight at max HP. Mogh is a late/lateish game boss, and as such, is supposed to be difficult. And he was, until he ended up breaking so easily.

And this was the case for so many bosses until now. Margitt gets way, way more manageable when you summon Rogier or use Spirit Ashes. Rennala in her second phase has absolutely no way of dealing with two players, I helped a friend out and we destroyed her so quickly it lasted maybe two minutes. Rykard, if you upgrade the weapon given to beat him, is also kind of a pushover. The Godskin duo becomes trivial once you use one sleeping pot to put one of them to sleep.

And then, there are the bosses I didn't break, but didn't feel that feeling of accomplishment after beating them. Radhan's fight is such a cool concept and the spectacle is, again, just amazing. Summoning all of these warriors to help is a great idea in theory, but in practice, the many summoned spirits make the fight illegible and the fact that you have to run around to re-summon them is not really fun. I found Radahn's attack patterns not clearly legible because of his size and the fact that his spells had a lot special effects. Same for Rykard's second phase, where the skull effects were completely illegible for me. And then the Fire Giant and the Dragons are so big that you can't possibly see what they are doing and have very limited ways of reliably doging attacks.

And in all of these cases, it feels like the spectacle has a priority compared to the actual mechanics of the fight. And maybe it's just me and I'm not good enough or something, but I truly feel that when I can read what is happening, I do okay. My favorite boss until now may be Morgott, because although he used a bit of magic and had some special effects, I always understood what was happening. I truly felt the typical Souls-Game satisfsction of beating him. But maybe it's because after Margitt I decided to never summon in a 1V1 and that did it.

I still like this game a lot and I love almost all of these fight. And I truly think that all of their designs and the setpieces are excellent. Even mechanically I really enjoyed most of them. I'm truly curious about the next ones.

P.S: Also, Fromsoft, please stop making fights where the big enemy constantly runs half a mile away and I have to run after him. I have very short legs and cannot teleport around like they do.

#elden ring #mogh the lord of blood #starscourge radahn #margit the fell omen #morgott the grace given

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luvyanfei · 3 years

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with a short & insecure s/o (hcs)

ft. xiao, kaeya, zhongli, & xingqiu requested by anon

this,,, this is me

xiao.

he’s appalled when he finds out people actually tease you for your height. xiao has always known how terrible humans can be, but to think they would attempt to tear someone down, specifically his lover, just because they’re considered small irate him to no end. you might want to hold on to him tightly before he can storm off and declare war on the bullies who dared to torment you in any way.

he honestly doesn’t care if you’re short or tall, ugly or pretty - your appearance isn’t what’s important here. he fell in love with you for what’s inside of you, don’t forget that, okay? xiao may not outright say all that because he’s embarrassed of showing his soft side to you, but if your insecurity gets the better of you, he’ll at least lend an ear to you as you rant to him while stargazing together.

however, what xiao despises more than others treating you poorly is you belittling yourself. he has zero tolerance for that kind of attitude and will react quite aggressively, gripping you by the shoulders and shaking you. he can’t help himself. it hurts him deeply, dare he say more than a stab to his heart, seeing you wallowing in self-hatred. he’s harsh, but he means well. xiao would much rather see a content smile on your face than having you look disconsolate.

“have you finally stopped your wailing yet?” xiao peers at your face drenched in tears in disinterest, but really, he’s pretty concerned on the inside. your sobs have been reduced to quiet sniffles, but your body won’t stop trembling. he looks away for a minute, sighs heavily, and pulls you into his arms, a blush coating his cheeks.

he stays silent the whole time, too nervous to do anything really, as your palms press against his chest lightly and will yourself to calm down. xiao clears his throat and brings a finger down to brush away the glistening tears from your eyes.

“look, just because you’re short, it doesn’t mean i don’t like you any less,” he whispers only for you to hear, and presses his lips to your forehead, letting it linger there for a few seconds. “even if you, or anybody else, don’t think you’re worthy enough, i at lease still care about you, so don’t let others’ opinions get to you.”

kaeya.

not to be blunt or anything, but kaeya being, well kaeya, he’s probably going to relentlessly tease you. he doesn’t do it because he harbors any ill-intent towards you. it’s just, kaeya is very fond of your flustered expression. if you happen to end up crying from his words, he’ll immediately stop and apologize guiltily. the last thing he needs is for you to abandon him too because of a fault on his end.

kaeya really does love you a lot, despite your flaws and silently admires you for your empathy and altruism. one good thing about being shorter than your boyfriend is that you can wear his clothing on and he’ll be a gushing mess in no time. he’ll purposefully place his jacket somewhere for you to find in hopes you’ll put it on. he may be doing this just for the purpose of having fun, but he likes knowing that it means you're comfortable and accepting in your relationship with him.

he likes patting you on the head when you pass by each other at random times, his lips curling in a knowing smirk. if you ever need help obtaining items that are out of your reach, kaeya will conveniently be there to lend a hand. it fuels his confidence how you always go to him for help instead of seeking support from someone who might be more reliable. it goes to show that your trust in him is deep.

“having difficulties, [name]?” kaeya hollers to gain your attention as you look down from the ladder to glance at the knight, your hand outreached to grab at the material you need with failed attempts. “allow me to be of service~”

he gestures for you to climb down and gets up the ladder himself, easily grasping the object in his fingers. once his feet has touched the ground, he lowers his hand to give it to you, but before your fingertips can make contact with it, he pulls it away from you. "ah ah ah~ shouldn’t i get some kind of a compensation for helping my dearest?” you stare at him in confusion before an idea plants itself in your head. ah. so that’s what he wants. with a roll of your eyes, you stride up the ladder till your eyes meet and kisses him on the lips.

as you push your body away from him, he gives a closed-eye grin and nods in satisfaction. “that wasn’t too bad, now was it?” kaeya finally hands you the item, but he grips your free hand in his and guides it to press against his warm cheek. “you should realize by now what you’re capable of doing, stealing my heart like this. you’re so cruel [name], but perhaps that’s why i’ve grown to love you.”

zhongli.

zhongli is an honest and good-natured man. he’ll immediately tell you that he doesn’t think to care about your height, so there’s no reason for you to worry about it either. he’s not an idiot though. he’s aware that your self-deprecating thoughts won’t disappear so easily with his consoling words alone. actions speak louder than words, after all.

if anyone ends up insulting you for your size, zhongli won’t hesitate to politely stand up for you. although, if they stubbornly persist in demeaning you, it’ll push him to the brink of indignation, but he’ll still attempt to keep up a courteous manner for your sake as he calmly tells them to back off. like kaeya, he loves it when you wear his clothing! he’s lived for a long time to see many things, but witnessing you cuddling him while his jacket is draped snugly over your body has got to be the cutest thing he’s seen yet.

ever the supportive individual, zhongli will help you come out of your shell and build up on your self-esteem. he’s there with you every step of the day, so if you ever slip and feel like you’re about to fall into an abyss of despair, he’ll take your out-stretched hands in his and guide you back into the light.

“[name], is something the matter? you look as if you’re bothered by something.” zhongli questions innocently, studying your face carefully. your eyes droop slightly, but you reassure him that you were pondering how it would feel like if you were as tall as him. he nods in understanding and brings a hand up to his chin in thought.

before you know it, he’s turned his back towards you and kneeled down. perplexed, you stare at him, unsure of what he’s doing. “you said you desired to know what it’s like to be around my height, so this is the only thing i can think of.” hesitantly, you place your hands on his shoulder blades to balance yourself and he makes sure to hold onto you tightly as he stands up slowly. you smile in appreciation at zhongli’s consideration over your feelings and presses your body closer to his.

he beams back at you, sealing a kiss to your lips. “if you ever feel down, remember that there’s at least one person in the world that loves you - one of them being me, of course.”

xingqiu.

he also reacts similar to kaeya, although his teasing is slightly toned down and less vocal. like, if you wanted to give him a kiss on the cheek, he might lean away from you and probably use a stool to make himself taller, but he’ll stop after a bit of fun and laughter. it’s not funny unless both of you are smiling, right?

he finds your short stature to be one of your charm points and will compliment you for that, calling you adorable and such. it’s kind of perfect for him because he likes being the big spoon, embracing you from behind and nuzzling his face against the back of your neck. if you’re around the same age as him, it’s alright! there’s still time for you to grow. he’s sure the both of you will be tall soon. there’s no judgement when you’re with him, so don’t be afraid of being yourself around xingqiu, alright?

if he finds out your confidence is still lacking, he’ll scribble down a list of all the things he loves about you for you to read to lift your spirits up! although, that might prove to be a challenge considering his handwriting is infamously known for being illegible.

“hmm... isn’t that the picture we took at liyue harbor together?” xingqiu observes the photo in your hand, reminiscing the fond memories. his honey irises flicker to you. “hey, what’s with the frown?”

you shake your head and tries to change the subject, but he presses on to persuade you into explaining. when you finally do, he bursts into a fit of laughter, wiping away the tears pricking the edge of his eyes. “i apologize for my behavior, but [name], you shouldn’t have to concern yourself with such a trivial matter.” he tucks away a stray strand of your hair behind your ear, his index finger ghosting over your lips.

“have i ever told you that you’re cute?” xingqiu murmurs, a sense of genuine compassion laced in his tone. “don’t stare at me like that, please. i’m quite serious, so there’s no need to compare yourself with me. no matter the height difference, i’ll always love you - if you’ll allow me too.

tagging. @liliisacutieowo, @scarymoosh

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #xiao #xiao x reader #zhongli #zhongli x reader #kaeya #kaeya x reader #xingqiu x reader #xingqiu

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infernalrevenge · 3 years

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The Greatest Show

Fandom: Resident Evil 8: Village

Pairing: Donna Beneviento x Reader (Gender Neutral)

Rating: G

Summary: Donna and Angie attempt to cheer Reader up after a bad day.

Notes: A little bit of domesticity and comfort from our resident dollmaker. Yes, Reader is still a servant in the house while also being her partner -- because why not HAHAHA. Just thought this would be a fun silly thing to write.

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This day was not going the way you thought it would. Well, that was putting it nicely -- this day was going to shit.

It was bad enough that you had a hard time falling asleep last night and woke up in a sour mood, but then you had an argument with a new vendor at the village who not only exclaimed that there was no new shipment of vegetables that morning, but also had the gall to try and throw you out of the store under virtue that they "didn't want the freak servants of one of the freak lords tainting their good establishment." The fucking nerve!

When you got back to the manor empty-handed, fuming but attempting to prepare lunch (sans vegetables), you accidentally burned your hand on the hot stove. As if that wasn't bad enough, when you jumped back in pain, you knocked over a few plates onto the floor and had to clean all that up too. You had to complete all your other chores with just one usable hand, the other one wrapped in a loose bandage. Fantastic.

You wanted to scream. Just let out a long scream to let the frustration out.

But you didn't. You couldn't. You still had other things to do, and you weren't going to let a few setbacks ruin it all. You went about your day as usual -- or at least you tried to, because you didn't quite notice how you would grip onto cups a little tighter, with your jaw set and locked as your grit your teeth, and had a perpetual furrow in your brow that worried Donna and Angie.

"What's up with them?" the doll muttered as she watched you slam a tray down in the kitchen when you thought no one else was around.

Donna didn't reply, only looking at the tension you held in your posture -- like you were set to burst with just one wrong move.

Your thoughts were consumed with tasks to perform for the rest of the day, chanting "Just get through it, you'll be fine" over and over in your head like a mantra. You didn't want to worry Donna over such trivial matters. This was just one bad day. You were better than this! You could do this. Just get through it. Just push! Just do it!

It was close to evening when you found your last task for the day before supper: Tidying up the library. Maybe you'll see Donna and Angie there and they could help lift your spirits. Finally, something to look forward to! Angie would probably make some quip about your bandaged hand, and Donna would be winding down on the couch and picking out a movie to watch after supper while you could talk about something to take your mind off the stress. But when you were greeted with a dark and empty space, neither of them in sight, you only sighed in disappointment.

Just get through it, you'll be fine.

You swallowed the lump in your throat and blinked away the blurriness in your eyes, picking up the duster in the corner.

Just get through it, you'll be fine.

You looked up at the clock. Half an hour until supper. Right on time. You took a deep breath to calm yourself and headed for the kitchen.

You were already going through the menu in your head when you felt an insistent force collide onto your chest, nearly knocking you over.

"Angie?"

Donna wasn't with her, and didn't seem to be anywhere nearby either. She was merely floating on her own. "Y/N, just the person I'm lookin' for! Come on, I gotta show you something!" She seemed rather urgent and excited at the same time. What was she planning now?

She took your uninjured hand and started pulling.

"Wait, but I have to get ready for supper--”

"Supper schmupper, this is way more important!"

"But--”

Angie dragged you by the pant leg to the living room, leaving you no choice but to hop along and follow. There, you saw a table laying on its side covered in a shiny silky cloth, obscuring your view of what or who could be behind it. You could just barely see a familiar veil-clad head crouching underneath. Before you could ask, she yelled at you to sit down on the short stool in front of the set up.

"Angie, what's going on?"

"You'll see, I promise. Now be quiet, the show's about to start!"

With that, she waddled away behind the table, seemingly greeted by a chorus of soft giggles. You tucked your knees close to your chest and waited for the commotion to settle down... whatever this was. You were used to Angie's antics at this point, but what kind of show was she talking--

Suddenly, three puppets dressed like the lords popped up from behind the table, with another one looking like a smaller replica of Angie. They all had cutesy and somewhat exaggerated features, completely made out of felt, cloth, and stuffing. Like plushies.

What the...?

"Don't be sad, Y/N!" they said in unison, their voices remarkably similar to each respective lord, if not much higher in pitch.

"Welcome to the village, we're so glad you're here! Turn that frown upside down and give us a cheer!" they sang, each of the dolls moving along to the beat they made.

"Donna, Angie, w-what..." you started, but they kept singing. You weren't quite sure who exactly might be providing these voices -- the dolls themselves, maybe even Donna -- but you were getting more and more amused by the second.

After their short number, introducing each lord to you (Big Sister Dimi, Mr. Heisenberg, Moreau the Fish Man, and Angie, as you recall), they proceeded with the show proper. Apparently that song wasn't all the two of them had up their sleeves.

"Okay, everyone! We have something very important to do!" the doll that looked like Angie spoke up (probably played by Angie herself) "How do we cheer up a loved one?"

"A loved one?" Doll-Moreau repeated.

"Yes! When someone we care about is sad, we should help in any way we can to cheer them up, right?"

"Right!" Doll-Dimitrescu agreed.

You felt a small smile start to crack your facade. Was this all for you?

"But how do we do that?" Doll-Heisenberg chimed in.

"Well what are things that they like? What makes them happy?" Doll-Moreau asked, who turned to Doll-Angie.

"They like cookies! Chocolate chip are their favorite!"

As if on cue, you felt something tug on your leg, and you looked down to see a porcelain doll in a sailor suit lifting up a plate of cookies to you, littered with chunks of chocolate in the dough. "Thank you," you said softly, giving the little one a gentle pat on the head before they ran off back behind the table. You placed the plate on your lap and started to nibble on one as the show went on.

"What else can we do to make them happy?"

"They also like tea with their cookies!"

You could just barely hear someone whisper "Tea? Ew, why not milk?" before they were swiftly hushed. On cue again, another doll emerged with a cup of hot tea for you. You whispered another thanks before they went back, taking a sip of your drink.

"We can sing their favorite songs!" Doll-Heisenberg started trying to sing before Doll-Dimitrescu interfered with a swift knock to his head. "Not with your voice, you can't."

That was a little mean, but you couldn't help but laugh anyway. You would've choked on your tea if you had been drinking it still.

"Why don't we ask them?" Doll-Angie said, turning to face the audience -- you. "What would make you happy, Y/N?"

The smile on your face only widened, tapping a finger on your chin as you made a show of thinking deeply. Might as well play along if they put in so much effort. "Well, what would make me happy is to have my lovely girlfriend here to share these cookies with."

"You heard 'em, Donna, get over there!" The real Angie peeped from behind the table, with the puppet lords cheering on as well as she emerged from her hiding place. You didn't even need to see under her veil to know she was blushing madly at the attention, even though it was just you and the dolls in her company right now.

You moved the plate of cookies from your lap to make room for her. "Y/N..." she was about to protest, and you pouted in response, giving your best puppy dog impression and opening your arms. "I thought you wanted to cheer me up, love?"

With a sigh and a shake of her head, she settled herself on your lap, your arms wrapped around her waist to keep her steady. You looked up at her fondly and pulled her against you -- it suddenly felt like the day's worries had melted away, and all that mattered was having the woman you loved so close to you. That in itself was a great comfort.

Angie seemed to have taken the reins now, the show getting louder and more chaotic as it went on -- the dialogue was reminiscent of the banter you had with her, and some jokes were made at the expense of the other lords (and sometimes Donna), much to her embarrassment. You rested your chin on her shoulder and couldn't help but laugh along.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Donna whispered, tilting her head slightly to look at you.

"You... noticed then?" Your shoulders sagged, head weighing heavier onto hers, feeling like you wanted to hide.

"I did. It was a little hard not to." She gently took your bandaged hand in hers, pressing a tender kiss onto it. "But I didn't want to stand by and not do something about it, so... I hope this was okay."

You felt your heart swell with affection for her -- when did you get so lucky to have such a thoughtful woman by your side? "More than okay. This was very sweet of you and Angie."

A moment passed before Donna spoke again, "I just want you to know that... if there's anything you want to talk about, anything at all, know that I'm here for you, love. Always."

You could almost feel a tear come to your eye at that, "I'll keep that in mind."

You caught a glimpse of her smile at this angle, "You know I'd do anything to see you happy."

And she could see yours, "You already do."

(After learning of the existence of these "lord puppets", it became a game between you and Angie to hide them in plain sight whenever each lord would come visit the estate and bet on how long it took for them to notice it.

Lord Heisenberg almost never seemed to see his -- you weren't sure if he just didn't care to look around, or found it once and opted to ignore it, muttering something about it being "creepy".

Lord Moreau took a while to find his too, but when he did, you couldn't forget the look of joy and flattery on his face. It was quite adorable, and it turned to how quickly he could find the doll in a new room instead.

Lady Dimitrescu never visited, but when you and Donna went over to her castle, you always made sure to bring it with you. You would catch her daughters trying to hide their snickers when you would just stand around carrying the doll like Donna did with Angie, but whenever the lady tried to find out why, she never thought to look at you to see the commotion. Your girlfriend sometimes scolded you for it, but Angie always had a high five ready for you at the end of every visit.)

#donna beneviento x reader #donna beneviento #lady beneviento x reader #lady beneviento #resident evil #resident evil 8 #resident evil village #re8 #gender neutral reader #gn!reader

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luvnami · 3 years

Text

𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 ☆ 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 - 𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐧

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 - hi!! here’s the first chapter of the nanami fic that i’m writing, you can find the masterlist for the other chapters here. i hope you enjoy this, it’s the first multi-chap fic that i’ve writtne in a while and i’ve put a lot of hard work and effort into this!! <3 (ch 2 will only be out next week as i’m planning to scout irl locations and rewrite it!)

𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 - @bellesowl @rintaroll

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 - 1238

If there’s one thing that Nanami Kento knows without doubt, it’s that Gojo Satoru is a pain in the ass. Take the time when his sandwich in the communal refrigerator was eaten by him, for example. Or even when Nanami found his laptop background changed to a photograph of Gojo on a table with a rose between his teeth — while dressed scandalously in a white robe.

Nanami stares at his mobile phone. The device buzzes, before the screen fills up with messages sent from Gojo himself.

Gojo Satoru (Work) >> nanamin <333 >> guess what my cute girlfriend gave me today? >> image.jpg >> she made me a homemade bento box!! isn’t she the most precious??? >> have fun growing old and wrinkly without a partner, nanamin!!

If there’s another thing that Nanami Kento knows without doubt, it’s that he hates losing.

Nanami hadn’t even agreed to the childish bet that Gojo initiated. When first mentioned, he brushed it off as something trivial that Gojo would soon forget about. What Nanami didn’t expect, however, was for the male to grow serious about winning this stupid competition.

It wasn’t long before Nanami found himself two months into the bet without any hope of winning in sight. It couldn’t be that hard, he reasoned. Besides, there were four months left for him to find someone to date. Or fake date, for that matter. He wasn’t interested in any serious relationships at the moment.

The blond wasn’t one to brag, but Nanami knew he was charming enough to pick up someone if he tried. Even back at the company, the office ladies would often gossip about him behind his back (as if he couldn’t hear them).

But throw fake dating into the equation and suddenly Nanami loses his footing. He doesn’t want to ‘use’ someone just to gain petty leverage on Gojo. Gojo isn’t worth any of that. Moreover, it would be impossible to not gain feelings for a romanced stranger.

What Nanami needs is someone familiar, someone he knows like the back of his hand; that he won’t fall from a slippy precipice of emotions and end up head over heels in love. Love ruins a man, Nanami thinks. That if man were a creature without love, how more tolerable would life be?

Familiarity reminds Nanami of you, his childhood friend. You work as a personal assistant between him and Gojo, gathering paperwork, attending to the press and all these pesky things that would take up too much of his precious time.

Nanami places his phone face down on his desk, before using the tips of his fingers to rub at his temples. He lets out a sigh. It’s barely even lunchtime and Gojo has already found some sort of way to annoy him. Though, that’s not really surprising at this point.

There’s a knock at the door.

“Nanami, I have some documents for you!” You stand on the other side, a neatly gathered pile of papers arranged inside of a manila folder in your arms.

“Kento!” you grin, clutching a plastic bucket and spade in either hand. “Let’s go play in the sand!”

You wear a polka dot patterned swimsuit as the sun basks the both of you in her golden light. Your mothers sit nearby, relaxing under an umbrella. Nanami takes the spade from you so that he can hold your hand.

He nods quietly, and you rush off towards the boundary where the blue ocean meets the sandy shore.

Nanami straightens in his chair and places his phone in a desk drawer. “Come in,” he replies, before flicking his wrist to check the time on his watch.

You push open the door, giving Nanami a smile. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

“Here are the files you requested on that cursed spirit. I tried to gather as much information as I can, but most of them are unreliable eyewitness accounts and newspaper clippings,” you explain as you place the folder on his desk.

Nanami eyes it. He crosses his arm over his chest and leans back in his chair, staring at you.

“Is something the matter?” you glance down at your outfit, wondering if there’s a spot of spilled coffee somewhere.

You don’t receive a reply, nor do you see any coffee on your jacket. Confused, you look back up at Nanami.

“Fake date me for four months,” he says.

Silence descends upon his office, and you blink blankly at him. Fake date? Four months? The thought bounces about inside of your head like a pinball machine, before it finally slips through the trough and you sputter out a confused “Huh?”.

Nanami doesn’t seem fazed as he repeats his words. “Fake date me for four months. Is there a problem with that?” His eyebrow arches in question.

“Y-yes! There’s so many problems with that!” you ramble, pulling at your fingers as you rush over to him. “Do you understand what you’re saying?”

You plant your hands onto his desk, leaning your weight onto them as you stare at him with bewildered eyes. He, however, looks perfectly calm.

“Yes, I do. I told you to fake date me for four months.”

“You weren’t even waiting for me to say yes or no! Oh, you-” You fling your hands up into the air helplessly, frustration wrecking through you.

How could Nanami say that so blatantly? It’s as if he didn’t know that you have had a crush on him for five- no, ten plus years already! Your heart hammers helplessly against your ribcage and your fingers curl up into fists.

“This is why I told you I hate men,” you mumble.

“I was vaguely aware that I’m not one of them,” Nanami smiles briefly. “You won’t have to do anything. I’ll pay for all of our outings- dates, and all you have to do is to sit still and look pretty.”

“I don’t have to go out on dates with you to sit still and look pretty, Kento. Is this about the stupid bet with Gojo?”

“How did you know about that?”

“He won’t stop bragging about the bento box and how he’s going to win.”

Nanami feels a vein bulge. You take a deep breath, letting it cloud your lungs before you let it all out in a heavy sigh. Nanami knows that you’ll agree. You won’t deny him anything, after all. Not a grape flavoured jelly, not the notes you took down during English class, and not fake dating him for four months.

You swallow uneasily.

“Fine,” you grumble, though your cheeks burn at the thought.

Holding Nanami’s hand, going out on dates with him, maybe even kissing? Blood rushes to your face and your nails dig into your palms.

“Good. Could you bring this file to Ijichi for me, please?” Nanami stretches out and hands you the plastic folder, a certain degree of pride exuded from him. It’s as if he hadn’t said anything to you in the past minute at all.

“Yes, Nanami.”

You clutch the folder to your chest as you leave his office wearily. Slumping against the door once it clicks shut, you wonder if you will be able to make Nanami fall for you in four months. It almost seems impossible.

Four months.

You tighten your grip on the folder, before stalking off to Ijichi’s office. For once, maybe you can show Nanami what you’re capable of — and you don’t mean delivering files or compiling documents.

#nanami kento #nanami kento x reader #nanami kento fluff #nanami kento angst #nanami kento fic #nanami x reader #nanami fluff #nanami angst #nanami fic #jjk x reader #jjk angst #jjk fluff #jjk fic #jjkmag

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oh-for-merlins-sake · 4 years

Text

WAR | gw

a/n: hi all! this is my first stab at a george weasley x reader fanfic and i hope you like it! i had oodles and oodles of fun writing it and i can’t wait to write more. feedback is always appreciated (if anyone’s happened to find this)! i would be profoundly honored to dedicate this piece to @ickle-ronniekins who i’ve been secretly reading for months now, and who’s inspired me to start writing again! cheers! x

pairing: george weasley x fem!reader

word count: 4.9k

warnings: mild swearing, mild teenage angst.

┈┈┈┈

“If Wood snaps at me one more time about that stupid bloody bludger I missed, I may just whack him off his broom with one,” George grumbled, scooping a spoonful of porridge into his bowl.

“You’d think we were playing for the World Cup the way he’s been acting,” Fred complained.

Gryffindor was fresh off a losing Quidditch match with Slytherin, which did not sit well with their captain, Oliver Wood. Granted, it was Wood’s final year as Captain, but that didn’t necessarily mean that the House Cup was a life-or-death matter as he’d been treating it. Much to his team’s dismay, this meant that he was particularly critical of every minute mistake and trivial trip-up.

As the twins grumbled and griped about Wood and his overbearing spirits, Marcus Flint, Slytherin captain, strode into the Great Hall, boasting about their recent victory.

“As if Wood needed something else to set him off,” Fred said with a dramatic eye roll.

Flint continued arrogantly prattling on near the entrance, making sure that every student who made their way in that morning could hear all about the knockout game they’d had.

“Wish there was a way to shut him up,” Fred continued.

As Wood defiantly stood from the table to storm over to Flint and share a piece of his mind, inspiration struck George.

“Oh Freddie boy, there surely is a way!” He grinned mischievously before whipping around and aiming a quiet Langlock jinx at Flint.

Just as the spell shot from the tip of his wand, Flint rushed over to the Slytherin table at the beck and call of his girlfriend, causing the jinx to fire at an unsuspecting, innocent victim: you.

George felt his insides twist and turn at the sight of you grasping for your mates in a pure state of panic.

“George!” Fred scolded.

“I wasn’t trying to hit her, you prat!”

“Well, fix it!”

“I don’t know how!”

You clawed at your mouth in a desperate attempt to translate your current predicament to your mates now that your tongue was currently locked against the roof of your mouth. As your mates whirled around you in confusion, you spotted the flustered twins as they bickered relentlessly and poorly obscured their gestures towards you. You violently pointed in their direction in an accusatory fashion, which your mates understood without hesitation.

If looks could kill, they would’ve been murdered on the spot.

“You barbaric prats!” Your best mate shrieked before escorting you to the hospital wing.

Fred and George grimaced at one another and gulped down their fears of what was to come.

┈┈┈┈

“I haven’t seen her since yesterday morning, have you?” George anxiously asked Fred as they crept into the Great Hall.

“I haven’t,” he confirmed, claiming a spot at their table. “If she comes after us, I will kick your arse into next week, understood?”

George repeatedly scanned the room for you as he fidgeted with the toast on his plate. He was much too fretful to consume even a single bite of breakfast.

When he’d finally decided that you might not be coming to breakfast that morning (perhaps you were still in the hospital wing?), he gave up and dug in. It wasn’t until Fred dropped his utensils with a loud clang that George snapped his head up to find you barreling into the Great Hall with a look of fury and determination.

“Shit!” Fred and George immediately scrambled for their book bags, cursing at one another to hurry up already!

“You pathetic little morons!” You picked up the pace and brandished your wand. “Opuggno!”

You sent gargantuan heaps of porridge hurdling out of their bowls and in their direction. As they each made a frantic attempt to dodge the porridge, they accidentally collided with one another, setting them in perfect place for your attack.

“I’m going to bloody murder you, George,” Fred grumbled as porridge began seeping into every crevice of his body.

George wiped the goop out his eyes to find you hovering over them, wand still at bay.

“I dare you to jinx me again — see what happens,” you threatened.

George stammered for a response but couldn’t seem to find the proper words.

“That’s what I thought,” you stated triumphantly.

You swiftly turned on your heel, strutting towards your friends who were jovially applauding your attack.

“You chose the wrong one to jinx, mate,” Fred spat, climbing to his feet.

“It was an accident!” George exclaimed in exasperation.

“Which is what your death will look like once I’m done with you!”

┈┈┈┈

“Y/N, do you really want to spend your time this year vigilantly fending them off? I think they’ve been punished enough, don’t you?” Your best mate, Caroline, complained as the train pulled into Hogsmeade.

Truth be told, she was probably right.

The remainder of your fifth year was spent casting foul looks at the twins whenever they approached you, and — okay, maybe you sent another jinx or two their way since the porridge fiasco, but you were quite frightened when they jinxed you! You weren’t familiar with the Langlock jinx; you almost thought someone was suffocating you! Not to mention the awful feeling of Madam Pomfrey un-sticking your tongue, or the dreadful side effect of altered taste that lasted a month after.

One thing that retained its sweet taste, however, was revenge.

But perhaps Caroline was right. After all, they’d certainly been walking on eggshells around you since then. It was highly unlikely they’d cause you any more trouble.

You sighed, hauling your trunk off the train. “I guess you’re right.”

The two of you claimed a carriage up to the school grounds, happy to breathe in the fresh, crisp air after the exhaustingly long train ride in.

“You don’t think I was too hard on them, do you?” You asked.

“Well,” Caroline said as the carriage rolled along the path, “Perhaps a tad.”

“All right, I’ll bloody apologize,” you decided.

“Good! You’ll feel much better once you do!”

Shortly upon arrival, you noticed Fred and George hopping out of the carriage that sat a few ahead of yours, and you figured now might be the best time to end this war before they fled too far away.

“Weasley!” You called, cautiously approaching them.

They simultaneously whipped their heads to face you, eyes widening at your presence.

“Relax, I’m not gonna hex you,” you chuckled.

“To what do we owe the pleasure then?” Fred asked, sternly crossing his arms.

“I wanted to apologize,” you mumbled, glancing up at each of them sheepishly.

“Well, well, well, would you look at that, Georgie! She’s come to apologize,” he teased.

“Oh, just shut up and listen,” you laughed. “I’m really sorry for all of those... gratuitous spells...”

“Oh, you mean like the time you glued my shoes to the floor?” George recalled.

“Or the time you jinxed my quill to bite me during Charms?” Fred reminded.

“Yes, exactly that... I’m sorry,” you said. “Truce?”

They glanced at one another and playfully pondered your request.

“I dunno, Freddie, should we give her another chance?” George asked, a grin tugging at the edge of his lips.

Fred tapped his chin with his index finger and contorted his face in feigned contemplation.

“Hurry up, won’t you — before I change my mind!”

“All right, all right — truce,” Fred decided, shaking your hand.

“Truce,” George echoed, doing the same.

You felt a weight lift from your shoulders as you all laughed at your previous antics and wandered up the hill with Caroline (who was also quite relieved at the reconciliation).

“For the record,” Fred said, “I never jinxed you. That was all sweet Georgie here!” He ruffled George’s hair with his knuckles.

“Thanks, you prat,” George hissed, shoving Fred off of him.

You laughed and poked George in the ribs. “It’s okay! We’re starting over, yeah?”

“Yeah,” he said with a smile. “Starting over.”

┈┈┈┈

As the months trickled by, you found yourself spending an increasing amount of time with Fred and George. Whether they were intruding on your late-night study sessions in the library, (“Would you put that bloody book down already!”) or you were all in a fit of laughter by the Black Lake, you genuinely enjoyed their company and couldn’t believe it took you this long to do so.

Despite your growing friendship with Fred, something just clicked with you and George. He often snuck food out of the kitchen for you during those late-night study sessions; and he’d make sure you made it to Herbology before scurrying off to Transfiguration (often resulting in a late arrival); he’d also crumple up silly doodles of Snape during Potions and chuck them onto your desk.

One thing he hadn’t manage to do was ask you to the Yule Ball.

“Mate, you’ve got to ask her soon, or someone else will,” Fred urged.

It was blatantly obvious to Fred that his brother was head over heels for you — no question about it. He also felt quite confident that you felt the same; in fact, he’d likely bet a few galleons on it. Why George couldn’t muster the courage to simply ask you to the ball was beyond him.

So, there the two sat, bickering in the courtyard while you were busy finalizing your Charms essay in the library.

“I’m working on it, all right?” George retorted. “I just haven’t figured out how.”

“Oh, I see,” Fred began with a tinge of sarcasm, “Because saying, ‘Hey, Y/N, would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me’ is simply unsatisfactory.”

George rolled his eyes, fiddling with the strap of his book bag. “I just want to make sure I’m doing the right thing,” he murmured. “Don’t want to make things painfully awkward, y’know?”

“You mean in case she says no?”

George nodded as they made their way back into the castle.

“You’re bloody mad if you think she’d turn you down,” Fred said.

As they approached the library to scoop you up for Charms, they noticed you were already headed there with someone else.

“Oh, for Merlin’s sake,” Fred groaned as you turned the corner.

“Is that —”

“Pretty Boy Diggory...”

George was already sprinting to catch up, beckoning Fred to do the same.

“What did I tell you, Georgie,” Fred grumbled to himself.

By the time they could slow down and casually approach you, you were standing just outside of the classroom, giggling away with Cedric.

“I’ll see you later?” Cedric asked, a slight blush on his cheeks.

“Can’t wait,” you said softly.

He placed a kiss to your cheek before you bashfully ducked into the classroom.

George suddenly felt his stomach sinking to his feet. He thought he might churn if he looked at Cedric any longer. And was he imagining it or were his limbs actually going numb? Maybe he should crawl behind a statue, curl up into a ball, and stay there for the remainder of his education. Yes, that sounded quite appealing in this moment.

Cedric gleefully greeted the twins as he passed them on his way to class, “Morning!”

“Morning,” Fred mumbled, refusing to take his eyes off of George.

Fred nearly dragged George into class, who now sat at his desk, colorless, emotionless, and utterly defeated.

You swiveled around in your chair to face them, waving excitedly.

If you were being honest, you had desperately hoped that George would’ve asked you to the Yule Ball by now, given that there were only a few days left. Once you’d realized that he wasn’t going to ask you (what a foolish thought that was anyways), you figured you might as well scout out other options. When Caroline had causally mentioned that Cedric couldn’t keep his eyes off of you in Herbology, you considered him a perfectly pleasant substitution.

But he wasn’t George.

You were fairly confused when the twins failed to eagerly return your greeting, but you didn’t have much time to ponder that before Professor Flitwick began his lesson.

You slowly turned back around, quite befuddled at their behavior.

Had you done something wrong?

┈┈┈┈

“Quit your worrying — you look beautiful!” Caroline gushed as the two of you skipped down the stairs.

“Thanks,” you said, squeezing her around the shoulder, “So do you!”

You gently lifted the hem of your deep indigo dress as you carefully descended the last of the steps. You straightened the sheer, sparkly layer of tulle that gracefully sat atop your dress and scanned the room for George.

You knew you ought to be looking for Cedric, but George had been acting rather odd since that day in Charms — almost like he’d been avoiding you.

Fred still sat with you by the Black Lake after class, swapping sweets with you, and even tackled his Transfiguration homework with you one night in the library. But encounters with George seemed few and far between since then.

You couldn’t help but wonder if it may have been the result of something you’d been dreading: he’d found his date to the Yule Ball, and they’d been inseparable since.

Cedric called your name, snapping you back to reality.

“You look stunning,” he said, taking your hand in his and kissing the back of it.

You blushed and returned the compliment, coyly glancing around the room for any sign of Fred or George. You spotted Fred with Angelina making their way into the Great Hall and — there! You caught another head of fiery red hair ambling along beside of him.

Thankfully, Cedric had been momentarily distracted by a few of his mates to notice you standing on your tippy toes in a failed attempt to catch sight of whom George was with.

“Shall we?” Cedric asked, extending his arm for the taking.

You absent-mindedly intertwined your arm with his as he escorted you into the Great Hall. It was only during your opening dance with Cedric that you laid eyes on George’s date: Katie Bell.

You subconsciously frowned as you noticed George was far too preoccupied with the floor in front of him to notice you in your pretty gown, hair flowing behind you, twirling around — all in an effort to impress him. What was worse was the fact that Katie was practically sitting on him with how close she was... barf.

Before you knew it, minutes had turned into hours, and you were considerably exhausted by Cedric toting you around, introducing you to this person and that one. Keeping up a cheerful attitude while George danced around the room with someone else was particularly draining. But a Triwizard champion had no business mingling with a mope! So you kept up appearances.

But if Cedric spun you in one more circle, you thought you might just lose your dinner.

Unbeknownst to you, George would’ve agreed with your internal thoughts. He too was exhausted; exhausted by Katie’s constant, mindless chatter and her forced laughs at any and every comment he made. And as if watching you fawn over Cedric for the past few hours wasn’t bad enough, it didn’t boost his spirits to listen to Fred snapping at him every chance he got, practically begging George to intervene.

When you noticed Angelina and Katie heading for the girl’s room, you excused yourself from Cedric and his mates.

George was going to talk to you, damn it.

As you swiftly approached their table, Fred kicked George underneath and blurted, “She’s coming this way!”

“Fred, George! Fancy seeing you here!” You exclaimed in an overly cheerful tone.

You plopped down into the chair beside of George and took a swig of your Butterbeer. He furrowed his brows and crossed his arms.

“You look nice,” Fred complimented in an attempt to encourage George to say something similar.

“Thank you, Freddie, so do you,” you stated plainly.

An awkward silence ensued as George fiddled with his glass, avoiding eye contact.

You cleared your throat and tapped his shoulder. “How’s your night going, George?”

He seemed startled by your touch. He straightened up, pondering how to converse with you when he was so positively peeved by you prancing around with Cedric.

“Oh, it’s going fine,” he’d decided on. “Katie’s really wonderful — have you two met? I’m sure you’ve seen her around; very pretty, a little taller than you. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but she’s also a wicked Quidditch player! I know you said you’d like to hone your Quidditch skills sometime — sure she’d be chuffed to teach someone with zero experience. Also fairly sure she’s top of your Herbology class, so I guess you two must have met by now!”

“What are you playing at?” You snapped.

Fred’s eyes widened as he grabbed his glass and announced, “Going to get a refill!”

“What d’you mean?” George asked innocently.

“Yes, I’ve met Katie Bell, and yes, I know she’s wonderful. I’m sure that’s why you asked her,” you said, rolling your eyes.

“How’s your night going with Pretty Boy Diggory? Seems like a drag to me,” George sneered.

“It’s actually been quite lovely,” you lied. “Really knows how to treat a lady, I must say! You know, when he asked me, he gave me a sunflower, which is my favorite! He’s also very charming, and witty, too.”

“Well, I’m glad someone finally asked you,” he spat.

“Excuse me?”

“I was starting to worry you might never find someone!”

“Says the bloke who couldn’t score a date until the day before!”

Tears were welling up in your eyes and you begged them not to spill over. Just as you were about to deliver your next jab, Cedric made his way back to you.

“George,” he greeted with a polite nod before turning to you. “Thought we might sneak away to the gardens, love. What do you think?”

“I would love to!” You exclaimed defiantly. You tossed back your Butterbeer and slammed your empty glass on the table before placing a hard kiss to Cedric’s lips.

“Have a nice night, Georgie!”

If George had been thinking a little more clearly, if he hadn’t just had a tough row with you, he may have thought better than to do what he did next.

“Furnunculus!” He hissed, wand clearly aimed at Cedric.

You gasped as boils began erupting onto Cedric’s face, rapidly spreading down to his neck. You turned to see George storming out of the Great Hall, tucking his wand into his robes. You quickly dragged Cedric out into the corridor.

“Madam Pomfrey will be able to fix you right up, dear. I’m so sorry about this!”

It was quite difficult for Cedric to do anything other than moan in agony as you escorted him to the hospital wing.

As soon as Madam Pomfrey assured you that Cedric would be well in no time, you made your way back down to the Great Hall, only to find that the festivities were wrapping up. You spotted George sulking up the stairs with Fred and practically leapt up the steps towards him.

Once you were close enough, you spun him around to face you.

His eyes widened as you whipped out your wand and said tearfully, “This is the last time you ruin my day with a stupid jinx.”

Before George could say anything, you ambushed him with a gnarly Bat-Bogey hex. Tears streamed down your face as he flailed around.

Fred sighed at you. “Can’t you two just grow up already?”

You pushed past him and sprinted down the stairs. You felt like the oxygen in your body was slowly leaking out of you; you desperately needed fresh air. As you burst into the courtyard, you collapsed onto a bench with no one to cry with but yourself.

Your ears were ringing violently, and you felt dizzy and helpless as you tried to catch your breath. This is not how you’d envisioned your night.

You wanted nothing more than to fall into George’s arms and to confess to him how you’d felt — how you’d felt for the past few months now. You wanted to tell him how the only thing you could think of the entire night was how you’d give a thousand galleons to be the one twirling around with him instead of Katie. How dreadfully boring you found Cedric compared to him. How sorry you were that you didn’t wait for him.

You were heartbroken and alone.

You weren’t sure if the two of you would ever recover.

┈┈┈┈

“He’s staring again,” Caroline mumbled.

“Well, staring won’t get him very far, will it?” You said, twiddling with your quill as you flipped through your Herbology notes.

Christmas break was over, and it was time to get ready for your N.E.W.T.s, so whenever you had a free moment to brush up on your studies, you took advantage of it.

Caroline had pointed out several times during this train ride how often George would glance your way and seemingly battle with himself about coming over to talk to you.

After the Yule Ball, the two of you made it a point to avoid each other. While at surface value it seemed that you two were avoiding each other out of spite, truthfully, you were both avoiding each other out of sheer embarrassment. You both knew you’d overreacted, and you both knew you should’ve just come to terms with your feelings for one another right then and there. But no, just as Fred had implied, you’d both acted rather childishly.

The remainder of that year saw Fred and Caroline constantly devising ways to get you and George to talk to one another, but each attempt was met with failure.

That summer felt awfully empty without George, even if Fred had mentioned him in a letter every now and then.

When neither of you initiated conversation during the first half of your final year, you became increasingly anxious at how long you’d have to cope with the consequences of your immature behavior.

“What do you expect him to do, Y/N?” Caroline asked.

“I dunno,” you earnestly replied, “I guess I just want him to be honest with me. I’m tired of this ridiculous back and forth and tip-toeing around what could be.”

“Well, were you ever honest with him?”

You loved Caroline, but sometimes you despised her brutal honesty.

“No,” you sheepishly admitted.

“Well, all right then.”

Just as you resumed your light reading, you noticed your quill transforming in your hand. You gazed at it in confusion and watched in awe as it slowly became a beautiful, bright sunflower.

Caroline chuckled lightly as the heat rushed to your face. You glanced up at George, who peered at you apologetically from his seat and bashfully waved at you.

You couldn’t resist breaking out into a ridiculous grin as you warmly waved back.

George let out a small laugh as you turned back to Caroline.

“That seemed pretty honest to me,” she triumphantly stated.

“Oh, hush, you,” you giggled.

Once classes resumed, your time was fairly consumed by your studies. You rarely saw George outside of Charms, and that wasn’t exactly a prime spot for conversation, given that this year you were practically sprinting from the greenhouse to get to Charms on time. You often tried to catch him in the Great Hall or in the corridor, but your schedules outside of Charms seemed so misaligned.

But, boy, did you long to talk to him.

Every once in a blue moon, you’d find another sunflower mysteriously appearing on your desk, or on top of your book in the library, or quite literally replacing your breakfast plate. You began viewing these occurrences as George’s way of communicating with you when your schedules seemed hell-bent on keeping you apart.

When you finally enlisted in Dumbledore’s Army, the universe sang in celebration.

It wasn’t until your first meeting that you realized you might actually stand a chance of sitting down and having a conversation with him. Maybe not during the meeting, but certainly on the way out!

After an exhilarating lesson, you felt adrenaline coursing through your veins. You’d successfully conjured a Patronus and expertly countered some spells that Caroline sent barreling your way. There was only one thing that could make this even better.

“George!” You called to him as he began shuffling out of the room.

He stopped in his tracks, turning to you with his jaw slightly slacked. He playfully pointed to himself, turning around then back again. “Are you talking to me?”

You laughed lightly, which he returned. You cautiously approached him, struggling to make eye contact.

“Listen, George — ”

“Y/N, I — ”

You both laughed again.

“Go ‘head,” you said.

The last few stragglers made their way out of the Room of Requirement until it was just the two of you. Even Fred and Caroline had long gone.

“Y/N... I’m really sorry about... well, about everything...” There was a hint of sadness in his voice that you’d never heard before.

“George — ”

“No, really. I’m sorry I acted like such an arse last year. It’s just, when I saw you with Cedric — ”

It felt weird hearing his name now.

“I felt sick. I had always known that you were different — that you were special. But I never fully acknowledged that until I saw him kissing you in the hallway. I wanted to evaporate into thin air and pretend I’d never existed. I couldn’t bring myself to even come within a few meters of you because it just felt like a wicked punch to the gut.”

You frowned in sympathy. If only he’d known how you’d felt.

“And then at the Yule Ball,” he continued, “Blimey, did you look bloody beautiful. I’d never seen anything so angelic in my life. And to see that tainted by him gushing over you and parading you around nearly killed me. I would’ve given anything for you to be dancing with me instead.”

“George — ” You tried to speak again.

“Please, let me finish,” he begged. “I acted like a right prat that night. I was angry that he’d beaten me to the punch. I was angry that you’d ended up with him and not me. I let my anger overwhelm my senses and thought that maybe if I made you feel just as angry as I’d felt, that maybe you’d realize I’d been there all along. But instead, it was a pathetic idea, and instead I made you feel small. And Merlin, Y/N, I don’t ever want to see you look at me that way again — not in my whole life.”

He gripped your shoulders, and you were worried he might be able to hear your heart pounding in your chest, begging to burst from inside of you and profess its love once and for all.

“All I care about is what makes you happy. And if that was him, then I should’ve let it be. I’m sorry about what happened, I’m sorry I can’t bring him back, but Y/N... I would give up everything I own — which I know doesn’t seem like much — just to make you happy. If I have to conjure up a thousand sunflowers every day for the rest of my life just to see you smile, then you’ll never go a day without one.”

Your head was reeling and you could have sworn the room was spinning profusely around you. You clutched his hands on your shoulders for balance and felt a single tear roll down your flushed face.

“George, I’m so, so sorry,” you blurted out as you began to cry.

His body collided with yours as he embraced you with the force of a million supernovae bursting through the universe.

“I’m so sorry,” you repeated, burying your face into his chest.

“It’s okay, Y/N. It’s okay,” he whispered.

You pulled away. “No, George, I need you to know — I would’ve given everything to be your date that night. Day in and day out, I daydreamed about what it would be like to be your date to the Yule Ball. I desperately wanted to go with you... but as it got closer and closer, I gave up. I went with the first person who asked me, and I am so sorry. I should’ve waited for you!”

George gently held the sides of your face, wiping your tears away.

“And those things I said about him,” you continued, “I only said them because I was hurt that Katie Bell got to dance with you and hold you and laugh with you, and I wanted nothing more than do those things myself. I didn’t feel anything for him, George! I only wanted you. And I’m sorry that I hexed you after that, and I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner — ”

Before you could utter another word, George crashed his lips onto yours, and you nearly melted in his arms. As your lips moved in synchrony, fireworks exploded in your heart and a symphony of bliss echoed inside your head. This was the feeling you’d been yearning for; this was the little piece of your soul that had been missing; this was you and George Weasley and nobody else; this was pure, unadulterated, head-over-heels love.

You both laughed as you peppered kisses across each other’s lips.

“Is this our formal peace treaty, Weasley?” You teased.

He pressed another kiss to your lips before biting his lip in thought. “Bound by one condition, I suppose.”

“And may I ask what that condition might be?” You giggled.

“Be my girlfriend, yeah?” He murmured against your lips.

“Oh, all right!”

George draped his arms around your waist, scooping you up as he continued indulging in the sweet taste of your kisses.

It seems as though two of you did recover.

The war was over.

#george weasley #george wealsey x reader #harry potter #harry potter fanfiction #george weasley imagine #fred weasley #fanfiction #george weasley fanfiction #fred and george #fred and george weasley #weasley

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heauxplesslydevoted · 3 years

Note

Hi there! We're changing things up a little this week :)

Not Yet Wed Questions

Note: Great Scott! This week, we are going back in time to MC’s intern year. Think of Ethan’s relationship with them at this point and answer the following questions accordingly. It is entirely up to you when in year 1 this takes place (pre/post Miami, pre/post CH 15, etc). Feel free to answer with dialogue or pictures or both :) Have fun!

No worries. All of this is off the record and HR will never know!

The setting for this answers is:

For Both

When I first saw them, I thought__________

What is your coworker's most used swear word?

Quick: What color are their eyes?

Three people at work your coworker hates?

What is your coworker’s strangest or most endearing quirk?

If they had a crush on anyone at work, who would that be?

(Bonus round! Feel free to skip.)

Never have I Ever:

come into work hungover

had a fistfight

been kicked out of a bar

gotten a tattoo

broken someone’s heart

been in love

For MC (Ethan is not there)

Where do you see him in five years (both professionally and in his personal life?)

What do you find the most impressive about him?

Last thing he texted you?

If he asked you out on a date, what would you say?

For Ethan (MC is not there)

Where do you see him in five years (both professionally and in his personal life?)

What specifically do you find attractive about her?

Last thing she texted you?

If she asked you out on a date, how would you respond?

Alright, post Book 1 but pre-Ethan fleeing to South America Ethan x Naomi coming right up! I feel like that time would have maximum tension because they’re trying to find their footing again after fucking the souls out of each other’s bodies and sending them into orbit, and lowkey falling in love sleeping together, while maintaining professionalism.

~v~

For Both:

When I first saw them, I thought__________

Naomi: I thought “thank God someone else is here!” I was in over my head with that patient, and I didn’t even notice that The Ethan Ramsey was the one assisting me until much later.

Ethan: I thought she had guts. You don’t see too many first day interns that are ready to jump into the fray like she did.

What is your coworker's most used swear word?

Naomi: He says Christ and any iteration of the word damn. Dammit, goddamn, goddammit, you get the gist.

Ethan: She says fuck.

Naomi: You’ve never heard me say that.

Ethan: She says fuck a lot, especially when she’s...*Ethan trails off and catches himself before he finishes that sentence. It’s a moot point all the same because now all he can think about is the young intern in front of him, hands pulling his hair, nails raking down his back, moaning the obscenity into his ear, into his pillows. He awkwardly clears his throat* Just trust me, I’ve heard her say it. Multiple times.

*and now he’s mad at himself*

Quick: What color are their eyes?

Naomi: Blue. They’re kinda hard to miss.

Ethan: Her eyes are brown.

Three people at work your coworker hates?

Naomi: He hates everyone, except for me and Naveen.

Ethan: Except for you? You think pretty highly of yourself, Rookie.

Naomi: Am I wrong? *Ethan doesn’t deny it, instead staying silent and Naomi smirks* Exactly

Ethan: I don’t think she dislikes anyone. I’ve never met a person like her, she makes friends with everyone.

What is your coworker’s strangest or most endearing quirk?

Naomi: He fiddles with his glasses a lot.

Ethan: She’s constantly biting her lip, especially when she’s really focused.

*she’s actually surprised that he picked up on that* Naomi: You notice that?

Ethan: I notice everything...about everything. It’s the nature of the job.

If they had a crush on anyone at work, who would that be?

*they both share an awkward glance before looking away and declining to answer*

Never Have I Ever...

Come into work hungover

Ethan: When I was younger, yes. But now that I’m older, I know my limits.

Naomi: No, because I don’t get hangovers due to my magical hangover cure.

Ethan: That god-awful drink is...surprisingly effective.

*the interviewer asks Ethan to elaborate on the time Naomi gave him whatever her hangover cure is, and he adamantly refuses*

Had a fistfight

Naomi: Yes, but in my defense I was drunk.

Ethan: *snorts* How is that a defense?

Naomi: I’m the daughter of an attorney, I usually try to resolve my issues with my words. But drunk Naomi is a little feistier.

Ethan: You mean you have a level of feistiness that I’ve yet to see?

Naomi: Oh yeah. Anyway, I was in college, I was drunk at a bar, someone spilled a drink on me, and it escalated. I think I broke her nose.

Ethan: An arrest record wasn’t on your file when we hired you.

Naomi: Like I said, I’m the daughter of an attorney, and the granddaughter of a DC judge. That has its perks.

Ethan: Yes, I’ve gotten into a fist fight before. I punched Nash in the face. And before that, i fought my old med school roommate.

Naomi: Ooh, what did he do?

Ethan: That’s not a story I’d ever divulge while sober.

Been kicked out of a bar

Naomi: Yes. Circle back to the previous question.

Ethan: No, because I’m an adult.

Gotten a tattoo

Ethan: Absolutely not

Naomi: I have a tattoo of the Cancer symbol on my left hip. It’s my zodiac sign.

*this stuns Ethan into silence because he’s seen her naked on more than one occasion and been...very well acquainted with the body parts below her waist, and for the life of him cannot remember a tattoo*

Broken someone’s heart

Naomi: No. At least, I don’t think so. I’ve had my heart broken, if that counts.

Ethan: Same as Naomi. I don’t think I have.

*they make a pointed effort to not make eye contact with each other, and Naomi bites down on her lip, letting the silence hang in the air. The alternative would be informing Ethan that he has indeed broken someone’s heart, and that just won’t do.*

Been in love

Naomi: I don’t know. Maybe? I thought I was in love with my med school boyfriend, but now that time has passed, I know that wasn’t love. At least, not the good kind. And there was a near miss after him, but nothing came out of it. The emotions were a lot stronger the second time around though, and i think it’s the closest I’ve come to it this far. I’m a hopeless romantic, so I hope I find it someday.

Ethan: No. Call me a cynic, but I just don’t see love as something that’s feasible and attainable. Putting that much trust and dependency in another person is not realistic.

For Naomi (Ethan is not there)

Where do you see him in five years (both professionally and in his personal life?)

Naomi: I don’t know what’s left for a man like Ethan Ramsey. He’s already done so much in the field of medicine, unless he reinvents the entire wheel and turns it upside down, which I can see him doing. I can see him writing more, publishing more research, and of course winning more awards. If he wasn’t so anti-administration, he could be running this place. Or maybe he’ll start his own non-profit.

Naomi: As far as his personal life, I don’t know. You heard loud and clear that he doesn’t really believe in love. I hope one day he changes his mind or finds a companion, because underneath his extremely prickly exterior, he’s one of the best men I know and he has a heart of gold. He deserves the chance to let someone take care of it for him.

What do you find the most impressive about him?

Naomi: From afar, Ethan seems very larger than life, but I think the most impressive thing about him is his dedication to not just medicine, but his patients. I’ve never seen him not go above and beyond for someone he was treating.

Last thing he texted you?

Naomi: “Please consult Diana in HR regarding your official diagnostic team fellowship application. I know this year has been unorthodox to say the least, but there are still some steps that must be taken before the start of your second year. Thank you.”

Naomi: I’ve never received a text message that long.

If he asked you out on a date, what would you say?

*her cheeks heat up furiously and she pulls her bottom between her teeth before answering, her eyes bright and watery*

Naomi: Am I a total glutton for pain for saying I’d jump at the chance?

For Ethan (Naomi is not there)

Where do you see her in five years (both professionally and in her personal life?)

Ethan: Dr. Valentine has so much potential and she’s going to be one of the greats. She’s going to be running the diagnostics team if she chooses to stay at Edenbrook, and I can’t see Naveen not trying to keep her here. She’s going to win awards, have awards named after her, publish research, lead trials, whatever. I hate to sound banal and cliche, but the sky really is the limit for her. I chose her for a reason, and I plan her helping her reach all of that potential.

Ethan: As for her personal life, I don’t know. Hopefully she finds someone that’s good enough for her.

What specifically do you find attractive about her?

Ethan: A-attractive? *the word comes out in a squeak, but he coughs to cover it up* Why on earth would you assume that I’m attracted to her?

*he goes on a ridiculously long tangent about how inappropriate it is to be attracted to your coworkers, especially your subordinates, and how he would never jeopardize Naomi’s career on something as trivial as attraction, and anyone with an ounce of common sense can tell that he doth protest too much*

Ethan: But if I absolutely had to pick something besides her good looks, it’d be her spirit. She’s warm and empathetic and optimistic, and I’ve never seen someone care as much as she does.

Last thing she texted you?

Ethan: “👍” I sent her a message about her upcoming fellowship and she sent back a thumbs up. Just that. I was a little annoyed.

If she asked you out on a date, how would you respond?

Ethan: As um...flattering as that might be, I would say no. I am an attending, she’s an intern, my soon to be fellow. That is crossing too many ethical lines, lines I refuse to breach.

Ethan: And I would say no because Naomi is...just a good person. And maybe I’m being biased, but I don’t know if anyone will ever be truly worthy of her. But I can say without a shadow of a doubt that she deserves so much better than me or what I could give her.

#ethan ramsey #ethan ramsey x mc #newlyweds game with your host bree

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hanahaki-neko · 3 years

Text

Across Millenia | Venti x Reader

He never once forget about her. Even after so long. But Venti never expected to meet her again,after all this time

note : reincarnation AU. again this is a work from wattpad but i hope y’all enjoy it. this is from my early days so excuse me if the fic is bad lmao

Windwheel aster. That was her favourite flower. Even as a little wind spirit he'd keep a breeze blowing through the field to ensure that they don't wilt. Sure he was just a tiny insignificant being in the world with little to no power over the whirlwind surrounding the city,but at least he made sure the flowers where she would often go was always there to greet her.

Y/N and the bard would make their way through the city. She would smile in delight whenever she sees the little windwheel asters. True that they only grow in places that has gentle breeze. One without or one with too much fierce would kill them. The girl and a few others that had one of these flora on their windows or balcony never really did realize that the tiny spirit was the one who made sure they're still alive.

He cared about both of them so much. They had grown so close and even spend almost every hour together. Talking about the most trivial of things and doing everything together

"You two are just like twins." She laughed when he tried to shift and look like the bard.

"Well maybe he can sing with me by the tavern sometime in the future."

He loved her. He loved her so much. He didn't care if a little wind spirit and a human can't be together,or did he know if this was okay. But he never really had the guts to tell her properly. The bard knew of his feelings and was completely on board. He'd go to where she'd usually be and spend time together,sometime leaving him be with her while he went to get some drinks. He loved the bard for his supportive nature and he loved Y/N for her kind and gentle soul.

Watching the windwheel aster spins gently,and watch the dandelions scatter around when blown. "They're just like you when you float around." Said the girl,and he giggles in response. He loved the look of peace and serenity in the comfort of those flowers,despite the tyrant's rule.

Whatever would made her happy,he would do. Bringing cookies when she's feeling peckish,to visiting her during sleepless nights and keep her company. Comforting her when she feels sad. He would make sure that she keeps smiling everyday.

He would watch over both the bard and Y/N to ensure their safety. He would also support their decision and wishes. So when the bard voiced his objection against the tyrant's control over the city and seeing the girl also agreed,this little wind spirit too decided to join the rebellion. Rallying up the citizens to overthrow the tyrant,the chaos that came over,it was pretty overwhelming.

He did his best with his powers to assist them. Many bloods were drawn,many lives lost. They were separated as he went with the bard. Swords clashed and screams of pain an agony echoed throughout. But for freedom, nothing is too much of a price.

Is it?

He watched in horror,as the arrow pierced his chest. The bard fell to the ground with a thud as others rushed to his aid. The tower crumbled down as the tyrant is no more,but in the fight to obtain freedom, the bard had lost his life. Just as he thought this couldn't get any worse,the little spirit noticed that the girl was nowhere to be seen. He flutter around in panic,already crying his tiny heart out. And it just shatter into a million pieces when he saw her underneath the rubbles of the building. He cried and pleaded for others to save her. But no one could as the damage had been done. Cuts from swords and a stab wound by the spear was the end of her.

"No,no,no,this can't be happening!' He knew he should've told her to stay out of the fight. She shouldn't have grabbed that sword and fight alongside the others. She smiled weakly with grief hidden underneath upon knowing the fate of her friend the bard. She tried to reach out a hand to the spirit,which he could only held a finger with his tiny body.

"Make sure the freedom stays with them,okay?"

He did his best to keep that promise. He knew that both the girl and the bard would be glad to know that their effort weren't in vain. Their funeral was held and weep he did for a period of time unknown to anyone. How long had it been. Almost over three millenia by this point? It's been so,so long and yet it's one of the memories that stuck with him.

Fly fly away

Like the birds in the sky

See the world on my behalf

To the heavens you may fly

The song never once left his memory. The ones sung by the bard and the girl. Whenever he walks the land of Mondstadt and hear the people drink and party,Venti couldn't help but feel just a bit nostalgic. He toured the city and the land that he should've been govern, simply singing and telling tales to those who would listen. Just doing anything other than reigning over the city.

He was taken back to reality when Aether called him. Venti stood beneath the tree in windrise as he looked to the windborne traveller.

"Shouldn't you be on your way to Liyue by now? You're going to miss the rite of descension if you don't hurry." He said.

"Well we should make if it we use the teleport points. It might take only a few days and the rite is probably still a week away." Paimon replied.

"And i kinda want to spend just a bit more time with you before we depart,if you don't mind? And you know maybe take a commission or two." Aether asked.

Venti smiled,"Might as well visit Mondstadt and pick up a few audiences." They all walk back to the city where once again he sings and tells many tales. The tale of how Mondstadt becomes the city of freedom it's known right now. How the people of old times fought the tyrant. The memory of his past clouded his thoughts,and he almost cried during his performance.

Aether treated him to lunch at good hunter afterwards and they had quite the uneventful day,really. The traveller was talking to Katheryne about some commissions when Venti felt someone approaching them. He glanced over to see who it was and he was,how to put it- surprised? Dumbfounded?

The same silhouette and appearance, the h/c hair might have been a different length in the eyes,but everything else was exactly the same. Venti kept starring at her,lost in time gazing into her e/c eyes. She looked back at him and smiled a little greeting them.

"Hi. I'm Y/N,the one who commissioned for the whopperflower hunt?"

"Oh,yeah. What's up with that?" Paimon asked.

Vent completely tuned out the entire conversation. Was it possible? Is it the same person he knew back in old Mondstadt? Just being able to see her brought back the abundance of memory he had. 'Get it together,Venti. At least say something to them.' he thought to himself. He jumped a bit when Aether tapped his shoulder,asking him something he didn't quite catch.

"H-huh? What?" He looked at the traveller.

"I said can you accompany Y/N while me and Paimon check out the horde of whopperflowers and get some nectar?"

"Oh! Oh,yeah,sure."

"Geez,he's been spacing out a lot today. What's wrong with that tone-deaf bard." Paimon sighed before the two of the left the city.

Venti is now left alone with Y/N,with both of them not really knowing what to do or say to each other. "I don't think we've officially been introduced. I'm Y/N,an alchemist." The girl said trying to break the silence.

"I'm Venti. Though you might know me if you've come and listen to my performance before this encounter." He replied to which she smiled and nodded a little.

"Say,you..want to take a walk around Windrise? The weather's nice today." He offered.

"Well,i can't progress my research until i get the materials needed."

She accepted the offer and he took her hand and led her to one if his favourite spot. Holding her hand felt exactly the same as it did all those years back. Her hands felt small against his, though it would've been the opposite in the past. The two sat down under the tree and exchanged stories. Time flies when you're having fun.

"You like flowers?" He spoke after noticing her holding a certain set of them.

"I guess? I like windwheel asters most, though." She smiled in reply.

He couldn't help but think 'just like her' as she went on to tell about how she grew some of these at her house. How they only grow in places with gentle winds blowing through. He of course knew of this fact,but he didn't mind listening to her rambling about them. He'd listen with a small smile plastered to his face the entire time.

"So, you're an alchemist..but what's with all those bandages?" He asked this time after seeing her wrist wrapped in one.

"Oh, it's just some accidents on the lab and some scars i got from foraging for materials." She said,a nervous laugh followed after.

He felt a slight pain in his chest at the thought of her getting hurt. Even back then she would sometimes ger her knee scratched or fell down and trip every now and then. 'Still as fragile as ever', He said to himself. He told her more about what he saw during his travel across the land,but sometimes he noticed that she's blankly starring at him,

"Hey,Y/N. What's wrong?" He asked.

No response.

"Hello? Teyvat to Y/N?" He called again.

That seems to get her out of her little world,she shook her head a bit, regaining focus,"o-oh,what is it?"

"You've starring at me for quite a while now. Were you charmed by my good looks,perhaps?" He said teasingly.

"Wha- no! That's not it." She stuttered back,her hands up in denial and face blushing a deep shade of red.

"It's just...i feel like i know you well before meeting you here."

"I feel like i've known you for a long time."

This time Venti was the one not responding to her words. If he wasn't sure,he sure as heck is now believing she was the same Y/N he knew and loved. Perhaps she didn't have the memory her past self had,but that didn't matter to him,he was overjoyed at this point.

"Well, maybe you've seen me perform before and just didn't remember." He said, looking away and hiding a soft smile.

"Or maybe you've known me from way before." He whispered under his breath.

"Hm? Did you say something?"

"No,i was just thinking about putting on a show tomorrow in front of the statue for others to hear yet another heroic tale." He smiled at her.

"I hope you would come and watch me sing,dear Y/N."

"I won't miss it for the world." She smiled back,chuckling.

His eyes soften as he grabbed her hand which surprised her at first. He leaned in and kissed her lips,earning a gasp in response and a blush as well. He stood up as his smile curved into a grin.

"Then i shall look forward to tomorrow." He said putting the windwheel aster over her ear.

Venti bid farewell and without waiting for a response took his leave while she was still shocked,trying his best not to blush in front of Y/N. When he got far enough he just crouch down and mumbled something incomprehensible to himself. It was bold of him to do something like that in the first place, especially when they just met earlier today. Sure he knew her from like 2600 years ago but she had no recollection of him.

Still,somehow she was once again here before him. He'll protect her and made sure she's safe. He will never let anything bad happen to her. It will take some time for them to get to know each other all over again,but he didn't really mind.

He's really looking forward to her coming to see him perform tomorrow.

Y/N on the other hand was still recovering from the entire information overload. Face still a bit red from the entire oreal. From afar she could hear Aether and Paimon calling out to her. "Heeeyy! We got that nectar you waanted!" "Oh,t-thanks." She pulled herself out of her own little world to take the materials she asked for and paid them for their works. But just as soon as they left looking for the bard,she once again was lost in her own thoughts.

They just met today,but it felt like she had known him forever. Some of his 'old' tales felt all to familiar. And she was beyon surprised when he suddenly kissed her.

But somehow she didn't mind.

The sense of familiarity she had when talking to him put her at ease,and she felt like there's nothing to worry about. She felt safe when she's with him. And a part of her couldn't help but want to know him better.

She put a finger over her lips, still not reall over the fact that he kissed her so suddenly,then to brushing against the flower he put on her. But she smiled, thinking that he's way bolder than he looks.

She can't wait to come and watch him sing tomorrow.

#genshin impact #genshin impact fics #venti x reader #venti #the drunk bard #neko writes #hey may be a god #but he's not used to romantic relationship #i know ironic considering he sings songs about love a lot #probably

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rpg-elf-girl · 3 years

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Shadows House

I have a lot of thoughts surrounding this particular show, both good & bad.

Allow me to give a quick summary for anyone who hasn't seen/read it!

Shadows House is about 'a faceless family of nobles who all live within this giant manor, the Shadows House.

When a Shadow comes of age they receive a 'Living Doll' to both serve as their face and to clean the soot they emit from their bodies.

The most important rule of the living dolls is "don't fret over trivial matters"

A task which is difficult for the ever curious doll Emiliko.

Watch this tale unfold as Emiliko & her mistress Kate navigate this ever mysterious Manor together.'

For a fan of slow burn thrillers, horror, slice of life, supernatural & mystery series' this has been an absolute blast!

It's not quite the combination of genres you'd expect from a show, but it works really well here!

In fact I was so into the anime that this is actually the first show where I broke down and read the manga!

Unfortunately there's no official English release, but at least there are some people translating the series!

As much as I'd like to go on about the manga, this post is meant to be more so about the anime so I'll (try to) leave it at that.

Though i feel obligated to warn anime onlys I'll likely refer the manga a lot in a spoiler section latter in this post I'll try to be vague but I can't guarantee anything. For anyone worried about that I'll lable it do you can read on until then.

Everything from the animation to the music was amazing & completely fit the mood of the story! I remember a couple scenes where I actually teared up because of this!

The Ending theme is an absolute banger! I've listened to that on repeat ever since I first heard it! And the Opening is also great! It's cool for it to be an instrumental, stuff like that is pretty rare! I also heard the song in the op as a motif in the music throughout the show! It really sets the right mood in each scene it's in! It's amazing for getting into each episode!

In terms of adaptation almost everything from the beginning to the end of the Debut arc was done amazingly well!

Even with the stuff they cut it still holds true to the spirit of its source.

The main important part that was cut is something that could easily be introduced latter if they decide to go for a second season, so I'm not too mad about that.

However! Everything after the debut is a bit of a different story.

There was a lot I liked about the last couple episodes but there were some parts that were immersion breaking for me.

I've been being vague up until this point l, but I'm planning on going into spoiler territory for both the anime and manga after this. So I'll make a quick spoiler free summary of my thoughts before moving onto that.

I really really loved this show but in my opinion the last 3 episodes were the weakest of them all. They went anime only for the ending. I don't mind that on it's own, but it was rushed and the writing was sloppy at times.

Now I'm not telling you to not watch the show! Most of It's really really good, and I can still see people enjoying the parts I'm talking about if they want to give the anime a try. Overall I've fallen in love with this series and I could never recommend it enough.

If what I'm saying is giving you bad vibes the manga is available and doesn't have the issues I've mentioned. You can look for a translation online, it didn't take me long to find one so don't worry too much about that.

Also! if you're an anime only who's finished the series and want to know where to pick up the Manga I'd recommend at least skiming through the beginning. I know it might not be what you're looking for but there were a bunch of small scenes that either got cut or were merged for adaptation purposes that I think are super cute & give more context to different aspects of the setting. However! Pay close attention during the "night watchers part" something important got cut .

~~~Now for spoilers!!!!~~~

I don't want to make it sound like I'm some manga purist who hates the very thought of the slightest change from the source. I'm anime only for a lot of different shows and I've always despised it when that type of manga reader reared it's ugly head.

While I'll admit some changes did bother me I won't make a fuss about the smaller stuff.

With that said!

I hinted earlier in this post that I didn't have a big problem with Robe-same being cut. That was because without them there it does make for a more complete story if they only get one season to work with.

If there is another season they can easily be introduced latter on. Like maybe Emiliko & Shaun can meet them when the Debutant class reunion is going on before they talk on the roof (or right after that) I actually think that would be the perfect time to introduce them (other than the time they were supposed to appear, but I digress)

Louise teaming up & being friendly with Kate can be explained with some dialogue changes at the first Debutant Class Reunion. Louise can say she was just trying to show off or that she just wanted to get back at Edward and that she isn't interested in helping Kate with her problems. Things can then go on as they did in the manga.

Kates being reckless & telling everything to John can be explained by her being extremely panicked when Emiliko went missing, as long as there are some lines of dialogue adressing this it's fine. Though I do wish she tried to keep some stuff a secret but couldn't because Shaun tries to interfer because he's still brainwashed, or something along those lines. It felt a bit weird after she just told Emiliko to keep that stuff between them. Still that could be explained by how panicked she was.

There are other things, but I don't want to drag the post on too long. Most of the issues can be fixed with little changes here & there.

I never had a problem with the idea of them going in an anime only direction. I just want to have a good time with the show.

Unfortunately I can't 100% vouche for the direction the show went in. There were elements that I can't excuse, even viewing it as it's own entity instead of an adaptation.

My main complaint with it is how they handled the brainwashing of Ricky & Lou. They didn't say a word when the Debutants were talking badly about Edward & even went along with a plan to go against him. It makes absolutely no sense!

Shaun freaked out when John only suggested that he didn't have to be loyal to the house. These guys were flat out rebelling against an adult! It felt like Ricky & Lou didn't have a purpose & were just there to be there.

The whole point of the coffee is to influence shadows against doing stuff like this. It makes the coffee seem pointless and the adults seem dumb for relying on it to control the kids.

I haven't even brought up the fact that both of their brainwashings were broken by something as simple as a few kind words. It straight up contradicts the rules established by both the Anime and Manga.

This becomes very apparent when you consider all the trouble John & Kate went through to free Shaun & Emiliko.

This was my biggest complaint, but I have some other issues as well.

The next big one is how they handled Edward.

1. Why on earth would he even consider kidnapping Emiliko when he had complete control of the childrens wing? Before this point he was depicted as being a lot more crafty than this. He could easily have Kate monitored or something.

2. Why didn't he use his powers to stop them like what he did to Maryrose & Rosemary when they fought back being taken to the adults wing? He's already shown off his power at this point, why not?

3. Why did he reveal his soot powers at all!? Especially while using his face in front of the kids! The whole unification thing is one of the biggest secrets of the house for good reason! There's no way he wouldn't get in huge trouble for exposing it to children!

Here are some other related questions.

Why didn't Kate, Emiliko, & John react to Edward using soot powers? They shouldn't know about unification yet so why didn't they act shocked, or say anything about it?

Is Edward being banished even an option in the Shadows House? Wouldn't the third floor lords just dispose of him rather than risk letting him leave?

How did John even get a veiled dolls outfit? Louise had to use her powers to get Kate one & she left a long time ago.

I can't think of much else at the moment, but I think you get my point.

Please don't take this as me saying that I hate the show because of these episodes. Even if I consider them the weakest of the series I still found a lot of parts to be very enjoyable!

Like I thought it was adorable When Edward was attempting to interrogate Emiliko & she kept being her sunshine self pretending to eat & falling asleep.

Barbara getting to tell off Edward for breaking the rules was great!

I loved seeing Shaun hatch the plan to get Kate into the adults wing to save Emiliko.

Seeing John (attempt to) sneak around the adults wing had me rolling!

The ending scene of Shaun, Ricky, & Lou singing gave me the chills.

(Though I wonder how they'd handle Shaun & Emiliko being brainwashed again since they already used the scenes where they're freed)

Kate & Emilico being propelled by John back to the children's wing was absolutely amazing! I found Shaun & Ricky running over to catch them to be super sweet! (Not to mention the way that scene was animated was absolutely gorgeous!)

Getting hints to what was supposed to come after the debut was nice, at least the groundwork is there in case this gets a season 2!

To (try to) wrap this all up while there were a lot of things I loved and disliked about this show I still had a really fun time watching it!

I kinda hope there's a season two just to see if they can tidy up the mess that the last few episodes created.

Regardless of whether that happens or not I came out of this with a series I absolutely adore.

Heck I could make a whole other post about the manga. (Hopefully one that's less ranty)

Anyway! I won't take any more of your time.

I hope you all have a wonderful day/night! And I hope to see you in my next post!

(Sorry if this one was a bit of a mess!)

#Shadows House #Shadows House Review #Shadows House Anime #Shadows House Manga #anime #anime review #seasonal anime

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ru08us · 3 years

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My concept of an Azulaang Fic

I have wanted to write an idea for a very long fic about this two characters. I figured out that for them to be together with their original characterization I literally have to change all the structure if the show, so here it is. I hope you like it.

“Water. Earth. Fire. Air. When I was a child I remember seeing how the Four Nations lived in Harmony. Air Nomads living in peace in our high temples, the Water Tribes striving with beautiful cities, the Earth Kingdom growing in peace and tradition, and the Fire Nation, living the biggest prosperity age the world had ever seen. But everything changed when these last one attacked. Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But he failed, three times. A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the War. Two years ago, I woke up from an iceberg and discovered that the world I had been born in was gone. Some people say the Avatar is out there, hiding in the Earth Kingdom, or that the avatar cicle is broken. But I believe they are wrong. The new Avatar must have been born in the Fire Nation, and I’m going to find him. Deep in my heart, I know he is going to come back and save the world”

4 Main changes for the story

Azula is the Avatar, Aang is an airbender who got frost for 98 years, Ozai is more calculating and cold and Zuko’s arc changes completely

Book 1: Air

So I will start describing Character arcs and relationship developments

Azula and Aang

First 2 chapters: The Fire Nation is making it’s annual examination to find if the Avatar is in their country. Every 14 year old is put into this process. Azula is discovered as the Avatar and Ozai congratulates her, only to chi send her into a cell. She is rescued by another 14 years old guy, Aang, and they escape together. She uses the Avatar State for the first time while escaping.

They manage to sneak into the Earth Kingdom riding Appa and then Azula starts figuring out her situation properly. She questions Aang on his motives and he tells her he is an air nomad who has been looking for the avatar for 2 years after being frozen.

Chapter 3 and 4: This first part is basically Azula figuring out going along with the flow would be better for the time being and starting to relate to Aang. She tries several times to intimidate him and get him into a Ty Lee situation. But Aang is too cheerful and fails… until she starts asking about the nomads and his motives. They have one adventure where they save a town from destruction and in a happy moment Aang tells her he ran away. Azula starts taunting him with this, and she demands going to the southern air temple. She is figuring out what to do: go back to the Fire Nation or become a spiritual overlord as the Avatar?

Chapter 5 and 6: When they arrive Azula starts making cold comments about the Air Nation and its army, Aang tells her they didn’t have a formal military and after a while Azula says he is right, that they were so weak they didn’t. Aang starts getting mad at her and she calls him a coward for running. Aang then revelas they thought he was the Avatar, but they were wrong. Azula has bargain and thinks she knows how to manipulate Aang, consoling him. Zuko meets Azula and Aang and asks for the Avatar, believing it’s Aang, and Azula taunts him and humilliates him. They get attacked by Zuko and some Fire Nation soldiers then, but they escape (mostly to stop the temples from destruction).

Chapter 7 and 8: Aang and Azula start traveling back to the Earth Kingdom and discuss their countries and cultures. Aang tells Azula about Gyatso and how he was like his father. Azula makes a parallel saying how Ozai wanted to send her away too. The point was to make Aang more dependent, but he gets mad at her. Aang tells them that monks were a peaceful culture unlike the Fire Nation and Azula tells him that the Fire Nation is powerful, smart and wealthy, unlike the Air Nomads. Aang tells her she cannot think that if she wants to learn airbending (she has been training for some weeks with Aang by now and she is doing pretty bad, she attributes this failure to Aang and the situation she is in). They both decide to go to the eastern Air Temple, Aang to show her how good his culture is and Azula to show the opposite. Azula makes fun of Aang during the road, telling him he could be a great Fire Nation Citizen if he tried, cause he is too close. Aang starts thinking about this and tells her he can have an open mind. They arrive and Azula sees that the Air Nomads were actually competent and smart, while Aang relives the fear of Gyatso “wanting” to send him to the Eastern Air Temple. But he learns other things, going in close rooms. He sees some deathly techniques and learns Air Nomads abandoned babies without airbending to non bending families all around the world. Aang is kind of broken and Azula feels confused. In a moment she tells Aang she feels ready to learn airbening and Aang is almost crying for the last part. Azula comforts him tells him that Fire Nation culture can have some bad aspects, like some spicy food and stuff. Aang laughs and they start becoming friends.

Chapter 9: Aang teaches Azula the principle of liberty and games. He tells her they has been very stressed for a while and need to have some rest. Azula mocks Aang for this, but agrees to release some tension. They have fun for a while in some earthbending place, and they talk about trivial stuff. Then they got into training and a routine (slow chapter, mostly for giving Azula time to rest and release pressure). Azula reveals the plans and Sozin’s comet to Aang, mostly to add urgency and play less, but Aang says that distractions are necessary for airbending. Aang questions Azula about firebending and asks if some moves can be used in air, due to azula combining them in training.

Chapter 10 and 11: Zuko and Iroh found Azula and Aang in a several days, while they travel figuring out what to do. Aang and Azula beat Zuko pretty bad (together and separated) and then Azula discovers (by manipulating Zuko) Zhao’s plan toward the North and Aang and Azula decide to go there, cause maybe they won’t find a waterbender master by the time. They are very south of the Earth Kingdom by now.

Chapter 12, 13, 14, 15:Azula and Aang have adventures in the Earth Kingdom and deepen the bond. Aang is more open now and Azula is weirdly nice. They get to Omashu and Aang meets with Bumi in a different way and the White Lotus is the focus, Azula starts acting nice (for her standards). They run into Jet (Azula doesn’t trust him and dismantle the operation easily) and finally they get chased by Zhao but he is easily beaten by both of them, with the Yuyan Archers. Then the fortune teller, not similar to the show (Aang doesn’t have such a strong crush with Azula, if any; and azula dismisses the things). Aang basically cools a volcano and Azula is for the first time surprised on how powerful he is. They talk about him being a prodigy and they bond.

Chapter 16,17: Extended Northern Air temple, but instead of a minister is Ozai himself. Azula rans into a bit of a panic, and for the first time Aang calms her. Aang find a letter from Gyatso to a friend, telling him that he is taking Aang out of the Southern Air Temple to run away with him. Aang tells this to Azula and she acts comforting. She has started to grow close to him and thinks that: “I don’t need fear with him, I can work with he worshipping me as the Avatar”. Both of them start developing feeling from now on. They escape with the village (but not the Mechanist). By this time Azula has advanced enough in Airbending

18-20: Siege of the North. They meet Katara and Sokka. Katara’s illusions of the Avatar shatter and they don’t get along. Azula tries to manipulate Sokka but plays too much into his insecurities. Both sibling dislike her and she just asks Pakku to train her in waterbending. But before anything happens the siege occurs, the spirit dies and she almost does when all the ships who didn’t die at the attack (commanded by Zuko) start firing at her core, but she is saved by the siblings and Aang. The end is she waking up with Aang and the siblings at her side, being told she is needed in the Earth Kingdom and Katara will be her master and her with Aang having a private moment and a hug. Azula starts thinking of Aang as her first true friend.

We completed the main Arc of both of them in Book 1. I will finish their arcs for the rest of the books and then write Zuko’s, Katara’s, Ozai’s, etc. I won’t write. a fic about this, but if you are interested contact me by dm.

Please write comments so I feel this is not going so bad heheh

#azulaang #princess azula #avatar the last airbender #fanfic #avatar azula #au #aang rarepair week #aang

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secretshinigami · 3 years

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Don't mess with an annoyed L

Author: @skaelds

For: @lightsturtleneck

Pairings/Characters: Light/L

Rating/Warnings: K/K+

Prompt: Domestic Lawlight

Author’s notes: Heyy ! This was very fun to write, i hope it’s qualified as a Domestic Lawlight, and i hope it will please you :D L’s Pov here you go <3

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L Lawliet prided himself on being a patient person. It was something he had to learn over the years, to know how to calm his ardour in order to achieve his goal at the right moment, to know how to bide his time. The methods of The Anger Trap: Free Yourself had taught him how to temper his frustration, how to lower his tension and how to avoid anger-related symptoms such as chest tightness or tachycardia.

He remembered several times when waiting had been the key to his success, when victory meant hours spent crouching behind a screen watching the slightest change in attitude. A treacherous whisper of his mind whispered the name of Light Yagami. L promptly ignored it.

A patient person, thus.

Therefore, not very quick to lose control over his nerves.

That is why his smile didn’t tighten on his lips, his eyelids didn’t twitch and he didn’t take a breath intended to bring down his tension. None of that. No. And anyone who would say otherwise would be an odious liar.

“I thought Light-kun had given up his idea of murdering me in cold blood. I note this betrayal with real disappointment. When you confessed to me that you had changed and no longer wanted to crush the hearts of criminals between your chips-covered fingers, I thought your madness was over. Sadly, I realise that this is not the case. I am on the verge of death, Light-kun, and my death will be blamed on you. I hope you’re happy with yourself.”

“Shut up and chop.”

“Your coldness hurts me.”

“No, that’s just the impact of the weather. And the current temperature of -10 degrees. And probably the fact that you’re not wearing gloves when I insisted for twenty minutes that you put them on.”

“The analogy is completely unfounded. There is no correlation between the temperature and the state of my heart. Who is hurt, I emphasize. Broken into a thousand shards of glass. Crumbled. Set on fire.”

“Oh damn it, L, it is you I’m going to set on fire if you don’t stop complaining!”

Light straightened up suddenly, throwing his axe vigorously into the snow - ruffled hair, long caramel-coloured strands sticking to the soaked face, reddened by irritation and effort. Two eyes that shot him with force - even made him check to see if he had not just taken two bullets. The tip of his nose was reddened by the cold, gleaming on his face. L was taken by a sudden urge to cross the few steps that separated them and to kiss this angry face, to make the frown that was spoiling the beauty of the face disappear.

Who did he think he was fooling? As if the beauty of the other could be spoiled by something as trivial as irritation. On the contrary, seeing irises inflamed with anger aroused a tingling in his stomach that he refused to identify.

L crossed his arms on his chest, his own axe falling to the ground.

“The muscles of my upper body are less developed than those of my lower body, Light-kun. It’s a torture” he complained, sulking expression on his face. “And I’m not the one who decreed that it was imperative to chop down our own tree. Watari was quite willing to give us one. With all the characteristics you were looking for.”

Light rolled her eyes. Passed a hand through his hair, dislodging some snow dust.

“It’s a tradition,” he insisted. “You can understand, you’re the one who insisted on coming to spend Christmas at the Wammy House. Saying that it was an obligation and that you wouldn’t neglect it.”

“The Wammy has a perfectly satisfactory tree.”

“L !”

“I love you too.”

Pushed sigh with a mixture of exasperation and affection. He shook his head, caused flakes to rain down. The cold crept up his neck, down his sleeves, over his ankles - came to lay his frozen hand on him and mark his territory. Even though his hands were in his pockets and a heavy scarf was wrapped around his neck as if to strangle him, he felt the icy air pressing his lips to his skin. He shivered - they might have to amputate his toes. Terrible notion, how could he slide them over Light’s warm skin at night? He deliberately omitted the fact that this act was always followed by a yelp from Light, a startled awakening and usually a punch that would make him fall out of bed.

Light was particularly susceptible.

“But I am cold.” A real complaint, camouflaged in a childish mumble. Annoyed. He had followed Light willy-nilly in the winter cold, had rushed into the forest with him, but they had been sawing the tree trunk down for more than forty minutes - or almost - without the damn tree ever collapsing. L would have almost scribbled Abies balsamea in the Death Note by pure spirit of revenge. “I’m about to lose my fingers.”

“That’s a shame.”

“ Be careful, Light-kun forgot what empathy is all about again.”

Light shook his head once more - shaking in a canine manner - before taking a few steps forward, axe forsaken, and a slight, almost amused grin on his lips. He almost retreated backwards by reflex, preferred to take his hands out of his pockets and hold them out to Light, and was immediately assaulted by a warm and perhaps at least a bit empathetic mass.

Lips pressed against the icy skin on his neck - he shivered upon the contact, tightened his grip around Light. Light smiled against his neck, put another kiss on it, his own hands wrapped around L’s waist. “So you’re looking for a cure against the frost?”

Ecstatic nod, ready to close his eyes and-

PAF!

The universe fell under a cloud of white, an icy envelope wrapped around him like a predator, leaving him in shock. A snow avalanche, creeping into his neck, waist, ears, wrists, ankles - even swallowing a handful of it, his eyelashes covered with frosted crystals. Time froze for a moment, leaving him lying on the ground, too shocked to reflect on Light’s betrayal - the only indication of his survival testified by the regular blinking of his eyelids.

A simply awful laugh tore his eardrums. Those that came from the back of the throat, resounded like thirty bulls charging towards him, reflecting all the petty amusement and cunning of his host. L felt betrayed.

What seemed like an eternity later, he stood up slowly, one elbow leaning against the snow.

Threw an absolutely polar glance at Light.

“Did anyone ever told you you had a goat’s laugh?”

The hiccups of laughter redoubled.

L touched the snow next to him, leaned a second elbow to stand up. “I hope you know that I never leave a blow unanswered, Light-kun, you’ve just signed your death warrant.”

Tears were now streaming down Light’s face. Tears of laughter, for sure, which would soon turn into tears of suffering if he was allowed to give his opinion. He stood up on his legs hesitantly - shaking himself to make the snow fall, making it slide further down his neck. L restrained a relatively virile yelp, stood there for a few seconds - a perfect representation of a forest gremlin. Or the Yeti. Covered with snow as he was, the resemblance must have been striking.

His resolution taken, he bent down, gathered the snow into a compact ball and rushed towards Light - taking him by surprise. The other stumbled back, tripped over the handle of L’s axe, flapped his hands like a chick thrown from the nest before tipping over on his backside. In a second, L was on top of him - drove the snowball into his coat’s neckline.

Light shrieked - grabbing L’s hands to stop him from continuing. L pulled to get out of the grip, lost his balance for a few seconds-

Collapsed next to Light.

A few seconds passed in total silence, only the sound of their breaths breaking the silence before they exchanged a glance - L felt his lips stretch in spite of himself, resisted valiantly before giving in and joining Light in his burst of laughter. Breathless, they tried to catch their breath, each new glance at the other finishing them off again.

Light eventually cut himself as best he could, stretching out one arm to wrap it around L.

“I may have a goat’s laughter but I can still stand on my feet. Do you want a cane, old man?”

Slap addressed with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. L was covered in snow, infiltrated down to every pore of his skin, had just tried to cut down a pine tree for a good forty minutes and had just been tackled like a feverish rugby player on the ground. In short, he was soaked, exhausted and probably in hypoglycemia

From an objective point of view, therefore, he was absolutely not responsible for his own actions.

That is why he smiled slightly at Light Yagami, interlaced their fingers with his left hand - the one where Light was wearing his wedding ring - and quickly kissed him on the cheek. Slipped his other hand through the melted caramel-coloured hair - and it reminded him of the caramel-filled cookies waiting for them in their kitchen, what a wonderful idea - by tightening his fingers on the strands.

And slammed Light Yagami’s head roughly into the snow.

Justice was always delivering its judgment.

Later, when they returned to the Wammy House, the fire crackling in the fireplace and their hands wrapped around a nice hot chocolate, L put his cup on the table and climbed up to sit next to Light.

“The children told me that they love the tree initiative. They have even started to decorate it” grinned Light with a satisfied smirk. That of the cat who had devoured the canary and had just blamed the dog.

L gave him one of his own smiles.

“Maybe I could make it up to you in some special way…”

“Perhaps you could…”

He leaned over to Light- interrupted suddenly by a shrill ringing of the telephone. Annoyed grimace, device grabbed with fingertips to refuse the call, turning off the object and throwing it across the raised eyebrow of Light, who split into a new smile before putting down his cup and swinging L onto the couch.

Ah. A thought crossed his mind as Light’s lips rested on his skin-

Maybe he wasn’t that patient in the end.

#fanfiction #death note #lawlight #Light Yagami #l lawliet #l #submission #skaelds #lightsturtleneck #Mello's Birthday Mayhem 2020

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sammisweets143 · 3 years

Text

A New Family Member (OC x Hunter)

Summary: The Bad Batch and Jedi General Sienna Nellock have just gotten off of the Ordo Moon and are in Hyperspace. Sienna is having difficulties coping with her place amongst the batch since she no longer has the Jedi (her family) and she feels out of place with the clone squad. Hunter decides to make her an official member and act on his feelings toward her.

Pairings: Hunter and Sienna (My OC)

OC Description: Sienna has several braids that are pulled into a ponytail fit for any Viking warrior (think Lagertha from Vikings). She also has the same plastiod armor the Clones and Bad Batch have, hers of course are the slate grey/black. She no longer uses her lightsaber, instead she uses a blaster and a knife, just like Hunter.

TW: Wholesomeness, Steamy kiss scene, feelings of not belonging, *I think that about sums everything up*

Notes: I am still learning the steamy/love scenes between characters if any creators have advice I’d love to hear it!

There was a quietness on the ship after take off from the Ordo Moon. Sienna rather enjoyed it.

It was the first time in awhile she’d actually gotten to meditate without interruption from anyone. She sat in the copilot’s chair, releasing a calming breath as she centered herself.

The force flowed through her almost immediately, letting her feel the entire ship’s energy in her grasp. From Omega’s bubbly and energetic spirit to Echo’s hard yet kind spirit, everything was in her grasp again and that made her feel better. It was hard not letting the force in due to the fear of being discovered by the enemy. What if someone knew she was still alive and came for her? For the Bad Batch?

No sooner had she began to feel at peace, a presence she was all too familiar with entered the atmosphere. With her heightened senses she heard him coming first then when he entered the cockpit she smelled the familiar clean yet smoky fragrance he had to him.

“There you are, I was wondering where you’d gone off to,” Hunter’s smoky voice reached her ears as he sat in the pilot’s chair. “You’ve been unusually quite.”

There weren’t many places she could go to unless she released herself out of the airlock. No matter how hard she had tried, Sienna had managed to lose her grip on her control with him. He was forbidden fruit and she wanted nothing more than to have him. For several days now they’d been flirting, they even flirted when they first met, everything was innocent of course, up until recently. Their desire for each other was growing, and Sienna ached for the one thing she’d been told all her life she couldn’t have, attachment to someone.

When she had first met Hunter and the group it was when they were going on a covert mission to the Cyber Center and then to save Echo from Skako Minor. There was an instant connection, almost a magnetic pull between them. They both did their best to ignore the feeling, each having their loyalties set on their duties as Jedi and Clone Trooper.

What didn’t help them was when he’d kept her steady with his hand on her back or waist, or when the shuttle went down and his arm locked around her and she was pressed against his front. I got you, I got you. He repeated in her ear as if it was a promise, he wouldn’t let her go even if it killed them.

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” Hunter pressed on when she didn’t respond to him the first time.

“I shouldn’t have left Saleucami with you. I should’ve got on that shuttle like you told me to,” Sienna said, before she could even stop the words from spilling out of her mouth. When she uttered them it felt as though they hit him right in the face.

“I thought you wanted to?” His features hardened. “You fought me on this and I-“ he stopped as he could sense she wasn’t acting right. “Hey, you are just as important as any of us.” He knelt down in front of her.

“I’m not one of you, I just don’t feel like I belong.” She said. “I’m not a clone, I’m a Jedi. What use am I?”

He nodded as he looked at her. “Okay.” He stood up. “Stay.” He pointed at her and went to retrieve something from a cabinet. He came back and sealed the cockpit so it was just the two of them. “Come here.” He knelt down again and pulled her closer and turned her so her shoulder was to him.

“What are you doing?” She asked as he was grabbing her and moving her.

“Quiet.”

“Hunter.”

“Sienna, I said be quiet. This takes concentration,” he looked at her with a hint of playfulness in his eyes. She rarely got to see that look from him anymore.

He opened one of the container and it was white paint. “Don’t move,” he ordered as he began to paint on her pauldron.

She did as she was told and didn’t move, so she took the moment to look at him, really look at him. The side of his face that wasn’t tattooed had a light dusting of stubble, the other side did too but this side was visible. His lashes were long, and when he blinked they’d dust across his cheeks gently.

As her gaze swept over him she seemed to fall deeper into the trance that was Hunter. All caution was out the window now, anything could happen. And anything did. She found herself reaching up gently to stroke his cheek as he focused on painting, the tiny stubble barely poking at her finger tips. It was one of the most simplest, yet intimate things both had experienced that they let the quiet moment consume them for what seemed like forever.

“Tell me about your tattoos on your back,” He finally said, needing a distraction. “What’s special about them?”

She cleared her throat and took a breath. “I got them because on each planet or moon was where I learned something.” She said.

“Tell me about your favorite one.” He prompted her.

“Sorgan.” a little smile graced her lips as she recalled the memory. “The children there loved to race and play, they were part of this family that owned a farm,” she began. “The mother was so kind and she had a new born with her but she always managed to be doing something strenuous and that benefited her family and community with the child strapped to her.”

“Sounds like quite the woman.” He nodded. For a brief moment he pictured her doing the same thing. She rarely rested since she’d been with them, and she doted on Omega. She never let that girl out of her sight if she could help it, much like himself.

“I also just fell in love with the planet itself. They say it’s just some backwater planet but it’s so beautiful. I’d live there if I could.”

Another picture pushed its way into his mind, of them on that little plant in the middle of nowhere with a farm of their own, a couple of kids running around, maybe his brothers not too far away. He quickly pushed that thought down so not to get ahead of himself. Hunter chuckled some. “Tell me another.” He coaxed.

“Kashyyk, I learned how to shoot a crossbow,” She smiled and bit her lip. “Very fun, and I met several force sensitive Wookiees.”

“Really, interesting.” He smirked as he dipped the brush into the paint again. “A Wookiee with a lightsaber seems unsettling. Could be just like Wrecker with a lightsaber, imagine.”

Sienna let out a small laugh. “They’re very skilled with weapons surprisingly. May I continue sergeant?”

“By all means, General,” he all but purred that statement before resuming his painting.

“Kamino, like I said is where I learned friendship, thanks to 99.” She said. “Well and Rex and the rest of the guys.” She shrugged a little.

“Don’t-” he grabbed her shoulders and chuckled some. “You’ll make me smudge it.”

“Sorry,” She laughed. “Um, let’s see, I actually was dared by Echo to get Endore on me but since it’s a forest planet I didn’t mind.”

“Seems to be your theme, forests and oceans.”

“They call to me the most,” a sigh left her lips, but it was a sigh of relief. “I often wonder if that’s where I’m from, someplace with a forest or water.” She said

“You don’t know where you’re from?” The lines on Hunter’s face settled into a deep frown as he asked her that question.

“I was a toddler when I was given to the temple, I wasn’t told where I was from.” Her voice became gentle, as if she spoke too loud the memories of her past may break. “I’ve come to peace with it.” Her opposite shoulder rose into a shrugged. “Not knowing where your home is I guess is good, so you don’t know if it’s a bad place.” She bit her lip. Sure she said she came to peace with it but occasionally there was a part of her that yearned to know her parents, her home. All the trivial things that many great Jedi were willing to part with.

When Hunter looked up at her he realized she was watching his face. He set the brush down in the container and held her hands. “Your home is with us, you are Sienna Nellock of Squad 99.” He said. “You’ll never be told differently.” He released her hands and then cupped her face being as gentle as he could. “You are here to protect Omega, be a role model for her. You are here to reassure Wrecker that eventually he may be able to blow things up or beat someone up. You are here to make sure Echo isn’t a grump to everyone since he favors you, and to give Tech something new to talk about besides manuals and random plants. Most importantly, you’re here to keep me sane, drive me wild, and make me strive to protect this squad even harder.” His voice was soft as he recited his speech, stroking her cheek with his thumb after each declaration.

Sienna’s pulse jumped as he held her face and spoke to her in the gentlest of ways he’s ever done. “That’s one of the best things that’s come out of your mouth ever. Thank you, Hunter.”

He smirked and pulled her closer. “You have such a way with words,” his voice got slightly huskier as his lips brushed against hers. He was taking a big risk doing this, but he wanted Sienna to know how important she was not just to the squad, but to him.

When his lips touched her’s, that caused her brows to furrow as her eyes closed. This was unexpected but she welcomed it none the less. They weren’t what she expected, his lips, she had expected them to be dry from constantly wearing a helmet but they were actually soft. Returning the kiss was almost instinctual for her, as if she’d done it hundreds of times before. She gripped the back of his neck and pulled him close, causing him to let out a low, hungry grunt, at that point it was the most attractive noise she’d ever heard and she didn’t care about anything else.

Hunter pulled away, wanting nothing more than to keep kissing her but their need for air plus his need to keep a handle on everything took precedence. “So, that’s what it’s like to kiss a jedi?” He smirked.

“You know, I imagined kissing a clone would be weird, like I’d be kissing a friend since you all are the same-” She began.

“But?”

“I suppose since you are genetically defective that might make you better at kissing.” She joked and smiled.

A chuckle escaped his lips as he picked up the paint brush again. “Almost done with this, be still,” He said as he moved her chair so she was turned to the other side.

“Yes sir.” She said as she rolled her eyes. They sat in a comfortable silence as he finished painting her other pauldron and he leaned back, admiring his work.

“Alright, have a look.” He said and smiled.

The excitement built up in her as she looked down at her right pauldron and it was the Jedi crest but adorning each peak was the skull of Clone Force 99. Then on the left was the signature skull with 99 below it. “Hunter,” Sienna smiled. “I love them, thank you.”

“You’re a certified member of the Bad Batch now,” Hunter smirked. “This armor definitely suits you even more than before, I’ll be the first one to admit that.”

Sienna laughed and smiled. “Hunter,” she shoved him playfully. Before she could go anywhere he grabbed her hands pulling her against his chest.

“Would you prefer it if I said I’d rather see it on the floor?” A smirk grew on his face.

“Well, it wouldn’t be the first time something like that came from you,” she mimicked his expression as she pulled him closer. “We’re alone for at least another hour-” she reminded as she stared at him with a new found desire in her eyes.

“Say no more,” he silenced her with a kiss and picked her up, securing her legs around his waist tightly.

A breathy laugh escaped her lips as she pulled away momentarily for air. This was the first time she was able to touch him, memorize his facial feature, run her fingers through his silky, dark hair, and look into his eyes without the feeling of being watched by an audience. He gave her very little time before he pulled her back and hungrily kissed her, letting his tongue explore her mouth. He kept a firm grip on her thighs, keeping her as close as psychically possible. Occasionally, he’d give them a squeeze to make sure this was real, she was real. Like her, he felt like this was their chance to do anything they wanted, no interruptions. The final question, where was he going to start?

#the bad batch #hunter x oc #original character #clone wars 99 #clone troopers #clone trooper hunter #star wars omega #clone force 99 #bad batch hunter #sergeant hunter

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buzzdixonwriter · 3 years

Text

Hoo U?

A spirited discussion is raging on Facebook now, the good kind of spirited discussion, an enthusiastic exchange of ideas and ideals, not a snark fest.

The top is a deceptively simple one: Who are the characters various actors played?

Let me clarify: It began as a trivia challenge to name actors who have won Oscars for playing the same character.

And there in lays the debate.

How exactly are we defining a character.

This all sounds trivial, and to be frank this part of the discussion is, but it’s gonna get deep by the end.

Trust me.

So here’s the kickoff:

Marlon Brando won a Best Male Performance Oscar for playing Vito Corleone in The Godfather; Robert DeNiro won a Best Male Supporting Performance Oscar for playing Vito Corleone in The Godfather II

Heath Ledger won a Best Male Supporting Performance Oscar for playing the Joker in The Dark Knight; Joaquin Phoenix won a Best Male Performance Oscar for playing the Joker in Joker.

(Trivia bonus: Kate Winslet and Gloria Stuart received Oscar nominations for playing the same character at different stages of her life in Titanic, and Winslet and Judi Dench were both nominated for playing the same character at different stages in Iris as well; plus Peter O’Toole was nominated twice for playing Henry II in Beckett and The Lion In Winter which technically counts as a sequel…)

The Facebook debate is over whether Ledger and Phoenix were actually playing the same character.

Now in the case of the former, The Godfather II is a continuation of the same story in The Godfather by the same creative team with much of the original cast reprising their roles, the Oscars going to two actors who played the same character at different stages of their life (BTW, where's the love for Oreste Baldini, who played Vito as a young boy?).

The two films were re-edited and combined with The Godfather III to make a nine-hour and 43-minute miniseries The Godfather Trilogy.

It is clear the creators’ intent from the beginning was for audiences to accept Baldini / DeNiro / Brando as the same person at various stages of his life.

The Ledger Joker and the Phoenix Joker cannot possibly be the same character for a wide variety of internal continuity issues separating the two films. The creators of Joker went out of their way to state their version of the character was not The Dark Knight version.

Unlike The Godfather movies, you can’t link up the various live action Batman / Suicide Squad / Joker stories into a single coherent narrative (especially since you have to drag in the live action Supeman and Wonder Woman movies and TV shows as well).

. . .

Can different actors play their version of the same character in otherwise unlinked productions?

Of course they can.

Stage plays do it all the time.

If you start with the same exact text, then clearly any number of actors can play Hamlet or MacBeth or Willy Loman.

The problems arise when one goes afield of the text.

. . .

In 1932 Constance Bennett made a movie called What Price Hollywood? that did okay but really didn’t set the world on fire.

In 1937 Janet Gaynor remade that film as A Star Is Born, the story changed to give it a tragic yet uplifting conclusion; her version was a big hit and Gaynor received an Oscar nomination.

In 1954 Judy Garland remade A Star is Born as a musical and that proved a big hit, and Garland received an Oscar nomination.

In 1976 Barbara Streisand took a swing at the material with a country-western version of A Star Is Born and while she got an Oscar nomination, audiences were unreceptive.

In 2018 Lady Gaga remade A Star Is Born and received both an Oscar nomination for her role and an Oscar win for her song.

Question: Are they all playing the same character? Each played a character that started their film with a different name than the other versions, but the Gaynor / Garland / Streisand / Gaga versions all end with the central character proudly proclaiming they are “Mrs. Norman Maine.”

Same character?

. . .

There’s no argument that William Gillette, Basil Rathbone, and Benedict Cumberbatch all played Sherlock Holmes, even when their productions took certain liberties with the stories.

But Sherlock Holmes is not an idiot, and Michael Caine played Holmes as an idiot in Without A Clue.

Was he playing the same character as Gillette / Rathbone / Cumberbatch?

(Ironically Peter Cook played a very recognizable and wholly credible Holmes in his farcical send up of The Hound Of The Baskervilles with Dudley Moore.)

Did George C. Scott play Holmes in They Might Be Giants? Almost everybody else in the story thinks he’s a New York banker who’s suffered a nervous breakdown and only thinks he’s Holmes, but Scott believes he is Holmes 100% and throughout the film other people he encounters accept him as Holmes at face values.

He functions as Holmes throughout.

And in the end, the audience is left in a weird place, not really knowing what his fate may be, not absolutely sure if he is a bonkers banker but maybe…somehow…he is Sherlock Holmes…

. . .

Did John Cassavettes in Tempest and Walter Pidgeon in Forbidden Planet play the same character? Were either of those roles Shakespeare’s Prospero?

Did Christopher Lee play the same character in Horror Of Dracula and its sequels, in Count Dracula, and in In Search Of Dracula? (The producers of Count Dracula sure went to great pains to explain their version was a different and more accurate version than the Hammer version of the character, and In Search Of Dracula cast Lee as Vlad Tepes who was the real life historical figure Bram Stoker based his novel on.)

For that matter, is Count Orlok in Nosferatu: A Symphony Of Terror actually Dracula? A European court awarding lawsuit damages to Bram Stoker's widow sure thought so.

Along similar lines, was Bela Lugosi playing Dracula in Columbia's Return Of The Vampire? Universal's lawyers sure thought so.

Did Jim Caviezel in Passion Of The Christ, Max von Sydow in The Greatest Story Ever Told, Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke, and Michael Rennie in The Day The Earth Stood Still all play the same character?

Did Toshiro Mifune, Clint Eastwood, and Bruce Willis all play the Continental Op?

Did Clint Eastwood play the same character in all three Dollar films?

Did Vincent Price, Charlton Heston, and Will Smith all play the same character?

Did Leonardo DiCaprio play the same character Steve McQueen played in The Great Escape (even if just for one brief scene) or did he play a character who played a character Steve McQueen played in The Great Escape?

Ooh, here's a good one!

Lon Chaney Jr starts Ghost Of Frankenstein playing the same monster Boris Karloff played in the original Frankenstein / Bride Of Frankenstein / Son Of Frankenstein trilogy, but by the end gets Ygor's brain (Bela Lugosi) transplanted into his body and speaks / thinks / acts briefly as Ygor in Frankie’s body.

However, Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman while maintaining continuity with all four previous films cast Lugosi as the monster (because Chaney had to play the Wolfman, duh) without dialog. Glenn Strange then assumed the role again in continuity with all previous films for House Of Frankenstein, House Of Dracula, and Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, occasionally speaking briefly in the role.

Who was Strange playing in his films? The original Karloff monster or Ygor in Frankie's bod? Are those two distinct characters?

. . .

All the above is fun trivia to debate, but it links to a much more serious question: Who are you?

That’s not a trivial matter. What constitutes out identity? What makes us who we are?

I lost my father years ago to Alzheimer’s. As my brother Robert observed, the only member of a family not affected by an Alzheimer’s diagnosis is the person suffering from it themselves.

I would talk to my father on the phone, and he was always pleasant and cheery, but about three years before he died I realized he had no idea who I was, I was just some voice on the other end of the line that mom wanted him to talk to.

My father was by nature and easy going kinda guy, and that certainly made his last few years easier for my mother and brother Rikk to cope with, but one night when I was visiting, trying to get their affairs straightened out so he could enter a nursing home, he got irritated with my mother as she was trying to help him and raised his hand as if to slap hers away.

My father never raised his hand against my mother.

Ever.

He taught me and my brothers that was something no real man ever did.

He might sound gruff on occasion but he never raised a finger, much less truck our mother.

The fact he did so in the throes of Alzheimer’s indicated that whoever he once was, he wasn’t that person anymore.

We got him into a nursing home and he lasted a little less than a year there, his mind and his memory and his personality deteriorating rapidly.

Who was he at the end?

I didn’t go to his funeral.

What was the point?

The father I knew and loved had departed long before they buried his shell.

My grandmother, on the other hand, remained her cranky, irascible self until a week and a half before she died, finding the wit to crack one last memorable joke before her body began shutting down.

. . .

The question of identity is related to consciousness, and these are referred to as “the hard question” by physicians and physicists and philosophers alike.

What makes us “us”?

How do we know who we are?

What constitutes identity?

There are no easy, pat answers.

We have textbook definitions that dance around the issue of identity and consciousness, providing enough of a foundation for us to recognize what it is we’re discussing, but no one has yet come up with a clear, concise explanation of what either phenomenon is.

It’s like saying “apples are a red fruit.”

Okay, we know what you’re talking about, but we also know that description falls far, far short of what an apple actually is.

That’s why trivial discussion like whether or not Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix are playing the same character is a lot more important than it seems.

(BTW, they aren’t. Phoenix won his Oscar for his version of the Rupert Pupkin character in a violent remake of The King Of Comedy.)

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