#i'll get better as soon as i practise more no worry

[only-angel-28]

mastermind, part four

ok ok ok here's part four i dont rly have much to say here bc i said everything on part three but i hope you like this one and dw guys im gonna try publish part five asap im starting writing it tonight, productive era fr 🙌💯

warnings: slight angst, swearing, injury, protective theo😋😋

mastermind, masterlist

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y/n’s pov

“Hello Y/N.”

I look up from my place on the grass where I was tying my shoes.

Oh. Him again.

“Hi, Cormac.” I say with a tight-lipped smile, standing up, and walking over to where I left my broom when I was practising.

Cormac follows me like a lost puppy and says, “So uhm how’ve you been?”

It’s been almost four months of this. He comes over to wherever I am and follows me asking pointless questions about the weather or lessons and it would’ve been fine if he wasn’t making uncomfortable inappropriate jokes in between. It’s December now, nearly time for the Yule Ball and I need to shake Cormac off my tail sometime soon or I'll have no hope of finding a date this year.

“Just fine Cormac, what about you?” I say mindlessly, trying to devise ideas to get him away politely.

“I’m good…would be better with you in my bed though…” he says, smoking at me as I give him a disgusted look and stop walking.

Forget trying to be nice, this guy’s a creep.

“Okay Cormac, let's settle this. What’s all this really about? I mean you’ve been following- no practically stalking me for months now, and if it wasn’t creepy enough without the inappropriate jokes, it sure as hell is now. So what do you actually like me or just want to get in my pants?” I say angrily at him, clutching my broom in my hands so hard, my knuckles turn white.

He looks started by my outburst at first but quickly replies and says, “Uhm no, no! Of course I like you Y/N, I just wanted to know if you had a date for the Yule Ball yet?” with the furrows of my brows he leans forward and speaks lowly to me in a more threatening tone, “Sure would be a shame if the whole school found out the truth about your favourite uncle.”

Sirius? What the fuck?

I push him away, “Get the fuck away from me you freak!” I go to leave before he grabs me by my wrist and speaks again, “Come to the ball with me and I won’t say a word about him to anyone,”

“Cormac let go of me,” I say, struggling in his tightening grip.

“Just say yes. Say yes and I’ll let go and no one will have to hear about your uncle.”

“Get away from me!” I shout at him, stomp on his foot and punch his nose the hardest I could, feeling his bones crunching beneath mine. Or maybe it was both our bones.

I hold my now numb hand and leave him on the empty field holding his bloody nose and groaning while I run straight to the castle.

I run aimlessly for about three minutes, turning every which way not expecting anyone to be out in the hallways at this time, “Everyone would be in lessons right now” I think before, to my surprise, I turn the corner and I’m face to face with Theo.

He takes hold of me from my arms before I collapse into him and looks at me in surprise with a cigarette in between his soft pink lips.

I mumble out a quick ‘Sorry’ and move to leave, maybe go back to my common room to look for Hermione but he stops me before I can go anywhere.

His alarmed eyes and lifted brows look down at the tears on my face and the redness around my wrist and knuckles. He takes the cigarette out of his mouth, discarding it on the floor before putting it out with his shoe, takes me gently by the other hand and leads me to the hospital wing.

“Theo, no, I’m fine don’t worry.” I try and reassure him, “I don’t need Madam Pomfrey all over me right now, a potion from Hermione can fix me right up, I promise.”

He ignores me and takes me to an empty bed, telling me to rest my hand and sit still, before moving away to find Madam Pomfrey.

When shes checked me over and given me the right medications, he stares down at me but doesn't say a word until I ask, “What?”.

His reply is cold and quiet, “Who did this to you?”

I try brushing the question off, “Don’t worry about it Theo, I handled it fine.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” he says, looking down at my bandaged hand, and asks again, “Who did this to you Y/N?”

I sigh before answering, “You promise you won’t do anything illegal?”

“I promise.” he says and I extend my pinky on my good hand towards him. His hard expression softens slightly before he extends his and joins our pinkies together muttering another ‘promise’.

“Cormac. He got mad at me because I didn’t want to go to the ball with him and threatened to tell everyone some things about my family.” I say quietly, looking down.

theo’s pov

I don’t say anything as blood rushes to my head, my knuckles already forming into fists, my jaw clenching and my feet turning around to go find the prick.

“No Theo!’ Y/N says after me, trying to grab my arm and stop me from beating the rat up but I hold her hand as gently as I can and ask her to “Please rest Y/N, I’ll be back soon and I promise I won’t do anything too bad.”

“No Theo, please just drop it, it’s fine.” she tries to reassure me.

“What? No it’s not, first of all, he shouldn’t have touched you in the first place, but to hold you like that and threaten you? He’s begging for it now.” I turn to leave again, trying to find him somewhere in this massive castle, trying to calm down before I remember the look on Y/N’s face and all the anger comes rushing back like an extreme storm wave. Fuck this.

I walk around the castle quickly, keeping my eyes and ears open for any signs of the snake until I catch something near the bushes.

“No man, bitch fucked me right over. Broke my nose and everything. But I mean to be fair I do like them feisty if you know what I mean.” I hear his voice like venom before he laughs with his friends.

Before I know it, I’m being pulled away by Mattheo and Draco as Cormac’s friends grab him by his bloody torn shirt. Splatters of his blood are on mine but nowhere near as bad as his.

I had stayed quiet during the whole fight, speaking only with my punches and getting my message across.

A huge crowd has gathered by this point and I’m being assisted to McGonagall’s office by Mattheo and Draco patting me on the back with the teacher in front of us. I know I’ll get detention for a month, maybe two, and probably won’t be able to play Quidditch for a few weeks either but who cares.

It was for her and I don’t regret a fucking thing.

y/n’s pov

I walk down the great dining hall with everyone's eyes on me, whispering things to people around them. More than usual.

I take my usual seat next to Ginny and Hermione and look around at everyone, asking, “What’s going on?”. Ron, Harry and Hermione look at each other awkwardly before Hermione speaks up, “You don’t know what’s happened?”

“No?”

“That boyfriend of yours beat McLaggen up so bad he’s had to go to St. Mungo’s,” Ron speaks up against the silence and my blood turns cold as my stomach flips over.

“What?!” I say, alarmed.

“Yeah mate, everyone saw it… he was ruthless. Didn’t stop until the bloke couldn’t stand up by himself” Harry agrees with Ron as they turn to look at the Slytherin table behind and see Theo talking normally with his friends.

“He deserved it to be fair, I don’t blame Nott for beating him up the way he did.” Hermione says before asking about my hand.

“It’s all fine now, nothing major just a few broken bones.” I say turning my wrist and flexing my fingers before turning to Ron and answering his previous accusation, “And he’s not my boyfriend Ron, he’s just a friend.”

“Yeah well Harry and Cho Chang are friends but you don’t see him going around beating Cedric up.” Ron says stupidly, making Ginny tense up and Hermione glare at him from across the table as I take Ginny’s hand under it.

“Hey Hermione do you have a spare paper and quill?” I ask after we’ve all eaten our dinner and most of the people in the dining hall have cleared off.

“Yes of course, what for?” she asks, pulling a blank piece of paper and quill out of her bag and passing it to me. “I need to send a note.” I say vaguely before scribbling down:

meet me in the astrology tower after curfew.

I pull my wand out of my pocket and perform the paper bird charm, passing the note to Theo on the other side of the hall.

We all watch as he receives it, reads it and looks up at me, and winks. He asks Pansy for a quill and writes back:

See you there darling

I smile, putting the note into my pocket as Hermione squeals at me, Harry smiles and Ron makes a face of throwing up. “And that Ronald, is why you still don’t have a date to the Yule Ball. Speaking of which Harry do you have yours yet?” 

“Yep, I do actually.”

“Oh yeah? Who is it?” Ron asks looking over at Harry. Hermione and I give each other a knowing look as Harry says, “Uhm, I’m not at liberty to say.”

Harry gets up to leave to escape the conversation as Hermione and I laugh after him and Ron trailing not too far behind, pestering Harry and threatening him if it's his sister.

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“Hey” I hear a soft deep voice behind me as I stare up at the stars from the tower.

I turn around and find Theo wearing a deep red jumper and red plaid pyjamas, holding two cups of hot chocolate coincidently matching with my red plaid shorts and red jumper with my initial on it, courtesy of Mrs Weasley of course.

We smile at each other as he comes close and asks how my hand is, “All better, see” I flex my hand once again to prove it to him and we sit in silence for a few minutes drinking the hot chocolate he’d gotten from the kitchen.

“So,” he starts slowly sipping his hot chocolate and looking over at me in the dim light, “What did you want to talk about?”

I take a breath before answering, “Why did you do that?”

His eyebrows furrow, “Do what?”

I give him a knowing look and he looks away with a smile in response which drops quickly when thoughts of Cormac come back in his mind. “Guy’s a git. Doesn’t deserve you.” He says plainly bringing the cup to his lips again. I look at him for a minute, observing his long eyelashes and soft skin and look away just when he looks at me.

“Have you got a date to the ball yet?” He says in the comfortable silence.

I look back at him getting lost for a moment in his soft blue eyes. I shake my head in response.

He nods, looking down before downing the rest of his hot chocolate and standing up.

He reaches out a hand towards me and pulls me up from my place on the stairs and says, “Would you go with me if I asked?”

I look up at his eyes once again, seeing a hint of fear behind the blue, “If you asked dickhead.”

He laughs at this, nods and kisses me on the cheek before leaving.

“See you later star.”

“Star?” I say in question, my cheeks burning from his touch.

He doesn’t say a word or turn around, but simply holds out his middle finger, flipping me off which confuses me more until I see the silver ring I made him resting at the bottom of it.

I smile to myself as he walks away, leaving my face flushed and heart swollen.

What am I getting myself into.

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part four done, lmk what you think!!

taglist: @timmytime17 @cherry-hoe @jetblackpayne @ash-tarte @coolestgirlhere

[lains-reality]

hello! i rlly love your blog and the way you explain things

how do i just apply? whenever i do i stress that i’m doing it wrong because i feel overwhelmed by the amount of info and things i have to make sure i’m doing right then i spiral and over consume again. i don’t want to rely on tumblr anymore.

what’s the simplest way to apply all of this and just “manifest” (i don’t rlly like this word bc it implies there’s a process or that i’m trying to get) my dream life? thank you

hi! ty!

it takes some courage! i also read a lot as a way to feel secure, but eventually i just got tired and just decided 'i have no more fears from this day on! done with this!' and i made it a practise to stop avoiding myself whenever something comes up

its all very natural, i can't say how you'll just finally decide that your over this lol

"whenever i do i stress that i’m doing it wrong because i feel overwhelmed by the amount of info"

well, learn how to stop yourself in the moment. you're putting too much pressure on your character! it only know what it knows now, it will not accept anything outside of what it already knows! thats why you leave it alone. read all you want to read, but stop when you feel like you have to. like you must. let yourself relax.

"i don’t want to rely on tumblr anymore."

good! keep going!

"what’s the simplest way to apply all of this"

just do it. try it and see. something that is a recurent theme in all the posts and book i read, is to try it. experiment. just for this one moment, let all the worries go. promise to never make problems for yourself again. you've given up troubles now, no more. just test it and see. surrender. let the mind cry and scream, for this moment, you won't allow it to deter you from freedom.

i'll give a list of stuff that helped me

theres only now -> stop bringing the past to now, learn to sit in the present moment

stop avoiding emotions, sit with the fear, discomfort etc

you already are Self! nothing can undo that!

be patient

non attachment (or detachment)

experiment - take something you already know and test it

question everything

find out what are the stories you want, what the desire will supposedly give you

it is not necessary to get rid of thoughts or images just stop deriving identity from them

"am i arguing for my limitations?"

soon more lovely thoughts and images will appear in your awareness and you can choose what you want

can you outgrow it? not you. observe it? not you. in the absense of it, you don't dissapear? not you.

be okay with not having it. get to a place where no one and no thing can disturb you (and your happiness and peace)

just see how absurd all this shit is. like i was born? what was it like before i was born? why is it normal to hear your voice in your head? no one knows what tomorrow is but we all worry abt it, where tf does the voice in your head come from? how can we actually identify feelings, what if the feeling pride isn't actually pride and you've been lied to? do you know how crazy this is for an infant?! we say we are an [x] person and that changes and so we say we are an [y] person, so who are we?? if we can change like that? being a human is confusing, seek the truth out and question all

just start to disidentify as the body-mind. when you disidentify as the body-mind you'll start to feel better as all the pressure you put on your character falls away. this will intice you to keep going as you feel freer!

have fun!! go and live life!! appriciate what you have now - this is all expressing the character, omnipr3sence, perfectly! you'll start to see "i barely thought abt x 2 days ago and now i see it here lol" "i was worrying about y and now i see it here too" "oh so this comes along with being the character too, maybe i should change that story"

you're in your own dream, see it as your dream and you'll start seeing the connections.

no need to convince the character, just move on. let yourself doubt this 'reality'

disclaimer: i'm still learning too! so please keep practising and have your own epiphanies!

reading

habit

no need to convince

behaviour

[moongothic]

Remember my first crochet sweater from forever ago? The one that turned out like shit?

Frogged it and now it's a knit 😎

So to recap; I tried making a crochet sweater based on a YouTube tutorial like years ago, and although while making it I could tell it didn't seem... right... I just kept on telling myself to "trust the process" and that "it'd turn out okay in the end"

It did not

The sweater ended up being so square-ish and massive I could've fit three of myself inside of, going well beyond "comfy oversized sweater" straight into "clown clothes" territory. It was bad. On top of that, although I tried to get the same yarn to do the top of the sweater in a pastel purple, I ended up leaning about this thing called "dye lots" the hard way, as the yarn I had needed to finish the sweater ended up being a completely different shade from what I had used for most of the sweater.

So yeah. The sweater turned out like shit, and I wore it maybe once before putting it into my closet and refusing to even look at it for like IDK two years.

Now I have some nicer yarn that I'd like to make something with, something preferably knit because I like knit fabric more than crochet, but I don't want to practise knitting clothes with that nicer yarn. And so I figured, if I frogged this crochet sweater I could then practise knitting sweaters, reuse the old yarn (=don't have to buy jack shit), and maybe remake this failed sweater into something I'll actually wear

And so the sweater was frogged, this being all the usable yarn from the project. Pastel purple dyelot on the left while the more pinkish yarn (the stuff I had originally used while trying to convince myself it wasn't pink)

You can see the difference in the hue better here

So yeah. Now admitedly after frogging the sweater I did lowkey think about just trying to re-crochet the sweater and did kinda start on that, but I very soon realized that I probably wouldn't have enough yarn to remake the sweater the way I wanted to, and just trying to crochet with it made me double down on how much I just I don't like crochet fabric as clothes. It's just so bulky, man

So I got to knitting instead. And because I'm deranged I chose to... mostly wing it. I did look at a few YouTube tutorials for top-down raglan sweaters to get an idea of what I was supposed to be doing, but in the end, I do kinda learn the best by just winging it. But what I did make a big note of while remaking the sweater was just trying it on as often as possible, just to make sure I didn't make it as oversized this time.

I did want to make this process relatively simple though and because I didn't want to risk losing out of yarn at an inconvenient point I chose to skip the stripes of the original sweater and just make it a simple two-color sweater. This also had the added benefit where I was able to use up all of the purple yarn on the yolk and just go as far as I could go with it before switching to black.

But yeah, the end result?

It's decent!

Like let's be real, my raglan increases are an absolute fucking mess and the shaping on the yolk is a little funny, AND I did make the collar too big (I was so worried my giant head wouldn't fit through so I made it way bigger than it needed to be, but honestly it's better that way than it being way too small. It looks a little silly but it's not the end of the world), and the sleeves ended up being like maybe 4-5 centimeters too long they could've been a smidge shorter.

But aside from that?

I'm honestly really happy with it

Because the fabric is super soft and nice, it's not too bulky, and most importantly, it fits me. It's not obscenely massive on me, it's just the right size.

And really, that's all I wanted. A sweater I'd actually USE, and yeah, I'm gonna wear the hell out of this next fall/winter when the weather gets cold again. It's not perfect, but it's more than good enough for me. And most importantly, I now feel infinitely more confident in maybe using that nicer yarn sometime soon to knit something

Now what the fuck am I gonna do with the leftover yarn 'cause boy howdy do I have a ton left

[konfuchsius]

"You have to be more careful, Heiji!" Kazuha admonished her best friend. Every time he turned up at her door in order to be treated by her, she was frightened. It was lucky that she had been able to persuade him to come to her in the first place. To put it nicely, Heiji's talent simply didn't lie in applying bandages or other similar procedures. And the fact that he had to practise this on himself didn't make it any better. Without her help, his parents would probably have found out about his many injuries long ago and put a stop to his detective work. Kazuha was beginning to wonder whether that wouldn't have been better. She was very worried about him and lately the scratches and bruises which she had to cover up with make-up were piling up.

Heiji loved his work, but his health should clearly come first. She just hadn't said anything more forceful yet because the injuries were limited to a few scrapes and bruises. But today was different and she shuddered at the sight of his bloody arm.

"Fell into a pile of broken glass when I was wrestling with a perpetrator," he had mumbled as an explanation and looked away from her. A clear sign that this was not true, or at least not the whole story.

Kazuha immediately stopped rummaging through the first aid kit - which she had bought especially for Heiji; her parents would have noticed the many missing items sooner or later - and fixed him with her gaze. "I don't care how you got these wounds - not really - but the point is that this has to stop, Heiji!" Her eyes searched his, but they didn't find them. "Your body is just a collection of scars. Don't you realise that it's destroying you?" It still amazed her to this day how he had managed to keep the whole thing a secret from her for so long. He had never let on that he was in pain, but he had to be. The patches of unhealthy colour on his skin spoke volumes. It had been only by chance that she had discovered them when she held Heiji by the arm and he then winced slightly. She had then pushed up his sleeve and confronted him. Yet again, he denied his situation.

"I'm fine," he said, finally looking up, but his eyes were strangely dull.

"You might be, but your body isn't!"

"It's been through worse."

"'Perhaps, but how many times more' Heiji?" Her voice softened towards the end. "Everyone has their limits and you'll soon reach yours. Although they're usually only minor injuries, there are a lot of them ... Take better care of yourself, will you? ..." She looked down at her hands, which were slowly resuming their work. Heiji remained silent and she did not press him to answer. He had to think about it and conclude for himself that it wasn't good for him. She couldn't order him to do it, she had no right to, nor would it do any good.  "It will sting a bit ..." she finally said and pressed cotton wool soaked in alcohol onto one of the fresh cuts on his arm. He endured it without any emotion.

At school, Heiji behaved as usual, joked around and never, ever stopped smiling. At first, even the injuries he sustained lessened and Kazuha thought that everything would go well in the end. He certainly tried harder to avoid slipping into the most dangerous cases unprepared and to proceed more conscientiously. At least that's what she thought. Until she received a phone call one Sunday.

" Um ... Kazuha ... I need your help ..." his voice rang through the receiver and it didn't sound at all as if everything was all right. He was breathing heavily and every now and then he was shaken by a half-stifled cough.

"Heiji! What the hell happened?" Kazuha pressed the phone tighter to her ear as if it would get her a quicker answer.

"Later... please just come quickly."

"You're home?" she asked, her heart pounding. She was already at the front door and had her key in her hand.

"Yes ..." Even that short word ended in a croak. What had happened to him? He hadn't hurt himself - he wouldn't do that, would he?

"Heiji‼ I'll be right with you," she announced her arrival at the Hattoris' house. His parents didn't seem to be there, otherwise he would certainly have called them first. When Kazuha received no reply, she quickened her pace again and skipped several steps on the way up. What she saw when she pushed open the door to his room took her breath away.

Heiji was leaning against the wall at the back and covered in bruises. The skin on his arms had been scraped off in places, as if he had fought someone. And he was holding his leg.

"I think it's sprained," he said as she approached him and rubbed his ankle with his right hand.

Kazuha looked at him in disbelief. "Who was that Heiji?"

"I tripped ... I should probably clean up after all." He put on a smile as if he had just fallen down and would get up again in a moment. As if he wasn't lying in front of her, pressed against the wall in pain. She couldn't understand why he was doing this. At the moment, nothing else entered her brain except that he was injured and needed help. There was no room for further thought.

"We should call an ambulance," she heard herself say quietly.

Heiji laughed lightly in the background, but it seemed false.  "That's rubbish. I just need to rest a bit and then I'll be fine."

Kazuha slowly lifted her gaze from his leg to his head and paused at his eyes. "That's not funny, Heiji. Maybe you haven't noticed, but I'm worried about you! I bet your parents would be too if they saw you like that!" Heiji had opened his mouth slightly to say something back, but after her last words, it instantly closed and his gaze slid to the side.  Somehow he suddenly seemed ... colder.

Kazuha had a terrible hunch.

"Please just bring me the first-aid kit," he said in a tone that made it clear he didn't want to talk about it any further. She briefly considered whether she should persuade him to do so, but then she lowered her hands and nodded silently. First, they should deal with his wounds. Everything else would come later.

If she knew how she could help him better, she would. But even she could only apply the most necessary first aid measures and a doctor could certainly have done more.  But Heiji refused to call one. 

"The bruises will probably heal, but if your foot is really sprained, then it needs to be splinted! If you don't want to go to hospital, then you should at least see a doctor." The whole time she was trying to talk some sense into him, but he remained incredibly stubborn. "Please."

Heiji twisted his mouth to the side and then rubbed his left arm. "Maybe I was exaggerating. I just need to put my leg up a little and then it'll be fine tomorrow."

"Don't talk bollocks, Heiji. You can hardly move without making a face!" Kazuha gave him an angry glare. Didn't he understand that he wasn't doing himself any favours?

"What am I supposed to do?" Heiji returned her look. "They're hardly going to believe that I tripped."

"And I don't believe you either!" Her hands clenched into fists as she continued to speak. "Nobody looks like that just because they tripped. So tell me, ... was it your father? " It sounded like the only logical explanation to her; after all, nobody had broken into the house. And you couldn't inflict injuries like that on yourself. A part of her did not want to believe this, but the more she thought about it, the more clear it became. Heizo had already beaten his son once when they had all been there ... only to end up using him as bait for this gang of criminals. So was this idea really so far-fetched? Had all the previous scratches and marks also been caused by him and not by Heiji's 'excursions', as he had claimed?

She lowered her gaze as she waited for him to give her an answer. It took a little while, but then she heard the word that made regret and anger rise in her with equal measure.

"Yes."

How could he do this to him? "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked in a half-strangled voice.

"Because it's not important."

"'Not important'?" Kazuha stared at him, stunned. "How can it be unimportant?!!!"

Heiji looked to the side and then tried to pull himself up on his bed. "Oh never mind, forget it..." His attempt failed when he tried to put weight on his injured foot. Kazuha held him just in time before he fell to the floor again.

"I definitely won't," she made clear. "You can't let this happen to you!"

"And what would be the alternative?" Heiji had caught himself halfway stable on one leg and was now leaning against the radiator behind him. "You know how successful my father is. And no matter what else you can say about him... he catches the culprits." After these words, he looked at Kazuha expectantly, as if she needed to understand what this had to do with anything. But she didn't, so he took a deep breath and continued. "Without him, many murderers would still be at loose. And if I only have to endure a few bruises to keep it that way ... it doesn't matter."

 Kazuha had taken another step back from Heiji after supporting him. Now she looked at him, the many bruises and marks, the scratch on his cheek and finally his ankle, which was slowly starting to thicken. That's why he put up with all this?

"Heiji ... this is madness. There are other policemen who do their job well and besides, it doesn't have to mean-"

"That he's going to prison?" Heiji's voice sounded sarcastic. "Maybe not, but he'll definitely lose his position. If not his entire job. And I can't afford that ..."

"That's nonsense and you know it." Kazuha looked at him with pity. Surely what he had said migth be a reason to him - that is just the way he is - and it was also his father. Nevertheless .... She couldn’t believe Heiji  would ever put up with such an injustice.

"How is'- what-" Kazuha simply didn't know how to ask him such a question and so she restarted several times before she got it out. "Why is he doing this anyway?"  It wasn't a particularly clever question - why would anyone do something like that? - but there had to be a reason for it.

She could see from Heiji's face that he didn't want to talk about it any further and that it was difficult for him, but this time she wasn't going to give in. Not after she knew what was behind it. It had been bad enough when she had thought that the injuries were the only thing he was keeping secret from all of them. But now it looked like much more ... That had to destroy one's insides. His laughter, his good mood, had it all just been an act?

"We just have our differences sometimes..." Heiji said after what felt like an eternity. " And if that involves cases ..."

"That has to stop, Heiji." She placed her hand gently on his. It was supposed to be reassuring, because right now he just looked like he could use it. "Look at you for once. He can't do that to you."

"There's no other way," Heiji said dryly and removed his hand from hers. " I just mustn't provoke him like that and then-"

"Stop it! Just stop it, Heiji." Slowly, Kazuha realised what all this really meant. The shock had held back her emotions, but now tears were slowly forming in the corners of her eyes. Seeing him like this... The wounds she had constantly bandaged on him. His pain-wracked face when he once again stood at her door covered in bruises. It was all his father's fault and Heiji was still defending him. She didn't know how she would react if her father hit her - she couldn't imagine that either - but it was clear: "Nothing you say could ever justify this. Not even criminals who would otherwise be at large!"

Funfact: Blue stains is the literal translation of the german word for bruise.

[highmarc]

Happy. He was once. // Pt. 3

Pt.1 is here

Pt.2 is here

This one is not angsty, rather fluffy-ish? Like a piece of chocolate after a dementor attack.

Hope you enjoy it, even though lately I feel like deleting everything here, lmao.

GN main character. Ominis has feelings towards MC. MC doesn’t see that, because they basically live in guilt.

TW: stupid grammar? not proofread yet

Word count: 1422

The two friends stop in a tavern. Ominis’s auror friend practises their question-dodging technique, while he enjoys a chocolate frog and his friend’s company. The worse is yet to come.

Sadly, i don't know the original artist. If you happen to know them - please, write their name in comments, I'll add it here.

The tavern met the two with its usual hustle and bustle – loud guffawing, busy chit chatters, sweet scent of butterbeer mixed with something less nice – perspiration and awful odor of some unknown kind. But it all was far better than dark corridors of Azkaban, its labyrinthine passages, wet cold walls, hungry deranged stares of prisoners... The lack of dementors was a cherry on top of the cake called “The Three Broomsticks”.

Walking in, Ominis had nearly tripped because of all the people coming in and out, but his friend, again, was there for him and saved the situation, catching him by the sleeve.

The two took open seats somewhere in the corner – a luxury in such a busy hour – away from the prying eyes of curious patrons. Ominis still didn't look well with his skin pale and head down – he felt worn out. Both physically and emotionally.

“This is what you get for meeting dementors. Nasty creatures.” –  he thought.  

Gaunt let out a sigh and closed his eyes – it was too bright, so bright here that it made his head ache. Was it daylight or candles? Or even both? He didn’t smell candles, so, it must be a very sunny day today. He didn’t like days like these. He enjoyed gloomy autumn afternoons – the sound of rain tapping on the roof, gentle leaves falling to his feet, worrying birds flying here and there; he wasn’t fond of summers, as you can tell for sure. Summers gave him headache. And even more than summers he hated having to suffer from headaches. The loud atmosphere of the place didn’t help either.

 Happily, the auror knew exactly what to do. They left their seat in haste, leaving their friend for minutes; they soon returned with two butterbeers.

“First aid coming!” – they hugged Ominis, patting his back.

 “It's going to be all right. Here, have this.”

They took a chocolate frog out of their coat’s pocket and placed it onto their friend’s palm. He smiled and shook his head in disbelief.

“A chocolate frog? Are you serious? An auror with a chocolate frog in their pocket. Remarkable.”

Ominis chuckled. Sometimes he forgot how childish they could be in all their seriousness and coldness. An auror of such experience – daring, intimidating, even, was a walking soft spot.

But everybody has soft spots; and their were, definitely, chocolate, butterbeer and their friends. Ominis had hoped he was on the list of soft spots too. On a different one, though, the one which included, well, infatuations. Though, his hopes for closer relationships, proper wooing, always dashed against the cliffs of their “aurorship”. For them he would forever remain a close friend – nothing more – which must be protected from the darkness of the world and comforted every time he needed them.

“I'll say.” They smiled back and started drinking their butter beer, taking large sips, while Ominis was busy opening the chocolate frog.

“Which card did I get?” –  he asked impatiently, showing the card to the auror from the wrong side. They gently turned it, so the picture would face them.  

“Ah. Ignatia Wildsmith. You have three of these. If I remember it right.”

“Ugh. Yes. It's the forth. She’s so annoying. Keep it, it's yours after all.” – he said in a sorrowful manner and placed the card on the table. The pompous looking witch soon disappeared from the frame.

“So, you're feeling better, I see.” – Ominis’s friend smiled triumphantly, finishing off their beer.

“All thanks to you.”

“It's the least I can do for you.”

“You promised to tell me something.”

The auror sighed in annoyance.

“Oh, can we just drink butterbeer without discussing something this important...”

Gaunt chuckled, recalling how many times they had discussed “something important” here before.

“No, it's how one deals with trouble – butterbeer and the Three Broomsticks. A magical combination. Magical stress reliever!”

“Hmph. Joke as much as you will, but we could have been kissed by dementors. A few not so pleasant moments ago.”

The wizard felt his heart sink. Heavy silence fell between the two suddenly. Even a joking manner of telling such grave news didn't save the situation. The patrons became quieter – who could resist the urge to overhear a talk about something this dangerous and strange?

“Wh-“ Gaunt started only to be interrupted.

“I can barely cast my patronus now. Failed a few times before, actually.” – his friend started whispering.

They smiled, but how lucky they were that Ominis wasn't able to see it. A very bitter smile that was. Desperate. Deceiving.

“Is this even possible?” – he asked in frustration. –  “I thought it's forever - once you learn it, then you just use it like any other spell.”

“No, it's more complicated than that.” – the auror started babbling.

“I just... Can't do it. Can't cast it. As of late. It's a miracle I did this time. maybe it's because you were there. In danger. I just remembered how happy we were. Once ... Even for such a short time. Then our years at Hogwarts together. Anne, Amit, Natty, Poppy. And you. Despite the guilt, we were still happy. Smiling. Being children. And it felt so good, so hopeful. My phoenix rose again to save me... no, save you.” – they took Gaunt’s cold hand in their warm hands.

Here were the words Ominis had hoped to hear. And the gesture. They really fancied him. Cared for him. Or was he fooling himself again, overthinking the simplest gestures of kindness?

“To be honest with you – I felt something then. A gentle... Warmth. Of some kind. I saw and heard terrible, terrible things. They were showing me... And then this came. A light. As if I almost saw it. Not like usual shadows and silhouettes I experience. Something rather otherworldly it was.”

“That was the power of the spell, Ominis. You were the part of it. An important one.”

The wizard smiled and closed his eyes, as if wanting to feel that again.

“Don't you daydream, you still have got to talk to Anne about our business.” – they nudged him gently.

“I know. Just give me a second.”

He certainly felt better – the smile spoke for him.  

“Take your time. While I drink your-“

“No waaay!” – he moaned, opening his eyes. He wasn’t going to give his butterbeer away this easily.

“Ah, you're so precious when you make that face. Precious!”

The auror cackled, noticing the blush on their friend’s face. He still reacted to this phrase with a blush. After all these years… Alas, soon they won’t be able to see this precious blush of his. Or these pretty moles, which resembled a constellation. They won’t recognise him soon. The auror’s heart ached when these thoughts began to flood their mind.

“Don't call me that, were not sixth-years anymore!”

“Say for yourself, I still have a brain that of a sixth-year.”

The two chuckled.

“Me too. The wizard nodded. It's good we still think the same.”

“Yeah... It's good.”

“Is everything all right with you? You don't sound-“

The right questions. That is where you need to leave. Make up an excuse. And go. He doesn’t need to know anything.

For him they were fine. In their “almost next to best” state.

“I'm fine, just... just a long day. And it is, really, just morning. Bet they’ve sent a search party for me at work.”

“Yes, indeed. Then you're...leaving?”

“Well, yes, I'm afraid. Still have some work to do, you know. I think I was supposed to return an hour ago or so. But damn them all. Leander too. Bet he's going to bark at me again. That coward ass.”

“Then I-...” – the wizard sighed again. – “Be careful, please. And kick Prewett’s ass for me.”

“I will. Promise. You too take care of yourself”.

“I'll talk to Anne today. Wait for my owl later.”

“I always do. Good luck, Ominis.“

And with these words they were gone. The sound of their footsteps quickly faded away, leaving Ominis all alone with his thoughts. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but he knew – they were bound to remain unanswered. The auror was good at dodging spells. They were even better at dodging unwanted questions.

“They’re up to something. I need to find out. Sebastian was like this just before he…”

A long day it was indeed. And it was going to be even longer with everything going on. At least this day wasn’t going to last forever.

[jediknightjameslunagazer23]

Sometime ago, I drew James Lunagazer for an Caduceus ID Tag made by @theblueskyphoenix following Manga Chapter 8's completion, but figuring that the old one was rather outdated, I decided to redo the ID Tag but this time I actually did two versions for James, one for when he's at Caduceus USA during UTK/SO, and one for after he transfers to Caduceus EU at the end and remains there for the start of UTK 2's storyline until probably around either Chapter 2, 3 or 4 of the UTK 2 game story for those familiar, he ends up returning to USA out of certain circumstances which I'll probably later share in an double post since I think this bio would be too long otherwise!

Also I'd like to think there's an Reserve team for treating G.U.I.L.T outside of the main Counter Measure Team just in case, like say one of the main doctors or nurses was ill, someone from there would take over.

(And yes, James is definitely not the most photogenic person! Which is ironic given his father was an amateur photographer, but don't worry! I'm sure he'll get better...! Probably, Maybe. )

Anyway I should probably do an bit of bio for James here, given I gave one to his assistant Nurse Bentley Toby:

James Lunagazer was born on 23rd May 1998 in Scotland, UK as an child and teenager he would be quiet most of the time, but also rather hyper, reencating scenes from Star Wars Prequel Movies and Clone Wars episodes, even watching anime such as Fullmetal Alchemist, Assassination Classroom, Naruto and so on alongside his father who he was very close to as an child especially after he divorced his mother, however it tragically was never meant to last.

As one fateful December night when he was 16, James' father sadly passed away in hospital due to an cancer being discovered far too late, this traumatic event had quite an major effect on the young boy, who could only watch as he felt his father slip away right in front of him, and even now it still haunts him to this very day, he also silently resented certain other doctors for in his eyes if they had bothered to look harder and weren't incompetent asides from one his dad would still be alive.

After his father passed away, James was sent to live with his Grandparents, where he struggled to recover from his father's passing, and it's believed that this is what led to him being more socially withdrawn in later years, but in all that dark grey an little angel seemed to come to him, for shortly thereafter, the family would adopt an certain young girl that had no relatives, as you've probably guessed, that was Kira, honestly the whole idea of being an big brother was rather... alien to James, but eventually he grew to love the little one for being there when he needed it, even though she can be mischievous sometimes.

But this would also lead to James developing an overprotective attitude around the little one especially for if Kira was ill and after treating her one time, James finally found his answer, ("I'm going to become an doctor to make sure that no one suffers like I did!")

In St.Francis medical school/Hospital, shortly after leaving high school James worked incredibly hard, just determined to be an doctor as soon as possible though this did mean that he hardly dealt with his own stunted social skills, and would only speak with teachers leading him to be called teacher's favourite and other nasty rumors, especially around strange occurances surrounding him, which unknown at the time was actually Apollo lending him an hand though subconsciously.

All that led to James being practically shunned and mistreated, and it probably would have made him give up, if it hadn't been for an lucky visit from Nurse Bentley Toby who also had the same powers and sensing the potential sleeping within brought him to Caduceus USA.

This would be around the time the G.U.I.L.T War started, and after showing his potential during an practise operation, James was assigned to the Reserve Unit which was formed for just in case any of the Main G.U.I.L.T Counter Measure Team was either absent or ill, initially James would only talk with Bentley due to him being his main assistant and mentor but after Dr. Tyler Chase and Nurse Leslie came over to help him out with an patient one time, James would finally begin to soften his shell and enjoy others company even coming to view Caduceus USA as his second family.

He still has much, much to learn and emotional obstacles overcome once he becomes aware of his powers, but all in all, James definitely has an lot of potential now it's an question of whether he can achieve it or not.

Additional information about him:

-He would idolise Dr. Derek Stiles in the same manner as Adel Tulba at the beginning and strive to be like him, only to later grow into his own person, but out of all other doctors at Caduceus USA, Derek is definitely the bigger brother figure he's closer to.

-While James is by no means an terrible thinker, in fact some of his improvised on the fly ideas have saved many lives time and time again, he can unfortunately be rather oblivious to meanings of certain phrases and is often the butt of an lot of Tyler's antics due to being gullible.

-It takes an lot to anger James, but if he is you'd better brace yourself, though this can be an double-edged sword as when someone is in the wrong, he would try to make said person see sense, but he's often prone to misreading the situation and can unintentionally make things worse, he does admit when he's in the wrong and will try to fix his mistakes though.

-He and Nurse Angie Thompson do not get along with each other at first, though it wouldn’t be as bad as when Derek and Angie were enemies at Hope.

It all started when James misjudged her for being rather intimidating and bossy just from overhearing an scolding she gave Derek one time when he was late with paperwork as usual, and after an rather embarrassing teasing by James' sister Kira when she was an patient, Angie ripped into him hard verbally out of frustration telling him to set an much better example for Kira, his pride wounded James snapped right back and they were pretty much on thin ice with each other until an time when he panicked during an intense high operation and Angie helped him pull through it, afterwards the pair apologised for misjudging each other and even formed an alliance of sorts.

("It's like what Gordon once said to Thomas after he saved him from falling down an mine, "United we stand, together we fall, you help me and I'll help you!"

"Um...Well, while I may not understand what you said, it sounds good to me, Dr. Lunagazer!"

"Just call me James or Luna! I'm not sure if I'm even good at being an doctor yet, I'm only twenty after all...")

-He has many hobbies outside of work, such as drawing sometimes, and if he gets the chance even craft something as he was an cosplayer in the past, but his favourite hobby is sometimes practicing with an toy lightsaber, claiming it helps him focus and get in the zone better if he imagines it like an operation, even holds it like an scalpel for good measure, he's pretty much an champion being able to best Tyler most of the time, but when he came up against Angie....oh boy.... he quickly regretted being incredibly cocky thinking she would be easy, however he didn't count on her being an trained Aikido fighter!

("She's got no weapons to fight with, Surely I'll win thissss---AAAHHHH!!!!!"

*THUMP!!!*

"O-Oh my goodness!!! I am SO sorry!! Are you alright!? I must have put too much force into that throw!"

"Whooooaaaa.....no worrieeeeeesss..... just spinnnning.....urghhhh, are you aware you have now three heads Angie...???")

Yeeeah, pretty much after that James made absolutely sure to NEVER get on Angie's bad side afterwards, he's still traumatised from that event to this day, if someone even so much as mentions aikido, he'll just freeze up and shudder!

-He quickly gets attached to Nurse Leslie Sears, viewing her as an older sister after he learned she joined Caduceus at 20 much like he did, and even later on learns how to braid his ponytail from her when learning that Amy, Tyler's younger sister her hair that done by Leslie once.

-On another topic, while he might be gullible, shy and even some what of an airhead when it comes to love matters, he might sometimes sneak an tease or two here and there once he gains confidence and for when Tyler goes overboard with teasing Derek about his relationship with Angie later on, he along with Kira definitely enjoy embarrassing Tyler an lot on the subject of Lesile Sears!

("Soooo~....when's the day Amy's going to have Lesile as an sister-in-law Tyler? Hehe!"

"Sh-shut up kid!! Jeez... I think I might be rubbing off on you an bit too much it sometimes, And you just wait as you'll probably have someone like that too someday!"

"H-h-hey!! At least I'm not as uh....uh....um...doh bother!"

"Word of the wise young one, never try to tease someone about love unless you've got an good witty comeback! Whahahaha!"

"Yeah, sure... for if and only IF you'll ever be successful as an wingman in these matters....I'll be sure to take your advice then Dr. Chase!"

"Oh hoho! Now you've asked for it kid! Get back here!")

-He definitely would freak out seeing Apollo in the astral plane for the first time, he thought his heart would stop and that he was going insane from talking to an god in his head, thankfully Derek and Asclepius managed to ease James into it, and now on occasions they let Asclepius and Apollo chat as Father and Son.

-Also due to growing up in the UK for most of his childhood, he would often struggle with American terminology at times, particularly around train services given he watched Thomas the Tank Engine as an young child and read the Railway Series too, and yes he's an massive train lover, even got to ride on Thomas during an Day out with Thomas event for his 3rd birthday and has been to the National Railway Museum in York!

("Oh sorry! Didn't mean to call the Conductor the Guard, Spent most of my early life in Britain after all!")

-He would have an bit of Scottish dialect mixed with Japanese due to watching some anime at times, but not very much he's incredibly rusty at German but can probably understand some of it if he tries, he's mostly British though.

-He wanted to be an Firefighter when he was younger, but ultimately chose the path he has now, even did an Firefighter course in High School once!

And I think that pretty much covers James' bio at least at current time for UTK/SO Manga wise, and phew it was quite the long one, and probably much more to come once I cover his Caduceus EU ID Tag and his UTK 2 story (Or at least general plot ideas for him during those events.) Also given Naomi was moved to Hope in the Manga, I'd figured maybe James could replace her for those scenarios, If you've made it this far through my massive lore dumping, thank you very much for sticking around!

[little---games]

The witcher needs to apologise for all the cruel things he said.

[wonwoosthetic]

The Talk Pt. 1

K-Pop Masterlist

Minnie Masterlist

Word Count: 2.3k

Summary: Wonwoo and Cheol have a talk about the younger's feelings.

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July 2019

In the practice room, everyone was panting, out of breath, trying to control their breathing as they were lying on the floor. Only a few more days until they'd be in Los Angeles for KCon 2019 and right after that, their tour would start. This meant practice, practice, practice.

Minnie was back in her routine... at least somewhat. Their busy schedule helped her distract herself, and whereas some would say 'stop sulking, it's been a month already', even after a month, it wasn't getting much easier. Her members were helping her in every way possible and thanks to having to practice, she had other things to worry about than her feelings. But there was someone else who was very much worried about his feelings - Wonwoo.

The member that had been by her side for most of the time ever since she started locking herself into her room was starting to accept certain feelings shouldn't have...

He needed someone to talk to, as soon as possible. He needed advice and a good ear. And someone with no big mouth, unlike his best friend and beanpole. There was one member he trusted, who would give him the advice he needed: their leader. The only issue was, that it was almost impossible to get him to himself without any of the other members, that's why he had to be quick after they finished their practising schedule and were about to leave in different cars. Wonwoo jogged up to the older member, "Hey, I need to talk to you," making the leader turn around and find him with a worried expression, "Alone."

"Are you okay?" Cheol immediately wondered, having no good feeling in his stomach as he looked at his younger brother, clearly nervously fiddling with his fingers. Wonwoo nodded his head quickly, "Oh yeah, yeah, yeah... just need some... help, I guess."

S.Coups understood the plead and instantly acted on it, shouting into the room, "Guys! Wonwoo and I are leaving! See you at the dorm!"

Mingyu got just finished packing the bag he brought to the Pledis building and wanted to tag along, "Oh, wait! I'll come with you."

"No, no," Seungcheol stopped him before he could walk up to the two rappers, "We... we need to pick something up. It could take a while. We'll see you at home," before directing his last message to the rest of the group, "Bye!" Wonwoo copied his action, saying goodbye to the staff as well, and left the room with his leader hot on his tracks.

-----------------

"So?" Coups asked, immediately after their manager had started the car and drove off.

This was the time. Wonwoo knew there was no going back now. He had asked Cheol to be in a car alone with him, he couldn't just back out and talk about something completely different. But how does someone start a conversation like that? How do you explain something, you're not even sure or just worried about?

"So...," the younger rapper started, not having his thoughts completely collected, just yet. "First of all, I want to say that...," he looked out the window, trying to focus on the people on the sidewalk, but his mind kept on drifting, "I know this is probably a very inappropriate time to think like that... but... I've been thinking about it a lot, and it's not just since now or a month or so... this has been going on for a longer time, so I need someone to talk to, and I know that we can talk to you about everything-"

"Of course," Seungcheol, who as well was getting more nervous with every word that fell from Wonwoo's lips, comforted his younger brother.

"So please don't think badly of me or like I'm taking advantage of her because I really don't mean it like that..."

"Her? Minnie?" Coups immediately wondered and could only think of their female member as a possible candidate for the "her" pronoun he used, "What's with her? I thought she was getting better. Is everything okay?" The protector instinct of the older member kicked in as soon as the thought of her falling back into the state she had been in only a few weeks ago kicked in.

Wonwoo turned his head, finding the worrying glance of the other rapper, "No, no, no," he quickly answered him, "She's fine, don't worry. She's getting better. A lot better." With a heavy breath in and out, he continued, "Especially now... during this time, you know...," even with the pauses he took, Seungcheol decided against pushing him to speak or interrupt his train of thought, but just listened and gave him the time he needed to express himself. "I spent almost every day in her room... just sitting on Joshua's bed or sitting next to her. We read in silence next to each other, without speaking any words. Every now and then, she would ask me something or try to start a conversation. But the silence we spent together was never uncomfortable, you know?" Wonwoo turned his head to see his leader looking at him with wondering eyes, and clearly listening well to him as he nodded for him to continue. "It never bothered me to just sit there and listen to her and not talk at all... but you know what bothered me? Seeing her so miserable." Cheol remembered it too. Sure, he didn't experience it the way Wonwoo did because he never dared to open the door as many times as the other rapper did. And till that day, he regretted not checking up on her enough. But with his member next to him, he knew she was in good hands.

"Every time I opened the door and found her weeping in her bed or whenever she would start crying while reading a book... it really broke my heart. Because she doesn't deserve this. She doesn't deserve to cry that much about someone. I'm not blaming Hanbin... I mean, it is kind of his fault, but... it probably was for the best... but still... I... I don't want her to cry about a man like that ever again." He wiped the palms of his hands over the top of his jeans, noticing how clammy they had gotten during his speech. "And while I was in that room with her, trying to comfort her as best as I could... I... I don't know... something that I tried pushing into the back of my head came back, I guess... Without me wanting it to happen!" He quickly defended himself, looking at his leader, whose eyes were still glued onto the younger man, "I swear, if I could have stopped it... maybe I would have... I don't know actually. But yeah, so..." he stopped himself before continuing, not getting himself to fully say the words out loud, but thankfully was Cheol better than anybody else at reading his members, onto the fact that he already knew what Wonwoo was talking about thanks to multiple talks and jokes with the other members over the past few years.

"You like Minnie," S.Coups stated, smiling kindly at his younger brother, "A little bit more than us..."

Wonwoo chuckled nervously, scratching his neck, "I guess you could say that." And groaned right after, "Ugh, but that's just not right."

"Why?"

"Because why now? She just had her heart broken, and THAT is the first thing I realize." He truly felt bad. Wonwoo wasn't supposed to see his friend cry and focus on how beautiful she looked, even with tears in her eyes, instead of feeling empathetic with her. He wasn't supposed to enjoy the time they got to spend alone together, sometimes even cuddled up on her bed when the reason for it was a break-up. And yet, he couldn't help it.

"Well, but you said it yourself," his leader explained, "You've been feeling like this for a while. And it's not like we didn't notice. But I think we just all collectively agreed on letting her be happy for the time being without ever talking about it. Then, she got hurt, and now you're the reason she's smiling again." The kind smile didn't leave the oldest's lips as he watched Wonwoo getting less and less nervous with every word he spoke.

The '96 Liner sighed in relief, "You're a lot calmer than I imagined you'd be."

Cheol started laughing softly, "What do you want me to do? Scold you? Tell you to not fall in love? I can't do that. And you shouldn't tell yourself that either. It's okay to have feelings for someone. I mean... you've known each other for such a long time, it's natural to fall for someone like that. You've always had a special bond," his comment made the younger rapper's ears perk up, "I remember, even our parents talked about it during the dinner's we had with them. You were always sitting next to each other and laughing or doing something. You've been close ever since you guys met."

"But you two are close too. And the other guys too."

S.Coups shook his head, "That's different. I've always felt like..." he thought with pressed-together lips before continuing, "I don't know... the first time I ever met Minnie, I kind of knew that it would be my responsibility to help her in any kind of way, you know? But more like a family. I wanted her to have a family here. And to not feel like a foreigner in a country with strangers. The other guys are similar to that. But you AND her. You've always had a different connection. And I'm talking about how she acts or used to act towards you too. It wasn't only you that we noticed."

Wonwoo nodded with a smirk he tried holding back but wasn't very good at. I mean, how could you hide the happiness you were feeling when somebody just told you they noticed your crush liked you back.

"I think," Coups continued, "Back then, especially before she started dating. Both of you were probably just a bit too young to understand or notice, but yeah... you're old enough now..." getting Wonwoo's attention back on him fully.

"Old enough for what?" The youngest in the car wondered, making the '95 Liner laugh,

"To act on your feelings!"

"You want me to act on them?"

"You don't?"

Wonwoo seemed to have to process S.Coup's words as he tried answering his question, "I-I, well... I mean... I-I guess..."

"I thought that's why you wanted to talk to me about it," Cheol hit the younger member's arm softly, laughing at the situation.

"I did!" Wonwoo argued, "I did want to talk to you because of it, but... I don't think I should..."

"Why?" Seungcheol wondered, confused at the younger's reaction, "Do you want to keep your feelings hidden forever? You're gonna be miserable!"

"I know I will!" He sighed, "But I'm worried..."

"About?"

"Wouldn't it be weird? And it would be really embarrassing if she didn't... you know..."

Coups shook his head quickly, "That's not gonna happen. Don't you remember? Even back then our parents would ask you if you were together."

"Yeah, but all parents ask their kids those kinds of questions," Wonwoo shrugged off the memory, even though it was one of his most fond ones, always enjoying the thought of them actually being a couple, but brushing it off since Minnie would always be quick to laugh and answer 'No'.

"They never asked any of the other members," Cheol looked at him with a straight face, "Only ever you two."

The '96 Liner let out a heavy breath, glancing at the familiar streets outside the window, "Wouldn't it be weird? Within in the group."

"Not if you don't make it weird," the older member joked, but the content of his statement was meant seriously, "The members have been waiting for the two of you to finally realise it. Like I told you, we did let it go when she started dating Hanbin because she was genuinely happy, and we were like, 'alright, I guess not' but... you know... things happen and feelings change."

Wonwoo turned his head again to find the comforting eyes of the leader, "Exactly. Feelings change. So did hers probably."

Before the '95 Liner could answer, a voice from the driver seat rang through the car, "Jesus Christ! Just talk to her. You both have been liking each other since before your debut! Just do it. You'll never know if you don't try." Their manager had listened to the entire conversation between the two men, deciding against it to interrupt, but was quick to react once he noticed the younger one's doubts. He remembered the young pairing's antics. Even he, and other staff members, back then, thought the two looked cute together. When he found out they actually weren't a couple, he wondered why. Then the news about Minnie's new relationship also came past him and he felt sorrow for the young rapper, remembering how his first love ended as the story started similar to the Wonwoo's.

"Thank you!" Seungcheol exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air, making the manager chuckle.

Wonwoo smiled, letting his head drop to look at his hands in his lap, "So... you'd be okay with it?" Directing his question to his member next to him.

"Yeah, of course," he nodded, "Just... you know... let her just be for a bit. Maybe wait until after the tour... You know how tough it was for her. It'll probably take some time. But be there for her. You really were the one who was able to make her feel better throughout it all," making the fellow performer nod as well. "But just so you know," he quickly added, "I'm not gonna treat you any different than her past boyfriends."

His comment made Wonwoo laugh before he turned serious again once a specific thought crossed his mind, "You were pretty tough on Hanbin at first though..."

Seungcheol chuckled, "You too."

｡･ﾟﾟ･｡･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･｡･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･｡･ﾟﾟ･｡

Whose parents have taken Minnie in as their own? (still open in case you want to add something or haven’t voted yet :))

Thoughts are always welcome! :)

Taglist: @shrynkk @myballzinyojawz @chaebb @hyuncore @hoe4wonwoo @kimhyejin3108 @soobzao @billboard-singer

[punkscowardschampions]

Ali & Ro

Ali: Not entirely sure if Lene is serious but probably Ali: either way, I'll chat to her when I'm back, won't be long Ali: is there anything else you wanted clarity on before the chat went awry, like Ro: I had always assumed her to be perpetually seriously, however, I have already spoken to Tess Ro: She wishes to speak to you nevertheless, perhaps she sensed my internal reservations about the trip Ro: You see, I'm potentially considering not accompanying you on the trip because Marlene's car cannot comfortably accommodate all of us and well, everyone else is so eager to go Ali: She'll like that that's the impression she's given out, I'll tell her Ali: or she wants to tell me no to my face with an evil smile on hers 🙄 Ali: We'll be fine, I'll make sure you have a seat Ali: You have to come, you've got more reason than everyone but me Ro: I really do want to come but what if the stars aren't out? Ro: Or I offend Caleb with my refusal of his snacks? Ro: Or Meena's brother thinks I'm the most unusual girl in existence, not in a good way? Ali: We're going to be so prepared, I promise Ali: all the torches, rechargeable and the hand-crank kind Ali: you can help me pack Ali: and you don't have to worry about either of them, Caleb isn't like that Ro: Can we start to pack when you return? Ali: Yeah, of course! Ali: And I'll show you all of the places I've found and researched thus far Ro: Oh my goodness! I hadn't even considered how much research there would be to do! Ro: That's how lost I became in the negatives, much like Tess seemingly is, but we will be able to convince her with our thorough plans as well Ro: And whether Marlene actually speaks to her or not, she'll be pleased she is coming along as a safe driver Ali: Exactly Ali: It's literally THE safest most wholesome plan I've had in ages Ali: it's practically a school trip Ro: The cards and tea leaves did look upon it favorably but your mother is unlikely to be convinced by that, sadly Ro: At least not in this lifetime Ali: Such a heathen Ali: keep that between us and the 🔮 Ro: Perhaps don't start the negotiations with that or acknowledge my agreement of it, in order to keep things safe and wholesome if nothing else Ro: The first of many secrets this trip, I am certain Ali: Absolutely Ali: 🤞 Ali: It'll be a good chance for everyone to get to know each other Ali: but no one's going to object to everyone doing their own thing either, it's the beauty of it Ro: Precisely how long have you been plotting this? Ali: 😈 Ali: That would be telling Ro: Tell me instead, is Carly coming? She didn't actually say Ali: Oh, you're right Ali: group chats are hilarious but largely ineffective Ali: she is coming, yeah Ro: Hmm Ro: Is that a good idea, your former girlfriend and your girlfriend of the moment Ali: I think Marls has got a new piece rn so I'm officially old news, it won't be a problem Ro: Oh Ro: Is her girlfriend coming too? Ali: Potentially, but as you said we are 2 people over capacity already Ali: any more and we'll need another vehicle Ro: And it'll be enough of a challenge for me to converse with several of the company as things stand, I have no overwhelming desire to add more to our number personally Ali: I promise it'll be fine Ali: I won't make us sit in a circle and hold hands or anything Ali: unless we're doing a séance Ali: still you'll only need to communicate with the spirits Ro: It's been so long since we've done one, we have to! Ali: Absolutely Ali: I think the convent and old asylum once we get to Cork will be perfect Ali: [sends relevant links] Ro: I can't believe the asylum was made into apartments, imagine living there! Ali: Right?! Ali: Imagine the leftover energy, I can't Ro: I'm furious at myself that I was almost convinced not to do this Ro: It's going to be amazing Ali: You know I wouldn't let you Ali: You've gotta be there Ro: I'm not going to be able to sleep until we go, I feel utterly childlike in my enthusiasm right now Ro: Come home soon, please Ali: You're so adorable Ali: I can't wait either, I think its spreading, everyone seemed more reciprocative than I could've even hoped so 🙌 Ali: I won't be long 💚 Ro: It just simply is one of the best ideas you've had for a long while, nobody can fail to recognise and appreciate that Ro: Especially because most don't share of love of Octobers Ro: It'll give them something to look forward to that isn't the over commercialisation and Americanisation of Halloween Ali: I won't take that slight on my previous ideas, Posy! 😉 Ali: not to mention I'm 💰💰💰 on that commercialisation this season because I agree in principle that everyone should get behind the actual meaning and old traditions too Ro: The less said the better Ali: 😱 Ali: the real horror is all this shade, you beast Ro: I'm practising in case the boys don't take all of this seriously enough Ali: tough love Ali: I'm sure they'll appreciate that very much Ali: 😏 Ro: It is very much not about their enjoyment, thank you Ro: Ours and the spirits take priority as they should Ali: Amen sister Ro: I'm gonna go make tea and cautiously approach Tess again, with every possible wish for good fortune having been made, of course Ro: See you soon Ali: 🍀🌠🥠🧂🪔🦷 Ro: Blessings back

[ahhhmathias-blog]

- Move! - Move it! Move! Move! Now! It's me home. - Bye, Bruno! - Bye, Bruno! - Hello, sweetheart. - Mum, what's going on? - We're celebrating. - Celebrating? Your father's been given a promotion. - That means a better job. - I know what promotion is. So we're having a little party to celebrate. He's still going to be a soldier though, isn't he? Yes, my lamb. Yes, just a more important one now. There's some even more exciting news, but I think Dad wanted to tell you about that himself. - Moving? Where to? - To the countryside. That's miles away. What about Karl and Leon and Martin? Sweetheart, I know it's hard, but we're all having to say goodbye to our friends for the time being. Anyway, we'll make new ones where we're going. Won't we? Of course you are. You'll make lots of new friends. Bruno, you can have your friends around in the morning before we go. Think of it as an adventure, like in one of your books. But this is the best house ever. Well, you never know. The house we're going to might be even better. Dad says it's got a garden. Look, the thing is, Bruno, the thing about being a soldier, is that life is not so much about choice, it's more about duty, so if your country needs you to go somewhere, you go. Now, of course, going somewhere else is much easier when you know that your family are so delighted to go with you. Bruno! You're getting bigger every time I see you. It's only been a week, Nathalie. Well, perhaps it's me that's getting smaller. So, you two, well, what do you think of all this? Moving out of Berlin? Well, Mummy and Daddy say it's a good thing, so I suppose it must be. Children, be angels, will you? Pass some food around. Heil Hitler! Congratulations. - Doesn't he look wonderful? - Absolutely. I'm so proud of you, my boy. Oh, dear. I sometimes wonder if this is all down to me, making you those costumes for your little plays when you were tiny. - You used to adore all that dressing up. - Nathalie... Does it still make you feel special, Ralf dear? The uniform and what it stands for? Mother, it's a party. Let's not spoil things. Me, spoil things? You should be careful. Airing your views so publicly could land you in trouble. You know that. So, how long are we losing you for, my boy? - Until the war is won, I would think. - Well, not so long then. Bruno! All right, Bruno. Time to say goodbye. - Bye-bye. - Bye-bye! "Time has come for me to sleep Lord, I thank Thee for Thy keep "Watch this night well over me And teach me, Lord, to trust in Thee "Care for children, sick and poor Grant them, Lord, Thy blessing more "And this I pray in Jesus' name Care for my family just the same" Amen. Children, look. Look! Our new home. I have some business to take care of. I'll see you shortly. Well, what do we think? Come on. It's lovely. You two choose your rooms. I'll have Maria come and help you unpack. What do you think of it, Maria? The new house. It's not for me to say. But it won't feel like home until we make it feel like home, will it? Is he already up? Who was that? One of your father's soldiers, I suppose. - He looked very serious. - Well, they are, aren't they? - Why are we whispering? - I don't know. - And play with who? - The children over on the farm. Farm? I didn't see a farm. And that one, too. You can only see it from my room. And there are some children there? - Yes, quite a few. - That's good. - So, I'll be able to play with them. - I don't see why not. I'll wait a little bit, just to see what they're like, - because they look a bit strange. - The children do? - Well, and the farmers. - What sort of strange? I'm sorry. Vegetables. There. Bruno, have you unpacked everything? Because I think you should go back upstairs and finish off. Thank you, ma'am. Bruno. - I told you they were strange. - Who? The farmers. They wear pyjamas. Bruno, I was just coming to look for you. Well, thank you for that. That was extremely useful. - I'll be over to see you later. - Of course, Herr Kommandant. Come in. Sit down, sit down. Well, what do you think? Oh, dear. I want to go home. You are home, Bruno. Home is where the family is. Isn't that right? Bruno, you have to at least give the place a chance. I promise you, it won't be long before you... Why do the farmers wear pyjamas? I can see them from my window. The thing is, Bruno, those people... Well, you see, they're not really people at all. Bruno, who told you it was a farm? - Was it Maria? - No. It is a farm, isn't it? Yes. Is it to do with your new job? All you need to know about my work here, Bruno, is that it's very important to our country and to you. We're working very hard to make this world a better place for you to grow up in. But you're not a farmer. You're a soldier. Bruno, can you come and help me finish sorting out in the kitchen? I can still play with them, though? The children. I don't think so, Bruno. No. Like you say, they're a bit strange. A bit... Well, they're different. Don't worry, my darling. We'll find you some new friends, but they won't be the ones from the farm. Ralf, you promised. - You said it was miles away. - It is. How was I to know he could see it from the bedroom window? There was one of them in our kitchen. - Master Bruno, how are you today? - Fed up. You said the same thing every day for two whole weeks. - It's true. - Well, you should be out playing. - Playing with who? - I don't know. Gretel? - Well, you can make your own fun. - That's what I'm trying to do. One thing's for sure, sitting around being miserable won't make things any happier. - Bruno, what are you doing? - Exploring! No! No, not in the back. I told you, it's out of bounds. - Explore at the front. - But I've explored it all. - Well, find something else to do. - Like what? Come back in now, and we'll think of something. So, children, what are you doing today? - Same as yesterday. - And what was that? - Same as the day before. - Except you went exploring. - I like exploring. - Where did you go? I wanted to look in the back garden, but Mum wouldn't let me. The back garden? Well, God forbid. I expect you'll be missing those friends of yours. I even miss school. Well, I never thought I'd hear you say that. Anyway, you won't be missing it for long. - Really? - I've arranged a tutor for you both. A Herr Liszt will be visiting twice a week. So we're not going to school? School's coming here? On an old bicycle, I gather. It's a bird without the... Good morning, little man. And how are you this morning? - Can I ask you a favour? - Well, you can ask. Are there any spare tyres around? An old one from one of the trucks or something? Well, the only spare tyre I've seen around here belongs to Lieutenant Meinberg. - Well, is he using it? - Yes, he's very attached to it. Stop it. He doesn't understand. He's only eight. You're only 12, so stop pretending you're any older. What do you want a tyre for, anyway? - I want to make a swing. - A swing? That does sound exciting. You! Here, now. Move! Take this boy to the outhouse in the back garden. There are some tyres in there. He will select one. You will carry it where he asks. Do you understand? Well, little man, what are you waiting for? How about this one? Where's my mum? She's out. - When is she back? - Soon, I expect. But don't worry. - But I might bleed to death. - No, you won't. - Will I need to go to hospital? - No. It's only a small cut. Come on. It's not that bad. There, all better. - What's your name? - Pavel. Now, you've got to sit still for a few minutes before you start walking around on that again. Will you tell my mum what happened? I think she's going to see it for herself. She'll probably take me to a doctor. I don't think so. - It could be worse than it looks. - It isn't. How would you know? You're not a doctor. - Yes, I am. - No, you're not. You peel potatoes. I practised as a doctor. Before I... Before I came here. You couldn't have been much good then, if you had to practise. Now, what are you going to be when you grow up? I know. An explorer. How do you know that? Is it nice on the farm? Bruno. Bruno, what happened to you? I made a swing, but I fell off it and cut my knee. But Pavel here, he carried me in and put a bandage on it. - Go to your room. - But Pavel says I... Don't argue. Go to your room. Thank you. It's not fair, you having this view. Well, I'm not swapping. I think school's here. No, I mean more recent history. - Are you interested in current affairs? - Yes, very. So, you'll be aware of the situation in which our great nation presently finds itself. Yes. I read newspapers whenever I can and one of Father's men keeps me up to date on everything that's happening. Good. And you, Bruno. Have you been reading newspapers? - Have you been reading anything? - Books. Good. What sort of books? Adventure books, mainly. You know, knights in shining armour, exploring strange lands and stuff, and silly princesses always getting in the way. Well, this is why I'm here to help. You're how old now, Bruno? Eight? Time to get your head out of those fiction books and start learning about fact. Time, I think, to turn your mind to the real world, and I believe this would be the perfect start. Die, die! Die, die. Hello. I'm exploring. - What are you doing? - We're... We're building a new hut. Have you got lots of friends over there? A few. But we fight a lot. That's why I like being out here. I can be on my own. - I'm Bruno. - Shmuel. - Sorry? - I'm Shmuel. That's your name? Never heard of anyone called that before. I've never heard of anyone called Bruno. But Shmuel. No one's called Shmuel. I live in the house, back there. - Have you got any food on you? - No. Are you hungry? How old are you? - Eight. - Me, too! It's not fair, me being stuck over here on my own, while you're over there, playing with friends all day. - Playing? - Well, that number. - Isn't it a part of a game or something? - It's just my number. Everyone gets given a different number. Right. Then what happens? - I have to go back now! - Really? Yeah. It was nice to meet you, Shmuel. And you, Bruno. Bye. Mum, I can't find my football. Well, it'll be in one of your cupboards, sweet. It isn't. I've looked. Can I have a piece of chocolate? A piece. Yes. Bruno? - Have you looked in the cellar? - The cellar? For your football. Damn. - Gretel, I've just seen all your... - All my what? All your dolls, down in the cellar. Dolls are for little girls. It's not right to play with silly toys while people are away risking their lives for the Fatherland. - "My people's density is my density." - Destiny. "lts struggles and its sorrows, its joys and its miseries are mine. "I must work and create for the resurrection of my Fatherland. "The history of my people is great and glorious." And it's 12:00. - I'm sorry? - Isn't that when we finish? The termination of the lesson is for the tutor to decide, Bruno, not the pupil. Now, will you please continue. Bruno, there you are. I'm just going into town for an hour. Do you want to come? You be careful on that thing. Thank you. Can I ask you something? Why do you people wear pyjamas all day? - They're not pyjamas. - Well, those. We have to. They took all our other clothes away. - Who did? - The soldiers. The soldiers? Why? I don't like soldiers. Do you? I do, quite. My dad's a soldier, but not the sort that takes people's clothes away for no reason. What sort, then? Well, he's the important sort. He's in charge of making everything better for everyone. - So is your dad a farmer? - No, he's a watchmaker. Or was. Most of the time now, he just mends boots. It's funny how grown-ups can't make their minds up about what they want to do. It's like Pavel. Do you know him? Lives over there. He used to be a doctor, but gave it all up to peel potatoes. Can I ask you another question? What do you burn in those chimneys? I saw them going the other day. Is it just lots of hay and stuff? I don't know. We're not allowed over there. Mama says it's old clothes. Well, whatever it is, it smells horrid. I wish you'd remembered the chocolate. Yes, I'm sorry. I know! Perhaps you can come and have supper with us sometime. I can't, can I? Because of this. But that's to stop the animals getting out, isn't it? Animals? No, it's to stop people getting out. Are you not allowed out? - Why? What have you done? - I'm a Jew. I think I should go now. - Will you be here tomorrow? - I'll try. - Goodbye, then! - Bye. Little present, sweetheart. Thank you, Mummy. - Have you seen Bruno? - Outside on his swing, I think. Yes, Thursday's perfect. I'll have a car come to collect you both. Are Grandma and Grandpa coming? Hey, did you smell that horrible smell the other day? - Coming from the chimneys. - What sort of ill? The day I fell off the swing. - Did you smell it, Mum? - Father. Mum. Let me speak to her. Yes, she is. I can hear her. Yes. We look forward to it. Goodbye. - Is Grandma not coming? - No. She's poorly, apparently, but Grandpa's coming. - Did you smell it, Dad? - What? That horrid smell from the chimneys. What is it? I think they just burn rubbish there sometimes. - Look. - What? - Hey! - Gretel. Hey, that's not fair! - Gretel. - What? It's only a game. Ralf, this tutor you brought in, does he usually teach children as young as Gretel and Bruno? I believe so. Why? Well, do we know what he's teaching them? Gretel seems to have become so... They're being taught what all children are being taught at the moment. They mustn't get left behind. Come on. Let's get to bed. "The Jew slandered us and incited our enemies. "The Jew corrupted us through bad books. "He mocked our literature and our music. "Everywhere, his influence was destructive, "the eventual result of which was our nation's collapse, - "and then..." - Yes, Bruno. I don't understand. A nation's collapse is all down to this one man? The Jew here means the entire Jewish race. If it had been just one man, I'm sure something would've been done about him. There is such a thing as a nice Jew, though, isn't there? I think, Bruno, if you ever found a nice Jew, you would be the best explorer in the world. Continue, Gretel. "The aim of the Jew is to become the ruler of humanity. "The Jew is not creative, but destructive. "He is the enemy of culture. "Thousands of Germans have been made poor by the Jew." Master Bruno. What are you doing? You've just had your lunch, haven't you? I was going for a walk, and I thought I might get peckish. But don't make a mess of your satchel. Bring it here. - I'll wrap it properly for you. - No. It's none of your business. Bruno, what is it? What are you doing with your satchel? Herr Liszt gave us some books. I'm going out on the swing to read. - Let me see. - What? - The books. - No. Bruno, I just want to see what books Herr Liszt has given you. - I told a lie. - What? I've just got adventure books. Go on. Off you go, then. Now, Maria, there's two extra for supper tonight. The Kommandant's father will be here, and I believe Lieutenant Kotler is joining us. Here. What's the matter? - Don't throw it back. - What? Why not? - It's dangerous. - Dangerous? It's just a ball. Come on. Do you not like playing? - Just not ball games? - Not here. - Tell me how the number game works. - I told you, it's not a game. We just all have numbers. Shmuel! Bruno! What are you doing? My ball went over. I was just getting it back. They smell even worse when they burn, don't they? What? But, surely you... Elsa, I was sworn to secrecy. - From your own wife. - Yes. I took an oath upon my life. Do you understand? Elsa, you believe in this, too. - You want this country to be strong... - No, Ralf, no! No, not that! How can you... - Because I'm a soldier. - How can you... - Soldiers fight wars. - That isn't war! It's a part of it! It's a vital part of it! The Fatherland we all desire, all of us, you included, cannot be achieved without work such as this! - Elsa. Elsa. - Get away from me! Get away from me! Grandpa's here. - I don't believe this. - Grandpa's here. We'll be through in a moment. Who told you about this? How's Grandma? She's a bit under the weather, I'm afraid. It's a shame, she was so much looking forward to seeing you. - Perhaps next time, if she feels up to it. - Absolutely. You know, Ralf, your mother really is sick. She's been talking about this visit for weeks. Maybe that's what's made her sick. So, your father tells me that you've got a tutor. Yes. He's nice. But he won't let us read any adventure books. All we do is boring, old history. Let me tell you something, young man. If it wasn't for history, we wouldn't all be sitting around this table. The work your father is doing here, history in the making. When I was your age, history was my favourite subject by miles, which obviously didn't please my father. Why not? Well, he was a professor of literature at the university. Really, does he still teach? - I don't really know. - You don't know? We're not in touch, my father and I. He left the country some time ago. Really, when? About four years ago, Herr Kommandant. But surely he can't be very old. What is he, still in his 40s, late 40s? Where did he go? Lieutenant Kotler, your father, the professor of literature, where did he go? I believe it was Switzerland, Herr Kommandant. How strange that he should choose to leave the Fatherland at the very moment it needed him most. Just when we're all required to play our part in the national revival. More wine! What reason did he give? Was he tubercular? Did he go there to take the air? I'm afraid I really don't know, Herr Kommandant. You'd have to ask him. Well, that would be rather difficult, wouldn't it? With him being in Switzerland. Come on! What's the matter with you tonight? Yes, perhaps that was it. Perhaps he was ill. Unless, of course, he had disagreements. - I mean, with government policy. - One hears of such men. Disturbed, most of them, or just plain cowards. - Even so, all of them traitors. - Absolutely right. Presumably, if that was the case with your father, you will have informed your superiors, as is your duty. Lieutenant Kotler! You cretin Jew! Filth! Ralf! Jew! - But Dad just sat there. - What did you expect him to do? The Jew deserved it. Can I ask you something about the farm? Bruno, you don't still think it's a farm, do you? It's a camp. What's called a work camp. For Jews, obviously. Just Jews? Because they're the best workers? They're not in there because they're good, silly. They're no good at anything. They're in there because they're evil. - They're the enemy. - The enemy? - But I thought we were fighting... - They're evil, Bruno. Evil, dangerous vermin. They're the reason we lost the Great War. Haven't you been listening to anything Herr Liszt has been telling us? No. Not really. Dad's not horrible, is he? He's a good man. - Of course, he is. - But he's in charge of a horrible place. It's only horrible for them, Bruno. We should be proud of Dad, now more than ever before. He's making the country great again. Like you say, they're a bit strange. A bit... Well, they're different. They're the enemy, Bruno. Evil, dangerous vermin. Well, you see, they're not really people at all. What are you doing here? They wanted someone with tiny fingers to clean all these. We're not supposed to be friends, you and me. We're meant to be enemies. Did you know that? Do you want some? - What's your dad like? - What's he like? Is he a good man? You've never thought he wasn't? And you're proud of him? Aren't you proud of yours? Is it really horrible in the camp? How dare you talk to people in the house. How dare you! Are you eating? Have you been stealing food? - Answer me! - No, sir. He gave it to me. He's my friend. What? Little man, do you know this Jew? Do you know this Jew? No, I just walked in, and he was helping himself. I've never seen him before in my life. You, finish cleaning the glasses. When I come back, we'll have a little chat about what happens to rats who steal. Come away. New arrivals here are happy to discover that life in the camp is not all work. And that there's ample opportunity for leisure also. At the end of their day at the ironmongery or the build or boot factory, the workers can enjoy the many forms of pastime that the camp has to offer. Organised sport is very popular. Those that don't play certainly enjoy watching. At the end of the working day, the centrally located caf is the ideal place for friends and families to join together for a hearty and nutritious meal. The children, in particular, enjoy the pastries and cakes on offer. In the evenings, the occasional music concerts, either by visiting orchestras or, indeed, by talented musicians from within the camp itself, are always well attended. Other recreations include reading in the library, pottery, cookery, art and horticulture for adult and child alike. Almost any activity one could wish for is available within the camp. Splendid. - Bravo. Excellent. - Thank you. Goodbye, little man. Shmuel! Shmuel! I don't understand. I saw a film about the camp, and it looked so nice. I don't know why I did it. Gretel and everyone were saying all these things, and that soldier's so scary. Been coming here for days, but you were never here. I thought maybe we weren't friends any more. Shmuel, I'm really sorry for what I did. We are still friends, aren't we? Where's Kurt these days? I haven't seen him for ages. - Who's Kurt? - Lieutenant Kotler. He's been moved to the front. It was felt that his youth and enthusiasm would be put to better use there. Herr Kommandant, telephone. In actual fact, Gretel, he was sent there because he failed to inform the authorities of his father's lack of loyalty to the Party. Which was his duty, I might add. - Which was his bad luck. - Bad luck? Well, bad luck that it was his father who was disloyal, and not his mother. One presumably doesn't have to report one's mother. - What? - When will Pavel be back? - Mum? - Never, stupid. It's Father. They've been bombed. Grandmother's dead. "...the victory which You have obtained for us "and for all who sleep in Him, "keep us who are still in the body in everlasting fellowship "with all that wait for Thee on earth, "and with all that are around Thee in heaven, "in union with Him who is the resurrection "and the life, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, "ever one God, world without end. Amen." He can't have that on there. She wouldn't have wanted it. He does. "Almighty God, who by the death of..." Have you ever been to a funeral? My grandma and grandpa both died just after we got here, but there weren't any funerals. That one there to there. They both died at the same time? What of? I don't know. Papa said they must have caught something on the way here. They had to go to a hospital as soon as we arrived. We didn't see them again. This is fun. Wish we could do something a bit more exciting, though. - That one there to there. - This one? - This one? - No, that one. - This one to here? - No, there! - To here? - No. - Here? - No. - I don't want you to go away again. - No. Neither do I. You can't behave like this! - You're questioning my behaviour? - It can't continue! I know. I can't stand this any more, Ralf. I can't stay here and be a part of this. Don't you think there will be questions? - Questions? - Well, now, what does it say about my ability to carry out my work if I cannot control my own family? - Work? Is that what you call it? - Pull yourself together, woman. Right. Just ignore it. Ignore it. Ignore the fact that the man I married is a monster! Even your own mother couldn't love you. Are you happy here? Yes. Very. And you, Gretel? Well, I was, but I do miss home. I miss my friends. Yes, I'm sure. And you, too, Bruno. You must miss those friends of yours. No. Not any more, really. I suppose the real question is, if the opportunity arose, would you prefer to live somewhere else? - Back home? - No. Not Berlin. Not yet. Somewhere safe, say Aunt Lottie's in Heidelberg, for example. All of us? You as well? No. That won't be possible just yet, I'm afraid. I must stay and complete my work here. See, at the moment, your mother is finding it... She just feels right now you need to spend some time elsewhere. Would you like that? I'm afraid, Bruno, in life, we often have to do things we don't want to do. The important thing is your mother does not feel that this is an appropriate place for you to be spending your childhood, and the more I think about it, the more I realise she's very probably right. - But, Dad... - No! It's time for you to move away. Is everything all right? We can't find Papa. He went on a different work duty with some of the men, and they haven't come back. I've got some bad news, too. I'm going away. How long for this time? That's why it's bad. It's forever, I think. Mum says this is no place for children, which is just stupid. - When do you go? - Tomorrow. After lunch. So, I won't ever see you again? Yes, you will. You can come on holiday to Berlin if you like, when everybody's getting on with each other again. I wish I could've helped you find your dad. I really want to make up for letting you down like I did. That would have done it, wouldn't it? Helping you find your dad? Would've been great. Like a secret mission. - I could dig under. - What? With that? - No, but I could bring something. - You don't want to come over here. Look. - I could come through to your side. - What's the point in that? Your dad's not going to be over here, is he? But I'd stick out though, wouldn't I, if I came through? I don't look like you. You could look like me, though. If you dressed like me and shaved your hair off. I'm not shaving my hair off. - You could cover it with a cap. - My pyjamas are a different colour. I could bring some. There's a hut full of them, thousands of them. Would you do it, though? - I want to do it. - Would you dare do it, though? - I want to help you find your dad. - I've got to go. Tomorrow, then? I'll bring an extra-big sandwich. And don't forget the pyjamas! Bruno? Mum, can I go and play on the swing? - Bruno... - It's my last chance. All right. Go on then. - I thought you weren't coming! - I'm sorry. It wasn't easy to get away. I'm not meant to be out here today. You forgot the pyjamas! - Did you bring the sandwich? - Would I let you down? Shmuel. Here. How do I look? Right. Let's get going. Bruno? That's enough. Let's go and find your dad. Come on! Master Bruno? Shmuel. - Can we go to the caf or something? - Caf? - Maybe I should go home. - What about Papa? Yeah. We'll check our hut first. Bruno? Come on. Papa? Up! Up! Get up! - What's happening? - I don't know. We go on marches sometimes. Move! Up, up! Move, move! Bruno! He must still be outside somewhere, ma'am. Bruno! Bruno? - Move! - Quickly! Get up! Get up. You must! Move them out! ...which means that our weekly capabilities would be almost tripled, so, therefore, by the end of the summer... - Ralf. - Elsa, I'm in a meeting. Bruno's missing. Come on! Wait here! Come on! Move! Move! Join the queue! Come on, you! Bruno! Move it! Go on. Bruno! It's all right. I think we're just waiting in here until the rain stops. Clothes off! Where are we going? No, it's just a shower. A shower? Open the gates! Open the gates! Move! Bruno! Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=boy-in-the-striped-pyjamas-the-2008

[punkscowardschampions]

Buster & Rio

Buster: You okay? Buster: You look better than, but I know you know it Rio: I'm better than too Rio: I'm so glad we did it Buster: Me too Buster: Even if I am gonna have to glass granddad with my juice in a minute, like Rio: Power move, babe Rio: can't have a day off from being a landlord, obvs Buster: Don't dish it out if you can't take the backlash, old man Buster: So, you and Nance? Buster: How does it feel to be in love again? Rio: 😂 Rio: You know, got it's benefits Rio: she insisted on buying this dress, like Buster: Trust her to find somewhere to buy something like that around here Buster: Actual talent Buster: Don't tell her I said so, obviously but Rio: Obviously Rio: Step off my woman, tbh Buster: If she really is your woman keep her on the juice so she'll behave herself with me Buster: Spare me the telling off Rio: People'll think I'm tryna set up a 12 steps programme, like Buster: 😇 Buster: Not to be that selfish cunt now that we've done what we came for, but when can we go? Rio: I feel it Rio: it's exhausting being the centre of attention but someone's gotta, babe Rio: Soon Buster: If you're actually tired we can go right now Buster: Just tell me Buster: I won't even sulk that my idea hasn't got off the ground Rio: It is a good excuse Rio: We gotta make the most of it Buster: Exactly Buster: And then we'll go and I'll take you shopping, outshining my sister and making you happy at the same time Rio: You really need to, don't you? 😏 Buster: 'Course Buster: There's so much you and the baby both need Rio: Right now? 😋 Buster: Yeah Rio: He better not plan on going anywhere yet Rio: but what do I need, baby? Buster: You tell me, angel Buster: Other than the bikinis I already promised you Buster: There's a whole list, I bet Buster: Really think about it Rio: That is true, like no chance of wearing one today but I was popping out of that damn dress like no one's business Rio: I'll be pondering Buster: I'll just be thinking about that Buster: Don't mind me Rio: Gotta do something whilst I'm making my list, checking it twice Buster: I'll check you as many times as this lot will let me before taking the piss Buster: More than twice, at least Rio: I believe in you, babe Rio: we've had enough practice Rio: take piss all you want but you weren't that smart then, lads Buster: 😏 Buster: Speaking of, what do you reckon the chances are of us sneaking off for a little while Buster: I just wanna be alone with you Rio: Hmm Rio: I'm always up for trying if you are Buster: Well, I'm ready when you are then Rio: Speak of the devil Rio: No offense, Ma Rio: bear with Buster: 😒 Rio: Thought you loved being golden boy, babe? Buster: Mine's texting me now, I think you actually summoned her by mentioning the d word Rio: Give me the gist, yeah? Hope she's not vying for round two, like Buster: Nah, she's just checking in Buster: Weird but true Rio: Feeling the good vibes from here Rio: celebrating hard enough Buster: Or she only wants me to be at risk of bad vibes if she's the one giving them out Buster: Either way Rio: Not now, baby Rio: it's only gonna be good from here Buster: Yeah it will Rio: Literally Rio: I can't believe it Rio: no more being apart Rio: no more secret anything Buster: It doesn't feel real yet Buster: That we get to have all that Buster: Like properly, not just for a few weeks or something Rio: I know Rio: Actual forever Rio: No takebacks now Buster: If I smile any wider my sister is gonna take a pic of me and keep that forever 'cause who'd have thought they'd see the day Buster: Moody cunt I was Rio: You're so beautiful though Rio: can I frame it? Buster: I know you're trying to make me blush now so you can frame that Rio: I miss you Rio: how many times and ways can you say congrats, 'cos reckon I've heard 'em all, twice Buster: Same Buster: I think I'd rather a fuck you at this point Buster: Come sit on my lap, make them come to you if they must Rio: You cannot say fuck and lap in the same breath and expect me not to wanna turn you on in return now Rio: so, coming 😋 Buster: That wasn't even intentional, I just miss you too Buster: My mind can't help going there, clearly Rio: I know Rio: Shamelessly dirty mind Rio: been being good for too long now Buster: Yeah Buster: All day I've just been staring at your tits and thinking selfishly about how much I wanna suck on them before he can and the piercing has to come out Rio: 😩 DADDY Rio: Don't reckon we could get away with it, do you Rio: say we're practising Buster: I mean, I don't care if everyone watches so don't actually need to get away with anything Rio: That's so Rio: You're so Rio: Stop 🤤 Buster: I can't Buster: 'Cause you're so Buster: I guess I'll have to compromise with an earlobe for now Rio: How does that feel so good Rio: Shit, you're gonna make me moan Buster: Do it Buster: Everyone's being so loud you could probably scream my name out before any head's turned Rio: I know that's what you want Buster: Then give me it Rio: Loud enough? Buster: Not yet Buster: But maybe if I do this Rio: Baby please Buster: Please do it again, okay sure Rio: Please bite me Rio: quit all that teasing shit you're killing me Buster: Better? Rio: It's a start Rio: Best you can do here, in front of everyone, I think 😉 Buster: Is that a challenge? Buster: You know I take my dares very seriously, always have Rio: I'm gonna need proof of that Rio: been a while since then, remind me Buster: Alright Buster: You might wanna hold on to the edge of this seat Buster: Just saying Rio: I wanna hold onto you Buster: Hold on tight then Buster: Don't give us away or I'll have to stop Rio: I need this more than I wanna be loud Rio: Trust me Rio: I'll be the perfect angel Buster: We'll see Buster: You wanted a reminder, yeah? I'm just not going as far back in time yet, just a few weeks back for now Rio: I remember Rio: That was a good time Buster: Now, how did I begin? Hmmm Buster: Was it like this or this Rio: Oh Rio: Here, lemme help, if I just move a tiny bit forward like this Rio: that's definitely it Buster: Babe, you're so helpful Buster: But I think it was more like Rio: Yeah, wow, okay Rio: Maybe you're right, babe Buster: I'm still not sure though Buster: Let's try this Buster: Just Rio: Buster Buster: Rio Rio: Slow down if you don't want me to make a scene, this feels too good already Buster: So what you're saying is, if I want you to make a scene I should do this? Buster: Or maybe Rio: People are looking baby Buster: Let them Rio: Oh my God Buster: I'm gonna have to take you to the bathroom, aren't I? You're just feeling so hot and faint all of a sudden, like Buster: It's unavoidable Rio: I don't know if I can move yet Buster: I'll carry you, it's okay Buster: Come on Rio: Will you fuck me properly in there? Rio: Can't promise you cocaine this time but you'll definitely get some Buster: And I'll barricade the door too Buster: I can promise you privacy and all the reminders you want Rio: I love you Rio: I wanna remember every single time you've made me cum Buster: I love you too Buster: Try and look weak as I loudly make our excuses for the rest of the table Buster: Then we can focus on how you actually feel Rio: Won't be too hard Rio: always weak for you, like Buster: And you do look very 😳 Buster: Hold on Rio: That's your fault entirely, you knew what you was doing Buster: I haven't even started yet Rio: Make me so messy we can't say bye Rio: then take me home and do it all again Buster: You know I can't say no to you Rio: 😊 Rio: You know you don't want to Buster: I really don't Buster: I might be the one literally carrying you halfway across this bar right now but I'm so weak Rio: It's been a long day, baby Rio: this will make you forget all about it Buster: Feel my heart Buster: I need this Buster: I need you Rio: You've got me, forever Rio: I'm gonna take care of you Buster: We're gonna take care of each other Buster: Just don't let me go to hell for how concerned some of that lot are that you're actually sick Rio: They're gonna know how much better I feel soon, don't worry Rio: I'll put their mind's at, probably not ease but you know Buster: I love you Rio: I love you babe Buster: Time to find out how easy your new dress is to take off Rio: Well the girl in the shop had to help me get it on so Rio: but I believe in you Buster: You should Buster: I'm very determined Rio: I know, it's one of the things I like about you Buster: Give me the list while I strip you, see how many we get through Rio: Damn Rio: Okay Rio: You're smart but so hardworking with it, you're hot as fuck and the best lay ever but really fucking beautiul and sweet too, you're honest and I never have to second-guess what you say, or think there's stuff you aren't Rio: You're the best protector, you get me and you make me wanna be better 'cos you believe I can, you're never boring Buster: As much as I wanna hear more, I did it Buster: So phones down Rio: 😩🤤 okay daddy, long as you keep laying down the law too Buster: Promise Rio: 👑 Buster: Now do what you're told Rio: 😋 Buster: I'm serious, if I have to take it away from you you're gonna be so sorry Rio: Make me sorry 'cos I'm not Rio: At all Buster: Fine Buster: If that's how you want it Rio: 🙌 Buster: [Saucy behavior ensues] Rio: Well, this isn't shaming at all Rio: why'd you let him stop you? Buster: Would you honestly rather I didn't? Rio: I don't care really, even if everyone fully heard Buster: Good, 'cause it's a fair assumption Buster: You sounded so good though Buster: I hope they did Rio: I felt so good Rio: it's alright for you, if you'd drink it, they'd buy you a pint, like 😏 Buster: Use your pregnancy excuse? Buster: The hormones, like Rio: 😂 for being a needy slut? Rio: Sorry everyone, basically a medical emergency Buster: Yeah Buster: It can make you horny, that's accurate Buster: Your ma can back you up Rio: Hush 😒 she probably would and no one needs to be that blunt about it, like Buster: 😂 Buster: I need if it means we can go home sooner rather than later Rio: I'm waiting on you, big man Buster: Let's go then Rio: Meet you on the otherside, like Rio: no way of getting out of here quick or easy Buster: Not with that attitude, babe Buster: We can do anything, remember? Rio: You gotta be polite Buster: Nah Buster: I can be selfish, so can you Rio: Yeah? Buster: 'Course Buster: What if I'm polite to you? If I say please, maybe Rio: Try it and see Buster: Rio, please let me take you home right now Buster: Please Rio: 🤤 Rio: How could I say no? Rio: 'Specially when I wanna go too Buster: Good Buster: Don't resist me Rio: Daddy 😩 Rio: You're gonna have to fuck me in the car now Rio: 'fore we even get going Buster: I better move it first then Buster: Give us slightly less chance of being interrupted Rio: Good idea Rio: I can't deal with any more today Buster: I know Buster: Me either Rio: When we get home can we stay in bed for at least Rio: 3-5 working days Rio: and not have to see anyone Buster: Well, Indie maybe Buster: But definitely Rio: Okay, kinda unavoidable, not that rude Buster: You can still stay in bed, I'll bring you everything you need Rio: You're lovely Rio: I don't need to, I just want to Rio: I've missed you so much Buster: Shh I'm trying to be a prick so we can leave Buster: Well, I want too and I want you to Buster: So it's gonna happen Rio: 🤐 Buster: I love you Rio: I love you too Buster: Come on Buster: Enough of this Buster: Time to go home Rio: Thought you'd never ask Buster: Well, now I'm telling Buster: Everyone, and you Rio: 😍 Rio: Let's go Buster: Yeah Buster: Meet me at the car, I'm seriously gonna move it Rio: Me too 💃 Rio: Never seen me move so fast Buster: I could say when you were running away from me, but let's not think about that Buster: 😏 Rio: Oh but it's so much fun to Buster: Oh really? Rio: Don't you think? Buster: Are you gonna play hard to get in this car? 'Cause I think that'll be a challenge Rio: 😏 Rio: Keep on your seat, thank you Buster: 'Cause you asked so nicely Buster: I might Rio: Better Rio: can't keep your hands to yourself you gonna catch these hands Buster: Hot Buster: [Sends car pics of him not keeping his hands to himself, wink wonk] Buster: Are you sure that's what you want though? Rio: 😣 Buster: Use your words Buster: I asked you a question Rio: but I want you but I can't give into you so easy Buster: Yes you can Buster: You can do anything you want, have anything you want Rio: You promise you won't get bored Buster: Do I look or sound bored to you? Rio: I can't make it a challenge Rio: I need you so much Buster: I don't want it to be Buster: Don't you know how impatient I am for you Rio: I'm looking at the pictures, still Buster: I need you too Buster: Come here and I'll show you Rio: I'm trying, I swear Buster: Try harder Buster: Please Rio: I'm sorry baby Rio: they're trying to show me something, I'm barely listening Buster: Just tell them I'm trying to show you something Buster: [sends more pics to make his point] Rio: Fuck Rio: they're gonna know if you keep making me react like that Buster: Good Buster: You're mine and they're keeping you from me so Rio: Say it again Buster: You're mine and I want you here now Rio: I'm yours Rio: and I'm making my excuses Buster: Blame me Buster: I don't care Rio: I don't either Rio: They can be mad if they want Buster: Exactly Buster: We're free, babe Rio: We've been nice Rio: all day Buster: Jesus, we've been nice for weeks Rio: My poor baby especially Rio: enough talking, yeah? Buster: Unless its just to you Buster: For you Rio: I've got so much to tell you Buster: Start now Buster: I'm listening Rio: Do you have any idea how badly I've wanted you all day because being on the beach reminded me of the honeymoon and also where we're gonna make our next baby and it's been even more unbearable than being nervous was Buster: Baby Buster: You've really been through it today, yeah? You need to unwind Buster: When we get home, you're having a massage, no arguments Rio: I'm not going to argue Rio: I want you to make me feel good Buster: So hurry up Buster: I'm here waiting Rio: I'm out the door, where'd you move the car Buster: If you promise to behave for long enough I'll bring it right to you Buster: Otherwise [location] Rio: I'm an angel, how dare you Rio: but not a princess so you know, I'll walk Buster: Why do you think I've been carrying you all day, fuck princesses, you're a queen Rio: You're a dork Rio: but you're mine Buster: So that's a no to the plastic 👑 then, yeah? Okay Rio: If it ain't real I ain't down, general rule Rio: gotta match the 💍 Buster: Good to know Buster: First thing on the shopping list, is it? Buster: I'm still waiting for that too, like Rio: You'd rather go shopping right now? Rio: Okay, babe Buster: Shut up Buster: You're the one stalling Rio: I'm walking Rio: excuse me for being weighed down by YOUR huge child Buster: Don't listen son, your mum is just frustrated right now Buster: She doesn't mean it Rio: 😒 Now you're ganging up on me Rio: Charming Buster: Poor baby Buster: You feeling outnumbered? Rio: 😞 Yeah Buster: The dog can be a girl, I promise Rio: So you can call us both bitches, hmpf Buster: 😂 Buster: Behave Rio: You gonna give me a treat if I beg real nice, daddy? Buster: You know it Rio: Forever mad you don't like cats Buster: It's not like I hate them Buster: You can still have some, just not so many they outnumber the children Rio: It's not that I've got the ears and collar and everything and you won't even appreciate it 😠 Buster: Well, now you're just putting words in my mouth Rio: Salty fr 😂 Buster: 😒 Buster: Don't take the piss Rio: I'm not, I'm genuinely fuming, who am I gonna be a pretty lil kitty for now? Rio: dogs are such male energy, I can't, babe Buster: It literally hasn't stopped you before, but okay, babe Buster: Also I'm fuming that you're calling me a cat hater to get out of this Buster: Just put it on and stop playing Rio: True Rio: Hmm, I was just really jealous of the dog that day Rio: and I wanted to be choked, I'm not gonna not use the leash, like, who am I Buster: I remember Buster: Vividly Rio: Mmm, I'm sure the neighbours do too, another stairway escapade Buster: I hope they don't, that way we can jog their memory Buster: Or just give them a new one Rio: Your hands feel so good around my throat Rio: you can feel every noise I can barely make Buster: If you're gonna talk like that, I'm gonna need you to also walk faster Rio: You know how I get Rio: distracted Buster: If I have to get out of this car and come and find you, distracted won't be the half of it Rio: No? Buster: Right, I'm opening this fucking door Rio: I don't think you're gonna do anything to me on this public street though 😋 Buster: If you wanna be wrong, you can be wrong Buster: 'Cause like fuck I won't Rio: Yes Rio: Come get me Buster: I am Buster: I will Rio: What are you gonna do to me, daddy? Buster: It's a surprise Buster: Like you said, there's been so much talking today Rio: Fuck, just do it, do what you want do what you need, just be here now Buster: Say please Buster: It can be the last word though Rio: Please please please Rio: I'll be saying it quietly 'til I feel you behind me