#spring: briolet

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

[against all odds, your hand is in mine] [1/4]

Seasons change, and with each comes a different story. In a world where the dead roam around, romantic companionship seems unlikely. Yet Ericson stands, and within it are four couples who are proof that it's possible.

Spring: Briolet | flowers, picnics, blueberries, running river

Read on AO3

Notes: Sometimes I get the urge to write four oneshots over the course of two days. This is the first of those oneshots. It’s briolet in spring, but be careful: there is so much hand holding and some smooches. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. 

[screenshot used is from the lovely @pi-creates]

---

Brody pricks her finger again. It's easy to avoid that, but she doesn't have a thimble, and her hands refuse to stop trembling.

No blood, and really, it didn’t even hurt. It more startled her, a bit of panic sparking in her gut at the idea of staining the martial and ruining her project. She stops her work to rest her hands and the fabric in her lap, closes her eyes, and sucks in a deep breath. It does little to calm her nerves or her impatience.

“Don’t rush,” she mumbles to herself, readjusting her position on the bed. She crosses her legs and notices a long strand of thick, pale blue thread stuck to her pants. Great, she needed that color an hour ago to finish one of the flowers.

Doesn’t matter now, the floral design is complete and all she has left is to sew the pieces together. If she can finish soon, there’ll be more than enough time to clean up, gather the basket she made up the night before, and head down to the greenhouse. Violet should still be there.

Brody smiles, setting down her needle and holding the handmade eyepatch in her hands. She rubs a thumb over one of the little white flowers. She embroidered them just this morning, a final touch to the overall design. That feeling strikes her gut again, exciting her nerves.

The idea came to her one night after Violet found her in the common room. It was late at night, and the two shared a blanket on the couch and drank tea. Violet's ruined eye was covered with bandages despite being healed over. No one was able to find her an actual eye patch. The best they found was a plastic one used for a children’s pirate costume, so she kept it bandaged.

Violet never complains about it. She considers the bandages her patch, even though they're not the most comfortable to wear every day.

Brody decided at that moment that she would make her one. She tore through her closet the next morning, sorting through old shirts until she found one she never wore. Taupe in color, a thicker material, something she could easily work with.

Though she had no idea how eyepatches were made, figuring those things out came easy to Brody. She made several patterns, testing each one out on scraps until one worked. From there, it was all about creating a design should could see Violet wearing. It wasn't difficult- sewing and embroidery work came easy to her.

A family thing that stuck, she assumes.

Her grams used to do embroidery and cross-stitching work. She made a living off sewing intricate designs, all more beautiful than any painting. If Brody closes her eyes, she can still see the doorway into her gram’s cabin. The framed design of a flowery cottage with a stone path, rural trees and a cloudless sky hung up on the wall. Her gram’s final masterpiece. She worked on it for months, pouring every ounce of love she had into each stitch. It was something Brody admired every time she walked through that doorway.

She learned to hunt and skin animals from her dad and uncles, and sewing from her grams. Best of both worlds, she supposes. Two skills that became handier than she would’ve ever thought at the time.

Though her flowers weren’t as flawless as her gram’s once were, she still put her heart into each stitch just as she did. She hopes that when Violet sees it, she’ll feel the unspoken words Brody threaded through the fabric.

Purple, white, and blue flowers of all sizes, each with a yellow french knot in the center, standing bright against the muted taupe. She sewed a thicker piece beneath it, used a tiny bit of stuffing from an old, ripped pillow to give it some comfortable cushion. A piece of a silky shirt lines the inside so Violet’s skin won’t get agitated while wearing it.

After weeks of work, all she has left to sew is the straps she made. She had no way to measure the fit for Violet’s head since she wanted this to be a surprise, so she figured she could make them extra long enough to tie comfortably while wearing. If she needed to adjust anything, she could do that later.

Brody picks her needle back up.

It doesn’t take long to finish, even with her forcing herself to take her time.

With triumph, Brody sticks her needle back into its rightful container and hops off her bed, singing, “Ta-daah~ !”

Her mind is all over the place. Wrap up the patch-- does she have a box or even a bag?-- and hide it at the bottom of the woven basket she found in the basement, stuff the blanket in as much as she can so the two cups don’t clank together, and start boiling water for tea-- where the hell did she put the jar of blueberries?

She flicks a match to light the heater she borrowed from Clementine, letting the water come to a slow boil as she searches around for the mason jar. It’s right under her nose, of course, sitting in plain sight on her shelf.

With the greenhouse running smoothly and the trading they’ve done with the traveling caravan that comes around, they're able to plant seeds for several different fruits and vegetables. This week, they finally got their first bunch of blueberries in. She managed to pick a bunch and seal them away in a jar yesterday without Violet noticing. She thought they’d make for a refreshing picnic snack to pair with tea.

Brody’s been planning this picnic for a while now, all while she was working and spring came to chase the cold away. Her favorite time of year where it’s finally warm, but cool enough to not overheat everything. Grass grows greener, flowers bloom all over the place, the river flows, and the sun shines bright in the sky most days. Other days, like yesterday, it rains. She was worried it would rain today as well, but there isn’t a cloud in the sky today.

She lets the tea steep in a large mug and squeezes what she can from an old container of mostly crystallized honey. When it’s cooled down enough, she pours it slow and steady into an empty water bottle. Sure, they can’t have iced tea given they have no way to actually make ice once winter ends, but lukewarm tea would be just as good.

Basket in hand, Brody looks out her window one last time before leaving the dorms. With every step she takes, she grows closer to the greenhouse and her heart thumps gaily against her ribs.

Outside, everyone is out and about, enjoying the warm weather. AJ and Tenn color together at the table while Mitch works on sharpening his favorite knife. Willy sulks on the couch beside him with Ruby attending to his bleeding knee. She's going on about him needing to be more careful.

Clementine and Louis sit on the steps leading into the admin building. She sits a step lower, leaning back into his chest as the two talk. Brody waves at them as she passes, and Louis gives her a knowing grin when he eyes the basket.

It’s not a long walk to the greenhouse from there. She stops when she notices the wildflowers growing by the fence of the rabbit coop. Bees buzz around the white flowers, landing in their yellow centers. She hates to disturb them, but these flowers were part of her inspiration when designing Violet’s eyepatch. They're too perfect not to pick. She shoos away a fat bumblebee with pollen sticking to its little black legs, and gathers eight of the flowers, leaving plenty for the rest.

A simple bouquet, if she could even call it that, but it works.

Once inside, the fresh scent of wet soil and leafy greens hits her. Not as refreshing as the sweet air outside, but still, it fills her lungs with warmth. Or perhaps that sensation is from seeing Violet standing beside Omar, watering what Brody believes are the potatoes.

Most of her hair pulls back into a hair tie, apart from the bangs that fall over her forehead and bandages. She hasn’t had a haircut in a while, letting it grow long enough past her shoulders. A surprise, actually. Violet hasn’t had long hair since they were kids.

Not that Brody was complaining- she likes it very much.

Violet breaks her attention from the potatoes to meet her gaze. She grins, and yes, that warmth is definitely from her. Omar continues on about some sort of new stew he wants to try making, only stopping when he notices he’s lost Violet’s attention.

“Everything doin’ okay in here?” Brody asks.

Violet gives a shrug. She sticks her hand out to run along the wooden planter to steady herself. She meets Brody halfway, replying with, “Eh, nothing too exciting. Willy biffed it while watering the rabbits this morning, but other than that...”

“He about crushed one of the babies,” Omar adds with a shake of his head. “More upset about that than he was about his skinned knee.”

“Aw, poor little guy,” Brody laughs. “That why he looked so miserable when I passed him?”

“Probably. He tried to catch it to apologize, but it was too quick even for him, and Ruby didn’t want him getting a bunch of muck all over him with an open wound, so…”

Apologizing to a baby bunny that they’re eventually going to eat? Sounds like Willy, Brody thinks. But never mind that, she has more important things than rabbits.

She reaches out to grab Violet’s free hand, her lips involuntarily curling into a bright smile as she asks, “Are you almost finished ?”

“Yeah,” Violet says, raising a questioning brow. “Why?”

“We’re going on a picnic!”

Violet pauses, only now noticing the basket in Brody’s grasp.

“We are?”

“We are!”

“That’s news to me.”

Brody lets go of her hand to present her with the flowers. Violet stares at them for a moment as her skin flushes, starting at her neck and blooming along her cheeks. If Omar weren’t standing over there, Brody would lean over and kiss that lovely blush.

“And where exactly would we have a picnic?”

“By the river. Already got a spot in mind.”

Violet holds the flowers close to her chest and clears her throat. She glances back at Omar, and says, “Uh, I don’t-”

“Go ahead,” he interrupts with a wave of his hand. “I can take care of the rest. Go have your picnic, be careful. And Brody,” he points to her, putting on a stern voice, “have her home by eight, and don’t have too much fun.”

Brody laughs.

“Yes, sir!”

Violet shakes her head, but her smile betrays her amusement.

“Well, okay, I guess we’re going on a picnic. There better be peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in there... that's what people eat on picnics, right?”

“Yeah, but no. Close, though.”

Locking their hands together once more, Brody leads Violet out of the greenhouse and through the gates. Soon, they’re outside the walls of Ericson. Heading down the path, she makes sure to keep watch out for any obstacles to warn Violet about.

Brody knows that Violet’s other eye works perfectly well, but given that her depth perception isn’t what it used to be, she can’t help but be extra careful. She used that excuse to hold Violet’s hand before they were together, both still recovering from their respective injuries. Better safe than sorry, use the buddy system, and that system requires hand-holding. Brody didn’t make the rules.

“Never been on a picnic before,” Violet breaks the silence.

“No? Not even before?”

“No.”

“We used to go out on picnics to eat and play games all the time. Me, my grandma, my daddy and uncles, cousins- if it was warm out, we were out.”

“That sounds nice.”

“Most times it was,” Brody says, giving Violet’s hand a squeeze. “ Just because those days are gone doesn’t mean we can’t do that kinda stuff now, y’know?”

“Yeah, I guess so. Though there are more walkers around than there were back then.”

“True, but that shouldn’t be a big issue today,” Brody smiles. “I asked James to check the area and he collected the walkers he found. The river should be clear.”

Even without looking at her, she can sense her surprise. Violet’s quiet for a moment, turning her head to peer around them before saying, “You planned this.”

It’s not a question, but more of a realization.

“I thought this was a spur of the moment thing,” Violet admits. “I, uh…”

When she doesn’t continue, Brody says, “ Not many opportunities to take you out on a date,” the word makes Violet blush and repress a smile, “and when one does arise, you bet your bottom dollar I’m gonna take it .”

Violet says nothing more, but her grip on Brody’s hand tightens.

They make it to the river without spotting a single walker. She kept her knife handy in case, but James was thorough, it seems. Brody makes a note to thank him again for helping her out.

The running water is soothing and the grass colors with golden dandelions. It’s nice to be down here without the intention of working up a sweat while fishing, she thinks. They find a flat piece of grass, kicking rocks, sticks, and pinecones out of the way to lay the blanket down. Together they sit side by side with the basket between them.

Rubbing her hands together, Brody digs in to pull everything out. Except for the eyepatch. It remains, wrapped in a pillowcase she found. Hopefully Louis won’t notice she snuck it from his horde of pillows.

“Alright, we got tea and blueberries,” Brody says, handing one mug to Violet and opening the mason jar of berries. Their sweet scent escapes into the air, making her mouth water.

“How’d you manage to sneak these past Omar?” Violet asks, popping a blueberry into her mouth. Her face twists at the taste, and for a moment Brody worries they might be sour, but Violet shakes her head. “They’re good, just not used to that.”

By now the tea is completely cooled, and while not cold, still delightful to sip on.

“Open wide,” Violet says, holding up a blueberry. It misses Brody’s mouth, bouncing off her chin. Violet laughs. “Pfft, c’mon.”

“Okay, okay, I’m ready, try again.”

Another miss.

“Aww, nope!”

“Well, let's see you try!”

Brody throws up a berry, and Violet misses it completely.

“Damn depth perception,” she grins, grabbing the berry and tossing it up herself. It hits her cheek, lost to the grass. “Damn it!”

Violet’s laugh, while rare, is as bewitching as it is infectious. It’s been so long since Brody heard her laugh like this, and to know that they’re here together, comfortable together…

Emotion builds in her throat, and she has to eat berries to suppress it. She aims the blueberry just right, and Violet catches it this time. As she chews, they both let out victorious giggles.

Once the laughter dies down, Violet brings her knees to her chest as she watches the river.

“Think we’re missing out on a fish haul?” she asks.

“Nah,” Brody pulls the basket closer to look inside, biting her lip as she runs her fingers over the covered patch. “And if we are, I’m sure the traps’ll make up for it.”

Should she do it now? They did just get here, did she want to surprise her early, or…?

Brody grabs a flower instead, bringing it up to her nose to inhale the soft scent. An idea occurs to her as she admires the girl before. Scooping up the flowers, Brody breaks off most of the stems. The flower slips in through Violet’s hair, right where the hair tie is.

Violet jerks her head around to look back, but Brody says, “Don’t move.”

“What are you-?”

She doesn’t need to answer the question, she merely secures a few more flowers within the light strands of hair before leaning back to admire her work. She even tucks one behind her own ear so they match.

Violet remains quiet, but lays her hand on Brody's. A silent, content thank you.

Brody doesn’t know how long they sat there watching the river, sipping tea, and listening to the birds chirp from the trees . A small butterfly flutters by them, and for a moment, Brody forgets the world around them. Forgets the walkers, forgets Ericson, too swept up in the way the warm air blew against her skin, in how Violet’s hand felt in hers, and the strange sense of wonder, a desire to kick off her shoes and run through the river.

It took Violet kissing the back of her hand to break her out of it.

Violet grew sheepish, glancing away as if she needed to come up with an explanation for the kiss, and that was it.

“Vi,” she started, pulling her around to face her. “I have- I made ya somethin’.”

The nervous pounding in her chest thumps in her ears as she reached back into the basket, pulling out the pillowcase.

“Aw, from Lou’s stash,” Violet grins, amused. “You shouldn’t have.”

“No, no, not the pillowcase,” Brody fidgets with it until she finds what she’s looking for. Her thumb brushes over the flowers beneath the thin material. With a deep breath, she goes for it. “Listen, I’ve been thinkin’ a lot about you. Us... just everything, and- Remember that night we stayed up in the common room talkin’? I thought… well, I wanted to do this for you.”

Brody hands her the pillowcase. Not once does she take her eyes off Violet’s face, noting the curiosity and confusion playing in her features as she accepts the gift.

The eyepatch is finally brought out into the sunlight, laying in Violet’s palm.

Neither of them speaks. Violet’s lips part, eye widening.

Brody lets the air out of her lungs slow, and then the words spill from her lips before she can stop them.

“We couldn’t find you anything to wear other than that stupid costume patch, and I know you said you didn’t mind the bandages but then I got to thinkin’ ‘bout how bandages might not always be the comfiest-”

“Brody…” Violet’s voice is quiet, trembling as it breaks.

“-and I want you to be comfortable in somethin’ that you like, so I made this for you- the whole thing, hand sewed it myself. I- but y’know, if it’s maybe too much- I wasn’t sure if it might bring too much attention and you wouldn’t like that-”

She’s cut off when Violet practically throws herself at her, burying her face in the crook of Brody’s neck and holding her tight. Brody doesn’t hesitate. She embraces her back, pressing a hand to cradle her head.

“I… don’t know what to say,” Violet's voice quivers.

“You like it?”

“Yes.”

“Then that’s enough.”

Violet pulls back, and without warning, her hands cup Brody’s face. She presses their lips together in a way that’s anything but gentle. It’s firm, purposeful, and loving. All tension from her body melts away, and Brody truly believes she could kiss her all day and that tingle? The one that coursed through her veins, the butterflies that fluttered in her belly? It would never go away. It wouldn't even lessen.

They break apart, and Violet’s staring down at the eyepatch in her hands.

“Holy shit. It’s… I don’t-” she tries again. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I wanted to,” Brody assures her, brushing the bangs that fell over her face.

“No one’s ever made me anything like this before. I mean, not a patch, just … you know.”

“Want to try it on?”

Violet nods, and Brody’s undoing the bandages with ease. Her eye's healed from the damage the raiders inflicted, leaving only angry scars. The patch is a perfect size, covering everything.

“Does it feel okay?”

“Yeah, it’s… nice. Soft.”

“Does this feel tight enough? Like it won’t fall off, but not too tight?”

“Yeah, it feels good.”

“Couldn’t figure out a good way to clasp it together, so it ties. If ya want me to change it or anything, I can make adjustments... There!”

Violet turns back around, avoiding her gaze. Brody studies her face, the way the colors of the embroidered flowers make the green in her other eye vibrant, how the taupe of the fabric flatters her.

“Beautiful.”

Violet scoffs, ducking her head to hide the flustered smile that betrays her lips. This gives Brody the perfect excuse to place a quick kiss on her forehead.

“You’re so mushy,” Violet says, embarrassed but trying to force a playful tone. “Y’know that?”

Well, to be fair, Brody could be mushier, so she replies with an over-the-top, sweet, “Only with you.”

Violet groans and they laugh once more.

They know their little picnic will wrap up soon, so together they sit close and enjoy the comfort of nature for a few minutes longer.

“Thank you, Brody… really.”

Brody responds with another kiss.

Yeah, she thinks. She could kiss Violet all day.

[bridalpearlnecklace-blog]

At the auctions Sotheby's and Christie's in Geneva set eight new price records.

After an exceptional year for jewelry auctions in 2012, during which many records were set at world auctions like Sotheby's and Christie's, many wondered if 2013 would bring more surprises, or the industry reached a level where there will be no further growth, writes Francesco Rosa (Francesco Rosa) on the portal Rapaport .

The first signals that high bids will continue, came from the April auction of Magnificent Jewels in New York.

Therefore, probably, it is not surprising that the Geneva spring auctions fully confirmed the excellent state of the market of international jewelry auctions.

For two days Sotheby's and Christie's together sold jewelry and precious stones worth over $ 180 million. At the auction, eight new world records were established, some of them were installed twice, as in the case of a world record auction prices for a pair of hanging earrings with pearls.

On very active watch days preceding the auctions, numerous international dealers and private buyers spent time at Sotheby's headquarters at the Beau-Rivage hotel and the magnificent Christie's showroom rooms at the Four Season Hotel des Bergues.

MAIN LOT

The undoubted main lot was the cut diamond "pear" weighing 101.73 carats, offered by the auction house Christie's. Produced at Dewan's Jwaneng mine, it was the largest diamond, D flawless, ever offered for bidding. The price of the stone before the bidding began was set at $ 20 million to $ 30 million.

The grand auction of the auction house Sotheby's, 648 lots, included a collection of jewelry of Italian film actress Gina Lollobrigida (Gina Lollobrigida), as well as a collection of jewelry created by designer Suzanne Belperron for Cécyle Simon. Although, perhaps without the presence of a super lot, the auctions attracted the attention of international trade and private collectors, thanks to conservative estimates and a huge selection of jewelry in all price categories.

Christie's introduced a more compact auction of expensive products, too, at very attractive prices. It contained many valuable diamond products and gemstone items, as well as interesting lots from natural pearls, three of which were on the list of the top ten items sold at the highest price.

Commenting on the exceptional results obtained for natural pearls, Giuseppe Torroni, a dealer from Geneva, said: "The market of natural pearls, in general, has grown by 400-1000 percent over the past ten years. But the results of today's evening are exceptional even for such a trend. At present, the Indian market, the markets of Bahrain, Qatar and even the Chinese market are whipping up prices for this beautiful stone, whose offers are extremely limited. "

SOTHEBY'S

The first lively auction was Sotheby's, held on May 14, which earned a total of $ 78,229,556 against the forecast of $ 49 million before the start of trading. For the entire day of the auction 564 lots were sold out of the proposed 648 lots, which is 87% of the sale in terms of the number of lots, and 91.9% in value. Six months ago, at Sotheby's sales in autumn was slightly higher than $ 81,092,327, but on those trades an exclusive diamond of a fancy dark blue cut color was cut in a 10.48 carat briolet, which brought $ 10.9 million to the total amount gained at the auction.

The top lot at Sotheby's was a 27.90 carat diamond-cut diamond cut diamond, which the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) rated as a purity diamond D "without internal flaws," type IIa. It was sold to an individual from Asia for $ 4,362,498 *, or $ 156,362 per carat.

A large number of high-quality precious stones and collectible jewelry with a signature were offered by the Sotheby's auction house in all price categories, and during the whole day a number of very active Asian dealers were present in the hall.

The second place among the top lots was a diamond of a fantasy yellow color of the end of the nineteenth century with a "pillow" cut and a diamond jewelery with a stone in the center weighing 74.53 carats. Previously, he was in the private collection of his late Imperial Majesty, Sultan Ahmed Shah Qajar, and was sold to an unnamed buyer for $ 2,926,454, or $ 39,265 per carat, a world record for auctions for a brilliant yellow fancy diamond.

A gorgeous pair of pendants made from natural pearls and diamonds, which belonged to Gina Lollobrigida, the legend of the international screen, also broke the world record for auctions for a pair of pendant earrings sold for $ 2,343,830 to an unnamed buyer.

David Bennett, chairman of the board of Sotheby's in Switzerland, and chairman of the jewelery department for Europe and the Middle East, commented: "Usually, there are several expensive items at the auction, like a blue diamond of a briolet cut, or a pink diamond, whose value is quite large Part of the total. At these auctions, in fact, there was no main lot that determines the auction, but there was a uniform quality of the jewelry that we put together, and this was in line with what the market was looking for. "  

CHRISTIE'S

Great expectations came true the next noon at Christie's auction, when an astounding amount of jewelry and precious stones worth $ 102,140,780 was sold during short trades consisting of two sessions. Before the auction at Christie's estimates were $ 70 million, and all was inserted 298 lots, and 257 lots found buyers. At the auction, 86 percent was sold by the number of lots and 93 percent by value. In November last year, a total of $ 85,049,806 was sold at Christie's in Geneva.

The top lot weighing 101.73 carats broke the world price record for auctions for a colorless diamond that was sold for $ 26,737,913, or $ 254,400 per carat, which is $ 10 million higher than the previous record price for auctions for a diamond in the same category.

In the waiting room, François Curiel, the head of the international department of Christie's jewelry, opened the auction at $ 15 million and raised the rate of $ 500,000. Six people participated in the competition for this gem - five by phone, And one person was in the hall. The buyer was the jewelry company Harry Winston, making his first major acquisition under the name of the new owner of Swatch Group. The stone was immediately renamed the "Winston Legacy".

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

I’d like to start something new. 

I always said that I wanted to compile a masterlist of some great fics that I’ve read within our community, but when I look at my huge ass TBR list, I say “Haha I’ll, uh, get back to you-” so I’m making it easier on myself: I’ll read and review 3-5 fics at a time, that way the posts aren’t too long and so that I can put more effort into reviewing them without being overwhelmed. 

We have plenty of negativity that likes the rear it’s ugly head within this community and it’s nonsense. We should be focusing that energy into better things, like giving credit to the creative minds that we’re lucky to have around us. I want to take some time with these posts and give the writers we have in the fandom the love and appreciation they deserve. 

[*note: if any of these authors are on tumblr, please let me know so that I can tag them since I can’t seem to find them anywhere. Or, y’know, if YOU are the author, let me know so I can tag you!]

---

Tick of Time by Vodnici 

This is a Lousim story that I’ve talked about a couple of times on this blog and I’ve done so for a very good reason: It’s adorable and I love it. 

"Tick of Time” is about Louis realizing that Aasim needs glasses and the lengths he goes to find him a pair. 

Aside from it being one of the few lousim stories on AO3, this summary was enough to draw me in a read. Don’t know if you know this about me, but I’m a sucker for Aasim with glasses.

While this story is indeed super cute, it also has an interesting depth to it when it comes to Louis and Aasim’s characters. I love the way Louis pays particular attention to Aasim [admires him from afar, you could say, hm?] and his habits before realization dawns on him and he goes out of his way to look through every drawer in Ericson to find a working pair of glasses, and going as far as traveling outside of the school on the hunt for some, showing a dedication to helping Aasim see to read and write again, something that has a deeper effect on him that comes into play later in the story. 

Louis’ teasing yet genuine nature is incredibly sweet, and Aasim’s written incredibly well. Their banter at the end is, again, very sweet and funny. One of my favorite bits:

  Louis watched his fascination with a small, happy and relieved smile. Then the joy turned to playfulness. “Wait, I have something.” His hand dug into his pocket and retrieved a folded piece of paper, which he held out to Aasim.

  Confused, Aasim took the paper and unfolded it. He scanned over it, and the confusion immediately turned to exasperation. He pursed his lips and turned to Louis. “I do not look like a nerd!”

  “Ah, the glasses work perfectly, then. Excellent.”

The writing style is light and enjoyable, the descriptions beautiful, and it brings to light something that would actually happen to someone in the apocalypse. Writing and documenting everything is important to Aasim and a key part of his character, and for something such as poor eyesight to get in the way of that is tragic. I’m glad this addresses that while keeping everyone in character and providing some cute lousim content. 

I highly recommend this to anyone looking for some lousim goodness with some heart. I mean, I keep going back to it. This is probably the fourth or fifth time I’ve read it. 

---

Make You Feel My Love by shadows_unnoticed

Long, strong arms slowly wrapped around Clementine’s waist suddenly and began to hold her tightly, breaking her from her train of thought. She then felt lips graze against her cheek, a soft kiss being planted there. She turned her head slightly to find Louis staring at her with that fond look in his eyes as he rested his chin on her left shoulder.

THIS is the clouis content I LIVE for. 

That’s just a taste of the beautiful writing this has to offer. 

 “Make You Feel My Love” takes place after the events of the season where Clementine’s getting used to her new prosthetic leg. Louis asks her to meet him in the music room one night, since they’re “due for a second date.” 

I love everything about this one-shot. The writing in this is beautiful. I know I just said that but I’m saying it again because I need you to understand how much I love the writing. It’s fluffy, it’s breathtaking, it’s funny, it’s sweet, it’s a hundred other adjectives that I could list but won’t. 

And it that doesn’t convince you to read this, then allow me to give you this: Louis and Clementine slow dancing together while Louis sings to her. 

Yeah. 

That’s the level of beauty we’re talking here. 

This is a story that keeps Louis and Clementine in character. You can feel the love they have for each other in the way they speak and act together. This story is one that I can visualize in my head as I’m reading it and I LOVE stories like that. The descriptions of the environments are gorgeous, and the little tidbits of humor sprinkled in makes my cheeks hurt from the strain of smiling. 

I could go on and on about how in love I am with this story, but I don’t want to spoil too much. If you haven’t read it yet, I HIGHLY recommend you check it out. You won’t be disappointed. In fact, you’ll probably be a mess of giggles and feelings like I am right now. 

---

Flowers by ToTheMax @bloodyflashlight

The lack of briolet stories hurts my soul.

However, we do have this masterpiece. 

Violet stopped herself at the last second from stammering out another ‘uh, yeah’ and crossed her arms. “I was just… thinking, you know?”

“You do a lot of that lately.” Brody sat back down, motioning for Violet to come sit near her, to which the girl obeyed. They sat next to each other, Brody’s elbow resting on Violet’s leg as she knotted the flower stems together to finish the crown. “What are you thinking about?”

“Um… you.” Violet pulled her other knee that Brody wasn’t leaning on up to her chest, resting her arms on top of it. “I’ve, um… been thinking about… you,” she clarified, albeit hesitantly.

“Flowers” is a short little one-shot but oh, it’s beautiful. Honestly, I almost see it as more of a character study? Maybe? 

It’s about Violet and Brody fishing in the spring and Brody keeps getting distracted with all the flowers blooming and decides to make some flower crowns, but its focus is more on Violet’s feelings towards Brody. 

It’s as sweet and pure as it sounds, but it also gives an interesting look in Violet’s character and explores the idea of Brody surviving Marlon’s blow to the head and how the two of them grew near inseparable afterward.

There’s just something so soft about the way this was written. The little details of them leaning into each other, the flower crowns, the raw emotions presented from them both- it’s enchanting! Upon rereading this, I actually went back and read it AGAIN because I want more of it! 

Seriously, if ToTheMax ever wanted to take this one-shot and write a full-blown story around it, I would probably cry. 

Again, I don’t want to get too into this one because it’s a story that you should experience for yourself. Even if briolet isn’t your #1 OTP, it’s still worth looking at for the wonderful writing and terrific look at Violet’s character.