InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Calgon, take me away!"

Krystle Harrison (omggirlonthenet) wrote in memebells,
@ 2012-01-13 20:23:00

Entry tags:

[rated] nc17, [rated] pg-13, [rated] r, [type] choices, [type] crack, [type] dark, [type] fluff, [type] memories, [type] serious, [warning] possible triggers

Good Ending/Bad Ending meme
Do you get a happily ever after? Or a 'Rocks fall, everyone dies'? Why not both?

* Post your characters and set up two scenes. One with an ideal setting (They got what they always wanted, hit it big, became rich and famous, etc.) and one with a bad twist of events (They're homeless, everyone hates them, maybe they're even dying!).
* Others respond to one of the two settings (Or both in different comments, if they want!)
* Respond.
* ???
* Profit!!!

Just remember: no ending is set in stone, good endings can turn sour, and bad endings can be made better. Just see where it takes you and enjoy the ride!

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It's nice to see them so happy, poor darlings

la_esmeralda
2012-01-21 02:11 am UTC (link)

He didn't need to ask her twice. She scampered up the side of the bakery, heedless of the baker's gasps and insistence that she take care (and she did take care - she managed the climb very gracefully and modestly for one in a skirt). Sitting herself beside him, she leaned against him comfortably, gazing off into the horizon with a bit of a dreamy smile. The river Seine wound its way through the city before them. It was an old, familiar sight, even if the river always made her think of newness.

"I dreamt about following it, as a child," she said, indicating the river with a wave of her hand. "I used to imagine all the places it would rush off to, and that I would see along with it. I dreamt about the river carrying me away...far away, out to sea. I dreamt of running away so fast that nothing could catch up to me."

She sighed, then, but it wasn't an unhappy sigh, or even a melancholy one. She could remember the way it had been, now that it was no longer the same.

"And maybe I will follow the river, one day. But not for those reasons."

There had been times when, as a child, she might not have come back. But Paris was home - it truly was. Everyone she knew and loved was here. Her family was here.

She turned her head to smile at him.

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You can say that again <333

topsyturvygypsy
2012-01-21 03:20 am UTC (link)

Clopin grinned when she sat next to him, and since he was so experienced, he was able to look out at the horizon she referenced without stopping his playing. "The sea is a beautiful place, ma cherie. I can take you there one day if you like."

He felt it when she smiled at him. He leaned towards her, kissing her forehead gently while keeping up the tune. "Gypsies are meant to travel, after all. You should get to follow the river."

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We'll torment them later but at least we're nice sometimes

la_esmeralda
2012-01-21 06:12 am UTC (link)

"I would like that."

It made her a bit fluttery with anticipation, this idea of doing what she had only dreamt of doing for so long. Part of her longed to spread her wings and soar, to see where the wind and water might take her. But part of her wasn't ready to leave Paris just yet, not when it had finally opened its arms to her people.

She smiled at the kiss, closing her eyes briefly before reopening them, and fastening them on him wonderingly. It meant a great deal to her that he was so encouraging of her wish, and so willing to help her fulfill it. But it also made her realize that, apart from the safety and prosperity of their people, she knew very little about his own dreams.

"Is there anything you long to do? Something you've always wanted but never could? Anything at all?"

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Exactly. They can't hate us TOO much.

topsyturvygypsy
2012-01-21 03:35 pm UTC (link)

It warmed his heart to see her so happy. After all the awfulness of Frollo and the genocide, he wanted to do everything in his power to keep her smiling. Maybe it was because circumstances allowed him to relax, maybe he was getting soft with age, but he wanted to spoil the girl.

But then she asked him those questions. It made him give a thoughtful pause, though his hand never stopped moving the bow across the fiddle's strings. It had been... a very, very long time since anyone had asked him that. Had asked him anything even like that. After one ascends to being a leader, people just stop treating you human.

So he had to think about it. When he was young, he knew exactly what he wanted, but now that the genocide was over and he had grown completely into his role as protector with age, well...

"I suppose I would like to wander again. I love Paris, but this fool was made to travel." That was really all he could think of. Maybe he'd like to have a family, but he's not a particularly monogamous man and he never met anyone who he wanted to have a child with, so he doubted that would be in the cards. As it stood, Esmeralda was the closest thing to living family he had, and he was perfectly fine with that. "It's been a long time since I thought about it."

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la_esmeralda
2012-01-21 08:43 pm UTC (link)

Her eyes lit up at his response, at how perfectly well it corresponded with her own wish. She would have been a little reluctant to leave him, even though circumstances in their city were so improved. As wonderful as it would have been to return home and regale him with the stories of her adventures, it would be even more wonderful to embark on those adventures with him. She longed to travel through the countryside, to journey to the ocean, and see where the tide led her. But more than that, she wanted to explore a world in which he had the possibility to make decisions based on no one's betterment but his own.

"You should think about it," she asserted, looking out over the horizon once more. "Think about waking up everyday with no plans, no agenda, just the freedom to follow forgotten paths. To go where the wind takes you."

Life was a gift, but regret...regret was a poison. She couldn't imagine the regrets he must harbor, even after they had faced the worst and survived. The regrets of a leader were inevitable. But the regrets of a person who had always lived his life for others, never to explore his own potential...she would spare him that, if she could. As a child she had dreamed of wings of her own, but were it within her power, she would have willingly passed the gift of flight to him.

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topsyturvygypsy
2012-01-21 09:14 pm UTC (link)

If she had asked most gypsies what their wishes were, travel would probably be in there. They were a nomadic people, after all, and Clopin had been stationary in Paris much longer than he had stayed anywhere else.

He arched an eyebrow, giving it some thought as he looked out at the city. "There are many places outside of Paris that I would like to see again," he conceded, "and even more places I want to go to for the first time, even if I don't know what they are yet." Although it went without saying that it would be dangerous, he had faith in his and Esmeralda's street smarts and ability to protect themselves.

Clopin had more regrets than anyone should have to have. He remembered every mistake he made, every gypsy hanged or beheaded or burned... It aged him, even if he didn't show it. It really did.

But even so, were it a choice, he'd prefer Esmeralda have the chance to run free over him. He's satisfied with the work he's done, even if he hasn't had the chance to live for himself in a long time. Esmeralda? She still has many years to live.

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la_esmeralda
2012-01-21 11:27 pm UTC (link)

"Does it feel strange?" she asked - and then, after skipping a beat, she hastened to clarify, "Strange to have so many possibilities?"

She knew she was relieved that so much weight and responsibility had been removed from him; but at the same time, his defining role had been such a large part of his life, she wouldn't blame him if he did find the changes strange, even if they weren't unwelcome.

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topsyturvygypsy
2012-01-22 12:21 am UTC (link)

"Very." No point in being evasive about it. Clopin was rarely one to unload his problems on others, but that was the truth: being a protector and leader had been his purpose for so long that he was having trouble finding anything different to live for. "The gypsies don't need their king anymore. Oui, I have more time to fool with, but it can be hard to think of what to do with myself."

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	la_esmeralda 2012-01-22 12:42 am UTC (link)
	"You'll always be our king," she said firmly, quietly. A little half-smile tugged at her lips. "The position is a little less dangerous now than it once was. Think of it as an added bonus?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

topsyturvygypsy
2012-01-22 12:59 am UTC (link)

He smiled at her, giving her shoulder a gentle nudge with his own as his playing began to slow. "Oui, it is nice to not be constantly hunted." Although he still preferred to wear a mask when he went out in the open. Old habits die hard, and Clopin would always be suspicious of strangers. "Although maybe I should be worried about more people vying for my position." In truth he wasn't too worried since his people were loyal and he always put them ahead of himself, but there would always be the odd ambitious young man who would try to usurp the title of king through violence.

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la_esmeralda
2012-01-22 02:01 am UTC (link)

At their peril, she thought to herself. No one could replace him: it seemed absurd to even try. She didn't think anyone would be foolish enough to try to take over his position, but this did present her with a rather irresistible opportunity, one she couldn't quite pass up.

"That's right, I have been meaning to talk to you about that - I did hear whispers the other night; the word "treason" might have been one of them. You don't think it's serious, do you?"

She did her best to appear concerned and earnest, though she couldn't quite suppress her grin.

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topsyturvygypsy
2012-01-22 02:39 am UTC (link)

Yes, in order to successfully take over, one has to be wresting control from an objectionable monarch. Clopin knows that he has the ardent love of the vast majority of his people. Even if someone did succeed at killing him, he doubted that the gypsies would be content to just allow his usurper to take the reins.

He chuckled to himself, eyes dancing across the horizon. He knew when Esmeralda was kidding. "Oh my, I haven't told you? An assassin came for me yesterday. I would mount his head on my wall, but he's absolutely hideous, so I suppose I'll just settle for tossing the body in the woods."

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	la_esmeralda 2012-01-23 12:56 am UTC (link)
	A short, low laugh escaped her. "You're terrible," she said, fondly, punctuating her admonition with a kiss on his cheek. "And I pity any assassin foolish enough to come after you." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	topsyturvygypsy 2012-01-23 12:59 pm UTC (link)
	"Pity them? Pity me! Do you know how rare it is to have an attractive assassin to come for you? I'll be lucky if I ever find someone for my wall!" He grinned at the kiss, eyes sparkling with affection. "Ah, I've survived as king for years. I'll hardly allow anyone kill me now that we've finally achieved peace." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

la_esmeralda
2012-01-23 07:47 pm UTC (link)

She laughed delightedly at the idea of his doomed-to-emptiness wall, clapping her hands at his perfect answer.

"You'd better not allow that," she told him, her tone bossy but sweet at once. "Because that is unacceptable. You'd have to request permission in advance, and unfortunately, the council that processes those requests has taken an extremely long leave of absence."

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	topsyturvygypsy 2012-01-23 09:40 pm UTC (link)
	"Bah, the bureaucracy of the whole thing would kill me before the assassin. I'd just as soon avoid all the paperwork, hmm?" He sighed dramatically, looking up at the sky. "I guess I can just keep assassins from killing me. Besides, if I let myself get killed by one of the bumbling hotblooded boys out for power, then I really am too old for this." (Reply to this) (Parent)

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