~Librarian and Screenwriter~

Hey, FTA~ It’s Hiccup back with a new blog for the latest community challenge “What If Fairy Tail Had Modern Jobs”. While it would be in my forte to just explain what characters I feel would have what jobs, I also wanted to type up a story too because I have been meaning to write a story for FTA again since ing the Scripting Dragons group here on FTA. I hope you guys enjoy this challenge entry.

~Levy the Librarian~

So this submission should surprise no one as it is a very fitting career path for a bookworm to take. Librarians are always depicted as people who enjoy reading, so it’s easy to see Fairy Tail’s resident bookworm as a librarian in modern life. There are many traits for a librarian to have besides just enjoying a book. A librarian is also someone who can find the information you need. There’s a post that floats around the internet about the patron having been to a random library in, I believe, Alaska. He had found a random story in a random book. It was a wild chase, but he emailed the library and within a few hours (if that), the librarian had found the age in the particular book he had wanted. The post concludes about how librarians should be running the world. Levy is a very research heavy character as well. Oftentimes, when the guild is looking for information, she is front and center in those moments. When trying to break Freed’s enchantment, Levy was the one working on it. When the guild was looking for a way to stop Acnologia, Levy was hitting the books. There are many times we see the bookworm doing the heavy research to find the information needed to help the guild.

While Levy enjoys her books and researches greatly in the books, she also would be perfect as a librarian who shares the enjoyment of reading with others. Librarians will help patrons in their quest for the book the patron will enjoy rather than just recommending their own favorites. Reading advisory is a very important role that librarians play, especially for young children and teenagers who may be deterred from reading because of the tediousness of school. Levy would be perfect at recommending what someone else would enjoy. Personally, I feel like she has probably at some point found something that Gajeel would enjoy even if it tries to play it like he doesn’t around her.

~Lucy the Screenwriter~

So this modern job idea came from a book I was listening to called “Plot Twist” by Bethany Turner. The book is about a screenwriter, Olivia, who while working on her screenplay one day in a coffee shop, meets an aspiring actor. The two hit it off well, but in Los Angeles, there’s probably not a likelihood of the pair running across each other again. They don’t trade names or numbers on their fateful encounter on February 4th of the year 2003, but agree that in ten years, they will meet once again at that same coffee shop to show that they lived up to their dreams of her having accomplished a screenplay and him having become a successful actor. The book follows Olivia each year on February 4th for the ten years of when the promise was made to when their planned date would take place. It’s a pretty good book actually, and inspired the modern job idea of Lucy being that screenwriter. It’s not too far of a leap as Lucy is actually an author in the Fairy Tail series, working on her novel throughout the series and finally publishing and winning an award at the very end of the main series. With writing under her belt, in the modern world, I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t shy away from the Hollywood lavishes. Yes, Lucy in the series has been one to crave attention and desire to be a model, but she also eventually went behind the camera lens to be a reporter for Sorcerer Weekly instead of the model, so I could see this play out in modern world with her choosing to be a screenwriter instead of the main leading actress.

With these two job descriptions, I thought it would be fun to write a little story about the pair living in the modern world performing their new careers in our society. There is a bonus character in the story segment as well for their career choice. I hope you guys enjoy this story.

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𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦

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The coffeeshop in the center of Crocus was bustling with the early morning risers who needed something strong to start their morning routine out. The people inside the shop were as diverse as the drinks they ordered. Some were just in-and-out patrons who ordered the general cup of coffee and sprinted off to their jobs. A few were just the chatterboxes, stopping in for something to drink and having a conversation with friends at an easy to access location. Some were the resident patrons, sprawled out for whatever work they came to accomplish. Among the latter group was a blonde sitting on one of the comfy couches decorating the establishment. Her laptop was in her lap and she had a pile of random assorted papers scattered around her. She typed away at the keys, working on a screenplay of her own creation. She sighed as she came to the end of the scene playing out on her laptop and rummaged through the various papers to find what the next scene should start at. It was that moment where she turned her attention away from the computer screen that someone tried to get her attention.

“Excuse me, pretty ma’am, but I…” the stranger started to say, but was cut off by the blonde.

“No offense, but I’m a little busy right now. I’m just trying to finish off an idea before I have to go to my current job,” she said a bit rushed.

“Ah, fair enough. I can tell when someone is in the middle of an idea,” the orange haired boy nodded at the acknowledgement. “I just was wondering if I could sit beside you since there’s nowhere else to sit,” he gestured to the full coffeeshop.

Sure enough, he was right. Everywhere was filled with people. “Oh, sorry about that,” she turned a light pink shade realizing that statement. She momentarily had a fleeting memory about another guy that had come up to her not too long ago that she brushed off, thinking before that he was trying to pick her up, but perhaps he just wanted to rest his feet. Oops. “Yeah, go ahead and take a seat,” The blonde gathered up her pages that were cluttering part of the couch and stuffed them back in the folder she carried around with her. Quickly, she also typed something else on the laptop’s keyboard before shutting it and stuffing that also in her bag.

“Oh, please, you don’t have to leave,” he insisted quickly seeing her pack everything away.

“Oh no worries, I didn’t realize the time, and I finished the scene, so perfect timing,” she laughed softly.

“Finished the scene? You a screenwriter?” he asked, tilting his head, the light shining off his glasses for a second.

“Yeah, well, aspiring to be,” she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.

“Well, maybe when you finish that one, I can act in it for you,” he winked.

“Oh wow,” she turned red, not expecting that remark. “You don’t even know anything about how I write, what the plot is, or anything and you already want to act in it?” she couldn’t help but laugh at all the unknown variables for the newcomer.

“Pretty girl like you probably has written a masterpiece,” he smiled at her. “And besides, an aspiring actor will work with anything given,” he joked.

“Aspiring actor, huh? Why does that not surprise me?” her brown eyes scanned the gorgeous boy standing before her. His orange mane was an orderly spiky flare that seemed to give her lion vibes, and his hazel eyes were hidden behind blue spectacles. Though he was wearing a suit fit with a red tie, his body seemed to be fit. Any movie could have this man as a leading man: an action superhero movie or even a romantic comedy given his flirty behavior towards the blonde. Charming any lady seemed like it came natural to him.

“Well, this city does produce the kingdom’s great many movies. There are lots of actors floating around. So many dreams are held here even though many do not come to fruition sadly,” a helpless sigh sounded from her.

“Even when you’re not necessarily aiming to be in front of the camera, it can be a difficult town to make yourself known,” a similar sound came from the young female.

“True. This town can be hard on those looking for work,” the male nodded, scratching his neck. “But, I’m sure we’ll figure it out. I’ll be on the lookout for your auditions for that project,” he nodded to the bag she threw over her shoulder. “Pretty blonde screenwriter should cause some conversations and I’ll know it’s you,” he smirked.

“What if the project I’m working on isn’t a romantic comedy?” she laughed at his continuous flirting advances.

“Every movie has a lovable flirt,” he also laughed. “Can either be a romantic lead or a loveable goofy sidekick in a superhero movie, or just the character you cry dies when the slasher of the horror movie takes him out quickly. I’m sure I could fit in anywhere in that screenplay of yours.”

“What if I write a character for you just to die in two seconds of screentime?” her brown eyes skeptically looked at him with a note of amusement at the idea.

“Then I’ll have two seconds of screen time and a successful movie to add to my resume.” An alarm started sounding and he pulled out his phone, “Time to try to add a movie to that small resume I’m trying to get started.”

“I’ve got to get to my money making job,” she sighed at the realization of this meeting being just a fleeting fun moment of her life. “Hopefully I’ll see you around.” and she truly meant that.

“Same to you. I’m sure we’ll meet in the movie industry soon,” he winked. “I’ll be sure to keep an ear out for the beautiful blonde screenwriter and that masterpiece of yours,” he waved.

“I’m sure I'll see your face gracing movie posters and ads soon,” she giggled and waved too before heading out the door to head to her actual job which was the stereotypical waitressing job that many people did while waiting for their big break in the movie industry.

Her time waiting tables was focused on her job as the restaurant she worked at constantly was busy, but her mind would drift in those few fleeting slow moments to the boy at the coffee shop. She wished it was true that they would meet again and he was lucky that the script she was creating already had a lead perfect for him. Perhaps she would meet him again, but she also reminded herself that these things only happened in movies and not in real life. She had to keep reminding herself of that fact throughout the shift and when she got home after closing.

“Hey, Levy,” she greeted her roommate when she came into the apartment.

“Hey, Lucy,” Levy greeted, bouncing excitedly over to the blonde.

“What’s got you so excited?” Lucy asked as she took her coat off and set it on the hanger.

“I got the librarian job!” the blue haired girl squealed. “I can’t believe I got it! I’m so excited!”

“That’s fantastic news!” the blonde wrapped her arms around her shorter friend. “There was no doubt you were going to get it. You’ve been patroning that library since we moved here and know everything about libraries. You’ve helped me find anything I need even when I didn’t know what I needed,” she laughed.

“That’s you though. I know my best friend better than anyone. Besides, there’s so much to being a librarian. I’m just so excited getting to work there. There are so many books out there and a patron for every book. I can’t wait to start matching people and books,” she laughed.

“Let’s celebrate tonight to dreams coming true,” Lucy grinned, “My treat.”

With that, the two girls went out to the short librarian’s favorite place to eat and talk about her new job opportunity. Lucy even got a chance to chat about her own day which her friend was a sucker for romantic plots like this about destiny for two strangers meeting on a seemingly one off chance.

꧁ꕥ༒~ A Year Later ~ ༒ꕥ꧂

“I cannot believe people!” Levy fumed angrily as she threw her bag down as she entered her shared apartment. “Libraries are places to get any book you need or want. Libraries are about freedom of information and public libraries are for everyone to find a book they like, not just a few select groups. Besides, at a public library, you don’t have to read what you don’t want to. We aren’t going to force anyone to read anything,” she was visibly shaking and had to take deep breaths before she plopped down on the couch near the front door. “UGH!”

“Woah, rough day?” Lucy asked as she set her laptop to the side. She had previously had a satisfying smile on her face a moment ago until her best friend came in extremely upset. Lucy had never seen the blue haired girl like this, especially after a day at the girl’s favorite career place: the library.

“Lu, they are starting to ban books around the whole kingdom! Harmless children’s book and books that are accreditally acclaimed.”

“Wait what? I thought we were a society that didn’t believe in banning books because we’ve seen what has happened in the past with that mentality…” she shivered at just the thought of the past atrocities becoming present day realities.

“Freedom of information is so important, Lu! It’s what libraries have always stood for. Some of the books make no sense. There’s a book about Mary Edwards Walker, a surgeon who received the Presidential Medal of Honor. She was the first woman to break the norm of women only wearing dresses and started wearing pants because that let her do more things efficiently. Not only that, but there’s a place that banned Maus, a graphic novel that addresses some of the horrors that the Jewish people experienced during the Holocaust. There are even more books. Places are experiencing record breaking challenge requests.”

“That’s insane. Don’t these people realize that they can just not pick up the book that they don’t like and find something they would rather read?” Lucy asked.

“Apparently not. It’s getting scary, Lu… People are threatening librarians, library boards, school boards, elected officials, anyone who stands up against them just because they do not have the same belief system. Saying you agree that the book Mary Wears What She Wants has people being labeled as pedophiles just because the book is about how Mary Edwards Walker wanted to wear pants. How do you even try to converse with people with that kind of mentality that just start calling everyone names?” she groaned, covering her face. “It’s just insane. It’s not just one place either having this issue, but libraries everywhere facing these insane people.”

“Please tell me there are people ing librarians.”

“Yeah, there are a lot. It’s just a very vocal few that are causing such an uproar, but they really are vocal. They are attending every meeting they can and just harassing everyone… I wish this would go away quickly, but I think we’re just at the beginning of a long battle.”

“If there’s anything the public, just let me know, Levy,” Lucy told her friend, going over and hugging the stressed out librarians.

“Thanks, just knowing your here is good. We have had a lot of ers reaching out which really helps a lot,” Levy hugged her friend back. “Ugh, I don’t even want to think about this group anymore, how’s the writing going for you?” she turned her attention to the blonde, eager to get her mind focusing on anything other than the chaos of work.

“Well,” Lucy gave a shy but accomplished smile, “I finally finished that screenplay.”

“That’s fantastic! Now to get it produced and filmed. At least you have an actor set up for the main role,” Levy giggled thinking about the guy from last year that praised her friend on a script he had never even seen or heard any details about.

“Oh hush up,” Lucy blushed at the memory.

“You ever see him in anything yet?” Levy asked curiously.

“Not yet, but I haven’t really paid much anything to the new releases. I’ve been too focused on my own writing and working to make payments for rent,” the blonde nervously rubbed the back of her neck. “I hope he’s doing well though and got the break he needed in acting. It’s a tough world out there.”

“Well, if he hasn’t yet, then he has a movie coming soon to get him on his feet and a chance with destiny,” Levy winked. “I’m so proud of you. How about we go out and celebrate?”

“I haven’t even gotten it to a producer for a movie yet?” Lucy laughed.

“Maybe, but they’ll pick it up and finishing the script is a big accomplishment. Besides, I could use a distraction. Who knew librarian work could get you in the spotlight. I thought being a librarian was supposed to be easy and just a lot of reading.”

“Fair enough,” Lucy laughed, “I guess there is a reason the American Library Association still has an ever present list of challenge books each year. Just have never seen anything to this extent,” Lucy grabbed her bag and followed her roommate out to the city for a good celebratory dinner and a night to relax for the oncoming battles ahead for her librarian friend.

───༺♡Conclusion♡༻───

I hope you guys enjoyed this challenge entry and the story~ It was a lot of fun. I wish I actually could have added more an flushed it out a bit better, but I’m already turning this in super late. I’m finishing this at 12:45pm my time zone on January 29th, so yeah :sweat_smile: Let me know your thoughts on this. If you’d like some more information about the librarian issue in this story, check out ALA’s website and feel free to check out news articles surrounding a school board in Tennessee banning the graphic novel Maus. There are many schools and public libraries facing challenge forms for many many books. You can also your local library and ask them what you can do to them and other libraries that are currently facing these banned book proposals. Be safe and keep reading on. Until next time, dear fairies~

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