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villain-in-love · 10 months

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Sorry this ask took a while to send, I've been busy deep cleaning the last few days! But in your other post you mentioned Monster High and Ever After High OCs/Self Inserts. I don't want to pressure you if you don'y want to ofc, but if you're comfortable with sharing them.. I'd love to know more about them!!

I don't know much about Ever After High myself. I watched a few webisodes on Youtube some time ago and then dropped it. But I've been thinking about picking it back up again because I love the fairytale setting. Plus the dolls look very cool design-wise! I think out of the character I've seen so far, Madeline might be my favourite :3

Also, do you perhaps collect any other doll lines? I also enjoy Living Dead Dolls, Bleeding Edge, Little Apple Dolls, ect. If you enjoy the gothic/alternative style of Monster High, I'd definetly recommend them!! Some of them are bit more gorey - but theres plenty of interesting characters.

Ever After High is a great doll line as well as a show with immaculate aesthetic and interesting concept. Personally, I still prefer Monster High over it, but I've seen people favour Ever After High because it has a serious main conflict that can be analysed on a deeper level. A lot of people tend to simplify the message to "rebels good, royals bad", but in reality, while rebels do end up being in the right, position of royals does make sense, their concerns are understandable and hold a certain weight, at the very least because the entire situation the characters are in is rather complicated.

Honestly, if we look behind the bright and pastel coloured fairy tale aesthetic, the way fairy tale society functions is borderline dystopian…

Anyways, I think I have more OCs here because with the whole premise of following or rejecting one's destiny as well as having characters represent different fairy tales, naturally, lot of ideas appear. And so my OCs are often just me playing with the possibilities of what kind relationship with their fairy tale roles different characters might have.

While she’s not my personal favourite, I respect everyone who likes Madeline, she’s pretty cool (I especially like her Legacy Day doll which is visibly inspired by Victorian fashion) Unfortunately, she often get reduced to a comic relief, but I believe she had much more to her character in books by Shannon Hale, which I didn't have a chance to read yet, but I’m planning on doing so.

By the way, I checked out the doll brands you listed, and turns out I already knew some of them. However, while I don’t mind gore, those are not exactly the type of dolls I’m interested in (mostly I just dislike child-like proportions). (Living Dead Dolls look pretty neat though) I guess I liked Monster High as fashion dolls specifically, and very elegant, elaborate and well-thought-out ones at that.

Aside from Monster High and Ever After High, I used to like Bratzillas. I know that some might say that they are just a Monster High rip-off, but even if they were heavily inspired by it, they were still good (well, I was simply excited to see another gothic fashion doll line). I’m still upset that the franchise was so short-lived and I wish I bought more of their dolls. At some point Once Upon a Zombie piqued my interest, but I got quickly disappointed in doll and animation quality.

Also I wanted to comment on your OCs, because I actually like your character ideas. I adore the pun that is Manita’s name, especially since it’s both a good joke and sounds similar to "manticore". I overall have a soft spot for characters that are man-eaters both figuratively and literally. Octavia is extremely cute, I think she’s my favourite here, and I would totally root for her and Twyla’s relationship if they were in a show together. Levi looks like an entertaining type of character, I wish I could see him (them?) in action.

I kinda want to bother you a bit more and ask about what kind of fashion styles your characters prefer wearing and what would be written in their “freaky flaw” part of the bio, but that’s up to you if you want to continue the conversation about OCs.

Anyways, going to my OCs. I must warn you, there's a whole lot of information. I feel kinda bad for not drawing them myself and using character makers to represent them instead, but depression is a bitch and so this is the best I can do currently.

So here are the character design concepts plus some notes I have about them:

Starting with my only Monster High OC who is also a self-insert. I still don't have a name for her, since I want it to be a pun like most of Monster High names are but I have no good ideas yet.

Heavily inspired by the song Necromancin Dancin by Bear Ghost.

She's a necromancer who was born in the middle of the 19th century and died young. However, in my lore necromancers themselves are undead as well and only “awaken” after their own death. And so the first dead body they learn to control is their own.

She actually started out as a villainous character who exploited other undead students using her powers, either to harm or to manipulate.

She has issues, okay? On the inside she’s just a cynical and hostile sociophobe with a “better be a bully than the one bullied” mindset, convinced that there’s no point in trying to make friends since everyone would hate her anyway.

Ends up going through a character development and redemption arc thanks to the power of friendship and acceptance because it’s Monster High we’re talking about.

She seems very cool and confident when she’s being mean, but she’s so painfully awkward when put in a friendly environment. She doesn’t know how to be nice, she’s afraid of making a wrong move and ruining everything again.

Has a good sense of humour, but it’s dark and sometimes downright rude or offensive, which often puts her in uncomfortable situations.

She’s adopted since her parents were regular humans and she long since outlived them. After their death another necromancer – who was her mentor – took her in.

Now this is Ekaterina Bayun, the daughter of the one and only Bayun Cat. She was sent to Ever After High to better get ready for taking her father's role, since she's the first ever person to replace the original Bayun Cat. Because her father is immortal, she's didn't have to do it and it was entirely her own decision, which made her somewhat famous in school, being that she’s the only fairy tale character’s descendant who was actually given a choice.

While Ekaterina counts as a "royal" simply by the virtue of choosing to take her parent's role in their fairy tale, her view on the royal vs rebel conflict is rather neutral. And if you ask her opinion, she thinks that humans of their world would benefit more from rebel’s movement than they would if everything stayed the same as it always was.

She's actually a big monstrous cat who is capable of transforming into a human-like form. She spends half of the time in her cat form and assumes human appearance when it’s more convenient.

Ekaterina takes villain classes since, while she’s not The Villain TM, she’s classified as a beast that usually antagonises heroes. Also she literally kills and feasts on human flesh and it kind of automatically puts her into “evil” category.

Very chill, very lazy, prone to sarcasm and snide remarks. Like every cat, Ekaterina subconsciously thinks of herself as superior to everyone else and doesn’t like following any rules she disagrees with.

She’s a great storyteller and a singer with low and slightly gravelly, but very attractive voice. However, she has to be careful with it as to not accidentally put the entire school to an endless sleep.

Ekaterina has got a creative streak and is pretty intelligent, so she’s also good at making up her own stories. Her favourite school subject is creative storytelling.

She couldn't care less about human etiquette or morality. She's nosy and impudent, and has a habit of wandering into places where she shouldn't be.

Mstislava The Wise – daughter of Vasilisa the Wise from “The Sea Tsar and Vasilisa the Wise”. Headstrong and prideful, she never wanted to accept the role of her mother, which is why her family sent her to Ever After High in hopes that she will be put in her place here and stop rebelling. But boy, if that wasn't the miscalculation of the century.

Mstislava is a hardcore russian woman – she will walk into the house on fire and stop the horse running at full gallop, looking fabulous while doing so. She’s talented and intelligent, and absolutely refuses to become an obedient and loving wife of some Ivan Tsarevich who will sit on his ass while she does all the work in their story, only to be denied credit later.

Just like all women of her bloodline, Mstislava is a powerful sorceress. She's a master of transfiguration who is closely connected to the forces of nature, plus she possesses an impressive collection of enchanted items. She's also implied to be not quite human.

She doesn’t actually hate being a princess, and she would love to become a queen, but she's willing to sacrifice her royal status for the sake of her freedom of choice... or just for the sake of making a point.

She threatens her family with magic or refusing to go home if they don't accept her wanting to write her own destiny. She either gets to become the queen on her own terms, of she will run away and become a wicked forest witch.

Despite how serious and intense she appears, Mstislava does have a mischievous side and sometimes uses her magic powers to play tricks on people.

Mstislava is good at poetry, but unlike what is expected of a princess, she’s a terrible musician. (And so Ekaterina proceeded to teach her how to rap to pass the Muse-ic class…)

She's hard-working, but she's also a night owl, so you can catch her angrily banging at the door where the party is going at night, complaining that they're disturbing her while she's trying to study.

She's actually Baba Yaga's distant relative, and Mstislava considers Yaga to be her role model.

Meowriel Savatier – daughter of the Puss in Boots. She's a natural born hero and a royal who is very excited about fulfilling her destiny, especially since her destiny is to be with and help her best friend Marquise de Carabas (she's in love with her but doesn't fully realize it yet).

She’s technically considered to be Marquise’s lady-in-waiting, but it’s not as obvious since they both treat each other as friends and equals, with Marquise being especially considerate, even though Meowriel herself still goes out of her way to please her.

She doesn't have many close people, but she's an incredibly loyal friend, even to the point of selflessness.

Meowriel is bold, energetic, and resourceful. She seems to be in high spirits all the time, having a plan for any occasion and never giving up.

She's an incredibly persuasive and charming opportunist.

She takes hero classes and is the best in the Dragon Slaying class, where she uses cunning tactics to succeed instead of trying to rely on brute force.

She's an example of a royal who is actually selfish. She genuinely wants to fulfil her destiny which will give her and her beloved Marquise a happy ending, while the rest of the royals and rebels can rip each other to pieces for all she cares.

She doesn't mind rebels, but only as long as it doesn't affect her own story. However, if someone in her story tries to rebel, she's willing to force them back into their role by trickery and manipulation.

Because every character cast needs a cheerful French with a bob cut and a sinister side.

Once I actually get to drawing her myself, I hope to make the design of her boots much more elaborate, since they are her character's signature piece.

Marquise de Carabas – daughter of the miller's youngest son from the story of the "Puss in Boots". Marquise wants to be an active character in her story and she's worried about her best friend having to do all the work for her. She feels that it's unfair that she doesn't have to do anything while Meowriel alone ensures their happy ending.

She's a bit spoiled, but I wouldn't say that she's entitled. More like she's not used to hard work and discomfort, all her life she didn't even have to lift a finger or deal with serious problems herself.

She loves art in all of its forms, so she wishes to keep living an easy and lavish lifestyle so that she could dedicate her time and effort to it.

She's not particularly skilled at writing, drawing, or singing but she doesn't let it stop her. She's got a good sense of aesthetic and yet unexplored theatrical talent. Also she's a great violinist.

She considers the possibility of rebelling, while she secretly tries to find the way to prevent her story from even starting. Just like in the case of Ashlynn Ella, Marquise is destined to lose her royal status and fall into poverty for her story to begin, and in the end she’s going to have to marry to become a princess again.

She has serious issues with having to marry a "designated" person as a part of her destiny, especially since she still didn’t even have a chance to meet them. She’s the type who can only fall in love with someone she already shares a deep bond that lasted for years, and there's exactly one person like this in her life...

However, seeing how excited Meowriel is about following her destiny, Marquise wonders if she should just give in to make her friend happy. After all, in their story they will stay together for ever after anyways, so it shouldn’t be that bad..?

Maybe it's because she's so observant, but Marquise can easily spot acting or lies. Bad acting irritates her.

She doesn't fully trust anyone except Meowriel because she's the only one who is always honest with her.

By the way, I'm still only figuring out her character, since she was recently revamped in design and I started over with her personality. I'm also currently thinking about possibly changing her name.

Hua Li Ming – daughter of Hua Mulan, raised both as a capable warrior and a perfect lady. She's torn between wanting to honour her family, both like her story and fairy tale society tells her, and being absolutely terrified of having to bear such responsibility and spend 12 years at war.

She's noble and prideful, so on one hand she considers it a honour to become the next Mulan. On the other hand, she hates herself for being reasonably scared and unwilling to fulfil her destiny.

I imagine it will get revealed when Darling Charming tells her that she's lucky for getting to be a warrior instead of a damsel in distress, causing Li Ming to snap and go into a full-blown "you know nothing" tirade.

Actually has to deal with the pressure of being both a soldier and a lady. It's not like she was given an opportunity to choose one or even reject both.

She's a royal who desperately wants to rebel but still can’t let go of the thought that it's somehow beneath her.

Everyone around her constantly going on about how she would make a perfect Mulan doesn’t help.

Soft-spoken but firm, knows her own worth.

Known for being well-mannered and highly disciplined, Li Ming is a pleasure to work with and is considered to be a great company.

This showcases her level of self-control, and unfortunately it also means that she’s used to repressing her feelings, especially negative ones, which doesn’t do her any good.

Does meticulous work like weaving and sewing to calm herself and sort out her thoughts.

Li Ming studied combat and the art of war ever since her childhood. She likes it all in theory, but she'd rather not have to use it.

Instead of serving her country as a soldier, she wishes she could prevent the war before it even starts.

Character makers used:

The first one

The one that is made in Ever After High style

The third one is Anime Avatar Maker found on Google Play

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glenngaylord · 25 days

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Three On A Match - Film Review: Challengers ★★★★1/2

Films and movies often operate on different planes of existence. Some films feel like homework. Some take you to distant lands and shine a light on different cultures. Some intimately expose the human condition. But movies? Well, my favorite kind of movies thrive on pure adrenaline, action and sexual excitement. Who doesn’t love looking at beautifully lit, sun-dappled faces in a 24 frames per second dreamscape? I think of Against All Odds, for example, with Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward never looking sexier. Terrible film, but a great movie. Same goes for Showgirls or Valley Of The Dolls. On the flip side, My Dinner With Andre could be considered a terrible movie but a great film.

Enter Challengers, the latest from Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) and first-time screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes to shift the paradigm by being both a great film and a great movie. One could easily look at it as a small character study or a traditional sports drama, but you also wouldn’t be wrong if you saw it as a supremely thrilling, sexually charged study in pure star magnetism.

Set in 2019 in the world of tennis, Challengers stars Zendaya as Tashi Donaldson, a pro turned coach whose husband Art (Mike Faist from West Side Story) faces off against Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor from The Crown) as the story begins. The filmmakers show their audacity instantly by introducing footage of this match even before the MGM logo appears. Utilizing frequent flashbacks at finely calibrated moments, we learn how the trio came to know each other. Each revelation raises the stakes and deepens our understanding of the dynamics at play. I won’t get into plot details further as it would spoil the deliciousness in how each bit of information tells us more and more about the characters.

Here we have a film less about the specifics of a tennis match, however gloriously the sport gets framed by Guadagnino’s frequent collaborator, Cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, and more about the sheer delight of sexual chemistry and how assertiveness enhances it. Yes, those matches get dutch angles, swooping drone shots and tennis balls whooshing right into the lens, but that’s nothing compared to the confidence Zendaya brings to her character. I’d call this a star-making performance, but who are we kidding? Zendaya is already a star, with Euphoria proving her to be a world class actor. Here, however, she crackles with a heretofore unseen screen idol energy, blazing through scene after scene.

Although essentially a love triangle at its core, it’s anything but equilateral. The way Zendaya dominates the two men proves that. With Art as the sensitive, shy type and Patrick the outgoing bad boy, they’re both putty in Tashi’s hands. In one standout scene, she sits back and watches them grow closer. The expression on her face along with the high angle makes the moment indelible. We experience the relationships in all their permutations, pairs and triples, giving us a full picture of the ever-deepening connections, culminating in an all-timer ending that’s thrilling, hilarious, satisfying yet ambiguous. One could easily think of this as a gay film or interpret it as straight or perhaps bisexual. Regardless, most people will need a shower afterward.

O’Connor and Feist excel here with an explosive chemistry of their own, whether nimbly playing teenagers or grown men. When one thinks of formative years, you’ll see it playing out on their open faces and youthful giggles. In a film which puts arousal front and center, the two men can’t contain it, whereas Zendaya’s Tashi delights in causing and/or instigating it. Guadanino makes sure the audience is in on the fun with copious nudity, crotch shots, butt shots and Zendaya wowing us in fashion designer J.W. Anderson’s super seductive outfits. No matter your sexual orientation, you’re gonna walk out of this film feeling mentally stimulated as well as all kinds of hot and bothered.

This film click-click-clicks with energy and proudly wears its bonkers tone on its sleeve. With three great performances, crisp writing and direction, credit also goes to Editor Marco Costa, who ensures we don’t experience a boring second while masterfully jumping from one timeline to the other. Also, it’s impossible to watch Challengers without noticing the fantastic score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. This propulsive, synth-heavy music comes in frequently, sometimes competing with dialogue, but always to emphasize the carnality. It makes the movie pop. I dubbed one recurring cue the “I Feel Love (The Horny Boner Edition) ft. Giorgio Moroder” and couldn’t stop cackling every time it made an appearance. This could have easily veered off into high camp were it not for its adult themes and vivid acting.

At times the film reminded me of Personal Best, the great screenwriter Robert Towne’s 1982 directorial debut. Both share a love of faces and bodies and an otherworldly way of presenting them. But, in truth, I’ve never seen a film quite like Challengers, existing somewhere in between a movie and a film. It’s one of a kind, nutty, exciting, and easily one of the best of 2024.

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an-aspiring-jester · 2 years

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Well, @frustratedpker said she expects more OC questionnaires from me, and your wish is my command! XD I re-did this one for my older OC, Fabian the jester. (Fun fact - my profile picture is the custom doll I made of him when I was like, 15. I consider him my first REALLY fleshed-out character.) The basic idea of the story is that most jesters are secretly spies, subtly influencing the world’s politics. It was fun to compare my results for him and Lucas, because they’re currently my main “heroic” protagonists - they’re both pretty self-sacrifical, but have very different vibes about it. XD

How do they react to…

---Someone in danger who isn’t hurt yet

Jumps in to save them, IF it doesn’t collide with his current mission objective. In other cases, maybe just yell.

---Someone in pain/injured

"Hey, can you walk? We probably should get you out of here"

---School work load

Just… ignores it. Life's too short to waste it on boring stuff.

---Loss of a friend

If it’s because of death - pay his respects, mourn a while in the jesters' fashion, focus on remembering them and telling stories. If it's due to a falling out - he gets the pangs of pain every once and then, but tries his best to move on.

---Death of a family member

Mourns for the appropriate time, but doesn't despair. They're still with you if you remember.

---New kids in school

"Let's see what you've got. If you're fun enough, we can be friends."

---Being the new kid

First, get himself noticed. Then prove his talents/usefulness.

---Being picked on

Make the bullies regret this, in very creative ways.

---Being praised/complimented

Exaggerated bows and fishing for more.

---Unintentional physical contact

Milks it for as long as he can.

---People who talk in excess

He won’t let them get as far. He’ll interrupt every second sentence with some joke.

---Being at a club

Let’s change that into a tavern. Heavy drinking, singing at the top of his lungs and making himself a centre of attention. If he lets himself get REALLY drunk depends if he’s “on the job” and really fishing for information, or just enjoys his free time.

---Getting in trouble at school

RUN!!!!! And hide from his father for a week. XD

---Getting roasted by a friend

Pure indignation, comically exaggerated, then firing back.

---Types of humor besides their own

Well, he’s literally trained to entertain all kinds of humor depending on the audience, but privately he scoffs at some less experienced jesters who just rely on cheap tricks and lack imagination. He's got standards, you know.

---People of the opposite personality type

He’s an ENFP, so the opposite is ISTJ - he finds them a bit stifling, and would probably provoke them a little with his rebellious nature, but eventually “deal with it”. They’re unlikely to become close friends though.

---Mainstream type people

Well, they ARE easier to predict/entertain/manipulate, thus making his job easier, so… *shrug*

---Memes and internet humor

Not really applicable, but in the modern AU he’d be familiar with it, though probably not a big fan. Most of them he just wouldn’t find so funny. A bit of a professional pride thing, “so now everyone thinks they’re comedians, huh?” type of deal. XD

---People who are needlessly lazy

If he needs them for something, he just drags them along not caring for protests. XD

---Being pulled into a fight

“Just tell me who to punch.”

---Really early mornings

A rare moment of peace and quiet in jester’s life. He enjoys the moment for himself.

---Having to be a mediator among friends

Irritation, mostly. He doesn’t have the patience for it. Can’t you just make up already?

---Learning new flaws in other people

"Nobody’s prefect, I guess."

---Acquiring new physical flaws

“As long as I can still juggle and outrun the angry guards, I’m good.”

---Moving into a new home

Where are all the strategic points in town? Also, the tavern.

---Being ignored by a crush

Irrelevant. His feelings don’t matter.

---Sharing a literal bed

Common occurrence during missions. They usually don’t have money for seperate rooms with his companions. He probably falls asleep first and spreads over the other person.

---Their own flaws and insecurities

“If I bury them deep enough, maybe no one else will notice…”

---People’s misconceptions of them

He literally counts for people to underestimate him, it gives him the upper hand. He feeds the misconceptions himself.

---Their crush loving someone else

It’s not relevant. It’s not relevant. IT’S. NOT. RELEVANT. (if he repeats it a hundred more times, maybe he’d finally believe it)

---Someone who wants to debate

“Really? Be my guest. Don’t expect me to treat it seriously, though…”

---A crabby boss at work

Most of his bosses are. Swallowing his pride is the first thing a jester needs to learn.

---Control freaks in their life

Ostentatiously disobeying.

---People so open minded that they agree to everything

Probably use it to his advantage.

---Day and night changes

Takes in the atmosphere. Just observing how life slows down/awakens around him is very satisfying.

---People who gossip

Gossiping right with them! They’re responsible for 90% of his information-gathering. It’s one of his favorite activities.

---All nighter activities

If it has to be done, it has to be done.

---Theme parks on location

Enjoys the general atmosphere, but again, he has OPINIONS on some less-than-skilled amateur entertainers who count on a quick buck there.

---Couples making out publicly

If he’s in a good mood and has time, he makes fun of them. If not, he just ignores them.

---Going to the doctor

“What do I need to do to get back on my feet? As soon as possible.”

---Bad smells in the area

Ignores them. He slept in enough stables to get used to it.

---Beginning a new project

Examining all the available sources and preparing a course of action.

---New technology item in the house

Not really applicable. He's casually curious about innovations, but doesn’t really care to use them himself.

---Being cut off from supplies

Beg, steal, or borrow new ones.

---New money to spend if they want

Treats himself. It’s not often he has a chance to indulge in luxury.

---New students or neighbors

Gets to know everyone.

---Friends doing something wrong

“What do you think you’re doing?”

---Getting called out on their mistake

Gets irritated. Denies anything is wrong and insists it’s all according to plan.

---Optimistic kind of people

Counterintuitively, he actually dislikes foolish, unwarranted optimism and shuts it down with cutting remarks.

---People who overwork themselves

"Take it easy, won't you? The life will pass you by before you know it!"

---People with poor hygiene

Ignores it. Would probably grimace at the odor but wouldn't comment. (unless it were funny)

---Animals in general

Always befriend local dogs. It saves your life when you piss off their owners. XD

---People who don’t trust anyone

Makes it his mission to worm his way into their circle of trust anyway.

---Long lectures or speeches

Boooooring… He'd either jawn or interrupt with his jokes, depending on the setting.

---Sleepover activities

Kinda pointless.

---Travelling for vacations

Enjoying every second of it. Admiring nature, sightseeing, trying new foods, chatting with the locals. He’s in his element.

---Board or card games

He loves them. Can cheat like a pro, too, but does it only if it’s a high-stake game when the results can affect the mission. He doesn’t do it recreationally.

---Starting a new job

Befriend every low-rank employee (maids, cooks) so he can gather info and gain favors.

---People missing limbs

Doesn’t really think much of it. Life sucks sometimes, but you gotta get by with what you have.

---Being kissed unexpectedly

“And now you ruined my make-up.” (Canon reaction. XD)

---A sudden scream

Get his knife ready and go investigate.

---The sight of fresh blood

“Shit. What happened there?”

---Public wardrobe malfunctions

Makes it a part of a joke.

---Sleeping in accidentally

“*Groan* I hope I won’t get fired over this.” (If it’s between employments, he doesn’t care.)

---Friends of a bad influence

Depending on how you define the bad influence, he can be one! XD

---Pessimistic kind of people

“Lighten up! Wallowing in despair never helped anyone. It affects morale. If you're unhappy, DO SOMETHING about it instead of complaining.”

---People who hate a show they like

“Sorry to hear you have no taste."

---Being told they’re not good enough

“Wanna bet on that?"

---People with mental disorders

I don't think that in medieval times people were as aware of those, but he's more patient than average with people having different "quirks" and doesn't write them off because of them.

---Being turned down for an invite

“Your loss. You'll miss all the fun!"

---People who don’t take care of their bodies

Doesn't care for strangers, but would nag his friends to take better care of themselves. But probably disguise his concern with some variation of "you'll be no use for the guild if you just run yourself to the ground, you know". They would get the intended meaning though.

---Being told a secret

He WILL use it, if the need arises.

---People with very little impulse control

Well, most people view HIM as the one lacking impulse control (not exactly true, his risks are usually calculated… with a LARGE margin for error XD), but when put in charge of some hot headed youngsters, he can act like a put-upon parent, holding them by the collar. That's a very rare occurrence though. Usually he's the one charging ahead. (Again, from other people's perspective - he usually knows what he's doing)

---People who can’t make a solid decision

Just forces them to make one. He has no time for this.

---Intentional physical contact

He's… pretty normal about it, I think? He likes it, is never awkward (unless he's getting hugged by a certain engaged duchess, who also happens to be the love of his life, but he's convinced it can never be, and while he longs to just return the embrace, he is aware of all the possible consequences and not wanting to sewer her reputation… but that was just one time. XD And he got out of it with a smooth joke, so again, does it really count as awkward? XD) sometimes initiates it, but also isn't an exceptionally touchy person. Not much to say here XD

---People who complain

Shuts their complaints down.

---Being introduced to someone else

Depends WHO they’re introduced to, he plays the desired persona.

---Having something of theirs taken

Steals it right back.

---Not knowing what they are doing tomorrow

Just enjoying their free day, with no worries. Lazing around.

---Their plans going awry

“Shit, shit, shit. Okay, what now?” *improvises something insane, borderline suicidal and usually brilliant*

---Various authority figures

Doesn’t respect them on principle, but sometimes pretends to, if it gets him something.

---People who can’t take care of themselves

He can't take responsibility for everyone's happiness. But if he can do just one small thing to make their day better, he'll do it.

---Weather changes

What would life be without a little unpredictability? (Honestly though, he usually pays attention to it. He doesn’t want to be caught outside in the middle of the storm, or something)

---People who wait for you to go to them

Well, he’s generally the first to approach people in any situation anyway…

---Competitive people

Competes with them. XD

---A very ladylike girl

He may be less crude with his joking, if she's nice.

---Being taken to the gym

Do I really need additional training? I'm in shape!

---Really late nights

Again, enjoys the quiet.

---Having a room all to themselves

Peak of luxury.

---A true gentleman

Makes fun of them, testing how long they would last.

---People who keep changing how they look

Often a requirement for a guild’s agent…

---Being kicked out of a public place

Tries to find a way back in.

---Getting lost when they need to be somewhere

"That's… bad. I gotta hurry."

---Getting something unexpectedly free

“Great, free stuff!” Gotta gather what you can.

---Reading someone else’s journal

Memorizes everything.

---A friend who snaps at them

Tries to make light of the situation. Or snaps right back. Depending if he’s guilty.

---People who like a show they hate

“Sorry to hear you have no taste."

---Someone having a crush on them

Half the time, it's his intended outcome (he sometimes charms ladies to get the info on missions). But if it happens without his control, he'd take a while to even notice. Once he does, it'd be pretty awkward. He'd try to turn them down before it gets too serious.

---Not knowing where to go next

Pretending he does.

---Super mega health nuts

“Well, obsessing about one's health is a luxury simple folks can't afford."

---Technology geeks

“You rely too much on your fancy gadgets. You'd die in the real world."

---Culture-minded culture-focused people

Well, he studies other cultures so he can better blend in, but his core belief is that people are the same everywhere, the rest is just details.

---Nature enthusiasts

Well, nature is great. Nature is useful. We'll be lost without nature.

---Being given a gift they can’t use

Gives it away.

---Being blamed for a friend’s misdeed

If it's a close friend, he's willing to take the burn for them. If it's a casual colleague, he'd probably try to set the record straight. (Of course, if it's only about the inner dealings of the guild. Otherwise the wellbeing of the mission always takes precedence and he'll do what he must.)

---Being snubbed by someone they look up to

Grit his teeth and work twice as hard to prove them wrong.

---Being put on the spot to give an answer

Stalls long enough that everyone forgets what the question was.

---Talking in front of a large group

That’s just a performer’s job.

---Being left out of an activity

If he cares, he invites himself anyway. If he doesn’t, well, he doesn’t. XD

---Animal enthusiasts

”I mostly want to know which animals can be petted, which are food, and which can potentially kill me (and how to kill them before it happens). That's all I need to know.”

---People with physical disorders

He'd take all their special needs into account. He won't be patronizing about it.

---History enthusiasts

"Got something that is ACTUALLY relevant to the present situation? If not, shut up."

---Being sat on by someone else

Mini-performance of righteous fury.

---An injured person

Helps them. He's pretty skilled with first aid.

---An unexpected grade in school

"Wow. Whatever I did, I should do that more often."

---Authority figures playing favorites

Does everything in his power to BECOME that favorite.

---Segregation and prejudice

“Sometimes life just sucks.” (That’s why I became the guild's agent, to try to make the world a better place. One step at the time.)

---Activists who try to force their ideals

He's not even gonna listen. And he makes fun of them.

---Commercials on TV

Not applicable, but he's generally distrustful of overbearing advertising. Prefers to test the product himself.

---Learning a secret they weren’t supposed to

That’s basically part of his job description.

---Being flirted with

Flirts back. It’s a good way to gather information.

---Being lied to or betrayed

Curses the liar/traitor. But if they explain themselves later with a good enough reason, he’s willing to give them a second chance. Trust is conditional though.

---Loud/rowdy/energetic people

He’s one of them.

---Tense situations

Breaks it with a joke.

---Rough tough areas of town

He finds his way around expertly.

---Situations under stress/pressure

That’s when he does some of his best thinking.

---Learning or advancing a skill

“How can I incorporate it into my next performance?”

---Music of their choice

Singing along? Probably.

---Being invited out with friends

“What are we drinking?”

---Plans changing on the spot

He’s often the one who changes them…

---Being placed in a group project

As long as they accept his individuality and unorthodox methods, he's good. Otherwise, he won't be happy.

---Sharing a bedroom

Pretty unproblematic. You have your space, I'll have mine, goodnight.

#OC questions #my OCs #mine

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alloftheimaginesblog · 4 years

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You’d Be Prettier If... {Bucky Barnes x Plus Size Reader}

Plot: Bucky Barnes, a complete stranger, overhears how bad your date is going so he steps in to save you from being further insulted.

Character: Bucky Barnes x Plus Size Female Reader

Notes: just a lousy shallow first date that kinda shames food choices ‘you’d be prettier if you lost weight’ that type thing!

Part of my Plus Size Reader x Character series!

Checking the time on your watch once again, you internally cursed your friend for ever thinking that this man-child was an appropriate dating choice for you. Are they even a friend if they set me up knowing fine well that he’s a monstrosity? You hummed absent-mindedly as he boasted about how well he was doing financially; trying to impress you. Men like this, who were immature and boastful were a complete turn off for you. The date had really only begun - you’d only had your first drink and not yet ordered your meals - and yet, you couldn’t wait for it to be over.

As the waitress approached, you took a breath of relief at least he’d shut up for a minute, “What can I get for you?”

“I’ll have cajun chicken pasta, please,” you said with a smile, silently trying to tell her how much you needed out of here.

“Really?” Your date - Jack - asked with raised eyebrows, “I thought ladies liked to get a salad to keep their figures.”

You and the waitress glanced at each other with a look of ‘oh, god, here we go’. Dread settled in your stomach as he said it, you knew where these types of conversations led to. You’d be prettier if you lost weight. You hated that. You never understood why people cared so much about your weight, you were healthy and fat; who cares? As an adult, you’d learned to get along with your body instead of hating it, yeah there were parts you hated but overall, you liked your shape and figure. You liked your bigger thighs, your soft tummy, you even liked your stretchmarks that were sprinkled all over you. It was you and you knew that you were good enough.

He finished ordering and looked at you, “You know, no offence, I think you should’ve gotten a salad. Need to keep that weight down.” He offered you a smile with the insult.

“Why do I need to do that?” You asked, taking a long drink, “Why do I need to keep my weight down?”

From over at the bar, not far from where you were sitting, a young man with long shaggy hair turned to hear your conversation. He didn’t like where it was heading either.

“Well, I mean, I think you’d be prettier if you lost a bit of weight, slimmed down a bit. Have you ever thought about-”

“Oh, hey!” A voice said from beside you. You looked over at the very handsome man with shaggy hair, “I haven’t seen you in forever, how’ve you been?” You were positive that this man was a stranger but he gave you the eyes and you realised what he was doing. He was saving you from this terrible date.

“Oh my god,” you played along, grinning widely, “How have you been? Pull up a chair, we have so much to catch up on,” you looked to your date, “You don’t mind right? Perfect!”

Jack looked between the two of you, “Hey man, how do you know (y/n)?”

“I’m Bucky, me and (y/n) go way back, don’t we, doll?” Usually had a man you didn’t know called you a petname, you would’ve chewed them out but Bucky, whoever he was, said it in such an endearing and kind way, not at all creepy like the weirdo at the gas station who kept calling you ‘babe’ that one time, “I’m not interrupting, am I?”

“Actually, yes-”

“Not at all!” You cut over Jack with a smile. Thank god for whoever Bucky was.

You and Bucky began chatting, making up stories and pretending you knew everything about the other. Jack was growing more and more irritated as time passed. With an annoyed sigh, he said he’d be back in a minute, he was going to the toilet. As soon as he was out of earshot, you began to laugh, “You have no idea how grateful I am!”

Bucky laughed, shaking his head, “I overheard him saying that stuff about the salad and your weight and thought I’d step in. No one should have that much of an opinion over someone else’s choices and body, especially not over someone so beautiful, if you don’t mind me saying.” You smiled, cheeks burning, as he complimented you. There was something different about him, something so charming and old fashioned.

“You think so?” You asked, unusually nervous.

“You’re gorgeous. You don’t need to eat salads or lose weight, you’re beautiful as you are.” he said honestly. Butterflies erupted in your stomach and he stuck his hand out, “Pleasure to meet you, I’m Bucky Barnes.” You shook it happily telling him your name.

The waitress arrived a minute later as you and Bucky were chatting about your date, “Is he gone?” The waitress asked, placing the meals down, “He was a right jerk.”

“He’ll be gone soon enough,” you said, “do you like steak?” You asked Bucky who nodded. You pushed Jack’s plate over to him, “There you go.” The two of you shared a laugh as Bucky began to cut up the steak, “So, Bucky what is it you do?”

“I,” he faltered, unsure of what to say as he didn’t want to freak you out too much, “I’m a personal trainer of sorts. I train my team a lot.” It wasn’t wrong, he did help the team train.

“Who’s your team?”

“Uh... the Avengers?” He said awkwardly, this was where people usually got freaked out.

“Huh,” you said as you ate your pasta, “Is Tony Stark as much of a dick as I think he is?”

Bucky let out a breath of relief as he realised you didn’t care about his profession, “Eh, he’s alright. Annoying but he can be a lovely guy.”

“You’re eating my food?” Jack said, appearing beside you, “What the fu-”

“Jack, no offence,” you said with a smile, “I think you’d be prettier if you lost weight and you ate the salad.”

“Un-fucking-believable,” Jack scoffed before storming off and out of the restaurant.

“Thank god for that,” you whispered under your breath, “It was lovely of you to save me but you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”

Bucky shook his head, “If you don’t mind, doll, I’d like to stay and get to know you more?”

A slow smile spread on your face, “I’d love that, Bucky.” You’d need to thank your friend after all if she hadn’t forced you on the date with that jackass, you’d never have met the delight that is Bucky Barnes.

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ehbunnehsblog · 3 years

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Hello and howdy peeps it is yo girl again with another post but this time its dolls yeah that's right dolls! Okay but really I just wanted to do a post about discontinued dolls because I thought it would be nice and fun and since I haven't posted in a while I thought it would be a good thing to come back with and well here it is.

Numbah 1. Novi Stars

I didn't have these dolls as a kid and I didn't really like the look of them although now I think they look really rad and honestly alien dolls? Amazing idea! I am not sure but I think these came out near the end of Bratz. They were made in 2012 and didn't last very long and ended in 2014 and like I said as a kid I didn't really like the look of these dolls so I can understand why kids didn't really flock to these dolls maybe since well where would they fit in like with me I played with Bratz with other Bratz i never played with another doll and a Bratz doll it just didn't feel like it fit in that universe but anyways the doll line only had 20 dolls and the names they came up with are very smart and I really think it's cool. If these were to come back I would probably buy them as long as it's a reasonable price. I can't see these coming back anytime soon but hopefully one day they will but since they I assume weren't as influential or popular as Bratz it will probably take time for them to come back to the world.

Numbah 2. Lalaloopsies

These tiny (and big) dolls also came out around the end of my doll phase or I guess the best way to put it is when I was not getting into the newer dolls and toys. Lalaloopsies were these plastic ragdoll type dolls by again none other than mga entertainment they came in small and in some series big some also had hair and some were just plastic hair. I had some although I didn't play with them much but they were very charming and different from the other dolls I really like this era of dolls because they weren't meant to be humans they were just whatever like above aliens and just really whatever. These dolls also came with super adorable playsets and little pets just like another doll I will be talking about later on this list. Pretty sure I had almost all of the Lalaloopsies in this photo but I do not have them on me. There are at least 156 residents in Lalaloopsy land and 88 of them are tall, 39 are mini and 35 are little there are 150 females and 8 are males. They also have a or had a show on Netflix. Do I think these dolls could come back? Absolutely yes.

Numbah 3. My Scene

My Scene were a doll line from 2002 made by Mattel. They look like the popular Barbie doll but with larger heads and have more similar fashion to Bratz, Mattel and Barbie's enemy/rival and have 3 movies (also is it just me or does the art style remind me of the show 6 teen?) Later through the years they had a decline and sadly they were discontinued. Do I think these dolls can come back? Difficult I feel like they could as long as the clothes are from good fabric and stylish and a part of me feels absolutely not. Mattel has had a really good kid friendly image with Barbie and I feel like a lot of parents would freak if they saw these doll. I didn't play with them as a kid actually I didn't even know about their existence AT ALL! But since I was really into Bratz I could totally have seen myself playing with these dolls as a kid i think their fashion is amazing and again I would love to see them make a comeback.

Numbah 4. Bratzillaz

I know this should be criminal to have Bratz under a Mattel doll I apologize but I wanted to save the best for last. So Bratzillaz are Bratz but they are witches with magical powers and were made to compete with Mattel's Monster High Dolls at the time. They were made in 2012 but later discontinued while Bratz were being rebuilt since a lot of parents didn't like the look of the Bratz. These dolls were meant to be the cousins of the Bratz and they also had a web show. I had quite a few of these dolls maybe one day I will make a post about the dolls I had idk it will probably be a mini post but these dolls were pretty cool. I loved how the legs, hands and arms could move and the fabric they used was pretty nice. Do I think they could make a comeback? Eh maybe one day but I think MGA should just focus on the Bratz when they can before these dolls.

Numbah 5. Yummi Land

Okay alright so I know this photo only shows one doll and that's because I had this doll. Her name is Mindy Mint Chocolate Chip and she smells like mint and like every Yummi Land doll they smell like what the character is named. This is yet another MGA doll line one I would absolutely love to come back why? Because I feel like they weren't around for a long time and I think they are absolutely lovely and different and I although I have said I didn't flock to many dolls that were different I feel like this is one I could see younger kids loving and I would totally buy them. These dolls were introduced in 2006 with a movie called Betsy Bubblegum' Journey through Yummi land. The doll lines included Soda pop girls, creme soda pop girls, candy pop girls, flower pop girls, ice cream pop girls, smoothie pop girls, sundae pop girls and a holiday special doll named Paris Peppermint Creme and another called birthday pop girls. I do not know how many of these dolls there are but just like Lalaloopsies they come in small and big. The doll I owned was a big one. What I loved about these dolls is that they came in bottles idk if anyone else gets interested by how things are packaged but for me I love it so these dolls coming in bottles were just really cool and if they ever made a comeback I hope they keep the bottle idea which now I will answer, do I think these dolls can come back? Yes. They are cute and I think a lot of people especially kids would love them because they smell nice and are just really pretty even the small ones could come back I think. I don't know how small those ones were but Barbie Peekaboos and Polly Pocket have been a thing therefore I think these dolls could make a return.

I grew up with a lot of dolls and I think some of them had really cool ideas and were different and I think that's cool. I really like how some of them were really girly and just cutesy and I think little girls would absolutely love Yummi Land dolls. I wish I had more growing up but I only had one although I remember another girl who was older than me as a kid getting one too I think she had blonde hair with all that said I will have the linkla below and I will see you next time

Yummi land info:

Lalaloopsy info:

Bratzillaz info:

Novi Stars info:

☆Thank you for reading this post if you like what you saw please give me a follow and a like I post about nostalgic stuff a lot☆

#nostalgia #2000s kids #2000s nostalgia #nostalgiacore #nostalgic #toys #kids toys #fashion dolls #bratz doll #novi stars #my scene #mga dolls #mga entertainment #mattel #lalaloopsy #bratzillaz #early 2000s #2000s #2010s

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hockeyboysiguess · 4 years

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Jerseys and Dumplings

a/n: some good old friends to lovers Tkachuk for your Thursday!

warnings: swearing

word count: 6.3K

You yanked the restaurant door open harder than you’d meant to, but you were in a rush. A last minute assignment had kept you at work later than you’d planned, much later than you’d planned, and you were running later than would ever be considered fashionably late by anyone who made insane amounts of money to recite a bunch of shitty dialogue to a camera. You pulled at the bottom of your skirt to adjust it as you walked through the door before giving up. Your skirt was definitely crooked, your hair was definitely a mess, but your mother’s words played over in your head, “It’s never the job of a successful, powerful to look a particular way. Success is messy. Own the messy.”

“Hi, sorry,” you whisper-yelled to the hostess. “Uh, Hanifin? Pretty sure everyone else is already here.”

“Right this way.”

She was clearly unimpressed with your disheveled appearance and your tardiness as she looked you over from top to bottom from over the top of her glasses. You pushed thoughts of her and work out of your head to focus the evening. Meeting your best friend’s boyfriend was a hit-miss experience with Tessa as your best friend. She alternated between introducing you to immature, outrageous guys who were all about having a good time who always ended up cheating on her or guys who were basically the human equivalent of a completely dried builder-grade beige wall. This one was apparently some moderately famous hockey player, which automatically had you leaning him in the first column, but she pleaded with you to reserve judgment until you met him tonight. You were desperate for her to finally date a guy that was somewhere on the middle of her two extremes. She always countered by saying she wanted you to go on a date, any date. You brushed her off every time, telling her you were focusing on your career and yourself.

“There you are!” Tessa shouted, bumping the table harshly as she stood up to great you. “I started to think you forgot about us.”

“Sorry, babes,” you sighed as you let her pull you in for a quick hug. “I-”

“Got caught up at the office.”

You pulled back from her and glared at her. Tessa saying the words that all too frequently left your lips was just a little passive aggressive, usually your specialty. You rolled your eyes at her and she giggled before reaching out to the guy next to her to pull him to his feet.

“This,” she wrapped her hands around his forearm in a sort of death grip, “is Noah. Noah, this is the ever-discussed best friend slash somehow roommate even though I see her more out to lunch than I do in our apartment.”

“Thanks, Tess,” you mumbled. Noah offered his arms out to you gingerly and you accepted a soft hug. “Nice to meet you, Noah.”

“Really nice to finally meet you,” he smiled softly as you took your seats.

“Oh, I hope you don’t mind.” The sing-song tone in Tessa’s voice drew a groan from you because you knew what was going to come next. “Stop it! Anyway, Noah brought one of his teammates along, so you weren’t third wheeling.”

“Is he invisible?” you asked with a wave of your hand to the empty seat next to you.

“Just in the bathroom, actually.”

You turned your head and were greeted with a bright, toothy grin and mop of curly hair. The restaurant was dark, but you could tell he had a beautiful pair of baby blues to go with his dimples and sharp jawline. Tessa has clearly hand-picked this one out of the Flames line up for you. He was exactly your type. You watched as his light eyes broke contact with yours and gave you a quick once look over, lingering almost indiscernibly at your chest and your hips.

“I’m Matthew,” he said, his smile starting on a slippery slope to a smirk as he sat down next to you.

You debated calling him out for checking you out, but Tessa rapped her foot on your shin, letting you know she was ready and waiting to give you a swift kick if she didn’t like how you were acting. People thought Tessa was soft. You thought people shouldn’t underestimate Tessa, so you swallowed your comeback and introduced yourself instead. Matthew gave you a quick nod, his broken curls bouncing with the sudden movement. A smile began to pull at the corners of your lips against your will and something in your chest told you he was going to be trouble if you let him be, so you resolved not to let him be. You watched his attention shift to the couple across the table and his face scrunch up in disgust. Noah and Tessa were seeming trying to figure out if it was possible for two people to become one via their open mouths pressed against each other.

“Come on, guys,” Matthew whined as one of his hands came down roughly on the tabletop, causing the silverware to click together loudly. Noah and Tessa separated at the sound, not at Matthew’s words. “The single folks don’t even have drinks yet. Can you save the foreplay until we at least have some alcohol in us?”

“Seriously,” you joined in. If Tessa was going to set you up against your will, at least it was with someone that hated Tessa’s fondness for wild amounts of PDA as much as you did. “Please keep all tongues, hands, and arms in your own seats tonight.”

“Genitals should remain their not upright and locked positions” Matthew added. Tess blushed at his words, causing Matthew to turn his head towards you. He cocked his head to the side, a mischievous look dancing in his eyes and pulling at the corners of his mouth. “Too much?”

You answered by continuing, “Excellent addition, fellow date attendant. Fasten your seatbelts as we expect there might be some turbulence on tonight’s date.”

“Turbulence?” Tessa asked, her voice a solid octave and a half higher than normal and her eyebrows raised, daring you to continue.

“Oh yes, turbulence,” Matthew cut in. “So, Tessa, where did you grow up?”

“I’m sorry, I’m back on turbulence,” Noah jumped in verbally and physically, a hand raised across the table.

“We,” you informed him, gesturing between Matthew and yourself, “are the turbulence.”

“Yes, thank you, good blind date I didn’t ask for,” Matthew nodded to you, curling bouncing again in a way that made you have to bite your lip to avoid smiling like a schoolgirl with a new crush. “You both worked together to set us up tonight, unasked for based on just how fed up my fellow date attendant seemed by my very presence. Esteemed co-worker, can you confirm, for the record, that you did not ask for this set up and that you’re just as tired as I am of your friends across the table setting you up with people?”

Matthew grabbed a breadstick from the basket in one fist and presented it to you like a microphone. You laughed softly, making an out of character smile crack across Matthew’s face before you both pulled yourself back into the accidental routine you’d created.

“Yes, yes, Matthew. I can confirm I was not made aware of your presence tonight and I have not asked Tessa to set me up with anyone at this time,” you replied seriously, putting on your best politician impression.

“You sounded like you were doing an impression of Tina Fey doing her Sarah Palin impression from SNL,” Matthew laughed at you. He couldn’t stop smiling as he turned his attention to your friends who had no idea what monster they’d created tonight. “As my good colleague Sarah Palin just said, neither one of us asked to be here. So now, we’re teaming up to see if we really approve of this union or not. So, I repeat. Tessa, where are you from?”

The evening was filled with you and Matthew teaming up to flip the script on your friends. You grilled Noah, with Matt’s support, and you offered some direction to his probing questions for Tessa. They took in stride though and you realized somehow, some way beyond your understanding, Tessa had fallen into a good relationship for the first time since you knew her.

Just after making a two-bite dent into your incredible dessert, Tessa pulled you to the bathroom with her, the classic story of girls never being able to pee alone floating at the excuse. When you left the stall, you were greeted by Tessa, arms across her chest, one foot tapping on the ground, and wry smile on her face.

“So, things seem to be going well with Matthew,” she said with a smirk and a soft nod. “Figured it would be sink or swim but didn’t think it would go quite this.”

“Oh, shut up,” you groaned as you turned on the water for the sink to start scrubbing your hands, “we’re just being friendly.”

“Are you kidding me?” she practically shouts at you. “He literally has not taken his eyes off you once all night. He’s so into you!”

“Tess, stop,” you told her with a sigh as you shut off the water. You grabbed a couple of paper towels before spinning on your heels to face her. “Seriously, Tess, he’s not into me. We’re just getting along as friends, okay? Be happy this didn’t blow up in your face for the first time.”

“You cannot be serious right now,” Tessa whined. She reached for your arm as you tossed the paper towels away, pulling your attention back to her. She bounced on her heels a little and gave you the most frustrated look she could muster. “He is into you. Noah thinks so too. Just, can you just try? For me?”

“I don’t want a relationship, Tess,” you replied curtly. “Why can’t you just accept that?”

“He’s perfect for you!” Her frustration with you was growing with each word that she had to say as she tried to spell it out for you. “He’s your type. I know I nailed that one. I know you have to think he’s attractive, so you can’t lie to me. You have really similar senses of humor. He totally thinks you’re hot, which you are. Don’t you dare, that’s not up for debate. Come on, babes. Give Chucky a chance.”

“Chucky is a murderous doll,” you retorted, skipping over everything else she’d said. “Look, Tess, can’t you just be happy I might have made a friend tonight? That’s growth for me right there.”

“But he wants to be your special friend!” she insisted, bouncing on her heels again.

You couldn’t help but laugh at the image presented by her bouncing and her words. She was channeling herself at age six for sure, an age you didn’t know Tessa at, but from the stories her brothers and mother told you, you were kind of happy you didn’t know her at.

“Jesus, did you just say that?” you got out between laughs. You sighed as you pulled yourself together. It was time you both escaped the bathroom as the boys were bound to get suspicious soon. “Look, I’m just not really in the sort of place to put myself out there at all right now. If Matthew really does want this and he really does try, I’ll think about it for real, okay? Does that work for you?”

She sighed and rolled her eyes before saying, “I mean, no, it doesn’t because he would totally give you the good dick right here in this bathroom and probably buy you brunch tomorrow if you actually showed the tiniest bit of actual interest in him, but, it’s the best you’re going to give me, so it’s fine.”

Your desire to leave the bathroom and get back to your chocolate cake overwhelmed the desire to correct Tess. You pulled her back to the table with you, collapsing into your seat and immediately diving back into the dessert you’d been hearing call your name since you’d left the table five minutes ago.

“You’re murdering that cake,” Matthew noted. “It’s impressive, honestly. Where does the cake go?”

“Hopefully out my pores tomorrow in the stupid hot yoga class Tess is dragging me too,” you replied, halting another bite on its way to your mouth just to answer. “I wanted to watch Love is Blind and Too Hot to Handle as our new best friend activity for the month. Tessa wants to do hot yoga, so we’re doing hot yoga.”

“So, you’re the boyfriend in this relationship?” Matthew joked, gesturing between you.

You dropped your fork to your plate and reached for your almost empty drink instead before replying, “Gender roles are a completely unnecessary societal standard, Matthew, and they do not need to be enforced by heteronormative men who play an incredibly heteronormative sport. Who is the boyfriend and who is the girlfriend is unnecessarily gendered, especially considering I’m clearly the left chopstick and Tessa is the right. ”

Matthew’s nose scrunched up when he laughed, a sight you were quickly growing used to over the evening, maybe even starting to like. He shook his head softly at you as he took a sip from his glass.

“Says the girl who pitched to watch a bunch of trash Netflix dating reality shows that are all pretty heteronormative, right?” Matthew countered with a nod of his glass to you.

“Garbage is not heteronormative,” you replied. “Trash TV is just trash TV, Matthew. Don’t read too much into it. I still haven’t gotten to watch any of it though.”

“If you need someone to watch with, hit me up,” he told you. “I need an excuse to get drunk on a Wednesday night and sounds like it I would need to be incredibly drunk to watch any of that.”

“So, this Wednesday then?”

—————

Standing in front of Matthew’s apartment door with a wide variety from your favorite Chinese takeout place in one hand and a six-pack from your favorite local brewery five days later, you were beginning to regret the life choices that led you to this particular moment. You didn’t have much time for the regret to sink in though before Matthew opened the door.

“If there is something the resembles a dumpling in that bag, I will be your servant for the rest of your life,” was Matthew’s verbal greeting.

“You’re about to be my servant then, but it’ll be worth it. These are the best dumplings I’ve ever had,” you informed him as you pushed past him into his apartment to drop the bags and beer on the counter. You started pulling containers out of the bags as you continued, “I will say you should never Google this place. I’ve only ever ordered via Grubhub delivery before today. I did pick up and this place honestly looks like the architect was drunk and the builders forgot their glasses for the entire build and I’ve never been more horrified, but the dumplings are killer, so I’ve just decided to put it in a box and try to forget I ever saw where they originated.”

You heard a beer crack open beside you and Matthew’s large hand came into view as he set it in front of you. He was close to you, closer than you had thought he would be. You could feel his tall frame behind you, his loose t-shirt brushing against you as he set the beer by your hand. His arms brushed your softly, making your breath catch in your throat.

“Good brewery pick,” he complimented you, his lips near your ear as he spoke. “Also, if you give me food poisoning from your weird Chinese food place, I’m released from my servitude.”

“You know the word servitude?” you countered, trying to pull your mind out of the gutter it was sliding headfirst down with sarcasm and chirping him.

Matthew laughed lightly and shifted himself closer to you. He leaned into you, his chest gentling coming into contact with your back with each breath you took. His large hands gripped the edge of the counter on either side of you. He towered over you and you couldn’t stop yourself from wondering what it would feel like to let him bend you over this counter right here and now.

“Mm, I know a lot of things that might surprise you,” Matthew laughed in your ear.

He pulled back without warning and you released a breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding. Matthew shifted over to the opposite side of the counter, grabbing a beer and popping it open on his journey. He didn’t say another word before turning on his heels and heading toward the couch. Your brows furrowed as thoughts began to swirl and bleed together in your mind. Was that just all in your mind or was that nothing that your mind turned into something? You didn’t have time for something like this. The fact that you’d found time to have dinner with Matthew within two weeks of meeting him astounding given your inconsistent hours and his season. No, you didn’t want him to be flirting with you, you decided, so he wasn’t. You came over looking for a friend, so that’s what you were here for, the only thing you were here for.

“Hope you can use chopsticks,” you told him as you sat an overly full plate of food in front of him a few minutes later.

“I play hockey. I wasn’t raised in a barn,” he threw back at you, a joking smile on his lips.

“Okay, okay,” you laughed with a roll of your eyes.

Matthew tossed the remote as you with his free hand as he brought a dumpling to his mouth with the other, dropping the entire thing into his mouth in one go. You watched his eyes go wide as he bit down for the first time. He looked at you in disbelief as he chewed.

“Holy fuck me,” he told you through a full mouth. “I want to marry whoever made this.”

“Now,” you open Netflix on his TV, “you get me, Tkachuk.”

Matthew had already shoved another one in his mouth by the time Netflix loaded the first episode. Matthew was in food heaven, shoving dumpling after dumpling into his mouth. You laughed a little as his stuffed cheeks. He looked like a curly-headed chipmunk and you told him just that as you grabbed another container of dumplings out of the bag on the counter. He almost chirped you back, but when you dropped a full container in his lap, the chirp died before it had even fully formed.

“I think you’ve ruined dumplings for me from everywhere else in the world. Also, is that guy hot? I feel like they’re just trying to convince us he’s hot when he’s not.”

You were amazed he was able to pay any attention to the show with the speed at which he was consuming food. It was equal parts impressive and disgusting.

“He’s alright,” you shrugged as you reached for your beer. “Not my type. You’d be better off asking Tessa.”

Something you’d said finally beat out the interest of the dumplings. Matthew dropped the container to the table and skewered a dumpling with his chopsticks in exchange for a beer and turning his attention to him. He raised an eyebrow at you before he spoke.

“A type, huh? I wouldn’t happened to fit that type, would I?”

He took a sip as he watched you roll your eyes at him. He chuckled a little against the edge of his bottle at your response.

“Why would you think you would?” you countered, barely pulling yourself together in time to say something within an acceptable response time.

Matthew shrugged casually before replying, “Noah asked me specifically to come the other night and after meeting Tessa, I have a hard time believing she let Noah pick whoever he wanted since that was definitely a set up and blah, blah, blah, so I’m definitely your type, right?”

“Mm,” you hummed as you took a sip of your beer to try and disguise the anxiety his question had brought on. “My type is definitely guys who are obsessed with trying to be my type. It’s so sexy how much you need my validation right now.”

Matthew’s head fell back as he laughed, curls shifting back in tandem. His mouth opened wide as he laughed a full belly laugh at your words. One of his hands came to his stomach as his laughs became breathier and he slowly brought himself back down.

“You’re something else,” Matthew mumbled through a smile, beer on its way back to his lips and soft shake of his head with his words.

“I’m a goddamn goddess and you know it,” was all you had to say to get him laughing again.

—————

“Let’s fucking go, Calgary!” Tessa screamed next to you out of the blue, jumping to her feet as she shouted, making you and several other people around you jump a little in their seats.

“Jesus,” you sighed. “Tess, can you take it down a notch or eighteen, please?”

“It’s the Battle of Alberta, baby!” she shouted in response, a wide drunken grin on her face as she retook her seat next to you with a flop.

The referee blew the whistle, stopping play, and you pulled your attention back to the game with a soft smile on your face. You looked down the ice to see someone wearing a red and black jersey tangled up with a white and blue one. You craned you’re neck to try and see who it was, your breath catching in your throat at the idea it as Matthew. Your eyes were flying back and forth between the ice and the screen, trying to see a number or part of name to figure out if it was him or not. Your racing thoughts were interrupted by a tap on the glass in front of you. You were greeted with a smile that was slowly becoming more and more familiar, just with a mouth guard hanging between his teeth, and some curls peeking out from under a helmet.

Matthew waved at you with two gloved hands, his light blue eyes crinkling at the corners as he looked at you. You let out a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding. You were relieved he was standing in front of you, a goofy smile on his face, rather than down the ice in that fight. At least the linesman has managed to break it up by now. Matthew’s eyes broke contact from you to give you a once over. He pinched his jersey between his gloved fingers and his eyebrows furrowed down as he looked at you

“Where’s your jersey?” he shouted, though you had to read his lips to actually understand him

You just put your hands out next to you, palms up, and shrugged with a slight pout sticking out your bottom lip. You didn’t own any Flames gear of any kind, certainly not the Tkachuk jersey he was probably looking for. He shook his head at you and glared a little, just to get a small laugh out of you, before he turned his attention back to the game.

“Look at your guy!” Tessa said way too loudly for how tender she’d said it, hands stacked over her heart. “He likes you so much.”

“We are just friends,” you countered firmly, which made Tessa frown.

“He likes you! Aren’t you going over to his place after the game? You should make a move,” she nudged you in the ribs with her elbow.

“I’m picking up exactly four containers of dumplings and we’re watching exactly two episodes of Love is Blind because we’re going to finish up the episodes before they go on vacation with their new fiancés, okay?” you told her. “That’s not exactly a hot date. Besides, I don’t want to make a move. I like him, as a friend.”

“Okay, whatever,” Tessa rolled her eyes at you. “You keep denying that I set you up with a good one until you can’t anymore. Chucky is so smitten with you, he’ll probably wait for you for a ridiculously long time, like rom-com style long time, babes.”

—————

It was your new routine. Well, it wasn’t regular enough to really be a routine. Matthew would text you when he felt like he hadn’t seen you recently enough and demand you show up that same day with dumplings and your sparkling personality. You had tried to deny him, push him off a day or two due to work, but he might be the only person you’d ever met more stubborn that you were. Over garbage television shows and Chinese food, you’d made an actual friend out of him and despite Tessa’s insisting that both of you wanted more.

“Oh, suck it!” Tessa shouted as the Bruins pulled out a last-minute OT goal against Edmonton. She hated the Bruins, but you were pretty sure the only thing Tessa hated more than your insistence that you didn’t want to date Matthew was Edmonton.

You sighed, realizing you’d lost the bet you’d made with her, even though you picked that Edmonton would win to piss her off. She was shouting and jumping up and down, trying to rub her win in your face, but a text cropping up on your phone was pulling your attention.

Tkachuk: pls get five orders of dumplings and bring them right over

You: worked hard today huh?

Tkachuk: you know I fucking did. See you in 30?

You smiled softly, catching Tessa’s attention in the middle of her winning tirade.

“Is that Chucky?” She was already leaning over you, trying to get a glimpse of your phone screen. “Are you ditching me for him again this evening?”

You glared up at her and tilted your phone back, hiding the screen from her view. She stated to glare back, but then her face softened as the corners of her mouth started to pull up. You caught a mischievous glint in her eyes start to form she spoke.

“Hey, the bet was that I get to pick your outfit next time you go out, right?” Tessa asked hesitantly.

“I mean, yeah, but your face is scaring me a little bit here,” you replied, concern for yourself dripping off each word.

“And out could just mean when you go to see Chucky in a few minutes, right?” Her excitement was beginning to leak out, but you couldn’t understand why. “Because since you’re leaving, that’s going out, right?”

“I mean, I guess- Tess, what are you getting at here?”

Tessa didn’t reply. She ran out of the living room, cursing as she banged her elbow on the corner as she turned into the hallway. You heard some rustling in her room, followed by another curse, before she came bounding back into the living room. She tossed something red at you, a borderline evil smile on her face as she did so. You grabbed the red garment. As soon as your fingers touched it, you had an idea of what it was based on the fabric and you groaned as you flipped the garment in your hands. You were greeted with Tkachuk in large bold letters when you looked at the back of the jersey.

“I’m not wearing that to Matthew’s apartment,” you whined, letting the jersey fall into your lap.

“Ah, yes you are. You lost the bet. You wear what I let you to wear,” she told you, waving off your complaints. “Besides, Chucky gave it to Noah to give to me to make sure you wore it to next game anyway. We’re just getting you in it earlier than he had in mind, that’s all.”

You sighed as you stood up to head to your room where you exchanged your comfortable, worn in sweatshirt for the new, crisp jersey. When the red fabric finally hung off your body, you turned and let out a groan when you saw his last name on your back. You knew he wasn’t going to let you live it down the entire time you were with him, but Tessa’s wrath was worse than Matthew’s chirping would ever be.

Tessa was laughing as soon as she caught site of the red fabric, but you didn’t give her much time to feel satisfied with her handiwork. You grabbed your wallet, keys, and phone and headed out the front door. You paused as you sat in the driver’s seat of your car. Tessa had said Matthew wanted you to have the jersey to wear to the next game you went to, but why was he insistent enough to get Noah to give Tessa one of his jerseys? Why didn’t he just give it to you himself?

You tried to analyze the gesture as you waited in line at the restaurant. You’d taken to just coming in for pick up since you’d been unsuccessful in forgetting just how terrifying seeing this place for the first time was. You never called ahead anymore. You just showed up and the chef knew to start making dumplings for you. They were ready when you got to the counter to order, so you paid, grabbed your food, and returned to your car quickly. You decided the gesture was probably nothing, just Matthew being odd per usual, and tried to force the thought out of your mind as you drove over to his place.

The thought hung around as you parked in his spare parking spot. The parking pass had gone from being loaned out to every guest to living in your car after the fifth dumpling and trash television visit. He said you were his most regular visitor and he was tired of having to leave to put it in your car for you since you always argued that you’d brought him food, so it was the least he could do. Your mind was racing, trying to figure out if all of it added up to something, or if you were adding up things that didn’t really exist to get to an answer that definitely didn’t.

You only got one knock in before Matthew opened the door. He moaned when he saw the bag in your arms.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he said, his eyes trained on the brown paper bag his hands were reaching for the entire time he spoke like a prayer had been answered.

You laughed at him and let him take the bag from your arms before following him inside. He dropped the bag on the counter and began grabbing containers and chopsticks while you kicked off your shoes. You let out a long sigh as you prepared yourself for the chirps that were bound to come when you took your coat off and the jersey was finally in his line of site. You chewed your bottom lip between your teeth as you spun around to face him.

Matthew was frozen in place, a partially opened to-go container on the counter in front of him and chopsticks about to be ripped apart in his hands. His eyes were trained on the flaming logo on the front.

“Tessa made me wear it,” you admitted quickly. “I lost a bet and she made me wear it.”

Matthew slowly put the chopsticks down and one of his hands came up to his mouth. His hand was on his chin, thumb crossing his lips as he shifted his weight to his other hand braced against the counter’s edge. His light eyes were darker than you were used to as they scanned up and down your body. They came to rest on the number partially visible on the shoulder. He moved his hand from his face to hovering in front of him with his index finger outstretched. Slowly, his index finger began to make small circles as he looked at you.

“Oh, you’re rubbing this in now,” you huffed, hands going to your hips.

Matthew just shook his head softly before he swallowed hard, then said one word, “Spin.”

You sighed, knowing he wanted the full picture for future ammunition, but you wouldn’t get to enjoy your food until you gave him what he asked you. You slowly let your feet shift across the floor, moving you in a gentle circle, giving Matthew a perfect view of his last name across your back. You closed your eyes as you reached the point in your circling where you’d have to see him again. You didn’t need to see the smug look on his face.

You heard Matthew sigh and you knew whatever he was about to say next was going to be brutal. Instead, all you heard was his feet shuffling quickly across the floor before you felt his hands on you, pressing you back against the nearest wall. Your eyes flung open when you made rough contact with the wall. Before you could fully process it, Matthew’s head dipped down and his mouth was on yours. You almost pulled back, but he was kissing you in a way that took your breath away. You couldn’t not fall into the moment with your palms coming to rest on his chest, but you needed some sort of explanation and you weren’t even sure if this was really what you wanted, so you pushed gently on his chest and he instantly separated from you.

“What the fuck?” you breathed out at him as you lifted your eyes to look at him.

He was towering over you, his arms boxing you in on either side of your head. His eyes were even darker than they had been and while you could usually read Matthew like open book, you couldn’t recognize the expression on his face.

“I can’t be your friend if you’re going to look this fucking good with my last name on your back,” he told you. His words were so matter of fact, as if it was the most obvious thing the world. “You have absolutely no idea how bad I want you right now.”

“Matthew,” you said between deep breaths, “I don’t know.”

“You know,” he said, his baby blue eyes locking your gaze on him. “You know you know. You’ve known since that first dinner. Tessa knew too. Hell, even Noah knew, and you know how fucking thick he is. We’re not supposed to be just friends. You,” he sucked in a breath through his teeth when he broke eye contact to look down at the jersey while balling some of the red fabric in his hands, “you are too perfect for me to be my friend. God, it’s like someone took everything I ever wanted and put it all in one perfect, stupidly sexy girl, except that someone made her fucking oblivious to her own feelings.”

Matthew let out a soft laugh and shook his head as he released the fabric from his hands. His eyes rolled up to lock with yours again.

“You can’t stand her and tell me that kiss wasn’t different,” he continued. “stop being so fucking thick for two seconds and you’ll really feel it. I know you feel it. Because if somehow, I feel this goddamn strongly about someone, and they don’t feel a single ounce of something for me, then I must have really fucked up in my past life and deserve to have the perfect girl right between my fingers and feel her break my heart instead. Like, fuck, you know this is different, that this is something that stupid kinds of special. Just let yourself feel it. Let me in, baby. I’m right here. You’re not gonna fall. Nothing is going to break. I’m right here. I’ve got you, if you want me to.”

Matthew was wrong. You felt the walls you built to keep you from having to put yourself out there, from having to risk anything, start to crack under Matthew’s gaze. His eyes started bouncing from feature to feature on your face, trying to figure out what was going on in your mind since you hadn’t said a word yet. When his baby blues met yours again, the walls broke, and you felt everything. You felt everything he said and somehow, so much more. You grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked his mouth down to yours. He kissed you back instantly, his hands reaching down to the backs of your thighs to pull you up to his height. Your legs wrapped around his waist and his hands moved to your torso, yanking at his new favorite piece of clothing you owned to get under it and feel your skin under his palms.

You broke the kiss to breathe. His mouth moved to your neck as you tangled your fingers in his curls.

“I’m going to fuck you and you’re going to wear this while I do it,” Matthew breathed out against your neck with a faint tug of the jersey, “if that’s alright with you.”

“Little aggressive,” you told him with a tug of his curls. Matthew pulled you away from the wall, switching to support your weight so he could start walking you towards his room.

“Oh, shut up, would you?” Matthew laughed against your skin. “If you actually have objections, fine, but the peanut gallery is closed for anything other than curse words and my name for the next few hours, okay?”

“Whatever you say, Tkachuk.”

#matthew tkachuk #matthew tkachuk imagine #matthew tkachuk fanfic #nhl imagine #nhl fic #nhl fanfic #nhl fanfiction #nhl writing #hockey imagine #hockey writing #hockey fanfiction

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yozzers · 3 years

Text

vexos hcs and random notes

ill update as i go, because yes i do update my masterlists every once in awhile, i should probably add them to my pinned...

General

I sincerely hope they have a small living arrangement so I can inflict them with the pain of having to share almost everything with each other

I just want Shadow and Lync to share a bunk

Like to think that alongside Volt, Mylene and Lync were also recruited by Hydron

None of them officially joined until they were a bit older but probably trained to eventually join the Vexos; in the mean time they probably worked for Hydron or something like that

Volt recruited at 11; Lync a year later and Mylene following not long after (respectively 13, 8, 12 when they’re all gathered)

My reasoning to why Volt is patient with Lync’s antics and Mylene less so but doesn’t lash out as badly as you think she would around annoying little kids; grew up tgt moment

Spectra probably forced his way into the Vexos like “hiiii i see you dont have any Vexos members <3″ bcs obv he wasn’t using royal scientist dad privelages (i think, bcs Clay seems horrified abt Spectra being a Vexos and well, being Spectra)

Shadow had an advantage of being a nobleman (in terms of him being accepted into the Vexos’ ranks)

the Vexos and their set of rules magent-ed on the fridge door or something and every time they go over a page they have to staple/tape a new page on

Joined in this order, Volt, Spectra, Shadow, Mylene, Lync, Gus

Vexos being a “chance of death low but the chance is still there” type of job... they feel like idols girl help they are bakugan idol group who work for the government

sorry the way the vestal kids talk about them... going to treat the Vexos like a kpop group now

Spectra Phantom / Keith Fermin

[canon] son of a (royal?) scientist. definitely had it good and comfy

think it’d be REALLY funny if he already knew Shadow before he became Spectra, Shadow just doesn’t recognize him bcs of his stupid get up

throws childhood friends Shadow Spectra at you, just two weirdos

Keith specifically keeps Shadow from ever meeting his sister which is why neither of them really recognize each other

Pre-Spectra; probably would’ve been really into bakugan biology and what not. Feels like the kind of person to talk w/ his dad about “do you think we could change their appearance if we messed w/ their mechanical ball form or would it not carry over to their released forms”

this mf looks like a biology major i feel it in my guts

mom isn’t dead she just divorced Clay bcs he didn’t know how to balance family and work, good for her

probably lives in another city now, and it’s a bit more of a hassle to meet with her kids so they don’t see her as much but she is present in their lives (keep in contact in other ways)

probably went a bit silent when Keith went missing

didn’t bleach his eyebrows bcs he didn’t want to harm the skin around there and he never thought he’d take the mask off around others, or about how stupid he’d look without the mask

please please please please draw him with his pink hair roots in his MS fit he should've grown out some of his bleached hair by then

daddy issues is truly the root of evil

Gus Grav

Just Some Gut background; middle class just living life

[canon?] was going on a route to being an “idol brawler”, because that’s kind of what their brawls felt like, since it was all purely for show with some competition. it felt less like a sport and more spectacle.

Gus wanting to be an idol brawler is actually such a funny string of words put together I’m making that a thing, if he didn’t join the Vexos he would’ve been an idol brawler

I like the Gus needs glasses hc (shoutout to @marmeladebois ‘s post on that)

The hc of him being half human and Runo’s half brother is so good

Cooks well but refuses to help cook fr the Vexos (unless Spectra specifically asks) --> that job is usually left to Volt

not related but reminds me heavily of yugioh vrain’s Spectre (or other way around... Gus was the blueprint)

Shadow Prove

[handbook canon] a vestal nobleman

has an older brother (oc; Lux- casual Haos brawler)

inferiority complex or whatever, the only thing he bested his brother in was Bakugan

the Prove family being typical prim proper noble family and forcing Shadow to be repressed is something, but the Proves having the same kind of wavelength as Shadow but in different variations is funnier. They’re just Like That.

Probably not a military family, does work closely with the government still; um im thinking somewhere under the Fermins but not by much

Considered running away from home several times

Unwillingly has knowledge on Vestal classic literature/ music

hard clutching a wall whenever he wants to join in on discussions about it bcs he knows this stuff but no way is he going to make himself look like a nerd + hes not actually that interested

*debates you for fun and bcs i hate u <3*

You know how he doesn’t take his job as a Vexos member super seriously, I wonder:

did his parents force him to be a Vexos since he wasn’t interested in the political side of his family and probably against taking up anything related to it, so they had him do something that’d still be beneficial to the family?

joined to pursue a freedom he didn’t have as a nobleman and is now just taking it really easy?

has clowns > jesters debate with volt; obv he’s team clown, volt is team jester

incredibly irrelevant but if he was a human he’d be chinese, i’ve claimed him, prodigal son older brother and fail son dynamic is there

Mylene Ferrow

While I like the idea of her being from a military family, I want to make her like Ling Wen (TGCF) in the sense she started from the bottom and climbed to the top... it fits her ambitious nature of grasping for more, she hasn’t reached what she considers the top just yet...

[very Ling Wen specific but Mylene being put in jail fr crimes unknown to me and being recruited by Hydron bcs she kicked serious ass is an entertaining thought]

I like to think she’s closest to Shadow due to the fact he kind of forces his presence onto her so... not her choice in that matter. “annoying” to “endearingly annoying, you still aren’t getting special treatment though”

Ofc Volt and Lync are on the same level, but I think they all know when to give each other space so they’re more of a “we hold each other at a distance, but we’re aware of out closeness which is enough for us”

Then its Spectra and then Gus in the “closest to Mylene” scale; she just straight up hates Gus and it’s mutual

whoever made the “Mylene and Spectra were exes” hc I think it’s really funny so I’m adding it here

terrible fashion, she’s the one who chose the outfits when she and Shadow went to earth; her fashionable armor look she usually has was designed with Volt’s help, she just voiced what she generally wanted

Her red lipstick look was bcs she thought it’d make her look more serious/ intimidating (Volt and Lync approved, it rlly does work on her)

Shadow matches w/ her (via his red nails) after they get teamed up tgt several times bcs he thinks they’re basically the go-to duo matchup whenever they’re assigned work n it’d be cool

Very forthcoming about the fact she used to be considered a criminal and was from same rundown area Volt and Lync come from

She’s grateful she got out of jail but she still has no respect for Hydron and despite how much she tries to hide it she does make it pretty clear to him she doesn’t really like him

I wish I had more to say about her... but It’s all relationship esque, i think in general she’s enjoyable and good so what I want more out of her is character dynamics

Lync Volan

[eng dub] he has grandparents; whether they’re still alive or not is...?

was part of the same area Volt is from

probably aware of each other but didn’t really know each other

you sound like you have mommy issues

came from the same area as Volt, but lived further out and closer to those areas where there were some bits of nature left

ill expand on why he got picked up by Hydron another day lazy rn

Volt Luster

[canon] he’s from an area that just straight up looks like yugioh 5ds’ Satellite, and Hydron was the one who pulled him out of there

He says Hydron pulled him out of there when he was a kid? I’d assume at youngest it’d be like Hydron (8) and Volt (11)

has a neat collection of handmade jester dolls

lot more artistic than he seems

Had his guardian bakugan with him the longest; had Brontes even before he met Hydron

Would the others consider him weird fr having a talking Bakugan that acted friendly with him n cracked jokes?

#bakugan #croak

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project-paranoia · 3 years

Text

Live Watch: Oh My General Episode One

Oh My General has got it all! An interesting plot, crossdressing, throwing gender norms on a pottery wheel and reshaping them, humour, love, color coded concubines, and bi representation where the joke is about realising instead of about being. Ye Zhao - the titular general - is good-natured, gorgeous, and unapologetically who she is during the series.

A lot of what we cover are boys crying in the snow and then sword fighting each other - because that's a lot of what there is. It's important to remember that there is other stories that both are and need to be told as well. Crossdressing, especially historical crossdressing has long been an excuse to explore what it means to be who you are as well as the rights, privileges, and limitations of gender, sexuality, and social ranking. Oh My General takes these concepts on with all the vigor of the main character and with so much good humor it can poke around the corners of identity in a way that feels refreshing.

* I assume that's a camel skull because desert, but I don't know how much of that Props has lying around. Everyone better beware, especially of the spoilers waiting below!

* Ye Zhao in full armor on top of a hill - remember to hydrate, summer is coming and it's bring the heat.

* The enemy army has arrived in the desert wearing fur hats so you know who they represent culturally.

* Working that high ponytail fashion. That full face covering is probably great for switching between stunt person and actor, also when she's riding down the hill it makes her eyes black which is a very cool effect.

* Also, she's been guarding the border for 8 years and he doesn't know who she is? I know functionally that part of the script is for the Hyped by Your Enemies trope, but it still makes me laugh.

* Impressive opening fight scene, great sound design, beautiful shots.

* I should mention if you can't stand seeing animals get hurt you might want to skip a lot of the first part of episode one, it's not gratuitous, but it is a battle with horses. None of the horses are actually hurt of course, they're stunt horses and probably having a great time, but still.

* Dramas usually blow a lot of their budget on the opening fight scene and we don't see anything like it again. Oh My General carries through to the end though.

* She knocked off his hat!

* Dramatic Sand Fight!

* I'm really into cinematography - as you may have noticed - and I love the camera work. Youku has a habit of using good behind the camera people. Wen Jie and Clarence Fok are both listed as directors but I don't know who did what.

* I honestly don't know enough about Chinese martial arts to have an opinion on the skill of the fight scene, but the filming is excellent. One of the shorthands the series uses to discuss unusual gender situations is camera movement and angles. The angle of the camera both makes Ye Zhao heroic, it makes her stand out on the landscape like a doll or action figure. This playing with size an appearance is interesting and a unique way of teetering on the balance of where she does and doesn't belong.

* The sound design is strong and really sells the blows.

* Beautiful beheading

* Ominous hoofbeats! Who will it be?

* Of course it's our hero and she's really got a-head in life! (insert drum emoji of choice here)

* She just hocks that head through the air

* Ancient Chinese golf

* I love how serious she takes the game

* CGI bird is a Delight, and I support him

* There aren't that many good solid emperors in dramas. They're struggling or malicious, or incompetent. I should do a review but do I have time to watch a lot of dramas and movies? I do not.

* Love the ministers' costumes. I often wonder about the people who play all those maids and eunuchs in dramas and movies. I bet there are people who can make a career of it. I wouldn't mind that kind of job. I wonder if it's the same with court minsters, the people to stand around the characters who actually speak. If anyone knows about the extra process for Chinese dramas please let me know!

* Court shade being thrown

* Ah! When you see a character you'll grow to love but you don't know them yet. It's just heart eyes all the way down. Do I have type? Perhaps. XD

* These men just love wearing furry hats in the desert.

* I know a lot of classic martial artists don't like wire work, but I kind of have a fondness for elements of something Extra in dramas. If I wanted to look at real life I would open a window and accept the inevitable wave of depression. I want something Bright and Fun

* I don't know that it's historically accurate, but there's something weirdly compelling about the emperor's words being translated into slang

* Elder Ye!

* I love how the servants are really aware of what's going on and know how to manage things. I love and respect Gong.

* Elder Ye once again making trouble

* The ladies, I love them, I adore them

* Why does this man want to watch the general pee so bad?

* Fox! I love him. A good and important gentleman!

* ~their bones will melt~

* The romantic fresco, General Ye is having a moment as they contemplate the sudden appearance of a picture of a pretty young man and what that might mean. As someone who doesn't fit into gender norms evenly, seeing a man depicted in a very different way seems to give her pause to contemplate ways that someone can exist in and outside of gender normativity as well as her ~beloved.~

* Sudden foreshadowing memory.

* You know the Emperor's least favorite part of the day is when he asks the ministers if they have anything to bring up

* That moment when a character asks who would marry me to the person who wants to marry them XD

* "No matter how strong a woman is, she is waiting on a man to appear" Is she though?

* It's one things to marry a "project", it's another to be assigned one. XD

* The Empress is just playing dolls at this point XD

* Finally, we introduce the male lead, and the timing is perfect

* It's nice to see gentlemen dancers

* This slo mo scene is so good! This show understands the beauty in the mundane and absurd

* I love this dance scene so much! The bi energy is unapologetically so strong and I always love to see traditional arts from anywhere.

* The way this backstory is delivered is so good! I just love this scene, what a great way to end an excellent episode!

#将军在上 #oh my general #watchthrough #let's watch

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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years

Text

Fandom 5k letter:

MDZS (novel)

I would like NMJ centric fic - something where he's the center of attention and the focus of someone's affection, rather than a secondary character in someone else's story. I want him to be the hurt-and-then-comforted, I want him to someone's crazy obsession, I want him being put first over other people, etc. Stories in which another character has an emotional arc in which they realize how much NMJ means to them are also good.

In terms of genre, I really like darkfic, h/c, or plotty action/adventure (and more worldbuilding re: the Nie sect is always great!). Smut is OK if there's character development during, but no PWP. For romance, I prefer getting together, not established relationships, and enemies-to-lovers (or, well, enemies&lovers) over friend-eventually-becomes-a-lover.

Ships are flexible, but some optional specific prompts below:

NMJ/JGY (silver-tongued manipulator JGY, not sad misunderstood JGY please!)

yandere!JGY obsessing over NMJ because he gave him respect when he was nothing or because he’s just so damn moral and it fascinates amoral!JGY; scheming to get him back (whether via manipulation, an arranged marriage, kidnapping, whatever) or to trap him as his own (mind control could be fun!)

JGY finding out about a traumatic non-con or dub-con incident in NMJ's past (SLN post-qi deviation? WRH before/during the Nightless City captivity? JGS?) and/or seeing it happen, then going feral in his defense and/or providing him with comfort over it

if you want to do a modern AU, serial killer/assassin!JGY becoming fixated on righteous man NMJ

NMJ/WRH (generally prefer this to be noncon/dubcon and then a rescue h/c by someone else; if you want to write them romantically, please avoid completely whitewashing WRH - murderous bastard but not outright fascist tyrant is OK, but please no versions where he’s not a murderous bastard in some fashion)

WRH becoming creepily fixated on NMJ, whether pre-Sunshot (discussion conferences?) or during the campaign, and the fallout from that (wanting to make him his empress? wanting him to bear him children? etc.) – prefer this to be in the NC/DC/rescued by someone else vein

WRH sets up an arranged marriage to NMJ to get him out of the way but finds he likes him more than expected (or possibly one where WRH time travels?)

if you want to do a modern AU, mob boss!WRH obsessed with righteous man NMJ (genre shift AUs with this dynamic are also OK) – this one is OK to do as romantic between them if you want

NMJ/LXC: Would love alternate meeting, canon divergence, or genre-shift AU here; not so interested in friends from childhood with puppy crushes on each other that eventually get together. I want to see LXC doing some pining!

NMJ & Baxia: positive relationship only, please! NMJ loves his sentient or semi-sentient saber and she loves him. Other than that, go crazy – do they team up to fight his death by qi deviation? Does she cultivate to humanity? Are they weirdly co-dependent? All the worldbuilding!

NMJ/any male: go crazy! NMJ/WWX? NMJ/JC? NMJ/Wen Ning? NMJ/XXC? All good! In all cases, prefer NMJ as the pursued, not the pursuer :) no modern AUs unless they specifically fit into the type described above (i.e. if you want someone else as the mob boss/serial killer/etc. that's fine)

Wants/DNWs:

dark, creepy, dub con and non con are obvious yes, including temporary mind-alteration (hypnosis, mind control, common sense adjustment, age regression, aphrodisiacs, somnophilia, training to respond to stimuli, etc.), but no outright mind-break or permanent personality alteration (no leaving someone as a doll, no implications of long-term drug addiction, no bimboification, no permanent amnesia, etc.)

I'm very fond of AFAB!trans!NMJ but if you go this route please have him present as male and not angst over his gender assignment - being upset over forced feminization is OK, forced impreg/breeding kink is great, but no focus on gender dysphoria under normal non-extreme circumstances

ABO is fine as long as it's omega!NMJ, but no bitching/NMJ-was-once-an-alpha-but-changes-due-to-trauma

for fics involving outright non-con, please end with NMJ being rescued and getting comfort from someone else; dub-con fics can have bad end/ambiguous end (i.e. NMJ as WRH's empress, JGY's hypnotized pet, etc.)

DNW: no top!NMJ, no character death for NMJ including no implications he suffers his canon fate, no permanent physical alteration (amputation, piercings, tattoos, etc.), no voluntary infidelity, no watersports/scat/vomit/lactation/focus on body hair, no replacement pining (i.e. I want person X but I can't have them so I'll settle for you), no LXC/JGY or any ships with Wen Qing, no Christianity

no modern AUs other than those explicitly specified

no pure PWP

MDZS DONGHUA

The MDZS donghua is my absolute favorite form of MDZS (though I haven't seen the audio drama yet). I love the way that it's so much more high-fantasy and EXTRA - WWX controlling flocks of crows, using resentful energy to fly, summoning green ghost fire, ripping out Wen Zhliu's core with his bare hands..! The beautiful arrays, the magical tools (giant bells!), techniques (gravity-bending by Wen Ruohan!), literally everything Jiang Cheng does with Zidian...plus I love the small but significant canon divergences (like how NMJ is not captured by WRH but confronts him in open battle with LXC at his side).

In terms of genre, I really like darkfic, h/c, or plotty action/adventure (and more worldbuilding re: the Nie sect is always great! ESPECIALLY with the donghua: I want to see NMJ get some of the special high-fantasy powers like we see for LWJ or WWX). Smut is OK if there's character development during, but no PWP. For romance, I prefer getting together, not established relationships, and enemies-to-lovers (or, well, enemies&lovers) over friend-eventually-becomes-a-lover.

Ships are flexible, but some optional specific prompts below:

NMJ/JGY

AU for the donghua! NMJ was never captured in the Nightless City, there's no indication he ever worked for NMJ, as far as we see he just appears when he kills WRH and then became sworn brothers with NMJ and LXC; there's not even any indication (yet) that he killed NMJ. Different meeting point? Different interactions? Wonderful opportunity to go completely off canon

I'm extremely fond of yandere!JGY or JGY going feral in NMJ's defense for some reason

if you want to do a modern AU, serial killer/assassin!JGY becoming fixated on righteous man NMJ

WRH sets up an arranged marriage to NMJ to get him out of the way but finds he likes him more than expected (or possibly one where WRH time travels?)

if you want to do a modern AU, mob boss!WRH obsessed with righteous man NMJ (genre shift AUs with this dynamic are also OK) – this one is OK to do as romantic between them if you want

NMJ/LQR (based on the interaction in the archery contest in the donghua, where LQR is the only one NMJ listens to)

something playing on inherent weirdness of someone a generation younger than you being your equal, plus seeing them having to stand up against the whole world more or less on their own

one of the other sect leaders tries to scheme against NMJ, LQR tries to intervene to stop them, stuff goes out of hand

NMJ/any male: go crazy! NMJ/LXC? NMJ/WWX/LWJ? NMJ/JC? NMJ/Wen Ning? NMJ/XXC? All good! In all cases, prefer NMJ as the pursued, not the pursuer :) no modern AUs unless they specifically fit into the type described above (i.e. if you want someone else as the mob boss/serial killer/etc. that's fine)

Wants/DNWs:

ABO is fine as long as it's omega!NMJ, but no bitching/NMJ-was-once-an-alpha-but-changes-due-to-trauma

no modern AUs other than those explicitly specified

no pure PWP

UNTAMED

Oh, the Untamed, my favorite AU fanfic that they filmed into an 50 episode series. I consider this canon completely distinct from the novel or donghua canons, so feel free to lean in to the canon divergences. Yin Metal? Ghost puppets? Completely different age gaps and/or chronologies? Baxia’s – uh – DISTINCTIVE appearance? All good!

For the Untamed, I’m less interested in darkfic (thought it’s still OK!) and more interested in hurt/comfort. For romance, I prefer getting together, not established relationships, and enemies-to-lovers (or, well, enemies&lovers) over friend-eventually-becomes-a-lover. Smut is OK but not preferred.

NMJ/JGY:

if you want to do a modern AU, serial killer/assassin!JGY becoming fixated on righteous man NMJ

Wants/DNWs:

ABO is fine as long as it's omega!NMJ, but no bitching/NMJ-was-once-an-alpha-but-changes-due-to-trauma

for fics involving outright non-con, please end with NMJ being rescued and getting comfort from someone else; dub-con fics can have bad end/ambiguous end (i.e. NMJ JGY's hypnotized pet or puppet, etc.)

no modern AUs other than those explicitly specified

no pure PWP

BLACK BOOK

This movie is a delight - as long as Fouché's on screen, anyway, out-acting literally everyone else by miles (especially the terrible main leads). As someone who did their history major on the French Revolution, I'm deeply, deeply aware of how inaccurate this movie is - as someone who enjoys over-the-top villains and endless snark, I love it anyway.

Fouché (solo): The snark! The inability to take anything seriously even once! The blatant amorality! The ambiguous relationship and chemistry he has with literally anyone who is on screen with him! The willingness to side with anyone at least once, and then turn on them shortly thereafter! The surprising competence he has at everything he does - politics? investigations? flirting? lock-picking? He's your man. For now.

Requests: I'd love some canon-style shenanigans (investigating something? arresting people? having to team up with someone unusual? politics! ALL THE POLITICS!) or something plot-focused. Maybe even the glimpse of the future we get with Fouché establishing a relationship with Napoleon, or possibly an AU where Max really does become dictator (but keeps Fouché around)?

Feel free to draw from Fouché's actual history (son of a (suspected) privateer! former math or physics teacher! may or may not have flirted with Robespierre's sister pre-Revolution while hanging out with Robespierre in a pie shop! may or may not have literally stolen a wife out of a convent and stayed very happily and monogamously married until she died decades later, much to the confusion of everyone around him!), but please maintain his key features from the movie (super competent, shameless, more amoral than outright evil). Complete genre shift AUs are also fine - I'd love to see a world where they're all mages or, like, steampunk, or IN SPACE! - but I'd prefer the vibe stay like the movie, aka completely ahistorical villains win/mad demagoguery/intrigue. Lean into the (light-hearted) dystopia!

Fouché/"Max" or Fouché & "Max": The inherent fun in a relationship where both parties know that it'll end with one of them killing the other and both of them are trying their damn hardest to achieve it, but also being absolutely essential to one another right now so. you know. let's just not talk about that.

Also just the way that Fouché calls Robespierre Max despite how much he hates it, speaking to a History between them, and the sheer glorious villainy of Robespierre in this movie - I love that he has basically a silver tongue, an almost hypnotizing ability to convince people (mostly the mob) of what he wants no matter what the situation, no matter what they know...I'd love to see that played with, including as a total AU/fantasy (magic-user AU? literal hypnosis powers? is Max planning on becoming a god?)

Would love to see plot-focused or "forced to work together" stuff, with a lot of mockery (and a great deal of competence) on Fouché's part and being ridiculously badass on Max's. Would prefer that they genuinely like each other, even if it's not going to stop them from murdering each other. Even if Max really, really wishes he didn't. Also would love to see an AU where Max really does become dictator but keeps Fouché around.

DNW: narrative endorsed anti-Revolution views (royalist or even "good idea but they went too far in 93"), no unasked-for crossovers with the Scarlet Pimpernel or something (using characters from actual history are just fine!), no major character death, no retrospective angsting (i.e. no "alas if only I hadn't killed him"), no focus on torture, no infidelity (except as approved and endorsed by spouses), no permanent amnesia, no permanent disfiguration/amputation (yes including Max losing his tongue), no "I want other person but you'll do" substitution, nothing that mind breaks either of the characters' personalities

#everyone can just ignore this #fandom exchange letter #mdzs #mdzs donghua #untamed #black book #french revolution

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toysoldiers-rwby · 3 years

Text

[CS] 12. Survive.

Cutting Strings

Characters: Penny Polendina, Winter Schnee, Aurora Glade, May Marigold Word Count: 7.5k

“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women are merely players.”

Then when are we not in a play?

Read on Ao3

PREV - NEXT

Memory Defragmentation. 69% Completed.

Xanthic’s recovery was near instantaneous, there was less to adjust to as her prosthetics only consisted of her eyes. Aro was projected to recover by the end of the week. They had made major changes to Aro’s neural implants and minor changes to the connectors of Aro’s prosthetic legs and the legs themselves. There was no new incisions or other organic damage so it was just a matter of practice and familiarizing herself with the new software.

Aro decided to recover in her own home down in Mantle, an idea May and Winter was all too eager with. Penny saw an envious glare from Xanthic as they left… It took a moment to remember that she was a criminal, a prisoner in her own home. Possibly one of the most heavily surveillance areas outside of the military… Before turning away something in Xanthic gaze changed but she retreated into her large house all the same.

Penny moved most of the furniture in Aro’s living room before the elite graduates had a chance to help. They stared in muted amazement and perhaps flustered at the display of strength. Penny grinned up at them.

May slowly set Aro on her feet and helped her walk while Penny and Winter went over the schematics of Aro’s new legs. Or they were supposed to, instead they’d watch Aro attentively take a few steps into her living room and May rushing to her side as she started falling. The two laugh as May caught her each time. Penny watched May’s hands gently trail over Aro’s body. Sometimes they were objective, only wandering over her hands and arms to balance Aro. Other times they were selfish, wandering up her arms and to Aro’s wide shoulders, then her neck…

When they were lucky Aro would trip and their faces would be inches from each other. Aro would bring them closer laughing and pressing their foreheads together. May laughed too, but her eyes were a little focused on Aro’s lips.

“Stop being so sweet,” Aro would said pulling away with an odd smile, “I don’t deserve it.” Penny and Winter frowned, glancing at each other.

“I disagree,” May whispered. She cleared her throat, “Is blackmailing Ironwood supposed to be a turn off?”

Lingering exchanges like those was one of the few differences Penny was able to observe now that the four of them were dating. It was difficult to separate the platonic behaviors with romantic ones but perhaps using two women who pinned over each other for years was a bad example. The pair have always been affectionate with each other, their touches might linger a little longer now but… Aro wasn’t hiding behind her glowing eyes as much. All Penny found was unguarded emotion, her words were blunt and fumbling without Focus planning everything in advance.

“Penny,” Winter sang softly in her ear. She jumped and gasped in surprised. Winter chuckled softly. Her arms slowly wrapped around Penny’s waist and she bent a little to rest her chin on Penny’s shoulder. “You’ve been lost in your thoughts for a while now. Everything okay?”

“Just…” Penny leaned back into the embrace. Winter’s cool Aura was lovely against her heated skin. It helped calm down the flight mode Winter accidentally triggered, and the embarrassment that followed. It wasn’t skin contact but it was contact. “I’m enjoying the atmosphere generated by lovely company.”

“Oh, I’m sure that will change as soon as Aro can walk again,” Winter teased, eyes glancing up.

Aro scoffed signing a few taunting and rude gestures with a playful smile. Penny was a little surprised she kept her balance long enough for that. Her partner, leader, and girlfriend took a few steps forward before tripping over her slimmer prosthetics and nearly falling hard. As always May caught her in time.

May tried to separate herself from Aro but the huntress held her hand. Then linked their arms when Aro’s balance on her new legs faltered again. “You need to move your toes, doll.” May laughed.

“That’s so weird!” Aro softly yelled. Her ears flickered and arms waved a little, venting out some energy she couldn’t express verbally. She looked down in her feet with concentration. It took a few seconds for her toes to wiggle. "I haven’t had toes in years…" She mused softly.

Winter and May looked pained for a moment as Penny flicked through the schematics for a possible solution. “Your new legs still have the functionality of your previous ones with the added aesthetic benefit of being modular,” Penny said. Her old legs were military grade and militant in appearance. The ones Aro had on now mimicked organic civilian legs with her heavy body type. “Xanthic created some modules that mimicked your previous design as well as some suited for several other occasions.”

“Such as,” May scowled a little. Penny had noted her irritation spiked when she said the hackers name and chose to ignore it like the others did.

“Ball room dancing, sleep, swimming,” Penny listed.

Aro perked up, bouncing to her and pressing to Penny’s free side. “Show me!” She said, arms wrapped around Penny’s waist, fingers finding Winter’s and intertwining. Penny giggled as Aro’s wiggling ears brushed over her own. May sat on the floor, slotted comfortably between Penny’s legs and head poking through her arms to look at the Scroll. Penny lowered it a little so avoid May straining her neck and flicked through the parts.

“I haven’t worn heels in forever!” Aro said gasping softly at one module. She dragged two fingers on the screen to get study it from a different angle. Everything from the knee down was an elaborate design in Aro’s colors; soft pale green, aged or polish gold and deep royal purples. But the real highlight was the feet, designed to replicate fashionable and expensive heels, something you’d find in Winter’s closet. Aro’s smile dropped, a little sad as Focus turned off. Penny stared at her a little surprised. It didn’t flicker, just… deactivated. “I kinda miss wearing feminine clothes.”

“You like skirts and dresses?” Penny asked quickly. Her partner’s outfit usually consisted of an Atlas Academy uniform, customized to mark her status as a student of the Accelerated Program with the cord given to third and fourth years, her broiler suit for combat and work, or some kind of tailored suit

Aro gave her a sad look, “I love my public image but I hate being stuck with it.” Penny tilted her head and nodded, though she didn’t quite understand the perspective. She was constantly with Aurora, she wasn’t just a picture in a magazine or a gently stoic presence on screen. She never really looked into what the easily manipulated media thought of the… secretly former businesswomen.

“Perhaps new purchasing new apparel is in order?” Penny asked with a tilt of her head. Her simulators had a hard time creating an image of Aro in a dress or skirt, which only increased Penny’s desire to see her in one.

“Then let’s go shopping!” May said with a large smile. Winter groaned, pulling away from their cuddle but all three of her girlfriends laughed, mostly May who’s laugh was a little wicked, and pulled her back. “Come on! It’s been awhile since I got to dress someone up! They’ll need new clothes for Vale’s hot as fuck climate too. Don’t want Aro overheating again…”

“Let’s go,” Immediately Winter stood up, her strength nearly dragging all three of them onto their feet.

There was some look of regret on Winter’s face when May took them to large store in Mantle. Penny giggled at the former heiress of the Schnee Dust Company and pulled her in by her hand. Winter did relax seeing the various styles, they ranged from feminine to masculine, from Menagerie to Atlasian. At the counter they spotted a new but familiar tattooed face on her Scroll.

“Salutations Turk!” Penny said with a smile and wave.

Turk jumped a little but smile at the new customers, “Call you later, Tukson. My favorite patron and her mates found me,” Turk said. May looked away, a blush hard on her face for a moment. Her embarrassment only made her a target to the Faunus’ predatory gaze. “Right… Will do, see you soon.” They hung up and leaned against the counter nearly looking like a satisfied cat after dinner. “My brother says hi and to warn him next time you order… tasteful comics.”

“Sunstone came in?” Aro gasped with a light bounce.

“Yep,” Turk nodded. She studied Aro a little, eyes focusing on Aro’s usually displayed cleavage. At her side Penny could feel Winter tense, and when she glanced over there was a protective, perhaps jealous glare. Then Turk smiled, “You’re looking much better Aro. New tattoos causing any trouble?”

“Everything good, boss!” Aro said with a playful salute. “So far. My girls haven’t let me play around with Dust yet.”

My girls. Penny stared at Aro’s odd choice of words. It made her feel… conflicted at first. She wasn’t an object, she wasn’t a weapon, but soon the cherishing warmth and protectiveness in the tone droned out her insecurities. At least a little. Penny would have to further analysis the phrase and emotions. May seemed to be having similar thoughts and reactions to Penny, but stronger. She let out a embarrassed noise, quickly unlinking her arms from Aro and escaping into the racks of clothes muttering something about finding a new outfit.

“You were always the odd runt of the litter,” Turk mused looking back at Aro. It was then that Aro became a little stiff and guarded. Her ears strained out even if her shoulder didn’t tense. “Your humans are very cute though-”

“I’m choosing to ignoring your patronizing,” Winter interrupted with a hard glare. Turk didn’t seem fazed, instead they just raised a brow in odd satisfaction. Where all Menagerie Faunus like this? Was… Aro like this or did Focus hid it? The Specialist looked between them and Aro, “What your implying… the tattoos react to Dust?” She asked Aro with an accusatory look. ��

“Dust and Aura,” Aro said, voice defensively. Her eyes shifted away as she took a smooth step back with a shrug. “It’s not harmful-”

“You say that while it’s untested,” Winter said.

“It’s been through generations of testing,” Aro said in a near growl, Focus leaving only a glowing white pupil. She looked… a panicked with her ears pinned low at the angle Penny hated the most. The sudden outburst shocked her two girlfriends into silence. Their reaction caused Focus to flicker. It didn’t deactivate it shrunk and stayed. “… Sorry,” Aro muttered looking away and retreating after May.

Penny saw Aro burry her face into May’s chest pulling her girlfriend in for a tight and comforting hug. May looked at them, confused. “What happen?” She signed at them.

“I upset her, sorry,” Turk signed back. May glared hard at the Faunus and lead Aro further into the store. The tattooist and store clerk turned back to Winter, “I’ll give you this for free to make up for ruining your date. The ink for those tattoos are made from flowers that grows around Dust crystals and deposits.”

“Sounds… very traditional.” Winter drawled, “Thank you for the new information.” She briskly marched walked away with Penny following closely after her. She looked between the two Faunus who awkwardly avoided staring at each other.

“Are Turk and Aro friends?” Penny asked softly. Winter closed her eyes for a brief moment. The tension that had slowly drew her shoulders tight melted a little when Penny linked their arms together.

“Perhaps?” Winter said hopeful. Then her voice soured a little, frustration a little more than boiling, “Aro has certainly never spoken of her previous life before Atlas.” Penny blinked and briefly went through her memory banks, even the archived ones.

She couldn’t recall Aro speaking about her family. Ciel constantly worries about her family and visits them whenever possible. All the money from various betting pools were given to her family. Even Xanthic talks about her uncle. Aurora spoke about Menagerie but never touched upon her personal experiences… It reminded Penny of how she drew upon the information she was preinstalled with.

When the pair found Aro, her ears perked up and she smiled brightly at them. May looked a little distressed at her side, face a little red as she had a handful of lingerie instead of public appropriate clothes.

“Please talk her out of it,” May asked.

“Hm,” Winter pretended to be stoic. She stared at Aro’s glowing eyes, as if trying to determine if this was an honest or an act. Instead Winter turned her attention to May with a controlled and level stare. “The purpose of this is to buy clothes that would prevent Aurora from overheating in Vale. The current selection of clothing would work.” May’s eyes widen, the blush tinting the tips of ears. Aro grinned happily. Some of her un-Focused behavior such as the small bounce and flap of her arms broke through. Winter sighed and patted Aro’s head, “You need to wear some kind of jacket or shawl with it. Understand?”

“Yep!” Aro said, nuzzling into the palm, even rising to her new toes.

“And we are getting you real clothes,” Penny added. May let out a breathe, blood slowly returning to her limbs. Aro agreed but stuck out her tongue and Penny saw the glint of metal through it. She tried to remember if that was another new addition or not.

It took nearly an hour for Aro to relax enough for Focus to deactivate again. Turk would occasionally help, or try to.

“I tailor and embroider Dust into the cloths. I’m just covering a shift.” They said through the curtain. Turk’s didn’t trigger Focus, but they also avoided any familiar talk, instead talking fashion with May. “Lingerie and loose robes are quiet popular back in Minstral, especially during the summer. I could find that easily enough.”

“That… That’d be great!” May said as Aro stripped out of shorts and another loose sleeved but thin top. Aurora had a weightlifter’s build, muscles hidden under fat and sculpted in areas that didn’t store it. Such as her back and arms. She usually wore a sports bra or bralette, this time it was a simple cross back bra with a matching thong that held the huntresses attention for more than a second.

Her back was facing them with a full length mirror still showing her front, Penny had a hard time deciding if the faux modesty was habit or tactful choice. After nearly an hour of watching Aro dress and strip, Penny understood her partner’s selection of clothes to be more out of necessity rather than preference. Muscular back and shoulders made pulling shirts over her horns difficult. But her girlfriends didn’t step in to help quite yet.

They just… stared for a few minutes. Admiring the… muscles that flex with each small movement… every breath…

When it was clear Winter and May was too busy restraining themselves, Penny took a step forward. To help. Her curious hands didn’t linger over skin inches away from the tangle top. She wasn’t slowing down to archive the sensation of hard muscle under soft civilian skin. She was completely objective in her goal of guiding the shirt over Aro’s shoulders and neck. Except Penny’s slow touches acclimated her sensors to Aro’s warm body and she nearly shivered at the rush of cool air when her hands had to leave her girlfriend’s skin to make sure her horns didn’t cut into the fabric.

"Thanks, Penny." Aro said, giving their two other girlfriends a teasing glance. She gave Penny a light kiss on the lips as a thank you.

Penny tensed for nanosecond. Her Aura flared across her processors trying to analyze and save the new sensation that buzzed across her lips but it was already overloaded with the feel of Aro’s back. The short contact wasn’t enough to decipher, so Penny followed Aro’s lips. She felt flexing muscles far beneath those soft lips, under her fingers she could feel Aura heat the ink on the base of her throat. Then a sound, hot breath across Penny’s face and a small tremble from Aro as her back hit the mirror.

“Penny,” Winter’s voice, lips and breathe grazed her ear. Penny was encouraged back by cool hands, but the new expression on Aro’s face had her craving more. She was dazed and flushed, heavy chest rising with deep breaths. The energy humming in the ink slowly faded, but it lured their eyes down and down.

May closed her eyes briefly, trying to keep them from wandering up and down her inked cleavage. “I’m starting to think this was a bad idea.”

“Oh you think!?” Winter snapped softly. When everyone managed to look Aro in the eyes again she work a smug grin that complimented the breathless and disheveled look.

“You look thirsty,” Aro signed. May let out a strangled noise. Quick glance and Penny could see her chest struggling for air, her neck and cheeks turning a lovely pink and growing darker. Winter growled in frustration, eyes hooded and hungry. Penny was busy trying to balance a power surge as her Aura flared. She wondered if it was illegal that the sign for thirsty was an index finger drawing down the throat, and what kind of punishment would be appropriate for the slow, teasing emphasis Aro placed on it.

“Ahem,” Turk cleared their throat from beyond the curtain. Everyone jumped a little. Penny was suddenly aware of how often their intimate moments were in public. Perhaps they’ll need to discuss that. “Here’s a few robes. Also we Faunus have sensitive noses… so either fuck and make it quick or hide the boners when you leave.”

Aro gave a breathless chuckle, making sure to avoid May’s direction as she shifted uncomfortably in place. "I’ll behave if you three behave," Aurora promised in sign language. Penny and May quickly nodded. Winter looked as if she wanted to rebel before shaking her head out of her heated daze.

“You’re advice has been noted but unnecessary,” Winter said. She reached out and pulled the new selection of clothes for Aro to try on, a little surprised when there was a little more than just robes. There were some outfits that suited Winter’s figure, Penny’s adorable and vintage aesthetic, and May’s current dress.

“Your welcome,” Turk sang as the couple heard their footsteps wander back to the front counter.

Penny tried to be more attentive to the difference in their behavior after that. Aro had always been physically affectionate, May was always easily embarrassed and Winter was always snuck in gentle smiles and touches when they were on military grounds. So the difference was very subtle, something she only noticed as the weeks passed.

At first it was small additional behaviors. Aro’s physical affections became lingering touching that danced over their skin. She loved to embrace her partners from behind, arms slowly wrapping around their waist, sliding down into a snug fit around their hips while her head found a comfortable spot on May and Winter’s shoulder, or in Penny’s case her head.

May’s reservations and fears transformed into an excited energy. Her embarrassment didn’t stop her from doing almost anything to get her girlfriends to smile. From horrible puns to outrageously clashing outfits during impromptu fashion shows during small shopping trips at the malls.

Though Penny found Winter’s dating behaviors to be the most… unrestrained of the three. Not always. Most of the time she was gentle with Penny, holding her hand and kissing her knuckles and wrist. When they were alone, Winter’s hands would travel up her arm and neck. The sensation would freeze Penny in place as her Aura raced through her system, temporarily overloading everything with a pleasant buzz. Winter’s thumb would graze Penny’s bottom lip and Penny would be chasing that soft touch for more and more until she was inches from Winter’s face.

This happened a few times a week. Gradually increasing in frequency as time further passed until finally Penny took action instead of reacting. The look and noise of surprise Winter expressed as her back hit the wall… As their lips finally met-

Winter groaned into the kiss, trying to match Penny’s force but her self-restraint protocols were barely in effect. Every push was matched in strength and a little more until Winter pulled away. When Penny tried to follow again there was a some resistance so she stopped with a frustrated huff and pout.

“You…” Winter murmured weakly out of breath. She tried to move but Penny wasn’t finished. She firmly placed her hands on Winter’s chest and pushed her back. Winter smiled, head against the wall with a laugh. Penny licked her lips. The sensation of touch was still new to her, her code always evolving as much as her hardware could allow and apparently after her first kiss with Aro the code readjusted. Or she never noticed her lips were just extremely sensitive. “Don’t you to need to breathe?” She said with a laugh.

Penny archived the image before her. Specialist Winter Schnee, the perfect soldier disheveled in a dark hallway of the Polendina Facility, gasping for breath from a kiss when the women could fight off a small horde of Grimm without effort. Neck exposed… throat flexing with each breath and swallow…

The sensation, reaction, behaviors, it was all still foreign and Penny was craving more.

“This is definitely romantic affection,” Penny whispered to herself. Perhaps her subconscious wanted Winter to hear it too. The smile on her lips was too addictive to be rewarding. She licked her lips trying to cherish the phantom sensation of Winter’s lips on hers. But her skin was cool, soft, her Aura buzzing and alive against Penny’s artificial skin. When Penny leaned in again, Winter was much more firm in stopping her with an index finger pushing on Penny’s lips.

“Slow,” Winter whispered in her ear. “We have two other partners to dance with.”

“As of right now, I’d rather have them watch,” Penny said with a frustrated pout. She blew the hot air building within her onto Winter’s neck. Penny wasn’t satisfied with the shiver that ran through Winter but considering all the new behaviors and reactions Penny discovered it was… close enough.

Penny did notice May and Winter took them much more seriously during training. They capitalized on every opening but didn’t do enough damage to end the fight. It slowly became a test of endurance, one that Penny would win if Winter’s didn’t have a Glyph for every occasion. It created so many variables it was frying Penny’s processors and slowing her reaction time. It was not the way Winter’s chest rise and fell, or the flush of exhaustion rising coloring her pale skin.

Penny smothered that line of inquires, sorting them for later and attacked again. During the rare moments Penny was able to keep up, Winter would use Time Dilation on herself or her summons.

“Agh!” A pack of blue and white Beowolves rushed at her. One shoulder slamming into her back. Penny felt the sharp pressure around her ankle. A shot from all fourteen guns of Floating Array freed her. Temporarily. The rest of the pack descended on the metal women suspended in air. Penny recalibrated her next shot, lengthening the duration. It wasn’t powerful, there was no time to charge it as the rest of the pack lunged. Weak but steady streams hit the second and third summons with just enough force to throw them off trajectory.

Within fractions of a second Winter redirected the fourth and fifth beowolves. Glancing blows didn’t slow their advancement. Claws white and misting blue nearly effulged her vision-

“Denied!”

Penny gasped, her body suddenly pulled down. Months ago her code wasn’t advance enough to feel wind breezing past her face as those sharp claws swiped inches out of reach. Aro’s arms wrapped around her. Penny braced for hard impact but her gyrostabilizer couldn’t detect the ground. Mix signals of false inputs confused her but she learned to ignore most of it. They’ll have to upgrade it before they’d leave for the tournament.

“Marigold!” Winter gave a frustrated yell. She stiffen as the Huntress was suddenly by her side, out of breath.

“Her upgrades made her a faster, alright?” May complained.

“Upgrades are meant to improve performance,” Penny said with a small giggle. She enjoyed contact from having her arms wrapped around Aro’s shoulders before she was suddenly pulled her chest.

Penny watched as those new tattoos glow a dull purple. The same color as gravity Dust. Penny barely had time to brace herself as there was a sudden increase in pressure. Even Aro grunted under the force. All around them, freshly summoned beowolves howled as they slammed into the ground, metal floor denting. Aro quickly released her teammate and Penny sprang off her thigh as soon as the gravity Dust was off. Before the beowolves recovered Penny sent her swords through them.

“You’re assistance is much appreciated, Friend Aro!”

“We aren’t done yet, Penn!” Aro crouched low. Combustion Dust locked in, a red and orange glow overpowering the passive purple. She smirked at their girlfriends. The elite graduates had recomposed themselves, giving them a combative stoic stare but a small and proud smile. Winter had only had one sword out but May was at her side, ready with the crossbowstaff. "We have a victory to secure against Opponent Schnee and Marigold!" With a blast Aro was rocketing towards them.

Penny landed hard on her feet, the density of her body almost bending the metal tiles of the training room. She reconfigured Floating Array. Seven blades hovering close to her body while seven guns charged to join in the rush. With her passive gravity and combustion Dust chambered in, Aro is faster and much more agile than Penny. The metal women decided to strike second, taking advantage of whatever opening Aro’s attack would create.

That problematic yellow glow of Time Dilation shined under Winter. Aro immediately increased her speed, a massive blast of combustion and several smaller ones to increase velocity. Floating Array roared like an engine, pushing Penny forward. She felt like she was chasing a bullet.

Suddenly Aro dodged in front of her, a black glyph under her previous path. “Good!” Winter said but she smirked as May appeared in a few feet in front of Aro, bayonet pointed at the hallow of Aro’s collarbone. “It doesn’t matter how fast you are if you’re predictable!”

“Now do better!” May yelled.

Aro growled at her. Even with her gravity Dust, a sudden change of direction at the necessary speed to dogde was unlikely. Instead Aro suddenly reached back without looking. She grabbed Penny’s blouse and threw her at May.

Penny felt an odd warp of gravity, like she was sling out of orbit. The huntress pair gasped, a black Glyph appeared in front of May in time to catch Penny and halt her attack. Time Dialation faded from their bodies as Winter rushed forward to protect May’s flank as prosthetic limbs and hard-light blades collided with her sword. May helped Winter push the attack back before Invisibility Field hid their retreat.

Penny was freed from the Glyph and landed on her feet. She stepped forward to protect Aro’s side. Despite all the training she was still the quickest to tire out. The civilian was already panting softly, sweat damping her skin and some even rolling down her neck. The steam venting from her legs didn’t help. Penny angled her guns up and behind before cooling off half of Floating Array.

Then they noticed a swirl of movement in the steam. Penny and Aro turned, looking up to defend or counter May or Winter’s attack. Instead Fiona appeared from the steam and took the opening to punched Aro in the abdomen. The blades of Robyn’s wrist mounted crossbow followed. In such tight quarters Penny didn’t have the space to maneuver Floating Array. She was forced to dodge away from Aro.

“Hey- Hey!” Xanthic yelled running up to the fight. She waved the steam out of her face. “If this is turning into a four on four match instead of a one on one can we have a breather?” The hacker asked. Ciel was the final one to arrive, freeing Robyn’s crossbow bolt out from her beret and putting it back on her head.

May dropped the Invisibility Field. The unauthorized and nearly rogue team of FRSM (Freshmint) stood besides their partners. Fiona with Robin and Winter with May, who was glaring at Xanthic’s newest accessory. A halo with an inner transparent cover to show off the circuitry, it hovered around her head with gravity Dust.

“Sure… if we get to break that ugly thing,” May said with a scowl.

“But it’s actually really functional,” Fiona protested softly. “I know… they… yeah. But they’re forcefully stuck together so you two need get over it.” Both May and Winter gave the tiny Faunus a fierce glare that had Penny flinching. She didn’t even buckle, or challenged them back, just gave them a soft pleading look.

With the anarchist pair on opposing sides of APCX, it took a bit of left and right to see that their appearance made a matching set. Penny and Ciel gasped, both their eyes growing wide with realization. The anarchists attitudes foiled each other to near staged perfection, their interest greatly overlapped, their intelligence set them at odds with many peers their age. Lately their behaviors were far too similar as if bad habits were resurfacing. All the hostility May and Winter had towards Xanthic…

Me and Glade have… history. Penny remembered Xanthic telling her once.

“You two dated?!” Ciel and Penny asked the hacker. With the information Penny got from Winter and May… the one relationship that let nearly broke Aro’s semblance, her voice was much… much angrier than Ciel’s. Penny could barely restrained her defensive protocals-

Xanthic sneered, cold and guarded. A look Penny previously thought as default and normal for her. “Dating is a nice word for horny ass teenagers.”

Penny wasn’t well practiced with negative emotions. They rarely surfaced in occasions where it was expected but jealously and anger caused her Aura to flare wildly. Several attack strategies, the instinct to defend Aurora bypassed several protocols.

But… Xanthic didn’t move to defend. She only stared down Penny, challenging her… Without any real fight, Penny realized. They got along like they were friends… but how much of it was an act under Focus?

“I’m not punishing you for what you did to Aurora.” Penny said looking away. She heard and saw the crackle of hard-light Dust. Her simulators could actually predict the defensive anger on her face but she tried to imagine the look of Ironwood’s face. With the protective glass and bright lights in the control room, Penny could only make our his silhouette.

You paired Aurora and Xanthic together, sir. Penny’s fist clenched tight and she looked back Winter. She tried to give a comforting look but with all the restrictions from the Military it was conflicted and nearly pained. Then stoic in a way a soldier needed to be. Meanwhile, May was furious, all attention focused on Xanthic.

“Break’s over!” Fiona called out. “Ready?”

“No…” Ciel and Penny muttered. Aro looked at them, resignation and sorrow odd with her glowing blue eyes. It seemed genuine but… everything did with Focus. “What’s the plan?” Penny asked softly.

“Survive and look good doing it,” Aro answered. Her voice was hallow. Penny’s head turned to Aro so fast there was no way she could have missed it before she looked at Fiona. “APCX, ready!”

For the first time Penny couldn’t focus on a fight. Her processors kept spinning the same information over and over again with no real goal. General Ironwood knew the damage between Aurora Glade and Ashley Xanthic and still paired them on a together.

Aro’s gravity Dust manipulation kept rendered escape impossible. Xanthic’s concentrated hard-light Dust weapons would take them out. It was an effortless and strategic show of force, picked to complement each other, just like how the Ace Operatives were handpicked to strength each other’s abilities.

Months of training created an automated defense but when Floating Array moved to cover Xanthic against May’s crossbowstaff… She hesitated. The strangled and pained gasp, the shimmering Aura threatening to break at the sharp blade and pressure. Xanthic was lifted from the ground, grabbed by the throat and slammed down.

Penny only watched and she regretted it.

She quickly fixed her defensive priorities. Defending Aurora and keeping Xanthic away wasn’t necessary right now. Neither was defending her… teammate Xanthic from opponent May. She was created, she wanted to protect people. Her swords angled in, blocking May’s next strikes and pushing her back.

No offensive move was made from APCX until Ciel intervened, chakrams soring in. May set off the explosive Dust when she blocked. APCX regrouped at Xanthic’s side. A pulse of gravity Dust brought lifted her back onto her feet.

“Why’d you stop her!” Xanthic scowled.

“Why didn’t you attack?” Ciel asked.

“Because it was the right thing to do,” Penny frowned at the pair.

“Discuss this later,” Aro said in a commanding tone. They all stood, back to back looking around the empty training room as Aro and Xanthic tried to sense out the Invisibility Field.

“You need a weapon,” Ciel threw Aro an annoyed glance. “You’re fast but they know you. There’s no way they’ll engage in melee, you’ve just been chasing them.”

“Too be fair I have been running from May and Winter for years,” Aro mused lightly. Her teammates groaned at her and Aro only laughed and winked. The laugh was fake, it didn’t have that rich rumble. Then Penny noticed an extra glow. Her eyes were bright, completely engulfed by Focus but the tattoo was softly glowing. The ink had changed into a hard-light cyan color, raw Dust energy gathering bright between her horns. "And to be fair, they only know my life in Atlas." She said with an almost hallow evenness of her voice.

Grabbing the raw hard-light energy, Aro pulled out a long whip with a flourish. She ejected a fire Dust cartridge from her leg and applied it to the handle, changing the cyan glow to an ominous red. It traveled along the length on the next crack, a plum of fire bursting from the tip.

Fiona and May screamed, Winter and Robyn grunted. Invisibility Field dropped to reveal them scrambling away from the blast. Fiona grabbed May and shook her a little, "Can you not be a horny ass right now and fight?!"

“Sh-Shut it!” May scoffed, pushing the leader of FRSM off her. The four quickly disappeared again. Penny giggled. She saw a surprised look on all four elite graduates but a flush across Winter and May’s face before they retreated.

“Aurora,” Ciel sighed in annoyance, “Have you really been holding back all this time?”

Aro didn’t answer. She just looked at the whip in her hands and twirled it lightly, winding up for another crack. Once again May screamed and raced to get out of the blast, Invisibility Field faltering. Another crack and Winter was nearly sent sprawling to the ground. Apparently her Faunus traits allowed Aro to scent out the pair. Penny giggled at May and Winter’s blush when Aro tapped her nose and winked.

With additional range support, APCX had a brief advantage. They focused on May and Winter, attacking them while Ciel kept Robyn and Fiona at bay with Clockwork and her chakrams. Almost overwhelming them until a sudden buzzer sounded.

Penny frowned and looked at the board. No one took damage… but semblance and Dust used Aura. Aro’s attack had drained her Aura to 10%, similarly Xanthic was low from her previous hits and highly charged attacks.

Aro walked to the waiting room. Without her support the fight quickly fell into FRSM favor. Xanthic was the next to fall, a powerful elbow from Winter felt a little personal.

Ciel and Penny turned their attacks to Robyn, determine to at least defeat one of the elite graduates. But Clockwork worked both worked with and against them. It was an AOE semblance, unable to tell the difference between friend and foe. Everything within the area slowed, including the projectiles Floating Array fired.

When Ciel dropped the AOE, Robyn dodged or blocked the projectile. She laughed and shook her head, “That’s right girls, chase the birdie.” She beckoned the pair forward.

Out of FRSM, Robyn’s semblance was the least threatening in combat. Sensible teams would try to take advantage of that. The elite graduates used that thinking to their advantage. Penny and Ciel stood back to back, scanning the empty room.

Penny didn’t have Aro or Xanthic’s sensory equipment. She didn’t detect May or Winter in front of them until Invisibility Field was deactivated. May’s grin and heavy breaths was a sharp contrast to her partners even and stoic stare behind the saber pointed at Penny.

Penny took a deep breath and sighed, “APCX concedes.” She said. Winter gave a small smile, a proud one that made the defeat and… revelations a little softer.

After a quick clean up Fiona rounded up everyone outside of Atlas. “Excellent work everyone! I’m glad you two are recovering from the upgrades.” She smiled up at Aro and prounce a little at Xanthic to swipe up at the halo, making it wobble and spin.

Penny stood with May and Winter, trying not to glare at how well the two looked with their accessories. “This… explains your previous hostilities.” Penny murmured. They watched Fiona continue to play with the halo until she completely pulled it from Xanthic’s head. She laughed and ducked behind Aurora who laughed softly as the small Faunus deftly dodge the hacker’s grabs. “Are they friends?”

“Fuck no!”

“That isn’t your call, May.” Robyn quickly chided. She lead Ciel to the polymerous trio even though the officer seemed reluctant to join. “They’re stuck together and you two are making it worse.”

“If it makes you two feel better…” Ciel nervously started, “They act more like brother and sisters.” Penny nodded in agreement though she doesn’t understand the full context of that phrase. It was definitely not romantic, platonic? Maybe. May and Winter looked unconvinced so Ciel smirked a little, “Xan is the younger brother with the inferiority complex.”

“Fuck you!” Xanthic yelled at her. “I’m not inferior and I’m not fucking friends with any of you!” She said chasing a giggling sheep around a goat that was starting to get a little overwhelmed. Penny noticed for the first time Focus was deactivated with Xanthic. She gave Penny a helpless stare.

Penny giggled and pulled her out of the circle. Without a barrier Xanthic quickly caught Fiona but her halo was absorbed into her semblance.

“Thyme! Give it back!”

“Never!” Fiona laughed trying to free herself as Xanthic started to vigorously shake her up and down.

May scoffed at the scene, “You two only like her because she steals for Mantle.” She said glaring hard at her leader. Robyn didn’t shrink. If anything she straightened her back and looked down at May.

“It’s almost as if she’s trying to atone.”

“Fuck off!”

“May,” Aro’s voice was an odd type of commanding without Focus. It wasn’t charismatic like Robyn but harder like Winter’s. “Just be civil. You can hate her, forgive her, whatever.” She shrugged. Then Aro smiled at Penny and linked their arms pressing herself tight to her partners side. She looked back at Winter who tried to retreat without losing grace. “We’re stuck together because of Ironwood. No need to make it worse.”

It took a while for Winter to meet Aro’s gaze. She didn’t speak right away. Instead she held her hand out towards Robyn who took it with Lie Detector flaring at contact. “I would have stopped him if I had known,” Winter said softly. It glowed green.

Aro looked at Penny for a second then away. Penny wanted to be an observer again. For a moment she didn’t want to be reminded about the string of lies Ironwood had wrapped around her. Aro had looked at her with resignation Penny understood for all of her life.

“You would have tried to stop him,” Penny corrected softly. In the end even Winter was under his command. A tense silence fell over the group. Even the atmosphere was a little quiet as the sunset and military life slowed. They heard Xanthic’s footsteps as she walked up.

“We leave for one second and you idiots get all depressed. I didn’t even give you guys bad news.” Xanthic scowled. Fiona thrown over her shoulder but her halo back around her head. She threw her to Robyn who caught her with a smile.

“Fighting not enough of an exercise, lambchop?”

“That just got my blood pumping!” Fiona said with a large smile and ears wiggling. The two kissed briefly before Robyn set her down. She finally took in the mood and settled down a little, “Okay… so what did we miss?”

“Me and Penny should be asking that,” Ciel said with a scowl, “What other secrets you have?”

Xanthic scowled at her. The familiar and faux hostility calming the tense air a little. Then Xanthic raised a brow and posed with a superior smirk, “I faked my death and like to fuck random girls in the dance floor.”

Surprised glanced were immediately turned to Aurora who gave everyone a surprisingly fierce glare for how hard she blushed. “E-Excuse you?!”

“Here’s a real secret,” Xanthic said crossing her arms, “Ironwood has us leaving before the others.” Everyone gave the polymerous couple a sympathetic look. The fight from May quickly dissolved into near defeat while Winter was growing furious.

“What,” Winter scowled. “He didn’t tell me anything.”

“Wasn’t the end of the last conversation all about how he doesn’t need to tell you shit?” Xanthic scoffed rolling her eyes. They landed hard on Penny, “Perhaps if someone didn’t start something in the middle of a surveillance military facility Ironwood wouldn’t have seen it.”

“When?” May asked.

Xanthic gave her a confused glare, “When they made out in the hallway?”

“No!” May sputtered a little red from the statement and frustration. “When is APCX leaving you dumbass!”

“About two weeks from now. He was probably trying to spring this on us so me and Aro doesn’t have time to prepare. Ironwood is sending us to Argus first for some maintenance work. Then we’re to investigate the crimes going on in Vale.”

Penny didn’t really pay attention to Xanthic after the first sentence. She looked at May’s scared eyes and Winter’s conflicted glare. She could feel the resigned air around Aro, calming the normally excitable and happy women.

Their short time together continued to hang above their head even after getting ready for the night and nearly half an hour of restless cuddling on the bed. The huntresses were being rather selfish with their younger pairs. May held Aurora tightly to her, back turned to Winter and Penny. The Specialist ensured Penny was half laid on top of her, a hand brush over the nightgown… over where her belly button would be.

“Are you coming back…” May whispered. Penny nearly shot up and reached for her but Winter held her close. Penny shuffled, looking as Aro gently pressed May’s back to the bed and hovered over her. Sea-green eyes gazed down back at gold ones, both valuable and scared. May turned away, trying to wipe tears from her face. “Ironwood, the SDC, Atlas is slowly killing you-”

Gently Aurora took one of May’s hands. She kissed the tears smeared across her finger tips and then guided it to her neck. May’s hands slowly traced the tattoo. Her hands grew bolder, reassured by the deep purr Aurora let out. “What can I do if the ink on my skin isn’t enough to show my devotion to you and the others…” She whispered.

May grabbed a horn and pulled her down to a kiss. Penny watched Aurora slowly calm May’s desperate lips with her slow earnest ones. It didn’t stop tears from salting their kisses but Penny could remember warmth and love behind it.

Winter’s hand came up, cupping Penny’s cheek and gently guiding her eyes back to her. Penny held Winter’s hand, gaze on her neck. Part of her was scared to see tears spilling from the strongest amongst them. Slowly Winter’s hand pulled Penny’s face closer and closer, until their foreheads was touching and there was nowhere else to look besides blue defeated eyes. Penny almost wished she was crying instead.

“We won’t ask you to come back to Atlas…” Winter said. Her hands drifting over her button-less belly. “But please promise me you and Aurora will take care of each other. No matter what you two decide.”

Penny smiled, trying to lift Winter’s mood. She wasn’t quite sure it worked but Winter returned it with the small amount of energy she still had. “It is my duty as her partner.” Penny pointed out. Still she sealed the promise with a kiss.

Neither Aurora or Penny answered May’s question.

100% Complete.

Timestamped: Day 363 since creation. Day 136 of APCX’s formation. Approximately ██ since PAWM ██████ █████

#Penny Polendina #fic #cutting strings #pre-fall of beacon #Aurora Glade #winter schnee #May Marigold #pfenning #qued

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