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noritoshiikamo · 3 years

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this is how you fall in love

pairing: kuroo tetsuroo + fem!oc genre: friends into lovers fluff with slight suggestive end tags//warning: nothing major // slight suggestive at the end if you squint enough note: the obligatory trio of mine: not well edited, lowercase intended, english isnt my first language im sorry if i murder it. o wow look ive been posting back to back, ive been writing nonstop lately watch me ghost my stories in few weeks guys my brain = rotting, plus lately ive been feeling emotionally abuseddrained so i need something fluffy

listen to this is how you fall in love by jeremy zucker + chelsea cutler for maximum feels

“you’re a lifesaver.”

kuroo huffed, eyes rolling back with a small laugh as he unlaced his sneakers and slipped the room slipper on. it was odd to see the gymnasium without any nets or balls sprawled around. the gym has been closed for a week now in preparation for the upcoming open school event and currently under the art club’s jurisdiction. under her jurisdiction with her canvases and paints and it pained him to see her ruining his sacred place. he carried two plastic bags and holding two boba teas in the same hand. he wasn’t sure which one she was more excited for; the boba, the paints she made him ran to an art supply shop or him. she reached out, the bobas in his hand exchanged as she settled it on the floor, and she squealed at the sight of the plastic bag. he frowned.

yup, not him.

tins of different colors of paint that she ran out mid painting that she forgot to buy had her dialing his number and now it’s all here. all thanks to kuroo tetsuro. she grimaced at the price tags; it was costly than her usual one. usually, she would’ve gotten her supplies online, but desperate measure calls for desperate solution. she could always claim her expenses with the club. typical kuroo, she huffed. he always preached about getting the best, not minding the price tags but she’ll be the victim of his nonstop complaining that he’s getting broke every single day. she tucked a stray hair back and mentally counted how much she owed the man as she arranged the tins on the table.

kuroo noticed that look; same look she had when they are in the math class and he clicked his tongue, “tch, you’re not paying.”

“i’m reimbursing you with the club money,” she shook her head and reached for her bag, “please kuroo, it’s so expensive.”

he reached for her wrist and she dropped the tote bag as he invaded her space. kuroo rested the palm of her hand right above his heart, his own around the waist and another under her chin as he tilted her chin up. his heartbeat was erratic, and she flushed. “it’s okay,” he said, softly. her lips formed into a small pout and he fought the urge to just kiss her.

their dynamic is something even kenma couldn’t figure it out.

they weren’t exactly dating. they are friends, close friends, and classmates. it has always been him, her and occasionally yaku; creating the chaotic duo/trio of class 5. they both played volleyballs, both captains while he’s the middle blocker, she’s their female team’s setter. they knew a lot of each other’s friends from other schools; he was the reason why she dated akaashi keiji from the first place. it was selfish of kuroo to admit to bokuto a month after they started dating that he disliked the idea of them together. typical kuroo is no longer snarky, he felt lost, felt like he was losing his other half. so, he confided to his close friend, the simpleton ace.

“you didn’t make any moves, kuroo, you can’t blame them.”

bokuto noted as them both stared at the two setters, playing around the fallen cherry blossoms. bokuto never seen akaashi smiled that much and kuroo could only wished that she smiled the same way to him. kuroo stared at the half bitten onigiri he’d been holding, suddenly every bite he took tasted bitter. every trace of akaashi on her gave him bitter taste. she liked wearing akaashi’s jersey; kuroo longed to see her in his own numbered jersey; she’s his number one after all. her own jersey number is as same as akaashi. it’s not like kuroo could hate anything he did; he treated her well. akaashi was a perfect boyfriend and everyone knew. that’s why kuroo hates him; he gave him no reason to hate the dude. it didn’t last long however, they drifted apart 6 months later, sending her to kuroo’s doorstep soaked in rain.

he stared at her soaked figure with no thoughts in mind.

“he dumped me,” she said, voice hoarse and shivering.

he was alone and was about to leave for kenma’s, but he couldn’t leave her alone. dropping his keys on the small table by the door, he threw his jacket back in the closet. “come in,” he whispered, pulling her figure in. dropping her bag on the floor, she clutched on his sleeves as she kicked off her soaking shoes. “i’m sorry, my mom isn’t home and i can’t find my keys,” she was a blabbering mess and he hushed her. he left her for a few minutes, coming back with a steaming towel and a clean shirt and pants. “it’s from the dryer. you can borrow my sister’s clothes,” grabbing her hands, they ran upstairs where he took her to the bathroom. she was too quiet, so he called her name. when she looked up to him, her eyes were red. she was no longer crying, more confused and upset. her cheeks flushed and he could see her teeth chattering. he wished nothing but to throw his fist at the man. finally, he got a reason to square up the stoic man; he always hates the way nothing could riled up akaashi.

“he’s stupid for doing you like this.”

she shook her head, “it’s nobody’s fault.”

“then stop blaming yourself,” he ruffled her hair, a small smile appeared from the corner of her lips as she watched him disappeared closing the door behind him. he left her with the hot water running, urgently grabbing the mop and bucket from the kitchen, and wiping the trail of her soaked feet has left before it could ruin the wooden floor.

cant come over, busy, ill tell u later

kuroo texted kenma. the pudding head left him on read.

they spend the night together, sitting on the floor with pillows pilling against the end of the bed as they sat in arms. he had his tv opened to one of the late-night game show. they sat in silence, her head rested on his shoulder and her lips pressed into a tiny line. at the corner of his eyes, he could see her phone’s notifications blaring despite being on mute. the number isn’t saved but it was familiar. she deleted his number already, probably out of rage, but it’s a good step.

tell me where you want me to drop your stuff im sorry i hope youre okay y/n? i heard it was storming did you make it back home? give me a call im calling you okay?

just as like what the message stated, the unknown number called her. it startled her which startled him too. she stared down on the screen, he noticed the grip on the phone and wondered how the phone did not break yet. “can you answer it for me?” she said, holding the phone out to the black-haired man. shocked, he took the phone and pressed the green button. he pressed the phone to his ear and heard her name being called.

“hey man,” kuroo cleared his throat, “listen-”

“she’s with you?” the voice- akaashi asked.

looking down on the girl who was pretending to not have any interest in the call at all, eyes focused on the gameshow, kuroo sighed.

“she is. listen, i think you should leave her alone.”

“kuroo, i know about your feelings. for her. bokuto-san told me about it. if you think that this is the proper way to get her when she’s vulne-”

kuroo bit the inside of his cheeks. he was offended that akaashi dared to call him out like that. “so, what? she made her pick,” the girl turned to face him, brows up wondering what they are talking about.

“that’s low, even for you, kuroo-san.”

their eyes met. he didn’t even realize how deep the cut on his palm where he had balled his fingers into a fist until she touched it. he calmed down. “you hurt her. you have no right to say what’s low or not. be a bigger man, leave her alone,” he muttered flatly, before ending the call. they didn’t break eye contact until he realized what he had done.

“i-i shouldn’t have done that.”

she shook her head, “stop blaming yourself,” a small smile on her face.

that was 3 months ago.

kuroo had made moving on easy for her. akaashi and her remained friendly, although kuroo noticed that she tended to avoid him when possible. the breakup was indeed mutual, but merely on the fact that he lost feelings. akaashi had fallen out of love with her and in love with some other girl but who was she to judge when she was falling in love with the rooster head in silence. they still hang out with bokuto and akaashi but rarely with the latter.

she made him apologized to the fukurodani’s setter too and they remained on friendly term, still practiced together whenever they have training camps together where akaashi had admitted one training night that kuroo and her looks better together. kuroo didn’t say anything, not that he knew what to reply to that (his mind scream fuck yeah we do) but shrugged at his statement. “i guess dating her made you less pain in the ass, kuroo-san,” akaashi joked as they resumed the game.

kuroo was pulled back to reality when he felt his lips brushed against something. his eyes widened when he realized what it was. a quick kiss from her. he blinked frantically, trying to comprehend what had just happened which caused the girl to laugh. “did you just?” he asked confused by what had just happened which she nodded. she bit her bottom lip to hold herself from bursting into a laugh. “god, you should see your face. it’s so stupid. and every girl called you the playboy captain huh?”

he huffed and rolled his eyes, “i am not. i’ve been loyal to one girl for many years now, she is the one who hasn’t notice me at all,” he faked his pout, refused to look her directly in the eyes, praying that she wouldn’t notice his reddening cheeks.

“she must’ve been so stupid,” she teased, her nose rubbing gently against his jawline as she rested her figure against his closer. his chin rested against her head.

“she is,” he looked down on her, his arms around her waist tighter, “i don’t think she knows this but if she leaves me, i think i’ll be so broken inside. is it selfish to say that?” a small frown appeared on her face.

“i don’t think she ever talked about leaving you.”

a grin grew on his face, “so you know who i’m talking about huh?” she fell into his trap. she rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out, calling him stupid. he studied her face, his grin softened into what yaku and his volleyball team called the kuroo is stupidly in love with y/n but refused to admit face. his fingers ran into her hair which she had been growing out in few months down to her shoulder because she thinks that he likes her better that way. the way she tried to subtly put on make up to look better that the other girls who’s shamelessly flirting with him. she was too stupid to realize that he had loved her beyond that.

he loves the rough pads on her hands from holding her paintbrushes and volleyball. he loves that she works hard for everything she’s doing be it studying, volleyball or arts, she would put her blood, sweat and tears into it. he loves that she would wait for him to buy lunch so they can eat together in class. he would buy her a box of milk which she insisted that she doesn’t need too; but he convinced it would be good for her. he wants the best for her.

he loves that all the missing clothes he’s complaining about is in the back of her closet or on her. his cream hoodie hanging behind her closet door, his random pile of t-shirts in a basket on the floor of her closet that he liked to left beside the mix pile of her shoes and his one big ass nike shoes. her room isn’t messy, it is because she kept the messiness in her closet. she also like to keep random stuff of him too. the one medal he won from a science fair hung on the headboard of her bed, the misshapen looking hand wax sculpture of their hands intertwined from a funfair where she rested a purikura of them on it and a lucky bamboo plant he gave on her birthday to compromise on the no gift rule.

“for luck,” he grinned.

unlike hers, he kept her item neatly in his drawer. your spare shirts that he borrowed and refused to return, extra towel and her toiletries, some of her drawing blocks and a small cat shaped pouch where she kept her allergies medication. mostly hidden because his annoying friends come over often and would accidentally talk about it in front of his grandparents. but, on his bedside table, he has a cup of pencils by the bed where he collected the art supplies she left behind, random markers and paintbrushes, a clay sculpture of a trinket plate she made from art club (she carved a tiny letter k in the corner beside the obvious looking genitalia drawing) and a fake plant which she was sure he will not be able to kill it.

he loves it when she wore his jersey. he lost his mind when he found out that her current season number is the same as his. he’s in love. the first time he saw her in his jersey, the number one jersey on her body was during their training. he lost concentration; mouth hung a bit. he got so flustered that he let lev served the ball straight to his head. usually, lev would be dead by now, but he doesn’t mind. his nose bled but to see her kneel beside him, clutching on his own shirt screaming how stupid he is, wiping the blood away with towel, he could only say how pretty she looked. all his teammates were startled, her included. she clutched on his collar angrily; her knees stung from when she leaped down to his side, but this idiot could only smile at her with a bloody nose. “you are fucking idiot,” she cried out angrily, pushing him away before throwing the towel on his face leaving the pleased third year laying on the floor.

he loves the way she would find a way to impress him, be it as ridiculous as the halloween costume idea she had where they’ll go as the front and end of a horse or as serious as the submitted college application to the same university he had gotten into. “you are not getting rid of me that easily, tetsu,” the evil look on her face as she clicked the submit button send shivers down his spine.

“if you leave, i think i’ll cry,” he confessed, his smile slowly died.

“kuroo tetsuro is going to cry after me?” she teased. he nodded eagerly. “does kuroo tetsuro realized that we are literally moving into the same university? i couldn’t catch a break from him,” she faked her annoyance which he playfully avenged by sending her on the floor laughing as he tickled her. tears trickled down her cheeks as she begged him to stop, screaming to get away from his grip. “please, kuroo, i’m going to pee if you don’t stop!” he obliged, tears prickled the corner of his own eyes from laughing too much. straddling her waist, he gathered her wrists in one hand over her head. “apologize and said that kuroo tetsuro is the best man in your life or i swear i’ll make you pee,” he threatened her playfully, wiggling the fingers of his free hand close to her waist. her eyes widened in fears.

“that’s not fair!”

“apologize first.”

“fine!” she pouted, “i’m sorry, i won’t make fun of you again. now get off me!”

he raised his eyebrow, “andddd?”

“annddd-” a teasing smile appeared on her face as she said the next 5 words that send him to mars and back; “i love you kuroo tetsuro.”

he froze in shock. he heard the words before but never in this way; never for him.

finally, i think i got the calculation, love you yaku! lev you’re adorable but so stupid, i love it! thank you for letting me borrow your game, kenma. you’re the best, love ya!

the grip on her wrists loosened. taking advantage of his shock state, she pushed him back, straddling him by the waist, pinning his own hands above his head, giving him the taste of his own medicine. “i’m not going to leave your sorry ass, tetsu. i hope you don’t regret it,” she leaned down, capturing his lips with a longer kiss. letting go of his wrist, her hand went immediately into his rooster hair while another cupped his cheek, deepening their kiss. she could feel his cold palm resting against her bare waist and she shuddered. between the kisses, he heard her whispering his name. “kuroo, do you love me too?” she asked so innocently with kisses between the words but the way she grabbed a handful of his hand in a fist felt so dirty, eliciting a strangled moan from the back of his throat. she pulled back, staring down on his eyes as his lips moved.

“i love you too.”

nothing in his hazel eye but sincerity. he groaned when she pulled herself out of his reach, missing her warm body as she laughed. straightening her sweater back, pulling her hair back up into a tighter ponytail before she picked up the paintbrush she dropped. the paintbrush left a white stain on the court. as if kuroo wasn’t here, whimpering underneath her a minute ago, she continued her work. “i need to finish the mural by this week and you’re not exactly helping me,” she warned him, pointing the wet brush his direction. through the corner of her eyes, he was propped on his elbows, still staring at her, causing her to blush profusely. it annoyed him that she would tease him, then leaving him high and dry. before she could crack open the new paint tin, he ignored her warning as he tackled her back into his arms.

breathless against her lips, he told her to continue later. the urgency and rawness of his voice made her putty immediately. looking up the man, she pouted her lips.

“kuroo-san,” she whined as he captured her bottom lips.

he elicited a soft moan from the girl. he grinned against her lips. a hand rested firmly beside her head while another snaked under the sweater. there will be bruise tomorrow, she was sure of it, he will make sure of it.

“it will be quick, baby. i promise.”

she has no objection.

#kuroo tetsuro #kuroo tetsurou #kuroo tetsuro x reader #kuroo tetsuro imagine #haikyuu x reader #hq #haikyuu #kuroo x reader #kuroo tetsuro fluff #haikyuu x y/n #kuroo tetsurou x reader #writing: hq #writing: fics

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itsclydebitches · 3 years

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RWBY Recaps: Volume 8 “Dark”

Welcome back, everyone! Can you believe it's been six weeks already? I can't. Something something the uncomfortable passage of time during a pandemic as emphasized by a web-series.

But we're here to talk about RWBY the fictional story, not RWBY the cultural icon. At least, we will in a moment. First, I'd like to acknowledge that shaky line between the two, growing blurrier with every volume. A sort of good news, bad news situation.

The bad news — to get that out of the way — is that we cannot easily separate RWBY from its authors and those authors have, sadly, been drawing a lot of negative attention as of late. This isn't anything new, not at all, but I think the unexpectedly long hiatus gave a lot of fans (myself included) the chance to think about Rooster Teeth's failings without getting distracted by their biggest and brightest production. There's a laundry list of problems here — everything from the behavior of voice actors to the quality of their merch — but as a sort of summary issue, I'd like to highlight the reviews that continue to pop up on websites like Glassdoor, detailing the toxic, sexist, crunch-obsessed environment that RT employees are forced to work in. A lot of these websites requires a login to read more than a page of reviews, but you can check out a Twitter thread about it here.

Now, I want to be clear: I'm not bringing this up as a way to shame anyone enjoying RWBY. This isn't a simplistic claim of, "The authors are Problematic™ and therefore you can't like the stuff they produce." Nor is this meant to be a catch-all excuse for RWBY's problems. If it were, I'd have dropped these recaps years ago. I'm of the belief that audiences maintain the right to both praise and criticize the work they're given, regardless of the context in which that work was produced. At the end of the day, RT has presented RWBY as a finished product and, more than that, presents it as an excellent product, one worth both our emotional investment and our money (whether in the form of paying for a First account, or encouraging us to buy merch, attend cons, etc.) I'll continue to critique RWBY as needed, but I a) wanted fans to be at least peripherally aware of these issues and b) clarify that my use of "RT" in statements like, "I can't believe RT is screwing up this badly" is meant to be a broad, nebulas acknowledgement that someone in the company is screwing up, either creatively (doesn't have the skill to write a good scene) or morally (hasn't created an environment in which other creators are capable of crafting a good scene). The real, inner workings of such companies are mostly a secret to their audiences and thus it's near impossible for someone like me — random fan writing these for fun as a casual side hobby — to accurately point fingers. Hence, broad "RT." I just wanted to clarify that when I use this it's as a necessary placeholder for whoever is actually responsible, not a damnation of the overworked animator breaking down in a bathroom. Heavy stuff, but I thought it was necessary (or at least worthwhile) to acknowledge this issue as we head into the second half of the volume.

Now for the good news: RWBY has reached 100 episodes! For any who may not know, 100 is a pretty significant number in the TV world because, when talking about prime time programming, it guarantees syndicated reruns. Basically, networks don't want audiences to get burned out with a show — changing the channel when it comes on because ugh, I've seen this already, recently too — and 100 episodes allows for a roughly five month run without any repeats, making it very profitable. RWBY is obviously not a television show and doesn't benefit from any of this (hell, modern television doesn't benefit from this as much as it used to, not in the age of streaming), but the 100 episode threshold is still ingrained in American culture. Beyond just being a nice, rounded number, it is historically a measure of huge success and I can't imagine that RT isn't aware of that. Regardless of what we think of RWBY's current quality, this is one hell of a milestone and should be applauded.

All that being said... RWBY's quality is definitely still lacking lol.

Our 100th episode is titled "Dark" — keeping with the one word titles, then — and I'd like to emphasize that, as a 100th episode, it definitely delivers in terms of plot. There's plenty of action, important character beats, and at least one major reveal, everything we'd expect from a milestone and a Part II premiere. The animation also continues to be noteworthy for its beauty, as I found myself admiring many of the screenshots I took for this recap. There are certainly things to praise. The only problem (one we're all familiar with by now) is that these small successes are situated within a narrative that's otherwise falling apart. It's all good stuff... provided you ignore literally everything else surrounding it.

But let's dive into some examples. We open on Qrow starting, awoken by the thunder outside. Robyn has been watching him and makes a peppy comment about how none of them will be sleeping tonight, followed by a more serious, "Sounds bad out there." Yeah, it does sound bad, especially when they all know — thanks to Ruby's message back in Volume 7 — that this is due to Salem's arrival. I think a lot of the fandom has forgotten that little detail because people often discuss Qrow as if he is entirely ignorant of what is going on outside his cell. Even if we were to assume that he's forgotten all about the pesky Salem issue (the horror of Clover's death overriding everything else, perhaps) he still knows that Tyrian is running loose in a heat-less city with a creepy storm going on and, from his perspective, the Very Evil Ironwood is still running the show. So it's bad, which begs the question of why Qrow (and Robyn, for that matter) hasn't displayed an ounce of legitimate worry for everyone he knows out there. Thus far, their interactions have centered entirely around Qrow's misplaced blame and Robyn's terrible attempts to lighten the mood, despite the fact that a war is raging right beyond that wall. It's another example of RWBY's inability to manage tone properly, to say nothing of balancing the multiple concerns any one character should be trying to juggle. Just as it rankles that Ruby and Yang don't seem to care about what has happened to their uncle, Qrow likewise doesn't seem to care about what might be happening to his nieces. When did we reach a point where these relationships are so broken that someone can be arrested/chucked into a deadly battle and the others just... ignore that?

So Robyn's otherwise innocuous comment immediately reminds me of how badly the narrative has treated these conflicts and, sadly, things don't improve much from here. We are thankfully spared more of Robyn's jokes when Qrow realizes that what he's hearing can't be thunder. A second later, Cinder blasts through the wall — called it! — and Qrow instinctively transforms.

The only downside to this moment is that the whole ceiling falls down on Qrow and the others because APPARENTLY these cells don't have tops on them. Seriously. As far as I can recall we don't see the stone breaking through the forcefield somehow and this looks pretty open to me.

If it is... you're telling me these crazy powerful fighters who practice landing strategies and leap tall buildings in a single bound —

— can't just hop over this mildly high electric fence to get out? Qrow can't just fly away?

We're, like, two minutes in, folks.

We transfer to Nora's perspective as she wakes up, seeing Klein giving her the IV. He tells her not to worry, that "you and your friend are going to be just fine." What friend? Penny? Klein went upstairs prior to Weiss hugging Whitley or Penny crash landing outside. I had thought them bursting through the door with another unconscious friend was the first time he learned what the big bang outside was, but apparently not.

Penny is, obviously, a mess. While I now understand the choice to make her blood such an eye-catching color when that's crucial to the Hound's hunt, I still think it looks strange visually. Like someone has taken a copy of RWBY and painted over it. It doesn't look like it fits the art style. More than that, it implies some rather complicated things about Penny's humanity, especially in a volume focused around her being a "real girl." Real enough for Maiden powers, but with obviously inhuman blood that isn't even referred to as "bleeding." Penny "leaks" instead.

Toss in the fact that she's literally an android who is made up of tech — recall the running gags about her being heavy, or it hurts to fist-bump her, to say nothing of keeping things like multiple blades inside her body — yet Klein says that her "basic anatomy" is the same and he can "stitch up that wound."

I'm sorry, what? Whatever Penny looks like on the inside, it's not going to resemble a human woman's anatomy, and Klein might be able to stitch the outer layer of skin she's got, but that won't do anything to fix whatever metal bits have been broken underneath. Penny isn't a human-robot hybrid, she's a robot with an aura. Penny has knives in her back, rockets in her feet, and a super computer behind her eyes. When our clip introduced that Klein would be the one to help Penny, my initial reaction was, "Seriously? He's a butler and a doctor and an engineer?" But RWBY didn't even try to get away with a Super Klein explanation, they just waved away Penny's very obvious, inhuman anatomy. Yeah, I'm sure "stitching up" an android wound is just like giving Nora her IV. I hope the surgical sutures he used are extra strong!

In an effort to not entirely drag this episode, I do appreciate that Whitley is allowed an "ugh" moment about the non-blood covering his shirt without anyone calling him out on it. That felt like the sort of thing the show would usually try to make a character feel guilty about and I'm glad that, for once, he was just allowed to be frustrated without comment.

Then the power goes out and May calls, which raises questions about what state the CCTS is in and when scrolls are available to our protagonists vs. when they're not. But whatever. She's checking in because she just "saw another bombing run light up the Kingdom" and —

Wait. Bombing? Salem is bombing the city? I know we've seen explosions in the sky, but I'd always just attributed that to evil aesthetic. Why does this dialogue sound like it's from a World War II film and not a fantasy sci-fi show about literal monsters launching a ground attack?

May looks pretty against the sky though. I like her hair color against that purple.

I'm admittedly grasping at positives here because we finally return to her "You have to choose" ultimatum and — surprise! — May has pulled back completely. Ruby says that once they've helped Penny, "We'll...we'll do something!" which is once again her avoiding making a decision. Ruby still refuses to choose, instead falling back on generic, optimistic pep talks. They'll figure out how to stop Salem later. They'll think about the impact of telling the world later. They'll choose who to help later. Ruby keeps pushing these problems into the future where, she hopes, a perfect, magical solution will have appeared for her to latch onto. When that continues to not happen, others pressuring her to actually do something and stop waiting for perfection — Ironwood, Yang, May — she panics and continues stalling for time. Wait an episode and the narrative supports her in this.

Because initially May was forcing Ruby to decide. Now, May enables her desire to keep putting things off. "Don't beat yourself up, kid. At this point, I don't know how much is left to be done." That's the exact opposite of what May believed last episode, that there was still so much work and good to do for the people of Mantle. This is precisely what the show did with Yang and Ren's scenes too, having people call Ruby out... but then return to a message of, 'Don't worry, you're actually doing just fine' before Ruby is forced to actually change.

None of which even touches on May calling her "kid" in this moment. That continues to be a convenient way of absolving Ruby of any responsibility. When she wants to steal airships or Amity Tower, she's an adult everyone should listen to, the leader of this war. When the story wants to absolve her of previously mentioned flaws, she becomes a kid who shouldn't "beat herself up." I said years ago that RWBY couldn't continue to let the group be both children and adults simultaneously, yet here we are.

So that was a thoroughly disappointing scene. Ruby gets her moment to look sad and defeated, listing "the grimm, the crater, Nora, Penny" as problems she doesn't know how to solve. Note that 'Immortal witch attacking the city I've helped trap here' isn't included in that list. Ruby is still ignoring Salem herself and no one in the group is picking up where May left off, challenging her to do more than wring her hands over things others are already trying to take care of: Ironwood is fighting the grimm, May has gone off to help the crater, Klein is patching up Nora and Penny. Ruby, as one flawed individual, should not be expected to come up with a solution to everything, but she does need to stop acting like she can come up with a solution to everything when it matters most (office scene) and rejecting others' solutions when they ask for her help (Ironwood, May).

If it feels like I'm dragging the flawed, traumatized teenager too much, it's not in an effort to ignore those aspects of her identity. Rather, it's because she's also the licensed huntress who wrested control from a world leader and violently demanded she be put in charge of this battle. Ruby, by her own actions, is now responsible for dealing with these problems, or admitting she was wrong and letting others take the lead, without purposefully derailing their plans. She doesn't get to suddenly go, "I don't know," cry a little, and get sympathetic pats.

But of course that's precisely what happens, courtesy of Weiss.

During this whole scene I kept wondering why no one was celebrating Nora waking up, especially when Ruby outright mentions her. Have they just not noticed given all the Penny drama? Because Nora absolutely woke up.

Aaaand went back to sleep, I guess. What was the point of that POV shot? No worries though, she'll wake up again in a minute.

Willow arrives and announces that they can fix the power (and Penny) using the generator at the edge of the property. I'm convinced RT doesn't actually know what a generator is because the characters are acting like it's some super special device that only richy-rich could possibly have. Whitley says that it's the SDC executives who have their "own power supply" and that it's "extremely unfair." Now, don't get me wrong, a good generator powering large portions of your house can run you 30k+, but you can also get one that plugs into your extension cord and powers your fridge for a couple hundred. There's absolutely a class issue here, just not the one Whitley and Weiss seem to be commenting on. They make a generator sound like the sort of device that only a politician-CEO could possible have and it's weird.

Likely, it sounds weird because it's a choppy way of getting Whitley to bring up the wealth disparity so he can then go, 'That's right! We're crazy rich with a company housing tons of ships! We can use those to evacuate Mantle.' Awkwardness aside, I do like that the Schnee wealth is being used for good purposes, but... evacuate where? To the city currently under attack by a giant whale? In a RWBY that wasn't determined to demonize Ironwood, this would have been a great plot point during the office scene instead, with Weiss offering her services to Ironwood, even if the group decides that a continued evacuation still isn't possible.

Instead, we get it here from Whitley. Do I need to point out the obvious? That Whitley is the MVP of this episode? He's done more good in an HOUR than the group has managed in a year. Give this kid some training and make him a huntsmen instead.

We're given a (very pretty!) shot of the shattered moon because it wouldn't be RWBY if we weren't continually reminded that gods once wiped out humanity before destroying part of a celestial body... and absolutely no one talks about that lol.

Blake's coat might not make any sense for her color scheme, but it does make her easy to spot as she and Ruby run across the grounds. Oh my god, they're actually doing something together! It only took eight years. They even get a lovely talk where Blake admits how much she looks up to Ruby, despite her being younger, and once again I'm struck at how much more I would have loved this scene if it had appeared elsewhere in the series. It is, indeed, as sweet and emotional as all the RWBY GIF-ers are claiming... provided you overlook that this is the exact opposite of what Ruby needs to hear right now. She doesn't need to hear that she's more mature and reliable than her elders when she's functioning under a "We don't need adults" mentality. She doesn't need to hear that not knowing what to do is totally fine, not when that led to her turning on Ironwood, despite not knowing how to stop Salem. She doesn't need to hear that "doing something" — doing anything — is a strength, because Ruby keeps avoiding the big problems for smaller ones she's comfortable with, like standing by Penny's bedside instead of deciding between Mantle and Atlas. Blake's speech is heartfelt, but it's a speech that suits a Beacon days Ruby who is having some doubts about her leadership skills, not the girl whose impulsive — and now lack of — actions is having world-wide repercussions. Everyone is babying Ruby to a staggering degree. It's like if we had a med show where the doctor is standing by the bedside of a coding patient, fretting between two treatments. 'Don't worry,' their colleague says, patting their shoulder. 'I've always looked up to you. You'll do something when you're ready' and then they continue to watch the patient, you know, die.

Also: who does Ruby look up to? Everyone talks about how much they depend on and trust Ruby, but who does Ruby look to for guidance? A number of her problems stem from the fact that she has rejected the advice of everyone who has tried to help her improve: Qrow, Ozpin, Ironwood, even Yang. Ruby is presented as the pinnacle of what to strive for in a leader, rather than a leader who has only been doing this for two years and still has a great deal to learn.

Anyway, they get the generator on and the Hound shows up.

I am begging RT to just make RWBY a horror story. All their best scenes the last three years have been horror I am bEGGING —

Anyway, while Ruby waits to be eaten we cut to Willow and Klein, the former of which is reaching for her bottle, pulling back, reaching again, all while her hand shakes. This is good. This is what we should have gotten with Qrow. Which isn't to say that their (or anyone's) addiction should be identical, but rather that this is a far more engaging and complex look at addiction than what our birb got. Willow tells us that she doesn't drink in the dark despite bringing the bottle with her; tries to resist drinking when she's scared and ultimately fails. Qrow just decided to stop drinking after decades of addiction, seemingly for no reason, and that was that. Why is a side character we only met this volume written better than one of the main cast?

Blake manages to call Weiss about the Hound and she asks if Whitley can handle the airships without her. I mean, I assume so given that Weiss is looking at the bookshelves while Whitley does all the work lol. He makes a teasing comment about how he can if she can handle that grimm and she comments that they still need to work on his "attitude."

No they don't. Weiss stuck a weapon in her kid brother's face. Whitley made a joke. Even if Weiss' comment is likewise meant to be read as teasing, it's clear that we've bypassed any meaningful conversation between them. That hug was supposed to be a Fix Everything moment even though, as I've laid out elsewhere, it didn't even come close.

We cut back to Ruby getting thrown through a wall into the backyard and the Hound creepily coming after her. She's freaked out by this clearly abnormal grimm and Blake is weirdly... not? "It's just a grimm. Just focus!" Uh, it's obviously not. Have we reached the traumatized, sleep-deprived point where the group is sinking into full-blown denial? I wouldn't be surprised. They've been awake for like... 40+ hours.

Because the Hound knocks Ruby out with a single hit. Just, bam, she's down. "Focusing" is not the solution here.

Weiss calls to warn the others about the grimm, telling them to stick together. Willow (understandably) starts freaking out and flees the room (classic horror trope!). Klein is left alone when Penny wakes up with red eyes. Oh no!

Don't worry. You know nothing meaningful happens.

She shoves Klein before (somehow?) resisting the hack, her Maiden powers going wild in the process. Just when it looks as if Penny might cause some serious damage, Nora wakes up, takes her hand, and says, I kid you not:

"Hey... no one is going to make you do anything you don't want to do... It's just a part of you. Don't forget about the rest."

Okay. I want to re-emphasize that I love hopeful, uplifting, victory-won-through-the-power-of-love stories. Istg I'm not dead inside, it's just that RWBY does this so badly. I mean, what is this? It has similarities to the character shouting, 'No! Resist!' to their mind-controlled ally, but this is not presented as a desperate, last-ditch effort by Nora. She just speaks like this is the most obvious truth in the world. If you don't want to have your mind taken over... just don't! It's that simple. The problem definitely isn't that Watts has changed her coding and has implemented a command she can't override, it's that Penny has forgotten about the "rest" of her personhood.

And this works. Granted, not for long, but we leave Nora having successfully calmed Penny down and until her eyes unexpectedly go red again scenes later, we're left assuming that this is a permanent solution. That, imo anyway, is taking the Power of Love too far, overriding the basic reality of Penny being hacked. It’s not a personal failing she must overcome, it’s an external attack. I would have rather had Nora react to the scars she saw on her arm, or have a moment with Klein, or get some love from the group. Not a wakes up, falls asleep, wakes up again to save Penny with a Ruby level 'Just ignore reality' pep-talk, then back to sleep again.

So Penny isn't attacking her allies, or mistakenly hurting her allies with wild Maiden powers. Not that the group doesn't have enough to deal with, but still. Weiss arrives to help with the Hound and attempts a new summon, only to fail when two minor grimm burrow up into her glyphs. I really enjoyed that moment, both for the wing visual and the knowledge that Weiss' glyphs can fail if you break them somehow (which makes sense). Also, I just like that she failed in general? Weiss is, as per usual now, about to demonstrate just how OP she is compared to the rest of the team, so it was nice to see her faltering here.

The Hound tries to make off with Ruby and Blake does an excellent job of keeping it tethered. Ruby finally wakes, only to realize that the grimm is actually after Penny since it's staring at her power up through the window, no longer trying to escape. Moments like this remind me that there's someone on RT's writing team that knows what they're doing, at least some of the time. The assumption that the Hound is after Ruby as a SEW, the surprise that it's actually Penny, realizing it holds up because Ruby is covered in Penny's blood and Blake is not... that's all nice, tight plotting. More of that please!

The Hound drops her and Ruby's aura shatters when she hits the ground. I want everyone to remember this moment as an example of how strong the Hound is. The group may be tired, but unlike YJR they've been sitting around in the Schnee manor for a number of hours, regaining strength. We saw the Hound hit Ruby twice — once through the wall and once to knock her out — and then she falls from a not very high distance for a huntress, yet her aura is toast. That's the level of power and skill the Hound possesses. Decimating YJR, knocking Oscar out, same for Ruby, avoiding Blake and Weiss' hits, soon to treat Penny like a ragdoll. Just remember all this for the episode's end.

Blake tells Weiss she'll take care of Ruby, you go help the others. Yay breaking up the duos more! Bad timing though as the new acid-spitting grimm pops out of the ground and Blake is now left alone to face it.

Weiss re-enters the mansion, knowing the Hound is somewhere nearby, but not where. Suddenly, Willow's voice sounds through her scroll with an, "Above you!" which... doesn't keep Weiss from getting hit lol. But it's the thought that counts! Willow has accessed the cameras she's set up throughout the manor, watching the Hound's movements, and I have to say, that is a WAY better use of her separation from Klein than I thought we were getting. I legit thought they'd have Willow run away in a panic, meet the Hound, die, and then Weiss could be sad about losing her mom.

It does say something about RWBY's writing that this was my knee-jerk theory, as well as my surprise when we got something way better.

The Hound runs off, uninterested in Weiss, and she asks Willow to keep tabs on it. It heads for Whitley next (also covered in Penny's blood) and very creepily stalks him in the office with a, "I know you're here." Whitley is seconds away from being Hound chow before one of Weiss' boars pin it against the wall. He runs, then runs BACK to finish deploying the airships, before finally escaping assumed death. Goddamn this boy is pulling his weight.

I assume all these ships are automated then? I hope someone takes a moment to call May. Otherwise it's going to be super weird for the Mantle citizens if a fleet of SDC ships just show up and hover there...

I don't entirely understand how Weiss saved him though. She's nowhere to be seen when Whitley leaves and he runs a fair distance before he and Willow encounter Weiss again. We know her summons don't have to keep right next to her, but are they capable of rudimentary thought, attacking an enemy — and an enemy only — despite Weiss being a couple corridors down and unable to see the current battlefield? I don't know. In another series I'd theorize that this was a deliberate hint, a way to clue us into the fact that Willow, someone who we currently know almost nothing about, had training in the past and summoned the boar herself. Weiss and Winter certainly didn't get that hereditary skill from Jacques. Hell, we might still get that, Weiss reacting with confusion next episode when Whitley thanks her for the boar, but I doubt it. That scene with Ruby and the Hound aside, the show isn't this good at laying groundwork and then following up on it.

Case in point: Weiss says, "I didn't forget you" to Whitley after he gets away from the Hound, the moment trying to harken back to her promise to Willow. Key word is "trying." Because she absolutely forgot him! Weiss threatened and ignored Whitley until he proved his usefulness. I also shouldn't need to point out that, "Don't forget your brother" does not mean, "Don't let your brother die a horrible death by abnormal grimm." Weiss acts like her saving him is a fulfillment of her promise, rather than just the most basic of human decency. And also, you know, her job.

So that part is frustrating. The entire Schnee dynamic is a mess, from Weiss making a joke of her father's arrest, to Willow (presumably) fixing their relationship by putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder. Okay.

Then Weiss cuts off the Hound by summoning a giant wall of ice. My brain, every time this happens:

YOU COULD HAVE FIXED THE HOLE IN MANTLE'S WALL.

Moving on, Blake's fight against the acid... thing has some great choreography, including Blake using her semblance which we haven't seen in AGES.

I really like the fight itself, just not what Blake is shouting the whole time. "I need you, Ruby! We all need you!" This has really gotten ridiculous. Ruby is presented as everyone's sole savior despite failing time and time again. It's not that I don't think Blake as a character should have faith in her leader, it's that I don't think the writers should be crafting a story where everyone puts their unshakable hopes in an untrained, disloyal, impulsive 17 year old. I mean, Ruby is currently unconscious, yet Blake is acting like if she doesn't wake up — she, as an individual, if Ruby Rose does not re-join this fight — then all is lost. If Ruby doesn't save them, no one can. Which is, of course, absurd on numerous levels. Blake doesn't need the passed out, aura-less Ruby right now, she needs the still very healthy Weiss pulling out multiple summons and an ice wall! Use your scroll and call for backup again.

But of course, Ruby wakes up and kills the new, terrifying grimm with a single hit. It's a preview of what's to come with the Hound and it's just as ridiculous here as it will be there.

Speaking of the Hound, am I the only one who thought this was... cute?

I can't possibly be the only one. That head-tilt is exactly what my dogs do and my brain instinctively went, "Aww, puppy!"

Murderous puppy.

The Hound realizes none of the Schnees are who it's looking for and runs off. Penny, meanwhile, has been fully taken over because, well, that's just what's convenient now. She resists long enough keep Amity up, then succumbs, then resists to apologize to Ruby, then succumbs, then resists because Nora asked her to, then succumbs once it's time to knock her out. If RWBY was willing to commit to consequences, Penny would have been taken over and that was that. The characters would need to deal with whatever outcome happens as a result. Instead, the show very carefully avoids any of those pesky consequences by having Penny successfully resisting at key moments, despite no explanation of how she's managing that.

She shoves Klein again (Klein is having a Bad Time) and starts walking down the main steps. When Whitley wants to know where the hell she's going, Penny mechanically responds that she must "Open the vault, then self-destruct." I suppose the change Watts made was the self-destruct order? Ironwood obviously wants the vault open, though not necessarily Penny's death. Think what you will of his moral compass, she's a damn powerful ally — a research project, perhaps — and a Maiden to boot. At the very least, her death may give the powers to someone even worse.

God, please don't let them have brought Penny back and made her a Maiden just to kill her again.

The Hound arrives though and, as said, knocks Penny out. We're back to square one with her, then. Note though that this attack is near instantaneous. She grabs its hands one second, is hanging limply the next. Wow, the Hound sure is a terrifying antagonist!

Not for long.

"That's enough," Ruby says and one-shots it with her eyes.

Now, I want to talk for a moment about the implications of that line. "That's enough." Obviously Ruby is #done with this situation and emotionally unwilling to let the Hound kidnap Penny (congratulations, Nuts and Dolts shippers), but there's a meta reading here as well. Not intentional, but glaring to me nonetheless. Basically, the idea that the Hound has, from a plot perspective, done enough. It has served its singular purpose. It kidnapped Oscar and now it dies. Never-mind how insanely powerful we've established the Hound to be, never-mind how Ruby's eyes also work or don't work according to whether anything of actual import is on the line. From a plot perspective "that's enough" and the Hound can be disposed of instantly. It got Oscar and gave us an episode of filler creepiness. Move along now.

The idea behind Ruby's eyes isn't bad, but the execution absolutely is. RT has undermined a huge portion of the stakes by giving their protagonist an instant kill-shot that always works precisely when she needs it to. Starting with the Apathy, we have yet to get a moment where Ruby's eyes fail to save the day when she really needs them to, no matter how incredible the challenge. The Hound was very intentionally written to be a grimm outside of the group's current power level. It thinks, it talks, they literally can't touch it. This creates the expectation that the group will need to grow stronger — or at least become smarter — in order to surmount this new obstacle, yet Ruby's eyes undermine all of that. The group hasn't grown in years, the show just makes enemies weaker as needed (Ace Ops), or has Ruby pull out her eyes as a trump card. It wouldn't be that bad if we'd at least gotten a good battle out of it, one where the group gets close to defeating the Hound on their own, but needs Ruby's eyes to finish it off. Instead, she literally walks up without any aura, announces to the audience that this antagonist's time is up, and blasts it out a window.

Granted, Ruby's eyes don't completely finish it. The Hound pulls itself to its feet and we see this.

Yup, that's a guy and yup, those are silver eyes.

I would like to issue a formal apology to the "It's secretly Summer!" theorists in the fandom. I mean, I still think it would be ridiculous (and at this point highly improbable) that Ruby's dead mother has actually been a grimm mutant this whole time, just hanging out in Salem's realm while she waits for the plot to start before attacking the world, and then sends some no-name faunus dude after the group instead of their leader's mother for extra, emotional torture... but you all were definitely right about the “It's a person” part! I... don't know how I feel about this. Admittedly, it seems to be a logical continuation of the other grimm-human hybrids we've seen — namely Cinder and Salem herself — and it finally explains why Salem wants Ruby alive (even though it actually doesn't because WHY did she want more SEWs for Hound grimm when she wasn't even attacking back then? And already has all these other insanely powerful tools??), but at the same time, it feels like it's complicating a story that doesn't need further complications. The group fights monsters and has an immortal enemy. You don't need to add 'Some of those monsters are secretly human' to the mix.

It doesn't hurt that this twist is giving me Attack on Titan vibes, which, ew. A dark time in my fandom life, folks.

The Hound staggers a few steps before Whitley and Willow dump a suit of armor on it. That's all it takes to kill the most dangerous grimm we've ever seen: a single flash of silver eyes and some heavy metal. This also wreaks havoc with the implication that Salem wants SEWs alive because they create such powerful grimm. Obviously not. I mean yeah, normal huntsmen are going to have serious problems, we’ve seen that this volume, but any other SEWs nearby will take a Hound out instantaneously. For a villain with so many other powerful abilities — immortality, magic, endless normal grimm, her nifty soup — Salem would be much better served just killing SEWs straight out. Clearly, creating Hounds isn't worth the effort.

The Hound leaves some bones behind and Ruby collapses to her knees, overcome with the knowledge that this was once a person. Again, uncomfortable Attack on Titan parallels.

We finish our premiere with Cinder clearing away rubble to reveal Watts. Honestly, I like that we ended on this because her rescue is hilarious. She just slings him over her shoulders like a sack of potatoes and blasts off with her magic fire feet. Fantastic.

Note though that with this scene we've seen almost everything from the clip and the trailer. What's to come in the rest of Volume 8? No idea. Outside of Winter leading the charge with the bomb, we got it all here.

Time to update the bingo board!

I'm crossing off "Introducing new grimm that are quickly abandoned." Between the Hound and acid-dude both falling to a single blast/cut from Ruby, we've more than earned this square.

It doesn't look as if we'll get another Watts-Jacques team-up now that he's left, but you never know.

Maria's got me worried. I feel like her Yoda fight against Neo is the one thing she'll be allowed to do this volume, but given that we didn't see anyone except Ruby's group this episode, we don't yet know whether the story is now ignoring her and Pietro, or if they'll re-appear in another episode like YJR.

Qrow is free. Will he get a drink before trying to murder Ironwood? Perhaps.

Still no bingo :(

All in all, the episode was by no means horrible. I think there were lots of horrible parts, but also some legitimately well executed moments, fun action, and scenes that I can easily imagine as squee worthy if you lean back and squint. Everything is comparative and in the growing collection of bad RWBY episodes, this one isn't securing a top slot. Which doesn't mean I think it's good, just... not as bad as it could have been and primarily only bad due to long-running problems, not things this specific episode has done. That's my bar then, so low it has officially entered the underworld.

Still, RWBY is back and a part of me is eager to see where this volume takes us, for better or for worse.

Until next week! 💜

[Ko-Fi]

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 8 #mymetas #rwby recaps #rwby dark

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lawrising-a · 3 years

Text

001. alias / name : my real name is alina, but im kinda flexible with aliases and names? i always tell people to call me whatever they want for a reason! but besides alina, i also like the name aurora & went by joey for a while too .... *jazz hands*

002. birthday : guess what? it's literally right around the corner! my day of birth is october 25!

003. zodiac : scorpio supremacy baby! with gemini moon & capricorn rising to go with it

004. height : literally no clue, i've never cared much about my height. last i checked ( which must've been forever ago ) it was like ... 5'6?

005. hobbies : writing is obviously my main one, since it's the most rewarding hobby for me. but i also do art on the rare occasion and i practice ventriloquism with my dummy here and there. erm, i also play games when i have a console! and debates are cool

007. favorite color : i've always been fond of light pinks & bright reds. definitely a warm color person. oh! and i also like intense white colors, or dulled grays ...

008. favorite book : not a big book dude after discovering fanfic haha, but ive always adored lord of the flies when i read it in school. it occasionally reawakens my fancy now and again too, because there's something so intimate about a bunch of adolescent boys descending into savagery ... and the question of if that's a good or bad thing. but yeah, that! but perhaps the new book im reading, wuthering heights, will top it!

009. favorite food : i will eat anything so i don't think i have a favorite food, sorry!

010. last show : escape the night if i had to guess, it's the last show i watched that i actively focused on. i'm not a big show person.

011. inspiration : i don't really do much to get inspo to write, it just comes and goes whenever it wants ; but i do think me spending late hours reading through tumblr poetry blogs helps sparks my creativity! spite and loneliness are also inspirations in their own form.

012. story behind url : i think it's quite obvious and very unoriginal ,,, but i'll talk about it anyway! law- is for the fact mat is, well, a detective. he doesn't show this off too much in the show and i don't think it's the biggest part of his character, but it's important nonetheless, since roles in etn are important. also his whole boner for justice ( when it works for him ) also contributes to that law- part. -rising is thanks to the lazarus harp, and shows mat's revival! he was risen from the grave so. yeah!

tagged by : my sweet friend pan! @pseudoneiric tagging : anyone who wants to snatch this up <3

#★ games | i'm a rollercoaster enthusiast #( this was fun!!! i like talking abt myself a lil bit actually )#( thanks sm again for the tag bestie! )#( also sorry this is long whoops. i just like being detailed .... )

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ad1thi · 3 years

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henlo adi tis i with a request for some stevetony fics,,, angsty if you have 'em 💓

okay so this rec list is mainly classic stevetony fics, but i assure you - there’s angsty ones in there (ive marked the angsty ones with a 😞 so you can identify them quicker) just a general note that a lot of authors are going to repeat, because there are some authors that (imo) are stevetony staples (so if you see an author more than once - thats a sign that ALL of their stevetony is good and ive cherry picked the ones i love the most) (ive also marked those authors with a 🌟)

in the light of limerence: @shell-heads

It's the final game of the season, their biggest one yet, and there's only one question on everybody's mind: who the hell is Captain Steve Rogers' boyfriend, and why does Cap keep dodging questions about him?

"You gotta admit it's suspicious that only Bucky and Sam have met your boyfriend, dude," Clint points out as he shoves Pietro away with a smirk, pulling the uniform over his head and tugging it down. "We've known you, what-two years? We've never seen the guy even once."

"And your phone mysteriously only has pictures of Tony Stark," Johnny Storm adds as he joins the conversation, knocking knees with Thor when he sits down on one of the benches. "Tony Stark, who has at least ten fansites and personally assured me he's had a boyfriend for the past five years."

"I can't believe Cap is actually out here acting like Tony Stark's boyfriend," Luke says with a smirk, resting against a wall without a care.

"I can't believe you guys still think this is a joke," Sam throws back while tossing his other dirty sock at Luke, who dodges it smoothly.

In little more than ten minutes, the biggest question of Shield University is answered with much aplomb by none other than Tony Stark himself.

almeno tu nell'universo: @silkspectred 😞 🌟 (funfact: this is the fic that got me into stevetony)

Tony drives off.

Well, he wants to.

But he can’t.

Because.

Steve Rogers is in front of his car.

Steve fucking Rogers. Is in front of Tony’s fucking car.

Rookie and Jailbait Take On The World: @theapplepielifestyle 🌟

“You really should be in school, you know.”

“Why would I be there when I could be here, solving crimes with my favourite rookie?” Tony flashes a grin, and Steve’s stomach twists like it did on the first day.

Teenager, Steve’s mind supplies. Definitely not legal, stop doing fluttery things, stomach.

Thumb, Index and Pinky Extended: @/Eudoxia 😞

Tony Stark is twenty-one when he loses his voice. It shouldn't matter, but in a world where the first words your Soulmate says to you are marked on your skin, it can be pretty damn annoying.

I (created from fantasies) exist solely for you: @mizzy2k

Six years ago, without the Avengers Initiative there to save the day, scientist Dr. Eric Selvig sacrificed himself to save the world, the almighty demi-god Thor was lost to a terrible storm, and vigilante Iron Man – spotted with a nuclear weapon trying to take advantage of the situation – was forever labelled an enemy of SHIELD.

This is a comic book office AU, where Steve is defrosted a year too late, Thor has forgotten who he is, and no one knows Tony is Iron Man.

Also includes: office pranks, inappropriate post-it notes, and superheroes who like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.

Celestial Navigation: @sabrecmc

Celestial Navigation: 18 year old Omega!Tony finds himself Bonded to Captain Steve Rogers. He isn't happy about it until he is.

By request, here is CN in one place without other stories and artwork.

Ironsides: @copperbadge 🌟

Antonia Carter Stark takes no shit and no prisoners.

Paved With Good Intentions (I’m On The Road To Hell): @itsallavengers 😞 🌟

When the mysterious group of vigilante assassins known only as 'The Avengers' are tipped off about the dirty secrets that lie within Stark Industries, Steve Rogers has his heart set on taking out Tony Stark for good in order to protect the rest of the world from his evil. He's seen the footage, after all- Stark is a man who fights only for himself. And of course, when a job arises as chief bodyguard for Stark, to protect him from the growing threat of an ominously infatuated stalker, the opportunity is way too good for him to miss out on. It's the perfect placement, and the perfect way to find out whether or not their tipoff is genuine.

But as Steve falls into rank as the new bodyguard for Mr. Stark and he spends time getting to know and protect him, his initial hatred begins to falter and merge into something different, something far more terrifying than the prospect of killing the face of Stark Industries.

Steve Rogers may just be falling in love with him instead.

The Problem With Communication: @itsallavengers

Steve is terrible at flirting, but when he finally picks up the courage to talk to the adorable barista who makes his drinks, he finds himself hitting a small snag:

That being, Tony is deaf. He doesn't know what Steve is saying.

But never say Steve Rogers does not rise to a challenge.

Killing Me Softly (With His Song): @itsallavengers

Steve is Tony's whole world. Tony couldn't imagine life without him. They've grown up together, after all.

Steve gets cancer.

Open Field In Front of Him: orphan account

Steve Rogers's football season is functionally over after a loss to Rutgers, but he finds a distraction in Tony Stark (yes, THAT Tony Stark). A college AU Stony fic.

Good For You: @orbingarrow 😞

Steve doesn't understand why Tony dates people who abuse him. Tony doesn't understand why Steve cares.

The rest is bad choices, good choices, rehab, milkshakes, paintball, YouTube videos, couples therapy and learning to put the past in the past. Or: How Tony finds his happy ending.

COMPLETE 5/27/16 Edited to add art as last chapter on 6/23/16

Wrapped Up In Clover: @festiveferret

It's been seven years since Steve and Tony split up, and Steve's sure he'll never see Tony again. He's finally managed to put their failed relationship behind him and move on, focusing on his friends and building his business. But then his best friends, Bucky and Clint, decide to get married, and their wedding week at a cabin resort in Vermont turns into a minefield of heartbreak for Steve.

little green soldiers: @/nasa 🌟

“Rhodey,” Tony says. “I’m not stupid. He’s shipping out in three months. I’m not going to fall in love with him.”

Tony is a student at MIT; Steve is a soldier. They meet at a house party six months before Steve is set to deploy. This is their story.

flesh and bone: @/nasa 😞

“You or Rogers?” they ask, brandishing a knife or a gun or a flame.

“Me,” Tony says, over and over again. “Me, me, me,” always me.

Buried: @not-close-to-straight

When Howard Stark demands Tony work at a dig site in S.America one summer to "build character" and "learn about life", Tony is furious. But then he meets soldier/archeologist Steve and falls in love with blue eyes and a perfect smile.

Just as they are ready to move forward together, Steve leaves abruptly with no explanation and breaks Tonys heart. Ten years later, Tony stumbles across the file for the old dig site. He's determined to visit and shut it down, but discovers that instead of a village, the dig has uncovered a temple and actually needs MORE money to stay open. A security team is hired to protect the staff and the artefacts they find, and Tony comes face to face with Steve Rogers all over again– except Steve is bearded and BIGGER and way more dangerous than he used to be...And Tony likes it.

When the camp is attacked, Steve jumps into action, snatching Tony and running into the jungle to escape and work their way towards safety. But long days and nights together bring back old feelings, and one day Steve takes a risk and asks Tony to give them another chance. Will Tony say yes? Or is his heart buried too far for the soldier-turned- archaeologist-turned-mercenary to find it?

don’t know why it took me so long to see: @3799steps

“Oh, watch this,” Natasha says, propping her chin against her knuckles and turning a sweet gaze on him. “Tony, what’s it like dating a superhero?”

Tony bristles in irritation. “We’re not dating,” he snaps. “Captain America probably thinks he can get into anyone’s pants just ‘cause he’s got a mask, costume, and reputation, but not me, buddy. That shield? Gotta be overcompensating for something.” He adds, a bit petulantly, “Oh, and all that blue? Definitely more Steve’s color than his.”

- In which Tony is a genius in all matters except recognising his boyfriend past a mask

Heartlines: @nanasekei 🌟

“Let me,” Tony repeats. He regrets it deeply, so much, he wants to stick the words back into his mouth again, and it must show, in the way his voice wavers. He feels exposed, all of a sudden, as if he’s asking something bigger than what he can actually say. Let me touch you, let me take care of you. “Just… Let me do it.“

Feel Whole Again: @thepartyresponsible

Steve turns to leave. It’s easier to talk, somehow, when he’s not looking at him. “If you need anything,” he says, “I’m just a few floors down.”

“Might regret that, Cap,” Tony says to his retreating back. “I’ve been told I’m needy.”

Steve doesn’t know who the hell said that to Tony. It’s probably for the best that he doesn’t.

“It’s an honor,” he says, a little helpless, out of his depth and out of his time. “It’s an honor to be trusted with something like that, Tony.”

Attack Dog: @/salytierra

Steve doesn't swim in self-delusion. He knows that he is sick and that his owner is even worse. He is aware of it every time he rips some nameless guy’s throat out and feels the crunch of bones under his fingers. He is aware of it every time the rush of adrenaline at seeing life slip away from a stranger’s eyes hits him and gets him bothered and panting in ways that have nothing to do with physical exhaustion.

But it feels so good…

His owner’s approach is less personal. His shots fall clean and take out several foes at a time, his figure elegant and so graceful he looks like a god among savages. He is power incarnated, cold and burning like a sun at the same time… and Steve tries not to focus on him when they are fighting together, least his knees go weak and his technique falters. It’s fine though. They will go home afterwards and his owner will fuck him on the hard floor, with most of their gear still on and a vicious grip in his hair.

#adi's rec list #stevetony #superhusbands #steve rogers/tony stark #stevetony staples #OKAY this is like 20 fics long #so im going to make a second post #and the second post will have more #but have these for now :)))#adi answers asks #rhodee

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missmonsters2 · 4 years

Text

About You || Part IV

Gif by: giuliacommissions (please check her out if you’d like to commission her for gifs and other work 💞)

PAIRING: Wanda Maximoff x Fem!Reader/OFC

Summary: Wanda had never known loss like she has until she lost Pietro. It’s debilitating. She can’t eat, can’t sleep, can’t even leave her house. Life is fading fast, and she’s not sure if she even wants to hang on. Enter you, a stranger that reconnects her to the daily things that makes life beautiful.

Warnings: Deals with loss & grief and the spectrum of emotions and depression that comes with it. Please note there is no glorification in any of this. Loss, grief, and depression are nothing beautiful. Also, please don’t hesitate or reach out for help if you are in a dark place. Love you, lovelies 💘

Genre: Angst & Romance

NOTE: Did you forget about this series? I wouldn’t blame ya LOL Please drop a comment if you’d like to be part of the tag list! 😚

PART I || PART II || PART III

PART IV of X

Translations + Transliteration Пьетро - Pietro

Count: 1497

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

“Honestly, you need to get out more.”

Wanda huffs as she tries to refocus back on her painting. Pietro has decided to come visit her during his lunch hour from work and he seems to be in a mood of harassing her on her social skills—or really lack of.

“I don’t know if you noticed, Pietro, but considering that my form of a 9-5 job includes me sitting in this studio all day painting solo. There’s not much I can do about human interaction.” Wanda dabs her paintbrush in the blue of her palette, coming back up with a steady hand as she continues her work.

Her brother admires the unfinished art his sister is creating, but he grins when he hears her reply.

“If that’s the case, I can totally introduce you to someone. They would seriously be perfect for you; hopefully, help you loosen the stick up your—”

“Пьетро!” She yells, accent thick as she glares at him, a slight blush on her cheeks. She rolls her eyes as she hears his laughter.

“Alright, but seriously, Wanda. I could introduce you to someone.”

Wanda focuses on painting again, absently noticing how she’s got the color green on her thumb, but she’s pretty sure she didn’t take out green today.

“Not now, I’m pretty busy with work.”

She whines when she feels Pietro flick the back of her head.

“Look at you, all grown up and busy with work.”

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

You’re about to leave Wanda’s after doing her dishes and sweeping the floor. You’re seemingly checking to make sure you have all your things when you notice for the first time that’s heavily pouring outside.

There’s thunder and lightning, you can barely see in front of you when you look out the window.

You hum before Wanda appears beside you, looking out the window as well.

“How did you get here?” She asks softly.

“Driving,” you answer absently, still staring at the harsh rain pouring outside. It’s not like you haven’t driven in this weather before. You’re quite adept at driving in harsh conditions being overly cautious when on the road. You’ll quite often take the back roads knowing there won’t be other cars.

“This is going to be a bitch driving home,” you sigh, turning around to leave when you feel something pull at the end of your jacket.

You turn around to see Wanda looking at you seriously.

“It is too dangerous to drive,” she tells you plainly.

“It’ll be fine,” you tell her with a wave, but Wanda doesn’t let go of her hold.

“I don’t know how long it’s going to pour for, and it’s already getting pretty late,” you purse your lips.

“You can stay the night.”

You think Wanda would be more reserved about you letting her invade her space. After all, she had been quite clear about wanting you to leave and that you were a nuisance, but then you see the look in her eyes and the seriousness in them.

She won’t say it, but you don’t need her to.

“Okay,” you agree gently.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

You find it kind of hard to fall asleep on Wanda’s couch. Not that it’s uncomfortable because her couch is weirdly better than your bed at home, but you can definitely hear the walls expanding and contracting and the drops of water from the sink.

You’ve probably lain in bed for hours now, wide awake. You sigh quietly, getting up and moussing your hair. You’re probably not going to get much sleep at this point, so you get up and to pour yourself a glass of water.

And then you hear it.

It’s quiet with Wanda having her door nearly shut, but the sound traveled through the small crack.

It was a groan.

And no, not a sexy groan, but a groan that indicated she might be in pain.

You bite your tongue, debating if you should go check because you’re not sure if Wanda would appreciate you entering her bedroom, but you hear her groan again and immediately go check. Opening the door slowly and quietly, your eyes try to adjust to the dark room. You do see a mass of hair in the bed and vague figure tossing and turning.

Making your way in, you kneel on the ground beside the bed, looking over at Wanda. Her face is scrunched up, a light sheen of sweat on her forehead, and lips trembling.

“Пьетро…”

It’s comes easier than you think it would to brush your cold fingers against her warm cheeks, watching as her face settles and unconsciously rub her face closer to your hand.

Honestly, it feels like someone is slamming a hammer right into your chest because you never thought seeing a stranger hurt like this could hurt you too.

Because she looks lost like you do.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Wanda can always tell if she’s had a nightmare. She wakes slowly, blinking in the dark. She feels different, but Wanda cannot exactly explain why.

Slowly getting up, she felt a weight drag on her hand.

Looking down, she noticed you sitting on the floor, hunched over her bed with your hand intertwined with hers.

Her eyes traveled over your bare shoulders and arms, noticing the lack of blood and tiny goosebumps, a sign you’ve been there for quite some time.

Wanda wriggles her fingers, feeling the warmth, and thinks about how hard it must’ve been to sit there as long as you did.

She can’t help but think how stupid you are.

But stupidly kind.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

You watched Wanda’s face, dazed and stoic and pursed your lips as you finished up cooking.

Perhaps she was mad?

It felt like you did cross a line.

“Listen, Wanda—I’m sorry about the…hand-holding—”

“I’m hungry,” Wanda cuts you off, and you say nothing more but licking your lips as you bring the dishes to the table.

The two of you eat in comfortable silence until Wanda decides to break it again.

“Why three months?” She asks, stopping your spoon from entering your mouth mid-air. You put the spoon back down in your bowl and look over at her.

“I hardly think a month will change you, so I asked for three,” you say simply.

“Three months won’t change anything either,” Wanda argues back.

“Then I will just ask for more,” You scoop more food onto your spoon again. “If you’re so sure you’ll want to die, then it doesn’t quite matter if it’s a couple months later, does it? You can spare me more time, can’t you?”

Wanda bites her tongue.

“Why are you doing this?” She’s gripping her spoon harder then she means to, but she just doesn’t understand.

You look over at her thoughtfully.

“I want to know you.”

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

“Are you warm enough?” Wanda asks unsure as she looks at the blanket and pillow you’ve got on the couch.

You hum, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Somehow, you’ve negotiated to living with her because if you want to help her, then you need to be with her. Less time together means more likely you’ll begging for more time in the end.

That’s what you told Wanda anyways, and she seemed to reluctantly agree.

Wanda walks back to her room, settling in her familiar bed and sighs as she looks at the ceiling.

All this eating together, sleeping, talking, and sharing…it was only for three months.

After three months, she can say no to more time and everything would go away.

Even though that’s what Wanda kept telling herself, she kept tossing and turning in bed. Her hand kept clenching and opening, and she already knew what she was missing—or wanted, exactly.

Wanda liked holding hands. She wanted the handholding. It felt good, the warmth and steady pressure.

It was a mix of both pride and fear that stopped her from getting out of bed to ask you. So, she lied there, thinking about with family you don’t get a choice. She would hold hands with Pietro when he cried the first time he was rejected from his dream job, or when his long-time girlfriend moved to another city. And while she was always willingly there for Pietro, she did realize one thing.

Wanda liked having the choice.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

When Wanda woke through the night again, she knew right away it was different.

She sat up and hesitantly wriggled her fingers, feeling the familiar warmth and pressure. Looking down, she found you sitting on the ground by her bedside again, the similar lack of blood and goosebumps on your arms.

The wriggling seemed to wake you slightly as you hummed quietly, eyes still closed before you intertwined your fingers more intimately. Your thumb pressing into the back of Wanda’s hand and fingers lacing together.

She lay back down facing you, watching you as your head rest on your free arm, unaware of anything.

How stupid, Wanda thought.

You were going to catch a cold like this.

But Wanda was already smiling.

PART V

#mm: my fics #series: about you #wanda maximoff x you #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff x OFC #wanda maximoff imagine #scarlet witch x reader #scarlet witch imagine #avengers x you #avengers au #avengers imagine #avengers reader insert #marvel reader insert #marvel imagine #marvel AU #Modern Avengers AU

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writingamongther0ses · 3 years

Text

Twins of Sun and Snow

(Or, how the Snow Queen came to be.)

Once upon, there was a kingdom.

It was ruled by a gentle and loving king and his delicate queen. She once made a wish on a winter’s day for a child with dark hair and pale skin. Soon, her wish came true: she gave birth to a daughter with dark hair and pale skin. But this was too much for her health and soon after, she died.

The king and the kingdom mourned. His daughter, motherless, grew up a vain and selfish child, spoiled by his wish to let her know she was loved. When she was ten, the king held a ball. This was where he met his next wife: the orphaned daughter of a merchant, who was only at the ball to support her stepsisters.

They fell in love and soon married. The kingdom rejoiced, for Queen Ella was a beautiful and wonderful woman. The only person unhappy was Snow White.

For the following four years, she grew worse and worse in behavior. Finally, things came to a head.

The two had gone out on a picnic, where Ella told Snow White that she was pregnant. The princess, enraged, ran and disappeared into the woods.

The kingdom searched for weeks, the only people actually worried about Snow being the king and queen. Finally, they gave up.

Ella gave birth to a pair of twins: the first one inheriting her father’s dark hair while the second gained platinum blonde curls.

The kingdom turned its eyes to the future, ready to be lead by these twins…

ii.

It was spring, signaling by the singing of the birds in their cages. They provided the background noise to the girl sitting at the desk. The burnt-out stubs of candles, sitting in colorful jars, sat next to pens and pencils and papers. A pair of white gloves were in danger of being stained with ink. This was not noticed by the girl, hair in a bun and concentrating on the paper.

Finally, the girl leaned back and considered her essay. A sudden grin split her face and she wrote a few more sentences. She let out a triumphant “Done!” Letting the ink on the paper dry, Princess Clarissa collected her speech for the day and some more papers. She hurried through her room, only stopping to grab her gloves.

She hurried through the halls, passing a maid. The maid smiled brightly, calling out to the royal and making her stop. “Morning your Highness! Where are you off to today?”

“A lot of places, Zita.” Clarissa shuffled the papers in her hands. “I got my speech for today, I have some new poems for the monastery…” Some papers fell out. She quickly caught them.

“Busy day?” She received a sheepish nod in answer. “Huh. Make sure to check in with Cook.”

Clarissa nodded, hurrying down the hallway. She found the doorway, letting out a groan at the sight of all the steps. Adjusting the papers in her arms, she started up the stairs. There was really no excuse for why Rapunzel slept in the highest tower, besides the fact that she loved heights.

Finally, she reached the top of the stairs. She opened the door to enter her twin’s room. “Punzel!”

Unlike her huge nest of books and papers and signs of late-night writing binges, Rapunzel kept her room neat. All her art supplies were kept in cabinets, her bed slept in and made. The hair arranged around the room suggested she was probably painting the high up walls.

“Rapunzel!”

No answer.

Setting her papers down, Clarissa pulled off a glove. She carefully grabbed some hair and focused on the magic running through it. She then sent a wave of cold, being awarded a shriek from high above. She giggled.

“Not funny!”

“Kinda is!” She called up, replacing her glove.

Rapunzel slid down the hair, hovering to be eye to eye with Clarissa. Like her twin, she had aqua eyes and dusky skin. “You try painting in peace and having what is the equivalent of an ice cube down your dress.”

“Sorry, but we’re going into town today, remember?”

The younger let out a squeal, standing on the floor. She tugged her hair down to offer it to her twin. “Of course! Braid my hair?”

“Sure.”

After collecting their lunches from Cook, the two were soon heading out of the castle and into town. Rapunzel greeted the townsfolk by name as Clarissa went over her speech for the afternoon. A familiar building came into view, a sign labeled BOOKS on it. The smell of tea met them as they entered.

“Morning Jack,” Clarissa said to the dark-haired boy. The instant he saw the fourteen-year-old princess, the sixteen-year-old grinned.

“Clarissa! Do you have everything ready?”

“Yep! When is Xan returning? I have some stuff needed to be delivered to the monks.”

The older boy hummed. A girl, golden hair pulled back, peeked out of the backroom. “He left to deliver a shipment to the school with Egon. He should be back-”

“Hello, my darlings!”

“Now,” Goldie said with a snap of her fingers. She turned back to whatever she was doing, Rapunzel quick to join her.

“Hello princess!” The Asian man said, hugging the princess. Egon, a tall muscle of a man and a tailor, squeezed after him. He gave the blonde a quick wave.

“Hey, you guys. Xan, there are some things I need to be delivered.” Clarissa pulled out the papers and handed them to him. “The poems for the monks, that collection of stories for Gallenway, the essay for race equality for Trinton and the essay for anti-slavery for the entire kingdom.”

Egon nodded to the papers she kept. “Is that your speech for today?”

She nodded, taking a glance outside. “And it seems the crowds are forming.” Truth to her word, surrounding the stage built for speeches, a crowd had started to form outside. She couldn’t help but pull off a glove, letting frost form on the window.

“Almost time.”

“Well, you’re going to knock their socks off.” Jack gently grabbed her hair to pull out her bun. Her platinum blonde curls fell in gentle waves, framing her face. “There we go. You gotta remember the busy bun, Clar.”

“Sorry.” Clarissa glanced outside, seeing it was time. She let out a breath, brushed off her blue skirt and took one last glance over her speech. “Time to shine.” She pushed open the door.

The creak of the door silenced the crowd.

iii.

The streets were busy today. Even with the crowds, a dark-skinned man walked easily through the town. He was reading a newspaper article when there was a tap on his shoulder.

He glanced down, meeting eyes with a young blonde girl. Her hair was pulled back in a braid, dressed in a knee-length blue dress and jacket. Her socks were blue, her flats black. She gave a curtsy. “Pardon me, sir. Are you Emilio Toms?”

“That depends on who’s asking.”

“Princess Clarissa, sir, at your service.” She gave another quick curtsy. “I have been looking for you.”

“You’re making me nervous.”

“Right, sorry. I was at the college when I heard about you.” They started to walk, the girl trailing after him. “After I got into a fight with a friend of yours. He handles the financials?”

“You punched the bursar ?”

She stopped before him. There was silence for a long moment. She finally gave him a helpless shrug. “Would you believe me if I told you he deserved it? Anyway, I’ve read your essays and wondered how you got so good.” She gave him a sheepish smile. “I was wondering for my future position as queen.”

He stared at her. “Can I buy you a drink?”

She raised a brow before shrugging.“As long as it isn’t alcoholic, sure.”

Emilio nodded, stopping at a door. “Let me offer you some advice.” They entered the tavern, sitting at a table close to the bar. Clarissa looked around with wide eyes, snapping to attention when he spoke. “Talk less.”

“What?”

“Smile more.”

-_-

“That was amazing!” Rapunzel said. The twins walked through the town together. The sun was setting and Clarissa’s throat was sore, but her grin was wide. “You could see their thoughts as you spoke.”

“Thanks, sis. C'mon, race you!”

They had to turn down drinks to not be late for dinner with their parents. They wouldn’t be late.

The twins ran all the way to the castle. Many servants congratulated Clarissa as she passed. It was clear that people had spoken about today’s speech. When the twins entered the small dining room, it was to find the usual: Queen Ella setting up the silverware, the table full of food, and King Charming reading letters and such.

“Evening!” The younger chirped as she and her twin sat down.

The king looked up as the queen sat down. “Ah, hello girls. How was the speech today?”

Clarissa, busy loading her plate full of food, paused. Everyone’s eyes were on her. “Um,” she said, setting her plate down. She always got so nervous when her father asked. “I think it went well. ”

“Good!” Ella said with a bright grin.

The family ate, Charming reading as he did. The conversation went on about each other’s days and the latest projects. Clarissa was openly considering an essay supporting immigration rights when her father opened another letter, sipping his wine as he did. He did a spit take when he read it.

Everyone stared at him when he finally silenced.

“Dad?”

“Dear?”

Charming reread the letter. Then again. Then a third time. When he looked up from the paper, he was pale. His eyes were wide and he was shaking. He managed to set his goblet down, then met eyes with Ella.

“This letter…Ella, it’s from Snow.”

The only sound was things falling out of hands.

iv.

“So your sister-”

“Half-sister, technically. Mother was pregnant with us when she disappeared.”

Jack and Clarissa sat in the bar. He leaned against the counter as she sat there, staring straight ahead. When the news had been announced, the castle had been thrown into chaos. The servants were preparing Snow White’s room and the cooks were preparing a feast for her arrival. The town was whispering gossip, which would spread to the rest of the kingdom.

Jack took a breath to begin again. “Your half-sister wrote to tell you that she was safe and she had been living with miners-”

“Dwarves.”

He blinked. “What?”

Clarissa finally picked up the hot cider that had been cooling in front of her since she had ordered it. She threw her head back and swallowed a large mouthful. She set it down, wincing at the heat. “She wrote that she had been living with three dwarves until she married some prince. They’ve just gotten back from their honeymoon, which was why she hadn’t written before to say she was alive. There was something about a witch but Mother had kicked us out at that point.”

“Wow,” Jack said, a brow raising. He frowned. “So, how’s Rapunzel’s taking the news?”

Clarissa shrugged, tracing a stain on the bar counter. “She seems fine, bit excited. You know how she is. She’ll probably welcome Snow White.” She paused. “But Father and the council and everyone else is worried about how Snow White being alive will affect everything.”

She had been declared the heir after all.

You know, with the idea of Snow White being dead and all.

“If you ask me, they’ll be better off with you staying the heir.” Jack took a sip of his beer. The princess looked up.

“What was Snow White like?”

He gave her his own shrug. “She disappeared when she was ten. I was only two but I’ve heard stories.” His friend gave him an impatient glare, gesturing for him to continue. He sighed. “Apparently, she was really spoiled and a massive brat.”

She nodded, considering the information with tapping fingers. “Alright, we could possibly work with that. Maybe she’s changed.”

“I still hold to my opinion. The people will be better off with you.”

Clarissa gave him a cold look.

~’~’~

The day of Snow White’s arrival arrived a week later.

Rapunzel and Clarissa were dressed in matching dresses- the stuffy cream dresses used for family reunions their grandmother held every year- and both had their hair carefully braided back. They stood at the side of the dais that held their parents’ thrones. The former shifted excitedly in place, eager to meet the half-sister. The latter had her arms crossed, waiting. Everyone else in the hall, decorated in gold and dark blue, was waiting.

It felt like the court had all taken a deep breath.

The exhale was when the doors opened.

Pages and servants, knights and nobles all showed their loyalty by wearing their kingdom’s colors of mint green and silver. Finally, a young man appeared. He wore a crown and was holding hands with a young woman. She wore a crown and a cream dress herself, her face hidden behind a veil.

“His Royal Highness, fair Prince Leopold. And her Royal Highness, the fairest of them all, Princess Snow White.”

The couple stepped forward. She released his hand to push back the veil. Her skin was deathly pale, her lips appearing bloody. Her hair was coal black. Clarissa severely doubted the claim of fairest. Brown eyes looked up. “Father.” Their sister said.

Everyone stood in tense silence, waiting for the next word.

“I would like my crown.”

The silence dominated the hall. Clarissa could feel everyone blink in surprise. King Charming finally spoke, audibly gulping. “I have missed you too, my daughter.” He gestured to the queen. “I’m sure you remember Queen Ella.”

“Long live the Queen!” The court cheered, moved by their love of their queen.

The king nodded. The twins moved into place, standing before their sister. Both prepared to curtsy. “And your sisters, Princess Cl-”

“Father.” Snow White said in an attempt to sound sharp. It sounded whiny instead. There were quiet gasps at her boldness. “I would’ve thought you had gotten rid of the witch and her brats.”

The silence flooded back, the court staring. Charming clearly struggled for something to say, turning red with clear rage. Clarissa fought her own rage. Finally, he spoke. “I will see you at dinner daughter.”

Snow White nodded, giving everyone a cold look. The worse was for Ella. She turned sharply on her heel and left the hall, her husband and retinue scrambling to follow. There was even more silence after the doors closed.

“Well,” Ella said finally. “That went as well as expected.”

That seemed to be an understatement.

The family dinner was…awkward, to say the least.

A feast was spread out in the Great Hall. Snow White sat down the queen’s chair, forcing Ella to sit next to the twins. Their sister turned her nose up at everything, dominating the conversation. Her new husband never spoke his own opinion, only agreeing with what she said as if it was the gospel truth. Most of the ‘the gospel truth’ was about herself and thinly veiled insults aimed at the queen. She ignored the twins entirely, blocking them from the conversation with their father.

Clarissa finally gave in to her urge to slam her head against something when she was alone in her room.

She skipped breakfast the next morning to head to the bookstore. Jack looked up when she entered. “So, how was it-”

“We’re all doomed.”

He blinked as she sat down at the counter, staring into space. “That bad?” She nodded, for lack of better words. “Well, at least we have another capable heir.” Clarissa shrugged. “Wanna know why you’re the better heir?” Jack was met with silence. “Because you’re young and scrappy.”

She blinked before straightening. “You’re right!”

“What’s Jack right about?” Goldie asked. She, Xan, and Egon stuck their heads out of the backroom.

“Just because Snow White is here doesn’t mean that I’m not gonna be the heir!” She stood up. “I’m gonna work hard, polishing my tongue and skills! I’m smart, I know what I’m doing!” Starting to pace, Clarissa continued. “Not to be proud but everyone loves my speeches!”

“Exactly!” Jack said, joining in, grabbing her shoulders. “You’re only fourteen but you got the mind of someone older! You’ll learn to handle this!”

She raised a brow. “Uh…thanks?”

“You’ll be the leader everyone needs!”

Clarissa brushed off her confusion to nod eagerly. “Right! I’m young and scrappy and not giving up my shot!”

“Please, lower your voices.” Everyone glanced at the door. Emilio Toms entered, meeting eyes with his student. “If you stay out of trouble you’ll still have a chance at the crown. I agree with you, believe me. But right now it would be best if you stay-”

“Toms, look at what we got!” Clarissa wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “We got two siblings with a printing press,” Goldie waved as Jack preened. “A hard rock immigrant,” Xan struck a pose. “And a tailor’s apprentice with hot pants!” Egon grinned. “The gods put us all here for a reason!”

“Damn right!” Jack said with a crowd. He grabbed Clarissa’s hand. “Let’s get you in front of a crowd!”

Emilio watched as the entire group headed outside, a crowd drawn by their commotion. He sighed, watching as the crowd watched Clarissa burst into an impromptu speech as she perched on Xon’s shoulders. Later, he would remember it as the last moment he saw Clarissa like this- warm and passionate and with her friends

He didn’t know that on one of the castle’s many balconies, Snow White watched her half-sister with a look of distaste.

vi.

The next day was a quiet day.

Egon was running errands, Emilio was out somewhere, and Xan and Jack worked the printing press. Goldie and Rapunzel did stock and took orders. In her own corner, Clarissa furiously wrote. Her first drafts, books about royal bloodlines and inheritance rights, and her other writing sat around her.

“Clarissa, do you want something to eat?” Her twin finally asked. “You’ve been writing for three hours.”

“No thanks. I need to find a better way to phrase this.” Clarissa underlined a sentence and continued writing. Jack opened his mouth- “And before you ask, I am perfectly fine.”

“Hear ye, hear ye!”

She frowned in confusion, standing to see the source of the commotion. The entire group moved to look outside, seeing a crowd. It had formed around the square’s stage. A young man around Jack’s she stood there, his blonde curls tied back. He wore the colors of Snow White’s husband’s kingdom. Rapunzel opened the door.

“-What claim do the queen’s children truly have to the throne? They were only conceived to replace our fair Princess Snow White, to keep her from her rightful throne!”

The entire group blinked.

The elder twin raised her hand. “Does anybody mind…?”

Egon shook his head, patting Clarissa’s shoulder. “Please. Rip him apart.”

The girl grinned before heading into the crowd. People were too focused on the speaker to notice the crown heir, making it easy to reach the stage. Ignoring the stairs, Clarissa gripped the edge of the stage and attempted to hoist herself up. Only she was too short. Her legs kicked the air uselessly.

A hand gripped her collar and yanked her off, holding her like a naughty kitten. Emilio shook his head as he dropped her. “Leave him be.”

“I plead, listen to our good princess and support her claim.” A hand was held out. The two followed it to the speaker. He smiled at Clarissa, a blush on his cheeks and clearly having no clue who she was.

She pushed away Emilio to take his hand with a pretty smile. He flushed, a goofy smile appearing as he pulled her on stage. “I plead, listen to Snow White and-”

“And what exactly?”

He blinked as she pulled away, crossing her arms. “I say that Queen Ella’s children-”

“Ignore her-”

“Have full right-”

The two tried to speak over each other, Clarissa dancing around the clearly flustered speaker. “And don’t even speak of the happiness of the people!”

“You do not speak for me!”

“My dog is a better speaker.” She said, pulling the ribbon of his hair, turning his cheeks and ears red. At that remark, the boys in the crowd let out loud whimpers. The speaker growled.

“It is a foolish business-”

“And you style your hair just like hers!” She called, whirling past him. The two slammed into each other, knocking them to the ground. His face was bright red. “I pray that Snow White shows you mercy!” He yelled.

“Is she here?”

The speaker stared, trembling. Then he let out a cry. “Shame on you!”

“For Queen Ella!”

“Shame!” He yelled, blocked by the crowd’s yells of “Long live Queen Ella!” He opened his mouth and raised the piece of paper he held -

“If you repeat yourself I’m going to scream,” Clarissa said, snatching and reading the speech. She pushed him, flushed a deep red, off the stage and turned to the crowd. “Tell me, why should a long-missing person be queen?” She ripped the speech in half and let it fall to the floor.

“Clarissa, please,” Emilio said, leaning against the stage. “This is nothing but talk from Snow White.”

“Emilio, drop the nice act-” She said, crouching to get in a better position to argue.

“SILENCE!”

Two guards from the other kingdom, who also looked like they had no idea who she was, pushed her off the stage and to the cobblestones. She sat up, rubbing her head when a hand was offered. Emilio helped her up. “You okay?” He was answered with a nod. They, like the rest of the crowd, stared at the guards as they pulled out a large paper.

“A message from Snow White!”

vii.

The door to Snow White’s rooms slammed open, Clarissa standing in the doorway. She took a breath, glancing at the piece of paper she held to make her angrier. “Snow White! This speech is an enormous disrespect -”

“YOU IDIOT! I SAID THE PURPLE, NOT THE PERIWINKLE!”

Snow White stood in the middle of her room, maids scurrying around. She looked like she was just getting ready. Clarissa gaped at her, underdress on and hair pulled back to provide access to whatever corset she was going to wear. The younger girl glanced out a window. The sun was high, showing it was noon.

Seriously!?

“You!” She pulled her gaze back to see her half-sister pointing at her. Snow White snapped her fingers. Clarissa pointed, shocked into silence. “Yes, you! What do you want, I’m very busy!”

The light-haired girl dodged a maid holding a hideous purple velvet dress. “I’m sure of that-” She stomped her foot, snapping her mind back to her mission. “No! I mean, this speech is an insult to this kingdom and any taste!” She held up the paper she had flitched from the guards.

“It can’t be a crime if its true.” Snow White said as she slipped into a fancy corset. She waved away the maid who reached for the laces. All the maids looked very annoyed dealing with the spoiled princess. Clarissa could empathize.

“It’s not true! That’s another reason why all copies of this should be burnt!” She cleared her throat before reading. “My dear subjects, I, the fair Snow White, have an issue. This issue is related to the fact that the witch Cinderella Mannis still rules with her awful daughters. And on and on and on!”

“She is a horrible witch. It’s not my fault that nobody sees that.”

Clarissa growled, pulling off her glove. She summoned ice and willed it to form the shape she wanted. By the time she was done, she held a beautiful comb. She walked up to Snow White.

Gripping the corset laces, she pulled them as hard and as far as possible and then tied the corset as tight as she could. Before the other could complain, she stuck the comb in her hair.

Snow White fell to the ground.

“She’s not dead, just so you know,” Clarissa said, wiping her hands on her skirt. “The comb has a simple sleep spell on it. It’ll break when the comb completely melts.” The maids exchanged looks as she turned and left the room.

-_-

The time until dinner was peaceful. Clarissa fumed in her room, trying to figure out a proper way to address Snow White’s message. She was late for dinner, her family and Snow White’s husband already seated.

“Sorry, I’m late. I was doing… things.”

There was furious thumping then the doors slammed open. Snow White, half-dressed and her hair soaking wet, looked furious. “She put me in a coma!” She screeched, pointing to Clarissa.

“I did not! I just put you in a deep sleep.” She crossed her arms with a determined pout.

Snow White let out a shriek, stomping her foot. She let out another shriek when she stumbled, the heel of her shoe having broke. Her husband stood with a screech of his chair to run to her side and steady her. Snow White ignored him, jabbing a manicured red fingernail at Clarissa. "You can’t do that! I am the fairest in the land! I should be queen!“

The others blinked in confusion. Rapunzel was the one to ask the question. "Um…what does beauty have to do with anything?”

Snow White let out a huff. She turned and stalked out of the room, her husband quick to follow.

Clarissa gulped.

Snow White, her husband, and her retinue left the next day.

viii.

For the next two weeks, everything seemed normal. The royal family and the kingdom had decided to move on from the unpleasantness of Snow White’s visit. Nothing had come from it so far, and it looked like the other kingdom was going to ignore them. But Clarissa still felt uneasy.

One night, she laid in bed.

Sleep did not come to her. She laid awake, listening to her birds quietly chirp in their sleep and vaguely making patterns out of snowflakes in the air. Winter had such beauty. Clarissa finally grew tired of lying in bed.

She got out of bed and left her room.

Unsure of a plan, Clarissa started walking. Maybe she would go down to the kitchen for a snack…She stopped at a door, unsure why. It led to her mother’s solar, where Queen Ella entertained noblewomen.

She entered.

In the full moon of midnight, the room changed. What should’ve been filled with warmth felt vaguely threatening. Clarissa looked around before her eyes landed on the mirror.

It was a beautiful mirror, silver encased in a frame of dark ebony. A pattern of flowers and swirls had been carved in the frame. A heart had been carved at the top and the bottom. The bottom held an E and a C, the first letters of her parents’ names. It had been a wedding gift from her father to her mother. The frame had been made from the bed he had shared with his first wife- Snow White’s mother. Clarissa stopped in front of it.

Her reflection looked warped in the silver lit by moonlight. She took a breath. Snow’s words before leaving rang in her head.

“I am the fairest in the land!”

“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” Sure, it felt silly. But Clarissa was probably sleep deprived -

“Definitely not Snow White.”

Everything froze.

She looked around furiously at the sudden voice. Quickly, she held up her hands, ready for a fight. “Who’s there?!”

“Over here, your Highness.” She turned to stare at the mirror. “Yep, the mirror. I know it’s a look to reflect on…” It seemed to be waiting for a reaction. Clarissa raised a brow as she slowly lowered her hands. There was a hiss from the mirror. “Yeesh, tough crowd. But trust me, Snow White isn’t the fairest.”

She blinked before she found her voice. “She said she was. What was that about?”

“Well, little Snow White wasn’t the happiest camper when your parents got married. She came in here to sulk and asked if Ella thought she was the fairest.” The surface rippled to reveal a younger Snow White. Her face was screwed up in whiny anger. “I answered and told her that Ella wasn’t the fairest but was pretty close.”

She smiled. “Thanks.”

“Loving daughter, nice! Much different from Snow. Always so me me me-”

“Are you done?”

“Oh, right.” There was a sound like a throat was being cleared. “Anyway she asked who was the fairest and before I could answer, she assumed she was the fairest. Biggest brat? Yeah, her. But definitely not the fairest.”

“Wait, wait.” She said, crossing her arms. “There’s no actual way to measure beauty, it all depends on perspective.”

“Unless you’re a magic mirror, crafted by goblins. May I continue?”

She considered that, ignoring the goblins part. Finally, she shrugged. “Fair point, yes.”

The mirror seemed to clear its throat again. “Anyway, I sensed the little trouble you’re going to have with Snow White. Which is why I called you down here! Come to me when you need it.”

She raised a brow. “What does that mean?”

There was no answer. “Mirror?” Clarissa frowned, stepping forward to poke it. “Hello? Is this thing on?” Poking it received no answer. Raising a brow, she considered it. “Alright.”

Turning, she left.

~’~’~

The message came in during breakfast, two days later. When Charming read the other kingdom’s threat, Clarissa left the room.

Jack, called by a worried Rapunzel, found her in her room, sitting underneath the caged birds. She was staring at something in her hands, everything on her desk scattered around. “I think that’s a bad way to stay clean.” He said, sitting next to her. There was no answer. “Whatcha got there?”

She moved her hands, revealing a small magpie. Frost had formed on its wings and ice had formed deep on its head and chest.

“It’s dead.”

“Did you…?”

“Stress, I think. I forgot my gloves and I reached inside…” Usually, when she forgot her gloves, she could manage to control her powers. “It was over before I could stop it. Like everything else.”

“It’s not your fault.”

A hysterical laugh burst from her. “I lost my patience. It is my fault. Snow White is probably telling a trumped-up version of what happened.”

“Yeah, well, she’s a bitch and who cares what she thinks.”

Clarissa had no response, staring at the poor magpie. Jack frowned.

“You want me to bury it?”

She finally shrugged. “…Sure.”

ix.

The boys joined the army, under the command of General Arthur. He was a good man and Clarissa trusted him with her friends’ safety. She wrote speeches and pamphlets about how people could help the war effort, where to go and what to do, and about how the war was stupid but they still had to fight it. Goldie and Rapunzel worked hard at the bookstore.

Jack rose through the ranks through the months to become Arthur’s second in command. Xan earned a command, as well as Emilio, who seemed angry at Jack for some reason. Egon had disappeared. There were rumors that he was a spy.

Things changed.

Clarissa walked through the camp to her father’s tent. Inside, the generals and the king were looking over a map. General Arthur looked up, bald head covered by his hat. “Ah, your Highness. Thank you for coming.”

“You’re welcome.”

She stood next to her father, preparing to explain the plan that she, General Arthur, and her father came up with to the soldiers. “The plan is simple.” She picked up a piece marked with a crown to leave it in the capital. “The king and I will stay here while the army divided into three groups. The opposing army will come to try and capture us. One side will block them from the west, the one guarding the north, the other from the east. The navy will cut off their sea escape.”

A commander raised his hand. “Princess, doesn’t this create a risk of you two getting captured?”

“Yes, but we are placing our trust in you,” Clarissa said evenly. She tapped a corner of the map. “Plus, Queen Ella and Princess Rapunzel have been safely evacuated. If worse comes to worst, they’ll be safe to lead. This is our best chance. Any questions?”

Silence.

“Good. Now, let’s end this!”

The generals let out a cheer.

-_-

The plan worked.

Small battles led the enemy to the capital, Jack with his own command leading the way. The city had been emptied as well, civilians sent to stay where the queen and Rapunzel could lead them. Goldie was among them. Clarissa stood in her mother’s solar, staring out the window. The defenses were starting to be set up.

Her fingers twitched. Winter was approaching. She could feel it.

“Princess.”

She turned. A soldier stood there. He cut a low now before delivering the message.

“The enemy is approaching.”

She nodded and headed out of the room. Her footsteps were quick, soon arriving at the city’s gates. Xan was there, talking to…

“Egon!”

The three embraced. Clarissa pulled away with a grin. “Where have you been?”

“In the other kingdom. I got a job under Snow White in order to pass information to General Arthur.” He ruffled her hair. “I heard you came up with the plan.”

She let out a sheepish chuckle. “I helped.”

Horns rang. She frowned, stepping away. “That’s for you.” At their look, she shrugged. “Father refuses to allow me to participate. I must watch.”

They nodded. With one last embrace, the boys left.

Clarissa sighed.

She turned and ran back to the castle.

-_-

She waited in the solar.

It was far from the walls, a safe distance from the battle. The castle was empty except for her. She sat on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. The fabric of her skirt was flush against her lips. But Clarissa did not cover her ears, allowing herself to listen to the sounds of war visible from here.

When it went silent, after hours of fighting, she unfurled herself. She stumbled out of the solar and then the castle.

The city was eerie in the silence. She hurried. Finally, she stood on the wall.

The battle had been huge. The grass had been stained red with the bodies. But she could see the king, General Arthur, Xan, and Egon standing. They were all staring at one thing.

A young man, in the enemy’s colors, waving a white flag.

The cheering was loud.

-_-

Surrender terms talks started.

People returned.

Clarissa set to work.

She was working on a speech when a letter came. “It’s for you,” Rapunzel said. There was an odd tone to her voice. “From the Skye area.” Skye was where a particularly stubborn bunch of the enemy were hiding out. Rapunzel’s voice was trembling. “I got one too.”

“It must be from Jack. I’ll read it later.”

“No, it’s not.”

The urgency in her twin’s voice made her pause. She stopped and set down her quill. She straightened in her seat. “Read it.”

There was a crinkle of paper and a throat clearing.

“I am forced to announce the news that in the Battle of Skye, Commander Jack was killed. He is buried at…”

Jack was dead.

Dear Princess Snow White,

You have done a great disservice to my kingdom.

You have allowed your selfishness to blind you to only what you want, not what is best for the people. You believe you are the fairest and this vanity has gotten to your head. This selfish vanity has cost me a dear friend because of a battle of a war you insisted on.

You claim my mother is a witch and expect the people to a queen that had been presumed dead for years. You expect them to listen to a woman who ignores what they have to say. You expect your claim of being the fairest to give you the throne. I write this now to tell you this.

It will not be that easy.

Sincerely,

Princess Clarissa

~’~’~

There was a knock on the door. Emilio looked up from his papers over his newest case and stood to answer it.

Clarissa stood on the doorway, much to his surprise for several reasons.

The first that it was snowing and she only wore her dress. Despite not feeling the cold, she usually donned a coat. She wasn’t even wearing shoes.

The second was that she looked paler. Her platinum blonde curls, pulled into the busy bun, were more white than anything. Her blue eyes had taken a grey shade to them.

The third was her hand was clenching into a fist. Blood leaked in between her fingers.

“Princess?”

“I did something stupid.”

A cold wind blew. He shivered but she didn’t even flinch. “What did you do?”

“I can’t tell you right now. Can you come to Skye at dawn in two days?”

He blinked but couldn’t look away from her unflinching stare. “Alright.” The words escaped him before he could stop.

She nodded.

“Thank you.”

She turned and disappeared into the winter night. Emilio was left standing there. He was suddenly frightened.

~’~’~

“What do I need to do?”

“It’s really simple! All you need to do is knock me off the wall or slam me against the floor and boom! Stronger magic!”

“No, what I’ll have is a bunch of shards.”

“Princess, think about it. Magic plus magic equals more magic.”

“Okay, so how do I get that stronger magic? Swallow the shards?”

“…Um…”

“…Oh, you can’t be serious.”

“I am. If you want to be stronger, you have to.”

“But that’ll hurt.”

“There’s no gain without pain, Princess. Did I say that right?”

She sighed, her hand balling into a fist. There was a loud crunch as her fist slammed into the mirror.

The glass shattered.

xi.

There was snow. There was frost. There was ice.

There was Winter.

Rapunzel sat in the throne room, trying to ignore the frozen bodies of her parents behind her. The city had been buried and for the people who had been caught, it had been death. She had survived, up in her tower. Xan and Egon were away as far as she knew, checking on Goldie. Hopefully, they had survived.

And Emilio.

There was no sign of her approach. Just a hand on her shoulder. She looked up.

Her skin had frozen to a shade of either white or light blue, hair lightened to snow white. She had grown taller, frost on the area over her heart. Her too-grey eyes were cold. She moved her lips to form a smile but it was too cold to be real.

“Rapunzel.”

“Clarissa.” There was hope in her tone, that her sister was still in there.

“Not anymore.” The hand pulled away to be stretched out in offering. “Come.”

Rapunzel took it.

They walked away from their parents. Through the hallways. Past an open door that led to a solar with a broken mirror. Past a door that led to a bedroom full of frozen birds. Up a staircase, to a door.

Rapunzel entered her prison.

-_-

Years later, a prince would come.

An older, a wiser Rapunzel would marry him.

Fa Xan would return home, Egon at his side.

Fa would father a warrior child who would train under Egon.

Emilio and Goldie would go to a city.

They would each have a grandchild that would meet at the rose box.

And Clarissa?

The Snow Queen sat on her throne and watched.

#storytime #The Snow Queen #Rapunzel

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morinokunikara · 4 years

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Altschmerz w/ mishima mayhaps owo

Altschmerz: Weariness with the same old issues that you’ve always had – the same boring flaws and anxieties that you’ve been gnawing on for years.

IM SORRY THIS TOOK A WHOLEASS MONTH TO RESPOND TO LIFE HAS BEEN HELL AND IVE ONLY RECENTLY GOTTEN THE MOTIVATION TO WRITE DAILY

Anyways I wrote this in my idol school au so enjoy!!!

“One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four.”

The cheerful music and Yuuki’s muttered counts echoed through the large, otherwise empty practice room, each step landing softly as he followed the routine he had practiced again and again.

“One, two, three, four. One, two, three four.”

Right, left, spin, hop. Step, step, skip, hop. Cross, right, lef- Shit!

His rhythm was cut off as he tripped over his own legs, and his body met the wood flooring with a thud. “Ugh...damnit.” He crawled to the large speaker next to him and shut it off. The room went silent and he rested against the mirrored wall. Why can’t I get this right? Everyone else has already moved forward... He brought his knees to his chest with a sigh, and mentally went over the routine again.

Step, step, skip, hop. Cross, right, left, step.

It was that left step that got him. Every time, he’d stumble or fall over completely. The rest of his group had it. He was holding them back. If he didn’t figure it out, they wouldn’t pass this audition at all. He’d disappoint everyone. He had to keep trying, for their sake. He pulled himself back up and restarted the music track.

“One, two, three, four.”

Cross, right, left, st-

Thud.

“Damnit!” The fall was particularly painful compared to others. His left ankle twisted as he went to the ground, and he whined as he rubbed the hurt leg.

“That was quite the fall,” A gentle voice came from the other end of the room. The tall, slender figure walked over to Yuuki, kneeling next to him. “Oh...hey, Kitagawa...” Yuuki stopped tending to his leg and looked away. To be caught like this in front of a classmate, especially in front of someone as elegant and handsome as Yusuke Kitagawa. He was one of the best students in his class, and already fairly well known in the idol world. His beauty, his artistic eye, even his frequently eccentric behavior gained him a large fan following. And he just saw Yuuki crash and burn like some kind of newbie.

“Sorry to interrupt, I just believe I forgot my water bottle here.” Kitagawa walked to Yuuki’s side. “You aren’t too hurt, are you? Can you move your leg?” He asked. “Is it alright if I touch it? I just want to make sure it isn’t swollen or anything of the sort.”

Yuuki nodded slowly. He could only hope it wasn't so bad that he wouldn't be able to dance... He watched as his classmate pushed up his left pant leg and looked carefully at the injury. Kitagawa moved it a bit, and Yuuki winced slightly. "Did that hurt?"

"A little..." Yuuki's anxieties grew. Would he be able to dance in time for the next audition?

Kitagawa hummed thoughtfully. "Can you get up and walk around for a little bit?" Yuuki nodded and pulled himself up. He winced at the first few steps, but soon was able to walk through the pain with nothing more than a slight limp.

"I don't believe it's broken," Kitagawa said as he watched. "However, we may need to take you the the infirmary just in ca-"

"No!" Yuuki snapped. He shrunk back when he noticed Kitagawa's startled expression. "Sorry I just- I can't risk having to stop practicing even for a day. I have to get this routine perfect in time for auditions.”

Kitagawa stayed silent for a moment, biting his lip. “Well, if you won’t go to the infirmary, would you at the very least accompany me on a walk? You may be able to just walk this injury off, and return to practice without an issue.

Yuuki hesitated. Could he really afford to take such a break? But then again, walking with Kitagawa, going on a walk with an idol ranked so high above him... It might just prove to be beneficial for him. “A walk sounds fine. As long as it isn’t too long, I want to practice more before lights out.”

The two walked out into the courtyard together. The sun had just barely set, and the first stars of the night were starting to shine through the darkening sky. The cool autumn breeze whipped colorful leaves along their legs, a few of the leaves crunching under their steps as they walked down the concrete path under the canopy of increasingly vacant trees. Yuuki looked down at the leaves under them, unsure of what to say or do. His mind was flooded with thoughts on the situation. He could take this chance to learn what it meant to be a high ranked idol! But what if Kitagawa thought he was using him to get ahead? Or what if he saw other idols as competition and refused, or worse, gave fake, sabotaging advice? Lost in his thoughts, he ended up nearly tripping directly into the fountain in the center of the courtyard.

“Careful. We wouldn’t want you to fall again,” Kitagawa warned.

“Sorry,” Yuuki muttered, looking off to the side. “I must’ve got lost in my thoughts.” He laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

“Here, have a seat.” Kitagawa sat on one of the benches that faced the fountain and patted the spot next to him. “We can walk again when you’re more focused.”

Yuuki took a seat on the bench as well. Still unsure of what to say, he stayed silent as he watched the water sprouting from the fountain and down into the pool below.

“It’s relaxing, isn’t it?” Kitagawa broke the silence between them. “I frequently come here when I need some time away, or when I need inspiration.”

Yuuki didn’t reply. What was there to say? He didn’t need time away. In fact, he needed the opposite. He should probably get back to practicing already. He was starting to get antsy.

“You know,” Kitagawa apparently still had more to say. Wonderful. “Dancing and singing are art forms, just like painting. Idols themselves really are artists. I always admired them for that reason, and found myself wanting to expand my horizons outside of just a singular art form. However-” The ''however” caught Yuuki’s attention, and he looked to Kitagawa. “-Just like with painting, there is such a thing as practicing too much. How long were you in that practice room for?”

“Since dance lessons ended so...” Yuuki counted up the hours in his head. “About 3 and a half hours I think.”

“And did you take a break once in that time?”

“No.”

“Ah, see? You have to give yourself a chance to rest.”

“I don’t have time to rest. I have to work as much as I can. I have to catch up to everyone else. Almost everyone in the school is ranked higher than me, including-” Yuuki stopped himself. No, it would be selfish to mention her. It wasn’t his fault she was so much better than him.

“Including your sister, correct?” Kitagawa asked, looking to Yuuki.

Yuuki sighed. “Yeah. Including her. She’s always been better than me. She was our parents’ clear favorite. The ace student, the soccer MVP, the Theatre star... I always paled in comparison to her. So I have to keep working harder, so I can be on her level.”

It was something Yuuki had dealt with since his sister was born. In everything she did, she shined brighter than him. Everything became about her. She was the center of their lives, and Yuuki was almost completely forgotten. He always tried to work himself harder, push himself more, fight on despite exhaustion, but nothing ever worked for them. He was never good enough. He thought that maybe, just maybe, attending the Atlas Idol Academy would change that but of course it didn’t. His sister climbed far above him almost instantly, and ended up near the top of the rankings, while he stayed near the bottom.

“So you want to climb up to the top of this school’s ranking? And you think you can do that by dancing on an injured ankle?”

The question cut hard on Yuuki. Well, yeah, when he puts it like that of course it sounds bad. “No but...”

“You know, I was the same with my own paintings, at a time. I watched even younger artists soar above me. Naturally, my first reaction was that I wasn’t working hard enough. So I pushed myself more. First I gave up sleeping, then eating, then so much as putting the brush down for a few seconds. Despite my greatest effort, everything I painted turned out... soulless. They lacked emotion, meaning, everything. It wasn’t until I injured my wrist, and passed out from exhaustion, that I realized how much damage I was doing not only to myself, but to my art.” Kitagawa sighed and looked back to the fountain. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Yuuki stared at the fountain as he processed his classmate’s words. He understood but... that was different right? Wasn’t it? If he worked harder, if he pushed himself, he’d be the best. “It’s just not the same situation.”

“Not the exact same, but there are striking similarities. What will you do if your ankle gets worse, or if you pass out. You’re determined about this audition, are you not? If you end up hurt, you’ll only cause yourself to not be able to participate at all.”

Yuuki knew he was right but... but... No. No buts this time. “...I know...” He muttered. It kind of sucked to admit, but Kitagawa may have had a point. He couldn’t audition if he ended up hospitalized.

“Good.” Kitagawa smiled and got up. “So, what are your plans now?”

Yuuki rose as well, stretching his arms as he did so. “I think I’ll go back to my room for now. My ankle feels better, but I’ll keep an eye on it and go to the infirmary if things get worse. And uh...thanks for looking out for me. I really appreciate it.”

“Of course. Contact me anytime you’re in need of a reminder. Would you like me to escort you to your dorm?”

“I wouldn’t mind that at all.” Without really thinking, Yuuki offered his arm to Kitagawa, who...actually took it? He realized a second too late what he had done, and averted his gaze to hide the dusting of pink on his face. Not that anyone could see it with how dark it was.

The two walked arm in arm together until they reached Yuuki’s dorm room. They said their good nights before parting ways, and Yuuki went straight to bed so he could rest up for the next day. In the time following, Yuuki followed his own pace, and found himself able to master the routine in time for the audition, leading to his group acing the audition with flying colors. He still fell into his old mindset from time to time, but when he did, his new friend was there, always supportive, always willing to remind him to work at his own pace to be the best he could be.

#persona 5 #persona #p5 #yuuki mishima #yusuke kitagawa #Anonymous #mailbox

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ask-shakespearehigh · 5 years

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Q&A post with the Mods!!!!

This is going to be a long one oh boy

How strict is the delineation of creative control vis-a-vis characters/plays between the mods? (@pedanticlecturer)

We generally have the plays split up along lines of “what we know”— we have a list at the very beginning of the blog. Sometimes we’ll draw the others’ characters (mostly me drawing some of Star’s…) but even then the final say on characterization is up to the “main” mod for that play — mod aster

what aster said -- mod star

What is your favorite play? What is your favorite character in terms of how they were written in the source material? (@pedanticlecturer)

I think my favorite play overall is Macbeth, just because I like the vibes (and the fact that I too could kill Macbeth), the fact that you don’t say it’s name in theatres, and the fact that it’s a play I did a full read through and analysis of in class. Favorite character? Puck from Midsummer. — mod aster

uhhhh,, hmm. ive always had a soft spot for midsummer since i saw it with aster esp bc of how fun the costumes were. of the comedies it has the largest potential to be the most visually pleasing bc of the concept of fairies,,,and im gay and dramatic so i love that. id die if i got to costume design for midsummer,,,or be in it,,,yeah. fav character. hmm. probably mercutio?? i recently saw a version of romeo and juliet where mercutio was played by a woman and oh my god it was amazing!!! not to mention mercutio’s portrayal in baz luhrmann's INCREDIBLE version of r n j!!! (I based my mercutio design on him) he just spends the entire time making dick jokes. love that. -- mod star

How do you answer asks so fast? I mean it's great but I'm impressed 😂 (Anon)

Personally, it’s a mix of: notifications on, quick drawing speed, and using the blog to avoid my class work — mod aster

aster is fast and (as you can see from all of my answers) im lazey -- mod star

Are there any elements/characters of the plays you're covering that you would have liked to work into this blog's plot, but couldn't due to the constraints of the setting or the synthetic nature of the blog? (@pedanticlecturer)

I wanted to make everyone gay but unfortunately due to plot constraints we have to have some hets but that wont stop me from making it lgbt as possible. -- mod star

I did want to make The Tempest more of a central play, but it just didn’t translate well. Similarly, other supernatural elements like the witches in Macbeth. This isn’t so much a constraint mentioned, but my own time/energy means that I want to show the Macbeth backstory, in a specific format, but I can’t right now— mod aster

Is there a hierarchy of import when it comes to each play's individualized impact on shakespeare high's general arc? If so, what plays are crucial to the foundation of the story? Which ones did you do mostly for shits and giggles? (@pedanticlecturer)

This is phrased like an ACT question and i might not answer it right so sorry in advance but: mod aster and i only selected a few plays for each of us to do given we dont know all of shakespeare’s works, but we tend to put more emphasis on the the more well known. But it also comes down to 1. How much we have plotted out for each play and 2. What the followers ask about most. Our two most popular are hamlet and macbeth bc people are familiar w those but around march caesar always becomes relevant again. I didnt even have designs for some of the characters until someone asked about them. -- mod star

I would say the same as star— it generally comes down to what people ask about. I will say that the overall plot is sort of separated into “has happened” and “is happening”. Like, the human potion of Midsummer, Julius Caesar, and Macbeth are all in the “aftermath” portion, while Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet, among others, are happening. We’re trying to incorporate as much as we can, and I don’t think any of them were really put in without some thought.— mod aster

What personal significance does shakespeare hold in ur guys' lives? (@pedanticlecturer)

I go to a theater school rn and so ive dealt w shakespeare (although not all of them) it also helps that i was in loves labours lost last year as moth and that i read hamlet and r n j. Theres also a theater in my state that always does One Big Shakespeare per season and they always do them super well!!! My love for shakespeare probably started w seeing midsummer at that theater w mod aster!!! So. Theater kid rights!! -- mod star

To be honest, I got back into Shakespeare Because of the blog. I’ve been friends with some people that got really Pretentious about Shakespeare, and it kinda put me off of it. I did have a book of abridged plays (the plays’ plots written out in prose, basically) that I read as a kid, which is what got me into not only the plots of a lot of the plays, but also the idea of having them illustrated. And, same as star, the theater in state does the One Big Shakespeare— and they tend to do some really cool things with the costumes, setting them in diff time periods. I haven’t been able to see any lately since I’ve moved, but they still slap. — mod aster

🥰😘💙🥰🥰💜💟🥰I 😍💗💚😍😍LOVE🖤🖤 YALL ♥️♥️🧡💛💚💝❣️💕💘💖💗💓💞💝❤️💛💜 okay now i have a question i swear— how long have the two of you been doing art??? and what were your first shakespeare plays??? (@hellaghosts)

Uhh i started drawing when i was like idk 12 and i have the giant boxes of sketchbooks to prove it!!! I moved to digital art at abt 14-15 but mostly stayed traditional until this yr when i got a Neat New Tablet so some of my sketchbooks are sitting abandoned rip. My first shakespeare was either romeo and juliet or midsummer nights dream and i love both of them v much!!! I have a very old piece of art that i did for r n j for my freshman class assignment on it and it hasnt aged well alsdjfjafd circa 2016 i think??? -- mod star

Oh man. I started drawing when I was about 10, but it was Bad. I don’t think I got much into drawing again until I was about 14? Sometime around the end of middle school/beginning of high school. I would say I started getting into drawing as more than doodling/coloring edits sometime around 2015-16? I would draw on my iPad with my finger, then I got a tablet for my computer, and now I pretty much stick to my iPad with an Apple Pencil. My first Shakespeare play was….. uh…… probably Midsummer???? I have No idea. We would go to plays when I was little, so I honestly don’t remember if I saw others before. It may have been Romeo and Juliet— I had that book where it was the original and the “modernized” with the little dog that explained things— which, if you know it makes sense, but if you don’t is probably a bonkers answer. — mod aster

Do you think this blog has like? An overarching thesis (be it b/c intentionally or simply b/c ur own take on the world has bled thru to the point where u believe it’s central to the piece at this point)? (@pedanticlecturer)

Not gonna lie, I had to read that like three times AND dm you to figure out what you were asking from us and all I have is “be gay, respect women, write your own happy endings”. — mod aster

This blog started with an ides of march shitpost and you think we have enough brain energy to write a whole thesis? I projected feelings of found family onto my half of the blog but idk if that counts. Be gay do crime 420 69 -- mod star

What’s the nature/rough dynamic of ur relationship? How do y’all know each other? (@pedanticlecturer)

Met mod aster when i was like 4 and even tho we didnt live close we became like, best friends although the Best part didnt start until we were like 13-ish and eventually we talked like non stop (about anime and homestuck. Yknow. 13 year old kid things) and we didnt see each other a lot bc of Distance and now its even worse bc aster is in colleg.,e but we consider each other siblings regardless of family bc we’re adopted into our own respective families so that bled over into our friendship and it would feel weird calling him anything other than my brother now. We’ve seen each other at our best and worst and if you really want a good insight on what we’re like as siblings watch griffin and justin mcelroy’s overview video of catlateral damage wherein i am griffin and he is the long suffering justin. -- mod star

Star is basically my long distance sibling and functionally the only cousin I recognize bc like their parents are basically an aunt and uncle and like our dads look enough alike that we’ve both accidentally gotten the wrong dad for a hug or similar so like. Anyways yeah Star is the Griffin to my Justin, complete with our absent middle brother who we love dearly— mod aster

Dubiously relevant q but what kind of music do y’all listen to when u do art (if that is indeed a habit either of u partake in) (@pedanticlecturer)

It can depend on the piece? I was working on some (unrelated) oc prints that were song-focused, and for those I just listened to said song on loop. Sometimes I have playlists. Sometimes I’ll just be in a Mood and throw a song on loop. But a lot of time for the blog, I’ll listen to The Adventure Zone for the billionth time, because I have Too Much Attention. I’ve also, on request from Star, linked the most recent “loop song”.— mod aster

I tend to obsess over the same like 3 songs every few weeks so those get listened to on repeat but it also depends on the tone of what im drawing or who im drawing i might genre switch bc of that. If im drawing ophelia i stick to lana del rey and if im drawing hamlet its the neighborhood, horatio is sufjan stevens etc. i have categorized,. Most of the characters i draw into different songs/genres/energies of music but not like i ever follow that. Sometimes i just pull up a really long nonsense video and forget to draw. Essentially: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ -- mod star

How’d y’all come up with ur pseudonyms? (@pedanticlecturer)

I love space so much and my main blog is starryeydsailor space gay rights!! Im also tiny and full of energy and bright so basically i;m star -- mod star

Uhhhh i was like “hey i want to do uhhhhhh flower?” And then I google searched flower names until I found one I liked —- mod aster

How did you end up deciding the rough timeline of events in canon? (@pedanticlecturer)

It’s mostly determined by like. How we choose per story? If that makes sense. Like, we just take story by story, and decide “is it happening, has it happened, and when?” And then we fit them together in relation to each other just by dint of. All existing at once. Like, I knew I wanted Macbeth to be in aftermath, because like, even though there’s no murder, the way I’ve translated it to the AU is still kinda heavy, and it’s something that I don’t know that I could do properly if it were happening right now. Also, it’s more interesting IMO to have them at different times. Tl;dr we wing it per story and slot them together— mod aster (mod star agrees I just can word better, in theory)

If you could tell the story of shakespeare high in a different format than an ask blog, would you? Obviously y'all are making very good use of the format, but would you want to write this as a animated series or like? a comic book? or is the form inseparable from the story? (@pedanticlecturer)

I kinda wanted to do a webcomic or maybe to plot develop through like, animatics but the element of surprise comes from the asks we get and really makes us think so the blog is a good start. We didnt think we’d get this far -- mod star

Pretty much what Star said— there are certain elements where it’d be neat to do as a comic or as an animatic. Like, the fantasy dream is like, an anthology webcomic of each story, where you can like, see other characters in the background and stuff. But to be honest, we develop a lot by what we’re asked— there was a post about developing worldbuilding by being asked questions and then pretending you’ve thought about the answer, and it’s not far off. Personally, it’s hard to just lay out a story, because I have a whole WORLD and what’s relevant? What are people interested in? It’s by getting questions that I can then focus in on an area to develop. And yeah, we Super didn’t think we’d get this far lmao — mod aster

Any headcanons about your characters that you don't think will ever come up on the blog through asks or plot posts? (@pedanticlecturer)

I could make a whole separate post for this!!!!! Mostly its voice headcanons (and by mostly i mean like 1 or 2) or relationship hcs!!!! -- mod star

Honestly same. I don’t think I have voice headcanons for mine, though I bet I could find some. I’ve got a bunch of miscellaneous headcanons that just kinda float around, but like they’re scattered, too numerous for this post, and also not always things I’m sure are canon yet.— mod aster

#mod post #mod aster #mod star #q and a #birthday #we cant seem to read more AND tag so like brb gonna go kill god

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princelylight-blog · 6 years

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◣ F I V E T H I N G S !! ◥

fill in the categories with 5 things that your character can be identified by. repost, do not reblog !!

TAGGED BY. @unladylikc ( thank you so much! ) TAGGING. @thislovelylady @pxlaire @mckeitbeautiful @siiinuously @carnal-snake @freedomxchildren @zappsta @duskfloret @infernal-king @scftrain @silencedglaive @solarsurfer @snowdrcp @dawnscene @xjelani and whoever else would like to do this!

✖ I. EMOTIONS / FEELINGS.

01. Aesthetic appreciation ( studying the nature of beauty and art ) 02. Empathy ( understanding and sharing the feelings of another ) 03. Nostalgia ( sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past ) 04. Excitement ( great enthusiasm and eagerness ) 05. Regret ( sadness, repentance, or disappointment over something that has happened or been done )

✖ II. GREETINGS.

01. A firm nod of the head for strangers, usually accompanied by a subtle smile. 02. Handshakes for newer acquaintances, strong yet punctuated by a grin. 03. Hugging or the holding of the other’s hand while sentiments of pleasure at the meeting are exchanged; reserved for friends. 04. Perhaps a kiss to one cheek or both if the person is of special importance or closeness ( and he’s aware that it won’t lead to discomfort ). 05. Warm waving and exciting exclamation of a friend’s name if spotted from afar.

✖ III. COLORS.

01. Red ( Energy, passion, and action ) 02. Silver ( Illumination and reflection ) 03. White ( Innocence, wholeness and completion ) 04. Royal blue ( Trust and responsibility ) 05. Amber ( Warmth and safety )

✖ IV. SCENTS.

01. Vanilla. Io isn’t terribly efficient with cooking or baking, but he’s attempting to learn. He loves the taste of vanilla, so he’s likely to smell like it on certain days. 02. Peppermint from the shampoo he uses. It utilizes natural peppermint extracts, and the scent lingers on his hair. 03. Lavender, after he drinks tea before bed. His favorite blend smells strongly of it and soothes anxiety. 04. Charcoal, predominantly on his hands after drawing with charcoal pencils. He often forgets to wash it off for a bit and may streak it on his clothes or skin. 05. New paper from notebooks is one of his favorite scents, and it tends to follow him thanks to the sheer amount of sktech pads and paper he tends to have with him most of the time.

✖ VI. OBJECTS.

01. Sketchpad. It’s rare to find him without one on his person, as he prefers not to miss an opportunity if inspiration strikes. They’re also useful for poetry. 02. A fancy, hardback copy of George Orwell’s 1984. It was a present from his brother, Dekker, for his birthday the year before their estrangement. The inside cover contains a neatly written list of Io’s favorite quotes in light pencil. It means a lot to him. 03. Set of black earbuds. While riding the train to university or walking, he likes to listen to lectures, music, or audio books in languages he’s learning. 04. Pens. Always in black ink. He’s a chronic doodler. 05. Cell phone. In truth, he isn’t much texting. Instead, he likes to always have his phone as a mobile GPS for the (many) occasions when he becomes turned around in a new place.

✖ VII. VICES / BAD HABITS.

01. Bad time management. While he’s rarely late for meetings or the like, he has a bad habit of focusing in on one or two things at a time and forgetting the big picture. As a result, he often finds himself overworked during semesters with many projects in university or failing to finish particular tasks he had set for himself (which lead to frustration with himself, etc). 02. Overly critical. This applies primarily to himself, although he can sometimes expect a lot of other people, too. When someone doesn’t give their all to something he feels they should care about, he feels conflicted and will often bring it to their attention, whether his opinion has been asked for or not. 03. Rambling. He talks a lot, and doesn’t always understand when he should stop. This can sometimes lead to him embarrassing himself, or annoying the people around him. 04. Spacing out. With a tendency to become lost in his own thoughts, he can have trouble remaining grounded in reality. He might be in the middle of a class and completely lose the train of discussion. Although he stays fairly attuned to conversations or when others are around, this habit does lead him to jump to specific topics, ideas, or activities that seem to come out of nowhere. 05. Martyr complex. During his brother’s illness, he was expected to be “the good son:” supporting his parents and brother’s girlfriend, not causing anyone to worry about him. This lead to him keeping all of his negative emotions tucked away for the sake of not burdening the people he cares about, even to his own detriment. He doesn’t expect this of anyone else (quite the opposite) and prefers to let everyone think he’s usually satisfied with life in general while being their shoulder to cry on.

✖ VIII. BODY LANGUAGE.

01. Tilting his head when curious. 02. His gaze drifting up the the ceiling or the sky mid-conversation if he’s attempting to gather his thoughts. 03. Biting his bottom lip when frustrated or embarrassed. 04. Chin resting in the palm of his hand, especially if listening or thinking intently. 05. Leaning forward when excited or full of anticipation.

✖ IX. AESTHETICS.

01. Paintings on canvas with muted colors of someone without a distinguishable face. 02. Herbal tea early in the morning or right before bed, the steam curling upwards from the rim of its china cup as it cools. 03. Lake water lapping at a grassy bank as the setting sun reflects on the rippling surface, a myriad of reds and golds. 04. Books placed carefully on a dark mahogany shelf, alphabetized by the title embossed on the spine in curling script. 05. Two hands, palms pressed together, with their fingers intertwined in a tight squeeze.

✖ X. SONGS.

01. White Blood — Oh Wonder 02. Mercy — Shawn Mendes 03. Die Trying — Michl 04. Love Will Make Me Stay — Butterfly Boucher 05. Breathe — Fleurie

#♕ ↪ ❝ I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY BUT CAN’T ❞ │ ( headcanon )#♕ ↪ ❝ DEFINE YOURSELF ❞ │ ( music )#♕ ↪ ❝ I’M NEVER LATE; EVERYONE ELSE IS SIMPLY EARLY ❞ │ ( queue )

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5hfanfiction · 6 years

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Patient 743 - Chapter 8

“Alright everyone, settle down."

Ms. Leon walks to her desk, sits down and her eyes roll across the classroom, examining every student in the room. I felt my cheeks slightly blush when she looked at me. I know Normani noticed it and that just made me blush even more.

Today’s classes went by fairly quickly, nothing eventful happening at all. We received a new assignment in art that I am honestly pretty excited about. We are to create a piece, whether it is a drawing, writing, sculpture, whatever have you and base it on your personal life.

Normani and I were sitting at our usual spot eating the dinner that was served to us when Keana and Jacob arrive.

"Salutations friends.” Jacob says as he sits, waving his hand to Normani and me.

“Halloooo” I smile shyly.

I meet Keana’s eyes and smile, already noticing she doesn’t seem like her usual self.

We ended up in pointless conversations about anything and everything, each of us chewing on our food.

I groan instantly when I feel that all too well-known feeling in my stomach. I close my eyes and try to relax, taking a few sips of my water. I think I’m in the clear as a few minutes pass, however, I feel the warm liquid seeping its way up my throat and begin making my run towards the nearest washroom.

I am thankful I was able to make it into the bathroom stall. I was not thankful that this kept happening. I groaned as the contents of my stomach constantly poured into the toilet bowl, taking the time to flush every few minutes.

I heard someone come in as I was continually poured every ounce of liquid and chunks of food in my body into the toilet.

I hate this I hate this I hate this. I thought to myself as my stall door was pushed open.

“Lauren? Oh no sweetie, don’t tell me this is happening again."

I heard Ally’s sweet tone ring to my ears as my hair was being pulled back by her hands. She made sure to have a grip of my hair with one hand as she reached back and pulled out a walkie-talkie from her back pocket.

"Hey dispatch, this is Ally, can you please 911 to the east wing restrooms? I have a patient who needs to go to the hospital now. Stat.”

“10-4 Ally, they’re en route.” I heard the voice chirp through the small machine.

“No I don’t need to go to the hospit-” I tried to speak up but was met with a coughing attack instead. I felt like I couldn’t breathe and then I realized it’s probably a good idea for them to take me. I closed my eyes, still coughing I began to spit out blood into the toilet. Okay, this cannot be good. Pain radiated throughout my body as I hunched over the toilet.

My stomach was tightening up and cramping and I thought something was inside of me tearing all of my intestines apart.

I groan as I feel my heart beginning to beat faster and faster, my breathing becoming heavier, I felt like the room as spinning, then everything turned black.

CAMILA’S POV

“Dinah, why don’t you have any good food in your houseeeee?” I asked whining to her.

“Shut up we have food. You just want junk food.”

“Okay yeah true, whatever.”

Dinah and I went up to her room and sat on her bed, turning Netflix on her tv.

We were scrolling through the titles when Dinah finally brought up what I have been avoiding since it happened.

“So, Camila. Have you talked to Austin?”

I shook my head and looked down at my hands in my lap, fiddling with my fingers. “He has texted me a few times honestly, but I haven’t responded. I don’t know if I want to.”

“You shouldn’t. He doesn’t deserve your time, you are way too precious.” Dinah reaches over and pinches my cheeks which makes me scrunch my face up in response.

I giggled a little, then am instantly distracted by a ding of my phone.

Pulling it out from my back pocket I click on the notification from Ally, my heart skipping a beat as I do. Considering how late it was I figured this had to be about Lauren. Why else would Ally text me at nearly two in the morning?

Ally 1:54 AM: Hey Mila, I don’t want to worry you or anything but I did make a promise to you. Lauren ended up getting really sick again tonight. We transported her to the ER by 911. She is stable now, I am with her in the icu. We are waiting for the hospital staff to get back to us with her test and lab results. She did throw up a profuse amount, including blood. She lost too much. They had to give her a blood transfusion. She had passed out before the ambulance arrived. The doctors are saying she may just have inflammation of her stomach lining that was so irritated by her getting sick over and over again with lead to the bleeding. She is bleeding into her abdomen but the doctors are talking about getting her up to surgery but they are not sure what the plan of treatment is going to be yet. They gave her medicine for the pain, she is knocked out now. Vitals are pretty good… they could be better. Her b/p is 100/60 and her heart rate is 67. I just wanted to keep you informed and I am sorry for texting you so late. Have a good night. ALLY XO

Camila 1:56 AM: Thank you for telling me. What hospital is she at? Has she woken up at all from when she passed out? Is she okay? Do you think it would be okay if I come up there? I can stay with her tonight, and you can go home.

Ally 2:00 AM: Of course sweetheart. She’s at Arcadia Bay Memorial, she was just transferred to the surgical intensive care unit. Room 207. She woke up for a bit and was mumbling about someone named Chris, and Taylor, her heart rate started to rise rapidly as she did. The doctor gave her a sedative. She is asleep again.

Camila 2:01 AM: Okay thank you sunshine, I will be there soon.

I explained to Dinah what was going on, and she happily offered to ��borrow” her mom’s car to drive me which is saying a lot that I agreed, since Dinah’s driving reminded me of a child trying to stay inside the lines of their coloring.

“Thank you, Dinah.” I said as we got into the vehicle.

“Yeah yeah, you owe me one.”

The car was filled with background music when Dinah spoke up again.

“So, do you wanna tell me why this patient has us dressed and out in public at 2 in the morning?”

I shrugged, watching all the buildings, trees, and life passing by in the window. “There’s just something about her that I know I can help, she is damaged and doesn’t seem to be very open to people. I wanna help her, I wanna help people. I don’t know. I feel like if she wakes up with someone she actually knows by her side, it might help her improvement.”

“I’m so happy you’re my best friend Mila.”

The car ride ended with me giving Dinah a huge hug and thanking her about twenty times. I walked into the hospital, looking around for a moment, I am already lost. I’ve only been to this hospital a few times and it is huge. I walked over to the nurses’ station at the front desk, asking how I get to the SICU and follow the directions she gave me.

After taking 3 unnecessary elevator rides and getting lost in the radiology department I finally found the department of the hospital that Lauren is on. I walked down the corridor until I found her room, 207.

I very quietly slid the curtains over and walked into the room, I let out a small snicker when my eyes met ally passed out on the awfully uncomfortable hospital chair, right next to Lauren’s side.

“Ally” I whispered, lightly shaking her shoulder.

She snickered slightly then fluttered her eyelashes until she stirred awake. “Oh, hi Mila. You got here quick.”

“I tried, hey, go ahead and get yourself something to eat or get a cup of coffee, you can go home if you’d like. I can take it from here.”

I gave Ally a big hug and then took her place in the chair next to Lauren’s bed. I looked up at the girl’s facial features, for the first time really beginning to take how beautiful her face truly was. I smiled to myself at her peaceful state, taking a second to gaze over at her vitals and the medications she’s on.

I take my phone out of my pocket, scrolling through my social media, just checking my notifications. Every so often Lauren’s night nurse would walk in and get down her stats, along with administering more medication. I walked myself over to the small window of the small hospital room.

I shoved my hands in my pockets, my eyes focused on the sky, watching as the sun began to peek its head out. The sky was a mix of yellow, pink, and orange. I was happy enough watching the world when I hear mumbling.

“Lauren.” I whispered, walking over to her bedside.

“Nooo, Chris. No, You’re okay.. hmm.. I am.. I am stopping the bleeding, it’s okay.. it’s… CHRIS”

Lauren was mumbling at first, and her yelling of the name ‘Chris’ took me by surprise, she started to look frantic, beginning to move her body around. I called out for her nurse, and reached down and took hold of her hand.

“Lauren, it’s Camila. Lauren? Can you hear me?” I placed my free hand on her shoulder, beginning to lightly shake her. I didn’t want her to pull out any of her ivs or tubes.

“Laurennnnn.” I placed my hand on her forehead, pushing the hair away to tuck it behind her ear. “Sweetie, wake up now. We want to see how you are feeling.”

The nurse was on the other end of the bed checking to make sure none of her wires have been disconnected as I kept talking to Lauren as she began to open her eyes.

Her heart rate began to increase as her drowsy state began to become clear. I needed to relax her, or else she might go into tachycardia.

“Lauren, hey.” I wiped my thumb up and down along the back of her hand. “Lauren, you are okay. We are at the hospital. You had a bit of an ut-oh. We are taking care of you now. I am taking care of you now. We are still waiting for your test results, but you might need surgery. That might sound scary, but the doctors here are legendary. You are going to be okay.”

Lauren’s dozy state made a huge smile spread across my face. “Do you understand what I am saying?”

A small giggle escaped my throat as Lauren reached up and poked my nose, “boooop.”

“She is on a lot of pain meds” The nurse finally spoke up, typing into the bedside computer. “She will be very out of it for the next few hours.”

I turned my attention to the blonde girl in light blue scrubs and nodded. “I’m familiar. When do you think her results will be in?” I asked, hoping to get Lauren feeling better as soon as possible.

“They are actually in now, I just paged the attending doctor. Just waiting for him to return the call.” She walked to my side of the bed, holding her hand out. “I’m Dee.” The older woman said as she took my hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Camila. Are you family?”

I was very confused when she said my name but after considering my previous actions for a moment I realized I said it out loud to Lauren earlier. I gave her a big smile, “No, I’m actually a trainee at the facility she was admitted to, I am one of the main caregivers taking care of her. I’d like to consider her my friend thoug-”

I was interrupted by Lauren’s very raspy voice.

“Cameeeeeeela. Her na-name is Cameeeeellllaaaaa.” She began to giggle. “She is so pretty, don’t you think Deeeeee?”

I laughed a little at the girl that was speaking just from her pain meds, looking over at Dee. “How long will she be like this for?”

“Like I said, probably a few hours.” Dee grabbed Lauren’s left hand to inspect the iv line, which made me realize I was still holding her right hand. I felt my cheeks began to become warmer, instantly trying to pull away from her grasp. Lauren only squeezed my hand tighter, not letting me go.

“Lauren, you already seem to know but my name is Dee. I’m your nurse here at the hospital. How are you feeling?”

Lauren turned her head very slowly to the other side of the room so she can look at the woman. “Hiiiii Dee. I feel good. I have a pretty lady holding my hand. Don’t tell her I said that.” Once again, she burst into a giggle fit.

I heard a shout from the nurses’ station, “Dee, line 3 is yours.”

“Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”

After Dee walked out I turned my attention back to Lauren, pulling my chair right up against the bed. My hand not leaving hers.

“Feeling better Lauren?” I smiled at the girl.

“You are right next to me so I feel pretty amazing, have I ever told you that you are beautiful? If I haven’t then I’m dumb because wow. You are so beautiful.”

I felt the heat rising to my checks yet again at her words, but I had no idea why since it was just her pain medication talking.

“Lauren.” I rolled my eyes. “Stop it.”

“I don’t know why I act so tough all the time. I’m not. I am so weak. I can’t even tell you how pretty I think you are unless I’m doped up.”

Lauren looked away from me now. I kinked my eyebrow up in slight confusion. Where was this coming from? I really wanted her to trust me and open up to me, so I pressed the issue a little more.

“Lauren, do you wanna elaborate?”

She started giggling again, uncontrollably. I couldn’t help the huge smile that was spread across my face, “What is so funny?”

“You are so beautifu-”

I furrowed both of my eyebrows, standing up to walk over on the side of the bed where Lauren was facing.

“Lauren?” I placed my hand on her chin, lightly grazing my thumb along her cheekbone. I chuckled lightly to myself. She was asleep again.

I walked back to sit in the chair that was as hard as concrete, magically finding a way to close my eyes and fall asleep.

I was woken up by mumbles and chit-chat, groaning quietly to myself as I lift my neck up, immediately regretting sleeping in the position I was in, my neck cramping up. I moved my hands to lightly massage my sore skin, my eyes finally opening to look at my surroundings.

“Wait, where’s Lauren?” I said mostly to myself, realizing the room was empty and Lauren’s hospital bed was no longer in the room. I ran out of the room and over to the nurses’ station.

“Um- Where did the patient go that was in room 207? Lauren Jauregui? I fell asleep for a minute she was just there I-”

“Camila right? Hi, I’m Neil. Dee told me you’d have a lot of questions.” The gentleman reached over the desk to shake my hand, which I shook lightly. “Dee left since she is just the night nurse, I am the day nurse that has been assigned to Lauren’s case. Now I don’t want you to worry, but Lauren has been taken up to the operating room.

"Wait, what? Why didn’t anyone wake me? For what? Was she diagnosed? What operation are they performing?”

“Dr. Chueng is performing the surgery, he discovered Lauren did have a stomach ulcer that was bleeding hence why she was vomiting blood. He is doing a partial gastrectomy to remove a small part of her stomach to remove the tumor, he is actually finishing up now. Lauren should be back out soon, but she will be asleep for a few hours, but she should feel much better.”

“Oh, okay. She’s coming back now?” I asked, my heart beating faster than it should be.

“She sure is. Go get yourself a coffee and something to eat, when she is back I have to reassess her, and put back in her ivs to giver her the medications she needs. Give me at least thirty minutes okay?”

“Okay, Thanks Neil.” I said, “But uh, can you point me in the direction of the cafeteria? If I don’t ask I will literally get lost.”

I got a smile out of him, as he gave me a piece of paper with precise direction and I was on my way, I really needed that coffee.

#UPDATE #AU #camren #submission #Patient 743 #series

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logh-icebergs · 7 years

Text

Episode 18: The Lippstadt Conspiracy

April 797/488. Now that Reinhard’s pick for Kaiser has taken the throne, the oppositional Braunschweig and Littenheim assemble a motley crew of disgruntled nobles to overthrow him and take down Reinhard in the process. Obviously, this goes poorly for them. Before that happens, Hilda takes the initiative to arrange an alliance with Reinhard, firmly positioning herself as the only remotely intelligent noble not already in his admiralty. Braunschweig appoints veteran admiral Merkatz to lead his anti-Reinhard charge; Ferner (unsuccessfully) takes matters into his own hands; and Reinhard, having gotten the jump on Braunschweig, struts around extremely pleased with himself. Annerose, meanwhile, gazes sadly at nothing in particular, and I think Reuental and Mittermeyer are too busy arresting treasonous nobles to go on a date. Oh well.

A few episodes ago, Rebecca introduced some of the less prominent—though still important—characters in the Alliance. Well, the time has come to do the same for the Empire! Episode 18 has some politically important plot stuff, and finally (finally!) properly introduces Hilda, but in terms of hidden meaning below the surface, there’s not much to speak of. So without further ado, I present to you a Who’s Who of some of the Empire’s many side characters (and Hilda)!

Hildegard von Mariendorf

I’ve mentioned Hilda a couple times before, but there wasn’t really any reason to until now, beyond the fact that she’s my favorite character and I love her. Now, we get to spend some much-anticipated quality time with the galaxy’s best and brightest lesbian. I’ll get more into the queerness of Hilda later on, when it’s discussed more directly; for now, let’s take our cue from the show and focus on what she does rather than who she is.

Hilda is the smartest person in every room, especially when that room is a bar full of Imperial aristocrats.

When we first meet Hilda in episode 18, she’s eavesdropping on a bunch of nobles gossiping in a bar about who they plan to support in the upcoming battle for supremacy between Reinhard and Braunschweig et al. Hilda, of course, has already made up her mind, which we see in a flashback to a very recent conversation she had with her father on the subject.

Unlike all the other dads in LoGH, Hilda’s dad, Franz von Mariendorf, is not a piece of shit. He takes his daughter seriously, respects her political opinions, and has no qualms about ceding his family power to her.

The uniquely positive nature of Hilda’s relationship with her dad, like other contrasts and comparisons in the LoGH universe, draws attention to the intentionality of the creative team’s choice to show us so many bad fathers. I’ll be talking about this a LOT more later, so keep it in the back of your mind.

Hilda has (correctly) realized that betting on Reinhard is so safe it can hardly be called a bet, and with her father’s blessing, she arranges to meet with Reinhard himself to discuss terms of a mutually beneficial alliance. Her frankness and obvious political acumen impress Reinhard, who takes an immediate liking to her, accepts her proposal (even agreeing to give it to her in writing, when she pushes him on it), and then leaves to go start the civil war that she predicted.

Did you somehow miss that Hilda is super driven and intense? Her expression here should clear up any remaining doubts.

The most striking aspect of this scene, though, isn’t the political maneuvering—it’s the introduction of the dynamic between Reinhard and Hilda, one of the most interesting relationships in the whole show. Almost right away, Reinhard is caught off guard not by Hilda’s boldness, but by how much he obviously likes her. His invitation for her to dine with him sometime in the future is the first time we’ve ever seen Reinhard take the social initiative with anyone other than Kircheis.

Fun fact, though: The first word that Reinhard ever says to Hilda is actually none other than, you guessed it, “Kircheis.”

As we’ve discussed at length before, relying on heteronormative shortcuts will get you nowhere in LoGH: The mood of this scene, despite containing within it a man and a woman, is as businesslike as Hilda’s uncompromising tone throughout; Reinhard’s interest is, of course, platonic. I love them.

Ernest Mecklinger

As I’ve said, Reinhard/Kircheis and Reuental/Mittermeyer are the two Great Romances of LoGH, so among Reinhard and his admiralty and for the purposes of a queer reading of this show, I’ve been focusing primarily on those four. But the rest of Reinhard’s admiralty is worth talking about too! I’m not going to go through all of them yet, because honestly very few of them make an impression at this point, but I’d like to spotlight a couple (no, not an actual couple, for once) of the more prominent less-prominent admirals who have been adding background color and texture for a while now.

(From “My Conquest.”)

First up, Ernest Mecklinger! Canonically, I think he’s the only one of Reinhard’s admirals who has hobbies beyond “war” and “drinking.” They include: painting, general consumption of the arts, and presumably waxing his mustache. Mecklinger can usually be counted on to be level-headed and generous; he chooses his words carefully, and later on we’ll see scenes in which the only way to describe how he acts is Like A Sweetheart. In the novels, we are told that Mecklinger is nicknamed the “Artist-Admiral” because of how cultured and well-rounded he is.

Fritz Josef Bittenfeld

(From episode 16.)

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum is Bittenfeld, the short-tempered, bombastic commander of the Black Lancers (basically picture the intensity and camaraderie of the Rosen Ritter, except a fleet instead of an infantry unit, and without the long history of defection and betrayal). Bittenfeld has already been the recipient of one slap on the wrist—that would have been a lot more severe if not for Kircheis’s intervention—and frequently gets into trouble for rushing into dangerous situations before he’s fully thought them through, both on and off the battlefield.

Look, I did my best to sum up the differences between Bittenfeld and Mecklinger but I honestly don’t know why I bothered when this one exchange captures them so perfectly.

Anton Ferner

Here to answer the eternal question of “What if Oberstein, but hot?” is Anton Ferner, an Imperial cop who is loyal to whomever he dubs most able to make use of his loyalty. Like Oberstein, Ferner views himself less as someone with ambitions of his own and more as a tool to be wielded by someone more powerful. Also like Oberstein, Ferner has an unsettling air about him, made only slightly less so by the fact that he doesn’t habitually remove his eyeballs (that we know of).

You may remember Ferner from back in episode 9, when he sardonically refused to fire on the suicidally destructive Klopstock because a statue of Rudolph von Goldenbaum stood in his way.

However, whereas Oberstein has an overarching philanthropic goal that drives his utilitarian machinations, Ferner’s only motivation seems to be the joy he derives from serving someone he has deemed worthy. And here we get to the main difference between Ferner and Oberstein (other than their respective levels of hotness): Ferner can, in fact, feel joy! Or amusement, anyway.

Ferner is constantly smirking when he’s been bested in some way; he absolutely gets off on other people being powerful and talented, but again, we’re not here to kinkshame.

After Ferner ignores Braunschweig’s orders, attempts to assassinate Reinhard on his own, and is summarily defeated, he surrenders to Reinhard and offers him his loyalty. Reinhard, never one to scoff at potential no matter how it ends up in front of him, accepts and, appropriately, gives him to Oberstein as a pet.

I’ll bet you thought I was kidding.

Oberstein and Ferner, the creepiest utilitarian weirdos in the galaxy, have found each other at last! I’m sure they’ll get along great; Ferner, at least, will probably think Oberstein’s removable-eyeball trick is hilarious.

And we must never ever forget that Ferner, according to Matsuri Okuda’s original character designs, started life as a rejected Reuental concept. Which may explain why I think he’s so beautiful.

Otto von Braunschweig (and Ansbach)

Have you noticed that nobody on Reinhard’s team—not even anyone of noble birth—has that awful George-Washington-style aristocrat hair? Even Mecklinger, who keeps his hair long, doesn’t wear it in a ponytail with an enormous bow. My point is that Braunschweig’s hairstyle, which is hideous, is also a good indicator that he is evil, or at least regressive. And whereas there’s an abundance of nuance when it comes to whether the Empire or the Alliance is morally “better,” everyone can agree on one thing: The Imperial nobles are bad. And Braunschweig, as their leader, is the most bad.

Another way to tell Braunschweig is evil is that he frequently does things like imply that if celebrated admirals don’t do his bidding, he’ll have their young daughters killed.

Braunschweig—who is the late Kaiser Friedrich IV’s son-in-law, by the way—is actually too unambiguously evil to be interesting on his own. The only thing that holds my attention about him beyond the fact that I want to cut off his ponytail is the fact that he is one half of yet another pair of men. And his loyal retainer and counterpart, Ansbach, is in turn only interesting insofar as parallels are set up between his relationship to Braunschweig and Kircheis’s relationship to Reinhard, particularly (so far at least) in episode 9:

Remember this? The similarities between Ansbach and Kircheis’s frenzied searches for Braunschweig and Reinhard, respectively, are too striking to be anything but intentional.

Like I said in my episode 9 post, though, there’s no reason as of yet to think that the relationship between Braunschweig and Ansbach is romantic; even if that’s what the parallels point to, they’re one-sided at this stage, so if Ansbach’s feelings of devotion do cross over into romantic territory, it’s unlikely that they’re reciprocated. Sorry, Ansbach.

Incidentally, Ansbach doesn’t have a last name. Or he doesn’t have a first name. In any case, he only has one name, and it’s Ansbach. Also, if I didn’t hate him so much, I’d be worried about his skin. He looks like he could use several glasses of water, maybe applied directly to his face.

Willibald Joachim von Merkatz (and Schneider)

Merkatz was actually voted the class of 447’s Most Expressive Eyebrows at military academy. Wow!

Merkatz, a very accomplished and grizzled admiral who has been griping about Reinhard and his youth since episode 1, will spend more time in the spotlight later, but I wanted to mention him now for a couple reasons: First of all, his eyebrows are incredible and I can’t stop watching him move them. I honestly don’t know what he’s saying most of the time because I’m too focused on his eyebrows. I’m simultaneously impressed and scared. Second of all, we can go ahead and add Merkatz to the growing stack of (male) characters who are one half of a defined (male) pair.

Merkatz’s counterpart, Bernhard von Schneider, is a young officer who spends most of his screentime in episode 18 with his jaw on the floor while Merkatz explains to him the concept of nuance.

Or maybe he’s just mesmerized by Merkatz’s eyebrows. Same, Schneider. Same.

Anyway, keep an eye on these two, and by these two, I mean Merkatz’s eyebrows. I’d also recommend maybe paying attention to Merkatz himself, and Schneider too, because there will be a lot more to say about them down the line.

Stray Tidbits

I really enjoy how ostentatious literally everything to come into contact with the Imperial nobility is; like how are Reinhard and Kircheis's ships less flashy than something? How?

I am being personally victimized by the fact that this guy’s monocle doesn’t actually fall out.

#Legend of Galactic Heroes #Legend of the Galactic Heroes #author: Elizabeth #Empire #Hilda #Franz von Mariendorf #Mecklinger #Bittenfeld #Ferner #Oberstein #Braunschweig #Ansbach #Merkatz #Bernhard von Schneider #bad dads #good dad!#Merkatz's eyebrows

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sundrenched-smilez · 7 years

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odd numbers for the lesbian asks! (if it's too many just do every 4th one maybe?)

1. Femme or butch?

for type, im vry easily wooed by butches tbh

as for myself, im genderfluid + heavily lean towards butch-ish for one gender + have been gettin more comf w that term for myself. the 3 genders i switch between, ive described as sharp, dainty and tired, for reason of not really being comf w gender labels aside from nonbinary. sharp/tired r kinda butchish, moreso sharp. like leather jackets, ripped jeans, dress pants/shirts, defs flannels (which r a given for any mood im in tbh) while tired is like mb softer, more focused on flannels + loose tank tops/shirts, shorts + certain skirts, comfy clothes, and the like

ive found that i’m leaning more towards butch lately too, like i’ve been a lot more comfortable with pants and a nice top than i have w dresses or most skirts + im wondering if i was just hanging on to femininity for sake of society, so those r things 2 think abt. i still feel comf in them sometimes, but it’s getting much less often. gender’s weird, i still cant cling to one bc of how pressuring that is so genderfluidity is still smth for me + it shifting to different percentages is okay (im thinking out loud @ this point, but its helping so i hope its interesting to read)

3. Plaid button-ups or leather jackets?

both, but primarily flannels/plaid buttion-ups

5. Describe your aesthetic

aaahh theres a lot of diff aesthetics i could go into, but i have a tag if ur interested in a visual representation? basically, cosy homes, forests, wooden steps and bridges, cats, girls/nbs, water, plants, and old video game stuff, and clouds/skies. i’m sure there’s more in there, but for a good rule of thumb !! as for like dressing aesthetic, i like to look rly gay + attractive and a lil showy? like my shorts r Short and i love crop tops + a lot of my shirts show my bra thru them, + i like showing it when i can, like sports bra + a tank top is a fav look of mine bc i can make it look like my bra is a trim on the shirt + it’s cute. i’ve been wearing dresses less often, but occasionally, i like to rock one. id love a pair of combat boots but i have like size 11/12 feet + most stores dont carry that size + im hesitant to buy some online.

7. Favorite pair of shoes?

its rly hard to find any, i have like walmart converse knockoffs atm + theyre a beige/grey color im not that huge on, it kinda reminds me of sandalwood but depressed

9. Any haircut goals for the future?

there was the undercut!! and i have that down now c: next step is to dye it blue and mb some purple. i wanna bleach it if i’m gonna dye it, but im hesitant to do that bc of how damaging it is, but since my hair’s been cut a cpl time almost all the color is out now, so i think itll b ok if i take good care of it.

11. Describe the worst date you’ve been on

i went to a cafe w someone (i think they were nb but i cant remember, it was like 2 yrs ago about ) and they were impossible to talk to bc they just kept saying “im awkward sorry” @ everything and like any conversations i tried to maintain were all one-shot responses, and like that was a lil frustrating. like i dont hold it against them or anything, more in a sense of i was rly tryin 2 carry it and just couldnt

13. If taken, talk about your girlfriend/wife!

whooh i wish i was taken, i need affection + to b cute w someone

15. Describe your dream wedding

hmmmm i havent thought much about it !! i know when i was younger i wanted to wear a black wedding dress but now im thinkin mb a suit that switches to dress @ the bottom?? that could b cool. I’d be happy w anything tbh, if im getting married, i’d just b happy to be w my wife/spouse. mb somewhere in a forest or on a boat would b cool, defs lots of good food and colorful flowers. I’d like a lot of color, most weddings ive been to are just b/w and bland for my taste (they’ve also all been straight tho so theres that.) it’s kind of wild to think that i might b married someday, but it’d b rly nice. i just haven’t thought much abt the planning of one. it’d b rly gay tho, probs give out tiny gay flags at each seat, and the cake could b lesbian flag colors. im rly drawing a blank on this, but i know id want all my friends around the country + world to be there.

17. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

i definitely want to live in a port town at some point !! idk where i’d like to settle down, ideally somewhere that doesnt get much hotter than 90 degrees + has lots of parks + is big enough for some events, like pride stuff, little festivals, a farmer’s market, and places to do things, such as a movie theater, bowling alley, mb an aquarium, if not one in a nearby town. hiking trails r also good.

19. Favorite lesbian novel/story?

on a sunbeam!!! its a huge inspiration for me, and i love it so much. it always puts me in such a good mindset when i read it, and the artist is my age, so it makes me feel like I can also accomplish great things if i rly put my heart into it!! which is such a good feeling, and it has great representation + characters that i love, and its rly gay, and in space and theres ships shaped like fish + its gorgeous : D i could go on for hrs abt it + how important it is to me. theres an nb character too, and like the aspect of found families is one that rly hits home and it helped me get thru a rough time of my life + better accept myself as queer/gay.

21. Favorite lesbian musician?

adult mom (tho i think they’re bi but still gay), or hayley kiyoko

23. Ever been assumed to be nothing more than a gal pal?

i think so, but i can’t place when, it’s been a bit.

25. Be positive! What do you like most about being a lesbian?

talking abt being gay w other girls/nbs is lovely and cathartic, i never got to growing up bc i lived in a homophobic town + i was like dealing heavily with internalized homophobia and body/gender dysphoria so i was ace for a bit. talking more abt like sexual attraction + aesthetic attraction is new to me, and that’s been a process to get to, but it’s nice that I can now do so w/o being belittled or barraged by insult. i also just love the thought of being w someone, and daydreaming abt when that happens is really nice. also,, girls + nbs r a blessing and brighten my day and im so glad im attracted 2 them

27. Turn ons?

absolutely communication, that’s a need. i had a bad experience w someone bc she wasn’t communicative at all, and failed to tell me that we weren’t dating despite us going on several dates + kissing??? like i wont go too into it, but hatchi matchi it was a mess. so yeah, communication, affection, and like reassurance that they actually want to be with me, and that my presence is wanted and enjoyed. I got a lot of “i dont care”s for answers last sort-of relationship, and that was rly discouraging. another turn on is for them to initiate talking and things, like holding hands or planning to hang out + such. consent is another big one.

29. Do you usually ask other women out or do you wait for them to ask you?

i usually tend to ask them out, but im still dealing w internalized junk, so its difficult. i also havent any situations in which they liked me back, which is frustrating. like i got lead on earlier summer for abt a month until i asked what we were doing + didnt rly get an answer, and it was this whole mess. i generally try to make the first move tho, bc i know firsthand how difficult it is, but that being said, it’s still hard for me to know for sure if theyre interested + i dont wanna make things uncomf w them, so i’ll wait until i think there might b attraction. that being said, once that’s all out of the way, i like to consider myself a good flirt when im trying.

31. Talk about your interests or hobbies!

i have lots of interests!! im obsessed w steven universe, its my fav show (and if u ever have time, we should totally watch it together sometime, i rly think you’d love it, it’s super gay + heartwarming.) i really love playing music and learning new songs, which im rly great at memorizing. talking to friends + gettin 2 know them better is always nice and fun. i like to draw new things + see the different ways ppl draw, so seeing art on here is always fun for me. i’m also rly into polygon videos (it’s a youtube channel, not like videos abt polygon haha) and this podcast called the adventure zone. season one just ended, so i might start listening to another one called friends at the table. i rly wanna start a podcast w someone, but can never find anyone to start it with. idk what I’d talk abt but if i could find a partner for it, i think it’d be a lot of fun. mb smth abt games or books/queer representation in media. doing a dnd podcast would also b rly fun, but a lot of work + editing so mb later down the road !! im blanking on other interests atm, but animations and cartoons r lovely and i aim to make something in that field one day, if not just a comic.

my hobbies r mostlyyyy drawing, dnd things now every thursday, hanging w my friends, playing video games, sometimes writing (i rly wanna start a comic, and im tryin to get my butt into gear on it), goin to parks, listening to music, and goin 2 events w roe + cesar, two of my friends. sometimes ill play music!! i need to get more than the keyboard i’m lending, but i love performing. ill also watch leg birds on youtube, theyre a lesbian couple that plays gams + theyre rly sweet.

33. Do you love easily or does it take time for you to warm up to someone?

its easy for me to love friends, doesnt usu take me more than a few months of knowing them if were talking a lot. as for falling in love, that takes me a lot longer. ive never rly been in love w someone. i thought i was once, but rly it was just my first gay experience w someone and i wanted it to be perfect so i projected a lot of things + made it better than it seemed to myself for the duration of it, which wasn’t healthy, so i wanna avoid doing that again, + take things slower next time. or at least for what they are.

35. Ever fallen for a straight girl?

a few times, they were just crushes tho, so it wasnt too too bad

37. Favorite comfort food?

hot cocoa or tea. as for food food, i dont think i have one. mb french toast or cinnamon rolls.

39. Vegetarian? Vegan? None of the above?

i used to be a vegetarian!! for like a yr, but it was difficult for me to eat and feel full, and i was pretty underweight, so i stopped.

41. Early-riser or night-owl?

both, i tend to stay up, but getting up early can be nice if i dont have to do anything. like just gently waking + making some tea and a nice breakfast + sittin around for a bit.

43. What is your Myers-Briggs type?

enfp-a

45. At what age did you know you were a lesbian?

i think like 16-17? it took me a bit to get words for identity, like lesbian/nonbinary and the like, but i always knew, like id call myself an individual as opposed to gendered terms that i was referred to, and always felt rly yucky w deadname + the wrong pronouns

47. Are you crushing on anyone at the moment (celebrity or otherwise)?

ive got one crush atm !! and another person who seems nice, but i wanna hang out w before like thinking abt a crush (im poly, which perhaps goes w/o saying, but i always like to state it when talking abt these things, jic )

49. Talk about your dreams/aspirations for the future

i’d like a partner or two, to get some bongos- i got to play some a couple weeks ago, and it was the most fun i’ve had playing anything!! having smth with an instant response that i could make up rhythms with was really rewarding and so much fun. i know i want a cat at some point, to go on cute dates + cuddle and kiss a lot w someone, to visit my friends in other places, dye my hair, get a better job, to travel a bit, make a comic, go to college for animation and storyboarding, mb go to camp at some point, and I’d like to make some more friends here, i’m already making some, which i’m super happy about, but it’s always nice meeting new ppl

thank u for asking!! this was relaxing + fun, and a lot of the topics were cathartic to talk about, and i needed it. so thanks for listening too kinda

also im queen of commas, i’ve discovered while typing this

#msg in a bottle #cass charts #idk what i want my ask tag to be

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agirlinhell · 5 years

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💭

Send 💭 for five or more headcanons between our muses. | ALWAYS ACCEPTING!

I. They kiss long and hard before they separate, knowing that it could be the last time they could see each other. They could die at any moment in time, so they love each other as if it’s their last day in this world together.

II. Louis knows all the places where she’s ticklish, and having a significant difference in height certainly helps his advantage. He often sneaks up behind her and tickles her sensitive sides and the poor boy almost got punched on accident several times.

III. Every date they ever have post-The Final Season, Clementine always makes sure to make herself look pretty - even though in Louis’ eyes she would always be beautiful. She applies lipstick, nailpolish, perfume and a flower in her hair, things she’s collected from the endless rooms with art supplies and the greenhouse. On many dates, Louis teaches her how to play the piano, and he’s really gentle with her. In truth, Clementine doesn’t truly care what they do on a date - as long as they’re together and they’re having a good time, she’s as happy as can be.

IV. Clementine learns flower language from books from the Victorian era and often gives him messages via flowers with their own respective meanings. Louis finds this very heartwarming and tries to keep the flowers alive for as long as he can.

V. Their next round of batting practice ended up Clementine swiping a walker’s head clean off with a ruthless swing of Chairles. Louis was gaping the entire time afterward.

VI. After the events of The Final Season, Clementine becomes a pagan witch and a beginner in witchcraft, and as a result, she begins performing love and happiness spells in the hopes that they get to live a long and happy life together. So far, it’s been working quite well.

VII. Louis proposes to Clementine on her nineteenth birthday and they wed shortly afterward on Halloween. In a world as cruel and chaotic as this one, they’d have to make their memories last. Their wedding wasn’t anything too extravagant, but at the time, Louis had made secret arrangements with a company from The Commonwealth to give them the things required for the ceremony.

VIII. Late at night, when neither of them can’t sleep, they talk about things that have hurt them in the past, things that confuse them, their deepest fears amongst many other deep topics while they’re vulnerable with each other. Afterward, they watch the stars together and return to the school by sunrise. Louis first kissed her underneath the stars.

IX. In concern for AJ’s mental health, they often check up on him and make sure that he’s doing alright especially after the events of The Final Season. They truly do always try to be there for him in any way they can.

X. In the winter that followed The Final Season, Clementine made a fur cloak for him made of the pelts of bears, wolves and seals so that he could wear it over his own jacket. Louis has been grateful to her ever since as he’s never been the greatest fan of winter. On bright days, they often made snowmen together and slid down snowy hills before engaging in snowball fights and eventually settling down with some hot chocolate. Clem often steals his jacket as it’s really warm and it smells like him, but she always makes sure to bring it back to him.

XI. Clementine comforted Louis when he was paying respects to Marlon’s grave. The poor boy began crying in the middle of saying his goodbyes and even though he’d tried to hide his tears from her, she held him closely and comforted him throughout the whole thing.

XII. Louis comforts Clementine whenever she has nightmares. After he soothes her, he plays with her hair and coaxes her to sleep, which makes her fall for him so much harder.

XIII. They have a daughter together named Aaliyah; Clementine gives birth to her at age twenty-one. She truly is the light of their lives and she’s growing fast and strong with each passing day.

XIV. Louis and Clementine once performed in a Les Miserables play for the school as Marius and Cosette respectively and they absolutely killed the A Heart Full Of Love scene. The crowd stood and gave a round of applause because of just how breathtaking it was.

XV. Before they began dating, Louis made sure to call Clementine at exactly 12AM to wish her a happy birthday without fail every single year. He literally records himself singing the Happy Birthday song while playing his Super Fun Times Friends Song while he’s at it. It makes Clementine blush and think of how much of a cutie and a dork Louis really is.

XVI. Louis was infatuated and mesmerized with the new girl in town who’d just arrived at the school from another state. Marlon still remembers the day Louis first saw Clementine, when she was walking past them with a group of giggling girls she’d befriended - Violet, Minerva, Sophie, Ruby and Brody. Marlon, Mitch, Louis and the rest of the group on the football team had been in an avid conversation on who was going to win the next match when they noted Louis staring at the new girl. Marlon kept waving his hand in front of him and calling “Earth to Louis!” and then Mitch teased him with, “He’s hooked, boys.” They first met in a theatre class and he serenaded her with the classic “Oh My Darling Clementine” just as in canon, and she giggled at him, thinking he was such a sweetheart. Unfortunately for poor Louis, he finds out that he wasn’t her only admirer, much to his dismay. Several of the boys - and even some of the girls - in their class took quite a liking to Clementine not only for her appearance but her kind heart and free-willed spirit.

XVII. When Louis finds out that Clementine’s been “dating” James in the middle of the first year, the poor boy was sulking in misery for about a week or two. This changes when Violet tells him that James is actually gay and had a boyfriend in Charlie and that Clementine being his girlfriend was only an act to appease his strict, traditional relatives. Louis was over the moon at hearing the revelation but unfortunately there were still quite a few individuals who sought her affections.

XVIII. When Clementine first meets Louis’ parents, she has never before seen his house (more like a mansion) and is absolutely astonished and blown away by the sheer size of it. She takes pictures of it and posts it on Instagram and sends it to her friends in private messaging while driving with a bunch of “WTF” gifs and emojis. She meets Louis at his doorstep before she’s intercepted by his personal guards and Louis politely shoos them away. Clem had no idea that he was this rich even though they’d been dating for half a year at the time. At the same time, it makes her appreciate and love him all the more as he never boasts about his wealth and kept himself humble. Later, at dinner, his parents are relieved and are taken with surprise at Louis’ girlfriend, after having previously been worried about his choice in a partner - she was a kind, polite and beautiful young girl with good grades and parents with well paying jobs.

XIX. When Louis meets Clementine’s parents for the first time, Diana is absolutely amazed at just how kind and charismatic he is and is delighted that her daughter selected a fine young man for a partner. Edmund, however, was slightly more wary of him, as he didn’t want his only daughter to be heartbroken by such a promising partner, yet he treated him with courtesy nonetheless. Louis really likes Clementine’s home as it’s small - or at least in comparison to his home - and cozy.

XX. Clementine and Louis stayed up in her treehouse one time on one numerous occasions when he visited her house. It was pretty small but it was cute and humble, filled to the brim with drawings Clementine’s vivid imagination from her childhood.

XXI. When the school’s talent show at the end of the year came to pass, Louis was cheering Clementine on when she and a group of other girls were dancing from the crowd. He was one of her loudest supporters.

XXII. Modern Clementine is a fulltime College student at Ericson’s and works as a singer at The New Frontier bar in West Virginia and babysitting CJ, AJ, Tenn and Willy when their parents are away on the side. She sometimes brings Louis along to work as a pianist. They’re quite the musical duo. Her voice is noted to be dreamy and calming. Despite being dressed up in sequins and glitter, Clem has a dreamy appearance on stage with a soulful voice and spirit that is far older than her, twirling and dancing without a care in the world, even tossing her heels off when it becomes too painful to stand in them. She picks people out to sing duet parts with her from women to men. She ties a single flower onto her microphone every night and as she twirls, it’s like watching crystal suncatchers in the window. Louis thought she looked like a painting come to life when seeing her perform for the first time. Violet remembers how her friend was staring at Clementine for too long and began playing off-key for a few seconds before focusing again. That’s why she is so beloved, not for her allure and beauty but the charm she has just like a siren.

XXIII. Louis was the one that inspired Clementine to love her natural hair. She used to hate her hair, despising how it was always messy but since Louis - and her friends - loved it so much, she began experimenting with her hair and began liking it as her hair was a symbol of her African heritage. It’s uncommon, but not rare, to see her with her hair let loose. Her hair length when loose reaches down to her shoulders and further down. She is a lot more varied in her hairstyles, choosing several traditional African hairstyles such as box braids and cornrows, but she also straightens her hair on occasions, and she does a bunch of hairstyles with it. She dyes it several times - black, blonde, blue, red, pink, purple, orange, turquoise, silver and nebula colored. And Louis loves every style she does.

XXIV. Louis teaches Clementine the French language and culture. She was a bit messy at first but at the moment she’s an intermediate. She’s a quick study; Louis was definitely impressed.

XXV. They’re promoted as Prom King and Prom Queen together after the class’ graduation ceremony at prom. The party was held at Louis’ house (more like a mansion in truth) and it was… quite the party. Louis had been a fan of Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and had wanted to replicate the feeling of Jay Gatsby’s feeling and he managed to pull it off after managing to convince Louis’ parents and the Garcia siblings who’d been their classmates to convince their famous uncle for support.

XXVI. On late nights, they spam each other with memes and cheesy pickup lines. They make contests on who sent the funniest memes. It’s… quite something.

XXVII. Clementine and Louis make a very amusing pair when playing videogames together. Clementine was wheezing by the end of a Mario Kart match because of how many amusing jokes and meme references he was telling her at the top of his lungs.

XXVIII. When watching an episode of Planet Earth one night, Clementine compares a bird of paradise and his mating call and mating dance to Louis and his reaction is utterly priceless. When Clem returns from getting more snacks, Louis mocks the bird of paradise and does a mating dance just for her and for the life of her, she couldn’t stop laughing and crying.

XXIX. A few months after they begin dating, they have their own vlogging channel on Youtube and they’re quite popular. They both have their own separate channels but they often collaborate on their own channel. They post memes, Vines (before the site tragically shut down, R.I.P Vine), covers of songs and dances that they perform among many other things. Some of their most popular videos are a cover of All I’ve Ever Needed by Paul MacDonald and Nikki Reed, a cover of “lovely” by Billie Eilish and Khalid and Louis and Clementine doing the Ice Bucket Challenge, and the pair playing Hide and Seek in Louis’ mansion and doing a vlog series of their end of their year long roadtrip with their entire class after the graduation party.

XXX. Louis often serenades her with song covers on special occasions and posts them on Youtube. There are far too many to mention herein but a few examples are “I Won’t Let You Go (Darling)” by Hedley, “Just The Way You Are” by Bruno Mars and “Make You Feel My Love” by Sleeping At Last. In turn, Clementine posts her reaction and on most occasions she tears up because of just how much she loves him.

XXXI. Clementine wholeheartedly supports Louis’ decision to become a singer despite his parents’ wishes. She’s actually quite the inspiration for many of the songs and the poems that he writes and he makes sure to let her read them even before they began dating, in thanks for her kindness and for all the times she showed him her poetry and drawings in her notebooks that she was too shy to reveal to anyone else.

XXXII. Louis and Clementine dressed up as a Voodoo King and Voodoo Queen respectively at a Halloween party held at his mansion. James often steals them away as guinea pigs for his experiments as a makeup artist in the making and James supplied them with the makeup. They looked absolutely glorious.

XXXIII. Louis and Clem get matching tattoos on the right arm with the following: “You move me like music.” in elegant cursive writing with musical notes all over it. Louis had to hold her hand the entire time because she was concerned about the pain.

XXXIV. Louis is genuinely surprised of just how cheesy Clementine is when it comes to romantic dates, but he’s definitely not complaining. They enjoy candle lit dinners at fancy restaurants, making sweets, stargazing on the rooftops with blankets wrapped around them, taking walks along the beach, winning a stuffed animal for each other the local carnival, and writing poetry and love letters for each other while they’re away.

XXXV. They made their own playlist on Spotify a few months after they began dating. On many nights they’re snuggled up somewhere with one earbud in Clem’s ear and the other in Louis’ as they listen to their playlist.

XXXVI. They’re quite the fashionable duo, and Clementine is a fashionista in her own right especially while dating Louis. Yet no matter what she wears, Louis still loves her for who she truly is and vice versa. Sometimes they’d walk into a room and Louis would announce their arrival like a herald presenting their sovereign. It’s golden.

XXXVII. Every summer, they go surfing on the beach and they make sure to invite their friends and AJ often. AJ’s a big fan of Louis and he gets ecstatic every time he sees him and gets really sad whenever he has to leave.

XXXVIII. They got engaged and married in their early twenties. Louis’ best man was Marlon and his attendants were Aasim, James and Mitch. Clementine’s maid of honor would be Sarah and her bridesmaids would be Ruby, Brody, Mariana, Minerva, Sophie and Violet. She carried a bouquet of roses and wore butterflies and flowers in her hair. By the time the wedding vows were said and done, Louis picked her up bridal style and twirled her around. Louis made a song for Clementine for their wedding and he played it during the feast - it drove Clementine to tears because of how beautiful it was.

XXXIX. The newlyweds went to Marrakesh, Morocco for their honeymoon. On their anniversary they make a habit of going to Hawaii to swim with dolphins and turtles.

XL. A few days after Clementine gives birth to Aaliyah at age twenty five, Louis posts a cover on Youtube of “Light” by Sleeping At Last. It easily reaches thousands of likes a few hours later.

@morefinesse

#morefinesse #my ROMANTIC ASS IS ALIVE RIGHT NOW #LITERALLY THE ONLY REASON WHY THIS IS A FEW DAYS LATE IS BECAUSE I WANTED TO MAKE IT PERFECT AGALJGGALJAGLJGA #YOU'RE A WEAPON GIRL &&. WEAPONS DON'T WEEP. ( HEADCANONS. )#TELL ME THE STORY ABOUT HOW THE SUN LOVED THE MOON SO MUCH HE DIED EVERY NIGHT TO LET HER BREATHE. ( LOUISENTINE. || MOREFINESSE. )#above the divider is in canon and post-tfs and below it is in a modern au!!#i hope you love these as much as i do ande!!<333 #you can totally reblog it if that tickles your fancy!!#i might've made it a wee bit long but it's for a good reason i promise - so voila here's my mini louisentine headcanon bible!!<3 #i also purposely left the canon section a bit shorter 'cause things can come naturally through drabbles and/or interactions<333

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walterfrodriguez · 4 years

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A-Rod is coming for NYC and SoFla real estate

Alex Rodriguez (Photos by Guerin Blask)

Alex Rodriguez has seen both his professional and personal life covered exhaustively in newspapers across the country for decades now.

But since retiring as the Yankees’ star third baseman in 2016 — and, according to Forbes, pocketing over $480 million during his 22-year, pro-baseball career — he’s become even busier.

He’s now juggling regular media appearances with color commenting baseball games (he’s a broadcaster for Fox Sports and part of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball team) and growing his real estate and investment empire, which all operates under his A-Rod Corp. umbrella.

He is also co-hosting a podcast, which launched last year, called The Corp, where he’s interviewed guests ranging from Martha Stewart and Kevin Bacon to real estate tycoons like Barry Sternlicht and Barbara Corcoran. Oh, he also has two daughters, ages 11 and 14, and is engaged to superstar singer, producer and actress Jennifer Lopez — aka J.Lo.

Since he founded the Miami-based A-Rod Corp. in 2003, the firm has purchased over 15,000 apartments across the U.S., deploying hundreds of millions of dollars on real estate and investing in companies like the hospitality startup Sonder, private jet startup Wheels Up, Snapchat and NRG eSports.

Sternlicht said Rodriguez has shown that he’s willing to put in the time and energy needed to succeed in business and said he comes to an “informed decision based on reasoned information and careful diligence.”

“Alex approaches business with the same dedication and passion he did baseball,” Sternlicht told The Real Deal via email. “Alex wants to win, really crush, in his work as he did in the majors.”

In July, A-Rod Corp. closed on a $4.5 million condo at Terra’s Grove at Grand Bay, twin luxury towers in Miami designed by starchitect Bjarke Ingels. (The company is building out its unit as an office and creating a ground-floor event space).

Meanwhile, in May, the Miami-based Monument Capital Management, A-Rod Corp.’s multifamily arm, launched its fourth residential fund focused on workforce housing with the majority of the roughly $50 million it raised coming from family offices and high-net-worth individuals, including fellow professional athletes (though he declined to name any).

It’s planning to buy about $200 million worth of real estate and has already closed on properties in Illinois and Tennessee with a third under contract in North Carolina. And it’s looking to launch a fifth fund, for $100 million, in 2020.

Workforce housing has been “one of the best places to take your money” because it has “tremendous yield and protective downside,” he said, during one of two interviews with TRD last month. The first of those conversations was at partner Stonehenge NYC’s Manhattan office, the second at his sprawling 11,000 square-foot Florida home, which has an indoor basketball court and where his art collection is on display.

In Miami, Rodriguez’s company is also investing in at least two developments, the Fairchild Coconut Grove, a boutique condo project, and a 31-story rental tower at 40 Northwest Third Street, the latter with Grand Station Partners.

On the New York front, last December, Adam Modlin, Rodriguez’s personal broker in New York, introduced him to Stonehenge CEO Ofer Yardeni and, six months later, the trio announced a partnership to buy rental buildings and condos in the Big Apple. They’re now in contract on their first deal: A 100-plus-unit rental building on East 51st Street in Manhattan.

The partners will be tapping their personal networks to raise about $500 million and then leverage that to buy $1 billion worth of value-add multifamily real estate in the city in the next 18 months, said Yardeni.

“Collaborating with [Rodriguez] will be extremely beneficial to all of us,” Yardeni said, noting that Rodriguez has a “tremendous network and an excellent reputation.”

“The vast network that he has can help Stonehenge go and raise capital from family officers, high-net-worth individuals and more institutional players because when Alex calls, everybody listens,” Yardeni added.

Modlin also gushed about Rodriguez, saying the retired Yankee has been “thinking about investing in New York City multifamily for years” and that he “brings a secret sauce.”

“Alex is a partner that anyone would dream to have,” Modlin said.

The 44-year-old Rodriguez — who just sold a home in Los Angeles (which he bought from Meryl Streep) for $4.4 million and unloaded a $17.5 million pad at 432 Park Avenue — spends about half the month in Miami. The other half is spent jet setting on his Gulfstream IV to New York, L.A. or wherever else his broadcasting responsibilities take him.

Below is an edited and condensed version of his conversations with TRD — which were more focused on real estate stats than baseball stats.

You made your first real estate purchase in your early 20s, only a few years into playing for the Seattle Mariners. Tell us about that deal. It was a duplex out of Miami. The reason I liked the investment was because it was 10 minutes from Miami Beach and 10 minutes from Coral Gables and it was near the water. I needed around $48,000 [for the] down payment. I was very nervous about it. It was near the Miami arena. My thesis for the investment was very simple — it was around fear. I felt that if I bought some real estate that over time, if I signed a 15- to 20-year note, that by the time I was 30 or 40 I would have a handful of assets with very little debt. That was my answer to not going bankrupt, owning hard assets.

So, is that why you initially got into real estate? You said you didn’t want to go bankrupt. That’s all I’ve ever known. I always say, stick to what you’re passionate about and what you know. Coming from a single mother, all we knew was renting. We never bought anything. I envisioned one day as a young man that if I got an opportunity to trade places with a landlord that I would.

Alex Rodriguez (center) with Adam Modlin (left) and Ofer Yardeni

Do you only purchase multifamily? We’re really focused. Yes, I play sports. But I play baseball. Yes, I play real estate, but I play multifamily. … I’d say [our] average is Class B properties. There’s always an added-value component to them.

You spent the majority of your baseball career on the Yankees under Joe Torre and Joe Girardi. What did you learn from them about running and managing an organization? Joe Torre and Joe Girardi were both great managers. They both held me accountable. They expected you to show up early and leave late and they did not micromanage. Joe Girardi was more hands on, and Joe Torre was more like the Godfather. I remember one time I was struggling and Joe Torre brought me into his office. He thought I was overworking. I was nervous because it was 2004 and it was my first year as a Yankee and they have this incredible history with so many championships. I thought he was going to be mad and really get upset with me and he said ‘Look, I think you’re pressing too much. If you turn around, there’s a beautiful bottle of wine, Silver Oak and next to it a cigar.’ He said, ‘I want you to go home, drink that bottle of wine.’ I said, ‘Well, I’m not much of a drinker of wine.’ He said, ‘Drink it and have a cigar, and come back, tomorrow’s game is at 7. If you show up before 6 o’clock I will fine you. So just show up and play.’ It made me so nervous to show up to the park so late. Usually, you’re there five or six hours before the game. [But] I show up around 6 o’clock. That night, I go out and hit a home run. The next night I go out and hit two home runs and off I went and finished that season very strong.

You went straight to the Mariners from high school, forgoing a scholarship to the University of Miami. Have you considered going back to school and getting any degrees? I’ve always thought about it. Joe Girardi always said that I was a teacher and a student at heart. And I think he’s right. I love to learn. I’m constantly trying to educate. I’ve been self-taught because I didn’t have any formal education. But I wouldn’t rule it out.

Does your team scout out opportunities and bring them to you? How involved are you in the whole process? I mean if you talk to Lane LaMure, Jeff Lee, Lisa Peier and Erin Knight [from my team], they’d probably tell you I’m involved too much. But I think that as we scale, we have to really count on our team. Ideas and opportunities come from all over the place.

How big is the company? It’s fluctuated. We were at one point 10,000 apartments. Today we might fluctuate by 3,000 to 6,000 depending on whether we’re buying or selling. We feel that it’s fairly late in the cycle right now. We take the philosophy that we sell 3,000 but we buy 1,000.

Are you worried about a recession? Are you preparing for that? We’re definitely in a defensive mode. We have our feet on the brakes a little bit. We made the decision about three years ago to start selling some of our portfolios and preparing for an opportunity. So, while we’re still buying, we’re cautious.

You’re investing in Chicago, New York and Miami. What other cities are you eyeing right now? We like to buy, fix [and] refinance. We’ve had a lot of success in secondary and tertiary markets, especially in the southeast. North Carolina has been great. We’ve had a lot of success in Texas. Chicago has been an incredible investment for us. … We’re very fortunate to have [Monument’s Chief Investment Officer] Stuart Zook leading the way. He’s always identifying new markets. Interesting markets where we haven’t been before are Tucson, Reno, Portland and Seattle. As we kind of move into the West Coast for the first time, it’s been a fun process. [Zook is] really good about picking what’s next. He’s got some great cities up his sleeve.

I read that you know Warren Buffet. What’s the best advice he’s given you? One of the lessons learned from Warren Buffet has been to do what you absolutely love to do with the people you love and respect. One of the interesting things I found with Warren is that he’s 89 and to this day, he’s still putting in six days of work. He’s in the office every day at 7:30. He reads five to eight hours a day.

Who else do you look up to in the real estate industry? I look up to Stuart Zook. I feel incredibly fortunate that I met him almost 11 years ago. I thought it was the biggest break of my [business] career to find a guy that’s managed over $2 billion in assets over the course of his career and who understands the game so well. Someone who’s extremely ethical and incredibly conservative. We do this all the time [head butting motion] because I want to buy, and he says ‘No, no, no.’ That’s why he’s a much better investor than I am and why our returns have been incredible. He’s like Ted Williams. If it’s not right down the middle, center cut … he does have Buffet-esque discipline. I wish mine could be that good. But I’m a little more aggressive.

Does being a celebrity works against you in business? It’s a great question. As an athlete, there’s a gift and a curse. Sometimes, people celebrate and take the meeting. But for the most part, they’re thinking that you’re just an athlete. So I think part of what you have to do as an athlete is surround yourself with institutional-type investors with incredible background so a) they understand that your infrastructure and your team is one that can play at the big-league level and b) be one that can actually follow through and do the things they say they can.

There were reports that you are launching a business reality show in the same vein as “Shark Tank” on NBC. What can you tell us about it? We can’t talk much about the business show, but we’re very excited about and it has a little bit of a “Shark Tank” twist.

You told a crowd at a 2018 real estate convention that J.Lo loves real estate and has a “superpower to see what’s good and what’s not.” Do you guys talk about real estate and do you have plans to invest in any projects together? Jennifer loves residential real estate. I love commercial real estate. So, we make a good team there. She has impeccable taste, obviously. When you walk into her home, it’s always impeccable, smells good and is always in great neighborhood.

You two recently sold your condo at 432 Park. Why did you sell? Was it an investment decision or a personal decision? It was a trade. We love the building. We went in, we bought it. We have a big family — we didn’t fit. We needed a little bit more space.

Are you looking for a new apartment in New York City? I wouldn’t say so. We’re happy.

You announced your engagement to J.Lo in March. When’s the wedding? Now that was a nice pivot. We went from New York real estate to the wedding. Why don’t we go back to New York real estate?

How did you first meet Adam Modlin and how did you make the jump from broker-client to business partners? I met Adam over 25 years ago over at Bergdorf Goodman when he was selling suits. I knew I was going to like Adam from the get-go because the suit cost $500 and he tried to sell it to me for $5,000. I said this guy’s a pretty good salesman. Adam Modlin is a savant when it comes to New York real estate.

What about Ofer Yardeni? I met Ofer through Adam. I met him in South Florida over dinner [at Prime 112 in Miami Beach]. We quickly hit it off. Then we set a meeting together that lasted three days on the West Coast. My partner, Lane LaMure, came out. Adam came out. Over the course of two or three days we put together what we thought was a really great idea to buy real estate in New York City. Ofer has an incredible background. He served in the Israeli military. … He has a great family, great morals, great ethics and great background. He brings that intensity from his [military] background. He’s up every day at 4 a.m., he’s working out by 5, in the office by 6:30 or 7. With my background in New York, it’s always been a dream of mine to own real estate [there]. It’s the best real estate in the world. To have an operator who essentially is like Michael Jordan in his space … I thought it would be a great partnership.

Principal of Monument Capital Management Stuart Zook and executive vice president Erin Knight

When do you plan to make your first NYC investments? We’re close to having a letter of intent for an asset right here in Manhattan. It’s a great opportunity for us. It’s rentals and it’s in Manhattan.

Where else do you see potential in New York? Around Yankees Stadium or around Citi Field in Willets Point and Flushing? I think that there’s upside around Yankee Stadium and around the Mets [at Citi Field]. I think both have a lot of upside. Anywhere in New York City, you have the potential. … But I think for this particular venture, we’re really focused on Manhattan.

A-Rod Corp. is moving to a condo in Coconut Grove. One your execs, Erin Knight, said the firm is bullish on the area. Are you planning any other investments there? Well, Erin Knight is from Miami and she went to school right down the street at Ransom Everglades. So, we ended up buying this beautiful office space. The kids go to school nearby and right across the street we’re developing about 27 apartments in a place called the Fairchild Coconut Grove, which is right on the water. We’re very bullish when it comes to Coconut Grove. In five or seven or 10 years, you’re not going to be able to recognize Coconut Grove. It’s going to be awesome.

Where else in Miami? We’re developing about 31 stories, 300 units in downtown Miami. We love rentals and it’s just a place that’s on fire. I love Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Miami Beach. I wish I was spending more time in Miami

I read that $20 million of the $50 million you raised for that fund came from high-net-worth individuals. Have you tapped any other athletes or celebrities? We’re very diversified. They come from the private equity world, hedge funds and entertainment. We have probably a dozen athletes that have come on board. One of the things I’m very proud of with our LPs [limited partners] is that over 95 percent of anybody who’s come in has never left us. They just keep doubling, tripling down.

What advice do you give to young athletes who want to invest in real estate or start their own business? Do you get that question? Yeah, I do. We have several dozen athletes that have invested with us, and every single one of them has come back for more. [I say] ‘I made mistakes, just like I made mistakes in baseball. I had some failures, that’s part of it. But I think never trying to be involved, that’s also a mistake.’ Even if you’re not interested, you have to be interested in protecting your future. I think you have a responsibility to yourself and a fiduciary duty to your family. … Real estate, with the right partner, is a great hedge to the W2 income you earn as an athlete. While your career earnings potential downgrades, your real estate appreciates. The No. 1 thing I would say is find a great partner. … No. 2, find yourself a great lawyer [who can] structure deals in a way that you have downside protection and you’re not putting yourself out there. No. 3, I would say, never personally guarantee. No PG for an athlete. So many people have gotten hurt like that. And then fourth, I would say, find [a deal where] everybody has skin in the game.

Have they been happy with their investments? The greatest thing for me is when I send them their returns. I’ll send them an email, and they’ll call me right away. They’re like, ‘What? Are you serious?’ It makes me happy because a) it’s interesting to them and b) they’re connected and they have some passion behind it. And athletes are really smart people. … They just need a little financial coaching, financial literacy. But once they get it and they’re confident, they’re quick learners. They just have to have people that look out for them.

Is there someone who did that for you? I’ve always had a passion for it. And then I looked up to some of my buddies like Magic Johnson, Greg Norman, Arnold Palmer, Pat Riley. All of them became friends and mentors. I really think that for athletes, picking great mentors is an incredible way to go. Almost like picking a board of advisers as diverse as you could think of — from age to gender to skill set. One thing that’s always going to be true is that you’re going to come into some challenges and choices. To be able to have a handful of people that you’ve very carefully put together, it’s so powerful. For me it’s been incredibly powerful to have people in the tech space, to have strong women, to have people in finance, to have people in sports. I can’t just have five athletes on my board.

Do you see opportunities in esports and other types of entertainment from a real estate angle? We own a big stake in NRG eSports in San Francisco. We’re building a new arena for them in SF, which we’re very excited about. We’re bullish about the space. When you think about esports in general, there’s more kids today playing esports than physical sports. While it’s great for the business of esports, it’s scary for the next generation.

How much cash do you have in your pocket? I have zero cash in my pocket. My money is in real estate. Why, do you want some of my money?

How do you manage your time? You’re extremely busy. I would say that it’s a blend between running A-Rod Corp. [and] media obligations. First and foremost is obviously being with my family and the kids.

Is this the busiest you’ve ever been? For sure. I thought I was busy when I played baseball. Even with baseball there’s a predictable schedule every day. This changes every day.

Do you still have an intense workout schedule? I try everywhere I go to get a workout in. I try every day to break a sweat, especially when I travel. I try to incorporate hot yoga. It relaxes me, it’s like meditation.

If you didn’t have baseball or real estate, what would you be doing? I think private equity. I love building things. I like curating great teams. I love to see other young people win and make a lot of money. There’s nothing that makes me happier than to see people on my team the first time they make a million dollars. It’s life changing. Coming from team sports, you just love to win with teammates. I don’t think it’s a lot of fun to win by yourself. What fun is it to get rich alone? That sucks. You want to share the pie a bit. What happens is when everyone tastes that champagne or how sweet the cake is, then everyone gets to the office at 6:30 in the morning instead of 7:30. And now you’re looking at the next deal, and the next deal. The power of alignment is everything.

What do you want people to know about you that they don’t already? I feel like they know a lot. One, that I’m a terrible cook and an even worse dancer. Other things they probably don’t know is that I enjoy business just as much as I enjoy sports … and I go at business just like the way I approach sports. You’re only as good as your team — you’re an average of the five people you surround yourself with every day.

The post A-Rod is coming for NYC and SoFla real estate appeared first on The Real Deal Miami.

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