#and they all come around to coco after looking past their first impressions/insecurities and seeing coco for who she truly is

[mae-i-scribble]

rereading witch hat altier has me so mad the beginning chapters with how everyone treats coco. like i get it agete has her reasons for treating coco the way she does and its completely understandable as to what drives her to do so- but also never in my life have i wanted to smack a preteen upside the head like i want to do with her. And then you get to the dragon incident where the three are drawn in with coco and then both agete and tetia turn and put the full blame on coco. And then coco just accepts it like its a natural thing and IM MISERABLE

[chaoslordjoe]

Iceberg Week Day 2-First Kiss: Hell of A View

[Vacuo. Shade Academy. On top of this tapestry-laced school was a balcony overlooking the desert Kingdom just outside of Headmistress Theodore's office.

Ruby Rose and her friends hadn't expected the desert winds to be so refreshing compared to the bloody winter they all went through back in Atlas. And yet, they were still having to assume the worst, given how General Ironwood had betrayed the party. Who knows what Theodore had in mind for them?

Of course, reunions were in order as QROWBYJNRM were more relieved to see Teams SSSN and CFVY with their arrival to Vacuo. So far, so good, as Blake had begun rekindling her relationship with Sun. Ruby and Jaune had been given leadership advice from Coco. Yatsu and Fox had a wicked workout session with Ren and Nora, to name a few.

But one that had been off the books for a while was Weiss and Neptune. When they last saw each other, Weiss had been nearly pummeled by a Paladin-290 on the Beacon campus, and Neptune had, unfortunately not gone for saying hello to Weiss after recent events. Instead flirting with Blake's friend, Ilia, not knowing she was a frigging lesbian.

Sun had given Neptune an appropriate slap upside the head for not asking for clarification. It was a good thing they just had a group chat just before their friends arrived in the Kingdom about his ladykiller shtick, since it wasn't a major issue. But…It could’ve given people a bad impression not just of Neptune, but of Team SSSN altogether.

Needless to say, it had been a bit of a doozy to have Neptune chatting with Weiss again, even though they were long past the whole Team NDGO flirting fiasco in the middle of Vytal.]

Neptune: Whoever this Salem is, she sounds like a real pain in the ass.

Weiss: Like you wouldn’t believe. The girls and I could hold off Professor Lionheart, but General Ironwood and his whole drone fleet? No thanks, I'd rather be doing Father's paperwork.

Neptune: How's the rest of your family doing after the invasion?

Weiss: Mother was in shock by the time we found her. Soon as she recovers, she's gonna head into an anonymous alcoholics group. She was about to have a drink when we found her, but soon as she heard Grimm coming, she threw down the rest of her vodka, set it on fire, and held them off with my grandfather's machine gun.

Neptune: Holy shit!

Weiss: *grins* I know, right? Mother was ready to chase them down herself, had it not been for Ruby blasting them first with the Silver Eyes.

Neptune: Winter?

Weiss: *frowns* Wounded in action. Since the General was going off the deep end, President Baum had to step in and put her on medical discharge since Ironwood had basically been going insane.

Neptune: Whitley?

Weiss: Pretty much refusing to accept that Father worked with a bunch of known terrorists associated with Salem. He's basically shut us out since we barely managed to save Atlas, but since Jacques has been officially disowned by us, he's refusing to speak.

[The ex-heiress sighed, now angrily clenching the railing on the balcony as she seethed about that memory. Neptune said nothing, knowing that she was in no mood for reassurances or the like.

Neptune stood back further from her until Weiss looked up with an interesting question to distract from the negativity of the topic.]

Weiss: Neptune. I wanna know why you came to me during First Year.

Neptune: *raises eyebrow* Huh?

Weiss: You know, *faces Neptune* why you were coming onto me. Why you…Look, it's why you seemed interested in me.

Neptune: Oh! Uh, that…Yeah.

Weiss: Did you want to talk about it?

Neptune: No, not really.

Weiss: Well, I'm curious since it's been ages since we last saw each other.

Neptune: Uh…You seemed different from the other girls I tried to hit on. You were intelligent, talented in a lot of avenues I wasn't. Singing, your combat style, that kinda thing.

Weiss: *expression softens* My talents?

Neptune: Yeah. You were a lot more elegant than me. I was just kind of a klutz who was better off with a railgun. I wasn't just going for your looks, Weiss. I respected who you were, but you seemed a little tense. Like a workaholic. I can be one, too, but with where you came from you sounded like you could use a friend. Not just a boyfriend, but someone who appreciated hard work as much as you.

[Weiss gasped. Her face reddened at his compliments as she placed a hand on her heart.]

Weiss: *blushes* Neptune. Were you…Valuing me?

Neptune: *horrified expression* Oh Gods, I- -I didn't mean it like that. Yeah, I valued you. But I didn't know you were a big deal! You're a noble- -Well, you WERE a noble who wanted to be a Huntress. I'm just a commoner who happened to be leagues ahead of my peers since I was better at fighting and building stuff outside of running my mouth.

Weiss: No-no-no, it’s okay. I guess I didn’t really know how to feel about your flirting at first. I appreciated it. Really, I was used to being valued by other boys for my wealth for so long that I never really considered how anyone else thought of me. That is, until the night when Blake split off from our Team and I realized how bitchy I was being.

Neptune: And I flirted with most girls I saw just to hide my own insecurities. That's why I hit on Team NDGO, because I didn't want the crowd to think I was a loser or something. They weren't really in front of me to judge me, though. I just wanted to entertain them! I wasn't doing it to offend you, Weiss! And then Ilia showed up and- -! *sighs* Gods damn it!

[Neptune had expected her to leave him for the day, since it's been close to a year since they saw each other. Surely, his lack of confidence still wasn’t enough for a young woman as talented as her. What else did he expect? Weiss could still be a damn perfectionist.

But the Huntress had taken one of Neptune's fists. She un-clenched the fist with a brief chilly touch from Myrtenaster, transferred over to her dainty palm. Nep recoiled at the icy jolt as Weiss put both of her hands to his. She gave a soft smile to calm him down.]

Weiss: Neptune. We were just kids at the time. You don't have to prove anything to me to try and be friends with me again. It's been a year, and we've both got our own missions. You, the boys, and Team CFVY have the Crown and it's remnants to deal with. I'm helping Ruby and Ozpin fight Salem. I wouldn't mind remaining friends with you now that we're adults. Okay?

[Neptune was shocked. Of course, he knew that Weiss would forgive him at some point, but so soon after a year? Okay, Remnant was on the brink of the apocalypse. But he didn't think it'd take that for their reunion from earlier in the week to bring it up.]

Neptune: Well...Maybe this is good enough as an adult now?

[Before Weiss could ask what he meant, she was greeted with a kiss. She practically melted in his embrace as she felt her hands reach his stomach and chest. The kiss eventually broke as Weiss looked up, confused but not even angry as they were both attempting to process what just happened.]

Weiss: What the hell was that...?

Neptune: Oh, crap. I'm so sorry, Weiss! That wasn't- -! You said that- -! Please, tell me it's not- -

[Weiss shut him up with a kiss in return. This time, he was taken by surprise as she used a white Glyph to help her up. Standing on her tiptoes for good measure, Weiss got the drop on Neptune this time as she embraced him around his neck. Neptune, meanwhile, embraced Weiss from her backside while running a hand through her shortened hair for the Vacuo mission.

They had been lost in the kiss for a solid minute as they felt their Auras glowing from how connected they felt. Halfway through, their tongues briefly met as they danced around each other. No moans were had. But pure bliss.

Weiss deactivated her Glyph, setting herself down as she had the biggest smirk on her face from Neptune's flabbergasted expression. They kissed! They honest-to-the-Gods kissed! And Weiss had finished it for them. Whaddya know.]

Neptune: *blushing, holding his cheek* Ah…A-Are we even?

Weiss: *smirks* Oh, we're even alright. I gotta go meet with Theodore and the others now, but when this war wraps up. Don't find me, you sweet boy. I'll find you. *winks*

[While she said this, Weiss highlighted one of her legendary legs and gave her ass a brief shake. She bid Neptune farewell for now as she headed to the Headmistress’ office. Neptune's reaction…Welp, read for yourself.]

Neptune: …She likes me! Ha-ha, she likes me!

@animefan299110 @laserdog10 @lewdnepvasilias666 @ezroar @darksaiyangoku @oddnub @iceberg-week

[starrynite7114]

snapshots: gifts

A/N: Another installment from the newly titled ‘snapshots’ series. This is a sequel to traditions and silent treatment. I’ve decided to make it a series that shows glimpses of ‘you’ and Angel’s life together. Let me know what you guys think!

=============================

Angel groaned as he browsed through the computer in the office. Christmas was in a few days and he stupidly procrastinated. He has yet to buy you a gift and panic mode was setting in. This was your first holiday together as a couple and Angel wanted to make it a memorable one. He knew materialistic things hardly impressed you, but he knew you still appreciated a nice gift every once in a while.

“You’re a terrible boyfriend,” Coco chuckled as he watched Angel look through Victoria’s Secret. “She fucking hates that store.”

“How the fuck do you know?” Angel narrowed his eyes at his best friend who pulled up a chair beside him.

“She went shopping with Leticia a few days ago and she had Letty laughing about how much she didn’t like Victoria’s Secret.” Coco explained. “And the last time we went to the mall with her, I was trying to force her to go into the store and she refused. Thought you would catch on she didn’t like it.”

Angel felt like an idiot for not knowing that about you, but then again, it’s not like he went shopping for your unmentionables with you. Knowing that another man was going to see you in them, he didn’t want to be a part of that.

“I think you’re overthinking this, this is why it’s so difficult for you.” Coco stood up. “You know she doesn’t care what you give her, why not just propose to her?”

Angel gave Coco an incredulous look, making Coco laugh. “Come on bro, you and y/n have been doing this dance since high school, why prolong it? Do you want to be with anyone else?”

“No.”

“Then just propose.”

“God, do I know anyone with some sense?” Angel just brushed off the idea and went back to the computer. It’s not like he didn’t think of proposing to you, he definitely did. But it wasn’t the right time. He didn’t want to rush you. He might have felt that you were it for him, but you might not feel the same way. It was his insecurities getting into his head, but he couldn’t help it.

Coco just laughed again as he walked out of the office.

“This is fucking ridiculous,” Angel sat back, running his hand over his face.

“Angel, y/n is looking for you,” he heard EZ say to him.

Angel looked up, a smile immediately spreading across his face. The stress he was feeling rushing out of his body. He stood up and followed his younger brother out of the office. You were leaning against Rafael’s car, arms crossed across your chest. Angel’s smile slightly faltered, he could tell you were not happy and he began to think of all the things he did within the past 3 days since he last saw you.

“Mi amor, what’s wrong?” Angel immediately questioned.

“Huh?” You gave him a confused look. You looked down at your stance and chuckled. “Oh no, sorry, nothing is wrong, at least, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Angel let out a sigh of relief he wasn’t even aware he was holding. Once he was in front of you, your lips met and he placed a kiss on your forehead. “Not that I’m not happy you’re here, but what’s going on, you don’t seem very happy.”

“You’re going to hate me.” You pouted as you leaned against Angel, looking up at him. You didn’t meant too, but the puppy dog eyes was already paired up with your pout.

He was a sucker for it and Angel absolutely hated that about himself. Whenever you would give him those eyes along with that pout, he would move a mountain for you just to appease you. Hell, you can stab him and he would brush it off.

“I could never hate you,” Angel wrapped his arms around you.

You loved it when he wore the Romero work uniform. Those muscles of his out in full glory, looking so damn good. His outfit and sweetness was making this all that much harder for you.

“I have to leave the state for a few days.” You figured there was no point bearing around the bush.

The change in Angel’s hold on you was immediate, he pulled away, giving you a questioning look. “Christmas is in 4 days. When will you be back?”

“The day after Christmas.”

Angel groaned at that, shaking his head. “Babe, it’s the fucking holidays, why do you need to leave?”

“There’s just an emergency meeting at the company headquarters in New York, they say if we can find a remedy before the 26th then we can go home.”

“Do you think you will?”

You frowned and shook your head. “I’m so sorry babe,” you wrapped your arms around him.

Rafael was in the car, sympathetic towards your plight. As much as he understood that this was your first holiday with Angel, you were needed at work. And the pay was good.

“This is bullshit.”

“Please don’t be mad and break up with me.”

Angel froze at your words. How can you even think that? “The fuck did you just say?” He pulled away from you, looking down as your eyes were anywhere else but him.

“I know how much the holidays means to you and I’m ruining it.”

Angel refrained from shaking you to get such a ridiculous thought out your head. “Didn’t I tell you it’s you and me against the world now? You ain’t getting rid of me unless it’s in a box.”

“Don’t say that.” You slightly shoved him.

“I’m serious. The fact that you think I would break up with you due to an inconvenience pisses me off.” Angel was hurt that you would even think of something as ridiculous as that. He was serious, the only way you were going to rid of him was through a box otherwise, it’s you and him. He wondered if you were still insecure. Your relationship was so new and he knew he had so much to prove.

“I’m sorry,” you knew you were an idiot for even thinking that, but you couldn’t help it. “I don’t want to go, but no one else can go.”

Angel sighed and nodded his head. He gave you a kiss before pulling you towards him again. “It’s fine, I’ll see you when you get back.”

“Okay, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

He opened the door for you and closed it once you were inside. Rafael rolled the window down and greeted his head at Angel. “I’ll take care of her.”

“Yeah, you better. No late night outs.”

Rafael laughed. “She’s boring, we both know that.” Angel laughed at Rafael’s comment. He kissed you one last time before Rafael drove off.

He looked behind him and found EZ and Coco with the biggest grin on their faces.

“What assholes?”

“We’re just glad you two finally got together. I can’t even imagine how anxious you would be if she left and you two weren’t together yet.” Coco patted him on the back before making his way towards the garage.

“So, did you find a gift?” EZ questioned.

“Nope, but I got more time now.”

EZ chuckled. “You’re such an idiot.”

Angel wrapped his arm around EZ’s neck and dragged his brother towards the garage. He hated that you weren’t gonna be there for Christmas, but he was hoping for a Christmas miracle.

=============================

You just got off the phone with your sister, who wanted to greet you a Merry Christmas along with your niece and her husband. Your sister had given you an earful when you were at the airport waiting to board your flight.

‘You’re such a workaholic, I’m surprised Angel didn’t tie you down.’

You were a workaholic, but you never did anything half ass and you sure as hell wasn’t going to start now. For years, you’ve built a name in the company and you knew they would promoting you soon, it was already promised to you. And with higher positions come great responsibilities, which was why you were in New York, laying in your bed with Rafael in the room across from you. Initially, you two were going to share a room, but Rafael met up with an old acquaintance and chose to have his own room instead.

Now, you were in your room, drinking a bottle of wine all by yourself while watching some Netflix on Christmas Eve. You’ve been trying to contact Angel, but it kept going straight to voicemail. He was most likely on the other side, helping out Adelita. It would be a lie to say that you weren’t concerned about his relationship with Adelita, but you trusted Angel, you had confidence that he wouldn’t stray.

At least, you kept saying it to keep your anxiety at bay.

“This is pathetic, I should go out and enjoy the city.” But then again, it was Christmas Eve, what was there to do in New York? Everyone was at home spending time with their families and here you were, thousands of miles away from home.

Your phone rang, snapping you out of your stupor. Looking at the name, you immediately smiled.

“Hey baby,” you greeted.

“Hola mi amor,” his voice gave you such warmth, it should be a sin. “If you’ve been trying to call me, I’m sorry, Bish just had us doing a few things for the club before Christmas.”

“You guys get Christmas off?” You teased. Of course they did, you knew that.

“Yes, only workaholics such as yourself work during the holidays.” The teasing tone on his voice made you smile, knowing everything was okay between you two. You hated missing this time of the year since you usually spent it with the Reyes’.

“I miss you,”

Angel sighed. “I miss you too. What time do you get back on the 26th?”

“Midnight, so technically the 27th. Don’t worry, Rafael is gonna give me a ride home.”

“I’ll meet you at your place,” Angel informed you. “I have something for you.”

“I thought we agreed no Christmas presents this year?” You and Angel had agreed to not get one another Christmas presents this year since you didn’t see the point of it. All you wanted was to be with him and that plan was thwarted by work. But even though you agreed on that, you still got Angel something. So, should you really be surprised that Angel got you something?

“Well, I’m not giving it to you on Christmas so it technically isn’t a Christmas gift.” He was such a wiseass, you had to roll your eyes at that.

“You’re such a smart ass.”

“I thought that’s why you love me baby girl?”

You laughed. “One of the plenty of reasons that I do.”

“What you doing?” Angel was currently sitting on the couch of his father’s house, deciding to spend the night there along with EZ. Things have improved between him and his father to some extent, but vying for his father’s approval went down the drain after he found out about EZ’s deal. He didn’t need it, not anymore.

“Currently drinking wine and watching the Punisher.” You poured yourself another glass, mentally taking note that this had to be your last glass.

“Hey! We agreed that we’re watching that together.”

You laughed. “We are! I’m just watching the episodes we already watched. You kept distracting me so I don’t really know what’s going on.”

“How was I distracting you?” Angel took another sip of his beer, leaning back against the couch.

“Angel, come on, you know what you did.”

Angel chuckled. “I’m sorry, I can’t help it. You were wearing my shirt, with your ridiculous ass short shorts.”

You laughed as well. “It’s not like you know what’s going on with the story anyway.”

“I do, I’ve seen the series already.”

“Angel! And you’re giving me flack for possibly seeing episodes without you?”

“I’ve told you this, its the reason why I kept endorsing the show.”

“You’re such a dork. Are you home?”

“Naw, I’m at pops, you know we celebrate Christmas here and we go to Christmas Eve mass.”

You nodded your head as if Angel could see you. “That’s right, well, I’ll let you go, I’m getting sleepy.”

“The wine hitting you?”

“No, sort of,” you placed the wine glass on the bedside drawer beside your bed. “It was just a long day.”

“Everything okay with work?”

“Yes, we fixed the problem, only reason I’m not flying out tonight is cause the airport is going to be ridiculous.”

“I wish you were here beside me.”

“Me too.”

=============================

Angel was in your apartment, preparing the place for your arrival. He bought some chinese food and kept it in your oven. He was on the couch, trying to focus on the television, but it was almost 2 in the morning and you still weren’t back. You had texted him that you landed almost an hour ago and nothing since then. To say he was nervous was an understatement.

“Where the fuck are you, y/n?” Angel murmured as he checked his phone for the umpteenth time. He looked at your present and couldn’t wait to give it to you.

The door finally opened and Angel shot up, rushing towards the door. You looked up at him and dropped your bags, wrapping your arms around him. He buried his face at the crook of your neck, breathing in your scent.

“I’m so happy you’re home baby,” he placed a kiss on your neck before he pulled away.

You closed the door behind you, locking it. You wrapped your arms around his neck and he met your lips with his.

“What took you so long?” Angel questioned as he took your things to your room.

“Rafael insisted on grabbing food, I would have texted you but my phone ran out of battery.” You explained. “I didn’t eat cause I know you bought me food.”

“How did you know that?”

“Cause you always take care of me.”

Angel’s heart swelled at your words. He was glad that you noticed that you were his number one priority, that he took care of you in anyway that he could. He didn’t have much, but whatever he had, was yours.

“Of course I do, your my girl, you’d do the same for me.” Angel walked out of your room and found you on the couch, waiting for him. “You want your present now?”

“Yes!” You were excited.

Angel walked over to the box under the christmas tree he helped you put up. Placing the box on the coffee table, you raised an eyebrow at him. Standing up, you looked at the box and noticed the holes on the side. You looked over at Angel and gave him a suspicious smile.

“You didn’t Angel.”

“What?” He gave you a playful smile.

Opening the box, a siberian husky puppy was peacefully sleeping in the box. You refrained from squealing as Angel picked up the dog for you. He opened his eyes and he had the typical blue eyes most husky’s had. He was black and white, with a diamond shaped outline on his back.

“Hello,” you greeted the puppy as Angel handed him over to you.

“I can’t always be with you, so I just wanted to give you him. So when I’m not here, you always have company.”

You slightly teared up as the puppy began to lick your face. You hugged it close to your chest as Angel looked on, a smile on his face. “Thank you so much.” He knew how much you always wanted a puppy since you were a kid. With your mother passing, getting a dog never really became an option, so Angel wanted to get you one.

It was a symbol of your new chapter together.

For now it was only a dog that you two would raise together, but one day, he hoped you two would be raising your own children.

“Anything for you baby girl,” he gave you a kiss on the forehead. “What’s going to be his name?”

You pondered for a moment as he made himself comfortable in your arms before he fell asleep once again. When you were younger, you had your heart set on the name Buddy for a dog. It was cliche and typical, but you love the Air Bud movies. But Buddy didn’t fit him.

“Ares.”

Angel had to laugh at that. You were absolutely in love with Greek mythology. He’s watched a few shows and movies with you that had to do with greek mythology. You were his little history nut and he loved that about you. He wasn’t even surprised that you picked that name.

“I like it, it fits him.” Angel took Ares from your arms and brought him to your room where he had a kennel for him to sleep in. You followed Angel and began taking your clothes off since all you wanted to do was go to sleep. But then you remembered your present for Angel.

You made your way to your walk in closet where you changed much to Angel’s disappointment. But you also grabbed the gift you had for him. When you made your way out, Angel was already in your bed, waiting for you.

He smiled, patting the space beside him. “We have to make up for some lost time.”

“Absolutely, but first,” you jumped on your side of the bed, placing his gift in between you. “Open your gift.”

Angel knew you would get him something. The whole no gift bullshit was such a hoax. That’s why he got you something, he wasn’t an idiot. Besides, you’re his girl, there was no way he wasn’t getting you a present. He picked up the box you had in between you two, shaking his head with a smile on his lips. He tore up the wrapping paper and opened the box. Inside the box was another box. He looked up at you and you held in your laughter and encouraged him to open it. The box was quite big so Angel wasn’t sure what to expect. Once he open the box within the box, he almost dropped the lid.

“Baby,” he breathed out.

Inside the box was an art set, with a brand new sketchbook along with art supplies. You knew Angel was an artist at heart and he rarely dabbled into his artistic side these days. It was such a shame since Angel was such an amazing artist. You knew he put it in the backburner for some time and his excuse to you was that he didn’t have any supplies.

Well now, no more excuses. You wanted Angel to find something outside of the MC to have as his hobby and you figured that getting back into painting and drawing would be such a good thing for him.

“This is amazing,” he took out everything you got for him. From the pastels, colored pencils, pens, paint, brushes and pencils to the sketchbook that would hold all of his work. You also had few other ideas but you figured you could wait till Valentine’s Day for that one. You just wanted to help him reconnect with his passion. “I definitely did not expect this.”

“What did you expect?”

“I don’t know, a lingerie set that you could model for me.” He wiggled his eyebrows making you laugh and smack him. “I’m a simple man baby, that would have made my fucking year.”

“You mean the year that’s about to end in a few days?” You playfully pushed him.

“This is amazing y/n,” he pulled you towards him, giving you a kiss on your lips. “I fucking love you,” he said against your lips.

“I love you,” you did the same as him before pulling away. “Want to put this away and you can show me how much you missed me?”

“You’re insatiable baby, is that all I am to you? A piece of meat?”

“Take your clothes off Reyes.”

“Yes ma’am.”

[cinderacequeen]

Okay but: imagine Héctor pretty much telling his beloved nieta Victoria, "The greatest honor... is having you for a granddaughter." You know, like that scene in Mulan.

The feels are still as strong since the first time I read this, especially since I just watched Mulan awhile ago!

Victoria is the first Rivera to have grown up with the infamous music ban, so even after it’s restored and her grandfather moves in with her family, she can’t help but feel aloof for awhile, trying to get used to this abrupt and unfamiliar change.

Victoria feels bad when she finds herself avoiding her Papá Héctor, who only wants a chance to bond with her. She’s not being cold, she’s just trying to get used to him being around and feels like she needs the space until then, though she really wants to start a bond with him as well.

Her abuelita has scolded her many times for this, which just makes Victoria feel guiltier.

When she goes out into the garden to figure out exactly how she’s going to start a conversation with him, Papá Héctor joins her and quietly sits on the bench, apart enough to give her as much space as possible. He understands Victoria’s quietness and just starts some idle chit-chat about the wild alebrije foxes playing in the courtyard to how beautiful the Land of the Dead’s sunsets are.

Then he tells Victoria that she is far more beautiful than all the sunsets he’s watched combined and she’s just floored. She gawks at him with a slightly slack jaw and he just responds back with a soft gaze and smile.

This man was practically a stranger to her and yet he was giving her a high compliment that she was immensely flattered by.

“After how I’ve been treating you, you’re still being nice to me?”

“Por supuesto!” Héctor exclaimed. “I know you’re not being malicious or mistrusting. You’re just…cautious. I just dropped into your life one day, disrupting any order and balance you knew, and you’re not quite sure how to deal with it it just yet. We never had the chance to know each other in life…”

Héctor’s eyes darkened and narrowed as he looked towards the ground, a tight-lipped frown on his face. His hands clenched into shaking fists. “Ernesto ruined any chance of that. He made me miss so much and I’ll never forgive him for it or everything else he’s done…almost did.”

Héctor inhaled a shaky breath, shaking himself bodily before straightening and returning his softening gaze back to his granddaughter. “But that doesn’t matter now. That’s in the past. What matters is now. I have the chance to make up for everything and I’ve been working so hard to do so. But so far…you’re the only one who I haven’t had the chance to get to really know.”

“I’m sorry,” Victoria whispered, gripping her right arm and looking away. “You’re right. I have been cautious. I was just trying to understand how to accept this change. I felt…scared by it. I don’t like change, and this is a pretty big one. My whole life I was told you were my runaway, good-for-nothing grandfather, that I was to hate you forever.

It took Miguel getting cursed, almost dying, and you being nearly forgotten for us to understand that we were all horribly wrong. If we had been told to begin with…if we had looked further into it, your afterlife wouldn’t have been as miserable as it had been. I can’t help but feel especially guilty.”

Héctor looked at her as if she had grown an extra head. “For what?”

Victoria sighed in frustration, taking off her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose, as if a headache was building-had she been alive one would have been. Stress or incredible guilt did that to her. “I take after Mamá Imelda so much. I’ve been told multiple times that I’m like her twin. Most of my mannerisms and character comes from her. I blindly follow her orders and way of life for so long, I have no personality of my own.”

Héctor opened his mouth to voice his protests but Victoria holding up a hand silenced him, telling him that she wasn’t done speaking. Fidgeting with the right knee of his sewn pants and biting the anxiousness down, he gave Victoria his full attention.

“People have been mocking me, calling me Imelda Jr. It should have been a compliment, seeing as how much Elena idolized her, but it was an insult. It just reminded me that I could have been my own person but was afraid to break out of the persona created for me.

Perhaps if I had done so earlier, I would have been able to tell that the lies passed down to us contradicted Mamá’s stories she secretly told to Elena and me when we were very young. Of course, abuelita found out and told us that Mamá was young herself and didn’t understand the severity of the situation. She and abuelita would get into heated arguments and Elena and I were forced to choose who to believe.

Naturally Elena took abuelita’s side. I wanted to take Mamá’s, but I…I was so intimidated that I…” Victoria broke off, rubbing at her eyes as tears flooded her eyes. Héctor instantly scooted over and wrapped his arms around Victoria’s shoulders, tugging her close, and cradled her head into the crook of his neck. 

He was surprised how she didn’t fight him, instead practically melting into his hold.

It was apparent that she had been holding her feelings back for so long and really needed the comfort.

“Mija,” he spoke in his deep, soothing tone. He rubbing Victoria’s back. “I do not blame you for choosing Imelda’s side over Coco’s; though it’s a shame that you had been unfairly forced to choose a side at such a tender age. It’s something no child should ever have to go through.

I know you would have helped your Mamá keep my memory alive if you could. And even if you took after your Mamá Imelda, I still see so much of Victoria.”

Victoria pushed herself back, staring at him quizzically.

Héctor smirked lopsidedly, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead, kissing it. “You’re incredibly book smart; Julio told me that you could share just about any sort of knowledge about anything that was asked, that you loved sharing anything you found out about.

 He also said you had a hidden, creative talent. I saw one of the sketchbooks he’s kept after your passing. Mija, you’re a muy fantástico artist. Had you not been a shoemaker, I’m certain you would have made quite a name for yourself, maybe even went to Paris or somewhere else to study art.”

“So I’m smart and artistic, nothing special,” Victoria snarled, pursing her lips and brushing the tears away.

“Viquita,” Héctor said, taking her hand between his, squeezing it reassuringly. “You are special, even if you don’t feel like you are. You hold so much insecurity about yourself, most likely brought on by the venom of those idiotas who made you feel such a way, that you refuse to think that there’s nothing great about you. You’re wrong, and I hope this will be the only time I have to tell you that. You just haven’t had the chance to rediscover yourself. Now that I’m here, I will be more than happy to help you do so.

I want to see the Victoria that Julio and Coco were so proud of, and still are, and see you do the things you enjoyed to do in life. Heck, you can “draw me like one of your French girls”,” Hector added with a cheesy, broad grin and a terrible British accent complete with a brow wiggle.

This made Victoria burst into loud laughter. Hector broke his impression and joined her.

“Papá Héctor, that movie came out years after your time. How did you come across that reference?”

“Oh, there were a number of fans of it in Shantytown, and that was one of the most iconic lines that I often heard be tossed around. Of course, the movie version probably wasn’t as funny as they made it sound and apparently kids today have made it into a…me-me?”

Victoria guffawed. “It’s pronounced meme, abuelito!”

Héctor held out his arms, grinning goofily. “How was I supposed to know that? It seems like new words are just made up for the heck of it!”

The two laughed some more before falling into a comfortable silence. Victoria leaned against Héctor and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, resting his head against hers.

“Victoria…just know that I will always love you, no matter who you are or what you do.”

“I love you, too, abuelito. I look forward to getting to know you more.”

“As do I…though there is one thing I am certain of.”

“And what would that be?”

“The greatest honor…is having you for a granddaughter.”

Victoria snorted. “You referencing movies is ruining the moment, tonto.”

“Who said it was just a reference?”

And from that moment forward, Victoria truly felt like her old self and enjoyed every second she and her obnoxious, wonderful grandfather shared together.

[cococrazies]

Lovestruck Series Review: Speakeasy Tonight (Season 1)

Personal playing order: Vince - Cliff - Gerald - Sofia - Neil - Julius - Donovan - Elliot

Warning! Mild spoilers ahead for all routes in this season.

Vince: My first introduction to not only this game, but Lovestruck overall; and he set a pretty high standard. Vince himself isn’t my cup of tea - I’m not really into bold and brash - but I liked his chemistry and relationship dynamic with the MC, how they played off and brought out the best in each other, and helped the other to develop. I had no complaints in regards to anything else in this route: Vince just happened to not be my type, so I felt rather neutral about the route at large.

Cliff: So cute! Cliff is much more down my lane, so I liked his route better than Vince’s. MC, however, was a bit of a letdown: I appreciated the realism angle where she realizes she’s in over her head, but she comes across as a bit more weak-willed compared to in Vince’s route. I adore her friendship with Cleo here, though, and the double-dates they have with Cliff/Andrew.

Gerald: My absolute favorite so far, mostly because of MC’s development here. There’s a nice mix of the badassery and guts in Vince’s route, the emotionality and realism in Cliff’s, and with a bonus dose of improved critical thinking and indepence, to boot. I also like that Gerald is genuinely supportive of Zelda without being overbearing; plus points for all the best girlfriends being present, too. (Not to mention Neil, whose friendship with Zelda here really sparked my interest in his route. I was less impressed by Vince, who came across as all brawns and no brains - and even occasionally sexist - far more often than in his or Cliff’s routes.) 

I’m kind of neutral about Gerald himself; I liked his cunning and that he had a different disposition compared to the other characters I’d played so far, but I didn’t warm up to him as easily as I did with Cliff.

Sofia: Gah, my first disappointment in regards to the Lovestruck routes. Bisexual awakening in the roaring 20s and kickass gangster lesbians sounded like a winning formula, yet somehow MC spent the majority of this route fussing, angsting, wide-eyed, and insecure. Not to mention that Sofia made me kind of uncomfortable initially - her aggressive advances coupled with MC's relative inexperience, plus the intolerant sociopolitical atmosphere of the '20s, made for a bad combination. The two also felt very isolated from the rest of the Ice Box gang compared to previous routes, due to the nature of their relationship.

Neil: Well, that was... a bit anticlimactic. I enjoyed Neil's grouchy character and his hate/love-snark with MC, but at the end of his route I'm still not entirely sure how and why he fell in love with her - he seemed sincere enough about seeing her as a naive child until he suddenly changed his tune halfway through. The overall pacing was off in general; I never felt any particular suspense going on, despite the cliffhangers, and Neil's opening up emotionally to MC felt a little Ikea-instruction-manual-esque. (Step 1, have sex; step 2, grudgingly admit your affection to each other; step 3, unveil dark and angsty past.) 

Similar to Sofia, Neil's hermit tendencies also made me feel very isolated from the rest of the crew, aside from their obligatory assistance for the final showdown and the equally obligatory shopping gossip session with Cleo. At the end of the day I wouldn't say this route was bad - I did rather enjoy Neil's character, after all, as well as how it brought out MC’s tsun to the max - but the pacing ruined the potential pathos.

Julius: This is the route I’ll point people towards when they want a good example of POC depiction in fiction. POC storylines in most OELVNs I’ve seen so far either feel like tokenism, just plain pointless, or both; but very little of Julius's overall story arc centered around romancing a black man in the judgmental '20s - while still not ignoring the poignancy of it. (Julius's solemn response to Zelda's incredulous question about what judges would penalize him for defending his sister from being assaulted with no killing intent - "a room of judges who look nothing like me" - was a particular classic.) 

Julius also felt so much more than his associated kuudere archetype; he seemed very realistic in how he handled and communicated his emotions. (Although his keeping a lid on his feelings got a bit frustrating midway through.) Also, an intellectual and talented musician without being arrogant? While ripped as a linebacker? Score! 

I also really loved his chemistry with MC in general; it felt very organic, and the UST coupled/contrasted with his sweet, collected exterior was a nice touch. The pacing and mood-setting were handled really well; the antagonist legit gave me the creeps during his first meeting with MC even without her mentally narrating it. Still liked Gerald's route better, though, if only because of how MC was even more kickass there.

Donovan: I wish I could say I like Donovan much better after this route, but sadly, that didn’t really happen. I wasn’t much for his personality to begin with, and finding out the true reason behind his seduction of Zelda didn’t help. (Although I’m glad there’s a logical explanation for the sudden 180, which did bother me.) His redemption also happened so fast it gave me emotional whiplash.

The MC in this route is my least favorite so far: I get that she's supposed to be this wild, rebellious flapper with early feminist tendencies, but I thought it was beyond stupid for her to lead on two hot-headed guys that are known to 1) get violent and 2) hate each other's guts. I also found her rather frustrating in the finale when she had her head up in the clouds with all of her love drama while forgetting about her death threat. 

The writing on its own was on par with all the other Speakeasy routes, though, so no complaints there. And at least I'm glad there's one route that paints Vince in a more likeable fashion besides his own (and maybe Cliff’s).

Elliot: If there's anything I like less than a helpless main character, it's a helpless main couple. I'd been pretty curious about how Elliot would be a suitable partner for a speakeasy manager-in-the-making and wondering how he'd fit into the grand scheme of things... which he didn't. At all. It annoyed me to no end how he constantly changed the subject or tried to choose the easy way out of every major problem (i.e. drinking/partying/kissing away all the negativity), even if it made sense for his character, and MC herself has probably not been more incompetent in this entire season - though to her credit, she did what she could with her limited resources and knowledge. 

The fact that this also took us all away from Ice Box and its crew made everything feel less personal and connected somehow. (Not to mention that Elliot's sprite still creeps me out.) I thought his character reveal was fascinating, but ultimately this felt more like an AU than a proper Speakeasy route.

Final character ranking: Gerald > Julius > Neil > Cliff > Vince > Donovan > Sofia > Elliot

For more Lovestruck reviews, see the tag #coco reviews lovestruck. Next up is Astoria: Fate’s Kiss.