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the-crows-typist · 4 years ago

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Time for the 3rd installment of our Valentine’s Event with none other than, Vil Schoenheit and the word: Kiss requested by @twstdaydreamer This was very fun to write and I hope all of you enjoy this as much as I did.

CW: Alternate Universe: Cinderella and The Beast, OOC, Dark past, and discussion of the death of a loved one.

This ficlet features characters singing certain songs so links will be provided for added experience.

While some lyrics are gendered, the reader still remains gender-neutral.

Word count: 7843

Other works: Chocolate Feat. Jade, Cards Feat. Floyd

A Heart from Me to You

There once was a house as beautiful as those who lived in it. Its Lord and Lady produced a beautiful heir who, at a young age, strived for beauty unequaled to anyone in the mortal plane but at the price of the beauty of his own heart. One day, an old woman with a face aged approached the manor to seek shelter from the blistering snow…Only to be turned away with looks of disgust. This angered the lady, removing her form to reveal herself as a powerful goddess who cursed all who lived in that house with an enchanted rose.

This selfishness was what brought upon the family’s curse that when night fell should the family follow. The beautiful boy suffered from the curse the most, in his transformation did he end up killing those loved.

Now, cursed and alone, the beautiful boy lived in a husk of his own home waiting the days for the earth to take him whole.

“How tragic.” You whisper, sitting by the fire with a book on your lap. You enjoyed break times by the fire and being able to read by your lonesome especially when the winters became bitter in Pyroxene. You closed the book just as the head maid came in.

“Oh look at you, you’ve got cinder marks in your uniform. Come here. You must be careful, dear. The cinder marks are harder to wash off than you think.” She said and wiping the still fresh marks off your sleeves. “It was getting cold,” You explained. “But I’ll be careful next time, I promise.”

“Please and thank you.” She smiled at you the way a mother would to her child. “Come along, Vil will be coming home soon. We should go ahead and greet him.” You follow her towards the door just as you thought about Vil. His father was a famous actor that traveled but it wasn’t often that the two of them were in the same house at the same time.

“Welcome back, Vil.” Said the maid and you, bowing your head. “How was the trip?

Vil Schoenheit stood before you, his winter coat shining with fresh snowflakes and noise a sore red. “It went as it should. May I ask for some hot tea with honey?” You could hear the pulled-back shiver in his voice. “Bring it to me in the bath.” His footsteps were quick even in those high-heeled shoes.

“Can I leave it to you?” The head maid asked. “I still need to finish cooking dinner.”

You nod your head and smoothing out your uniform, ready to take on another task as well as the scrutinizing eye of one Vil Schoenheit.

Three knocks on the door and Vil halted in his actions. “Come in.” You opened the door, pushing the tray carrying tea and small biscuits carefully into the warm room. Vil had already exited the tub and dressed in a robe. Just as you had been taught, you poured a cup of tea mixed with honey and presented it to him.

“Thank you.”

Vil was a beautiful being, he really was. The way his body was sculpted and toned made you think he was carved out of fine marble by the finest artisans. His gaze towards you made you realized you were staring too long. “I-I’ll be on my way, Mister Vil. Please enjoy the night.”

“You’re the new one here, aren’t you?”

Vil set down the cup and stood up, the robe seemed to act like a flowing dress that flowed at the floor as he drew closer and closer to you. “I believe you’re the one whose mother passed last autumn.” You nodded your head with a sigh, remembering the stressful days after your mother was laid to rest.

Times were hard for you and your family, after the sudden passing of your mother, all of you had to make ends meet whenever and wherever possible. Your step-father, Mozus Trein, got a position as a professor in a known school while your step-brothers, Angelo and Donovan, set for the Rose Kingdom.

Angelo became a baker’s apprentice while Donovan became a tailor for an apparel shop. You stayed behind in Pyroxene, snagging yourself as a position as part of the staff of the well-known Schoenheit family. While the pay was good, appearances needed to be kept at all times thus why the head maid was often uppity with you especially on your first days.

“Yes.”

“I offer my condolences to you and your family.”

“Thank you…” You say and you look down at your shoes, your chest feeling heavy and empty at the same time. “But the tears have already been shed. All I want to do now is take care of my father and help my brothers.”

There was a smile on his face and he reached over, patting your shoulder with a damp hand. Up close he smelled of clean soap with a hint of citrus. “You have a strong foundation to keep yourself stable. That’s what I want in the people who work here.” He pats your shoulder again with eyes of judgment. “But these marks on your uniform…”

Ah, crap.

“I stay by the fire during my break times.” You admit quickly and Vil only shakes his head. “It would do you good to stay further away. These cinder marks are unsightly.”

“I will keep that in mind, sir.”

He pulled back his arms and turned around as you were about to take your leave. “By the way, I would like to reiterate something while you’re here because I know the other staff will neglect to tell you this one important detail.”

The mirror before him reflected his serious expression, you gulped feeling as if you broke a rule. “When the sun begins to set. Don’t go to the second floor.”

“What’s so special about the second floor?”

All of you ate on a table, the head maid serving up some warm cream stew. “Ah, that.” You gave your bowl to ask for seconds and she much obliged you. The old lady smiled to herself. “Nighttime is the only time Vil can rest,” She explained. “He’s quite the light sleeper so even the softest of sounds will wake him up.”

The look in her eyes was distant and smile knowing as she handed the bowl back to you. “Do you need anything else? We still have some sweet corn and roasted chicken,” she asked, pushing some more food for you to take. You sip at the hot morsel of food after shaking your head. “No, I’m fine.”

The howling winter winds that rattled your window was something you could never shut out of your mind. For as long as you could remember, you had always sought refuge in the beds of your family whether it be your annoyed yet caring brothers or the understanding tiredness of your parents.

Your mother was the best at calming you, though. She always knew exactly what to do…She was your first teacher, your first friend, your primary protector after the split and she became all the more lively after meeting Mozus, your step-father. And while life adjusted itself perfectly for you and your new family, it didn’t hesitate to strike tragedy at the calmest of times.

Your mother, after all the years she had been fighting and keeping her sickness at bay, succumbed one day in front of your step-father. Even with all the magic remedies and medicines in the world to keep her alive, there was no reversing what had already been done.

“I love you.” She said on her death bed, Trein’s hand never leaving his wife’s. “I love all of you very much. I’m sorry I had to leave so early.”

You and your brothers dealt with the grief differently, all three of them going off to their little corners for days and never showing their faces to you. It was days after the funeral when you saw your father cry, holding a picture of your mother close to his chest.

Since then, you and your brothers always needed to remind each other that they needed to be strong for their father’s sake. Angelo and Donovan spared no time in snatching every opportunity that they could while you stayed behind.

Vil’s words to you repeated like a record in your head, reminding you of how he viewed you. “You have a strong foundation to keep yourself stable.” The winds rattled and you brought your knees to your chest. Was your resolve, your foundation as strong as Vil saw??

Cutlery colliding against each other broke you out of your thoughts and startling you back to reality. Slipping out of bed and into your shoes, you made your way into the kitchen with your hands holding your coat tightly for warmth. The plates clattered amongst themselves and you hear the tap opening and closing.

You listen in the dark, waiting for the next noises. The footsteps were erratic and almost cobbled, the clicking of plates loud and sudden as if something was trying to walk. Had someone tried to break in? You hear the door to the living room open and shut and you poise yourself to follow but grabbing a nearby frying pan to defend yourself.

Opening the door, you hear the pair of footsteps climb up the stairs and you begin to panic. Vil’s room was up there! Whoever it was, was targeting Vil. Your movements hesitated, remembering the rule Vil himself told you.

“When the sun begins to set. Don’t go to the second floor.”

The dead of night had already come and everything around you was dark save for the lamps that provided little help in the snowstorm. You hesitated to move, weighing the options and their potential consequences. Should you stay and let Vil rest knowing a thief was roaming the halls or should you break the rules and protect him with all you had?

You bolted up the stairs without a second thought and the frying pan clutched tight, panting as you got to the top and looking wildly and trying to listen for the familiar intermittent footsteps. You turn to your side with you hear another door opening and closing and suddenly all the lessons you’ve learned grappling with your stepbrothers come back to you in a flash.

You inch towards the room in the door, turning the knob to open the door with a soft creek that makes your insides cringe. In the middle of the room was a floating flower protected by a glass dome, it was red-pink petals shimmering and lightings its vicinity in the same color.

It was mesmerizing to look at.

Setting the pan down to your side, you walked towards it with your hand stretching out to touch the dome that protected it. You dropped the pan entirely to take the dome off the rose, its glow, even more, hypnotizing up close. Just as your finger touched its soft petals, the window to your side blew open in a torrent of cold wind and unfurling the curtains that moved like the waves of a dark sea.

“I wouldn’t touch that if I were you.”

From the darkness within the room, a pair of purple orbs glowed and a growl preceded a warning voice. The intermittent footsteps of a convulsing mannequin were not far off and its happy face brought a lick of terror to your heart.

The creature of the night crawled forwards, its sharp teeth jutting out of its mouth and form menacing and mangled. The windows were soon closed and the curtains dropped to the ground with your foot stepping on the soft fabric.

“Give me the dome.” The monster’s long claws reached out for you and before you stepped back, you slipped; hitting your head on the soft material behind you, the howling winds and the piercing orbs fading to black.

“…I told you not to come in here.”

You stood by the door of your step-father’s study with eyes facing the floor. Angelo and Donovan standing on either side of you. The yellow light gave off a sleepy and exhausted feeling in the realm of books and writing materials. In the very center was a diorama of your family, toys he wanted to surprise the kids with.

And now, the surprise was ruined.

You could feel shame boil in you, it had been only a few months since your mother remarried and you had new brothers to play with…And now your new dad was upset with you. “Come here.” He said, the man suddenly on one knee, your brothers coming over to him in a hug and you followed soon after.

“All of you, such curious little mice.” He said, patting each one of you on the back. “Next time, I want you to ask for permission before you enter the study, alright?” There was a laugh behind you, your mother smiling to herself while she leaned against the doorframe with a blanket over her shoulders. She never got used to the cold she was born in.

“Promise me that.”

“Yes, daddy.” All the children say.

And as you relished the warmth of your new father, something wet trickled down your cheek. Your brother, Angelo, was always the sensitive one of your step-siblings and would not hesitate to stop the sibling tomfoolery the moment things go awry. He held you close, his tears accidentally running down your cheek when you moved, while Donovan sat in the corner with shoulders hunched over. What was once your father’s sleepy study was now the empty hallway of a hospital.

The wind rattled against the windows of the hospital, your mother had succumbed to the sickness on a cold day. And your father was getting everything ready for the eventual end.

“Kids.”

Trein came out of the room, looking older than you remembered. “Your mother would like to talk to you.”

When you turned away from your brother’s embrace, you were seated on the side of your mother’s bed. Her body was sickly and the cold messed with what life remained in her. She smiled at all of you and your eyes began to sting.

“I love you.” She says, her eyes looking so tired. “I love you all very much.” And soon the tears began to fall from her face. I’m sorry I had to leave so early.” You blinked at the hand you held, your mother’s hand soon replaced with Donovan’s as he pulled you from your seat. In his suit, he looked more solemn and his usually long and wild hair was tied back with a ribbon.

“Let’s say goodbye.” He told you and tugged you to the coffin where your mother laid. “Where’s dad?” You turned your head, your hand now vacant and the space behind you a void of nothingness. The door of your father’s study slightly ajar and the familiar yellow light spilling through.

Your steps were echoed and slow, approaching the room slowly. When you were by the door, you peaked through the cracks; your father kneeling on the carpet and holding a figure to his chest. The diorama you once played with in your youth was set up on his table, your mother’s figurine nowhere in sight. There was a held back sob, Trein’s body shaking under his mourning robes.

You took a step back, letting him grieve in his own time.

You knew better than to come in there without permission.

You woke up with a start and a sudden sting to the back of your head. Above you was a chandelier you had no memory of seeing in your quarters and a bed your hands never recognized. Your chest heaved when you pushed yourself up the bed only to be pushed down by the head maid.

“Stay down.” She says, holding your shoulders. The light of the new day filtered through the large window of Vil’s room. Vil stood by the rose with his back facing you, holding the dome to himself just as your breathing leveled and normalized. “You hit your head pretty bad last night,” She explained and felt for the bump that made you hiss.

Last night…

“Was last night real?” You asked, your sudden burst of energy was off-putting especially when you remembered the events leading to the memories you wished to never relish again. “That rose. Was it really glowing? A-and that monster—!”

The dome was placed onto the rose with a loud clack, the glass roughly hitting the marble surface. “T-that’s beside the point!” The maid scolded. “Vil warned you never go to the second floor after the sunsets! Not only did you disobey one of the rules given to you, you hit your head while doing so.”

You bit back a hiss of guilt and opened your mouth to try to retort at your apparent rebellion.

“Elena.”

Vil’s voice was soft yet strict, eyes calm yet sharp. He regarded you for a moment while leaning against the marble table. “Let them be for the day, they’ve hit their head too hard.” You felt yourself shrink under his gaze. “See to it that they have little heavy activities as possible and prioritize that the bump is given care immediately.”

Elena bowed her head, her upset anger still very much apparent.

“Yes, sir.”

Elena’s nimble hands making quick work of dirty dishes. Your head had been bandaged with a compress pressed to where you hit your head. You stared at your meal with little appetite before poking at the grilled fish. “Miss Elena, why does that rose glow?”

The clattering of cutlery stopped and the head maid only sighed, shaking his head. “Always the curious one, aren’t you?” She turned around, leaning against the sink with arms crossed. “That’s one of Vil’s most treasured possessions. An heirloom that came directly from his grandfather then to his father then to him.”

Elena’s eyes looked to the side as if to remember. “I should know. I was there for every passing down. Vil is highly protective of it.”

It might have just been a coincidence, you thought to yourself, that the story you read by the fire had mentioned a rose but that was all there was to it. You ate your breakfast quicker after that. “I’m sorry for my behavior.”

“Next time, listen to your instructions.” She said, taking the plates from you before you could even move an inch to help her.

The feather duster slid against the books, your toes tipping to reach up for the shelves above your head. From there, you took your damp rag and swiped it across the polished wooden table. Yup, this was pretty much not so labor-intensive but it would get painfully boring unless you had some entertainment to go with you so you sang a small song taught to you in your youth.

“A dream is a wish your heart makes when you’re fast asleep.” Your mother loved to sing this song to you and soon, to your new family. Trein especially loved it when they danced together in the living room when the children were ‘seemingly’ asleep. “In dreams, you will lose your heartaches. Whatever you wish for, you keep.” You closed your eyes, feeling the memories of the past come with the melody of your song. You remember the first time you snuck out of bed with your brothers to see your parents slow dancing together. “Have faith in your dreams and someday your rainbow will come smiling through.”

You’ve never seen your mother smile so peacefully nor did you ever see her hug someone so intimately before Trein, in fact, you’ve never seen her do any of those things with your old dad. She was happy. “No matter how your heart is grieving...”

You only wished to see that happiness last longer than it should have. If only things stayed the way they did. “If you keep on believing…”

You envisioned your mother holding you close, singing to you one last time. Just like how she did when could still hold you to your chest. Just one last time…

“The dream that you wish…will come true.”

Sighing, you leaned against your broom saddened by what you made yourself remember. “Oh, I’ll never get my work done at this rate.” You say, taking your equipment with you and almost running out the library with a huff. Next to the fireplace, Vil lay on one of the long couches away from sight. It was only when you went out that he rose from his seat and hunched forward to let his hair cover his face.

He stayed silent, relishing the sound of your voice in his head.

During your break time, you decided to stay outside with a group of mice that decided to keep you company. You never understood why but the small animals around your area always seemed to be kind and almost human-like. When one mouse decided to sit by you while nibbling a small piece of leftover cookies did you begin to speak your thoughts.

“Is there something being hidden from me? Or am I being too nosey?”

One mouse approached you, listening to you at your feet. “I know last night wasn’t a dream, I know what I saw.” You say then feeling for the bump on his head. “It was real, I just know it.” There was a small squeak, one of the female mice touched your hand with her small paw as if to say words of reminder.

‘You’re stressing yourself out.’

Grimacing, you pushed yourself up and patting your uniform off the crumbs and dust. “I know.” You tell them and the mice look up to you in curiosity and concern in their beady little eyes. “I’ll be fine, don’t you worry. I’m a strong mouse just like you! I’m sure I can get to the bottom of this, I just…Need to find a better opportunity.”

The mice squeak in affirmation which makes you giggle. “Ahah, I’ll have to figure it out as I go along.” You tell them and look to the house, knowing that you had to get back in quickly. “I should get going, I’ll come back with some good food tomorrow.” You wave at the mice who give sounds of greeting as you leave.

What you saw on the second floor was real. You know it is. And you were going to prove it. You stopped by one of the mirrors, fixing your appearance quickly. “Huh?” Your hand touches the surface, small cracks brushed by your tips as if someone had driven something sharp into it. Looking up at the sky, you smelled frost in the air. Strong winds would accompany the night again, it seems.

The accompanying snowstorm was as fitting as it ever gave you a feeling of stealth. You always wanted to be a kind of spy when you were younger and here you are living the dream, though some nice gear and some goggles would have helped greatly. The wind blows and rattles the windows harshly when you brought yourself up the stairs.

“Tale as old as time, true as it can be. Barely even friends then somebody bends unexpectedly.”

You walk to the door you saw the beast. Placing a hand on the door to listen. “Just a little change. Small, to say the least. Both a little scared Neither one prepared. Beauty and The Beasy” Hesitantly, you open to turn the door to hear more of the beautiful voice. The room was dark and only the glowing rose giving light to the room around it.

“Ever just the same, ever a surprise,”

A mannequin hunches over a familiar huddle of fur and purple light. The movements of both almost unearthly yet the voice passionate and real…And so familiar. “Ever as before and ever just as sure as the sun will rise.”

The winds rattle harshly again and the beast bundles into a ball in Vil’s bed, the mannequin’s hands shakenly placing its hand on the shivering being. “Tale as old as time, tune as old as song. Bittersweet and strange, finding you can change; learning you were wrong.”

You open the door a little wider and watch the scene unfold. Somehow, it wasn’t your place to interfere at such a moment so vulnerable. “Certain as the sun rising in the east, tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme. Beauty and the Beast ”

The shaking beast’s form calmed itself and the mannequin leaned down, its monotonous face pressing against the mass of fur. A kiss goodnight. The cold of the wind blew through, the mannequin looking at you with its painted eyes. The silence was light and your eyes never leaving each other. Taking a step back, you pulled the door with you until it was shut. Everything was finally coming together.

Vil was the beast.

Breakfast was quiet and the wraps on your head were taken off. Elena made no move or sound to acknowledge you as you ate. “So the beautiful boy cursed by the goddess.” You could hear her hand grip the wet plates tightly and you knew what was coming but, at this point, you didn’t care if you got scolded. “It was Vil, wasn’t it?”

“You were given specific instructions never to go up there at night.” She said sternly.

“It’s him, wasn’t it?” You press again.

“Why are you so pressed on this? What good will it do for you?”

“The mannequin was you, wasn’t it? You were singing to that beast.” Elena fuming, slammed her hand onto the table and that was what made you pull back. “Don’t call him that.” She says and sighs, pulling away from you and straightening her back. “The next time I see you on the second floor, you are out of this house. Do you understand me?”

She takes your empty plates and splashes them into the water. Her breath was harsh and her skin almost sickly looking. A cough leaves her lips and her shoulders shiver. “Would you like some tea?” You ask softly and her shoulders hunch over.

“Yes, dear. Please.”

Just as you took the teapot from the cabinet, she spoke to you again. “Please follow that rule this time. Don’t make this harder for Vil than it has to be.”

You open the kettle and reach for the leaves, hearing the old lady cough.

You were back in the library before the sun began to set and adding wood into the fire for warmth. The snowstorm hadn’t let up since the last night and you were afraid that your quarters was not enough to warm you through the night. Using the heating pair of tongs, you adjust the wood in a way that it would burn properly and not caring if the cinders would cling to your uniform.

During the coldest of nights, you and your mother would love to cuddle by the fire and sleep until the morning. It only became a festive event with the addition of your brothers and your father. She loved the heat, the sleeping feeling it gave her and she loved it the most when Trein held her close.

Your shoulders sag, that was probably the only time you’ve ever seen him at peace. After that…Shaking your head, you push those memories away. You had to be strong, you had to be for the sake of your family. Reaching up, you swat the tears from your face. Your tears had already been wept the day she was buried.

“Stay too close to the fire and your uniform will get singed.”

Vil stood behind the couch, a warm blanket over his shoulders and hair despite being messy made him look immaculate. “I have a request.”

“What is it?”

“You can sing, correct? And sing well.” Ah, you’re not sure if you could answer that one wholeheartedly. Gulping, you nod your head. “I can sing, yes, but well, not really—.” Vil’s huff was hard and eyebrows furrowed. “Do not hide what good you have. It will not grow unless you expose it.”

“O-of course.” You nod your head and Vil closes his eyes. You noticed bags, his skin slightly paled. “Are you here because of the storm, Vil?” Nodding his head, Vil sank down next to you with a sigh. “The windows become too loud at night…I don’t like the sound of it.”

“I understand. I’m not much a fan of it myself.”

“We’re veering off-topic.” He looks to you, “Can you sing for me? At least for a moment.” The windows rattle and he closes his eyes again. You move, patting your lap for him to rest on and he gives you a look. “My mother used to do this to me. It beats having to lay down on flat ground.”

He is hesitant at first but follows after a few minutes of pondering. He lays on your lap, getting himself comfortable and you adjust the blanket on top of him. “Any requests?”

“Anything that will help me sleep.”

The winds rattle and his shoulders hunch. “Alright.”

“Oh, sing sweet nightingale. Sing sweet nightingale high above me.”

Vil’s eyes open ever so slightly, his violet eyes staring in the fire. Any moment, he would transform into the beast of the night. A curse passed down from generation to the next and yet, you stayed to sing. “Sing sweet nightingale, sing sweet nightingale high above.”

Elena had not been feeling well recently, her old age and the blistering cold made for one bad fever that she needed rest for. And while Vil was understanding of that, the winds that rattled the windows never ceased to let him sleep.

“Oh, sing sweet nightingale, sing sweet nightingale.”

But that soon changed when he heard you sing in this very library. It reminded him of the soft coo of a dove and the warmth of a wool blanket. “Oh, sing sweet nightingale sing…” His eyes felt heavy and soon his body became weightless, he yearned for the days he could walk out in the sun without fear of the night that was to come.

He yearned for the day he would no longer be afraid…

He yearned deep within his heart.

“Sing sweet nightingale…”

A black beast laid in the place where Vil once was, its gnarly teeth the same purple as Vil’s eyes. Your hands brushed the black fur as the fire crackled and spat cinders from within. The beast, no, Vil’s body laying peacefully on your lap. You move, leaning down to press a kiss to his cheek and his body only moving to keep warm against you.

“High above me…”

The enchanted rose glowed dimly, its first petals beginning to fall to the countertop beneath it.

Your eyes open and the wood that once fueled the fire was reduced to ashes. Elena stood over you while Vil, in his human form, slept peacefully on your lap. The two of you shared glances and you immediately opened your mouth.

“I didn’t go upstairs this time.”

She knelt, adjusting the blanket over the sleeping boy’s long figure. You noticed how his body looked in this position, not too lanky and not too toned…but skin so pale from the days he never went out. Come to think of it, he never usually went out unless he needed to. And when he came back, he would stay in for long periods before taking his leave again.

Suddenly, you thought about his parents and wondering if they knew of his situation. Where were they? What happened to them??

Were they affected by the curse as well?

“I’ll bring the breakfast here,” Elena says. “You stay here and watch over Vil.”

Vil had no qualms about eating in the library, given that the fire was warm and the meal was hot. It helped after the bad snowstorm that passed the house for days. You noticed he had a small appetite and a big penchant for drinking lots of fluids. Well, he is a model so you don’t blame him for following the strict regimens.

“You have a nice voice,” Vil says, putting down his cup. “Thank you for last night. I hope that my beastly form wasn’t much of a problem to you.”

Shaking your head, you quickly swallow the stew you were eating. “No, no, it’s quite alright. I’m happy you think that but…About that form.” You feel Elena’s gaze on you and you force yourself to bite back a lingering question.

Vil himself was also silent. “If they’re going to stay here then they should know.” Elena’s shoulders relaxed but her expression remained unsure. “Vil, are you—.”

“I know a person with ulterior motives when I see it.” He looks over to you with a small smirk and boy does it match the messy hair and too droopy clothing. “What we have with us is nothing more than a curious little mouse.”

And you don’t whether that was an insult or a compliment but your squinting eyes only fueled his laughter, those shoulders of his bopping under the protective blanket. “Then what I saw…”

“Everything you saw was real, down to the very last petal of the rose.”

You knew it! You were right!! A smile graced your lips and you sat back against the chair you sat on. Vil took a sip and proceeded to ask more questions, some of which you didn’t have a direct answer to. “Now that you have all the information you need, what will you do with it?”

You looked down at your plate, mulling it over. “Nothing.” You answer. “You called me a curious mouse with no ulterior motive so I’ll do nothing with it.”

Vil hid his smile behind the cup of tea and Elena only sighed, a small burden lifting from her shoulders as the two of you spoke casually.

Vil was moved to the second floor, letting him rest on a real bed. You look around the room, seeing it with proper lighting for the first time. All the mirrors were covered in cloth, some cracked. The paintings that hung on the wall looked immaculate, beautifully painted…Except for one figure whose face was splashed with black. Your brows furrowed, trying to identify who this person was.

“I assume you still have more questions, little mouse.”

Vil sat up, motioning you forward to sit on the edge. “Who is he?” The family’s portrait hung as a centerpiece, you could identify a baby Vil, and his parents sitting across from each other…But that one person standing over them; you couldn’t make heads or tails of it with all the black paint in the way.

“My grandfather.”

A long sigh left Vil, his finger tucking a hair behind his ear. “Before my father went into acting, he was part of the family business led by my grandfather.” He closed his eyes, imagining the warm shop that housed many items and the many people coming in and out to buy supplies. A small Eric would clumsily put grocery items into a paper bag and wrap it, his father looming over him as he collected payments.

“He was strict when needed but his anger knew no bounds when it was released.” Vil slid down onto his bed. “Running a business is difficult, I understand that, but these fits were often quite scary to witness.” Staring into the rose’s glow, the light formed shadows of a figure hunching over a screaming beast. “It led him down a path of ruin, they went out of business and struggled during the bad brunt of the storm season.”

“He wasn’t the best at controlling his emotions, was he?” Vil shook his head at your question. “Not by a long shot. That was the very same anger that led to all this in the first place.” He looked up at the painting with contempt as if the painting stared back at him the same way. “Try as he may, my father could never outrun the curse…Even after I saw born.”

You remembered the book, the story you read by the fire. “Then…”

Vil’s hummed a laugh, eyes blinking slowly. The shadows formed by the glow of the rose moved to a scared family and a shaking figure holding a shadow of the rose. “He yelled at the wrong people, made enemies of those with magic far stronger than anyone could ever imagine.”

The shadows drew dimmer, the beastly form taking shape, roaring at the rose with all its fury and behind it was a weeping family. It all dissipated like a breaking film tape under Vil’s sigh.

Now, cursed and alone, the beautiful boy lived in a husk of his own home waiting the days for the earth to take him whole.

Your heart felt heavy, remembering the last line of the story. “I’m sorry.” That was all you could say to him but he hunched his shoulders with a dismissiveness. “What happened has passed. As you said before: the tears have already been shed.” The rose’s petals fall to the floor below it.

“Is there a way to reverse this?”

“An open heart.” he looked over to you with a smile unable to be read. “That’s all.”

You hung your head, unable to say anything. Vil only wraps his blanket around himself tighter while you stare at the glowing rose until its ethereal color was seared into your memory.

There was a splash of water, Vil sits in the tub with you preparing his robe and other items. “The snow should have receded by now. We could take a walk if you’d like.” As days passed through the house, you and Vil had grown closer. Now that either of you had nothing to hide, the tension that once felt between you was almost nonexistent.

“It has been a while since I’ve gone out. Some sunlight would do all of us good.” He said, leaning back on the tub with eyes closed. “A day in the sun…”

“Indeed. It would be nice to feel some warmth.” You learned that you and he weren’t very different. Both of you loved music, loved the theatre, just anything to dance to. And you also found out that Vil himself had a wonderful singing voice, almost like velvet.

“All those days in the sun, what I’d give to relive just one. Undo what’s done and bring back the light.”

You found out that his mother passed when he was young and his father, Eric, raised him all on his own after his mother was out of the picture. He was Vil’s first teacher, first friend, his support clutch in understanding why he was the way he was. “Days in the sun will return. We must believe—.”

“As lovers do…”

Your voices mingled together and while embarrassed to admit it, you had listened to it to his movies while cleaning. He may have caught you a few times, though. “That days in the sun…Will come shining…Through…” His deep beautiful voice echoed through the chamber, you imagined hearing it in a large theatre. Oh, you were certain Vil would love to do that.

“I always wondered why you never tried theatre.” You didn’t need to turn around to know his expression. “Do you think I’ll make it there, little mouse?”

“You’re Vil Schoenheit, son of Eric Venue. Of course, you will!”

A comfortable silence followed his laugh while you continued to face away from him. The Zen between you two almost unbreakable in the warm bathing room. The flower’s glow dimmed in the emptiness and losing more petals that piled beneath it.

With the music playing in the back, Vil watched from the balcony after getting his fair share of sunlight after the storm had passed. The voice of his father was rich and melodious as his role of a man finally falling in love after years of isolation.

He watched as you trudged around the snow before going back to his room, not once looking at the dimming rose and straight to his television. “I was the one who had it all,” His father sang. “I was the master of my fate. I never needed anybody in my life. I learned the truth too late.” The first time he had transformed into the beast he knew today, he had scared the recently hired help.

“I’ll never shake away the pain.” They were very cruel with their words, to the point that it was Elena, of all people, who told them to leave the house. Though the terror had left, it left Vil with uncertainty and fear of his appearance.

Eric’s character peered out the window just as the heroine pulls out a horse, the determination not hidden from even the viewer. “I close my eyes but she’s still there. I let her steal into my melancholy heart, it’s more than I can bear.” And now you took that place. From the get-go, Vil knew you have gone through hardships of your own. He could see it just by looking at your steeled expression and the aura you held on your shoulders.

“Now I know she’ll never leave me even as she runs away.” Not only had you defied the rule twice, your curiosity only spurred you further on with your investigation. And even when you had all the information you needed and cracked the code, you did nothing with it. “She will torment me, calm me, hurt me, move me…Come what may.”

Vil stands up just as Eric’s character runs up the stairs, the spiraling staircase almost hypnotic from above. “Wasting in my lonely tower, waiting by an open door.” He comes back to the balcony and opens the door, seeing you and Elena hauling in the bag of chestnuts. “I’ll fool myself, she’ll walk right in…” The two of you catch each other’s line of sight.

“And be with me for evermore.”

As the two of you smiled at each other, the rose begins to wilt and hunch over with each petal falling from the stem. The smell of spring drew close, Vil took a deep breath in then sighed it out. When he closes his eyes, all he ever sees are the days he’ll spend with you.

And the envisioning of a grand theatre, the same one he first saw his father in. He begins humming a small tune, thinking of the harmonizing violins, the beautiful costumes, and designs. The rose wilts more, only one petal remains on its dying stem.

The days had passed all so quickly, the winter giving its way to spring them to summer. You stood in front of the theatre, your family next to you. Trein takes you by the hand “Shall we?” entering the grand theatre, you and your sibling marveled at the beautifully crafted designs, the plush seating, and the long curtains.

“It’s beautiful.” Said your father, his smile soft. “Thank you for bringing us here.”

Angelo and Donovan pushed along, overly excited for the play. “Come on, come on.” One of them says. “It’s about to begin! Let’s sit down.”

The lights dim and the curtains open, droves of characters coming in their beautifully crafted costumes. You see Vil in his costume, waltzing with another character in yellow. The horns placed onto him were just as beautiful as him yet, after seeing his breast-like form…It never stood a chance.

The stage dimmed when he took the stage, a single rose in hand. His voice was loud, pure, perfect as he sang the song of a man who found love after years of isolation. His expression perfectly encapsulating the sadness he had felt.

“I rage against the trials of love. I curse the fading of the light.”

You remember the very first moment he bore his heart to you, the moment he asked you to sing for the very first time. “Though she’s already flown so far beyond my reach, she’s never out of sight.” Gone were the days he hid within the confines of his room and gone were the days he needed to hide out of fear.

“Now I know she’ll never leave me even if she fades from view!”

He twirls, his eyes searching the crowd until he finds yours in the crowd. “She will still inspire me, be a part of everything I do.” The background behind him changes, the spiraling staircase he walks one moved at his every move until he reaches the balcony, leaning his hands to sing his heart out with a hopeful look. The both of you stare at each other as he sings his heart out, saying the words he wanted everyone to hear with a voice he no longer feared. “Wasting in my lonely tower, waiting by an open door.”

He breathes, the wind and strings instruments beginning their strong ascend in a crescendo of harmonizing and accenting melody. “I’ll fool myself, she’ll walk right in.”

The rose glows in his hand and he hunched his back, readying himself. “And as the long, long nights begin.”

Vil looks up into the light, his expression one of pure passion and love. “I’ll think of all that might have been.” And the grip on the rose tightens but only for a moment.

“Waiting here…For ever—.”

Vil lets the rose float out of his hand and ascends up to the center of the room.

“—More!” The flower burst into a rain of petals that add to his last note and accompaniment of the instruments.

The last petal of the glowing rose falls, the stem falling on a pile of dried rose petals following the applause of the crowd. Vil regains his breathing, his eyes listless as he stares up at the ceiling when the music ends, the curtains fall, and the lights go out.

You pass through the crowds of colors and thrills, looking for the familiar mop of blond and purple hair. “Vil!” You yell out to him just as he comes to view in the sea of people. His arms are ready to take it in, “You were amazing out there!”

The sun begins to set during the embrace, Vil’s face continued to smile at you and soon giving a solemn bow to your father and brothers. “Mr. Schoenheit, it’s a pleasure to meet you. That was a wonderful performance.” He says, smiling at him with eyes trained to your hands holding the actor’s. Ah, gets it.

“Thank you, Mr. Trein. I’m glad you liked it.”

“Vil Schoenheit, you’re needed for a picture.” Says one of the stage crew and Vil reluctantly pulls away. “Coming. I’ll see you later?” He asks you and you tip your toes to him, pressing a light kiss to his lips. “I’ll wait outside. Bye Vil.”

You run out of backstage and yet he had a feeling that finding you won’t be that much of a problem. He touches his lips. “So this is love…” He whispered to himself and made his way to his troop, readying himself for the pictures.

#works from the typewriter #twisted wonderland #vil schoenheit #vil schoenheit x reader #g/n reader #valentines event

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cloveroctobers · 4 years ago

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YASMIN DOUGLAS—

IG info/Bio: @/imyasmin_d | 11.6k followers | hello & ahlan 🎶

23-24 years old depending on her birthday (I’m thinking too much about timelines since i know some shows aren’t live and if they filmed it prior & it’s just being shown to us now...then there’s the boat party that comes in after, you get what I’m saying right? No? Okay)

Moroccan heritage

she was born in fes along with her baba

Father works in the carpet & rug manufacturing industry and worked in his father’s business from the young age of 16

her mother is from Essaouira & has often stated that she couldn’t stand Yasmin’s father the first time they met but she wouldn’t want to travel through this life with anyone else

Her father and mother came from two different lifestyles. All he knew how to do was hard work yet he had a sarcastic but playful side to him whereas her mom came from a family that was more financially stable & she was free to do whatever! mainly hanging at the beach with her friends without a care in the world, she was privileged and a little uppity while her father’s life seemed to be planned out from the day of his birth

Yet they still fell in love and decided to leave Morocco months after they got married at 21 & 24 & not too long after they had yas they left for England

She was raised in Kent, England

The Atmosphere led to her boho lifestyle...being exposed to castles, gardens, and underground tunnels from time to time shaped her into what she felt she was meant to be. She loved her second home

they call her “yazzy”

Parents follow islam...Which Yasmin respects but is not strongly devoted to

Can speak & write in Arabic but seems to do better in writing

Her paternal grandparents fault her parents for not teaching her to excel at both & feel that if they weren’t in such a rush to leave home she would speak Arabic better

Which made Yasmin feel like shit. Her paternal grandparents were strict on keeping their customs alive whereas her maternal grandparents were carefree as long as they got to see their granddaughter alive & well that was good enough for them

Idk maybe a only child or has a older brother? I don’t feel like she comes from a big family sibling wise

her mother made her a stuffed purple sheep that she took everywhere with her as a kid & continues to keep close to her. Y’all had imaginary friends? Well Yasmin had a real friend she could see & squeeze the life out that didn’t require talking and hugging the air, but that’s fine do u

100% collects beanie babies until this day but lil yamb is the number one princess in her household

As her significant other you have to be okay with lil yamb sleeping in between y’all that’s just the way it is

These stuffed babies are her comfort when no else can be

she’s a singer/songwriter. Went to uni for it & finished a semester early

Went through multiple hell experiences when it came to interning & temping while still in school & after

Let’s just say she wasn’t down to f*ck her way to the top

this made her anxiety act up, these people made her feel like she wouldn’t be good enough to show the world her craft & it’s didn’t have to be the world, just someone who would listen

But she couldn’t give up, there was nothing else she saw herself doing. She knew this is what she was meant to do but she couldn’t lie and say that her insecurities didn’t get the best of her most days

Although the cons seemed to out way the Pros some days, she kept at it & found herself a solid team that knew what she was about and understood her soul

Was definitely the student who loved all her English classes & when she spoke up everyone found it shocking since she preferred to just write everything out rather than “participate in group discussions”

I feel like her singing voice sounds similar to Jessica mauboy’s (if you don’t know who that is & you’re a fan of r&b/pop check her out or if you’re just curious that works too lol)

Knows her music notes like the back of her hand, duh!

Fav color is royal blue, especially on her eyelids & nails

Occasionally sleeps in rollers to keep her hair wavy

Needs her space when it comes to disagreements, they stress her out & she panics a bit when things go wrong so she feels like she needs to leave the situation rather than talk it out right then and there

She’ll talk when she’s ready, she just needs someone that’s a little patient with her that’s all

Words of affirmation is her love language? When she figures out how to balance her love life with her work life that is. When she’s feeling confident she’s smooth with words but when she needs to show you how much you mean to her & she really takes the time to think it out & feel her emotions, she’s writing you a song or you’re the inspiration to it or a poem, leaving you little love notes on blue post-it’s around the house, will write 50 reasons why she loves you on Valentine’s Day, and will say so when it’s just the two of you in your own comfort

Isn’t too crazy about public displays of affection but will deff hold your hand if that’s something you or she wanted in that moment

I think she’s fluid

Hasn’t been in many relationships. Sure she goes on tour every other year and gets to meet many people but they’re not solid relationships, they’re hookups and she hasn’t done many of those either

Had maybe one or two solid relationships: a androgynous woman that uses she/they pronouns & was in a rock band & a cis male she met at a tattoo parlor his step-brother owned (he kinda favored seb but we’re not going to speak on that)

I believe she wants to get married someday but isn’t so keen on the idea of kids. The furthest she’ll go is adopting a couple of animals. She’ll be a pet mom! I feel like she’ll be anxious looking after the life of a human being when it’s extremely hard to do so not only for herself and the love of her life & you want to add kids to the mix?! Fucking hell! but that could change? Who knows what life can throw at u

Has a hedgehog named Sonia that she drops off at her parents for their weekly sleepovers

Loves lace—mostly bralettes & crotchet clothing

I see her as a corduroy girl too. She has at least some rusty brown low-rise corduroy pants or/and a jacket

owns a crotchet kit, she’s bloody good at it too

Loved pink & purple (still likes them, they’re her 2nd & 3rd fav colors) so much as a kid that she tried to dye her hair half & half while her parents went out on their date night...it was also the weekend before school pictures :)

Says she got her inspiration from starfire & raven. She was only 13 at the time & had braces. Her father approved saying she’s a kid and she should be allowed to express herself. He only said that because his own parents barely let him & his brothers have their own fun

Her mother thought it was atrocious and did her best to get it out with the help of her other hair stylists friends (her mother worked in plenty of beauty shops once she got to England, until she decided to convert their basement into her own shop) who she invited over to see what her daughter had done but when you use certain permanent dyes...

It didn’t completely damage yasmin’s hair plus it was just hair, Yasmin didn’t see the big deal. She thought she looked splendid

Anyway, massive fan of ballroom dancing

She’s got a great ear to begin with so it was extremely fun twirling around while wearing pretty ballroom gowns

Took boring etiquette classes as a form of punishment? After the whole teen Titans inspiration thing “went wrong”

Enjoys western films

yes she owns a cowgirl hat & some boots too so sue her, she likes what she likes

Knows how to lasso but hates doing it to animals but she’ll do it to you :) (*gags* lmao why???)

Also loves visiting western towns & learning some history or at least experiencing what it was like

Type of significant other that will do her best to persuade you to stay in a treehouse airbnb, a cabin, the fucking Idaho potato, or camping out in her Volkswagen van in the middle of nowhere!

Has faux cow rugs, wicker baskets, wicker chairs in her flat, hangs some plants in glass jars & bottles all over her house

Her flat is very bright & vibrant: white, mocha brown, tan, yellows, & pastel purple

When it comes to decision making, she’ll make them pretty quick but only if it comes to choosing desserts

nobody is touching her mom’s meskouta orange cake WITH syrup

the dessert eater that always picks the one that has a surprise inside, meaning it has to ooze out with SOMETHING to make it 10x more satisfying

Leaning towards Buddhism, had studied some of their beliefs and found it resonates with her spirit

Fan of neon lights, probably has a few neon signs in her flat preferably on her brick wall in the loo, “to give u comfort as you go!” “that...actually makes sense.” Tai commented as he rubbed his chin coming to terms with yasmin’s reply. While Iona scowls, “no, no it doesn’t. I feel as if it’s an invasion of my bits!” “...Sorry you feel that way.”

tai & ciaran are automatically deemed as her brothers since she came into the villa with them. She had time to connect with them unlike anyone else. It was just the way the stars wrote their story and it showed outside of the villa too. they often crash at her place all the time when they’re in town & vacation all the time together when their schedules line up + it never feels like she’s third wheeling

“TaiTower” & “BB-Ci” are their names in her phone, Tai picked his own name while the “bb” stands for “best buds” for ciaran —which is a joke since he drunkly called himself so + he loves everyone when he’s drunk

You can always count on her to belt the lyrics to a Chaka Khan, TLC, or paula abdul joint when she’s drunk lol

As for the girls? She’s close with miki 😒 they just seem to be on the same wavelength when it comes to the pressure of the media since they have some sort of fame which increased with them being on the Telly. They bond over that & from there they’ve built a solid friendship

She could also be friends with AJ too (if you didn’t get swiped from her that is lmao!) they’re sorta opposites with aj being high energy/active while Yasmin is more mellow & “mysterious” but seem to connect in different ways: their sexual indentities, insecurities/anxieties, having something to be passionate about but at the same time maybe not? She might lean towards elladine or Genevieve if she had to make a choice?

Aquarius sun + cancer moon

so she’s still 23 y’all, I got it! I can’t do math sorry

“Freddie Mercury was probably my dad in my past life.”

Can play the banjo, guitar, & oud

Participates in hot yoga weekly

If she’s not with mc in the end and continues dating around if anyone from season two: LUCAS, Kassam, Gary, Rocco, maybe Blake? I originally thought Elisa but she’s probably too much for yas let’s be honest here lol they’d be better off as friends

Omg I forgot marisol! Imagine that?! Whew!!!

Season three: maybe Lily? But what if? Me being the slightly messy bitch that I am? Something happening with her & AJ. Now that?! Would be some chaotic shit “from the outside looks of it” name the irrelevant person behind the quote...now!

I’d like to see her interact with allerga but there could be something with her & cherry. I’m thinking cherry, Yasmin, & priya would bond well but we’re not here to talk about that

Getting rid of the physical aspect I genuinely think she’d do well with marisol, Lucas, or kassam. They’d mesh well I think in a relationship

She’s a body shimmer girl for sure!

Loves silk or satin robes

she’s a shortie, 5’2 to 5’5

Is learning Spanish

Loves arcade games, come see her in pinball & Pac-Man!

Quarantine life did not change her lifestyle much, but it did slightly mess with her mental health :/

loves the fall time, feels like she can slow down some and really spend time with family and friends

I feel like she has one best friend outside of the villa & that’s good enough for her!

They met their first year in uni & been close ever since

She doesn’t speak to the temporary friends she grew up with anymore & is often confused why they feel the need to keep up with her in the media which added more annoying worries to her heart but whatever right? Keep your eyes on the horizon

celebs she finds/found attractive: Aaliyah—especially when she played in queen of the damned, Kehlani, Zazie Beetz, Fivel & Booboo Stewart, Lakeith stanfield, Leah Lewis, Sofia Carson, Ryan gosling, & Nick Jonas

She listens to: jade bird, Yebba, Elli Ingram, Wafia, Zeina, Summer walker, Tanerèlle, Mariah the scientist, Teyana Taylor, Tove Lo, lady Gaga, Ra Ra Riot, Empire of the sun, & smallpools

Anthem? Diana Gordon — Rollin’

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al--sheikha · 5 years ago

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On one hand it’s very easy to ignore any negativity, but yet I’m seeing the classic British racism that makes me want to scream with frustration, the same racism that has in the past made me feel physically sick because it has the ability to make you feel like you’re going mad.

Yesterday @dirtyroyalconfessions said there’s gonna be a day when they snap.. today is the day I fucking snap and I’m going to be real direct and if anyone reading this is offended I’m sorry but this is how I feel.

It’s hard being a part of the royal fandom while being a poc, especially being from a commonwealth country, because unfortunately, my people have reaped no real benefit from the commonwealth or from any royal visits. Yet, I’m now beaming with hope because there’s a couple of people who are so in love and so dedicated to the causes they champion and they’re linked to the commonwealth, charged with changing individuals lives and creating programmes that benefit groups of people for generations to come. On the backdrop of this there is that good old institutional racism that to a certain extent this royal family, this couple is a part of is the a visual representation of the atrocities that once happened in countries now part of the commonwealth. In fact a lot of everyday people in commonwealth countries feel that the commonwealth is just a different word for colonial rule, but that feeling seems to change when Meghan and Harry are mentioned.

The way the press treat Meghan and Harry ( but specifically Meghan) should be a lesson to us all, white privilege can oppress poc even when they’re in white institutions, when they are a literal part of the foundation of this country. The vibe I’ve been getting on here and in the media is one that I know many other poc in this country have faced, some white people do not want to educate themselves on systematic racism and how it changes their opinions on people, nor do they care to know more. Some brits do not want to educate themselves on xenophobia because they revel in it, they know that if they educated themselves on racism and xenophobia they would realise they’ve been spewing it years.

Some are saying all press is bad press and you can’t compare the negative press Meghan gets with anyone else, but ask yourself, has any member of the royal family had to deal with a type of racism so subtle yet so powerful, a racism built on years of incorrect narratives, years of servitude, years of white supremacy ?

Meghan will have to work twice as hard to prove herself for this country, it seems like the only time they’re happy with us is when we stay quiet and know our place. Imagine it’s 2019, and I heard Meghan being called “uppity” in a casual conversation on live tv. Or the fact that “English rose” is a phrase that comes up a lot when talking about why Meghan isn’t appropriate for this institution, the same institution that has pedophiles, cheaters, racists, yet all of this is minuscule when it comes to a poc, specifically a mixed race woman with partial African American heritage in a position of power.

Rather than supporting Meghan for speaking out like they would for her white counterparts, it’s now her fault that the media use age old stereotypes and caricatures to criticise her, it’s her fault that she has toxic family members, her fault for having human emotions, instead she’s expected not to be “uppity” she’s expected to know her place and not speak up when lies her thrown a her way day after day, she has to be that strong independent black woman and take anything thrown her way. None of your faves children were called monkeys, none of them had to deal with being called racial slurs, no one is being hated simply because of their race, none of their husbands were called race traitors.

Meghan saying the stiff upper lip we have here isn’t that healthy is now being portrayed as her having a disdain for Britain. Guess what?.. IT ISNT FUCKING HEALTHY, IT GOES AGAINST ALL THE BLOODY MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMMES YOUR FAVES CAMPAIGN ABOUT... but it seems for some of you mental wellness is not an area of concern when it is the mental wellness of a woc in a position of power that is being discussed.

Other than work extremely hard, Meghan hasn’t done anything other royals haven’t done, yes she benefits from taxpayers money, so do they, yes she wants privacy, so do they. Sometimes it feels like Meghan’s only crime was being a woc falling in love with someone who just so happens to be a white prince. The press Meghan gets has made me realise what Britain thinks of British poc, because after all they see Meghan as a representative of us (this is very clear - when they first got together everyone felt that it was an end to racism 😂).

If you don’t like her, then don’t like her, I don’t care - but DO NOT blame her for tabloids built on systemic racism, do not ignore her mental wellness, she is a human being after all

K I’m done.

#duchess of sussex #meghan markle #duke of sussex #prince harry #baby sussex #archie mountbatten windsor #archie windsor

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jojo-autuer · 4 years ago

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Well it's the holidays and I've decided to commemorate it by yelling into the void of the internet and share my eggnog recipe.

I've never written a recipe before, but I'm pretty certain your supposed to start with a novels worth of information on why the recipe in question reminds you about getting your head stuck in a fire escape on the second tuesday of a rainy morning sometime during 1993.

So now with that out of the way I'll proceed to list the ingredients. You could just go it the easy way. Head to the supermarket and buy some god dammed eggnog off the shelf. If your a loser. But we're not losers here. We're not winners, but we're not losers. Nah, we're making this stuff from scratch.

------------Ingredients---------------

- First you'll need 6 larg eggs. 12 Small eggs will also do. If you're some uppity type who doesn't think chicken eggs are good enough, then use an osteritch egg, and multiply all other ingredients by 20.

- 1 cup of sugar. Not steevia, splenda or any of that other crap. Pure white bleached sugar. Yeah sugar in the raw tastes better, but you don't want that grainy texture in your eggnog.

- 1 cup heavy whipping cream. NOT and I repeat NOT whipped Cream. Made that mistake the first time and I will not be responsible for what happens if you too make the same mistake.

- 2 cups of millk. Whole milk. Not 2%, not skim. and Goddess help me if you use a milk substitute like soy or nut milk, I will reach out of this digital hellscape and pour country style gravy down your pants.

If you want you can add more milk and cream, just keep the ratio 2:1 milk cream. And if you're feeling extra naughty, add in half a cup french vanilla coffee creamer. 2:1:.5 milk cream creamer.

- Also some extra sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for garnish later.

- Alchohol, this isn't no virgin crap so next you're going to want to get Lady Bligh spiced rum. Why not captain morgan? Cause it's the lady pirates day, men move over, and she's cute.

- Lastly you got to chose, do you want peppermint or cinnamon? If the former, your wrong, but use two nips of peppermint scnaups. If you picked Cinamon, congratulations, you are a god among gods. Use a nip of fireball or three shots of jack daniels tennesse fire.

---------- Instructions---------

And here we go, what you are actually here for, the process of how to alchemise the best damn egg nog you'll ever drink.

First) Seperate the egg yolks from the whites, do not discard the whites. I know they suck and they've had too much time in power, but we need to use them later.

Step 2) Now mix the yolks and the sugar. It'll look like a gnarly bowl full of snot, but that's desirable.

Section C) you mix in the milk, and beat it, just beat it. Add in the cream and continue to beat it. I don't know the lyrics~

Chapter four) You're almost done. It should start looking like a pitcher full of ghost muccuss. Trust me it's going to be delicious. Add the rum. How much? Whole damn bottle, we aren't bitches here. If you are indeed a bitch, start with a cup of rum, then add more to taste...bitch.... just kidding I love you... bitch

Intermission) Hold on to your nip of Fireball, toss out your peppermint scnaups, and cover up your egg whites and referegirate everything.

Wait you still reading?) An hour before you are going to serve the egg nog, whip and fold the egg whites till they form stiff peaks, stiff like... Okay I'm not that immature... Here's where you can also add another few spoonfuls of sugar into the egg whites before whipping them.

Revelation of Jon the Apostle) Add the fireball to the eggnog, then add the whites on top, we don't have enough time to topple the bourgeoisie today. Sprinkle on some cinnamon and some nutmeg and you are gold baby. If you want, I also recommend you buy the rediwhip nitrobrew foam and add that to the top of every glass you pour. It's good. Also add that to all the coffee you brew. Hell just drink the entire bottle of that instead, that stuffs awesome.

Thesis) So yeah, there you go. Go make some eggnog, or don't. What do I care, I don't know you. Merry fricken holidays~

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luccislegs · 5 years ago

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Okay, the poly stuff is cute! How about Law and Kidd when they find out their S/O is pregnant? (Bonus points if it's a kinda "We didn't really plan this and we knew it might happen eventually, but it's still surprising!" Kinda thing) [Extra bonus points if you add other people's reactions to the news!]

these were really fun to do actually but i didn’t do all the strawhats just bc

kid is the nervous one. he knew it was a possiblity, he isn’t stupid, but actually hearing it is different. he knows it doesn’t matter, but he’s curious about who’s biologically the father. doesn’t even bring up the question, though, because he knows everyone is going to tell him it doesn’t matter. literally he’s just curious though.

he’s the one that makes the midnight craving runs, and is your personal space heater when you experience cold flashes.

law is actually the one that realizes you’re pregnant, even before you do. he notices you’re slightly more tired than usual, paler, and that you seem more sensitive to certain smells, even going so far as to become nauseous. he asks when your period is due and does a little math and realizes that you’re likely pregnant. it’s like a switch is flicked in him and he instantly goes into overprotective mode.

he’s very caring. he massages your swollen ankles, holds your hair back when you’re throwing up, and insists on doing all of your exams himself. literally will not let another doctor within ten feet of you.

when you tell rosi, he absolutely flips out and gathers you up in a hug. he’s also the one that sheds a little light on why law acts the way he does. at that point law has no doubt told you about his past, but rosi is the one that helps fill in the gaps and make connections. he’s super happy that law is finally ready to have his family, but advises you to cut him some slack and let him be overprotective.

killer is already totally ready to be an uncle and brings you onesies with cars on them and “world’s #1 uncle”. he isn’t far off, as he’s allowed to come and go freely into the house as he pleases and is already pretty close with everyone. he buys matching shirts for him and the unborn baby. they say “born to be wild”. Kid doesn’t approve.

luffy is happy for you guys, since he knows how law and kid are. he’s talks to the baby like it’s already born. flips when he feels the baby kick. honestly is pretty good at guessing your cravings and is willing to share his meat with you and the baby.

nami, robin, and vivi all freak and take you to go baby shopping. like full out, make it a huge thing. you have a blast with them and come home with way more stuff than is actually needed.

robin is the one you go to for actual advice. she’s the most knowledgeable on everything and the only one you really trust to give you solid and stable advice. she’s also the reliable one when you’re having mood swings. she’s just super calm and supportive.

nami is the one you go to to vent. when your mood swings are leaning towards irrational, she’s good at just listening without making you feel like a total fool. also the one that brings you literally anything you’re craving. continuously buys unnecessary baby items.

vivi is a like a mix of robin and nami. If you’re feeling overwhelmed and irrational but need someone to talk you through it, she’s who you call. she’s super sweet and understanding and doesn’t judge you for bursting into tears over everything.

chopper is potentially the only other person allowed anywhere near you with a needle and an ultrasound machine. if law absolutely cannot get to you, chopper is the only other one that can do your exam. he’s also the one that soothes law whenever he starts to get too uppity about your health, but he’s super happy for you all.

sanji insists on cooking healthy meals for you. his food is the only stuff that nothing makes you feel like you’re going to throw up. he’s also a master at giving it enough flavor without overwhelming you with salt or sugar, which law is grateful for. he keeps an eye on your cravings and turns up with dishes periodically.

franky builds your crib, a rocking chair, and a changing station for the nursery, which he also help to paint. he’s really happy for you guys and is willing to build you whatever you need at, at the very least, a steep discount. he would do it entirely for free, but none of you want to take advantage of his kindness.

zoro is like the alcoholic aunt. Tries to get you to drink in celebration. Kid and law aren’t happy.

#eustass kid #eustass kid x reader #trafalgar law #trafalgar law x reader #eustass kid x trafalgar law #eustass kid x reader x trafalgar law #one piece headcanons

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gospelofthechosen · 5 years ago

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story: Dean had started it. Or maybe Kat had. In the end, it didn’t matter who had started it. Only who got the final word. Because Sam was right: This prank stuff is stupid, and it always escalates. summary: Someone’s been messing with Sam’s laptop... word count: 2.3k warnings: language, alcohol, references to porn a/n: Happy anniversary to Gospel of the Chosen! This is a short mini series between Act I and Act II. Love and miss my kids, love and miss all of you.

Kat was on top of the world. After a week on lockdown at Bobby’s, two days trapped in the car with the Winchesters, weeks under Ellen’s watchful eye at the Roadhouse, and days crammed in the Impala before that, she was finally, finally alone in her own car.

After their faux-family dinner, they’d stayed at Bobby’s for a few days. Kat would never admit it, but she’d been a little nervous. She’d been to the house on more than one occasion, and spent enough time talking to Bobby to feel comfortable with him. At least, she was pretty sure that he’d dropped the threat of kicking her into next week for hurting the boys. But spending downtime at Bobby’s felt different.

Singer Salvage was clearly home to Sam and Dean. Sam helped himself to any books in the library, and Dean spent most of his time out in the yard working on his car. At night, they all drank beer and watched old cowboy movies on Bobby’s crappy TV. Kat excused herself as politely as she could. She could still hear their laughter and light-hearted arguing from the spare bedroom where she stayed curled up with her laptop. She might’ve learned all the ins and outs of Bobby’s linen cabinets and kitchen drawers, but she didn’t belong here. She desperately wanted to escape out on a case, but that wasn’t exactly the deal she’d made with Castiel. Sam and Dean were her bodyguards now. So she just had to suck it up and deal until their batteries were recharged and they were ready to hit the road.

Sam had obviously picked up on her discomfort. He tried to bribe her with bagels and burgers, whiskey and wings. Most afternoons she’d sit with him in the library just so he’d stop annoying her. All of Bobby’s manuscripts and notes were very interesting, of course. But it wasn’t exactly her idea of light reading. She wasn’t interested in diving into thousands of accounts of pain and misery without an objective. She just wanted something to do.

Bobby had been the one who’d come to her rescue.

“Here,” he’d said on day four, shoving one of his duct-taped phones into her hands. “Answer it, deal with it, make a note of it. Aliases are labeled on the wall, so just make sure you don’t mix ‘em up.”

“Mike Kaiser?” Kat asked, peering at the note over the FBI receiver. “I’m not a bad actress, Bobby, but I don’t think I’m that good.”

“Just say you’re my secretary and take a message. Or better yet, tell them DC has jurisdiction and they can shove their complaints right up their own ass.”

Kat raised an eyebrow at him.

“Usually works for me,” he offered with a shrug.

It wasn’t exactly a shocker that it didn’t work for Kat. Men in high government positions didn’t take kindly to being told to go fuck themselves by an uppity secretary. Kat didn’t have a real job she was worried about losing, but the last thing she needed was for some fed to file an HR complaint about a woman who didn’t exist and blow some hunter’s cover. So she used her most polite tone for as long as she could, and practiced drawing devil’s traps from memory while the bureaucrats droned on about stolen cases and career integrity.

“Of course, Agent Sadusky,” she said sweetly, on one of their final afternoons. “I’ll pass on the message. And if Assistant Director Kaiser thinks it’s worth a response, he’ll give you a call.”

She hung up before the man could reply.

“Don’t hold your breath, asshole.”

“You good?” chuckled Sam as he wandered into the kitchen. “You look uh…”

“Murderous?”

“Frustrated.”

“Yeah, well that’s not a surprise,” Kat groaned, wiping her eyes. “I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but sometimes I’m glad we’re not actually working for the federal government.”

“I’ll drink to that.” He passed her a beer from the fridge, which she took gratefully. “Which one’s worse? Working for the feds or working for Ellen?”

“Ha. Tough call. Hunters tip, but only if you let them brag. At least the feds can’t see me rolling my eyes over the phone. They also can’t grope me, which means I don’t need to assault someone every couple hours.”

“That’s a downside?” Sam asked cheekily. “But you love kicking the crap out of guys.”

Kat frowned thoughtfully, but gave it to him.

“What about you?” she asked, returning the phone to the hook. “What are you up to?”

“About to make a supply run. You need anything?”

“Nah, I’m good. But if you’re going out, can I borrow your laptop? I got a call about some bodies in Florida. Might be a case.”

“Hey, knock yourself out. Just don’t work too hard.”

He jogged out the front of the house without a second thought. Kat waited until she was certain he was gone. Then she wrapped up her notes from the phone and moved into the library.

She settled herself behind Bobby’s desk, feeling even more out of place than she did in the rest of the house. She tried not to think about how ornate the desk was, or how old the papers and books on top were. All she needed was Sam’s laptop, and her tiny case notebook.

The call she’d gotten hadn’t been from a hunter. It was something more of a tip line Bobby had set up, where feds and cops he’d worked with in the past could call with their questions. Kat had spoken to a very concerned deputy who had was dealing with a pile of bodies. All women, all heartless, all buried in shallow graves in a park. Kat would have assumed werewolf, if it weren’t for the graves. They didn’t often double back to hide their victims. It very well could be a run of the mill serial killer, but she wanted to do some research before she passed on the case. And possibly take the asshole out anyway.

It was an hour or two before anyone interrupted her.

“What’s the word, Tinkerbell?”

“Beer,” Kat said without looking up. “Gonna need another word.”

“Please.”

The fridge clinked, and a few seconds later a bottle dropped into her vision. She accepted it wordlessly, still scanning the crime scene pictures in front of her. There had to be something she missed.

“Whatcha working on?” Dean asked, peering over her shoulder. “Yeowch. Eat your heart out.”

“It’s not a werewolf,” she muttered, more to herself than him. “Wrong part of the lunar cycle, no blind kills. But it’s still just the hearts.”

“Could be a skinwalker,” he suggested. “Or just about anything else that eats long pig. Just because some monsters can eat anything don’t mean they don’t have preferences.”

“A monster with standards and taste. Just what I need.”

She took a couple more notes, but closed out the pictures. She didn’t want to look at their faces without any solutions.

Dean was still hovering behind her. His ring made a clinking noise against the glass as he tapped his fingers on the bottle. “So uh…you wrapping up soon?”

“I guess. Why?”

“Nothing, nothing. Just wanted to hop on the computer.”

“Alright. I’ll let you know when I’m done.”

“Uh huh…Could I just borrow it for a hot sec? Give it back in ten minutes?”

Kat cut her eyes to him suspiciously. “Why?”

“None of your business,” he said stoutly. When she continued to glare at him, his frown turned into a familiar, leering smirk. “Look, a guy’s got needs. I need to do some stuff I’m not proud of…well, actually I’m really proud of, but you’re not invited.”

“God, you’re disgusting,” she sighed, pushing back from the desk. “Take it.”

“Thank you!” he said in a singsong voice, snatching it up and hightailing out of the room.

“Just sanitize it for the love of God! And if Sam asks, I didn’t see this!”

He didn’t answer her. Just slammed the door to the bathroom. She slipped on some headphones and did her best not to think about the conversation she’d just had.

The next day, they were packing their bags. Sam had agreed that her find was interesting enough to merit a visit to Florida. Bobby passed off a few of his more helpful books, and then they hit the road. Kat hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it until they hit the interstate. She could sit back in her Prius and enjoy the silence. She didn’t have to tune out the shitty cassettes or put up with the smell of stale beer and fast food wrappers. There were no annoying side glances or pervy jokes. Just her and the open road and the wind in her hair.

They drove until nightfall and stopped at a motel in Tennessee. Sam and Dean took care of the rooms, and Kat volunteered to pick up dinner. By the time she was strolling up to the Winchesters’ room with their takeout, the screaming had already started.

“Dean, how many times do I have to tell you not to touch my stuff? It’s my one thing! You have your own laptop! So use your own damn laptop!”

“How many times do I gotta say I didn’t do it? Cool your jets, man, it wasn’t me.”

“Oh, right! And I guess my computer searched Busty Asian Beauties on its own?”

“Maybe it did. Your laptop’s got better taste than you.”

Kat let herself in, trying very hard to keep her face impassive. “Grub’s up. What’s going on?”

Dean made a beeline for the food, while Sam rested his hands on his hips like a suburban mother.

“Someone messed with my laptop,” he said snidely, “and now I can’t get it to work.”

“It’s frozen?”

“No, it’s—I have no idea what’s wrong with it. I’m typing and none of the right letters are coming up. I can’t write emails, can’t search online. All I can do is click.”

“You think it’s a virus?” she asked, passing him his food.

“Ha, probably. Considering my browser history is full of porn sites.”

“Oh, gross.”

“Hey,” Dean interrupted defensively, a few noodles hanging loose from his lips. “Watch your step, man. Last time you accused me of fucking with your stuff, it was the Trickster.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Sam laughed. “When the bodies start dropping I’ll be sure to issue a full apology.”

“I’m just saying, man. Might not be me. Kat, you like bustyasianbeauties.com?”

“Uh, no,” he chuckled, plopping down on a free bed with her rice. “Not exactly bookmarked on my homepage.”

“Well then, we’ve got our answer. It was Bobby.”

He smiled proudly. Kat smothered her laughter with more rice. And Sam looked positively on edge of breaking something in half. He closed his laptop with an incredible amount of self-control. Then he grabbed the closest thing—a half-empty water bottle—and hurled it across the room at Dean’s face. It hit the mark with a thunk, and Dean yelped while Kat burst into laughter. Sam stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.

“Fuck,” Dean groaned, rubbing at his head. “Not funny, Kat.”

“Of course it is,” she giggled. “You sound like a startled pigeon.”

“Alright, yeah. Laugh it up. Guess this was you, right?”

“Uh, no? You were the one defiling Sam’s computer, remember?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t download any viruses,” he defended. “I’ve been surfing porn sites long enough to know how to avoid the dodgy stuff. And if I didn’t do it, then it must’ve been you.”

“I wish. But I don’t know anything about computers, just like I don’t know anything about cars. I figured it was you.”

Dean frowned at her for a few seconds, but ultimately shrugged and went back to his food. “Huh. Maybe it was.”

Kat gaped at him. “You…don’t even remember?”

“Nah. It was heat of the moment, you know. And I’m uh—usually less discerning when I’m on someone else’s laptop. So you uh, might wanna throw a password on yours.”

She wrinkled her nose, and Dean smirked. Kat threw a napkin at him.

“Laugh now, Dean. But if you infected Sam’s computer, it means he’s out of service. Which means you and I are gonna be on research duty.”

That made him groan, and he slunk down in his chair. “Damn it. The price I pay for getting off.”

He grumbled into his food, grabbing the paper so he could start reviewing the details of the case they were heading toward. Kat speared one of her dumplings and kept her smile to herself. This prank war was going to get messy.

#supernatural fanfiction #supernatural #ocappreciation #fyeahspnocs #fyeahsupernaturalocs #prank wars #prompt #prompts

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shadowbanki · 5 years ago

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Speaking Out synopsis (updated, working title)

NOTE: This is an updated version of a post I made previously.

———

TW for prejudice and violence I guess?

Why do I write such long detailed summaries when I’d be better off just writing the damn thing itself...?

Also despite taking place in Whimsica, this summary has like no quirky fantasy elements besides Margot’s monocle being mentioned once.

Margot character description

Catina character description

———

22-year-old Margot LaRoche is very shy—too shy to speak out about her opinions and feelings, despite her wish to make a positive impact on the world. While other students can be found socializing at college clubs and parties, Margot prefers to only go on campus to attend her classes.

In her first year of college, Margot meets Keith due to being paired up with him for a writing project in Language Arts class. He seems like a friendly and outgoing guy, and they have an interest in books and literature in common. Keith begins socializing with Margot and develops an acquaintanceship with her that becomes more like a friendship as time goes on.

However, Keith sometimes says offensive things about certain subjects that inadvertently upset Margot and feel like attacks. Over time, he starts doing it more. Keith doesn’t see it that way, but Margot thinks he is being hurtful.

Examples of his statements are how “r-tarded” it is that people are always complaining about inequality. He also implies a prejudice towards black people, saying they are generally “louder than other races.” He also bragged about how he once bullied a kid who had a disability, right in front of Margot.

Margot feels very uncomfortable and often hurt by Keith’s statements, yet she ignores them, or sometimes even goes along with them, due to her fear of speaking out and possibly losing her only friend.

In her second year of college, Margot meets Catina Leon at the library. Catina is a cheerful and friendly girl who takes interest in Margot and becomes fast friends with her. Margot notices a difference between her relationship with Keith and her relationship with Catina. Despite knowing Catina for less time, she genuinely enjoys spending time with her much more.

Weeks later, Margot and Keith are studying together at the library and chatting. Keith is saying his usual offensive things, and Margot is going along with them. Catina is eavesdropping and is shocked by what Keith is saying. She knows Margot well enough to figure that she wouldn’t agree with Keith’s statements. She notices that Margot looks very uncomfortable.

Catina schedules a meeting with Margot after school where they can talk alone. She says to her, “That guy you were studying with... who is he? You don’t agree with him, do you?”

Margot responds by shaking her head and saying, “I don’t. His name is Keith. We met in Language Arts class, but he always says offensive things like this...”

Catina is surprised that Margot is so afraid of standing up to Keith, given that she is so eloquent and that her dream is to better the world and give voices to people who need them. But she also understands her hesitancy. Catina decides to help and encourage Margot to cut Keith out of her life.

“I’ll always have your back, Margot. Okay? That’s what friends are for.”

The next day after Language Arts class, Keith once again spits out an ugly remark about how the messages about equality they teach in class are “r-tarded.”

“I don’t appreciate your use of that word.” Margot says to Keith once they’re out in the hallway.

“Um, okay?” Keith says. “Like, what brought this on?”

Margot begins to lecture Keith about the hurtful connotations of the word, then conveys her feelings on why equality is a very important lesson to teach in class.

“Why so angry? Someone must be on their period.” Keith says to Margot.

Margot was planning on peacefully ending her “friendship” with Keith. Suddenly, she feels anger pouring out that she cannot stop.

“Want to know why I’m speaking out? Why I’m angry? Because I’m sick of your shit that I’ve been silently putting up with all this time. Your words are extremely hurtful. You may not realize it, but everything you say impacts others. I’m not going to sit here and take it anymore.”

“Want a medal to go along with that massive ego of yours? Don’t pretend you’re so righteous just because you don’t agree with me.” Keith says.

”Shut up Keith.” A voice says. Someone is also helping Margot stand up to Keith. It’s Tory, one of the guys in Language Arts class.

Tory also thinks Keith is very rude and insensitive. Two more people begin to stand up to Keith. Their names are Andrea and Omar.

Catina is walking by, and sees the commotion going on in the hallway, which by now is emptying out. She sees Keith hit Margot onto the floor, calling her an “uppity bitch” before walking away.

Catina runs towards Margot to comfort her. Margot is in pain and her monocle is cracked. Margot had lost her courage and self-esteem. The impact had also stressed her benign brain tumor, which had been growing beneath her skull, undiagnosed at the time. This resulted in Margot becoming very dizzy.

Catina is taller than Keith so she threatens that he’ll be “catching these fists” if he ever goes near Margot again.

Andrea says it’s unlikely Keith will be going near Margot again, because this offense could get him expelled...

As soon as Keith is out of sight, Margot begins crying and shaking, convinced she really is a coward. She is hurt emotionally far more than she is physically. Margot, who aspires to make a difference in the world, feels hopeless because she couldn’t even stand up to one person.

“You’re not a coward.” Catina said. “You stood up to him. You stood up for what you believed in and spoke your mind.”

Tory tells Margot that he thought she was courageous, and that everyone wanted to stand up to Keith too. But nobody else felt brave enough either until Margot was the one who dared to.

The group goes off to tell authorities about what just happened, hoping Keith will get expelled for violence and hateful actions...

So I was originally going to have Keith just be expelled... But I decided that it would send more of an impactful message if Keith actually did not get expelled. Margot and the rest of the students that stood up to him would then have to band together and fight for their justice. Situations like this happen far too often in real life, where a seemingly undefeatable higher power perpetuates injustice and it takes the combined effort of many people to overthrow it.

I also want Margot to eventually develop and build much more courage. I want her to be able to stand tall and to speak passionately with authority and confidence about what she believes in.

I also thought of a small tidbit... I thought of Margot accidentally ending up enrolled in a theater class by chance after a mix-up occurring. She also cannot drop out of this class, so she decides to participate. The class ends up being very good for her self-esteem, and encourages Margot, who has a hidden love of theatrics, to come out of her shell. She also learns how to speak with poise and confidence, which is a very useful tool in life. She even meets a few true friends in the class.

I’m also thinking This is Whimsica and it Needs More Fantasy so I’m also maybe planning this fantasy magical girl twist and Keith is some sort of villain or something...? (My mind is Very Simple.)

All I know is that Margot needs to fight Keith as revenge for him hitting her. One day. Someday.

#whimsica #margot laroche #catina leon #my writing #whimsica saga #speaking out #racism #ableism #r slur #keith #keith is a dirtbag #omar #tory #andrea #synopsis

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dndgamergirl · 5 years ago

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Dungeon Master Xmas Rant

Just when I thought the holidays could not get any worse they did today. as many of you guys know I run a Dungeons & Dragons Discord with my friends. We've rarely take new people into the group because of the fact that we would like to get to know the person before we allow them to play a game. We also have what we call the trial period. This is when a player who is new and it's not certain they want to join our group comes in and sits in on game for a couple of weeks. This allows the player to do a lot of things that most would never think to give a player who is new to D&D a chance to do. One of the things that we use it is to be able to allow a player who is new to our group an insight into the world they get to learn the characters and the world itself as well as the rules that the world abides by. Being the fact of most of my worlds are Homebrew this means that the players also get the idea of which rules from the books we use as well as some of the house rules. Now this is to say that we do have some major standards this means that a lot of our games that are adult oriented do have an age limit. At which you are allowed to participate in. This means that some games are strictly for those who are 21 years of age and up or even to the point of, ‘all right will allow the eight-year-old to come in and play but after this point know that the next game they might not be able to because that's when we have to go to the section that is way above their age level.’ So why am I telling you this? I'm telling you guys this because we just had another issue with a player. On second thought no we didn't have a issue we had a lot of issues. For me as a dungeon master I have to control the world that the players are running around in. This means I have to go over everyone's character sheet and background I also have to go over there backstory. When a player is having trouble with their back story I usually go ahead and help him figure out exactly where they need to fill in the places. I also help them figure out what they don't need their back story because it could cause trouble with the world schematics or even break the campaign because you're basically making a character that is too overpowered. Example of this can be found in a different rant that may or may not have already been published already. But on to the issues that we had with this player. Issue number one was the fact that whenever we got into the game the player was always very standoffish with their character. As a dungeon master I enjoy a little bit of angst and it's always fun to see kind of the bad boy character or the Emo character but then there's a point of taking it to the degree of your really just making it hard for anyone to interact with your character and move the story along. An example of this can be found in one game that a lot of my players are having a lot of fun with. The world that I have them running in is a mix of Supernatural meets American Pie meets Animal House mixed in with a little bit of Scooby-Doo. It's all based in the 1970s world that is just coming off of the hippie era and slowly going into the disco scene. The players all play college kids that are in a fraternity and are basically trying to stop one of the greatest on speakable evils known to mankind. They do have a little bit of leeway with the fact of the person who is basically the head guy to talk to you with campus security is their sponsor for their frat house and at the same time they also have the added advantage of certain characters are still running around that can help them. One of which is an NPC that I placed in that is kind of the Minotaur version of Tommy Chong from Cheech and Chong. And at the same time just for the heck of it I threw in a version of Jay and Silent Bob where Jay is a satyr Warlock and Silent Bob is a dwarf Paladin. I usually try to put in a lot of Pop Culture references and it makes everybody laugh a lot. Well this player decided that they wanted to go ahead and mess things up. And when I mean mess things up I mean unfortunately this player did some very ridiculous things. He wanted to be a werecat but they also wanted to be a Druid now whenever were talking about certain things I usually go ahead and I'm pretty lenient with my players. I gave them the ability to understandably turn into a half-and-half form of an animal as well as the ability to turn into the Natural Animal itself but they would not be able to talk much like wild shape for a druid. Only it would work longer and it would only work on the type of where creature they were. Being a generous DM I gave them this thinking that they wouldn't abused it as much as they did. And when I mean abused I mean they abused it. The character was constantly in the form of a cat not even a big cat a house cat. It got very annoying and unfortunately it got to the point where the player itself didn't want to go ahead and interact with anybody other than the fact of well this conversation.

Dm: “Okay wait they were here?”

Player: “Yeah you didn't notice.”

Dm: “No you didnt say you followed.”

Player: “Um yeah i did i was there the whole time.”

Dm: “Where then where in the room?”

They made it to where I unfortunately as a dungeon master I could never tell when the cat was in the room and it started to get very annoying to where I told them they had to make it known that they were there. At the same time they were also not happy unless all the spotlight was on them for certain s***. Whenever characters started to do any form of romance with a different character a NPC or even another player character they would kind of get uppity and try to get the attention all on them again. This was getting annoying and unfortunately I was unable to have a lot of contact with them because they were constantly working. The last game we had was the day before Christmas Eve and I asked him if they were coming to game and they said no I'm not feeling well. Being the kind of person that I am I left it at that and I decided that I would be talking to them about the issues that we were having another day. Not just for my end but from the players and as well because the players were getting upset that the character did not really try to help the group whenever things would happen. The character was always centered on themselves they didn't do anything to help any of the other players whenever a battle came they only protected who themselves. And in this game unfortunately the one that I'm running you have to protect not only yourself but you also have to watch out for your friend who's standing right next to you a lot more than yourself. Because once that line is broken that's it game over the party will be at a major risk of a total party kill. So what do I do Christmas Eve was the next day and I decided that I would go ahead and wait until Friday. Since Christmas this year falls on Wednesday, I figured that it would be all right to go ahead and give him 3 days before I called them since I would be working with my service dog on Thursday. On Friday I had planned to call them and that was that or so I thought. Christmas comes and I go to my family's house I'm normally not one to deal with one side of my family and they usually make me pretty uncomfortable. So I was already in a kind of mood and all I was thinking was present time is almost here and after we have presents we pick up the food and then we all go home. This means I only have 1 hour and 45 minutes left of Christmas. That is when I get a contact on my Discord server. Only it's not the main server its individual message. I had time so I decided to go ahead and take a look I figured it was one of my friends on Discord sending me a Merry Christmas card or picture. However it wasn't it was the problem player who told me that they were going to leave the game. They told me that the reason they were going to be leaving the game was because they weren't having as much fun as they had in the beginning. A lot of my games do have a good bit of combat but I also balance at all with a good bit of dialogue and at the same time I also tried to balance it off with a bit of puzzle work that the players have to do. This player was more of a combat player and at the same time was also the kind of person that if there wasn't any combat going on every 10 seconds they would basically get bored. For a D&D game to work you have to have a complete balanced and at the same time you have to rotate the importance of each player in an entire rotation. One session segment might be about one player and then the next one another player so you have to take it all in turn it's a complete Carousel Ride. As soon as one player has had the spotlight on them for long enough you then have to move to the other players in the queue. The bad part is that this hit at a point where I was not in a good mood and at the same time it only made it worse. For me Christmas has always been a time where I have really bad seasonal depression and at the same time where I don't feel like I belong. So upon me getting this notification and i was at christmas you know i wa not happy. And the bad part is that broke the goliths back. For the week before this i found out the player had also during the week expressed his issues to the players stating that he didn't want to talk to me about it because he felt like I wouldn't listen to him. When all the players know that I do listen to them and that I encouraged them constantly to come to me if they ever have any questions or any concerns. So I did the only thing I could which was go ahead and allow him to know that okay fine you can leave thanks for letting me know. But also a tip for other Gamers out there as well as this one if you're going to go ahead and say you're leaving a game or leaving a table. Maybe you shouldn't do that on a holiday because you don't know what that person is going through Master might have a bad connection with a certain holiday not just Christmas but possibly Easter or some other holiday. Maybe it holds bad memories for them and they're trying to not have bad memories happen on that day. Today I was trying to make a few good memories with my family but unfortunately this message made it to where I couldn't have that it completely ruined my day. And unfortunately I had a really bad time a Christmas this year. When I expected to get a merry Christmas I got a sorry but your game is too boring and I'm going to disrupt what little bit of happiness you're trying to have just to make you feel like dirt. As such the gamer has now been removed from our server and now we're looking for somebody to replace him. It's also gotten me to the point where I'm now debating going ahead and making an entire panel for an up-and-coming convention that I'm going to about dungeon master rants things that make the dungeon master story keeper and Storyteller angry. Maybe this will be a good platform for other dungeon Master's to come forward about their own issues that they've had with their groups or players and possibly allow other dungeon Master's to give them an idea as to how to handle this. Problem players are always an issue and unfortunately it can be even more of an issue when they decide to go ahead and ruin your holidays.

#dndgamergirl #dnd #dndrants #Dungeons and Dragons #dungeon master thoughts #dungeon master shit #how to make the dungeon master facepalm #dungeon master rants

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flourchildwrites · 6 years ago

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Edwin 26 and 92 please.

A/N: Hey, anon! Thank you for dropping this FANFICTION TROPE MASH UP into my ask box. I hope you check back in now that I’ve finally got around to responding. You requested numbers 26 (massage fic) and 92 (kink) with an edwin ship. I’m sensing a theme here, lol. However, I’ve got to warn you that I’ve been in a heavy mood lately, and it’s coming out in my writing. Trigger warnings for chronic pain and sacrilegious undertones. This fic is also lemon flavored below the cut. :P Here goes… something.

Special thanks to @bearonthecouch for the read through!

Read on AO3

Truth was a mixed bag. At least, that was Winry Rockbell’s opinion. In the years that followed the Promised Day, Ed described them as an amorphous being of indiscernible power, a haughty guardian of the veil between the physical and metaphysical realms or alternatively… “That uppity bastard who stole my leg, my arm and my brother’s body!”

Let it never be said that Edward Elric, adoring husband and doting father did not have a way with words.

Nevertheless, on the subject of the past, Winry kept her own counsel. She neither delved deeply into the regrets of the yesteryear nor dwelled on impracticalities like God, Truth or the meaning of life. Like the stalwart woman who raised her, Winry’s very existence was a testament to patience and persistence. And yet, she’d be remiss to deny that, while Truth might have been a capricious guardian of the scales, they were most certainly a shitty surgeon.

Ed’s arm was all the proof she needed. A mangled scar spilled across his shoulder, three inches deep with puckered flesh in all shades of ruddy red, yellow and purple. Nuts and wires had jutted out from his restored skin, and if anything, the internal damage proved permanent. Veins inextricably intertwined with threads of metal, a ghastly union of organic and manmade parts. Secretly and silently, the young automail engineer sometimes wondered if Truth had bestowed Ed with a blessing or a curse.

Bathed in moonlight, Winry waddled down the staircase of the Elrics’ Resembool home with heavy footfalls. One hand clutched her swollen stomach, and the other grasped the sturdy wooden banister. Even in darkness, Winry knew that the walls were pristine, covered in pretty pictures and pastel paints that suited the quiet, country life that Ed and Winry enjoyed when they could get away from the hustle and bustle of Rush Valley. And though baby Trisha’s nursery was only half finished, Winry could see Ed’s labor of love coming together, just as sure as she knew she was having a girl this time.

Winry smiled to herself as she appreciated the work that human hands had made.

“Ed,” Winry quietly called out from the foot of the staircase, careful not to wake little Yuriy.

“In here.”

The expecting mother made her way toward the sitting room and stumbled upon a familiar sight: Edward Elric had, yet again, turned her elegant sitting room into an office. Nevermind the actual study upstairs. Books were haphazardly strewn across the small space interspersed with parchment bearing nearly illegible scribbles in Ed’s native Amestrian as well as flawed Xingese characters. Winry had half a mind to chide her husband, but she refrained in light of the ice pack draped over his right shoulder.

“Couldn’t sleep?” she asked knowingly, coming close enough to admire the narrow spectacles Ed now wore when reading, the ones he obstinately swore he didn’t need.

“Nothing to worry about, Win,” the blond shot back, injecting confidence into his voice. “It’s just a little sore. The weather is changing, and Yuriy is getting bigger. Besides, I need to get this work done for Al. No time like the present.”

“You mean 3 a.m.” Winry shot back wryly as she placed her hands on her hips, “when our 2-year-old is finally sleeping, and we’ve got a full day of toddler tantrums ahead of us? Why didn’t you just tell me it was hurting again? Not for nothing, but I am one of the best automail mechanics around. I think I know my way around human anatomy enough to ease a few tense muscles.”

Ed chuckled and rose from the couch, a merry glint in his light amber eyes. “Well, not for nothing, but you are 25 weeks pregnant if I’m not mistaken.” He wasn’t. “What kind of husband would I be if I let you take care of me without taking care of you first?”

Ed moved quickly across the small living space and wrapped his arms around Winry. His fingers moved restlessly, seeking purchase in the folds of her lightweight nightgown. With eyes wide shut, she hummed as Ed reached around to massage the tight muscles of her lower back. Winry buried her face in the soft cotton of his shirt, relishing the faint scent of sweat and freshly cut grass. She loved Ed. She loved being tenderly caressed by the warm hands that had never hesitated to pick her up when she was down. To protect her just as she patched him back together time and time again.

Winry reluctantly summoned her wits in spite of Ed’s efforts and a raging case of momnesia.

“Not so fast, Edward,” Winry interjected, gently stepping back and placing a firm hand on her husband’s chest. “Let’s have a look at that shoulder. Then, you can take me upstairs and have your way with your bloated, pregnant wife.”

The glint in Ed’s eyes was inexplicably obscene. “That a promise?”

Winry rolled her eyes despite the smirk on her lips.

“Take a seat, Fullmetal,” she said, gesturing toward the couch with an authoritative edge to her voice. Though he practiced restraint, Ed’s features darkened hungrily as he took a seat on the floor near Winry’s usual perch on the couch, and if she had reminded him of a certain former commanding officer at that moment, he didn’t show it.

…

The bible according to Pinako Rockbell was pretty damn clear when it concerned the intersection of automail and pain. It was merely the body’s way of communicating that something wasn’t working properly. And though Winry still struggled to comprehend Edward’s refusal to dignify the pain he occasionally felt, she was all too familiar with his anatomy, right down to the battle scars hidden beneath the hem of his well-pressed shirts.

The young mother’s hands kneaded and pressed at her husband’s scarred skin, searching for knots and avoiding the places where she knew metal was permanently embedded within his flesh. As her strokes turned long and languid, Winry felt Ed relax under her deft hands. His arm and shoulder began to pulse as she stimulated blood flow alongside delicious friction and finally, she finished with a series of firm taps.

“Oh God, Winry,” Ed gasped. “Do you have to tap it like that? You’re killing the mood.”

“What mood?” she teased. “Between the stretch marks and my swollen ankles, I don’t see how I can be the least bit appealing right now. Then again, you are stuck with me. I guess I can’t blame you for making the best of it.”

Winry’s words carried a self-deprecating edge, and she laughed with a good-natured timbre that belied the harsh truths sugarcoated by her humor. The second time mother knew she’d grown bigger faster this time around. Her ankles were puffy, and the stretch marks on her tummy had reasserted themselves in angry streaks of red. Between her business and Yuriy, Winry found it difficult to think of herself as a sexual being, and honestly, Ed was more a partner in the trenches of childrearing than a lover now.

“Making the best of it? Of our life together?” Ed scoffed. “What makes you think that you aren’t exactly the person I want to be with? Especially when you’re pregnant.”

“Especially when I’m pregnant?” Winry shot back. “My stomach’s big. My boobs are ridiculous. In another month or so, I’ll be unable to see my feet. Enlighten me, oh great alchemist, what’s there to like about all that?”

Ed paused in a rare show of speechlessness as he shifted at Winry’s feet and allowed his eyes to trace the outline of her figure. It had been years since their first sleepless night together, but the way he looked at her was wondrous, reminiscent of their first fumbling time as well as the many happy endings they’d enjoyed after that. Winry felt reborn when she considered herself from Ed’s perfective and saw all that she considered a nuisance as ancient symbols of power, unequaled by modern medicine or other mystic arts.

He took her hands in his and turned them, running his thumbs across her palms. “I see hands that give life,” he said, kissing her callouses. “And strong arms that cradle it lovingly.”

Ed turned his attention to her feet and massaged her ankles tenderly. “I see legs that stood up for me when I couldn’t stand on my own.” Winry shivered as she felt her husband place light kisses up her ankles, calves and thighs. He gently pushed her nightgown up to reveal her round stomach, and as Winry’s pulse quickened, the baby inside her belly stirred. Ed chuckled and pressed his hands against her, grinning as he felt his child’s movement.

“I love you like this,” he stated, almost breathless. “I love seeing our child growing inside you, and you’ve got this raw, powerful beauty that makes me crazy. You’re glowing, Winry.”

She started to tell him that it was just her acid reflux, but with those words, Ed kissed the top of her thigh near the plain white fabric of her panties. Slowly, his tongue pressed against her, and Winry couldn’t hide the soft sigh which followed. She leaned back, enjoying Ed’s attention as his mouth began sucking and pulling at her skin. As was only fair, he repeated the same series on the inside of her other thigh, moving ever closer to her warm center.

As her breathing grew fevered Ed delved deeper, running his lips over the outside of her underwear in a way that made Winry sigh. He sucked the fabric, and his fingers toyed with the low waistband, bowed by her growing baby bump. One hand settled on the width of her hips, and again Ed caressed her belly as his tongue lapped at her through a pesky layer of cotton.

Winry moaned and pleaded for her pleasure until Ed finally kissed her clit.

“Oh, God!” Winry exclaimed, feeling both breathless and beautiful in the eyes of the person who mattered most.

He smirked in response, all humor and bravado intact. “I prefer Ed.”

Winry laughed in a throaty register as she gave in to her husband’s skillful ministrations. Pushing her panties to one side, his tongue set out to do its best, returning the favor for all Winry’s earlier efforts. Ed was insufferable at times, Winry knew, and yet, as he cracked a blasphemous joke and ate her like it was his last supper, she couldn’t help but revel in her good fortune. If no higher power had brought them together during their difficult childhoods or made them as mirror images of one another, being with him was a miracle all the same.

Like what you read? Send me a prompt!

#you ask i answer #fanfiction trope mash up #fullmetal alchemist brotherhood #fma #edwin #parental!edwin #winry rockbell #edward elric #massage #pregnancy kink

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kiliinstinct · 6 years ago

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5, 9, 11!

Salty Asks//

5: Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?

Close to, but no. In fact there’s hardly anything that ‘fandom’ has ruined for me. Some certain people can put bad connotations to ships for me, but I don’t consider one or two people as the “fandom” as a whole. And even “anti’s” and rude anons don’t ruin things for me either.No matter what fandom you’re in, or website you’re on- there are ALWAYS going to be a mix of good and bad, and sometimes the ASSHOLES in the fandoms are the ones you hear from the most. Letting them control what I enjoy by ruining something for me is like opening a door for just any odd random stranger to ruin an entire thing for me. And I don’t have the energy to put that much stock on random people’s opinions and negativity to allow it to define what i like.Fandom doesn’t change what happens in a series. Fandom doesn’t change what I interpret and see in a series or have done myself. If Fandom has negative things on a pairing, that’s their problem. If it makes me happy, then that’s all that matters and the rest can go suck it.In fact, I generally think people who allow negative nancy’s to ruin something perfectly happy for them are really needing to stop letting strangers control how they feel.

9: Most disliked character(s)? Why?

Bachus. Easy to explain: taking Cana’s bra off without her consent is not okay and I can never get behind a character like that. Ever. I can’t really think of hating other characters. Most i’m just indifferent to.

11: Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

Mest. I actually like him a lot. I am sad with the direction his character took by the Alvarez arc cause I don’t really think it fits the development he’s had in the past but I still like him all the same.And no, I don’t think he’s a pedophile and I feel people take whats meant as a “joke” or used fo r”humor” in a series a little too seriously. Similar to how fans like to see Freed as a “Laxus Fanboy” because of the humor the anime does for him. He’s NOT a fanboy, but just because the anime has to make JOKES about it for laughs, everyone just thinks that’s the basis of his character.Mest thinks Wendy is cute. Thinking she is cute does NOT mean he’s physically attracted to her or wants to DO things to her. Erza thought when she was turned into a child that he would be attracted to her- as a joke. It was clearly being used as an exaggeration to make the reader laugh. And everyone just TAKES her exaggeration to mean “Mest is canonically a pedophile.” So, popularity wise, most people dislike him. I don’t- because I know how to tell the difference between a joke and a serious issue. -.-

And before anyone gets uppity about this- i’ve LIVED and WITNESSED real pedophiles in my life. I know full well how sick and disgusting they are and if I truly thought Mest was one, I wouldn’t like his character at a ll.

#eunoiagray #Just Mira Answers

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bluerosesburnblue · 6 years ago

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Liz Liveblogs Bravely Second: Chapter 6, Part 2/2 *FINALE*

Well, nothing left for me to do now. I guess it’s time we finally hunker down and beat this game. I started this liveblog series on January 14, 2017 (July 23, 2016 if we include the Demo) and now, almost two years later, we finally see the end (layer) of Bravely Second

Before we get to the actual story I’d just like to say that I currently have five level 99 Apparati hanging out at Fort-Lune. FIVE. Jeez, somebody share something else for a change! This is why I share any Redshirts, Urchins, Goldies, or Turtle Doves I see! It’s also why I hate it when games make you rely on communication features for 100% completion. Stop that. It always goes poorly

Well, regardless. There’s a certain fairy waiting for... well, not us, but someone down at Norende Chasm and I intend to finish what I started. You got me into this series, Anne! You did this to yourself!

Feels weird to be back at the first ever dungeon in the series. I don’t know if it’s new for this game or if it’s always been there, but if you look off the edge of Norende Ravine you can see a river flowing at the bottom, beneath the fog. And “Dungeon of the Nature” is a great scene-setter, as always

This Party Chat is certainly something. Tiz is just reminiscing about being back and how as kids they were told to stay away due to monsters, but of course everyone played there anyway. And then when Norende was swallowed by the Chasm, he raced through here to see it with his own eyes, and there met Agnès, who would change his whole world. And they came back, again and again in each world. Finally, this was the path they took to the end last time. The place they went to reach the Dark Aurora to chase down Ouroboros. Norende Ravine is the most visited spot in the game in terms of plot, and you’d think it would get old but it doesn’t. “How many more times... will we walk down this road?” And Edea replies “As many times as we have to! Until we’ve wiped away those terrible memories once and for all! [...] The next time we walk down this road, it’ll be to visit the new Norende Village - the one you helped rebuild!” I never expected the game to bring up the Norende Village... minigame, I guess you could call it? I’m so glad they did, and I’m so glad that Magnolia and Yew declaring that all four of them would visit it together is what cheered Tiz up

...I didn’t realize I had 99 X-Potions? I guess my healers have just been really good so far

Oh Aaaaaaaaanneeeeeeee~ Guess who’s heeeeeeeere~ I’m gonna straight up kick your ass for what you did last timeline! And, presumably, whatever you were up to last game!

How predictable that we’ve come to stop you? Do you know what we’ve done since I found out you were here? You had every opportunity to disappear and didn’t! What, have you just been sitting here for a week? I think you’re the predictable one

Also, nice demonic cloud cover. I’m really feeling the glowing red mass underneath these near-black stormclouds

“Your master? But the kaiser is... Denys is gone...!” Bold of you to assume Denys was actually in charge of anything. I thought it was pretty obvious he was out of his depth when Anne mentioned her master and even Denys was confused by it

Hm. “Lord Providence, ruler of the Celestial Realm!” I’d heard that name thrown around before I even started playing the game, but “ruler of the Celestial Realm” is new. Given that his name means “God’s protection,” I guess you mean ruler as in “a deity” and not “a high ranking political figure”

Man, at the angle her head’s at, Anne’s hair protrusions really do look like antennae. It just hasn’t been obvious before I got this angle on her

How the hell is Providence supposed to enlighten anyone if they’re dead, Anne? That’s dumb. Your master’s dumb. Death isn’t enlightenment, it’s just death.

And Providence got all upset that the Moon people were killing his Ba’als, so he sent Anne to deal with it by destroying the moon. But screw that plan! There’s a Celestial shortcut right here! But you know, if something can get from the Celestial Realm to Luxendarc, then I don’t see why the opposite can’t be true, too

And, well, shoot. If Providence is the “ruler of the Celestial Realm” then we couldn’t have Ouroboros getting in! So Anne had to deal with Airy. Or rather, have us deal with Airy. And then she had to get someone to summon the Holy Pillar to take out the moon, and found Denys. Both games have all been thanks to her manipulations. Man, fuck Cryst-Fairies

“Hold it right there! That’s my brother you’re talking about!” You tell her, Yew! Rip her a new one! I’ve got your back!

Fuck, she did the same thing to Denys that she did to the player at the start of Bravely Default. Read us like a book and played to the key aspects of our personalities. Denys’s sense of duty and idealism, the player’s sense of duty and determination to see things through... hell, it’s almost like she read into my completionist tendencies and knew I’d do dumb shit like grinding to max level and job levels and getting the best equipment. Ouroboros didn’t stand a chance once that was thrown into the mix

“Why, he was even ready to kill his own precious little brother for his ‘duty.’” Can I take the use of “precious” as confirmation that it was actually a hard choice for him? Because Denys isn’t here to defend himself and never did get around to talking about it when he was here

I don’t think I’ve ever heard the word “dupe” used as an adjective. Most people go with “dope.” You’re weird, Anne! You’re weird and also a huge bitch!

“Denys died to save this world...” Is he actually dead though!? Like, no seriously, is he? Or is he just stuck in a situation that he will probably die in? Because one of those is potentially fixable in a sequel. ...actually, maybe both of them are fixable in a sequel. Situation’s unclear at the moment

“When Lord Providence descends, Luxendarc as you know it will be completely and utterly destroyed.” If he descends. If.

Yeesh, Anne, cool it with the shade! I know Denys’s kind of an idiot, but you don’t need to say it every other line!

Oh wow. Whoah. This... everything on screen is gorgeous right now? The glowing blue and gold bits on Anne’s final form, the translucent pink butterflies in the background against a starry night sky... yooooooooo. And I thought Airy’s final form was pretty

“Wicked Flight” is still a better boss song, though. Heck, the music right now isn’t even as good as Anne’s last battle theme, and it’s just a remix. I think removing the Spanish guitars and replacing them with a wailing rock guitar really does the song a disservice

That T-pose looks real dumb, Anne. Knock it off

It’s really fascinating what she says here. Humans are born without purpose, so they spend their lives lost and weak, constantly searching for something to live for. She, however, was made with a specific goal in mind, and always feels fulfilled because of it. And I don’t think she’s entirely wrong to observe that human beings spend so long looking for acceptance and purpose, and that the struggle to find some is central to most people’s lives. Heck, I don’t feel like I have a purpose most of the time. But I think, until I find one, if I just keep trying to do good then it’ll be enough. And the good thing about being born without a purpose? You get to find one you like, eventually

Cryst-Fairies are created by the gods to serve them. Anne is the older sister, but never really cared much for Airy, since Airy served someone who would destroy the Celestial Realm, where Anne’s master resided and controlled. Which... I suppose leads me to believe that they were created by different entities, and yet all Cryst-Fairies see themselves as siblings, regardless. Maybe it’s because they’re made of the same stuff? Like a half-sibling thing? Where one “parent” is the magical essence that they’re made of, and the other is the god that used it to create them?

Did Airy even know she had a sister? Like, was she even aware Anne existed? I don’t think she ever, once, mentioned her

Man, this game has a weird theme of “older siblings attempting to murder their younger siblings for a cause”

Oh, good. She can set someone’s max HP to 1. And she used it on Edea. Because even at level 99, Edea has to die at least three times per fight

I don’t think she expected Quadruple Meteor Rain Yew, though. That’s what you get for shit-talking a Geneolgia’s family

Oh. She didn’t even revive. Nice

Funny enough, Anne, Yew learned that secret technique after I knew you were here. So, you know, you had plenty of time to avoid that

If Lord Providence is gonna be here any moment now, then he is really taking his time meandering down the Celestial shortcut

Oh, geez! Altair, don’t sneak up on me like that! Holy shit, the sound of his voice startled me

There’s no need to apologize for Providence using Vega to create the Ba’als. You’re both just victims of an uppity god. Though, as a Celestial, I don’t suppose you have any info on your supposed “god,” Providence?

I love how on the same page Yew and I always are. Altair is family now, of course we’re gonna save Vega. Even if none of us know her, she’s special to Altair. And family of our family... is as good as family, too

Ahahahahah! “Yeah! We’re going to crush a god!” Never change, Edea. We’re upgrading from Ba’al Busters to God Crushers!

Altair just called them “my children”! Team Dad! Team Dad! Team Dad!

“Come, Yew! Let us deliver our pièce de radicchio!” ...let us deliver our piece of leaf chicory? Excuse me? Is that supposed to be like “Let’s serve Providence a bitter meal he’ll regret eating?”

Altair, normally I can at least follow your vegetable proverbs, even if they fall flat, but that one was really... uhhhhh?

So the evil fog in the Chasm is a sign that the Dimensions are in flux. “A holy battleground and an angel’s descent. A chasm of darkness and a glimmering ship.” Would that be the Ouroboros fight, or whatever Sylvie was prophesying about?

Clear the mists and reveal the path to the Celestial Realm. Hey, can’t all of us summon Hresvelgr right now? Can we get him to blow it away?

Ah, we’re using Agnès’s pendant, which can connect people between various worlds. It’s already a spacetime anomaly. Neat! I love it when they use lore, especially something like this, which has been established since the start of Default!

And now they pray, with the help of the pendant, to lift the fog. It’s not enough, so they call Agnès to pray, too! It’s still not enough. Yew cries out for help, for anyone to give them strength. In other games, I could see this leading to a pan-out where everyone in the world prays with them...

But here, they just need me. Time to mash “X” like the good old days and clear the clouds away for my favorite team

Aaaaahahahahahahahah. Ahahahaha! Oh. Oh god. So they use the 3DS camera to put your face in the Chasm once the clouds are cleared but oh man. Oh nooooo, that angle. That was not a good look. At all. I started laughing so hard I had to put my 3DS down. Ohhhhhh. Oh man, that’s a heck of a look for the first time the party gets to see my face. Imagine the first time you get to see your spirit guide and it starts cackling and the connection dies for a few minutes. I’m sorry, guys! I’m really - ahahahaha - really sorry!

I do adore how the Bravely series utilizes the fourth wall. The Celestial Realm is (or is at least based on) our world, and every time they depict it (so, this scene and the Ouroboros fight in Default), they use the 3DS camera. The player is every bit a real character in this game’s universe, and they do a hell of a job merging the two using existing elements of the 3DS hardware

God, nope. Still can’t look at it. It’s like a fun house mirror in there! I get that it’s supposed to be at the bottom of the Chasm, so that’s the angle it’s at, but it looks freaking funny!

I’m glad you’re all so focused on Vega and none of you are reacting to my mug plastered at the bottom of the Chasm. It’s still there, even after the cutscene

Oh. I know that place. That’s the background of the Snowcap Ba’al fights. Welcome to the Via Celestio, path to the Celestial Realm, altered based on Vega’s memories

And I guess Altair is going to explain what each Ba’al represents as we go though, which he’s only willing to tell us because we’re all pals now

Ba’al vi: Snowcap - Represents the day that Altair and Vega met, with ski lifts as its background. Altair was vacationing at a ski resort, and sat next to a young woman on the chair lift. They got stuck up there when the weather got particularly bad, and Altair noticed how scared she was, so he picked a flower from one of the trees their lift stopped near (good reach, buddy) to cheer her up. Despite that moment, though, Altair never got her name, and never saw her again before his vacation was over

Oh, don’t be so cheeky, Magnolia. “Though some might say giving a flower to a girl you just met might be a bit forward.” It worked on you, didn’t it?

So, I guess Altair and Tiz are going to be switching back and forth for this dungeon. And Tiz is conscious when Altair’s in control, since he heard that? That’s existentially terrifying

The glowing gold platforms, surrounded by the already very pretty Ba’al fight backgrounds makes for a gorgeous area... but I’m not feeling the music at all. It’s way too dramatic, with blaring sounds, militaristic drums, and weird wind ambience. I get what it’s going for, since this is the final dungeon and should be suitably intense, but it’s really incongruous with the location’s aesthetic, and also doesn’t fit the emotional tone of Altair nostalgically recounting his life together with Vega as we go to free her spirit. Something like this would fit better in a final dungeon like the Dark Aurora, where we were in an unearthly void on our way to the Infernal Realm. I know I mention “Dungeon of the Nature” a lot, but I really wish the Via Celestio music was more similar to that than, say, “Tower,” which is the music they used for locations like Eternian Central Command, like what we got. I’d actually have really loved if the music here was just Altair’s theme, but with the larger, orchestral sounds of “Dungeon of the Nature.” Something melancholy and soft, but no less grand. Altair’s theme played on piano, but with chimes and a string backing track

I actually don’t like “Tower.” At all. I think it’s probably the worst track in the game. It’s just so dissonant, and I turn my sound off every time I go into a dungeon where it’s playing

Alright, kids, it’s been fun, but you’re gonna have to turn off Obliterate for a sec so we can get those last three Catmancy skills

Okay, I don’t get Luxendarc sometimes. You kids have ketchup and baseball, but Altair had to explain what skiing was? You mean to tell me someone figured out how to make a specific type of tomato-based sauce and independently came up with the rules for baseball, but no one thought to tie planks to their feet and slide down a snowy hill with them on? Seriously, guys

Yew asks everyone what their plans for the future are. Edea says she’s gonna help with the Eternia-Orthodoxy peace talks, so she and Yew will probably still be working together. Tiz just wants to retire to Norende at age... 19? I mean, I don’t really blame him. He did die several times and kill multiple gods. I’d want a break, too. And Magnolia feels she has to return to the Moon and finish helping everyone there recover. Yew is disappointed. It’s a hard position to be in, you know? He loves Magnolia and will miss her dearly, but he also knows how much the people of her home mean to her and he would never come between her and them

Ba’al v: Urchin - Represents the day Altair and Vega met again in the spring, when Altair was transferred to work at the place Vega did, with its background being the rainy exterior of an urban office building with a couple that occasionally passes by, sharing an umbrella. There are little flower gardens, and a city skyline can be seen in the distance. As Altair tells the story, we see silhouettes of himself and Vega acting it out. Or at least, I assume it’s them, since “Altair” looks a lot like Yew in an ankle-length trench coat and “Vega” is just Magnolia’s researcher costume. Altair was an extremely successful scientist, but his superiors grew jealous of his skills and transferred him to a remote, less prestigious location. Altair was so distraught to be there that he ran right out into the storm. Right into acid rain, due to severe pollution in his homeland. Unbeknownst to him, however, he had been transferred to the very place Vega worked, and when she saw him run out, she followed him and offered to share her umbrella. Altair muses how this means that at the time, Vega must have remembered their first meeting on that ski lift, since it became a Ba’al, and he chuckles quietly to himself. Fate, indeed

So the last room had little snowy trees peppering the walkways, and here it’s rainy streetlamps and road signs. God, I love the visual design here. And now that I’m not fighting the Ba’al, I can get a better look at the gorgeous backgrounds

Ba’al iv: Goldie - Represents Altair’s first date with Vega that summer, where he confessed his growing love to her, with an absolutely gorgeous background of a Japanese festival. Lanterns and trees surround a single torii as fireworks go off in the sky above. The appearance of Goldie comes from their attempts to play the goldfish-scooping game they have at Japanese festivals

This is all coming across as so incredibly sad. Altair loved Vega with all his heart, but it sounds like he didn’t even really realize how much she cared for him until right now, where he’s seeing exactly what memories she treasured. And is seeing them twisted and used against the both of them

And Edea’s noticed something else. Meeting in the snow, sharing an umbrella, goldfish scooping... Yew and Magnolia have been unintentionally reliving Altair and Vega’s romance. No wonder he’s so adamant that Yew confesses sooner, rather than later. Altair knows how this story ends

Our little set dressings this time around are floating lanterns. I’m actually surprised there aren’t mini fireworks bursting around them

Most of the enemies in the Via Celestio don’t add a heck of a lot to the lore, but one does: the Spartan. It’s the final variation of a specific type of automaton we’ve been seeing throughout the game, that Altair comments on every time they show up. Turns out, Altair invented them to be caretakers for the Celestial Realm! They uh... I don’t think they did that great a job, but it’s the thought that counts!

And the Bestiary entry is basically “Okay but how do rocket punches and optical camouflage... help? With caretaking?” “I dunno! But isn’t the technology awesome?” Altaiiiiiiiiir

Ba’al iii: Apparati - Represents the struggle Altair and Vega faced together as they tried to continue their research despite the improper equipment and poor funds afforded to them, enhanced by the depiction of the interior of a laboratory with static-y, crackling monitors all over in the background. If we’re following the pattern, then the falling leaves and bare trees outside the window indicate autumn. Vega really kept Altair’s project going, by sneaking restricted data out of the archives for him and coming up with creative solutions whenever he hit a mental block. And when their hard work paid off and Altair’s hypothesis was accepted as scientific fact, then he knew he was absolutely in love with Vega, the woman who supported and aided him and who constantly encouraged him to be his best self. He was a different, better person around her, and he knew it

“If attraction is gazing into one another’s eyes, then true love is setting those eyes on the same shared goal... or so my theory goes.” I can’t say I have a lot, or really any, romantic experience, but this is something I believe strongly. A romantic partner is someone whose skills and personality differ from yours, but also complement yours, and yet who strongly value the same things you do. If you can’t agree on what’s most important to you, then you can’t connect on a deeper level. And I’m not saying, like, find someone who thinks exactly as you do! Because that’s not healthy. But find someone who you can agree on the important things with

Also, love that Altair distinguishes between “attraction” and “love” because they’re very different things, and I so often see people conflate the two

Seriously, guys, leave Yew alone! He’s 16 and this is his first foray into romance. That’s scary and overwhelming!

And there’s bookshelves and stacks of books with desk lamps on top littering the pathways

Ba’al ii: Redcoat - Represents the night that Altair proposed to Vega over dinner. Honestly, this is my favorite Ba’al fight background. It’s just a very pretty, snowy, city skyline with a tall tower and a suspension bridge in the center, but there’s something so beautiful about how simple it is and the shade of light blue they used for it. Altair describes it as a holy night, and since Redcap is a demonic Santa hat tangled in lights, I can only assume he means Christmas. Poor Altair, however, couldn’t afford a wedding ring. Their program funding was awful, after all, and what they gave him for personal pay, he spent on more research to make up for what they didn’t give him. Vega told him she didn’t mind, but he still felt incredibly guilty about it. They married with a small ceremony, and Altair eventually bought her that ring... right before the trip to Luxendarc that tore them apart forever

Altair tells everyone not to despair, since he lived a good life and had goals that he truly believed in that he knows he gave his all working towards, and I can’t help but think back to Anne’s speech about purpose. Altair isn’t technically human in the Luxendarc sense, he’s a Celestial, but he managed to find his own greater purpose and it made him stronger

“You must all live your own lives as well. Have courage! Be brave enough to default on the expectations of others!” WE DID IT BOYS, PACK IT UP, WE GOT A TITLE DROP. In all honesty, though, I love what the games say the symbolism of each title is. To “Bravely Default” is “to have the courage to go against the expectations of others” and to “Bravely Second” is “to have the courage to try again,” and by doing each of those can you get the best ending in each game, further enforcing their message (even if I thought it was a little botched in Default. You're supposed to be going against what Sage Yulyana says... by following Airy, who you were going along with from the start, so there’s really no “courage” involved. Gameplay-wise you never actually disobey anyone, because you completely obey Airy, though I suppose you still have to disobey Sage to an extent, who you trust more at that point)

Tiz has a point, too. Maybe Altair is content with the life he had, but it’s still not fair for all of his efforts to be rewarded with his and Vega’s suffering

Our road-markers in this room are banquet tables with a nice Christmas dinner on them. I was hoping for Christmas trees, but that’ll work, too

Seems like this is our final Tent Event. Magnolia’s cooking is fantastic as always, but the stress is getting to Edea. She’s so worried she can barely even eat, and Altair’s story has really shaken her. Of course it would effect her the most. She knows better than anyone what it feels like to be separated from someone you love across time and space. They’ve packed the leftover food for sandwiches. They’ll eat when they’re ready. One more megalixir, as a gift from our fox friend who I notice found his way into a dimensional rift, and we’re on our way

The final room is a straight bridge, adorned with roses, candles, and floral archways. The background is a church on a hill, blossoming trees on either side and doves soaring across the sky in the background. Ba’al i: Turtle Dove. Altair and Vega’s wedding. This one doesn’t need an explanation from Altair. Just one last save point between us and the end. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you’ve somehow gotten in here, too, Adventurer.

“This is it... our final battle!”

“Let’s do it!”

We’re in a chapel, with nothing but soft wind. Unlike the silhouettes of the Ba’al backgrounds, this is undeniably physical. And gorgeous. Very Baroque in its architecture

Vega’s voice is so much softer than I imagined it would be

I thought she sounded familiar. It’s Eden Riegel, who also voices Anne, so her range is commendable. For those curious, she also voices Iris in Final Fantasy XV, Devola and Popola in NieR and NieR Automata (I think what tipped me off was how similar her Vega and Popola voices are), Marie in Persona 4: Golden and its spinoffs, and Estelle in Tales of Vesperia. And those are just the ones I recognize! Her older brother is Sam Riegel, also a voice actor of renown and player on the D&D show Critical Role, which exclusively stars voice actors. Sam’s great, and probably one of the funniest people on that show. Good to see Eden’s doing great work, too

I guess the thing of note, though, is that she is NOT the voice who narrated the ends of Chapters 1-4 as I had suspected. Her voice is decidedly softer and not British. But if that wasn’t Vega, then who?

She’s so lost in her despair. She’s begging Altair to explain why he left, and why he didn’t come back. She won’t even listen to him explain that he tried, that he died and just couldn’t make it back

Someone told her the wrong meeting place to meet Altair that day. The reason she wasn’t on the ship was because someone didn’t want her on the ship

Ohhhhhh I did not like the voice distortion on “Why didn’t you protect me? Why didn’t you keep me safe!?”

Fuck, Altair? Altair! He just collapsed screaming with black and purple mist coming off of him. Black and purple mist that just formed a robed raven-faced humanoid with the worst voice distortion I’ve ever heard

Hey, are you Providence!? Get off of my weird vegetable-proverb spouting friend, jackass!

I can’t tell if that’s Vega’s voice layered under Providence’s or just another feminine voice. Could be Anne’s, too, since they’re both Eden Riegel

Also, Providence’s theme is pretty great? It’s got hints of the Ba’al music boxes, with a one woman wail in the background

“I’ve never tasted anything so exquisite!” Were you eating her despair? Of course that’s all she was to you. A food factory. And the sadder and more hopeless she got, the better for you, right? God, you’re like depression made physical. I’ve always wanted to punch the concept of depression

She’s held on for so long because she desperately hoped to see Altair one more time. And you used it against her!

And you saw Luxendarc, the world that was intended to be her safe haven and the place Altair was, and decided you were going to use her to power its destruction to break her further by making her feel guilty. What did she ever do to you!?

Okay, two things. One, you’re a fucking dick and I’m gonna strangle you with your own ribbons. Two, the T-pose doesn’t look any better on you than it did on Anne

That’s my boy! “We deny you because we are mortal! [...] our emotions, the memories we create with others - good or bad, this is all we have! I deny your right to claim them for your own!”

“I’m done letting you use the hearts of our friends as your personal plaything! We’re gonna send you flying to the edge of time and space!” Crush a god, Edea! This jackass has no place ruling anyone

Oh, Tiz. “He might be goofy on the surface... uh, like a cantaloupe? But inside is a sweet and sensitive soul! He’s suffered long enough, Providence! It ends today!” This is as much for Altair and Vega as it is the safety of Luxendarc. But, like, I am especially going to kill you for what you did to Vega. No one deserves God Depression

“Nothing is ever hopeless! It’s never too late, you’re never too weak to fight for what you truly believe in! I believe in a world ruled by hope, not despair. And thanks to my friends, I have the courage to fight for it!” Bravely Second, Magnolia. Bravely Second

Oh, poor baby. The light hurts your eyes? Shut them and make it easier for me to end you

That fight background is awesome! We stand in a grassy field, surrounded by telephone lines. A city skyline in the distance. A freaking GALAXY in the sky, with red-violet clouds. And this music is perfect. So perfect! Grand orchestral scores, with sections of electric guitar and lo-fi beats, all held together by sweeping chants. Holy shit, Providence may look pretty dumb, but this fight’s oozing style

What... so Providence can force a party member to do do his bidding? Like having Magnolia try to strike Yew down. That’s not great, but your first instance of doing so is using my healer to attack. And I’m supposed to be scared of you!?

Get him down enough and he starts consuming Vega’s energy to heal up 10,000 HP every few seconds. Fucking rude. Altair’s so upset he took over Tiz and is screaming for Vega... who can hear him. And she’s fighting back! All Altair had to do was tell her the compass was completed and their dreams could come true and her hope reignited!

This ass can still cast Doom, though

OR HE CAN JUST SAY “YOUR LIFE ENDS HERE” AND WIPE THE PARTY. God... dammit. Like, actually damn this god. What a dick. This is what I get for trying to have Yew conserve his MP. Chainspell Meteor Rain is prepped for next round, bitch

I could easily skip replaying this scene, but I wanted to watch my kids trash-talk Providence’s ideals again

God, I forgot to take Obliterate off of Tiz AGAIN. I know it won’t ever work and it’s just wasting a slot right now. I’d still die laughing if it worked, though

That can’t be the end. This is a JRPG, there’s at least one, probably two more forms coming. And come on, you only drop 980pg? What, are you a broke god? What an ass

Vega’s pink soul seems to be freed, though. And Altair’s spirit finally leaves Tiz, his color being blue. They’re really cute together, even if they are just floating, colored orbs

Is... is Tiz gonna be okay, though? Altair’s soul was kinda fueling his... everything

We shouldn’t keep them, though. I think it’s time for both of them to move on. Gonna miss ya, Altair. I know I’ve made fun of you in the past, but I’m glad you were part of this journey

“Keep your hearts like chamomile!” Just had to get one more in there, huh?

I’m so glad Vega’s here to make sense of this. “Chamomile is said to grow best and strongest when trodden on, you see.” So learn from our hardships, and continue to grow ever stronger. Stay stalwart in the face of adversity. Can do, you crazy, crazy Celestial man. Can do

Oh, so I have Vega to thank for your absurd produce tirades? She started the proverbs to get him to eat vegetables. Jeez, Altair, you sound like my dad. The man’s in his mid-50s and still refuses to eat any vegetables but corn and peas. Which SUCKS because I LOVE vegetables, and we only get to eat a bunch of ‘em at family dinners if he’s not around. I had a vegetable burger last night and it was GREAT

“And eat your vegetables.” YEAH, THANKS. I will! Somebody get me a carrot right now! (I’d get one but I don’t feel like peeling one at 9:30 at night, which is when I’m typing this)

Awwww. Altair finally ate vegetables once he got to Luxendarc because they reminded him of Vega

Yew should confess to Magnolia, WE GET IT. Let him figure out his own emotions! Stop pressuring my boy!

Bye, you two! May your afterlife together hold only the best!

Ohhhhh that’s what happened. Okay. So when Providence used Mandate of Heaven to have Magnolia attack Yew, she wouldn’t actually do that on her own. I had to make her do it, and because I didn’t in the set timeframe he used Divine Punishment to wipe the party. I totally misunderstood what was happening there, since Magnolia had negative BP and couldn’t move, and the very next turn was when I triggered the mid-boss cutscene with Altair. The second time I simply killed him on the turn after he cast it on Tiz, so it didn’t matter. That’s a very bullshit tactic and I am eternally grateful to Meteor Rain Geneolgia over there for ending the fight in a timely fashion

WAIT. Remove Obliterate from Tiz, genius. And heal. Trust no one

Hahahahaha okay, yeah. Yeah. I was expecting a cutscene before round two, and I’ll admit the harsh cut to the screen-shattering battle intro when I tried to leave the room made me jump a bit

This is what I saw a screenshot of before I played the game. Before the game even came out in English, even. I was looking up Airy’s sister after beating Default, because I saw the art of the Kaiser and Anne, assumed she was Airy’s sister, and wanted to know if she had a name. Saw the line “Anne works for Providence” and a low-res picture of Providence and clicked out immediately, but was left with the knowledge that the final boss was a purple pyramid named Providence. Seeing it now, there’s so much more to it than I remembered

We cut to the sky, a brilliant blue galaxy that the party is floating in. Magenta clouds adorn the top and bottom of the screen, and from them semi-mechanical, semi-organic looking hands of magenta and black descend, fingers wiggling. An inverse pyramid comes out of the cloud, and the gigantic eye in the center opens and glances around manically. An inverse Eye of Providence, that grants only poor fortune

Tiz, you should know better than to think this was the end. Ouroboros had, like, two forms and five phases

Providence’s voice is distinctly feminine now. And now that he’s unchained from Vega... there’s no internal fight to hold him back

“Who is it that controls you?” *Providence’s eye looks directly at the camera* What? What? I’m his aunt/mother figure/big sis/etc.! And I’ve done a hell of a job keeping him alive, thanks. I don’t see you standing against that Meteor Rain for long!

Man, what is up with this naming scheme? The hands are labeled Providence B and Ab, and the pyramid is labeled Providence Aa

O-oh? Providence can use its own Bravely Second while I’m in the menu? It... did barely any damage, but that’s startling

He’s pulling a *redacted character* Undertale and I will not stand for this! (I actually super love Undertale and I’m excited that Bravely’s pulling the same meta nonsense in battles that the final Genocide run fight of Undertale did)

I... You’re talking to me? Me, Liz, the person sitting here. I... look, I know these kids don’t actually know who I am, that all of the affection I have for them is one-sided. I know my poor decisions have gotten them hurt on occasion. Would you rather I have never played the game? What would that have gotten them? Sometimes you have to struggle for a resolution that benefits everyone, for a good resolution. I will never regret getting Tiz out of that Chasm. Or saving Yew from Denys. Because all of those kids standing there deserve a happy ending and I want to see them get it!

“Persist in this battle, and Yew and his friends will only feel more pain.” Said in a tutorial description box. Look, I want Yew Geneolgia to be happy, okay!? I’m gonna get him a good end! If I stop he ends up stuck in the Via Celestio for eternity! I’m getting him and Tiz and Edea and Magnolia home and you. Can’t. Stop me.

“Isn’t it enough? How much more must they suffer to satisfy you?” Ideally, none! I don’t want to see them hurt, but I want to see them fail to save their world and lose everyone they love even less. Tiz is gonna retire, Edea’s gonna be Grand Marshal, Magnolia’s home is gonna be safe, and Yew is gonna make a new family legacy that he can be proud of! That’s all I want out of this!

You think you can make me feel bad by treating me like I’m just here for the gameplay? Because battles are fun? Joke’s on you, I don’t really care about gameplay! I’m here because I love these kids and I want to spend more time with them! I want to see them grow and find their happy endings, and they give me hope that someday I can find one of my own. SO FUCK OFF

You aren’t my god, bitch

It... means you can cause screen and audio static? Hey, idiot, I do that to myself, accidentally

You don’t control me! You control my input device at best!

Stop that. Stop making my kids hurt each other. I’m not the one who wants them to suffer, that’s clearly you. I would never have the game play at normal speed. 4x or bust

Despair? Oh, this isn’t despair. I’m just fucking pissed. Sorry. I don’t really get sad when there’s a target to take my anger out on actively taunting me

Yeah, fine, just boot me to the start screeeeee-NO. Hey. NO. Take that cursor off of delete. I’ve accidentally deleted save files before don’t do that! Mmmmmm every button just makes it go closer to “Delete All” come onnnnnnn. I will replay this game over if I have to, Providence! I’ll be back in another two years you can’t stop me

I don’t want to press the button. I know I have to. I know the game devs couldn’t possibly be so cruel as to actually erase the files. Not to constantly bring this fight back to Undertale, but it didn’t get me when your save file got “deleted” at the end of a neutral run. It’s so much worse in this game when you have to press the button multiple times and inch it ever closer to delete, knowing full well that the only way to avoid it is to give up and turn the game off

...I hope the game, like, records how long it takes me to finally press that button. I’m just making entries here to stall at this point

Changed into pajamas, went to the bathroom, and messed around with the current timed quest in Hogwarts Mystery for a bit and they still want me to press the button, huh?

...fine. Supposedly there’s a shield that you can only get if you play through the whole game on Hard (EDIT: Nope! The wiki was wrong again) so I’d have to go another round, anyway. Do it, Providence. I dare you

JUST LET ME PRESS “NO” YOU WIGGLY FINGERED BITCH

Yew! Yew, buddy, I’m trying!

THANK YOU MY PRECIOUS BOY. I DID NOT EQUIP YOU WITH A SWORD BUT THAT WAS STILL BADASS AND I’M SO PROUD OF YOU

Ahhhhh! Orchestral version of his theme! I’m actually crying I love this boy

“There’s someone who’s been here, supporting me, all this time.” Yes, hi! Hi, kiddo. You’re great! You’re so wonderful. You probably didn’t see me wave at you when my face appeared in the Norende Ravine, but you’re awesome and I’ve never been prouder of someone

“I’m fighting for you, too!” And I want you to be happy! (I’ll be honest, having Yew talk directly to me is really powerful. I just wanna, like, poke the screen where his hand is and high-five him. Best boy)

YEW GENEOLGIA LOVES ME MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD DOES

Nope, I’m actually crying. Hahah. My favorite character thinks I’m cool. That’s a hell of a self-esteem boost

“It’s your will, and mine! We’re in this fight together!” Always, buddy. Whenever you need me

He used the letters SP from the title screen to activate the hourglass. That’s so smart I love the nerd kid

Yeah, Agnès, I love you guys! I’ll always come back to defend your world, even if just to see you again!

Janne. Janne, I really do not like you. Please shut up. Your encouragement is just making fun of me for helping Yew? Wow. Okay. I see you’ve learned nothing

At least Nikolai is grateful for me giving even the empire’s people a second chance

You know what, Minette? I’m glad you’re happy. I hope you get therapy! But a new dad is okay for now

Bella is... smiling? AND HELL YEAH, MAN. I’ll keep fighting for you, Cú! Some conceited eyeball ain’t gonna stop me!

Norzen you-you had glasses this whole time? Wow, I could not tell from a distance! Sure, cloud grandpa. Stars. Yes

Aimee did you and Angelo... really do anything? A’ight, sure, I’ll save your romantic future

Yeah, I can make it as if Providence never existed, Geist. “‘Cause this is our world, right? And you were a part of it, too!” Yeah, I was, Rev. Thanks, kid

So the screen shattered and... DENYS! Hey! Hey someone grab his ass right now! Someone save Denys please he’s right THERE!

“Promise me... that you will watch over my brother. Farewell, my friend... and thank you!” You deserved so much better, Denys. Sorry it doesn’t seem like saving you is in the cards right now. The second I can, I will. Then we can look after Yew together!

My emotions hold power... OH I’M PRETTY SURE BOTH MY RIGHTEOUS ANGER AND LOVE OF YEW TRANSCEND TIME AND SPACE. That’s MY BOY!!!

...oh shit he’s out of MP uhhhhhhhhhhhh

Thank god I never use items and had Elixirs

Get. WRECKED. Singlehandedly. By Yew Geneolgia triple-casting Meteor Rain after Tiz and Edea took out the hands

Also, I didn’t mention, but the music for this fight does exactly what I adored in “Serpent Eating the Ground” last game: most of it is clearly the boss’s dramatic song (already really great, as mentioned in Providence Round 1), but then partway through it cuts to remixes of each party member’s Special Attack song, melded together into one flowing number that completely overrides the Boss’s sound, in a musical indicator of our triumph. There’s some of the main theme of the game, in a sense, I guess you could say representing the player. And I think I heard a bit of Denys’s boss theme in that section. Fitting. He did send me back to the party, after all. And this section only starts up once Yew cuts through Providence’s manipulation, furthering the sense of triumph as the party actively overrides Providence

Well, that’s that, huh? Everyone’s back on Luxendarc, the path to the Celestial Realm is closed, and Altair and Vega have finally moved on together. Seems... there’s not much more I can do for you guys, huh?

...where’s Tiz?

Nonononononnooooo I knew he wasn’t gonna be okay without Altair. No, come on. Tiz, you can’t do this to me again! He just wants to retire

I... should we hang up on Agnès? I don’t know if I want her to watch this. Can’t we just shove me into Tiz again? I can keep the game running until my 3DS’s inevitable complete destruction

Y-y- ...I see. Vaguely British female voice? It was you all along, my Adventurer friend. Or should I say, miss Narrator? By what strange trick of fate do our paths cross anew?

No, Magnolia! She clearly knows... something. And I can tell she’s more than what she seems. How else... could she have made it into the Via Celestio on her own?

I can’t watch Tiz go comatose again. If you’ve got a way to save him, do it already

“But what is a soul? But the embodiment of our wishes, dreams, and desires.” Ummm... the metaphysical culmination of a person’s being? I’ve never quantified a soul before

Fill Tiz’s body... with the dreams needed to bind his soul. And uh, Yew? Yew. Is dumping the hourglass sand on him the best idea?

Oh. That’s how you ended up in those dungeons. You can just open warp gates. I see.

And she handed the hourglass to Tiz in the past... on his way to the Norende Chasm, where we first got the ability to use it in Default. And she was wearing green. I can’t for the life of me remember if she ever wore green in Default, but it wouldn’t surprise me given the amount of sequel nods there were in the international release. What, do you just change into green when you go to the past so your past self knows what’s up?

So ideally, we now have an hourglass with two games, or two and a half years’ worth of dreams in it

Did you create a time loop where the hourglass didn’t exist until Tiz had it and won’t exist after, or did we have two hourglasses and never notice?

Where would that even be hidden on Tiz’s body!? He was in a medical jumpsuit! ...oh, ew. I really hope it was in his pants legs and not... elsewhere

Oh, good, Agnès has it. Whew. Crisis averted

And the Adventurer finally introduces herself. A long, silver-haired woman named Deneb. One of Altair and Vega’s old friends. And, most importantly, probably another Celestial. Possibly the last one alive on Luxendarc

*Great Distance starts up for one last go* Run Agnès! Run with all you’ve got!

Credits are rolling. Let’s see those happy endings we all worked so hard to get

Nikolai is back in the priesthood, preaching to the New Crystalguard, of which Janne seems to be a member. I’m happy for Nikolai, still mad Janne never got over himself, but we can’t win ‘em all. Best of luck, gents! Call me in a few years when Janne has finally grown up

Bella and Cú are just walking around in... Eisen? Ah, well. They’ve got each other. Hope they find a home that accepts horsemen. And I owe you a two a special thanks! The Spellcraft and Triple Wield abilities carried this team, and the Yew Meteor Rain strategy couldn’t have happened without it!

Norzen is back to teaching, and Rifa and Pudgius are glad to have him there

Minette’s happily sailing with her new dad and his cat in his little rowboat. Remember what I said! Therapy!

Aimee and Angelo... did not set up shop in Gathelatio. Or they just haven’t moved locations yet. Pancake business is booming either way (You guys should seriously move, though. If more adventurers find out that Obliterating Chompettes is some of the best experience in the game, they’ll just loiter outside your shop all day and scare away customers! Customers that I’m surprised you even have at the deepest spot in a high level dungeon. ...maybe that’s the actual problem with your current location)

Geist and Rev are... standing around posing in the old seaside shack that was sold to Profiteur? He’d better not have gone back on his deal after I defended him like that!

Aw, Lotus is teaching Sakura to fly the Rubadub. I’m glad those two were with us through this journey

And Great Distance fades out as Agnès arrives, no more distance between her and Tiz any longer

“Good morning... Agnès.” Don’t ever scare us like that again, buddy. Happy retirement

*Great Distance back for Round 2* And now we’ve got the party epilogues!

The new Grand Marshal of Eternia contemplates what to do next, her second-in-command Alternis at her side. When faced with a conflict between two factions, Edea decides she has to go herself, because if anyone can make them see eye-to-eye, it would be her. And I believe her. Alternis declares that he would go to the ends of the world for her, in a way that makes you question whether it was Ringabel or not. Given the way Edea looked forlornly down at her feet, I’ll say “not,” making this a bittersweet end for her

With the peace talks over, Agnès has resigned as Pope, leaving everything to the Matriarch and new Vestal, Sylvie. No longer a Vestal, she has no reason to cling to the surname of those wed to the Crystals, Oblige. No, she’d rather be Agnès Arrior. And now she and Tiz are engaged and planning to move to Norende as farmers. I’m happy for you kids! Enjoy retirement with your sheep. You’ve both earned it

Music fades out again as we cut to Magnolia in the Buster Ship, musing about how wonderful Luxendarc was. Yew races to where he first met her... but her ship is already blasting off back to the Moon. And a ballad starts up as Magnolia walks up to him after he laments that he never confessed. That confession is as awkward as I hoped it would be. And then Magnolia winks at the camera (hi!) and muses about how love really can transcend time and space. Turns out, people on the Moon only tell their true names to the person they wish to marry... and she just whispered something into a very red-faced Yew’s ear. Cute! Just remember he’s 16. Give him a few years to get his bearings, Magnolia. I have no idea how old you are, but maybe take it a little slower. Best of luck, you dorks

One final shot. The Geneolgia mansion foyer, but this time Foundar’s portrait is gone. Now it’s a portrait of Yew, Tiz, Edea, Magnolia, and Agnès eating dinner together... with Denys standing behind them. This is the real Geneolgia family. The one that deserves to be celebrated.

And there goes my name in the credits. Thank you, Bravely Second team. It was a hell of a time and a hell of an undertaking. Almost two years since I started this liveblog, and it evolved rapidly from just a few reactionary bullet points to a full on analysis/reaction. And I’m really glad I did it. I’ve gotten to talk to some cool people thanks to this, and I hope they enjoyed the ride as much as I did!

I really wish I could stick around, kids, but I guess that’s just not how games work. Just let me know if you ever need me again, and I’ll be there. And this time maybe it won’t take me two and a half years to get to it. I’ll do my best!

One final scene, post-credits. Ringabel narrates that they found “the third key,” The Sword of the Brave, to a Vice President over a hyperrealistic shot of the moon

And now we have the final, true New Game+. I love the sparkly little border on the cleared file. But, hey, this isn’t the end yet! The Bestiary isn’t complete! We’re still missing items! And it’s all thanks to the three postgame dungeons! ...but I won’t bore you with that unless there’s demand for it

That being said, there’s still going to be one more update! I plan to do one final retrospective on this game as a whole. What it did wrong, what it did right, and my overall thoughts on the experience. I understand if that’s not everyone’s cup of tea, though, so for those who won’t be joining me, I hope you had a good time reading and thank you for spending the time to look at my ramblings on games I like. For those joining me for the retrospective, thanks for reading! Until next time!

#bravely default #bravely second #liz liveblogs bravely second

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scribblescrabblebabble · 6 years ago

Text

RoyEd Week Day 1

Title: All in One

Rating: T+

Realtionships: Roy Mustang/ Edward Elric; Alphonse Elric/ WInry Rockbell

Chapter: 1 (Fighting/ Making Up)- [Ed meets Roy's estranged mother and sisters]

Cross- Posted on AO3 and Fanfic.net links- AO3 FF.net

The only things Ed knew for certain about Roy’s family were thus:

1. He had two living parents, as well as two sisters: Elizabeth and Margery. His father ranked Lieutenant General, a lofty few ranks higher than Roy (a Brigadier General), and Margery, the eldest sister, worked as a history teacher back in their hometown.

2. A rather unnecessarily loud and violent fight between Roy and his father had resulted in the then teenager’s enlisting as a State Alchemist and quitting communication with his parents and siblings.

Ed had figured this much out about his fiancée about a year previously when the Flame Alchemist had drunkenly (due to a long bar night after a particularly arduous day at HQ) given Ed a long rant concerning the military higher-ups. While not the first of these kinds of intoxicated spiels, Roy rarely made it past the Major Generals before passing out, and, like other such rants, he barely remembered telling Ed these frustrations come morning time.

With this said, it took Ed a good minute to register who the three women standing at his doorstep were.

An older woman, black hair streaked with copious wisps of gray, tugged at her thick lace gloves that matched the off-white of her lace cardigan. Her sharp black eyes looked at Ed with mild interest. Behind her, another black-haired lady who appeared roughly Ed’s age held two leather bags, and a woman with lighter brown hair cut stylishly in a slick bob held one as well. Both young women had softer, gray-blue eyes.

The pristine folds and drapes of the ladies’ dresses made Ed feel a bit frumpy in his own catastrophe of a bun, baggy t-shirt, and sweatpants that he hadn’t changed out of since falling asleep the night previous.

“Can I help you?” Ed asked, at a loss of what these people would want from him, especially before noon.

The old woman spoke, her voice as sharp as her gaze, “Does Brigadier General Mustang live here?”

Ed quirked an eyebrow, “Who wants to know?”

The woman’s gaze narrowed, not amused, “His mother.”

The blonde’s eyes widened slightly in realization, noticing now how much the old woman resembled his partner, “Yeah he lives here, but you missed him. He just left for work an hour ago. Come in, I’ll call and tell him you’re here.” Ed gestured inside, and the women filed in, “Hold on.”

With all three inside, Ed closed the door and strode into the bright kitchen. He spotted the remains of his breakfast sitting on the stove and made a mental note to clean up a bit after his call.

Quickly dialing Roy’s office number, Riza answered after three rings, “General Mustang’s office”.

“Riza, hi, it’s Ed. I need to talk to Roy, like, now.”

“O-okay, he’s not doing anything right now. Is everything alright?” came her concerned reply.

“I hope.” Ed said before muffled voices rumbled from the line, and a transferal ‘click’ switched the phone to the one atop Roy’s desk.

“Ed, what happened?” Roy’s voice was equally as concerned as his Lieutenant’s.

“Your mom and, I’m guessing, your sisters are here.”

The phone was so quiet that Ed worried for a minute that Roy had hung up on him, “Roy?”

A long sigh came as a reply, followed by an utterly defeated, “I’ll get home as soon as I can. If they ask anything just tell them the truth. Just as a warning, they don’t know I date men.”

The phone clicked off before Ed could respond. He mumbled, “Thanks for the heads up,” before placing the phone back in its place and returning to the three ladies, who were still standing in the entryway. “He should be back as soon as possible, so make yourselves at home. Just put your bags anywhere. I’m Ed, by the way.”

Roy’s mother followed Ed back into the kitchen while the two younger ladies rid themselves of their purses. “May I?” she asked with a gesture to one of the oranges piled into the wooden fruit bowl on the counter.

Ed shrugged, “Help yourself”.

She thanked him, grabbing a large orange and peeling it tenderly (she was still wearing her lace gloves) as she introduced herself, “My name is Mary, but please call me Mrs. Mustang. My two daughters are Elizabeth and Margery.” Mary motioned to the two women who had just sat at Ed’s and Roy’s small kitchen table. Based on Mary’s gestures, the woman with the bobbed hair and loose-cut, baby blue dress was Margery, and the lady currently braiding her long black hair over her gingham shoulder was Elizabeth. Ed noted a rough scar that stretched from Elizabeth’s left cheek back near her ear as she brushed her hair back.

“Nice to meet y’all. Roy doesn’t talk much about his life pre-military, so I’ve been curious.” Ed leaned casually against the counter opposite the table, and Mary moved to sit with her daughters.

Margery made a vague gesture with her hand about the table, “Well, here we are.”

Elizabeth giggled a bit, hands wringing viciously within themselves on the pink fabric of her lap, “So you and Roy are… roommates?”

Ed looked to the side with a grin, “Yeah, something like that. What’s brought on this visit, anyways? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Mary sighed, “Not at all. Elizabeth, would you care to elaborate?”

The youngest sister flushed, her flounced skirt a twisted mess in her hands at this point, “Oh-uh, well, I’m getting married this fall, and I wanted to personally invite Roy, because he deserves to at least know about it. I had to find him, though so… I-uh, kind of used Father’s military badge to sift through communication records. I saw his numbers, but I also saw that there were a lot of calls to an automail clinic in Resembool…” Elizabeth’s words faded to mumbles, her face as red as a beet.

Margery picked up for her, “Lizzie assumed the worst, and we were on the train to Central the next morning. Judging by your arm, though, I assume you’re the one who made all of those calls?”

“…Oh.” Ed was at a momentary loss for words. “… Yeah, my brother’s girlfriend is my mechanic- we grew up in Resembool.” That’s what all of this was about? The Mustang women all looked at Ed, dumbfounded when he broke down into a fit of giggles. It just seemed- in that very moment- like one of those moments in the radio-show dramas Ed had caught Roy listening to when he thought Ed wasn’t home. Of fucking course, Roy would have some uppity family that just needed to come see their dear estranged brother over a tragic misunderstanding. It was just so…HIM. “Fuck, this is priceless.”

Elizabeth, still a lovely shade of red, dragged her hands down her face warily with a groan, “I feel so stupid now, how am I supposed to explain this to Roy?”

Ed grinned through his giggles, “Just tell him what you told me, he’ll understand your stress. I’m guessing you don’t know, but Roy’s also planning a wedding.”

Elizabeth and Mary both yelled a collective, “What?!”, whilst Margery boredly inspected a chip in her pearlescent fingernail polish.

“Mother, Lizzie, you aren’t blind are you?” She asked with a hint of incredulousness in her bored tone, not taking her eyes from her spindly fingers (the narrowness of which she shared with her brother). She made the vaguest of gestures with her head in the direction of Ed, he guessed at the engagement band plainly visible on his non-metal hand.

“Margery, get rid of that tone this instant!” Mary snapped. Her lacy hand was rapidly tapping on the edge of the table so hard that the noise was plainly audible.

“Why should I?” Margery snapped right back, standing with a suddenness that sent her chair loudly back a foot. She turned from the group, muttering her desire for a smoke as she passed Ed to the hallway. After a short rummage, the front door clicked open. However, when Ed expected to hear it shut, all he heard was silence.

Elizabeth seemed to pick up on the inconsistency as well, as she followed Ed to the foyer to inspect. Margery was still standing by the cluster of purses, a cigarette pack clutched in her hand with a matchbox, a mix of a glare and surprise across her face. Her attention was focused towards the open door, where Roy currently stood, fingers still grazing the door handle. His attention was equally focused on his sibling as hers was on him.

Just as Margery turned her nose with a huff and pushed her way past a still dazed Roy, cigarettes in hand, Elizabeth squealed and nearly jumped on her brother. Her skirt fanned out around the two, as the force of her hug sent she and Roy in a small spin.

“Roy, it’s been so long- you can’t imagine how much I’ve missed- What happened to your eye?! You’re old! And what’s this about you being engaged and not calling me? You know-“ Elizabeth quieted abruptly when, with an arm around the young lady’s shoulders and another atop her head, Roy began to laugh. “What’re you laughing about?”

Roy let go of his sister, giving her cheek a joking poke and still laughing, “No clue.” He responded dismissively, “You haven’t changed, Lizzy.”

Elizabeth scoffed, “You haven’t seen me since I was nine!”

Roy held up his hands in surrender, “That’s not to say I’ve changed at all since I was eighteen.”

“Of course you have! We both have!” The youngest Mustang sibling smacked her bother softly on the arm.

Roy moved further into the house, taking off his coat and still smiling at Elizabeth, “If you say so.”

She giggled, and Roy finally looked from his sister to Ed. The blonde noticed in his periphery that Mary had not congregated to the entrance of the foyer like the rest.

“Why don’t we move this into the living room? Bugs will get in if the door stays open.” Ed commented. Elizabeth agreed, already heading back to the kitchen and through the next door, as instructed. Roy soon followed, but not without a quick kiss to Ed’s amused smile first. Ed slid his hand into Roy’s, meaning to just give his hand a reassuring squeeze. Roy, however, grabbed fully onto Ed’s hand, keeping his skin in contact with Ed as the couple made their way to their living room as well.

He noticed a lack of Roy’s mother but soon found her standing by the couch with Elizabeth. Through the window, the blue of Margery’s dress moved amongst the many flowers that decorated the backyard.

Ed slipped his hand from Roy’s before the two ladies looked over. Mary stepped forward, face seemingly blank of emotion. Even though she was considerably shorter than her son, she was still able to clip him upside the head with her right hand, demonstrating considerable force. “Roy Mustang, I cannot believe you!” She angrily scolded over his yelp of surprised pain.

“What?” He exasperatedly asked.

“Don’t ‘what’ me, mister! I haven’t spent twenty years worrying about you- only knowing you were alive through newspaper articles to be sassed at!”

“Well, I was clearly told the next time I stepped foot in the manor that I’d be shot, so what exactly was I supposed to do?” Roy retorted back.

Mary looked taken aback, “And when were you ever one to listen to your father’s blind threats?”

“I’d never been threatened with my life before, Mom.” Roy crossed his arms.

Mary seemed not to acknowledge her son’s comment, moving on to her next point of contention, “And what’s this about you getting engaged? That never appeared in the papers! Not to mention that you have some roommate when you’re about to be married- it’s totally careless!”

Roy bristled, “That ‘some roommate’s’ name is Ed, and it’s him that I’m engaged to, thank you!”

Ed blushed, looking to the side a bit when Mary and Elizabeth turned their surprised eyes directly upon him. “U-um, newspaper companies aren’t incredibly supportive of guys tying the knot with each other, so we decided not to inform the media. It would have been a threat to our careers as State Alchemists.” Ed explained, finding the wallpaper beside him incredibly fascinating to look at at that moment.

“I-“ Mary looked back at Roy, anger seemingly burnt out into exasperation. “I didn’t know you… you…”

Roy sighed, his temper gone as well, “There was no way you could have known I’m gay, Mom. I didn’t even know until I left for the military. Its one of the reasons I never came back.”

“Roy, you know I could never be mad at you for that.” Mary stepped close to her son, resting the hand that had previously hit him reassuringly on his arm. “I know. It’s not you I was worried about.” Roy replied.

Ed eyed Elizabeth, finding her watching the scene unashamedly, much like Ed had been doing as well. She looked over at him, noticing his confusion regarding Roy’s dismissive comment, and mouthed ‘father’. Ed nodded his understanding, moving to take a seat with Elizabeth on the couch.

There was a short silence during which Margery stalked into the room from the garden, silently leaning against the kitchen doorframe. The silence was interrupted by Mary’s blunt, “Tell me what happened to your eye.”

Roy smiled ruefully, sitting on the arm of the sofa nearest Ed, “I was shot in the face. Karma’s a bitch, isn’t it?” Elizabeth itched her cheek, looking at her brother with sad eyes. Ed could tell there was a piece of the narrative he wasn’t informed of.

Mary looked horrified, “Was it during that horrid affair with Fürher Bradley? It was all the papers could talk about for weeks! The assassination, and that young Elric boy going missing.”

“Exactly then!” Roy answered, smirking at Ed, “But the ‘young Elric boy’ was found, so I guess it wasn’t all that horrid.”

“’Young Elric boy’ my ass,” Ed mumbled, crossing his arms and lightly head-butting Roy in the arm. His fiancée laughed, whilst Mary gasped.

“Oh my, you’re Ed Elric? I didn’t recognize you from the papers!”

Ed waved her surprise off dismissively, “I was fifteen, I wouldn’t recognize a picture of me then if I didn’t know myself.”

“Hold on.” Roy interjected, concerned. “Not to sound unwelcoming, but why are you all here in the first place? Did something happen at home?”

Everybody in the room turned to Elizabeth, whose face flushed scarlet again, “Well…” She explained what she had told Edward, this time without Margery’s aid. By the end of her story, Margery had migrated to her sister’s end of the couch, yet to cast a sidelong glance at Roy.

“… And, well, now we know that the automail isn’t yours, so the whole trip could have been much less sudden if I hadn’t been so nosy. You’re invited to the wedding, anyway.” Elizabeth finished. “You know my fiancée, too. It’s Patrick Crowley- the boy I was best friends with as a little girl.”

“I remember Patrick, he was there the last night I stayed over.” Roy’s eyes darted to the side of Elizabeth’s face quickly. The young lady covered her scar with her hand as he looked.

“Yes, he was! He came to return some socks that I’d left at his mom’s house the day before. We’d gone swimming in his little stream.” Elizabeth recalled, “I was going to stay the night, but I left early because you’d returned from the front.”

“You shouldn’t have come back.” Margery said. Mary shrieked her disapproval, whilst Elizabeth looked stunned.

“He was eighteen and traumatized!” Elizabeth said softly.

Margery’s eyes gleamed with aggression, “You were nine and just wanted to wake your brother up! Whose fault is it?”

Ed had been confused before, but when Elizabeth defensively pulled her hair over the scar on her face, he began to understand.

“It’s been two decades, get over it!” Elizabeth shouted.

“Two decades and the least Roy could do was apologize!” The elder sister shouted back. Mary looked like she wanted to cry.

“How exactly do I apologize when my own father won’t let me into the house without a firearm trained at my head?” Roy was shouting too. He looked at Elizabeth, “Lizzy, it was an accident. I love you and the event has been keeping me up at night for more than half of my life. I’m sorry.”

Margery rolled her eyes, “Well isn’t that just the most sincere apology I’ve ever heard.”

“You put me on the spot!”

Mary, seemingly unable to stand the anger in the room, grabbed Ed by the arm and pulled him off of the couch, “You three- sort this out without killing each other. I can’t stand to see you fight after so long apart! Edward, you’re coming with me.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Ed yelped as he was dragged, rather violently, from the room. “Mrs. Mustang, why don’t we go to the garden?”

Mary stopped her stomping through the kitchen, looking back at Ed, “Yes, please. I’d like you to tell me about yourself since you plan on marrying my son.” “Yeah, sure.” Ed replied rather inarticulately.

He led Mary out the front door and around the side of the house, into the large backyard. The garden lay at the back end of the yard, and during the current spring season was flourishing with flowers he and Winry had planted during her last visit. A small bench sat under an old tree, directly in the noontime shade. They sat there.

Mary took a deep breath, sighing it out as if she hadn’t exhaled all day, “What a mess. Your garden is beautiful.”

Ed rubbed his neck, mentally counting up the weeds that needed to be uprooted amongst the daffodils, “We keep it up when we can. Roy’s mentioned that you’re big on gardening.”

Mary smiled, most likely picturing her own flower patch, “I am. Does your mother garden?”

Ed laughed, “Mom couldn’t keep a plant alive for the life of her. She liked knitting kinda stuff.”

Mary seemed to pick up on the past tense, and changed the subject, “So Resembool- that’s a far step from Central. What made you move?”

“Oh, I’m a State Alchemist, but it’s more research-type work than what Roy does.” Ed tried to ignore the ‘thump’ that sounded a ton like a book hitting a wall from inside the house, instead plowing forward, “Yeah, living in Resembool was nice as a kid, but it’s too still for me now. Not enough action.”

Mary nodded, and a short silence fell over the two. Ed broke it tentatively, “Did… Roy hurt his sister?”

Roy’s mother took a deep breath, letting it out through her nose, “It was an accident like Roy said back in the living room. He had left the battlefront only days before returning home, and as you can guess he was pretty shaken up. His father didn’t want him coming back, as their fight was still ongoing, but one look at Roy changed his mind. He was haunted and needed a familiar place. “He was overjoyed to be back. I’d never seen him so eager to hug his sisters- Elizabeth especially. You know, he and Lizzy were always very close, despite being the furthest part age-wise. She was quite a tomboy, and Roy was always willing to help her dig up worms and such. “Roy fell asleep sometime in the late afternoon, and I had told Margery and Elizabeth to let him rest, but I guess Elizabeth wanted to play with him. I… I should have known, with a General as a husband, that young veterans tend to keep firearms near them while they sleep.” Mary paused, looking at her gloved hands as she finished her story, “He ran the second Elizabeth was carted into the ambulance. All I found was a note of apology on his pillow the next day.”

“You didn’t look for him?” Ed asked. Mary’s story had proven Ed’s previous theory, but he was still slightly dumbfounded.

“How? George, my husband, wanted nothing to do with him after that, and I didn’t know anybody who would know where he’d go. Later, of course, he began appearing in the papers as some kind of conniving rank climber.” Mary’s tone had turned more annoyed than its previous sad.

Ed nodded, “He really made a name for himself back then. Too bad now all they call him is ‘the one who killed Bradley’. A fucking waste of effort.”

Mary looked at Ed curiously, “You were a State Alchemist back then too.”

Ed shrugged, “Yeah, I was. That’s how I met Roy- he was my Commanding Officer when I was a teenager.”

“You were a teenager when you disappeared, and my son was almost thirty, isn’t that right?” Mary stated, more than asked.

“Yeah,” he said quickly. While their age difference didn’t particularly matter to Ed, Roy had been disturbed about that aspect of their relationship in the beginning. That issue had required various very carefully worded (as well as very blunt, Ed-style) conversations.

“Edward, you haven’t given me any reason to doubt you, but you have to see how that looks to a mother.”

“I-yeah, I know how it looks. My little brother had a really long and unnecessary…talk… with us when I told him.” Ed replied, remembering how Al had put on his most parently expression, and Roy had left the room an hour later mildly terrified.

“Your little brother gave you the ‘marrying someone older’ talk?” Mary asked in disbelief, “it would make more sense for you to give him the dating talk.” “That’s what I told him!” Ed exclaimed.

Mary laughed. It was a quiet, fluttery sort of laugh, but it sounded nice after the tension Ed had felt since the arrival of Roy’s female family members.

A thought flashed into Ed’s head, “Why didn’t the Lieutenant General come with you guys, by the way?”

Mary waved her hand absently, “You answered your own question. He’s not in a position to leave work at the drop of a hat.”

At that moment, the back door slammed open and Elizabeth popped her head out, “Come in, we’ve reached a truce!”

“After how much property damage?” Mary mumbled. Ed snorted, not expecting such a dry comment from the dainty woman. They stood and moved back into the house. Ed was a bit wary to see the state of his living room but was surprised to find it generally in order, save for a few books lying haphazardly open against walls. Roy and Margery were sitting beside each other not entirely comfortably, well-wiped eyes and resigned looks on both siblings’ faces.

“Oh good, you didn’t kill each other.” Ed commented, picking up a few of the books, folding their pages back to normalcy, and returning them to their respective tables.

“Just each other’s pride.” Elizabeth added. Margery grumbled what might have been a half-assed retort had she spoke loud enough to be heard.

Roy stood decisively, making his way towards the phone and addressing his mother, “Stay for lunch, we can catch up a bit.”

Mary smiled, “That’s a lovely idea. Can you cook?”

“He can’t for shit- I’ll do it.” Ed volunteered.

“If you wouldn’t mind, Ed, I’d like to help.” Margery offered. Ed suspected that she probably just wanted to have time away from her brother to reflect on the new progressions in their broken relationship. He was also, in a way, separating from the two more vibrant women in order to mentally prep for the inevitable onslaught of questions and talks in his near future, not to mention questions about the wedding, and if they could make it to either considering both were taking place so soon to each other.

“Sure, knock yourself out.” He replied. As the eldest sister migrated to the kitchen, and the two other ladies moved to the small dining room beside it, Roy pulled Ed aside slightly.

His fiancée sighed, leaning against Ed a bit, “I’m sorry you’ve been kind of in the middle of all of this.”

Ed shook his head, “Don’t be- it’s not your fault. We’ll talk about everything tonight, ‘kay?” He patted Roy on the cheek after seeing the small smile and affirmative ‘okay’, and went to join Margery in the kitchen.

While Ed would never have guessed an hour ago that he’d be cooking lunch for his future in-laws at that moment, he was content for the time to get to know these women and learn more about Roy that way. They would, indeed, have to have a talk about not being secretive probably. After all, it was occupational necessity that Roy know all of Ed’s childhood- it’s hardly fair that Ed not receive some payback (even if during his teen years, both Ed and Roy could not have guessed they’d end up engaged).

Ed smiled a bit as he heard Roy’s laughter from the dining room, following Elizabeth’s chirpy voice. It was a big step- reconciliation. But it was one Ed was willing to stand by Roy through.

Because that’s what love is, really.

~END~

#royed #Roy Mustang #edward elric #cross-posted #meeting the family #fanfic #AO3 #fanfiction #angst #alwin #royed week #royedweek #royedweek2018 #day 1

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authorellenmint · 7 years ago

Photo

It always bugged me that the Fade was so impersonal for the Inquisitor, nor that there’s a moment for Cullen who watched you fall had a chance to comment on it.

So I wrote a short story about the Inquisitor right after she emerges from the Fade.

Moment of Fear

Winds whipped debris around the cracked base where a demon nearly broke through to destroy the world. Thunder rumbled the night sky as people, my people, swarmed amongst the now surrendered Grey Warden forces. Most were already quarantined and contained as far from ours as they could get. Forgiveness could only stretch so far and tension still bit in the air.

The others, the ones who walked with me where no one dared tread, moved on. Cole still bore the worst of it, a shake in his paper hands as he whispered to himself, but it was Bull of all people who kept him distracted. It was also the first time I ever found Vivienne speechless, her face mottled with mud from the fade and terror haunting her eyes. She stood beside me for a time, silent as the grave, marking where we jumped free of the demons and I zipped it shut. But now I stood alone. My eyes stung from focusing intently on the empty air, watching to make certain it worked, and wishing it had all been just a nightmare.

"Inquisitor," a hand dropped onto my shoulder and I turned away from my vigil. A boy stood behind me, his flaxen hair matted with demon blood. He looked so young, specks of fuzz pocked above his lip unable to meet in the middle. I tipped my head, waiting for a response, but his eyes travailed the massive pride demon corpse still strewn in pieces across the ground.

"Have you ever seen one before?" I asked the boy. His massive brown eyes widened at my speaking to him. Slowly, he twisted his head in the negative.

"Pray you never do again," I said, patting him on the shoulder. "Now, you needed something from me?"

"Yes, the commander is looking for you. He said it was important stuff."

I bowed my head and twisted back to the still silent veil. Blessed creators, I wish my brother were here. Even if all of his talk about feeling the veil's power was just him showing off in front of the female hunters it'd still make me feel better. A twinge shuddered off my palm and I released my fingers to find the anchor flaring awake. Closing my fist, I turned to the boy, "Right, where is he?"

Cullen was not that difficult to find. In the time we were trapped in the fade, the commander got most of the wounded marked and tended to. The Wardens not gravely injured and bundled off the battlefield huddled against the wall, blankness in their eyes. Whether it was from losing that calling or from watching their leader nearly sacrifice everyone to a demon was hard to say.

Remnants of our siege weapons lay mixed atop the Wardens, as if everyone dropped what they carried and ran. I spotted the commander walking between two of his lieutenants. One was a tight lipped Tal Vashoth who Cullen had to stand on his tiptoes to meet the eye of. But she followed orders to the letter, to the point she seemed more qunari than our ben hassrath qunari. "What's the word?" He paced to peer over the wall, then back to crouch over a soldier laying upon the ground with a sack wadded over her eye.

"Negative, Ser," Vitan said. She held her hands behind her back, as still as a sullen statue.

"Nothing?" Cullen exasperated, throwing an exhausted hand up. "What about..."

"We have to wait for reinforcements," she interrupted. But Cullen was used to it, and sneered at the promised backup and not his lieutenant.

"Commander," I called, stepping closer. "You asked for me?"

He nodded his head at Vitan, dismissing her. She saluted and turned, commanding two soldiers to assist with her orders. But I swore I caught a micro-smirk from her aimed my way as Cullen fell beside me.

"What's the situation?" I began.

"Adamant is ours, for now. I'm not sure for how long," Cullen said.

"Are Wardens trying to regroup?" I asked, the jolt of battle waking me up.

"No, but this place is falling apart. Our sappers did a number on the east wall. We should pay them well. And our people poked around in the lower sections and discovered a secret entrance. Which would have been useful to know before we began this siege."

He reached a hand out and directed me down a staircase. A massive boulder shattered the wall and collapsed half the stairs. I slid my fingers around it as I followed his suggestion downward. "What are the casualties?" I asked behind myself.

Waiting until we got safely to the bottom, he answered, "Could be worse."

"How bad?"

"A few dead, more injured. We've got wardens to deal with as well." He wiped a hand across his face, "There won't be any definite numbers until morning. Make it through the night..."

"And you stand a fighting chance," I finished. After Haven we all knew that one well.

Cullen's grim face twisted to the side. "There's also the food issue."

"Food issue?" I twisted down the final staircase and walked into the courtyard where this all began. A fire still burned in the sand begun before we ever breached the wall. Occasionally, a soldier would throw more sand upon it, but the flames didn't dampen. Cullen glanced to it and sighed at another problem to solve.

He gestured to the door where the battering ram once stood. "Seems the wardens didn't expect to need much what with a demon army presence and something about the calling taint I don't know. So we're short all around. I'm hoping we can get enough of our forces on their feet and back to Skyhold before it's an issue."

I nodded, out of ideas. I'd never marched an army before, never weighed the tables on what was needed to keep bellies of soldiers full. Never tested how far a soldier could march on a broken leg to keep three others from starving. And they put it all on me, the knife-ear that stumbled into this on accident. Twisting out of the battering ram hole, I stepped out of Adamant fortress to find a city of tents sprung up from the wasteland sands. Fires blazed in between the landmarks, each a different color to mark what service they provided in the camp. Blue swarmed with people rushing to heal the wounded and the wounded staggering for healing. Another tongue of thunder rolled above our heads. We both looked up at the black sky, thick with clouds.

"That would just add to this mess," Cullen muttered. He turned away from another problem to catch my eye and bowed his head, "There's a tent set up this way. We can discuss things there away from panicking eyes."

I tipped my head and trailed behind. Soldiers dashed about the sands raising tents and securing our temporary city built upon the sand. One shoved me aside so he could catch a falling pole when he turned and blanched. I smiled and said, "It's all right. We have to pull our weight tonight. You're doing a good job."

"Thh...thank you?" he stuttered before yanking up his hammer and running away.

Cullen paused before a tent the same size as the others, but someone took the time to stick a massive banner with the Inquisition eye outside it. Red flames burned from the brazier beside the entrance, hissing and popping with the herbs tossed inside. He gestured towards it and picked up the flap of the door. I nodded my head, and dipped below his hand. A table was prepared, a small map of the area already scuffed up with dagger marks. Beside it flickered a lone oil lamp. We had access to magic fire, but after the night and the tear in the veil, no one wanted to use it.

I turned around and looked up at the commander as he lowered the tent flap to join me. "Wood is a priority." I began, "Too many demon bodies can attract --"

He wrapped his arms around my body pulling me tight to his chest. At first I froze, surprise slacking my muscles, but slowly I reached around him. We stood entangled for a minute, breathing each other in and not saying a word.

"Maker," Cullen whispered. He buried his face into the top of my head, his breath parting the hair, "I thought, when the dragon and you fell...into the fade." His arms tightened around me and I squeezed back in return, clinging to something real. But it was all real in the fade, too. That was the problem. For the second time I walked there and came out alive. His grip slackened and he looked down into my eyes, "Are you okay?"

I nodded, and with a flat voice said, "I'm fine."

Cullen ran the back of his hand along my cheek. "I'm not asking the Inquisitor, I'm asking you."

A sob broke. Tears burrowed deep in my heart burst free. He wiped at them with his thumb. "It was horrific. The fade and a demon who I...I can't --"

Wrapping me back into a hug his breath shuddered, "It's all right, you don't have to tell me."

The nightmare's voice cracks above the others. In the distance, the Divine's spirit or demon floats, her eyes watching me as the fear taunts me. "We all know what happens to little knife-ears who grow uppity and forget their place. Snip snip snip. They make for quite a pretty necklace, don't they? When you fail, Corypheus' army will take the ears off every member of your clan, your people, then chain them all back to slavery. The last of the free people will no longer be."

"It's all a mistake," I whispered, digging deeper into him. "I'm not Andraste's chosen. I'm an accident." I snorted at the absurdity. Everyone wanted me to be divine, maker sent, needed it to be a miracle and it was just a case of ill conceived timing. If I'd been lost down the wrong corridor or opened a different door...

Cullen ran his hand through my hair, "I don't believe that."

I leaned away from him and spoke plainly, "It wasn't Andraste who sent me through the fade, it was the Divine."

"That doesn't mean anything."

Shaking my head, I broke away from him, "I'm not what you think I am. What they all think I am. I'm a fraud."

Anger swirled through Cullen's eyes, a dangerous one that more than a few wardens saw this night. "You are no such thing."

"They joined up because I was Andraste's Herald. They followed me because of it. Why would anyone follow an elf with some ancient magic embedded in her hand? An elf that can crack open the fade?"

"Every person out there followed you here to this point because of who you are. There are people who don't believe in Andraste that would still follow you to the ends of the world if you asked. The things you've done against the insurmountable..." Cullen waved his arm out towards the army tents, "You just saved them from a nightmare demon army and a high dragon."

The others saw spiders, but I didn't. I wish I did. Shemlan slavers reached for me, tried to bind my wrists and feet. And when that didn't work, when that only drove me to rage, the demon found something else to torment me with. As the combat faded, and the others slackened their stances, all I saw across the ground was my brother's lifeless body. I killed him, because I took his place.

Energy burst from my hand, flaring around the tent. Cullen stepped back in surprise. Tears rolled down my cheeks, sizzling as they plopped into the anchor. I sank to my knees unable to take my eyes off the magic I never wanted, the gift that I stole. A power so incredible it could rip open the veil. Mages and the terrors they inflicted were nothing compared to what that mark on my hand could do. Cullen dropped in front of me and curled his fingers below mine.

"How can anyone want me," I said, watching my hand, "knowing the truth?" I broke from the greens of the fade to watch enlightenment dawn upon his face. He scooted closer to me and reached an arm around my shoulder.

"I believe in Andraste and the Maker," he said. "I believed that she sent you to help save us in our darkest hour." Cullen ran his fingers across my forehead, pulling my eyes into his, "And I still do."

My fist closed, cutting off the anchor, and I fell into him. He caught me, both of us leaning onto the floor as we clung tighter to each other. "We're in this together, all of us. Cassandra, and Varric, and Leliana," he said.

"And Sera," I said, smirking from his grumble.

"For good or ill, yes, even Sera."

"Andraste's Herald, that's what they call you," my brother's corpse rose from the ground, taunting me. "Pathetic. They'll turn on you the second you're no longer useful to them, just as they turned on their own prophet. Shems can't be trusted, you told me that. But I didn't listen, and look at me. Dead because of them. You opened the fade, you could walk into the black city just like Corypheus. What do you think they'll do to one of our kind with that much power? Let you walk after you save them? Or has your infatuation clouded your judgment? Seduce all the shems you want, sister; you cannot change their nature."

My fingers trailed across Cullen's cheek, rubbing against that foreign scruff he never seemed to tame. His tormented eyes met mine, the same pain shrouding them as when he found me in the snows of Skyhold. He could have flexed the might of the Inquisition's muscle upon me, brought me to heel, but he didn't. He gave me a chance.

"Vhenan," I murmured, stroking his jaw.

"I, uh, don't know what that means," he stammered.

Smiling, I cupped my fingers behind his head and pulled him closer. "My heart," I whispered before falling into a kiss. The demon didn't lie, but twisted the truth, keeping me from seeing the possibilities. As long as Corypheus breathed, Thedas needed me and the Inquisition. And after...what was to come of me, of this, would be broached then.

Leaning back, I wiped at my cheeks still stained in tears and nodded, "All right, we still need to solve the food problem and find wood to build pyres."

Cullen smiled as his cloak of duty slipped in place, laying out his ideas, but he kept a tight hold on my hand while we planned our next move, never letting go.

#dragon age inquisition #cullen x inquisitor #cullen x lavellan #commander cullen #fade #the fade #dai #my fic #fanfic #ao3

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