#lady finesse is underrated

[acacia-may]

Hiya Acacia, I’m so glad you’re doing well after taking your break 🥺🫂💕! For the ask game, may I ask for 4, 14, 21, and 41 for Langris and Altan’s mom (her name is escaping me at the moment I’m so sorry 😭!) please 🥺?

Aww thank you, Lyra! I appreciate that, and I'm really excited about this ask. I can't tell you how much joy it brought me to see Lady Finesse referred to as "Altan's Mom"--really just made my day when I saw your ask come in (a couple of days ago. Sorry for the delay). I would be thrilled to answer these questions for you! 🥰

This ended up having a lot of unsolicited ramblings (Sorry about that. I have a lot to say about this ship 😅😂) so I have put the answers under the cut.

(Warnings: Black Clover spoilers. Mentions pregnancy and death)

Ship Ask: Langris Vaude x Finesse Calmreich

4. Who initiates affection? Why does the other not initiate affection as much?

My gut reaction is that Finesse is likely the more affectionate (especially early on in the relationship) because I just really can't imagine a situation in which Langris wouldn't be incredibly hesitant to initiate any sort of affection with her (at least in the beginning of their relationship) for a variety of reasons which I will list here.

First of all, my perception of Langris is incredibly awkward when it comes to expressing his feelings. He trips over his words and is just not touchy-feely at all. I think part of that is just him being Langris, but there are also outside circumstances that should probably be taken into account. He grew up in essentially a loveless home. I don't think his parents ever even hugged him and they only praised him when they wanted to hurt Finral or to make themselves look good so affectionate words feel cheap to him and I think being openly affectionate just doesn't come naturally to him in any relationship, especially a romantic one. But on the flip side of that, I think that also means that the idea of affection is very special to him and very meaningful because it isn't something he has ever really experienced and, in that way, even something like holding hands would be a really big deal to Langris and he wouldn't be the type to throw out compliments or verbal expressions of love without meaning them.

Secondly, his situation with Lady Finesse is complicated and kind of delicate because they are in this betrothal and arranged marriage. I think in Langris's mind, when they are betrothed (and especially early in that relationship), he likely believes that she's only with him because she has to be and that he wouldn't be her first choice. Their relationship is kind of built on this obligation, but Langris doesn't want Finesse to feel obligated to be with him. He loves and respects her, and he wants her to be happy. I think he is hoping that if they are going to be together it will ultimately be because that's something they want for themselves and are choosing for themselves (at least on some level) instead of viewing it as "well this is just something I have to do even though it's not what I actually want." At the same time, it is difficult for Langris to imagine Finesse (or, quite frankly, anyone) actually wanting to be with him, so I think he has a lot of fear and insecurities about her being forced into this relationship with him. It makes him very sensitive and hesitant to take initiative because he overthinks it (i.e. "Well if I hold her hand, what if she doesn't want me to hold her hand? But then she feels like she has to hold my hand even though she's uncomfortable just because we're betrothed?").

Lastly, I tend to take a lot of the historical context into account when I think about these relationships, and in a medieval society a young noblewoman like Finesse was most likely told to just go along with whatever her husband wants in regards to most things, affection being one of them, and I think Langris is very sensitive to that and would want to make sure that she didn't feel obligated to return his affection. I think this is especially true in their betrothal because, again, in the historical context, they probably would have been chaperoned and even so much as holding hands with each other before getting married would have been frowned upon. I think Langris is kind of stickler for the rules sometimes: he's very responsible and kind of old-fashioned. Plus, he has a lot of respect for Lady Finesse so I think he'd be concerned about propriety and her honor so to say, so I can't see him really taking a lot of that initiative when it comes to affection for that reason.

In a world where they do marry each other, I like to think it's after they have reached a mutual understanding and agreement that this is something they both actually want (at least to a certain extent). At that point, even if Finesse hasn't expressed romantic love for him, Langris is at least reasonably assured that she believes they can be happy together. In such a situation, I think he would still feel awkward (because he's Langris) and would be hesitant to express his affection out of what he would consider respect for her (and also not wanting to make her uncomfortable if she doesn't reciprocate his romantic feelings for her). So in my mind, it would really fall on Finesse to kind of take the lead there or at least to express that she would be open to receiving affection from him. He just needs that positive reassurance that it's okay, I think, because he doesn't want to put her in this awkward situation and he is just not good at picking up on subtle signals. I feel like she would either have to take the initiative (i.e. she holds his hand and he can't overthink it or worry about it) or make it beyond obvious that she wants to receive affection from him (i.e. I can imagine a situation where Langris is the one who initiates their first kiss but it's only after she has told him she loves him). This would prove a bit difficult for Finesse, I think, because she is more shy just by personality and likely had a strict upbringing as royalty so she's very proper and polite which would make it difficult for her to take that initiative. I imagine this is part of the reason they have the slowest of slow burns because it'll take Finesse a while to pluck up the courage to take that initiative and either show affection herself or tell Langris how she feels, and Langris just isn't going to do that himself without her giving the green light first (if that makes sense?).

It's interesting because I think Langris takes a lot of initiative in every other aspect of his life, but when it comes to his relationship with Finesse, he'd really just throw the ball into her court and let her decide what she wanted out of their relationship. In his mind, I think he loves Finesse and is just happy that he gets to spend his life with her and take care of her. It doesn't matter to him what that relationship looks like--for instance, they could have this completely platonic marriage and never even hold hands with each other and he'd still be thrilled because, ultimately, (at least in the way that things work on in my mind), Finesse is the only woman he has ever loved and she has (at least on some level) chosen to marry him and that is more than enough and more than he ever imagined, so he just doesn't have any expectations. I apologise that I'm going to pull in something from a wip of mine, but I wrote this kind of confession scene for them once and after Langris admits that he has loved her for a very, very long time, Finesse is shocked and confused and asks him why he never told her. Then he says:

“Because I…I never thought that you would ever—could ever—reciprocate, and I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable or sorry for me or obligated. I was and I am truly happy that I get to share my life with you and try my best to take care of you and make you happy. It would be greedy to even wish for anything else—to wish for your—“ His voice hitched, and he stopped but the meaning of his words was clear. “It’s more than I deserve.” 

And I think that that is his big hesitation when it comes to expressing affection to her. He can't believe that she could actually love him, and he would feel guilty to even wish for her love and affection because he feels it is more than he deserves. Just getting to share their lives is enough so he isn't even going to hope for anything more than that and he believes that expressing affection to her would just make things awkward between them. I think Langris wants to be wanted and to be unconditionally loved, so he would be absolutely crushed by even the idea of Finesse (who is, in this universe anyway, the woman he loves) forcing herself to show him affection or return his affection out of a sense of duty or obligation--just because they're in this arranged marriage and not because she actually loves him for who he is. It would destroy him, and he knows it, so I think he avoids it by giving her the power to determine what their relationship will look like.

And, of course, in my mind, when I imagine them together, I like to imagine that they have this extremely slow burn romance and eventually Finesse does grow to love him in a romantic way. I like to think that eventually they end up on the same page on where they stand: they do genuinely love each other romantically and want this romantic relationship with each other--want a real marriage and to have a family with each other not out of obligation but out of love. Once they reach that understanding and that place where they really are on the same page, I can see Langris taking more initiative when it comes to showing affection, but in the beginning, it has to be Finesse without question.

14. Do they enjoy PDA, or are they more private with affection?

Absolutely not! I feel this incredibly strongly--it's a very visceral "NO" for me. (A/N: there's this song called "Hell No" by Ingrid Michaelson and as soon as I saw this question the refrain started playing in my mind😂). Jokes aside, Langris and Finesse are both such private people and would likely feel uncomfortable even holding hands in front of their friends. Building off of the previous question a little bit, they are awkward enough about showing affection when they're alone, I can't imagine that they would ever show affection to each other in public. It's not that they don't love each other--they're just very, very private about it because Finesse is shy and Langris is awkward and doesn't feel his private life and relationship is anybody else's business. There's something kind of endearing about this mental image I have of them where they're really the type of people who will blush if they hold hands with each other in public.

(A/N: This is especially funny to me given the fact that I generally imagine this ship exists in a world where Finral marries Vanessa and they're just the most touchy-feely couple of all time, so there's this huge contrast between them practically hanging off of each other when, meanwhile, Langris is bright red in the face because he brushed hands with his wife. I'm sure Vanessa (good-naturedly) teases him about it. It's her job as his sister-in-law, after all).

21. Do they enjoy domestic life?

Yes, I think they definitely do enjoy domestic life. In my mind, Finesse always had more domestic dreams and wanted to settle down and have a quiet life with a family. I think Langris wanted this too, but he never really allowed himself to wish for it because he thought it would never happen for him or at least would never happen for him in the way he wanted (i.e. he might be forced to get married one day but it would be a duty and obligation, nothing something he and his spouse for themselves based on real, genuine love for each other). I think that in a world where Langris gets to marry someone he loves and who loves him in return, he would be absolutely overjoyed. Even if their relationship started off as an arranged marriage and an obligation, it grew into something more and deeper than that, and in the end, (at least in my mind) they really chose to share their lives together and have a family not because its what's expected of them not because their parents promised them in marriage to each other for societal reasons, and not because House Vaude needs an heir but rather they build this life with each other and welcome children because they truly love each other and want to raise a family together. And in that, they are able to find real and lasting happiness with each other.

They have a quiet and slower-paced life together, but I think they're happier together at home with their children than they've ever been. Langris, especially, is happier in this domestic life as a husband and a father than he ever even imagined that he could be. It's the little everyday things like having tea as a family or reading to the children before tucking them into bed or spending an afternoon laughing together in the garden or sitting by the fireplace chatting about their day or just quietly enjoying each other's company. It's all that Finesse ever dreamed of for herself even from when she would play house with her dolls as a little girl, and it's everything Langris ever wanted but never believed he'd get to have. It's true domestic bliss in my opinion, and I like to think they are very, very happy.

41. What would they do if they lost the other?

I think this depends on what it means to "lose" the other. For instance, at this point in the story, I am almost entirely convinced that Langris would step aside for Lady Finesse to marry his brother as soon as Finral "proved that he is worthy of her" if he genuinely believed that's what would make her happy. Her happiness is such a powerful motivator for him (arguably the most powerful motivator for him), and if he truly believed that Finral could make her happy when he, himself, couldn't, there is really no doubt in my mind that he would give up anything to make that happen--even if that meant losing everything he has worked for his entire life and his chance to ever be with her in a romantic way. In that situation, I think he would be genuinely happy for both Lady Finesse and Finral and carry no ill-will or jealousy towards them whatsoever, and I can imagine that he'd even move on and find love with someone else someday (if he wanted a relationship at all, that is).

But if "lost" is used in the sense of her dying, I don't think he would cope well. In a universe where they ended up together especially, I tend to think that Finesse is really the love of his life and, without being hyperbolic, the only woman he has ever loved. I like to hope he would find some healing if he lost her, but I don't think he would move on and love again after she passed away. And in fact, having to remarry (if, for instance, they didn't have children and House Vaude was still in need of an heir), would likely destroy him, especially if she died in some way that he felt responsible for (even if it really wasn't his fault)--for instance if she died from complications due to childbirth. (A/N: I have a wip that uses this as a major plot point actually, and not to go off on a tangent but this is one of the big reasons that I think Langris is so afraid of having children. I think he is really just terrified of what a pregnancy and childbirth would do to Finesse given her already delicate health. In one of my stories, I wrote a line that Langris was "insistent that he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if something happened to her because she was carrying his child," and I genuinely believe that's true because of the type of person Langris is. He is so incredibly hard on himself and prides himself so much on being perfect and perfectly responsible, he would take complete (and undue) responsibility for her death and would really just crumble under the weight of the guilt and the grief, I think. I like to imagine that with the support of his brother and his friends, he could eventually find healing and move forward in his life without it completely tearing him apart, but it would be rough and is a very sad possibility for me to consider.

I think Finesse would probably fare better. If he died after they married, I don't think she'd have much of a desire to marry again, but I do think she would be able to find solace and healing faster than he would. She'd be heartbroken and grief-stricken of course, but I think because of her more naturally positive outlook, she would be able to find a sense of hope even in the despair of that situation.

It's also worth mentioning that I've long considered the possibility that Langris will die at the end of the Black Clover canon. It seems like the least messy way to wrap up this whole complicated House Vaude situation with him, his brother, and Lady Finesse. In that scenario, I think Finesse would definitely grieve for him. Even if she didn't have romantic feelings for him, he was her dear friend, and she did care for him very much. I think she would miss him and be heartbroken if he died. And maybe I've been reading too much classic literature, but I think eventually she and Finral would get married and one day have a son who they would name after Langris. This definitely seems pretty plausible to me, and I've been genuinely worried about it for a long time. But that kind of exists in a separate universe in my mind.

[the-mic-drop]

Class 1-A Cypher by Rustage

Lyrics below the cut

Izuku Midoriya - Deku (Performed by Rustage)

Call me Deku, I’m starting out on this cypher

I was quirkless, but by working I’m deserving something higher

It’s my purpose, I’m versing my present, future, and my past

So I’m gonna rock the mic with a Detroit Smash

Taking a second, I’m breaking my limit

Hitting with everything, pain I can feel it

I’m straining my muscles, I tussle with enemies

Better be ready, I’m more than a critic

I spit it, exhibit it all night

I’m killing it, chilling with All-Might

A villain inhibited by my ability

in minutes you’re watching my school fight

Fumikage Tokoyami - Tsukuyomi (Performed by Shwabadi)

When you cross this bird, you might get to see me wield the talons

So absurd how I’m applying subverse talents

Yes I’m cursed, carry a demon, I’m full of malice

Even worse for you when striking a bitter balance

Dark claws harming the vermin that are below me

Start wars, armed with determination and Oni

Get back, I’ve been endangering those who know me

Jet Black Hero, they’re calling me Tsukuyomi

Ochaco Uraraka - Uravity (Performed by DaisyBanaisy)

I’ll make you float as I’m messing with zero gravity

Don’t mean to gloat when I’m calculating these strategies

Rapidly climbing casually, my quirk “lacks in lethality”

but actually your apathy will lead straight to your casualty

I’ll happily fight for justice, with all of my capacity

My motive’s money, thankfully that don’t define morality

Reality is I’m just helping others for my family

I’m saving all humanity, don’t you mess with Uravity!

Tenya Iida - Ingenium (Performed by Dan Bull)

I’ve got many a twitch, that’s the Tenya itch

I’m like my test scores, I got plenty of tics

Academic, educated, but I never skip leg day

Still regretful of the day that I met Stain

Enraged, by what he did to my brother Tensei

I didn’t handle it the best way, I dare say

Left my hand damaged in remembrance of fair play

I’m representing Class 1-A, they’re my best mates

Tsuyu Asui - Froppy (Performed by Sophia Dere)

Ribbit Ribbit, exhibit a hero’s spirit

I’m in it and so I’ll win it

When I’m swimming, yeah I won’t stop

This frog’s idyllic not a gimmick in a minute

I be launching in to kill it

Like a frog, I’m bringing mad hops

My tongue’s deadly, spitting and I take charge

and then I’m turning invisible with my camoflage

In the water, no villain can dare to stop me

You’re looking sloppy, now you’re facing Froppy

Hanta Sero - Cellophane (Performed by VideoGameRapBattles)

Lucky 13 of the A-1 team

Kid I spit great mixtapes, stick your team

Wraps so clean,

and I’m sealing all the matches now that Cellophane will bring the pain all wrapped up in a package

Getting shipped with tons of damage, but there’s no send backs

Shut you up with my bind attacks

Get back, ‘cause you know that I’ll be winning

in this sticky situation, so I think you better stick it.

Mezo Shoji - Tentacole (Performed by Dreaded Yasuke)

You can call me wall that have ears, door that have eyes

Meaning I’m cavalier when it comes to fighting just like a spy

In close combat, my dupli-arms is coming for the harm

and I’m laughing at you if you’re trying disarm

I’ll sacrifice for everybody exhausting my quirk

Even when I’m down for the count, I’m disguising my smirk

You can cut off all of my limbs, I’m still coming in a burst

Class 1-A will always come first

Kyoka Jiro - Earphone Jack (Performed by Savvy Hyuga)

It’s ya edgy girl, Earphone Jack

Utilizing my quirk in both stealth and combat

I guess I can see how you think I fell flat

but lemme show you how I make up for that

with punk rock attacks

When my earlobes are growing

you know they whippin and probin

an’ now they got you tip-toeing

findin the range that my tone is

It’s not your typical motion n my moves don’t need compression

It’s just another jam session featuring my form of expression

Denki Kaminari - Chargebolt (Performed by Dizzy Eight)

It’s time to put in work, I got this cypher on lock

I don’t need my quirk when this verse will leave you shocked

Like a battery, I got the juice, so they put me in a box

When my positive means negative, I’m like “so watt?”

You don’t want that static with me homie it’s fatal

I got so much energy, I’m plugged in without the cable

On the low, I’ll leave everybody on the scene disabled

I’m underrated, but in a flash, I’ll leave you endangered

Shoto Todoroki - Shoto (Performed by None Like Joshua)

It’s Todoroki, I chose to be cold and lonely

Nobody can hold me with the inferno, I’m overloading

From a broken home to known hero I’m going up slowly but surely

and be better than Endeavor whether it’s hot or it’s snowing

Even if I’m behind, I’ll be sure to make Bakugo see

I do it for All of his Might or to stop killer Stain, forget any trophy

So now that you’re immobilized and then frozen in pain, no one can approach me

Put up a wall of my ice or a wall of my flames to build your enclosing

Rikido Sato - Sugarman (Performed by GameboyJones)

Give me 10 grams of white, then I’m activated (um)

Wait, I’m talking ‘bout the sugar that I took

Got a sweet tooth for taking out these villains ‘cause they’re agitating

Plus the girlies like a guy that can cook

Call me Sato the Macho, I’m saving these streets

Yeah these nachos are not yours, I need me a treat

and this crime fighting’s hard work, it can leave me beat

but like candy and cakes, being me is real sweet

Mina Ashido - Pinky (Performed by StarGirl)

The corrosive caped crusader, Pinky here to save the day

and end up taking center stage upon these lyrics that I lay up

Easygoing, I’m passionate in battle, I’m not passive

See it flowing I don’t spit fire, I spit acid

Hypnotic fashion sense, I leave you in a trance

I’m good at fighting, my other skills are in dance

Protect my friends, we’re going in on advance

Mina Ashido, you don’t even stand a chance

Eijiro Kirishima - Red Riot (Performed by NerdOut)

Kirishima’s here, everybody stand down

I’mma activate a quirk and give your chest a hand pound

With these Red Gun Turrets yeah the target is locked

I’m a boulder with a boner, man I’m hard as a rock

I’m unbreakable, cannot penetrate this armor

and I don’t need a little blue pill to get harder

I’m full of energy, enemies looking dead tired

Blood running in the street, you can call it Red Riot

Koji Koda - Anima (Performed by Connor Rapper)

I’m the quiet type, lying with the wildlife

When I’m on, you wouldn’t even need subtitle lines

Nervous around others, I’m the last one who would yell loud

But to be a hero, then I need to break the shell now

Yo it’s Koda bringing massive noise, flowing with that Ani-Voice

That timid kid with rabbit toys no longer acting coy

Drinking honey tea, facing my fear of bugs and bees

Get a bull stampeding with the words like I’m Douglby

Yuga Aoyama - Can’t Stop Twinkling (Performed by Zach Boucher)

Never needed fame or money, I can get it later

Even though it hurts my tummy, when I use my navel laser

I have got finesse, snazzier than all the rest

I’m the best, nothing less

being honest, not a flex, I’m a threat

It’s getting harder to stomach, I’ve got the smarts and I love

I’m certainly perfect, it hurts just like the art of seduction

Heart of a Puma, get ready to lose

I’ll be spreading the truth

and y’all are stupid if you choose to fight against the Yuga

Momo Yaoyorozu - Creati (Performed by HalaCG)

I’ve got the quirk creation and patience to work it

Balancing equations, don’t even need to research it

Sequencing elements, a testament to intelligence

You’d better watch out ‘cause I’m not feeling very benevolent

If a person’s in trouble, just wait and see what I’ll do

I can literally make anything. Overpowered, who?

Overpowered, who?

I meant I’ll overpower you

It’s true, sincerely Class 1-A’s Momo Yaoyorozu

Minoru Mineta - Grape Juice (Performed by Nux Taku)

Where the ladies at? (ay)

Where the ladies at? (ay)

Mineta’s here to peek at women that I’m gazing at

People thinking that I’m weak, but you know what I say to that

Leave you in a sticky situation with my grape attacks

Underestimating me? You’re lacking information

Incapacitation, when you’re facing me, frustration

Master of flirtation, pretty much the top dog

You ain’t ever coming close when I pop off

Ojiro Mashirao - Tailman (Performed by Rockit Gaming)

Ojiro, the Tailman, you get what you train for

Master martial artist, black belt on my waist though

Nobody even really understands me

Got intelligence, can’t predict any hit that I’m landing

Classmate you confide in with dignity

You can wear a costume, all I got on is a gi

Noble attitude, that’s my personality

Accept results that I earn with my own abilities

Toru Hagakure - Invisible Girl (Performed by Outcast Rae)

Take you by surprise, yeah, I can do it easy

Miss me with your eyes, yeah, you can’t even see me

No matter what you try, yeah, you can never beat me

Feels a little cheesy, like a wish from a genie

When it comes to action, my quirk is in light refraction

so it has the side effect of never being a distraction

Sneak up on my enemies, let me be the best assassin

Toru Hagakure, you can feel my passion

Katsuki Bakugo - Kacchan (Performed by DaddyPhatSnaps)

I don’t think you other heroes are even listenin’

Maybe I should focus your attention with some ‘glycerin

You don’t even get it, there’s really no competition

I’m lighting these rookies up, boi, I’m slaying on every mission

I’ll show them once and for all, little Deku won’t know what hit ‘im

I will get the recognition, exploding the opposition

I will be the greatest hero that ever took the position

So come at me little bitches, I’ll make you wish that you didn’t

[keatondj]

My Personal Ranking of Lady Gaga’s Discography

The time has come. The day has arrived. I am so excited to finally do this list!

Lady Gaga is one of the most influential, innovative, and incomparable artists of this generation. I think her to be one of the greatest musical artists to ever live. Her impact on pop culture as a whole cannot be ignored, and her talents as a singer/songwriter is limitless.

I remember first seeing her perform on So You Think You Can Dance with that iconic bleach-blonde, sharp-edged wig and those LED glasses with text on them and being absolutely mesmerized. Ever since that performance, I had been a casual fan, but absolute admirer of her music. Around 2016-2017 is when I decided to listen to pop music more regularly, and the first artist I knew I had to add to my library was Gaga. It was then that I listened to all her albums and officially became a Little Monster.

Each one of her albums is so incredibly unique, yet so undeniably Gaga at the same time. With the recent release of her sixth studio album Chromatica, I can now finally give my ranking of her incredible discography. I will only be covering her solo studio albums, so A Star Is Born and Cheek to Cheek will not be included.

A new thing I want to add to each album review is add a superlative that the album possesses to showcase its respective strength in the discography as a whole.

Reminder: this is my opinion. Everyone has a different ear, and certain sounds and songs resonate with different people. I’m just sharing my personal thoughts and experiences with these albums.

6. Joanne (2016)

This feels like pure blasphemy to put this album as the lowest ranking on the list when it is objectively one of Gaga’s strongest and more mature albums. It showcases her versatility as a songwriter to the nth degree, and she is the most vocally ferocious on this album. 

It is incredibly top-heavy for my taste (the first seven songs are absolutely sublime to listen to). It’s unfortunate, but from “Sinner’s Prayer” to the end, the album becomes borderline unlistenable to me. Gaga’s vocal delivery on the last few songs seems over-dramatic and unauthentic, and also technically not up to par with what I know she can do.

I think the big concern about Joanne is the feigned nature that I think I’m listening to. Gaga has always been theatrical and performative with her music, but with Joanne, I don’t seem to buy it as well. It suits a more dance-pop and electronic feel that we know and love her for. Maybe that’s the gay sensibilities in me talking; that’s just how I feel. 

She was far more successful with the A Star Is Born soundtrack in terms of writing for this genre. I applaud Gaga for going out on a limb with this massive genre shift, and it worked well, for the most part.

Favorite Songs: “Diamond Heart” through “Million Reasons”

Superlatives: Most Stripped, Most Diverse

                                           ---------------------------

5. Artpop (2013)

I have very conflicted feelings about this album. At its best, it is exploratory, imaginative, and audacious. At its worst, it’s ostentatious, inaccessible, and clumsy.

It undoubtedly has some of Gaga’s sickest and coolest production to date; she really amped up the electronic feel for this album. She also experimented with several contemporary genres (hip hop, R&B, dubstep, trap, rock, etc.) quite skillfully on various tracks like “MANiCURE”, “Do What U Want”, and “Swine”. However, the production does go overboard sometimes, creating a heavy and clunky sound (”Swine” often becomes very harsh to listen to).

Lyrically, I find that it can be very distant, boastful, and vain. Certain songs like “Donatella” and “Fashion” are very specific to Gaga’s lifestyle and obvious love for high fashion, but it is not relatable to the common listener (or at least not me). The extravagant nature of the songs, and even the album as a whole, is hard to really dive into.

I still love this album a lot, but more like as a guilty pleasure. I see many people regard it to be her underrated masterpiece, and I understand where they are coming from, but find them to be misguided. It’s a strong piece of work, but Gaga just shot for the stars and went a little too far for her own good.

Favorite Songs: “Aura”, “Venus”, “G.U.Y.”, “Sexxx Dreams”, “ARTPOP”, “Applause”

Superlatives: Most Experimental, Most Bold

                                       ---------------------------

4. The Fame (2008) 

It truly pains me to put this album so low because it’s the record that introduced us to the brilliance of her work and it features some of my absolute favorite Gaga tracks on it (”Poker Face” still hits hard even today). I cannot let the nostalgic nature of the album cloud my judgment, though. This only goes to show how incredibly strong her discography is; we are really splitting hairs at this point.

What Gaga did for the music industry back in 2008 is insurmountable and outrageous. She brought back the four-to-the-floor sound to the radio in a campy and edgy way that we had never heard before. She will most likely be the biggest juggernaut of an artist I will ever see in my lifetime; she will define my era of music as a child. This is the era I mainly associate with the iconic nature of Lady Gaga. 

It’s comparatively tame to her other work since she was still testing the waters and figuring herself out as an artist. But by 2008′s standards, terms like “disco stick” and “bluffin with my muffin” were totally out-there and controversial. Songs like “Paparazzi”, “LoveGame” and “Poker Face” pushed the envelope and influenced many artists for years to come.

Besides the lead singles, many of the songs on the album are not too remarkable and probably the closest thing you can classify as “filler tracks”. They’re inconsequential, generic, and uneventful compared to the powerhouse singles. 

While these songs also deal with fame and the opulent lifestyle like the ones I mentioned for ARTPOP, they were written from the perspective of someone who was not yet famous. The whole idea of the album is playing with the universal dream and fantasy of what fame is like. In turn, that make the album so much more relatable, universal, and engaging.

This is one of the greatest debut albums ever produced, and it paved the way for Gaga’s career and artistry. I’m happy to say that it basically gets close to pop perfection from here on out.

Favorite Songs: “Just Dance”, “LoveGame”, “Poker Face”, “The Fame”, “Starstruck”

Superlatives: Most Revolutionary, Most Iconic

                                            ---------------------------

3. Chromatica (2020)

This is the first album of her work that I was eagerly waiting for as a proper Little Monster. I was absolutely ecstatic when the first information about the album was coming out, including the singles. It was the album that I had been waiting for for a long time... and it absolutely delivered. It was everything I needed it to be and more.

Vocally, it is Gaga’s most impressive work to date. Her voice has matured so beautifully over the past 12 years, and she has learned to use her upper register in the D5-F5 range more healthily, powerfully, and consistently than before. There were several moments throughout the album that I was gobsmacked at the force of her voice. 

I will admit it is the most “tame” of all her works in terms of the outlandish and campy nature with which we know her for (just ahead of The Fame). Instead, she writes with more sophistication, finesse, and honesty that has come with more experience. On first listen, it seems rudimentary, but as time goes on, the inner complexities of the album start to reveal themselves.

For being a straight-up dance album through and through, it is brutally honest and personal. There is real pain and heartache that is displayed through much of the album, and Gaga is using music as a means of catharsis to release the pain. It makes the album incredibly relatable and accessible, allowing the listeners to dance through the pain. Released in a time when the whole world was faced with such uncertainty and worry, this album is definitely a great outlet for those looking for comfort.

Being as huge of a fan of artists like Kylie Minogue, Robyn, and Carly Rae Jepsen as I am, this album truly delivers on the dance/dance-pop department. The production is impeccably done and spearheaded by Bloodpop (who I hope is Gaga’s main collaborator from now on). Even the Chromatica interludes are stunningly gorgeous and inform how the next act of the album will go. In my opinion, Act I of the album (Tracks 1-6) is absolute pop perfection; I wouldn’t change a single thing about any of those tracks.

The album may run a little short, and it’s tamer compared to her earlier works, but it is still brilliant nonetheless. With a collaboration with the reigning Princess of Pop, Ariana Grande, you know it has to be amazing. This will absolutely go down as one of the best dance albums ever written. This is Gaga’s return to form, and we have been so blessed.

(Ok, but Chromatica II into 911 is THE serve. She did THAT. Do you know what she did? THAT.)

Favorite Songs: “Chromatica I”, “Alice”, “Stupid Love”, “Rain On Me”, “Free Woman”, “Fun Tonight”, “911″, “1000 Doves”

Superlatives: Most Cohesive, Most Personal

                                       ---------------------------

2. The Fame Monster (2009)

I’m gonna be perfectly honest here: it took the longest time for this album to grow on me. Even longer than ARTPOP. But with time, I was finally able to see just how sleek, crisp, and perfect of an album this really is.

This was Gaga’s expansion to The Fame that she wrote based on her experiences with touring, fame, and the toll that can take on someone. It is a concept album with each song being based on a personal fear of Gaga’s that I am sure were all amplified with the high intensity of being a pop star. 

You can immediately tell the difference between this album and its predecessor. It’s darker, it’s sexier, and it’s candid. Where The Fame was written from a place of imagination and wonder, this was written from a place of truth and fear. The amount of growth that came from just a year on the road is staggering.

It is undeniably her most polished album in terms of production and composition. It took the ambition of sonic perfection that The Fame was going for, and amped it up even more. Each song has its own feel to it, but they all work together so well as an album.

There is one song that makes this album imperfect and keeps it from my number one spot, and the song will make tons of Little Monsters angry: “Speechless”. I just don’t like it, no matter how many times I’ve tried to get into it. It’s written in C major (my least favorite key), it’s overly sentimental and hokey, and it disrupts the flow of pop that keeps the album together. I know it’s an incredibly personal song for her, but it is just mediocre to me; I skip it everytime.

Other than that, I think the album is absolute perfection. “Bad Romance” is one of the most iconic and influential songs in her songbook and even the Great American Songbook, and the non-singles are just as powerful, if not better. This album is the standard to which Gaga is held, and any album in the future will struggle to hold its own against this amazing work. Except one. ;) 

Favorite Songs: “Bad Romance”, “Alejandro”, “Monster”, “Dance In The Dark”, “So Happy I Could Die”

Superlatives: Most Polished, Most Dark

                                         --------------------------- 

1. Born This Way (2011)

Is there really any other option?

It’s the album that debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts. It’s the album with 5 of her most iconic and successful singles (the title song, “Judas”, “The Edge of Glory”, “You And I”, and “Marry The Night”). It’s the album that was unabashedly open about its advocacy, and gave voice to anyone who ever felt cheated by life or counted out. Of course it has to be in the number one spot.

This is Gaga at her freest, her most courageous, her most daring. She went all out in this record, and the results are absolutely remarkable. I am a massive fan of the 80′s in all aspects (especially the music), so the influence of 80′s rock and pop on the album satisfy my sensibilities swimmingly. The ingenuity and artistry which she demonstrates in the composition of this album is just mind-blowing.

“The Edge of Glory” is her best song. Hands down. No question. Bottom line, cut, and dry. The first time I heard it back in 2011 was so impactful to me. I learned just what an impressive singer Gaga is, and how powerful of a songwriter she is. It is one of the most euphoric, devil-may-care, and joyous songs ever written, and one of the most important songs in my life. The fact that it perfectly closes out the thrilling roller-coaster ride of Born This Way is the cherry on top.

It might be a little messier and imprecise than The Fame Monster, but it’s lows never get as low, and its highs are astronomically high. The arc that this album takes me through is astonishing. It is an album about celebrating life, loving others and yourself, and throwing caution to the wind. Who can’t relate to that and find comfort in it?

I could go on for ages about this album, but I’ll keep it simple. This is Gaga’s magnum opus, and one of the best pop records ever created. I am so unbelievably grateful for what it has done for my life, and it will forever be one of my favorite albums ever written. It taught me that I am unequivocally born this way, and that I should strive to be on the edge of glory.

Favorite Songs: The whole tracklist   ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Superlatives: Most Daring, Most Adventurous, Most Creative

                                        ---------------------------

I have been wanting to do this list for so long, and I am thrilled to finally get my thoughts out in a post. Lady Gaga is one of the best and most iconic musicals artists ever, and I am eagerly hopeful for the future of her music. I recently uploaded a reaction video of me listening to Chromatica for the first time if you’d like to watch. I am an absolute dork in it, and completely got my life on the first listen. I’ll include it as a separate post on my page as well. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/zdEH2RRc3DE

[bazz-b]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is:   canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless /

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO.

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.

Are they underrated?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO.

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL.

How strictly do you follow canon?  — There’s a lot of freedom when you write a character with as little screen time as Bazz-B. I adhere strongly to everything known about him, and embellish the rest as I can. Some canon facts are a bit contradicting so we make do with what we can.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.  —  Bazz-B is what happens when you cross punk with a volcano. Wronged as a child, betrayed by his God, he began a 1000 year crusade to infiltrate a holy army and kill God. Along the way he takes names and kicks ass, while balancing the burden of his secret goal and cultural obligation to aid his kind. 

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  —  The dude held a grudge for a 1000 years, pushed away the only person who cared about him, and then whined that he was betrayed. An ego bigger than his eccentric hair, he’s twice as obnoxious as he is loud.

What inspired you to rp your muse?  —  How dare you make me admit my secret shame.. When Bazz-B was first revealed in the manga, I snagged him in the group I was RPing in. Grimmjow was already so popular, and a lot of writers I looked up to were writing him, so there’s no way I was trying my hand at that. But this new fella reminded me of a Quincy Grimmjow. I WAS VERY WRONG AND I’M GLAD I WAS BUT THAT’S MY SHAMEFUL ORIGIN STORY.

What keeps your inspiration going?  —  I think it’s stupid how much I love Bazz-B. I went away for a while due to health reasons, but I never stopped loving him. Fleshing out everything that could have been, should have been, is and was-- any opportunity to talk about this man reignites my passion for him.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO.

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO. (not often enough)

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO. (Bazzard and Zorn’s All American Tour)

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO.

Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO.

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO.

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO. (IT DEPENDS? I’M NOT EASILY OFFENDED BUT I’M SOFT)

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?  —  God okay I thrive off criticism. Genuinely, it doesn’t need to be positive. I prefer negative criticism. I’ll only ever improve if people tell me what I suck at. I can be better, help me pls.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?  —  I drool over that shit.

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?  —  I'd definitely be interested. Headcanons, I think, pertain to each persons portrayal, so if someone disagrees they must believe it’s inherently out of character. I’d love to discuss that!

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?  —  I’d love to discuss that EVEN MORE THAN HEADCANONS. If someone thinks Bazz-B should be behaving differently, or acting differently in scenarios, I’d love to listen to why. If anyone loves Bazz-B and has thoughts you come to me, you sit me down and I will listen so raptly you’ll think I’ve frozen in time.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?  —  To each their own! I know a lot of people aren’t a fan of Bazz-B, he’s very in your face, and I know a lot of the stoic characters are super popular. Wont make me love him any less.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  —  Oh God, please do. My biggest peeve is when I repeat words too often. Be my little microsoft word paperclip!!

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?   —  I think I’m terrible at continuing out of character conversations, as I’m always worried I’m bugging people, but other than that I am very easy. Unless you say “I wish to offend you” I’ll naturally assume you’re not trying to offend me. We all come across differently, I just assume everyone is here to have a good time.

That’s about it, congrats for filling out!

Tagged by: @hirako5hinji & @zombiequincy

[i-love-him-on-purpose]

the half of it liveblog

LET’S GO I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS SINCE MARCH hi. my name is abby, and this is me watching the half of it

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

i have big gay expectations for this movie

as an asian wlw, i do NOT want to be disappointed

starting NOW

fuck YES this animation is beautiful

plato. this movie is already calling out my dumb gay ass

they did really good casting with ellie! imagine having a movie with high schoolers that LOOK LIKE HIGH SCHOOLERS

chugga chugga chu chu? SQUARE UP BITCH

OMG paul and ellie’s first meeting is iconic

“i’m not looking to cheat” “no one is”

“gET a thESaURus uSE a speLLcHecKer gOOd luCk rOMeo”

this is an accurate representation of hold times istg

IS THIS A MEET CUTE?!

aster looks so tired but wowowowowow she is hecking beautiful

ellie is a disaster gay

exhibit 1: staring at aster in band

exhibit 2: “i’m ellie chu?!?!?!”

exhibit 3: more staring in the hallway

staring/longing is the peak gay experience

she is FINALLY charging acceptable prices for writing

i’d ask $15 for two page

maybe she just loves writing

can’t relate

“SHE’S LIKE ALL THREE” paul you eloquent mf

he’s a ROMANTIC... but so bad with words omg

“yah my grandma’s dead wanna go out with me”

“love makes you screwy. don’t you get screwy?”

istg you dumb jock ily

in love, one always starts by deceiving oneself... and ends by deceiving others

PAUL OMG

i LOokED uP PLaiGiAriZed

...

wow i had to stop for like 8 minutes there to properly watch their letters play out

the way alice wu spins this story is absolutely gorgeous

aster and ellie are so in sync and understanding of each other

the art, the words, the letters

everything just meshes together perfectly and i’m already in love with their story, whether or not there’s a happy ending

oh ho ho... paul....

no but he’s totally right

dating is burgers and fries and ice cream and whatnot

love is what ellie and aster have been doing– the talking and the listening and the understanding

smithcorona ahaha

“i love... nazis” paul you good there

oh honey you understand nothing

LMAO i love how ellie’s riding away on her bike and paul’s just bent over in the background PERFECTLY poised to pick up a rock

YES! jock + lesbian friendship

“hi ellie chu’s dad” has the same energy as “mr. jack’s dad” and “mr. sir” if u know what i’m talking about (check, please! mutuals hi)

yeSSIR yeSSIR

i love how paul just treats this like drills he has to run

jocks, man

PFPDFSLDKJF HE GOT FASTER AHAHAHA

why do neither of them know how to play ping pong istg

i love one (1) girl that laughs at horror movies

omg my anxious ass would be terrified if i thought someone was watching me

oh, i thought that line was about aster

but it still makes sense in a friendship way

and this IS a friendship movie so it does make sense

my coward ass would’ve never brought a boy home in high school

especially not to my enthusiastic italian father

besides i only ever dated one person and she was a girl and i hadn’t come out to my parents yet

kudos to ellie

oh i just realized that aster’s christian

does that influence her views on lgbtq?

probably

oh, ellie

watching that made me tear up

god, falling for someone who doesn’t know that you’re you

this english teacher is fckin hilarious

and also totally not a romantic lmao

OMG FATHER SHANLEY

AHAHAHAHA

“world’s asleep. more room for secrets”

now THAT’S what love feels like

falling in love with the little things

wait he doesn’t say “you like aster?”

THEY SCAMMED US

...does he support her or not

paul munsky say something

oh he realizes that he doesn’t know what love is not that ellie likes aster

“if love isn’t the effort you put in”

i love this friendship and paul’s quiet wisdom

oh boy there are weird chewing noises

TACO SAUSAGE!

aww paul’s a romantic and ellie’s hilarious

seeing “guy” makes my heart hurt

aw ellie have a little faith in our dumb jock <3

this is so cute and super awkward

i feel like i did this at some point in high school

OMG PAUL WHAT ARE YOU DOING

what just happened

awww he’s so enthusiastic

bitch what the fuck is “a look”

CONSENT

wtf is this a fucking rave

WTF ARE YOU BITCHES DOING

are high schools like this now??? is everyone fucking horrid?

yes girl play your song

wait a sec can they all hear her without a mic

she wrote that? that’s so sweet <3

awwwwwwww

but that’s so cliché

it’s literally high school musical

oh boy now she’s POPULAR?

i love their friendship so much

OOP

awwww I LOVE THEIR FRIENDSHIP

omg what? shoes in the house? shoes ON THE BED? DISGRACE PAUL MUNSKY

jk him caring for her is literally so cute

i’m glad we can have that platonically

she did that for him? aww

the way she spits out the advil is hilarious

OMG ASTER?!?

i bet she thinks ellie and paul are dating

oof

“it’s paul’s chinese friend” who the FUCK do you think you are? STEP THE FUCK UP KAREN

oh it’s the daisy!

it’s gorgeous

i feel like aster definitely suspects something

OH THEY’RE SPENDING THE DAY TOGETHER

i have no idea what she does at the station?!?

“SECRET PLACE” oh lawd

aster definitely knows it’s ellie

i wish i had a secret pond

but alas

i am just a poor city girl

ellie is a disaster gay and i am living for it

LONG UNDERWEAR ellie is prepared for all situations

paul is so sweet that’s adorable

“i don’t think i’ve ever hung out with a girl and not talked about boys before” the GAY is showing and i love it

but love isn’t about feeling safe

it’s about feeling adventurous but being safe

you’re in HIGH SCHOOL why tf r u thinking about marriage?

oml don’t get married to trig he’s a fucking idiot

i lowkey thought they were going to kiss

and then ellie “i am a RUSSIAN DOLL of clothing!!1!1!”

sdlkfjsdlkf

AHADHSFDSJFLDSKFJLESKF PAUL LOOKS SO NERVOUS

when my asian mom did this, my white dad would look just like him, even after literally decades of marriage

WOAH the visuals

just... two people looking at the same sky

so intimate

“gravity is matter’s response to loneliness”

that’s so deep but all i can think of is r/showerthoughts

just two girls discussing their deepest beliefs and secrets in a spring

i would like to do that pls

lmao ellie’s dad and paul are besties now

oh

oh ellie

COLLEGE you deserve to go to college!

omg aster and paul’s height difference

paul’s siblings are hilarious lmao

SLDKFJSDL “A BUNCH OF GUYS SNIFFING EACH OTHERS’ BUTTS” is maybe the most accurate description of high school sports

guess all that running really paid off paul

“squahamish scores for the first time in 50 yrs” i-

ellie trying to finesse the yakult is the funniest thing

what the FUCK just happened

what

what

what

that was like watching a train wreck in slo-mo

paul WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?

WHAT THE FUCK

dkjlsfdksjlfkldsjf

i have zero words.

...trig

is he ok

who sprayed him? was it paul or ellie’s dad??

oh god literally all three of them are ruined

paul! he’s trying! and that matters!

he’s been taught to condemn it

but he supports his friend first and foremost

so he tries to understand and accept it

...oh no paul’s mother

ellie looks so sad :(

ugh i’m crying

she had to grow up too quickly because of her mother’s death

“have you ever loved someone so much you don’t want anything about them to change?”

i’m so emotional

SKSKSK “i had to grind something” homophobic mother looks up

the fuck is “little lady”

oh i get it he’s proposing

trig is literally the human manifestation of microaggression

ASTER DON’T DO IT

ELLIE?!

the painting metaphor is back and i am not ok

AND I OOP- she slapped him ok ok ok

“mommy wants you to know that in case you are gay, mommy still loves you” “no mom i’m not gay” “thank god” “i might want to change your sausage recipe though” “are you INSANE?” THIS IS AN EXACT PARALLEL to when bitty came out and mama bittle still loved him but then the JAM (hello again check please mutuals if ur still here ily)

lmao the english teacher “now that is some divine intervention” she is neutral evil and i am LIVING for it (bet she’s wlw too)

“you don’t mean dead, right” SLDFKJSDL

“love is messy and horrible and selfish... and bold.” -ellie chu

that’s fucking beautiful

aster looks... so tired

COLLEGE YES SHE’S GOING TO COLLEGE

i have no words i just want to watch this and cry

they kissed.

they KISSED.

“i’ll see you in a couple of years”

i love that they don’t end up together

that they know that they should wait, that it’s not their time yet

because love is “the trying, and the reaching, and the failing”

ellie looks so happy

she’s comfortable in her own skin

FINALLY

she deserves everything

omg the emojis slap

her dad’s conductor? station master? idk but he’s working again and i’m so proud of him

is paul seriously giving her sausage

lmao

“too smart to be crying on the platform like a wussy” “i’m not crying” “wussy” underrated exchange of the year

paul chasing after ellie on the train is so sweet

i’m sobbing

“moron”

ugh

she looks so content and i love that for her

that’s the end

if you made it this far, congrats! 

overall 10/10

it’s such a sweet movie it’s well paced, well written, and well shot

time to go see if there’s any fic

bye!

[15topwrestlers-blog]

15 Wrestlers Who Are On Top of WWE

Nutrition For Wrestlers

I am no dietitian but a dietitian is not any wrestler, nor would they know the best wrestler's food plan. It goes with out saying that a wrestler's weight loss plan is among the more essential parts in wrestling, considering how many people actually minimize weight throughout our careers.

During the final months of my aggressive profession there are solely a handful of days that I did not write down my weight each morning, what I consumed and the way a lot I worked out. By the end, I was utilizing my earlier days as a mannequin to observe two or three days earlier than a match. Albeit the craziness, the concept labored. Under, I will present you a few sample pages from my wrestler's weight loss program, but it surely's important to remember that everybody's body is different. If for some reason the wrestler's weight-reduction plan that worked for me would not for you, keep experimenting. Remember experimentation is greatest carried out within the low season.

Wrestler's Diet Generalizations

First, in any wrestler's eating regimen the drink of alternative must be water. It's one of the simplest ways to keep you hydrated. Water is just like the gasoline for our automotive, without it, we can not run. On match days we should be going from full to half a tank, not half solution to empty.

Ingesting a sports activities drink when you'll be able to is also necessary on a wrestler's weight-reduction plan. The rule of thumb is simply drink one if you labored out for over an hour. The problem is that sports activities drinks do not go through your system as shortly as water so you need to be careful with them. The only other beverage I drank was green or white tea with no components like sugar or milk. At first I used to be not an enormous fan of tea, nevertheless; gradually over time, I discovered to find it irresistible and I nonetheless drink no less than two cups of the stuff a day. Tea is high in antioxidants, and a natural diuretic which helps fluids cross by your system quicker.

A great guideline to follow is to stay hydrated so long as possible as my cutting weight post pointed out.

I wouldn't begin reducing out water until the day earlier than a weigh-in. In highschool this is very tough since weigh-ins occur nearly each other day. That is why I recommend highschool wrestlers to all the time go one weight class higher than they intend to. If extra wrestlers targeted on wrestling in high school as a substitute of what weight class, and who they must dodge, they would be much better fitted to the game in school. Plus high school students are still rising, and reducing weight impedes that course of. I made the error of sucking out too much weight on my wrestler's weight loss plan in highschool and it ruined my metabolism.

It is best to make your personal food as a lot as possible, to know precisely what you're eating. There aren't many locations where you may get a well-balanced meal, together with the marketed healthy places. Making your individual food is the smartest (and least expensive) technique to dwell when you find yourself on a wrestler's food regimen. In the event you reside on your own and have hassle in the kitchen, purchase a healthy cookbook to help you get started.

Wrestler's Weight-reduction plan Really helpful Foods

Any greens, fruit (it helps hydrate you), yogurt with dwell energetic cultures, egg whites (whole eggs are advantageous every so often), walnuts, almonds, granola, oatmeal, peanut butter and jelly on entire wheat bread, hen (baked or grilled), brown rice (not the Chinese meals kind), quinoa (one other grain), beans (if from a can rinse them off and then re-season), tuna (rinse), shrimp (not fried), and veggie burgers. Those meals mainly constituted my weight loss program through the season excluding the meals out, our group shared after sure matches.

I additionally restricted my sodium intake as much as possible by by no means including salt to anything. Stemming vegetables is one of the best ways to cook them. The principle elements to virtually all my dishes were extra virgin olive oil, onion and garlic.

Avoid all varieties of quick meals when you find yourself on a wrestler's food regimen through the season. "Food plan" stuff, like soda is just not the best option either. It's higher to drink sugar and burn it off then drink diet soda and watch TV. There are in fact, sure meals vices that all of us have. Mine was frozen yogurt, teddy grahams, fruit snacks, baked cheetos and sizzling sauce. Hot sauce was primarily the one added sodium I allowed myself to have. Do not deny your self of your food vices completely, otherwise you will go nuts. In our modern supermarkets there are various options to get your "repair." If it's cookies, you can buy 100 calorie packs of them. If it is chocolate, eat just a few blocks a day. Wrestlers burn so many energy that it isn't the end of the world in the event that they fall off their wrestler's food plan once in a while.

The top 10 feminine wrestlers of today are judged by their athleticism, their "stage" presence and their keen to be taught and progress to what the fans need to see. Wrestlers, properly if that is what you wish to name them, like Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres don't belong on a high 10 listing a wrestlers. They might be considered models, divas, and the top 10 of quick ranking boosts. Your more consistent and dependable followers choose the artwork of the entertainment over the the pillow combat matches, not because they are not all in favour of great thing about the women, however they turn on WWE and TNA for their love of wrestling leisure.

Featured first on the top 10 of feminine wrestlers of now, is WWE Diva Maryse Ouellet.

She came in as a contestant of the Diva Search WWE had to recruit stunning gifted wrestlers. Though the contest has proved to be principally a failure, it did deliver to life a couple wrestlers that took the time and effort to do greater than show their legs. Their participation in practice and training brought them to a high level. In Maryse's case, this opportunity brought her to a really high level. She has rapidly grow to be a fixture on WWE tv and has had the WWE Divas title for fairly some time. Her inexperience does show within the ring and she can be paraded in bikini matches from time to time. Maryse hits number 10 because of her persistence in changing into a respected wrestler for her capacity... and her appears.

Beth Phoenix is an excellent wrestler with great abilities. Unfortunately, the "Glamazon" gimmick that is used has taken away from her capability and has given her much less vital story traces. Beth hits quantity 9 on this record as a result of she does have the flexibility. You may expect her future in wrestling to be long and profitable.

Natalya Neidhart is quantity 8. With the suitable story strains and push from promoters, Natalya could at some point high this list. Her father was Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart and she was educated in the dungeon by the Hart Household. This means she is really powerful! Natalya additionally has a stable which refers to themselves as The Hart Dynasty which consists of Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith. David is the son of Davey Boy Smith, Tyson Kidd is the final particular person to be trained out of the Hart dungeon. Now provided that WWE would let her wrestler extra.

Daffney might be probably the most underrated feminine wrestler on this record. She is available in at number 7 as a result of she is a great wrestler. What separates her from others is her capacity to behave as well. With an performing background, this TNA Knockout and Shimmer lady ought to have plenty of doors open for her. Daffney was as soon as Cruiser weight champion in WCW and nonetheless remains extremely athletic and hardcore.

Melina Perez takes the 6th spot. WWE Diva and very proficient wrestler. It's recognized that she was one of the quickest learners and best technical wrestlers amongst all of the Diva stars. Best Wrestlers WWE The sky is the limit for Melina and her expertise, her future tremendously is dependent upon WWE format and story strains as WWE seems to go for weight and looks over talent at times.

Our fifth ranked female wrestler of right this moment is Angelina Love, also known as Angel Williams. The Canadian magnificence largely identified for her role in TNA because the chief of the "Lovely Individuals" where she has been embarrassing wrestlers since her arrival, even taking the title from Awesome Kong. You possibly can take into account her rank a demotion considering that her matches normally embrace the help of Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky.

Tara, formerly often called Victoria, is ranked quantity 4 because of her shear energy and determination to be the most effective at what she does. She was convinced into wrestling by the former WWE famous person Chyna. Victoria has overwhelmed a few of the finest together with Lita and Velvet Sky. In July 2009 she became the TNA Knockouts champion just after a couple months of her arrival.

Gail Kim has taken feminine wrestling to new heights, which is why she lands at number 3. She is a excessive-flying athlete very like Lita, former WWE, with even a bit of more finesse. Gail has beaten nearly everyone in her path excluding Awesome Kong.

Michelle McCool hits the quantity 2 spot. Like Maryse, she was a contestant on WWE Diva Search. Although this former college trainer has the talents to prove she belongs in wrestling. Wonderful talent and an important persona, Michelle should be a fixture in wrestling for a very very long time.

Our number 1 female wrestler of right now goes to Awesome Kong, also known as Amazing Kong and Kia Stevens. She now wrestles for TNA and has had numerous expertise wrestling in Japan with different super talents there. Awesome Kong is probably the most dominant feminine wrestler of anytime. Every opponent she has confronted has been demolished. Kong has the technical skills, and she or he scares anyone who faces her. To top it off, she is not afraid to climb the highest of the ropes.

Combined Martial Artwork and Final Preventing Championships have exploded in popularity. More and more people are training for MMA and UFC tournaments. Regardless of being "combined" martial arts, there seems to be a dominate skill set inside the cage: wrestling, or ground game.

The interest of the article is to discover three potential reasons for why athletes proficient in the ground game continually excel in MMA contests, and people three are high quality of instruction, expertise developed, and the rules of the competition. These are, what I contemplate, to be the top causes wrestlers proceed to reign supreme in MMA competitors.

First, let's think about the quality of instruction. Many individuals in martial arts have incredible teachers, however one thing to contemplate is the length of time any pupil of the arts has been learning martial arts. With wrestling, it's a sport backed by many colleges, and begins as early as elementary faculty. This means there are kids studying the best way to work on the bottom without having to pay membership dues like they must do at any martial arts studio. This permits a broader base of potential fighters to draw from; not just the mother and father that can afford it.

Further, in contrast to a martial artwork studio that can continue to teach you regardless of skill so long as you pay the dues, wrestling coaches are pushed to provide results; not paychecks. This implies college students should compete for a place on the workforce which places a number of strain on wrestlers to increase their abilities. With out the power, he won't make the crew. If a wrestler stays on the workforce through school, it means he might have as many as seven years of expertise underneath his belt with one other four to 5 years in college to coach, all before getting into an MMA contest. The low value, long term, and competitive nature of instruction goes an extended technique to creating competent fighters who are most comfy on the ground.

Second, let us take a look at the skills wrestlers are taught from day one and the way it improves their fighting means. One of the most necessary fundamentals to any bodily confrontation is positioning. Take into consideration how properly you may defend your self if your opponent is standing behind you. You are not going to do too nicely with that. Wrestlers are drilled on positioning, and figuring out where the most effective place to be a selected transfer. They change into very conscious of how their opponent is maneuvering, and whether he's in good or dangerous place.

As a wrestler, if someone have been trying to set you up for a throw, you'd immediately really feel your opponent's shift in body weight, and you'd know exactly where to position yourself to neutralize his benefit. Wrestlers have an incredible working data of positioning which they can use to their advantage whereas standing, or sprawled on the bottom. This forces anybody else to work a lot tougher than they often need to, and this works in the wrestler's favor by carrying down an opponent's energy reserves.

Whereas preventing a wrestler, you possibly can "fuel out" in a short time for those who're not used to coping with someone who is snug while standing or working the ground sport. As soon as his opponent is tired, the wrestler can capitalize on this by going for the submission, or using some other strategy to end the fight. If he can seal the cope with a punch, he'll punch. No space of the battle is off limits to a wrestler, while many hanging-only fighters are uncomfortable with engaged on the bottom.

Lastly, since we're speaking the MMA arena, we've got to contemplate the nature of the foundations of the sport to totally understand the advantage wrestlers may have. Ultimately these fights are a sport. Violent they may be, however a sport they're still. Deadly strikes and crippling blows are strictly prohibited, which is definitely advisable for any sport the place the athletes anticipate to have a career. Managers wouldn't have anybody to handle if their fighters solely lasted one fight, both. Further, there is a restricted attraction to no-holds-barred combating. This was the issue UFC confronted in its inception. There was too much blood, and the final inhabitants discovered it distasteful. Only a few corporate sponsors have been keen to tie their image to such brutal entertainment.

As soon as certain guidelines had been put in place, there was a lot less blood and fewer genuine accidents. Now that the UFC was much less of a blood sport and more of a full contact contest, its recognition skyrocketed. An unintentional side-impact of those rules was giving an edge to wrestlers. Take into account the number one protective posture in ground combating; the full guard. The defender has his legs around the waist of the aggressor to forestall a full mount. In the ring the place groin assaults are prohibited, this can be a wise plan of action. Exterior the ring, however, even the least educated particular person can see why presenting your attacker with your most susceptible part would be fairly foolish.

[acacia-may]

Treasures

Description: When Finesse falls ill, Finral wants to send her a gift to show her that he's thinking of her and wishing her well. Of course, this is easier said than done...

Rating: G

Warnings: Very Slight Hurt/Comfort due to Finral's insecurities and Finesse being ill, but it's really just fluff here

Fandom: Black Clover

Genre: Fluff (and extremely slight Hurt/Comfort)

Relationships: Finral Roulacase/Finesse Calmreich

Characters: Finral Roulacase and Finesse Calmreich

Word Count: 1893

Link to original post on AO3. Please do not repost to another site.

Many thanks for this request and the opportunity to write about such a sweet pairing and two of my favourite Black Clover characters! Much love! 💕

Story Below the Cut. Thank you for reading!

Finral hummed thoughtfully as he perused the shop aisles. He set the handkerchief he had been carrying around with him for the past five minutes or so back down and realized that he had walked in a complete circle around the store. He fidgeted. There were far too many choices, and as much as it pained him to admit it, he didn’t have the slightest idea what Lady Finesse would like best if she was here to pick out a gift for herself. Finral sighed. The problem was, of course, that Lady Finesse would never pick out a gift for herself. She was far too humble and gracious for that. Finral smiled slightly at the thought. It was just one of the many things that made her such an incredible and kindhearted person, but it also made her difficult to shop for. He supposed he didn’t really need to shop for her at all—in fact, she would probably insist that he didn’t need to get her anything, if she was here. But she wasn’t here. She was at home—ill, which was the reason he wanted to get her a present in the first place.

Sighing, he examined a whole line of vases again, but they were all starting to look the same the longer he stared at them. Maybe he should just pick one and send it with a fresh bouquet of cut flowers… But that seemed a little generic, and he felt that Lady Finesse deserved something very special—she was his fiancée after all. But even more than that, she was probably the kindest person he had ever met in his life and an absolutely amazing woman. Beautiful and generous with a real gift for seeing the best in people, even in him. He wished he could be the man she saw when she looked at him, and he wanted nothing more than to be the best he could be for her—to be worthy to stand by her side and spend the rest of his life trying to make her happy. It was still a work in progress, but he felt he was making good strides in the right direction. Or at least he would be if he could decide on this present.

After at least another hour of aimlessly wandering around the shop, Finral left emptyhanded, feeling rather defeated. He shuffled his feet as he walked through the town to clear his head and hoped that maybe some inspiration or new idea would come to him. Unfortunately, he kept getting distracted by the sounds of fallen leaves and branches crunching and snapping under his feet as he walked. It was a beautiful Autumn day, crisp and clear with a slight wind and a bright blue sky. He wished Lady Finesse could see it, but she had been trapped inside with a terrible cough for the past few weeks. In all the time Finral had known her, Lady Finesse had never complained about being ill, though he was sure it must weigh heavily on her to be so frequently stuck indoors and under the weather. He had been hoping to cheer her up by bringing her a present, but after the fiasco of indecision that had been his shopping experience, he supposed he should probably let go of the idea. Besides it wasn’t as though there was anything that he could possibly buy for her could make up for the fact that she was unwell and couldn’t go out into the garden she loved so dearly. Finral sighed. She must miss the outside. But he couldn’t exactly give that to her…could he?

Finral’s brow furrowed as he was suddenly struck with an idea. Perhaps, taking a walk for inspiration was a good idea after all.

*-*-*

It wasn’t one day later before Finral found himself fidgeting in the Calmreich’s front entryway. Lady Calmreich, Lady Finesse’s mother, blinked at him somewhat confusedly from her seat in the nearby parlor where she was working on her needlepoint as their house steward whispered something to her.

Finral swallowed hard as she frowned at him, carefully setting down her needlepoint and walking towards his general direction. He had always gotten the impression that Lady Calmreich was not particularly fond of him though Finesse had assured him that it was not personal and that her mother was simply confused and exhausted by all of the drama surrounding their engagement, particularly the fact that his parents had failed to clarify for several years which of their sons Lady Finesse was actually going to marry. Though that had all been sorted now, the entire situation had left Lady Calmreich with a distaste for the Vaudes in general. Finral wasn’t sure that he could blame her for that, and he probably wouldn’t blame her if she was disappointed that her daughter was now going to marry him rather than Langris who was much more successful, responsible, and accomplished. Lady Finesse always encouraged him that eventually her parents would warm up to him when they got to know him better, and in the meantime, of course, Finral tried his best to be cordial and, hopefully, earn the Lord and Lady Calmreich’s approval.

“Good afternoon, Lady Calmreich,” he said with a polite bow, but Lady Calmreich merely sighed wearily.

“I’m not sure if Finesse is feeling well enough for visitors today, but I suppose I can ask.”

Finral’s cheeks flushed. “Oh please don’t—that isn’t…um…I mean, I didn’t want to cause any trouble. I was just worried about her and wanted to drop off this gift.” He wrung his hands around the handles of the basket he was holding as Lady Calmreich’s eyes narrowed at its contents.

“I see...” she replied with a stern but subtly disapproving expression that caused Finral to fidget even more nervously than before.

“I’d be happy to visit with Finral for a little while,” Lady Finesse gently interrupted as she slowly made her way down the main staircase into the foyer. Finral could scarcely hold back his smile and his relief to see her up and about with a tint of color in her pale cheeks. Though he certainly tried to respect her wishes, he never could manage to stop himself from worrying about her every time she fell ill even when she asked him not to.

“I’m sorry for dropping by unannounced like this,” he said as his cheeks grew warm, but Lady Finesse merely smiled at him with a kind shake of her head.

“Oh no. There’s no reason to apologize at all. I’m glad you’ve visited. I—” She paused as her cheeks flushed a faint rose, and she smiled slightly. “I missed you.”

Finral’s own face turned red, but he managed an understanding nod and an “I missed you too.” Almost without thinking, he reached out for her hand, but before he could take it, Lady Calmreich cleared her throat pointedly. His blush deepening, Finral recoiled and curled his hand into a somewhat awkward, loose fist. He was definitely out of practice in the world of "proper" courtship for the Clover Kingdom's upper crust nobility.

Lady Finesse gave him an apologetic glance, and when her mother had returned to her needlepoint, asked, “How have you been? It’s been a while since I’ve heard from you.”

Finral shuffled his feet feeling suddenly guilty for having not written to her. He had worried about bothering her when she wasn’t well and had only been trying to be polite. In all honest, he was also still trying to get used to how much contact was appropriate—he already knew he and Lady Finesse talked to each other much more than other engaged couples in similar betrothal situations and the last thing he wanted was for his obvious affection for her to be deemed unseemly and cause her some sort of scandal or distress since this was technically still an engagement for an "arranged marriage."

“I’m sorry,” he said, deciding it was probably best to offer apologies rather than explanations. “I’m alright—a bit busy but alright. How are you? Are you feeling better?”

Lady Finesse nodded. “Much better. The doctor says that I might be able to go out again soon.”

“I’m glad.” Finral smiled. “Until then, I thought…” He stopped, his face growing suddenly warm again as he began to trip over his words. “Well…I thought…I thought since you couldn’t go out, I would…um…” He held out the basket to her, and she gasped in surprise. “This is for you.”

Lady Finesse tilted her head curiously at the basket but kindly insisted, “Finral, this is so sweet, but you didn’t have to get me anything.”

“I wanted to,” he said as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “But…um…it’s nothing really just a couple of things that I thought you might—” Miss… He mentally finished his sentence, suddenly worrying that if saying that aloud would have been insensitive. Maybe his entire gift was insensitive… His stomach churned, and he suddenly wished he could just grab the basket and disappear through a portal. It was too late, however, as Lady Finesse had already taken a seat by the parlor window and begun to empty the basket's contents: brightly colored leaves, two pinecones, a handful of acorns, some nuts and berries, a branch, a few sprigs of thyme, a thistle, a squash, two potatoes, a few bird feathers, a chrysanthemum, and an apple that Finral was sure was as bright red as his face as Lady Finesse carefully lined each of the treasures up beside her on the windowsill. He made the mistake of glancing over at her mother who was side-eyeing the gift over her needlepoint with a sort of disdain that made Finral feel queasy.

He opened his mouth to begin to apologize, but Lady Finesse immediately cut him off with an excited, “They’re wonderful!”

Finral sighed in relief as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “I’m glad you like them,” he said meeting her eyes. “I was trying to decide what to get you, and I know you’ve been stuck inside for a while so I thought maybe I would try to bring some of the outside, inside.” He chuckled lightly as he sheepishly rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “I can get you another present…something better if you don’t…”

“Oh no, please. This is perfect. Thank you. Very thoughtful,” she insisted as she reached out and took his hand, giving it a shy but reassuring squeeze. Finral’s cheeks flushed.

“You’re welcome.”

“Would you…would you mind telling me a little about where all of these came from?”

Finral nodded. “Sure. Of course,” he said with a smile before he told her about some of his adventures and favourite nature spots. His heart soared when he watched her eyes light up as she listened to him tell her about the changing leaves in the forest behind his squad’s hideout or the family of birds that lived on Mount Anahu or the field of chrysanthemums outside Nean. Someday, he promised himself, he would take her to all of these places to see them for herself and their basket of treasures would become happy memories. But for now, he had made her happy, had made her smile, and that was enough.

[acacia-may]

Happy birthday!!

Can I please ask for 🎈 and 🎂 for Vanessa and Finesse?

Hi there, friend! Thank you so much for the ask and for the birthday wishes! I apologise that it has taken me a bit to get this answered for you. (I have your writing requests in my inbox as well, and they are absolutely fantastic by the way! I love the angsty one so much it has become a bit of a big project... 🙈😅 My apologies for taking a while with those too, writing is on a bit of a hold right now due to poor health. Thank you for being patient).

Vanessa will always be one of my all-time favourite Black Clover characters, and I was so excited to see a request for Finesse as well (she is wonderful and deserves more recognition💕) so thank you so much for asking about them!

Headcanons are below the cut! Cheers!! 😊

Vanessa Enoteca ❤️

🎈— What’s one of their fondest and/or best birthday memories?

Vanessa really treasures the first birthday she got to share with the Black Bulls. Given the way she grew up, she had never gotten to celebrate her birthday before and, truthfully, had never thought her birthday was that much of a big deal either. However, Finral, Gordon, and Yami really wanted to make her birthday special for her (even if they were celebrating it a little bit late), and even though things didn't really turn out as planned (and, honestly, turned into a bit of a mess and disaster with a completely ruined cake, gloomy decorations, forgotten candles, and a terrible rainstorm just to name a few things...), Vanessa was so touched that her squad mates would go out of their way to try to do something special for her and her birthday that she still considers this one of her favourite birthday memories (much to Yami, Gordon, and Finral's embarrassment I'm sure...😅) [A/N: I actually wrote a story about this, as part of the Early Black Bulls series, if anyone is curious: "Make A Wish" (AO3)]. That said, she also has many fond memories of her birthday the following year when Charmy, who had recently joined their squad, took it upon herself to teach everyone how to make an actually edible cake, and they all got to bake it together!😊

Adding just for kicks & giggles: In the Future Problems universe, Vanessa's son, Tirion, has a birthday close to hers, and she has many extremely fond memories of getting to celebrate their birthdays together. She always put the focus on her son's birthday, of course, but it's very important to Tirion to celebrate his Mama too. One year she even ends up with another lumpy, burnt cake courtesy of her children (even though they insisted they "followed the recipe"), but she absolutely loves it! 🥰

🎂 — What’s their favourite kind of cake or other birthday treat?

Vanessa loves many different kinds of cake (especially the ones baked by Charmy) so it really depends on her mood. Her favourites generally involve chocolate of some kind though, like Chocolate Fudge Cake and White Chocolate Raspberry Cake. She likes the pink frosting on that one especially--very cheery, and it has sentimental value to her since it was the kind of cake she had the first time she ever got to fulfill her dreams of visiting a cake shop! 💕

Images from (Left) The Scran Line and (Right) Life, Love & Sugar

Finesse Calmreich 💗

🎈— What’s one of their fondest and/or best birthday memories?

When Finesse was very young, she was given a beautiful dollhouse and a porcelain doll family by her parents for her birthday. Her father and mother, the Lord and Lady Calmreich, had to have the doll of the Lord of the (Doll)house (who Finesse named "Lord Thomas") specially made as there was not much of a market for dolls of grown men, and Finesse was also given a doll for the Lady of the (Doll)house ("Lady Clematis"), their two sons ("Damian" and "Dimitri"), and their housekeeper ("Magdalena"). Finesse absolutely adored this dollhouse and played with it for hours at a time making up stories about the doll family who lived there.

As much as she treasures the memories of the birthday she first received her beloved dollhouse and doll family, however, she is even fonder of her memories of her birthday the following year. It was one of the only times in her life that she begged her parents for a present. She had desperately wanted a baby doll for her dollhouse family which had originally only included the two sons the Lord and Lady were "supposed to have:" their future heir and the spare, in case something happened to the first one—the ideal royal family. However, on her birthday that year, her parents gave her a beautiful baby doll for her doll family and an ornate (dollhouse-sized) wooden cradle (in addition to more elaborately carved dollhouse furniture and doll clothes). Finesse was absolutely thrilled, and though she knew that a third son would likely be preferable, she did not see what was so wrong with having a daughter, especially when the Lord and Lady already had two sons together, so she named the baby "Philomena Rose" and decided that she should be their daughter and a much loved and welcomed daughter at that.

Even as she grows up, Finesse keeps her dollhouse for sentimental reasons, including that it brings back such happy birthday memories for her. She has plans to pass her dollhouse and doll family down her daughter (or granddaughter) if she ever has one.

(P.S. This dollhouse is actually part of the story for your writing request as well)

[A/N: Many thanks to my fellow writer friend @delicious-donna who allowed me to adopt and run with her headcanon that Finesse had a beautiful, beloved dollhouse growing up! 💕]

🎂 — What’s their favourite kind of cake or other birthday treat?

Despite growing up as part of the Royal House of Kira, Finesse has never been particularly fond of rich and decadent foods so she would much prefer a cake with simple, gentle flavors and fresh fruit. Her absolute favourite is Vanilla Blackberry Cake (especially if the icing is pink which is her favourite color), but very few people actually know this since she would never presume to ask for it (even on her birthday). Langris knows, however, and eventually Finral also figures it out after he and Finesse reconnect in their adulthood (post-canon). Since then, the Spatial Mage Brothers have always tried their best to get one for her every year (often enlisting Charmy's help💗).

Image from SugarGolden Bakes

[acacia-may]

From The Ground Up

Description: The last thing Langris wants is to intrude on Lady Finesse’s birthday. When she asks him to stay and spend the afternoon with her, however, he can’t find it in him to deny her—even if he can’t understand why she wouldn’t rather just spend her birthday with Finral and his perfect gift. He has always felt wedged into their story where he didn’t belong, but he might just discover that he is the only one who feels this way. Maybe there is a place for him in the story after all…

Rating: G

Warnings: Langris is an unreliable narrator (and just being Langris I guess...)

Fandom: Black Clover

Genre: Friendship Fluff, Much Deserved Warm & Fuzzies, and Slight Hurt/Comfort (thanks to Langris the unreliable narrator)

Characters: Langris Vaude, Finesse Calmreich, & Finral Roulacase

Part of the Friendsgiving Event 2022 Series But Stands Alone

Word Count: 2079

Link to AO3. Thank you for reading!!

“Oh! They’re beautiful.” 

Langris stopped as soon as he turned the corner into Lady Finesse’s favourite part of the garden. He gripped the handles of the bag he had brought with him until his knuckles turned white as he watched her face light up—positively beaming at his brother and the large bouquet of freshly cut lilies and roses he had brought to her. 

“Thank you so much,” she continued as she gazed at the flowers admiringly. “You’re very thoughtful.” 

“Thank you. I—I’m glad you like them, Lady Finesse,” said Finral with a slight smile and a tint of pink in his cheeks, Langris presumed, from being complimented. As neither Lady Finesse nor Finral had seemed to notice him yet, he wondered if it might just be best if he left before they knew he had even been there. They seemed to be having a wonderful time without his intrusion and… 

He didn’t get to finish that thought as Lady Finesse said, “I’ll go get a vase for these right away” and turned the corner almost directly into him. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she smiled, not nearly so brightly as before, perhaps, but politely enough. “Langris, what a pleasant surprise.” 

“Good afternoon, Lady Finesse,” he replied curtly before he stared at his feet feeling rather sheepish for having been caught lurking around her garden.

“Langris is here?” asked Finral running over to them. “Hi Langris! I didn’t know you were coming too.” Langris sighed but resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He could say the same thing about Finral, but as they were both here now, he supposed they would have to make the best of it. 

“I apologize—I didn’t mean to intrude. I was just passing by and wanted to wish you a happy birthday.” That was a lie of course, and Langris could only hope the blush he felt rising in his cheeks wouldn’t betray him on this point. If it did, Lady Finesse gave no indication of it and instead offered a polite, kind smile. 

“How kind of you. Thank you. Now that you’re here won’t you stay for tea?” 

Finral looked over at him expectantly, but Langris shook his head. Langris was sure Lady Finesse was only being polite, and he didn’t want to overstay his welcome or dampen her afternoon with his and his brother’s discord. Though they tried their best to be civil with each other around her, Langris knew it had always upset her that they had never gotten along very well. “Thank you, Lady Finesse, but I don’t think I should. I don’t want to interrupt.”

“You’re not interrupting,” she reassured him, and Finral nodded emphatically in agreement. “Please stay.” 

Langris sighed. Lady Finesse asked for so very little that he struggled to say no to any rare request she made of him on any occasion but especially on her birthday. If she wanted him to stay for tea with her and his brother—though he couldn’t for the life of him imagine why—he wasn’t going to deny her. He sighed again but conceded with a slight shrug of his shoulders, “Alright.” 

Finral, at least, looked particularly thrilled and pulled a chair for him over to the table where they had been sitting.

“You can set your things down anywhere you like,” said Lady Finesse seemingly noticing the bag Langris was carrying. “There’s a bench over there or I could take them inside for you.” 

“Please don’t trouble yourself, Lady Finesse,” Langris replied though his words got a little muddled as his brother talked over him on impulse. 

“Oh, don’t worry, Lady Finesse, I can portal them inside for you.” He quickly made a shiny, shimmery portal and stuck his hand through. “I can get a vase for those flowers too,” he added as he pulled a crystal vase out of the portal, and Lady Finesse set the large bouquet of flowers inside it. It was even more extravagant close up, Langris thought. Such a lavish bouquet must have cost Finral a small fortune, and the flowers were so beautiful. Truly a perfect gift. Langris pursed his lips together and gripped the bag handles tighter. 

“Langris do you want me to take that—?” Finral stopped as Langris jerked away from him with the bag and shook his head. Finral tilted his head in confusion before a smile spread between his cheeks. “Oh, is it a gift?” 

Gritting his teeth, Langris glowered at his brother, and his cheeks grew embarrassingly warm. He supposed it would be ruder to lie that he hadn’t brought a gift at all than to have to admit that he brought something so stupid and ridiculous when compared to Finral’s flowers. As much as Langris hated to admit it, Finral had a knack for gift giving he himself didn’t possess. He had agonized over what to get for Lady Finesse’s birthday for weeks and had, admittedly, even considered a bouquet of cut flowers like his brother had gotten. He had decided against them in the end, however, and had actually been excited about what he had chosen instead which seemed so unbelievably stupid to him now. 

“Yes, but you don’t have to worry about opening it now, Lady Finesse” or ever, his mind finished for him. “It’s nothing really.” The sweat on his palms made the handles of the bag stick to his hands as he tried to give it to her. 

“I’m sure it’s lovely, Langris, but you really didn’t have to get me anything.” 

Langris sighed. He was wishing he just hadn’t gotten her anything, but it was too late for that now. Finral, it seemed, couldn’t quite contain his curiosity though he tried to be polite and not overtly look into the bag. Instead, he waited patiently as Lady Finesse slowly pulled out three small pots of dirt with the smallest sprigs of green poking out of them. 

Langris took a deep breath and stared at the ground. This wasn’t at all how he had imagined this moment, and his head was racing with everything he could have—should have—done differently to avoid it. If only he had just been more like Finral and bought her the cut flowers he had originally visited the florist shop to buy. He had been there for hours—wandering through rows and rows of flowers wondering which would be best for a birthday bouquet but all the while thinking about how they’re such temporary things. Beautiful for a time, but not something Lady Finesse would get to enjoy in the long run. He wished he could get her something that would last. 

“They’re seedlings…for your garden…” he answered as curtly as he could—hoping Lady Finesse wouldn’t notice the flush in his cheeks. In the silence that followed, Langris shuffled his feet. He knew that his gift paled in comparison to Finral’s, and, truthfully, Langris thought that was just as well, seeing as he himself had always paled in comparison to Finral in Lady Finesse’s opinion. She was polite enough never to voice this opinion to him directly, of course, but he knew—had always known—that she genuinely liked Finral and enjoyed his company whereas she merely tolerated him at best and hated him at worst and possibly most likely. If Langris was being completely honest, he wouldn’t blame her if she did. After all, there were times that he didn’t even like himself so he couldn’t begin to expect anyone else to, especially someone good, someone gentle and kindhearted like Lady Finesse…like his brother… 

Langris swallowed hard and pushed the thought away, reminding himself it was much better to be tolerated than to be invisible. Though truthfully, in a moment like this, he almost wished he was, in fact, invisible. 

“But please don’t feel obligated to—” Langris began to add before Lady Finesse gently cut him off.    

“Oh, they’re wonderful, Langris. Thank you!” The genuine, almost-infectious joy in her voice coaxed Langris to look up at her. She was staring at one of the little pots just as admiringly as she had stared at Finral’s flowers—with a bright smile that reached her eyes. Langris suddenly realized why his brother had blushed earlier when Lady Finesse had loved his present so dearly. 

As his cheeks grew warm again, his mouth twitched in the corners, and he mumbled, “You’re welcome. I’m…glad you like them.” 

Finral was positively beaming though for the life of him, Langris couldn’t imagine what his brother had to be so excited about. “We can help you plant them this afternoon, if you’d like Lady Finesse,” he suggested. 

Lady Finesse’s face seemed to light up. “I’d love that. If you don’t mind, of course.” 

“Not at all.” Finral nodded at her with an emphatic reassurance before he began prattling on about where Lady Finesse might want to plant the new flowers. His brother’s cheeks flushed pink as she clasped onto his hand, and they began to walk off towards another corner of the garden. Langris smiled slightly after them but stayed in his seat, taking this as his cue not to follow after them. There was no place for him in the bond between Finral and Lady Finesse. He was and had always been on the periphery of it all—exactly where Lady Finesse had put him years before when she had made it clear that she thought Finral was the better magic knight, the better person. He had no resentment towards her for it though. She was far too kind to be resented and the fact of the matter was, it made him more sad than angry—to be wedged into their story where he didn’t belong. 

“Langris.” Lady Finesse stopped—her arm outstretched as her hand still held onto Finral’s a few steps ahead of her. “Aren’t you coming too?” 

Langris shook his head. “You two go on ahead. I don’t want to—” He didn’t finish that thought as his attention was suddenly taken by Lady Finesse holding out her other hand to him. 

“Please, Langris. These were your gift, and it was so thoughtful. I’d love to have you help me plant them.” She smiled at him and met his eyes. “Please?” 

“Yes, please, Langris. It will be fun, and you know I’m terrible at gardening. We need you,” said Finral with a smile before holding out his other hand as well. 

Blinking in almost a disbelief, Langris turned his attention back to Lady Finesse’s and Finral’s outstretched hands. A slight smile twitched in the corners of his mouth. “Alright,” he conceded as he rose from his seat—reaching out for their hands with flushed cheeks. He quickly let go of Finral’s so they wouldn’t be walking in an impractical circle, but Lady Finesse gave his hand a quick, gentle squeeze as if asking him to hold onto hers. He did, and her smile seemed to grow even brighter as she walked off towards that corner of her garden holding Finral’s hand in one hand and Langris’ in the other. 

Langris couldn’t help but smile himself as he watched how her bright smile stayed in place all afternoon—how she laughed and laughed when Langris’ spade had unintentionally flung a piece of dirt at Finral’s face and when Finral had entertained them at tea with the story of how that tiny glutton had accidentally fed his squad a soup made from magical mushrooms that made them all sing everything for nearly two days. Even Langris had had to stifle his own laughter then, causing Lady Finesse to laugh even harder. They stayed there laughing, chatting, gardening, and drinking tea together for hours—completely losing track of the time until the sun began to set. 

When they began to say their goodbyes, Lady Finesse pulled him aside to thank him once again for the plants for her garden. 

“It was nothing,” Langris muttered, shuffling his feet. 

“And thank you for coming today too,” she added before turning to Finral as well. “Both of you! I’m so glad I got to spend my birthday with you.” 

A tint of pink filled Langris’ cheeks as she beamed at them, at both of them. Even looking back on it years later, Langris could have sworn that Lady Finesse had never looked so happy as she did when she spent her birthday with him and his brother. And perhaps, Langris himself had never been so happy either. 

[acacia-may]

Thank you again for your ask, anon! 💖 I apologise that this has taken me a bit, but here are my favourite Black Clover characters narrowed down to 10. This was hard choice (part of the reason it has taken so long for me to answer this ask), but I allowed myself 5 female characters and 5 male characters in order to narrow it down! 😅

Note: This is list is in the order that they popped into my head.

Vanessa Enoteca

Charmy Pappitson

Finral Roulacase

Langris Vaude

Finesse Calmreich

Magna Swing

Noelle Silva

Charlotte Roselei

Gordon Agrippa

Henry Legolant

[Also worth mentioning: David, Dorothy, Grey, Leo, Letoile, Mereoleona, Rill, William, and Yuno...and so many others...This was difficult 💦]

This post ended up so much longer than I anticipated (I really should not be given license/encouragement to talk about my favourite Black Clover characters 😅) so I've decided to break the discussion in half and only talk about the first five characters here. The second half I'll have to add on later (as to not be too overwhelming 💦)

Discussion under the cut because it's long and contains some spoilers for the Elf and Spade Arcs. Also, some mild, vaugish discussions of certain characters' childhood tr*uma and mentions of past verbal, emotional, & psychological ab*se related to their tragic backstories.

1. Vanessa — Gosh, I love her! She might be my favourite character. There is just so much more to her than the token drunk, fan-service party-girl, that you originally see. She's the best "big sister" to everyone on her squad and has such a gift for building people up and encouraging them. Despite all of the pain and terrible experiences in her past, she chooses to be kind and still finds reasons to be genuinely happy, and what she wants more than anything else is to make everyone around her happy too. She's warm, intuitive, empathetic, a great listener, and one of the best at advice, and she loves her friends so deeply (with bonds so strong they can literally bring them back from the dead). I think one of my favourite things about her is how she is incredibly strong, independent, and capable as both a person and a mage, but she also gets to have her light-hearted, silly, and playful moments and gets to like more traditionally feminine things (which is not something a lot of strong female characters in media usually get to do, as if being feminine and being strong & independent are mutually exclusive 🙄 So it is really wonderful and refreshing to get to see all of those traits in her). Also, her character arc is stellar, in my opinion, and one of the best handled in the series. (That moment where she stares down at Her Majesty and tells her they have no bonds, gives me chills every time). She has grown so much, and it warms my heart that she has her Black Bulls family after everything she has been through. I want all the good things for her! 💕

2. Charmy — Charmy cracks me up! She always brings the brightest smile to my face whenever she shows up, but even more than that, I think she is a much better character than she is given credit for. I really love that oft-forgotten snarky, playful, a little bluntly honest, and a bit more intuitive side of her, so I try to bring that out when I write about her. I have a lot of respect for the role Charmy takes in her friendships too. In my mind at least, she isn't completely oblivious to what's going on with her friends, but for the most part, she chooses to takes this laissez-faire/'live and let live' attitude with them. She cares about them very much, wants them to be happy, and will make them all kinds of delicious foods to cheer them up if they're sad or upset, but she's a bit hands-off when it comes to what they decide to do with their lives (and doesn't feel it's her business to intervene unless she has to). If they want to share, I have no doubt that she'd listen (probably from the kitchen where she's putting a tray of cupcakes in the oven), but I really do think she personally is more comfortable showing support through feeding her friends rather than getting involved in their problems. (The issue being, of course, on those rare occasions, when her food doesn't work...). I've got a deep love for rare Charmy friendships--especially between her and Vanessa, and her and Finral (neither of which made it on my top 10 relationships but they'd probably rank as 11 & 12). My favourite future headcanon for Charmy is that she starts a bar & restaurant with Vanessa and marries Rill. 😊

3. Finral — It's probably obvious to anyone who has spent any length of time around my blog that I love the spatial brothers and could talk about them for ages (so I will try my best to keep it brief 😅). As much as I love him now, Finral actually annoyed me in the beginning with all of his excessive flirting (though my sister always teased me that he was my "secret favourite"), but I think that as the story goes on, we really get to dive into the why behind the way he is acting—that he’s really just starving for the unconditional love he never received as a child and that he has such a big, generous and kind heart and is looking for real love rather than just flings (like the usual “token flirt” character). Those kinds of wounds never really go away, and I think that inside Finral there is still a sad, lonely little boy just desperately waiting for, wishing for love that never comes and blaming himself for not being good enough to “earn” it. It breaks my heart—I just want somebody to scoop him up and hug him and tell him it isn’t his fault. And yes, it really is impossible not to love him after that—even if there have been many times when he as a character (and his arc) have frustrated me. I will say, I really think that Finral is at his best when he isn't trying so hard to be charming. Yes, he's a scatterbrained goofball, but he's a lovable scatterbrained goofball—and I personally find that extremely endearing. He wears his heart on his sleeve, is sensitive not only to his own feelings but also to the feelings of others, and he is incredibly sincere. It's rare that male characters get to be so soft and so vulnerable and get to have such big feelings without being a complete joke. (Sure there are some jokes about Finral being emotional, but for the most part, his emotions are validated and respected). He is also one of the most genuinely kind characters in the series, extremely generous, humble, and loyal to his friends. (He's also sometimes, begrudgingly, the voice of reason for them which is, honestly, saying something about the Black Bulls...). And, perhaps most importantly, he is all of these things even after of all of the horrible things that have happened to him in his life (which could have just as easily made him jaded, cold, and cynical like Langris). Finral has suffered a lot, but he still chooses kindness and forgiveness--chooses to see and to believe in the good in people (even in people who hurt him, like his brother who he never gives up on and always gives the benefit of the doubt). There is a strength in that kindness that he doesn't give himself credit for.

4. Langris — As much as I didn't particularly care for Finral in the beginning, I positively detested Langris for the longest time (because, of course, as soon as I start to really like Finral's character, Langris shows up and is nothing but nasty to him. I actually remember my sister and I, turning to each other saying, “Do we like Finral now?” “I think we like Finral now” right before we started the episode where Langris first appeared 💦). I never thought I'd be a Langris sympathizer (and certainly not to this extent), but I always got the feeling that Langris was a victim of the toxicity and abuse of House Vaude, too. It is a horrible, cruel thing for parents to withhold unconditional love from their children, and as much as Ledior and Liliane withheld love from Finral, they withheld it from Langris as well forcing him to “earn” their love by living up to unattainable expectations of perfection. Even though he was the "perfect son" and extremely successful, nothing he ever did was enough for his parents, leaving him a jaded and insecure overachieving perfectionist who is extremely hard on others but is even harder on himself. He is also, arguably, starving for unconditional love as much as Finral—the difference being that where his brother tries to fill that void with flirting & pursuing romantic relationships, Langris tries to fill it with his accomplishments, successes, and achievements (ultimately & unhealthily finding his entire sense of self-worth in them). I think what's really tragic here is that Langris has such a deep capacity for love--I have no doubt that when he chooses to care about someone, he will love forever. However, he has this crippling fear of vulnerability and rejection that prevents him from building meaningful relationships. He doesn't like games he can't see a possibility of winning and since he doesn't believe that anyone could actually love him, he counts himself out of the running and closes himself off to people--his brother included. None of this excuses any of the horrible things that Langris has done or the way that he has treated Finral, but it does make him a little more sympathetic and gives me hope for a brighter future in which he and Finral can make amends and begin to rebuild their brotherly relationship. My poor boys, I want good things for them. 💚💙

I know I have droned on and on already, but I feel like I've just roasted Langris without saying many good things about him 😅 so I'm adding some here. Langris is incredibly intelligent, forthright, dependable, responsible, and loyal. He can be snarky and a little too blunt at times, but I think for all of his attempts at being cold, curt, and detached, he actually has a secret softer, gentler side. In the companion to this post (about my top 10 favourite Black Clover relationships), I talked a little about Langris's friendship with Finesse and how that brings out this soft side of him. With her, I think, we get to see that he's very attentive and thoughtful, and that he can actually be very selfless. He genuinely wants her to be happy--even if that means helping his brother shape up so he can be a man worthy of her and take over their House (when, arguably, Langris is the one who wants to be the Head of House Vaude and has worked towards that goal for his entire life). And that is the Langris that I like--the Langris who cares very, very much, not in some big, grand gesture but in a cluster of small gestures that really boil down to being loyal, stable, and present when someone needs him and to being willing to make sacrifices for what's best for someone else. Say what you will about Langris (and there are a lot of negative and critical things to say about him), but when it comes down to it, I think he has grown a lot over the series and the person that he is now, has shown an admirable willingness to give up the things he wants for the people he cares about if he thinks that's what's best for them (not just in the example with Finesse and Finral, but he also gives up his greatest achievement, being Vice Captain of the Golden Dawn, to Yuno and basically admits in Spade that it's because Yuno is the better leader for their squad). He cares more than he's willing to admit, and though I don't think he'll ever be the type to easily express it with his words, his actions speak loud enough. And yes, I like him very much for that. 💖

5. Finesse — I suppose this is a good segue since I was just talking about her, but, yes, I know she is an out-of-the-box choice. However, I'm incredibly fond of her and think she is criminally underrated. I'll admit her appearance in media res did throw me for a loop for a bit and gave me some emotional whiplash at first, but that's not her fault (and is another story entirely). Even so, Finesse is instantly likeable. She might be the kindest person in this entire series, and she so generously and naturally gives to others without expecting anything for herself. She has such a gentle strength to her too--a beautiful example that even the smallest acts of kindness and encouragement can really make a hugest difference. What she’s done for Finral and Langris just by caring about them and offering them compassion and believing the best in them has really meant the world to them, I think (saying nothing of the fact that, in turn, both of the spatial mage boys would bend over backwards to make her happy--a fact that, I think, would genuinely surprise her as she's so humble, bless her heart 💕). I have no doubt that she genuinely cares for both Finral and Langris very much, and she is so good for both of her boys and knows them so well--sometimes, even better than they know themselves. I don't know the extent to which she understands the reality of how awful things are at House Vaude because, I imagine, both Finral and Langris are very protective of her and don’t want to "burden" her with their problems (though she wouldn't see it that way if they ever did open up to her, of course); however, I think she knows that things are difficult for them (i.e. that Finral is struggling with self-deprecation and was suffering emotionally before he left home and that Langris is much harder on himself than he is on anyone else and misses his brother very much) and decides to be this kind, warm, and gentle presence in both of their lives. She chooses to see so much good in them, even if they can't see it in themselves (when she tells Finral that she believes he's a true magic knight or defends Langris to the King even when he's gone on an elf-possession-induced rampage, for instance). No matter what, she selflessly wants what's best for her boys, and there's something very sweet about how she inspires them to become the best version of themselves--with Finral striving to become "worthy of her" and Langris bringing out that softer, gentler side when they're spending time together.

I think Finesse gets a bit of a bad rep for being meek, gentle, and “dull” (to quote a younger, dumber version of a certain someone who likely just didn't want to be in arranged marriage), but there really is a strength in consistently choosing to be kind, especially in the face of adversity. This poor girl is chronically ill and (arguably because of that) is forced into an arranged marriage which is, on paper at least, undesirable for her--marrying into House Vaude is definitely below her station as a member of the House of Kira, plus it's a literal hellscape of a vicious cycle of toxicity and abuse. Her future in-laws are genuinely horrible people who traumatized their sons with their cruelty, leaving both of her possible future spouses/romantic prospects with serious, unresolved psychological issues. Not to mention the fact that she doesn't even really know which one of their sons she's actually engaged to... Just luckily, Finral and Langris are decent enough people and either of them would be likely be a good husband and try his best to make her happy, but still... this is a lot for poor Finesse. And yet, she takes this all in stride, approaches the situation with dignity, grows to genuinely care for Langris and Finral, and shows them nothing but kindness, support, and encouragement (quite possibly for the first time in their lives). In fact, when Langris has all that elf-business and the King threatens to dissolve the betroval and punish the Vaudes, it is Finesse who comes to their defense rather than taking what is quite possibly her only chance at an "out," and there is something to be admired in that, I think. She just deserves a lot more love and a lot more credit than she is given, and she is genuinely one of my favourites. 💖

Thank you so much for reading all the way to the end! 🥰 Many thanks again for the ask, anon. 💖 I think I will need to stop there for now. I will talk about the other 5 in another post as this one is already super long... 😅 Cheers!! 🥂

[acacia-may]

Thank you so much for the playlist! Can you make one for Finesse as well? 🙏🙏

Aww, you're welcome! I'm so glad that you liked it! 🥰 Thank you for the asks! I really appreciate them and would be absolutely delighted to make a Finesse playlist for you as well. She's such a lovely character, but the story doesn't spend much time with her so she's very underrated, I think. This playlist is a bit all over the place in terms of genre, but I hope you'll like it! 💖

Candle on the Water by Sarah Morgann (Cover of the Classic Disney Song) (YouTube Link)

I'd Like to Teach The World to Sing by The New Seekers (YouTube Link)

Heart of Stone from Six (YouTube Link)

Humble and Kind by Tim McGraw (YouTube Link)

Cath... by Death Cab For Cutie (YouTube Link) [A/N: For the record, I don't think things are actually as bad for Finesse as they are in this song, but the similar themes are definitely there]

I Want to Write You a Song by One Direction (YouTube Link)

If You Love Her by Forest Blakk (YouTube Link) [A/N: This is more of a song about her since I've always felt that the "her" the singer is describing is a lot like Finesse].

Extremely Cheeky Bonus: "Love The One You're With" by Crosby, Stills, & Nash (YouTube Link) [A/N: Sorry Everyone (especially poor Finesse who doesn't deserve this teasing). Please don't take this seriously at all, but I really couldn't resist the opportunity to make this joke! 😂😅]

Thanks for playing my Mini-Playlist Ask Game! 😊

[acacia-may]

"No, House Vaude wasn’t the dream house Finesse had always wanted. It was cold with something dark and sinister under the Lord and Lady’s perfect, plaster smiles that had left their sons wounded. Despite their best efforts to hide it from her, she knew something in them was hurting, was broken. It was a pain she couldn’t truly understand, but she could feel it so palpably that it ached in her chest, burned behind her eyes, and left her helpless and torn apart. And maybe that’s when she should have run, instead of digging in her heels and deciding to stay in a burning house, but how could she when she knew she wasn’t the only one trapped there? From the moment she had chosen to care about Finral and Langris, she had known that if they needed her to stay, to crawl through those flames to reach them, she wouldn’t hesitate—would pull them close as their world crumbled and burned."

--Snippet from one of the requests I received and am currently working on. I'm so excited to have been asked to write about Lady Finesse again (and more spatial brothers too, of course)! This story has gotten long & I've been writing out of order so I thought I'd share this short piece of it for now. Cheers!!

[acacia-may]

Sweet Like Cherries

Description: Finesse excitedly prepares to welcome a long-wished-for child amidst a frenzy over the impending birth of the future heir to House Vaude. Never one for the spotlight, she wishes that everyone would stop fussing over her and worrying so much--particularly her husband whose concern for her grows only stronger the longer she is on bedrest. It's a relief when she receives a surprise visit from her level-headed sister-in-law who offers her light-hearted and affectionate sympathies as the only other person who truly knows what it's like to be pregnant and fussed over by a concerned and protective Vaude boy 24/7! Vanessa admits, however, she'll never really understand what it's like to be married to Langris. Finesse is not sure she fully understands it herself yet, but she has never doubted how much he cherishes her.

Not all love is fanfare and fireworks. Some love is quiet and steadfast showing up in the smallest every day things--sweet like cherries. 

Rating: T (for one bad word but really this is nothing but fluff)

Warnings: One (1) bad word but this is all fluff otherwise (and honestly kind of silly so please don’t take it too seriously!)

Fandom: Black Clover

Genre: Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Friendship, Babies

Relationships: Finesse Calmreich/Langris Vaude established relationship, Finesse Calmreich & Vanessa Enoteca Friendship/Family, Finesse Calmreich & Finral Roulacase Friendship/Family, Vanessa Enoteca/Finral Roulacase established relationship, Langris Vaude & Vanessa Enoteca Friendship/Family, Langris Vaude & Finral Roulacase Brotherly Relationship (A/N: look at my boys actually getting along...sort of...)

Characters: Finesse Calmreich (POV Character), Langris Vaude, Vanessa Enoteca, and Finral Roulacase

Word Count: 5087

Link to original post on AO3. Please do not repost to another site.

Note: This story was originally posted to AO3 exactly one year ago today so I'm posting it to Tumblr for its anniversary! 🥰

Story Below the Cut. Thank you for reading!

“I didn’t know what to bring you…I thought about bringing the kids but that would really just be bringing you a headache,” said Vanessa with a wink and a laugh as she took a seat at Finesse’s bedside.

“I would’ve loved to see them,” Finesse answered with a slight smile. “It’s been so long. I bet they’re getting a lot taller.”

“Taller. Louder. Crazier…harder to corral,” Vanessa joked, then reached into her bag and pulled out some papers. “They sent these for you.”

Finesse smiled as she looked through the brightly colored drawings. “How sweet. They’re lovely.”  She stopped on a picture of several flowers, and Vanessa peered over at it.

“I think that’s your garden.”

Finesse sighed glancing over at the vase of wilting lilies on her bedside table. It was nice to have a bit of her garden with her, but she missed being able to visit it herself. It had been so long since she had been out in her garden—or out of the house.

Vanessa tilted her head almost knowingly and sighed. “How are you holding up?”

Finesse felt a blush rise in her cheeks. Vanessa’s intuition was always so strong—as if she was a mind-reader rather than just a string mage. “I’m alright,” she reassured her with a slight smile as she rubbed her hand across the curve of her stomach. “And so is the little one.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” said Vanessa with a smile. She tilted her head slightly. “I’m sure it’s not easy though. I’d go crazy cooped up in here if I were you. We’ve been wracking our brains trying to think of something to bring over for you, but the best I could think of was company. Are you sure there isn’t anything that you want?”

“That’s very sweet, but I don’t…” Finesse began to protest, but Vanessa cut her off.

“Maybe a food of some kind—something you don’t have in the house?” Vanessa paused and rolled her eyes with a chuckle. “What am I saying? I’m sure you have every food imaginable in this house.”

Finesse stifled a laugh covering her mouth with one hand while she pressed the other to her stomach. Based on the amount of movement, she thought the baby must be amused as well. The thought brought a smile to her face that reached her eyes.

“I bet he’s kicking you all the time now,” laughed Vanessa. Finesse nodded.

“Do you want to feel?” she asked almost sheepishly as she held out her hand to Vanessa. When Vanessa had been expecting, she had always been kind enough to let Finesse feel the movements of her niece and nephews. They were memories Finesse cherished fondly, and she was very happy to be able to return the favor. 

Vanessa smiled. “Of course.” She leaned in closer as Finesse pressed her hand to the spot where she could feel the baby’s feet, and said, “Hi there, kiddo. It’s your Aunt Vanessa. I’m your cool aunt…well, actually, I’m your only aunt, but I’m the coolest. I might not be as great as an aunt as your mom is to my kids, but hey, when you get old enough I am going to teach you all kinds of cool stuff—like how make cocktails, do shots, recover from a hangover. I’ll teach you all about wine too—white, red, rosé, ”─the baby kicked─ “Oh, nice choice. You’ve got good taste. Just don’t tell your dad…he would have a heart attack,” she teased, and Finesse laughed aloud, unable to stifle it.  Vanessa looked up at her with a smile.

“What foods has the baby been wanting these days—well besides wine of course?”

“Um…well…” she blushed but shook her head. “Nothing in particular.”

“Oh,” said Vanessa narrowing her eyes. “Mine wanted all kinds of crazy stuff. Unfortunately,  none of them ever wanted cheese. It’s my favorite food, but I couldn’t stand the stuff when I was pregnant.”

Finesse patted her stomach considering herself lucky that the baby liked her favorite food, vegetable soup, well enough. She sighed. “Um…Vanessa? Can I ask you something?”

“Sure. Shoot,” she answered with a shrug and sat back in her chair.

“Um…when you say your kids wanted all kinds of crazy foods, were any of them ever…” she stopped. “If they weren’t your favorite, were they…someone else’s? 

Vanessa narrowed her eyes. “Like whose? Like Finral’s?”  She shook her head with a shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe. His favorite food changes almost every day—he’s very indecisive. I’m sure you’ve noticed,” she added with a laugh. “Why? Are you really craving cherry tarts or something?”

Finesse’ cheeks felt hot, and she pressed her lips together staring down at her hands. “More like cherry anything…I’ve been dreaming about them…” she admitted sheepishly. Vanessa laughed loudly and brightly, and Finesse couldn’t help but laugh a little herself. Vanessa had that effect on people—she could make anyone feel at ease.

“Why didn’t you just say something?”

“I don’t know…I felt…embarrassed…and everyone is already so worried, I didn’t want to burden anyone by asking for something special. Besides, cherries are out of season.”

Vanessa smiled. “I’m sure Langris would travel all the way to the Heart Kingdom to get you cherries if you wanted them. They’re in season all year there. Plus, I think he’d be grateful to have something to do, and you’d probably get a little peace. I’m sure he’s driving you nuts with all that nervous energy.”

“No, not at all,” Finesse shook her head. “He’s been very attentive…but he hasn’t been sleeping…” She sighed pressing a hand to the curve in her belly. “I’m worried.”

Vanessa patted Finesse’ hand reassuringly. “Don’t worry. Men are just like that--especially these two. I’m pretty sure Finral always slept less than me when I was pregnant—which is saying a lot since our kids are basically nocturnal and always moved around like crazy in the middle of the night. Not sure if that’s comforting or not…” she joked, then sighed. “I tried to be understanding with Finral—his mother died in childbirth so the whole experience was hard on him. I’m sure it’s a similar thing with Langris. Your health is delicate, and he has always been a nervous wreck over it—and with this happening so suddenly and you on bedrest and all, it makes sense he’d be worried.”

Finesse sighed. He always had been so worried about her and her health—making sure she was getting enough water and rest, checking to make sure the house wasn’t too drafty, and calling the doctor at the slightest hint of danger—it was the main reason he had given for not wanting to have children, completing ignoring the fact that producing an heir to the House of Vaude was the whole purpose of their arranged marriage in the first place. Though Langris had always cherished and loved her, he always kept her at a safe distance, afraid of what a pregnancy and childbirth would do her already frail constitution. Meanwhile, she watched as her brother and sister-in-law welcomed three children. She loved hearing the alabaster walls and marble halls filled with children’s laughter when her niece and nephews would come to visit and longed for children of her own. However, she was always too shy to press the issue too far with her husband, who, insisted he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if something happened to her because she was carrying his child. Needless to say, her pregnancy hadn’t been planned—probably something that just added to Langris’ stress. “I know. That’s why I didn’t tell him…I just didn’t want to add anything else to his plate right now. The cherries just aren’t that important.”

Vanessa’s violet eyes were so kind as she tilted her head. “Well, I don’t think he’d agree, but you don’t have to worry about him. I’ll get you some cherries.”

“Oh no, Vanessa, I couldn’t…” Finesse protested, but Vanessa’s smile just widened.

“It’s no trouble for me. We’ve got whole jars of preserved cherries down at the restaurant. If Charmy doesn’t have any back in the kitchen, I know I’ve got several at the bar—more than enough to spare.”

“Vanessa…” Finesse began to protest, but Vanessa cut her off laughing as the baby kicked and jabbed at her hand which was still pressed to Finesse’ abdomen.

“The baby’s excited! It’ll be his first gift from his Aunt Vanessa.”

“Well…thank you…so much!” exclaimed Finesse. She patted her bustling belly. “From both of us.”

Vanessa laughed and teased with a wink, “You’re lucky your sister is a bartender.” 

Finesse smiled but sniffled. She blinked her watering eyes rapidly not knowing what had come over her all of a sudden.

“Oh!” exclaimed Vanessa. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” sniffled Finesse. “I’m sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it’s just the baby—not your fault,” Vanessa reassured with a kind smile. “But if you want to talk about it…”

Finesse blushed but feeling a bit bold she said, “It’s just…you said you were my sister…do you really feel that way?”

“Um…yeah,” Vanessa admitted with a shrug and a kind smile. “You’re family.”

Finesse wiped her eyes. “I always wanted a sister, and I think of you as one. But um…I just wasn’t sure…” she paused. “When you and Finral got married, I was…worried…” her voice began to trail off and her cheeks turned pink, but Vanessa patted her hand reassuringly. “I’m just so relieved that you don’t hate me.”

“Hate you?” repeated Vanessa incredulously. “Are you crazy? You’re the nicest person ever. Nobody in their right mind could hate you. Besides,” she teased. “Langris would kill them.” Finesse laughed lightly which turned into a slight cough before she continued.

“It’s just…after everything…I thought you would resent me,” she sighed with flushing cheeks. “We weren’t together very long, and of course, it didn’t work out between us but…if you loved him when we were engaged…”

“I didn’t,” answered Vanessa. “Not then--not like this. I wasn’t like Langris. That boy pined after you for years but stepped aside so you could marry his brother. Even though things didn’t shake out that way, if someone was going to resent you, it would be him, but he loves you, so…” Vanessa shrugged, and Finesse’ face flushed. Even after all these years of marriage and a child on the way, to hear it said so forthrightly made her blush a little. She saw Vanessa stifling an affectionate laugh which faded into a compassionate smile. “If anything, I should thank you. I mean, you’ve spent enough time in this place to know how awful it must have been for them to grow up here—how they must have suffered—Finral and Langris both. You were the one good thing in Finral’s entire miserable childhood, the first person who ever encouraged him and genuinely cared about him—and he loved you for it. I could never resent that.” Vanessa squeezed her hand, and Finesse sighed with relief.

“Also, I know you’re the one that broke things off with him so I guess I owe you one,” teased Vanessa with a wink. She laughed. “To tell you the truth, I’m really just glad you have no hard feelings against me. I mean, you ended up married to Langris.”

Finesse stifled an affectionate laugh behind her hand. “He’s really very sweet actually…” she said as her cheeks turned a bit rose.

“Alright…I’ll take your word for it,” Vanessa chuckled and winked at her. “But I’m not sure it’s worth living here in House Vaude—is it? I mean the Lord and Lady must be driving you crazy—what with you carrying the future heir and all.”

Finesse shook her head. “Langris tries to keep them away from me--tells them I need my rest. Liliane was in here yesterday, but just to pick out some things for the nursery and to ask me about you.”

“About me? Why?”

“I think having the Princess of the Forest of Witches as a daughter-in-law gives them some bragging rights among the aristocracy,” she answered thoughtfully. “More than just having the king’s grand-niece as one.”

“Great…so I’m their trophy now? I married the son they disowned--does that never come up?” Vanessa huffed and rolled her eyes. “I can’t stand these people.”

Finesse stifled a laugh at her honesty but admitted, “They’re…definitely difficult to like sometimes...”

“You’re giving them too much credit,” Vanessa huffed with a shake of her head. “Given where they grew up, it’s amazing Finral and Langris turned out as well as they did,” she sighed. “I mean they’ve both got their issues, sure, but it could’ve been way worse. House Vaude is a mess…I can’t believe they were fighting over which one of them got to run the place at one point.”

“Well, I suppose it’s not their fault they were born into it,” sighed Finesse sympathetically. “We can’t choose family.”

“I guess that’s true, but we married into this shitshow so what does that say about us?” Vanessa teased with an exasperated sigh, and Finesse laughed breathily. “Don’t tell Langris I cursed in front of your kid…” she joked giving Finesse’ stomach an affectionate pat. Then she sighed thoughtfully. “I guess, it’s not entirely fair to throw you in there with me since you didn’t have much of a choice in the matter—with the arranged marriage and all.”

“That’s not entirely true,” she admitted shaking her head. While, yes, she had been caught in the middle of years of drama at House Vaude due to a betrothal arranged by her grand uncle, the king, and Lord and Lady Vaude, in the end…

“Hmm?” Vanessa hummed.

“Well, it’s just… Langris offered to break off the engagement,” answered Finesse her cheeks feeling suddenly warm. “After he was reinstated as the heir, I mean. He said, he didn’t want me to feel like him and his brother were passing me back and forth like some sort of toy. He told me he only wanted me to marry him if I wanted to. That’s when I asked about why he had stepped down as the heir in the first place—stepped aside for his brother—and he told me it was for me…because he thought he couldn’t make me happy but Finral could.” She blushed still genuinely moved after all these years. “He said he gave it up because he wanted me to be happy.”

“He really is such a tsun isn’t he?” laughed Vanessa. Finesse chuckled as the baby’s feet fluttered in her belly. “I think the little one agrees,” she added patting Finesse’ stomach. “He knows him so well already.”

Finesse chuckled breathily. “He always kicks when he hears Langris’s voice. I mentioned this to him so now he’s taken to reading aloud to him sometimes—though mostly just whatever he’s working on so a lot of reports.”

Vanessa raised her eyebrows. “You sure you don’t have hard feelings?”

“None at all,” said Finesse with a smile. “I think things worked out for the best in the end. I know you don’t believe in fate all that much, but I like to think it was meant to be this way. Even if it took us a long time to get here, I like to think that we’re all happy.” She returned Vanessa’s wide smile before rubbing her hand across her stomach, “And I’m very happy that this little one will have a wonderful aunt and uncle and lots of older cousins to play with.”

“And a younger one,” said Vanessa as she smoothed the skirt of her dress and pressed her hand to the slight curve in her abdomen it had been hiding. Finesse gasped.

“What? Really?”

Vanessa shrugged. “Yeah. Number 4—total surprise, and I’ve started to get huge already...” she sighed as she framed the small but definite bump with her hands. “Don’t ask me how far along I am…I might cry,” she joked.

“That’s wonderful news! I’m so happy for you.”

“I know it doesn’t look like it but it’s still early. We haven’t really told anyone yet. We didn’t want to take any attention away from you. Not sure that we could what with you carrying the future heir of the Noble House of Vaude and all…no pressure though,” teased Vanessa. 

Finesse gently stroked the curve of her belly. “I have a feeling it’s a boy, but it could always be a girl. I would be happy either way, and Langris says he’ll be happy as long as both the baby and I are healthy and safe.”

“I bet the Lord and Lady would be particularly agitated to hear that. If you have a girl, they’ll probably start hounding you about trying again. I’d be worried that would kill Langris though…” Vanessa teased.

“Oh, he said we are never doing this again,” chuckled Finesse lightly. “If we have a girl, we’re just going to leave the House to one of your sons.”

“Let’s hope that the Lord and Lady won’t still be around by the time he’d have to take it over...” Vanessa crossed her fingers. “Nothing personal, but I hope you’re right about having a boy—especially since this is a one-shot deal,” she teased.  

Finesse smiled but sighed. “I wouldn’t mind… having more than one…” she admitted quietly as a blush rose in her cheeks. “But I don’t think my body could handle it…” her voice trailed.

“Or Langris’ psyche…” joked Vanessa trying to lighten the mood, but her face softened as she reached out to place a comforting hand over Finesse’. “I’m sorry. I know that must be hard for you.”

“That’s okay. I’m just glad we’re having this one,” she said with a soft smile as she patted her stomach. Her smile widened. “Though you’re very blessed to have so many.”

Vanessa laughed. “I can’t imagine my life without them...but it is pretty chaotic sometimes,” she joked affectionately. “You know, you can always borrow some of mine for awhile if you want to know what it feels like to have a big family.” She winked before resting a hand on her middle with a sigh. “4 kids is a lot…”

“4? I thought you had 3?” questioned Langris appearing in the doorway: a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a stack of files in the other. Finesse smiled and pressed a hand to the place where the baby started kicking excitedly at the sound of his voice. “You’re not honestly thinking about adding another one are you?”

Vanessa shrugged. “Too late.” She smiled and patted her stomach, “Surprise.”

Langris sighed and shook his head. “My dumb brother…I am going to smack him…”

“Pretty sure this one’s on me…” admitted Vanessa rubbing her hand across the slight curve in her belly.

“Oh…gross…” huffed Langris rolling his eyes. Vanessa laughed as Finesse stifled a chuckle that turned into a cough.

Langris turned towards her with a start. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she reassured with a smile. “Just laughing too hard. I’m so glad Vanessa came to visit.”

“Well as long as it’s not too much for you,” said Langris—his demeanor softening as he took a seat. “The doctor says you need to rest and shouldn’t push yourself too hard. If you’re too tired, just tell her and she’ll leave.”

“I’m okay. Really. Please don’t worry,” said Finesse reaching out to pat Langris’ hand reassuringly. A blush filled his cheeks.

“You tsun,” teased Vanessa affectionately ruffling a hand through his hair. Langris wriggled out of the way though his blush deepened.

“Stop that,” he huffed as he patted down his hair trying and failing to fix it from the unkempt mess Vanessa’s playfulness had turned it into. Finesse covered her mouth with her hand and tried not to laugh.

“You’re no fun, Langris,” teased Vanessa draping an arm around him. “And goodness are you uptight!” She gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze. “You carry stress in your shoulders just like Finral. You need to relax…” Langris squirmed away from her with a huff.

“Get off of me,” he snapped, red in the face as he tried to regain composure. Finesse smiled—she had always found this awkward side of Langris somewhat endearing. “Just because my brother doesn’t worry about you…”

“Oh no, he does. He worries about you and Finesse too. He’s been losing sleep over this…” She gestured towards Finesse who stared down at her hands.

“He has?” she asked guiltily.

Just then, as if on cue, a sparkling portal appeared in the wall and Finral stuck his head through.

“Hey, is everything okay?” he asked.

“Hello, Finral. It’s good to see you,” said Finesse with a smile.

Langris huffed at him. “What are you doing here? This is not a party.”

“Well, when Vanessa didn’t come home, I started to get worried that something was wrong.”

Vanessa sighed gesturing to Finral. “See…” she said proving her point, but she smiled reassuringly. “But he’s fine. Don’t worry.”

“Worry? What do we have to worry about?” he repeated visibly agitated. He turned towards Finesse. “Is everything really okay with you and the baby?” he asked. Finesse nodded, and Vanessa sighed.

“Yes, Finral, everything is fine. Don’t worry.”

“What about you?” he asked turning his attention to her.

“I’m fine too,” she said, and Finral sighed in relief.

“Ah, I’m glad. And the baby?” he stopped abruptly—seemingly remembering that Finesse and Langris were there. He gasped and covered his mouth with his hands. “Oh! Oh sorry, I…” he looked from them to Vanessa before smiling almost sheepishly. “Well…we’re um…”

“They already know….” Vanessa interrupted, and Finral tilted his head.

“Huh? You told them without me?” He almost pouted before Langris lightly smacked the back of the head. “Ow!”

“That didn’t hurt, moron,” huffed Langris. “Now get out. She needs rest. All this excitement is bad for her and the baby.”

“Lady Finesse or Vanessa?” asked Finral earnestly, and Langris threw up his hands.

“Both of them!”

As the brothers continued their concerned bickering, Vanessa sighed and rolled her eyes, turning towards Finesse with a teasing smile, “Let’s run away together. Leave these dummies to calm down.” Finesse laughed as Vanessa added quietly, “You know now might be a good time to mention those cherries. It might help if they had something to do…”

“Oh…um…well, okay…” Finesse whispered unsurely, but Vanessa winked at her.

“Hey boys!” Finral and Langris stopped their heated discussion to turn to look at her. “Finesse was telling me earlier that she’d really like some cherries.”

“Cherries? I can get cherries,” answered Langris immediately.

“Well…I can I help. I can get cherries too,” added Finral.

“I am perfectly capable of getting cherries for my wife, Finral. You have your own wife and kids, why don’t you get them cherries?”

“Yeah. Yeah. Right. Okay,” he answered nodding. “Vanessa, do you want…?”

“No,” she cut him off. “But you’re going to have to go with Langris. They’re out of season here so you’re going to have to go to the Heart Kingdom to get them. Go get ready to leave. I’ll be right there to stay with the kids. Keep the portal open for me,” she said giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. 

“Right, yeah. Langris, I will be back to get you,” he called before disappearing. Langris waved a hand almost dismissively at his brother as he focused his attention on Finesse.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay if I go to Heart Kingdom? With Finral’s portals, it shouldn’t take too long.”

“You really don’t have to do this…” she insisted placing her hand over his.

“No, I want to,” he said gently with a kind smile that reached his eyes. “I will be right back.” With a gentle smile, he tenderly pushed a piece of hair out of her face and kissed her forehead. Finesse felt the blush rising in her cheeks even after all of these years as their child fluttered excitedly inside her—like butterflies in her stomach. He really was very sweet, she thought. 

“Aww…” sighed Vanessa affectionately. Abruptly, Langris pulled away from Finesse and bristled—his face turning a deep red as if he had completely forgotten their sister-in-law was there.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” he asked in the stiff voice he only used when he was embarrassed.

Vanessa shrugged. “Wouldn’t you rather me stay here until you’re ready to leave? I can take these…” she said reaching for the flowers Langris still had in his hands. “Go put your files away.”

“Right,” agreed Langris picking up the stack of files he had sat down on the side of the bed when he had come in. He gave them a curt nod before disappearing through the doorway.

“You didn’t have to embarrass him like that…” sighed Finesse though she smiled slightly.

“I know, but I only do it out of love and because it’s so easy,” Vanessa teased. “He’s very cute.”

“He’s very fond of you too—more than he lets on,” said Finesse as Vanessa replaced the wilted flowers with the bouquet Langris had brought with him. Finesse smiled–lilies from her garden, her favorite.

She sighed. “Are you sure it’s fair to ask him to go all the way to the Heart Kingdom just to get cherries?”

“I told you he’d do it, in a heartbeat, if you asked,” Vanessa said with a wink, and Finesse blushed.

“But why didn’t you tell them about the ones at the restaurant?”

“Why do you think?” she laughed. “With any luck, their little adventure will help them get out some of that nervous energy.” Vanessa shook her head rolling her eyes, but she smiled with an affectionate sigh. “Those dummies…”

She stood up and gathered her things but turned to pat Finesse’ stomach one last time. “See you later, kiddo.” She gave Finesse a quick, one-armed hug. “I’ll try to come back to visit soon. Maybe bring the kids next time…”

“I’d like that,” said Finesse with a smile. “Tell them I miss them and send them my love.”

Vanessa smiled, but before she could respond, she was interrupted by Finral sticking his head through the portal again.

“Vanessa, do you know where I left that map of the Heart Kingdom?” he asked somewhat frazzled.

“I didn’t know we had a map of the Heart Kingdom...” Vanessa sighed. “Hold on, I’ll be right there and help you look.”

“Okay, if you could hurry…that would be great. I’m not sure how much longer I can keep this open…,” he chuckled awkwardly.

“Okay just a few more minutes.”

Finral fidgeted a little but sighed. “Okay, but I’m running out of mana reserves, and I still have to take Langris to the Heart Kingdom.”

“Hold on.” In a swift motion, Vanessa turned and threw her arms around his neck kissing him full on the mouth. Finesse gasped and covered her mouth with both hands in surprise and embarrassment, but before she could look away it was over. Finral blinked rapidly—dazed and confused like Vanessa had hit him on the back of the head. Vanessa, however, seemed unfazed. “Better?” she asked.

Finral managed a nod as he tried to catch his breath. “Ye…Yeah…” he choked. “Take as much time as you need…” Vanessa smiled and ran an affectionate hand through his hair before he disappeared through the portal again—red in the face. 

“Sorry,” Vanessa turned towards Finesse whose face flushed in embarrassment. “I’m not sure how Langris is, but Finral’s mana reserves are tied to his mood. He just needed a little boost to get them to and from the Heart Kingdom--he’ll be fine. But still…I probably shouldn’t have kissed him like that in front of you…or anybody…”

“You kissed my dumb brother in my house?” huffed Langris exasperatedly, appearing in the doorway. “Ew…”

“Just be glad you didn’t have to see it,” joked Vanessa with a wink. 

“Shouldn’t you be going?” he asked.

“Yeah, why don’t you just come with me? You can take off for the Heart Kingdom from our house—save Finral another trip over here. He’s depleting his mana reserves already with all these portals. I wouldn’t want you to get stranded.”

Langris sighed and conceded. “Alright.” He turned to Finesse. “Please take care of yourself while I’m gone, and if you need anything, contact me with a magic item or ask Vanessa or the servants or somebody for help.”

“I will be fine. Please don’t worry about me,” said Finesse, who feeling a bit bold, pressed her palm to Langris’ cheek. She took his hand and pressed it to her stomach where the baby was kicking and smiled. “We’ll be waiting for you when you come back.”

There was such a gentleness to his face when he gazed down at their hands, and he met her eyes and smiled at her with such tenderness, her heart could have melted. They weren’t a particularly affectionate couple--both rather shy about their feelings and neither of them touchy-feely like Vanessa especially not in front of other people. They were never going to be the type for grand romantic gestures, but it was moments like these—the subtle, everyday things, like a tender smile, a kiss on a forehead, a bouquet of her favorite flowers, or a trip to the Heart Kingdom to get the cherries she wanted—that showed how much they cherished each other. Finesse stroked Langris’ face with her hand. Then, she leaned in and kissed his cheek gently. “For luck,” she said quietly as Langris’s face turned bright red.

“Ah what do you know, they really are alike after all,” joked Vanessa. She winked at Finesse who blushed—knowing Vanessa must’ve picked up on a slight change in Langris’ mana.  

“Come on. Let’s go,” said Langris trying to sound curt though he was blushing furiously as he turned towards the portal. He said farewell and then stepped through the portal followed by Vanessa, who turned back to wave at Finesse with a wink.

“Hang in there! Soon you’re going to have every cherry in the Heart Kingdom.”

Finesse laughed. Surely, they wouldn’t bring back all the cherries…right? 

[acacia-may]

LADY FINESSE APPRECIATION DRABBLE

Feeling feelsy about the lovely but sadly underrated Lady Finesse right now so please take this short (unsolicited) snippet/drabble from a wip about her called "Burning Dreamhouse" that I never finished...

This scene takes place shortly after she learns about what happened at the Royal Knights' Exam

🩷💙💚

Finesse noticed something out of the misty corner of her eye. She knelt down in front of the dollhouse. It had been thoughtfully dusted and cared for but had not been played with in over a decade. Her dolls, Lord Thomas and Lady Clematis, were exactly where she had left them—sitting down at the table with Aunt Cynthia and their sons, Damian and Dimitri, while their daughter, Philomena Rose, slumbered peacefully in a nearby cradle. Finesse patted Damian and Dimtri’s heads and rocked Philomena Rose’s cradle. She ran her hair through Cynthia’s curly hair and fluffed Lady Clematis’s pink dress before her gaze fell on Lord Thomas at the head of the table—still stern, serious but with something so kind in his light eyes.

Something cold, wet, and unwanted cascaded down her cheek.

As she wiped her tears away, she couldn’t help but feel that it was her own fault for being so hopeful, so naïve as to even wish for such a life for herself only to have it slip through her fingers. Maybe her father was right, and she should just graciously accept all of this terrible treason business as her “out.” But...

She stared at her beloved dollhouse again—filled with silly hopes and childhood dreams. She knew House Vaude wasn’t the dream house she had always wanted. It was cold with something dark and sinister under the Lord and Lady’s perfect, plaster smiles that had left their sons wounded. Despite their best efforts to hide it from her, she knew something in them was hurting, was broken. It was a pain she could never truly understand, but she could feel it so palpably that it ached in her chest, burned behind her eyes, and left her helpless and torn apart.

And maybe that’s when she should have run, instead of digging in her heels and deciding to stay in a burning house, but how could she when she knew she wasn’t the only one trapped there?

From the moment she had chosen to care about Finral and Langris, she had known that if they needed her to stay, to crawl through those flames to reach them, she wouldn’t hesitate—would pull them close as their world crumbled and burned.

When Finral himself had left, had managed to save himself, she couldn’t bring herself to be anything but hopeful and supportive, to pray that he would find true happiness and everything he ever wanted by leaving his past behind, even if that meant leaving her along with it. She understood. She had never been able to offer him a rescue like his squad had. The most she could do was sit with him in all of that pain so he wouldn’t have to carry it alone anymore. But that hadn’t been enough—for him or for Langris.

Long after Finral had gone, she had still stayed by his side knowing how much he was hurting—how crushing the weight of those patrimonial burdens must have been and how devastating it was for him to lose his brother. She watched as the pain ate away at him with nothing she could do to stop it, and now that it had destroyed him, she was expected to leave...when he needed her most…when she didn’t want to.

Finesse smiled just slightly at the little dollhouse family before she grabbed her cloak. She already had a Finral-shaped hole in her heart. She wouldn’t have a Langris one too.

“Finesse? Finesse? Where are you going?” called her father as she rushed downstairs to the front door.

“To talk to His Majesty.”

No, House Vaude may not have been the dream house she had always wanted—may have been crumbling, broken, and burning, but it was hers. And she wasn’t going anywhere.

[acacia-may]

Who are your top ten favourite black clover characters and ships (platonic or romantic) ? Talk about them.

Hi there, Anon! Thank you for the ask! 💖 Oh this is so difficult because Black Clover is just full of all these wonderful dynamics between its amazing, multi-dimensional characters! Friendships and family bonds get to shine so much in the story and those platonic relationships are what I got invested in the most when I was watching the anime and reading the manga so I think my list will reflect that, but I tried to pick a variety. In no particular order, if I had to narrow it down to just 10, these are probably my favourites. I’m going to list them here, then put my ramblings under the cut since this was long…😅 [The top 10 favourite characters post is going to have to be separate, but here's the relationship one]

*Some warnings for a few vague mentions of some of the characters’ childhood trauma/abuse.  Also some vauge-ish manga spoilers.* 

Finral and Langris (Familial Bond) 

Finral and Vanessa (Either Platonic or Romantic. I like both but love their friendship most of all). 

Rill and Charmy (Either Platonic or Romantic. I like both, but I’d say I actually ship this one to a certain extent) 

Vanessa, Magna, and Luck (Probably My Favourite Friendship Trio in the series) 

Gordon, Grey, and Gauche (Another Favourite Trio) 

Langris and Finesse (Either Platonic or Romantic. It’s underrated either way) 

Nozel and Dorothy (Friendship—I guess it could be romantic(?) Not opposed to that, but I wouldn’t say I actively ship it). 

Vanessa and Noelle (Friendship & Sister-Like Bond) 

Mereoleona, Fuegoleon, & Leopold (Familial Bonds) 

Asta and Yuno (Familial Bonds) — I feel like this is just the heart of the series. 

Finral & Langris’ brotherly bond is probably the dynamic I am most invested in, in the whole series, or at least is tied for first place. I did not like either of the spatial brothers much in the beginning (though my sister used to tease me that Finral was my “secret favourite” when we were binging the anime together 😂), but as the series progressed and provided the opportunity to learn more about them and to really understand why they act the way that they do, they became two of my favourite characters, albeit very complex ones. One of things I want most out of the series is for them to reach an understanding and reconciliation with each other and rebuild that familial relationship they could have had with each other if they hadn’t grown up in such a toxic environment that pitted them against each other, strained their relationship, and fostered resentment. I think they could really understand and support each other too, if given the opportunity (and if, in Langris’s case especially, they’re actually willing to open up to each other) because I really think that despite their many differences, Langris and Finral’s deepest wants and motivations are extremely similar: they were denied unconditional love as children and are starving for it as adults. They go about trying to fill that void in different ways—Finral with his excessive flirting & pursuing romantic relationships and Langris with his achievements and accomplishments & fighting to be “the best,” but it’s really the same wound at root, in my opinion. Rebuilding their relationship could really help them begin to heal from that because there would be an understanding there as well as the opportunity to experience the real love of a family as actual brothers. In so many words, I just want them to get along and be happy! 

Finral and Vanessa’s dynamic is just wonderful—whether platonic or romantic (either is fine with me). It’s probably tied for my favourite dynamic in the story and is definitely one of my favorite things in Black Clover especially in the anime where it really got its opportunity to be fleshed out. It's just such a healthy dynamic for a male-female friendship in media which I think is unfortunately kind of rare in fiction especially when one of the characters is the "token flirt" like Finral. I really think that at some point, in order for them to have the healthy friendship they have in the canon, Vanessa had to have made her boundaries incredibly clear and made sure Finral understood where they stood in the relationship--that this is an actual friendship, not a stepping stone to a romantic relationship (because Finral’s problem, especially early on in the canon is that he sees all women as potential romantic interests), and Finral has so much respect for her that he is just never ever going to act on anything that could even potentially be there (even subconsciously?) on his side because he values their friendship & respects her boundaries. This is rare–in fiction and in real life, and there's something really beautiful about it. I have no doubt that Finral’s friendship with Vanessa is probably the healthiest (or one of the healthiest) relationships he has with a woman in his life, and it definitely helped me have more respect for him as a character. 

I think the canon makes it obvious how good a friend Vanessa is to Finral–I just love how she really builds him up and encourages him (also the bond she has with him, however one wants to classify it, literally brought him back from the dead in the Forest of Witches)–but I think Finral is just as good a friend to her as well, we just get to see less of that side. On Vanessa’s side, I  think that her friendship with Finral gives her the chance to be vulnerable. One of the greatest things about Vanessa’s character is that she is so empathetic and supportive of her friends, but she spends most of her time being the “shoulder” to cry on whereas it’s hard for her to open up and seek support when she is the one who needs it. In my mind, Finral knows her well enough to know when she needs that help and support that she isn’t usually comfortable asking for. I think there’s a great balance in Vanessa & Finral’s friendship that allows them both to open up to each other and support each other. They also have so much fun together and trust each other completely! It’s so wonderful–I just love it! As much as they are platonic soulmates in my mind, I’m not opposed to the idea of the relationship taking a romantic turn, and I could imagine them being happy together in that way under particular circumstances. (It’s certainly fun to play with from time to time and I can see the possibilities & potential) I don’t think it’s a “mutual pining” situation, and if something was to happen there, I imagine it would be way in the future, post-canon and would just build onto their already strong foundation of friendship and mutual respect, like icing on the cake. Whether platonic or romantic, this dynamic is just chef’s kiss, in my opinion! (I also like their friendship with Asta, but I have said way too much about them already). 

3. Rill and Charmy both make me laugh so much, and I love their friendship when we get to see those glimpses of it when they’re training together in the Heart Kingdom. Also, Rill not realising that Charmy is his “food goddess” is hilarious to me. He’s so oblivious—it’s really kind of endearing. I’m not sure what will come of it all, but I like to think Rill might be a bit happy to learn his “food goddess” and his friend Charmy are actually one in the same. I’d really like to see more of these two--they seem like such a fun and chaotic force when they’re together. I imagine they are very supportive of each other and each other’s dreams even if other people think they’re a bit eccentric [i.e. it wouldn’t phase Charmy too much if Rill repaints their living room for the third time this month, and Rill wouldn’t mind at all if Charmy wanted to go on a month long expedition through who-knows-where to find some magical mushrooms for stew]. Also, I felt like I needed to pick a romantic relationship for the list and this is probably the ship I like the most besides really obscure ones like Gadjah x Lolopetchka and Dominante x Fanzell.  

4. Vanessa, Magna, and Luck is probably my favourite trio in Black Clover! I love them all so much, and the individual friendships in the trio too–however, I listed them together because watching Magna and Vanessa fight to save Luck during the elf arc was so genuinely moving to me (especially knowing Luck’s backstory), and I’ve been incredibly attached to their friendship ever since! I love those softer, goofier moments between them too where Vanessa is the big sister to her chaotic “little brothers.” It’s very sweet!! 

5. Gordon, Grey, and Gauche is another trio I love very much! I was not expecting this dynamic, but it is so very welcome. They seem like such an odd combination and yet they work together so well and actually have a lot in common. What really gets me about the G-Squad is that they all have these strong themes of loneliness and isolation in their backstories, but now they have this great friendship with each other where they can support and care for one another. It’s so wholesome and warms my heart! G-Squad for the win!! 

6. I allowed myself one “out of the box” dynamic for this list, and Langris and Finesse is by far my favourite in that category. It “has the pizzazz” as my sister would say. Now these two certainly had a rocky start and things are complicated because of that whole arranged marriage business, but I do think they genuinely care for each other–not necessarily in a romantic way but in the way that they want what’s best for each other and want each other to be happy. Lady Finesse brings out this softer, gentler side of Langris (which is probably what I love the most about their dynamic), and I think Langris truly takes the time to listen to what Finesse wants and needs and he values her wishes when they have been dismissed for most of her life (Plus I have no doubt he’d defend her to the death, bend over backward to make her happy, and fight for whatever she wanted, even when she’s a bit too sweet and meek to fight for herself). They have many differences in their personalities but they have a lot of similarities in worldview and their attitudes towards life—being more traditional, formal, and proper ‘old souls,’ and I like to think that even if it started off as an obligation to spend time together because of this arranged marriage they were going to be in, eventually Langris and Finesse actually became fairly good friends and came to genuinely enjoy each other's company (i.e. like when they’re having tea together in that one episode of the anime). 

I think it’s clear that Finesse cares deeply for both of her boys (and Finral and Langris care for her as well), and while Langris has a genuine love and respect for her (not necessarily in a romantic sense though I could see it, perhaps), I think it’s sealed off somewhere and not something he really thinks about or allows himself to feel (let alone label) until his brother’s ‘declaring war’ on him brings all of that to the surface and he kind of has to reconcile how much he wants to be the Head of House Vaude (what he’s worked for his entire life) with how much he wants Lady Finesse to be happy. I think Finesse's happiness is an extremely powerful motivator for Langris. That’s really the only reason I can make sense of why he is so insistent on Finral cleaning up his act and becoming “worthy” of Lady Finesse (Why else would he be helping his brother take over as heir to House Vaude when that actually seems to be something Langris wants for himself? I often ask myself. I'm definitely open to other interpretations but that's the best I've got at the moment). It’s almost like Langris has realized that he can’t make Lady Finesse happy but he thinks that Finral can so he wants to make Finral into the best he can be for her. Once Langris is reasonably sure that Finral is at a place that he can make Finesse happy and has become a man ‘worthy of her’ I could definitely see him stepping aside so that his brother could take over their House and marry her—but purely out of concern for Finesse’s happiness, not Finral’s. I love the selflessness in that (especially for someone like Langris who is/comes off as such a selfish character in the beginning). I don’t want to add to the House Vaude soap opera but if there’s a world where Finral and Finesse decide they aren’t right for each other, I could see her and Langris being genuinely happy together–perhaps even growing to love each other in that romantic sense after a slow burn (and him just doting on and adoring her in the sweetest most tsundere way one would expect from Langris) so really however you want to take that relationship, I just like the dynamic. 

7. The post-anime manga content really did a lot to change my perception of Nozel, and that’s when I really got invested in his friendship with Dorothy. I like to think they get along really well and have a strong foundation of mutual respect for each other. I think that they can be a good balance for each other as well because they're so different (i.e. he keeps her grounded whereas I could see her teasing him & getting him to lighten up a little. He needs that). What I like most about this friendship though is the idea that Nozel has someone he can open up to about these heavy secrets he has been carrying around about his mother. I can’t imagine what a heavy burden that was for him—so the fact that he even has the opportunity to set it down for awhile and to not have to shoulder it alone really warms my heart. While their friendship may have started off as just a matter of convience (i.e. he can literally only talk about the curse in Dorothy’s Glamour World), I like to think she proved to be a supportive and kind confidant and friend, and Nozel soon felt comfortable opening up and being vulnerable with her about other things as well (like his regrets about how strained his sibling relationship with Noelle is, for instance, which is why Dorothy canonically knows he’s such a tsun about how much he cares for his sister) Then, she shared things with him in return and they became better friends than one might expect given their differences. I suppose I could see them happy together in a romantic sense if certain things played out in certain ways and I can definitely understand why people would ship them. I’m just not sure if I would say that I do, at least not actively—I really see them as just very good and close friends.

8. Vanessa and Noelle’s sisterly friendship is just the sweetest! After everything Noelle has been through with her siblings, it warms my heart to think that she’s found such a wonderful “big sister” in Vanessa, and for Vanessa having grown up in isolation probably always wishing she had a sister, it's great to see her get to have a "little sister" in Noelle too. Vanessa really encourages and helps Noelle build her confidence when she really needs that support, and it’s really her love for Noelle as her “little sister” that allows her to unlock her fate power/Rouge. Their hug after Vanessa defeats Her Majesty the Queen of Witches is just so incredibly wholesome and one of my favourite moments in the series! 

9. Mereleona, Fuegoleon, and Leo and their sibling relationship has always been really special to me (I actually have a magnet of them hanging up on my refrigerator). This might be because I have a pretty sizable age gap between me and my siblings in real life which is not something that is portrayed all that often in media and especially not portrayed with the siblings actually being close to each other despite the differences in age. I love how supportive Mereoleona, Fuegoleon, and Leo are of each other and how the encourage and motivate each other to be their best selves–in their own unique ways but at heart they really do all care for each other and I think that’s very sweet. 

10. I debated this 10th spot for awhile before eventually deciding on Yuno and Asta since their brotherly bond is really at the heart of the series and was one of the first things that really endeared Black Clover to me. I just love that sort of bait-and-switch with Yuno in the very beginning where he starts out as this really "cool," naturally gifted rival for the protagonist trope, but then we find out he truly sees Asta as his brother and respects him more than anyone else. I love how they’re foils for each other and really bring out the best sides of each other too! 

Thank you again for the ask, Anon, and for bearing with me through all the ramblings! Feel free to drop in anytime. I could talk about Black Clover and its friendships & characters for ages! 💖

[acacia-may]

Finesse Calmreich Fanfictions Masterlist

Organized By Relationship (Familial, Platonic, or Romantic is indicated). All stories are rated either G or T (for language and/or thematic elements).

Links are to Tumblr posts unless otherwise specified.

Finesse Calmreich and Finral Roulacase (Friendship):

From the Ground Up -- The last thing Langris wants is to intrude on Lady Finesse’s birthday. When she asks him to stay and spend the afternoon with her, however, he can’t find it in him to deny her—even if he can’t understand why she wouldn’t rather just spend her birthday with Finral and his perfect gift. He has always felt wedged into their story where he didn’t belong, but he might just discover that he is the only one who feels this way. Maybe there is a place for him in the story after all… Rated G.

Sweet Like Cherries -- Domestic and Family Fluff in a future where Finesse is married to Langris and Finral is married to Vanessa. Rated T for one bad word but otherwise just fluffy. Finesse’s POV.

Through A Rainy Window (AO3) -- Langris and Finesse become friends while adjusting to Finral’s absence and their arranged marriage betrothal. Rated G

Finesse Calmreich and Finral Roulacase (Love/Friendship):

I’ll Be Waiting (AO3) -- Finral shouldn't have been surprised--he had known it all along that it would be Langris who would one day be the heir to House Vaude. He had expected it, but that didn't mean it hurt any less. He had no choice now but to leave home. There was no place for him here. He knew he should just slip out quietly without drawing too much attention to himself, but there was one other person he wanted to say goodbye to...even though she was now officially engaged to his brother. Or a take on why Finral apologizes to Lady Finesse for “making her wait again.” Rated G

Treasures -- When Finesse falls ill, Finral wants to send her a gift to show her that he's thinking of her and wishing her well. Of course, this is easier said than done... Rated G

Mentioned In: 

Portals and Potatoes -- The Black Bulls' potato pie eating contest is well underway, and Finral is trying his best to figure out how to make his pile of potato pies disappear. Luckily, some surprise guests arrive just in time to help him out with that... [Fluff and time travel shenanigans for (even more) self-indulgent kicks and giggles]. Rated G (Future Problems Series Story #3). 

Spite -- "Did you just kiss me out of spite?" Never in a million years would Langris have ever believed there was anything in the world that could have possibly led him to a moment in which that drunk witch would be saying those words to him. But somewhere between too many drinks making him honest and revelations from Finral regarding his relationship with Finesse drudging up something he had long kept buried, Langris lost his grip on his tightly guarded emotions and began to live the impossible. And Vanessa was not going to let him off so easy for it [OR There are a lot of very good reasons that Langris Vaude doesn't drink. This is the story of one of them]. Rated T for Language (including some crude insults), Drunkenness, and Descriptive Depiction of Kissing. 

Wine Therapy (AO3) --  Backstory for how Langris and Vanessa became friends (post-series). Rated T for some language 

Note: This pairing is also mentioned and briefly discussed as a past-relationship that didn’t work out in Pancakes for Dinner and Sweet Like Cherries  

Finesse Calmreich and Langris Vaude (Friendship): 

From the Ground Up -- The last thing Langris wants is to intrude on Lady Finesse’s birthday. When she asks him to stay and spend the afternoon with her, however, he can’t find it in him to deny her—even if he can’t understand why she wouldn’t rather just spend her birthday with Finral and his perfect gift. He has always felt wedged into their story where he didn’t belong, but he might just discover that he is the only one who feels this way. Maybe there is a place for him in the story after all… Rated G.

Through A Rainy Window (AO3) -- Langris and Finesse become friends while adjusting to Finral’s absence and their arranged marriage betrothal. Rated G

Mentioned In: 

Wine Therapy (AO3) --  Backstory for how Langris and Vanessa became friends (post-series). Rated T for some language 

Finesse Calmreich and Langris Vaude (Love/Friendship):

A Night at the Opera --  Though Finesse has longed dreamed of going to the opera, Langris' invitation to accompany him there catches her entirely off guard. She is sure his reasons for inviting her are not so personal as a fulfillment of her wish--he probably just enjoys opera and wants some company, feeling obligated to bring her since they had been promised in marriage to one another. But a tender, private moment in their dimly lit opera box leaves her questioning if there is, perhaps, a little bit more to it than that... Rated G. Finesse’s POV. 

Spite -- "Did you just kiss me out of spite?" Never in a million years would Langris have ever believed there was anything in the world that could have possibly led him to a moment in which that drunk witch would be saying those words to him. But somewhere between too many drinks making him honest and revelations from Finral regarding his relationship with Finesse drudging up something he had long kept buried, Langris lost his grip on his tightly guarded emotions and began to live the impossible. And Vanessa was not going to let him off so easy for it [OR There are a lot of very good reasons that Langris Vaude doesn't drink. This is the story of one of them]. Rated T for Language (including some crude insults), Drunkenness, and Descriptive Depiction of Kissing. [Note: relationship is one-sided on Langris’ side]. 

Sweet Like Cherries -- Domestic and Family Fluff in a future where Finesse is married to Langris and Finral is married to Vanessa. Rated T for one bad word but otherwise just fluffy. Finesse’s POV.

[Very Briefly] Mentioned In: 

Pancakes for Dinner  

Note: Through A Rainy Window (AO3) focuses on Langris and Finesse’s  friendship, but it could be taken in a romantic way if the reader wanted to see it (They’re also engaged in that story, but it’s an arranged marriage so it doesn’t really have a romantic connotation)

Finesse Calmreich and Vanessa Enoteca (Friendship):

Sweet Like Cherries -- Domestic and Family Fluff in a future where Finesse is married to Langris and Finral is married to Vanessa. Rated T for one bad word but otherwise just fluffy. Finesse’s POV.