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free-for-all-fics · 1 year ago

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Captain Louis Renault Cinderella-esque AU Prompt! This was inspired by The Princess and the Frog a little bit. Pls tag me if you’re inspired by any of this and I’d love to read it! 💙🎊

Your best friend is the beloved daughter of an extremely wealthy and powerful businessman. Even after his death, his influence and legacy still follows her everywhere she goes, even all the way to Casablanca in French Morocco, North Africa. She married a man of wealth too, and her husband loves her so much he gives her almost anything she asks for and fulfills any request of hers. Thus, people who don’t know her very well may accuse her of possessing a very spoiled and shallow personality. While most people know that she romantically pursued and later married her husband for his money, you know that she fell in love with him along the way and values him for much more important qualities that he possesses rather than just his money.

She was a prominent socialite back in your home country and her popularity has carried over to Casablanca. She’s doted on and given everything she wants by her husband, the locals, and even tourists who recognize her family name. They may surround and admire her, but she doesn’t take any of their kindness or generosity for granted. She's a ditzy, impulsive diva filled with spunk and flair and while, yes, she’s spoiled and can act self-centered sometimes, she’s very generous and by no means a snob. She’s even told you that if her husband’s only good quality was his money, she would’ve divorced him years ago. You met him many times while they were dating and bonded almost immediately. He’s funny, charismatic, charming, and sweet, and has become like a brother to you. He and she have a lot in common and are perfect for each other. She’s aware her background has afforded her many privileges, which she uses to help better the lives of the people that surround her and populate her life. Though she and her husband are often given special treatment, they don’t believe in the idle rich and do what they can to give back to the community, whether through charity, fundraisers, etc. If they have children, they’re going to raise them to understand the importance of maintaining a balance between giving and taking.

She’s one of the few people from the upper class who refuses to weaponize her wealth or discriminate against and take advantage of the lower class. Sympathy is in short supply in Casablanca, it seems, and she’s one of the few kind-hearted upper class women who doesn’t prey on others. She’s also fiercely loyal to you. She’d never admit it, but you have a feeling that the reason she and her husband haven’t secured exit visas and boarded the plane to Lisbon, when they so very easily could do so at any time, is because she doesn’t want to leave you behind. If you can’t go with her to America, she won’t go at all.

Back in your home country, your mother died shortly after you were born and you were raised by your father. Though you and your now best friend lived in different neighborhoods, you somehow crossed paths when you were children and were attached at the hip ever since. Despite your differences in social and economic class, she invited you over to her grand house for play dates and sleepovers, treating you as an equal. She was an only child and, to her, you were the sister she always wanted. She didn’t have a mother either and was raised by her extremely wealthy but widowed father too, so you bonded over that. When your father was called to fight in World War I, she and her father let you stay with them. Your father had been drafted and had no choice but to go. You knew that even if he wanted to stay home with you, it was out of his hands. But that didn’t make you miss him any less. Your best friend was always the one to excitedly give you his letters the second they were delivered. She’d watch as you opened them, the way your eyes would dart across the page. She’d ask you if you were willing to share with her what the letters said, not wanting to overstep or pry into something so personal. She’d never read your father’s letters without your permission.

But then your father’s letters suddenly stopped coming and you feared the worst. She held you in her embrace and consoled you, giving you a shoulder to cry on. One day, you and she were chatting in her bedroom when her father called for her to come downstairs alone. She reluctantly got up with a promise she’d be right back. When she met her father at the bottom of the stairs, he was pacing back and forth. When he made eye contact with her, his face looked grim. He handed her a telegram addressed to you, telling her that it just came today and, although he answered the door and signed for it, he didn’t feel it was his place to read it first. It was from the War Department. It was the first and only time she opened a letter addressed to you without your permission, but she felt that she had to read it first. She quickly sliced it open with a knife, not caring if she accidentally cut herself. As her eyes scanned over the words, her hopes that your father was only missing and would be found alive were dashed and her fears were realized. She slowly made her way back up the stairs, her heart filled with sorrow and dread as she reentered her bedroom. You were sitting in the window seat, watching the birds and the people passing by in the busy street below as you waited for her.

“Could I speak to you? It's important. It's a telegram. It’s just arrived and it’s addressed to you.”

“A telegram? From whom?”

“From the War Department.”

“It isn't anything about my father, is it?” When you moved to stand up, she softly gestured for you to stay where you were. It’d be better if you remained seated for this.

“Could I sit down beside you for a moment, please?” When you nodded and moved over to make room for her in the window seat, she took your hands in hers and gently squeezed them. She hesitated for a few moments, as if unsure what to say. She knew she needed to choose her next words very carefully, but she also knew it wouldn’t do you any good if she stalled. If she dragged this out for longer than necessary, it would only hurt you more. It was best to just come right out and say it to avoid causing you unnecessary pain.

“What is it?”

She said your name slowly. And then, “…Your father has been killed in action.”

You took the telegram from her, practically snatching it from her lap as you frantically read it over. There had to have been some mistake. “Oh, no. Oh, no, not Daddy. My poor, dear Daddy. And I loved him so.” You fell into hysterics, sobbing so hard that your eyes flooded, your tears nearly blinding you. You felt like you were drowning and you couldn’t breathe. Your friend called your name, but you couldn’t bear to listen. You stood up and paced around the room, as if trying to escape from a horrible nightmare.

“I begged him not to go to war. I begged him. I begged him!”

“Let me say something to you. Will you please?” She had to raise her voice in order to be heard over your wailing, but you only turned your head away from her and collapsed in one of her nearby armchairs, pounding your fist on it as you fell further into a dark pit of grief.

“No, no! Leave me alone! Daddy’s dead!”

You hiccuped and hyperventilated, nearly choking on your sobs. Your breathing became labored and uneven. Your best friend feared that you’d faint from the shock if she didn’t do something to help calm you down, so she called for her maid to keep watch over you while she rushed out of the room and ran down the stairs, practically sliding down the banister. Her dad was climbing up the stairs at the same time she was going down, so she quickly said, “Dad. Dad. Dad, go up to her. I'll get some brandy. Maybe that'll help.”

After your father’s death, your best friend and her father were the only family you had left. He always wished he could’ve had another child, but then his wife died and it wasn’t meant to be. But then you came into his daughter’s life and, by extension, his own. He loved you like a second daughter when you were growing up. Even if you were much older at the time, he wanted to adopt you legally. He asked for your consent and made it clear that, although he’d never try to take your father’s place, he still wanted you to know you were just as much a part of his family as any blood relative. Whether you chose to go through with the legal formalities of being adopted or not, you were still his daughter and your best friend was still your sister. After he died, your roles were reversed and you were there for her in her time of mourning in the same way she had been there for you. When World War II broke out, your best friend and now sister made it clear in no uncertain terms that she wouldn’t leave without you. Her husband agreed. It was because of her that you joined her and her husband on the refugee trail and escaped to Casablanca together.

She has always been your ally, ready to fight your corner and stand up for you if any of her snobbish guests or peers were giving you trouble. Whether at parties or out in the street, she always has your back. After she fell in love with her husband, she never much paid any mind to the crowd of sycophants. People like that only want to use other people to better themselves or climb the social ladder. They feign creating friendships but only seek personal gain, not caring who gets hurt in the process. To them, social standing is everything. She used to be like that too, once, until she saw the toll it took on the people she loved most. Fancy titles, social standing, it all became silly nonsense to her and she no longer sees the point in any of it. If she likes or dislikes someone, it’s for who they are and not what they have. She still loves you for who you are and is never ashamed to be seen with you.

She invites you to come along with her and her husband to a party being held at Rick’s Café Américain for a night of fun. There will be live music, an open bar, gambling, and, of course, handsome bachelors to dance with. She smirks and raises her eyebrows suggestively at you when she says the last part, making your face heat up in embarrassment. You roll your eyes and try to wave her off. You remember when the two of you were little girls and played pretend, acting out your favorite fairytales. You and she would dress up in her fancy clothes and act like pretty princesses who were waiting for your handsome princes to come riding in on white horses and kiss you.

“Seems like only yesterday we were both little girls, dreaming our fairytale dreams. Just because I found my soulmate and got my fairytale romance, doesn’t mean you still can’t find yours. There’s a party tonight at Rick’s and everyone is going to be there! You must come!”

“Isn’t there a party at Rick’s every night? What makes tonight so special? Can’t I just sit this one out like I’ve done every other night?”

She purses her lips and pinches you for your sass. You’re right and do have a point that there’s a party every night, but listen! “It’s special because tonight could be your lucky night! I just have this feeling that you might find your other half at this party, but you won’t know until you go, so you’re going. I won’t take no for an answer!”

“You really haven’t changed much, have you? I still want love, but I also want fun. I want a love with lots of laughs. The married couples I’ve seen in Casablanca, they’re a little bit short on laughter. Except for you and your husband, of course. But I know that, if I do find love, it won’t come to me storybook style, with all the trimmings. I won’t exactly be swept off my feet by a handsome knight in shining armor or a handsome prince on his noble steed. Where would I even find a horse these days? Certainly not here in the middle of the desert.”

Your sister looks as if she’s about to protest and tell you to keep your chin up, but her husband knocks on the door and interrupts. She invites him in, hoping he can convince you to see her perspective. “Darling, your timing is impeccable. Tell her I'm right. About love, I mean.” She holds his arm and rests her head on his shoulder, looking up at him with doe eyes. But he has no idea what your conversation was about, so he just sort of shrugs and smiles at you.

But your sister is still determined to play matchmaker for you. You deserve to have a man who loves you like how her husband loves her. She worries that you’re lonely or unhappy sometimes whenever she notices you being a wallflower or recluse. She wants to help you blossom and be seen for the beauty that you are. She has so many beautiful dresses all made from the finest seamstresses across the world, so she loans you one of her evening or cocktail numbers that she’s more than confident will look absolutely ravishing on you. She does your hair and makeup for you and, of course, no outfit is complete without jewelry and accessories. Having really no choice, you let her doll you up. It’s only for tonight, so you’ll do your best to have a good time. Why worry about the future? If you've got anything coming to you, it'll come.

You didn't actually expect to get into Rick’s place. Your sister and her husband, yes, but not you. But Abdul let all three of you pass after receiving Rick’s nod of approval. Your sister makes you promise that you’ll at least try to dance and socialize before the night is over. If you don’t, she swears she’ll drag you out to the dance floor herself and be your partner while she introduces you and hypes you up to every unattached man nearby. You’re single and she wants you to mingle. You know she’s only saying it in jest to tease you and get you to relax, so you promise that you’re going to enjoy this night while it lasts and make the most of it. But you need to sit down and grab a drink first to calm your nerves and steady yourself. While she goes off to dance with her husband, you sit at the bar to order a much needed drink. Sacha, the bartender, is very friendly and you chat with him while he gets your drink for you.

Scanning the room, you take note of the people surrounding you. A middle-aged black man sits on a stool before a small salmon-colored piano on wheels. His hands on the piano make little walking patterns as he plays a jazzy, upbeat tune that’s easy for couples to dance along to. Accompanied by a small orchestra, he sings along during some of the numbers and the crowd of partygoers love every minute of it. All about you there's the hum of voices, chatter and laughter. The occupants of the room are varied. There are Europeans in their dinner jackets, their women beautifully begowned and bejeweled. There are Moroccans in silk robes. Turks wearing fezzes. Levantines. Naval officers. Members of the Foreign Legion, distinguished by their kepis. Everybody comes to Rick’s.

The café is in semi-darkness. The spotlight mostly stays on the man playing piano, but occasionally pans over to the orchestra, the dancing couples, and even the the other attendees sitting at tables or at the bar. A handsome older man in a crisp black uniform decorated with stars catches your eye when the spotlight swings over on him. You see him fully in the light for only a few moments before the spotlight moves and he’s once again obscured in shadow, but just getting that brief glimpse of him was enough to pique your interest. Well dressed men and women surround him, all peacocking as they try to catch his attention and engage in conversation. You don’t know who he is, but he seems either important or popular. Maybe he’s both of those things.

He sets down his glass of brandy and is quick to grab the hand of a beautiful young lady nearby, excusing himself as he goes out onto the dance floor with her. He pulls her into a dance, but you have a feeling he’s only done so to avoid having to endure any more idle chitchat and hollow pleasantries. But it’s not just her. He shares a dance with many beautiful young ladies, in fact. He switches dance partners multiple times, sometimes before songs are even over. It’s as if he’s trying to scope the women out and decide on which one he truly wants to give his oh so valuable time to. Maybe he’s trying to decide who to take to his bed at the end of the night rather than who to dance with. He seems almost bored with the gaggle of beautiful women flocking to him and wanting a turn. But then, during one of the periods when the spotlight once again moves and shines over the bar, he lays eyes on you sitting alone. Who are you? He’s the Prefect of Police, he should have intel on everybody in Casablanca, so how is it that he’s never seen you before and doesn’t recognize you from anywhere? Have you just arrived here?

Without a second thought, he leaves his most recent partner on the dance floor and makes his way to the bar. You notice he’s heading in your direction as he passes through the crowd, but surely he just wants a drink. It can get rather warm in Casablanca, and dancing for so long in such a crowded space is bound to make anyone parched. He can’t be wanting anything to do with you. But he surprises you when he leans his elbow on the countertop and introduces himself to you. His name is Louis Renault and he’s Prefect of Police here in Casablanca. You’re not sure why, but you’re suddenly anxious that having this man’s attention is too good to be true. Though you shake his hand to be polite, you do everything in your power to avoid giving him your name. Giving him your name feels like it would be just as dangerous as when the characters in your childhood storybooks gave their names to the Fae. Names have power. If you gave him yours, it’d shatter the mystique surrounding you and he’d lose interest. If he knew your name, he’d be able to learn so much about you without you even telling him anything.

“Have we met?”

“I do not believe so, Captain.”

“I could have sworn I knew every civilian, refugee, and tourist in Casablanca.”

“Well... I've just recently arrived here with my sister and her husband.”

“Who?”

“My sister.”

“Yes, you said that. Which one?”

“The only one I have, sir.”

“Are you coy on purpose or do you honestly refuse to tell me your name?”

“No! And yes.”

“Then tell me your sister’s name or that of her husband so I might call one of them to learn who you are.”

No matter how persistent or clever he is, no matter how much he prods and pries for you to give him your name, you find ways around it. He asks you to dance but you refuse, electing to finish your drink. You’re not keen on being tossed away by him like those other women were. Although he appears to be a wonderful and talented dancer from what you’ve seen of him, you’d rather not take the chance of being subject to the public humiliation of being discarded and abandoned in the middle of the dance floor. Though he may or may not see through your excuse, he’s still not deterred nor discouraged by your refusal to dance.

Instead, he asks to join you. He’s a gentleman and only sits down across from you when you give him permission to do so. You are curious about him, so some stimulating conversation over drinks won’t hurt. When you warm up to him after God knows how long you spend together at the bar, he asks you once more if you’d like to dance. You’re not sure if it’s because of the alcohol swirling in your system, but your inhibitions fall away and you finally agree. One dance turns into two which turns into three, so on and so forth until, before either of you realize, it’s nearing the end of the night and will soon be early morning. You’ve been having such a wonderful time talking, drinking, and dancing together that it’s like everything and everyone around you has dissolved and time has slipped away from you.

Louis takes you by the hand and sneaks away with you without anyone noticing. He leads you to a room upstairs to get away from the loud cacophony of music and the indistinct chatter of the gambling and drinking partygoers below. You’re standing on a balcony that overlooks the desert city. You’re so relieved to have a respite. Dancing in Rick’s place is nearly always an intimate affair because the floors are so crowded and Casablanca’s climate is usually a trifle warm, so you’ve worked up a bit of a sweat. Tonight the fresh air feels so nice and cool against your skin after spending so many hours in the hot and stuffy saloon that, while you’re not sure if you’re allowed to be up here, you can’t bring yourself to care or worry about getting caught somewhere you’re not supposed to be while alone with a man.

You’re wrapped up in each other’s arms, looking up at the moon. As you enjoy the peace and quiet, you make a comment about how the moon is beautiful even if you can’t see the stars due to the pollution of the bright neon lights. Louis agrees that it’s beautiful, but you notice he’s not looking at the moon when he says this. He’s looking at you. You look into each other’s eyes and suddenly press your lips together without thinking, almost acting on a shared impulse. The first kiss is brief and chaste, as if you’re both still unsure and testing the waters. But soon after that you go back in for more, your kisses lasting longer and longer as neither of you even take a second to let doubt creep in. Louis leaves a trail of fervent kisses from your shoulder up to your neck. He presses his lips to your cheeks and your forehead before he once more captures your lips. In the background you can hear the clock bell striking, but it sounds so far away, muffled as if underwater. All you can focus on is Louis and reciprocating his kiss, the way his body feels against yours, his arms wrapped around your waist and tangled in your hair…

“Is it eleven o’ clock?” You ask him absentmindedly, your voice low and almost a murmur. Your lips are still locked with his and you wonder if maybe Louis is just as distracted as you are and can’t understand you through your mumbling. But you don’t want to break away from his kiss just yet. Just a little longer…

“I think it’s twelve.”

You’re so startled that you’re broken out of your reverie. Your eyes snap open in alarm and you pull away from his embrace. You break the kiss so abruptly that Louis stumbles and nearly falls forward in his attempt to steady himself and keep hold of you. For a few hours you felt as if you’d been underwater. You were in a state of absolute bliss and floating in a bubble, but now you feel as if you’ve suddenly come back up for air and the bubble you were once in has popped. When Louis asks you what’s wrong and tries to recapture you in his arms, you don’t let him and make up an excuse that you can’t stay another minute and need to get home. Your sister must be so worried about you.

The sound of the clock bell tolling feels so much louder than it was before. It nearly makes your eardrums ring. You hastily curtsy and bid him goodbye, making a run for the exit. He walks so fast he nearly jogs behind you, imploring you to stay just a little longer or to at least give him your name so that he can find you. When that does nothing to make you slow down, he offers to drive you home, but you breathlessly yet politely decline, barely making eye contact with him as you glance at him from over your shoulder. You maneuver through the crowd of party guests and he’s not quick enough to wade through the sea of people like you are. They circle and crowd around him, clinging to him like flies to honey, once more calling his name and vying for his attention. You slip away and, by the time he gets to the door and stands outside on the terrace, you’re long gone. He looks around, but there’s no sign of you anywhere. You’ve slipped through his fingers like water and disappeared into thin air. Why did you leave so suddenly? What reason could you possibly have? Only you know.

The next morning, Louis swears he’s met the most enchanting woman at the party that was held last night. Those parties are usually a complete bore or an excuse for him to find a woman to warm his bed for the night, but your presence changed all that. As the Prefect of Police, the unfortunate reality is that most people are overly polite and fawning towards him to either secure a job promotion that’ll get them to a higher rank, or in the hopes of convincing him to furnish them with exit visas. But you were warm and real, and treated him like you did everyone else. To you he wasn’t the Prefect of Police, he was just Louis. It was very refreshing. He hopes to see you again, so much so that he searches for you under the guise of conducting important police business. While the usual suspects are being rounded up, he looks for you.

Meanwhile, you tell your sister all about your night. She’s your best friend and closest confidante, so you know you can trust her to keep what happened in that upstairs room secret and just between the two of you. She admits that she saw you drinking and dancing with Captain Renault, but it was the first time in months or years that she saw you genuinely enjoying yourself at a party, so she didn’t want to interfere and put a damper on your good time. She was worried when she saw you go upstairs with him, but she knew you could take care of yourself and that you wouldn’t let any man coerce you into doing something you didn’t want to. She trusted you not to do anything that she wouldn’t do.

You assure her that, while it all happened so quickly, nothing untoward took place and you didn’t go any further than kissing. Even if the clock hadn’t struck midnight, you wouldn’t have slept with him. Oh, God, just thinking back on it makes you so embarrassed. You drank, danced, flirted, and made out with the Prefect of Police, of all people! You talked so openly with him that it’s a miracle you didn’t slip up and give him your name. Maybe you should consider yourself lucky that he didn’t arrest you! Your sister tells you not to worry about getting arrested. Captain Renault is an official, but he’s a corrupt official. She assures you that, though he’s been appointed as Prefect of Police by Vichy, he doesn’t take his job all that seriously.

While she wants you to find love, she’s not sure if Captain Renault is the right man for you. She’s concerned that if you try to pursue a relationship with him, you’ll only get hurt. She’s not worried about Captain Renault, she’s worried about you. She’s familiar with his reputation and doesn’t want you to get mixed up in it and have your heart broken. She’d hate for you to get thrown away like a used toothpick like he’d done to so many women before you. She warns you about his womanizing ways and hedonistic behavior. She spares no details as she tells you everything she knows about him, including that he has embraced the corruption and vice that comes with his police uniform, furnishing beautiful women with exit visas only in exchange for either a great deal of money or sexual favors whether they’re married or not. She’s not telling you these things to scare you or to shame you for what you may be feeling. She’s telling you these things so that you’ll be well equipped with information that might serve to help you come to your own conclusions about Captain Renault. She knows how smart you are and trusts that you’ll make the decision that’s right for you. Only you can determine if what you’re feeling towards him is love or not and, if it is, she won’t hold it against you or love you any less. She reiterates that she doesn’t care about Captain Renault. She cares about you.

You know you can’t hide from Louis forever and that he’ll find you sooner or later, so you do your best to mentally and emotionally prepare yourself for when that day comes. When he does eventually have the great fortune of bumping into you, his mystery woman from the party, again, you’re working outside and don’t notice him right away. He watches in admiration as you single-handedly carry objects that look to be rather heavy. You make it look so easy and appear to be built for hard labor, so he thinks that maybe you grew up and worked on a farm and/or were raised by a man. You look so different from when he last saw you, but he’d recognize you anywhere. Your clothing is mostly hand-me-downs, your shoes are scuffed up and worn through, you’ve forgone any jewelry or makeup, and your hair is either loose or messily tied back. Your face is covered in a sheen of sweat and spots of dirt.

When you finally look up and notice him watching you, you’re obviously self-conscious about your appearance as you try to pat down your hair and smooth out your clothes to make yourself more presentable, but he doesn’t care about any of that. You’re still so alike in many ways. You may be poor, but he’s a poor corrupt official. You’re just as beautiful as you were at the party, if not more so. Your intellect is matched only by the grace you display. During your conversation, you finally give him your name. He can tell by your body language that you’ve learned about his reputation and his past actions, but he wants to prove to you he can be better than that. That he is better than that. He‘s honest with you when he confesses that he’s quite taken with you and has never felt this way about anyone before. He pursues you by slipping love letters into your mailbox, leaving you small gifts and flowers at your work or on your doorstep, or paying you visits while out and about in the street. What a coincidence he’d run into you at this café, in the market, or be walking by your house while doing his patrols, etc.

You had planned on your romance being a slow burn as Louis didn’t want to come on too strong or scare you away in his romantic advances. He wanted to go at your pace, he really did, but then the Nazis showed up, he was held at gunpoint by Rick Blaine and forced to help Ilsa and her husband, Victor Laszlo, escape on the plane to Lisbon, and Major Strasser was shot dead all within mere hours. He takes your hands in his own and implores you to come with him and Rick to join the Free French garrison in Brazzaville. He knows this is crazy, he knows you’ve only just met less than a week ago. Oh, Hell, you don’t know him from Adam. But when he looks at you, he feels like you were made for each other. He’s right. So much has happened in just the past three days and three nights alone. It’s all been a crazy and hectic whirlwind, but all the best romances usually are, aren’t they? You take Louis’ hand and the three of you walk off into the night fog. You make plans to head to a fort to end your time on the fringes of World War II. Though you’re heading into danger and the unknown, you’re with people that you trust. Together you embark on a new adventure, leaving behind Casablanca for good.

You make a promise to yourself that you’ll write your sister to explain the situation as soon as you can. Although she may be upset with you, you hope she’ll eventually come to understand that you made this decision of your own free will and why you did it. You’ll wish her well and express your hope that she goes to America with her husband, but will assure her that no matter where she and you end up, even if you’re worlds apart, you’ll find your way back to each other someday. Maybe you’ll be engaged next time you meet. You can’t imagine getting married without her being there at your wedding. If an engagement is indeed in your future, it’d have to be a long one. For Rick and Louis, this is the start of a beautiful friendship. For you and Louis, it’s the start of a beautiful romance. While he’s not exactly a prince or knight in shining armor astride a white horse and is a little rough around the edges, you wouldn’t have him any other way.

He doesn’t have much in terms of wealth or material possessions, and even warns you what your future may entail if you choose a life with him. "I want you to be proud of what I do, so I'll start searching for other, more honest forms of employment. God willing, I'll be able to provide enough in a year for us to…to be together. But I have to warn you," he says somberly, "We’ll likely have to move around in the beginning and will be living in apartments that aren’t the biggest nor the fanciest. Ideally we wouldn’t be living in those kinds of places for very long, just until I can secure another job, but even our house won’t ever be as grand as your sister’s and-”

You stop his worried ranting by putting your hand gently on his lips and shushing him. "I don't care about the money, Louis.” You shake your head, brushing his hair away from his face. "As long as I have you, that's all that matters. It’s as my sister said. If I like or dislike someone, it’s for who they are and not for what they have. I love you for who you are, not for what material possessions you can provide for me.”

He’s a romantic and has sworn to devote every waking minute to your happiness. He treats you like a princess and that’s all you could ever want. He’s all you could ever need. Your knight, your prince, your captain, your Louis.

#captain Renault x reader #Louis Renault x reader #captain louis Renault x reader #captain renault #louis renault #captain Louis Renault #casablanca #fic prompt #fic idea #pls tag me if you’re inspired by this #I’d love to read it

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dradelcra · 2 years ago

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Hello! I love your jnh designs so much! Do you have any info or a story around them?

Thank you!!! It always means a lot when people say they like the designs and even want to hear about the lil headcannons/stories I have! (I should really upload to that AO3...) I try not to deviate from the text too much but I love going nuts on their interactions and life prior to the first chapter.

so uuuuh yeah :>

Long post incoming <3 (Really)

I could go on and on about them but I'll do what is best and give some details so you won't be straining your eyes too much.

(This is actually quite long now sorry. I had too much fun with this!)

Characters:

Mr. Utterson (48/12)

-Estate planning Lawyer -Second Oldest of five (first died in childhood). Has a younger sister and two twin younger brothers. -Happily unmarried (tried but it wasn't his cup of tea). -Chinese descent (He has a Chinese name too). -Near-sighted. -Able to bend his own words to his advantage, Jekyll could only wish to be as good as him. (These are never done with hostile intent) -Different in terms of personality in comparison to his more outgoing, expressive and louder family members but he still shares their kind characteristic. -Although he often keeps to himself, he is rather nosy and invasive when it comes to his friends and those around him. -Although he is generally kind, he doesn't take things to heart, especially when it's from someone he doesn't know. Will brush it off without issue. -Doesn't like when he has to do an in person consultation with his clients, however, if it's important he may get a bit of 'liquid courage' before hand. -Not one to get physical but he did punch a kid in boarding school for trying to harm Jekyll after words failed to resolve the issue. -His ties all have different patterns on them. -Former Theatre kid however he will sometimes act out imaginary situations in the comfort of his own room. -Cheats at cards. His friends still have yet to find out how he keeps winning. -Unlike everyone else, their colour motifs are colour mixes of their parents. Uttermom is Cherry red and his Utterdad is Indigo. -Has two pet cats. A Russian Blue named Motz (short for Mozzarella or Mozart depending on who's asking) who he got after a legal issue with a couple who abandoned everything and left the country, including the cat. And a Li Hua, named Heng, which his mother gifted him so he would be less lonely at home. Victim of the universal cat distribution system.

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Mr. Enfield (28)

-Police officer; Newcomen is his partner. -Moved from the United States to England as his mother's dying wish to get out of the dusty town. (Although smog isn't that much better...) -Was from a miner town and his dad owned the local saloon/bar. -Somewhat like his cousin, he's a stickler for the truth while also being a bit of a gossip. -As you'd expect, the exact opposite of his cousin aside from having the same strong sense of curiousity and justice (and sense of humour). -Although he gives the impression of a refined man, that is only when he doesn't speak. He's still learning the English customs. -Speaks a lot of American slang, often leaving his English counterparts confuzzled. -Unlike everyone else, their colour motifs are colour mixes of their parents. Enfield's Mom was hot pink and his Dad is matcha green.

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Mr. Guest (29)

-Clerk -Near-sighted. -Trinidadian (after a friend <3). -Young lad who left home to pursue a career instead of what his family had planned for him. -One of the few people to both 'butt-heads' with Utterson and yet be comforting company. -Generally handles the conversational side of the job and is very good at it as a result. -Generally prefers to keep to himself but like anyone, he does enjoy going out with others to relax

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Mr. Poole (54)

-House head/servant -Indian; Migrated to France for work. Left France once hired by the Jekyll household. -A professional of his work so well known in the butler society that many households prayed he didn't work for the Jekyll household just so he could help them. -Understanding and willing to be an ear to listen and give advice in return if asked. -Far-sighted -(According to butler work ethics, he's not really supposed to have a mustache but if I try to imagine him without one I'll perish so-) -Although Jekyll is the master of the house, Poole is the one who controls most of the tasks within it, along with the family home. -(Another note, I had to age down everyone a little just to Poole wouldn't be nearing his 60s when he kicks the door down)

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Dr. Jekyll (46)

-Apothecary -French/Russian(Mom)+English(Dad) -Only Child (with an unknown half-brother), as well as lonely child. -Unintentionally acts like his mother whom he had a difficult relationship with growing up (Nature and Nurture sort of scenario). Father was kind but negligent. -Acts more like his *'true self' around Utterson and Lanyon on the account that he grew up with them. (*whatever that means) -Got terrified of misbehaving due to witnessing one of the maids die due to such actions (his mother told him that). Then the typical, acting out to get his parent's attention. After their death, and disappearing for three years, he mellowed out. -Has a scar on the left side of his head made during the 3 year trip at the age of 30; the draping/styling of his hair hides it. -His long hair is a coping mechanism and is styled to appear short. It is dyed lighter than it actually is. -Meticulous about his appearance (even as Hyde; old habits) -Divorced, but on good terms. -Has his own garden where he grows flowers. -Collects stamped wax seals. (Utterson uses wafer seals; Lanyon does not stamp his wax seals) -An anxious man especially when things don't go according to plan. -Depending on the relationship with him, his smile may either be comforting or condescending, Schrodinger's smile (you don't know its intention unless you know what he's thinking). -Something of a people pleaser even when he tries to not be. Force of habit. A push-over in boarding school since he never had much opportunity to make friends but both Lanyon and Utterson made sure to stop this as best as they could. -Utterson and Lanyon sometimes call him Jeck-ul to tease him. -Has a rabbit. She is an English Spot named Lily, after her fur pattern and colouration. She also liked to eat the flowers in Jekyll's garden after gnawing out of her cage for the 10th time. She is missing an eye. She was about to be thrown out of a pet shop but Jekyll saw it as an opportunity to use her as a test subject. He ended up not doing that.

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Dr. Lanyon (47)

-General Physician -Scottish -Tallest of everyone mentioned. -older brother with a half-sister. -Hard of hearing due to an incident which started Jekyll and Lanyon's relationship tension. Has a hearing aid but doesn't like using it. Good at making it seem like he can hear. Both Jekyll and Utterson learned how to sign so he wouldn't feel alienated. -Has signed names for those close with him. (J-'J & Flower' U-'Angel' P- 'Pool' Blaire(wife)-I didn't come up with one yet, maybe sunlight or honey which he signs then signs love to make it more endearing idk) -Had a sick mother which prompted his career to General Medicine. Was a loner as a result in his younger years as he looked for work to be able to feed himself and was rumored to be a witch's child. Luckily that's now in the past. -Married to a nurse, turned doctor, who he met on a work trip to the United States (he passed out from heat exhaustion on the job). He has two kids, both who have Jekyll and Utterson as their godfather's -One is named Catriona, Jekyll's goddaughter. (It is vital to know this) -Typical dad and wife loving guy. -Often has a big smile of his face and will wrap you into a hug or give a hearty handshake if given the chance. -Radiates comfort; great with holding a conversation, it's near impossible not feel relaxed around him while he gives you a check up. Jekyll can only wish to be that good. -Pedantic about situations he's knowledgeable in, especially when it comes to health. -Not afraid to start an argument in situations where he feels disrespected. -Looks like a hardy man who doesn't take things to heart but he's quite the opposite. He dyed his hair when he got bullied for it in his younger years. -Has an old dog named Ruth. She's a Duck Tolling retriever, who is terribly sweet and has the energy of a puppy. Lanyon got her from the will of one his patients. She is named after the original owner's child that they never got to have. She unintentionally makes for a good service dog since she helped the previous owner alot during his old age.

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Relationships :

Jekyll x Utterson x Lanyon (J.U.L/Jewel)

-The trio officially meet at boarding school as Jekyll carries Lanyon with him after the death of his mother. They went to the same school as Utterson by Poole's suggestion to Henry's father. -Utterson and Lanyon had a difficult time getting along with each other at the start due to their contrasting personalities, however Jekyll was a good medium and eventually they managed to work with each other's differences. -Lanyon is the one driving force keeping them from not dying at an early age. Those two can barely cook or monitor their own health for themselves. -Utterson the one driving force keeping them from not going broke or getting into major legal issue. -The lads have had pretty peaceful lives, it's strange. Jekyll surely has no idea why. Any outside ruckus seems to just...stop... -On breaks, the stay with Utterson's family until Jekyll is no longer able to due to training for future obligations. They still visit each other. -Utterson's parents were very supportive and kind, indirectly adopting Jekyll and Lanyon as their own. -The trio hold private events with each other where they gift each other random items or hold lunches at their houses. -The jests amongst these three, you'd think they were children with how they act around each behind closed doors. -They'd kill for each other and who is to say the hadn't?

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Poole x J.U.L.

-Was practically a big brother to them; helped them with school work where he could despite leaving school at a young age to work. He managed to get help from another maid who actually knew the material. -Had his fair share of adventures with the lads when they were younger. Having his plate full underestimates his situation. -They still manage to raise his blood pressure even at this age. It wouldn't be them if he didn't find them passed out on the couch after their loud chatter. -They may be adults but he's still going to cover them with a blanket in those instances.

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(some of these may have been mentioned and may refer you back to a previous panel or not?)

Jekyll x Everyone

Poole

-Out of everyone in the house, Poole (and a former maid), were the only ones who interacted with Jekyll rather than giving him the cold shoulder. Poole was fired by Henry's mom as a result but luckily the news reached Jekyll's dad before he left and was soon rehired (the former maid was not as lucky). -Despite the work relationship, Poole is like family to Jekyll, although Jekyll does sometimes use the boss position to his advantage whenever he becomes a bit invasive. -Somewhat childish around Poole, complaining about things and asking him to make him his favourite foods even though that's not his job per se. -After he left for boarding school, Poole left the Jekyll house. When he returned from College, Jekyll went out of his way to bring him back. -Respects him more than his parents. -He couldn't count how many times Poole had been there for him during tough times. -When Poole got fired Jekyll planned to run away with Lanyon to go find him and bring him back.

Lanyon

-Jekyll moves between England and Scotland due to dad's' work, eventually meeting Lanyon at age 10 in Scotland. -Love-hate relationship; If arguments ever arise it's rarely about anything serious. -Lanyon is more likely to call out Jekyll for certain actions, which entertains Jekyll. -As much as Jekyll enjoys troubling Lanyon, he does sometimes take it too far. He knows when Lanyon goes quiet. -They trust each other with the worse of themselves. -Jekyll wishes Lanyon would relax more, he's been more his parent than his parents. -Is competitive with him. -He didn't mean to hurt him, it was an accident...

Utterson

-Jekyll(5) met Utterson(7) in England after travelling to town with Poole to a local fabric store, to whom Utterson's mother owns. -Unlike Lanyon, Utterson is less likely to call out Jekyll for certain actions, however that's because he feigns ignorance. -Although Jekyll trusts Utterson with the negatives of himself, he knows Utterson does tent to go overboard with trying to mend a situation so he keeps a bit to himself. -He envies Utterson for being so…himself without risking people outcasting him. -Has actually managed to genuinely upset him, which is difficult. Utterson didn't speak to him for nearly a month. Lanyon had to be the negotiator for once. He stopped being upset after a day. He may seem reasonable but he is also extremely petty.

Guest

-Jekyll wasn't one hundred percent on having someone so young handle his finances but soon came around when he realized it would lighten the work load on Utterson. -Quite likes Guest once they started talking. -Taught him how to play cards. Started losing to him at cards.

Enfield

-Met him when he was a child but after that he hadn't seen him again until the incident (where he didn't recognize him). -He sort of reminds him of someone…oh well.

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Utterson x Everyone

Jekyll

-When they first met he was reading a book and Jekyll asked him about it but he didn't want to hold a conversation. Jekyll suggests sharing the silence then, which did spark Utterson's interest. -Utterson understands that Jekyll likes to keep to himself as he does but also wishes he'd actually trust him more with his troubles. It's a bit hypocritical on his part and he knows this. -Got him hair ribbons and accessories to show his support. -Although he enjoys his company, he sometimes thinks Jekyll prefers Lanyon over him due to how differently he acts between the two.

Lanyon

-Annoying (Affectionate) -He ends up being both a baby sitter and dog sitter for him sometimes. He still isn't sure how he gets put into that position so easily. -Lanyon is a good person to talk to with reasonable solutions but sometimes he can be really unreasonable when he's clouded by his emotions. -He's a bit too 'touchy' for his liking but at this point diverging the course of a river would be easier than telling him to not hug him at every greeting. He's come to term with it . Afterall, it's not so bad if it's him. -Thinks the arguments between him and Jekyll are ridiculous, but entertaining. If he asks them what they were arguing about they end up forgetting. He can't help but to laugh. -Before they met at boarding school, Jekyll would send letters about him and their adventures. It made him want to be more involved. -Sometimes he envied how outgoing and good with people Lanyon is. -He likes to hear him talk. His voice is full of life and charm.

Poole

-Likes Mr. Poole. -Utterson's parents send him stuff like fabrics and vegetables as he is a regular customer at his mom's shop. -If Poole hadn't come to the shop he wouldn't have met Jekyll and by extension Lanyon. -Finds his work ethics impressive and wishes to make him proud as if he was his own parent.

Enfield

-Enfield's mother is Utterson's mother's sister (aunty but it's vital you know which side).. -When Utterson last saw him he was 10. Poor Utterson (and his siblings) were very confused as to who he was when he returned nearly two decades later! -The two get along rather well despite their opposing personalities (not in the same sense of Utterson with Lanyon). -Before Enfield's migration, they saw each other on some New Years' days when Enfield was still a kid. -He thinks he's learned some…questionable behaviours. He doesn't like tea and drinks coffee without anything in there. He once saw his cooking outside. -Whenever something involves Enfield, Utterson has to be mentioned since he is his emergency contact. (luckily it's never serious)

Guest

-Utterson hired him as Guest was having a difficult time searching for work, especially after separating from his family. -After discovering why, Mr. Utterson still kept him around. -Enjoys having him around to either chat or just sit in silence with while working. -It took a bit of convincing on Guest's part (alongside Jekyll and Lanyon who worried he'd overwork himself if he didn't some help) as Utterson wasn't entirely thrilled with someone being at his work place but decided to give him a chance after hearing he was a good conversationalist.

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Lanyon x Everyone

Jekyll

-He grinds his gears (affectionate). -They bicker like brothers and just as quickly make up without needing to apologize directly. -Both his wife and Jekyll seem to make it their duty to tease him endlessly, why had he done this to himself. -When his mother died in their youth, Jekyll held his hand and had a sleep over. -Always says he's finished with him and his antics but they always end up reconciling. I believe if he hadn't died they might have done so again. -The two are always touching each other, whether with a shoulder slung over, a hug, a pat on the back or linked arms. -Was a bit protective of Jekyll and didn't like his parents or some of the destructive things he did. -Didn't like when Jekyll was growing his hair out but eventually learned to style hair thanks to his sister. He's begun to think that Jekyll only invites him over just to do it.

Utterson

-The definition of opposites. If they weren't seen together you'd think they wouldn't know each other. -Because of this, they aren't likely to be around each other for too long, however that does not mean they don't enjoy each other's company. -Where Utterson may press, Lanyon will recede, sometimes causing situations to get out of hand. Luckily they never get too far. -He doesn't understand him sometimes but he tries his best not to be too physical with him since it makes him uncomfortable. Sometimes however, he gets a away with it. -Utterson appears like a very relaxed individual who always knows what he's doing, people like him without him doing much. It's quite admirable. -He can chat a mile with Utterson around and knows he's still listening. -He wishes he'd stop drinking so much, both as his friend and doctor. He once tried to 'borrow' a cup of water from him after a walk over to his house only to find out that it was liquor. Utterson it is 9am.

Poole

-He feels indebted to him for the care he showed him when he was younger. The food he sent him and the stories he told them in the dimly lit space of Jekyll's room made him forget what it was like to be alone. -Gives him check ups whenever he can, even if he may say that he's fine. That guy's health is very important, free of charge! Jekyll will pay.

Guest

-He handles his finances as well at Utterson's law farm. A smart young lad! -Thinks he's a bit small for his age though. Perhaps he'll allow him to make him a hearty meal one day.

Enfield

-Cute kid! He remembers playing cops and Robbers with him. -Gave him a big hug when they met again.

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Guest x Everyone

Utterson

-Thinks he's a good boss, although he wishes he'd actually communicate directly with his clients rather than using him as a medium. -They 'talk' about their lives and clients with each other. It's a huge relief for both of them. -Subjected to a lot of his puns and jokes. Everyday is torture. -Utterson helped him to pick out some clothes when he started working under him. Style is a must when working under Utterson/j.

Enfield

-As they both know Utterson they interact sometimes. -Guest is still dumbfounded as to how the two (Utterson and Enfield) are related. -Rarely interact with each other but Guest thinks Enfield is rambunctious.

Poole

-Reminds him of an uncle. -He get's lunch from him that reminds him of home.

Jekyll

-Respects Jekyll, however, he had heard some things he'd rather not relay to Mr. Utterson. Even if it was to confirm or deny. The risk wasn't worth it.

Lanyon

-Homely father figure. -Has considered making him his doctor but he'd rather not risk anything.

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Enfield x (almost) Everyone

Utterson

-His favourite cousin (more or less). He may say that he doesn't want to leave him house but he knows that actually means he just lacks the motivation. That's okay! He shall be there. -Enfield tries to get Utterson to go out more. It's a gradual work in progress. -Thinks that he needs to relax more, try going to the theatre like he used to. However, Utterson always finds a way to not go. Eventually he stopped trying there but he did manage to make walking the street a common thing. -He's very reserved on the surface. Although, now when Enfield thinks about it, maybe he's just actually like that. Maybe he's shy? (no.) -Tries to get him to smile where he can, even though it only seems to make Utterson less willing to do so. -He doesn't like playing any strategy based games with him because he someone always wins.

Lanyon

-Barely remembers him but Utterson talks highly of him, albeit in a round about way.

Jekyll

-Doesn't remember much about him but Utterson and Guest speak highly of him. Maybe one day he'll be as respectable as him.

Guest

-Rarely interact with each other but Enfield wishes Guest would be more open. He thinks hanging around Utterson is making him 'too quiet'.

Poole: They don't know each other.

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Poole x (almost) Everyone

Jekyll

-He understands that children become more closed off when they grow older but…why did it have to happen to him! -Such things are expected…at least he turned out fine for the most part. -His mother had the whole house terrified if anyone interacted with the young master. He only got the pass because Jekyll's dad found out after he was fired without him knowing. -He was distant with him after being threatened by her but it broke his heart when the young Jekyll thought it was his fault. -Did everything in his power to ensure that Jekyll could have some semblance of a normal childhood, even if that was limited and risky. -Happy he found friends to which he could be close with. -Jekyll is still as sneaky as he was as a kid as he is now. -Sometimes he'd find the doctor try to seek comfort from him as he used to with a hug. Some things never change…

Lanyon

-When he first met Lanyon, he already discovered his intention of using Jekyll for his own benefits. However, despite that, he treated him as the friend Jekyll terribly needed. With some care, he found that Lanyon's intentions soon turned genuine. -Tried to make his visits as enjoyable as possible when he was younger. -Convinced Lanyon's step father to send him to boarding school with Jekyll rather than separating them. It was a risk meddling with lives however it went as hoped for him. -Very relieved with how Lanyon tuned out. Although he wish he'd stop nearly squishing him when he hugged him.

Utterson

-He was a quiet kid overall and Poole is glad he turned out so well. -His parents have helped him multiple times when it came to organization, management and how to ensure a child reaches their fullest potential although that wasn't entirely his job. -Jekyll and Utterson once returned from the creek covered in mud. Utterdad had never been so amused that his son was capable of such activities. Poor Poole is truly using all his luck when being responsible for them.

Guest

-Poole has had some interactions with Guest as it relates to finances due to him working at the firm where Jekyll keeps his funding. -Guest sometimes gets snacks from when he visits Jekyll's house on work.

Enfield: They don't know each other.

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Bonus:

Hyde (23~28)

-looks like their mother -Has a cleft lip. -Due to their chemical make-up, he gives the impression of a ruffian, however she doesn't do anything that would cause that much of a ruckus outside of the area they are in. How else would they have hidden their presence form his friends? -Bribes her way into doing odd jobs when bored. -Unless they say what they were, the person asking wouldn't know. But where's the fun in telling, unless it has its advantages. -The clip in their hair is actually a repurposed tie clip from Utterson. -Oddly flexible, oddly agile.

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Hyde x Everyone

Lanyon -Lanyon doesn't notice them but there was a cup of coffee that appeared at the stand when he forgot his pouch at home. -Almost got hit by a carriage when he wasn't paying attention but a strong tug pulled him back. Before he could confront the person for felling him, they seemed to have never existed. Maybe his coat got caught on something?

Utterson -Utterson doesn't like him but he can't bring himself to hate him on account that he's oddly familiar. -Sometime Hyde surprises him with when shows actual 'kind' behaviour or sports a genuine smile. (Jekyll forgets he is Hyde sometimes)

Poole -They remind them of Jekyll when he was younger. He's a lot more unruly in comparison however and Poole does not have the energy to keep up like he used to. -Thinks that Hyde is a secret child of Jekyll as a result but he isn't going to ask.

Guest -Asks for money from a separate account via Guest which is convenient since Utterson doesn't interact directly with his clients. -Guest often forgets Hyde every time he returns but then he partially remembers him because of his 'vibe' and when he uses the same account upon returning. -Guest only wonders what they do as a job but he's not getting paid to question.

Enfield

-Hyde thinks Enfield is annoying because he keeps imposing on his actions with his sense of justice and as an officer he's even more persistent. -Enfield thinks they are a ruffian but blames it on Hyde being young (Although Hyde said they were the same age). Thinks he could 'fix' them to be a proper individual, like him for example. -(I know Jekyll canonically never met Enfield before the incident but my vers. has Jekyll and Lanyon partially meeting Enfield when J.U.L. were still in boarding and visited Utterson's home during break)

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doubledash7 · 1 year ago

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The Sims 2: Uberhood Playthrough - Round 1 (Goth)

The beginning of my new (and hopefully last) Uberhood! This neighbourhood includes all six game neighbourhoods, along with Downtown and Bluewater Village. I have started a new one so many times now and I want this to be my last one, that I play as long as possible. I hope you enjoy my narration. I imagine my rounds starting in 2004, the same year the game came out. I play seven day rounds, each round is a season, and we are starting with Summer. Each sim day, also equals one year, so the sims age seven years per round.

We start with the Goth's of Pleasantview.

Mortimer and Bella met through Bella's brother, Michael. Mortimer and Michael were best friends, and it wasn't until Bella was older that Mortimer really took notice. Despite their age difference, the two fell in love and were married very quickly.

Soon little Cassandra was born and their family felt complete. With funding from his parents, Mortimer was able to pursue his dream as a scientist. He wanted to make a difference in the world for the better. A world his daughter would grow up in.

Both Mortimer and Bella were surprised when Alexander came along and made them a family of four! A little boy to carry on the Goth name and legacy. Things could only get better...right?

Four years later, the disappearance of Bella made headlines around the country. Many theories plagued her disappearance and conspiracy theories arose. Not many Sims stopped to think of the effect this had on the Goth's themselves. Mortimer buried himself in his work, Cassandra became a mother to little Alexander, who grew up knowing more about his mother through the news than anywhere else.

With her mother gone, her father distracted and helping raise her younger brother while juggling university, Cassandra was easily taken by the suave Don Lothario. Cassandra felt a closeness to him since her mother was last seen at his condo by a neighbour. Don claimed he had no idea what happened to Bella. One minute she was there, the next she was gone. This never sat well with Mortimer, and he was always suspicious that his daughter would succumb to the same fate as her mother.

Unfortunately for Cassandra, Mortimer was right about Don. He ended up leaving her at the altar. What followed for the Goth's was a big year, including Bella's return! Where had she been? Why'd she disappear? So many questions! It turns out that one of the conspiracy theories was true: Bella was abducted by aliens! It was all part of a plot by a criminal organisation to get Bella out of the way and get one of their own operatives (a certain blonde bombshell...) close to Mortimer to steal his scientific secrets! Luckily, their plan fell apart, and Bella was able to return home! Here are Bella and Mortimer enjoying some quality time together.

It has been a year since Don left her at the altar and he has moved on, and on, and on....Cassandra has been supported by her family, and in particular, Darren Dreamer. Could more than friendship be in the air?

Here is Alexander on his way to school. The perfect student! He is set to follow in his father's footsteps, although he is destined to be come a Fortune sim!

After some time to adjust to her life again, Bella returned to work as Concert Pianist. Music is her passion (when she is not playing golf or miniature golf that is).

With the rest of the family at work or school, Mortimer had the mansion to himself. One thing he really wanted to do was to finally replace the dusty, old telescope on the roof. It hadn't seen much use since Bella's disappearance. Time for an upgrade.

Alexander gleefully announces his report card to his proud dad. Mortimer found it very hard to connect with his son after Bella disappeared, however, he has seen the error of his ways and now that he is retired, he has more time to take an interest in Alexander's upbringing.

Despite her shy trait, Cassandra wasted no time telling Darren how she felt, greeting him with a kiss. Then she gets all shy again! Luckily Darren is understanding and reciprocates her feelings! Cassandra follows this up by inviting Darren to stay for dinner.

Well that escalated quickly! I've always seen Cassandra as being very focused on what she wants, especially when it comes to getting married and starting a family, and I think she has realised she had the perfect guy under her nose the whole time! Cassandra took the lead and proposed marriage to Darren, who happily accepted!

Now this is the first time I have had ACR (Autonomous Casual Romance) in my game, and boy, it did not disappoint. Cassandra and Darren decided to celebrate their new engagement with a woohoo!

Mortimer rolled a want to sell a great novel. Mortimer is getting into his late 60's, and what a life he has led. Mortimer decides to write his biography: Work, money, aliens, crime and peace!

Cassandra moved out early in the round to go live with the Darren. We will see them get married in their round.

As mentioned earlier, Mortimer has really stepped up with raising Alexander. Mortimer has high hopes for Alexander and hopes he will follow in his footsteps.

Well this was unexpected! A magic lamp! Bella quickly pocketed the lamp. What will she wish for?

We reached Thursday, so it was time for a ROS (Random Occurrence Scenario) roll. Bella was the only Sim who qualified, and she was not working until the Friday. I decided to wait until Bella was at work to roll for the outcome. There are more important things going on today, but more on that soon!

Eureka! Bella masters the creativity skill! Her performances at work should be magnificent now! Unfortunately Bella has not been working on her mechanical skill, so she is not due for a promotion anytime soon.

Even though the Goth's have a butler, a gardener was also necessary given the family graveyard. Some of you may remember Mortimer's uncle, Erik Darling, who met an untimely end by drowning. Now his ghost likes to leave puddles everywhere, which the weeds love!

Luckily the gardener was able to remove all the weeds in time for Alexander's birthday party! Bella's friends, PT9 and Jenny Smith from Strangetown made the trip for the occasion. PT9 and Jenny looked after Bella after her abduction, considering their experience with aliens in Strangetown. Bella experienced memory loss and they were able to help her regain her memory, along with Jenny's scientist brothers. I wonder how Daniel and Mary-Sue Pleasant will deal with this less than normal encounter??

While the guests were gathered inside, Vita Alto decided to stroll by and steal their newspaper!

The party was a great time! Alexander grew up very handsome (thanks to some out-of-game fixing to his genetics). Alexander later decided on his Lifetime Want to become a Business Tycoon. Looks like he won't be following in Mortimer's footsteps, but creating his own path.

Bella returned from work the following day, and the result of the ROS roll was completed. Bella got a §1,000 reward for her heroics from the parents of the child! Ka-ching!

Uh-oh! Gordon King decided to pay a visit tonight, right after everyone went to sleep! Agnes Crumplebottom is too busy thinking about family, to actually try and protect them by scaring Gordon!

Luckily the Goth's do have an alarm system and the cops in Pleasantview arrive quick smart! Unfortunately, the cop was unsuccessful and Gordon got away empty handed.

Mortimer finished his novel and the sales were great! Mortimer does have a high creativity skill. Hopefully he will start to roll more skill based wants soon as his Lifetime Want is to master five skills.

Sometimes even butlers can make mistakes! Who would have thought that simple chicken and nuggets was so hard to make?

Bella is killing it with the piano! Now she is in the zone! Bella is letting the world know that she is back! This was the end of the Goth's for Round 1. Next time we will be moving onto the Pleasant's! Until then, happy simming!

#the sims 2 #the sims 2 uberhood #the sims 2 goths #the sims 2 story

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shit-my-asexual-friend-says · 7 months ago

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Okay, so, I try not to speak over ace voices too much when I'm on my little bisexual high horse, but my QP tagged me and I think that this is both relevant and not talked about enough:

I'm not sure how universal this experience is for allo partners of ace people, but this hurts me too.

It took me a lot longer to vocalize my side than it took Watalt to figure out theirs, but every time I have been hit with those insecurities -

you will leave me eventually; you will get married, and I will be left alone; you want something that I cannot give you -

in the back of my head there is a very powerful corresponding feeling:

Nothing about what we have will change. Nothing can change. You know that. Is it not enough for you? Is what I am wrong to you?

This is not because I feel like something is wrong with my aroace beloved, or because I think they don't "deserve" more. In fact, it isn't even them that causes these feelings. It is, to be perfectly frank, an extremely deep and ingrained aphobia that affects both of us in different ways.

There are parts of Watalt's sentiments that deeply human. It is right and just to mourn when something very dear to us - our shared life together - might one day be gone. They might one day return home to their family in the country, and I might, in turn, move to do science education in a large city. They might get their dream job at an academic library somewhere too far away for me to follow. Our respective health situations might make cohabitation impractical. This is sad. There are also times when, because of my limited time and resources, I make choices that do not benefit our relationship. This is a shame. There are even times when I am careless or cruel and take them for granted. This is horrible, and pains me deeply to know.

The thing that hurts, though, is this weird idea we've been fed. The idea is that there is one thing that might separate us - that is, that I might one day marry the person I'm currently dating - will somehow retroactively denigrate everything we currently have. It hurts even worse because any greater sacrifices I make for my current romantic partner are because the relationship needs more sacrifices: it's more transient, less stable, requires more maintenance to thrive. I would have to make such sacrifices to go back to school, or pursue a dream career, or travel the world. None of these would be seen as a threat to our love. So why is this different?

I do not love my QPR less because of the ease with which they are able to love me back, any more than I love my mother less because her love is unconditional. I do not love my romantic partner more because of the effort I must expend for us to thrive. The sacrifices we have made, the thing we have built, and everything we have done together is not just "in the meantime" or "until I find something better." This is my life, and I am choosing to spend it with the one person who has given me love so unconditional that it made me believe in family again. If I live in a different house one day, or even if I get busy, I will love them no less.

But... well. Movies and books and popular culture all portray romantic relationships as basically divine and all other relationships as just meh at best. So. I guess I will continue to live in a world where I'm expected to chose between loves.

(In case this gets reblogged: @why-are-the-allos-like-this and I have had many variants of this conversation. There is a lot of love and a lot of understanding here.)

Wanting a romantic relationship as a (most likely) aroace not in a "If you want a girlfriend you can't be aroace, it doesn't work like that" kind of way but in a "I want someone to choose me. I want someone to choose me, day after day, for the rest of our lives, because they want to. I want to be someone's partner, I want to be someone's first pick, I want to be their favorite one. I don't want to be shunted aside in favor of husbands, wives, and kids, because our schedule changed, because we've moved on to different things. I want to be a priority. I want them to fight to keep me, I want to fight to keep them. I want to hold someone, I want to be held. I want to exist in their space, I want them in mine. I don't want to find out they mattered so much more to me than I did to them. I dream of a love so heavy it makes my spine throb." kind of way

#Smafs and Watalt #Sorry friend no backsies on the name that's us now #asexual #bisexual #queerplatonic relationships #allosexual #alloromantic #love is not and should never be about having to choose #Keeping this in the tags but boy is the real-live version of this conversation that gets into all of the juicy drama WAY more complicated

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astrologyandlife · 4 years ago

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your chart ruler + the stage of your life

generally speaking, where the ruler of your chart is sitting sets the stage for your life. this means that your focus will be more intense in that area. the ruler is also important, as it can indicate the nature of things occurring there! for example, having jupiter as your chart ruler sitting in the 1st house is vastly different from having saturn as your chart ruler sitting there. read on to learn more!

part i: the chart ruler

MARS

you are generally high-energy and active. you are never sat still for too long, and for the most part, you handle things head-on rather than waiting for them to wrap themselves up. as a result, this can lend itself to an almost pushy impression on others, unless mars is aspected positively with another planet like venus, neptune, or saturn.

VENUS

you act with a certain kind of grace and charm. you have a certain personal touch that you imbue things with, and you aren't one for conflict or discord. in fact, you seek harmony as often as you can, and comfort is one of your top priorities in any situation. typically, it either isn't easy to anger/upset you, or you are very good at hiding when something does.

MERCURY

flighty and restless are your most prominent qualities. in life, you easily move from one thing to another, never quite settling the way others do, and you may even find you are doing multiple things at once. you have a curiosity and thirst for knowledge that tends to drive what you do. you will also find that you are pretty good at conversation and possess natural wit.

MOON

like the moon, your disposition and emotions seemingly go through cycles. you are blessed with a form of intuition that a mother would display--when your friends need something, you just know what it is, and unspoken emotions are picked up by you subconsciously. you find it hard not to care about things, and people can usually tell when you are upset or going through something.

SUN

like the sun, you are full of vitality and light, with seemingly endless energy. you just have this glow about you. your personality is very strong and well-developed, and you have a good sense of who you are. you possess natural leadership qualities. you are just generally a very genuine person and don't try to deceive others about who you are. maintaining your health and vitality is of utmost importance.

PLUTO

you are magnetic and mysterious in a way that either draws others in or intimidates them. you radiate a subtle power that you can use to your advantage. when it comes to your passions and goals, you have a ferocity that is unmatched, bordering on obsession. you aren't the kind of person to be casual or dip your toes into things, you absolutely immerse yourself in them. you are very private.

JUPITER

you possess a heart of gold--generous, kind, and loving towards others. your view of life is positive, and you maintain a faithful and optimistic attitude whenever possible. it is safe to say you are a pretty lucky person, or at the very least, you create your own luck. you aren't afraid to dream big. sometimes you can go a bit overboard when expressing yourself.

SATURN

you are mature and responsible. people find that they can rely on you when they have your word, and it is very important to you to keep promises. it is easy for you to get stuck in negative thought patterns and to be hard on yourself, as you have very high expectations. You are ambitious and generally like the feeling of working towards your goals, knowing it will pay off in the future. you are very concerned about how people see you and your reputation.

URANUS

you are an individualist at heart. you believe in the freedom of people to live their lives and pursue whatever path they want, and if someone tries to stifle your freedom, you are quick to leave them in the dust. You also have a mind that is powerful and creative, able to learn new information lightning-fast. you like to consider the facts and have an open mind.

NEPTUNE

artistic and dreamy, you give the impression of being a sensitive, almost spiritual soul. you are particularly swayed by music and art because your mind is very abstract. you have the unique ability to be something akin to a social chameleon. you are very compassionate towards others and have a high sensitivity to your environment. your tuition is extremely strong

part ii: the stage

1st house;

you're very focused on yourself more than other people, and your dominant sign comes out in pretty much all facets of your life, but especially upon first meeting someone. if your chart ruler is very different from the rest of your chart, this can lead to someone getting the 'wrong' impression of you. developing a strong personality is of utmost importance here. you care a lot about your appearance and how you are perceived.

2nd house;

forming a strong sense of self-confidence and security is your primary focus. you care a lot about financial security and your own sense of personal comfort in a physical sense. you feel attached to the things you own. possessiveness isn't uncommon here, especially if pluto sits here. you either have strong values that you hold close to your heart, or you feel the need to develop them.

3rd house;

what motivates you very often is your curiosity and desire to connect to others. you enjoy good conversation and want to make friends. you tend to move from one thing to another, and you are very good at multitasking. you have a distinct style of speaking that is colored by your chart ruler, and people find you to have a good sense of humor and a lot of intelligence.

4th house;

there is a deep need to have a place that you can call 'home.' you are a relatively private individual and enjoy a lot of separation between work and home. your family has a high amount of influence on you, and it is very likely you will stay close to home. your background comes into play very often and informs your actions. anything sentimental has a big impact on you.

5th house;

you live your life for the things you are interested in. your hobbies can take up a lot of your time and energy, and if you don't get enough time with them, you feel drained or on edge. you love having fun and expressing yourself creatively. this could be someone who likes or wants kids. you do enjoy attention from others, especially if it comes from their admiration of you.

6th house;

your body is certainly a temple. you care a lot about taking care of yourself, and you have very specific routines in your daily life. these rituals contribute heavily to your wellbeing. you can also find yourself to be a bit of a workhorse (or workaholic if you aren't careful). you are dedicated to the service of others, even if it simply means lending a helping hand or giving advice.

7th house;

the focus in your life is other people. you define yourself based on your relationships with them, and if you aren't too careful, you can get lost in other people and lose your purpose. it's almost as if you need partnership to live a happy life. your biggest skill is your ability to create harmony, because you are a good mediator and try to compromise when possible.

8th house;

this makes you extremely private and secretive. you could live an entirely separate life and nobody would know! you also tend to know more about others than they think, and you never reveal more than you want to. i think a persistent theme of your life could be very intense situations and circumstances. transforming yourself is going to be very important, as is processing and working through your past.

9th house;

You live for the pursuit of knowledge, especially that of a higher level. You want to expand your mind through new experiences, meeting people of different backgrounds, and traveling to new places. It is entirely possible you will live your life in another country or a completely different part of your country. you view life as an adventure and are always in search of something new.

10th house;

your future and career are of utmost importance to you. you feel like you have to make a name for yourself. if you don't have accomplishments under your name, you feel like you have failed. so much of your life is spent in the pursuit of success. you shine in your career and could end up rising to the top. you make huge efforts to influence your reputation for the better.

11th house;

more than anything, you want to say you belong to some group. your friends are your life, and they are your family. it is likely you are involved in groups or organizations, whether it be through your school, a hobby you have, or something else. you also strive to create change within your community. in this house, you are always in pursuit of your personal goals and are very future-minded.

12th house;

a lot of your personality is hidden in a way, unlocked mostly when you are completely alone. you spend a lot of time in solitude and don't mind it. loss, sorrow, and grief could be a consistent theme in your life. truly, you express yourself most when nobody is watching. people see the fruits of your labor, but not the work you put in behind the scenes. you could have extensive daydreams or vivid dreams.

and if you want to learn more, here are a couple awesome resources:

https://notanastrologer.tumblr.com/post/649828538510426112/ascendant-lord-in-houses

https://cassieaurora.com/astrology-class/chartruler/ (super good if you're not familiar with finding your chart ruler)

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retroyousei · 3 years ago

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Female characters in retro shojo [70s edition, part 2]

In this series, the female characters in 70s shojo are being analysed. In part one, three of the most common types were examined; the “average” protagonists, the villains and the tomboys. In this article, other three very common types are being discussed.

The westerners innocent blondies

They are either orphans who just want to find a place to belong, princesses who dream about falling in love, or normal girls who always knew that they weren’t where they meant to be and they somehow discover that they are royalty or from a noble family. Either way, they are lively, innocent, but naive, so sometimes they may be betrayed or belittled, but they have a kind heart that knows how to forgive and have faith on people, so they make friends easily. Many times they are portrayed as Tomboys who love the nature and sometimes they get into trouble accidentally. They may seem helpless and dense sometimes, but despite all of this, they are actually very independent, as they may travel to the other side of the world all alone if they have to (they will make new friends wherever they go anyway) and if they need to, they can kick some serious ass too. But their most precious weapon is their inner strength to move forward, no matter what.

In “Candy Candy” Candy, is an orphan girl who goes through so many hardships. At first, her best friend Annie gets adopted, leaving her behind, but her troubles had just begun. She gets adopted by a rich family to keep company to their daughter, named Elisa who is the one who, along with her brother will constantly try to make her life miserable, firstly when she was staying at their house, then in the private school in England and afterwards when she was working as a nurse. But Candy makes many friends and has many allies and with her inner strength and lust for life, she overcomes all the obstacles that she faces. But that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t lose some of her dearest friends along the way. As she grows up she learns the hardships of life, but all those obstacles makes her only stronger and she never loses her hope for a better tomorrow.

In “the Rose of Versailles” we see Marie Antoinette evolving from an innocent and silly girl, to an irresponsible young woman, to a sorrowful, regretful, but determined queen. In the first volumes, she was still a child who just wanted to have fun and didn’t care about homework, traditions and preparations for being a queen. Later, during her first years as a queen she was portrayed as a naive person who didn’t make the right choices. Also, her friendship with Countess de polignag was a bad influence for her as she goaded her into gambling. But she was also well intensioned and just wanted her loved ones to be happy. Oscar always tried to be her voice of reason, but it wasn’t enough. Later it was more and more clear that she was spending her country’s money in clothes, gardening and building the petit Trianon to be with her inner circle, because she wanted to fill the void of being a woman who cannot be with her beloved. In the end, during the time that she was captured, before her decapitation, she surprisingly matured, realised what she had done all those years and wanted to make things right, but it was too late. Her final thoughts was about her family, Fersen and Oscar and she was proud and composured until her last breath. Throughout the story she was portrayed as an innocent woman who was sacrificed for the sake of politics.

In “Alpen Rose” Jeudi is an amnesiac girl who lives in Alpes with a boy named Lundi. She works as a nurse and has a quiet life, until a French nobleman captures her. Luckily she is very clever and with Lundi’s help they get away. And that’s how their journey towards finding Jeudi’s parents start. Along the way, Jeudi befriends many people, like a little girl with his brother and his girlfriend, a journalist who helps her a lot, a young couple and a mysterious musician named Leonard Aschenbach. Jeudi is different from other characters in this particular category because of her wit and courage. She also has a strong sense of justice and in matters of life and death, such as hiding from the nazis in the trains, planning traps for them and solving mysteries with the information that she gathers with the help of her friends, she succeeds. She also cares about the others and tries to see the good side in everyone. When she finally found her mother, she was asked from her grandparents to pretend that she wasn’t her daughter, because she was blind and in a fragile state, besides there was another girl who resembled Alicia (Jeudi’s real name) a lot. She had patience and it was repaid in the end.

Rosalie from “Rose of Versailles” was a poor girl who lived with her mother and her sister Joanne and she just wanted for others to be healthy and was happy with the simplest of things, like being able to buy bread and helping other children in the neighborhood who can’t afford to eat anything. When her mother is killed by Polignag who was in fact her birth mother, she is devastated and swears that she is going to get revenge from the nobles who don’t care about anyone else. When she befriends Oscar and Andre and stays at Jerjeyes household, she learns fencing, manners, horseriding and and history, to make her debut in Versailles. There, she meets the woman who killed her mother, her sister who suicides because of Polignag and managed to get away from her. She also felt disappointed with her other sister, Jeanne who betrayed her, but she was sad when she was killed. Later she meets and falls in love with Bernard, a friend of Oscar and they get married. As the years passed by, she evolved from a stereotypical nice girl, into an accomplished woman who can protect herself and the others. By the end of the story she was pretty much the only one from the main characters who stayed alive.

There are many other characters who fit this image, such as Georgie from “Lady Georgie”, who lived in Australia with a family that wasn’t hers and after meeting an English noble young man, Lowel, they fall in love, so she decides to follow him in England where she makes new friends, faces many enemies and also finds out about her real family. Lynn from “Lady Lady” travels to England to live with her father and her step sister and there she faces her evil step mother and her children, but she also finds many allies too.

Note: “Anne of green gables” was and still is popular in Japan, because of Anne’s passion for freedom and expression, the book’s “pastel” aesthetic, so Anne’s imagination and strength despite being an orphan, might have inspired those characters.

The worthy rivals

Those ladies tend to have what the main heroine lacks and they serve as her opposite. They tend to be considered prettier than the main characters and that circumstances are easier for them, something that isn’t true. They also appear to be elegant and refined, on oppose to the heroine who is more clumsy and tomboyish. They are usually more practical, down to earth and skilful than the main heroine, causing her to feel inferior to them. They may start off as the snobbish girls who look down on her and don’t take her seriously, due to her clumsiness and her easy going attitude towards work, but as the time goes by, they realise her real talent and her worth, causing them to consider her as a worthy opponent and expect great things from her. They may appear as almost perfect at everything they do, but the truth is that they are also insecure and they are having other types of problems, such as finding it very difficult to make friends, due to their cold nature, as they always appear antagonistic and determined to win. But as time goes by they may change their attitude with the help of the heroine, or better, with their own realisation.

Ayumi from “Glass Mask” is the greatest example of this. She is the daughter of a famous actress and a famous director and she was always on spotlight ever since she was a kid. She is beautiful, refined, elegant and admired by everyone, also considered to be a genius, as she excels at acting techniques, dancing and reciting. Her family environment helped her to pursue a successful career as an actress. But that doesn’t mean that she is rest assured as she always seeks to exceed her parents’ talent, so that people will see her as her and not as a daughter of famous parents. She also stated that no one truly knows how hard she worked in order to reach her current level. And that hard work was something that she succeeded on her own. When she encountered Maya for the first time and faced her on the stage, even though she (Ayumi) was better than her, she felt as though she was defeated. From that moment, even though it seemed like Ayumi had everything and Maya had nothing, Ayumi always thought that Maya had something that she lacked; a deep understanding of the characters that she portrays. Ayumi may excel at the techniques of acting, but she never manages to portray the true depth of emotion of each character. Her portraits of characters are accurate and true to the play, but Maya’s are refreshing and original. Even when it’s clear that she is way ahead of Maya, she always walks off stage with the feeling that she was defeated. As a rival, she is also very fair and she likes to unlimitedly challenge Maya in many ways. Of course, as the story progresses, Ayumi’s talent evolves and she becomes more open as a person.

In “Candy Candy”, Flanny is a girl who works as a nurse in the same hospital with Candy. She is the best of the nurses there, as she’s always on time, always knows what to do, is very practical and smart, yet she is rather cold and distant towards others. She only cares to get things done, that’s why she is often annoyed by Candy’s bubbly nature. What’s more, as soon as she learns that Candy is an Ardley, she assumes that she only works out of boredom, contrary to her, who she has to support her poor family. She even goes at the front, to work as a nurse and support the soldiers there. Candy respects her for that this and she visits Flanny’s family to inform them about her decision, as her own relationship with them is bad, as she only sends them her monthly allowance and they never seem to appreciate her hard work. Her and Candy make an interesting dynamic and many stated that both of them make the perfect nurse, with Candy’s gentle and caring personality and Flanny’s practical skills. At the end, both of them learned from one another.

In “Swan”, Sayoko is a refined woman who loved ballet ever since she was a child. But when she meets Masumi for the first time, she starts being insecure about herself and afraid that she will overshadow her, as she’s younger than her with a bright future, whereas she had a night of glory as a prima ballerina, but after an accident she needs to learn how to dance again. But she still feels sympathy for her, besides they both shared their love for ballet, thus a rivalry begins.

In “Aim For The Ace” Reika is the best player on the tennis team and so her nickname is “Madame Butterfly”, due to her grace in the field. Hiromi is fascinated by her and even though at first Reika isn’t impressed by her, later she appreciates her skills and thus a friendship begins.

The “damsel in distress” love antagonists

They are fragile, sweet and pretty, that’s for sure. They are either the daughters of an important family which aspires to marry them with the love interest, thus expand their power, or they are someone who because of some circumstances, grew closer to the love interest, before the main character even could or when she was separated from him for various reasons. Nevertheless, they are in a better social situation from the heroine. Their character arc usually begins at some crucial point of the plot, which is halfway through the story, when the main character and the love interest’s relationship have had already developed, but had not quite bloomed yet. They are considered to be innocent and kind, contradictory to the main character who is much more spontaneous, causing trouble to other sometimes. As expected, they slowly fall in love with the main love interest, in some cases before the main character even realises that she loves him. Either way, those characters add an extra dose of melodrama and constitute to the story, sometimes a little bit, some others a lot to a point of changing it.

Shiori from “Glass Mask” is an interesting case. She is a lady from a wealthy family, so she’s elegant and accomplished. She’s also very pretty, but fragile, as she suffers from anemia and many times she passes out. At first, she’s sympathetic, as she goes out with Masumi and starts falling for him, even though Masumi loves Maya. But as the story progresses, looking at the way Masumi talks to her (Maya), she starts to suspect that he likes her. Slowly but steadily, she evolves into a manipulative woman, who uses her weak health to keep him close. She sees Maya as a threat and she goes out of her way to make her seem like a bad person in front of Masumi. When he learns about all of this, he breaks up with her, but afterwards, Shiori attempts suicide and passes out. When she recovers, she loses almost all of her sense and she goes mad. She’s hospitalised in her room, where she barely speaks and sometimes she growls Maya’s name, rips apart her pictures in magazines and orders bouquets of purple roses to rip them too. At this point of the story, her parents don’t allow him to break their engagement, until their daughter recovers, leaving him responsible for her. In conclusion, Shiori evolves from a sympathetic woman, to a pathetic creature who’s adrift to its feelings.

Susanna from “Candy Candy” is a young talented actress, with a good heart, who works at the same theater company with Terry. During the time of their troupe’s performances in Chicago, she starts falling for him. Seeing that Terry’s heart is set on elsewhere she tries to keep him distant from Candy. Later on, in New York, during a rehearsal, the spotlight that was above of Terry, was ready to fall, so Susanna ran and pushed him away to save him, but the spotlight fell down before she could walk away from it. In the hospital, the troupe learns that she’s alive and healthy, but unfortunately the doctors were unable to save her legs and were forced to amputate them, meaning that her career as an actress was over. Terry took the responsibility, having a strong sense of duty and being pressured by Susanna’s mother. When Candy arrived to New York and see his play, she learned about it soon. Before she even fathom the news, she ran to catch up to Susanna, to save her from a balcony, before she could jump, trying to suicide, to free Terry and let him be with the one he loved. Candy manages to save her and decides to leave them be. So Terry chose to stay with Susanna to take care of her.

Lalissa from “Haikara-San Ga Toru” is a character that appears in the second half of the story. She’s a Russian noble, who arrived to Tokyo with her husband, who is in fact not her real one, but he’s Shinobu who suffers from amnesia after the war and believes that he’s married to her. Lalissa is elegant and quiet, but sad and the truth is that she had lost her real husband, that’s why she wants Shinobu near her, due to his resemblance to him. Benio, who’s Shinobu’s sweetheart, believing that he was dead, was shocked when she saw them together. But due to the circumstances and the fact that Lalissa suffers from tuberculosis, Benio decides to give up on him. But when the Kanto earthquake stroke, Lalissa was severely injured and ready to die, whereas Shinobu regained his memory and she told him to marry Benio and be happy.

Another mention, is Marie from “Alpen Rose” who liked Lundi and that was the reason that she miraculously stood up from her wheelchair to help him, although it’s clear that he likes Jeudi.

#retro shojo #shojo manga #Rose of Versailles #Candy Candy #Alpen Rose #Lady Georgie #Lady Lynn #Glass Mask #Swan #haikara san ga tooru #aim for the ace #character types #70s manga #80s manga

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newtie-patootie-bootie · 4 years ago

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Masquerade (Chapter 1)

Summary: This is your third season and your aspirations on finding love are dwindling but news on Lady Whistledown’s society pages say that there is to be a foreign royal in attendance to the season. Could this royal dignitary be the one you’ve been waiting for, or could there be a mysterious stranger lurking in the shadows, waiting to pluck your heart for his?

Disclaimer: I do not own Bridgerton nor The Mandalorian- all rights go to the owners and creators of their separate stories.

Warnings: Descriptions of violence and minor blood and wounds- nothing too major. (I tell you, we’re getting into it, I promise!)

|| Please do not repost or plagiarise my work ||

If you’d like to read more of my works, please visit my Masterlist!

| Prologue | Chapter 2 |

Tags: @technicallykawaiisoul @call-me-soap

Din stormed down the hall of his newly acquired estate, red cape catching the air behind him from the force of his gait and the beskar armour he proudly wore, winked in the early morning sun.

His helmet was tucked under his arm, leaving his uncovered features twisted in an enraged scowl and his untamed curls bouncing freely with his violent gait as he darted for the double doors that would lead him to the dining hall where his company would be breaking their fast.

The place in which he resided in had been bought once he had solidified the trade agreements with the Queen of England, the residence too lavish for his liking. It was more suited to Greef Karga’s own extravagant tastes, the man was his financial advisor but sometimes Din found himself lamenting in agreeing to bring the older gentleman into his court.

The house was dripping in the deepest red materials and gold accoutrement to accompany the ridiculously flamboyant furnishings Greef had purchased with the Crown’s treasury. It was a wholly unnecessary investment as Din had expressed his distaste for the country and its many crippling social demands and their tunnelled, biased view on the rest of the world around them.

When he had heard from the month’s financial statement and use of the treasury account that the properties Greef had purchased on behalf of his Majesty rivalled the livestock towns in their homeland, Din was furious but unable to do much of anything but issue Karga with a stern warning.

Karga made good on his promise to cease his incessant and improper spending habits but it seems Din was a little too late on that front.

Din growled, baring his teeth as he pushed the double doors open with one hand, dark eyes searching the table as his two Mandalorian guards, Sofir and Tatya- unhelmed, stood immediately and pressed their fists to their cuirasses. Both were young, perhaps too young to be kings guard but Din noticed their skill and the pride they had in their country. He chose them over the more experienced Mandalorian’s and he never regretted it.

Their half-eaten plates were abandoned in their hurry to address their king. The large table, some would say was ornate. A fine piece of craftsmanship.

Din would call it gaudy- unnecessary for a man who needed little and survived longer than the most socially capable of people.

For a moment, Din’s reality swirled and he was faced with humble surroundings. A different life, a life he was happier leading. With an internal shake of his head, the unwanted memories faded and he was once again immersed in the riches he was steeped in.

Din would have been fine with a crate and two boxes for chairs, but he could no longer be that man.

“Manda’lor.” Sofir and Tatya greeted him, bowing their heads in respect.

Din nodded curtly and gestured for them to return to their meals as he turned his piercing gaze to the foot of the table, searching. “Where is General Vizsla?”

Sofir turned her blue eyes to her king and swallowed the portion of fruit almost nervously, “I caught sight of him in the training room, perfecting his strikes.”

Din almost snarled his gratitude before whirling back out of the dining room with renewed vigour.

Long legs took him hurtling down the winding halls of his estate before he twisted the ornate knob and pushed the door open, revealing the training room in which Din, at the time of assembling each piece of equipment, was looking forward to utilizing at some point in between the droning events and simpering debutants and their aggravating mothers.

Even though he may not be what he formerly was, it did not mean he couldn’t keep his skills as sharp as the blade he wore on his back. Amongst the different equipment was a large ring raised off the ground, perfect for sparring.

And in the middle of the fighting ring was Paz, unhelmed and unclothed from the waist-up. Thick, corded arms jabbed at the air, testing his speed against the invisible foe he opposed. Sweat dripped from the soaked blonde strands of hair that hung over his forehead, blue eyes stony and focussed.

“You had no grounds nor merit to justify your blatant disregard of my orders, Paz!” Din’s voice boomed across the large expanse of the room.

Paz straightened, rolling his shoulders back as he turned to face his king, chest heaving with his laboured breath, “your plan to attend the ball unhelmed and unguarded was foolish at best, attempting to gain information on the most genuine of willing applicants completely unnoticed as you once used to did not go well, did it, Manda’lor? I saw you frolicking with that Duke’s daughter.”

Din remained eerily silent as he set his helmet down, the beskar rang out and he unclipped his cape and quietly folded it beside the helmet before sliding off his gloves and tossed them atop the cape. Paz watched as his king methodically removed piece after piece of his armour without a word- remaining silent as he peeled the layers of clothing from his upper half to mirror Paz’s own state of undress. Each garment was placed atop the armour, removed as not to soil the fabrics with sweat or blood.

Din’s body was not burly, nor could he hope to match Paz’s unique size but the fine definition of his upper arms and broad shoulders that were attributed to the years of dedication to his craft. His stomach was soft, not sharp and contoured like his general’s but Paz knew better than to underestimate his king and his smaller stature only attributed to his keen dexterity.

Dark, incensed eyes never left Paz’s and Din noticed the glimmer of uncertainty in the bluest part of his eyes but quickly covered it with the same stony indifference Din had been acquainted with all his life as he entered the ring smoothly.

Sofir and Tatya came barrelling through the open doorway, unwilling to overlook such a tussle from two of the most talented fighters in Mandalore.

They remained near the entrance, not wishing to overstep their welcome to watch their king and their General oppose each other in the fighting ring. “You’re lucky I do not have you punished for wearing another’s armour, least of all-” Paz was unprepared for the viper-like strike as Din’s fist shot from its dormant place by his thigh, snapping fiercely into Paz’s jaw, “-mine.”

The two guards watched, riveted by the raw display of power demonstrated by their leader.

Din Djarin was not a man easily intimidated by one’s size or power as one would be by Paz’s physical stature, but they both knew that Paz would not back down from a challenge either- not even from his king, “do you realise the precarious position you have put me in?! The young Dalton girl believes the Manda’lor and Din Djarin are separate entities!”

“You are no longer who you used to be.” Paz argued back, swinging his fist viciously and aimed right for Din’s nose but the latter was quicker and ducked from would-be blow, “your freedoms are limited as is your time to find a suitable partner in which to make your queen and rule by your side.”

“If I dare reveal myself now as the foreign ruler who she is so apprehensive of,” Paz swung again with a loud grunt and Din took his moment, ducking once more but the larger man caught on to his intent and lifted his knee, slamming it directly into the king’s stomach. The younger man rattled out a wheezing groan, stumbling back as his arms curled around his belly but Paz wasn’t finished and connected a quick blow to Din’s cheek- sending his king reeling to the floor.

“Continue, Manda’lor.” Paz mocked as Din slowly began to peel himself off the ground, curls tumbling around his head as he shook the fog beginning to blanket his thoughts

“Her trust will be betrayed as will her feelings if I choose to pursue her.” His voice was strained as he pointed at Paz, “you made the Manda’lor’s interest abundantly clear last night at the fete!” Din grunted as he straightened up, shaking off the ache in his stomach and spat out the blood filling his mouth from the cut inside his cheek, painting the scuffed flooring red. He shoved his reddening hand into the pocket of his pants and pulled out the crumpled Lady Whistledown and tossed it away as if it disgusted him, the sheet bounced on floor of the ring, rolling unevenly before it stopping directly in front of Paz’s feet.

Paz made to grab his opponent but Din twisted out of the way with ease, snapping another blow to the blonde man’s jaw. The general growled in frustration, “that scandal sheet has taken London by storm, we could not have our leader not make an appearance when he was reported to do so.” The two engaged in close combat, blocking and striking as they were taught in their tribe. “The speculation alone could ruin us and future potential alliances!” Paz rebutted, digging his fingers into Din’s wrist and tugged him forward as he screwed his dormant hand into a fist, “I did what was best for the Manda’lor’s image.”

Din dropped to his knees, narrowly avoiding Paz’s devastating strike and quickly regained his footing. Ignoring the twinge in his knee joints, the brunette used the sweat beginning to bloom across his body and twisted out of Paz’s hold before delivering harsh blows across Paz’s face- not necessarily aiming anymore. “I care not for any reporter’s musings, no matter how popular it may be!”

“Din Djarin may not, but the Manda’lor must!” The blatant rage displayed on Din’s features morphed into surprise at Paz’s argument and the man in question to slowly extricate himself from his king’s hold. “Our country is in your hands; you must do what is best for it and our people. It’s not just about you anymore, vod.”

Din huffed a soft breath, nostrils flaring as he took a step back from Paz.

The anger that fuelled him slowly began to drain as apprehensive eyes turned to his tribe-mate and Paz began, “I will apologise for wearing your armour, but I will not seek your forgiveness for my actions. I do not regret it.” Din watched his brother as he straightened his back, sweat-slicked chest speckled with his own blood. Every muscle flexing and only made him seem that much more imposing, “the Manda’lor is our leader and as such, I will not allow you to squander such a title away for a life you are no longer able to lead.” Din remained silent, staring deep into Paz’s eyes before stepping away and took a deep breath before moving toward the turnbuckle to retrieve a towel and tended to the weeping wounds across his bruising knuckles, “what are you going to do?”

Din turned to look over his shoulder at Paz, “what I have to.” His voice sounded resigned, “Sofir, Tatya, call the carriage around the front, please. We are going to visit the Duke and Duchess of Wintere, the Lady Dalton is about to receive her first caller.” He ordered without looking away from his wounded knuckles.

“Right away, Your Majesty.” The two guards promptly exited the training room, the soft clinks of armour following them.

The noise of the guards slowly tapered off, silence filling the space between Din and Paz as the king continued to care for his split knuckles, dabbing the beading blood away.

“You’ve not lost your skill, vod.” The slight pride that tinged Paz’s tone tickled Din’s amusement and huffed a chuckle in response.

“Were you expecting my reflexes to have slowed due to my recent negligence?” Turning to face Paz, he tossed the soiled towel to the general who caught it with ease and folded the fabric to an unused square before dabbing at the beads of sweat upon his brow.

“I had begun to believe that your former talents to have atrophied under the strain of the monarchy’s heavy expectations.” Paz answered easily, smirking at Din’s less restrained laugh, “I see that I was mistaken.” Thick fingers gingerly grazed over the bruise beginning to develop along his jawline.

“Good.” Din teased before bending to slip beneath the ropes, grunting in pain as the blow Paz delivered into his stomach protested at the movement, “perhaps now you will understand why I was most invested in the furnishing of this room in particular.”

Paz followed Din as he picked up his discarded garments and armour and meticulously reapplied each piece with grace, “you are going to pursue the Dalton girl?”

“I am.” The levity in the Manda’lor’s tone dissipated with the return of the hard topic, busying himself with the task of redressing.

“I wish you luck in your endeavours, your Majesty.” Paz bowed to his king before taking his leave, grabbing his linen shirt on the way out and shrugging it on without breaking stride.

Din sighed, strapping the cuirass in place before picking up his helmet and turning it face up. He could see his own reflection in the opaque visor, the silver and gold inlay winked at him in the streaming beam of sunlight.

There was no way he could attempt to court you without insulting your intelligence, nor could he take back the Manda’lor’s interest that seemed to capture this rumourmonger had shared with London’s overly curious.

“Haar'chak!” Din hissed quietly, setting the helmet over his head and stomped out of the room, cape billowing behind him.

You slowly opened your eyes to the pattern lining the border of your bedroom ceiling- the blue floral molding stood out against the stark white backdrop and in the middle was a fabulous illustration of a white owl taking flight amongst the snow-tipped hellebores and tilting upward toward the dawning sun. The mural itself was to your mother’s tastes, curved into a circle and tapered brushstrokes to blend with the ceiling to create the illusion of the image to be unfinished.

It was beautiful.

The picture was a little hard to make out from the shroud of darkness your room was ensconced in, its true brilliance remaining uncaptured.

The curtains had yet to be drawn by your maid and you heaved a gentle sigh while turning your gaze away from the artwork, your eyes slowly took in the furnishings that reflected the same blue on white theme as the rest of your bedroom did.

Your bedroom reflected the wealth your family carried and the multiple homes spanning across England were just the very same- steeped in expensive furnishings and high-end materials to make each abode even more comely. Your family’s London home was smaller than the country estate you and your brother had grown up in but it was by no means modest.

Many a suitor that had entered these halls had remarked on how grand the residence was, their eyes shining with greed and their pretentious gifts were poisoned by their determination to win the heart of the Duke’s daughter.

As your mind was overridden with thoughts of extravagance and lush surroundings, the image of an iron clad warrior flashed before your eyes, anonymous, alluring and unsettling.

Soft fingers pressed into the impressive material of your bed coverings, twisting the opulent silk between your fingertips anxiously before one of your hands slipped from the creased fabric and passed over your eyes, swiping across your brow as you reviewed last night’s events and your stomach began to twist with nerves:

As soon as the Mandalorian king was announced, overzealous mamas pushed their overbearing daughters toward him in the energetic hopes that they would be considered the new queen he had been purported to be desperately seeking.

Lost amidst the wave of hysteria, you did not realise that your partner had slowly begun to pull away from you, “I did not think he would come. What do you make-” your sentence trailed off as you turned to converse with the mysterious lord you had just met, only to see that the space he occupied beside you was now empty, “my lord?” You twisted in place, your gaze scouring every inch of Lady Danbury’s lavish ballroom until you made out the soft crown of untamed curls striding out of the room completely unseen.

“Lord Djarin!” You called, hoping you could gain his attention over the grating squawks of women fawning over the new arrival and cursed silently when he did not acknowledge you as he turned the corner out of the ballroom, out of sight.

Dashing forward, you took hold of your skirts to not tread on the material and attempted to remain vigilant in avoiding the flock of debutants elbowing and pinching their way closer to the king. You operated with a wide berth as you scurried for the exit, ignoring your mother’s calls when you felt a gloved hand clasp yours- forcing you to let go of your dress and cease in your pursuit.

Turning, your skirts fluttered delicately and the words of your polite rejection to the obviously headstrong lord bubbled at your lips- only to remain silent when you saw the silver helm of the king staring down at you. “Your Majesty,” you whispered, shock froze your intentions and you slowly curtseyed out of respect.

“Lady Dalton.” He knew your name?

With your hand still in his, he helped you rise and turned his body to face you while completely disregarding the gaggle of women who now fell silent, glaring at you with burning envy at his special attention.

“I must confess I did not realise we were acquainted, your Highness.” Your arm was still in his hold, orange-tipped leather fingers tracing the delicate bones of your wrist and you fought the urge to pull away from such a bold action.

“We aren’t.” Blunt. Forceful. His words did little to calm the raging storm within you and you wanted nothing more than to pull away from his touch, not enjoying the coldness of his gloves, nor the anonymity that shrouded his being. Rather finding yourself wistfully wishing for the heat of another unfamiliar. An alluring lord that treated you with such care you’d never seen in any suitor beforehand.

“Well, in that case, how pray tell did you come by the knowledge of my name?” You retained your sense of propriety for propriety’s sake, your lips widening into an insincere smile that you had nurtured and cultivated over the seasons and separate events you had partaken in until you had mastered it.

It was a skill you used sparingly, mostly with unsavoury characters that had called on you with their ill intentions or their crass proposals.

“There was no shortage of envious musings in the town where your name was the topic in discussion. As for deducing you to be the wearer of such a fine name, it was rather easy,” you didn’t think it to be as trivial as he made it sound but remained silent as the Mandalorian king continued his deductions, “no one in this room fitted to such a moniker as a ‘winter blossom’ more than you.”

Your heart flipped in your chest and your fictitious simper cracked ever-so-slightly, “m-my Lord, I am flattered,” you curtseyed once again before raising your gaze to meet the blank stare of his opaque visor, “I would wish to commend on your armour, but I fear I may offend you with my lack of knowledge on the particular subject. So, in lieu of your warrior garb, I thank you for your service to your country.”

“I hope we meet again, Lady Dalton.” His gloved fingers slipped into your palm, his thumb gently curling over your dormant fingers, raising your hand to his helmet and gently rested it against the polished iron right over where his lips would reside were the armour removed.

Gasps rippled across the ballroom as he released your hand, the king nodded once before moving deeper into the room, flanked by his guards and the music began to play once again, tenuous and hesitant.

But, the sound of the sweet melodies flooding the room did nothing to drown out the wave of whispers that accompanied jealous eyes that were perpetually focused on you. You barely felt your mother’s hands on your shoulders before slipping down and kindly curling her arm around yours before leaning closer to whisper in your ear, “we will take our leave now. Leave your suitors wanting more, dearest.” Elaine gently urged you out of the ballroom- leaving the rest of the women to stew in their judgement.

Thomas and Ryder both followed you out, “I’m so proud of you, darling!” Your mother murmured excitedly and you could barely twitch your lips into a smile.

Your heart thundered in your chest and with your free hand, you clutched at the fine material of your bodice, swallowing nervously as you contemplated the fate of the season with the King of Mandalore chasing after you and a mysterious lord that became even more mysterious with every passing second-

-the sun shining down upon you ripped you from your reverie as Olivia pulled the curtains open with a chipper, “good morning, my Lady!”

You swallowed the primal groan that threatened to erupt from your throat as you lifted yourself up from the bed, the covers falling into your lap.

You sighed, running your hand down your rumpled bed-hair, “good morning, Olivia.”

Dragging yourself from under the covers, you swung your legs over the edge of the bed and toed on your dainty pale blue slippers, “we’ll need a few more chairs in the drawing room I would think, my Lady.” You snapped your head up to meet a nearly vibrating Olivia’s gaze- only to see the offending scandal sheet clutched in her hands. Maintaining your composure, you held your hand out for the paper and Olivia handed it to you immediately. You mumbled a ‘thank you’ to her as you stood from the bed and walked to the vanity- taking your seat in front of the mirror as Olivia began to tend to your appearance and diligently style your hair, “your prospects this season seem rather remarkable, my Lady, I must say!”

You barely acknowledged her comment as you opened the sheet and read under the subheading:

‘The Warrior King Charmed by the Frosted Flower?

This bold writer would like report that it may be a very short season for our dear Lady Dalton, for she has caught the eye of the mysterious yet alluring king of Mandalore.

Following his jarring entrance into the Danbury Ball, the Mandalorian king set his sights on the beautiful Lady the moment he strode into the room to the call of his own title- a rather candid affair if I may be so bold to scribe.

It seems he was rather taken with our winter rose from before he laid eyes upon her, swayed by featureless letters printed on an ink-blotted page. An accomplishment that this columnist will take full responsibility for.

Lady Dalton will have her hands full this season, with mysterious kings and lords and many suitors of the ton, wishing for her hand.

Perhaps, the Diamond of the Season is not as Incomparable as previously titled. The Queen should seriously reconsider the moniker she gave so freely to the prettiest in the pool and notice that perhaps it is not only beauty that wins the hearts of men- perhaps it is a mixture of beauty, boldness and intelligence that only the Lady Dalton can express so effortlessly.

We all know how the Queen despises when she is wrong, do we not?

In other related news-’

You tucked the paper in your lap, resting your linked hands over it as to mask the words from your view. “Has my mother read it?” Your voice was small, barely audible but Olivia took no notice of the change and continued with her tasks.

“Yes, my Lady. Her Grace was the one to organise additional chairs in the drawing room.” Olivia affirmed and you sighed, drooping your head down and your chin touched your chest. Olivia tutted in friendly reproach before gently lifting your head with cool fingers to resume her work.

“Of course, she did.”

Your fingers dug into the pristine paper, crushing it in your hands as Olivia worked on your hair, “a glowing compliment from Lady Whistledown, don’t you think, my Lady? Your prospects on the mart surely should have reached the heavens itself with the interest of a king!”

“Oh, yes,” you hoarsely replied as your eyes found your own reflection in the mirror, unease clearly etched into the fine lines of your features and you swallowed gently, “a most pleasing tribute, indeed.”

There was a knock on the door and Olivia excused herself with a curtsey before bustling for the door, creaking it open as to keep her lady’s modesty. You heard Olivia and whoever had interrupted you speaking quietly- their hushed whispers filling the room yet unable to be deciphered. “Olivia, what is it?” You asked, looking through the mirror.

Olivia quietly closed the door, turning back to face you with wide, excited eyes, “oh, my lady! It’s so exciting!”

Your brows pulled together and you turned to properly catch her gaze, “Olivia?” You repeated, your arm resting over the support of the chair, waiting patiently for her to explain.

“The Mandalorian king is here, my lady!” You stood from your chair, your back ramrod straight and distress pulled at the knot forming in your belly, “he’s here to promenade with you.”

“P-promenade? Now?” You hushed, shock punching the breath from your lungs, “i-isn’t that a rather early development, we only met the night previous!”

“You must have made quite the impression, my Lady!” Olivia exhibited the excitement you should have been feeling as she helped your numb form back into the chair as she resumed her work on your hair with a renewed vigour.

The entire time, all you could think about was soft brown eyes, tufts of dark curls winking with blonde and red accents in the artificial light of the chandelier and large hands searing the skin of your back as he held you to his strong, broad chest to keep you from falling.

Din Djarin.

“Haar’chak!” - “Damn it!”

"Vod." - "brother/sister or comrade/friend."

#Pedro Pascal #pedro pascal x reader #din djarin #din djarin x reader #the mandalorian #the mandalorian x reader #bridgerton au #the mandalorian x bridgerton #newtie-writes #newtie-patootie #newties-masterlist #Jose Pedro Balmaceda Pascal

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regencyslxt · 4 years ago

Text

We Meet Again

1178 words.

Imagine reuniting with Colin after a sudden meeting in Italy.

Colin Bridgerton always said he wanted to travel. He had made that clear from the moment he knew he could. His mother was not as enthused but nevertheless was happy her son found something he was passionate about pursuing. And soon enough, after Daphne had married and settled into life, he made his way to Greece. From there we went to Croatia and after that he found himself in countries like Italy and Montenegro experiencing all that life had to offer. The only downside? He had no one to share it with. Yes, he made friends along the way, but he couldn’t bring them with him. That was until he reached Venice, the city of romance. How cliché it all was. In what world does somebody manage to meet a person so amazing and find out they were returning home, to the same city a few days later. Colin struggled to contain his surprise when he bumped into you. You were gorgeous. Your hair framed your face perfectly, the dress you were wearing wrapped around your body as though it was made with you in mind. He could not take his eyes off you as you stumbled through an apology about how you weren’t looking where you were going. He just laughed.

“It is quite alright, Miss. It happens to everyone. I am just glad you bumped into me, as I would have hated to miss the chance to meet such a beauty.”

Your cheeks may have already been pink due to the heat, however that did not stop them from darkening. You introduced yourselves to each other and started to walk through the streets of Venice admiring the buildings surrounding you. You both found pleasant company with each other and agreed that since you now both knew of each other you would arrange to meet upon your return to London. After several hours of constant conversation and laughter, you went your separate ways. He may have been excited to leave London but now he found himself counting down the days until he would be able to see you again.

…

You had returned to your home in London three days later, Colin still very much at the forefront of your mind. Your mother welcomed you home warmly and immediately started planning a party to celebrate your return. You knew this was her way of bragging to all the women in town about how you were now ‘so experienced in life’, that’s what she’d always say before you had departed.

“Oh sweetheart, life has so much to offer! You must go and experience it before you settle down.”

“I always wished I could travel.”

“Tell me if Italy is as perfect as they say.”

You could have sworn the only reason she encouraged you to go was so she could live vicariously through you. You loved traveling but a large part of you was glad you were back, home just has that feel that could not be replaced by the rivers, cathedrals, and other landscapes that you witnessed.

Your mother was soon restless with excitement as she gathered the staff to start arranging all the details. Your excitement was not for the party itself but rather who would maybe be there.

…

Not long after the party started, you found yourself speaking to Lady Danbury. She truly was a remarkable woman; she was even better company. You were discussing the nightlife in Greece when she suddenly looked over your shoulder and smirked.

“It seems a certain gentleman cannot stop looking this way, and I highly doubt it is because of me.”

You turn in the direction she is looking and spot the man who had been occupying every one of your thoughts since the evening began. You turned back to face her, unable to hide the growing smile.

“It also seems as though you have no complaints about the matter, child,” she laughs.

“Mr. Bridgerton and I crossed paths in Italy. I have been patiently waiting for our meeting since the moment we parted,” you explain, wringing your hands together.

“Well, it is a good thing you have been looking forward to it because he is making his way over to you now. I shall leave you be, but please do find me later and inform me of what occurs,” she winks as she heads towards Lady Bridgerton, most likely in the hopes of finding out if Colin has told her anything.

A hand gently taps your shoulder and you spin around to meet his eye.

“Mr. Bridgerton.”

“Miss. Y/L/N. It is a pleasure to see you again,” he admits.

“I must say the same, I can only tell so many stories about my travels so many times.”

He chuckles, “I understand how you feel, every unmarried woman in this room is apparently so very interested in what I have to tell until I start speaking.”

“And what is it you have been telling them?”

“That I was stung by a poisonous bug and now whomever I touch gets infected…it has severely declined the number of dances I have had to endure for the sake of my mother.”

You laugh wholeheartedly at his revelation, “Oh my goodness, have they really believed you?”

“Yes, they really have.”

“I was not aware so many women in this town were so gullible.”

“What is it you have been telling the men that come your way? because I couldn’t help but notice you haven’t accepted a single offer tonight.”

“Oh? Have you been admiring me all night then Colin?”

“Oh, no…I- just, I- um…”

“Calm down I jest, I jest.”

He lets out an uneven breath and takes a sip of his drink. His nervousness easing.

“If you must know, there is only one person I would be willing to dance with tonight. Unfortunately, he has not yet asked me, and I fear he may not get the chance before his family leaves,” you say as you take notice of his family gathering their belongings. His mother, however, is still very much in conversation with Lady Danbury. The latter looks towards you and nods subtly. What a woman she was.

“In that case he must make haste to do so,” he places his drink on the table behind you both and offers you his hand.

“May I have this dance Miss Y/L/N/?”

“You may.”

You both make your way towards the center of the room amongst the other couples of the evening and find comfort in each other’s embrace. You could only hope the butterflies you felt in that moment were felt by him also. Your mother was looking upon the both of you proudly, having never seen such love in your eyes before. Lady Bridgerton looked at the scene and although she was aware of Colin’s tendency to flirt with anybody and everybody, she knew you were different. They only hoped that by the end of the season there would be a wedding, one filled with complete adoration. Little did you all know, they would get exactly what they wished for.

#imagine #x reader #bridgerton imagine #regencyslxt #bridgerton #bridgerton x reader #colin bridgerton #colin bridgerton x reader #colin bridgerton fanfic #colin bridgerton imagines #colin bridgerton imagine

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thecarnivorousmuffinmeta · 3 years ago

Note

Hi!

I've been reading your posts about Rosalie because I love her, and I was wondering if or how you would see her healing from her past/becoming more content with her vampirism.

She doesn't seem happy with the Cullens, as you have written about, but I they provide structure and "humanity" for her. However if she didn't have Emmett as a mate/admirer, she may be able to grow and not rely on her looks in regards to her feelings of safety and control.

I would love to know what you think! I admire all your work :)

So, some thoughts on Rosalie and on Rosalie's happiness vs. staying with the Cullens.

And ooof, I think it’s a long road to recovery. Not impossible but... hard, and certainly by Twilight, Rosalie isn’t anywhere close to being there yet. It’s a bit like curing Marcus of depression, it could happen, but there’s reasons we don’t see it in canon.

Where is Rosalie in Canon and What’s Up With the Cullens?

Rosalie’s relationship to the family is complicated but I do think she’s far better off with them than she would be on her own or with another coven.

Rosalie adores her family and does view them as primarily that, a family. She’s specifically close with Carlisle, but even those like Alice she’s fond of though knows Alice isn’t all that fond of her. She has her spats with Edward but ultimately loves him and likely doesn’t realize quite how low his opinion of her really is.

However, Edward disparages her constantly, bringing up things like her rape as insults and humiliating her in front of the entire family for something she’s genuinely struggling with. Emmett notably never stands up for Rosalie, at least, not beyond “Yeah, she’s a bitch, but she’s my bitch.” And even decades later still struggles notably with the trauma of her rape, her murder, and her inhumanity.

However, as you note, the Cullens provide her human life and human structure. This is the closest Rosalie can get to truly being human, the furthest from being a demon, and she lives this life in a seemingly meaningful way for the betterment of mankind. She’s able to pursue opportunities she never could as a human and marries a man, who does love her for all his faults, that she never would have otherwise.

Rosalie, in other words, is functioning.

She could be better and accept herself, what happened to her, and truly move forward. She could also be much worse.

And that’s the trouble, she’s hit this comfortable plateau, to get beyond this she has to want to change and change must be thrust upon her.

And I don’t think Rosalie wants to change.

Rosalie and the Past

Part of Rosalie’s issue is she both clings to and romanticizes the past as well as humanity itself.

What happened to her was awful and I think part of the way she’s coped with it is imagining what might have been. It’s not even that, really, but this pleasant fantasy of the life she could have lived.

Rosalie could have been human. She could have been a human mother, had a child, she could have married a human Emmett and lived a simple, good, life.

When Rosalie talks to Bella about what she’s going to lose, what Rosalie feels so strongly about, she never truly acknowledges that this wasn’t a life Rosalie Hale was going to have.

Rosalie’s parents were social climbers, Rosalie knew that they were using her beauty and her charm to marry her into money. Royce was utterly irresistible to them, though they didn’t know what he truly was. Even had it not been Royce, I imagine Rosalie may very well have ended up with someone similar.

And if she did not, she would almost certainly have been regulated to the role of a rich man’s wife. Her children go to boarding school, she barely sees them, she has tea with ladies but is unable to interact with business or a man’s world.

That idyllic country dream with Emmett: that was never her life.

And that’s what human life is. It’s hard, it’s not fair, and so often we do not get what we want based on arbitrary circumstances we’re born into. Rosalie has painted that away.

I think to heal, Rosalie would have to admit that humanity is not what she thinks it is. It’s not this golden idea. It’s nothing bad either. It just is, it’s a different state of being that, in and of itself, could not guarantee her happiness.

Happiness is for Rosalie to grab, not for humanity to thrust upon her.

Rosalie and Her Loss of Fertility and Identity

Being infertile left a large, traumatizing, mark on Rosalie. Women (still are but especially then) were defined by their ability to bear children. To be barren or to not have children was a mark against you: you have in some manner failed as a woman.

In losing her ability to have children all of this is stripped from Rosalie. She will never be a mother, will forever be something like a girl, and she loses much of her sense of personhood in that.

And this... This might even be harder than coming to terms with her rape. This is painful. Rosalie will have to confront the deepest, most gruesome, hurts within her and take a good long look at them.

She’ll have to let go of both her fantasies, the society she came from and what it expected of her, and the hypothetical child she will never have.

Many people do not get over this and... To be honest, I don’t know how Rosalie would either. It’s not something I see her wanting to face about herself.

Perhaps, in helping to raise Renesmee, this will lessen. Except Renesmee is not her child, looks very much like a mixture of Bella and Edward. And Renesmee is also... Renesmee, she’s a very alien inhuman child who is bound to only become stranger with aid.

Perhaps, in realizing Renesmee is not what she pictured, Rosalie will be able to confront this and let her longing for a child go. She could just as easily cling to it with all of her might.

Rosalie Doesn’t Want to Change

Perhaps the most damning is that Rosalie is comfortable as of canon. She could be better, she could be worse, but she doesn’t seem to want to change. Would she want to be human? Yes. But she can’t, and she’s settled for what she has.

Bella Swan was the biggest catalyst her family has seen in a long time.

Bella forced Rosalie to confront the worst aspects of herself: all those open wounds related to her death, her vampirism, and what she lost.

Bella throws everything Rosalie ever wanted out the window without a care in the world (and somehow gets the child anyway). Bella pursues a man who is anything but human to live this empty shell of a life.

Bella is the thing that should have had Rosalie taking a deep, long, look at herself and realizing what she needs to to get better and move on.

The catalyst was there, the pieces were set, and yet Rosalie doesn’t.

Rosalie doesn’t heal because she does not wish to. Because it’s hard, it’s painful, it’s extremely unpleasant. So she interacts with this woman who is so unlike her, who doesn’t share any values with her at all, but she does not reflect upon herself.

The prime opportunity slips her by.

Okay But How Would She Heal?

I think Bella, in many ways, was her best chance. Bella was the ultimate foil for Rosalie, representing everything Rosalie would not do while still being very human. More, (at least at this point), Rosalie sees Edward and Bella find happiness in each other with inhumanity. Bella doesn’t sacrifice her humanity for this, she gladly trades it away.

And that could have been enough for Rosalie to realize that, perhaps, she is not damned. Perhaps, she too, can find peace and happiness with who and what she is.

Well, that ship sailed.

Her next options are much harder.

The Cullens fall apart or Renesmee leaves on a journey of self discovery.

In the first case, Rosalie’s crutch of humanity is gone, the family is gone. This will be devestating for all involved but especially her. She’ll have to reevaluate her entire life, who she is, and what she wants to do. She could heal from this. She could also become very codependent on Emmett. It could go either way.

As for Renesmee leaving, if this is before the family split, that will be a huge blow to Rosalie. It’s Renesmee as Bella 2.0, rejecting everything Rosalie believes in, the Cullen family and way of life, because it’s not enough for her. Rosalie will have to reflect on her relationship with Renesmee, with the family at large, and with vampirism in search for answers. This will be painful but could be a healing process for her.

But I don’t think the road to Rosalie’s recovery will be a pleasant one. If it was pleasant, she’d be further along than we see her in canon.

#twilight #twilight meta #twilight headcanon #twilight renaissance #rosalie hale #emmett cullen #rosalie/emmett #carlisle cullen #edward cullen #anti edward cullen #renesmee cullen #bella swan #meta #headcanon #opinion

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richincolor · 4 years ago

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Today is Rich in Color’s eighth anniversary! Can you believe it?

We’ve read so many fantastic books over the years, so our bloggers compiled a list of eight books that we wanted to recommend to our followers. These books are ones that we love and that have stuck with us through the years. How many of them have you read?

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books

In an unforgettable new novel from award-winning authors Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, two teens—one black, one white—grapple with the repercussions of a single violent act that leaves their school, their community, and, ultimately, the country bitterly divided by racial tension.

A bag of chips. That’s all sixteen-year-old Rashad is looking for at the corner bodega. What he finds instead is a fist-happy cop, Paul Galuzzi, who mistakes Rashad for a shoplifter, mistakes Rashad’s pleadings that he’s stolen nothing for belligerence, mistakes Rashad’s resistance to leave the bodega as resisting arrest, mistakes Rashad’s every flinch at every punch the cop throws as further resistance and refusal to STAY STILL as ordered. But how can you stay still when someone is pounding your face into the concrete pavement?

But there were witnesses: Quinn Collins—a varsity basketball player and Rashad’s classmate who has been raised by Paul since his own father died in Afghanistan—and a video camera. Soon the beating is all over the news and Paul is getting threatened with accusations of prejudice and racial brutality. Quinn refuses to believe that the man who has basically been his savior could possibly be guilty. But then Rashad is absent. And absent again. And again. And the basketball team—half of whom are Rashad’s best friends—start to take sides. As does the school. And the town. Simmering tensions threaten to explode as Rashad and Quinn are forced to face decisions and consequences they had never considered before.

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline Dancing Cat Books

In a futuristic world ravaged by global warming, people have lost the ability to dream, and the dreamlessness has led to widespread madness. The only people still able to dream are North America’s Indigenous people, and it is their marrow that holds the cure for the rest of the world. But getting the marrow, and dreams, means death for the unwilling donors. Driven to flight, a fifteen-year-old and his companions struggle for survival, attempt to reunite with loved ones and take refuge from the “recruiters” who seek them out to bring them to the marrow-stealing “factories.”

Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore Feiwel & Friends

Love grows such strange things.

For nearly a century, the Nomeolvides women have tended the grounds of La Pradera, the lush estate gardens that enchant guests from around the world. They’ve also hidden a tragic legacy: if they fall in love too deeply, their lovers vanish. But then, after generations of vanishings, a strange boy appears in the gardens.

The boy is a mystery to Estrella, the Nomeolvides girl who finds him, and to her family, but he’s even more a mystery to himself; he knows nothing more about who he is or where he came from than his first name. As Estrella tries to help Fel piece together his unknown past, La Pradera leads them to secrets as dangerous as they are magical in this stunning exploration of love, loss, and family.

Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert Disney-Hyperion

Danny Cheng has always known his parents have secrets. But when he discovers a taped-up box in his father’s closet filled with old letters and a file on a powerful Silicon Valley family, he realizes there’s much more to his family’s past than he ever imagined.

Danny has been an artist for as long as he can remember and it seems his path is set, with a scholarship to RISD and his family’s blessing to pursue the career he’s always dreamed of. Still, contemplating a future without his best friend, Harry Wong, by his side makes Danny feel a panic he can barely put into words. Harry and Danny’s lives are deeply intertwined and as they approach the one-year anniversary of a tragedy that shook their friend group to its core, Danny can’t stop asking himself if Harry is truly in love with his girlfriend, Regina Chan.

When Danny digs deeper into his parents’ past, he uncovers a secret that disturbs the foundations of his family history and the carefully constructed facade his parents have maintained begins to crumble. With everything he loves in danger of being stripped away, Danny must face the ghosts of the past in order to build a future that belongs to him.

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan Little, Brown Brooks for Young Readers

Leigh Chen Sanders is absolutely certain about one thing: When her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird.

Leigh, who is half Asian and half white, travels to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time. There, she is determined to find her mother, the bird. In her search, she winds up chasing after ghosts, uncovering family secrets, and forging a new relationship with her grandparents. And as she grieves, she must try to reconcile the fact that on the same day she kissed her best friend and longtime secret crush, Axel, her mother was taking her own life.

Alternating between real and magic, past and present, friendship and romance, hope and despair, The Astonishing Color of After is a novel about finding oneself through family history, art, grief, and love.

Pride by Ibi Zoboi Balzer + Bray

Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable.

When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding.

But with four wild sisters pulling her in different directions, cute boy Warren vying for her attention, and college applications hovering on the horizon, Zuri fights to find her place in Bushwick’s changing landscape, or lose it all.

The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves #1) by Roshani Chokshi Wednesday Books

Paris, 1889: The world is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. In this city, no one keeps tabs on secrets better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. But when the all-powerful society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To find the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin will need help from a band of experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian who can’t yet go home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in all but blood, who might care too much.

Together, they’ll have to use their wits and knowledge to hunt the artifact through the dark and glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the world, but only if they can stay alive.

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender HarperCollins

From Stonewall and Lambda Award–winning author Kacen Callender comes a revelatory YA novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time.

Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many—Black, queer, and transgender—to ever get his own happily-ever-after.

When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages—after publicly posting Felix’s deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned—Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi–love triangle….

But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.

#all american boys #the marrow thieves #wild beauty #picture us in the light #the astonishing color of after #pride #the gilded wolves #felix ever after

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consumeconstantly · 4 years ago

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Not a Saint or a Hero

Summary: To civilians, Ladybug is a hero. In the eyes of the law, Ladybug is a vigilante at best, and a villain at worst.

______________________________________________________

Conquering the Parisian underworld is child’s play for Ladybug and her partner, Chat Noir. The ex-boss of the Parisian underworld, code name Hawkmoth, may have been good at pushing drugs and ruining people’s lives, but he was woefully incompetent at... basically everything else. Which meant that other than Hawkmoth and his direct underlings, there really wasn’t much of a structure at all that Ladybug had to be worried about. No cohesive unit, fighting as one, just easy pickings and an even easier way to convince the drug dealers, homeless, illegal fight rings, and various other under the radar activities to band together to topple Hawkmoth’s empire.

Ladybug, after all, had experience with overthrowing established mafiosos. She did it once in Wenzhou at her mother’s side, another time in Beijing because somebody made the mistake of trying to push her into prostitution, and twice in Italy with her grandmother, code name Befana.

“Do you really have to leave, m’lady?”

Ladybug shrugs. “I trust you and the team to keep things up and running. We had a good run, but there’s a good structure in place now and Befana wants me to go with her to another country.”

Nobody says no to Befana, not unless they’re bullet proof. Ladybug may have high quality Kevlar sewn into every outfit she wears, but even she isn’t the biggest fan of the impact of a bullet. Depending on the gun, broken ribs are a kindness.

“I know you don’t get along with Queen Bee, and almost everyone else is out of the country, but you’re not going to say goodbye to Rena or Carapace?”

“It’s not like I’m going to be gone forever. Just a few months. A year at most.”

“Promise me you’ll come back, m’lady?”

Ladybug puts a hand on her partner's shoulder. “You know I can’t make promises like that.”

Chat pauses, dull thud of the rave music filling in their silence.

He swirls the whiskey in his glass. “Stay safe, Bug. Play it smart.”

“I always do.”

It comes as no surprise that Befana dumps her in the middle of one of the most crime infested cities world wide without a backwards glance. Her granddaughter is grown up now, after all.

“Have fun, darling. Black Mask is particularly nasty, make sure to watch out for his assistant, she’s very sharp.” Befana pulls away from the nonexistent curb— nonexistent because there’s no sidewalks in the slums of Gotham, at least, not many of them in good enough conditions to have curbs or whole piece of cement to walk on— and leaves Marinette all on her lonesome with a backpack, a key to a cheap apartment.

Marinette eyes the broken bottles leading to the entryway of her new building and the boarded up windows. Across the street, there’s two women smoking and conversing in hushed tones.

“Well,” Marinette mutters underneath her breath, shifting the straps of her only worldly possessions. “It’s definitely quieter than I expected.”

“Hey, new girl,” one of the women in the group calls out to her. “What’re you in for?”

“School. This is the cheapest apartment I could find.”

The woman exchanges a glance with one of her friends.

“You’re better off finding a more expensive apartment elsewhere. This isn’t a place for someone like you.”

An excellent line for Marinette to begin to fish for information. “What do you mean by that?”

“This is disputed territory, now. If you can’t afford to stay somewhere else, you better stay with whoever just dropped you off.”

Marinette fidgets. Gina is long gone. Grandmother or not, even though Gina is undoubtedly loyal and will never hurt her, she believes that the best way to inspire growth is through adversity. Like now. The only information she got out of Befana was that she had to figure out a way to keep Gotham in line… whatever that meant. “She’s not going to come back. I guess I’ll just have to try my luck.”

“You really got nowhere else to go?”

“No. I’m from abroad.”

“That explains the accent,” says the one holding a beer bottle. “Then listen up, girlie. If you wanna survive, there’s three rules you’ve gotta learn. One. Don’t cross the Black Mask. Two. Don’t cross Red Hood. Three. Don’t sell to children.”

“Sell to children?”

“Well, I don’t suppose you’d be doing it anyways, given the whole,” she motions to Marinette’s body with a cigarette, “but Hood goes after anyone who sells drugs to kids real bad. Worse than if you fuck him over with anything the Black Mask’s doing, anyways.”

“Red Hood doesn’t sound like that bad of a guy, then.” Maybe she’ll look into a collaboration with him.

The woman with the beer bottle laughed. “Oh honey, you’re a saint. Don’t go fostering any dreams. You just stay away, hear?”

“I hear you,” Marinette says.

But they got something wrong.

Marinette isn’t a saint, and never has been.

The walls of her crappy one bedroom apartment are thin enough to hear the baby upstairs scream at ungodly hours. If it’s not the baby waking her up, her neighbors in the apartment to her right are fucking very, very loudly. The apartment below her blasts rock music at all hours, the apartment to her right is likely selling drugs, given that she sees at least fifteen different people come in and out each day, and they always have a vaguely dazed look in their eye. She hasn’t heard anything from the apartment across, but she’s sure they’ll start up some noisy activity that Marinette doesn’t particularly want to hear soon enough.

She really got pampered in Paris, didn’t she?

Marinette lived a life of relative luxury whenever she stayed with her parents, instead of Gina. While in Beijing and Chongqing with Tom and Sabine, Maman did all of the heavy lifting for her. Well, Beijing had ended rather disastrously, and they had to make a quick getaway, but at least in Chongqing, Sabine managed to get rid of the prostitution ring.

Back in Wenzhou, Catania, and Bologna, Gina took the reins, and it always turned out to be a sink or swim sort of situation. First off was her mother’s birth place, which had an astonishingly high crime rate and definitely explained why Sabine Cheng was so adept at self defense, and once they were there, of course they had to reform the fight rings. In Catania and Bologna, Gina practically threw her at two of the lowest rank mafia groups and told her to use them to bring order to the warring mafias. During those years, Gina didn’t make a front like Sabine and Tom did, purchasing a bakery and running a business to aid their more behind the scenes work. No, with Gina, it was either war of peace, and there was nowhere in between.

Which, of course, meant that Marinette rarely got to stay in nice rooms or pursue hobbies like sewing or drawing or anything, really.

Now that she is of age, Marinette could potentially try to wrest herself out of Befana’s influence, but that’s almost a laughable thought. Befana has eyes and ears everywhere. If she wants to escape the rat race of reformation, Marinette needs to gather power.

The best thing she can do for now is try to figure out the situation in Gotham. If it’s not particularly bad, maybe she’ll have an easy time of it, and figure out how to disappear herself. She’s not totally opposed to the whole making-criminals-act-within-the-bounds-of-morality thing, but it’s gotten pretty tiring. Not repetitive, necessarily, but after experiencing an almost normal life in Paris, Marinette does want to have the privilege of not having to worry about her life every hour. Maybe she can even start up a little boutique.

Marinette dumps most of the contents out of her bag, only leaving her wallet, a knife, and her trademark yo-yos.

“Maybe I can go back to Paris, eventually.” She has become very fond of the city; the first place where she took fate into her own hands, where her mother and grandmother didn’t push her to reform the underworld. The first place where she chose to change the world around her. The first place where she saw things through from start to finish. The first place she formed her own team.

The power of change is both incredibly addicting and terrifying. She sort of gets why Befana roams the world, looking for the next place she wants to shake things up in. But Marinette can’t get addicted. This is going to be her last city, then she’s going to return to Paris and settle down. She’ll leave city beautification to the so-called vigilantes that almost every city has acquired, save Paris.

Oh wait, she supposes that Ladybug and Chat Noir were-- and Chat still is-- a type of vigilante back home. But as it stands now, it will be more correct to refer to them as heads of the Parisian underworld; they definitely don’t work on the side of the law, but she and Chat made sure that drug deals were more… regulated. That deaths and the induction of children into such a dark world were curbed. That if people really wanted to get out, they could.

All of that doesn’t matter. Not in the eyes of the law at least. Parisian citizens love the duo for helping keep crimes off the streets and for banning the particularly strong strain of drug that Gabriel called AKUMA off the market, but the Parisian police? She and Chat both have targets on their head. Their whole team does.

She eyes the apartment across from her. There’s blood on the door handle. It’s a good thing that Sabine and Tom never tried to instill those odd customs of ‘house warming’ and ‘getting to know her neighbors’ that most other people teach their children. In good neighborhoods, it’s important to have a cordial relationship with whoever’s living next door. In neighborhoods like these? It’s even more important.

But rule number one of pissing people off?

Coming over uninvited.

Marinette doesn’t bother locking the door behind her.

“New to the neighborhood?”

Apparently, it really is bizarre for her to have moved into this apartment complex. She’s come across a grand total of five people during her week here, and every single one of them stopped whatever they were doing in order to take a closer look.

Marinette knows that this is a disputed area. She looked into the two women’s words the day she arrived. But, for a disputed area, everything is remarkably quiet. No fights, nobody on the streets, most people keep indoors, unless they’re out for a smoke, to throw out the trash, or are going to or coming back from various activities outside of the block.

What’s even more odd is that all of her neighbors seem to know each other intimately. Or at least, intimately enough to know that she doesn’t belong there.

“Yeah,” Marinette says, ready to leave this conversation behind. She doesn’t bother getting information out of the people who are in her apartment complex or on this block. To be more accurate, she tried with one of the first people she came across, but it was apparent that someone encouraged them to be tight lipped with information.

Given the current information she has, she thinks it’s more likely that the one who gave that order is Red Hood, rather than Black Mask.

“Been here a week.” The guy lights his joint and breathes out. “Not so new anymore.”

Over the years, she’s gotten used to the smell of marijuana, though she can’t say she likes the scent. She’ll take cigarettes over weed any day.

“You could say that.”

“Don’t suppose anybody’s laid out the rules for you yet, have they?”

Maybe this will make things easier for her. Mostly, she’s just settled into her apartment over the past seven days. There's no need for her to immediately get to work, and she does enjoy comfort. Taking down criminals is hard work. She wants to come back to an apartment that doesn’t look awful and lets her relax. So what if she spent most of her money on an expensive mattress and a coffee machine? She’s an adult now. Nobody can tell her what to do. (Except for Befana.) “No, not really.”

“Tina and Audrey give you a crash course?”

“Mostly just warned me not to sell to children.”

The man barks, smoke spitting into the stale air. “Some of the best advice around. Let me tell you, Black Mask might have more manpower, but Red Hood has rage. Cross Black Mask by gypping him, he’ll send a lackey after you. Fuck with children, Red Hood himself will come for you.”

He pauses, evaluating her appearance.

“Though you look like a child yourself. Mighty pretty too. lucky girl. Hood will protect you if you stay around these parts, but if you go south on the diagonal, you’ll be in bad territory. Plenty of prostitution rings around there.”

“Thought this was disputed territory.”

“Not really. Anywhere Hood has claimed is said to be disputed because Mask hates his guts and keeps sending goons to these areas. But anyone who’s dealing under Mask aint gonna take the risk of their lives just to branch out to these spots.”

“Sounds like Red Hood is pretty well liked around these parts, then.”

Perhaps she’ll look into working with him. From what she’s heard of the guy and what she’s found trawling the dark web, his morals seem to align with her own. A little bit more temperamental than she’d like, a little too quick to kill, rather than apprehend, but Gotham prisons seem to have jailbreaks every other week, so she can understand why it may be easier just to make every encounter a one and done.

“Liked?” Blunt finished, he flicks the stub into the dirt, crushing the embers under foot. He wipes his mouth with the scarf around his neck. “Like isn't the question in Gotham, Frenchie.”

Marinette inwardly cringes. She’s tried to minimize her accent because it makes natives distrust her, or think they can take her for a loop. Most people she’s come across accept her as one of their own, but apparently she hasn’t been doing as well as she thought she was. Maybe this is why people seemed a little more reluctant with any information.

“When it comes down to it, liking means nothing. It’s who you trust to watch your back.” He fumbles in his pockets, pulling out another blunt. Marinette notices that his fingers are fairly heavily bandaged and that the man is shaking slightly. Medicinal marijuana, maybe. “Wouldn’t trust that Mask farther than I can throw him. And he used to be a wrestler, so he’s a fat bastard. At least you can trust Hood not to cross you as long as you don’t cross him first.”

Lighting the tip, his eyes sharpen. “You seem like the trustworthy sort. Active, too. I’ll leave you with one more piece of advice. If you ever run into Hood? Don’t mention two things: the Joker, and Batman.”

“I doubt I’ll ever run into him,” Marinette lies.

The man laughs. “I’m a Gotham native, Frenchie. I can tell what kind of person you are. You’ll be meeting him soon, I know. Hood needs someone to watch his back, and you? You need someone to keep your head above water.”

He flicks the ash off the blunt and turns his back on her, and Marinette can’t tell whether he’s showing her respect or belittling her.

Two weeks into her stay in Gotham and Marinette has finally collected enough information about her surroundings to feel confident about going out as Ladybug.

Guns are infinitely more available here in America than they were back in France, which means she needed more than one costume, and an upgrade to her current one. High quality kevlar is good and all, but it’s heavy, and not everyone in Gotham is high off their minds using AKUMA. Replacing kevlar with polythene, now that it’s available to her, is only a natural decision. She has to be more careful here in Gotham. Not only does she have no support network, she’s also highly inexperienced with the terrain. She’s at a disadvantage here.

With a combo polythene and kevlar bodysuit, a crop top with her signature ladybug embroidery on the backside, an all black domino mask, and a utility belt with two yo-yos , knife, and emergency medical supplies, she’s as ready as she ever will be to witness the nightlife first hand.

And just like in Paris, Wenzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Catania and Bologna, she doesn’t have to go far to find the trouble.

Befana has told her multiple times that Marinette is like a lucky charm for problems. Judging by the amount of time she’s gotten herself into sticky situations unintentionally, she’s inclined to agree, though she’d call herself more of an unlucky charm.

She doesn’t bother speaking, instead hurling one yo-yo at the guy who’s trying to tie up a girl half her age and the other yo-yo at the wheels of his car, to make sure he can’t make a quick getaway.

Ladybug may not use guns, but she never said that her weaponry wasn’t tricked out; yo-yo knocks the guy up the head, sending him down for the count, and yo-yo two slashes through the rubber tire. The man waiting in the car rolls down the window to shoot. Ladybug rolls her eyes. Dumb and dumber. She’s not sure whether he’s trying to preserve his windows or doesn’t realize that rolling down his window leaves him open for her own attacks.

Reeling back in yo-yo one. She hurtles it through the window, presses a button, then ducks. The head of the yo-yo detached and shocks the driver.

“Need help getting home?” Ladybug asks the girl who’s currently edging away from her.

“Who are you? Why did you help me?”

Ladybug shrugs. She’s never been particularly good at explaining herself; Chat took care of most of the conversions within Hawkmoths retinue. She’s good at making the occasionally public statement and making sure people she’s close to don’t stray, but strangers? Most people back in Paris just trusted her blindly, and she never had to think about how to present her reasoning.

She takes two sets of zip ties out of her pack, then restrains her first victim. After she slaps a patch on the tire-- if she is going to take this girl home, she certainly doesn’t want to walk her back in this neighborhood, and judging by the size of the van, there are probably a few people in the back she’ll need to free as well. Ladybug moves on to tie up the guy in the car, back towards the girl. “If you don’t want my help, that’s fine too.”

As soon as she turns, there’s a sharp intake of breath. “You’re with Hood, then.”

Not yet. “M not, actually. Never met the guy. What makes you say that?”

A bout of nervous, high pitched laughter. “The red, maybe. Or, I don’t know, the fact that he’s here and not knocking you out?”

Ladybug whirls, trying to see where the infamous vigilante is. True to the girls word, he is just a little ways down the alleyway they’re currently in, looking, for all intents and purposes, not about to kill her. How pleasant. Better than she was expecting; his temper precedes him, and she was expecting to have to fight with the guy before even dreaming about having a civil discussion with him.

He doesn’t have his hands on his guns, which she takes as a good sign. Taking a good look at him she’s almost surprised that he’s calming himself the Red Hood instead of the Red Helmet, but she supposes the former sounds better.

“Let me finish tying that one up,” Ladybug says.

Red Hood grunts in response.

“So you are working together,” the girl concludes.

Ladybug shrugs again, tapping another button to reattach the head of her yo-yo and grabbing the keys and phone from the driver’s pocket. She pops the back of the van. There are three girls tied up in the back.

Her knife makes quick work of the bonds that restrain them. The girls take the duct tape off their mouths themselves; she feels a deep disgust of the men that are currently knocked unconscious. Not only are they traffickers, but they’re new traffickers. Inexperienced. Duct tape isn’t used most times because it damages the goods. Either that, or they’re organ dealers, because people don’t need the bodies to look pretty when they just want the innards. Judging by the fact that all of the people in the back are girls, she’ll put money on the first one.

“You going to let me drive these girls back before we have our talk?”

“Fine,” Red Hood bites out, moving to sit shotgun. “You move one finger out of line, and I’ll shoot.”

Ladybug tosses the unconscious body out of the driver’s seat.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

@jasonette-july-2k20

#lowkey wanna write the precursor to this where lb and cn take down hm but im lazy #jasonette july #jasonette #jason todd #marinette dupain cheng #villain au #miraculous ladybug #dcu #bamf marinette #original content #maribat #someone save me im drowning in aus #don't know why writing anything after ch 1 seems so hard #i need someone to keep me on track

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