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salthaven · 5 years ago

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Guardian Angel

All her life, Marinette needed a guardian angel. Someone to protect her. Someone to save her. Someone to let her have a normal life, to be safe from bullies and hatred.

But no matter how much she pleaded, how much she begged and prayed and wished upon every star she could see… no one came. No one helped her.

So she guarded herself. She guarded herself from Chloé, from the blonde’s torment and taunts. She guarded herself from prying eyes. She guarded herself, and caved in.

She was alone. Sure, she had friends, but they did nothing. They couldn’t, no one could. Chloé was unstoppable, Chloé was a force to be reckoned with.

Chloé was terrifying, and with her father’s power, her father’s influence, no one could take her down. And so Marinette was alone, with no help, no guardian angel, just her own thoughts.

But then everything changes, and Marinette does, too.

It’s the first day of school. It’s the first day of school, and Marinette is late. That’s nothing new, and neither is the anxiety that rushes through the bluenette as she races to get ready for the day. Her maman promises that all will be well, her papa sends her off with macarons to win the class over, and she’s on her way.

She sprints across the street. An old man watches her race by with amusement, then makes his way across slowly. There’s no car to hit him, no decision to be made in that moment.

Marinette darts into her classroom. Ms Bustier is her teacher once again, and Marinette appreciates the fact. Ms Bustier is kind, she is gentle.

But she is also a pushover, just like Marinette.

Marinette sits in her usual spot. She sets down her box of macarons.

‘Everything will be fine,’ Marinette tells herself.

She is lying, and Chloé proves her wrong.

“Dupain-Cheng,” the girl growls out. “Move out of my seat.”

“But it’s my seat,” she protests, but it’s weak, scared, just like her.

“New year, new seats,” Chloé says, then smirks. “Why don’t you sit up front, like the teacher’s pet you are? Hmm?”

In another time, Marinette would’ve been defended by a certain ombre-haired new girl. But that girl is still outside, currently helping a certain old man get up.

So Marinette just stutters and says, “But I, I-”

“What? Don’t understand basic words? Then maybe you shouldn’t even be in this class!” Chloé says, then laughs. It’s high pitched and cruel, and Marinette feels her stomach turn. “Maybe you should be back with the five year olds in primary school.” She laughs again, and Sabrina joins her.

Marinette feels her face heat up, feels her eyes water, feels herself getting up.

She runs, and she can’t ignore the howling laughter that Chloé lets out, can’t ignore the deafening silence as nobody defends her, nobody goes to check up on her.

She runs past an ombre-haired girl who races to get to class, darts by a blond boy who helps up an old man who seems to keep falling today. She runs across the street, and keeps running, all the way to the park.

She trips on something. She collapses in the dirt.

She cries.

She cries for a long time, letting all of her frustration, all of her grief and anger out. And then she forces it all back in, knowing that she’ll be in trouble for missing too much class. As it stands, she’s likely missed the first twenty minutes.

She moves to get up, but a glint in the dirt makes her pause.

She spots a purple, butterfly themed brooch that seems to call to her. She picks it up.

A flash of light nearly blinds her, and when it fades, a large purple butterfly looks right back at her with wide eyes.

She screams. She screams, and throws the brooch on the ground. The butterfly disappears.

Huh?

Marinette picks up the brooch again, and the butterfly comes back.

“Please don’t scream!” The butterfly pleads, and Marinette gapes.

“You...you talk.”

“I do, yes.” The butterfly nods.

“What are you?” Marinette asks softly, because she knows this can’t be a normal butterfly. It’s too large, and it has a face! A cute one, but a face nonetheless!

“I am Nooroo, a Kwami. Specifically the Kwami of Transmission,” Nooroo states calmly. “And you are?”

“Marinette,” she replies, then shakes her head. “What...what is a Kwami? And why are you only here when I hold this brooch?”

“Ah. A Kwami is well….a magical entity, I suppose. We are the physical embodiment of our titles, I suppose. And I am connected to my brooch through magic, so that you humans may see me.”

“So without the brooch, no one could see you?”

“Correct, Marinette!” Nooroo beams at her. “But now I can help you! With my brooch, you can transform into a superhero.”

“A superhero?” Not her, surely. She’s just Marinette, a normal girl with a normal life. She’s nothing special, nothing important.

Nooroo thinks otherwise. “Yes! Just say ‘Nooroo, wings rise’ and you will be transformed. With me, you can be stronger and faster than any normal human. You will have more agility, more flexibility, you’ll be able to jump higher than any of these buildings around you!”

She would? But why would she need that, why would she be a hero?

“And you could grant others powers, too. You can make Champions, and let their dreams come true!”

She could? “How would I do that?”

Nooroo flutters, pleased to see Marinette’s interest. “Butterflies will sense my Miraculous, and will want to approach you. You can give them power through your cane- you get that when you transform- and they’ll work to transmit the power to anyone you choose. You can also use your hands to transmit power to them, if you want!”

“How do I know who to choose, who to help?”

“You’ll feel their energy, and you’ll know how everyone is feeling. Here, put on my brooch.” Marinette does. “Now listen to the world around you, to the people nearby. What do you feel?”

She listens to the world, lets her heart soar.

She feels pain. A child cries in a nearby house, it hurts. She wants to help them, to relieve their pain.

She feels joy. A girl found out that her best friend is in the same class as her, and is ecstatic. She wants to nurture that feeling, let it grow stronger.

She feels anger. A boy is being ridiculed for his crush...wait.

“Ivan?” She whispers to herself, and feels herself walking back to her school. With every step, his frustration growing stronger and stronger. She can almost see it, see the way Kim laughs, the way he makes jokes about how Ivan will never be courageous enough, will never be a man and tell Mylène how he feels.

“You can help him,” Nooroo whispers in her ear, now tucked behind one of her pigtails. “You can give him courage, you can make him a Champion.”

She can. She can be his helper, his savior-

She can be the Guardian Angel that she never had.

Marinette slips away, hiding from sight.

“Nooroo, wings rise,” she whispers, and a flash of light covers her.

When it falls, she’s left looking like an angel. Gone is her usual outfit, her pinks and grays, now she wears light purple (nearly a light mauve, the fashionista in her claims) and white. She looks almost ethereal, donning a light purple dress that falls to her feet, hiding white leggings and light purple boots underneath. White gloves climb up her arms, hiding away any skin that could show from underneath the long sleeves of her dress. Behind her, a white cape falls, split up the center to resemble wings. With a light purple mask to cover her face, and her blue hair coming loose from her pigtails, Marinette feels like so much more than a normal girl.

She takes her cane and turns it over in her hands. It’s the same purpls as her outfit, but has a translucent gem on top made from a darker, richer purple, more like a lavender tone. She taps it once, twice.

She hears wings fluttering. A little white butterfly is drawn to her.

“My little angel,” she coos, and it comes as if beckoned. It lands on her waiting hand, and she smiles.

Setting the cane down, she rests her newly free hand over the little creature. “My angel,” she whispers, “become a source of power for Ivan, a sense of courage so that he may rise up and reach his heart’s desire.” She feels something change, and opens her hands. The butterfly sparkles, covered in purple and white. It flutters away, slipping into the classroom.

She watches through its eyes as it flies to Ivan, who is now outside the principal’s office. It lands on a note that he holds, and Ivan freezes.

“Stoneheart,” she says sweetly. “You are in love, but you are frozen with fear. I am here to give you power, to let you show your beloved how much she means to you. When you have won her over, I will take back your power. Do you understand?”

Ivan’s anger lessens as he smiles. “I accept...what’s your name?”

“Guardian Angel, just call me your Guardian Angel,” she states, and Ivan nods.

“I accept, Guardian Angel.” And power washes over him. And everything changes.

-----

Long time no see? Sorry for just disappearing into the void like that, haha. This is actually a piece I wrote...at least two months ago? I always planned to go back to it, but I thought it was cute as it is now. What do you guys think? Do you want a continuation? If so, maybe I’ll finally work on this some more!

#butterfly!marinette #kwami swap #Guardian Angel Marinette #im back from the void everyone!!

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kittyprincessofcats · 4 years ago

Note

I love both shows (Spop and Su) but I wanted to ask about some things you’ve said:

“Can’t believe “It’s okay for fans to be disappointed when oppressive dictators who’ve murdered millions and have tried to kill the protagonists before get forgiven without having to face consequences” is a so hard to understand for some people, but here we are”

“So did Steven Univerae end with the Diamonds in prison where they should be, or did I do well to stop watching when I did?”

With that logic can’t the very same thing be said and applied to She ra regarding Catra?

“So did She ra end with Catra in prison where she should be, or did I do well to stop watching when I did?”

Hi there. First of all, I want to say sorry for taking so long answer this. January’s been a very busy month for me and I literally just didn’t have the time to write the kind of reply I think this ask deserves.

Next, I want to make a few things clear just so we’re on the same page:

I love both shows as well and nothing I’m about to say is intended to be seen as hate against Steven Universe. SU meant a lot to me and I was a big fan of it for many years. Change Your Mind disappointed me a lot as an episode and as a finale, precisely because I didn’t want the Diamonds to get any sort of redemption, but just because it was a dealbreaker for *me*, that doesn’t mean I harbor any ill feelings towards the fans or writers of the show. None of this is meant to be a personal attack against anyone who worked on this show or likes it.

I stopped watching SU after CYM, so this post will ignore anything beyond that. I have not seen the SU movie or Steven Universe Future and I don’t intend to. Please don’t try to convince me otherwise. I’m not comfortable watching more.

I wrote the posts you quoted because I got quite a few rude messages after I said I didn’t like Change Your Mind and that I don’t want to keep watching SU. The first one was a response to people who were giving me a hard time for not liking the Diamond redemption – it wasn’t me saying that /no one/ should like it, just that my feelings on it were valid as well and people shouldn’t badger me about it.

In that sense, YES you could say the same thing about Catra! If someone wanted to stop watching SPOP because Catra’s redemption made them uncomfortable (maybe because they knew someone like her in real life or something similar), that’d be absolutely fine! I’d never send them the kind of messages I got or try to pressure them into continuing a show they’re not comfortable continuing. Because respecting real people is more important than a show or a fictional character.

I’ll be honest: I’m a little tired of justifying my feelings about the SU finale to people. But I believe you’re asking out of genuine curiosity and I haven’t made too many posts defending Catra yet, so I’ll try to analyze this step by step for you – and anyone else who might be curious.

So, without further ado: Here’s my essay on why Catra’s redemption works for me but the Diamonds’ doesn’t.

Short explanation: Because if you compare the scale of their actions, their motivations, what’s supposed to make them sympathetic to the audience, their build-up, and how their respective redemptions are handled, then the Diamonds aren’t an equivalent to Catra – they’re an equivalent to Horde Prime. And if SPOP had suddenly redeemed Horde Prime at the last minute after building him up as the big bad, I wouldn’t have liked that either.

Long (very long) explanation under the cut

Okay, let’s get into this in detail.

1. The scale of their actions

Let’s look at the evil stuff these characters have done first.

The Diamonds: Created an intergalactic empire, conquered millions of planets (destroying all life of them in the process) for millions of years, created a strict caste system in which all gems only have one function to follow and where Pearls are essentially slaves who have to obey every order, persecute and send shattering robonoids after gems that don’t fit into the system or fuse outside of their caste (off-colors), created a human zoo and kidnapped people for it, shattered anyone who wasn’t loyal to them, bubbled all the Rose Quartzes, created the Cluster and the other fusion experiments out of the shards of their fallen enemies (essentially torturing them for all eternity), corrupted all the gems on Earth, including those that were loyal to them. And that’s just what we get told upfront in the show. We’re talking about intergalactic dictators with no respect for life who will ruthlessly kill anyone who gets in their way.

Catra: Helped Hordak conquer one (1) planet. Bad, yes – but not nearly on the same scale as devoting eons to conquering entire galaxies. Also, Catra isn’t the one who founded the Horde in the first place; she just happened to grow up there (likely because she was taken from her real home as a baby) and was raised with their ideals. The Diamonds, on the other hand *are* the people who started their empire.

So yeah, the Diamonds aren’t Catra – they’re Horde Prime. He’s the one who founded the intergalactic Horde and destroyed millions of planets. (There’s even a whole parallel about how both Horde Prime and White Diamond think they’re perfect and everyone should be like them…)

Now, you could argue that Catra opening the portal was a crime on a larger scale. But even that would have likely only destroyed Etheria – one planet, not millions. The scale we’re talking about is still way smaller than Horde Prime’s or the Diamonds’ actions.

Catra’s other “crimes” in the show are things like being a toxic friend, manipulating and lying to people. Those are things I’m going to ignore for this post, since you specifically asked if Catra shouldn’t be in prison for her crimes. Being a toxic friend is bad and all, but it’s not actually something illegal that you can get thrown in jail for, so it’s irrelevant for this discussion. And it still wouldn’t be on the scale of the Diamonds, who, let me repeat, have destroyed countless galaxies.

2. Motivations for their actions

“But what about *why* they did all of those things? Isn’t that relevant?” It is, and I’m glad you asked. Let’s have a look.

Catra: Catra grew up in the Horde through no fault of her own and was mistreated and abused her whole life to the point where survival and safety became her primary motivations. She was treated as second best to Adora, filling her with a desire to prove herself. She got told as a child that she’s only worth “keeping around” if Adora values her, so she tied her self-worth to Adora’s approval. She feels betrayed when Adora leaves the Horde, because she interprets it as Adora caring more about strangers than about her. She stays with the Horde because they’re the devil she knows, because she wants to prove herself and because she’s hurt about the only person who ever showed her kindness leaving her. She grew up without a proper parental figure and without ever learning what healthy relationships are supposed to work like, so it’s understandable why she has no concept of it. She opens the portal because she sees her abuser working with (and seemingly being accepted by) her enemies and that knowledge makes her feel powerless to the point where she’d do anything to get back at them. She’s been abused and victimized her entire life and all of her actions are a direct result of that. Catra thinks that if she gains enough power, it’ll finally give her the safety and approval she craves.

In general, Catra’s story always makes it clear that she’s a victim of physical and emotional abuse who never learned what healthy relationships are supposed to look like and who’s lashing out in the only way she knows how. Some people might disagree on this, but I personally never had a point in the show where I couldn’t relate to her or couldn’t understand why she’s doing a certain thing. SPOP did a brilliant job of making sure that even at her lowest point, Catra’s actions are still understandable when you think from her point of view.

The Diamonds: … Uhm yeah, I’m drawing a blank here. Unless there’s some explanation in the movie or SU Future, we never actually learn why they did any of what they did. We get an explanation for some of their deeds – that they created the zoo because they thought Pink wanted it, that they corrupted the gems as revenge for Pink’s supposed death – but what the show never goes into is the real problem: Why they’re dictators in the first place. Why they consider themselves superior to other gems. Why they shatter anyone who doesn’t fit it, etc. They’re just dictators… because they’re dictators. We never get to understand their motivations.

And just to be clear – I think that in itself is perfectly fine. I don’t think SU should have had to give us any more explanation than that. SPOP also never explains why Horde Prime conquers other planets in the first place. He just does it because he’s evil and power-hungry and the show needs an antagonist. I think not giving a villain a deeper motivation is fine – if you’re not planning to redeem them.

3. What makes them sympathetic

Catra: I pretty much explained this already. We’re told from season 1 that Catra was abused by Shadow Weaver, that Adora was the only person who cared about her, that she was always treated like she was second-best. Heck, there’s an entire backstory episode just about everything Catra’s been through. We’re meant to feel bad for her, even when she’s evil. We’re meant to cheer for her when she stands up to Shadow Weaver and defeats her. We’re meant to feel for her when Shadow Weaver stabs her in the back and Hordak sends her to the Crimson Waste. Her entire breakdown is meant to be tragic and engaging. When you’ve watched a character suffer so much through no/little fault of their own, when you’ve watched them stand up to bigger villains in a way that makes you root for them, it makes sense that you want them to eventually get their happy ending.

The Diamonds: I realize in retrospect that the writers probably meant for us to feel bad for the Diamonds, too. Like when they’re grieving Pink, during What’s the Use of Feeling, Blue?, or when they complain how stressed they are in Change Your Mind. But the thing is… it just didn’t work for me. After the show spent all that time showing us all the death, despair, and destructions the Diamonds had caused, after it was made clear that the Crystal Gems had lost multiple friends and allies to them, it just didn’t make me feel sympathetic that the diamonds had lost one (1) person. So what if someone shattered Pink for being a dictator? The Diamonds themselves have shattered millions of gems and now that it’s someone they care about I was suddenly meant to feel bad for them? I didn’t.

When That Will Be All first aired, I loved What’s the Use of Feeling, Blue? – because I thought the show was doing this brilliant thing where they show that evil people can still have loved ones and have feelings but that doesn’t make them less evil. Every horrible person in history had feelings and loved ones. That doesn’t excuse their actions. In retrospect I find it disappointing to know that we were meant start feeling bad for the Diamonds due to their grief for Pink, that we were meant to see Pink/Rose as the evil one for starting a rebellion against them, that we were supposed to believe Bismuth was in the wrong. Rebelling against a dictatorship is a good thing. Standing up for equality is a good thing. I don’t like that the show suddenly tried to spread this message that conflict is always bad even when you’re actively fighting against tyranny and oppression. What happened to the Crystal Gems and their cause? What happened to the Steven from season 1 who reassured Lapis that “They’re mean, and that’s why we *have to* fight them”? And no, the “but being a dictator is so stressful, please feel bad for us” part didn’t work for me either.

4. A well-written redemption arc

For a well-written redemption arc, a character needs to actually regret what they’ve done and realize they were wrong. Then they need to put in the effort to be better from now. They need to… actually change. And then they need to do things that make up for their actions.

Catra: We get to see Catra go through an amazing character arc that culminates in her redemption and her eventual love-confession to Adora. The entire arc that was built for her over 5 seasons leads up to that moment and it’s so satisfying when it finally happens because it makes sense. We get to see her make big mistakes, get to see how she finally even scares Scorpia away, how Scorpia leaving breaks her, how Double Trouble gives her a harsh but needed lecture, how she understands that she and Glimmer aren’t so different, how she finally remembers Adora and decides to save her. We see her regret her actions as early as season 1, when she feels visibly bad after leaving Adora on the cliff in the temple. In season 4, she has nightmares about Entrapta and feels guilty for what she did to her and for opening the portal.

And from the moment she decides to change, she’s willing to make huge personal sacrifices to make up for her actions: She sacrifices herself to save Glimmer, gets tortured, mind-controlled and nearly dies in the process. The heroes saving her doesn’t come from nowhere and their forgiveness is well-earned because she was willing to put herself on the line to save someone else. She then keeps helping the heroes, apologizes to everyone she’s hurt, is again willing to sacrifice herself for Adora in the finale, and finally saves the entire universe from Horde Prime by staying with Adora and confessing her love to her. If we’re trying to be realistic about this – I’d say saving the whole universe from an intergalactic dictator would at least dramatically shorten her prison sentence? So no, I don’t think Catra should have ended up in prison.

The Diamonds: So the thing about their redemption arc is… they don’t really have one. We’re just kind of meant to forgive them out of the blue. Steven and the Crystal Gems ask the Diamonds for help to cure the corrupted gems and they manage to convince them, but there’s never any point where the Diamonds regret their actions. They only start to regret their actions towards Steven and Pink, but there’s never even an ounce of regret for what they did to anyone else. The Cluster? The deaths? The millions of destroyed planets and civilization? The humans and Rose Quartzes in the zoo? The presumably thousands of off-colors fighting for their lives underground on homeworld every second? That’s all swept under the rug in the finale. And therefore, the Diamonds can’t even get to the point where they make sacrifices for someone else or do anything that would lead me to forgive them, because they’re not even at a point where they realize they’ve done anything wrong. The show treats them like they’re redeemed in the end, but they’re not. Everything they’ve done just gets ignored.

5. Being held accountable for their actions

Another thing that’s important for redemption arcs is that the heroes don’t just ignore what a character has done and act like it never happened.

Catra: SPOP never shies away from admitting that Catra has done bad things. Even after her heroic sacrifice, the other characters don’t just all forgive Catra at once. Adora still calls her out when she’s being selfish, some of other princesses are resentful towards her, Frosta punches her in the face, etc. One heroic sacrifice isn’t enough: You see Catra constantly working on herself afterwards and doing what she can to become a better person and make up for her actions. And most importantly, those actions are addressed in the show. (Arguably they could have addressed what happened to Angella again, but overall Catra’s actions get acknowledged in the show.)

The Diamonds: My other big problem with SU suddenly acting like the Diamonds are redeemed is that their actions never get addressed. People act like when I say I wanted the Diamonds to be held accountable that means I wanted Steven to shatter them in cold blood – no, I just wanted Steven to at least *say* that what they’re doing is wrong. Like I said, all of their actions other than corrupting gems and treating Steven & Pink badly completely get swept under the rug in Change Your Mind. It’s like we’re meant to assume that everything else will be fine now just because Steven managed to convince the Diamonds to do one (1) thing for him. What will happen to their colonies now? What about the humans and Rose Quartzes in the zoo? What about all the off-colors fighting for their lives underground on homeworld? What about the enslaved Pearls and the class system? None of that ever gets addressed in the finale – we’re just supposed to take that happy ending at face value and believe that all the other stuff will get fixed now, even though the show never says that!

(Before you tell me how any of that gets addressed in the movie or in Steven Universe Future – I don’t care. SU Future is a new show that takes place after a timeskip. The movie is also a separate thing. SU should make sense as a show on its own and it doesn’t. Change Your Mind was presented as a finale and therefore should wrap up the most important plots and it didn’t.)

For all we know after watching CYM, Steven doesn’t actually care about anything the Diamonds have done. He’s sitting on their shoulders and laughing with them in the end and we’re meant to take that as a happy ending. For all we know, there’s still an oppressive class system and gems getting shattered for not fitting into it on homeworld. The Cluster’s still suffering. The Pearls are still slaves. The Diamonds are still dictators and that aspect never changed – because it’s never addressed. When White Pearl regains consciousness, Steven says “Welcome Back”, but nothing in this episode ever implies that she’s not still WD’s slave. When Lars and the Off-colors arrive on Earth, the fact that they’re terrified of the Diamonds is played for laughs. The finale revolves only around Steven’s feelings while Garnet and Pearl never get a moment of standing up to the people who hurt them.

“But Steven needed the Diamonds’ help the heal the corrupted gems!”

Yes, that’s the in-universe explanation. But a writer still invented that rule. And even so, they could have added a scene where Steven takes the Crystal Gems aside and tells them “Hey, I know these people killed many of your friends, enslaved and persecuted you, but I just want you to know that I don’t actually like them or consider them family and I’m only doing this to help the corrupted gems. You’re my real family.”

6. Identifying with their victims

I don’t remember who made that post, but there was a post on Tumblr somewhere that said that how likely someone is to forgive a villain often depends on how much they identify with the people that villain has hurt. And if I’m being very honest, that’s what a lot of my hate for the Diamonds boils down to:

The Diamonds don’t appear in Steven Universe until way later in the show. The way we first learn about them is indirect. We know the Crystal Gems fought a war against someone and are hiding on Earth from someone, but that someone doesn’t get a face until way later. By that point, we’ve already been told that fusions like Garnet are illegal on homeworld, that Pearls are considered lesser gems, and that Amethyst would be defective by homeworld’s standards. And all of those things made me personally sympathize with the Crystal Gems and their found family of misfits – and it made me angry at whoever did all of this to them. You can easily read the discrimination Ruby and Sapphire faced for their relationship as a metaphor for homophobia or prejudice against interracial relationships, the discrimination Pearl faces as racism or classism and how Amethyst is treated as ableism.

(Getting personal here for a moment: I’m gay and my parents are from a homophobic country that’s run by a dictator, so I strongly identified with Garnet and how she can’t go back to homeworld because she wouldn’t be allowed to exist as her true self there. Am I maybe reading too much into the show there? Yeah. But honestly, if the Diamonds’ redemption relies on people not identifying with the Crystal Gems – aka the literal protagonists of the show – too much, then maybe it’s just not a good idea. Yeah, maybe if I hadn’t identified with the CGs so strongly, I wouldn’t have minded the Diamond redemption – but it also means I’d have never loved SU as much in the first place.)

What I’m saying is that we first learn about the Diamonds from the point of view of the people they oppressed, persecuted, and tried to kill. We also meet the off-colors and learn about their plight, how they had to spend eons hiding from robots that want to kill them, how they believe the way they are is wrong, etc. We see the Cluster, the people in the zoo etc. and get told the Diamonds did all of this. And then Change Your Mind expects us to suddenly randomly forgive them with no build-up and be okay with Steven calling them “family” over the actual people who raised him.

Catra, on the other hand, is first introduced to us as Adora’s best friend. We get to meet her from the point of view of the protagonist who obviously loves her. Throughout their separation and their struggle, the relationship between these two characters drives the show. Their episodes together are emotional and well-written and make the audience root for them to eventually find their way back together again. We meet her as an abuse-victim who thinks her best friend left her, and we get so many reasons to sympathize with her before she ever hurts anyone.

(And yeah, it helps that the show never lets us personally meet any of the people from the lands she conquered. Yes, we feel bad for Scorpia and all that – but again, being a toxic friend isn’t actually a crime. And yes, we feel bad for Entrapta - but so does Catra, and Entrapta ends up being fine and forgiving her.)

7. A satisfying ending for a show

This is more general, but SU didn’t have a satisfying conclusion imo, because almost none of the things that needed fixing were ever addressed. We’re meant to take “but the Diamonds say please and thank you now” as a good conclusion without getting to the part where they murder people every day. For all we know, Steven doesn’t even care about that part because the writers never made him act like he does.

And yes, I realize that the Diamonds are meant to be a metaphor for a conservative family that finally learns to accept their queer child (Steven), but that metaphor just didn’t work for me (a queer child of an unaccepting family) at all. Because they’re not presented as an unaccepting family: The show spent 4 seasons building them up as dictators and the ultimate big bad, only to drop the “they’re related to Steven” thing in there last minute and sweep the other stuff under the rug. We’ve also spent 5 seasons seeing the Crystal Gems, the people who literally raised him, as Steven’s family, so suddenly giving that title to their oppressors feels super wrong to me.

To give you a comparison, imagine the following ending for She-Ra: Near the end of season 5, Adora suddenly finds out she’s Horde Prime’s long-lost granddaughter. After calling him out for treating her/her parents badly, he finally regrets that part of his actions and promises to leave Etheria alone so Adora and her friends can live there in peace. However, he’s still going to conquer and destroy the rest of the universe and keep Hordak and the other clones mind-controlled. Adora is fine with this and you see her and Horde Prime laughing together in the end. Catra and all the other people Horde Prime chipped and tortured are seen being okay with him now because as long as Adora, the main character, is happy all the hurt Horde Prime caused anyone else doesn’t matter. When the Star Siblings show up on Etheria while fleeing from the Horde army, the fact that they’re scared of Horde Prime is played for laughs. The End.

… Sounds pretty stupid, doesn’t it? I’m glad SPOP had the guts to just let Adora kill Horde Prime instead. Because some people are not redeemable, and that’s an important lesson, too.

Anyways, I’ve been rambling for too long. The bottom line is: The Diamonds are way more comparable to Horde Prime than to Catra. The scale of their actions is the same as that of Horde Prime, their motivations are never explained, we never get any reasons to sympathize with them, the main characters have all been victims of their regime, their redemption arc is nonexistent, they never get called out for their actions and the way their story is concluded is just badly written and leaves way too many factors unaddressed. They get forgiven without ever even being sorry and the Crystal Gems never get a moment to shine and stand up to them. So yes, I consider them irredeemable and was disappointed the show didn’t end with them getting imprisoned at least. (I was kind of hoping for a Homeworld revolution where everyone finally stands up to them, but… *sigh*.) If the show was going to redeem them, they should have at least done it properly by actually showing them have a change of heart and making them try to make up for their actions, instead of letting us assume that all happened off-screen.

Catra on the other hand gets presented as someone to root for from the beginning. She’s only in the Horde due to unfortunate circumstances, got abused and mistreated her whole life, is motivated by a desperate attempt to prove herself and make sure she doesn’t get hurt again, and never committed crimes on the same scale as the Diamonds. Her change of heart is believable and what her arc has been building up to for 4 seasons, she makes great personal sacrifices for Glimmer and Adora, gets held accountable for her actions, helps save the entire universe and is a character who has already suffered her entire life – so yes, I strongly believe that she deserves to live a happy, free, and peaceful life after the show.

#spop #Catra #SU critical #redemption arcs #writing #... do I really dare to post in the 'su critical' tag again? yeah let's do it #just to be clear again - this is CRITICISM not hate #long post #... wow this really got long #replies to people #noideahowtocallmyblog

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seasidefallenangel · 5 years ago

Text

Letting out a groan, you slunk back into the chair in your bedroom whilst glaring at the horrible pieces of fabric in front of you. Choosing a bathing suit for a beach day should absolutely not be this hard, yet here you were ready to pack it up and call it quits.

When Masumi had invited you to the Mankai Company’s beach day out, you almost launched your phone out the window from sheer excitement. He usually preferred to keep you to himself, so the chance to hang out with his fellow theater members was huge. You had met them a few times and they had welcomed you with open arms, saying things around the lines of it being “good that Masumi has someone else now,” whatever that meant. Come to think of it, you hadn’t met the director either. The entire company spoke so highly of her, so it was a wonder why Masumi had tried his best to make it so you two don’t meet.

“I like the one on the right.”

Shooting up from your chair, you looked at your boyfriend who had entered your room whilst you were marinating in your little thought bubble.”It makes your eyes look pretty.” How did he say stuff like that with a straight face?

Asking him to toss you your coverup, you walked into the bathroom to change and felt the nerves build up in your stomach. Surely Izumi was a wonderful person or else everyone wouldn’t be so fond of her. But… why did Masumi get so weird everytime she was mentioned? Every uttering of her name by someone caused his demeanor to change completely. You couldn’t quite put your finger on it, but he almost seemed stressed or worried. Was she treating him badly? You’d absolutely stick for him if necessary - he really was a sweet and caring boy despite that harsh exterior of his. Maybe Izumi just hadn’t gotten to know him yet, but you’d make sure she knows how amazing he can be.

Exiting the bathroom and reaching for his hand, Masumi gave you a soft smile. “You really do look beautiful.” Bumping his shoulder with yours, you gave a playful, “Not so bad yourself,” before giggling and getting ready to leave and meet up with the rest of the troupes.

This day was going to be nothing short of incredible!

At first, the beach was nothing short of the most fun day of your life. Upon joining the rest of Mankai, you first saw Banri and Juza duking it out over who got to smash the watermelon open only for Tsuzuru to get tired of their bickering and come over to rain hell on the poor fruit himself (where he got the upper body strength to do so you had absolutely no idea.) Omi was teaching Muku about the wonders of grilling while Azuma, Itaru and Hisoka were under a nearby umbrella - the first two not wanting to be in the sun and the latter not wanting to be awake at all. Kazunari was trying to drag Tenma and Sakuya into a beach day photoshoot, one being far more willing than the other, as Taichi fawned over Yuki’s cute yet simple bathing suit as they walked down the shoreline. The rest of the members were scattered about, smiles abound and laughter filling up the entire beach. The first hour or so between you and Masumi was spent splashing around the water, a few short and sweet kisses shared between the two of you at the expense of Banri’s teasing and Homare’s prose about young love or something of the sort.

Which lead you to right now - a sweet moment between you two cuddling on the same towel shattered by the reality of why exactly Izumi had been such a well kept secret from you.

For what it was worth, Izumi herself was an absolute gem. She clearly cared about every single person she worked with, Masumi included which cured your earlier worries, and took pride in the talents of the boys she so lovingly built up and helped hone their acting skills. It would be foolish of someone not to like her.

Something you realized Masumi went a little too far with.

“It’s so nice to meet you! I almost thought Masumi was lying about having a partner since I never got to meet you myself, I’m so glad you were able to come.” Geez, that’s one hell of a grip. “I could say the same for you,” you laughed, “It was almost like Masumi-,” you suddenly cut off upon turning and seeing Masumi’s face. It could be described as nothing but pure adoration.

For a moment, you thought he was just admiring the woman who’s helped him become a better actor and a better person. But a few seconds passed and it was evident that the look held so much more than that. He’d never even come close to showing you that type of love in his eyes, like he’d fight until his last breath if it meant you’d be happy. The smile slowly dropped from your face and your throat suddenly felt tight. This was why, you decided in that moment, this was why he had kept you from Izumi from so long. Not because he hated her, but because he loved her. He loved her so much to the point where you could only assume he didn’t even love you a fraction of the amount he loved her.

Your hand dropped out of his and he didn’t even notice, instead asking Izumi about how her day was, where she got her suit, if she liked his. She went to answer his unending list of questions, but caught sight of the heartbroken look you sported and you watched as guilt overtook her face. She knew, she absolutely knew how he felt for her and she couldn’t do anything about it. “Um, Masumi… do you mind giving me and your partner here a moment to talk?” You could see his metaphorical tail wagging, “Anything for you, director.” He turned back to you to give you a kiss on the cheek, and his lips felt like molten lava against your skin.

Watching as he walked over towards Omi to grab a snack, Izumi took your hand in hers. “I’m so sorry. I-” she tried to figure out the words for a moment, “I really thought he was over this. When he had told us about you it was so refreshing to see him placing his love into someone who could actually reciprocate it.” You didn’t realize you were crying until she wiped away your tears. “You deserve better than this, it’s my fault for forcing him to let me meet you-” “It’s not.” Your voice didn’t even sound like your own at this point. “It’s not your fault he loves you. I should’ve realized something was up when he kept us separated for so long.”

You reached up to wipe your tears on your own this time as she pulled you into a hug. God, of course Masumi loved her, you could tell how kind she was just from the interaction. She got close to your ear just in case anyone was listening, “If you want to leave I understand.” It didn’t seem like a terrible idea, rather it was probably the best thing you could do right now. The embarrassment you’d have to face having a full on breakdown in front of everyone would only amplify your already fragile state. “I probably will do that… thank you Tachibana-san, and please don’t blame yourself for this.” She separated from you and gave you a quick glance before walking over towards Tsumugi and Sakyo as you went to gather your things and make your way back home. You would deal with talking to Masumi about this tomorrow, right now would be way too much for you to handle- “___!” I was so close too.

You turned around to see him jogging towards you, confusion littered on his face. “Are you leaving already? The sun isn’t even setting yet.” Be subtle, tactile, there’s no reason to start anything here… actually, fuck it. “Why didn’t you tell me you were in love with Izumi?” Upon hearing this, he was completely speechless. He tried to get over her so badly, he wanted nothing more than to make this work between the two of you but something about his director just kept him coming back, even when he didn’t want to. “... I didn’t think you’d notice.”

A dry, humorless laugh left your body, “You were practically falling over her feet, I’d have to be an idiot not to notice.” There was a short moment of silence between you, with Masumi knowing he was guilty and you debating on letting your next set of words out - but your mouth started moving before your brain could tell it to stop. “I think we should stop seeing each other.”

Masumi was never the most emotional or expressive person, but you could see how much that statement stabbed him in the heart. He wanted to tell you no, that you could make it work, but he knew deep down he had no right to ask something of you. Who knew how long it’d be before he was able to properly rid his feelings for Izumi? He tried his hardest not to let his tears fall, while you gave up on doing the same long ago. A soft and broken, “Okay,” came from him and you could tell he had pages and pages of words he wanted to speak to you to try and convince you otherwise but you knew a lost cause when you saw it.

The two of you made eye contact and you let him know you hoped he’d be able to find someone else, he’d be able to fix himself and stop letting his unrequited love run every part of his life. As you turned to walk back home, your heart now nothing more than a heavy weight in your chest, he called out one last attempt to get his feelings across. “I love you, ___.”

You stopped and stood there, knowing that if you turned around you’d run back to him. You deserved better than that.

“No, you don’t.”

this piece was written for a collab for the mankai basement server! check out the entire collab here!

song: natsu no owari no amaoto ga - takami chika and matsuura kanan

#a3 imagines #a3 x reader #masumi usui x reader #a3 scenarios #a3!#angst #scenarios #a3 fanfic

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libsterslobsters · 4 years ago

Text

Ramble On

Summary: Late night phone calls are rarely good, especially when they come from someone known for texting. Or maybe, just this once, it's for the best

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x gem! enhanced! Reader

(Reader sees bits of the future, understands all languages, and processes information abnormally quickly)

Warnings: Strong language, tiny bit of angst, mostly fluff

Author's note: Reader is unnamed, but when I'm writing this character, I call her Violet.

*************************************************

As she rolls over, rearranging the covers around her for what must be the fiftieth time in an hour, she catches sight of the bedside clock. 2 a.m. She really needs to get to sleep. She has an interview in the morning, after all. The only problem: she can’t, too worried about what the outcome will be to get any rest.

There’s so much riding on this one meeting. If she gets the job, teaching English as a second language at an actual college in Bucharest as opposed to in her apartment, her whole life will change. It will no longer be a constant struggle to stay afloat, often leading to the choice of whether she’s going to pay her heating or electric bill this month, eat or have a place to live.

Applying for any job is a risk, because what if they look her up and a notification pops up on SHIELD’s radar? She’s forged her papers well, payed the right person to invent a background for her, but while it may hold up under the Romanians’ scrutiny, will it be enough to convince anyone lurking in the shadows that she’s a perfectly normal woman with nothing to hide? Or will there be a knock on her door in the middle of the night, followed by her being captured, herded onto a plane and then locked in a cell or worse?

Rolling over once again, she tries to convince herself that enough time has passed, she looks different enough from the scared eighteen year old that flagged the American government’s interest when she fool-hardily took a job as an intern translator and performed a little too well.

It’s not long before she’s tossing and turning once more, and this time her phone’s screen lights up. 2:30. Only three and a half more hours before she’s got to get up and prepare for the day ahead. She wishes she had some tea left, but she ran out three days ago. For a few minutes, she plays on her phone, rereading old messages between Barnes and herself, but eventually she has to stop. Thinking about him definitely isn’t helping her sleep, especially since she knows, no matter how much she wishes it were otherwise, he’ll never care for her the way she cares for him.

Chiding herself for allowing the foolish longing for something different, for the man who’s only ever been kind to her, treated her like a close friend, to want her, she tosses her phone to the side and closes her eyes. She’s completely unaware that, inadvertently, she’s hit the little icon of a telephone and on the other side of the city, a ringing noise is filling the air.

__________________________________________________________________________________

He’s not asleep when his phone rings. Not even so much as dozing. Still, it takes a few moments for Bucky to put together that the whirring noise is coming from his phone, and he should probably check to see who it is. As her name flashes on the screen, all weariness disappears, replaced at first by excitement, and then when he answers, receiving no reply, worry. It’s not like her to call this late, or really, to call at all without texting first to make sure he’s free (even though he’s told her multiple times to call whenever she likes, he’ll always answer). His first instinct is to rush over to her apartment and make sure she’s alright, but ultimately, a cooler head prevails. He should try to call her back first. Maybe they have a bad connection and she couldn’t hear him.

That’s what he does, and after the third ring, she picks up.

“Bucky?” It’s said in a voice that’s rough with disuse. “What’s going on? Are you alright?” That’s supposed to be his line.

“I’m fine. What about you?” He hears her yawn over the line.

“Dealing with some insomnia, but nothing huge.” Funny. She sounds exhausted.

“Is that why you called? You’re having trouble sleeping?”

“What?” He can imagine her brow furrowing in keeping with the confusion in her voice. “I didn’t call.”

“You did. Didn’t say anything, though.”

There’s a pause, and then-

“Crap. I’m sorry, Buck. I must’ve rolled over on my phone and accidentally called you.” Oh. Now it makes sense.

“It’s alright.”

He’s about to tell her that his night’s so much better for hearing her voice, but stops short at the last second. It’s been going on for a few months, these casual dates at one or the other of their apartments, occasionally a cheap restaurant in the city, or just out for a walk. Still, he hasn’t so much as kissed her yet, too worried that he’ll push too far and frighten her, or worse, make her feel like she has to do something she doesn’t truly want. She hasn’t made a move to speed things up either, so he’s waiting, taking things slow. It doesn’t bother him; he’s got all the time in the world on his hands, and frankly, he’s enjoying just getting to know all the little things about her. Still, he doesn’t want to come on too strong, so he simply says,

“Why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you?”

“Nothing.” She chuckles, but he can tell it’s faked for his benefit. “I’ll let you go now.”

“No, you won’t. You’re going to tell me what’s keeping you up so that maybe you can get some rest before the sun comes up.” He internally winces as his words. It sounds like he’s ordering her around.

“Alright.” She sighs. “I have that interview tomorrow-” He nods, even though she can’t see him. “-and I think I’m just too in my head about it, you know? I keep going over all the ways it could go south, and the more I try to push that aside, the more I think about it.”

He chooses his words carefully, knowing that it’s not just the possibility that she won’t get the job that’s worrying her.

“They don’t check things as closely here as they do back home. And even if they did decide to do some sort of background check, so far as all your paperwork is concerned, you’re just another college grad looking to put your teaching degree to use.”

He may have done a little reconnaissance, gotten into certain government buildings not open to the public and checked out exactly what they know about her just to make sure her forgeries would stand up, but she doesn’t need to know that. It would just worry her that he’s taking unnecessary risks over something she doesn’t consider a necessity.

“I know. It’s just a niggling feeling. Not a vision or anything. Just paranoia.”

Speaking of…

“Have you had any visions lately?” Sometimes they’re funny. Sometimes useful. Sometimes, downright bizarre.

“Yes. I’m having one right now of you sitting up in bed, talking on the phone when you should definitely be sleeping because you’re too polite to tell me I woke you up.”

“Must be something that hasn’t happened yet, because I’m actually lying down, and I was wide awake when you called.” He hopes that’ll be enough to assuage her guilt.

“Hm… I’m calling bullshit on that, Barnes. Have you looked at the time? It’s nearly three a.m.”

“It is, but that doesn’t change the fact that I was up.” She’s not going to believe him unless he explains. “I don’t sleep much.”

“Part of the super soldier thing?”

“I don’t think so. More like I’m afraid that if I close my eyes, they’ll get the drop on me and put me back on ice.” He definitely didn’t mean to say that last part, but now that it’s out there, he can’t take it back.

“Bucky, you need to sleep. That’s not healthy.” The corners of his lips turn up. All the way across the city, awake at three a.m., and she’s scolding him for not getting his beauty rest.

“Neither is worrying about a job interview that you’ve got in the bag since you’re a great teacher.”

They’d be stupid not to hire her. She literally speaks every language on the planet, and even though they won’t know that part, she’s still completely qualified. Plus, she’ll give this job her all, work harder than anyone else they could possibly hire, because she actually cares about the people she’s teaching. Them; not just their lives so far as it pertains to her classroom.

“How would you know that? You’ve never been one of my students.” Maybe not, but she’s taught him so much, like how to be alive again instead of just surviving. But, he should probably keep that to himself.

“Well, I already speak English.”

“Good point. Spanish, then?”

“Afraid I speak that one too.”

“French? Mandarin?”

“Yes and yes.”

“What about gibberish? Surely you’re not fluent in gibberish.”

He chuckles.

“You’ve got me there. I don’t speak it.”

“That’s too bad, because I’m only conversational.” Another yawn sounds from her side of the phone. “Alright, this time I really am letting you go.” Good. Hopefully, she’s finally able to get some rest now that she’s shifted some of the weight of her worries to him. “Goodnight, Bucky. Thanks for talking me down.”

“Goodnight, Doll. You’re gonna knock ‘em dead.”

As the call ends, his phone flashing the length of their conversation, Bucky finds that maybe, just maybe, he’ll get some sleep tonight after all.

#marvel #captain america #fanfiction #bucky x y/n #bucky barnes #bucky x reader #the winter soldier #bucky fanfic

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fuwafuwamedb · 5 years ago

Text

The Rayshift Thefts (Cu Chulainn, Rin Tohsaka, Hakuno, Gilgamesh)

He couldn’t help it.

Sometimes, when his master wasn’t around, he found himself closing his eyes, thinking about that brunette. His other selves were in the midst of a good poker game with Gudako, laughing it up or simply grunting as Gudako made poor jokes. The whole place was cheery enough, filling the air with a collection of sounds that were hard for any servant to imagine before coming to this place.

A facility that summoned servants not to fight one another but to protect humanity.

“You’re remarkably easy to persuade to help us fight,” Gudako had once commented.

He’d laughed at the remark, asking if it should be difficult for him to agree to such terms. However, he’d just been avoiding the answer that had been in his mind.

His eyes still saw the brown hair, glinting in the light of that basement. He could still see the eyes that had finally held fear in them, the pain and the torment slipping away as he pulled Gae Bolg from the body of the priest that had been trying to destroy her life any further.

Sometimes it felt like he could feel her hands on him, lightly touching at his armor as all that mounting hope broke into pieces.

“I need to smoke.”

Cu glanced over at his other selves.

“Oi! Who needs a break?”

“I smoked before I came,” Caster him complained, glaring over at Gudako.

“I don’t smoke those flimsy twigs,” Alter growled.

“I’m going cold turkey,” Proto replied.

So just him.

Lancer shook his head at them, climbing to his feet and fixing the turtleneck he had on. Guess all this meant was that he was meant to be ponderin’ that cute brunette a little longer. He could imagine the knee high socks, the long coats and the tumblin’ dark hair that she tied up on the sides to keep out of her way.

Wandering through the facility, he looked out to the lakes in the distance, just below the mountains, noting how the blue color seemed to look like the depths of those intelligent eyes.

He was an obsessive old man, wasn’t he?

Confident women with brains and a lack of ambition for ruining a man were hard to come by. Too often, he’d ended up with women like that Medb or his master; women who had their own ambitions and were all too happy to mow you down just to get to their goals.

That Rin Tohsaka had been a rare gem.

“You look entertained.”

“Hmm?”

It looked like he wouldn’t be smoking alone, after all. Not that he could call the other company, but…

“You got a light, Gorgeous?”

Gilgamesh rolled his eyes at that, flicking a thing from his pocket and handing over the cigarette he’d had close at hand.

If nothing else, the other’s taste in good tobacco hadn’t changed at all. Cu found himself settling against the wall of the rayshift room, knowing full well that they’d have to run the damn fan in here when they were done.

Worth it though, he thought.

“Mutt, I’m bored. At least bark a little.”

“Woof woof, Goldie. I ain’t up for that shit. Entertain yourself.”

“Entertain myself?” The man’s eyes glinted. “Are you truly thinking yourself that cocky after all we’ve been through?”

“Oi, leave it.”

“I remember a certain man volunteering to look after the vessel candidate, insisting on twenty-four-hour surveillance.”

“I miss that woman.”

The words came out far too easily. He wasn’t sure how, wasn’t sure why, but there they were. They hung in the air between him and the archer, lingering like a storm cloud.

He remembered being stuck around the church. The memories were far too persistent, despite his best efforts otherwise. He could also remember her though, the small conversations, the blush could form as she misunderstood something or simply became too naïve to realize the truth of things.

“You miss a mongrel like that?”

“You never met her.”

The man clicked his tongue. “I met something close enough… This conversation bores me. Go get her if you are so lonesome, mutt. Who’s going to stop you?”

“Gudako?”

Gilgamesh laughed, smashing the butt of his cigarette against the wall and pouring himself some wine. “That fool? She lacked the courage to address many things in this place until they became unavoidable. A little mage hiding in your room will hardly be worth noting.”

“I don’t see you summoning anything here.”

“Me?”

“Is there nothing and no one that you miss?”

It was obvious that there wasn’t anyone. Why would there be? The great king of Heroes was not one for entertaining himself with women and liaisons other than sadistic trysts with malignant priests. He entertained himself with ideologies and the chaos of the inherently good becoming corrupt. A man like that-

Gilgamesh made a small hum.

“Should I allow you to assist me then? I suppose you do owe me for my forcing Kirei to treat you so well.”

“I ain’t interested.”

“No?”

The man was ruining his smoke break. Pulling the cigarette out, he went to kill it when the other spoke up.

“Not even for that Tohsaka fool?”

“Eh?”

He laughed, those red eyes meeting his own. “I’m talking about that little fool your lovesick for, you fool. You wish to go get her, but you don’t want to break any precious rules. Hate to have Gudako see you wet the floors or scratch up the furniture, right?”

“I ain’t givin’ up my place here just to catch a glimpse of the girl.”

“Control the command room when I fetch someone and I’ll control the room when you go to fetch your mongrel.”

“Who are you going to get?”

Gilgamesh eyes closed, his expression deflating until he looked about ready to leave. “I have other things to do. Decide quickly and cease your wasting of my time.”

“How do I know you won’t betray me?”

“Betray?”

He began to nod a second before that face was close, he could see something dark in that gaze, the smell of smoke hanging between them in the intimate space.

“What a strange word coming from someone who spread me before that useless priest and allowed his slop down my throat. Do not think I’ve forgotten a second of that. That or what else you helped him with.”

“You did the same, Goldie.”

“And now we both stand here, with the man dead and the sins of that time lingering only in memory. You want something. I want something. I see no reason why we should allow a little red headed fool tell us what is and is not to be done about our needs… do you?”

“So you’re saying that sexual shit-“

“My time is precious, don’t waste it further, Celt.”

“Fine.”

“Excellent.” Gilgamesh moved to the other room, tapping the glass with his knuckles as he settled into the command room seat. “You’ll fetch your woman first. Be quick. You know how loud this place is and I want who I want tonight as well.”

Be quick.

Funny words from someone who shifted him to the other side of the damn city. He found himself leaping from roof to roof, looking about the strangely offputting city of Fuyuki. Mid-Grail War, obviously, if he could take some damages here and there as any indication. Things had been changed, buildings torn apart and stores collapsed from what had to be a few good battles.

The woman’s own home was quiet, a lone woman lying in the center of the bed in a state of disarray. The bandages on her were numerous, her first aid kit was emptied out, a pile nearby showing that she’d bleed through enough already.

“…Rin.”

The woman jumped, spinning around only to gasp.

A stab wound.

She hadn’t had that. Cu Chulainn yanked at the bedding, bunching it in a rush as he found the woman struggling against him.

“Let me go!”

“Woman, you’re dying.” He grabbed her turtleneck from the floor as he made her hold that blanket to her chest. Her coat nearby was grabbed next, alongside her scarf and stockings.

“What are you doing?! How did you get-“

The shift back came the moment that he had the woman in his arms.

“You would find an idiot sporting a fatal injury, wouldn’t you?”

Gilgamesh stormed into the room, leaving Rin to jump again. Her body clung to him, looking around in shock.

“Kit’s on the chair. I’ve written down the instructions for my shift. Do not fail me. My little toy to keep the place distracted won’t last long and you’ve wasted my time again.”

“Right.”

He didn’t have time to argue, not with Rin like this. Getting her into the other room, he could see the chaos on the monitors. Gil’d unleashed a selection of Avicebron’s golems into the hallways, leaving the place to collect them and that fool Spartacus.

“What is this? Where am I?”

“Chaldea.” Cu typed in the shit on Gil’s paper, shifting him off before he grabbed the kit and looked to her. “Watch the monitors for when that golden guy has whatever he’s searching for. I need to treat your stomach wound.”

“I’ve tried healing it. Nothing’s been working…”

“Yeah, well, let’s just say I’ve had my fair share of these, as you know.”

“I don’t know who you are.”

She what?

Cu Chulainn stared up at her, watching that blue gaze try to understand what was happening. His clever Rin had been a shit liar, even worse at hiding feelings. She should have been raging, kicking and shouting ‘lancer!’ or ‘you idiot’ at him.

Instead, there was just a tired look of shock on her face, as though the world was ending but she still found herself running into that one last problem.

Where did that golden asshole send me?

It had been during the war, he knew that. The damage was obvious. Rin was the same. Right down to the hair style and the weight of her, she was the same.

“You’re a servant, I know that.”

“Shit, Rin.”

“How do you know my name?”

“What do you remember from the Holy Grail war?”

“The war… you mean that my sister won?”

Her sister-

He’d gotten an alternate time’s Rin.

That damned bastard, shipping him off to steal a Rin that didn’t know him. Whatever had happened to this one, she was clueless as to who he was. Who knew what had-

Cu paused.

“…Did anyone try to touch you?”

“W-What the hell is wrong with you!?!” The woman slammed her foot into his chest, sending her computer chair flying back as she did. The bandages he’d been applying fell loosely around her exposed waist. “WHY THE HELL WOULD SOMEONE DO THAT?!”

Thank the gods.

“HEY-“

“You don’t know how glad I am to hear that, lass. Come here and let me tend that damn wound before ya die on me. I didn’t save your ass in one life just to lose your alternate life like this.”

“…Alternate?”

He motioned her over, watching her hesitate a moment before listening.

It took a minute, ultimately ruining the outfit she was in. He pulled his shirt off and shoved it over her to give her something clean to wear.

“…I don’t get you.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot.”

He ruffled her hair a moment before checking the monitors again.

Most the golems were rounded up now. It looked like time was almost up.

Gilgamesh meanwhile was moving through a school building, slipping into a room and pulling a slumbering woman out of bed. It looked like he had what he wanted, judging by his waving of one arm.

Cu slammed the shift button and glanced back to Rin.

“What am I supposed to do here?”

He hadn’t thought that far.

Embarrassing as it was, he had no clue how to handle things from here. He’d expected to have his own Rin, the one that had yelled at him and demanded his aid in fighting that red archer. He’d expected swearings and stompings and a collection of colorful insults to fill his evening. It’d have been long enough for him to think of a reason to keep her around other than that he liked her.

This Rin was just sweet.

It was like gaining a bird with a broken wing. No matter how powerful, they still couldn’t fly. He’d have to nurse her back to health and figure shit out on the fly.

“Are they still gathering those beasts?” Gilgamesh asked, hauling the woman into the room over his shoulder.

“Last few.”

“Then move it. I won’t be caught this early just because you want to play nursemaid with the woman you missed.”

“Missed?” Rin stared at him next, earning a scoff.

“Figure your own fool out on your own, mongrel. I have things to do.”

Things was currently holding onto his shoulders, her face pressing against his neck. Whoever the woman was, it was clear she was entirely asleep, lost in a warm and comforting dream that would burst the moment she woke up to the asshole archer.

“You mind trusting me a while longer?” Cu asked the woman in his shirt, offering his back to her.

“…Since you helped me not die, fine.” Rin shifted, her body wrapping around his carefully before he grabbed her soiled clothes and the first aid kit from the floor. Her head leaned over his shoulder. “I want an explanation of what’s going on when we get to wherever we’re going.”

Yeah, he’d figured that she would.

Shame he didn’t have one for her.

#drabble #drabbles

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cassandra-tangled · 5 years ago

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Cassandra Appreciation Week Day 5: Happiness

Hey guys! Here’s my one-shot for Cassandra Appreciation Week day 5: happiness. So, I took a little bit of a liberty with this one, it’s a bit experimental and in first person. I’m honestly not too sure how I feel about it, but it was fun to play around with! Also, it does loosely connect to my one-shot for day 1 (here on AO3). Anyway, I hope y’all enjoy! Here’s the AO3 link

The word count is 2,475

And a brief summary is: Cassandra makes good use of the journal that Rapunzel gave her as a birthday gift.

The only thing of any concern is some light cursing. Enjoy!

Dear Diary,

Dear Journal,

Wow. This is really not my speed.

So, a journal. I don’t really know what to write, I’m not a...journal-ly person. Raps is, sure, but not me. This stupid, leather-bound book was a birthday gift from her, though, so I want to make sure I use it.

Not that Raps would ever snoop into my private life (at least not intrusively enough to read this) but if she did, I hope that last part wouldn’t hurt her feelings. I love the gift, really. It’s only stupid because it’s frusturating me that I don’t know what to write.

I guess I can start with where I got this journal. Like I said, it was a birthday gift from Raps. My birthday was a little under a week ago, now. I didn’t even know it was my birthday, but I turned twenty-eight. I feel old. Raps threw me a dinner. There was good food, cake, and alcohol. I fucking hate parties, but I love my friends, and it was only the five of us. Raps and Eugene got me this book, and a quill, and a knife, and some clothes and other fun things. It was really sweet of them, honestly. They didn’t need to get me anything, I wouldn’t have known the difference. Varian got me a bag of rocks, basically. Wait, that made me sound ungrateful. They’re beautiful rocks, and it was a cute gift. Or are they stones? Or gems?? Or crystals?? Fuck, I’m not a rock expert. But whatever they are, they’re pretty, and he found them all around the kingdom. It’ll be like having Corona with me when I leave again. Oh, and Lance got me a bag of Monty’s candy. Score.

So, I don’t really know what to use this for. I guess if I go back on the road I can...write or doodle in here like Raps did when we were younger. I mean, I’ll probably write, if anything. She’s all about doodles. I wonder how many notebooks she’s filled up by now.

When I asked her what she thought I should do with the journal yesterday, she told me to write about the things that make me happy. That’s a good place to start, I suppose. I’m not her, though. She could probably write a novel and a half on what makes her happy--but not me. Most things make me angry, and I could probably write a novel on that. Screaming children make me angry, although they’re cute when they’re quiet. Parties and social interaction make me angry. People who pronounce ‘vase’ as ‘vayhse’ make me angry (it’s ‘vahz’). Being awake makes me angry. Being asleep makes me angry. Freeloaders and thieves make me angry--reformed ones are okay, though. Most people make me angry. Especially Fitzherbert. Don’t get me wrong, I love him...sometimes.

But I’m supposed to be talking about things that make me happy. Honestly, I’m hard pressed to think of many, but I can think of some.

My weapons make me happy. I could stare at them for hours, in all honesty--I have so many (thanks Dad), and they’re all beautiful. I love polishing them, and admiring them, and of course...using them. Not in a creepy killer way or anything. Dueling is just really, really fun, and let me just say--I’ve made good use of my Fitzherbert sparring dummy since coming home.

My favorite weapon is my halberd. I keep it well cared for, sharp, polished, and shiny. It was the first weapon Dad gave me, for my eighth birthday. At that point, it towered over me, but not anymore--I’ve had it twenty years now, and it’s rather proportionate. I mean, it’s taller than me because it’s supposed to be, but seriously...watching eight year old me trudge around with it was probably a sight to see. Anyway, he chose it as my first weapon because it’s the weapon of choice for Corona’s guard. I was eight when he started really training me with them. Before, I’d sat on the sidelines and watched, but by eight, I was a full-fledged trainee. People thought he was crazy for raising his daughter to be a guard from such a young age, but I’m glad for it. I wouldn’t be able to protect myself otherwise.

I love all my weapons, though. I couldn’t take my halberd with me on the road, so I took two of my daggers and my favorite sword instead. Oh, how I wanted to take my mace, but it was too heavy to justify. My favorite dagger, I’ve had since I was sixteen. I had a few before it, but my favorite one is absolutely beautiful. It’s probably the most valuable thing that I own. It was a gift, too, a blade carved of steel and the handle of beautiful gold. It’s badass--the handle is carved into this weird...I don’t know, dragon? Lizard? Sea serpent? Whatever it is, it looks cool, and my name is engraved on the blade. The sheath is encrusted with small gems. It’s not from my dad, but from an ‘anonymous castle staff’ or something who leaves me gifts every year. I don’t know why they bother or how they afford it, but I love it. It’s not the most practical, because of the handle, it’s more ornamental. I don’t usually use it in sparring or fights. I didn’t bring it on the road with me, as much as it pained me to leave it home, because of its obvious, glaring value. So, it was nice to see it again when I got back here.

Hmm...I’ve been talking about my weapons for a while. What else makes me happy?

Books. I love books. I grew up with them as, well, my best friends. I was privileged enough to be educated, and educated well. I was reading fluently by the time I was six or seven, and when I wasn’t training, working or otherwise helping my father, you could be sure to find my nose buried in a book. One of the biggest perks of growing up in a castle is the library. I mean, usually, servants can read the book if they please and are able, but aren’t allowed to take the books out with them, or anything like that. I guess Queen Arianna likes me, because I was allowed. My father said it was a special privilege, since I was a learning child, and she valued the concept of book-smart young girls. Anyway, since I started working, I don’t use the library as much anymore--not because I dislike reading nowadays, but because I buy my own books.

Funny story, here. Growing up, I read a lot of fantasy books, about...you know, damsels in distress and princesses who were saved by handsome knights in shining armor. I used to think that maybe, just maybe, if I trained hard enough, I could be the one to bring the lost princess home, and maybe even…

Well, a rogue thief beat me to it. And it wasn’t even on purpose.

Anyway, back to happy--animals make me happy, too. It doesn’t matter what kind, although I am sort of biased towards a certain owl and two particular horses. I don’t know what it is about animals, but despite the fact that they don’t speak our language, they’re a lot more capable of love and empathy than most humans are. There are a lot of great Coronan horses, but two are particularly dear to me. I remember when Max and Fidella were born, actually. They’re pretty close in age, though I think Max is a tad older--he was born when I was fourteen, and she when I was fifteen. Max was fathered by my father’s previous horse, and by the time he was weaned from his mother, it was clear he’d be taking his father’s place as the Captain’s horse. Fidella was actually born to my childhood favorite horse. I learned to ride on her mother, so it seems only appropriate to me that she became the one to accompany me on my journey. Her mother was a beautiful mare named Eliza. Eliza was quite similar to Fidella in color and stature--she certainly takes after her mother, not her father. Eliza was my first equine love, if you will. For a kid without any friends, a faithful horse can fill the gap. We had a lot of fun together, but she got sick and died a year or two after birthing Fidella. It broke me, honestly. Horses can live to thirty years, and she was only twelve at the time of her death.

Right, happy. Oh people, I guess. I mean, as I said before, a lot of people piss me off, but some of them are more than okay. Dad is pretty great, and it’s been nice to be back and see him again. I didn’t appreciate him as much as I should have in my childhood--but then, isn’t that the way it goes? Raps is amazing too, and so is the rest of the gang. I don’t know where I’d be today if it weren’t for their fighting so hard to save me and, honestly, I don’t want to imagine. I’d probably be dead. Despite my...occasional bitterness, especially before, I’ve had some of my best times by their side. Actually, I’ve had nearly all of my best times by their side. Before Rapunzel came back and, well, pretty much forced me to be her friend, I had no one. I’m glad she did. If it weren’t for her, I probably would have died without letting anyone in, without having a single friend outside my father, Owl, my weapons and my books. But Rapunzel is…Rapunzel is impossible to resist. I learned eventually that there was no use in even trying to resist her--and she ended up being the best thing that had ever happened to me. She’s the first person I let in, the reason that I know what it means to be a friend (and how to become one), and the sole reason my friendship extended to Eugene, Lance, and Varian.

I mean...I had some dark times. Some really, really dark times. Happiness was the furthest thing from my mind. Instead, I was enraged, jealous, bitter, cold, and most of all, I was hurting. At that point, if you’d asked me, Rapunzel was the worst thing that had happened to me, even though deep down inside I loved her and cared for her more than I ever would have admitted at that point. I did some bad things, some horrible things. In my greed, in my...selfishness and lust for power, I committed some fucking heinous crimes. I hurt all of the people who were most dear to me. I almost caused the downfall of Corona--and the entire world quite easily could have followed.

Yet still, when it was all said and done, Rapunzel still saw the light in me. Eugene, Lance, Varian, my dad, they all still saw the light in me. Despite all the pain and destruction, despite all the fear and uncertainty and my horrid crimes...they forgave me. They loved me.

I hated myself, and I wanted so badly for them to hate me, too. Maybe it’s what lesser people would have done, or maybe it’s what they should have done. I’m still not quite sure. Either way, they didn’t. They chose the path of forgiveness.

That’s what love is.

Rapunzel likes to say that I was never a bad person, and that I just lost my way. I hope that that is true, but honestly, I have no way of knowing. When I think of that time in my life, I’m detached. The memories are vivid and yet blurred. I don’t see that woman as me. I don’t. I can’t believe what I did, that my own two hands committed such offenses. I see that version of myself as a lost, sad, broken woman, descending further and further down a dangerous, shadowy path that would have ended in nothing but pain and destruction. I’d given up on myself. But my friends? They never gave up on me. They saved me from that.

Whether I was truly bad or just horribly lost is beside the point, because that’s not me anymore. It haunts me every waking moment, but it’s in the past. It hangs permanently in the back of my head, but I try to push it away, to ignore it. I’ve changed drastically. I now realize that I have, and always have had, so much to be grateful for. I still yearn for more. It’s almost as if it’s in my nature. But if it’s destined to come to me, then it will be manifested through my hard work. If it’s not, at least I tried.

Most of the time, for me, happiness is hard to come by. Honestly, it is--even now, even though I realize I have much to be grateful for. It’s not such a bad thing to me, though, because when I do feel happiness...it’s exhilarating. It’s life-altering, and the taste of it sticks to my tongue like Monty’s taffy. When I do feel happiness, it makes all of the pain and all of the suffering that I’ve endured worth it.

So, what is happiness to me?

Happiness...happiness is sharpening my weapons on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. Happiness is curling up by the fire, nose deep within a book, reading like my life depends on it. Happiness is dark, windy, winding roads far from home, and the shiver that runs down your back when you realize, ‘I’m deciding my own destiny’. Happiness is a Coronan stable. Happiness is flying from town to town on horseback, meeting new people. Happiness is hunting with Owl, and sitting by the fire with Fidella. Happiness is a cup of ale, a shot of whiskey, and warm food. Happiness is laughing with friends, and melting into their arms after years apart. Happiness is the fact that you converse as if you hadn’t been away at all. Happiness is taking the horses out to the wall with Raps, and bickering with Eugene. Happiness is helping a greasy-handed Varian with one of his many ambitious projects, or screaming at Lance for eating your lunch. Happiness is having tea with Dad, and the prideful joy on his face when he pulls back from a hug. Happiness is loving, whether things, animals, or people. Happiness is being loved in return.

Most of all, happiness is being alive.

If it’s true that we only get one life, I’m happy that I’ve had the privilege and opportunity to spend mine the way that I have.

That’s all for today. It’s time for this girl to get some rest.

Until next time,

Cassandra

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adventuresinfarming · 4 years ago

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A Story a Day Series - Chapter 3

A Story a Day Series ~ Chapter 3 Spring 3, Year 1 Word Count: 2,340 Summary: Avian learns about geodes and the library/museum. A weird noise creeps her out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (WEDNESDAY) SPRING 3, YEAR 1 And just like that – she woke up with the most brilliant idea – why doesn’t she make a Field Snack? She was mad at herself that she didn’t bring that survival book with her – if she even still had it. But she had thought she read it before: Pine Cones, Maple Seeds and...what was the last thing? OH YEAH! Acorns! If you mashed them together, it was a surprisingly good source of energy. She didn’t want to forget this and scrawled a quick note on the notebook besides her bed to put into the blueprint binder for later.

She didn’t even need to look out the window to know it was raining outside. She was pretty exhausted from the past two days so she figured what’s another hour to sleep in? However just as she rolled over and got comfortable, there was a knock at the door.

She signed and quickly threw on whatever clothes she had nearby and opened the door an inch. A taller man with brown hair and brown goatee wearing a heavy apron stood outside the door under an umbrella.

“Uh…Hi there. Good morning,” he began. “Welcome to the Valley, I’m Clint – I run the blacksmith shop in town. Uh, I apologize for the early morning visit but I noticed that you’ve been breaking some rocks open and finding ore – that’s good! If you want to get the mo-“

“Huh?” she interrupted. “I’m sorry - Clint, was it? I haven’t broken any rocks?” she was so confused, she didn’t remember breaking rocks – aside from the small stones on her property that is.

“You haven’t?” he also seemed quite puzzled. “You mean you haven’t come across any small orange-looking stones?” he stopped to think for a moment. “Or maybe you fished some up? They’ve been known to get hooked on bottom-feeder fish lately.” Now that jogged her memory – she remembered getting something like that in a chest attached to a fish yesterday. “Oh yeah, now that you mention it, I did catch a fish with some yesterday! Sorry for the interruption.” She gestured that he could continue.

“No, that’s okay – uh, anyway if you want to get the most out of the ores you find, you’ll need a furnace. Just happens I had an extra set of blueprints lying around. Here, I want you to have them.”

With this, she opened the door wider. “Really? That’s awesome! I’ve been wondering if anyone had extra blueprints I could add to my binder,” she hooked her thumb over her shoulder back towards her table. “I really appreciate you sharing these with me.”

He looked down, almost embarrassed, his face growing just the slightest shade of pink. “Y-you’re welcome…just in case you don’t know, it allows you to smelt metal bars. The bars can be used for crafting, construction and tool upgrades. When you’ve smelted a few copper bars, consider having me upgrade one of your tools. It can make your work a lot easier. Well, okay. I’m heading home now. Take it easy and stop by my shop any time!” He took his leave after this, Avian watched him go. Kind of a strange man but he seemed nice enough. As he passed the shipping bin, she completely forgot about her shipping! She grabbed the umbrella that sat in a box (she had yet to finish finding a place for everything) and ran out to see if anything was still there.

She looked into the shipping bin and found a note and a small pouch. Written in the same hand as her earlier note from Mayor Lewis, was an itemized list of everything she had put into the bin the night before along with an amount that she received for each item. Huh, 596g – Not too bad! She stuffed the note and pouch into her pocket as she ran back inside to properly get ready for the day.

She checked the TV – sunny tomorrow and mildly perturbed spirits today...she still didn’t understand what that meant but oh well – before sitting at the table to examine her new blueprint and thought about what it’ll take to upgrade her tools. Would be nice, they were so worn and she really needed to lay into the tool in order for it to work properly – she was using too much muscle. But then again, it might not be a bad thing to bulk up a little. She chuckled to herself, envisioning herself looking like a bodybuilder in a few years if she didn’t get these tools upgraded.

Clint didn’t really explain how to get ores other than breaking rocks (and fishing them up) so maybe she’d pay him another visit today for more information – hey, maybe he knew what those 2 oval rocks were too? Since she didn’t need to water her crops today, she gathered some things into her rucksack, grabbed her umbrella, then went to go find Clint’s shop.

***It was a longer walk to Clint’s than she had expected not realizing he lived on the complete other side of the town and but as she got closer, she followed the racket that radiated from the massive machine behind his shop. Although it didn’t open for another hour so she decided to do a little fishing in the mean time but she fished up more trash than fish (and of course, this had nothing to do with juggling a fishing rod and holding an umbrella)

Once 9am rolled around, she went right in. It was a larger shop which made sense as she saw the Blacksmithing forge at the back of the shop with the billows working keeping the flames alight. A large selection of hammers and other types of tools were hanging on the wall beside it. “Hi Clint!” she said cheerfully as she walked up to his counter and started digging through her bag. ***

“What are you doing here? Er, I mean..Welcome. How can I help you?” he looked nervous as she walked up to him.

“After your visit this morning, I was wondering if you knew what this was?” she pulled out the oval rocks she had found yesterday.

“Of course I do. Those are Geodes. They typically have some kind of gems or materials inside them. I can easily break them apart for a small fee of 25g each. Is that something you’d like to do?” he held up one of the geodes, examining it as best he could with the limited light in his shop. “Yeah, why not?” She took out the amount he mentioned and followed him over to his anvil as he placed the geode on it and went to the wall to select a large hammer from the wall. He gestured for her to stand back as he swung the hammer, demolishing the hardened material to reveal granite, Jagoite and Orpiment.

“That was awesome!” she exclaimed as he picked up each one to look at them. “Now what?” she asked.

“Uh, well..you can do whatever you want with them. I thought I heard something about Gunther looking for things like this so maybe check with him?

“Who?”

“Oh Gunther. He’s the curator that runs the Library and Museum in the building south of here”

She thanked Clint for his help and exited his shop to pay this Gunther a visit. No one was at the counter as she walked in but she heard a voice coming from further in the building.

“Abysmal…” a voice trailed off. She walked past a couple of large book cases and found a dark haired man with a goatee and bright blue uniform was muttering to himself. He was standing amongst a large collection of empty tables. “Not a single piece in the entire collection.” “Hi…I don’t mean to interrupt but Clint said you might be interested in these minerals?” Avian spoke softly, as the acoustics of the empty room caused her voice to echo.

“What’s that? You found something? Let me see it!” She pulled out the items that were hidden inside the geodes and laid them down on the table in front of him.

He picked one of them up immediately and started examining it intently. “Remarkable! This is very old. I’d love to study these in greater detail…but they are yours. Hmmm…” he handed them back to you and tapped his chin in thought for a moment. “I’ve got a favor to ask you. Would you consider donating any new artifacts or minerals that you find? We could make a groundbreaking discover together! Oh, and who knows…if you keep donating I might come across some interesting items to send your way.”

She didn’t even need to think about it and agreed immediately. “Of course I’ll donate them – I don’t know what I’d do with them otherwise!” she handed the items back to him.

“Oh thank you! You’re doing a great thing for science. Once I examine these, I’ll have a description of them so please come back to find more information on your extraordinary discoveries. Actually, to thank for your donations so far, please take this.” He reached into his pocket and handed you 250G. Avian stared up at him in amazement. “Just like that?” she asked.

“Just like that.” He replied. “And remember, we could discover other useful items that would be worth more than that!” ‘Thanks! Yeah I’ll bring anything else I find to you.”

She left the shop and wondered what she should do now. She had more room in her rucksack so she decided to grab some seeds as she was close to Pierre’s then fish a little bit more. Plus it was raining a bit harder now so maybe by the time she was done choosing seeds, the rain would die down a little.

However, she tried to open the door to Pierre’s but it just didn’t budge. She pulled back a bit before seeing the sign that says “Closed on Wednesdays”.

Well, crap. She thought. Guess she’d just skip to fishing then. She thought she heard mentioned that there was a lake in the mountains and even though it was raining, that sounded like a really relaxing place to spend the rest of the rainy afternoon.

She followed the path North East towards the mountain, passing a large decrepit building that looked like it was on the verge of collapsing. It had a weird, calming aura about it, though. She continued on the path, finally coming to a large house and realized that this must be Robin’s! She didn’t really feel like talking with anyone so she continued on and saw the lake not too far away.

There was a nice little island that looked cozy but the wooden planks leading to it looked suspect and slippery so she stayed on regular land and cast the line into the water.

It was actually quite a great fishing day – got a ton of fish, plus some interesting some items in chests like rice shoots, more squiggly worm bait and coal. Her rucksack was full to bursting and unfortunately, it was getting a bit dark. She started to head back the way she came before she saw a guy standing underneath the eaves of Robin’s house. He was in all dark clothes and she couldn’t see him that well. Cigarette smoke hung in the air as she stopped a little ways from him.

“Hi, I’m Avian – I just moved here.” She called from beneath her umbrella. “Do you by any chance know if there is a shortcut back to the farm? I don’t really want to have to walk all the way back around in the dark.”

“Oh, you just moved in? Cool.” He sounded bored and took another drag of his cigarette before continuing on, his voice taking on a sarcastic tone. “Of all places you could live, you chose Pelican Town?”

Kind of taken aback by his comment, she tried to defend herself. “Well...yeah, I’m continuing on my Grandfather’s legacy…is there something wrong with that?”

“No.” he said simply and threw the cigarette butt to the ground before stepping on it. “If you continue back this way, there’s a path to the left that’ll lead you directly to your farm.” Without another word he went inside the house, leaving her alone in the rain.

What was with the crabby people in this town? She didn’t even get his name to add to the crabby list alongside Abigail and Shane. How many more people even lived here? She was annoyed by his comment but she just shrugged it off. She took his instructions up around the mountain house and easily found the path that lead to the left. It was so dark though and she wished she had a flashlight with her. Luckily the path was easy to follow as it turned south to an overpass across the road that lead to the bus station and realized that was the entrance to her farm was right there – good to know she had a path that lead directly to the mountains behind her property.

Just as she got to the entrance, the frog and insect songs that had accompanied her throughout the day, suddenly stopped. The complete silence (other than the rain) was eerie as an otherworldly sound echoed around her a moment later. She’d never heard anything like it…it wasn’t like it was close to her but it seemed to echo all around her, stretching throughout the entire valley. To be quite honest, she nearly jumped out of her skin and flat out ran the rest of the way, barely throwing her haul into the shipping bin and slamming the door behind her and triple checking it was locked.

~~Throughout the night, her dreams were filled with fish. Different techniques of casting, reeling in…a variety of fish that inhabited the various waters in the valley…then it came to her. She finally understood how to craft the perfect squiggly bait. Oh wait..no. The perfect contraption for trapping crabs, snails, lobsters and prawns..no wait..the most delectable ‘Dish o’ the Sea’… ~~

#stardew valley #sdv #stardew valley fic #sdv fic #stardew valley fanfiction #sdv fanfiction #A Story A Day - my own fic

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cela-astral-projection · 5 years ago

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Celeste Stuff

Basic Character Questions

First name? Celeste

Nicknames? Cela

Date of birth? September 23rd

Age: Thirty-three

Physical / Appearance

Height? 5'

Build? She's got a soft build. Wide hips and full, heavy breasts. No real muscle tone, except for her legs and backside.

Hair color? Dark brown at the roots, fading to a lighter tone at the ends. Shock of dark blonde at the front of her head.

Hair style? It's just...so much hair. She keeps it pinned up for the most part, but if she let it down it would fall to the tops of her thighs. She twists it up like a crown at the top of her head, framing her face with what can't be contained, tucking the strands behind her ears.

Eye colour? Green, like seaglass

Distinguishing facial features? A heavy smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks.

Which facial feature is most prominent? Her lips. The top lip has a sharp cupid's bow, the lower lip is full and pronounced.

Which bodily feature is most prominent? Her hair. There's just so damn much of it. Second would be her chest. A lot of that, too.

Hands? Long elegant fingers with short, manicured nails. She pays a lot of attention to her hands, as often as she has to scrub for examinations and deliveries, her skin dries quickly. She loves a luxurious lotion or oil.

Makeup? Not a fan in day to day practice. If she's invited to the palace for a formal affair, she has no qualms about a dramatic eye with lots of violets and a bold brow, soft lip. When the mood takes her, she'll wear dark red lipstick.

Scars? A few burns on her arms from miscalculating the angle of removing things from the oven.

Type of clothes? She tends toward linen and cotton dresses when she's home in gem tones. She likes to "borrow" Asra's tunics. At work, she wears a structured uniform of Julian's choosing, with a lot of piping, high collar and long skirt. If it's cold, she's usually sent out in massive furs.

What are their feet like? Her feet are as immaculately manicured and kempt as her hands. She wears short, ankle-height leather boots with a pointed toe and thick, short, sensible heel.

Are they in good health? When she's making good choices and not draining all her magic, generally.

Personality

Are they more optimistic or pessimistic? Optimistic. Or, rather, stubborn. She can get in her head about somethings but knows that if she goes at it at the right angle she'll usually succeed, even when it's hard.

Are they introverted or extroverted? Introverted. She decided to live with the hermit, after all.

Do they ever put on airs? When Lucio is around. It's not even conscious, she just hates him so very much and wants him to know that she's superior in every way. Pretty much the only person she has that strong negative opinion of.

What bad habits do they have? Giving too much of herself and not knowing when to take a step back.

What makes them laugh out loud? So many things.

How do they display affection? Acts of service and physical touch.

How do they want to be seen by others? As someone that can be relied on. A healer, putting others first.

How are they seen by others? Trustworthy if a bit strange. Townspeople can never quite figure out what's going on with her and her men, so she has been a source of gossip. It hasn't hindered anyone from coming to her in their time of need.

Strongest character trait? Boundless love and devotion.

Weakest character trait? Not knowing when to quit.

How competitive are they? There's a little streak of it. Maybe more than a little.

Do they make snap judgments or take time to consider? A little from column a, a little from column b.

How do they react to praise? She loves it. It gives her warm, tingly feelings. Unfortunately, it all comes out a little "Shut up, baby, I know it."

How do they react to criticism? Poorly. Not the person to offer criticism to, constructive or otherwise. She will shut down.

What are their biggest secrets? Her private "birthday parties" for Julian. She sees it as a necessary evil, but not one that will be particularly well-received if word got out. Hence, wiping his memory the next morning.

When was the last time they cried? All the damn time. She's got a lot of feelings, okay?

What are their political views? That there's always more that can be done to improve the lives of the people, and when that gets clouded, society suffers.

What will they stand up for? Justice, Equality, Love.

Are they indoorsy or outdoorsy? Outdoorsy.

What quality do they most value in a friend? Knowing when to intervene on her behalf.

What do they consider an overrated virtue? Temperance.

If they could change one thing about themselves, what would it be? Not a damn thing.

Friends and Family

How big is their family? Growing. She has Asra, his parents, Muriel, and Julian. She will have the babies, too, soon.

What is their perception of a family? It's the most important thing. Even if it isn't blood, you can forge your own family.

Describe their best friend. How do you describe Julian Devorak?

Do they have any pets? Inanna and Faust. She hasn't found a familiar that truly suits her.

Past and Future

What is their greatest achievement? Arguably, beating the devil. Getting Muriel to accept that they were just going to be in love forever and that he needed to calm the hell down is a close second.

What was their first kiss like? The first one she remembers was like fireworks and rainbows, which seems silly and childish, but that's what kissing Asra is like. Pure, childlike innocence and all-encompassing passion. But, there have been a lot of first kisses, and they are all magical.

What is the worst thing they did to someone they loved? Gave up and moved on after holding on for too long.

What advice would they give their younger self? It won't be easy, but it will be worth it.

What past actions are they most ashamed of? She has a lot of pain surrounding Julian and not being able to just fully let him go, and it leads to her making some questionable choices.

Has anyone ever saved their life? Too many times.

Love

Do they believe in love at first sight? Absolutely.

Are they in a relationship? Oh, yeah.

When did your character last have sex? This morning. Twice.

What sort of sex do they have? Um...What kind of sex doesn't she have?

Has your character ever been in love? A lot. Too much.

Have they ever had their heartbroken? Yes. Badly.

Conflict

How do they respond to a threat? It depends on how immediate the threat is.

Are they most likely to fight with their fists or their tongue? Magic first, fists next.

If your character could only save one thing from their burning house, what would it be? Anything can be replaced. But, if pressed, the ring that Muriel and Asra created for her when they wed.

What is their choice of weapon? Magic.

What living person do they most despise? Lucio. Depending on your definition of "living".

Where do they go when they’re angry? Bed, or to the waterfall.

Work

What is their current job? Midwife and healer.

What do they think about their current job? It's important, necessary work that she feels passionately about.

What are some of their past jobs? Royal magician, shopkeeper.

What is their socioeconomic status? There's a lot of bejeweled shells to go around. She doesn't accept payment for her services.

Favorites

What is their favorite animal? All the animals.

Which animal to they dislike the most? Not big on spiders, but she leaves them to their own devices.

What place would they most like to visit? She would like to go back to Nopal once the babies are born. Possibly to the steppe, if Muriel can manage it.

What is the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen? Muriel and Asra tangled up in each other in the moonlight. It is heartbreakingly, achingly gorgeous.

What is their favorite song? I'll just say her "theme" is Crystal by Stevie Nicks from the Practical Magic soundtrack.

Music, art, reading preferred? Reading.

What is their favorite color? Greens and Purples.

Favorite food: She loves seafood, but enjoys most food and loves to cook.

Possessions

What is in their icebox: Fresh Eels, black ale, blue-tongued skink, lots of fruit and vegetables, cider, cheeses.

What is on their bedside table? A vase with belladonna and forget-me-nots.

What is in their pockets? Gems and shells. A gold compact with a mirror. Extra hairpins.

What is their most treasured possession? Her heart.

Spirituality

Who or what is your character’s guardian angel? Asra.

Do they believe in the afterlife? Yes.

What do they think heaven is? 3 am, half-awake, in the arms of her lovers, one at each breast, snoring softly.

What do they think hell is? Absence. Separation. Emptiness.

Are they superstitious? Yep.

How would they like to die? At home, with her family sending her on.

What is their zodiac sign? Libra.

Values

What do they think is the worst thing that can be done to a person? She firmly believes there are no ambitions great enough to justify the breaking of someone's heart.

What is their view of ‘freedom’? Choice.

When did they last lie? March 12th.

What’s their view of lying? Fairly intolerant. She has been known to make exceptions.

Daily life

What are their eating habits? Love eating. Love cooking.

Describe their home. A cozy cabin in a clearing, built by Muriel when he realized she really wasn't going anywhere.

Are they minimalist or a clutter hoarder? She's a minimalist that lives with hoarders. It can be a bit trying.

What do they do first thing on a weekday morning? She pulls herself out of bed and goes to get ready for work.

What do they do on a Sunday afternoon? Spends all day making dinner, then all evening laying around, snuggling up.

What do they do on a Friday night? She might sneak off to Portia's for a girl's night.

What is their alcoholic drink of choice? Moscato or a nice spicy hard cider.

Miscellaneous

If they could save one person, who would it be? Too hard to answer. Save everyone or die trying.

If they could call one person for help, who would it be? Asra.

What is their favorite proverb? Love is blind.

What is their greatest extravagance? She has some lovely jewelry. Delicate gold pieces with rare gems.

What is their greatest regret? Failing Julian.

What is their favorite fairytale? The Little Mermaid. The original version, where she has to do good deeds to earn her soul.

Do they believe in happy endings? How could she not?

What would they ask a fortune-teller? What time will you be home for dinner?

If your character could travel through time, where would they go? Before. Just to fully understand.

#apprentice oc #apprentice #arcana #the arcana #mc #celeste #character development #asra x apprentice #apprentice x julian #apprentice x muriel

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minijenn · 5 years ago

Text

Universe Falls Chapter 72

Ehhhhh so yeah I rushed on this one not gonna lie, wrote about fuckin half of it tonight alone so ya its... sorta mediocre but nothing too bad, still pretty cute so I can appreciate that. Anyway here ya go, enjoy!

Previous: https://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/188458922089/universe-falls-chapter-71

***

Chapter 72: Hit the Diamond

CALXFR FA, XIFH UHP AJTUL XIY EIE YENE HTUHGYU A STUCZ XIE CFCY KUVAO GT ESVUH DPF WZMDH EPBM OMML ACPVW XIETC XOJXI

A collective, equally startled, equally frightened gasp arose from the Gems and Pines alike as they caught the very first glimpse of the Ruby emerging from the Roaming Eye. As she coldly, quietly surveyed the surrounding area, fortunately she didn’t seem to take notice of the group right away, allowing them at least a little time to react to her absolutely unexpected arrival.

“Hey,” Mabel began with wide, curious eyes. “Isn’t that…?”

“Ruby?” Steven finished, though just as soon as he did, the young Gem was suddenly, sharply yanked aside by Garnet. Likewise, Ford did the same for Mabel, quickly following after everyone else as they rushed to momentarily hide away inside the barn just as even more Rubies began to emerge from the downed pod.

The eye Ruby hopped out of the ship with a growl, her expression still severe, even if the Ruby who came after her was the exact opposite. “Oh! What a lovely planet!” this next Ruby, whose gemstone rested upon her navel, quipped cheerfully as she slipped out of the pod to get a better look around. The next Ruby to emerge had her gem on her upper arm, and appeared much more serious as she aggressively jumped to the ground, violently plucking a flower before kicking it hard away from her.

“W-wait!” another Ruby exclaimed anxiously, her gem on her leg as she poked her head out of the ship. “So we just… get out and walk around?”

She received no answer as another Ruby, the final one and the leader of the pack with her gem on her chest, booted her out before addressing her squad sternly. “Alright! Listen up!” she exclaimed, taking a perch on top of the pod. “We’ve gotta pin down that Gem the scanners locked onto. Let’s fan out and search the area!”

The other Rubies nodded their agreement with this plan with various levels of enthusiasm as they began to split up and comb the barnyard for anything out of the ordinary. Yet even still, none of them really seemed to pay much attention to the barn, even as the group hidden inside it tentatively glanced out to observe them from afar.

“Whoa, look at ‘em all!” Steven exclaimed, admittedly amazed to see such a collection of Gems.

“Uh, anyone wanna explain why we’re hiding out from a bunch of walking, talking squares in here?” Stan asked rather dryly.

“Uh, because they tried to kill us with their space ship,” Dipper pointed out just as deadpan.

“Aw, c’mon, they can’t be that bad,” Mabel shrugged with a smile. “I mean, just look at them! They’re adorable!”

“They are NOT adorable!” Peridot huffed, cowering behind the barn door nervously. “They’re after me! This is the end of the line!”

“You weren’t kidding…” Lapis noted, raising an eyebrow as she looked to the green Gem.

“No, I wasn’t!” she shook her head morosely. “I told you; I disobeyed a direct order from Yellow Diamond, and I called her a clod… to her face.”

“Oh, honestly, you call everyone a clod,” Pearl remarked, rolling her eyes.

“Yes,” Peridot admitted, still clearly anxious. “But not everyone has command over all the armies of Homeworld waiting for the word to shatter me!”

In a meager attempt at making herself even more scarce, the green Gem scampered off, emptying a box that had otherwise been stockpiled with baseball supplies before curling up inside it to hide. For a moment, her soft, fearful whimpers could be heard under the box, that is until Steven stepped over to lift it off of her with a small, encouraging smile.

“Peridot, we won’t let them get you.”

“Yeah! If those Rubies want you, then they’ve gotta go through all of us first!” Mabel chimed in with a daring grin.

“Haven’t I caused you enough trouble?” Peridot asked with a small groan, still curled up into a small, tight ball on the barn floor.

“Oh, you certainly have,” Ford nodded, smirking slightly. “But that doesn’t mean you deserve to face Yellow Diamond’s wrath just for being a pretty persistent annoyance.”

“…Wow, thanks,” Peridot whispered, genuinely touched despite the somewhat backhanded dig.

“Don’t worry, Peridot,” Garnet assured, hands on her hips. “It’s our sworn duty to protect anything that calls this planet home. And that includes clods like you.”

“That’s my word…” the green Gem muttered, her voice still small and feeble.

“Listen up, everyone,” the Gem leader addressed the others firmly. “I have a plan. Or should I say…” She grinned, holding up her hands to reveal her gemstones on each palm, both of them already shining brightly. “We have a plan?”

That bright light soon overtook Garnet’s entire form until it slowly, calmly split her entirely. And, as expected, the glow faded to reveal Ruby and Sapphire, both in high, confident spirits as they held hands, still connected, despite now standing apart.

“Hello, everyone,” Sapphire greeted with a small, friendly wave.

“Ruby! Sapphire!” Pearl, Amethyst, and Ford alike all exclaimed, pleasantly surprised to see the couple making an appearance.

“HUUUGS!” Steven shouted, racing to embrace the pair, something that Mabel readily joined in on.

“Oh, great, these two again,” Stan remarked, rolling his eyes.

“Good to see you again too, Stan,” Ruby countered with a wry, knowing grin.

“So what’s this plan exactly?” Dipper asked the couple, curious.

Neither Ruby nor Sapphire offered a direct answer, instead turning to each other, still lingering close and affectionately all the while. “You’ve got this,” Sapphire said to her partner with a warm smile, imparting her with a brief kiss on the cheek for luck. “Just act casual.”

“Yeah,” Ruby nodded, bolstered by the blue Gem’s loving encouragement. “Casual.”

After a brief moment of steadying her resolve, the red Gem emerged from the barn, her posture stiff and her expression even stiffer as she rather awkwardly approached the group of Rubies still outside. None of them seemed to notice her slipping in to stand among their ranks as their leader called them to order once more.

“Focus, Rubies!” she snapped, still standing atop the Roaming Eye. “This is an important mission from Yellow Diamond, so we can’t mess it up.”

“Uh, h-hey!” Ruby spoke up anxiously, trying her best to not let how nervous she really was. “W-what are we all doin’ over here?”

For a moment, Ruby briefly feared her infiltration had failed as the other Rubies all looked to her skeptically, their expressions all borderline suspicious until the leg Ruby raised her hand innocently. “Yeah, what are we all doing here?”

“Ugh, I already told you ten times now!” the lead Ruby huffed, crossing her arms. “We’re here to retrieve the leader of the Earth mission!” She paused for a moment, narrowing her eyes at the group of similar Gems gathered before her and spotting one particular oddity among them. “Hey, wait a second… It seems like there are more of us than usual!”

“There’s supposed to be five of us,” the naval Ruby pointed out with a smooth smile.

“Five Rubies!” the arm Ruby echoed gruffly.

“Hm…” the lead Ruby mused as she proceeded to take a headcount. “One, two, three, four, five…” She nodded, apparently forgetting to include herself among the group, much to Ruby’s relief. “Tch, never mind. We’re all here.”

The entire group let out a relieved sigh at this, though Ruby’s in particular rose among the others as she realized she miraculously hadn’t been found out. At least not yet. “Now, back to our mission,” the lead Ruby continued devoutly. “The leader of the Earth mission must be around here somewhere…”

“W-well, she’s definitely not in that barn!” Ruby quickly professed, pointing towards said barn in the hopes that the other Rubies would take her word and overlook it. Unfortunately, of course, they didn’t.

“Whoa, I didn’t see that before,” the lead Ruby said. “We should go check it out.”

By now, Ruby was all but panicking, realizing that her attempts at acting casual were all but failing her. Even so, she maintained her calm act as best as she could as she hastily volunteered herself for the task before any of the other Rubies could. “Uh, I-I’ll go! By myself!”

Without sparing another word, Ruby ran off, hoping that none of her fellow Rubies would follow suit. And unfortunately they didn’t as she slipped back into the barn, where the others all eagerly awaited to hear the report of what she had gleaned from their unwanted visitors.

“They wanna search the barn!” the red Gem exclaimed, frantic as she pressed up against the wall.

“We heard,” Steven nodded fretfully.

“We saw…” Pearl frowned, eyeing the Ruby squad outside skeptically.

“So, it seems as thought they really are after Peridot,” Ford mused as he turned towards the green Gem. “You are the leader of this so-called ‘Earth mission’, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am!” Peridot snapped fearfully. “And they’re gonna come in here, find me, and drag me back to Homeworld where I’ll be entirely left to Yellow Diamond’s mercy. Which is really bad, since she doesn’t have any mercy!”

“Pfft, they aren’t even gonna get close, P-dot,” Amethyst assured, her manner turning aggressive as she picked up a baseball bat lying on the ground. “Mostly since we’re gonna ambush ‘em!”

“Yeah!” Stan chimed in, grabbing another bat. “Now you’re speakin’ my language!”

“Huh, you know we do outnumber them by like… a lot,” Dipper noted thoughtfully. “Man, if only I still had the Sword of Seasons! Taking care of them would be so easy with that!”

“What? You lost the Sword of Seasons?” Ford asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked to his nephew.

“Uh, I-I never said that!” Dipper quickly countered defensively, not quite ready to reveal the doomed fate of his now missing blade to the author who’d made it just yet.

“We don’t need any swords or bats,” Sapphire spoke up rationally. “No one needs to get hurt. Let’s be reasonable.”

“What should I do?” Ruby asked worriedly, lingering close to her partner for much-needed support.

Fortunately, the blue Gem managed to steady her, just as she always did by gently placing her hands over her own. “Just go out there and tell them this is a place where humans live.”

“…I don’t wanna go alone…” Ruby frowned, sighing sadly.

“Oh! We’ll come!” Steven brightly volunteered himself, Dipper, and Mabel.

“Yeah! What better way to convince those Rubies that there’s nothing but humans here than by showing them a bunch of humans?” Mabel pointed out with a smile.

“Plus, we could always give you some backup if you end up needing it,” Dipper added just as confidently.

“And here’s some backup for your backup,” Amethyst said gruffly, handing the kids her baseball bat.

“And here’s some backup on top of that backup,” Stan chimed up, presenting his favorite pair of brass knuckles to the group. An act that caught a series of critical glances from Pearl, Ford, and Sapphire alike. “What, too much?”

All the same, Steven took the bat as him and the twins allowed Ruby to ‘escort’ them out of the barn and over to the Ruby squad as they remained on standby to hear what she had to report. “I-I check the barn and I just found a bunch of humans there!” she exclaimed, overdramatically motioning to the trio of kids she’d brought along with her.

“Yep!” Steven agreed innocently. “Nothing here but us humans!”

“Yeah, just us humans,” Mabel added much more naturally. “There totally isn’t a whole bunch of Gems hiding out in that barn, that’d just be silly, cause like we said, there’s just humans in there.”

“Yeah… just humans…” Dipper echoed dryly, sending his sister a critical look for her lack of subtlety.

“…Really?” the lead Ruby asked, clearly doubting this simple claim.

“Yep! Looks like we failed!” Ruby cut in with a wide, forced smile. “Time to go back home and never come back ever!”

“Eh, I think we’d still better double check,” the lead Ruby said, looking past the group towards the barn. “You remember what happened last time.”

“Last time?” Ruby frowned, not having the faintest idea as to what she was talking about.

The other Rubies, however, simply laughed her confusion off as if it was the funniest thing in the world, bewildering her even more. “Oh, Ruby!” the naval Ruby chuckled with a wave of her hand. “You’re so forgetful!”

“Alright,” the lead Ruby spoke up, sobering the squad up to more serious matters. “Let’s search the barn!”

“Yes, Ruby!” the others all dutifully saluted, though once again, Ruby interjected in a desperate attempt at stopping them.

“Wait!” she exclaimed nervously, glancing around for something, anything that could get them out of this tight strait. “You can’t, b-because… uh…”

“You have to play baseball!” Steven interupted, largely without thinking as he stole the briefest of glances down at the bat in his hands.

“Baseball?” Dipper and Mabel both echoed, exchanging a baffled glance at this.

The Rubies, however, were even more lost than the twins were, looking to each other as they tried to make sense of exactly what this ‘baseball’ thing was. Fortunately though, Steven didn’t waste any time in explaining the terms that, by all accounts, he was largely making up as he went along. “Yeah! It’s a human thing. I-if you win, you can go inside the barn and look around, a-and if you lose, you… uh… gotta leave forever!”

Upon hearing these conditions, the twins looked to each other once more before meeting Steven’s glance back towards them, all three of them joining Ruby in desperately hoping this wildly reckless plan would somehow work. And yet, by some chance of fate or miracle or something else entirely, it actually did.

For the most Ruby and the kids could do was stare, dumbfounded, as the lead Ruby slowly nodded in agreement with this bizarre wager. “Base… ball…”

***

“Baseball?!” Just about everyone back inside the barn was equally confused upon hearing Steven’s impromptu plan, and understandably so. After all, between all the ways they could have possibly dealt with the Rubies, this was by far the most bewildering, something that Sapphire didn’t hesitate to point out right off the bat.

“I saw this as a possibility…” she noted thoughtfully. “Though I am surprised that this is the path we’re taking.”

“But why even bother?” Ford asked, sparing a brief glare out towards the Ruby squad. “We have more than enough manpower and resources to outdo five tiny Rubies—no offense to you personally, Ruby-” He corrected, though he still caught a rather sardonic glance from the red Gem all the same. “So why don’t we just save ourselves some time and take care of them the easy way as opposed to… the ridiculous way?”

“Because if we simply poof and bubble them, then Homeworld will just send even more in their place,” Sapphire noted simply, evenly.

“And,” Mabel interjected much more pleadingly. “We can’t just beat them up! I mean, just look at how cute and cube-y they all are! Especially Leggy.”

“Leggy?” Pearl asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, me and Mabel named each of them based on the placement of their gems,” Steven explained. “There’s Leggy, Army…”

“Navy, Eyeball,” Mabel pointed to the other Rubies outside of the barn. “And… uh….”

“Doc!” Steven finished, giving the undecided lead Ruby a name at last.

“Well… that is easier than just calling them all ‘Ruby’,” Dipper shrugged, following the pair’s rather odd logic.

“So we gonna beat these squares at baseball or nah?” Amethyst cut in, getting the group back on track.

“Yeah!” the kids cheered, ready to do just that.

“All we gotta do is go out there and pretend to be human,” Steven grinned. “Well, I mean, the Gems have to pretend. That already comes naturally for me and you guys,” he nodded over at the Pines.

“Hmph, it sure does,” Stan remarked, slowly smirking as he glanced outside of the barn with an emerging idea. “In fact… that might be exactly what’ll get those tiny twerps out of our hair…”

“What do you mean?” Dipper asked, confused.

“Look, all I’m sayin’ is that short, loud, and cranky over here didn’t know jack squat about how things work here on Earth when she was holed up in the shack’s bathroom,” Stan began, motioning over to Peridot.

“Hey!” the green Gem huffed, offended. “I know plenty about the Earth and how it functions now!”

“Suuuure, you do, now,” the conman rolled his eyes. “But those chumps out there sure don’t.” Sure enough, as everyone looked out to the Ruby squad, they were still largely meandering about, uncertain of their new surroundings. While Leggy was fascinated with the feel of the grass she was sitting on, Army was aggressively chasing down a bee that had flown by her in the hopes of obliterating it, all while Eyeball was engaged in an intense staring match with the sun itself. “So its not like any of them would know if we… oh, I don’t know… tweaked the rules of this baseball game just a bit to tip the scales in our favor?”

“Grunkle Stan!” Mabel gasped, appalled. “I can’t believe you! Are you saying we should cheat?!””

“Uh, yeah, I’m saying we should cheat,” Stan said quite flippantly. “You wanna get rid of these square simpletons without beating them senseless, right? And ya wanna use baseball to do it? Well then, cheating is bound to be our best bet for making things go nice ‘n easy.”

“Hm… I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… I actually agree with you, Stan,” Pearl frowned diffidently. “After all, if we don’t cheat, then there’s a significant chance those Rubies could win, despite not knowing much of anything about the basics of baseball…”

“And then they’ll find me and I’ll be DOOMED!” Peridot cried, hunkering down in fear.

“Not as long as you stay here in the barn and hide,” Steven pointed out, offering the green Gem a comforting smile.

“And as long as we cheat,” Stan added with a satisfied smile.

“As… absolutely morally bankrupt as that is,” Ford remarked, sending his brother a dour look that he hardly even noticed.

“So… cheating at baseball it is then?” Dipper asked tentatively glancing around.

“Yeah!” Amethyst cheered daringly. “Cheating at baseball! And if that doesn’t work, we go back to the plan where we ambush ‘em!” Her grin widened as she held up a baseball bat once more, shaking it around threateningly.

“No, we don’t,” Sapphire shook her head. “Baseball… and, well… cheating should suffice. Hopefully.”

“Great!” Steven grinned, relived to hear this coming from the clairvoyant blue Gem herself. “So, is everybody in?” The others all largely nodded with varying degrees of enthusiasm, save for one, who had largely been hanging back in the shadows of the barn the entire time, completely unengaged in the conversation until the young Gem called her out. “Lapis?”

The blue Gem looked up, her arms crossed and her expression stoic, until she ended up folding into a small, snort of a chuckle over just how bizarre this entire situation really was. “This plan sucks.”

***

Not wanting to keep the Ruby squad waiting any longer than they had to, the Pines and the Gems made their last minute preparations for the baseball brawl ahead of them. In an effort to be more discreet, Pearl, Sapphire, Amethyst, and Lapis all shifted their attire to more casual wear, both for the sake of blending in and for hiding their respective gemstones in various ways. Likewise, Mabel encouraged the humans among the group to do the same as she took of her sweater and tied her hair up, relieved Dipper of his vest while turning his hat backwards, much to his annoyance, and encouraged both Stan and Ford to take off their respective overcoats to look more ‘sporty’. And once they were all set up and solidified on their plan, the collective group emerged to meet their opposing team, which Ruby made sure to slip back into without much notice at all.

“We’re the humans!” Steven announced, beginning the line-off of the supposedly ‘human’ team. “Steven!”

“Mabel!”

“Dipper!”

“Stan!”

“Ford.”

“Earl!” Pearl provided a false, rather clever name as she tipped her hat down a bit to conceal her gemstone.

“Amy!” Amethyst grinned, crossing her arms and adjusting the scarf around her neck to hide her own stone better.

“Bob,” Lapis said flatly, completely unengaged in the competitive spirit the others shared.

“And Sophie!” Sapphire finished brightly, electing a hot, flustered blush from Ruby on the other side of the line.

“Understood,” Doc nodded gruffly. “Our team is the Rubies! Consisting of… Ruby!”

“Ruby!”

“And Ruby!”

“Uh… we’re still gonna call them by their cute little nicknames, right?” Mabel whispered to Steven, aside.

“Oh, definitely.”

“Hey, hold up!” Doc interjected, eyeing the other team suspiciously. “Aren’t there more of you than there are of us…?”

“Uh…” Steven began, unsure of how to explain this very obvious disparity between the two teams. After all, they outnumbered the Rubies by three, a sight that just about anyone could see as plain as day. Fortunately though, he didn’t have to come up with a reasoning for this as Stan did so for him.

“Oh, what, you don’t know?” the conman asked, putting on a wry, knowing front. “Six to nine is how you’re supposed to play baseball. And since we’re on our turf, we’re the team that gets to have nine.”

“Hm… that seems a little unfair…” Leggy noted with a small frown.

“Nah, its totally fair,” Dipper shrugged, completely in on Stan’s act for the sake of the greater good. “You guys just don’t know how the game works. It’ll make way more sense once we actually get started.”

The Rubies exchanged something of a dubious glance at this, briefly chatting among themselves as they tried to make sense of this odd rule before Steven went on to explain the others. “So here’s how it works. We take turns throwing the ball at each other. The batter tries to hit the ball with the bat, and then they run around the bases. Whoever gets the most runs wins. You get three tires to hit the ball, but if you miss each of those tries-”

“Then you loose points,” Stan cut in succinctly.

“Huh?” Mabel frowned, confused upon hearing this. “No, you don-”

“And,” the conman continued, rushing to cover his niece’s mouth before she could blab out the truth. “Ya also gotta wear these shirts.” He held up five small-sized t-shirts, each of them reading “Baby’s First Baseball Game” in large, bright, rather embarrassing letters. “And only you guys gotta wear the shits because… uh… cause I don’t have enough for our team. Yeah, that works.”

“Stanley, why on earth do you have those?” Ford asked, sending his brother an incredulous look.

“…I have my reasons…”

“Alright, everyone!” Steven called both teams to order to finally get things started as he tossed the first baseball up in the air. “Let’s… play ball!”

And that’s exactly what they did. The Rubies were up to bat first, with the ‘human’ team taking to the bases and outfield. With everyone in position, Ruby stepped up to the plate first, sending Steven a coy wink out on the pitcher’s mound that she was on the same page as he was when it came to the plan. The young Gem nodded, winding up his pitch before tossing the ball her way. And, quite intentionally, the red Gem swung just a bit too late as it passed over the home plate and landed in Amethyst’s glove instead.

“Striiiiike one!”

“What?!” Army snapped from the sidelines, the other Rubies just as outraged to see one of their own miss such a simple ball.

“Striiiiiike two!” the purple Gem called as Ruby swung too early this time, trying her best to act casual about it as she did so once more.

“Striiiike three!”

“Oh darn!” Ruby shrugged, dropping the bat. “Guess I’m out!” At this, Sapphire let out a small chuckle from the far side of the field, playfully waving over at the red Gem, who discreetly smiled back at her.

“You swung too slow!” Army snapped her back into reality as she punched her hard in the back, prompting her to hurry back over to the other Rubies. “Do it like this.”

Steven was admittedly a bit more nervous as he pitched to Army, and with good reason. For not only did the arm Gem swing perfectly on time, but she hit the ball with such incredible force that it went flying hard and high up into the air, soaring past the field to the point that it disappeared entirely into the distant hills. “Aaaand… that’s called a home run…” Steven sighed, disappointed as Army proudly walked the bases in full.

Still, the next several rounds of the first inning played out in steady succession. The Rubies managed to score another point thanks to a precise hit from Doc, one that Ford tossed back to home plate just seconds shy of the chest Gem running over it. Even so, Pearl managed to land a lucky catch, striking Navy out instantly. Likewise, Mabel eagerly snatched up a ball hit by Eyeball and happened to tag her out just as the eye Gem ran by her base, though she did catch quite a bit of ire from said Gem in doing so. And in the process, the Ruby squad hit their first three outs, prompting not only a switch in sides, but a switch in uniform as Stan handed off the rather embarrassing t-shirts to each one of them (including Ruby, who took it in stride, considering the circumstances).

With this change, Amethyst was the first up to bat, seemingly hardly invested in the game at all as she reeled her bat back. However, she still managed to catch Doc’s pitch squarely, hitting it completely out of the park with a single, mighty swing. Still, to make sure none of the Rubies caught it, the purple Gem jumped into a spin dash, laughing wildly as she rolled around all of the bases before making it back home in record time.

“Nice!” Pearl cheered from the sidelines.

“See? Amethyst gets it,” Stan remarked with a satisfied smile. “That’s what I call cheating.”

“Wow! That purple human is really good!” Leggy exclaimed, amazed from the infield.

“Haha! Yeah!” Steven laughed nervously as he hurried up to Amethyst to push her away from the diamond. “Us humans, we’re, uh, full of surprises!” Even so, the young Gem dropped his voice down to a worried whisper to the purple Gem in particular, lest she blow their cover entirely. “Amethyst, be careful!”

Fortunately, the Rubies wouldn’t get any more possible cause for suspicious as Dipper stepped up to bat next. He was admittedly a bit shaky as he did so, not entirely experienced with the game, though he hoped his swordsmanship skills would somehow serve him well here as well. Even so, he did outright miss the first pitch, as well as the second, though he did hit the third ball successfully… right over to first base, where Eyeball easily caught it, instantly striking him out.

“Oh! Great job, Dipper!” Lapis cheered, finally breaking out of her consistently dour attitude as he walked back over to the bench, disgruntled.

“Uh… Lapis? I struck out…” Dipper pointed out with a confused frown.

“I know!” the blue Gem smiled somewhat obliviously, though clearly proudly. “I saw! And you did a amazing job of it! Congratulations!”

Dipper didn’t really know what to say to this as he exchanged a bewildered glance with Steven. Even so, the young Gem was quick to let out a leveling sigh as he took stock of their current status. “O-ok, this is fine, its just one out. We still have two more chances to catch up to them!”

“Um… you might not want to speak so soon on that…” Ford spoke up, nodding to home plate, where Sapphire had just stepped up to bat. With Ruby as umpire however, it was immediately clear from the get-go that both of them were more than distracted by each other.

“Heeeeey, Ruby,” Sapphire smirked, widely swinging as she missed Doc’s first pitch altogether. “Nice shirt.”

“Striiiiike one!”

“Heh, you really like it?” the red Gem blushed brightly.

“Mmhm,” Sapphire swung far too early this time, far before Doc could even pitch at all, though she hardly even seemed to care as she continued conversing with her significant other. “It brings out your eyes.”

“Aw…” Ruby chuckled, warmly flustered as she put on the act that she knew she was supposed to be playing at. “Say, haven’t I seen you somewhere before?”

“I don’t know,” the blue Gem all but ignored Doc as she winded up her next throw. “I don’t get off-planet much.”

“Striiiiike two!”

The pair of Gems shared an affectionate laugh over this, not noticing the confusion of both the Rubies in the field and the group watching from the sidelines.

“What’s going on?” Steven asked fretfully. “What are they doing?”

“Flirting,” Lapis said flatly.

“Uh oh…” Pearl frowned, catching the young Gem’s worry.

“Ooooooh my gosh! Those two just get cuter and cuter every time we see them together!” Mabel gushed, about the only one among the group excited by this turn of events. “Where’s my camera when I need it? I gotta capture this moment for “the Best of Ruby and Sapphire” section of my scrapbook!”

“Now’s really not the time, Mabel!” Dipper scolded, crossing his arms.

“Striiiike THREE!” Doc called as Sapphire missed her final pitch, finally breaking the couple out of their romantic revere. They exchanged a brief, anxious glance at this, both of them realizing as they met the disappointed glances of their teammates, that they had been the sole cause of their second out.

The team’s third out, however, did come after a successful series of hits that led to Stan scoring a home run, though an unfortunate catch of Ford’s first hit right after that led to another switch in sides as the first inning came to a close. Still, it didn’t take very long for the Rubies to get their first out either as Lapis narrowly managed to catch Eyeball’s high ball just by inching a bit over to the left. Wanting to ensure they didn’t fall too far behind, Stan enacted another cheating tactic as he heckled Leggy as she was up to bat with the old ‘swing batter batter’ trick, which worked far too well in the most innocent of the Rubies. However, the squad did score yet another point thanks to Ruby once again distracting herself by fixing her gaze on Sapphire in the outfield, accidentally hitting the ball in the process, eliciting an excited, if not misguided cheer from her partner. The hit allowed Doc to make it back to home, much to the other Rubies’ elation, save for the very one who had hit it in the first place as she happened to catch Steven, Pearl, Dipper, and a few others shake their head disapprovingly at her.

The next several innings all followed in what almost felt like a dizzying succession. With each changing of the bat between teams, Stan made sure to spice things up on the Rubies’ end of things, hoping that one of his attempts would finally be enough to trip them up completely. Between encouraging them to close their eyes to catch the ball better, to telling them to hold the bat upside down, the Rubies all gullibly fell for his ‘tips’, much to the conman’s immense amusement. However, even these scams did little to prevent the squad from maintaining their surprising lead, a lead that the ‘human’ team could never seem to catch up with, despite their best efforts.

Even if Steven, Dipper, Ford, and Pearl ranged from subpar to standard when it came to the game, Amethyst, Stan, and even Mabel managed to carry the team in most degrees. However, if there was any sole factor keeping them from getting ahead, it had to be Ruby and Sapphire. Despite several scoldings and warnings to keep their cover up, the couple simply couldn’t keep away from each other as they continued stealing loving glances from each other instead of stealing bases. They continued affectionately shooting the breeze instead of striking the ball. And, even as intentional as it was, they continued focusing less on the game as they focused far too much on each other instead.

As hectic as the game was getting, Steven and Mabel still made a quick check in on Peridot inside the barn as they hurried to fetch another bat to replace the one that Eyeball had snapped clean in half. “Hey, how’s it going?” the green Gem whispered to the pair, making sure to remain as out of sight as she could as they rushed past her. “Are we winning?”

“Umm…” Steven frowned as he looked back over to the game. Of course, what he saw was none other than Ruby teaching Sapphire how to properly swing, the pair whispering sweet nothings to each other all the while as Eyeball watched them suspiciously from afar. A sign that if the couple kept their continuous barrage of flirting up, then their cover would be blown to pieces in no time at all.

“Ahah! We’re doing great, Peri!” Mabel cut in with a loud, forced laugh. “No need to worry! We got this in the bag!”

“Y-yeah,” Steven agreed much more anxiously as they began to rush back towards the game. “E-everything’s gonna be a-ok!”

“You’re lying to me!” Peridot snapped angrily.

“To make you feel better!”

“…Thank you!”

Before anyone could even see it coming, the final inning of the game had arrived, and with it, a far-too close score for comfort. The Rubies had kept their lead throughout the entire game, though the other team wasn’t that far behind, set back by only a single point. A point that could cost them more than just the game if they didn’t somehow manage to score it back.

“Ok,” Steven began as the team huddled up to discuss this issue. “It’s the bottom of the ninth. We’ve got Lapis on second, but one more out and its game over for us.”

“Uh… it might end up being game over for us anyway…” Dipper noted, nodding towards home plate as Sapphire all-too-casually approached it.

“N-not if she hits a home run!” Mabel professed, hopeful.

“Why do I feel like the chances of that happening are… highly unlikely given our track record here?” Ford asked, frowning as Ruby and Sapphire engaged each other in playful conversation once more.

“Eh, we can always just tell them that there are more than nine winnings and that we keep going till we win,” Stan shrugged, unconcerned. “Its not like it won’t work; those Rubes fall for anything.”

“True, but do we really want to keep this going forever?” Pearl asked, voicing a sentiment that just about everyone agreed on.

“Looks like there’s only one thing to do then,” Steven took in a deep breath, determined as he looked over to the couple. “Hey! I call a timeout!” He managed to stop Doc just short of her first pitch, giving him enough time to slip up to the pair at home to give them a much-needed prep talk. “Listen, you two,” he began, his tone quite serious as he looked between the surprised couple. “I know its hard being seperated, but we have to keep them out of the barn or they’re gonna find Peridot, remember?! Ruby, stop being cute, and Sapphire, keep your eye on the ball!”

“Pun… intended?” Ruby attempted to joke, though it hardly amused Steven whatsoever.

“What did I just say?” the young Gem huffed, sending a warning glare at the pair as he headed back over to the bench.

“You really think this is gonna work?” Dipper asked, aptly nervous as Steven returned.

“We always got the ambush thing as a backup plan, so no worries,” Amethyst assured, patting a spare bat into her hands.

“Aw, c’mon, you guys, have a little more faith in them!” Mabel urged earnestly. “Garnet always comes through for us, which means Ruby and Sapphire will too! Right?”

None of the others really had much of an answer for this as they all intently looked to the game watch more, desperately hoping that the couple would do just that. However, the chances of that happening didn’t seem very good as Sapphire missed the first pitch, though not for a genuine lack of actually trying to hit it this time.

“Strike one!”

While a growing wave of worry washed over the team on the bench, the Rubies exchanged a confident collective glance, assured of their soon to come victory at hand. However, though everyone else had their doubts in the blue Gem’s ability to carry them home, her partner had no such concerns whatsoever. “Come on, I know you can do it,” she whispered to Sapphire, gently yet encouragingly. As anxious as the blue Gem herself was, Ruby’s warming words did manage to raise her spirits somewhat, though not enough for her to land a successful swing on the next ball.

“Strike two!”

“Just look at the ball,” Ruby instructed, her tone steady when everything else felt like it wasn’t.

“I’m trying…” Sapphire whispered back, gripping the bat tighter as she watched Doc wind up another pitch. “But all I want to look at is you.”

“Don’t worry,” Ruby grinned. “You can look at me when you’re running for home.”

The blue Gem took in a soft gasp at this, though ultimately a wide, loving smile filled her face, her affections for the red Gem soaring higher than ever before. In fact, this promise was just enough to provide her with the solid determination she needed to face the final pitch head on.

Confident that this would be the final ball of the game, Doc threw it fast and hard, surrounding it with burning flames as she sent it flying for home. However, unlike every single time before, this time Sapphire struck it, swinging wide to the point that she caught the ball and held it there. The blue Gem stood her ground, letting out a fierce shout as she doused the flames entirely, coating the bat in a thick, sturdy sheet of ice. And, fueled by both her resolve to win and her feelings for Ruby, she sent that ball flying, letting it rebound in an icy blast towards the skies.

There wasn’t a chance for any of the Rubies to catch it as it disappeared into the clouds, allowing Lapis to score a casual home run all the way from second base. Sapphire, on the other hand, was by far more excited, dashing between the bases all for the sake of reuniting with her partner once more. The team on the sidelines cheered with newfound elation as the Rubies all watched in sour disappointment while the blue Gem rounded third, laughing brightly as she made the final stretch towards Ruby’s awaiting arms.

“Come to me!” she encouraged cheerfully and Sapphire happily complied, leaping for her and easily falling into her open embrace. However, amidst their affectionate excitement, both Gems failed to notice as their forms were enveloped in light until that light ended up bringing them together one more.

Garnet still shared Ruby and Sapphire’s laughter as she landed on the ground, momentarily lost to the joy of her respective halves. That is, until she realized exactly what had happened and the many sets of eyes that were now on her as she did. “…Oops.”

“Welp, forget the whole cheating thing,” Stan remarked dryly, tossing his bat aside dismissively. “Cause this whole operation just fell apart.”

“I’ll say…” Pearl muttered tightly, already starting to prepare for the no-doubt violent fallout.

“They’re GEMS!” Doc shouted in appalled realization.

“We’ve been tricked!” Army growled, absolutely outraged by the deception as Eyeball joined in with a fierce, frustrated growl.

“What a turn of events!” Navy gasped, seemingly surprised.

“Huh? What?” Leggy chimed in, completely lost as to what had just happened.

“Sorry, guys,” Garnet apologized, rising to stand as the others all rushed to join her. “Game’s over.”

“Why, I bet all of those ‘tips’ you kept giving us about how to play baseball weren’t even true either!” Doc snapped at Stan specifically, though the conman hardly seemed to care.

“Uh, no duh,” the conman deadpanned, crossing his arms. “What was your first clue? The part where I told ya that only pansies wear catcher’s mitts while playing baseball? Or was it the shirts? It was probably the shirts, though I do have to give you twerps credit for actually wearing those things the entire game.”

Upon hearing this, Doc was the first to rip her t-shirt off in a heated rage, followed not too far behind by Eyeball and Army, with Navy doing so much more casually. Leggy, on the other hand, was the only one to hold onto the article of clothing a moment longer, looking down at it with a fretful frown. “Aw… but I kinda like mine…”

“TAKE IT OFF!” Army shouted, prompting the leg Gem to do so out of fear alone.

“That’s it!” Doc exclaimed boldly, ready to put these tricky humans and Gems alike in their place. “RUBIES! COMIBINE!”

The other Rubies quickly did so, all piling on top of one other in a steady formation that very quickly led to a fusion. Said fusion was ultimately just one singular massive Ruby, sporting all five of the gemstones of its various components as it towered over the group before it, large and intimidating as it let out a mighty roar. For a moment, no one really knew quite what to do against this surprisingly substantial threat, though in yet another sudden turn of events, they found they didn’t have to.

“WAIT!” Peridot cried from the barn, not hesitating to rush out of her hiding spot before the Ruby fusion could even try to attack the others. She scampered frantically across the barnyard over to the group, outright tripping and falling over herself several times along the way, but even so, she arrived to place herself in front of the others and in harm’s way instead. “Wait! Stop! Please! I-its me you’re after, right? I’m not gonna stand by and let my friends fight by battles!”

“Whoa, Peridot, that’s… surprisingly heroic of you,” Dipper noted, impressed as even Lapis nodded in awestruck agreement.

“Aww, Peri loves us!” Mabel chimed in, warmed by the green Gem’s sentiment.

All the same, the Ruby fusion simply leaned in, scowling threateningly down at the much smaller Peridot all the while. “Are you the Peridot assigned to the failed Earth mission?” she asked, her voice deep, slow, and admittedly scary.

“N-not sure if ‘failed’ would be the right word to-”

“Where is Jasper?” the Ruby fusion interupted starkly, catching just about everyone else off guard completely.

“You’re looking… for Jasper?” Peridot asked, beyond confused by this turn.

“Correct.”

“W-wait, but I’m the one who betrayed the mission!” the green Gem professed hotly. “Who called Yellow Diamond a clod! Who saved all these simple humans from sure destruction! The new leader of the Crystal Gems!”

“What?” Pearl looked to her, baffled upon hearing such a bold assumption.

“Excuse me?” Ford likewise echoed, hands on his hips as he sent the green Gem a critical glance.

“We don’t CARE!” the Ruby fusion snapped thunderously. “Tell us where Jasper is NOW!”

“Jasper, um… w-we know where Jasper is, she’s…” Peridot trailed off, looking to the others for some sort of explanation. Though of course, the only answer any of the other Gems really had to give was that she had fallen somewhere into the depths of the Earth back on the island. Something that they couldn’t very well just outright tell to the already incensed Ruby fusion standing before them now.

“WELL?!” said fusion shouted impatiently.

“Uhh…”

“Neptune!” Steven suddenly interjected, shouting out the first and most distant planet he could think of. “She’s on the planet Neptune!”

For what seemed like ages, no one said anything to this, largely since they hoped that this bizarre ruse would be enough to convince the Rubies. And sure enough, it certainly was as the fusion backed off, smiling contentedly with this information, however false it might have been. “Well, why didn’t you just say so?”

Both Gems and Pines alike let out a shared sigh of relief as the Rubies unfused, seemingly peaceful as they prepared to take their leave to continue their search for the missing orange Gem. “We all here?” Doc asked, doing another quick headcount of her team. “One, two, three, four, and… ha! Five!” She grinned, finally including herself on that count to square off her entire squad. “To the planet Neptune!”

“Let’s move out, soldiers!” Army called, beckoning the others to head back to the ship.

“Neptune! What a lovely sounding planet!” Navy grinned, skipping blithely after the others.

“B-but we just got here!” Leggy frowned, though she did stop short to pick up her discarded ‘Baby’s First Baseball Game’ shirt. “I’m just gonna… take this…”

“Let’s go, newbie!” Doc interjected, grabbing Leggy and dragging her, as well as her shirt, back over to the ship.

Out of all the Rubies, however, Eyeball was the last to linger, looking to the group before her intensely before she showed her stiff, admittedly frightening gratitude. “Thank you.”

And with that, the squad all piled up back into their ship, which roared to life once more as it picked itself up out of the ground and lifted up into the air once again. This time, however, it showed no signs of ill-intent as it simply warped itself away, disappearing back into the vast expanse of space from whence it came and leaving a very bewildered group behind in its wake.

“Uh… y-yeah, that’s right!” Stan heckled after the group even after their ship had left. “And don’t come back either, otherwise we’ll pound ya into the ground in some other sport, like… uh… anyone good at hockey around here?”

“Aw, I’m gonna miss those guys,” Mabel frowned. “They really were adorable when they weren’t trying to kill us.”

“Am I the only one who thinks that ended way too easily?” Dipper asked, somewhat concerned.

“Nah, man,” Amethyst remarked, hands on her hips as she shook her head incredulously. “Rubies are dumb.”

Garnet, on the other hand, smirked at this, adjusting her shades as she kept her sights set on the skies the Rubies had disappeared into, half of her knowing very well that out of all their kind, one Ruby in particular always had, and always would stand apart. “Not all of them.”

14 notes · View notes

iamalivenow · 6 years ago

Text

“Nervous?” Beau leans on the railing of the balcony.

“Why would I be nervous?” It's Caduceus, so obviously he trusts him more than anything. There's a pit in his chest about everything else, sure, about the whole entire process and the god stuff and he'd be lying if he didn't feel like he was on the verge of throwing up for the past two days since Caduceus brought it up because what if the Wild Mother didn't actually want him- but that's- that's whatever.

“I mean, you know.” She waves a hand and stares down at where Caduceus was slowly digging. “I'd be freaked all the way out.”

“It's Caduceus.” Even if he- mm- even if he dies, Caduceus can just bring him back. “I'll be fine. Why wouldn't I be?”

Beau shrugs.

The trip from the Dust's to back to Caduceus' forest was a took a little while, but he didn't mind. Okay if it was anyone else, maybe he'd be more annoyed with it, but Caduceus pulled him over while they were sleeping in Caleb's bubble and mentioned something about it being for him.

Fjord was maybe a little hazy on the details because Caduceus was whispering and his lips were maybe two inches from his ear, but that's unimportant. They just got a lot of dirt, and his bag was weighed down with it while Caleb teleported them back to Xhorhas. Now, after a few days of letting it all incorporate with volcanic ash, they were also lugging around, and the dirt Caduceus had been working with since they got here, it was finally ready for Fjord to-

“Sure you're not stressed?”

“Mmhm, yeah, Beau, sure I'm not stressed.” He was starting to look like The Gentleman with all of the sweating he's been doing lately. “How Dairon?” “Yeah okay.” She frowns, and when Fjord raises an eyebrow, she flips him off and walks back inside.

Caduceus waves at him and Fjord waves back.

“Need any help?”

“What?” Caduceus looks around, eyes settling on the shovel he's holding. “Oh-” He chuckles and its like honey. “No, I've got it, thank you.” His smile is like honey too.

Fjord keeps watching, Caduceus keeps digging.

Caleb is off at Essik's house, Beau is going to do spy shit with Dairon, and Jester and Nott are back in Nikodranos for the weekend. It's going to be just them for the night. Just them alone.

There's an undercurrent of excitement of course, that he's finally shedding Uk'otoa and all of its awful influence, and there's also an undercurrent of excitement about being all along with Caduceus for the first time, and an undercurrent of excitement about the Wild Mother really well and truly embracing him.

Focus on the positives Fjord.

Focus on spending an entire night alone with Caduceus, who's been so patient and understanding and kind. His new sword hangs on his belt, heavy and grand and so real. There's really nothing at all to worry about. It's Caduceus.

Of course, Caduceus will take care of him.

And he believes it, of course, he does.

It's Caduceus.

And besides, Fjord agreed to it, so if anything goes wrong, it's really on him.

Sure maybe he was a little slap-happy when he agreed to it, new sword, newfound confidence, newfound respect, and kindness. This is good for him. It's good for him. He's fine. He's got it. Caduceus will take care of him, and so will the Wild Mother and there is nothing wrong that could even happen, really. He's got the best cleric he knows at his side.

Plenty of people have been buried alive before, right?

…

He stands in his small clothes and stares down at the Grave Caduceus has dug for him.

The Grave he's about to get into.

“Think of it as a baptism. If that sort of thing helps.”

“Not really, no.”

“Yeah.” Caduceus stands by his side, leaning on the shovel a little bit. “Didn't think it would- but you never know.”

“Anything uh-” Fjord rubs the back of his neck nervously. “Anything I should know, beforehand?”

“It's going to be scary,” Caduceus says, and lays the shovel down on the ground before starting to light the incense that he set up around them. One by one, and he takes his time. Maybe for Fjord's benefit, maybe because that's what you're supposed to do when burying someone alive. “You're going to try and convince yourself it's not, but don't. Returning to the earth before your time is always scary.”

“Great.”

“If you try and fight it-” Caduceus looks up from where he's leaning, at the foot of The Grave. “Try and push the dirt away, or burrow deeper, it'll only make it worse, I mean.”

“Even better.”

“You'll do just fine, Mr. Fjord.” Caduceus stands back up again, stretching slowly. “If I could do it, so can you.”

“That was-” Fjord swallows. “Advice from experience?”

“Oh mmhm. Everyone in my family's done it.”

“And no one died doing it right?” Caduceus just smiles and pats his shoulder. His tail curls around Fjord's leg for a few moments and Fjord shivers in the cold night air. “Does it hurt?”

“Well.” Caduceus looks at him for a while. “You can hold your breath for a while. I suppose when you run out of air, it might burn a little.”

“You're really not reassuring me here.”

“Good.” Now it's Fjord's turn to stare. “My mother tried to reassure me that it wouldn't hurt at all. That it would just be the Mother giving me a tight hug. I- I ate a lot of dirt.” Fjord laughs, and there's that smile again. His chest is warm with it, right where he shoved his old sword through.

The smell of the incense was starting to make him dizzy.

The incense.

And not. Not anything else at all. This was a serious religious ceremony. He was about to be embraced by a real god, in a way that he wanted, in a way that was going to fix so many of his problems. He wouldn't be getting light-headed because his friend smiled at him. That would be. So ridiculous. Very silly.

“So eating the dirt, that's- that's ill-advised?”

“You can eat the dirt if it makes you feel better.” Fjord laughs again. “It'll be dark. Cold and warm at the same time. Really tight, in your chest.”

“It's like I'm already there.”

“That's the spirit.”

The earthy smell is unavoidable now, with the smoke so thick around them. It's like they're in those mists again. There is no light in the sky. Their house is empty and silent, just like the streets. It really does feel like they're the only two people alive in the entire world.

“And after?” He asks a tremor in his voice he didn't think would surface.

“After I'll take care of you Fjord. Clean you up, feed you, get you to bed. Teach you how to pray to the Mother. You'll be just fine.”

“Right.”

Caduceus picks up the shovel again.

He steps out of his small clothes quickly, shivers again, naked in the night air, grateful that his friend is all but blind in the dark and the blush on his cheeks, the blush that blooms over his chest and neck are unseen, and gets into the hole.

“This is going to be wonderful,” Caduceus says, and drops the first shovel-full of dirt on his legs. It's just as unpleasant as he imagined it would be. Fjord doesn't say anything. Just tries to get as comfortable as he can. More and more dirt packs on to him until Caduceus has no choice but to cover his face. “You're going to be wonderful.”

The dark is as pervasive as he expected. He hears the thud of dirt above him and an occasional noise of exertion from Caduceus, but otherwise, it's just him and the blood already pounding in his ears. His mind keeps dragging to the ocean, to the thought of crushing water and darkness so pervasive he couldn't see his hand an inch from his eyes, but he fights against it.

Focus on the differences. Focus on the smell and the texture and the weight. He curls his fingers into fists, feeling dirt slip through his fingers.

It gets harder to breathe eventually, when he thinks there is no dirt being thrown on top of him anymore, but he can't tell. He keeps his eyes closed, his mouth closed. More differences. The salt of the ocean never bothered him. The dirt is- here. Very really. Very here.

There's nothing but the smell of incense in his mind now, even stronger than the dirt that is everywhere, everywhere, everywhere.

He thinks he feels someone touch his hand, and that makes him kick, legs jamming against tightly packed space. A quiet shush in his ear until he realizes it's the Mother, or Caduceus maybe. He can't tell them apart. One dream is not enough to build a frame of reference from.

His lungs are burning now.

“Breathe.” The voice whispers, soft and so kind it might suffocate him alone. “We have you. You're safe.”

Hard to believe, but he'll grant her, him, them, whatever, the voice does help somewhat.

There's just nothing to breathe with, really, is the thing.

His chest is really unspeakably tight.

It's different from the pressure of the ocean. It's solid weight, on his chest, on his legs, on his arms, on his face. It doesn't feel dirty, or clingy, just heavy.

So heavy.

“Breathe.” The voice again, honey warm and kind. Hands, four, he thinks he counts, running over his back, over his chest, up and down his legs and arms. “We have you. We have you Fjord. We'll take care of you.”

He sees the world, forests and fields, sees birds and rabbits and small streams against smooth rocks. Snow and rain, people. In caves and in houses, elves, humans, orcs, halflings, tieflings firbolgs. The ocean crashing against obsidian beaches, gems growing out of veins in mountains. The sky rushes overhead, clouds light and wispy painting patterns in the sky. Iridescent beetles crawling along bark older then any city. Spires and spirals and things he doesn't understand but can feel porous and rough against his skin.

He can see Caduceus, smiling, talking to someone, her, must be her, over his Grave.

He can see Her, talking to Caduceus, large and beautiful, hair sweeping in the night breeze.

He can see himself, lying in the dirt, in the earth, eyes closed and hair splayed, fists clenched and brow furrowed.

“Breathe.” They say together. “We have you.” They say together. “You're safe.” They say together.

He opens his mouth and lets his lungs rest.

He feels it pour inside of him.

He breathes.

…

Fjord wakes to the sound of gemstones turnings to dust.

“Slowly.” Caduceus says, a hand already on his back, helping him sit up. “Nice and easy.”

“I saw you.” Fjord mumbles but who knows what it comes out as because he swallowed just, so much dirt. He coughs, and Caduceus claps him on the back until his airways are clear again. “I saw you.” He says again, slower this time.

His head hurts.

“I know.” Caduceus moves in front of him and offers him a large jug of water. The first mouth full he just uses to clean, spitting it to the side, the rest he drains greedily.

“Did you see me?” He asks.

Caduceus nods.

Fjord leans forward and kisses him. Caduceus smiles, Fjord can feel it against his lips, and kisses back.

“You're wonderful,” Caduceus says once they pull away from each other. “Come inside.”

Fjord shakes his head and reaches to kiss him again.

It's the absence of that weight and the heat of Caduceus' body against his that makes him cry, he thinks. The tears make his throat burn more then the dirt did, and the leave messy streaks down his face. There's a hand grasping at the back of his neck, holding him up right, and Fjord leans into it.

Caduceus holds him tightly while he kisses him, and Fjord can't stop crying.

Caduceus kisses him until he's warm again, and his hands and feet stop tingling, and the loss of the weight doesn't sting as much anymore. Caduceus picks him up, still pressed tight and carries him to the hot tub in their basement.

“Did this come with the house?: He mumbles, face shoved firmly into Caduceus' neck, so close he can feel his heartbeat.

“Nah.”

The water is fresh and it roils against his body and some sense of well, sense comes back to him.

“How long was I-”

“Don't dwell on that.” He says and Fjord looks up to realize he's getting in the water with him. Caduceus kisses him again. His lips are soft. All of him is soft. He settles onto Fjord's lap, arms around his shoulders and kisses him again. And again. And again.

Fjord ruts against his legs and Caduceus pets his hair and tells him how much of a marvel he is, how fantastic, how brave and strong and smart he is, until Fjord spills into the water like a teenager and Caduceus runs his lips along his temples.

“You didn't have to.” He says eventually.

“I wanted to. You deserve it. To know how special you are.” One last long lingering kiss before Caduceus leaves the bath. “I'll make you dinner. Come find me when you're up for it.”

Dinner is simple but delicious, he eats all of it with out any hesitation because he's never felt this hungry, and Caduceus sits next to him and pets his shoulder and his leg and his back.

They head up to his room and Caduceus lays him to bed.

“Stay?” He asks and gets that honey smile in return.

“What you did was astonishing.” He says and gets in beside him. “How did it feel?”

“Tight. Like you said.”

“You ate a lot of dirt too.”

“Yeah. I sure did.”

The sound of their laughter is the only thing in the house.

The only thing in the world.

#cr #critical role #critrole #cr2 #fjorclay #fjord #caduceus clay #im still going to write it as jon #full fic

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jasperlion · 6 years ago

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TAGGED BY: stolen from @cavaliant im sorry dusk i keep nicking your memes TAGGING: _(┐「ε:)_

— BASICS.

▸ IS YOUR MUSE TALL / SHORT / AVERAGE ? Average, despite his lineage. Much is owed to the famine, which stunted his growth, since he grew up a commoner and thus was hit hard by the absence of food during his preteen/teen years. As an adult, however, he’d get a final sudden growthspurt before he stops growing completely, so he’d be kind of tall.

▸ ARE THEY OKAY WITH THEIR HEIGHT ? Yes, although at the moment he keeps wondering if his mother was short or something, considering the beast of a man who was his father.

▸ WHAT’S THEIR HAIR LIKE ? Fluffy and wild, often windswept, although it tends to fall into ‘place’, if by that you mean sticking out constantly. At the very least, he can quell the top, but the rest has a mind of its own. It’s very soft, though.

▸ DO THEY SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON THEIR HAIR / GROOMING ? Not at all. He’s given up on taming his hair, so a quick brush in the mornings before he slips on whatever he’s got to wear (headband at first, later on crown) is all he really puts an effort into. And it’s minimal at best.

▸ DOES YOUR MUSE CARE ABOUT THEIR APPEARANCE / WHAT OTHERS THINK ? While he can get a little self-conscious in formal environments, he generally doesn’t care much as long as what he wears is practical. He tends to feel more shy or ‘dumb looking’ the more formal things he wears, and it’ll take a lot of getting used to before he treats it like business as usual. In general, ‘so long as I’m decent/presentable, it’s fine’ is his motto, something that probably frustrates his more noble savvy friends.

— PREFERENCES.

▸ INDOORS OR OUTDOORS ? Outdoors ▸ RAIN OR SUNSHINE ? Sunshine ▸ FOREST OR BEACH ? Forest ▸ PRECIOUS METALS OR GEMS ? Neither, metals are more useful practically, though, so he might lean in that direction. ▸ FLOWERS OR PERFUMES ? Flowers ▸ PERSONALITY OR APPEARANCE ? Personality ▸ BEING ALONE OR BEING IN A CROWD ? Mood and crowd dependent, if he likes the people he’d definitely prefer the crowd, but if he feels overly uncomfortable around them he might favor being alone. ▸ ORDER OR ANARCHY ? A little mix of both, he needs order to function but prefers spontaneous action to planned action on the dime. He does try to hold back and make plans/make sure things are in order if it’s important, though. Keyword is try. ▸ PAINFUL TRUTHS OR WHITE LIES ? Painful truths, although for a while he tried to shield himself with (not so white) lies simply because it’d mean that a person he trusted wasn’t lying to him. ▸ SCIENCE OR MAGIC ? He tends to mix the two and they are intricately related back home. ▸ PEACE OR CONFLICT ? Peace, definitely. ▸ NIGHT OR DAY ? Either works, although he used to prefer the day while he lived in the village simply because of daily tasks. ▸ DUSK OR DAWN ? Both. ▸ WARMTH OR COLD ? Physically he likes cooler environments, but warmth is comforting and familiar as well. ▸ MANY ACQUAINTANCES OR A FEW CLOSE FRIENDS ? Both ▸ READING OR PLAYING A GAME ? Both

— QUESTIONNAIRE.

▸ WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR MUSE’S BAD HABITS ? He tends to jump to conclusions with little evidence, mostly out of thinking he’s heard enough, and it’s something he needs to work on. He’s also bad at holding back his emotions, be it anger, happiness or sorrow, and can be far too open with them whenever present. On that note, he does tend to hide personal feelings from people he doesn’t know well, despite his words that there’s nothing wrong with them, when it comes to specific topics that hurt him which he feels he has to push aside for the overall better. In trying to hold close his ideals that feelings are important and Mycen’s words that he has to push them behind him for more important things, it can confuse him on how to act or what to say. Alm tends to overwork himself so he can sleep, or otherwise turns to doing too much of something similar to tire himself out. It can lead to straining himself too much. While he believes it’s important to apologize if you’ve done wrong, his perception of when it’s his turn to apologize and when he needs to be apologized to can be easily skewed by other’s words rather than keeping a cool head and thinking of the situation as a whole. It can lead him to apologize for things he does not need to apologize for.

▸ HAS YOUR MUSE LOST ANYONE CLOSE TO THEM ? HOW HAS IT AFFECTED THEM ? While he did lose soldiers in the battles with Desaix and Rigel, although they were mostly not those close to him — it still hurt him to lose them, to have to bury them, and with his high empathy it’s not hard to imagine he’s felt guilt over the sacrifices they’ve ended up making along the way, intentional or not.

Berkut and Rudolf were not close to him, and neither were Fernand and Rinea; far from it, they were distant as could be. Even then, Alm felt for them, felt for those around him who lost them, and felt Rudolf and Berkut’s loss intricately and personally due to their blood relations. Rudolf’s death is already complex enough, in the man being his father, not having fought back, and having planned for this to happen — but Berkut’s felt a little worse. It could have been preventable (and how? he asks himself that a lot), it was someone he killed fully knowing they were relatives, and the man had lost his sanity only to then beg of him to finish it all when he regained it. It’s made a lot of uncomfortable, terrible feelings well up that he feels he can’t even address because he doesn’t deserve his own peace. That, in itself, was the message that Mycen’s words transferred to him, no matter how well-intentioned. He lost his family to his own hands, and how he feels about it is quite complex and terrifying.

The one that hurt him the most, however, was Celica. Like Rudolf, he himself did the deed, but unlike Rudolf... she was as close as could be in his heart. Despite the fact that she returns to him, and thus does not truly die, for a few minutes she truly was dead. He mourned her, he wept for her, and he has this memory to remember and think of for the rest of his life. The memory of how it felt to stab her, the memory of her dying breaths, and of how it felt to hold a corpse. It haunts him, and so does the guilt — it’ll never go away, no matter how necessary or how she managed to return, unlike everyone else. It doesn’t stop that it happened, that he did kill her, and the fact that it likely left adverse effects in her for the rest of her life.

▸ WHAT ARE SOME FOND MEMORIES YOUR MUSE HAS ? The games he played with his friends in Ram, reading stories together, memories of Gray returning with little gifts for everyone from outside the village, seeing Kliff again after he left for school, playing with Celica in the flower fields, whenever he and Celica read stories late into the night, training with his friends, training with Mycen, the stories Mycen would tell him about his days as a Knight, hanging out with everyone in the Deliverance on down times during the war and thus befriending them, receiving mentorship from them as well, meeting Celica again in the balcony (despite the fight, it’s something he will always remember fondly), little shenanigans he used to get up to in Ram, receiving praise from those he looked up to in the Deliverance...

▸ IS IT EASY FOR YOUR MUSE TO KILL ? He gets no joy from it and he dislikes taking lives unnecessarily, but for Alm it’s almost second nature to kill his enemies. In the battlefield, it’s you or them, and while at times he’s regretted it more than he usually does, it doesn’t stop the fact that he has a steady hand when he does the deed. Alm is a warrior trained by a warrior from Rigel first and foremost, and what he knows best how to do is how to fight and, by association, kill.

▸ WHAT’S IT LIKE WHEN YOUR MUSE BREAKS DOWN ? Alm is pretty sorrowful when he breaks down, less leaning to violence and more towards emotions in general, especially the negative. He becomes a lot more reactive and a lot less introspective, especially if what has caused the upset is something he doesn’t understand the reasons for. He asks questions, he cries, he gets even more upset when he cannot get the answer, and he... feels. A lot. Only rarely would this lead to violent actions on his end, but it can lead to anger, either to the cause or himself.

▸ IS YOUR MUSE CAPABLE OF TRUSTING SOMEONE WITH THEIR LIFE ? He trusts others with it far too easily, and while it used to not bother him, well... things have changed.

However, he’s more than capable of trusting others with his life, and even more capable of giving his life for someone or a cause to see it through. While he’s by no means suicidal, he has the mindset of a soldier; he will do what he must.

Still, it’s usually others who trust him with their life by putting him in a leading position, which he finds strange.

▸ WHAT’S YOUR MUSE LIKE WHEN THEY’RE IN LOVE ? Alm’s been in love for a long time, honestly, so it’s easy to tell how he is when it happens. He’s just more affectionate towards that person, will embrace them and generally hold them close. He likes to stick by their side, speak with them often, and thinks of them and their safety often. He holds their words to his chest and, if he upsets them, it will weigh heavily on his mind if he’s unable to apologize or stop it right away. Capable of thinking about a situation and realize where he messed up, he is sincere in his apologies (although, as mentioned before, at times his perception of where he messed up might heavily lean in favor of the other person, apologizing for things he didn’t necessarily do wrong as well — hopefully his partner helps clear that up for him, he won’t be able to see that without help).

Gentle and caring, he’s not one to just show affection in one way, instead doing so even with the barest of actions. Deliberate forehead touches, gentle cheek caresses, soft embraces, etc. He takes great care with his actions with the person he’s in love with.

It’s relatively easy to tell who it is, too. He’s very attentive and close to his friends, of course, and leans to physical affection for all. However, with the person he’s in love with, it’s always more thoughtful and mindful, always lingering and considerate.

He’s just a giant fluffball with them, basically.

#[ tag meme ]#by his own loving heart | headcanon #i hid it under a readmore bc is LONG

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surveys-at-your-service · 6 years ago

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Survey #192

“i’d love to give you wings, but babe, you’ve got to grow them.”

Where have you lived throughout your life? The same general area in North Carolina. Do you find your job rewarding? N/A What kind of cake did you have for your last birthday? I'm sure it was red velvet. To you, which is better: English muffins or bagels? I enjoy both, but bagels. Do you paint your nails? No. What’s the last website you signed up for? Good question... maybe a feral dog RP forum I was considering making a character on? Do you check your email everyday? I'm getting into the habit. Have you created any pages on Facebook? Yeah. Is there a subject that you absolutely suck at? Social studies/history, math. What’s your favorite song by Dave Matthews Band? I have no idea who that is. Are there people you have absolutely nothing in common with, but still enjoy talking to? Maybe? Have you ever wandered around drunk with your friend? No. Are you good at holding back your laughter if needed? Nooo, not at all. Have you ever been so unfortunate to suffer from a hangover? No. Have you ever had a panic attack? Plenty. Are you deathly allergic to anything? No. Have you ever had a mouse in your house? Yeah. In our old one, anyway. Do you know anyone who DOESN’T have an ex? Not personally, I think. Is anyone you know really religious? Welcome to the South. Yes. Are your eyebrows naturally thick? I'd say they're average. Has speaking in front of people ever made you sick? No. I haven't spoken in front of an actual audience since my senior project, though. It was hard, but I think I did well. What was the last movie that made you teary-eyed? I'm not sure. Moana may have gotten me a bit teary? But if no, Coco absolutely did. Have you had two friends that absolutely hated each other? I think "hate" is a strong word for it. Has a laptop ever burned your legs? Yes. I legitimately had dark spots on my right leg for a long while. Do you know anyone who has a scar through their eyebrow? Juan. Who was the last person to flip you off? Idk, but I'm sure it was playfully. Anyone’s birthday coming up soon? Miiiine! And my friend Alyssa's. Would you ever wear fake eyelashes? Sure, in rare circumstances. Are you good at following directions? No. I have zer-O sense of direction. Do you have someone that you can just act a fool with and not care? Sara. From where you’re sitting, can you touch a wall? Yeah, behind me. When at a restaurant, do you put your napkin on your lap? Not unless I'm with my grandmother. She's extremely "proper" about things. Do you prefer electric or manual pencil sharpeners? Electric. Are your biceps at all noticeable? No. Have you ever seen a walrus? Are there any at SeaWorld? Otherwise, no. When it comes to dropping food, do you believe in the 10 second rule? HELL NO. I'm a germaphobe with that stuff. If given the opportunity, would you ride on a camel? Sure? Do you believe that cellphones actually do cause cancer? I don't recall the science behind this theory, so idk. When people you know cry, does it make you feel like crying too? Oh yes, especially if it's someone I'm very close to. Particularly, I can't handle Mom, my sisters, or Sara crying. I've never seen Dad cry, but if he ever did, I know I would bawl. Do you tend to jump to conclusions? Was this written as a direct @me??????? Are you good at remembering your friends’ birthdays? NOPE. I only remember... Sara's, Connie's, Caleb's (just because it's on Halloween), Shaylee's, and that's literally it out of friends/acquaintances. Is there something you need to do, that you’re trying to avoid doing? Actually use WiiFit. I'm doing periodic exercises throughout the day, but I need to dedicate more and be able to see my center of balance. Ever pop someone else’s pimple? NONONONONO IT'S SO GROSS TO ME How long does it take you to fall asleep? No less than 15 minutes, I think usually more. Do you crack your neck often? I can't. Did you have a weird dream last night? OH MY GOD YES. I was awkwardly with one of my acquaintances at his house somehow????? and we both seemed very uncomfortable??????? and I think I was high or some shit???????????????? I don't even know this person well enough to like-like him?????????????? Who do you sometimes compare yourself to? My sisters and successful friends. Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things? Doing the right things. But I aim for both. In what way are you your own worst enemy? I criticize. The. Hell out of everything I do. What activities make you lose track of time? Video games. When you help someone do you ever think, “What’s in it for me?” Full offense, you're an absolute dick if you do that. Who do you tell your secrets to? Nobody really unless there's reason to, and only ever Sara, Mom, or my therapist. Who do you live with? Mom and the pets. When did/will you graduate? '14 for high school. Idk when I will for college, gotta get there first... When are you moving next? Probably when Sara and I are ready for our own place. When is the last time you took a vitamin? I have to twice a week now, so Thursday, because I have an incredible vitamin D deficiency, and that's probably what's causing my knee problems. Why are you stressed? The everlasting weight loss struggle. Do you need to return anyone’s phone call? No. Where do you keep your birth certificate? It's in a safe. How many books are in your room? Uhhh like three? Then one coloring book. Have you ever been IN a wedding? I was the immensely triggered and ugly bridesmaid at my older sister's. Weddings were a very sensitive thing to me at the time, so while I was so happy for Ashley, I had a very difficult time and cried numerous times. What was the last thing you laughed out loud at? I think during a Mark video? Do you have a nickname? Why? "Britt" for obvious reasons, and Mom's called me "Twinkie" since I was a baby. She gave all her children sweets-based nicknames. Fuck out my face if you think that ain't the cutest damn thing. Have you ever had a bad concert experience? No. When was the last time someone told you that you were beautiful/good-looking? Do people often tell you this? I think the last time was when Sara said I looked really pretty with eyeliner on and I just eeeeeeeeeek. I'm not often told it. Are you missing someone of the opposite sex atm? Not romantically. I'd like to see Girt as a bud; I'm gonna invite him to my birthday dinner to hang out. Hopefully he doesn't have work. Want someone back in your life? Yes. Are you currently sad about anything? Weight. Unbelievable difficulty getting my fucking transcript and inability to find my ACT score so I can go back to school. Are you wearing anything shiny? My lip ring has gems on it, and they shine a bit in the right light. How important is a sense of humor in a significant other? I need it. I don't think I could really enjoy a constantly serious person as a partner. How many followers do you have on Twitter? Idk, don't care to check. I only ever use it to be able to like Mark's shit lmao. Do you sleep with the door open or closed? Open so Roman can go in and out. Have you ever been to the beach? Multiple times. Can you handle blood? Doesn't bother me a bit. Do you pay your bills or do your parents? My parents. I have no source of income to. What’s your best friend’s middle name? Jane. Has any place hired you underage for a job? No. Have you ever barely passed a grade/year in school? In college courses when my mental state was at its worst. Have you ever carried a concealed weapon? No. Have you ever tried to sell something overpriced to someone? No, I don't think so. Do you plan to become very wealthy some day? "Very" is unlikely, but I am dead serious about being at least perfectly financially stable one day. I refuse to live how I have my whole life so far, wondering if rent will be paid each month 'n things like that. Do you remember your first time going to the movies? No. Does eating breakfast make you sick? No. Are you dying to say something to someone right this minute? No. Well, not dying to, but after this whole revelation I had, I really want to apologize to Jason. I wasn't without evil in how I responded to and treated him after the breakup. Book series you enjoyed reading recently? I haven't read a series in years. Do you enjoy lying in the grass during the summer, and just existing? Nooo. Summer sucks and lying in grass is super uncomfortable. Do you have a passport? If so, how many stamps do you have in it? No. Are there any keys on your keyboard that have letters fading away? Not fading, but literally gone from the keyboard because this one is horrible, even after being "fixed" or replaced (idr). No joke, 21 are gone. Sooo I have to smash those buttons for the sensor or whatever to understand I'm pressing them, to the point my fingers, especially right pointer, are mildly callused. Do any of your close friends have children? No close ones, but one I'm hoping to reconnect more with it expecting. What do you plan on having for dinner? Probably a sandwich and nutrition shake to get enough calories to take my medicine and get the intended effect. Do you like Chinese food, or do you find it disgusting? The only things I enjoy now are fried rice and eggrolls, but I used to like sweet and sour chicken and bird on a stick or whatever its proper name is. Have the police ever come knocking on your door looking for someone? Once. Know anybody who works in a tattoo parlor? We're not like, "real" friends, but I know a good number of and get along great with the employees at the parlor I'm a regular customer at. I want to work there so badly. Small, environment I feel at home at, great people. Have you ever played flashlight tag? Don't even know what that is. Could you call yourself a movie buff? Not at all. Have you ever had a piercing get infected? A second hole in one of my earlobes, and the first time I got my tongue done, there was an abscess inside that indicated one was likely to form. Thank God that the rollercoaster of The Tongue Piercing Woes has ended. Do you check your fire alarms when you’re supposed to? Mom does occasionally. Are you a shorts wearing kind of person? NOOOOO MY LEGS ARE NOT OKAY. Plus I chafe. Is your grandparents’ house obsessively tidy? Ohhhh I'm sure. I haven't been to her house since I was a kid, but I remember it being like, pristine. Her rooms at her son's is neat as hell too. About how much can you bench press? I have no clue. Have you ever had your phone die on you in the middle of a conversation? Yeah. Is anybody in your family a carpenter? Not to my knowledge. Are you avoiding someone? No. Do you call your boyfriend “Monkey”? I have a gf, and I have never in the least understood how that's a term of endearment. What’s your favorite primary color? Red. What were you for Halloween? Nothing, ugh. I haaave to dress up this year. Do you have any clothes from Walmart? Yeah. When did you get a Facebook? I have no clue. What color are your eyes? Grayish-greenish blue. What motivates you? How far I've already come, wanting a better future than I have now, encouragement from friends, family, my therapist, and psychiatrist, the drive to thoroughly enjoy my one mortal existence. Can you walk in heels? Not well. When was the last time someone asked you your age? Ummm, last time I got something done at the parlor, I think? Do you keep a journal? No. Have you ever tried a weird flavor of vodka? No. Do you wear a ring on your finger? One, my friendship ring with Sara. What are you doing? This, listening to Asking Alexandria's "Closer" NIN cover (no shame), and waiting for Girt to reply on Facebook. What’s the last kind of soup you ate? A bit of vegetable. Do you currently have a sunburn? No. Who did you last text? Mom. Who’d you last call? About what? My old college to find out why I couldn't get my fucking transcript after weeks upon weeks of being directed to different people about it. I regret going there immensely. Complete waste of time and money. Are you currently frustrated with someone? I'm really frustrated at myself. Do you drink water or soda more often? I'm actually not sure... Do you straighten your hair? No. When did you last talk to your brother or sister? One, not since Christmas, and the younger, a few days ago. All my half-siblings have been forever, and one I've never spoken to. What is your least favorite vegetable? Probably asparagus. Or beans. Outside of family, name 3 people that make you smile/laugh often. Sara, Mark, Shane Dawson. In school, what subjects did you achieve your highest grades in? English or art, idr. Was there a subject that you enjoyed, but weren’t too good at? No. When was the last time something didn’t go to plan? What happened? Being into what's called "vulture culture" now (at least to a certain degree), I searched for quite a while for the bones of the very first opossum I photographed (I have a photography "series" focused on exposing the horror of roadkill to hopefully influence people to be more careful and vigilant), but despite thorough searching, I couldn't find it. Gruesome, but Mom speculated the remains were destroyed by whoever mows the grass there. Do you have any children? If not, at what age do you think you’ll feel ready to be a parent? No, and never. When was the last time you bought a new item of clothing? Describe it. Uhhh. I seriously have no clue. Maybe some underwear months ago. Was your last Facebook friend request from a male or female? Idk who the last person was. Do you have an item of clothing that makes you feel especially beautiful? Describe it. No. Think of the last person that betrayed you. If they said they were sorry, would you forgive them? I can literally almost guarantee Colleen shared our whole goddamn conversation and shit on Facebook after our last talk, as she did the first time too. Too many times our business became everyone's. I'd forgive her, but I refuse to ever be friends again. Nastiest thing you've ever done? I hate talking about this, but okay. When I was deep into my suicidal depression phase, I had a hard time brushing my teeth as needed. Like... I wouldn't for days. I avoided brushing my hair as long as I could too. Anyone who doesn't believe in how deeply depression is capable of chaining you down and making vital things almost impossible, go get fucking educated. Have you ever been in a lighthouse? No. What color is your shower? White. Where do you order your pizza from? Ideally Domino's, but sometimes Little Caesar's. When is the last time you had a serious talk with someone? Yesterday. Do you find that you have a certain meal you eat every time you go to certain restaurants? Oh yes. I rarely try something new. What color is your bike? N/A What word can you not stand to hear people say? The “n” word. What room of your house are you in? My bedroom. What is the temperature in your city right now? Apparently 38 F. When did you last use a post-it-note? No idea. Would you ever want to own your own restaurant? No. Do you have a fan in your bedroom? I have three lmao. My room is unbearable in the summer. Who is the last person that you took a picture with? Sara. When is the last time you were stuck in a fairly long traffic jam? A couple months or so back when there was an accident. Do you have certain friends that you hug every time you see them? All my friends. When was your most recent trip to an aquarium? 2016 visit to the beach. We went to the aquarium there and it absolutely sucked. What do you like in your salads and what dressing do you prefer? Just lettuce (but I can also handle cucumbers) and the Olive Garden dressing. If it has one, do you ever use the notepad function in your phone? Occasionally. Rn I have tattoo ideas written in it. Surprised? How good would you say your memory is? Absolutely horrible, lately worse than ever. I worry about it quite a bit. About how many times during the night do you wake up from your sleep? Once or twice. Are there any air fresheners in your house? What kinds? Not currently on or anything. What’s one thing you’re glad you’ve done recently? Improved on picking up the phone when I don't know the number. Have you ever done something sexual that you regret? Well, I've talked about flirting with my friend's bf as a pre-teen, and it wasn't always innocent, if you count that as "sexual." I regret the hell out of it. Do you like to sit in the sun and tan when it’s hot out? NO. Ever had a person who was obsessed with you so much that it scared you? Yes, Tyler. I wasn't like, terrified, but preeeetty uncomfortable. Can you drive, and if you can, do you like it? I can, but I'm not that great, and I absolutely hate it. Have you ever said anything to the last person you kissed that you regret? Yes. Do you like french fries? Hell yeah. Have you ever eaten so much you puked? No. Do you care about what others think of your physical appearance? People whose opinions I care about. Would you rather go to Greece or France? Probably Greece.

#survey #quiz #questions #random #lyrics: ''get up'' by mother mother

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