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boldlyvoid · 3 years

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Amoreena | Chapter Three

Chapter Three

summary: Heaven is a real place and it's located exactly 14.6 miles away from the FBI, Quantico Headquarters. Off behind a small park, under a fantastical willow tree surrounded by wildflowers, in every colour young minds can imagine.

Don't forget, heaven also comes with angels.

Warnings: fluff, hurt/comfort, depressed spencer, reader has a daughter, falling in love, strangers to lovers

word count: 2.8k

from the beginning <3

Y/N set him up with a pair of her father's old pyjamas, giving him a spare room to sleep in for the night instead of the couch, she figured he'd need privacy in the morning and not a 7-year-old attacking him at the crack of dawn. He was so grateful for their day together, hugging her goodnight and slipping away into the room to think about everything.

He took a moment to just sit on the bed, looking around at how she decorated. It was pretty plain, just a bed and some light green walls. Books gaining dust in the corner, clothes and blankets folded on top of the dresser against the wall, the only personality was the photo on the night table and the quilt on the bed.

There was a reason it wasn’t used anymore. The photo on the table was of her grandparent's wedding, it was black and white and older than him. They looked happy and in love, her grandmother was a spitting image of her, no wonder they were so close.

It made him feel a little emotional to know he was in this room. The memories it had with her, the connection to her grandma that she clearly wanted to keep. Otherwise, this room would be used for something other than housing the man they met at the park for a single night.

She was trusting him in this space, leaving him alone for the night to deal with his brain on hyperdrive, giving him the opportunity to stare at the ceiling as he remembered the day in glorious detail.

Drifting off into a peaceful slumber quicker than he figured he would.

—

He awoke to the feeling of someone holding his face, the soft touch of flesh on his cheeks. He fluttered his eyes open into the early morning sunshine, “good morning cutie,” Y/N whispered.

“Am I dead?”

She smiles as she laughs, leaning down to press her forehead against his shoulder, he wraps his arms around her on instinct, holding her as close as the night before.

“You looked like an angel,” he whispers an explanation.

She pulled back then, returning her hand to his face as she looked at him, “you’re beautiful in the mornings too.”

“What time is it?”

“7:30,” she confirmed with a small smile. “Amoreena is feeding the baby goats with her poppy, she’ll be in for breakfast in a few minutes if you want some cereal. My grandpa’s stuff is in the closet if you wanted something cozy, it’s a foggy one out there.”

He was so in love with her at that moment, nothing but happiness and wonderful words left her mouth. She was more euphoric to him than any drug, rushing more serotonin to his brain than any one-night stand managed to do, and he hasn’t even kissed her yet.

He noticed then she was in her pyjamas, a cute nightgown like his own mother would wear when he was a kid. Cows jumping over the moon displayed on the chest, it was adorable. She was everything to him.

“I’ll see you downstairs?” She says as she stands, removing her hand from his face as her fingers lingers on his skin, he didn’t want her to leave.

“Yeah,” he smiled, watching her leave as he sat up.

He put his slacks back on making sure he had his lactose pills in the pocket, a red sweater from the closet and a brown ranch hat. Wanting to fit the part of Farmhand while he was with them, and to see if it would make Amoreena laugh at him.

He kept a travel toothbrush in his satchel for times when he was sleeping in places he didn’t belong. Using the bathroom and making himself look as presentable as possible, he really, really wanted them to like him enough to keep him around.

Y/N was packing Amoreena’s lunch in the kitchen when he finally wandered in, taking a moment to look at what he was wearing. She smiled at him, placing her hand on her heart, “My grandpa loved that hat, you look great.”

“Thank you,” he says softly as he takes a seat at the counter, watching her carefully cut the crust off a sandwich.

She has a special sandwich cutter, pressing it into the bread and revealing the two dinosaur-shaped halves. Putting them in a little baggie and adding them to her pile of healthy snacks in Amoreena's lunch box.

“You’re the best mother,” the compliment rolling off his tongue without his permission.

She blushed lightly, “thank you, I try.”

Like a herd of elephants, Amoreena was running up the porch steps and swinging the door open, causing the chimes to bang off the wood before it eventually smacked the house.

“Gentle!” Y/N called down the hallway, “don’t get mud on the floor.”

Amoreena took her boots off neatly, hanging up her coat and cowboy hat before joining Spencer at the counter. “Good morning, Spencer!”

“How’s the kingdom this morning?” He asks out of pure curiosity, greeted with the purest response from her.

Amoreena’s eyes lit up like she didn’t expect him to believe in her fantasy world. What she didn't know was how easy it was for him to call this the kingdom, a far off land of true freedom and happiness. It was a little perfect world that didn’t feel real to him yet.

“It’s great, you’re so nice,” she sighed, laying her head on the counter. “Can I have some lucky charms?”

Y/N smiled, “sure, you know where all the bowls are big kid.”

Amoreena stormed around the kitchen, pulling out two bowls and spoons, not asking if Spencer wanted any but placing a bowl in front of him any way. “You need breakfast, it’s important.”

“Of course, Lady Amoreena,” he said softly, digging the pill from his pocket and placing it on the placemat. “Can I have something to drink?”

“Orange or apple?” Y/N smiled, opening the fridge door and waiting for his choice.

“Orange, please.”

“See,” Y/N looked at Amoreena, “even adults use manners.”

It made him laugh as she rolled her eyes at her mother with a fake sigh. It was nice to see that they had a mutual respect that was strong enough to play around like that, It was admirable to see them be friends, not just family.

“I’m going to get changed for the day,” Y/N announced then as Amoreena got situated back at the counter. “Be good, shout for me if you need me.”

Then it was just him and Amoreena eating cereal in silence.

She picked out all the marshmallows first, eating them before the cereal, and then finally drinking all the milk from the bowl, he has never seen a kid eat that fast.

“Was it good?” He laughed to himself, watching her wipe her mouth on her pyjama sleeve.

“The best,” she smiled back at him. “Are you going to be here a lot?”

“I don’t know yet,” he was honest. “But I’d like to be.”

“It would be nice, I've never had a dad,” she said it like it was nothing. Like the weight of the words weren’t supposed to knock the wind out of him.

“You know,” he speaks before he even thinks it over. “I never had a dad either, my mom raised me all by herself. She's my best friend in the whole world, she is the reason I love books and why I love the world, you’re lucky to have someone who has a heart big enough to love you for both parents.”

“You’re lucky too then,” she smiled back. “But you’d still make a good dad regardless.”

“Thanks,” he whispered, smiling softly as she put her bowl away and ran up the stairs.

—

Amoreena gave him a big hug at the bus stop, waving to him from the window as he stood with Y/N at the end of the driveway, his phone non-stop vibrating in his back pocket trying to take him away from the most perfect moment in his whole existence.

He finally looked at it when the bus pulled away, 8 texts from Penelope and 4 calls from Derek. It looks like they all knew he quit, and they want to see if he was okay. He sighs, putting his phone back in his pocket, taking Y/N’s hand instead, walking back to her house.

“I called to take the day off when I was changing, told them Amoreena got me sick,” she says lightly as she bumps her shoulder into his.

She was now wearing a light green sundress, it flows in the breeze as she walks, stepping in front of him to skip lightly, twirling around as they walk, she makes him smile uncontrollably. Then she’s letting go of his hand and running off into the field, Spencer chasing after her cautiously. Rubber soles of his shoes slipping on the dewy grass as he follows.

There’s an open field behind the barn, cows wandering around the far edges as the fog starts to settle its war with the sunshine. She stops then, catching her breath and waiting for Spencer with an arm out for him to walk into her embrace.

Holding him in the sunshine in the middle of her kingdom.

“Whatever the light touches is yours,” she whispered the words from the lion king, “If you’d like to be mine?”

He wanted to answer, but his phone wouldn’t stop buzzing against her hip. She reaches into his pocket and takes the phone out, answering it without breaking eye contact.

“Ex fed, Spencer Reid’s phone,” she smiled.

“who is this?” A males voice asked.

“Spencer’s girlfriend,” she answered, “he’s fine. If you’d like to see for yourself and join us for tea in the garden?”

“Um, sure, you’re at some farm right?”

She looked at Spencer confused, “yes?”

“We’re pulling up now.”

“What?” Y/N turned around as she noticed the line went dead, a car rolling down the driveway and following the path all the way towards the barn.

“FBI remember,” he laughed. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be,” she leaned in and kissed him softly, he held her there for a moment, knowing his friends would be staring at the display of affection they were putting on.

He almost wished he could have seen it from their point of view. How she pulled him in, dipping under his hat, holding his cheeks in her hands as she pressed her lips to his softly. The view behind them was impeccable, the fields of wheat blowing in the early sunlight as he held her hips.

When she pulled away he could swear he saw a halo around her head, smiling at him with love in her eyes, matching his own. He pushed his hat up as he rested his forehead on hers, “I’ll be yours.”

“I figured,” she smiled, taking his hand and walking with him towards his friends.

“Hi,” he waved at them.

“What has happened in the last week since we’ve spoken?” Derek didn’t skip a beat, holding his arms out as he shook his head.

Penelope rushed around the car towards him, “why did you quit?”

“I’ll go put on some tea, meet me out back?” Y/N said softly, tapping his shoulder as she slipped out of his grasp and passed them all.

“I can’t do it anymore and you know why,” Spencer whispers. “I’m done, Derek, I need a life, a family, something to make me actually want to get up in the morning before I whiter away to nothing.”

“Okay,” he nods, reaching out to pull him into a hug, “you deserve that.”

Penelope hugged him too, the both of them wrapping their arms around him in the middle of Y/N’s land, he knew they’d understand. He just wish they all didn’t have to feel like this, like he was letting them down.

“Come on, you’re going to love Y/N,” he changed the subject, fixing his hat again as Derek laughed at him.

“Since when did you want to be a farmer?” Penelope teased him.

“Cowboys are like FBI agents right?” He smiles, leading them towards Y/N’s backyard. “Um, seriously though, I met her at the park on Saturday.”

“It’s Monday…” Derek added in a concerned tone.

“I know, it’s insane but we’re both tired of waiting for the right time, so we’re making it the right time, she has a kid and a life and she works at a library, she’s calm and beautiful and everything I need,” Spencer explains, stopping abruptly so that Y/N wouldn’t be able to hear him. “Fuck it, y’know?”

Derek’s face lit up, Penelope shook his arm as she giggled, “yes! I support this, fuck it and be happy.”

“Way to go pretty boy,” Derek patted his back, “I always knew you’d do it.”

It was nice to introduce them, Y/N sat close to Spencer as she learned all about the last 15 years of his life. Funny stories like the time they scared him in the dark at a crime scene, how nervous he used to be, even showing Y/N photos of him from over the years with the weirdest haircuts, she couldn't believe how cute he used to be. Gushing to his friends about how perfect their weekend together had been so far.

He got to know her more than too, learning with Penelope and Derek as she shared parts of her life. She was only 35, she actually has 7 siblings who have so far produced 4 nephews and 11 nieces for her, Amoreena being the oldest of the bunch. She’s lived here since she was a baby, born in the room she sleeps in actually.

Her whole life existed in this kingdom full of love and life. She had a huge family and enough love to keep it growing forever, it was her perfect world and now it’s his too.

It was the best morning of his life, watching his best friends and the women he knew was going to become the love of his life, mingle so gleefully. They were all free now, living in the real world where things were good and happy.

He wanted to stay there forever, but they decided to head out around 9:30, leaving Spencer and Y/N alone in the backyard finally. He turned his phone off then, tossing it onto the table and pulling her into his lap.

“I think we need to talk about this,” he said softly.

“About what?”

“How it’ll work, the rules for me being around Amoreena, I don’t want to jump right into stepdad mode and piss you off or be too distant and make you think I don’t want to be here,” he worried out loud. Giving her a glimpse into his mind and how it worked.

“I don’t mind you falling into the role of her father, you are a lot like Steven,” she looked at him softly as she spoke, her fingers trailing along his jaw lightly.

“Her father?”

“I tell people that yeah, but I don’t know,” Y/N admitted, not a care in the world about who he really was.

“You’re a literal ray of sunshine,” the words fell from his tongue.

“I don’t like being unhappy, so I choose not to be,” she admits, biting the inside of her cheek as she smiled at him. “And I think I’d be the happiest with you.”

“I'm glad you feel it too,” he whispers, leaning in and pressing his lips against hers again, softly as the first time.

“I’m also scared,” her words touch his lips ever so softly, “I’ve already lost too many people, please don’t leave me.”

“My girlfriend died in front of me,” the words are harsher than he expected them to be. but she had to know that he understood. Loving someone, planning a life with them, and watching them get ripped out of existence is the hardest thing someone could recover from, but they were doing it.

She pauses, “so you know what it’s like?”

He can only nod, “I understand wanting to keep something special and safe and failing.”

“Seconds are just as good as firsts," she whispers, leaning in close enough to kiss him. Resting her forehead against his, "if not better because you value what it can become.”

“I’m falling in love with you,” he announces without a second thought.

“Good,” she finally kisses him, resting her lips against his lightly before speaking again, "because I think I fell in love with you a few days ago."

He can't help but kiss her again and again, holding her in his lap as he spread kisses over her face. Her cheeks, her forehead, her chin, the tip of her nose, both eyelids and finally her perfect lips. It's soft and gentle like the first one, holding him softly as their lips brushed together.

Kissing in the sunshine for as long as they wanted without a single distraction or care in the world. She was exceptional, her life was perfect, he was so unbelievably happy to be sharing it with her. To be granted access to the happiest place on earth, his own little slice of Heaven with the two angels that kept it running.

tag list: @shemarmooresfedora @spookyspence @spencers-dria

#spencer reid #spencer reid smut #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x you #spencer reid self insert #spencer reid request #criminal minds smut #criminal minds imagine #amoreena

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sepublic · 3 years

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Through the Looking Glass Ruins!!!!!

…

SO! Onto other things first…

WRATH IS BRAXAS’ FATHER!??!!? HOLY SHIT, Wrath is a canonical dad, I’d always expressed my… OH MY GOD WRATH IS DAD! And of BRAXAS, that sweetie… How is Braxas such a sweetie with a father like HIM, also-

Wrath was in casual wear? Either he has a day off, or he got fired by Belos/Kikimora after drawing Luz a map to Eda in Young Blood, Old Souls! Either way this guy has a sudden new level of NUANCE that I am reeling from, and yes I checked, that really is Wrath according to the credits! Dang this puts everything in a WHOLE new light…!

AMITY HAIR OHMIGOD IT LOOKS SO ADORABLE SHE’S SELF-ACTUALIZING I AM FUCKING SCREAMING HOLY SHIT OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD OH MY GOD, it’s PINK and not green… They acknowledged it, Emira did! And they CHANGED IT I AM LOSING MY FUCKING MIND OVER THIS-

She looks so BEAUTIFUL and I love the kind of foreshadowing with the bookends of our first shot of Amity having her hair down, and now it’s changed! And she looks adorable and EMIRA AND EDRIC BEING GREAT SIBLINGS I LOVE IT SO MUCH! This… THIS is everything I wanted! I was resigned to not much of them but HELL YEAH they’re being good siblings and we get a look at their rooms, we see them doing MAKEOVERS together this is everything from my favorite fanon content and MORE,

Also Edric has a date?! Emira says ‘their’ mom… Unless the Golden Guard has a mom, DARN! Not gonna lie, I half-expected a big twist at the end that Edric was dating the Golden Guard, who was doing some sort of reconnaissance as his unrecognized normal self and/or screwing around with the Blights even further, but in a GENUINE sense… But then who knows Kikimora could be posing as GG’s ‘mom’, this is a stretch anyhow-

JUST HELL YEAH Blight Twins! Blight Twins being sweet and mischievous and supportive of each other, Blight SIBLINGS being siblings, Emira being an older sister and giving advice! And AMITY, Amity mentioning how much Luz has changed stuff, I love that they acknowledge it openly how her life has completely shifted, and now… NOW…!

No necklace! Red leggings! PINK HAIR?! Is this why Amity in the intro hasn’t been updated yet… She was getting TWO updates, so the animators decided to only animate a change after this final update?!

King and Gus are also friends it seems, and they even recorded some fun together! I’m surprised at how much Bria and the others mock Gus’ illusion skills… Obviously Belos is kinda terrible but like; I don’t think he’d set aside an entire subset of magic into Illusions without reason! Also that nightmare trip… I LOVE IT, I love Gus applying the creativity of illusions in their ability to completely warp and distort someone’s sense of reality! And I called that dragon-thing being an illusion!

A graveyard… I wonder if the Gallderstones (is that how it’s spelled) have any relevance or if they’re just neat? I hope Mattholomule and Gus help hide the Looking Glass Graveyard… Damn, that’s another Death reference with Gus, huh! Is it culminating in his respect for the dead, or will it continue further with Gus being a necromancer, or an Oracle who can commune with the deceased, and he has their respect as someone who treats them properly?!

Also not to get dark but… What if all those Illusionists are dead because of Belos? I’m JUST SAYING…! And not gonna lie, every time someone insulted Illusions, I kept imagining the Illusion Head just suddenly waking up and feeling like there’s a disturbance in the force, as well as a weird compulsion to beat up some Glandus kids. It’d be even funnier if he had beef with the Construction, Plant, and Abomination Heads as well!

Speaking of which, more confirmation on Construction Magic being related to earth! Glad to see Bria give us a look into that, which furthers my idea of Belos using construction magic… Also dang, Bria and the Glandus Kids really are the parallels/foils to the Detention kids! You’ve got the short ‘nice’ girl, the tall lanky kid, the furry… But the Glandus Kids start off looking nice and cool, but turn out to be rather nasty!

Meanwhile the Detention Kids seem like bad news and delinquents, but no! They’re just demonized and actually very kind and chill! The Detention Kids are looked down upon, the Glandus Kids are appraised… The Detention Kids are dual-track, the Glandus Kids are singular; Glandus Kids from, well, GLANDUS, Detention Kids from Hexside… One’s ‘mischief’ is actually very neat and cool, the other’s is literal grave robbing.

I guess that’s how the bleeding statues got past the censors- It’s technically just an illusion! Also more insight into how Glandus works with its Survival of the Fittest mentality, I wonder if we’ll get confirmation on which coven heads came from there, how that might influence them as adults…

What is Glandus like, is it more whole-heartedly accepting of Belos’ rule, hence its harsh ideals? Was it made after Hexside? Does Bump hate it for being so cruel like that, or is it just school bias? And dang poor Mattholomule, I always had a feeling he sort of felt and knew that he wasn’t much, so he accepted and compensated by deliberately doing whatever he can for power…

They confirmed he’s from Glandus, and I appreciate this new look at him! This new leaf turned… Hot take but he’s honestly not as bad as Boscha, his stint with Gus was a one-time thing that Gus was able to live with! And that seems pretty good to set them up as friends! Speaking of Boscha, Willow was injured by pixies? And the last time we heard of pixies, they belonged to Boscha and caused the school to get shut down… Did BOSCHA DO THIS I SWEAR SHE IS DEAD TO ME-

(Also she’s mentioned in the credits for this episode but I don’t remember hearing her? I might’ve gotten distracted with so much other things.)

Gus! I like the insight into his relationship with Illusions, and I appreciate how he’s considering other forms of magic… But this hesitation might just serve to reaffirm his believe in Illusions, which is okay! It’s all about choice… And yeah, it seems Gus also has a case of impostor syndrome like King, no wonder they get along so well! I love the glimpses into Gus’ house and the confirmation that he has a library card, no Perry though alas…!

I appreciate how Gus feels overlooked, like he has no real substance, which is how his Illusions reflect a desire to draw attention, but also the idea that there’s nothing real beneath them… Again, very much like King! And Gus, he’s not a powerhouse like the rest, he’s SKILLED and smart, but strength isn’t his forte, it’s not brute force he operates on, but cleverness! Trickery, I like it…! It’s a nice callback to his last A-plot episode, SVSF, where instead of fighting Mattholomule physically, Gus’ solution is to think outside the box and pull the alarm!

You go kid, not relying on brute strength but showing that some clever tricks and thinking are just as valid! Kinda wonder if this episode is lowkey a discussion on masculinity for young boys, especially with Gus growing older with puberty, though the latter is mostly because his actual VA grew… But maybe the writers rolled with that and incorporated it, or it’s just a very neat coincidence! Also, it is me or did Mattholomule’s voice change? And the gag that Gavin’s dad looks identical to him, even moreso because he’s NOT supposed to have a moustache… That’s great!

Malphas! Love this reference to a classic demon, I wasn’t sure if Malphas was the librarian with glasses whom I’ve always headcanoned as a father figure to Amity… But maybe it’s actually this bird dude! He seems adept in Bard magic, and I love the reveal of his true crow appearance… Guess those theorists were right that the one-eyed figure is from the Forbidden Stacks! Also Malphas NOT COOL with Amity, but I’m glad Luz changed his mind, and I wonder how that adventure looked…

Which- DAMN, the RSD with Luz! She looks so UTTERLY BROKEN when Amity mentions doing stupid things, and she didn’t mean it like that, but Luz just looks so completely shattered and you can tell she wants to cry but instead she bottles it up and tries to take it in stride, and that plays into her trying to overcompensate for her mistakes AGAIN… SOMEONE GET IT TO HER HEAD that she doesn’t need to! I’m scared for Luz, and I was SO scared this episode would end on a bad note…

BUT DOAHLDdFAEONDKFHN LUMITY KISS LUMITY KISS! ONE-SIDED BUT THEY FINALLY FUCKING KNOW AND AMITY IS LIKE WHAAAAT AND I WAS WAITING FOR IT AND I COULD FEEL IT HAPPEN AND GAY KISS! GAY KISS ON-SCREEN!!! And the way Luz just FLOPS to the ground on her knees AAHJJFFKHGGK and no Alador nor Odalia to ruin this, UTTERLY PERFECT and the twins WATCHING OOOHHHHGGGG YYYEEAAAAHHH-

This is EVERYTHING I ever wanted!

What an AMAZING episode with wonderful characer beats and reveals! Again, Amity’s growth as a character, that brief insight into how Luz as a person is very chaotic and sometimes frustrating for Amity and forces her to reevaluate, but ultimately it’s good and Luz DOES try her best, and Amity clearly wanted to make things up for Luz and apologize, they’re BOTH doing things, just the little moments!

Also, Alex Lawther voices Philip Wittebane! He has long hair and a vaguely british accent, he’s… He’s Belos isn’t he? And they got a new VA because having him voiced by Matthew Rhys would be really spoiler-y right? He’s got the long hair and he’s a nerd… And with how he talks of finding a way back home, maybe Belos really DOES just want to return home, after all? He talks of making a way back home…

And we see a glimpse of the Portal, so it might’ve brought him there? Or did Philip succeed in making it, and that was his blueprint designs? Did he arrive by Titan’s Blood? What happened to the portal if it brought him there, or if he made it? Why the scar, why near Eda’s house, partially buried?

Was it lost before he could finish his work, and Philip got side-tracked into something else… Perhaps going on a crusade, on behalf of a curse/demon that possessed him? A demon that killed King’s father…? Was the portal broken and he had to discard it, but then it naturally healed- Or did it just need to recharge, maybe Philip DID make it back home, WHAT IS THE ANSWER?! Is there some sort of doppelganger for Philip, is BELOS his doppelganger?! What is THIS WHAT-

WHAT AN EPISODE!

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olliepig · 3 years

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Centre Stage, ch 10

It’s taken a while thanks to real life thoroughly kicking my ass, but the next chapter is finally here! Massive thanks to my amazing beta and cheerleader @willow-salix, who, along with @misssquidtracy, @sugar-fiend, @inertplanetary and @chenria have all variously listened to me moaning and picked me up over the last few months.

As always, the whole thing is also on AO3 here.

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

Tucking his phone into his pocket, Scott pushed himself away from the wall he’d been leaning against, letting his long legs quickly take him around the groups of tourists as he made his way back towards the entrance to the gardens of the Peterhof. The unplanned alone time while Cat was stuck in an overrunning rehearsal had been a rare treat that he’d made the most of, exploring almost every inch of the palace and its extensive grounds as he enjoyed the peace of solitude that was hard to find on the busy island.

Now, alerted to her imminent arrival, he glanced at his watch impatiently, calculating that, despite her lateness, they would still have a gloriously uninterrupted twenty hours together before she was due back at the theatre the following evening.

Her debut with the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg was a big deal, and he’d lost count of the number of times she had told him about the history of the company and the honour of being asked to dance with them. Her excitement had been infectious and, despite it causing a raised eyebrow from his dad when he had asked for the time off rota to attend, he wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

He was ashamed to admit that he hadn’t officially told his father about her, despite them having been dating for close to eight months. He knew Jeff wasn’t stupid and was completely aware that he had a girlfriend, but something had always held him back from sitting down with him and bringing it up. The obvious time for that would have been right after his return from the Oort Cloud, but it had been such early days in their relationship that he hadn’t wanted to do anything that might put more pressure on it. As the weeks went on and they grew closer, it never seemed to be the right time and, with every passing week, it became harder and harder to admit that it had been going on the whole time.

Turning his collar up against the bitterly cold wind coming off the Baltic Sea, Scott made it to the entrance just in time to see a sleek black car pull in. A smile crept onto his lips as he caught sight of Cat peering out at the golden domes of the palace behind him, reminding him of her first arrival onto the island where he was completely ignored in favour of Two behind him. This time, however, he didn’t have to fight for her attention when she got out. She flew into his arms, catching his lips with hers in a fierce kiss before disentangling herself.

“Well, hello there,” Scott smiled as she grabbed her bag from the back of the car, slamming the door with a force that made him wince. “It’s nice of you to finally join me.”

“Oh shut it,” Cat grinned in response, taking the opportunity to snuggle back into him again. “It couldn’t be helped today and well you know it. Anyway, you know I’m worth the wait.”

“You sure are,” he agreed, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead as he tightened his arms around her, taking comfort from her presence. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” she murmured as she pulled back, taking him in properly for the first time, his pale skin and the dark circles under his eyes making her eyes widen in surprise. “Are you OK?” she asked, concern firing through her, “You look tired.” “I always look tired,” Scott countered, meeting her gaze briefly before quickly looking away, finding a passing bird very interesting as he saw the worry written on her face.

“OK then, smartarse,” Cat pressed, his lack of eye contact making her even more suspicious that something was amiss. “You look more tired than usual.”

“I’m OK, honestly,” Scott reassured her, finally looking at her properly, his eyes a studied calm that Cat didn’t fully trust. “It’s just been a busy week that’s all. You don’t need to worry.”

Cat nodded slightly, accepting his answer without further comment but making a mental note to keep an eye on him over their time together. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she knew him well enough to know when something wasn’t quite right and all her instincts were screaming at her, telling her that this was one of those times.

“Shall we?” Scott asked, effectively changing the subject as he gestured to the entrance before them.

“Lead on,” she declared as they set off. They navigated their way through the imposing gates and past the grand palace, following the path that Scott had discovered on his previous exploration that would take them into the lower gardens with their spectacular fountains.

Despite the significant difference in their height, they fell into a comfortable stride with each other, Cat matching Scott’s pace with ease as they made their way around the beautiful grounds. Her hand fitted perfectly in his and he found himself absentmindedly tracing circles on her soft skin with his thumb as they walked together, not feeling the need to talk as they simply enjoyed being in each other's company for the first time in several weeks.

Cat lost track of time as they wandered, marvelling at the multitude of little fountains and walkways that littered the Lower Gardens. Scott confidently led the way down paths covered by archways of carefully trained trees, their fresh Spring leaves rustling as they provided merciful shelter from the contrasting warmth of the sun and the coldness of the breeze.

Finally coming out into the open, they came to a halt underneath the rear aspect of the palace, taking in the full vista. The late afternoon sun made the golden statues in the fountains sparkle as the water droplets created rainbows in the breeze.

“It’s so beautiful,” Cat sighed wistfully. “It reminds me a lot of Versailles.”

“Funny you should say that,” Scott smiled. “Apparently, Peter the Great extended the original plans after he visited Versailles, so I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it looks so similar.”

“How on earth do you know that?” Cat asked, trying but failing to keep the incredulity out of her voice.

“Because I’m amazing?” Scott tried, batting his eyelashes at her and making her giggle.

“Well yeah, we know you are, but generally, even amazing people need to find stuff out for themselves somehow,” she pointed out, raising an eyebrow as she spoke.

“Aah, but I’m not just any person,” he reminded her.

“Also true, but you’re not known for your interest in Imperial Russian history either, so spill it,” Cat pressed playfully, giving him a nudge and fixing him with her best pleading stare.

“Not fair,” he complained, the effect ruined slightly by the smile playing on the corners of his lips. “You know I can’t resist when you look at me like that.”

“Who said anything about fair,” she laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, batting her own eyelashes a few times for good measure.

“Fine,” he groaned, conceding defeat and wriggling out of her grasp to pull a guidebook out of his pocket. “I had to pass the time somehow when I was waiting for you, so I thought I’d try to learn a few things to impress you when you got here.”

“OK, that might be the cutest thing I’ve ever heard,” Cat murmured as she wrapped her arms around him again and buried her face in his shoulder, unsure what she’d done to be so lucky as to have someone as wonderful as him in her life.

Scott didn’t hesitate. Sliding a hand into her hair, he pulled her head back, meeting her lips with his own in a bruising kiss, the intensity of which took both of them by surprise. Pulling back, their eyes met briefly before Cat tightened her grip, burying her face in his shoulder once more as he cradled her head in his hand, holding her close against him, the outside world ceasing to exist.

For a long moment they remained there, cocooned in their own little world, until a sudden flash caught Scott’s eye, jolting him out of his reverie, his whole body stiffening at the first sign of a threat. Looking around he became aware that they had attracted quite the crowd, a number of whom were snapping pictures of them. Most concerningly was the woman he could see further behind the rest with what looked to him to be a telephoto lens on a professional camera. Immediately, he lost all sense of calm as his mind started working through all the options for getting them out of the situation.

Sensing his discomfort, Cat pulled back, looking up at him, taking in his troubled eyes before craning her head around to try and see what was upsetting him.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, only seeing groups of people milling around and flashing a smile at someone who seemed to be taking pictures of them.

“There’s a photographer over there,” Scott told her quietly, not wanting to make a scene and draw even more attention to them.

“OK,” Cat agreed warily, her smile fading as she took in his serious demeanour, unclear as to why he was suddenly so worried about being photographed when it had happened plenty of times in the past. “And this is a problem because…?”

“Because some of these pictures will end up in the press, and then we’ll have to decide whether to confirm or deny the speculation about our relationship,” Scott finished, suddenly unsure as to whether to keep her close or put some distance between them.

“Why do we have to do either?” Cat asked, looking up at him in confusion. “Can we not just let them talk and while they’re busy doing that, we can get on with our lives?”

“I mean, I guess that could be an option?” Scott mused uncertainly, his mind still whirling with the ramifications of them being pictured together as he reluctantly let go of her and dropped his arms to his sides.

Refusing to let anyone put an enforced distance between them, Cat discreetly slipped her hand into his and gave it a squeeze. She looked around, trying to decide on the best way to get them away from the situation that seemed to be making Scott so uncomfortable. Spotting a narrow path, she moved off, leading him away from the Grand Cascade and into a more secluded area in which she hoped they could talk more privately. Walking together quietly, she could feel him relaxing as the onlookers thinned out, allowing her the space to gather her thoughts before continuing the conversation.

The idea of making a private relationship public had always seemed absurd to her and wasn’t a subject she’d thought they would have to decide on so soon, despite the constant media interest in the love lives of the Tracy brothers and the fact that Selene had been erroneously linked with Scott only a few months before. While a few pictures of them together had made their way into the press already, they had just laughed about them and brushed them off, so she had no reason to think that any others wouldn’t be treated the same way. But Scott’s reaction, and their current conversation, suggested that she’d been mistaken about that and was going to have to think quickly.

“I’ll be honest, I hadn’t really given this a lot of thought yet,” Cat admitted, breaking the silence. “My instinct is to say nothing because it really isn’t any of their business, but I don’t know if that’ll make life harder in the long run.”

“Well, in my experience, when the press think that there’s a story, they’ll pick at it until it’s either confirmed or denied,” he replied with a sneer of disdain. “I don’t particularly like my private life being splashed across the papers, but if it comes to it, I don’t have any issues with putting a statement out confirming that we’re dating in the hopes that you’ll be left alone if we take away the mystery before it even arises.”

“Wow,” Cat breathed, her heart skipping a beat at the realisation that he was prepared to sacrifice some of his fiercely guarded privacy to shield her from the press. “I didn’t think you’d ever want to do that.”

“Of course I would; I love you,” Scott declared, stopping to pull her into him for a kiss, amazed that she could possibly think that he wouldn’t do anything to make sure that she was protected. “I don’t have any issues with telling the world if it means you’re not hounded for a story. I’m just worried that if we don’t say anything, you’ll end up being the prime target for them because you’re much more accessible than I am, so really, it’s your decision. We both need to be happy with what we do but I think it’s only right to be led by you here.”

“I just don’t know,” Cat sighed as they started walking again. “I don’t like the idea of having the press at my door, but if we say something, my concern is that my family will find out and start trying to find a way back into my life because of who you are.”

“Yeah, I can understand that, and given your previous experiences with them, I can’t say I’m surprised you’re worried about that,” Scott sympathised, giving her hand a squeeze of reassurance. “But just remember that if they do start bothering you, you’ve got my full support now and I’ll do everything I can to help in any way that you want.”

“Thank you,” Cat smiled gratefully as they came to a stop at a viewpoint looking out over the Baltic Sea. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”

“There's nothing you have to face on your own now, remember that,” Scott reassured her, tucking a stray lock of her hair behind her ear and smiling as she leant into his touch. “The way I see it, we have two options right now. We either put out a press release, confirm that we’re together before the speculation gets too much and deal with whatever consequences come our way from your family, or we say nothing, continue as we are and deal with whatever that brings us in terms of disruption if the press interest becomes too much for you.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, not particularly wanting to make a decision but knowing that she had to. Her privacy was important to her too and not just because of her family, so the thought of the world knowing about her still relatively new relationship made her deeply uncomfortable. Equally, the idea of potentially having the press at her theatre or worse, following her home, didn’t exactly fill her with joy either.

Snuggling into him against the bitingly cold wind, she took a moment just to enjoy the feeling of his arms around her, holding her close and reminding her that they were in this together, regardless of what they decided.

“Neither option sounds great, does it?” she admitted as the silence stretched between them, knowing that the decision was hers alone.

“Not really,” Scott agreed sadly, tightening his arms around her just a little bit more. “Trust me, I wish we didn’t have to deal with this sort of thing but unfortunately it seems to come with the territory.”

“I know,” she replied softly. “I guess I kinda knew we’d have to decide on this at some point. I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon. Or in Russia.”

“Yeah, I have to admit that this wasn’t top of my list of places I thought we’d be when we had to have this conversation,” Scott laughed.

“Right,” Cat declared, straightening up in a way that told Scott a decision had been made, causing him to release her from his arms. “I say that we just let the press stew. We’ve done perfectly well without confirming anything so far, and I sort of feel that as soon as you tell the world about something, you start to get expectations put on you about it and I don’t know about you, but I cannot be fucked dealing with that shit.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Scott smiled, leaning over to press a soft kiss on her head as they leant on a railing next to each other, looking out to sea.

“It’s a deal then,” Cat declared with an emphatic nod. “Let's get on with our lives and if people want to speculate, then that’s up to them. We don’t even know what’s going to happen if those pictures get published and obviously if the situation changes then we can revisit it, but I think for the moment at least, we’re better off not saying anything.”

“That sounds like an excellent plan,” he agreed, slinging an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close as she shivered slightly. “Shall we head back now?”

“Yeah,” Cat agreed readily. “It’s bloody freezing, isn’t it?”

“It really is,” he laughed, offering her his arm before leading the way back into the maze of pathways.

Walking quietly, Cat found that now the mood had lifted, she was much more aware of her surroundings. The part of the gardens by the sea was exquisite and she found herself dawdling, slowing Scott’s stride as she took in all the floral arrangements surrounding an ornate building that Scott informed her was in fact Peter the Great’s summer house, pointing out ones to him that particularly took her fancy.

A persistent chime coming from Scott’s wrist broke their conversation, taking her by surprise and his face, when she glanced up before he answered it, suggested that he was not the only one unhappy about the unwelcome intrusion into their day.

“What is it, John?” he answered smoothly, turning away from Cat as he did his best to hide his displeasure.

“I’m afraid we have a situation,” John informed him. “Four climbers trapped in the Southern Alps. Virgil and Gordon are coming to get you in Two.”

“Can’t they handle it themselves?” Scott asked. “I’m on leave and even if I wasn’t, I’m not exactly on the way.”

“I know and I’m sorry,” John sighed, his displeasure at the task that had befallen him apparent. “I’ve already checked, but Dad - “

“Gotcha,” Scott growled before John could finish. “I’ll be waiting when they get here.”

Cutting the call without even waiting for John’s response, Scott turned on his heel and began to stalk back towards the entrance to the gardens, leaving Cat to scurry along behind him.

Gone was the relaxed attitude of a few moments before and as Cat hurried to keep pace, she took in the firm set of his jaw and the way his eyebrows gathered together. She was at a loss as to his response to John’s call. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for leave to be cut short or cancelled at the last moment because of a rescue, and his reluctance to jump into action was very out of character.

The more she thought about it, the more she realised that John’s demeanour on the call had been strange too. It wasn’t the first time that he had called to report a rescue while Scott had technically been on leave but from what little she had seen, there seemed to be a tension there that she’d never been aware of in the past.

“Sorry about this,” Scott started as they reached the car park and found space large enough for Two to land, helped by the late hour and the fact that the majority of tourists had left for the day.

“You don’t need to apologise,” Cat reassured him, taking his hand in her own and giving it a squeeze as she scanned his face for clues. “It’s not the first time this has happened, and I very much doubt it’ll be the last.”

“I know,” Scott sighed, seeming to deflate a little as he stood. “It’s just really frustrating that’s all.”

“You sure that’s all that’s bothering you?” Cat pushed, no more convinced by Scott’s words than he was.

“I sure am,” Scott replied, the forced jollity in his tone grating with the tension radiating off him as he forced a smile.

“Fair enough,” Cat agreed, knowing better than to push him.

Getting Scott to talk was a delicate operation when he didn’t want to, and when he was still in the first phase of being angry or upset it was well-nigh impossible. Experience had taught her that giving him some time to process things by himself was essential and forcing the issue at this early stage would be counterproductive in the long run, making him defensive and less likely to talk even when he had calmed down, so she let it lie.

“How long do you think we’ve got before you’re picked up?” she asked, changing the subject as best she could. “Do you think we’ve got time for a walk around the Upper Gardens before they arrive?”

“I reckon so,” Scott smiled, feeling the tension easing just a little as he realised that there wasn’t any immediate need to leave. Even his usual form of transport would take a little time to get to him, and by his calculations, they should have almost an hour before he was needed. “Anyway, it’s not like we won’t see them coming.”

Cat smiled as they turned back into the gardens once more, glad that he seemed to be making the best of the situation, despite his initial reaction. Whatever was going on, she intended to get to the bottom of it, but for now, she was going to make damn sure that they enjoyed the last little bit of time they had before duty took him away again.

-x-

Letting the door swing shut behind her, Cat crossed the room and flopped onto the bed, letting her bag and keycard fall beside her as she sank slowly into the soft mattress. It wasn’t exactly the way she’d expected to return to the hotel when she’d left that morning, and she eyed the bottle of champagne that she’d ordered accusingly, as if it was responsible for her lack of company, her mind whirling as she tried to piece together the events that had brought her here.

It wasn’t the first time they had been forced to change plans because of a rescue, but it was the first time that Scott had seemed genuinely angry about it. There had always been a quiet acceptance that it was part and parcel of what he did and while it had been a blow, he had never seemed as angry as he had been when the call came through that afternoon. The way he’d cut John off and then cancelled the call without waiting for a reply had made her wonder whether there was something going on that she wasn’t privy to, and it was fast becoming a nagging doubt that her mind wouldn’t let go of.

All her instincts told her that something to do with his dad held the key to the mystery, but she had no idea what it could be. They had promised to be completely open and honest with each other and until now, Scott had never given any hint that there was anything that he was keeping from her so she hadn’t had any indication that something might be amiss.

As she started thinking back however, she realised that there had been a steady decline in the amount of times that he had mentioned Jeff over the past months, aside from brief updates about his health. When he was first back on Earth, a large portion of their conversations had focussed on how he was and Scott’s hopes for his recovery, but they had steadily lessened over time and now it seemed that he barely featured. It seemed to have happened so subtly in the six months since his rescue that she hadn’t even noticed it at the time, but given the afternoons’ events, she found herself wondering if it was more than just the natural waning of interest in a well discussed subject.

With a start, she realised that Scott never brought him up any more, and a sudden chill ran through her at the thought that when she asked after him, he had started giving the briefest of answers before rapidly changing the subject. Given his desperation to get their father home again and the risks they had all taken in doing so, it now struck her as strange that he was not the centre of more of their discussions. Aside from this, there was nothing to suggest that anything was amiss and Cat found herself desperately hoping that her instincts were incorrect, but no matter how she dressed it up, Scott’s reaction to John mentioning him seemed out of character and spoke of some underlying issue that she wasn’t aware of.

Unable to lie still any longer, she hauled herself up, pulling her phone out of her bag and dropping it on the bed before quickly tidying the rest of her belongings away in the wardrobe. It wasn’t in her nature to be fastidiously neat but she knew how much her messiness irritated him and, while Scott had never made her feel bad about it or like she had to change for him, she wanted to make sure he had a nice, tidy room to come back to when he returned.

Finding that the movement was calming her mind, she allowed herself a few moments to stretch out her legs which were beginning to protest a little after a full day of rehearsals followed by the long walk around the gardens of the Peterhof. She knew they would be absolutely fine in the morning regardless of what she did, but the familiar stretches soothed her and gave her the thinking space to decide what to do next.

Her stomach rumbling alerted her to a more immediate need to order some food. Dinner reservations had already been missed so she quickly grabbed the room service menu and ordered herself some pasta for a quick energy fix, trying to not feel too regretful of the beef stroganoff that she desperately wanted but knew would leave her too bloated and uncomfortable for her performance the next day.

She had no idea how long Scott was likely to be. Although she very much hoped it would be a simple rescue, she was thankful that at least he had another keycard to the hotel room from when he had dropped off his bags before they met so there was no need for her to stay up until he got back. With nothing to do but wait for both her dinner and her boyfriend, she grabbed her phone and perched herself on the small seat in the window, idly watching the cars go by as she scrolled through her contacts until she found the one she needed.

“Catriona, what a lovely surprise,” Penelope answered, her voice sounding strangely tinny through the phone speaker. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”

“Oh, charming,” Cat laughed. “Can’t a girl even give her best friend a call with no warning these days?”

“I just meant that I thought Scott was with you this weekend,” Penny huffed, though Cat could hear the smile in her voice.

“He is,” Cat confirmed. “Well, he was. He’s been called out on a rescue.”

“So you thought you’d call me to pass the time?” Penny queried.

“Something like that, yeah,” Cat agreed, finding herself annoyingly at a loss for words, her worry about the outcome suddenly outweighing her desire to ask Penny’s opinion.

“Well, you've caught me at a good time. I’m just on my way to dinner with the Swedish ambassador.”

“Ooh, that sounds fancy,” Cat cooed. “Are you in the car just now? And am I on speaker?”

“I certainly am, and yes, you are now,” Penny confirmed after a small pause, bracing herself for what she knew was coming.

“Hi, Parker,” yelled Cat, hoping that her friend had taken the phone far enough from her ear to avoid being deafened.

“Hello, Miss Catriona,” Parker replied without missing a beat, quite used to Cat’s tradition of greeting him as he was driving, one that had started when the girls were at school together.

“Now that you’ve got that out of the way,” Penny continued seamlessly, changing the phone back to its more private setting, “how are the rehearsals going?”

“Yeah, they’ve been fine, thanks,” Cat confirmed. “No matter how many lessons I got from John, my Russian is still pretty much non-existent but everyone speaks good English so it’s not been too bad.”

“Well, that’s good,” Penny replied. “And are you all set for tomorrow?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be. The stage is massive though and the rake on it is more than anything I’ve ever danced on before so it’s a bit daunting. I don’t want to travel so far downstage during the fouette’s that I fall into the orchestra pit.”

“Yes, I can imagine that being a concern,” Penny soothed. “I’m sure you’ll be wonderful as always.”

“I hope so…” Cat tailed off, the weight of expectations for the following night weighing on her in a way that they hadn’t until now.

Admitting her fears made it feel like a lot to handle. Dancing Swan Lake with the company that it had originally been created on nearly 200 years before was scary enough, without the added stress of worrying about whatever was going on with Scott. She’d very much hoped for a relaxed evening that night, but it clearly wasn’t going to be on the cards.

“What’s wrong?” Penny asked when the silence stretched out between them. It wasn’t like Cat to sound so overwhelmed, and worry spiked through her.

“Nothing,” Cat sighed. “I just… Do you know if everything’s OK on the Island?”

“As far as I know,” Penny replied, her interest piqued. “Why do you ask?”

“I don’t really know. Scott just seemed really tired and he wasn’t at all happy about being called out, which is really unlike him,” Cat replied, the words tumbling out now that she had opened the dam.

“I’m sure he was just disappointed to have to leave you,” Penny soothed. “And as far as him being tired goes, he’s probably just been burning the candle at both ends again. You know what he’s like.”

“That’s what he said but I just don’t know,” Cat sighed, rubbing her face with her free hand. “Something just doesn’t seem quite right.”

“I could always ask Gordon or see if I can find anything for you if you’re worried?” Penny asked, keen to do whatever she could to help out.

“No, no it’s OK. I don’t want to go snooping.” Cat squeaked, instantly regretting her choice to involve her friend. “Scott’ll tell me when he’s ready if there’s anything going on. I shouldn’t have asked. Sorry.”

“OK, well it’s your decision,” Penny replied smoothly. “The offer is always there if you want.”

“Thanks, but I couldn't invade his privacy like that,” Cat declared, already feeling uneasy about involving Penny in something that she was now sure Scott would rather be kept private.

“Yes, it might not be very popular,” agreed Penny.

“Anyway, how’re you?” Cat asked, rapidly changing the subject now that she was convinced that there wasn’t anything obvious going on that she’d missed. “How was that thing you and Gordon went to the other week?”

“Oh, the Governor’s garden party? Yes, it was lovely,” Penny confirmed, a hint of frustration in her voice making Cat instantly wary, even before she elaborated on the event. “Gordon though… well, you can’t take that boy anywhere.”

“Uh oh, what did he do?” Cat asked, moving away from the window and settling herself in a chair, feeling the need to be comfortable while she dealt with whatever complaints were heading her way.

This wasn’t the first time that Gordon’s natural exuberance had caused Penny to air her grievances about his behaviour after an event, but if she was honest, Cat had only occasionally felt that they were justified. The few events of this type that she had been forced to attend had been painfully boring and very restrictive in what was acceptable and her sympathies almost always lay with the aquanaut. However, her loyalty to her friend ran deep and so she felt she needed to be there to support and help in any way she could.

“Well, firstly, he wandered off while I was talking to the Governor's wife and was nowhere to be seen,” Penny began, her clipped tone making Cat wince slightly, her anger apparent. “And then when I did find him, he was in a corner of the grounds, playing what looked like rounders with some of the children.”

“And this was bad because…?” Cat asked, genuinely unsure as to why Penny was so upset about it.

“Because everyone knew he was with me and it is not how one is supposed to behave at these sorts of things,” Penny huffed. “There were lots of very important people there and I heard a good number of them making comments about it. There were chaperones employed to occupy the children so there was no need for him to be involved.”

“OK, I understand why that might be a bit embarrassing, but it sounds exactly like something Gordon would do,” Cat countered, wanting to challenge her a little.

“He used to act like this as a child,” Penny grumbled, the anger still evident in her voice. “He should have grown up by now. Anyway, it wasn’t just that. I spoke to him about it and he apologised but then he disappeared again and I found him holding a platter of canapes and offering them to people. Apparently, a waitress had fallen and he was ‘just trying to help,’ but that’s what the staff were there for. It’s unheard of for a guest to behave in such a manner.”

Cat sighed. She could see where Penny was coming from and why Gordon’s actions would have been embarrassing to her at the time, but that didn’t mean that it was the disaster that she was making it out to be. Getting her to admit she was overreacting was a delicate task, but she had time on her hands and she felt like she owed it to Gordon to at least try.

“Admittedly I don’t know him as well as you do,” she began cautiously, picking her words carefully, “but again, that sounds like something that’s absolutely in character for him. I know for a fact that Scott would too if it had been him that was there.” “In normal circumstances, yes, helping someone who has fallen is admirable,” Penny agreed, a concession that Cat was surprised she had made so quickly. “But you know how stuffy these events are. I don’t like some of it any more than I’m sure Gordon does, but it’s what is expected and you need to play a part to fit in. My standing depends on it and I simply cannot be shown up like that by my guests.”

“I know,” soothed Cat. “But remember, all of the boys save people for a living so it’s basically instinct for them now. Gordon probably just saw someone in need and went to do whatever he could to help her.”

“I know, but I just need him to think a bit more about where we are and the image he’s projecting,” Penny sniffed, the anger slowly leaving her voice.

“I understand that, but just don’t go nagging him too much, OK?” Cat warned. “Just remember that it was his attitude of making the most of every opportunity and grabbing life with both hands that was one of the things that made you fall in love with him in the first place. I know you’re pissed off just now, but you can’t just expect him to turn that off when it doesn’t suit you.”

Silence stretched between the friends as Cat’s words hit home. Ordinarily, she would have tried to fill the gap, offering more advice or sympathy for how Penny was feeling but she was suddenly worn out. She’d lost track of the number of times she’d had conversations just like this one with Penny over the years, her boyfriends never quite living up to her exacting standards.

“I know,” Penny finally replied, her voice unnaturally quiet. “Anyway,” she added, sounding much more like herself, “his heart was in the right place and I suppose that’s the most important thing, not what everyone else thinks.” “I think you’re right there,” Cat agreed, her energy lifting now that Penny seemed to have accepted her words. “Nobody's perfect, but you’ve got a good one with a heart of gold and ultimately that’s who you fell in love with.”

“It certainly is,” Penny agreed. “Anyway, darling, I’m just about to arrive so I need to go.”

“No worries,” Cat smiled. “My dinner should be here soon anyway so I’d better head off too. Have a fun evening.”

“I’m not sure I’d call it fun but I’m sure it will be fine,” Penny laughed, the smile back in her voice again now that they were on more neutral topics. “Best of luck tomorrow, not that you’ll need it. Goodbye.”

“Byeeee,” Cat sang cheerily, hanging up the call as she crossed back to her perch in the window.

Looking down idly once more at the cars speeding past on the street below, Cat let her mind wander back over the conversation with Penny. It definitely didn’t seem to her like Gordon had made any massive mistakes, and even Penny herself had admitted that she didn’t always agree with the expected behaviour at the events she was so often called upon to attend.

Having been in attendance at some of these events herself in the past, she had first-hand experience of the rigidity of the class division between guests and staff. She had always found it laughable and so her sympathies were firmly with Gordon for acting as he had, especially in regard to the waitress. In any other circumstances, Penny would have been commending his behaviour, so she knew that her friend's anger had come from embarrassment caused by the situation rather than any real judgement on his actions.

Cat sighed, hoping that Penny would allow Gordon the time to mellow into the experience of attending high society events and not become too overbearing in her desire to help him fit in. Even though her concern always came from a place of generosity, Cat had found to her cost that it was sometimes misplaced and unwanted and she was well aware of how hard it could be not to get swept along with her, although she had a sneaking suspicion that Gordon might stand a better chance at avoiding it than most.

Quickly shrugging away unwelcome memories of her own painful experience of being on the receiving end of Penny’s help, she checked the time on her phone, wondering where her dinner was as her stomach let out another loud grumble of protest. No reassuring message from Scott telling her that he was on his way back was yet forthcoming either she noted, so she figured she probably had at least another hour or so before he was back too, depending on the complexity of the rescue.

She had to admit that she felt a little calmer than she had before now that she knew Penny wasn’t aware of anything that could be causing issues on the island. Aside from her obvious concern that Scott was unhappy, the fact that John seemed to share his anger had made her worry that her physical distance from the family meant that she had missed a more general issue and hadn’t been a support to him when he had needed her.

It was clear to her now that the issue was perhaps more limited to Scott and possibly John as she was sure that if Gordon was directly involved, then Penny would have known about it too. A little twinge of guilt spiked through her at the thought that she might have given Penny a hint of something that he might have rather be kept private but she shot it down quickly, reminding herself that she had only asked in the most general sense, not mentioning anything to do with her own suspicions as to the cause of his earlier anger.

A sharp knock at the door shook her out of her musings and sent her scurrying across the room to retrieve her dinner, having to stop herself from grabbing it from the bemused looking porter on the other side. Her stomach growled at the delicious smells radiating from the plate in front of her as she settled herself down at the small table and tucked in, but her troubled mind continued to whirl. All of her instincts were screaming at her that something was going on so, with a sigh, she grabbed her phone and scrolled through to find the number she needed. Placing it down, she drummed her fingers on the table as she listened to the rings until finally it was answered.

“Hiya Tippytoes!” sang the voice on the other end.

“Selene? Can I ask you something?”

#Scott Tracy #Catriona George #Penelope Creighton Ward #thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds fanfiction #thunderbirds 2015

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razieltwelve · 3 years

Text

Routine (Final Rose AU)

Willow opened her eyes and bit back a smile. As usual, Snow was already up although he’d taken care not to wake either her or Serah. It was equal parts thoughtfulness and self-preservation. Serah might have been the smallest out of the three of them, but she was also the most ferocious. It was also a horrible idea to anger someone who could mess with time.

And speaking of time, it was about time for her to get up and check on her father. He hadn’t wanted to move to Vale, but his worsening health had not been helped by the climate in Atlas. Thankfully, a combination of Willow’s pleading, Serah’s tyranny, and Snow’s good natured cheer had eventually won her father over. It hadn’t hurt that he’d be able to see his grandchildren every day either since he’d be moving in with them.

Some wealthy men might have chafed at moving from a mansion to a spacious but not gigantic home in the suburbs. However, her father had not grown up wealthy. He’d become wealthy through hard work, perseverance, and intelligence. He might enjoy being wealthy, but he prized his family above everything else.

She dressed quickly, taking a brief moment to tuck the blankets back in around Serah, before making her way downstairs. There were voices coming from the living room, and she was pleased to hear her father’s amongst them. His voice was strong and clear. It must be one of his good days.

“Good morning.” Willow pressed a kiss to her father’s cheek and grinned as the children looked appropriately horrified. “What are you up to this morning?”

Her father chuckled and gestured at the blocks scattered on the living room floor. “The children are building a Dust mine.”

“Are they?” Willow eyed the blocks scattered on the ground with a more discerning eye. Her father was right. It might be far from complete, but they were putting together a Dust mine. In fact... “Would you happen to be helping them with the design, father?”

“What makes you say that?” he asked, grin widening a fraction.

“Unless I’m mistaken, it’s based on the very first mine you ever found. You’ve told me about it enough times that I can recognise the layout even if it’s not complete.”

He chuckled. “Ah, you’ve got me. The kids asked me about it, so I thought it would be nice to build a copy, so they’ve got something to help them visualise the stories.”

Winter, the oldest of the children, nodded. “Since we’ve never been there, it would definitely help.” She shrugged. “I mean... we could look it up on the InfoNet, but building it ourselves just feels right.” She gestured at Claire, Weiss, and Whitley who were all doing their bit to add to the model of the mine. “And it’s something we can do together.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you.” Willow glanced toward the kitchen. “Is your father cooking?”

“Yes.” Winter sniffed the air. “I think he’s making bacon although he did mention something about pancakes and omelettes too.”

“I’ll go help him out. Keep working on the mine with your grandfather.”

“Is Serah Mom going to be up soon?” Winter asked.

“She’ll be up when she’s up.” Willow giggled. “You know how she is.”

“So right before breakfast?” Winter asked.

“Most likely.”

As Willow headed for the kitchen, she thought about the other woman. Serah was not a morning person at all, which usually left her or Snow to handle breakfast. However, she was definitely an afternoon and evening person, so she was perfectly happy handling lunch and dinner.

“Morning.” Willow would have kissed Snow, but the tall man was in the midst of cooking several things at once with the aid of his Semblance. “My father looks like he’s having one of his good days today.”

Snow continued cooking, but she could hear the relief in his voice as he worked on the omelettes. “He always does a little worse when it’s cold at night, even with the heat on, but we’re coming into spring now, so I think he’ll have more good days than bad ones.” One of his Semblance’s hands flipped over a pancake. “I think having the kids around helps. I just hope Vanille will have a cure ready in time.”

“I hope so too,” Willow said as she slipped into place next to Snow, taking over the pancakes. “Although he’s already grateful for the time her treatment has been able to give him. Still...”

“It’s Vanille,” Snow said. “She said she’ll get it done, so she’ll get it done - by hook or by crook. That’s just how she is. And just think of how many other people any cure she comes up with will be able to help. There’s a lot of former and current miners out there with problems like your father.”

“I know.” Willow sighed. At the moment, Vanille’s treatment was basically keeping her father from deteriorating, but the prospect of a cure - something that could actually get him healthy again was tantalising. She could remember her childhood. Her father had been a strong, larger than life figure. His illness had robbed him of much of his vitality, and he was a shell of his former self from a physical standpoint. If it wasn’t for his willpower, she was certain he’d have died long before Vanille had gotten a chance to stabilise his condition. “I just worry.”

“Hey, we all do,” Snow said. “I never knew my parents,” he murmured. “I grew up in an orphanage. Your dad, well, he’s been kind of like a dad to me too.” He paused. “And I’m just glad that Vanille isn’t here right now because hearing me say your dad was like my dad would have a sister fixation joke thrown at me so fast.”

“Don’t worry. I’d stab her with a fork.” Willow turned away from the pancakes briefly as Serah shambled in. “Or I’d try. I don’t think my sister would actually let me stab her.” She yawned. “You two want coffee?”

“Sure,” Willow said. “Snow?”

“Yeah, some coffee would be good.”

“Fantastic, because I could definitely use some.” Serah got the coffee going, frowned at it, and then gestured with one hand. A second later the coffee was done.

“Did you just use your Semblance to make coffee faster?” Willow asked with a grin.

“Of course, I did. If you can’t use your Semblance to make every day life easier, then what is it good for?” Serah poured out three mugs of coffee.

“I don’t know,” Snow drawled. “Saving the world?”

“I can save the world and make coffee faster.” Serah shook her head. “Did you know Vanille built a rebellious coffee machine? I don’t even know why she felt the urge to make it sentient. On the upside, it likes Lumina and the kids. Its rebellion is entirely specific to her.”

“That’s Vanille for you.” Willow gestured vaguely at the pancakes. “A little help?”

“Sure.” Serah waved her hand at the pancakes. “Just keep a close eye on them. If they cook faster, they’ll also burn faster too.”

“I know.” Willow had gotten used to working with Serah’s Semblance. For one, it made making a roast far quicker and easier. And it had saved the day when she’d forgotten to put the turkey in before a big meal. “You two don’t have any missions for a while, do you?”

“A whole fortnight off,” Snow replied. “Well... unless the apocalypse happens, then it’s all hands on deck.”

“The same.” Serah sighed contently as she drank her coffee. “I’ve got the next two weeks off, as well, so my students are going to have to live without me.” She cackled. “I wonder if they’ll get complacent? It’ll make the surprise survival test I’ve got planned even more fun if they do.”

“You’re evil,” Willow teased.

“Hey, being a hunter isn’t easy. I’d rather my students suffer during training, so they don’t have to suffer out in the real world.”

“That’s true, I suppose.” Willow patted her cheek thoughtfully. “I’m afraid I’m not entirely free over the next two weeks. I still have to go into the office at least twice a week.”

“It’s fine,” Serah said. “You’ve got to run the company to give your dad more time to get better. I’m amazed you only have to go in two or three times a week, actually.”

“It helps that my father and I have made a point of hiring competent subordinates instead of bootlickers, and that we’ve partnered with Vanille’s company on a lot of our projects. I’d hate to get into a corporate war with her, and she’s got minion management down to a science.”

“But you’ll be okay for the visit to Sazh’s ranch, right?” Snow asked. “The kids have been dying to go. Winter has already ridden a chocobo, but the others were too young the last time we went. In fact, Whitley might still be too young although maybe not if Sazh still has that easy-going yellow chocobo.”

“I’ll be there,” Willow said. “I wouldn’t miss it. I know my father will love seeing Mangler again.”

“That thing is pure evil,” Snow muttered. “Lightning punched the crap out of him, and instead of being freaked out, I swear he was impressed.”

“Well, my father and Mangler get along pretty well. He actually looked a little worried the last time they met. I think he was shocked by how ill my father looked.”

“He’ll be happy then since your father is looking better.” Serah started making some hot chocolate for the kids and Willow’s father. “He’s a jerk, but I think he’d miss your father if something happened to him.” She made an exasperated sound. “We just have to remind the kids that, no, they can’t try to ride Mangler.”

“Yeah, no.” Willow shuddered. “Lightning and Fang won’t let Diana try, and she’s got Ragnarok. There is no way we’re letting the kids try. They can all ride nice friendly chocobos.”

“I’m going to start setting the table,” Serah said, sniffing the air. “By the smell of it, everything should be done soon.”

“Do you need a hand?” Snow asked, a glowing blue hand appearing beside her.

Willow snickered. “You say that every time, Snow.”

“Because it’s funny.”

“I beg to differ,” Serah replied.

X X X

Author’s Notes

A glimpse into what Willow’s life could have been...

#final rose #fanfiction #snow villiers #willow schnee #winter schnee #nicholas schnee #serah farron

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azapofinspiration · 4 years

Text

The Princess and Her Knight

Summary: It's been declared that Princess Ruby's hand will go to whoever wins the tournament, as the regent wishes for her to be at least engaged and comfortable with her partner before the time to take the crown comes.

Unfortunately, Ruby's heart is already set on the court minstrel, Weiss.

And yet, at the same time, a mysterious White Knight can't help but draw her attention as the tournament continues.

White Rose Week Day 7: The Princess and Her Knight

@white-rose-week

[AO3] [FF.Net]

“You know, most people would be flattered to have so many people fighting over her.” Yang bluntly said, ignoring Ruby’s pout.

“Easy for you to say,” Ruby grumbled. “You got to marry the love of your life.”

Ruby knew that Yang was in a different situation. After all, she and their father had married into the royal family so she wasn’t the heir despite their father having taken over as regent after the death of Ruby’s mother. She had a lot more flexibility when it came to her choices.

And if the love of her life was the daughter of Menagerie’s chief and their marriage helped secure an alliance between their kingdoms then that was merely a happy happenstance. If their dad had said no, Yang would’ve just run away with her probably.

But Ruby was the heir to the throne. Within a few years, she would have to step up and take the crown, and her dad wanted her to at least be engaged and familiar with her partner by that time. And according to the laws, which he had tried to change but was shot down by the council, she had to marry either another royal or a noble.

So now a tournament was being held, with nobility and royalty from their and the surrounding kingdoms. The winner would receive Ruby’s hand in marriage.

It didn’t matter that Ruby’s heart was set on another.

“They don’t want me. They’re all here for honor or glory or status or…other stuff.” Ruby gestured at the armored contestants milling about. “Even if they know me, none of them really know me.”

“What? Like Weiss?” Yang’s voice had softened with sympathy, even as Ruby’s heart gave a discordant twang.

Yes, Weiss actually knew her. She was Ruby’s best friend.

However, Weiss was just the court minstrel.

Weiss had arrived in their court right about the same time Ruby had begun her training to become queen. She could play pretty much any instrument presented to her and her voice was akin to that of angels. Ruby had been intrigued by her from the start. After all, it wasn’t everyday you encountered a girl with hair and skin as white as snow, much less a girl with a scar marring her face. Some would call it ugly, but if anything, Ruby had always thought it made her even more beautiful, showing her will to survive despite getting slashed open right over her left eye.

Yang suspected that Weiss was to some degree of noble birth, given how her manners rivalled those of the haughtiest lord or lady of the court, but Ruby found that to be unlikely. Though those manners and sense of propriety may have been why Weiss had tried to keep a certain distance between herself and Ruby at the beginning, despite Ruby trailing after her like a puppy in her free time.

Weiss could be sarcastic and distant, but as Ruby had watched, she noticed the kind and caring person underneath the chilly veneer. And before they knew it, they’d gotten closer and closer until Ruby could hug her and call her her best friend and only get a roll of the eyes instead of a gentle push away and a lecture on proper etiquette.

Then somehow, without even noticing it, Ruby had fallen in love.

Ruby desperately wished to tell Weiss her feelings, but she wasn’t about to risk her most precious friendship. Besides, even if her feelings were returned, they wouldn’t be able to marry due to Weiss’s commoner status.

It wasn’t fair.

And Weiss wasn’t even here at the moment!

“Yeah…” Ruby mumbled, slumping in her seat despite her mental Weiss lecturing her on her posture. “Why did she have to leave and attend family business now of all times?”

Shortly before this tournament’s announcement, Weiss had received a letter that apparently urged her home for some emergency. Ruby had been upset at the time, though understanding as she of all people knew the importance of family.

Now she was despondent as by the time Weiss got back she’d surely be engaged and unable to ever reveal her feelings.

“It sucks, but that’s how it is.” Yang shrugged but gave her an understanding smile. “I’m sure things will be fine when she gets back.”

“No they won’t. I’ll be engaged.”

Yang sighed. Ruby could understand that she was trying to cheer her up, but it just wasn’t happening. “Let’s at least check out the competition, shall we?”

“Fine.” Ruby sighed and she cast her gaze over at her potential suitors.

Jaune Arc was from a large noble family with a history of turning out fantastic knights. Jaune himself was fairly decent but Ruby would never be able to get over her first impression of him where he vomited right on her shoes as she trained with her family’s knights. Overall, he wasn’t the worst person she could get married to, but there were plenty of powerful contestants.

Pyrrha Nikos, for example, was a strong contender. She was considered to be one of the strongest fighters on the continent, the Gladiator from Argus. She could probably trounce every single person here, but Ruby already knew that she wouldn’t as she was just participating out of obligation and she was sweet on a certain knight who was prone to blowing chunks when nervous.

Penny Polendina was someone that Ruby was fairly familiar with. She was one of the best knights that served the Ironwoods, the royal family of Atlas. She and Ruby trained together during a diplomatic mission in Atlas several years ago and they had kept correspondence since. Ruby was sure that she could count her as a friend. Maybe not necessarily one of her closest ones, but a friend all the same.

Oscar Pine was currently being trained by one of the most powerful mages in the world, Ozpin, but he did some knight training as well. He always seemed nice enough, but Ruby really didn’t consider him to be romantic interest material.

Neptune Vasilias and Ilia Amitola were both knights from Menagerie and close friends of Blake’s. Ruby knew them more by reputation and Blake’s stories than personally interacting with them. Neptune was a bit of a flirt but usually pulled through when it counted while Ilia was more serious and quite stealthy in her work, able to slip in and out of situations easily. Ruby figured they’d be okay partners if it came down to it.

Mercury Black on the other hand was a hard no. He served Lady Cinder Fall, who was herself known for her devious and power-hungry tactics, having married into the nobility and her husband almost immediately dying under mysterious circumstances, and Ruby did not trust him a bit. She didn’t like the sly looks he kept throwing her way. He was only allowed because her father had made this an open invitation so they couldn’t technically turn him away.

And the eighth participant…

Ruby frowned as she took them in.

The eighth participant wore white armor and unlike everyone else who was getting in their last fresh breaths before the tournament started, they already had their helmet on. They stood next to their horse, feeding her a sugar cube as they inspected their lance. They weren’t that big, probably even shorter than Ruby, and had a slight figure. A rapier was at their hip, clearly their weapon of choice.

Ruby had no clue who they were.

She was familiar with most of the royalty and nobility, as one in her position as heir to the throne should be, but she didn’t know who the White Knight was.

She glanced at the knight’s standard and felt her eyebrows rise.

“Huh.” Yang said, clearly also noticing the symbol. “Well, what do you know.”

A white snowflake on a blue background.

The Schnee insignia.

Ruby narrowed her eyes.

The Schnees were one of the most powerful noble families in Atlas. However, ever since the Duchess, Willow, had taken ill years ago, her husband, Duke Jacques, a former commoner, had mostly taken over control of her duties. And there was not much good to be said about how he ran things while she continued to be indisposed. He was a merchant at heart and still conducted his business, tying it into the Schnee affairs, and he was as cutthroat as the worst of them. Ruby had frequently heard of him and King James butting heads before coming to begrudging agreements. The family never came to events, isolating themselves with usually only Jacques emerging to conduct business.

The Schnees had three children. Ruby had only heard talk of the eldest and heir Winter, mainly because she had chosen to take a knighthood from the Ironwoods. The Schnees were infamous for their skills in magic, making them highly desirable in courts, so everyone had been jealous of Ironwood snagging one of them despite the family’s isolation. Jacques had been insistent on the family relying on only their own power, so now they took on no knights and had no mages, members of the family undergoing rigorous training and tutoring within their castle walls. So Winter had caused quite the scandal with apprenticing herself out, though given that the Schnees served the crown just as much as anyone else, there had not been much that Jacques could do.

Ruby knew that the other children were a girl and a boy, but only rumors were whispered about them. They said that the middle child had been maimed by Jacques and shut up in a tower for daring to disobey him. Or that she’d been left in the woods to die after refusing to marry who her father had picked to secure more power. Or her father had tricked her with a rigged test of skills and she was long dead, though no one knew for sure. They said that he’d tried to make the boy the heir after Winter left and the other daughter was silenced, but the king’s council had stopped him. It was hard to tell what was true with how little the family was seen in public. It was all too easy to imagine horrors behind the doors of the coldest noble family in the world.

And yet, here was a member of that mysterious family, vying for her hand in marriage.

“D’you think it’s the girl or the boy?” Yang asked as she sat up and squinted at them. Her eyes flickered over to where King James and his entourage had set themselves up, Winter Schnee clearly by his side as she was rumored to always be. “Which would you prefer?”

Ruby scowled. “Neither.” She firmly said.

A Schnee was a fascinating prospect, but given the head of the family’s reputation, it did not bode well for one of them to be participating.

Yang hummed, tilting her head to the side. “Well, this should be interesting…”

“What should be interesting?”

Ruby glanced over as Blake took her seat at Yang’s other side. She too was glancing over the competition, and her gaze eventually settled on the Schnee. Though surprisingly, she didn’t look too shocked, which stuck out to Ruby. The Schnee business ventures had a lot of dealings with Menagerie, mostly to Menagerie and the Faunus’ detriment, and Blake was well known for her low opinion of Jacques.

“So you noticed the Schnee, too?” Yang pointed out the obvious. “We were just talking about them. What sort of scheme do you think Jacques is up to, trying to win Ruby’s hand?”

“Not much probably.” At Ruby and Yang’s surprised blink, Blake continued. “You haven’t heard? New evidence was brought forth of all of the Duke’s underhanded dealings and presented to the king. He’s been arrested and is still awaiting trial.” Blake took a sip from her goblet, ignoring Ruby and Yang’s slack-jawed expression.

“Holy cannoli…” Yang muttered. “So is this one of them trying to regain the family’s honor or something?”

“Considering it was the second daughter and the Duchess who provided the information, I think they’ve proved that some people in the family do have honor.” Blake dryly replied. “Apparently Jacques had been drugging the Duchess for years to take over her duties?”

“Whoa…” Ruby breathed out, impressed despite herself. The second daughter did sound pretty awesome, but then again, as she glanced back at the White Knight, there was no guarantee that this was her. It could just as easily be the son, and rumors said he took more after his father than either daughter. “Still, that doesn’t mean they’re not suspicious.” She crossed her arms and fixed her pout on her face. “They probably aren’t really interested in me, just like more than half of the others participating.”

“You’d be surprised.” Blake muttered, taking another sip and rolling her eyes at Yang’s attempt to steal her drink.

Before Ruby could ask what she meant by that, the trumpets sounded to signal the tournament’s start.

It proceeded much as Ruby thought it would once the bracket’s were announced.

Pyrrha wasn’t able to go all out on Jaune, clearly holding back, but she still easily won. Likewise, Penny won out over Neptune, and poor Oscar hadn’t stood a chance against Mercury.

Ruby kept a close eye on the bout between Ilia and the White Knight, but the Knight proved to be the superior of the two. Though Ruby was impressed by the Knight stopping to help Ilia up after it was over, showing a kindness she didn’t expect due to the Schnees’ reputation.

In the second round, Penny just barely won. She and Pyrrha had to resort to hand-to-hand combat to determine the winner, and in the end, Penny’s throwing knives allowed her to stay out of the range of Pyrrha’s spear.

On the other side, Ruby was sure that Mercury had tried some tricks, as she saw Mercury approaching the Knight before their bout and whispering in their ear with a sly smile all too similar to his mistress’s. Given the way they’d jerked back and she could practically feel them glowering at him through their helmet, it certainly sparked Ruby’s curiosity. However, Mercury ended up getting knocked out without too much trouble.

And that left for the final round…

“So who do you want to win? Penny or Mystery Schnee?” Yang asked as she snacked on some treats. Ruby had been so caught up in the fighting that she hadn’t even noticed her leaving to get food.

Ruby sunk back into her chair as she looked over at her final two choices.

Penny was her friend and Ruby cared for her dearly. But she was just a friend. Ruby had never thought of her in a romantic or partner-type way. Sure, Ruby could probably marry her for the good of the kingdom, but…

And the White Knight, the Schnee seemed to be pretty alright. As much as one could glean personality from someone who they’ve only seen fighting and is wearing a helmet besides. At the very least, it’d be fun to spar with them. Which gender they were wasn’t really a factor to Ruby, as usually actually knowing someone was what really made someone attractive to her, which is why…

This wasn’t what she wanted.

If she had a choice, she’d choose Weiss.

But Weiss wasn’t an option.

Yang sighed and ruffled her hair a bit. “Yeah, I know.”

“Hey!” Ruby smacked her hand away and scowled at her. She quickly fixed her hair but paused as she felt the prickle of someone’s eyes on her. She turned her head to see the White Knight facing her. She blinked a bit in surprise, but they quickly turned away.

Blake chuckled. “It might not be as bad as you think.”

Yang glanced at her, eyes narrowed. “Do you know something?”

“No.”

“I think you do.”

“Well, even if I did, I wouldn’t say anything.”

“Well - “

“Shush!” Ruby finally interrupted their flirting. “It’s starting.”

Penny and the White Knight were well matched. They kept on coming out even after each run until finally it came down to hand-to-hand. The White Knight drew their rapier and Ruby couldn’t help but be slightly impressed by their skill. They clearly were someone who relied on technique and skill and they still managed to do so even with the bulky weight of full armor.

But Ruby knew Penny was one of the strongest fighters she knew. This match was already decided before it began.

It was as much a surprise to her, as it was to the rest of the audience, when the White Knight managed to evade the last of Penny’s knives, knock off her helmet, and held the tip of their rapier to Penny’s throat.

A clear victory.

Applause thundered around her, but Ruby could only stare in shock.

All her preferences aside, she had thought that Penny would win. And she would’ve accepted it, despite her misgivings, but now…

Ruby didn’t know what to do with this.

Her dad, Taiyang, stood from where he’d been seated on the throne to watch the proceeding and ignore his daughters’ chatter about the events. He’d been surprisingly quiet, not even joking around with Uncle Qrow during the tournament like he usually would, and Ruby had forgotten that he was even sitting beside her this whole time.

“Congratulations, champion!” Her dad’s voice boomed over the waning applause as the White Knight collected their horse and came to stand before the royal box. “You have bested your peers and proven yourself a knight capable of protecting the royal family. As per the rules of the tournament, you have won the hand of our fair princess Ruby. Do you accept your prize?”

The White Knight was silent for a moment before reaching up to take off their helmet.

“I will gladly take her hand - “

Ruby’s breath caught in her throat as the White Knight spoke. That voice -

“But only if she gives it of her own free will.”

As the helmet came off, long white hair came tumbling down from the high ponytail on their head, blue eyes shone as they gazed up towards Ruby, and a slight smile tugged at the scar going through their left eye.

“So,” Weiss smiled up at Ruby, as smug as the cat who ate the canary, “what do you say, your highness?”

“Weiss?!” Ruby erupted in shock, just as her face exploded in red.

“Holy crow…” Yang muttered, just as surprised as she was.

Blake continued eating, completely indifferent. “Are you going to answer her or not?” She flatly asked.

“Oh, uh,” Ruby floundered a bit more as Weiss just chuckled a bit, “yes!” She shouted, before recovering her royal composure. “I mean, yes. Of course, I would love to give you my hand.”

She extended her hand to show her sincerity and Weiss took it. Weiss clasped her hand before bringing it before her face and giving it a light kiss.

“Gchk!” Ruby practically choked as she felt her face heat up even more if possible.

Weiss smirked, eyes dancing with mirth over her reaction. “Then I guess we’re engaged.”

“Yep.” Ruby’s father grinned as well, before projecting to the audience once more. “It is now official! Her highness, the Crown Princess Ruby Rose, is engaged to the White Knight, Lady Weiss Schnee of Atlas.”

The crowd roared around them but Ruby was feeling faint from the whiplash of everything that happened.

How were you supposed to feel when one minute you’re about to be locked in a marriage you don’t want and the next you’re getting everything you want with the person you want?

She felt a slight tug on her hand. Ruby looked down to see the teasing expression gone, replaced by the concerned look on Weiss’s face. “Are you alright?” She frowned a bit. “It’s fine if you don’t want to do this.”

Ruby’s heart skipped a beat. “I do. Trust me, I do.” She smiled at her and squeezed her hand back. “But an explanation would be nice.” She admitted.

Weiss nodded. “Of course.”

Somehow, Ruby knew this was going to be a doozy.

“Your dad tried to have you killed?!” Yang’s jaw dropped and Ruby felt hers dropping right with hers.

They’d gathered in the library as the feast celebrating the end of the tournament and Ruby’s engagement began to wind down. It was the place they had always hung out together, but for once their meeting was a bit more urgent than usual.

Weiss hummed, much too at ease with such a horrific fact. “I should’ve thought there was something suspicious when he said that if I managed to complete the quest I’d be allowed to leave the manor as I wished. As it was, I did complete it and I managed to have my sister secretly arrest my attacker, but I didn’t come away unscathed.” Like she didn’t realize she was doing it, her fingers lightly traced her scar.

“So it was better to have him think me dead. Part of the reason why I wanted to leave was to become a knight like my sister and to restore our family’s honor that my father had tarnished. The attack made me realize that simply doing good would not be enough, I had to take out my father as well.” Weiss continued. “So I fell back on my other talents. Music has always been a passion of mine, one that my father actually encouraged, so becoming a minstrel was an easy task. No one looked twice at me, allowing me to gather all the evidence I needed. Only King James, my sister, and my family’s loyal head butler knew of my task back in Atlas, and of course, I did inform Regent Taiyang when I ended up here.”

“And you knew this entire time?” Yang rounded on Blake.

She didn’t even blink. “The Faunus and Menagerie have been the victims of most of her father’s crimes. Well, most of the ones not done to his own family.” Blake glanced over at Weiss before returning to looking at Yang. “I was aware of all members of the Schnee family, so of course I recognized her right away.”

“Blake has been invaluable with my investigations.” Weiss shot her a smile before catching the disappointed frown on Ruby’s face.

“So the important family business?” Ruby prodded.

Her expression softened. “I’d finally gathered all that I needed, but I had originally intended to wait to confront him. I wanted to reveal the truth to you first, but I received news from Klein that my father had been acting more suspicious than usual so I had to go after him much sooner. He was making alliances with factions that sought to overthrow King James and later attack the other kingdoms. Unfortunately, even with my intervention, his conspirators escaped.” Weiss scowled. Ruby knew that she was always harder on her own flaws than anyone else, and this untidy wrap-up of the incident was most likely weighing on her.

Ruby took in her sister’s thoughtful expression as they both mulled over this new information. Truthfully, it was a lot to take in. Ruby was almost overwhelmed with how much she had learned about Weiss in such a short amount of time.

Weiss was a noble, of the infamous and powerful Schnee family.

Weiss was not only a musician and minstrel, but also a knight.

She could almost be considered a spy, given that she’d somehow been able to go undercover to investigate her own family, her own father.

Weiss was somehow even more talented than she had ever imagined.

Yang clapped her hands together. “Well, that’s good enough for me.” She smiled as she apparently recovered all the revelations. “Blake, how about we give the lovebirds some alone time?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Blake returned the smile as she took her arm and led the way out.

Weiss sputtered, her composure finally broken. “We’re not ‘lovebirds!’”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Yang waved at them as they left. “You guys just got engaged. The honeymoon period’s officially started.”

“Yang!” Weiss facepalmed once more before turning back to Ruby. “Ugh, Ruby, your sister - “

“Weiss.”

Weiss blinked at her. Her eyes searched hers for a moment, looking for something, though Ruby didn’t know what. “Yes?” She cautiously replied.

“I just - I just wanted to know if - “ Ruby paused, the words tripping from her mouth. “I know you said that you wanted to tell me, but was everything else just - just - “

“Oh.” Luckily, Weiss understood her better than she knew herself. “Ruby, I may not have told you about my family or about my personal mission, but it wasn’t a lie.” She hesitated before taking Ruby’s hand in her own. “I know why you may think that, but I never tried to hide who I was or tried to get close because I thought it would benefit me.”

“If anything, you tried to push me away.” Ruby chuckled and Weiss joined her.

“Yes.” She smiled. “Now that all of my family drama is over with, I can now focus on other things.”

“I know you asked me if I really wanted this, but do you?” Ruby couldn’t help but ask.

“Ruby, I only joined the tournament for your sake.”

Ruby looked away, feeling a blush rise once more in her cheeks.

“Your father even ensured that I was knighted before I joined. The moment I returned he told me what was going on. And I knew that I at least wanted to protect you from those who weren’t actually interested or those who were interested but for all the wrong reasons.” Weiss scooted a bit closer as she said that until their knees were touching. “And now that we know that this is what we both want…”

Weiss held both of Ruby’s hands and brought them up, squeezing them tight. “Ruby, I promise to protect you to the best of my ability. I will follow your lead wherever you go and my sword is yours to command. I want you and I love you. Will you have me?”

Ruby felt herself getting a bit teary-eyed. “Of course,” she replied, “but isn’t it a bit too soon for the wedding vows?”

Weiss huffed and looked away, her face a bit flushed, “I just want you to know how I feel and assure you that I’ll be here for you. Is that such a crime?”

“No,” Ruby laughed and then she leaned in and pressed her forehead to Weiss’s, making her freeze in place, “just as long as you know I’ll be here for you, too.”

Weiss was full out blushing now, and while red was usually Ruby’s favorite color, she found this to be her favorite shade yet.

“May I kiss you, my knight?” Ruby asked in a slightly teasing tone.

Weiss smiled. “You may, my princess.”

And as they finally came in for a kiss, Ruby couldn’t wait for the ballad that Weiss would surely write about them.

The Princess and Her Knight.

Ruby liked the sound of that.

AN: KNIGHT WEISS! KNIGHT WEISS! KNIGHT WEISS!

I know that Weiss is set-up (by both her circumstances and her fairy tale analog) as the princess-type, but as the series continues Knight Weiss has truly begun to rise. I just love Weiss in the role of the knight. It's great so that's what I did here.

When I originally thought up this fic, I had it ending after Weiss's reveal as the White Knight and her asking for Ruby's hand only if it's willingly and Ruby accepting. Typical fairy tale ending, right? But as I re-worked it and added in elements, like how the Schnees fitting into this AU, their role (like at one point they and the Ironwoods were the dual rulers of Atlas but I decided to just make the Schnees like top-tier nobility instead), and how Weiss fits into that (plus her supposedly still being on family business was a good excuse to not be by Ruby's side like she would've been otherwise), I realized that I probably should explain what was going on with that and I ended it on a note that was just as sweet.

Oh, and as mentioned, the Schnees, including Weiss, do have magic in the form of their Glyphes in this world. Ruby remembers this fact at like 3 AM the next morning and burst into Weiss's room to ask if she had magic as well and promptly gets magicked out, as Weiss can do that to the princess now that they're engaged and she hates being woken up.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! I know I didn't do as many fics this year, but I had fun with the ones I did do.

#RWBY #White Rose #White Rose Week #Ruby Rose #Weiss Schnee #Yang Xiao Long #Blake Belladonna #Whiterose #Background Bumblby #Day 7: The Princess and Her Knight #The Princess and Her Knight #RWBY fanfic #my fanfic tag

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jeremys-blogs · 4 years

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Aftermath (Fan Fiction)

To say that the mood in the house was muted would have been an understatement right now. From the moment the sun had risen there had been an overwhelming quiet throughout the entire place. Few things had been said to each other aside from the customary morning greetings, and for the time being everyone seemed content to just keep to themselves. Through the corner of her eye, Luz could see Eda making attempts to make circles in the air, only for said shapes to simply pass on with no effect. Of course, the older witch would stop as soon as she felt her apprentice's eyes on her, but then things would get somewhat better when the youth offered her a smile. But as nice a moment as that was, it was ended when the house's latest resident entered the living room. Lilith glanced to each of them, with Luz especially showing discomfort at her presence, but to the former's credit she said nothing, instead just walking over to the nearest window to look outside. After a while though, the silence became too much, and Luz knew that there were important things that needed to be said. "Will he send someone after us?"

All eyes were on the human now, save for Lilith, who kept her gaze on the outside. "The Emperor?" She paused, but knew without looking that Luz had nodded to the counter-question. "Hard to say. His reasons for coming after you and Eda were because of the portal...and that's no longer something he can have."

Luz winced, her memory of that moment still fresh in her mind. But as bad as it was that she herself had severed her only connection to her home, it also gave her other worries. "Will he come for revenge? We kinda humiliated him back there."

Placing her hand upon the windowsill, Lilith pondered for a moment. "Belos was always hard to read...but I think that, for now at least, he will keep his distance." For the first time since the conversation started, she turned, looking to Eda specifically. "You and I are no longer the powerful witches we were, Edalyn. It could be that he no longer considers us a threat worth pursuing."

Eda frowned to that. "Don't count on it, sis. Guys like that don't let slights go unanswered. He might not come in force, but he'll at least be keeping an eye on us." She too let her eyes drift to the window. "I wouldn't be surprised if he has someone spying on us right now."

"Ha!" Everyone turned to see that it was King who had laughed, and the small demon confidently strode towards Luz. "I say let em come! Luz here will show em what for!"

Luz smiled, appreciating the vote of confidence, which she showed by patting her friend on the head. But her expression soon turned serious as thoughts of Belos returned to her. "I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't want another shot at that guy. And hey..." She reached into her back pocket, pulling out the small fragment of the Emperor's mask that she'd kept. "I know he's not invincible."

Lilith frowned. "Be wary of overconfidence, apprentice. One successful hit does not win a war."

Eda smirked. "Depends on the hit." When her sister looked back to her, she continued. "All these years, everyone on the Isles though Belos was this big, indestructible king. Untouchable. And then what happens? A human girl comes along and whams him right in the kisser." She snorted briefly. "Everyone saw him up there, mask cracked and all. Word will spread. Maybe his grip isn't as iron-clad as everyone thought."

Hearing that, Lilith arched an eyebrow. "You expect some revolution?" she asked, her voice dripping with scepticism.

Eda shrugged. "Wouldn't be the worst thing to happen." She turned to Luz, smiling. "Oh, what I would have given to have been there when you gave that guy that wake-up call. I can't think of anything better."

Luz blushed, scratching the side of her cheek. "Honestly, I think he was just playing with me. He thought I was no danger." Her smile faded. "If he'd have been serious...I probably wouldn't be here right now."

Eda too looked disheartened, if only a little. "Me neither, kiddo."

Looking down to King, Luz stared at him for a time, then took a deep breath. "But no matter how strong he is...he still needs to be fought." She took a few steps forward, looking to Lilith and then to Eda. "We might not be his target right now, but he's still there, doing who knows what. Other witches will be going through hard times because of him. I saw the other statues, the other petrified witches." She paused here, seeing the discomfort on her mentor's face, no doubt as a result of thinking of what she nearly had happen to her. "He's not going to stop..." Her hand tightened into a fist. "Not unless someone stops him."

Lilith studied her for a long time, then folded her arms as she let out a sigh. "Fine words, child. But let's not forget that you speak of the most powerful being on the Isles. Someone we only just managed to get away from. Even if Eda and I were at our best, which we are most definitely not right now, we would stand little hope of victory against him. How exactly do you plan to bring about this glorious triumph you propose, when we now stand at our weakest?"

As much as she didn't want to admit it, Lilith was right, though Luz maintained her frown as she looked to her. "...However we can."

A silence fell between the two, ending when Lilith at last cracked a smile, then turned to her long-estranged sibling. "I can see why you took her in."

Eda chuckled. "Yep, she's a fire-starter alright."

Luz very much wanted to speak further, but it was here when the door of the house creaked open, causing all to jump slightly. Thankfully, it wasn't some intruder coming to face them, but simply the smiling face of Hooty, who spoke up in that ever-cheerful way of his. "Hoot-hoot! Special delivery! Did anybody order a couple of best friends?"

Though confused, Luz soon understood the words as she saw two figures walk through the front door. Two youths who grinned from ear to ear as soon as they saw her. "Luz!" Willow exclaimed.

The moment she laid eyes on them, Luz looked like she was going to burst into tears of joy, and such was her elation at seeing them that she rushed forward. So great was the impact of her embrace that the two other children were nearly knocked back from it, but thankfully they held their ground and returned the embrace, smiling all the way. It was a sweet moment, and one that even a cynic like Eda couldn't help but grin at, though she remained silent as Luz finally spoke to her friends. "I heard what you did, getting people on our side back there. I...I can't thank you enough."

Willow looked to her fondly. "After everything you've done for us, it was the least we could do."

Gus' smile grew. "Yeah! And hey, if nothing else, my Dad said it was the most eventful broadcast he's ever done. So there's that."

Luz looked to her younger friend with apprehension. "You weren't in too much trouble for that, were you?"

Gus waved her off. "What? Me? Nah. Dad just asked me to check in with him first before I suddenly decide to use his broadcasts to voice anti-Emperor sentiment to the public next time."

Luz had to fight the urge to laugh after a remark like that, but thankfully Willow was there to bring the conversation back to the more serious matter at hand. "Is it true? What they're saying? You actually fought...him?"

Her human friend's smile vanished, replaced instead with a more sombre look. "Yeah, it's true. And I won't lie to you guys...it was kind of a losing fight on my end."

As one would expect after hearing that, Willow and Gus looked to her with astonishment, but also an understandable degree of awe. "You...actually fought...Belos?!" Gus shouted out. In an instant, he whipped out his paper pad and pencil, going into full school journalism mode. "What was the fight like? What spells did you use? Did Belos favour abominations or something else?"

Luz smiled, grateful at her friend for doing at least this to bring the mood up, but when she spoke it was with somewhat less enthusiasm than him. "I'll tell you all about it. But right now I'm just grateful to see you're both okay. Last time I saw you...well....things weren't all that good."

Willow shivered, holding herself as she too thought back to their last encounter with one another. "Don't remind me. When we saw you being taken by that awful Lilith, we worried we'd never see...you...again."

Her voice had become slower and more fearful, and Luz knew already that the moment she'd been dreading had arrived. Her two friends had finally spotted that Lilith was here among them, and the older witch herself now stepped forward. Ever the professional, she had her hands clasped behind her back, giving the two newcomers a small nod of acknowledgement. "Students."

They were both still stunned at her presence, but Willow shook herself out of it, looking to Luz with expected confusion. "Wha...what is she doing here?!"

Luz looked away, thinking hard on how best to answer. "Well, it's kind of a long story...but the short of it is that she's turned against the Emperor and is on our side now...kind of."

Gus blinked a couple of times to that, then again slowly looked to Lilith, then to Eda. "So...is everything...good?" he asked, his voice betraying his uncertainty at the whole thing.

Hearing the question, Eda and Lilith glanced to one another, with the former smiling in that mischievous way she loved so much. "Oh sure, it's no problem. I mean she only cursed me, worked alongside an oppressive dictator and headed the years-long campaign to try and capture me, but hey, it's all good, right sis?"

Lilith at least had the decency to blush somewhat after that, giving Luz the opportunity to look back to her friends. "I think...we're working on it."

"Hoot-hoot! We've got an abomination incoming!" Hooty declared.

All eyes were to the door now. "The Emperor's Coven?!" Luz asked.

Hooty smiled. "Nope! Just that abomination girl."

Luz narrowed her eyes as her mind began to think. "Abomination gir..." Then her eyes widened. "Amity!"

Sure enough, her guess was right on the money, as her other Hexside classmate suddenly arrived onto the scene, carried by her trusty and faithful abomination, who gently let her down so she could get her crutch onto the floor. Once she was sure she was going to be okay on the ground, the fellow Azura fan looked to her otherworldly friend with as much worry as Willow and Gus had been showing. "Luz! Are you okay?!"

Luz rushed to her side, helping to keep her steady. "I was about to ask you that question. Have you recovered yet?"

Amity giggled nervously. "Well, no, not yet. But when I heard you were back here I knew I had to come and see." In that moment, she noticed too that Willow and Gus were here. "Oh. Hey."

The others nodded back to her. "Hey," Willow responded with a smile.

When Amity's attention returned to Luz, she opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut-off when the human girl began to preemptively answer her. "Yes, I went to the castle, yes, I broke Eda out, and yes...I fought Belos. Everyone else has already asked."

Amity immediately turned a shade paler after hearing all that, and when she hobbled forward slightly, her voice was one of pure disbelief. "Do...do you realise what you've done?! You've gone against the leader of the whole Boiling Isles! You'll be declared a criminal! An enemy of the state! He'll be coming for you!"

Luz could hear the worry in her voice, and looked to her softly. "I know...and thank you for worrying about me. But..." She looked over her shoulder, to Eda, and after the master and apprentice shared a glance with one another, Luz turned back to face Amity. "But I just couldn't let him have her."

Amity calmed down now, and also afforded herself a quick blush when she realised that Luz's hand was still on her shoulder. Backing away slightly, she cleared her throat. "Well...I'm just glad you're okay." Her concerned look returned shortly afterwards. "I'm...not sure if you'll be allowed to go back to Hexside after this. Everyone probably knows you're Eda's apprentice now. They might not want you at the school with the other students."

It was a point Luz admittedly hadn't considered, and Willow and Gus too seemed taken aback by the thought, looking to each other with sadness at the prospect of no longer going to school with her. But after a while, Luz looked to all three of her fellow students with the same determination she'd had when going to Belos' castle. "If that's the price...then I'll just have to accept it." She forced a smile. "Besides, it's not as if we won't see each other, right?"

Though the other children were still clearly dwelling on the more negative aspects of this situation, let it never be said that Luz's optimism wasn't infectious when she really got around to it. Amity, Willow and Gus all smiled to her, silently conceding to her point. Alas, as pleasant as this moment was, it was soon interrupted by none other than King, who walked to Luz and looked up to her. "We're all with you, Luz. Criminal or not, we'll help you."

Luz looked to him appreciatively. "Thanks, King. If I had to be stuck anywhere, I'm glad I'm stuck with you guys."

Those words immediately piqued the interest of her friends. "Wait...stuck? What are you walking about?" Willow asked.

A deep sigh from Luz. "Belos wanted Eda and me because of the portal to the human world. And...I had to destroy it." Seeing the looks of shock her friends were giving her, she elaborated. "It was either that or let him have it. I have no idea what he wanted with it, but whatever it was it couldn't be good."

Gus stepped forward. "So...you can't go home?"

In spite of that admittedly bad turn of events, Luz kept her smile. "For now...but I'll get back somehow. I don't know how...but I will."

Amity matched her determination. "And we'll help you. All of us."

Luz smiled to her, again patting her on the shoulder. "Thank you."

Amity smiled back, but through the corner of her eyes she could see movement, and when she turned to see who it was, she looked on with amazement to see that it was her own mentor, Lilith. Like with Willow and Gus, Amity was unsure of what to say or do, and so only managed to get out a whisper. "Miss...Miss Lilith?"

Lilith shook her head. "I am no longer leader of the Emperor's Coven, Amity. There's no need to be calling me 'Miss' right now."

Confusion sank in for the abomination prodigy, and after looking around at everyone else in the house, she clasped her hand over her forehead. "I think...we might need to hear the whole story on this one, Luz."

Willow raised her hand. "I second that."

Luz chuckled, nodding slowly. "Then come on in. I'll get some tea."

Eda watched as her apprentice led her friends into the house proper, and as soon as they were off to the kitchens, she looked over to Lilith, who had once more taken to staring out of the window. "So...why did he want it? The portal?"

Lilith sighed. "I don't know. I may have been his right hand, but he kept secrets even from me. All I know is that access to the human world was important for his plans."

Eda reclined into her sofa, giving herself a quick stretch before speaking up again. "Well, guess he'll have to come up with a new plan. Can't go anywhere with a burned portal after all."

Lilith glanced to her, then again to the window, narrowing her eyes as she looked to the horizon. "...I hope."

#writing #my stuff #fanfic #fanfiction #fan fiction #disney #the owl house #luz noceda #eda the owl lady #king #lilith clawthorne #willow park #gus porter #amity blight #hooty

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mhdiaries · 4 years

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13 Wishes Twyla Diary

The Sixth of September

When you spend your unlife living in the shadows you get used to seeing things that are missed and missing things that are seen. Lately though, I feel like I’m missing more than I’m seeing, like today, for instance. There is a little garden cemetery not far from Monster High where I like to go and contemplate the simple joys of monsterhood. It has a little fountain with a park bench and a simply ginormous creeping willow tree. It’s like a giant umbrella that casts the most amazing shadows. Most of the time I am the only monster there except on Wednesday when a group of troll ladies show up to play bridge. Anyway, I was sitting in my usual spot today with my back to the tree facing away from the fountain. I heard footsteps and voices approaching. I thought it was probably some monsters coming to pay their ghast respects and I didn’t want to disturb them, so I just sat still. If I am in the shadows and I do not move or open my eyes I cannot be seen. As the footsteps got closer I recognized the voices - it was Lagoona and Gil. They were arguing about something and they stopped right next to the fountain. Now I could have just stepped from the shadow I was in to a shadow somewhere else, but I didn’t. I stayed because I’m a bad monster. I am not going to write down what they said though, because if some other monster ever reads this it’d be like betraying a trust. But I was sad the rest of the day over what I heard. They are both so sweet and make such a great couple that I had no idea they were facing such outside pressure on their relationship. I guess I was looking but not seeing. I really wish they could get this problem resolved, but some things can’t be wished away, only worked through. Eventually Gil left, but Lagoona stayed a little bit longer. She sat for a while, and I could hear her crying. I guess at that point I wanted so much to just run over and hug her, but I couldn’t. I know, I know, I’m a terrible monster, but I didn’t know what to do. That’s not true, I mean the terrible monster part is, but I should have just gone over and given her a hug...epic fail. I waited a bit after Lagoona left and then I left too.

The Tenth of September

Being able to jump from one shadow to another without having to step into the light means that I can avoid talking to other monsters if I don’t want. It’s not that I don’t like other monsters, but I feel kind of awkward sometimes, like maybe I’ll say or do something wrong and embarrass myself. I remember I’d been at MH for a while but I hadn’t really made any friends. Not because the other students hadn’t been nice to me, they were, I just always sort of disappeared before I let them get too close. I remember the day that I got cornered, literally. I was sitting by myself in the very back corner of the creepateria at a table underneath a burned out light that was casting a nice big shadow. I was just eating my lunch and watching when Howleen started walking my way. I sat still knowing that she wouldn’t be able to see me but I didn’t want to leave either cause I was hungry. So she came over and sat right down across from me. She sniffed a couple times and said, “PB&J?” “Eww cam seef me?” I answered with a mouth full of sandwich. “Nah, but I can smell you.” “Nobway!” “Of course I can, I’m a werewolf, and the nose knows. You smell like dust and strawscarry jam.” I started to excuse myself, but Howleen asked me not to, “I really don’t feel like eating lunch by myself - would you mind hanging out?” So I didn’t disappear, I stayed and I made a friend for unlife plus I didn’t embarrass myself even once. #WinWin

The First of October

Usually Dustin meets me at the door when I get home from school, but he wasn’t waiting for me today. I called for him but he didn’t come. I checked all his usual hiding places: under the bed, behind the doors, in all the corners, but he was nowhere to be found. I started to get worried. I even went outside to look, although he hasn’t been out on his own since the day a big wind flew him into the blackscary brambles. I went back inside and was just about to start making lost posters to hand out around the neighborhood when I heard thump scratch - thump scratch - thump scratch. I looked up and there was Dustin, covered in glitter, double stick tape and beads. He had taken a nap in my craft box, and the end from a roll of necklace wire had wrapped around his foot while the spool had gotten stuck in the box. I would have taken a picture with my iCoffin, but he just looked so pitiful. It took me two hours to get him all cleaned up. I’ll have to save dryer lint for a week to patch all the bare places.

The Fifteenth of October

I went to Howleen’s house for a sleep over. It was cool getting to know her family. I mean I’d seen Clawd and Clawdeen around school, but this was the first time I really officially met them. I wish now I hadn’t waited so long because I feel like I missed out on some good times being so shy. I also got to meet another one of Howleen’s sisters. Her name is Clawdia and she’s going to college in Londoom. She actually wasn’t “there” so we talked to her online with video chat. She is studying to be a writer. She’s really funny and she had everybody in the house cracking up about what it’s like living in Londoom. Clawdeen left and went to fang out with Draculara and Frankie at Frankie’s house, so Howleen and I stayed up late talking. We’ve got like tons in common, we like the same TV shows, the same music - Catty Noir ‘natch, the same kind of styles and we even think the same boys are cute. The one thing that we don’t see eye to eye on is the need to be popular. I don’t care if I am and Howleen feels like is she isn’t she’ll disappear in the shadows of her older siblings. I told her that living in the shadows wasn’t all that bad, but she was totally focused on being in the spotlight. Eventually though she got out of her funk, and we spent the rest of the night watching movies. We had a scary cool time, and I can’t remember when I have ever laughed so hard. When Howleen fell asleep I snuck out and grabbed a late nightmare snack. I got back before morning and woke up to the smell of banana scary pancakes and bacon coming from the Wolf’s kitchen. So much fun and so happy to have a friend! Maybe I’ll try and spend a little more time out of the shadows from now on...maybe.

The Twenty-fifth of October

Most monsters stay away from normies as much as they can, my family not so much. We have what my dad calls a “symbiotic relationship” with normies, only they don’t know it. They think the Boogeyman hangs out under beds and in their closets to scare them, but that’s not it at all. We are “dream eaters” -- well, nightmare eaters, actually. We hide in the shadows and watch for them; then when we see one we pounce! It’s why our eyes glow in the dark so we can see the dreams. Of course we can’t see what’s in the dreams, we recognize them by color. Yellow for happiness, red for action, blue for flying, green for fantasy and lots of in between colors and shades that mix different kind of dreams together. Nightmares are the color of storm clouds, all grey-black and menacing. I only wish my dreams could be pounced on, too, but it doesn’t work that way for us. I dreamed a dream last night that I was on a frightly lit stage in front of the whole school. I was supposed to give a speech and I forgot the topic, so I just stood there looking for a shadow to hide, but there weren’t any. Then every monster started laughing at me. I turned to run and tripped off the stage, which was suddenly at the top of a very tall tower and I was falling an falling and falling. Then I was back on the stage again, and every monster in the audience was giving me a standing ovation. I looked behind me, and there were a panel of judges holding up scorecards.

9.5 9.5 10.0 9.5 4.0

So I started arguing with the judge who gave me the 4.0 and she told me that I flapped my arms too much as I was falling. Then I woke up. I told my dad about it, and he said it was probably just something I ate. Dads are so weird.

The Twenty-eighth of October

Howleen is not enjoying her popularity as much as she thought she would, and there are shadows in places where they should not be. I am worried, and no monster seems to be listening to me. I must find a monster that will.

#monster high #monster high diary #twyla #13 wishes

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ordinaryschmuck · 4 years

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What I thought about “Young Blood, Old Souls” from The Owl House

Salutations random people of the internet who probably won't read this. I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons. Today, I am reviewing the season one finale of The Owl House. And by the way, there are zero dislikes that I have for this episode. Any issues I could have are either petty nitpicks, or just not worth talking about. So, for the first time ever, I'm going to share my thoughts unfiltered. No likes. No dislikes. Just my thoughts on why I think this episode turned out as great as it did. And in case you couldn't guess, there are going to be enormous spoilers for the finale itself, and The Owl House in general. So consider this your last warning as we dive in!

The opening narration: I'm a sucker for fairytale esque opening narrations in stories, and that's the feeling I got when watching this scene. Sure, you could say that it's an exposition dump that tells us stuff we already know, but I don't see it that way. I see it as a technique to set the mood of the episode, while also reminding us how much of a threat the Belos can be.

And again, let's ask ourselves: How much is accurate in this small history lesson, and which parts are made up by Belos? Because who's to say that he isn't the one who wrote the book that King is reading?

No intro: This. Was a shock.

Usually shows shorten the intro to it’s first and last portions, or at the very least, flash the opening logo. Never, to my knowledge, has a series straight-up drop both the intro and the logo. To me, that is a good sign of a great episode. Because no intro tells me that the writers had so much to put in, that they didn't want to waste a single second to even flash a logo.

Not that many jokes: The jokes were another appreciated, albeit well missed, absence within the episode. Because this is the season finale. An event that, depending on what show you make, needs to be taken seriously. And while I say that The Owl House is a comedy show with drama on the side, that doesn't mean it shouldn't focus on the drama if an episode calls for it. And an adventure where Luz has to save her mentor from an emperor who turns people to stone? Yeah. That's an experience where drama has to take center stage for the time being.

Luz is serious and angry: Don't get me wrong. I love Luz for her endless optimism and her ability to find fun in whatever situation she's in. But this is not the type of episode that requires that personality. If anything, I was happier to see Luz act more seriously rather than stick to her quirky personality. Because this proves that Luz isn't some oblivious goofball who can't see the darkness in the world. It shows that she understands when to be serious if the situation calls for it. This also reveals that not only can Luz get angry, but she can get downright vengeful. Her desire to make Lilith pay is not only understandable, but it's absolutely justified. Say what you want about her now, but what Lilith did to Luz in the last episode was awful. So I can't really blame her for getting angry at the mere sight of Lilith.

Now, if Luz were to remain with this angsty personality, then I would be less than ecstatic. But it seems pretty clear to me that angry Luz is a situation-dependent side of her personality that will only come out in the more dramatic episodes. This is evident with the fact that Luz's optimism returns after Eda comes back safe and sound. So while I came to enjoy angry Luz, I'm still going to prefer happy Luz any day.

Owl Beast Eda sticks her tongue out: I love the idea that this was a part of the real Eda shining through, just because the thought of Eda fighting a curse to get under Lilith's skin is just funny to me. And Lilith sticking her tongue out too was just icing on the cake.

Belos’ is still terrifying: That's it. That's all I have to say. We get even more of a glimpse of Belos' power, and it just cements how he's the most terrifying villain that Disney has made in years. Because I saw his fight with Luz (more on that later) as Belos holding back. Which makes me wonder: WHAT THE F**K IS IT GOING TO LOOK LIKE WHEN HE'S ALLOWED TO LET LOOSE?!

And if I'm being honest with you guys, I'm a little scared to find out the answer to that question.

Eda is partially the Owl Beast: This was a cheat, but an effective one. It gives Eda a chance to have actual speaking roles, while also nerfing her, so she doesn't escape. Would it have been more tragic if Eda spent the entire episode as an unintelligent monster? Maybe. But it also means Eda couldn't give Luz the portal (the most important thing in the finale) and not get to say goodbye to Luz (the most gut-wrenching scene in the finale). Say what you want about Eda being partially cursed, but I think it was a smart decision.

We meet Gus’ dad!: This might not seem like a big deal, but I certainly enjoyed it. Hell, I always appreciate it when I get to know more about the lives of characters in my favorite media. And finding out that Gus' dad is a news reporter? That's a nice reveal, even if it's not the most important thing to happen in the show.

Petrification: Sooooo, this is basically the death penalty. Let that sink in for a second. Because the world of this show, that's aimed for children, actually has a death penalty. Sure, the writers don't actually use the d-word. But turning people into stone with no way to turn them back? They might as well be dead at that point. And I actually like that The Owl House is allowed to go this dark. It raises the stakes much higher than any episode once we find out that Eda could die if Luz fails. And that's a thought I'm sure no one appreciates. Especially Luz.

Luz and King stepping on the grass: Hey, there may not be that many jokes in this episode, but that doesn't mean it isn't allowed to be hilarious. And, yeah, this got a huge laugh out of me. Both from how King and Luz look as they commit their "crime," and because of the guard's over-the-top reaction to it. It gets me everytime.

Warden Wrath’s high-pitched scream: Not much to say here other than I just thought it was funny. Because what also gets to me is when a "big scary character" does something pathetic like what Wrath did. And if you didn't hear his scream, go back to play this scene again. It's well worth it.

“Draw me a map!”: I don't know why I love this line so much. Maybe it's because Sarah-Nicole Robles' delivery made me laugh, or because it preemptively shuts up nitpickers who would ask how Luz knew where the detention center is. Either way, this was a great line.

Willow and Gus help...sort of: In the grand scheme of things, Willow and Gus didn't really do that much when helping Luz and Eda. Sure they got a crowd to chant about letting Eda go, but that effort didn't do anything to stop the petrification. Even that brief moment of standing up to the Emperor came to an end the second he showed up. Which means that it's an issue that Willow and Gus didn’t really help Luz, right?

That would true if it wasn't for the fact that Willow and Gus didn't immediately jump at the idea of backing Luz up if she needs them. That makes these two the perfect best friends that Luz could ask for, solely on that loyalty alone. Would it have been better to see them fight alongside Luz? Maybe, but I doubt Luz would actually want her friends risking everything for her vendetta. Besides, I doubt Willow and Gus would really be that much help compared to how quickly Lilith dismissed both of them in the last episode. So while they get a C for contribution and efficiency, they get an A+ for loyalty in my book.

Eda’s goodbye to Luz: Oh, man. And I thought Eda's goodbye in "Agony of a Witch" was painful. This? This actually got me misty-eyed. And I think the reason why it's more heartbreaking this time around is that Eda is fully showing her emotions in this scene. In my "Agony of a Witch" review, I said that Eda was trying to hide how dire the situation from Luz by smiling and playing the thing off as no big deal. She fails because her eyes and her voice cracks give away all of her feelings, but she still tried nonetheless. This time, however, Eda makes it clear how serious the situation is with both her expressions and tone of voice. Probably because the last time she tried to be gentle with Luz, her apprentice threw herself into the lion's den. So as a result, it comes off as more heartbreaking, given the fact that Eda makes it clear how serious their predicament is. And the fact that she not only says a real goodbye to Luz but practically pushes her away?! Add that with the fact that they share "I love you's" to each other, and you got a scene that just tears at the heartstrings.

Luz crying again: NnnnnnnOPE!!!

I already said that the single image of Luz crying was enough to break me. So seeing her just break down and sob her eyes out is more than enough to hurt the soul, man!

IT HURTS DA SOUL!

“Talk to the glyph, WITCH!”: You know for a FACT that if Luz was allowed to swear, she would use a very similar sounding word to describe Lilith. And I love that implication!

Luz can’t do magic in the human realm: Woah boy! It was one thing when we all predicted it. But to now have visual confirmation that Luz cannot, in fact, do magic in the human realm? Let's just say that adds a whole new level of heartbreak for when Luz has to go home. As well as an overflowing amount of angsty fanfics that plays with that idea.

Lilith’s backstory: ...

*DEEP INHALE*

I will hold off Fredrick Ulisinsburg for now. For. NOW. Because while Lilith's actions are nowhere near justified...it is clear that she does regret her actions. Lilith said it herself. She thought the curse would last for at least a day, and in no way intended for it to be permanent. It's still crappy of her to willingly curse Eda at all, but at least she didn't want her sister to live a life of torture. Plus, there's a sense of tragedy given the fact that Eda wasn't going to fight Lilith anyway. Lilith underestimating how much Eda truly cares must have made the guilt set in even more. And I hope that the show explores that in season two. Because while I think Lilith is on the right track towards redemption, what she did was awful, and I want her to actually earn her forgiveness. Not just hand it out because of a few acts of kindness (more on that later).

(Also bonus points for that foreshadowing with the sharing-the-pain spell. I did not think it would come up again in the way that it did.)

Baby Eda: Must. Protect. Baby. Eda.

Amity’s parents(?): It's yet to be officially confirmed (to my knowledge) that those students in the bleachers are Amity's parents. But if they are, then it's awesome that The Owl House crew snuck this reveal in the finale. They didn't need to do that, but the fact that they did just make schmucks like me happy.

Luz briefly looking out into the forest: So much is said about Luz with just these few short seconds. The fact that she hesitates going back to the Isles tells me that she's wondering if she should. Because right now, Luz has an out. She could say goodbye to her problems and run home to mami, especially given the fact that that's what Eda wants her to do. Except Luz would never do that. Because Luz has proven time and time again that she will not back down when it comes to helping the people she loves. Eda, Willow, Amity. These are all characters that Luz would do anything and everything for if it meant they would be safe. But that doesn't mean she won't briefly get tempted to escape. So while this moment of hesitation shows that Luz can have times of selfishness, her almost immediately running back proves that she will always choose the path of selflessness.

Lilith willing to be a double agent: This was the first sign of Lilith working her way towards redemption. Her willingness to still work for the Emperor's Coven, and to change it from the inside, is pretty admirable. It's almost a shame that she gets caught almost immediately. Because I would have loved to have seen Lilith's attempts to work against the Emperor to protect Luz and Eda from getting arrested. Not only for character growth reasons but because it would actually strengthen her redemption by having Lilith willingly risk everything for the right people.

Luz vs Emperor Belos: I could have never expected this. At least, not so soon. I always assumed Luz would fight Belos at some point, most likely in the series finale. Never would I have expected this confrontation to happen in the first season. And man, oh, man, what a fight! I'm sure some people are gonna complain how easy it was for Luz to fight back, but to those people: I have a few things to point out.

First off, Belos' line of, "I'll play," tells me that he's going easy on Luz. Nothing he does really looks like it would hurt Luz too badly-at least by his standard. And to me, it seems like Belos is treating the fight in a similar way a teenager lets a toddler "challenge" them. Because when you compare Luz's frantic movements to Belos' calm and calculated ones, it is clear who's the better fighter in this battle.

Second, Luz doesn't do that much. Sure she chips his mask with an ice spell. But that's the equivalent of how Iron Man's finishing move on Thanos only resulted in "a drop of blood." Every other glyph Luz uses during this fight was to protect herself rather than fighting back. And the fact that she barely got a chance to fight back, when the Emperor was going easy on her? Let's just say that it makes me even more terrified for Luz's safety when round two inevitably happens.

Lastly, Luz is someone who has what I like to call: Percy-Jackson-Syndrome. A character who's a bumbling idiot seventy-five percent of the time, a surprisingly good strategist for fifteen percent, and terrifying when angry in the last ten. And Luz has shown in the past that she has a sense of quick wit and strategy when fighting powerful foes. Her plan to beat Willow's inner-self, as well as Luz's plan of escape from Otabin, are two examples that come to mind that prove this. So it's not too much of a stretch that Luz is still alive after fighting Belos, because the one time she got the upper hand was by outsmarting him.

So again, good fight, and I'm terrified for round two.

Luz destroys the portal: This was a heroic sacrifice I didn't see coming, even though I really should have. If you've been paying attention to the episode titles, you'll notice that the first letter of each title spells out the phrase, "A witch loses a true way." A lot of people have been speculating what this phrase could mean. Even I dipped my toe in theorizing the right answer. It turns out the people who thought Luz would lose a "true way" back home were correct. But I don't think anybody could have thought that it would be Luz who would take away her only way back home. Not only is Luz being the one to destroy the portal tragic, but this sacrifice shows how much Luz cares about Eda. Luz is willing to say goodbye to everything she knows, for who knows how long, just so Eda can be safe. Plus, it's another moment of Luz defeating her enemy by outsmarting him. Which teaches kids that you don't need to fight harder. You just need to fight smarter.

Lilith shares the curse: This is another sign that Lilith is on the right path. While I still wouldn't say that I forgive Lilith, I will say this sacrifice makes me want to at least consider it.

Belos is fixing the portal: You want to know what makes a villain even more terrifying? The fact that every victory our hero has is more of a minor inconvenience towards the villain. Which is what this scene is. Because while Luz definitely won the battle, it looks Belos is planning on winning the war.

Eda looks different in the outro: I like this. You know why? Because it tells me that Eda being half cursed is not going to be fixed any time soon. Case in point: Willow was wearing her Abomination Track uniform during the intro and the credits, so as not to spoil the ending of episode three. For every episode after, Willow remained in her Plant Track uniform, and it looks like that's not going to change. So the fact that the crew is committing to Eda's design change, to the point where they change the credits as well, shows a great attention to detail. That also hints at a dynamic shift that will remain for the foreseeable future.

The finale makes me want more: To me, the best finales are the ones that resolve most stories but still opens up more for the next season. Because every narrative and conflict season one opened up has been closed. Lilith wanting to arrest Eda? Closed. Who cursed Eda? Closed. Amity's redemption? Please. That got closed, like, three episodes ago. And yet, this finale left me with more questions that I can't wait to get answered in season two.

How will the dynamic change now that Lilith is added into the main crew? What's the day of unity? Why does Emperor Belos want the portal to the human world? Who's that hooded figure that Belos sends to spy on the Owl House? How is being half-cursed going to affect Eda and Lilith? Can Eda still turn into the Owl Beast? Is Lilith going to turn into an Owl Beast now? Are we going to have an episode where Luz and King are going to deal with TWO Owl Beasts? And most importantly: WHEN THE HOLY F**K ARE LUZ AND AMITY GOING TO KISS ALREADY?!?! DO I SERIOUSLY HAVE TO WAIT DURING ANOTHER SEASON-which I'm totally fine with-TO SEE THESE TWO IDIOTS GET TOGETHER?!

I doubt I’ll ever know the answer to all of these questions, but it sure makes me more excited to see what happens next.

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So, yeah. "Young Blood, Old Souls" is a definite A+ of an episode. It had excellent drama, astonishing character moments, some closure to several stories, and even a few well-timed jokes on occasion. However, I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's the best episode of the season. It's definitely in the top five, for sure, but not the best. I'm more than willing to give that title to "Enchanted Grom Fright" just for the importance of it alone. Hell, I'd say that I enjoyed "Agony of a Witch" a lot more than "Young Blood, Old Souls." But, I'm willing to blame that on the same reason why Avengers: Infinity War is seen as the better movie than Avengers: Endgame. Whereas the first part did a great job at lifting up the stakes and tension, that part two pales in comparison from doing its job of giving closure. But that doesn't change the fact that "Young Blood, Old Souls" is a damn-near perfect episode that both hurts and heals the soul.

(And that’s it! It’s going to be another few months ‘til season two hits, and in turn, months until I’ll have to review episodes again...Unless I want to do something crazy like review the episodes I didn’t talk about. But that’ll never happen!)

(...)

(...Alright fine. I’ll review them. But not until The Owl House comes onto Disney+!)

#the owl house #the owl house review #what i thought about

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tyrannysaurusfloof · 4 years

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Bitter Taste | Shyan

Pairing: Shane/Ryan Tags: First Kiss, Developing Relationship, Fluff. Word Count: 2324 Series: Barren Landscapes - Odd stories of Shane and Ryan on road trips. Summary: It had been an odd summer. Filming Unsolved was always odd. Be it constant travelling for Supernatural, or depressing and gritty details for True Crime, Shane had found both seasons leaving an odd and unappealing taste in his mouth after filming. He had said nothing to Ryan because he still truly enjoyed their work together, and enjoyed spending time with Ryan, but things felt different. Off kilter almost, like there was a tension beneath the surface that needed to be spoken about and yet hadn’t been identified. As Shane’s hands began to change to a dusty black from prodding about in the engine, he decided to think about Ryan instead. Those thoughts always brought him happiness, a quiet comfort in the lackluster process that his brain had become. Things were sluggish around him, unless it was about Ryan. A/N: Listening to Jet Pack Blues by FOB and sitting in a hot car with the window rolled down made me think of these boys on a road trip and it spiralled into this. It’s the beginning of a series of the boys on a road trip to somewhere I think.

-- Read on AO3 --

“Pull over.”

Ryan spoke the command in a relatively calm voice considering the situation they were in. They were driving down a thin barren road, barely big enough for one car, in the middle of nowhere, and several warnings, including the ‘check engine’ light, were flashing on the dashboard and their rented car was not doing so well. It made a grinding noise as they moved and Shane felt the steering heavy under his hands as he maneuvered the vehicle onto a rocky patch off the side of the road, the passenger’s side brushing against the pussy willows and weeds of the fields around them. He honestly couldn’t recall where they were going to, which episode of Unsolved they were travelling to film, or why they had taken a car for themselves instead of going with the crew, and it didn’t matter right now.

All that mattered right now was fixing the car.

Or hoping that one of them had cell service to call for assistance.

It was hotter in the car than the temperature outside, Shane noted as he climbed from the vehicle, not bothering to check the road before he did. They had not seen another car in around three hours, and considering the landscape was simply barren, cracked earth spotted with grass, weeds, pussy willows and tree stumps, Shane didn’t expect them to see any cars or other people for another couple at least.

He moved to the boot of the car and shimmied their bags aside to find the tool kit that he had thrown in. Shane didn’t pretend to have a mastery of mechanics, but there was always a niggling part of him that said he should be prepared for long journeys in the wilderness, probably instilled from trips with his dad. Or his boy scout days. And so there was a tool kit for basic mechanics in the boot, hidden by Shane’s bags, and he grabbed it now to check under the hood, pausing only to pop it open with a lever inside the car and grab the manual itself for the vehicle.

Ryan was staring out into the wilderness when Shane rounded the front of the car. He had an eye for aesthetics and places that would make beautiful pictures, and true to form his phone was in his hands, tilted landscape but the camera wasn’t open. No, instead Ryan seemed lost in thought, so Shane left him to it, finding he easily lost himself in his thoughts too as he propped up the hood of the car and looked inside.

It had been an odd summer.

Filming Unsolved was always odd. Be it constant travelling for Supernatural, or depressing and gritty details for True Crime, Shane had found both seasons leaving an odd and unappealing taste in his mouth after filming. He had said nothing to Ryan because he still truly enjoyed their work together, and enjoyed spending time with Ryan, but things felt different. Off kilter almost, like there was a tension beneath the surface that needed to be spoken about and yet hadn’t been identified.

As Shane’s hands began to change to a dusty black from prodding about in the engine, he decided to think about Ryan instead. Those thoughts always brought him happiness, a quiet comfort in the lackluster process that his brain had become. Things were sluggish around him, unless it was about Ryan. Honestly, Shane was no fool to what they meant, to what these thoughts meant in terms of his heart, but he had yet to speak that realisation aloud. And he probably never would. The friendship he shared with Ryan was too important to mess it up with complicated feelings, and there was always the anxious part of his brain that told him it was better to have the close friendship they had now rather than the awkward one that would develop if Ryan rejected him.

Shane always thought in ifs. It wasn’t a case of “when” Ryan rejected him, because Shane wasn’t sure if the man would. They shared such intimate moments that Shane could believe that Ryan would reciprocate those feelings, but it changed nothing.

Bugs chirped around them as Shane wiped his forehead and pulled back from being bent over the engine.

“I didn’t know you were so good with cars.”

Ryan’s voice came out of nowhere and it actually succeeded in making Shane jump, resulting in him banging his head hard on the raised hood of the car.

“Holy shi-, are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

They stared at each other for a moment before they both started laughing, the sound drowning out the bugs and slight breeze and echoing around them.

“So, care to share where you got so good with cars?” Ryan asked and Shane smiled, his eyes creasing as he did.

Ryan liked it when Shane smiled like that.

“I’m not that great,” Shane replied honestly, “But I think I can get us at least to civilisation before we die.”

“Can’t say it wouldn’t be nice to haunt this place.” Ryan joked, “It’s beautiful.”

“It is.”

They both fell silent, Ryan crossing the road to take more pictures and Shane bending back into the car again. He couldn’t really tell what was wrong, but he fiddled and he hummed to himself, and twenty minutes later when he turned the ignition, the car came on with only one warning light. It was the ‘check engine’ light, but it was better than before.

Shane climbed back out to call to Ryan and found he couldn’t see him. In any other place he might not have been that concerned, but this place had nowhere to hide, even for the little guy, and there was no denying the thrill of fear that shot down Shane’s spine.

“Ryan?!” He called, voice steady, “Did you fall asleep in the grass?”

Silence greeted him.

Slamming the hood of the car down, switching it off and grabbing his backpack from the boot, Shane locked the car and began to follow the crushed grass and bent fronds that showed where Ryan had walked. Internally he was cursing Ryan for wandering off. It was bad enough the car had all but broken down in the middle of nowhere, but they really didn’t need to be dealing with a potential injury, or even Ryan disappearing for a few hours.

It was getting dark already.

“Ryan!”

He kept calling Ryan’s name, hoping the desperation stayed out of it as he turned and saw the car was a speck in the distance.

How had he walked so far?

Why had he walked so far?

It didn’t make sense, Shane didn’t see any shots out here that would be aesthetically pleasing than those near the car, but he also didn’t have Ryan’s eyes or vision for things like this.

Damn, it was getting dark fast.

“Ryan! Answer me!” He called out, not caring this time if the desperation crept into his tone, and though he expected silence, his heart hammered when he heard a faint response.

“Shane!”

The echo of Ryan’s voice sounded like it was coming from below him, which was odd. Scanning the ground, Shane spotted Ryan’s phone almost immediately, scooping it up and noticing the screen was a little scratched. Looking a little further on, Shane finally saw where Ryan most likely had gone - a hole in the cracked earth.

Sure enough, when he looked down into the darkness, using his phone as a torch, Ryan’s terrified eyes shone back.

This would have been an amusing bit had they been filming Unsolved. Shane would make jokes about Ryan being down a hole, most likely distracting him as the crew fashioned a way to get him out. If it was a ghost infested place, Shane would have definitely been singing to Ryan to keep him calm, probably Mama Mia like he always did, and maybe that was what Ryan was expecting right now as he stared up at Shane from the bottom of a hole, but this wasn’t a bit. They weren’t filming Unsolved and they didn’t have a crew behind them. It was just Ryan and Shane and fading light and the heat was still high and who knew what animals would be out here when the sun fully went down.

Everyone said Shane didn’t scare easily, and that was true. But right now, he was scared.

“Are you okay?” He called down, testing the ground around the top of the hole to make sure he wouldn’t go in after Ryan. “D’you hurt anything?”

“My ankle a bit, and my wrist.” Ryan replied, voice still echoey. “But I don’t think it’s bad. Can you reach to get me out?”

“Maybe.”

No matter what, Shane had to get Ryan up and out of the hole. Leaving him was not an option because he knew he probably wouldn’t find him again, not in this landscape with this panic running through his head. Ryan seemed to be able to tell Shane was scared, because his own expression changed from the familiar scared one, to a familiar smile.

“You got this Shane, you’re eighty percent leg so you’ve got a lot of you to dangle in.”

The words made Shane laugh and he felt better, but something else was pressing against his tongue. He had just been telling himself he didn’t want to ruin this friendship, and yet now he was in this situation, Shane felt he needed to say something. The odd tension between them, the bitter taste on Shane’s tongue when they filmed, the ache he was left with when they went home for the day, or they worked on different things and didn’t spend as much time together, he needed to tell Ryan what that was.

What it all was.

They would be forever changed when Shane got Ryan free, but he was willing to take that risk.

“I have to tell you something.” Shane began as he lay on the ground and reached into the hole, as bent as he dared be to make sure he had enough strength to pull them both up.

“Can it wait?” Ryan asked, clambouring to his feet with a hiss of pain and reaching for Shane’s. Their fingertips were a hair's breadth from brushing against each other and Ryan cursed. “I wanna get out of here.”

“I can speak and help.”

Shane sat up and stripped off the jacket and backpack he was wearing, already formulating an idea. He tied the sleeve of the jacket to the backpack handle, and held the other, before lowering it into the hole.

“Ryan-.”

“Look Shane...I know. I know what you’re going to say.” Ryan interrupted, grabbing the bag and testing it. “I know you need to say it but...but I don’t know if now is the time!”

“You’re probably right.” Shane laughed mirthlessly, “Yeah, it probably isn’t.” He felt Ryan’s weight on the bag and began to pull, straining with all he had to lift Ryan up and out of the hole.

“But-.”

“You need to get it out.” Ryan completed, “Despite being afraid it’ll ruin things?”

“How do you know?” Shane grunted, feeling a small sense of relief as he saw the top of the backpack appear. “How?”

“Because I-.”

Ryan’s words were interrupted by a small tearing sound and Shane moving fast. His jacket sleeve was ripping, not strong enough to hold Ryan’s weight hanging freely as he was and Shane needed to do something. He reached blindly into the hole and managed to grab the backpack, Ryan shouting out a line of expletives as the jacket fully tore and fell down into the dusty darkness. The hold Shane had on the bag was cutting off circulation in his fingers, he was pretty sure he had cut himself in his desperation, but he still had hold of Ryan, and with his remaining strength coupled with adrenaline, he hauled Ryan up so he could grab the side of the hole and help get onto solid ground.

They lay there side by side panting for a while, listening to the bugs and the howls and the breeze of nature around them, fingers brushing, chests heaving.

“You don’t...have to say it.” Ryan wheezed after what felt like an eternity lay in breathy silence.

“It’ll ruin everything.” Shane muttered, “But I have to.”

“Won’t ruin anything.” Ryan said, sitting up and examining his ankle with another hiss of pain. “Shane...I know how it feels. I wanna tell you stuff too but I’m also afraid of how things will change. So...why say anything?”

Ryan’s lips were chapped as they pressed against Shane’s, and for a moment Shane forgot how to both breath and kiss. He could feel Ryan’s chest vibrate with laughter before he was kissing back, hand finding Ryan’s where it rested on the ground and curling his fingers around it. Ryan was trembling, from excitement or fear or cold Shane couldn’t tell because he was trembling too.

“Change isn’t always bad.” Ryan whispered as they broke apart, gasping again in the cool air, “It’s also really good.”

Shane nodded, heart thumping. “We should...go back to the car.”

“You’ll have to help me.”

His arm slid easily under Ryan’s shoulders despite their heat difference, and as they hobbled back to the car, Shane found himself thinking of the beginning of their day. When the car had broken down he had been unsure, tense, and happy to sit on his secret for as long as necessary to keep this relationship at its peak. And even in the part of his mind where he had imagined Ryan would like him back, he had never anticipated or entertained the actuality of it.

But when Ryan kissed him again as Shane lent him against the door to open it for him, he wished he had said something sooner and taken that leap to clear the tension, because that bitter taste was gone.

Notes:

#shyan #buzzfeed unclean #skeptic believer #sh*ne madej #ry*n bergara #floofy fic #series #sorry if the read more doesn't show on mobile #tumblr be weird like that

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ranma-rewatch · 4 years

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Episode 5-Love Me to the Bone! The Compound Fracture of Akane's Heart

Hey there, hope you’re doing well, whenever/wherever you’re reading this. We’re on the fifth episode of the Ranma Rewatch, and I just realized that you can pretty clearly delineate the last three episodes into one arc, all about introducing Kuno. This episode and the next few, judging by the title, look like they’ll be focusing on Dr. Tofu and Akane’s crush on him. I...really cannot recall a lot about these episodes, so it’ll be interesting to look at them with a fresh perspective. See you all again in a second, once I’ve finished watching the episode!

Wow, uh...I am finding my memories of this show are definitely blurred in ways I hadn’t expected. Or rather, when I saw it as a younger person, I didn’t notice the same things I’m noticing now.

The episode starts with Ranma brooding over how often Akane gets angry and violent at him, which ties into Akane training in the dojo with her dad. For a second, she remembers Ranma’s rude comments from the day before, and the anger makes her hit her dad so hard he’s left pretty hurt. Kasumi, the eldest of the Tendo siblings, tends to his injury, but pleads with Akane to reign in her violent tendencies, even if the exact specifics of that promise change from the Sub to the Dub.

Later, Kasumi sends Akane out to get meat for dinner, at the same time Ranma is brooding in the same area. They run into each other, and Ranma provokes Akane so much that, even after trying to restrain herself to Kasumi’s promise, she gives up and clobbers Ranma so badly she has to take him to a doctor. Specifically, Doctor Tofu.

This is actually the good doctor’s first time seeing Ranma as his uncursed form, so they’re formally introduced. Tofu reasons out that Akane is responsible for the extensive damages, looking serious...only to happily point out that the injuries make that clear, since the way she fights is so distinctive. To Ranma’s surprise, Akane is in a hurry to leave once Ranma is okay, and before they go Tofu tries to tell Ranma that Akane’s actually a pretty nice person, which Ranma is skeptical of.

Seemingly to prove his point, Tofu hit a pressure point on Ranma’s back just before they left, so that halfway home his legs would go out. Despite the fact they’d just been arguing, Akane immediately offers to carry Ranma home, something he only accepts after being splashed with water, thanks to his pride as a man. It’s there, being carried piggyback style, that he considers whether Tofu may have been right after all, but just isn’t sure.

This whole time, their dads have been trying to think of some way to make them get along, since things are only getting worse between them, but it seems they don’t have any ideas. At breakfast the next day, Kasumi asks Akane if she can take a book she’d been borrowing from Dr. Tofu back to him, only for Akane to refuse. When Ranma questions why she’d do that, about to spill the beans on her crush, Akane hurries to school with Ranma in toe, not even noticing that Ranma gets splashed as they sprint down the street.

Once there, she realizes the curse has activated as she starts chastising Ranma for what he did, namely by opening up Ranma’s shirt...revealing his breasts in front of all the guys who usually fight Akane. Not that they seem to notice. They’re not about to fight Akane anymore, telling her that they’ve decided to honor her engagement to Ranma, since he beat Kuno, their best fighter and biggest pervert.

Not that Kuno himself is going to honor that agreement, even if he’s still covered in bandages from all the hits Ranma got on him, and can barely seem to stand. But when he notices Ranma there in his cursed form, he goes from toting the virtues of Akane to his red-headed love in seconds. Ranma is annoyed, and that only gets worse when Akane pretends to support the two getting together, in the hopes that maybe that would maybe get Kuno to leave her alone. For a few seconds, Kuno is struck with indecision...only to once again reiterate that he’s in love with both of them.

During gym, a few guys in Ranma’s class hassle him over his luck in being engaged to Akane, and needle him over whether they’ve ‘done anything’ yet. Just when he’s about to mention that Akane already loves someone else, she hits a softball right in his face, though it’s unclear whether this was on purpose or not.

This means another trip to Tofu’s clinic, though this time they run into his newly hired assistant: Ranma’s dad in his panda form. Tofu laughs to hear that this panda is apparently Ranma’s dad, but it’s unclear if he actually believes that or not. Ranma is getting more and more curious about why it seems like Akane is trying to avoid the person he knows she likes, when the phone rings. Akane answers and talks to that person, before finally telling Ranma that Dr. Tofu already has someone he’s in love with, and that woman is one the way to the clinic, that’s who Akane had talked to on the phone. After a fake out, it’s made clear from how the scene cuts to her that the woman Akane’s talking about is Kasumi.

There are a few things this episode has really brought to mind for me. To start with what I alluded to earlier: when I have thought about Ranma 1/2, for the longest time, I’ve thought of it as a very episodic storyline. Throughout it’s very, very long run, I mostly remembered it being unrelated little stories, aside from the small arcs that populated the various seasons, cropping up from time to time. I do remember enough specific episodes to come that I do know there are one-off episodes later on.

But as I look at the five episodes I’ve covered so far, I’m kind of staggered by the continuity. Each episode flows seamlessly from the last, even as we’ve kind of moved on from an arc about Kuno to one about Akane and Dr. Tofu. Now, whether this is something the show will outgrow with time, as it drifts farther and farther from the manga, isn’t really something I know for sure, so it’s a thing I’ll have to keep an eye on.

So much of this episode is devoted to Ranma and others thinking about his relationship to Akane. He’s clearly very skeptical about any idea that they might work out as a couple, already seeing the rough ways they tend to hit each other where it hurts when they bicker. Still, there are other moments where he can clearly see her better traits, such as when she immediately moves to help him when his legs fail him.

In that same vein, I was very much befuddled at first when Akane just opened Ranma’s shirt to check he really was in his more feminine body. Like, that just seemed out of character for her, but then I realized a better way to read that. Akane has no problems doing something like that because she considers Ranma a guy, for better or worse, regardless of what he looks like at the time. Unlike so many characters, who tend to treat Ranma differently depending on if he’s in his cursed form or not, Akane always sees him as Ranma. Here, that made things awkward, but on the whole it’s kind of a big plus from her. She validates Ranma for who he really is, in that way.

Oh, back when I was recapping things, I mentioned a couple of guys hanging out with Ranma at school. Well, fun fact, those are Hiroshi and Daisuke, and I think this is their first appearance in the anime. They become Ranma’s default two friends at school, and later on Akane will get her own similar pair of friends to match. If you’re not paying attention, they might seem like extras, but Hiroshi and Daisuke actually have consistent designs and personalities, which I find pretty neat.

This week, for the character spotlight, I thought I should round out the Tendo siblings with the oldest, Kasumi. After all, she’s getting more attention in the plot right now, and there really aren’t a lot of characters worth focusing on introduced yet.

Now, as best as I can tell, her voice actresses in the original Japanese and the English dub are doing the same kind of thing. Namely, a very sweet, if restrained, kind of performance. In English, she was played by Willow Johnson, another fairly minor Canadian voice actress who doesn’t seem to have done a lot of work recently, though she is also Kikyo from the Inuyasha dub. In a strange coincidence, she also played Lalah Sune in Mobile Suit Gundam, which I’m going through for the first time right now, and her character literally was just introduced a few episodes ago, so that’s cool. Her Japanese voice actress seems to be more well known and well regarded, Kikuko Inoue. She’s done a ton of roles, including more recent work. She’s even worked for Japanese dubs of American series, such as playing Blue Diamond from Steven Universe. And, like I said last week, she was a member of DoCo.

Of the three Tendo sisters, she’s definitely the one that’s gotten the least attention and development so far. Sadly, I’d say that’s also generally true throughout the entire series, as far as I can recall. Akane is one of the protagonists, after all, and Nabiki is a great source of conflict. In contrast, Kasumi is mostly...there.

That said, even if she isn’t the most well developed character, she’s at least clearly defined. It’s obvious already that she’s the one running the house, seemingly with more authority than even her father. She acts more like a mom than a sister most of the time, which from personal experience is definitely a thing that happens with oldest sisters sometimes, even without dead moms in the picture.

Kasumi cooks their meals, cleans their house, and just seems to be the one making sure everything gets done. She’s also very kind and accommodating, and comedically her strength is her nonplussed reactions to the madness going on around her. Kasumi is nearly always unphased by things like houseguests sparring in the yard. The exception did appear in this episode, however. When her father was injured, she did try to lay down the law on Akane, even bringing up their dead mom to try and make clear how serious this was.

That’s...really all there is I can say about Kasumi, at least so far. I can really only think of one really interesting thing they ever did with her character, and I’m sure other fans know exactly what I’m talking about.

Okay, so, what did I really think of this episode? On the whole, I’d say it was fairly strong. I appreciated seeing Ranma really thinking stuff over a little bit, and that scene with him and Akane at night was very cute. That said, I also do kind of find this Tofu plot a bit boring, since he as a character hasn’t really done a lot for me. So, in the end, I’d say this episode is middle of the pack.

Episode 2: School is No Place for Horsing Around

Episode 4: Ranma and...Ranma? If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another

Episode 5: Love Me to the Bone! The Compound Fracture of Akane's Heart

Episode 1: Here’s Ranma

Episode 3: A Sudden Storm of Love

But what will I think of the second (and only other) part to this small arc? We’ll see next week with the sixth episode, “Akane's Lost Love... These Things Happen, You Know”. Man...I really do love these kinds of episode titles. See you then!

#episode 5 #Love Me to the Bone! The Compound Fracture of Akane's Heart #ranma 1/2 #ranma saotome #akane tendo #kasumi tendo #doctor tofu #anime analysis #anime rewatch

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boldlyvoid · 3 years

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Amoreena | Chapter ten

chapter ten

main summary: Heaven is a real place and it's located exactly 14.6 miles away from the FBI, Quantico Headquarters. Off behind a small park, under a fantastical willow tree surrounded by wildflowers, in every colour young minds can imagine.

Don't forget, heaven also comes with angels.

Chapter Warnings: immense amounts of fluff, discussion of bad dreams death and past trauma at the end all related to canon

word count: 5.3K

from the beginning <3

Dreaming wasn’t something that came easily to Spencer. When he did dream they never made any sense, dark and twisting basements, endless staircases, treading a deep dark sea for hours as the waves swallowed him whole. Wind chimes that he couldn’t find wouldn’t stop twinkling as he aimlessly ran around a trailer park. It was never peaceful.

Then his mind found the park and couldn’t stop re-creating it, over and over again in his mind every single night when he closed his eyes.

He was in the middle of the most perfect dreamscape, his girls reading under the sun as Y/N’s head rested on his shoulder…

Then his phone started to ring, opening his eyes to the sun barely waking up as well. He answered the phone before Y/N could wake up beside him, “hello?”

“Spence, I’m so sorry to wake you,” JJ’s voice slipped into his mind and woke up right up, she wouldn’t call unless she needed to. “We have a really bad case, we have to leave like right now and the babysitter can’t take the boys and Henry is still too little to make sure Michael eats during the day and he’s still so little—“

“Hey it’s fine,” he cut her off as he sat up, waking Y/N in the process. “I’m only 12 minutes from Quantico, leave them with Anderson and I’ll be right over.”

“Thank you so much, Spence, oh and they need breakfast, I’ll leave some money with Henry, can you make sure they eat?”

“Absolutely, don’t worry, good luck and be safe,” he reminded her, feeling weird that he didn’t have to go as well.

“Thanks again Spence,” he could hear her smile before hanging up, leaving him to stretch and finally get out of the bed.

“Was that JJ?” Y/N asks, getting out of bed and putting on her housecoat to follow him to the bathroom.

“Yeah, the boys need someone to watch them if you don’t mind?”

“They’re family,” she reminded him with a sleepy smile.

“They need lunches for today, I can drive Amoreena to school with them too?” He’s splashing water on his face so he can wake up enough to drive safely to Quantico, wiping the water from his eyes as he hears Y/N laughing softly.

“It’s Saturday silly, and Monday is their last day anyway if they need to stay that long,” Y/N reminds him, “I’ll try and have breakfast ready when you get back.”

“Tomorrows the 14th, shit,” he remembers his calendar. “I have to take my mom to get her yearly scan and cognitive test done tomorrow morning, I won't be able to send her off on her last day.”

“That’s okay, as long as you’re there for the little graduation and the all about me display ceremony it’ll be fine, it starts at 1:30,” she didn’t mind him missing it but everything in him felt like the worst person ever if he did.

He never wanted to miss anything ever again.

“You’re sure that’s fine?”

She nodded again, wrapping her arms around him and looking up into his beautiful, tired eyes. “Family comes first, that means Diana was in the calendar longer so you go with her. Amoreena just wants to come home with you from school, for the next 10 years of school she’ll be coming home to you.”

“Why don’t we wake Amoreena and go get breakfast with the boys? I’d like to get to know my god kids too…” her voice cooing as she soothed his morning anxiety, blessing him with more time with her, he nodded.

“You go get the boys and come back and pick us up, I’m sure she’ll take a few minutes to contemplate feeding chickens or breakfast,” Y/N smiled, leaning in to kiss his cheek softly.

She pulled away but he pulled her right back in, pressing his lips right against hers again and again until they were both laughing, teeth bumping into each other in their early morning delirium. She finally pulled away from his grasp, rushing to the bedroom door so he couldn’t follow her.

“Go get the boys!”

He fake huffed, “fine!”

Slipping into his jeans and a sweater, placing her grandpa’s hat back on his head once more. He made sure he had his wallet and identification, the guards knew him it’s not like he wouldn’t be allowed into the building with a visitors pass.

And then he was out the door and driving down the road. Pulling into Quantico with a strange feeling in his gut, he didn’t realize how much he hated it here until he didn’t need to be there all the time. He was granted a visitors pass, parking in the garage and taking the elevator right up to the BAU.

He walked into the briefing room to find Henry on his phone and Michael sound asleep again on the couch.

“Hey, uncle Spencer!” Henry cheered, not waking Michael in the process somehow.

“Hey buddy,” he said, scooping the now 13-year-old Henry into his arms for a quick hug. He was still cuddly and sensitive and quiet, much like Spencer at that same age.

It was almost like JJ picked him as the godfather knowing he would need him. Choosing to text or call Spencer about cute girls and chess games and new star wars movies, instead of going to his dad for chats about football and beer… or whatever Will was into. Spencer really didn’t give him a chance to get to know him over the last 15 years, harbouring a hatred for him that he didn’t really understand until he met Y/N.

Now will was the jealous one in a sense, wondering what he could do to get his own son to come to him for advice and support. But he understood it, Henry was exactly like Spencer and he needed to see that being awkward and quiet doesn’t last forever.

“So, I’m not sure if your mom and dad told you, but I got married and my wife has a daughter and we’re going to take you boys out to breakfast, okay?”

“She said you’re Nini’s dad, like for real?” Once again someone from the LaMontagne called Amoreena Nini and he had no idea why.

“I donated sperm when your mom got pregnant with you, I didn’t think I’d get to have a family,” he was honest with him. He was old enough to know how it worked and mature enough to hear the word sperm without freaking out.

“Cool, Nini and Mike are normally friends.”

“Why do you guys call her Nini?”

“Michael couldn’t say Amoreena when he was 4 so he called her Nini, and then Dad would call her that when he teased Mike about his crush on her,” it made complete sense for a kid to not be able to pronounce it.

But his brain got stuck on the crush part, turning to Michael who was still sound asleep with his face pressed into his backpack, drooling slightly. JJ’s kid had a crush on his, a weird fantasy he had coming true where he and JJ can be friends forever as in-laws.

It was too bad Amoreena really didn’t like boys, not even in the 8-year-old ‘ew cooties’ way either. She was raised around women and she was comfortable with them, and she had no problem punching Michael in the face if he ever pissed her off. It was going to be interesting seeing them interact today.

“Okay, well let’s get your things and bring them back to our house and then we’ll go get breakfast with my girls,” Spencer smiled, seeing Henry’s face light up at the day he gets to spend with Spencer. “You’re going to love Y/N.”

And he did… walking into Spencer’s new house to drop off his backpack, dropping his jaw when he saw Y/N instead. He was so much like Spencer it made him laugh, patting Henry on the shoulder, “I know,” he teased him.

Henry turned to him with wide eyes, “I’ve never met Nini’s mom, that’s her mom?” He whispered that same anxious boy Spencer used to be staring right back at him.

He nodded with a smile, “yeah, she’s really nice don’t worry.”

“Henry! It’s so nice to meet you,” she says as she walks into the main room.

Henry turns around to see her when she’s pulling him into a big hug, Spencer can see his eyes are closed as he takes a moment to hug a pretty girl. Spencer couldn’t help but bite his tongue, not wanting to laugh and embarrass the poor boy now that he was noticing pretty girls. Even if that girl happened to be his wife, it was inevitable for Henry to crush on one of Spencer’s girlfriends with how much he copied him.

She pulled back softly, Henry’s arms still around her waist, she brushed his beautiful blond hair behind his ears. “You look so much like your mom, you’re so handsome!”

Henry forgot how to breathe, trying to stutter out a thank you as he backed up out of her space and turned to Spencer, “he’s always looked like JJ, you should have seen how tiny he was originally,” Spencer jumped in to save him. “Where is Amoreena?”

“She’s trying to pick between 2 different dresses, I’ll go make sure she’s in one by now,” she smiled at them before leaving the room, heading up the stairs to Amoreena’s room.

“You good?” Spencer nudged Henry, laughing lightly. “She’s your aunt now, she’s not going to think you’re a dork so you can calm down around her, I promise.”

Henry released a deep shaky breath, “you’re right, sorry.”

“It’s fine, I was like that around your mom before you were born, you should have seen me,” he tried to sympathize with the boy, only making a disgusted face arise on him.

“Ew, that’s completely different she’s my mom!”

Spencer wrapped his arm around him, “and Y/N is my wife!” He whispered as loud as he could so that it wouldn’t be heard by her.

Henry sighed, “and she’s like what 50?”

“35,” Spencer looked at him and laughed as he shook his head, “how old do you think I am?”

“Mentally? 6-years-old,” Henry bullied him right back for all the brotherly teasing, “but physically you look 79.”

“Thanks,” Spencer said, tucking the boy under his arm and messing up his hair, “now you look like a dork.”

He loved Henry more than he could express, unlike Amoreena he knew he wasn’t his kid, it wasn’t fatherly at all. Henry was his best friend's kid, his godson and his little brother, and as he got older he was becoming more of a best friend than he thought he would.

—

After breakfast when everyone was awake and happily full, Y/N took them all into town to visit the farmer’s market. Letting the kids look around and see if there was anything they wanted to all make for dinner, she was the best mom and aunt in the whole wide world and Spencer kept falling more and more in love every second he spent with her.

She was glowing in the sunlight, walking through the booths looking at all the fresh vegetables and fruit, Spencer followed her with Michael’s hand in his and Henry not far behind. Amoreena was off talking to her favourite vendor, an older woman who reminded her of her great-grandma, it was sweet.

Spencer thought about how their future would be much of the same, Y/N and him with a couple of kids while the rest of them did their own thing. He couldn’t wait to see all the little faces they’d create together, to get to know all the personalities and raise them into being just as wonderful as their sister and cousins.

“Ugh,” Y/N stopped dead in her tracks then, they were heading towards the butcher’s booth when she turned around, almost green as she reacted to the smell. “Nope, not going down there.”

Spencer couldn’t stop smiling at her as she tried to not throw up in the middle of the market, people watching her dry heave as she walked away. Spencer knew JJ was pregnant with Michael before she even told Will because she was the exact same way very early on. Living on ginger ale and baby cookies to stay sane, Y/N was going to need that hack.

He didn’t say anything, just profiling her in his mind as he followed her again.

Henry and Michael used the money JJ left them to buy some homemade candies from the market, Y/N picked up some donuts to bring home to her parents, and Amoreena only wanted fresh strawberries. Spencer however snuck away from the group really quickly to get something they passed earlier, something he wanted to get for Amoreena.

There was a vendor with homemade shirts and dresses, knitted hats and all sorts of collectables. If he was going to miss her last morning before kindergarten, he wanted to get her something to wear that morning so he’d be there in spirit.

There was a beautiful handmade purple dress hanging on the wall behind the vendor, the same kind old woman that reminded Amoreena of her GG. “Hello, how can I help you today?”

“We haven’t met, but I’m Amoreena’s father,” he introduced himself with a smile, and the old woman face beamed.

“Yes you are,” she smiled. “She has your nose, it’s lovely to finally meet you!”

“you too, um, I was interested in that purple dress,” he points behind her, “it looks like the one from tangled, I’m sure she’d love it.”

“that’s exactly how she described it when she saw it today,” the woman explains as she takes it down from the wall for him. “It’s $35, but I’ll do $20 for my favourite little friend.”

“That’s very kind, but I don’t mind,” he says, taking $35 dollars out of his wallet and laying it beside the cash box. “Thank you for always making my girl smile.”

“Thank you,” she smiled again, folding the dress nicely and placing it in a white bag, “would you like some tissue paper so she can’t see what it is?”

“That would be great, thank you,” Spencer smiled too, incredibly happy that this was his life now.

She handed him the bag then, stuffed to the brim with purple and pink paper, Amoreena was going to love it. He said his goodbyes and met the rest of his family at the car, hiding the present between his legs in the passenger seat as they drove home.

—

Henry and Michael did end up having to stay the night, switching into their PJs after dinner and joining them all in the living room for a movie night. They let the kids stay up later to watch the whole movie, watching Michael fall asleep once again on the carpet, he had been so well behaved all day it was like he was afraid of Amoreena now.

Michael was perfectly happy sleeping on the couch all night, Henry, on the other hand, slept in Y/N’s old room to have some privacy and so he could sleep in on Sunday.

By the time JJ and Will got home on Sunday night, Y/N and Spencer were just putting some burgers on the grill, they had enough for the whole team and so sure enough, the crew made a short trip from Quantico to Heaven.

Matt called his wife, she drove their handful of children over, Luke of course let Penelope know, the two of them still happily seeing each other now that she wasn’t on the team, it was cute to see them together. Then Penelope, of course, invited Derek and Hank. Emily, Rossi and Tara coming along just to witness Spencer being happy.

It was the best summer party they’ve ever had. Bob and Linda were beyond excited to have so many new faces in their yard, throwing on 2 more packages of burgers, feeding a whole army like normal.

The kids were all running around together in the field, playing with the cats and the goats, rolling down the big hill towards the cows, chasing fireflies as the sunset.

It was all of their last day of school on Monday, a weird day to end on but they were excited nonetheless. Y/N’s father lit up a bonfire in celebration, setting up every lawn chair and log they had to make sure everyone had a seat, they all gathered with marshmallows on sticks and drinks in their hands, smiles on their faces and love in their hearts.

Spencer made a happy life for himself that he was no sharing with them, and they call understood perfectly why he chose this one. It was peaceful, perfect and the most loving environment he’s ever been in. They were beyond proud of him.

“This place is amazing,” Tara leaned towards Spencer, “your family is wonderful.”

“Thank you,” Spencer smiled at her, raising his voice then as he looked at the rest of the team, “I just want to thank all of you actually, you’re all my family and it’s been so surreal introducing you all, I’ve never been happier.”

He was swarmed with hugs then, everyone also using it as their queue to gather their kids and hit the road. They watched everyone get in their cars one by one, Penelope did everything in her power not to leave with at least 3 cats, Matts's kids asked if they could come back, often, with Y/N reminding everyone that the gates are always open.

It was everything he ever wanted.

Amoreena jumped into his arms then, he held her against his side as they both waved at everyone, saying goodbye to all her new aunts and uncles and cousins. Her family kept getting bigger and bigger by the day and she was so incredibly happy about it. She’d take in a million more family members if they let her, her heart didn’t have a capacity level for love.

He carried her up the porch stairs then, bringing her into the kitchen where the white bag with purple tissue paper was waiting for her. Her eyes lit up as she saw it, “is that for me?”

“You bet it is,” he enthused, “I’m not going to be here in the morning, grandma Diana has a doctor's appointment, so I got you something for tomorrow morning.”

He set her down on the floor, handing her the bag and watching her carefully remove all the tissue paper. She laid it on the table softly to keep it for later, saying it was good to make barbie dresses with. When she finally saw the dress her jaw dropped.

Y/N was there too now, watching in awe as he surprised both of them.

“Did you buy this from Candace?” She asks softly as she takes it out of the bag. Holding it to her chest as she twirls around lightly.

“I did, I thought you’d like to have something to remind you of me there, I’m sorry I’m going to miss sending you to the bus on your last day,” he tried not to cry as he crouched down to her level, taking her into his arms and giving her a soft hug.

“That’s okay, you’re always in here,” she took his pointer finger in her hand and poked her own chest with it, “I love you, dad.”

“I love you more, Amoreena,” he smiled through the tears, scrunching his nose so they wouldn’t roll down his cheeks, giving her another hug before Y/N started her bedtime routine.

—

For the past two weeks, his dreams have been filled with lush fields of green draped in the most beautiful golden glow. Both his girls sitting beside him as they read, each of them has a book and it’s silent. It’s serene, the dictionary definition of peace.

However, it took him a while to fall asleep tonight, he was too anxious for Amoreena’s last day of kindergarten in the morning and the fact he wouldn’t be there for the drop-off.

Y/N was sound asleep on the pillow beside him as he stared at her, for what felt like hours, brushing her hair off her face lightly and making sure the blankets were still covering her. His eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room just enough that he could see her face twitch into a smile as she fell deeper into her slumber.

Seeing her happy relaxed him enough to follow her. Blinking into his dream realm and finding a few new faces waiting for him by the tree…

“Dad!” Another little girl he’s never seen before was running towards him, wrapping herself around him as he held her.

Suddenly, 7 other children he doesn’t know are surrounding him in hugs, tacking him to the ground in a fit of giggles and tickles, “we missed you! Why were you gone for so long?”

He’s so confused, he knows he’s dreaming but he chooses to stay, to wander the world and ask the questions his mind was so obviously trying to answer. “I’m sorry,” is all he can reply, taking Amoreena’s hand and following her towards Y/N as she sat on the picnic blanket.

She was older, which meant he should be too, looking in the pond quickly for his reflection to see’s his wrinkled face, the white in his hair and beard. Their kids had all grown up but where was he for it?

“Welcome home,” she smiled as he sat down. “it’s about time you met the girls.”

“Where was I?”

“You don’t remember?”

He shakes his head, “I was supposed to be here.”

“Amoreena got into Yale, did you hear that, cutie? Elly, Junie and Theo are in high school now, look how beautiful they are…”

He watched his children frolic in the field, running around without a care in the world that he missed everything. Why did he miss everything? How could he miss everything?

“It’s too bad you missed Cordelia and the other twins, can you believe we had 3 sets of twins, Spence?” She laughed like it was funny, “how could you leave me alone with 9 babies?” Still smiling, staring into his soul as he died a little inside.

He started to panic then, breathing heavily as he tried to remember where he was to miss everything, “I was supposed to be there for them!?”

Suddenly he’s ripped awake by Y/N shaking him and pulling him against her skin, “hey, shhh, it’s okay.”

He was crying and shaking in his sleep, sweating as he tried to fight off the dream, his anxiety in full swing for absolutely no reason, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for leaving you.”

“You didn’t go anywhere, Spencer, you’ve been there the whole time,” she reminded him, rubbing her hand over his back as he settled into her arms. “You were mumbling and then yelling.”

“I got to the park and you told me I missed all of them growing up,” he whispered the painful words into the open, freeing them from his mind and letting them exist somewhere else.

“Them?” She coo’s, holding his head against her chest as she rests her cheek against it, holding him as close as humanly possible.

“We had like 9 girls, they were all so beautiful as you and Amoreena, they all had my nose and your lips and the curliest blowing hair in the whole world, and I missed everything, again,”

“I won't let that happen, do you have any handcuffs leftover? Because I can keep you here for good?” She teased him in a hushed whisper, playful and happy to prove that he was fine, they were fine.

“I’m sorry for waking you up,” he whispered again shimmying down lower to lay his head on her lower stomach, kissing her stomach softly. “I’m not leaving you all, never.”

“I had a bad dream too, that’s what woke me up first,” she replies softly. “Yesterday was the 11th anniversary of Stephen’s death, and the first time I never visited him.”

Spencer felt the need to sit up then, making eye contact with her to see her true feelings. “I don’t want you to stop loving him because you also love me. He’s special to you, you should go see him soon.”

“Spencer,” she smiles at the concern in his voice, “I will, I only didn’t because I’m pretty sure I’m pregnant, I was bleeding a little yesterday and then it stopped, that probably means the implantation worked and I don’t want to tell him yet. And I tell him everything.”

“Everything?” He asks in a way that she hears; “even about me?” inside his thoughts.

She nods softly, “I went on that first Monday after I dropped you off at your apartment, I needed him to know I was finally ready and I thanked him for sending you to me.”

“What was he like?”

“He was from Boston, accent and everything,” she smiled with sad eyes as she recalled him to her mind. “He was in theatre school, I met him in the summer at a music festival in Chicago, he was playing guitar and we had too many beers and I lost my virginity to him in a tent in some field.”

She recalled it like it was a fond memory, missing him but not enough to be sad about it now. “I ran into him again when I went to college in Boston and we were talking outside before the rain hit, like one of those classic movie scenes, and my apartment was closer, the rest is history.”

“Hey Stephen is the one song you always skip, I never wanted to ask why but I don’t think you’ll mind telling me?” He wonders out loud, still a little delirious from the lack of sleep.

“He looked like an angel when I first saw him, he was standing under a street light reading his music sheets and the light was glowing perfectly, it was amazing I wish I had a picture of it. But then the Fearless album came out for the first time and it was my favourite song because it was like she wrote it for us. He was my perfect angel, my superstar, he was going to be on Broadway one day and we were going to move to a cottage in England, we had lots of plans and that song just makes me think of the life me and him must be living in the universe where it all worked out.”

It’s long-winded and she doesn’t seem to be over-emotional by the end, in a shocking turn of event’s it seems like she feels freer after getting it off her chest.

“I haven’t always been this happy and cheerful Spencer,” she adds, “I had a really dark spot after he died, it was horrible for me. I was so angry, I was reckless and mean and hurtful, and in that time I wasted precious moments I could have spent being happy with my grandma, and so my dream tonight was just the fight I had with Evan and my grandma dying and the cops saying Stephen was dead and placing that stupid fucking flower on his coffin thinking it made up for the fact I couldn’t even look at him in there.”

“How you respond to trauma isn’t really up to you, that’s why it’s trauma. Your brain can’t really cope and so it does typically the stuff you’ll regret the most in that time of grief, it’s not your fault and I’m sure everyone understood. You had every right to be mad, hell, I’m mad you lost him because I know how much you hurt in silence for so long,” Spencer can’t help but wish he could have been there for her.

“What happened to you after Maeve died?”

It was only fair that he shared too, “I locked myself in my apartment and didn’t take care of myself, I didn’t talk to anyone, I just sat in my living room and almost died reading every book I had because I didn’t feel like I was worthy of being taken care of so if I starved to death, so be it.”

“You still haven’t told me what happened with her and the kidnapping,” she reminds him of their little chat a few weeks ago at the school. “I get it if you’re not ready, I’m sure it’s a lot.”

“I was getting headaches, really bad ones, and so I reached out to a geneticist to see if she could help me. I sent her my brain scans and some blood tests and she helped me find supplements and natural ways to help my body rest from the stress of my work,” he explained it easily like the feelings didn’t hurt anymore.

“We talked on the phone a lot and I finally asked her why she was so afraid to meet me or have me know anything about her. She had me call her from a payphone, always a different one each time, I was to call and let it ring once, then hang up then she’d call me back. She thought she had a stalker, she was getting weird messages and threats and she felt genuinely unsafe, and she had every right to,”

“10 months went by and we thought she was safe, but her ex-fiancé got a private investigator to find her and in return found me instead. It turns out that Maeve had a student who felt wronged by her and wanted to outdo her, so she dated her fiancé and scared her underground but then she wanted me.”

Y/N’s face is full of concern like she’s listening to a true-crime thriller where she knows the ending won't be good.

“I tried to talk her stalker down, I almost had her and then she kissed me and I keep looking at Maeve, she saw right through me. She threatened to kill Maeve, she had a gun to her head but at the last minute she killed herself, but Maeve’s head was too close to hers,” the words hurt on the way out.

“And someone also had you sent to prison?” She asks, wanting all the trauma in one night to save him the trouble.

“Yeah, she was an assassin, I tricked her into thinking I found her dad and I was so smart she thought I was her soulmate, it was all an elaborate plan to bring me down to her level.”

“Did you kill someone?”

“I’ve killed too many people,” he answers with complete honesty once again. “I’ve killed mostly murderers and rapists, I typically don’t have to. I really try not to, but I’ve also killed people to keep myself safe. And I’d probably kill someone to keep you or Amoreena safe too.”

“Get in line,” she laughs, able to make every single conversation easy even when they shouldn’t be.

“I uh,” he wants to tell her more but he doesn’t know-how. “I was also sexually assaulted in prison, and I was kidnapped and drugged in 2007, I OD’d and died but then I was resuscitated, I wasn’t kidding when I said it was a lot.”

“I am so sorry Spencer,” she rests her hands on his cheeks, looking into his eyes as best as she could in the dark, still seeing the goodness in there. “You’re safe here with me, forever and always, I can promise you that.”

“Thank you,” he’s never going to stop thanking her.

Settling down on the bed once more, he cuddles back into her side. She brushes his hair behind his ear softly, humming a soft melody as she soothes him back to sleep. He snuggled right against her, holding her gently as he fell back to sleep on her, dreamless as she was everything he needed.

love you all for all the support thank you x100 <3

tag list: @shemarmooresfedora @spencers-dria @spookyspence @reidsfish @manuosorioh @mochionly @samuel-de-champagne-problems @jswessie187

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bluekat12345 · 3 years

Text

The Sun and Moon Shall Be Our Guides: Chapter 15

First Chapter: https://bluekat12345.tumblr.com/post/624227138892152832/the-sun-and-moon-shall-be-our-guides-chapter-1

Previous Chapter: https://bluekat12345.tumblr.com/post/633839908142940160/the-sun-and-moon-shall-be-our-guides-chapter-14

Next Chapter: https://bluekat12345.tumblr.com/post/637871124099874816/the-sun-and-moon-shall-be-our-guides-chapter-16

After breakfast, Rapunzel went to her room to prepare for their trip to town. She said that she would meet the others in Cass and Eugene’s guest room when she was ready.

While they waited for her, Eugene figured it would be a good chance to tell Lance and Varian about what happened the night before. After making sure no one, none of the King’s guards in particular, were listening in on them.

“The Princess snuck out to a pub?!” Varian gasped.

“And you didn’t take us with you?!” Lance accused.

Cassandra shushed them. Then she checked outside their room to see if anyone was listening, which fortunately, there was no sign that anyone had overheard them.

She glares at them. “You’re both lucky no one overheard either of you.”

“Sorry.” Varian said, at least he looked guilty.

Lance didn’t bother to even pretend to be sorry. “What’s the big deal?”

Eugene replied. “Because her parents don’t know about this. If they did, I’m not sure how her mom will react, but from what Rapunzel told me, I know her father will go crazy.”

That caused Lance to smirk. “Sneaking behind her Dad’s back, huh? Remind you of anyone, Eugene?”

Eugene blushed, causing Lance and Varian to laugh at his expense. Even Cassandra smirked at her brother. He hated all of them so much right now.

“What’s so funny?” Rapunzel asked as she entered the room.

Eugene noticed she wasn’t wearing the princess gown she was wearing earlier or the pink dress she was wearing last night. She was now wearing a pink blouse with rolled up sleeves and black vest, a leather belt, and a shin-length, two-colored skirt. She was also wasn’t wearing shoes. Hopefully no one would notice when they left.

Lance was about, but Eugene spoke quickly. “Nothing!”

“Oh, okay.” Rapunzel asked. Eugene wasn’t sure if she really believed him, but he was grateful that she didn’t ask about it.

“You look like you’re all set for an adventure.” Eugene pointed out with a smile.

Rapunzel smiled. “Well, I figured it would be best to blend in since I won’t have the guards surrounding me while we’re out. What do you think?”

“You look great.” Eugene replied. And she really did.

“Thanks.” Rapunzel said. “You know there is a tailor I can introduce you to, he makes the best.”

“Eugene smile grew. “That would be great. I have been thinking of getting a new jacket for when the guys and I-”

“We just finished telling Varian and Lance about what we learned last night.” Cassandra interrupted. “Are you all set?”

Rapunzel nodded. “Just wanted to see if you were all ready.”

“Well, we are.” Lance said. “So let’s go!”

“Wait!” Eugene pulling Lance away from the door. Then he said in a quieter voice. “We need to be careful when we leave.”

“What do you mean?” Rapunzel asks, her voice getting quieter.

Eugene quickly opened the door to see if anyone was listening in. He didn’t see anything that indicated people were listening in on them, but there were a few guards stationed around. Not wanting to take a risk, he closes the door and continues to speak quietly.

“I think your father will send guards to watch us when we leave.” Eugene stated.

“What?” Rapunzel asked.

“Why would you think that?” Varian asked. “The king said he wouldn’t send guards with us.”

“No, but he may send some guards to watch us without us noticing them.” Eugene countered.

Rapunzel shook her head. “Eugene, my dad wouldn’t-”

“Blondie, you told me your father is very protective of you.” Eugene pointed out. “Don’t tell me you weren’t surprised that he agreed not to have guards come with us today.”

Rapunzel didn’t say anything, but Eugene knew from her frown that he was right. But seeing her like that, Eugene felt bad making her doubt her own dad like this.

“I mean, he may, I don’t know.” Eugene quickly stated. “But I’m just saying we should be careful.”

Then Cassandra spoke. “This is a powerful item we are looking for. We should make sure no one learns what we’re looking for or why we want it. I’m not just talking about guards, our father and the Brotherhood warned of us people wanting to abuse its power.”

That seemed to perk the blond princess up a bit. “You’re right. You both are. Speaking of which we better leave before everyone starts wondering why we haven’t left yet.”

Then Rapunzel left the room, with Cass and Varian following. Eugene followed with Lance by his side.

“Blondie?” Lance snickered, causing Eugene to blush again.

“Oh, shut up.” The Dark Prince groaned.

Everyone managed to leave the castle without any trouble. The guards did look at them a little funny, but Rapunzel expected that. It was incredibly rare for her father to allow her to leave the castle without an escort.

Though she remembered what Eugene and Cassandra had warned her earlier. She didn’t think her father would do something like that, she didn’t think he would have reason to have guards watch them without her knowledge, but she still had her guard up.

Though the blonde supposed that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy being in town without guards ‘protecting’ her.

“Oh, that’s the art shop I mentioned on the map you had, Cassandra!” She said as she pointed to a shop. “Oh, and that café! The croissants are delicious!”

“That sounds great.” Cassandra said, with a hint of a smile. “But let’s try to stay focused, okay, Raps?”

“Oh, right! Sorry.” Rapunzel apologized. “So, follow me and I’ll show you all to where Xavier works.”

As they walked, Rapunzel noticed something. As they past several villagers, none of them really gave her a glance. Whenever she was out with the guards, she stuck out like a sore thumb, no matter where she would go, the moment people saw a group of guards, they recognized that their princess was with them and the villagers would try to act more ‘proper’ for her.

She understood what they were doing, but it still upset her. It made her feel lonelier than she already was.

But today, with Eugene, Cassandra, and their friends, no one seemed to notice her. No one gave her a second glance, no one stopped to bow at her, or say polite, but stiff, greetings. It was rather nice.

Eventually, they arrived at Xavier’s smithy. Xavier was in the middle of polishing his tools when he noticed the group. He gave the group a smile, but it didn’t look like he noticed Rapunzel.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you before.” He pointed out. “Travelers from the Dark Kingdom, I take it?”

Varian’s eyes widened. “How did you know that?”

“I recognize the crest on your clothes.” The blacksmith pointed out. Then he gave a curt bow to Eugene and Cassandra. “And if I’m correct, you are Prince Eugene and Princess of Cassandra of the Dark Kingdom.”

Cassandra nodded. “Yes, we are.”

“What can I do for you today?” Xavier asks. “I can show you what I have available at the moment, but if you wish to commission something, I can see what I can do.”

Eugene shook his head. “We’re not here to buy anything. We came because we were hoping you could tell us something.” Then Eugene added in a quieter tone. “What can you tell us about the Sundrop?”

Xavier frowned. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can-”

“Please, Xavier.” Rapunzel begged, finally making her presence known. “They came all this way and this is important for them.”

Xavier was quiet for a moment. Then he subtly looked around for a moment before returning his attentions to the group. “Let’s continue this conversation somewhere more private.” He said quietly, then he led the group into his home.

“Did he see one of my father’s guards watching us?” Rapunzel thought for a moment. “No, that can’t be. My father promised me. He wouldn’t lie to me. I trust him.” Rapunzel repeated to herself, but found herself believing it less and less.

Once they were all inside the blacksmith’s home, he gestured everyone to take a seat. Lance, Rapunzel, and Eugene took seats at his table, Cassandra didn’t sit down, but she stood beside them. Varian noticed a bookshelf and went over to look at the books Xavier had.

“Woah, you have a lot of books here.” The alchemist commented. “’The Cheating Willows’? What’s that about?”

“It is one of my favorites.” Xavier said with a smile. “You can read it if you want.”

“Sounds interesting, Varian admitted. As he looked at the books, he noticed one. “’The Legend of Lord Demanitus’? Where did you get this?”

Xavier went to the bookshelf and took out that book. “He is famous among the legends and myths of Corona. Are you all familiar with him?”

“Not a lot I’m afraid.” Rapunzel admitted. She was familiar with the name, but with all her studies, training, and her father’s near-constant supervision, she found it hard to find the time to read.

Cassandra nodded at Xavier. “Our father would tell us stories when we were kids.”

“He was a famous inventor and engineer.” Eugene added. “He’s pretty popular back home too.”

“But we didn’t here to speak of Demanitus.” Cass reminded. “If you know something about the Sundrop and where it could be, we need to know.”

Xavier frowned. “Why do you wish to find it?” He asked, his voice full of suspicion.

The Dark Princess frowned. “It personal. Its for the Dark Kingdom.”

The blacksmith wasn’t convinced and seemed to become more suspicion. Cassandra was about to snap, but Eugene put his hand on her shoulder.

“Please, sir.” Eugene begged. “Our kingdom is in terrible danger and without the power of the sundrop, our kingdom could be destroyed.”

Cassandra wasn’t pleased that her brother had told the blacksmith that. Yes, it was true that their kingdom was in danger, but that doesn’t mean they had to tell civilians about what they were doing. She didn’t want word to spread around Corona that the Dark Kingdom was in trouble, it would attract the wrong kind of attention. But her brother never did have a sense of self-preservation.

Xavier looked less suspicious, but he wasn’t sure. Then Rapunzel spoke up. “Its true. I was there. So please, if you know where we can kind the Sundrop, please tell us.”

Xavier still seemed conflicted, but he took a deep breath and spoke up. “Last I heard, your father used it to heal your mother, Princess Rapunzel.”

“So its true.” Rapunzel thought. Her father did know about the Sundrop. He knew about it and still refused to help the Dark Kingdom.

“Before you judge your father, Your Highness, let me tell you why.” the Blacksmith stated. “Shortly before you were born, your mother fell very ill. The King was worried she wouldn’t survive, or you. So he sent his guards all over to look for the Sundrop flower and when he did, he used its power to heal the Queen and allow you to be born.”

The Room was quiet as everyone processed this information. Her father used to it to heal her mother and, by extension, Rapunzel herself. “Is that why he’s so protective of me?”

“But why would he still have it?” Cassandra asked. “Rapunzel and the Queen are fine now. So why not just give it to us?”

“That, I can’t say for sure.” Xavier stated. “The King’s motives are never always clear. But I hope what I said can help you and your kingdom in some way.”

“Yes, it did. Thank you.” Eugene said. “We should be leaving now. Thank you, Xavier.”

Xavier nodded. “It is my pleasure. Feel free to come back anytime.”

As everyone walked out of the Xavier’s home, Varian spoke. “May I borrow that book on Lord Demanitus for a bit. I promise I’ll bring it back, unharmed.”

Xavier nodded. “Of course.” Varian nodded and took the book from the bookshelf and joined the others.

“Your Majesty!” The captain of Corona’s guard called as he approached the King in the Throne Room.

“What is it, Captain?” King Frederic asked. “Is it Rapunzel? Is she hurt?”

The captain shook his head. “My guards have not reported anything like that. But we have had reports of two strange men causing trouble here.”

“Have you found them?” The King asked.

“No, but apparently, they’re looking for the Sundrop.” The Guard Captain admitted.

Frederic grew pale and felt himself sink into his throne. Why were so many people looking for the Sundrop? Were they part of the Dark Kingdom too?

“Your Majesty,” The Captain added hesitantly, “There is something else you should know.”

#The Sun and Moon Shall Be Our Guides #Disney's Tangled #Tangled the Series #Dark Siblings AU #Tangled AU

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alittletournesol · 4 years

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Kingdom Of Jinju - Bonus 2 : The Sparring Gods

Bonus 2 : “The Sparring Gods”

Or how two sleepy parents have to imagine a nice story to explain to their three four old daughter why storms are so loud and scary.

Kibum loves summer. He loves the way everything outside seems to shine with the brightest colours, the way his skin gets kissed by the sun’s warmth all day long. Summer means more trips to the river down the palace to enjoy the cold water, and more breaks spent under the huge weeping willow with his loved ones. There’s nothing wrong with summer, it even brings to his mind a few memories of the strolls he used to take with his sister in their hometown’s streets, running away from the manor’s coldness to embrace what they called real life.

Summer days seem to repeat themselves in this pattern he adores, putting him in a good mood as soon as he wakes up to the rays of sunlight piercing through the curtain of the royal quarters’ window. Minho was always asking for this same curtain to be closed during the night because of his need for enough darkness to sleep ; thus, it’s with great joy that every morning, the Prince leaves the bed to pull the fabric and let the sun bathe his naked body. The rest of the day would find him attend to his duties with a smile enlightening his features more than the sun would ever, while making sure most of the aforesaid duties happen outside.

Nothing was wrong with summer.

Or maybe there was this little, insignificant thing that shook him awake in the middle of the night.

Kibum could still hear the fading sound of thunder as he rubs his eye. The temperature has been particularly heavy that day, so a storm naturally occurs now that the night has come. The heat was still tangible in the quarters, but it rarely bothers the man in his sleep ; unlike the loud noise of the sky.

“The first storm of the season.” A husky voice murmurs, catching his attention and making him raise his head from his pillow to look at the strong body lying next to his.

Minho has never been a heavy sleeper, even less since the assassination attempt that happened a few years before. The Prince smiles, bringing his hand closer to his husband’s sleepy face to caress his cheek while the latter shifts on the mattress to lie on his side, facing the other man.

“Yes, a belated one.” Kibum whispers, running his fingers through his own untied hair to free his face from any will strand. “You can go back to sleep, it’s still early in the night. The storm shouldn’t be long.”

“Hmm… Come here.”

Without opening his eyes, the King stretches his arm to invite his husband, the latter not wasting a single second as he comes closer. Minho’s skin is, as always, deliciously warm and it isn’t even a bother during summer nights. He still smells like soap from the bath he took a few hours before, but Kibum can distinguish the musky scent of sleep in his neck when he buries his nose there. They remain embraced like this, waiting to be in Morpheus’ arms again while the sound of storm is still present, shaking the quarters from time to time.

The silence between two claps of thunder feel like a pleasant break and both men relish it for as long as it lasts. They don’t keep count of the claps, too tired for that, but their ears twitch just as they’re about to fall asleep ; their door handle is moving, the creaking sound loud in the silence of the room.

Minho opens his eyes first, immediately alerted as his arm slides under the bolster to reach the sword he keeps hiding there. He doesn’t move, even when Kibum places his own hand on his wrist to prevent him from doing something without thinking. The black haired man props himself up on his elbow to look at the handle over the King’s body. It’s still moving and seems to struggle, making the man frown and sit up.

His husband looks at him and frowns in return, turning his upper body just enough to be able to see the door and keep his hand on his weapon.

“Listen.” Kibum whispers, raising his forefinger as he hears something from behind the door.

A cry.

As if he got hit, Minho stands up and jumps in the first pair of pants he finds before rushing to the door. Opening it, he discovers his daughter perched on tiptoes, one of her small hands still raised as she was trying to pull the handle, the other one strongly holding a plushie against her small body. Her cheeks are wet with tears and fear is easily noticeable in her eyes.

“Oh no, my little honeybun…” The King immediately crouches and opens his arms, the little girl running between them while sobbing. “There, there, come with daddy.”

The man stands up, holding Sooyun safe in his arms while he closes the door with his foot. The princess is trembling against him, her sobs slowly reducing thanks to the presence of her father but still audible. Her face is buried in Minho’s shoulder and her tiny arms circle his neck with her plushie hanging on his back, not planning to let go at the moment.

“It’s the storm outside, right, sweet pea ?” The King keeps talking with a soft tone, going back to bed and lying on his side with his daughter still holding onto him. “It was loud and it woke you up ?”

“Scared…” Sooyun cries and sniffs. “Nanny didn’t wake up…”

“Nothing can wake Nanny up, she snores louder than the storm.” Kibum smiles as he softly strokes his daughter’s back. “You ran here all by yourself ?”

“Hmm… the door was stuck but daddy opened it for me.”

“Ah, what a strong daddy he is, isn’t he ? Let’s get you some water to chase the fear away, how does this sound ?”

The little girl eventually raises her head to look at her other father behind her and she nods. Water it is then. The Prince leans on to press his lips against her temple before getting up — Minho notices his husband also got dressed with his night shirt while he wasn’t looking. The latter walks to the coffee table near the empty fireplace and pours some fresh water from the jug to a small cup. There also is a plate filled with cherries and he hesitates a bit before taking a handful of them.

When he goes back to the royal bed, Minho is lying on his side with their daughter sitting before him, leaning against his torso like a backrest. The man is gently wiping her cheeks with his thumb while talking to her, softly, his voice not louder than a whisper. Outside, the storm is still resounding and Sooyun gets startled every time thunder claps, but her fathers’ presence somehow eases her fear.

“Here, sweetheart.” Kibum sits on the bed close to the other two and gives the cup to his daughter who quickly starts drinking. “Slowly, or you will spill it.”

“Can I have some ?” The other dad wonders as he props himself up on an elbow, and he laughs when the little girl moves to prevent him from taking her cup. “Come on, it’s too big for you !”

“It is not, look.”

All fear disappears from Sooyun’s eyes, replaced with a glint of pride as she brings the cup back to her small lips and empties it within a minute. She exhales deeply once she’s done and offers a wide smile to her pouting father.

“But I was thirsty too…” Minho starts whining.

“Oh please Gods help me.” His husband sighs before cutting a cherry’s stem and shoving the fruit in the other man’s mouth. “There, you baby.”

“Daddy is a baby~” The princess repeats, tears replaced with laughter.

“The biggest baby ever.” Kibum smiles, handing another cherry to his daughter. “Have one too, but don’t swallow it whole, alright ?”

Sooyun nods and takes the fruit, looking at it and making it turn between her fingers before she eventually eats it. Her fathers look at her, all smiling despite the tiredness. She’s turning five years old after this summer but she can already express herself like she’s two years older ; Minho’s mother says it’s thanks to the way her parents always spoke to her with full sentences, not just random cute sounds and cooing.

Thunder claps once more, though it’s now further away and less noisy, and the little girl turns her head towards the window.

“Don’t be scared, the storm is going away now.” Minho says, pushing a strand of hair behind her small ear.

“Is it ? But why did it come here ?” Sooyun asks as she looks back at her fathers. “It was scary…”

“Oh, well… it’s because… how to say it…”

“You see how sometimes, uncle Jinki and his soldiers fight with their swords in the yard ?” Kibum intervenes when seeing his husband struggling with a way too realistic explanation, and the little girl nods. “It is called sparring.”

“Sparring.”

“Exactly. And sometimes, the Gods spar too. But it’s very loud.”

“Why is it loud ?”

“Because they are very very very tall, taller than us.” The King takes over. “So their swords are bigger too, they make more noise.”

“Are they fighting ? Are they angry like when daddy gets hurt and then daddy says big words at him ?”

Minho can’t help but laugh while Kibum scratches the back of his head with embarrassment. It’s true that the latter struggles to speak politely when the so called King comes back from a simple training with a cute here and a bruise there… and sometimes, he forgets he’s holding his daughter at the same moment he’s cursing at his husband with words full of imagery.

“You don’t have to be angry to spar, sweetheart.” The Prince replies. “Sometimes it’s just training. And when you hear the loud noise, it’s called thunder. It’s when the swords hit each other very hard.”

“But why do they fight at night ? Why don’t they wait for us to be awake ?”

So many questions from such a little mouth make Minho laugh more, until the other man slaps his arm.

“Answer your daughter’s questions instead of laughing.” Kibum says. “Why are the Gods fighting at night, Minho ?”

“Ah, well… it’s because…” The King thinks for a moment before clicking his fingers. “It’s because there is no night in their world !”

“No night ? They don’t sleep ?” Sooyun frowns, not noticing how the Prince is pinching the top of his nose behind her. “They’re not tired ?”

“No, no, they don’t sleep. They’re Gods, sweet pea. And in their world, it’s always day time because they have many, many things to do. See how your dads are busy all day ? The Gods are even busier.”

“Oh… so they don’t know we are sleeping right now ?”

“They don’t know, or maybe they don’t care, we can’t know what the Gods think. But when they train or fight, they’re so strong that it gets really loud when their swords hit each other. And do you want to know something ? When the Goddess of Light fights, her sword makes light, and this light is so bright that it tears the sky apart when she hits another sword.”

“Really ?”

“Really ! Come with me, let’s see if it’s her fighting tonight.”

Kibum fondly smiles, watching Minho stand up and carry the little girl on his arm to walk to the window ; he’s even more excited than her about his own made-up story, it’s incredible. Now the Prince just hopes there is lightning as well as thunder, so their daughter doesn’t get disappointed and upset.

“Okay, let’s wait a bit.” The King says. “Look at the sky.”

“But it’s too dark, where is the moon ?” Sooyun asks.

“It’s hiding behind the clouds, it’s afraid when the Gods spar. Don’t worry, if the Goddess of Light is here, you will see it.”

“Alright.”

Minho holds the girl standing on the window’s ledge and turned his head to look at his husband, the latter shaking his head with a smile as he makes the bed again. They wait like this for a few minutes and Sooyun starts losing patience. She’s about to whine when the dark sky suddenly lights up on a certain spot ; it’s really quick and she jumps with surprise, her father’s grip strong around her body.

“Did you see it ?” He asks. “The light that tore the sky apart ?”

“Yes ! It was quick !” The little girl enthusiastically says before she gets startled by thunder. “Ah !”

“It’s alright, it’s alright. It’s the other God who hits back.”

“Do you think she will win ?”

“The Goddess of Light ? Do you want her to win ?”

“Yeah.”

“Yes, Sooyun.” The Prince speaks in as he comes closer to them. “We can never know who wins, so it’s you who will decide.”

“Then it’s the Goddess, because she’s stronger ! That’s what uncle Jonghyun said.”

“Oh, did he ?”

“Yes, he said that women fight better than men but that men are jealous so they don’t let women fight.”

“I see.”

Both Minho and Kibum look at each other, silently agreeing to have a little talk with their friend one of these days.

“Uncle Jinki disagrees.” Sooyun keeps talking. “He says uncle Jonghyun is just saying this to annoy him because he fought with a woman and lost.”

“Your uncles seem to talk a lot.” The King says while walking back to his bed, the Prince following him close.

“Daddy, is it true that uncle Jinki fought with a woman and lost ?”

“Did he say it was true ?”

“No, he just kicked uncle Jonghyun with his foot.”

“Somehow I can picture that. And no, uncle Jinki didn’t lose to a woman, because there is only one person he loses to.”

“Who ?”

“Me.”

“Daddy you’re lying.”

“What ?! You ask uncle tomorrow !”

“Yes, yes, tomorrow, not tonight by screaming.” Kibum hushes them both. “Now come to bed, both of you, it’s still night and we should get some sleep.”

Just like the big kid he is, Minho sticks his tongue out at his own daughter, who complains to her other father. The Prince just has to stare at both of them and they immediately lie in bed, Sooyun taking her place between her parents. It takes a moment for her to calm down after such an intense conversation, but sleep eventually gets the best of her and she rolls to her side, cuddling up to Kibum and asking for him.

The latter smiles and slowly strokes her hair, lulling her to sleep with this simple gesture. It’s only when her calm breathing turns into a soft snoring that both men allow themselves to rest. The Prince stretches his hand on the mattress, over her daughter’s body, and the King takes it to press a kiss to his palm. With their fingers interlaced and one last smile, they eventually go back to sleep, hoping that the little princess won’t wake up to early…

_______________

“And when the Goddess of Light fights and she hits the other God, there is light in the sky.” Sooyun says. “And it’s like the sky gets a scratch.”

“Oh, I see.” Jinki nods. “So the Gods fighting, huh… and you believed that ?”

“No, but don’t tell dads. They will get sad.”

“Mum’s the word. One day I will tell you the truth, but for now you’re still too little.”

“Alright.”

The General hides a smile as he walks between rows of soldiers training in partnerships, holding an umbrella above the princess’ head… the latter sitting on his shoulders. It has become quite a routine for the little girl to come to him when he was working outside, and even if he used to tell her to go back to a safe place, he now considers she’s old enough to at least stay by his side if he’s careful. For sure, his recruits had looked at him with a weird stare the first time, but they’re used to it by now and even go along with her when she play the second General.

“Park, you will never beat Jung if you keep placing your feet that way.” Jinki stops in front of a duo, using his own foot to pull the soldier’s ankle. “There, this is your standing foot, don’t forget about it.”

“Uncle, he is laughing.” Sooyun says when the soldier named Jung smirks at his opponent being scolded.

“Ah, is he ? How many push-ups should he do as a punishment then, your Majesty ?”

“Hmm… Six !”

“That’s a lot. Do you think you will survive, Jung ?”

“I’ll do my best, Sir !”

The young soldier salutes and positions himself, doing the first two push-ups easily and pretending to struggle for the next one. Sooyun is counting out loud, not seeing how the General and soldiers around them are holding their laughter back as their fellow fakes whines and even lets himself fall before he finishes the last push-up.

“I’m a disgrace, Sir !” He says, going on his knees to fully bow. “Six was too hard for a bad soldier like I am !”

“Only the best soldiers can manage six push-ups in a row, Jung.” Jinki says, his voice clear though it’s difficult to remain serious in this situation. “What do you think, your Majesty ?”

“He can go, he is pretty.”

“Oh, is he now ? Jung, you’re pretty, now get up and train.”

“Yes sir !”

“But he’s not pretty like uncle. Right, uncle ?” The girl says as the General starts walking again.

“Right. Uncle is the prettiest.”

Jinki smiles for real this time, ignoring how his own recruits are beaming whenever their Princess compliments or punish them — she’s so strict !

A whole hour goes by like this, Sooyun eventually asking to walk alone and holding Jinki’s hand all along. At some point, they’re back to their starting point juste at the moment Jonghyun enters the palace’s yard with a few scrolls under his arm. The little girl screams and let go of the soldier’s hand to run to her blonde uncle ; the latter catches her on the way with only one arm — he trained a lot — and laughs as he kisses her cheek.

“Were you tormenting uncle’s soldiers again ?” The teacher teases her. “You’re the real General.”

“Uncle said you’re coming to teach me, is it true ?” The princess asks, clapping her hands. “He said you can teach me to count more so the soldiers can do more push-ups !”

“Oh no, do you want them to die ? How many did you ask them to do today ?”

“Six ! But I know seven and eight and nine and ten, so I was nice.”

“The nicest. What about counting to twenty now ? It’s like taking the ten numbers and add ten more.”

“Is that a lot of push-ups ?”

“Even uncle Jinki can’t do twenty push-ups.”

“Don’t tell her lies.” The General reaches them with his arms crossed on his chest. “I can do hundreds of push-ups.”

“What is hundreds ?” Sooyun asks.

“Way too many numbers, don’t listen to him.”

Jonghyun laughs and smiles at his boyfriend while the latter discreetly places his hand on his back as a greeting. He pretends to give him a report of everything the princess and him have done this morning, the little girl nodding to everything.

“That’s a lot of work for one single morning !” The blond man gasps. “So I’m stealing you for a break, your little Majesty. Let’s go gather some cherries and head to lunch, how does that sound ?”

“Sounds good !” Sooyun exclaims. “Oh, but I forgot to ask a question to uncle.”

“I’m all ears.” Jinki says, approaching his ear when the little girl beckons to him.

“Is it true that you don’t win fights against dad ?”

“Did he tell you that ?”

“Yes.”

“It’s not true. And you wanna hear another secret ?”

“Yes !”

“He doesn’t win against your other dad.”

“Really ?!”

“Really. But that’s our secret, alright ?”

“Alright.”

Jonghyun rolls his eyes and puts Sooyun down, asking her to go look for Heechul while he’s talking with the General. Once she’s out of sight, he gives a disapproving stare to his partner.

“What ?” Jinki shrugs.

“You’re rising her up against Minho.” The teacher states.

“I’m just saying the truth, what is wrong with it ? Not my fault if the truth hurts his Highness.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

“Sure, love. What did you want to talk about ?”

“Tonight when your shift ends, let’s go to the river together. I’ll bring dinner.”

“This sounds really nice. Don’t go in the water without me.”

“I can swim now, thanks to you, so I’m not risking anything. I’ll be waiting so don’t be late.”

Casting a glance at their surroundings, Jonghyun steals a quick kiss from the General and pats his cheek before leaving to join the princess. As expected, she finds her on the gardener’s shoulders, trying to catch the highest cherries on the pretext that they’re shinier. The teacher fondly laughs and looks up when he hears a whistle.

Leaning on their quarters’ window ledge, Minho and Kibum quietly wave at him. No need to wonder what they were up to since there is no trace of clothes on their upper bodies… Jonghyun smiles and nods towards them, before he goes to Heechul’s rescue when a certain girl wants to stand on his shoulders.

From above, the King and Prince laugh, making sure not to be heard, and go back to their bedroom. This is something they can never worry about, their daughter is always in good hands and for sure she will always be… well, unless Minho learns that his own childhood friend damages his fatherly reputation on a daily basis.

Hope you liked it!

#minkey #minho #key #kibum #shinee #fanfic #historical #kingdom of jinju #jongyu #jonghyun #onew #jinki #family #fluff

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blackcatmanor · 4 years

Text

RWBY Vol. 7 Ep 8 Photo Review (Repost)

Tumblr decided to delete the actual post or something. I don’t know. I’m old man yelling at cloud right now. SPOILERS below

Characters done right.

Winter is QUEEN this episode. Winter’s line about “You’d have to pay me” to smile was great, and I liked her losing her cool and explaining to Penny it’s because of the bad memories in her house. I wish they explored this more, like in a flashback to Winter and Weiss’ childhood. That would have been great, and given a lot of set up into the toxic pool of despair they were both about to go back into. It was interesting her scene with Penny because it created a good juxtaposition from a human who WANTS to be less emotional and robotic, and a Robot that wants to be a human. *cute and tragic vibes intensifies*. It made me weirdly hope for more interactions between Winter and Penny- in which they help each other find a balance between humanity and a sense of duty.

Willow- I am so glad we got to see her. Though it started odd, like she was a total delirious, foggy drunk who forgot her daughter left, and suddenly she becomes super lucid but morose. The tone shift was weird but besides the first few seconds it was great. A lot was conveyed about her- that she’s fearful for her safety, she’s morose, but still cares greatly for her children. The deeper explanation of her putting cameras around could have again been serviced by a Schnee family flashback. Jacques was an authoritarian and awful parent, but not abusive. You can tell this because when Weiss was slapped in volume 4 she was surprised, like it was something that never happened before. However maybe in the past, Willow bore the brunt of Jacques’ authoritarianism, interfering when he was getting too angry towards the kids but causing the physical abuse to be directed towards her instead of her kids. This would explain why she seems concerned for her safety and why she would put cameras around- in case something happened to her there could be a way to bring Jacques to justice.

Nevertheless, the scene was good. You can really tell Willow cares about her kids and her exposition about Whitley was decent as well. But I have a huge death flag vibe about her….if Jacques finds out she’s been spying on him her greatest fears may come true. #ProtectWillow.

Qrow: I like seeing tidbits about Qrow’s struggle as a recovering alcoholic, though I wish they would talk about it more directly. We haven’t seen him a lot, and maybe he could mention that he’s attending AA type meetings or something. I also desperately wish that Yang and Ruby would address it! They have not directly interacted with Qrow much this volume, especially Yang who hasn’t talked to him since like one line in Vol. 6. I wish they would have a nice family moment where the girls talk about how proud they are to see Qrow overcoming his alcohol issues, and give him a good reason to keep on the path!

Speaking of Qrow:

SS Gayship: The trashship vibes are intensifying. Qrow is totally gay for Clover and I am here for it! Okay maybe it’s just friendly and not romantic, but it’s nice to see Qrow have friends. However, seeing how much they playfully interact means that I am going to be PISSED if they just make Clover some sort of double agent and shatter Qrow even more. With Ozpin’s betrayal, his estrangement from his family, his bad luck semblance, I think we have seen Qrow beaten down enough- can we not continually punch this poor character?

Robyn’s smirk at Winter when she says Jacques can’t buy trust like everything else is great. I am also here for shameless RobynXWinter vibes.

Characters done wrong:

Klein- RIP. I’m annoyed that they got rid of Klein. Was the voice actor not available? It would have been better to see him being abused by Whitley and Jacques, or maybe relegated to menial work rather than head butler. Seeing the fallout of his actions is more meaningful than just hearing it. Furthermore, it would also pack more of an emotional punch to see Klein being punished for his involvement in Weiss’ breakout, but Klein needs the work so he has to continue working for them in a more menial capacity.

Whitley- I’ve known for a while they are probably going to have a “rescue Whitley” arc but they’re going about it all wrong. Every discussion with him sucks and is stupid. He’s smarmy and flat as a character, with his only development coming from Willow later. The “revelation” that his façade of arrogance is really because he’s hurt Weiss left him behind in Volume 4 doesn’t make sense, because Whitley was like that before she even left. His façade should come more from fear of his authoritarian, abusive father. Willow should have said something like “he was always trying to be on your dad’s good side, to avoid….well you know. But after you left, I am afraid he may actually be starting to EMBRACE your father’s perspective on life. So please don’t forget about your brother!” Or something like that. The writers and animators continually miss the chance to convey Whitley’s secret desperation as well. They showed one flash of fear in volume 4 and one in volume 7, but when he’s talking to Weiss he should be trying to talk to her in code, or having pain on his face!

Whitley is also the words worst Gmod player. The only person who can get away with the nonprop T-pose is Jeremy MonsterTruckin’ Dooley

Story stuff done right:

The little distraction bit to get Weiss away from Whitley was cute and funny. And it was nice to see comedy in a situation that lent itself to comedy. Last week I thought this “dinner” might have been an ambush in disguise, with Jacques luring Ironwood into Watt’s trap, but seeing how it was actually a huge party with News cameras, tons of guests, and the crew without weapons it immediately became clear this dinner was never going to be outright hostile, but instead served as a backdrop for exposition and plot development. To that vein, using it to give a bit of comedy is totally acceptable and breaks up the emotional scenes as well as the politically tense scenes.

I will say, though, I HATE the fat lady character. What’s with the voice? Is it supposed to sound like Ms. Piggy? This was kinda lame but at least Jaune’s slow mo “YESSS” and then their grimace was kinda funny. And it was a nice twist to have her covered in the food, making it seem like the plan failed, only to have the lady throw her drink on Whitley in a fit.

Faunus discrimination- This volume has been better about building a world that has Faunus discrimination, and the introduction of Marrow has been a big part of that. In this episode, they had one small tidbit with a Faunus guy working as a waiter, literally serving the Humans, but I wish they would have teased out the Faunus discrimination a little more. In this kind of wide setting, with TWO Faunus main characters and a Faunus waiter it would have been a great chance for a few scenes building the culture around Faunus hate.

These are snooty elites so maybe they don’t outright berate the Faunus people, but maybe they try to quickly grab a drink and shoo the Faunus waiter away, or they don’t make eye contact and awkwardly talk AROUND them. Maybe they gawk at Marrow’s tail or Blake’s cat ears before having to be turned away by their friends. Think of how people treat people they are uncomfortable around- homeless, mentally ill, etc. Often people aren’t outright rude to them but reactions can run the gamut from gawking, to awkwardly minimizing interactions, to trying to pretend like they don’t exist. Some of that would be nice, but at least they are taking steps to correct the lack of Faunus hate in previous volumes.

Misery in Mantle.

There is 1 homeless person shown in the episode, which is a 100% increase than prior episodes.

Story stuff done wrong:

So the council is only 3 members? That seems kind of small for a huge kingdom like Atlas. I wish there was at least 5 members, and we could see them speaking for different regions. Instead it seems like there are three members of the upper crust elite and that’s it.

The insertion of Robyn at the dinner was odd, but it seems like Jacques is trying to butter her up. He commends her “vigor” and when she said the people of Atlas are suffering he says “Quite right.” It seems like he’s trying to use Robyn’s frustration as a way to get her on the Anti-Ironwood team. This would at least make sense of why she is here other than to have her scream in between the conversation.

What was with the ending? I don’t get it. Watts disables the entire heating grid, which causes the rain to turn to snow in Mantle. Is this bad? Does this mean they are going to freeze to death? Probably? It wasn’t clear. People looked confused about the snow, and the kid seemed excited which makes me think it hasn’t happened before, but they didn’t seemed scared or really concerned.

#rwby vol7 #rwby spoilers #weiss schnee #Winter schnee #qrow #rwby #atlas #rwby v7 #rwby ruby

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