#also just generally the fact that she would make it easier on herself to move generally
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kirishima in his bunny costume admiring how deku can pose without tucking and going “wow I just use tape” and deku like “what.” and kirishima like “I just taped mine. I just put some tape on it” and deku having a little meltdown because he almost showed his fuckin balls and dick instead of thinking, what would mirko do?
#kay talks a lot#bnha ;#mirko trans? mirko trans? mirko trans? trans mirko? trans mirko? mirko who is a transwoman? mirko a trans lady? mirko? ? trans#also just generally the fact that she would make it easier on herself to move generally#so yknow. tuck it so it doesn't come out on accident
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You Shall Go to the Ball!
Anthony Lockwood x f!Karim!reader
Requested by anon: Hey, I don't know if you accept requests, but I have one. Reader(she is George's sister) accompanies Lockwood&co to the ball at Fittes and she is jealous when she sees Lockwood talking to the girl (maybe reader enemy or something)most of the time. She decides to interrupt the conversation and introduces herself as his wife, while showing the ring Lucy gave her, explaining what to do. A long chapter please😊
I am so sorry that this took so long anon 😭 (I'm also not sure about the title tbh but oh well)
a long chapter this will be! I made the reader George's adopted sister (I hope that's ok!). I also made this super long because I got so carried away and if it deviates from what you wanted then I'm so sorry my lovely
I made it just... a generic ball? I don't know if you had one specifically in mind but I thought it would fit better to have an occasion where they aren't fighting for their lives lol
sorry if your name is Maya bc that is the name of Lucy's crush in this and also sorry if your name is Steph bc she's the enemy of the reader (I had to put names in I'm sorry 🥲)
Word count: 9.8k (I'm doing my bit you guys)
Warnings: swearing, a sexual innuendo or two, bullying (mostly focused on the fact the reader is adopted), lockwood and reader love each other but they haven't done anything about it, tumblr lagged while I wrote most of this so there are probably mistakes, lockwood has some mildly self-deprecating thoughts, mentions of lockwood's suicidal tendencies, there's probably more but idk what
Tag list: @anathemaloren, @augustisintheair, @avdiobliss, @dangelnleif, @el-de-phi, @ell0ra-br3kk3r, @informedimagining, @karensirkobabes, @mischivana, @mitskiswift99, @mrsklockwood, @mrsyixingunicorn10, @novelizt, @ran23sblog, @superpositvecloudshipper, @t2sh0, @taygrls, @tournesol77, @wandamaximoffbae, @whenselenefallsinlove, @wordsarelife
As always, let me know here if you would like to be added to/removed from the tag list for my lockwood and co works (or drop me a message!) <3
Y/n was not happy.
She ought to have been, given the occasion, but she was very much unhappy instead.
Lucy was trying not to laugh too loudly, but was failing at her attempts to stifle just how funny she found the whole situation. "You know," she said between breathy laughs, "all of this would be a whole lot easier if you just told him how you feel."
"Nope. Not happening. Every time I try I freeze up and blabber some unintelligible words that make no sense, and I look like an idiot. So no."
The 'him' in question was Anthony Lockwood, the head of Lockwood and Co and resident of 35 Portland Row. Lucy Carlyle, George Karim and Holly Munro lived here too, and as George's sister Y/n had been invited to Lucy's 18th birthday party. It was a small party, only the five of them (six if you included the Skull, but only Lucy could hear it so Y/n didn't), but the atmosphere was lively and music was playing over the speakers George had set up. Banners and balloons stating 'Happy Birthday!' were strewn all over the living room (Y/n could already see Holly's eye twitching at the amount of confetti on the floor), and the boys were busy refilling glasses (another reason not to count the Skull - it had nothing to hold a drink with).
"You have to do it at some point though," she whispered into Y/n's ear. "But right now, you need to move." Lucy pointed in the direction Y/n was supposed to go, and she tilted her head back as she groaned.
"Remind me why you ever made me play this game?"
"Because it's my birthday, and you love me. Go on, unless you wanna forfeit."
"You're evil," Y/n hissed as she pushed herself off of the floor and made her way over to Lockwood. "I'm sorry, again."
"I'm not sure what for, to be honest. You're just playing the game." He smiled up at her from his place by the fire, and Y/n tried to ignore George's glare. "George, please stop looking at me like that. Lucy was the one who dared Y/n to sit on me." Y/n felt her face warm at his words, knowing that this night could only end in disaster for her, and decided to bite the bullet. Huffing, she turned and sat down, her back facing Lockwood as her legs went either side of his, and she let out a small yelp of surprise when his arms snaked around her waist and pulled her against him. Lucy only laughed, loud and obnoxious, and Y/n couldn't find it in her to shoot a look, still too taken aback by the feel of being hugged by Lockwood in this way. "You alright?" he asked, voice quiet and gentle in her ear, and she felt his breath on the side of her face.
"Y-yeah. I'm alright. How are you?" She cringed at herself, but his light chuckle reverberated through her and calmed her immediately.
"I'm alright. Quite comfy, actually. You're very warm." As if to back up his point he snuggled in to her shoulder, nose rubbing against the side of her neck, and Y/n almost choked. Instead she made a sort of strangled noise, and he stopped and looked up at her as though he was about to say something. Lockwood opened his mouth, but was cut off by George.
"Okay, she's sat on him, can she go back now? I don't wanna look at this anymore."
"George, Lucy dared her to do it for the rest of the game," Holly piped up, clearly enjoying this as much as Lucy. She also knew about Y/n's feelings for Lockwood, the three of them having had multiple nights where they talked for hours about the other two members of Lockwood and Co, and hadn't wasted any time at all in joining Lucy in her teasing about Y/n's crush. "Rules are rules, I'm afraid."
"Yeah, and it's my birthday, so don't even start to think about asking to stop the game. Besides, they look quite comfortable now, wouldn't wanna make 'em move again, would we?"
"I'm very comfortable, thanks Luce," Lockwood said, his hold tightening on Y/n.
"Y-yep. Perfectly good." Lucy and Holly shared a look, stifling their laughter. George sat back and crossed his arms over his chest, huffing at the scene in front of him. Y/n's brother also knew about her feelings for his boss, and he while he wasn't exactly mad about it, he also wasn't thrilled. She knew that he meant well, and was only looking out for her (especially since Lockwood tended to throw himself directly into danger most of the time), but a little support would be appreciated.
The rest of the game went without much incident, although George did have to stick his hand in the toilet (a dare from Holly that nobody expected, although since her arrival in the house the toilets were spotless so it wasn't much of a trial), and by the time Y/n realised that she should be getting home it was well past midnight.
"Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Okay, um- Lockwood! Hi!" He had just entered the living room where Y/n was stood clearing up (the others had gone up to their respective bedrooms), and she apprehended him in the doorway. "Can you help me call a taxi? I need to go home now and it's really late and-"
"Woah, slow down!" He placed his hands on her shoulders, a smile on his face. "Why don't you just stay over, yeah? It's what, two in the morning? You might as well sleep here and leave after breakfast. Your parents probably expected you to stay here anyway, right?" She nodded. It was a common occurrence for her to stay the night at Portland Row when visiting, since she didn't see them all that much. "So it's not a problem, really. You can take my bed if you like, save waking the others up."
"Lockwood, you really don't have to do that," Y/n started, but he cut her off.
"Nonsense. Holly's stayed too, so I'd feel bad if I turfed you out at this time of night."
"No, I mean giving me your bed. You don't have to do that." He shrugged, then moved to grab a blanket from one of the cupboards.
"I'll be alright, I'll sleep on the sofa. Seriously, Y/n/n, it's fine." He flashed her one of his smiles, and instantly she melted and gave in.
"Ugh, fine. But don't complain tomorrow morning when your back hurts," she wagged a finger at him, exhaustion winning out over guilt about taking his bed as she moved towards the door.
"Alright," he laughed, and Y/n didn't think she'd heard a better sound.
She traipsed upstairs and got ready for bed, and when she fell asleep moments after settling in she dreamed of the brown haired boy downstairs.
~~~
Y/n was sat at home in her room a day or so later when George burst in, arms filled with papers and glasses skewed on his nose.
"I've been thinking," he started, dumping the papers on the end of her bed and flopping next to her.
"Hi, Georgie, I'm doing great, thanks. What am I doing? Oh, not much, just sat here reading a book and listening to music." She sent him a pointed look to which he huffed and lightly slapped her arm.
"Shut up. Hi, how are you? Great, nice, okay. Can you listen to me now?"
"What?"
"So I've been thinking about you and Lockwood, and I've decided I don't mind too much. I mean, it's irritating, really, but technically I don't need to do a boyfriend check because I live with him so I know all his nasty habits and that, and I know that he's loyal to a fault, which is something I should probably raise with him, actually," George paused, frowning as he lost his train of thought.
"Um- okay... Where has this come from? I thought you wanted me to stop liking him?"
"Yeah, but then I had to listen to him pining after you for the last two hours at the Archives and I realised that maybe it would be better if you just got together already." Y/n stared at him in shock, processing the information her brother had just spewed.
"Wait, wait. Lockwood likes me? Are you sure?"
"Completely. This isn't some hypothesis or theory, it's fact. My sanity can prove it because it's nearly all gone."
"Okay, but... you're sure? Like this isn't a joke, right?"
"No! It's not a joke! God, you really are perfect for each other; he said the same thing you know. Didn't believe that I was telling the truth about you reciprocating his feelings. Seriously, you're both idiots for not seeing it, I mean, he let you sit on him a couple of days ago!"
"That was part of a game!" Y/n spluttered, face heating at the memory of his hands around her and his head in the crook of her neck.
"Well he wouldn't have cosied up to me, would he!" Y/n fell backwards against the headboard, hands pressed to her face as she groaned in frustration."You're still not gonna do anything about it, are you?" George was quieter now, and Y/n moved her hands slightly to peer at him through her fingers.
"Correct. I want cold hard proof before I make a proper fool of myself and have to never go to Portland Row again for fear of dying from embarrassment." Now it was George's turn to groan in frustration.
"Well somebody's just going to have to engineer a situation where you confess then, aren't they?!"
"Please, no. I will murder you while you sleep if you try anything." George was impassive when Y/n glared at him, used to her threats of death.
"Fine! I won't do anything, alright! Happy?"
"Sort of." They sat in comfortable silence for a little while, Y/n trying to read her book again but eventually getting too distracted by the mountain of paperwork that her brother hadn't touched since arriving. "What is all that, anyway?" she pointed to the end of the bed.
"Oh, my research for a case we have in a couple of days. I couldn't sit with Lockwood anymore, he was driving me insane."
Y/n rolled her eyes at her brother's dramatics. "Do you want help looking through it all?"
"Please. I have no doubts that Lockwood will be doing anything but research right now, and there's a lot to get through. At least I know that you'll stay focused."
"Come on then. Oh, are you staying for dinner? Mum's cooking tonight so you know it'll be good."
"I might do. I get caught up in this stuff anyway so we'll see what time it is. Thanks for the help, Y/n/n."
"No problem, Georgie." She ruffled his hair, laughing when he practically threw himself off of the bed to escape. He landed on the floor with a thud, only making Y/n laugh harder.
"I hate you," he said, sitting up and glaring at her through wonky glasses. "You're the devil, I swear."
~~~
Lockwood and George were cleaning the equipment after yet another successful case when George dropped the chains he was oiling and looked up at his boss.
"I don't get it," he started, making Lockwood glance up with a frown.
"Get what?"
"You barely know Y/n, and you only ever interact when she's here with us, so how are you so hopeless when it comes to my sister?"
Lockwood blushed as he remembered all the times he'd lied to his friends, telling them that he was going on a supply run or heading to the shops when in reality he was making his way to the cafe that Y/n worked at. He spent a good hour or so in there multiple times a week, and sometimes he'd offer to walk her home at the end of her shift, desperate for another few minutes in her presence. Since first meeting her not long after George joined his agency (she'd brought cake, homemade, saying that she wanted to give George a 'congrats on the new job!' present) Lockwood had wanted to be around her all the time; she was like the sun, and everything was gloomy without her. The first time he'd showed up at her place of work, he'd pretended it was a coincidence, acting surprised when he saw her behind the counter. Truthfully, he'd taken a gamble on whether or not she'd be working that day, but the blinding smile that was present on her face as she served customers (although Lockwood could tell it was a fake one) immediately told him that his gamble had paid off.
"Lockwood? Hi! How are you? How's Georgie doing, is he alright? Oh, did you want anything?"
"Just a tea, thanks love," he'd replied, not meaning for the term of endearment to slip out, but her resultant blush was enough to make him decide on repeating it. She started making a cup (he'd asked for it to take away), asking questions every now and then to get his order right, and he answered those as well as her previous questions about George. Eventually, he'd had to leave, paying for the tea he now held and exiting the shop with a promise to come back soon when she'd waved goodbye. It had become a sort of ritual for the two of them, Lockwood appearing a couple of times a week, sometimes to sit at a table with some case files, others he would just get his order to go, but he'd find a way to talk to her every time. On the days when he'd promised to walk her home she would have a cup of tea already prepared for him, sat on his usual table in the corner next to a plate of whatever pastry or cake she thought that he would enjoy. At some point over the years, Lockwood had started feeling his cheeks heat up whenever Y/n smiled at him, or butterflies start up in his stomach when their hands brushed, and eventually he'd had to accept the fact that he was falling in love with her.
"Lockwood? Lockwood! Back to the present, please!" George demanded, snapping his fingers in front of his friend's face. He was sure it had only been a few seconds, but George was annoyed all the same at Lockwood's daydreaming. He huffed in frustration, picking up the chains again."You two are insufferable, do you know that? Seriously, just ask her out already. She feels the same and you know it."
"I thought you didn't want me dating your sister?" Lockwood frowned, feeling hope start to bloom in his chest.
"Yeah, well, then I had to sit and listen to you talk about her for two hours the other day and I lost my mind."
"Oh. Well. I wasn't that annoying, was I?" George only stared at him, expression saying 'Are you serious?' and Lockwood had his answer.
"Just, I don't know. You both like each other, so why not? It'll save me from the pining at least."
Lockwood was quiet for a while, mulling over George's words. "I just know that she can do better than me," he eventually said, not looking up from the boots he was polishing. "I don't want her to... regret being with me, or something."
"Lockwood, having spent the last four years listening to her talk about you I can say with confidence that she won't regret being with you. All I ask is that you dial down the suicidal tendencies on cases, yeah? I really don't want to deal with her heartbroken." George's voice was the softest Lockwood had ever heard it, and Lockwood nodded his assent.
"Alright. I'm not making any promises though Sometimes my suicidal tendencies help us stop dying instead."
"I'm not doing much better than that, am I?"
"Nope. I will be slightly less chaotic on cases and that's as much as I can do for you."
"Fine. Keep polishing those boots, you've missed a spot."
~~~
It was a few weeks later when Lucy called Y/n up in a panic, yelling random words down the phone and ranting about something that sounded important.
"Lucy, Lucy! Stop talking for a moment!" The other girl did so, promptly falling silent, and Y/n took a breath. "What's happened?"
"There's this party- ball- thing that Fittes are throwing in like, two weeks, and we have to go because we've been invited but I have nothing to wear. At all. And you always know what to do in these situations so I figured you could help me?"
She was quiet for a moment, and then said "But it's... in two weeks?"
"Yeah."
"So why are you worrying about it right now?"
"Because loads of people have been invited, Y/n! What if the perfect outfit sells out? What if I end up in something I hate because there was nothing else?"
"Wait, wait wait." Y/n sat forward on her bed, pulling the phone off of the nightstand when the cord no longer reached. "Are you trying to impress somebody?" Now it was Lucy's turn to be quiet, and Y/n scoffed in disbelief. "Oh my god, Lucy Carlyle, do you have a crush?!"
"No, I don't! Shut up! Ugh! You are so annoying, for fuck's sake!"
"You totally do! You so have a crush! Who is it? Tell me!"
"I am telling you nothing, you nosey little bastard!"
"Okay, okay! Fine! I will get this information out of you, I hope you know. When do you wanna go shopping then?"
"Today?"
"Jesus, thanks for the notice!"
"A different day then! But we are not leaving it to the last minute like you always do!"
"No, no, it's fine, Luce. Mum's gone full clean mode anyway so it gives me an excuse to get out the house. Make my siblings do the work."
"Aren't you worried about your own room coming under fire?"
"Nope. We did mine yesterday, so I know I'm safe. I'll meet you at yours in twenty minutes?"
"Yeah, alright." They hung up and Y/n rushed downstairs, grabbing her bag and coat and pulling her shoes on, and within a few minutes she was yelling to her parents that she'd be back later and laughing at her siblings when they complained about her leaving them to their mother's cleaning fury.
~~~
"So," Y/n started, her tone supposedly disinterested as she, Lucy and Holly browsed the department store racks for something for the two agents to wear. "Who is it? The person you're dressing up for?"
"Oi, quit it." Lucy sent a glare her way, but it was too late. Holly had overheard and was joining in, and for once Y/n was glad that it wasn't her being questioned about a crush.
"Are we talking about Maya?"
"No," Lucy shot back, far too quickly for it to be the truth, and her rapidly reddening cheeks weren't helping either.
"Is that her name? Oh my god, okay! Wait, what do you know about her, Holly?"
"She hasn't told you anything? Okay, okay, so she's called Maya, works at Fittes which isn't brilliant, but she's sweet enough. Lucy totally wrecked her first impression though, which was hilarious."
"It was not! I looked like an idiot!" Lucy now had her face in her hands, and Holly had moved to link arms with Y/n. It turned out that Lucy had quite literally fallen for this girl after tripping on a kerb when staring at her, and Holly had laughed so hard she had to dash to a nearby toilet.
"Yeah, no, that is hilarious, Luce," Y/n cackled, gaining some glares from other shoppers.
"You can't talk, little miss 'I sat on Lockwood's lap and fucking yelped'!" Y/n opened her mouth in protest, looking to Holly for support, but the girl only shook her head and sided with Lucy again.
"I didn't think anybody heard that," she mumbled, mortified that apparently they had heard, and worse, hadn't forgotten.
"Oh we all heard, trust me."
"Ugh, I thought I was free because Lucy has a crush now!"
"Nope. Neither of you are off the hook," Holly declared as she laughed, and Y/n and Lucy shared a look. "Why did you yelp, anyway?"
"I was surprised, okay?"
"Did he have a flare in his pocket?" Lucy snickered with an exaggerated wink, and Y/n whacked her arm.
"No, he did not! You are ridiculous! He just... pulled me backwards into a hug, and it surprised me," she explained, voice higher than usual.
"Right... okay," Holly said, playfully narrowing her eyes. "Whatever you say!"
"I'm telling the truth!" Y/n called after them as they moved on, and she rushed to catch up.
~~~
"Oh, this store is so much better than that last one, look at the range!"
"Holly, have you ever considered working in retail if you stop being an agent?"
"God no, have you heard the horror stories? No thank you."
They were wandering around the third department store of the day when Lucy gasped loudly and practically ran to a rack of clothes.
"This one. This is the one. Oh, look at it! No, no way! It has pockets?! I am in love, and I can die happy!"
"Lucy, what are you actually talking about? Because we can't see it from here," Y/n said, and Lucy turned around with a wide smile on her face as she held up the dress. It was similar to the one she'd worn a while ago, back before Holly had joined and Lockwood and Co were into theft (they needed a book from the Black Library), but Lucy had wanted a new one given the other was slightly worse for wear.
"Oh, Lucy, it's gorgeous," Holly complimented, and Y/n agreed.
"Yeah, seriously Luce. Go and try it on!"
They ushered her into the changing rooms, and while they were waiting Holly and Y/n had a seat on the chairs nearby.
"What are you going to wear?" Holly asked, and Y/n frowned in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"To the ball? What are you going to wear? You are coming with us, aren't you?"
"Uh, I guess I can. I hadn't thought about it, to be honest. I don't think I have anything suitable to wear though."
"Well we've still got time, we can look around for something! Maybe something that will help you confess?" Holly nudged, and Y/n was just about to stop spluttering in protest and defend herself when Lucy walked out.
"Holy shit, Lucy."
"Yeah, holy shit."
"'Holy shit' in a good way or 'holy shit' in a bad way?" she asked, chewing on her lip and smoothing out the fabric.
"Good way," Y/n and Holly replied instantly.
"You look amazing, Luce, honestly," Y/n smiled, and Lucy returned it.
"Definitely that one," Holly agreed.
~~~
Holly had insisted that they keep looking around the store for something for Y/n (Lucy had agreed with Holly that Y/n 'shall go to the ball!' - she'd even declared it like the fairy godmother), and so they spent the next few hours carrying out the same painful process that they had just done with Lucy.
"Y/n? Is that you? It is!"
Y/n froze at the voice, squeezing her eyes shut in the hopes that if she just kept walking then she would be left alone.
"Y/n!"
No chance of that, then, given she'd been taken by the arm and wrapped in a hug that was entirely too fake and smelt incredibly strongly of perfume.
"Steph, hi," Y/n hoped she didn't sound too displeased to see the girl, but then again they'd never been friends, and Steph had always been a bitch to her.
"What are you doing here? I didn't think shopping was your..." she waved her hands at Y/n, "thing." She glanced up and down Y/n's body, raising her eyebrows slightly and smiling too widely.
"Not really, but I prefer it when I'm with my friends and they wanted to go out," she said, trying to figure out an escape route.
"Oh, so you're not getting anything?" Before Y/n could respond, Steph had already started talking again. "Of course you aren't, you couldn't afford it, what with your family having so many people in it."
"Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Lucy, please don't," Y/n hissed, trying to deter her friend from beating the shit out of her enemy.
"You have no right to talk to her like that, okay? And for your information, she is getting something, and it's going to be a dress that makes her look like the goddess she is, alright? So take your fake brands and irrelevant opinions and shove 'em up your arse!" Lucy ranted, shoving her finger in Steph's direction to emphasise her points. The girl was taken aback for a moment, blinking in shock, then scoffed.
"Whatever. Enjoy your lame dress, Karim. Or whatever your last name is, since we all know that you're adopted." Steph left, her two companions following with a click of their stupidly high heels, and Y/n felt tears start to prick at the corners of her eyes. Lucy was practically growling after them, and Holly had brought Y/n into a proper hug, tight and comforting.
"Well she's a bitch. How d'you know her?"
"School," Y/n sniffed, trying to prevent the tears from falling. "She never liked me for some reason, or maybe I was just easy to pick on because I don't know who my real parents are, but she always made it a point to single me out."
"Right, if she ever comes back I'm punching her."
"Lucy," Y/n berated, although she was laughing a little as she did so.
"I mean it! She's awful! Now, have we looked everywhere in this store?"
"I think so, let's try the next one," Holly said.
"Guys, it's not a big deal, really. Don't let me take up more of your time."
"Y/n, stop being ridiculous. We are finding you a dress and that's that."
"Lucy," Y/n whined as the girl grabbed hold of her arm, Holly taking the other, and led her off out of the store.
~~~
"This one?"
"Hm? No, I don't think so."
"What about this one?"
"God no, I'd look like shit."
"How about-"
"Ew, nope."
Many of their discussions had continued in this manner since leaving the store where Steph had appeared, and Y/n was still trying to find a dress that she loved. There had been many that had looked great, but when she'd tried them on there was something just not quite right, and she'd taken it off with a sigh. Curfew was starting to creep up on the three of them, and Y/n was worried that she'd never find an outfit and have to either go in a potato sack or just not go at all.
"You'll find something, Y/n," Holly said, nudging her shoulder against Y/n's.
"It's not looking very likely though, is it?" Holly didn't say anything, offering a sympathetic smile instead.
"Oh. My. God. Y/n/n, what about this one?" Lucy shouted from across the store (the last one that they hadn't previously looked around). Y/n and Holly giggled at their friend's antics, walking over to see what she wanted them to see. She was holding up a deep red dress, gaping at it with her eyes wide and mouth hanging open like she was a fish. "Ok. No thinking, no questioning, find the dressing room and put this on." Lucy bundled the dress into Y/n's arms and then shoved her in the direction of the changing rooms.
"You sure about this one, Lucy?"
"I'm positive, Holly."
~~~
The two agents were waiting outside for Y/n to appear when George turned up.
"What are you two doing here? Lucy, haven't you already got a dress?"
"Oh, hi George. Yeah, I got one earlier since my other nice dress is kind of old now, but Y/n's trying one on. Why are you here?"
"Apparently my other suit isn't nice enough, so I had to get a new one. Lucky that we've been getting some high paying customers recently that I could afford it."
"When you say your 'other suit', do you mean the one that has plasm stains and holes in it from moths?"
"...Yes."
"She's been in there a while, do you think she needs help?" Holly said after a lull in Lucy and George's conversation.
"I'm fine! Gimme two seconds!" Y/n shouted, and Lucy snickered.
"Wait, why's she trying on a dress?" George frowned, finally registering the fact that his sister was in the changing room.
"Because she's coming with us to the Fittes Ball in a couple of weeks and this girl was being a bitch-"
"Stephanie?"
"Uh- yeah. How'd you know?"
"Y/n complains about her a lot. I think they're arch enemies or something."
"Oh."
"What's she got to do with finding a dress though? Attending the ball makes sense, but where does Steph come into this?"
"Lucy might have shouted that Y/n was going to get a dress that made her look like a goddess," Holly chimed in.
"Ah, I see. So now my sister is... what, trying one on?"
"Yep. You sure you're okay?" Lucy shouted the last part in the direction of a stall, just as Y/n swept back the curtain and stepped out.
"Woah," Lucy and Holly said. George was silent, staring at his sister.
"Good woah or bad woah?" Y/n asked, smiling a little as she remembered Lucy asking a similar thing earlier that day.
"Good woah, for sure," Holly said, Lucy nodding next to her.
"Oh, Georgie. I didn't know you were here," Y/n looked more nervous now, clearly wanting her brother to say something positive.
"Do you like it?" he asked.
"Yeah. I do. I really do."
"You look beautiful, Y/n/n."
"Thank you, Georgie."
"Definitely look like a goddess," Lucy added.
~~~
"Lockwood, hi!" Y/n hadn't expected to see him today, but he had just entered the small cafe that she worked in.
"Hi, Y/n/n, how're you?" He looked antsy, like he wanted to know something, and was shifting on his feet.
"I'm alright... you okay? You look like you have a rash," she said, starting to make him a tea the way she knew he liked it.
"Uh- what? No, I don't... I don't have a rash, I just, well, I heard that you're coming to the ball with us next week?"
"Oh, yeah. The girls convinced me to go. We went dress shopping for Lucy last week and Holly told me I should go with you all. You don't mind, do you?"
"No! No, of course I don't mind!"
"Good, 'cause I already got a dress when Lucy got hers, and it was expensive and I need a justification for getting it or Mum'll be mad." She poured the hot water in, careful not to spill any over her hands (it had happened more times today than she'd like to admit), turning and finishing the tea off, placing a lid on the top of the take away cup. She pushed it across the counter, shaking her head when Lockwood pulled out his wallet to pay. "On the house, you look like you need it." He smiled at her, making her heart flutter, and pushed a fiver into the tip jar next to her as he ignored her protests.
"Thank you. Are you going to get changed with the rest of us? Or do you want us to pick you up from yours?"
"Oh, I was gonna get changed with Holly and Lucy. I'll probably come over quite early if that's alright with you?"
"Of course, you know I don't mind having you over, love. Thanks for the tea!" he called out as he left, unaware of Y/n's blush.
~~~
"Why do girls take so long getting ready for things?"
Lockwood looked up at George's words as he entered the kitchen, folding his paper and throwing it on the table. "Not sure. I'm relatively sure they plan world domination while they do it."
"Makes sense," George shrugged, flopping into a chair and pulling at his bow tie. "They have been in Lucy's room for hours now though. Do you think we need to be worried?"
"I hear them laughing every now and then, so they're still alive at least," Lockwood replied. George hummed, pushing his glasses back up his nose. All of a sudden the two boys heard footsteps thundering on the stairs, and a moment later Lucy's head poked through the kitchen door.
"Please make your way into the hall!" she half shouted, not caring that she was only a few metres away from them and disappearing again. Lockwood and George shared a look, then slowly pushed themselves out of their chairs and moved into the hallway to stand in front of the stairs. A few minutes passed, with hushed conversation barely audible from the top of the stairs, and eventually Holly said "Oh, I'll go!" and came downstairs. She looked lovely in her dress, gold fabric shimmering as she took the steps and ended up at the bottom, Lucy following closely behind in her deep blue (a staple colour for the girl), also looking gorgeous. Lockwood frowned slightly when he realised that Y/n wasn't with them, and when her head poked over the bannister with a worried expression he started feeling nervous.
"Guys, are you sure?" she asked, biting her lip. Lucy and Holly nodded, and George gave her a thumbs up.
"Wait," Lockwood started. "Has everybody seen her dress but me?"
"Yep," George said, the girls nodding behind him.
"So why are you so nervous, Y/n/n?" he called up, frowning.
"I don't know!"
"Just come downstairs!" A loud honk sounded from outside then, and the four agents turned to look in the direction of the sound.
"That'll be the cab," Lucy piped up, heading over to the door. "We'll wait for you two," she winked, and Lockwood felt his face heat up. How did she know about his feelings for Y/n?
"Please don't break her heart, Lockwood. Or I'll deliberately throw badly the next time we're on a case."
"George, no offence, but you can't aim anyway. Maybe if you deliberately aimed badly you'd throw it the right way."
"I mean it. Remember what we talked about the other week, and don't screw it up, yeah?" George patted Lockwood's shoulder, grabbing his jacket and heading outside after the girls.
"Lockwood?"
"Yeah?"
"They've all left, haven't they?"
"Yeah." Y/n didn't answer, instead letting out a groan that made Lockwood chuckle.
"Just come downstairs, Y/n/n. We're going to be late."
"Promise you'll be nice?"
"Why would I not be nice?"
"I don't know! Just promise?"
"Okay! I promise!" He was trying to stifle his laughter in the hopes that she wouldn't take it the wrong way when Y/n appeared at the top of the landing and took his breath away. She was stunning, the dress fitting perfectly and making her look ethereal.
"Lockwood? I look terrible, don't I? I'll stay here, you guys go without me-"
"No! No, don't... you look... you look- pretty," he settled on, wincing at his awkwardness. "You look really pretty, Y/n." He didn't miss the way her smile grew, or the way his face warmed, and when she muttered a small 'Thanks' under her breath his heart stuttered. "We should, uh," he cleared his throat. "We should probably... go..." he trailed off, still blushing. She had come closer and now he could smell her perfume, and when she brushed past him to open the door he thought he might faint from the brief physical contact. What was wrong with him? He was Anthony bloody Lockwood, so why was he acting so foolishly around this girl?
"Are you coming, then? Or are you gonna keep standing there like a lemon?"
"Uh, yeah, I'm- yep."
They packed themselves into the taxi, Lockwood stubbornly ignoring Lucy's smirk as the last two available seats for him and Y/n were right next to each other (which he was entirely certain had been planned), thighs pressed together, and a few moments later they were on the road, heading for the Fittes building.
~~~
"Holy shit, this is insane, Lucy," Y/n gasped, staring around the room in wonder. "Lucy?" She looked for her friend, wondering why she hadn't said anything in response, when she saw Lucy talking to a girl.
"That's Maya," Holly whispered, taking Y/n's arm and looping it through her own.
"God, she's gorgeous. I can see why Lucy likes her." Holly hummed her agreement, taking the two of them on a lap of the room.
"Did something happen between you and Lockwood before you got in the taxi?" she asked after a pause.
"What? No, why?" Y/n's eyes were wide, heat creeping up her neck at the memory of him calling her pretty.
"He can't stop staring at you. He looks like an idiot, to be completely honest." Now her eyes were wide for a different reason, turning to find Lockwood's body in the crowd. Sure enough, he was already looking their way, and after a few moments he seemed to realise that he'd been caught, blushing and rejoining the conversation he was having with George and some agent from Rotwell.
"You sure nothing happened?" Holly asked again, eyebrow raised.
"...Yep." The other girl just laughed, clearly not believing her, and dragged her further around the room.
~~~
"You alright, Luce?"
"Not really," she said, slumping into the chair next to Y/n. "Maya's talking to some other girl and I couldn't relate to anything they were saying, so I left."
"Aw, Lucy. You have been talking to her for what, an hour already? You're not going to have everything in common," Y/n reassured her friend, offering a soft smile.
"I s'pose you're right," she started. "That's what makes a good relationship, right?" Lucy was perking up with every word, sitting up in her chair and leaning forward.
"Yeah, like Y/n and Lockwood," Holly chimed in.
"Yeah, Holly's right. Wait, like- what?! What do you mean?! We're not- he's not-" Y/n spluttered, trying desperately to gain control of the situation after the slip-up and failing miserably. Lucy and Holly were doubled over laughing, clearly finding the situation hilarious, when all of a sudden Y/n shot her arms out to either side, grabbing hold of her friends. "No, seriously, stop it now. Look," she pointed towards Lockwood, hoping the girls would pick up on what was wrong.
"Is that-?"
"I'm gonna kick her arse into next fucking we-"
"Fucking Stephanie," Y/n spat, not missing the way that she was flirting with Lockwood. She hadn't realised the bitch was here, but now that she had it was incredibly difficult to take her eyes off of the scene. Now it was her turn to be gloomy, and every attempt to talk to Lockwood ended with Steph's friends (minions) pushing her back and acting like incredibly non-threatening bodyguards, but Y/n didn't want to cause a scene in the middle of a party that she wasn't technically invited to by shoving back.
Roughly an hour and a half after first spotting Stephanie with Lockwood, Y/n was stood with her back to a wall as she miserably looked on at the two of them somehow still engaged in conversation. The worst part was, Steph didn't look like she would be ending their chat anytime soon, and didn't appear to want to leave. Whether the girl knew about his affiliation with Y/n or not, she wasn't sure, but it was making Y/n increasingly more irritated as the night went on.
"Here," Lucy said, appearing at Y/n's side. "Take this." She held her hand out, one of her rings that she always wore sat in the centre of her palm, the sapphire shining up at her from its place in the centre of the band of silver.
"Uh, why?" A frown settled on Y/n's face, unsure where Lucy's mind was going.
"Because you're gonna go up to Lockwood, big smile on your face, and ask Steph why she's fondling your husband." Y/n could only stare at her friend, wondering what the actual hell had come over her.
"But... he's not my husband?"
"She doesn't need to know that, does she? You two are practically an old married couple anyway, so what does it matter? Besides, if nothing else it's an opportunity to cuddle up to him," she said the last part with a wink, making Y/n flush as she remembered the last time she had 'cuddled up' to Lockwood.
"Well, George is over there, he's not going to play along, is he?" she attempted to find a way out of this situation that Lucy had put her in, but the agent had a solution to everything, it seemed.
"Oh, I told him about this. He's promised to go with it. There was absolutely no way I was gonna let your brother be oblivious, he's a terrible liar sometimes." Lucy was still standing with her hand out, ring gleaming up at Y/n, and she had half a mind to say no and continue suffering until she heard a loud laugh come from the other side of the room. Both girls looked for the source, and Y/n bristled when she realised that it was Steph laughing, hand placed firmly on Lockwood's arm as she leaned into him. Not thinking twice, Y/n grabbed the ring, shoved it on her finger, and marched over to where her new fake husband stood. She squeezed between Steph and Lockwood (difficult, since the other girl had practically glued herself to him) and wrapped her arms around his waist, trying to steady her heart as she felt his warmth engulf her.
"Hi, love," she smiled up at him, willing him to stop staring at her with his eyes so wide open in shock and hug her back. He stuttered for a moment, going red, and vaguely Y/n registered Steph's outraged expression in the corner of her eye and George's stifled laughter.
"Uh- hi- hello."
"Y/n? I didn't realise you were going to be here," Steph asked through gritted teeth, obviously annoyed at the interruption.
"Oh, Steph! I didn't see you there! Of course I'm here, why wouldn't I be? My husband got invited and so naturally I was his plus one!" It was petty, she knew, but totally worth it for the look on Steph's face when Y/n emphasised the word 'husband' while smiling lovingly up at Lockwood.
"...Husband?" she asked, eyes flicking back and forth between the two of them. Lockwood was still rigid as a pole, although he had brought his arms around Y/n's waist after she pinched him in the side. He leaned in to whisper in her ear.
"I second that. Husband?"
"Oh, did I not tell you?" Lockwood hadn't moved his head away from her ear, instead nuzzling further into her neck, and it was becoming difficult to think straight. "We got married!" She flashed the ring at Steph, delighting in both the pure, unfiltered shock on her face and also the way in which Lockwood had moved his hands to hold her body closer to his.
"Well- I- okay then. But one question, for Lockwood?" He pulled his head up, dopey smile on his face as he nodded for Steph to continue.
"Why would you ever marry someone like her? I mean, you know that she's adopted, right?"
Y/n could practically feel George bristle behind her and get ready to punch Steph's lights out, but Lockwood remained calm, his expression sharpening and spine straightening as he took Steph in.
"I don't see how her not being biologically related to her parents affects how much I love her, do you?"
"It's just that-"
"I married Y/n because of who she is, not because of her family, although having George around is wonderful," Lockwood cast a smile at Y/n's brother before continuing. "She's the most incredible person I have ever met, and she far outshines you in every way and I think you know that, and you're jealous of it. I know that I'm jealous of how incredible you are, darling," he turned to Y/n, using the hand that wasn't around her waist to push back a lock of hair, his fingers lingering for a few moments more than was necessary as he smiled softly at her. "And quite honestly, Steph, if you can't agree with me on that then I don't think we have anything else to talk about, do we?" It was a rhetorical question, Lockwood already turning away and linking his hand with Y/n's as he dragged her to the side of the room, but they could hear Steph spluttering being them as they went.
"So," he started once they were far enough away. "What was that all about?" He hadn't let go of her hand, and his thumb had started softly tracing patterns over their intertwined fingers.
"What?"
"I don't remember marrying you, Y/n, unless it happened when I was really drunk or sleep deprived," he joked, although something in his eyes was searching for any hint of truth to the words in her face.
"I just- she's- I-" Y/n took a breath, trying to figure out how to explain the whole thing to him without him getting mad or laughing at her. "Steph's always hated me, and Lucy knows that-"
"What's Lucy got to do with this?" She huffed at him, small frown appearing on her face.
"If you let me finish then you'd know!"
"Alright! Alright!"
"Yeah, so Lucy knows that Steph hates me, and I hate her, and you two were talking for so long and she was all over you and I couldn't keep watching, so Lucy gave me this ring that I think is actually one of mine that she stole," she frowned down at her hand, going off on a tangent, "and she told me I should go over and say we were married to get rid of Steph."
Lockwood didn't say anything, instead just staring at her with a blank expression, and Y/n looked down at their still linked hands.
"I'm sorry," she whispered after a while.
"Don't be," he whispered back, using his free hand to lift her chin up. "I'm just a little annoyed, to be honest."
"Oh, god, I really am sorry, Lockwood! I didn't mean to make you upset or anything, I just got pissed off with her and-"
"No! No no no, stop right there. I'm not annoyed at you, darling, never you. I'm annoyed at myself for not coming up with that plan earlier. She was really starting to piss me off too, and I kept hoping that George would intervene or something and he never did- I'm going to have to talk to him about that," Lockwood frowned, looking in her brother's direction. "I'm also... I'm annoyed that this is how I tell you that-"
"Here you are! I was wondering where you two had run off to!" George appeared, bright smile on his face, and Y/n couldn't stop the glare that came onto her face. Tell me what? If only George had turned up a few moments later, then she would know what Lockwood wanted to say. "We should probably find the others, party's wrapping up now and I'm craving my bed." Lockwood heaved a sigh, then nodded in agreement, following after George as her brother tried to find Lucy and Holly, casting a slightly pained glance over his shoulder at Y/n.
Tell me what?!
~~~
The journey back to Portland Row was uneventful since everybody was exhausted, although Lucy was practically buzzing in her seat because Maya had passed on her number, telling Lucy to call her.
"This means something, right?" she exclaimed as they piled through the front door. "I have a real chance with her, don't I?"
"Yes, Lucy. Yes you do," Y/n yawned, leaning slightly on Lockwood to take her heels off. Why she'd ever let Holly convince her that heels were needed when she could have worn her trainers instead she wasn't sure, but she breathed a sigh of relief when the first one was finally off. She wobbled for a moment trying to undo the strap on the other one when Lockwood steadied her, crouched down, and took her leg into his hands as his fingers worked the clasp. A few moments later he was done, gently pulling the shoe off of her foot, and although he had only had his hands on her for what couldn't have been more than ten seconds Y/n could feel her cheeks heating up and her heart beating faster.
"Lockwood, what the fuck are you doing?"
"George, they're having a moment, alright? Leave 'em alone," Lucy hissed, taking him by the arm and dragging him upstairs, hushed apologies whispered as he tripped and face planted due to her harsh tugging.
"Good night you two, I'll see you in the morning," Holly said, following after her coworkers and leaving Y/n and Lockwood in the entrance hall alone for the second time in the last twenty-four hours.
"You're not going to bed, are you?" Y/n asked, a knowing smile on her face as she looked at Lockwood. He shrugged, heading towards the library instead of up the stairs.
"I'm not feeling too tired, to be honest," he replied.
"You never feel tired, I swear. Do you ever sleep?" She mock gasped. "Are you a vampire? Is that why you're so pale and are always awake at night?" She broke off into a fit of giggles, exhaustion making her mildly hyper.
"No, I am not a vampire," Lockwood laughed, shaking his head at her antics. "Go on, you should head up. Unlike me you can't run on tea and tea alone."
Y/n nodded, heading for the stairs, but stopped a little way up as she remembered something. "Lockwood?"
He paused in the doorway of the library, turning to face her with one hand still on the handle. "Yeah?"
"What were you gonna tell me before George came over? At the ball? You said you were annoyed that it took you so long to tell me something." A frown had worked its way onto her face, but Lockwood's was filled with a smile.
"Go to bed, darling. I'll see you in the morning." He disappeared into the library, leaving Y/n standing on the staircase staring at the place he had just been.
~~~
The next morning Y/n woke to an empty room, Lucy and Holly nowhere to be seen in the attic. She laid in bed for a little while, soaking in not having to get up and go to work, but eventually the need for food grew too strong and she was forced to start her day.
The kitchen was empty of George, too, and a short investigation led to finding a scribbled note on the thinking cloth that Holly, Lucy and George had gone for a grocery run at the supermarket. That left Lockwood, who was either hiding away in the house or had gone off on his own somewhere. Y/n's question was answered a few minutes later as she was pouring hot water into a mug for tea, and she nearly spilled the liquid all over her hands when Lockwood appeared and asked her to pour a cup for him.
"Shitting hell, Lockwood! Where did you come from?"
"Oh, I was downstairs. Doing a spot of rapier practice. Thanks," he gratefully accepted the mug that Y/n handed him, smiling brightly at her over the edge. She tried desperately to ignore the flush to his skin (and the mental images of Lockwood training), and turned back to her own mug of tea, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment in the hopes that she could go back to thinking normal thoughts. "You alright?"
"Hm? Oh, yes! Yeah, yep. I'm fine," she exclaimed, wincing at how the words came out. Lockwood stifled a snort (unsuccessfully) and took a sip of tea, yelping a moment later.
"Shit, that's hot!"
"Why wouldn't it be? You idiot!" Y/n was laughing fully, not bothering to hide how amusing she found the whole situation, and Lockwood was glaring at her from where he stood fanning his mouth. "You literally watched me pour boiling water into that like, a minute ago!"
"I know! I know! Stop laughing, will you? I feel bullied. I'm being bullied."
He took a glass out of the cupboard, filling it up with cold water from the tap and taking a long drink. They stood in silence for a while after that, Lockwood taking tentative sips of his tea while Y/n took large gulps, trying not to laugh at him when the memory of his reaction came back. They were very rarely alone in the house, with at least one other person somewhere and about to walk in, and Y/n decided that Lockwood had nowhere to go so she might as well corner him.
"Why didn't you answer me last night? When I asked what you wanted to tell me?"
He froze momentarily, the tips of his ears going pink as he hid behind his mug and scratched at the back of his head. "It doesn't matter, Y/n/n. Really."
"Well it matters to me, Lockwood. If nothing else the not knowing is killing me. Also I had just dragged you into a marriage with me, and while I do feel bad about that I also feel that you owe me this as well."
"You didn't drag me into a marriage, you surprised me with one," he joked, clearly stalling.
"Okay, fine, but seriously what were you going to say before my idiot brother came over?"
"I was just... going to say that..." he mumbled the last part, all the words smushed together and said quietly so that Y/n had trouble picking them out.
"Sorry, I genuinely could not hear you for the life of me Lockwood," her expression was apologetic, and he sighed through his nose as he looked up at the ceiling, closing his eyes before making a decision.
"I was going to say that I was annoyed that it took me so long to tell you that I love you."
"I love you too, Lockwood," Y/n frowned, wondering why he looked so beaten up about it. The five of them often told each other that they loved them, the words thrown around casually all the time.
"No, I mean- I love you, Y/n. To the point that George punches me in the arm sometimes because I won't shut up about how amazing or funny or kind or smart you are."
"Oh."
"Yeah." He hesitated for a few seconds, then spoke up again. "If you don't... I don't want this to ruin our friendship if you don't feel the same way though."
"Why wouldn't I feel the same?"
"You haven't said anything and it's- it's freaking me out!"
"Well I do feel the same! I'm just also freaking out because you love me too!"
"We're a mess, aren't we?" Lockwood laughed.
"Absolutely."
"So- So if I asked you on a date... would you-"
"Yes. Sorry, I- you can finish."
"I mean I think I got my answer, to be honest." He smiled softly at Y/n, placing his mug down and slowly coming over to where she leaned against the countertop. She reached her arms up and draped them around his neck, bringing him into a hug, and his own hands found their way to her waist. His eyes flicked between hers and her lips, and then he was whispering "Can I kiss you?" and leaning in when she nodded, pressing his lips to hers gently. They didn't rush, taking their time as they kissed softly, Lockwood's fingers brushing the skin just under her jumper and Y/n's fingers tangling in his hair, and when they pulled away for air they stayed close, foreheads bumping against each other.
~~~
When Holly, Lucy and George got home just over an hour later, arms laden with shopping bags, the silence was deafening.
"I really hope they haven't killed each other," Holly frowned, peering up the stairs as if doing so would help her find their missing friends.
"Maybe they've finally got together and are on a date," Lucy exclaimed, poking George in the side when he wouldn't move out of the way of the cupboard that she needed to open.
"Ow! I'm torn about that. On the one hand if they do get together I'll be glad they've stopped pining, on the other they'll be insufferable. You know what Lockwood's like, all lovey-dovey and attention giving, and Y/n will soak it up like a dry sponge."
"Oh, I found them!" Holly poked her head through the kitchen door, neither Lucy or George having noticed her leave. She lead them to the library, motioning for quiet as she pushed the door open. "They must have been reading and got tired. They totally confessed, just look at them!"
Lockwood and Y/n were curled up (somehow) on the larger of the two armchairs in the library, limbs entangled and hanging off of the arms and a book dangled in Lockwood's free hand, the other wrapped around Y/n keeping her safely tucked into his chest as the two of them slept. George looked like he was trying to be upset, but Lucy could see the smile he was holding off at the sight in front of them.
"We should leave them to it, I s'pose," Lucy murmured, pulling the door shut softly with a small click. "You alright, George?"
"Just thinking about how horrible things will be with them finally together," he replied, rolling his eyes and heading back into the kitchen to start dinner.
"He's not really upset, is he," Holly said, more stating it as a fact than posing a question.
"Nope. He's gonna be singing while he cooks, I can guarantee it."
Sure enough, barely five seconds after Lucy said the words, singing could be heard from behind the closed kitchen door alongside the clash of pots and pans.
#lockwood and co#anthony lockwood#anthony lockwood x reader#anthony lockwood x you#lockwood x reader#lockwood & co#idiots in love
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EAH was one of my very favorite cartoons as a kid, and I've been enjoying it's renaissance very much, so REDESIGNS!!! (I've done a bunch over a couple months and put them on Instagram, but I figured I'd move them here cause Instagram sucks, so if you've seen them before over there that's why)
I think the original designs are aesthetically pleasing, but they're not super practical for the characters- case in point! Gay icon Darling Charming
I'm gonna put all my design notes under the cut so if you don't care about that carry on, have a nice day
Darlings original design is fun, but it doesn't serve an obvious purpose, at least not that I can see. She clearly wears armor on the outside of her outfit, the Marie Antoinette poof is a bit strange to me, and she has very little visually tying her to Dexter and Daring. I wanted to emphasize her secrecy, but also her passion for puzzle solving, riddles, combat tactics, ect. when she's around the people she trusts (as if the queer metaphor wasn't obvious enough)
Here are some details that just make me happy
-First, the hair. I knew I wanted to give the White Knight a more unique look, and I wanted to simplify it overall. I LOVE the original armor, but it would be a huge pain to animate, and I don't have the patience for that, so I went for a masquerade-ball-three-musketeers-vibe. The braided bun is still a fancy, regal style, but it's a lot easier for her to manage in her uniform
-I tried to synthesize the color schemes of the Charming siblings. They all have a pit of yellow, a bit of pinkish red, a bit of blue. The twins lean heavy into yellow and blue, with splashes of red where thematically appropriate. Darling doesn't really communicate with Daring much, so she has the least amount of red. I think having more muted colors in comparison to her brothers also emphasizes the fact that she's hiding herself. She is very much defying her family with her ambitions, and she has to work hard to keep it under wraps. Sort of related, I gave her a tooth gap, because it's a cute design detail, but also to act as a "flaw" to contrast with Daring. Daring's primary physical trait is his ungodly perfect teeth, so I thought it'd be fun to give her an "imperfect" trait, like Dexter and his glasses. There's nothing actually wrong with them, but it's a failure to reach the insane expectations that the Charming family has cultivated over the generations. Basically the Charmings are petty and I feel bad for the youngest generation.
-Speaking of concealment! There are a couple bits that I thought would be fun to hide throughout her outfit. First, the skirt is flowy enough and the shirt is positioned just right so that you can't tell, but she has pieces of leather armor on at all times. She saves the plates for wonderland. She also wears gloves to hide the callouses on her fingers from swordfighting! She also probably keeps knives in her hair somewhere. Pulling a small switchblade out of the base of her bun just seems like something she would do
-Final thing, I gave her a scar! From what I can tell, she's always been very rough-and-tumble, so I gave her a scar over her brow. She likes to pretend it's from a Mysterious Incident to mess with her friends, but really she was wrestling Daring when they were like, 4 and 6, and she bonked her face into a table. She got over it real fast, but Daring got a long lecture about it, and that's when he started getting over-protective about her
#eah headcanons#eah#ever after high#ever after high art#eah fanart#darling charming#eah redesign#coffeepaintart#yes I have thought about this cartoon for children designed to sell dolls from almost a decade ago for far too long why do you ask
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EVERYONE WHO MISSES TECH, PLEASE STAND
Because Dave Filoni really looked at us and said “FUCK YOUR TECH DREAMS!”
Tech did not return and I am screaming.
Anyway, please enjoy Tech and a Baby
Crosshair and a Baby
Wrecker and a Baby
Gregor and a Baby
Echo and a Baby
Full fic below the cut in case you don't want to go to Ao3:
Tech isn’t what you would call a “baby guy.” Babies are illogical and can’t be reasoned with. At least once they reach a certain age, you can start communicating and getting some understanding out of them. Unfortunately for Tech, baby Echo “Ec” Yothia is still just that: a baby. None of this is to say that Tech doesn’t love Ec because, no, no, he does. He just tends to find himself a little…Uncertain when it comes to the child. He prefers to simply observe others interacting with him rather than truly engaging with the child himself.
So, of course, he would find himself in this situation. Ec’s mother, Rayona, has been working herself incredibly hard for the clone rebellion. As the acting pseudo-General and one of two resident Jedi, she takes what she does very seriously. She’s worked herself so hard, in fact, that Echo, as their resident Rayona-specialist, has taken it upon himself to start enforcing nap times for her. This is fine. Usually, it’s Echo or one of the other Bad Batch squad members that sit or lay with her to make sure she actually rests, some even resorting to lying on top of her. The problem is, Rex has Hunter and Wrecker helping him with a job and Crosshair is preoccupied with Omega. Apparently, Rayona is extra unwilling today, so Echo said it would be best for him to enforce nap time. Which leaves Tech with the baby.
“Are you absolutely certain that you cannot come and watch over him? I am not equipt for the caretaking of an infant,” he says into his comm. He can hear Crosshair laughing on the other side of the transmission, but it’s Omega who answers.
“Sorry, Tech. Crosshair and I are busy with Plaa and Ky right now.” Ah, of course. Rayona’s Jedi friend and her padawan/adopted daughter. Crosshair has taken a rather keen interest in them. “Have you asked any of the others?”
“I have accounted for everyone else in the base. They are all either busy or not currently able to properly watch over Ec. While I am not equipped to care for him, I will not pass Ec off to someone who has more pressing matters to attend to. His safety is prioritized over my own comfort,” Tech says. He adjusts his goggles slightly. “I will attend to him. Thank you for your help, Omega.”
“Good luck, Tech!” With that cheerful send-off, Omega is gone and Tech is once again alone with his thoughts and the infant. Ec stares up at him with big brown eyes, taking a moment before he smiles and reaches up toward Tech’s face, gurgling. His hand waves toward Tech’s eyes in particular, and Tech quickly deduces that he must be able to see his reflection in Tech’s goggles. He shifts the child away slightly, hoping to avoid getting any small fingerprints on his goggles. After taking a few moments to consider what he could possibly do with the child, he comes up with an idea.
For the time being, Tech sets up Ec’s feeding chair near his workstation and places Ec in it. This will allow him to monitor the child but will prevent Ec from possibly grabbing something he shouldn’t. With Ec out of his lap for the moment, Tech is able to work on his latest project. It is, however, a project for Ec. A common problem is that Ec constantly needs to be held since there aren’t many good places to put him down. Tech has been working on a solution for that. Simply put, a hovering pram for Ec to rest in. It would make it easier to transport him around while still having one’s arms free. Tech decided to fit it with an energy shield, should the day ever come when they need to move the baby through an active battlefield. He also asked about mounting small automatic turrets to shoot anyone not in a specific scan-related database, but Rayona had very quickly nixed that idea. Despite his well-cited argument about the turrets keeping Ec safe, she’d argued that it was “too dangerous” for the rest of them. A rather preposterous concern, if you ask Tech, but he went along with Rayona’s wishes. She is Ec’s mother and Tech respects her too much to go against her will. It’s easy for him to focus all his attention on the project in front of him…At first. After approximately three minutes and thirty-six seconds, Ec begins to babble. Tech ignores him at first. He can’t expect the infant to be quiet, after all. They’re only quiet when they sleep. However, it quickly becomes clear that Ec is seeking attention and Tech looks over at him.
“Yes?” he prompts, though he knows Ec won’t respond. Ec giggles and smiles at him, and Tech adjusts his goggles as he considers what to do. Ec seemed pleased that Tech spoke to him, which makes sense considering that infants recognize the sounds of speech. After Rayona had Ec, Tech also read that speaking to infants helps their cognitive development, meaning they’re able to acquire speech and language skills sooner. Perhaps he could help move that process along. Yes, that solution will do nicely. Tech pulls the feeding chair a little closer to his side, turning it slightly so that Ec can watch him work. “Now, Ec, while I understand that you do not currently have the capacity to understand me, I assure you that listening to me will help with your mental development. Now, as you can see, I’m currently wiring together the necessary controls to activate and deactivate the energy shield over the body of the pram. Once that is complete I will finish calibrating the repulsorlift and set it to the inner shell, which will allow your pram to hover, therefore making you easier to transport. I should also incorporate a sensor so that the pram can be summoned from a distance, and the sensor can be synced to your mother and-”
“Why are you sayin’ all that to him?” Tech lifts his head from his work, turning to look over his shoulder. Ah, it seems that Wrecker and Hunter have returned. Tech adjusts his goggles again.
“I had read that speaking to an infant helps with their mental development, especially when it pertains to speech skills,” he says. Wrecker blinks, clearly confused, and Tech sighs. “If I continue to talk to Ec, it is likely that he will learn to talk more quickly.” Now Wrecker’s eyes widen with understanding.
“Oh. I get it. But why all that…Smart stuff? Doesn’t he want to hear about baby stuff?” he asks. Tech glances at Ec, who he finds looking back at him. When Tech’s eyes land on him, Ec smiles and babbles slightly. Tech smiles slightly in satisfaction before looking back at Wrecker.
“I believe my ‘smart stuff’ is plenty entertaining for Ec. Perhaps he will retain some of it and someday have an intellect matching my own,” he says, perhaps just a little proudly. Hunter appears at Wrecker’s side, helmet held against his hip.
“Does that mean you don’t want us to take him? Omega mentioned that you weren’t sure what to do with him,” he says. Tech once again looks down at Ec, who is still smiling at him.
“No. He may remain with me,” he says after a moment. Hunter shrugs, then gestures to Wrecker with his head. The two leave and Tech turns back to his project, though not without briefly brushing some of Ec’s hair back. “Now, where was I? Ah, yes. I should consider making some sort of gauntlet or chip to ensure that your pram can be summoned to…”
#the bad batch#the bad batch tech#sw tbb#tbb#tbb tech#tbb hunter#tbb wrecker#clone force 99#bad batch#star wars the bad batch#I miss him so much your honor#bring back my boy 2024#tech and a baby#baby fic#baby fluff
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✨ Sebaura headcanons
Based on their relationship dynamic in my fic How to Make a Villain, in which Sebastian and Aurélie meet in their seventh year after Aurélie transfers to Hogwarts from Beauxbatons. Sebastian's fifth-year events still took place prior to her arrival, just without the Goblins/Keepers or MC/Ancient Magic.
A/N: These headcanons are taken directly from my fic and based on my own personal version of Sebastian. All headcanons are valid. ‼️ NO SPOILERS.
Aurélie Collins
Astrology big three: 🌞 Aquarius sun, ✨Taurus rising, 🌙 Capricorn moon.
🦋 Though she certainly isn't shy, Aurélie is a quiet girl. She observes more than she speaks and tends to keep her thoughts and opinions carefully guarded (until she's angry, in which case her fiesty French side comes out to yell at Sebastian lolol.) As such, she can come across as distant or aloof, but that's not to say she isn't friendly: she's very sweet, helpful and caring — it's just that she's more comfortable deflecting attention away from herself than she is being the centre of it. It can be hard to get her talking; generally, she won't say much until she feels comfortable with someone — but even then, she won't willingly offer a lot without some gentle coaxing (or aggressive coaxing, if you're Sebastian). Sebastian, naturally, is unperturbed by this (he "never backs down from a fight", as we know) and uses his tried-and-true stratgedy of relentless pursual to break through her stubborn defenses.
🦋 Great at suppressing unpleasant memories and emotions, Aurélie never outwardly expresses her pain until she explodes/implodes/has some kind of meltdown. She'll never ask for help, and would sooner jump in the lake than cry in front of another person. This is a practise in patience for Sebastian, whose impulsive need to fix, help and take charge is challenged by her tendency to withdraw, shut up and shut out.
🦋 Being the most stubborn girl on the planet, it takes her a very, very long time to admit she's in love with Sebastian, even when it's obvious to everyone (including him). Despite being smart and pretty, she has literally no romantic experience, so her relationship with Sebastian is a steep learning curve in vulnerability and trust.
🦋 Typically Ravenclaw, she's bright, excels academically and very rarely struggles to keep up with her school work. Even amid all the stress and trauma of her personal life, studying becomes something of a coping mechanism — something "beneficial" and "positive" she can distract herself with. Her academic talents may be in part helped by her ability to wield Ancient Magic (thus using magic comes easier to her), but also because she pays great attention to detail, has a sharp memory and loves to learn. At Beauxbatons, she took advanced classes from fourth year onwards.
🦋 Love language: Being a quiet girlie, she expresses her love best through non-verbal means like quality time, physical affection and gift giving.
🦋 Want vs need: Her greatest want is stability, but what she needs is to face periods of change and insecurity without withdrawing so she can find that stability within herself.
🦋 A fact: Being the guarded sort, Aurélie has never had a very wide circle of friends. When the family moved back to France when she was eight, she didn't meet her bestie Celeste until she started Beauxbatons three years later. In the meantime, her very first friend in France was a unicorn who lived in the forest near her house who she named Neige (French for snow). Her wand contains one of Neige's tail hairs.
Astrology big three: 🌞 Virgo sun, ✨ Aries rising, 🌙🌙 Scorpio moon.
🌿 Sebastian's connection with Aurélie is pretty much instantaneous, but it takes him a while to figure out that what he feels for her goes far beyond his natural inclination to "help". Between the two of them, Sebastian falls the fastest and the hardest, but he quickly learns that if he pushes her too hard and fast into reciprocating his feelings, Aurélie will withdraw. Again — this impulsive Aries rising bb learns a much needed lesson in patience when he meets his stubborn Taurus rising soulmate.
🌿 While Solomon's death certainly had an effect on him (lol?), it wasn't until Anne's death shortly afterwards that he really started to spiral. He blames himself more for Anne's death than he does Solomon's (justifying that Solomon's death was a act of self-defence, whereas Anne's was a result of his failure.) As a way to cope, Sebastian taps into his ambitious Slytherin nature to help alleviate his grief, losing himself under an insane workload: studies, homework, Healer training, Quidditch captain, extra N.E.W.T classes, reading every night until he practically drops. Everything he does, he does with the intention of deflecting his pain. It isn't until Aurélie shows up with her own grief and trauma that, so like a mirror, he finally starts to face his own.
🌿 Used to being a caregiver, Sebastian aspires to become a Healer, believing deep down that if he can heal others, he can absolve himself of his guilt and make up for the harm he's caused.
🌿 Like Aurélie, Sebastian doesn't like to ask for help. After a lifetime of being let down by caregivers and authority types, he's learned not to depend on anyone but himself to solve problems. When Aurélie can't — or won't — help herself, Sebastian takes on her responsibilities as if they're his own, shouldering her burdens as an unconscious act of repentance for his mistakes. When someone he loves is in need, the guilt of not doing enough to alleviate their suffering is simply too much for him to bear.
🌿 Love language: Sebastian's love language is Acts of Service and Physical Affection. Having been the main caregiver to Anne, he's learned to pay more attention to others needs than his own. When he notices Aurélie's aversion to the cold, he starts wearing more layers in case he needs to give them to her. When he notices she doesn't eat, he convinces the House Elves to make traditional French food for the Ravenclaw table. He puts others before himself — often to the detriment of his own well being.
🌿 Want vs need: His greatest want is acceptance, but what he needs is to learn that true acceptance comes first from honouring the limits and flaws in others before they, in turn, can accept those things in him.
🌿 A fact: He's older than Anne by five minutes. His mother used to tell the twins that when they were born, Sebastian came out of the womb screeching so loudly that they thought something was wrong with him. But when Anne arrived shortly after, he immediately became calm and quiet. It was the same way throughout their lives: Sebastian was prone to anxiety whenever he was away from Anne, which is another reason why fifth year was so difficult for him.
🦋 This post was inspired by this one by the lovely @intotheseas! Please check it out!
🦋 First two photos by me, last photo by @sleepywitchlory
#sebastian sallow#aurelie collins#sebaura#how to make a villain#hogwarts legacy#hogwarts legacy oc#hogwarts legacy fandom#hogwarts legacy mc#sebastian sallow x mc#hogwarts legacy sebastian#hogwarts legacy screenshots#hogwarts legacy headcanons
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EPISODE REVIEW TIMEEEE:
(contains spoilers for “analyze piss”)
sooo…. goddamn….
that was dark, and lighthearted, and inspiring all at once.
i was stoked to see rick seeking out therapy, adapting to it, and being open to growth and change.
i think because of the serious nature of this episode, i’m going to divide my specific initial thoughts into two categories- “light” and “heavy.”
i have to give this ep a 9/10 on first-watch. it feels like a crime to not appreciate this for what it is.
light thoughts:
-NIMBUS CAMEO NIMBUS CAMEO. i didn’t realize how much i love and miss this character until we got to see him again. i am so interested in his dynamic with rick and how much potential he has to be explored.
-YEEEUPPPP. this moment still holds up-
- lmao for once i found myself rooting for jerry in a fight. i’m astounded at how much that showed for his character development, too. he was defending his daughter. his actions later on in the ep are questionable, but no more petty than what we’ve seen from rick.
- it was also cute to see morty and summer be proud of their parents for once. super nice contrast from previous moments that showed they are usually not too thrilled with being associated with them (like in “childrick of mort,” etc.)
- i loved how everyone was celebrating rick for accepting therapy. jerry having his back was really sweet- and beth kissing him on the cheek. it’s nice to see this family unit show some support for each other.
- LMAO RICK IGNORING MR. GREEN BEAN WITH HIS SUNGLASSES ON
- it was so sweet to see rick genuinely happy for his family. just :) while they were climbing on board. (idk if that was him being facetious towards himself, considering he was pulling from his flask, but i thought it was cute)
-shoutout to wong for tricking rick sanchez into doing therapy homework. woman works wonders.
okay… time for the heavy stuff:
- they handled the topic of suicide beautifully and respectfully, which i assume would be a difficult move for a “comedy” to make.
i cried a lot during this episode. a lot.
- wow. just… wow. that was a lot to take in. i found it interesting that rick sought out piss master because he related to him. he knew he was probably complex and misunderstood.
it’s reminiscent of “the old man and the seat” to me, but it seems like rick found it easier to accept another “piece of shit” as his friend than he did tony, who was generally a decent person.
the fact that piss master had a daughter also reminded me of rick’s relationship with tony. rick related to tony because of his dead wife, which drove his decision to forfeit his toilet. rick related to piss master because of his relationship with his daughter, which drove him to make his death something she could be proud of (and wouldn’t blame herself for).
- building off of my last thought, it seems like every time rick decides to open up and accept friendship, they end up dying (with an exception of BP, squanchy, etc.). he’s growing, but he’s still not allowed to let new people in yet.
- that scene of him trying to save piss master was gut wrenching. just… all of it. he really didn’t want him to die. he really cared. he’s really a person- wholly and fully. piss master wasn’t just some guy to rick in that moment.
- that scene where he has a conversation with piss master’s daughter (literally SPEAKING AS piss master) hit me hard.
i really think, in his mind, he was talking to beth there.
piss master is someone rick can relate to, not only for his daughter, but the fact that he wanted to take his own life. the show isn’t shy about the fact that rick has attempted suicide before.
here’s the scenes this scene reminded me of:
rick has literally tried to kill himself in his daughter’s house. i wonder if that made him think of how that would have made beth feel- to have found him there. if she would have blamed herself…
he wouldn’t ever want his little girl to think that.
piss master is a lot like him: a piece of shit whose daughter loves the fuck out of him for some reason.
i also don’t think it’s a coincidence that piss master’s daughter looks a lot like beth. that look through the peephole at her? damn… how do you think that felt?
(can’t find a screen grab of her yet, but when i do i’ll update this.)
we know he’s a sap for men with dead wives/daughters. this one hit home.
-in the end, morty is his best friend. he couldn’t bear to hurt alone.
i don’t think that he confided in morty to be a dick, or to regress at all. i think he was trying to healthily share his feelings, but that wasn’t fair to morty. he could’ve called wong, or told her earlier. that’s what therapists are for.
- it shows a lot that morty retaliated immediately.
“i can’t sit with that!”
“and you expect me to?!”
great moment that shows his growth.
(i really don’t feel like i’m giving this episode justice, so i’m going to rewatch soon and make a full analysis).
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okay so about genuinely good writing (although I'm generally a stephenie meyer apologist about her writing so take this with a grain of salt) but I actually think the passage in eclipse where jacob is like, “if you had met me first and edward never moved to forks we would have fallen in love and made a life together” and bella is like, “yknow yeah you're probably right” and pictures the children she would have had with jacob. and idk I just always thought that was such a fascinating end to the love triangle. admitting that a life with jacob would have been effortless had she not met edward. (and low-key I wish there was some kind of fic where this did happen and then edward moved to forks when bella was in her forties because THAT would be a better love story than twilight just based on how creepy it would be)
SM has talked about this too; she has a bit in her Eclipse FAQ on her website that makes it pretty clear that Bella does not have just "love him like family" feelings for Jacob:
Bella does not fall in love with Jacob in Eclipse. Bella falls in love with Jacob in New Moon. I think it’s easy to understand why this fact doesn’t occur to her. Bella has only fallen in love one time, and it was a very sudden, dramatic, sweep-you-off-your-feet, change-your-world, magical, passionate, all-consuming thing (see: Twilight). Can you blame her for not recognizing a much more subtle kind of falling-in-love?
Does this love devaluate her love for Edward? Not for me. For me, it makes that perfect true love stronger. Bella has another option. She has a really good one. An option that’s easier in many ways, that takes nothing—like her family, present or future—away from her. She would have love, and friendship, and family—an enviable human future. But she chooses Edward over all of this. This makes it real for me.
But then she goes and make Jacob her future son-in-law so like, IDK. Weird choice, there.
Anyway yes I agree that were was something really beautiful and bittersweet about the realization that she could have had a happy life with Jacob. I particularly remember, "I could see years passing, and meaning something as they passed, changing me," which is a stark contrast to the frozen existence of the vampires. . . and then she chose to also force Jacob not to age by having him imprinting on an immortal half-vampire and again I'm left scratching my head.
I still think Jacob/Bella got away from her in the middle books; that she found herself more interested in them, in him, than made sense if she wanted to stick to the E/B, Jacob/Renesmee ending and then had to scramble in her edit of Forever Dawn into Breaking Dawn to try and get that genie back in the bottle and it just . . . never quite worked IMO.
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hello! thank you for introducing me to PoE, i really enjoyed the story and also played a pale elf, a cipher, in fact, so i'm interested how u find playing as one bc i thought it was extra juicy to play story wise! Also, have u shared more details about Tarren? I'd love read more about her! <3 I'd never played this type of game b4 and it resulted in funny moments like not realising that looking at the map/inventory doesn't automatically pause the game until "aloth" rudely urged we get a move on(and we were in Dyrford - not exactly early on!!). So, it turns out I recruited Aloth after staring into space for days :)) My background was philosopher so it checks out i guess XD
im so glad you enjoyed it!! GLAMFELLEN NATION RISE... pale elves are so cool ....
im really enjoying cipher!!!! i picked ranger for my first run because i thought it would be easier to ease myself into a new game with new mechanics with a more straight forward class. but now i have my head wrapped around the game as a whole i think cipher will be tarren's official class! idk how this will work with multi-classing as priest in deadfire but we'll see
im still figuring things out for tarren but ive settled on a backstory :) she is from old vailia with the gentry background (thank u console commands lol)
she isn't of noble stock herself but her mother worked as a land agent/steward/game warden for a minor landed vailian family and so as thanks for her hard work and dedication decided to take on the cost of tarren's education and general welfare as a ward of the family. but because it's old vailia there was some level of political intrigue that involved everything going to shit to the level that tarren had to escape to the dyrwood. i dont think her parents were alive when this happened for simplicity's sake (it wasnt tragic it was just like. old age . i think they had her pretty late but im not 100% on elven longevity in the eora setting.)
LMFAO. okay but if this makes you feel better the first time i played i think it took me about 60 hours to realise that you could manage keep restoration from anywhere in the world by just clicking on the keep icon in the ui. i kept travelling back to caed nua to arrange everything with the steward 🧍
aloth has that big ass grimoire to read anyway idk why hes complaining. your watcher has plenty of things to think about, yknow? just little things like the souls and ghosts you can now interact with, the fact that your awakening is a race against time to keep ur sanity... just normal things. regular. yep
but yeah im really glad you enjoyed it!! thank you for the ask :) deadfire is also a great time if you havent gotten there yet 👀
#i need to decide on names for the vailian family that took her in#picturing them as like Mr Bingley levels of wealth. kind of got the idea for her backstory from mr wickham of all people Lmfao. gross#but yeah#i liked this idea bc i didnt want a character with an aristocratic background bc i dont generally vibe with it#and ive already got that going with aeres. so this is a happy medium i think#and it lets tarren shift more easily into being lady of caed nua. and she would already have a vague idea of how to run and restore a keep#and manage the surrounding lands and people#pillars of eternity#long post
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Kissing 101, Ch. 3 (Preview)
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Posting a preview because this chapter has taken longer to write than expected, though it will be done in a few days, once I fix a few scenes and edit! In the mean time, here’s a preview of a good Quogan practice scene!
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“Well, the lights were down low because we were watching Phantomgeist… and we were cuddling-“
Quinn felt his hand on her wrist and the touch silenced her words completely as Logan took her by the hand and began to guide her. “Like this, right?” He asked as he shifted to sit up at the edge of the couch and took her with him. She instinctively curled her legs up to lay at his side, the way she had been with Mark last night. One of his hands settled on the small of her back while his other went back to resting on the arm of the couch.
She blinked once they settled moving and she had to take in the fact that she was now cuddling him on the tiny couch, noticing the lack of room they had on the couch made her even more aware that they were very very close. Knowing that they had to be didn’t make it any easier to feel that way. It was the first time since their first practice kiss that the closeness felt unfamiliar, and this was much closer than that had been.
Quinn felt her mouth go painfully dry and her tongue suddenly felt heavy and unable to form words. “Uhm…” was just about the only thing she could manage.
From her best guess at his expression, he seemed to take a bit of pleasure in the fact that she was struggling to remember one of the most basic human behaviors. His hand was also… very warm on her back. Which was certainly not helping. Nor the scent of expensive cologne on his shirt, nor the weight of his arm against her…
‘C’mon Pensky, you’re one of the top minds of your generation!’ Quinn thought to herself, a bit frantic as she couldn’t say anything in response to Logan asking her if this was right, ‘You’re better than being tongue tied at a cuddle of all things, this isn’t even real cuddling, this is an experiment. Experiments are scientific more than anything. You know science. You. Know. Science…’
“What’s the matter, am I not being Mark enough?” Logan asked, his voice teasing as he began to lightly run her hand up her back and then back down to where it originally was, which made her electricity tingle along her skin. “Do I have to act more like him?”
He cleared his throat and began to speak in a monotone voice, trying to sound as dull as he could manage, “Hey. I’m Mark Del Figgalo. I don’t know why Quinn goes out with me, when she could build a better boyfriend out of spare parts from a vacuum.”
His impression of her Mark broke the spell, she would have been insulted on his behalf if she could… though she found she couldn’t react with anything except the shock of finally being able to feel anything except Logan and his proximity. Her hands quickly flew up to cover her mouth, though not before a very indelicate laugh slipped out. His eyes gleamed at the sight and she sighed internally at her own failure to not feed his ego.
“You laughed!” He sounded way too proud of himself, and Quinn scoffed at his expression.
“No I didn’t!” She insisted, which was so obviously a lie, though if she said it assertively enough, she hoped he would just take her word for it.
“Yeah you did…” Logan stretched out the word ‘did’ insistently and lightly poked her midsection, she had to resist another laugh, that was only because she was ticklish and not because he was funny. “You laughed at my impression.”
Because he wasn’t. “You’re not usually funny.” she said, which wasn’t entirely the truth either, but that was the last thing she would admit to him, because otherwise he would push her buttons way more often.
“So you admit you thought I was funny just now?” He asked, smirking as he made sure to gaze very intently into her eyes. Her cheeks prickled with little sensations of heat and she hoped it wasn’t the blush she thought it might be. Their close position was messing with her head, and she couldn’t have that.
“Absolutely not, your impression was just… laughable.” Quinn managed to explain, glad she found the real reason that she laughed, for a second she was worried it was because he was funny, but now she had the right explanation, “You just don’t understand Mark and his array of subtle nuances.”
“You’re probably right. Mostly because I don’t know what ‘subtle nuances’ means.” He used the hand that wasn’t resting warm on the small of his back to make some air quotes before continuing with a grin, “I think I have his voice down though. Right?”
“I am not indulging you Logan…” She put her foot down on that, or at least, she pressed it into the other side of the couch. Which was all she could do in this position.
“Well then, I know a good way for you to shut me up…” He leaned toward her slightly and pressed his hand just a bit more intently against her back. She knew what he was implying, that practice was a good way to keep his mouth shut. It was a tempting idea, certainly, and she felt dared to.
“Maybe you’re right about something… y’know, for once.” Quinn granted him, her head tilting upward so her mouth was closer to his. If he was trying to teach her, he was annoyingly effective. She couldn’t manage this with Mark last night, but right now it was very easy to imagine leaning in and shutting his stupid mouth right up with her own.
In fact, she would have… if he wasn’t suddenly pushing her away and adjusting himself quickly. Her mind struggled to catch up with the sudden absence and she began to ask, “Wh-”
… Then she heard what she assumed Logan had heard moments before, the sound of a key fumbling on the other side of the door. Confusion turned to panic as she sat up and began to fix herself up as much as possible.
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＊✿ It's Melly!! ✿＊
I just realized that I haven't talked about her much on my blog. Time to fix that.
(Text cut for aesthetic purposes)
Bear in mind that she kinda evolved from "splatsona" to "OC who shares a lot of things with me (but not everything!) and still represents me sometimes but is mostly her own character now"
❥ Mélusine (full name Mélusine Larchipel) is 20 years old and goes by she/her. Her height is 166 cm, aka 5'5. She's autistic and pansexual.
❥ She's all academics, no street smarts. She's rather shy, overly polite, and has trouble voicing her opinions (as well as socializing in general). Her enthusiasm and eccentricities regularly slip through the cracks of her demure appearance.
❥ Melly moved to Inkadia around 10 years ago (making her multilingual as a result), but she still hasn't gotten used to everything because she would mostly spend her time inside without interacting much with other people. She's only recently started to open up, and she uses ink sports and tableturf as a way to do so.
❥ Her mom is a surface Octoling, but her dad is a Cirraling (which is my fan species of cirrate octopuses). That makes her half-grimpoteuthis! The reason why it matters is that the top design isn't her true appearance. The bottom one is what she looks like all-natural.
(Older drawings for comparison)
❥ Due to the biological differences of cirrate octopuses, her chromatophores and her ink sac are a bit underdeveloped. It takes roughly 15 minutes of light exposure for her chromatophores to be able to change colour and roughly 30 minutes in darkness for her to revert back to her natural colour.
❥ She's a bit insecure about her differences, so that's why she disguises herself as a regular Octoling. In fact, her hairstyle is meant to make her ears look smaller since she would get teased for them as a kid.
❥ This character is pretty much a metaphor for masking, when you think about it
❥ Now! Being part-dumbo has its perks, such as better night vision, but it also has its downsides. Remember when I said that her ink sac was underdeveloped? Because of that, she has to focus almost all of her gear abilities into ink saving.
❥ And that combined with her being unable to play anything other than brushes means that Melly REALLY sucks at Salmon Run. She sucks so much that her teammates kept complaining, and she ended up getting kicked out of Grizz Co. She doesn't mind it too much, though, because she's happy earning money with turf war and sewing. Not to mention that the whole business looks really shady anyway.
❥ Going back to brush weapons! Melly has a weird obsession with them. She owns all of the available ones on the market and will only listen to Sheldon's rambles if they're about brush weapons (if they aren't, she will immediately zone out)
❥ She's named Mélusine after the fairy from the eponymous myth. Mélusine is a spirit of fresh water who was cursed to become a serpent from the waist down every Saturday. So! Not only does it have a water theme, but it reflects her appearance-changing deal. She likes her full name, and her family uses it on a regular basis. The reason why she mostly goes by "Melly" is because it's easier for her friends to pronounce.
❥ Her favourite band is Chirpy Chips, and her favourite song from them is Shellfie. She's also a big fan of Raian (guess where that came from) and has a celebrity crush on them.
❥ Her favourite show and videogame are called "Magical Mumi Uni-chan" and "Coral Village 2" respectively.
❥ She loves blueberry pies and hates walnuts for their dry aftertaste (macadamia nuts are more up her alley)
❥ She developed emetophobia as a kid after a severe bout of salmonella.
❥ She really likes flowers as well as lolita fashion and does sewing as a hobby.
❥ While not visible in this drawing, she has some webbing between her fingers (which are tainted purple)
❥ Her shoes are punk whites with ruffle socks.
❥ And last but not least: Melly is based on this specific octopus! She's also very interested in the deep sea and likes to search for books about it.
Thank you for your interest!!
Here are some silly gifs
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for the ask meme can i get uhhhh yarrow + face, serena + motion, grimm + favorite
HI HELLO JANE!!!!! sorry this took awhile to get around to answering i wrote all the text and told myself i was gonna draw pictures for these and then i got distracted because i wanted to draw. other pictures instead :,D BUT without further ado !!
face: Describe your OC's face. What's their smile like? Are their orbs cerulean? What would someone notice first when looking at them?
i don't trust my writing skills enough to write a description. their face:
i talked a little bit abt their facial features in this ask, but yeah, the Bee Stuff is definitely what people notice first. yarrow's modification was an experimental one, so while most people are kinda used to seeing humods with fur on their faces or weird ears or maybe horns and whatnot, invertebrate features are rare and jarring. this does cause issues when you're trying to be discreet, so yarrow tries their best to wear bandanas or masks. even pre-modification they actually wear something to the effect of a bandana or surgical mask often; partially because They Are A Doctor and also because they live in a mining town that doesn't give a shit about how much dust is kicked up from the open-pit mining
pre-modification i'm not sure what people would notice first; they have a few small defining features like their dimples, yellow-gold eyes, straight teeth, patchy facial hair, and mole on their right cheek, but overall nothing out of the ordinary. i think it's less features people notice, and a general impression of openess? he's quick to smile, talkative, and expressive, so people usually feel like they can approach him
motion: How does your OC move? How does their clothing help or hinder their range of motion? Are they flexible, coordinated, clumsy?
having trained in martial arts for most of her life, serena's very coordinated and flexible! she also has a muscular stature and she can make herself very difficult to move if she doesn't want to. she's aware of her size and generally has a slouch to her posture and walks with a bit of a trudge and lope if that makes sense? she has enough control though to where she can move almost freakishly quiet and it scares people on occasion
ofc she doesn't wear clothes, but she does have her prosthesis!
she's got both an everyday and a sport prosthesis, so while her movement isn't necessarily affected by that, she's less willing to run or do anything intense if she just has her everyday prosthesis on (that's the one i draw, i need to look more into sport prostheses for humans and adapt a design from there)
bc she's a congenital amputee, the only real adjustment she's had to do irt her leg is adapting to a new prosthesis every few years, so she has a solid sense of moving with or without it on. i've been trying to determine if she has smthin like an adapted wheelchair as well, but since dragons are quadrupeds and she's only missing part of a limb, it may not be necessary when she also has her tail and wings to help counterbalance during movement...? there's also the factor that she doesn't have a lot of money, so regardless of what she has to assist her, it's not always top-quality and she's learned to live with a certain level of discomfort and pain
speaking of wings, flying is something dragons can do, but it's a lot like running where most ppl can't do it for longer periods of time unless they train. it's not as necessary in modern society, so most dragons can fly for short bursts if needed/for fun. with the exception of a few who do things like, idk fly to work, most rely on transit bc it's easier. serena's ability to fly is Okay, she's accumulated some damage to her wings over the years (side effect of martial arts where other people have claws and horns), which makes her less aerodynamic and more easily tired out. she's got a good handle on her body and how it moves, so she's actually pretty graceful in the air and not aware of that fact at all. overall, she prefers not to fly, but still maintains a healthy habit of working out those muscles so they don't atrophy, which is a thing that happens with modern dragons.
favorite: Does your OC have a favorite article of clothing or accessory? What is it? What's the meaning behind it? Do they wear it all the time or do they wear it sparingly to keep it safe?
am i allowed to saw wrench here. i'm gonna say wrench
saying wrench is grimm's favorite accessory is actually a stretch bc it loathes wearing it, but adores wrench as a companion but if we are purely talking abt clothing here, grimm's not the sentimental sort, so it doesn't hold on to things once they're to worn nor does it worry about wearing things out. which is the boring answer
wrench is only worn as armor a handful of times in-story and in dire circumstances (that i. have not quite figured out yet <3). grimm fucking hates wearing it, hates the way it takes them back to their past, hates the way it doesn't quite fit their body anymore and hurts if they wear it too long, hates why they even have to wear it, but it's protection and a weapon in one, and they don't have many options.
i talked abt wrench a little bit when you asked abt it here, but wrench is both an artifact of grimm's past and a dear friend. as an animal companion/robot grimm does maintain wrench to an extent and it's a good dog that doesn't age like normal animals, they have a close pet/owner bond. when it comes to "wearing" it, transforming (so to speak) doesn't cause any wear and tear on wrench itself, since that is one of the purposes it was built for, but the situations in which grimm would don wrench may result in damage and there's also an element of wanting to keep wrench safe. aside from being armor, wrench can also do stuff like jam signals for short periods of time and sense heat signatures, so it does have an interest in preserving wrench for its own work and safety as well, but it's also a pet, yknow?
post-story i'm p sure grimm and yarrow would get something equivalent to married. yarrow's the romantic and the one to suggest it ofc, but grimm's like "hell, if i'm going to symbolically tie their life to someone else's it wouldn't be anyone but yarrow" and whatever sort of wedding band/necklace/wearable symbol they choose would become grimm's favorite, esp since it represents a version of themself they like being
#asks#THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!!!!#LOVE TALKING ABOUT THEM#i was like 'oh i'll get these asks done [two weekends ago]' and then. i didn't. bc my brain is a goo. and also i'm stupid#oops! all 3/4 view facing right. ignore that hgkflhdlg#honeybee#thicker than water#art#yarrow#serena#grimm
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ruling queens of númenor - headcanons and opinions:
tar-ancalimë: I think she made it very hard for any future ruling queens by being, well, an immeasurably difficult person. and people understood it was because of her shitty upbringing! - but it didn't make her easier to deal with and many felt she didn't even try to move past it... from a governing point of view, it was assumed by some that she'd begin prioritising women in political circles, but oddly enough she didn't? she made it pretty obvious what she thought of men, but she expected the women she interacted with to have the same opinions as her on the subject, and when that wasn't feasible she showed them even greater contempt than their counterparts of the other sex. and as queen... she wasn't a very bad ruler but made it way too obvious that many of her decisions were fuelled by spite, usually towards her late father and husband. in her life however, she was pitied as much as hated, though that pity didn't last for future generations.
tar-telperien: I feel like there would have been considerable mistrust towards her initially because of how tar-ancalimë was remembered, but she ended up being one of númenor's best loved rulers. she was a very fortunate mixture of majestic and warm, her one major fault being that she could be terribly stubborn at times, but somehow people were willing to forgive that. and yes, she never had a romantic liaison in her life, aside maybe from an infatuation or two when she was very young... also I think she had several younger brothers and very good relationships with them. there would have been a lot of space for conflict there because there was no precedence in númenor's history for a daughter with male siblings inheriting the sceptre, but ultimately relationships in her family were surprisingly healthy given what the former generations were like. there may have been some slight jealousy on the part of one or more of them, but they knew the law was fair and didn't let it show... also in a weird flashback to her sindarin ancestors, she had silver hair, hence her name
tar-vanimeldë: I don't really have too much to say about her... I feel she's been given something of a short shrift by the narrative, though otoh it's still more than we have for some other kings... much ink has been spilled about how odd the ratio of kings to queens is in númenor if we consider that the law was absolute primogeniture from ancalimë on. I believe jrrt just didn't think it through well enough, however it certainly encourages one to conclude that there was a bunch of eldest princesses that something happened to; my personal theory being that the fact a woman could turn down the sceptre without even a nominal coronation meant that it was very easy for someone to force her to decline... that said - I don't think vanimeldë was ever interested in ruling and I believe it was her more ambitious husband who helped her through that initial precariousness. she can't have been too glad once she realised he had basically usurped her (because people don't just steal the rule from under their sons without any iffy behaviour before that - or did hallacar invent some weird justification for the latter?), but I don't think she felt she could do anything about it.
tar-miriel: first of all, i kind of like that one version in which she marries pharazon of her own will. I'm not sure what that version goes on to say, but as I imagine it - first she agreed that they be co-rulers; her position was precarious enough, she believed it would be good for politics and she liked and trusted him. but he went on to steal the throne from under her and she never learned if that was what he had been planning to do from the beginning. the rest is history and her personal tragedy. what happened with sauron was not her fault, but she would lie awake at night and blame herself... interestingly enough, the faithful never did and around half of them believed she was forced into the marriage anyway... I have a lot more to say about her, in fact, enough that I think I'll make a separate post, but for now I'll only add that I personally headcanon that while tar-palantir stayed faithful to the end, despite the failure of all his plans, miriel chafed. her father understood that no one could force the númenoreans to change against their will (I mean I guess Eru presumably could? but obviously he wouldn't, because free will), but she didn't and felt betrayed... I think that she had to regain faith before the end, because otherwise it's too bitter a tale, to live through terror without knowing there is good one can rely on. the tale is bitter anyhow, but she did not die in despair.
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@eyeknowmayhem | CONTINUED.
NIGHT ALWAYS HAD been when Fintacea was most active. It was simply easier — gave her plenty of shelter, plenty of shadow to hide in. Generally less activity out on the water, save for the occasional group that enjoyed a midnight boat ride. Overall, she felt so much freer to do as she pleased during the night, able to swim near the surface without fear of getting caught by humans. ( Maybe one day she’ll move past that fear, but that’s certainly not happening tonight. Not anytime soon either, most likely. ) While the city might be known as ‘the city that never sleeps,’ she found the sea to be significantly QUIETER. It meant that she got to enjoy a little bit of peace, outside of the usual bustle of the daylight hours.
It also meant that any noise that was there could travel very easily and very far. And oh, the SINGING that she heard definitely carried.
She gravitated in its direction at once. Normally, she would be a little more tentative about this sort of thing, but she knew it’d be fine. She knows who’s singing, and they’re on good terms ( and, besides, they’re both mutants; that was most of the reason she started speaking with him in the first place ), so it’s all good. The stealth with which she swims is so second nature to her, she never thinks to maybe alert others of her presence rather than sneaking up on them as she does with Ray. She doesn’t even acknowledge the yelp that escapes him when she suddenly pops up out of nowhere ( makes ya’ wonder if she may just be oblivious to the fact that she has that effect on others… ). She just takes one look at him, and seeing that he looks ( and also SOUNDS ) incredibly stressed, suggests that he should relax.
“ I think you kinda do, though, when you say that. Know what I’m talking about, I mean, “ she responds to his denial. Not in a way that’s sarcastic or anything like that; actually, she’s quite earnest. Mostly just— voicing her observations.
She moves closer to the dock, extending her claws to grip onto the edge before pulling herself up just enough to fold her arms on it. Her legs dangle lazily behind her, her ‘flippers’ barely poking out of the water. ( Funny how she always opts to stick to the water, in spite of the fact that she’s now perfectly capable of sitting or standing on the dock if she wanted to. )
“ Oh, don’t worry about it, I literally just showed up. I was actually hanging out way over there— “ She gestures towards the direction, though it might not mean a whole lot considering she’s gesturing to open water. But still, one could kinda get the sense that she was not all that close originally. “ But you sounded like you were having a pretty serious jam session, so I figured I’d pop in. “ That’s a nice way of putting it; frankly, it sounds like the guy’s trying to BLOW UP HIS LUNGS with the level of INTENSITY he’s singing at. But ! She digresses.
“ Seriously though, you sound like you’re going through it. Are you going through it ? “
#eyeknowmayhem#FINTACEA. / IC.#( sea creature besties moments lets GOOOO#kgjhfkg she rlly said the whole neighbourhood can hear you (nonjudgemental) /SILLY )
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haven't finished the durge pt yet (idc about spoiling anything though that has 0 impact on me enjoying the game fdgh) but i've been thinking Thoughts.
edit okay as i was writing this i went ahead and just read up on the backstory so i could continue my thoughts in a coherent manner lmfao
(lots of info here, apparently ive gotten Very attached to her in the last uh. three weeks give or take. kinda sorta chronological?? idk it makes sense to me lmao)
--
velrith probably definitely only settled on that name in act 2. prior that she was just called whatever people drifted to if they needed her attention. & she didn't really care, having a void for memories will do that to a bitch, but it can make introductions awkward or give them a weird 'im too good to even give you my identity' energy. not super great when paired with someone who doesn't really emote or put a ton of effort into masking tonal inflections. she pointedly allowed other people to do more of the talking as a result for a while & would get roped into conversations that way.
i'd like to go ahead and tie in astarion's frequent use of pet names here to this too. he's got a goal here, and can't just drop a 'hey you' every time he's angling for something. it's easier to fill in the blanks that way & make sure it doesn't come across as cold and calculated as the seduction actually is for a time. of course, the mental gymnastics weren't necessary here. aside from the fact that she's extremely intense about her oath & therefore is legally obligated to send cazador straight to hell on sight, he'd also have the same luck with a low-effort, straightforward 'do you want to have sex?' the lines are... usually fine, never actually crossing boundaries, but she does find a lot of them to be really goddamn weird & unnecessary when the point could be made in less than 10 words.
picture a distraught-looking sighthound & you have the general idea of the face she makes when he lays it on thick. she's giving her best shot at a socially appropriate expression. it's not working.
also on names, she can't say for sure if that's who she was before or if she just pieced together syllables that sounded like Something from memory. again, doesn't really matter either way, since she's not in any hurry to reclaim her former self. it's fine.
ketheric felt straightforward. a tragic figure who she did extend an olive branch towards, but ultimately felt nothing when it came time to bring her blade down (besides, isobel seemed like she knew what she was talking about when velrith confessed [suddenly coming back into her room just to point-blank tell her about the desire to spill her blood] certain thoughts of violence towards the cleric, and it felt like the sort of assurance she should be trusting, right? more than any of her own emotions, anyway.)
gortash gives her the ick. like, there's no other way to describe that one. he actually probably still would even without all the history (and the fact that he needed to repent for what he'd done to karlach), but the slimy over-familiarity was really the nail in the coffin there. velrith isn't smooth nor particularly socially gifted, but she has a certain air of formal pride she carries herself with. acting like you know her better than she does herself (even if it may very well be the truth!) is so beyond an overstep of what she's able to function with. stripping away everything else, if he even tried to touch her casually on the shoulder, he would have been liable to lose that hand.
orin troubles her. for the obvious reasons, but she also just... pities her. almost. pre-tadpole, velrith was honestly relatively similar compared to her current personality. colder and more able to justify slaughter, sure, but still staunchly refusing to compromise her own feelings for social games. she understood how the game pieces moved when she watched other people, even when she was younger, but if asked to copy the same techniques, she was only ever able to bludgeon straight through in a line. consequently, people don't really care how strange you are if you're just that good at your job. orin made a one-sided rivalry out of someone who otherwise just regarded her as a peer in the same arena, and now sees her as someone who wouldn't have been able to take the chance at redemption even if it had been on the table. she was too far gone, unable to stand on her own or cope with the fact that she would always be lesser than someone who genuinely could not have cared less about standings. maybe if velrith had feigned some interest, there wouldn't have been so much hatred. or maybe there would have.
either way, she sees orin in a depressing light. someone who had nothing and no one but the prospect of power, and who crumbled as soon as that chance at power was taken away. to let her live would have been to co-sign on her projecting those emotions outwards. velrith isn't stupid and knows there's a good chance she might have gone the same way if she hadn't been lucky enough to receive her parasite. in another life, she thinks that maybe she could have found a connection, and they might have saved each other (either genuinely or in a twisted version of the word). this isn't a thought she shares with anyone. she thinks about that death and their interactions for a long time afterwards.
her 'normal' childhood sometimes comes to her in fleeting memories that disappear out of her periphery if she focuses too hard. she thinks she liked her parents, and they seemed like nice people from what she can semi-recall. but she can also tell that there's always just been something wrong with her if she compares herself to other people. many of these snippets feature her looking anywhere but at her parents' faces, unable to express herself verbally in a way they could understand (the words were right, they way she used them was... her own, shall we say?). something flipped at some point, and all of the sudden she would stare too much at them, not blinking or looking away at the right moments. they'd seemed to squirm a bit under this. they always seemed a bit sad when they looked at her, as if they'd loved her but she was never quite as they hoped she would be.
she had to be taught what to do during a hug as an older child instead of leaving her arms limp at her sides. she knows that.
she doesn't remember killing them. she doesn't remember how it would have felt to receive her first order or how she was unable to do anything but listen to the violent urges.
there's more guilt for not feeling much towards them than there is for the killing.
the staring hasn't shifted again. she knows she looks at people too hard and/or too long, looks at them dead in the eyes and studies their faces, but she can't help it. one, it's good to be aware and alert. two, looking away doesn't seem to be the answer either. at least this way they know she's paying attention, right?
she thinks she shouldn't care about these things, that it's so ridiculous coming from her blood-soaked past, laughable that she'd wonder what it meant to have people relax in your presence instead of becoming more visibly anxious. but she wants to be good, she really, really does. she wants to be able to join a group like everyone else, slipping seamlessly into their words and laughing how they laugh instead of her own (the faintest of smiles and a soft rush of air running past her lips, blink-and-you'll-miss-it laughter that may as well not exist outside of her head). she doesn't hate herself for these things, because she doesn't know how else to be, but she does wonder. she wants to know what it's like for these things to be easy. bhaal's favourite hadn't been blessed with charisma, apparently.
consequently, she has a very hard time now figuring out how to actually connect with anyone, or what it should feel like to have friends.
it made her somewhat uncomfortable in the beginning to be asked questions by these people on a regular basis. not even personal questions, just things to signal that she existed to them in some capacity. gale remembers when she'd wrinkled her nose at a certain seasoning, and leaves it off her plate when he makes dinner going forward. lae'zel likes how she fights and asks her questions on technique, asking to spar so she could better understand the answers. shadowheart thinks they're alike with similar holes in their memories, and seeks out her company because of it. she doesn't understand, and for a while she even feels a bit suffocated by it. exposure therapy is really the only remedy here.
initially there are some reasonable assumptions on whether she just dislikes them all that much, or if she thinks she's better than them, or some other nasty reason. it takes approximately two conversations with her for everyone to understand that's not the case. it's like speaking to someone who only every studied social behaviour from an incomplete textbook and was visibly struggling to fill in the gaps in real-time. is she scary? yes, a bit. does she stare at you Way too much when you're speaking to her (at her, really, because you will be carrying that conversation until she's gotten her footing)? also yes. but she's really earnestly trying to sort herself out for the sake of the people around her, brain twisting around itself to learn things that were as easy as breathing to most. and it's sort of sweet, in its own way.
over time, she stops simply caring about these people based on her code of ethics. she starts to remember things about them too, her love language starts to show itself through gift-giving at an absolutely glacial pace, but it's noticeable to literally everyone despite that. a small trinket picked up at the market matching shadowheart's usual taste is pressed into her hand with only a nod before velrith is turning on her heel and almost running away. a tome is thrust at wyll with such startling intensity that the kindness actually comes off as a bit of a threat, but she looks visibly relieved when he takes it with a smile. so on and so forth. every incident like this, every blunt display of 'i notice you. i think you would like this. i thought of you today,' is accompanied by a hasty exit. task accomplished, but now the script has run out, so she's doing the same. she also finds it hard to look at people once the exchange has taken place, and is pretty sure this is an affliction only she suffers from.
she's going to push through it anyway, even if it makes her skin feel like its trying to recoil off her bones.
it also comes out in the protection. again, it's expected as a paladin of devotion, but no one is quite prepared for the molten fury that burns in her eyes or the weight of her voice whenever ghosts from the past arise. not only has she sworn her protection to those suffering from harm (and names like orin, gortash, cazador, viconia & more absolutely qualify as those who cause harm), but it feels personal. acting as shield and guillotine is when velrith is truly in her element, standing tall and embodying the virtues laid out in her tenets.
she is fighting internally just as much as externally, pushing back against base instincts to continue her sworn oath. driving her sword through the flesh of the emperor is just as much about defeating him as it is proving to herself that she is still capable of goodness. if she falls here, she can at least die knowing she was dedicated to rebellion until her very last breath.
this does not mean that she actually registers it when people like her, though. in fact, once she pieces together what her true nature is (she hadn't wanted to kick that poor animal, or make a spectacle of that nice bard's corpse, or try to rip out astarion's throat as he slept--but she had done those things, and more, and what's worse, some of them don't even to her like they would anyone else) she's pretty sure that the unanimous, logical choice would be to put her at a distance.
so she braces, prepares, makes peace with returning to the status quo & starts pulling away before staging her little ted talk. jaheira catches her first, though, and it gets to her. she's not spoken much to the woman, but she's... incredibly understanding, actually. so much so that it leaves velrith with a profound ache in her chest when she rolls over and tries to sleep again (jaheira's insistence, and her promise to stand watch all night in case she lost control again). being around jaheira hurts like hell, but she still seeks her out after that incident. she looks at her kindly but doesn't treat her with any more fragility than before. she's good-humoured when answering question after question about bhaalspawn, and stays honest the whole time too. she seeks her out when she isolates as much as she can on the outside of camp, dropping a sack of potatoes at velrith's feet and sitting beside her so that they can peel them in easy silence.
she likes that the most. sometimes it feels like velrith's head is too full; not from the parasite or the echoes of a murderous god, but from--she's not sure, actually, but it makes thinking hard, and speech tends to take a temporary leave as well. no amount of coaxing makes a difference, it'll return when it decides to. that's the bad sort of silence, the type that other people feel like they should fix so that everyone can be comfortable again. except jaheira, who apparently can figure out what she needs before velrith can even process that question. and sometimes, she just needs to peel some potatoes for a bit.
standing before everyone else, she prepares for the logical choice of rejection again. instead, she's greeted with shrugs, support, sympathy, but overall--not much of a change. that's the part that sends her off, only pausing just long enough to take a breath before excusing herself to the surrounding woods. it hurts so damn much, being loved like this. she wonders if any technicalities in her oath actually require her to slay herself at this point, just based on the implications alone. they should be appalled. fearful. cold. and she'd wound herself up so much inside determining this to already be the only end to her confession. bare your soul, lose what you'd only started to ease into, return to your duty.
the other shoe never does drop, though. it's gone so catastrophically well that she can't even make the tears flow properly (she's only done it once before that she remembers, but that should be adequate). instead, her sobs are muffled gasps against her hands, choking on her own confusion as she sinks to the ground, shaking.
of course, this comes out after the "incident", in the underdark, which means astarion has already seen her cry precisely once of something that seemed to her a similar scale. he's got a better handle on it, he'd like to believe, and he can sense that he's being silently volunteered for the 'fetch our bhaalspawn' quest. she's not hard to find either, an ice-white tiefling amongst the greenery with her head hidden in her arms, folded in on herself like she's not worth the weight of her own bones. it's sad, and a little annoying, actually, because if she was to insist that he possessed worth like it was the most obvious fact in the world, like he was strange for not feeling the same way, why shouldn't that same sentiment extend in her direction.
of course, there's little he can say to soothe in a way that matters, he's not going to make that mistake again, but he's at least able to bring her up for air. yes my love, perhaps it is foolish and unwise for any of us to stay around something so dangerous, but that argument can be made in many directions, not just yours. you would be the first among us to dismiss those very notions if they were coming from someone else, and have done so--multiple times, may i add--as bhaalspawn. if there's upset about the reveal, i'm confident that it's more to do with how you feel than anything else.
and really, what's she supposed to do with that aside from break even more (from relief, maybe? tension and fear of rejection that she hadn't known how to recognize, hadn't known she was holding onto? the understanding that this is not just from him, but on behalf of everyone else too?) and crumble into him.
against all odds, she is worthy of loving. despite her bloodline and her personal shortcomings, she is worthy of that much.
nothing in half-measures, as most paladins tend to be. does she remember when or why or even how she took the oath? not even a bit. but it's the only thing in her head when she wakes up on the mind flayer ship, the sole thing she's sure of, the only guiding direction she has. it should be enough to understand right and wrong, but it isn't for her. following the oath is a choice, something she can steady herself on when nothing else makes sense. devotion to her cause of protection, restoring some of the balance in the world that she lost before orin killed her. maybe that was why she lived; something needed her to right some of her sins before death arrived. or maybe a divine power was looking for someone who wouldn't be missed if they were lost in stopping the ithilids.
whatever it is, she does everything in her power to stick to it. until, of course, life happens (as it tends to) and she does something in the underdark. what did she do? she doesn't know, because she thought she was helping--that myconid was going to betray the colony that took him in when he lost all others. she raised her sword when it was clear a scolding wouldn't change his mind. and then... the sinking feeling that something was wrong.
something was missing. the only part of her that felt like it was anything was gone, and for the first time (maybe ever?) she gets emotional. there's no anchor anymore, no calming guide of tenets to follow.
the oathbreaker knight will find her later, she knows. at camp, she's distraught, and the little bit she dared interact goes out the window entirely. there's nothing anyone could actually say that would help, anyway. this does not stop astarion from trying.
glib as ever, were she in a more normal headspace she would have seen the dismissive comment for the hand-waving attempt at comfort it was. he probably knows there's nothing he can actually say to bring her down, but surely a joke (meant to reassure that she would be fine regardless, whether the oath stayed broken or was re-taken, she was competent on the field and he at least trusted her that much) would be alright?
it was not.
for all that he carried, he could not--did not--understand. of course he could be cavalier about it; despite all that was taken from him, he still had his own gods-damned name. he knew who he was, wasn't scrambling to put together fragments of his own ghost just to make some unimpressive small talk like she was. she has not yet chosen her name at this point, and that oath is where she begins & ends as a person.
he's silent when she snaps, unexpected. like a cornered animal about to tear its own leg out of a trap, daring anyone to come closer to 'help' so that they too can be maimed. a total loss for words, even when she stalks off to keep herself from acting out even further (who knows how prone she would be to violence now? not her!), raising her voice for the first time at him in pure grief.
he doesn't really get it, but he understand more in the middle of all that. the pieces click together in his mind, working themselves out during the berating. the gods never answered his cries, and so his outlook remained fairly bleak on the whole pantheon. paladins occupied a space at the opposite end of the spectrum, and he'd assumed that her more uptight habits were an offshoot from that (it's not like she gave him a ton to work with, either. he did his best from what he was allowed to see). for her, there may as well have been no gods involved in any capacity. it was simply the thing that kept her from fracturing entirely, now gone thanks to a misunderstood line in the agreement.
she still refuses to speak to him, even after she's begged for the oath back--she'll be good this time, really, she'll be good, she promises, it won't happen again, please--and received it successfully. she's not talking much to anyone, feeling both too exhausted and over-sensitive to even contemplate that. his apology isn't... good, exactly. but it's honest and that's really all she gives a shit about. things are still weird and cold for a bit, manifesting in a physical distance & reinforcing just how off his initial read on her was. but it's her first real brush with interpersonal conflict, so learning curves are expected. time and circumstance eventually help things settle, with there being bigger things to worry about.
she's quiet during sex. responsive and hyper-aware of her body, definitely, but still restrained. she enjoys the act, however, despite the lack of volume, and this shows through a readiness to explore and feel things. the ability to feel physical pleasure is something that at least seems to be something she has in common with most people. but she's overly permissive too, sometimes uncomfortably so; she's simply not attached enough to her body to have real concerns or strong preferences. at first glance, this seems to be deference, the need to be agreeable in every situation lest she tip the scales too much in her own direction.
he puts his finger on that after the third encounter, and finds himself taking a break from her for a while after as a result (once again, an act that she's absolutely fine with--god, has the thought of challenging him ever even crossed her mind in this department?). Further observation, however, reveals something else. her actions are exploratory. experimental. there's no frame of reference, she needs to establish preferences all over again for this version of herself. in fact, he sees that this extends to other tasks people ask of her as well. every action or accompaniment is met with the same reserved curiosity, considering what's being asked of her before ultimately deciding to try something new. perhaps that was why he felt like he was being intensely studied if he squints.
there's no doubt that she does see him. but she only sees enough to know that she lacks the connections to actually do anything with that. an unbalanced, vexing sort of safety net. (still, there was probably no one better for him to glue himself to than a paladin, and he tells himself that's why he spends so long trying to figure her out. because surely, her motivations can't be as obviously honest as they come across--can they?)
it's only after she tells him on the name she's privately decided to give herself (private for now, since everyone else will be informed in the morning) that he starts to realize just how much he enjoys kissing her. she's not nearly as practiced as he is, but gods, there's such a single-mindedness to the kisses it actually leaves him dizzy. her focus is so all-encompassing, the world around them may as well have been unravelling at its seams and she still wouldn't break contact. chasing pleasure but holding back just enough to keep her head above the water, prolonging the act as much as she can. he's been kissed before. many times, actually, but not like this.
there is... so much disappointment when rejecting bhaal doesn't actually change anything fundamental in her. on one hand, that really does mean that it's been her personality the entire time. that the good choices she made were hers, and they were worth fighting for.
on the other hand, fostering even that small seed of hope that she might become less of herself and more like other people had been a dangerous game. the distance remains, along with the lack of understanding and knowledge that some things would always be more hard-won for her, while others would simply be entirely beyond her reach. knowing this logically is one thing. accepting it is... entirely different. it will take time, and she will at least allow herself as much so as to properly grieve a version of herself whose body knew how to laugh freely.
she'll be okay.
#bg3 durge#oc tag#velrith#screams this got away from meeeee fdghj#trying her absolute best. doesnt understand people doesnt understand how to Be a person but by god. she is trying.#bg3
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Cuddle Puddle
Fandom: The Wayhaven Chronicles
Rating: General
Relationships: mostly gen, light Morgan x F!Detective (Neveah Desanto)
Word Count: 1,015
Description: While on some very nice pain killers after a surgery, the detective decides she wants cuddles. All of the cuddles.
A.K.A. I tried to come up with a scenario where I could get all of Unit Bravo into something resembling a cuddle puddle.
At the Facility Infirmary
The Agency medics expect Neveah to make a full recovery in a few weeks, and the surgery went smoothly. Nat is the one to suggest that she recover at the warehouse, but the rest of the team seems to agree.
“It’ll be like a slumber party!” Farah enthuses. Morgan doesn’t say anything, or even groan in complaint. She’s let Neveah rest her head on her shoulder for the last half hour without a single sexual comment, which is a seal of approval as far as Neveah is concerned.
“She would be there to rest,” Nat chastises. Neveah, in a pleasant haze from the pain medication they have her on, can’t help but giggle at the scene.
“The warehouse is a more defensible location. It will make keeping you safe easier,” Ava adds. With that practically glowing review from the team leader, Neveah grins.
“Then how can I refuse?” Neveah says. The Agency also seems much more keen to let her recover at home once they know that ‘home’ would be their strategically placed warehouse where her four vampire bodyguards live.
The Warehouse, A Few Days Later
After some hemming and hawing– Nat wanted to have all of Neveah’s belongings moved upstairs and Ava had to convince her that was wholly unnecessary– the team decided they would move a bed into one of the rooms on the upper floor, so Neveah wouldn’t have to walk far to get to most of the common rooms.
Neveah is grateful for that right now as she gingerly pushes herself out of bed to check around the warehouse. It doesn’t hurt thanks to the strict medication schedule Nat has her on, but she definitely felt a lot better laying down than she does shuffling down the hallway.
There is something surreal about the fact that she can feel the stiffness of her body and every tug or touch of her incision, but there’s no real pain to accompany it. The medication also makes her head feel fuzzy. She can’t quite make her brain work well enough to read and she’s starting to get bored.
She wants company, and conversation…and cuddles . Yes. That one. The moment she thinks the word, she’s certain of what she wants.
Pinning Morgan down is easy. She’s lounging on a couch in the living room, already looking at the door before Neveah makes it inside.
“Need something, sweetheart?” Morgan asks.
Words are hard, so Neveah just plops herself down onto Morgan’s lap. Well…she slowly and carefully lowers herself into Morgan’s lap, and Morgan doesn’t move from her spot on the couch while Neveah does it.
When she finally does get settled, letting out a sigh of relief as she sinks into Morgan’s touch, Morgan’s eyes comb over her in surprisingly chaste inspection before wrapping an arm loosely around her waist.
Time is also hard for Neveah right now, but Nat wanders in what she thinks is a few minutes later. Nat’s halfway through making a face of disapproval before she realizes there’s nothing untoward happening. Neveah makes grabby hands at her to distract her from her shock. It works, based on the look of confusion that spreads across her face.
“What are you doing?” Nat asks. “Are you alright?”
“Come here!” Neveah urges.
Nat complies, and Neveah stretches her arms out. Morgan rolls her eyes, but tightens her arms around Neveah’s waist so she doesn’t tip over or pull on her stitches in the process. Nat also indulges her, walking closer until Neveah can comfortably wrap her arms around Nat and sit in Morgan’s lap at the same time.
“Cuddle me!” Neveah requests with undisguised delight. Nat glances to Morgan who is refusing to make eye contact.
“Whatever,” Morgan finally mutters. Nat flashes a bemused smile and sits down on the couch next to Neveah. Neveah rests her head on Nat’s shoulder, still splayed across Morgan’s lap and acting as a buffer between the two of them.
“What are you all doing in–? Hey! Are you snuggling without me !?” Farah demands. She doesn’t wait for an answer, squishing herself between Neveah and Nat.
“Farah, be careful!” Nat flings out her arms to keep Farah from jostling Neveah too hard while the young vampire wiggles herself into place. Neveah just makes a pleased hum, shifting to rest her head on Farah’s shoulder with one arm stretched out to touch Nat’s shoulder, because of course she needs to be touching all of them at the same time.
Ava arrives home a shortly after, making her way through the warehouse to check in with the rest of unit regarding her trip to the Facility.
“Ava!” Neveah calls with a drowsy gasp of joy, lifting her head from Farah’s shoulder. “You’re all home now!”
Ava blinks as she takes in the situation. “What are you all doing?”
“I came in and Neveah was cuddling everyone else,” Farah shrugs. Morgan grumbles, but she still hasn’t moved.
“It’s a cuddle puddle!” Neveah adds, trying to wave Ava in with her free hand. “Come cuddle!”
Ava looks appalled by the mere concept, let alone her personal invitation to join. Nat flashes an amused smile her way, and Farah watches the commanding agent's discomfort with enthusiasm.
“Oh, come on old friend,” Nat teases, glancing meaningfully to Neveah, “at least sit down.”
“Scared of a little snuggling?” Farah challenges with a mischievous grin. Ava’s eyes narrow and her expression falls into a determined frown. She stiffly comes to sit down beside Nat on the couch. Snuggling may be too generous of a word but, by nature of having five people on a 3-seat sofa, she is pressed up against Nat.
“Yay!” Neveah cheers, the sound joyful but also soft and sleepy. Briefly, she stretches her arm out just a little further, fingers wiggling as though that will somehow give her enough reach to touch Ava on the other side of the couch. She finally gives up after a few seconds.
Thankfully for all of them, they only have to sit there for a few minutes before Neveah is asleep.
#the wayhaven chronicles#twc fanfic#twc fanfiction#neveah desanto#my fanfic#have some silly little bullshit
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Not So Peppy || Van & Jade
TIMING: directly after this.
LOCATION: sly slice.
PARTIES: @highoctanegem & @vanoincidence
SUMMARY: jade goes to look for van after she runs away from regan's apartment.
CONTENT: implied domestic abuse.
Jade totally underestimated just how fast Van’s little legs were and how far they could carry her. (She probably played sports growing up, right?) Even as she sprinted out of Regan’s (or Van’s, at this point) apartment chasing after her, Jade was unable to spot any trace of her anywhere in the surrounding area. So weird. What was up with that? Wait… What if Van melted herself into another puddle and just… flowed to her next destination? That would be a pretty cool superpower to have, actually. A little awkward, sure, but totally useful. Lots of savings in gas.
And yup, she was still thinking about the melting mess. How could she not? Jade’s heart was pounding hard, and it had nothing to do with the short race to catch up to her friend. (She was in better shape than that, come on). Nope, it had everything to do with the fact that Van could melt things (wow). She could melt chairs, and… what else, actually? Without Regan’s terrible influence on her brain cells, Jade could like, put things together a lot easier. Van was no banshee. Or fae, obviously. She had magic. (Duh!) Magic she didn’t have under control. How did that even… Was it triggered similarly to Regan’s glass shattering? UGH. Not only did Jade need to find Van to check on her injuries and the general vibes after, well, everything, but also she definitely had to ask all the questions running through her head.
Unfortunately, her search around the neighborhood turned up with zero results, like, not even one suspicious looking puddle in the vicinity, so Jade decided to try her luck elsewhere. As promised, she shot Regan a quick text, letting her know she was taking her bike and heading to Sly Slice. (Plus a crying cat emoji) (Plus a heart). If Van wasn’t at Sly Slice then… fine, maybe it was better to give the girl some space. She hated that, but whatever. Maybe some people actually enjoyed being alone with their thoughts and feelings. (She couldn’t relate).
Van was at Sly Slice.
(Wasn’t it great when things worked out?)
Jade didn’t even have to look for her, noticing her as soon as she stopped her motorcycle outside the back of the store. There was Van, by herself. Well, and her pizza (hopefully pepperoni, so she would share). Jade kept it cool, though. Took her sweet time parking and removing her helmet like this was another day at the office, and she was definitely not here to check on Van. Aloofness worked with youngins, right? Probably better than sitting did. Van wasn’t a cat like Regan, or not a full one at least. She was a lot more like a mouse (which, um… maybe not the time for that comparison, but alas). The point was, Jade didn’t wanna make the wrong move or sound and potentially set off her nerves again. She flashed a friendly smile at the girl, working out the vibes. “Is this… a sitting situation? Would you like me to?” Jade really hoped not cause she didn’t wanna get her pants dirty. But for Van? She’d make the sacrifice.
“I’m sorry Regan yelled at you…Totally out of line. She won’t do that again” Jade looked serious, her voice was steady as she made the promise. She had no idea if Regan intended to ever do that again (common sense said, no freaking way) but this wasn’t about Regan, this was about Jade making sure it never happened again. Whatever measures were needed. (Just like she wished any of her siblings had taken for her) (Not that… she thought about that a lot or anything).
She approached slowly, examining their surroundings for any other signs of puddles, and when she didn’t find any (or nothing fresh, at least), Jade stood by Van’s side, shoulder to shoulder with her friend. Lowkey? Eyeing the pizza. But she also noticed her cheek looked cleaner, her hands too. A bathroom stop probably. It didn’t matter, it just made Jade feel a lot better. Physically, Van was fine, it was just a matter of dealing with those pesky feelings. She wrapped an arm around the girl, giving her shoulder a tiny squeeze. She huffed out a laugh, suddenly reminded of her sister (Ruby). So averse to physical touch in any capacity, especially as comfort, but somehow being the first to rise whenever Jade woke up from a nightmare. Just to hold her. She should Facetime her today, Jade decided, uncomfortable with the mix of feelings stirring in her belly.
“So,” Jade smacked her lips, 'cause there was no point beating around the bush. “Magic, huh? Kind of a plot twist. But totally cool with me, in case you were wondering”
—
It didn’t take very long for everything to come crashing down. One moment, Van was watching Regan in disbelief over the mention of her mouse, and the next, the artificial blonde was standing over her, eyes growing black and telling her to control it. Had she known that it was Van that was doing that to her? Was that why? How expensive could the table have been? There were a dozen questions that ran through Van’s mind as she made her grand escape– none of which would ever be answered, because she figured that Regan would never want to see her again.
The topic of Jade came to mind as she remembered the way she had made joking jabs towards the two of them on Van’s way out. Had she been hurt? Did the glass catch her? She looked down at her own hands as she rushed down the street, eager to ease the sting from the cuts the lightbulb had made. She couldn’t go home, not when it still felt wrong. Stepping foot through that door would open something inside of her that she couldn’t handle, at least not today.
She considered going to Nora’s crypt, or Cass’s cave, but she didn’t want to bother her friends with her issues. They would probably be upset with her for even thinking that, but she couldn’t help it– it was second nature to her, thinking that others would be better off without her. It was pathetic, too, and she knew she needed to get over herself.
However, the one place she figured wouldn’t reject her was Sly Slice. She could lie and say she had arrived for her shift early, even if she didn’t work today. Immediately after entering the establishment, she rushed to the bathroom to clean some of the blood stains off of her hands. There weren’t many, but the soap stung her skin as she let the cold water run over her minimal wounds. She stared at herself in the mirror for a long while, eyeliner and mascara somehow holding up despite the hot tears that spilled down her cheeks. She looked even more pathetic than she felt, which really, she wasn’t sure how it was possible.
Taking her time in leaving the bathroom, Van finally found the courage to at least eat something. It’d be more suspicious if she sat in the deep freezer and cried– so instead, she bought herself a large pepperoni pizza and took it out back, taking a seat on the plastic stools that had cigarette butts littering the ground around it.
She was focused on a small weed that’d somehow managed to withstand the cold weather when she heard the bike, and the smell of the exhaust– and then, Jade. Van looked up at the woman, gaze immediately searching her for any substantial injuries, but she made no move to get up. She looked like she was fine, so that was good at least.
Jade’s arm around her felt like lead, like she might sink beneath the wait of it and dissolve into nothing due to the pressure. Instead of recoiling from it, she stayed put. What would it tell the older woman if she shrunk down? “I didn’t know if it would be.” She wiped some of the oil from the pizza off of her chin with the back of her hand and stared down at the glossy finish of the pepperoni. “I was scared, and I should have– I told… Regan knew, because I can’t keep my mouth shut, and I should have just told you, but I didn’t know how.” Van had lost too much to her magic already, she couldn’t risk losing Jade. Regan already had one foot out the door, so in some form of reality, she’d already lost her. “How do you know that it’s real? That it wasn’t like, some trick? Why are you not scared?” The questions came out in a whisper and she cleared her throat, the oil of the pizza making it hard to talk.
—
Van didn’t flinch from the touch, but she also didn’t like, actively leaned into it. But it wasn’t an offense, Jade could totally deal with that. Again, she understood not everyone was a ‘clingy little pest’ like Jasper always called her. (Lovingly) (Sorta). But Van wasn’t any of the Bloodworth siblings, raised to struggle with displays of affection. This was not that. Van was hurt, and very recently under distress, and she was probably carrying a truckload of guilt about the whole situation. So Jade understood. Case in point, the way the young girl explained why she hadn’t been able to reveal her powers before. Which like, that was totally a personal thing anyway? And sure, she’ll be the first to admit knowing was always the preferred alternative cause she was nosy like that, but… “That’s totally fair, it’s like… a spooky secret to have. Especially if you can’t control it,” Jade nodded, giving her a comforting side glance.
“You know how… the first night we met I literally followed you to get a metal-eating rat out of this kitchen?” She nodded her head toward the building. (And…it was better if she didn’t think about whether they had solved the rat problem or not). “And then I totally stayed like the good citizen I am to clean up the mess” The teasing smile spread all too quickly across her face, unable to keep together to land the joke with a deadpan. It didn’t help that Van looked ready to argue, but Jade continued. “I think that’s pretty much how it’s always gonna go between you and me. No matter whatever chaos goes down in the kitchen of life. I’m always gonna stick around to get rid of the rats.” Eyes narrowed, she twisted her body fully towards Van. “It’s a metaphor. I’m trying to sound more mature. Adults use metaphors, right?” She couldn’t simply be the girl with the best fashion advice, and the most iconic media takes, she had to like…be better at life. For Van. (Ugh. Was this how Regan felt when she sat on the floor?) (Was she doing her own version of the sitting? No way, she was like, totally in touch with youths).
Jade fixed Van with a look that clearly translated to ‘please’ when the girl suggested it could’ve all been a trick. She was pretty sure not even the big movie studios were doing stuff like that. The way Van whispered her questions totally pulled at her heartstrings, though. She had to flaunt some of that disarming confidence, she was scared of nothing. But it didn’t feel like the time for that. Van gained nothing by Jade boasting about her ego. It felt like the time for real talk. “I’ve just… seen a lotta things in my life, you know? Like… Most of the things we only see in movies and stuff.” It wasn’t the point now, but once she made sure Van was alright, and the whole stress of melting Regan’s apartment disappeared, Jade should definitely tell her about the vampire slaying of it all. “It would take a lot to shake me,” and that wasn’t cockiness, it was the truth. Cause she was tough. “I’m like, only scared of planes,” cause even cargo pants were a thing of the past. “They can’t fool me with that jello thing!”
Jade moved her hand away from Van’s shoulder, pinching a slice of her pizza. “I have to say, I haven’t met lots of spellcasters, though. How does that happen?”
—
Van longed to find comfort in Jade’s words– to allow them to envelop her and shield her from all of the terrible things she’d ever done, or that might happen, but it wasn’t that easy. The people who spoke like this, they always found a reason to leave– a reason to grow distant. She had decided to stop begging the moment that her mom told her that she talked too much, that she needed to learn when to keep quiet so that she didn’t say things that didn’t matter, or that might hurt somebody’s feelings. Van still talked a lot, but she stumbled over her words more often than not, and she was worried that if she opened up to Jade now, she might do just that. She might reveal things about herself that she wasn’t ready to speak out into the open.
She stared at the pizza, willing to find her reflection in the glossy oil. It was easier to focus on something that couldn’t be done, anyway.
“I think boomers use metaphors.” She sniffled lightly. Van knew that Jade was being honest– could almost feel it, even though the anxiety funneled through her like a silent storm. “You didn’t even help me, you went and made a delivery.” The comment came out in a whine as she finally looked over at her company, eyes so watery that she could barely make out the details of Jade’s features. “What if the rats are too big?” She was using metaphors now, and it wouldn’t be the last time. “What if the rats eat away at everything and make sure there’s nothing left.” Her voice broke slightly at the question and she shook her head.
Jade’s articulation and consideration should have put Van at ease– the way that her reassurance spilled into the space between them should have offered Van some kind of clearance to divulge exactly what happened with Diana, Debbie, and the man in the ice cream shop, but she couldn’t seem to find the words. Instead, she listened to Jade as she explained that there were things she’d seen that could be equated to something horrific. “But what if you say that, not knowing about what else is out there?” She bit the inside of her cheek, watching as Jade plucked a slice of pizza. She didn’t even have it in her to call her out.
“Well obviously not,” Van hiccuped, “the ground isn’t jell-o, so we’d die if a plane went down.” It was said in a matter-of-fact tone, as if it were the only thing that Van could argue in the moment. Silence split between them for a moment, but Jade was asking another question, and she couldn’t help but answer. “It’s always been like this– I’ve always been like this.” She sniffled again, rubbing her sleeve against her cheek, careful not to let the box of pizza slide from her lap. “It feels so stupid– it’s been with me for so long and I don’t know how to do anything with it. I… thought it was just bad luck for a long time, wanted it to be bad luck, but now…” She shrugged, gaze growing distant as she traced the outlines of the cardboard on the box with her eyes, following the grease imprints left behind when the box had been rattled in her haste to get outside. “I don’t know, Jade. Everyone in my family is gone, so I don’t know. What if I was adopted or something?” She didn’t think that was true– she’d seen photos of her in her mother’s arms in the delivery room, but what if that was some other baby? “What if I was swapped at birth or something?”
She knew that she should be asking about Regan, but she was too afraid to say her name.
Oh. “Ew,” Jade made a disgruntled sound, learning she was displaying boomer behaviors and acting in boomer ways. Whatever, she was not one to cringe over anything, she wasn’t about to start now. She strategically ignored Van pointing out that she didn’t stay to clean the kitchen, (cause… there were two sides to every story, right?) and focused instead on what mattered: Rat metaphors. “I don’t care about the rats,” she scoffed (Sorry Regan). And fine, she did care about the rats. Like the real ones, in the sense that they made her a little uncomfy, so much so that she actually preferred the dead ones too. But metaphorical rats were like, a walk in the park. “As long as there’s enough of you left, I’ll stay” She pointed at Van’s heart with a limp slice of pizza. Then proceeded to bring it to her mouth.
Yuck. (She took another bite).
“I was raised knowing a lot of supernatural thingies existed,” she explained, once she swallowed. “It’s cray. I know not everyone can accept it does exist, but I’ve seen lots. I’ve fought lots too,” probably not as much as her siblings, (never as much as them, that was the problem, right?) but enough to be super confident about this convo. “I can now add puddles of chairs to the list. It’s like, my own personal Pokedex”. She looked at Van, wondering how much she knew. If she even believed in the supernatural. Cause being part of it wasn’t a guarantee that you vibed with it. (Just look at Regan) (She did. She always did).
“Mhmm, yup. Same brain,” Jade shuddered, thinking of all those turbulence TikToks. Van was crying a little harder now, opening up about what it felt for her to carry this gift. (Was it so bad to be special?), Jade grabbed one of Van’s napkins, the one with the least amount of grease stains, and folded it into pieces with her free hand, until the small surface was completely clean. She reached for Van’s face dabbing the tears. Jade couldn’t relate to the whole not knowing what to do with your special juice, (cause she did pick up things at a quick pace) but the whole being behind compared to everybody else cause your training was a little deficient? Yup, that kinda hurt a little. But while in her case it was totally her fault (cause she was born too late), it wasn’t the case for Van. “It’s not stupid to feel things. Maybe the rest of the situation is frustrating, but not the feeling. Being left to your own devices sucks.” Her gaze, which had been firmly on Van’s face the entire time darted to her bike.
“What if you’re the Milkman’s daughter?” she fake gasped, following Van’s intriguing possibilities. “Wait, so not helping,” she amended quickly, with an apologetic glance. She couldn’t help it sometimes (most of the time). Chewing on the rest of her slice, Jade contemplated Van’s situation. Maybe there were people out there interested in training adorable baby spellcasters, right? That looked like a lot of power contained in one tiny girl. Maybe she’d ask Emilio if he knew any, since he had so many friends. “Alright, that was me just being nosy, we don’t have to talk about your origin story until you wanna. Maybe it comes up in a special episode” she assured the girl, wiping her fingers on the napkin.
It obviously sounded, though, like that this incident wasn’t entirely new in Van’s life. And she made sure to sound concerned enough when she asked her next question. “Has that happened a lot? You melting things?”
Van wanted so desperately to believe what Jade had to say. She needed to, for her own sanity– especially after what had just happened inside of Regan’s apartment. It was hard to believe it, especially after the way the bleach blonde had yelled at her, but it was impossible to downplay the look in her eye, the way that it all seemed so real.
As Jade continued, Van was resigned to the fact that she, too, was just one of those supernatural thingies. How much did Jade know? The last Van had asked Regan, she didn’t know about the wings, but it’d been implied that she knew other things. Jade had said it herself– something about duty, which Van didn’t totally understand. “Why are you talking about me like I’m a pokemon?” She would’ve been delighted if this were any other situation. She would have boasted about how she felt close to Cubone, but now wasn’t the time to bring her dead mom into things. Besides, there was nothing left behind from her to protect her against the things that went bump in the night. She hadn’t gotten very lucky, all things considered. Unless her magic counted, but she doubted it.
It was getting harder to feel as though falling apart weren’t necessary. It felt it– like it was the only way to truly feel everything all at once. She’d gotten so good at putting it all off, but when her emotions ran rampant, or when fear burrowed itself into her, bad things happened. She didn’t want bad things to happen anymore. Not in this way, not with Jade, and not with Regan. Not with anyone. Van leaned into Jade’s touch slightly, closing her eyes which only sent more tears spilling. They were warm and sticky and the smell of pizza grease would stay with her until she could go home and wash her face. Though, did she even really have a home anymore? What would Thea do if she went back to the apartment and didn’t see her? Would she just leave, too? Her mind wandered, but she was brought back as Jade joked about the milkman.
A soft, half-sob, half-whine erupted from her chest as she considered the idea. “Do you think that’s why I’m lactose intolerant? Is this the way of them smiting my mom or something?” She couldn’t imagine her dad not being her dad, but she did look a lot more like her mom. She hiccuped, slumping into Jade’s side slightly. She stared down at her pizza slice, no longer hungry for the distraction and pain it’d bring later in the form of phlegm and bloating. “I don’t know my origin story, Jade. It’s not like I’m actually Cassandra Cain.” Was this a way of deflecting? She didn’t know. Would Jade even get the reference? Van also didn’t know. She took another bite of her pizza, mouth half full as she answered Jade’s next question. “Always. Like, always-always.” And somehow, it was always tables. How did that work? She didn’t know. “My tires, the table– not just Re–” She choked on the name, swallowing her bite of pizza down.
“She hates me, doesn’t she?” She’d seen it in the woman’s eyes– the way she’d created a monster out of her. Control it, Regan’s voice echoed in her head like the stupid DVD logo on a television that’d fallen asleep. “I didn’t mean to break her things.”
“Well, you kinda are, right? Adorable, emotional, very powerful, you got your weaknesses too…” Jade made the point to glance down at the box of pizza. Yup. That one was gonna hurt later. Van leaning into her felt like a victory. Not just cause, it was so hard it was for people in Wicked’s Rest to allow themselves to be cared for, but mostly the Van of it all. She could’ve run again, or melted into a puddle herself or… but she was still here, with Jade. That meant something, right? At least it did to her.
Van was super concerned about the milkman situation, (though it felt a bit like deflection). Jade giggled, willing to entertain it for a moment. “Nope. It doesn’t work like that, but I’m not the science gal. Unless… milkmen everywhere were getting super busy cause like, that stuff is all around us.” She figured she could count herself lucky, that she didn’t have that kinda tummy issue yet. Jade was tempted to take the pizza away from Van, though. She might thank her later. But also, if this was how she coped, then she wasn’t gonna stop her.
“Bat… girl? Is she the gay one?” But like, didn’t most of them give extreme gay vibes anyway? It probably didn’t matter. “You’re gonna have to teach me more of that comic book stuff,” that way she’d be able to relate a lot more easily to other young people. Or even people her age. Elias probably liked comic books too. But again, this felt like another attempt and switching the conversation. Which, Jade was fine with, don’t trust her to steer an emotional conversation.
Van was eventually done with milkman conspiracies and gay superheroes, slumping against her again while admitting the (literal) meltdowns were a recurring thing. “Okay…that’s okay,” and technically, she didn’t know if it was okay that Van melted things when upset, but Jade brought a hand around her back and rubbed gently. Van could cry and eat her pizza, just not… both of them simultaneously, that was like, such a bad idea. “She doesn’t hate you,” she shook her head, thinking back of how guilty Regan looked right after scaring Van away. Nope that wasn’t someone who had hate in her heart. Besides, “I’m like, positive hate is beneath her… duty. Too strong of an emotion, you see,” other than Rickers’ beard, she figured. “Plus, my phone has been vibrating non-stop, I know it’s her with her double texting. I know, so unlike her, right?” she clicked her tongue, searching for Van’s gaze.
“She doesn’t care about the apartment, remember? She’s said it like, so many times” Jade pointed out, in case Van needed a reminder. She probably did cause, who thought clearly when they were upset? “I’m sure she’s worried she messed up with you, and embarrassed too, for saying the things she did. She’s probably thinking she should’ve checked your hands… you know, doctor brain,” she looked at Van’s palms, not only clean (save for the greasy pizza), but with no deep cut. Nothing that wouldn’t heal in a day or two. Even if it might sting a bit. “It’ll be alright, you have my word. She won’t leave without fixing this”. It was totally a new entry in her bucket list.
Van hiccuped, a slice of the pepperoni falling from her slice of pizza onto a neighboring cigarette butt. Disappointment rose in her as she watched it glisten beneath the waning sun. “I feel like that pepperoni a lot of the time. I don’t know about the powerful part.” She knew that she was– knew that if she didn’t get her shit together, more bad things would happen. After all, the portals that’d risen from asphalt and ground alike wasn’t something a non-powerful person could do. She wasn’t ready to get into those details yet, not with the Regan of it all. Maybe later.
She scrunched her nose at Jade’s comment about the milkman, shaking her head. She knew that she was trying to make a joke out of something serious– they both were, and Van couldn’t really blame her. Hadn’t she been the one to sort of start it, anyway?
“That’s Batwoman.” Van’s opinion on Cassandra Cain being bisexual didn’t matter here, she didn’t think. It’d only move them further from the topic at hand, and for once, Van wasn’t trying to run away from it. Not after Jade had offered her a shoulder to lean on and a listening ear. Van wanted to respect the older woman and not diminish this moment, no matter how badly she just wanted to evaporate into thin air. “I can… and you can probably like, learn from Cass, too. She’s really smart about comic stuff.” Did Jade know Cass? If Jade stuck around long enough, Van would make sure to introduce them. “She’s one of my best friends. She likes comics.” She sniffled again, gaze locked on the fallen pepperoni.
Finally, Van lifted her gaze to meet Jade’s. She willed herself to believe the woman in front of her, because if she didn’t, then what would happen? Who would she be without that support? Van bit the inside of her cheek, giving Jade a small nod. “I don’t know what opening up dead people has to do with like, not hating people, but…” Maybe it was a religious thing? Though, she didn’t coin Regan for being super religious. Was it Catholic guilt or something? “She looked at me like she hated me. Her eyes turned black, and I think that I did that. I’ve…” Van took a deep breath, rubbing away another stray tear, “I’ve done things like that before– like, darkness and stuff, seen it swallow people up.” Twice, now.
She matched Jade’s gaze, looking down at her hands. She flexed her fingers around the slice of pizza she still held in her hand, grease oozing onto the pads of her index finger. “People leave all the time without fixing things, though.” But again, Van wanted to trust Jade that this would be fixed. While Van knew she deserved little respect from either of them, she so desperately wanted it anyway. “I don’t know how to say I’m sorry, not in a way that might make her listen to me…” Another bite of the pizza, and Van plopped it back down into the box, careful not to touch any of the other slices in case Jade wanted another one. “And if she’s just going to leave, anyway, how can I be sure she actually is okay?”
Jade squeezed Van’s shoulder, as she commiserated with the slice of pepperoni that fell on the floor. She wondered if Katy Perry could’ve made a hit out of it too. But right, they were focusing on something else at the moment. She hummed, making a mental note that Batwoman was the gay one and she should totally look into it, then shelved it right next to the earworm she was obsessed with at the moment. That Ethel Cain x Robyn mashup. She figured the theme of gayness was pretty overcompassing for all topics. “I love Cass! She helped me pick a goodbye ring for Regan,” Wicked’s Rest was really that small town, wasn’t it? The one from TV shows. Sometimes it felt like no over 70 people lived in it.
Oh. So Van still didn’t know about Regan’s duty. Noted. Jade was glad she’d kept it vague enough to just nod along while Van spoke. That was also not something she should meddle in. As much as like, she would just love for people to let fly their freak flag high or whatever Lady Gaga said. (Was she mixing up references? Huh…) Van! Yup, better pay attention to Van, cause if she held onto a thread in her head, she’d be daydreaming forever. “No way she hates you,” Jade repeated confidently, but took a beat to consider the girl’s words. “The eyes were spooky, though… She was back to normal when you left but. I’ll have to ask her what’s up with that.” Why did Van think she was responsible for it? It’s not like she melted her pupils or something. And Regan had her own set of abilities. She opened her mouth to ask for Van to elaborate, but got sidetracked with the rest of the conversation.
“Well, I don’t think you should apologize first” Was that petty of her? Like, okay…the melted chairs were not a good look, especially if you were into sitting like Regan was these days. But the yelling felt like the bigger offender. For sure. Maybe it was Jade’s own biased opinion cause no one ever apologized for the nasty words aimed at her. Van didn’t deserve that. And she knew Regan knew that too. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow. When she feels less guilty” on cue, her phone vibrated again, without a doubt another round of texts from Regan. “And if you feel like saying sorry after you two talk, then… I guess that’s fine too,” what was that called again? Accountability or something. And actually, could they rewind a little bit to the previous point? Jade’s eyebrows pinched together. “What did you mean… you saw darkness swallow people up?” all of those words together made sense. Except, how exactly?
The goodbye of it all made Van feel smaller. Maybe after Regan was gone, Jade would replace her with Cass. Cass was cool, and she knew more about comics, anyway. Jade would probably learn a lot more about Batwoman from her. Van was only just dipping her toe into the batfam verse. Her mind wandered and she desperately tried to reel herself in. There was no point in catastrophizing something that probably wouldn’t happen, was there? Even after Regan left, Jade would be by her side, just as she was now. It wasn’t like the faux blonde was the one keeping their friendship intact… right?
“They were back to normal?” Van’s tone edged on hopefulness, void of the earlier anxiety. So Regan hadn’t fallen into some pit after both she and Jade had left. That was good, at least. She bit the inside of her cheek, mulling over Jade’s words. “You don’t… think so?” That was confusing to Van. She’d always been told when and how to apologize– to her teachers, to the grocery store clerk, to her grandmother. She was taught that apologies were the things that mattered most, and that she should always give them, even if she wasn’t the one who’d done something wrong. If that weren’t the case, then she’d learned wrong.
“Okay.” Van felt small again, thinking about what she might say to Regan, and how she’d afford new chairs. She’d been saving money on things like electricity and wifi since moving into Regan’s apartment, so maybe it wouldn’t be all that bad. She could probably find something in the town’s marketplace, she was sure of it. “I’ll try not to say sorry right away if you don’t think I should.” Maybe taking Jade’s advice here was the smarter option. Maybe Jade knew what she was talking about.
At her next question, though, Van took a deep breath. Why couldn’t she just shut up? Sometimes she spoke too much for her own good. “Like… things happen, portals open. There’s a dark hole, it swallows something– somebody whole. I thought that might happen to Regan. I got scared.” She was surely revealing too much, but it was too late to backtrack now. She owed Jade honesty, didn’t she? “I don’t know what it is, before you ask. It just… it’s happened, and it exists in me.” She shrugged simply, scraping a piece of congealed cheese off of the box’s side. “I’m still trying to figure that part out.” The tears had stopped for the most part which she was grateful for and the anxiety that buzzed in her head had quieted down some, which considering the topic of conversation, that was surprising in itself.
“Yup!” Jade popped that ‘p’ sound dramatically, as a way to cheer Van up. Had she seriously believed this was all her fault? Talk about a chip on her shoulder. No wonder she was torturing herself with pepperoni pizza from literally the worst pizza place in town. On that note, Jade grabbed stole slice, telling herself that she was technically helping Van by eating her food. (Duh!) She was in service of the community after all. “Back to the same pale blue we all love. You know, not the scary looking one, like Miley Cyrus,” she let out a dreamy sigh, thinking of Regan’s eyes. They were literally the only valid blue eyes in the world, in her opinion. Wait, Van was talking. Focus. “Nuh-uh. I know she’s gonna apologize, she’s really good at it,” Jade nodded firmly, “like, alright sure, you should apologize for the chairs after. But no one should ever yell at you the way Regan did. That’s worse than melted chairs.” Jade looked away, focusing on her bike and not the on-rush of memories reminding her of the times she might have been in Van’s shoes. (Hypothetically). Um, anyway.
Luckily Van seemed convinced by her flawless logic. Jade nodded encouragingly. Chairs could always be replaced anyway. In fact, “maybe we can steal some stools from here!” she pointed behind them, a conspiratory smile spreading on her face. Like, they could always claim someone came in and just, took them. It was way tamer than some of the stuff that went down at Sly Slice. But something told her Van would be a little scared of the idea. “Or! We can go buy some too, that works. My point is… All of that is easily replaceable, you’re not,” Jade offered a comforting smile, then proceeded to stuff her face with the rest of her pizza slice. It was a little salty. She wondered if Van’s tears were responsible for that.
Jade was thankful she’d finished swallowing her food, cause Van was opening up like, for realsies now and it was starting to sound… a little concerning. Not the craziest story Jade had ever heard by any chance, but it definitely gave her a pause, as she tried letting Van finish talking before interrupting. (And please, no jokes) (She could so do this, she could have an adult conversation). “Huh…” Jade blinked, understanding now that Van’s magic was not a ‘teehee I melt things’ type of deal. So it really could’ve been like, super bad. Like Regan could’ve been gone even before Ireland bad. And yeeted (yote) to an even scarier place. (One with no sheep, she guessed). “Where um… you don’t know where these people go, do you? When they get swallowed…” her eyebrows knitted in concern, making some assumptions. She shook her head, not the time to be nosy. “Look, it doesn’t matter, babe. You have no control over this, but you will… this stuff always starts like that. You just need your training montage and you’ll be fine, you’ll be so good. This town is probably like, the best place to learn.”
“People with blue eyes always want you to know that they have them…” Van stared off into the distance, thinking of the very reference that Jade had brought up. She felt like if she’d tried to explain the origin of the meme to Regan, there’d be no progress. At least Jade had some sense to her. Van hadn’t gotten a lot of apologies in her lifetime– though, that was relatively short in the grand scheme of things. She wasn’t used to people trying to right their wrongs with her, and the idea that Regan might apologize for yelling at her filled her with both hope and dread. It was a confusing mixture, and one that she didn’t want to focus on too much for the sake of moving forward in this conversation. “People yell all the time, especially at me.” She shrugged, stating it as the most simple thing in the world. “It happens.” There’d be no stopping it, really. People would continue to yell, and that was just how life was. Even if Regan yelling at her did hurt more than the average person yelling at her.
Van looked behind her towards the door that led back into the kitchen of the restaurant. “I think Rocky would like, definitely notice.” Janice wasn’t there to rat her out anymore, but that didn’t mean somebody else wouldn’t.
All of that is easily replaceable, you’re not.
She could have cried harder at the comment, but she didn’t. Instead, she nodded. A far away expression peeled over her features as she settled on Jade’s words. If they were being said, then they were true, right? Van cleared her throat. “I’m sure… we’ll find something. People move all the time and need to get rid of things.” Maybe she’d take Thea to a yard sale later to try and find something that’d fit the table’s vibe. Maybe Thea was better at it than her. It occurred to her then that she’d need to explain why the chairs had melted. As the anxiety bloomed over her in preparation, she did her best to push it away. Now was not the time to focus on somebody else either being afraid of her or being angry at her for doing such a thing. She thought Thea really liked those chairs.
“No, I don’t.” Van’s voice hardened as she tried to parse out any judgment that might be lingering in Jade’s tone. It was absent, though, which made her relax slightly. “It’s going to be a whole like, Aang discovering he has to save the world thing, only not as cool.” She nearly went into the details of how she’d be fine with not getting the girl if it meant Zutara could be canon in some capacity, but she wasn’t sure if Jade would even know what the hell she was talking about. “I don’t want to be dangerous anymore.” She sniffled lightly, rubbing her sleeve under her nose. “I… know that Regan is right– I do need to control it, I just… don’t know where to start.” She leaned away from Jade and sighed, brushing her hair out of her eyes with her non-greasy hand. “I’m sorry for all of… that, this…” She looked over at the older woman with a frown. “You don’t think I’m going to hurt you too, do you?”
Huh. Van was totally right about blue-eyed people. Maybe that was what Jade found so attractive about Regan’s. She’d never once flaunted the color of her eyes. Never gave her an eerie stare, not even back when she was supposed to be the harbinger of death. They were so nice and shiny (shinier every day) and sometimes they looked at Jade like… like maybe she wasn’t hard to love after all. Like maybe she could be easy, even. And that felt super nice. It was the best part of being seen by Regan, actually. (But Regan’s eyes and the rest of her weren’t gonna stay with her for much longer. Ireland was still happening) (So maybe she should start fearing blue eyes again).
“No one should be doing that, people are so freaking rude”. Her forehead wrinkled and her stomach filled with something nasty as Van claimed people yelled at her all the time. Jade passed it off as having sympathy for Van’s struggles. (Right?) Cause she did feel for the girl. Maybe a little too much, enough to feel like threatening violence, for example. She wouldn’t though. Cause she was the adult in this and all. “You’ll tell me next time someone yells at you,” Jade all but demanded, then amended her words in a beat, much gentler. “I’m not like, gonna embarrass you or anything… I just wanna know. Or, if you ever wanna tell me all about those dumb people, I’m all ears. You should tell me whatever you feel like, whenever you feel like” she suggested, a small smile smoothing out her sharp edges.
Van was right. Rocky would notice, he was like… a hawk or something. But the sentiment was what mattered, here. She would steal stools for Van. (The smuggling them bit might be harder. Cause she didn’t think they would fit in her motorcycle). But it seemed like Van got the meaning behind her words, cause her eyes looked shiny again, holding back tears. She wasn’t full-on crying, though. She was touched, and Jade squeezed her shoulder tighter, comforting her. “Yup, I bet some weirdo on the internet is ready to get rid of some furniture. All we gotta do is look”.
Jade didn’t know who Aang was, specifically. Her anime culture was seriously lacking (even if Jasper had tried), but she had totally seen a meme or two of that show on Twitter (not X). Plus, that whole korrasami situation, right? Yup, at least from a distance, Jade rooted for them and all the people they pissed off. Wait, where were they? Oh, right. Van didn’t want to be dangerous anymore. She glanced at the girl, wishing she knew about magic instead of vampires for once. She would’ve taken her under her wing so fast. She did know a thing or two about control though. She didn’t like thinking about those days, but there was a reason she knew like, every breathing technique under the sun. “Maybe we can work on the… non-magical bits for now. Like, when you feel nervous and things like that,” she didn’t wait for Van to agree or not, she was only planting the seed in case she was ever interested. They weren’t gonna solve every problem in one evening.
Similar to Regan, Van looked soggy with guilt even after being reassured. Her girls were just so tenderhearted, weren’t they? Jade hummed in disagreement. “Oh, you don’t have to apologize to me either,” she scoffed. That was even weirder. Regan did it too. Apologizing all too quickly. (What do you mean people were capable of accountability? Just… that easily?) (It sounded so fake). Her question, on the other hand, was pretty valid. A piece of glass cut through her clothes when the bulb exploded. She had been bleeding on the way to Sly Slice. But it would take a lot more than that to send Jade running the other way. Her brother’s words once again echoed in her head. (Diamonds shatter, jade sings). “Not even a little. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed… but I don’t like doing a whole lot of thinking,” besides, she was too important for the plot to be swallowed up by one of those portals. She had people to kiss and vampires to slay.
She let a moment of silence pass between the two (torture), watching Van process everything she’d been through. She looked drained, and definitely gave ‘pepperoni on the ground’ vibes now. A heaviness set in Jade’s chest too, but why dwell on that? “Do you want a drink? I can go get us something… The pizza is super salty.”
It hadn’t occurred to Van that maybe the people yelling at her were the ones in the wrong. Regan wasn’t an example of this, obviously– no matter what Jade said about what had happened, Van still felt like she’d deserved the frustration that’d come from the older woman. She had melted a chair! Had almost hurt Jade and the mice! It made sense that Regan would be upset with her, even if it did hurt, and even if Van did think that the bleach blonde would hate her for like, ever.
But still, it felt nice to have somebody in her corner. Van nodded at Jade’s insistence, a small smile pulling at the corners of her lips. Things had gotten to be so different. Between Jade and Nora, she was sure that she’d be defended from pretty much anything, even if Van was the most dangerous part of the equation (what with the portal opening and all). “Okay, I’ll… I’ll try that, Jade.” The least she could do was try, right? That was what was important here? Not turning her back on the opportunity, but instead attempting to do something out of her comfort zone? The example in this situation was just letting somebody care about her enough to defend her. “I think I can do that.”
It really stuck with Van that despite what Jade had seen her do (magic lite, all things considered), she was still offering to be by her side. “My old therapist taught me some things and like, it helped for awhile, but… things have just gotten super weird and it’s getting harder, you know?” She was sure that Jade would understand what she meant, even if at its most basic level. The whole Regan leaving thing was included in that, after all. “I still feel like I should, though. I could have hurt you.” Van didn’t want to keep this up– she would have preferred her magic leave her once and for all, but it really didn’t seem like that would be happening. “Thinking is like, super overrated, but I think too much. Maybe you can teach me how not to think or something instead of how not to be nervous.” It was said with a soft laugh as she looked down at the non-descript pizza box. No mention of Sly Slice, anywhere. How was Rocky supposed to market the shop?
At Jade’s question, Van let out a sigh, reaching up to rub at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I think a fizzy lime soda would be really nice right now.” She needed to stop feeling sorry for herself because how much longer would people put up with it? It was pathetic. She looked over at Jade and got to her feet. “I think we should both go. If I stay back here much longer I’m going to totally cry some more, and that won’t like, help anyone I don’t think.” After a brief pause, she tugged on Jade’s sleeve, balancing the pizza box in her opposite hand. “Thank you, for coming to find me. For not forgetting me or running away.” Even if they could’ve come across as lighthearted, the words held a weight that made Van immediately uncomfortable and she cleared her throat, kicking some dirt over the fallen pepperoni. “Fizzy lime time, Jade.”
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