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grailfinders · 4 years ago

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Fate and Phantasms #126: Bedivere

Today on Fate and Phantasms we're making the one delivery service with worse return timelines than Amazon, Bedivere!

Bedi's got a bit of extra witchcraft that certainly would have gotten you in trouble if you weren't rolling with the king of England, but he's also a knight who's accomplished in the art of warfare. Surprisingly, that combination means your build is actually more complicated than the immortal pseudogod you face off against.

There's really no telling what gets accounted for in D&D classes.

Check out Bedi's build breakdown below the cut, or his character sheet over here!

Next up: What a twist!

Race and Background

I mean, you were human at some point. Ol' Bedi's much, much older than he looks, thanks to time traveling the long way around to me your king again. So far, in fact, that you now count as a Reborn from that fancy new UA. Using the new lineage traits, you get +2 Charisma and +1 Constitution. You also count as an Undead and a Humanoid, meaning you're affected by both Turn Undead and Cure Wounds. Real fun for a paladin! You've got a Medium size, with 30' of movement speed. You get 60' of Darkvision, and your Deathless Nature nets you a gaggle of benefits. You have advantage against disease and poison, and resist poison damage. You also get advantage on death saves, and don't require most things needed for life. You no long require eating, drinking, or breathing, and instead of sleeping you just sit tight for four hours. This also means magic can't put you to sleep. Finally, a number of times per long rest equal to your proficiency bonus you can recall Knowledge from a Past Life, adding 1d6 to a skill check.

That almost makes up for... actually it doesn't make up for anything. Still, it's better than nothing.

Oh yeah, background. You're a Knight of the Order, like your coworkers before you. This gives you proficiency with Religion and Persuasion.

Ability Scores

Make your Charisma as high as possible. You look me in the eyes and tell me that isn't a charming young man, I dare you. After that is Wisdom, because you can't fight a war if you can't see what the enemy is doing. After that is Constitution-you survived an inordinate amount of time to get to this point, and even with a magic artifact that's still one hell of a save DC. Strength is next, you're as good with a sword in one hand as most knights are with two, but we'll get our swordfighting skills from somewhere else in just a bit. Your Dexterity is a bit low, but you wear heavy armor, so it's not that much of a problem. Finally, dump Intelligence. Like a lot of builds, Bedivere isn't dumb- we just needed other abilities more, and intelligence affects very little besides skill checks, and that's what KfaPL is for.

Class Levels

1. Paladin 1: Once again, no surprise here. As a paladin, you get a Divine Sense to locate extraplanar beasties nearby, and you can also Lay on Hand to heal a creature from a pool of hp equal to five times your paladin level, which refills on long rests.

You also get proficiency in Wisdom and Charisma saves, as well as two paladin skills. I've said this already, but you can do one-handed what most people need two for, so you're pretty good at Athletics. You're also able to read the battlefield well, and that most closely translates to Insight.

2. Paladin 2: Second level paladins get a fighting style, and since all your weapons are one handed, the Dueling style is perfect for you, adding 2 to all your one-handed weapon attacks when you aren't also wielding a shield or a second weapon. You can also cast and prepare spells using your Charisma. You can also burn those spell slots to activate your Divine Smite, adding some extra radiant damage to your weapon attacks.

Bedivere is known for his knowledge in witchcraft, so he gets a bit more leeway in what spells he can get. That being said, Heroism is always a good pick to calm yourself before a battle, and Bless will use your Charisma skill to improve your allies' attack rolls and saves, giving them an extra d4 for the duration.

3. Warlock 1: I know you're more of a paladin than this, but you don't have one of your arms yet, and to be honest it's cramping our style. Technically you got your arm from Merlin, but we've done more than enough crown paladin/archfey warlock combos now thanks to the Pendragon family to last a lifetime. Your powers more directly come from your arm, which is a transformed magical sword, so that makes you a Hexblade warlock.

At first level, you can place a Hexblade's Curse on someone once per short rest. This means you deal extra damage to them based on your proficiency bonus, you crit on 19s when you attack, and you gain hp when the target dies. The curse only lasts for 1 minute, but so do most D&D fights, so you're probably fine.

You also become a Hex Warrior, allowing you to use Charisma instead of Strength when attacking with a specific weapon you choose after a long rest. Once you get your pact boon, this will apply to any weapon you make with that boon (though you probably want to make your hand).

You also get Pact Magic, which is kinda like normal magic, but it doesn't mix with your other spell slots, and recharges on short rests. This also uses your Charisma to cast.

You can cast True Strike to strike true, Prestidigitation to make up for all the little magic effects we can't get you, Wrathful Smite to smite while you smite, and Comprehend Languages, because most people aren't going to know what you're talking about if you're speaking Middle English.

4. Warlock 2: Second level warlocks get Eldritch Invocations, ways to customize the selling your soul experience. Save one for next level, but grab Beast Speech so you can cast Speak with Animals for free. There's a lot of talking creatures in medieval mythology, and we spend most of our spell slots smiting. You can also cast Unseen Servant to make things a bit witchier, and also for help carrying cumbersome stuff.

5. Warlock 3: Third level warlocks get their pact boon, and Pact of the Blade will allow you to summon your arm as an action. You can also make other weapons, but regardless, whatever you make counts as a magical weapon for resistances, and can be used as a casting focus for your spells. You also get the invocation Improved Pact Weapon for a +1 to damage and attack rolls.

Finally, you learn how to cast Hold Person, locking a humanoid who fails a wisdom save (DC 8 + proficiency + charisma mod) in place and making all attacks against them critical hits. This usually ends poorly for them, especially when smites get added to the mix.

6. Paladin 3: Oh that's right you're a paladin too. You might be sick of this by now, but Crown paladins; let's talk about them. You get two Channel Divinity options, which you can use once per short rest. Both use your bonus action, but Champion Challenge forces enemies within 30' of you who fail their wisdom save to stay within 30' of you. This lasts until you're incapacitated, you die, or the creature ends up further away from you unwillingly. Turn the Tide heals bloodied allies around you a touch, to keep them in the fight a bit longer.

Alternatively, you can Harness Divine Power, turning that channel divinity use into a refilled spell slot.

You also get Divine Health, making you immune to disease.

Finally, you get oath spells, which you always have prepared. You already could've cast Command and Compelled Duel anyway, but now they're not taking up prep space.

7. Paladin 4: Just because we're taking a different patron doesn't mean we can't rep Merlin a bit, so use this Ability Score Improvement to become a bit Fey Touched. This rounds up your Charisma, and also allows you to cast Misty Step or Gift of Alacrity once per long rest for free. Alternatively, you can use your spell slots, but I'd save those for smites, personally. The former lets you teleport, the latter adds a bit to one character's initiative for a couple hours. Basically you're just telling someone to keep their eyes peeled, but magically.

8. Fighter 1: Depending on how your DM wants to rule it, Argetlam might be a regular weapon, or it might be an actual hand. Grab the Unarmed Fighting fighting style if it's the latter, or just grab Defense otherwise.

You also get a Second Wind, allowing you to heal yourself as a bonus action. You've been around for a while, you know when you're reaching your limits.

9. Paladin 5: Fifth level paladins get an Extra Attack each attack action. They also get second level spells, including your oath spells Warding Bond and Zone of Truth. Literally making it impossible for yourself to lie can be a great show of trust when meeting new people. Or new gods. Either or.

I'd recommend grabbing Protection from Poison since you'll be travelling with Serenity for a while, or Branding Smite for the inevitable fight against Sir Tristan. I hear he's kind of hard to hit.

10. Warlock 4: Use this ASI to max out your Charisma for the best attacks and spells possible. You also fill out your defensive repertoire with the cantrip Blade Ward to make yourself more durable and Blur to make yourself harder to hit. Nobody said living this long would be easy.

11. Warlock 5: Fifth level warlocks get third level spells and slots. I'd consider a lot of what the Lion King did to the round table to count as a curse, so grab Remove Curse to fight back. You also get the invocation Eldritch Smite this level, allowing you to burn a spell slot for some extra force damage. This is on top of your Divine Smite dealing radiant damage, and possibly on top of your Wrathful Smite dealing psychic damage, by the way. Argetlam's got a lot of power behind it.

12. Fighter 2: Second level fighters get an Action Surge, giving you an extra action to slap on your turn once per short rest. You've been pushing yourself for hundreds of years, six seconds is nothing.

13. Fighter 3: As a Battle Master, you really come into your own in terms of warfare. You become a Student of War, giving you calligraphy proficiency, the most powerful of abilities. On a lesser note, you also get Combat Superiority, meaning you can use three maneuvers, powered by four superiority dice. These are d8s that recharge every short rest.

Commander's Strike uses one of your attacks to allow another creature to attack instead, using their reaction. If they do so, you add the superiority die to their damage. Tactical Assessment improves your battlefield knowledge without having to invest in intelligence as an ability, allowing you to add the superiority die to one Investigation, History, or Insight check. You can also Rally a companion as a bonus action, giving them some temporary HP.

14. Paladin 6: Oh that's right you're also a paladin. Now you've got an Aura of Protection, meaning every save made within 10' of you gets your charisma modifier added to it, if you so choose.

15. Paladin 7: Your Divine Allegiance allows you to use a reaction to take another creature's damage for it. Mash is lovely, but occasionally she needs some time off tanking.

16. Paladin 8: You get another ASI this level, and your charisma's all good now... grab some Constitution I guess? More health is nice.

17. Paladin 9: Ninth level paladins get third level spells, like your oath spells Aura of Vitality and Spirit Guardians. You could also use something like Crusader's Mantle or Spirit Shroud to pile even more radiant damage onto your attacks.

18. Paladin 10: Your Aura of Courage calms allies around you, preventing them from being frightened.

19. Paladin 11: Hey, did you want even more radiant damage on your attacks? Here, have an Improved Divine Smite. Same smite taste, no spell slots!

20. Paladin 12: Your capstone level is another ASI! Bump up your strength. This doesn't give you many benefits, but you're a knight, you should be pretty strong.

Pros:

You've got a divine smite, improved divine smite, eldritch smite, and even one of the spell smites if you're feeling spicy. Four smites at once means your critical hits hurt. Especially since you can fish for them with a hexblade's curse.

Despite your damage dealing, you've also got plenty of tools in your support kit. Tank for allies, heal them, help them attack more, improve their initiative... You can do a lot.

You've got almost 200 hp and ways to heal yourself, so your survivability's pretty on point as well. Stay in the fight, and make sure everyone else does too.

Cons:

Thanks to being a reborn, you count as an undead for spells and effects. That'll seriously hinder your social standing in places that can check for that sort of thing, and it'll also make working with clerics in general troublesome.

Hexblade makes picking ASIs a lot easier, but it also means your strength and dexterity scores aren't as high. Because of that your AC isn't going to be that great. It's a good thing you can survive hits, because you'll definitely be taking them.

Despite your array of smites, you have limited spell slots to use them with. Your highest level spells are only level 3, and you don't get that many slots to work with, so you'll have to be careful of when you go all out.

#Fate and Phantasms #FGO #Fate Grand Order #Bedivere #D&D 5e

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twstarchives · 5 years ago

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Silver・Voice Lines

Additional voice lines:

NRC Master Chef event card

School Uniform - R

Unlock Card “What’s your next class?”

Groovy “I want to learn what a servant should be like.”

Home Setting “Oh, it’s you.”

Home Transitions “Are you done getting ready for class? Being ready is oftentimes more important than jumping right in.”

“The weather on days like this makes me wanna sleep...”

“I don’t really pay attention to my clothes. You think I look good in this? Oh, really?”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “I’m leaving if you don’t need anything. ...Why’re you looking at me like that?”

Home Taps “I’m going to study my hardest, as to not embarrass Lord Malleus.”

“It’s good to exert yourself. Hard work always pays off; it’s easy to do, and the outcome is obvious since it relies on you.” ¹

“I’m fine with any kind of clothes, as long as it’s not rude to wear them.”

“Have you gotten used to this school yet? ...Oh. Well, there’s no need to rush.”

“Mm, thanks for waking me up.”

PE Uniform - R

Unlock Card “Physical training is the groundwork for everything. Wanna train together?”

Groovy “My greatest enemy really is myself.”

Home Setting “I’m looking forward to seeing how far I can go.”

Home Transitions “Whether or not I act on my own doesn’t have anything to do with anyone else. You shouldn’t get too caught up about your surroundings either.”

“I think you might have some potential with using a sword. I’d like to see you take a serious try at it sometime.”

“Are you interested in horse riding? Come take a look at the Horse Riding Club sometime. It’d make Riddle happy too.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “What are you going to go do right now? If you don’t have any plans, it’d be great if you could come work out with me.”

Home Taps “Whenever I’m practicing, Sebek always comes over to try challenging me. It’s part of our normal.”

“Training your body in turn trains your mind. You should take it seriously.”

“I go through all of this training so that I can protect Lord Malleus and the others.”

“It’s faster to take a hands-on approach than just learning about something.”

“You don’t need to hit me so hard; I’m already up.”

Lab Coat - SR

Unlock Card “Relax. Your results will suffer if you’re so tense.”

Groovy “I have no choice but to train to overcome my weaknesses.”

Home Setting “You want to study together? You really work hard.”

Home Transitions “You can’t protect the ones you love with power alone. Situations will always come up that require knowledge and wit.”

“Have you been to the greenhouse yet? Be careful in there. It’s warm and puts you to sleep if you don’t watch out.”

“‘Tips for doing labs’? Follow what’s written in the textbook. That’s it.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “I’ve been trying to incorporate prep and review for my classes into my routine, but... I accidentally fell asleep last night. I’ll do it now.”

Home Transition (Groovy) “The one thing that stays the same between magic and your studies is the need to work your hardest.”

Home Taps “Kalim from my class often fails all his experiments, but he never loses his motivation. That’s an important quality to have.”

“Aren’t you in the same grade as Sebek? What do you think about him? Isn’t his voice the most annoying you’ve ever heard?”

“Fath—Lilia has a ‘creative’ way of cooking. First he finds a recipe, and then he cooks without ever looking at it.”

“Everyone has a certain amount of hours they need to sleep each night, but exactly how many hours short am I...?”

“Rush like that all you want, but you’re not going to finish all of your learning in just one day.”

Home Tap (Groovy) “I cook sometimes. I’m not that good at it, but at least I can sort of imagine how I want it to taste when I make things myself.”

Ceremony Robes - SR

Unlock Card “Zz... Ah! Were you calling for me?”

Groovy “The little birds are singing so joyously. I think it’ll be a nice day today.”

Home Setting “I tried fixing up my appearance so I didn’t look like I put in zero effort.”

Home Transitions “I’m really not used to seeing myself look so dressed-up.”

“When I first enrolled here, I was nervous too... Oh, looking back, I guess I wasn’t.”

“I’m still barely a rookie compared to Lilia. Someday I want to make it to his level.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Night Raven College has so much history behind it. I’m so grateful I’m able to attend this school.”

Home Transition (Groovy) “Mm... Zzz... Ah! S-Sorry. I got too comfortable and fell asleep.”

Home Taps “It’s a little hard to move in these, but I won’t let something like this stop me from getting in my daily training.”

“They say that silence is golden. But in my case I just don’t have anything worth talking about...”

“I got tired and accidentally rubbed my eye. Did my makeup get smudged?”

“Academies are for nothing but learning. I’m glad I have the opportunity to develop myself. Yes.”

“I don’t know much about clothes, but... these robes would be considered unusual, right?”

Home Tap (Groovy) “Someday I want to appear at a Night Raven College ceremony next to Lord Malleus.”

Tutorial “Let’s go.”

Lv Up “I’m glad I’ve expanded my capabilities.”

“Alright, I’m feeling confident.”

“The only way is to keep on training.”

Lv Up Max “With every swing of my sword, I can feel the power rising in my hands. It makes me feel like I’m dreaming.”

Episode Lv Up “It’s not really any fun being with me. And yet you’re always next to me... You’re so weird.”

Magic Lv Up “My magic is hardly anything compared to Lord Malleus, but I’m going to hone my skill as much as I can, at least.”

Limit Break “If I get stronger, I’ll be able to protect Lord Malleus even more. That’s why you can never have enough power.”

Groovy “I’m happy. ‘I don’t look like it’? Understood. Next time I’ll try harder.”

Select Lesson “Any one of your classes is going to be worthwhile.”

“You’re going with that one? I think that’s a good choice.”

“Go ahead and pick anything.”

Lesson Start “I need to be careful not to fall asleep.”

Lesson End “It’s over? Time to move on to our next training.”

Battle Start “If you’re prepared, then draw your weapon.”

Battle Win “Thank you. I’ve gotten a little stronger now.”

Other

Profile Quote “Malleus, my lord, enough dawdling.”

January 2020 Trailer “It’s strange... I feel like I’ve met you somewhere before.”

Countdown Poster “No matter what enemies come for him, I will protect Lord Malleus.”

Player Birthday Wish “Sorry. I remembered it was your birthday, but I couldn’t get everything ready in time. …No. An excuse isn’t good enough. Instead of a present, I’ll come with you to do anything you’d like.”

Magic History

Good ★

“We’re at school, so let’s learn.”

“It’s just memorizing.”

“Strategies? I want to learn them.”

“It’s not good to just be sitting down.”

“Studying is training too.”

“Lilia is good at history.”

“A sleeping curse, huh?”

“I have horse-riding training after school.”

“Even lost kingdoms... still have history.”

Great ★★

“That was so easy.”

“I won against my drowsiness.”

“I’ll get by without Father scolding me.”

Perfect ★★★

“It’s just as I was taught.”

“Someday Lord Malleus will be in these textbooks.”

“Father taught me this.”

Special Lesson Perfect ★★★

“Just do it like I always do.”

“Psyche yourself up.”

“Don’t lose your momentum.”

Flying

Good ★

“I’m on the right track.”

“Straighten you back.”

“I’m good at moving around.”

“Zz... Ah!”

“It’s just like riding a horse.”

“Did you warm up?”

“I bit my tongue.”

“I almost fell asleep in the air...”

“Always stay calm.”

Great ★★

“I have a lot of endurance.”

“No problems with this.”

“So this is it.”

Perfect ★★★

“I want to fly faster.”

“Lilia wouldn’t need a broom.”

“Horses are harder to get along with.”

Special Lesson Perfect ★★★

“I want to watch the Headmaster give an example.”

“He’s watching me.”

“I don’t really mind.”

Alchemy

Good ★

“Focus.”

“Careful.”

“The recipe... is...”

“That egg smells rotten.”

“No issues.”

“Wish I could solve this with a sword.”

“The chemicals sparked...!”

“I have no interest in gold.”

“There’s no easy way out.”

“You need to listen to the teacher.”

“I’m going to rest a little.”

“Eternal life...”

“Let’s keep at it.”

“I’m used to making concoctions.”

“This also trains your ability to focus.”

Great ★★

“It worked.”

“Father taught me this.”

“I can do it even if I’m half-awake.”

“Could be... worse...”

“Follow the textbook.”

Perfect ★★★

“I made jewels. Want one?”

“It’s just like cooking.”

“You can do it if you try. Don’t think about it.”

“I want to show this to Lilia.”

“Let’s try the next one.”

Special Lesson Perfect ★★★

“I feel calm when the Headmaster’s here.”

“Do it just like always... Stay calm.”

“Getting careless will make you mess up.”

“I’m not going to bring shame to Lord Malleus.”

#twisted wonderland #silver #voice lines

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teethhunter · 5 years ago

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Better than a Dream

Rosegarden Secret Santa Gift for @jealouscartoonist based of their Cinderella AU

The kingdom was absolutely bustling with news of the Grand Ball.

Rumor had it that this event was to find a proper suitor for the Crown Prince, Oscar.

It was to be the largest event of the decade, more open to the public than many events but also with many important and influential people planning to come. There was much talk of the preparations happening at the palace in the weeks leading up to the event as even those with no plans or no means to attend enjoyed participating in the excitement.

Many were sent into a tizzy of daydreams of meeting the love of their life at the ball. With all that talk about the prince those daydreams tended to prominently feature him. For some the daydreams morphed into full on scheming and for others they remained fun fantasies that filled the streets with quiet whispers and giggles of just how romantic it would be to get a moment alone with such a charming and handsome prince.

The rumors, however fun, were patently false.

Yes this was to be an event of massive proportions and King Ozpin certainly hoped that a few people might find a spark of romance for themselves that night but he wasn’t doing this to marry off his adoptive son to the first or most enthusiastic party-goer who made a move.

“Just because that wasn’t what you meant to do, doesn’t mean they won’t try.” Oscar pointed out, voicing his anxieties as the day of the ball grew closer.

“Ah but that’s just part of the fun!” Ozpin replied, a far too pleased look on his face.

“Fun for you maybe…”

“And fun for everyone else too. They are making their own fairytales that prominently feature themselves. The human imagination is a wonderful thing.”

Oscar sighed, he should have known that a chat with Ozpin wouldn’t exactly quell his fears in a normal way but it did sort of help even so, just a little bit. “You’re sure I have to go?”

“You’ve never had a miserable time at a party thus far. You can see your friends, maybe meet someone new… Just try to celebrate with everyone.”

In this kingdom still bustling about a ball lived a beautiful girl named Ruby Rose.

Ruby had never been to a ball. In fact Ruby couldn’t at all recall attending a party where she didn’t have to do all the prep work and clean up, only getting scraps of the food that was served.

She lived in a lovely house with her stepmother Salem, and her two stepsisters, Cinder and Neo. Despite the high status of the family and the fact that they could more than afford to hire servants, Salem treated Ruby as nothing but a scullery maid herself. She made Ruby do all the work around the house while Cinder and Neo did seemingly everything they could to make it more difficult. Cinder was more direct in her ways of showing disdain, she would make huge messes right when Ruby had something important to do,or she would burn Ruby’s possessions for fun. Neo was more subtle, waiting until no one was looking to set up situations that would frame Ruby as having messed up. Putting bleach into the wash with the dark clothing Ruby was cleaning, or slipping an ingredient someone in the family was mildly allergic to into a meal Ruby was preparing.

Ruby had grown rather numb to all their antics after dealing with them for so long.

The step family was of course planning on going to the ball and all the talk of the prince looking to find a suitor had certainly gotten back to them. For the last month Salem had been coaching Cinder in this elaborate scheme to catch the prince’s attention, ensuring that they had planned down to the last little detail.

Ruby thought it all a little silly because no matter how much they planned there was always a change that Cinder wouldn’t run into the prince at all, or he wouldn’t like her if he did meet her, maybe even see through that thin veneer of faked kindness to how cruel Cinder could actually be.

None of that was Ruby’s problem though and she had the sense to not voice any of these opinions. She had other things on her mind.

For the first time in her life she was going to go to a ball. Salem had given permission (however offhandedly, it was still a yes!).

For years, during her limited free time she would work at Pietro’s mechanic shop in town to earn money. She had a certain talent for weapon repairs which were nearly always a necessity for anyone traveling outside the city limits where beasts and bandits lurked.

Most of the money she earned at this job was tucked away to someday move far away from her stepfamily but for the last few months she had saved up the money and bought herself a lovely dress. The style of it might have been a bit unconventional- particularly when in combination with the boots she was planning to wear with it- but the fabric was silky to the touch and a deep red color and trimmed with an intricate lace at the hem. She was incredibly proud to have this tangible proof of the work she had put in to get to this point.

The morning before the ball, Ruby woke up early to go to the market to do the grocery shopping. She knew if she wanted time to get ready she would have to get all of her chores done as quickly as possible because here was always a chance Salem would add new tasks to the list.

The excitement in the air was palpable everywhere she went. It was the only thing anyone around was talking about it seemed. Normally Ruby was happy to talk idly with the owners of the various food stalls but today she just nodded along politely as she filled her basket, not lingering for the chit-chat.

Ruby arrived home, basket heavy with produce heavy on her arm, with plenty of time to complete the rest of her chores. She put away all the food and went immediately to cleaning. She took extra care to avoid her step family as Salem was already getting the girls dressed up and ready meaning they would all probably be looking to take their anxiety out on her.

By early afternoon Ruby has finished up and finally can retire to her room to rest and get ready. Her room was in the cellar, not much larger than a closet. It could get cold and damp in there during the winter and after downpours of rain though right now it was pleasantly cool compared to the hot summer weather.

She had done a lot to make it cozy and comfortable. Every inch of wall was decorated, her bed piled up with blankets, and her shelf lined with books she bought over the years from a thrift store in town.

When Ruby opened the door to her room she saw something that made her blood run cold. Cinder, perfectly dressed up and ready for the ball, perching on the end of her bed, holding Ruby’s dress.

Cinder smirked with an awful twist to her lips when she saw Ruby, like she was laying in wait for this moment, a lit candle held in one hand.

The dress had been hidden at the back of her closet so there was no way Cinder just tumbled on it.

“I thought you were joking about going to the ball. You can’t be serious.” Cinder said with a mock laugh.

“No… I wasn’t joking.” Ruby’s voice already held a hint of defeat, already knowing where this was going to go.

“Do you seriously think anyone there would be interested in /you/?” Disgust radiated from Cinder in those words.

“That’s not why I-” Ruby was cut off before she could finish her sentence.

“And this dress. You’ll be turned away at the door for wearing something so low class.” Cinder held the dress up as if appraising it for it’s every flaw, as if it was too hideous to look at for too long.

“I…” That hurt more than it should for how many insulting things Cinder had said to her over the years. She had grown a rather thick skin about it but this dress was really important to her.

“Really, dear sister, I should save you from the embarrassment. You could tarnish our family name.” Cinder brought the candle up until the flame of it licked the lace trim, making it curl, then crisp, then catch fire.

“Please stop.” Ruby whispers, knowing it was useless, she knew what was about to happen the moment she saw Cinder in here.

It didn’t completely catch fire, put a few flames eat at the edges and creep up the bottom of the skirt, leaving it a mess of holes and ash. Cinder says nothing else to her, simply unceremoniously dropping the dress in a pile on the ground, stepping on it as if to put out a still burning ember on her way out.

~~~~~

Ruby waited until the last of the burning embers died down before picking the dress up and bundling it in her lap as she sat on her bed. She sat frozen like that in silence, her ears ringing as she tried to bite back tears. There was no way she could mend this in time for the ball. She couldn’t afford to get new fabric even if she had the time.

All she had wanted was to share this one special night with everyone who was so excited about it but that was ruined.

“I wish I didn’t live with these awful people.” She muttered to herself. “I wish they would just disappear.” She took a breath and all at once any anger she held just deflated into grief as tears finally spilled. “No… I just wish I could go to this ball.”

In her mind she had held this event as a moment of defiant freedom, that if she could never escape Salem and she lived the rest of her life like this then at least she got this one wonderful moment.

“You called?” A voice broke the silence, startling Ruby so badly she nearly fell off the bed.

In front of her was a familiar man- er Fairy, technically. He stood in proper Fairy Godmother attire, a clearly enchanted black dress with translucent red fairy wings fluttering behind him. In contrast with the traditional look was his much less conventional scythe-style magic wand at his side and the full martini glass held precariously in his hand.

“Oh! …. You.” Ruby sighed in relief as she got her bearings after being so startled.

“Well don’t go sounding too thrilled about seeing your Fairy Godmother kiddo. You summoned me, remember?” He put on the airs of being dramatically offended though his smile told a different story.

Ruby wiped the lingering tears from her eyes before she spoke. “No it’s… sorry, it’s good to see you actually Qrow.”

In all honesty she had almost forgotten that wishing for things summoned him. She didn’t exactly even know why that happened. When she asked before all she got was a shrug from Qrow and some half-excuses about the ‘mysterious ways of magic’.

It had been a long time since she’d wished for anything actually. Her memories of her childhood were blurry at best but she could vaguely recall how she’d make all sorts of silly wishes just to have him come visit. He was odd and always a little tipsy but he was also so much nicer than her step-family that it made her earlier years with them much more tolerable.

“I didn’t actually mean to call you, it was sort of an accident.” She admitted after a moment.

“Hmm, well even if it was an accident, I’m here now so why don’t you tell an ‘ol Qrow your woes. Looks like you’ve had a rough time of it.” He walked with a strut in his step over the small distance to her bed, sitting down next to her. He took a long drink from his seemingly never emptying glass as he waited for her to talk.

Ruby started and stopped her attempts to explain several times before she got all the words out, still stumbling over herself. She gave more detail than could possibly ever be needed but this was the first time in a long time she ever let all these emotions out. She had friends in town but she never ever let any of them know the cruelty of her ‘family’. Her Fairy Godmother already knew of these things so for once it was safe.

She began to cry again as her words flowed. Qrow was content to listen in his somewhat drunkenly glazed over state.

“-and now I can’t go because my dress is ruined and it’s not like I have anything else I could wear and the ball is in just a few hours and I’m never going to get a chance like this again.”

Ruby finally took a pause and Qrow chuckled.

“Well if it’s only an outfit you need then I can fix you up fine.”

“Wait, really?” It hadn’t actually crossed her mind that he could help with that..

“Yeah that’s what I’m here for. Mmm, but there’s limits to it, I think you remember that.” Qrow said, fiddling with is scythe-wand as he got ready to do some magic.

Yes Ruby remembered there were limits, there were always strange caveats to any wish she made but right now she could barely bother to care. “Okay! That’s fine, I don’t mind as long as I get to go. Wait um what are the limits?” “It’ll wear off at the stroke of midnight. Indefinite magic gives the worst sort of headache to do.”

“Are you sure that’s not just a hangover?” Ruby mumbed, being immediately met with a shove and grumble from Qrow.

“Shush you. No sassing your godmother. Magic works in mysterious ways.

Speaking of which, magicking you up might make you a little harder to recognize. Not that you’ll look different, just a side effect of illusionary magic.”

Ruby nodded along, none of those terms sounded awful and now she was just in a rush to make it happen. “Okay goes away at midnight and I’m sorta in disguise, I can handle that.”

“Great, go put that dress on then and I’ll get you all set. Best to work from a base product to build onto y’know.”

“Get out of my room then please?” Ruby started ushering him out of her room so she could have space to change.

“M’kay, I’ll wait outside.” He swayed as he walked out of the room, leaning against the wall in the hall as she got ready.

Ruby carefully slipped the dress on, as if trying to prevent it from crumbling more than it already had. Dark ash smeared her skin as the burnt bits brushed against her. She put her boots and accessories on to finish the look. One glance at her small, cracked mirror had her frowning. She looked absolutely ridiculous. It took her longer than it should have to build back up the confidence to call Qrow back in but eventually she did.

“Oh good, you’re all ready.” Qrow came to stand beside her. “Time for the magic words, you know the drill.” He lazily waved his scythe-wand over her head while in a dramatic and slurred fashion exclaiming “Bippity boppity boo!”

Ruby could feel the hum of magic before she could see it. The dress seemingly mended itself all at once, fitting even better than before. She was so captivated by how well it worked that she did notice the other alterations until she took a step and immediately lost her balance, sticking her arms out to keep herself from falling. Her nice practical knee high boots were now sparkling ruby red heeled shoes.

“Why did you give me stilts to walk on?” She asked, still trying to keep herself upright.

“Isn’t that just what people wear to these things?” Qrow shrugged, completely unbothered.

“I’m going to trip and die before I get there.” Ruby commented half to herself, but she didn’t want to be ungrateful and he had done something wonderful for her.

“Thank you for this.” She eventually added.

“Yeah yeah, any time. I’d love to stick around but I do have things to do, places to be. So go enjoy that ball, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He said, seemingly uncomfortable with the appreciation and in a rush to escape it, he disappeared in a blink.

Ruby walks the length of her room several times, trying to get a hang of walking in these shoes.

She didn’t dare leave her room until she was certain her step family had already left for the ball because she dreadd what Cinder might do if she saw Ruby all dressed up- or worse what Salem might do.

~~~~

When finally she is sure it is safe to leave, she heads out immediately to the palace.

The ball was in full motion when she arrived. It’s the most beautiful thing she has ever seen with people laughing, drinking, and dancing the night away to beautiful music performed by a live orchestra. There were tables filled with the most luxurious snacks and servants going around to cater to guests as well. There were of course guards posted around but even they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Ruby was a bit out of sort, unsure what to do with herself but more than content to just take it all in.

She has been seated in a quieter corner, enjoying some snacks when a man sidles up next to her to start a conversation which leads into asking her to dance. She politely declined but this repeated itself once again with an entirety different and more persistent lad who was determined to dance with her. She wouldn’t be able to dance in these silly shoes even if she knew how to or wanted to so she less than politely bid him farewell and walked away, trying to find somewhere she won’t be pestered.

She weaved through the crowds, paying little attention to who was there. It was during this escape that she stumbled terribly, instinctually grabbing at something to keep herself from falling on her face. The tearing sound of fabric was audible as she realized she grabbed the sleeve of some woman’s dress. The horrified screech from that woman was what made her realize the person she had grabbed was none other than Cinder.

Ruby stole a glance at the scene, Cinder having clearly been mid-conversation, now with a torn sleeve and wine covering her whole front from a glass that had been jostled.

Ruby quickly ducked her head, hiding her face, planning how to escape, praying that Cinder hadn’t noticed who she was. As it turned out, an escape plan was unnecessary as Cinder stormed off and away from all the prying eyes watching this scene play out.

Ruby stayed knelt there, stewing in her own mortification, wishing in her head to just disappear.

“Hey, are you okay?” Someone asked, bending down and offering her a hand up.

“I’m… fi- fine?” Her voice cracked mid word as she took his offered hand and finally got a proper look at him. Her gaze sliding from his face to the circlet on his head. Without that, she would have no clue who he was, she had never seen the prince before after all.

She had made no move to stand yet but Prince Oscar had also made no move to help her up either. They were frozen like this, hand held, staring at each other.

For Ruby it was the shock of meeting the prince and him kindly trying to help her (and he was as pleasant looking as everyone said).

For Oscar it was because when his eyes met her he was utterly and inexplicably captivated. His heart skipped a long beat and he couldn’t seem to look away.

In the same instant they both snapped out of it. Oscar helped her up in one swift motion, completely red in the face as he processed just how long he’d been staring at her.

“I’m-” Ruby was instantly interrupted.

“No I’m-” Oscar tried to say.

“Sorry” “Sorry.”

They said in the same moment, looking down and away from each other.

They fumbled over each other’s apologies for another moment and finally got the courage to look at each other again. Another pause, just for a breath and they both laugh.

“It’s not a big deal. If I’m being honest you sort of saved me there? I had been trying to get out of that conversation for a while and that definitely took care of it.” Oscar explained, rubbing the back of his neck as he confessed that.

Ruby held in another laugh, it would be very difficult to explain just how funny this situation was to her personally. “Well I’m happy to be a help?”

She shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot as she was quickly becoming acutely aware of just how many people were still watching them. “I should probably go do- do something else, something ball related, you know.”

She turned away and tried to disappear into the crowd, headed outside to get some fresh air. “Wait!” Oscar called but she didn’t seem to hear him. There wasn’t a thought in his head as he followed right after her out to one of the balconies. It was quiet out there and a major relief for him to have a break from people constantly wanting something from him.

When she noticed him approaching he flustered again, he had no reasonable explanation for why he followed her other than this undercurrent need to get to know her.

“Are you enjoying the ball?” He asked, internally cursing himself for such a bland introduction.

Ruby was more at ease without so many people around. Even if it was a little nerve racking to be speaking to someone so important, she was somehow less on edge than when anyone else at the ball had approached her. “I don’t really have anything to compare it with but it’s sort of amazing?” It was true, it was all so grand and amazing, even if she did have to dodge a couple of people it was still one the most incredible things she’d ever been a part of.

“Oh, so it’s your first time attending a ball then? I’m glad it’s been good.”

“Yeah I mean, all the books I loved when I was little had castles and grand balls in them and I never thought it would actually be like those stories. Turns out yeah it really is.” Ruby took a seat on the bench to finally get off her feet.

“I loved those sorts of stories growing up too. I guess it’s weird now to think about how people dream of becoming royalty, being a prince or princess. I went from living on a farm to being adopted into this and then those stories were less fun to read.” He hadn’t really read any books like that since he moved into the palace, now that he thought about it. They all lost their charm.

“I always wanted to be a knight in those stories actually.” Ruby admitted.

“Oh really?” Somehow that didn’t seem surprising at all, he had known her for no more than a few minutes but there was a certain spark to her that made that so believable.

“Yeah I just loved the idea of protecting people that can’t protect themselves, y’know?”

“Remind me to introduce you to the castle guards sometime, I really think you’d like them.” Oscar noted. “But that’s a really nice dream you have though. I think sometimes imagining things is more fun than the reality of it? I’m very lucky to be in this position but living it made dreams of it more dull...I’m sorry I’m rambling!”

Ruby covered her mouth to conceal a grin. “No, it’s fine. I know what you mean but I want to believe that sometimes reality can be even better than dreams if it’s the right reality for you.”

“That’s- hm I think I’d like to believe that too.” Oscar mumbled, leaving them sitting in comfortable silence side by side for a long moment.

“Would you like to go back inside and dance?” He eventually asked, worried she might grow bored with him otherwise.

Ruby shook her head immediately “Oh please no! I mean I’d love to but… erm you saw me trip back there, I don’t really want to have a repeat performance.”

“Okay then do you want to go on a walk?” Oscar just didn’t want to leave her side, not yet.

“That would be nice actually.” Ruby didn’t particularly want to end their conversation either.

Like a proper gentleman, Oscar offered her his arm to link together which abated any of her lingering anxiety about tripping again.

Oscar led her through a quieter path out of the castle and out along a cobble pathway that snaked around the rear courtyards and into the gardens. Lit only by the moonlight it was gorgeous, overflowing with different flowers and vines covering every surface other than the path itself. Their evening was filled with conversation, once past the initial awkwardness they slipped into comfortably chatting about all sorts of meaningless things.

Time had melted away for the both of them.

That was, until the gonging sound of the clock tower atop the castle interrupted Ruby mid sentence.

She went pale.

“I have to go.” She said, pulling away from him. She could already feel the magic beginning to fade as she hurried away.

“Wait come back!” Oscar held a hand out like he wanted to stop her, like he hoped she would listen and turn around for even a moment.

Just before she was out of Oscar’s view she stumbled once more, the heel of one of the slippers getting caught between two stones in the path.

Oscar flinched, taking one step forward. “Oh, are you okay?”

She didn’t have time to waste and she hated these stupid shoes anyways so she just slid her foot out of it and kept on running.

Ruby was well on her way out when Oscar stooped down to pick up her shoe. The clock had struck midnight and that slipper had reverted back to its old form as a boot. “You left your...boot?” He muttered to himself in complete confusion as he stared at it.

Ruby’s dress was back to it’s charred state by the time she had left the palace property. She hobbled her way home with one boot and one foot with nothing more than a sock on it.

Sneaking back inside her home went better than she was expecting. She was able to get to her room and change out of the ruined dress without anyone seeing her. None of that stopped Cinder from being in a foul mood and barging demanding Ruby draw her a bath. This time Ruby couldn’t even claim that Cinder’s mood wasn’t her fault, even if Cinder wasn’t aware that it was Ruby who had interrupted her plans.

~~~

The morning after the ball Oscar sulked through breakfast. He just couldn’t get his mind off the girl he had spoken with at the ball.

Four of his guards who were more just friends of his than anything else often joined him for meals when there was no formal gathering in place. Today was no different but there was a certain tension in the air.

“Soooo, how was the ball?” One of his guards, Nora asked, breaking the silence with a smile that told him she was already perfectly aware of how it went. “It was fine. It was a ball.” Oscar answered blandly, still staring at his food that he pushed around on his plate.

“Just fine? Hmm well I heard you disappeared with some pretty girl and didn’t show back up all night.” Nora pressed more, leaning in with an intense expression like she was rearing for a full interrogation. Ren put a hand on her shoulder to try and rein her in.

“Oh you met someone?” Jaune asked and Oscar genuinely couldn’t tell if he was teasing or if he was completely out of the loop. “What’s her name?”

Oscar shrunk in on himself with a quiet sigh.“I don’t know, I didn’t ask.”

“Wait wait wait, you spend all night with this girl and you don’t even ask her name? How are you going to find her again?” Pure horror present in Nora’s voice as she asked that.

“I guess I probably won’t.” Oscar said like he was trying to come to terms with that himself.

“If you are meant to meet again, I think your paths will cross.” Pyrrha chimed in right as Oscar was getting ready to leave the table.

The entire day following Oscar felt like he was in a daze. He couldn’t concentrate for any of his lessons, which got him scolded by one of his etiquette teacher, Glynda, and told to leave early since he clearly ‘had his head in the clouds’.

Even King Ozpin commenced on it in passing with that odd smile on his face that always irked Oscar just a little bit.

When he finally had enough of all the ‘knowing’ comments and teasing he dug out his commoner clothes from his closet and slipped them on. He used to sneak out much more often because sometimes he missed being looked at like a normal person. He hadn’t done this in a while and the clothes didn’t quite fit anymore but he really needed some space.

Oscar wandered aimlessly through the maze of streets in the city surrounding the palace. For the first time all day he felt relaxed as he blended into the crowd with on stares or comments. There was always the slightest bit of tension he held from always having to perform in a princely manner, but here no one expected anything of him.

He was window shopping at an antique store when someone passing by catches his eye.

Maybe Pyrrha’s comment about paths crossing if they were meant to wasn’t so silly because he sees this girl and his brain goes completely fuzzy like it was trying to piece things together while his heart skips in a way that’s becoming very familiar to him.

“Hey wait!” He called out, jogging to catch up with her, not paying mind to how odd this might seem to bystanders.

Ruby doesn’t immediately realize it’s her that’s being called out to. Not until he catches up to her. She started, stopping mid-stride to look at him. Despite his change of clothes she recognized him immediately. She was nervous and happy and confused all at the same time. She never thought she’d see him again and didn’t think he would care to talk to her again either.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to scare you. I guess that was pretty weird to do.” Oscar said apologetically, realizing this was the second time in a row they had an awkward greeting.

“No, no it’s okay I just wasn’t expecting to see you again!” Ruby explained, unsure what to say or do now. “Do you come around here often?” She asked, just to fill the silence.

“Sometimes it’s just nice to be able to take a walk without people staring, you know?” Oscar answered, genuinely thrilled to talk to her about literally anything right now.

“Won’t people recognize you?” Ruby thought he was fairly recognizable, but then again she also had a whole night to take in the details about him.

“Well no one has so far, I think when people aren’t expecting to see me I sort of blend into the background.” The only person to recognize him thus far was her, but that was because he came running up to her so obviously.

“You weren’t expecting to see me but I didn’t blend into the background for you.”

“Oh it’s your eyes…” Oscar tapered off quickly, not wanting to admit that he’d been subconsciously scanning the crowd every moment he was out, hoping to run into her again.

“Hey, have you eaten lunch yet?” He changed the subject abruptly.

“I haven’t but-”

“Well, would you care to join me? There’s this little bakery I love around here.”

Ruby was anxious both because the longer the less chores she was getting done but also because she didn’t have the money on her to pay for lunch. But he looked so bright eyed and hopeful and that smile was killing her.

“I can’t be out for too long, but okay.” She answered finally.

“Really? Great!” Oscar was nearly bouncing on his feet as he offered her his arm reflexively, an overly formal gesture but sweet nonetheless.

Ruby laughed quietly but took his arm, ignoring the couple odd glances they earned.

Oscar led the way to this small corner shop filled to the brim with various baked goods. The sweet scent made her mouth water. She looked at all the different offerings as Oscar chatted with the old lady running the place, listing off the pastries he wanted to get.

He turned to Ruby after a moment and asked “What would you like?”

It hadn’t occurred to her that he was offering to pay for her until then, she didn’t have the money on her to actually buy anything so she was planning on just quietly not ordering anything.

She paused, internally scrambling to make a decision. “One of these?” She pointed to a flaky chocolate croissant that had caught her eye earlier. He picked up on her hesitance quickly and ordered both that and a couple of his personal favorites for her to try.

Once they gather up all their pastries they sit at the one small round table next to the window, settling down.

“ Okay, weird question but it’s been killing me ever since I last saw you.” Oscar asked.

Ruby nodded, giving permission for him to go ahead and ask.

“How do I phrase this,,,,When you left, you dropped your boot? But you definitely weren’t wearing a boot before that?”

Ruby blinked at him then laughed. “Yeah I get why you’d be thinking about htat for so long. It’s well, it was magic? And no I’m not joking! I really mean it.”

At first Oscar gave a slightly doubtful look but she seemed so genuine and there was no other good explanation either. “You know someone that can use magic then? Wow that’s pretty rare nowadays.”

There were traces of magic, some people were born with minor magical abilities and there were healers that cultivated that particular skill but it was rare to have someone perform magic for something like this.

“Yeah I’ve known him for my whole life I guess. Kinda an odd guy but also he’s always been there or me so I guess I can’t complain.”

With that they fell into easy conversation once again and once again time slipped away.

Until she was abruptly brought back to reality from a comment by the old lady running the shop.

“Are you two planning to just honeymoon it here or what? We’re losing daylight!” She asked, halfway between amused and annoyed at the two lovebirds.

Ruby froze, glancing out the window to note that indeed the sun was going down.

“Oh no, I have to go.” She should’ve already been working on dinner and none of her other chores were done yet, scrubbing the floors always was so time consuming.

She was out the door before he could even call out to her, almost impossibly quickly.

“I didn’t even ask you your name. Oscar grumbles as he buries his face against the cafe table.

~~~~

Quite predictably Ruby was immediately scolded when she arrived home. She hadn’t washed Neo’s clothes in time and all her other chores were left to do too. She had to work far into the night without dinner to get it all done, though she wasn’t too bothered after having a lovely lunch with Oscar. She figured that would be the last time she saw him, that fate decided to give her that nice little bit of closure with him, one nice happy moment she could think about as her knees ached from crawling on them scrubbing floors.

~~~~

Oscar however wasn’t at all satisfied in that being the last time they met. In fact had been skipping out on his lessons and duties, sneaking out in commoner’s clothes constantly. It was not like him at all, normally he was highly responsible and took his role seriously.

After several days of this, King Ozpin interrupted one of his escape attempts. “If you needed a break, you could always just ask for one.”

Oscar, very much having not expected Ozpin to be lurking by the exit he always snuck through to get to town, startled. “I’m- it’s not that- it’s-”

Ozpin just nodded, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “You met someone.” He answered for Oscar.

Oscar just sighed and nodded.

“Well, a little birdy was telling me about this girl who works at a mechanic’s shop. Pietro’s I believe? Interesting thing about her is she’s got bright silver eyes, a pretty rare trait.” Ozpin explained casually.

“I… didn’t tell you she has silver eyes?” As odd as it was, Oscar had grown somewhat accustomed to Ozpin’s odd ability to know things he really shouldn’t be able to and knew that the half shrug and smirk he was given at that comment was all he would receive.

Ozpin stepped aside, clearing the way to the exit and gesturing for Oscar to go on.

Oscar began lingering around that shop whenever he could. He didn’t see the girl that day, or the day after that. In fact it took almost a whole week and he was beginning to feel rather creepy for doing this.

He just wanted to know her name. If it turned out that she wanted nothing to do with him after that, then so be it.

But finally his determination paid off and she was there that day. He didn’t approach her while she worked, not wanting to interrupt and be incredibly rude.

Instead he waited until she was off shift and out of the store, making himself very visible as he approached her. He had a whole thing to say planned out but it all left his brain the moment she saw him and looked happy to see him.

“Sorry to ah- ambush you here but I- someone told me where to find you and-” He just couldn’t string a sentence together. “What’s your name?” He finally blurted out.

Ruby was surprised to see him but already grinning at his awkward entrance. “Ruby, it’s Ruby.”

“Ruby.” He repeated back to her with a look of wonder on his face that made her stomach flip. He said it like it was the most beautiful word he had ever heard.

“So Ruby, you work at a mechanic shop?” Oscar asked, as if he was looking for an excuse to say her name again.

“Yeah, I work on weapons mostly, it’s fun.”

“Weapons huh? How come?” He wanted to know everything about her, he realized.

“Well… same reason I dreamed of being a knight as a kid I think? It helps protect people, in any way I can manage. That and the way weapons are put together is sort of like a puzzle? I find it calming I think and- oh, I do have to get going soon though.” She interrupted her self, knowing full well that they could talk for hours again.

“Come visit sometime!” Oscar said in a rush, not wanting to lose the chance to see her again.

“I can show you around, show you what it looks like when it’s not crowded with people for a big party.”

“If you’re sure that’s okay…” Ruby wanted to see him again too and seeing the rest of the palace sounded really interesting too.

“Absolutely! It won’t be a problem, no one around will mind.There’s always a guard up at the front gate, just tell them who you are and they’ll let you in.”

Ruby felt warm at the implication he'd mentioned her to enough people that the guards would know who she was. She nodded. “I’ll stop by as soon as I can, I promise.”

She left for home feeling light and with every intention of visiting him.

~~~~~

Bogged down by chores, it’s nearly two weeks later when she first gets a chance to visit. At the entrance to the castle stood a tall red haired woman in armor standing guard.

Ruby opens her mouth to introduce herself but doesn’t even have to as the guard is already opening the door. “It is very good to meet you.” she says. Ruby guessed Oscar really wasn’t exaggerating about the guards knowing who she was.

“Wait here and the Prince will be right down.” The guard assured.

Ruby stood in the main hall, looking at all the tapestries and portraits lining the walls as she waited.

Oscar showed up only minutes later, looking ecstatic and slightly out of breath as if he’d been running to get to her.

He reached out to her then hesitated. Like he wants to hug her or some show of affection but his etiquette training kicked in.

He held his hand out, palm up.

Ruby wasn’t entirely sure what to do but took a guess and put her hand very lightly on top of it.

His fingers curled around hers as he lifted her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles.

This was by noble standards a very appropriate greeting for a woman he highly respected- if not a little strange because of their status difference. Yet it felt more intimate than just about anything else he could have done. She stood there,red faced and dizzy as he lowered their hands but still held hers in his. “I’m glad you actually came.”

“I promised I would, didn’t I?”

“Well I’m very glad you keep your promises then… I missed you.” He mumbled the last part before clearing his throat.”May I give you a tour?”

“Of course, lead the way your majesty.”

Oscar walked with her hand-in-hand through all the major parts of the castle. Quickly his tour got off track to them discussing other things with him briefly stating what room they were in but otherwise not bothering to give details about it, much more interested in the conversation at hand.

The sun is setting once again when they part ways, Oscar inviting her back any time she wants.

~~~~

Rumor has it that the Prince is seriously courting a girl. She is over many times a week and several servants whisper of the fact they have seen the two snuggled up together when they thought no one was looking. Even without that damning evidence, the bright mood the Prince was constantly in told the story plainly enough.

Ruby had taken to visiting the palace rather than working at the shop. She knew Pietro would welcome her back no matter how long it had been since she last worked. Still, it made her a bit anxious to not be working on her savings currently but for once in her life she was so very happy.

~~~~

Oscar had been serious about properly introducing Ruby to his guard friends. She got along with them easily, so easily in fact that they had begun teaching her the basics of fighting out in the training yard.

Whenever Oscar knew that was going to happen, he tried to get out of his duties early to go watch, it was always worth it to see.

This time around he got there just in time to watch Nora flip Ruby, pinning her to the ground.

“Nora… please try not to kill her, I think Oscar might actually get mad at us then.” Jaune pointed out as Ruby stood up and brushed herself off. “Oh come on, I’m not that breakable.” Ruby laughed. “You next then.” She grabbed one of the wooden training swords and stood at the ready for him.

A few parries from either side before Ruby went on the offensive, half accidentally Jaune over the head with it.

“Ow okay please don’t kill me either.” Jaune whined cradling his head.

Ruby snorted in an attempt to hide a laugh, completely unable to feign concern. “Hm but if I kill you do I get to take your place and be a guard?”

“What! No! Now I’m afraid you’re actually going to kill me.”

“You don’t need to kill Jaune to have a place here. You are more than welcome to stay” Pyrrha said while sympathetically rubbing Jaune’s shoulder, the only one willing to comfort him in his dramatics.

“I think there’s another role you’d prefer over being a guard though.” Ren noted, backed by Nora wagging her eyebrow to punctuate it with implication.

Ruby was less embarrassed now by this than she used to be. This teasing was commonplace now. There was no way it wasn’t glaringly obvious to everyone that the prince was courting her. Honestly she hadn’t put a whole lot of thought into it, it sort of just had been washing over her. Shows of affection are basically constant and they weren’t exactly secret about it even if they weren’t exactly clear about what they were to each other either.

~~~

It became a regular thing for Ruby to join Oscar for lunch or dinner on days when she visited. It was during one of these meals that she first met the King who apparently had the time to join them that particular day. King Ozpin was quite kind and welcoming to her, that dinner actually wasn’t nearly as awkward as she was expecting it to be. The only thing was that he kept saying things that made it sound like he’d met her before. It was odd but also hard to put her finger on exactly. When the meal was over and they parted ways Oscar assured that he was just like that but that the King really did seem to approve of her.

~~~

Some days she and Oscar would go spend their time in the palace library together. Usually they would just quietly enjoy having the other around, leaning gently against each other as they read. Sometimes they would talk about the books they were reading and get completely sidetracked. On this particular day they were going through the shelves of storybooks, quick and simple to read but filled with nostalgia. One particular set of books caught Ruby’s eye, pages faded to yellow with age and a gold trim around the edges. She grabbed for them before she noticed what she was doing, thumbing through the pages looking at the print and little illustrations. She hadn’t noticed how long she had been standing there when Oscar snuck up behind her and wrapped his hands around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.

“What’d you have there?” He whispered.

“These books, I just, I remember them from when I was little but I think you’re missing one?” There were three books she found on the shelf from this series but there should be a fourth one, the one she remembered best. “My mom- my birth mom used to read these too but my favorite was this one that had these warriors who could turn all the beasts in the forest to stone with their eyes? And well, they had silver eyes which I thought was so cool because both me and her had them too.” Ruby explained, she couldn’t even recall how the stories went, just like she couldn’t really recall her mother. Sometimes she’s sure she just dreamed it all up.

~~~

Oscar wasn’t too keen on giving gifts. It felt odd to do when he had so much wealth, like he was trying to buy affection. Today though was different. It was Ruby’s birthday and he’d been looking for this particular perfect gift all month long. Once she arrived he could hardly wait to give it to her.

“You’ve had that silly grin on since I’ve gotten here, it’s making me nervous..” Ruby said, eyeing him carefully.

“Okay, okay, I was going to wait until later but, well- hold on.” He turned tail, running up to his room and back to go grab the unwrapped present, returning soon after. “Here you go.”

In her hands he placed a book with those yellowed pages and gold trim. She stared at the title ‘The Warriors of the Woods ’, her fingers tracing the letters in awe. Her cheeks ached from the grin stuck on her face as dragged Oscar into a tight hug.

“Thank you so much!”

“Happy birthday.” Oscar said as he hugged her in return.

~~~

Ruby’s step-family was growing ever more suspicious as she kept returning home happy and grinning, humming songs to herself. Nothing seemed to manage to sour her mood whatsoever and every happy moment she showed only earned her more disdain and chores from Salem. Ruby did them all without complaint.

~~~

With Ruby around so often, Oscar began constantly skipping his lessons. All of his tutors eventually came up with a way to circumvent this by simply pulling Ruby into his lessons as well. Oobleck more or less ambushed them in the garden and gave them no room to politely escape as he handed them textbooks, paper, and pencils, diving right into a history lesson of the internal politics of the Kingdom of Vale.

One thing Oscar had learned about Ruby early on was that she hated being forced to sit still if it wasn’t her choice. She began to fidget, then doodle, then as all this information droned on made her head buzz she began to drift off into a nap.

Oscar nudged her awake a couple times before taking his paper and writing her a little note.

‘Think you’ll survive?’ He slid that over to her just before she began to doze again.

‘I don’t know! Is he always like this?’ Her writing was scrawls that took Oscar a moment to decipher but once he did he quietly laughed.

‘Pretty much, why do you think I skip out on this and spend time with you instead?’ He replied.

‘Saying I’m better than this isn’t a compliment :( ‘

This was the first, but definitely not the last time Ruby was brought into his lessons. Any time they could get away with it they passed notes and laughed like little school kids to pass the time.

~~~

When Oscar was having a bad day, he liked to go climb up into the rafters of the stables. The palace had a large stable where they kept the horses and a few chickens roamed freely. It felt familiar and safe to him. It wasn’t often that he had a truly bad day but today he was feeling very off. Ruby had come to visit that day and while it cheered him up in the way it always did, it didn’t exactly fix everything. That day Oscar decided to show Ruby his hiding spot in the rafters. He led her to the stable and showed her how he climbed up there, sitting comfortably on one of the beams.

“You don’t have to tell me but, is something wrong?” She asked, he had been so quiet today and they had never gone to spend time out here like this before.

“It’s nothing… nothing in particular, just a bad day, I guess.” Oscar admitted. “It’s silly, I mean it’s hard not to feel guilty about having a bad day when I have so much going or me.”

Ruby scooted closer to him, wrapping an arm around his waist. “I don’t really think it’s silly, if you want to talk about it, I’m right here.” She rests her head against his.

Oscar took a moment to try to put it into words. “I’m thankful, for everything Ozpin has done for me. I’m a prince now, and he doesn’t even push all these outdated royal rules on me or anything. But… I didn’t exactly grow up this way? I grew up on a farm, and sometimes I just miss how simple everything was there and I miss my aunt and everything else.”

Ruby understood then why he would want to go hide out here and in a way she could imagine how overwhelming this must be for him since what she’s experienced of palace life was awfully overwhelming to her too.

She didn’t think about it for even a moment before she turned her head to press her lips to his in a sweet reassuring kiss.

Now, affection was shown quite freely between them in private, nearly constantly touching. Kisses, on the cheek, forehead, back of the hand, those were all commonplace for them nowadays. Yet this right here was their first proper kiss.

They were both a bit red in the face at the realization but it felt like it hardly needed addressing, like it was inevitable.

“Hey when you said Ozpin doesn’t push outdated rules on you? I mean he’s not going to have a problem with…” Ruby gestured between the two of them.

Oscar laughed, kissing her in return finally before answering. “I think he’s all for this. He approves of you and he wants me to be happy, and well, you make me happy.”

~~~

Ruby shouldn’t have been surprised when one night she came home to find that book Oscar had gifted her a charred pile of illegible paper in the middle of her room. Cinder had always had a knack for knowing just which of Ruby’s possessions would hurt the most to lose. That, and the whole family had been completely furious with Ruby being so upbeat lately that of course Cinder would do something like that.

Somehow it is so much worse than the dress being burnt. She re-read this book every night before she went to bed to remember what she could of the family she once had and to remember that someone cared enough about her to go through all the effort to find it for her.

She cleaned up the pile, feeling cold and empty and like she was entirely trapped here. Maybe it was just because she’d summoned him last time Cinder burnt something of hers, or maybe she just desperately needed someone to talk to in general but once she is calm she whispers “I wish I could see my Fairy Godmother.”

Once again Qrow appears in front of her in a blink. “Y’know, you can call me when you aren’t crying.” He sighs. “What’s it about this time? I thought the last gig went well. Heard you even snagged yourself a prince.”

“Where did you hear that?! I- never mind, it doesn’t matter.”

“Am I wrong?” Qrow raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms.

“That’s not the point. But even if I did you shouldn’t pat yourself on the back about it. You nearly killed me with those heels.” Ruby was trying to sound serious but having something meaningless to argue over was such a relief it was difficult to keep that tone of voice.

“Oh I’m definitely patting myself on the back. When you two get hitched that makes me royalty by extension.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works.” Ruby mumbled, hiding a smile by ducking her head.

“Well, enough of that. You never answered my question, what’d you need?”

“I don’t know. Nothing, I guess. I think I’m just tired of this place.”

It was nothing he could fix anyways, not permanently at least probably. “Could you stay for a while? We could play games like when I was little?” She asked, of all things she thinks that might cheer her up right now.

Qrow seemed a bit confused and maybe even a touch startled at that statement but hid it quickly. “Didn’t think you remembered any of that.”

“You were always around, it’d be a little hard to forget!”

“Hmm…” For a moment he looked to be deep in thought before he shook his head. “I guess I can spare a little time.”

~~~

It was a few days before Ruby visited the palace again, longer than she had gone without visiting in quite a while.

When finally she does come by, Oscar is visibly worried.

He greets her with a kiss but lingers close. “Did something happen?”

“No, no I was just really busy.” Ruby said blandly.

Oscar had an expression that said he knew that wasn’t the whole story but he wouldn’t press her on it either.

“Just some family trouble, talk about it later okay?” Ruby added to try to quell his concerns.

Before they could continue their conversation they were interrupted.

“Ah, you’re here, excellent!” Said Ozpin as he approached the couple who took a respectful step away from each other. “See, I wanted to formally invite you to our next upcoming ball.” He handed Ruby a sturdy envelope embossed with her name in silver print on the front.

“We’re having another ball?” Oscar asked.

“Yes, it’s been a few months since the last one so I thought it’s time for another celebration.” Didn’t I tell you?”

“It must have slipped your mind.” Oscar muttered, half sure that Ozpin came up with this on a whim just today.

“This one is by invitation only. Hence why I wanted to personally ensure that Miss Rose received hers.” Ozpin shot a meaningful look Oscar’s way as he said that before turning to direct his next statement to Ruby “Mm, anyways, don’t worry about attire, we can have you fitted for a dress, one properly suited for a night of dancing.”

He left no time for either of them to respond before heading off elsewhere. They both are left standing there, confused about what just happened.

“Hey Oscar?”

“Mhm?”

“So, I don’t actually know how to dance?” She was embarrassed to admit it, since it seemed like something everyone around knew how to do but her.

“Oh, well there’s some excellent tutors around here, you don’t have to worry about that!” Oscar reassured.

“Okay but what if I’m afraid of embarrassing myself in front of the tutors?”

“Are you afraid of embarrassing yourself in front of me?” He asked and she considered the question.

“Somehow a lot less afraid.” Ruby answered, there was a level of comfort she’d reached in being that vulnerable around him.

“Then how about I teach you?”

~~~

That started what would become the weeks of dance lessons leading up to this next ball.

“It’s easier than it looks. I was nervous the first time around too.” Oscar said, standing in the large empty ballroom with Ruby as he started the record player on some basic waltz music.

He demonstrated the base steps alone, explaining them as he went.

“Okay, want to give it a try?” He asked.

“I guess, sorry if I step on your toes.” Ruby was still pretty apprehensive even after watching him demonstrate.

Oscar chuckled, putting one hand on her waist. “I’ve seen you practicing sparring with the guards, you’re actually really graceful.”

“When I’m sparring I’m supposed to be aiming to hurt people, and here not so much.” She retorted.

That was only met with a fond kiss and Oscar’s other hand finding hers. “Come on, giving it a try?”

She began to follow his steps but it was clear how uneasy she felt no matter how long they tried it for.

“Here, let’s try something different. You lead.” Oscar offered.

“Won’t that make it worse?” Ruby thought that would just give her more opportunity to step on his feet.

“No, I think it’s pretty awkward to learn to do these all backwards, it’s easier to learn if you’re in the lead role.”

“Okay…” Ruby reversed their position, putting her hand on his waist to mirror the way he had been holding her before. They were nearly the same height so it worked perfectly in that sense.

It’s awkward at first still but Ruby was much less nervous, actually it was Oscar that was stumbling more now because he wasn’t used to this role.

By the time they had made their way around the room once, she was grinning.

When the music ended she hugged him.

“Thank you, that was way less awful than I was expecting.” She mumbled against his shoulder.

“Ha, glad it was better than awful?” His arms wrap around her in turn.

“But you aren’t done quite yet. That’s just the very basics, and you still need to practice this more too.”

Ruby feigned a pout with a grin hidden behind it. “What? There’s more?”

Until the day of the ball they continued to practice. Oscar had been made to take dance classes since he’d been adopted so he was more than happy to show off some of the more intricate steps and dances. Ruby’s personal favorite was dips mainly for that cute dazed expression Oscar got on his face when she could easily dip him and pull him back up for a kiss.

Rumor had it that the Prince will be engaged to miss Ruby Rose by the time this exclusive ball is over with.

This rumor may or may not have been started singlehandedly by one royal guard by the name of Nora Valkyrie. Regardless of how it started, word spread far and wide.

Word spread so far and wide in fact that it reached Salem. She was fuming, oh how could that wretched girl catch the prince’s attention so easily?

As much as she wanted to lock Ruby away and have done with her, Salem knew that if the prince truly cared for the girl then he might very well go looking for her. So she bided her time and came up with a plan, forging an invitation for Cinder to go to this new ball.

Ruby didn’t know any of this. Maybe Salem was a bit more cold and cruel than usual, but Ruby had already grown to expect the worst so she couldn’t even tell the difference.

~~~

The night of the ball arrived rapidly and Ruby had snuck out without finishing her impossibly long list of chores knowing full well she would pay for it tomorrow.

She wore a lovely floor length dress in a similar red color as her previous one, this time with her comfy boots underneath rather than those awful stilts.

Ruby was happy with how she looked, and so much more relaxed without the constant fear that her step mother or sisters would somehow ruin this for her.

Her confidence only grew when she met Oscar at the entrance and he offered her his arm. “You look beautiful.” He said, sounding so genuinely awestruck.

She really had to hold herself back from kissing him or even hugging him since there still was etiquette to follow for an event like this.

“Thank you, you don’t look bad yourself.” She replied as she took his arm.

Oscar didn’t leave her side all night. As he was Prince, they did have to make the rounds of talking with anyone particularly important but everyone was quite polite and seemingly excited to meet her too.

Once all the niceties were out of the way, they joined everyone else on the dance floor.

Ruby wasn’t nervous anymore, though she put her hand on Oscar’s waist to immediately take the leading role in this dance. Oscar just laughed and tried to stealthily kiss her on the cheek, an action many caught sight of regardless, because of course people were keeping their eyes on the prince and his girl.

For the whole night they only dance with each other which no one seemed to take issue with.

Well, no one took issue with until one particular unwelcome guest mader appearance. A song had just ended when Ruby felt a harsh tap on her shoulder, a fingernail basically gouging into her arm. When she looked up at who was trying to get her attention, she tensed, staring wide eyed. Cinder stood here, a fake overly polite smile plastered on her face as if she didn’t know exactly who Ruby was. “May I have this next dance with him?” She asked, putting Ruby in a position to look very rude and possessive if she were to say no.

Ruby couldn’t find her words at all, even if there was little Cinder could directly do to her here she still couldn’t help but be afraid.

Oscar picked up on something being wrong immediately, he’d never seen Ruby look so vacant and afraid, and this woman who had approached looked vaguely familiar. He frowned slightly before looking at the guest. “Would you excuse us for a moment?”

Cinder, seeing how this wasn’t going her way and so incredibly angry with Ruby getting her way, did not in fact excuse them for a minute. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think you heard me, I said may I have this dance?” Her grip on Ruby’s shoulder now bruising as she tried to rip her away from the Prince.

Oscar immediately got in between the two of them, and the guards were there almost immediately. Cinder did not go easily or quietly, in fact it made for a rather impressive wrestling match to watch in the middle of the dance floor before she was actually dragged off.

Everyone was quiet, shocked, and confused but slowly the party came back to life with people chancing quiet conversation and then returning to their dance.

“I’m sorry- about that.” Ruby mumbled, voice trembling slightly.

“That wasn’t your fault… at all. But, you seemed to know her?” Oscar spoke carefully, not wanting her to feel obligated to answer.

“She’s my stepsister.” She answered shortly

Suddenly something clicked for Oscar about the ‘family issues’ Ruby had alluded to before and it left a bitter feeling in his stomach. “Hey, you’re safe now.” He said, pulling her close.

“Yeah, for now.” Ruby sighed, she would still have to go home to.. To whatever was going to happen now.

“No, for always. You could stay here, stay with me.” Oscar blurted out, more than anything just wanting to make sure she was safe and happy. It took him longer than it should have to realize just how that sounded. “Okay, uh to be clear that was not a proposal. I promise that will be much better thought out and not asked when you’re dealing with a lot of stress-” His explanation was interrupted with a kiss.

“You do realize you just implied you’re going to propose, right?” Ruby asked once she pulled away.

Oscar laughed, giving her one more peck on the lips. “I thought that was obvious.”

#rosegarden #rosepine #ruby rose #Oscar Pine #secret santa #my fic #rwby

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mono-chrono · 4 years ago

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The Heist

oh, bug it, I haven’t shown any of my writing here. Might as well, since I’m working on part 3 of it. I feel I should warn you this is 5 pages long so. I might move this over to an actual fanfiction site like Ao3 later

------

A casino, how open of them. Owynne couldn’t help but chuckle when she found out. This wasn’t the first night she had followed them, but this might be her most successful. At what? Well, she wasn’t sure. She was torn on letting them be or stopping them, though she hoped this would be useful for figuring out how they operate.

Her real problem was figuring out how she was going to get in. Sure, she looked old enough to go gambling based on her stature alone, but she was wearing a brown prep school uniform. Even though it was great on the streets for looking innocent, that didn’t really jive well with a casino, she’d probably be kicked out if she tried. So that left one option.

She would have to sneak in the way The Legion did.

------

The inside was dull in color palette, a stark contrast to the slightly classy emerald green and cerulean blue tinted neon lights outside. It looked almost like a theatre, or a fancy mall. It was done up in browns and golds, though a distant smoke smell indicated that it wasn’t all that. Owynne knew most casinos allowed smoking in certain rooms. She could only hope the route the thieves would take was going to avoid it.

They moved quick and quiet, despite being a large group. It was hard to tell, but she was always a bit shocked when the glossy or metallic sheen of their masks or helmets never seemed to pick up when they were running past. She could easily pick up a few problems in their strategy, though, because she was doing what they weren’t.

She was staying up high.

People rarely looked up, and since they weren’t about to use that to their advantage, she would. Her rifle sat heavy in her arms, the little clinks it would normally make silenced by her even running. The safety wasn’t on, she had instinctively turned it off once it was in her hands instead of on her back. She stopped questioning her instincts long ago. They were usually right.

It was stop and go for a while. Overall, Fenrir had been impressed by the band of renegades. She thought their decision to go in all at once a mistake, something she stood by firmly, but they were doing their best to not get in conflict. They were a group of five, it seemed. In her research, very few codenames came up, and if had been a few months ago she would have said it to be preposterous that they wouldn’t all be Mistralean, but it seemed she was wrong. A few of their outfits seemed far better suited for work outside, one in particular reminding Owynne of the red, light polluted nights of Vacuo city.

The Red Devil was here. The Night Rider too. It seemed like a few of the vigilante copycats she was so concerned about might not have been copycats after all. This was bigger than she realized.

The Rider’s helmet was unmistakable. In the few moments Owynne has been abler to see her clearly, the bulky black helm was obvious, the cat ears making the figure more distinct. That was all anyone ever remembered about the rider, other than that her motorcycle was almost silent when she rode past the residents of Mantle.

The Devil, on the other hand, was hard to mistake. Often times witness reports saw a brief glimpse of red coattails, or tenants would find arrow markings on their buildings. They were hard to place a helpful description of, even if they were so memorable. A high collar and mask blocked their head and hair, and their layers made it hard to discern a body shape.

She wouldn’t call either of them masters, their way of doing things were questionable. The Devil’s red costume wasn’t quite the right red to blend in perfectly, The Rider made herself too known, both of them were oddly the opposite. Yet here they both were. Working on a heist with a very Mistralean group of vigilantes.

She could only recall one of that group by name. The Phantom. They were probably the most ridiculous of all. Their mask was tiny, and though their overall outfit was the correct colors for the night sky of today, whenever a splash of light hit them, the red gloves and white mask was all too obvious. The Phantom was cocky. They thought they wouldn’t get caught. That was probably what bugged her the most.

This room was taking a while. She snapped out of her thoughts, peaking over the edge to see what the hold up was. The team had grouped up near the back end of the room, where they had entered from, and one look at the other end made the reason obvious.

Guards blocked the end of the hallway. This was probably leading up to the top floors, where limited guests were allowed. There were presumably no other entrances feasible to take. Had they not planned for this? There were six guards, two at the base of the stairs, two at the first columns patrolling, and two at the top. There were only five of them. It would be easy for the top two to run off and alert more.

Before she could begin to work out how this would work, one of the unnamed ones went forward. It was too quick, too obvious, very not thought through. The others scrambled into action, the Devil staying back to notch an arrow, the Rider and the Phantom aiming pistols at the middle guards, while the other two took on the front ones.

There was no time. The Devil took out the right high guard, but at that point the other was already on the move. Fenrir peered through her rifle’s scope, tracking his movement easier than one would assume, and fired. The electricity dust went straight through his aura, and was enough to put him out. She moved without hesitation, abandoning her post before they noticed her presence.

She refused to be found.

------

The guards were taken out too quickly, Kalahi thought. As the others came over to compliment her aiming, she stared pointedly at the guard she hadn’t hit. She hadn’t even gotten out another arrow, and yet amidst the gunfire, he had fallen. The Devil moved past the group, heading up the stairs. They followed, unsure as to what she was doing.

She knelt to check out the body, picking the used bullet from the floor. This wasn’t one of the pistol round Rosewood or Haruki had. This was a rifle round.

Slowly she stood up, turning to face the group. She was dreading this. It was something she was sure none of them would have wanted to admit.

“We’re being followed.”

------

Fuck. That was probably the stupidest move she could have made, and yet she did it anyway. She ended up staying in relatively the same spot, watching to see if any of the men woke up in order to swiftly deal with them. She still hadn’t made up her mind on what she would do with the information she had, but she wasn’t going to leave until her curiosity was satiated.

Another stupid move, though she wasn’t a robot. Humans take risks like this, they were irrational, and even she wasn’t safe from this fact.

Owynne scratched at her tattoo while she waited, wishing that it would just disappear. She wasn’t wearing the glove, it never helped anyway. Hiding it only meant that she could forget it for a short while, but it would always be there, taunting her when she went to sleep. It was frustrating, the one thing forcing her to think about her old life. Without it, she would be content with forgetting.

Footsteps runs out softly, she almost missed the noise. Fenrir ducked down low, losing visuals on the room. The group was quiet, not a word spoken. The swish of coattails made it obvious, though. The Legion had succeeded. Owynne felt nothing at that fact, like she was totally detached from the situation. They were criminals, and she was a bystander. Though, she WAS complicit now, and that fact sat low in her stomach. Perhaps the law just never mattered to her as much as it would for, say, people who lived in Atlas. Vacuo never really took a liking to legality.

Huntsmen, though, did. What she was doing would definitely get her into a load of shit if anyone found out, which meant she just couldn’t get caught. That was a simple task, or, it would be if she hadn’t already outed herself. Speaking of…

Why were they still in here? It had been a minute at the most, but they should have already left. There was no subtle creaking of a door, no rustling or clicking of weapons, just silence. Owynne strained to hear anything, but nothing happened.

“We know you’re in here.”

A voice rang out, cutting through the silence sharply. Male. Young adult. Owynne’s brain quickly categorized it, latching onto to the facts and not letting go. It was familiar, but there was a deeper tone to it. He was manipulating his voice.

“Now, we can do this the easy way,” his bootstraps rang out as he talked, “and you can come out, or we can force you to.” Confidence. It was The Phantom, surely. He was the only one making any noise, and yet she knew he wasn’t the only one left in the room. Fenrir stayed still and silent as a stone, almost missing the creaking sound coming from her right.

She was surrounded.

It was less than a second for her to be in the air, an arrow wizzing past to the spot she had just left. Fenrir shot from her rifle three times as the ground approached, not putting a ton of effort into aiming. The gun was on her back before she hit the ground rolling, flicking her knife out in a fluid motion.

“Lovely. I always did prefer the difficult ones.” The masked man grinned. It would be wiser for her not to waste her energy, to run out and hide in the crowds on the lower floors until she could leave, but one of the unnamed blocked the exit. The other one stood at the top of the stairs, guarding the other one. That left the other two to be left above. His glare told her one word, unspoken yet deafening.

”Checkmate”

------

Five on one was hardly a fair fight, but lord knows now wasn’t the time for them to be fair. They were playing to win, but unfortunately for them, so was Owynne, and she had enough fighting prowess to still be in the game. She attacked first, pulling out her glock and aiming three shots at the Phantom. While he was distracted with that, she was backpedaling to the door. Gunfire rang from above, barely missing her head. Shit.

Fenrir sprinted into the blind spot beneath the snipers, understanding full well that she’d have to deal with the problems in front of her before even thinking about making a break for it. A blade slashed across her chest before she could react. She placed a counterattack, dragging her own blade up towards his neck. The Phantom was fast, pulling back before she could complete it. He was at a complete advantage, for he had an entire room to maneuver. If that was the case, she’d have to drive him back.

She threw the knife, taking deadly aim against him. It nicked his shoulder before embedding itself in the floor on the other side of the room. She used his lapse in focus to fling out her electric charged rifle, firing three more dust bullets. Two hit him before the shock toppled him to the floor.

Fenrir moved in a sprint again, this time towards the wall. Her feet were quick, but powerful as she gained enough steps off it to grab the ledge again and pull herself over. The Night Rider fumbled her weapon in disbelief, sinking two bullets into Owynne before she reached her. The helmet showed no emotion as the vigilante threw a punch. Owynne ducked under, springing back up with a knife swipe. The girl dodged as well, but it threw her off balance enough that it only took a shove from her to make her topple off the ledge.

She heard a voice coming from below, a Yelp maybe, but didn’t pay attention to it. It didn’t matter. Instead, she pivoted away from the edge, gunning it for the other sniper. The Red Devil was quick to draw arrows and shoot, but it didn’t take long until Owynne was upon them. They abandoned their bow, pulling out a blade while she was still far enough away from it.

The glint of the curved gold blade stopped her in her tracks. She took a step back, her mind racing. That was… no, it couldn’t be. She took another look at the Devil. Accounting for the heels, the height was right. And the face shape and skin tone and-

“Kalahi?”

If the Devil was stunned, they did a very good job of hiding it, but something will always find a way through the tiniest of cracks. A glint of recognition. A twitch of the lip. The piercing eyes of the Devil studied her, unmoving. Her eyes. Kalahi’s. The pair stood frozen, staring at each other with a million questions hanging in the air that ultimately, would never see the light of day.

A sharp pain hit her chest. She didn’t know what to make of it at first, simply thinking it was her pesky emotions, but that theory was quickly ruled out when it spread to her limbs. Her legs gave out beneath her, moth tasting like metal. The world bended and swayed around her, bubbling and burning at the edges like an old photograph. She was blacking out. All the compressed fear and anger burst through the cracks, eating at her facade until it was no more. She forced to keep her eyes open to no avail. Not again. Please.

“Owynne?”

#rwby #rwby ocs #owynne sloane #kalahi leblanc #haruki watanabe #rosewood glacia #auriel shicksal #kamen noire #the legion #rwby student ocs #story time #this is my first time posting anything like this here #and for ocs no less #the only ones that are mine are owynne and rosewood #just want to clarify that #rwby fanfiction #rwby oc fanfiction #long post

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huntsman-ash · 5 years ago

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LiveThoughts: RWBY V8E6

Second attempt at this since last time Chrome just DIED for no reason...

Im going to put literally the entire thing with Cinder under one note; Called it.

Its a great set of stuff, sure, but it doesnt relaly tell us anything we didnt already know about Cinder, and I personally feel it doesnt really explain why she turned out the way she did. I feel like we’ve had another weird twist of the situation again...M+K? Coronas fault? Who knows. Either way, this section isnt great by my taste and I kinda skipped most of it.

Few things to note though; Apperently in Mistral scrubbing by hand is still more viable floor cleaning tech than using Dust.

The wind vane on the roof has the Rooster Teeth symbols rooster on it.

The hotel Cinder is bought by is named the Glass Unicorn, fittingly enough for...several reasons.

The coffees behind the stepsisters when we first see them are the animated versions of the real life stuff RT put out just before this season went live.

No one seems to notice the fact cinder has orange eyes. I wonder if weird eye colors are just a THING in Remnant?

The control collar/shock thing is incredibly inefficient in design, since it doesnt actually hold on to her very well. A more effective brace/choker design would have worked better.

The song that goes on during all of this is...kind of obvious and a little bland? Fitting for younger Cinder I guess.

Mmm. Random greasy huntsman.

I guess in Atlas its fine to laugh at struggling teenagers?

Im going to assume there’s a 3+ year gap here where she gets older, cause she stops being smol and gets closer to how we see her now.

Also even here, in Atlas...really? The most effective way to clean these carpeted floors is to have a TEENAGER SCRUB THEM BY HAND?

How do you scrub...I assume its carpet anyway?

And how you tell civilians are lame in Atlas; they are impressed...by a sword. Just a sword. A boring, half-cut sword. Losers.

I assume this would be Cinder’s semblance manifesting. Also note on the desk; “we do not serve faunus”. Well THAT doesnt surprise me.

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHE. Get fucked Cinder. HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE

I dont even feel pity for her, this is funny to me. Also the fact that this kind of shit aCTUALLY EXISTS is...amusing to me. Like, really? So I guess indentured servitude is a thing in Remnant too.

And this is why Cinder likes to use swords. Really. Wow. LAMEO.

Huh. Dual maces. Interesting. Thats a prety cool weapon. Looks like they open up too. Bet he could bash some skulls with that.

“Hurting them isnt going to make your life any better”. Um, excuse me? I think hurting them is the very best thing to do in this situation. At least, for the moment anyway.

Huh. So she’s ten at this point? Even as a child, shes older than she looks.

And training montage. Huh. Or at least I assume it is. I get the feeling being able to go where you want too and do what you want too is the main reason Hunters exist. There must be crazy tight immigration laws...or, maybe, its just that traveling between kingdoms is stupid dangerous cause of Grimm. I think the latter is most likely considering every form of public transit extra-kingdom we’ve seen (even between cities, see Argus Limited) has some kind of defensive weaponry. Limited and ineffective, for th emost part oddly.

So you can take the exam at 18. Okay cool. Pre-that must be prep school. Wonder what happens if you wash out? Also I like how this dude is just “yeah, 7 years of training, we got this.”

I think this is the first time we’ve seen the other side of the moon. Or at least, the proper other side...bloody hell I STILL dont know how all those piesces are still held in place, the thing looks like it should start yeeting bolides at Remnant.

Better still we see it MOVE, rotate in time to the passing of years. So it literally does rotate on its own axis, and more importantly, unlike OUR moon, its NOT tidally locked. We only ever see the same side of our moon. REmnants rotates MUCH faster. Also it doesnt seem to have phases like ours does. I’ll check on why that is.

Well at least we have an explanation for why Cinders so damn good at fighting people. Trained by an Atlas Huntsman.

Also as a note the device is quite literally just an electrical Dust crystal attached to a necklace. Things the most inefficent torture device Ive ever fucking seen.

Wonder how often they have to change the crystal.

And there goes the moon rotating again.

I like how NO ONE comment on the blade going missing and that guy never came back for it. I guess he must have just bought a new one.

I get the very distinct feeling they wont just let her go honestly, permission or not.

AWWW WE DONT EVEN GET TO SEE CINDER MURDER THE SISTERS. Also no blood. Odd. Good kill on the stepmother though. Oh, that NECK CRACK. I like how all the bitch can do is try and shock Cinder, like, uh...adrenaline up? SHE HAS A SWORD? MAYBE FIGHT BACK?

Hah. Weak ass fuckin Atlas people. Also the clock going off in the back ground twelve times. How fitting. Welcome to midnight.

Also shes kind of glowing here cause the room is dark, and I find it amusing this is probably the last time she wears white.

And THERES the Cinder we know

Sick ass music, cool. Also THAT is an interesting semblance...I guess he turns himself to metal? Also DAMN his aura broke after THAT? Hes a Huntsman...ah who cares. Again probably in Cinders memory more than anything. Which at this point is probably about as reliable as a coked up hookers.

SHANKED. Sucker. You shoulda seen THAT one coming.

And thats all it took to get the shock collar off. Lol.

So what happened to the hotel? Did they just...write it off? I mean four people got murdered in there...

And now we’re back on the whale. HOW THE SCREAMING FUCK DID CINDER JUST...

Wow. She just got up after eating that blast. Fucking plot armor.

Merc making the hard calls honestly. Im actually gonna watch all of this now which is nice because I want to know whats happening in the real world. PITY MORE THAN HALF THE EPISODE WAS THIS FUCKING FILLER.

I like how Cinder just...goes quiet the moment she realizes shes lost Mercury. Not that he was USEFUL mind you but if I had to guess she liked being the boss. But now shes...basically back where she started.

So the whale is basically a ship. It has a bridge. Probably Salems throne room.

Man, Oscars literally just RTs punching bag this season isnt he? Literally in this case.

His clothes are still scortched too which I find interesting. The black eyes also staying. Auras not back up then? Aura repair and regen seems...werid half the time. Like RT does what they want with it.

Ah so someone finally says it...but at the same time what exactly does Salem have to fear? If she cant fight the whole world...what could they do? Maybe overwhelming her? It...Im having a hard time putting the “she cant be stopped” with “shes afraid of fighting all of Remnant”.

Somethings missing here. I know it.

The sound of the “door” opening reminds me of the Flood doors in High Charity in Halo 3s Cortana. Fleshy twisting.

Mention from Hazel, but AGAIN...no details. I guess if you nail down how she can do stuff its harder to write?

Glad someone made a comment on the futility of the Hunter academies.

I really hate how Salems giving us creepy mommy shades.

Hmm. So yeah the bridge IS the throne room/command deck. I like how Neo doesnt give a fuck is just casually kneeling.

Ah okay THATS why he grabbed the scroll.

Heh. Interesting. How exactly does this work I wonder.

...Why does Salem have a ring. Has she always had that ring?

Neo looking at the Hound like “oh, I could ride this thing”.

Oh cool the Ace Ops. And they’re arguing, shocker. Sounds like Elm doesnt trust tech either. No shock there. Idiot.

Atlas elite. Yeah, right.

Huh, is this a Manta with landing gear? I guess they do have them...seems kind of silly to have them so high up though. I guess thats what the thing under the door is for, so they can deploy a ramp. Man, I really dont like Atlas’s airship design.

Hare needs some fuckin suppresants.

Annnnddd...here we go, things go straight to hell. I was warned of this. I am going to try and not be mad...but from what Ive heard the incomptence of the military in this particular section is astronomical.

Huh. So...Grimm can be convirted into a rock-punching liquid? Interesting. Has that always been a thing or... Also why the fuck are you jsut standing there in awe, go kill the fucking thing! Fucking Specialists.

...that is all it took to get through Atlas’s shield? THAT?

I also love how no one does anything. Ironwoods like “wait what the fuck”. Come on bro.

And...thats the Atlas navy. Everyone. Two lasers. One of which missed. Remind me again what exactly these things are used to shoot?

Wait, no, that took down part of it, and then the rest is, surprise, hitting the soft rock on the outside.

THERE goes the shield.

Hang on a second, how long have those giant squid things been there?

And...what. The whale just approaches, nothing happens? You’ve got 12 fucking ships there, shoot the fucking thing.

Again, WHY IS NO ONE DOING ANYTHING?

Oh, it just beach-headed. Okay fine, whatever.

Im not really worried.

Lets see how RT makes this WORSE though...

And thats this weeks episode.

#rwby #rwby v8 #spoilers #rwby spoilers

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loyalflutist · 6 years ago

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First Kiss (F!Byleth x Edelgard)

Challenge: Edeleth Twitter Week (09/29/2019 - 10/05/2019) Day 5: First Kiss

A/N: It’s self-explanatory. A bit on the shorter side since I had to type this directly on the AO3 site.

---

First meet

It was a horrid scene. Compared to Claude and Dimitri, Edelgard was easy to waver from fatigue. Their breaths were fast, their heart thumping powerfully against their chest. Every single glance over their shoulders inched them closer and closer to their demise. The bandit's leader and his goons were chasing after the house leaders. For what reason? They were not sure. However, what was clear was the opposing force's intention to slaughter them. Swords and axes glimmered from the moonlight; the pair hoping to sink its blade into their sturdy flesh. A shudder ran down their spine. One strike and they were out.

Fortunately, Edelgard and the others bumped into Jeralt and Byleth.

The duo stared at the exhausted trio. Sweat shone on their damp skin, their hues were shaky from the instinctual dashing. Edelgard's chest heaved as Dimitri pleaded for help.

"I apologize for the sudden request, but we need your help to chase away the bandits."

Jeralt's features firmed. He examined the three students with little remorse for their situation. Edelgard slowed her breathing, a hand placed on her chest. The man didn't trust them... but that is to be expected. If she recalled correctly, this man was once a member of the Knights of Seiros. Powerful and spectacular. His existence brought meaning to the battlefield. However, records had mentioned his disappearance and abrupt leave from the order. The fact that he stood before them as a leader of the mercenary group speaks volumes of his enigmatic history.

The white-haired straightened her posture the instant his sight landed on her. He blinked. Then, he shot a glance over at his daughter. Though no words were exchanged, she nodded. This caused Jeralt to shake his head and motioned a hand in the air.

"We'll help you."

Edelgard could not help but mention how kind the teal-haired was. She did have an oblivious look on her face... Not that it mattered. Byleth approached the trio and muttered,

"I'm Byleth."

Dimitri and Claude exchanged their names; the Adrestian Empire's princess was the last to respond.

"I'm Edelgard von Hresvelg from the Adrestian Empire."

First save

Edelgard was always saving herself. No one was able to save her. Not her father... Not her siblings... Not her mother... Not even Hubert. No one had been able to step in and grab her from the darkness. And when someone reaches out to her, they were immediately cut off from her life. It was as if fate mocked the poor student. Fate suggested that isolation is her only friend.

The conflict had slowly died down to its finale. It was a predictable battle. Byleth and Jeralt showcased tremendous strength during the battle. Their raw capabilities were so overpowered, the entire exchange was one-sided.

"Die!"

Edelgard snapped her head to the right. The bandit's leader rushed in her direction, his axe raised high in the air. She cursed herself for losing her own iron axe in the midst of conflict. It appears that she had no choice but to make use of the dagger. Her hand rested on the handle. One fluid motion slicked the small blade out of its sheath. Horizontally aimed at the rapidly approaching man, her brows furrowed and she grits her teeth.

Until Byleth popped into her sight. At first... it felt like deja vu. There was a visual flash of the older woman pushing away Edelgard; the heavy weapon that the foe possessed planted into the female's back. Yet none of that became a reality. Instead, a swift flick of Byleth's wrist sent the gruff man backward, his axe wildly flying in the same direction. His cries were shortly muffled once his back smacked against the grassy ground. Byleth puffed out air and lowered her tense shoulders, her sword still aimed at the enemy. Edelgard, on the other hand, had her eyes wide open and jaw slacked.

First teacher

Originally, the Black Eagles had a professor. It was a young male in his late-20s. He was gentle and sweet, but had little control over his sympathetic nature. Maybe it was a little too sympathetic as his personality led to his downfall. A trip to the woods for training during the first week of school went haywire for the class. They were to be taught about terrains, not how to get lost in one. Their professor disappeared from their life permanently the instant they bumped into an old woman.

"I will be back soon, everyone. I need to walk her out of the woods."

Such a statement was unheeded. He never returned afterward.

The students used their perceptive skills to navigate themselves out of the dreaded premise. Should they linger any longer, perhaps large beasts lurk in the dark, their mouth salivating with anticipation of a new meal. From that day onward, they were unable to locate nor find a new professor. Rhea promised them one, but it had been another week full of nothing more than self-taught courses. Manuela and Hanneman tried their best to teach the third house, but they were overwhelmed with the two other houses.

"Oh, I did not expect you to be our professor."

Byleth nodded, her dull navy hues staring directly at Edelgard's. They stood inside of the classroom, the two awaiting for the other Black Eagle's students to meet-and-greet the instructor. Edelgard placed a hand on her hip and faintly smiled. It would be a lie to say that she was not happy about the older female's decision. She had chosen the right house to teach.

"I look forward to having you as our teacher."

"..."

"You're a quiet one, aren't you?"

A tilt of the head and emotionless features said plenty about the rhetorical question.

First compliment

It came from the left field. Had it not been for Ferdinand's constant "I am Ferdinand von Aegir" slogan, Edelgard would have thought she was dreaming.

They had been fighting for some time now, and the months on the calenders began to crawl by at a fast pace. The third month in and the students are already being treated as if they were soldiers for the Church of Seiros. The Black Eagles were given special tasks that only they were capable of handling. Perhaps this is due to their esteemed professor and ability to teach her students as well-rounded fighters.

"Good job, Edelgard."

The praise was merely due to a quick dodge attempt from an archer's line of sight, but it was the first compliment she's received from Byleth. Something about it just made her giddy on the inside.

First hug

Nightmares had always plagued the poor female. Horrors of her past constantly haunt her to no end. It didn't matter if she drank herbal tea bitter enough to rattle a knight in hopes of curing those dark dreams, it never went away. She would always bolt upright on the mattress, her entire figure trembling violently as she tightly gripped ahold of her blanket.

It was never going to end, was it?

Alas, it had gotten slightly better with the presence of a familiar figure she dearly respects.

Byleth embraced the young girl into a hug. From what Edelgard could tell, no one has ever seen the older female hug anyone, save it for her own father. Was it out of pity? If it was, there were other alternatives for the teal-haired to express comfort. Skinship was something Byleth rarely cooperated with. Even Dorothea had trouble teasing and fooling around with the professor. Byleth was either too dense or outright rejects the notion. Yet here she is, pulling Edelgard into her chest. Protective arms wrapped around the shaking student as she whispered,

"I'm here for you."

First crush

Edelgard was never one to think twice about romance. Dorothea had spurred the topic to mind, but it had only existed as an afterthought. There was no time for love. She had much to do in her lifetime, and there was a time limit to everything in her plan. Should she overstep her boundaries and miss the deadline, she would have failed her personal agenda. Failure was never an option for the future emperor.

But a crush... She crushed hard on Byleth.

The young student cast aside the turbulent emotions that swirled within her core. At least, she tried to. The hurricane settled inside of her beating organ, and it managed to wreck havoc every single time her eyes laid upon the professor. Those toned muscles... Those faint scars that littered her exposed legs and arms... Those twinkles that gleamed from the corner of her eyes... The curvature of her hips... The gentle, but fleeting touches from her... Little details that one would normally gloss over were sticking out from Byleth.

Has she gone mad?

First confession

Confessions were not her forte. She had been proposed before, but never had it been the other way around. Lysithea and Dorothea assisted the white-haired in her ambition to deliver a heart-warming letter and a message to the older woman. They prepped her, trained her, and most importantly, taught her the right words to say. After all, it would be bad if Edelgard unintentionally friendzoned the professor! The intensive training eventually paid off as she made an appointment for a private tutoring session with Byleth.

There was no one to interrupt them. (Thanks to Lysithea and Dorothea booting everyone away from the closed Black Eagle's lecture hall.) It was the perfect opportunity to strike. Edelgard lowered her head, her cheeks flushed. She fiddled with the white envelope from behind her back. Compared to the practice sessions held by her friends, the real deal was harder to achieve. Edelgard gulped once she spotted Byleth raising a brow. She had to speak now or forever remain silent. The answer was clear as a day between the two options.

"I love you, my teacher."

"..."

"...Do you mean it?"

Edelgard nodded. "Yes. I would never say something without meaning behind them." She extended the letter to the ex-mercenary. "This is for you."

First kiss

Out of all her firsts, this one was the most special. If there was one memory she would want to retain for the rest of her life, it was when their lips pressed among each other. The first kiss was quiet and tranquil. Perhaps it was a little too slow for the first go too. Nonetheless, it held a remarkable place in her mind. Their hot bated breaths were slightly visible after the honeyed smooch. They kissed in the field, free of their responsibilities, if only for a temporary.

Then, they chuckled and leaned on each other's forehead.

"I love you, El."

"I love you too, Byleth."

#edeleth #fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #edelgard #edelgard von hresvelg #byleth #f!byleth #byleth eisner #fan fic #fan fiction #fanfic #fanfiction #one shot #os #loyalflutist #edeleth week (twitter)#day 5: first kiss

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dreams-of-kalopsia · 6 years ago

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Fictober Prompt 25

"I could really eat something."

Voltron fanfiction (Plance)

No warnings apply.

Read it on AO3.

____

Part 1 (Pidge): Timing

Timing is everything.

And Pidge can’t seem to get it right.

See, time makes sense to her; it’s universal, predictable, and measurable. When she plots spatial coordinates against a temporal point, she can pin down the exact place of anything in the universe.

Timing, though… It’s too relative, too susceptible to the influence of circumstances that can change at any time. It adds unpredictability and all kinds of confounding factors to the logical flow of space-time. That’s equivalent to inputting a value of 0.5 in Pidge’s mind, which operates in binaries of 0s and 1s; it leads to a parsing error that leaves her at a loss on what to do.

But timing is everything. It’s what got the current Team Voltron together and what makes them work so well as one unit. It’s what makes Shiro great at motivating and cheering people up. What makes Keith their best spy. What makes Hunk a master chef. What makes Lance a sharpshooter.

It’s what slapped Pidge in the face when she realized that she’d liked Lance for some time already—after overhearing him rant about his feelings for Allura.

Timing is everything, but she learns it too late, and she doesn’t know how to proceed with that fact.

“You have to talk to him,” Shiro advises as they get ready to sleep in Green’s bunk room. "At least for your peace of mind.”

Okay. But maybe in the future. Far, far, far ahead in space-time.

“It’s Lance.” Keith shrugs when he teleports with Kosmo to check up on her and Shiro. “Just walk up to him and tell him straight up.”

No thanks, recklessness incarnate.

“Love between two Paladins! Ah, how romantic!” cries Coran while they restock their supplies in some obscure planet. “Listen, Number Five. Eye contact is key. Stare at him and secrete your pheromones on full blast. Do you Earthlings have any mating calls? Any rituals?”

Holy quiznak, Coran. No.

“Look, the only way you’ll get to Lance is by using his own weapon against him,” insists Hunk on another one of their stopovers, expression serious and large hands clasping her shoulders in support. “Hit him with some really cheesy pick-up line. Something like, ‘Lance, you’re more than a snack; you’re a full meal.’”

Never.

Four pieces of advice—one reasonable and three quite ridiculous—stay tucked at the back of her mind throughout their long journey home. Shiro’s right; she should tell Lance. That, and find the best timing for it. They’re still fighting a war, after all.

Pidge doesn’t tell him after their encounter with Bob; she’s too pissed and done with that interdimensional being to think about mellower stuff.

She doesn’t tell him when they fight off that space orca-lamprey thing that messed with their minds, deciding to wait until all the issues brought up during their delirium are addressed.

She doesn’t tell him when they reunite with everyone on Earth because Sendak has the planet conquered. Besides, how can she tell him right before setting off to take out the Zaiforge cannons, when Allura comes up to talk to him first?

Now Earth is safe, and Pidge is working herself to the bone prepping the Atlas to leave Earth, and Lance is still in the dark.

Has she missed her chance again? Well, she knows he likes Allura. This must be her sign—

“You there, Pidge?” Lance’s voice rings out in the empty engine control room, startling her out of her thoughts.

“Over here,” she calls back. In all honesty, she’d rather not see him before she’s come up with an action—or inaction—plan. But she’s already replied, and his footsteps already echo in the spacious room. Nothing to do but wait for him to reach her at the center of the computer maze.

Funny how someone with limited patience such as Pidge is always waiting and biding her time when it comes to Lance.

“I knew it.”

She glances at him over the computer she’s reconfiguring. He has a brow raised and a hand on his waist in classic nagging Lance fashion. “Knew what?”

“You forgot the time, didn’t you?”

“Did I miss something?” Impossible; every scheduled briefing or meeting has its own alarm in her phone.

“You missed lunch, Pidge. And dinner.”

She blinks, fingers pausing over the keyboard. Her eyes find the time at the corner of the screen. “Oh.”

“Yes, ‘oh.’ Now let’s get you some food before you faint and we flip the Atlas over trying to find you.”

“That’s unnecessary,” she huffs but saves her work anyway. “Matt can just—”

“Of course it’s necessary,” he rebuts as they head out of the control room. “Never underestimate your ability to fall asleep in the weirdest places. Even Matt’s scanner won’t detect you.”

“Jerk.”

He laughs. The sound bounces off the walls of the room and her mind, nudging her friends’ words to the forefront of her thought processes.

“Talk to him.”

“Just tell him straight up.”

Pidge’s hands begin to sweat. Her heart picks up its pace. The words form in her mouth, but even if she contracts her lungs to pump them out, they just don’t want to be said.

She can’t tell him.

No, she can’t tell him. But she can drop a hint, right? Make him wonder, at least?

Timing is everything. To get a shot at someone who’s a master of it, she has to set the conditions up just right.

“Use his own weapon against him.”

Pidge sighs. She can’t believe she’s doing this.

“I could really eat something.” Curse you, Hunk.

“Sure could,” Lance quips, raising his hands to cradle his nape. “Anything you want in particular?”

She stops walking, and he follows suit, allowing her to look him in the eyes. “A snack,” she answers.

“A snack?” he repeats with a disapproving frown. “Pidge, you know snacks aren’t good for you.”

The window of opportunity opens. Pidge still can’t believe she’s resorting to this. She goes for the shot nonetheless.

A quick step back, followed by a crossing of arms.

“Pidge?”

A sweeping gaze of appraisal, scanning him from head to toe. An exaggeratedly slow bite at the corner of her lip sometime halfway.

A decisive nod—of approval or agreement, she’ll leave up to him.

Her eyes dart back to his. “A full meal, then.”

Lance’s eyes widen, jaw drops, arms fall limply to his sides. Judging by the way blood visibly rushes up to darken his entire face, she’ll say she’s hit her mark.

“Eye contact is key!”

With a lingering look as a finishing touch, she turns away and resumes walking towards the mess hall.

There. A hint. That’s all she’ll give until she’s ready to tell him. Or he starts dating Allura and she’s forced to give up. Or she gets over all of this. Whichever comes first.

Just this once, though, Pidge gladly subjects herself to uncertainty. Because as long as Lance doesn’t know for sure, she won’t be rejected for sure, either.

#fictober19 #writings #voltron #plance

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changingourdestiny · 6 years ago

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Forsaken Part 3: Jett Black Ashes

Summary:

Rae and Adam attempt to strike down all the Barons at once, but end up failing and have to resort to killing them one by one. However, words from the mysterious mercenary, Jett, has thrown off Rae slightly. Who is this mysterious figure? Why are they so against Uldren being killed? ...and how do they know Cayde?

Previous Part: Here

Next Part: Here

Rae panted heavily as the Scorn before her crumpled to its knees, defeated. Her attention was drawn to Fikrul the Fanatic, who was watching from behind a barrier. Rae had hoped she and Adam could’ve taken out the Barons in one go by attacking the stronghold, but they had all now scattered before they could even lay a hit on any of them. Rae glared at the Fanatic with anger and frustration as he spoke to the two Guardians, “I do not fear the dead. I CONTROL death. And YOU… more use to me alive. Go. Pursue your vengeance. I claim your Fallen victims for my Scorn army.” The Fanatic transmatted away as Ghost piped up, “The stronghold is secure… but the Barons escaped. This was our best shot at ending this. And now they've scattered. What are we going to do now?” Rae clenched her fist before slamming it into the wall, “Damn it!!” ——————————————————————— Petra saw Adam and Stormbringer enter the Spider’s lair, “How’d it go?” “Well-” Adam was cut off by Ghost’s voice from outside the entrance. “Rae! Slow down! Ah! Don’t just ditch-!” Adam, Petra and Spider watched as a Sparrow went cartwheeling past the lair’s entrance, a loud bang shortly following. “Oh…not good then.” Petra spoke up. Spider chuckled, “I’m surprised she got that thing past the barrier. That’s impressive!” Rae walked into the lair, “I, uh…I might have lost my temper.” Ghost popped up beside her, “Understatement of the year!” The Spider laughed, “Oh, you really showed them, didn't you? Piece of advice, eh? Know your enemy before you… deal with them.” “Something tells me you know more than us.” Rae raised an eyebrow, “Any tips?” The Spider held up a series of cards, tossing them at Rae’s feet one-by-one. Each had a picture of the Barons. “Reksis Vahn - the Hangman. A silent sadist. Used to dock the arms of Dregs with his bare hands. Kaniks - the Mad Bomber. Emphasis on "mad." Demolitions expert with an irritating way about him. The Trickster - Araskes. A liar and a schemer. Friendly advice: trust nothing she touches. Hiraks - The Mindbender. Has a rep for manipulation. Has a morbid obsession with the Hive. Yaviks, a.k.a. the Rider. The leader of a bombastic gang of Pike-riding heathens. They sow chaos everywhere they ride. The Rifleman - Pirrha. The only Fallen alive who could make the shot that mortalized…Cayde-6. Elykris - the Machinist. The scourge of Solis Descent. This one sits atop a trove of tech and heavy armaments stolen from me! The Fanatic himself - Fikrul. The leader of the Barons and the first of the Scorn. His dark magic has no place on my Shore. No place! Last and most certainly least… Uldren Sov. Traitor to his people and the man who pulled the trigger. He may be in the wind, but his Barons are ripe for the picking. Divide. Conquer. Isolate Uldren. He'll wind up at your feet. And all you have to do…is pull the trigger.” “You make it sound easy.” Adam spoke up. “It is…” Spider replied, “…if you know how to do it right.” “So even the Red War’s hero has limits?” Everyone spun around to the lair’s entrance – the Fallen guards holding their weapons at the ready – as the cloaked figure turned the corner into the Spider’s lair, “Kinda funny. You slayed the Black Garden’s Heart, took down the Red Legion, killed multiple Hive gods…and yet a few undead Eliksni pose a problem to you?” Rae glared at the masked figure as the Spider chuckled, “Causing trouble as usual, Jett.” “Jett?” Adam asked. “The Shadow of the Shore. Our partnership is…complicated. Usually if there’s trouble in my Shore, they’re not far behind. Of course the moment new blood appears here stirring things up, you want part of it.” Jett chuckled, “Heh. Don’t go inflating their egos. I just wanna make sure these motes know their place. Though I’ll give ‘em this: I’ve never seen someone fail so spectacularly at hunting down a few Scorn.” “If it’s so easy, why don’t you do it?” Rae growled. “You’re the one with the grudge.” Jett shrugged, “Wouldn’t wanna take away you’re chance at a killin’ spree. Besides, the Barons pay good when they need stuff done.” Rae went for her gun, but was interrupted by Jett, “Oh relax, will ya? I never said I was on their side. I’ll help anyone if the price is right and it’s in my interests.” “And yet, you seem to hold Uldren in high regard.” Rae removed her hand from her gun’s holster. “I’ve my reasons. Reasons that are none of your business. Like I said, go on your killing spree. But if you insist on killing Uldren…you’ll have to go through me first. Got it?” “I don’t die easy.” “Neither do I.” Jett turned to leave, “If you need me, Spider, you know where to find me.” “Nobody knows where to find you.” Spider replied. “Exactly.” Everyone watched as Jett left the lair. However, they stopped and glanced to the right, “Huh…someone was cranky…” before turning left and walking away. “Well, aren’t they a joy?” Adam rolled his eyes. “Anyway…” Petra began, “Back to business. Cayde's killers are still out there, but the hunt is not over. You take down the Barons. Thin the herd. As for Uldren… Did you see that Awoken spire when you landed here?” “Oh yeah…” Rae spoke up, “What was that?” “It's called the Watchtower. I shouldn't be telling you this, but… my people's greatest secrets lie beyond that spire. There's no other reason Uldren would come to the Tangled Shore. Sooner or later, he WILL go to the Watchtower. We must stop him BEFORE that happens.” “Alright. You can count on us, P.” Adam nodded. “I know I can. Good hunting.” ——————————————————————— It was difficult, but time seems to fly when you’re out for vengeance. The Barons quickly fell to Rae and Adam, some more difficult than others. Soon all that remained were Fikrul the Fanatic…and Prince Uldren. Rae, however, was slightly unnerved. She would catch glimpses of Jett watching her and Adam from afar and their words would echo in her head. ‘If you insist on killing Uldren…you’ll have to go through me first.’ There was something eerily familiar about the mysterious mercenary. But Rae couldn’t put her finger on it. Either way, she didn’t let it distract her. Right now, her focus remained on striking down the Fanatic and Uldren. After slaying the Machinist, Rae and Adam received a message from Petra saying that she knew where Uldren was headed and quickly returned to the Spider’s lair to regroup. “Petra, we’re here!” Rae and Adam ran up to Petra inside the lair as Rae spoke, “What’s up?” “Well…first I need to explain a few things.” Petra began, “After the war, everyone in the Reef mourned our Queen and our prince. Except me. I didn't believe they had died. I couldn't. But then...Uldren returned. He told me he could hear the Queen's voice in his head. That's when I knew he was changed. I could have prevented all of this. But instead, I hid him away in the Prison of Elders. And now…Cayde was almost lost forever. The Reef is in ruins. And I've confirmed that Uldren is on his way to the Watchtower. It's now or never.” “So that royal runt Uldren wants into the Watchtower.” Spider, who was eavesdropping in on the conversation – which wasn’t hard since he was only a few feet away – spoke up, “I always wondered what secrets and treasures the Awoken stashed in that ersatz spire. But my friendship with Queen Mara, while she lived, stayed my hand. Well, that and a locked door. Thus I am honour-bound to send a selection of my finest to help you find that ever-elusive closure. I must say... I cannot wait to see how this ends.” “We better get prepped up.” Adam spoke up before turning to Rae, “You ready?” “I…I’m ready…” Rae began, “It's just...that Jett person…do you think they’ll stick to their word?” “If Jett wants to take us on, let them.” Adam replied, placing a hand on Rae’s shoulder, “But whatever Uldren’s up to, we need to stop it. We can’t let this Jett get in the way.” Rae took a deep breath, “Okay. Let’s do it!” ——————————————————————— Rae and Adam approached the entrance to the Watchtower, guns at the ready. “You made it.” Rae spun around to see Jett slowly approach them from behind, slowly clapping their hands. “I’m impressed. You took ‘em all down. I guess you really did earn your little title.” “You here to kill us then?” Rae asked, gripping her gun tightly. “Nah. Not yet anyway. I’m just here to enjoy the show.” Jett shrugged, “Can’t say the same for him though.” Rae and Adam jumped as a voice echoed around them, “You enjoyed killing them?” Fikrul appeared at the Watchtower entrance, staff in hand, “You enjoyed putting them in dirt — where you belong? Did it make you feel good?” The Fanatic fired bolts of electricity at the two Guardians while summoning Scorn. “Scatter! He can’t get both of us at once!” Rae called out as the two ran in different directions, dodging the Fanatics attacks and getting shots of their own in. Jett watched silently from a distance as the two Guardians struggled to take down the Baron. “Kaniks. Reksis Vahn. Yaviks. Pirrha. Araskes. Hiraks. Elykris. Tell me that killing my friends made you feel good. TELL ME.” Rae and Adam felt themselves being lifted into the air by Fikrul’s staff as he dragged them towards the Watchtower, “I will pay any price… to be there when you die…” As they were dropped to the ground, Adam quickly put up a shield to protect himself and Rae as they dodged out of the way of Fikrul’s attacks. “You brought this on yourself!!” Rae yelled out, her voice cracking in anger and fear, “You chose to follow Uldren. You chose to lead the Scorn! You. Killed. Cayde!!!” Fikrul was about to fire another shot of lightning at Rae but was stopped by a blast of fire hitting him in the head. Fikrul glared towards the source of the attack. Jett. “You…did…what?” Jett growled through gritted teeth, “You better hope for your sake that’s a joke. Did you really kill Cayde-6?” “What’s it to you?” Fikrul spat in response. Jett clenched their fists, “I was a fool…I never once considered the reason why they’d kill him…but now I know whose side I should’ve been on this whole time.” Suddenly, Jett was engulfed in a burst of flames, “This time…YOU’RE GONNA STAY DEAD!!!” Jett lunged at Fikrul and grabbed onto his face, letting their flames scorch him, “LOOK AWAY!! THIS’LL GET UGLY!!!” Rae and Adam did as Jett told them, although confused by Jett’s sudden change of heart. They could hear the roaring of flames, the pained yells of Fikrul, and the angered screams of Jett. And then silence. Rae and Adam turned around to see what happened. Jett stood in front of Fikrul’s smouldering body. The Fanatic was dead. Jett panted heavily, shoulders slumped, as their mask and bandanna fell to the ground, broken and scorched by the flames. Adam noticed that within the bandanna was a voice modulator. Rae stared at the exhausted mercenary, “Who…who are you?” Jett stood up straight and slowly turned around and lowered their hood. Rae gasped at what she saw. A light-blue-skinned face with a scar on the chin and familiar pale markings on the face. Long, red and gold hair that was dishevelled and looked like it hadn’t been brushed in forever, part of it covering the right eye. Tear-filled eyes that once held a fiery glow, now had bags underneath them, as if they hadn’t seen sleep in years. A tired, weak, no-longer distorted voice spoke out, “I’m sorry…” There was no denying it. Rae knew all too well who Jett really was.

“Blaze…?” To Be Continued...

#changing our destiny #destiny 2 #destiny forsaken #rae drakyx #adam bergfalk #scorn #destiny scorn #fikrul #destiny fikrul #the fanatic #destiny the fanatic #Petra Venj #destiny petra #the spider #destiny spider #jett #???

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faelot · 6 years ago

Text

Upon Selection:

tank: ‘ the abyss is yours to command. ’

healer: ‘ the stars will guide us to safety. ’

dps: ‘ may my blade forge our path. ’

Job: all - rounder. DRK / AST / RDM . ramai is trained in the dark arts as opposed to the holy arts of the PLD class, using every attack dealt unto her to throw it back twice as hard and steel her resolve. she is also highly trained in the arts of astromancy during her times in ishgard ( alongside her DRK training ) aiming to keep everyone in her care safe and secured as the pursue their goals. fast and agile, she is skilled with a rapier, a signature weapon of the iconic yet ancient fighting style that resembles the RDM class, she is fast in both magic - casting and engages and can disengage just as quick to remain an ever sharp presence on the battlefield.

Weapons: greatswords, star globes, rapiers, black magic, dark arts & white magic

Behavior: keeping an eye on the tides that may come in battle, ramai is aware of nearly everything that goes on as well as knowing what should be done / saved in certain situations. as a tank, she makes sure to keep her shield at the ready should anyone come to harm and makes sure that all enemy eyes are on her, as a healer, she will keep everyone buffed with a regen and constantly casting the boons of her deck for her team ( even tanks w. a lord of crowns ) prepping for a divination cast and readying her team for another one at the next opportunity. beginning the battle, ramai will boost her team’s abilities as a dps and makes sure to top the healers off with any required heals where they may lack but making sure to keep the pressure on with her magic and swordsmanship.

as someone who also poses as a mentor figure to her own people back at the steppe ( as well as being their khagan ) she maintains a bit of a tough love outlook, she will call her team out where they’re lacking and tell them a small little quip ( ‘ yawn! pick up the pace, we got a job to do!’ to ‘ my baras can take a mammoth down faster than you! need help lighting that fire under your ass? ’ ) to subtle comments about the scenery around them, ( ‘ huh ... pretty nice ... ’ or ‘ maybe i’ll explore when this is over ... ’ )

she thinks to herself a lot about anything and anyone, you may even hear some quotes of her mentioning other people in her life.

Unique Buffs: tough love and unity is everything that can be tied to ramai, having her in your party she will bolster your attack for 30 seconds ( but it is in rare moments and only during boss fights does she use this )

Dialogue:

Tank

Starting Combat: ‘ same dirt path, just different appearances... ’

When enemies are dying quickly: ‘ that’s what i like to see! ’

Using The Blackest Night: ' going to need some healing ... fast. ’

Using Salted Earth: ' a little here and there .... ’

Using Dark Missionary: ‘ get ready, this’ll hurt! a little ... ’

As she casts Living Dead: ' i’m not immortal, damn it! get to it! ’

When running low on HP: ' i can do this ... just ... a little longer... ’ / ‘ fray ... are you there...? ’ / ‘ i was always reckless, huh, sid. ’

Healer

Starting Combat: ' don’t worry, you’ll learn to trust me. ’

When enemies are dying quickly: ' just like clockwork. ’

When AoE damage occurs: ' you’re in good care. ’

Using Rescue: ' pay attention! ’ / ‘ i can’t be everyone’s saving grace! ’ / ‘ remember, that wound’s on you. ’

If a party member falls to 0 HP: ' just a ... miscalculation. yeah... ’ / ‘ that hurt didn’t it? did you learn from it? ’ ( aoe fails )

When using Raise: ' tick tock! get up. ’ / ‘ you can nap when the job is done. ’

When running low on MP: ' just ... a bit strained. ’ / ‘ slow down, you’re being reckless. ’

When running low on HP: ' going to need someone at my back! ’ / ‘ nothing ever goes my way... ’

DPS

Starting Combat: ' like an untamed fire. ’

When buffing the party: ' give them hell. ’

When enemies are dying quickly: ‘ and down the rabbit hole they fall. ’

When a lot of abilities target her: ' i hope you’re not going to let this happen, hm? ’ / ‘ oh you’ve got to be kidding me. ’

When a party member falls to 0 HP: ' i’ll take care of them, focus - focus! ’ / ‘ this was not planned. ’

When running low on HP: ' x’rhun ... all that training and for what ... ’ / ‘ gods damn it... ’

Limit Break: ramai is very much the type to be very situational with her limit breaks, if there is a melee dps accompanying her, she will leave it to them. and normally she will never limit break as a tank unless it is a last resort, as a healer, it goes the same, if she’s in a pinch and they are relying on her to turn the tides. you can trust her to do just that.

DPS

LB1: ' a little burst of magic does no harm, right? ’

LB2: ' careful, i have a few tricks up my sleeve. ’

LB3: ' you will never stand to cross my path again! ’

Tank

LB1: ' the best offense is a good defense. ’

LB2: ' brace yourselves! ’

LB3: ' no one will fall here! i swear it! ’

Healer

LB1: ' the dusk mother’s embrace .... a loving cradle. ’

LB2: ' like a breath of new life. ’

LB3: ' nhaama, i beseech you - ’

Defeated:

' blindsided ... ’

' this warmth ... ’

' nhaama, deliver ... me - ’

' peace at last ... ’

Revived:

' even peace eludes me ... ’

' nothing but a set back. ’

' i just can’t seem to stay down. ’

‘ you know ... it’s disrespectful to disturb the dead. ’

𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄

#i had this in my drafts for a whole ass week kjgfnkbf #time to post #this was fun but also god damn it was a lot #i yeeted this from someone idr who LMAO

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archiveddvrpg · 6 years ago

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Congratulations, MINNIE! You’ve been accepted for the role of MIRANDA. Admin Kaitlin: Oh Minnie. God knows that I love Maeve, but you bring something to her that even I don't think I love her enough to ever understand how to put to paper. She is just... god the way you write her makes me want to say that is is made of pure light, that she has a soul that glows so brightly you could see it from the moon--but she is so much more than her goodness, so much more than her heart. You write a Maeve that is fierce in her softness, courageous in her love, and is so brutally herself that it just breaks my heart. I am so glad to have you back writing her. Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

Out of Character

Alias | Minnie

Age | 23… ugh I hate that I’m 23

Preferred Pronouns | she/her

Activity Level | I’ve been pretty active so far on Paola, and I hope to continue being so :) I usually do replies when I need a mental break from work or in general at home, and it’s been working out very well for me. I would give myself a 7/10.

Timezone | EST

Current/Past RP Accounts | I really don’t think that’s necessary at this point hehe

In Character

Character | Miranda.

What drew you to this character? | I’m here for a third try!! I love, adore, Maeve, she’s so sacred to me and I’ve tried to leave her alone but.. I miss her!! It’s still that pure goodness and undeniable strength that calls to me now, just like it did before. She has so much potential and she lives so far off the ground that her head is in the clouds. It’s easier to touch God this way — but it’s also much farther to fall. I just love her you guys know how much I love her idk how not to love her, she’s a part of me at this point.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

I never did get to write Maeve learning how her mother died, and I’m adamant about making it happen this time. Last time, I made Montagues the source of Maeve’s mother’s death - but I think this time, I’d like to make it the Capulets who intentionally manipulated the situation to recruit Philip into their ranks. I’d like her to try, so damn hard, to be accepted by the Capulets to please her father and to save them all… only to learn that they were the ones to destroy her and her family first, that she owes them nothing but revenge. Oh man, I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it.

I’d also like to see Maeve intentionally dismantle Montague/Capulet animosity - or rather, try to. She has such! a soft! heart! and it is undeniably hard to not love Maeve, so I have no doubt that this is exactly what will happen. I’d like to see her become a Joan of Arc again, a martyr for the sake of love, willingly throwing herself into the fray to protect one and to protect all. I’d like to see it go to shit, of course - but I’m hoping that first, Maeve will be disillusioned by the Capulets already and considering going rogue, running away from Verona, etc.

With Maeve being so lovable and also fucking stubborn, I imagine she has quite a bit of information under her belt. I’d like to see someone use her for her information, information that she may not even realize is valuable - Juliana’s favorite color, her father’s weapon of choice, etc. I’d like to see her be manipulated because I think it’s incredibly realistic, and she can appear to be an easy target — though of course, they’d be wrong. Maeve has a certain way of getting under someone’s skin, whether it be through her goodness or her kindness or her surprising ferocity.

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | I KILLED HER ONCE AND IDK IF I CAN DO IT AGAIN but we’ll see. :)

In Depth

Please choose between the interview or the para sample (or both, if you like!)

In-Character Interview: The following questions must be answered in-character, and in para form (quotations, actions written out if applicable, etc). There is no minimum or maximum limit for your response - simply answer as you would if you were playing the character.

What is your favorite place in Verona? |

“Oh, there are so many.” Maeve folds her legs against her chest, resting her chin atop her knees and smiling like she has been offered a present. With the light falling in from the window behind her and her curls surrounding her face like a halo, she looks younger than her nineteen years. Far younger - but there is a knowing look in her eye that stands the test of time, makes them question their assumption of her age.

“Okay, I’ll tell you my favorite place, but you can’t tell anyone.” She leans in conspiratorially, nearly falling off her seat as she did, “it’s Verona’s hidden gem, I swear.”

Maeve waits for their promise before continuing. “There is a small local market on the outskirts of Verona, just at the city’s edge. It only sells secondhand goods, but that’s the best part of it - everything sold has already been loved, and buying things there feels like letting another person into your life. You know?”

They shrug their shoulders, not able to understand her fascination with used junk. Maeve’s smile does not dim, actually glows brighter still; she’s used to not being understood, and she knows how to take discouragement in her hands and mold it into something kind and gentle. “It’s like, everything there has such history behind it. And when you take something like that, something that’s kind of old but so precious that the owner can’t bear to throw it away… it’s like you’re keeping that love alive. And the best way to honor love is to keep loving, even when it’s hard. Even when it’s a little rusty or needs to a good thunk before it turns on.”

She shrugs and presses her cheek against her knees, looking up at them sideways through her lashes. “Do you get it now?”

They swallow, and slowly nod. Yes, they do.

What does your typical day look like?

“With a really annoying alarm,” Maeve laughs. “And then I try to stay in bed for a little bit longer, but if I take too long, Papa will leave without breakfast, and we can’t have that.” Well-fed men are alert, she remembers learning, and the hungry die first. “I always start by making breakfast fresh for the both of us, and if I can, I meal prep for the next two meals, too. It’s a nice and slow start to my day, and I’m always grateful for a chance to take my time and enjoy every small moment.”

Her head cants to the side as she ruminates on the rest of her day. Her mornings are the most consistent part of her day, the most cherished hour as the light trickles into the Petre home and Verona waits for Maeve to enter its embrace. “After that, I go to work at the flower shop if I have a shift that day. Sometimes, I go to the library and read everything I can. Or go to the coffee shop and people watch for awhile. It really depends!“

They quirk an eyebrow. “What about school?”

Maeve hesitates, eyes shifting from left to right to make sure her Papa is not around. “Someone has to stay home and take care of the house,” she says once she’s confident they are alone. “I could have gone to university, and I was really excited to go for a long time, but…” She sighs, dreamy and sad. “There are more important things, and I am still learning so much now without being in school. The world can wait for me. My Papa, though - he needs me.”

Her lips lift to a small and secret smile. “More than he knows.”

What has been your biggest mistake thus far?

She remembers her Papa coming home, his shadow sinister in the moonlight and the blood staining his hands and his cheek. She remembers swallowing her fear and asking, quietly and plainly, what he was out doing. If she will let herself, Maeve knows she can feel the same drop in her stomach and the sudden, violent urge to vomit at his feet.

She remembers marching up to the Capulets and demanding recruitment. “Enlist me,” she remembers saying, “and I will be the most valuable person in your army.”

She remembers the glint in their eye, an old friend of her father’s and surely a pawn in the Capulets’ game. “You have no experience with violence, weapons or warfare. You’ve been kept in the dark your entire life, and you think you offer value?”

“Yes."

She remembers their approving hum. She remembers the quick and rapid process of becoming a Capulet as her Papa watched, horror in his eyes. She remembers being proud of herself.

No, joining the Capulets is not the mistake Maeve is thinking of.

“My biggest mistake has been letting the world make decisions without me. My entire life, I’ve loved Verona more than anyone - and never once did I ask the right questions. I thought I knew my Papa, thought I knew Verona.. For so long, I lived… I lived a lie. Because I never tried to see what was right in front of me.”

Her fingers are shaking, Maeve realizes with a start. She folds them together and wills them to stop trembling. “It won’t happen again.”

What has been the most difficult task asked of you?

“When I told my Papa I planned to join him in the Capulets, he was furious.” Maeve fiddles with the ring on her right ring finger, a dainty thin gold band with a single diamond in the center. Her mother’s engagement ring, and her most prized possession - and often the first sign of her emotional turmoil. “It was the first real fight we had,” she reminisces out loud, “and he insisted I take it back.”

Her lips twist regretfully as she recalls how ugly their words had gotten. “He asked me to be my mother’s daughter - not his. He told me I was meant to be a flower only, his little girl… and I was.” Her voice cracked. “I am."

Maeve clears her throat quietly and takes a second to gather her composure. When she speaks again, it’s with undeniable conviction and passion: “I cannot be less than who I am, and I will be the one to decide who exactly that is. And right now,” she smiles, “I am a Capulet.”

What are your thoughts on the war between the Capulets and the Montagues?

“Haven’t you heard?” Her eyes are sparkling, as if they are sharing some private joke. “I’m the poster child for anti-war.”

But the joke is short-lived, and before they get the chance to smile along, Maeve’s expression sobers and the atmosphere of the room changes. "It’s a never-ending circle, and it is destroying us. We’re sacrificing everything that truly matters: the people we love, the city we live in, ourselves. And for what? Revenge?”

She bites her lip, unmistakeable distressed. “I won’t fight in this war. I know I’m young, and I know I’m just a soldier — but I will be stronger than my Papa. Where he was weak, I will be strong for the both of us.“ She pauses, and then — "For my Mama, too.”

Maeve smiles kindly, knowing the reaction her speeches usually receive. If she believed any less, then she might even be sorry — but her ideals are too important, and she will be damned if she even considers apologizing for them. “I know that this might be hard to understand. We have lived like this for so long, maybe even without realizing it. But I do believe there is hope. For Verona, for all of us. There is a brighter day coming; I just know it.”

In-Character Para Sample: Again, write as much or as little as you need to get your interpretation across.

“Papà, you must remember. Please, tell me you remember,” Maeve begs, her hands clasped together like a child’s prayer.

Her eyes are just like her mother’s. The thought comes unbidden before Philip can close his heart against it. The memory of his first love, staring up at him with eyes as warm as the earth, with all the feeling in the world — it is crippling and heartbreaking and all too much. His heart falters at the reality of her death as he remembers and relives it, over and over again.

She is just like you, Maria.

He takes another hearty swig from his glass, avoiding his daughter’s gaze like she is the angel of death.

“Papà,” Maeve says again, her voice a low whisper. “Papà, please.”

How can a girl so young move his heart so? His own flesh and blood, and he is too afraid to look at her for fear that he won’t be able to breathe.

Another swig.

“Oh, Papà.” Before he can close his arms and resist a child’s love, his daughter is climbing onto him, curling in his lap and pressing her ear against his chest. “I forget, sometimes.”

She is searching for my heart. The poor creature. She won’t find it. My heart is gone, it is torn into pieces and all that is left is something cold and silver.

“I forget that you must miss her, too.”

The cup falls to the floor, and Maeve flinches in his arms at the crash of it — but still, she holds on tight.

He answers her unspoken question gruffly, his throat raw and blistered: “Yes. Yes, I do.”

“I miss her, too. But… Papà?”

“What, stella mia?”

“I miss you, more.”

And this is the final crack in his chest; and the river is opened up to him; and silent, steady tears begin to fall.

“We don’t have to talk about Mamma. It’s okay. It’s just you and me now.” A hand holds his cheek like a ghost used to, in another life.

But that was the past, and this is the present, and the future is in his arms trying to save him from the darkness he carries, the darkness she is too young to understand. He knows it is Maria’s influence; such light could only come from Maeve’s mother, for Maria was the sun that carried the weight of his entire sky.

He will not fail Maria, and he cannot fail Maeve. He will pour his heart and soul and mind unto Maeve until he can hardly recognize himself, and he will hide his burdens from Maeve so she will never look like him.

Maria. Maeve. Maria. Maeve.

“How I love you, stella mia.” With newfound courage and determination, Philip holds her close. “How I love you.”

“Oh, Papà. I love you, too.

* Maria: meaning “sea of bitterness” or “sea of sorrow”; “rebellion” “wished-for child” and “mistress or lady of the sea”

II. a diary entry

A long time ago, I was afraid of the night. I can’t tell you how or when it began, but I have carried this childish fear with me for too many years to count. I thought it was a part of me, just another piece of the puzzle that had no origin and no explanation. There was so much that I did not understand: my father, my mother, the world I so longed to see.

But one day, I thought. One day, I might understand it all.

A long time ago, I was afraid of the night, but I loved it, too. When the sun had set and the light had all but faded, the sound of the one you love coming home would ring out like church bells on a spring morning; the smell of cigarettes would hold tightly to the air like an embrace after a long, weary voyage.

For the night brought many terrors, but it had some comforts, too; didn’t all nightmares end with the whispered comforts of I am here, stella mia, I am here and the day will come and the monsters are only bad thoughts who have overstayed their welcome?

A long time ago.

A long time ago, I only thought of my father returning; I did not know and did not even think to question where he was returning from.

I shall never forget the emptiness of his eyes. I shall never forget the tired droop of his shoulders, the black silhouette of his that seemed so familiar at night. I shall never forget the silver in his hair, which I had not seen before until the moonlight brought its cruel light to every secret I had not considered.

I tried, very hard, to forget the red. I chose to remember the rest, the cold silver and black and blue of it all — but the red, I desperately tried to forget. But I could not let go of the scarlet, as hard as I tried.

I… had a reason for staying up waiting, for running to see him. I can’t remember it now, but — there was a reason.

Ah, I remember. I wanted to read him a poem.

I was a child.

He did not say a single word that night. He shook his head, ever so slightly, and walked away.

Papà. Beloved Papà.

The burden of knowing and still not fully understanding has haunted me since. For even after seeing him in the silver and black and blue and red, Papà merely patted my cheek and sent me on my flowery way. I felt so small, so strange, as if I could hardly recognize myself.

He told me that when I was older, I would understand. I wanted to tell him that I have been waiting my entire life to understand. Even as a child, I so yearned to know about the mother I didn’t remember, and I never received an answer. It pained Papà to hear talk of her, and it pained me to see him weep. So I stopped, but I always wondered, and I always dreamed of a woman’s soft hands and laughing eyes.

I never told him this… and maybe if his secret had been softer, forgiveness would have come so easily. I can empathize with shielding the one you love from pain.

But not like this. Not like Papà did. It wasn’t just his secrecy that wounded me deep to the bone; it was the secret itself. I would never have imagined Papà, who was my entire sun and sky, to be… like that.

It wasn’t just the fact that I didn’t know everything about him. It was that when he came home in scarlet, I didn’t recognize him at all. It was that I loved him still, even with my shattered heart.

I have made peace with this. It might seem strange to you that I can say with full confidence that I have forgiven Papà and that I still love him as my own sun and sky, after writing all of this. But I have. My love for him is stronger than any betrayal, and even that night cannot steal that from us.

These thoughts are so much louder these days because tomorrow, I will be a Capulet soldier. I am older now, just like Papà said, and I must know why Papà ran to their shadows all those years ago. For I have come to the conclusion that to love someone is to know them.

Tomorrow, I will know. Tomorrow, I will begin to understand.

Or so I hope.

III.

Each night, Maeve held her bleeding heart in hand and tucked it under her arm to keep it warm while the wind howled with despair. Be still, my heart; the sun will rise again, and the war will be ours to win.

Because it was a war, though not the one the Capulets enlisted her for. No matter what they told her, Maeve would choose her own battles, and she was determined to fight for peace until it was Verona’s triumph — for she had no other choice, for the only alternative was to lose her father and her home to blood and guns.

From the shadows, a man appeared: her target. Her mission was to retrieve the full payment for an order placed exactly one month ago. He was a new, and so far unreliable, client, and therefore needed extra… encouragement to pay the Capulets in full.

The job fell to Miranda, who had never run a solo mission before. Though she might be green, she was confident; she had impressed the others with her sheer will, if not her skill with the knife. They might not take her seriously yet, but they would, for Maeve was determined to make her voice heard.

“They tell me you’re called Miranda,” the man said.

“Yes,” was her simple answer, short and straightforward.

The street lights illuminated the cruel crook of his lips, the sharp slant of his brows. “They also tell me that you are here for my money.” He was sneering at her, his lips curled in a resentful snarl.

Maeve stepped forward, the softness of her eyes coming to view. “That’s true.”

At the sight of her pretty face, the man’s expression shifted to one of surprise. “They sent a pretty girl like you,” he moved closer, “alone in the middle of the night?”

“Is that so strange?” She adjusted her grip on the knife hidden in a sheath inside her sleeve.

“Not strange,” the man shook his head, “dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” Maeve offered a kind smile as she continued to adjust her fingers on her knife’s grip, wondering — if she needed to bring it forward. If her knife was worth using at all. “I appreciate the concern, but I think you know that we don’t send soldiers into battle unprepared.”

“What battle is there, girl?” His laugh was unexpected and rang false in the night, too jaded to be true. “You think I don’t have the money? You think I won’t pay?”

“I don’t think anything. I’m here on orders, and orders alone, to retrieve the payment in full for the last transaction between you and the Capulets.”

He spat onto the ground and thrust his hands into the pockets of his pants, staring off into the night sky. “It’s all about money with you folks.”

“Not all of us — but you did make a promise, sir, and you must honor it. It is the gentlemanly thing to do.”

The man fell silent for a moment, and when he spoke, it was with the barest hint of vulnerability. “So you think I’m a gentleman, huh?”

“I assume most men are gentlemen until they prove otherwise,” Maeve said gently.

Her compassion seemed to ease the man out of appearances and reveal his true nature; a look of panic came over his features, wild and dangerous. “What if I told you I didn’t have the money?” A tremble shook through every word, and his eyes seemed to widen by the moment. “What would they do to me, then?”

She wanted desperately to reassure him, to tell them that she was only a soldier, new and inexperienced and unknowledgeable. But it was not that Maeve did not know; it was that she did not agree. For how could Maeve threaten (or worse) a man who, in that moment, seemed so human.

“I… don’t think you want to know,” she finally answered, sympathy passing over her features.

The man groaned and threw his hands in the air. “I had the money, I swear I had it. But then that bastard got me drunk and the women were so pretty…”

The tale of a proud man, who wanted nothing more than to prove himself. Maeve sighed and loosened her grip on her knife. There would be heavy consequences to bear for her next words, but there was nothing else she could do. For her heart was soft and could not bear to harm another. “I will do my best to grant you an extension.”

The man breathed out a long sigh of relief, wrapping his arms about his torso tightly like a congratulatory embrace. “Thank you, thank you. You are kind, Miranda, kinder than I deserve. Tell them that I will have it immediately, I only need a little more time. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“Please,” Maeve only let a hint of desperation show in her tone, “don’t do this again. The next time, you will not be forgiven so easily.” With a nod and a faint smile, she turned and walked away from the now-incoherent man.

She would pay for this later — but nothing worth having came without a price.

Extras: If you have anything else you’d like to include (further headcanons, an inspo tag, a mock blog, etc), feel free to share it here! This is OPTIONAL.

I kept a few headcanons from the old app I thought still applied:

Knives. When Philip first handed her a 9mm Glock 17, Maeve’s hands shook as she forced her fingers to wrap around the grip. He put his hands on her shoulders and methodically explained just how to use a weapon, and when he stepped back, she knew it was not in her. She turned to her father with silent tears already staining her cheeks and pushed the weapon back into his hands. Papà, a gun is for killing, she said gently, and I am not a killer.

But to be a Capulet was to wield a weapon like a musical instrument, a paintbrush, a masterpiece; so Maeve chose the knife, for at least it was more than just violence. Just like her, a knife could be both sharp and soft, it could be used for bad and good. It all depended on her choice, and Maeve knew that she would always choose good.

Part-time job. Maeve works at a local flower shop in Verona, making conversation with the regulars and reading a book when the shop is slow. It’s a nice way to pass the hours, and she’s been there for so many years that it’s become a second home.

#accepted #accepted: miranda

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ladyofmind · 7 years ago

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October Wrap Up

Hey everyone! Sorry for the silence... been busier than even I can keep up with, and also found out that the last Music Monday I had a few weeks back- well it didn’t post so I was quieter than I intended to be...

But it is NaNoWriMo time now, so there should be time to settle in and post like mad to update you all, and write my 50k! After all, I have no plans to be anywhere this November. Fingers crossed nothing else goes crazy on me.

Without further chatter, game answers after the jump.

#CharactersHell

1- Rooms for rent above an active and lively bar, for as long as you like* (*Mgmt not responsible for any damage from the cat or other beings if you leave your door open/unlocked.)

2- Not in the expected way. Most of the monsters are the human Antags. The antags are motivated by jealousy and obsession. Other characters have their own personal demons, or else they aren’t really human...

3- Not real monsters, not really. The Antags are over the top in their issues, but they are rarer. Everybody has some kind of issue though.

4- Frost? That grumpy man is actually a bit of a softy inside… If not, Sly mixes up some ugly looking boozy milkshakes that are pretty tasty!

5- That would be the Antag. Tim is a sort of threat in waiting, one that slips around a bit like the snake he is. The incidents he is involved in are hard to figure out until after it happens...

6- My world is no different than our world. There is divinity in the form of God etc, but it really plays no part in my story.

7- Same world, same dire predictions. Only difference is, it’s a brothel, so one can assume they may already be in hell…

8- Most interesting job? That’s a toss up… It’s an interesting place to work in general, but I’m torn between Woods being in a band, or Tweety, the one in somewhat charge of all the other looney tunes….

9- Best Co-worker award goes to Malta. There is no one else likely to push, prod, and sometimes accidentally beat ya up to have a good time, while respecting limits. Unlike the constant party pusher Bebe, Malta can tell when you need the push, and when you just need a cuppa tea.

10- Most of the time, the networking person is Tweety, as everyone knows her and gets connected by her. But for this, I have to give it to the guys. Nira has a lot of connections from before bar life, music man Martin is always networking and improving his career, and Frost? Well the giant makes friends thru fights. Might not be a lot, but they are the best connections…

11- This is a little bit of everyone really. Malta, Frost, and others don’t do it intentionally, it’s more of a language barrier. Sly is the master of deflection to the point you still don’t know very much. That may be why Tweety sees him as an equal, as everyone assumes they know her, but they never know a thing. She doesn’t lie, just turns things around on ya.

12- Woods is about/has turned professional famous musician, depending on which book you read… Tweet is just really good at talking to people and getting everywhere from it.

13- Antags- Sofia has some fans yes. She’s a strange boss with a back story & has some loyal workers until she does things to mess that up (her MO). Tim on the other hand? Well, he’s liked for what his skills & the more unstable/broken sorts love him to obsession.

14- The Antags are good for backstabbing! Tim and Sophia work together for the mostly common goal, but in places there’s differences. For instance, a rigged auction is supposed to end in Tim’s favor. Doesn’t mean S can’t make more money off of him if he wants it that badly…

15- Tim gives me the creeps. There’s this thing he does that makes me feel violated too, so I know it will be good in the end… I just need recovery time after him.

16- Tweet isn’t monstrous… but it is a pain sometimes, writing for an always happy sort, even if you want to have her fight back against things.

17- Tim is as direct as a blunt log to the face can be. He’s more bull in the china shop. Sophia is the mastermind, making her puppets dance in that web way. You can 100% assume she’s behind something, but you’re hard pressed to prove it…

18- With Tim, smarts is the easy part. It’s Sophia you match wits with, if you have to at all…

19- Woods isn't really vicious… maybe some biting comments while holding a grudge. Tweet is always the “kill 'em with kindness” type

20- I think the side chars are very active in their own ways to push this story forward. Some are even pushy as hell!

21- Ok, so Frost isn't exactly wrathful towards the MC so much as ornery and wrathful at everyone… but he does blame Tweety for flaring his ulcer with her ideas.

22- Not all that hard for me, as I don’t force my characters into doing things they wouldn’t do anyway. I try to learn who they are first and go from there.

23- I don’t really use red herrings, not intentionally. There may be one or two accidentally...

24- So zen! I throw on some earphones blaring my playlist and forget that people exist. The absolute worst is when you’re writing so well, and then someone scares you by interrupting you!

25- I’m not really into the sweets. Once in a while, but mostly my writing runs off potato chips or pretzels. Crunchy and salty balances the romance writing well!

26- #FF #followfriday with interesting stories by: @nomdejillian @TGNeal @SkeptiCybrarian @marshawritesit

27- Halloween was fun when I was a kid. Now I enjoy making Halloween-y cookies and giving them out to people I like, since we never have trick or treaters where I live. One year per the Halloween cookie costume rules, I dressed in all grey with a bell on… Jingle bell rock ya’ll!

28- Not a prankster, so not very wrathful at all. Halloween isn’t a big deal near me.

29- Oh I think I did that already! False arrest of the sweet one anyone?

30- So this is a boost for our Co-Host @manual_arbanassi! His amazing, well rounded character work in #Tiogair is great. Plus he totally shares that character building with all of us with both this game and #CharactersTell!

31- After work where I have to avoid a kids book sale while having a bills closing day? Relax and maybe watch a Halloween-y movie. Really, I am more excited about #NaNoWriMo starting at midnight.

#SciFiNaNoPrep

1- Hi, Nicole here. I was fairly certain for #NaNo I would continue my #RedLetters #series, but this Mars idea won’t let go. It has an outline, so maybe this prep will help me change course?

2- For this Mars idea? 50K or whatever it takes to finish this idea. Definitely looking to start it.

3- It’s very similar in that it’s our Earth, and an exploration of the Mars planet we think we know.

4- The not so very distant future. My research says I need at least 4 years, so mid to late 2020’s

5- Planet Mars for about 90% of it. There’s a little Earth training time, and possibly other planet flash backs.

6- Both generally advanced Earth tech, and some stuff for Mars that feels like #spoilers (plus I need to sort that out –Note to self on more #prep!)

7- Haven’t quite named them… but I do know there’s some diversity and a female MC/narrator

8- That’s definitely a #spoiler! I can say that it’s a “greet the way you’re greeted” thing…

9- Oh, I’m showing my age here for sure… but like Sailor Mercury from Sailor Moon or the original Power Rangers Billy the blue ranger come to mind… for their smarts and calmness.

10- There are both Earth “children” and adults, plus some Martian life.

11- Earth customs, sure, all the standard ones. Martian customs fall into “show you, you decide what happens” things. Because the message/meanings are important sometimes.

12- #FF #followfriday with #scifi writers: @RagingCyclone @authorASMcGowan @mae_mckinnon and a bunch of people at #wipworldbuilders

13- I would say somewhere in between, as it largely depends on which side you see it from. Just because it’s Utopia to one may be dystopia to another. Similar to the grass being greener on the other side theory.

14- Earth politics are the same. Mars doesn’t have politics in the same way. They have more rule, order and understanding.

15- Mars is more science and study, so they are more guardians less lawyers in that sense. They have systems for everything, but mostly they do not have crime within their own ranks. Outsiders are a different story.

16- Oh lots! I am taking some of the known things about planets and life and tying it together to give credible conspiracy theory if you will. Might even include Nikola Telsa…

17- As Mars is a drier planet- with more wind storm, less water, the idea of hydro anything doesn’t work. Plus they have a better greenhouse process that makes planting in the ground useless.

18- There is really no focus on currency in this idea, as shooting for different themes, money being the root of trouble not one of them.

19- ATV type things above ground, underground tunnels with everything from walking to hovering transports.

20- I enjoy a reasonable time travel story. Not the type that appear there just to be there, or where the tech that travels person is hokey. More like Timeless, Krypton, or Doctor Who on good days.

21- On Mars there is advanced tech where medicine as we know it is obsolete. A little more nanites and lasers a lot less oral pills and rectal anythings.

22- Mars is a dry windy planet without water, in comparison to Earth’s visible habitats.

23- Mars grows things without name at the moment, but it is edible, like all things people make do with.

24- Standard Martian wear is something of a lab coat but resistant to its environmental elements.

25- Anything can be a weapon in untrained hands…

26- #FF upcoming writers

27- Earthlings go to school and are trained for space exploration. Martians learn by doing.

#RomanceNaNoPrep

1- Hi, Nicole here. Library worker by day/night/weekend, writer every other chance. Currently two and a half books into my #RedLetters series. So far all I’ve ever written falls into womens fiction category.

2- For Red Letters? 50K is just going to start it. They end up being easily 80-100K, even if its more like 200K words that have to be split into two different books...

3- Romance is my sub genre, as it reads more like womans fiction first. But the other books in the series cover more of the slice of life/journey stuff. This one would have a heavier romantic tone.

4- I love a good believable romance. Whether it starts off as a one night stand or getting to know each other first, the characters have to be real and well rounded. Funny is a plus but not cartoony or asks me to assume too much.

5- Depends on the mood. If I need a little escape, a sweet romance will do the trick. But if I need to be reminded of what it’s like to be human outside of working too much or need a serious escape, steamy tends to have a better grip on me.

6- #RedLetters started as an RP… don’t know where the 💜 of romance came from, but I’ve been writing about it as long as I can remember. Helps that hubs & I have been together 10+ yrs & we’re good friends first. Learned lots about relationships from that alone.

7- The main characters in #RedLetters has always been Naomi, better known as Tweety and the musician Woods. There is a whole host of other characters that are important, and Greg may become an MC… if he stays Greg of course.

8- Well, it’s not really a special meaning, so much as an inside joke. Tweety got her nickname from an outfit she wore, and a drunk-ish Cockney woman. The rest as they say is history…

9- Honestly? Kind of a fan of Emma Stone. Looks sweet and innocent, but can be sassy and a bit sexy too. All around package, inside and out I think.

10- I might have the Evil Other Woman cliche… At least on the surface. Hoping the history fleshes this out to be a full story not just a mad woman scorned thing...

11- Big fan of sassy heroines (aka no weak and fainty unrealistic women) and maybe a touch of the second chance at love thing…

12- #FF #followfriday @MaeBaumWriter @klimov_author have been #prepping with me since day one... plus I like the stuff @K_A_Grayson does in her rockstar #romance...

13- When they first met, Tweety was about 21/22. Woods was 24/25. When they meet again about 5 years later, Woods is 30, Tweety will have a birthday in that book.

14- The characters are struggling 20's. Woods is higher in class while trying to do it himself. Tweety's poorer & finding herself. Inside the bar/club, social status doesn’t matter, & in some cases, makes you less important the more important you assume you are.

15- Woods sister approves, eventually. Tweety doesn’t talk to her parents, instead relying on Frost the manager to be her father figure. After a good bit of threatening during a chat with Woods, Frost approved too.

16- In this book? Friendly enemies. Tweety is not happy to see him, but she is never a rude sort, more the kill with kindness type. Woods is more eager to charm her into regretting her choices and occasionally bringing up the past, even if facts are distorted...

17- What brings Tweet and Woods together? A certain book… you know when you get that déjà vu feeling? Except you have proof from your side of the tale too. Trouble is that the truth has its own version…

18- What’s keeping them apart? Lots of hurt pride, broken hearts, completely different lifestyles… But even with all that past, the thing that made them unique is still there.

19- Remember yesterday, when I said different lifestyles? Yeah. West coast musician with a wildly successful touring band vs an East coast wildly famous bar/nightclub owner. One is always on the go, the other is happily rooted to one spot. Plus the same problems as last time- other people.

20- Woods can be a bit too thick headed or obtuse for Tweet’s liking. Woods isn’t exactly annoyed by her running off tendency, but it isn’t making his days any better either.

21- Well, this pair have been together before, and neither were all that innocent then. But since then… One has gone full on flavor of the month style, while the other is much more cautious about their reputation.

22- Woods & Tweet = the infamous Ghostbusters “don’t cross the streams” thing. It’s a peppy flirt who makes you question if she’s as naïve as she sounds vs a rogue with all the manners of that bad boy you need to leave with. Their game is holding out the longest & upping the stakes…

23- Their first kiss? Very steamy yet semi polite in front of the crowd… You see, it was Halloween, and there were sexy costumes… someone didn't speak, just acted, and the rest is... in the book!

24- In this series, I love that Tweet and Woods flirt at the level of chess moves sometimes. Tweety makes a man play on her level or the game is over. If you use tired lines or give the answer she expects when giving you enough rope to hang yourself… well she’s already over it.

29- Favorite quality about-

Tweety- She’s amazing at making people feel welcome and free to be themselves.

Woods- He’s got an awesome amount of patience and tolerance. The not being jealous adds to his charms.

30- Least favorite quality about-

Tweety- Always with the bright, happy side even if it hurts…

Woods- He picks up a ghost nickname for a reason you know.

31- This has been fun, and I’m totally ready for #NaNoWriMo! (Sits and waits for the clock to strike 12…)

#CharactersTell

1/10- “Oh, it’s my favorite month! Halloween weekend parties are our best buiness, and the most fun! Of course I have to come chat about #RedLetters with you all. You all know me as miss Tweety...”

2/10- Tweety- “Why i’m your hostess with the most-ess! I run the front of house at Soulful, in addition to being a co-owner.”

3/10- Tweety- “It’s only lonely in the sense of responsibility. Otherwise, I have a ton of staff and regulars around at any given time.”

4/10-Tweety- “I guess? I’m great with a lot of things, but Nira is best with the finances, so I leave that to him. Since I started being a waitress, I had him investing & asked for what I needed to buy clothes with. Best way to pay him back for the couch surfing.”

5/10- Tweety- “My time off is usually when I sleep. Now there is some help so I can leave before I start falling asleep, but other than writing, I wouldn’t know what to do with time off.”

6/10- Tweety- “Adventure happens all around the club. You never know what Bebe will do when bored, at least my job and the respect given to me, keeps the place from falling down around it all.”

7/10- Tweety- “Well, I would hope that my kindness keeps me in high esteem… Why else would we be so packed all the time? I know there are those against me, because I built a following from scratch.”

#CharactersTell

8/10- “I'm Greg, Gus’ grandson and recent college grad with a degree in business.”

9/10- Greg- “I had a few odds jobs, some for the experience more than the money, but yeah I work a lot.”

10/10- Greg- “I'm not nefarious. Just a regular guy with an inheritance that apparently affects others…”

11/10- Greg- “That's what I'm trying to decide! A piece of a prosperous club or a life on my own…”

12/10- Greg- “Trying not to do that with this choice. You know, this isn't really helping me decide, not when you're highlighting the downsides…”

13/10- Greg- “Progressive. Smart, firm when I have to be. Not overly nice, you will know I'm the boss.”

14/10- Greg- “If I decided to take the ownership, it's really like a slow raise. Or I sell it and make a windfall quick…”

#CharactersTell

15/10- Rolls in on those shoes with wheels inside “Duranta at your service, but everyone calls me Runta! Soul’s not so resident clothing designer and somewhat personal shopping friend to Tweet, if you must know.

16/10- Runta- laughs “Of course not! It takes money and patronage to become a designer who makes money. They wanted me to have a different sort of full time boring work.”

17/10- Runta- “I’ve made a few fashion week shows, and have some amazingly supportive fans who basically are fashion influencers in their own rights...” #spoilers

18/10- Runta- “Sure, I mean clothes and fashion is how you see a person, so of course people have stereotypes based on looks, but I don’t play that game.”

19/10- Runta- “Absolutely! Networking is a big part of what I do! Connections get me everywhere.”

20/10- Runta- “Total workaholic! A friend of mine says that if you love what you do, it’s not working, but living. And I am living for this life!”

21/10- Runta- “I learned a few things from the place I got my start. Hire people good at what they do, and that you can stand being around constantly. So yeah, the people who work for me become a family, since we’re together that much.”

#writer #game #twitter game #answers #charactershell #characterstell #nanowrimo #prep #romance #scifi

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solarbird · 8 years ago

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The Armourer and the Living Weapon, Chapter 10: she even got me, once

This chapter is worksafe.

[AO3 link]

"Are you ready?" asked Oilliphéist, over audio-only comms.

"I am," replied Widowmaker.

"Château," said Emily.

"Châteauneuf-du-Pape," responded the sniper.

"Vaucluse."

"Signal de Saint-Pierre."

"Lavande."

"What're they doing?" asked Winston, quietly, leaning to Lena, as the two assassins continued to exchange words.

"They did this before, Widow explained it to me," the teleporter replied, leaning to Winston, equally quiet. "It's a kind of integrity check? It's a series of trigger words that key other words. It changes on its own, over time, so if one or two words change, it's no big deal, right? But if it changes a lot, quickly - somebody's mucked with her."

The scientist nodded. "Handy, given where they came from. Emily's English, though - why's it all in French?"

Lena just shrugged, focusing on the word series. The sequence sounded the same as before, to her, but she wasn't entirely sure - she'd tried to remember the list, but there were so many words. She heard Emily say, "Livraison," and immediately thought, Metro.

"Metro," said Widowmaker, and Lena smiled.

"Centre météorologique canadien," replied Oilliphéist.

"Armoiries."

"Exactly the same as last time."

"Your side, as well," said the spider, "to my distinct relief."

"So," said Lena, "you both basically... check out?"

Widowmaker nodded. "Yes. I wish you had this facility, as well. It is... reassuring."

"Talon didn't build that into you, did they." It wasn't a question. "I wouldn't think they'd want you t'know."

"Spot on," said Emily, over comms. "I think it's a side-effect. We found it ourselves, in her, first - and now I have it, too!"

"Nothin' personal, but if the ability to checksum my brain comes only as part of gettin' my brain rebuilt, I'll opt out."

Widowmaker allowed her lover a small smile. "Understandable."

"Em, you still hiding out at the safehouse?"

"Yes, and it's incredibly dull. Have you talked to Overwatch's council yet?"

"About to - we wanted to check in with you, first. Let you know we were alive."

"I do appreciate that - but Aunt Moira's getting pretty impatient."

"Yeah, well, she can wait - this is our first day out of quarantine. We'll be meeting up after lunch."

"I'll tell her you're out of Overwatch jail, at least... oh! How is, um, the cowboy?"

"Embarrassed," said the defector. "Deservedly."

"Don't be mad at him," Emily replied over comms, "Auntie's good with those darts. They're self-guided. She even got me, once!"

"Before, or after?" asked Widowmaker.

A laugh, over comms. "Before, obviously. But still."

"She wouldn't get me now," said Tracer, as Widowmaker nodded in agreement. "Nor me, I think," her lover added.

A giggle. "I'm pretty sure she'd love another chance to practice those upgrades, if he wanted to come by..."

"No," interrupted Tracer, firmly. "Now that we've checked in - we've got some prep work to do on this end, and I need to get some workout time with those pistols you made."

Widowmaker agreed, humming quietly. "Cherie, do you mind? We will contact you again after the meeting."

"I'll be waiting. And tell me how it goes, on the range! I'm so glad to hear your voices again - both of you."

"I know," replied the sniper, eyes half-closed, "it is the same, for me."

"Oilliphéist out."

"Widowmaker out."

"I don't remember giving you clearance for your pistols," Dr. Ziegler said, sternly, as the comms went quiet.

Tracer shook her hands. "C'mon, doc, we've both been locked up for days. I know I need a workout."

"As do I," noted the spider.

"You must have something we can use..."

"This is a research facility, not an Overwatch station. We have a weights room, which you are both welcome to use, but we have nothing like you're requesting." The doctor considered. "Fareeha uses a Helix Security facility when here, perhaps," she thumbed her comm. "Perhaps we can work something out. I'll be right back." She walked to her private office, and the two women talked, quietly, over comms, for a few minutes, before returning.

"Good news; we have a site. She'll meet us there," said the scientist. "No sniper rounds, I'm sorry. But we do have clearance for pistols, supervised, as long as they're kept unloaded outside the range."

The assassin shrugged. "I could, I suppose, limber up with my chain, and re-establish targeting. It is better than nothing."

"Yeah, love," smiled her partner. "Maybe you can even keep up with me now!"

A derisive snort. "I always could."

An hour later, Tracer jinked from target to target, faster than ever, four to five teleports at a time. This is... this is wizard, she thought, as she unloaded entire clips into targets in patterns - smiley faces, outlines of airplanes, her initials, whatever came to mind.

Widowmaker watched from a level above, tracking her lover with her empty Kiss, and finding it difficult at first - until her own quickness started to settle in, overriding old habits, old limits, and as it did, she purred. Ooh la la, she thought. This is better. This is... this is wonderful.

Pharah, in turn, watched from above, astonished at their raw speed, occasionally exchanging words with Winston over comms, Winston, who worried - deeply - for them both.

-----

"So that's basically the situation," Lena explained. "We can intervene on one side of this civil war Talon's got going. If we pull it off, we tip the balance back to where it was before Akande got sprung. Moira continues to be terrifying and awful, Talon continues to be a pack of wankers - no offence, love..."

"None taken," replied Widowmaker. "I defected for reasons, after all."

"...but we stop Talon's attempt to start a Second Omnic Crisis. Millions of people - both omnic and human - don't die in the next couple of years just 'cause Doomfist and Reaper have some kind of fascist hard-on for 'struggle.' Both sides of Talon lose a lot, and come out weaker."

"And all Overwatch does is... stay out of the way?" Winston asked.

"Pretty much. I'd be the intermediary, and ... I'd be involved, up close, and unexpected. Mostly to protect Em and Wids - but not just."

"There are reasons I kept you out of Blackwatch, Lena," Morrison said.

"Think I'm not suited for it, then?" she glared just a little, copper eyes glinting.

"Too well suited for it. It's corrosive. You saw what it did to Rayes."

"Someone from Overwatch has to see what happens, dad. Unless you just wanna take their word on it."

"Preventing another war has to come first," said Mei-Ling. "The data I have is all very bad. I do not think the ecosystem could handle another conflict like the last one! There is already so much damage, and everything is so unstable now... another war like the last one would push us over several different edges, the results would be catastrophic. Millions dead is far too low an estimate."

Angela nodded. "I have served as a wartime medic and surgeon in enough wars. If we could preempt one - particularly one so large as that..." She shook her head.

"Not to mention, with Talon busy, we could really go to work on Vishkar," added Lúcio, no longer in Brazil, but at the table, stopping by while on tour. "With an Architech on our side, pointing out where we should investigate - we could do a lot of real good while Talon's busy having their little showdown."

"It's almost too good." Hana frowned, skepticism in her voice. "If I saw this in a game, I'd be all 'ha ha no not fallin' for that, n00b.'"

Lena nodded. "Too right. We'd have to be on the lookout for some kinda betrayal at every point."

"Sure," the Korean replied. "But - we're missing something. And here you are, talking about working with" - she gestured at the smirking French Talon agent, who had the sense not to talk about her finest kills - "Mondatta's assassin..."

"I'm already sleeping with her, luv, this isn't a big step," Lena snipped, shifting the rifle on her back, just a little. She missed her new pistols already - but the Kiss being there helped.

"...and maybe she got better, okay, but you're siding up with the mad scientist who made her, and her crazy niece, all to pick a side in their civil war? I'm not the only one seeing bait here, am I?"

"No," said Morrison. "You're not."

"Not trying isn't an option, though," said Mei-Ling.

Oxton nodded, and sighed. "I'm not sayin' I don't see the possible traps. I do. At best, it's messy and it's awful, but I ... I know that Mondatta would want this war stopped. He'd care about how, it would matter, but most of all, he wouldn't want this war to happen."

"And we're not just going after both sides, because...?"

"Because that is probably the one thing that would force them to mend their fences," interjected the blue assassin. "They would go back to working together, rather than fighting each other."

"Nothin' creates alliances like a common enemy," added Lena.

"I still don't like it," said the Meka pilot. She turned to Dr. Ziegler. "I don't care what you think about her personally, doc, but as far as I can tell, Moira's a psychopath." She heard Lena snicker, to her right.

"I never said she wasn't," replied the Swiss woman. "Many psychopaths are personable, when they want to be."

"If she decides she wins by turning on us, she will," Song insisted.

"Absolutely," Lena agreed. "That'll have to be in every decision we make."

"It will be," insisted the soldier. "Assuming we're foolish enough to try this."

"We have to," insisted Dr. Zhou, again, before being interrupted by Lúcio, objecting, "I don't see how you can even think about working with her, after the way she grabbed you like that. No way I would."

"T'be honest, I'm scared of her. But... not even for a prize this big?"

Lúcio had to think about it, and didn't immediately answer.

"What if it would take down Vishkar?"

The DJ took a long, deep breath, and nodded, slowly once. "...yeah. Maybe."

"There y'go. That's why."

"We have to try," interjected Mei-Ling, again, with surprising vehemence. "Are none of you listening? If they are trying to start this war, if that is Doomfist and Reaper's plan, we have to try. We also have to tell every agency who will listen to us, so they can work against it as well."

Winston nodded, but Morrison and Song started to protest, but Dr. Zhou raised her voice over them, "Did you not hear me? The biosphere cannot take another Omnic war! Look, I have made projections." She threw a set of charts and graphs up over the centre of the conference table. "Carbon stability is only the start of it. Do you think the megastorms of 30 years ago were bad? I have been preparing a paper with the data collected while I was in cryogenic suspension. Imagine one covering half a hemisphere!"

She flipped another set of graphics up. "Now imagine 62-plus degree weather across North Africa, and 65-plus degrees in South Asia."

Another set. "Now imagine the oceans - barely recovering now - essentially devoid of life. There would be no recovery path."

Another set. "Here are agricultural projections. Ignoring war dead, we can project global crop collapses and multiple pandemics resulting from malnutrition and other knock-on effects. This projection - I would expect two to three billion dead. With extremely aggressive use of genetic modifications on a yearly basis, in a best-case scenario, we might cut it to one billion. The first year."

The room had grown silent as the reams of data had shuffled past. "The paper on which these projections are based is going to Nature next month for peer review, but I am confident of my numbers. Do you understand, now? Another Omnic war kills civilisation. Maybe the entire planet. For anyone biological, this war would be a death sentence."

She turned back to the copper-eyed Overwatch agent. "I'm sorry, Lena - if this is what he is trying to do, then Akande must be stopped. If there is any chance, any chance at all, you must take it."

"I... had no idea it was so bad," Oxton managed, after a few seconds.

"It isn't, now, but... it would be."

Morrison flipped through smaller versions of the images on his padd. Hana Song did the same. "Wow," she said, after a few minutes. "Okay, I guess... we have to."

"I think we do," Winston agreed. "The rest of us can dedicate ourselves to analysis - and to other actions against the more militant anti-Omnic groups. This is too important for a single approach. Governmental intervention is critical, but it will take them weeks or months to respond."

Lena frowned. She'd won, but it didn't feel like winning, not at all, as the weight of the situation fell on to her shoulders. "Then, I guess... we're in. We're doin' this."

"I'm sorry," said her best friend, as Morrison and Song both nodded their reluctant but clear assent. "I'm very much afraid we are."

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aroundtheworldin18years · 8 years ago

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TOP 18 – TRAVEL TIPS FOR A FAMILY HOLIDAY You’ve spent months, or maybe a year, planning this trip, you want to make sure you have everything you need well in advance, no one, and we do mean no one, enjoys rushing around like a headless chicken trying to pick up the last minute holiday essentials. We have made up a list of our holiday essentials and provided a few tips to make sure your holiday is memorable for all the right reasons. You don’t want to be up a creek without a paddle, or wandering across the desert…lost…and no hat (yes, we know, a hat would be the least of your worries should you find yourself lost in a desert). Our holiday tips and essentials relate to car, plane and ferry travel, and it may not be the same as your holiday essentials, but…there may be a ‘Eureka, why didn’t I think of that’ moment somewhere in this list.

1. PASSPORT TO FREEDOM What gives you the World and asks for nothing in return…a passport. Yes it may be a little dog eared from constant use, and it may only cost a few quid(ish) to buy one, but believe us when we say your passport is your best friend when travelling, because it is, but…it’s also a complete liability, and heaven forbid you should lose it, the incalculable hassle it causes doesn’t bear thinking about. We have covered Passport Carrying Tips in more detail in another post, but in brief, before travelling to foreign lands, make sure your passport is in date, and if it isn’t, get one ordered. You need to allow around 3-4 weeks for a passport application to be processed, even longer if you haven’t filled in the application properly. When abroad try to keep your passport on your person, and in some countries, if you’re stopped by authorities and you don’t have the original on your person, you can be detained, fined and even deported. Keep it with you, but keep it safe at all times.

2. DON’T LEAVE ACCOMMODATION TO CHANCE The flight was delayed, the kids have been shouting at each other in the hire car for the last two hours and you pull into a hotel car park in the hope of getting a room….sorry, we’re fully booked! Looks like sleeping in the car is the only option! Seriously, don’t leave the accommodation to chance when travelling with little ‘uns. Book in advance, and if possible, book separate (but adjoining) rooms in hotels, it will cost more but is worth the extra money. Consider this, you’ve booked one room and the children are in bed at 8pm, are you going to go to bed the same time, or sit in complete silence…no, I didn’t think so. Having separate rooms means the children can rest undisturbed, and you can watch TV, read a book or enjoy each others company. Try to keep the children in a similar routine as back home, but keep in mind time differences and excitement, after all, the kids are in holiday mode.

tip: if you do book separate rooms with a linked door, check the rooms over, make sure sockets are safe, check windows are locked and that any balcony doors are secure and cannot be opened by the children.

3. MAKE A LIST (OR TWO, OR THREE) Lists for this and lists for that, Lynne’s lists drive me crackers! Lynne cannot go a single day without writing a list, and in all honesty, if she spent as much time doing the things on the list instead of writing the list, she’d have them done in no time at all. There is one exception to the ‘I hate lists’ rule, and that’s the HOLIDAY LIST, well, two lists in fact – the THINGS WE HAVE LIST and the THINGS WE NEED LIST, both equally important and vital in prepping for your hard earned holiday, oh wait, we also have a third list, the WALKING OUT THE DOOR list, items like mobile phone, chargers, toothbrushes, passports, wallets, money etc. Writing an idiot-proof list(s) is Lynne’s key to a stress free holiday. For some, shopping for a holiday is a much-hated chore, for others, shopping for a holiday is like being a child winning a Golden Ticket Tour of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. One thing’s for sure, it has to be done, so do it properly and you (hopefully) won’t go wrong!

tip: Lynne says to make sure you write a list for each person who is going on the holiday! Sometimes it’s best to buy items from the country you are visiting, especially heavy items like lotions and potions, also, try to limit the amount of liquids, perfumes and toiletries you take, if you do need to take liquids, make sure you put them in a ziplock/sealed bag just in case they leak. Liquids are heavy and can use a huge part of your baggage allowance, which leads me on to…

4. BAGGAGE SIZE RESTRICTIONS AND WEIGHT LIMITS Ok, so you’ve purchased the very latest designer hand-luggage just because Victoria Beckham has it, only to arrive at the airport and find it won’t fit in the ‘check my bag size; frame, and whilst you push and shove to try and make it fit, if you look behind you, there’s a queue of irate passengers forming an orderly queue (Brits are very good at queues). And if you’re wondering why Victoria Beckham gets away with it, she doesn’t fly budget airlines.

As well as size, weight is just as important. If your airline says 21kg allowance then they mean 21kg. The last thing you want when you’re checking in, is to find out that your suitcase is too heavy for the hold and then have to start emptying your case in front of the other passengers, you know, the ones who were stood behind you when your hand-luggage had a fight with the sizing frame. If your bag is heavier than the Airline allowance, you have two choices; pay a hefty oversize fee or remove items from your suitcase, but…imagine the shame and horror as you open that neatly packed case and your lime green budgie smugglers fall out. The last thing you want is to leave behind that family heirloom shawl that your great-great granny crocheted back in 1902, and you certainly don’t want to board the flight looking like an onion with 10 layers on. Do your homework and check the airline restrictions/allowances before you travel.

tip: purchase a decent pair of travel luggage scales, we use the Mofred Travel Luggage Scales (ours cost £4.89 from Amazon UK and they weigh up to 40kg) and weigh your bags at home, that way you can add or remove items in the comfort of your own home, plus you have wine in the fridge…don’t you? Take the scales with you on holiday, and then you can weigh your bags again before going to the airport, just in case you have overloaded with holiday souvenirs.

5. BAGS, BAGS AND MORE BAGS There was once a rule in our house when going on holiday, one main bag per person and one ‘take on’ bag per person, but muggings here ALWAYS ended up carrying ALL the bags, so now it’s two large main bags between us all and a small ‘take-on’ backpack each for the girls, they normally pack a travel board game (in case of delays), a few toys, colouring books, crayons, a tablet and a few snacks, things to keep them amused during the flight, ferry or car journey, we also have car DVD players for long road journeys. I don’t normally bother with a ‘take on’ and Lynne uses her Tardis (handbag) as her ‘take on’. She is like Mary Poppins at times, her bag just seems to hold everything and then some! When we pack our main bags, we always use Pro Packing Cubes, they are so versatile and they come in different colours so we can easily identify our own belongings quickly. The cubes seem to fit effortlessly and maximise the use of space in our large Karabar bags. It’s great to arrive at our destination and now exactly where everything is. The cubes are lightweight so don’t add too much weight to your bags. We love them. and we never holiday without them.

tip: main bags: we use 2 x Karabar Super Lightweight Wheeled Holdalls, and inside we use Pro Packing Cubes, a great combination.

6. PROHIBITED ITEMS This one might seem glaringly obvious, but step inside the airport terminal and there are lots of perspex/glass containers with no end of knives, weapons, scissors etc in them, items travellers think they can take on board. Allow me to tell you a story. Back in 2012, somewhere in our house, we lost a very expensive steak knife, the set looked lost without it, so I handed one of the remaining knives to Lynne and asked her to pick me up another the next time she happened to be in Belfast. Time rolled by and the knife was forgotten about, that is, until Lynne had to attend a conference in London. Handbag and briefcase in hand, off to Belfast International Airport she goes. Checked in, Lynne heads off to the departures security, places her bag on the scanner conveyor and then walks through the detector, all good so far…but…the woman operating the scanner seems to be spending a long time on Lynne’s bag. After about 2-3 minutes, the bag is taken to one side and Lynne is asked to attend the inspection desk. The woman confirms the bag belongs to Lynne and that she packed it herself, and then she pulls out the steak knife!!! Horror!!! Security are called and Lynne has a lot of explaining to do. Thankfully Security accept Lynne’s story, and her apology, and let her on her way, but not before being placed under caution. But wait, it doesn’t end there��

7. PROHIBITED ITEMS…LYNNE AGAIN …a year or so later, we took Lily-Belle to Disneyland Paris for her 5th birthday, and also to break the news that Mummy and Daddy were having a baby. Just as we were leaving Disneyland Paris, Lily-Belle asked if she could pick up a souvenir from the Disney Gift Shop, not a problem. Little Miss chose a very small plastic toy gun which was no bigger than 7-8cm in length. We were in a bit of a rush (as always), we are never early, always just on time or late, but never early, so, at Beauvais Airport, Lynne throws the plastic toy gun into her handbag…big mistake!!! We placed shoes, bags, belts etc into trays and sent them down the scanner conveyor before we made our way through the metal detector one-by-one, all good so far. The lady in charge of the scanner kept looking up at Lynne and then back to the scanner, she then summoned a colleague and again, a look at the scanner, then a look at Lynne. We had no clue why, and when I say we, I mean Lynne. Before Lynne put the plastic toy gun into her bag, I warned her she was asking for trouble, I also told her the shape of the tiny toy gun, even though it was plastic, would get picked up by the scanner, would she listen…oh no! All of a sudden two heavily armed Policiers arrived and began a discussion with the scanner woman. Lynne was taken to one side and the Policiers were as miserable as sin, they read Lynne the riot act and despite our protests the gun was a toy and entirely plastic, they insisted it could be used as a gun! Plastic toy gun confiscated, the Policiers took Lynne away and took a photo of her and her passport and cautioned her that she was going to be added to the French Anti-Terrorism Register. Lynne was aghast! I was in hysterics laughing! Lily-Belle was in floods of tears!

8. TATTOO THE KIDS, DON’T BRAND THEM If you’re travelling through a busy airport, the last thing you need is for one of the sprogs to disappear, what a holiday-breaker that would be, right? If you’re like us, you’re constantly on ‘child watch’ when travelling through airports, ferry ports, shopping centres etc, basically every waking minute of every day regardless of whether or not you are on, or going on, a holiday…child watch. Now, we’re not asking you to brand your child with a red hot poker, or take them to a tattoo parlour and have a permanent inking done, definitely not, but what you can do is use a Tyvek paper wristband (the type used at event and concerts) and write your child’s name, date of birth, any allergies and the names and phone numbers of Mummy and Daddy, pop it on their wrist and that way if they do go AWOL, it should be straight forward getting them reunited with you. Make sure your mobile is fully charged.

9. TECH, GADGETS AND GIZMOS When travelling abroad, we also use a smart gps child locator, a simple device that we attach to the children’s clothing, and should the unthinkable happen, with the use of a smartphone, we can see exactly where our weary wanderer is and we can also activate an audible alarm on the device. We don’t recommend bluetooth locators as these have a very limited range. We always take a laptop and a tablet with 3G + WiFi capability (handy if you’re out and about). You want to capture memories when on holiday so take a camera, we take a Nikon D3200 DSLR for good stuff, a couple of Vtech Kiddizooms for the girls as this encourages them to engage in their surroundings, ok, so you might get 200 photos of knees and pavement, but you will be surprised at some of the great photos children take. We also have our latest smart phones (iphone and samsung) which are waterproof, although we have yet to try out this function…too scared! We never go on holiday, whether UK, Ireland or abroad, without a carbon monoxide detector and spare batteries, this device could well be your life saver.

tip: don’t forget to take spare batteries, chargers and plug adapters

10. GET ONLINE STORAGE FOR PHOTOS You are having the time of your life on holiday, captured lots of great memories on that snazzy new camera, but in the blink of an eye, the memory card is full, and you only have one with you, what do you do? We have spent many a night deleting as many of the ‘not so important’ photos as we can, and still haven’t had enough memory to finish the holiday. It’s not the end of the world. Now we take 4 x 64gb Sandisk cards for the DSLR, and we also take a memory card reader for transfer to the laptop at the end of each evening. There are loads and loads of online companies for uploading and storing pictures, we use SmugMug and Dropbox, very simple interface, easy to use and share files, what more could you, want, need or ask for.

11. FIRST AID KIT AND MEDICINE Accidents happen, and if you have children, you already know these accidents can be anything from an easily treated grazed knee to a full on medical emergency. We’re not saying you will be able to remove that Lego brick from your little Angel’s nose, but try to be as prepared as you can be with a basic first aid kit. As a First Aider (St John trained) I am pretty adept at dealing with most accidents so I always carry a travel first aid kit in the car, or when going on holiday. Basic things like plasters, bandages, gauze, scissors, a thermometer, antihistamine for stings/bites, children’s paracetamol (Calpol), sterilising wipes, hand sanitiser, disposable tissues.

tip: always take medicines such as inhalers, calpol and allergy medicines in your take-on bag.

12. SMART CLOBBER It’s the middle of December and your Australian holiday was a blast, but it’s time to return home to the UK. You may look Uber-cool in your shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops standing at the holiday airport when it is 37oC outside, but you soon realise you’ve made a fashion faux pas when the kids are screaming how cold they are before the plane has even left the runway, plus, you land in the UK and it’s the middle of Winter with sleet and rain hitting you horizontally. Dress accordingly for the destination, or keep a set of clothes handy to change into.

13. ALWAYS DOUBLE UP Before we leave the house, we always take up-to-date photos of ourselves and our travel documents such as passports, insurance, EHIC, booking information (for hotels, ferries, trains, flights etc), boarding passes etc. We then email them to ourselves (so we can access them abroad if need be) and we email them to Nana and Granda (aka Lynne’s Mum and Dad). You just never know. And if you’re thinking it’s a bit weird taking photos of yourself and emailing them to yourself…it’s ok, we do too, but if we get kidnapped or get lost in the desert (without a hat), at least we can be identified.

14. EHIC ISN’T A SCRABBLE WORD A European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) allows you to receive state healthcare in other EEA countries and in Switzerland at a reduced cost or sometimes for free. An EHIC does not replace your travel insurance, which you should always have when travelling. Unless you want a hefty hospital bill to remove that piece of Lego from your little Angel’s nose, we suggest you make it a priority to get both before you travel, and if you already have both in place, make sure they are in date.

tip: some sites will try to charge you a fee for an EHIC. If you apply for your EHIC direct from the Government website, it’s free. www.gov.uk/european-health-insurance-card – I was extremely grateful for my EHIC during our recent family holiday to Spiaggia e Mare Holiday Park when I became a running-buffet for mosquitoes. tip tip: ALWAYS purchase your travel insurance the same day you book your holiday, if you don’t and something happens in between booking and your departure date, you won’t be covered.

15. MONEY DOSH WONGA MOOLA You’ve put in extra hours at work and cut back on the takeaways and nights out, you now have a tidy sum stashed away, so make sure you make the most of it by getting the best currency exchange and avoiding hidden bank charges. Do your research and shop around, we normally use Uncle Google to search for the best rates. Sometimes rates go up, sometimes rates go down, but the minute you book your holiday, start checking the rates regularly, it may pay dividends to get your currency earlier rather than later. When we go away we take a certain amount of currency, and we each (adults) take a debit card, a credit card and also a preloaded credit card which we hold with FairFX. The credit cards are there in case of an absolute emergency. Lily-Belle and Matilda always get holiday spending money from Nana and Granda, and also from Mummy and Daddy, so we give them a daily allowance and we also load up a goHenry card for Lily-Belle. Be careful using cards abroad, if you do pay for something with your card, let’s say a restaurant bill, never let the card out of your site, and always check you have been given your own card back after paying, don’t fall for the ol’ card switcheroo.

tip: don’t forget to notify your bank of your travel dates and countries you will be travelling to.

16. KEEP EVERYONE HAPPY Whenever we are away with the children, first and foremost, the holiday is for them, it’s about making the holiday as memorable as it can be so that they look back in years to come and think, I’d like to do that with my own family. But no matter how many activities you plan, it’s inevitable that there will be tears and tantrums during your holiday, and if you don’t get the tears and tantrums, what medication are you giving your children? This year (2017) in Italy, some days Matilda refused point blank to eat her dinner until she had eaten either an ice-cream, or a lolly. At home that would be a big no-no, but on holiday, rules are relaxed a little, and if it stops a 3 year old throwing a wobbler in the middle of a restaurant, then I’m happy to let her do the desert-dinner reversal. A holiday is about give and take, it’s about compromise, it’s about spending time together as a family.

tip: give the children options, include them in the plans and some days let them decide what they want to do. You may have booked a day out at the local ploughing championships, but is it really something the children want to do?

17. JOT IT DOWN Get the children a journal. Encourage them to draw pictures, write lists of the things they see or the new things they taste. They could also ask their ‘holiday friends’ to write a small message inside the journal. Most hotels hand out free mini-maps of places you can visit nearby, these maps are great for the children, it’s always better to give a child something visual that they can see/do rather than trying to explain it, you could get extras for the children to stick cuttings into their journals. If you are encountering different languages on your travels, put in lists of new words learned, it’s amazing how quickly children pick up languages. We bought Lily-Belle and Matilda a personalised diary/journal from Little Box Gifts, from order to delivery a mere 72 hours, excellent.

18. LASTLY…DON’T DO A MACAULAY CULKIN The car is packed and you’re all ready to go on your holiday adventure. You’ve already driven 20 miles, but wait, it’s so quiet in the back of the car, the children must be asleep right…wrong! Didn’t you do a head count before you left? You’re already running late and now you have to go back and gather your Posse. Are you sure you’re going to make that flight or ferry? Conundrum…should you just leave the kids alone to fend for themselves, go off and enjoy quality time alone with your other half? Admit it, you did give it proper and careful consideration before you decided it’s not worth the paperwork when you get back home, because the Police, and probably Social Services, will be waiting for you. In all seriousness, do a head count, don’t ask the kids to get in the car and buckle up themselves, stand at the car door and count them as they climb in. Better safe than sorry, and don’t worry, you and your other half will have a holiday on your own very soon (hahaha, not a chance is that going to happen when you have children).

These tips and essentials may or may not work for you, but they work for us. Travelling with children can be daunting, but it can also be great fun, the key is to be well prepared and keep everyone involved. If you are rushing, as we (always) often are, things will more than likely go wrong, on the other hand, if you prep well, take your time and enjoy the route and the experience, chances are, everything will go swimmingly, but always remember the most important thing….

ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY!

******LAPLAND REVIEW & PICTURES******

information, currency and prices are correct at time of post

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All views, opinions and experiences are that of The Callaghan Posse and are correct at time of publication. Photos taken by Andrew Callaghan and selected from Google for use and distribution by Around The World In 18 Years

TOP 18 – TRAVEL TIPS FOR A FAMILY HOLIDAY TOP 18 - TRAVEL TIPS FOR A FAMILY HOLIDAY You've spent months, or maybe a year, planning this trip, you want to make sure you have everything you need well in advance, no one, and we do mean no one, enjoys rushing around like a headless chicken trying to pick up the last minute holiday essentials.

#top 18 #travel tips

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