#I think I’m going through the Oz phase again

[dudadrawings17]

Tin Man: the stars are so beautiful tonight.

Nimmie Amee: yes, they are.

Tin Man: do you know who also is beautiful?

Nimmie Amee (blushing): who?

Tin Man: Scarecrow.

[coraniaid]

People online (still) get very worked up about Xander’s Lie (which was, obviously, a terrible thing to do that the show never really properly addresses afterwards) and people get very worked up about Joyce telling Buffy not to come back home if she leaves the house (which was, obviously, a terrible thing to do that the show never properly addresses afterwards).  But I don’t think I’ve seen many people bring up the fact that Willow decides to try to “cure” Angel again unilaterally, despite the fact that Buffy has given her absolutely no hint she wants her to keep trying and instead actually suggested she was happier not to try again.  Which, I think, was also a pretty terrible thing to do that the show never really properly addresses afterwards.

I mean, this is the last conversation they have about it –  almost the very last thing they say to each other before Buffy leaves town for months:

Willow: I’m sorry I didn’t get to cure Angel.  Buffy: Don’t be.  It just wasn’t meant to be.  I know I’m never gonna get him back the way he was.  It just makes it easier. Willow: I guess…

And next scene, we cut to Willow in the hospital.  “I wanna try again.” she says.

Buffy certainly doesn’t say anything to suggest that she wants Willow to try the spell again (the spell that was originally a curse, but that I guess the show has now decided is a cure).  She actually says literally the opposite: that Willow shouldn’t be sorry the spell didn’t work, and that this makes things easier for Buffy.  It’s better this way, Buffy tells her.

And Willow tries the spell again anyway.

And what’s great about this – and what’s great about Xander’s Lie and Joyce finding out about Buffy being a Slayer and reacting terribly to it – is that it’s all somehow inevitable.  It all happens as the logical consequence of who these people are.  Not because they’re terrible people (although … okay, the Season 2 iteration of Xander often is), but as the natural extrapolation of how their relationship with Buffy has worked since the beginning of the show.

Xander’s been vocal about his hatred of vampires in general since The Harvest and he’s been jealous of Angel in particular for almost as long as that.  And there’s a very clear throughline in this season especially that Xander feels powerless (in ways that the next season will explore further) and so keeps trying to make his friends’ decisions for them (as called out in Phases, for example, where Xander isn’t happy about Willow dating Oz and tells Buffy “if it were up to me…” only for her to point out that it isn’t).  

And now, at the end of the season, Xander gets the chance to make a big decision on one of his friends behalf, and – because he hates vampires, and he hates Angel in particular, and he doesn’t think Buffy is being objective about Angel, and he can persuade himself that he’s really doing the right thing – of course he takes it.  Of course he makes the decision that Buffy should kill Angel for her.

And crucially, I don’t think the show is ever claiming that he’s right to do this: only that it’s part of what makes him himself that he would be tempted do this.  (The brief shot of Xander looking conflicted we get right after the Lie suggests that Xander too on some level realizes he has done something he shouldn’t have.)

Equally it’s been a fundamental part of Buffy’s relationship with her mother that they cannot find common ground to communicate since at least Season 1’s Witch.  I certainly don’t think we’re actually meant to view Joyce as a bad mother (except, maybe, when Marti Noxon is writing her) but of course the fact she doesn’t know anything about Buffy’s calling means that she’s missing out on a large part of her daughter’s life. She really doesn't know what Buffy's going through.  And, as such, she often ends up punishing her or criticizing her for things when she certainly shouldn’t be .  We know too that Buffy has wanted to tell her mom about being a Slayer, either subconsciously or explicitly, since almost the beginning of the show.  But she was persuaded – by Giles, by her friends, by her own fears of what would happen – that this would be a mistake.

(Wrongly, I think, but we’ll get to that in another post or maybe later in the rewatch.)

And so now, at the worst possible time, Buffy finally has to open up to her mother about being a Slayer.  She can’t maintain the lie anymore.  And because she’s already having one of the worst days of her life – because her friend is dead and her Watcher has been abducted and she’s been forced to accept (again) that she’s going to have to kill her boyfriend – and because she has to leave right now and there isn’t time to explain – her fears about how badly this could go all come true.  Of course Joyce will say the wrong thing.  Of course Buffy and her mother will once again fail to communicate.

Despite the fandom caricature, Joyce doesn’t immediately respond to Buffy coming out as a Slayer by kicking her out of the house.  She wants Buffy to explain what this all means, to sit down and talk her through things instead of immediately rushing off to risk her life ("I am your mother, and you will make time to explain yourself").  In other words, she wants Buffy to do exactly what Buffy herself has been tempted to do all season.  And yes, in the moment Buffy finds this frustrating and yes, she hasn’t got time to do any of this now with the fate of the world at stake.  Buffy isn't doing anything wrong by not explaining herself. But Joyce by definition can’t know all this, precisely because nobody has ever explained things to her.  And it’s only at the very last, when all her efforts to communicate have failed, when Buffy’s about to leave, that Joyce says something she can’t take back.

Again, crucially, I think we’re meant to understand here that Joyce is in the wrong – and that she knows she’s in the wrong, almost as soon as she says it.   (Yes, Dead Man’s Party downplays this idea, but a key factor to consider in any analysis of Buffy’s third season is that Dead Man’s Party is not a well-written episode.)

And Willow?  Well, Willow just wants to help.  That’s been a defining part of her character for a long time too, going all the way back to Welcome to the Hellmouth.  It’s how she relates to Xander (her introduction to the show is her agreeing to help Xander study for math class) and it’s how she initially tries to relate to Buffy too (“I could totally help you out!” she says, as soon as she realizes that Buffy might want to spend any time with her).   It’s why she’s been helping with research in the library for two seasons (“I do want to help,” she tells Buffy at the start of The Harvest, “I need to”).  It’s why she agreed to take over Jenny Calendar’s computer science classes.  It will continue to be a key part of her characterisation for the next five seasons.  It’s why she stays in Sunnydale after high school.  It’s how she defends her increasing abuse of magic to Tara in Season 6.  Willow wants to be helpful.  Willow wants to be noticed.  Willow wants to show that she can do something important.

Hence that moment in Becoming.  Willow’s sorry that she “didn’t get” to cure Angel.  That she didn’t get to prove her worth to somebody that she cares about; that she doesn’t get to show the world how clever and talented that she is.  Buffy tells her not to be sorry, but Willow doesn’t really listen to her friend’s answer.  Her sense of what she should do “to be helpful” is too strong for that.  So of course Willow curses him again.  What else could she do, and still be Willow?

And of course it doesn’t help.

[theredpharaoah]

“The Wish” is such an interesting episode. Cordelia is killed by two people(whether Willow wants to admit it or not) who love her in the original reality and who feel extremely guilty about what they did. And that was evident from even before Cordy joined the crew. There’s something about kids you grow up with - at least in my experience - where you do end up having some sort of weird affection for them even if you were enemies. Willow and Xander were always saving Cordy and they never let her get killed. We also get a feel for how unnatural Willow and Xander together in that way is to us. We see Angel lost all drive without Buffy. He didn’t even believe in himself enough to join the fight with Giles and the others. He just gave up.

Buffy had absolutely no will to live. I’m assuming she ran away from home and went to Cleveland with her new watcher. Or the council came in and made her go there. If you notice her fighting at the factory, she’s using the same moves over and over again. She’s fighting way more textbook than even Kendra was, and she’s no real will of her own so she’s fighting like a robot. She watches Angel die saving her from Xander completely un-phased She then kills Xander like it’s the most routine thing ever before she approaches the Master. And the way she approaches him is so interesting; she’s as uncaring for the civilians around her as he is. And when she starts fighting the Master you can literally see her just give up. This is a direct reverse of how it went in “Prophecy Girl”.

Buffy goes there after seeing that her running away from her destiny would result in so much death and pain. She essentially was the second-coming - to use her quip from this episode. She sacrificed herself because she knew it needed to be done. She didn’t know if he’d die with her but she wanted to try and make sure of that. Here, she goes there because it’s her job, not because she cares about the people. Again, she’s mirroring the Master’s complete disregard for others as they approach one another. Usually Buffy would’ve told whoever was around to get the people out of there and helped them first. And when she fights the Master her textbook fighting style is easily telegraphed by him. But even then; he doesn’t have to hypnotize her or really break a sweat cuz she just gives up. This world has made Buffy miserable and cowardly. She used the Master to put an end to her pain.

And then we have Xander. Originally, Xander gets over his jealousy momentarily and teams with Angel to save Buffy. He and Angel get there and resuscitate her - bringing her back to life. They then all go back to fight The Master again. Here he’s trying to kill Buffy and ends up killing Angel instead.

Angel’s death is eerily reminiscent of the season 2 finale. In the wake of Buffy - even this depressed one - he’s become his self again. He turns around and faces Buffy; he’s been stabbed in the heart and is calling out to her but she’s completely unaffected. She walks through his dust like it’s nothing. Originally, in Becoming Part 2, there were kisses and tearful goodbyes when Buffy had to kill him.

And God, Willow. Willow and Oz are so sad in that they don’t even know one another. Oz is the one who’s always fought for her and supported her - who made her believe in herself. But here he’s the one dragging her back to be impaled on a stake. Willlow is Buffy’s Phoebe btw. The one who’s very passionate and kind but easily swayed to the dark side. Drusilla would’ve probably had to gag her though. Imagine Drusilla saying “you’re my son bitch”.

I cannot get a handle on Giles here. He’s pretty much the same just sadder. I think that’s the point; Giles is their rock.

I wish the rest of The Whirlwind had been in this episode. Where was Darla? I feel like Drusilla and Spike would’ve loved it here but they would’ve definitely had to kill Willow and Xander. Willow and Xander wanted to be Drusilla and Spike so bad.

[sunriseverse]

tagged by @lucientelrunya to do a “twenty questions for fic writers” tag meme (thank you!!!!)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

376. about 200 or so of those are pacrim promptfics though, which inflates the number.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

1,234,900. i unfortunately suffer from a chronic inability to shut up, and fanfic is basically my only non-academic hobby.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

as of march 2023, various adaptations and canons falling under the dmbj umbrella.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

strike it through (start again) (922)

do you feel the hunger (does it howl inside?) (616)

a love that echoes through the distance (472)

strokes of love (441)

chart a course for a better tomorrow (390)

(honestly i’m kind of annoyed my ofmd fics are so popular, since i got in at just the right time (a lot of fandom interest but comparatively few fanfics in comparison to demand) to get a decent amount of attention to them, but i don’t really care about the show anymore so seeing it skew my stats miffs me a bit. also, i think my recent works are just far better written because i’ve improved at my craft.)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

probably 95% of the time, yeah! even if it’s just a “thanks for commenting, glad you liked the fic!” i think it’s important readers know that i’m not just some faceless set of hands posting—i am a real person, as much a part of whatever fandom i’m in as any lurkers.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

uhhhh well. there’s one i wrote that’s canon-compliant for cql? but i feel like canon-compliant mcd doesn’t count. other than that………i THINK i wrote a “newt dies” fanfic back in ‘19 or ‘20.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

no idea how to go at this question, honestly. with few exceptions, my writing is all either happy endings, or hopeful endings. i don’t have the emotional bandwidth to leave something an open wound, you know? but “the things in this forest have teeth and claws” was probably the most personally-settling things i’ve written.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

yeah, sometimes. i haven’t had this problem since i migrated to ao3, but it did happen on ffnet. before i stopped crossposting to ffnet some time in ‘20/‘21, i got someone calling me a “fat f*g hag”, so. [shrug] i’m pretty used to just deleting comments and not letting them get to me, though, so it’s not a big deal.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

as a rule, no; it’s not really my thing. i prefer to explore interpersonal intimacy in other ways. that’s not to say i won’t imply smut, though—it’s something the characters i write about engage with as part of the course of their lives, and i don’t have any interest in ignoring that, either, even if i don’t explicitly write it out.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

i used to write more crossovers, but now i mainly write fusions (dæmon/hdm fusions and pacrim fusions are some of my favourites). i think probably the wildest fusion i can think of is the tma/iasip fic i wrote one time. i read it the other day, and while it’s a little rough, most of it still holds up, and it’s pretty funny.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge, no. just in case, though, i have a disclaimer in my ao3 bio about any works appearing anywhere besides my ao3 or ffnet (same user) is stolen and i do not authorise it to be there.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

someone asked me years ago (in 2019, i believe) if they could translate one of my pacrim fics into russian. i haven’t heard from them since, though, so effectively the answer here is “no”.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

a couple times! it’s a bit hard because you have to do a lot of coordinating and planning, and that’s assuming the fanfic doesn’t just wind up languishing in the draft/idea phase forever.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

this is going to sound silly, but—ozma of oz/dorothy gale. look, i read all the oz books i could get my hands on as a child, and i was always fascinated with their “close friendship” (i wonder why!)

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

i have a wip that was grandfathered in from my friend emma, who wound up leaving fandom (good for her; as she tells it, her mental health improved because of this), that i sometimes stare longingly at with a deeply bittersweet fondness. it’s hannigram, and will probably never be finished because trying to rewatch the show just makes me incalculably angry at brian fuller.

16. What are your writing strengths?

description! i’ve been told i am able to paint the things i write so vividly they almost feel real. i also enjoy descriptive writing, which probably helps.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

plots that aren’t character-driven. i’m a character writer first and foremost, and my projects generally are emotionally-driven, so i don’t have much chance to try and write action-driven plots. which is fine by me, i’m not terribly interested in them. if there’s action in my writing, it’s almost invariably in service to character.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

depends on how it’s handled. it can either be very good, or very bad.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

to absolutely no one’s surprise, warrior cats. this was back in the days of writing fanfic by hand and hiding it away. my oldest still-published fanfic, though, is a discontinued 2017 warrior cats fanfic that centres a deaf apprentice. it’s a pity i never kept any notes for this fanfic (or, if i did, they at some point got lost), because i think the concept is fascinating.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

self-indulgence is the rule here, so probably “best laid plans”, a very silly concept that accidentally acquired a lot of emotion to it. oops!

tagging…………… @lunarriviera , @butchybats , @fixaidea , and anyone else who sees this and wants to participate!

[hamliet]

RWBY and the Philosopher’s Stone

So, I finally watched RWBY after a friend name-dropped several characters and I was like wait... those names are alchemical. I was still pleasantly surprised to find out just how deeply rooted in alchemy the story is, from its characters to its plot structure. 

Background: alchemical structure is a type of story structure that focuses on inner transformation via outward obstacles. You can find it in literary traditions across the world, from Moxiang Tongxiu’s novels to A Song of Ice and Fire to Harry Potter to The Witcher to Trollhunters. Carl Jung incorporated it into his psychology. Daoism plays heavily into Chinese alchemy. The Wizard of Oz, one of RWBY’s main inspirations, is a blatant alchemy allegory. It’s everywhere, so it’s not surprising RWBY is drawing heavily on alchemy, but it is neat to see how blatant the references are. 

Thematically, the goal of alchemy is a metaphorical philosopher’s stone. The philosopher’s stone, in legend, is said to produce an elixir of eternal life, and to be able to transform “baser” metals into gold. 

In stories, when positive, as it usually is, this usually results in a character either overcoming death (see, Harry Potter) and/or transforming the world and others around him (Harry Potter saving his friends, etc.) But the journey from how they get from prima materia (raw material) to the philosopher’s stone? Now that’s the story. 

(When reversed, a metaphorical stone results in something that can destroy everything; see: the One Ring, also Salem, because Salem’s whole thing is that she cheapened the process of life and death, while alchemy states that death is a necessary part of achieving life.)

So, mostly I’m gonna talk about the symbolism I’ve seen so far and make some predictions for what’s likely to happen next in the story, and for the characters.

Each of the four main characters has a name that corresponds to one of the four phases of the Magnum Opus. “Blake Belladonna” refers to the nigredo, or black stage; “Weiss Schnee” to the albedo, or white stage; “Yang Xiao Long” to the citrinitas or yellow phase, and “Ruby Rose” to the final stage, rubedo, or red (Ruby’s name is quite literally taken from that stage). Naming them for these stages shows a dual purpose: while Ruby is the central character, she needs her team around her, and Team RWBY will save the world together. Team JNR is also a part of the stages, but I’ll get to what they represent later on. 

Jung associated each of the major stages with a major archetype. The major stages can be further broken up into a total of seven or twelve or even fourteen stages. Most commonly you’ll see George Ripley’s Twelve Gates referenced, and I believe that’s what RWBY is referencing as well since its allusions are pretty perfect. The "gates” or stages also sometimes overlap, especially when different characters might be at different stages. 

Nigredo: Seasons 1-3 

Alchemy begins by gathering the prima materia, or raw material. The characters assembling in season 1 is more of the gathering than the actual transformative process. But once we hit season 2, we dive straight into the process. 

Calcination occurs during the climax of season 2, during the fight on the train. Season 3 contains dissolution, or the washing of impurities through the exposure of certain secrets (like the fall maiden) as well as the literal dissolution of Beacon Academy, and separation (the end of the season, when Team RWBY is scattered). 

Narratively, Jung associated nigredo with the shadow, with someone’s dark night of the soul, their low point. In historical artistic depictions, often part of nigredo is dismemberment... which happens to Yang when she saves Blake from Adam. See, Splendor Solis: 

The goal of the shadow is that it should be integrated with, accepted, rather than denied. Facing the shadow is a necessary part of growth and ultimate transformation... and the point is, through facing the shadow, hope and light come.  

Peacock’s Tail: Seasons 4-5

Okay, I lied, there are sometimes five phases in alchemy. At the very end of nigredo, just before albedo, there is sometimes a flash of light, of rainbows and colors, that give hope. It’s not quite a phase, more of a moment, but it’s referred to as the peacock’s tail. While this is less plot-related, it does make sense that this is the point in the story where Team RJNR is formed. Why? Because look at their colors:

Ruby: red, black

Jaune: yellow, blue

Ren: green, purple

Nora: white, pink, orange

Between them we’ve pretty much got the full rainbow. 

We also have, in Blake’s arc, the introduction of Ilia Amitola, whose last name is the Souix word for “rainbow.” 

Albedo: Seasons 5-7

Albedo is associated with the anima or animus, or the part of ourselves that we are lacking (it’s generally gendered as the male within a female and the female within a male, but please understand he’s not talking literally and more in terms of traditional qualities ascribed as feminine or masculine that we may repress), which more than fits the fact that this stage begins while team RJNR is literally wandering around a continent called Anima. 

Conjunction is a term in which all the separated parts that can be salvaged from the Nigredo come together. Obviously the main incident for this is the fight at the end of volume 5, but I’d argue it overlaps a bit with volume 4 and even with separation.

The characters are only able to come together again once they’ve accepted aspects of their shadows. Yang deals with hers in Raven and Blake with the White Fang. Nora and Ren’s fight at their home village represents them dealing with their shadow as well, and also relates to conjunction because conjunction is the stage where the first chemical wedding comes into play. A chemical wedding is the joining of alchemical partners, and while I’ll probably discuss ships in another post (there’s a lot of set up alchemy-wise), I’ll just reference the obvious one here: 

The fountain image and a person shooting arrows is some pretty uncannily similar imagery to the fight at Nora and Ren’s home village. 

Next up in albedo is putrefication (focus on death and rotting). We see this with the encounter with the Apathy, who look like skeletons, cause death, etc. We’re also introduced to Maria Calaveras, aka the Grimm Reaper. (Her last name also means “skull” aka the white results of putrefication). 

Congelation requires a lot of water, and we see this in the focus on Atlas, wherein snow (water) is everywhere. The point of congelation is to separate the thin from the thick, the latter of which will of course become the Philosopher’s Stone. We see this through Team RWBY’s break with the Ace-Ops (aka the Aesops), whose simplistic morality and rule-following are not going to bring about character growth or eternal life. 

Citrinitas: Volume 7-?

Citrinitas focuses on the light, or fire. That immediately after congelation, a giant whale brimming with yellow appears in the white-colored Atlas is not a coincidence. Citrinitas is associated with the sage or the wise old man/woman, so Maria and Pietro fill this role. 

The first stage of citrinitas is cibation, which involves feeding with fresh material. I’d actually say that it seems quite possible cibation overlaps with congelation, in that there is a focus on food and on training with the Ace-Ops early in Volume 7. The next phases are sublimation and fermentation. I can see potential for sublimation in that it essentially is when solid becomes air (think of the setting of Atlas), but it’s too soon to say what this means for the plot. 

Fermentation, though... well, things will get worse before they get better. :’) 

Rubedo: 

Finally, Rubedo is associated with the fully individualized self. We can assume each of the main seven will come into their own, confident of whom they are. Oscar should, as well, and probably will have fully control over his body by the end (ie Oz will likely... find rest or whatever).

The stages of rubedo are exaltation (the creation of the stone after two contraries meet), multiplication (the stones’ properties increase), and projection (the stone’s abilities are projected over the entire world, aka presumably RWBY will save the world). 

The most common way to display multiplication is through, well, a lot of couplings. It’s why the main characters ending single seems extremely unlikely to me. Even if it seems a fairy tale ending, well.... *gestures to everything about RWBY being inspired by fairy tales* Fairy tales were also often alchemy based. But ships will get their own meta, because I actually don’t really ship much besides Renora and am for once not super invested in anything, but I can see the set-up for four or five ships.

I also want to highlight the other symbolic names that stood out to me: 

Ironwood. While I know Ironwood references the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz (tin being one of seven metals associated with alchemy), his name also references a second metal: Iron. Tin and Iron are the two of the three basest metals in alchemy (the other is lead). Iron in particular is ruled by Mars, the god of war, meaning it is associated with violence. It’s not a coincidence that pretty much from the second Ironwood is introduced, the concept of war comes up, and his entire character has gone on to be the embodiment of the military and violence. 

Tai Xiao Long. His name literally means “sun,” and Ruby’s mother is defined by her silver eyes (silver being a color traditionally associated with the moon). Ruby is thus considered the child of the Solar King and Lunar Queen, two mythical alchemical figures who together create the “Philosophical Child,” or the personified philosopher’s stone.

Pietro Polendina: his name literally means “stone,” and Penny is his philosopher’s stone. Penny is arguably a reference to copper, another of the seven metals, as copper references compassion and love, which seems like Penny to me. 

Qrow and Raven Branwen: crows and ravens are symbolic of nigredo, or the black phase; death, decay, etc. However, within the story I think Qrow and Raven fulfill this role as the Jungian shadows of hunters as a whole and of Yang. 

Sun Wukong: obviously a reference to the sun. 

Emerald Sustrai: Emerald is a reference to the Emerald Tablet, which in alchemical lore is a tablet containing the secrets of alchemy, as written down by Hermes (in legend). Hermes is, of course, Mercury. Everything about alchemy stems from the Emerald Tablet, so Emerald should be important. In addition, green is the color of the prima materia, so it references Emerald’s arc in being shaped and molded by Cinder. 

Mercury Black: Mercury as the mythological god is the legendary founder of alchemy, so like, he’s important. Mercury is also the third most important metal in alchemy, after gold and silver. It is necessary to achieving the philosopher’s stone so, like Emerald, Mercury is probably important. Mercury is of particular note because mercurial characters are common in alchemical literature: they make stuff happen. Think of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, for example. Mercury transcends death symbolically (you can see the roots of this in Mercury’s backstory with his assassin father): it is difficult to pin down and can quickly shift from liquid to solid. Thus, in alchemy, mercury can shift between life and death. 

Mercury is also a noted servant of the white queen. I initially thought this a surface reference to Salem’s appearance, and it might be, but Salem is more associated with a black queen in the recurring chess motif, and I don’t see Mercury staying on her side (mercury isn’t fixed, after all; that’s its central tenet), so I kind of wonder if the “white queen” will be later revealed. Or maybe it just is a surface mention.

[girl4music]

“As for Willow and Anya, I think the original intention of all this drama might have been that we would feel as torn as Xander between Willow’s charming cat-in-the-hat antics and Anya’s, maybe, abrasive literalness. But, the older I’ve gotten the more I’ve actually been turning INTO the fish from ‘Cat in the Hat’, and Willow has NO defensible position in this episode other than Anya is: “Newly human and strangely literal.” Willow acts judgy and entitled and then defends herself by personally attacking Anya:

WILLOW: “Unless I’m really wrong about crazy Larry down at the bus stop, he’s probably not going to turn Xander into a troll.”   

And Holy Hecate, that’s some blinding hypocrisy from Willow, judging how someone else MIGHT handle the pain of a relationship fallout. It’s Sunnydale. Can’t we just agree that spells, vengeance and breakups happen? It’s an emerging arrogance from Willow following her magical development and, I get it. But it’s also a little disappointing because, other than her mostly supporting role in the Tara-centric, ‘Family’, we really haven’t had a lot of Willow this season. Anya expresses her anxiety over the fact that Xander and Willow have an intimate friendship, and Xander once actually cheated on Cordelia with her. Having been cheated on by Olaf, that is an active wound in her mind that mingled with Willow’s spell:

WILLOW: “Hey Anya, whatever really has you mad, why don't you just say it, like you do every other thought that stomps through your brain?”

ANYA: “I believe I have said it.” WILLOW: “No. You haven't. Come on. Let it out!”

The two of them hash things out as they both love Xander and want what’s best for him. But I find two things odd about the whole exchange. The first is that any responsibility Xander might’ve had in Anya’s cheating scenario is never really mentioned. Which feels like an echo of the opening where Xander and Anya put all of the responsibility for the Biley breakup on Buffy. And the second weird thing is that Willow defends her character from Anya’s accusations, not by saying she would never do that or would never want to hurt anyone but:

WILLOW: “That was a long time ago. Do you think I’d do that again?”

ANYA: “Why not?”

WILLOW: “Well, hello, gay now.”

In the interest of due diligence, it’s worth mentioning I have heard this is now a pretty infamous line. The phrasing is cute and Alyson Hannigan’s delivery is perfectly Alyson Hannigan, but the line gets criticized for a couple of reasons. First, as celebrated as the show has been for depicting same-sex relationships in a positive light for it’s time, the specific line is considered an example of what’s called ‘bi-erasure’ or ‘bisexual invisibility’, defined by GLAAD as:

‘... a pervasive problem in which the existence or legitimacy of bisexuality (either in general or in regard to an individual) is questioned or denied outright.’

Considering the show from a critical perspective, until this line in question, Willow has not really been written as strictly gay. She had a well-established intimate relationship with Oz. She had an infatuation with Xander that was there since the beginning of the series. Tangentially, there’s also the fact that Villow in ‘Dopplegangland’ clearly had the thing for Vander but also wasn’t sure if she wanted to lick or bite her own neck along with Sandy’s in the Bronze. In a UK Metro interview from May 2020, Joss said he was pressured to not make Willow bisexual over fears her same-sex attractions would feel like a ‘phase. Quoting:

‘... if I did it now, I’d be like ‘yes, she can be bi’. Because some people are! But back then it was like, ‘no... we’re not ready for that’.’

Not the greatest phrasing but, at this point, the battles Whedon had over Willow and Tara’s relationship with the network are part of the legend of the show. I wasn’t able to find many first-hand quotes from the other Mutant Enemy writers regarding the topic but, in the years of doing this, I have heard many unsourced mentions that they have acknowledged the omission. However, if you’re interested in further reading, I’ve included other links to some other perspectives more relevant, informed and/or educated than my own in the description down below. 

When I think about the show, it’s typically while peering through one of two lenses. The first is the critical one I look through while writing these videos. Through that one, Buffy looks to me like a constructed piece of fiction. Willow is an invented character. And that line now looks like a dated oversight perpetuating a crappy legacy for some people in the queer community. Worse, it’s one that the show leans into later in the series. Buuuut, if you think that’s bad... The other lens I watch the show through is as a fan. Those are the moments when spending time with these characters feel deeply comforting and I talk to other fans about them as though they were people we both knew at school: “Can you believe what Xander was wearing in that episode? SHEESH.” From that perspective I think to myself, Willow gets to say how she identifies. It’s her life. Her journey. I’m 42 and still figuring myself out. We do the best we can in the moment and, if this is what sexuality she says she is in this moment, at this time in her life, then so be it. Why should it diminish the beauty and the intimacy of anything that came before Tara?”

Leave it to TPN to perfectly communicate my stance on Willow being GAY because she emphatically states herself to be so and that’s her human right! While I do acknowledge that both perspectives do and should co-exist when observing and debating on Willow’s sexuality all the way through the show, at the end of the day I’m gonna go with the perspective the character has herself. 

The perspective being: If she says she’s gay then she’s gay. That’s the end of the debate for me because I respect her identification and declaration of her own sexuality. In my head: I know that the character is fictional, so the logic and evidence should be heavily considered in debating on her sexuality. In my heart: I love the character far too much not to view her as a real conscious person, so my overly-analytical left-hemisphere of my brain can shut the fuck up because it has no authority to speak. This means that Willow’s stated sexuality is valid every time it is stated regardless of the logic and the evidence. As it would be for any real conscious person who has identified and declared their own sexuality. 

[motownfiction]

rusted

Sadie’s been oxidized since Valentine’s Day.

At first, it was clear – the grief. She doesn’t mean it was invisible, either. It was obvious. You could see right through her skin and bones and straight to the pain. She was just guts and empty of them at the same time. Raw. Tender as the day she was born. Only she hadn’t been alone then. Not like she is now.

It was Valentine’s Day when the grief started to rust over and crack. Daniel tried to be romantic – came home with chocolate hearts filled with caramel sauces and strawberry jams, put their song on the radio (“Just one look / and I fell so hard …”), wore the purple shirt that brings out the depth in his brown eyes. She wrapped her arms around him and started to soften until she smelled his neck. It’s the vanilla cologne she bought for him. She remembers going to the mall and buying it and how happy she was then. But then she remembers when she gave it to him. Less than two months ago, on Christmas. The night of the accident. The first night Sadie wasn’t a twin anymore – would never be a twin again.

She’s been rusted ever since. Every memory feels stiff and heavy, but she can’t stop herself from remembering. Her joints freeze up when she remembers Charlie’s panicked phone call from the side of the road.

A truck slammed into us.

It was the ice.

The car flipped.

I got out, but Sam’s still in there.

Sadie, I think he’s dead.

She thinks about the way she had to call her parents after the doctor came out and told them for sure, and her jaw locks up, too.

Mom? Dad?

A truck slammed into them.

It was the ice.

The car flipped.

Charlie got out with a cut on his finger, but Sam got stuck in there.

We called an ambulance to take him to the hospital.

Mom, Dad, he’s dead.

She remembers how calm she sounded, too. No use in getting frantic, she thought, but she’s not entirely sure why. When she thinks back on it, there might have been a part of her that believed the doctor would come back out and tell her that he was in the wrong room. Some other incredibly charming man named Sam had died on Christmas. Their Sam was waking up, and he wanted to hear “We Are the Champions.”

But that never happened.

She’s lying on her bed in the middle of an April afternoon. It’s Saturday, and Daniel’s in the living room, watching TV with the kids. Billy’s going through a phase where the only movie he wants to watch is The Wizard of Oz, which Rosemary loves and Michael pretends like he hates. Sadie can hear the music through the walls.

When a man’s an empty kettle / he should be on his mettle / and yet, I’m torn apart …

She snorts to the ceiling.

Maybe they’ve noticed, too.

[littlemisssquiggles]

...Sooo...about RWBY Volume 8 Chapter 12...

I’m not going to lie to you guys. I don’t know how to feel about this episode. Again, it wasn’t a bad episode. It’s just that I’m still processing a lot of elements to this episode that stood out for me. At best, it seems that it’s finally concluded Penny’s Arc. Like for starters, did the showrunners just make Penny a real girl?

[SPOILERS AHEAD. NUFF SAID]

Cause that’s what happened, right? Penny became a real girl. Penny is a real girl now, right?

I can’t believe the showrunners found a way to “cheat” keeping Penny longer in the story and making her a real person. Even though the spirit of the staff said that he couldn’t be used to create life, they found a loophole. They found a way to make Penny a real girl by using the staff’s power to give form to the part of her that’s always been the true Penny---her aura. This…actually isn’t bad at all. I just wished that Pietro Polendina was also there to see his daughter literally become human. Become real. Speaking of, where the fudge are Pietro and Maria? Seriously, I hope the Staff made a portal for those too as well because I don’t wish to think the PLOT forgot about them, right?

Anyways, going back to Penny---yeah, it may seem that Penny is now a real girl…I think. Her robot side which succumbed to the virus and terminated itself is now dead and all that’s left is her soul. I’m still in shock by this. I’m still in awe that the Staff can be used to do something like this.

Speaking of---hey wait a hot minute. If the Staff could be used to make Penny “human” by separating her soul from her machine half then…does this mean that the Staff of Creation could ultimately be used on Oscar as well? I mean…the Staff was used to separate the human part of Penny from the robotic part of her. So…doesn’t this mean that the Staff could be used on Oscar the same way?

We all know that Oscar doesn’t want to merge with Oz. This has been said at least twice for this volume.

If Penny is an exemplar of how successful it would be to use the staff to separate something with a soul from it’s inorganic parts so long as the method could be explained…couldn’t this not be used on Oscar? To separate him from Oz so that way, Oscar can be free to live his life as he wants without the fear of losing himself?

This is what I’m wondering now because if the staff can do that then what’s stopping it from being used on Oscar next?

As for the spirit of the staff---I didn’t quite catch his name but I really like him. I REALLY, REALLY love his personality. When Oz said he’s quite the character, he wasn’t kidding. He is quite the enthusiastic creative guy and I love him already. I hope to see more of the staff’s spirit.

Then there is the point that the Staff said. The Staff’s spirit said… “Don’t fall”. What does he mean by that? I’m assuming this is what the V8 opening has been eluding to all of this time.

In the opening, we got the visual of the ground caving in underneath our heroes with Team RWBY falling into an eternal abyss never to see the light of day again.

Remember the theory that I shared before about…what if…our main heroes ended up “disappearing” off the face of Remnant, leaving humanity at the mercy of Salem and her army?

What if…I wasn’t too far off from being correct in my assumption?

Here’s what I think might end up happening. 

Right now…the Staff’s power is being used to create a magical means of aiding the People of Atlas and Mantle by transporting them safely to Vacuo, right? But at the moment the people seem to be caught between realms---between the reality that will guide them all safely towards Vacuo and something else that I’m going to simply dub as “the void” as in the void between creation and its polar opposite.

For part of this volume, the image of falling has been teased. It was teased in the opening and it was also teased when Oscar brought up the Remnant fairytale about the Girl Who Fell Through the World. I had a feeling that that fairytale may be a foreshadow to how this volume might conclude and the feeling that I may be correct is getting stronger.

What if…the reason why the Staff’s spirit warned RWBY about falling is because…falling would mean falling out of existence and ceasing to be in the real world?

What if…it’s something like that where whoever falls literally stops existing and can never return to the real world again because their presence would’ve been phased out of existence?

This is what I think the volume has been alluding to since the start. Either RWBY or just Ruby is going to end up falling and…something bad is going to happen to them because of it.

I think the reason why the question “Happy? Never Again” keeps repeating in the opening is because…that’s exactly what will happen in the end. Whoever falls---be RWBY or just Ruby alone--- won’t be able to experience happiness again because…they or she will be gone. Forever. They will no longer cease to exist. It will come as if the person or persons died since…they would be gone forever, no longer allowed to return?

At least, that is the vibe that I’m getting. I’m not sure if this will be the case but…I’m getting that vibe you guys. I guess…only the last two episodes will tell. We’re nearing the last inning stretch folks.

And based on the last shot of this episode, Cinder is going to show up to ruin everything. Because let’s not forget, while Penny may be a real girl now…she’s still technically a maiden. Her maiden powers are still a part of her since they are a part of her aura---her soul. So…dude...imagine how depressing it would be if RWBY went through all this trouble to make Penny human only for her to die for good this time because Cinder would’ve killed her for real.

Penny is human now. She no longer has the back up of being part machine with a robotic body that could easily be repaired. She is as vulnerable as any other maiden before her and…oof…it’d be interesting to see how things play out for the finale for sure.

But...I guess we’ll see soon.

~ LittleMissSquiggles (2021)

[thebirdandhersong]

Fairy tale retellings! because I couldn’t help myself (under the cut because I got carried away and remembered my fairy tale retelling phase from middle school........ oh boy)

Cinderella 

Cinderella (2015 Disney live action): beautiful beautiful BEAUTIFUL (the music! the script!! the Hope! the costumes! the dress! the gentleness at its heart! the overall design and the colours!) (I still believe it’s the best live action re-adaptation they’ve come up with so far) (then again they DID have one of the Rogue One writers and Kenneth Branagh--both of whom understand story AND fairy tales--on the team, and possibly the best combination of actors and costume designers)

Cinderella (Disney animated movie): like a dream. Can’t remember it that well because I haven’t watched it in over ten years, but I remember that I loved it

Cinderella, the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical featuring Laura Osnes and Santino Fontana: Laura’s Cinderella is so lively and hopeful and bright and affectionate and I Love Her!!! The script is also surprisingly funny, and the little changes they made (like the fairy godmother being an old beggar woman in the village, the subplot with her stepsister, the scene at the ball where she suggests that they should all be kind to one another, the fact that the prince is called His Royal Highness Christopher Rupert Windemere Vladimir Karl Alexander Francois Reginald Lancelot Herman (HERMAN!) Gregory James....... iconic) added rather than detracted from the themes they chose to emphasize

A Cinderella Story: possibly one of my favourite films. I loved the fact that they knew each other before the ‘ball’. Loved the way the fairy tale was ‘translated’ into the 2000s. The friendship was strong with this one. I had the best time watching this movie. (Dress-wise, Hilary Duff’s dress is my least favourite, but that’s a minor quibble, and is also due to the fact that it has Lily and Laura’s gorgeous fluffy ballgowns to contend with, and that’s not fair competition)

Persuasion, by Jane Austen: does it count?? The way I see it, Persuasion is like Cinderella gone wrong (we discussed this in class, and my prof called Lady Russell a fairy godmother who means well but fails her protege before the story even begins. We talked about Anne’s ‘Cinderella’/makeover moment taking place over a longer period of time, about the ‘evil’ stepsisters, etc. etc. I’m not entirely sure I agree with every single comparison he made, but he made some Very interesting points).... at least the first time :)

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer. Oh, the images!!!!! Marissa Meyer is WONDERFUL at them. You wouldn’t think they’d translate well into a futuristic sci-fi (almost steampunk) world, but she did it SO brilliantly (the slipper! the ‘dress’! the whole family situation!)

Rapunzel

Tangled (Disney animated movie): an absolute joy. Rapunzel is an Ariel-like character who has hopes and dreams of her own, and I love how warm and vivacious and endearingly transparent she is. The dance scene is so, so lovely. (I stand by my opinion that very few little went right with Disney’s fairy tale retellings after Tangled.)

Cress, by Marissa Meyer: once again. Images. I can’t believe she managed to pull Rapunzel-in-space off so well. (Plus she’s a hacker, and such a sweetheart!!)

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast (Disney animated movie): Amazing. Gorgeous. Brilliant. The buildings and the music and Belle (Belle, my darling!!) and the darker, more Gothic feel to the art and the design...... Yes

Beauty, by Robin McKinley: knocked it right out of the ball park, right through the atmosphere, right into outer space... The language is so lush and atmospheric, and even though I knew roughly what was going to happen, I loved every moment of it. She puts a special emphasis on family and on human connection and I Loved that so much.

Rose Daughter, by Robin McKinley: also gorgeous!!!!! Beauty is still my favourite of the two, but this one was also a gem. (Again: the emphasis on family and sisterhood!!!)

Beauty and the Beast (the Broadway musical): Susan Egan’s voice is SO lovely. And Home deserved more than just an instrumental reference in the 2017 version.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses

Princess of the Midnight Ball, by Jessica Day George: the Best. The sisters are easier to distinguish, the changes/things she added (the war, the queen’s past, etc.) make the story even more interesting, and Galen is fantastic (courteous, kind, brave, AND likes to knit?? NICE)

The Barbie movie: I loved it when I was a little girl (it is also Muffin-approved!)

The Princess and the Pea

@fictionadventurer​‘s Wodehousian one :) which is an absolute delight. Every once in a while I remember it and then can’t stop smiling

The Goose Girl

The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale: the Best. And by the Best, I mean the absolute Best. Her writing is so beautiful and her characters are so real and distinctive. The worldbuilding is fascinating. It’s so simple and so beautiful, and is near-perfect as a retelling and as a novel. The rest of the Bayern series is also wonderful!!

The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid (Disney movie): can’t remember it very well, except for the chef who wanted to cook Sebastian and also Ariel’s very cool sisters.... the music and Ariel’s character are lovely :)

The Little Android, by Marissa Meyer: genius. The first time I read it, I cried furiously. What does it mean to be human?? Marissa Meyer loves to talk about this in her other books (through malfunctioning robots, androids, werewolves, etc.). And the conclusion she comes to is always the same (and always done so beautifully): it’s about love and sacrifice (and tbh even though she’s talking about this through robots and werewolves, she’s got a point!!! When you act with love and self-sacrifice, you reflect the character of the Maker and His love and self-sacrifice, which is what makes us in that moment the most human--or at least human in the sense that that’s what we were made to be and to do towards our neighbours and enemies)

Ponyo (Studio Ghibli movie): this counts, doesn’t it?? A film that is an absolute joy through and through. It doesn’t completely stick to the original fairy tale but it also talks about compassion, kindness, and love as a choice

The Princess and the Frog

The Princess and the Frog (Disney animated movie): can’t remember it very well, but Anika Noni Rose has a fantastic voice, and I loved Tiana’s practicality, optimism, and kindness

The Prince of the Pond, by Donna Jo Napoli: can’t remember it either (read it in third grade) but basically it’s about how the prince turns into a frog and starts a family with another frog (the story is told from her perspective). I do remember that the ending made me so sad, though

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty (Disney movie): can’t remember it at all either, except for: 1) Once Upon a Dream (a brilliant song) and 2) forget pink or blue. I liked her grey dress the most

Spindle’s End, by Robin McKinley: the story was told in such an interesting way (the animals! the way she wrote about love and protecting the people you love and self-sacrifice in familial and platonic relationships!) with Robin McKinley’s beautiful style

East of the Sun, West of the Moon

East, by Edith Pattou: I was obsessed with this book in elementary school. Obsessed. I kept rereading it over and over again because I just loved it so much. It’s been a few years since I’ve read it, but I can remember certain scenes (Rose entering the ballroom for the first time, the white bear’s hulking figure in the doorway, the architecture of the hall where she washes the shirt, her fingers running over the wax, the reunion scene) so vividly as if it had been a movie instead of a book, or if I’d actually been there, experiencing what Rose was experiencing

Orpheus and Eurydice (which kind of counts)

Hadestown (the Broadway musical, the original cast, AND Anais Mitchell’s original concept album): I’ve talked about it so much I probably shouldn’t even start slkfjsdl;kfjlk; I just wanted an excuse to mention it again

Tam Lin

Fire and Hemlock, by Diana Wynne Jones: I loved it when I first read it but I was so confused and so fascinated by it.

The Snow Queen

Frozen (Disney animated movie): no (insert heart emoji)

And contemporary(?) books that are considered modern classics, if not modern fairy tales (depends on how you look at it, really):

Peter Pan

Peter Pan (Disney animated movie): a childhood favourite!!!

Peter and the Starcatchers, by Dave Barry: the whole series is so much fun (and they’re among some of the funniest books I’ve read). This one serves as a sort of prequel to Peter Pan, but it’s safer to say that Dave Barry reimagined the whole story.

Peter and the Starcatcher (Broadway play adaptation of the book, which is a reimagining of the original Peter Pan..... yeah): the source material is incredibly funny, so naturally the play adaptation makes you laugh until your sides feel ready to split (I mean!! You have Christian Borle as Black Stache, Adam Chanler Berat as Peter, Celia Keenan-Bolger as Molly..... they’re all brilliant) The script, the way the cast makes use of the set and props, the perfect comic delivery....... love it

Finding Neverland, a musical adaptation of the movie (the A.R.T. production with Jeremy Jordan as James Barrie): the music is so good, and the way they write about the value of looking at the world through the eyes of a child?? of seeing the beauty in everything?? of hope and imagination and wonder?? If it weren’t for the way it handles adultery (even emotionally cheating!) and divorce :( but Laura Michelle Kelly is absolutely enchanting, and the script is also incredibly funny and heartwarming

Tiger Lily, by Jodi Lynn Anderson: a twisted fairy tale... it was quite disturbing at times, but it was also beautiful and heartbreaking. It’s a darker take on the story, which I tend not to like (at all), but the way it explored Tiger Lily and Peter was quite interestng

The Wizard of Oz

WIcked, the Stephen Schwartz musical--I haven’t read the book: as far as retellings-about-the-villain-of-the-original-story goes this one is my favourite. It is another twisted fairy tale, though, and there’s a constant undercurrent of doom and dread, even in the motifs Stephen Schwartz uses... the ending is not completely happy, but the music is FANTASTIC (Mr. Schwartz also did The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Prince of Egypt!!)

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland (Disney movie): another childhood favourite... I also haven’t seen this one in over ten years, but I can still remember specific scenes very clearly in my head

Alice by Heart: a musical about a girl called Alice Spencer whose coping mechanism (quite literally) is Alice in Wonderland. She knows it by heart (again. Literally) and she dives into the world as a form of escapism (LITERALLY. There’s even a song at the end where the characters acknowledge how unhealthy this is). There’s a lot about growing up, losing a loved one, learning to let go... about self-deception and grief and the control one has over one’s life (unfortunately it IS subtly antagonistic towards Christianity at times)..... i do wish that writers didn’t have to treat sexual maturity as the most prominent/interesting part of coming-of-age stories, though. The characters, the set and lighting and costume design (BRILLIANT, by the way!!!!)... all wonderful. But the strangely sexual references can be a bit uncomfortable. (Really!! You can tell a coming-of-age story WITHOUT that stuff, you know!!!!!)

That Disney Movie directed by Tim Burton: wouldn’t recommend. Alice doesn’t need to be a warrior. (At ALL.)

Would also like to mention: Princess Tutu :)

[prose-for-hire]

I know what you did last Halloween...

Part Two // Part Three // Part Four

Pairing: Scooby gang x reader (platonic)

This is a platonic story with the reader as part of the Scooby gang. Set season 3. It’s going to be a small multi-parted serial killer/slasher fic for Halloween. Reader lives with Giles, but is not related. The deaths in this part are not described in much detail. 

Not sure how popular it’ll be with you guys, but I’ve enjoyed writing it so far !! 🖤🦇

Warning: It is a serial killer fic, main characters are going to die (I’m sorry, it’s Halloween). Violence. Blood mention. Threat.

Sunnydale Scare? Scythe-wielding killer strikes again

Sunnydale Express, October 1999.

Sunnydale High school, not used to such horror inflicted on their student body since Principal Flutie’s unfortunate death in office [His memorial will be on the 31st as his family reveal it was his favorite time of year].

The scythe-wielding killer, who was seen wearing all-black with a festive mask, has claimed his most recent victims. Two members of the swim team found themselves in hot water after they were found with brutal and fatal injuries. The wounds matched the scythe that is commonly associated with the widely termed ‘Sunnydale slasher’.

It makes us wonder at the Sunnydale Express, why and how this idyllic town has managed to create such a monster?

You and the Scoobies were good friends. You helped save the world more than once whilst fighting algebra homework and Principal Snyder. You had moved from your hometown to Sunnydale at the same time as Buffy, meeting her on your first day and becoming best friends since that day. You had moved into Giles’ spare room after your parents had wanted to move on again. You had been sucked into the slaying and you couldn’t leave the others. Giles had been very accommodating and very much like a parental figure. Things had been going well, you were close to graduating and finally getting the hell out of there until one life-changing event that would forever be ingrained in your minds.

You and your friends were sat around the school canteen. The mood was pretty low and you were collectively checking over your shoulders every so often. You had been discussing the latest spate of murders. Surprisingly, it was widely covered by various news outlets and hadn’t been brushed under the rug as the usual demon relating killings were.

Buffy and Faith had been doing double patrolling, making sure there was always someone out after dark. Giles had been pleased but he wasn’t aware of the real reason. Although he had noted a difference in your mood in the past year. Despite the extra patrolling, no matter how many demon-snitches they beat up and threatened, there was no changing the answer they didn’t want to hear.

“So this… slasher? He’s-it’s-she’s-?” Xander spluttered through the pronouns in his disbelief.

“Yep. Human” Buffy shrugged, sighing and staring down at her food. Nobody had eaten anything. The lunch you all had set out in front of you was just for show. None of you could stomach much at the moment.

“Shouldn’t we have found them by now?” Willow wondered, her brow furrowing in frustration.

“It could be anyone. And I’m guessing they’re not exactly wearing their ‘I’m a killer come catch me’ sweater”

“Yeah, Giles says he’s gonna look into it, but unless it says ‘Scythe killer was here’ in one of those big old books…” You tail off as Buffy picks up your sentence.

“We’ve got zip. Nothing” Buffy nodded again. Conversation then turned. You had been in a deep discussion of something in low murmurs, that was until your best friends boyfriend walked in. A dead silence blanketed your table.

“The blank stares and silence make me feel at home” oz deadpanned and you all laughed slightly too loud at this. He squinted around the room, shrugged and then kissed Willow’s forehead before staring around at the odd vibe. He had noticed that none of you had been the same for at least a year, but anytime he tried to talk to Willow about it she just shook her head vigorously and locked herself in a different room until he dropped it.

“Well, I have some place to be that’s else. Or about three tables that way” He gestured with his head to where one of his bandmates were sat. Willow assured him she would come over and sit with them in a minute. After you finished a very important conversation.

“I can’t do this anymore, lying to him hurts my heart” Willow said sadly, shifting uncomfortably as if her heart was physically aching her, “I have to tell him”

“And how’re you gonna do that exactly, Will? Oh, hey there Oz remember last Halloween, well we-” Xander cut in harshly, trying to make Will be realistic.

“Stop it! We can’t talk about this here. Anyone could overhear, they already suspect I’m a slayer” Buffy said firmly.

“We have big mouths, sorry” You shrug, smiling tightly.

“This isn’t funny!” She snapped, the events of last year had her wound even more tightly than usual. She had more responsibility than she could handle on her shoulders as it was, let alone this secret weighing down on her like a

“I’m not laughing, Buff… I’m sorry” You whisper. You did feel guilty. You felt horrible. Some nights you barely slept, and when you did you had these horrible nightmares.

Oh, right. That guy that you killed. Well, it was a total accident and you were all very sorry at the time. I mean, you still are. But, thing is, you just didn’t happen to tell anyone or alert the correct authorities. Must have slipped your mind.

Let me paint the picture in case you managed to forget…

Last Halloween, you and your friends had been attending a Halloween party. Your collective night off from saving the world. Oz, who didn’t appear to be wearing a costume, had explained it was a shindig and you had all enjoyed the live music and spooky theme. Even Buffy had managed to relax.

Buffy had chosen little red riding hood and Willow was dressed as a knight in historically accurate chainmail. Cordelia was a cat, it was the back-up she always had in case her first choice fell through. She had shrugged, at least she looked good in it. You had decided on a werewolf, after apologising profusely to Oz who didn’t appear phased.

Xander was walking around in a karate outfit, something about being inspired by the copious violence he enjoyed on screen. Every so often he did a karate chop in mid-air and you and your friends would share a collective eye roll. Especially when he chopped some jock guy that he spent the rest of the evening hiding from. Whereas Faith was wearing as little as possible and appeared to be dressed as herself.

The band was playing decent music and the atmosphere was electric. You and Buffy had danced together while Willow and Xander laughed by the punch bowl. Out of nowhere, Faith joined the both of you and muscled you out of the way to dance with Buffy. You rolled your eyes, but knew better than to make a fuss so you went back to your other friends and joined them in conversation.

Buffy had borrowed her Mom’s car and had sneaked out while Joyce was sleeping. Joyce had been feeling a little under the weather and hadn’t noticed. When it was time to leave, she drove (badly) through the streets to drop everyone home. Oz was doing another set and would get a ride with the rest of his band.

You were squished in the back with Cordy, Xander and Willow. Faith had called shotgun. There were more people than there should be, with Cordy sitting precariously on Xander’s lap. It meant you and Willow were crushed together sharing an annoyed look as the pair continued to kiss.

Buffy looked out of the side window for a nicer view and managed to hit something in the road. You all screamed as she broke suddenly. You had hit something. Something big. You all got out to investigate and saw that it was a man. You went and shook his shoulder and he immediately sat up and grabbed at you. His grip tight and strong. You screamed as you looked at his face, there were fangs and his face looked bumpy. The others saw it too and Buffy pulled you away as Faith moved in and staked him.

The man struggled for a moment before going still. Blood had started to run from his heart and the stake that had been stabbed through it. You all just stared.

“W-why isn’t he going poof?” Willow whispered as you all just stared in horror. He had been human after all.

“It was a costume!” You shrieked in horror. Everyone’s blood turned cold. 

“We’ll have to bury him” Faith said quickly. Xander stayed silent, his eyes glazed in fear.

“We can’t!” Buffy said firmly.

“Look, it’s that or another stint in juvey and I’m not goin’ back there” Faith muttered and you all frowned, having not realised she had ever been.

“I think we should see if he has any ID, maybe we could-” You started, Willow nodding along.

“No, Faith’s right. We bury him” Xander said suddenly.

“Who made you decision-gal?” Buffy said, her usual fun language lost on the moment as she stared through Faith.

“I’m a slayer too, B. You’re not the boss” Faith tilted her head to the side and shrugged. You paused, thinking it over for a while.

“Buff, we can’t risk it. You and Faith are needed here – we can’t go to prison” You sigh, not sure if you fully believed what you were saying.

“Th-that’s actually true…” Willow said eventually, not looking anyone in the eye. It was hurting her conscience.

But that’s what you decided. For better or worse. You were all complicit now as you put him in the trunk and buried him in the graveyard in the early hours of the morning.

Nobody spoke as the sun started to rise and the plot you had chosen was no longer vacant. It had been hard to come to terms with ever since.

Missing – have you seen this man?

Sunnydale Express, 1998. November 2nd.

Mr Bates of Sunnydale California has been missing since Halloween night. Last seen leaving a party in the early hours. His wife and children are anticipating his return, although with the current rate of people vanishing often with no trace the Express, with their condolences, fears that Mr Bates may be one of a hundred Sunnydale citizens on Halloween night that will never return to their families.

This begs the question, where are all the missing going? Sunnydale has one of the largest cases of missing persons never being found in the state of California and statistics suggest it has the highest number compared to towns in neighboring states.

It had been a few days and something had shifted. Your friend’s mood was lower than ever and you were really worried about her. The guilt was eating away at her. It was so bad she finally had to talk to someone about it. Buffy was the most outwardly guilty one of you all. Covering for this went against everything she believed in. Fought for. Which is why she was probably being targeted the most.

You closed your locker and jumped, she had been standing behind it, waiting for you to notice her. She gave you an apologetic glance but still asked, “Hey, y/n, can we talk?”

“Sure, I didn’t wanna go to English anyway” You smile at her as you walk to the usual place under the stairwell you would hide when you needed to talk. She pressed a note into your hand which you unfolded and read:

‘I know what you did last Halloween…’

You gasped, looking around before looking back at her for some kind of explanation, “It was in my history textbook, so, it might have been there for at least a month” Buffy said “Did you get one?” she whispered. You shook your head, nobody had left anything for you. You would remember. Buffy’s note struck a sense of fear you hadn’t felt since that night. A bubbling guilt that was squeezing your insides and threatening to spill them out. You had felt numb since then, unable to cry or even think about the events.

“We need to tell someone. Maybe Giles? I can see how much this is killing you, Buff…”  You say, trying to comfort your friend the best way you knew how.

“I know, I try and I try but I can’t tell him. He’ll get all moral and Giles-y”

“Maybe we need that. What we did was stupid, but still an accident. I wish I had never agreed with Faith” You muttered as Buffy nodded along silently. She wished you hadn’t agreed with Faith too, you had been the type people came with for answers. Advice. So you agreeing with Faith was probably the deciding vote. She told you she would meet you later and appeared to be in deep thought as she walked away.

Willow and Cordy looked spooked, sitting down silently during the break between classes. Their notes had fallen out of their lockers and they were afraid they had been seen picking them up. Buffy revealed to the others hers had said the same thing just as Xander ran in, very visibly panicking and checking behind him with every step he took.

He just slammed the note in the middle of the table without comment. He had nothing he could say. No jokes could mask the horror that came with

“That settles it. We go to Giles” Buffy said firmly. 

“No-” Xander tried to assert, but he was outvoted this time.

“We have to. He’ll help us, I know he will” You confirmed, “Walk home with me tonight, we’ll tell him then” This was to give you some time. None of you could face going to the library for the rest of the day.

The bell rang and it felt as if it were tolling for a funeral march. The walk to Giles’ house was slow. You had swung by Faith’s motel on your way, taking a detour as you explained you would have to tell him. She surprisingly didn’t put much of an argument against.

The door creaked open and you shouted to announce your presence. But when you get there, you felt it instantly. You dropped your bags and walked into the living room. Every step felt heavy and echoed around the room. 

There he was. On the floor. Surrounded in his own blood.

Your knees buckled and you had to steady yourself against the sofa. The blood-stained sofa. Someone’s arms held you up. There were gasps and mutters but your ears were ringing, you felt very far away. He was cold, his body mutilated.

It took you longer than the others to see the new centrepiece of the room. 

‘I know what you did last Halloween’ was written in what could only have been Giles’ blood smeared across the wall of his living room. It was your warning. Your note.

A warning that turned your stomach. Knocked you all sick. He was one of you and he was gone. You tuned back into the conversation around you after having stared at the words. The words meant for you. Every time you blinked, those words were now stamped into your vision.

“It’s the same thing that was written on the notes”

“Oh, I got one of those but I threw it in the trash” Faith shrugged, but she wavered. This was hard to look at.

“We’ll have to clean it up” Xander said flatly. Gesturing at the writing.

“What?! We can’t-”

“Xander Harris, your brain is barely functional anyway - but this is totally the worst thing that’s come out of your mouth!” She shouted, her voice getting higher as she continued, “I am not cleaning the bloody writing off our dead librarians wall!” She warned. They had broken up since everything had happened. Everyone collectively winced as she said Giles was dead. It hurt. It sliced too close to the bone. At least when it had been a stranger, there was some degree of separation. But now it was even worse. 

“They’ll know or start to look into it - we gotta do it” 

You stayed silent this time, every time someone’s eyes looked at you you kept your expression blank. Until you were handed a cloth and some bleach and you grimaced but followed the others. Cordy joined you, nodding her understanding at your blank look. She took the cloth and the liquid from your shaking hands and started to help with the clean up.

Teen scream

Sunnydale Express, October 1999.

Reports of a large number of young people are now rejecting the upcoming holiday in an attempt to preserve their lives. Many say that this is a kneejerk reaction and that many will lose out of the best years of their lives to fear – which is what the killer will want.

Despite this, there has been a curfew agreed amongst the young people of the town and the Mayor’s office, reports suggest. Time will tell if this will be kept or if it another attempt by those cautious to get a re-election rather than improving the spate of missing persons that has only doubled since the year previous.

You were all waking in a group. You couldn’t face staying at Giles’ place so you were going to stay over at Buffy’s for the night. There was still an argument going on around you that you weren’t listening to. Faith had lit up a cigarette and kept telling everyone to calm down. That nobody could know or people would be hauling you all off to jail. That you had chosen the right thing.

“I’m sick of you all, I’m going out. There’s a party down the block. Anyone coming?” She looks around. This, you had heard. You shrug, resigning yourself to it. You made plans based on alibis now. With this cynical thought, you manage to convince everyone else to come too. You never know, it might relax them.

...Or not. 

You and the others all sat around in silence as the bass, and Faith, jumped around you. You barely spoke, you just stared into your cups. There had been some hugging when you first left the house but since then you all felt so alone. So disconnected despite being in this together. What you had chosen to do didn’t feel right and without your constant, your compass that had been Giles you didn’t know what to do.

 “Hey, man, it’s not Halloween yet!” Someone shouted. It caught all of your attention. A collective feeling of dread. That had been before all of the screaming had started.

The figure loomed over you. Everything about him screamed menacing. He frightened you more than any demon. He was stood in a Grim reaper costume, complete with blood stained scythe. He turned, spotting you finally. He had been slicing kids down as he walked. He wasn’t aiming, just wildly enjoying the chaos he caused.

He stopped in the centre of the room, facing the group of you that had just risen to your feet. He pointed. He stood still and pointed at you all. The Scooby gang.

In that moment, you knew. You knew he was the one that was taunting you. And so did every one else.

“Well, one of us has a brief scythe of life” Buffy stated, “…and it isn’t me” She ran at him, her fists raised as Faith came up behind her. In the chaos it was hard to see what was happening, all you could feel was this descending feeling of foreboding. You knew it had happened before you saw it.

To be continued…

[meggie-stardust]

GUNDAM WING - REWATCH - 29 - 30

29. Heroine of the Battlefield

There’s a lot of white dudes at this table. Problem ILR, problem in the AC timeline

Also there’s a lot of races in the world, just not in this room..

It’s weird that Relena thinks she needs to wear her hair like a founding father to be taken seriously

Relena you weren’t even raised by the Peacecrafts, so how did learn their ways??

Relena: We don’t dislike the Romefeller foundation, we’re just disappointed

Heero doesn’t know what a pineapple is...?

Heero: Quatre, play with the dogs, IDK what to do with them

Heero’s gotten quite chatty when he’s around Quatre and random mustache man

Sally is still such a HBIC -- WAIT is she the titular herione of the battlefield? She fuckin should be

Sally: I’d rather sink than let you have this Gundam.

I don’t remember her being so rad

And Noin is also great

That rescue! You should date. Hot. 9xS POWER COUPLE

They’re trying to CRAFT a new era of PEACE . Wink wink nudge nudge

Is that the most badass Quatre is? Hanging out of a plane with a machine gun.

Heero calling Quatre his partner is like A+ character development

I forgot Dorothy has this like Cruella de Vil car

And Relena has the Mary Kay car. She must have sold hella makeup to her old school friends. 

How does the Sanc Kingdom have a school already

Is Dorothy trying to make up for something with her car?

Pegan is half ventriloquist’s dummy, half Alfred

Is Noin also from the Sanc Kingdom? Before she joined Oz?

30. Reunion with Relena

Heero’s inability to do anything but fight is sad

Wet hair Quatre is good look. He’s going through his emo phase without Trowa

There’s always some asshole solider in the area being a jerk to an apple vendor

I like this dude with the sunglasses

“I’m a Gundam Pilot” oh we’re just telling everyone that now??

Heero’s priorities involve making sure there are no civilian casualties, and making the Leo suddenly an effective mobile suit

The Sanc Kingdom School feels like a finishing school for rich white girls disguised as something else

Dorothy: We’re all gonna die Relena, don’t worry…

Dorothy has the weird blind eyes like Catherine

“Sanc Kingdom??? What is that????”

Look we all have problems, Dorothy just has the bloodlust for war

If the mobile dolls can have both features of Mercurius Vayette why did they have two different models?

Quatre’s like sorry, gotta go, need your mobile suit, byeeeeee

Heero is still just waiting to die

OH you can just punch a mobile doll and that’s effective

Those shields aren’t really effective against tiny lasers or big beam canons

Awesome timing from Noin

Releana, be cool. Bee cool Relena.

Relena leans on the stairs and gazes as Heero like a goddamn crazy person

Come one Relena, we said be cool.

Thoughts:

I am so glad I ended my last review with a real prediction because I totally forgot that a bunch of stuff happens before we really see Epyon. 

I am so stoked to see Dorothy again; I always found her to be an intriguing character, and now that @mpanighetti​ and I are working on an alignment chart, I’m super interested in following her character. 

I also forgot how these two episodes feel like one long one... Even writing this up a few days later, I forgot what happened in each, and even made a meme for the wrong episode... (other memes I could have made: Heero: Is this a ball? with a pineapple instead of a butterfly; Relenda freaking out when Heero comes back... maybe I’ll make more later)

What I think I remember for the next episode(s):

EPYON EYPON EPYON! Is it time yet??? I will also take more Duo, thanks. 

[ladypaulsvn]

Hello! Can you write something for Ally with “Do you still like me?” “Don’t ask me that.” Maybe she and reader dated when they were younger and it didn’t work out but they cross paths again, please? Have a good day :)

Ally Mayfair-Richards x Reader

Word Count: 2,402

Summary: You bump into Ally, your high school sweetheart gone wrong, at a grocery store in your home town.

a/n: don’t kill me.

You didn't want to be here, back in this town that made you miserable for 18 long years. You hated your home town, and your yearly visits for the holidays were no exception. As much as you loved your family, this town had too many bad memories.

Including your first love, who stole your heart, then smashed it. Ally. The two of you had dated all throughout high school, yearning for the future and your life together outside of this miserable town.

When Ally told you that she got accepted into a college across the country from you, you weren't phased at all! You loved her! You could do long distance. You thought Ally felt the same, until things started slowly falling apart.

She seemed as excited as you were, and kept up the facade as you both moved across the country from each other. You made sure to fly out to see her once a month, or once every two months if life got extra busy with finals or a build up of work. You called every day, or at least texted. You told her everything, just as you always had.

Things crashed and burned the time you decided to surprise her for her birthday. You had told her you wouldn't be able to see her this year, you had so much going on and weren't able to get off work. You thought you had tricked her pretty well!

So it was much to your surprise when you arrived at her apartment, a gift in hand, to find her in bed with another woman. You couldn't process what you were seeing and your heart immediately broke in two. Ally called after you, but you simply dropped her present and ran.

She tried to fix things with you. Apologize, tell you that it was a mistake. That she was drunk and it wasn't what it looked like. But it was exactly what it looked like. You broke up with her. And you hadn't spoken to her since.

It was 10 years since then, and this year, things were a bit on the brighter side. The weather seemed to be better than past years, your family wasn't fighting as they usually were which was a plus, and the house was decorated more than it had ever been. It seemed like the perfect holiday.

This morning, you were sent out on a small grocery hunt. It was a bustling Monday morning a few days before Christmas and everyone was out, picking up last minute presents and ingredients for Christmas dinner. Your mother needed a pie crust, that’s all.

You skimmed down the isle, why were pie crust so damn hard to find? You walked slowly, passing sugar, cake mixes, flour, sprinkles until finally! Pie crusts! You picked one with a graham cracker crust and turned around, giddy to get back home and help your mother bake your favorite, a coconut cream pie.

Smash.

You crashed right into someone. "Oh i'm so sorry!" You said, picking up their basket and handing it to them. Your eyes went wide as you recognized her features. "Ally?" You whispered. Her face was riddled with shock as well.

"Y/n? Wow! I never thought I'd see you again." She laughed, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. You smiled, "Yeah, how strange. What are you doing in town? I thought you were across the country?" You asked, rocking on your heels.

"Oh yeah, I am! Just visiting the family. Usually they come out to Cali but this year they wanted snow." Her laugh brought back a million memories. "What about you?"

"Oh, same deal, kinda. I always, um, come here for the holidays." You we're getting anxious. "How's your mother?" She asked and you cursed internally. Why was she doing this?

"Oh um, she's fine. I got this pie crust for her actually, were making co-" You held up the pie crust.

"Coconut cream pie?" She cut you off with a smile. You nodded, laughing, "Yeah. Coconut cream pie."

"Those were always my favorite. Your mother was such a good baker." Her smile was warm and bubbly. Just as it always was.

You stood in silence for a few seconds. "Would you like to..." She bit her lip as she trailed off. "Like to what?" Your heart was racing.

"Get a coffee, maybe?" You could see the hope in her eyes, so you nodded. "Sure."

***

Why the hell had you said yes? You texted your mother that you were meeting up with a friend for coffee, and you'd be home with the pie crust soon, before cranking up your car.

You sighed as you buckled your seatbelt. You really were stupid, weren't you? The drive to the coffee shop was under 5 minutes, it was a small town after all. You immediately saw Ally closing the door to her car and locking it with a button on her keys. You took a deep breath. You could do this.

You parked and made your way inside the small shop, searching for her brunette bob. You spotted her at a window seat and she seemed to spot you too, waving you over.

"I ordered for you, I hope you don't mind." She said as you sat across from her. You shook your head in response. You looked up the ceiling, the rafters were exposed as they always were. Cobwebs drifting between them. It had been forever since you sat in this spot.

"So..." Ally pursed her lips "Do you have a partner? Work? Kids? What's up in y/n's world?" Her boldness caught you off guard.

"I don't have a partner, actually. But I'm working on my second doctorate right now." You said and her eyes went wide. "Second?"

"Yes. I have one in Psychology and i'm working on one in Criminal Justice." You shared, proud that you seemed to impress her.

"That's very impressive y/n." She said as a waiter came by and handed you both your respective coffee's.

You took a sip. "Thank you."

"I can't say i've done anything nearly as impressive but I am married... That counts for something right?" She laughed and held up her hand, a sparkling ring attached.

"Oh wow, that's amazing Ally. Do you have any kids?" You asked and she nodded.

"A boy. His name is Oz. Hold on I have a picture." She pulled out her phone and showed you a picture of a little blonde curly haired boy with glasses.

"He looks precious." You smiled and she thanked you.

"This coffee is terrible." She leaned across the table and whispered, causing you to laugh. "It really is. The Blue Jay has gone down hill." You joked and her laughter filled the air again.

"Definitely. Remember when we used to come up here every Saturday morning?" Ally asked and you reminisced on the past.

"Then we'd go down to the pond." You added and Ally smiled at your remembrance. "I haven't been to that pond since... well since we last went there I guess." Ally frowned.

"They were good times Ally." You reminded her and she smiled again. "Yeah, good times." She looked to her cup of coffee, stirring it with the little stick.

"So you really haven't found anyone?" Ally looked up again and you were taken aback by her question. "Well uh, no. I don't think i'd have a reason to lie about that." You laughed.

"I did see someone for a couple years though. Ended a year or two ago now, so It's not something I think about the daily or anything." You explained and Ally nodded.

"What were they like?" Ally asked and you wondered why she had such an interest in your love life. She had a husband, and a child.

"Well, she was really nice. Her name was Lana and she was a reporter, wrote a lot of articles. We traveled a lot together. She was really fun and addictive but she wasn't the type to settle down. When things got pretty serious, she dipped. Not that much of a story, really. Just a little chunk of my life that had a lesson to learn I guess. Like us." You told your story and Ally listened intently, soaking up every word.

"Like us?" She asked and you nodded. "Yeah. We were a lesson. Something I had to go through to grow as a person. Not every relationship is meant to last a lifetime, Ally. You've just found that person already. Mine is out there still." You were open and honest and Ally was dazed by it. "Yeah... a lesson."

Your phone dinged. Your mother texted, asking if you'd be much longer. "I think I may have to go Ally, I'm sorry. You know how impatient my mother is." You told her and she nodded, understanding.

You thanked her for the coffee before leaving the shop, heading back to your car.

"Y/n!" You heard Ally's voice across the parking lot as she jogged up to you. "I'd really like to catch up more. Can we meet up another time before I have to leave back home?" She asked and you contemplated.

"Here. Take my number and think about it. Text me." She handed you a piece of paper with a smile before walking back inside the cafe.

***

When you got home, you helped your mother bake the pie and spent the night hanging out with your family, almost forgetting the eventful day you had, seeing Ally.

You were in bed, about to fall asleep when you remembered she had given you her number. You laid there for awhile, going over your options in your head. Did you really want to see her again? After all this time?

It wasn't so bad today. She seemed to really want to see you. Maybe one more time couldn't hurt...

You punched her number into your phone and hit dial. Within three beeps, she had answered. "Hello?" Her voice was upbeat. "Hey Ally, it's y/n." You said, suddenly regretting your choice.

"You realize its 10 pm right, y/n?" She laughed and you checked the time, shocked. "Oh wow, I'm sorry. I didn't realize. But hey! You picked up." You said and heard her laugh. "You got me there. Did you decide if you wanted to meet up again?" You could almost see her biting her lip through the phone, a nervous habit she always had when you were together.

"Um, yeah. I'd like to meet up again." You said before you could stop yourself. Well, there's no going back now. "I'm so happy you said that! I was thinking maybe we could go out by the pond? Like we used to." She suggested and your breath caught in your throat. That damn pond.

"Uh, sure Ally. When'd you wanna do that?" You asked, nervously twirling a piece of your hair around your finger. "Are you free tomorrow?" You thought for a moment. "Yeah, i'm free." She giggled through the phone at your response. "See you tomorrow then, goodnight y/n."

"Goodnight Ally." She hung up shortly after. You plugged your phone in before switching off your lights, curling up in your bed. You really hoped this wasn't a mistake.

***

The next morning, you met Ally by the pond like you used to all those years ago. You would sit on the giant rocks and spend hours upon hours talking about anything and everything.

The two of you had been here for awhile, sharing a bag of jellybeans and a couple beers. It was like high school all over again.

"Remember yesterday?" Ally asked and you laughed, "If I didn't, I think that'd be a problem I needed to get check out."

"No I mean like, our conversation at the Blue Jay. You said that we were a lesson, and that I had found my person already but yours was still out there." Ally explained and you nodded.

"Yeah I remember, what about it?" you asked, curious as to what she was thinking.

"Well.. it had me thinking and if i'm honest, I don't know if my husband really is that person for me." Ally said her thoughts aloud slowly, gaging your every reaction.

"Why do you think that? I mean, you married him for a reason, right?" You asked, confused. "It felt like the right thing to do at the time. I was pregnant and he was such a nice guy, is a nice guy. I just...” Ally added.

"You just, what?" You guided her and she sighed. "I'm not happy. I'm content, but I'm not happy." Ally's volume was nearly a whisper.

"Ally I... I'm sorry you feel that way." You tried to comfort her but you were met with silence.

Ally stared out onto the water, "Do you still love me?" Ally asked and you were dumbfounded. "Love you?" You choked.

"Love me." She nodded. "Don't ask me that Ally. Please don't ask me that." You shook your head. "Where the hell did that come from?" You asked, finally looking towards her.

Her face was still towards the pond, her side profile on display. "I never stopped loving you... y/n." She whispered, swiping away a tear that fell from her eye.

"Ally... please." You begged. You didn't want to have this conversation. "Don't do this right now."

"The one and only time i've ever truly been happy, especially in a relationship, was with you y/n." Ally turned to you, visible tears raining down her cheeks.

"Ally I can't do this. You're married for fucks sake." You said, standing from the rock and you could see the panic rush through Ally as she stood to stop you.

"N-no no! Wait wait wait please y/n I'm sorry I didn't want to scare you away I just needed you to know that-" You could hear Ally behind you as you turned and grabbed her face with both hands, crashing your lips into hers.

You pulled away. "Ally. I have always, and will always love you, but you're married. I need to go now." You said as Ally stood frozen, a hand on her lips as she watched you walk away.

She didn't bother to stop you now, she knew you wouldn't stay. She just hoped that the universe would bring you back to her again, let her have just one more chance.

tags: @8plasma @poulengp @zamoimagines @wholesomeslut @natasha-danvers comment to be tagged in future works <3

[flightofaqrow]

Meta: Road to Recovery

OKAY SO

Yesterday, @ littleblackqrow made this excellent post about Qrow hitting rock bottom in vol 6, [< that’s a link to it, my blog isn’t always great with identifying that] which breaks down:

Him being forced to literally face the consequences of his actions in regards to drinking.

Him not dealing with frustration or lack of direction well.

The rising tensions of his interpersonal relationships, people starting to lose patience with and call him on his bs, especially as he gets worse.

How important his relationship with Ruby is and not wanting to put that at risk.

Beautiful. The good stuff. Go read it if you haven’t.

But I also present to you another nuance that affected his descent and ultimate decisions: a complete blowout identity crisis. 

This got long so I’m going to try and separate it into phases.

I. Loss of Identity

"I gave my life to you because you gave me a place in this world. I thought I was finally doing some good." 

When Ozpin’s secret is revealed, Qrow’s reaction is to believe his entire purpose for the last 20+ years was working towards something that was never really a complete plan and probably doomed from the start. None of it mattered: The work STRQ put in. His choosing the opposite side of his own sister. Losing Summer. All the spying, fighting. The whole idea of having huntsman to begin with and all the effort he put in to be one of the best. All of the things he didn’t do instead.

In one fell swoop he loses his whole identity. 

On top of finding out one of his most trusted people not only kept secrets, but lied to him - someone he’s likely stood up for and defended with bared teeth and is now finding out those other people were right.  On top of what is still coming that has to be faced and all the lives in danger.

Ruby is right to be worried he won't take it well. Who would?

II. Rock Bottom

It's why even the apathy scene where he knows he fucked up isn't enough. The whole situation still feels hopeless. He still feels empty. Oh, and let's add on finding out his own hero and inspiration was one of the ones who gave up and ran away. 

[Aside: When they were riding in the cart and Maria said “especially when some of you are clearly stronger already” I’m pretty sure that included Qrow. Look at him through her eyes! A huntsman 40+ who’s dedicated his whole life to the occupation, and even though it’s clearly taken a toll and he struggles, he’s still out there fighting the good fight to the bitter end like you’re supposed to!! She can’t be only talking about the young ones being skilled.]

So rock bottom hits.

But.

But.

"If you think you can keep up with us kids, we’d be happy to have you."

Eventually we have the scene where Ruby stands up to him and offers him a new place at her side.  She’s too smart for her own good. Even if it’s subconscious and intuitively, she knows what he needs. Maria’s still there, too. Still means something to him, and she reinforces this idea, coaxing him to make better choices: 

"Guess you didn't give her enough credit either."

The seed’s been planted, but he's still too stuck in his own head and guilt to see it yet. 

III. Breaking Down and Building Back Up

This finally culminates in his breakdown when the airship abduction plan starts falling apart: 

“Every choice I've ever made has led me here, and I've dragged you along with me. Oz, myself, the others... We're responsible for the mess the world's in now. I shouldn't have come, shouldn't have let any of you come... What was I thinking?!” 

Hopefully, this hits a little bit different now. It’s not just semblance-based guilt or even recognizing his recent failings. It’s everything crashing down around him. Literally every choice he’s made.

But then Ruby absolves him. [wow look at what can happen when you actually talk about stuff.] She steps up as her own person and a full on leader for the group, and finally, finally frees him from everything up until now; even this self-imposed intermediate job of being the responsible adult. And then once more reminds him of who he is and that there is still a fresh start to be his own person. She uses his full name for a reason.

“We could still use Qrow Branwen on our side.”

So he chooses to join the fight. Because of course he does. 

He’s Qrow Branwen. 

The huntsman who does what’s right.

IV. Staying Sober

So when all is said and done, and they’re winding down from the battle, and he goes for a drink, it isn't just not wanting to worry Ruby that stops him. He can’t even see her face. [Although, saying "just don't go giving me heart attacks like that again" aloud does, I think, finally cause the immediate flash of insight / irony that Ruby probably feels the same way about him, and is definitely a factor]. It's not even him confronting or atoning for his actions.

No, this moment is him making the transition from being Oz's spy (when it was all fun and games and he could get away with stuff because he was that good and worked alone), to realizing that if he's going to take on this new role as a committed support for RWBY + ORNJ (in a deadly war with uncertain and changing tactics, against an unkillable being), then, I need to be sharper. I need to be more present. I need to be a better me.

This is him looking right down the mouth of his flask and deciding for himself to leave it in the past with Ozpin and his own former identity, and to instead move forward and grow alongside everyone else.

Yesterday’s post made the beautiful observations of Ruby’s expressions during this scene, but let’s look at Qrow.

[I’m busy having a personal crisis, don’t touch me.]

[Well, I guess it’s okay.]

V. Bonus Round

And let me point out that once more, at the end of the battle, Maria reinforces him, this time by validating his performance in this new standby and support function. [Which is also probably closer to what he was used to being in STRQ, and more comfortable for him.]

“You weren't half bad yourself today, Qrow.”

This is self indulgent but I’M ADDING IT ON BECAUSE THIS SCENE BLOWS MY MIND, OK!! ALL WITHIN 40 SECONDS WE SEE:

Qrow being validated. 

Qrow talking about his feelings.

Qrow accepting a compliment with poise. 

Qrow genuinely relaxing and smiling.

BECAUSE OF MARIA!!!!

VI. Some extra asides

1. I think this all is part of why we see such a spike of bird form in vol 6 as well. Besides just making more sense than other battles maybe, since it’s something at a cliffside and tall forest, it's all he has left at that point. Ozpin and prior orders lost his respect. He lost the group's respect. He's already given the kids all the information he has. He's barely feeling useful as a huntsman. But here [man, the hope and pride in his voice when he says "you're not the only one who can get a bird's eye view" !!], here is this one thing that's special that he can still do and offer that no one else in the group can!! So he relies on it a little more than he normally would just to feel worthwhile.

2. SEE SECTION V - CLOVER YOU ABSOLUTE DOLT. Qrow’s already demonstrated all the things you’re trying to say he needs to work on. HE’S ONLY DEFLECTING AND FLUSTERED BECAUSE IT’S YOU SAYING THE THINGS!!! I don’t understand how the ship isn’t approached more from this direction instead of wanting Clover to be that development for him, but I always tend to handle ships differently I guess.

3. Expanding on that, Clover helped him have a fresh start with a new person to start feeling out this new self, and maybe work through some baggage. But I really think Qrow and this decision is stronger than to relapse much, if any, over the loss of him. I don't think he blames himself as much as some seem to believe either (yet another separate post), but even if he ends up with a bunch of guilt in vol 8, going sober was never about any resolution of his semblance or friend troubles. BUT at the same time stress is still stress so we'll see.

I feel like Nora running out of breath, bless you if you stuck with this the whole way.

[sandalaris]

001 Umbrella Academy and 003 Seth Gecko and 004 Buffyverse/Teen Wolf

Thanks @yossariandawn for sending this!

001 | Send me a fandom and I will tell you my:

Favorite character: Diego 💕 but Five is a close second.

Least Favorite character: Reginald! The only good thing I can say about him is that he brought the Hargreeves together. Oh, and I guess he did give Vanya her first violin. Still an awful guy though.

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Not sure I have a full five, but in no particular order: Lila/Five, Diego/Vanya, Agnes/Hazel, Luther/Alison, and Five/Vanya

Character I find most attractive: Probably Ben, but Alison is a gorgeous close second.

Character I would marry: Maybe Diego? Possibly Klaus after season two if he could stay sober.

Character I would be best friends with: Probably Alison. I feel like she and I would get along well in that regard.

a random thought: I hope there’s not an apocalypse next season, and I hope the next time they do an apocalypse, it’s not because Vanya loses control of her powers but rather some other siblings who sets it off.

An unpopular opinion: Luther was just as messed up as the rest of his siblings by Reginald and deserves the same amount of understanding/forgiveness for his mistakes.

my canon OTP: Luther/Alison are such a cute couple

Non-canon OTP: Lila/Five came out of nowhere and grabbed my attention in both hands and demanded I pay it the respect it deserves :P

most badass character: Five

pairing I am not a fan of: I can’t really get behind Ben/Klaus. Most of the other ships I’m at least neutral on, but that one just isn’t for me.

character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): I can’t say that they screwed her up yet, but if they magically bring the Handler back next season I think that’d be a major screw up on the writers back. Once I get, and I love the character, but they can’t keep killing her off and then bringing her back without the whole thing losing the impact it had the first time. (Now if they find a way to have her past self pop in now and again to make things sticky, I could be down for that, but I don’t want her back as a main antagonist again.)

favourite friendship: Ben and Klaus... which also might be why I don’t ship them romantically. They’re too much of a brOTP for me.

character I want to adopt or be adopted by: all the little Hargreeves! :( And maybe Lila too, let them have more normal childhoods.

I did the Seth one last because it ended on a bunch of gifs

004 | send me 2 fandoms and I will give yo my crossover OTP

BtVS and TW aired at two such different times that I don’t think I’ve ever thought about crossover potential between them.

And since I couldn’t seem to think of an OTP, I went with three potential dynamics I wouldn’t mind exploring XD

Is it odd that I think there’s potential between Willow and Peter? There’d have to either be some history there, maybe they bonded in early school years. Or else Peter manipulated and pushed Willow, either because he saw her as an easy target or because he sensed the magic potential in her and was poking at it, to the point she snapped back. Once its established that there’s some hefty bite behind the fuzzy sweaters and nervous babble, he’d get curious. And curiosity would eventually lead to some kind of relationship, whether romantic or platonic. Peter would become weirdly protective over her, but not in a physical sense so much as a he speaks to her in a way that isn’t designed to provoke, and will glare/threaten those who he feels isn’t giving her the care she deserves.

I think I could also at least mildly ship Scott/Dawn for some reason. I don’t know why, but I feel like his puppiness and her sort of optimistic awkwardness could click. Plus he’d take the whole “I was a glowy blob of energy for most of my life” thing in stride. 

Oz, being BtVS’ primary werewolf, would have been great as a Just Passing Through wolf who runs into the Hale pack circa Derek’s keeps-turning-high school-students phase and who ends up sticking around for a bit. He’s not an official pack member, he likes his lone wolf status just fine, but he’s discovered quite a bit of harmonizing with his inner wolf and ways of controlling a shift that he ends up becoming kind of a much needed mentor. He also has a plethora of much needed supernatural knowledge and unlike Deaton, he’s willing to share.

003 | Give me a character & I will tell you Seth Gecko

How I feel about this character: Sarcastic, grumpy asshole with selective morals! *heart eyes*

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Kate... that’s it, the whole list. No seriously, all the ship questions below have the exact same answer... Kate...

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Gecko Brothers are brOTP to the max. They are ride or die for each other and I love that they are such a package deal.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Not sure I have an unpopular opinion on him specifically. At least not one that I haven’t mentioned before, lol.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:  Whoops, almost missed this one. The show did a pretty good job at showing Seth’s journey, I’m not sure there’s anything I would change per say, but maybe getting to see a bit more of what was happening during the time between seasons. The Mexican Honeymoon and the Seth and Richie integrating into the culebra world, that sort of thing.

my het ship: SethKate 100%

my fem/slash ship: I really only ship him with Kate... so maybe Kade, the stubborn preacher’s son trying to hold his family together after the death of his mama when they’re family vacation gets hijacked by a couple bankrobbers trying to flee to Mexico.... and I actually remember seeing I think it was a gif set, but it might have just been some pics, of someone’s idea of a genderswapped Kate Fuller and now I’m trying to figure out the actor they used...

I’m kind of picturing this guy (only with a dye job and maybe some green contacts), but he’s got a more masculine version of Madison’s jaw and his nose, while not perfect (she’s got a pretty unique nose) is long and slender like hers, and his eyes have that sort of slight downward angle.

I found one other guy that might work, his mouth was spot on and his eyes were practically perfect, but his nose is all wrong, his look much edgier (although that could be easily changed), and his jaw/chin wasn’t quite right. He’s here if you‘re curious. :)

my OTP: SethKate... yeah, I’m pretty predictable :P

my OT3: I’ve at least enjoyed the occassional Seth/Kate/Richie fic, so that’d probably be the closet I have to an OT3 for Seth

my cross over ship: er... I’m not sure I’d put Seth with anyone else. Maybe for funsies I’d play with the idea of movie!Seth/show!Kate and/or show!Seth/movie!Kate, but that’d be as far into crossover territory I’d take him romantically.

my kink: I don’t know that I have a go-to one, but that little one sentence prompt where Seth tries to seduce Ms. Fuller? I really want to explore more of that. So student/teacher?

a head cannon fact: Seth, for all his rebellion and bluster and rudeness, doesn’t know it but he wants the approval of those he sees as father figures, to himself and others. With guys like Uncle Eddie it comes out as trying to please them, charm them, make them like him and find him worthy of their approval and praise. For others, like Jacob Fuller, who he thinks will never accept him, will always find see him as beneath him, he goes of his way to try and prove that he doesn’t want or need their acceptance, shoving it in their face at every turn.

my gender bend: Michelle Rodriguez is the first person I thought of. I wish I could find more pics of her in Seth approved outfits, but you’ll have to make due with what I did find :P

Now I’m picturing female!Seth and male!Kate (who will forever be Kade in my mind) during their Mexican Honeymoon and that tearful good-bye at the gate.

[michaelbfanfic]

2.

Michael

“So we’re defiantly doing the French Alps next week”

“Just for a week?”

I questioned Lori as we went for our morning run. I’ve really been taking a break from everything. Movies, Directing, and Boxing just to focus on the business aspect of life. I stopping to smell the flowers rather than work myself to death.

“I mean, I say a week because of work. But I mean we can do longer”

I shrugged. Like I said, I had no commitments at the time. My Billion dollar.  Where do I start. My name is Michael B Jordan. I’m 30 years old and I am worth $85.112 Billion. How? Easy I decided at a young age I wasn’t going to be hungry forever. I made sure to work smart with my funds and it took me a long way. I realized early I was more than just TV and so I decided to be more than just movies and TV.

I am the CEO Of  Whitley J Incorporation. We invests in and holds dozens of major public and private companies. As part of our portfolio, my company also owns and operates several self-titled companies, including Toussaint Home Services of America and WJ Direct Insurance Company. But apart from our branded companies, WJ does a bit more than provide insurance. In 2017, WJ companies and holdings contribute a variety of commodities and services to the market - including producing computers and electronic products, providing insurance, producing clothing, serving food products, automotive products and services and much more. 

Although I originally started out primarily in the textile industry, I’ve grown to become a conglomerate that invests in a diverse group of major companies and provides the prime example of my famous value investing strategy. 

 I have 100% ownership in multimillion and billion dollar companies. And not all of them are the same. I’ll name a few. For starters, Billups Brick Company, it’s construction, I own it 100%. AlterLinks, Electric Transmission, I own it 100%, and it’s also a  subsidiary of WJ Energy. I mean the list is long, jewelry, auto sales, utilities, Insurance, Bond Insurance, Media,  Logistics, Food and Beverage, Pipeline, Clothing, Luxury, Jets, Furniture, Sports Equipment,  Pharmaceuticals, Materials and Construction, as I said before the list exceeds my age of life. Plus more. 

“Well if you leave baby, I might not come back with you right away”

She shrugged and nodded her head.

“Okay. That’s fine”

Pecking my lips she jogged ahead leaving me behind to catch up. My relationship with Lori was.... nice. I mean she’s younger than me, our view on a few things aren’t the same at all. And where as I wanna chill, she wants to go out and shit. I mean I like going out but, sometimes quality time at him is a better move. 

Feeling my phone vibrate in my phone, I stopped, turning around to see the security car behind me stop as well. Raising the phone to my ear I cleared my throat and began to speak.

Michael: Wassup Johnathan.

Johnathan: Hey man, you got a second

I looked at my watch. This was my don’t disturb hours, but obviously homie had something important to say.

Michael: Yeah wassup

Johnathan: Do you know a Kianna De La Oz?

I didn’t even need time to remember the name. First of all, she’s a well know hairstylist. From LA, to ATL, to NY, to Miami, country wide, she’s a big deal. Oh, and we use to mess around before me and Lori became a item. After I told her I was in a relationship, she dipped out. I still regret that day. I had feelings for her, and no doubt cared about her. 

She didn’t want a relationship on public display though, and that bothered me. I should have went about shit differently. I haven’t heard from her in like 3 years I think.

Michael: Yeah, I know her

Johnathan: Yeah well, she reached out to me through my friend which is also her sister, saying she has a 3 year old daughter by you.

I stopped. Laughing to myself, I rubbed the top of my head. A lot of shit started running through my head. Lori, this child, and seeing Kianna again after years. Damn.

Michael: Uh... damn... uhm

Johnathan: We don’t need  to react at all until there’s a DNA test in place and we confirm it.

I nodded. Not that I needed a DNA test. Kianna was never that type of female. She was too involved in her work to fuck around on me like i did on her. Lori still doesn’t know that while we were in the talking phase I was fucking someone else.

Michael: Just um.... text me her number.

Johnathan: Okay

Hanging up, I exhaled and continued jogging. 

Kianna

So I did it, I allowed Kendall to reach out to her friend, then I spoke with him. It was time to receive help, her father’s help. And besides that I know how much I adore my father, so no matter how me and Mike ended, I’d hate for her to miss out on that type of love. 

Sadly though, that was this morning, and I still haven’t heard back from either Johnathan or Mike, so I’m not really even worrying about it. I am however happy it’s Friday. This weekend is my weekend off. Ima find something for me and my girl to do.

“Did you have a better day today?”

I questioned AnnDrew, looking at her in my rear view. She nodded with a bright smile as we pulled up to Starbucks. One thing another is she’ll tell on her self. When she was spitting and shit she started crying as soon as I walked into her classroom door.

She be knowing when she’s wrong which is why she get’s her ass beat. She knows thoroughly right from wrong. I don’t spare her.

“Good baby. And you need to keep it that way, understand me?”

“Yes mommy?”

Pulling up to the window, I rolled down my window and prepared to place my order.

“Welcome to Starbucks! What can we get for you today?”

Looking at the menu, I took my time as if I ain’t been to this shit before.

“Hey, can I get a Birthday cake pop as well as 2 Vanilla Bean Frap’s. One mini and the other venti. Also can you add caramel to both”

“Yes ma’am absolutely. You’re total is $9.35″

“Thank you”

Pulling up for the next person to order, my phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number, thinking it could be family or something, I answered.

Kianna: Hello

Michael: KiKi. It’s Michael

My stomach dropped and my heart began to race. Calming my breathing and the thoughts that were beginning to overwhelm me, I took a deep breath and responded.

Kianna: Uh hey.. hey

Getting to the window, I stumbled getting out my card to pay for my stuff. 

Michael: Wassup. Are you able to meet up. Or can I come by.

This was not the reaction I was expecting. But then again, he knew just the fuck better. One thing I’m not is a hoe, he can look at AnnDrew and dead see that she’s all him. She has my hair, that’s about it.

“Here you go. Have a good day”

“You too”

I spoke grabbing the drinks and cake-pop. Handing Kenya her snack, I exhaled and pulled off.

Kianna: I... umm.... You can...we

Michael: I’ll just come by. Send me your address

Kianna: Okay

Quickly hanging up, I calmed down a bit then looking back at AnnDrew who could give not a shit about anything as she tore her cake-pop up.

7:04 pm

"Whose that on TV?”

I questioned Kenya. This was usually my time to not only watch her favorite shows but test her knowledge, pick her brain and brush up on her conversation skills.

“Dat’s poppy?”

I gave her a surprised face watching as she continued eating from her bag of chips.

“Poppy. Okay, and what color is her hair”

“Ummm... pink”

I smiled, leaning in to kiss her cheek. Returning back to the TV, I then heard the doorbell. It was him. My heart began to race and my stomach dropped once again. Getting myself together, I got up and walked to the front door. Opening it, there he stood with his security in the driveway.

I didn’t say anything, I just stepped to the side. Walking in, he looked around closing the door behind him then following me into the kitchen. Kenya could give a damn, she was in her own world. Didn’t even budge.

Leading him to the kitchen, I handed him a water bottle and we sat at the island. There was a silence, and I watched as he looked over at Kenya he in between her falling asleep ate a few chips.

“Why didn’t you tell me about her?”

“Come on now. You was in a whole relationship. Let’s not forget that part”

He shrugged, allowing his eyes to land on me.

“Still, I would have dropped everything for ya’ll, for her”

I scoffed.

“Listen, my reason was valid. To protect you, me and her. I didn’t want her twisted up in shit, I didn’t want people in my business, and I didn’t want to smear your name”

It’s crazy how even when we’re hurt, we still seem to try and protect black men. I could have aired him out, went to court and all. But one day my daughter would see the hostility, so I opted to not take it that far. 

“So what we gonna do?”

I shrugged. I’ve never shared her before, this was new to me.

“I don’t know. I’m all she knows”

“Well I wanna get to know her as well. I have a part in that. I’m her father”

I nodded. 

“How about this. Talk to your girlfriend about it, this is more than us. Talk to her, come and visit her every day. Stop by her school. let her get use to you. Then we can talk about her spending time with you”

[razorblade180]

Twin Snowflakes pt14:Getting ready

It was the middle of the night and Veronica was still awake. She sat on the floor of her happily swaying her tail side to side as she admired her own tailoring work. ‘Not a bad job on such short notice if I do say so myself.’ She thought while rubbing her stomach.

A low growl came from it. Walking away from dinner was a mistake. Veronica looked at the clock to see it pass midnight. ‘Technically it’s breakfast time.’ She decided to poke her through the ground to see what was underneath her. Sad to say, it was a bathroom. A very fancy bathroom, but not a kitchen. Still, it had to be on this floor. Veronica phased through the rest of the floor; landing in the shower before exiting the entire room to the hallway.

It didn’t take her long to find the kitchen. Her eyes might not work in the dark but her nose was just fine. Veronica stared at the various options in the fridge and got a little tempted. They had smoked ham; cured smoked ham. The smell alone made her eyes constrict, becoming cat-like until she shook her head. ‘Don’t even. If you start then you won’t stop. Self control Veronica, self control.’ She took her attention off of it and saw someone had wrapped up her unfinished meal along with Summer’s; Yang’s doing no doubt.

Veronica grabbed the plate and took it out. She was tempted to eat the pasta cold when the unexpected flick of a light blinded her. Veronica instinctively hissed and shielded her face. “Ow, who the-”

“Oh, you’re here. Now things make sense.” Said a familiar but entirely different voice. Veronica felt the hair on her tail stand up and she looked to see Summer there. Except, the sensation she was getting immediately told Veronica that it wasn't Summer, but Shiva. The frosty girl rubbed her eyes and walked closer until Veronica was forced to move around to the other side of the kitchen. Not taking any chances and walking across the counter top. Shiva opened the fridge and grabbed milk, ice cream, and parfait filled with fruit.

Shiva:You know...walking up there is very unsanitary right?

Veronica:.....

Shiva:Okay, do whatever you want. Can you pass me a spoon though? First cabinet below you.

Veronica did nothing for a second before Shiva held out her hand. Veronica slowly reached for a spoon and tossed it into her hand. Shiva smiled and got busy grabbing a cup and started making a milkshake. Veronica didn’t move. This was the first time she had actually seen Shiva. Nick had told her about the physical difference thankfully but that wasn’t all. Shiva’s voice held a certain distortion like faint cracking ice. Then there was her smell. It was different from Summer's. It was… disgustingly fresh; like the feeling of chewing a mint in the cold while the wind blew. Against her better judgment, Veronica got back on the floor.

Shiva:Finally coming down Veeeerrr… Veronica? That’s your name. Sorry, Summer May think about you from time to time but that doesn’t mean I have to pay attention or am around. I gotta say, I thought you’d be taller.

Veronica:What the hell is going on?

Shiva:I was wondering the same thing before I walked in here. Summer never forgets to turn on her heater. She wasn’t even under her covers; that’s a new level of recklessness. “How could she be so exhausted and distracted” is what I was thinking. My guess, a total accident because she was distracted. You say something to her?

Veronica:(Of all the fuc-) The dumbass was probably pouting after our little chat and dozed off.

Shiva:Yeah she's like a bicycle wheel. Her mind runs pretty well until you throw something in between the smokes. I however, am more like a monster truck.

Veronica’s body tensed as Shiva reached for the milkshake. ‘Is she trying to get colder?’ That could get bad. Yet Veronica was strangely okay. Her ears faintly hearing the rest of the residents soundly snoring. Then something clicked.

Shiva:I can’t remember the last time this body even had a milk-

Veronica:Let her go.

Shiva:Huh?

Veronica:You heard me. *cracks knuckles* Let Summer go.

Shiva:Well then, someone went from spineless to bold in no time. I’m just trying to enjoy-

In the fraction of a second there was no longer a milkshake or parfait near her. Instead she was looking up at Veronica who stood over her with a glare just as frightening as her own. Shiva couldn’t help but smile out of intrigument and agitation.

Veronica:I was never scared. Startled for sure, but never scared of something like you. In case you didn’t know, Summer’s never beaten me in a fight and you’re giving me the perfect excuse to hit her in the face.

Shiva:You’d have to be real stupid to think it would be easy to-

Veronica:To what, beat up a body that’s starving for food and apparently calcium. I know when Summer’s at her best so believe me when I say I can knock you on your ass in five seconds and catch her body before she wakes up; something you definitely wouldn’t like right now.

Shiva:.....Hmph, I like your eyes. They’re broken like hers. Count your blessings you aren’t the one with dust in their veins. Now that. Would be interesting.

Veronica:You really are insane if you’re comparing me to her.

Shiva:And you’re dumb to think I’d try anything in this place again. So many thermostats, so many loved ones and ground to cover. I couldn’t make it out this place on the coldest day; especially with your pain in the ass of a mom.

Shiva chuckled as Veronica grabbed her shirt. ‘They are definitely similar, and yet..” Shiva couldn’t put her finger on it but there was something about Veronica she particularly hated. This girl she just officially met had instantly become number two in her list of people to deal with if she got the chance. But for tonight, Shiva was out of time. Not like she actually had a plan. A milkshake was the goal because yes, this body needed calcium.

Shiva:Can you do me one favor since you ruined my night? Seriously, get this girl some milk or something. The cold has a way of screwing with bones. The fool knows this and purposely does it in fear of me taking over. She would have broken something today if not for me.

Veronica:You almost sound like you care.

Shiva:Her health is my health. You know what they say, your body is a temple. And from the way you were eyeing the ham it looks like I’m not the only temple that isn’t being well kept.

Veronica:Tsk, do me a favor and fuck off already.

Shiva:That answers that. Goodbye Veronica. For your sake I hope you never stand in my way. I might enjoy myself too much dealing with you.

And with those words, Shiva fizzled out. Leaving nothing but a sleeping Summer Schnee that fell into the faunus girl’s arms. Veronica stood there a moment to collect her thoughts. This was far more excitement than she was looking for at night. Worst part was she wasn’t entirely sure what to do. The situation was handled, so should she wake someone anyway? Does she tell them later?

Veronica lifted Summer like a bride and looked at her before looking at the food left out. ‘I guess I’m having a cheat day today.’ Her eyes looked at the milkshake as she came to that conclusion. ‘Since I’m destroying evidence, maybe it was best to keep quiet? If this encounter was my fault then that means I can control it so it won’t happen again.’ She reasoned. Carefully she started the walk to Summer’s room with a look of pure displeasure. ‘Just another reason to be on my best behavior I suppose. Tsk, as if I needed any more.’

xxxx

The night might’ve been eventful for Veronica but to Summer, it was over in a wink. The girl’s body had naturally woken up and she stared into the darkness of her room that barely had any light coming through her blinds and the red dot on her heater.

“Still early” Summer groaned, “even by Nick’s standards most likely.” There was no real reason to get from underneath her cozy covers just yet. A shower could wait for a bit. Besides, Veronica had her uniforms; there was no rush to see her so early. Valerie definitely wasn’t up this early. The mental list of people to chat with quickly shrunk. There was one person possibly awake Summer thought, and she actually should’ve called them yesterday.

The girl rolled over near her nightstand and grabbed her scroll, hitting a custom icon in the shape of a cane.

Oscar:Hello?

Summer:Hey Oz. Sorry if I woke you up, and for not facing timing for my appointment.

Oscar:Don’t feel bad about it. Yesterday was a busy day for you from what I saw.

Summer:Man you wouldn’t bel-....saw?

Oscar:Penny showed me the video.

Summer:Ugh! *covers face*

Oscar:I heard a face palm. Everything okay? And I mean really okay?

Summer:.....No, no it isn’t. I completely blew it yesterday. All that training over winter break, no, all the training this year and I’m not strong enough to stand on my own. Nothing is changing. I fight, get overwhelmed, Nick steps in; this time with a new ability. I’m the one who’s an expert with glyphs and yet he completely overshadowed me with summoning. Not only that, but now I have Veronica to deal with for a while. Who probably is eavesdropping right this moment. I feel like I can’t get a win! Even my music doesn’t feel up to par recently which is terrible considering I have to perform soon. What if I-

Oscar:Summer!

His shout stopped her from spiraling. He couldn’t see her face but he could hear her sniffing. Oscar waited patiently, listening to the girl trying to calm herself down with deep breathing exercises they had practiced day in and day out. Summer’s camera turned on and Oscar was greeted with rosy cheeks and slightly red eyes.

Oscar:If you gotta cry then go ahead.

Summer:I’m sick and tired of crying. What good is it anyways?

Oscar:Hey, crying is great sometimes! I cried a lot whenever I got frustrated traveling with everyone.

Summer:Really?

Oscar:Hell yeah. I was stressed and overwhelmed constantly because I felt weak. Also I constantly dealt with Qrow being dumb.

Qrow:You’re alive aren’t you!?

Oscar:Sir, I’m in the middle of a session. I’ll be with you after. *smiles*

Summer:Hehehe, I forgot Winter said something about him tagging along.

Oscar:He’s not the only one. Adrian wanted to tag along and then of course you know who’s ship we ended up on.

Summer:!!!? You're on Sparrow’s ship!?

A loud voice off screen answered her question. “Did someone say my name!?” The voice cried out. Oscar rolled his eye playfully as he flipped his camera to show Summer that Qrow and Adrian was fishing right next to a man. A young man that was barely in his twenties and wearing captain’s uniform, as if he was running some fancy cruise liner. Complete with the hat.

His face was clean shaven for once and his wavy brown hair that matched his eyes was put up in a bun. He looked over at the camera and immediately greated Summer with the goofiest smile he could make.

Summer:Hey Sparrow, it’s been awhile. How’s the sea life?

Sparrow:Better now that I’m not in the military!

Qrow:I’m telling Winter you said that.

Sparrow:Stop, she’s already mad I didn’t stop by in between jobs.

Adrian:Catch a giant fish and maybe you’ll buy our silence.

Sparrow:You’re on!

Oscar:Your cousin is the only sailor crazy enough around here to go searching for the gods. Also he’s extremely affordable; helping family is free of charge.

Summer:Thanks, all of you. Personally I wouldn’t want you all to go this far for me but-

Sparrow:You’re family. Since when the hell is there a price or distance on that?

Adrian:He’s right.

Qrow:If I taught this numbskull anything, it’s that right there.

Sparrow:Beer pong too.

Qrow:Ssssshhhhh

Oscar:Getting back on track, progress wasn’t made in a day. Sometimes it’s not even made by training. I’ve watched that video at least a hundred times already.

Summer:I wish you didn’t tell me that.

Oscar:My point is that progress just happens in an instant. A moment that makes everything click or demands your body to push beyond what it couldn’t do. Don’t trick yourself into thinking Nick got this moment in wanting not to waste yours and Valerie’s efforts. So he dug deep in order not to disappoint you both.

Summer:I….I know this. We’ve always pushed each other along; the ultimate duo. Yet I’ve always felt like he’s not only giving more than I can give, but he’s preventing me from giving all I’m able to give.

Oscar:Oh?

Summer:Hey...can I say something? Something you won’t write down?

Oscar:Go right ahead.

Summer:For awhile now I can’t help but feel...like he’s in my way. And it makes me so irritated to see that no matter what, my big brother is right there. Always ready to put things on hold for his baby sister. I’d rather take a loss than see him do damage control.

Oscar:You feel like he’s smothering you? Have you told him?

Summer:Almost, then I lost the nerve. He’s so patient with me and understanding. Yet I wish he’d be upset with my mistakes and hold me accountable. I wouldn’t mind him raising his voice at me or calling me out like-

Oscar:Veronica?

Summer’s eyes went wide. Is that what she wanted? No, well...no. Not exactly.

Summer:That would be a little much I think. I don’t think I could cope.

Oscar:But you do realize that maybe you continue to associate with Veronica and egg her on because you admire her confidence and you desire some form of tough love?

Summer: I mean...I do admire her confidence; not to mention her looks. Tough love though? That’s sugar coating it I think. She hates me.

Oscar:Maybe. I’d love to talk to her one on one at least once. I can’t say what her exact opinion is on you but it could be possible that you think she hates you way more than she actually does? Now may be a good time to figure it out.

Summer:I think I would need about a hundred journals to even express what one day of being around her would feel like.

Oscar:Speaking of journals, have you gotten a new one? I’m not letting you slack on this.

Summer:All my journals are underneath my bed. Including the new one. Not sure how much it’s helping. Writing down my personal feelings, it scares me. Like the words might jump out at me.

Oscar:...I may be out of line here and off base but, Summer, don’t hesitate to call me or Penny for anything. And I mean anything. Life is a precious gift.

Summer flinched at those words. The look on his face was one of complete calm and concern all at once. Summer got the message clear. Playing dumb would be an insult, and yet she smiled anyways at him.

Summer:You worry too much Os. Things are bleak but not that bleak. Don’t worry your pretty little head; honest.

Oscar:...Okay, I trust you. I just wanted you to remember that people can only help so much and help so effectively, depending on how much you let them in. Walling us off from anything important, it could be risky.

Summer:Thanks for your concern but I promise you that I’m fine. I should probably start getting ready for school now. Call you again, Regular appointment time?

Oscar:I’ll have my scroll charged and ready. Have a good day at school. Remember-

Summer:One step at a time. You say it constantly. Penny really needs to finish this baby chamber thing she’s making. I think you have baby fever or something. Always doting on me.

Oscar:You’d be jealous the moment Penny and I have a baby.

Summer:I would. Take care of yourself...uncle.

Oscar:!? Did you just call me-

Summer hung up immediately. Yeah she meant those words, but saying it out loud was too embarrassing to deal with. Not even out of her pjs yet and she was already a little drained; and she still had one more person to talk too!!!

‘Let’s get this over with.’ Summer hopped out of the bed and quickly made her way to Veronica’s room. The faster she gets there means the faster it will be over.

It only took a second Summer to stand at the door. She only got two knocks in before the door swung open and Summer was greeted with tired eyes. Veronica’s hair was ruffled and her tail was frizzy around her waist, yet she was already fully dressed in the uniform she borrowed. Veronica made it fit like a glove. Even in the simple white button up and black skirt, she looked gorgeous. Veronica bent down to fix her black calf high socks while keeping eye contact.

Veronica:I take it you’re here for your clothes? Give me a sec.

Summer:H...how long have you been up?

Veronica:Don’t know. A couple hours? Had to make sure I could readjust the size of this when I gave it back.

Summer:You wrap your tail around your waist for school.

Veronica:What’s with all the dumb questions so early? It’s your uniform. Cutting a hole for my tail would be stupid; I’m giving this back. Unless you want people looking through a hole in your skirt?

Summer:*red* Now look who’s asking dumb questions?

Veronica:Shut up and be productive. Strip and try on the clothes while there’s still time.

Summer:S-Strip? We don’t have to. I mean it’s no big deal if whatever you did is a little-

Unamused eyes glared at Summer, shutting her up. Of course Veronica’s designs were a big deal. Everything is a big deal with her. Summer didn’t put up a fight and walked in, closing the door behind them.

Summer:Can you at least turn around until I’m finished?

Veronica:That doesn’t do me much good. I intend to make sure I have your proper measurements. Suck it up and deal with it. We’re both women and don’t you have P. E. as a class? Undressing shouldn’t be a problem.

Summer:I...don’t undress typically. If I do I try to do it alone. The eyes on me are unnerving.

Veronica:You’re a performer.

Summer:That’s completely different and you know it. I display my voice on stage. Not my scars.

Veronica:This again?

Summer:Tsk, I don’t even know why I try with you sometimes. Of course you wouldn’t understand this. Must be really easy to say the things you do when your body is perfect.

Veronica:If you’re assuming that I judge people by their body or appearance, then everyone gives you too much credit when it comes to how smart you are. Only scum would ever be so shallow and daft. Since when the hell have I ever belittled you about your scars, something you couldn’t control?

Summer:......

Veronica:Think before you speak to me like that again.

Bickering was normal between them. This is how it’s always been. So why did Summer feel guilty about it this time? More importantly, why did Veronica sound so defensive? The only other thing she said after was asking Summer if she had permission to touch her. A question that confused her for a moment before she nodded. Maybe it was a designer thing.

Veronica grabbed the sleeve of Summer’s shirt, as well as the waistband of her pants. There was a brief moment of nothing happening that confused Summer. She almost asked what was going on until Veronica tugged on the clothing and it passed right through and off of Summer’s body; making the girl yelp. Just what else could Veronica do with her semblance? The faunus was entirely too good with it for someone who doesn’t wanna be a huntsman.

Summer had no time to think about it however since Veronica’s warm hands on her Summer’s hips snapped the girl back into reality. Veronica took her time with whatever she was doing. It was definitely more than measurements. Her hands gently traveled down each leg, feeling the muscle groups and gently touching each scar on the way down. Sometimes her thumbs pressed a little harder in certain areas.

Veronica could feel different spots of tension and the cold dust that ran through each scar. Her hands finally started to go up after examining Summer’s feet. The accent went to the waist and upwards. Each digit rolling over a rib. Veronica made sure to be very thorough and listen to the sounds Summer and Summer’s body was making. The sounds told a story and Veronica’s ears could listen to it. Last place was her chest and back which Veronica gave a little more force over places like Summer’s spine and scars. Summer oddly felt like she was being sculpted out of clay.

Veronica finally let go and grabbed the tape measure. That only took a few seconds though. Summer figured it might’ve been because those numbers weren’t high to begin with unfortunately. Step three of this process also went quick. Veronica grabbed one of the uniforms and phased it right on to Summer’s body perfectly. The length remained but all the excess baggy material was apparently tucked in or removed. Nothing felt too tight or loose as Summer moved her body around. Even that felt lighter. These adjustments were outstanding. All this progress in a night!

Summer:Woah, this is….disturbingly comfortable. Form fitting around my arms, but not tight.

Veronica:The only thing disturbing is how impressed you are about clothes that fit. Any complaint you have about the skirt length you can fix with simple leggings.

Summer:...Thanks for this, and sorry. I was out of line a moment ago.

Veronica:Hmph…...I prefer actions rather than words. If you really feel that sorry about it then I expect compensation.

Summer:What…? You want me to pay you as an apology?

Veronica:Your money is worth absolutely nothing to me. You are going to help me with a variety of tasks I need in order to make the best outfits possible. Then you’re going to wear them.

Summer:Oh, So you want my influence and connections to get free self promotion?

Veronica:This kingdom has its eyes on you. Someone is bound to talk about who’s doing your wardrobe. Considering how one of these outfits happen to be your tournament outfit, I think offering to lift a finger or two wouldn’t be too much to ask.

Summer:I thought it was finished?

Veronica:Not with the measurements I just got from you. Too small for you and I have some ideas to improve it now. So do we have an agreement or not?

Summer:.....

Veronica:You hurt my ears yesterday.

Summer:Fine, don’t have to guilt trip me.

Veronica:Perfect, you can start right now.

Summer:What!?

Veronica:From now until I leave I expect you to stretch your entire body when you wake up and before bed; dynamic stretches that focus slight tension around the ligaments in your left wrist and right knee especially. I could feel how worn out your body is. I expect better from a fighter that can pay for any spa. The unnecessary stress in your shoulders need to be fixed too.

Summer:(She got all that from just touching me?) Why does this sound like a health care routine and what does it have to do with-

Veronica:Questioning my methods won’t get you any closer to understanding them. Just do it.

Summer:Next you’re going to tell me what to eat with demands like this.

Veronica:Milk, at least two cups a day. Vanilla, regular, chocolate, warm, I really don’t care.

Summer:I wasn’t being serious!

Veronica:Well I am. Your bones need calcium from what I could feel. If I punched your ribs right now they would probably crack like a glow stick.

The way she worded that made Summer scrunch her face in pain. She could feel them ache already.

Summer:Fair point, but I have this thing against dairy-

Veronica:Are you going to keep making excuses, or are you actually going to give something your all for once? Not that I care. I can use a few more videos of you getting flung like a rag doll.

Summer:That’s not going to happen again.

Veronica:Less words, more action. I’ve said my peace, now I’m heading out.

Summer:School isn’t for another two hours.

Veronica:I’m aware. Perfect time to explore a little and find something remotely inspiring.

Summer:I don’t think Yang would like you walking around all-

Veronica:Summer, have I ever listened to you before? Like at al?

Summer:....

Veronica:Exactly.

On that note, Veronica grabbed the scarf she was given and fell through the floor, their conversation over. It went pretty well considering all things. They bickered and said a few choice words but strangely, Veronica wasn’t as mouthy. ‘Maybe mornings aren’t her thing.’ Summer concluded. They definitely weren’t hers.

Summer pulled out her scroll and decided now was probably a good idea to pass the baton to Nick instead of keeping quiet about Veronica’s plan to galavant around.

Nick:Hello? Summer, why are you calling me so early? Wait, why are you calling me?

Summer:Too lazy to walk. Just thought you should know that Veronica decided to go exploring around the town.

Nick:I’m sure she can find her way around.

Summer:She’s in a school uniform. Not to mention she isn’t wearing a bow or anything. It’s only gonna take one stupid person making a tasteless comment and-

Nick:Our school ends up taking heat.

Summer:To be fair, she looked pretty quiet and not very energetic. Just thought you should know.

Nick:What’s your plan?

Summer:To let you deal with it. I’m going back to bed for awhile. Feeling a bit drained.

Nick:I’m pretty sore myself. I’m sure she’ll be fine.

Summer:If you say so.

Their call ended immediately and Nick rubbed his eyes before laying face down on his pillow. ’She’ll be fine.’ He told himself whilst trying to go back to sleep. At least ten minutes had to pass before he flipped over on his back. “.....”

Nick silently cursed under his breath and hoped out of bed, annoyed by his troubled mind. It’s not that he didn’t trust Veronica, but it would really suck if something did happen. Especially after Yang asked him and Summer to keep an eye on her. “Looks like I’m getting dressed early today.”

His morning routine wasn’t long, or even complicated. In half an hour he was physically ready for the school day. The cold air outside should wake him. Nick was about to leave when he smelt something cooking the kitchen. He poked his head around to see Yang cooking some eggs. Nothing unusual, but he’d be lying if he didn’t say he was more than a little uncomfortable with how short her shorts were and loose fitting tank top. He wondered if she forgot that this wasn’t her house.

Nick:Ummm…

Yang:Oh, Hey Nick! You’re up early.

Looks like she just did not care. Now he knew Veronica got a trait from Yang that wasn’t physical

Nick:Yeah I couldn’t sleep any longer.

Yang:Well if you wait a little longer before leaving then I can make you some breakfast? I’m hoping the smell of eggs and some ham will get Veronica down here. With you she’s bound to eat it.

Nick:Uhhh Summer said Veronica left like forty minutes ago.

Yang:She wha- that little sneak!!! I bet she knew what I was planning. Sigh...damnit…

Yang cracked an egg a little too hard and it splattered on the stove. The yoke that got in her hand started to sizzle faster than in the pan. Then look in her eyes wasn’t anger though, but concern.

Nick:Is breakfast a big deal for you?

Yang:It’s not breakfast that matters, but the food. It’s been like three months since that kid has eaten actual meat.

Nick:I’m...not sure I see the problem. Does this have something to do with the kind of faunus she is. Actually, now that I mention it, I’ve never seen Veronica eat meat.

Yang:Because she intentionally doesn’t eat it around people or tries to avoid it in general. Can you keep a secret, or at least keep it within this house? Weiss and Jaune already know.

Nick:Yang, keeping secrets is like my best quality. That actually sounds bad out loud. Second, it’s my second best quality.

Yang:Hehehe. Look, having two faunus traits isn’t as simple as dealing with a tail and ear problems; her very genes are turned up to an eleven. Her hearing is better than Blake’s by a wide margin and even her sense of smell is extremely sharp. It sounds helpful but…

Nick:It’s overstimulating?

Yang:She’s gotten pretty good at honing it early on, but not so much with other things. Different faunus have different...impulses. Their fight and flight reflexes are even different than humans because of whatever animal instinct they have. Blake is a feline, a panther. If she’s angry, she gets angry. When she craves food, it’s typically fish. Any urge she has is related to that of a panther.

Nick:Okay, that’s not exactly new to me. So Veronica feels these “urges” or “instincts” in certain situations, but it’s more intense.

Yang:Let me put it to you like this. Blake on her worst day is still very much in control of her actions. It’s simple for any faunus to stave off any particular urge because it’s basically the same thing as refusing to act on adrenaline. Veronica’s worst day makes her as intense as Ghira fighting for his life. Regular days are Blake’s worst days.

Nick:That...explains a couple of things.

Yang:Basically, her hormones are a little frazzled. Veronica gets around this little hurdle by choosing to not indulge in what feeds those instincts. Panthers are predators…

Nick:So she rarely eats meat. The way you talk makes it seem like that’s very bad.

Yang:Image being a grimm coming at you and telling your body not to do the instinctual thing and move. She represses those instincts because she finds them uncivil and deplorable. Pushing it down only builds tension however. Veronica is naturally hot headed and scrappy but being irritated and having a short fuse comes from her eating habits.

Nick:Indulge too much, and she feels like she becomes essentially feral. Don’t indulge at all then…

Yang:She’s a bomb trying not to blow up about every little thing.

Nick:High school is gasoline then!

Yang:That’s why I wanted her to eat! Once she gets actual food that her body wants then she can control that temper way better and think clearly. Her eyes and nails even stop being feline like and just go back to normal.

Nick:Why didn’t we know any of this before?

Yang:It’s a lot for people to handle, and Veronica hates people knowing. I try helping her with this sort of thing but it’s not like I can exactly understand what she’s feeling. She only really comes to Blake about it. All I do is find ways for her to expel all that tension through boxing and anything else. Eventually we get her to eat normally but then she goes back to her regular routine until the urge becomes too overpowering.

This really did explain a lot. Nick wondered if he'd actually seen Veronica function at a hundred percent. He could recall a couple times he’d seen get out of hand, furious about one thing or another that ended in a fight. Nick vividly remembered her and Valerie giving each other black eyes. That was years ago. Yeah, she’s definitely gotten better in comparison.

Nick:Well I’m actually about to go chase her down and just make sure she’s okay. I got worried something could happen to her.

Yang:*smiles* It’s terrible how accurate Weiss praises you. (I can also see why Veronica is head over heels for you) I hate to be a bother but-

Nick:I’ll make sure she eats something fatty. School doesn’t offer much vegetarian options so it shouldn’t be hard.

Yang:I owe you big time for this. I mean it.

Nick:I’m paying it forward. Veronica is always in my corner. Being in her corner isn’t anything new. I’ll try to not tell her you told me all this either.

Yang:Trust me, she’ll figure it out. I pray for your success!

Nick gave a thumbs up and ran out the door. Yang started to clean up the mess she made. A long sigh escaped her lips as she continued thinking about her daughter and the kind boy willing to try. A twinge of guilt hit her heart. She couldn’t tell if it was because she talked about affairs Veronica didn’t want people to know, or because she didn’t tell Nick everything. Not the most important pieces. No one knew the important pieces. Yang wiped a tear from her face. Even she knew that she was missing an important piece. She was sure of it.

Yang:(Maybe…just maybe, she’s what he needs right now. Obviously I’m not.)

Part 13