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purpleyellow · 3 years

Text

The audacity

Seventeen 14th member

Hayun’s masterlist

“Seventeen won’t take bs when it comes to Hayun”

Requested by: two (2) anons

cw: offensive language

a/n: Feel free to share your thoughts with me. Requests are open! 💙

(to my brazilians around, this gif is svt’s version of ninguem solta a mão de ninguem)

The arrival of dancers made the practice room even more crowded and noisy than usual. It was one of the few times Seventeen worked with an outside dance team, and they happened to have a lot of new faces around, who needed time to figure out the staging and how things were working so far.

After they ran through the choreography a couple of times, the choreographer called in a break, allowing the huge group to instantly clear the middle space and separate themselves into small circles of conversations.

Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Joshua instantly met each other and began chatting about dinner plans and whatnot. Slowly approaching Jun and Wonwoo, the oldest filled them in on what they're deciding until he starts searching for someone.

“So, we could order it on the next break and have someone grab it for us. Anyway, did anyone see Hayun?”

“Making friends, as usual,” Wonwoo comments, pointing at the other corner of the room where the girl was surrounded by four dancers.

“Hayun-ah” The leader waves her over and waits as she jogs to his side “We're talking about dinner, what do you think about-”

“Oh, those guys were talking about this new restaurant that opened downtown, I was thinking of tagging along with them” She points back at the group and watches as her members nod “But I can cancel, of course”

“No, go ahead. It's just a meal” Joshua goes to wave her off when Seungkwan approaches them with crossed arms.

“Yeah. Just a meal. Until she's suddenly ditching us during the holidays and moving out with her new friends” The boy pouts, turning his face away from the group. Hayun reaches up to ruffle his hair before landing a soft slap.

“Says the dude who is friends with half of the entertainment industry” Ignoring his eye roll, she turns back to the rest of their little huddle “Well, if nobody else will feel betrayed”

“I was kidding” Seungkwan whines and Scoups pushes her away from them “Stop being dramatic and go do your mingling”

Going back to the group of dancers, Hayun resumes chatting with them for a couple of minutes before the break is over.

After more hours of running over every tiny detail for the stage, the rehearsal finally ends and the scattering of people begins. Hayun takes a couple of minutes talking about minor adjustments with the members and just checking up on them before searching for the four friends she had made that evening.

“Hey, how do you guys plan on heading there?” She asks, taking a sip from her water bottle and missing the glances between the two boys and two girls.

“Actually, we might have to do it another day,” The girl closest to her says and flips a hair strand off of Hayun's shoulder. “We got pretty tired from this last session”

“And work tomorrow it's going to start pretty early, you know. It's best to let this go for today,” The boy nods to her before pulling out his phone from his pocket and slightly turning away from the idol.

“Yeah, I get it. That's okay, we'll reschedule it then” Hayun smiles and gives them a thumbs up “I'll head to the dorms, then. Have a good rest, and tomorrow we'll talk more”.

Sending her some quick waves and small smiles, the four dancers waited for Hayun to turn around before sharing an annoyed look and sighing.

The practice room slowly grows empty, only leaving Wonwoo and Vernon who lost an incredible game of rock, paper, scissors, and had to stay behind to clean up everything. Finally turning off the lights, the two boys head out into the hallway and spot a group of four people standing by the entrance.

“Aren't those the people Hayun was talking to earlier,” Vernon asks quietly before a voice from the group reaches them.

“Why is this damn cab taking so long? We should have let that airhead tag along”.

“Agreed. She would have talked our ears off, but at least we would have made it to the club already”.

Sharing a look, the two idols stop walking and listen closely to understand if the dancers are talking about what the boys think they're talking about.

“That was so stupid. Why would you invite her in the first place? She's so annoying”.

“I mean, having an idol considering you a friend would be fun, right? Especially with the Christmas season coming up. Can you imagine the gifts she would buy us?”

“Yeah, dude. We wouldn't even need to worry about paying for stuff anymore. Just have Hayun tag along anywhere and, boom, no more tabs to pay.”

“But also, no more functioning eardrums”

“No, you have a point. She seems like she'd give us her credit card password on the third time we hung out. Not to mention, looking at her position in contrast with ours. You don't even have to befriend her, but be on her good side, and she'll make sure to give us more gigs within Pledis”.

Standing frozen, Wonwoo and Vernon listened to everything they were saying and shared looks of disbelief. Having enough of it, the oldest cleared his throat and slung his bag, making it hit his own back with enough force to make a thumping sound.

“Let's go, Vernon,” He ignored the four people standing before them with wide eyes and resumed walking. Once shoulder to shoulder with one of the dancers, Wonwoo stopped again and said while looking ahead, “Next time, be careful of whom you're talking about”.

Vernon, on the other hand, made eye contact with each dancer before raising one eyebrow and following the oldest. After closing the car door, he groaned annoyed, “Can you believe they had… ”

“… the fucking audacity” Jeonghan places his cup on the table, face showcasing utter disgust after Wonwoo told him what they had listened before leaving the Pledis building.

“Show me who those people are again tomorrow. I'll make sure they never step inside our practice room, ever again,” Hoshi points out.

“Is there a way of not having them tomorrow? I'm afraid Scoups Hyung might commit murder” Dokyeom brought attention to the leader standing on the corner of the kitchen.

Looking like he was plotting an illegal act, Seungcheol scoffs and pushed himself away from the cabinets. “The bare minimum you would expect from someone is that they can be professional. I swear, those people are getting an earful for talking about Hayun within a billion-meter ratio from where I work”.

“It's best to let it rest until tomorrow's performance is done. After we'll probably never see them again, so there's not much point causing any visible disturbance.” Laying a hand on the leader's arm, Woozi tried to make some sort of sense, but all it did was cause Scoups to roll his eyes.

“We can't just act like nothing happened”

“We also can't change anything about the choreography until then” Hoshi butts in and takes a breath trying not to jump in the 'let's hunt them down' train.

“They already know Wonwoo and Vernon heard them trash-talking her, so I'm not letting them have it easy tomorrow.” Jeonghan rolls his eyes and pointed to both Woozi and Hoshi, “I'm speaking my mind the first moment I see those sons of bitches, you're free to wait until the show's over”.

“About that, I don't think we should tell Hayun what happened” Joshua, who had been quiet the entire time, speaks, drawing attention to him. “Not until, as you said, the show is over, and we won't see them again. You know that she's probably going to get disappointed about it”.

“And you expect her to not go running to meet her new 'friends' once we arrive at the venue?” Wonwoo raises an eyebrow, but Mingyu shakes his head and backs the older up.

“We just have to keep her entertained around us. Fill in Dino, Seungkwan, and Myungho later, and have them help with making sure the group doesn't run into her”.

Raising his hand, Vernon casually mumbles “Maybe don't tell Seungkwan, he won't be able to hide his feelings about the whole thing”

“Myungho won't either” Jun comments and the room falls silent at the sound of the remaining members chatting and approaching the kitchen.

“Wow, you make a meeting and forget to call in the main characters” Hayun laughs walking through the room and opening the fridge for a beer “So, when's the food arriving?”

Hayun is sitting on the makeup chair, casually watching Scoups and Jeonghan whispering to each other from the mirror's reflection, when a hand lands on her shoulder and another holds out a smoothie for her.

“Whatcha thinking about?” Joshua sits on the chair next to her while Mingyu punctures the drink's lid with a straw.

Without taking her eyes off the mirror, she nods with her head to it. “Those two are up to something”

“Scoups and Jeonghan Hyung? Nah, they're always like that. Sharing secrets and stuff,” Mingyu giggles, shoving the straw inside her mouth and shifting to stand in front of the mirror. “Cute nail polish, when did you have time to get it done?”

“Oh, these are acrylics. This lady was just putting them on” Hayun falls into his trap and began analyzing the design with some occasional comments from the boys.

Peace has seemingly set inside the dressing room, yet it doesn't last long until Dino's loud “Uh?” caught the attention of the members, who turned to see what he and Vernon were doing.

Trying to shut the youngest up, Vernon makes it very obvious to the guys that he had just filled Dino in with the “frenemies” situation. Most of them try to brush it off and not bring more attention to it. Seungkwan, however, approaches them by, very loudly, asking what's up.

“What are you talking about?” He boringly fixes up his outfit. Vernon can feel the burning eyes of Jeonghan on his skull as he tries to deviate the conversation to another topic.

“Did you go see catering already? I heard they had a coffee machine”.

“Wait. Does he not know what happened?” Dino fails to read the room properly and instigates the older boy.

“What happened? Why is everyone sharing secrets all of a sudden? Is the thing you're discussing why Scoups Hyung seems ready to jump someone”.

The timing of events can't be worse, as the makeup artist taps Hayun's shoulder to let her know they were done. Within seconds, the girl gets up and turns to where the three youngest were standing.

“What's with the gossiping? Did Vernon lose his airpods again?” She brushes away from Joshua as he tried to hold her in place and waves off Mingyu when, in a panic, he suggests they should check out the pigeons outside.

“What? No! I mean, yeah! How unfortunate, isn't it?” Vernon jumps around his answers and tries looking for anyone willing to help him out.

“Just tell her about it” Approaching them from the door, Jeonghan, now without the leader's company, shrugs his shoulders, making Hayun raise an eyebrow.

“Jeonghan, at least wait until the day is over,” Joshua speaks through his teeth and the boy rolls his eyes.

“Well, she already knows something is up, and to be fair I don't know what good hiding this will bring. At least, if she feels like doing something about it, she'll have the chance right now”.

“Do something about it? Hadn't we agreed that the best is to wait until the performance is over and just never see them again?”

“What even are you talking about?” Hayun shuts them both up and Jeonghan and Joshua turned to her with annoyed expressions, “Don't even look at me like that. You're the ones mentioning me as if I'm not in the room”.

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Joshua tilts his head a little and speaks softly, “Trust me for a moment here, it's best if you brush it aside. Until later at least, and then we can settle it as you wish”.

“Wha- Just spill it out for fucks sake. I'm going to combust if you don't tell me right now whatever this all means,” Hayun puffs, punching his shoulder. Just as Joshua opens his mouth to say the same thing again, Jeonghan beats him and shoves himself in front of the girl.

“Do you recall those dancers you were planning to go out with yesterday? Yeah, well, turns out they're all little shits who were trash-talking you, and just overall talking crap, yesterday”

“Jeonghan” Joshua repressed the older who does nothing but wave him off.

“Doesn't matter what they said because you're nothing of it, and-” Adverting his eyes for a second, Jeonghan stares to the side, where half of Scoups' body is waving for him through the door. “And, and, you're amazing and all of that. So now go rest your awesome self while I go teach those punks a lesson”.

Zooming past her, Jeonghan runs to the door, where the leader is already back outside. Hoshi, Jun, Woozi, and DK, scream for him before also going out of the door. A very lost, Seungkwan, simultaneously tries to get Vernon to tell him what exactly the dancer said before while shouting for the older to wait for him to also speak his mind.

“I didn't want you to know about this before the performance, but-”

“Whatever, let's make sure nobody dies today” Hayun rolls her eyes and turns around, Wonwoo running from where he was watching everything and holding her by the shoulder.

“Do you want us to go fix that up? It's okay to give them the cold shoulder or just go off if you want to” Nodding, she keeps silent and walks out, bringing the rest of the guys behind her.

The8, who also had just found out about the situation, whispers to Vernon, “Can you believe they had the audacity?”

“I know, right?” The youngest whisper-yelled at him as they made it to the hallway and assessed the situation.

“The next time you even think about opening your mouth to talk about her-” Scoups had his finger pointing at the tallest dancer -who ironically had a few centimeters on him-, while the rest of the members stood next to him nodding and calmly listening to what the leader was saying.

“Oppa, just drop it,” Hayun shouts, walking past them and holding his shoulder.

Annoyingly, Scoups rolled his eyes and turned to her, “What do you mean, drop it?” Thinking for a second, he blinked and turned even more bothered, “Who even told you about this?”

The leader looked around until he found Mingyu, offending the tall guy who made an X in front of his body.

“Doesn't matter who told me. Let's just not lose time doing this” Brushing past him, Hayun now faced the dancers “Look, I'll teach you something right now, so grab it or drop it okay? I don't give a shit that you don't like me, or whatever, but at least be professional because all this situation did was teach me that none of you care about your careers. It's pretty clear by the angry puppy beside me that you just lost any chance of growing inside our brand, so keep this as a lesson and respect the artists you're working with. Also, once we're on stage put on a smile, so my fans won't be able to sense your shit”

“It should be pretty clear by what she said but you definitely don't have a chance to work with any Pledis artist again” Hoshi came from the end of the hallway alongside their manager and choreographer. The latter nodded and added.

“For the sake of the performance, you should all go back to your dressing rooms. You all said whatever was on your mind, so try to refocus during the last few minutes you have”.

“I didn't get to say what was on my mind” While the group was dispersing, DK mumbles on the side and Jun snorts.

“You had a chance, but all you did was stare at them and scowl until Scoups Hyung took the lead”

“I don't care about who said and who didn't say what they wanted” Hayun rolled her eyes, turning to the boys as they arrived in the room. Clasping her hands together, she brings them to her face and smiles, “You all care about me”.

“The fact you still doubted about it after years hurts me” Dokyeom held his chest and frowned, the girl laughs and goes to hug him.

“Group hug?” Seungkwan says uncertainly and Hoshi nods, dragging Woozi with him, “Group hug!”

#Hayun #seventeen 14th member #seventeen au #Seventeen Additional Member #seventeen addition #seventeen female addition #seventeen female member #seventeen female oc #seventeen extra member #svt 14th member #svt oc #svt addition #kpop addition #kpop female addition #14th member of seventeen #seventeen x 14th member #seventeen x oc

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sgtcalhouns · 4 years

Text

Taken

If anybody asks, yeah

I’m taken

If anybody wants to know,

He is, too

Tamora isn’t ready to tell people about her relationship with Felix. A rogue cybug has other plans.

It was still dark outside when Felix began to stir—not that there was much daylight to speak of in Hero’s Duty. Still, he could tell it was early in the morning even before lifting his head to look at the clock on the bedside table. The flashing red digits read 5:34; the rest of the platoon would start waking up around six. He turned over his shoulder to look at Tamora, who was still sleeping soundly as she held him close. The sight never failed to melt his heart. To the rest of the arcade she was the tough and ruthless leader of her game, but as he looked at her face in peaceful slumber, he saw the softness that so rarely graced her features during waking hours. This was the Tamora he knew, and he hated this part of the day when he was forced to wake her up and disturb that soft image. He rubbed her arm and she breathed deeply as she came into consciousness. Once she was fully awake, Felix rolled over to face her.

“I should probably go,” he sighed. “If I don’t leave soon someone might see me.”

“I wish you could stay longer,” Tamora said with a frown.

“Me, too,” he replied.

He leaned in to kiss her, making it that much harder to get out of bed and leave her for the day.

“You know,” he began, “I could stay a little while longer. There’s still plenty of time before the arcade opens, but it would mean being seen here by your soldiers.”

“Felix, we talked about this,” she said. “I’m just... I’m not ready for them to know about us. Not yet.”

“I understand,” he responded with a smile that he hoped was enough to mask his disappointment.

It had been a few weeks since that fateful day when they had teamed up to save the arcade, and they had been seeing each other ever since. Tamora had a complicated past and tended to be more reserved with her emotions than Felix was. He knew this about her and tried his best to be understanding, but he couldn’t help but struggle with the fact that she wanted to keep their relationship private. It wasn’t that she was ashamed of him—she insisted that her request to keep things between them had everything to do with her soldiers and how poorly they might react to the fact that she was in a new relationship. Brad was in their backstories, too, and she worried that they wouldn’t accept Felix. However, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was a small part of her that was embarrassed to be seen with him.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

“It’s nothin’ we haven’t talked about before,” he admitted.

Tamora sighed.

“I know,” Felix said. “I don’t mean to keep harpin’ on the same things, and I don’t want to make you feel bad. I’m just so crazy about you, I wish I could share it with everyone.”

“I know,” she replied. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I’m the one who should be sorry,” he said. “I told you on our first night together that I would wait as long as you needed. You’re more than worth the wait.”

“Thank you, Felix,” she said.

He kissed her nose and smiled.

“Anything for you.”

By the time they dressed themselves and left Tamora’s quarters, they were cutting it close on time. In the name of safety, she always walked him to the platform of the high-speed bullet train that would carry him back to Game Central Station, but on days like this, there was no time for lingering affection. Any moment now, the wake up call would disturb the silence that surrounded them.

“Say, Tammy, before I leave...” he trailed off, giving her a hopeful smile. “D’you think we have time for one quick kiss?”

Tamora looked over her shoulder to check for any early risers who might be roaming their direction. When she saw that the coast was clear, she looked back at him with a smirk.

“One kiss,” she said, kneeling down in front of him.

He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers for one sweet moment of bliss. As she pulled away, he couldn’t help the dreamy grin that graced his features.

“Bye, Felix,” said with a soft smile.

“Goodbye, Tammy,” he replied.

He stole another quick peck as she stood to leave. There was a moment of pause before they separated; they always struggled with this part of the day as they were both reluctant to part ways. Suddenly, the wake up call sounded throughout the barracks, startling them out of their private moment.

“Well, I, uh...” Felix began. “I guess I’d better head back now.”

Tamora nodded. She had begun her daily transformation into the hardened sergeant the arcade was familiar with, but he could see the soft look of endearment in her eyes that always made his heart race. What a privilege to know such tenderness.

“I’ll see you tonight,” he said as he began taking a few steps backward toward the platform. “Have a good day!”

She smiled back at him, but before she could respond, a metallic clicking sound drew their focus away from their conversation and toward the ceiling. Their heads snapped upward as the noise continued for a moment, and then stopped again. When they locked eyes again he could see the fear in her eyes and his suspicions about the source of the sound were confirmed—there was a cybug in the ceiling above them. How it had escaped the beacon and made it past the men patrolling throughout the night, they didn’t know. All Tamora knew was that she needed to get Felix out of her game, now.

“Felix,” she muttered, keeping her voice low, “get on the train.”

“What about you?” he asked.

“I’ll be fine,” she answered, directing her attention toward the ceiling panels and reaching for her blaster, “but if you don’t book it to your game as quickly and quietly as possible, you might never make it back there. Do you understand me?”

He gulped and nodded, but found himself too paralyzed by fear to move.

“Hey,” she said, her voice surprisingly gentle as she noticed his panic. He met her reassuring gaze and took a deep breath. “It’s going to be okay. But you need to get out of here. It’s not safe for you right now.”

A shuddering breath forced its way out of his lungs as he nodded, taking quick steps backward while keeping his eyes on the ceiling. Before either of them could react, the cybug came crashing down, pinning Felix to the floor. Immediately all of Tamora’s worst memories flooded her mind. She had already lost someone this way—under no circumstances would she allow it to happen again. Adrenaline took over and she took the virus out with a single shot to the head before it could do any further damage. Her blurry silhouette was the last thing Felix saw before everything faded to black.

When Felix began fading back into consciousness, it was noticeably louder in the hallway. A cacophony of voices startled him into alertness, and his eyes snapped open to reveal several soldiers gathered around him. The weight of the cybug pinned him to the floor, making it hard to breathe. Just as he began to panic, he spotted Tamora shouting orders to her men; her presence provided him with an immediate sense of relief.

“What’s going on?” he asked, his voice timid.

“Fix-It,” Tamora said. She knelt down beside him.

“What happened?” he asked. His breathing was shallow and his voice was weak.

“The cybug nearly crushed you when it fell out of the ceiling. One of the pincers is in your leg,” she explained. “We’re going to lift the carcass off of you so we can extract it. It’s going to be painful.”

Her tone was impersonal as she described the situation to him. Felix could see that she was trying to appear professional in front of her men, reminding him that he couldn’t seek the comfort he wanted from her until they were left alone.

“That’s okay,” he wheezed. “I can fix it.”

Tamora gave him half a smile. It was just like him to try to lighten the mood under such extreme circumstances; here he was, crushed beneath the body of a dead cybug, still trying to make her feel better.

“We’re going to start now,” she said, signaling to her men. “We’ll move as quickly as we can, but it’s going to hurt no matter what.”

He nodded, bracing himself for the pain. On Tamora’s count, the soldiers slowly began to lift the carcass off of him. Breathing came easier, but there was a distinct discomfort below his knee as the sharp claw that penetrated his skin shifted as a result of the movement. His eyes screwed shut as he tried to remain strong, but with every second, the pain became worse. Tamora took notice of his struggle and called out to him.

“Fix-It, eyes up here,” she said.

Felix obeyed the command and looked up at her. Looking into her eyes, he could see her concern for his safety shining through, but as he looked closer, he saw that there was so much more happening behind the scenes. Worry, care, and self-blame all presented themselves to him from behind those eyes, and he wished there was a way to reassure her. A sudden, sharp pain jerked him out of his thoughts and he looked down, catching a glimpse of the long claw that was stuck inside him. The sight terrified him, but before he could go into a full-blown panic, Tamora caught his attention.

“Up here, Felix,” she said, trying her hardest to be comforting through the physical exertion of hauling a dead cybug off the ground. “Don’t look at anything else. Just focus right here.”

He nodded, groaning as the pain intensified.

“I know it hurts,” she said, “but it’s going to be alright. Just trust me.”

“I do,” he said through gritted teeth.

The bug was now a few feet off the ground, which meant there was enough room for someone to crawl underneath to work more carefully on removing the pincer from Felix’s leg. It appeared as though this job had been designated to Tamora, who crouched down beside him.

“I’m going down there to pull it out now,” she said. “I know it’ll be tempting, but don’t watch. You’ll only feel worse.”

“Okay,” he nodded.

There was no one he trusted more to perform this task than Tamora, but he did feel more anxious knowing that she wouldn’t be there to soothe him during the worst of it. His breathing became more and more shallow as his eyes darted around the room searching for something, anything, to focus on. Kohut saw him struggling and decided to spark up a conversation in the hopes of distracting him.

“Try and think about something else,” Kohut said. “Tell me about yourself.”

“I’m Fix-It Felix Jr. from... from the game, Fix-It Felix Jr.,” Felix said through gritted teeth.

“Thank you for the incredible detail,” Kohut chuckled. “Tell me something I don’t know. Got any hobbies? Or a cute little girlfriend over there in Niceland?”

“No. The ladies in my game are wonderful, but they’re not exactly...” Felix trailed off. “I’m not involved with any of them”

“But you are seeing someone, aren’t you?” Kohut said with a knowing grin. “Someone from another game. Is it the chick from Donkey Kong? What’s her name—”

“Pauline and I are just friends,” Felix said, smiling through his pain.

“You’re not going to tell me, are you?” Kohut asked.

“Nope,” Felix replied.

Down below, Tamora was smiling, too. It was amusing watching Felix joke around with one of her men, and it put her at ease to see how easily he was able to get along with them.

“Come on, you gotta give me something,” Kohut said. “What’s she like?”

“She’s incredible,” Felix said. He was panting for breath as he fought through the pain, but that dreamy, far-away look was still present in his eyes. “She’s not like anyone I’ve ever met, but I’m not scared or intimidated by it, I—I’m excited. I’d been doing the same thing every day for thirty years, and then she came along and changed everything. I didn’t even know I wanted something like that before I met her, but now I can’t imagine going back to the way things were before.”

“She sounds pretty special.”

“Oh, she is. I care about her so much,” he said. “I—Ahh.”

A sharp sting cut his sentence short. At his feet, Tamora had almost finished working the sharp claw out of his leg, but his words had distracted her from her attempt to be gentle. Wrapped up in the things he was saying about her, she had yanked on his leg by accident.

“Sorry,” she said. “I’m almost done. This last bit is probably going to hurt more than the rest, so get ready.”

Felix nodded, screwing his eyes shut as he braced himself for the worst of this torture.

“Keep talking,” Kohut said. “We’re almost finished. What were you saying before?”

“I’ve never been this happy,” Felix choked out. “I’m—jiminy jaminy, that smarts.”

“We’re right at the finish line, buddy,” said Kohut. “Keep going.”

Felix opened his mouth to speak, but a terrible garbled yelp came out instead. Just as Tamora gave the pincer one last tug, he finally managed to shout out the rest of his thought.

“I’m falling in love with her!”

The moment his wound met the open air, he gasped. It was a brand new form of misery as the deep cut was left open and raw, and he could not will his body to move toward his hammer. Tamora rushed back up to his torso and sat him up, grabbing his hammer out of his belt and pushing it into his hand. She guided him to the wound and a yellow glow shone from his leg as he healed himself. A collective sigh of relief washed over the crowd.

“Good as new,” he said, still breathing heavily. He was exhausted, and it was clear in his voice. “Told you I could fix it.”

“You’re something else, Fix-It,” Kohut said with a laugh. “For such a small guy, you sure can handle a lot of pain.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you fellas,” Felix said. “Thank you—all of you.”

He turned his gaze toward Tamora, whose eyes were bright with an emotion he didn’t recognize. She grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him close, crushing her lips to his in a heated kiss. Murmurs of surprise sounded throughout the crowd, but she didn’t care. Felix was flabbergasted by this display of affection, but he was more than happy to caress her cheek and return the kiss. Several seconds ticked by before she released him, and he was somewhat hesitant to speak up; he was thrilled beyond belief, but he wasn’t sure how much thought she had put into the kiss. What if she was having regrets?

“What are you doing?” he asked softly. “I thought you said—”

“I was wrong. I shouldn’t have tried to hide this for so long,” she said. “I’m sorry I did that to you.”

“It’s okay,” he replied. “I understand why you did.”

“No, it’s not okay,” she said. She took a deep breath before continuing. “I love you, Felix. I shouldn’t have been so afraid of that.”

Felix was stunned by her confession.

“...What did you just say?”

“You heard me,” she replied. Her smile was somewhat bashful as she locked eyes with him, and it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

“You’re right, I did, I just...” he paused with a small chuckle of disbelief. A bright pink flush coated his cheeks and a broad smile stretched across his lips. “I really liked hearing you say those words in my direction.”

“Are you going to send them back my way or what?” she teased.

“Oh, Tammy, I...”

His sentence trailed off as he looked into her eyes. This was the happiest moment of his life, and if he had to go through a near-death experience to get here, then so be it. He kissed her again, unable to stop smiling.

“I love you, too.”

Kohut cleared his throat, drawing their attention.

“I hate to interrupt this little moment, but, uh...” He gestured to the cybug that Tamora’s team was still holding. “Where do you want us to put this thing?”

“Drop it on the battlefield, it’ll disappear with the first quarter alert,” she said.

She stood up and helped Felix to his feet. As they made plans to visit Fix-It Felix Jr. before the arcade opened, they were interrupted once again by Kohut.

“Say, Fix-It, that hammer of yours... Can it really fix anything?” he asked.

“Yes sir,” came the handyman’s chipper reply. “I’ve never met a wreck that this hammer couldn’t fix.”

“D’you think you could come by later to fix that hole in the ceiling?”

Before Felix could agree, Tamora cut him off.

“Absolutely not. You let a cybug get past your patrol last night. No one leaves this game tonight until you fix it yourselves,” she said.

She had no pity for her men despite the quiet complaints she could hear from the group.

“Besides,” she said as she took Felix by the hand. “He’s got a date tonight.”

#hero's cuties #wreck it ralph #sgt calhoun #fix it felix #hero's duty #my fic #ayyyye it's done #this took forever #darn you near-death experiences for making tamora talk about her feelings

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motorcitizens · 4 years

Text

ive never seen anywhere to watch motorcity with subs? so i went looking and found transcripts of most of the early mc episodes (available in a reply so tumblr doesnt kill the post) but theyre missing a few towards the end. i decided on my fourth rewatch that id transcribe episode 9! whether youre a hard of hearing fan or just want the reference, here you go! let me know if the initials are annoying, ill edit them out.

-I got you with the slash!

-Nuh-uh!

-You first.

-Why me?

-Cuz you're dead anyway.

-There's nothing down here!

-Philip? S- stop fooling around, man. I- I can hear you down there.

-Aah!

[theme]

-The last time I bought anything from you, it took me a week to fumigate the kitchen!

-Okay, the reshcaps were a mistake, you're right about that. But today, I have something extra special...

D- ...then she says, 'that's why I can't eat the sandwich!'

[all laugh]

C- Wait, wait, I got one. Where does a snowman keep his money? In a snow bank! Eh? Get it? Come on, it's funny!

Th- We're searching for the Vanquisher, king of the realm?

T- Oh. I think they're talking about me.

M- Yeah, I have no idea who you're-

Th- There he is!

Burners- Chuck?!

T- [laughter]

R- Hey! You dare insult Lord Vanquisher? I should take your tongue and feed it to the birds.

T- Uh, you can't do that. I need my tongue.

C- Release him, Darkslayer.

R- ... Fortune smiles upon you today.

M- So, Chuck, you wanna introduce us to your... friends?

C- Guys, allow me to present: Thurman the Magnificent, and Ruby the Darkslayer!

Th: We are knights of the kingdom of Raymanthia.

C- It's called LARPing! [...] Live action role-playing? [...] Okay, I have a life outside of the Burners, you know!

D- Sure doesn't look like it.

T- Oh! I get it! Ahahaha!

Th- My Lord, a situation has arisen. The oracle awaits.

O- As you requested, Sam and Phillip were dispatched on a scouting mission early this morning. But we have not heard from them for many hours.

M- What do you mean you haven't heard from them?

O- I fear, Lord Vanquisher, they have gotten lost on the outskirts of the realm.

T- Texas is confused. Okay, now is this part of your little game or is this real?

D- We're standing behind some dude's van who calls himself the oracle. What do you think?

O- I demand silence!

J- I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm with Texas on this one.

O- Chuck! Make em stop.

C- Wait. Is this part of the game?

Th- No. Sam and Philip are really missing.

M- So, this is for real?

O- We need your help.

C- I vow to find our wayward kinsmen.

C- Guys, this is LARPing!

T- Woah. That's it?

C- Each weekend, teams battle for control of the realm. The rules are simple: First, once you step onto the field of battle, you must remain in character. Second, if you must be vanquished: do so with honor. It's neat, ain't it?!

J- The game's already started?

R- If by 'game' you mean a ferocious battle to the death for the crown of Raymanthia, then yes.

O- But we can't win unless we find our friends.

[at the same time]

C- I say we split up.

M- Let's split up.

M- No disrespect! Chuck- uh, I mean, Lord Chuck. What do you think we should do?

C- Ahem! If we split up, we'll cover more ground!

O/Th/R- As you say, Lord Vanquisher.

C- Okay guys. We'll check the warehouse near the old Renaissance center, you guys check the battlefield.

Th- I dunno where that is. Can somebody else drive?

M- So, King Chuck. How'd you win your crown?

O- It happened many weekends ago... Chuck stood as freedom's last hope against Mad Dog the Conqueror. If he were to fall, darkness would reign for yet another long weekend. Mad Dog summoned his dragon to finish off the Vanquisher once and for all, but fate had different plans. It was totally awesome!

C- Naw, it wasn't... that awesome.

D- Little dudes!

J- Sam! Phillip?

D- Where are you?

Guy- Huzzah!

R- Leave this to me!

Guy- The bards shall sing of this day... the day the Darkslayer fell!

R- Someone shall fall on this day... but it shall not be me.

[fighting noises]

Guy- Aha! Tsk, tsk. You've lost your sword!

T- hyah!

R- What are you doing! I had him right where I wanted him!

Guy- You're not playing by the rules.

T- These are Texas rules! [karate noises] Now. We need you to answer some questions.

D- We're looking for two missing kids, Sam and Phillip. Have you seen them?

Guy- I'd rather die a thousand deaths than help the likes of you.

J- Ahem! Forgive us, my liege, but we are but humble squires in search of our kinsmen. Can you help us?

Guy- I've never been one to refuse a lady, certainly not one as ravishing as you. Saw your kinsmen five hours ago, approaching the Dungeon of Anguish.

D- Neat trick.

Th- We're never gonna find them in time. Then the stupid Bardonians are gonna win, think they're all cool with their fancy mustaches.

C- Hey. Buck up there, camper! People said we'd never win the Battle Royale last Fall, but we did. Our friends are out there, and we'll find em! We just gotta keep-

M- Uh, sorry. Dutch just called. Your friends were seen someplace called the Dungeon Anguish?

Th- It's actually the Dungeon of Anguish.

C- It's, uh. Well, it's actually just in the basement right here.

C- Wah, ah! Get it off me, get it off me!

Th- This isn't part of the game!

M- Yeah, well, neither is this!

R- That was. Incredible!

D- What were those things?

M- Don't know. But I'm betting they have something to do with our missing friends. We have to move. [LARPers kneel] Uh, come on. Get up, guys, we don't have time for this.

O- From this day forth, you shall be known as "Mike, the Smiling Dragon."

Th- You just got a great name. Jealous!

C- For saving my life on the field of battle, I owe you a debt of life.

M- That's... really not necessary.

O- Actually, it's totally necessary. The king of the realm cannot rule while carrying a debt of life.

C- As such, I give the crown to the Smiling Dragon!

M- No. No, Please, look, I can't, I just- I was-

C- Mikey, you gotta!

J- Hey guys, check this out! I've never seen that symbol before.

D- That's really old.

M- Way before my time. Maybe Jacob can help.

Th- What if those... things have Sam and Phillip?

R- Never fear. We have the Smiling Dragon. As long as he's our king, we can't lose. Did you see his moves? They were just so- so-!

M- You okay, buddy? Look, if it's about what happened back there, I'm sorry man. I was just trying to help.

C- It's not that. It's just-

M- Just what?

C- Look, I tripped, okay?

M- Um... If that's some kind of LARPer slang, I have no idea what it means.

C- The story you heard. About how I earned my crown? That's not how it really... went down. It was my first real battle. I'd never held a real lance before. I was still getting my balance when Lord Mad Dog summoned his dragon... I ran forward but... I tripped. The lance fell and hit him by accident! I won my crown with a lie. Hey... it's better that you're king now. I was never fit for the post. I've been king for 48 consecutive weekends, and-

M- 48? Woah, you do play this game a lot.

C- Yeah, but... it took less than an hour of LARPing with you for the others to see me for what I truly am... a follower.

M- Hey, a follower couldn't have led his team to 48 consecutive victories. You can't fake that!

C- Mikey... Look, I appreciate your support but we both know I'm no leader. Not when I'm a Burner and not even when I'm here, playing make believe.

M- Here. Take the pin back.

C- You can't just give it to me! The only way I can get it back is to earn it by saving your life. And let's be honest. That ain't gonna happen.

Th- Never seen that tunnel before. You aren't planning on taking us down there, are you?

R- Well I'm going in!

Th- Do you know how much trouble I'll get in if my mom finds out I went down some crazy dark tunnel looking for killer robots?!

O- He's not joking. His mom is terrifying.

M- They're right. This isn't a game anymore. Texas will stay up here and keep you safe while we go get your friends.

T- What! Wait, why me?

M- Because you're the bravest warrior we've got.

T- Yeah, that's true, but come on! Don't leave me with the nerds!

D- What is this place?

O- Booyah! Mutant wolverine. I win!

Th- I could show you how to use that.

T- Save it. Not interested.

O- Why not? You're really good.

T- You really think so?

Th- Here, watch.

T- Hyah! Huh?

T- Mike, Julie! Incoming! We got trouble!

Th- Come on, I just got this!

O- Your mom is gonna be so mad.

J- This isn't working!

M- I'm open to suggestions!

R- A wizard!

Ja- Applesauce!

J- Jacob?

R- Aww!

Bot- The creator has returned!

M- Uh, Jacob? Care to fill us in?

Ja- It started back when Kane and I were partners- before there even was a Deluxe! I was designing our first ever Utility Bot. Its purpose was to make life in Detroit easier and safer. I equipped it with a new AI that would allow the bot to anticipate human commands, but I was the only one the bot seemed to listen to. But if it were ever to escape the lab, there's no telling the danger it could pose. I begged Kane to shut the program down! I always thought he did.

Bot: It began soon after you left us. Kane retrained us! We were instructed to capture enemies of the public and bring them back to Kane's new creation, an Interrogator. But the humans could not control it. Kane sealed the lab. Our new master told us every human was out to destroy us. As such, every human became our enemy. Disloyalty was severely punished. So we waited, until this door finally opened.

M- Our friends went missing this morning. Have you seen them?

Bot- Of course. We took them per our master's instructions.

J- We need to get them back!

[roar]

Bot- Our master has awoken. If he discovers you here with us, he will destroy us.

M- Get the LARPers out of here!

C- I'm not leaving you guys!

R- Our place is here, with our King!

M- This isn't a game! Get your friends to safety.

C- Let's move!

D- Come on!

J- Look out!

[rubble collapses the door]

T- Mike!

D- Julie!

Both- Jacob!

D- We'll never move this stuff by ourselves!

T- Says who?

Th- What do we do?

C- I know a way to get through there! But I will require your van.

Ja- There used to be another exit!

J- Hey, look at this!

M- The kids have to be in one of those rooms. If we can find a way past that thing we can rescue them and get the heck out of here! Think you can buy us some time?

J- Do you even have to ask? Hey, ugly! Over here!

M- Sam! Phillip! Climb up here!

S- You're the new king of the realm?

M- You bet your butt I am. Lord Smiling Dragon, at your service. Now get up that rope, squire!

T- Okay, I admit. It's pretty cool.

C- But is it possible?

D- Sure. But there's no way the three of us can build it fast enough.

C- What if they helped?

D- I know you don't mean the little lunatics that just tried to kill us!

Bot- We cannot get involved. If our master were to find out-

C- He's not your master! You are in Raymanthia. And in Raymanthia, every man- or... freaky little Utiliton- is free! Free to stand up for yourselves. Free to fight back! And free to live! Our friends are down there, and I swear to you on the steel of my blade that even if I have to slay the beast itself, we! will! bring them back!

[utilitons cheering]

T- hwah! Nah, see, this ain't nerdy. This is a level 25 battle ax, okay? Twenty five. Think about it.

Ja- Maybe there wasn't another exit?

M- Stay here!

M- Way to go, Chuck!

S&P- The Vanquisher!

T- Make way for Texas!

C- The beast is absorbing the blasts!

[mike gets got]

C- Mike!

C- Drive! and when I say stop, stop fast! ...STOP!

M- Ha, oh yeah!

M- For saving my life on the field of battle, I owe you my life. My steel is yours to command, since a king cannot carry... I forget how the rest of it goes, here! All hail King Chuck, the Vanquisher!

R- This was the coolest game ever!

M- ... the game. Your win streak. You guys have to go defend your crown!

Th- We'll never be able to muster an attack in time.

T- What if we help.

M- We're yours to command, Lord Vanquisher.

C- For the glory of the realm!

[all yell]

#motorcity #i meant to just. have this but i figured i might as well post it #chuck (motorcity)#mike chilton #julie kane #dutch gordy #texas (motorcity)#mne

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itsclydebitches · 5 years

Note

Hey Clyde! Love your reviews on RWBY. My question is about Ozpin. If he survived fighting Cinder, would the events of volume 4-6 still happen? I believe the only reason team RWBYJNR treated Ozpin that way was because he was with Oscar who basically looked like a kid to them. However, if he was still in his adult body, would they have been more respectful?

Hi, anon! Thank you! I’m actually super glad you asked this. I’ve touched on how Oscar’s age and looks have impacted how others perceive Ozpin a bit in other asks, but haven’t had the chance to compose a substantial meta about it. I will attempt to fix that here!

FYI, it’ll get decently image heavy from here on out.

First, as a general response to the question of whether the events of Volumes 4-6 would have changed if Ozpin had survived: absolutely. If only because Ozpin as a figurehead would have still been around to lead both his inner circle and function as a symbol of strength for the rest of the world. Unless he was completely incapacitated from the fight or something (like in a coma), the expectation is that Ozpin would have begun rebuilding his school. Glynda wouldn’t have been left alone to try and deal with a frozen Wyvern attracting grimm. Ironwood wouldn’t have been left to figure out where to go from here. Qrow wouldn’t have been sent on a mission to return Ozpin’s cane. The whole world (including Atlas) may have been less likely to panic with Ozpin there to provide perspective and support. Lionheart presumably would have been less inclined to betray him, at least so soon and so overtly. An Ozpin who will reincarnate at some unknown point is a future Lionheart problem, and therefore far less intimidating. An Ozpin who still lives and commands his inner circle is way more of a threat and Lionheart would be more likely to get caught. Remember that even Salem was surprised by how quickly Ozpin reincarnated and dove back into the game—all the baddies were banking on more time. So yes, a ton would have changed. The group’s focus is now more along the lines of, “So is Ozpin going to fix things and can we go back to school?” and less, “Ozpin is dead as a door nail and no one is able to fix things for us. Might as well go hunt Cinder ourselves.”

But onto the meat of the ask. Is the group treating Ozpin like they are at least partly because he’s in the body of a kid? That’s also a resounding ‘yes.’ Human beings, including the humans and the faunus that we write in fiction, are incredibly judgmental (for better and for worse) based on how someone else looks. If you’re able to see then you tend to prioritize that information over other aspects of a person. We create markers that we then learn and assume mean something when, much of the time, they don’t. Or, to put it another way, we create stereotypes. We can think about this in terms of gender presentation: a masculine-looking person giving orders is seen as the “boss” whereas a feminine-looking person giving orders is seen as a “bitch.” We can complicate that with race: we’re more likely to view a white woman giving orders as “assertive” when compared to a black man giving orders. That’s “aggressive.” From giving a girl long blonde hair when you want to cue people into the fact that she’s (supposedly) dumb, to making a man skinny when you want him to seem vulnerable, our media is chock-full of those markers, subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) encouraging us to read characters in particular ways. There’s a reason that Yang, the go-getter, is blonde whereas Blake, the bookworm, has black hair. There’s a reason that Cardin wasn’t designed as a twig and Jaune is a couple inches shorter than him. There’s even a reason why the sap the group collects is red rather than, say, yellow, orange, blue—literally any other color. Only red sap makes it look like Cardin is covered in blood when he attacks Jaune, thus increasing how much we read him as a threat. The characters’ designs matter.

What does all that have to do with Ozpin? Well, at the start of the series his markers all point to authority and wisdom. He’s a white man, for one. He dresses in a formal suit. There are nods towards his age (a cane, white hair) that tell us, despite his baby face, that he’s someone who has been around a while and thus has a great deal of experience to draw on. He’s also, significantly, tall. Take a look at how his talks with Ruby read visually.

Ruby is incredibly small compared to Ozpin. He towers above her and she’s constantly in a position of looking up to him, mirroring the ways in which she figuratively looks up to him for advice. Her mannerisms are also younger and don’t carry much confidence. Crossing her arms and sulking. Wringing her hands while asking if she’s made a mistake. The way Ruby moves contrasts Ozpin’s own very still, very composed mannerisms. Body language and facial expression is one of the primary ways that we communicate and the slightest change can carry a world of meaning. For example, compare these two shots of Yang from Volume 1 and Volume 6:

On the surface they appear quite similar, but provided there isn’t something impacting how we read these moments (such as some people with autism), we learn that these poses mean two very different things. Two hands on your waist is a relaxed pose; one hand on your waist is an arrogant pose. At least when combined with an angry expression. One arm, the placement of her eyebrows, and suddenly Yang’s attitude towards Ozpin has radically changed. We went from casual respect to defiance, and most viewers wouldn’t need to know anything else about RWBY’s story to read that here. Her body language alone tells the story.

Ozpin’s body language with Ruby then cues the viewer into the fact that he (supposedly) has the answers here, simply by virtue of him exuding a confidence that Ruby doesn’t possess yet. Who do you look to in a bad situation? The person screaming and running around in panic? Or the person who calmly announces that they can help, getting everyone else to calm down by keeping calm themselves? This sort of characterization is partly why the fandom grew suspicious of Ozpin early on. It’s not simply that he (on the surface) is modeled after the shady authority figure trope, but that we’ve learned from real life experience that a person’s ability to keep calm and speak eloquently doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re right. Sounding authoritative is a skill and it’s why the likes of cult leaders and dictators are so dangerous. If you just sound and look like you know what you’re doing, people have a tendency to believe you. And if you’re inclined towards critical thinking, you might be wary of the person whose demeanor is a little too polished.

Even when Ozpin is being playful he maintains a certain level of dignity. His clothes, his physical looks, and the controlled movement of the mug—he’s not jumping around like Nora might—all remind us that Ozpin is the headmaster here and thus, though he’s making silly jokes about popcorn right now, he deserves a certain amount of respect. Even his posture speaks volumes, one arm still tucked behind his back and shoulders ramrod straight. It’s a posture that speaks of training and discipline. There’s a reason that the general (Ironwood) is always animated as standing tall with hands neatly folded and the presumably less dependable drunk (Qrow) is animated with a constantly hunched posture. How Ozpin stands is a quick and easy way to tell the viewer, “This guy is in charge. He’s powerful. He’s wise. You can rely on him.”

All of this changes dramatically once Ozpin is thrown into Oscar’s body. Moving chronologically, it’s significant that the group is not introduced to this new Ozpin as a dignified individual.

This is what we get later. Note the crossed legs, still good posture, even the ‘adult’ way he holds a mug. In contrast, someone younger and more childish in terms of their personality, like Ruby, tends to hold a drink with two hands and chucks it all back in a manner that would never fly at a dinner party.

Rather than a dignified Ozpin knocking at the door, the group first encounters Oscar, someone who, like Volume 1 Ruby, can be incredibly timid and lacks in self-confidence. This isn’t the body language of a leader arriving to provide you with all the answers.

Oscar’s slouched posture, downward gaze, wringing hands, and fearful expression all paint him as the weak one here. Made worse by the fact that he asks to see Ruby and ignites (an entirely understandable) suspicion in the group. Their first interaction is characterized by perceiving him as both a potential threat, but also one they can easily handle. We don’t like that he’s asking about Ruby, but we can take him in a fight no problem.

And yes, this first impression makes a difference. Knowing something about someone on an intellectual level usually doesn’t trump the emotional response we have to the physical markers we’re faced with. As a non-RWBY example, let’s say you were introduced to these two characters.

Ignoring for a moment that we’re comparing a villain and a hero, let’s say for the sake of argument that you’re told—and are provided proof—that each of these characters are morally sound, powerful adults and you should afford them with the respect they deserve. Being told that simply can’t outweigh what we see. Who are you more likely to respect? The woman who looks like a literal child named Baby Doll in a cutesy outfit, or the very old looking man in badass robes, literally named the Ancient One? All the, “But I am an adult” in the world isn’t going to convince people to read, and therefore respond to, Baby Doll in the same way they would the Ancient One.

That’s the situation Ozpin is in now. He’s told the group that he’s Ozpin, he’s managed to prove it, but there’s always going to be a part of Ruby and the gang that doesn’t quite believe it. Not in Jaune’s literal sense of, ‘He could be lying about who he is,’ but just in a more instinctual, ‘He says he’s our headmaster, but all I see is a fourteen year old kid.’ What you see makes it really easy to ignore what you know, particularly when those two things contrast. Those markers Oscar brings to this new version of Ozpin are simply too influential and yes, that opens the door for the group to treat him with far less respect than they would in his adult form. We see it right from the start when, despite having been told that this is also Ozpin, the group coos over him in an overbearing, disrespectful manner.

This continues even after Ozpin has taken control and is doing everything he can (those dignity markers) to regain some level of trust and respect. Even while seated and attempting to command the room as Headmaster Ozpin, Nora nevertheless undermines that with “Cute little boy Ozpin!” She has chosen to emphasize his looks over his status and notably no one listens when he says, “Please don’t call me that.”

Ozpin has, in this moment, literally been labeled as a child. A “boy.” Though we can’t be sure about what age all his hosts were when Ozpin arrived, based on Jinn’s vision it doesn’t look as if reincarnating into teenagers is common. This may even be the first time.

Any of these past reincarnations would have been able to command more authority, simply because they’re adult men not dressed in dirty farm clothes. If this Ozpin had shown up in Haven,

we would have gotten a very different volume. Age matters. How we perceive age matters. We saw this right in RWBY’s second episode wherein Weiss calls Ruby out on attending Beacon.

It’s Ruby’s looks and Ruby’s looks alone that encourage Weiss to come to the conclusion, ‘You shouldn’t be here.’ The same thing has now happened to Ozpin. You look younger than us and are inhabiting a body that physically couldn’t beat us in a fight? You shouldn’t be here. You definitely shouldn’t be giving us orders.

The group had control of Ozpin’s safe house. They were poised to interrogate him for showing up at it unannounced. Now they emphasize Oscar’s age and characteristics over his, which is ironically the only time that they emphasize Oscar’s individuality over Ozpin’s. In short, they’ve created an environment where a part of them truly believes that they’re older and more knowledgeable simply because of how Ozpin now looks, even though technically they know this isn’t true. It’s a new dynamic and with that comes the confidence to treat him like the fourteen year old stranger he “is”. I don’t believe for a moment that Yang would have ignored Ozpin’s direct questions, shot out irrational accusations, and then demanded a promise from him if he still looked the way he did at Beacon. Especially as someone who came to Haven later and therefore missed the initial proof, Yang simply doesn’t read Ozpin as Ozpin. We’ve seen how other characters interact with him from a student-teacher dynamic and it’s far more respectful.

As this shot demonstrates, there’s also that issue of Ozpin’s size. Where as a headmaster Ozpin commanded authority by being taller than almost everyone else around him, Ozpin as Oscar immediately loses authority by being the smallest in the room. As I mentioned with Jaune and Cardin, size is an easy way to emphasize vulnerability. We quite literally couldn’t have gotten this scene if Ozpin was still 6'6" and looking twice Jaune’s age.

In this scene Jaune honestly thinks this might be Ozpin. He’s accusing him of lying again, of claiming to leave when really he’s spying on them, or just pretending to be this kid called ‘Oscar,’ whatever. The point is that Jaune is working under the assumption that he’s interacting with his headmaster, yet that knowledge obviously doesn’t give him pause. Because Ozpin’s new look outweighs everything else Jaune knows about him. He’s angry and now suddenly Ozpin isn’t an intimidating huntsmen capable of defending himself, Ozpin is a teeny-tiny kid with no training. Jaune becomes Cardin through the realization of, “Oh. If I’m bigger and more powerful than this person, I can do whatever I want to them.”

Ozpin’s size is an ongoing reminder that, despite possessing his own skill as well as magic, he’s in a vulnerable position. He needs to stand on the furniture in order to recreate his students literally and figuratively looking up to him, but now it just reads as a joke.

This isn’t the first time RWBY has used size this way. Cordovin is an excellent example of how a small, non-dignified looking person is unable to maintain authority in the way someone with another appearance might. Her white hair just makes her look old rather than wise and her short stature is so extreme that it invites humor. It’s not just that Cordovin is a racist, or that her guards act like Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Her appearance immediately gave the group another excuse for why they shouldn’t listen to her. Look at this tiny old woman trying to tell us what to do. Yeah right, lady. We could probably punt you into the sun so step aside.

This is a look that makes guards release prisoners in three seconds flat.

This is a look that encourages laughter and, by extension, a lack of respect.

The extreme camera angle in order to make Cordovin look ‘imposing.’ The fact that she looks like a literal child next to Weiss… none of it encourages the group, or the audience, to take her seriously. Rooster Teeth made a conscious decision when they decided to animate Volume 6′s “bad guy” as an old woman with sagging breasts and an extremely small stature.

The only time when someone that small is re-characterized as authoritative is when they’re standing up against unimaginable odds.

Ignoring that this scene in reality is Ruby refusing to take responsibility for the crimes she is currently committing, what Rooster Teen wants this shot to do is function as an example of extreme heroism. That’s accomplished by taking our second smallest character and situating her in front of a larger-than-life mech. Ruby’s refusal to back down in the face of something so much bigger than her is (again) supposed to be inspiring. She’s standing up to Cordovin’s “bullying” in a way Oscar was unable to do with his own mech: a bigger and more threatening Jaune.

(I really cannot express how awful Volume Six was wow).

All of which brings me to my final point. Namely that, by virtue of his age and size, Ozpin as Oscar will always look ridiculous when attempting to make use of his former markers. Using a cane?

Headmaster Ozpin’s age and height makes it look distinguished. Ozpin at Oscar’s age and height makes it look silly. What’s the fourteen year old doing with a cane nearly as tall as he is? (Acknowledging that this is an ableist assumption. Some fourteen year olds do need canes, but most viewers are going to question this in a way they never would with the white-haired adult). What’s the kid doing with such a fancy looking cane when he’s literally covered in dirt, bandages, rags, and badly mended clothes? That’s a silly contrast.

Headmaster Ozpin fighting? Totally badass. One of the shortest and yet most talked about fights in the show.

Ozpin as Oscar fighting? Still badass… if you’re willing to work for it a bit more. But really, the kid swinging a cane around just will never have the same feel as a grown man who looked like Ozpin did.

Ozpin himself is a dignified person, but anytime he adopts those mannerisms now he looks silly at best, arrogant at worst.

I think his look is largely why so many fans read the snow scene as him talking down to the group. He no more talked down to them here then he did when he conversed with Ruby, or Pyrrha, or the team while heading off to Mountain Glenn. The only difference is that the previous Ozpin commanded all that authority, so his warnings and criticisms held weight. This Ozpin not only doesn’t look the part of an authority figure, half his time is spent being Oscar, someone who defers to and scurries around the rest of the group. So when Ozpin tries to take charge here, everyone is far less willing to listen. People are inclined to read him as arrogant, patronizing, talking down to others, etc. because it looks like a small child giving orders to a more older, more powerful team. Even though it’s not.

It’s the combination of everything above that leads to moments like this. Where Ozpin is smaller, more vulnerable, looks too young, too naive, where the group towers over him for once and hurts him both physically and emotionally because now they can.

Tl;dr: Yeah. Oscar’s looks and Oscar’s personality changed things irrevocably. If Ozpin had still looked like Ozpin the group wouldn’t feel half as entitled to this behavior and gaining their respect—from ‘Please don’t address me like that’ to ‘Please understand why I kept secrets’—would be far, far easier.

#Anonymous #rwby #ozpin #mymetas

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katcadecascade · 4 years

Text

New Qrow fic WIP

It’s a bit of a character study but mostly RWBY/JNOR/more doing shenanigans.

The only problem, I can’t think of a name for this fic.

Anyway here, Chapter One/Round One: Throwing Down the Gauntlet

Blake will admit, she’s a sucker for romance.

How could she not be?

In a world where morbid emotions attract monsters, where injustice breeds from hatred of culture and birth traits, something as simple and layered as love is beautiful and strong and can power people through their darkest moments but also bring them to their knees.

She should say she just learned this all from her books but honestly in the last year or so, Blake has certainly lived through some crazy shit.

But let’s not get into that right now.

Sure her tale begins with her people’s suffering, her parent’s pacifism, a poor boy’s spite, and her own frightful shadows. She could go write to great lengths on how the journey gained her treasured friends, bonds forged through fire, and how it lead them to the coldest place of the north.

That’s where this game begins.

Yes a game indeed or maybe a war by the sharpness in the Valkyrie’s eyes or the telltale song notes of glyphs charging up.

It began with a series of events that piqued the interest of the eight (and later on more) charges under the wings of Qrow Branwen.

The first thing they noticed took place on their very first night in Atlas, where one General James Ironwood hugged the scythe master. The two thought they were alone but the nieces back tracked to get their uncle.

While they made the wise decision to leave the men alone, the girls immediately blurted their findings to the rest of their friends.

Their reactions were of surprise and cooing but it only trigger their radars to look out for more of these moments. None of them could recall ever seeing Qrow be so vulnerable with anyone else. Granted they didn’t spend the most time with him but even Yang and Ruby were caught off guard.

This was their uncle so ultimately this was under Yang’s and Ruby’s discretion or wonderment.

That didn’t stop the rest of them from being curious to see what else will happen between Qrow and Ironwood.

Small and subtle were the ways of the General, lingering eyes or the quietly inviting the huntsman into his office. Ruby’s sniper skills were used for observations like these. Her skills in stealth could’ve been better to muffle her cooing.

Things were going steady, slowly seeing the man underneath the steel. Maybe then the kids could decide to trust him with the truth from the Lamp. Not that Qrow’s compromised in anyway, but seeing this spark between them certainly helps the kids trust the general a little bit more.

James Ironwood appeared to be able to offer up his heart to Qrow.

So imagine their surprise when Clover Ebi entered the game.

There’s that word again: game.

It’s a little immature to describe it as so but Blake couldn’t think of any other word.

Blake and the others keep noticing certain events focused on Qrow, usually engaged by one man or the other.

Small side glances, a brushing of hands, coffee treats and many more that can be listed as intimate or thoughtful or purposeful. Although, Clover’s flirting are rather forward. Most importantly, Qrow’s happiness is the growing outcome.

And pray tell what game is this? Where two men woo a common thread that is slowly becoming enamored by these actions?

A courting game.

Hands slam down on the kitchen table. “Everyone, place your bets!”

“We are so not betting on this!” Weiss crossed her arms, perfectly poised and unmoved.

“Come on,” Nora whined, “There’s nothing else to do here.”

“Aside from doing our jobs and brainstorming how to save the world?”

“All I’m saying is that we need a break from all the seriousness and focus on Team Dad.”

On the couches, only Blake noticed the resident nieces share a glance. They don’t argue against their uncle’s title, instead they quirk their lips in a knowing look.

(Blake later understands their silent exchanges when a game changer occurs)

“Nora’s right,” Jaune agreed, “and I usually never want to say that.”

“Hey!”

“You’re the one who broke the coffee machine by trying to fix it,” Oscar pointed out. Behind him said device has a despairing groan.

Ruby follows up, “And then got the rest of us blaming each other for it.”

“Enough, enough,” the redhead shouted, “We’re getting off track!”

“We are not conspiring on Qrow’s love life!” Weiss proclaimed.

“She’s right,” Ren said with the composure of a sage, highlighted as he sipped his tea, “There’s no need to.”

Yang raised an eyebrow, both curious and surprised, “What do you mean?”

Everyone waited for their resident ninja to finish another long drink, for dramatic effect Blake must note.

Then simply enough, he answers, “Qrow would fall for the General.”

That was clearly not the answer Nora wanted.

She’s a sputtering mess while next to her, Weiss holds her head high.

“Thank you, someone else sees my point,” the ex-heiress nods.

Sharpness in Jaune’s voice catches her off guard, “Your point? You think Ironwood’s gonna get with Qrow?”

“Is it not obvious?”

Nora butts in, a strange tension in her shoulders, “Sure yeah but look at Clover!”

Her team leader listed off, “They’re mission partners but also hanging around each off in their downtime.”

“Yes,” Nora nods enthusiastically, “Just like Jaune with Marrow.”

“H-hey wait-“

“You haven’t seen Qrow with James alone though.”

Again, everyone is quiet as they stare down their resident cute wizard boy.

Oscar squirms a little under the attention, backtracking, “Oh, um, I only mean um I would see them right before James tutors me? And Qrow would sometimes be there too and,” he sighs heavily, “honestly it’s like my aunt’s romance novels.”

Blake immediately guesses the classic tropes of longing, quiet vulnerability, trust and intimacy. She doesn’t voice her thoughts. No need since Weiss happily regales her own findings.

“Winter says that she’s never seen Ironwood so relaxed before. Sure she’s a little teed that it was Qrow’s doing but the results are still good.”

“But what about Qrow’s ‘results’ when he’s with Clover,” Nora argued.

Ruby does her little head shake, musing over her thoughts, “He is a lot calmer or relaxed.”

Nora cackles at the fuming Weiss, affronted at her girlfriend not on her side.

That’s rectified as Ruby taps her chin, scholarly and not noticing Weiss’ heat, “Although he is a lot more teasing around Ironwood.”

“See!” Weiss grins as if this is victory. Her current rival is unbothered.

“He’s the same with Clover,” Nora counters and honestly Weiss can’t possibly argue with that.

Too many times have the kids witness Qrow becoming a bumbling, blushing mess when Clover compliments him. There’s so much bi/gay tension there to even think of denying.

“Qrow must be taking his time then,” Blake voiced. “With both Ironwood and Clover, maybe he’s a bit overwhelmed.”

Next to her, Yang sighs, “Knowing him, he might not realize what’s going on unless someone tells him.”

“Or he’s aware of all of this happening and dismisses it as something that can’t actually happen to him,” Jaune painfully accurately describes as what is probably going on.

This type of denial of happiness, this consuming pit of numbness and pain, people who loved and lost and felt guilty for even loving and losing need to be told they’re deserving of love.

Maybe Jaune’s speaking for himself or maybe Blake’s interpreting for her own experiences.

But one shared glance with the knight confirms her thoughts. Qrow must have talked to him too about this type of grief.

The blame and the guilt and the responsibility of losing someone, be it person of goodness or of spite, it’s a heavy feeling that Blake, Jaune, Qrow and possible the others too have carry.

So while the huntsman tries to assure the two kids of their grievances, there hasn’t been an opportune time to ask how he’s coping. As the young adults under his care, they all worry about him, especially his nieces. At first he was the mysteriously cool uncle as proclaimed by Ruby and later on the secretive and paranoid uncle explained by Yang but in their shared time together, each kid gotten to know the crow by their own definitions.

It’s like that little thing Blake does, associate a word with a person.

She told Sun about her girls, Earnest, Defiance, and Strength.

Then there’s team JNPR, Tenacity for Jaune, Zestful for Nora, Ascendancy for Pyrrha and Acuity for Ren. It took some time but eventually Oscar became Perseverance.

As for Qrow, well, she jokingly thought Mother Hen but now she’s satisfied to call him Memory.

It’s mostly because of all the Muninn parallels but there is just so much history behind Qrow Branwen. Carried in the creak in his bones, dips in his scars, the grey of his feathery hair, the surprise in his laughs, like he’s relearning how it is to walk with ghosts and angels.

So yeah, Blake sometimes worries about him and then she and Weiss worry about Ruby and Yang getting worried too.

But maybe there’s no need to.

From the soft gazes he sets on James and Clover, maybe they’re the ones making sure their Team Dad/Uncle is doing okay.

Now if only Qrow’s love life can move to the next stage.

Their conversation during breakfast was more than enough as food for thought, analyzing everything they know of Qrow Branwen and how he interacts with two men in particular.

Early mission meetings are obviously designated Clover Flirting Time as they get to their seats.

“I wouldn’t mind having another match with you,” Clover said casually as if it didn’t take weeks of near begging for a one on one fight.

“Really? You enjoy falling on your ass that much, lucky charm?”

“Sure do,” Clover slides close, letting his hip press against Qrow’s. “But I like seeing you down on the mats just as much.”

That flirt was meant to be whispered, low and teasing and it definitely sends a blush down Qrow’s neck. It’s a real shame that Blake has an extra set of ears to hear this.

Then from the sight of Marrow almost choking on his coffee, he probably heard it too.

The dog faunus and the cat faunus exchange silent misery.

“Ooh, another match?” Nora, being her glorious self, pops right at Qrow’s side and the two men nearly jump. “Hah, that’s a bit boring by now.”

Clover raises a brow, slightly wary and challenged, “Boring?”

Nora nods her head as Ren-like as possible, “Yep, I mean, training doesn’t have to be combat does it?”

Qrow blinks at her, and so does her teammates because hey, this is Nora complaining about combat training. “Nora, you got something else in mind?”

This encouragement, openness and trust, Blake wouldn’t have noticed it before but Qrow has been putting a lot more faith in them since Argus. It’s really nice to have an adult take them seriously. Then again this is Qrow. He encouraged Yang and Jaune to start a prank war.

Their resident lightning in a bottle had a million volt grin, “Parkour and freerunning! We all saw the Ops jumping around in the mines and that time Qrow and Winter destroyed the campus.”

“Miss Valkyrie,” hissed the ice queen, “I advise you to refrain from telling that anecdote.”

“What, feeling sore since you lost?” Qrow grinned.

“I did not lose, Qrow,” she glared, “it was clearly a stalemate.”

“Wow, now I’m really curious,” Clover said.

“I’ll tell you all about it then,” Qrow winked, “like how I clearly would’ve won.”

Next to Nora, Jaune added in, “There was a recording of it going around campus, like from the moment Qrow bushed back his bangs to the end where the General stopped the fight.”

To Blake, it’s a little odd to see Jaune gush about this since majority of them choose to ignore the usually mushiness of Clover Flirting Time. But then she notice the way Jaune subtly elbowed his teammate.

“Brush your bangs?” Clover’s focus on that little detail had him reach over to do said action, “Huh, you don’t look that intimidating like this.”

Like this, as they all observe, is Qrow blushing madly at the close contact and gentle action, the way Clover’s fingers glided through his dark hair like water.

Oblivious to the two men, everyone else in the room saw Jaune and Nora fist bump each other. They don’t even hide their smugness. No they toss it over at Weiss and Ren.

Ren is slightly alarmed.

Their resident ice princess on the other hand is silently fuming.

Like Blake mentioned before, this is a game.

It may be petty, invasive, and a tad immoral.

And yet it has begun.

So yeah, I need fic title suggestions and ideas

pls

#rwby fic #blake belladonna #qrow branwen #fair game #ironqrow #my fic

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kendrixtermina · 5 years

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Compare and Contrast: The ‘Rival’ Characters

In each house there’s like this one guy who doesn’t really get along with the House Leader

I swear this is the last rambly essay. Or... second to last.

Felix

Perhaps the most “typical” rival - The Blue Lions in general are designed around basic fantasy or anime archetypes with a twist here and there so its not too suprising that Felix starts off like a less chliched/ more reasonable variant of your basic anime rival.

He’s your basic ‘Arrogant Kung Fu Guy’, a loner, not very friendly, focussed on gaining strenght, used to be friends with the MC once, not a fan of “the power of friendship” but not immune to it either... though unlike most examples he’s not envious or obsessed with beating Dimitri nor actually particularly arrogant. When Leonie beats him with a trap in their support he’s like “Wow thanks, you made me aware of a potential weakness”

Like your classic anime rival he is the strongest of the Lions apart from Dimitri himself, but has a contrasting fighting style - Dimitri is big, tanky and has immense brute strenght, but is clumsy; Felix is lithe, agile and has a very skill-based fighting style. The second strongest deer or eagle would not be Lorenz and Ferdinand. It’s definitely Lysithea for the deer, and probably either Hubert or Petra for the eagles.

Also like your classic anime rival, he’s got a backstory that parallels the hero’s. He also lost a beloved relative in the tragedy of Duscur and also still feels a lot of attachment to people who are gone, but he deals with it very differently than Dimitri. Unlike most cases you can’t really say that one of them did ir ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ both have their dysfunctionalities resulting from the loss if anything Felix is more level-headed though his rejection of all attachment isn’t grounded in maturity either.

They managed to have the classic “ideals are BS, only strenght matters” line actually make sense in a non-voldemordy way for once if you consider the context where he grew up, he definitely has a point. Though he would protest the notion he actually has a moral code of his own (Dimitri clearly offends it - though mostly he’s really thrown of by/ doesn’t know what to make of the Dr. jekyll and Mr. hyde situation) he just wasn’t ever told that it “counts” as it’s not what passes for morals in Faerghus. He’s present and results oriented, rather than guiding principles or rules of thumb he likes to focus on wether it actually saves lifes. (”We’re protecting your subjects not your ego”)

Likewise it makes more sense for him to be the team contrarian when Dimitri actually does have no plan or regard for safety while he’s in Avenger Mode, but ultimately he very much wants Dimitri to succeed.

Another thing of note is that since Claude and Edelgard are revolutionaries, their rivals are the token traditionalists of their respective teams, whereas Dimitri is someone who wants to reinstate the order - He doesn’t like oppression any more than the others but he thinks the existing social institutions have their merit; As he sees it they’d work just fine if they were just carried out virtuously and as a service to the people, not selfishly abused. Hence his rival is one of the two more independent-minded Lions.

Lorenz

Of the three he’s probably the one who most dislikes their leader and who is most genuinely flawed at the start of the game.

With Ferdinand it’s not more than a passing first impression you quickly notice that while he may be naive about how he comes across he isn’t actually arrogant nor does he hate or have seditious intentions toward Edelgard, he’s actually a deeply good guy, a straightforward hero to contrast Edelgard as an anti-hero. He lived an easy live in a good environment which allowed him to develop his potential to the fullest whereas Edelgard was forced to resort to things she doesn’t like because of her harsh life and precarious situation. She just wants to live quietly in peace but had to to grand impactful actions because someone needs to fix the broken system and she happened to have power she never asked for, meanwhile Ferdinand really wants to be a politician and go down in history but is afraid that he’s not making enough of an impact. Felix is more complex, he truly IS mean and spiteful as a real character flaw (with Dedue and Dimitri he has arguably valid principle-based reason to dislike them; But with Sylvain and Ingrid he’s just being mean for meanness’ sake due to his own issues with attachment and says some genuinely awful things to them) but its the one sharp edge on an overall principled dude who actually does care for his comrades, Dimitri included, and he is not a bad person.

Lorenz meanwhile is certainly not what he seems either, he’s not just a superior twat and actually very dutiful, believes that the nobility should actually live up to their obligations and is sort of a cautious shrewd political mind, surely not half as naive as Ferdinand. At the same time he has real shortcomings, at the start of the game he’s somewhat immature and frivolous (very apparent in his pre-timeskip supports with Sylvain and Byleth), though his intentions are not per se impure (he really wants to marry and is actually picky and romantic), he just doesn’t get it in his head that those girls he’s hitting on find him annoying.

But eh, he was like 18 at the time. More damning is his callousness and lack of perspective. He doesn’t really look past his immediate surroundings and the self-interest of himself and his own, and at several times alledges that he wouldn’t have particularly minded if Claude wound up dead in a ditch. He doesn’t know him and genuinely doesn’t care about him, making cold, dissing comments all the time in early part 1.

Of course when you get more context and get further in both their support chain and the plotyou find that he actually has good reasons to distrust Claude, it’s not just snobbishness and prejudice he just really cares about the Alliance and doesn’t trust it to someone who just showed up out of nowhere under suspicious circumstances after the previous Duke had an ‘accident’ (which, ironically, was the work of Lorenz’ own father) - but that doesn’t change that he’s genuinely a little callous.

If you don’t spare Claude on the empire route Lorenz stands out as the only person who will diss him - everyone else, imperial leadership included, is either sad or gives him the worthy opponent treatment, even Hubert who’s not usually the sort to point out his enemies’ redeeming features. He will also diss him in the Kingdom route and express spite that he didn’t get to be Alliance leader.

Indeed while Ferdinand and Felix will wind up supporting Edelgard/ Dimitri if they’re not recruited, Lorenz always opposes Claude unless you’re on the GD route. Even some of the arrogance is real, see his A support with Byleth, he really thought that commoners were ultimately less consequential/influential even though, as he later admits, Byleth was right in front of him the whole time.

To some extent this might be due to his upbringing his father was very much a “Look out for Number one” sorta person who cares only for the wealth of his own territory the rest of the Alliance be damned. Compared to that starting point Lorenz is already a whole lot more considerate as he thinks that his father at least ought to consider the rest of the Alliance, and would certainly NOT stab a rival in the back or callously kill commoners as collateral damage, even at the start of the game.

I don’t wanna get too down on Lorenz tho, once you get to know him he’s adorable and sensitive (his caution comes from actually being somewhat afraid/anxious underneath) and as a friend he is very helpful generous and considerate. I love that support where he keeps offering Ignatz jobs, it’s probably his best moment. He got layers and ultimately ends up having a positive political legacy. And if you’re playing GD or CF he even gets more open-minded by the end.

He also makes for an excellent contrast to Claude - both are somewhat self-interested, opportunistic and distrustful, but Lorenz is cautious and conventional, whereas Claude is unconventional and a risk-taker. Ultimately what brings them together is appreciation for the other’s shrewdness and good intentions, they’re both natural politicians. They also both love poetry.

And Claude’s storyline is one of bringing different people together and convincing them to come to his side/ have them come around. He uses deception to accomplish it, yes, but ultimately he wants people to see his point - Even someone who is as different from him as Lorenz is. After all he wants to build a world where there’s a place for everyone. So when he finally wins over Lorenz halfway through part 2 it means a lot to him. Claude probably half doubts that it’s possible but he wants everyone to truly come around.

Whereas Edelgard would surely prefer convincing as well, but failing that she’d strongarm or eliminate someone like that. (Though it has to be said that she would do so because she cares deeply about the net result and one priviliged twat’s feelings, or even her own, are not more important that ending oppression asap IMHO Both have a point and both have their shortcomings.)

Another Detail is that while Ferdinand and Felix are each from the Second most Powerful house in their respective countries, the number two spot in the Alliance is probably held by the Gonerils; But the Alliance by nature is more flexible and there is more rising and falling in influence based on wealth merit and your ability to convince and rally the other nobles. Lorenz actually could take Claude’s job, and early on, actually wanted to, so he’s the closest to a real political rival - and Claude’s strenght is more in politics and planning than it is in punching so this is fitting.

The other two are more one-sided, as Dimitri flat out ignores any hostility coming from Felix and would really like to be friends again (also Felix wants Dimitri on the throne ‘cause he’s still vastly better than Chaos or Cornelia, he’d just like him to act reasonable and get his act together, and is ready to support him once he does) and Ferdinand, try as he might, is simply no match for Edelgard in any way as she is the single strongest individual among the younger characters, she’s evenly matched with Byleth in the Church Route reunion scene and ends up with the highest total stats out of all the playable characters.

Ferdinand

Though he’s introduced as always trying to one-up her, makes sure to tell you that he’s the one in charge when you first walk in (no doubt naively repeating something his father said), can end up being full-blown enemies with her in 3 out of 4 routes including the Church route, he doesn’t actually have any sort of personal beef with Edelgard and out of the three ‘rivals’ he probably has the least actual issues with/ dislike toward his respective house leader.

Even when they wind up as enemies he’s actually one of the characters who speaks of Edelgard in a respectful fashion after her death (in GD he mentions how she wanted the next ruler to be chosen based on merit and how she really believed it), and at one point offers Hubert to let the two of them flee right under the Church’s nose if you have them fight. (Especially notable since the Church route is probably the least sympathetic toward Edelgard)

He IS the one who gets the classic rival trait of being competitive, jealous and attention-seeking - I tend to hate these sorts of characters but that’s usually because they are petty, spiteful people who begrudge other’s happiness and are always putting others down so I expected to hate him but actually ended up loving him to no end because he isn’t like that at all. He’s deeply good and has a heart of pure gold. He never lashes out. If someone dislikes him, his reaction is usually to come up some grandiose elaborate gesture to prove his worth and make them like him (Mercedes, Bernie, Dorothea etc.)

Ferdinand was raised by an actual supervillain who clearly wanted to bring him up with an ellbow mentality but that clearly bounced off his inherent goodness like teflon. His sheltered luxurious upbringing might’ve left him a bit naive pre-timeskip in ways that make him come off a tad arrogant or annoying, but he doesn’t think he’s superior to anyone - indeed he works hard to be worthy of his inheritance and justify being in the position that he’s in. He’s somewhat aware that his father’s a crook but his response to that disillusionment is to become the real thing himself. He wants to actually be exceptional and live up to the hype. The old man surely told him that he’s got to make the princess his bitch with some thinly veiled euphemisms but he kinda didn’t catch the seditious treasonous parts of it.

He doesn’t hate Edelgard nor does he wanna doublecross her or put her down, rather, he figures that he’ll be a pretty poor Minister if he can’t hold his own against her he must have something of his own to offer and just generally strives to constantly improve himself. He also strongly believes in thinking for oneself (in that sense he’s kinda like Felix but its a more intellectual thing for him) - In the Church route that’s why he views it as his duty to oppose Edelgard even if it costs him alot. If he sticks with them instead, he eventually realizes that she and Hubert are actually all for independent thought and actually pretty open to his input once they come to trust him (which doesn’t really happen on the other routes). If recruited to the Kindom he’ll also not be afraid to criticise Dimitri. Can’t recall any scene where he criticises or defies Claude right of the bat but then again Claude doesn’t exactly go around saying what his objectives are.

He certainly sticks out among the eagles the way Felix does among the lions - not quite to the same extent cause he’s not that polished and inadvertedly annoys people a lot early on, but they’re all pragmatic, antisocial or both and also largely unconventional and quirky, whereas Ferdinand is very sociable, optimistic, has high ideals and traditional. He’s the one among the nobles who actually wants his father’s job, he’s also the one believer among the largely secular Adrestians, though he’s not exceptionally devout. Though he values collectedness, he’s an expressive romantic sop and very genuine in contrast to the more stoic and unsentimental Edelgard and Hubert (as well as Byleth if they’re on the team), i mean Dorothea’s also extroverted and friendly but she’s often wearing a mask and kinda jaded too. Caspar’s nice and honest but he basically lives to fight. Basically if the Crimson Flower cast were Section Nine, Ferdinand would be Togusa - and like the Major, Hubert and Edelgard actually appreciate him for that though this is not immediately obvious to him.

Ferdinand obviously matures some as the storyline continues but - consider that Lorenz basically gets schooled and Claude is 100% right, and Felix gets to get over himself and stop being so tsundere, he’s not all wrong but he’s not right either and in his Kingdom route endings usually winds up continuing his dad’s legacy after all, even winding up in one of those chivalric tales he used t hate in his paired endings with Dimitri. Lorenz’ position is understandable, Felix has a valid point and comes from a good place, but largely, they are wrong. Ferdinand does somewhat change what he thinks but it’s more of a hegelian synthesis. He’s a helpful ally who contributes a lot and Edelgard and Hubert kinda know this before he does because he was busy comparing himself to her. He’s not gonna beat Edelgard at Edelgard stuff but he has a lot to offer precisely because he’s Ferdinand, and because he’s different from them and actually helps them improve and refine their plans.

After all if you want to replace a flawed system you’ve got to understand why it persisted and your new system has to solve all the problems the old one solves and then some, if it is to last.

Unlike Felix Ferdinand’s very proud of his country, but this is in the context of the Eagles’ main storyline being to put right what their parents done fucked up (or, in the case of Dorothea and Petra, what created the sucky circumstances they lived in) whether they do it with Edelgards revolution or through reconciling their homeland with the church.

Of course Ferdinand isn’t blind to his homeland’s flaws and wants to fix it because he cares about it.

Leonie

Now onto the MC’s own designated rival.

She probably can be said to be have a shade of petty jealousy but since it’s centered around a shared mentor figure and largely harmless it comes off with a distinct annoying-younger-sister vibe more than a more serious rivalry. She never really gets overly upset that she can’t beat Byleth; She just kinda keeps trying undeterred; Might as well shoot for a high target.

Notably she is actually a remarkably chill person in her other supports and has a lot more characterization than just the jeralt thing, with her poor village background and frugal, pragmatic outlook being pretty interesting, she just doesn’t get along with Byleth, but since they’re the POV character and Leonie is kinda constantly aggro at them that works in her detriment. For all that I’m frequently praising how even the more gimmicky characters are seldom one-note I still think they could’ve eased up on the gimmicks now and again.

On the other hand, it shouldn’t be so strange that even Byleth can’t immediately get along with everyone xD

Much like most of Bernadetta’s supports start with her freaking out and running away, Byleth’s usually go like this: At C the various characters act largely how they act toward everyone else (the nice characters are nice, the blunt ones are blunt etc.), then at B they spill their life story and worries and Byleth is like “pat pat”, by the second half of part II the monastery dialogues also evidence some level of fondness and familiarity even with the students that aren’t in your house (which is important cause most of them are pretty sad and apologetic about having to fight Byleth later on)

But of course there’s exceptions here, you have cases like Felix and Edelgard who instantly like them because of obvious similarities, people who take distinctly longer to be won over such as Hubert and Dimitri but ultimately do click with them after a certain point, and then there’s cases like Claude and Dorothea who DO like Byleth but are still somewhat stumped by their somewhat unreadable demeanor, they’re used to dazzling ppl with their charm, not getting the expected reaction and hence their defense mechanisms are lowkey active, indignation for Dorothea and suspicion for Claude.

Leonie doesn’t fit either category she sorta tries to apologize for her latest outburst each time but then ends up going off again.

On the one hand the fact that she isn’t overawed isn’t always a negative thing, it’s like she’s part of the family, and particularly the human side of it.

After they merge with Sothis most the students are awed and excited about their new power/looks and comming divine revelation - some of the eagles are notably cooler on this as they’re not as religious, Bernie’s lowkey scared, Dorothea seems kinda worried about them/ that this will distance them from normal people, Edelgard is secretly heartbroken cause she takes it to mean that they’re destined to be enemies - they’re not the only ones tho Lysithea notably worries about side effects (she would), but then there’s Leonie who’s like “But it’s still you inside there, right? That’s what important.” Like... I think Byleth really needed to hear that.

Instead of “wow everyone mysteriously likes you, you must truly be blessed” she’s like “you accept ppl as they are just like your dad no wonder people like you. ”, she just looks at them with a different perspective.

I mean Cyril and Catherine get a bit jelly that they get so much of Rhea’s attention but then that’s tied up in their own adulation of Rhea and so ultimately the magical destiny thing.

Even the infamous B support evidences a somewhat different, less distanced dynamic - Anger is a natural stage of grief but she’s going off in Byleth’s face when they’re still half in schock, which is a not so great situation but also different from the usual dynamic where Byleth is the calm in-control leader person while their conversation partner spills their soul - they can’t be, because they’re involved. Jeralt’s death affects them both in different ways and that leads to a rather painful clash.

Contrast wise Leonie is maybe what Byleth might’ve been like if they had been born normally. She’s also kinda sassy has a pragmatic fighting style and comes from a common, nonfancy background where she had to work on her own survival by catching her own food. But she doesn’t have the magical destiny/ random religion ready to throw itself at her feet, as she often points out she doesn’t have a crest or money so she has to be shrewd to even get her hands on good equipment instead of having a mystical legendary artifact just falling into her lap.

One wonders if Byleth and Edelgard ever ended up hiding out in some odd place in order to escape from two lance wielding redheards looking to duel them XD

Outcomes

Though Ferdinand gets this dialogue where he wonders about what might’ve been and laments the “Adrestia-shaped hole in his heart” his endings are actually pretty similar regardless of what faction he ends up with. He almost always becomes a statesman or politician of some sort.

He didn’t rely on things just falling into his lap so when they stop doing that he still succeeds, besides with his optimistic go-getter attitude and determination, it’s not a surprise that he’d be fine no matter what happens. It’s a big shock to him when his land gets confiscated on non-empire routes but he always deals somehow and comes out on top through the trials and tribulations.

By contrast Felix gets tons of unique dialogue for each route (with the most, but not complete overlap between VW and SS) and his endings are vastly different depending on wether he sticks with Dimitri or not to the point that even paired endings with the same characters can be vastly different. Generally speaking if he sticks with Dimitri he suceeds his dad and becomes Dimitri’s Right Hand Man (or Left Hand Man depending on where Gilbert and Dedue end up) whereas on the other routes he becomes a wandering mercenary and kinda doesn’t seem as satisfied with the independence and strenght that he used to want so badly.

Only Bernie and Alois come significantly close to having such hugely divergent endings based on route (He becomes the leader of the Knights of Seiros - unless he turns against them then he just chills with his family. Bernie gets a lot more “confident” endings in CF, the one with Byleth is a 180 and the Hubert one is similar, also she’s out of her room a lot more and talks about traveling etc. and even there it’s not ALL endings nor quite as pervasive. )

As for Lorenz there’s three ways it can go. If not recruited he plays ball with the empire out of self-preservation and, its implied, to save his father who’s not worth half of him, and gets killed in the process should the empire lose.

If he’s on your team there’s 2 basic paths depending on whether you’re on one of the ‘revolutionary’ routes (VW and CF) or the ‘restore order’ ones (SS and AM) Either he initially follows to pursue his own interests but eventually comes around to Claude’s and/or Edelgard’s ways of thinking, or, you spare him, since he joined the empire ‘cause they looked to be winning he’ll have no qualms jning you when you appear to win, esp once you nap that pesky bridge through which the Imperial troops would’ve marched in, so he has more leeway to do what he actually wants to do, ie oppose the empire and go down in history like he always wanted. He doesn’t change as much but gets plenty of opportunity to show off his more gallant side and redeem himself for the initial turncoatery.

As far as Leonie’s endings go, it’s nice to know that there was someone to take over Jeralt’s mercenary troupe - Byleth probably always thought they would do it but now they’re off being King/Queen/Archbishop/ eating cake with Edelgard

So she needn’t have worried/ eventually was able to take on Jeralt’s legacy like she wanted precisely because she isn’t magic

Of course there’s also the outcome where she dies somewhat ironically either at Gronder (”Can’t back down because I know you I’m a proper mercenary”) or Myrrdin (particularly ironic since Jeralt didn’t trust Rhea one bit and Solon and Kronya did, not, in fact, report to Edelgard. She was ostensibly trying to get Jeralt on her side post Remire.), in either case to fulfill her dream and become like her mentor she’s pitted against that mentor’s own kid, no option where she can be truly true to her allegiance.... slightly less so in the empire route since she believes she has good cause for revenge here, und understandably so. Edelgard can’t exactly go around yelling “I mean to DOUBLECROSS you!” where the slitherers can hear so she did look guilty.

It is supposed that she died offscreen at Gronder in the church route. :( Better recruit her. And Alois, if you’re doing CF, so poor Byleth doesn’t have to hack through all their remaining quasi-relatives.

#fire emblem three houses #fire emblem: three houses #fe3h #ferdinand von aegir #lorenz hellman gloucester #felix hugo fraldarius #leonie pinelli

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harusha · 5 years

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So far, I’d rate Pokemon SWSH a 4 or a 5 tbh. Could be worse (ex. Lootboxes or microtransaction), but rather unmemorable in overall game design and characters tbh. Some of the areas are really pretty (ex . Slumbering Weald or Postwick) but then when you actually get to explore, it’s so lackluster or filled with unfinished/underutilized ideas.

Though, the gym puzzles are actually pretty cool so far. I like how Allister’s gym utilizes the tea cups (even if it’s “unloseable” tbh) and the joy stick and stuff like Kabu’s catch mechanic. Really unique and sometimes creative.

Alos, like...I see the praise Leon and Hop get as characters, and I’m trying to figure out where the nuance is coming from and when it’s showing up.

Not saying Pokemon is full of deep and interesting characters, but after all the praise, I was expecting something more and not “unperceptive man gets lost on the way to his own bathroom and likes Charizard and posing.”

I see where they’re going with Hop as well (he’s absolutely a Bianca), but then the rest of the cast and story is so subpar, his arc looks like the holy grail as a result.

They didn’t even have to tweak the storyline too much to have a stronger impact. Just make it to where Rose rigs Leon’s matches so he’s unbeatable (and perhaps have Leon be unaware or have him be too afraid of disappointing Hop so he went along with it because he saw how excited young Hop was the first time and it just spiraled), and the reason why the player wins is because they don’t care for Rose’s offers (and it explains why the early gym leaders have such weak teams; he’s trying to rig the player’s matches as well). Characters like Kabu went along with it because Rose decided to threaten something important (like financial stability for family or w/e).

I get Leon’s supposed to represent the “old school” player who sweeps through the games, but the storyline isn’t interesting enough considering what he could have been.

Could even make that into a post-game gimmick as well where once Rose’s machinations are revealed, you get to have a gauntlet match against all 8 gym leaders (and maybe Leon) with full-powered teams.

Though bump up Shield version specifically by one point to like 5.5 or 6 because Allister is in that one.

The game’s just full of underutilized/half-baked ideas imo. While others like currydex took too much time in development (the currydex is huge but its just the same tired mechanic of ‘mix these berries and one random item’). It’s a charming idea, but the implementation sucks so much.

Especially since camping would have been amazing IF the routes were large/varied enough to actually warrant such a mechanic. Wild Area is one flat square zone and you can easily cross it in a few minutes by bike.

Also I have such a hard time differentiating between Zacian and Zamazenta. I get they’re duo legends but they’re so similar if they don’t have their items.

Also why is this the game where you have to own the version (or trade said unique item from someone else with the version) to get a fully functioning Legendary?They couldn’t put in a Relic guy to give you the opposing item? I get it’s money, but it’s kinda scummy honestly. This generation is the rich man’s Pokemon honestly.

Pokemon Go+LGPE for Meltan/Melmetal, $30 each for two expansions passes (I’d still be salty but still fine if there was a discount bundle if you want both but there isn’t), $60 a piece for two games, $20 for Pokemon Home Subscription, $20 more for Online, new Pokeball Plus if you want that Mew ($50), and so forth.

Assuming you buy new (so I don’t have to consider Auction prices which vary), thst’s ~$360 if you want to own everything in a worst case scenario. It’s attrocious imo.

#i think the split focus on rivals also hurts the game ino #they tried catering to everyone #w/ the rude rival the ‘bianca/helpful’ rival and the middle-ground #but then that turns into not one of them getting enough focus for me to actually care #who cares if Bede messes up a monument?#its ugly anyway

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stevenuniversallyreviews · 6 years

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Bismuth

Steven Universe is a show about solving problems with healthy communication instead of violence. It’s also a show so centered around fighting that our main characters have signature weapons that act as literal extensions of themselves.

Not every episode has an action sequence, and not every action sequence is a fight, but this series is no stranger to glamorizing combat. For all its talk about how true strength means more than physical might, the use of physical might to hurt others isn’t always frowned upon, even by our peaceful hero. To compensate for this dissonance, fights that would normally leave fatal wounds instead end in a process so harmless that they called it “poofing.”

Our ninety-eighth episode begins not with a title card, but a dramatic-looking scene that’s soon revealed to have no stakes, capped with Steven bemoaning that “dying a bunch in video games is emotionally exhausting.” The temporary nature of death is ingrained in his life—his very existence involved his mother not quite dying, but becoming half of him—and while the show at this point has acknowledged that violence can scar the body and soul, the only permanent consequences we’ve seen precede Steven’s existence. Shattering, the Cluster, and Corruption are ancient history, and were actions taken by the villains our heroes rebelled against. We’ve never had to deal with the moral implications of ending a life, and because this is a kid’s show there’s a chance we never would have, because the game isn’t quite as fun once permanent consequences are in play.

After a comedic foray into Lion’s mane, Steven pops a mysterious bubble we saw all the way back in Lion 3, flies back into his room, and shouts that he’s made a horrible mistake. And after the initial reaction from the other Crystal Gems, we linger in the room to get one last message from his television screen before he jumps back in:

Game Over.

“We are the Crystal Gems!”

I love everything about the title reveal of this episode. I love that we have to wait for it, so we’re forced to pay extra attention when it arrives. I love the not-quite-still shot of our two leads sizing each other up as the name of our episode and new character slowly fades in. And I love the chill but chilling music that sets the stage for the life-changing story ahead of our hero.

Aivi and Surasshu give characters distinct instrumentation, Peter and the Wolf style, but folks like Rose, Greg, Connie, Lapis, Peridot, and even Lion also have distinct motifs (sometimes a few, in the case of Rose and Lapis) using these instruments. The four main Crystal Gems are unique in that they’re defined mainly by their sound: Garnet is the bass holding everything together, Amethyst is the drumkit keeping up the tempo, Pearl is the piano accompanying others, and Steven subs out a traditional main instrument for chiptunes (many people have pointed this out, but I think this video does the best job of exploring it). Garnet as a concept eventually gets a motif that largely appears when fusion is involved, but the principle of associating these four main characters primarily through instruments holds true throughout the series.

Bismuth is a Crystal Gem, too. And whether it’s intentional or not, I love that this is shown by her lack of a distinct theme song, leaving her represented by her instrument in the same way as our big four. And the instrument we get for a heavy metal stuck in the past is a reverse electric guitar.

On the subject of sound, we just started and I've already waited too long to talk about Uzo Aduba. Bismuth is beautifully animated and has a stunning design, and the extra large crew for this two-parter did wonders on her facial expressions and body language to breathe life into the character, but all of it would've fallen short without a magnificent voice actor tying it together. This is a complicated and ambiguous figure, who laughs hard and burns hot but knows how to keep quiet, and Aduba hits every emotional beat with ease.

Aduba is especially talented in humanizing Bismuth’s rage, balancing loud shouts with twinges of sadness and jolly war stories with drops of venom. Her monologue in the Forge is one of many examples of Aduba’s greatness: after building up fervent momentum as she works with burning lava, she lowers her voice to a triumphant but menacing whisper when revealing that she chose to create weaponry. Aduba made a splash by finding a real person in a character reduced to the nickname “Crazy Eyes” on Orange is the New Black, and while Bismuth might not be as extreme of a role, she’s made great by an actress who refuses to dumb down angry women.

Bismuth is a zealot, but why wouldn’t she be? She faced the same oppression that drove the other Crystal Gems to rebel, and is mentally right in the thick of it while Garnet and Pearl have had thousands of years to move on. The leader that inspired and encouraged her to build weapons not only refused to use the Breaking Point, but fought her, bubbled her, and lied about it. We see it in Bismuth’s face the moment Rose is first mentioned around her, and even though this could be read as concern over her leader’s whereabouts, our knowledge that Rose’s version of events clashes with Bismuth’s hiding place sets off early warning bells.

Bismuth’s wordplay here is perfect for a character who often means multiple things at once: “Rose really is something else” works as a commentary on how strange Rose was, as a reference to her physically becoming something else, and as another hint of Bismuth’s true feelings about her leader’s betrayal. Her clever use of language soon becomes ingrained as a character trait: we obviously get the triple pun on her name (not three puns, but the same pun three times), but I’m a bigger sucker for the phrase “upper crust” playing off her disdain of Gem elites with geological terminology. It’s great to see such cleverness when characters with massive frames and aggressive attitudes are so rarely graced with wit.

Bismuth is angry, but she’s more than her anger. It’s balanced by (and caused by) her huge heart. She gets along famously with Garnet and Pearl, and cares deeply for her fallen friends, but she’s just as warm with Amethyst and Steven. An underrated element of Bismuth is that it doesn’t forget that Amethyst is in the middle of a major arc: even though she’s not the focus of the episode, she’s still reeling from her fight with Jasper and is uncomfortable around another huge interloper in her life, this time someone whose existence furthers the notion that Amethyst isn’t a “proper” Crystal Gem. So Amethyst is awkward at first, then sows seeds of suspicion when Steven is entranced. It speaks well of Bismuth that she treats Amethyst as an equal worthy of respect without question, and Amethyst soon comes around when Bismuth praises and upgrades her whip. This giant-sized episode is the clear product of long-term planning and collaboration, but it still remembers to tell a quick Amethyst story to keep us invested in her ongoing development.

But it’s Bismuth’s relationship with Steven that makes up the bulk of the plot, and as dumb as it might sound, the character she reminds me of most is Tim Curry’s version of Long John Silver from legitimate classic film Muppet Treasure Island; yes, Long John Silver in general works for this analogy, but Tim Curry is the definitive version, fight me. Bismuth isn’t as treacherous as old Long John, but they share the tightrope act of being at odds with young protagonists that they earnestly like. There’s nothing fake about their moments of bonding and pseudo-parental advice, and while both are angling to convert a child hero to a questionable cause, it’s done in part to maintain a friendly relationship. Again, Silver is more of an outright villain—his lust for gold lacks the nuance of Bismuth’s well-intentioned justification of extreme violence—but these are gregarious antagonists that our heroes build meaningful connections with, and ultimately learn lasting lessons from.

Steven is all in on Bismuth’s ardor at first, grinning with shared passion after she rallies the team to keep fighting Homeworld. He’s a little less on board upon seeing Amethyst’s weapon upgrade, and his unease grows during the sparring session, but for all her intensity, Bismuth is fine with him not wanting to fight. She welcomes his own “rituals” with glee, and even though our first look at this sees her spiking a birdie into the sand so hard that the beach explodes, the montage otherwise shows her fitting right in. Even the foreshadowing of Bismuth’s views on weapon lethality during Lonely Blade is lighthearted, with the bonus of showing us how far Pearl has come in regards to fiction since Steven the Sword Fighter.

It all comes together in a poignant discussion about Rose. This is the last time she’s ever spoken of in a purely positive light before the story of her shattering Pink Diamond comes out; not every conversation about her is negative after this reveal, it’s never quite the same. We focus on Rose as a champion of differences: this is the Rose who said a servile pearl could be a warrior, who accepted a new fusion when nobody else would, who told a runty amethyst she was perfect the way she was. Bismuth is telling us what we already know, but personalizes it, showing how inspired she was by it, and Steven reacts to this umpteenth version of the Rose Was Great speech by admitting his fears of not measuring up for the second episode in a row.

Bismuth’s response sums up the entire lesson of Steven’s original series arc, and it’s such a moving affirmation when paired with Change Your Mind:

“You are different. That’s what’s so exciting. You don’t have to be like Rose Quartz, you can be someone even better. You can be you.”

The tragedy is that this hopeful message is undercut by Bismuth’s idea that a “better” Steven is one who uses deadly force. And the speech as a whole is further marred by a subtle hint of Rose’s mendacity: Bismuth mentions that she was “just another quartz soldier, made right here in the dirt,” but even before the Pink Diamond reveal, we already know Rose is from Homeworld from earlier episodes like Rose’s Scabbard. Retrospect enhances the sensation, tinging the uplifting speech with the kind of gray that we’re going to see a lot more of in the future.

There’s an awful inevitability to the ensuing fight as our heroes descend into the Forge, coming right of the heels of Bismuth telling Steven they need an alternative to fighting fair. Steven repeats his progression of reactions towards Bismuth all at once: first confused, then super excited, then gradually realizing something isn’t sitting right. But this time we can’t end with a day at the beach.

(The mood is ruined a little by the adorable commercial transition, and the summarization of the scene upon cutting back from commercials in a way this eleven minute show has never dealt with, but fortunately the bulk of the scene goes uninterrupted.)

Steven obviously isn’t going to use the Breaking Point, and we get a prolonged shot of them standing at odds in mirrored positions from their title card encounter before Bismuth’s hand tightens into a fist. To her, this isn’t a fight with Steven, but a continuation of her fight with Rose, and her anger at her deception is fueled further by the not unreasonable assumption that Rose is still lying as Steven. In Bismuth’s mind she isn’t attacking a child, but a veteran warrior who for some reason took the form of a small human, so she goes all-out.

Steven has been called “Rose” plenty of times by Jasper, and this will continue in our very next episodes, but it’s gotta sting harder when the person doing it just told him that Steven was enough. And the fight itself is no joke, which is a relief after the brawl in Steven vs. Amethyst was all joke. The hits land just as hard, and we get the same awesome choreography showcasing Steven’s floaty powers and spiky bubble in action, but Bismuth isn’t kidding and Steven is on the ropes. His sandal melting away is as graphic as we’re gonna get, but it’s still a great sign of what will happen to him if he falls. His shoelessness also allows for a neat reversal of Bismuth closing her fist to begin the fight: after limping on the other foot to avoid the heat, the first we see of him after the second bubble of the episode pops is a close-up of his bare foot steaming on the ground. He’s forced to hurt both himself and Bismuth to end the fight.

We’re on the cusp of learning the “truth” about Pink Diamond, but the beginning of Rose’s souring portrayal is right here. If you squint hard enough, Rose’s actions in the past could have been justified by her not wanting to shatter anybody, and by Bismuth being an extremist who left her with no choice. But as she stands impaled by the sword she once forged, Bismuth’s rage can no longer hide her grief. Even if Rose was right, and that’s hardly a sure thing, it’s twisted and terrible that she never told the other Crystal Gems the truth. It doesn’t matter that we eventually learn that this was a lot more complicated than it seemed because Rose was Pink Diamond, because in the moment, the person who just tried to kill Steven is saying that Steven’s mother did an awful thing, and despite everything the show has told us until this moment, she’s making a good point. Steven has no time to dwell on it before the other shoe drops (hopefully not into more lava), but it’s telling that Bismuth only acknowledges Steven as himself again when he says he’ll be honest.

When Bismuth gave Steven his pep talk in the living room, the audience didn’t know her full story, but she did, so she still loved Rose despite everything. She was hurt by her, and was willing to fight her, but she looked up to her leader despite it all. So it’s a real turn when she uses same language that encouraged Steven moments ago to make a new point: he could be better than her because of his potential to be spectacular, but also because she set the bar low by doing horrible things. Bismuth is all about that wordplay.

I’ve got a lot to say about my problems with Bismuth’s story after Bismuth (or rather the lack of one) that I’m including in my giant-sized features section below, because a giant-sized episode merits giant-sized features. But within the episode itself, I think silence after the fight is the right choice. Steven has been in danger before, but this is the hardest a person has ever tried to kill him, and it was one of his friends. A new friend, but a friend.

Bismuth marks the beginning of the end of this era of the show, an era when Steven’s series-long arc to fulfill his mother’s legacy was relatively straightforward. In yet another example of Bismuth’s wordplay, his life story swivels around a Breaking Point. The core of Steven Universe may not change in the way it does in Bubble Buddies and Mirror Gem and Catch and Release, but the core of Steven Universe is forever affected. His imminent guilt complex begins with stabbing Bismuth, and despite the hardships to come, he becomes a better person for surviving it.

But at least he doesn’t shatter her. That would really do a number on the guy. Can’t imagine how guilty he’d be if he one day did shatter an imposing zealot from the Gem War days with a history of confusing him for Rose Quartz...

Future Vision!

This is normally a section that lists small bits Fragments of foreshadowing, but because Bismuth is a double episode with tremendous impact on the shape of things to come in ways I already talked about in the review proper, I want to use this space to talk about the elegance of Steven Universe’s structure. I’ve referred to the fifty-odd episode chunks that make up the story on numerous occasions, but I think it’s about time I buck up and call them Acts.

Act I of Steven Universe is the first season, Act II is the second and third season, and Act III is the fourth and fifth season (with the movie and Steven Universe Future as epilogues), and I think viewing the series through this lens really makes the structure shine. There are many examples of repeating themes and moments that this interpretation makes clear, and as an example, I want to talk about how a recurring phrase signifies a turning point towards the endgame of each act.

In Act I, the slow-burning mystery of where the Gems came from begins at the midpoint, Mirror Gem, and escalates in Warp Tour with the introduction of Peridot. But we’re still doing regular episodes throughout, because Steven’s life is bigger than his past and there’s no pressing need to address his alien heritage when it isn’t directly affecting his life. It’s not until Marble Madness when this story ramps up, with Peridot's discovery of our heroes hurtling us towards a finale that sees Steven come into his own to defend his friends against old foes from beyond the stars who thought them long dead. The turning point is marked by Pearl taking a stand to proudly declare:

“We are the Crystal Gems! We're still alive, and we're still the guardians of this planet and all its living creatures!”

Jumping to Act III, the slow-burning mystery of what Rose did to Pink Diamond is actually solved with some time to spare. Things seem to be wrapping up at Garnet’s wedding in Reunited, especially because we’ve reached the same episode count of the other two acts. But then Blue and Yellow Diamond crash the party, bringing together the entire main cast in opposition. As in Act I, this shifts us onto the path towards the finale, this time one that sees Steven bringing the Diamonds together to heal the damage they did on Earth. This turning point was a bit less subtle:

“This is our home! Our planet! Our friends and family! We are the Crystal Gems!”

Act II is more stable than I or III, chronicling the period after Steven becomes a competent Crystal Gem but before everything is turned upside-down. He has adventures befitting his role and helps his friends and family as he grows more comfortable with his mother’s legacy, but unbeknownst to him, it’s the calm before the storm. Through it all, that legacy and that group are the bedrock of Steven’s life, and Bismuth begins to unravel his sense of security, leading to a finale that destroys our hero’s comfort zone. The turning point comes as Bismuth shatters not an elite Gem, but the fake image of one, and roars a battle cry that shows that there are some missing pages in the story of Steven’s happy family:

“Listen up, you Homeworld upper crusts...”

“We are the Crystal Gems!”

If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn’t have inconsistencies…

Likewise, this is normally a section that lists plot elements that don’t add up, and I can’t imagine reviewing Bismuth with addressing Bismuth’s treatment as the show continues. There aren’t many other places to write about it until Made of Honor, as the most notable element of this discussion is her absence, but it’s a flaw beyond this episode itself, so it’s going here.

First, I understand from a storytelling perspective why Bismuth is bubbled again. She’s a major new element that couldn’t realistically be sent to the barn like Peridot and Lapis, and is so at odds with our heroes that it would mess with the direction of the series. In particular, the reveal that Rose shattered Pink Diamond would go from being a story about Steven coping to a story about Steven and Bismuth coping, because Rose shattering someone goes against the whole reason she fought Bismuth in the first place. The simplest solution to not having Bismuth dominate the upcoming story is putting her away until the plot demands. And we do eventually get some lip service to why she was bubbled again for so long: she did, after all, try to shatter Steven with the Breaking Point at the end of their fight. She seems cool with it, and it’s not as if she was suffering in there, popping back out as if no time had passed and integrating well with the team afterwards.

But it is baffling that there isn’t any conversation about trying to talk with her instead of keeping her locked away. We don’t need a proper trial, but the idea that this team wouldn’t allow Bismuth to make her case and wouldn’t try to help her work towards a mutual understanding is not only cruel, but cruel in a way that makes no sense for these characters. I’ve called the underuse of Malachite the show’s greatest blunder, and I stand by it because Bismuth’s treatment is much more than a “whoops.” Communication is everything to this series, and the idea that Bismuth was too dangerous to be reasoned with is, to me, Steven Universe’s greatest sin.

Garnet and Pearl in particular never mention any alternatives, or even bring her up to a meaningful degree. This is supposed to be one of their best friends. And after we learn about Pink Diamond’s shattering, it’s bewildering that Steven doesn’t consider the Bismuth of it all outside of her factoring into his guilt complex in Mindful Education and a brief mention in Storm in the Room. On both an emotional and logical level there’s no reason to not include her more in Act III. Like, let’s say in the worst case scenario she’s freed and furiously attacks Steven: he already defended himself by himself against her, in a lava-filled arena where she had a huge advantage, so obviously with the other Gems he’d be safe. And let’s say Steven is traumatized by nearly getting killed. Understandable. Even if Pearl also nearly got him killed a few times, it was never with murderous intent. Except that if that’s the rationale, I feel like Bismuth deserves to have that explained by him at some point during her imprisonment. He could tell the Gems, he could confide in Connie, whatever, this is something that needs to be said out loud. If we’re going to have her locked away indefinitely, there needs to be more than stone cold silence about why the Crystal Gems came to such an extreme solution, seemingly without a second thought. There was more discussion about the ethics of bubbling Peridot than Bismuth, and Peridot was a full-blown opponent at the time. There was more discussion about the ethics of rehabilitating the Centipeetle, a being corrupted into what seemed to be an unthinking monster, than a fully sentient ally who did a bad thing.

I’m not gonna knock this episode down any pegs for this in my rankings, because it’s not really the fault of this episode. Yes, it could have included Steven’s conversation with the other Gems, but this story was already full to the gills and there was plenty of time in future episodes, particularly episodes after the shattering story comes to light, to address it. Bismuth works fine on its own, but demanded further stories that it never got. Made of Honor does a decent job of bringing Bismuth back, but that’s after over fifty episodes of a misguided but heroic and loyal friend being imprisoned without any attempt at mediation.

I get that it would’ve been a lot of work, and that the bubble method was more convenient. But making a character this great only to treat her this way is a disservice to both Bismuth and the Crystal Gems as a whole.

(Also, less importantly, this episode was marketed as 100 thanks to the inclusion of a few combined shorts as numbered episodes. But yeah this was totally episodes 98 and 99.)

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

I ended on a bummer note there, but like I said, Bismuth by itself shouldn’t be held culpable for not having a Too Short to Ride or Alone at Sea for Bismuth down the line. It still doesn’t make my top fifteen, but it does make my top twenty, which matters because the list is expanding next time to account for our actual hundredth episode.

Top Fifteen

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Chille Tid

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Catch and Release

When It Rains

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Bismuth

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

No Thanks!

5. Horror Club 4. Fusion Cuisine 3. House Guest 2. Sadie’s Song 1. Island Adventure

#bismuth #steven universe #su #steven universally #review

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iguessishouldbethankful · 6 years

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headcanon time:

Okay so someone ( @readasaur ) asked me about the various headcanons I had for both the Star Fox and Star Wolf teams, and other characters. So I decided to tackle as many as I could. Star Wolf will have to wait for later, but there are some snippets of them here. Please keep in mind that these headcanons are of my own opinion and some are built upon years of speculation from the original timeline, old fanfics and things I’ve read. They can also change from story to story. AKA, I’m super flexible and willing to discuss, but most of these are usually what I follow in general.

Also a lot of these headcanons I implement in my own fics and interpretations in various pieces and sketches.

General headcanons:

I never played the original Star Fox game. I started with the 64 version, so I never thought they amputated their legs. And I still believe they never had to. But I do keep that easter egg as a dark part of history in the Lylat System.

I do think there is a form of religion in the Lylat System. It’s a religion similar to Pagan, tied to their ancestors and nature. Not everyone follows it, and many have their own interpretations of it.

The Lylatians diet consists mainly of seafood, vegetables and bugs. Meat does exist, but only on certain planets. And due to the food shortage during the wars and struggles across the system, the Meats became a luxury. I also did not figure out what find of animal life would exist that would provide meats.

There are struggles between the species, mostly between mammals and non-mammals. Mammals are the majority in Lylat, Reptiles and Amphibians coming in second, and Avians coming in last as they were mostly all exclusive to Zoness (because so far we only see Falco. No other avian).

Yes, worm holes and various dimensions to exist. In fact, the Lylat System is very active with these space phenomenon, but they are also considered highly dangerous as very few come back from such adventures from the inside. The phenomenon are usually considered as portals for deities if viewed religiously.

The DNA of all Lylatians are compatible with one another. As in, a mammal and an avian can have children. Any form of cross species relationship, as long as it’s between two Lylatians, can result in a healthy child. However, it is frowned upon due to scientific studies that the more mixture between the species can eventually result in great or great great grandchildren being born sterile. So it is highly suggested that the species keep to themselves and their own. Mammals to mammals, reptiles to reptiles, avians to avians, etc.

Star Fox:

The Great Fox’s hangar actually has a zero gravity mode. Slippy uses it to properly transfer the vehicles to a more secure location to work with. It is also useful to not tire any of the team members out when they are individually working on their Arwings. Falco especially enjoys the experience.

The Great Fox also has an installed atmospheric clock that mimics the day and night cycle of Corneria—and it also follows Corneria’s clock as to help the team members to have a healthier biological clock when not in active duty. During the daytime, the lights are fully on and operational, and the temperature is at a normal level. During the nighttime, the lights dim down to a mere artificial twilight, and the temperature drops.

There are individual dorms for each member. In fact, there are 6 in total with a bed, a window and a fully functional bathroom. Only 4 are in use until Krystal joins. The spare dorm is used as a guestroom is anyone decides to visit them, or they have to have a rescue mission with a survivor. If by any chance they need more rooms, they can easily convert some of the supply rooms into a guestroom.

Fox McCloud:

He has green eyes.

It was only shown briefly in Farewell Beloved Falco, but I do picture Fox having a short temper. Not as notorious as Falco’s, but enough to warrant the fights the two of them go through.

I also feel as though the short temper comes from the sudden increase of stress and responsibilities Fox had to deal with after his father passed.

Fox never fully believed his father was dead. He never elaborates or speaks much about it with anyone, but after the war, he feels as though his father was always with him. He could even hear his father. It scares him, but comforts him.

Fox is heteroflexible. As in, he only participated in relationships with those of the opposite gender. However, there are a few members of his own gender that, if put in the position, he could actually see himself falling for. But there are a very select few. But if never pushed or bothered about it, he will never really think about his sexuality.

Fox has little experience in bed. He spent most of his time training instead. He had some puppy love in the past, sure, but nothing too serious. The closest he ever got to a truly committed relationship was with Krystal.

He does suffer from an annual rut, and he absolutely hates it. It’s the most awkward time for him and he hides away as much as possible. During the war or missions however, he takes a supplement to bypass the rut altogether. Which, unfortunately means that the rut will come around much stronger the coming year.

On that note, Fox can knot during sex. He also has a natural habit of wanting to bite the individual he is sleeping with.

One more thing. Fox is very vanilla in bed as well.

Out of the team, Fox is possibly the most organized—despite Peppy’s constant complaints. His room is tidy enough for him to know where everything is. It’s also a rule his father implemented when he was little. Put everything back where you found. That’ll make life easier.

Fox is very much reigned by his feelings at times, which can cause him to slip up as a leader. However his actions do reflex what he says in the end.

Fox is a natural furnace. As in, he’s usually warm all the time. Which is why he enjoys the winter season, and can live without summer season. However, he does enjoy the sun as well. Hell, he flew right into the sun, he’s not scared of some heat.

He considers Peppy as a second father to him, Vivian as a mother and Lucy as a sister.

Fox never truly met his mother. She died when he was a baby. James never told him how, just knows that was the reason they left Papetoon. He knew there was a lot of pain connected to his home planet and his father.

Fox found an old pair of aviator glasses of his dad in the Great Fox. He keeps it with him.

The red scarf is still part of the Star Fox uniform because Fox always thought it was a cool accessory to keep around, and none of his teammates complained about it.

When not on active duty, Fox does sleep in. And he has a quiet snore.

Fox is actually very romantic when given the chance. He also wants to have a family.

When in regards to Wolf, Fox respects the canine’s flying and battle skills. He even admires him. But that’s as far as his feelings for Wolf goes. It takes a while to even get to this point as he heard rumors that Wolf was slightly responsible for his father’s murder. But as it wasn’t confirmed, he keeps the Star Wolf team leader at a distance unless they truly need to cooperate with each other.

Fox has no connection to Leon, despite him not really wanting to deal with the chameleon as he is aware of Falco’s uncomfortable-ness around that particular pilot.

Fox will never trust or liked Pigma. The only reason he was trying to save the swine was due to morals.

Pigma’s comments about his father during battles were the hardest things for Fox to ignore. He used it as fuel to hunt the swine down during the dog fights.

Fox actually pitied Andrew if anything.

He is lowkey possessive, especially when it comes to his teammates. It was something he struggled with badly when Falco left for 4 years. Fox never held the avian back or kept him from leaving, but he did struggle with the results afterwards. Which is why he gets very nervous that someone else will leave, or that Falco will leave again. He’d rather discharge them himself if it were the case.

Falco Lombardi:

He has blue eyes. It’s a call back to the Farewell Beloved Falco’s design.

He’s a mix between a Vietnamese Pheasant and a Red Throated Caracara Falcon. Thus he is considered a hybrid falcon and takes pride in his mixture.

He was born in Zoness, but moved to Corneria with his mother when he was 3. He was very attached to his mother, and he is reminded of her when he sees their home planet, Zoness. She passed away when he was still a young teenaged.

Falco never met his father and isn’t interested in meeting him. He has no idea that he actually has a half-sister.

He’s one of the messier teammates. Not with trash or anything, it’s mostly with his clothes as he has a natural habit of nesting in his bed during sleep. This also goes hand in hand with him always being cold and hating it as he doesn’t retain heat very well. So he packs on as much fabric between him and the atmosphere as possible, and is usually seen with his jacket and scarf on.

He’s very much an early riser. He got in the habit of making coffee for the team due to him being the first in the breakroom/kitchen. His coffee is extra strong, dense and enough to wake up even the teammates that enjoy hibernating for too long—aka, Peppy.

Although he never mentions it, Falco is actually a bisexual. He has an equal interest in both females and males, but his type usually lies with mammals due to him growing up in Corneria. He also likes how warm they are. Felines and canines usually catch his eye the most.

Yes, since the war (if not during), Falco has had affections for Fox. However, Falco isn’t good with expressing his feelings and emotions. So he expresses them through diligent action. Slippy feels that Falco is showing off and in a way he is because that’s how he gets Fox’s attention. But the resulting reaction isn’t what he wants…

Falco does regret leaving the team for 4 years. He doesn’t like talking about that time.

Falco does have a rivalry with Krystal, but he instead tries to pull her into the team instead of pushing her away. Why? Because it makes Fox happy to know that the team is back together and getting along, despite Falco’s heavy heart.

Yes, Falco and Katt had a relationship in the past. Falco did and still does care for her a lot, enough to keep her as a friend and unofficial confidant after their romantic relationship ended. He in fact encouraged her to get with Cool as the feline was a better match for her.

Falco, being an Avian, has a cloaca. Not a penis. He also doesn’t have ruts. Much to Fox’s envy.

He is the tallest member in the team. He is also the lightest in weight. And the fastest running wise. However he is not the strongest, coming in on third after Fox and Peppy. He has a brilliant aim with firearms, tying with Fox. However no one can surpass him in flying, even with Fox tailing him in skill. Falco also has a habit of using his beak as a form of weapon when desperate times call for it.

Falco’s temper is legendary. His sarcasm and sass are just as bad. However his confidence is one of his strongest points, only secondary to his loyalty to Fox and team. Do not fuck with his idiots, they are his idiots.

Falco’s rivalry with Leon comes from his teenhood when he formed his first gang of delinquents and wreaked havoc throughout the Lylat System. The story changes as to why their rivalry started, from Falco continuously defeating Leon in flights, to Leon successfully beating Falco down during a brawl, to Falco and his teammates either vandalizing or outright stealing Leon’s ship. But for some reason, Falco is very aware of Leon’s talent for torture… He never expanded as to why he knows this.

If Falco is anywhere near religious, it’s only because of his mother. If not for her, he’d be an atheist. Although most of his teammates assume he is atheist.

Falco doesn’t own property, so what little he has he keeps in a storage that’s not under his name. It’s under Katt’s. He keeps his more personal and important possessions there, such as documents proving he exists, and photo albums of his mother and of Zoness before the pollution. Some Academy paperwork and criminal records are also stored there.

The Great Fox is basically Falco’s most permanent nest.

On that note, after Peppy sacrificed the Great Fox, Falco pretty much lost majority of his possessions with it. It didn’t hit him until after they were returning to the Lylat System.

Falco did test out the Blue Marine once, as everyone was required to. He kept himself calm until he dove in deep underwater, resulting in a major panic attack. He refuses to enter the mini submarine since.

Unlike Fox, Falco actually doesn’t want children due to personal reasons. This can change however.

In the long run, Falco actually has no reason to be aggressive with Wolf or Panther. The only reason he is stems from the fact that he is part of Fox’s team and he will take the mean spirited banter personally due to that.

Now Pigma can go fuck himself for all Falco cares.

He also couldn’t care less about Andrew.

Falco is aware that Fox put him second in command after Peppy became too old. It’s something that he doesn’t want to think about.

Anything that deals with the undoing of the team makes him incredibly flighty and nervous.

Slippy Toad:

His eyes are dark blue.

Probably the messiest team member in Star Fox, but it’s an organized chaos. As long as he knows what he’s doing, Fox will allow it.

He an atheist due to being brought up as one. He gives more credence to scientific proof than anything.

The war was his first on the field experience with flight, and he was intensely nervous about it—and vocal. However after the war, he started to form a stronger backbone. Enough to either smart talk back to Falco or ignore the avian completely.

Despite all the harsh criticism he receives, Slippy does very much care for his teammates. He can’t stand the idea of any of them not being around for any reason. And when Falco left, he suffered a great deal trying to keep Fox motivated and himself as well. He carries those 4 years as a close reminder of how bad things can get.

Slippy is heterosexual. He has very little experience as well with relationships, but that’s mostly due to him being very selective, and also having a long distance relationship with someone over the internet.

Slippy actually writes his plans and manuals in a way he only understands them. It’s not on purpose. It’s just how his mind works. He noticed this when neither Falco, Fox or Peppy understood how to implement the upgrades. So sometimes he needs to dumb down the instructions so they can also follow.

He will, in fact, blast rock n’ roll as loud as he can in the hangar when he’s working. Or on his headphones. He enjoys music a lot and he did influence some of Fox’s taste when they were kids.

Emotionally, Slippy is probably the most well balanced member in Star Fox.

Peppy Hare:

His eyes are dark crimson.

The oldest Star Fox member alive to date. Also was the first recruited by James McCloud. Pigma Dengar came in later.

His relationship with James was incredibly close, almost brotherly. He misses his friend dearly and it reflect on how he cares for Fox.

He is also very protective of his daughter, to a point that he wasn’t fond of her learning much of what he was teaching Fox as he didn’t want her to have to go through the same things they were. He had no idea how much that would strain his relationship with Lucy at first.

He is also not fond of the idea of her wanting to date any of the Star Fox members. Especially Fox.

Peppy broke down hard when he receive the news that his wife passed away. It was the first time since James McCloud that all of the families got together to grieve. Pallbearers he picked were himself, Fox, Beltino, Slippy, Bill and Falco. Lucy was an honorary pallbearer.

Peppy is also close to General Pepper due to old connections and due to his and James successfulness with the Star Fox team before the Lylat Wars.

It actually took a while for Peppy to warm up to Falco when the avian was first recruited, but he offered Fox as much support as possible in the decision. Slippy was easier for him to accept. Peppy was more comfortable with the new dynamic of the team a little before they entered the war.

Peppy actually manages the money for the Star Fox team, and he’s still mentoring Fox over how much should be spent and saved away as there would be long dry seasons in between missions. He worries that Fox might over spend at times, or overly ration their resources. Neither would be good. Fox still needs to pay his father’s debt, even after the Great Fox was destroyed during the Aparoid invasion.

He actually doesn’t fully forgive himself for what happened to James. He had no idea that Pigma would be capable of betrayal, and there are nights where he thinks about what if scenarios where maybe he could have pulled James out of the situation, of that he should have stayed behind so James could still remain. But such thoughts leave a bitter taste in his mouth.

Krystal:

After she joined the Star Fox team, she was the cleanest member in the group. Her room is spotless and beyond organized.

She actually picks up on things very fast due to her empathy and telepathy. However there is a downside that she tries to avoid, which is slipping into other minds and picking up thoughts or emotions. She does he best to avoid it.

She can also see glimpses of various futures, and it’s another talent she tries very much to avoid because it will drive her insane.

She can feel that Falco is jealous of her, but she dares not figure out why. She actually appreciates his caution around her, and it means way more when he does defend her from others. Something Fox doesn’t entirely comprehend.

Once she meets Lucy, the two of them became fast friends. It was a good way to learn more about Fox’s childhood and also of the rest of the team.

Unlike the rest of the Star Fox team, she’s actually very sympathetic towards Star Wolf, if not indifferent. She has no reason to hate them and hasn’t been around long enough to form an opinion. By the time she can, Star Wolf instead assisted them. So her opinion on Wolf, Leon and Panther are leagues more positive than the rest of her teammates.

Lucy Hare:

She grew up with Fox since a toddler. She considers him part of her family, despite the jealousy she felt over him for spending more time with her father. She slightly resented this, as Peppy never taught her everything like he did to Fox.

Lucy however did have a long lasting crush on Fox. Fox just never noticed.

She did good in the Academy, mostly excelling in strategy and scouting. But after she got rejected from joining the Star Fox team, she just went into an Educational career instead, promoting Fichina.

She keeps in constant contact with her father and mother and Fox and Slippy. She also started to accept Falco as a family member. Took a while, but she gets as close to him as she is did with Fox and Slippy.

#star fox #starfox #fox mccloud #falco lombardi #slippy toad #peppy hare #krystal #lucy hare #long post #my drabbles #headcanons

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hummelinthenorth-archive · 5 years

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HOLY SHIT IS THAT [ CHRIS COLFER ]?! Oh, wait it’s just [ KURT HUMMEL ]. Damn, [ HE/HIM ] looks good for [ 26 ], good thing that they’re [ HOMOSEXUAL ], I might have a chance. I hear that they call them the [ BROADWAY FASHIONISTA ] of the [ NORTH SIDE ]. I guess that’s because they’re [ SARCASTIC ] and [ STUBBORN ]. But I don’t think a lot of people know that they’re also [ DEVOTED ] and [ PASSIONATE ].

01. BASICS

Full Name: Kurt Elias Hummel

Nickname: He doesn’t really have many nicknames to be honest; people used to call him ‘Porcelain’ in high school, but that doesn’t really bother him much anymore

Sex/Gender: Male

Birthday: May 4th

Age: 26

Astrological Sign: Taurus

Occupation: Actor, Singer, Photographer

Spoken Languages: English, French, ASL

Sexual Orientation: Homosexual

Birthplace: Riverdale, MA; Northside

Relationship status: Single

02. PHYSICAL TRAITS

Hair Color/Style: His hair color varies from dark to light brown depending on whether he’s in the sun or not; he wears it cut short and well-coiffed

Eye Color: Glasz

Face Claim: Chris Colfer

Height: 5′11

Weight: 163 lb

Tattoos: Three, small stars on inside of his left wrist

Piercings: None

Unique Attributes: Small scar just above his left collar bone; his ‘countertenor’ singing voice; his eyes

Defining Gestures/Movements: He cracks his neck a lot more than he probably should

Posture: Healthy; sits up and strands straight

03. PERSONALITY TRAITS

Pet Peeves: People who interrupt, bullies, homophobia, people who walk slow, overly confident people

Hobbies/Interests: acting (though this is his occupation, it’s also a hobby he loves), cooking, fashion design, singing, dancing, reading, drawing

Special Skills/Abilities: His singing voice is definitely one of the most unique things about him; he also fluently speaks French

Likes: Broadway, Harry Potter, cooking, sex, fashion, animals, singing, dancing, spending time with his friends, NYC

Dislikes: Ignorance, homophobia, bullies, people who are mean for no reason

Insecurities: He has a fear of failure and not being good enough, despite the success he has managed to achieve

Quirks/Eccentricities: Knows how to use sai swords, can’t sleep without some sort of background noise

Strengths: consistent, resilient, reliable, honest (to a point), devoted, responsible, versatile

Weaknesses: can be a bit manipulative, stubborn as hell, snarky, a little blunt at times

Speaking Style: Depends on who he’s talking to; generally, he’s articulate, though a little rambly at times (especially when he's talking about something he's passionate about)

Temperament: He tends to keep his head in most things, though there are certain things that immediately set him off; overall, he is a generally happy person

04. FAMILY & HOME

Immediate Family: Burt Hummel (father), Elizabeth Hummel (mother), Aaron Hummel (adopted brother)

How do they feel about their family? coming soon

How does their family feel about them? coming soon

Pets: None as of right now; in New York, he wasn’t home enough to take care of a pet even though he really wanted one. He has no plans to move home to Riverdale, but when he finally does (and we all know he will) he’s going to invest in finally getting himself a furry little family member.

Where do they live? He owns a small one bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, but he lives at home in Riverdale while his father is healing/in the hospital.

Description of their home: Neat, organized, open. Many bookshelves.

Description of their bedroom: Airy and open. Many earthy colors. King-sized bed that takes up a good portion of his bedroom, though he also has a walk-in closet for all of his clothing. Part of his living room serves as a work-space for creating and designing his own clothes, which he does in his spare time.

05. THIS OR THAT

Introvert or Extrovert?

Optimist or Pessimist?

Leader or Follower?

Confident or Self-Conscious? A little of both, depending on the situation.

Cautious or Careless?

Religious or Secular?

Passionate or Apathetic?

Book Smarts or Street Smarts? That being said, he also knows how to pick a lock and can defend himself in a fight

Compliments or Insults? Bit of both, truthfully

Pajamas or Lingerie? Bottoms only, but only in the winter; otherwise, naked

06. FAVORITES

Favorite Color: Dark green

Favorite Clothing Style/Outfit: Anything he considers to be fashionable; he is almost always sharply dressed unless he’s at home without anyone to see him. At home, he’s usually in sweats and a loose-fitting shirt.

Favorite Bands/Songs/Type of Music: Anything and everything Broadway, Pop, Top 40′s, R&B, Jazz, Piano, Violin, Classical; honestly, he has a fairly wide taste in music

Favorite Movies: Romance, Comedy, RomCom, Horror as long as he’s not alone

Favorite Books: Harry Potter, anything dystopian, mystery novels; honestly, he’ll read anything that keeps his attention

Favorite Foods/Drinks: Pizza; red wine.

Favorite Sports/Sports Teams: He’s not much of a fan of sports, but he can follow if someone else he’s interested in has interest

Favorite Time of Day: Early Morning

Favorite Weather/Season: Fall

Favorite Animal: Penguins

07. MISCELLANEOUS

Fears/Superstitions: coming soon

Political Views: Liberal

Addictions: Coffee. Tea. Britain.

Best School Subject: Languages (English & French); he taught himself ASL

Worst School Subject: Maths

School Clubs/Sports: He played football for a few months in an attempt to fit in, but that was the extent of his high school athletic career. He broke his arm during a game once, and he was done.

How does he get money? Through his acting jobs. He’s also a secretary at Vogue.com

How is he with technology? Very adept.

08. PAST & FUTURE

Fondest Memory: Making Christmas dinner with his mother the first year Aaron was adopted

Deepest, Darkest Secret: When the casting director for The Book of Mormon hit on him after auditions, he caved and slept with the man to give himself an upper hand to finally get on the big stage. He was upset (mainly with himself) when the man cast him as Elder McKinley instead of Elder Price like he had promised, but he accepted the role regardless. Kurt dated the casting director for a very short time after this, in an attempt to ease his own uneasiness with what he’d done, but it didn’t work out.

Dream Vacation: France

Best thing that has ever happened to this character: Moving to New York and making a life for himself.

Worst thing that has ever happened to this character: His mother dying

What do they want to be when they grow up? A successful Broadway star as well as the owner of a successful fashion line

Perfect Date: A nice dinner (home cooked or in a restaurant), walking under the stars to get to know each other; he also wouldn’t object if it ended in sex, though it doesn’t have to.

09. HIGHLIGHTS OF HIS LIFE

Growing up in Riverdale wasn’t a picnic, but he knew that there were others who had much more difficult lives than he had

He had always been closer to his mother than his father, emulating her in many ways (including adopting some of her habits and passions as his own), and when she passed away it absolutely devastated him. He didn’t speak for nearly two weeks, and when he did he would only speak to his family. It took a few more months and much more therapy before Kurt finally started returning to his old self.

His father was and is unaware, but after Aaron ran away when Kurt was 17, he has kept close contact with his brother on a fairly regular basis; he doesn’t agree with the way Burt treats Aaron. Kurt might not understand Aaron’s desire to be in a gang or put himself in dangerous situations, but he also knows his brother wouldn’t be involved in anything he couldn’t handle. In the last year or so, he hasn’t been able to talk to him for as long as he would like because of his own busy schedule (employed as a secretary at Vogue.com as well as auditioning for shows), but he still makes sure to carve out time in his schedule to keep tabs on his little brother.

Being the son of the Sheriff didn’t exactly make him popular in high school, but he didn’t let the bullies stop him from being himself. That being said, after a particularly hard year being bullied in his Junior year - he spent much of his Senior year keeping to himself. He didn’t voice his opinions as much, but he instead chose to set his sights on his future. New York City and the New York Academy for the Dramatic Arts. Auditions for the prestigious school were brutal, with only fifteen people around the country being accepted to the program he wanted each semester, but Kurt was over the top excited when he received his acceptance letter.

In the eight years since leaving Riverdale in his rear view, Kurt has truly come into himself. In recent years, all his hard work has finally started to pay off, and he’s managed to make a name for himself in the Broadway circuits. It took him a bit, but Kurt finally managed to land a leading role for himself in the Broadway show Newsies, where he’s been playing the role of Davey. Before this show, all of his roles had been in Off-Broadway productions, ranging from extras to leading roles.

As much as he loves New York and Broadway, though, when Kurt received the call in the middle of the night that his father was in the ICU at Riverdale General, having suffered a massive heart attack, he put his life on pause and came home to Riverdale to help take care of him.

#gdhqintro #// so this took forever. apologies.#[ kurt rel ]

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honeyby · 7 years

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Yang is pretty damn smart: a megapost

Okay y’all, I mentioned this was coming and voila, here it is: a collection of each and every moment in the show where we see Yang demonstrate her intelligence (hopefully updated frequently when new episodes air or when someone points out something I missed). Heads up, it’s a long one because it’s almost like she isn’t an airheaded idiot or something

Pre-Show:

Designed and built Ember Celica

Seriously, whole posts can and have been made about how ingenious that design is

Has her motorcycle license (the only cast member we know of to have one) which would take time and effort

Likely maintains her own bike (and possibly built it given that she would have the expertise thanks to building Ember Celica)

Yellow trailer:

Realizes that a guy with criminal ties is more likely to have information on someone like Raven than most people

By punching Junior she gives any civilians a chance to get out of the club

Creates a shockwave to put her enemies off balance, allowing her to focus on them one at a time while they recover

Prioritizes the ranged DJ when he starts shooting at her

Separates the twins so that she can take care of the easier opponent first

Volume 1:

Got into Beacon (a prestigious academy) the old fashioned way (no forged transcripts (Jaune), no just taking the entrance exam (Blake), no special treatment from Ozpin (Ruby))

Is the first to comment that something seems off about Ozpin (you know, the guy we later find out is an immortal wizard)

After Ozpin tells them their partner is determined via eye contact she puts on her aviators, giving her more control on who she’s paired up with

Uses her landing strategy to cover more ground (putting her closer to her goal of the temple) and also to put some distance between her and Ruby so that Ruby will find a different partner

Then makes plenty of noise so that she’s easy to find for her future partner

She and Blake have no trouble finding the relics and she notices that they aren’t the first pair to do so

Is shown to be paying attention in class in 1x9, more so than any of her teammates sans Weiss (Yang has paper from which she’s presumably taking notes, while Blake does not, and Ruby isn’t paying attention. Yang’s posture is also noticeably straight and attentive)

Is never shown to be struggling in class (unlike Ruby, Jaune, or Cardin)

Stops Russel in Forever Fall so that RWBY and _NPR can find out what’s going on

Volume 2:

Demonstrates a good sense of strategy and tactical cunning during the Risk-style board game

Takes one look at Weiss’s hand and immediately gives her a winning strategy while also ensuring that she can counter her

Realizes that Junior is a good person to ask about Torchwick especially considering she saw him there last time she was at the club

Her entrance is flashy enough to give any civilians a chance to flee in case a fight breaks out while also demonstrating to Junior that she isn’t looking for a fight

Doesn’t feel the need to ask a stupid question like “where did they go?” looking at you Neptune

Is the one recognize the need to slow the mech down and to give the order to Neptune

Helps plan the dance which shows excellent organizational skills

Is the only person to figure out how to get through to Blake

Used a picture as a child to figure out a possible location of Raven and was smart enough to not leave a toddler unattended

Is not shown to have a poor vocabulary and is one of the people to correct Ruby on tussles/truffles/brussels issue

Is the the one to recall the history of Mountain Glenn

Recognizes the problem with her “go with the flow” nature

Prioritizes their mission by sending Blake and Weiss ahead when they meet Neo

She also tends to fall into the role of leader when Ruby isn’t around (giving Blake and Weiss orders to go ahead here, and later in volume 3 where she takes the initiative with Weiss when looking for Ruby and Blake)

Attacks Neo first so that she can’t stop Weiss and Blake

Knows better than to use her fire/explosive shells since that would cause the train car to explode

Switches up tactics to utilize throws and holds when her initial assault doesn’t work against Neo

Launches herself into the air for better coverage during the breach and uses her surroundings to her advantage

Volume 3:

Uses her weapon to give her better mobility on the ice

Immediately understands Weiss’s plan for dealing with ABRN

Actually notices Emerald and Mercury heading off on their own before JNPR’s match

Smart enough to ask Weiss, an Atlas native, what to expect from team FNKI

By destroying the terrain she throws Neon and Flynt off their rhythm, allowing her to easily take both of them out

Knows that she doesn’t have to KO Mercury to win and almost gets him by ring out (which would’ve thrown a wrench in Cinder’s plan)

Volume 4:

Potentially modified her arm (the Atlas scientists would’ve needed the exact specifications of Ember Celica to create a gun that would still be balanced (and others have talked about how precise Yang’s weapon would have to be to not rip her arms out of her socket), so it’s more reasonable that Yang added it herself since she made Ember Celica)

Yang Short:

Recognizes how important it is for Ruby to learn hand-to-hand (which Ozpin brings up later)

Tells Ruby she can’t solve all her problems by running away

Uses the recoil from her weapon to dodge blows, and overall fights very well (and this is pre-Beacon)

Volume 5:

Knows better than to trust the bandit

At the same time realizes he will get her to Raven quicker

By asking him “Is this everyone?” she finds out that there aren’t any in hiding, allowing her to better prepare for the upcoming fight (and as a bonus, she gets confirmation of where the camp is)

She first deploys Ember Celica and then the gun in her prosthetic, giving the bandits multiple chances to reconsider fighting her

Just...the entire fight with the bandits

Walks into Raven’s camp with her wrist things already off, making her more prepared if things go badly and she’s forced to fight

Sees through Raven’s crap and maintains a calm and strong demeanor, which will be more likely to get her what she wants (Yang knows from Tai that Raven respects strength)

Her whole plan to get Raven to take her to Ruby is genius. Like she says, there isn’t a guarantee that Ruby made it to Mistral (and if Yang had left Patch a month or so early it’s possible she could’ve passed them when the detoured in Kuroyuri), whereas she knew essentially where Raven would be and she knows she has the power to send her to Qrow who Yang knows is with Ruby

It is a gamble, but Yang knows that Raven cares about her enough to at least save her life once, and she knows that if it pays off she saves a lot of time

Demonstrates a healthy skepticism towards both Raven and Ozpin

Recognizes Raven’s bird form, which shows very strong observational skills

Calls Ozpin out for not telling them about turning the twins into birds, which shows RNJR that Ozpin and Qrow are still hiding things from them

Is the one to insist on no more lies from Ozpin

Is smart enough to realize that something’s up with Leo and looks around to find anything else out of the ordinary (and once again recognizes her mother and brings it up since she knows she shouldn’t be there)

Doesn’t attack the image of Raven that Emerald conjures and instead blocks Mercury’s attack, implying that she’s getting a basic grasp of what Emerald’s semblance is

Doesn’t let her surprise at seeing Blake again or her irritation at Mercury get in the way of her mission of going after the trio in the vault

Immediately pieces together that Raven is the spring maiden and deduces how the previous one died

Takes control of the conversation and successfully shuts Raven down

Points out the flaws in Raven’s plan and reasoning and convinces her to surrender the relic, essentially defeating one of the strongest beings on the planet without throwing a punch

And since she didn’t know Raven was the spring maiden until she gets down there, a lot of what she says would’ve had to have been thought up on the fly

Shows that she still doesn’t fully trust Oz when she doesn’t tell Qrow that Raven is the spring maiden (which doesn’t hurt them anyway since they now have the relic)

Grimm Eclipse (note: any that are based off of comments Yang has are compared to her teammates’s comments at the same point, so if they’re on here there is a difference which will be noted):

Recognizes the jumping puzzle in Forever Fall as just that: a puzzle (Blake and Ruby only comment that they can make the jumps)

Along with Blake gives the most technical description of the activities on Merlot’s island (calling it an ”industrial sized drilling operation” to be exact)

Recognizes that infiltrating Merlot’s lab has been too easy at the elevators (”this has been all too convenient so far”), and sure enough the very next room is boobytrapped/heavily guarded (Blake makes a similar comment but Ruby and Weiss do not)

Is implied to have her pilot’s license

Long story short (too late), Yang might be laid-back and willing to crack jokes, but she is not an idiot.

If I’ve missed anything, let me know so I can add it (the Grimm Eclipse section probably has more, but I wanted to avoid examples that were shared by the entire team since it is a game and the player needs a certain amount of information to advance). If you need sources, I can add episodes/timestamps (be warned that would take awhile) or I can elaborate. A few of these are a little more speculative, but the language used reflects that (implied, possibly, etc.) and the reasoning is provided.

#rwby #rwby5 #rwby spoilers #yang xiao long #the sunniest #yeah let me know if i've missed something please #maybe one of these days I'll post at a time that isn't ridiculously late #but today is not that day #for my own use

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flusterfluff · 6 years

Text

We were outnumbered, and our head cleric called out sick. Shame, because she was the Leader’s wife. The Support squad needed a new lead, our one Seeker, the only spare person with experience leading a squad, was required in the Archer team. After the battle, I learned that it was something along the lines of fifty two enemies to our measly thirty-some. But first, let us back up a bit.

Ruthless was a rather... well, Ruthless faction, for lack of a better word. In our latter days, we had somewhere around 150 to 175 members. Hard to tell specifics with everyone leaving here and there because the decaying state of our guild. Of these, lets say 175 because it makes math easier, the ranks fell as follows:

Leader. We’ll call him Brillopad. Or, Brillo.

Leader’s Wife/Director. She’ll be Onyxia.

Marshals. There were four slots at this rank, but we only used three. The most trusted of the leader duo. This was myself, DPS squad leader, and I think the Tank squad leader.

Executors. Ten of these, basically incredibly active and loyal players used for managing the lower ranks.

150 other people, hand-picked by Marshals and up for their combat ability, or ability to farm for guild mats.

There was a weekly event where various factions fought for control over the world map, to have their faction’s name present along the zone name when loading into any given area. These battles got... heated to say the least, but I’ve talked on the mechanics here before. The important thing to recap is that player limit is 80 per team, but the most active factions can only field 30-40 at a time.

This meant that Ruthless divided it into four squads. Each squad of ten people was led by someone that would normally use voice chat over Raidcall to call the shots and the squad’s targets. Normal leads were:

Brillo, leading either Tanksquad or Archersquad.

Onyxia, leading Support squad to lend help wherever needed on the battlefield, basically a flex position

Nameless Seeker, leading Archersquad when Brillo was on tank duty. Archersquad was mostly DPS oriented, using their head to debuff a group of targets and make them take more metal damage

Nameless Barb, who led Tanksquad while Brillo was on his archer. Basically just to pull catapults to damage towers and... Mechanical things.

One of several random people leading StraggleSquad, for people that came in late. Often used to reinforce Archersquad.

As stated above, Onyxia called in sick, and she was the only one experienced in leading the Support Squad. Normally, we’d have Nameless Seeker lead support, but he was needed in Archersquad, because Brillo was down a tank in Tanksquad and had to fill there. So, he calls for me in Raidcall, and tells me that he’s going to have me lead the Support Squad. Problem being that, at the time, I didn’t have a microphone. And also no experience shotcalling. I told him this, and got reassured by both Nameless Barb, Nameless Seeker, Brillo, and one of my best friends in that guild that I would do fine.

Brillo, the fool, the idiot, made the fatal mistake of asking me what I needed in order for my unique role as a Heavy Armor Venomancer to function at its full potential. This day, and never again, I was given reign over the composition of my squad. He asked what classes I needed, I called out in Guild chat nine names. Not classes. Not roles. I needed BeefCake the Barbarian, MysticHeal, the off-meta Mystic that specialized in, whaddaya know, healing, TANK, two Clerics, one of which being my best friend in the guild, the other being infamous for trying to DPS instead of healing, a Venomancer that I had briefed beforehand on how to operate in a squad with me and had trained with, and “Whoever else you can spare for DPS”. Brillo, the madman, let me have our second and third best tanks. From his own squad. We were operating crippled, missing half our potential catapult pullers due to my insane request, our best healer due to “illness”, and, ten minutes into a two hour war... Our leader.

Brillo left early to go help Onyxia irl. I worked together with Nameless Seeker to lead the fight in his stead. The Raidcall was in panic, but I had everything under control. Together, the squad leaders (And BeefCake, who left to go help the CataSquad mid-match), directed the fighting while I called out general strategy. While typing. And directing my squad to specific targets. Via typing. While we were in a voice call. This was while playing the single most strategically complex and reflex-intensive build in the game.

Battle highlights:

1) Brillo leaves without designating a leader, Archersquad gets wiped, Catapults get reset, Support Squad and StraggleSquad, sixteen people in total fend off a wave of three mixed seven to ten man squads, protecting our tower. Three assassins jump our healing cleric. I peel, drop their attack speed and damage, and the DPS cleric works with an archer to get a combined triple kill while I shoot a cleric out of the sky by turning it into a cat. 2) BeefCake gets reassigned to CataSquad on respawn because he got combo’d by two Wizards at once. Ouch. Said Wizards feel my wrath. One gets Kittified, the other gets sent back to spawn with my trademark OHKO combo, amped by a local Metal Mage (Read: DPS cleric) to bypass his buffed defenses.

3) My biggest Purge ever. This is why I’m Sage. My Debuff Purge gets a small five foot AoE. I hit eight people with it at once. What happens next? You hear Nameless Seeker CACKLE on voice, call target, and arrows rain from the sky, wiping a full squad after he debuffed them and triggered charms.

4) The Coup de Grace. This one deserves its own post, but to summarize, it’s the story of how I killed an entire army of fourty plus people with little more than psychological warfare. Oh, and a targeted transmog that turned someone into a cat for six seconds.

6) Reinforcements. FeedMy/PoL/arm, the enemy leader, got reinforcements, Brillo came back to see us still alive, got ignored, raged in VC for a bit, took control of his faction back by force, and proceeded to lose us a won game. I consider this TW a victory. I won. I don’t care if we lost the land. We might not have. Our enemy faction lost face, and I finally considered the score even for the one time the enemy leader continually spawn killed me for teh lulz.

The conclusion of this entire territory war is fuzzy in my memory. We might’ve won. If so, only barely. We might’ve lost. If so, only to enemy reinforcements pushing a 32v40 to a 33v52 in their favor. What does matter, more than who won the fight, was the aftermath. Within a week, Ruthless fell apart. I think the leaders got divorced. Both yelled at me for siding with the other because I chose to be neutral. That’s another story, as well. You could say we lost the aftermath, either way...

But our opponents, our biggest rival at the time? Completely lost face. I’m told their leader was screaming on voice chat, cursing me specifically for my tricky dickery that got him killed. Many of his followers lost faith in him, and soon... They crumbled, too.

And that’s how I killed two of the largest factions in EPW at the time by taking command of ONE battle! This is why you don’t let me lead things, Brillo. You fucking numbskull. This is why I can’t have nice things.

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tsaritsa · 7 years

Text

against the run of play

hi @yanumii i was ur secret santa this year!!!! u asked for fic, a modern au, and royai: so i went a bit crazy and wrote a 7k multimedia fic extravaganza. i hope u enjoy it, and that u have a safe holiday period into 2k18!!!

you can also read on ao3

“Riza Hawkeye,” she lifted her glass in greeting.

He inclined his head in return and took the chair next to her. “Roy Mustang. What brings you to a charity gig this evening?”

(In which Roy Mustang is a national rugby hero and falls in love with neurotrauma specialist Riza Hawkeye as soon as he lays eyes on her).

He’s been seen out and about in Briggs with internationally-ranked ice-skater Olivier Armstrong, 36.

But rugby royalty Roy Mustang, 28, stepped out solo for his trip to East City last week, and tried to go incognito as he arrived at Bardowick-Lyles station late Thursday afternoon.

The captain of the Drakes cut a casual look with oversized black shades as he tried to dodge the prying eyes of the afternoon commuters.

Braving the cold in a black winter coat with pearl buttons, Mustang kept it cosy in a light blue jumper and worn black jeans.

He matched his elegant coat with midnight Tom Ford boots, emblazoned with a bold red strap over the foot.

He stylishly pulled the look together with a tan messenger bag with statement buckle to give off a touch of glamour.

The sighting comes after a report from the Central Star that the rugby superstar is getting serious with ice-skater Olivier Armstrong, who has just come back from the competition circuit in Drachma. Though there have been no photos of the two together, several sources have reported on their dates.

Olivier attended his last home game in East City last November. And Mustang headed to Briggs with her where they were both spotted enjoying the sights at Lake Yastreb, well-known in the region for its picturesque views and opportunities to skate on the lake itself.

'Roy and Olivier are definitely dating,' a source tells Central Star. 'They’ve gotten to know each other really well and are very comfortable from one another.

'Olivier sends Roy music to get his opinion on what she should choreograph her pieces to. It’s more than just a fling.' 'They’ve been dating since early autumn and spend most nights hanging out at his holiday home in northern Central and laying low,' another source told the Central Star.

'His friends already love her and see how happy she makes him,' it was claimed.

The Drakes face off against Creta this Saturday at the Eastern ‘Cake Tin’ Stadium, in which punters are expecting the professional debut of newly-signed scrum-half, Edward Elric.

Roy Mustang is supposedly single!

While it was previously reported the Rugby Union star was ‘casually dating’ the pretty figure skater Olivier Armstrong, he says he's not worrying about his love life for now (though he did not outright deny that he and Olivier have been seeing!)

He told The Bell:

"It's not that I'm not pursuing love in some sense, but I'm just focusing on the team right now. We have some really exciting games coming up against the new Creta lineup and training has been non-stop. The spare time that I do have, I want it to be fun and casual and light and easy-going."

Well, there's nothing wrong with fun and casual!

Anyway, Roy isn't worrying about being in a serious relationship at the moment, but maybe some time in the future:

"I'm sure there will come a time when I'm ready to make a more serious commitment and be in a relationship like that – one where I can really focus my time on someone else – but I'm thrilled to be able to keep things simple at the moment."

And for now he's focusing on his fellow teammate (and self-proclaimed best friend) Maes Hughes' happiness in his engagement to Gracia Barker:

"I was really excited and anxious to hear from Maes on the day that I knew he was going to pop the question. When I finally did, it was just the best. I think they’ve found their other half in each other and it's wonderful to see them so happy. It's rare in a lot of cases and when you see it happen it brings you an overwhelming sense of joy."

Aww!

Roy can live vicariously through them AND still enjoy the single life!

Riza huffed as she adjusted the dress she wore, cursing under her breath as she shot a pained smile towards her grandfather across the dance floor. She understood that the job her grandfather had – as the leader of their country – was important, but he made it very hard for her to appreciate his role when he forced her to attend these soirées as his informal date. You’ll meet plenty of men this way, he had cajoled her, eyes twinkling.

Of course, it didn’t matter to Führer George Grumman the III that his only grandchild had no current plans to meet a man and settle down – she was having plenty of fun focusing on her job as a doctor in a small borough just an hour out of Central City. It was challenging work, as well as rewarding, and it frustrated Riza to no end that her grandfather refused to see her as she was, rather than as someone she could potentially become.

She would, however, give him credit for the dress she was trying to wrestle with discreetly as she could manage. Despite the awkward way she felt it sat on her body, she would admit that she looked damn good in it. It was one of the more scandalous-worthy dresses on show tonight – she had been approached by an up-and-coming designer who knew her through a co-worker that worked on the surgery side of head trauma (she thought it was funny how small the world could be at times) – and the designer had arrived last week with this hip-hugging, gossamer affair. Truthfully, the dress actually stopped at the top of her thighs: the rest was a delicate gauze embellished with floral appliqués that accented the long length of her thighs and calves. It was a bold choice that Riza knew had some of the high society girls fuming – technically she hadn’t broken the dress code, but she knew she was walking on a very thin line between looking chic and modern and looking downright scandalous.

Whatever. If she had to be dragged to be paraded around on her grandfather’s arm, at least she could look stunning while doing it.

Tonight was a charity event – these were par for the course for her. The causes were almost always something she could easily support, and the press tended to be minimal (and generally only the legitimate forms of press would even turn up to these sorts of events).

Unfortunately for Riza, this particular charity event was something she was struggling to find an ounce of support for. It didn’t help that their supporters and partners had hadn’t really given much thought to the security of the whole event. Gate crashers kept seeming to wriggle their way in, and the few men on duty had their hands full trying to ensure than nobody was unduly accosted.

It was just her luck that the entire Drakes team had been invited to attend, and with them, every person with a smartphone and a nametag saying, ‘Hello I’m an invasive journalist’ had turned up to report (intrusively investigate, a little voice in the back of her head whispered).

The main speeches that had practically bordered on self-congratulation had already been done (thank god), and the dinner had been alright (the only saving grace). The mingling afterwards was what she didn’t enjoy, but it was barely ten o’clock yet and she had promised her grandfather that she would stay until at least half past. This event had been sponsored by the national rugby board, celebrating the commencement of a new initiative that would see coaches and equipment being deployed to the poorer regions of the country. If her grandfather was considered the head of this nation, rugby was undoubtedly the heart. And the lungs. And the kidneys. And any other vital organ in the body. Amestris without rugby was…well, a country of little international standing and an awful lot of sheep per capita.

It was in their blood, or so the saying went. Everyone either played or watched the national sport. There was never any discussion about disliking rugby: naturally, that never factored into the equation at all. Riza could remember playing it as a young child – even the other sports made available at her school all paled in comparison to the funding and exposure that rugby got.

Her grandfather knew she wasn’t the biggest fan of rugby – being a neurotrauma specialist meant she often dealt with people suffering from concussions and other injuries that were common in the sport: so spending an evening with the people who actively ignored any warnings she and her colleagues put out about the inherent dangers of such an oft-contact sport was just peachy.

Also, Roy Mustang was here. Riza didn’t have anything against the man personally; she was just sick of seeing his name and face plastered across her newspapers, social media feed, christ – even her bread wasn’t safe from his smarmy expression, endorsing her use of wholegrains and encouraging her to learn more at playrugby.co.am

The overexposure of such a man was to be expected, she supposed. He was the captain of the Drakes – the national rugby team, and played in the local league for the East Eagles. Alongside Hughes, Armstrong (the male one, his older sister did figure-skating and was reputed to be as cold as the ice she worked on) and the up-and-coming Elric Brothers, the national team was formidable, to say the least – and that was only the names that she could remember off the top of her head. The Drakes were currently ranked number one in the world, and for good reason. She’d give him this, Mustang was talented – after years of embarrassing defeats and almost-wins against Creta (their arch rivals), Mustang had swanned onto the scene and essentially rebuilt the team from the ground up. The drinking and bashing tabloids went away, the team practically became good at rugby overnight, and the country’s morale was at an all-time high.

Mustang had given the country something to be proud of, and that in turn made the country better for it.

She spied him across the room, talking with her grandfather and other men in suits. George was a big fan of the rugby, and Riza knew her grandfather would certainly be enjoying himself tonight, surrounded by plenty of players to natter off to. She remembered that he used to play when he was haler and heartier: tonight would probably be the highlight of his social engagement calendar for this season.

It was rather funny to watch the man try to extract himself from what looked to be a very one-sided conversation with her grandfather – Riza was well-versed in various modes of escape from him once he got into an animated discussion, but in this case Mustang seemed to be at her grandfather’s mercy. Eventually another team member had wandered over and she saw him quickly duck his way out, skirting the edges of the ballroom.

“I see you’ve met the ‘real’ Führer,” she called out to him as he passed her table. He turned back to look at her, confused.

She smiled kindly at him and his face lit up in understanding. “You saw that, then?”

“It’s been fun watching everyone realise what they’ve gotten themselves into. You did remarkably well.”

She poured herself another flute of sparkling wine and raised her eyebrows at her companion.

“Riza Hawkeye,” she lifted her glass in greeting.

He inclined his head in return and took the chair next to her. “Roy Mustang. What brings you to a charity gig this evening?”

“I’m here as my grandfather’s date,” she replied. It was the truth, after all. But with men like Mustang, she relied on their own fame and notoriety to eclipse hers. There had been no spark of recognition at her first name (which usually gave it away). It was refreshing to be a simple civilian, talking to another, slightly more (okay, extremely well-known) civilian. Besides, she was interested in seeing how he was off the field, and out of the press scrum after every game. He had always presented himself as polite and engaged – but here, amongst his peers, Riza would have an opportunity to see the real man.

“That’s very kind of you,” he said politely, fiddling with the stem of his glass. “Is he involved with the board?”

“Not quite,” she hedged, ducking her head. “To be honest he’s not a very important person in the scheme of it all, not here certainly. Not like you, however.” A teasing smile pulled at her lips. “You’re the man of the hour.”

Roy sighed, shifting in his chair to see her properly. “It’s a good venture.”

“I never said it wasn’t,” Riza said coolly. “But you don’t look like you’re having fun, despite all the attention.”

Roy folded his arms over his chest and Riza tried to ignore how his dress shirt pulled in all the right places. “You don’t sound like you’re having much fun either.”

“Why would I? Your board never listens to me: being stuck in a room with them is not my idea of a good Thursday night.”

He paused, frowning. “What do you mean about the board?”

Perhaps it was the all the wine she had drunk throughout the night (well, something needed to get her through their inane speeches); perhaps it was the fact that she would be able to give Mustang the slip in just under ten minutes; perhaps Riza had the slim hope that maybe he would listen to her, even if nobody else would.

The words spilled out of her before she could think to what impact they might have. “I’m a neurotrauma specialist. I’ve written entire books on how a blow to the head affects your cognitive function later on in life. Your board seems to think their players are immune to those effects.”

His eyes bugged a little out of his head and Riza allowed herself a small smirk. It wasn’t an attack on him directly – hell, he would probably be one of the worst-off players considering how long he’d been playing for the Drakes now – but there was something perversely fun about educating the star of rugby about its inherent failings and dangers.

“I mean-” he was struggling for words here, moving forward in his seat. “I’d heard the rumours but – surely they would listen, at the very least?”

Riza shrugged, finishing off her glass. “You tell me. Every paper I send them – internationally peer-reviewed, mind you – is quickly ignored. They don’t want the proof that the current form of the game is slowly killing their star players.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Maybe you’ll have more luck with them than I do. I mean the game no disrespect, but with how it’s embedded into our day-today-lives-” she waved an arm around for emphasis. “It’s not just retired players and people with over twenty concussions. I’m getting children in now because they’ve have a hard knock and it’s screwed them up. There’s absolutely no focus on safety, just on how manly it is. And a gala like this? It’s only going to exacerbate the problem.”

He had grown quiet, looking at something over her shoulder with apprehension.

“I heard from your grandfather that you had come along with him tonight, but I never imagined you would be so rude as to spread lies when you’re here as our guest,” an oily voice said from behind her.

“Chairman Raven,” Roy said carefully, moving out of his chair and shaking the older man’s hand.

Riza stood up to, and made a point of extending her hand towards the man as well. His cologne was overpowering as he gripped her hand with more force than necessary, she could feel it settling onto her skin like the sardines her grandfather liked to eat for lunch. Everything about him screamed money and power.

“It’s hardly a lie, I’m afraid,” she replied coolly, enjoying how his gaze hardened. “I have nearly eight years’ worth of data now. Every year you ignore me I just add to my statistics some more.”

“Chairman, I think it might be worth looking into this,” Roy said earnestly, and Riza felt a rush of affection for him as he stood next to her, their shoulders barely brushing. “I saw Basque only just last week and he had been telling me-”

“A conversation for another time, I think,” Raven said pointedly, still looking at Riza with barely contained distaste. “You’ll have to forgive Mr. Mustang: he sees a pretty face and simply loses all common sense.”

Riza felt the smile freeze on her face. Roy had grown very still next to her, and she willed for him to say something – anything. The silence stretched on, and Raven’s lewd smile grew.

“I think we should give Mr. Mustang more credit than that,” she said eventually, tasting bile on her tongue. “At least he doesn’t judge at first glance.”

“Because there’s so much to judge the granddaughter of the Führer on, isn’t there?” Raven inclined his head at the two of them. “It was nice talking to you again, Miss Hawkeye.”

“Doctor Hawkeye,” she ground out.

Raven laughed loudly. “Of course, silly me. Doctor Hawkeye.”

Roy turned on her as soon as the older man was out of earshot; Riza let go of a breath she didn’t realise she was still holding onto.

“You’re George’s granddaughter?”

“Yes,” she said distractedly, checking her watch for the time. “My grandmother doesn’t have the patience for these sorts of things, so I come along instead.”

“His granddaughter-”

“I need a drink,” she said tiredly, finally looking up at him. His mouth was gaping open inelegantly and she smiled softly, placing her fingers on his underside of his chin to close his mouth gently. “Would you care to join me? I find Chairman Raven robs me of all energy.” Her fingers lingered on his jaw for a moment, savouring the heat of his skin against her own.

He stared at her, confused, before nodding and offering her his arm. “I know a good bar a few blocks from here,” he said lightly.

“You read my mind, Mr Mustang. Lead the way.”

She woke with a start, and immediately wished she hadn’t moved so quickly. The room swam; her vision swam; her head swam.

Riza had the worst hangover in living memory. Her legs were wrapped awkwardly around a sheet and she struggled for a few moments before flopping back onto the bed, breathing deeply and trying her best not to hurl onto the ground.

How much did I drink last night? Her head was throbbing painfully now, and she realised with growing dread that she didn’t recognise where she was.

She also wasn’t wearing anything.

FuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckityfuckfuckFUCK.

Another wave of nausea passed over her and she rolled onto her side, blearily opening her eyes to figure out exactly where she had ended up. The room was familiar – maybe one of the hotels in the CBD? The room was pretty basic in its setup, but the furniture spoke of moderate wealth. Riza sat up slowly, not caring how the bedsheet fell and pooled around her hips. She could spy her dress crumpled up on the floor, and her shoes kicked off on the sofa.

How in the fuck am I going to get out of this?

She heard movements to her left, and watched with horror as Roy Mustang’s head emerged from beneath the other half of the bedsheet, like the birth of the world’s most hungover butterfly. He blinked slowly up at her, his mouth opening and shutting.

“Where did your dress go?” he asked, puzzled. Riza shrieked, quickly grabbing the sheet back up.

“God, not so loud I beg you-”

“What the fuck happened last night-”

“Did we-?”

“I think we-”

“Christ, I would never mean to take advantage of you like that, I’m so sorry-”

She held up a hand and took a deep breath. “We were both obviously drunk – it’s – it’s not ideal. But it’s alright, it – this shit happens.” She gripped the bedsheet tightly against her chest.

He curled around a pillow and looked at her with an expression she couldn’t be bothered to figure out. “I’m glad it was you,” he said honestly, wincing at how tactless he sounded. “I mean – you know, people throwing themselves at you for your fame?”

“Yeah…” she nodded her head uncertainly. “I-”

“ROY!” A voice boomed from outside, the two of them tensed, and looked at each other warily.

“Fuck, it’s Maes,” he whispered harshly, running a hand through his hair – if it was his bedhead before, Riza didn’t know what to call whatever the mess was now on top of his head. He pushed himself off the bed and puttered around the bed; Riza found it hard to tear her eyes away from his body. Yes, she knew he was fit but – it was different seeing it in the flesh.

“You won’t want to wear that out,” he said, gesturing to her dress on the floor while shimmying on his boxer shorts. “I think I have some spare clothes you can borrow.”

“It’ll be fine-”

“Dressed to the nines?” He laughed and shook his head. “We’ve got press with us at the moment – they might be sport-focused, but I’ll wager they’ll be quicker to pick up on who you are than I was.”

She bit her lip: he had a point, despite her apprehension. Of course the media would be here – it was a bloody miracle that Roy had taken them to a little bar off a side street where nobody seemed to care who they were.

The knocking on the door was becoming more insistent. “ROY WAKE THE FUCK UP YOU LAZY SON OF A-”

“I’M COMING, MAES!” He yelled back, throwing her a wrinkled t-shirt and shorts; she quickly put them on. They were a loose fit, but it would have to do, at least until she could hail an uber to take her home. He ducked into the bathroom, she could hear the taps running at full tilt.

She was just bending down to pick up her wallet when the door suddenly flew open and Maes walked in, looking harried and ready to draw blood.

“Roy, I swear on my grave you are gonna get it-”

He stopped as he saw Riza crouching by the side of the bed.

“Oh shit, Roy. What have you done?”

Roy walked out the bathroom, scrubbing at his face with a washcloth. His shoulders slumped as he saw his best friend, and he walked over to where Riza was standing, frozen like a deer in the headlights. “Look, I’ll-”

“It’s fine,” she whispered lowly, very aware of how this must look to the deputy captain: here was the Führer’s granddaughter dressed in his best friend’s clothing and looking thoroughly shagged. “I’ll go, and you can – can deal with whatever is going on-”

“Riza-”

She placed her free palm against his chest and breathed in deeply. “It’s fine-”

He dipped his head and kissed her chastely on the mouth, a little part of her melted at the fact that despite his being needed elsewhere, he was still here, with her. His fingers curled against the side of her face and she tried her best not to see too much into this: he was just being a gentleman and –

“Roy this can’t wait-”

He ripped his lips from hers and breathed deeply, resting his forehead against her own.

“I swear-”

She nodded, trying her best not to let her emotions get the better of her. “Maybe we’ll – later.”

“Later,” he breathed, kissing her forehead lightly before picking up her shoes and handing them to her. “Take the stairwell, it’ll lead you to the back entrance and away from the main road.”

Maes was quiet as he watched her gather her purse and slip out of the room. “You didn’t answer your phone,” he explained, handing his own over. The local news site was loaded, and Roy sucked in a breath as he read the headline.

BREAKING: ZOLF J. KIMBLEE FOUND GUILTY OF DOPING DRAKES ON BEHALF OF DRACHMAN BEARS. MORE TO FOLLOW.

“Christ,” Roy muttered, skimming the article before handing the phone back to Maes, quickly putting on his team jacket. “Of course it was Kimblee.”

Maes shrugged. “We all knew something was coming. What I’m more interested in is-”

“Absolutely not.” His voice brokered no argument and Maes deflated a little. “It’s not – we’ve got more important things to worry about right now.”

“Is she just a one-off or-?”

Roy rubbed his eyes roughly, sighing. “For fucks sake, you know me better than that. Later mate, when I’m not hungover.”

Maes slung his arm around Roy’s shoulders, and coaxed him down the hall towards the elevator. “I’ll hold you to that. Anyway, Kimblee was found with the drugs in his room, and his phone’s been confiscated by the police. All you need to do is look solemn and refuse to answer any questions.”

“That should be easy.”

UNKNOWN NUMBER, 5:28pm when did u manage to put ur number into my phone

elizabeth, 5:31pm Sorry, who is this?

UNKNOWN NUMBER, 5:32pm man this is embarrassing UNKNOWN NUMBER, 5:32pm it’s roy UNKNOWN NUMBER, 5:32pm y’know UNKNOWN NUMBER, 5:33pm the dude u marked to hell and back UNKNOWN NUMBER, 5:33pm i had to fend off so many questions from maes about u

elizabeth, 5:34pm Oh shit elizabeth, 5:36pm Thank you for sending back my dress. I owe you

concussion boy, 5:37pm go out to lunch with me tomorrow and i’ll call it even

elizabeth, 5:39pm They said you were slick on the field

concussion boy, 5:40pm meet u at the café on the corner of elm and lyles? 12ish?

elizabeth, 5:44pm I’ve got a meeting at 1pm back at the hospital so it’ll have to be a short lunch

Looks like Roy Mustang scores on AND off the field!

On Saturday, the Drakes star was snapped out and about with the gorgeous First Granddaughter Riza Hawkeye, and it seems like these two had quite a ball on their lunch date!

The precious pair hit up Il Pomadoro in the Carlston borough of Western Central, and they were totally getting their flirt on after the meal!

The accomplished neurosurgeon and the captain of the Drakes were caught on camera smiling and laughing, and Riza even tried to grab for something in the athlete's hands!

And close sources say this isn't just a hit-it-and-quit-it date! Insiders say that these two are, in fact, dating, but it's still very new, which is why they're trying to keep it on the down-low.

For example, when the sports star was asked about being spotted on the outing later that week, he responded by saying:

"I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about."

Playing coy, Mr. Mustang?!

We appreciate the effort, but those snaps are pretty telling!

[Images courtesy of Lily Marrell.]

Things are heating up between Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye in the cold winter weather… literally!

On Tuesday night, the blonde beauty and the charismatic captain were spotted hanging out together once again! The stars were caught on camera at a Starbucks near Mount Kahma, about five hours north of New Optain.

Since the cosy ski resort is probably one of the few places in the Eastern District that actually gets cold, the precious pair was most likely trying to get their body heat rising… with some coffee! LOL get your mind out of the gutter!

The romance rumours surrounding these two have been in a flurry ever since the pair were spotted talking at a charity ball sponsored by the National Rugby Union. Miss Hawkeye, a talented neurotrauma specialist at Central General had apparently charmed the Drakes Captain with not just her enviable fashion sense, but her brain as well. Sources say that Roy was smitten with her from the very beginning, while Riza took a little time to warm up to the fly-half.

Do you think the relationship between this dynamic duo is more than platonic? Or are Roy and Riza just friends? This girl hopes that Roy Mustang isn’t off the bachelor market just yet!

[Image courtesy of Lorne Yoki.]

It’s heartbreak on top of heartbreak for Olivier Armstrong, 36, and Roy Mustang, 28, and sources claim to The Daily Star that Roy has betrayed Olivier by seeing another woman for the past five months. ‘Roy finally admitted to Olivier that he had fallen in love with another woman! They had to hide their feelings, but they’ve been seeing each other on the sly whenever they could over the last five months,’ an insider reveals. ‘Their friendship turned into something more as time went on.’ OMG!

So who is this alleged mystery woman? None other than the granddaughter of the Führer, Riza Hawkeye. ‘She’s a neurotrauma specialist, and often attends charity events as a date to her grandfather,’ the source adds. Sounds like they run in the same circles. ‘As such, they had crossed paths at numerous events, both in Amestris and abroad, for some time,’ the insider reveals. ‘She’s classically beautiful and was educated in Creta, as well as here at Central U — and the attraction between her and Roy was immediate!’ Whoa, sounds pretty serious.

Miss Hawkeye has been described as somewhat of a gold-digger in certain circles – she was largely left out of the public eye as George Grumman soared to power in the election of ’19, and the insider reveals that there’s talk amongst those closest to the rugby star that she’s after a ring to solidify her social standing amongst the WAG’s of the Drakes. ‘She grew up in a very poor household until her grandfather took her under his wing, so she’s very hungry for any kind of power. We honestly can’t see what he sees in her.’

Of course, Roy had to eventually tell Olivier about his secret love. ‘Roy finally came clean to Olivier about his new woman just a few days before her Grand Prix competition at North City,’ the insider says, referring to that dramatic and shocking exit by Olivier in the semi-finals. ‘At first Olivier was stunned — and certainly blindsided — by Roy’s confession. But then she got furious. It wasn’t pretty,’ the source shares. We can only imagine. Olivier is considered one of the strongest skaters in the world – she must have truly been heartbroken to be affected like this.

Perhaps Riza will see her true influence now – not as a doctor saving lives, but as one ruining them too.

concussion boy, 2:31pm i know u saw the daily star article. rebecca dm’ed me. concussion boy, 2:31pm u can’t just keep ignoring me concussion boy, 2:32pm we need to talk about this

elizabeth, 2:26pm there’s nothing to talk about

concussion boy, 2:27pm i’ll make sure i get a concussion next match unless we talk concussion boy, 2:27pm u know i will concussion boy, 2:28pm and then u will have to treat me and be a professional while i ogle u concussion boy, 2:29pm har har

“You never thought to tell me it was a PR relationship?”

“It didn’t seem – I mean, if you had met Olivier-”

Riza let out a shriek of frustration. “But I haven’t, Roy. I don’t move in the same circles as you! Was it her? Did she tell them to write this?”

Roy held up his hands in defeat. “No, she wouldn’t. She doesn’t get revenge that way. I just – I know our lives have been busy! Between you, and getting the team through this fucking doping scandal-”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Because I’m such a hassle, aren’t I? You know that’s not what I meant. It’s not like I’m deciding to date the next guy I meet in the bakery – you’re Roy Mustang! Every man, woman and unborn child knows who you are. It was foolish to think that we’d be able to keep it quiet for any length of time, you’ve always got media after you-”

Roy snorted, shaking his head. “And you’re the Führer’s granddaughter, who is known in the public eye-”

“Because he asks me!” She wrung her hands, trying her best not to get upset. “He always gives me the option to say no! You never asked me if this is what I wanted, you just took me out on a date and hoped like mad the press wouldn’t catch wind-”

“Didn’t stop you from fucking me in the hotel.”

She stood there, mouth open and gaping like a fish. “That’s not – you can’t just – we-”

He laughed humourlessly, a pale imitation of a smile on his face. “Right. I see how it is. You’re allowed to hang that over my head for as much as you care to do, but as soon as I try to make a point you won’t even fucking listen. Are you sure that it’s me who’s has the multiple head injuries?” It was an a needlessly cruel jab and part of Roy regretted it the moment it left his mouth. His idea of a ‘mild press day’ was probably far beyond whatever she had experienced – but still –

She sat down on the sofa, her head in her hands. Her shoulders were trembling. “Don’t,” she said forcefully when he went to sit next to her, her arm flung out in a final stand.

There was an ugly silence as Roy stood there, hand hovering in the space where her own was being held. She swallowed what sounded like a sob before she raised her head and tucked her arms against her body, blinking her watery eyes.

“Never use my job against me again,” she said coldly, before shifting on the sofa, inclining her head slightly. He sat down, and she sighed, resting her head against his shoulder.

“You’re used to the press,” her hand found his and she laced her fingers with his tightly. “You’re used to how they write about you, how they-”

“But-”

“Please let me finish, Roy.” Her voice was firm, but tired. “You have an entire team of people who coach you in how to deal with the media; that same team protects you from the worst of it. I don’t have that luxury. Being the granddaughter of the Führer means that people are aware of me, yes – but I’m no more than a line in an article; perhaps included in a single society photo with my grandfather because he wants one of the two of us. No more than that.” She paused, and shifted against him.

“I have complete strangers approaching me at my work. Making up fake head injuries so I’ll see them – taking up a spot that could be used by somebody who actually needs the medical attention. The girlfriend of Roy Mustang.” Riza laughed bitterly. “It’s like I’m in zoo or something. Back when people saw me for who my grandfather was, not for my own achievements. I worked hard to get to where I am today – to be reduced in such a way, it’s–”

She sighed heavily. “This is the reality I’m living with. Please understand that.”

Roy nodded slowly, squeezing her hand lightly. “I didn’t consider,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry I put you in that position.”

She lifted their joined hands and kissed his knuckles delicately. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you when it happened. I just…I thought I could deal with it. They’re only articles.”

“And you’re just a person,” Roy soothed. “A brilliant, smart, and kind person-” she laughed shakily, “-but a person nonetheless. I’ll see what I can do about the tabloids. They weren’t this harsh on Gracia.”

dickhead bf, 09:28am sorry to inform u but i’m breaking up with u dickhead bf, 09:29am i know this will be hard for u dickhead bf, 09:29am i'll send some flowers so the world knows i’m a gentleman

ice monster, 09:40am fuck off ice monster, 09:40am i’ve seen the articles. is she staying for longer than 2 months?

dickhead bf, 09:48am har bloody har. she just doesn’t want any press cooking up a story we all know to be fake dickhead bf, 09:50am they haven’t been kind to her

ice monster, 09:52am cry me a river mustang. she knows what’s she’s getting into right? fuhrer’s grandkid and all that ice monster, 09:54am seriously tho, congrats. didn't think there was anybody who could deal with ur arse 24/7. wish her luck from me

dickhead bf, 09:55am you’d probably like her. doesn't put up with any of my shit and makes me ring my mum once a week

ice monster, 09:56am real wife material there ice monster, 10:11am oh ffs DO NOT propose to her yet otherwise i’ll get stuck with ur press cycle again. ur meant to make me look GOOD

dickhead bf, 10:28am i know. say hi to jon for me

Olivier Armstrong may have a new man her life!

On Monday, it was reported by The Standard that the renowned figure skater has been spending time with Jonathon Buccaneer for the last few weeks. AH-Mazing!

However, the 32-year-old's family have declined to comment on her possibly changed #RelationshipStatus. Well, that's not a no!

According to the paper, the twosome went on a romantic getaway together to Beaumont, Western District where they supposedly went on scenic hikes into the mountains and basked in the sunshine. Too cute!

Still, we have to wonder, who exactly is this mystery beau?? Ch-ch-check out these five fast facts on Olivier’s (possible) new squeeze!

Mr. Buccaneer has an automail arm: Apparently, he has a variety of different get-ups for different jobs. It’s unknown how he lost it, and no sources close to the man have offered up any hints. We can’t imagine how he lost it, what with working in the military and all…

He has NOTHING to do with professional sports: Surprisingly, Olivier is dating a normal guy who works at as a military analyst for the Briggs outpost for the military. Mind blown!

Olivier’s rumoured BF is SUPER smart: The 35-year-old is said to have gone to not one, but TWO ranked universities. Yep, Jon went to the University of Amestris for his undergraduate education and also attended Briggs Military Academy. Remember, the blonde beauty graduated from Central U herself!

This possible boyfriend is ALSO a fan of nature: Reportedly, his now private Instagram account showed a series of pics of Jon being in the great outdoors, hiking, and camping in the Northern Ranges. Colour us impressed!

Jon may be exactly what Olivier needs to finally move on from her supposed ex: the athlete was said to be heartbroken following the news that rugby player Roy Mustang had given her the slip and moved onto the granddaughter of the Führer, Riza Hawkeye.

Maybe now Olivier feels ready to be happy with someone new. Is that someone Jon?

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Rebecca asked worriedly, glancing around the now deserted gangway of the stadium: the cheers were muffled, but still echoed hollowly against the cool concrete. “Like follow your heart and all that shit but it’s not gonna be a decision you can just turn your back on-”

“I know ‘Becca,” Riza replied quietly, toying with the shirt in her hands: the deep blue fabric slid easily over her fingers, the flecks of silver embroidery glinted back at her merrily. “But…I’ve got to meet him halfway, don’t I?”

Rebecca snorted. “This is more than halfway. Halfway is following his actual twitter handle instead of the spoof one – you do know it’s a spoof right? It’s important to me that you know it’s a spoof account-” Riza didn’t respond, watching one of the nearby television screens with interest as the Drakes began to run out onto the field.

Rebecca’s cheeks puffed out as she waved a hand in front of her friend’s dazed face. “This is like…eighty-five percent from you and only fifteen from him. He’s playing a game anyway – he’s not gonna see you until the second half at least with where we’re sitting!”

“That’s the point, ‘Becca. I do not want to be blamed for his fucking up of a conversion.”

Rebecca sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes. “It’s Drachma, Riza. They’re not gonna lose.”

“And I am not going to take any chances,” Riza replied primly, quickly putting on the shirt over the top of her singlet. It was a little baggy, but the fact that she was even able to have one – she’d have to think of something to give to Hughes to say thank you; the man was surprisingly cunning and determined. She never stood a chance of getting out of this anyway. She smoothed down the fabric and spun on her foot. “How does it look?”

“Like the cheesiest gesture since that nineteen-page spread of Hughes’ kid.” She fixed her friend with a hard stare. “You have thought about this? Like I’m not trying to jump the gun or anything here but if you guys get married or have a kid-”

“Yes, I have,” she answered irritably. “We’ve talked about how we move forward. I know the press is never going to go away but…it would be nice to give them something positive to spin. This entire week has just been about how I broke Olivier’s heart by stealing Roy away and-” she bit her lip and smiled weakly at her friend. “I need to show that I’m serious about this too.”

“This is the best way?”

“Hughes reckons it is. The press seems to like him, I’ve got no reason to suspect he’d prank his best friend quite so publicly.”

“Alrighty,” Rebecca said with an air of finality, gesturing to gate 28. “Are you ready to face the music?”

Riza nodded. “Let’s go.”

It’s official! And in the sweetest way imaginable.

The Drakes may have had their best win against the Drachman Bears yet (74-6), but nobody is going to be talking about that (not even about the Drachman doping scandal), not after Roy Mustang’s reaction to seeing his now-confirmed girlfriend Riza Hawkeye wearing his rugby number to the game last night.

It wasn’t until after the final whistle had blown that Roy had noticed her, sitting in the front row alongside friends, insiders say. As they were congratulating their opponents, running back Maes Hughes had quickly caught up to his friend on the field, motioning to where the Führer’s granddaughter was watching. Obviously someone had been paying attention to more than just the game!

Roy was meant to be making his way over to be interviewed post-game – as Captain, it’s his job to represent the team immediately in the aftermath. Not last night though!

Instead, he made his way over to where Riza was sitting and jumped the billboard boundaries with ease, motioning at the nearest security guard to open the gate to where the seating was. Riza was quickly pushed out of her seat by an alleged friend and all but fell into her beau’s arms onto the pitch proper, smiling widely from ear to ear before Roy kissed her soundly on the mouth.

If the cheers from the stadium crowd were anything to go by, Central City appears to back this couple too!

A love story like this comes once in a lifetime – let’s hope it goes the distance!

[Watch the video 1:32m]

fin

the spoof account is a reference to holy musical b@man – “someone already took the twitter name ‘roymustang’ and all they do is tweet about how dumb i am.”

three guesses to who owns that account (and no, it’s not hughes)

#royai #roy mustang #riza hawkeye #fullmetal alchemist #fmasecretsanta2017 #fma fanfiction #my fanfic #this fic got wildly out of control but i do hope u enjoy it!!!!

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