deercountry | (mostly open) oh this love would kill me

Got it.

[ It's easy to agree with that. She at least does trust Battler to have her back - and that's not the kind of trust Ange extends to just anyone out there, especially not when it comes to actual danger.

But if she couldn't trust her big brother of all people, then.. well, who could she trust, really. ]

But let's try to keep the monster fighting to a minimum until this place forces it upon us. [ Which will doubtlessly happen sooner or later, Ange thinks. This place doesn't spare anyone, not even her kind and cheer big brother.

But for now they're fine. For now - there's peace. ]

[This is something much deeper on Break's side, too, and for a long moment, his smile becomes decidedly far away. Something fond, but...helplessly wistful, in a way, something he can't help but close his eye to. The expression is accompanied by a brief movement at his left hand as he shifts to run his thumb over the tattoo that wraps around a certain important finger, just as though he were fidgeting with a real ring.

Break has developed an anti-corruption tattoo habit over the past year and while he makes no effort to hide them, he also doesn't bother explaining a single one of them unless asked directly. This one he elaborates on least of all, simply calling it "a reminder of someone very important." It's entirely possible that those who don't pay much attention assume that it's for Qrow -- the flowers are sort of rose-like and pink is a reddish color, so surely it isn't worth a second glance and Break's just got it really bad for this guy. But the truth, of course, is that Qrow is not Break's first any more than he himself is Qrow's, and in fact that certain important someone is the one who started the long process of opening him up so that he could become everything he is to those he's met in Trench.

This smile is for memories like the way Shelly Rainsworth would laugh with delight when he was so bold as to sneak into her bedroom through the window to avoid the other servants, and how she inevitably noticed when he disappeared for entire days and would answer by lingering long at the tea table with a single macaron left on the tray, waiting for him.]

...I think that -- those who truly understand how to love people like us realize...to be thought of as a home we can come back to when the sneaking is done is, perhaps, the greatest honor we're able to give.

...

[ There's a faint pause after that last thing he says, but she doesn't seem to stare at him with any sense of judgement.. She's not even squinting to try and find some hidden meaning.

Instead she - indeed - still just seems very zen as she looks at him, grabbing her teacup and sipping from it. ]

Is that so strange? [ She instead asks, throwing the metaphorical ball right back at him. ]

[ Yeah, it's pretty obvious to Ange. The way the other is clearly trying to say something here, but at the same time downplay it. It's the sort of tactic Ange uses as well, so of course she recognizes it when it's being thrown back her way like this.

Which is why she just shrugs. Ange is too chill right now at her wedding afterparty to really think too deeply about it. If Kainé really wanted her to know something, surely she'd be at least a little more explicit about it. ]

I don't think anyone here really cares.

[ She can say that much though. Just because it's true. Ange didn't feel any pressure to do this wedding party in any specific way when Trench is.. well, Trench. ]

I mean, we're all squid people now. Having a wedding party that's a little out of the norm would be the least of my concerns at this point. [ Especially since pretty much all the people at the party here are people she knows.

People who already know what Ange is like. And what Ruby is like. This party is the inevitable outcome of their mixed personalities. ]

.. right. Make sure to get a good spot too, before they run out.

[ Not that Ange imagines the ceremony will be that crowded, but.. well, it can't hurt to make a light joke like that, right? To keep not just Scorpia, but herself as well from getting too emotional here.

Or else Ange is going to look like a mess while she walks towards Ruby later. ]

I'll be seeing you again in a bit.

[ Ange takes Anna's reply rather well. Maybe exactly because the other is so relatively gentle and understanding about it. Ange knows that Anna can be a little bit of a gremlin sometimes - in the most positive sense of the word, believe her - so it means even more whenever Anna decides to not wield those powers, instead going easy on her little sister here.

It just makes her smile. ]

Okay.

[ She figures it's definitely going to be some dumb action movie. ]

Just make sure to hand me my present very, very secretly then. This isn't exactly something I tell everyone who isn't my big sister about. [ So these action movie transactions have to be Discreet now. We're talking trenchcoats in dark alleyways. ]

Right. That too! I'll see you again soon, Ange!

[Her eyes glimmer with tears.]

A-as a happy newlywed! ...Okay, okay, I'm going now. Farewell, you beautiful blushing bride, you! [And with that, she rushes off!]

Oh, no, I understand. Brown paper bag, behind closed doors, not another soul in the world knows about it. I've done shady deals before, Ange.

[she says it so casually, with the tone of "yeah, the time knife, we've all seen it", but she truly does mean every word.]

Is your birthday a secret, though? I want to know how much time I have to prepare. 'Cause if I'm getting you something like that, I wanna put some real thought into it. [she thinks about some of the other presents she's gotten people recently and tries not to think too hard about, well, the times when she wasn't able to think about presents. she's still talking quietly, protecting the sanctity of this conversation.] It might involve me doing some independent research on which ones are the best to kiss a girl during.

( Humans really can be... odd. For a being that's meant to work closely with them, Paimon is really finding that understanding humans is a difficult task in itself. But he shares the bout of silence easily, standing still and quiet as he just stares out at the people (still holding his little plate of cake very carefully.....) before looking back to the girl again.

It takes him a moment to understand — the devices to communicate, what he calls as "magical rocks"... Ah, she means Peter's interaction with her. The demon king pauses, considering how to respond. He knows to be careful with certain elements of their situation, but there are other things that he really doesn't hide at all. And so, he just comes right out and says it— )

You were speaking with my vessel. He is... human, and he has... many feelings.

( Mostly sad ones.... )

He was feeling... worried about you.

[ Kainé gestures to the rack of axes with a daring grin. She knows she's better, and she lets herself feel pretty smug about it. ]

Let's see it, champ.

[ But hell, it's not so bad to get him to try. ]

[That gets Echo's eyes to widen. Despite it being a familiar concept to her, it was not something she expected to hear anyone else say. She's not quite sure what it means in this case, either. Duldee should not be a factor here or anywhere else, but there were other ways a personality could influence another body.

Also this is probably not the time to ask why he was worried but she doesn't quite get that.]

... I see. I do not understand his thinking, but I am familiar with experiencing the feelings of another through their body. It can be very complicated. For example, this one did not belong to me, yet it is what I given when I took form here.

[ Ugh. Why does Ruby have to be an adorable dork even about this? Or is Ange's mind just completely blinded by this entire wedding thing, putting a rose-coloured layer on top of every single action she can see the other girl taking in front of her eyes? Because Ange seems absolutely incapable of not thinking of anything Ruby is doing here as anything other than super cute.

Like this. Look at how concentrated Ruby is as she puts that ring on Ange's finger. Like it's the most important thing in the world to get right.

She's still thinking about it, even as she takes the other ring, and then Ruby's hand. Why is Ruby so adorable, so loveable. Why is she like this. It's too much. Ange can feel her heart fluttering in her chest as she slides the ring onto Ruby's finger as well, thankfully without anything too disastrous happening.

And it's right after that he gaze flutters up to meet Ruby's own. ]

.. g-guess it's time to kiss the bride, huh?

[ She's not stammering because she's flustered, okay! You are!! ]

[ There is an instinct that flutters up within Ange, almost escaping, only to be stopped at the last moment. A part of her wants to say that she knows it, that it's why she said she knows Ruby won't mind, because there might be a part of her that feels a little miffed or worried that she seems like she doesn't even know this much about a girl she is literally right about to marry.

But it's everything about Break that stops her before words can leave the girl's throat. The way he's quiet for a moment, like he's obviously thinking about something more behind the words he's telling her here. The way he's rubbing that tattoo - something Break never offered to talk about, and so Ange never bothered to ask.

She wonders who he's thinking about. For a moment the girl stares, as if that might somehow bring the answer to that question to her, but of course it doesn't. All she can tell is that Break must be thinking about someone he's very fond of, and that that is why he's saying it like this - despite Ange already very well understanding the sentiment herself.

It's that fact that leaves her quiet in turn for a moment, glancing briefly back at the mirror she had been staring in earlier, fussing over every small part of her appearance for such an important day, and then slowly speaking up again. ]

.. I think Ruby would probably put it in a slightly less poignant way. [ Perhaps she's trying to lighten the air a little bit, by turning this corner into the conversation, rather than something deeper. ] Maybe something more like 'sure, Ange, have fun!'

Good to hear.

[She was pretty sure, but it always seemed complicated. Push comes to shove, she'd side with Ange. Ange had earned that from her.]

Mm. Well, I've tried. She's got a lot of people who love her, y'know? [A beat.] Just don't tell her that, she'll go as red as a tomato.

...yeah. She deserves that, though. To be loved, I mean.

[ He rubs the back of his head sheepishly. ]

I... didn't get a chance to be there for her while she was growing up. So I'm glad she found people who could be.

[ A very, very important and secret conversation.

One that makes Ange smile a little when the other arrives at that last point. ]

I really don't think you need an 'independent research' excuse for that. [ Not like she didn't see you coming here with your partner, girl. Not like she doesn't know what Anna is like in the first place! ] But my birthday isn't until next summer, so if you do want a dumb joke you can use with Kainé for pretty much the rest of the year until then..

[ Be her guest, Anna. Especially since Ange won't have to witness the corniness herself and get all flustered about it. ]

That's kind of cute in it's own way.

Ange and I well- When we left the dream to come here we had sort of made the decision to stick together rather than try and find our way back in our own worlds.

Not quite the same thing as what you both did, but I get it.

[Ruby returns that shrug with one of her own.]

Look- I know she can be pretty stuck in her ways about this. And she has every right to be upset about it.

But I hope you two can find a way to get along after everything you've been through.

I think it says a lot that you showed up here.

Then I guess I'll fight some gods, I've done that before, Ange-chan.

[Don't judge her! It's her nature.

And she absolutely wants to get this just right. This was an important moment for her and she was clumsy at the best of times. She didn't want to cause a big scene and embarrass her now wife in front of everyone. Ruby was better with crowds than she had ever been, but- This was still getting married.

She rises up to her feet once she's got the ring on Ange's finger. All she can do is stare down with mismatched eyes at her own finger as a ring is slide onto it. This. This was it- It was really happening.

It's only Ange's words that break her out of that stupor and she feels a hand slide up to rub at the back her head. It feels a little different with the ring there. But it's a good feeling.]

Yeah- I guess it is.

You uh- Ready for that?

[And she makes an effort to stand in a little closer before letting a hand slide over Ange's cheek, she leans in and gently plants a kiss on her wife's lips.]

I can't believe they've been having all of these shenanigans without me!

That's not fair!

I want to be involved in all this too.

[There's a moment where she pauses before looking to Baltus with a hint of mischief in her eye.]

Okay. How do we get the both of them?

( He takes note of the shift to her expression, something noticeably different from the calm, quiet intensity. Surprise? Alarm? Those may be usual reactions to what he's just said; he does understand that it can be strange to hear. However, what comes manages to surprise him, and it's his turn to widen his eyes a bit, slowly turning to face the girl fully.

Familiar with.... experiencing the feelings of another through their body?

Paimon's actually never heard anyone else describe something like that, in that particular way. He's staring as she goes on to further say that her body didn't belong to her, but was Given. That word reaches through and grasps something so familiar within the demon king. )

Your body... was another's? ( A pause, his energy stretched taut with awareness. There are so many questions. ) Are they... here? The one it belongs to.

[What... is it doing... He? The voice sounded like a "he". Anyway. That's. That's sure one way to scratch an itch. A literal itch. Shiro's staring way more than is probably polite to do, before he wrenches his gaze away to some point on the other side of the room. Boy, that's an interesting flower arrangement there.]

You think? [It's a hypothetical question, really. Not something he expects an answer to, since the Omen just voiced his opinion there.] I don't know, sometimes. We always thought the Waking World was going to be better. Easier, somehow.

[And not as painful.]

I mean, I could talk to him... Wait - how does forty-one equal one hundred and twenty eight?

"U-Um..."

Midoriya, in a gray suit nevertheless made casual by his red sneakers, looks petrified to be up in front of so many people. Someone whispers encouragingly offstage. There's no getting out of this now.

"I'm here to... talk about my friends Ruby Rose-san and Ange Ushiromiya-san... Uh, that is, Ruby Rose-Ushiromiya? Ange Ushiromiya-Rose??"

An orator he is not, but he could win a compliment war when it comes to his friends, and that gets him going. He finally begins to speak at length, but too fast:

"They love each other very much. I think they're pretty much the perfect couple. Really different people can work together in a really nice way, balance each other, watch out for each other, but also their individual qualities: I really admire Rose-san's strength and determination and energy, and Ushiromiya-san is smart and understanding and also strong.

"Rose-san and I met when we had to fight off a monster, and I definitely felt like she was like rising star Heroes back home, someone to look up to, but now we spar sometimes and it feels like I can work with her and be equals and rivals and everything and it's really cool. Ushiromiya-san threw a party for her this time last year, and that's so sweet, it's because she's a kind person, very thoughtful, and she's always been nice to me even when she didn't have to be or was going through some tough times, and her being able to open up--"

Someone coughs, and he realizes he'd been rambling. He panics.

"They've both been through a lot, and they're good friends and family to those around them! I feel lucky to know them, and--they already know this, but they can count on me for anything!"

Except giving speeches, and he practically dashes off the stage. Stop looking at him!!

Well, you were dead, right. Would be sorta weird to blame you for that.

[But she'd get it if Ange did. She hates her mother so much for dying and she thinks she will forever.]

Must be kinda weird to be younger than your little sister.

[anna laughs like she's used to being seen like this and it doesn't bother her at all—and why would it, when she wears so much of who she is on her sleeve when she's around ange?]

Well, listen, you told me that in confidence. So I'm not even gonna share that with her, and it's not something I'm gonna make jokes about, either. [anna is good at cracking inappropriate jokes, but she is also good at being very sincere when it matters. and right now, she knows what matters.]

It's important to you, yeah? I'd be a pretty bad sister if I made fun of you for it.

(mostly open) oh this love would kill me

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