#valiantspade

@valiantspade sent || "hold still. that broom really came up and got you, huh?" He's careful as he presses down on her shoulders, worry written clear all over his face. "Okay, silly test but... how many fingers?" He holds up four, keeping his thumb tucked against his palm.

Hold Still Prompt || Accepting

A broomstick to the face was hardly the worst thing to have happened to Yuu in her time here, but to say it hadn't still immensely hurt would be an understatement. Perhaps if she possessed any form of magical prowess she wouldn't have needed to ride along with her classmates and especially wouldn't need to deal with the repercussions of what might happen if that magical being got off first. To be fair though no one would have expected the broom to flip upwards after the dismount, maybe she wasn't nearly heavy enough to keep it straight, but she wasn't that light either.

Already Yuu could hear who she knew was Ace by his cackling finding this amusing along with Grim whereas Deuce's actual concern was appreciated. She'd get back at the other two once she stopped seeing multiple Deuce's.

@valiantspade sent || 👀

I will describe how my muse sees yours / what they think of when they look at them. || Accepting

"Deuce is reliable if not kind of bullheaded sometimes; although he often looks serious as well he really got the cutest little grin. He's also a rather chill person to talk to and hang out with as well as being great at listening. Getting to know him has been a real treat, and I'm glad to refer to Deuce as one of my closest and most dear friends, and I do hope we stay that way."

Maintaining a relationship might be hard if Yuu ever had a way home, but she knew of all the friends she made Deuce was one she'd never forget.

@valiantspade sent || ‘ a third time is not a charm, but a bargain. it says that you want something enough to wager your sense. ’

↬   OF  FAIRYTALES,  FOLKLORE  AND  FAEKIND. || Accepting

To be honest Yuu had always hated that saying too, after the many times in which she would be transferred into a foster home the nurses would always assure that the next one would surely stick until eventually it reached that third, fourth and so on's time the charm. She could however understand the appeal of such a statement when it came to simpler things like playing some claw game or hoping you might win in a raffle. But again such beliefs were silly to her so she never tried to dwell too much on such a thing.

"I'm inclined to agree with you there Deuce, I've always rather disliked the implication of such a concept. After all if third's time was the charm we wouldn't be struggling to pass Crewel's class or Ace wouldn't be so bullheaded to think he stood any sort of chance against Riddle just because he thinks he's grown stronger."

“…” 

Looking up from his book, Riddle leveled a stare in the bluenette first-year’s direction. Admittedly, they hadn’t quite gotten along at first for obvious reasons, but…it had been some time since then, and both had grown. He’d come to see Deuce differently quickly enough, and certainly a lot faster than he did Ace ( though that had happened eventually as well ). Now, here they were…with the redhead harboring some unfathomable fondness for the younger, so honest and sincere. 

“It wasn’t your fault.”

He closed his book, so as to give Deuce his attention fully. He wasn’t usually the type to jump to absolve others of any guilt they held ( after all, he hoarded his own, and never put it down anywhere, so why shouldn’t everyone else: it was the way he thought because it was the way he’d been raised to be ), but this was guilt without reason. He’d tried - and from what Vil-senpai had mentioned, he’d tried his best. Riddle didn’t doubt it. Ace, Deuce, and Epel were more trouble than they were worth most times when all three got together, but all three also had a tendency to fight hard for justice, and to jump to protect others. They were good traits, and Riddle wouldn’t dream of deterring them. Though, failure was at times inevitable. 

The three of them were at their proper age levels: physically, mentally, and in terms of magical ability. Which was a good thing. Riddle had never been that way, and it had torn him apart and screwed him up irreparably in the end. He was glad, that those three were maturing at a normal rate. 

“I know what happened. Rook-senpai was worked up in the moment, but he wouldn’t have wanted you to push yourselves further than you did. Vil-senpai certainly didn’t - he left willingly. And, perhaps I should have said it sooner. But I don’t either. You put an immense amount of effort into everything you do, Deuce. And you’re doing well, both at this school and in Heartslabyul.”

A moment. A small smile.

“They beat me too, you know. Of course, I was lashing out, and perhaps I got sloppy, but…there you have it. I couldn’t stave them off either, so there isn’t any need for you to feel guilt over it. I’ve returned now, and that’s all there is to it. Take pride in how far you’ve come. You’ll only grow stronger as time marches on.”

         "I cut you some cake." It's messy, and but he'd been careful not to get too much icing on the plate when he'd gotten it. Deuce offers it to her with a warm smile, a little overwhelmed but glad that the party was finally winding down.

         "I uh, wasn't sure if you were able to have any, earlier." He adds carefully. "But also - once we've cleaned up the lounge and everything, um, would to like to have a look at my manuals? Idia-senpai said that it might be good practice, when you guys tinker together again."

                                            -- @valiantspade

          She hadn't been able to get any earlier, everyone was so crowded around, and the fairy herself, was trying to poke and prod at Deuce's blastcycle. Of course, without getting to take it apart. So when he approaches, the fairy is rather surprised, but grateful all the same.

          Its only when the offer of his 'manuals' come up that her attention is drawn instantly. Its almost more exciting than the cake she was offered! Plate in hand, she looks to Deuce with a small cant of her head. As if she was pondering something for a small moment.

          Granted...this wasn't her dorm. She didn't have to clean up. The little fae could easily make her way back to Ramshackle and go to bed for the night. But...getting to learn how these things work was too tempting of an offer for her to not stick around!

          With a warm smile to match his, she nods agreeingly. Unbeknownst to him, she's considering this a deal. A rather one sided one, but one nonetheless. She's expecting that if she helps them clean up the dorm, she and Deuce get to sit together and he reads the manuals with her!

　 　 　 　　𝐃𝐄𝐔𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐃𝐄  ››  @valiantspade // unprompted

"You keep watching the housewarden. Did you two know each other?" He asks softly, dipping his paintbrush into the pail and adding another layer to the once white petals before him. Sometimes it's still a little surprising that the roses of Heartslabyul are bigger than his head, but they smell wonderful.

Well, without the paint they did.

"If you don't want to say, that's alright. I was just curious."

　 　 　 　　♛ ››　　𝐍𝐎 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓  𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐑-𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃  𝐌𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍 　 　    let alone those thoughts which surrounded the tyrannical Rose of Heartslabyul.  How often was it that she cast empty lavender gaze upon the ruinous rose?  Watching him as a governess might,  unaffected by his ire,  offering not but a soft tut,  and disapproval.  All the while some part of her recounted,  with all the familiarity of a book memorized from cover to cover,  what deeds had been done to shape this reaction or that.  Which poison had fragile child been weened on to garner such a violet reaction,  such a swift temper?  Was it punishment for stargazing?  Was it punishment for longing for a better tomorrow,  a kiss upon the brow and a gentle push out into the sunlight where smiling faces awaited and all the boyish laughter of secret friends?

She would humor him this once.

❝ No.  He is as new to me as he is to you. ❞

It is not a lie per se ...  this,  she considers,  when her glass heart doesn't lurch with the words,  when her porcelain ribs do not contract,  threatening to collapse her paper lungs.  Lies can not be spoken by Queens,  and lies do not exist within the borders of Looking Glass.  And it mattered not if the rules were meaningless beyond the blood-soaked lands,  for Mary Ann had no intention of lying even if she could.  She had every intention to hold her cards close to her chest,  to move her pieces with tender care across the chessboard,  even if she already knew every outcome to the battle.  But never to lie.

❝ What I do know is this  :  he could be familiar to me.  Could be familiar to you. ❞ 

Riddle Rosehearts was a flower grown in the house of his kindred,  nurtured by a distant and strict mother's poison,  ignored by wayward father.  He was nurtured under the guise of perfection,  his roots crippled,  his leaves pinched tight so he might never bloom until his mother willed it.  And once he finally blossomed,  he would be plucked from his native soil and planted elsewhere where his rotted roots may taint the fresh soil and strangle the life out of any who dared undermine him.

"C'mon, Deuce! Youse gotta tell me now!"

@valiantspade⠀ :: ⠀ "I'm not signing another contract with Azul." Deuce states flatly, folding his arms across his chest and frowning. "If there’s something else you want to talk about, then fine, but I'm not going back into Octavinelle." Not without a goal at least, but he doesn't say that part. And maybe for cake, since the Mostro Lounge had some pretty good desserts.

“ now, blueberry. let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we ? ~ ” ⠀ his suspicions weren’t based on empty grounds, though she thought he was being a bit too wary — how ironic, coming from her. students have been visiting the dorm, and thus the lounge, a lot less lately. it was detrimental to not azul, but milou as well. after all, if mostro lounge made less profit, her pockets would be empty.

it was time to take matters into her own hands, and milou had a trick or two to coerce her victims fellow students. a dramatic sigh with her hand laying flat on her décolletage, ⠀ “ that is too bad … and here i was getting all excited to announce our new special menu to you. i thought you’d take a particular interest in it, so you were the first one i sought out. ”