Waiting (on You) - Commentary - Ch. 9-10 (Patreon)
Content
Alright, we’re back! Another two weeks down, another two chapters under our belts.
I must be repeating my introductions by this point…how many iterations of ‘welcome back’ can one use before stooping to strange or outlandish ones? I might be at that point…don’t be surprised if I’m starting off the next commentary with something like…
I can’t even think of anything weird…I’m just not creative like that! I know some people who can come up with random things at the drop of a hat. I, meanwhile, struggle with anything that strays too far from ‘normal.’ This is why I don’t consider myself to be a very creative person. I’m only creative in certain ways!
I haven’t been using my writing creativity very much recently. Life’s just been a little busy, and I haven’t quite felt the urge to lose myself in a story like I usually do. I’ve been slowly making my way through Queens of Remnant, which has been pretty good so far. It’s taking much longer than expected, but I’m hoping to finish my first edit soon. It’ll help that I have next week off of work so I can get a lot done!
I also just got a new laptop, so that’ll help in the writing department too. I figured out why my touchpad stopped working on my current laptop! The battery is bulging, which is putting upward pressure on the touchpad. You should see it. It’s actually very noticeably pushed up so I can see beneath the touchpad. The pad also just cracked down the middle yesterday, so the problem is getting worse.
I have the new laptop, just need to set it up this weekend and then I’ll be good to go. Then I can finish Queens of Remnant, then maybe write a oneshot or something gratuitous? Gratuitous sounds like fun…something like Oh God…She’s Hot only shorter. We’ll see though. With the holidays coming up, I might not have as much time as I hope to have.
Isn’t that always the case though? The holidays are lovely but also so busy and stressful, especially if you’re traveling! I’m going to do my best to eat a lot and not be stressed though. Crossing my fingers that it’ll happen! Maybe a gratuitous oneshot would help…
Anyway, that’s basically my life in a nutshell right now. Oh! Except now I have to go to physical therapy for my back, which has continued to hurt especially when driving. And I like being able to drive myself places, so I need my back to get better! It really sucks getting old…I don’t recommend it to anyone.
But enough about me and my ailments. Let’s get to our story! The last two chapters were a mixed bag, with the first being the continuation of Yang being clueless and a bit of a jerk to Blake while the second has our sigh of relief resolution. We get to talk about Yang continuing to be clueless first.
She’s so clueless!! She’s just like, “I feel like I messed up, but I don’t understand how I messed up.” I imagine that she’s just convinced herself that since she and Blake aren’t dating, she didn’t do anything wrong by inviting another girl over. Yet…Blake is still upset, so clearly there was something wrong with that.
I love how she starts Chapter 9 hoping that everything is fine though. It makes you wonder if things like this have happened before but always blow over by the time they see each other next (i.e. Blake has decided to let them go). This time, however…Yang really messed up.
I hope you get a sense that we just happened to drop in on their lives when Blake’s starting to get a little fed up/frustrated/melancholy about Yang’s continued insistence that they’re just friends. Especially when Blake feels what we feel - that Yang does have deeper feelings but is just too dense or too in denial to acknowledge them.
I actually really love the way this story progresses. I’ll discuss more in a later commentary (hopefully, if I don’t forget), but it has a different progression than many of my other stories. I’d love to duplicate it in future stories, but I’m not quite sure how I got this to work…
It is a mystery to me how these stories present themselves sometimes. I try not to think about it too hard because it’s one of those things that if you do think about it too hard, you just confuse yourself. Although…I probably should devote more thought to proper outlining so that I can write more impactful stories. I worry that becoming too disciplined will suck the fun out of writing though, like all of those 5 paragraph essays we had to write in high school…
I kind of wish we had Blake’s POV for a lot of these moments, but I feel like the story is more effective without getting a glimpse into her thoughts. If anything, it’s fun to write from only one POV and drop hints through Blake’s actions and words to give us a peek into how she’s feeling. Having her POV though…would be incredible. It must be so angsty and, like, “I love Yang so much. I think she loves me, too. But she invites some girl over and expects me to be fine with it? After bailing on my dad’s birthday party saying she was sick when apparently she isn’t sick?”
Mixed signals. That’s what Blake’s been dealing with for forever now. I think it’s fair that sometimes she just doesn’t feel like dealing with it anymore. I imagine it’s probably happened more than a few times, actually, though Yang probably hasn’t noticed in the past. Blake probably reaches these moments where she’s like, “That’s it. I can’t like her like this anymore. It’ll never happen and I’m only hurting myself.” Then Yang does something helplessly loving and melts Blake’s heart again.
She basically admits as much with this comment in their make-up chapter:
“They need to understand that you’re still a work in progress...but that you have a heart of gold and, when you get there, you’ll make them the luckiest person in the world.”
So Blake knows, you know? She knows what she’s signed herself up for, but she’s decided that Yang’s worth it. That doesn’t stop her from second-guessing herself or getting frustrated from time to time. I would definitely second-guess myself if I was in her position! I would be especially frustrated when Yang makes a joke about having issues that are literally the only thing keeping her from realizing the depths of her feelings. Then I’d probably get annoyed just like Blake did, and say something I didn’t mean, only to fall more in love if they apologize like Yang did.
Of course, Yang doesn’t fully grasp what she’s apologizing for. She just knows that she has to apologize. Blake let her off the hook this time, probably because Blake realizes that she accidentally triggered Yang’s fear of abandonment with the “give me some space” comment. There are probably only a handful of worse things Blake could have said than that.
“Leave me alone.” “Go away.” “I don’t want to see you anymore.” Those would obviously be way worse, but the ambiguity of “give me some space” is enough to make Yang spiral. Blake understands, too. As soon as she sees Yang all panicky, she probably feels so guilty for what she said.
Yang called Mel though. No one likes Mel! Especially not Blake, apparently, but that dislike comes all the way from The Lie days. I loved the description of ‘aggressively easy going though.’ Just imagine what that type of person might be like…forcing their easy-going ways on everyone…
Perhaps lost in this chapter is Yang admitting that she deleted Mel’s number and a lot of other numbers. This should give a pretty good glimpse into how she felt when she got back from dinner with Mel. Or maybe she did it during the day at work…that’s probably more likely. When she got back from dinner with Mel, she felt horrible but also like things would blow over and be normal the next day. When that turns out not to be true and she and Blake actually get into a bit of a fight, then she goes armageddon on her contact list.
Just imagine her on her lunch break, not eating because she’s too busy deleting contacts on her phone. She knows that’s the right thing to do, she just doesn’t connect the dots as to why that’s the right thing to do.
I think Blake’s of the opinion that as long as she’s closer to Yang than anyone else, then there’s still hope. And if Yang’s willing to talk about her family and her fears, then maybe Blake can assuage them in some way. Or at least know what she needs to do to put Yang more at ease! “Please just tell me what you’re really worried about so I can reassure you that those things will never happen,” is basically what she’s saying.
Also what she’s saying when she asks Yang to stay and watch a movie is, “Please just show me that I’m special to you.” That fills her heart all the way back up and gets her ready to suffer some more. She’s so aware of it though. I laughed when I read her answer to what kind of person she’s looking for:
“You know me, Yang. I’ll look for the most difficult, complex person possible. Someone with emotional baggage who really makes me work for it.”
I can just imagine how dryly she says this. Like, of course she doesn’t want this, but it’s what she’s got so she’s dealing with it. And Yang swoops in to claim the dolt of the year award with her response: “Kinda sounds like me, doesn’t it?”
That sound you hear is everyone banging their heads against the wall.
In contrast, Ruby and Weiss are doing remarkably well! They’re the anti-bumbleby, basically. We don’t really get Weiss’ perspective on this, but Ruby is obviously head over heels for Weiss already. I especially loved when Ruby admitted to loving when Weiss gets angry. “It makes me just want to hug her and smell her hair...”
Clearly, Weiss has yet to get angry at Ruby in this story. Of course, Weiss is a smitten kitten when it comes to anything regarding Ruby. She literally goes all the way to the coffee shop during her workday so that she can buy Ruby a cookie. And get a kiss! Can’t forget the kiss, though she almost left without it if Ruby hadn’t been brave enough to initiate.
Ruby has a bit of a conundrum though - Weiss wants to spend lots of money on her, but she just wants Weiss to spend time with her. Which is adorable, and a recurring theme in basically every White Rose story I write. I always imagine that Weiss is ecstatic to finally have someone she wants to spend her money on, but is then confused when Ruby doesn’t want Weiss to spend any money on her. Like…? What else is she supposed to use her money for then?? What’s the point of being rich if she can’t spoil her girlfriend?
Weiss is like, “Literally, money is the one thing I have that sets me apart.” And Ruby’s like, “No, what sets you apart is how cute and smart and funny and nice you are!” *cue Weiss’ heart melting all over the floor*
I just had a funny thought about Weiss and Ruby in this story. Obviously, they have very different jobs, work personas, and wardrobes, so they must look like a very interesting pair. Now, imagine what might happen if they go to each others’ workplaces to pick each other up for a date or something.
Weiss goes to Ruby’s work:
Weiss to Ruby’s coworker: “Hello, I’m here to take Ruby out to dinner.”
Coworker: “Uh, sure. Let me get her.” *Walks to the back of the office* “Hey, Ruby. You’re…attorney is here.”
Ruby: “Attorney?” *cranes neck to see the front door* “Oh, that’s not my attorney. That’s my girlfriend!” *hurries to meet Weiss by the door, kisses her immediately* “Hey, Weiss! Ever considered being an attorney?”
Weiss, caught off guard but all fluttery from the kiss: “No…why?”
Ruby: “No reason. I just think you’d make a super sexy attorney.”
Weiss: “I see…” *Follows Ruby outside while seriously considering a career change*
Ruby goes to Weiss’ giant office building:
Ruby to one of the receptionists in the lobby: “Hi! I’m here to pick up Weiss.”
Receptionist, after sharing an amused glance with her coworker: “All chauffeurs are supposed to use the garage entrance, and there’s a strict dress code. Miss Schnee won’t be happy if she catches you dressed like that.”
Ruby, glancing down at her sweatshirt and trackpants: “I thought I looked ok though!”
*Receptionists share dubious glances but jump to their feet when the elevator doors open and Weiss strides out*
Receptionist #1: “Miss Schnee!”
Receptionist #2: “Do you need us to call a limousine for you, Miss Schnee?”
Weiss: “No, thank you.” *Walks right past the two eager beavers, kisses Ruby, and beams while holding Ruby’s hand. “Ready?”
Ruby: “You know it!” *Weiss leads them out of the building, Ruby smiles and waves to the two dumbstruck receptionists left slack-jawed in their wake*
Rest assured that if Weiss learns that the receptionists gave Ruby any flack, she will handle it appropriately. And by appropriately, I mean that she’ll hand them a picture of Ruby along with specific instructions to treat Ruby as the most important person in the universe whenever she steps through the doors. Ruby’s picture has to stay at their desk so that they can’t claim to not recognize her either. (Eventually, they’re probably like, “She’s nice to look at though…” Hopefully, not when Weiss is in earshot.)
Anyway, that was just a quick thought. They’re very cute together, despite their contrasting appearances. I imagine that Weiss is staring adoringly at Ruby one day when the thought crosses her mind, ‘Ah, I’m into nerds. Didn’t expect that.’
Ok, I could opine about them forever but need to wrap this up sometime! Tldr; White Rose is cute and Bumbleby is getting there. I’m super excited about some upcoming events in future chapters, which I’m hoping you’ll enjoy as much as I do.
Until then,
Miko