A3! 2023 Relay Blog

Aphmau from mcd

And then Lucinda from mcd 🫶

Laurance Zvahl's Hair

this wasn't supposed to happen. i promise. it just appeared in my drafts.

but, as promised, here is almost 2000 words about Laurance Zvahl's hair. (with some garrance sprinkled in there for the crazies 😏)

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Laurance and his hair go way back. When he was a kid, it was always messy. He'd get dirt and grime in it and Hayden would always just shake his head and tell him to bathe when he got home from playing all day. His light brown locks would get so long in between haircuts, and the longer it was the more likely it was to get matted. So Hayden would cut it very very short, stopping right behind his ears.

But, he'd be able to escape Hayden's scissors every once in a while. If something was amiss in the village, it would take up all of Hayden's time. So, he managed to grow it out long again.

Until one day, when Laurance was 8. Him and Cadenza were playing in the backyard, and she pushed him a bit harder than she thought. He ended up crashing into the chicken wire fence. His hair got all tangled up in it, and he was stuck. Cadenza was all panicked, apologizing profusely as she yelled for their father. Hayden grabbed his scissors and cut Laurance free from the fence. It was super super short, shorter than it had ever been. And super choppy, too.

After that, Laurance was terrified of haircuts. He never let anyone cut his hair ever again. And at this time in his life, he was getting more curious about his parents. And his heritage. There were people still in Meteli that knew his parents. They were Tu'layan immigrants, much like most of the population in Meteli. He wanted to know more about Tu'la and its culture. One of the things he learned was the superstitions they had about hair. There's an intense spiritual connection to it. It's a part of their spirit. It holds their strength and confidence. It connects them to the land around them.

After that, Laurance definitely did not want to cut his hair. In respect for his parents and his heritage. He also truly believed that it held his strength. If he wanted to be a guard, or a lord, he needed his strength. He grew it out for years. When he meets Aphmau, the last time he had cut his hair was the whole chicken wire fiasco. It was so insanely long, and damaged from the dye Cadenza had put in it. He usually held it in a messy braid, just to keep it cleaner. And yes, he finally learned how to take care of his hair in the years he'd been growing it.

When he was at the guard academy, he had no clue what to do with his hair. He had the longest hair out of the boys. The girls training there called him “wasted potential.” Which had nothing to do with his fighting skills, by the way. He was already climbing the ranks in his first two years there. Eventually, one of the girls took pity on him, and gave him a bottle of conditioner. She taught him how to do the towel wrap thingy, which he thought was literal magicks.

After that, girls literally started flocking around him and Garroth. And he earned his flirtatious attitude from that. He never had a girlfriend at the guard academy, but he did get around.

Garroth was very intrigued by his hair. He’d never seen a boy with hair so long. He asked Laurance why he kept it long. To him, it seemed more like a pain than anything. When he talked to Garroth, it was the first and really only time he explained everything about his hair. What it meant to him, why he had started growing it out in the first place, and his complete disdain for chicken wire fences. Garroth understood, but still questioned how difficult it might be when fighting. Laurance never gave him an answer.

Cadenza had also taught him how to braid his hair. Around the time they were 18, Laurance’s hair was so unruly, but he was absolutely not gonna let her cut it. So, she braided it for him whenever he had a shift at the guardpost. Eventually, she taught him how to do it. She was getting tired of taking care of his mess of a mane.

A few years later, Cadenza had the bright idea to dye Laurance’s hair. She was so adamant about it. But Laurance always remarked on how it looked like her head was on fire. But she ended up convincing him. Laurance regretted it immediately. He had been ready for some sort of change. But once he saw it, he just started laughing. He really DID look like Cadenza. Which is weird, seeing as they’re adopted siblings and from completely different racial backgrounds. But they have the same soft features, and the same sharp jawline.

And then, he met Aphmau. She was the first woman he really had to try with. In Meteli, if he gave someone the right look, they’d be fawning over him. But he was so interested in Aphmau. She was allusive, and powerful. And she did not give a shit about him. Yes, she was a very caring person, but all of his sly remarks were ignored. However, she was very interested in his hair. A lot of people were, but she didn’t know the meaning behind it. Once he told her, she was fascinated. The idea of hair holding spirit and strength enticed her, and it really resonated with her, too. She let Laurance braid her hair whenever he wanted after that.

When Laurance gets out of the nether, he feels entirely lost and disconnected from himself. Cadenza offers to clean him up, and get him in some new clothes. Even though he's blind, Cadenza can see the emptiness in his eyes. She offers to dye his hair back to its original color. And there's something unlocked within him. His hair. It feels wrong, and heavy. Not so much because of how dirty it is, his own blood and sweat in it. It's weighed down by everything that's happened. He's something new now. Something that feels less. "Cut it off," He says. Cadenza freezes. She knows why he keeps his hair long, and has witnessed his hatred of haircuts first hand. But she does it anyway. Whatever Laurance needs from her, she'll do it.

When Garroth saw him later that night at the baby shower, he was more than concerned. He really hadn’t seen much of Laurance since they’d found him, terrified of seeing him in that state. But then he did. He was blind. His hair was cut short, and it was brown again. Garroth knew more than anyone what Laur’s hair meant. He was scared of what this implied. And he knew Laurance was a Shadow Knight now. He couldn’t have survived the nether for that long without being transformed. Laurance was his friend, maybe more, but he was someone else now.

A distance formed between them. Laurance was struggling, even when his sight somewhat came back. And Garroth kept thinking about the amendment he made in the Guard’s Oath. He didn’t want Laurance dead, but he wanted Aphmau safe. And then, she wasn’t. She had left, and they hadn’t heard from her in weeks. So, with some malice between them, the two guards had to go find their Lord.

When Laurance, Garroth, and Aphmau went on that long journey, all of their hair grew out pretty fast. He saw Garroth and Aphmau cutting each other's hair one time. He didn't really mention it, not wanting anyone to get any ideas about HIS hair. But, eventually, Garroth pointed out the literal rat's nest growing on his head. Laurance let him cut his hair. It was the first haircut he ever had that he didn't hate. From then on, only Garroth could touch his hair.

Laurance realized how easy it was to take care of short hair. He hadn’t had hair this short since he was a child. But he felt lighter. He felt like he had completely changed as a person, now that he was a Shadow Knight. He held his strength elsewhere, now. He was growing a disdain for his heritage, and his past. Being something new opened a different chapter of his life. He was beginning to hate his human side, and his culture. So he let Garroth cut his hair every once in a while.

And then they went to the Irene dimension. And Garroth got left behind. Laurance was in a world without his other half, which Garroth had grown to be. He stopped thinking about his hair really, and when he did it was memories of Garroth sitting behind him, knife in hand as he trimmed his hair. So, over the months, maybe years that Garroth was gone, he began to grow his hair again. Was it in respect for Garroth this time? The memories they shared, the time they had lost?

By the time they saved Garroth, and Aaron had died, Laurance’s hair was past his shoulders. Garroth was trying to settle into this new era. He knew that so much time had passed, the decay of Phoenix Drop showing that. But when he saw Laurance, that just solidified the deep sorrow for all he’d lost. There were new scars on Laurance’s face, a tenseness in his posture. His hair was long again. Nowhere near the length it had reached before, but substantial enough to hurt Garroth in a way he’d never felt before.

Laurance kept growing out his hair after that. It just… felt right. The calling was consuming him. He needed his strength again, something to hold his true spirit. He needed a visible reminder that he was Laurance, not whatever the calling wanted him to be. And it worked, for a while. He let his anger simmer deep within him. He tried to hold on to whatever was keeping him sane. Garroth needed him, Aphmau needed him. He just needed to hold on.

And then he heard about Aphmau’s pregnancy. He had gotten over her for the most part, but there was something in him that just wouldn’t let her go. It was the calling. It wouldn’t let him let her go. And hearing that she was pregnant, with Aaron’s child, lit a flame inside of him. The simmering anger in his heart had exploded into an eternal flame.

He wasn’t in control anymore. His limbs moved against his command. He found a nether portal. He took his sword, the one Aphmau had gifted to him, and cut off his hair. And he jumped in.

I love putting laur in stupid lil impractical outfits <3

Spring Troupe Birthday 2021

manipulate mansplain malewife

Laurance, why is that sweater so low cut?

ITS THE MIDDLE OF WINTER!!?!?!

i’m genuinely baffled, but he is serving, so who am i to judge

↓BONUS↓

he never learns 🚪

Guess who commissioned the amazing @ashipiko !!!!!! Thank you for making Taifree canon and real 🫶

mouthwashing dog au in which swansea owns 3 dogs 🐶🐶🐶

curly: golden retriever because of course he is. his previous owners shaved him (which you're not supposed to do to goldens), so his hair grew back in curlier than it should've.

anya: borzoi/afghan hound mix. she had to be a borzoi—the eyes called for it. she's also a trained service dog.

daisuke: pomeranian. he gives little yappy dog energy what can i say. he's still a puppy and can be quite the handful sometimes but swansea can never stay mad at that face.

had to include what i think swansea's dog form would be too of course. he's the most english bulldog kind of guy i've ever seen. it's the vibes.

EDIT: i guess i need to be clear that jimmy is the tennis ball and not an animal/living creature of any kind because he doesn't deserve it.

Junior Prom, Final Dance

L moment for Gene, taking his bf to his junior prom and then getting dumped a few weeks later. Shoutout Cadenza and Garroth.

And also, half the reason Gene is such a jerk to Aphmau in this version is just because shes friends with Laurance. Petty revenge kinda shiz.

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