#Also I’ve decided this is my vast oc’s favorite drink

[spacedumbo]

I did a thing! :D

Mystery beverage!

[lipstickbisous]

the lion and her sun. (6)

WARMTH GIVES ITS BEAUTY.

notes: soooo we’re at the first year of marriage!! this might be going really fast but there are at least nine more chapters until we enter when the show starts.

you have to remember, aurane doesn’t know ANYTHING about her mother or that part of her family, she’s only been raised in the lannister part of her.

also i REALLY hate time skips but i didn’t know what else to do.

i feel like i use the word ‘kiss’/’kisses’ a lot so if yall got better ideas pls send some

i’m SORRY for skipping the smut tehe that just wasn’t the general idea for this chapter 

pairing: oberyn x oc!reader, ellaria x oc!reader

summary: in the first year of marriage, aurane reminisces her childhood decides to delve into who her family is and their history.

warnings: not much in this one, just fluff, insinuated sexy times. this one’s short, i’m super sorry. the next will be better i promise (fluff wise) ;)

word count: 3.4k (next one is better so)

masterlist

dear sister,

king’s landing is not the same. your vibrance and happiness was always cherished in the castle hallways and now, all they are is drab. even father misses your presence, but we both know he would never admit it. jamie remains in his battling sessions, he’s becoming quite skilled with a sword, but you should know, aurane, he feels awful about when you left. he seeks your forgiveness. tyrion hasn’t changed a bit. he drinks wine and fucks whores in his chambers, just as before, but now, there’s no one to stand on his side when arguing with father. 

i heard of the wedding and that it was glorious. things in dorne are always perfect, as much as i hate to say it. i do want to tell you that all of us regret deeply for not being able to attend. i would’ve loved to watch my sister at her wedding. i bet you looked so beautiful--my lovely sister dressed in her white dress in the dornish sun. i can only imagine how lucky that prince is.

while on the topic of oberyn, i am praying to the gods that they don’t mistreat you there. such loveliness does not deserve to be destroyed. 

joffrey and myrcella miss you very much. despite the fact you were their only aunt, you were the favorite. i’ve tried to play games with joffrey. he always loved the one where he hid and you would find him. i failed at this because when he hid himself in the library, i spent hours looking for him. i’ve tried to draw with myrcella, but as i hope you can remember from your childhood, i was never the artist. tommen is a strange case. so young and so innocent, he doesn’t understand why you had to leave. as his mother, i feel shameful to say that his nagging and asking of ‘where is auntie aury?’ has become incessant. 

perhaps one day, we can visit you in dorne, although i don’t believe we’ll ever be quite fully welcome there. if you would like, i could gladly arrange a ship so you can visit us back at home. it is terribly quiet here.

with love,

cersei.

―

aurane had not replied to any of her sister’s letter. tyrion had sent a few and she’d even received one from her father, but jamie was silent. of course, she missed her family, she was connected to them by blood, they would always be in her heart, but aurane had found her home was no longer king’s landing or casterly rock. she had no urge to leave dorne, and over the course of the past year, she’d even traveled to other cities in the sandy biome. lemonwood was even hotter than sunspear but the warmth didn’t seem to bother her. 

finally, she had been treated with the utmost respect. she had never been truly hated by sunspear, but there were few citizens who had not approved of a lannister third in line for the throne. now, her and oberyn would take sunday walks throughout the city and they had no need for doran’s soldiers trailing behind them. aurane had proved herself trustworthy. 

it was growing close to the end of the year and at the moment, aurane was sitting curled up with the silk sheets she’d grown so in love with, feeling the morning sun almost burning into the room. her and her husband had just dismissed their last guest while ellaria lied at the end of the bed, soaking her body in the dornish sunlight.

oberyn, who had poured two cups of wine for his lovers, looked to his wife and how her gaze was no longer focused on him or ellaria but the parchment in her hand. “what is it, lion?” he climbed onto the bed as his first lover crawled between aurane’s legs. 

“my sister,” she smiled, reading the end of the letter. “she wants me to visit king’s landing.”

ellaria combed a hand through aurane’s hair, which had been softer than normal since they had shared a bath the night before. she kissed the princess’ forehead and grasped one of the cups oberyn held. “do you want to go?” she whispered and oberyn turned his attention to who he saw as the most beautiful women in the world.

aurane shrugged as oberyn handed her the second cup of wine. “i have no urge to,” she spoke shamefully and looked to her husband. ellaria’s fingers were trailing across the inside of her thigh and up to her hips. “they’re my family and i don’t feel the need to see them like i should.”

“nonsense, lion,” oberyn pulled himself closer to his lovers and inhaled the scent of peaches and citrus. a kiss was pressed against aurane’s collar bone and one on ellaria’s cheek. “it’s however you feel. you haven’t replied to any of their letters so they could be growing nervous.”

“and as much as we hate to admit it,” ellaria whispered, meeting eyes with her first lover. there was nothing aurane loved to see more than the two heavenly people before her showing their love. “they are your family. and it would be good to see them.”

the princess shook her head and threw the parchment onto the marble floor before embracing ellaria in her arms. the older woman placed a solid, open-mouthed kiss on aurane’s lips, fully aware of how oberyn watched. his hands combed themselves through aurane’s hair and he pecked his lips on her cheek. “it does give me an idea, though,” she whispered as ellaria’s lips trailed down her throat to her sternum. 

oberyn chuckled from the depths of his chest and rubbed aurane’s temple with the pad of his thumb. “what is that, my sun?”

she pulled his head up to hers for a kiss before touching foreheads. ellaria wrapped her arms around aurane’s torso and pressed her cheek against aurane’s lower stomach. “i never knew anything about my mother,” aurane sighed into the pillow and arched her back. “i only heard short stories from father. and then there were the whispers. ‘is the bastard born of rape?’ how my mother was supposedly captured and forced into another birth.”

“no one here believes that,” oberyn repeated the words he found himself saying almost every other day for the past year. he brought her knuckles to his lips before littering them with kisses.

aurane shook her head. “you don’t need to say that,” she dismissed him and tore her hand from his hold to cup his cheek. “it’s a lie. and i don’t care what people think.”

with her head on aurane’s stomach and her eyes closed, ellaria, in some state of bliss whispered, “then what is it you want?”

―

dinners between the lannister family were not normally peaceful. there was always some sort of bickering or boasting at the table and it was the chaotic life aurane grew up with. jamie would either fling food into cersei’s hair or tywin would grew frustrated with tyrion simply just by the way he ate. there were only certain moments that aurane had where it seemed like all was well with her family.

aurane had always been the most perfect of the them all and lord tywin lannister made sure his children knew it.

she was only at the age of seven when her sister had been braiding her hair in the gardens. they would be moving to king’s landing in the near future, and although the younger lannister would see even greater ones later in her life, there was nothing like the gardens of casterly rock in this moment. the sky was clear and the sunlight was just barely peeking through the heavy leaves of the trees above aurane and her sister. 

“you’ve always had the prettiest hair,” cersei admired as her fingers wove their way through each strand of the three sections she’d created. sometimes, she would spend hours braiding and unbraiding aurane’s hair just to feel it’s unusual softness. “and the prettiest eyes. and gods, your skin. unlike any other really.”

the younger princess twiddled with her thumbs and listened as thousands of miles below them sat the vast ocean crashing against the cliff of land. “a maiden said i shouldn’t have skin like mine,” aurane fretted. the feeling of hands running through her hair had always been so soothing. “she said only laborers should have skin this dark.”

cersei’s fingers immediately stopped their movements as she froze. she bent over on her left side to look her sister in the eye. “and which one said this?”

“she didn’t mean it like that, cersei,” aurane replied and stood to pick a flower from the bed of roses and daisies in front of her, thus unwinding the braid. she sat herself back on her cersei’s lap as the older sister began to braid again. “it’s like when papa talks to himself sometimes. she was brushing my hair and it just came out.”

there was a slight tug on a strand of hair that stung aurane’s scalp. she gasped harshly and dropped the flower so her hand flew to the sore area. “sorry, aury, but if you hadn’t gotten up, it wouldn’t have happened,” such excuses bothered aurane as she sulked. the day would be ending soon and they would be called to the dining hall for dinner. “no maiden--absolutely no maiden--has any right to say such things to a pretty princess,” cersei popped her finger on the tip of aurane’s nose, resulting in a loud giggle. “gods, you’re going to be beautiful.”

―

“i still don’t think i understand,” doran looked to the ceiling of the throne room, hoping that an answer would be found but instead, his eyes could only entrance themselves on the sculpting. 

oberyn sat back on the lounge chair with his legs crossed and ellaria standing behind him. doran had always been respectful to her, and perhaps it was because she’d given oberyn three children. “doran,” he dragged out his brother’s name with a cocked head. 

beside oberyn sat aurane, who unlike her husband, sat with her back straight and her hands neatly set in her lap. “i wanted to know her,” aurane imparted. she leaned her elbow on the arm of the love seat and tightened her jaw. “i was never given a chance. i couldn’t even see what she looked like. if she really did have dark hair and eyes. the least i can do now is learn what i can about her.”

a shake of his head, doran leaned on his knees. “we already know her name,” he sounded exasperated. why did he seem so against this idea? aurane had every right to know as much about her maternal side of the family, and even if he did forbid her from discovering it, she would still go. “she lived in salt shore and everybody there believes she was captured by lannister armies.”

“well, then they should know it’s not true,” aurane disputed. 

doran looked to the ground and squeezed his eyes shut. “they don’t like you there,” aurane arched a brow and parted her lips, careful not to show that her brother-in-law had definitely taken her by surprise. oberyn and ellaria listened carefully as the latter sat forward in the conversation. “they hate every lannister, including you. if you go there, you’ll be disrespected. you’ll threatened, there’ll be attempts. you- you could die.”

“she is not a lannister anymore, brother,” oberyn placed himself in the middle of the feud. “she is a martell, and anyone who would try to threaten or hurt her would...well...” he looked up at ellaria who only smirked in return. “for lack of better words, would have to deal with us.” such comment set a spark in aurane while she bit her bottom lip, feeling a gaze upon her as she did so.

the eldest in the room finally glanced through the opening of the throne room, leading to a balcony that overlooked all of the gardens in their beauty of the golden sun. the day would be ending soon and doran could only (not that he really wanted to) guess how oberyn would invite more maidens and suitors to his chambers as ellaria and aurane awaited. “it’s too dangerous,” he whispered inaudibly. the conversation was making his head hurt. once oberyn and ellaria escorted the youngest of the throne room, each with a protective hand on her lower back as she  doran murmured, “fuck.”

―

a boy, who could be no older than twenty-eight name days exited the chambers along with several maidens aurane had recognized from the kitchens. they all excitedly giggled as the moonlight took its setting. aurane sat at the edge of her bed, naked with that silver lining oberyn savored so much. her feminine lover traced several fingers down her spine. for once, even if it had been a long time, oberyn wanted only to rest.

“a beauty,” ellaria whispered, intoxicated off of too many glasses of wine. she smelled of honey and lemon and silk. “a gift, really, given to us by the gods,” a kiss to aurane’s shoulder but it did nothing to relieve her mind of precarious thoughts. a drunken smile descended over ellaria as she pressed a kiss to the princess’ neck, ellaria’s lips trailing higher and higher. “such beauty seems too good to be real. it shouldn’t exist,” a kiss to aurane’s cheek. “but yet, here it sits, before me.”

aurane squeezed her shoulder blades together as a reaction from the sudden touch of ellaria’s fingers against her inner thigh. oberyn sat up when he detected his wife’s discomfort. “and we should be so honored to have this beauty,” he pulled ellaria’s hands away from aurane, but the princess remained still. “perhaps our lion has had enough for the night.” 

the older woman threw herself on the sheets and immediately fell into a slumber when pressing her face against the pillow. oberyn sat himself behind aurane, a blanket wrapped around his waist as he wrapped his arms around her figure, pointing to the night sky before them. “do you see that star?” he breathed. aurane didn’t do much but nod. oberyn tucked his head in the corner of her collar bone and neck. “it is the brightest one, but only during the summer. in the winter, the coldness dims its light so that it appears as any normal star. the warmth gives its beauty and the cold takes it away.”

aurane turned to him and pressed her forehead against his. her eyes were patiently closed as her lips parted, “your point is, oberyn?”

“you belong here, my sun, in sunspear,” he hated himself for saying so, but doran was the leader of his city and it didn’t matter how much oberyn wanted to defy him. aurane’s eyes popped open in disbelief. “not in king’s landing, or casterly rock. you’re simply glowing, lion. you’re home here, in dorne.”

she looked down to his lips like they would give her some sort of comfort when they were the source of her frustration. “so, you agree with doran?” she inquired, arching an eyebrow. her hands reached his wrists as she began to push him off of her, but he stilled. 

“i definitely do not,” he muttered, careful to leave his first lover in her sleep. aurane felt a fingertip on her stomach, tracing what she felt were small stars on her skin. “but i understand he says. and i have to listen to him, lion.”

the princess shook her head and set oberyn’s hands away from her stomach and at her hips instead. “no, you don’t,” she whispered before crawling from his grasp and resting next to ellaria, setting her touch on ellaria’s waist.

her dreams were wildfire in her head that night. one came after the other, and they seemed like an endless show of unnecessary acts and music numbers. a certain one even left her with a glimpse of robb stark, but soon faded into the king’s landing setting. another was aurane on a beach, alone, and despite her terrible fears of abandonment, she felt content. it might’ve been the phantom feeling of saltwater and sand getting familiarly stuck in between her toes, the breeze creating long courses and traveling through them in her hair, or the sun plastering a darker shade onto her skin. 

when she woke the next morning, her and ellaria were alone. any normal night, oberyn would insert himself either at aurane’s back or in between his lovers, but there was more space for aurane to sprawl out in her conscious state. 

ellaria then rose with a loud yawn straight into aurane’s year, stretching her arms so that they accidentally hit the headboard, creating an ever louder noise. that same drunken smile had now sobered only a tad bit. ellaria was still in her haze. “good morning, sweet girl,” she grinned, looking around the room to see if there had been any more wine left over. “how did you sleep?”

“like a baby,” aurane’s voice was raspy, as it normally was. ellaria planted a kiss on her nose.

“good,” she laughed and threw the light covers off of her body. with not a morsel of shame, she strutted about the bedroom in her nude form, only to notice that there was no more alcohol and she now desperately craved the silk sheets again.

aurane laughed when she distinguished what exactly it was that ellaria had been searching for. “yes, i believe we finished all of the wine,” she lied on her back and tried her best to find solace in the linens above her head. aurane could remember how her and ellaria had pinned them to the ceiling during one cool afternoon. ellaria frowned at aurane’s truth. “i don’t believe you need any more.”

still in a drunken haze, because no matter how much alcohol ellaria drank over a night she could always handle herself in the mornings, the older woman’s hands flew up to aurane’s face. she hesitated for a second, seeming that she had forgotten what she wanted to say before her eyes lit up. “where is our prince?” her grin widened. “where is our lovely prince?” aurane mocked ellaria and grabbed her cheeks.

“i don’t know,” she kissed ellaria’s lips. over the past year, aurane had been given countless experiences she’d never had before. one of them was entangling herself with ellaria and showing everything to her. women’s lips were better than a man’s--not to say she didn’t like kissing oberyn, if anything, she enjoyed connecting herself with him--but women’s lips held such treasures she’d never even seen glitter before. they were laced with a certain poison, that was not fatal but lured aurane in so she could never escape. 

ellaria furrowed her eyebrows and frowned, returning the light gesture to the princess. “it’s been a long time since we’ve enjoyed a morning without him,” her words were lustful and practically dripping with that poison.

“it has,” aurane giggled once ellaria lowered herself that her lips touched the center of aurane’s belly. her fingers danced over the skin of aurane’s hips until they trailed to stopped at her mound, her lips soon meeting her touch. “you haven’t had enough?” ellaria shook her head as she kissed aurane’s pink pearl, but only earned a small and staggered sigh. 

“we’ll never have enough of you,” ellaria spoke lovingly, her touch even more careful. she wanted to taste her princess more than ever--to watch her writhe and whimper until that explosive release took its turn and aurane would return to her sleepy haze. but there was something stopping her. “what is wrong, sweet girl?”

aurane’s hand cupped ellaria’s cheek as she sat up against the wooden headboard. once ellaria rose to her eye level, their lips only inches away, aurane could smell the honey and lemon. “i was raised by such cruel people,” she notes. time had shown aurane how evil her family truly was--that, and oberyn’s stories of elia, which had only made aurane feel even worse though he insisted that none of it was her fault and he loved her even beyond death. “and i feel i somewhat deserve to know more about my mother.”

ellaria’s forehead touched aurane’s as they simultaneously closed their eyes. a single breath was all that could be heard, even the waves and birds outside had quieted down. a voice spoke, but it wasn’t ellaria’s. instead, it was deep and strong, sounding raspy as it always did, like it had been hiding all this time. its source was a tall frame of a man in the doorway. “you deserve the world, my sun.”

tags: @pascalisthepunkest @gummiishark @ohpedromypedro @zeldasayer @ithinkhesgaybutwesavedmufasa @pedropascalonline @pedropascalito @pedropascalitofics @honeychicanawrites @otherthingsinhead @wakalas @pedropascalispapi @heavenbarnes @qveenbvtch @foreverlostindreams @forever-rogue @arianawills @liadamerondjarin @absurdthirst @eternallyvenus @thewaythisis @blushingwueen

[the-star-knight]

The Star Knight

The Star Knight

Summary: Post Series AU with my OCs. Star has found herself entangled with the magic of the legendary Sundrop and Moonstone. However, just because they’re gone doesn’t mean that her job is done.

Rated: T+

Chapter 1 - A New Beginning

Chapter Summary: Months have past since Zhan Tiri was defeated. Corona has entered into a new chapter where the Moonstone and Sundrop are gone, however their magic still lingers in the world

Word Count: 5,489

Author’s Note: This first chapter seem out of place since it was originally 10k words so I divided it. Next chapter will explain a lot more. Also I’ve another fanfic coming with which is basically a retelling of the show through Star’s eyes, which explains all of this. Also I’ve been debating whether to create an AO3 account and post it there as well, but since I haven’t used a fanfic site in like years and I feel out of place using it.

Next Chapter ▶︎

It was nearly pitch black. Nearly. 

The star gem faintly glowed against her armor. At least Star knows that she can fend for herself. A faint glow came from her hand and quickly began to form and take shape into a sword. A sword with a blade that gleamed white. Well, at least for now Star can tell where she is going, although there isn’t much to begin with except for darkness. She began to stroll into the darkness.

Star has probably walked for two minutes before she heard something. A whisper perhaps? Star wasn’t sure where the sound came from. As she turned around in circles, she thought it could’ve been her imagination.

Star.

There it was. It was faint but it was definitely there.

Star.

There it is again, but louder. It was already creepy enough being in this endless black void, she didn’t need a voice calling out her name.

Star still couldn’t make out where it came from. It sounded like it came from...everywhere?

Star!

Yup, definitely getting louder...or closer. 

Star! 

It sounded like a woman’s voice, but with each time she called Star’s name she sounded more worried and more impatient.

STAR!

“AH!” Star swung her behind her, only to have her sword connect with one similar to hers. White glowing blade with a faintly glowing gem on the handle. 

“Huh?” Star looked up. She saw a woman in almost the same white and silver metal armor. The same white fabric. The same star gem but it wasn’t on her collar like Star’s was. It was on her left wrist. The woman had dark short black hair and intimidating dark eyes and pale skin. She glowed.

Star blinked, “...Stella?”

The woman nodded.

Star slowly lowered her sword.

“Wh-wh…” Star couldn't think of the right question to begin with, “Why? What’s going on? Why are you here?”

Stella sighed, “There is much to fear Star...”

“Fear?” Star was confused. “What is there to fear?”

“You used the Ultimate Star Incantation, didn’t you?”

Star paused for a moment, “...yes.”

Stella took a deep breath, “You do know the consequence for that?”

Star looked down. She knew the consequence of using the incantation and yet she did use it.

“Yes, I know...” Star looked away.

There was a pause between them.

“Star, do you ever wonder why you’re still here?” Stella asked.

“Not really…”

“You should…”

“Why?”

“Because I fear that your job isn’t done...”

Star was confused. 

My job? 

Star has always thought her only job is to protect.

Stella slowly inhaled, “I fear that you have set yourself to a fate worse than death.”

Star woke up in a cold sweat.

She sat up.

Her anxiety was through the roof. Star felt as she carried the weight of a boulder in her chest. She was panting. Star felt a tear rolling down her cheek.

Star looked around the room. 

It was dark, but at least she can see the dark blue outlines of her sisters sleeping in their bunks.

Star plopped back down on her bed. 

It was just a dream, Star put her hands on her face.

She sighed and turned to her side. She closed her eyes and wish to sleep again. 

Star didn’t get much sleep last night, her eyelids felt heavy. She sat on a pile of hay and rested her head.

Just for a moment, Star thought, as she closed her eyes.

Perfect.

“Star!”

“Ah!” Star jumped.

“Sorry, papa.” Star yawned.

“Didn’t sleep much, huh?” 

“No,” Star rubbed her eyes.

"We're almost done. You can go back home to sleep if you want."

"No, we're almost done here. I can push though. Plus I have to go to the castle after this."

"Okay, if you say so." Star's dad said reluctantly and continued to clean the stable.

Star began to lay the last of the fresh hay bales in the last stable. 

Just this last one and then I’m free!

“Well done, mija,” her dad said proudly as he placed the last hay bale on the ground, “I’ll finish up here. Go to the castle now and do your Star Knight duties.”

Star smiled proudly.

“_Gracias, papa!” _Star hugged her dad and ran off.

“Star," her dad called her.

Star stopped when she heard her name being called, "Yes?" Hopefully it wasn't more chores she might’ve forgotten about.

"You have hay in your hair," he pointed to her head. "You want to look presentable to the queen, mija." 

"Oh, yeah, right. Thanks." Star shook off the hay from her hair and ran off to the castle entrance.

The royal stables weren’t far from the main castle entrance. Star entered the castle into the hallway and walked to the throne room. 

Star stood in front of the massive castle doors that led to the throne room. She slowly opened one of the doors and peeked her head inside.

“Hello?” Star said with uncertainty. She wasn’t sure if she wasn’t interrupting anything important.

“Ah, Star! Please come in!” A familiar voice said.

Star proceeded to enter the throne room. The room was vast. Columns that stretched from one side of the room to the other. The floor was freshly waxed and it reflected the light of the candles, which made the room even brighter than it was. 

Star walked to the center of the room. Where someone was sitting on the throne.

“Your highness,” Star bowed.

“Star, I’ve told you this already.” The short haired brunette queen stood up. “Rapunzel will do just fine.” 

“I know…” Star looked up, “it’s just that...I’m really proud of you.”

Rapunzel chuckled, “So, Star, shall we proceed to get some things in order?”

“Yes, of course.” 

“Follow me,” Rapunzel exited the throne room and Star followed her. 

"With all due respect, Rapunzel, I was wondering why you don't you discuss this with Nigel? You know, since he's the official royal advisor."

"Ah, yeah, well about that," Rapunzel nervously scratched her head then whispered, "Between you and me, I'd prefer to have someone that isn't such a strict rule follower."

"Oh."

"Plus, who says I can't have more than one advisor?" Rapunzel winked at her.

"Well, you are queen."

“We have several things that needs to be done,” Rapunzel walked down the hallway, 

Rapunzel began to list the things they needed to do as they walked. Star's mind began to drift away from the conversation. She was very tired and her mind began to wander off. Star could feel herself spacing away from Rapunzel.

"Woah, there!" Rapunzel grabbed Star by her collar, before she nearly walked into a pillar. "Watch where you're going!"

"Oh, sorry," she said faintly.

Rapunzel gave her a good look at her face. She spotted the  dark circles under her eyes, "Not sleeping well, huh?"

"No, but I'm just fine."

"How about some coffee to wake you up? I'll get one of the handmaidens to get you some. Hey!" Rapunzel stopped the handmaiden that walked into the hall.

"Yes, your majesty?" she answered.

"Would you mind fetching me a cup of coffee? Oh, make sure it's the one that was freshly imported."

"Yes, your highness," she bowed and left.

"Rapunzel, that wasn’t necessary." Star said.

"Oh it's no trouble at all" she smiled. "Even if I did send you back home to rest, you would still fight me on that.”

Star smiled sheepishly. She even had to admit that something she would do.

"Ugh, between my royal duties and wedding planning, I hardly have time for myself. So glad you're here, Star," Rapunzel said.

The handmaiden rushed in with a tray with a cup and a teapot, or in this case, a coffee pot. 

Rapunzel poured the coffee into the cup and handed the cup to Star.

"Woah!" Rapunzel stepped back.

Star smelled the coffee and took a sip. She immediately spat it out.

“Oh sorry,” she coughed. “This is my first time drinking coffee. I didn’t imagine it was this bitter.” She smacked her lips as the bitter taste lingered in her mouth more than she would like.

Star decided to drink the coffee. If she wanted to make it through the day then she had to drink it. Star looked down at the drink in disgust and began to drink the coffee until the cup was empty. Hopefully, that wouldn't affect Star too much.

She handed the empty cup to the handmaiden. The handmaiden simply took the cup, excused herself and left.

Rapunzel opened a door that led to a stairway. As they walked up the stairs Star contemplated whether she should tell Rapunzel about her dream she had. She trusted Rapunzel, but what would she make of it? Rapunzel also had dreams that seemed to be telling more than what she thought.

They reached the top of the staircase and Rapunzel led Star to her room. 

“Okay, so I need to get rid of some books that I had for a while.” Rapunzel said as she looked through her things. “Now that I’m queen, I don’t really have a lot of free time to read as much as I want to. It’d be nice to donate them or give them away.”

Rapunzel grabbed a book with an elegant blue cover and flipped through the pages. Rapunzel sighed, “Remember this book?”

Star looked at the book, “...yup, it’s the first book you let me borrow when we just met. It’s one of my favorite stories.”

“You can have it, if you really want to.”

“Really?”

Rapunzel nodded. “If there’s any other books you want to keep, feel free to take some. The rest we’ll just donate them.”

“Wow, thanks!”

“But first, we have to sort which ones I want to keep and which ones I’ll give away, then you can pick some books from that pile.”

Star nodded and they began to gather books in the room. As they sorted the books they talked about which stories were their favorites and which books they planned on reading next. 

“Okay,” Rapunzel said. “Now that we’re finished sorting. We can donate this pile of books later today. But right now, I need this dress fixed.” Rapunzel pointed to a green dress with a tear in its seam. 

“You wouldn't mind helping me with that?” Rapunzel asked. “I would ask your mother but she already has her hands full today on cleaning duty.”

“I don’t mind at all.”

Rapunzel pulled out her sewing kit from one of her drawers.

As they proceeded to fix the dress, there was an awkward silence between them. Star thought about telling her about the dream again. Star finally settled down on her decision to just tell her. Now the hard part: telling her.

Star felt her heart race again. Oh, how she hated her anxiety. 

Star took a deep breath.

“Hey, Rapunzel?” Star paused what she was doing.

“Yes, Star?” Rapunzel raised an eyebrow.

“You’re an expert in dreams…or at least have some experience in dreams with messages in them, right?”

“I guess so…but the fact that I had several dreams telling me my destiny was to bring the Sundrop and the Moonstone together was a message that wasn’t sent very clearly to me.” Rapunzel chuckled. “So, is there anything you want to talk about?”

“Yeah…” Star resumed sowing the dress. “There’s this dream that I’ve been having lately and it’s always the same thing. Stella warns me about something coming, something real bad coming,”

Rapunzel stopped for a moment to think, “Hm…”

“I’m not sure what to make of it exactly,” Star said worryingly, “but all I know is that it’s bad news for me.“

Rapunzel looked concentrated with the sewing of the dress and didn’t respond. Star began to worry that she might’ve said something that could’ve made Rapunzel upset.

“There!” Rapunzel announced proudly. “All done!”

“Rapunzel?” Star reminded her. 

Rapunzel sighed deeply. 

“Come, sit over here.” Rapunzel sat down near her bedroom window and patted the spot next to her.

Star didn’t like where this is going. She slowly walked over to Rapunzel and sat down.

“Star…” Rapunzel began slowly, “I don’t want to worry you, but I’m not going to lie to you either.”

Star looked away from her. If Rapunzel is saying this, then it must be bad.

“But...“ Rapunzel continued.

Star looked at her.

“A lot has happened since I first met you. And one thing I do know about you, is how anything that has come in your way, you were able to overcome it.”

Star's eyes lit up. 

Rapunzel looked behind Star. “Oh, and if anything does get in your way, you still need to keep those fighting skills sharp! It’s nearly time for you to meet up with Eugene.”

“Oh, yeah! It nearly slipped my mind!” Star turned around and paused for a moment. “Thanks for listening, Rapunzel.”

“No problem. Whatever you need, I’m always here for you.” Rapunzel put her hand on Star’s shoulder. Something about Rapunzel’s eyes gave Star some hope that everything will be fine. 

Star gave Rapunzel a quick hug and ran off outside to meet Eugene.

“Eugene!” Star yelled. 

“Hey, Star!” Eugene greeted. “Ready for practice today?”

“Yeah, but Eugene, remember that dream i told you about? The one I keep having.”

“Yeah i remember. What about it?”

“Well, I finally told Rapunzel about it. But she wasn’t sure what to make of the dream either.”

“You’ve had this dream for how long exactly?”

“The first time I had the dream was about a couple of months ago. And it’s been reoccurring ever since. About every couple of nights I get the dream again.”

“Hm…you know what I think?”

“What?”

“I don’t know exactly but maybe it has to with the battle we had with Zhan Tiri six months ago.”

Star thought for a moment. It does make sense. Pretty much that night after Corona won over that demon she had that dream come to her. But how does it connect? Zhan Tiri is long gone, right?

“Maybe…” Star was skeptical.

“Look, Star, it's been six months and nothing really has happened.”

“But—“

“Look, I’m not saying to completely dismiss it. All I’m saying is maybe you should give this a rest. If something really is gonna happen then it will happen. Maybe it isn’t the right time.”

“Yeah, i guess you’re right,” Star said reluctantly, “But, it’s kind of hard not to think about it when I keep having the same dream recurring.”

“I can imagine.”

“But, it’s practice time now and I don’t want to become rusty.”

Eugene pulled out his sword, “Neither do I.”

Star smirked. 

She closed her eyes and whispered, “Starlight, star bright, I summon the power for me to fight.”

A star shaped figure began to glow from her chest through her clothes. Star’s feet slowly got off the ground, she was rising. Her body began to glow faintly. In an instant her entire body began to glow bright white and only her eyes were visible. The glowing figure of her body began to change it’s shape. The silhouette seemed to have armor on. As fast the white glow came, it faded. Star dropped to ground on her feet.

She opened her eyes. She had on silvery-white armor that glowed faintly. The star gem on her collar glowed brightly. 

Star took her hand out and a ball of light began to form and quickly materialized into a sword with the same silvery metal that her armor was but it was changed for offense instead of defense. 

Both Star and Eugene got into position.

Star made the first move. Star swung her sword, but Eugene quickly blocked her attack. 

Star noticed for the past couple of months that he has grown pretty quick with a sword. Star has only practiced with Cassandra, but ever since she left Corona, Eugene stepped up to mentor Star in combat. Which is fitting since he is now Captain of the Guard now. But now she’s afraid of disappointing him if she began to fall back in sword fighting. 

Their swords continue to clash against each other. They dodge each other’s attacks. Both were trying to look for an opening. They clashed again and they pushed each other away like two of the same forces being repelled by each other.

Star could feel that Eugene was going to hit her from the side. Star waved her arm and a transparent white circular shape came from the ground. It was some sort of light shield, it looked like someone spilled glitter all over it since it sparkled like crazy. Eugene nearly hit it but stopped immediately.

“Star,” Eugene put away his sword. “What did we talk about you using your light shield.”

Star’s light shield glowed and disappeared. “Um...to...not to use it?”

“Yes, exactly!”

“Sorry, it’s just my instinct,” she shrugged.

“I’m saying this so if you somehow lose your magic necklace that gives you magical powers, you can use a plain old non-magical sword. You know what maybe we should start using them right—”

“Captain! Captain!” A guard soldier came in running.

“Oh, what is it now?” Eugene groaned.

“It’s...It’s…” the guard couldn’t keep his breath. “It’s about the missing horses! There has been another report about a missing horse!” 

“Oh, has there been any new information?”

The guard soldier shook his head. 

Eugene sighed in disappointment.

“We have been trying to find this horse thief for nearly two weeks and we aren’t even close to finding who it is.” Eugene said in frustration. “It’s been driving me up a wall!”

Eugene sighed, “Look, Star, I’m afraid that we have to cut our time short, but this is really urgent.”

“No problem, Eugene. You go ahead and find that horse thief!” Star said. “Anyways, it works out, I have to meet up with someone for lunch. I can wait around at the cafe.”

Star got on her horse, “Well, see you around, Eugene.” 

Star took a sip of her drink. 

She looked out towards the town square from the cafe. Corona was still in a rebuilding period. After the battle with Zhan Thiri, a lot of construction has taken place. Although the black rocks were gone, the destruction that was left behind was still there and there is still  a lot to rebuild.

Star began to take a sip of her drink. Hm...I wonder what could be taking––

“Star! Star!”

Star spat out her drink because otherwise her drink would’ve gone up her nose.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!” 

“It’s ok, Varian…” she coughed.

“Sorry, we had some...” Varian paused and patted some soot off his clothes, “um...technical difficulties.”

“No worries, anyways, why did you invite me here.”

“Oh yes! I was just going to get to that!” Varian sat down across from her. “So, I have another project I’m working on and I need an extra pair of hands. So, are you in?”

“Yeah,” 

“Great! Right after you finished the weekly check up we can star working on it.”

“Varian…” Star’s tone changed. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, sure anything.” Varian nodded.

“Are you sure there wasn’t anything else on the scroll about the Star Knight. Like anything at all?”

“Um...no. I’m pretty sure about that. Even if there was, the scroll is long gone. Daminitus didn’t exactly make the scroll fireproof.”

Star looked away in thought. She knew Varian was telling her everything he knows. She just needed some answers.

Varian leaned forward, “It’s the dream again, huh?”

“Yeah,” Star leaned back.

“Yeah, figures, those dark circles under your eyes kind of gave it away."

Star was embarrassed. It was that noticeable, people have been pointing that out all day.

"Other than some information about the three levels of the Star Knight and the Ultimate Star Incantation, there wasn’t anything else about it. All we know that there’s been a previous person who was also the Star Knight during the time Daminitus was still alive.”

“Stella…” she whispered.

“Who?”

“Stella, she was the previous Star Knight, I think. This one time when I was able to connect with her, she mentioned working alongside Daminitus or something like that. The point is, they knew of each other.”

“Well, that explains why the Star Knight even appears in the scroll at all but still. Your gem has to be connected in some way with the Sundrop and Moondrop, but they are reunited already. Hm…”

“Ya know…” Star stirred her drink, “I talked to Eugene about it. He suspects that something will come. I don’t think we’ve heard the last about the Sundrop and the Moonstone.”

They both looked at each other in silence. The last thing either of them needed was to be entangled into that kind of magic again.

Or do they?

Star let out a long sigh, “I just want to learn more about all of this…I just know it.”

“You know, we can go back to Daminitus’s tomb.” Varian suggested.

“We can?” Star raised an eyebrow.  

“Yeah!” Varian pulled out a map from his backpack and rolled it out on the table. “With the balloon we will be there faster than we ever will be traveling on the ground.”

“Cool! So when can we go?”

“First thing tomorrow,” Varian rolled back up his map, “This is a great chance for me to find more information about Daminitus’ work.”

He placed the map in his backpack.

Star paused.

Maybe they shouldn't go? The past couple of months have been really calm. Nothing about celestial rocks or anyone wanting to wield them for their power since they are gone. Corona is no longer in danger. They didn’t have to wake up every morning to wonder what will attempt to kill them this time. It’s been...nice.

"Maybe we shouldn't go?" Star said.

"What? Why?" Varian blinked. "I thought you wanted some answers."

"Yeah…but, what if we somehow reawaken the magic again?"

"I haven't thought about that…" Varian pursed his lips, "Maybe we should put this on hold."

"Yeah, I think it's best...for now." Star began to go deep in thought. It didn't feel right to hold off this mission. A part of her wanted to go and find answers. Although the Sundrop and Moonstone were gone, she still had questions about them and her gem. 

"Varian," Star began, "do you ever feel like there's more in you that needs to know? Like you don't quite belong?"

"Ha!" Varian chuckled. "Of course I do! All the time. I mean, I didn’t have much for friends before you guys came along. Of course I had Ruddiger here.”

Ruddiger climbed up and Varian petted him.

“Same here,” Star said, “Before Rapunzel returned after years, I had a hard time making friends. I seem to...mess everything up. So, when I metyou, it was great having a friend around my age.”

Varian smiled.

“For a while now I felt like I still haven’t fulfilled my destiny. Like a puzzle missing a piece. I know it sounds crazy but maybe it’s my calling.”

“To be frank, I do feel the same way. I still have so many questions about Daminitus and his work. I feel like there’s more. So much more we haven’t seen.”

They sat there with their own thoughts for a moment. 

"Anyways," Varian stood up and looked at the clock. "We'd better get going. It's nearly—oh no! I promised my dad I’d be back at the lab in time! We are never gonna get to my lab back in time!”

"Not on foot," Star got up and whistled. Within moments a black horse came trotting in. The horse has a white lunar shape on her forehead.

"Hey, Luna," Star got up her horse. 

"Come on," She held out her hand.

Varian hesitated for a moment. He grabbed her hand and got on. 

"You may want to hold on to me." Star said.

"What?! Why?" 

Star pulled on the reins and Varian almost immediately fell off. He grabbed on to Star. Star could feel him hugging her a little too tightly. She could sense that Varian was closing his eyes.

As they rode across the field, Star enjoyed the breeze blowing through her hair. She always loved horseback riding. It always had that sense of freedom. 

They stopped as they approached Varian's home.

"Okay, you can let go of me now," Star said.

"What?" Varian still had his eyes closed.

"You can let me go before I squeeze to death."

Varian opened his eyes. He immediately let her go. "Oh, I am so sorry—woah!"

Varian nearly fell off before Star grabbed him by his arm.

"Thanks, but next time warn me before you go full speed." 

They got off Luna. And headed towards Varian's lab.

"Hey, dad!" Varian greeted his father 

"Hey, Quirin!" Star said. "How's things doing down here?"

"Hello, everything's going pretty well. We've only had one difficulty this week. Less than usual."

Star pulled out her goggles. It had yellow stars painted on either side of them. Star also grabbed a book and pencil. 

“Okay, for this week,” Star started to write down in the book, “only one mishap. Definitely, an improvement from last week. Queen Rapunzel will be pleased to hear this.”

“Yup, were making excellent progress.” Varian said proudly. “Soon, no more explosions, ever. Ha, imagine that! And you can finally have a break. You no longer have to come here.”

“...oh, yeah, t-that’d be great,” Star said hesitantly.

“Look, Star,” Varian pulled her aside, “you’ve had a lot on your plate for the past couple of months with you know being the royal advisor and having to keep on being the Star Knight. I think you deserve a break.”

“I don’t need a break,” she said.

“B-but—”

“I guess we are all done here!” Star changed the subject. “Goodbye Quirin! I’ll see you later, Varian.” Star walked away leaving Varian hanging.

Star sat alone on the steps in front of Varian’s home. She sighed miserably. She knew what she did wasn’t good, but she didn't understand why she acted that way. Varian was right, she has been pushing herself a bit too hard, so why should she feel so upset? She should be jumping in joy about this, right?

“Hey, Star.”

Star turned around, it was Varian. 

“Hey,” she said. Star couldn’t tell if Varian was upset with her with how she left things hanging. She felt pretty bad with how she left things.

"Sorry for storming off like that. I know know why I reacted that way."

"Eh," Varian shrugged. "It's alright. You still seem pretty tired."

Star chuckled softly. 

“So what’s this project you’re working on?” Star asked.

“Oh, it’s just a little idea I had after adding the thrusters to the balloon back when Rapunzel needed to get to the spire,” Varian pulled out plans from his bag and placed them out on the floor. “Well, what if we added thrusters to a wagon and added some sort of maneuvering system to control it. Transportation would be so much faster!”

“That sounds great!" Star looked at his plans. "Uh, how do we do it?" 

"I brought all the materials we are going to need," Varian rolled up his plans and pointed to the wagon. 

Star walked up to the wagon and looked into it. There two thrusters layed there alongside parts and tools. 

“Well then,” Varian stretched his arms, “we better get started.”

They got started on building Varian’s invention. 

Star held a part in place, while Varian screwed it in place.

A shuffling sound could be heard from the bushes.

“Did you hear that?” Star asked.

“Hear what?” Varian said as he screwed [the part in place. “There! I screwed in the brake!”

Star looked into the bushes, but couldn't see anything that would make that sound. Could it be just her imagination?

Luna was grazing over the grass until she heard another shuffle in the bushes. She perked her ears towards the direction of where the sound came from. She turned her head but saw nothing and continued to graze.

"Okay so," Varian put gown his wrench, "it's nearly done, all we have to do now is to test it out so see—"

Neigh!

Star turned around and saw Luna being unruly, kicking her hooves in the sir. There was a person sitting in her saddle, attempting to settle her down.

"Hey!" Star yelled. "What are you doing?! Get off her!"

The stranger grabbed a hold of Luna and galloped off.

"We have to go after them!"

"How? We don't have a horse!"

"We have to use your invention!"

"What? But it hasn't even been tested!" Varian warned her. "That is dangerous!"

"We don't have a choice!" Star hopped into the wagon. 

"Ugh, okay fine! But I'll be driving!" Varian hopped onto the wagon cart.

“Fine,” Star knew that they’d better off having Varian as a driver. She hopped into the wagon after him.

“On three you turned on the thrusters. Got it?”

“Yup,” Star put her hands near the thrusters. She was nervous that her hand might slip and accidentally blast them.

“One...two...oh, make sure to hold on tight!”

“Wait, what“

“Three!”

Star didn’t hesitate to turn on the thrusters and as sound as she did, they blasted off. They were going fast. Faster than Star would like. 

They travelled across hills and bumpy roads, that nearly threw them off. Star saw trees and people go by.

“Sorry!” Star said as they nearly hit a man.

“Over there!” Star pointed forward. “There’s Luna!”

“And there’s a huge rock ahead!” Varian yelled. He pulled on the lever as hard as he could. “I think we’re going too fast! We can’t turn in time! We’re gonna get hit!”

The hit the rock with great force. They were flung out of the invention. They flew across the sky. Star could see everything in slow motion. She saw the sky and a bird flew nearby. 

She felt herself hit something...or someone.

“Ow!” A voice yelled. “Get off of me!”

Star found herself on top of someone in the soft grass.

She got up and looked for Varian.

“Varian!” Star called for him.

“I’m here!” Varian crawled out of a bush covered in leaves.

“You okay?”

“Other than the fact that I bruised my everything, I’ll be fine,��� he shook off the leaves in his hair.

Neigh!

Star gasped, “Luna!”

She turned around and saw the horse thief with her horse. Turns out this thief was just a teenager.

This kid was about Star’s age but he was average height, maybe a little bit more. He had bright red hair and had more freckles than Varian. His blue eyes were bright in confidence.

“Hey!” Star yelled. “Give me back my horse!”

“Well, it was your horse,” the red headed kid said.

“I’m warning you!” Star said as she took out her star necklace.

“Or what?” The kid smirked.

“Hold it right there!” 

Star turned around.

There were two guard soldiers that she had never seen before. They must’ve been new recruits, both had their swords out. 

All three of them had their hands up.

“Are you three the ones stealing all the horses?” One of them asked.

“What?! No! It was him!” Star pointed at the red head kid.

“No! It was them!” The kid tried to convince them.

The guard soldiers looked at each other. 

“I think we should bring them all in,” said the taller guard soldier. The other nodded in agreement.

“What?!” Varian exclaimed. “It was all him! You have to believe us! I’m the royal engineer! And she’s the Star Knight!”

“Look, I can prove—” Star said before she got interrupted by one of the guards handcuffing her and Varian. 

“Hey, watch it!” The horse thief said as the tall guard soldier almost pin him to put on the handcuffs. “No need to be so rough! I’ll go with you guys, jeez!”

Star nearly fell over when she tripped when she was taken away. She felt her necklace slipped through her hands. “Hey!”

“Sorry, kid,” the short guard said. “This is the way things have to be while get this resolved.”

“My necklace!” Star said.

One of them picked her necklace and observed it. 

“That’s mine! Star said. 

“Do you think it might be stolen?” He asked his partner. 

His partner shrugged. “Could be. Hold on to it just in case.”

“What? No! It’s mine! I told you! I can prove it!” Star said.

“Hey kid, maybe stop with all the talking. You can say all you want we get to the dungeon.”

They close the door on the prison wagon. Star plopped on the ground and sighed. How could all this go so wrong so quickly?  All three of them remained quiet for the rest of the trip to the dungeon.

[violetosprey]

BTD2 My thoughts on Cain

I covered my thoughts long ago on all of the “Till Death Do Us Part” game characters, but I never really took the time to talk about my thoughts about the main series “Boyfriend to Death” characters.  I have actually talked about many of these characters through various different posts.  But otherwise, there haven’t been that many posts dedicated specifically to certain BTD characters.

These posts will mostly be about my own opinions and views (a rough analysis more than anything).  I may end up focusing on multiple aspects of the character, or just one particular one if I think it defines them best (we’ll see).  For those that have read some of my other posts, there likely WILL be some thoughts I’ve stated before that I’ll simply be re-iterating here.  But there may also be some new stuff in here if it happens to come to mind, or because I’ve simply not had the time before to go over such a topic.

It will take a while to get through all 8, so please have some patience and just check back later if it looks like I don’t have a post up yet for a character you’re really interested in.  I will also be talking through these under the assumption that you’ve played/read all the routes (so I might mention but not go into explicit detail on a scene).

*major spoilers below, and this is stupid long…like anything I write*

Fun fact:  Cain is my second favorite character in the entire BTD/TDDUP series.  The ONLY reason he isn’t my #1 favorite is because I have an intense love for villainous male yanderes, so Marcus just has an unfair advantage here.  If Marcus did not exist though, Cain would be my favorite hands down.

In some ways, Cain is very straightforward in regards to his characters.  He’s THE bad guy.  If he were in another video game or story, he’d likely be the final boss to defeat.  His powers are ridiculous, he’s nearly 3000 years old I think, and I think his creator has implied that he’s not a fan of working under others.  He’s had to as a torturer, but hasn’t seemed to like it (though maybe it depends on the other person/character).  If his character just came off as too OP to you when playing BTD2, well that’s probably because he’s not supposed to be a push-over :P  And the MC of all things in the game is CERTAINLY not a character implied to be anywhere near his caliber to take him on. What’s more, Cain can be considered a bad guy for the VAST majority of his life, and he shows no regrets whatsoever as to the monster he’s become.

Another fun fact is, I actually didn’t make the connection at first upon Cain’s introduction that he’s the Cain from the story of Cain and Abel.  You do get some dialogue in BTD2 from Cain about his origins there, but in the event that someone is not familiar with the importance of this background, I’ll dip in a little here.  Basically, in the bible you have the first humans, Adam and Eve, and their first sons following that were Cain and Abel.  I’m not incredibly familiar with the full story myself, but what happened was the brothers needed (or maybe wanted- don’t remember) to make a tribute to God.  Cain was a farmer, so he presented some of his harvest as tribute.  Abel was a shepherd, so he slayed some of his livestock and presented it as a sacrifice to God.  Between the two gifts, God preferred Abel’s.  After this, Cain then murdered Abel.  The significance here would be that following this tale of early human creation, that would make this the first act of human murder.  So what Cain represents is the origin of one of the most extreme acts of violence on another human being.  And when you ask Cain about his feelings on the matter in BTD2, he STILL does not regret murdering his brother after all these years.  Apparently the bible doesn’t fully goes in Cain’s motives (so it’s fitting that in BTD2 it’s also left to the imagination), but jealousy is a common theory.

So the Cain we know of BTD2 was punished, marked, and sent to hell I believe.  While likely being punished himself, he served a torturer in hell when needed.  If you checked through ElectricPuke’s tumblr, you’ll also learn that he would have been used for big events of depression or war such as the black plague and the crusades. Most of the time, Cain was kept in line by the more powerful fallen angels in hell.  He’s arguably one of the strongest villains, but not THE strongest person basically (Sam who pops up in one ending was confirmed stronger, but just is held back by rules and restrictions).  Recently though, he was able to escape, and he does not plan to go back.

So what’s he do now that he’s out?  Repent for his sins and come to terms with his years of torture to try to be a better person and go on a long journey of enlightenment *eyes sparkle*? Pfft, nope.  He goes straight to tormenting humanity (likely both small scale and large scale, depending on his mood and what he can get away with without being caught) because that’s what he enjoys the most.  That’s the thing about Cain.  He does show moments in the game where he’s quiet, thoughtful, and perhaps even lonely.  But when you look at him as a whole, he’s just a sadist that does whatever he wants to do.  He’s a VERY charming character, but it’s best not to be fooled by this man.  Sweet words may just end up being his way of manipulating someone, tempting them, into doing what he wants.  He does this frequently throughout the game actually, encouraging you to join tell him your sins, join him in the bath, drink his wine, or join him on the balcony.  But if you go back to many of these scenes and see what they lead into (often Cain getting rough and causing harm to the MC), you realize in your attempt to reach out towards the rose…that you forgot about the thorns underneath.  Maybe that’s another reason Cain likes roses :P

The complexity to Cain lies in the fact that he’s difficult to figure out…especially when you NEED to figure him out to live.  Cain is very fickle, and he gets bored fairly easily.  On one hand, he does whatever he wants, and he’s most pleased when he’s tormenting someone.  But he does have to still be careful about where he wanders because the other fallen angels ARE looking for him to a degree.  And Damien’s aware of Cain’s reappearance and is prepping for whenever Cain decides to start causing mass genocide for the heck of it.  How much damage Cain has caused since he’s gotten out btw, I’m not sure.  We only know that the MC isn’t his first victim since getting out since apparently he likes to text “weird pictures” to Damien.  I’m gonna go out on a limb and say these “pictures”…are likely of his victims after he’s done something horrific to them.  Just a guess, but I’d bet good money on that :P

Back to what I was saying though, Cain is still restricted as to where he can go and how often. Damien can’t beat him, sure, but the other angels that can beat him he’s smart enough to avoid.  He has to hide away in Tartarus for…who knows how long at a time honestly.  That’s not something we learn in the game or are given hints to.  Soooo Cain is even MORE bored when he has to sit around his house all day.  He can read books, but he’ll probably end up reading his same stuff over and over again to the point where it’s unenjoyable.  So what’s he decide he wants to do?  Cain wants a pet (and he is the worst pet owner in the world).  

Let’s face it, pets are companions that give you something else to focus on in your day-to-day routine and help even ease away some loneliness.  But he’s Cain, so a fish, bird, dog or cat isn’t going to cut it for him. Why settle for smaller creatures like those when he could grab something that he can make conversation with, indulge in sexual pleasures…and listen to them scream when he tortures them?  Cain makes it VERY clear that he sees the MC as nothing but a toy to him. You may not be a dog, but you’re just Pet 2.0 at best to him.  He really doesn’t seem to have a high opinion of humans either honestly.  Despite having been one, Cain’s not really all the impressed with what he sees.  It’s not like Rire, who Darqx has stated likes humans and prefers to torment them over demons because it’s more interesting to watch something that’s so obviously inferior to you try to fight back.  Cain does also like a victim that puts up a fight, but when he says the MC is “interesting,” it’s not explicitly because they are human.  Actually, I forget who put up the post, but someone figured out that if you name yourself “Ashe,” then you get a few dialogue changes suggesting MC ISN’T human in this case (it’s a reference’s to Gato’s angel character you meet at the river).  Cain can also turn you into a demon or a fallen angel, so he really doesn’t care about keeping you human.  So if you wanted to think up an OC to use for Cain’s route, probably any species would work as long as it’s weaker than him (which would….probably be 98% of creatures that come across him anyway).

I fully believe Cain when he says his intention is to kill you in the end.  While he’s looking for something more long term than when Rire “plays” with his victims, Cain’s “pets” just wouldn’t last very long.  First off, trying to please him is infuriating.  If you stay silent right after he’s kidnapped you, he’s unimpressed and kills you by ripping his tongue out.  He gets furious if you yell back at him and storm off the kitchen, even calling you a child.  Yet he likes if you say you’re not going to roll over for him when you take a bath together, and he gets turned on when you bring a knife and try to stab him.  It seems if you want to survive Cain, you have to hit JUST the right notes of feisty and entertaining, while not going too far into a defiant state that's just too obnoxious for the nearly 3000 year old fallen angel to deal with.  I myself, just kept getting abandoned and killed by Sam XD  I never made him happy enough on my own.  It doesn’t help that he’s one of the two characters where you don’t see his heart changes until the very end either.  Kudos to whoever figured out those survival endings where you end up with Cain (alive I mean).

Speaking of his age…good luck with either of you relating to each other.  That’s one of the hurdles here too if you’re trying to survive.  I’ve always said that Cain is more likely to hold sympathy for you than someone like the demon king Rire, because Cain used to be human.  That being said, there’s not a whole lot of sympathy for him to give.  Like I said, he doesn’t really seem impressed with humans. And one difficulty with relationships where there are rather large age gaps is how life experiences and events (past and current) shape one’s personality and views.  Basic example is an 18 year old and a 70 year old will have VERY different life goals and obstacles at the point in time of their lives. The 70 year MIGHT be able to relate to some of the 18 year old’s troubles since they’d have already experienced them, but at the same time they could just wave off those troubles saying “oh that’s not so bad, wait until you have to worry about this.”  Meanwhile, the 18 year old of course isn’t going to be able to relate to later difficulties in life that the 50 year old has faced.  I know I’m getting a little weird here, and you’re probably thinking “18 and 70 year old in a relationship?  That’d be a disaster.”  Well now the old man is nearly 3000 years old…you think he cares that much about your college exams, mortgage payments, or taxes you have to pay?  Even the MC’s emotional trauma might just seem petty or insignificant to him.  And if he picked up say…a 25 year old.  You think the 25 year old version of him would have anything in common with a modern day 25 year old?  Probably not.

And that’s another thing I like about Cain’s path.  Your survival is based on two things: a) Either someone else comes and saves you after you’ve avoided danger long enough or b) your personality and Cain’s end up meshing.  If Cain doesn’t care that you’re human, and he doesn’t sympathize or relate to you, you have to hope that you’re the kind of person that’s entertaining and pleasant enough for him.  It also might help if the MC is a little masochistic (makes for a better slave) or has some dark thoughts (think of the painting in the one ending).  There’s also two different ways this happens.  If you get the ending where he turns you into a demon, Puke described that as him making you one of his minions.  Whereas the ending where you turns you into a fallen angel, you’re more his equal.  So demon ending I see as you are JUST obedient enough to not be boring or obnoxious, but it’s still like he’s just grown attached more to his “pet” to me.  Like, he’s kicked you around and harassed you a bit, but when you betray Damien and stay with him on your own he’s like, “Awww that’s adorable.  How can I say no to that face?”  He’d probably still torture you a bit and keep you in a submissive role (but more playfulness there I suppose?).  Is it weird that I could also imagine quiet moments where he’s petting the MC’s head on his lap while he reads a book?  Fallen angel ending he’d probably have more respect for you and even treat you as a proper lover, rather than a sex toy.

Going way back to when I said I fully believed Cain when he said he intended to kill you from the start, I think it’s because he doesn’t really expect to end up making everyone he captures a minion or fallen angel (fallen angel probably even less).  And let’s say he DOES like a person for quite a while, but never enough to turn them into a minion or fallen angel.  He’s probably still eventually going to kill you because he’ll get bored of the same old thing and hasn’t gotten attached to you (this is probably more likely), or because you’re just getting too old to be durable for his torture.  Yeah do you think he’d keep someone around when they’re elderly?  He’d probably “pet his pet down” much sooner than that.  I think he changes someone he REALLY likes into a minion or fallen angel so that they not only become more durable (if he keeps up his sadistic acts) but so they can live longer with him.  Humans can barely live to 100.  Cain’s so fickle though that my head canon is if he doesn’t grow attached to you after a week of torment, then he just kills you.  I don’t think he has the patience to let someone prove themselves to him over a few years.  That’s just my opinion though.

I’d have to replay ALL his routes again.  Strangely enough despite him saying that he likes a little fight in the MC, it feels like there are more moments where he likes your compliance more.  Weird, but I’d have to check into that.  Still, with Cain it’s hard to tell whether that compliance just ends up making you too “yes-man” for Cain to really enjoy, or which moments you pick to be feisty won’t end up with you getting your tongue ripped out.

Overall, I think Cain is one of the more interesting characters in the series due to his backstory, charm, consistently evil persona, and survival difficulty.  He’s one of the reasons I consider BTD2 more fleshed out than BTD.  I know it’s not fair to compare the two games like that since BTD was made very quickly in good humor, but a lot of the characters in BTD2 have a little more to them going on that we get to see in the BTD guys (Strade, Rire, and Akira just doesn’t have as much screentime…I think).  And out of the 4 in BTD2, Cain is definitely the most straightforward evil. Nothing really sympathetic about him. I may have said it’s possible that he gets lonely, but “being lonely” doesn’t mean you’re automatically a good person that people should feel bad for right away.  Cain has not shown any remorse for what he’s done, and even in the survival endings where you end up with him, he doesn’t imply he’s going to stop being the villain in anyway.

[builder051]

Mel and Todd part 2 (OC fic)

Hi!

Tonight’s bonus episode is brought to you by... insomnia in its finest form.

This is part 2 of the introduction to my first set of OCs (see part 1 here, but know that it’s a gen fic with no illness).  This installment is emeto-heavy.

I have one more story planned for these guys to finish sort of building them up and cementing a backstory, then they’ll be open for reqs.  I’ll also have a description/personality rundown for Mel and Todd up soon.  Please ask questions about them; it will help me keep developing them into deeper characters (plus it seems like fun).  I also have 2 more sets of OCs in the works.

If you happen to read and like this, please talk to me!  I’d love to get some feedback and make some friends. :)

_____________________________________________________________________

Todd knows the room is spinning before he opens his eyes.  He also knows he’s going to be sick, and he prays for at least a moment to get his bearings before it becomes necessary to dash across the pitching floor and barricade himself in the bathroom.  The prayer goes unanswered, and the second Todd shifts so he’s more on his side than his stomach, something he doesn’t remember tasting the first time starts crawling up his throat.

What’s the saying again?  Beer and wine and you’re fine, but beer and liquor never sicker?  Beer before liquor?  After liquor?  Was he even drinking liquor?

The liquid splashing into the toilet has notes of battery acid and the fumes from Mel’s hairspray. Todd shudders and wraps his arms around his head so his long hair doesn’t dip into the porcelain bowl.

Ok.  This is punishment.  For…?  He can’t remember.  For being a grown-ass man who went and got blackout drunk?  That seems…plausible.

Everything smells bad.  Under the overpowering stench of vomit, there’s something like stale cigarettes and marijuana.  Smoke on its own doesn’t bother Todd, but once it’s settled into clothing and layered onto skin both from the top and out through the pores to mix with old sweat and body odor, it’s disgusting.  Part frat boy and part tramp.

Todd spits into the toilet.  He pulls a square of toilet paper from the roll and wipes his mouth, then scrubs at his sparse mustache and beard.  The flimsy material shreds against the coarse hair.  The resulting roughness against Todd’s fingertips burns.  He wonders if he’s feverish.

He reaches up to flush the toilet, but ends up retching into it again.  “Fuck,” Todd whispers. Something like a combination of snot and bile is clinging to his lip, threatening to attach to his chin.

He should get up, wash his face.  Take something.  Like maybe a shower.  But he’s not sure he can so much as stand up because he’s so fucking lightheaded.

A final dry heave forces its way out, and there’s definitely a rope of mucous embedded in his beard.  Todd swears again and succeeds in flushing away the mess.  He uses the back of the toilet to haul himself to his feet, and he sends the box of Kleenex sliding off the tank and into the small garbage can beside it.  He doesn’t make an effort to right the error because bending over seems like a very bad idea.

The two steps to the sink feel like a vast distance, and the faucet won’t stay put as Todd’s vision doubles and singles and doubles again.  It takes a couple tries to flick it on.  Damn sink, he thinks belligerently.

However, as soon as he sloppily cups a handful of chilly tap water onto his face, Todd’s feelings change.  Wonderful, glorious sink.  Freshness and clarity start to break through the surface of the misery.  Just the fact that it’s possible to stand upright and breathe without puking seems glorious.

Todd rinses out his mouth and squints at his slightly blurry reflection.  His tan looks a little washed out.  His green eyes are rimmed in red, and his light brown hair is greasy and tangled in a mess around his shoulders.  He definitely needs to clean up before…

What is he supposed to do today?  What day of the week is it?  He assumes Saturday or Sunday, but…god, he’s confused.  Where the fuck is Mel?  She’s the better one at keeping him on track.

Todd’s wife definitely hadn’t been in bed with him earlier.  They both prefer to sleep in any day of the week, and on hungover mornings…it’d be normal to cuddle till noon.  Or until someone had the sudden urge to vomit or make a sandwich on a glazed donut.

The thought of food is both mouth-watering and nausea-inducing, and Todd leans his shoulder into the wall (and the light switch) while he waits for his body to decide.  The pitching feeling of seasickness eventually evens out into a headachy throb that reverberates through his whole body.

He needs coffee.  Or a Gatorade.  Todd ascertains that he’s wearing clothes, or at least what’s probably yesterday’s t-shirt paired with boxers, and pads clumsily into the kitchen.

Mel’s standing at the kitchen island, typing away on her iPad.

“Hey,” Todd mumbles, his voice rough.  The coffeemaker’s whirring, dripping rich dark liquid into the glass carafe.

He grabs his unwashed mug from beside the sink and makes to intercept the flow of coffee, but Mel stops him.  “That’s mine,” she says.

“Ok, geez.”  Todd doesn’t like how much he’s slurring.  “I’m sorry.”  He abandons the mug and opens the fridge.  He finds pulls out a Gatorade, beyond caring that it’s his least favorite flavor.

“Those are mine too,” Mel grumps.  She looks her husband up and down.  “But I’ll take pity on you and let you have one.  Because you’re sick.”  She continues under her breath.  “Serves you right.”

Todd uncaps the sports drink.  Serves him right for what?  He honestly can’t remember anything specific from the last however-many-odd hours.  He glances at the clock, and is surprised to see it’s only 7:30.  Early for both of them.

“Mel, I…”  Todd’s about to admit his confusion, ask for a little clarification.  But he loses his unformed train of thought when he finally gives Mel’s attractive back a look that’s not fogged with leftover drunkenness.  “Why are you wet?”  She smells weird too, but so does he, so Todd decides not to mention it.

“You’re one to ask,” Mel snaps.  “Why’d you come home high last night?”

Todd blinks at the back of her head.  Well, that would make sense if he’d come home high.  Plus drunk.  But why…he can’t come up with anything.  “I, um.  I…Mel, I don’t really remember anything.  From last night.”

“Well, that’s convenient.”  She turns around, and Todd gets a glimpse of the marine rescue website up on her iPad before Mel steps in front of it to fully face him.

“Really, babe,” Todd says.  “I mean, my first thought when I was getting sick was about if you were ok.”  It’s a boldfaced lie, but he keeps going.  “When I’m that trashed, you’re usually worse off…”

“Yeah, well, I’m fine because I didn’t get invited to go smoke and drink and sleep around last night.”  Mel’s voice is getting louder.

“What…huh?”  Todd’s lost the thread of the conversation.  

“That jacket you threw in the laundry as soon as you came in the door,” Mel points out angrily. “Smelled a lot more like Victoria’s Secret than you usually do.  And you forgot to throw out your condom wrappers.”

“What?  I don’t…I don’t carry condoms.  Maybe I was picking up trash?  I sometimes do that…” Tod guesses.  He takes another sip of Gatorade and rubs his aching temple.  Mel’s too upset to be messing with him.  But he doesn’t recognize himself in her accusation.

“Nobody picks up condom wrappers,” Mel says.

“Babe, what day of the week is it?”  Todd searches for a piece of information to ground himself in the present before poking again into the void of the recent past.  “And why were you snooping in my laundry?”

“Because my fucking husband comes home and doesn’t know what day of the week it is!  And while you’ve been all fucked up and sleeping it off, I’ve been trying to keep a turtle from dying on our beach!”  Tears light up behind her glasses, and Mel takes a step toward Todd.

Whether it’s a movement of aggression or a request for comfort, Todd isn’t sure.  As she moves closer, he gets a strong whiff of the odd dead fish smell clinging to his wife, and he’s suddenly too busy heaving into the kitchen sink to find out.