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wutheringmights · 1 month ago

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I finished Skyshade by Alex Aster. No surprises: it's really bad. It might be the worst Lightlark book yet.

I could write out a long, well-articulated analysis of what specifically is bad about it, but I do not have the willpower. What I do have is a long, detailed summary of the events of the plot I spent way too much time writing out for my friends' personal enjoyment.

So here it is.

Ok so I am just going to assume that you all remember what happened at the end of Nightbane, because we pick up right where we left off: Isla "ending" the war by agreeing to go back to Nightshade with her husband Grim. The plot then informs me that apparently Grim's whole court and country knew they were married from the beginning. Taking into consideration the time they were married before the brain washing, the 100 day time limit on the centenial, and the month and a half of war prep we just went through; this means that this was somehow kept as a secret by thousands of people for like 6 whole months. How the fuck did no rumors about this ever spread to the rest of the world????

Anyway, what is the plot? So Isla has a prophecy that says that she is going to stab either Oro or Grim in the heart and kill them. That's bad, and she wants to stop that. But wait! She is also slowly dying (she's on borrowed time because her life is tied to Grim, via marriage). So she wants to find a way to not die. But wait! There are also storms. What kind of storms? Magical, uber desctructive storms that have apparently been destroying Nightshade and other countries for a long time now and have been slowly increasing in frequency. We have never been informed of the storms before, but now Isla has a goal of discovering the source of the storms and stopping them. And she has to do this before the end of storm season (winter, so a few weeks) because that's when she's supposed to die.

And here, we can truly acknowledge the fact that Aster knows how to write one plot and one plot alone: fetch quest with abritary time limit. The next 200-odd pages are Isla going to X person to find out Y, then running off to A person to ask more about B. And the narration is constantly reminding us that she only has a few short weeks to live, but it never feels that important-- frankly, because no one actually cares if she lives or dies or not.

So we go to a religious cult who once followed a prophet, who then tell her to go talk to the auger. The auger is a fucked up dude that sounds like he belongs in Pan's Labrynth. He will provide the needed info, but only if Isla pays him in human hearts. So now we need to go get human hearts.

During all this, is the… I guess romance stuff? So Grim is well aware he's in the fucking dog house with the whole brainwashing and marriage stuff, and this man has been groveling for her forgiveness. This is not fun for me, as I enjoy Grimshaw the best when he is an unrepentant asshole. He also does this thing where he keeps calling Isla, "wife." Which proves that the most important part of calling someone "my wife" is the "my" part. "My wife" is affectionate. "Wife" is like you're calling for a dog. Gives me the ick, I tell you. Anyway, everyone at court hates Isla because they think she's Oro's spy and is just using Grim. They're not wrong about the latter-- she has not forgiven him and stuff. But she's not in contact with Oro because she believes she's too evil for him.

During this plotline, there's a guy a Grim's court who's flair is that he can control people's body with a touch of the hand. Which he uses one night to try to get Isla to hold still long enough for him to kill her. He gets mauled by Lynx first. Isla then decides to go full evil mode and present his decapitated head to the court and have her ~EVIL~ snakes devour it. Before Isla can feel bad about murdering a mostly okay guy, the story implies that he had previously used his powers to rape women during the night.

And I bring that up because there is this stupid morality thread throughout this book where Isla thinks she's evil and tries to do things that are good (they aren't), but ~she just can't help wanting to do evil things.~ Because of that, Isla has these stupid handcuffs installed onto her that suppresses her magic (so that it doesn't make her evil?) until the rape guy incident. Then she removes them and embraces her villain era. At the same time, there's a lot of Grim lore we learn to soften his image so that he appears to be way less of an unrepentant cunt. There's also this weird characterization of Oro, which I will get to later.

Anyway, back to the plot. Isla needs human hearts to go talk to the auger. So she goes to a random village in Nightshade and finds a guy who she considers to be "wicked": he's choking out some girl in an alley way. And then she brutally murders him and carves out his heart. She does this so that she does not feel bad about killing an innocent person. But what Isla has not considered is that by doing this, she is violating his right to due process and is assuming he is guilty until proven innocent. For all she knew, this man was defending himself from a womanly mugger, or that this was a pre-discussed kink scenario between the two. But, like, whatever I guess. The woman she saved is named Sairsha. When Isla returns every night to do her "vigilante" activities, Sairsha is there to give her a pastry and to thank her for doing her part to keep the streets safe 🙂

Yes, there is a character in this stupid book named Sairsha

HEY ALEX ASTER DO YOU NOT KNOW HOW TO SPELL SAOIRSE????

Once Isla has enough hearts, the auger tells her that there's actually another magic system in this world called skyres. Basically, it's blood powered and you have to use your blood to draw sigils. Doing too much will kill you. But Isla, who at this point has been told that there's no way to avoid dying or killing one of her 2 boyfriends, is like "fuck yeah sign me up." The problem is that the skyres are a forgotten magic from the old world. The only person who remembered anything about it was the aforementioned prophet, but he was murdered ages ago by Grim's father. So Isla now has to rediscover how skyres work.

Now please pause for a moment as I quickly move some wet laundry to the dryer.

And now we're back. So even after she gets help from the auger, she STILL decides to continue cutting out the hearts of random men on the streets who may or may not be evil. And this leads to Sairsha roofing Isla and kidnapping her. When Isla wakes, Sairsha reveals that she and her drinking buddies are a part of a cult that believes Isla will either save or destroy the world. And they want Isla to kill them. Isla refuse, so… ok, I need you to follow me on this one. One of the men hands her a sword. She holds it up, wondering "wtf am I supposed to do with this?" and the man rams himself onto the sword, killing himself. The other cult members then try attack her, which she blocks. But then they realize they can just run themselves onto her sword every time she blocks, so she ends up accidentally killing all of them. This is very traumatizing for her

Now, you might be wondering what the fuck is going on with the storm story line. Earlier in the book, democratic leader demoted to gay best friend archetype and leader of the Skyling Azul met her for tea to discuss the tea that is her secret marriage. He is intimately familiar with the storms because apparently they happen to every kingdom, but for some fucking reason Isla has never heard of them before. So he gave her a ring that she can use to trap a little bit of storm that will lead her to its source. Cool. Now she has to wait for a storm, which is a period of time she used to justly carve out the hearts of guilty until proven innocent men. Azul also gave her a fucking bird that will sing when the next storm is intiment, kinda like a tornado siren. So the night the next storm hits, Isla finds that Oro had flown his ass all the way from Lightlark to Nightshade because he was worried about her. It's been weeks dude. Where are you. Anyway, they have a moment where Isla decides that she has to scare Oro off so she goes on an evil speech about how she never loved him and stuff. Then the storm hits, and we race off to capture the storm in the ring. This does not work because SHE DROPS THE FUCKING RING AND LOSES IT. Oops. So now we're back on the fetch quest.

So we're back on the fucking fetch quest, and we fuck around and do other things for a bit. We have a second wedding to improve Isla's reputation. Isla has long gotten the stupid anti-magic handcuffs removed. And there is a little subplot about how there is a traitor among the Wildlings who are desecrating graves and destroying medicinal miracle herbs. Put a pin in that one because we will get back to it. So we learn that the storms are coming from a tear in reality, a portal back to the original world that all of this came from. This is a one way portal, though. So we can't use it to go through ourselves without dying (there is another subplot where Grim wants to do this because he thinks it will save Isla's life; don't worry about this).

So in the last book, Isla had visited Aurora's castle and found a feather as a memento. This is now relevant because the feather is actually a quill and Aurora's ghost can control the quill. Using writing, she tells Isla that she can teach her a little bit about skyres. Isla believes her and that this is actually Aurora's ghost controlling the quill, and starts to learn skyres. But she needs to go to a special library in Grim's winter castle to find more. This, and the fact that she is really freaking horny, is her motivation to finally mend her marriage with Grim.

Grim uses this opportunity to trauma dump about how his childhood sucks. It's royal Nightshade tradition that you have all your kids murder each other so that there will be one ruler. This is stupid when you consider the whole nexus, "lives of the people attached to the ruler's" thing, but whatever. Luckily, Grim didn't kill his siblings on account of his father doing it for him. This is so sad that it makes Isla forgive him entirely and they fuck. Yay.

We go to the winter palace, and Isla finds the needed book. The book helpfully tells her that bone is more powerful than blood. Put a pin in that. Besides that, she and Grim go on some more dates (including a sequence where she gets new clothes for him because he doesn't know how to dress casually) (who the fuck wants their boyfriend to dress worse???) and shit. He also shows her a magic maze in the backyard that is enchanted to forbid people from using their magic. But at the center of the maze is Cronan's casket and body. Cronan, you may recall, is one of the three founders of lightlark, the first nightshade, and the dude that invented the nexus. Isla tries to steal his bones in order to do more powerful magic, but fails. There's also this bit where Isla investigates her dead father's life in order to feel connected to him for a bit. This involves discovering that he had discovered an island, that he had also named Isla. This island is barely relevant.

So at this point, we are about 150 pages into a 370-ish page book. This is also the point where I started reading last night and proceeded to go a little bit insane.

So the next big plot point is that a village in Nightshade is absolutely razed by someone everyone thinks is Isla. It's not Isla because she has been fucking off to learn more skyres, but no one knows she's been doing that because it's been a secret. We spend about a chapter confused as to who this person could be, only to find out that it's the same Wilding traitor who has been fucking around in the background of this book so far. Wanna take a wild guess as to who this traitor is?

Well, you can't because out of left field, we find out that it's Lark Crown-- Isla's ancestor, one of the founders of lightlark, and someone we have been told has been long dead for like a millennia

So what is Lark's deal? Lark has been imprisoned below the earth by Cronan, and has been there for a millenia. Apparently, the dead Nightshade children thing was a way to reinforce her bounds. Because Grimshaw wasn't going around and having children to kill, her bounds weakened enough for her to escape. And, I need you to understand this-- Grim knew about Lark this whole time. He knew that she was locked up because she was famously the most evil person ever (but not famously enough for Isla to know?). He kept this a secret for Isla, and then also didn't do the one thing that would have kept Lark imprisoned

Lark and Cronan (and also Horus, who is Oro's ancestor; he's actually dead so don't worry about him) are from the primary world. Long story short, they were fed up with how Horus's family were tyrants and decided to make their own secondary world. But to do that, they had to kill a lot of people and the world of lightlark is made from the bones of innocent. Then Cronan, who Lark was in love with, betrayed her and imprisoned her so that the land could be powered by her magic. Now that she's escaped, she wants to kill everyone in the secondary world so that she can start over from scratch. To do this, she has raised an undead, nigh-invincible army.

Also, remember Aurora's quill? That was Lark using magic and "stealing" Aurora's handwriting. Because she needs Isla to know skyres for some reason? Mostly, Isla is connected to the heart of Lightlark and needs that power to remake the world.

So the first thing Isla needs to do is go on one last fetch quest to learn one last bit of information that will help us later (insert mickey mouse special tool meme). So she goes to Lightlark so that she can invade this secret Sunling archive, located in a magical desert that only the Sunling ruler has access to. Here, Oro finds her and he's fucking bitter about the whole break up thing. Like he's gone from being generally nice dude to being really mean, but mean in a book 1 Grimshaw way. Like he invades her space and kisses her without her verbal consent-- because he has magic that can tell that she's lying when she says she doesn't want him anymore. Sadly, I still think he's better than Grimshaw so I will allow him to be a cunt for as long as he wants to

This story arc in the desert. Oh my fucking god. I was losing my mind. So it's super hot, so there's all these bits where Isla keeps having to strip naked to stay cool. And Oro just keeps…ogoglinh her. Fucking leering man. And while the stakes are high and you're still concerned about the whole Lark Crown situation, we stop the entire flow of the story so that Isla could have a dream. Which is just a framing device for a flashback to the time she had sex with Oro.

This sex scene chronologically took place during the events of the last book, but we did not see it because Alex Aster did not care about providing the illusion that Oro has a fighting chance at this love triangle until she read the fucking comments. In this sex scene, Isla urges Oro to turn the slinky dress she is wearing into gold. Why? Explicitly, because she wants to help Oro get over his hang-up about having once killed someone with his midas touch. WHY? Because Aster read the fucking comments and decided that Isla is actually obsessed with the gold stuff because it's therapy for Oro. Therapy, while they're having sex. Anyway, Isla rides his dick for a bit before giving him a blow job. Good job, boyo.

So we get the last bit of information from what turns out to be Horus's tomb. And I'll be honest-- the whole sex scene flashback had made me gone so thoroughly insane that I'm a little fuzzy as to what bullshit we actually learned here. I think it's that the portals are being caused by Cronan's body, because had a portaling flair in his lifetime. I don't know, man. Just thinking about this is hurting my brain.

There's a bit where Isla steals some of Horus's powerful bones, which is another betrayal for Oro. Before they can duke it out, we learn that Lark has already brought her armies to Lightlark. So Isla, Grimshaw, Oro, and Oro's friends decide they have to put their petty differences aside and work together. There's more fetch questing here, but to summarize: we go see this monster guy named Remlar for a dagger powerful enough to paralyze Lark. Grim tries to find this monster controling sword he had in the last book, but it's gone now, Turns out, after he used it he put it back in the dragon lair / thief trove he had to looney tunes his way to find it last time. And since then, the thief had moved their trove, probably because some dingbat idiot purposefully trigger all their traps. We had have to get Oro's friend Zed, who is a hobbyist theif, to find the thief. This apparently was a huge ordeal and was mildly traumatizing for him, but it all happened off screen.

This is actually a huge problem in this last act of the book. A lot of bullshit happens, very quickly. The great majority of it is based on information Aster teases, but does not tell the reader until the last second, which is then followed up with Aster telling us that Isla had done something or talked to someone off screen, had gotten X special thing from them, and is now using it has a checkmate against Lark. I am not joking when I say that by the time we reach the final fight, there are like 4 checkmates in a row that can be summarized as "Isla allegedly did this really cool thing off screen that she told no one about and the audience didn't see, but it allows her to do this really cool thing"

So the what does this look like on page? The narration will tell us that Remlar "told Isla a secret." Then in a fight, Isla will use a new power and "this was the secret Remlar told Isla." Then when this does not work, we then find out that Isla:

-laid a physical, magical trap that we had not heard about before

-had talked to the auger to get one last bit of lore, which we are just hearing about now that it's going to help us fight Lark

-Isla realized a plot twist off screen that is helpful for the fight now

-convince Cleo, the Moonling queen who was helping Lark, to switch over to our side in exchange for something that is never really explained to us

It's rapid . One after another. And Aster expects you to be happy with each punch as they come. Because here's the thing about Aster's writing. The logic doesn't matter. She just wants to shock you. She wants to catch you off guard with another plot twist, even if the plot twist is nonsensical or is only possible by not writing a solid 100 pages worth of material. I don't want this book to be any longer than it is, but it's downright insulting how much Aster straight up doesn't write for the last fight of this book

So to summarize what is already the summary of a final conflict. We try to paralyze Lark long enough to open a portal to send her back to the primary realm, but oops Cleo saves her. So Isla decides to make the worst storm of the century in order to depower Lark long enough to try again. There's this bit where Lark tries to imprison her underground, but it doesn't matter. There's also this bit about Isla realizing that as a baby she killed her parents, but it's okay because they knew it was going to happen, but this Does Not Matter. She also has sex with Grimshaw again.

So final fight, we lure Lark to Cronan's coffin, where the portal is. This is where we learn that Cronan is actually alive and has been freely portaling between the secondary and primary worlds. We never see him, so who cares? Anyways, Isla uses her powers to open a new portal to throw Lark into. And she sacrifices herself by going through it as well. And the book ends with Oro and Grim realizing that Isla had gone this one last act of good-- sealing herself off in the primary world… which is named Skyshade. Roll credits

Every fucking book, Aster finds a new way to write badly. I am going insane. I didn't know you could write like this. She is discovering new avenues of absurd badness I couldn't even imagine. I feel like I am going to throw up. I can't think about this book too hard or else I think about the stupid desert sex scene again. WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU PUBLISHED THIS?? Why is the first book somehow turning out to be the most coherent one??? I am going to chew my arm off. I have to read three more of her books next year??? Are you insane??? Am I insane??? -1/5⭐ anyways, thank you for tolerating this long rant. I hope you enjoyed this. I'm going to go read a good book now.

Friend: [asks what was the deal with losing the ring and comments on the love triangle]

Me: So there was a second ring, which she used in the final fight to make the worst story in history to depower Lark. There is more lore about the storms and importance given to the storms in general that I skimmed over because, really, they don't matter.

Also the thing about the second ring is that I'm not sure where she got it? I thought Azul gave her one and she made a big deal out of losing the first one, then there's a throwaway line about Azul giving her a second one that I couldn't decide happened a) when he gave her the first one or b) happened off screen. Initially, I thought it was A and I just forgot but in retrospect it's probably B

I am still on team Oro, even if he's being a total dick rignt now but I have no illusions that Grim isn't going to be the end game. However, I do want to entertain delusions I will get a threesome somewhere

Honestly, I think Aster wants to write a smutty fairy book where the plot matters less than the sex scenes, but she unfortunately has to sell this as YA. Does that stop her from writing sex scenes? No but it causes her to give me a fucking flashback of Isla and Oro having sex instead of just having them fuck in the cave like she probably wanted

"[frankie] you make such a big deal about the sex" these characters are obsessed with it. like every conversation comes down to a scale of how much a character does or does not want to bang. and it's not even remotely sexy about it

[five hours later]

I have realized I forgot to elaborate on a whole plot point about her dead parents lmao

here's the highlights because I'm tired:

-her guardians had initially told isla in book 1 that they killed her parents, then walked it back in book 2. They were the red herrings for the whole wildling traitor BS

-Isla already imprisoned them when, 2/3rds of the way through the book, she decided to use oro's lie detector magic to see if they were lying or not. They were not.

-while imprisoned by Lark (this truly does not matter), Isla realized that her flair actually isn't anti-curse. Nope. It's actually that she can steal other people's flairs if she killed them. And she had actually killed her parents.

-her dad discovered an island and named it isla, but swore that he also wanted it to be the name of his future daughter

-before the final fight, she discovered a letter on the island from her dad that explains the Lore

-the dad, who had an anti-curse flair,* had a charm made with his blood for grimshaw that allowed him to be outside at night despite the curse; this is Aster reading the comments again

-Grimshaw gave the dad the starstick in exchange

-Isla's mom had a fortune telling flair that let her know that Isla is so powerful that she will kill them shortly after being born.

-both mom and dad decided to still have her because they wanted her so much, but they did make a charm to bottle away the mom's future telling flair so that Isla didn't get it right away

-When Isla asked her guardians about THAT, they confirmed it and said they didn't tell her because they did not want to truamatize her

-and also they had suppressed her powers by putting metal shavings from this story's equivalent of kryptonite into all her food, which did not wear off until she was at the centennial

-this is so that she would not have any powers until she was strong enough to handle them

This book is a goddamn mess

The real irony here is that Isla was still traumatized by the idea that she had, as a baby, lost control of her powers enough to kill her parents. Yet she cannot extend any real empathy to Oro, WHO DID THE EXACT SAME THING

Friend: that's a lot to unpack

Me: honestly eager to read crowcaller's review. if anyone could unpack it, it's them

#if something is inaccurate it's because i read half of this book last night and it all became a blur #i basically edited out my friend's comments and my responses along the way and nothing else #so sorry if this is a little incoherent #but at least enjoy this peek into how i talk normally lmao #me rambling #me reading #lightlark #skyshade #alex aster #bookish #books #bookblr #books and reading #also lost some of my comedic italicization in the copy and paste but oh well

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the-starry-seas · 9 months ago

Note

I uno-reverse your tag on my corries and ask you to talk about Kit ♡

omg hi <3

First things first, he loves novelty candy. Gummy sharks. Fun Dip. Toblerone bars and their funny little triangles. If it comes outside of the standard chocolate bar shape, he thinks it's the coolest thing. He has a shoebox in his locker that has the wrappers to his favourites. (And in a modern AU, his favourite candy is Kit-Kats. Yes it's because he shares half a name with them.)

His favourite fruit is peach, but he hates the fuzzy skins. So his solution is to peel them and then eat the fruit without the skin. Fox hates this, it genuinely unsettles him, but he grins and bears it. His second favourite is maraschino cherries.

Kit and Fox have done those BeanBoozled boxes several times (box of mystery flavour jelly beans and half are horrible). Fox doesn't care about any of the bad flavours and sometimes prefers them but Kit will spit those things out without hesitation. They both think the other is a little weird for their jelly bean tastes.

He wants to join the scout corps to be a massiff scout trooper like Sergeant Hound and Grizzer. When Hound finds out, he suddenly has a mystery injury that requires him to be in medbay overnight, and he asks Kit if he could pretty please babysit Grizzer so that Grizzer's not alone all night long? Fox tells Kit to get the damn dog out of the bunk and let it sleep on the floor... and then give up when Kit doesn't listen the first four times.

Fox makes him wait until he has more experience before sending him off to his permanent assignment, which is eventually massiff scouts! In an AU where Order 66 doesn't happen/Fox doesn't die/insert other happy ending of your choice here, Kit helps oversee the breeding program for massiffs for the other troopers. He baby-talks each and every pup and helps find good homes for the ones that flunk training.

The entire Guard will maul, maim, and murder on behalf of the marshal commander's shiny. Their shiny now. They will be fighting for joint custody. Kit is aware of this and is absolutely 100% fearless as a result because what can hurt him when he has an entire army behind him? This stresses Fox out immensely.

He likes fantasy media that bears no resemblance to his life. He's in the dark about the worst of the way the Corries are treated, because Fox would protect him from anything, but he still knows a lot. Media is his escape to a world where maybe Fox wouldn't have anything to hide from him.

He can't watch/read anything set on Coruscant because there's inevitably some detail that the producer/author gets wrong and he's just >:| every time. Very strong feelings about it.

His other weakness is funny throw pillows. He only has one pillow, because there's only so much room in his bunk, but he has a stack of pillowcases as tall as his arm. You can keep a calendar by the regular rate that he switches pillowcases.

He cried when he got his face tattoo and thought he was a total wimp for it until he met another trooper with a face tattoo who validated that it was in fact extremely painful. (He also didn't think through the face tattoo. It was an impulse decision and design.) Fox thought that Kit was reapplying a sharpie doodle for three weeks, he's kind of embarrassed about that.

There's a second tattoo on the inside of his left wrist. It's an outline of a fox head, with a second smaller outline inside it. A fox and its kit :)

He's tried to grow plants several times but he's killed every single plant he's ever touched. He's a little bit genuinely upset about that because plants are so pretty and he really wants to have one.

He re-dyes his hair once a standard month so that his roots don't grow out too much. He's shaved the sides into patterns a few times but generally prefers his hair to be as low maintenance as possible so he doesn't really do that any more.

He didn't realise he was faceblind for years after being deployed to Coruscant. All the clones look the same and all the Kaminoans look the same, how was he supposed to figure it out before that?

Not great with heights, but only when he can see how far down it is. Put him on a bridge and he'll be nervous. Put him on a windowless troop transport and he'll be fine.

Fox literally gave him a stylus to use as a chew toy until they figured out what chewelry was. Kit's is, of course, red. He keeps it in his locker when he's on duty because he doesn't want to lose it or have it confiscated somehow.

#ct kit

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anoonimthepoorchad · 3 years ago

Text

The war has not ended yet. This is not a trend or a new joke. It's an awful tragedy and it is serious. I should describe my experience and what my friends and relatives lived through:

- my classmate's house got destroyed in the bombing and she had to spend 5 days in the underground shelter before she managed to escaped with her family.

- my best friend had to evacuate twice since 24th of February. Twice.

- my classmate and friend got stuck abroad with an abusive family. Also, many ukrainians have been hopelessly stuck with abusive family members in this war.

- many of my classmates experience all of this for the second time in their lives. They have been victims of the russian aggression in 2014 and now they have to live through this once again.

- my parents are still not in a safe and calm place. Hell, we're AWFULLY LUCKY TO BE IN A SAFE PLACE OURSELVES.

Now, about more global news that noone seems to talk about here:

— since 24th of February russian troops harmed more than 840 children in Ukraine.

— in Kyiv, on the day before our escape, russia bombed the television tower and THE MEMORIAL OF HOLOCAUST VICTIMS. THIS IS THE MAIN HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL BECAUSE IN 1941 THERE WERE MURDERED MORE THAN 34000 JEWISH AND ROMANI PEOPLE, 752 PATIENTS OF THE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL AND MANY OF THE UKRAINIAN RESISTANCE AND LITERATURE ICONS. Russia claims that we're the nazi ones but they bomb the memorials of the victims of nazism.

— We honor our dead heroes, while there were published documents of russian army, telling their troops to hide any names or passports of their soldiers. The dead ones will be buried together without names, burned on sight and destroyed to prevent leaking info about their losses in russia. They keep lying to their people while their dads, brothers, sons and lovers die here. Don't believe me? Here's the receipts:

— one of the captured russian bombers on a question "how are you able to murder innocent people by bombing civil houses?" answered that any place he bombs is just some coordinates for him. Not people, not children, not innocent civilians, just numbers he decides to wipe out.

— there were published documents that russian troops knew where they were going. The document says "people who agree to take part in war actions in foreign countries" (not "trainings" like they claim) and a list of signs from soldiers:

— my friends have been checking instagram for the accounts of russian soldiers. They found MANY MANY stories of the soldiers bragging how they were going to murder Ukrainians and using slurs against ukrainian people. They were taking pride in murdering civilians and the only thing that stopped them was death or being captured.

— AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON HOW RUSSIAN CIVILIANS WHINE ABOUT THE SANCTIONS. It's the price they pay for their silence. You can "oh, they're scared of being arrested on the protests" but MY PEOPLE DIED IN PROTESTS IN 2014. MORE THAN 100 PEOPLE SHOT AND MAULED BY THE POLICE FOR OUR FREEDOM AND PRIDE. Our people are giving birth in bomb shelters (i think 8 kids were born there already) and fighting armies with bare hands. And you can't handle life without spotify and avocado toast. Stop being pussies and go act at least to get your spotify back, not talking about power over your own fates, lives, deaths, country and government. You're not looking brave while you're silent. Redeem yourself, act. For every dead civilian and warrior of ours, I have no kindness or sympathy to you.

Also, those who will blame me for not having sympathy to people, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH. YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN THROUGH A WAR. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE. THERE IS NO SYMPATHY FOR THE MURDERERS BECAUSE THEY WANT TO KILL YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. YOU CAN BE A PACIFIST FOR HOW LONG YOU WANT TO BUT WHILE YOU'RE STALLING, PEOPLE ARE BEING MURDERED.

— i don't think i have anything left to say. I feel numb. I feel tired and irritated. I feel angry.

Just, please, don't forget about Ukrainians. We're strong and brave and we deserve attention and respect.

#ukraine #stand with ukraine #war in ukraine #fuck russia #russia #america #performative wokeness #performative activism #important #war blog #news #ukrainian news #i am ukrainian

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katierosefun · 4 years ago

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thoughts about the always a sith anakin and jedi obi-wan au that apparently has been floating around my head now ever since i wrote that one drabble:

as drabble hinted at: they’ve been at this for years

qui-gon’s still dead a la maul

maul and anakin have a very “uggggggggggggh do i really have to work with this idiot” relationship

this whole thing between anakin and obi-wan is a thing because shortly after qui-gon was murdered, anakin was kidnapped by palpacreep

anakin grows up thinking that obi-wan abandoned him and left him alone with palpacreep, so all the resentment there

obi-wan’s stunned when he realizes the person he’s fighting in the clone wars is the kid who was supposed to be his student

ahsoka is actually obi-wan’s student in this au because obi-wan and ahsoka rights

obi-wan doesn’t recognize anakin at first--remember, the last time obi-wan saw anakin was when anakin was as little kid.

when he learns, mildly heartbreaking: obi-wan’s stunned “you?”

anakin periodically almost kills obi-wan

obi-wan actually calls anakin by his real name instead of vader. it’s a whole thing.

obi-wan has an annoying tendency to keep calling anakin anakin because “vader is a stupid name”

at one point there’s a gundark cave situation

anakin decides not to let obi-wan die alone in a gundark cave, lots of grumbling and “we’re never gonna speak of this ever again you idiot”

obi-wan and anakin periodically wind up doing this for each other every once in a while

“i’m only saving your life because you saved mine that one time”

obi-wan starts thinking / entertaining the idea that maybe anakin’s not as nearly as involved with the sith as he acts he is

i think at one point ahsoka probably meets anakin too and is like “oh so you’re the guy who’s making my master grey at age 30 huh”

ahsoka threatens to kill anakin if he ever actually hurts obi-wan, to which anakin goes “oh okay i like this one”

#caroline talks #me violently: caroline CHILL

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goliath-de-senfina-sango · 3 years ago

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Fathering a Phantom ch2

I just wanna Talk, I swear

Here we have the chapter 2 for that fic from earlier! Once again, here ya go @five-rivers @floralflowerpower and @uwuplasmiusuwu

“Cole I’m going to murder someone,” was the first thing that Toby said to his husband upon arriving once more in their temporary sanctuary. Cole paused mid throw of his javelin, electric sparks crackling up the polearm, and turned to look at his husband. Toby’s wings were ablaze, his nails sharpened into claws, and his eyes a colorful storm, as though he couldn’t decide what to turn into for maximum lethality. Cole set down his javelin and wrapped around Toby in a hug.

“Who are you planning to murder, sunshine? And should I join in? I haven’t gotten into a good fight since we got here, which is a shame.” Cole coalesced from a mass of clouds into something a bit closer to his original body when Toby relaxed in his embrace, running his fingers through shimmering feathers made of embers. “You really do look like a star like this, by the way.”

“There was, I think, a war forged around here who fired a bunch of rockets at a child! You know that liminal kid I told you about?”

“Oh right, we’re rare in this realm, huh?” Cole’s face scrunched up in confusion and he arched a brow. “I thought the liminal around here beat up the tyrant ruling the place when he woke up?”

“I didn’t exactly ask about what must’ve sucked when I half blew up the metalhead.” Toby flew over to the couch and flopped face first into it. “Now I gotta track him down.”

“Why only half? Sounds like someone you’d take out in one go if you had the drop on em.”

“Well, do you wanna traumatize a kid of unknown cultural origins? He’s so small, and his friends were clearly still living humans. I dunno if he’s seen someone die before, let alone a ghost getting Ended. If I recall, committing murder is a bad way to start a friendship with a child.”

Cole snorted and gave Toby a pat on the shoulder. “Alright, fair, Sildar didn’t like me much after that rescue. But hey, now you can put that on your to do list! Murder, the answer to most problems.” Toby laughed, phasing through the couch when Cole sat on him. “There he is, my giggly celestial chandelier.”

“Do you even remember what a chandelier is? I know you broke like three of them over someone’s head, but I forget whose head.” Toby put out the flames in his feathers and stretched, satisfied when his spine popped a few times. “It’s nice to still be able to do that.”

“I’ll be honest, being a cloud has made the sound of your joints popping kinda gross to me. It sounds like you’ve still got a flesh and blood body.” Cole sat up, scratching his head. “Do you still have a humanoid body? With like, meat and bones and stuff?”

“Probably, yeah. We’ll see, cause if so that’ll come in handy with helping out this liminal kid. Said his name is Danny Phantom.” Toby paused, the feeling of his feather being torn an odd and upsetting one. “Speaking of whom, I should go meet up with them. Think you can find this ‘Skulker’ guy while I educate some kids?”

Cole kissed Toby on the cheek and gave him a thumbs up. “Will do! I can’t promise there’ll be much left of him afterward though, I’m not a fan of idiots who attack kids.” Toby smiled and in a flash of light and beat of wings, he was gone. Cole nodded to himself and grabbed his maul, crackling with electric arcs, and opened up the door to their temporary Sanctuary. “Now then, who the fuck is Skulker?”

After having a small debate about where they couldn’t go and why, team Phantom finally ended up at the indoor roller rink that was partially destroyed by a giant ghost crab a while ago, and sat down at a table that Danny cleared of debris with an ectoblast or three. “Ok guys, I think this is a good enough place to call him up.”

“Are we sure it’s a good idea to call him at all?” Sam held up the feather she’d kept in her pocket, turning it about to watch the golden flame dance. “He took down Skulker pretty fast and it usually takes you a good half hour to do that, Danny.”

“Skulker specializes in attacking Danny is all, Sam. We’ve got the weapons to handle pretty much any ghost we normally deal with, and Danny took down the king of ghosts. I’m pretty sure he can handle anyone else.”

“Plus, Toby wrecked Skulker pretty bad. If he wanted to fight, I’m pretty sure he would’ve started a fight.” Danny condensed his ectoblasts into one ball of ectoplasma and stretched it out into a pole. “Imagine all the cool stuff he could show us!”

“Alright, if you say so.” Sam snapped the feather in half, surprised by how easy it was to do, and grabbed her ecto-pistol. For a moment, there was silence. Then the sound of wingbeats filled the room and Toby appeared above the rink as though landing from a long flight.

“That’s a spell I’m not used to casting frequently in a day. Heyo kids!” Toby waved, tucking his wings by his sides while walking closer. “Sorry for the delay, I was talking to my husband. So, names again just to be sure: Sam, Tucker, and Danny, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. What do you mean spell, exactly? Do ghosts have magic ontop of the other ghost powers now?” Tucker spun the lipstick laser around in his fingers, remembering Desiree’s magic and Freakshow’s staff.

“Anyone who can do magic keeps the ability in death, usually. I’m not dead though, I’m Deathless.” He spread his wings and spun around, thumbs pointing to his chest. “I was born awesome like this, and so was Cole. But, based on your faces you weren’t born like this?”

“No,” Sam said, gesturing at Danny. “This is a recent thing, it’s been since about…” Sam paused, her gaze landing on the wall behind Toby. “March of last year, so 14 months.”

“Yeah, god, we’ve been doing this for over a year now, haven’t we?” Tucker, who had held up a camera to record everything Toby was saying, slumped a bit in his seat and sighed. “Feels like it’s been like this forever and like it happened yesterday.”

Toby stared at them all like they’d each grown extra limbs in odd places – Danny even checked to make sure he hadn’t done that while feeling both old and young at the same time due to how little time had actually passed – before zipping over to Danny and holding his hands just over the teen’s face. “Oh my gods, you’re a baby.”

“I am a teenager, thank you.” Danny gently pulled Toby’s hands away from his face, a brow raised. “What, is 14 infantile to angels, feather man?”

“You’re only 14 months dead, Danny, that makes you a baby ghost.” Sam snorted and Tucker covered his mouth to try and hide his laughter. A snap of Toby’s fingers and flowers began growing in Tucker’s hat, and seeds appeared above Sam, growing into flowers as they fell all over her. “If you’ve had regular interactions with that metal head, no wonder your aura’s all aggro.”

“Skulker’s not exactly the worst of the ghosts we’ve had to fight over the months,” Danny said.

“Oh yeah, that’d have to be either Walker, Spectra, or Vlad. It’s really a toss up between Spectra and Vlad, if you ask me.”

“Vlad wants to kill Danny’s dad because he sees his mom as a trophy that was stolen from him, while Spectra tried to kill Jazz just to depress an entire school so she could feed on the misery to look young.” Sam brushed away the flowers and weighed two in her hands. “Yeah, those around the same level of grossly evil.”

Toby’s wings ignited at some point while Sam was talking, and the sunlight streaming in from the hole in the roof grew somewhat brighter. He reached into a bag he had strapped to his waist and pulled out a book and a pen, his smile all teeth. “Tell me, please, a list of all the adult ghosts who have attacked you children? I’d like to have a discussion with each of them.”

“If we give you their names,” Danny said before Tucker could answer, “do you promise not to go slaughtering them all? I don’t need to know ghostly body language at all to know that flaming wings come from a place of anger and imminent violence.”

“When did you read a thesaurus, Danny?”

“Sam, I’m insulted: I know tri-syllabic words. I can even say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”

“I promise not to slaughter all of the ghosts you inform me hurt you in the past few months, yes. Names?” When Tucker listed off names, Toby wrote them down with an inhuman speed, and Danny exchanged a look with Sam, worried about how exactly that deal might be loopholed around. “Right,” Toby chirped while slamming his book shut, “I’m here to answer some questions of yours, not just ramble about myself and assemble a… list of people to talk to. Got any?”

“So many that I don’t even know where to start.”

#Danny Phantom #Danny Fenton #Tucker Foley #Sam Manson #Tobias Lumano #Cole Lumano #OCs #Fanfction #fanfiction #fanfic #phanfic #phanfiction #phanphic #fanphic #fanphiction #Rexy Writes

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intergalactic-padawan · 4 years ago

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inquisitor - Ezra Bridger

Requested: yes, by the beautiful @raganbridger! Sorry for the wait, it's finally here!

Warnings: angst, dark side!reader, confusion, mentions of bad injuries/blood, betrayal

A/N: You asked for le angst, so here it is! I've had this idea for a long while and this request was the motivation I needed to start. LOTS of alternative endings were written, this was mostly the reason it took so long.

Pronouns of reader: she/her

*ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE! I make mistakes just like everybody else 😉*

-"oh, good, you're awake"

You sit and inhale sharply, focusing back on the real world, startled at the strange voice.

Well, not so strange per se. You knew who was talking to you. What was strange was why he was talking to you.

Before you can adjust your vision to the unfamiliar environment, the memories from hours earlier instantly come flooding back.

Malachor. The place where jedi go to die.

An easy kill for you and your inquisitor colleagues.

That's what they had said on the ship, at least. You, on the other hand, knew better than to underestimate how slippery those jedi could be - especially if they fought side by side, like they always did.

You remember cornering the younger one during the fight. His skill was minimal compared to yours, which would give you an advantage against his master if he were to die first.

The boy and his friends go after the sith holocron. There had been a blinding light when it was placed at the altar.

And also, the jedi knight who was blinded by your former master, Maul.

Maul.

Not only had the cursed man left you for dead years before, he had come back from hiding to haunt you and join forces with your other enemies.

But you were an inquisitor. You wouldn't - you couldn't let him get the best of you, not this time.

You feel a light hand pressing your forehead and recoil in fear, reaching for your lightsaber, only to feel it was not there.

-"whoah, woah, calm down. I'm not going to hurt you" - it was the padawan you'd been fighting before - Ezra Bridger. He had placed you and his master inside a cave in a planet you were not familiar with when you'd escaped Malachor.

You'd escapd Malachor? But how?

You couldn't have, unless he'd carried you back to his ship.

-"hey, hey, it's alright."

-"what do you want, jedi?" - you wince in pain again.

-"a thank you would be nice, actually. I did just save your life"

-"a foolish mistake. One you will pay for with yours"

You reach out for your lightsaber, but can't feel it anywhere close. Scouring with the force for its presence, you quickly realize he must have hidden it outside the place.

-"Nope, absolutely not" - just as quickly, he slaps your outstreched hand - "I may be an idiot, but i'm not stupid. Your lightsaber's not here, it's caused enough damage already."

You rub the hand he pushed away, more shocked at his actions than anything. How DARE he?

-"Then what do you want from me, if not revenge? Why treat my wounds if not to finish the battle we started?"

-"Listen, I'm not sure if it's the adrnaline or something, but you're in no condition to fight anyone any time soon"

-"You underestimete me, Jedi. Even in these conditions you would be no match for me."

-"Like I wasn't a match for you at the sith temple?"

At the mention of the event, images of the fight start to come back.

Back at the sanctuary, you drew him away from the fight, knowing his strengh lied with his allies. Only, you hadn't imagined your former master to join his side - not until you'd seen the holocron in Ezra's hands, at least. You'd warned him: "he will use it and throw you away. Like he did to me". Needless to say, he didn't listen.

Your vision starts to lose focus at the intensity of your anger and you groan in pain, not able to sit anymore. Driven by instinct, the padawan holds your side so you won't fall completely, pressing your abdomen and making you hiss in pain.

-"ah, looks like I was right. You're conscious, but not healed" - you feel yourself be adjusted back on the ground, too weak to fight him.

-"where are we? Why did you save my life?"

He hesitates, eyes studying you, like you might attack him any second and he still knew it.

-"not so sure" - he finally answers - "maybe because now you owe me one?"

-"Did you hit your head or something?" You scoff - "Make no mistake, I WILL kill you when the opportunity rises!"

-"And that is why your lightsaber privileges have been revoked for now."

You lock eyes, studying him like he had you. It made no sense- you'd followed his group to the sith temple, tried to kill him several times, called for the man who had murdered his strongest ally, Ahsoak Tano. Why was he helping you?

With a shiver, you realize he's still holding your side, not as firmly as before but still providing support for your back. Inhaling sharply, you graze his hand and he lets go instantly, realizing how close the two of you had gotten.

Standing up just as quickly, he brushes a strand of unruly hair our of his forehead, while you you clean your throat, diverting your attention to the exit of the cave. The rain pours on the large trees outside, but you can't make out much except for the fact that you're in a forest planet (maybe a moon?) and his ship is in less than ideal conditions to get out of it.

-"here" - Ezra kneels down with two bacta patches and a piece of fabric from a medical kit -"i felt your back was pretty sore, but didn't want to take off your shirt while you were out. Your cuts need cleaning."

You hesitantly take the items, using the rocks behind you as support to lean your body on. He stands up, hands on hips, and chuckles when you sniff the gel, suspicious.

With the small bit of privacy he gives you by turning around to check on his master, you fumble with your shirt, deciding to take it off in order to see better.

-"Need some help over there?" - he asks, hearing you grunt in frustration at not being able to reach some spots

-"Not from you, thank you very much"

-"Oh, so she CAN say thank you! That's a welcome change"

You throw the rag at his direction, irritated out of your mind. Who does he think he is??

He must sense the harmless ball of soaked fabric coming his way, turning around to catch it mid-air. Now that he's turned, you see a glimpse of amusement in his eyes at your rage, giving you the answer you needed as to why he went through the trouble of saving you; it was merely to see you suffer and laugh at your expense, apparently.

His expression quickly changed when he saw your bruised torso, however.

- "who did this to you?" - he whispers, and you look down at you look down at your sore ~ well, everything~, covered only by a wrap in the bust area.

-"As you said, jedi. I may be better than you, but you still gave me a decent challenge"

"No. I didn't even hit you there." - his serious reaction to your injuries had caught you off guard, you had to admit. - "those are old and deep, you shouldn't even be able to walk!"

-"I'm not, remember?" - you motion at your debilitated situation, unable to even sit down or cross your legs properly -"But i will be, soon. And then it's over for you"

-"you know what? I think if you wanted to, you would have killed me by now." - he shoots back and you're impressed at his audacity once again.

But he had a point. Why hadn't you attacked him yet?

Sure, you had no lightsaber or phisical conditions to stand, but your force abilities were still as strong as ever. You were vulnerable, but so was he, and you weren't kidding when you said you could deal with him even at your worse.

-"you know what? " - you cross your arms. He was playing with fire now - "maybe I might"

-"and why haven't you?"

-"because I wouldn't enjoy it as much." - you snap back venomously - "I want to see you suffer before I bring you to Lord Vader"

His expression darkens at the mention of Ahsoka's murderer. His whole body stiffens as he balls his wrists and clearly struggles to control his anger at the recent loss. For a moment, you fear you've gone too far, but reprimand yourself for worrying about his feelings over yours. You're not supposed to be anything more than indifferent to the weak and ruthless to those who dare oppose you.

-"Yeah, no matter what you do, you're still imperial scum"

You're not prepared for those words to affect you so much. You're supposed to have a response, but nothing coherent seems to come out of your mouth, so you settle for an an uncomfortable silence.

It doesn't last for long, however, as his comlink goes off. It's his droid, asking - no, demanding - that he go help him with repairs on the ship. He hesitates, looking at you and contemplating how bad it would be to leave you unnatended in the company of his defenseless master.

-"Dont worry."- You reassure him. -"I won't make his situation worse. Maul is the worse you can get, and I refuse to step that low"

You can see he doesnt like it, but leaves for a few moments before returning with what must be the droid that talked to him before. It was a C1 series unit with an orange top and a bratty atitude, you could tell that much by just seeing him interact with the jedi.

-"Chopper will stay here, just in case"

-"I understand. It's fine."

-"I wasn't asking if you were fine with it. Behave" - you can't be sure if his command is directed at you or the droid, but you weren't about to ask.

The coldness he now had to his voice was understandable - you had worked to get him to that emotional state - ,but you felt hurt at the change. The droid didn't do much to help you think clearly about what just happened, and by the look of it, your frustration would only grow bigger in the many hours it would still take to repair the ship to a normal flying condition.

'He thinks i'm imperial scum, huh?' - you think as you scour a pile of your belongings with the force, not too far away inside the cave.

Bad news, your lightsaber really wasn't there.

Good news, your wrist comm was.

'i'll show him imperial scum'

With a plan forming in mind, all you had to do now was be patient and wait for the right time. There's no exchange of words between the two of you when he gets back, which makes time fly by before he's betrayed by exaution and finally gives in to sleep. You take care of the droid easily after that.

Activating the tracking beacon, you start to leave the cave, but not before noticing the boy's lightsaber beside him. It was a bold move, he could easily wake up if you took it, but you knew that if he woke up to see you gone you'd need it to compensate for your injuries.

You were still on opposing sides, after all.

You knew there had to be an imperial ship near the planet, and they would pick up your signal in an instant when you called. Wallking to a less dense area of the forest, away from the crash site, you're proven right when, in a matter of minutes, a shuttle tripulated by four troopers and a senior lieutenant meet you on the ground.

-"and what of the jedi?" - the higher ranking woman asks when you finish your brief description of the events that led you there.

Well, not all events. You'd left out the part where Bridger had helped you recover.

You could just tell them to take the two jedi for excecution. You were supposed to do it, in fact.

-"it's just me. And the younger one's lightsaber" - you finally answer, not exactly knowing why you'd deliberately just saved them.

She nods curtly and escorts you back to the ship without a second glance. It was a good story so far, but you would have to work on it if your superiors were to believe it.

-"Wait- " - you start, second-guessing your motives for not giving away their location. One of the troopers turns to you expectantly.

-"yes, sir?"

You hesitate for a moment, ready to do what you'd beeen taught to do your whle life. Kill the jedi.

Kill the jedi.

A tingling crept up your sides, where the padawan had touched earlier to give you support. You try to betray the gut feeling pressing you to do your duty as an inquisitor, but it's stronger than you. Something is forcing your better judgement to be leaving your natural enemies alive.

-"nothing." - the tingle goes away as soon as it had come, leaving an unusual feeling of relief. - "Thought i'd sensed something. Let's leave"

'Perhaps it's for the best'. - you think as the shuttle's door closes. After all, you did owe him one for saving your life - whatever his reason was for doing so.

That was what you told yourself as you boarded the ship, at least. Now, the next time you saw him, there would be nothing to stop you from finishing him and his friends for good.

Hope you like it? I gave him a 'hands on hips' moment in honour of your videos for a more personalized touch hahahaha

#ezra bridger fic #ezra bridger #ezra bridger imagine #ezra bridger x reader #ezra bridger x you #ezra bridger x y/n #inquisitor!reader

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viciousbite · 3 years ago

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Cat Hybrid~Akaza Drabble~ The ‘incident’ (Warning to non manga readers; heavily inspired by canon manga)

Blood soaked hands, a deadly silence. Head blank, eyes empty, rage turned into numbness. It was done, justice had been served, but at what cost? His sanity? A momentarily satisfaction? Head to toe covered in the blood of weaklings, weaklings who took the ones he loved from him. All sixty-seven of them, mauled into a bundle of mushed flesh, organs and bones. They had no chance against him, they had to die, without mercy.

Why was the world so cruel to him? Just when he reclaimed his happiness, a hope for new life ripped straight from his hands.

The skin under the layer of blood began to change, mark him, change him, tell the world what he became, what he did. Skin paled, blue markings wrapped around his form and his black strands of hair and fur on his body brightened into a shade of pink. The once bright blue eyes clouded into a color of yellow, and the white sclera of his eyes drowned in blue. An odd sensation over his body, but he paid it no mind as he walked.

He walked, slowly, bloody steps left behind, his once white clothes painted crimson. Anyone who stood in his way, to stop him or to help him got pushed away by the very same fists that he once used to protect, now hurt people, killed people. A carnage left behind, but why did he continue to walk? Why didn't he give up? Was it because the ones who were left behind wanted him to continue living? But wouldn't they hate him after what he did? How he dirtied his teacher's precious soryu fighting style... And Koyuki... she wouldn't like him like this, a murderer.

The forest became his destination, a quiet place, a way out from people. That's when he finally collapsed in exhaustion. His form crashed against the ground, tail splayed along the ground, eyes half lidded. And he screamed, he screamed, he cried, he cursed the world, he cursed the weaklings that poisoned his to-be wife and his teacher, he cursed at himself. He cursed the fact he left them alone, how he didn't protect them. If only he never left, he would have joined them in the afterlife or stopped the whole thing from happening. Why was he the only one to survive? Why him?!

His whole body ached, his heart ached, everything ached. He wished the ground would swallow him whole, but not even the wolves in the forest came anywhere near him. Maybe he truly was a cat demon, someone who wasn't meant for good things. That's what people told him since he was born... Was this what happened to other hybrid's too? Or was he special, all in the wrong ways? Maybe if he lived a little bit longer... he will figure it out. But was that enough to keep him going? Why would he care?

Legs pulled to his chest, Hakuji, curled up into a ball in the cold harsh surface of the forest, striped ears folded back and tail between his legs. Or he will have to get stronger, stronger to the point, nobody will ever again get ripped away from him... But truly... what was the point? The point to living when his whole family was gone?

#Drabble~#Akaza AU~Cat Hybrid #//I was feeling angsty last night #//so wanted to write that today #//cause apparently it's make Akaza suffer #//times #//Koyuki and Keizo were humans btw #//unlike Akaza~

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crystalkleure · 3 years ago

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How would Evel or Clio fare against their avatars (I know they'll die in seconds but what would be the cause of death?)

DISCLAIMER: I'm not actually pitting the bladers against their own bey avatars, because their bey avatars are Made From Their Brains -- so I'm running on the assumption that, like in MFB, the bladers possess approximately the same Supernatural Abilities that the Brain Beasts they have created do. Like, Lui's hair is sometimes on fire without ever burning him because he has that fire At His Command, and Phi similarly wasn't burned by the forest he arsoned because his Phoenix bey means he has control over fire and is thus not hurt by it, and like Zac can probably zap people on command because Zeus does lightning, etc.; so the people getting mauled by the bey avatars in these scenarios are actually just random hypothetical dudes lol. It's just Some Guy. Some Totally Unarmored Guy with no magical capabilities to speak of. Probably Some Guy who has severely pissed off the owner of the assailing bey somehow.

Now, with that being cleared up...

Evel's Orb Egis

[Side note: I think a lot of people don't realize what Egis is supposed to be -- "egis" is an alternate spelling of aegis, which is a piece of armor from Greek mythology, which was often depicted featuring the head of a Gorgon on it, hence Orb Egis having that face in the center of it, surrounded by serpentine dragon heads.]

Oh this thing can POSITIVELY Murder You Real Dead, and it will do it Invariably Extremely Messily.

Egis has a giant scorpion tail. It can Extremely Impale You.

Egis' main body has several pointy edges it can stab you with, actually.

Egis' dragon heads have sharp teeth. Any single one of those things can Rend Your Flesh And Bones Very Badly with a chomp.

If multiple heads bite onto you at once and they all pull in different directions, they can violently rip you apart. Spectacular dismemberment on top of just the grisly bite wounds.

Egis' dragon heads each have that one backward-curving finned spike on them. The upside-down heads especially can sink that thing into you like a giant meat hook and drag/swing you around on it as you bleed the fuck out.

The necks of Egis' dragon heads appear to be made out of...plasma? Extremely Powerful And Highly-Condensed Plasma. That means this thing is probably going to severely shock you anytime it touches you. You are going to be getting violently electrocuted the entire time you are being impaled or bitten and shaken around like a chew toy.

Egis is probably heavy enough to just crush you.

Conclusion: You have been reduced to chunky salsa. And then that salsa has been deep-fried extra crispy. Whatever is left of you has probably been charred completely black. The clean-up crew might be able to retrieve some of your teeth.

Death thoroughness scale: 7/10, a normal alligator or maybe hippopotamus can probably kill you the same degree of dead, especially if it like tosses you into some power lines or something after it mangles you.

Clio's Deep Chaos

...Now, this is a first! I don't think this thing is particularly suited to outright killing anyone so much as it is made to simply drive them mad. Clio himself might actually be a more efficient Life Rights Revoker than his bey avatar is, and Clio is a child wearing plastic quarter-machine vampire teeth and drinking fucking bottled tomato juice.

Chaos is...fleshy. There's not really anything particularly sharp or even hard or heavy about it. Those crescents above its head are a bit pointy and might have a cutting edge to them, but...that's it. I guess it could stab you with those things? Evisceration might be viable with some effort?

Chaos has Buff Arms at the very least, and it's big, so I suppose it could grab you and swing you around into like a concrete wall or something and just beat you to death. Could also probably snap your neck, I guess.

Chaos' real Unaliving Talents come in the form of it just breaking your brain and then letting you do all the work yourself. You Stare Into The Abyss And The Abyss Stares Back, And Your Mortal Mind Cannot Withstand What It Sees, etc. It just drives you nuts and suddenly you think you're a chicken and that live power cord is the juiciest fucking earthworm you've ever seen or something. Chaos is just not conceivably any good at physical combat [because it doesn't need to be], it's probably just gonna Hallucinations You To Death.

Conclusion: If you have to get killed by a bey avatar, you're gonna want it to be pretty much ANY one but this one. This one is incapable of being even kind of humane and WILL fucking torture you. It's either going to just Kill You Real Boring or Kill You Extremely Agonizingly Horribly. No-win situation here. Yikes.

Death efficacy scale: 2/10 -- you're dead, but it was most likely not anywhere near quick and painless. You're also still probably mostly in one piece. Your corpse is just a pretty standard boring corpse, lame.

#Chaos is horrifying actually!#BeyBurst #Beyblade Burst #Evel Oxford #Clio Delon #Beyblade Burst Chouzetsu #Beyblade Burst God #CK dissects #.Replies

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maxineswritingcenter · 4 years ago

Text

You Saved Me - Derek Hale x fem!reader part 7

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Derek was alive. I let out a shaky breath as I used a tree to get back onto my feet.

“Derek…” I whispered. He stood on the hill, his shoulders rising and falling as he slowed down his breathing. Even though my legs were shaking from almost being mauled to death, I started walking towards him. And the walk turned into a run as I made my way to him. I stopped just short of him. Our eyes met and all my fear was washed away by overwhelming joy.

“You’re okay.” I grinned, “You’re alive.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Derek slowly slid his arms around my waist, holding me close. He turned his head, his lips brushing my ear as he spoke.

“We need to talk.”

After taking Scott home, Derek and him talked and agreed on something. They would work together and kill the alpha to cure Scott. I sent a quick text to Stiles to tell him I was alright and Scott was calm.

Derek had offered to drive me home, the drive there was filled with his energy that I had never felt before, it was electrifying. I was just happy that he was alive. Once we were on the street the Stilinski’s lived on, I made him park a little bit back from the house in case Uncle Noah came home.

“When did you start seeing it? The visions.” He asked, putting the car in park.

“They started the night I last saw you. I am always looking through your eyes, feeling what you feel.” I leaned back against the headrest, looking at him. He seemed frustrated and upset. His lips were tight, but there was that look in his eyes that had made him look young and afraid.

“What have you seen?”

“I saw you talking to your uncle, you were agitated and felt lost. I saw you talking with this woman about your sister, you were angry and had so much guilt balled up in your chest. And I-… I felt the alpha attack you. I could not even describe the fear you felt then.” Derek’s hands were tightly gripping onto the steering wheel, it almost looked like he was blinking back tears. He felt weak, why I could feel that now I didn’t understand.

“Derek, what’s happening? I don’t understand why I’m seeing parts of your life.” I turned fully in my seat.

“It’s not uncommon among werewolves.” He said.

“But I’m not a werewolf.”

Derek shifted in his seat so he was facing me, “What it is… It’s a connection of two. Think of it like-”

“Soulmates?” I inserted the word.

He nodded, “But for werewolves it is supposed to happen after a mating ritual.”

“I think I can imagine what that is.” I blew out a breath, “So… why me? Why us? If it’s not possible then how?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because high stress situations have been putting us together.”

“Do you see visions of me?” I was really hoping he hadn’t been seeing me cry over him.

“I have.” Crap. “The night the alpha attacked me and then tonight.” He paused and sighed, “I felt this intense pull in my chest to find you. You needed me to come to you.”

“I thought I was going to die tonight. I thought that Scott was going to kill me.” I shook my head, “My luck is pretty crap.”

“I found you each time, didn’t I?” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“I guess you’re right.” I smiled and looked down at my lap, “Seems pretty inconvenient for you though. Saving me all the time.”

“It’s not.” He reached over, tilting my face to look at him, “Whenever you need me, I will be there.”

“I thought you needed to focus on finding the alpha, so that you couldn’t be selfish.” My breath hitched when he moved forward, pressing his forehead to mine.

“It seems the universe had a different plan for us.” He paused, “I can’t promise you everything all at once. After we take down the alpha, after I have some time to come to peace with other things, then we could take the time to explore…whatever this is.” He leaned back in his seat.

“That is, if those idiots don’t get me arrested first.”

I chuckled a little, “They may be idiots. But they’re still just kids. No matter how many times Stiles tells me he’s a man, he is still a sucker for Spice Girls.” I unbuckled my seat belt, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek, “But you didn’t hear that from me.”

Derek grinned and nodded, “Right of course.” His smile was so… it suited him to smile. After all the grim and stern looks, I wanted to be able to make him smile everyday. I closed the door, leaning into the window.

“Smiling suits you.” I stood up and patted the top of the car. He dropped the smile, and chewed on his cheek.

“Just remember, if you need me, I’ll know and I’ll be on my way.” I nodded, turning away and walking home.

Did I ever think that I would be in a car chase? Absolutely not. But was I in a car chase with Kate Argent with Scott and Stiles while Derek was on the run from Uncle Noah? Absolutely. I was in the back of Derek’s Camaro, headset on with a police radio scanner from the Stilinksi’s basement. It was an older model and out of use but it could still pick up radio.

“They’re chasing him on foot, heading northwest.” I shouted to Scott, holding onto the radio as we raced through downtown. In pursuit was Kate Argent.

“Faster?” Scott asked, gripping the steering wheel.

“Much faster.” Stiles answered, watching out the back window. Scott seemed to go a little faster, but the other car was still catching up.

“Scott, I don’t think you’re grasping the concept of a car chase, here…” Stiles said nervously.

If I go faster, I’ll kill us!” Scott shouted, clearly panicking. Stiles leaned forward.

“Well, if you don't go faster, they're gonna kill us!” Scott pressed down on the pedal, but Kate Argent and her team seemed to divert away and left them.

“They’re gone.” A new message came over the radio: “All units, suspect is on foot heading into the Iron Works.”

“He’s in the Iron works.” I called, and suddenly my vision clouded.

Derek ran but was stopped by a flash bang, blinding him, shots rang out.

“And hurry, Chris Argent’s got him cornered.”

“How do you know that?” Stiles asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

“I’ll explain later.” Scott turned sharply, stopping the car. Derek was behind a forklift, shots ringing out towards them.

“Get in!” Stiles shouted. Derek hurriedly got in the car, Scott speeding off before he even finished closing the door.

“What part of “laying low” don’t you understand?!” Scott said in an exasperated voice.

“Damn it!” Derek growled, “I had him!”

“Who? The Alpha?” Stiles leaned forward, I pulled him back, pointing to his seat belt. He rolled his eyes but put it on.

Yes!” He said impatiently, “He was right in front of me, and the friggin’ police showed up.”

“Whoa! Hey, they’re just doing their jobs-” Stiles defended his dad.

“Yeah, thanks to someone who decided to make me the most wanted fugitive in the entire state!” He shouted to Scott.

Can we seriously get past that? I made a dumbass mistake. I get it.” Scott said defensively.

“All right. How did you find him?” Stiles asked Derek.

Scott scoffed, “Can you try to trust us for at least half a second?”

“Yeah, both of us!” Derek glared back at him, making Stiles shrink back into his seat, “Or, just him. I’ll be back here.” Derek glanced back at me. I nodded for him to tell.

“Look, the last time I talked to my sister, she was close to figuring something out. She found two things. The first was a guy named Harris.”

“Our chemistry teacher?” Stiles was back leaning forward.

“Why him?” Scott asked.

“I don’t know yet.”

“What’s the second?”

“Some kind of symbol.” Derek pulled a piece of paper with a drawing on it. It looked like a family crest with a wolf and sun. Scott stared at it.

“What? You know what this is?”

“I’ve seen it on a necklace. Allison’s necklace.” Scott looked back at the road.

I sat at my desk, getting some papers ready for tonight’s lacrosse game, when I heard knocking at my window. I turned quickly and sighed when it wasn’t, in fact, a murderer. Derek looked around and knocked again impatiently. I quickly opened the window and pulled him inside.

“What the hell are you doing?” I whispered, “My uncle is here, you know, the one that wants you arrested.” He grunted as he got up, closing the window and the curtains, setting a pile of books on my desk.

“This was Stiles’ idiot plan so blame him.”

“He was right, you are kind of a sour wolf.” I laughed, he was very unamused.

“Okay, I’m sorry. Stay here, I’ll go grab you water and something to eat. You’re starving.” I turned to the door but stopped, turning back to face him.

“How do I know you’re starving?” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket.

“Probably the same way I can talk to you like this.” His voice echoed in my head, I jumped and pointed at him.

“Warning! Some warning would be nice!” I gave him a scolding look and went out into the hallway, quietly shutting the door behind me.

As I was making Derek a sandwich, Stiles bolted through the door and upstairs. I sighed and finished the food, heading upstairs.

As I got to the top, Uncle Noah came out from around a corner, “Hey Stiles!” He called and then noticed me, “Hey (Y/N).” He looked down at the sandwich, “I didn’t know you liked ham and…thick cut beef jerky sandwiches.” I looked down at the sandwich.

“Uh yeah, I just figured out I liked it.” I grabbed the sandwich and took a bite. I hummed and chewed it, even though I rather spit it back out.

“I’ll have to pick some up next time I’m out. My buddy at the station makes it.” I nodded and continued to chew. That would explain why it was heavy on the pepper. That guy should really stick to his day job.

Stiles mumbled something from his room as he came out.

“What’d you say?” Uncle Noah asked.

Stiles leaned on the doorway, “What? I said “Yo, D-Dad.”

Uncle Noah sighed, “Listen, I’ve got something I’ve got to take care of, but I’m gonna be there tonight. I mean, your first game.” He smiled

Stiles nodded, “My first game… Uh, it’s great! Awesome. Uh, good!”

“I’m very happy for you. And I’m really proud of you.” He said sincerely. If I didn’t have this terrible jerky in my mouth, I would be more emotional.

“Thanks. Me too. I’m happy and proud of myself.”

“So, they’re really gonna let you play, right?”

“Yeah, Dad, I’m first line! Believe that?”

“I’m very proud.”

“Oh, me, too. Again, I’m-” Stiles came forward, forcing Uncle Noah into an incredibly awkward, “Huggie, huggie, huggie…”

“See you there.” Uncle Noah pulled away, heading downstairs.

“Take it easy.” He said as he left. I waited until I heard the front door close to spit the mush back onto my plate. The jerky looked just as intact as it had when it went in my mouth.

“Oh my god, that’s the worst thing I’ve ever tasted.” I went back downstairs and threw out that abomination and the rest of it that was in the fridge. For as long as I live, Uncle Noah will be bringing home that jerky for me to eat. But that was a sacrifice I was willing to make to make him happy. I made a different sandwich with edible toppings this time and made it upstairs to see Derek grumbling and broody as usual. I handed him the plate. He took it then sniffed the air.

“What smells like death?” He asked. I covered my mouth.

“Don’t ask, just know that it will never hurt anyone ever again.”

After many rounds of tooth brushing and mouthwash, the death smell was extinguished. When I came back in, Danny from the lacrosse team was sitting at the computer with Stiles and Derek was sitting in the corner, reading.

“You want me to do what?” Danny asked, “Hey (Y/N).” He greeted me before looking back at Stiles. I nodded and waved.

“Trace a text.”

“I came here to do lab work– that’s what lab partners do.”

“And we will!” He paused, “Once you trace the text.”

And what makes you think I know how?”

“I-I looked up your arrest report, so-”

“I-I was thirteen. They dropped the charges.” He said defensively.

“Whatever.”

“No, we’re doing lab work.”

“Oh, my…” Stiles sighed, looking at the computer. I sighed and grabbed a book from the pile that Derek had. It looked old, the pages were yellowed. I turned to a random page and browsed, listening in on Stiles and Danny.

“Who’s that again?” Danny whispered. Stiles looked back at Derek, then back to Danny.

“Um, my cousin…Miguel.” He lied. Derek glanced up at them, then back to the book. I bit my lip to keep my giggles back. Derek’s eyes shot me a warning glance.

“Is that blood on his shirt?” Danny asked. My eyes widened. I hadn’t realized it but his grey long sleeve shirt had spots of blood.

“Yeah. Yes. Well, he gets these horrible nosebleeds.” Stiles looked back at Derek, “Hey, Miguel. I thought I told you you could borrow one of my shirts.” He looked pointedly towards his dresser. Derek closed the book on his lap and set it aside. He stood up, went to Stiles’ dresser and took his shirt off, revealing the triskelion tattoo between his shoulder blades. And it seems like I wasn’t the only one appreciating that it was off either. Danny was taking quick glances towards Derek.

“So, anyway, I mean, we both know you have the skills to trace that text, so we should probably-”

“Uh, Stiles…?” Derek said, holding a button down shirt in his hands.

“Yes?” Stiles asked innocently.

“This… no fit!” He said irritably, tugging the shirt. I covered my mouth and squeezed my eyes shut. It was cruel to be in this situation and not laugh.

‘Then try something else on!” Stiles turned back to Danny, “Sorry.” Derek found a blue and orange striped collared shirt.

“Hey, that one looks pretty good, huh? What do you think, Danny?” Derek looked incredibly beyond pissed, but that anger was directed at Stiles so this just kept getting better and better. I was nearly in tears. Was Stiles using Danny’s sexuality to his advantage? Yes, and we would have a talk about that later, but right now it was too damn funny.

“Huh.” Danny avoided looking at Derek, trying not to get caught staring.

“The shirt?”

Danny looked over, “It’s… it’s not really his color…” Derek removed the shirt.

“You swing for a different team, but you still play ball, don’t you, Danny-boy?” Stiles whispered to him when they were both turned towards the computer.

Danny sighed, “You’re a horrible person.”

“I know. It keeps me awake at night. Anyway, about that text…”

“Stiles!” Derek said, frustrated, “None of these fit!”

“I’ll need the ISP, the phone number, and the exact time of the text.” Stiles gave him the information and after some typing and clicks, “There. The text came from a computer. This one.” Derek and I came up behind the two after he found a dark grey shirt that managed to fit.

“Registered to that account name?” Derek asked. Danny nodded.

“No, no, no, no. That can't be right.”

“Scott’s mom?” I asked. Right there, Melissa McCall. Danny left soon after, a pink blush to his cheeks. Stiles walked him out.

I grabbed my lacrosse bag, getting ready to leave to get to the game. Hopefully I could give Stiles a few minutes before Coach kicked him back to second line for being late. Derek stood in my path.

“Was that situation funny to you?” He glared, tilting his head to the side.

“Uh, after the fact, no.” I giggled a little, “But at the time it was really funny.” He wasn’t laughing. I cleared my throat.

“Alright, I’m sorry. It wasn’t right of me to laugh.” I patted his chest, “But he was right, blue and orange are not your colors.” He grabbed my wrist, keeping my hand on his chest.

“And what exactly are my colors?” His expression had softened. I smiled and hummed, thinking for a moment.

“Dark red, burgundy. Greys. Maybe blue, just not that shirt. Never again.” I looked down, “You know it’s not Scott’s mom, right?”

He nodded, “I know.”

“And as much of a pain as he is, Stiles is like family to me. And I have this terrible feeling in my chest that something’s going to go wrong tonight.” I bunched up his shirt in my hand, “Please keep him safe. And you should be careful too.”

“It won’t take too long. We just need to get security footage.”

“I’m serious, Derek.” I pulled my hand away, “I have a dark feeling. And I’m scared.”

“And I believe you.” He reassured me, “I’ll make sure Stiles comes back in one piece. I promise.”

I breathed in deeply, and let it out, “Okay.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss on my forehead. I really hoped that this feeling was wrong.

I stood with Scott in the corner of the locker room. Or at least I think that’s where we were. Coach made me wear a blindfold to “protect my eyes from men”.

“Did you get the picture?” Scott asked, referring to the picture he had taken of Allison’s necklace that he stole.

“Yeah, I did, and it looks just like the drawing.” Stiles said.

“Hey, is there something on the back of it? There’s gotta be something– an inscription, an opening, something…” Derek asked.

“No, no, the thing’s flat. And, no, it doesn’t open. There’s nothing in it, on it, around it, nothing. And where are you? You’re supposed to be here. You’re first line.”

“Where the hell is Bilinski?!” Coach shouted from his office.

“Man, you’re not gonna play if you’re not here to start.”

“I can only buy you so much time, Stiles.” I said into the phone.

“I know. Look, if you see my dad, can you tell him… tell him I’ll be there, I’ll just be a little bit late, okay?”

“Loud and clear.” I sighed.

“Alright, thanks.” Stiles hung up the phone.

I crossed my arms over my chest and shook my head, “He’s not gonna make it. First game his dad shows up to and he’s not gonna make it.” I poked Scott in the chest, “You owe him big time for this.” I felt at the wall, making my way back in the ( I think) direction of Finstock’s office.

I sat in the office, fiddling with my thumbs when I felt it again. That painful fear in my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut.

“Stiles, get out of there right now! It’s him! He’s the Alpha! Get out!” Derek shouted into the phone. He cursed and got out of the Jeep, running inside. His heart was beating fast and a terrible realization was going through his head. His own Uncle killed his sister. It had been him all along, how could he have missed it? Derek ran inside, punching the nurse that had been taking care of his Uncle and helping him in his crimes. She fell to the floor, out cold.

“That’s not nice. She’s my nurse.” I looked at the man who I had seen from the previous vision but now he was walking and talking and Derek was scared.

“She’s a psychotic bitch helping you kill people.” I looked at Stiles, “Get out of the way.”

“Oh, damn…” Stiles squeaked. Derek launched himself at his uncle only to be grabbed and slammed into one wall and then another. Peter picked him up by the throat and slid him across the room on his back. I saw Peter’s attention go back to Stiles. Derek pushed himself up, punching Peter in the nose. It didn’t seem to phase him. Peter headbutted Derek and kicked him in the stomach. Sending him back into another wall. Pain spread through my back. But Derek still stood up, spitting blood. He threw punches at Peter but they were dodged, he grabbed Derek’s wrist and bent it back, fracturing it. He went down to his knees. Peter then grabbed him and threw him through a pane of glass.

I gasped and sat back, holding my arm tightly. It felt like it was broken but it wasn’t my arm that had been broken. It was Derek’s

Out of the field, Coach called for a huddle.

“Scott.” I tried to grab his attention, but from the looks he was giving Jackson, it meant that he probably knew something.

“Let’s go! Huddle up! Let’s go! Big night! Big night! get in here, (Y/L/N).” Coach pulled my arm into the huddle.

“Ready? Say it so they can hear it! Hands in!” We all put our hands in the middle of the circle, “What are we?”

“WE ARE LACROSSE!” They shouted.

“All right, take the field! Let’s go!” Coach sent them out. It was too late to tell Scott who the alpha was and there was no way I could slip away to help without Coach noticing. Derek was getting his ass kicked and there was nothing I could do to help him.

“You gotta get out of there. Grab Stiles and run.” I thought hard, hoping that I could send my thoughts to him. I heard nothing back so my heart sank even deeper.

----------------------

Read part 8 here!

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crispyjenkins · 4 years ago

Note

A third part to the JangObi locked in a cell/ weapons courting if there isn’t one yet. Jango or Boba calling Obi Mandokar. At least I think that’s the word. A Mando’s wet dream basically.

(this one entirely got away from me and i didn't get to Boba actually using the word Mandokar, but both Obi-Wan and Satine know what he's getting at (ノ*゜▽゜*)

again, i do not hate Satine, but I also do not particularly like her! she's clearly got some stuff to work through here >.>

Thank you as always, Roxy!)

When Jango had told Boba that he'd finally get to see the inside of the Senate Rotunda (legally, this time), Boba hadn't been particularly thrilled. Why should he care about the politics of a Republic neither he nor his buir are a part of?

Well, Obi-Wan is a part of it, but he also clearly doesn't want to be.

To put it shortly, Boba hadn't had high expectations for his afternoon, especially since it was preceded by Obi-Wan taking him to Dex's and letting Kote teach him how to use two vibroblades at once. Why couldn't they have just waited by the Slave I for Jango to finish his politicking?

He supposes Obi-Wan makes it bearable, taking him on a tour and telling him facts about the building itself, as well as stories from the Sacking of Coruscant, but Boba's good will ends rather abruptly when they run into Kryze and Padmé in one of the main corridors.

Tense pleasantries are quickly exchanged, and Boba realises they haven't seen Kryze since Jango had helped Obi-Wan save her from Darth Maul; Boba still isn't sure of the details of what happened after, but his buir had been furious.

When it takes all of two minutes for Kryze to mockingly call Obi-Wan General Kenobi, Boba shares the kriffing sentiment.

Obi-Wan heaves a sigh, and Padmé looks wildly uncomfortable. "My lady, I do not know what you hope to achieve by reiterating your position on the Order’s involvement in the War; I am but one Jedi."

"A Jedi on the High Council. You are just as implicit in its continuation as the rest," Kryze retorts, and Boba may be thirteen and a little out of his depth with the Politician Speak, but he knows this isn't about the Jedi, or the War. "Do not think you can absolve yourself from fault."

Boba looks up at Obi-Wan, eager for his witty retort, but he just looks tired, and Boba has to remind himself that Obi-Wan had loved her, once.

Padmé smiles apologetically, trying to pull Kryze's focus. "The decisions of the High Council are not made by Obi-Wan alone," she says, even though they all know that isn't really the issue.

"You’re right," Kryze agrees, not sounding like she agrees at all, "individual Jedi have absolutely no control over their political participation in needless violence." Boba grinds his teeth as she gives up trying to hide her scowl.

And Obi-Wan just stands there and takes it, like Boba hasn't seen him talk entire armies out of battle, or fight off both Savage and Maul at once. He hasn't seen Obi-Wan like this since Waxer's death on Cato Neimoidia.

Obi-Wan sighs again, trying to offer Boba a little smile. "Individuals always have a choice," he says, more to Boba than Kryze. "But preventing the death of millions outweighs our personal beliefs, don't you think?"

Boba nods firmly as Padmé shifts on her feet, but doesn't disagree; she's certainly seen more battle in this war than Kryze.

Kryze who scoffs to hide what must be genuine hurt. Anger is rarely about the thing you're angry with, Boba remembers Lama Su trying to teach him, and he reminds himself that Kryze had loved Obi-Wan once, too. That was the real problem, wasn't it?

"Back then, you avoided conflict whenever you could," she says, flat and a little sad, "you would always rather go around than force your way through. It saddens me, Obi-Wan, to see what's left of your honor."

"At least Obi-Wan hasn't murdered an entire half of his people!" Boba snarls, deciding he's quite done listening to this nonsense.

"Boba, it's alright," Obi-Wan says softly, but he's also keeping his left arm behind his back, keeping Jango's vambrace out of sight, and Boba is livid.

"'Gar taldin ni jaonyc,'" he says, because he knows the "Duchess" still understands Mando'a, even if she pretends she doesn't. Bloodline means nothing. "I don't care who your clan was, or what title you claim to have: until you are ready to die for your people, they are not yours."

Kryze stares down at him, and Boba can feel Obi-Wan prodding at his mind in question, in an attempt to calm, but Boba shoves him back out.

"It's easy to call Obi-Wan a murderer when you're hiding in your glass palace, when you wouldn't know the first thing about defending it. Do not speak of honor until you even know what that is."

There is a tense beat of silence before Kryze rounds a glare on Obi-Wan. "I would hope you could speak for yourself, if the Senate trusts a third of the Galactic Army in your hands."

"Satine," Padmé murmurs, glancing at the passing senators who aren't even trying to hide their stares.

Obi-Wan’s eyes are colder than Boba has ever seen them, the hand behind him clenched into a fist, and Kryze had known him very well at one point, Boba knows she can read between the lines of Obi-Wan’s blank expression.

"And I had hoped we had reached an understanding that there was nothing else for us to discuss, my lady. There are only so many times we can beat a dead bantha."

Kryze sniffs. "You need not show me so much disdain, Obi-Wan: we are not sixteen and foolish anymore." Padmé tries to cut in, but Kryze waves for her silence. "But I agree, I do not think any new peace can be reached here, and you should be getting the child back to his progenitor, no?"

"Jealous hag," Boba chirps, rocking on the balls of his feet and wondering if she had had dreams of having kids with Obi-Wan. "You didn't deserve Obi-Wan back then, and you certainly don't deserve him now. At the very least, he can separate his feelings from his politics."

"Boba, please," Obi-Wan sighs, setting a gentle hand on the back of his neck, and Boba gets to watch with a vicious glee the exact moment Kryze sees Jango's vambrace, the only piece of armor Obi-Wan wears, and realises he is far past fraternising with her enemy.

Padmé puts a hand on Kryze’s arm and gently starts to lead her away. "We should return to the committee, Duchess. And I'm sure Master Kenobi has his own business to attend to."

"Of course," Kryze agrees icily, and actually returns Obi-Wan’s nod of farewell; she barely spares Boba a glance, though he smiles innocently up at her and mutters,

"Demagulka," just loud enough for her to hear.

Obi-Wan casts him a stern look, but luckily doesn't get the chance to scold him further, when Padmé quickly returns without Kryze and looks harried enough for all three of them.

"I'm sorry, Obi-Wan," she says, hushed in the still rather busy hall, "You did not deserve that."

"That's quite alright, my dear," Obi-Wan is quick to say, and smiles at his friend. "I'm afraid I'm quite used to such treatment, though perhaps not so... publicly."

"I don't know if I've ever seen you in the Rotunda without the council, and I highly doubt you came all this way just to butt heads with the Duchess. What are you doing here?"

"Ah, that would be this one's fault," he says, Boba yelping as Obi-Wan sticks his hand into his curls and tousles them roughly. He only smiles down at him when Boba growls and grabs onto his arm, and though he knows Obi-Wan could easily lift him like this, the Jedi would never do so here.

"It was Boba, yes?" Padmé asks kindly, folding her hands in front of her. "What brings you to the Rotunda?'

"Buir said he was meeting someone," he scrunches up his face. "But we're leaving right after so Obi-Wan was watching me and brought me over to meet him."

Padmé’s smile only slips a little, looking back to Obi-Wan. "Fett's meeting someone?" she asks, even quieter, "Here?"

"It is perhaps not my place to speak of it, we are still in the very early stages," he says mysteriously, tugging Boba around to lean against his front, arms draped over Boba's shoulders as if trying to make up for Jango’s resistance to public displays of affection. Grumbling, Boba still lets himself be held there, and meets every stare from passing politicians with a glare. "When we get a little further along, I would very much like to speak with the Delegation of 2,000."

Bemused but not particularly surprised, Padmé shakes her head. "Of course, Obi-Wan. Are we to see you on Coruscant more often, then?"

Obi-Wan winces and holds Boba a little closer. "The 212th is coming off leave at the end of the tenday, I'm afraid. And of course Jango and Boba will be returning to Mandalorian space."

Padmé looks over Obi-Wan’s shoulder, smile becoming strained but not quite unfriendly. "Speak the name of the Dianoga," she sighs.

Boba wriggles to look behind them and immediately perks up. "Buir!"

Jango pauses on his path for the elevators, turning instead towards Boba's voice; the lines of his face soften at the sight of them, joining them after an encouraging finger-flick from Obi-Wan.

"Senator Amidala," he greets with a nod, and Boba thinks his buir actually likes Padmé, but won't admit it because Obi-Wan would never let him hear the end of it.

"Mr. Fett," she returns, shaking his hand firmly like any good Mando. "Although, if my suspicions about your presence here are correct, I will be adjusting my term of address in the near future?"

Letting Boba latch onto his side like a Corellian limpet, Jango raises a brow at Obi-Wan. "Haat'ade do not change their clan names at marriage," he says, Boba rolling his eyes at his buir's failed attempt at humor, and Obi-Wan rubs his eyes with one hand.

"Jango," he sighs, Padmé looking like Lifeday came early.

"Obi-Wan, you hadn't told me the Council had approved your request," she plays along, "When can I expect an invitation?"

"After I'm done with him, never."

"Now, cyar’ika," Jango chides, "it's best not to publicly threaten your–"

"Finish that sentence, and I'll have Anakin steal the Slave I," Obi-Wan says it into his hand, but Boba can see the edges of a smile. "Padmé, please don't encourage him, he'll be insufferable after this."

Padmé casts a quick wink down to Boba. "You best tell Anakin next, if he's the last to know, he'll be whining for weeks."

Jango brushes his fingers over Obi-Wan’s back like a sap, and his smile is even worse. Maker, Boba loves the both of them, but no one should look as smitten as his buir does any time Obi-Wan threatens him. "I don't know how we're going to fit your entire family on Concord Dawn, or all the kids."

"You mean the vode? Buir, I think Obi has more people on the Negotiator than have ever even lived on Concord Dawn."

"Why in Corellian Hells would I agree to have it on Concord Dawn?" Obi-Wan wants to know. "Maker, but this entire conversation is ridiculous."

Padmé tilts her head with a small hum, expression entirely too innocent. "Didn't you agree to marry Anakin on Tatooine for the one mission with the three-lekku Twi'lek and their five footed goa–"

"Yes, THANK YOU, my dear, that's quite enough of that."

Jango looks put-out, just short of an actual pout, and Boba wriggles against him in embarrassment. "You didn't tell me about that mission," Jango says, feigning hurt.

Obi-Wan side-eyes him, and only gets a smile for his trouble. "You know," Obi-Wan starts casually, but with a mischievous twinkle in his eye that has only ever meant great deals of fun for Boba, "by Stewjoni rites, we're already married."

Jango chokes on nothing, and Boba wonders if he'd even known where Obi-Wan was from. He should probably tell his buir he's already met Obi-Wan's grandparents.

Mando’a: buir — “parent”, gender neutral Demagulka — (from mandoa.org) “someone who commits atrocties, a real-life monster, a war criminal - from the notorious Mandalorian scientist of the Old Republic, Demagol, known for his experiments on children, and a figure of hate and dread in the Mando psyche” Haat’ade — slang for Haat Mando’ade, lit. “true children of Mandalore”, True Mandalorians cyar’ika — “darling”, “sweetheart”

*“Gar taldin ni jaonyc” from the full phrase “Gar taldin ni jaonyc; gar sa buir, ori'wadaas'la,” lit. “Bloodline is not important, but you as a [parent] [is] the most valuable thing”, used in the context of not judging someone by their lineage (blood or not) but by their own actions as a parent. I’ve used it here as Boba both calling Satine “dar’manda” and calling out her hypocrisy in criticising Obi-Wan/the Jedi from her ivory tower when she is a Kalevalen imperialist ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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maeve-on-mustafar · 4 years ago

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From my "Anakin is Mace's padawan AU". Mace finds out about the training droid Anakin altered to look like Darth Maul.

~~~

Anakin had taken to his post as assistant with the Temple piloting program with even more enthusiasm than expected, approaching his tasks with a zeal and meticulousness that left his other instructors mourning his wasted potential. Garen himself liked to joke that the Temple droids were going neglected with Anakin devoting every spare minute to maintaining the program’s simulators, remaining in the hall long after all others had finished for the day.

Sure enough, Anakin was standing in the middle of the otherwise empty simulator room when Mace joined him, reviewing flight footage on the main viewscreen with a critical eye as he jotted notes on a datapad. Though he was visibly invested in his task, he immediately halted the vid and turned to Mace with a smile when he walked into the room.

“Master,” he greeted him, abandoning his datapad and climbing off the instructor’s dais to meet him. “Come to check and make sure I’m not slacking off?” he teased, mischief sparkling in his sea blue eyes, but any hint of joviality faded as he studied Mace’s face. “What’s wrong?”

Once more, as he’d done so many other times, Mace did not permit any judgement or accusation to enter his voice. Instead, he simply stated the facts.

“Plo found your modified training droid,” he said evenly, keeping his gaze fixed on Anakin’s. “He was concerned for you and brought it to my attention.”

It was truly astounding how Anakin’s entire face could shutter without actually changing expression.

“There’s no need to be concerned,” Anakin informed him, raising his chin stubbornly. “Not for either of you.”

“Is that so?” Though Mace normally maintained stringent self-control over himself, in the face of the realization that his padawan routinely battled with the image of a dead Sith Lord, his typical composure fractured slightly. “You think I should have no concern for your initial choice in altering the droid? No concern that you decided to introduce a Sith into your training routine? No concern that you’re torturing yourself with a phantom adversary who’s already dead and you’ll never meet?”

Anakin’s eyes flashed, a bolt of lightning zigzagging over a raging ocean. “Anything else you want to add to my list of flaws, Master? Don’t do me any favors--we both know that you skipped several.”

A part of Mace was sorely tempted to rise up and meet his padawan’s challenge, but he grasped hold of whatever anger or pride stirring within him and let the Force sweep it away.

Kindness was more powerful than any weapon. And at the moment, Mace was sure Anakin needed kindness. Any padawan who was still seeking revenge against a long-dead opponent to avenge a long-dead friend was a padawan who was hurting.

And since Mace was Anakin’s master, it was his duty to heal that hurt.

Newly composed, Mace spent a moment studying his padawan, searching for the source of his frustration, the reason that drove his padawan to repeatedly spar the empty apparition of a fallen enemy.

“You still feel anger,” he noted evenly. “Years after Master Jinn’s death, and you still have not let go of it.”

Anakin’s eyes went cold even as his temper ignited. Through their bond, Mace could sense the poisonous, spiraling fury that had festered for far too long and now threatened to infect him irreversibly.

“Don’t you mean his murder?” he spat, gloved hands clenching and unclenching. There was no doubt in Mace’s mind that it was only the leather barrier preventing Anakin’s nails from digging into his palms and drawing blood. “Because that’s what it was. Qui-Gon didn’t die, he didn’t pass away, he was murdered, and I—”

At first, Mace didn’t believe Anakin would finish, but then he did.

“I didn’t do anything,” Anakin said, low and hoarse, almost a whisper. “With everything I did that day, everyone I saved, I didn’t think to help—”

A ragged breath gusted out of his chest, and he bowed his head, his shoulders hunching, as if unwilling to look at Mace.

As if too ashamed.

An unpleasant jolt of realization split through Mace, catching him in a rare moment of uncertainty. “You—you think you could have saved him?” he gasped, icy shock flooding over him. “You think you could have changed the outcome?”

“Why not?” Anakin challenged, his voice cracking on the “why.” “I saved everyone else! I obliterated the control ship as it orbited! You don’t think I could’ve done something—" he broke off then, his jaw working frantically.

Instinctively reaching out to Anakin, Mace began striding toward him. “Padawan—”

#anakin skywalker #mace windu #my wips #my fic #star wars #Anakin skywalker needs a hug

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songofclarity · 4 years ago

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For a character who was the catalyst for all the events of the novel WRH got way too little attention and show time in the novel heck we don't even get a face off between him and the protagonists. To me if JGS was a pig in a golden pigsty, JGY a sneaky fox, and XY a rabid dog, then WRH was a mighty dragon. He had all the makings of an amazing villain but that potential was wasted and imo that is one of mdzs' greatest flaws

Mighty dragon Wen RuoHan is so true, Anon!

The spoiled pig in the golden pigsty came out on top after the Sunshot Campaign. He had all the money, a beautiful family, and an intact sect, and yet he wanted all the power left in Wen RuoHan’s wake--as if the world hadn’t fought for three years to get rid of the original.

The treacherous snake who cuddled up to others to steal their warmth and yet bit to kill at the first sign of movement. He acted like that warmth was his due and he had no choice but to bite. Surely the actions of others would either do him harm or leave him cold! He tricked Wen RuoHan into believing their scales meant they were similar, but he only ever dreamed of being a pig in that golden pigsty. (There is a connotation of mischief and charm with “sneaky fox” that does not fit Jin GuangYao in my mind lol)

The rabid dog who was used to being beaten and yet would accept a warm bed and a dish of food from any kind hand. He won’t bite the hand that feeds him but he will absolutely maul anyone who threatens that warm bed and new home he found--or anyone who looks like an easy target for some fun and games.

And then there is the mighty dragon!

I've been trying to respond to this ask for a few days because I agree and yet I also kind of disagree on that last point. I find it hard to say Wen RuoHan’s potential was wasted because it’s his potential to do harm that kept the Sunshot Campaign alive but also his lesser-discussed potential to be influenced towards doing good that could have prevented a lot of grief. Although he didn’t get a lot of page time, his importance to the story is practically on par with Wei WuXian himself and he continues to exist as a specter of evil even after he is dead.

This quote comes to mind during empathy:

On Koi Tower, people came and went. Before Nie MingJue's high viewpoint, the crowd parted again and again, with both sides nodding at him in respect, calling him "ChiFeng-Zun." Wei WuXian thought, Such a show of extravagance is going to reach even the heavens. All these people both fear and respect Nie MingJue. There's quite a few people who fear me, though not a lot who respect me. (Ch. 49 ERS)

One of the major conflicts in MDZS is based on one question: who gets to be the next Wen RuoHan after the Sunshot Campaign? And the sane answer is that it should be nobody. The Sects are independent entities who should take care of themselves and work in cooperation without controlling each other. The Wen Sect was never actually in charge of the other sects so it’s quite twisted for the Chief Cultivator position to be created in the wake of Wen RuoHan’s death. Wen RuoHan is still a catalyst for events even after he is murdered!

More so, when people were saying they hoped Wen Qing would one day take over as Sect Leader Wen because she had a normal way of doing things, it’s because Wen RuoHan calling the former Sect Leader Nie over to passive-aggressively slap his saber a few times and tell him it is a good saber is just bizarre. Of course Wen Qing’s ways of doing things are normal!

Compare Wen Qing being angry:

"If you really are grateful then put in some effort! What [the] hell kind of medicine did you just make? Brew it again!" (Ch. 60 ERS)

To Wen RuoHan:

And, thus, Wen RuoHan wasn't pleased anymore...

Wen RuoHan laughed after he heard. “Are you sure about that? Well, I want to see.” (Ch. 49, ERS)

But back to the scene at Koi Tower, it’s funny that the one closest to becoming Wen RuoHan is quite possibly Nie MingJue, the one now respected and feared, the one who fought the most against Jin GuangShan creating the Chief Cultivator seat. Why did Jin GuangShan create the Chief Cultivator seat? Because no one was ever going to respect him or to listen to him, much less respect him and fear his power to let him do whatever he pleased. But even then, Nie MingJue had to travel to Koi Tower to point Baxia while he made his demands. Jin GuangShan and Jin GuangYao had to murder and lie and scheme to get what they wanted. Wei WuXian had to figuratively set himself on fire. Wen RuoHan simply had to call his target of his ire over and he came, and then he let fate run its course.

Wei WuXian, Nie MingJue, Jin GuangShan, Jin GuangYao--none of them ever held even a fraction of the power wielded by Wen RuoHan. A power shown when Lan XiChen and a bunch of other juniors looked at the waterborne abyss and didn’t even dare to speak the name of the Qishan Wen aloud. Our spoiled pig and even rabid dog look to demonic cultivation to gain that fear element since they lack the wow factors of a powerful cultivator. Wei WuXian and Nie MingJue end up dead because a spoiled pig and a treacherous snake want their golden pigsty to go uncontested.

So it’s hard to speak of Wen RuoHan not meeting his potential when all the Sects left in his wake never achieve a fraction of what Wen RuoHan had. And even then, at no point in the story does Wen RuoHan ever wake up in the morning and pick murder, although the same cannot be said for the likes of Wen Chao, Jin GuangYao, Xue Yang, and even Wei WuXian.

So what I’m getting at here is that despite Wen RuoHan’s lack of appearances, we learn a lot about him through other characters trying to either work for or against him or emulate him. And he does face off against one of our protagonists: Nie MingJue! Although that we don’t get to see their first fight in Yangquan when Nie MingJue was fresh is truly frustrating!

Because even though we do get a Wen RuoHan face-off with a protagonist, it’s his assassination that gets all the attention--and it’s because Nie MingJue avoids talking about traumatic experiences and Jin GuangYao already got what he wanted from that event. The mural at Koi Tower immortalizing the assassination of Wen RuoHan is a snapshot of the heroic Jin GuangYao taking out the Big Bad in a glorious moment. It was also, however, a huge red flag that Jin GuangYao is willing to murder someone who gave him respect, protection, and empowerment so long as he could use their blood to pave his road ahead.

I do have to wonder on the degree of Wen RuoHan’s villainy when he didn’t even bother to take the life of his son’s killer and he passed on the opportunity to torture him, too. But no one in the story talks about Wen RuoHan as a person. They talk about Sect Leader Wen as a symbol, and he becomes a symbol of evil.

Everyone becomes so focused on Wen RuoHan as the Big Bad that for all the crimes the spoiled pig and the treacherous snake perpetrate, the majority of the cultivation world responds with, “If this [evil act and/or abuse of power] was done by the Wen Sect, we would be really concerned. Since the people doing it are not-Wens, it can’t be evil and thus we can allow it to happen.”

And thus the Jin get away with doing a lot of evil. Lan XiChen can look at Jin GuangYao and say, “he has his reasons,” because Lan XiChen has been victimized by the Wens and Jin GuangYao murdered Wen RuoHan so surely there is a divide there between good and evil, right and wrong. This is a very convenient way for letting the Jin get away with doing a lot of bad things! Wei WuXian rescuing the Wen Remants, meanwhile, places him conveniently within the Wen-Sect-Is-Bad camp, and we all know how that goes.

So I do agree that Wen RuoHan had all the potential to become a great villain, not just because he has all the power and followers that let him do whatever he wanted but also because the cultivation world sold us the story of him being a monstrous villain who loved blood and torture. But when the other sects create an uprising against the Wen Sect and label it the Sunshot Campaign, not once does Wen RuoHan try to subdue them. Not once does Wen RuoHan ever turn to violence and punishment or slaughter. He had the potential to be a great villain and stomp on all of them! But he doesn’t.

And I don’t think that’s because his potential went unmet. That’s just his character. He is an antagonist with the potential to become a great villain and yet he stays his hand. His power instead draws villains to him like flies to honey. There’s a reason people wear their time spent as a guest cultivator of the Wen Sect with pride! Wen RuoHan is good to his Sect. The perks and benefits cannot be matched.

But it’s not only the dregs of society that come to the Wen Sect and abuse its power. Wen RuoHan has three morally distinct people closest to him that reveal that he has the potential to be well-rounded:

Wen Qing: speaks her mind, a doctor, refuses to kill, intelligent, talented in the liberal arts, accompanies Wen RuoHan to discussion conferences, pays her debts, won’t die for the main branch which is just an alternative of her don’t-kill policy which is don’t-die-for-stupid-shit-customs policy

Wen ZhuLiu: loyal to a fault, dedicated, obedient, was told to protect Wen Chao and does his job incredibly well because this is how he pays his debt to Wen RuoHan for saving him, doesn’t do anything unnecessary, doesn’t speak unnecessary words

Meng Yao: loyal only to himself at the end of the day, prideful, hardworking, scheming, ambitious, supports petty revenge, pro-murder, stabs as a warning, will sell you to satan for one corn chip, does not acknowledge owing debts to anyone but has the receipts on what others owe him

All three characters are respected for their talents and effectively do as Wen RuoHan tells them. Wen Qing leaves for the Yiling Supervisory Office and takes her rational mind with her. Wen ZhuLiu leaves to protect Wen Chao and leaves Wen RuoHan undefended. Meng Yao makes himself useful in Nightless City and thus stays closest to Wen RuoHan’s side. So who is the one speaking in Wen RuoHan’s ear the most? The one saying murder is OK so take revenge.

And even then Wen RuoHan still doesn’t take his revenge, I’m just saying.

But what I’m trying to get at on this scenic route is that Wen RuoHan is left with all this wonderful potential for a reason. Not only do we see his potential but other characters see it, too. His potential is turned into someone else’s profit. Nie MingJue claims that Wen Qing should have spoken up more, which implies Wen RuoHan has the potential for change or even to do good. The majority, however, persist on not just his potential but his status as a great evil. The characters in the story make Wen RuoHan into the penultimate evil by a post-war consensuses. With that, the ceiling is pushed so high that other evils are able to bloom in the glass house they’ve made.

“Whatever we do can never be as bad as what Wen RuoHan and the Wen Sect did,” the cultivation world says as they let a mass murderer run rampant, as people are used for demonic cultivation test subjects, as prisoners of war are beaten and killed, as a dozen women are raped and murdered for petty revenge, as brother betrays brother, as a father murders his innocent son for political gain, as juniors are kidnapped and used as bait...

So absolutely Wen RuoHan was a catalyst for many events because people either wanted to be him, have him in their fighting corner, or kill him. He perpetuated events by wanting to correct the cultivation world as he saw fit by indoctrinating juniors in the Wen Sect ways or by setting up supervisory offices to prevent rebellious behavior. He delegated these tasks which put people in positions of power that they only saw fit to abuse.

But Wen RuoHan’s potential to be a great villain competes with his inherent lack of interest in causing death and destruction. I think that makes him not just a compelling antagonist compared to all the others but a fascinating character in general. Considering MDZS gets praised for all its morally grey characters, I don’t think Wen RuoHan should be left out of the conversation.

#this is so long and it probably doesn't make any sense lol #but since anon sent the ask again i shall give you this~!#how does one talk about wrh idk idk idk!#i just think he's neat #wrh is responsible for everything that happened while he was sect leader #just stating that here in case it didn't come across well enough in the post #but i do think wrh delegated a lot and he trusted a lot #and the fact his sect had many incompetent ppl and meng yao #means there is a disconnect between what wrh wanted and implementation #wen ruohan #asked from above #anon #mdzs thoughts

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gubes-sweaters · 4 years ago

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Mind, Body, and Soul 2

Authors note: This is a Spencer Reid AU started by @subspencer. I got their permission to use the concept of this AU and all credit for the idea goes to them. I debated on when this story would take place either in 2020 or 2003 when Spencer would’ve actually been 22. I decided it’s going to take place in 2020 but all characters in criminal minds would be the same age in the story that they would’ve been in 2003 (if that makes any sense at all). I’m only mentioning this because the BAU will be a part of this story and besides Cat, Lindsey, Spencer, and Penelope all of the other characters will be canon.

Content Warning: Drug use(weed), drinking, swearing, kidnapping(not really the reader just gets scared)

Word Count: 2.8K

You can find part one here

Chapter 2: A “Germ Thing”

Does someone ever get on your nerves for literally reason? Like you can’t put a finger on it but for some reason, you could rationalize hitting them. Maybe it’s just a me problem or maybe it’s a Spencer Reid problem. Spencer is one big problem because on one hand I just want to hand over my soul to him and to stare at his puppy dog eyes even though I just met the guy. On the other hand, I can’t help but think I’m just another notch in his bedpost. Despite his all of the sudden sweet demeanor I keep replaying the little make-out session I saw earlier that led to god only knows what. I’m constantly debating either to kiss him or hit him in his stupid but cute smug little face. I decided right here right now that Spencer Reid will be the death of me. I probably look out of my mind thinking about this as Penelope is giving each of us a solo cup and pouring us a drink for never have I ever.

“(y/n)?” Penelope says while trying to grab my attention by waving her hand in front of my face.

“Y- yeah what’s up?” I stutter back as quickly as possible because now I’m very aware that Spencer is slowly but surely making his way towards my inner thigh.

“You spaced out on us for a minute is everything all right?” Penelope asked being genuinely concerned for me.

“Never better.” I replied before smiling because I know Penelope is just trying to be a good friend.

“Okay, so are we going to play or are we all going to hold hands around a fire while singing kumbaya.” Cat muttered out while giving me a side-eye.

“Yeah that sounds like a great idea Catherine.” Spencer snipes back while squeezing on my thigh. I couldn’t tell if it was a reflex out of anger or if it was to comfort me because Cat clearly has some disdain for me and Spencer.

“Okay, so... I'll go first never have I ever went skinny dipping” One girl out of the group named Layla who was sat on the other side of Spencer chirps up clearly trying to dissolve any tension in the room.

Pretty much everyone had a look on their face that said “obviously” except for me. After everyone took a sip of their drink their eyes wandered towards me. I just shrugged and attempted to move on. Growing up going to a catholic school where nuns compare your virginity to objects to scare the shit out of you doesn’t leave you much room to do anything fun like that. We went around the room and everything was just now becoming no longer awkward then we got to Cat.

“Never have I ever hooked up with more than two people in one night” She said while darting her eyes at Spencer.

Spencer sighed and looked at her basically giving her a silent “fuck you” before taking a sip of his drink. After he cringed at the bitter taste of his drink he squeezed my thigh again. Cat spotted it immediately and of course, had to open her loudmouth.

“Looks like you’re really going for a world record there aren't ya Spencie.”

“You know what let’s all take a breather bec-” Penelope cut in before it could get any worse. She’s someone who hates confrontation, especially between her friends.

“That sounds great!” I say cutting her off, so I can get out of this hellhole as fast as possible, before brushing Spencer's hand off of me and hopping up from the couch.

Everyone quickly disperses to get away from the situation as fast as possible. Three people make excuses to go home partly because that was the most awkward yet hostile thing a person could witness and partly because it’s almost four in the morning. I walk off towards the kitchen once again to get water in attempts to sober up as much as possible before going home. Even though everyone else wasn’t really anything more than buzzed because we were taking sips out of a cup instead of taking shots. I’m a huge lightweight and I’d rather not test my ability to drive like this. As I crack open a bottle of water I feel a tap on my shoulder. I was surprised when I turned around and I didn’t see Spencer but instead it was a guy I’ve never met before. He sat next to Layla, but we never talked to each other until now.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to spook you. I’m Josh by the way.” He introduced himself with a big smile, and then he extended his hand out to me. He was cute not as tall as Spencer, but still taller than me. He had sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

“Hi my name is (y/n)” I say as I reach out my hand to shake his hand, but it didn’t quite get there because the handshake was intercepted by a third hand.

“And I’m Spencer.” He quickly cuts in and shakes Josh’s hand. I have to take a quick step back because he shoved himself between me and Josh. I then step around Spencer to see the interaction between the two of them.

“Um hi?” He says with a confused look on his face. You can tell Spencer had a good grip on his hand and is shaking his hand way longer than necessary. It looks like his grip just keeps getting tighter and tighter until Josh starts to wince. Soon enough Spencer finally lets go of the poor guy’s hand. Josh couldn’t have booked it over to Penelope to say goodbye literally any faster.

“What happened to your little “germ thing?”” I ask while giving him a look of total irritation. Spencer was clearly peeved by me talking to another guy even it’s an innocent little handshake.

“I still have a germ thing but I just thought I’d introduce myself.” He says innocently while he wipes his hands on his pants before stuffing them in his pockets.

I turn around in attempts to ignore him, and when I do realize I’m now trapped in my own personal hell. I turn around and now there's just five of us me, Penelope, Spencer, Cat, and a girl who was sitting next to Cat the entire time. So I can either talk to one of my best friends, but she's sat next to two girls who are looking like they’re about to devour me or I can talk to the guy who is irritating the shit out of me. Looks like I’ll take my chances in the lion’s den. I walk over to Penelope and sit down on the couch. When I sit down I realize that this girl and Cat are holding hands and are acting very cuddly (which you wouldn’t expect from Cat because of her bitchy demeanor). I figured they’re probably dating and my suspicions were confirmed when she introduced herself to me.

“Hi, I’m Lindsey. I’m Cat’s girlfriend” She says while waving at me. It’s odd because it looks like Lindsey looks like a genuinely sweet girl, but Cat is playing her like a fiddle, so she will act in any sort of way that Cat wants. Even it means being stand-offish to people you don’t even know. Shortly after Spencer walks out of the kitchen and sits right next to me and instead of attempting to be subtle in any sort of way he wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me so close to him I’m practically on his lap.

“Okay, as much as I love all of my friends It’s now four am and a girl needs a little beauty rest. Is everybody okay to drive home? If not you’re more than welcome to stay the night.” I couldn’t tell if she was serious or if she was trying to end this night before it got any worse. Meanwhile, Spencer and Cat look like they could maul each other any minute. We all agree that it’s okay and say our goodbyes to Pen. Cat and Lindsey leave right away but I loitered around for another minute or two just to make sure I’m good to drive. I hear the front door open and close once more. I figured that it was Spencer deciding he wasn’t getting anywhere with me, so he left. I eventually say goodbye to Penelope and make my way out the door. I suddenly remember I had to park in a parking lot across the street because Penelope only has one visitor parking spot. Most people took a vacant parking spot or parked on the side of the street, but there was absolutely no room for me to do that. I wrap my arms around myself because I’m only wearing a skirt and a thin sweater which in retrospect was absolutely stupid considering its fall in DC. I can’t help but feel like I’m being followed or at least like someone's eyes are on me. I start jogging because I wasn't about to take any chances. My jogging is more like very fastly walking because let’s face it, I have the athletic ability of a sloth. I’m only a little bit away from my car when I hear footsteps. I immediately start to try and unlock my car, so I can hop in as fast as possible. Of course, as luck would have it my car wouldn’t unlock because I was supposed to change the stupid battery a week ago.

“Fuck you shitty car and your shitty remote.” I mutter to myself. I’m only about a foot away from my car when I feel a hand firmly grasp my shoulder and I do the only thing I could think of which was scream bloody murder. As I start to scream whoever is behind me puts their other hand over my mouth.

“Shhh it’s okay. Everything is okay It’s just me.” I immediately recognize the voice. When they let me go I turn around and shove them.

“Fuck you Spencer why did you do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack I thought I was going to die you dick.” I shout at him before turning around and going to stick my key in the car door.

“I’m sorry I called for you when I saw you walking out of Penelope's apartment building but you clearly didn't hear me. I didn’t want you to take off without me, so I tried running to catch up with you.” He apologized, but he was clearly not super sincere because he was trying so hard not to smile or bust out laughing.

“Well, go on then what do you want?” I ask while standing there with my car door cracked while I’m waiting to get in the car.

“My friend who I came here with wanted to take a girl home. I no longer have a ride home and I thought I’d figure it out before I was going to leave but I didn’t I guess.” He says kinda shyly in attempts to ask me for a ride without actually asking me.

“Do want a ride?” I sigh because I know he already has me wrapped around his finger.

“Yes please.” He says while giving me puppy dog eyes obviously to try and make me forget that two minutes ago I thought I was going to be kidnapped.

“Hop in then” I gesture for him to get in the passenger seat. We close the car doors almost in unison then I start my car. I ask him for his address while pulling out my phone, but he insists that he can give me good directions and I don’t need to get directions from my phone.

“Whatever you say Sherlock” I roll my eyes at him while I start to pull out of the parking lot. Spencer starts fiddling with things in my car while he gives directions. He flips on the radio and changes the channels about fifty times before getting bored and turning it back off. Soon enough I pull into the parking lot of his apartment building. Pulling into the parking lot is a bittersweet moment because I’m not sure if I’ll ever see him again, and overall I had a fun time tonight mostly because of him despite all of the awkwardness. On the other hand, somehow this man knows how to push all of my buttons and is able to get on every single last one of my nerves, so I couldn’t be happier to say goodbye. I put the car in park and look at him to say goodbye. I look over, and he’s looking for something but I'm not sure what he’s looking for. He starts to pull everything out of his pockets and places them on my dashboard. Out of his front pockets, he pulls out some pocket change, a money clip, and a plastic bag with a rolled joint in it. Out of his back pockets, he pulls out his wallet then searches through it. After that, he pulls out an iPhone, two lighters, and a condom. Really classy Spencer really really classy.

“Shit” He mutters to himself before patting his front pockets once more and putting everything back in his pockets and I still can’t believe what he is about to say next, but this man looks at me dead ass in my eyes, and says.

“I lost the key to my apartment.” He looks at me with puppy dog eyes and I already know what he’s suggesting.

“Can’t you get one from your landlord or have your roommate let you in?” I suggest in attempts to avoid the inevitable.

“I live alone and my landlord wouldn’t be able to get me a new key until eight in the morning.” He says and I swear to god he intentionally pouts his lips ever so slightly. I would normally say one thousand percent no but it’s almost five in the morning now and I’m so desperate for my head to hit the pillow. I don’t have time to shoot the shit with Spencer for even another minute.

“I can let you stay the night at my place I guess.”

“I’m really sorry this isn’t a normal occurrence I promise. I feel bad because I’m a huge inconvenience right now but I’ll make it up to you, I promise someway somehow.” He says while looking at me with the same guilt as a child who broke something of their parents.

“It’s okay I won’t make you sleep out on the street.” I say before chuckling hoping to lighten the mood and to make him feel less guilty. We both laugh at the ridiculous situation as I make my way to my apartment. Turns out I only live a little bit under ten minutes from him. As I pull into my parking spot I begin to tell him I have a few terms and conditions.

“Firstly my roommates cannot know you’re here, or they’ll never let this situation go. So you can’t sleep out on the couch you’ll have to sleep in my room. Then in the morning once the coast is clear I’ll find a way to sneak you out. Deal?”

“Deal.” He repeats back while stepping out of the car.

I open the door to my apartment, and we both tiptoe to my room to avoid making any noise. Surprisingly we didn’t make any noise at all, so once we cross the threshold of my doorway I close it and lock it before telling Spencer I’ll get him a pillow and blankets to sleep on the floor. I turn around and see Spencer already took his shoes off and is already curled up under the blankets half asleep. I just give in because at this point I’m only thinking about sleep. I get my pajamas and change in my bathroom. I walk back into my room and throw back the covers and let my head hit the pillow. Just as I feel myself slipping into a deep sleep I feel Spencer throw his arm around my waist and pull me flush against his body. This is going to be one interesting morning.

................................................................................................................................Taglist: @rexorangecouny @haylaansmi

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