#but whatever new clans is kind of more fun to me at least

[eelclaw]

stupid fucking bastard. i am not coping with the leaks

[exocynraku]

hhmmerr warrior cats au where before tearing up the old forest territories to make more neighborhood the twolegs realized there were cat colonies here and trapped the majority of them, the only ones escaping were those who managed to run away those who were taken who were calmer/could be trained (kits apprentices elders maybe just more chill warriors in general) were spayed/neutered and sent away to be housecats while those with larger tempers and who potentially couldn't be trained were sent away to different places to become new, monitored feral cat colonies and the ones who managed to run away made the journey to the lake, creating new clans & recruiting other loner/rogue/kittypets who wanted to join (honestly i just think there needs to be at least 1 (one) mass death/capture event in warriors theres TOO MANY CATS!!!!!!!!!! sobs)

[sutxdreamwalker]

Just finished secrets of the spires and it was crazy but good! And I wanted to make some reviews of the game, obviously will contain spoilers so read if you want to or don’t to prevent to get spoiled

Ok so, I have to say it was better than The Sky Breaker, look The Sky Breaker was good it’s good, but it could of used more time with story and not feel that rushed in a way, and maybe put more cool stuff like we expected Nor to come back but he didn’t so I’m sure the developers are coming up with a way to show again in a very shocking way

The story for this DLC was very interesting, I knew it was gonna be way more different than the last DLC and bot it was! Cause it there were some stuff I was not expecting, like the reveal of another Sarentu! Of course a lot of us thought we would reunite with Nor and find other Sarentu from TAP but no but at least we got that and that’s good enough, and gives me ideas like Sarentu ocs that could of also survived the massacre, since Raise just being alive also proves others could of survived

And Nor still not coming back was disappointing cause the man has been gone for to long! Let him come back! Let us find him! But I’m sure with whatever they have planned next they HAVE to bring him back this time

I really liked how we got cool new stuff for our Ikran and more Ikran features, like our Ikran distracting and taking down RDA for us and helping us out with stuff with the cool new skill like the smash one, and the new Ikran calls our character makes are cool too

The new clan is great too, I thought it was gonna be a whole other clan own so I didn’t expect them to just be Na’vi from the Kama’tire that left after the downfall of the Sarentu, so the whole new region and clan of course got my creative juices flowing for me to take inspiration for my Cave Na’vi clans

And the Kama’tire now are officially my favorites cause for some reason their all gorgeous to me ✨

And I did not like the fact Okul was not in it at all, I thought since this was a clouded forest thing we would see them but no, I just want and need more content of my spouse!

And the post credit scene was a shocker too, I wanted some kind of cameo of a character from the movies to appear in the game somehow, I just didn’t it think of Quaritch

This also sets on where the game is on the timeline since Recom Quaritch wouldn’t be notified of many stuff when he just been woken up, so the time of the DLC has to take place during the months of where Jake and his family are in the Metkayina and Spider is with the recoms, so possibly Spider knows some things of the Western Frontier which would be cool

And I can imagine that if possible in some other DLC we see Quaritch and Spider is with him the MC could easily take him come back to the other and be all like “I found this traumatized child” and then begging the others all like “can we keep him?” 🥺

But obviously that wont happen cause that wouldn’t be canon so Spider won’t be adopted by the Sarentu, probably yet

And also the fact that when I realized that they’re are no Field Labs in the spires region is kinda crazy cause I really didn’t realize or even notice at first, and then again it makes sense since the resistance hasn’t been there

Anyway, the DLC was fun and can’t wait to see more of Frontiers Of Pandora and hope to get an announcement for another DLC that will follow up on the stuff that Quaritch said and hope to find Nor and more sarentu!

[joelletwo]

(sets a timer) the exorcist postcanon lore i can remember off the top of my head

well the precanon is they were teenmarried in an impulsive haha jk unless 'lets run away from our restrictive homes' moment they immediately chickened out of post-signing the license. and then immediately the various inciting incident cracks in their teenage tenuously extended-grace-bc-theyre-lonely-w/o-peers ability to cooperate that happen as they become adults (seiji dad death-now new heir of the clan-eye attack, and whatever shuuichi's doing to get away that makes him go insane and become a celebrity in three years) makes them more or less lose contact and ignore the elephant in the room until canon. though seiji (and nanase) do poke fun about it sometimes and any time natoris like fucking hell i cannot let the paparazzi find out im legally married itll be a whole Thing can you please sign the divorce papers hes like hahaha what a funny joke shuuichi-san /_^ [mails them back folded into origami]

[various natsume-fueled char development we've disturbingly stayed kind of sort of on track for in recent arcs] -> matoba reconsiders his whole life and the fact that as an adult hes in total control of it and he kind of completely hates it. he wants a less black and white relationship w youkai he's forlornly looking thru the window at natsume and all his sick ass youkai friends. he gives up his eye to eye-eater to settle the matoba debt and (at least temporarily) quits his job and leaves the community and lives a life as just some weird-ass guy whos suddenly free to have hobbies (just picking up and trying whatever) and go to therapy and physically recover.

[per my fics] nanase uses this to get her favorite matoba child back into the picture and help them reconcile as seiji passes the clan back to [matoba sister. i have not reconsidered with shinobu i cant handle it kjsf] and they uncover some of the misunderstandings that drove them apart as kids

[also per my fics. NOW DEBUNKED I GUESS] when natori hears that matoba quit his job he seethes in anger bc FUCK he was gonna do that!!!!! now he cant!!!! but its an opening for them to reconnect and similarly patch up some misunderstandings or figure out where, now changed by time, they fit together differently and less conflictingly than before. natori has also been gently prodded by natsume into therapy and lots of outdoor hobbies where he can Find Inner Peace

i really still adore the idea of. matoba gets settled in his lonesome. um he adopts a youkai-seeing kid thats varyingly important i love her to pieces i cant get into that. read my fics look at our art. but matoba's got his own thing going on hes broadening his horizons in his new life. natori's happy to dip in and out but hes got ten million lives hes busy hes all over the place. they get back together but like. only strictly Share A Life in the typical sense like. in passing. irregularly. always keep in contact but theyre not like. moving in together. for a long time at least.

natori does lose his leg in a freak accident at random one day and he DOES keep the lizard afterwards. really important to me. he grows to love this guy. disabi/_^y 4 disabi🦎y

broad strokes. funny specifics:

matoba gets into doll restoration and has lots of pickling jars w body parts all over his place. natori spends lots of time in the woods lookin' at bugs as he gets fond of the gecko and learns more about geckos and then learns more about little guys in general. hes perfectly positioned to like. anthropology out the symbiotic relationships he discovers between insects and youkai. he writes an pseudonymous guidebook about this thats nichely successful and taken as whimsical fantasy

meanwhile sasada has never given up the goat on trying to prove youkai exist even tho her whole friend group wont admit it. i forget the details but she gets into the book and gets really into bugs to see if she can reverse-engineer the youkai side of the relationship without being able to see it. at some point meets natori thru natsume in just-some-guy capacity and finds out they both like bugs and they bond over that without her knowing hes the author. comedy of errors time ^_^

[nucanitickles]

Garu + Karu Get Got Drabble + Headcanons

Eiden was back in the game now!!

He laughed as Garu squirmed beneath him, occasional golden flashes in his eyes reminding him of Karu's presence. However, Garu seemed thoroughly intent on enjoying the tickly torment, as his tail wagged rapidly.

"Having fun, Garu?" He danced his fingers along the wolf-boy's stomach, which had been willingly presented when the yokai had stretched out upon his lap. It may not have been verbal, but good god was he asking for it, stretching out like that! It had been too long since Eiden got to play about finding new ticklish spots on new clanmates...

"Yehehes!" Garu giggled wildly, taking the human aback with his honesty.

He'd been getting Edmond too much lately, clearly.

Or maybe Garu just didn't have the same embarrassment some of his more lee clanmates had.

"Good!" Eiden laughed, scratching playfully at his ribs before flitting his hands across his body. His underarms got a good reaction, as did his knees - he nearly got kicked in the face when he squeezed them, and the pup had laughed out an apology that just melted any irritation Eiden may have felt. It had provided him the opportunity to find his worst spot though - as Garu had kicked his boots off when they started playing earlier, and the yokai's feet were easily his most sensitive spot. Focusing a little on the sensitive skin underneath his toes, he leaned down towards Garu, grinning wickedly.

Whatever he was going to say was disrupted by Karu's hand pressing firmly against his face, the yokai's laughter changing from happy and playful to forced and withheld. Without fail Eiden slowed down the tickles, until eventually Karu was just giggling.

"Sorry about that, Karu," he apologised, smiling brightly at the now-golden eyed pup. "Garu wanted to play, do you want me to stop?"

Karu growled a little, trying to force the smile off his face as he contemplated. Eiden kept the soft tickles going, watching little shivers wrack his frame every so often, before he got a response.

"Grrr... Keep it like that!"

"Yes sir!"

💙💛💙💛💙

💙 Ok so both Garu and Karu have different preferences in my mind so this is gonna be a long one bear with me

💙 Garu loves tickles. 100% a lee, he has no shame about it either and it flusters some of the other clan members (cough Edmond cough) to no end. This man will straight up ask for tickles and stretch himself out ready and waiting for you with his tail wagging a mile a minute - he is adorable and he goddamn knows it.

💛 Karu, meanwhile, I would classify him as a ler but he's just not very good at it. I just don't see Karu being very into tickling, or at least not the playful kind. The soft, gentle, relaxing kind I can see him enjoying, as long as the ler listens to what he says. But if Karu was to enjoy any form of playful tickling, I think he'd have to be the ler.

💙 Garu's laugh is very bright and giggly, with a lot of snorts that just make him (and his ler) laugh even harder. He's very honest as well - he won't deny his enjoyment or his ticklishness, which can sometimes leave his ler a little dumbfounded because how often do you tickle a lee who doesn't try and lie? Not that often.

💛 Karu's laughter, on the other hand, is a lot more staggered. He tries to hold his breath, keep his laugh in, and all in all its very stuttery. If he willingly gets those gentle tickles I mentioned, his laugh is very breathy and quiet, and you could probably mistake it for heavy breathing if you weren't listening properly. Both are cute though.

💙 As a ler, Garu is eager to please. I think he'd more often act as an accomplice rather than of his own volition, assisting Kuya or Blade in a tickle-war as opposed to going solo. He'd be very enthusiastic about his job though - so enthusiastic that any accidental scratches from his claws can be overlooked.

💛 Karu, meanwhile, is 100% a solo man unless it's Kuya, who has taken the young Yokai under his wing (tail?) to teach him the art of tickling. Karu idolises Kuya, and the fox is the only one Karu will let tickle him properly as it's for 'educational purposes'.

[everybody-loves-purdy]

Who I think has a chance of being the voice from my least favorite decision to favorite

Mapleshade, I don’t dislike her but she gets overused. Especially in places where she really doesn’t belong, (namely; any novella other than hers) I don’t understand why they couldn’t just have sticker to her being nothing more than a henchmen in the main series when it takes place in the dark forest, a protag of one novella, and an antagonist in Crookedstars Promise. Those are the only times when her presence feels interesting and/or not forced.

Splashatil, we just got an arc of him PLEASE.

Sol, he has had the perfect amount of attention, maybe a bit more attention would be fun but not an entire arc.

Sleekwhisker, idk I just don’t like the idea.

Any double-dead villain. 

Moonpaws absorbed sibling, I think her sibling would be fine as a Smallstar esc StarClan cat, but her mind being in the same body as Moonpaws would end up being written in the worst way possible.

Juniperclaw, it would be very out of character.

Silverhawk, Maggottail or Sparrowfeather, I’d love to see more of any of these three, but it would feel wrong for any of them to become main antagonists after what happened in ALitM. Even if their motivations were just to save their own guts.

Clawface, he would be kind of new for a villain, and I do kind of like him, but his personality is kind of inconsistent so probably not. Exiles in ShadowClan seemed to make it seem like he was a follower not a Leader, so if it were him, there would have to be somebody he is taking orders from.

Frecklewish, on one hand I would like to see if they make up some other reason for her being in the Dark Forest, I doubt it would be a reason that is very much better. I also doubt that they would do anything but double down on the already previously stated reason.

Houndleap or Rushtooth, two complete blank slates of characters. The writers could do whatever they want with these guys.

Stumpytail, a blank slate of a character, but he has a bit of more grounding. And by that I’m talking about the fact that he is in the dark forest with his Dad. 

Curlfeather, while she had an affect on the last arc, and she is definitely an antagonist, it would be hard to describe her as one of the antagonists of ASC as she died in the very first book.

A brand new character, this is my favorite idea.

Note that I only included characters I think have a chance to be the voice. The Erin’s are absolutely not going to make Hollyleaf or Bristlefrost the villains of this arc, but if they were on this list, I would put them between Curlfeather and Stumpytail.

Also, I think an idea I wouldn’t mind is if they had Clawface be the voice and then Stumpytail be the mastermind behind it all, since I talked about Clawface definitely not being the type to be the mastermind behind some plan against the clans. But I would still prefer Curlfeather or a new character over that.

These are some good ideas! I never considered more background dark forest cats like Clawface or Houndleap or even the ones slightly more present like Silverhawk, and it would be really interesting if the Erins decided to do something with those characters.

Now you mention Juniperclaw, if it is him maybe it could be because Moonpaw’s patterning is like a split between light and dark - StarClan and the Dark Forest. And since he’s the guardian of the space between the two that could be how he ties in.

If it’s Frecklewish then that would scare me only because I feel the reason they would use her would be to double down and because of that I feel like they would just make her really evil and the fandom will just explode.

[crownedinmarigolds]

lgbtmi asked:

"42-48 for noa, 60-66 for parvati? :> or if you'd rather answer them for another oc then feel free to! have fun with it!"

((It wouldn't let me properly answer your ask, so I'm making it a post, thank you!)) Wow so many!! Thank you gorgeous! I'm definitely going to answer these beneath a break because I'm long-winded!

42. can they dance? 43. how much do they know about the world they live in? 44. what lies do they tell others? 45. what lies do they tell themselves? 46. have they taught themselves any skills just for fun? 47. what could they talk about for hours on end? 48. do they relate to anyone in their group? conversely, which person do they relate to the least?

60. what do they have faith in? what keeps them believing? 61. is there an in-game moment of theirs you think about and just laugh? 62. do they believe in good and evil? 63. what’s a meme or tiktok or vine (or whatever) that you associate with them? 64. how would a party member describe them? 65. what would their go-to karaoke song be? 66. which fruit do they like most?

NOA: 42. can they dance? Noa was raised with all sorts of private manners and etiquette lessons! She can dance most classic, proper dances - the Slow Waltz, the Tango, the Quickstep. In a ballroom, she'd probably be a pretty decent dance partner! Otherwise, she can kind of get her groove going to the fun music of the era she's in, but she's so gunshy it would probably come off too awkward. If she had Nyth with her, she'd probably be a lot more loose and fun because she'd be able to focus on him being a MUCH better dancer. If they're giggling together, then how can they look truly stupid? 43. how much do they know about the world they live in? Noa knows a LOT about vampirism, basically taught the moment she was ghouled at eighteen about the inner workings of the Giovanni clan and their practices. She can tell you about their histories, their traditions, their differences, the works. However! The world outside of her family compound is a different story. She gets glimpses when she gets a chaperoned outing or two, but ultimately Noa is normally behind on current events. When she and Nyth escape the Sabbat attack on her family home and they're forced to see the world outside... it's a rude awakening. After this shakeup, Noa definitely tries to read a paper or watch the news, but she definitely is so lost in her own sauce that even then she's still incredibly insular and inattentive to the greater world. 44. what lies do they tell others? Noa isn't really a liar, but she will definitely hold herself back a LOT. So if someone with power over her is rude, is doing something she doesn't like, etc, she will bite her tongue. Being okay with certain actions even if it's hurting her or insulting her would be the biggest lie she could tell. 45. what lies do they tell themselves? She often tells herself that whatever her family is doing is okay. It serves a greater purpose. They're just testing her. Another lie would be that her older brother Quino truly has her best interests at heart. He DOES, but he's also overly self-serving. 46. have they taught themselves any skills just for fun? Noa has had lots of various skill training, but something she took on herself was learning Elvish from Nythanel because it was fun to have a secret code to share. Also his alchemy journal had Elvish in it, so if she were to ever read it, she would need to know it! She also gets her official mortician's license in later nights, may as well, right? 47. what could they talk about for hours on end? Noa could go on and on about Vampirism and Necromancy and the Afterlife for hours if you let her! You probably shouldn't, it's pretty disheartening. Especially when she sounds like a sweet and excited teenager who should instead be talking about whatever the latest pop boy group is. 48. do they relate to anyone in their group? conversely, which person do they relate to the least? Noa has a very small group, but of course Nythanel is the one she resonates with the most. He is her BEST friend, and probably her only real-real friend. He knows her heart deeply. She probably relates the least to their ghoul Julian, who is a big lummox she can barely stand. It's not the poor guy's fault, Noa is just incredibly high maintenance with standards he could never hope to achieve in the position he's in.

PARVATI: 60. what do they have faith in? what keeps them believing? Parvati is a Ravnos that is a Follower of Set, so she does believe and give praise to Set. She's even met him in person! But what keeps her going the most is her husband Harri's staunch belief. She can peer into the man's mind, and she knows that even though he outwardly is a liar, too talkative, too charismatic, a schemer... he BELIEVES. And if someone like Harrakhty Hamdi can truly have faith, then that in itself is inspirational enough for her. 61. is there an in-game moment of theirs you think about and just laugh? HA. Okay. So. Parvati at this point was an NPC on a New York VTM server I was a Storyteller on. A problematic player built a backstory where his Tzimisce character (this is his second one, first one he retired after messing up pretty badly) knew her and loved her, and also it allowed him access to the Setite cult when his character was entered into the game. The other Storytellers allowed this, but us (me and my husband also an ST) had the caveat that the Setites owned this player's heart so he can't get too uppity with this power access and try to diablerize these low-gen Elders, etc etc. Everyone was fine with this, BUT then suddenly when the character was in play, the player got mad that he didn't have a heart and immediately tried to argue with the leaders of the Setites (Parvati and Harri) to get his heart back - even though this was the trade off for having access to very low-gen Elders. He later in-game threatened Parvati - Harri wasn't in the room - by putting his hands on her neck and telling her he would destroy her haven entirely if she did not give up the heart. By the way, to set the scene real quick - Parvati had an illusion over her room to look like a beautiful forest with a lovely babbling brook nearby. Now, I'm pretty sure this guy had intended this to be horny and sexy threatening... but this was so dumb right? He was a very angry and horny player, which I can normally let slide, but he was actively threatening the Hierophant's wife and putting his hands on her. Well Parvati in this game was a Sixth Generation Ravnos with high Chimerstry, so she just made him think he had set himself on fire. The player asks me what he can do, he failed his rolls and is experiencing Rotschrek, then I said "welp there's a nice river right there." So he in a huff has his character dive head first into the river, which of course isn't real, and he cracks his head open on her hard-wood floor and also thanks to thinking he's on fire, he goes into torpor. Funniest shit ever. He wasn't a good sport about the situation but he at least knew what to do when it was presented to him. Hahaha 62. do they believe in good and evil? Parvati firmly believes that Nature is Neutral... though she's witnessed and performed some pretty cruel acts. But she's not a nice lady. 63. what’s a meme or tiktok or vine (or whatever) that you associate with them? "In all ways except physical, I am a wolf tiger." 64. how would a party member describe them? They'd probably comment on her beauty first, then on how unnervingly quiet and ruthless she is. Would no doubt fall back on the "like a tiger" thing. 65. what would their go-to karaoke song be? Ignoring the fact Parvati would probably not be singing at all (Queen No Fun!) I could definitely see her being your mom who brings up an old song from the golden era of movies to sing. 66. which fruit do they like most? Parvati doesn't eat anything other than blood these days, but she in life loved a good melon. Definitely despises figs.

[chidoroki]

Black Clover ch353

Apparently the legendary dragon had the land perpetually covered in yoryoku, so the inhabitants never actually saw the real sky before. I guess it wasn’t really noticeable to us in manga either, but I’m sure if and whenever this moment gets animated the new sky will be beautiful to witness. (kinda reminds me of Juvia seeing the sky for the first time without her rain).

Y’all are just gonna sit back and wait in hopes the Bulls will appear? I mean I don’t doubt them; they’re sure to find someway over here with some crazy method, but then they’ll all have to travel back to Clover anyway. Just seems like more work to me? Can’t we have Asta wash up on the shores like Yami did back in the day? Pfftt, but yeah sure, our boy needs a break anyway. He can worry about judgement day later..

For now, we celebrate! Everyone seems so happy and lively which is good! They deserve to let loose and have some fun. I find it kinda hilarious they’re all gonna feast on the dragon. Sure it was all just laying there dead now and the thing was huge, so all that meat can last them like..several years. Thankfully Lily is getting some proper rest too, but still won’t wake until Lucius is defeated.

We see Ichika ask again about who really killed off the Yami clan, but Ryu’s silence is a loud enough answer to that. And I dunno why but I think Fuji is probably my favorite out of the seven. He just seems so chill playing his biwa and I love it.

I know I should be focusing more on the fact that Ichika apologizes to Asta about speaking ill of Yami, but I simply can’t ignore the fact our boy is actually drinking! Oh Vanessa would be so very proud of him. I desperately want to see the two of them celebrate together now.

The whole Charmy resemblance towards this Ocha-ami doll has me confuzzled, like I thought it looking like our famous big eater was just for shits and giggles. I wasn’t expecting it to have some sort of backstory?? Has Charmy actually been to Land of the Sun once before? Could she get the rest of the Bulls there now since they’re trying to find Asta? Or is this all a bunch of nonsense and the real Ocha-ami is someone completely different? Maybe a real distant relative on Charmy’s dwarf side, or whatever side of her has the food magic? Charmy is such a big mystery, I dunno, it’s all rather silly to think about but still funny to me.

Not gonna lie but Jozo looks kinda nice without his mask? I assume he wears it to hide all those scars and to better fit the mysterious ninja persona we’ve seen from him already, but I like it. He kinda reminds me of Gabimaru from Hell’s Paradise, which is weird how I even thought of him considering I’ve only seen him from trailer previews? But oh my god, please let Yosuga and Mereoleona meet up! Imagine the fight they would get into! (she’d probably wipe the floor with him).

Soon after Daizaemon suggests Asta take a dip in the hot spring and seeing our boy all bare was certainly not on my list of things I’d wanted to see. Though I did get the reminder of the giant scar across his chest he received at the start of this arc. Poor lad needs to stop getting hurt so much. And as per hot spring tradition, ya can’t visit one without some kind of fanservice happening, so Asta unexpectedly runs into Ichika (due to Daizaemon’s forgetfulness). Thankfully Ichika’s embarrassment and Asta’s quick getaway spars him of any harm. For now.

Asta wastes no time to apologize the next morning like the good boy he his and we’re back at it again with some more upcoming training. With the way the chapter ends, it reminds me of how the six month training in Heart was handled, so hopefully we time skip right to judgement day, or at least back to Clover and the other Bulls to see what they’ve been up to the past couple days.

But ah, how great this was. Finally a chapter that gave me stuff to ramble on about for more than a couple sentences! The fight was nice and all but I very much enjoyed seeing the seven and Asta all chill out for once.

[dungeonclan]

DungeonClan: What it is and Why it is

Part One: How it Started

DungeonClan is a warrior cats oc story (story? narrative? campaign? idk.) that I’m working on! It is set in a dnd universe with all the standard fantasy trappings like magic, monsters, dungeons, dragons, gelatinous cubes, whatever! Before I explain more specifics about what “dnd warrior cats” will mean I want to give some background on what inspired me to write this story in the first place.

It didn’t start with dnd or even warrior cats. What inspired it was 2010 deviantart oc nostalgia. Back when I was younger I used to collect ocs from those massive adoptable sheets you’d see on deviantart. Random sparkle dogs and cats that were sold for pennies. I would collect a bunch of these characters and come up with little stories for them. I didn’t care if the designs looked good together or followed any particular theme. I would just choose a pink heart wolf and a green acid one and go “Yep, these two are dating now.”

That’s the sort of energy I’m trying to rekindle with this project. I just wanted to collect a bunch of random, discordant designs and make a story for them. I did decide early on to limit it to cat designs because a warriors story was what I was most interested in making. I thought it would be fun to stick them all together and go “This is a clan now.” 

I considered buying a bunch of adoptables to populate the characters for this project like I did in the past. Thankfully though people have gotten a lot smarter about pricing their work since I was a kid. Now on average adoptables sell for an actual tangible amount of money as opposed to the lint at the bottom of someone’s pocket they sold for back then on deviantart. I’m happy about this development but at the same time, I can’t justify dropping hundreds of dollars buying tons of designs all at once. Besides, hand-picking the designs I wanted to buy might give me too much creative control. So instead I turned to art trades. I would go to my twitter followers and offer my art in exchange for some random warrior cats designs. 

This was when I had to sit down and come up with a few guidelines for what kind of kitty designs I wanted people to give me. I wanted to give them creative control but I didn’t want to leave them with absolutely nothing to go off of. Warrior cats traditionally have more natural-looking characters, but since the original inspiration for this project was literal sparkle cats I really didn’t want to limit it to just normal cats. If I was going to allow fantasy elements in the character designs, it wasn’t a far leap for me to decide to make this a dnd world. Dnd is already something I’m interested in and it’s also the perfect format to use if you’re trying to bring random oddball characters into one unified story. (Isn’t that what most dnd parties are anyway?) It also allows for weird magical fur colors and perhaps some fantasy dna to be added to the cats. 

I ultimately decided that I still wanted magic and unnatural features to be rare in my characters. At least at first,  so I could start with a more standard-feeling warriors world and then ease into the fantasy stuff. The instructions I gave my art trade victims were to “lean on the side of making a normal-looking warrior cat, but you can also add some weird and fantasy elements”. I still gave them creative freedom though and it was possible that everyone would give me a bright neon green fire breathing angel cat. I would have rolled with it if that had happened, but this would’ve turned into a different kind of story if so. Thankfully though my instructions worked as I intended and I ended up with a ratio of fantasy to non-fantasy elements that I’m super happy with. 

I did ten art trades to start with. The designs I received from these trades would play a significant role in shaping the story that was forming in my mind. With each character I received I began to think of new ideas and things I wanted to add to my world. It began going from a basic “dnd + warrior cats” idea to a real story. These are those first ten designs:

Designer credits are on my toyhouse

And here is a lineup of all of them I drew in my style:

Havendown, Sunsong, Magnus, Wildthorn, Dragonflytail, Orioleflight, Willowmist, Pinepaw, Poppypaw, Batpaw

I’ll do a proper introduction to all these characters later. By the way, If the concept of designing a character for this project intrigues you then fear not! I will need more characters as the story goes on. Some I might need sooner rather than later because though I’ve already started fleshing out the story I’ve been thinking I need more background characters to work with before I start writing. So stay tuned and I’ll be opening up more art trades to add more characters, and maybe other things as well such as designs for monsters and non-cat creatures.

This has been part one, in part two of this introduction I’ll go a bit deeper into explaining my world and exactly what I mean by “dnd warrior cats”.

[anemia-rp]

"Who said I only remix the same songs over and over again?", he casually asked a counterquestion. "I'll add new songs to my setlist almost every night. And I'm probably the only one who goes from hip hop over techno to metal." Did he say this to brag? Maybe a little. After all he was a proud creature who certainly liked it when people admired him. Though he already had the feeling that Kukki wouldn't be easily impressed. And well, he liked challenges of all kinds, this was for sure. However he wasn't one who tried hard or even put up any fake act just for the sake of being liked. This was something he downright despised.

"So you're one who likes to keep their dignity, huh?" Well, the fact that she adhered to her decision to only drink orange juice impressed him. "Most people just fall for the peer pressure and can't say no when they get offered a drink." He shrugged, though amusement was glinting in his eyes then. "So you're your friends' chaperon tonight?" But when he went on explaining her reasons he went more serious again, nodding in approval. "Wise of you, really. I'm not a girl but even I know how disgusting men can become." With an annoyed expression he shook his head, lifting the bottle again. "I'm quite popular among the gays." No, he wouldn't get into details here. "Anyway, you can think of me and my clan whatever you want, but we always protect women." Even a vampire had some morals after all. "If one of us did ugly stuff to a girl we'd probably kill them. Not kidding."

His eyes went slightly wider again when he witnessed her way of speaking. He didn't have thought that she was any dense, but right now he could get proved that she in fact seemed to be really intelligent. Something else that he found attractive. He wasn't one that could get impressed by mere looks. "Yeah, lots of people turn into brave, bold ones when they're drunk." He only had a derogatory look for the stranger who tried to flirt with the women around him. "Okay, that's definitely not my favorite kind of drunkard. And probably no one who attends my sets. If he starts to molest the girls I'm gonna go over and give him some punch in his fuckface." Though he would prefer to stay here and continue the talk with this lady.

"Nope. That's not my kind of fun mostly. What doesn't mean I'm not in for some chill activities sometimes. Playing a video game. Watching a movie. But I need some action quite often. Adrenaline rushes." He once again wouldn't go into detail, after all he was rather a secretive one. "That's what I meant when I said the best nights are those you can't predict. To me at least."

@your-sweet-cookie

'The best nights are the ones you never plan.' (from Fuji)

more tumblr quote prompts pt. 2

The party life was never Kukki's cup of tea so to speak, she was more of a house body, who enjoys spending time by herself in the company of her cat and a good book instead of partying and drinking away god knows where, in a loud and noisy club. And neither was she a fan of socializing, being an introvert by nature who got easily drained by social interactions, yet here she was, in a night club on a late Saturday evening, having been dragged along by a friend to act as their chaperon. Since Kukki never drank and she was a very serious person, her friends often used her to keep an eye out for them in case there where creeps lurking around or they got too drunk.

"Huh?" The silver haired raised her eyes to meet those of the person, whom the voice from earlier belonged to. 'The best night are the ones you never plan'... The words echoed in her mind, making her snort. "Maybe, but so far this is far from what I would normally call 'a great night'. This place is soo packed and loud I feel I could end up losing myself in this sea of people if I get up from here." Kukki replied and took a sip from her nonalcoholic orange juice. She never drank alcohol, given that her tolerance was very low and she could easily get drunk.

Eyeing the man sat next to her, a tall, intimidating looking guy with long hair and tattoos, Kukki took some quick mental notes on him, making an analysis of what she thought his personality might've been like. So far, he didn't struck her as dangerous or sleazy, so she could tolerate him. "What about you? Having a good night so far?"

[sukirichi]

black magic [01]

REQUEST. arranged marriage + enemies to lovers (sukuna is a simp and lowkey a housewife)

CONTENT/WARNINGS. some suggestive scenes, but overall fluff and romance! slight crack fic, I guess? I was laughing when I wrote this lol

NOTES. I NEED A HUSBAND! SUKUNA I’M GOING TO CRY GOODBYE THIS HAS ME SOFT. also anon i’m not sure if you wanted something with more ~sexual tension~ since this is kind of just comedic, but I hope you like it anyway!

part one | part two (nsfw)

“This is new,” you comment with a glare, your ankle propped on Sukuna’s knee.

“Shut up,” he rolls his eyes, pushing your skirt aside to clean the wounds you attained through exorcising curses. You’ve taken a particularly strong curse today and you’re caught off guard, barely finishing the mission unscathed. Limping all the way back home isn’t easy especially since you live on top of the darned mountain, but if Sukuna’s going to kneel in front of you like this...maybe it wasn’t too tough a journey. “You should stop going to missions you’re not ready for. Look at you, all wounded and bloody.”

“You sound like you care.”

“You’re my wife,” he huffs while dropping the bloody towel on the floor. Sukuna wraps the bandage around your ankle and carries you bridal style even though you’re perfectly capable of walking, but he shoots you a silencing glare. You’d have knocked him in the face any other day, but he’s particularly warm and smells nice today – plus you’re beat – that you bury your face in his chest, ignoring that stupid fluttering in your stomach. “Of course I do.”

You snicker, mind tracing back to your earlier years of this dreaded marriage.

It definitely wasn’t the best – the memories blurring between strangling each other to making out as if breathing was never a thing – and it felt like forever ago when you first met him.

You’d never say it out loud, but... you don’t regret this arranged marriage. Not when Sukuna is tucking himself beside you on the bed, your head above his muscular chest a place similar to home. He covers both your bodies over with a blanket, pulling your body closer to him with a strong arm, his lips pressing onto the crown of your head.

Ugh, you think to yourself, giving in to the need to cuddle your husband after a long day of work. You still refuse to say it out loud, though, and you irk him further by muttering, “That’s not what you said two years ago.”

“I wasn’t in love with you then.”

 “I refuse to be married to you!”

Sukuna fights back the urge to cover his ears. Ever since your clan decided to visit his land and started exorcising curses one by one, his life has been nothing but hell. Not only are your relatives the most arrogant people ever with a consistent god complex, they just had to let their little mortal child be in charge of taking on the stronger curses. Seriously, what were they thinking, sending you – who’s barely even out of their training bra years – to deal with curses like him?

Everyone knows Sukuna is a no bullshit man. He won’t hesitate to cut your head off the moment you came raging at him, but then he sees how young you are and decides to send you back to your family.

Expecting that everyone would just call it a day and he’d get offerings for his unexpected mercy, Sukuna is beyond stupefied when they send you back to his temple, all dressed pretty with a basket of fruits and flowers braided in your hair. He remembers growling because you look adorable, but that’s easily wiped away when you open your mouth, your voice scratchy against his ears as you stomp your feet like the young mortal you are.

Sukuna pushes a thumb to his forehead to ease the impending headache, and that’s just from your presence. Something inside him tells that you’re going to be a bigger pain than you look.

“You don’t have much of a choice. You should’ve thought of that before deciding to run rampage over my land,” he reminds, turning boredly to his lone servant from above his throne. Sukuna isn’t impressed, to say the least, especially with your clan’s audacious proposition to gain his favour just this once. “Is this really the woman you bring me – the one they insist to be my wife?”

“She is their best fighter, my Lord.”

Well, he can’t disagree to that. You did, after all, single-handedly give him a cut on the cheek. “She’s feisty indeed.”

“Don’t talk as if I’m not here!”

“Mouthy too,” he mumbles to himself, but your sorcerer senses are sharp and easily picks up on it. He sees you flush angry again, looking immensely adorable with your tiny fists clenched like that and he snorts, waving a hand in the air. “Whatever. Get the wedding over with,” he nods to his servant, his sigh loud and tired as he makes his way to you.

You don’t stiffen at each haunting step, his eyes only glimmering harder with entertainment. It’s rare to find a mortal that doesn’t quiver at the sight of him, the urge to break you only growing stronger.

Even as he cups your face, making sure to not let his claws dig into your precious skin, Sukuna smirks. You’ll be entertaining indeed.

So Sukuna makes a promise, four eyes surveying the way your body is starting to fill in curves at the right places, the swell of your flesh just perfect in his hands... He chuckles to himself, daunting you further as he leans down to your ear, taking pleasure in the slight way your breath hitches. “Maybe then I’ll get to teach you a lesson or two.”

You’re definitely something else, taking advantage of each presented opportunity and not wasting any time before you make your move. Right after the wedding and everyone’s left, leaving you alone with your new husband behind closed doors; you push him until he’s on the ground, legs straddling each side of his hips while you growl above him – the sound similar to a battle cry.

Sukuna merely smirks, barely moving a muscle as his large hands come up to rest on your hips to steady you. “I’ve imagined countless ways you’d be on top of me like this,” his eyes light up with humour upon feeling the cold blade on his skin, “None of them included a knife on my neck though.”

“Shut your mouth. I will kill you myself,” you warn, pressing your knife harder until it draws a slight tinge of blood.

You hardly look threatening above him like this, dolled up to look the best in your wedding with this cursed being. If anything, you look more divine than deadly, and Sukuna thinks that perhaps your beauty could be your best weapon. You are bewitching, after all.

“I refuse to be your Queen and sit next to your throne.”

“Then why didn’t you stop the wedding?”

“I—”

Sukuna’s teasing grin grows wider when you pull back, trying so hard to not trip over your words. It takes all of his self-restraint to not take you right then and there, but he does a good job of holding back, enjoying this view above him instead. “Could it be you’re attracted to me after all, hm, little one?”

“Do not test me, Curse. I’m more than capable of exorcising you myself.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that. You’re the strongest in the Gojo clan, are you not?” he prompts to appease you, “I don’t even want to see what you’re capable of, but maybe, just maybe...” just as his eyes darken, the edges of his lips turning up into a smirk, Sukuna digs his claws into your thigh in a possessive show of ownership, a painful reminder that you’re his now. “...You could put on a little show for me?”

“I hate you!”

Experienced and strong as you are, you’re nothing compared to a thousand year old curse who’s killed a lot more people faster than you could blink. Sukuna immediately notices the animalistic way you draw your blade, arm swung back with rage written all over your face. Before you could so much as bat an eye, he easily switches the positions until you’re under him, using only one hand to pin your arms above your head, your blade effortlessly thrown to the other side of the room.

“As I thought, you’re a lot prettier under me like this,” he observes, roaming his eyes shamelessly over the fabric clinging prettily to your body. You’ve fallen silent at his unconcealed attention, your compliance enticing him to lean closer just to inhale your intoxicating scent.

“Not so feisty now, little one? Where’d all your hatred for me go?” Sukuna pulls back with widened eyes, “Oh? Am I hearing it wrong or is your pathetic human heart beating so loud right now?” You refuse to look at him, wriggling your hips in an attempt to leave, completely unaware that the mere movement is hypnotizing the curse above you. Sukuna grips your hips in warning, not wanting to destroy you – not now, anyway. “You know all you need to do is say it. I’d gladly take you right here and then.” His words spoken with that deep, throaty voice immediately sends a wave of heat down your core, but you turn away from him, breathing hard and nervously; something Sukuna picks up on in an instant. “Little one...have you never had a man hold you like this before?”

“N-no...”

“I see. Pure and innocent behind that ferocity, huh?” He surprises you by pulling away, smoothening his white robes down as he leaves you panting still on the floor. “Fine. I won’t touch you unless you ask me to.”

“I’d rather die before that ever comes out from my mouth.”

“We’ll see about that,” he smirks, winking at you before he shuts the door. “Little one.”

There’s a lot of weird – and utterly inconvenient things – about being Sukuna’s wife. The man eats everything, absolutely everything, and it doesn’t help that he sucks at hunting too. For a man so huge and burly, he sure is lazy, preferring to do the laundry in the riverside instead while you go out every day to prepare your meals.

You actually don’t mind, but it’s very fun to complain around him.

You’re on your way back to the temple when Sukuna grabs at you, making you drop the freshly caught birds onto the ground. Your brows furrow, about to scold him for being too eager again when Sukuna stares at your arm, his lips pressing into a thin line.

Following his line of sight, your lips form an ‘o’ shape. There’s blood trickling down your forearm from his claws accidentally cutting you, guilt written all over his face. Another weird thing about Sukuna is that he babbles a lot when he’s emotional, and you’re too tired to hear him beat himself over it that you just drag him inside your room, sitting his ass down before taking a clipper.

Sukuna scoffs when you start cutting his nails. It irks him that you don’t even bother wiping the blood off first and he tsks, eyes narrowed at you. “You should have thicker skin.”

You roll your eyes as you file his nails; you’ve been married to him long enough to know it’s his way of saying sorry. Not wanting to let him wallow in guilt any louder, you pad kisses over his knuckles before swiping the black ink off your desk, using a pen brush to colour your nails instead. Sukuna hovers behind you, head tilted to the side as he watched you. “Are you painting your nails black?” he utters in disbelief, trying to ignore the fact he feels...proud and even a little smug. “Not so fitting for the angelic sorcerer now, isn’t it?”

“I’m only doing this so you don’t feel left out.”

“Maybe I’ll add markings to your pretty face too,” he cups your jaw to make you turn to him, landing a solid kiss flat to your lips which makes you sigh, pretending to be annoyed but leaning over for another peck anyway. Sukuna laughs and pulls you onto his lap, kissing your neck this time around, a little annoyed that you don’t stop in brandishing your nails. “Wife, what do you think?”

“I have work, Sukuna. You flirting with me doesn’t change the fact I need to go.”

“Come home safe for me, at least?” he breathes down your neck, his touch sending shivers down your spine. You’ve definitely changed since the first time he’s met you, starting from a mean (although he stands strong that you are still mean to him sometimes) temperamental little one to a mature, stronger sorcerer who’s secretly weak for his wife.

Unable to resist him as always, you turn around once you’ve finished painting your nails, rubbing your nose over his until your strong, scary husband is turning into putty at your hands. “Of course I will,” you peck his lips one last time, Sukuna’s eyes closing as he dives in for a deeper kiss. “I’ll always come back home to my handsome husband.”

If anyone were to ask how it’s possible that the King of Curses is actually very soft for his sorcerer wife, everyone would claim it’s impossible and a heresy – but if you ask Sukuna, it’s probably just black magic doing its wonders.

[superhero--imagines]

Etsy Store Here l Ko-Fi l Commission Info

Part 2 Here!/ Part 3 Here! / Playlist Here!

* Sorry guys but this mans been living in my head rent free

* So the first time you see Satoru it’s with those black specs he likes to wear and you get a glance at those GORGEOUS eyes

* He meets your eyes for a second before looking away, it’s the briefest of interactions

* But your heart is racing and you can feel the familiar heat of attraction starting to lap at your face

* ‘He looks just like a prince’ you think

* You find out pretty fast the ‘prince’ similarities stop at appearance

* “Ah it’s not my fault you’re so weak~” You hear him say with the princely smile as he teases Utahime

* It looks like he’s held something so high she can’t reach it

* “Try your best, if you drink plenty of milk I’m sure you’ll be tall enough one day~” he says before laughing with that same princely face

* “You shouldn’t pick on those that are weaker than you” Geto intervenes, somehow making the entire situation worse

* You watch as Gojo laughs

* You’re starting to think he might be the real curse you need to exorcise

* You continue watching him as Utahime tries to kick him in the crotch

* “You silly girl, did you forget there’s an infinity between us?” Cue Gojo’s “A-hahahahaha” laugh

* Yeah, he’s definitely a demon

* You keep your distance, Gojo’s beautiful and all, but you’re not dumb, you’ve heard about the Satoru clan.

* “Hey Geto-Kun, who do you think would win in a fight me or a lion?”

* Besides that guy is way too reckless, you’d rather not get all mixed up in that if you can help it

* You watch as Satoru takes his shirt off, his well defined chest glistening

* Still, you’re grateful for the show

* Little do you know the famous Gojo Satoru has taken note of you as well

* Naturally given his ability he notices everyone, but he especially takes note of you

* It’s not because you stand out, quite the opposite

* You blend into the background easily, supporting others when needed

* But not to the degree where you unable to defend yourself, or you’re sacrificing your own life for someone else

* He grins

* Looks like he found something interesting

* You’re at the vending machine eyes racking over the drink selection

* But there’s another thirst quenching sight right next to you, their hand resting on the vending machine, that princely smile aimed right at you-

* “So what do you say?” Satoru asks, and you start to wonder if that princely smile seems just a bit wolfish “Do you want to be my lover?”

* You’re kind of annoyed

* What an impetuous question, you can count on one hand how many times you’ve spoken to each other, and you only need both hands to count the words said in each of those encounters

* “No”

* You turn your attention back to your drink choices, it’s pleasant weather so you don’t want anything hot.

* Anything carbonated is out of the-

* Gojo moves closer, peering into your face with that grin

* Ugh does he have to stand so close

* “Why ‘no’? I know you think I’m attractive”

* “I also think you’re a womanizer with a god complex”

* And really why shouldn’t he be?

* He’s probably the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen in your life, not to add the sheer power he contains in that body of his

* But just as he has the right to be a womanizer with a god complex, you have the right not to take part in that narrative

* He backs away, leaning back against the wall

* So he’s not going to deny it

* Well, at least he’s somewhat self aware

* Those clear blue eyes catch yours again, and you have to fight against every human instinct from showing any human reaction

* You turn back to the vending machine making your selection when a smile lilts onto his mouth

* “Friends then”

* “Just colleagues” you reply, grabbing your drink

* But as you walk by you push a canned beverage into his chest.

* It’s a can of green tea

* It’s his favorite drink

* He looks to you seeing a bottle glinting in your hand

* So you didn’t sacrifice your own thirst, but you also didn’t ignore his needs

* He feels that same wolffish grin curl onto his mouth

* “What an entertaining person”

* After that if you’re anywhere within a 50 feet radius of him he’ll go out of his way to get your attention

* “Oh wow, looking especially radiant this morning (Y/N/N)” he’ll say with a playful seductive wink

* When you don’t respond he tries annoying you instead

* “Ah you can’t reach that? Here let me-” and then he’ll proceed to hold it even further out of your reach

* He’s expecting you to jump up and down, or at least give some sort of response but you just walk away

* Well that wasn’t what he expected

* He feels that grin spread across his face again

* Very interesting

* His attraction to you is pretty shallow

* He’s interested you because you’re entertaining

* And you’re entertaining because you aren’t interested

* Which only makes him that much more interested in you

* Its a paradox

* You watch him flounder around, annoying Utahime for a giggle

* Well it doesn’t matter anyway, you know how he is, he’ll get bored soon enough and lose all interest in you

* He’s not the strongest {f*ckboy} for nothing

* You see him turn to meet your gaze, offering a boyish smile and a wink

* You make sure not to give any reaction, turning to listen to something Shoko is telling you

* You hope he can’t sense the twinge of heat you feel on your face

* You’d be lying if you said you didn’t find the attention a little flattering

* I think for the most part you’re right, Satoru is mostly playing around-

* At least at first.

* You’re just something new and fun no one knows about, and wildly entertaining since you never respond the way he thinks you will

* You’re kind, but not at the expense of yourself, and he likes that

* Besides you’ve got this quite sort of consideration for others-

* It’s not flashy, it’s so subtle most people hardly notice

* It’s in the way you bring an extra snack for Utahime when she’s running herself ragged training

* “They were having a two for one special”

* Or the way you’ll get your teacher a plushie you saw at a shop at the station because you know he needs more

* “I just thought it was cute, but I haven’t got any room for another one”

* You’re quiet, someone who hears things and she’s things, but never says anything about them

* A wallflower

* But you’re not weak

* There’s something about those two things put together in the same person that entertains him to no end. Like a paradox or a puzzle he can’t seem to solve no matter how hard he tries

* Satoru’s had at least a hundred lovers, and a great many of them had provided him with their own brand of kindness and consideration

* But he’s never felt something as warm as when he see’s a lunch box in his dorm after he hobbles back from a mission that lasted a little longer than expected

* He peers at the note attached, it’s not even signed but he knows it’s from you

* “I know you think you’re god or whatever, but even gods have to eat”

* He doesn’t know why, but he’s overcome with the urge to cry

* He gulps hard- it’s not like this a lunch you made by hand or anything, it’s just something from the convenience store

* And it’s not like this note is particularly affectionate or special either, he’s gotten entire love letters from his previous lovers

* So he’s not sure why he saves your note, placing it behind a picture frame where only he’ll know it is , or why he thinks that convenience store lunchbox is the most delicious thing he’s ever had

* Even though he knows he cares about you, and that he’s grown quite fond of you -

* I don’t think it clicks for him

* And part of that is because well, he’s Gojo Satoru

* He collects lovers like some people collect photographs or memories

* They serve their purpose, and he lets himself be entertained by pretending all the feelings are real, and then he moves on to the next one

* It’s just what he’s used to

* And this whole paradox you two have going on could go on for a few years until something finally shifts

* He went a little too far with one his half-flirting-half-tormenting pranks

* And for the first time you give him a reaction, it’s only for a second, but annoyance and anger mar you face

* And then just like that, it’s gone and you turn and walk off in the other direction

* Sh*t.

* He went too far didn’t he?

* It should be fine right? You’re not too mad at him right? You’ll get over it-

* Right?

* But for the next few days you don’t speak to him, and you don’t make eye contact

* It bothers him more than it should

* Normally he would be annoyed that his toy would have the gall to blatantly ignore him like this-

* But this is different than that.

* He’s-

* He’s feeling regret

* He shouldn’t have acted that way to you, maybe if he had just done something differently, or said something differently-

* It’s not like the way things were between you two was ideal or anything,

* But at least then you would at least speak to him

* ... and every once in while he would get to see you smile

* It’s never at him, it’s mostly when you’re with Shoko or Utahime

* Occasionally when you’re with Nanami or Geto, who you’ve been talking to more recently

* He’s pretty sure you three are talking about him, just one day away from forming a “down with Gojo Satoru” club

* Still that smile when you laugh-

* The way you look so carefree and young and so full of life is worth all the slander in the world to him

* He needs to see that smile, to know something that wholesome and kind exists somewhere in this cruel world

* Satoru’s thinking about how to go about apologizing to you

* He’s caught between buying you a Lamborghini or buying you a special grade tool when he ends up running into you

* “Ah, could you help me with something?”

* He would quite literally give you the clothes on his back right now if you asked

* You stand up on a a chair holding a glass of water

* “Apparently this is supposed to help with concentration or something” You say pressing the glass full of water to the ceiling

* “Can you hold this broom?” You ask and Satoru nods, holding the broom handle steady as you make sure it’s pushed against the glass holding it steady

* You nod approvingly down at him

* The rest happens pretty fast, you’re off the chair, carrying it away

* “The broom is actually a special grade tool, so cursed energy won’t work on it”

* You grin

* “Have fun figuring how to get out of that Baka Prince!” You say with a laugh

* And Satoru is dumbfounded

* But not because you just pranked him into a holding up a glass of water with a broom

* But because as you were rushing away, you showed him your teasing grin

* It’s the first time you smiled at him

* And as he looks up at the glass of water, a smile slowly spreads across his face

* It’s not the wolffish smile he usually has when he’s around you, or the princely smile he uses when he’s trying to get something

* It’s a genuine smile

* Ah, so that’s it

* He’s fallen in love with you

* If you’re not the one entertaining him, then he’s just not interested

* Ah geez

* He was so focused on trying to get you to fall in love with him that he really didn’t see this coming

* Well he’ll have to start being serious about pursuing you now-

* Though for you to pull off something like this on him tells him you’re his ideal match without a doubt

* A wallflower with a mischievous streak, he likes that.

* He scratches his head with his free hand

* “I wonder how I’m supposed to get out of this?” He muses looking up at the glass full of water

[lubdubsworld]

Blackberry Winters.

Part 1

Namjoon Werewolf Au !

Alpha werewolf!

Heavy angst.! Pregnancy, unrequited love, hate to love, prejudice, mental health issues.

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

There is a tide in the affairs of men, which , taken at the flood leads on to fortune. Opportunities had to be seized and made use of and you had to be bold and confident in order to lead your people to fortune.

Namjoon, as the head alpha of the Kim clan, knew this better than anyone else. Which was why he was here, in a meeting with alphas from the three neighbouring clans lining his boundary lines, hoping to get permission to access the seven or so aquifers that lay to the east of the packhouse.

The rains had been kind to them, the reservoirs were full but he wanted to make sure they had a backup plan just in case things went south in some way. His father had taught him that. Being prepared for the worst was second nature to him now. The land around the aquifers was rich and fertile and Jungkook had already let him plant tangerines and apples in the area for the little ones. The harvest was generally shared between the two clans and Namjoon was grateful for the easy camaraderie that the alpha of the land offered him.

The land belonged to alpha Jeon , a dear friend by all means and he knew that Jungkook would grant him permission as he always did . But still it was never a certainty. The council members had the final say and many of them held a grudge when he refused to marry Jungkook's sister last spring. That had been a no brainer for him. Junghee was beautiful but also like a sister to him, besides being incredibly intelligent. He didn't need a wife like that. And that was why he had picked, Jiah.

Sighing, Namjoon glanced back at the campsite where the women were gathered, sitting in small groups and laughing around a blazing fire while a few alphas hung about roasting meat and passing out moats of wine around . His eyes fell on his wife, timid and shy , sitting away from the rest and regret churned. He had been impulsive. She was ill suited to be his wife , and the last three months had been a bitter wake up call. Namjoon was well read, eloquent and bold. His wife was barely illiterate, with a stutter and shifty eyes that never met anyone's gaze head on.

He had chosen her because she had seemed docile and pliant and while she was definitely that, she was also ....at the risk of sounding rude and unkind, very very boring.

A simpleton. She seemed to know nothing about anything, content to disappear into the shadows, to hide and hang back and practically become one with the upholstery when he asked her to sit next to him.

It had been three months and they had barely spoken beyond a dozen words. It was awkward and stilted and just plain uncomfortable, sleeping with her. Sex was supposed to fun and passionate and filled with excitement and desire but with her , it was a chore he couldn't wait to cross off his list.

Leaning back against one of the poles holding up the makeshift tent, he watched her as she scooted away from one of the older omegas in the Jeon clan, the lady looking startled at the reaction. He shook his head in despair. He hadn't even wanted to bring her along but his mother had insisted. Something about her being young and innocent, too shy to stay behind with strangers for two whole weeks while he traveled to the Jeon's .

How was he supposed to explain that they were strangers as well ? That despite the label of mates, despite the fact that he had been the one to choose her, he felt nothing for her? Not even the idle curiosity one felt for strangers?

It was partly her demeanour, but mostly her appearance. She wasn't well groomed and it always made him frown. He had hoped that she would at least keep herself presentable, maybe hire the weavers to make her a few new tunics .

Something colorful and patterned like the ones the other omegas wore during festivities. The Kim clan had a lucrative fabric trade with the Min pack , and Yoongi and Hoseok always kept the most luxurious and vibrant silks and fabrics for him.

Jiah had shown a brief and fleeting interest in the luxurious threads, when his mother had brought her along to the tailor to get her wedding trousseau done....but the moment the young beta had asked her questions about her likes and dislikes, she had recoiled and went back into her shell. Namjoon had watched the whole scene, annoyance growing with every passing second. He wanted her to be pliant but also independent. Low maintenance . But apparently he would have to hold her hand through everything.

And that's when he'd begun to actively distance himself from his wife. He didn't have the time nor inclination to help her navigate her new life. He was busy, what with autumn coming to an end and the first chills of winter already beginning to permeate the air. The betas and alphas in the pack were already occupied with hunting enough meat to last them the winter, the women busy with curing the meat with spices and salt.....

He should have left her behind with them.

" A coin for your thoughts, Alpha Kim?"

Kim Jisoo came to stand by him, her scent of floral dust and vanilla cloyingly sweet on his senses. She had helped him with many a rut and he had always nurtured a sweet spot for the omega who was well versed in many languages. She was also one of the courtesans they had brought along for the evening entertainment. Jisoo slipped her hands through his arm and he smiled, letting her brush close to his torso.

His gaze went to his wife, who was staring at him, eyes blank and lips parted softly. She looked a little upset.

Which was understandable but still annoying. They weren't in love or anything and he wasn't cheating on her. Jisoo was a friend. He was allowed to have those. Jiah had no right to look at him with suspicion or with entitlement. He didn't owe her all her time. He wondered if she would react if he were to confront her now. As it is , he let himself stare right at her, half wishing that she would talk back to him.

But the moment their eyes met, Jiah looked away, entire body shifting as though in embarassment. He frowned , but lightly patted the soft fingers curled on his arm. He turned to Jisoo with a smile, taking in the pretty elfin features. The perfectly curled hair , threaded with gold and jeweler pins fell in soft ropes around her face, her lips tinted red and her cheeks brushed rose. She looked enchanting and unreal and he felt his blood stir in arousal, the need to feel her under him suddenly overwhelming.

He glanced back at Jiah and she looked a little green , her face ashen. His eyes narrowed when she shifted and looked around in a mild panic. Oh God, what was it now?

Irritable, he gently pulled away from the beautiful omega next to him.

" Excuse me, dear. I need to check on my wife." He said apologetically and she frowned staring at where he was looking.

"What's wrong?" Jisoo asked sharply but he ignored her, already moving to his mate.

Which was just as well, because the moment he reached her, her eyes rolled back and she toppled right into his arms.

She had fainted .

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

" I'm sorry we had to cut this short but I hope your mate feels better soon, hyung." Jungkook's voice was laced with genuine concern and Namjoon nodded, hugging the younger alpha tight.

Junghee looked just as sympathetic, next to him.

" She'll be fine . I tried to get her to stay but she's been panicking a lot and refuses to let any of the healers here examine her. I think she'll be more comfortable with your pack healer. " She said gently.

Namjoon nodded, glancing back at Jiah who sat side-saddle on one of the smaller ponies, her eyes wide and face still ashen. He had tried to tell her it would be okay , but she had insisted on going home. The stark terror on her face had unsettled him deeply. He didn't know why she was so scared of the Jeon healer? Could it be because he was a man? Whatever the reason she hadn't let him examine her and because he couldn't ask her to just forget about the whole thing ( he was still head alpha , he still had to set an example as a caring mate. ) Namjoon had been forced to arrange for their return back home.

He had left Seokjin and Taehyung behind to carry the talks on his behalf, and Jisoo stood a few dozen feet away looking annoyed as he gave her

an apologetic smile.

The journey back to the Main village would be a couple of days and he had packed enough food for the both of them.

As he turned back to mount his stallion, he caught a glimpse of her face as she stared at him.

She looked lost , apologetic and clearly upset.

And he wondered if he would have to spend the rest of his life reading her face, trying to figure her out.

He has no interest in either.

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

The journey became incredibly tiring, especially when the skies opened up on them. Rain Lashed the ground , intent on soaking the earth and Namjoon watched her shiver, trembling as they all huddled beneath the shade of some trees, blankets wrapped tight around her thin torso. Why was she so thin? Why did she look at food like it was poisoned?

They were only a mile from home but had to stop, the deluge was far too strong for the animals to see ahead of them.

Namjoon himself sat next to an omega from the clan. He recognised her as one of the maids his mother had given to Jiah.

" Is your mistress doing well?" He asked gruffly and the omega startled, bowing twice in respect before answering.

"I...she ... She doesn't say much, alpha." The girl blushed under his gaze, looking away nervously and he frowned, glancing back at Jiah.

So it wasn't just him, then. She didn't trust anyone. He stared at her till she felt the heat of his gaze and looked up, eyes wide like a startled bird, like one of the starlings that nested in the wooden beams of his hut. She looked surprised, then terrified, eyes darting away at once and he tried not to growl in sheer frustration.

He wondered if it was because of his face.

Namjoon had no large feelings about his looks but he knew he was far from beautiful. ( A/N : A whole lie , I know but please bear with me for the story :*) it was one of the reasons he had wanted a plain looking bride. But perhaps his own chosen mate had , had dreams of marrying a very handsome man? Perhaps she had been infatuated with someone like that , from the clan?

It wasn't a far fetched idea. But still, she had been free to refuse his proposal. When he had first met the clan's watchkeeper, old man Gong in the humble hut on the outer borders of the pack land, he had made it clear that it wasn't some kind of order. She was free to refuse.

But she hadn't.

She had merely bowed and agreed and promptly appeared with a satchel full of her things and followed him back to his own home.

So why did she continue to act like she was here against her will?

It irked him no end.

As the skies cleared, they began their trek again and Namjoon pushed thoughts of her out of his mind. He had to plan for the winter, make sure there was enough food and also make sure they had enough herbs and liniments and oils in the apothecary. Mind drifting off to the countless things he was responsible for, Namjoon forgot all about his awkward mate and the reason they were going back home in the first place.

Which is why, when they reached home and he took his bath, cleaning himself up and finally settling down to some delicious food from the kitchens , his mother's words made him drop the chopsticks in shock.

" She is with child."

Namjoon stared at his mother in complete shock.

Fuck.

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

Authors Note : I had this idea and just had to write it. Hope you guys enjoyed it.

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 23, second part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Nature Abhors a (Power) Vacuum

Jin Guangshan, Nie Mingjue, and Lan Xichen have gathered to decide what to do about the remaining Wen people and also what to do about the Yin metal. They have not invited Jiang Cheng to this discussion, or blowhard Clan Leader Yao, despite those clans having been hit particularly hard by the Wens in the course of the war. 

The three of them have a conversation about what to do with the Wen captives, showing their different attitudes towards killing.

Jin Guangshan: Killing is awesome, particularly in project management. It's just so efficient. Nie Mingjue: Killing is necessary, and a little bit fun, too. Lan Xichen: Killing is necessary, sadly, but we can randomly spare some women or old people, as a token sign that we’re not monsters. Kind of like when you have a fancy dinner and include a tofu dish for the vegetarians. Nie Mingjue: Nobody likes tofu, Xichen.

Jin Guangshan says he's looking for the Yin Iron and that they can't let any Wens or "ambitious people" get a hold of it. By ambitious people he means Wei Wuxian, not himself and his murder kid. Lan Xichen realizes this right away but doesn't, you know, do anything to contradict him.  Jin Guangshan says he's asked "A-Yao" to look into it. Which is smart, because A-Yao is already in cahoots with Xue Yang, who actually has the piece of Yin Iron they're looking for.

Getting Jiggy With It

Then Jin Guangshan introduces Meng Yao, now renamed Jin Guangyao, in a weird twist on generation names. He has given him the name of a sibling or cousin of his own generation (starting with Guang), rather than a name of the next generation (starting with Zi). JGS says that JGY just recently learned about about being related to him, although we know perfectly well that's not true. 

And they both talk like he appreciates JGY's efficiency and helpfulness, but that's not why JGS has him at his side. He has taken him in because he is a steel-eyed murder bot, not in spite of it. 

(OP does not believe that Jin Guangyao could have been a good person if only his dad had let him hold Jin Ling that one time, as some have argued. Dude killed his own child because there was a chance he might be disabled in a way that could lead to gossip. Dude is a stone cold killer.)

(more after the cut)

In the language of CDrama costume (which is not, precisely, the language of actual historical clothing), Jin Guangyao has chosen to dress as a minister instead of as a chevalier. This is partly an artifact of his mother's ideas about a gentleman. It also suggests that he’s content with the sort of career that's available to a bastard of a noble house--not inheriting the noble title, but having enough favor to rise in power. 

It may also be a ruse to make him seem like he's not a strong cultivator and not a strong fighter, when in fact he is both, at least by the time he’s throwing death chords at Jiang Cheng, much later in the show. 

Mingjue makes all kinds of grumpy faces and snarky remarks to let everyone know that he fucking hates Jin Guangyao.  Xichen agrees to his “nice refugee camp with only a little death” plan, with no qualifications.

Now we get to see Jin Guangyao's manipulation of Lan Xichen. Lan Xichen says that Nie Mingjue wants a plan that’s more killy, because he believes in punishing evil. JGY deliberately misunderstands this, pretending that Lan Xichen said he, JGY, is evil, kind of forcing LXC to reassure him and take his side in an argument that isn’t actually happening. 

They have a little handholding while bowing, and then after Lan Xichen leaves, Jin Guangyao puts on his evil face and has all the prisoners killed behind the big closed door.  

This is done in such a violent fashion that the blood apparently flows up several stairs to the door, and over the tall raised threshold, before flowing downward toward the camera. Some evil is so extreme that even traditional Chinese doorway architecture can’t stop it.

Run To the Rock

Then we go outside to where Wei Wuxian is standing on a rocky outcropping, thinking it would be a good strategic spot to choose if he's ever in a battle where he wants to commit suicide right quick.

Lan Wangji comes to join him and admire the view, not knowing yet that this view, or one a whole lot like it, is going to be seared into his memory for most of his life.

Lan Wangji is becoming more and more committed to Wei Wuxian, more and more inexorably joined to him, but he still doesn't agree with him. So they each have this comfort in each others' presence at the same time as being massively in conflict.

Wei Wuxian asks him what he thinks of all the politicking and murdering. Who is good and who is evil? LWJ doesn't answer because WWX is leaking black smoke, so he grabs him and tells him to concentrate.  Lan Wangji is, incidentally, wearing Princess-Leia quantities of lip gloss.

Lan Wangji asks if Wei Wuxian would like to learn a new tune, "Absterge" according to Netflix. The fuck? [op looks it up in the dictionary]. "To cleanse, especially by wiping." Also known as aftercare. Netflix. Honey. This word is MIDDLE FRENCH. Will you knock it the fuck off?

So anyway, instead of answering his question about who is good and who is evil, LWJ asks if he wants to learn a song called "Cleansing." Wei Wuxian says “hey babe, are you fucking kidding me?” 

His actual words are "you doubt me too?" meaning "you think I also took the missing 4th chunk of Yin iron to make my ugly tiger amulet, rather than obviously having used that giant sword I pulled out of the turtle?"  

Lan Wangji mentally replays Wen Ruohan's questions in his head--the questions he barked at Wei Wuxian right before choking him unconscious--which Lan Wangji also feels entitled to know the answers to. Fuck you, Lan Wangji. He answers WWX with "when did you forge your amulet?" Which is his way of saying "yes, I doubt you."

Wei Wuxian kindly refrains from saying "while we were on a break, bitch" and instead tells him the exact truth--I found a yin iron sword in the turtle--but says it in his patented "make it sound like a lie" way. 

LWJ keeps grilling him, eventually coming out and saying dude, you knew the sword was Yin iron, why did you need to use it?

This is the crucial question--why WWX broke his first promise, to Lan Yi, which was to try to get rid of the Yin Iron. He won’t tell anyone the answer, which is that he needs to use it because he can't cultivate normally, because he lost his golden core. He made a lot of promises before that happened, and he probably expected to keep them. But without his core, everything changed; without his core, he’s a different person, so it’s maybe not fair to expect him to honor his previous promises. 

I’m reminded of my grandfather, who was the oldest son of an old southern US family, with lots of expectations as the firstborn. He went off to WWI as a soldier, expecting to die. He didn’t die, and so from that point on, he regarded his life as a gift. He felt could do whatever he wanted with it, and let go of expectations from before the war. He moved to Paris and took up with a glamorous divorcee 7 years older than him (my Grandma, eventually). 

The actual point of that story, other than OP having cool grandparents, is that when you think you’re going to die, and then you don’t die, your ideas about what you owe to people can change quite a bit. Wei Wuxian expected to die in the Burial Mounds; he expected to die at Nightless City; he expects it, over and over, and each time he doesn’t die, he gets further and further from being what everyone else wants him to be. And--a lot like soldiers returning from a war-- NOBODY in his life knows how to talk to him about it. 

Wei Wuxian tells Lan Wangji to back off, Lan Wangji says why aren't you letting me help you, and they are once again on the edge of the same fight they keep having. Lan Wangji does some impassioned arm holding while Wei Wuxian says he's not like Wen Ruohan. 

Romantic Duet #1

The argument is interrupted by screams and killing, so they go to check it out, and find the Jins hunting down some prisoners for sport. They arrive in time to save two people. Yay?

Jin ZIxun acts like a jerk, as always. The new element is that per Jin Guangshan, anyone concerned with Yin Iron shouldn't be alive.  He says that the Lan and Nie clans agreed, and challenges Wei Wuxian. Lan Wangji stops him from responding, grabbing his wrist.

The Jins leave and Wei Wuxian refers back to their earlier conversation, saying there will be more resentful spirits now and that "Rest" is the music to play, not "Cleansing."

He gives Lan Wangji a long look and then pointedly removes Lan Wangji’s hand from his wrist, by holding his hand, which is some next-level mixed signaling. Lan Wangji totally deserves it at this point, though. He keeps pushing and pushing WWX about his cultivation method, but he refuses to discuss the underlying morality of it, or the morality of the killing going on right in front of them. 

WWX walks off, leaving LWJ to stew in his own juices surrounded by a bunch of fresh corpses. 

Lan Wangji fails his saving throw against the guilt trip, and sits his ass down to play Rest, just like Wei Ying told him to. So switchy!  Wei Wuxian, out of sight but not out of earshot, hears him and accompanies him on Chenqing.

This scene is slightly ridiculous and a whole lot sublime. Ridiculous because it's their first time playing music together, so it's a super slow, romantic, extended scene, but they're surrounded by corpses. And not the helpful, friendly, third-wheel-on-a-date type of corpses.

It's sublime because the occasion of their first beautiful, literally magical duet is an argument. And they are joining together to play beautiful romantic music - as a service for the dead. And they are doing it while they are on literally opposite sides of a literal killing field. And Lan Wangji is sitting literally in the middle of a wide open road; the sort of road that they will both reject, metaphorically, later in the show. There is so much about their conflict and their journey that is encapsulated in this one musical moment.

Lan Wangji, by playing the song Wei Wuxian said was needed, is telling WWX that he took his words to heart, that he is listening, even though they're at odds.

WWX, by stopping and playing with him, is acknowledging this. And by settling the dead souls together, they are both reinforcing their dedication to doing what's right even as they both struggle with knowing what that is.

When Other Friendships Have Been Forgot, Ours Will Still Be Hot

Now we have the sworn brothers thing. I understand, plot wise, why this has to happen, but why would Nie Mingjue ever agree to this? Lan Xichen's puppy eyes are just that persuasive?

If they ever crack your spine, drop a line If they ever cut your throat, write a note If you’re ever in a mill and get sawed in half, I won’t laugh (HA HA HA HA)

Tedious Party Time

Now there's a cultivation party, which is about as excruciating to watch as it would be to attend.

Everyone is lining up to praise Jin Guangshan. To be fair, he did provide shelter for most of the smaller clans while the war was going on. So being grateful is appropriate, but Clan Leader Yao practically breaks his own neck kissing Jin ass. Yao says JGY’s contribution was the greatest of the war, adding, "fuck Wei Wuxian; everything is his fault."

The Jiangs show up wearing mourning belts that show off their itty bitty waists, and Jin Guangshan makes shifty eyes like a cartoon landlord when he sees them arrive.

JGS praises Jiang Cheng, and asks when his fancy clan-leader ceremony is going to happen. Jiang Cheng says he's still in mourning so it's not appropriate. JGS is like “Oh...yeah," as if he totally forgot about all the Yunmeng slaughter, and talks up his friendship with Jiang Fengmian. He acts comforting while WWX manages not to barf.

Then the Lan clan shows up and there is nice encouraging chit chat between LXC and JC...

...and just, SO MUCH mournful staring between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian.

Then the Nies arrive.  Jin Guangshan tells Nie Mingjue he's late, and that everyone's waiting for him. That might be true in the script but it’s clearly bullshit on the screen, where the Lans and the Jiangs are still milling around looking for the coat room.

Nie Mingjue--who, let's remember, JUST swore to be brothers with Jin Guangyao--looks at him like he's something that fell off a garbage truck.  Lan Xichen jumps in to maximize the discomfort by pointing out that Jin Guangyao should address Nie Mingjue as Big Daddy Da-ge from now on.

Then the Jins offer Nie Mingjue the giant fire throne because...he's the leader of the Sunshot campaign, I guess? Of course it's all a manipulation tactic, designed to make him say he won't sit there, so that JGS can elevate himself to head cultivator, or something? And sit in front of the throne but not on it? Cultivator succession seems kinda arbitrary. 

I swear to god, it wasn't until I was clipping this episode that I realized Wen Ruohan had two thrones and they're in different rooms from each other.

Finally everyone goes to sit down, but because there hasn't been enough fucking awkwardness, JGY stops WWX to ask him what's on his mind. WWX asks him why he's not carrying his sword, which made me laugh and laugh. Wei Wuxian must have been just waiting for a chance to ask someone else that question for a change. 

Jin Guangyao says he threw it away, because it was just a random sword, but he really means he had it made into a sneaky murder belt, that he will be using again in 13 to 16 years. They both fake-laugh and trade Mean Girls insults pretend to like each other. 

Everyone wanders around toasting each other. Lan Wangji goes to find Wei Wuxian, after first making sure that his hair looks good.  

Wei Wuxian is lying around on the steps, sprawling and drinking wine, and not, incidentally, looking for Lan Wangji. He continues to not seek him out and Lan Wangji continues to chase after him.

Wei Wuxian says "how about playing Cleansing?" but Lan Wangji says he's learning a new score. It looks like it's going to be another argument, but then Wei Wuxian smiles and kind of praises Lan Wangji for being stubborn. 

Awkward Marriage Proposal

Just then everyone inside starts cheering for Jin Guangshan to give a speech. Jin Guangshan is making a move to marry Jiang Yanli to his son, which is a big time power grab, given that the Jiang Clan is 1. vulnerable and depleted 2. has control of the Yin tiger amulet.

We get a very rare glimpse into Jiang Cheng’s inner mind, where he thinks that saying yes isn’t a great idea, but isn’t sure what to do. This marriage would make his sister happy, but could destroy the Jiang Clan's independence.

Fortunately, Wei Wuxian joins the party just in time to fuck up Jin Guanshan’s plans. Will this teach Jin Guangshan not to invite Wei Wuxian to parties? It will not.  

Soundtrack: Friendship, by Cole Porter (from “Anything Goes”)

Bonus:

[aquietwritingcorner]

March Mildness Day 17: Encouragement       Word Count: 792   Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl Rating: K/G   Characters: Lan Fan, Ling Yao     Warning:     Summary: Even bodyguards need a little encouragement.   Notes:     AO3 || ff.net

_______________________

Encouragement

“Phew! What a day! Amiright?” Ling was back in his royal chambers, in one of the outer rooms, and had removed his headpiece, undone his outer robe, and collapsed back onto a couch. “I’m starving too! I should send for some food.”

“You know that they’ll bring you whatever you wish, My Lord,” Lan Fan said.

“Yeah, but its hard to decide what,” Ling whined out, looking up at the ceiling. “Maybe I’ll just lay right here and think about it. I certainly don’t want to think about anything else right now.”

Ling was right. It had been a long day. Then again, that was how most of the days were now. Lan Fan would always be grateful that Ling had become the emperor. He, at least, was fairly reasonable to the other clans, even if they wouldn’t have been, had the roles been reversed. But the days till took their toll.

For him the days were long, boring, endless meetings where he had to hold very straight, very still, and present himself very regally. For her the days were long in that she warded off assassination attempts, listened through attempts to bribe her, or just dealt with the uncertain looks people gave her and her metal arm.

Most people found her automail arm something of abhorrition. They eyed it and her suspiciously and were leery of her. Mei was the only one besides Ling that she could truly count on not to be turned away by it. Unconsciously, her flesh hand went to her metal arm. She didn’t regret her decision, but there were days where she wondered if someone a little less conspicuous or suspicious would be better as Ling’s seen bodyguard. That person could be in the light, and she could do her job from the shadows instead, where she and her arm didn’t have to cast a shadow over Ling’s reign.

“Hey.”

Ling’s serious voice caught her attention, and she turned to look at him. He was staring at her with serious eyes, the kind that caught people and wouldn’t let them go.

“You’re doing a great job, you know,” he said. “There’s been less attempts on my life then in the past decade of the previous emperor, and you’ve stopped more than one threat to negotiations or to dignitaries. You’ve even stopped plots on other high-ranking clan members. You’re doing a great job. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

Lan Fan felt her face start to go red. “M-my Lord! You shouldn’t praise me so! I—”

He cut her off and sat up. “I hear what people say too, Lan Fan. But I don’t feel any shame or misgivings about you having that automail arm. In fact, I think it’s been useful in intimidation and in bringing a few new ideas to the palace.”

Lan Fan had no idea what to say to that and looked down. “I am glad to have been of use to you, my Lord.”

Ling stood up, and walked past her, bumping into her shoulder with a smile, and looking down at the way she was holding onto her arm. “I just figured that you could use a little encouragement. Really, I wouldn’t have gotten this far without you.”

Lan Fan looked up at him, a smile touching her lips. “No. You would have passed out somewhere from hunger and been lost to Xing forever.”

Ling laughed. “I would have!” he said. “Hey—let’s sneak down to the kitchens and snitch some food from the cooks.”

“My Lord, you’re the emperor now! You don’t need to do such things,” Lan Fan said.

“Yeah, I know. But I thought it might be fun, for old time’s sake. Besides—we can consider it a contest of stealth. First one caught loses.” Ling said.

This time Lan Fan did smile. “Fine. But when you get caught, I’m not going to rescue you from Mei.” She turned on her heel and headed towards a window.

“Whaaaaat?” Ling whined. “Oh, come on, you’re supposed to be my bodyguard! You wouldn’t let her corner me, would you?”

“I would,” Lan Fan said. “But we’ll never know if you’re going to be caught by her or not, if you don’t change.”

“Alright, alright, just give me a minute,” Ling said, muttering under his breath about how unfair she was.

Lan Fan just smiled at it. She knew that it wasn’t serious, but a bit of a show, for her benefit. It was a reminder of childhood, and an encouragement to her as well—one that reminded her that even with all the changes, they were still who they had always been. Lan Fan moved her metal arm around. Yes. A little encouragement had been just what she needed.

[hearts-hunger]

aay’han mar’eyce (bittersweet discovery): chapter five || din djarin x reader

Read on AO3 || Masterlist

chapter one || chapter two || chapter three || chapter four

Series Summary: In search of the Jedi you’ve been tasked to find, you and Din wrestle with the bittersweet discovery of your little one’s past and destined future. || Part Three of Jate’kara (Lucky Stars)

Chapter Summary: You and Din struggle with your hurt in the wake of his decision.

Pairings: Din Djarin x Wife!Reader

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff | Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: Mentions of canon-typical violence, pregnant reader

A/N: Drumroll please..... it’s the long-awaited angst! Which I have never claimed as my forte, but I think it works for our Struggling™ pair of idiots. They just love each other but they’re so mad at each other, god bless.

You were relieved to see the Crest’s familiar shape emerge through the haze and broken trees. Your feet hurt from walking, your baby was heavy in your arms, and you’d worked yourself into total hopelessness. The sight of your home was welcome and comforting, and you felt yourself breathe easier as you came closer to it.

You lowered the ramp with the remote control on the bracelet Din made you when you first came to live on the Crest, a pretty little thing that he’d modified to control the ship and, later, the baby’s bassinet. You wished you still had that bassinet; it made travelling easier, and there was always a safe place to put Grogu if you and Din had your hands full. You wondered if you’d need two cribs once your new baby came, or if your husband would have already shipped Grogu off by then.

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” you said to yourself, nearly tasting your bitterness. You tucked Grogu into his hammock with intentional gentleness and closed the bunk hatch, wishing you could curl up and sleep too.

You heard the ramp close again over the sound of the refresher tap; the cold water felt good on your skin, and you buried your face in a towel afterwards, hiding from everything for a moment. When you finally looked up, you saw Din in the mirror; you knew him well enough to know he was studying your face in the reflection.

“Cyare,” he said, his tone soft through the modulator.

You whirled around. 

“Don’t cyare me, Din,” you snapped. “I’m not in the mood for it.”

You waited for the flare of frustration and annoyance in his body language; when it didn’t come, you felt a little off-kilter.

“I know you’re angry,” he finally said.

Oh, that did it. Maybe he wasn’t frustrated or annoyed with you, but you were livid with him.

“Angry?” you repeated. You marched over to him, an accusing finger pointed at his chest. “Let’s get one thing straight, Din. Angry doesn’t begin to cover how I feel about this. About you.”

“I know,” he said quickly. “And I’m sorry. But I — ”

“I don’t care,” you said, cutting him off, totally unwilling to listen to his explanation. You were finally, properly angry, and he was going to listen. 

“I’m not sending our son to train with her or with any other Jedi, alright?” you said. “You can make as many deals as you like and come up with a million macho rescue missions to risk your life on. But he’s my son too, and I’m not letting him go with her.”

You realized you were practically yelling at him; while you weren’t concerned about how it would affect him - Din Djarin was made of sterner stuff, and could handle your temper - you didn’t want to risk waking the baby.

“Come up to the cockpit with me,” you said.

His helm gave a questioning tilt. “Why?”

You started up the ladder. “Because I’m not finished yelling at you.”

He followed you up, giving you as much space as he could in the somewhat cramped cockpit. Despite fully intending to keep up your tirade, he was suddenly big, imposing; for the first time in many, many years, you felt intimidated by all that beskar.

“Din,” you said softly.

He reacted immediately to your change in tone, opening his posture towards you. “What is it?”

You shook your head. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d been this angry with him, and you certainly couldn’t remember the last time you’d been even the tiniest bit scared of him. All of a sudden, you realized you wanted your husband, not the unreadable Mandalorian standing in front of you.

You worried the hem of your shirt. “Can you please take off your helmet?”

“Yes,” he said quickly, moving to comply without hesitation. He removed his helmet and set it on the dashboard; his face was lined with worry and hurt. “Sorry, cyare.”

His expression crinkled in a wince as he remembered you’d asked him not to call you that. “I mean — sorry. Just — sorry.”

You felt your anger lessen by degrees — not enough to let it go, by any means, but enough that you were more willing to listen to him. Really, you wanted to know why he’d made such a decision; you wanted him to explain it to you, to show you that it really was in your son’s best interest, to convince you that your husband wasn’t suddenly a completely different person.

“It’s ok,” you said tiredly. “I’m not — I just don’t want you sweet talking me, ok? You need to talk to me. Really talk to me, right now.”

He nodded. “I am. I will. You have my full attention, and I will hear you out completely.”

You bit the inside of your cheek. “But you’re not going to change your decision.”

His expression was pained. “No, cyare. I won’t. But I think you know that I can’t. We can’t.”

“We?” you repeated. “I didn’t make this decision, Din. You did, by yourself, and you completely ignored me while you did. Since when do you make decisions about our family by yourself?”

“I didn’t want to,” he said, and it frustrated you how sincere it was. “You have to know that. And I apologize for ignoring you — that’s not the way I wanted this to go, believe me.”

He ran a hand  over his face, his remorse clear as day in his expression. “I had to. I didn’t know what else to do. She was going to leave, and we were going to lose the only Jedi we’ve managed to find.”

You wanted to say that it would have been a good thing, but despite your intentions of bringing him up here to yell at him, you made yourself hold your tongue.

He looked at you with a surprising gentleness.

“It’s not forever,” he said. “It’s only training. Mandalorian children leave for training, too.”

“He’s not going for Mandalorian training, though,” you said. You understood that he was trying to comfort you, but the length of time Grogu would be gone was only a small concern next to the kinds of people he’d be with.

“Didn’t you hear what she said?” you pressed. “I can’t think of anything more different from the Way than — than thinking loving your family is wrong.”

"She didn't say that," he corrected. "She said attachment makes you vulnerable, which is true."

You tried to reconcile his justification with what you knew him to believe, with what he'd lived out since the day you'd met him.

"Vulnerability isn't bad," you said. "You taught me that. And if our son goes trains with the Jedi, he'll be taught that it is. Doesn't that bother you?"

His expression, always so easily readable, flickered with uncertainty.

“It does bother you,” you said, and with the realization came a surprising wave of relief. To know you were at least agreed on that, even if he wouldn’t admit it, was reassuring to you.

His posture stiffened with agitation, and you knew you’d hit a sore spot. You knew he wanted to pace, but there wasn’t room for it; he drummed his fingers on the top of his helmet instead.

“It doesn’t matter if it bothers me,” he said, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself.

You balked. “How can it not matter, Din? You’re his father. Of course it matters.”

He shook his head. “What matters is that I honor the vow I made to him. That we honor that vow.” 

He looked up at you, his expression starting to show the frustration you felt.

“Has that crossed your mind at all?” he asked. “That you made a vow to him? In front of me, in front of the armorer?”

You crossed your arms over your chest. “Of course it has. It’s why I don’t want him to go with Ahsoka.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” he snapped. “Our vow was to return him to the Jedi.”

“Our vow was to be his parents,” you corrected. “And I think that overrides the promise to return him to the Jedi. What kind of parents would we be if we watched him grow up thinking that attachment and love were dangerous?”

“We’re not going to watch him grow up at all,” he shot back, bitterness and anger pouring from his tone. “Don’t you get it? He’s older than both of us. Once we’re gone, he’ll be completely alone.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “The Tribe — it’s completely gone, cyare. If there’s anyone left, they’re scattered. I don’t even know where the armorer is. Grogu needs to be raised in a clan, or raised by his own kind. We were never going to be able to keep him forever.”

You knew what he said was true. His rate of aging wasn’t a problem now, when you and Din were both relatively young, but Grogu would live to be much older than either of you. Din was right. If you were a part of a bigger clan, Grogu could be raised as a Mandalorian — it might take a few generations, but he would never be on his own.

“Let’s find another covert, then,” you said. “Or try to find Paz, or the armorer, or anybody from the Tribe who might have survived.”

Din shook his head. “No. There’s no telling where they are, and the covert on Nevarro is the only one I ever knew of. Besides, we have a Jedi right here he can go with. We’re not going to have this kind of chance again.”

“I don’t want him to go with the Jedi,” you said, for what felt like the millionth time. “Are you even listening to me? I don’t want him trained like that.”

“It’s not our choice how to train him,” he argued. “We didn’t vow to return him to the Jedi unless we didn’t like what they teach, and then, hey, I guess we can just do whatever we feel like doing.”

You frowned. “Don’t make fun of me.”

“I’m not making fun of you,” he said, exasperated. “I’m just trying to make it clear that our opinions on Jedi training have nothing to do with the decision we need to make.”

“The decision you already made, you mean.”

He scowled. “Yes, and it’s a good thing I did, because you would have let her walk away.”

“Yes, I would have,” you shot back. “And I never would have dreamed you’d do anything different.”

“Then you’re not able to look at this objectively,” he snapped, his frustration rolling off him in waves. “Do you think I like the fact that he'll grow up learning the exact opposite of what I was taught? That I like sending him off to the people I grew up knowing only as the enemy? My father would be rolling in his grave if he knew. But I’m doing this because it’s what’s best for our son. I’m doing it because it’s what I vowed to do.”

Something inside you snapped. 

“Then you care more about the Way than you do about your son’s well-being.”

Din flushed with anger.

“That’s not fair,” he said. “You knew I was bound to the Way when you met me, and you agreed to live by the Way when you married me. I'm not asking you to do anything you didn't already agree to.”

“I didn’t agree to abandon our son.”

“We’re not abandoning him,” he said, and you could tell he was quickly reaching the end of his patience. “You knew when we adopted him we had to return him to the Jedi. It wasn't like the traditional adoption vow. He's supposed to go back to his people, and we're going to honor that vow.”

“What if I won’t?” you said. Your last attempt, your last recourse. “What will you do then?”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, stunned, and your challenge hung in the air between you. You’d never refused to go with him on something before, and he’d never had to answer such a question.

“Cyare,” he said, quiet and numb. The furious, sparking anger was all but gone, replaced by a stony determination and a bone-deep weariness.

“Djarins honor their vows,” he said finally. “As long as you bear my name, you’ll bear that vow.”

You sucked in a breath. “Din — ”

He closed the space between you, pressing a gentle kiss to your brow. “I have to go.”

“Din,” you said again. You put your hand on his arm and held tightly. “Don’t leave.” Not like this.

He gently pried your hand from him. “We need all the daylight we can get, cyare.” He was still for a moment, then drew your hand up to his mouth and kissed your knuckles.

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” you said, without hesitation. “Please don’t go. It’s not your fight.”

The shadow of a rueful smile crossed his face. “I made a vow to help her. I won’t back out on it.”

He held your hand for a moment longer before he let you go. He took his helmet from the dash and put it back on again, masking himself in that armor that had never felt so distant, so unreachable.

“Din,” you said as he opened the cockpit doors. He turned and tilted his head, and the beskar was familiar to you again, just for a moment.

“Come back to me,” you said.

He nodded once, solemn. 

“I’ll always come back to you, cyare. You know that.”

And then he was gone, leaving to risk his life in someone else’s fight, and it took everything in you not to run out and beg him to stay.

pedro pascal character taglist: @punkgeekcryptid​​​​​​, @tv-saved-the-teenage-girl​​​​​, @stardust-galaxies​​​​​, @theorganasolo​​​​​, @qhbr2013​​​​​, @willowtheewisp​​​​​​, @lori-tovar​​, @sarybennett​​ ♡

series taglist: @kyjoraven​​​​​, @sarahjkl82-blog​​​​​, @remmysbounty​​​​​, @bitchin-beskar​​​​​, @cosmicbreathe​​​​​, @prettyboyskywalker​​​​​, @happyxdayxbitch​​​​​, @radiowallet​​​​​​, @marvelous-glims​​ ♡

please send me an ask if you’d like to be added to either taglist! ♡