#he's legitmately so not okay after they got him again

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

new sea glass gardens fan here! ✋🏻 happy to see such so much ask activity but i cant really go thru them all.

SO

what is one thing thats not in the fic but related to the universe that you would like ur readers to know?

Welcome!!

It’s that we won’t get to season 1 but if we did yuuji would be violently jealous of yuuta, who is living his best life and is obviously gods perfect man who has somehow locked down fushiguro megumi as his boy.

Probably just how badly it went when megumi was a kid.

There’s been a lot of asks about what happened when the zenin had shared custody. Most of what happened is never making it into sea glass gardens, because I don’t think it would ever come out in yuuta’s pov. I do have one shots from Megumi’s perspective and Gojo’s perspective that I’ve half written that may go up one day, but for right now, it’s a lot of backstory that you won’t ever get from sea glass itself.

If you don’t want to pick through a million asks, here’s a loose outline of what happened:

Gojo found Megumi and decided to adopt him. He then immediately decided he was in over his head and that he would be dragging Nanami and Shoko in with him. It takes a village and he’ll conscript one of his own.

Nanami and Shoko asked him “where the fuck did you get children” and he Did Not Answer That Question

During this time, Gojo, Nanami, and Shoko were sort of falling apart. They were all grieving. Everyone was completely overworked. Nanami had one foot out the door and wasn’t even hiding it. He was isolating himself and blatantly about to leave them all and not leave a number to reach him at. Shoko was abusing alcohol and cigarettes. Gojo was constantly in missions. They were all on the brink of losing each other for good when gojo brought megumi and tsumiki home.

Then he told the Zenin that he has discovered the magic of teenaged fatherhood with Zenin Toji’s kid and would be keeping him, xoxoxo. Hugs and kisses, peace and love, would not be giving this funky little dude back.

The Zenin replied “fuck you, thats our blood, give him back” and Gojo replied “fuck you, I called dibs.” Which the Zenin Did Not Like.

But the thing is that none of the Zenin knew that Megumi had the Ten Shadows yet, and the Zenin knew that if they went to war with Gojo, they’d lose. And they did not want to fucking admit that one member of the Gojo clan could kick all their asses at once, especially over the son of the Zenin clan’s biggest failure, especially when that guy just fucked them all over by killing the star plasma vessel. To save face, they decided to let Gojo keep him and called it a peace offering between their clans… then turned around and spread rumors about how Gojo just liked little kids and that’s why he wanted Zenin Toji’s son.

There’s a roughly nine months period after that where everyone was genuinely happy. Like, it was far from perfect, but they were finally healing a little? They were finally a real group again. They were all simply enchanted with Megumi and Tsumiki. They were happy. They felt like they could really, really be a family one day.

Then the Zenin found out Megumi had the ten shadows.

Cue the most aggressive custody battle of all time. The Zenin wanted full and unconditional custody of Megumi. They wanted Gojo to never have contact with him again. They did not want Tsumiki. Megumi would be theirs and he was never to be allowed contact with his sister or anyone from their group again.

At this point, the higher ups were mostly content to let them duke it out privately. They thought Gojo would lose, is the thing. He was committing the ultimate taboo by taking the ten shadows from the Zenin. They figured he’d eventually cave after he burned up all his good will and he’d be easier to control after this.

Instead it got to the point where Gojo said “actually, fuck this,” and just fucking. Quit. So did Nanami and Shoko. They formed a union and took the kids with them. The Zenin had decided that taking Megumi was an act of war they would answer in kind. It was either kill the entire Zenin clan or fuck off with their family and they chose the latter.

Megumi and Tsumiki think they were just on vacation but actually the custody dispute had escalated to the point of physical violence and the Teen Parenting Trio were hiding out with them to keep them safe.

This made the higher ups freak out, because all of a sudden, they had lost their only working special grade curse user and their only healer. They put pressure on Yaga to fix it.

Yaga was the one who brokered the custody agreement.

He convinced Gojo that what was best for Megumi and for everyone was to negotiate with the Zenin. The Zenin would have partial custody, and Gojo would have him the rest of the time. Megumi would get training in his technique from the people with the best knowledge of it, the Zenin would get time with the Ten Shadows, and they’d avoid war. Yaga thought it was the best deal they’d get.

This is when it all goes to shit.

The Zenin start abusing Megumi. They wouldn’t call it abuse if you asked them, but it was. They forced him to train constantly. No one would call him by his actual name no matter how much he begged. The bit where Megumi was forcibly bathed in sgg? It was an everyday thing when he was a kid. Every single aspect of his life was controlled when he was on the compound, down to what he wore and how his hair was styled. He was getting beaten pretty badly on the daily. The Zenin consider learning how to manage pain a part of training, and Megumi was not exempt from that. He was their heir. He was meant to withstand the most intense training without complaint.

Zenin Naoya was made one of his primary trainers, and he did purposefully abuse Megumi. Everyone else was obsessed with Megumi, only cared about the idea of him, and discarded anything that didnt fit their image about who they wanted him to be. But Naoya hated him. He saw Megumi as usurping his place in the clan. He liked hurting him. He beat him as often as he could.

Megumi starts acting out at home because of how bad things are with the Zenin. He gets in more and more fights at school and shuts down constantly. He's hurting and it's making him struggle, hard.

Eventually, Megumi goes to Gojo and begs him to stop making him go back to the Zenin Compound.

Gojo doesn't save him.

When they come back and make the custody deal, the higher ups basically go after the Teen Parenting Trio with everything they've got. The thing is that they almost lost some of their most valuable members of their society. They realized that they needed new ways to control them. So they introduced Shoko to harder drugs and got her addicted. They worked Gojo constantly. They isolated Nanami. When Megumi goes to Gojo, Gojo's at the absolute end of his rope, fully exhausted, and cannot take a single thing more.

He's also biased out of his mind as to what he thinks is going on. See, he thinks Megumi is being treated how Gojo was treated when he was a kid, which is like a little prince. The issue he's worried about is Megumi being pampered and put on a pedestal to the point it becomes dehumanizing. He's working double time to make sure that the rest of the time, Megumi gets to be a kid the way he didn't get to be growing up. But he never in a million years thought that the Zenin would ever lay a hand on the Ten Shadows, because the Gojo never in a million years would have laid a hand on their Six Eyes.

The other thing is that he sort of just. Thought he knew what was going on? Megumi had been pissed he had to be separated from his sister from the start. He had started to fight incessantly at school (because he was being abused and lashing out), and the Zenin were explaining away his bruises by saying he was starting fights with the other children. It fully fit with his behavior, in their mind. They blamed Maki more than once for his bruises, ironically enough. They said she was jealous of his technique.

Megumi was itty bitty and so fucking hurt, and he sort of stumbles through asking for help, and a lot is lost in communication. Gojo thinks he's just sick of going back there because his family's fucking weird and treats him like he's magic Jesus and he wants to be with his sister full time again. He also thinks that the only options are keeping this going or killing all the Zenin, because that's what Yaga told him. As much as he fucking hates it, he'd rather Megumi put up with spending two days a month with some fucking weirdos over murdering an entire clan or giving up custody entirely. So he basically cuts Megumi off and tells him that they have to make this work if he wants to stay with his sister the rest of the time.

Megumi now thinks that his family knows about the abuse and that they'll take away his sister if he doesn't just shut up and take it.

Megumi gets more hopeless and desperate, but he doesn't ask for help again. He thinks they already know. And he's not going to beg someone to help who never will. The abuse gets worse.

The Zenin start pushing their luck. They don't want partial custody--they want full custody. They start refusing to turn Megumi over to them unless Gojo personally comes to retrieve him, because Gojo's the only one who can actually make them turn him over. Megumi thinks his family is just fucking abandoning to his abusers and becomes more despondent in his situation. It doesn't help that the Zenin are telling him that he's staying later than he has to because his family didn't care enough to come get him.

Nanami gets increasingly frustrated with the situation because he keeps showing up to pick up Megumi at the very first second he can, and the Zenin keep turning him away at the door, and he keeps having to call Gojo in only for them to suddenly cooperate without complaint. He feels useless and angry.

Gojo feels frustrated because he's got every single second of the day scheduled with missions, and he's having to leave them to knock on the door of the Zenin compound and walk Megumi to Nanami's car. During all of this, Shoko has been escalating her drug use due to the higher ups pressure, and it's starting to show, but she refuses to get clean because she can just heal any damage the drugs do to her. Their previously happy family dynamic starts breaking.

Eventually, the situation at the Zenin compound hits its breaking point. If you're interested in what makes the situation hit a new extreme, the post is here, but I'll refrain from saying it here in case anyone wants to wait and see if I'll post the one shots and have it be revealed in-universe.

Naoya almost kills Megumi that time around, and they're all so emboldened by the liberties they've been taking with the custody agreement that they don't even try to hide it this time. They don't think Gojo actually loves Megumi, is the thing. They think Megumi is just a pawn to him, and that he won't care if they hurt him.

Nanami is the one that finds Megumi like that, and it fucking destroys him. He is never able to forget what Megumi looked like then. He carried him to the car, held him the entire time that Ijichi gunned it back to the school, rushed him to Shoko for treatment, and has never been able to forget what it felt like to hold him and not know if he'd survive the drive. He has never been able to forget it.

Anyway, he went back to kick Naoya's fucking ass.

Gojo showed up halfway through their throw down, drag out fight, so furious the ground shook with it. That's the part that Maki remembers of what happened. He told them that it was over, that they'd never be allowed near Megumi again, and he kept his word.

Yaga tried to talk them out of it. It's not that he wanted Megumi to be hurt. He just genuinely thought they didn't have any other options. He didn't think they could actually take the Ten Shadows from the Zenin. He thought the best they could do would be to try to force them into a binding vow not to hurt him. He told them they had to give Megumi back to the Zenin.

The Teen Parenting Trio cut him out of raising the kids completely after that. It broke their trust in him. They no longer thought he'd actually protect them.

Nanami broke down. He couldn't do it anymore. It was Haibara all over again. He told Gojo he was done, that he couldn't do it anymore. He wanted equal custody of the kids. They could work out a schedule. But he couldn't do this anymore.

Gojo realized that Megumi thought that he knew the entire time, and swore up and down that he'd never compromise on his or Tsumiki's wellbeing again. Their family was never the same, and it sort of haunts Gojo as to what they could have been. He always wonders if they could have had something closer if he had just refused to let the Zenin near his kid.

These events are in greater detail in the asks, but that's the general backstory underlying the events right now.

[yb-cringe]

im sorry to bring discourse into your ask box but you're entirely right like. it's part of why i never got into ranchers (and only just started properly liking flower ranchers) cus fics and art always characterized scott as this like… terrible partner? like scott teasing jimmy was, to me, a way of showing affection? and he never legitmately berated him for anything. why does scott get so mischaracterized in ranchers fics that DONT also include him as major part of the story?? whether it's him getting shipped with the ranchers or not, like?? he was a GOOD husband, he LOVED jimmy and jimmy loved him??

no no youre good i brought it up So totally fair game

Yeah i completely get you- i said already but yeah i just cant get into ranchers because for some reason theres an air of ‘okay but if you do scott needs to be characterized as an evil abusive ex’ which rubs me the wrong way because no????

its just Wrong because thats not what happened at all. youre right the teasing was lighthearted if not a bit sassy at best but /everyone/ does that with jimmy and grians even said that his friends! hate! being! called! bullies! when theyre completely within jimmys boundaries!!

3L scott was no different! in fact he was the most avid jimmy fan during 3L! ive even made jokes that 3L scott would beat up empires Scott for how he treated him because hes THAT protective! he put himself in physical danger over and over again to keep jimmy safe and to eventually avenge him after his death.

his world went grey without him, they named cows together, scott framed his gifts and baked him cake and stood by his side when he turned red despite the obvious danger that would put him in because he loved and cherished him Completley and to have that all cut away CONSISTENTLY as a fanon concept down to ‘he said jimmy house ugly once :(‘ is just.. /frustrating/.

[mallowstep]

tpons initial/reading thoughts

keeping my "liveblogging" in one place to maintain my mortorium on spoilers

tpons spoilers below the cut. obviously.

prologue

i swear to god if bramblestar comes back and i don't get squirrelstar i might actually seek out the collective representation of erin hunter and kill her

chapter one

bristlefrost.

bristlefrost, can you hear me [1].

jayfeather is under exactly the same stress as alderheart. so either you're implying alder is weak or you're in the "adoption isn't real" camp and i'm neutral on you as a character, i don't want to dislike you.

you know, i thought the scene in mtbnsof where all of thunderclan is like "yeah, let's just exile squirrelflight" [2] was exaggeration, and honestly i spent a long time workshopping it to make sure it felt natural, but apparently i didn't have to do that, because the characters are canonically OK with it!

do y'all want your leader back or bramblestar? (i'm not salty nope not me.) also twigbranch the fuck do you mean "it would be wonderful if bramblestar came back" like what he barely let you stay in thunderclan stfg.

fuck, i can't tell whether or not sparkpelt is denying lionblaze and jayfeather as squilf's kits, but they're really ruining my good faith in adoption. or just proving my point that it's not about adoption.

does thunderclan care about shadowsight? what is going on i swear did they forget he killed bramble and is responsible for the entire mess right now?

chapter two

shadowsight you did a bad of course they're not hiding how disappointed they are you did a bad my son

lmao it's the reverse of tawnypelt's clan [3], shadowsight is being kidnapped against his will for the tribe. also please can we go back to the tribe but only if it's good

he listed dovewing next to "clan leader" not "clan leader's mate" which implies dovewing has shc's respect which yes i stan

aww siblings being siblings. i miss that from po3. nothing has captured it as well. well, like, the sight.

chapter three

you know, i think part of why i've struggled so much with this arc is because i just don't like any of the pov characters. i don't dislike any of them but i don't like them.

yeah! tree defending rootspring!!!! fuck. good fathers in warriors.

so rootspring calls lionblaze TC deputy which means squirrelstar [4].

god they go, like, ages without caring whose parent is who and suddenly they're covering it all over again but like, in an adoption bad way, and just, fuck you erin hunter [5].

it's good to see lionblaze does care about her, fuck, can we just get some consistency here. (i mean god rootspring he lost his mom too --- i mean, if anyone should know this, your mom was violetshine, posterchild for bad adoption, who fought w twigbranch over adoptive mother shit)

i want a bernie meme like "i am once again asking for adoption to be treated like a legitmate form of family."

chapter four

wait why the fuck is bris faster than windclan their whole thing is being fast

also that moonkitti video about harestar having no personality[6] is painfully real i know nothing about this man

oh huh we were just talking about windclan camp[7]. this is actually pretty similar to the first ever description, right down to bris wondering how people sleep there (they don't.) well, uh, credit where credit is due, good job for sticking to your guns on windclan sleeps outside.

i love how crow and breeze being difficult is just common knowledge.

oh, so crowfeather gets credit for the three? fucking hell man i'm done.

also fuck you crowfeather for victim blaming i will be making a call out post so help me [8]

okay i'm ngl it feels like bris is crushing on lionblaze. i don't think that's supposed to be a thing [9], it just feels like that.

okay okay okay i'm confused in earlier books the great battle was like a well discussed thing. god, avos had that whole the names of the fallen thing. and now, not even a full generation later, and bris doesn't understand the dark forest? (also who's even in the dark forest?)

(oh wait this book is going to answer that. uh for the record, now, squirrelstar/mtbnsof has been fully plotted and will disregard whatever this book says, unless it's good.)

oh wow i guess we're just throwing out the concept of the moonpool why don't we. really, everything i heavily justified/couched in mtbnsof is happening unironically in canon.

mothwing and willowshine god fucking damn. they're prob my fav mentor/apprentice relationship. mistystar's omen stg.

what is it with everyone and bouncing all the fuck around with squirrelflight? like, okay, i'd get it if they doubted her because yeah, i could make a strong argument about clan morality and her actions [10]. but they're so on and off about it i hate it.

shadowsight.

shadowsight, can you hear me.

you're literally saying, "i could solve this, if i had a solution to the problem."

well ig we know who he takes after.

chapter five

what's up with this "darkest thoughts" bullshit come on you're really going to invalidate ivypool like that?

lionblaze really do be going back and forth. can't blame him he's not used to having a character.

also, i really love jayfeather standing up for alderheart [11].

mothwing wtf how're you getting to hell you don't believe in it. how do you have faith in shit. also please stop trashing shadowsight [12]. that said, she's absolutely right, she would be the ideal cat for the job, considering she has warrior training.

jayfeather what the fuck dude why are you suggesting it. although i'm glad at least he acknowledges his connection to squilf. good job. good job for being the one fucking character.

willowshine. willowshine baby no. don't do it. willowshine. willowshine no. don't do it. baby. no. please. i'm crying please don't do it.

"well, Mothwing, I admire everything about you" holy fucking shit what a line that's a line to inspire so much fic [13].

willow please baby no. please. send kestrelwing or something. puddleshine. anyone but you please baby.

damn okay what is with the connection between mothwing and.

no.

no no no no no.

they're killing willowshine.

why.

she's. baby. please no. she's not read. she's too. no. i can't.

ffs moth please stop dissing shadow like this he doesn't deserve this. (also, unrelated, did, uh, did puddleshine name shadowsight for spiresight, a cat he never met and had no connection with? fuck i forgot what happened there.)

you know, out of the med cats, mothwing and jayfeather are the oldest. it's nice to see that dynamic have weight: when jayfeather speaks, people listen. it's been a while since we've had that role of the med cats in thunderclan.

god willow is dead and i'm going to sob.

chapter six

I FUCKING CALLED IT I HATE EVERYTHING

why did they have kill my baby [14]

when did rootspring get fucking responsible this is worse than when i got responsible

also mothwing i'm so sorry.

fuck.

i didn't cry i was too angry and i cried about it last night because i knew it was coming just.

they didn't have to do her dirty like that.

chapter seven

just, before we begin, still sad about this willowshine bs. give me back my baby.

oh gee bristlefrost i wonder why lionblaze can't talk about his mother being taken away

does this mean they're going to acknowledge adoption again? please let this not be me raising my hopes too soon.

also really with all this lionblaze = deputy stuff...i just want squils [15]

oh lionblaze is back on his bullshit again. like, dude. he was instructed to treat ashfur. he was ordered. jesu maria.

uh. spotfur. what the fuck?

okay, first of all, squilf was chosen as deputy, so yes, she does in fact inherit leadership. that's...that's just wrong.

if you want to complain about lionblaze, sure, i hate it as much as you [16]. but squilf?

yes, yes, please give me ivystar [17]. if i can't have squilfstar (and i don't think i can, hence the existence of mtbnsof [18]), please let me have ivypool. (although mousewhisker? who said that lmfao.)

uh, lionblaze? there are so many better choices. i think bristlefrost would do a better job. (that's not an idea please don't give me bristlestar.)

ayyyyy! graystripe! what a man. what a time.

(graystripe and his gd dramatic entrances.)

also it's good to see elders getting the respect they deserve. (wait what what what the fuck happened to him.)

hehe (mtbnsof spoilers) i'm glad at some level that like, i identified key things that need to happen to make the story interesting and compelling, and they're happening. tbc really is picking up with the good writing. i have a lot of thoughts about this, but mostly, like, these books have changed since when i started them, but i'm happy with where they got. also, lmao i'm dying because like, yeah fuck i don't even know, i can't believe both the worst and best parts of mtbnsof have made it into this. god. what a world.

oh thank god lionblaze is stepping down.

hey, uh...is anyone going to follow up with what graystripe was doing? this is getting sus i can't take another thing i just need to trust someone.

chapter eight

i'm still not over willowshine

i. can people decide if dark forest is punishment or. wasn't lionblaze against sending shadowsight? i can't remember shit i should be taking useful notes i have a memory problem xd

aww dovewing mom.

you know i have a quick q: in skyclan & the stranger, leafstar's kits call her mama. but i don't think we've seen any adult cats say that. what's up w that?

oh dovewing i love you but...nah i just love you

that said, uh, can shadowsight's behavior be treated consistently? i don't know something is just bothering me.

oh yeah icewing exists lmao. forgot about that. can this continue like can shadowclan be the new home for wayward souls? they kind of deserve it after all of the villains they've had. and the earliest books kind of implied shadowclan used to do that.

i really, like, okay. cats like icewing are all "durr hurr dark forest very bad" and then others are like "bruh hell is real?"

uh. nope. i hate this implication that the dark forst is poisonous. very bad very bad very bad.

aww tigerstr being a good dad. breaking the cycle. first one [19].

i really, like, why do cats blame shadowsight? he wanted to go? he wanted to be the one? like, wtf?

urgh who wants to be warriorcatsfandommisandry [20] would praise shadow's rule breaking while victim-blaming squilf for the same behavior.

well, uh, ig i'm glad mothwing secretly cares about shadowsight? like, that's kind of fixing her character. kind of.

chapter nine

wow this post is getting long whoops i mean it is all of my notes on a book. usually i condense em into the good stuff.

lmao shadowsight b like "yeah if i die sorry my dad's gonna kill u luv u thanks for coming >3"

seriously mothwing was definitely the cat to choose considering she could 100% fight. also, like, his body is at risk?

you know, i think mothwing is supposed to be having a jayfeather arc here, but it's crippled by the fact that we're not in her head [21].

how many cats are even in the dark forest wasn't this the whole plot of oots that they're all dead?

also, like, i'm glad mothwing is back to herself. i don't even care about the inconsistency i'm happy to have mothwing back.

seriously it's starting to get to me that the knowledge of the great battle is so inconsistent.

okay i like that we've ditched the "darkest thoughts" thing that was kind of stupid

squirrelflight

(i am crying she's here again fuck)

chapter ten

okay yeah valid gotta maintain that tension (altho fuck you erin hunter [5])

huh. i still kinda hate rootspring for basically no reason ngl

you know, i've never questioned this, but how the fuck does moss ball work? moss doesn't work like that god no no no i can't over think it [22].

you know, forbidden romance might be "overdone" but it's worth pointing out that we very rarely get the perspective of the cats in the forbidden romance

lmao what is it with greystripe? like? is everyone in love with him? i'm not being fair to him just...what?

emotional support wife dovewing [23]

i really wish there was a deeper bond between bris, rootspring, and shadow. i appreciate the viewpoints into different clans, but with no meaningful differences in culture, it's just weird because we're used to po3 and avos and stuff where our leads are really close to each other.

willow

willow baby

you know it's occurred to me i've never vocalized my love for willowshine on this blog before now? xd see i don't actually talk about my favorite characters that much. i talk about dovewing the most out of my top 3 (dovewing, jayfeather, willowshine, in no particular order), but they just kind of feel...too personal? because i have really specific reasons to connect with all of them.

dovewing just happens to be for reasons i'm most able to share >3

willow please don't be corrupted

chapter eleven

please i just want to know squilf is okay

bris u fucking idiot we've established the moonpool is deep. don't you remember literally yesterday?

flametail imagery

"drypaws" what a word. interesting ik leopardstar just avoided water, but here bris can't swim. i don't care i'm just happy for some gd culture

okay i've said it before and i've said it again: i draw the line at cat cpr

wait what is daisy doing? fuck was i supposed to read the novellas first? is this what daisy's kin is about? when did daisy leave? did i miss something? what's going on??

okay can we...like, cats who aren't elders trained in the dark forest. this wasn't even a full generation ago. lionblaze. breezepelt. just...guys.

tigerdove...so cute. i love them [23].

where tf are the sisters they got here so fast

like bruh...i liked the sisters but now they're like, clan on demand ghost summoners? i think? idk clearly i'm missing something very important

emotional support wife dovewing

chapter twelve

i see shadowsight and i don't see squirrelflight and i have a complaint

oh uhhh who's snowtuft again?

also i feel like, i feel like i made my point about it being empty

a light in the mist title drop dodoododod

bruh what is ashfur even

oh series one cat xd yeah that checks

look. if they're not in the allegiances, i don't remember them for shit, okay? my series one memory is excellent, it's just that series one cared about thunderclan, and, like, tallstar

squilf squilf squilf squilf squilf if she's not in this chapter i'm going to scream it is 2am bitch

I AM SCREAMING BITCH

chapter thirteen

the scream lengthens

just give me her

at least i get to spend time with willowshine?

wait mapleshade is still alive? i thought someone killed her oop

also uh yeah how did ashfur amass power like, that bitch is an incel he's done nothing but fail to kill three cats and get murdered and go to heaven

are there even enough dark forest cats for that?

rootspring this is a bad idea don't do this haven't you seen horror movies stop being the white chick

sad ghosts r sad sigh

chapter fourteen

when did warriors get all "oh no can't do multiple chapters of the same narrator in a row" please nobody fucking cares that bris is sad i just want to see squirrelflight

lmao bris like "it's illegal to be atheist" bitch i read code of the clans exactly once i know it's dovestar who tried that and the answer was no.

ah, tree. actually mediating, for once.

god, bris...why is firestar's legacy so large? like, fuck, i know why, i just...

also, tree, she said a nobel and true Clan, not the clan. so like, maybe chill out for a moment [24].

hnnnng family drama also i really like that tree loves his wife very good very good

dfskj okay mothwing missing riverclan would be much more impactful if we actually knew what was going on in riverclan. (like, say, if willowshine was a pov in this arc [25]?) also, you know, riverclan has had so many problems with treating cats badly? god, a shadow in riverclan. wait, like, shouldn't mothwing also remember/reflect on this? wait this would be so much better if we had more pov for this fuck

also fuck off bris about being proud you are so fucking priviledged your forbidded romance drama is as intense as like, idek, the notebook? from someone who lived through, uh, forbidded romance that involved threatening to send someone to conversion camp [26], fuck off

bruh. why is she acting like thunderclan is gone xd you have no idea what it's like for a clan to almost fall apart yeah i stand by my comments on shadow/skyclan.

"what will my place be?" it will be a fucking warrior of thunderclan??? all you've ever wanted???? god she's...look i get it she's like, my age. and lord knows i don't react gracefully to shit. she's stressed, i get it. i do. but also, just, ffs bris. get it together.

"you die in the dark forest, you die in real life" can we meme that?

oooh okay it would be really good to get all three pov cats in the dark forest [27].

also, how long has rootspring been down there? how does this work? what's up with shadowsight? what is anything even? how long has it been?

thank you mothwing for pointing out bristlefrost is extremely unexperienced.

also can i just say, i really like bris' name? like i think bristlefrost is an extremely cute and good name. cute in that it's cute and good in that it conveys her character well.

god i want mothwing pov on this [25].

why is bris so convinced that if she doesn't act, rootspring isn't coming back?

chapter fifteen

wow i had a lot of notes on last chapter huuuh

oh vibe do i finally get squilf

stopping caring about bramble shadow no one fucking cares

seriously when did ashfur get this, uh, good at being a villain?

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

she's

here

fuck i'm crying

poor bb i just. poor baby.

okay. ashfur. let me making something clear.

i do not understand why in the world squilf would ever choose bramble [28]. but you're fucked as a choice.

ffs yellowfang this is why we don't say "his only crime was loving too much"

okay well as much as i'm confused by his power his characterization here is fantastic. i'm really glad we got ashfur back as a villain, you know.

good job squirrelflight. do not take unnecessary blame.

(also please learn to transfer these skills to your pos husband.)

#when you can't get her to love you by killing her husband and dragging her into hell so you think you can make her love you by showing her how you're torturing the souls of her loved ones

you know i had the snowtuft thing spoiled for me i just forgot who snowtuft was so it had 0 impact

damn bramblestar is still alive.

dammit.

people kept calling lionblaze deputy don't do that to me if you're not following through on it ffs

okay not to pimp out my own fic but if you're interested in a squirrelstar au, "may there be no sadness of farewell" is my squils (squirrelstar) au and it does have an imposter arc. so you know. if that's your thing.

hnng my thoughts on bramble [29] aside i can appreciate the drama

ashfur. ashfur. ashfur you fucking idiot you're the one fighting her. also fuuuck i love this character. if i was bookmarking this on ao3 you know it'd get the "hot damn" tag.

huh. uh, wow. good chapter. hot damn. loved it. loved it so much.

hate what it means for my hopes and dreams, but very good. very intense. i approve.

chapter sixteen

eh, wasn't she going to the dark forest? did i forget something?

ohhh dream

huh this is interesting

and cute.

i love the "everything is fine" trope so much tho

does...did no one ever describe ashfur to bris?

you know, i think this is why so many people, me included, go with the we-don't-talk-about-our-villains thing. sure, it makes some bits awkward, but...yeesh

huh. weird chapter. both impactful and kinda meh.

chapter seventeen

you know i'm feeling a lot of things right now, and i might have to just give in and finish this damn thing.

we'll see.

willow willow willow willow willow

sigh ffuuuck she's dead. i'm sad. i'm going to write a fic about her. "under a willow tree" i have plans. it's going to be good.

yeah see okay. i made a joke about warriors needing to make not talking about shit part of the culture and i'm glad they did because it works

squilf!!!!!!!!!

oh fuck i'm crying again. my girl. she's here. she's here.

of course they saved you!!!!!! you're!!!!! squilf!!!!!!

please get nine lives.

please.

let the body be dead.

let bramble die.

please.

chapter eighteen

okay seriously i really want to memify "if you die in the dark forest, you die in real life"

oh rip shadow's ear. that sucks. huh. i'm gonna have to explore this, too. esp. w dovewing.

eeeeee mothwing being mothwing again i'm happy

willow

mothwing stick to ur guns for a moment

also i appreciate the "u can't tell me what to do i'm a med cat" thing going on

hehe tigerdad (where's dovewing my beloved)

chapter nineteen

wow okay i'm 3/4 of the way through

dammit rip squilf something something exploring some canon complient stuff.

huh, shadowsight. do you think maybe. being in the dark forest. is bad. do you think. maybe.

bruh shadow way to go call out your own father smh.

mothwing, my dear, you're the one who didn't want to treat him like that. i mean i'm glad you're standing up for him but this kind of makes your whole treatment of him feel like a plot device.

okay, i'm glad that's a formal thing, med cats > leaders, that makes me happy

i really want to know what alderheart is up to.

yeah really why have they waited so long. i mean i forgot about them too but the sisters seem like an obvious choice? since they're here?

(also i'm still really confused by the daisy thing.)

heh i really do need to read squilf's hope. i've been putting it off (i don't want to read cft, but...), but i think it's about time.

rootspring what? okay going to read it now ig

okay okay i'm really glad the sisters are like fuck we're done w y'all cause that's been a long time coming

what debt where the sisters in to the clans XD???

chapter twenty one

"moonpond"xxd i'm dying

awww tigerdad

don't the sisters know the basics of herbal healthcare?

poor tigerstar. no no guys. his wife was in a dangerous prophecy, and now his son is. :(

tigerdad!!!!!!!

ohhh this chapter hit hard

chapter twenty two

"the sign of a true leader" is...talking fast?

dfsjadfskj rootspring you are lead by leafstar the best and most capable leader the fuck are you talking about

:((((((((( brambles........alive

is squirrelstar so much to ask for

y'all're lucky i was going to release "ilex aquafolium" tonight as a follow-up to "better left unsaid" because freyja (my cat) chose it to be next in the rotation but i might end up finishing chapter three of "may there be no sadness of farewell" first because coping

chapter twenty three

you know writing that chapter did not take me better i forgot mtbnsof is angst until like...the epilogue

heyyy they're back....i'm.....soo....happy...about......this [30]

i mean i feel like every one is way too trusting how do u know it's the real squilf?

shadowsight bris rootspring polycule? just a thought

oh. so that's it, then.

you know, i enjoyed it.

citation: a moonkitti video ↩︎

see here to read it, but...you could probably get it in canon ↩︎

legally i have to tell you i haven't actually read this yet ↩︎

please let me have this. ↩︎

where "erin hunter" refers to the collective who writes warriors ↩︎ ↩︎

it's called "leader chance" if you're interested ↩︎

okay, techincally i was talking about riverclan dens, but it's close. ↩︎

for my own personal reference, pg 50 on phone. about 19% ↩︎

warrior cats still hasn't invented cheating. also, no, i'm not going overboard on the footnotes. ↩︎

nts, do this. or add on to like "daughter of mine" or "secrets passed over in the dead of night" ↩︎

gives more weight to sunset and evening star. ↩︎

although also guys it's not that out of character for her. like, she's always been quick to do what she thinks is right, and this time, it's the wrong thing. you know? ↩︎

including my own fuck. ↩︎

spoilers for mtbnsof. i mean i know i killed willow for exactly the same reason but...why'd they have to lift all of my least favorite parts of squilfstar. ↩︎

squilf but for squirrelstar. coined in my drafting notes for mtbnsof ↩︎

to be clear, he's wrong, i just wouldn't bother arguing because it's annoying having lionblaze as clan leader. ↩︎

nts: do something with this. mtbnsof spoilers. even if i don't end up going through to squils death, i want to do something with ivystar, preferably before the entire clan is ocs. ↩︎

in case you're new here, my ao3 is mallowstep and mtbnsof stands for may there be no sadness of farewell, a squirrelstar au that begins at the end of lost stars. ↩︎

"love knows no bounds (but maybe it should)" (unannounced) spoilers. ...i say, knowing about how he's, uh, not in lknb. ↩︎

hopefully, i'm speaking ill of the dead and not summoning the devil. hopefully. ↩︎

yes of course i will now be writing that thank you for calling me out. we will also be exploring her relationship with religion. title? unsure, but we might reuse "i'll believe the wind is calling me" since that has been scrapped and salvaged ↩︎

only valid kit play scene is now the one at the beginning of the sight. ↩︎

no tigerdove discourse please. i'm not in the mood for it. play nice. ↩︎ ↩︎

although to be clear, the only actually noble and true clans, at least time of this book, are shadowclan and skyclan. ↩︎

nts - "under a willow tree" ↩︎ ↩︎

oh. so that's why i don't like her. ↩︎

it triples my odds of seeing squilf. ↩︎

i do. i really, really do. but until the erins acknowledge it, i try to ignore it in canon. otherwise i get too sad. ↩︎

as mentioned before, when i'm interacting with canon, my standards are a lot lower. because i like to enjoy the stories. that's why i write fix-it fic. ↩︎

i'm crying ↩︎

[universal-kitty]

RAMBLE ABOUT PHOENIX DO IT 💖🧡 [robotarmjokes]

@robotarmjokes

   ....Oh no... I’ve been...enabled.

   Look at this man. Lookit him. He’s a walking, talking DORK and I seriously don’t know how he does it. He’s too damn powerful. Dorky little wink...... I’m melting. How am I suppose to rAMBLE I’M GETTING DISTRACTED BY HOW CUTE HE IS, OH NO--

   But it’s just as silly bc he goes around saying that I’m the cute one! Well, studies have reported something, Mr. Wright! And that is....that YOU’RE THE CUTE ONE!!!!! How does that feel, huh?!?      (But I can already mentally hear him saying that just makes me cuter and.... [sighs] I can’t win with this man, but that’s okay. We’re dating, so I’ve won, anyways.)

   YES, tHIS GIF. COLLEGE FEENIE. I JUST. HOW DOES ONE MAN STAY SO ADORABLE THROUGHOUT HIS ENTIRE LIFE?!? I literally saw him as a college student and went, “Oh no. That’s my type... Oh no.” (I’m so glad my SI didn’t meet him til AFTER college bc they would’ve made everyone sick for the rest of their lives with how sappy and lovey-dovey they’d be together..... Like Feenris, but WORSE.)

   He’s such a dork, I could cry...but in a good way. I’d be crying about how cute he is and that I can’t take it aND WAIT A MINUTE I’VE ALREADY DRAWN THAT--

   I have legitmately shed tears over how cute he is and I’ll dO IT AGAIN, SO HELP ME--      Actually, please help me. Before I go off the deep end. I’m sure the end is neigh for me.

   ....Also, don’t care that he’s an ex-lawyer who gambles and plays piano horribly. I’m sticking with this man through thick and thin and nobody can stop me. We’ve got the bestest daughter in the world and I’m so. Dang. Proud of her.

   I’m just. Endlessly happy. Phoenix Wright, I love yooooouuuu.....and stars above, I hope he knows it. Cause if not, I guess I’ll just have to keep telling him forever...

[amaterasu-mayu]

The King of Valandi Chapter 3

"Your Highness, I brought you something." Gustaf looked up from his book and towards the left, where the voice came from. It was his sister Audiena. Which turned his mood around pratically instantly. "Oh, you don't have to call me that, just call me Gustaf." "You are the King Your Highness. I shouldn't refer to you as if you were a commener. I insist." "No, you are to refer to me as your brother or by my name. Doing otherwise isn't necessary. That's an order." Audiena curtsied. "I undersand Y-Gustaf." Gustaf smiled at her. "Good. Then there shouldn't be any issues. I almost forgot, what did you need?" Audiena turned behind the doorway, and came back in with a tray. It had a kettle, a tea-cup, and a plate of cake. "I heard you tend to like this." "Aw, Audiena, you didn't have to-" "It's alright. I want nothing more than to see you smile." Gustaf gestured for her to put the tray down on the table, and took the tea-cup. "It smells sweet. Did you put honey in this?" "Yes." "Oh how did you know?!" "Hahaha. I have my ways." Gustaf took a sip. "Interesting." Gustaf looked down back at his book. Audiena did the same. "What is that about?" "It's a collection of stories. The one I'm reading is about someone climbine out of hell through a spider's thread." "Hm, that's weird." "I know, I probably shouldn't be reading this." Gustaf put the cup down and looked toward the land below he balcony. Audiena walked over to the railing on the balcony. "It's beautiful ain't it?" "Yes of course. I love it up here." Gustaf walked and stood next to her. Looking down at the large garden he had outside the palace walls. "Reminds of that one day we were playing out here." "The day you got taken away?" "Yeah...I hate our parents." Audiena giggled at that statement. "Me too." She looked around, and spotted a particular tree in the far distance. She squinted her eyes at it. The sillouhette looked like an orange tree. "Brother, look!" She pointed towards it. Gustaf found the spot very quickly. Which Audiena found unsual given how hard it was for her to figure out what it was. "How did you-" "I've considered getting one for a while." Then Audiena got an idea. "Perhaps, I could get some oranges from there to you?" Gustaf nearly gasped at the suggestion. "You just got here a month ago." "Is that a problem?" "No. Just, I don't want to risk losing you again." Gustaf pouted. Looking back at her with pleading eyes. Audiena almost fell for it. Almost. "I'll be fine I promise." She said, putting her hand over top her heart. Gustaf looked at her hand, then back up at her face. "I suppose, but your bringing someone with you to keep you safe!" "Who may that be?" "Uh...my Swordswoman Guescline! She's quite strong and intelligent. And poses the loylaty to protect you." Audiena noded. "Alright, it's sunset, so tomorrow even I'll have her accompany me on my trip to town."

The next day, as promised, Audiena made her way to the city near the capitol. On the way there, she and interacted non-stop. They got along real well, and respected one another. When they got there, she as expected, picked some oranges from it. When she was done she turned away to leave with Franz, but she immediately felt like she had walked into a brick wall. It startled her so much she almost dropped the basket. When she looked up, she saw what looked like a prince. He had red clothing, brown hair, and a crown. "Oh, sorry ma'am." Audiena blushed. Mesmerized by his appearance and politeness. "Oh, no dear, that's quite alright." She said with a smile. One that enchanted the prince. "What is your name Madame?" Audiena curtsied. "Princess Aud Hakonardottir of Lade." "Oh, you must be the daughter of the King of Valandi." Audiena giggled. "I'm his sister not daughter. The poor man doesn't even have a mistress, let alone a wife." She corrected him as politely as she could. Fortunately it seemed to work. It was likely her tone. Since her words could be easily misinterpreted. "Where are you from? I don't recognize you." The prince looked put towards the distant countryside. "The neighboring Kingdom Germaine. Prince Leo of Germaine." He said as he bowed. Audiena couldn't help but blush. "I've heard a great deal about you. You have reputation for being sweet and kind towards your subjects." "Well I wouldn't call them ny subjects since my father still has the throne." "Nonsense! You are a prince!" Audiena cupped his hands. Both their faces resembled apples. Leo glanced at her basket. "Are you picking oranges for your King?" "Yes, their his favorite fruit." Audiena curtsied again, before she began to walk away. "I'll see you around." "Goodbye!" She walked up to Atlanta who was leaning on a wall waiting for her. "Who was that Audiena?" "A prince from the neighboring kingdom."

"Ah come one, Leo, why do you have to be so naive sometimes? Wondering off into another kingdom with only a few guards to protect you? You were never trained in self defense. Someone could easily assassinate you. I get you like to explore, to get out, to obtain fresh air, but, please be safe. Leo." "Alfreine, who are you talking to?" Leo suddenly walked into the corridor with a smirk. "Your weird." Alfreine sighed. "Oh come on Leo..." he pouted. "Hey, wipe that frown off your face! I'm not poking fun of you!" Leo took Alfreine by the shoulders. "Don't get sad! I want  you to be happy my friend!" Alfreine smiled. "I'm glad your parents adopted me, even though I won't ever get on the throne." "Yeah, sorry, only legitmate children allowed. Besides, what was I supposed to do? Just let you starve out there when you were only 9 years old?" "Ha, I guess. You know, I feel you and your family care about me more than mine." "Good, because they abandoned you. Obviously they don't care about you!"

Meanwhile, in the Grand Hall, Countess Suiko hesitantly put her hand out in front of Gustaf. Which he happily took. With both a smile and a blush. "I take it you like me dear?" Suiko looks away from him and scoffs. "Do not even." "Aw my dear, don't be salty. I love you. Marrying you will make me happier than ever!" Suiko frowned at him. "Well, darling, you've killed so many innocent people I don't even want to think about it!" she hissed harshly. She disliked him and attempted to intentionally hurt his feelings. Instead of him getting upset or angry, Gustaf felt like hearts were floating above him. "SHE CALLED ME DARLING! AHHAHAHHAHHA!" Gustaf pulled her arm and ran in a circle with her in his grasp. Nearly causing Suiko to fall. Suiko looked at her advisor. Alexio. Who looked like he was going to cry. Then at Gustaf's Maids of Honor. Unlike Alexio, she gave them cold stern looks. Since they were responsible for convincing her father to have her marry the King after they discovered portrait of her in his bedroom. As well as a piece of paper. Which matched Gustaf's handwritting, was found on his desk in his room, and detailed explicit fantasies with him and Suiko. After the awkward discoveries, in order to make him happy, they decided to arrange a marriage with Suiko and Gustaf. However, Suiko wasn't happy. After a series of unwanted praise from Gustaf, Suiko threw her hand, and stormed away. Gustaf cupped his hands and grinned as she left.

Suiko walked outside to the gardens of the town. While Alexio followed. She looked at a red chrysanthemum. "You remind me of my true love." She picked the flower and smelt it. The scent enticed her. Alexio hopefully smiled. "Who might that be?" "My dearest, Leo." Suiko said, her heart fluttering with romance. Alexio kept his composure but fought the urge to cry. "Well, I suppose you like him more than the kimg?" "Ah, of course! He is much more sweet, and less of a spoiled brat." Suiko glanced at the palace walls. "I hope I can escape this wretched land and get back home so I can atlast see my prince again." "You will, I'm sure you will." "Yes, I desire it! You know, Leo does like to come out here and admire the beauty?" "Actually, I heard he'd be here today." "WHAT?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!" "SORRY!" "I QUICKLY NEED TO FIND A ROSE! OH RIGHT THERE!" "TAKE IT!" "I GOT IT!" "SUIKO, HE'S HERE!" "AHHHHHH!" The frantic Suiko dashed up to Leo and Alfreine with a rose behind her back. "Hey!" "Oh, hello ma'am." Her face as red as the flower she wielded, Suiko pulled it from behind her back and handed it to the prince. "Ooh! Dear, you didn't have to-" "Please, take it. It suits you!" Leo's face became pink. "Ah, okay. Thank you." He took the rose, resulting in an excited Suiko runing with Alexio to the side. "Oh my gosh! He took it!" "I saw that. Congrats!" "Come Alfreine, let's get something to eat to celebrate!" "Actually, Suiko," "Hm?" "He's royalty. If you marry him, you coud get away from Gustaf."

"Where is Suiko, your highness?" Gustaf pouted with a sad look on his face. "She left a while ago. I can't wait for the wedding!" A smile quickly went to his face. "Ahaha! One day Suiko, you will understand my love for you!" Gustaf cheered as he danced with a portrait of Suiko in his arms. Kyoto grinned. "I knew this would work well for you." Then came the sound. The bell rang. Gustaf glanced at a clock, it wasn't tea time. So it could only mean one other thing. "Oh, if you may excuse me Your Highness, I'll go have that discussion with your ministers you planned a few days ago." Gustaf noded as she turned around and left. He put his portrait back, and waited on his throne. Quickly, his chief executive, secretary of the capital, and cabinet showed up and went on with their discussinos after bowing.

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Oh dear, who might that be?" Gustaf groaned in annoyance. "Enter." The door open and Audiena walked in. Which very quickly turned his mood around. "Audiena! I didn't expect you!" Audiena glanced at the others in the room. "Oh, am I interupting brother?" "No! Take a seat, what did you need?" His sister stood near him, and handed him a folded piece of paper. "Ah, what is this?" "I'm not sure, all I was told was that it was a letter from Suiko's adivsor, Alexio." "Awwwwww! What did he want to tell me about my little flower?" Gustaf unfolded the letter.

Your Highness King Haakon XI,

I regret to inform you, Suiko has called off the engagement, and is leaving the country. Along with forfiting her title as countess. She is leaving with Prince Leo III, to the kingdom of Germaine in a few days. She says she's sick of you, and would rather be with a man that wasn't cold hearted.

Sorry,

-Alfreine

Gustaf folded the paper and handed it back to Audiena. Audiena knew that if he was this calm, something was wrong. "Your Highness what's wrong?" Gustaf sighed. "It's true." "Huh?" "Everyone hates me..." "No, I don't hate you...!" Gustaf looked at his secretary. "How many resources do we have?" "A military budget 24 million, Your Highness." he glanced at his chief executive. "I have a task for you." "What may that be?" "Go to the Kingdom of Germaine, and slaughter the whole royal family." Audiena felt her heart sink.

"So, Alfreine what for dinner?" A smiling Leo asked. Like he usually did when asked, Alfreine shrugged. "I'm not sure Leo-" "PRINCE LEO!" The looked towards a frantic servant who acted as if he were having a panic attack. "Alex, what's wrong?" "THERE IS A MOB GETTING INSIDE THE PALACE!" "What?!" the servant pointed at the window and moved the curtain. Leo's eyes widened. There was not only a mob storming the palace, there was fire surrounding it. "W-what do w-we d-do?" He stuttered anxiously. "I don't know, I'll go try to do something!" The servant exclaimed as he ran off. Alfreine took Leo's hand, "You should get somewhere safe, perhaps, out of here!" "Yeah!" The two ran down a flight of stairs to a door in the back of the palace. To their surprise, a woman had appeared before them. "A-Audiena?!" "Yeah, I'm here for you Leo!" She tried to take his hand but was stopped by Alfreine. "What do you think your doing?! I'll make you go crazy!" Audiena pulled out her sword and slashed his harm. Causing him to hiss and losen his grip. Then she took Leo's hand and ran off. Alfreine was quickly in tears and chased after them. "Leo!" Despite his efforts, he lost sight of the two quickly. And then heard the loud footsteps of the mob. He looked around the room desperately for and escape, and instead found a hiding spot. A small cuburt. Luckliy, he was skinny enough to fit, and climbed inside before shutting the door. While in there, he heard rustling, screaming, slashing, stumbling, and other frightening loud noises.

"What do you mean you couldn't find him?!" Gustaf shouted at his Chief Executive furiously. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, but he was nowhere in the palace-" he was immediately interupted by Gustaf picking a tea cup and throwing it across the room. "Find him, or else I'll have your head." "Yes Your Highness." His chief executive bowed before exiting the room. In the doorway he left through, Asahikawa appeared. "Gustaf, I heard you couldn't get Leo." "Yeah, I'm pissed." he pouted. Fighting the urge to throw and break his glass kettle. But then, Gustaf no longer looked angry. After letting go of the kettle, he curled up into a ball, and began to sob. "Why...? Why does everyone hate me...? Why...? Please...Someone save me from this nightmare..." Asahikawa was stunned by this.  He usually threw a tantrum, or did something crazy, but this time, he was crying. Not out of frustration, but genuine grief. She slowly approached the emotionally sensetive boy. "Gustaf," She kneeled and leaned on the arm of his throne. "don't say that, there are people that love you." Gustaf looked at her with watery eyes. "Really?" "Mhm. I love you. Kyoto does, Kitakyushu does, Audiena does as well." Gustaf's expression remains the same, and he just looks at her. Covered in sadness. Asahikawa moved closer and wrapped her arms around him. While Gustaf continued to sob. "Shh...shh...it's okay. Your okay, I promise." Asahikawa opened her eyes, "I won't ever forgive them for doing this to you."

"Oh, so that's the building?" Franz asked, glancing up at the house. The grining Kitakyushu responded, "Yep. The one who killed Genevieve. The one who cursed poor Gustaf." Franz raised an eyebrow. "Cursed?" "A buddhist priest believe everyone's disliking for King Haakon is the result of a curse placed on him by Leo." Franz sighed at her words. "So, he cursed the poor boy, and killed my daughter? How vile can someone be?" Kitakyushu nodded. "Yep- oh! Were here!" She tugged, and her horse stopped at it's tracks. Franz did the same. The group approached the house. Franz lit a torch, gave a signal to his soldiers, and began one of specialties. Burning buildings. Kitakyushu stood there with a smirk, as she watched the building quickly turn to flames. Franz and his soldiers backed up once the fire got really bad. "That's quite a bit of heat." "Yeah." Franz glanced to his right, and it looked like Kitakyushu disappeared.

"It's okay, we just need to hurry, hurry to the house!" Audiena exclaimed to Suiko. Who was next to her, wielding a sword. Apparently she had experience in fighting, but never elaborated on how or why. Once the two spotted a house on top of a hill in the large forest, they felt relieved. "Audiena?!" She turned around, and saw Alfreine. "Alfreine?!" she was surprised by his expression. His hair was ruffled, he had dirt on his outfit, and blood on his shoes. However, he wore and angry expression. "What are you doing here?!" "I'm here to save Leo!" "Save him?" "Yeah, my hiding spot for him was revealed!" Audiena glanced ahead of her and spotted a carriage she recognized. Guescline and Kitkyushu?! She hid behind a tree and watched. Then gasped in horror as the house began to catch fire.

While watching the flames, out of nowhere, up on the balcony, Leo appeared. Though he wasn't sure what it was, Franz felt something was off about the situation. Leo coughed, and rubbed his burning arms. "Ugh! Eh! Is this it?! How did I end up here? How was I put in a situation where I'd die?" He said, as he looked behind him. Then what happened nearly gave everyone there a heart attack. Leo felt as if someone from behind were watching him, and he was almost relieved to see Kitakyushu. "Your the maid from the nearby kingdom? AHAEH!" He coughed out the last part. Kitakyushu's emotionless expression quickly changed to a mischiveous one. "Yeah." "Your here to save me?" Kitakyushu closed her eyes. "Sorry..." "For what?" She opened her eyes back up. "I serve the King!" Before Leo could defend himself, Kitakyushu grabbed him by the waist and arms, then slowly backed into the flames. Slowly in order to terrify her prey. Leo began to panic but couldn't escape her grasp. "LET ME GO LET ME GO!" The begging of the man in her grasp didn't convince her to even hesitate. Not even the terrifying heat of the flames would stop her. She'd happily burn to save her King. Once Leo felt flames all over him and Kitakyushu, he began to succomb to the despair.

"UUUHHHAHHHHHAAAHHHHAAAAAAAAA!"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA!"

The cackling of Kitakyushu, and the loss of control in Leo's scream was all that was heard from two as they dissapeared in the flames. Franz began to feel sick. He put a hand on one of his soldiers, "Ah, I don't feel so good-BLU!" Then he began to vomit. The three watching in the distance began to scream as well.

"LEO!!!"

"UUHAAAAAAA!"

"NOO! MY DEAR! I LOVED YOU!"

Once Franz had stopped vomiting, he closed his eyes and directed his gaze away from the house. "I can't watch this anymore...take me back." He muttered with a hint of guilt. His soldiers nodded and helped him into the carriage.

RING RING RING

"Oh! It's tea time!" "Yes, it's...ready, Gustaf..." Audiena mumbled. As she set down the tray, Gustaf noticed her appearance and tone was filled with sorrow. "Audiena? What's wrong? Did someone hurt you?! I will behead them at once!" "No! I'm alright...someone just...died..." she said hesitantly. "Who?" "Um...just somebody I was friend's with. Don't worry, I'll get over it." Gustaf stood up and put crossed his arms. "You know what Audiena?" Audiena became fearful she did something wrong. "H-huh? What is it?" "I think you should take a break. Perhaps until your feeling more like yourself." Audiena was caught off guard by this. "Oh, uh, alright." "Good!" Gustaf sat back down and sipped his tea. "Your dismissed, unless you want to stay with me?" Audiena headed towards the door. "No, it's alright. Goodbye."