#need to reconnect with my roots

[nope-nora]

I think I might need to rewatch all of skam before going to norway next month

[kindaorangey]

ROLIN!!!!! EXPLORE ARMAND'S RELATIONSHIP TO ISLAM IN THE SHOW AND MY LIFE IS YOURS!!

[rainibao]

I'm afraid the suffering and struggle I just went through for this is. Very embarrassing

[semi-completely-original]

i usually don't post art here, but i'm unfortunately shadow banned on my normal apps since i reposted too many palestine updates. oops! i'll try my luck here instead

there's a fem!haikaveh takeover lead on twitter rn and one of the loudest champions of this is my lovely mutual who inspired this outfit by giving me femveh brainworms :3 she is a WOMAN IN STEM!!!!!

[kitkat13001]

update on love song event: i am hard at work on remaining requests! so far im planning to complete every one i’ve gotten so far, it just might take me a while bc i’ve been really busy as of late 🙈

[thefablefoxart]

Siiiiigh, I miss using markers 😪

[yourmomsballsinmymouth]

In my bed listening to cavetown and reading solangelo fanfics... I'm twelve again sorry

[miserye]

i think i need to watch some old cringe anime

[claitea]

ok sorry i just really loved the thought of n arguing with this little thing i wanted to draw it

Do you ever think about how almost all of N’s Pokémon throughout the first games were one offs he released after he battled you, how he cared about them all deeply enough that he thought it would be selfish to have them battle more than necessary. And do you ever think about how this is the case with all his Pokémon EXCEPT his Klinklang in the final battle at the league, where the second to last battle he had a Klink and this Klinklang is very likely that same Pokémon? Do you think this was a visual representation of his mindset wavering from a fixed point? How that Klink refused to leave him right away and he couldn’t bring himself to force them to leave because his mind is in so many different directions? He can keep them around just a little longer until he becomes champion, it won’t be long, he can bend things some so long as he doesn’t fully stray from his path…right?

Or is that just me am I the only one willing to be insane about Klinklang of all Pokémon

[vi-arcanes-left-biceps]

So I wanted to talk about Vi and Jinx...

I think one of the most beautiful things in Arcane re: the sisters is how reconnecting is, for both of them, only possible when they break out of their pre-conceived notions of each other that they've been dragging since childhood.

To reconnect with Jinx, S2 Vi has to acknowledge her as an independent adult and let go of the perception of a small vulnerable child that she needed to protect at all times. S2 Jinx, to reconnect with Vi, has to see her sister as someone vulnerable, both physically and emotionally, and not as this sort of always-strong, idealised protector.

Only when they break their childhood dynamic they are able to see each other as equal and find a common ground.

And I love their dynamic in season 2 because despite all the bagage they have you can see how they are getting to see each other as their own persons, while also being silly af like only two siblings can be. It's very little time, but you can tell they are maturing together.

I think many 'arcane critical' Vi takes fail to understand this. They are trapped in S1 Vi's and Jinx's minds. They are still expecting them to conform to the unhealthy dynamic of protector and protected; and fail to see what Vi and Jinx see of each other in S2. Vi is no ideal protector nor a hero of the vulnerable: she's a flawed, young woman with tons of emotional bagage. Jinx is not an uwu baby who needs protection and is unable to do things for herself: she can very much protect herself, she's independent, a survivor, as well as deeply traumatised too.

And this is not subtext at all. Vi points out in the mines that Jinx hasn't needed her in a long time -she's realised her sister is more than capable of fending for herself. Jinx makes teasing observations of Vi's soft spots throughout S2: telling her she knows she's soft on Caitlyn during Act I finale, calling her a "sentimental excon" in act II... And she's seen her become an alcoholic due to all her unprocessed trauma and the situation after act I (and also makes a comment about that).

Their whole journey in S2 is about how they cannot, and do not, conform to the dynamic they acquired when they were children. They are two different persons now, and they are also mature enough to understand each other as multi-dimensional, as oppossed to their one-dimensional perceptions of each other as protector and protected that they had in S1 Act I and that dragged on S1 as a whole.

Criticising Vi's character for not going after Jinx after their last encounter is failing to understand many things, but mainly, it is a symtom of being trapped in the dynamic they had in episode 1, when most of the story of their relationship in the series is guided to tell us how this is not who they are, and these perceptions frozen in time are hurting both of them.

"Everyone in my life has changed" says Vi in S2 Act I finale. It is true: she's been locked in a jail cell, where all of the Lanes, her family, her friends... remained frozen in memory, and now she doesn't know who this people are. She's struggling with years and years of emptyness in which everyone she knows has grown and changed and she's been stuck -she's changed, too, but that's harder for her to see. She doesn't know who Jinx is, and until S1 finale she is unable to see this fact. Her behaviour in S2 Act I is, among other things, a backlash reaction to this realization, also a mistaken, unidimensional perception of her sister -not a perfect victim now, but a perfect perpetrator. Jinx also takes her time to get to see Vi for who she is now, but she's finally able to in S2. That doesn't mean they understand each other -quite far from it actually- but they are able to see and accept each other as complex people, with deep rooted bagage, part the same they were as children, part completely different.

Then it comes S2 ep8. Vi's fight with Caitlyn about Jinx demonstrates how Vi is now able to understand Jinx as a multidimensional character, see her complexity, her humanity, and argue she's different than they (both Caitlyn and Vi) thought she was. Jinx's conversation with Vi underscores how much Jinx recognises their dynamic has been hurting them both ("You're never going to give up on me") and how Vi has wishes and feelings of her own, even if she's repressing them to play her part as the big protector sis. These observations fuel Jinx's suicidal ideation, and Vi's incapability to give up her protector role, despite knowing Jinx doesn't need it anymore, gets her to have a breakdown. Neither know what this moment did to the other, because they still don't know each other that much. But they cannot save themselves without having had this conversation.

It's a perfect tragedy where a childish dynamic is entertwined with guilt, pain, and tons of trauma. It is a barbed wire that traps them both - it hurts when they are still, and it hurts more when they try to break free. Only with help they can disentangle themselves and one another; and that's where Cait and Ekko come in, too (and for Jinx, Isha and Sevika also did a part).

Anyway, I love me some doomed sisters dynamic.

[snowysosturn]

Allies or Affiliates? - Chris Sturniolo Part 24

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29 Finale

Pairing : Y/n x dealer!Chris Sturniolo

Summary : Law student Y/n’s life takes a turn when she reconnects with Chris, her brief teenage flame who is now a dealer for a dangerous Boston drug gang. As their bond reignites, Y/n is drawn into Chris’s tumultuous world, where rival gangs clash and loyalty is everything. Balancing her love for Chris with her own ambitions, can their connection survive the chaos that threatens to pull them apart?

Warnings : MDNI, angst, cursing, mentions of death, mentions of murder, descriptions of crime scenes, grief, anger, mention of shootings

*POV's that are in italics indicate flash backs*

Y/n’s POV

My chest felt tight, my breath caught in my throat as Chris climbed over the balcony railing, the rain streaming off him. His dark hair was plastered to his forehead, and his clothes clung to his frame, drenched from the storm. But none of that mattered, he was here.

Alive.

“Chris” I whispered, the word barely audible over the rain pounding against the windows. My legs felt rooted to the floor, my mind struggling to process what I was seeing.

He stepped closer, his hands raised slightly as if he needed to show he meant no harm. “Please, Y/n” he said, his voice low but urgent. “Let me explain.”

I wanted to move, to scream, to cry, to do something, but I couldn’t. My heart was racing, my emotions tangled in a mess of anger, relief, and confusion.

“Explain?” I finally managed, my voice trembling. “Explain what Chris? how you let me believe you were dead, Chris? How you just left me to grieve you?” My voice broke, and I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms as I tried to hold myself together.

“Please, Y/n” Chris begged, his voice low and steady, though the weight of his plea made my chest tighten. “We can explain.”

“We?” I asked sharply, my voice cutting through the sound of the storm outside.

Before he could answer, movement from the driveway caught my eye. I turned my head and froze.

Nate.

He was standing by his car, his hoodie pulled tight against the rain, his expression unreadable as he stared straight at us.

“You’ve got to be kidding me” I muttered, the weight of realization hitting me as hard as the storm. I turned back to Chris, my voice rising. “He knew? Nate was in on this the whole time?”

Chris hesitated, his jaw tightening as he glanced toward the driveway, then back at me. “Yeah..” he admitted quietly. “He helped me.”

I let out a humorless laugh, the sound harsh even to my own ears. “Unbelievable.” I said, shaking my head. “You two conspired to fake your death, to leave me in pieces, and what? You thought I’d just forgive you when you decided to show up again?”

Chris took another step closer, his hand reaching out as if to touch me, but I took a step back. “I didn’t want to hurt you” he said, his voice breaking. “I thought it was the only way to protect you from Vince.”

“Don’t you dare.” I snapped, cutting him off. “Don’t you dare act like this was for me. You don’t get to make that decision for me, Chris.”

Tears blurred my vision, but I refused to let them fall. “Do you have any idea what you put me through?” I asked, my voice shaking. “The nights I couldn’t sleep, the days I couldn’t breathe because I thought you were gone? Because I thought I’d lost you?”

Chris’s expression crumbled, and for a moment, I saw the boy I used to know, the boy who would have done anything to make me smile. But that boy was gone, replaced by someone I barely recognized.

“I’m sorry” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I’m so sorry, Y/n. I never wanted this.”

“Then why?” I demanded, the word breaking in my throat. “Why didn’t you just tell me? Why didn’t you trust me?”

His gaze dropped to the floor, and the silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating.

“I couldn’t” he finally said, his voice raw. “If Vince found out..if he thought you were a distraction..” He trailed off, shaking his head. “I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t risk you.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but the sight of Nate walking toward the balcony made me stop. I fixed my focus to ground level to see Nate standing there.

“Y/n” he said, his voice calm but guarded. “We need to talk.”

I stared at him, disbelief and anger boiling to the surface. “Oh, now you want to talk?” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “After everything? After helping him disappear without a word? And watching me grieve for days?”

“Look” Nate said, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. “I know it was messed up. I know you’re mad-”

“Mad?” I interrupted, my voice rising. “Mad doesn’t even begin to cover it, Nate.”

Chris stepped forward, his voice urgent. “Y/n, please. Just let us explain everything. You deserve to know the truth.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, my heart pounding in my ears. “You’ve got five minutes.” I said, my voice colder than my body after being engulfed in this storm. “And it better be good. Nate, come in through the front door.” Gesturing to the front of the house as Chris followed me into my bedroom and down the stairs to the living room, soaking wet, leaving puddles through the house and I’m hoping it leads me to the trail of truth.

The room fell silent except for the sound of rain against the windows as Chris and Nate exchanged a glance. Whatever they were about to say, I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear it. But I’d come this far, there was no turning back now.

“Firstly I want to know how you managed to fake all of this. But before we get into anything let me make a call first.” I say, taking out my phone.

Chris’ POV 

The small kitchen in Nate’s house was dead quiet except for the ticking of the clock and the scratching of Nate’s pen against the notebook in front of us. My leg bounced under the table, the urgency of the situation pressing down on me like a weight I couldn’t shake. It was already 3pm, and I had less than three hours before I was supposed to meet Vince. If we didn’t come up with something foolproof, this wasn’t just going to blow back on me. It would destroy both of us. 

“This has to be airtight” I said, running a hand through my hair. “No loose ends, no room for Vince to start asking questions. If he even sniffs that this isn’t real..” I trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

“I know, I know” Nate said, chewing the end of his pen like it was a lifeline. He looked just as stressed as I felt, his usual laidback energy completely gone. “But we’ve got this, man. We’ve just gotta keep our heads.”

“Keep our heads?” I repeated with a humorless laugh. “You’re talking about faking my death, Nate. This isn’t some petty scam.”

“Exactly why we can’t screw it up” he shot back, his tone sharp. He leaned forward, jabbing the pen at the notebook. “We need to sell this. Make it so airtight even Vince can’t poke holes in it.”

I sighed, leaning back in the chair and crossing my arms. “Alright, genius. How do we make that happen?”

Nate’s eyes lit up with an idea, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. “What if we use cops?”

“Cops?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Not real ones” he clarified quickly, holding up a hand. “I know some guys. They’ve stolen cop cars before, uniforms too. We can pay them to set up a fake police presence at the scene. You know, flashing lights, police tape, the whole nine yards. We’ll pretend you got shot out front, have a sheet laid over a mannequin. Make it look legit.”

I stared at him, turning the idea over in my head. It was risky, but it could work. Vince wasn’t stupid, but even he wouldn’t question something that looked like an active crime scene.

“Alright..” I said slowly. “How are we going to make it known? He’s gonna start wondering why no one’s talking about it.”

“I’ll handle that” Nate said, grabbing his phone. “We call the local news outlets ourselves, anonymously. Tell them there was a gang related shooting. A fatality. Feed them just enough details to make it believable. If it’s all over the news by the time he hears about it, he’s got no reason to doubt it.”

I nodded, the pieces of the plan starting to take shape. “And what about after all this? We’re going to have to have a funeral?”

Nate paused, tapping the pen against the table as he thought. “We’ll buy a coffin, something cheap.” he said finally. “Say the shooting was so bad it has to be a closed casket ceremony. That’ll keep anyone from asking too many questions about, you know..” He trailed off, gesturing vaguely at the empty air between us.

“Right” I said, swallowing hard. “And the ceremony itself? How are we meant to pull off a funeral without an actual dead person?”

“Evening mass” Nate said with a shrug. “I’ll hire a priest. No one’s gonna be around, and we’ll tell people there’s a cremation afterward to avoid burying an empty coffin. Keeps it clean and simple so Vince will buy it, not that he’d even show up to it, you know what he’s like.”

I nodded, the plan solidifying in my mind. But one thought kept nagging at me, a knot tightening in my chest the more I thought about it.

“What about Y/n?” I asked quietly.

Nate looked up at me, his expression unreadable. “What about her?”

“You know she’s going to get wind of this.. And If when she shows up at the funeral..” I trailed off, the thought of her being dragged into this making my stomach churn. “I don’t want people knowing who she is. If Vince finds out about her.. I don't want him to ever know who she is.”

Nate frowned, thinking for a moment. “Yeah, you’re right. We need to find a way to keep her anonymous”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my green bandana, holding it out to him. I had it in my pocket, ready for when I went to meet Vince later, just on the off chance of any surprises. “She can wear this” I said, my voice firm. “Tell her it’s for her own safety. Make sure she understands, Nate. Keep her quiet for the whole funeral, don't let her stand, don't let her speak. And if someone even thinks about going near her..”

“She’ll be fine” Nate said quickly, taking the bandana from me. “I’ll make sure of it.”

I leaned forward, my eyes locked on his. “No, you need to promise me, Nate. If anything happens to her, if someone so much as looks at her, you’ll protect her. You’ll get her out of there, no questions asked. Do you hear me?”

Nate nodded, his expression serious. “I promise, Chris. I’ll look out for her. She’s your girl,I get it.”

The weight of the plan settled over us as we finalised the details. Nate made the calls to his contacts, arranging for the fake cops and the news tips, while I sat there trying to ignore the sinking feeling in my gut. By the time we were done, the clock read 4:30. We had just over an hour to set everything in motion.

“Alright” Nate said, standing up and grabbing his keys. “I’ll set off a fake gunshot in about an hour, it happens so often no one in this neighbour good will flinch, after that i’ll handle the fake cops and the news. You focus on keeping your mouth shut in here, you can stay in Danny’s room for the foreseeable. The room is usually locked, and no one will be looking in there.”

I nodded, standing and grabbing my jacket. “Let’s make it count” I said, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me.

Nate smirked, clapping me on the shoulder. “We’ve got this.”

-

I sat in Danny’s old room as the fake crime scene was cleared, after sitting seeing flashes of blue and red through the window for hours, hearing all the commotion outside. I stared at the four walls that seemed to close in tighter with every passing minute. The hum of the old air conditioner was the only sound, aside from my own restless breathing. I couldn’t stop replaying her face in my mind, how she’d looked the last time I saw her before this whole thing started. I imagined her smile replaced with grief, and it killed me.

Nate walked in, tossing a paper bag of takeout onto the table. He looked tired, worn out in a way that only stress could explain. “You need to eat something” he said, pulling up a chair across from me.

I ignored him, my jaw clenched tight. “How is she?” I finally asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

He paused, rubbing a hand down his face. “She’s.. not good, man. She was outside the house, seen the whole crime scene. She came to find you, thought it was me that got killed. She was losing it out there. I called Willow and got her home though.”

That hit me like a punch to the gut. I leaned forward, my head in my hands. “Why didn’t you tell her then?”

“Tell her what, Chris?” Nate snapped. “That you’re alive and playing dead so Vince doesn’t put a bullet in both your heads? You think that would’ve made her feel better?”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.

“She was hysterical, man” he went on, his voice quieter now. “Kept asking why it had to happen, why I couldn’t have stopped it. She wanted answers I couldn’t give her.”

My fists clenched. “I should’ve been there. I should’ve-”

“No, Chris. You shouldn’t have” Nate interrupted sharply. “You showing up would’ve made everything worse. Vince is probably trying to figure out what the fuck happened, you can’t be dumb enough to break cover.”

I slammed my fist against the table, the sound echoing in the small room. “This is killing her, Nate. She thinks I’m dead. You don’t understand what that’s doing to her.”

Nate’s face softened, and he leaned back in his chair. “You think I don’t know? I had her break down in my arms thinking you were dead.”

I stood up, pacing the length of the room. “I can’t do this. I can’t just sit here while she’s out there thinking I’m gone. I need to see her. Just once.”

“No.” Nate said firmly, standing up to block my path. “You’re not going anywhere, Chris. You show your face, and Vince finds out you’re alive. Then he comes after you. Is that what you want?”

I shoved him back, anger boiling over. “I don’t care about me! I care about her. She doesn’t deserve this, Nate!”

Nate grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to stop. “And you think she deserves a bullet in her head because you couldn’t stay hidden for a few weeks? Think, Chris! Vince doesn’t mess around. You know that. He’d kill her without a second thought if he thought it’d get to you.”

The fight drained out of me, and I slumped back into the chair. Nate was right, as much as I hated to admit it. Vince wouldn’t stop until he was sure I was out of the picture for good.

-

The day of the funeral came too quickly. Nate left in the early evening to make sure everything went smoothly, while I stayed locked away in this damn room. I paced for hours, knowing Y/n would be there, crying over an empty coffin while I was only a few miles away. The thought made my chest ache.

Before midnight, Nate came back, looking more somber than I’d ever seen him. I didn’t even give him a chance to speak before I was on him. “How was it? Was she okay?”

“Chris-” he started, but I cut him off.

“Don’t give me that ‘it’s for the best’ crap. Tell me how she was.”

Nate sighed, sitting down heavily on the bed. “She wore your bandana, man. The green one. She had some bear with her too, was clutching it the whole time, like it was the only thing keeping her together. She barely said two words to anyone. Just stood there, staring at the coffin.”

“Raplh” I thought to myself, feeling like I’d been punched in the chest. “I need to see her.”

“No, you don’t” Nate said sharply. “You stay put, Chris. This is almost over. We just need a little more time.”

I couldn’t sit still after that. I kept picturing her standing there, broken and silent, because of me. Every part of me wanted to run to her, to tell her the truth, to make it all better. But I didn’t. I stayed hidden, knowing it was the only way to keep her safe.

It didn’t make it any easier, though. Every day felt like a lifetime, and every second without her felt like a knife twisting in my gut. I just hoped she could forgive me when it was all over.

The next morning, I sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the floor. The TV was on in the background, but I wasn’t paying attention. My head was pounding, a mix of the stale air in this room and the weight of knowing what Y/n must have gone through yesterday.

Nate burst through the door, carrying a bag of coffee and pastries. He didn’t bother with pleasantries. “Eat. You look like hell.”

I ignored him, same as I had every time he tried to shove food at me over the past few days. “How is she?”

Nate sighed and set the bag down on the table. “I’m not doing this again, Chris.”

“How. Is. She?” I asked, my voice low and steady, the tension simmering just beneath the surface.

He turned to face me, his expression torn between frustration and sympathy. “She’s wrecked, okay? What the hell do you think? She just said her goodbyes to the guy she loves-”

“Don’t.” I cut him off sharply, standing. My hands balled into fists at my sides. “Don’t talk about it like I’m actually dead. I’m right here, Nate.”

“Yeah, and that’s the problem!” he shot back, throwing his hands up. “You’re right here, but she can’t know that, because if Vince finds out, we’re all dead! You think this is easy for me? Watching her go through that? Knowing she’s blaming herself? I hate this just as much as you do, Chris, but it’s the only way.”

I paced the room like a caged animal, my chest heaving. “I can’t just sit here while she’s breaking like this. I need to see her. I need to-”

“You need to stay the hell out of it!” Nate barked, stepping into my path. “You showing up now would undo everything we just pulled off. Vince isn’t stupid. He’s probably still watching her, waiting for you to slip up. You walk into her life, and you might as well put a target on her back.”

“What if she’s already got a target on her back!” I shouted, my voice cracking. “That damn air tag, the shooting, all of it, it’s because of me! The least I can do is let her know I’m alive, Nate. She deserves that much.”

Nate’s face softened, but his eyes stayed hard. “She deserves to live, Chris. That’s all I’m trying to make sure of.”

I slumped back onto the bed, my head in my hands. “She’s not going to forgive me for this. When she finds out, it’s going to destroy her.”

Nate sat down across from me, the fight draining out of him. “She’ll forgive you. She loves you, man. That’s why this hurts her so much. But if you go now, you’ll be putting her in even more danger. Is that what you want?”

“No” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. “But I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”

Nate rubbed the back of his neck, looking conflicted. “Look, maybe.. maybe if I can make sure no one’s watching, I could bring you to her. Just for a little while. But we can't bring her here. It’s too risky.”

I sat up, my heart racing. “You’d do that?”

He hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. But only if I’m sure it’s safe. And you have to promise me you’ll stick to the plan after. No running off, no trying to fix everything yourself. We’re in this together, Chris.”

Y/n’s POV

I sat on the couch, my arms crossed tightly over my chest, staring at Chris and Nate as they stood before me. My mind was racing, trying to make sense of everything they had just explained. Why go through all this trouble, faking his death, staging a funeral, paying off people to play cops and priests, when they could have just run away? It felt like an elaborate, unnecessary nightmare.

"You couldn’t just.. leave?” I asked, my voice trembling with a mix of confusion and anger. “Why fake your death? Why not just disappear and start over?”

Chris ran a hand through his hair, his face tight with frustration. “It’s not that simple, Y/n. You don’t just leave someone like Vince. Not without consequences.”

“Consequences?” I scoffed, shaking my head. “You made me think you were dead, Chris. Do you have any idea what that did to me?”

Before he could respond, there was a knock at the door. The front door swung open, followed by the living room door. I had called Willow earlier, desperate for someone to help me process this mess. She walked in, her expression a mix of worry and confusion, only for her face to freeze the moment she saw Nate and Chris standing there.

Her jaw dropped, and she turned to me, eyes wide. “Is this some kind of sick joke?”

“It’s not a joke” I muttered, still trying to piece together my emotions.

Willow crossed her arms, glaring at the two of them. “So, what? You’re alive? And you thought it’d be fun to traumatize Y/n for.. what, a laugh?”

“Willow” Nate started, his tone unusually serious, “this isn’t what you think.”

“Oh, I think it’s exactly what I think” she snapped. “You two cooked up some crazy plan, and you didn’t stop for one second to consider how it would hurt her.”

Chris stepped forward, his voice low and steady. “Willow, just listen. Let us explain.”

Willow shot me a look, but I nodded hesitantly, signaling for her to give them a chance.

Chris took a deep breath, glancing at Nate before speaking. “We pieced it all together after.. after Danny.”

Hearing his name sent a chill down my spine. Chris hesitated, as if saying it out loud made the situation even more real.

Chris glanced at Nate, who gave him a subtle nod before leaning forward. “Just leaving..it wouldn’t have worked” Chris said quietly, his tone so certain it made my stomach churn. “Not with Vince.”

I folded my arms, trying to steady myself as my world tilted again. “What do you mean it wouldn’t have worked? You could’ve just left, Chris. You could’ve-”

“It’s not that simple, Y/n.” Nate cut in, his voice sharper than I expected. He ran a hand through his hair, frustration radiating off him. “Vince doesn’t let people leave. Not alive, anyway. You don’t get to walk away from the cartel like you’re quitting some nine to five job.”

Chris leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, his eyes locking onto mine. “Danny tried, Y/n.” he said, his voice breaking slightly. “He tried to reason with Vince. Thought maybe if he talked to him, if he was ‘man enough’ about it, that Vince would let him go.”

My breath hitched at the mention of Danny, and I felt my throat tighten. “What.. what are you saying?”

Chris hesitated, his jaw clenching as if the words physically hurt to say. “Danny wasn’t randomly ambushed.” he said finally. “Vince killed him.”

The room fell silent, the words hanging in the air. My mind raced, trying to piece together everything they had told me.

“You’re saying Vince.. murdered him?” My voice cracked, the realization making my stomach churn.

Nate nodded grimly. “Danny wrote a note before he tried to talk to Vince. We found it the day we..” He trailed off, his voice thick with emotion. “He knew trying to leave was dangerous, but he thought he could do it. He thought Vince might respect him enough to let him go.”

“But Vince doesn’t respect anyone” Chris said bitterly, his hands gripping his knees. “Danny was a warning. A reminder to the rest of us that there’s no walking away from this life.”

“Here, if you don’t believe us.” Nate says, pulling a piece of paper from the inside of his waterproof jacket. He held it up so I could read it, not allowing me to touch it.

I felt my stomach drop. “Oh my god. So you think Vince would’ve done the same to you?”

Chris nodded grimly. “If I’d gone to that meeting, yeah. No doubt in my mind. Vince has been testing me for weeks, trying to figure out if I was still loyal. And that was confirmed to me when the mechanic found an airtag stuck to my car after I got the back window replaced.”

“An airtag?” Willow repeated, her brow furrowing.

“Yeah.” Nate said. “That’s how Vince was tracking him. That’s how they knew where he was the night of the shooting. They’ve been following him for God knows how long.”

I stared at Chris, my heart pounding. “The shooting… you’re saying Vince set it up?”

“Shooting?!” Willow exclaims, looking at me in disbelief.

“I’ll explain another time, Will.” I say taking a deep breath in, realising the gravity of all this information.

Chris nodded, his expression dark. “I think it was to scare you off, Y/n. Vince mentioned something about ‘distractions.’ If he thought I was distracted by you, he’d want to eliminate that problem. He probably thought if he scared you enough, you’d leave me.”

My mind reeled. It all made sense now. My hands clenched into fists.

“So, instead of running, you faked your death?” I asked, my voice sharp.

Chris winced. “I didn’t see another way. If Vince thought I was dead, that would be it. He’d never think of me again.”

I sank back into the couch, still sopping wet, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of me. “This is insane. All of it. You made me grieve for you, Chris. You made me believe you were gone.”

Chris stepped closer, his eyes full of guilt. “I know, and I’ll never forgive myself for that. But I was trying to protect you. I didn’t want you to get caught up in this any more than you already are.”

Willow, who had clearly been rocked by this information, spoke up. “Okay, so what now? You’re alive, Vince thinks you’re dead, but for how long? And what about Y/n? What’s happens next?”

Chris exchanged a look with Nate, and for the first time, I saw hesitation in his eyes. “That’s why we need to figure out what comes next.”

My chest tightened. “We?”

“Yes, we.” Nate said firmly. “We need your help”

I locked eyes with Chris, waiting for him to speak up.  “I’m not leaving you behind, Y/n. Not after everything.”

I wanted to argue, to tell him that I wasn’t going anywhere with him, but deep down, I knew there was no escaping this now. Vince’s shadow loomed over both of us, and until it was gone, we’d never be safe.

Willow looked between us, her expression softening slightly. “Well, if you’re running, you’re not doing it alone. You’ll need help. And I’m not letting Y/n go through this by herself.”

Chris gave her a small nod of appreciation, but his focus was back on me. “Y/n, I know this isn’t fair. I know I’ve hurt you. But I need you to trust me. Please.”

I met his gaze, my heart heavy with the weight of everything he was asking. Trusting him meant stepping into a world I never wanted to be a part of, but not trusting him meant facing Vince alone.

For better or worse, I knew what my choice had to be.

a/n: i really hope this was easy to follow this chapter WRECKED my head trying to get the order of events to make sense

taglist: @mattybearnard @sturn-33 @ncm9696 @yourfavsturniologirl @crazy4jewel @sodakid1234 @stupendoustreewinner @lovealwayssturniolos @matthewsturniolosss @m4ttsmunch @loveexxx @ilusa @starkeyszn @wonnieeluvvr @dylnblue @valxrieq @maggot3647 @cigarettecemetary @ribread03 @chrisstvrns @bandasaruswrx @noplaceissafeanymore @amexiass @witchofthehour @mattssgf @jetaimevous @v33angel @ivysturnss @urmom69lol @ashlishes @watercolorskyy @sturnioloshottiekay @amelia-sturniolo3 @imjusthereforthesturniolosmut @pvssychicken @alizestvrnss @lvrsturniolo @bernardsbunny @spaghetti835928383 @marrykisskilled @sturnsxplr-25 @bxtchboy69 @vickytaa @anikaistg @matts-girlfriend @lvrsturniolo @sophand4n4 @ilovepurpledragons @mattsside @riasturns @sturnslutz @chrisstxrnsaxe @2prcntmilkluvr

[bucephaly]

Reconnecting Cherokee Masterpost

I’ve had a few Cherokee posts blow up on here and as a result I’ve gotten lots of ‘my grandma said she was cherokee’ ‘I’m supposed to have Cherokee roots I wish I knew anything about it’ ‘I was never taught anything about my Cherokee ancestry’ type sentiments in my activity. So! I wanna make a little masterpost with some resources on how to verify or disprove these types of family stories and how to get started for those interested in reconnecting!

A little about me and a disclaimer. I’ve not been reconnecting that long, about a year and a half, and before that I didn’t know I was Cherokee. I did not grow up Cherokee and I am white. What I’m going to be talking about is simply resources for genealogy, language, good places to connect online, etc. these are all things I’ve dealt with as I reconnect, but I am not any sort of authority on Cherokee issues or culture. The purpose of this post is to get people who know absolutely nothing about Cherokee identity and community started in learning more and seeing what needs to be done before reconnecting. And I acknowledge that the genealogical records and resources available for Freedmen descendants and Afro-indigenous people may not be as conclusive, and I simply urge Afro-indigenous people to do what research you can. I am also only Cherokee, I can’t speak for how any of this works for other tribes. Now, to get started

I’ll be talking about

Genealogy

Enrollment

Basic info about Reconnecting

and Language

Genealogy

Genealogy is the most important first step for anyone wanting to reconnect, or even just wanting to claim Cherokee ancestry at all. Unless you have done genealogy research that has shown ancestry connecting you to ancestors on the accepted Cherokee rolls or you are or have family who are citizens of one of the 3 federally recognized Cherokee tribes, please do not make claims of Cherokee identity or ancestry.

Fake ‘granny stories’ of Cherokee ancestry are very common, particularly in the South / Appalachia. These stories often go something like ‘my great-grandmother was fullblood Cherokee. She hid out from the soldiers rounding the Cherokee up for the Trail of Tears.’ There are many many variants, such as children being adopted by a white family, being traded away, or just otherwise being left behind or abandoned. I also frequently see ‘they escaped and hid in the mountains,’ ‘they pretended to be white / black,’ etc. Remember, the Trail of Tears happened in 1838, 185 years ago. My ggg grandfather was 2, so unless you are 60+ it would be unlikely that a great grandparent was alive during that period. This mythical great-grandmother is also occasionally an ‘Indian princess.’ There are many excuses for why ancestors might not show up on known Cherokee records, such as ‘the records were burned in a courthouse fire’ or ‘they were intentionally removed from the records,’ etc. Physical features are also claimed to prove stories, such as high cheekbones, dark hair, darker skin, etc. Old family photos showing grandparents with tan skin, etc, are also brought up pretty frequently. None of those prove anything, as many people of European or mixed ancestry can have these traits. Stories like this are also not exclusive to white families, they can definitely be present in Black families as well. These stories are most often entirely fabricated or resulting from a misunderstanding. It’s pretty common to have someone be familiar with the fake stories but convinced that their family story is the one exception and has to be real, which ends up being instantly caught as fake by anyone that knows the history, you’d be surprised haha. Here is a post I’ve made talking about fake stories in more depth.

DNA testing cannot prove descent from any specific Native tribe. An ‘indigenous American’ result on a DNA test does not prove native ancestry, as DNA tests are frequently wrong especially when it comes to ‘trace ancestry’. Nor does a DNA test showing 0 native DNA prove that one doesn’t have native ancestry. DNA tests are a novelty and irrelevant to native genealogy. The only time they are useful is in finding cousins through DNA matches, which can be especially useful for adoptees. Here is a post where I go more in depth on this

Now, getting into actual genealogy, the main process with Cherokee genealogy is fairly simple. I’m not going to go in depth on the process of genealogy in general, there are plenty of resources for that. Get what info you can from your family [names, birthdates, places people lived] of your recent ancestors, then find their census records [census records from 1950 and earlier are publicly available] or what records you can, and go back, finding their parents, etc. The goal is to get around to 1900. See where they were living at that point, as that will effect what rolls they might be on. There are three main Cherokee rolls that are looked at for determining ancestry [but there are other rolls as well]

The Dawes Rolls taken between 1898 - 1914 recorded the Cherokees living in the Western Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory before Oklahoma Statehood. This roll came with allotments, parcels of land given to the Cherokees. Cherokee Freedmen are also recorded on this roll, along with Intermarried and Adopted Whites. This is the roll that CNO and UKB uses for enrollment. Here is where it can be searched.

The Baker Rolls taken between 1924 - 1929 recorded the Cherokees living on the Qualla Boundary in western North Carolina. This is the roll that the EBCI uses for enrollment

The Guion Miller Roll taken between 1906 - 1911 recorded Cherokees living anywhere and was associated with a cash payout.

I can’t find free searchable databases of the Baker or Miller rolls, but you can find them on some ancestry sites like ancestry.com with a membership or free trial. Also, be aware that these rolls all have “Declined” sections of people who applied and were declined for having no proof of ancestry, mostly just applying to try to get money or land meant for Cherokees. This is especially true of the Miller roll, where 2/3rds of the applicants were declined.

If your ancestors aren’t on any of these rolls, can be found in US census records before 1900, or aren’t living in the Cherokee homelands in the early 1800s, they are almost surely not Cherokee. Also, be wary of results on ancestry sites that start cropping up in the 1700s where the only evidence is another person’s family trees. There are many people claiming descent from Dragging Canoe, Chief Moytoy, and others that put these things on their ancestry trees when none of these people have any descendants. And people will just make up entirely fictional people. Just be sure there are actual documents tying them to the Cherokee and to your ancestors [as people will make up fake children of real figures like Nancy Ward as well]

There is a fantastic resource for Cherokee genealogy in the Cherokee Research and Genealogy Facebook group. The researchers are experts on Cherokee genealogy and will run your lines for FREE and determine conclusively whether you have Cherokee ancestry or not. When they find someone with Cherokee ancestry, they will also find your ancestors’ enrollment applications, allotment locations, etc. they’re really fantastic and I highly recommend checking them out and saving yourself the trouble of doing the research yourself. Just read their rules thoroughly. Even if you did do some research, if you hit a wall or just want confirmation, check them out! Especially if you think you found legitimate ancestry, getting them to double check will remove any doubt.

Enrollment

There are three federally-recognized Cherokee tribes. Each has their own community, resources, and different requirements for enrollment. These are: the United Keetoowah Band [UKB] located in Tahlequah, OK, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians [EBCI] in Cherokee, North Carolina, and the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma [CN or CNO] in Tahlequah, OK. Each of these have distinct histories. Cherokee Nation is the largest by far.

Be wary of fraudulent state-recognized Cherokee tribes. If a Cherokee tribe is not one of the three mentioned above, then it is not recognized by the others as legitimate. These state tribes often take resources that are supposed to be going to legitimate native communities [such as school funding], spread misinformation, etc. These communities often have obviously fake non-Cherokee traits such as ‘naming ceremonies’ and members with laughably stereotypical names like ‘spirit wolf’ and ‘white owl’ lol [also, this is specifically about state tribes claiming to be Cherokee, I can’t speak to the legitimacy of other groups.]

Two of the three Cherokee tribes have a blood quantum requirement. Blood quantum [BQ] is how much ‘native blood’ one has, depicted as a fraction. BQ is a very complex topic in native communities, which I won’t get into here. EBCI has a 1/16 BQ requirement, so to be a citizen you must has 1/16 Eastern Cherokee blood, as well as have an ancestor on the Baker Roll. UKB has a 1/4 BQ requirement, so citizens must have 1/4 Cherokee blood and an ancestor on the Dawes Rolls or the 1949 UKB roll. CNO has no BQ requirement, if an ancestor is listed as By Blood on the Cherokee Dawes Rolls, or listed as a Cherokee Freedman, then you are eligible for CNO citizenship.

Do not come into Cherokee spaces just asking what sort of benefits enrollment can get you. It’s pretty disrespectful and makes it seem like you only care about what you can take from us.

Reconnection

So you did your genealogy and found that you have documented Cherokee ancestry, what next? Reconnection is a long and difficult process and I’ve barely even started, but I’ll try to give what resources and info I can.

Reconnecting is a difficult process, especially if you are far from any Cherokee communities. You cannot reconnect alone. You aren’t reconnecting to some distant past, or to stories in a book, you are reconnecting to a living community. This can be tough for people who are far from Oklahoma or North Carolina, and there are some things that are not really possible to learn except in person. But you can still learn, and there are some online spaces. I particularly find the ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ ᏍᎦᏚᎩ (Cherokee Community) Facebook Group valuable. It’s kinda small, but it’s one of the best ways to engage with Cherokee community online. Sorry if you’re a Facebook hater, Facebook is going to be your best bet for actually meeting people and engaging. The Cherokee Community group requires proof of ancestry before members can join. This usually just means sending your tribal ID or your thread in the Cherokee Research and Genealogy group to an admin and they’ll let you in.

Who can reconnect? This can vary between people, but most often I see people [biased towards Cherokees who are active online] saying that anyone with legitimate documented Cherokee ancestry can reconnect. Some people prefer reconnectors are able to enroll in one of the 3 tribes, some prefer people have connected living family, it varies a lot. In my experience as someone who is white and not a citizen yet, if you are respectful and humble, people are pretty accepting. It’s also important to think about why you want to reconnect. You need to be prepared to give back to your people as much if not more than you get. That means learning the language, the history, learn about current issues, etc. Don’t go into it just wanting to be able to say you’re Cherokee as a fun fact or get some sort of monetary benefit. It’s also important to remember that you will get asked to prove yourself. Don’t be offended if you’re asked if you’re enrolled, who your family is, how you’re Cherokee, etc. This is part of our cultural protocols. Not only do we want to keep people with fake family stories from getting into our spaces, we also just like finding relatives! You need to remember your place as a reconnecting Cherokee. Don’t think having legitimate ancestry suddenly means you’re able to talk with authority on native issues or suddenly claim to be oppressed. If you’re white, don’t suddenly start claiming to be a POC or “white-passing,” you can be white and Cherokee. Cherokee is not a race.

Consider Why you want to reconnect. I see a lot of people that want to 'reconnect' seemingly just so they can put cherokee in their bio and feel like part of a special club that can do closed practices and say they're two spirit or whatever. When you reconnect, the most important people will be the rest of the cherokee community. If you're more worried about performing to nonnatives, think long and hard about your priorities.

The best lesson for reconnecting is learning how to shut up and listen. I see way too many people joining cherokee groups as brand new reconnectors and immediately starting to talk and add their input on everything. You need to be able to just watch and learn and take the learning opportunities as they come instead of insisting on having someone go out of their way to teach you. So many people make fools of themselves in this groups by being loud when they have no idea what they're talking about, and insisting they get an Indian name, or wanting tattoos, or wondering if they can say they're two spirit, etc etc all when they don't seem to know anything else about our culture. You need to put work in first. Learn to read syllabary and attend the language classes, look into learning to weave or bead or whatever, get a few books by legit Cherokee authors and read them, binge some osiyo TV, etc etc. Learn what you can give before trying to see what you can take.

Here are some good basic things to check out for reconnecting

OsiyoTV

Cherokee Nation YouTube

Museum of the Cherokee People YouTube

Cherokee Stories of the Turtle Island Liars Club by Chris B Teuton, Hastings Shade, Sequoyah Guess, Sammy Still, and Woody Hansen

Cherokee Earth Dwellers by Chris B Teuton and Hastings Shade

Mooney’s Myths of the Cherokee [note: this was written by a white man in 1900 after after spending some time with the Eastern Cherokee. The history is iffy, but the stories were recorded directly from Cherokee storytellers.]

Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation by John Ehle

Do your own research, but be extremely wary of Anything posted publicly online. There is lots of misinformation about Cherokee culture. Personally, I mostly do my learning in the vetted Cherokee Facebook groups, in books written by actual citizens, and by talking with connected friends. Google is rarely your friend in this case.

Language

The language is the center of our culture, it is what makes us Cherokee. It is our duty as Cherokees and as reconnecting people to learn the language. I can’t stress enough how important it is. If you aren’t putting any effort to learn the language, it shows others that you aren’t committed and you will likely have trouble getting any help reconnecting from others, it just looks bad haha. Not saying you have to be fluent overnight, I’ve been reconnecting for a year and I still am very much a beginner, ‘it doesn’t matter how slow you go, as long as you don’t stop’ as CNO language teacher Ed Fields says. Luckily, there are plenty of resources for learning online!

It’s good to learn the syllabary or at least familiarize yourself with it early, as it’s a good introduction to the sounds present in the language. It’s an important part of our culture and the language too. There are also many learning resources that are only in syllabary, so you’re missing out on those if you don’t know it. Here are some good resources for learning:

Simply Cherokee Syllabary by Marc W Case [HIGHLY recommended. I got reasonably confident in syllabary in like a weekend thanks to this book. You can find fairly cheap ebooks versions. It has a story for each character that makes it so easy to remember and associate the characters with their sounds.]

Learn Cherokee Syllabary app [Apple] [Android]

Syllabary fonts and keyboard

There are lots of resources for learning the language. It’s really good to hear it as often as possible when learning vs just reading it, as I’ve messing up so much in my pronunciation from just reading it and now I’m having to break habits. You preferably want to hear first language speakers. There are two main dialects of Cherokee, usually roughly split between Eastern and Western. Dialects vary a lot within those communities as well. If you still have contact with any relatives that speak Cherokee, it’s always better to learn as much as you can from them.

Cherokee Nation language department [just explore this site, they have lots of resources!]

Cherokee Learner site [explore this site too, this is a great compilation of pretty much every Cherokee language resource, eastern and western]

Online Cherokee Class with first language speaker Ed Fields

RSU Cherokee Lessons [youtube]

Mango lessons

Other apps, including the Memrise course

Online Cherokee dictionary

That’s all I can think to say right now! I’ll probably add to this later as I learn more, find more resources, and get suggestions from others. But for now, good luck, ᏩᏙ, ᏙᏓᏓᎪᎲᎢ !

[d3adlyromb3ar]

✩ ‧₊˚ these roses have thorns

— pairing. megumi fushiguro x fem!reader

— synopsis. he hated you. you hated him. it was simple really, all those years of competing to be the best had only driven you two as each others biggest rivals. time passes as it’s been years since you’ve seen each other. suddenly, you both reconnect and wonder why you hated each other to begin with.

— word count. 3.2k

— contents. enemies to friends, (lovers implied), language, angst, fluff, minor injuries, minor family issues, indications of bullying, megumi is such a dork

— notes. credit to @saradika for the dividers 🤍

main masterlist

“You’re so incredibly irritating.”

Megumi rested his forehead against his palm, trying his hardest to block out your high pitched squealing voice.

“Do you think I wanted to be paired up with you? Nope. Not at all. If it were up to me, I’d drop out of this class altogether!”

Your voice strained his ears, his temples aching with the sensation of an oncoming headache.

“Can you just stop talking.” He mumbled.

“No actually. If me talking pains you so much, I’ll keep doing it.” You sassed, crossing your arms.

“God, I can’t stand you.”

He huffed and stood suddenly, not giving you another glance and marching his way towards the classroom.

“Where are you going?”

“To find our teacher. Gonna ask him if I can do this project on my own.”

You rolled your eyes but stayed silent. You could feel your cheeks red, you wondered if people could see smoke coming out of your ears from how infuriated you were.

Megumi stopped in his tracks, turning around when he didn’t hear your snarky reply. Truthfully, he was waiting for it and was shocked when it never came. He furrowed his brows at the sight of you pouting, rooted in your same spot.

“What? Don’t seem so upset, I’ll be doing you a favor.” He said, indicating that you’d appreciate his gesture. No longer cursed with his presence.

He never quite understood why you hated him so much. All he knew was that you were competitive, and so was he. At least when it came to you, he wanted to be better than you at all things. Your reactions becoming his favorite thing when he outsmarted you.

“Whatever.” You mumbled, turning away from him and stomping off the school grounds.

Megumi oddly decided not to meet with the teacher, choosing to tough it out— and do this project with you. It would be too much of a hassle to explain to the teacher why he wanted to work alone.

Days later, you and Megumi were sat underneath a tree within the schools courtyard. He was leaning back against the base of the bark, while you were focused on your notes in front of you.

Your harsh erasing on your notepad had Megumi glancing over to you. He had to bite his tongue when you swiped the shavings in his direction, some of which landed on his uniform pants.

“Okay lemme check this again…” You muttered quietly to yourself, flipping through a textbook in a haste.

He just watched, holding back a laugh at how ridiculous you looked. So panicked and stressed for absolutely no reason— he assumed you were working so hard only to prove you were doing more than him for the project.

Which truthfully, you were. But he had an idea for later.

A frustrated sigh from you grabbed his attention, breaking him from his thoughts. His eyes suddenly focusing on your tongue wedged between your lips, the way it was poking out as you scribbled notes.

“Y’know, you can poke a hole through the paper if you write hard enough.”

“At least I’m working on the project.” You shot back.

He narrowed his eyes, leaning forward and snatching the notepad out of your hands— causing you to gasp.

“Hey! Give it back!”

“What’s all this nonsense anyway— we won’t be needing any of this information. Wasting your tim—”

“I said give it!” You said through clenched teeth, reaching for the notepad, only for him to hold it farther out of your reach.

“I mean, are you even reading out of the right textbook?” He questioned, trying to make you feel incompetent.

You clenched your jaw, your cheeks rising in heat once again.

“If you don’t give it back, I’m going to—”

“Oh you’re threatening me now? How adorable.”

You pressed your lips together tight, the comment both annoying and flustering you. You decided to ignore him and the fluttering in your stomach— pulling out another notepad from your backpack and flipping to a fresh page.

Megumi watched in fascination as you started rewriting all your notes you had previously written. He chuckled, earning a shake of your head. Clearly over his antics.

“God, you’re so stubborn. Doesn’t it hurt your head?”

“Shut up. Let me work.” You snapped, not lifting your gaze from your notes.

He chuckled again, your reactions only spurring him on.

“Are you even a real person?”

This had you snapping your head up, giving him a bitchy look. Although, Megumi wasn’t phased— he held your glare with pleasure.

“Are you? I swear, sometimes it feels like you’ve been sent to this planet just to make my life a living hell.” You hissed.

“Yeah, you wish you were that special.” He mumbled.

You held his satisfied expression for a few more seconds before breaking the stare, focusing back on your work.

“Let me work, please.” Your voice was quieter than before.

“Aww, did I hurt your feelings?”

“No, now please— let me fucking work!” You raised your voice, your grip on your pencil extremely tight.

He chuckled before letting himself go silent, oddly enough— he let you finish the days work in peace. He’d have to hold himself back from talking every time he caught you sticking your tongue out in concentration. He’d have to force himself to look away every time you brought the eraser end of the pencil up to your lips, letting the pink end rub over your mouth.

It was funny, he suddenly realized. Your presence was wasn’t totally awful when you were quiet.

Another day had passed, and the due date of the project was finally here. It was hilarious how he hadn’t done much of anything to the project— not that you’d let him. It wasn’t just the day of the project turn in date, it was also the day of his mischievous plan.

It was the end of class, Megumi sat silent in his spot as the teacher said his final words to his students. The bell rung and before you could level move an inch from your desk, the teacher was calling your name.

“(Y/n) (L/n), please see me after the room is cleared.” He told you.

You nodded but couldn’t help the confusion wash over your features. Immediately thinking of why he’d want to pull you to the side. Had you done something wrong? Certainly not.

Megumi met your gaze one last time, his eyes locking with yours. You glared at him, noticing the way he had a smug look on his face. Before you could change your expression, he had turned and left throughout the doorway.

Slowly, you made your way up to the teachers desk.

“You wanted to speak with me?” You asked politely, maybe a little nervously.

“Yes. It’s been brought to my attention that there were some issues with your project.” He informed you.

You wondered what possibly could’ve been wrong, the teacher had already told you and Megumi that it was the best of the grade.

“I’m sorry, I don’t follow.”

“Miss (L/n), I’m very disappointed in you. You are one of my brightest students, and for you to deliberately make your classmate Megumi do the whole project himself— well it saddens me.”

Your teachers words had your eyes wide, your mouth hanging open in shock. He didn’t. He wouldn’t. Megumi wouldn’t have gone this far, would he have?

“Mr… I… Listen there is a misunderstan—”

“I don’t need to hear your excuses. Just know that you will be taking a zero for this assignment.”

“But you don’t understand… I did the pro—”

“Lying to me isn’t helping your case Miss (L/n). I just want this to be a learning lesson for you. Megumi was quite upset about this whole ordeal, and I expect you to respect your classmates better from now on.” He finished, standing up and leaving the classroom.

You were left standing in front of his desk still, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Your chest ached at how hard you were breathing, the rage you felt threatening to burst.

You left the classroom, cheeks red and hot. If there was any moment in time where smoke would be bursting out your ears— it would be now.

Just as your foot passed the doorway, you heard an all too familiar laugh. One that had your breathing rising, fastening in pace.

You turn towards the dark haired boy, walking quickly up to his smug face.

“You’re such a dick! I can’t believe you would go this far!” You yelled.

He crossed his arms, his form calmly leaned back against the lockers.

“Just following through with my mission to make your life a living hell.” He repeated from a previous conversation.

You stared at him with disgust.

“Are you really that fucking upset over what I said?”

“I’m not upset about shit. You just need to know who’s always going to have the last laugh. Who’s always going to be on top— because it won’t be you.” He stated.

“I know you hate my guts, but making me take a zero for this project? That’s too far, you don’t get to interfere with my schoolwork. I work too damn hard for you to mess it up!” You defended.

He rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help but feel bad. He didn’t realize the teacher was going to give you a zero. He assumed a little scolding at least. He realized that maybe he’d taken it too far.

“Y’know what, you win.”

Megumi looked at you with confusion at your admittance.

“You’re better than me at everything. You’re the high and mighty one and I’m just a piece of shit. I get it, I do. Now please do me one fucking favor— and leave me alone.” You pleaded, your voice quiet at the end, thick with emotion.

Megumi couldn’t say anything in the moment, and instead watched you walk away— your head down. He did all this for a quick laugh, to see your reaction and all— so why did he feel terrible instead. It was never supposed to end up this way.

Perhaps he had taken it too far, and now he was afraid that there’d be no fixing this. That theory was confirmed the second he heard that you had transferred schools the next week.

God, he really fucked up. Now he had no way to resolve or fix anything. Now more than ever, he felt the extremely strong urge to tell you he was sorry. He realized all too quickly— he wouldn’t get the chance to.

A few years had passed, and a lot had changed.

Standing in front of the Jujutsu School now— it didn’t quite feel real. You had to force yourself to truly believe that this is where you ended up.

Remembering back, you recalled the exact moment where your life had shifted— from something so simple to chaos.

It happened days after the whole ordeal with Megumi and the project. The rage that had consumed you since that moment had been building. The last week at school was forgotten— you couldn’t recall a thing any of the teachers had said that day.

It was the saturday after your last week. You had been trying to relax at home, make yourself something to eat when you accidentally burned your finger on the stove. Almost like a trigger, the rage that had been built up inside of you tripled— your body not feeling like your own.

Before you fully feel the pain of the burn— your whole house was suddenly in flames. Within minutes your house was simply gone— vanishing from where it was previously rooted.

Your parents had been furious, but they weren’t surprised— not even a little. A long talk later, and you discovered that you were adopted, the two people you lived with forever not even your own Mom and Dad. They told you with heavy hearts that you were born from a clan— one from a history of sorcerers.

You didn’t believe them at first, but after what had just happened— what you had caused. You had no choice but accept the truth.

Your parents assured you not to be upset with yourself for destroying the house, informing you that this was just a placeholder while you were in school. It didn’t push the guilt away that you had done such destruction, and you felt out of control with these abilities you didn’t even know you possessed.

Your parents let you decide your path, and you chose to leave home. Leaving to somewhere that could help you with your abilities, one that would help you understand who you were.

So no, Megumi wasn’t the reason why you transferred. But of course, how would he ever know that fact.

With hesitant steps, you walked further into the school grounds— taking in the beauty of the buildings. The environment felt peaceful and inviting— and most importantly you felt like you finally belonged somewhere.

“(Y/n)?” A deep voice called from behind you.

You got lost in thought before you turned around, the voice sounding so familiar, yet so foreign.

“(Y/n) (L/n)?” The voice called out again, this time around sounding more unsure.

You turned around finally, your heart nearly stopping at the sight of him. There before you stood none other than Megumi Fushiguro.

You realized you hadn’t said anything since he got your attention. You snapped yourself out of your shock and sent him a warm smile, one that undoubtedly had a flash of nervousness in it.

“Megumi, hi. It’s been… It’s been awhile.” You greeted, scratching your arm anxiously.

It was Megumi’s turn to be shocked, he hadn’t seen you in years and yet the person standing in front of him was undoubtedly you, but not you at the same time.

Everything from your features and your height was different, but it’s not what had him so shocked. It was your voice that silenced him completely. It was so— gentle.

It was a miracle he even recognized you at all.

“I’m guessing from your silence that you still don’t like me.” You said in a small voice, laughing awkwardly at the end.

Megumi was snapped out of his shock instantly from the sound of your hurt voice.

“No, no I uh… I am just surprised to see you here.” He explained, “Um, why are you here?”

You didn’t have time to dwell on the fact that he was speaking to you much more softer than ever— it was odd.

You scratched your arm nervously, the same neutral smile on your face.

“I’m going to school here.” You revealed, feeling anxious about what his thoughts were on that. “That’s okay with you, right?”

He nodded. Otherwise his thoughts ran around with the possibility that you were a sorcerer too? How did he never recognize that. Were there signs? How did he miss them?

“Why would it matter what I think?”

You shrugged, the conversation feeling too awkward. There was so much unnecessary tension— you blamed it on the past.

Since you had thought about it, you found yourself walking a couple steps closer to him. It was then you could finally get a closer look at him. His hair had grown longer, more hectic. He’d certainly grown into his face, his jawline was sharp. It was his eyes that captured you— they were so mesmerizing. The way his eyelashes were so long and caged his eyes.

You cleared your throat, getting back on track.

“Listen, about what all happened in the past—”

But you couldn’t finish your sentence, as Megumi cut in.

“I don’t need you to do that, really. If anyone here should be apologizing— it should be me.”

His words shocked you, and you found yourself unable to respond right away. He sensed that and kept going.

“I know it might not make a difference after all these years but, I’m sorry I was such a dick. I’m sorry for always messing with you— and I’m sorry for the whole project thing.” He finished.

You couldn’t help but feel some sort of healing within you from those words. It wasn’t often you’d dwell on him, but you always wondered where his hate for you came from. Maybe it was just an odd occurrence.

“I accept your apology. Thank you.”

Megumi sent a weak smile then, feeling some weight lift off his shoulders. But not all of it.

“And don’t feel too bad about this whole thing, I wasn’t so innocent either. I shouldn’t have messed with you either— I know I was quite annoying. If anything, I probably deserved it.”

Megumi smirked, his shoulders jumping with a silent laugh. He didn’t want to seem rude but he also couldn’t help himself from asking.

“Sorry to change the subject but, how are you a sorcerer? I never got the idea that you were one.”

You ended up walking towards the school stairs, taking a seat and watching as Megumi followed and plopped down next to you— closer than you predicted.

“It’s a long story. Turns out I was adopted and my adoptive parents told me I was from a sorcerer clan.” You ran through the long story, “It’s a pretty boring story.”

He nodded, listening intently to your story. He was intrigued with you— and he wondered if that was the reason he always felt this pull around you.

“What about you? I didn’t know you were a sorcerer. You don’t seem the type.” You joked at the end.

He chuckled, and scratched the back of his neck.

“Yeah, I’ve pretty much known my whole life. Guess I’m good at keeping secrets.”

You hummed, clearly he was right. You didn’t suspect a thing.

“Good to know.”

Despite apologies being traded, small talk being had— there was obvious tension still thick in the air. Neither of you could pinpoint why.

“Well I should um… I should probably get settled in and everything.” You suggested, standing up to head out.

Megumi surprised you yet again when his hand suddenly wrapped around your wrist— halting you in your spot. But it was a gentle touch, one that didn’t seem like him.

“Uh (Y/n)?”

“Yes Megumi?”

He bit his lip, the back of his neck hot with what he wanted to say.

“Just wanted to say that you look good.”

He really couldn’t believe he just said that, after all those years are being a complete dickhead— and suddenly he thinks a couple words of sweet talk would bail him out of the mess. What was he thinking.

Except you were flattered and felt your cheeks heating up, but this time is was from nerves.

“Thank you Megumi, you look good too. Very handsome.”

Megumi’s cheeks suddenly became rosy, the back of his neck burning up. He wasn’t expecting you to say it back, but with how you were looking at him— he knew it was genuine.

“Thanks.”

You smiled at him, your chest warm with a foreign sensation— but you welcomed it.

“After I unpack my things, would you mind showing me around?”

Megumi sent a small smile back, scratching the back of his neck yet again. You never made him this nervous, but your voice also never sounded so smooth, so gentle before.

“Sure.”

With that, you walked away— feeling a little more chipper in your step.

The two of you were left alone in your thoughts as you both went your separate ways. Both of you were thinking of lots, but the one thought that ran through both of your minds was— why did we even hate each other to begin with?

— ending notes. thought of this randomly one night and started writing 😅 not proofread so ignore spelling mistakes 🤍

[nhlclover]

𝐒𝐎 𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐍 | 𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐂𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐘

word count: 1.35k

summary: on your way to the spend a weekend at the lake house with his teammates, you think about your future with rutger

warnings: british reader!, mentions of some other umich players (nick, duke brothers), brief sad thoughts

notes: based on 'so american' by olivia rodrigo. who am i if not writing fics based on songs.

The morning sun was beginning to rise, casting a golden hue on Rutger’s jeep that rumbled down the highway, its tires humming against the asphalt. Rutger sat in the driver's seat, his left hand holding a loose grip on the wheel, while you sat comfortably in the passenger seat, your feet were propped up on the dashboard. Rutger insisted you hit the road early to get to Jacob’s lake house around mid-morning. You felt that was a little too early, but he was excited to spend some spare time at the end of the semester with his friends and girlfriend, relaxing on the water. To make up for the early start time, Rutger bought you an iced coffee and promised that you could sleep in the car on the way over.

However, you couldn’t find yourself able to fall back asleep, instead taking over aux, the early morning air that flowed through the cracked windows helping to rejuvenate you. You tapped your fingers against the door handle, matching the beat of the song you’d selected. Dirt On My Boots by Jon Pardi filled the space, a contented smile gracing your lips.

“You’ve turned so American.” Rutger says, pulling your brain out of its brief daze.

“What?” You ask, your brows furrowing.

“I mean… look at you,” Rutger says with a chuckle. “You’re sitting there with your feet on the dash, you’re listening to country music, and you’re repping USA merch.”

Rutger motions to one of his hoodies that you’d thrown on as you were leaving. It was one given to him by the world juniors team he’d just played on, the letters U-S-A largely displayed on the chest.

You turned to him, adjusting your position in the seat. "Oh, please, don't say that. I'm still very much British, thank you very much." You retort, rejecting the idea that you’d become American in any way.

When you applied for an exchange to the University of Michigan, nothing could’ve prepared you for what would’ve come. On your first day of classes in the new country, you met Rutger. When a pretty girl sat next to him in one of his classes, he knew he had to talk to her. It didn’t take long for the two of you to develop feelings, Rutger soon being the ‘dreamy American’ that your friends had jokingly told you you’d fall for. And fall for him you did.

It was unfair of Rutger to make you feel this much when you both knew your future was uncertain.

“Hey, there is nothing wrong with being American.” Rutger points out.

“Yeah says the American.” You tease, rolling your eyes. “Thank god I’m going home soon. I need to reconnect with my roots if you think I’ve become American.”

Despite that being a joke, you couldn't shake the underlying sadness that gnawed at you. In just one week, you were leaving Michigan and returning to the UK. The thought of leaving Rutger and the life you’d established in Michigan weighed heavily on your heart. You knew that the bond you’d established with Rutger would withstand the miles and borders, however the prospect of being separated from him felt like tearing away a piece of you.

Rutger, sensing the shift in your demeanour as well as knowing that the inevitable move was weighing on you, reached over, taking your hand in his. His cold fingers lacing between yours quickly drew you back to reality.

“Hey,” He said softly. “Try not to think about it for now. Enjoy this weekend. We’ve got ages to figure it all out.”

You squeezed Rutger’s hand drawing comfort from his touch. With a gentle smile, you met his gaze, gratitude shining in your eyes. “Thank you, Rut.” You said softly.

Rutger returned your smile, turning his attention back to the road while keeping your hand in his. You continued the drive, doing your best to expel the thoughts of leaving from your mind.

Three hours later, Rutger pulled down a laneway that ultimately led to a large house on the water. Rutger’s teammates were already outside, eagerly awaiting your arrival.

“Hey guys!” Rutger called out as they stepped out of the car. Rutger’s teammates come over, greeting the two of them.

“This place is beautiful.” You comment, admiring the glimpse of the water you could see past the house.

“God, I will never get over the accent.” Nick said. Rutger shoved his shoulder while you playfully rolled your eyes.

You considered yourself lucky that you’d become friends with Rutger’s teammates. From the moment Rutger introduced you to them, they’d welcomed you with open arms. And as you spent more time with them, they weren’t just Rutger’s teammates, they were your friends as well.

“Alright, now go get changed, we’re hitting the water.” Luca said, ushering the two of you inside.

You headed up to your room, changed into the swimsuits you’d brought, and then headed downstairs to meet the rest of the group. The rest of the afternoon, you guys remained on the water. You all took turns on the tube, as well as some of the boys deciding to test their water skiing skills. When the sun began to descend towards the horizon, a golden hue being cast on the water, you headed back to the house to start dinner, which was a full team activity in which everyone was put to work doing something. You and Rutger were put in charge of the barbecue on the back patio, teaming up with Dylan and Tyler to grill the burgers and corn.

After dinner was demolished, you headed down to the fire pit, relaxing in the Adirondack chairs, talking about whatever came to mind. The flames cast flickering glows on everyone's faces as you discussed sports, your exams, and random childhood anecdotes whether relevant or not. After a while of drinking and chatting, both you and Rutger hit your limits and decide to call it a night.

The second that Rutger’s head hits the pillow, he’s out like a light, the day’s activities catching up with him. After a full day of tubing and waterskiing, combined with the drinks they’d consumed throughout the day, everyone was wiped. You, however, lay awake, the moonlight reflecting off the water and into the open window.

You traced your fingers through Rutger's hair, watching his bare chest rise and fall with steady breaths. With the tranquillity of the room enveloping you, you find yourself lost in a maze of thoughts, your mind swirling with visions of Rutger and the future they could share.

England was home. England was where you grew up, where your family and friends still resided. The thought of leaving them to be in North America made your heart tense. However, lying in the sheets and staring up at the ceiling, you couldn’t help but imagine moving to North America to be with Rutger. As you look over at him, still peacefully asleep, you imagine the prospect of uprooting your life for the American boy you fell in love with, of bridging the distance to be with Rutger.

Your thoughts continue to wander, picturing what could come of life in America with Rutger. Your mind entertains the notion of marriage, a distant yet possible milestone. That might be a little presumptuous of you, with your relationship still being in its infancy, but you practically couldn’t help it. The way he’d made you feel in the past 8 months was unlike anything you’d ever experienced before. Every moment with him felt like a moment torn from a romance book. Every moment with him was filled with laughter and stolen glances, creating an undeniable intimacy and connection.

You had to eventually force those thoughts out of your mind or else they would’ve kept you up all night. You rolled over, curling into Rutger’s side, and placing a delicate hand on his abs. Rutger stirred momentarily, instinctively wrapping his arm around you, drawing you closer. For now, you were content to simply be in this moment with him, cherishing the time you had left before you had to return home.

[moonbeamastrology]

General Messages

Hi!!! Hope everyone is doing well, I have just a simple general message pac reading for you guys today. As always, only take what resonates and leave the rest behind. This is a general reading, not a personal read so not everything may apply. Take a few deep breaths, center your energy and choose the cloud picture that calls out to you. All of my readings are timeless so whenever you see them is when you are meant to. This is for entertainment purposes only, thank you. 

(p.s. Aren’t these pictures awesome?! I didn’t even like do anything to edit them <3 clouds are so beautiful <3)

Group 1

Hello group 1, welcome to your reading! “Still waters run deep.” is the first thing I got from the cards that came out. Things may not be how you want them to be right now but there's more going on than you can see. Or you're going through a tough emotional cycle right now. I'm getting those lakes that look like they're very shallow but it's just a perspective and the lake is actually extremely deep. perspective is really important right now. Even if a situation sucks and feels awful, what can you gain from it? In what ways is this situation working for you, not against you. If switching your mindset like that is new to you, be gentle with yourself please. If you've been hard on yourself lately, please chill. you are literally doing the absolute best that you can right now. I'm getting this Vibe of feeling like inner peace/ serenity are things you have to work for? This is a limiting belief. Peace and serenity are always available and every moment. It's not something you tried to achieve but rather something you would surrender to. It's like trying to get a stubborn donkey to move but the more you push the harder he takes his feet in and pushes back ( resistance begets resistance). When you stop trying to force things or force yourself to be at peace, happy, productive, whatever it is, that's when it comes in, ironically. There's a lot of wisdom and healing to be gained in this period of your life but you have to open yourself up to it. Connect with your guides. They are heavily around you and want to assist you but can't if you aren't open to it. Signs, messages, synchronicities are all around you at this time. You are safe, protected, and guided.  Angelic healing is coming in for you and immense blessings are on the way. Some of you are looking for a soul tribe, this is confirmation that it is coming in. There is support all around you. Even if you don't see it you are supported in the spiritual realms. Solitude is good to reconnect with yourself but too much can make connecting with those you love more challenging. During this challenging time in your life, reach out to your trusted friends and ask for help. If you think you always have to do it alone, you will (because your belief manifests). Your spirit guides, ancestors, angels, Etc love you so so much, open yourself up to receiving their support, they want to help you. I'm feeling some resistance to their support? If you're feeling resistant to spiritual assistance it's possibly because you are losing faith/trust in your spiritual team. Doubt is a normal part of any path, follow what feels right to your soul. If this is not the case then this is something you need to ask yourself and sit with. There are people in your life that are rooting for you and want you to succeed. Always. I'm one of them ;). I'm hearing that remix song thing “all we need is somebody to lean on” lol.  Right now it is important to find ways to lighten your energy. Slow down and appreciate your sensory experience. Light candles or incense, play soft pleasing music, take a comforting hot shower or bath, eat a delicious meal. anchoring your energy to the present moment and experiencing the richness of your senses. Pamper your senses. Your energy is being replenished. Your guides really really want to communicate with you. I felt like I could go on and on with these messages. I had to force myself to stop, it's gotten too long lol. So that’s where I’ll leave you guys off today. I hope this message brought you some insight and it serves you well <3 until next time, my love.

Sacred Destiny Oracle: Wisdom, Community, Pleasure, Blessings

Tarot: The Chariot R, Temperance R, 3 of cups, queen of wands

Group 2

Hey group 2, I got two songs for you guys to check out: “Magnetize” by Maijah and “Return 2 Sender” by Moonlight Scorpio and Maijah (I specifically kept hearing “I only fuck with the good vibes” from the second song). You could be seeing 555 a lot recently as well. Some of you are needing to spend some time cloud gazing, which is funny with the pictures for the groups, you are the only group that cloud gazing came out with though lol. I'm getting kind of two vibes, some of you there's a lot of change happening in your life right now but you feel stable and secure during it. Others are trying to bring about some sort of change. I feel like you have done a lot of work to get to this point (internal or external). There are heavy themes of choosing your own path, of choosing what YOU want.  following your intuition and trusting Spirit along the way. tapping into and incorporating limitlessness into your self belief. You are only as limited as you believe yourself to be. You are reaching new heights/depth of spiritual development. You're working through the illusion of control (you can control yourself and your actions but not other people/situations). Releasing yourself from the expectations others have placed on you (people pleasing?). Funnily enough, I'm hearing the grad speech from Twilight eclipse lol “ change your mind, and change it again” so that might be worth listening to lol. Right now the only consistency you need is a dedication to yourself, your path, and your intuition. you can do anything you set your mind to with your belief. Two cards in the deck use the exact phrase “let your spirit fly.”  break free from the chains that bind you (you know the ones). Your life is about to change dramatically (for the better). Your connection with spirit is very strong at this time. Reaching greater spiritual awareness. Freedom, freedom, freedom essentially lol. I'm seeing you freeing yourself allowing yourself to fully relax and let go which then allows a download to come in which makes it easier/anchors you into the present moment and finding joy where you're at right now which then creates this massive change. Changing the internal and it reflecting externally. I feel like a part of this freeing yourself also means giving yourself time to rest, relax, and play. You have big dreams and goals and that is so beautiful and adorable so you have to have big rest too! You have come such a long way from where you started. I saw a post the other day which read ”you don't notice your progress because you keep raising your bar”. That feels poignant to your situation right now. The time is now to create and live your dreams so cast away any limiting beliefs that don't empower and align you to the life you want to be living. stay present in the moment and grateful for what you have while you move toward this. (sidenote: I was hearing so much stuff so maybe your getting an upgrade with a psychic gift?) That’s the message that came out or you group 2, thank you for taking the time out of your day to read it <3 lov u.

Sacred Destiny Oracle: Freedom, Relaxation, Enlightenment, Pleasure, Change

Group 3

Hi group 3! Right now it looks like knowing when to be flexible with others and when to stand your ground is a deep lesson you are going and growing through at this time. Right now you are being called to go with them and find some solitude (not isolation btw, just carve out some time for yourself everyday). Right now it feels like you are really concerned or possibly even worried about finding your own path in life. Find ways to release worry and anxiety and tap into your soul's truth. You're very concerned with and focused on finding truth or finding your truth. Growing in your skill of discernment. Meditation and reflection will benefit you greatly at this time. Disconnect from expectations other people have for you and follow your instincts. if there is a relationship that prevents you from being yourself or that disempowers you, release them. It is only holding you back. Meditate and journal consistently, meditation is like building muscle, for the best results you must stay committed to it. Take some time to reassess and reflect on your life let go of what no longer serves your highest good. You are about to experience lots of change and spiritual growth so it will be important to be able to tap into your inner voice and connect with what we want out of life. If you have a detailed plan of action, that's great just leave a little more room for Spirit to work their magic and Surprise you. Others of you need to start putting a plan together to give a little bit more structure, but allowing some flexibility at the same time. Some of you have a highly logical mind, which can be both a blessing and occurs. Right now allow yourself to float a little bit and dream, I'm not saying throw away all rationality and practicality but soften and open yourself up to things working out for you in unexpected and magical ways. You are entering into an abundant and prosperous season in your life. I'm low-key getting the vibe that some of you already know all of this and didn't really need the reading. Which makes sense because the message is all about finding, following, and trusting your own inner guidance. but I love you anyway! Thank` you for spending your time with me and trusting me with your reading! <3 

Sacred Destiny Oracle: Flexibility, Solitude, Trust

Tarot: 2 of wands, king of swords, The Hanged Man

[moltensmusings]

I've spoken about it to my friend but: if they aren't going to let Nightwing and Starfire have a happy ending in the comics I desperately need for them to introduce a character that has no connection to Dick Grayson, only Kori, who becomes her love interest.

Not one starting as a friends with benefits or being immediately attracted to her, someone she grows to know over time and establishes a bond with before anything blooms.

I'd love to see a run where for various reasons the original titans start to disperse and she takes that time to reasses the trauma she's experienced, this time on her own is the first she returns to Tamaran and this is when we get her trying to reconnect to her roots and her family.

A solo run of starfire all about her where she gets a proper love interest that has never been connected to dick grayson who loves her for her and someone we get to see a true happy ending for. I'm so tired of this idea that she doesn't need a romance to be happy when the only romances she gets offered are dick grayson clones, his best friends, or his brothers.