#oh wait actually i just remembered when i was younger most of my warrior cats rp was done in the comment boxes of some kids youtube channel

[c0smic-coral]

So on the subject of Stucky [VERY LONG, TW: DEPRESSION]

And a quick note, Bucky looks at Steve the same way Q looks at Picard.

So, some member of Marvel or something somewhere if someone could find the web article for me please???

Someone who works for Marvel essentially said that Bucky and Nat were both crushing on Steve.

HAHA OK so since it’s not on the screen, you can tell us?

Yeah, that’s my opinion on a lot of things. Sometimes on screen, it’s still so damn obvious. Qcard. SO OBVIOUS. Dakavendish.

Look at Dakota’s face. This is the dorky smile I would get around my ex.

Oh also book series, specifically WARRIOR CATS in which Scholastic said “No you can’t have Leafpool and Mothwing be together” and so that didn’t happen because the Erins are pushovers (???) and then behind the scenes they’ll stay stuff like “yes Darkstripe was gay” “some of us see Tallstar and Jake as something more” “oh yeah RavenBarley is canon”

Yeah, so actually making it happen will bother the censors, right? You do realize answers are a translate away?

Yes, this is a person who is aware how broken Google Translate is but believe me.

Alright, back to Stucky. I can understand why it wouldn’t get canonized. In the comics, Bucky was actually younger than Steve. A LOT younger. They had a father-son dynamic, think Batman and Robin from DC. I don’t remember why this was changed, but I suppose it could have been a bit strange. HOWEVER!!! I, like several other people, HATE the Endgame ending with a passion. Steve’s character arc revolved around Bucky. When was the last time Peggy was relevant? When Steve helped carry her coffin? All of a sudden he sees her in Endgame and “I’m with you till the end of the line” means NOTHING and he goes and lives out his life with a woman who had a full life WITHOUT HIM.

I’m just- I’m just… UPSET with Marvel about this. I’m upset with the Russo Brothers the most cuz they directed this movie.

Guys, when a slash ship is even PARTIALLY canon, treat it with respect on the screen/page. You anger the fandom beast when you don’t.

Oh, and that brings me to another thing that pisses me off. Fandoms bringing canon LGBTQIA-whatever-letters-there’s-a-plus-here-guys+ in so late in the game. Do you realize how long fandoms like Marvel and Star Trek had to wait for this stuff? I mean, I guess Seven counts, but the Seven x Raffi romance wasn’t the best executed??? And the fact Star Trek’s first same-gender kiss WASN’T IN DISCOVERY and was in DS9 and people FORGOT ABOUT IT??? However, even though Eternals SUUUUCKED, it did the whole “Phastos has a husband and son” thing right. Still a twinge annoyed.

Having characters canonized as queer later is cool tho. Warrior Cats with Ravenpaw, Harry Potter and Ron apparently (I do not support JKR) even though if the series happens it will probably suck and their romance would probably feel like shoehorned fan service (Don’t shoehorn your fan service).

BACK ON TOPIC, don’t know if you cared about The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. I did. I thought it was… okay dealing with stuff like racism at a time where struggles that the Black community faces really started coming back into the public eye, as well as the idea of the interest narratives that could come from everyone returning after being gone 5 years.

But here, we’re talking about Bucky’s therapy. Don��t know if you know this, but the actress who played Bucky’s therapist, Dr. Raynor, said that this therapy, though court-mandated, could be LIFE-SAVING.

Of course he’s depressed, his best friend/love of his life (AKA NOT SARAH WILSON) ABANDONED him.

I’m just saying saying this stuff doesn’t help with how messed up Steve leaving was to begin with!

Now there was one more thing I was gonna say but I forgot so I’ll post a part 2 when I remember.

[bmpmp3]

THE PROBLEM with me is I’ve always had a tendency to get really, really into painfully niche things (sometimes its niche in the sense of obscurity but most of the time its just niche in the sense of like, nobody’s all that interested lol) which in theory is fine like im enjoying myself and i end up with a decent amount of interesting stories to tell BUT ALSO i just discovered that Girls’ Fashion Shoot has been delisted from the 3ds eshop and now I’ve been thinking about the nicola model series of games nonstop for the past two days and like WHO am i supposed to TALK to about this!!!

[ammocharis]

OC Interview: Vatna

Thanks for the tag @cleverblackcat, @mageofholyandraste, @darethshirl! It sounds fun!

Introduction

This event was organized a few weeks prior to the Winter Palace ball. Ambassador Josephine Montilyet had invited a few Orlesian journalists to Skyhold to interview the newly appointed Inquisitor.

Can you introduce yourself?

Vatna Einarsdotten Selkesdotten of Two Falcon Hold. (a moment of silence) In the Frostback Mountains. (another moment of silence as the interviewers wait for her to say something else) Inquisitor of the Second Inquisition. (it seems that she won’t say anything more, so one of the journalists asks the next question)

What are your gender identity, orientation, and relationship status?

Is that what you ask every Lowlander? (grumbles) Alright. I see myself a woman. Who I invite or don’t invite to my bed is my very own matter. I am unmarried and have never been before. If you’re curious, yes, the Avvar may marry multiple times in their life if they wish so. Does this answer satisfy you?

Where and when were you born?

I was born in Two Falcon Hold, eighteen... no, nineteen winters ago. (she corrects herself as she remembers that winter came and went when she was away from home, making her one winter older than when she left)

What is your weapon of choice and fighting style?

I am a mage. Unlike most spellweavers in your Circles, we in the mountains train with all sort of weapons, just like any other warrior. I prefer fighting in close quarters. When I came of age, I chose an axe as my preferred weapon. It was commissioned from the dwarves of Orzammar. The blade is engraved with runes and the handle has lyrium core that I can easily channel my magic through. It has been... misplaced for the first few months that I spent with the Inquisition, but it was recovered. Fortunately, the gods blessed me with another weapon in the meantime - the fire-staff that belonged to the Avvar-Mother. I’ve been told this topic is a source of confusion, but I’m not sure how to explain it better. Yes, I do use both an axe and a staff now. I had a battleaxe when I arrived into the Lowlands. Then I lost it. Then I claimed the staff of Tyrdda Bright-Axe. Tyrdda was called Bright-Axe because she had a staff with a fire-focusing crystal. But the word ‘axe’ used to mean every hafted weapon. Then I got back my axe, my regular axe... Let’s go to the next question.

Are you happy?

I’ll be happy when the Lady’s Veil is fully repaired and Corypheus lies dead. Until then, I have work to do. Would you be happy if there were world-dooming critters in your house? Because there are. There are cowards in Orlais scheming together with Corypheus, maybe even people you know. (a lady in a pale blue mask exchanges looks with the others and suggests a lighter topic)

Family and friends

What should I say? Just talk about my family and friends? Well, my father is called Einar, my mother is called Selke. In my hold, we take bynames after both our parents, so I actually already revealed their names. My father was born is Two Falcon Hold, my mother moved from another hold further south. They’ve been married for twenty three years now. They were rather mad to promise such a long marriage without extensions. Eighty-eight knots, can you imagine? I mean, they could always as the Thane to cut the rope short if they grew tired of each other... But it works well for them. I hope they’ll live together until it the last knot. (the interviewers prompt her to explain what she meant by knots and ropes) Oh, I run away with that. The number of knots is the number of years the marriage is supposed to last. Before the wedding, the bride ties a number of knots into a rope, and the groom’s task is to untie them. On the wedding day, the bride starts to sing hymns to the Lady of the Skies. The groom begins to untie the knots then. However many he’ll manage to unravel before the hymns ends, that many years they shall be married together. After the promise ends, they can get married again if they wish. But my parents vowed to get married for eighty-eight years right away. Eight is a blessed amount. Eighty-eight, doubly so. I’ve been told the ritual took all day to complete. By the end of it, my mother’s throat was sore and my father’s knuckles were raw. But they got married how they wanted, and the bond has been steadfast for many years now.

I have a younger sister, Hirka. She’s only four winters younger than me but she can be a real brat sometimes. We used to be inseparable as children. Then we both grew a bit. I got my magic and had to spent a lot of time mastering my abilities. She had other things to do too. But she’s my sister no matter what.

I have some (she pauses to rememeber the right word in Common language) aunts and uncles, but most of them and their families live in other holds, so I haven’t seen them a lot. Only a few times, never in some cases. The word still travels through the Mountains, so we do hear news from them every now and then. 

In the end, the whole hold is your kin.

Have you ever run away from home?

Once or twice, I skulked outside of the hold and refused to go back until well after nightfall. But I never really run away, I wouldn’t abandon my family like that.

Would you consider marriage or having children?

I don’t know.

Do you secretly hate any of your friends?

No, I do not. Those who I call my friends, I think as such. I make my dislikes known. Too easily, I’ve been told.

Which friend knows everything about you?

There is someone who knows my soul, but I’m not going to talk about it.

Asked by fans

Are you literate? Have you been to school?

Yes, I can read and write. Not everyone in the Mountains does, but more than you imagine, I think. Augurs, skalds, merchants, those who aspire to be thanes... Many are able to tell the numbers, in order to trade with dwarves, but haven’t practiced beyond that.

The augurs learn how to read so that they may study old magics. I was an apprentice to the Sky Watcher of my hold - uh, a Sky Watcher is like a... priest to the Lady of the Skies. I was supposed to become his successor. So I studied something almost every day since I was eight. One day, I would memorize the shapes of protection sigils, and then try to draw them myself. Another day, I would study the uses of all mushrooms found in caves. But we don’t have any schools like there are in the lowlands. You learn from your mentors and from the gods, and most importantly, from your own mistakes.

The eeriest prediction you made that later came true?

Eeriest? I’m not sure. I dreams of many things. Some come true, but not in the way I imagined them to.

What is something you were embarrassingly late to realise?

I had no idea those lap dogs your Orlesian ladies carry around are really dogs. I’d never guess they share blood with wolves. I thought they’re some sort of magic toy.

Do you have mental or physical problems?

Do you honestly expect me to reveal my weaknesses to you?

What is your current main goal?

As I said before, restore the Veil and kill Corypheus.

Drink or food?

Am I supposed to choose between the two? Food, I guess. I could live on soups and stews, maybe. Does goat milk count as drink or food?

Cats or dogs?

Birds.

Optimist or pessimist?

I learned these words only recently. I must say, I do not fully understand why your sages would divide people like that. Is there someone who truly sees everything in bright colours? And someone who sees everything in black? Isn’t everyone a little bit of this and a little bit of that? Perhaps I’m more on the pessimist side.

Sassy or sarcastic?

Eh, sarcastic.

HAVE YOU EVER:

Have you ever been caught sneaking out?

Yes, I once got so bored with my healing lessons that I decided to sneak out while Jokka wasn’t looking. She of course noticed me right away. I never tried to sneak out again.

Broken a bone?

I broke my left wrist while climbing. My mentor healed it quickly but he left a scar to serve as a reminder to not be so reckless.

Received flowers?

I... (she bits her tongue) Josephine tells me I had received several bouquets of flowers this last week. She had placed them in the guest hall where everyone can enjoy them.

Ghosted someone?

Ghosted? (a man in a green mask explains mirthfully) No, never. I wouldn’t leave someone hanging like that. I’d tell him straight in the face. (she replies sharply)

Pretended to laugh at a joke you didn't get?

I have yet to learn how to pretend so well as to laugh at something I don’t understand or find funny.

~

Tagging (no pressure, of course, this is just for fun): @dreadfutures, @tejaswrites, @serenpedac, @molliehaswords, @crackinglamb, @a11sha11fade, @rakshadow, @samuraisaucefrites, @noire-pandora, @1000generations

[is-that-another-soulmate-au]

Me? Combine two soulmate AUs and add in an animal hybrid AU????

Of courze, buckle up buddies this is gonna be a bit if a bumpy ride

Dream soulmate/soulpairs AU/Soulmate Ribbons AU/Animal Hybrid AU

Dream: Basically like last time you cant control when you visit, you cant see them, you cant say your name or where you're from. But this time its a legit group dream. In the dream your soulmate(s) will have a ribbon around them apposed to the simply blurred soulpair(s)

Ribbon/animal hybrid: with the ribbon au it ties in with the animal for the most part. You're born with a ribbon tied around your animal feature, whether it be at the base of a fluffy wolf tail, the end of a cat/lemur tail, at the base of cat ears/bunny ears, on any type of horns. Regardless of where it happens to be tied, it cannot be removed, it can be burnt or singed but it cant be cut or removed. The color of your soulmates nation appears after you meet your them, and you can then see the color of yours around them during dreams

So basically Zuko's 12th birthday he goes to sleep and in his dream there are three people with one surrounded by a pale white ribbon.

"H-hello?" He called out.

"Hi!" A cheery voice called out

"Im assuming you're all.. not my soulmate, because I'm 8" a slightly annoyed young girl called

"Your a soulfriend for me!" A chipper Boys voice broke through, the voice of the bright figure

"Uhm, I know I can't know your names, but I'd like to be able to distinguish between all of you... uhm,"

"Call me Bandit" the younger girl called out

"You can call me Oshi"

"And uhm..."

"I'll call you turtleduck" zuko interrupted him

"What? Why that?"

"Uh, well, I have a turtleduck pond by my home and I like it there, and uh, your my soulmate so..."

"Oh! Uhmm... what should I call you?" The boy paused a moment

"Sunshine? Maybe?"

"Yeah! Sunshine!"

"Alright, so, Bandit, Oshi, Turtleduck, and Sunshine?" Oshi piped in

"Yeah," bandit hummed "by the way, whats a turtle duck?"

"Ill show you one whe-"

"Im blind"

"What? Oh, im sorry, I didnt know. Well, if we ever meet I'll let you hold one. I'm sure it'll get the idea across."

"Youre blind?! That sounds so cool! I bet your other senses are heightened" Oshi chirped at the thought

"Yeah, and so is my bending! I can see with me bending, but im not too good at it yet"

"You're a bender? I dont know if we can find out what kind" Turtleduck mused

"Let me try... im an earthbender!"

"Woah! Cool! So you use earthbending to see?" Zuko questioned

The rest of the dream was fairly blurry to him. He ran to his mom to talk about his dream, going on about Oshi, Bandit and Turt; he shortened turtleduck because well, he wanted to.

They dont meet up until later that year, after his mother had left him he was found crying

"Sunny?" He heard Bandit call out

"Huh!? Oh hey guys, sorry, im fine" he sighed "I- I lost my mom just last week"

They all comforted him and then pulled the conversation to different topics, Turt talking about going hunting with his dad and getting hit wolf tail caught on a fishing line. Bandit talked about her earthbending and how she learned how to use her badger tail to bend as well. Oshi all the while hovered as close as the dream would let her, it felt similar to a motherly protection and he appreciated it greatly.

The next time they saw eachother was about two nights after his banishment he was found pouting but quickly came out it the pout when he heard Turt calling out

"SUNNY! Sunny! Hi! Oh Tui! Hi Bandit! Hi Oshi!"

"Hey Turt!" The girls called out "Sunny, whats got you down?"

He sighed "i left the firenation today"

"Woah woah, hold on, why did you leave- oh were you from there? Why would you leave?" Oshi pried.

"Uhm, I was banished for losing an agni kai against my dad"

"An Agn- thats a firebending duel! Your still just 13!" Turt cried out

"Yeah, well, my dad doesnt care about that, he made sure I'd remember that by burning me, now i have to find the avatar before I can return home"

Their conversation lasted for what felt like several blurry hours. When he woke it was to Iroh walking in with some tea. Zuko shot up and managed to get his blanket caught in his horns "AAAGH!" He growled out "help... please" iroh simply chuckled and untangled the blankets from Zuko's horns

"How was your sleep nephew?" Iroh asked as he started to pour them some tea, handing Zuko his cup.

"I talked to Oshi, Bandit and Turt again" he mumbled while bringing the cup to his lips and blowing some of the steam away.

"Thats good, were you able to discuss your banishment? I'm not sure if the dreams will let you, my soulmate and I have never met nor have we ever left our nations"

"Yeah, I was able to tell them everything, well the banishment and" he motioned to his now healing eye wound.

They had met a few more times over the next three years, Oshi revealing that she has a lion tail that is most certainly not as clumsy as Turt's consistently caught wolf tail.

About a week after Zuko arrived at the southpole and managed to lose the avatar there was another dream

"Sunny!" Turt sounded angry

"Uh, y-yeah?"

"You visited my tribe today" the ribbon around Turt was red

"Oh, uh yeah, I'm sorry. Did I hurt someone, I wasn't trying to, I just needed to grab the avatar"

"YOU DONT NEED THE AVATAR SUNNY!" Turt was fuming "youre chasing the avatar for what? The love of an abusive father?"

"Hes no-

"He is Sunny! I dont know the full extent of it. But if he broke your horn, burnt you, and then BANISHED YOU all for speaking out of turn, then that spells abusive!! That level of abuse and your level of wanting to be back says clearly that you were neglected and abused, what the FUCK Sunny!"

Zuko was frozen but it wasnt silent

"We've been trying to tell you this Sunny, your dad is terrible and you deserve actual love, your uncle is a much better dad than him, and you know it" Oshi piped up

"Yeah, I know but-"

"And! If I ever get my hands on him, it'll be his last day alive. Mark. My. Words" Bandit cracked her knuckles

The dream went on for a while longer with the trio eventually convincing Zuko he shouldn't search for his fathers love by capturing the avater. Turt managed to convince him to join forces with the avatar the next time he saw them. The next time he met up with the avatar was on Kyoshi Island, where he entered the town without his armor or helmet, and instead wearing casual garmets.

"What are you doing here Zuko?" Katara growled at him with the hairs on her tail standing on end. Aang was behind her with his lemur tail flicking angrily.

"Well, im not here to capture you if that's what you think. I came to join you"

"Why would we ever believe that?" Aang's voice was nearly as angry as Katara's

Sokka was beside Katara in a similar stance but had yet to respond

"Well, I honestly don't expect you to believe me, unless any of you happen to be Turt, Oshi or Bandit." He paused "look I was burnt and banished at 13 by my own father just for speaking up in a war meeting about how cruel it was to sacrifice new recruites for a bigger win, and my father sent me out to find the avatar." He sighed "i would have continued but Turt and Oshi managed to help me understand where I was wrong in thinking and made me see just how abusive my dad is"

"Sunny?" Sokka finally spoke but was matched with one of the Kyoshi warriors

"Huh? I mean, yeah they call me that, wait are you Turt?" He then turned to the warrior and saw the lion tail "Oshi!?" He stepped back in a moment of surprise.

"Oh my gods Sunny what the hell!" The wolf and lion laughed

"Wait, Zuko is the Sunny you've been talking about!?" Katara and Aang said in unison.

From there out Zuko was a part of the team. Suki having to stay behind for the time being. The group traveled via Appa or by boat. Katara, Sokka and Iroh having lengthy in depth conversations about waterbending and pai sho. He may or may not have been making an attempt to recruit them both slowly but surely.

When they met Toph she put two and two together so fast. "You're Sunny and Turt!" She exclaimed before they duo could introduce eachother

"Wait! Bandit!" Thay said in unison

"The one and only Blind Bandit!" She said proudly.

After meeting with her Zuko became acquainted with a chaotic good type younger sister as apposed to his own chaotic evil. Toph would often launch herself into his shoulders, grab his horns and say "onward noble dragon steed!!" Which he didnt mind so he never complained much.

Let's fast forward to the desert. While Sokka Aang and Katara went into the library to explore, Zuko and Iroh stayed behind with toph to protect Appa, when the Sand benders arrived while the Library was sinking the two firebenders fought off the sandbenders until the trio emerged and they ran off. Zuko, however had fought practically tooth and nail to keep appa there, dodging sand and blasting fire to distract the benders when they tried to use the sand beneath his feet against him. He collapsed from the exhaustion of not only fighting with a dozen benders in their element, but also the heat of the sun. Iroh on the other hand asked Katara for a bit of water to make sure he didnt collapse as well.

"Zuko!" Aang cried out when he watched Zuko collapse in the sand. They all got back on Appa and made their way out of the dessert.

Not long after they stopped at a small body of water to rest and wash up Appa so he wouldn't be shedding and attracting anyone Zuko taking a hot minute to get his strength back. They were approached by a couple who happened to have a baby on the way and Zuko nudged Aang "we should take them with us, yknow, spread some joy"

So they flew the couple with them to Ba Sing Se with them. They managed to get in to tell the earth king their invasion plan, as well as taking down the dai li with the proof of the drill right outside the wall. Without having the advantage of the Kyoshi disguises Azula didnt manage to gain the upperhand against Ba Sing Se, and in turn she had no idea about the invasion plan. Aang had his crisis at Ember island before the invasion and met the lion turtle just before they had to leave.

When the invasion began Zuko and Aang both went off to the city, Zuko in his blue spirit get up with his swords on his back literally being dangled in the air by Aangs weirdly strong ass tail. When the landed on the roof, it was still a bit until the fire kicked off. So they were dodging fire balls while running towards the palace, however right before they went into the throne room Azula appeared. She went to shoot fire but was shocked to see no fire come out. Aang smirked and bended the earth around her to keep her in place.

They went in to Ozai, Zuko drawing his swords and Aang readying himself to fight a powerful bender who possibly had skills other than bending. But they were met with a practically powerless man who didn't take long to defeat, taking his life wasn't the option, however, Aang knew that, and so he took his bending away, to the absolute awe of Zuko who watched the blinding light for a moment before shielding his eyes.

After the success of the invasion Iroh took the throne when Zuko told him he was simply not ready. However Iroh made a deal with him, he would be firelord for all of 5 years, set the ground work for Zuko and let his nephew take up some studying in the other nations as well as his own to figure out how he would rule after the 5 years were up.

And he did, he gathered as much information from the other nations, all with Sokka joining with him. He spend a year at the south pole, helping rebuild the place, he spend a year at the northpole studying the scrolls available, he spent a year going to each large earth kingdom city, and then he spent his fourth year in the firenation reading every scroll he could. One night while in his room reading through a pile of scrolls he leaned onto Sokka's shoulder for support, but Sokka took the scroll out of his hands "alright enough reading for you tonight, come on little dragon its bedtime"

Sokka's tail was absentmindedly wagging side to side as he helped his soulmate undress and get into more comfortable clothes, of course getting the cloth stuck on those pesky horns a couple times. But soon they were both laying in bed with Zuko resting his cheek against Sokka's chest while Sokka ran his fingers through his hair.

They could stay like this forever. And wouldn't you know it, after Zuko took the throne he proposed to Sokka and the two were soon married, the Wolf and the Dragon.

At the wedding Toph and Suki were the first to show up, bringing gifts, Suki gave them a pair of gold fans, one with a turtleduck on it and the other with a sun on it. Toph on the otherhand had brought a dagger with a dragon carved on the blade and a wolfs head on the handle.

>another marraige wrap up? Of course, its me what else would I do?

[remade-stopframevevo]

can you tell us more about fawnstar? he is epic

he is pretty epic in a nuclear explosion kind of way

the strategy of answering oc asks by just talking until i couldnt anymore seemed to work pretty well last time so im just going to do that again. ive also been putting this ask off for too long cuz i knew it was going to take forever to answer LOL, i will note though if some things dont make sense theres a good chance im just dancing around spoiling things because hes One of Those types of ocs, you can still ask about certain things (the way im typing this has the 3 times ive said the word things lining up and its really throwing me off) but theres no guarantee i’ll be able to answer them, at least truthfully (theres like a 50% chance im going to intentionally lie about shit when answering this ask btw. just so you know <3)

anyway, fawnstar (he/they nonbiney; no last name, groveclan leaders have their surnames revoked upon leadership) is groveclan’s leader and has been for about *papers shuffling sfx* four-ish years now but dont take that as final because i just realised i dont like the age they wouldve been when they became leader lmfao

fawnstar doesn’t have any known surviving biological family. his mother, eveningeye (she/her), died two years after he became leader and was given a brief and detached funeral. their biological father was a kittypet (which is also where they got The Mane Genetic from) although fawnstar was never told that and to this day doesnt know, not that they care either. also *inserts pic of eveningeye i dont remember even drawing*

fawnstar was made leader after the previous leader, buckstar (he/him tom, also important note: groveclan leaders are chosen at birth and are named after the current leader. this is a tradition that ended with fawnstar), was killed in an ambush. around half a day after buckstar had left camp and not returned, fawnstar - fawnfur at the time - who had been in and out of camp sporadically for the past 2 months, had returned to camp alone in the midst of literally dying, said some incomprehensible shit about rogues and collapsed in the medicine cat den and was left under the care of marblepaw whilst half the clan went out looking for buckstar or any signs of rogues. buckstar’s body was never found, although rogue scent was detected on the outskirts of groveclan’s territory. as a result of this incident, the clans have become much more unforgiving and hostile toward rogues.

as the search for buckstar or any rogues was going on, marblepaw had officially declared fawnfur as dead. no one’s ever let marbleheart live down the fact they declared a cat dead only for said cat to get back up three minutes later, but they still stand by the fact that there would’ve been no way for a fatal neck wound like that to just fix itself, or for them to fix it either.

after the incident, fawnfur became leader and appointed cranecloud (who passed away about... 2 years ago from present day) as their deputy. cranecloud had to do most of the work for the first 3 weeks as fawnstar took time to physically and mentally recover from the event, their voice never fully recovered and four years later they still permanently sound like they need to clear their throat. they never really recovered mentally either.

anyway! that fun stuff aside, fawnstar is a very, very very very very lenient leader to an irritating extent to his clanmates who actually care about the warrior code, ie the hopeheart thing and how when one of his clanmates openly brought in a half floodclan kit his reaction was to shrug and go, “not my problem”. fawnstar’s only concern with the warrior code is avoiding any conflict with the other clans, to the point where he’s pushed his boundaries with each of them far enough that he’s figured out how each will react toward a public break in the code and who he’s safest to fuck up with.

speaking of the clan he’s safest to fuck up with, floodclan and groveclan have a very amicable relationship. this is more of a floodclan thing so i’ll talk more about it when i get to them/the leader, but floodclan has a very... inhabitable territory during the winter. long story short it gets flooded when the rain gets to its worst who’d have thunk it in a place where “flood” is in the name, floodclan’s way of dealing with this is splitting the clan in two and sending half of them to groveclan, who’s camp is on higher ground, until the rain passes since the Still Habitable part of the clan is too small to hold *papers shuffling sfx 2* ~26 cats all at once. usually the deputy and leader would take it in turns to visit each year, but shadowstar (he/she/they tom), floodclan’s current leader, is almost always the one to visit, unless there’s a new deputy who hasn’t taken the lead on the trip before.

there have been challenges to fawnstar’s leadership and how he’s running the clan in the past, but none ended well. despite his apparent lack of care toward anything, fawnstar is still... a very big and very intimidating cat, and a very openly “if you fuck with me im going to crush you like a bug” type of cat. he’s not dictator-like in any way, he doesn’t care enough to be, but any standoffs he’s been made to have against his own clanmates have ended in said clanmate being almost literally backed into a corner and forced to back down.

additionally they’re a very scary cat to have to come into contact with in battle. they don’t take part in them often in the rare occurences they have to happen, but groveclan has a heavy focus on training their warriors to be as effective and strong as possible which is also applied to cats who are Assigned Leader At Birth as fawnstar was. fawnstar was personally given very extreme training, and it’s one of the few things they keep from their younger life and actively makes an effort to keep in the shape they are, even despite their age. oh theyre also very scary because of the apparent immortality and not caring about pain thing! thats scary too.

anyway jesus i just noticed how long of an uninterrupted wall of text this is. im not done but here’s a warrior age fawnstar to break it up a little

to talk more in length about his relationships with others since i havent done it very specifically already heres a few i can think off of the top of my head:

rainwatcher is fawnstar’s deputy and adopted son who they took in after banishing his biological mother on grounds of neglect. even in adulthood they’re still very close. some groveclan residents think it’s a total joke that in the first election for deputy they’ve ever done it’s just a ~coincidence~ the leader’s son wins but fawnstar still refutes there would have been literally no way to fake a winner, they werent even the one counting. if anything fawnstar would have been more comfortable with someone else coming out on top, it’s not that they think rainwatcher is a bad deputy, but they’d rather anyone else in the clan be in such a “precarious” rank than their own son.

marbleheart... does not like fawnstar at all... i feel like it would be very easy to be furious (and terrified) at someone who not only seemingly died and got back up, but made sure everyone thought you were an idiot who was “hallucinating” it. there’s other reasons marbleheart doesn’t like fawnstar but you know 💅 that’s their business *touch tone telephone starts playing, but anyways*

they also have a pretty close relationship with silvermoon (she/her molly), floodclan’s deputy. i’ll talk more about silvermoon when i talk about her in her own post (she IS little ms protagonist herself after all), but silvermoon has been visiting during every winter migration to groveclan since she was a kit and has come to view fawnstar as some weird uncle figure, which is also encouraged (for lack of better word since its 8am right now and i cant think anymore) by shadowstar, silvermoon’s mentor, since he has a.. fairly close relationship with fawnstar too

i know you want me to talk about fawnstars relationship to shadowstar now after saying what i just said and im intentionally not going to <3 you will simply have to ask or wait <3

less specifically, fawnstar is typically very distant from his clanmates, apart from frequently visiting the nursery. it’s one of the only times he makes an effort to leave the clan’s garden (ill talk about what i mean by garden some other time its a territory thing lol) apart from gatherings (and seemingly wandering out into the night sometimes, but that’s his business, i guess...), he’s very watchful over the nursery and the kits and cares very deeply for each of them. arguably the only rule in the warrior code they care for is the one about protecting any and all kits.

anyways, theres definitely more but my brain isnt letting me remember other things to talk about so heres some fun little trivia facts

they have a pet family of snails in the clans garden

this story takes place in the same universe where the canon clans exist in a “what if we took the clans and pushed them (made new ones) somewhere else” way but key figures in clan history are still remembered. one time someone remarked to fawnstar, “hey, youre orange like that firestar guy apparently was” and its the hardest fawnstar had laughed in literally years

they’re gay in a “he never married” way. dont worry about what i mean by this

their least favorite ~historical figure~ is brokenstar, for obvious reasons. if he could he’d kill him three times.

he has adhd

ok thats all i have for now! feel free to ask me about anything here but ive only been awake for like 3 hours and also im very hungry so if any of this is incomprehensible it is simply not my problem!!! thank you for asking about my little war criminal!!!

[mallowstep]

talking about my oc because i want to

so my blood sugar is doing a Thing and while i wait for that to regulate itself, i figured i'd ramble about my boy mallowstep for a while!

mallowstep, i.e. the title of this blog, is my warriors...oc? he's...not quite a self-insert, but he was the oc i made as a child, altho his backstory has been reworked many, many times, including very recently with inclusion of lore from the sisters.

anyway.

i figure if i type out some words i'll be distracted while i wait for the Good Food to sort itself out. (i'm fine btw. i don't talk about Personal Stuff here mostly but rest assured, i'm fine. just a lil shakey until i eat.)

on that note, my spellchecker is off because hands shakey means i do not want to navigate any way but typing.

right. mallowstep. key points:

he's got a white front left leg. i change the side a lot when i draw him but it's supposed to be left, and all of his paws are white.

i don't want to rework him bc i love him but also his whole deal is very much Impossible i was like eight when i thought of all of this

his vision is shit. he's not blind, but uh, somewhere around 20/400 vision. roughly. he can't see shit, is what i'm saying, he can't see shit.

or okay, so he's blind but in the sense of being "legally blind," not what people think of as blind.

this is because cats don't have opthamalogists. eye doctors. he has no glasses.

he's got a younger brother named deerpaw. same mother, different father. their mother is not around, so mallowstep is stepping in somewhat as a parental figure for deerpaw, but not fully.

he's a medicine cat? did i mention that? by choice. he chose this.

he sees the Ghosts. it's a whole thing with his backstory. but he sees the Ghosts.

his best friend is named kestrelwing (altho i'm considering kestrelsong), and her mate is mossytail. they've got three kits: eaglekit, kitekit, and dawnkit. (whose eventual warrior names are eagleclaw, kiteflower, and dawnstorm. i change those a lot rn tho it's just what i'm feeling at the moment.)

they're skyclan cats.

uhh there's a running joke about how mallowstep could have sired kestrelwing's kits and no one would know.

(he did not.)

deerpaw's eventual warrior name is deerleap.

okay, so...uh, idk?

mallow is born to the sisters, probably in a litter but his story Begins when he's left. he's not born with as bad of vision as he ends up with, so he does okay at first. he meets a cat named jag, who he grows close with.

(this is also in my about page, btw.)

jag and mallow are around the same age, and they're...they've got tallstar/jake vibes, is what i'm saying. (i'm not avoiding saying they're gay, here, but that's the vibe. tallstar and jake are gay in a different way to ravenpaw and barley, is what i'm saying.)

right, so anyway. jag is...fuck i forget his backstory, but he ends up meeting a different traveling group of cats. he falls for a she-cat named violet, and when her group gets ready to leave, he follows.

mallow is pissed. mallow basically writes off jag immediately. his vision is getting worse and worse, and he's pretty convinced he's going to end up blind. jag is like, "but i said you could come with us!" and mallow is like "bruh! i can't! for a very clear and obvious reason, i need to stay in an environment i know!"

so they part ways. they never meet again, this is all like, exposition.

mallow is pissed, but he also is kind of convinced jag is going to come back for him. so he stays where he is, because he just...in a way, he needs to believe that jag will be coming back for him.

the ghosts start talkin' to him, being like, "you should move on," and he's like "fuck no," but eventually they persuade him.

in part because it's becoming obvious he can't take care of himself.

(before you @ me, the most self-insert-y part of this is mallow's disabilities, and i'm not really listing what's wrong with him, because part of his story is figuring out his own limitations.)

anyway, he's a trash hunter, and he's got problems, and the ghosts are like! you know! there's some other cats you can live with. go live with them.

and because this takes place in a weird combination of canon and noncanon lore (the ghosts thing always was a part of his backstory, but when i discovered the sisters, i reframed it as that, and so on. basically, his backstory has been tweaked many, many times, so parts of it don't line up with canon and parts do. just keep that in mind.)

right because this takes place in a weird combo of canon and noncanon lore, mallow ends up w/ skyclan but a completely different set of skyclan cats than canon. i think the leader is dovestar? or rosestar? i don't remember, they're not super important.

so mallow shows up, like, hi! i can see ghosts, and passes out. the medicine cat, oakfrost, takes care of him, he meets kestrelpaw, mossypaw, aspenpaw, and birchpaw (i liked tree names okay?), and they're all good friends.

(aspenpaw and kestrelpaw are littermates, mossypaw and birchpaw are adoptive littermates. aspenpaw and birchpaw don't have much relevance in the story, because they don't.)

okay, mallow agrees to train as a medicine cat, he resolves some ghost issues, he's about a year and a half old, and deer shows up and oh i forgot to explain something, mallow leaves trail markers in case jag follows him back. it's four white stones bc mallow can see white p well and he has four white paws.

right, so deer doesn't know this, but he does know where mallow was left, and he actually is young, he runs away from the sisters because they're moving on, and he wants to find his brother. he's like four moons old. in an mostly unexplained manner, deer figures out the trail, and yeah.

this happens maybe like, two weeks after mallow becomes mallowstep. and the clan is kind of like...another one? but they take him in because well they don't really approve of the sisters and at least deer (now deerkit) is not blind.

(they don't say that part but it's on their mind.)

deer btw is adorable he looks kind of like a fawn. he's a dilute chocolate (which is called fawn but i didn't know that when i named him) ticked tabby, and he's got a white underside, and a white tail tip. they both have that, actually, but mallow doesn't care about his.

(mallow is a silver tabby? did i ever say that part. you can get an idea by looking at my icon, but he also has a lot of browm markings that aren't really shown.

woof okay sorry, you guys can't tell but i can i had to remind someone that no, i very much Need to Eat and you cannot unexpectly change dinner times on me.

right. but i am running out of time, so i'll wrap this up.

deer comes, and becomes deerpaw, we have a bit of a timeskip, kestrelwing is in the nursery, etc...

skyclan needs to leave. the villain was never specified, it can be darktail. the important thing is! they send a scouting party. the plan is, crew one will go, and the rest will leave in three moons. that gives crew one enough time to turn around. they leave a trail behind them a la mallowstep (who doesn't go with them, because, blind. oakfrost goes, she dies before the groups reunite, mallowstep is very sad.)

right, deerpaw goes! he leaves, it's all very symbolic, bc this time mallowstep does follow the trail and he does come back to the one he loves. with also a cute scene in between when skyclan is on its way and mossytail, mallowstep, and kestrelwing are each carrying a kit.

alright, and that's pretty much that. lots of me rambling for no reason. there's a lot of other stuff that happens, kestrelwing is a fun character, etc., but that's the main body of it.

<3

[autistic-girl-academic]

Cookie Run OCs

gdi apparently one of the cookies in cr kingdom is named licorice cookie so screw it i’m biting the bullet and posting my half-baked (ha) oc ideas now even if some of them have already been taken anyway. sorry there’s no art bc i’m terrible with digital stuff and can’t access a scanner to upload my drawings. there are almost certainly going to be more to come later because this game refuses to leave my brain.

Black Licorice Cookie: The powerfully astringent flavor of black licorice certainly isn’t to everyone’s taste - and that’s just the way Black Licorice Cookie likes it! This daredevil of a Cookie loves nothing more than testing her limits, so she’s always on the lookout for something to get her adrenaline pumping. That doesn’t mean she isn’t without her sweet side, however, which comes out most strongly when protecting her precious little sister. Get between them at your own risk!

Red Licorice Cookie (Sibling): Don’t mess with my little sis if you know what’s good for you!

Mustard Cookie (Trust): Nobody else gets me like Mustard Cookie does!

Kiwi Cookie (Friendly): Hey, I’ve got an idea for some cool bike tricks!

Roll Cake Cookie (Friendly): Going for a ride in that road roller and smashing things is such a rush! WHOO!

Initially I had the mental image of her as a Cookie with a web design and a spider pet, but then Truffle Cookie came out, so now I pretty much picture her skill being that she runs a Ninja-Warrior-style obstacle course or something. Maybe her pet could be a black cat instead?

Red Licorice Cookie: Between the fruity fragrance of her signature red hair and her sweet, outgoing personality, it’s no surprise that this Cookie is so popular! Red Licorice Cookie is a champion at gymnastics with plenty of fans, and performing with the ribbon is where she shines the most. She and her older twin sister might be as different as night and day, but their bond is as strong as a thousand strands of licorice twisted together!

Black Licorice Cookie (Sibling): I’ve got the coolest big sis in the world!

Cheerleader Cookie (Trust): Cheerleader Cooke is my BFF!

Yoga Cookie (Friendly): She’s helped me train to be much more flexible for my routines.

Skating Queen Cookie (Admiration): I can’t believe I actually got her autograph!

At first I imagined her as being a sort of epic version of Cheerleader Cookie, performing double dutch with a few friends much like the cheer team. Her pet would be a charm bracelet.

Oatmeal Cookie: Every day at the crack of dawn, this dutiful cowgirl is already hard at work, keeping a watchful eye over her herd with the help of her trusty steed, Raisin. If even a single cow goes missing, Oatmeal Cookie won’t rest until she’s got them home safe and sound. The tricks she can perform with a lasso will certainly knock your socks off! And when the sun starts to set, you can hear the sound of her yodeling from far across the plains.

Peanut Butter Cookie (Family): I’m the luckiest Cookie alive to have such a beautiful gal as you...

Knight Cookie (Friendly): You sure know how to burn the breeze!

Adventurer Cookie (Friendly): Nice hat ya got there, pardner!

Space Doughnut (Tension): Hey, stop spookin’ my herd!

Her skill would probably involve dodging obstacles on her horse while catching some runaway cows, and her pet would be a cowbell.

Peanut Butter Cookie: There’s nothing better for a boost of energy than some delicious, nutritious peanut butter! And forest ranger Peanut Butter Cookie definitely needs that energy, as she spends every day traversing the woods to keep them safe. Whether she’s helping Cookies who have gotten lost find their way home or rescuing woodland critters from danger, you can always depend on Peanut Butter Cookie. She’s especially fond of younger Cookies and enjoys teaching them wilderness survival skills.

Oatmeal Cookie (Family): She and I pack each others’ lunches every day.

Pancake Cookie (Friendly): Be careful climbing trees for those Acorn Jellies, dear!

Cream Puff Cookie (Friendly): I’m sure you’ll get that spell right next time, hun.

Fig Cookie (Trust): They’re always eager for me to tell them stories.

Fire Spirit Cookie (Tension): You keep those flames away from the forest, you hear?

You can probably tell by now that I’ve put like 0 thought into any of my Cookie OC’s skills. Anyway, her pet would be a bear that she helped when it was a cub, who shows up to help her by smashing obstacles.

Coconut Cookie: The Tropical Soda Archipelago has a long history of telling stories through traditional dance. Coconut Cookie comes from a long line of those dancers, and Cookies will flock from every island to watch her perform. Crowned with a garland of bright yellow coconut blossoms, she moves with the utmost rhythm and grace. It’s said that she practices every day so that she can bring peace and good fortune to the islands.

Mango Cookie (Trust): My best friend since we were little - I remember his very first boat!

Ananas Dragon Cookie (Admiration): The Dragon honored my ancestors by praising their dances.

Soda Cookie (Friendly): Going for a ride on the waves is the best, isn’t it?

Squid Ink Cookie (Friendly): Poor little thing, there’s no need to be shy.

My first thought was for her to make a sort of bubble shield out of coconut oil, like Lemonade Cookie but without the magnetic effect (maybe slower energy drain instead?) - I’m still undecided about it though. Her pet would be a bunch of coconuts who make coconut milk potions. Also, I picture her being related to Artichoke Cookie, but he’s not in Ovenbreak...YET? (pls devsis)

Honeycomb Cookie: Out in a charming little cottage atop a hill lives Honeycomb Cookie - and her many hives of Jelly Bees. Years upon years of working with the bees has allowed her to understand them so well, it’s almost as if she talks to them! If you happen to arrive on her doorstep, you can be sure that she’ll treat you to some delicious tea sweetened with honey and send you on your way with a basket of homemade treats.

Herb Cookie (Family): My cute little grandson certainly inherited the family green thumb.

Spinach Cookie (Trust): Oh, how sweet of you to bring me a basket of vegetables, dearie!

Fairy Cookie (Friendly): Ah, you’re so small I mistook you for another bee.

Matcha Cookie (Friendly): A bit of a strange one, but it’s nice to have some laughter over tea.

Not sure what her skill would be, but I think her pet would be a queen Jelly Bee that grows from a baby to an adult as you collect more jellies.

Souffle Cookie: A chef famous for turning simple Jellies into extravagant and delicious meals. Though he can come off as strict and a bit intimidating, he truly does care about creating good food for every Cookie who comes to his restaurant. Souffle Cookie is quite the perfectionist, so if a recipe doesn’t come out as planned, he tends to sulk so badly that even his fluffy chef’s hat deflates! But it never lasts long before he throws himself back into his work with renewed passion.

Sparkling Cookie (Trust): My cooking and your juice is the ultimate combination!

Sandwich Cookie (Admiration): To create such simple but delicious meals...C’est magnifique!

Mala Sauce Cookie (Friendly): Just watch, I’ll create a meal more than spicy enough to satisfy you!

Dr. Wasabi Cookie (Tension): I am NEVER using your syrup as a ‘secret ingredient’ EVER again!

Again, not sure what his skill would be, but maybe his pet could be a spoon. Sous-chef Spoon?

Rainbow Sugar Cookie: Sugar Cookie was always painfully shy and never considered herself all that important. However, everything changed when she met Rainbow Puff, a creature who begged for her help in protecting the happiness of Cookies everywhere from the wicked Dark Puffs. Bestowed with a magical wand, she becomes Rainbow Sugar Cookie, chasing away darkness with prisms of joyous light! RAINBOW...BEAM!

Pink Choco Cookie (Trust): The two of us would make a perfect team!

Wind Archer Cookie (Admiration): Wow...what an amazing warrior...

Sandwich Cookie (Friendly): She makes the best toast as a snack on the way to school!

Dark Enchantress Cookie (Rival): I won’t let a villain like you make other Cookies suffer!

Pomegranate Cookie (Tension): Why are you helping the Darkness?

Originally her name was Glitter Cookie, but then Shining Glitter Cookie got announced. In any case, she’d pretty much be an epic version of Wind Archer Cookie, fighting a big ‘boss’ monster once enough little ones were defeated with her magic.

Jack-o-Lantern Cookie: Trick or treat! Wait, is it Halloween already? The answer doesn’t really matter to this young Cookie, who loves trick-or-treating so much that they never take their costume off! If you don’t have Jellies to give, then get ready for a mischievous trick! But if there’s one thing they love more than getting treats, it’s sharing them with friends, so don’t be shy and join in the fun!

Candy Corn Cookie (Trust): My bestest trick-or-treating buddy!

Devil Cookie (Admiration): WOW! What a great costume!

Apple Cookie (Friendly): Here, candy apples!

Onion Cookie (Friendly): Trick o- um, please don’t cry...

Vampire Cookie (Tension): Hey, don’t fall asleep when I’m trying to trick you!

I thought I was in the clear with this OC when we got Truffle Cookie for Halloween...but then Pumpkin Cookie was an NPC later, lol. At least the name was an easy change. Their skill would basically be like a slower version of Chestnut’s, where you go up to houses and trick-or-treat.

Candy Corn Cookie: This Cookie used to be a scarecrow who stood in the middle of a big field of candy corn. However, they wanted to travel the world, so one night they wished upon a star...and miraculously, their wish was granted! Bursting with curiosity, Candy Corn Cookie is full of questions about everything they see. They still have a habit of chasing birds wherever they go, though.

Jack-o-Lantern Cookie (Trust): This ‘trick-or-treat’ thing is really fun!

Alchemist Cookie (Admiration): Wow, this Cookie knows lots of things!

Blueberry Pie Cookie (Friendly): Ooh, what’s in all these ‘book’ things?

Mocha Ray Cookie (Friendly): Cookies can really live under the sea? WOW!

Carrot Cookie (Tension): Aw, I don’t wanna go back to the farm yet!

Candy corn apparently used to be called ‘chicken feed’, so their pet would probably be a chicken. Again, not sure about the skill.

[yoificfinder]

hi! i hope youre well! do you have any personal favorite otayuri fics? thank you so much!

I'm doing fine, thanks nonnie! Some of the Victuuri fics I recced have Otayuri as a secondary pairing so do check out the masterlist if you haven't yet. And here are other fics I enjoyed with Otayuri as the main pairing:

(Almost) Made It by Mtrash (Makaria) [E, 35K] *WIP

He sees the blond young man and his first thought is - pretty.

His second thought is - he’s going to die.

(AU where they fall in love while killing zombies and trying not to get eaten. Fun times.)

adventures in personal growth series by stutter [T and E, 23K]

Summary of first fic:

When Victor was his age - younger, even, Yuri thinks, shame blooming in his chest - he’d made the whole world fall in love with him already. The long hair, the soft smile, the way he moved like he had a secret in his skin and he couldn't wait to share it with you. Yuri’s watched the tapes over and over. He could skate any of Victor’s early routines in his sleep. But he can't - the thing Victor could do so easily, the casual, guileless charisma he threw like a shadow - Yuri can't manage it on a single person, not even some moody Kazakh with a dumb haircut whose eyes are too far apart anyway -

(In Park Guell, Yuri takes a hard fall. Otabek picks him up.)

Amor Vincit Omnia by @AuthorMAGrant [E, 80K]

Otabek Altin is the Brotherhood's most diligent soldier, expertly hunting and killing the vampiric enemies of humanity, until he faces a bloodthirsty Russian punk named Yuri who kicks his ass ... and captures his attention as no one else ever has. The lines between hatred and lust blur, and the deeper Otabek falls into Yuri's world, the more he questions the Brotherhood and its orders. Now, what should have been a simple eradication trip to America has become a fight to determine whether Otabek will remain the obedient soldier of his youth or the warrior who may earn a love he's never deserved.

Cities in Dust series by @blownwish-blog [E, 52K] *Underage + aside from Otayuri, also contains Pliroy, Jjbek, and Otapliroy

Summary of first fic:

Yuri Plisetsky met them both on his knees in the boys' room. One would stay, the other could not. America was one fucked up country.

(The 80s high school au you didn't ask for.)

constellations by @worldofcopperwings [T, 2K]

His fingers drop from his hair and slide over the skin above his left hipbone. On the previously unmarked expanse of skin, there is a web of dark lines, connecting to form a geometric outline of a bear.

A soulmark. Yuri furrows his brow. He has a fucking soulmark, and it sure as hell wasn’t there when he showered before work. Which means the person the universe considers predestined for Yuri was at the venue tonight, prompting the emergence of the mark.

Yuri frowns at the bear adorning his hip. He doesn’t subscribe to the concept of soulmates. It’s complete bullshit that someone else gets to decide who Yuri should be with.

From Almaty, With Love series by BoxWineConfessions [E, 155K]

Summary of first fic:

It’s quiet here. Even if the car alarm on the neighbor’s goddamn BMW has been going off for the past twenty minutes. Quiet, even though the alarm’s got the neighbor’s dog howling like crazy, and the neighbor works second shift and isn’t there to comfort the dumb dog.

It’s quiet…They haven’t spoken to each other since that morning, when Yuri went off to go see his tutor, and Otabek went off to do whatever the hell it was he did in the mornings before he hit the rink.

“You’re used to the noise?”

“Yeah, but…I think I like the quiet too.”

Or: Yuri spends the summer with Otabek in Almaty.

hood & glove by @fahye, @hawberries [T, 12K]

"I don't mess with the fae," Otabek says.

"I'm not asking you to mess with them," JJ flat-out lies.

Howl by Anna (arctic_grey) / @finleighsaid [E, 72K]

Yuri Plisetsky may have been a seasoned figure skater at the age of nineteen, but in hindsight he should have known that a steep learning curve was due: his new coach Viktor was in overdrive over his pregnant mate Yuuri Katsuki, who was now retired and waddling around the rink like a ticking time bomb. St. Petersburg was having the hottest summer in decades, training was gruelling, and for the first time since they’d met, Yuri and Otabek began to fall out. Over what, Yuri wasn’t even sure: it was almost as if casual sex with your best friend eventually came with consequences.

OR the alpha!Yuri and alpha!Otabek love slamdown, with a side of obnoxious Viktuuri.

let's not overanalyze by @alykapediaaa [T, 4K]

“I’ve put worse things inside my mouth,” Otabek says, deadpan, prompting a strangled noise from Yuri.

Yuri hisses and tries very hard not to think about the things Otabek had put in his mouth. He fails. “I’m disowning you.”

(Or: Yuri Plisetsky has a crush. Again.)

songs about love series by sarahyyy [T, 8K]

Summary of first fic:

“Are you not going to read the article?” she asks, flopping onto his bed. “Look who ranked second, just after Phichit Chulanont.”

Otabek reluctantly scrolls down, and oh.

#2 - Yuri Plisetsky 

In the embedded Instagram photo just under that subheading, a very grumpy Yuri is cuddling a very grumpy-looking cat. The caption reads: I found the cat version of me at the shelter today. #iknowisaidnomorecats #canyoublameme

(Or, the AU where Otabek and Yuri don't becomes friends in Barcelona, and there are years of pining.)

what's a mob to a king, what's a king to an emo teenager? by @crossroadswrite [T, 12K]

Yuri has very clear and specific instructions about how he should act around Prince Otabek Altin of Khazhakhstahnia, and none of them include giving him the up and down and going “What the fuck are you wearing?”

Prince Otabek Altin of Khazhakhstahnia glances down at his expensive-looking Disney Prince tunic and matching pants that look like they costed more than Yuri’s iPhone.

To be completely fair, he looks very good in it, and Yuri’s surprise was more about how good he looks than the actual clothes. Also the amount of green and gold assaulting his eyes. No one should be allowed to wear that much green and look good.

“Clothes,” Prince Otabek Altin of Khazhakhstahnia says. Then looks over at Yuri, eyeing his leopard print Vans with a raised eyebrow.

Yuri is going to fight him.

(or: the princess protection program au that was supposed to be quick and messy and short, but instead its over 10k and people have emotions.)

You Might Say I Like To Play One-on-One With You by blackmountainbones [E, 3K]

The thing is, Yuri’s seen dicks before. He’s a sixteen-year-old in the internet age; he’s seen more penises penetrate more holes than he can count. It’s not like he’s never seen a real dick, either: between all the time he spends at the rink or at the gym, he’s bound to have seen more than a few naked dongs. Nudity, Yuri thinks, is no big deal.

At least until he catches a glimpse of Otabek in the onsen and discovers that nudity is a very big deal, indeed.

Yuri's Snapshots series by @onotherflights [M and E, 8K]

Summary of first fic:

When Yuri was nineteen, things changed. He fell in love with skating again, and he finally felt like himself after the year he had endured being lost. He fell in love again later that year, but that one had been a long time coming.

I put a limit of one fic per author but I suggest you check out some of these authors' other works (especially those who exclusively write Otayuri) because there are other good stories not included in this list.

Also, as I'm searching for fics to put here (after everything that I remember off the top of my head/found in my bookmarks), I realized there are a looot I've read that I wanna rec but it's overwhelming so let me just link this ao3 search of Otayuri fics sorted by kudos as something to start with.

If anyone else has a fave Otayuri fic or author, please feel free to rec.

---

ETA - Other people's rec:

Pride and Other Madness series by @basilique

Thanks for the rec, @a-midnight-luna! ❤

[anubislover]

Super Drake

“Nami? Robin?” Chopper called, glancing around the busy shopping district of Sabaody. He’d been momentarily distracted by a candy shop window; there was a cotton candy display shaped like a giant sakura tree. He’d spent a few moments drooling over it before he realized Nami and Robin—who must not have realized he’d stopped—had disappeared into the crowd.

The pint-sized pirate tried to duck and weave between the legs of the various people that walked past, but for the most part he just ended up bumping into them and getting knocked around. Besides that, with his height, it was hard to pick out Nami’s bright orange hair or Robin’s sharp features in the crowd. He considered transforming into his larger humanoid form, but that risked frightening unsuspecting shoppers.

So, he was stuck on a busy street, lost, with no idea where his crewmembers might have gone or if they even realized he was missing.

The little reindeer started to panic, running back and forth, crying for his nakama. His little hoof caught a stray stone, and with a yelp he pitched forward, blue nose bumping hard into the ground as he fell on his face. “Ow!”

“Are you ok?” came a deep, unfamiliar voice.

Whimpering and trying not to cry from embarrassment, Chopper nodded as the stranger helped him up. “Fine. Just lost,” he said with a sniffle, straightening his hat. He shouldn’t cry. Zoro never cried when he got lost. Probably because he was used to it, but still.

Composing himself and knowing he should thank the man before trying to find Nami and Robin, the small doctor looked up.

And up.

And up a few more feet until he finally could see the face of an enormous masked man frowning down at him with concern. He had an X-shaped scar on his chin, red sideburns, and a hard jaw, and his skintight, leather outfit was all blue, except for a black and red cape.

The man’s brow furrowed beneath the shadow of his pointed hat. “A tiny thing like you in this crowd? Of course you’re lost.”

Nervous and a little ashamed, Chopper kicked the ground lightly, knocking the pebble that had tripped him across the street. “It’s not like I meant to,” he grumbled under his breath.

“Are you trying to get to a specific place?”

“No, just trying to find my nakama. We got separated.”

The crowd gave the large man and tiny reindeer a wide berth, making it far easier for Chopper to get his bearings, but he still couldn’t see much over everyone’s heads. At this rate, he’d have to climb onto a roof or something in hopes of spotting his friends, but that didn’t mean his tiny legs would be fast enough to catch up. Perhaps he could turn into his full reindeer form…

Chopper jumped as the stranger replied, “Dangerous thing to happen in a place like this.” Crouching down so they could better speak face-to-face, he peered at him inquisitively. “Now I know where I’ve seen you; you’re the Straw Hat’s pet. What are you, if I may ask? Zoology’s a hobby of mine, but I’ve never seen anything like you. Are you a breed of tanuki?”

“I’m a reindeer and the ship’s doctor!” he snapped, stomping one of his hooves in annoyance. It was bad enough the Navy classified him as a pet instead of a full-fledged pirate, but people getting his species wrong was just as insulting.

“Ah. That explains the antlers. In my defense, I’ve never met a talking reindeer before.”

“Have you met any talking tanuki’s either?” Chopper countered.

With a chuckle, the man shook his head. “I suppose not. Nor have I met a doctor version of either. Straw Hat’s crew is certainly an interesting one.”

Chopper blinked as he finally registered that the man had recognized him as a Straw Hat, which meant he’d seen his wanted poster. Was he looking to turn him in? If Robin and Nami came looking for him now, would they be in danger? Hatchan had warned them that Sabaody was a dangerous place, with slavers and Marines and other unsavory folk. He started to sweat, realizing this man could very well be more dangerous than he seemed.

The man seemed to sense his concern. “It’s smart of you not to trust so easily, but I promise, I’m only trying to help. I read about what Straw Hat did when Nico Robin was taken; I would be a fool to kidnap his doctor.”

Narrowing his eyes suspiciously, Chopper slowly nodded. “Ok. But if you hurt my nakama, it won’t just be Luffy you have to worry about,” he said sternly.

Lip twitching upwards for a brief moment, the man nodded solemnly. “I understand. Here,” he said, grabbing the miniature doctor around the waist like a child as he stood, lifting him up so he could see over the crowd. “Can you see them?”

Blinking, Chopper took a moment to scan over the tops of the swarm of peoples’ heads, grinning when he spotted Robin and Nami, who were looking around frantically. “I see them! About a hundred feet in front of us! Two human women—one has black hair and is carrying books, and the other has red hair like yours!”

The tall man lowered him down to rest on his shoulder. “Hold onto my cape. I don’t trust you not getting stepped on or lost again before we reach your friends.” Quickly, he pushed through the crowd, his large bulk easily cutting through the dense sea of people.

Settling against him and burying his hooves into the soft fabric, Chopper sighed in relief. “Thanks. What’s your name, by the way?”

The man seemed to hesitate. “X Drake.”

“I’m Tony Tony Chopper! It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Drake!”

A small grin curled his mouth. “It’s Captain Drake, actually.”

“Oh, sorry about that. It’s nice to meet you, Captain Drake!”

With Drake’s long legs, they caught up to the Straw Hat women easily. Nami was practically beside herself trying to figure out where the little reindeer had gone to, muttering terrified ramblings about kidnapping and bounty hunters to herself. Robin was much more subdued, though from the way her arms were crossed, Chopper could tell she was concentrating on opening eyes and ears on every wall between there and where they’d last seen him.

“Excuse me, Miss? Is this yours?” Drake asked, gently tapping Nami on the shoulder.

Turning around, the navigator’s face lit up in relief as Chopper was dropped into her arms. “Chopper!” she exclaimed, hugging him tightly to her chest as if her were a lost teddy bear. “Oh my God, we were so worried about you! I’m so sorry; we thought you were right behind us!”

“You should be more careful, doctor-san,” Robin chastised, but her smile and the gentle way she patted his head told him she was relieved he was safe.

“Sorry. There was a cotton candy display that caught my eye, and by the time I noticed you were gone, there were too many people in the way to see you. Good thing I had help!” he said, pointing at Drake.

Both women’s eyes widened in clear recognition; the two were avid readers of the paper and were smart enough to keep an eye on potential rival pirates.

Nami hugged Chopper a little closer, ready to make a run for it, while Robin daintily crossed her arms again, her calm, polite smile never faltering. “Well, we appreciate you aiding our dear shipmate, Captain X Drake.”

“Wait, you know him?” Chopper asked, innocently confused.

“Only by reputation,” Nami replied, frowning suspiciously as her free hand drifted to the batons strapped to her thigh. She may not have been much of a fighter, but she was ready to pull out every trick she knew to protect her trusting crewmate.

For his part, Drake found himself wishing they had been as ignorant to his identity as a pirate as Chopper—it had felt nice, being looked up to again, even if just by a small reindeer. He fondly remembered children from villages he saved from pirates beaming at him, shamelessly following him around while whispering to each other about whether or not they should talk to him.

Since he’d become a pirate, those whispers had taken on a more fearful tone, and children didn’t smile at him anymore.

Concerned at the sudden tension in the air, Chopper studied his savior closely. Sure, he was dressed pretty unusually, but he didn’t look like a Marine, or even a pirate. At least, most of the pirates he’d met had been dressed far more comfortably. Maybe he was one of those “brave warriors of the sea” Usopp would tell him stories about? But then why would Robin and Nami be afraid of him?

A sharp wind blew past, lifting Drake’s cape, and a particular story Usopp had told him popped into his head, making everything click into place.

“Wait…you’re a superhero, aren’t you?” Chopper asked, eyes lighting up with wonder.

“…a what?”

The younger pirate was too thrilled to notice the others’ confusion. Of course! It explained everything! Usopp had told him about men who wore capes and masks, wandering cities helping people in distress. He always described them as big and strong in elaborate, skintight costumes, too. And it would explain why Robin and Nami were so on-edge; superheroes arrested criminals, and pirates typically counted, especially cat burglars and fugitives.

Despite the danger such a realization should have invoked, Chopper was too starstruck to care. “I got rescued by a real superhero! Captain X Drake!” he said excitedly, sparkles glimmering around his head.

“No, Chopper, he’s—” Nami started, but Robin stopped her.

“Yes, thank you for your help, superhero-san,” the archeologist said with a knowing smile, unwilling to dampen her friend’s innocent excitement. Besides, Drake could have easily kidnapped their companion instead of helpfully returning him, and the poor man looked so utterly bewildered at the praise she couldn’t help but be amused.

The Supernova blushed, and Nami, catching on, gave a cat-like grin. She was still suspicious, of course, but she trusted Robin’s judgement. Plus, the little pirate in her arms was practically vibrating with glee, and it was easier to escape from a flustered man, anyway. “Oh, yes, thank you, Captain Drake!” she giggled with a wink. “You really saved the day!”

Still gazing at the man with wonder, Chopper gushed, “Can I have your autograph?!”

Drake sputtered in disbelief, “You want my autograph?!”

“Yeah! Usopp and Luffy’ll never believe I met a real superhero otherwise!”

For a moment, he looked like he was going to refuse, but Robin’s dangerous smile and Nami’s protective glare made him faulter. His resolve weakened further when he looked down at the little reindeer’s hopeful face. Tugging his hat down a little lower over his head in hopes that the shadow would better hide his blush, he replied, “I don’t suppose you have a pen and paper?”

“Here, you can sign this,” Robin said, pulling a piece of parchment out of her bag. She folded the top and bottom fourths before carefully ripping them off, handing the paper to him.

A large sweatdrop ran down the back of Drake’s head. In his hands was his bounty poster, but with the WANTED and reward sections conspicuously torn off. He glanced up, ready to argue that this probably wasn’t the best thing for him to sign, but Nami pointedly shoving a pen in his face kept him quiet.

With a sigh he carefully signed his name across the upper-right corner, handing it to Chopper to inspect. The small pirate’s beaming grin could have rivaled the sun, and Drake felt his heart swell a bit with pride. The whole situation was ridiculous, but he’d endured worse than a little embarrassment.

And even if he hadn’t, that smile would still make it worthwhile.

“An autograph from a real superhero,” Chopper whispered with wonder, holding the poster gingerly so his hooves didn’t risk smearing the still-wet ink. “Thank you!”

“You’re…welcome. Be more careful and stick with your friends,” he said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

“Well, after that little adventure, I think we need something sweet,” Robin said, ushering Nami and Chopper down the busy street. Tossing a wink over her shoulder, she added, “And I’m sure superhero-san has many other people to save.”

“Uh, yes, I um…need to go patrol the streets for evildoers,” he replied lamely.

“You do that,” Nami said, patting Chopper’s head fondly. “Thanks again for helping our shipmate.”

“Yeah, thanks again, Captain Drake!” the reindeer called over Nami’s shoulder, waving one of his hooves eagerly, the other still tightly clutching the autographed poster.

With a wave of his own, Drake made his way back up the street, a small grin lifting the corners of his mouth. He was far from a superhero, but it was a nice reminder that, despite giving up his old life and reputation, he wasn’t entirely a pirate, either.

[coolstudentsandwich]

Ancient (Twenty-third Day Of Inktober)

You know, there’s a lot of ancient things in this world: ancient artifacts, ancients books, maybe some ancient dragons, and my mother.

You think I’m repeating myself? Well, now you know how I feel about this whole “progress of the world”. What’s the saying? “The more things change the more they stay the same”? That one. I think it describes this world perfectly. 

I mean, wolf people are no longer slaves, the dragons don’t conquer human lands, and all that, but sometimes I feel I could take an old history book, that would perfectly describe what’s happening right now with... everything.

The humans are still stupid, the cat people are still as cute as before (Though I don’t mind that), I think I shouldn’t talk about wolf people here, and dragons...

Oh! I have an idea! Let’s talk about ancient dragons! 

What do you think? Oh wait, I don’t care about that.

You know, even though dragons like their military, and weapons, and conquering, you probably now think there might also like one more thing - their family. This a little too cute way to describe it, but it’s the truth. 

Adult dragons care for their young, and later the young care for them when they become ancient. And I mean ANCIENT. Did you know dragons can live a little bit longer than humans?

Anyway, this is a story of one of these ancient dragons. Enjoy.

Once, there was a city, where there lived a wise, elder dragon. He was very knowledgable, and you could very easily tell that, because he painted his greyscales with old dragon runes. Actually, when I think about dragons have a thing for painting stuff to show something. 

They use paint for all sorts of different purposes, sometimes for important rituals, sometimes to show off their status. This was more to show off his status, as a wise, ancient dragon.

Few reptiles lived to such age as him. He was really special.

Sometimes people came for him for words of advice, about what they should with this or that.

But one day a human came to him.  He introduced himself as a historian and wanted the dragon to tell his whole life story, for a book he was writing. 

He asked the dragon to tell him about the time when he was young. 

“Well, firstly...“ the dragon started. “When I was younger there weren’t any pesky ‘historians’ asking me stupid questions.” he was quite angry.

The historian tried to calm him down, telling that the books he’s working on it’s very important.

“Very important? You know what’s very important?“ the dragon asked angrily. 

“What’s very important?“ Asked the naive historian, thinking there’s a chance that this will go well. 

“The important thing is that my sons are somewhere far away, probably fighting in some horrible war! They could die at any moment now, and I wouldn’t know!” the dragon almost started to cry.

“But mister... There wasn’t a war for over fifty years if not more.“ the historian quickly responded.

“Oh really?” The dragon looked confused. There was a moment of silence between the two of them. “I guess you’re right. I remember when I was fighting in the war. Humans really couldn’t crack that.” he patted his chest, covered in hard scales. “So they decided to act like rats. They attacked the food. Never tried to fight close. Cowards.” the dragon loudly scoffed.

“Interesting...“ the historian said. “What more could you tell me about the war?“

The dragon just laughed. “Did you know how did I get that?” he pointed a sign painted on his head. It looked a little bit like a flame. 

“Hmm...�� The human started to think for a few seconds. “This... is a sign that means... You can breathe fire!“

“What?“ the dragon was a little surprised at these words. “Very good joke, but you should know that this talent is reserved for the royals.“ he explained. “You want to write a book about us, reptiles, but you don’t know this symbol means ‘justice‘?”

The historian looked like he wanted to just disappear, but besides that, he stayed quiet. 

“And if you want to know...“ the dragon continued. “I tell you about how I got this symbol... I still remember that day, like it was just yesterday...“

The dragon seemed to drift off to some distant memory. For a moment the reptile closed his eyes, like he was trying to remember every single little detail.

“It was the day when I and my party were venturing through the human lands, as you should know there was a little bit of tension between us and humans. We gave them some resources to trade, and what they gave us in return? Fifty boxes. Fifty boxes of rotten food. A good diet is one of the foundations of being a good warrior, you know. Sending spoiled food is like a slap to the face.“

“So... they send your party to... talk things out?“ asked the historian.

“Of course not!“ The dragon responded quickly. “...well, we had some diplomats on the team. But most of us were prepared to fight. Even the ones who wanted a peaceful solution were prepared to draw the blade if the things go south... We came to a human city, from which the food was sent. We arrived at night, maybe a little tired, but ready to fight at any moment, like the warriors we are.“

When the dragon was talking, the historian carefully noted each and every little thing he was saying.

The reptile didn’t even notice and continued talking. 

“We tried to reason with the human lords who sent the boxes, but they started to say they had completely no idea what we were saying. And they don’t know about any boxes being sent to us. One of the diplomats on my team told me to check around the castle of the human lords, to avoid a potential misunderstanding. I was still pretty young back then, and I was disappointed that the rest of my team will beat up the humans without me. You know, it was quite a fun thing to do.“ the dragon smiled, showing a set of white, sharp teeth. 

The human took a step back but continued to note. 

“Well anyway, you won’t belive what I found, in their magazines.“ the dragon continued.

“...rotten food?“ asked the unsure historian.

“Yeah, rotten food and someone with a rotten mind.“ the dragon started to look quite serious. “I found a demon.“ he paused for a moment. “I still remember his wicked grin. Covered in fur darker than the night itself. He looked like one of the wolf people I once saw, but something... no, everything was so off-putting about him. Mostly, his eyes, constantly staring at me. And that voice was...“

“Scary?“ the historian tried to finish the reptile’s sentence.

“No!“ the dragon quickly corrected him. “It was... so annoying! I have no idea how could anyone ever listen to him!“

“You weren’t terrified of that demon?“ the historian was very surprised. He couldn’t believe what he heard.

“No. I don’t fear many things. And also back then I was so much more reckless than I am now. Even if he was scaring me, I would try to act like he has no effect on me.“

“But... this description sounds like Chaos! One of the scariest demons!“ the historian tried to explain the situation to the dragon, but he only waved his hand like it was nothing.

“Hey, you don’t know anything dragon culture, I will act like I don’t know anything about human culture. Anyway...“ the reptile decided to continue. “It turned out he was putting all the rotten food in the boxes that were later send to us. I knew he planned something. He started to talk to me, telling me how amazing would it be if I just ignored him, and go to beat up some humans.“

“And what did you do?“ 

“I ignored him and decided to go to beat up some humans.“ the dragon smiled again. “Just kidding. I showed him this!“ the dragon showed the human a very long blade. “You should saw his when I pulled my blade! I think his eyes became twice at large!“ the dragon couldn’t stop laughing. “Anyway... Later, when I explained my situation, I was rewarded. When he tempted me with lying to everyone, I choose the truth.“

“That very noble of you.“ the historian smiled.

“Nah, there was still a war sometime later. I don’t even think this whole Chaos had any role in that. When I look at this situation now, this whole rotten food deal looks like a big prank. He was probably laughing the whole time he did... But in the end, I laughed when I chased him with my sword! Those were the days, I tell you. Not like today...“

“I think we should stop here... I’m out of paper.“ the historian quickly gathered his notes and started to leave. He felt like he had an amazing story on his hands. “...could I come back some other time?“

“Come tomorrow if you really want. I might make you some tea. You know, my children are too busy to visit me, and my grandchildren can’t even talk... It’s nice for someone to be here.“ the dragon showed a very happy, genuine smile, and waved goodbye to the historian.

You probably wonder now, where was I in all this? Was I the historian? Or maybe the dragon? Or maybe I was the tea? Nope!

I followed that bastard! (The historian I mean. The dragon is kinda cool.) Why did I followed some historian and later called him a bastard? He stole my journal! And he planned to make it his own book! His own “findings” about magic! He didn’t even ask me! Or credit me! This was a very personal journal, you know. And he would probably make a lot of money on it. 

You know, I need to publish my own book someday. Do you think my debut should be “My Mother is a heartless witch”, or “My brother’s father is big, fat bastard”? You know, I actually might tell you the story about the second one someday...

[og-bbs-n-misfits-warriors-au]

Chapter 6: The First Hunt

Bravepaw’s eyes immediately shot open, which he quickly regretted as sunlight hit his eyes right afterwards. The pain he felt was gone, but the beeping remained. He slowly got up, noticing how his wounds no longer hurt. He slowly exited the den, now getting a good look at camp during the day time. It was a bit bland looking thanks to all the tan rocks. He remembered what Firestar had said… “A heart of bravery will smite the forest of darkness…” He mumbled to himself.

“Forest of darkness?” Shrewpaw said, making Bravepaw jump.

“Jesus! Don’t scare me like that!” Bravepaw said.

“Sorry…” Shrewpaw mumbled, “But that forest of darkness you’re talking about? It’s called the dark forest…it a place where evil cats go when they die as punishment for their crimes. Why are you talking about it?” “Just a dream I had last night,” Bravepaw admitted, “A heart of bravery will smite the forest of darkness.”

“That sounds like a prophecy!” Shrewpaw said, perking up.

“A…prophecy?” Bravepaw frowned, “I’m not a prophet.”

“No, but if you got a prophecy, it means you’re special! Only fifteen regular cats throughout the course of the clans’ history got prophecies without the aid of a medicine cat or leader!” Shrewpaw’s eyes were lit up light New York city at night.

Bravepaw didn’t quite understand why Shrewpaw was so excited, then it hit him, “Do…you have your own…?”

“Yea, I just don’t understand it…” Shrewpaw admitted. “’The thorn of a shrew leads the final fight against blood drenched claws.’ I don’t understand most of if…” Bravepaw frowned. Why did Shrewpaw have a prophecy? He wasn’t the fighting type…but at least he wasn’t completely alone. He remembered the condition his actual body was. He wouldn’t be able to walk ever again…not to mention the fact that he probably wouldn’t be able to anything properly fun again aside from youtube and video games. Out of both worlds, he had more freedom in this one… It didn’t matter. This wasn’t home. His home was back in the city where he was living. With his friends, his family! A newly found determination bloomed inside Bravepaw. He would make it back, even if it killed him! “Bravepaw?” Bravepaw snapped out of his train of thought at Shrewpaw’s voice, he looked over to see the younger apprentice with a confused expression.

“Sorry, got lost in my own train of thought,” Bravepaw said, “What were you saying?”

“I said that Foxcatcher and Thorntalon want us for hunting practice,” Shrewpaw repeated, “That’s why I came to find you.”

Right, Bravepaw didn’t know how to hunt. His stomach growled when he thought about food. He hadn’t even eaten yet. “Right.” He said as Shrewpaw started walking to the camp entrance. He quickly followed behind, hoping he could stomach eating raw meat. He shivered at the thought. When the two made it into the forest, Foxcatcher and Thorntalon were waiting. Thorntalon was a calico tom with pinkish-purple eyes. The two older warriors looked up as their apprentices walked over to them.

“Good, you two made it. How do you both feel?” Thorntalon said. “Much better,” Bravepaw said.

“I got proper sleep this time,” Shrewpaw said.

“Then I expect both of you to preform your absolute best!” Thorntalon said in a stern tone, taking Bravepaw my surprise. “Especially you Shrewpaw! I don’t want to see you back in camp until you catch at least 5 prey items!” Shrewpaw gulped and nodded, “Y-Yes Thorntalon!” He quickly said before he and Thorntalon moved to a different area.

“As for us,” Foxcatcher said to Bravepaw, “I don’t mind if you fail to catch something this time as it’s your first. But I want you to pay attention, alright?” Bravepaw nodded, “Good, then let’s go.” Foxcatcher got up and lead Bravepaw to a thicker part of the forest. “Now then, what do you smell?”

“Us?” Bravepaw said.

“Anything else?” Foxcatcher asked him.

Bravepaw gained a confused look but took a big whiff of the air. He smelled the grass and trees, the air. Nothing really interesting. That was, until he caught a new smell. It was a strong odor, one that usually accompanied a ton of rats. “Rat…” He said.

“Which way?” Foxcatcher asked, “Keep tracking the scent.”

Bravepaw took another whiff of the air. It was coming from his left. When he turned, the wind gently blew in his face. He slowly began walking along the scent trail, his instinct telling him to go slowly. He was pretty sure that was the cat part of him speaking, so he stayed low. “Crouch down, keep yourself low to the ground,” Firestar’s voice rang in Bravepaw’s head. It wasn’t long before he saw the rat he could sense. “Stay downwind and keep quiet. When you get close enough, pounce on your prey and bite down,” Firestar’s said. Bravepaw focused on the rat, lifted up slight. Then…

Foxcatcher was cleaning his paw when Bravepaw walked over with a proud expression, the dead rat in his mouth. Foxcatcher had a shocked look, “I didn’t even tell you the stance,” He said, “And you caught a rat! Well done Bravepaw!” There was a very happy tone in Foxcatcher’s voice.

Bravepaw smiled, “It was easy once I figured it out.” He said. He made sure to leave out the part where Firestar pretty much told him what to do. He doubted Foxcatcher would believe him anyways.

“Alright, do you smell anything else?” Foxcatcher asked.

Bravepaw took a whiff of the air but could only smell more rats. “Just rats…” He said, trying to find another scent. Then he smelled a feather…he wasn’t sure what type of feather, but a bird was nearby. “A bird?”

“Oh! Birds are a bit more difficult,” Foxcatcher said, “You will probably end up having to jump up for them if they try to fly off. And you’re right.” Foxcatcher then pointed behind Bravepaw. The apprentice turned and saw a robin pecking and eating some seeds. Foxcatcher lowered himself before pouncing. No wonder his name was Foxcatcher, that was quite a leap! The cat turned, the dead robin in his mouth, and walked over, dropping it onto the rat. “Or you could do that, but only if your legs are strong enough,” Foxcatcher laughed, “Although I’m sure they are. Come on, we still need to keep hunting.” Foxcatcher then started to bury their prey items, “Make sure to do this so they don’t get stolen. But never forget where we buried them either.”

“Got it,” Bravepaw said, “Bury the prey and remember where.”

“Good! Now come on,” Foxcatcher purred as he stood up.

[runningwolf62]

@wardencommanderrodimiss is at work, post fic!

Part 1

Larry doesn’t think about Warrior Cats for a long time. Well he does, he occasionally checks up on his favorite characters on the wiki and remembers them with nostalgia, and occasionally misses XxWolfDragonxX but he’s got other things to worry about. Other things, like girls and Phoenix and art and finding a job.

It’s Miles, again, who drives him to fanfiction. “Prosecutor Edgeworth choses death.” What the actual fuck man? Larry’s had three beers too many and is laying on his couch, ready to bawl his eyes out all over again, because he thought they’d gotten him back. They’d laid his father to rest. It was everything kid Larry had wanted, hell he’d written an entire fanfic to deal with what he didn’t think he’d ever be able to have.

The memory of the fanfiction drives him to stumble to the computer and open his old fanfiction account. It takes like five minutes, he can barely remember the password and he’s too drunk to type it right.

He has some messages, what the fuck. Apparently people send you spam mail to join their forums now? There’s an ancient message that makes him blink back tears.

“You okay?” It’s a simple question but it’s from XxWolfDragonxX about a month after his last update. God he feels guilty about that, he just vanished on him.

He wonders whatever happened to the guy, and then cracks open his old fic.

He’s drunk enough to not feel much shame for it, but it’s bad. The plot is all over the place, and he cringes each time he writes in and then writes out a girlfriend. And man, oh man, now he can really see how Firebirdpaw could be gay for Sharppaw. He saw it in person too.

Before he knows it he’s writing again, sloppily, drunkenly, but he’s pouring out his grief for Miles, for what they had gotten back but never gotten to truly recover.

Larry wakes up to pain in his head and cheek. The head is from his hangover. The cheek is because he passed out on his keyboard.

He groans, and stumbles off to go take care of his hungover ass, and eventually several hours, Advil and glasses of water later he returns to his computer.

Okay whoever said “write drunk, edit sober” was a lying asshole because while Drunk Larry thought he was a poetic genius, Sober Larry thinks Drunk Larry was a dumbass. A cat walking over the keyboard could write better.

In some places it looks like that’s what happened. He runs a hand through his hair and sets about typing it all up again.

He stops to eat, to drink, to call Phoenix, to make sure he’s still alive. Phoenix is apparently pinballing around the denial and anger steps, Larry tries to help as best he can.

As for himself, he grieves the same way he did fifteen years ago. He doesn’t want to think about that, how long it’s been or that he’s getting old, instead, he plots and rewrites and overhauls the entire thing.

He, Sharppaw, and Firebirdpaw are apprentices of SpiritClan, founded by Spiritstar. He feels that’s a fitting name for Mia. Her younger sister is Cherrypaw, and together the four of them are going to be something great.

And then Sharppaw’s father is killed, and he vanishes. This is where Larry begins to tweak things, making Von Karma the leader of a group of rogues, determined to bring the Clan down, and raising Sharppaw as his son to do so, also using his knowledge of the Clan to ensure its destruction.

Spiritstar and her apprentice Firebirdpaw (he refuses to change the name he’s attached to it now) begin to investigate, refusing to give up, both deeply disturbed by what had happened in their Clan.

He slows down as he makes progress, before forcing himself to finish. He keeps Wolf, the rogue, he can’t write out XxWolfDragonxX not even after all this time. He has some information on the rogue group that puts Firebirdpaw and Orangepaw on the right path.

They find the rogue group, and Sharppaw, now Demon. It takes work, but with time they make him remember who he truly is, and he sides with the two of them and SpiritClan to take down the evil leader.

The last they see of him is him giving chase to one of the leader’s generals, the cat Larry made Gant.

-

“Firebirdpaw!” Orangepaw leapt forward, staring at the tom, who’s orange spiky fur seemed even more ruffled than before, “Where’s Demon?”

The tom stared at him with a hollow look in his yellow eyes, “gone. He didn’t wait for me when chasing the rogues and…”

They both gazed into the woods and where they could hear the last of the fighting, and Orangepaw’s chest tightened, “he’ll come back. We’ll- he’ll come home and we’ll all be made warriors.”

Firebirdpaw let out a small noise, and then nodded, and sat down, as though to wait for Sharppaw again. Orangepaw sat next to him, and waited. They waited until Spiritstar came to get them and drag them home.

-

He goes through the like 50,000 words that he wrote in two weeks adding notes like “I know it’s been nine years since I posted anything, here’s an entire massive rewrite. I cleaned up a lot and tightened up the plot” –stole events from his life—“and fixed a lot of the names and things but some of the weirder ones I’m keeping, too attached” and “Wolf is a nod to an old friend, and of course cats can be gay.”

He posts it as one massive fic, like 25 chapters at once and then goes, lays down, and sobs.

He leaves it be for a while, he’s not ready to face reviews for it just yet, instead, he showers, pulls himself together, calls Phoenix, drags him out into public, ignoring the way how even two weeks later storm clouds seem to billow around Phoenix.

He only remembers to check when he gets home, dropping into his chair, and took a deep breath.

There’s a surprising number of reviews, apparently dropping a huge fic was the way to go? Several people have reviewed multiple chapters. One or two remark on Firebirdpaw or Spiritstar’s names but most are just enjoying the fic. There’s a lot of screaming towards the end.

His heart squeezes in his chest at a review in all caps “OKAY BUT DEMON’S FINE RIGHT? THERE WAS NO BODY HE’S FINE” and Larry wishes to any and every god, harder than he’s ever wished for anything including a date to the prom, that it worked that way. He blinks and reaches up to rub away a tear or two.

People’s comments on the “unnecessary feelings” line makes him laugh.

“Look,” he mumbled to himself, still amused, “it’s not my fault he actually said shit like that okay?”

He starts responding to the nicer people, thanking them for reviews, not able to address yet the questions about Demon’s death. As he’s responding he notices that his review count is rising.

He opens it and the first thing he sees causes his mood to pull a sharp 180.

The review is in all caps, on the first chapter and is a single sentence. “DUDE WHAT THE HELL?”

It’s the username though, that makes him laugh out loud, because XxWolfDragonxX is back, and apparently reading the entire fic. He grins, and clicks on a button to respond.

“I’M SO SORRY, HOW HAVE YOU BEEN?” he types, ready to pick up an old friendship, because right now he could use it.

[warriorsredux]

Chapter Six

“And these are the Snake-rocks.”

The patrol paused to let the apprentices ooh and aah over the smooth boulders. Whitecloud turned and gave the four of them a very serious look.

“You are not to come here alone,” he said. “In fact, avoid this place altogether if you can afford it. Even the strongest warriors will die from an adder bite.”

“I heard you can eat them,” Brightpaw said, tail jumping around excitedly. “Can you? Do they taste good?”

Mousefur looked amused. “Well, no one’s caught them in my time.”

“I remember Bluestar’s father catching one,” Whitecloud said.

Rushpaw stretched up onto the tips of his toes to meet his mentor’s gaze with wide eyes. “Did you eat it?”

Whitecloud shook his head. “I was certain it was poisonous, so I left it alone. Apparently it tasted like a slightly stale frog.”

Brightpaw stuck out her tongue. “Gross.”

“You’ve never even eaten a frog,” Ryepaw said. “Maybe they taste good.”

“If you like squishy, slimy mush, maybe,” Dustpelt said. “I don’t know how ShadowClan eats them.”

“Can we go back to the road and wait for a patrol to come by?” Rushpaw pleaded for the third time. “I want to see how small they are for myself.”

“You will at the Gathering,” Whitecloud said with continued patience. “You’ll get to see all sorts of cats there. Until then, though, we need to make you familiar with our borders. Come along, now.”

Rushpaw didn’t quite huff, but he did breathe out a little harder than normal and with a notable attitude. At Whitecloud’s motion, he walked along with his mentor, glancing temptingly in the direction of the road. His brother nipped his tail to make him move.

“Hang on,” said Raventhroat.

Everyone paused and looked back at him curiously. He stiffened, but cleared his throat and spoke calmly. “I’ve got to tell Snowpaw about this.”

“Oh, right.” Whitecloud nodded. “Of course. Do you need help?”

“Uh...” Raventhroat’s eyes flickered back towards Fireheart and Greystripe.

“We’ll let you know,” said Greystripe.

The patrol fully turned around, presumably to watch. Fireheart stepped up to the nervous-looking Raventhroat.

“You wave your tail for ‘snake’, yeah? You could do that and mouth the word.” Fireheart eyed the rocks. “But does he know what a snake is?”

“I don’t think we ever talked about it with him,” Brightpaw said. “But he knows something like ‘don’t go over there’.”

“And what’s the sign for that?” Greystripe said.

Brightpaw lowered her head, folded her ears back, and bared her teeth.

“Perfect.” Raventhroat seemed to cheer up a little. He looked down at his apprentice.

Snowpaw was staring off into space in the general direction of the rocks. His wide blue eyes were a little dim, as if he was in his own world. He blinked back to reality when Raventhroat nudged him, and he turned to fully face his mentor, tail waving cheerily.

Raventhroat pointed at the patch of boulders with a paw, mouthed “snake-rocks”, and exaggeratedly waved his tail exactly like the motions of an adder. He copied Brightpaw’s gesture.

Snowpaw looked back at the rocks and then to his mentor with a tilted head.

“Um...” Raventhroat’s eyes darted around for a moment. “Does he know ‘dangerous’?”

“He should,” Ryepaw said. “Just hiss at him. He’ll get it.”

Raventhroat did so, and even stretched out a paw, pretending to hit Snowpaw.

“Ohh!” Snowpaw jumped back a little in surprise. His eyes sparkled with intrigue. “Ohh.”

Fireheart couldn’t help a sudden rush of endearment warming his chest. Snowpaw’s voice was chirpy and high-pitched - exactly like a kitten, which only slightly activated Fireheart’s more negative instincts - and carried a sense of enthusiasm that, while a little toneless, was definitely heartfelt. Judging by the look on Raventhroat’s face, he was just as charmed.

“Are we ready?” Whitecloud said after a moment.

“I think so.” Raventhroat stood up straight and looked at Snowpaw. Snowpaw looked back at him happily. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

Fireheart thought he heard Whitecloud purr. He turned back around and started off again, followed by the younger cats.

“That was great,” Fireheart whispered to Raventhroat as they walked.

“Yeah, that looked effortless,” Greystripe said, only a little bit louder. “You’re a pro already.”

Raventhroat looked down bashfully. “I mean, I needed his siblings to tell me the signs...”

“Still.” Fireheart trotted a little faster to tap Raventhroat with his tail. “You got the point across for him.”

“I still have the rest of the night to mess up,” Raventhroat said, and to Fireheart’s surprise, he sounded more dry than worried. “We’ll see how it goes.”

“Just ask for help and you’ll be fine,” Fireheart said. “I promise.”

-- 

The rest of the night, as it turned out, was surprisingly positive.

There were so many things to name and explain that Snowpaw was visibly wearing out, but he kept up a cheerful attitude and always turned to Raventhroat for explanation. The signing was clumsy and vague, but with his siblings chiming in, Snowpaw seemed to get what his mentor was trying to tell him most of the time.

Ryepaw, Rushpaw and Brightpaw, meanwhile, lasted longer than their brother, but were yawning by the time the patrol reached the Sunning-rocks. Whitecloud did most of the talking, which gradually simplified and softened as the apprentices’ little heads practically spun with all the new information. They did at least perk up when they got a look at the houses.

“Those dens are huge,” Ryepaw said, voice hushed in awe. “Why aren’t any in the forest?”

“Humans don’t live in the forest,” Mousefur said simply.

Dustpelt gave Fireheart a sidelong glance, his whiskers twitching. “Why don’t you tell them what the inside of a house looks like?”

Fireheart rolled his eyes just before the apprentices whipped around to stare at him.

“You’ve been inside a house?” Brightpaw almost shouted.

“Yep,” Fireheart said, and reveled in the gawks of the apprentices. “I was a kittypet when I was little.”

“Didn’t you ever wonder why he’s all shorthaired and kit-faced?” Mousefur said.

Fireheart sighed.

“Well, not as kit-faced as he was,” Mousefur amended. “But he’s definitely shorthaired. Well...short in general, I guess.”

“What’s being a kittypet like?” Rushpaw said eagerly. “Did you live in one of these houses?”

“Sure did.” Fireheart looked over and pointed with his tail. “Actually, that was my old home right there. It was always warm and stuffy inside.”

“At least it was warm,” Greystripe said. “You didn’t have a reason to complain then.”

“Pardon me for not being a big ball of fluff like you.” Fireheart swatted Greystripe’s shoulder. “At least I don’t collapse the instant it gets even a little warm-”

“Do you know all the kittypets here, then?” Brightpaw asked.

Fireheart opened his mouth and stopped. He had a feeling that telling them about Smudge and Rosy would be a very bad idea. He instead tilted his head like he was thinking and hummed.

“Well, I knew a few,” he said when he felt he’d paused for long enough. “I spent a lot of time wandering around and staring at the forest. Didn’t really talk to a whole lot of-”

“Hey, does kittypet food really look like rabbit dung?” Rushpaw blurted.

Fireheart snorted. “Yes, it does. And it only tastes okay if you’ve never had meat before.”

“Let’s not interrupt him,” Whitecloud murmured to Rushpaw.

Rushpaw looked embarrassed. “Sorry.”

“No worries.” Fireheart’s eyes automatically drifted towards his sister’s house. He forced them back to his Clanmates. “The less said about that old lifestyle, the better. Should we go?”

“We’ve gone over the whole territory, right?” Dustpelt said. “What now?”

“Now, I think we should take these four home and let them rest for a while,” Whitecloud said. “Ryepaw looks a little tired.”

“I’m fine,” Ryepaw said, blinking blearily.

“I’m sure your mother would love to hear about your night so far,” Dustpelt said with a friendly nudge. “Come on, let’s head back.”

Raventhroat was caught up in carefully signing to Snowpaw not to approach the houses. Fireheart had to clear his throat to get his attention, and by that time the rest of the patrol was pretty far ahead.

“You’ve got a sister here, don’t you?” Raventhroat said, trotting after his Clanmates.

“I do.” Fireheart was careful to sound casual. He didn’t know whether or not he should tell his friends how recently he’d seen her.

“Is she like you?” Raventhroat moved around a bush. “I never talked with her.”

“You’re not asking for any special reason, are you?” Greystripe said.

Raventhroat gave him a withering look.

“I’m messing with you,” Greystripe said. “I know your type, it’s-”

“As if either of you would be good enough.” Fireheart tried to playfully shove Greystripe and barely succeed in making him lean a little to the side.

Greystripe looked like he was about to say something, but Raventhroat picked up his pace, making his friends hurry after him and Snowpaw. Fireheart lagged behind a little, glancing back at the houses. A small seed of worry sprouted in his stomach as he thought of his sister’s coming litter.

[exquisitley-obsessed]

The Three Women Of Durin - Stream Talks (20)

MASTERLIST FOR THS STORY

(not my gif)

They spent their second night at Beorn’s house, planning to leave in two days for Mirkwood, that would give them time to plan and prepare for everything which followed.

The girls woke the following morn and spent most of it sparring with their partners before they finished and chose to cool off near the stream which Rosie and Frankie had found the previous day.

“Kili is going fucking James Bond on my ass,” Frankie huffed as she joined Cece and Rosie chucking her bow on the grass next to her.

“But you like it don’t you,” Cece smirked with a wink.

“Oh, trust me honey, out of the three of us I am not the one who’s getting on a first name basis with a dwarf prince, if you know what I mean,” Frankie smirked at her friend, stretching out like a cat on the warm grass. Cece snapped her head to Rosie thinking that’s who Frankie was talking about.

“Don't look at me!” Rosie cried as she slapped Cece lightly up the head, Cece sported a confused expression.

“Well then who…?” Cece trailed off before glancing at the looks her two friends were sending her. “Me? What have I done?” Cece cried, defending herself, the others simply smirked.

“Nothing…” Frankie trailed of smirking,” Cuddles.” Rosie snorted with glee when she heard this.

“What?” Cece asked, desperate for answers.

“Nothing! Snuggles,” Rosie added, grinning.

“WHAT!” Cece suddenly cried standing up and turning to her friends who simply laughed at her frustration.

“Come here dearest friend,” Frankie smirked as she pulled out her phone to show her a photo. Cece leaned down and squinted her eyes coming face to face with what looked like a pile of clothes lying on a dark floor.

“What am I supposed to be looking at?” Cece questioned, trying to pick out some features.

“Anything, or anyone, look familiar to you?” Rosie smiled smugly. Cece leaned in more until her nose was inches away from the screen.

“Is…Is that me?” She asked seeing a familiar spout of blonde hair.

“Why yes Cece, yes it is,” Frankie drawled out. “And…” She trailed off. Cece looked back into the photo looking for something else but now all she could see was blonde hair and clothes…wait.

“FILI!” Cece cried, gleefully getting the answer, then realization dawned on her. “OH MY GOD!” She cried her two best friends erupting into laughter whilst she stood staring at the photo shocked. “When was this?” Cece asked taking the phone out of Cece’s hands and sitting down next to her so-called friends, her eyes never leaving the photo.

“Last night,” Frankie wiggled her eyebrows.

“It’s adorable,” Rosie added giving Cece a confident smile.

“No,” Cece simply responded with, the laughter soon died from the girls.

“No?” Rosie questioned, confused.

“No. This can’t…” Cece trailed off, stricken.

“Why? Do you not like him?” Frankie asked her friend.

“It’s not that,” Cece sighed.

“Then what is it?” Frankie pushed further.

“You and I both know how this story ends,” Cece suddenly snapped.

“That doesn’t matter,” Rosie said, a serious manner taking over her.

“Why? That’s what’s supposed to happen, do you really think we can stop death?” Cece asked incredulously.

“I think we can damn well try,” Frankie said confidently.

“I will not allow this,” Cece continued.

“Why? Because something bad might happen? Are you scared that one of you may get hurt? Well, you’re already dead sweetie,” Rosie reasoned.

“Don’t say that,”

“Why not? Because it’s true...because we’re never going to go home, because we’re never going to have that life again. This what we have now, this is our world,” Frankie exclaimed.

“And the world is our oyster,” Rosie added.

“You shouldn’t be afraid to fall in love Cece, love is the best thing, and if you have a chance at it, then why the hell not,” Frankie reassured her friend. They were quiet for a while, lost in their own thoughts.

“Fili is the heir of Durin,” Cece suddenly spoke up.

“I mean…to be honest that’s even more of a reason to go for it,” Rosie smiled.

“Nothing has...happened,” Cece reasoned, wincing.

“Then make it,” Frankie smiled warmly. Cece smiled for the first time and lightly shook her head before looking back down at the phone, she stayed like that for a while, simply staring at the photo, then she frowned.

“Hey, Frankie,” she said.

“What?” Frankie asked raising an eyebrow from where she was trying to nap on the soft grass.

“Why is your phone still on 97%?” She asked. And no wonder. Frankie and Rosie had used their phones nonstop, playing music and games, taking photos and videos. To be honest their phones should have died weeks ago.

“No way…” Frankie trailed off, snatching the phone out of Cece’s hands.

“Wait, I’ll get mine,” Rosie said, jumping up and heading indoors to retrieve her phone. Rosie came back and showed her already on phone to her friends. “Look, 100%, it hasn’t even gone down one,” Rosie declared.

“Why aren’t our phone batteries going down?” The girls thought for a moment each trying to come up with an answer or even a theory as to why then Cece turned to Frankie.

“Your hair hasn’t grown,” Cece gasped pointing at Frankie’s hair, her eyes wide. See the thing about Frankie’s hair is that it grows awfully quickly, and to keep it the length that Frankie likes it you have to get it cut every few months, well it had been a few months since they came here, and Frankie’s hair hadn’t grown an inch.

“I still have my paper cut,” Rosie said looking down at her fourth finger on her right hand where (in their old world) she had cut it on a study book.

“It’s like we’ve been preserved in time…” Cece pondered and the girls spoke no more words, haunted by what they had just discovered.

It was the evening of that day, the girls had kept to themselves again, talking about Thranduil and what was best to do but that only lasted for an hour. Cece had made her way back to the stream, finding the gush of water soothing to her throbbing head. She sighed happily as a warm breeze blew her hair out of her face, content.

“Hello,” She heard a voice from behind her, she snapped open her eyes and saw Fili’s figure emerge from the darkness and sit next to her.

“Hi,” She smiled back, the image of the two curled together popping up in her mind as she tried very hard to push it back down.

“We haven’t seen much of you today and were wondering if you were okay?” Fili questioned as he half twisted his body to face her, Cece pulled her lips upwards and tried her best to fake smile. She wasn’t sure Fili believed her but he must have understood that she didn’t want to be questioned about it. They sat in silence for a while, neither of them finding the right thing to say.

“Tell me about your world,” Fili suddenly popped up, “I mean if that’s okay of course,” He spurted, realizing how it could be a touchy subject, Cece found this adorably cute.

“It’s fine,” She smiled warmly, a true smile, “But I already told you most of I think,” She trailed off.

“No, tell me about your life,” He said again, his eyes alive with interest, Cece paused for a moment and felt herself smile again. It was a small thing he asked of Cece, but it seemed to be a warm blanket on her heart.

“Well I just finished school and I was looking to go to a good university, I was actually wanting to go over to the UK and try and get into one of the main schools there,” Cece said before realizing Fili probably didn’t know what that meant, “I’m from America so…you know what? One day I’m going to draw you a map of our world and this will probably make a lot more sense,” She smiled.

“I was still living with my parents and I had a younger sister, she’s called Juliet and she’s 13. I wanted to become a teacher, I wanted to teach people…anything, really. English, maths, science, history, the list goes on...I wanted that so badly, that’s all I wanted since I can remember, and now that opportunity is just gone? I mean, I probably shouldn’t be that sad about it, but it’s just…I had it all planned out, you know? Everything. And now…”

“And now you’ve been thrown into a completely new world,” Fili finished off.

“Exactly,” Cece apologetically smiled, Fili was quiet for a while.

“Want to know something?” He said at last.

“Yes please,” Cece turned fully to him, interested in what he would say.

“My whole life, I’ve been told I was going to be king. Nothing else. I grew up with my mother telling me how proud I was going to make my family and with people who I didn’t even know, come up to me on the street and wish me good luck with my future endeavours. That's been my whole life. When I was young, and I mean young…I wanted to be everything but a king, a blacksmith, a warrior, even a shoemaker, but a king? Never even crossed my mind.

“And soon Kili came along, I stopped dreaming of what I wanted to be when I was older and started to be a big brother right then. Kili was and is my baby brother and if anything were to happen to him I burn the four corners of this map. Because his death would not only destroy me, it would destroy my mother, and you must understand that strong willed she may be, the man who she loved with all her heart…my father, died long ago... and she hasn't been the same since.

“Being king has just simply been something I’ve grown up with, like being a teacher with you. Except, you chose your future, you dreamed it, I was given it whether I like it or not…”

“And do you? Like it?” Cece asked after a moment.

“It would be an honour to be king of Durin’s folk. But you can’t help but wonder, what if this blood didn’t run through my veins?” Fili said as he appeared lost in his own thoughts. Cece was touched by his words and felt honoured herself that Fili had chosen to open up to her on this very personal matter.

“You would still be the strong hearted dwarf you are today,” Cece said warmly, smiling at Fili who returned a smile.

“I’m not just heir to the throne. I’m an older brother, a son, a nephew. And blood is thicker than water,” Fili smiled again. Cece looked at Fili, really looked at him. And no longer saw the dwarf prince who was used in the movies for his death, no longer saw the less important of the two, no longer saw the heir to the throne or even the older brother of Kili.

No, she saw a someone who had just opened up to a girl he had met merely months ago, a girl who was not born or bred on these lands but was thrown here in the middle of a mess and yet was still standing strong. She saw someone who was ready, so ready, to make his family and his people proud, but also a man who feared that he would not be worthy enough for he wanted to be the best king they could ever have. Someone who was kind to her from the start, who protected her not because she was a girl, but because she was his friend, his fighting partner, his student and his teacher. Someone who last night had wrapped their arms around her and held her close.

And something in her heart sparked into life.

[imagine-loki]

A Warrior’s Life

TITLE: A Warrior’s Life

CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter Ninety-Three

AUTHOR: wolfpawn ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Viking Loki coming to your village, raiding, and pillaging, before deciding there is something about you that intrigues him and deciding to take you back to Asgard with him. There, you are forced to learn a new life and language, and though you hate what has happened to you, you learn that Loki is not as bad as you think.

RATING: Mature

NOTE: This chapter takes place a month after the last and at the sacrifice of ten younger, more talented writers with better stories ;) Call me Triple H!!!! (for those who don’t know, he is accused of drowning better talent in the WWE)

‘Loki?’

Loki rushed from the living area of his home to the bedroom of his home. ‘Maebh? Is it the baby?’

‘No.’ She looked at him, her face covered in sweat, her hair stuck to her forehead.

He rushed over to her, ‘What is it?’

‘The children.’

‘Are in eating their breakfast.’ She sighed in relief. ‘Talk to me.’

‘I just...I cannot remember exactly what, but...I just can only think of them.’

‘They are fine.’ he rubbed her cheek with his thumb as he held his hand to the side of her face. ‘Get cleaned up and come out and see.’ He smiled.

‘Yes.’ She nodded. ‘I will’ She got out of bed and readied herself.

When she stood properly, Loki looked at her stomach. ‘Maebh!’ She looked down and frowned. ‘Someone has moved.’

Maebh looked under the pelts, ‘No, it has not been born.’ She looked down again. ‘Where is my baby?’ she laughed.

‘It is in there, is it not?’

‘I am sure of it, I feel heavier, I feel as though I cannot breathe actually.’ She put on her day clothing, ‘It is odd, whatever way it is trying to place itself.’

Loki continued to look at her, ‘You do not look like you are carrying.’

‘I just look like I have eaten at a feast.’ Maebh laughed. ‘I feel ridicul...oh.’ Her face fell.

‘Meabh.’ Loki rushed to her side. ‘What…?’ He realised she was having issues breathing. ‘What is it?’

‘It is in there,’ She stated, catching her breath. ‘I need the Healer, she needs to help move it so that it does not continue to kick in that manner.’

‘What is it doing?’

‘It’s movements are not pleasant on my stomach.’ She explained. ‘Have the healer sent for, she will aid get it in a manner it will be less irksome.’

‘I will get her myself.’ Loki promised, leaving the room to get his pelt he had left closer the door.

Smiling slightly, Maebh walked out after him, feeling peculiar as she walked. When she got to the living area, the children and Frigga were watching Loki ready to leave before turning to look at Maebh. As soon as Frigga noted Maebh’s midriff, she stepped forward. ‘Has something…?’

‘It is fine, it has only moved and caused Maebh some discomfort.’Loki smiled, ‘I am getting the healer so that we can get it somewhere better.’

With a sigh of relief, Frigga put her hand to her chest. ‘Thank the Norns. I was worried.’

‘Do not fret Mother, little Einar has fought this long.’

‘You are so confident of this.’ Maebh laughed.

‘Einar?’

‘It is the name he has chosen for if it is a boy.’ She explained. ‘He is adamant it is a boy.’

‘Einar...a great name for a one so strong.’ Frigga stated approvingly. ‘Though not for a girl.’

‘It is a boy,’ they turned to Danu. ‘And it will look like me. I know because I had a dream, that he will joke with me when we are older that he thinks he looks more like Father, but I do, wait and see.’ She stated, going back to the bread in front of her.

The adults stared at her for a moment, but she said nothing more. ‘Right….well, that confirms it, Einar it is.’ Loki stated with a smile, though still perturbed as to how alike his daughter’s prediction was to his own. ‘I will call on the healer, just take it easy until I get back. And I mean easy, not “Maebh” easy.’

‘Fine, I will sit and have something to eat, satisfied?’

‘As much as is possible.’ Loki grinned, going over and giving her a kiss on the cheek with the sole purpose of annoying her before he turning to get his boys to follow him to the village for their studies and left.

‘That man is out to age me.’ She smiled as she watched Loki leave. ‘And this child is out to irk me. How can I eat if it be if it will not give me the space in my belly to do so.’

‘Lucia will aid with that.’ Frigga smiled comfortingly.

Before long, there was the sound of hooves in the yard. Not thinking anything of it, Frigga rose from her spot, close to the fire to welcome the young healer. When after a moment, there was no other noise, Maebh rose to her feet too. ‘Frigga…’ Her voice was hardly a whisper.

‘MOTHER!’ Hearing Danu cry in such a manner, both women rushed to the door. Just as Frigga was about to open it, since she was closer, it was kicked in, knocking her to the ground.

Maebh stepped forward, her heart racing as she rushed to help her. ‘Do not think of it.’ The man who stepped inside spoke in Midgardian, his sword immediately to Frigga’s throat.

‘Get from my home before I gut you like a fish.’ Maebh hissed like an angered cat.

‘We found her.’ The man shouted out before looking at her again. ‘You have angered UíNeill greatly, Maebh.’

‘Good, I want it no other way.’

‘I take it the brat is yours, she looks the right age.’

‘Leave her alone.’

‘I was told to bring her alive, so I will unless you or she gives me too much trouble. The old hag, however, she is of use to no one.’

‘She is an old woman, she cannot harm you, why harm her?’

‘Because she matters to you.’ He pulled Frigga to her feet before taking his sword and striking her in the side with it, she yelped in pain before he threw her to the ground again, blood dripping from his sword as well as pooling out of her side.

‘Frigga!’ Maebh went to her, looking at her face. ‘Frigga, please, no, please.’ she begged.

‘Danu…’ Frigga gasped as her body began to realise the severity of the situation, ‘protect her, and Einar.’

‘Get up.’ The man snapped, not liking that the women were talking in Aesir and he could not understand them. ‘Or your daughter is next.’

‘I do what you say, you do not harm her, is that what you are saying?’

‘Yes. those are the orders.’ He confirmed, another two men coming in.

‘What exactly are the orders?’

‘You and your daughter, to Midgard, alive if possible, kill all those in the way.’

‘Why?’

‘UíNeill wants to deal with you, himself.’

‘Leave my daughter here and I will go willingly.’

‘Do you think us stupid, she is to keep your compliance. You would slit our throats as soon as look at us, she is our leverage.’

Maebh’s nostrils flared as she swallowed, realising they had planned this thoroughly. ‘When UíNeill has my blood, as we both know he will, what of her then, why not just kill us both now, save her the pain?’

‘Because we are a dozen strong, you are not able to take us all, and we would let you bleed out slowly as we all take your daughter in front of you, can you take that, her screams of agony, she is what, six summers at most. Then we would poison her, slowly.’

Maebh felt a sob in her throat at such an ordeal for her little girl, but she did not let it out. ‘But what of her if she comes?’

‘I guess you will have to come and find out.’ He grinned. ‘Come on.’ The two men to her sides grabbed her arms and pulled her forward. She tried to pull free, but when she saw into the yard, they had a very terrified Danu with a dagger to her throat, ready to kill her if necessary. ‘Now, tie her up, neck and hands.’ He ordered.

Maebh looked around to see two of their work hands dead, their blood flowing onto the ground beside them. She was grateful at that moment that Gertrude and her husband had not been at the house. When she wondered as to where the new maid was, she did not need to wonder long, her cries of pain were easily heard from the small workers dwelling beside their home, the noises that accompanied hers telling Maebh everything she needed to know. She felt guilty that the young girl, who was not long into her bleed, being accosted in such a manner. ‘How much do you hate us now?’ The Midgardian with the dagger to Danu taunted.

Knowing better than to say anything, Maebh remained silent. Tied like a half-wild horse, she was shoved forward. ‘Mother?’ She looked at her daughter. ‘Where is Grandmother?’

‘Shut up, you filthy worm.’ The man standing beside the man that had a rope around her small throat hit her across the head.

‘She only asked what is happening.’ Maebh snarled, knowing the Midgardians had no Aesir.

‘We do not know what she is saying, so nothing is to be spoken between you.’ The head man stated.

Outside the homestead, a dozen horses stood, ready to be mounted. Maebh was put on the front of one, Danu on another. The man she was connected to rubbed his crotch against her ass, causing her to want to vomit. ‘I hope UíNeill allows us a go at you, I would love to be one of those to tame the Warrior Bitch, perhaps even put a child in you, one of better breeding.’

Maebh closed her eyes and found herself wondering if her family and son were looking after the little one in her by having it move in a manner that made it not apparent she was pregnant. As she looked back at her home, she prayed that Frigga would last until the healer returned, but she was older and Maebh knew the wound was incredibly deep. She wanted to mourn her, but she had to remain strong.

The horses rode on until they got to the boats the men had landed on, there, Maebh and Danu were dismounted from the horses they were on, Danu first, one of the men holding a knife to her again, another with his hand on her shoulder and an evil glare in his eye, Maebh said nothing, allowing those that held her ropes to pull her down from the horse she was on before they were dragged towards different boats. ‘No!’

‘Mother!’ Danu shrieked, pulling towards her.

‘No, leave us in the same boat, what can we do at sea?’ Maebh demanded. ‘She is only going to annoy you, she hates the water, it makes her ill.’ She fibbed. In truth, Danu did not seem overly bothered of travelling by water.

‘If she gets ill, you clean it.’ the man snarled, giving the nod for the little girl to be allowed go to her mother.

Maebh did her best to hug her daughter with her hands behind her back. ‘Mother?’ Danu’s voice was hardly a whisper, ‘What do we do?’

‘We pray your Father catches up to us soon.’ Maebh stated back. ‘They do not know about Einar, we keep it that way, I will look after you both. No matter what they do to me Danu, promise me you will be strong. I can take it.’ She had to be careful none heard.

‘I promise.’

‘Get in.’ The man in charge grabbed Maebh by her hair, pulling her to her feet. ‘We were told you were a warrior, you are as useless as every other woman.’

Maebh swore, she would have them pay, as soon as she could make it possible.

*

Loki smiled as the healer, Lucia told him of her father, a man that Loki had known for years and was well respected within the community, Loki recalled him being in Odin’s company on many the occasion. They took a cart back to the homestead, there was no great panic to Maebh’s condition, the child was fine, it was merely uncomfortable for her. Loki had seen Gertrude and her husband in the village when he went and the cart brought them along also, meaning it was slower than usual. They laughed at the story being told as they made their way back to the homestead when they pulled into the yard, Loki, who had walked alongside the cart with Gertrude’s husband Wilhelm, paused, the other’s to look as to why he had stopped. Gertrude gasped as she saw their friends and workmates dead on the ground, beside them, a sobbing and beaten Leah next to them, the state of her dress as well as her injuries telling them of what happened her.

The healer checked the two dead workers first as Loki made his way to Leah. ‘What happened?’

‘They all came at once...there was a dozen, they stormed us, killed…’ She looked at the two dead men. ‘They…’

Loki felt his heartbreak for her, it was a terrible fate, but he had other concerns also. ‘Maebh, mother?’ The girl just knelt there, not saying anything, lost in her own torment. Loki rose to his feet and rushed into his home, falling over something when he got in there. He looked around from his position on the floor, annoyed that something had tripped him until he realised what it was. With his hands covered in her blood, he crawled around to his mother. ‘No, no, no, no, no. Mother. Mother please.’ He begged, trying to revive her, but she did not move. Tears filled his eyes as he realised her fate. ‘Maebh? Danu?’ He called. ‘Maebh! DANU!’ his frantic terror reached a crescendo as he searched frantically for his missing daughter and pregnant wife. When he went back outside, tears were falling from his eyes.

‘Wilhelm has gone to get help.’ Gertrude stated, holding Leah to her. ‘Sir, they took them.’ Loki stared blankly at her. ‘Maebh and Danu, they took them, alive.’

‘Who?’ Loki demanded calmly, eerily so.

‘Midgardians.’

Loki remained still as he processed what was being said. ‘How long ago?’

‘An hour.’

‘We were barely gone an hour.’

‘They came, less than five minutes after you left.’

Loki made a pained sound, he had little doubt the bastards had waited for him and the boys to leave, to leave the women undefended.

Thor arrived not long later with others, armed and ready. ‘Loki?’ He looked at his brother, who was armed and readied to move out. ‘Is it true?’

‘They took them, from our home, they took my wife and daughter, Midgardians. They came into my home, they took my wife and children.’ He stated furiously.

‘Mother?’ Thor dismounted, ‘They…’

‘They killed her.’ Loki stated, causing Thor to gasp in a mournful sob.

‘What do we do?’ Heimdall asked worriedly, unsure what could possibly be done.

‘We go to Midgard,’ Those gathered expected such words from Loki, but not of Thor. ‘We go and we kill them all.’

[hirstories]

Abraca—switch! Or The Tale of Edward Elric vs. the Mischievous Body-Snatcher

Chapter 12

Warning: Possible TW ➞ Terrorist attack (no graphic depictions of violence and gore)

The Far West was similar to Rush Valley. Both places were painted in all kinds of hues kindly provided by the residues of natural-forming minerals and metals found in the earth. The canyons and rock formations were almost identical. Being a temporary resident of Rush Valley, Winry should’ve felt right at home, but that hadn’t been the case. The comparisons between both places stopped when it came to the inhabitants of each land. The people of the Far West had proven to be more treacherous than the ones living in Rush Valley. Right now, Edward was out there, literally putting his life in the hands of Don Paco—the most treacherous person in the entire region. Being stuck inside Don Paco’s hut was nerve-wreaking; all she could do was to pray that everything went smoothly with the switch. Alphonse and Mei were out there with Edward, so she had nothing to fear, but...she still worried. What if Don Paco somehow managed to trick them? It already happened once, when the sorcerer succeeded in casting a curse spell on them. It won’t happen again, Winry reminded herself. She took another look outside. Everything looked the same as before. The only thing she could make out from behind the window was the smoke rising from the fire as it reached for the night sky.

“You don’t have to worry so much, dearie.”

Matilde’s words made Winry return to the present moment. She turned around, her eyes meeting the other woman.

Everyone in the group was shocked that Matilde wasn’t angry with Don Paco. Apparently, she was used to his mischief. Not only was she used to them, she looked forward to them. Matilde barely reacted when she heard what the kind of trouble Don Paco caused, but she did tell her husband to “put everything the way it was”. And he did so without so much as a peep.

“You're quite beautiful, Miss Rockbell,” Matilde mentioned. “I can see why you caught Paquito’s eye.”

Winry didn't like her comment. She abstained herself from saying something rude, but she did offer the woman a tight smile in response. After a while, Winry said, “It was wrong for him to do what he did.” She tried to keep her anger low key though her displeasure had been evident in her voice.

The seconds began stretching into minutes between the two women. This time around, it was Matilde who broke the awkward silence by saying, “It's all in the eye of the beholder, my dear.”

Winry drew in a long breath. What kind of self-respecting woman would go to such lengths as to defend a husband that didn’t even have so much as a grain of remorse for the way he acted? Winry tried searching for the answer in Matilde’s eyes but found nothing. Were husbands and wives supposed to have blind faith in each other? If it ever came to that, would she defend Edward, in the same manner, this woman was defending her husband?

Matilde smiled at her. Winry couldn’t shake the feeling that the woman knew what she was thinking. Winry crossed her arms over her chest and kept to herself after that. And they fell into silence once again.

The stillness was making Winry even more anxious than she already was. She looked at the time in her wristwatch. It was five until midnight; the Ritual of Transcendence was going to commence soon. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for this nightmare to be over.

Don Paco moved around the fire, his regalia click-clacking as he set everything for the Ritual of Transcendence. Everyone and then he glanced at his body lying on the ground knowing he was soon going to be inhabiting that old body again—he certainly wasn’t looking forward to it. His gaze also fell on Edward Elric, who was closely following his every move. Alphonse Elric was also standing watch, his piercing eyes followed his every step.

.

All sorts of scenarios came to the front of Don Paco’s mind as he finished the preparations for the ceremony. Even with alchemy at their disposition, Don Paco was confident he could take down both brothers with his trickery. But Mei Chan was a problem. The Xinguese princess took well to the shadows. She would most definitely intercept him if he tried something sneaky.

Even if—and just if—fortune decided to favor him in besting those three powerful alchemists, he would have to find a way to deal with the agents of the Amestrian military that escorted them to Creta. He was sure they were working undercover in every town surrounding his village. He remembered seeing a mix of alchemists and elite soldiers aboard the train in Rush Valley. Don Paco took one more look around, that simple gesture put both brothers on high alert. He turned around and chuckled to himself. Oh, how he was going to miss inhabiting Edward Elric’s body. Don Paco held tight in his hand the skull pendant hanging from his neck. As long as he kept the Sanguine Star safe, he was okay with this and any future loses.

Everything hurt: the joints, the bones, the lower back, and especially the left sciatic nerve. Don Paco sighed. He trudged to the rusty mirror hanging from a frayed rope. He took a look at the face he'd seen for the past seventy-two years and sighed again. The small respite he got from inhabiting a young body was over. Now that he felt the burden of age, he wished he made a better job in choosing the host for his mind and soul. If he would’ve stuck to his tried-and-true formula, he still would be wearing the body of a young man. But he had to stray away from the path and choose Edward Elric.

It hadn’t been Edward’s youth or virility what caught his eye in the first place. There were far better candidates out there. The body of the young villager he took for his own many decades ago had been in far better shape than the young Amestrian could ever be. One peek into Edward’s life was all it took for him to stray from his usual ways. He hadn’t been lying when he said that acquiring Edward’s body was akin to winning a trophy—technically it was closer to obtaining a rare collector’s item than to winning an actual trophy, but the mechanics were pretty much the same. Not only was Edward Elric a powerful alchemist he was also a fearsome warrior capable of fighting monsters and winning. And he‘s the only human known to have bested Truth at its own game.

“And he defeated you too!—the most powerful sorcerer in the entire continent,” he exclaimed while pointing a gnarly finger at his wrinkled reflection. Don Paco lowered his finger, his expression turned distant.

Edward, his brother Alphonse, and their beautiful girlfriends left the village with the impression that he was just old croon who liked spreading chaos and creating mischief everywhere he went.

Don Paco focused again on his reflection, smirking at the man looking back at him.

A woman’s hand snaked over his right shoulder. Don Paco turned his gaze to Matilde’s reflection who’d just appeared in the mirror.

“Why were you smirking for?” Matilde asked.

Don Paco turned around and offered her the most tender of smiles. “No reason in particular,” he said, and fell silent. A moment later, he whispered, “I'm sorry, Mati.”

Matilde squeezed his hand ever so gently. “I know you tried, viejito lindo.”

“I screwed up—big time.”

Matilde gazed at him for a few long seconds. “That was bound to happen, Paquito. You knew the risks of choosing such a powerful alchemist as your next host.”

Don Paco remained quiet for a few moments. He just couldn’t ignore the tinge of resentment in Matilde’s voice. She was right; he bit more than he could chew. But he wasn’t the only one at fault here. He looked at his wife, and said, “Then why did you send him my way?”

Matilde didn’t look surprised at all by his question. “Because you love the thrill of the chase,” she answered with a knowing smile.

Don Paco couldn’t help but cackle. His wife knew him well. He loved the hunt, he’d known this ever since he drove that dagger deep into Colonel Myer’s sternum. Being on the other side of the equation wasn’t something that happened often. When a human like himself had lived for centuries on end...

“Edward Elric sure made things interesting for me,” Don Paco casually mentioned. His thoughts returned to their fateful encounter at the Rockbell home. “Cursing the younger brother and the princess was fun too,” he added, chuckling. But his initial amusement died down fast, and his expression turned somber. “I had him,” he said after a long pause. “There was no way he could’ve won.”

“But he did,” Matilde reminded him.

Don Paco let out a dry chuckle. “I still can’t believe that brat managed to use alchemy.” He shook his head. “I lied to him about being able to restore it, you know.”

“I remember, the fib you told Edward, it was all you talked about after I put you in his body,” Matilde said with a soft chuckle. Then she fell silent. A brief but uncomfortable pause followed before she said, “They would've been the perfect hosts for you and me.”

Don Paco pursed his lips. Her sad expression made his failure even more painful than it already was. “Mati,” he said, then waited for his wife to look at him before continuing. “Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn’t it been at least seventy years since you last inhabited a white person’s body?”

“It's been fifty-two,” Matilde replied. “You're really becoming senile aren't you?”

“That's why we needed new bodies,” Don Paco guffawed, but the moment of wry amusement died out fast.

Don Paco pulled out his long chain pendant and stared at the socket where the Sanguine Star used to be. “I still can’t believe that the stone broke.”

Matilde took the pendant in her hand. “Edward Elric is one lucky man.”

The Sanguine Star broke mere seconds after Don Paco performed the last switch, which had been between Domingo and Edward. Alphonse had to restrain the cat as he went ballistic, like the first time around, when Don Paco transferred his mind and soul into the blond. Matilde had been his assistant during the first Ritual of Transcendence. She managed to cage Edward’s body—like Alphonse did this time around for Domingo—by transmuting the sand underneath his feet.

A thought just occurred to him. “You wanted me to leave Edward stranded in Domingo’s body, didn’t you?”

Matilde smiled impishly. “Sanguine Stars are a precious commodity, Paquito.”

Don Paco let out a long and deep belly laugh. “And people say I'm the horrible one!” When his amusement died down, he said, “You were waiting for me to make a move, weren’t you?”

“The girl wouldn’t have seen me coming,” Matilde answered.

“I know,” Don Paco concurred. “Believe me, I was tempted to take action, but—” His thoughts trailed off for a few seconds. “Even if I was able to neutralize the younger brother and his girlfriend, I wasn’t going to be able to neutralize the two military agents.”

Matilde’s brow furrowed a fraction. “You mean the alchemist that manipulates fire and the sharpshooter?”

Don Paco nodded. “Those two look like people who had spilled blood many times before.”

“They were ready to take the Sanguine Star by force, if it came to it,” Matilde mentioned. She paused and took a deep breath. “Oh well...” Matilde stuck her hand in her neatly-ironed blouse and fished out a long chain necklace—an identical copy to the one that Don Paco wore around his neck. From the chain dangled a Sanguine Star that shined like a drop of blood in the sunlight.

Don Paco looked past the Sanguine Star to gaze at his beloved wife. Even after one-hundred fifty years, he was thankful for having pursued the rumor about a gifted young alchemist that could make the impossible happen with the aid of a shiny red stone.

“Paquito, do you have enough strength to travel?” Matilde asked.

Don Paco smiled. “I can go anywhere you like but you have to promise me that you’ll give me one of your sexy massages whenever I get sore.”

“Never change, viejito lindo,” Matilde replied while shaking her head.

“For you—never,” Don Paco said as he leaned closer to kiss her forehead. “Where do you want to go?” he asked after leaning back.

“I want to visit the Far East,” Matilde responded. “I think the body of a Xinguese woman would suit me fine, don’t you agree?“

Don Paco cackled. “I was wondering why you were staring so much at the princess—now I know.” Don Paco cupped a side of Matilde’s face. “Would you like to become the Empress of a country?” He asked while rubbing his thumb over her cheekbone.

He didn’t have to hear the answer, it was written all over her beaming face.

Edward couldn't be happier than to be setting foot back in Amestris. Mustang, the Lieutenant, and everyone else in his team parted ways with them once they reached Table City. He was off the hook—for now. He and his brother bought train tickets for Central one month in advance. The Brigadier General wanted a full “unofficial” report on what had happened in Rush Valley and in the Far West. Edward could already see Mustang’s smug smile spreading wide across his ugly mug as he laid out the terms of the deal for “once again saving his and Alphonse’s behind”. Fucking Equivalent Exchange.

Edward didn’t have to be a psychic to know that a civilian contract was going to be waiting for them the day they met with Mustang. The bastard was going to make sure to dot his i's and cross his t's just to squeeze every single drop of “assistance” he and his team provided for them. Work in Ishval was far from being finished—so maybe, just maybe—their expertise was going to be needed in the newly-reinstated country. Edward could feel a headache coming in; he put his thoughts on hold.

Turning his attention to the present moment, Edward hooked an arm around Winry’s shoulders, and exclaimed, “It's great to be back inside my own body!” He craned his neck to meet Winry’s miffed expression. “I bet you missed the real deal—right, babe?” he teased.

Winry shook his arm off. “Hardly,” she spat.

Alphonse sniggered, and so did Mei.

“Did you say something my precious Alphonse-sama?” Edward said in a high-pitched voice and laughed hard when both Alphonse and Mei glared at him.

“You know what? I liked you better when you were a cat,” Alphonse chided. Smirking, he added, “You were more bearable in that form”—he turned to Mei—“don't you agree?”

Mei nodded. “Yes, Alphonse-sa—” She stopped abruptly. She cleared her throat, and said instead, “What about you, Winry?”

Winry smiled impishly. “Ed was the cutest, cuddliest little kitty ever!”

“Pft—whatever,” Edward retorted, then rolled his eyes at the bunch.

In the midst of laughter, his thoughts returned to his latest adventure. Inhabiting Domingo hadn't been that bad. He got to see the world from a different perspective. He learned to appreciate the people he loved the most—even more than he already did. But above all, he had one more chance to use alchemy. The perks for freaking everyone out hadn’t been bad either.

Things would’ve been a heck of a lot different if Don Paco had decided to simply switched bodies with him. Everyone, including Granny, wouldn’t have believed a single word coming out of his mouth. They’ve would’ve thought of him as an old coot who was trying to extort Edward Elric. Winry would’ve been the first one who’d dragged him to the police station, and all hope to return to his original body would've gone up in flames.

That was a missed opportunity right there, Edward thought. Don Paco was a cunning man. He must've considered doing this in the first place. Edward chuckled to himself. He certainly left the Far West with more questions than answers.

“Ed,” Winry called out to him.

Edward’s thoughts returned to the present.

“Do you miss not having your alchemy?” she asked.

Edward’s brows hiked up his forehead. Do I miss my alchemy? He hadn’t even considered this yet. Did he miss it? Maybe a little, but not so much as to try other ways to restore it again. Raising his gaze to Winry, he said, “It was great having a go at it again—definitely loved the look on everyone’s faces when they found out what I could do. It’s not like every day you see a cat that’s also an alchemist,” he guffawed. “You should've seen Paninya’s reaction when I transmuted the mattress in the hotel room—”

“Ed, you didn’t answer the question,” Winry pressed.

Edward stopped. Winry’s question carried more than mere concern for his wellbeing. It’d been his desire to regain his alchemic ability what’d gotten him into trouble in the first place. But how can he tell her that she doesn’t have to worry about him ever again? He approached Winry and cupped a side of her face. He offered her a tender smile as he brushed his thumb against her rosy cheek. A bomb went off before he had a chance to tell her about how he truly felt about everything.

The explosion occurred a block away from where they stood. Glass and debris flew in all directions, some fragments reached the street they had been walking on.

Another bomb went off. This time, Alphonse and Mei managed to erect a wall tall and wide enough to shield the majority of the people in the street. Unfortunately, the ones closer to the blasts got injured.

Table City, Milos, and Eastern Creta: these three places were still consumed by strife. Peace negotiations had been in effect ever since their first visit to Table City, but that wasn’t the case anymore.

A group of lunatics came charging down the street shooting at everything that moved. The cries of men, women, and children soon reached everyone’s ears. Winry and Mei set forth to help those in need of medical attention.

Edward looked at Alphonse; there was fire in his eyes. Edward gave his brother a nod, which he responded with one of his own.

Alphonse clapped his hands together, readying himself to attack. Out of habit, Edward did the same. His eyes rounded when he felt energy coursing through the palms of his hands.

Alphonse must’ve felt the potential energy because he was gaping at him. Edward offered him a wolfish grin in response. He then pressed the palms of his hands to the ground and produced a long spear made out of key ingredients found in the concrete.

“Hey, Al!” Edward hollered. “How about we give these assholes a good beating?”

Alphonse also grinned wolfishly. “Sound like a plan, Brother,” he said as he fashioned a spear by transmuting a portion of the sidewalk.

With weapons in hand, they both sprang into action. The terrorists had no idea of what they brought upon themselves.