#seventh chapter

[experimentjr]

AND THE SEVENTH AND MOST CURRENT CHAPTER IS AMONG US!!!

This is the last chapter before what might be the most hyped one till now >:3 hehehe

The cerulean will appear in the next one!!!

Sixth chapter

[nagisadelune]

Promise Rings Chapter 7

(Definitely not edited)

Previous: Promise Rings Chapter 6

Back at it again with another chapter of Promise Rings! I once again apologize for not posting this earlier. I know that I even have the whole thing written, so all I need to do is copy and paste onto here; however, work just increases at times, and I'm currently in the middle of that work peak. These are going to be slowly coming out, but hopefully I can still release these more consistently.

Anyways, we are only about a tenth through the original document. (Yeah, we've only gotten through 10% of the entire thing.) That's crazy to me because there are people who are actually reading it, so thank you guys for that! Alright, it's time for the new chapter, so I hope you enjoy this one!

⭐⭐⭐

Age: 15

“I don’t get it though! Why do I have to be teammates with him?” I asked, slightly aggravated from the surprise encounter with the small boy from middle school. I think his name was Hinata? “It’s not like we’re going to play together all the time, right?” I questioned again as she could only sigh at my thought process. “What is it?” I knew she wanted to say something but wouldn’t let herself unless I stopped. I watched her eyes stare into mine as she seemed to be thinking.

“Just because there’s a possibility that you might not be playing at the time, that doesn’t give you a reason to not try to be friends with him,” she reasoned calmly, and I could only bite the inside of my lip at her words. I knew she was right. She was always right about these things.

“But Karin-chan,” I started whining slightly. She glared at me as she knew what I was trying to argue back with her.

“I get that you’re not exactly sure how you can get close to Hinata after the whole third year thing, but you need to at least tolerate him,” she scolded me, and I stared at my hands. “Plus, I see no problem with getting a new partner to spike your serves,” she reasoned again, and I could only huff in anger. I didn’t want her to be right. “You also need friends that aren’t me because I know for a fact that people are going to get the wrong idea,” I heard her mumble as I looked up to see her playing with her friends.

“But this kid seems annoying,” I sighed, trying to excuse myself from having to be friends or at least acquaintances with him. “And I don’t need other friends,” I mumbled more to myself as the conflicts started to make me question my behavior.

“Just because he’s annoying, that doesn’t mean you can’t at least tolerate him enough to spend a lot of time with him,” she sighed out. “This is high school; we should try to at least be different by the end of it.” I felt my shoulders drop, letting her input mesh with my reasoning. I sighed knowing that her reasoning made more sense than my irrational thoughts in this current moment.

“But how do I become friends with him?” I asked her, giving into her opinion. “I had three years to get close to my teammates in Kitagawa Daiichi, but here we are.” I heard her take a deep breath as a silence fell over us. Even though I felt slightly uncomfortable with her being so silent, I let it sit for her to think.

“I think that’s something for you to figure out, Tobio-kun,” she responded, breaking the silence. I glared at her as she seemed to refuse to give me an answer. When she felt my gaze on her, she glared back at me. “You need to get better at getting closer with people,” she bluntly stated, and I could only shy away at her statement.

“Why do I need to do that when I have you?” I quietly muttered to myself, but she somehow heard me. She huffed out, her way of trying to calm down from yelling.

“Because we both know that I can’t always be with you,” she answered simply. I sighed as I watched her eyes drift to her hands, knowing how she felt about the statement. Her fingers played with each other as she seemed like she wanted to avoid the topic or just the mere thought of being separated. I guessed it was only because we have been close together all this time, so it would’ve been weird to be apart, right?

~~~

“Hey Karin-chan!” I heard a faint voice call from a distance. I stopped and turned my head to the source of the sound to see Tobio rushing up to me in his uniform, his black volleyball team jacket hanging from his arm. I completely turned around before waving at him. He stopped in front of me, his hand on his bag.

“What’s up, Tobio-kun?” I questioned, tilting my head slightly. I watched his cheeks turn red, most likely from running around so much.

“Look at the new jackets they have!” he excitedly pointed out, lifting up the jacket. I chuckled at his behavior as I admired the simplicity of the jacket. “Oh wait!” he calls out. Looking up at him confused, He holds the jacket out behind me, motioning me to put it on. Hesitantly, I slipped my arms through the sleeves, my fingers just barely being exposed. Tobio’s hands slightly adjusted the jacket onto me before he zipped the zipper up.

“Why am I wearing it?” I questioned him as he was beginning to roll up the sleeves. For a moment, he didn’t answer, concerning me about his real intentions.

As he patted my head, he answered, “Because I don’t have somewhere to put it. And also because you always complain you’re cold.”

“They blast the AC, I swear!” I retorted, gaining some warmth inside the jacket. Somehow, the jacket already smelled like him even though he just got the jacket yesterday evening. After he zipped up the jacket, he began to walk away. For a moment, I stared at his figure before I called out, “Boke, your uniform!” He turned towards me, confused at my call. Walking over to him, I looked at his collar and shirt; as per usual, it appeared a little untidy. I felt his eyes on me as I buttoned up one more button on his shirt and smoothed his collar down. When I looked up at him, I noticed him staring down into my eyes, and I quickly looked away and rubbed the back of my head. I felt my cheeks warm up, probably from the cold. “Anyways,” I start again, awkwardly chuckling, “let’s get going? It’s getting a little cold.” He hesitantly nodded before walking with me into the building.

I swore, every time we walked in anywhere, eyes were literally watching us. I got the normality to look at the person who just entered, but their gaze was different from the various identity questions; it looked like they were looking at some popular couple, and there was no good way to fully explain the feeling. With our conversation, I could feel their piercing gazes into my back as I laughed at one of Tobio’s jokes.

“Oi,” I called out after glancing at the time on my watch, “you’re going to be late if you don’t start walking over now.” He rolled his eyes as we continued walking towards my classroom. For some reason, he started walking me to all of my classes ever since he found out that some of the seniors were bothering me for my number. Tobio is strange sometimes. 

“I insist on walking you to your desk,” he responded to my reminder. Right, they would bother me until I sat down at my desk. We arrived at my classroom and walked over to my desk before he decided to finally leave. “I’ll see you during break?” he confirmed as he was adjusting his bag. Nodding, he gave me a small smile before patting my head and running off to class. I began getting ready for class as I heard some steps approaching me.

“Yamaji-san!” one girl’s voice called out. I looked up from my desk to see my deskmate, Kimura-san, approach me. Waving at her, she sat down on the desk beside me before she questioned, “Are you dating anyone?” For a moment, I hesitate at her words; why would she ask me something like this?

Looking up for a moment, my gaze shifted to Kimura-san who was staring at me before responding, “No, why?” I watched her think for a moment before she formed her response.

“Oh, I thought you were dating Kageyama-san,” she responded as she was rummaging through her desk for her workbooks. For a moment, my heart skipped a beat when I heard his name. Looking at her, I stared in disbelief. This is what people were thinking about whenever they saw us together?

“O-oh, Tobio-kun and I are just really close friends,” I responded to her answer, trying to cover up my little stutter. Crap, she’s going to notice. “We’ve been friends since preschool, and we see each other as brother and sister,”  I continued, hopefully covering up my little mishap.

“Ah, is that the case?” Kimura-san answered. “But here you are wearing his jacket?” Kimura-san pointed out. I glanced away for a moment, trying to come up with an excuse for the jacket.

“He just lent me the jacket for a bit since I kept forgetting mine,” I answered, trying to not have anything suspicious against me. “And because I’m always cold,” I muttered quietly, hoping that she didn’t hear my voice.

“So you guys have a platonic relationship?” she questioned as she turned her head towards me. Nodding, she then proposed, “Then maybe you can introduce me to him. He is pretty cute.” Shocked by her answer, I stared at her. This has happened in the past where a girl would want to get close to Tobio through me, but most of the time he would reject them anyway. However, I felt my heart do something in my chest when she mentioned wanting to get to know Tobio; I shouldn’t have to feel like this since he was his own human being. He’s free to do what he wants, but why do I not want her to get to know him?

“I’m not sure you want to try and date him, Kimura-san,” I answered cautiously. “His only main focus is volleyball, so I wouldn’t recommend it.” At least I didn’t completely lie about it: Tobio really does focus a lot on volleyball, on and off the court. Waiting for a response, I decided to take a sip of water from my canteen.

“Are you just saying that because you like him?” Kimura-san suddenly questioned. I choked on my water for a moment before coughing. Glancing at Kimura-san, her eyes stared at me intently, expecting an answer. 

“N-No,” I stuttered in a short response. Stupid stuttering. “I just know him well enough to know his reaction,” I explained as a way to cover up  the stutter that I briefly obtained. She glanced amused at me before she burst out giggling. Looking at her with confusion, she finally calmed herself down enough to talk.

“Oh my god,” she managed to get out between laughs, “Megumi-san was right. You are really obvious.” I stared at her in disbelief as I watched her hold her stomach and squat over the ground.

“I am not!” I felt the heat in my cheeks rise and redden as I tried to defend myself, “and also, I don’t like Tobio-kun in that way!” Kimura-san started laughing even harder as she processed my words.

“Don’t think I don’t see the way you guys look at each other!” she responded. Placing my hands into my face, I felt the cold of the ring against the skin on my face, and my face started to cool down slowly. Once she finally calms down, she takes a deep breath before adding quietly, “Plus no one even thinks about trying to approach you two anymore because of that.” Wanting to ask her what she meant by that statement, my train of thought got cut off by the bell ringing. I listened to my classmates scramble to their seats as the teacher walked into the room. Getting comfortable in my chair, I placed my face inside the jacket and inhaled Tobio’s scent, feeling my exhale warm my face again. Do I like him, or do I love him? Questionable.

~~~

I hated periods with a passion with the amount of cramps I got from just existing. I curled up in my bed as my hands clutched onto the blanket. I would’ve gotten up to grab an Advil, but I used the last one last month and forgot to buy more. As I began punching my pillow from the pain, my phone began to vibrate on the bedside table. I reached over to grab it, revealing that Rei-chan was calling me. I tried to hold back the pain as I answered the phone.

“Hey, what’s up?” I questioned as I felt myself curling into myself.

“Where are you?” she asked as I heard the girls’ team practice in the background. I could only nervously chuckle before I answered.

“Cramps,” I simply stated, knowing that she would know exactly what I meant. “I have no pills to relieve them too.” I heard her sigh on the other end of the phone. I didn’t receive an immediate response, so I waited for her to say something back; she seemed to be talking to someone else with her.

“Alright then,” I heard her voice a little louder as she seemed to return to the call. “Do you want me to stop by with some Advil?” she questioned as she seemed to rummage through her bag.

“No, you live in a different direction, so don’t worry about it,” I answered and reasoned, knowing well enough that I just need one pill in order to relieve the pain. However, the pain was still bearable enough to not be completely immobilized.

“Fine, but I’ll ask Kageyama-san to go check on you,” she answered as I could imagine the smirk on her face. I rolled at my eyes, knowing what the tone of her voice meant.

“Okay, fine. Good luck at practice,” I responded before I quickly ended the call. I placed the phone beside me as I tried to hold out on the pain. A minute later, I heard the front door open and shut quickly before footsteps pounded against the floor. The door suddenly opened, revealing a sweaty Tobio.

“Okay, why is Rei-san spamming me with messages to come check on you?” he questioned as he studied my appearance. “Did you get sick or something?” he muttered quietly as he sat on the bed beside me.

“I just have cramps, Tobio-kun,” I answered as he briefly placed his hand on my forehead to take my temperature. I blushed at the gesture but covered it up as I calmed myself down. “She was probably just overexaggerating it,” I muttered as he stared at me in confusion. When he processed my words, he sighed in relief as he laid on my bed.

“She texted me like you were about to die,” he answered as he finally managed to catch his breath. I laughed at his reaction to her text.

“What were you expecting from Rei-chan?” I questioned as I turned towards him carefully, trying to ignore the pain.

“Everything she said,” he answered as he sat up after a few breaths. He ran his hand through his hair as he seemed to space out. I lightly smacked his head to bring him back to reality. He shot a glare at me as he slightly rubbed his head. “Well, what do you want to do?” he questioned as he sat cross-legged on my bed. “I didn’t run here with food and stuff just for you to kick me out after,” he explained as he knew that I would kick him out.

“Don’t you have practice though?” I questioned as I checked the time.

“Cancelled,” he quickly answered. “Everyone needs a break after our practice matches from yesterday.” I nodded my head as I looked down at my hands to think of some activities. “What should we do about your cramps though?” he questioned as he eyed me questioningly.

“I think I’ll be fine doing some stuff,” I answered, not completely sure if I wanted to actually do anything. “It just hurts like hell. That’s all.” He nodded as he comprehended my answer. For a moment, we made eye contact, and we seemed to understand what we were going to do. He held out his arms, and I slowly scooted closer to hug him. His arms wrapped around me to keep me against his chest.

“Hopefully, my residual running heat can help a little,” he muttered into my ear as he carefully patted his fingers against the fabric of his shirt. I released a small laugh as I hooked my chin on his shoulder. My cheeks heated up as I understood the position we were in, but he hugged me back which helped me hide some of my embarrassment. If Rei-chan caught me doing this, she would more than definitely take pictures to send to the group chat. I closed my eyes as I enjoyed his warmth for a moment before I heard my bedroom door open. In an instant, we pushed off of each other to look at the door. I noticed Rei-chan with a small smirk on her face and a plastic bag hanging on her fingers.

“Well, hello lovebirds,” she greeted as the smirk on her face grew larger. I playfully rolled my eyes at her before I responded.

“Hey, and also, we aren’t lovebirds,” I shot back as I glanced at Tobio quickly nodding at my response.

“Sure, sure,” she brushed off my answer as she handed the plastic bag over. “Here’s some Advil and some snacks. I know you already have food, but sometimes chips are just the way to go.” She added a little wink, and I scoffed at her behavior before peering into the bag. Inside, I found what she was talking about but also found a small silver square. I glanced between her and the bag before I decided to confront her.

“Rei-chan, why is there a condom in here?” I questioned as I held the square between my index and middle finger. I squinted my eyes at her as I tried to read her face. I noticed her trying to stifle a laugh as I continued staring at her.

“You seem like you need it more than me,” she answered as her laughter died down, a smirk growing on her face. From the corner of my eye, I noticed a small blush growing on Tobio’s cheeks as he stared at the foiled square between my fingers. I threw her a fake smile before I threw the square at her.

“Rei-chan,” I started with a laugh as I noticed her flinching from my throw. “I haven’t done it yet, so save that for your boyfriend.” She laughed awkwardly as she knew what I was talking about. I faked a smile as I watched her pick up the square from the ground and place it in her pocket. “Now, go home,” I told her. “Don’t think I didn’t know you ran here from school.” She rolled her eyes as she got ready to leave.

“Alright then,” she responded. “I’ll see you at school on Monday. See you guys!” She shut the door behind her, and I listened for the front door to open and close. I shook my head at her behavior before I peeked at Tobio. His cheeks were still red as he stared at the ground.

“Well that was interesting,” I heard her mutter as he trained his eyes on the lines of the wooden floor. I laughed at his reaction and pinched the bridge of my nose.

“Rei-chan is just something else sometimes,” I added as I fished the bottle of Advil out of the small mound of chips she bought. I began opening it as I waited for Tobio’s response.

“Why did she think we would do it in high school?” he questioned as he looked up at me. I shrugged my shoulders as I opened the top of the bottle and shook out one capsule. 

“Rei-chan’s brain can be weird sometimes,” I responded as I reached for my water bottle on the nightstand. I popped the pill into my mouth before drinking the water, effectively swallowing the pill. I sighed as I shook my head. “I don’t know what goes through her brain, and I’ve played with her for so long,” I answered as I closed everything and placed them in their spot. From the corner of my eye, I noticed his head bobbing up and down at my response. “Should we watch a movie while eating these snacks? There’s a lot,” I questioned as I held up the bag for him to see. He shook his head as he noticed the amount of snacks.

“Those are all your favorites, Karin-chan,” he responded as he took a closer look at the contents. “Plus, I need to get ready for more practice games on Monday, so I need to stay in shape,” he continued, and I nodded as I understood his viewpoint. “Do you still want a hug?” he questioned as he held his arms out. I nodded quickly as I scooted back to my previous spot, letting his arms wrap around me. I hugged him back as I rested my cheek against his shoulder. For the rest of the day, we talked as he kept me warm, and eventually, the pain faded away.

⭐⭐⭐

And that's a wrap on this chapter! This one feels pretty long, so I hope that you liked it! (I actually have no idea what's considered a long fanfiction chapter or if this is longer than my previous chapters lol.) Either way, Rei-chan is definitely an interesting one to say the least...? Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter, and hopefully I'll see you in the next one (if I can post it sooner rather than later next time)!

Next: Promise Rings Chapter 8

[seventhpine]

[VII] Dear Diary,

The seventh chapter of ISEKAI; Or, The Adventures of an Unruly Man and His Family in Another World. Dear Diary, I’ve never really written a diary entry, before, but I’m pretty sure they start with you saying those words. That’s how it goes in all the books I’ve read. I read a lot of books. It’s a habit I get from my dad, I think. We don’t really stick around any one place for too long, so…

[edwardallenpoe]

thinking about how all the gayest scenes between Bilbo and Thorin were added to the movies. Thinking about how Bilbo and Thorin didn't even have more than two seconds of talking to each other in the book. Thinking about-

[waffowo]

I’m convinced that the Seventh Doctor is one of the most powerful characters in all of fiction. Not “The Doctor” but the “Seventh Doctor” very specifically.

He’s incredibly funny conceptually and I cannot get over it. I’m baffled by his existence. He is walking proof that The Doctor doesn’t need to be always just some guy in a box. He has 4 main enemies and none of them are iconic Doctor Who villains. His greatest foes are his own intellect, the literal embodiment of evil, an abstract bounty hunter that has reality warping powers and Thatcherism. Does he fear a God? One of his schemes against a great enemy involves weaponising RPF fanfiction and I’m being completely serious. Every Doctor references 4’s speech in Genesis Of The Daleks while pretending this little man doesn’t exist. I guarantee that if he was in Midnight, the episode ends in 10 minutes. He has either tricked the entity into combustion or has instructed Ace and Hex to batter it to death with baseball bats. The episode runs at full length only if he gets bored but instead ends with a full doxxing of its identity.

I’m not a powerscaler, but if I were, this man would not be on the fucking scale. Do you really think that most anime characters would clock him as the main threat? He’s playing the fucking spoons and tottering around, he has misdirected everyone so hard that people are just forgetting that he still hasn’t explained (I’m only at Death In The Family) why the fuck the TARDIS is in a different colour. Even if let’s say, he’s bisected by Sukuna or obliterated by Saitama, he will come back. Somehow, SOMEHOW, be it one hour or literal decades, he would have resurrected and would giggle and completely wipe your existence from History. Warping reality cannot save you, he has already won. Keep in mind that the only reason that he actually died and regenerated was because he got super unlucky, that even after getting pelted by bullets BY ACCIDENT that what took him out was a fucking defribrillator BY ACCIDENT and also somewhat BY MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE. Nobody is doing is doing it like him. As I type this, I literally cannot think of a way that my favourite characters could actually kill him permanently. Like what do you do if you see him? Why does he just…know things other Doctors don’t? What even is he?

[m00ngbin]

CHAPTER 19!!!!!

[prismstonearchives]

セブンスコーデレディアントレインボー - Seventh Coordinate Radiant Rainbow

[bouquetexquis]

I feel truly sorry for Furina.

The quest shows just how much of a lost and terrified child she is. Yes, she is an archon. But one that was born* merely five hundred years ago.

She is clueless as to how to navigate the situation. Nevertheless she is the 'all-knowing, ever righteous' hydro archon and is expected to behave as such.

I won't expand here on the mirror-like existence of the archons (Venti/Zhongli & Nahida/Furina, Ei being somewhat of a transition), but she is basically the exact opposite of Nahida : a child who has been put in a position of absolute power, regarded as the savior of her nation, glorified to the point of ridicule. She is lost. Would it not be for Neuvillette, I do believe she might not have been able to maintain such a façade.

Not so much because she is incompetent (that much has yet to be addressed in the storyline) but because she has no clue nor key on how to even begin to comprehend how to tackle all of that.

She is catastrophicaly ridiculous, but she is also just a child put in a position she is not fit for.

*I know that, much like Venti, she was an elemental spirit before that but I think that such a change in position can be seen as (re)birth

[aimeelouart]

“Nope!” Zack booped his little nose. “Talk to your fellow Little General if you don’t want to nap. And make sure you call Aerith if you need anything!” He straightened up, sword-turned-umbrella slung over his shoulder, and cocked an eyebrow over the rim of his sunglasses. “Come on, you know how this ends. It’s a mandatory vacation.”

[solar-halos]

for this mood board monday, i present yet another ficboard. the board in question is of franka by @ongreenergrasses

[thelastarchangelaskblog]

Yes! Hello! A chapter in less than a year? Miracles do happen! In any case…yeah, the chapter count went up again. I took a look at the current word count and figured out that I have…quite a bit left to go. And I didn't want to drop another 50,000+ chapter. It's just…so much. And there's a good stopping point here. I do have about 15,000 words of the ensuing chapter (just no title yet), so that's good going.

You as my readers keep me going, so thank you so much for all your continued support through the years! It means so much to me. <3

Stoked about a lot of things here! :) So, please, enjoy!

[archiveoftragedies]

Jing Qi took the oh to be a fly and die in your cup thing too seriously

[yeliuxi]

我梦见你……

Wuxi wakes from a strange dream. (Her girlfriend is still asleep next to her, healthy and at peace. Of course it was just that: a dream.) Or: In every incarnation, Wuxi dreams of Jing Beiyuan.

Rating: Teen & Up Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Genderbending, Rule 63 Words: 603

Read on Ao3 (or keep reading below the cut :3)

Wuxi jerks awake with a name already on her lips, a breath knocked out of her lungs. "Beiyuan," she chokes out into the uncertain darkness, sitting up. She glances about, unable to focus on much beyond the fact that it is dark, and she is indoors, and it is so quiet, too quiet,before her eyes land on the sleeping form in the bed beside her.

"Beiyuan," she breathes, her heart still pounding relentlessly. She gets up onto her knees, reaching out to rest a hand on the sleeping form's shoulder. "Beiyuan!" she whisper-calls once more, this time with more urgency.

Nothing.

Wuxi shakes her shoulder hard, not daring to breathe.

The figure shifts, finally, and groans, rolling over onto her back. Her long dark hair spills across the pale white of the sheets, stark in its contrast.

"Our flight's not until eleven," the figure, Jing Beiyuan--undeniably Jing Beiyuan--mutters. "I want to sleep." With that, she rolls back onto her side, facing away from Wuxi once more.

Their flight.

Wuxi glances around the room again, this time with clearer eyes and a clearer head. This is Wuxi's room--the room she has called her home for the past several years away from her hometown. She's on the floor, kneeling on top of her summer sleeping mat. Jing Beiyuan is on Wuxi's bed. The bed Wuxi let her use, since she's unable to return to her own apartment.

Their flight. That's right.

The darkness in Wuxi's room is still. Not even the air conditioning dares to disturb its weighted, heavy silence. The only noise comes from Wuxi herself, trying to get her labored breathing back under control. Her heart starts to settle in her chest, starts to soften its hard pounding. Wuxi breathes.

It must have been a dream.

Of course it was a dream. What else could it be?

Wuxi sucks in another deep breath, letting it out slowly. White light from outside filters in through the tiny gaps between the blinds, giving the window the appearance of a heavenly glow. It bathes Jing Beiyuan in its gentle brightness, highlighting the slope of her shoulder, the rise and fall of her chest underneath her blanket. Wuxi's blanket.

It is Jing Beiyuan, indubitably. And Jing Beiyuan is breathing, also indubitably. She sits back down and takes the first steady breath of the day. Protected from the illuminating glow by the shadows of the bed, Wuxi lowers her head and sighs, almost like it's being punched out of her chest. The gentle, blanketing darkness swallows her breath whole, muffled in the stillness. As long as it lets Beiyuan sleep a moment more, Wuxi is glad for it.

She doesn't remember much of her dream, other than the flames that flicker behind her eyelids. The blood on her hands, on Beiyuan. She knows that Jing Beiyuan was Jing Beiyuan, but also not. Her Beiyuan has dyed her hair brown, and is also a woman, and lives in modern times wearing modern clothing.

That Jing Beiyuan was a man, bleeding out in her arms. It's you, Beiyuan said. Like a relief.

Wuxi sits upright, raising her head. Her Jing Beiyuan seems to have fallen back asleep like she said she wanted to, her breathing slow and steady. No blood.

It was just a dream.

Silly. Wuxi isn't five years old anymore.

Wuxi scoots closer to the bed, closer to Beiyuan, and rests her head against the mattress, hugging her knees to her chest. She closes her eyes and listens to her breathing, lets it settle her heart.

Their flight isn't until eleven. They can sleep a while longer.

[irisbaggins]

The novelisation of the Phantom Menace has made me so incredibly sad, where little Anakin sees an injured Tusken and decides to disobey Watto to sit by the Raider until he wakes up. Anakin has such a deep, loving heart that he was willing to suffer the consequences of disobedience to make sure a Tusken Raider would be safe, a being he was taught all his life were brutal and cruel. And in this chapter, Anakin admits that the only thing that truly scares him, is of losing his mother. That juxtaposition, that note of I will care for this creature to I fear losing my mother, put so much more weight onto AOTC, and of Anakin's rage. He broke, and he lost himself to his rage. When faced with what he did, he rages against the world and his actions, before breaking down into further sobs at the loss of his mother and the actions he made. His worst fear was realised, and he became the monster that everyone claimed the Tuskens to be.

It'll be interesting to read the AOTC novelisation, to see if this scene is ever called back to. I just find it interesting, and further showcases the depths of Anakin's feelings and compassion, as well as the pitfalls that such strong emotions come with. For if you feel compassion and love as deeply as Anakin does, so will you feel the destructive nature of all of your rage. And that, that is Anakin's biggest weakness; he feels too strongly to ever truly control it.

[licieoic]

The Seventh Prince by LicieOIC

Suptober 2022 - Day 10 - Theme: Enchanted Supernatural AU - Royalty/Medieval Rating: Teen (for now) Pairing: Dean/Castiel Summary: Winchesters were lucky, or so Dean had been led to believe. The story went that all Winchester men were born under a shooting star, which was why their sigil was a star surrounded in flames. He didn’t know if it was actually true or just something the midwives kept going, but whatever the case, fortune seemed to follow them like a shadow. He loved the life of a knight and it loved him. Whether it was in tourneys or training skirmishes, Dean was not easily beaten. It was all he’d ever wanted; all he’d ever known. Until the day the swans flew overhead. And everything changed. Notes: Based on the fairy tale The Wild Swans. I wrote this as a short story for Suptober 2020 with the idea that someday I might expand it to a full fic. I figured why not start posting what I have for Suptober 2022. I hope you enjoy it!

Read on AO3!