#tbh i have no idea how blade would look if he were to be fully mara struck

[mspaintbladie]

Blade but it's this A Post Honkai Odyssey 2 sticker

[deathbxnny]

Hi, this is my first time active on tumblr community, English is not my native language, so please forgive me for spelling mistakes <3

I have an idea for s/o Mitsuri (kny) with Blade, Jing Yuan, Dan Heng and Luocha please. who were dying in their arms and praying for another world, when they were reborn, and were turned into ordinary people with an ordinary past. Before I die, I want the reader to ask: "If we were to be reborn in a more beautiful world where there is no pain and loss, would you be my bride?". I am really looking forward to the reactions of the characters in hsr. Hope this angst idea is good enough-

Pray for you when you go, someone often remembers. When you return when someone is waiting. Pray for you to become the best memories in the world. Wishing you a life filled with love and happiness. I really appreciate you for the quality articles <3 Take care of yourself and I love you so much. Sorry for writing so long. (Sorry for the second post, I realized I forgot to add the character's name, so sorry =( )

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A/N: I know exactly what scene you are referring to here and I'll never recover from it tbh... Also thank you so much for your kind words and for the request! I hope this is okay!<33

Content: Potential Spoilers for kny! (?), Reader dies, hurt/no comfort (kinda), established relationships, angst, mentions of fatal injury, just pain

Reader has no set pronouns! (Though they do refer to themselves as a "Bride" per the request, but that's not outright mentioned here.)

((Not fully proofread))

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》Jing Yuan

Jing Yuan's usual calm and playful facade drops instantly, when he has your bloody and near lifeless form laying in his arms. He holds you close, knowing that your end is near and that there is nothing he can do now. He tries to still appear so calm and collected like he always is, but it's hard, when the love of his life is dying.

And it becomes even harder, when he hears you utter those heartbreaking words, as you look up at him with pleading, weak eyes. He can't bring himself to speak at first, mainly because he wants to believe that there is still some hope left in saving you. But he is no fool. He knows, that you are doomed.

And so he nods, promising you that he will, his arms holding onto you tighter, when the last breath escaped your lungs and you smile in satisfaction at him, already looking forward to seeing him again.

"Ofcourse, my love... I'll wait eons for your return, if I have to."

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》Blade

He nearly loses his composure at the sight of you, the blinding rage of the loss he felt in his heart making him nearly dip completely into insanity. Yet he keeps it at bay for a moment, just to hold you in his arms. He's trembling and for once in a very long time, he feels afraid and lost.

Your words make his already broken soul break even harder, burn up into fine ash, until it gets blown away by the wind and leaves a gaping hole in his existence behind. He can't process them at first, wanting to be stubborn even in the face of your inevitable doom. He doesn't want to show, how much this weakened him, just to spite the grim reaper himself.

And yet, it all fails, when he just let's out a pitiful, broken sigh and agrees in pained defeat, just to give you your peace. You smile at him, as the last of your life fades out, your eyes looking right through him. Only then, does he allow himself to break completely.

"Very well... but don't keep me waiting for long... I beg of you."

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》Dan Heng

Dan Heng didn't know, how you two got to this point. It shouldn't have happened. He should've protected you. And yet, you protected him from the attack. You were bleeding out, your life draining from you faster than he could stop it. Once more, a person he loved dearly was slipping through his fingers and there was nothing he could do.

He felt like a failure, like all of this was his fault. He should've died instead. Not you. And that thought gets only solidified by your heartbreaking, hopeful words. You didn't deserve this fate. You deserved someone much better than him.

And yet, he selfishly agrees to your final wish to bring you satisfaction. Your smile made it worth it, the relief in your eyes before they were drained of their beautiful spark and dulled making all the heartache disappear for only just a moment. Left behind was the emptiness Dan Heng felt, as all he could do was stare down at you in defeat, his heart broken once more. And for good, this time.

"For you, I will do anything, my love. So I'll see you then..."

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》Luocha

Luocha didn't want to believe, that it was over. That there was nothing he could do for you. He tried everything he could. He was a doctor, surely he could save you from this simple injury, right? But it was no use. You knew it. He knew it. And yet, he still denied it to the bitter end, until you gently grabbed ahold of his arm and just shook your head. A signal, that it was truly over.

And for once, he breaks down, holding you close, begging you not to disappear and yet all you could do was chuckle and utter your last wish for him. It was a promise, that eventually, you'd return to him. You'd find eachother in the next life, you were sure of it.

He was reluctant, still so stubborn and heartbroken to accept your doom, until he did. His soul died with you, when you took your last breath, he swore it. And he blamed himself, for not being able to save you, when he surely should've been able to.

"I'll find you in the in next life and the one after that one too, my dear... I promise you that."

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A/N: I hope this was alright! It was honestly heartbreaking to write... also thank you for the request!<33

[shsy7573]

Two-Hundred Days

A Voltron Fanfiction by shsy7573

Description: When Keith goes radio silent after weeks of daily video calls with his boyfriend, Lance begins to worry. To cope with the stress, he begins filming daily audio recordings on Keith’s old helmet. As Lance’s mental health begins to deteriorate, each message becomes more depressing than the last. What happens when Keith finally returns, and listens to how broken his boyfriend has become?

Relationships: Klance

WARNING: thoughts and discussions of suicide. Cursing

Notes/Info: Langst. Hurt/comfort. Screw canon, Lance is Blue Paladin, Keith is Red. Depressed Lance. Suicidal Lance. I didn’t include every single recorded message (obviously), but i figured I’d just include instances that highlighted Lance’s descent into deep depression. Tbh I don’t know how I feel about this one. The writing feels awkward/out of character, but let me know what you think. I kinda just had this idea pop into my head so I wrote it down :/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lance sat down and rested his back resting against the wall. He scanned the room. It was a place he’d been to many times before, and it wasn’t all that different from the other quarters in the castle. It was quaint, small. A bed ran along the side of the wall, its blue sheets tucked neatly under the mattress. There was a long compartment for belongings located next to the door, and a coat hanger right above it with a red and white jacket. Keith’s jacket. He’d left it behind when he’d joined the Blade.

It had been days since Lance had heard from the former Paladin. Nobody else was worried. Why would they be? They didn’t get daily calls from the half-Galran. Then again, it would be weird if they did. They weren’t his boyfriend.

Lance missed Keith. A lot. It was lonely on the ship without having his favourite Red Paladin to snuggle into. He missed the long conversations in Red or Blue’s cockpits, or the late-at-night encounters in the kitchen when neither Paladin could sleep. The team just felt… empty without him. Or maybe Lance just felt empty.

Usually, though, he’d have their morning calls to look forward to. It was the only time of day Keith was always one-hundred percent free. Apparently the Blade of Marmora were late risers. Mornings had become Lance’s favourite part of the day, whereas before it had been a struggle to get out of bed.

That’s part of the reason he was so worried. He knew Keith enjoyed their time together too, his boyfriend wouldn’t miss out unless he was doing something really important. Right?

Lance sighed. He didn’t even know why he’d come to Keith’s room. Obviously he wasn’t just going to show up here. That's not how things worked. Still, he’d hoped it would at least make him feel closer to the boy in some way. That it would do something to cure the aching in his gut that had started to emerge since he went radio silent. It didn’t, though. In fact Lance almost felt more separated from him.

The Blue Paladin stood up again, about to leave when something caught his eye. A small glint coming from inside the chest - which apparently wasn’t fully closed. Curiously, Lance walked over, and opened the trunk to discover Keith’s abandoned Paladin armour.

Oh. I was wondering what he did with that. Lance thought, reaching down and picking up the helmet. Ever since Keith left, Allura had been piloting the Red Lion. She hadn’t used Keith’s armour, though, instead opting to make a set with pink trimming. The Paladin smiled, wiping dust off the visor as he sat down again beside the chest. Man, this thing’s been through it.

He wasn’t exactly sure what prompted him to do it. Maybe because it was something of Keith’s, and he missed talking to him, maybe he just needed to vent without worrying anyone with his problems. Either way, he reached inside the helmet and activated the recording function.

-

[ RECORDING ONE ]

There was a shuffling noise, followed by a light jostling as the helmet was set down. It was quiet at first. The only sounds being picked up were the breathing of another person, and a quiet, awkward shuffling.

Then, a small, uncertain voice began to speak. “Uh… hey man. It’s… been a couple days since we’ve talked. I keep wondering if maybe something’s happened to you. I hope not. I’m sure I’m just being paranoid. You're probably just busy, but… I can’t help worrying about you. I love you, you know? And I miss you.”

The speaker took a breath, and the muffled sound of his voice as it went on suggested he’d put his head in his hands. “Dios, this was stupid. What am I even doing?” He inhaled, and his voice became clearer once more. “Whatever, I’m doing it now. So, fuck it I guess.”

More shuffling as the speaker repositioned himself. “It’s pretty early right now. About the time we’d usually call. You got me into the habit of waking up early, you know? Mama would overjoyed to hear that.”

“Nobody else is awake yet. Uhh… the whole Allience thing with Lotor is still pretty new. It’s been pretty hard to trust him, but… if he’s telling the truth it could be nice to finally have another ally. Especially one whose Zarkons son.”

“Hunk is experimenting with the food replicators again. He’s trying to flavour the goo to taste like spaghetti, so far it hasn’t worked. I’m not sure I really want spaghetti in goo form, but it’s good he’s trying new things. Allura’s still doing really well as the Red Paladin. I was worried for a while she’d be pissed about switching from Black, but I don’t think she minds. As long as she gets to fight she seems happy. Now that we know King Alfor binding the lions with her quintessence makes her able to fly any of them, I don’t think she’ll be leaving the cockpit anytime soon. Shiro is… well, he’s Shiro. He’s… definitely getting more and more done with all my shit. So, that’s something I guess. Pidge… we’ll, she won’t admit it but I think she still misses her dad. And, with mat working with the resistance it’s like she’s all alone again. I think she’s better, though.”

“Umm, let’s see, uh… yeah, we all miss you. Me especially, even though I already said that. I know the Blade would reach out if something had happened to you— at least, I hope they would. I’ll just… try to be patient. I think that’s about it. See you, man. Hopefully, I’ll talk to you soon.”

The sound of shifting metal could be heard, followed by a soft click.

-

[ RECORDING TEN ]

A bit of static washed over the mic, before the telltale sign of something being placed down.

“Hey, Keith, I’m… yeah I’m still doing these. Still… haven’t heard anything from you yet. I’m really starting to worry. Are you alright? Surely you’re fine. You can’t be dead. Somebody would know… right? But… What if you’re lost? What if you’re hurt?! Damn it, I’m freaking out. I think the others are starting to notice something’s wrong. I just— I can’t stop thinking about you. Please just… I really need you to call. I hate not knowing what’s going on.”

Lance took a deep breath, and he was silent for a few moments before continuing. “Nothing new has happened. Still the same old Castle. I tried telling Shiro that I was worried, but he just said I needed to focus. That… I couldn’t worry about you, because you could take care of yourselves and Voltron needed my attention. And he’s right. Of course he is, he’s Shiro. I just… I don't know if I can.”

“That’s about it, I guess. I miss you, please call. I love you.”

-

[ RECORDING ELEVEN ]

“Hey, me again. It’s the next morning, and… I don’t know, I really just needed to talk. Shit’s been happening lately, Allura and Lotor think they’ve made a…discovery? Coran - and the rest of us for that matter - isn’t too sure, we’re all a little sceptical. Still, Allura seems on board with it, so we’re giving it a go.”

“Everyone’s been a little… crabbier than usual. I keep trying to lighten the mood, but that just pisses them off more. I’m sure they just need to blow off some steam. If they need to yell at me to take the edge off, then I— I suppose I’m okay with it. They don’t… actually mean the things they’re saying. So it’s fine… I guess”

“I’m still really, really fucking worried about you. I don’t—“ his voice strained for a moment, and when he spoke again it sounded teary, “I don’t know what to think. I just— Keith, if you die I don’t— I don’t know what I’d do. The team can’t afford for me to be grieving right now but, I just can’t— I’m such a fucking mess. Please… please come back. Just send a message or— or at least give me some sort of sign that you’re alive! I need you to be alive, Keith!”

He sniffled, and the microphone was shifted slightly.

“Please… please call me soon. I love you.”

-

[ RECORDING TWENTY-THREE ]

“So… listen. I know I said that I was okay if everyone started yelling at me, b-but… I— I—“ his voice broke. There were a couple moments where the sounds of crying could be heard, before the speaker composed himself and started talking again. “Fuck, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be complaining about this. We have so many better things to worry about. It’s— god some of the things they say, they fucking hurt, man. Like, I know I’m fucking stupid but that doens’t mean I want to hear it all the time. I— I’m just trying to do my best. I just want to help.”

Lance sniffled, taking deep breaths to try and compose himself before continuing. “God, Keith they— I think they hate me. Or, at least they’re starting to. That’s the only explanation for why they— they just—“ he sighed.

“I wish you were here,” he cried, not even trying to conceal his misery anymore. “I— I miss you… so much, Keith. I don’t know where you are, and I’m terrified. Keith. Please just… come home. Come back to me. Let me know you’re alright.”

The Blue Paladin was quiet, his cries having died off in the last sentence. It was so quiet there was barely an indication for when the microphone was switched off yet again.

-

[RECORDING FIFTY-ONE]

“—eith!” Lance all but yelled into the microphone. Having started talking before the recording and even started. “Oh my god, Kieth, I don’t— I don’t know what to do!” He whispered. His breathing was sparratic. And there was a constant jostling that suggested the camera was shaking. “I— I— I died Keith. We-w we were just trying to h-help fix this Galra base. It was— Allura was gonna— there was gonna be an explosion so I- I jumped in! I just— I don’t even— I knew we couldn’t lose her! I would rather it be me and so I just… and then I— died and— and nobody even—“ his breathing was out of control now.

“I c— I— h—“ the Paladin tries to force the words out, but it was no use. For several minutes, he sobbed as panic swept over him. Being picked up by the helmet as ragged and quick inhalations of breath. Lance forced himself to take deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth. After a while, he settled down enough to talk again. Though, his voice was shaky and weak.

“Bl-blue saved me. She— she shared some of her quintessence with me, an-and our bond is stronger than-than ever. I can hear he-her talk now. Which… is cool I g- I guess.” He continued to breathe slowly as he spoke.

“I— I don’t even think anybody cared.” He whispered, squeezing it past the lump in his throat. “They didn’t— they didn’t even say anything, I— m-maybe they don’t know? But y-you’d think they w-would have felt something?”

Lance sniffled, and his voice became muffled as he placed his head in his lap. “I don’t know anymore. I… I just know that I miss you. I really miss you Keith,” he mumbled, voice sad and thick as he sobbed. “And I just— I— I need you, and I miss you, and I love you and I just— I- I feel so alone. I am so alone.”

“I’m sorry. Whatever I did, whatever stupid thing I’ve done to make the universe take you away from me, I’m sorry! Please! I need you! I c— I don’t want to be alone anymore!” He sniffled, wiping his nose on his sleeve, before sighing. “I just want you to come back. Please, come back. I— I love you.”

There were a couple more minutes of crying, before the recording finally ended.

-

[ RECORDING NINETY-EIGHT]

There was a sigh as the recording started. The room was silent for a couple moments, before Lance started talking. “Hey, Keith. I… was going to make this in the morning, but… I just… haven’t had the energy to do this. So, I’m doing it now, right before I go to bed.” His voice was monotone. Tired. “I don’t know what to think anymore. The Blade haven’t been in contact, so… I’m assuming you’re not dead. I’m hoping you're not dead.”

“A lot of stuff has been happening. I… if I’m being honest, I don’t really want to talk about it. Nobody on the team is very happy with me. I keep annoying them. I’m not trying to, I just— I don’t know how else to lighten the mood. The good thing is, with everyone being so pissed at me they’re not really arguing with each other. So, that’s good good, I guess. At least I’m doing something useful.”

“You’ve been radio silent for, um… gosh how long has it been? I— I think a little over three months? I don’t know, I’ve lost track. Everytime I ask the team if they’ve heard anything they tell me to stop being paranoid, and focus on the mission. They’re right. I’m already enough of a hindrance without nagging twenty-four seven.”

He sighed again, shifting as he swallowed thickly. “That’s… all I have to report. Miss you. Love you.”

- AFTER KEITH COMES BACK AND ALL THE FINALE AND SHIRO REVIVAL HAPPENS ALSO DON’T ASK BUT THE PLANET THEY STOP ON RIGHT AFTER ALL THAT HAS A FOREST NOW I’VE DECIDED -

Keith stretched as he and the other Paladins sat around the fireplace. He was pretty content. Shiro was back, actually back, and they’d gathered enough resources to get on the road again. Of course not everything was great. They’d lost the castle, obviously, and it would be a long time before they reached earth… but they’d manage.

Keith had retaken up the mantle as Red Paladin, not at all sorry to admit that he’d missed his Lion. Shiro had gratefully backed out of the Paladin position. He was still pretty shaken up after being extracted from Black and shoved into Kuran’s cloned body.

Yeah, it had been a weird couple of days.

Now that they were on the road, though, Keith figured he’d better make a note of it somewhere. Something told him he’d be wanting to keep track of events. He stood up, stretching as he spoke, “I’ll be back, guys. Just gotta do something.” The others murmured acknowledgements as he walked away. Keith completely missed the look of longing on his boyfriend's face as he made his way over to Red.

The leaned leaned down her head, opening her jaw to let him in. He entered casually, sending a mental greeting to the beast. She replied with a purr, warmth blazed through his mind at her greetings as he sat down in the pilot’s chair. Keith sat there for a moment, relaxing before reaching down to start a recording on his helmet.

To his dismay, the second it started, the recording ended, sending out a little automated message.

“Memory data, full.”

That was odd, Keith had never made a recording of this thing in his life. He opened the history, and was shocked to see that a stream of videos were practically flooding its memory banks. One for every single day for the last month.

Who the fuck has been using my helmet? He questioned, opening the latest message in curiosity.

Suffice it to say he was shocked to hear Lance’s broken, devastated voice on the other end.

[ RECORDING TWO HUNDRED]

The mic switched on, immediately being overcome by sobbing. They were loud, depressing and defeated. It sounded like they were being torn from their speaker’s throat. “I— I fucked up, Keith.”

“Lance?”

“They all hate me for sure now! I— I know they do! I do! I was just trying to help.”

What’s going on? Why is he so upset? Keith wondered, heart rate picking up as he listened to the recording.

“Allura and Lotor were— were working on the- the ship, and I offered to help but— but I don’t know how to build. I’m not an engineer, I didn’t- why the fuck did I even think that was a good idea! I just wanted to be helpful like- like Pidge, or Hunk. They said they were fine, but I insisted! And… and I made them all upset. I just kept getting I— in the way. They got so mad, Keith, they were so mad!”

What? Keith wondered, his heart breaking as he listened.

He sobbed harder, breathing quickly as he pressed on. “Pidge was— Pidge was right! And Shiro was right— a—and Iverson and-and fucking everyone! I— can’t- I can't do it! I’m just a fuck up, I’m a fucking idiot! I’m so stupid! I can’t— I can’t do anything right! I’ll never- b—be able to- t-to do anything right! I’m just a screw up! I’m— s-so useless”

“No!” Kieth protested to no one as the voice echoed through his Lion’s cockpit. What happened to you while I was gone?

He shouldn’t be listening to this. This was obviously a private recording. Then again… he sounds so sad. And.. it is being addressed to me…

He couldn’t force himself to stop listening. He was so glad he didn’t.

“I know why you disappeared now. You probably got fed up with me too. You stopped calling because y— you couldn’t take me anymore.”

No! How could you even think that?!

“You didn’t want me around! You got sick of m—me and how ann-noying I am. You d-didn’t want to b—to— be around someone this worthless!”

Keith could feel tears starting to form in his eyes. That’s not true! None of it! You’re not worthless!

“It’s okay I— I understand! I don’t either! I know th—that everyone wou-would be better off-f-f without me. I know— I know they o-only keep me ar-aro-ound is because there’s nobody else compatible wi-w-ith Blue!”

Lance, no!

“If— if you were here I— I know I’d be s—sent away. You would Pi-i-lot Red, and Allura could pilot Blue and th-a-then I’d just be nothing! Nobody! No use in keeping me around! You c-could all finally get rid of me! I want to get rid of me!”

The Red Paladin’s eyes widened. He couldn’t mean…

The crying, somehow, just became more desperate. More heart-wrenching, “I— I- d-d-on’t- wa-at to do this anymore, Keith!”

Then again, Keith didn’t think anyone could fake this level of heartache.

“I ca— I can’t! If there wasn’t- if there was an—anyone else I wouldn’t even— I would— I’d just stop! I don’t want to live anymore! I h-hate not be—eing able to do anything!”

Don’t you even dare, Lance!

“If you came back, and I wasn’t- couldn’t be useful anymore. I— I- don’t— I would just—“ he gasped, hard as he tried to force the words out, “I don’t—“ another big inhale, “I don’t think I could do-o it anymore! I co-couldn’t bear to-to have you lo-look at me! I could-dn’t stand you hating me. I w- I would just fucking end it so you all w-wouldn’t have to-o-o d-e-deal with me anymore!”

Every inch of Keith froze as he heard those words. His thoughts screeched to a halt, heart skipping a beat as his blood ran cold.

“It would b-b-e f-for the best! V-Voltron would be better off! Th-the u-inverse would be b—better off!”

Lance just kept crying. The sheer agony he felt in his soul coming out as loud, wrenching, ugly cries. Like he was trying to expel all the parts of him that he felt weren’t good enough.

“Nobody wants me.” He whispered after a while, when the crying had died down just enough to regain his breath. “I don’t deserve to go back home.”

He swallowed, and there was a shuffling, and a sudden closeness of the voice that suggested he was hugging the helmet. “I’m sorry I pushed you away. I’m sorry I wasn’t good enough. E—even though you hate me… I still love you.”

The Blue Paladin sniffled, the sound of skin rubbing skin could be heard as he wiped his tears. “I h-hope one day you come back. For the others. I promise I- I won’t bother you. I pro-promise you would have to deal with me.”

“I’m sorry… mi amor. I’m so- so sorry.”

There was a beat. A single moment taken to process everything he’d just heard. Then, Keith was out of his seat, and racing out of his lion. He tossed helmet to the ground, not even caring as his heart thundered in his chance. He had to find him, he had to find Lance.

I’ve barely even talked to him since I got back! I- everything just happened so fast! I’ve just been so preoccupied… What if he thinks— I haven’t even— oh god, FUCK!

He ran over to the others, not bothering to conceal his panic as he realised that the Blue Paladin was not sitting with the others anymore.

Oh god, oh fuck, oh no!

“Where’s Lance?!”

“Keith, what—“ Shiro started, but the Red Paladin as having none of it.

“WHERE’S LANCE?!”

Pidge shrugged, “uh… he,” she turned to where the Paladin had been sitting and shrugged, “he kinda just disappeared. I don’t exactly—“

“What the fuck is wrong with you! You didn’t even bother to—“ Keith cut himself off, shaking his head. He didn’t have time for this. He grabbed onto Cosmo’s fur.

His dog, seemingly to get the message, immediately teleported them away. They popped up in the forest somewhere, and Keith looked around desperately. His heart sang in relief as he saw the blue and white armour of his boyfriend slinking between the trees.

“LANCE!” Keith shouted, barreling towards him. The boy turned around just in time to be tackled to the ground in a whirlwind of arms and legs. Keith didn’t care. He didn’t care about anything right now. He squeezed Lance tight to his chest as the boy flustered in confusion.

“Kieth, what—“

“Oh my god, you’re okay! You’re okay! Lance y— how could you— do you know how fucking scary that was?! I don’t care that I’ve been inside the stomach of an animal, or that Shiro has almost died like five times, or that we’ve faced an army of like ten thousand Galra ships! I have never been more terrified in my fucking life than when I heard you say you’d kill yourself if I ever came back!”

If possible, he held Lance tighter. “Then— then when I came outside and you weren’t with the others I though— I— I thought that you…”

Lance was silent for a few moments, before a realisation dawned on his face. His shoulders went slack, any attempt of trying to pretend that he was fine dying on his lips.

“The recordings…”

Keith pulled back so he could see Lance’s face. He raised his hands up to grab the boy’s head firm, caressing his cheeks as he stared into those ocean blue eyes. He kept a tight hold with his other hand, as if the second he let Lance go, he would lose him. “I can’t believe— you— do you know how devastated I would be if you— if you tried to…” Keith shook his head, slamming his body into Lance again, sending them both completely to the ground.

Tears filled the Blue Paladin’s eyes. “I… I’m sorry! I’m so-s-sorry! I fucked everything up I— I didn’t mean— I just— I’m so—“

“Don’t you apologise for anything, McClain. I love you so much, Lance. I don’t ever want to lose you. I— I can’t— I don’t even want to imagine a world where you’re not in it! I would never abandon you! Do you hear me?! Never! I would never! Ever! Leave you!”

Lance wrapped his own arm around Keith. Holding the boy just as firmly, with just as much desperation. All he could do was cry. Everything that had been building up pouring out of him as he grasped onto Keith like a lifeline.

“Everything’s just—j- been so much! Ev-verybody ha-h-h-hate me! I’m such a fuck up! I’m- I’m stupid- and I’m weak and- and- I an-nnoy everyone! And it doe-s-doesn’t matter how hard I try! I j- I d- I can’t keep up!” He sobbed, his breaths deep and agonising as he forced more words out through his panic. “I can’t do it anymore! I’m so sick of getting yelled— and scolded a-a-and of p-pe-peo-ple condes-sending me! And— and I know they’re right— I -I know-I its because I’m not good enough! I d-deserve it! But I can’t— I’m sick of being so worthless and I can’t—“

“You are not worthless, Lance! Not one bit! And I… I’m so sorry! When I came back, I was just- I was so preoccupied with everything else I just— I wasn’t even thinking! God, I can’t believe— I can’t imagine how awful you must have felt when I didn’t even— ! I never meant to— I love you, Lance! I love you! You are so beautiful and smart and talented and funny and you… and you are good enough Lance! You are everything! And I hate that you didn’t have anyone around to tell you that, because it’s true! It is so fucking true, Lance! You matter so much! I love you so much! Don’t you ever try to leave me! You matter so much to me!”

Lance shook his head. Sitting up again as he pushed Keith away. “Why, though?! I’m so fucking dumb! I’m incompetent! I can’t do anything right!”

“That’s not true!”

“Yes it is! It’s how everyone has been treating me for the past month! It has to be true! I know it’s true! I just— I can’t even fathom why anyone would ever fucking want me around! I don’t understand why anyone would ever fucking care about me when I’m not even—“

Keith raised a finger to Lance’s lips, stopping the tumbling of words in its tracks. It was too painful. He couldn’t listen to the person that he loved so much talk so little about himself. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t right, and Keith wasn’t going to let it happen.

He opened his hand, trailing it from the boy’s mouth to gently caress his cheek. For a moment, he just let himself stare into Lance’s teary eyes, the liquid causing them to shine in the light of the planet. Even though he looked broken and his face was covered in tears and snot, he was still the most beautiful person in the world to Keith. He always would be. The Red Paladin applied a soft, hinting pressure to his partner’s jaw, pulling it towards him ever so slightly.

Lance allowed himself to be guided forward. Both lost in each other’s eyes as they grew closer. Finally, when their lips were close enough that their noses touched, Keith tilted his head.

“Then let me show you,” he whispered, in a voice softer than Lance had ever heard him use. His warm breath brushed across Lance’s skin, sending a cascade of shivers all the way down his body.

The Red Paladin shut his eyes, and leaned forward. As the distance between them was finally closed, their lips met. Lance, still in shock, kept his eyes open for a moment before melting into the kiss. It was light, and gentle, but full of emotion. Keith’s devotion and determination came off in waves as he tried to pass on every ounce of his love to the Blue Paladin.

It was something that, over the past few months Lance had wanted so badly. A kind of affection he’d craved for so long now, but had convinced himself he’d never feel again. Convinced himself he didn’t deserve.

At that moment, the rest of the world melted away. There was no more team. No more Voltron. It was just Lance and Keith, tangled in each other’s embrace as they’re lips met in an expression of love, longing, and relief.

[masked-disciple]

im sure someone has asked this but 696

#696 is delightfully, wonderfully, holy-shit-I-didn't-realize-how-little-art-I-had-of-him-what-the-fuck Hero of Wind and Voices, Tarim 'Laqir' Nakoshima, chosen Hero of Kharos! Pictured here as his recolor.me from 2020, a very bad drawn image from 2014, and a base art from 2012. As you can see, he's always had Generic Anime Protagonist brown hair and green eyes, and has always had that bright-red and bright-cyan motif around him.

When @castcuraga decides he is ready to open commissions, I will give him somewhere between 150-300$ CAD and he will do a fully painted picture of Tarim for me, and it will be glorious, and it will force me to draw a full reference of him, which tbh he really needs.

I know I said 'a few facts'. You're getting a fucking infodump and you will like it, Tsuko-my-dear, because Tarim is one of my oldest OCs, and if I'm not mistaken, my oldest OC that I still use. I think... I'm pretty sure the only older OC that I have is Tranq (Shadow Tranquility is her full name, and I have no idea if she's ever coming back, I won't rule it out).

Tarim has been with me for over a decade, and I love him, and he deserves the world. He was the protagonist for Vocal Paradise, my very first NaNoWriMo novel in 2012. I won that year. I was so proud of myself. He came back for 2017 in Starlight ~ Beginning of the End, which I should reread because the only info I apparently put on NaNo itself was "tarim has to leave the vamps because shit blew up, naitofiara is there," so 10/10, me.

2018, Firstlight ~ The Cultist's Blade opened with "Tarim Nakoshima is dead, the Reihe having consumed him after a Fragment left him in the wrong timeline. [..] Thus, a new group of Twilight Warriors must be chosen." Three years later, Tarim makes his as-of-right-now final appearance in 2012 with Dragonsword ~ His Last Night's Requiem as not only the owner of the titular requiem, but "Not so long after the initial fall of Kagiru Network, two strange young men appear in the middle of the Salem Academy courtyard. One looks Tarathiel Draconis in the eye, tosses her the necklace he had around his neck, and fades to nothingness." which is a pretty metal way to die.

So, now that I've established Tarim's been around for fuckin ages and likes haunting the narrative, who is he?

Tarim is Maradeim! Originally called the Cherchant, which is French for 'searching', because when I was 12 I was learning French so a great deal of the language made it into my writing. The Maradeim are from Ilya Loremmi, the oldest of my original worlds (and very much still a part of the Aethel!), and specifically from the city-state of Isuparingu, which I think is a google-translated-romaji corruption of 'inspiration'? Anyway, they were birthed by the goddess Ivonnu, who's still around, in a fight with her sister Ikuto, who is also still around as Kharos' daughter and being pissy in the woods.

What makes the Maradeim different from ye average elf? Uh, they're grey? Yeah, I know, good question.

Maradeim have been established to be Pretty Rare, so you don't see 'em much outside Isuparingu, and almost never outside the Lorem as it is. Four of the Detan Burata - Zona, Seikyoru (who you may know better as Athena Cykes), Myn, and Rokichi - are Maradeim. To date, Tarim is the only named, non-DB Maradeim character I currently have. (There's two others in my records, Felix and Jaycinda, but I highly doubt they'll ever reappear. I would have to totally rework them, and changing names and designs for characters who didn't have more than that is just making new characters.)

Tarim has average brown hair, spearmint green eyes, gunmetal gray skin, and a jawline sharp enough to slice a man alive. He stands 5'9", would probably be called an otter if he were in a gay bar, and from what I can tell, is the Most Average Maradeim To Ever Maradeim.

He doesn't have parents. Why doesn't he have parents? Dunno. The very first iteration of Vocal Paradise was actually a story my first soulbond, Iban, told me about growing up in the desert. He was making shit up because he was babysitting his younger brother, but I still took it for inspiration. Eventually I moved Tarim to Ilya Ustuxe, I think in 2017 for Starlight, where he actually was an illegal immigrant, worked as a veterinarian for horrors that come out of the woods, and promptly had a super-gay romance with the king, Morcair Rakshara.

Tarim's role has always been that of Protagonist, when he appears; and if he does appear as the Mentor Who Dies, it's because of how his powers and prophecy have always worked.

The oldest prophecy I've ever written was the Prophecy of the Five Heroes, in various forms, and the kicker to it is that people have tried to fulfill it, and crucially, they failed. There's been three generations of Heroes: the first was the Bringers of Hope, the second was the Crafters of Balance, and the third is the Challengers of Fate.

The Bringers of Hope failed so badly that none of them have ever even appeared in any written works: the only thing left of them is their titles, and the fact that they failed. (I know their names, though, and their relationships with each other. Hehehe.) The Crafters of Balance was Tarim, Nyktophotia, Elrua, Akui, and Ikane; who were all actively written out of the narrative when their powers overwhelmed them. They still haunt the narrative. The Challengers of Fate are Tarathiel, Kinefira, Ezra, Saga, Tessa, and Leilahi.

You'll notice that there's six challengers, whereas only five of the other two. Really wonder why the first two groups failed, folks...

Regardless. Tarim is the OG Hero of Voices, and his main magical power is to command the three Alyvian spellsongs - the Reihe, Sterben, and Lautlos - and to reshape the world of travel, Ilya Serina, to his will. He begins using the Sterben, and eventually the Reihe, and only once uses the Lautlos. Contrary to Tarathiel, who primarily uses the Lautlos and sometimes the Sterben, and only uses the Reihe when she purifies her own heart.

Tarim has always been the protagonist, and his job is to be dragged through the Serin into varying parts of the wilderness of the Aethel by the plot, being pissy the entire time and befriending a bunch of animals, sometimes being dragged around by a girl who is supposed to be his love interest and who he doesn't give two shits about. The only person he's shown any romantic interest in was Morcair, who he died on very purposefully and who he kept a lot of secrets from. Morcair's pretty bitter about it, and helps out the Challengers only for Tarim's memory. Lmao.

You'll notice, though, that right up top I said that Tarim goes by Laqir. This is because while I knew from the start what his name was, he has never willingly given his name to another person in his entire fucking life. Seriously. If he weren't sorted under the Ts, I wouldn't have told you his name was Tarim. In my actual files where all his art is, he's listed under Laqir. When I make the wiki, he'll be listed under Laqir as well, and his actual name will only be in the sidebar.

When I write him, he always and only uses he/him pronouns, and only gets named in the narrative after someone asks him his name onscreen, and he has to give it. The first time he did in Starlight (because tbh I barely remember all the shit that happened in Vocal Paradise), it was to Morcair. Tarim panicked, glanced around outside the carriage they were in, saw a road sign for Laqir Lane, and told him his name was Laqir.

What fuckin name was he going by before the shattering of the Aethel? Gods only know. It sure fuckin' wasn't Tarim.

Why he has this issue, I have no idea. But he won't give you his name, just Laqir, and gods only know if Nakoshima is his actual surname either. Prob'ly not. I have no idea why he was orphaned in the desert. He got to Ilya Ustuxe by being a stowaway on a ship as a teenager and is Super Illegally There, but fuck you he's Laqir Nakoshima, consort to the King and Hero of Voices, no one is going to be asking for his passport.

The red/blue thing he's got is something he famously shares with Nyktophotia: that's actually an Alyvian thing, and they both have it through their use of the spellsongs. Tarathiel only does that when she's actively using her powers, and Kinefira simply refuses to use the spellsongs so she doesn't get to be special.

Tarim is a grumpy, generous guy honestly. Dislikes being personable, dislikes being dragged into shit, a very Bilbo-like character tbh? Genuinely very loving, absolutely atrocious at trusting people. Super reliable, though, and has an interest in chemistry.

Tarim is also the actual owner of the Kharosian stronghold on Ilya Kava, as well as a low mansion on a phantom island in Ilya Ustuxe. He stored most of his personal stuff in the Ustux, and most of his Hero stuff in the Kav. The Challengers use his stronghold in the Kav as their primary base of operations in the Aethel, since they don't reeeeaaally want to go to the Ustux and deal with Morcair's grief over Tarim, but Tarim himself is still haunting both of these places in what fragments of consciousness he's managed to plant in them, so he's all smug about that.

It'd be nice to go back and write a few stories for him, tbh. It's been a while, and most of the things he's done in Sagiverse sum up to angrily being written out of the narrative onscreen to pass the mantle to Tarathiel. We should go see what he was up to before that.

[send me a number between 2 and 787 for a few facts about that OC, please send me more these are super fun]

[phoenixyfriend]

Time Travel ft. Leia and Vader

(Helped by @atagotiak)

I was reading a bunch of different time travel fics, and my brain slotted in that one "Vader hands over the Empire to Leia and is now her most devoted sycophant" dynamic and mixed it with the "Luke and Vader time-travel and Vader does the right thing but only because it would make Luke sad if he didn't."

I landed on "Leia time travels to prequels era, but her least favorite family member has also traveled with her, though it takes him a few months to find her because he has less resources without the entire Imperial Navy, but he's still a scary Sith in all black with a breathing mask and intimidating cape."

"Tiny angry lady who wants to force democracy and her giant Sith father whom she hates but has resigned herself to pointing at threats like a tank who inexplicably loves her" is a delightful dynamic.

The first few months included a lot of concern about "why do you know so much about Sith if you're not trained or looking to be one" and then Vader shows up and calls her 'daughter' and she insults him and it's like "Oh. That explains it."

Council Member: We have a Sith in the Temple. Vader: Former Sith. Leia: Listen. He is your best chance against Sidious. Also, do you want Dooku dead? Vader can make him dead. Council Member: Your father i-- Leia, scrunching up her face: Don't call him that.

Like Leia is deep in conversation when the Temple starts panicking because Vader just. Showed up? He snuck in, somehow? So Palpatine wouldn't catch him on video entering through the front door? And people try to keep her away from the trouble, because there's an entire array of Jedi Masters to deal with this Surprise Sith, except she can sense exactly which Sith it is and once she shouts "oh you have got to be kidding me!" she just starts running and, well, it's Leia. Nobody can stop her.

(Leia does have less combat training, at least less force-assisted combat training, than the Jedi. But then the Jedi don’t want to hurt here here. She's not fighting her way down, either, she's just running really fast and all the best fighters already left. They had a head start. So Leia's mostly running past random padawans and the like.)

She shoves her way to the front of the group of Masters who. Well, they're certainly ready to attack. But Vader is just standing there. Doing nothing. Still intimidating as fuck but he's not doing anything.

And then Leia bursts onto the scene like "You motherfucker."

She hits her head on a clipboard and whines because UGH he's a walking WMD and they could REALLY use him against Palpatine but also. She hates him so much.

She tries to hand him off to the Jedi council but he insists that he will only take orders from Leia herself.

Jedi: Wait, what. Leia, completely ignoring them: Did you follow me here? Vader, through the mechanical wheezing: I have no loyalty to my master and no empire to serve. You are all that I have left. Leia: Me? Me? I'm all that you have left? You committed a genocide that killed all the family I had except for the twin brother you later mutilated! Jedi: Wait what Vader, going to one knee: I pledge my loyalty and blade to you and only you, daughter. Leia, ready to explode: I. I just. Jedi, some of whom really want to say things but are slowly realizing that they just accidentally acquired a Sith Lord by proxy: What. Leia: I hate you so much but I can't even get rid of you, you're too useful. Vader: I live to serve. Leia: Yeah. Got that. Fuck. Someone get him a full medical rundown, I don't know the last time that mess of a life support system was updated. Jedi, agitated again: WHAT Leia: Listen, I don't like him, but I'm not stupid enough to throw away the second most dangerous person in the universe when I can point him at the most dangerous person in the universe. Especially not if he's going to listen to me. Jedi: But... he's a Sith. Leia: Please trust me when I say this: you might be able to take him down eventually, but he will take dozens of you down with him, and right now he's... honestly, I'm pretty sure he's more depressed than malicious. Jedi: You hate him. I can feel it. Leia: Yes, but I can be professional about it. Vader: They have not yet d-- Leia: Nope! No talking! Not until I've had a chance to process this mess!

There is a whole lot of Leia snapping at Vader to stop it whenever he starts giving off vibes like he wants to take the most violent shortcut possible.

She is not the gentle hand that Luke would be.

Leia isn't a Jedi or working for them but she's wormed her way into being an ally. They don't 100% trust her, especially not with Vader just showing up and declaring her family but like

How do you say no to a WMD walking into your house and saying "I will fight the monster you cower from at night."

There's a lot of Leia snapping off an admonishment that sounds just a little too odd and then when questioned she just says "He knows what he did."

tbh I'm not sure how long it takes for them to tell anyone that Anakin is Vader. They might hold it off in hopes that Anakin can just retire to be Mr. Amidala after the war is over.

Well, Leia hopes. Vader just lets Leia make that call and then glowers at his younger self every time they're in the same room.

I do feel like Leia tells Obi-Wan the truth first

Imagine. Imagine a Vader who’s past still isn’t known. But has gotten somewhat comfortable around the Jedi (not really but the bar for what counts and comfortable for him is low). And Obi-Wan habitually banters with darksiders, right? If Vader’s guard is down for a moment and he, without thinking, references an inside joke...

Might be the most fun in terms of ways to tell Obi-Wan "We're time travelers and Vader is what happens if you let Palpatine drive Anakin off the edge"

If Vader has decided to pledge himself to her orders after destroying her planet, then fine. She can work with that. She's not going to be happy about it, but she can make it work.

The Jedi Temple hates having Vader anywhere nearby but he is actually very good at hiding himself from people, including Palpatine And for all that Leia seems perpetually irritated with her apparent bodyguard, he does seem to listen to her.

Jedi council: We still haven't figured out how to handle Dooku Leia: Do you know his location? Jedi council: Yes. Leia: [sigh] Leia: Vader, deal with it. Alive if possible.

(Leia does need to clarify an acceptable level of violence against the people protecting Dooku.) (She needs to clarify... many things.)

Leia always says "Vader" and one time a poor fool just asks why she doesn't call him dad and she snarls out "He is not the man that raised me, and I am glad for it."

Someone less foolish later prods more compassionately and she lets them know she was adopted and didn't properly meet Vader except in passing until she was nineteen.

"And then he tortured you." "And then he tortured me, yes." "Damn." "Didn't even find out we were related until a few years later when he chopped my brother's arm off." "You... wow." "I know."

At least one exchange that is L: You mean when you tortured me? A: He did what. V: I was not aware of our relation at that time. L: Not the point! I am fully aware of your interrogation methods and I refuse to let you be the one to acquire the evidence for-- A: Wait no go back he tortured you? L: Move on, please, we already have. A: That means I'm... oh Force, I'm going to torture my own daughter what in the actual fu-- L: We're moving on.

(“I end up torturing my own daughter” If Leia’s feeling especially spiteful I can see her saying “you mutilate your own son too”)

Concept: Leia is very free with traumatizing details of her past re:Vader and Anakin thinks that it sucks but doesn’t think much of it bc Sith. And then some time later he finds out...

(I love characters who use the traumatizing details of their past to shut down conversations.)

It's such a wonderfully horrifying concept for him to try to awkwardly comfort this girl he kind of knows because having a Sith for a dad sounds like it would suck and Leia seems nice, even if she's kind of weird and uncomfortable around Anakin, but he saw her flinch around a few other tall people wearing black robes the way she stiffens around Vader so maybe it's just that!

It is not.

Vader does get a significant amount of medical treatment. Including a bunch of "holy shit, that's a lot of drugs" and similar. There is so much lightning damage.

hnnng I'm just really in love with the image of Tiny Tiny Leia sitting behind a desk for some fancy negotiation, the picture of professionalism, while Vader just stands behind her shoulder, looming, glaring expressionless death at whoever came to speak with his baby girl.

Not that he would call her that, because she'd just hate him more and he's really not sure how to fix that problem, other than doing whatever she asks with no complaints and hoping she appreciates it.

Vader: [looks at children wandering by, has complicated emotions] Leia, tired of his shit: What now? Vader: I killed them, once. Leia, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath: And you're not going to do that again. No killing children. Vader: I know that. Leia: Great. I am... regretting asking. I am so very much regretting asking.

I do really like the idea of someone asking Leia once if she wants Jedi training and she says, no, actually, she's fully aware of the fact that she's angry little ball of hate sometimes, especially towards her bio father, and she'd like to refrain from putting herself in a position where she knows enough about the Force to Fall. She wouldn't Fall. But it does make people shut up.

[lady-of-the-lotus]

Xue Yang has brought Xiao Xingchen back to life. With the daozhang having no memory of the day he died, the two couldn't be happier.

But as for Song Lan…

Trapped in a paperman form by Xue Yang and imprisoned in a glass jar, he’s forced to watch his greatest enemy play house with a still-healing Xiao Xingchen.

Something Xue Yang is doing a horrifically good job of.

Xuexiao & unrequited Songxiao - M (T tbh) - 2.4k - Read on AO3! This is actually pretty fluffy, so be warned

* * * *

The jar is as tall and wide as a man’s hand. Inverted, it sits on the windowsill facing the Coffin House’s only room, giving Song Lan a full view of the bed.

Xue Yang has placed the jar there on purpose, he knows. So that he can’t help but watch Xue Yang lie beside Xingchen every night, watch him hold him when he wakes from the nightmares he’s been plagued with since his return, watch him smooth his sweaty hair from his face, watch him whisper the terror away and pull him close.

As a fierce corpse he had been compelled to stand by while Xue Yang committed atrocities, but worse was watching Xingchen awaken with a gasping cry in the center of a demonic array, was the horrifying realization that Xingchen remembers nothing of that world-shattering day six years before, remembers nothing of the monster’s true face.

He had stood there and watched as Xingchen clung to the monster, watched Xue Yang put his foul hands on him and lift him from the bloodstained array, watched Xue Yang carry him into the house while Song Lan remained outside in the rain.

And then, the next morning, as Xingchen slept, worn out from the ritual, Song Lan had been forced to stand motionless and silent in the courtyard while Xue Yang removed his consciousness and inserted it into a paperman. Heaved Song Lan's body into a coffin like so much trash, tucked his paperman form inside his robe, and gone inside to Xingchen as if nothing had happened.

“A neighborhood girl tripped and fell,” he heard Xue Yang telling Xingchen, who was awoken by the single cry of agony Xue Yang had allowed him. “A bit of a whiner. I helped her find her mother.”

And then he had placed the little paperman under the jar, and Song Lan, unable to close his nonexistent eyes, and too horrified to look away, had watched.

Watched Xue Yang slide into bed beside Xingchen.

Watched him stroke his hair.

Watched him brush a possessive thumb over each empty eye socket.

Watched him eye Song Lan as he tied on the blindfold, smirking, as if mocking Song Lan for what had happened on Baoshan Sanren’s mountain.

But almost worse is the sickening domesticity.

The monster cooks. He cleans. He shops. He sits very still while Xingchen braids his hair, the one thing Xingchen seems to be interested in since his return. He sits for hours simply watching Xingchen meditate, devouring him with his eyes as he fidgets with his own hair, pulling it out of Xingchen's careful braids.

And Xingchen—

Song Lan rests his head on the cold glass of the jar’s walls.

Xingchen is just as beautiful as he’s remembered all these years. Just as good, just as pure. A wraithlike figure in white, something not of this world. Something better than this world. A creature of moonlight and mist sharing a bed with a beast.

At least his nightmares have gradually stopped as time goes on. Nothing to do with the monster beside him, Song Lan knows. The nightmares can’t be about anyone other than Xue Yang himself. And the gradual lightening of Xingchen’s tone when he speaks, the growing frequency of his smiles, his blooming interest in the world around him, have nothing to do with Xue Yang. If Song Lan could never bring Xiao Xingchen out of his dark moods, if he always relied on a street performer, a storyteller, a passing dog or child or even a cathartic thunderstorm, there is no way that Xue Yang ever could.

The pleasure Song Lan takes in knowing the monster has not completely erased the melancholy is blotted out by guilt at his own feelings.

One day, after Xingchen has not left that tainted bed for three days, Xue Yang removes the glass jar and lifts Song Lan off the windowsill.

“Here, daozhang,” he says, digging a fingernail into Song Lan’s fragile paper leg, daring him to try to escape, “I made you a paperman. Remember those?”

“A-Qing used to love them…”

A shadow crosses Xue Yang’s face. “I promised you I’ll find a way to bring her back too, daozhang. But only once you’re fully better. We don’t want her to worry about you, do we?”

“No…”

“Then here. Take this.” Xue Yang sets Song Lan down in Xingchen’s cupped palms.

A shudder runs through Song Lan at the touch of Xingchen’s skin. For the first time since he’s died, he can feel warmth. Xingchen’s solemn white face is mere inches away as Xingchen lifts Song Lan, one fingertip running around the edges of Song Lan’s paper body. Frantically he jumps up and down in Xingchen’s palm, trying to signal to him, trying to let him know something is wrong, very wrong—

“It’s waving at you,” says Xue Yang, and Xingchen smiles for the first time in days.

And now Song Lan watches them leave for night-hunts together, watches them return happy and breathless with blood speckling the hem of their robes, watches Xue Yang fixedly stare at Xingchen as he undresses, stripping him naked with his repugnant gaze.

Watches the oblivious Xingchen leave the monster gifts, watches the monster sneer at the jar each morning as he takes the candy off the bed, watches the monster slip the candy in his mouth as if he’s consuming a part of Xingchen himself.

“I bought you seeds,” Xue Yang tells Xingchen one morning, a month after Xingchen returned, a year, a decade; Song Lan can’t tell. He can’t sleep, has no respite from his thoughts, and the days and night have blurred into a hazy nightmare. “I thought you might like to garden.”

Xingchen’s face lights up.

Song Lan has never seen him smile like that before.

“You remembered,” he says softly.

Xue Yang grins at Xingchen, winking at Song Lan. “I promised you a garden, daozhang, and I keep my word.”

Song Lan is filled with a cold rage, though he’s not sure whom it’s directed at. Xingchen had always wanted a garden, to put down literal and figurative roots, to sow life after so many years spent with a blade in his hand.

It seems like a lifetime ago since he’d told this to Song Lan, lying awake one one night during their travels. Whispered it to him as if it were a dark secret, as if he didn’t think he should have those desires, as if settling down was selfish, as if it meant he could no longer help people.

That was the night they had first spoken of founding their own sect. Of what it would mean. Song Lan had promised Xingchen a garden on the sect grounds…

A flower garden, Song Lan had promised. Xingchen had wanted a vegetable garden like the ones back on his mountain, but Song Lan had preferred flowers. No filthy fertilizer needed, no rotting compost or constant care. They would be away frequently, he had pointed out, training new disciples and night-hunting, and Xingchen wouldn’t have time to tend to a vegetable garden….

And Xingchen had agreed, he reminds himself. Xingchen agreed to a flower garden...

Xue Yang has torn up a large section of the sunniest part of the courtyard, right outside Song Lan’s window. Song Lan watches as they till the earth, watches as they spread fertilizer, watches as Xingchen plants seeds.

Watches him squeeze the monster’s hand in thanks. Watches the terrible joy on the monster’s face as he realizes the success of his manipulation. Watches Xingchen’s delight as he feels the first shoots poke up through the earth. Watches him work for hours side by side with the monster, weeding and watering and pinching insects off the leaves.

Watches Xingchen’s smiles grow more and more frequent, hears his laughter come more readily.

Watches him turn the Coffin House into a home.

The first buds are hanging fat and yellow on the vine when Xingchen turns to Xue Yang. They're in bed early, bathed in the soft pink glow of sunset, lying there listening to Xue Yang tell stories. Xue Yang is in just his trousers, Xingchen in his thin white inner robe, made pink by the blushing light. Song Lan cannot feel the air but the evening seems warm, the door left open with a quiet breeze rustling the poems left on the table.

“Chengmei,” he hears Xingchen say, “I…”

“What is it?” Xue Yang nuzzles Xingchen’s neck, and Song Lan wishes he had a mouth to scream with. The sight of the foul creature touching Xingchen, soiling him with his filth—

Song Lan had never dared so much as touch Xingchen. Song Lan had never dared lay so much as a finger on him, no matter how much he may have confusingly wanted to. Song Lan had treated him as he deserved to be treated—

Xingchen’s voice is soft. “…Thank you for my garden.”

“Our garden,” Xue Yang says, almost teasingly. He’s playing with Xingchen’s hair, twirling the silken black strands around his finger, sliding it over his lip as if he likes the feel of its smoothness. “The flowers are about to open, I think, not that I know the first thing about gardening.”

“I think you’ve done wonderfully.”

“Well, those farming books helped.”

Xingchen swallows. Song Lan knows that swallow. He wants to ask something, and he’s not sure how it will be received. “I….”

“Don’t be shy, daozhang.” Xue Yang presses his face against the spotless white marble of Xingchen’s throat, inhaling deeply. “I know you want a new roof with jade tiles and red trim, maybe a gold-leaf tea set...”

Xingchen laughs. “Not exactly. I was, well…”

He blushes.

Song Lan has never seen him blush like that before.

Xingchen’s hand moves slightly, resting gently on Xue Yang’s waist, and the monster sits up with a start, biting his lip with a sharp white tooth. “All that wet dew on the buds give you ideas?” he says, and it’s so vulgar, so completely unmoored from anything preceding it, that Song Lan, stoic as he is, would have gasped had he any lungs.

And Xingchen laughs.

A red-faced, embarrassed laugh, but a laugh with mirth in it too. “That’s not quite —”

Xue Yang pins him to bed and kisses him full on the mouth.

Song Lan mentally holds his breath. Xingchen will shove him away, scratch him, fling him off him with words of icy reprobation—

Xingchen wraps his legs around Xue Yang and kisses him back.

A chill of horror freezes Song Lan’s paper body.

“I’ve waited for this for years,” Xue Yang breathes, and Xingchen pulls him down closer, devouring his mouth with his, fingers curling into Xue Yang’s bare back, leaving faint pink lines in the scarred skin.

“So is this why you brought me back?” Xingchen asks when he finally pulls away.

Song Lan has never heard him be so teasing before.

Xue Yang’s eyes widen. In all their years together, it’s the first time Song Lan has seen that shade of alarm on him. “You know I’ve never once so much—all I did was, you were the one who—I would have been more than fine simply—”

“I’m joking, A-Mei,” says Xingchen, and, smiling, he pulls Xue Yang back down, rolls him over on his back—

Song Lan looks away.

Tries to, anyway.

But merely hearing Xingchen whisper endearments to the monster, hear the pants and moans and whimpers, is even worse. There is no way it can be as dreadful as his imagination makes things out to be—

Xue Yang, spread out under Xingchen, looks Song Lan dead in the face and grins.

And Xingchen, pale skin flushed pink, back arched, lost to all thought other than the beast beneath him—

Song Lan looks away again.

It seems like an eternity before the bed stops rocking into the wall, before the pants and gasps die down to a dreamy hum.

“I missed you,” Xue Yang murmurs into Xingchen’s mouth, holding him tightly to his chest, fingers buried deep in his hair. “I never thought that..I never…”

“I’m not going anywhere, Chengmei…not before we harvest, anyway. I want to taste the sweet peas I worked so hard on.”

Xue Yang pulls away from Xingchen.

Xingchen sits up, reaching for him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“I was just joking, A-Mei.” Xingchen’s hand slides down Xue Yang’s bare arm, clasping his wrist. “This is our home now. We can even adopt a dog if you want.”

Xue Yang swallows hard, but his lips twitch. He looks at Song Lan again, but his eyes dart away quickly, as if the monster is actually capable of true emotion. “I’m more of a cat person myself.”

“Two cats, then.” Xingchen sits behind Xue Yang, sliding his arms around him. “We can name them Yin and Yang.”

Xue Yang laughs. “Is that the best you got?”

Xingchen wrinkles his nose. Song Lan has never seen him so relaxed before. “You come up with the names, then, and I’ll find the kittens.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Xue Yang rises, gently untangling Xingchen’s hand. Naked, he pads to the door and stands gazing out over the starlit courtyard. The once-grim courtyard has erupted in a riot of life over the past few months, each coffin an island in a sea of greenery, with wayward vines twining up over Song Lan’s window and framing the panes.

“Look,” he says, almost inaudibly. “The buds are opening…”

Xingchen wraps himself in his robe and comes to stand beside Xue Yang. “ ‘Look’?”

Xue Yang grins suddenly and grabs Xingchen’s wrist, tugging him out into the moon-drenched garden. He whispers something Song Lan can’t catch and Xingchen laughs, the laugh floating in to Song Lan on the soft night breeze.

“Yellow flowers,” he hears Xue Yang saying. “Yellow flowers clinging to green vines wound around tall bamboo trellises, purple buds on the end of thick drooping stems, a carpet of green waving in the breeze…”

“I never knew you were such a poet, Chengmei.”

“You’re rubbing off on me, daozhang…” He raises a suggestive eyebrow, then hesitates, as if fearing he’s gone too far.

But Xingchen laughs, so hard Xue Yang has to slip his arms around him to keep him upright. And Xingchen trips, dragging them both down into a row of bok choy.

Song Lan looks away, but Xingchen’s laugh is all around him, dancing through the garden, filling the small glass jar.

He's ever heard him laugh like that before.

AO3! If you liked this, spare a reblog for a humble fic writer? 👉👈

[darkmagickingdom]

Gush hours! Tell me your OTPs and why you love 'em

You have opened the floodgates now

I'll only talk about my Disney Villains ones for now because that's all that relates to the blog, but if you want to hear about the ones I have outside of the disney fandom I would be more than happy to gush about those too.

The Lich's Dark Fairytale--aka the Horned King/Maleficent

- Okay, I talked about this one a bit a while ago. But unsurprisingly, I have more to say. So this wasn't my first enemies-to-lovers ship--I think my first one was created at least four years ago, but it's probably closer to six, and even that might be undershooting it--but this was my first "oh they'd try to kill each other, that's spicy" ship.

It started as a thing that wouldn't last, just a way to explore the kind of pairing where they're both trying to kill each other while trying to ignore their less-murdery feelings for each other.

It was a pairing dynamic I didn't really explore before then. Then I ended up liking both characters, their similarities, their shared dynamic--so much that I just had to make it a sincere enemies-to-lovers. And I'm a sucker for villains that have a soft side for someone but are still, y'know, evil. And given how Maleficent's whole thing in her movie is sticking it to the "true love conquers all" trope, I like the idea that a relationship wouldn't magically make her good. Sorry, Jolie, but she's just more fun of a character to me as a bad girl.

I would also love to see someone as gleefully evil as Maleficent try and lift the King out of his bitter and somber little grave. It'd be good to hear him maniacally laugh more often. Or really, at all. Maleficent's come back to life a ton of times, and might not be fully killable, while at least in my personal headcanons, the King can't ever fully die, being able to remain aware and keep his soul in his body no matter how horribly its damaged. So there's none of that immortal's angst that either of them would get from a relationship with a mortal.

I also love seeing characters be ruthlessly protective of one another, and I think these two have great potential for that. They both have potential to get absolutely bloodthirsty on the battlefield, even if Disney never really let us see either of them doing that. But you don't get a reputation like Maleficent's by sitting on a throne all day, and you don't achieve a reputation like the Horned King's by never riding into battle and cutting a few thousands down upon an accursed, blood-soaked blade. In fact, book-accurate depictions of the King have him surprisingly jacked, and looking a lot more battle-ready than his animated counterpart. I like to think that's how he was when he was much younger, before he started rotting. So if it comes down to it, they'll both wreak havoc on a battlefield, or they'll form an impenetrable defense to shield the other. And that is my JAM.

If I had to pick one song for them, it would be Love Me Dead by Ludo. But I have a whole playlist for them tbh.

Cards & Dice--aka Facilier/Oogie

Now this one is just. Fun. These two have such a similar aesthetic and flair for elaborate jazzy song-and-dance numbers (with use of blacklight!) that I just had to have them become friends. And gradually I decided "okay. But what if...they were friends-to-lovers?" And thus, Cards & Dice was born.

Honestly I think they'd be the most fun of my OTPs to play third-wheel to. They'd get up to all kinds of villainous shenanigans, make a TON of enemies, and make a narrow getaway every time.

Also? Considering they're both more nervous on average than the average Disney villain (with Oogie being one of the only ones actively terrified of his hero, and Facilier one of the only ones seen nervous and afraid before his demise) I like to think they could help each other with their respective fears. Facilier standing up to Jack, Oogie standing up to the "Friends" (even if neither are actually powerful enough to win). Oogie just sitting and hearing Facilier out when he's freaked out about how the "Friends" might still be searching for him. Facilier saving the HBIC (that's Head Bug In Charge, aka the Brain Bug, aka the green earwig Santa squished) just in time when the rest of Oogie's body gets destroyed. That's all just so good to me.

And don't get me STARTED on them singing and dancing together, completely stealing the floor every time! They're WONDERFUL, Your Honor.

If I had to pick one song for them, it would be Poker Face by Lady Gaga. But I got like a whole playlist for them in the works lol

A New DIRECTIVE--aka AUTO/Doris

Yes, I did just come up with that name. I think it's quite good.

So this one started as like. A joke. A what-if. A "hey, they're the only robots so they oughta stick together". How did it end up like this? It was only a kiss, IT WAS ONLY A KISS

So I am a sucker for the trope where the more chaotic one breaks the orderly one out of their shell and gets them to be less rigid. What if that, but evil?

"Hey boy, how would you like to go from lawful neutral to chaotic evil?"

"I don't suffer from 'I could fix him' disease. I think I could make him worse."

Theirs is like the inverse of the "love makes the bad guy turn good" trope. Love makes the robot disobey his programming, go rogue, and help his girl take over the world.

They're like the evil version of WALL-E and EVE. Except with the roles reversed, because the guy is the one from space who wants to follow his DIRECTIVE while the girl is the one from Earth trying to be like "no dude, check this out, I can control people and stuff all by myself. We should totally rule the world, it'll be awesome."

I usually imagine this pair with humanoid android forms because it's. Kind of hard to get invested in a ship's wheel and a hat. They're both a lot less expressive in their base forms than either WALL-E or EVE, so giving them cool android forms helps. I don't imagine them as super human-looking droids though, cause if they're more obviously robots it looks cooler. Though I DO think Doris deserves a face so she can go >:D sometimes. And AUTO deserves the ability to go >o|

If I had to pick one song for them, it would be Daisy Bell by Harry Dacre. Because they're both HAL 9000 references (Doris a lot less obviously so, but she's still got that one red eye), and evil robots the way HAL was, and that's the song HAL starts singing before he's deactivated. Which in and of itself is a reference to the first speaking/singing computer-generated voice program, IBM704, which famously sang the song Daisy Bell. (there's also a Futurama episode where Bender dates a HAL 9000 reference character, and there's a montage of them doing romantic things set to Bender singing Daisy Bell. For all my fellow Futurama fans out there ;) I'd especially recommend this version, where someone had both the original IBM704 and VOCALOID4 sing the song as a duet. (Because I like the idea of Doris getting a Vocaloid or Vocaloid-like voice if she was able to speak actual words instead of that admittedly really cute droidspeak language from the movie)

There are also plenty of villain ships in this fandom that I've seen that I love (such as FireSerpent--aka Jafar/Hades--, EvilPuppies--aka Grimhilde/Cruella--, and SeaDragon--aka Ursula/Maleficent) but I wanted to talk about only the ones I developed myself, since I think the creators of those ship names would be better equipped to talk about them.

[langernameohnebedeutung]

ok so i'm mid-episode-7 right now and I'll just try to take a little break and wrap my head around all of this a little and collect my thoughts before I move on (spoilers!)

So far, episode 6 and Amenadiel's storyline is my favourite because it had actual emotional impact for me. I actually wish they had started this plot in the very first episode of the season so that we could spend more time on the problem.

Overall, I feel like the show really lacks the established structure it had since the beginning. Which were the murders and solve them. Most episodes were contained by one case with two sides: The actual police work which is where Chloe had her time to shine and then Lucifer dealing with whatever issues he is tackling in that episode, doing his projecting thing and maybe undergoing some personal growth. So we get a fully story per episode while the stakes of the season arc become higher and higher in the background. With Chloe and Lucifer no longer solving cases, this structure is gone. It feels like we're just spending time with some characters going this way or that at random, moving from plot-point to plot-point with very little pay-off. Everything just...blurs.

The stakes aren't really getting higher at all so far, there is no rising action as far as I can tell?

Like, in season 5 everything hit the fan constantly - Lucifer is actually Michael! Chloe gets abducted! Big battle at the precinct and God is there! Mojo switch! God is retiring! Vulnerability is gone! Lucifer is goign to become God! Dan dies! -- it was actually too much for me, towards the end, to the point where everything felt meaningless because the stakes were high beyond the frame of comprehension the show gives us, but this time...it's just seemingly not moving towards a climax.

In fact, they seem to be going down.

Rory is introduced as this big, bad mysterious figure who really, really wants Lucifer dead - and now it feels like she's just been an emo teen hanging out with him and Chloe for weeks? months? doing random stuff - until she remembers that she's pissed at Lucifer again and stomps off and it kinda f eels like it's been going on for ages. Which is okay, I actually like her but it kind of falls flat from her original introduction.

I could live with that if they gave me something to actually worry about. Show me Rory actually getting used to the world around her, finding out things about the people she thinks she knows - or thinks she knows. Going back in time, that's a gigantic premise! I actually really loved seeing her talk about Trixie and knowing immediately where she would hide her chocolate - I would love more stuff like this. I would love to see more stuff about what it was like for her to grow up knowing her father is/was the devil! About growing up as a half-angel. About Charlie who is also a half-angel but actually has a father. Stuff like that.

Then we have the "becoming God"/"becoming Queen of Hell" thing that the entire last season build up to, the biggest fattest finale they ever had- that was a really huge deal. But now both Maze and Lucifer just kinda decided they'd rather not do that and found reasons to hang around. And when a frog started coming from heaven and Ella says she can't feel god anymore and Lucifer runs to Linda so that she can teach him how to care- I thought things are building up now and we're going to have some WandaVision style reality collapse at our hands, I was hyped for that - buuuut nah, they're just all kind of hanging around.

Actually, pay-off in general seems to be kind of a problem. For example, Rory not calling Maze 'aunt' and not knowing Amenadiel appeare to set off an exciting little mystery - and considering that we're now no longer solving crimes, I would love if they really delved into the celestial side of mysterious. I would have loved to figure out some time-travel sheningans - buuuuut it was a joke.

See, I love Dan but honestly I'm kind of at odds with how to deal with his characterisation rn? Because he's been in hell for a thousand years, hanging out with demons and stuff and it's been a thousand years down there, that is torture even without the torture and I would have expected a bit more anything. The same thing with Chloe and the blade, tbh, I feel like this could have been so much bigger?

Overall, I feel like there are missing so many opportunities that I think the show would not only not have missed in seasons 1 or 2, but would have actively used:

The whole thing was always Lucifer projecting his problems on the cases and (maybe) learning something about himself on a good day. Now, let's take the Jimmy Barnes episode. I loved when Chloe looked at the throne and was like: "It looks so lonely" and Lucifer says "it was" - that was such a great moment. - because so far, Chloe doesn't know hell. She doesn't know the reality of hell or what it meant for Lucifer to rule over this place and it seemed like a great set-up for her to finally see his world and to understand what it meant for him to leave this place - but also to be sent back down there again and again. And also for Lucifer to actually see one of his most painful experiences acknowledged by the woman he loves and to actually...talk to her about that. After all, this is the big reversal: So far, Lucifer was the consultant on Chloe's cases, and now Chloe became the consultant and helping Lucifer tackle his celestial issues. So to see her go to hell and actually learn about the place seemed like a really cool start - and then we learn that Jimmy Barnes' backstory is about a son left behind by a parent! And Chloe even talks about how horrible and alone he must have felt! And let's not forget Chloe's own backstory - her father didn't leave, she lost him because he was killed, but she also once sat at home and realised her Dad wouldn't come home and then she got a phone call and realised he would never come home - but for entirely different reasons than Lucifer who was cast out or Jimmy Barnes who got left behind. It seemed like exactly the kind of threads that this show would bring together and have the character discuss and reflect on at the end of the episode. But they didn't. They...rarely do that, this season and it just feels like something is missing from the format - and its emotional impact.

Sometimes I actually used to feel like the show had a tendency of spelling out too much, being too direct - but this season around it's not like they're less subtle. It's just not really acknowledged and it doesn't feel organic.

Another example is in the episode where Lucifer seeks out his old lovers to find out whether they're Rory's mothers.

This obviously gave me vibes right from Stewardess Interruptus which is one of my all-time favourite episodes.

Stewardess Interruptus is one of my favourite episodes because it told us so much about our characters. Also, our characters learn about each other and themselves here: Along with Chloe, we learn Lucifer isn't just a person who really likes having a lot of sex, but that he actually has a pretty dysfunctional relationship with sexuality. We also learn how much Chloe, while actually trying to date Lucifer, struggles with the sex-life he has because for her its symptomatic of their very different lifestyles and it makes her wonder how compatible they are. We go from Chloe asking Lucifer's ex-partners whether he "basically used you for sex and then moved on" to realising that actually...it's kinda the other way around. Lucifer is the one who's letting himself be used because he doesn't know how else to connect with people. That was a good episode - - - now that we went on a similar journey in the season 6 episode, I was actually very interested! Especially now that Lucifer is in a proper relationship and I would have loved to see that brought up - for example if Chloe had been presented with the "meaningless"-thing again and we actually had a moment where Lucifer and her talk about what it means to have a "meaningful" relationship. Like, Chloe tells him that it's okay if he had a relationship before her or loved one of these women - which yes! of course it is! - actually, it would have been interesting to see them discuss what it means that he didn't have that kind of connection before despite being almost old as time.

I was especially interested in Esther as a character - who says she became a Rabbi because of Lucifer which is...something really, really interesting. For one, because this show has such a long history of acting like Christianity is the only religion in the world or at least as if the Christian take on the devil is universal (Amenadiel even says in the first season that "every religion has its version of the devil" and that he's always a "rebellious son" which...no. That's not true. At all.) when really, it's not. (I actually remember reading a really good fic once about Lucifer meeting a Rabbi and discussing the different ideas of evil but that's a whole different matter.)

In this episode, Lucifer is now confronted with someone who didn't find the encounter she had with him meaningless at all - she literally changed her life because of it. Also, when she says she became a Rabbi because of him and he's like "oh yeah guess I got that from your desires..." - much like in the Jimmy Barnes episode, I prepared myself for the classic twist at the end of the episode that the show would usually have had. The moment where Lucifer's immediate assumptions would be challenged. I was expecting that by the end of the episode, she would say something: "Hey, it was not actually your mojo, but ---" and we would learn something about her and have Lucifer reconsider his assumptions - For example her saying he seemed lost and that it inspired her to take on a role where she could offer people guidance. Or it would have been interesting if, like Father Frank, she actually realised at some point that he's really the devil and that made her think more deeply about her faith. That could have been really interesting. Like...I feel like in the first seasons of the show, this would definitely have lead to some emotional twist and impact, even in one of the weaker episodes. Some revelation or insight. Something memorable. But here...it's not.

In a similar vein, that kind of emotional twist is something I would have loved to see in Lucifer's interactions with Rory.

One of my favourite moments in the show was when Maze gave Linda that blanket for Charlie - and says that she got him something that she wished she had as a child.

That was so simple! So effective! Strong story-telling! We understood and learnt so much about what made Maze into Maze in just a few lines of dialogue! It's heart-wrenching! It was amazing. - and honestly, it would be so simple to give Lucifer and Rory a similar moment. Again and again we hear Lucifer insist that it cannot be true, he would never abandon his child but it's very "tell" and not much "show" - when Lucifer tries so desperately to find something that he can give Rory it would have been a really strong moment between Christmas-es and driving lessons and parties, if we had a scene where Lucifer tries to do something similar to what Maze did for Charlie:

Have him actually talk to Rory about what he felt like being abandoned by his father and try to give her something that he would have wanted or say something the would have wanted to hear. We would have learnt more about Lucifer, we would have more of an emotional impact beyond him just saying over and over again that he wouldn't abandon his child, we would actually see some development in the relationship between Lucifer and Rory, Rory might actually get a similar opportunity to shine when she reacts to that - giving her more depth and illustrating her pain in a new way rather than just the same thing over and over again. Their relationship has been seemingly stagnant for ages now. It would have been good.

Another example: Adam kidnaps Linda, Maze and Eve work together to get their hands on Adam because they have no idea what he did to her - and then get a really, really long scene discussion their wedding and relationship and stuff. And then, right at the end of the scene they're like: "oh uh btw we have to find Linda"- that one was...almost funny, because it was so bad and weirdly paced. This is Maze we're talking about! Maze who throws hands with everyone who even looks at her friends funny! And who just recently learnt what it felt like to lose a friend!

I feel like there is a similar tell vs. show problem with Eve and Maze and her family. I really, really liked the dinner-scene in the first episode of the season where Linda keeps asking Eve about what she was going to do in hell, about what her role would be, how she sees hell - and Eve keeps being really light-hearted and seemingly naive about it.

Because Eve's entire character flaw (by which I don't mean that it's "bad" or "evil" - but that it's actually something that causes Eve a lot of pain and holds her back) is that she always 100% adjusts herself to her current partner. That she wants to back them completely and be perfect for them. That is what made her so great in season 4: She was neither "the mean new woman ruining things between Chloe and Lucifer >:( " nor was she someone dangled over Chloe as "here is how you are a really good girlfriend to Lucifer" - no, the reason why she was seemingly perfect for Lucifer was was because she was making herself be perfect for him - to the point of self-negation where he cannot get her to break up with him, because she keeps and keeps and keeps adjusting to him. That is why their relationship was dysfunctional and eventually toxic. When she says in season 4 that Lucifer and her will simply go to hell and keep the party going there - that was the pinnacle of her self-deceit, that was the shining moment where we could tell just how desperate she is for love and acknowledgement and companionship that she's literally willing to go to HELL if that's what it takes.

When the dinner scene in 6.1 started, I was very excited to see this issue build up and then be resolved between Maze and her. I was looking forward to see Maze realise what Eve's actual issue is and to come to some clever solution over the course of the season, but so far...that's not really happening.

And yes, Eve wants to get to know Maze's siblings while Maze keeps saying that no, demons are evil - which would also be a super interesting conflict but it's again lacking the emotional impact because we know so little about the demons on the show and what the world-building is. It's much like with God and the fam in the last season: Up to that point, they were really, really wrapped in huge mystery but that's really why it falls kind of flat. But whereas God and especially the angels fell flat for me because I had them build up in this big, uncanny celestial mystery and they couldn't live up to that once they appeared in the flesh, here it's the opposite. I know so little about the actual horrors of hell that I struggle to sympathise with Maze's fears. If I knew literally any demons' thoughts on Maze being the new queen or having a human royal consort or anything, there would be real stakes. But this way, they can just shake anything out of their sleeves and that's it.

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-yigas]

I think that it’s about time Kohga and Sooga have a genuine heart to heart and discuss what their relationship really is, and to let Sooga finally properly discuss how he feels and his inferiority complex because poor baby

Oh we feel like feelings tonight? Aight, let’s fucking do it bitch. Some emotions and shit. 

Kohga realized something, just now, as he sat in his room. He was busy planning his stuff for the month ahead, when he saw his calendar. He had been dating Sooga for...a long time. The longest he had ever dated ANYONE actually. The realiztion shouldve been nothing, but it did in fact, hit him like a ton of bricks. Kohga put his planner down, and peeked his head through the little window of his room. Made from one way glass, it made it easy for Kohga to peer out without being seen. And of course, there was Sooga, ever dutiful by guarding his door. Kohga grumbled, scratching his head as if something was crawling on him. Jeez, why did this mess him up so badly? So what if they had been dating for so long? So what if he sat there, looking at Sooga, nearly swooning over him? It didn’t mean anything. Right?

“Sooga, I brought Master Kohga his snacks.”

Kohga looked outside, just in time to see Sooga talking with a Blademaster. He made the motion to come in, only to be stopped by Sooga.

“You may leave it with me. Only I am to enter his quarters.”

“For SOME reason.”

Sooga cocked his head as he was handed the plate of fruit.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me. You’re so tight with Master Kohga, but I don’t get it. Why you? You’re just his lackey.”

“I...mean something to him-”

“Like hell you do. You’re just some plaything, we all know it. He’s only telling you otherwise to get to your ass. Face it Sooga, a guy like you can’t REALLY be with him. Sooner you face it, the less it’s gonna hurt.”

“You speak lies.”

“If you say so. But if one day you find him in the arms of another, don’t act surprised. Kohga could have any man in Hyrule. Why would he pick someone so lowly as you?”

The blade master turned, and walked off. Sooga could tell he knew him personally, hence why his shoulders looked so stiff. They were true words spoken by someone he had considered at least a friend at some point in time. Kohga could only imagine the pain in his chest. He watched as Sooga sighed, and cleared his throat.

“Master Kohga, may I come in? I brought you your dinner.”

“...Yeah. Come in, Sooga.”

Sooga entered the room, and closed the door behind him, handing him his plate. He was about to turn and leave, when Kohga reached out and grabbed his hand.

“Actually...stay with me a second. And lock the door.”

“Ah. In the mood tonight, I take it.”

Sooga obeyed, and Kohga scoffed.

“Well geez, don’t sound disappointed if I was. But no, I don’t feel like railing you tonight. I just wanna talk.”

Kohga patted his bed, and Sooga obeyed, sitting down on his knees. Kohga took a deep breath, not sure just why he was doing this. This was so stupid.

“So...we’ve...been together. For a while.”

“Quite.”

“Well...you’re the longest relationship I’ve ever had.”

“That’s nice.”

Sooga was distracted. The other’s words ran deep within him, and Kohga hated how much he cared about it. Kohga held onto his hands, rubbing his palms with his thumbs.

“I just...want you to know I’m serious about us. Really I am.”

No words. He didn’t believe him. Kohga got up, and grabbed a candle from his pile of crap. He lit it, and set it right between them.

“And...I can prove it. I’m going to prove to you that this is important to me. YOU are important to me. Take off your mask for me.”

Sooga hesitated. It was mandatory that Kohga sees everyone’s face at least once to enter the clan, but it was the same as being completely nude in front of a crowd. He obeyed, though he clearly didnt want to. He un did his straps, and fully took off his mask. Deep, brown eyes, high cheekbones, and a small bit of hair right on his chin. He was a very, very handsome man. His eyes looked him over, no longer ashamed, but full of curiosity.

“I...do not understand what this is for.”

Kohga sighed, in total disbelief that he was going to do this. He met his eyes, determined to prove himself to him.

“I’m gonna kiss you. I’m gonna kiss you with my mask off.”

Kohga was about to take it off, when suddenly Sooga leapt forward, putting his palm on his mask. Had it not been for the candle, he’d be damn sure Sooga would’ve pinned him down to the damn floor.

“M-master Kohga! No! I’m n-not allowed to see your face! No one is! I insist you can’t! I’m not worthy of-”

“SHUT UP!!”

Kohga swatted his hand away, growling at the surprised looking man.

“I love you! I love you so much, it’s stupid! You ARE worthy of me! It’s why I picked you! You’re handsome and stupid and nice and loyal, and I’m so damn in love with you!! Why do you ALWAYS think you aren’t good enough for me?!”

Sooga remained silent. His gaze removed itself from his master, to his knees, which he was gripping very tightly.

“I...I was told by my father, at a young age, that I was only worth a blade. When I refused my hand in marriage to a noble woman, he called me useless. He told me no one would truly have love in their heart for me. After months of him beating that point into me, I’ve come to accept that as truth. I ran away at a young age, but it did nothing to soothe my heart. I was always never enough. A failure as an only son. A mistake of my mother’s womb. I love you Master Kohga. And because of that, I deem myself unworthy of you.”

Shit. Shit shit shit. Major daddy issue territory. Kohga had a damn good relationship with his dad, so he couldn’t relate. But Sooga was clearly hurting. He was clearly under the impression that his dad’s words were law. Kohga sighed, reaching over to hold onto his shaking hands.

“Sooga...I can’t fully understand your situation. But I do understand that I know none of that is true. I love you, so much. I can’t live without you. Please. PLEASE let me prove it to you. By showing you something I’ve never shown anyone else. If you don’t want it, if you don’t think this’ll work, I won’t. But I’m serious about you. And you know I’m not serious about anything.”

Sooga hesitated. He stilled his breath, clearly tempted to cry, before he lifted his head up, and nod.

“I...I would honor this. If you promise it is not out of pity, but out of genuine respect and love for me.”

Kohga nodded. For a moment, they understood one another. Their hearts were one. And all that mushy gushy bullshit. Kohga un did the straps to the mask, and very, ever so slowly, he peeled his mask away. He met Sooga’s eyes, and he nearly wanted to laugh. Sooga was staring at him so bugged eyed, absolutely destroyed in blush. Kohga chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

“So...feedback here, I’d love it.”

“You...are more beautiful than I ever could’ve imagined. I...never knew a face could be so...perfect.”

Kohga’s face was so soft, so smooth looking. A cute nose, cute cheeks, full lips, and his eyes. One held the calmness and beauty of the sea, the other held the deep, richness of the earth. It was a face that Sooga couldn’t have imagined in his wildest dreams. It was even more stunning when he grinned. His teeth were stunning, his cheeks were full, it radiated more beauty than the sun.

“Ha! You’re so full of it, Sooga. Lovesick puppy, you. You like my face so much, kiss it.”

“I’m….allowed to do that?”

“If anything, it’s an order.”

They chuckled for a moment, completely comfortable with one another. That was when Sooga carefully cupped his cheek in his hand, and leaned in for a kiss. It was soft, smooth, and very, very plentiful. Kohga had no idea how long he kissed him for, but he was certain it was quite a while, given how cold his snacks seemed to have gotten. Sooga parted the kiss after a while, eyes opening up in complete wonder.

“I...I never knew I could kiss an angel.”

“An angel who loves you. Very, very much. An angel who thinks you’re worth everything.”

“Even if I don’t find myself the same way?”

“Even then. Long as you know I do, that’s all that matters.”

Kohga put his bare forehead right onto Sooga’s, and for a moment, they just stared into each other’s eyes. It was so bullshit romantic, all that was missing was a goddamn piano in the background.

“Master Kohga?”

“Yeah?”

“May...may we stay like this? Just tonight? I never want to forget your face, even till we become dust.”

“Yeah. Just for tonight, we won’t have masks. Just for tonight, we’re...vulnerable. The both of us.”

“You’re a saint, Kohga.”

“I try.”

Kohga couldn’t believe it. He confessed his love for Sooga, and, to his surprise,

He didn't regret it, not for a second.

(also pls note these are headcanon looks, not canon. It’s a blend of stuff tbh)

[flightofaqrow]

1, 2, 11

headcanon talk ** accepting

1. the most recent headcanon that i’ve come up with ( published or not )

the next most recent hc was published - that qrow is uncircumcised. (sorry if nsfw wasn’t what you were looking for but at least that’s tame kjshdkf)

2. a headcanon that i’m not sure of yet

I still waffle a lot about Harbinger. Exactly when and how she came to be. How many prototypes or upgrades she had. 

qrow says to Maria “i based my weapon off of yours.” which... doesn’t actually tell us a whole lot. it would be easy to take that to mean he had a pretty big hand in it (and i do), but it could also mean he just had an idea and lots of help bringing that to life. 

But.

Harbinger is such a unique and intricate weapon compared to a lot of others, a reflection of qrow’s own complexity and tbh... shapeshifting, it must be due to having a hand in her crafting. 

I lean towards her being created as part of the preparations once the twins learned they were headed to Beacon. 

This, in itself, has a lot of implications: he’d have to know about The Grimm Reaper already, to idolize and base his weapon off of her kama prior to attending Beacon means he always knew he wanted to be a real huntsman, a hero, instead of a murderer. It means he’d have to handle most of her construction himself, to not make that influence too obvious. It means he wouldn’t have the support of the school to do so yet.

So, yes, I do favor him being more involved (and, um, still the Scarecrow with a brain, after all), I definitely headcanon that he’s actually ridiculously smart in calculus and mechanical physics, has a head for spatial awareness (how all of her pieces fit together, as well as that talent for video games). He at least engineered her himself. 

One of the things I’m uncertain about is whether he was totally on his own, or had a couple people point him in the right direction for the execution of his vision, the manufacturing part, etc. and who or what parts that would be.

Some other tidbits I haven’t been able to write up since the rest isn’t fully formed:

- Harbinger was a full longsword when qrow first came to Beacon. She hung vertically down his back and her scythe opened up much like a switchblade. I mentioned qrow winning the first Vytal tourney? The final moments came down to Misfortune (mixed with his opponent’s blow) causing the far half of Harbinger’s scythe blades to snap off. Between the opponent getting distracted and then smug about it, qrow was able to employ (for the first time) his tactic of just tossing his weapon aside and going in for the punch to claim the last bit of aura.

- Reconstructing her afterwards is when he came up with the idea to let those two halves slide against each other to allow for her more compact form. And now he also had a more vast array of supplies from Beacon to make her transitions smoother. The gears in her pivot point became more complex, so she could transform in the more systematic way we see now.

- Based on the fact she can even do the folding into herself thing - Harbinger is hollow. She’s not light by any means, but also not nearly as heavy as she looks. Like bird bones, get it?

I have so many thoughts. We haven’t even gotten to fighting style with her. More to be determined and written up eventually.

11. headcanon that is slept on

I really, really, really need to type up the full hc of his alcoholism. Uh. The super short piece of what I sleep on and don’t get to visit a lot is that he never even once tried to give up drinking prior to Vol 6. He never saw it as a problem or a barrier, and once he finally did, he stopped.

[nowhereclosetoit]

Even More Gay Shit in “The Goldfinch”

Specifically, Chapter 6: i-iv, because that showcases some of Theo’s finest internalised homophobic hours and some of the gayest shit surrounding Boris.

So, I was rereading “The Goldfinch” and I forgot how fucking gay Theo’s dumbass is in parts i. – iv. at the beginning of Chapter 6, like, it fucking SENT me. After reading some of Theo’s finest examples of internalised homophobia and general headassery, I decided that I needed to collect the gayest selection of quotes from this specific part and analyse them and their gayness accordingly, because once again, it’s lockdown, God is dead and I killed Her with this fucking essay.

Theo’s internalised homophobia and feelings towards Boris are depicted especially strongly at the beginning of Chapter 6 – The Wind, Sand and Stars due to the introduction of Boris’ girlfriend, Kotku. Theo clearly portrays Kotku as a threat to his and Boris’ relationship, without ever giving a valid (heterosexual explanation) answer why: a) she poses such a threat to their “friendship” – oh no wait sorry their “there was not exactly a word for Boris and me”-ship, or b) why he’s so upset by her being in a relationship with Boris. He tries to rationalise this by saying that it’s just Kotku that he has a problem with and that there were “Lots of other, better girls our own age [that] liked Boris”, however, it’s clear that he has a problem with anyone taking Boris away from him.

Theo is overly harsh of Kotku and we never receive an unbiased presentation of her. He’s always trying to make her come off worse than she probably is and make it sound ludicrous that Boris is in a relationship with her, specifically. To try and justify this behaviour, he often follows comments like these on with something that sounds reasonable and rational – this also helps to highlight his ignorance to his feelings for Boris as this clearly depicts his jealousy towards Boris being close/in a relationship/spending time with someone that isn’t him.

Theo’s problem with Kotku can only be explained through jealousy, there is literally no other way to interpret why he hates her so much, after all, if she treats Boris well and makes him happy, why should Theo, his supporting bestest friend have a problem with that? (Because he’s fucking jealous).

I’m going to work through each segment of the chapter through quotes I’ve picked out to fully show how fucking ridiculous this part is – it sends me every fucking time I read it so I need a log of all the gay shit.

Summary of the points I’m trying to make by showing you all this:

Theo clearly presents his relationship with Boris to have grown closer since the last chapter, so close in fact that they “were so attuned to each other” that they didn’t need to talk to each other to communicate properly, and that Boris knew “just where [Theo] was weakest, the spot under the blade where he could dig his fingers”. He’s set the scene to depict this intimate and intense relationship they now have after spending almost a year living together and spending all their time together. The closeness of their relationship can clearly be paralleled with that of a romantic relationship from these descriptors alone but are intensified by the following.

The quotes highlighted above in green clearly show Theo’s jealousy towards Boris now spending more time with Kotku than he is with Theo. Obviously, it’s natural to miss your friends and to want to spend time with them if they’re spending more time with other people or their partner, but the way Theo depicts his feelings here can only be read as jealousy.

If this wasn’t enough, Theo makes Kotku seem like she’s really boring (“The name Kotku…makes her sound more interesting than she was”, “she’d lived in Clark County, Nevada her whole life”), a horrible person (“the glare she slid over me was anxiety provoking”), and unattractive, despite not really getting to know her and give her a chance.

Theo also tries to tell us that he cannot remember Kotku’s real name and puts her down so that it comes across like she meant and her presence in his life meant nothing to him. He does this constantly throughout the chapter. (We should keep a running count of how many times he says something like “Kotku…or WHATEVER her name was, I can’t remember because she was so BORING and INSIGNIFICANT to my life, that I just simply cannot remember her name! Oh but I can by chance remember the exact outfit Boris was in a whilst proclaiming his undying love for Kotku, he was also running his hands through his hair which I totally don’t have a boner for!”.)

He even goes as far to hit Boris “hard” because he was “in no mood” to hear about Boris’ feelings for Kotku. That’s jealousy, baby!

ii. – And this is over 3 pages

Summary:

He’s pretending not to know Kotku’s name again, and also reinforcing that “or whatever” part,

Shows his #jealous streak again as he says Kotku “virtually assumed ownership of Boris”, like bitch, calm the fuck down,

Shows even more jealousy,

Key word – “embarrassed”, keep note for later as this appears when Theo has to head on deal with some gay shit and does not want to deal with said gay shit so he feels embarrassed and that’s on internalised homophobia,

Says he found Kotku “disturbing” and the reasons as to why he did find her disturbing, Boris liked – shows how he’s gay! Because he hates women! Unless they’re Pippa or his mom! Jokes! Or is it…

And there’s even more bullying towards Kotku who is yet to do something offensive to Theo.

iii. – 1 page

Summary:

I think these ones are pretty self-explanatory,

AND!!! There’s the last quote which I think is really interesting because it’s an example of Theo comparing activities he does with Boris that he would, hypothetically, do with a girl on a date, like…ok bro. That’s fucking gay. He does this again somewhere too, but I can’t remember where.

iv. – Ok, so, this is the big one where he owns up to his totally no homo shenanigans, there’s a lot to unpack from this entire part, strap yourselves in.

(For the key in this part, assume anything unhighlighted corresponds to the yellow on the chart, as there was too much of it and it looked really ugly so I removed it.)

Mini Summary Before the Really Gay Shit:

Theo is an oblivious dumbass who totally likes Boris in a very homo way, so much so that he fucking despises our queen Kotku. He also is obviously clouded by internalised homophobia because he cannot realise that he does in fact like Boris.

v – What I’m going to look at here is what the fuck is going on and why Theo’s explaining it in the way he is.

My thoughts are going to be in bullet points here because there’s SO much to analyse.

Theo clearly shows how he’s fucking head over heels for this Boris bitch. Just read like all of it.

He tries to describe it like he doesn’t care that much, and I mean, you can just tell that the motherfucker’s lying. Like seriously, dude. Like the whole part where he’s like “I didn’t want BORIS to get the WRONG IDEA! Wouldn’t that be fucking gay? HAHAHAH, not me! I’m heterosexual!”. He’s saying he wants to “make things clear” with Boris to “make absolutely sure he didn’t have the wrong idea” and personally, I think this is either because he’s completely fucked with internalised homophobia or he’s just dealing with the “rejection” from Boris because Boris is from Kotku. Maybe he’s saying this to make rejection hurt less?

I also want to talk about Boris’ possible side in this whole thing. We never see Boris’ point of view of this shit because this entire book is just Theo wallowing in self-pity (dude, get a fucking therapist, I’m begging you). Do you think that Boris maybe got with Kotku because he knew Theo was fucked with internalise homophobia and thought that maybe meant that Theo didn’t vibe with the shit they were doing? Or, do you think he did it because HE was dealing with shit like, “Oh, boy! Do I like girls? Or….like what’s happening here?”

IN CONCLUSION:

This was just an excuse for me to gather all the gay shit and write down some thoughts. That’s IT! I am ILLITERATE at this point tbh.

[kissandmxkeup]

Royal Guard!Johnny

here for the obligatory annual “yes i’m still around and yes i know where my computer keyboard is” post, may do more but probably not tbh. if you’re still here and reading, i love you and also highly question why you’re so dedicated. not that i mind, i truly appreciate it, but still.

also, this is female!reader because i had so much trouble writing this in a gender-neutral manner. if you want a gender-neutral/male!reader version, let me know and i’ll do my best!

Always cordial and polite, not just with you but anyone he comes across

So many of the guards tend to have this air of superiority, talking down to those that aren’t within their ranks or of a higher status, but Johnny has the same level of manners for the elderly shopkeeper in town as he does for you, the crown princess of the country

Not only that, he’s also extremely attentive to your needs, even the ones that he isn’t necessarily responsible for

He always has a bag with first-aid supplies, snacks, water, and even portable chargers and a Game-Boy somewhere within reach

And he’s always willing to have a conversation with you, listen to your concerns and worries and sorrows

You actually came to know Johnny when he was guarding your brother, a seven year old who was incredibly funny and also insanely gross 

After your brother turned ten he was sent off to a private school with their own security teams, so Johnny was moved over to you

You loved being around him; his positivity and kindness could melt even the toughest of moods, something your mother had noticed when she was looking for his new assignment 

You remember when she called Johnny to the throne room; he’d still been just barely an adult then, looking young and boyish in armor slightly too big for him He had bowed deeply to her, so much that the weight of the heavy metal chainmail nearly tipped him over, and she smiled back as she informed him that he was being removed from his position with your brother, that he would now be tasked with being in your guard. He had given her a nod and an “as you wish” that was almost too wavering with forced professionalism before turning to you with a nervous little grin, asking what you needed of him in a way that had melted your heart.

Over time, the two of you had grown into a rhythm; you would walk the gardens in the morning, him following like a shadow as you chatted with the gardeners and groundskeepers. After that you would tend to your schoolwork, and then the minor royal duties you were given after you’d finished your education, occasionally letting him distract you with stories of the younger guards’ antics as you tried to pass time until dinner, and then at the end of the day you would always sit and talk together about the country.

Even when you were young, you were always looking to improve the life of the commoners of the land, and given his background, Johnny was much more connected to them than you could ever be. He had influenced policies you’d drafted on education, social welfare programs, and even some of your first quality-of-life recommendations like repairing historical sites and landmarks in the smaller villages of the country, such as the town he had visited often as a child. You were beloved in your country, and had become lauded as the “princess of the people,” always pushing for your constituents to be represented and thought of at every turn, but you always made sure that Johnny knew that you couldn’t do any of it without him by your side. 

However, those outside of your borders tended to see you as much less kind and gentle, but rather stubborn and almost bitchy. You wouldn’t let your country’s people be used or walked over, refusing to give in to the demands of others that saw you as small and weak and risk your citizens’ wellbeing in the process. You sat in meeting with lawmakers, voice steady as you refused to even consider letting your constituents have their taxes raised in the name of increasing their own salaries, clashed with conglomerates that wanted you to turn a blind eye to pollution and mistreatment of their workers, even going as far as pressuring officials into dissolving royal contracts with major companies that relied on unfair practices, and you had even notably walked out of a meeting with a royal from another family after they had insinuated that perhaps you had let your public persona blind you to what was truly good for your country (in this case, letting their country use your resources without regard to the needs of the the common folk of yours).

Some other players in larger, wealthier countries had even decided that you were too much of an inconvenience, made too much noise, and wanted to eliminate you from your country’s line of succession by any means necessary. Because of this you had come to be assigned more guards over time, generally keeping a rotating team that you had jokingly nicknamed the 127 Squad because they seemed to have an endless supply of members. Some members like Ten, or Lucas rotated in during special occasions like state visits, and you occasionally had a knight-in-training such as the quiet Renjun or the child-like Jeno in addition to the usual two or three full-time guards. 

There were eight other consistent members that you had come to be familiar with, though; Haechan was loud and boisterous in a manner quite similar to your brother, while his best friend Mark was quiet, shy, and a little nervous with a sword despite all of his experience. Taeyong, Taeil, and Doyoung treated you like their child in different ways, and Jungwoo was dreamy and often in his own head (although you weren’t sure if maybe that was just a facade, since he was one of the first to act if you felt in danger). Your favorite story was how poor Jaehyun and Yuta had been banned from attending public events after they went unintentionally viral for their handsome looks during a press conference about a new retirement plan you had orchestrated.

Johnny was always the constant, though; he was at every event, every meeting, always directly to your right in a manner that had started more than one rumor about your professional relationship and how it was more than just professional after all. And as much as you would never admit it, you hated the rumors because of their semi-truth; sure, you weren’t in a relationship, but it’s not like you would be opposed to that at all. 

He was just as kind and funny as ever, but more mature and elegant now; he would help you out of your car even if there was a chauffer that was supposed to fill that role, lift children on his shoulders during your usual visits to local schools and smile with pride as they giggled and screamed. He would even sit next to you and run his hand between your shoulder blades when you had panic attacks about whether you were really fit to lead the country, reassuring you that your people loved you for a reason; not to mention that he had become very attractive over time; the boyish smiles were now replaced with kind grins, his armor now fit him like a glove, and every time he sowed the protective nature that he had developed toward you, you would swoon a little on the inside.

But there were strict rules about romance between royals and staff, if anyone found out that you even had a crush on him he would be moved out of your team and possibly out of your family entirely, which you couldn’t stand the idea of. So you kept your mouth shut, never letting your inhibitions take over you when he called your name with a kindness that made your knees weak, or when he would step in front of you in a protective manner at a rare threat made directly to your face. You had done well with it too, up until you had gone on your first state visit to another country without your parents or any other major officials.

You had been sent out to visit a country run by a set of princes almost double your age, with nobody but five members of your guard (Taeyong, Doyoung, Mark, Jaehyun, Ten, and of course Johnny) alongside you. The men were all openly uncomfortable with your presence at times; sometimes this was shown by you being excluded from conversations about “grown-up matters that didn’t concern you,” as you had once overheard the crown prince Leeteuk commenting, to even pressuring you with questions and comments that were bizarre at best and outright offensive at worst. You had tried to brush it off, since the visit was less than a week and very important, but it was hard to do so when you felt like you were having the life sucked out of you.

It wasn’t until the last day when you had finally had enough; Leeteuk had sat across from you, flanked by all of his fellow princes, and pushed a document that looked way too official to be presented in such a way to your side of the table with an expectant glare.

“What is this?”

“It’s the resolution that we’ve all been working on this week, I expect you to sign it for us now.”

“I’m sorry, I won’t sign something unless I know its contents. If you give me some time to look over it, I’d be happy to come back with my concerns and a signature if I feel it’s mutually beneficial.”

“I’m sorry?”

One of the other princes, Shindong, looked down at you with a glance of something resembling anger, and you could almost hear Johnny and Taeyong tensing at your sides, preparing to step in should the princes show signs of being a threat to your well-being.

“I mean, you say that it’s the resolution we’ve been working on, but I’ve been constantly shuttered out of any meaningful conversation about this legislature since I arrived. I don’t know what’s been done in front of me, let alone without me present, and by signing it I could be agreeing to any number of measures I don’t agree with or understand. I will not sign this unless I am given an adequate chance to look over it and bring my own concerns forward as a representative of my country.”

“See, I don’t think you understand how this works. You are in our country, under our roof, and we fully expect you to comply with our expectations while here. So you will sign this document.”

“Or what?”

You straightened yourself out, glaring daggers at the youngest prince (Kyuhyun, you believe) that had been so demanding to you. You could feel Johnny resting a hand on your shoulder, reassuring but warning, as Taeyong stepped out to certainly inform the other guards of the situation and have them start collecting your things to go home.

“If you force me to sign it, I and my guards will both bring the manner forward publicly that it was signed under duress. Any measure that you believe you could take to force me, such as physical punishment or holding me hostage, is an act of war by your government against a foreign diplomat on your soil and will be treated as such. I will not be threatened, forced, or coerced into giving my consent in a matter I do not understand, and the idea that I would do such a thing is actively preposterous at best and offensive at worst. So if you don’t mind, I will be leaving your country at the earliest opportunity, since it’s clear that you have no intent of cooperating with me and I will not stay in a place where I feel unwelcome and endangered. If this is an issue, please feel free to take it up with my guards or any citizen of my country, who will happily inform you of my stance on public policy that would affect them.”

You stood to leave, and Siwon matched your movement, grabbing your wrist with such force that you audibly hissed.

“Little girl, this is no business for you to be fighting against. Sign the papers and then you can go whenever you please.”

“My princess has stated that she intends to leave,” you were surprised by Johnny, stepping forward, forcing Siwon’s hand off of you before carefully pushing you behind him with one arm to shelter you from the men in front of you, “and as far as I am concerned, she gets what she wants when it’s her well-being at risk. Please stand down and allow her to leave, since we mean no harm. I’m sure that if this legislature is as important as you state it to be that she would need to blindly sign onto it, the king and queen would happily do instead, so I implore you to speak to them about the matter.”

Johnny walked you out, a hand around your waist with a stern expression as he kept looking back to the room of bewildered and infuriated princes. It wasn’t until he had accompanied you back to your room, firmly shutting and locking the door behind him, that he let the cold demeanor slip away. He asked how you were, a nervous expression on his face at the situation you had found yourselves in.

“I just...I want to go home. I want to go home and rest, and be with my family and friends again. I don’t feel safe here.”

He nodded solemnly, fingers dancing across your wrist as he lifted it to the level of your chest, scowling at the already-deepening purples and yellows where you’d been held.

“I’m sorry, I should have stepped in sooner.”

“You did everything right. You tried to let me handle it, and protected me when I couldn’t do it anymore.”

You leaned into his touch, and he seemed almost surprised as you let yourself fall completely into his arms, barely catching you. He held you upright for a moment, only pulling back when he noticed that you had started to cry.

“Princess...”

“Please, call me by my name. We’re friends, you deserve that much.”

He did so, gently taking you back into his grasp and reassuring you with a gentle swaying as you awaited the word of Taeyong that you could leave.

“I’m sorry, I can’t keep doing this anymore.”

He pulled back, concern and worry apparent in his expression at your bizarre change in tone.

“Can’t do what?”

“I..look, I love you. Not as my guard, not as my friend, but in a way that’s so much more than that. And I’ve been so scared to tell you because I knew it could get you taken from me, but you deserve to know. You’ve been nothing but kind and wonderful and hell, you’re perfect, but I can’t keep standing here, falling in love a little more every time you so much as look at me without telling you about it.”

He looked confused for a moment, but surprised you with a large, almost goofy smile that reminded you of your younger days with him.

“Don’t act like that, like it’s the end of it. I know it’s not allowed, just as much as you do, but I love you too and I’ve wanted to tell you forever.”

You laughed, almost bitter with the threat of separation between you two.

“How is it not the end of it?”

“I...I’ve been talking with your mother about...us. About how I feel. She’s going to remove me from the guard altogether, and I was going to move into an advising role for you where I’d be able to ask you out. I was planning on telling you after we returned form the visit, since it was only finalized after we arrived, but then...”

It took a moment to register what he had said, but as soon as it had clicked you threw your arms around him with an almost childlike excitement.

“I’ll be here for you until you don’t want me anymore, okay? I promise. Me and you, just like it’s been since you were sixteen.”

The words were gentle, kind, and you couldn’t help but relax at the truthfulness he carried in his tone. You wanted to stay like this forever, but it was all too soon that there was a knock on the door as Taeyong informed you that your car was waiting out front and the princes had finally agreed to stand down and let you leave in peace. You took a moment to collect yourself before heading to the door, and Johnny gave your hand a reassuring squeeze before opening it.

“Would you like me to ride with you today, your highness?”

“Actually, if it’s okay, I’d rather have Johnny with me. I’ve been under a lot of stress during this trip, and I find him rather comforting to have around.”

He stifled a laugh behind his hand, and you couldn’t help but grin at the almost knowing glance Taeyong spared you. You walked past the princes in uncomfortable silence, only sparing a small bow before you stepped into your car, Johnny following and moving to sit next to you as the door closed.

“So, we’ve got six hours until we’re back in our kingdom, do you want to play Super Mario Land or something?”

You burst out laughing, head falling back against his shoulder as you gave him a small nod through the rhythm of your breathing. He smiled as he gave you the old lime Game Boy, shifting to move an arm around you so he could watch you play, and you couldn’t help but notice how this felt just like home.

[whiterbone-a]

i wanna know what your take on the nanami / gojo relationship is ?? cause a big part of me is like nanami isn't someone who really talks , like you won't get inside of him and he'll make jokes here and there with the whole work is shit thing . but i think he lost his heart and happiness alongside yuu and i think he even said this wasn't a mission first years should be on and the fact that yuu looked up to getou and gojo so much and still got killed was like a fucking blade to the stomach.

i mean do you think there is a romantic possability , i do play around with it but at the same time do you think it would be comforting ?? like i know the big ship is gojo and getou because of how close they were but what is nanami to gojo , a tool and a function or a friend and possible lover ??? and how will his death effect him ???

also were gojo actively smiles , nanami only smiles when death is around the corner and i am like red flags here and there . but sorry this got so long and please feel free to ignore it .

hello and welcome.  take a seat and thank you for joining me.  if this doesnt make sense just pretend u know what im talking about, its the adhd for making my thoughts so scattered everywhere

so in concept the nanami and gojou ship in a romantic concept is rly cute in concept like u have an ex - salary man whos serious doesnt allow himself the luxury of acting his age but on the other end u have someone who still acts like hes a child and never takes anything serious even when hes fighting.  they both endured the trauma being a jujutsu sorcerer entails yet they have nothing in common -- gojou dresses like hes a reflection with the moon and nanami, the sun.  also the fact that gojou thinks that he, himself, is ascended above all he works with while nanami is just a human living his day to day, and lot of ppl use this as nanami to bring down gojou to his morality just like a nudge or a friendly reminder.  he even tolerates and puts up with him a lot more than he should.  hes very patient but very honest.  a lot of the fanart of them is SO CUTE esp when theyre married and living happily with one another.  i even ship them, its actually one of my top ships next to satosugu but like in reality its not so great unfortunately

honestly?  theres a small slim of a possibility but due to the nature of the clash of personalities and what their job its like ... not rly possible

nanami, even out of being a salary man, fully treats being a jujutsu sorcerer as a 9 - 5 job and refuses to work overtime. he has small luxuries like he enjoys reading and eating left overs after a day of working hard like who wouldnt and not to mention hes the type to keep his relationships strictly professional. gojou has probably asked him several times to take him out for drinks after work (altho work never ends with gojou which is ironic) and has said no.  it’s funny now that i think about it,  shouko probably asks him for an occasional drink after hours and he accepts because at least he likes shouko and he knows theres no ulterior motive from her just a couple of coworkers doing some heavy drinking but nothing ever more than that -- hes even said that he wants to get married but when hes no longer a sorcerer

sucks tho, because like everyone else, nanami sees gojou as someone who is extremely powerful and only sees him for his techniques except more like hes a nuisance and extremely annoying, even to the point of having absolutely no respect for him.  he realizes, yeah hes strong but as for the full package that is satoru gojou?  there’s absolutely nothing to respect about that man

and while we’re talking about gojou, i’ll say it, he’s mentally unstable.  i mean, we all knew that -- hes got a couple of “screws loose” as he puts it inside that rattling brain of his.  on the opposite side of the spectrum, hes not capable of handling a romantic relationship.  hes always always busy, its rare that that he gets a breather for himself.  hes always being sent out on missions out of country and ive always portrayed gojou as the type of partner thats not even gentle on his partners in terms of being playful, childish, and being a nuisance.  his mental health is absolutely terrible (i’m not saying nanamis is any better but) hes always acted much younger than what he is altho i do blame his upbringing for that.

and gojou treats everyone as good friends but does like to particularly pick on ppl who take themselves too seriously (nanami and utahime), mei mei and yuki are exempt from this.  he also doesnt rly care for ichiji but like, that doesnt matter LOL.

i do see nanami eventually giving in for one (1) after dinner ‘date’ after work but when gojou is actually less himself, hes tolerable to be around which isnt saying much tbh.  you should def listen to the nanami and gojou drama audio if u can!  they’re so fucking funny as a pair, which solidifies them as being cute but were not talking about that rn.

in terms of being ‘what are they’ to each other, its hard to tell.  i talked about it briefly as nanami reminding him of his morality and being his humility tho gojou doesnt act like it, he fully believes hes above all and everyone, lovers and close friends are included in this.  i read a lot of nana/go fanfics and they portray nanami as someone to push down his ego;  to remind him hes actually Not all that great, a child in an adults body, etc.  he’s a brutality honest man and gojou can take critic and criticisms to his person but that doesnt mean hes going to listen (and he doesnt, hes even self aware that his personality sucks ass but does he bother to change?  absolutely not and he wont start now nor for anyone else).

yuu did definitely help nanami change and shift his ideas about the world, esp hating the jujutsu society afterwards.  like, i dont blame u king, it sucks ass.  tho, i dont think nanami looked up or cared for gojou and getou that much.  getou he looked up to more so because at least hes as a respectable guy, strong, good looking, and stimulates intellectual conversations.  gojou?  not so much.  nanami probably thought that it doesnt matter if u have techniques that is extremely rare to acquire and even more so to master but u suck ass and u dont stimulate joy to be around.

nanami is a good friend and high school buddy to gojou and nanami would definitely call him ‘coworker’ or something along those lines when hes annoyed him too much or doesnt want gojou to benefit too much from simple acknowledgement.  gojou thinks hes an ascended being but he definitely respects and finds nanami to be a strong sorcerer and was rather surprised when he took the 9 - 5 job but it was definitely safer.

death ... ah, i think about this all the time.  it’s like losing suguru all again except he didnt go rogue and kill a whole village.  hes absolutely confident in nanamis abilities to fend off curses and hes too stubborn to let himself die as well, so the idea of him dying doesnt ever cross his mind.  thats a true stab to the gut to hear that nanami has died, maybe a moment of truly being unhinged and a darker nature but we wont rly know until it happens in the manga, which i cant wait.  i mean, at least mei mei, utahime, and shouko are around but this is nanami were talking about.  if this was in terms of a romantic relationship rather than a simple seemingly one - sided friendship of enjoying of being around that person but that person just tolerating him and hoping he goes away eventually.  i can’t say, i can’t say!  just take these thoughts with like a grain of salt.

also that last statement in the ask, gojous smiles are fake and a mask while the rare times nanami does smile, its genuine.

regardless of what i said, i think it can be a comfy ship!  this ship isnt toxic but any means (unless u make it toxic then well, thats a you thing) so just enjoy it!  i know i do i think as long as u recognize that maybe neither of them being a relationship would benefit the other then go stupid go crazy, i know i will.

[aniaintok]

elysethrillems replied to your post “elysethrillems replied to your post “elysethrillems replied to your...”

Everyone is just a bro and disregards all the blatant magic use. Oh Anders healed a man with just his hands and some glowing eyes? Not a mage, surely. I think maybe a lot just has to deal with the location and how the Gallows is a place for the mages and seeing them be mistreated and hearing how others are treated across Thedas. The team is just like. hm. Interesting. And carry on without a hitch I love the idea of the crew not 100% knowing and Ashoka and Anakin just talking about it like that. Like to Ashoka it wouldn’t make a difference. Obi has had her back enough times in a battle and the way they can slam down drinks in succession while joking all night long is always a good time spent at the Hanged Man. It doesn’t really impact her personally that Obi could be a mage Whereas Ani like with his history in Tevinter and especially Danarius it makes sense that it would matter that Obi is a mage. But all the time before of getting to know the man without the knowledge of magic just skews his thoughts I’m sure. Someone along the line has gotta bring up that hiding it was the safest thing to do for Obi and his family here in Kirkwall, crawling with Templars and the threat of being sent to a Circle around every corner.  I can’t remember how Lothering was in dao but maybe they were more chill with it? Obi and Qui were able to practice and learn and teach magic but they also prepared for fighting when magic would be prohibited or dampened by anything. Even if Lothering didn’t like magic I’m pretty sure it was countryside so they could find a secluded area away from the town. So being a mage isn’t such a big identity to Obi like the in game characters are having to be class locked and holding very obvious staves                             In dai they really threw us a bone with this concept because I remember starting as a mage in the intro when Cassandra wants you to put the weapon down, there’s a dialogue option that’s like “you know I can do magic without this right?” And now I think about it I think I’ve given a mage in dao a blades weapon and they were able to use both. It was quite cool. Wish it could happen more.       But I am fully onboard with Qui being able to live and not meet Leandra’s fate in game. Gets to enjoy the mansion longer. Gets to see his adopted son go through the highs and lows from this town and companion conflicts, and is able to help him and lend an ear and advice. Definitely notices when Obi comes back after dinner time and doesn’t need a plate of food and looks happier than he has in awhile        The dog in dai is. Solas. Lmao ��. But really yeah I dunno why they dropped it off after having a dog in the last two games like even if they did it as a dlc like da2 I know people would buy it         oooOOO okay Barriss as Anders/Merrill mix sounds delightful. Tbh I have not watched tcw fully yet myself I believe I just finished the Mandalore arc in s5? Painful times. But I’m also a little aware of what happens in the later seasons and that it was to deal with Barriss and honestly that sounds like a pretty rad fit imo.                                                                                 

deadass LMAO they’re all like “oh, hawke just shot fire out of their hands? good for them” and move on. but i think ya, it’s like, regardless of their personal views on mages/magic, they all know how awful the templars in kirkwall are and how shitty they get treated in the gallows and they’re more than happy to turn a blind eye to the mages in their party.

and i really do love that idea, it matters more to ahsoka that obi-wan has helped her and saved her, had her back in a fight, and that matters more to her than if he is a mage or not. as long as obi-wan doesn’t turn on her, she has no reason to turn on him, and that’s about as much as she thinks on it. and anakin is just, nearly the complete opposite. he doesn’t think about it before hand because he has such an idea in his head already about what mages are like, surely he would know if obi-wan is a mage, it would be obvious -- and i think that would probably be a big part of why anakin is so distraught once he finds out. it forces him to look inside of himself and what he thinks and re-analyze all of his internal truths. and of course it doesn’t erase everything he went through, and his previous experiences with magic and mages, but it forces him to learn that it shouldn’t influence his views on everyone. i think ahsoka definitely sits him down and tries to get that through to him, too, about obi-wan hiding for his and his families safety, not because he wanted to deceive them.

i don’t remember exactly, but im pretty sure there’s some dialogue about the hawke family and lothering that pretty much implied that it was known that they were mages, but no one cared?? or at least, they all kept out of trouble, and lothering was so secluded anyway, it wasn’t worth it to turn them in to the templars. but yea, i really like the idea of writing Obi as not being class locked!! and i think that fits anyway, we already know in canon qui-gon is hailed as a non-conventional jedi, so he’d def be out there training Obi-wan in anything & everything lmao.

and YES, i remember that line, i remember the first time i played as a mage in dai i picked it bc i was like “okay TRUE” and i’m 90% sure you get a slight disapproval from cassandra for it lol but yes, i wish da referenced mages using magic staff-less, or using other weapons more in game! and i wish dai didn’t have ARMOR LOCK either, i just want my mage to wear good armor, is that too much to ask for????

and qui-gon being around to have more time with obi-wan and co is absolutely my favorite thing. home boy is just happy to be there, and he delights in watching his adopted son stumble through life. in ultimate dad fashion, he’s there to make fun of lovesick obi-wan, who’s poorly attempting to deny the crush he has on the loud angry warrior they met, and he’s there to comfort him when they fall out.

and i HOWLED at that, the dog in dai really is solas LMAOOO, fuckin dreadwolf headass, my god

hell yea hell yea, barriss is gonna be a solid addition! and oh, god, the mandalore arc, that whole plot line really took my heart and stomped it into the DIRT

[volganic]

Song of the Mountain

i really cant help myself from writing everything out all at once tbh but liz is really such a great motivator 🙏

[part 1]

Volga had only ever eaten the people that were foolish enough to fall prey to his voice.  The disorientation of the blazing heat combined with panic of being lost in a literal hellhole made it all too easy to capture wandering travelers.  Needless to say he had built a reputation for it and anyone with a lick of common sense would know to stay away from within the caves if they had managed to sneak past his kin -- but that still didn't stop those who were brave or just plain stupid.

This boy was not stupid.  Not at first glance anyway.

The dragon knight took three long strides toward the green clad hero, blatantly ignoring the tip of the sword pointed right at him.  Despite the look on his intruder's face, Volga could see that the white blade was shaking in his hold.  He pulled Link closer to him by the base of the blade with a clawed gauntlet, nonplussed by the fact that he allowed himself to pulled in with him.  A gasp left the hero's lips as he lost his footing for a second before he was unceremoniously knocked onto his back with a heavy kick, now left unarmed with his blade tossed to the side and out of reach.  

Volga towered over the boy as he scrambled to pull his shield over himself.  He dropped an armored foot on the center of the polished steel, effectively pinning him into place.  Link hissed at the immense pressure put on his arm and midsection, silenced by the tip of his spear pointed between his eyes.  The heat had seeped back into him as he began to sweat bullets in fear for his life with being taken down so easily and under the dragon's scrutinizing gaze. He could hear how his breathing had quickened as he looked between Volga's unreadable features and the end of the spear.

Another startled gasp was ripped out of his throat when Volga's claws caught his chin, armor sizzling hot against his skin.  He squeezed his eyes shut half expecting the victor to crush his jaw or mercilessly kill him.  That's what dragons do, right?  Even with his eyes shut, he could feel Volga's stare boring right into the center of his soul.  He laid stiff in his hold as his head was turned from one cheek to the other.

"You are truly the hero reborn," Volga purred when the boy finally opened his eyes.  Clawed fingers slipped underneath Link's lips, prying his mouth open with protest.  "With no bite, and even less teeth it seems," he chuckled as he pulled his fingers away, ignoring the coughing that followed.  "You are foolish to think that you could have taken me down without so much as anything to shield you from this heat, boy.  You have not listened to the fables well enough."

Link took a deep breath of relief as he was freed from under the weight of Volga's foot and spearhead no longer pointed in his direction. The sound of the other's footsteps retreating gave him the moment he needed to collect himself.  His lungs burned with strain and the back of his head met with the ground, cap tossed and forgotten.  A million questions were running through his mind:  Why was he spared?  Why didn't the dragon kill him when he had easily taken his chance?  Why, goddesses, why didn't he bring anything to protect him from fire?  He was coming after a dragon for goodness sake!  The goddesses were cruel for giving him this so-called blessing -- were they testing him?

He barely could sit up before a piece of heavy fabric hit him in the face.  He pulled it down and held it out at arm's length with an incredulous expression.  Volga snorted as he came back into Link's line of sight.  "If you have half the brain I expected the hero reborn to have, I would suggest you put it on.  It will keep you save from the fires," he said flatly, mirroring the scowl that Link was giving him.  "I dare not fight against someone who is ill-equipped; I have a code of honor that I choose to live by, whether you so choose to believe it or not."

So that's why.  Link held his stare at the dragon for a minute longer before he slowly nodded his head in thanks, looking back down at the tunic he was given; ruby in color and very similar to his own.  Volga took a seat to study the hero in silence, watching him as he stood up and worked in shrugging off the shoulder guard and scarf to peel off the green tunic from his body.  How he managed to survive this long in the Eldin Caves with little to no protection from its severe temperatures was admirable, but still foolish as he eyed the stains of sweat underneath the layer of chain mail.

"Why is it that you have come to challenge me, boy?" he asked, rising to pick up the abandoned blade.  He rolled the hilt in his claws, seemingly unimpressed.  "You are ill-equipped, inexperienced, dehydrated, and armed with nothing but a poor excuse of a sword.  This is a step-up from a simple soldier's sword, but a pitiful sword nonetheless.  What did you expect to achieve?"

Link threw him a cold glare in response as his fingers smoothed out the red tunic.  He brought his hands up to begin signing.  "I've been sent by the princess to investigate your intentions. What are your underlings doing attacking the villages below the mountain?  Your 'code' wouldn't allow you to attack the helpless, so why are you killing them?  What good are you doing them?"

"I am neither good nor evil," he snarled.  "I am not killing them, nor am I sending my fellow kin to attack them.  I have yet to be brought back a corpse from anything other than livestock.  Contrary to the fairy tales, I choose not to eat humans."  Volga stepped closer to offer the blade back to its owner.  "I am Volga, guardian of the Eldin Caves and Death Mountain, and alike the villagers, I too am a victim of an attack.  I have no choice but to make sure that my kin are safe, so they in turn can keep those fools occupying the villages below safe."

The hero strapped his blade back into place with a confused tilt of his head.  The dragon was being attacked?  "How so?  Attacking villages doesn't sound like you're keeping them safe.  Who is attacking you?"

"A witch."  Volga's features darkened as the words left his mouth, a foul taste on his tongue.  "She seeks to start a war with my assistance.  I have no interest in partaking in any war and declined her offer.  She was no match for my army and retreated, but not before taking out our source of food.  A poor tactic, but effective enough when it comes to having an army that relies on it strength in numbers.  Ravenous reptiles are difficult to lead when they are starving."  The knight dug underneath one of the straps around his chest plate, brandishing a silver ring with a large blue jewel.  "I am also inclined to believe she was after this ring.  Without it, there is no start to any war."

Volga drew Link's attention away from the cursed artifact by curling his claws around it tightly.  "Its new home will soon be the pit of lava at the peak of Death Mountain.  The fires are hot enough to expel whatever curse this ring holds."  There's a moment of pause before the knight folded his arms across his chest.  "If there is nothing else you need, then leave my domain."

"Your people are still attacking villages!" the hero signed, unsatisfied with the idea of leaving the caves with unfinished business.  "You need to tell them to fall back and leave.  The people are struggling prior to your forces coming in and invading their homes."  Link chose his next words carefully.  He couldn't risk starting a war of his own, especially in the middle of a cave that nearly killed him.  "Perhaps if I talked with the princess, we could come to an agreement--"

"My allegiance cannot, and will not be bought."  A low rumble worked its way out of Volga's chest to make his point clear.  "I protect nothing more and nothing less than my own kin and those who know their place.  Your princess has nothing I desire.  I have no quarrel with your army.  Leave."

"Not until I know that the people below your mountain are safe!  They know their place, and is it not your duty to protect them?"  Arguing with a force such as Volga was starting to wear him down; fighting him in a duel of arms would have been easier than this.  "If this continues, then the Hyrulean army will be forced to step in.  We do not want to go to war with you."

The tension in the air was nearly suffocating.  The hero wasn't burning to the temperature in the caves, but the malicious glare the taller knight was giving him would have killed any lesser man in fear.  He knew he couldn't return to the castle with news that their neighboring villages were soon to be destroyed.  He also knew Volga had no interest in fighting a war.  Determination kept him in place as he mirrored Volga's posture.  

After an eternity of silence than the faint sound of scratching echoing off the walls (were the dinolfos back?), the dragon knight relented with a long exhale.  If Link knew any better, he would've sworn it looked like smoke.  "Very well. My kin will retreat.  With the amount of livestock they have collected, perhaps we could survive until the next full moon.  Our sources should be replenished by then."

Link blinked a few times in disbelief to make sure he had understood him correctly.  When the dragon relaxed his posture in defeat, the hero beamed.  "As a show of good faith, we will call them back immediately."  

"We?"

A garbled noise left the Hylian's throat as a searing heat cut through the air near him.  He was mostly unharmed thanks to the tunic, but it didn't hide the absolute surprise in his eyes as a fully grown dragon now took place where the man he had clashed with had stood.  This... this confirmed the stories.  The dragon could take tongue of man -- it could also take on the form of one too!  It towered over him as Link stood frozen in place, at a loss for words.  It was a real dragon!

He was pulled out of his thoughts as the reptile plucked him off his feet by the back of the tunic with its beak.  There was no time to protest or scramble out of the caught clothing before they took flight out of the crystal caverns.  Link braced himself and pulled his limbs as close to himself as he could as the dragon weaved between the tight tunnels. The wind and few stray pebbles of stone lashed at his skin.  The wave of blues and oranges that creeped on the ends of his vision soon turned dark, prompting Link to finally open his eyes.  They were no longer inside the caves but now they were airborne in the night sky, soaring up the steep mountainside of Death Mountain.  

Volga must still hold some spite against him for having his ego challenged as the dragon held him closer and closer to the ground, threatening to scrape his body against the rock.  Link would have to remember not to do that again.  The pair reached the peak as quickly as they had taken flight.  Volga released his grip on the hero's clothing and dropped him unceremoniously on the flat rocks as he lowered himself down to the ground, slowly the flap of his large wings.  Link stood up in a huff and glowered at the dragon.  He looked awfully smug underneath his silver helmet as he turned to peer over the edge of the cliff to the villages below.

Link barely had time to brace himself before the ear-piercing screech shook the top of the mountaintop they occupied.  Volga's claws ripped through the earth underneath him as fire threatened to spill from his gaping maw.  The roar was enough to silence the entire province, if not even the entirety of the world.  He wasn't sure when the sound had ended, ears left abuzz from the deafening cry.  Volga had nudge him with the tip of his snout to bring his attention back to over the mountainside.  To his surprise, he saw flocks of shadowy figures scurrying back to the entrance of the Eldin Caves.  

A small laugh left his lips.  He did it.  The villages were spared, and he proved himself that he was capable of taking on an impossible mission.  A smile splayed across his lips as he turned to look at Volga, finding him occupied with digging with the odd chain around the base of his neck.  The glint of a certain blue jewel between the dragon's teeth reminded him that this was their declaration at peace.  The Hylian cautiously approached when he was acknowledged to come forward.  He held his palm open, gifted with the honor of tossing the cursed artifact into the pit of magma behind them.  

With no time to second guess his options, Link tossed the ring into the bubbling lava, satisfied with the splash it made.  The pool sizzled where the ring was thrown and exhausted a plume of purple smoke.  Volga hissed lowly in approval; the fires indeed have exiled the curse of the ring, reducing it to metal.  With some hesitation, Link warily placed the palm of his hand against the side of the dragon's snout, nodding in a small thanks.  The dragon snorted at the gesture, pulling away quickly before making quick work to pick the boy up again.  If this was his way of saying "you're welcome", Link would have kept his appreciation to himself he thought as they made their way back down to the mountain.

At least this time, they weren't flying.

---

"The villages haven't seen any sign of any lizalfos or dinolfos for some time since you've returned," the Sheikah commented, clapping the hero's back.  "Well done."

Link frowned as he brushed the dirt off his face.  It had taken him a full day's journey to return to the castle from the caves, and he still looked less than polished with leaves in his hair and mud staining his red tunic.  Good word had spread among the soldiers, their morale having gone through the roof knowing that the dragon was no threat.

Zelda nodded in agreement with Impa, but her smile died on her lips.  Her expression hardened.  "Please, go on.  What is this about a witch?"

The hero sighed heavily.  He brought his hands up to sign, but was interrupted by the familiar chime of his fairy.

"Let him rest!  Surely he's deserved it, no?"

Link gave a stiff nod before acknowledging the general.  

"Next time, send a negotiator.  Diplomacy isn't my thing."

[mythandlaur]

Burai here on anon, rip Side-blog personal blog. Anywhoo-- The Will of the Swarm, Children of the Archives, Light Unseen, and are ya winning the tournament son. If you don't mind.

The WIP Tag Game

@buraidragon​ You should know these--you were involved in at least two of them.

Lots of text under the cut!

The Will of the Swarm (working title only) - Spiral Knights - 2018

A collaborative project with friends Burai and apprenticeNerd; a roleplay adaptation that would’ve made for a multichapter fic. Knight-Elite Ixtharion and his protégé, the slightly pyromaniacal Ashoza, are called on for a cryptic rescue mission in the Wildwoods, only to find the person they’re rescuing is none other than Parma, reconnaissance specialist of the lost Alpha Squad, who bears worrying information from the Core and evidence of her claims in the form of a dark miasma that appears to have eaten away her right arm. Ix has some knowledge on prosthetics, and takes over the effort to get Parma set up with one, facilitating interaction and camaraderie between the trio--and it’s them who chase after Parma when she delves back into the deepest layers of the Clockworks upon word coming back of the fate of the Alpha Squad’s technician...consumed by the Swarm and working for Herex.

I still really enjoy this concept tbh??? Like I don’t know if I could WRITE write it but if you guys still wanted to poke at it after all this time I’d be game. I don’t have a snippet, but I do have some nigh-incomprehensible notes from a document dated August 2018

Events:

Parma needs to recover a little bit, explore Haven when she can (her arm’s definitely going though)

Ix dinner party

Discussion of important things/she lets them in on what she found

Vanguards find Shadow Rulen in the depths and Parma immediately runs off looking, Ix and Shoza having to follow after her

Other ideas and stuff:

Scout slowly becomes a Seraphynx

Drunk Ashoza happens at some point

Concepts:

Shadow Rulen/Technomancer Rulen:

Is possessed/corrupted by the Swarm and taken in by Herex

Speaks in the plural in this state

Creates a very large mech (possibly named “Omega” something for irony?)

Swarm turret gatling gun

Shard bomb launcher

Tears out bits of the world and slams them down on enemies

Weak to overheading

Last ditch attempts to escape deeper into the core

Potential concept of Rulen losing his body to the Swarm and becoming a spirit who possesses/manipulates technology

Grantz’s Sword:

This dude took his oath way too seriously and stuck around even after dying, possessing his sword which remains around the core

Doesn’t realize he’s dead

Inadvertently possesses whatever knight holds the sword

---

Children of the Archives - Hollow Knight - 2019

Another collaborative project between the same trio, an AU affectionately referred to as “Monomom”. There isn’t so much a plot summation for this as there are a bunch of concepts; basically, in this verse, a very large amount of Vessels find their way out of the Abyss and into the Teacher’s Archives, becoming mainstays around there long before the Infection starts to take hold. Though Monomon still fulfils her duty, she isn’t happy about it or the Pale King’s plan, and Quirrel stays behind to take care of the Vessels after she’s gone, though becomes infected as a result. Several events in the game go differently, partially because Hornet is aware of the vessels and is more open with Ghost because of that awareness. Was meant to probably be a verse with a lot of domestic nonsense going on overall.

I don’t have a snippet, but there’s a doc with a lot of concepts, including about three pages’ worth of Vessels created between the three of us. Have some favorites:

Trio - Early model, has three arms. Acts like the older brother to other Vessels. Probably has three small Nails. 

Ase - Broken Vessel, stoic leader, mature, has been wandering longer than the others, cares about siblings more than themself - Insists they’re strong and independent and don’t need help, try to get to the void, fail, several others from the Archives sneak out to drag them back to the Archives badly injured and scare the living daylights out of Quirrel

Lantern - Likes putting lumaflies in their head. Yes, the eyes glow depending how many there are. Theoretically if they Consume the shock ones, they could have laser beam eyes? 

Vault - Taller and thicker vessel that likes storing stuff inside of them. Not a fighter. They fight by flinging stone writings at people and running.

Spite - Seven horns, is upset about that, breaks one off that forms the core of their nail, always down to fight. Will probably stab you if you insult a sibling.

Ink - Gets really good at making ink, their shell’s always stained, loves learning, pesters the students. Probably carries brushes instead, and would hang around Sheo for art.

Legion- One Shade spread over five Vessels. They act as a collective within a collective. If threatened will pile into a very stable tower and initiate a five-tiered Loom. Highly skilled in combat, as you need to take all five of them out within a short time period to fully incapacitate them. You might find one of their Shells roaming Fog Canyon, too keep a scout’s eye out for any potential dangers. If nothing else, they’re bouncing off of jellyfish because it’s fun. Each Shell of Leigon’s has a pentagon inked onto the back, with a dot in each corner responding to which Shell it is. Legion’s shade is as large as Hollow’s. 

Smith: Slightly-large Vessel, missing a leg, really wants to be a Nailsmith. Alters between studying under The Nailsmith and practicing Nailcrafting on sibling’s blades. Keeps them in shape, if nothing else. Has a metal peg-leg they are perfectly willing to take off and smack you with if they’ve lost their nail.

---

Light Unseen - Destiny 2 - 2019

A backstory oneshot for Kaira, a blind Guardian only capable of seeing traces of Light where it’s present, and her Ghost, Nel, who acts as her guide. This particular bit of writing was meant to be Kaira and Nel’s first meeting, and Kaira’s first (and second) revival, as Nel tries to figure out how to accommodate her and help her escape from a Cabal ambush in the EDZ, eventually assisted by more experienced Guardians Irina and Elara-4, who become Kaira’s good friends.

I really, really love this character and I really, really want to do something more with her, but D2′s writing has gone in the crapper since Forsaken and I don’t agree with basically anything Bungie’s done with the game in the last year, so I’m in a bit of a pickle. I do have a snippet, though. Trigger warning for a brief description of an extremely long-dead corpse/skeleton.

Other Ghosts do this for years, he’s heard. But for him, it only takes a few minutes.

Sticking out of some bushes, the Ghost finds a leg. Not much of a leg, of course; the flesh has long since rotted away, and the elements have left just the barest scraps of fabric from the deceased’s clothes. As he delves into the bushs, branches scraping and poking at his shell, he sees the rest of the remains tangled inside are similarly skeletal. The skull is the worst, mangled and caved in around the eye sockets. He wonders how they’d come to be in a place like this, in a state like that. Had they fallen? Had someone, or something, tried to hide their body?

There’s no way for him to know, and he doubts he ever will. But it doesn’t matter, because what he does know is that this is it.

He doesn’t know in any logical capacity, but he knows because he can feel something inside of those bones reacting to his presence, like a pair of magnets drawn to each other’s polarities. He feels...warm, and whole, and his shell is buzzing as if with errant electricity, except it is not electricity, it is Light, his Light, the Light the Traveler had given him with the sole purpose of passing that wonderful gift on to another.

Their body isn’t really in an ideal position for resurrection, and he can’t do much about that given his lack of both size and limbs. But that doesn’t dampen his growing excitement, as he looks at those bones and wonders not for the first time what they’ll be like, what sort of adventures they’ll go on together.

There’s only one way to find out, he knows.

The red-shelled Ghost hovers there, relishing this moment of anticipation for a few seconds longer. And then, he can’t contain it any longer.

He opens himself up to the gift of the Light, and it all but consumes him; his form expands, a little blue sun with little metal planets orbiting around it, and every mechanical sensor cuts out. The part of him that isn’t mechanical reaches out, and from the tiny floating solar system comes a beam that bathes the lost bones in Light.

Flesh reforms itself in the wake of shimmering waves, and clothes over that. The skull rearranges its broken, twisted parts and knits itself back together. After what feels like an age to him, his sensors come back online as his shell wraps around him again, and he drifts back to check his handiwork.

They wear the cloak, hood, and mask of a Hunter, hiding their face. Their shape is vaguely feminine--he’s going to assume until they tell him themself. Her chest rises and falls slowly with her newly-restored breathing, as if she’s not yet fully awake, and she doesn’t seem to realize the fact that she’s lying in a bush.

“...Guardian?” He quells his excitement, trying to keep his voice soft as he flies in closer to her face--then quickly back as he realizes he may be too close. The branches rustle with a slight movement of her arm, and her head turns sluggishly. “Guardian, wake up. I’m sorry, I couldn’t move you--you’re going to have to get up.”

She tilts her head slightly upwards towards his voice. For a moment, there’s no other reaction, but then the words seem to register and she starts pushing herself into a sitting position. Branches snap and crack as she pushes against them, struggling, before she seems to realize a better way and starts sliding her feet along the ground, dragging herself out with her knees little by little until she can sit up unhindered. Once she’s up, she crosses her legs under her and sets her hands in her lap, chin dropped towards her chest as he hovers around her to make sure she’s all in one piece.

He can hardly believe it. His Guardian, living and breathing once again, right here in front of him. The Ghost flies around to hang in front of her face. “How do you feel?” No response, no acknowledgment. He guesses she’s still a little rattled. “Not much of a talker? Okay, you don’t have to talk right now, but we do need to get moving, there’s--”

The Hunter abruptly raises her head, and he stops talking. In the silence, a loud rumbling can be heard, gradually growing louder. Seconds pass, and he turns his eye upward to see a shadow in the sky above the trees--a very familiar shadow, as he’s seen several of these during his scouting missions.

“...Maybe they’ll pass us.”

The dropship stops in the air, almost directly overhead. The side of a wing is all he can see, but he can hear grunts and shouts all too close nearby, feet hitting the ground hard.

So, he’d been quite lucky to find his Guardian so quickly and easily. But apparently, he’d used up all that luck at once, and now a Cabal scouting party is here, for whatever reason.

“You know what I said about moving? We’re going to need to start on that right now.” The Ghost quickly disappears in a shimmer of light, still keeping an eye out around them. “I’m still here. I’ll explain everything later, I promise, but right now we’ve got to run. I’ve got a marker up for you, just follow that and don’t stop. Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.”

The Hunter stumbles to her feet, holding her arms out to steady herself. The Light is still waking inside of her; she probably doesn’t know how to control it, and without a gun, running is their only chance. She glances about wildly, and then takes off--not exactly in the direction of his marker, but he trusts she’s got a plan. If she’s a Hunter, she’s likely got impeccable instincts.

---

are ya winnin the puyo tournament son (doc name) - Puyo Puyo - October 2020

You know I had to do it. This is a oneshot based in an AU where Sig’s ancestor, Ajisai, is reconstituted by the deus ex machina duo themselves, Ecolo and (much to their chagrin) Satan. After spending a few weeks living in the middle of nowhere, Ajisai hears about an upcoming Puyo tournament and decides to participate in the festivities, using it as an excuse to endear themself to varying degrees to the students and visitors. Eventually, they confront Satan about his unacceptable behavior, and get a hint that Satan’s actions may be a bit more tragic than merely pathetic.

Basically this is just ‘what if Ajisai lived because I want to write more for them and I want to see how they’d interact with more characters’. It’s mostly just me goofing in 15th anniversary’s style and I don’t know if people would be interested, but I’m getting some enjoyment out of it.

Looking down on Primp Town from the ridge is rather like watching a beehive--except instead of honeycomb, the excited bees are rushing about building a network of colorful streamers and decorations hanging between buildings.

“You certainly have a lot of celebrations here, don’t you.”

Sig gives the barest of shrugs, not even bothering to glance up from the caterpillar that’s made itself at home on a finger of his claw. “Guess so. It’s fun, though.”

“What is it this time? The Primp Festival wasn’t too long ago. It can’t be that again, can it?”

“Puyo tournament. The school’s running it.”

“Ah, I see.”

“They did it last year, too. Bunch of Arle’s friends showed up.”

“You do realize I was there for the last one, yes?”

Sig finally looks over, and they patiently wait for him to arrive at the realization. “Oh, yeah. Right.”

Ajisai chuckles quietly under their breath as their descendant goes back to admiring the caterpillar. It is easy to forget that they’d been present during many of the major events in Sig’s life, if only because they look and act so different now that they have a whole body to themself again. It’s a small price to pay for their freedom, of course, and they owe Ecolo a great deal for the service.

Well, not just Ecolo, they suppose. There had been...others involved.

“It’s different playing in it yourself, though,” Sig continues after a pause. Ajisai shakes their head to dislodge the loose thoughts before turning back to him.

“Are you going to be joining in this year, then?”

“Yeah.” A tiny smile comes to Sig’s face, though he still doesn’t look up. Nothing more needs to be said, so a comfortable silence stretches on between them, as Sig watches the caterpillar climb his arm and offers his right hand to crawl on instead so he doesn’t lose the little thing. Meanwhile, Ajisai can’t help but glance back down towards the frenetic party preparations, slight fangs poking at their lower lip in thought.

They’ve been alive and well for at least two weeks now, and only four people even know about it; they’ve either been staying at Sig’s house rereading the collection they’d passed down to him or wandering about the Forest of Nahe aimlessly, occasionally slipping into town at night to have a look around before quickly leaving again. But...they’d like to go into town, if only to visit the library. There are so many of Sig’s classmates they’d never gotten to meet properly, too. After so long isolated, they finally remember what it’s like to feel a need for companionship.

There’s only the question of if they deserve it. If they’ll be welcome there.

Ajisai takes a deep breath. “Is this tournament only for the students?”

“No,” Sig replies without missing a beat, “Bunch of other people are probably gonna play. Arle’s friends, Ringo’s friends, the space guys, Ally…Dunno who’s coming, but I’d be surprised if those guys didn’t.”

“Hm.”

“You wanna play too?” Sig takes his attention from the caterpillar, looking over at them with half-lidded, questioning eyes and pursed lips. “You’re really good.”

“Well…” Leave it to their ‘nephew’ to see right through them. Ajisai looks away, hair flicking in slight agitation. They’ve picked up a thing or two about Puyo over the years, it’s true--they’ve even given some of Sig’s classmates a run for their money in the past. Though that only brings up the circumstances of those battles, which were...less than ideal. “Do you think they’d be willing to have me?”

“You’d have to ask Ms. Accord.” Typical Sig--doesn’t even notice their internal struggle, or perhaps he does and doesn’t think it’s an issue. He points down at the town with a clawed finger. “She’s probably down there helping set up.”

Ajisai narrows their eyes, considering it. They suppose the worst that can happen is them being told no and having to go back to the forest, but the idea of just walking into town as they are is a bit unnerving. Still… “Would you mind if I went down there now, then?”

“Go ahead,” Sig says, focus returning to the caterpillar. They can’t help but chuckle a bit under their breath at their nephew’s fascination, the same all-consuming interest that they had for books and stories. 

Ajisai stands, shaking the grass out of their cape before resting a hand on Sig’s left shoulder and squeezing slightly. “Don’t go running off,” they say with a wry smirk, fully aware that Sig will probably still be watching the caterpillar twenty minutes from now.

Sig knows it too, and huffs a little, amused snort through his nose. “Yeah, I’ll try not to.”