#that's the motto for this year tbh

[citrijp]

anything can be tropical if you're not a coward

[whitebluewhitefem]

Started my first punk leather jacket DIY!

I've had this jacket for years but didn't do anything with it because I was too insecure about my clothes modification skills lol. Oh well, you gotta start somewhere.

The paint got weird when I used the fixative spray, so there's a white halo around the Venus symbol now, but I think it just makes it more punk tbh.

The drawing is a reference to S.C.U.M. the band, I learned about them from another radfem on this hellsite <3

Any ideas on what other radical feminist mottos to put under the symbol? Doesn't have to be a reference to anything, but there's still space, and I'd like to show what I stand for. Tips on DIY, studding, and painting on leather are also appreciated \m/

[strawberryseeded]

thinking abt bllk (no surprise there) and how (at least until now) all (well, most of?) the characters backstories aka basically the reason for their most prominent issues are, instead of extremely tragic and complex events, simply children's logic applied to recurrent situations in their daily lives (and especially the sport they love):

bachira feels lonely: bachira was a weird and lonely kid who was also extremely passionate abt (and talented in) football, more than any other kid, making bachira feel isolated even when he was playing with others. this got even worse when the kids he played with started to resent him, calling him a "monster" and bullying him. while talking with his mom, she told him to keep believing in his inner voice and ignore those who dont understand him, resulting in bachira giving that voice the form of a "monster" that can play football with him to feel less lonely. which, obviously, made him even more lonely, even if it was an imaginary friend created to aliviate that feeling. because bachira still felt lonely, even after many years and even after playing with other people in school who werent any fun for him, he kept the monster by his side. believing no one could ever beat this monster (thank GODNESS he did 🎉!!! HE is the monster no one can beat!!!! his arc is one of my favs hes literally unstoppable now, i love him dude i love h)

isagi holds himself back too much: isagi (i read the light novel abt him hehe) was a timid and mild mannered kid until he discovered football, which he fell in love with. while playing the sport he could let go of his shyness and actually be selfish and go all out. uuuntil... he entered his high school's reputable football club, where the motto was to play as a team above everything else (a very anti-blue lock logic lol). isagi then, in an effort to accomodate to the social norms of the club (bc hes isagi, and off the field hes calmer and timider), had to simmer down in the field as well. supress himself. at times it seems like his on and off switch is kind of stuck.

barou has main character syndrome: barou was a very, on top of talented, meticulous kid and therefore the best in football out of every other kid he knew, who didnt take it as seriously and were more than happy to let him score all the goals. he didnt understand why they were satisfied with letting other people take all the glory, so he secluded himself, convinced that he was the only player that actually mattered on the field. the best. the Main Character. everyone else was completely worthless, their only use being to serve HIM. (until he got his ass kicked by isagi and became the villan instead of the main character, bc oh, shit, barou's not actually the main character???? then he'll hunt down & DESTROY the main character).

rin (god, rin) has a brother complex (i used to hate when ppl oversimplify whats wrong w him w this term but tbh it does boil down to this lol ToT): rin idolized his older brother like crazy and wanted to be just like him. bc he was also blessed with talent and also had a great relationship w sae, he had everything he needed to fulfill his dream of being the 2nd best striker, the 1st obviously being his older brother, who rin viewed as the best, most talented player in the world. when sae comes back from spain and tells him 'the world is big and im not actually the best, you go and be the best striker by yourself' (basically: our (your) dream is over), rin has a fucking breakdown. its not really a tragic, despair-inducing event, objectively speaking. but in the manga its framed as such bc for rin, in his childish logic, it is. bc his brother IS the BEST player, what the fuck do you mean hes not number 1 outside of japan?? ....then what about rin? if his brother cant be the best, rin cant be the 2nd best either, let alone the best. he feels like sae ruined everything, gave up, broke their (rin's) dream!!!! after sae humilliates him, rin directs all of his frustrations at him and bows to defeat him. as long as rin sees himself as sae's little brother, he's never gonna be able to surpass him, bc in rin's mind, sae is still the best, his talented big brother.

ness believes kaiser, not him, is the magician: ness's case is more serious bc his family was (is?) emotionally abusive towards him. basically, like every other kid, ness believed in magic. the concept of magic is exciting for children and gives them, in the form of play, the opportunity to express their creativity and exercise their imagination; work out a way to make the impossible come true. bc this is so important for their development, usually its the parents role to, at least to a certain degree, keep alive the belief that magic is real. ness's parents, on the contrary, shut down this belief bc it didnt match with their own views. they saw his interests as a waste of time, even letting his sibilings bully him and treat him badly to make him give up on them. ness, however, didnt, and instead found a more socially acceptable way to 'do magic' and express his creativity: football. he feared greatly, however, that football would be taken away from him, so in that faithful match in which he met kaiser he decided to put all of his trust and hard work on him, bc ness believed kaiser was the person who would be able to make the impossible, the magic that ness wanted to create, happen. i think the key to unlock his full potential is stop relying on kaiser so much and start believing in his own magic (kind of like what happened in hiori's arc). we have yet to know kaiser's backstory but i have a feeling those two enable each other's worst traits...

ETC !!!! sorry i got tired of writing lol

anyways these r just my interpretations of the characters feel free 2 b like "was is she ON about"

[stars-taylorsversion]

the marauders character ask!

- love the sun and the warmth and the summer (i shrivel up in winter)

- i DEVOUR books

- med student with the biggest case of imposter syndrome youve ever seen

- procrastinator!

- friends think im neurodivergent but therapist said tests say no (dunno how tbh)

- so so so in live with my beautiful gorgeous girlfriend (asked her to be my girlfriend after 5 weeks of dating)

- love being busy doing things all the time (i always have to much on my plate)

- i plan birthday gifts months in advance

- i play piano (not very well im afraid but i was classically trained for 7+ years)

- the BIGGEST case of baby fever i melt when i see babies and kids

- kinda messy there are always clothes on the floor and every other surface

- i have a lot of social anxiety and not a lot of friends and feel like people hate me often lol

- life mottos: it's not that deep + if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out

- despite that i care very very deeply

jamess <3

[orbital-obvious]

Anylasis of possible Jace interactions at the Vale/North (WARNING: long af)

I wish we had seen more of Jace at the Vale/North , and part of it is definetly self indulgent (I love the North and I always wish to see more of the Vale) but I've been thinking and it's like... This is both really important to the plot, overall themes, and characterization.

We've seen last season that noble houses wouldn't necessarily come for Rheanyra's cause for the sake of one vow they took 20+ years ago, so Jace DOES have some convincing to do. Also, it would be interesting to see Jace handling cultures not centered around his family and their dragons. AND Jeyne Arryn and Cregan Stark happen to be really interesting as characters.

There's a few points, and I'll probably forget most of them, so I'll just have a subject and see how both the Vale and the North would have approached the subject.

Why Rheanyra?

Choosing Rhaenyra is the more honorable option - maintaining the vows taken either by themselves (Jeyne) or by those who came before them (Cregan). But there are other concerns aside from one's own honor, other pros and cons, and I would expect a ruler to consider the good of their people before their own honor. With that-

Jeyne is an Arryn, who's motto is "As High As Honor", AND Rheanyra is her niece while she has no familial bonds to the greens, so, yeah, I'd say it's "in the bag" and it's really a question of what that support would entail.

As for the Starks, this show has this canon that they are also a very honor bound family which I don't really like, partly because it's really based on Ned (who must have gotten his ideas of honor, at least in part, from being fostered by Jon Arryn) and partly because it erases ideas like "the wolf's blood", the wild nature of the Starks, and more general cultural differences between the North and the South. Though, tbh, I don't think Cregan Stark would care to swear to the Greens - just because it will require him more involvement with Southren politics which I think that, at least at this point of the plot, is none of his business and none of his interest. I think actual loyalty to Rhaenyra could be fostered by his personal loyalty to Jace via the time they spent together.

What is the personal reaction?

How does Jeyne "as high as honor" Arryn would feel about treating with a bastard? Well, he is her blood, so how would other lords of the Vale, bound by Southern honor and virtue but not by the crown tight lip policy about Rhaenyra's children? You could even add a snide remark from the Royce, as siding with Rhaenyra is siding with Daemon, who they are certain killed their beloved Rhea.

Cregan and Jace are close of age and I think the show tried to echo somewhat the very strong connection they were said to have in the books. Weather you want it to be a romantic relationship or a brotherly one (leaning towards the second option myself but it's a matter of personal opinion) there are a lot to build and explore there. Also, I don't think the North heard the "rumors" about Jace being a bastard, let alone give a shit (due to cultural differences). Would Jace feel relief there? Would Jace connect to his father's First Men heritage - that he was never allowed to even acknowledge - in First Men majority North?

The Details - political gain:

Just becasue one is loyal to Rhaenyra does not mean this loyalty would come for free (and assuming so is a mistake, as we've seen with Luke in Storm's End). What is there to gain from this alliance?

As far as the Vale goes, I think we got a pretty good answer to that - they want a dragon. I doubt Jace would have given one so willy nilly, It would have been an interesting scene to see the give and take that led to that conclusion.

The North is more tricky. I know in the books there was the Pact of Ice and Fire which could have been connected to the whack prophecy storyline they try to push since season 1. Then again, considering the support the North currently dished out, I think "taking those men off your hands and let them die in battle before winter comes" is, in the mind of North culture, a good deal in itself.

The Details - army movement:

I know, I know, Rhaenyra is doing her best going to undercover missions to do peace gossip sessions with Alicent or whatever, but one should at least PREPARE to the option of war - including dragon war.

We sort of get that with Jeyne, requesting a dragon to protect the Eyrie (which is strong against ground attacks, but not against dragons). But what about the rest of the Vale? What are the main threats? I believe Jeyne's motive would be to keep war out of the Vale itself. How do you plan around that? Rhaenyra ended sending her youngest children (aka, potential heirs) there, which would make the Eyrie a target. Was this part of the negotiations? Was the inclusion of Rhaena?

The North, on the other hand, is probably not as concerned. It's not a worthy target for dragons - the North is big, but poor and faraway from location of importance (The Riverlands is the opposite btw and that's why I'm glad it was the focus of the season, more or less), so the Greens, without dragons to spare, would probably not send dragonriders to capture a difficult yet unworthy target. As far as more traditional means go, the North is also in a very good position: For an army to enter on foot they have to go past the Neck that has one entry point for armies which can easily be guarded, and any other entry point will require traversing the bogs and be at the mercy of the danger there, and either way the Crannogmen would bleed you dry (if you are lucky). Attack from the sea is not favorable as well, because the North is GIANT and would require transporting a lot of army on the ships and that is a waste of a good fleet if I've ever seen one, ESPECIALLY If the Vale is loyal to the Blacks and the Greens only option is to either pass the blockade + possibly the vale navy from the east or pass the ironborn from the west. All that for a bunch of frozen ground and trees with faces? fat chance. Which good for the North but a little bit bad for the Blacks, because "Rhaenyra will protect you from danger" is an important barging chip when gathering armies.

The Details - Other concerns:

The Dance is the main conflict of the show and what the Narrative should be centered about, but there are other concerns for both the Vale and the North that can be taken into account as the wardens of the East/North can use the treaty to secure help from the crown for their issues in the future, and Jace himself can talk about possible future solutions as a way to not only win their loyalty, but to prove his worth as the future ruler after his mother to both them and us, the audience.

I think the Vale's main concern is the upcoming war and weather or not an army or a dragon will come and ravage their lands, but aside from that there are other issues of clansman raidings, or maybe things related to trading with Essos (is Rhaenyra's blockade effecting this at alll?)

The North is in the opposite position: low chance of suffering from the Dance, but there are other, bigger problem. Same as it always was and always will be: Winter Is Coming. They actually touched that a bit in the show itself - more in the sense, I feel, of winter causing a higher activity of the white walkers and other matter of supernatural monstrosities; but there is also the very real issue of winter is death, as in - less food, harder weather conditions, etc etc. Cregan's concern should be first getting the North through Winter, and then whatever hissy fit the dragon family is having downstairs. I think bringing this up would cause an interesting challenge to Jace's worldview - for him and the south at large, the most dangerous thing in the world are dragons; for the North, it's winter.

Setting up other characters that would be important when the war will break out:

Not much to say about that, other than there are other characters very important to the Dance that could've been introduced in Vale and North segments. I know the show changes a lot from the books but I would hope they will at least keep their options open while mentioning certain characters and not just pull them out of thin air come season 3.

Reaction to the Green offer:

We know the Vale + North are taking the Black, so to say (not that kind of taking the black, Cregan, lower your swors none of us are deserters), but the Greens also sent for them. The Blacks have many riders so they sent their crown prince there, while the Greens only sent letters (I suspect also because they didn't really expect the Vale and the North to ralley to the cause). The show tells us those letters were left unanswered, but what was inside them? What would the Greens say to try and persuade them to their cause, and what would be the reaction?

Would Jeyne be angry at the Greens request to abandon her own niece?? and as a woman ruler, I'm sure she'll take offense in casting Rhaenyra aside for Aegon.

I kind of need a scene of a public reading and mockery of the Greens request in the North. Seems like something they would do.

Character foils and different points of leadership:

Jeyne Arryn is the head of house Arryn, Wardness of the East, and a WOMAN who does not live by the conventions of her time - she's a lesbian (well, in the book she was and I would hope the show won't erase that) who never married. She is, in many ways, what Rhaenyra aspires to be. How does she maintain her position? Rhaenyra, I feel, is too naive about people's support of her and the work she has to put in as a ruler - what about Jeyne, who probably clawed her way to the position? What is Jeyne, as woman ruler, opinion on the impact of Rhaenyra changing inherentce rules3 What can Jace learn from his great aunt?

Cregan Stark is much like Jace - forced to shoulder great responsibility at a young age. There are other parallels if you look at the book version - Cregan lost his younger brother and had a claim dispute with his uncle's side of the family. If you don't want to get into all o' that, you can also claim that if Jeyne is Rhaenyra's foil, Cregan is Aegon's - a very young man put as the head of a kingdom and forced to handle its issues at a difficult time. If we go by Wolf Blood ideology - how does Cregan's wildness compare to Aegon's? and, again, what can Jace learn from understanding the way Cregan handles his rule?

There's so much they could've done, and I don't think they could've (or even should've) looked into all of these, but touching on SOME points via Jace and character elaboration would have been nice.

[outsidereveries]

game: deep dive into 25' | open

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

i have rules that i won't violate, so everything is the same like the last 3 games:

i'm not doing personal requests and readings so my games are strictly towards famous people (influencers and locals included)

i still have the right to deny your request even in a game if something is wrong, they don't want to share to me or i cannot share, depends on how many requests happen to be rejected to ask or not approved to share, you'll be somehow informed

without further ado, some add-ons:

you can ask anonymously, you can ask public, i don't mind how

therefore if you like this post will be greatly appreciated to see if you are really interested in these types of games or not

for this game, i decided to focus on the upcoming 2025 and questions for the upcoming year, i.e. basically almost the same stuff as what i did in the end of 2023. the suprise here is that i removed what wasn't popular or "involving x's personal space" then and added other options, including personal stuff in which i'm more comfortable to ask now.

the thing you have to do to participate is to send an ask choosing one of these emojis for your question and explain a bit further:

🍾 | what we can see from (famous person) in 2025? (asking for activities, gigs)

🚀 | where (famous person) want to be in 2025? (asking for specific place)

💶 | 2025: career reading, (famous person/group/etc.)

🎭 | 2025: possible controversies for (famous person/group/etc.)

📑 | 2025: possible rumors for (famous person/group/etc.) [≠ controversies]

🖥️ | 2025: possible viral moments for (famous person/famous group/etc.)

💖 | 2025: CASUAL love reading for (famous person) [note: casual is on caps lock on purpose :)]

🔬 | 2025: possible insider information that might occur for (famous person/group/etc.)

📝 | (famous person)'s motto/quote in 2025 [like lesson or sth similar]

🔮 | random predictions for (famous person/group/etc.) that will be important/impactful

👀 | what (famous person/group) want to try (activites-wise) in 2025?

saying for who (it has to be famous person or a group, depending on the emoji !! locally works too) i have to ask (it has to be one person/group per request). since the questions can be vague, i am open to additional stuff, modifications and individual changes if they don't violate my ✨rules✨. if you don't explain further why you chose your wanted emoji, your request/s will be rejected or answered last like the last game :) if there's really no reason why, just write it, i want further explanation or more information if needed because it's for the purpose to focus my energy better. otherwise again i will ask it in the end of the remaining asks (note: i thought i'll be too much if i remind you but it looks like i'll have to do it anyways)

when asking, adding the emoji and saying for who'd be perfect plus explaining further otherwise your request will stay.. and stay.. and stay.. and accepted after everyone else who apply my rules

compared to the previous 3 games, it'll be open until the end of the year (31st december at 11:59 pm or 23:59 [depending of what hour system you're used to] eet/gmt+2). i won't answer any requests for the game in november (will remind you if you want to participate frequently) and will start in december (maybe in the middle of it, i'm kind of unsure when tbh).

another note: in some emojis i'm approving companies, tv shows, political parties and etc. such as 💶, 🎭, 📑, 🖥️, 🔬, 🔮

again another note: when it comes to 🔮, if gets approved from x's guides, there won't be any readings with cards when i answer your request

game | open

[honeysuckleharringtons]

"Brew and Me" Series ~ S. Harrington x Reader

Summary: A dual timeline series about Y/N Byers, a part-time barista/student and full-time mother, and Steve Harrington, a quippy but attractive nursing student, and the game she creates in order for him to score a date with her.

Series Word Count: TBD

Series Warnings: in-depth details about teen pregnancy and its symptoms, in-depth talk about absent fathers and shitty men, details of earthquakes, mentions of hospitals/medical talk, food talk.

⚠️ PLEASE CHECK INDIVIDUAL CHAPTER WARNINGS BEFORE READING ⚠️

lil sneak peak snippet can be found here! ☺️

Part One: "Double Shot" ~ 1.8K words

Summary: (Then) In the small town of Hawkins, Indiana lies the Byers family, a family of four who might just be gaining a fifth member of the family. — (Now) Brew and Me, known for its punny motto and delicious coffee, might soon be known for bringing people together in unexpected ways.

Content Warning: teen pregnancy, small mention of abortion, vomit/morning sickness talk, mild swearing, mentions of food, mentions of medical-related things (not detailed, just mentioned)

POSTED ON: December 3rd, 2023

Part Two: "Déjà Brew" ~ 2.1K words

Summary: (Then) Back in Hawkins, Reader is still reeling from the news she's just received. Turns out, sometimes the love of a mother might just be the very help you need when times are tough. — (Now) At Brew and Me, Reader struggles with the stress of motherhood and working. Turns out, a visit from her least favorite patron might be the thing she needs to cheer her up.

Content Warning: teen pregnancy, mentions of food, mentions of medical-related things, small mention of childhood cancer (not related to any of the main characters in this series)

POSTED ON: December 3rd, 2023

Part Three: "Spilled Milk" ~ 2.5K words

Summary: (Then) Morning sickness has finally caught up to Reader, and unfortunately it has her spilling her guts in more than one way. — (Now) When Steve brings his roommate along with him to the coffee shop, the situation soon goes south when his friend starts to spill Steve's not-so-secret crush to a certain barista.

Content Warning: teen pregnancy, vomit/morning sickness talk, mentions of food, very mild swearing

POSTED ON: December 10th, 2023

Part Four: "Macchiat- Oh No..." ~ 2.4K words

Summary: (Then) Back in Hawkins, the time has come for Reader to break the news to her boyfriend… only, he doesn't take it as well as she'd hoped. — (Now) When Steve stops by for his daily coffee, things take a sour turn when his ex-girlfriend walks in.

Content Warning: teen pregnancy, mentions of vomit, adoption/abortion talk, mild swearing, Reader slaps and hits Jason, food consumption (Reader and Steve share a cookie), Jason is sorta out of character

POSTED ON: December 25th, 2023

Part Five: "Seasonal Specials" ~ 1.9K words

Summary: (Then) Christmas Eve has rolled around, and unfortunately for a very pregnant Reader, she is stuck at home with a migraine. Luckily for her, her younger brother doesn't make for too bad of company. — (Now) A slow shift at Brew and Me turns out to be a good night for advice and a call from everyone's favorite nursing student.

Content Warning: teen pregnancy, discussions of homophobia, discussions of abuse and allusions to physical abuse, discussions of slut-shaming, Reader is lowkey bad at advice when it comes to these topics LMAO, explicit language, food consumption (Reader drinks hot chocolate), not really a warning but Will is gay and autistic in this series

POSTED ON: December 25th, 2023

Part Six: "Full-City Roast" ~ 2.7K words

Summary: (Then) Valentine's Day has arrived, but unfortunately for Reader, it doesn't seem like much love is left in the air. — (Now) As the year comes to end, fireworks are going off everywhere, including in everyone's favorite little coffee shop.

Content Warning: the flashback chapter is pure angst tbh, partially takes place in a hospital, labor and delivery and medical talk, mentions of food

POSTED ON: January 7th, 2024

Part Seven: "Pour Over" ~ 1.6K words

Summary: (Then) Between postpartum blues and her baby's needy coos, Reader's having a hard time adjusting to her new life. But she quickly learns that sometimes you get by with a little help from your friends. — (Now) After dealing with her fussy child all night, the last thing Reader wants is a complicated day at work. Luckily for her, a certain nurse knows just how to make her day a little easier.

Content Warning: Content Warning: postpartum talk, anxiety talk, mentions of vomit (nothing in detail though), very mild swearing, mild hospital talk, mentions of food

POSTED ON: January 27th, 2024

Summary: Summary: (Then) Motherhood gets a whole lot more complicated for Reader when someone who she thought was gone for good shows up to meet her baby. — (Now) When Steve confides in Reader about his not-so-good relationship with his father, Reader reminds him that he's so much more than someone's opinion of him.

Part Eight: "Lukewarm" ~ 2.8K words

Content Warning: explicit language, infidelity/cheating (not by Reader or Steve), allusions to physical abuse, Lonnie is a creep and a douchebag, Steve's dad is an asshole, mentions of male genitalia as an insult, mentions of food, light mentions of medical stuff related to Steve's job

POSTED ON: February 26th, 2024

Part Nine: "A Steep Hill" ~ TBD

Summary: (Then) Despite the tragedy that's struck the Byers family, Reader finds herself quite happy with her new life. After all, there's nothing that brings people together like going up a steep hill with one another, right? — (Now) Steve is determined to make one last ditch effort at winning Reader over. However, his moment is ruined when a certain someone shows up at the coffee shop.

Content Warning: TBD

TO BE POSTED: January 21st, 2024

Part Ten: "I'll Chai My Best" ~ TBD

Summary: (Then) When Reader is reconnected with some old friends, she's reminded that sometimes it's okay to be vulnerable. — (Now) Reader's silly game with Steve's rears its ugly head, but the two remind each other that sometimes, it takes a couple awful tries before you get to make the beautiful latte art of life.

Content Warning: TBD

TO BE POSTED: January 28th, 2024

Finale: "A Whole Latte Love" ~ TBD

Summary: (Then) Reader's first day at her job takes an unexpected turn when a six-foot-something, handsome as all hell nurse walks in and, quite frankly, takes her coffee-flavored breath away. — (Now) Steve and Reader discover that with a little hard work and a whole lot of love, life might just treat you as sweet as the world's best latte.

Content Warning: TBD

TO BE POSTED: February 4th, 2024

series artwork: made by me!

series dividers: @firefly-graphics (edited by me to fit my theme better! feel free to tell me if this isn't allowed!)

support banners: @cafekitsune

-> taglist: @dungeons-are-too-cold @ducky-died-inside @awkotaco24 @liberhoe @princesseddie @aftermidnightwriting @manuosorioh @esoltis280

[earlgreytea68]

A Note on Olivia's Speech -- Kinda

OMG this is so much babbling but I wrote it all down in case it might be interesting to anyone else who feels vast amounts of guilt over writing about guys all the time??????

When I was a younger writer, I used to write a lot of het. That's what I wrote all through my teenage years and into my early twenties, just tons of traditional male/female romance novels, which honestly was mostly what I read through those years, too (aside from the classics that I was forced to read for my degree in English, which was exactly why I majored in English lol). Even when I started writing fanfiction, which wasn't until my mid-twenties, I wrote het.

But then at one point I started writing m/m love stories, and I never stopped. And I worry a lot about that, like, is this betraying internalized misogyny on my part? Why am I writing about men (and often white men), who get so many of the stories anyway? I should write more about my actual gender identity, which is cisgender woman. But every time I did, it felt so weird and stilted to me. And my motto is that unless I'm writing for money I write makes me happy, so I kept writing m/m fic.

Once, years ago, I went to a presentation at an academic conference where they discussed the phenomenon of cisgender women writing m/m fic. I know this often gets characterized as just some kind of sexual kink, and I just don't think that's what's going on with me, and that presentation noted that cisgender men are the default, so to speak, in our society. And so characters with a cisgender male gender identity are allowed to be blank slates that can be absolutely anything you want. Whereas as soon as you make a character a cisgender female, suddenly there are all these societal pressures on that character. And that did resonate with me, that try as I might I couldn't just change the pronouns of the cisgender men I was writing and ta-da! They were cisgender women! Because there's just so much other baggage that comes with being a cisgender woman that they were freed from if they were cisgender men -- even if I resented that that was the case!

But I've been doing a lot of reading this past year, and not of romance novels, of quote-unquote "serious" novels (an adjective I strenuously do not agree with, as a writer of romance lol). I read Elif Batuman's books (both hilarious but both kind of fell apart about halfway through), I read Checkout 19 (which I pretty much hated), I read Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (weird book), I read The Farewell Tour (which surprised me and I liked much more than I'd thought I would). Every one of these books had a cisgender female protagonist (or co-protagonist), and every one of these books had a major plot point where that protagonist has a terrible, unhealthy relationship with an obnoxious cisgender guy. Every. Single. Book. And sometimes it was more than one unhealthy relationship, and sometimes it was more than one female character within the book. Like, you're going along reading about these delightful and interesting adventures these fabulous women are having, then -- bam! they run up against some guy not nearly as interesting as they are and not deserving of their time and then they waste a bunch of their life (and the book) all hung up on him. And I was just like: It's the year 2023, and this is STILL what the female narrative looks like? This???? We can't tell other stories about women that don't revolve around what men do to them???

It's not that these books aren't critiquing that part of society (which I understand is still omnipresent all around us). All of the books are very conscious that the relationships are unhealthy and diminishing the woman (except maaaaybe the relationship in T&T&T, but that book also is really mean to its arguably asexual MC and basically implies that he'll never be of importance in his BFF's life because he doesn't want to have sex with her, so the book had other issues, tbh). Not a single one of those books actually, you know, has any apparent repercussions for the guy in question, who just seems to go on and live their life pretty carefree and the woman whose life they stomped all over is barely a second thought, to us the outside observer. And I'm sure that's also very true to how society works. But, all the same, it was striking to me that, even if critical, THIS WAS STILL EVERY WOMAN'S NARRATIVE. EVERY WOMAN'S NARRATIVE WAS ABOUT SELLING HERSELF SHORT FOR SOME GUY. Can we not imagine better for ourselves????

And so, Idk, I do try to put people of other genders in my m/m fics but when it comes to a character like Olivia, and thinking of what her happy ending looked like, I just could not make myself put her with a guy. And you might say: she could have gone with a woman! And yes! She could have! But I think I am craving female narratives that aren't about romantic and sexual love. Because every narrative I read about a woman is alllll about romantic and sexual love. The woman belittles herself to squeeze herself into the box of romantic and sexual love, cutting off all of the interesting parts of herself because she's been told THAT is the end-all-be-all. But I am a believer in all kinds of love, and how all of those kinds of love can give you a good and well-rounded life, and it's silly to pretend that there's only one type of love and that we should pursue it at all costs to our selves.

And then I think, well, gee, that's hypocritical of me, given that ALL I DO IS WRITE STORIES ABOUT ROMANTIC AND SEXUAL LOVE. But then it occurred to me that in writing them about two cisgender men, it does feel more like a narrative that needs to be told. Men get so many stories...but they don't often get THESE stories. They don't often get the love story. They don't often pursue their romantic love as if it will fulfill their destiny...because society tells men that their destiny has other shapes and sizes beyond who they sleep with. Maybe, I think, the world needs more narratives about guys who just love, unabashedly and deeply and fulfillingly, and THAT'S the narrative. That's the whole story. Just that. The way it so often is for women.

When I think about Olivia, and even as I sit and struggle my way with Megan in the Regency AU sequel, it's like...I want more for them than that. Like, for so long I grew up with exactly the expectation that Olivia talks about, that I needed to find a husband and that was the most important thing about me. And I watch the younger women I know still get that message. I've got a great career, went to good schools, do interesting stuff, and still a shocking number of people want to know why I'm single. What about everything else I can be????? I have great friends and a great family and I honestly like my life. Who can ask for more than that? Like, isn't the most amazing thing that could happen to Megan, especially in the Regency era, is just that she lives the life she wants??? And maybe that means she gets married and maybe it doesn't but it's cool either way and she has the freedom to choose it!

I don't mean to imply that I don't have internalized misogyny, because who knows lol. I also don't mean to imply that women shouldn't get married!!!! I have many cisgender female friends in very happy and healthy heterosexual relationships!!! It's awesome for them and it works for them and it's cool and I love them and the lives they have built for themselves. Lives come in all shapes and sizes, and that's great. But I finished yet another book with yet another female protagonist in yet another unhealthy relationship for the fifth time this year or whatever and I was just like, No wonder I gave Olivia that speech. No wonder I'm looking for another narrative.

[noahschnappinfs]

Hey do u have any info on Noah's future projects after ST S5 cuz I rlly love his work and acting. From what I have seen, he's one of the greatest child actors and deserves more appreciation and screen space. Also do u think this whole situation will affect the amount of work he will get?

I really love this boy and if u look at his apology. My biasness aside, it's actually genuine. Choosing the neutral grounds and peace for all should actually be the motto.

thank you so much for this message! noah, as far as we all know, is filming season 5 and will be going back to college afterwards. that’s what he’s said about his current plans saying he would just take a gap year to film and then go back. his education is really important to him and he’s focused on that.

now, we have only speculation that he’s working on something because a few months ago, he was with his team in LA doing some stuff and it looks like he’s working on some project that we still don’t know anything about. he also mentioned last year on an interview with variety that he’s been working on a show that he’s been developing for a while so there’s also that. he seemed very focused about his career in that interview saying he would like to act for the rest of his life but he wants to finish college first, so i think he’s mostly planning ahead what to do after he graduates so i won’t be anything immediate. he’s so young that i think he can do that successfully and i’m glad he’s doing what he wants.

anyway, i really don’t think i’ll affect his career in the long term, internet outrage isn’t real because people switch up all the time. fame is such a fragile and changing thing, many actors have committed literal crimes and have had great careers at the end. tbh he’s very lucky he still had season 5 left because i think his talent will speak for itself and a lot of doors will open for him.

[sweater-equestrian]

so. not today bc my dad didnt get me the cedar plank lol but. BEHOLD:

horseshoe crab molt shadowbox

me: yeah idk i tend to kill plants and cant keep ferns alive :/

also me: convinces my dad to buy me a staghorn fern

anyways please behold my newest prized possession before i kill it :)

[riacte]

Idly daydreaming about "choose which Rendog duo you like more" poll but it is appropriately and respectfully seeded, scheduled, managed, spreadsheet'd with the intention of trying to be as well run as the mcytblrsexyman poll which imo is still THE best run poll on the hellsite.

So it's gonna be like 16 duos, not defined as romantic/platonic, just see it as whatever/who they are. Then final 8, final 4, final 2, yay! And I need this to be seeded for my own sanity otherwise we'll get finale-level matchups in the first rounds and that will make everyone explode.

Seeding is beautiful (even if it's sort of unfair to lower quarter of entries). If a poll doesn't use seeding, then I don't trust it sorry.

Anyways I think this could actually work because Ren has so many duos and he does a lot of story, I think most duos have a lot of thoughtful moments that make for excellent propaganda. These aren't random fuckass Twitter duos firehusbands whatever who have interacted for one funny collab. There is history across the seasons and the years. There's storylines. There's babies involved. Multiple babies even. Whatever Ren and Cleo have going on. The king and his loyal knight. The queen and her guard. "But these can apply to different—" yes this is exactly why.

And I would say it's pretty obvious who the favourite is except they have been on a downright hilarious losing streak recently. And losing is their thing tbh. I'm so sorry.

Reasons I would not run this poll (other than lack of time and despite me liking spreadsheets):

Renskall would absolutely get steamrolled in Round 1 against a duo that almost certainly by definition came into existence later than Renskall. And I know it would be an embarrassing loss, think 30/70. This would dishearten me and I would scuttle into my cave and pull out videos from 2018.

False and Ren would most likely inevitably lose to yaoi and. And. Actually I'll keep my mouth shut for the sake of preserving peace.

Ren is so good at teaming up with people that I can probably imagine what the polls will look like anyway:

Final 2: Doc, Martyn

Final 4: False, Iskall (let me clown, he's here and he STAYS here)

And the 16 probably includes: Bdubs, Scar, Grian, Cleo, BigB, Etho, Lizzie, Cub, Xisuma...

Anyways. HomiesBeforeHoes 👍 (my hypothetical motto for the hypothetical campaigning)

[sanduchengjiu]

one thing that always bothered me and confused me about mdzs is why Wei Wuxian and Jiang cheng were pitted against each other so strongly. Bc even if you take into account that people would assume wwx was a bastard of jfm, in the narrative its something that is common? Or at least in terms of the Jin, there were bastards flying all over the place but I don’t remember there ever being competition about who would be the sect leader, it was always Jzx until he died. So idk if I missed something or I’m misremembering but it honestly feels like most of the pressure came from the fragile relationship between the Jiang parents and less about what society thought. Also favoring Wei Wuxian is one thing but jfm never gave any implication that he was being favored as the next in line, as shitty as his favoritism was. It just makes me feel sad that both boys were under so much pressure for absolutely futile reasons at the end of the day. Like was jc’s cultivation that bad?? I don’t think so?? And even then if he was less talented than wwx it wouldn’t matter bc he’s still the heir. It would be insane if jfm just decided to break convention over talent bc of some sect motto. And I don’t remember there ever being a requirement to be an outstanding amazing cultivator to be sect leader. If that was the case then there would be no hereditary structure to succession, and jfm wouldn’t even be on the roster? Neither would jgs. There was never any importance on their ‘talents’ so wtf was the problem.

Also what was the timeline on Wei Wuxians conception bc he and Jiang cheng were born like a week apart at least at most one year and it seems like wwxs parents were not even at lotus pier since they left to wander together. I feel like that would clear a lot of things up tbh. bc I don’t think jfm capable of finding csr on the road and conceiving wwx and then coming home to yzy and conceiving jc, and csr wasn’t even a yunmeng jiang cultivator it was wcz?? So what was the overlap. Like did jfm get wcz pregnant or what?? Were they regular visitors to lotus pier? To me it read like jfm was a great friend and leader to wcz and admired csr but I read it a while ago so idk. It’s not helped by the fact that jfm doesn’t seem to favor yzy more than is necessary at least outright, and we all know she ain’t the most attentive either. So basically jc and wwx were brought into the world into a weird and fucked up long distance foursome situation and spent their entire youth suffering under the second hand feelings of their parents.

[randomnameless]

Checking something about Hubie and Pat...

Okay, so far it's kind of normal

Billy's replies are mostly the same.

But then

Branch 1 is Billy saying it's necessary to preach what you can't (won't?) do yourself, Hubert acquiesces, but says only humans can apply this "principle" that borders, if you push it very far, on hypocrisy.

This is the same (more or less) in Pat's localisation.

Branch 2 though?

Pat's Hubert says that it's indeed absurd to preach that "hypocrisy principle" and has a weird mention about humanity being the push that makes people take the lead if needed...

When JP!Hubert reiterates his branch 1 choice : only humans can and must, at times, preach things they cannot themselves do.

WTF Pat meant for Hubert to say here?

Hubie considers that pointy ears, with their longer lifespans, cannot be hypocrites - "preaching what you can't do" doesn't apply to them.

Why?

The last comment is pure Pat's fuckery : Pat's Hubert wants to preserve what makes us humans, ake the ability to be hypocrites? What does it mean, being human? Preaching things you can't do?

But then, even JP!Hubert is kind of shooting himself in the foot : recognising that they chose to fight based on the, per him, exclusive human "preach what you can't do yourself" principle.

So... what is even his point?

Note that those lines follow this one :

If it is between love and hate, then I would choose the latter. The goddess failed to properly govern this world. That is why it is necessary for Lady Edelgard to become the supreme leader of Fódlan.

So what can we make out of this?

"the icky pointy ears failed to govern the world bcs they preached the world to use "power wisely" when they didn't even do it themselves, and only humans are allowed to be faillible, aka preach things they cannot do"

Is Hubie basically going "Pointy Ears BaD" bcs they didn't do enough for Fodlan : they should be able to do what they preach, unlike humans who are expected to... say things but never do them?

Like, they had the occasions (lifespan) and "power" to govern the world and didn't do it? Is he blaming their omission/refusal to govern/rule Fodlan?

Because they have "power" and a long lifespan, they should have been able to enforce their rule/mindest over the people and govern Fodlan, but they didn't do it so now Supreme Leader will do it instead?

I'm a bit confused tbh but in a way, it would make sense with what Supreme Leader's motto tends to, and the traditional "merit might makes right".

To them, Nabateans have power and can (to them) use it, but they didn't govern Fodlan "correctly" so now it's up to Supreme Leader to take the lead.

Now, to an astute reader/player, the kind of "power" Nabateans have is debatable at best, laughable at worst - for all the reasons laid down for the past 5 years - and the double standard JP!Hubert uses here also illustrates the complete lack of agency he believes the "people who are governed" have : those with "power" must use it wisely, and to them, "wisely" means enforcing their will over the others, by force (CF isn't a route where you pick up friends to start a friendly bowling competition) if necessary.

The ones without "power" are non-entities and shouldn't be taken into account.

And anyways, they can do whatever they want, because this rule "power must be used wisely" doesn't apply to them.

Tl,Dr : it's the "Rhea BaD bcs didn't do enough for the world" take with the twist that "humans are free to do whatever they want" since the Nabs didn't use their "power wisely".

but then

the best answer is to remove her armed forces AND make it illegal that she ever interfere/participates/do anything for the world.

To Hubert the Nabs are faulty for not doing enough, and to Supreme Leader they shouldn't do anything anymore.

Tru Tl;Dr : Lizards BaD

[melodyyblue]

Royal Academy DR

Hi <3 Today I’d like to talk about my Royal Academy Dr. @cocozydiaries gave me the idea and I love talking about my dr’s so thank you ^^ Also I’m shifting to that reality with my bestie @himerue <3

A little disclaimer tho: I won’t be able to go that much into detail about all the dates and stuff because I simply didn’t bother enough with it LMAO I’ll just surprise myself but I did come up with a storyline kinda?

Also another disclaimer: I have main character syndrome, if you can’t handle it, feel free to not interact with this post ^^

Anyways, let’s get started

About the school:

Name: Regent’s Hall Royal Academy

Founded: not sure yet, in the 18th century maybe?

Headmaster: idk but she better be hot

Motto: … don’t ask me

Location: I’m not sure if it’s in Britain or Britain inspired but basically a modern monarchy

Current time: 21st century

The academy has three main buildings: the biggest one is for the students from class 1 to 4, the second one being class 5 to 8 and then the classes 9 to 12 in the last building. They all live there because it’s a boarding school. -> idk I just came up with it, I need to ask my friend LOL

The school is considered a Royal academy because it was founded by the Royal family back then but it’s actually a school for nobility as well. In fact majority of the students are nobles but not royals. The royals who do attend are mostly from foreign countries. There’s also a social hierarchy among the students, where the princes and princesses are on top, followed by the children of duke’s, marquesses, count’s etc etc

About me:

Name: Seraphina Elaine (i forgot my last name lol) -> just checked I didn’t decide yet, so if you have ideas, drop them <3

Class: 11-A (so one year before graduation)

Noble Rank: Duchess

Usually the students are children of nobility, meaning they haven’t inherited their titles yet but will do so after graduation. I’m one of the exceptions tho. I have inherited my title at age 12 (?) already.

Backstory:

My grandmother is the queen of the nation. She has at least two children: the oldest being my uncle/aunt and the second one being my mom. Both of them also have one daughter: me and my cousin.

My cousin’s parents died I guess? Idk but she is the crown princess and will inherit the throne. She has also been sick since early childhood so the palace watches her carefully and makes sure she stays alive because they don’t wanna lose her. Why would it be bad if she’d die too? Well because then I would be crown princess and they don’t want that. Why? Wellllllll …

“The Duchess in Disgrace”:

As I mentioned earlier, I inherited my title when I was a mere child. That wasn’t out of my own free will. When I was 10/11/12 (didn’t decide yet) a scandal broke out in the entire kingdom: my father (who married into the family) was caught gambling with the national treasures money (so basically the tax money). My parents were exiled from the palace and stripped of their titles and lands. They were all passed down to me and I had to step in as Duchess. My parents now live in one of my estates that used to be theirs.

Even after a long time passed, people never forgave my parents (understandable tbh 😭 I’d be pissed too). Both the citizens and the palace didn’t like us but they couldn’t exile me too because:

My cousin:

Name: Elenor Sofia (google the Spanish crown princess it’s literally her😭)

Class: she doesn’t attend the academy

Noble Status: Crown Princess

During that time my cousin, heir to the throne, was in probably the worst state during all of her illness. It was also decided she might never be able to go through the harsh military training. So the palace sent me instead, because they wanted to get rid of me anyways. Originally my cousin would have to go through military training to become commander in chief of the country but I’d become commander in chief instead once she becomes queen.

So I went through the three year long military training abandoned by the palace, my parents being outcasts and me being hated by everyone who met me.

When I was 16 and done with the training, the palace didn’t want me to return so they sent me to the Royal Academy instead to study there. Although it was founded by the Royal family, the royal children of this country don’t usually attend the academy themselves but get private teachers in the palace instead.

So I enrolled into the academy for the remaining years of my education. It was at that time that I had enough of the treatment the palace gave me and decided to prove them wrong and that I was nothing like my parents. I immediately joined the student council and the highest ranking noble becomes the president by default. Obviously everyone knew who i was and instantly didn’t like me. But through the military training I built a hard shell so I was pretty much unbothered by it.

By being the student council president I also became the most powerful student in the academy. The headmaster and teachers aren’t royals, just nobles. So in the perspective of social standing I was above them. Also the student council president naturally holds a lot of power but because of the equation being me + royal + student council president = most powerful. I was basically ruling the school because the headmaster, although not letting me do everything, has to respect me. So I basically rule the school which the palace doesn’t like once they found out about it. (I told y’all I have severe main character syndrome)

When I started being president, rumors and nasty comments spread like wildfire. That’s when “the duchess in disgrace” started becoming my nickname that people said behind my back but never dare to say it in front of my face because again, I am the highest ranking noble in the academy (foreign princes and princesses don’t count) but I did hear about it eventually. I’m not sure how but I had an idea:

Gossip Girl/Lady Whistledown:

Yep, we all love them, we all hate them but I did recently get the idea to add my very own lady Whistledown. We have the official school’s newspaper and someone who anonymously spreads their own paper among the school that people love to read because every time someone else’s secret gets leaked or anything like that. And while the schools newspaper writes pretty neutral, this anonymous student doesn’t. They go full out, say nasty things and give people names. Through reading that paper I found out about people calling me “the duchess in disgrace”. I let it pass, unbothered because it wasn’t my job to stop the students from reading that paper as long as they all behaved in the long run.

Again, I’m not sure if I really wanna put that in because the thought of someone exposing my secrets at any given moment seems so scary to me 😭 especially if it’s so easy to prove it with a picture or a text. Maybe that anonymous person is less a gossip girl and more a Lady Whistledown who just comments on things (although she did reveal some secrets here and there). Also idk who that anonymous person is yet and what to name them, I was thinking maybe one of the student council members as we are working pretty close together and have access to the entire school’s records on everything and therefore easily have insight information.

But she could be relevant for my:

First day:

On the first day I’m shifting there, a new student arrives who gets everyone’s attention. That student is the Princess of the kingdom Verlace aka my dear friend @himerue . For reasons unknown she got sent to another countries royal academy and obviously everyone talks about her (including Whistledown?). Idk how it goes from there on, all we decided so far is that my friend also joins the student council. Also this happens one or two years after I enrolled in the academy.

But yeah that’s it I guess. Oh wait, my cousin right, we did get along well as children but bc of the scandal, her illness, my training and getting sent away to school, we grew apart. She does reach out to me from time to time but because I don’t trust anyone from the palace I’m not sure what she’s trying to archive. What I don’t know at first is that she genuinely tries to make amends with me but the palace and everyone else gets in our way. Also she is pretty bubbly and cheerful but hides her manipulative side well. She is a little possessive over me because her parents died, her grandmother has great expectations of her, the palace walks on eggshells around her and my parents aren’t there and therefore wants me all to herself.

I am also an academic weapon obviously, duh 🙄

This was so much fun! I’ll be talking about my MHA DR next but I think that post is gonna be shorter than this one because I seriously didn’t plan that much for that Dr 😭 Bye and thanks for reading if you managed to get this far with all my yapping 🫶

[ghoularaki]

Lovely pixie,

I hope you know that I’ve been BINGING baby’s breath on AO3 and I have work in a few hours. I cannot sleep because I haven’t been this enthralled in a fic in so long. You are an INCREDIBLE writer. The way you write just feels so real… god you are so so talented. I can only hope that one day I can be nearly as good as you. The way you write Levi and Erwin is just pure perfection. The fact that I’ve been shying away from writing this type of dark content myself because I feel like the niche is fading away (or maybe I’m scared of getting called out because of my old deleted content back in 2019) - you alone have made me fall in love all over again. You truly are a hell of a writer. I’ve been in this fandom since I was in high school nearly 10 years ago, and finding you was a godsend. It’s so good to know that creators still write such good shit in this fandom even after it’s all ended.

I also saw that you have been going through a rough patch mentally, so I genuinely hope you are taking care of yourself <3

I hope you know that your work has truly touched my soul, my heart and my pussy.

Please know that your works are adored and admired. You made me feel something again.

Much love

my dude i saw this while on my way to work and i almost teared up in the breakroom lmao kjrngkrgf and then actually snort out loud at the pussy part, thats so funny. i honestly can't thank you enough for the kind words. it makes me so so so happy that you are enjoying baby's breath so far and that i somehow made you fall back in love with dark content.

i get how you feel tho, back in like covid/quarantine era ppl were so chronically online about darker content and literally cancelling ppl over it. my motto is as long as you are properly tagging your stuff, its not about real ppl or underage content, who gives a shit. cringe is dead, be freeeeee.

tbh i have been in love with aot since i was 13 (literally over a decade now wow) and it was one of the first media i read fanfic for and i became obsessed. i was always so scared to write anything for it bc i was so scared of not getting the characters right. the plot for baby's breath has been brewing in my head since i was like 18? and i finally found the courage to write for aot and knowing at least a few ppl think i'm doing levi and (especially) erwin fills me with such joy.

again, thank you for the kind and encouraging words. and i'm so glad that i pulled someone back to loving fanfic once again <3

[floating-mid-air]

The Princess of all Saiyans

-

Masterlist

-

Two months in a row with new chapters! New year, new me! I don't know how long this will last, but I'm going to ride the high for now. Tbh, I was really struggling with this chapter. I rewrote it so many times. But I think I like how everything turned out! As always, DM's/Comments are always open if you have any comments, questions, or concerns. I always love to hear your kind words and feedback!  

Also, I'ma apologize for what I've done in advance.

-

Chapter 15

-

You soar through the air, the wind smacking against your face as you head straight for the ship. You'd rather be on the battlefield, but instead, you're fleeing like one of Frieza's cowardly soldiers. Stupid Vegeta. Always barking orders at you. He thinks he can boss you around like an underling. You've proven to be more than capable over the years, and yet Vegeta still treats you like a child. It's demeaning. And to make matters worse, Vegeta made you leave, but not only does Raditz get to stay, but those pathetic earthlings do too. Talk about adding insult to injury. 

You finally arrive at the ship, landing gracefully on the terrain. You sigh dramatically, keeping your eyes fixated on the aircraft. At least after today, you'll never have to see one of these crappy ships ever again. You'll be free of the Frieza Force's terror. Though you're unsure if it'll be you in hell or Frieza. All you know is one of you is being sent on a first-class trip to eternal damnation. You take one last deep breath before heading into the ship.

On impulse, you walk straight into the room with the healing chamber. Your stone-cold gaze lands on Goku, who's still taking his sweet-ass time healing. "Ya, ya. Don't look so happy to see me." You snarl, placing your hands on your hips. "I'm not here by choice." You step closer to the chamber, sliding down against the machine. You rest your head against the cool metal, shutting your eyes. "You know, you're lucky, Kakarot. You didn't have to grow up with your pain in the ass, older brother. You didn't even have to deal with being bossed around past infancy. And you don't even remember it at all."

It takes you a while, but you eventually grow accustomed to the faint buzzing of the machine. Finally, being able to relax, well, relax as much as you can, considering your current situation. That is, until the ground starts violently shaking. Your eyes snap open as you place your hands against the floor, steadying yourself. Various objects fly off the shelves, scattering across the room. Luckily nothing damaged the healing chamber. What the hell is going on out there? You shift your focus to the direction of the battle. Frieza's energy has spiked drastically. He must have undergone one of his transformations. You know he has multiple forms, though you've never seen him transform with your own eyes. They must be giving him a harder time than you thought. Wait. There's another power level there. You were so focused on Frieza that you hadn't even noticed the new arrival. That must be the Namekian. Better late than never, you suppose. Wait, no. That's Kakarot's motto. 

Your surroundings finally calm down. Frieza must be done transforming. "Frieza really does like flexing his power." You sigh. That smug bastard. You wonder if he had to transform to destroy planet Vegeta. Probably not. "I wish you remembered our homeworld. You were there long enough to at least form some basic memories. The Saiyan race was something else entirely. Life on planet Vegeta was constant destruction--- it was glorious." You grin, chuckling to yourself. "You would've hated it, Kakarot. But--- I'd give anything just to spend one more day on planet Vegeta."

You shut your eyes again, retreating into the one place you can avoid Frieza, your mind. At least, you thought you could, but even in your mind, it seems like you can't avoid Frieza or the havoc he's caused. Frieza's been this catalyst in your life, a constant sign of misery. Childhood monsters aren't supposed to be real. The monster under the bed is simply the result of an overactive imagination. But your monster is very real. Your monster took away your home, slaughtered your entire race, and then forced you to serve him. You can't seem to escape your monster, no matter how much you try. 

Twenty-Something Years Ago:

"Where the hell are we going?" You shout at Cui for the millionth time. Frieza's lackeys put you and Raditz on this ship hours ago with absolutely no explanation. When you first arrived at your previous location, you wanted nothing more than to leave that prison. But now you're free from that hell hole, and you can't ignore the sinking feeling in your stomach. You don't like this. You don't like this at all.

"Then come over here, and try. I dare you!" You growl back.

"Shut your mouth, brat. Before I shut it for you!" Cui's all bark and no bite. You'd love to see him try. You could probably take Cui even before your training with Lord Frieza.

"Listen here----" Cui's screaming is cut off once he notices Zarbon poking his head into the room.

"Cui!" Zarbon's voice booms. "Stop instigating her!"

"Me? She's the one who started it!"

"She's a child." Zarbon pinches the bridge of his nose, an annoyed look crossing his features. "You're a grown man. Act like it." And with that, Zarbon once again leaves you and Raditz alone with Cui. Definitely a big mistake on Zarbon's part.

"Ya, act like it." You mock Cui as Raditz laughs hysterically.

"You're lucky I don't strangle you!" Cui is really getting worked up. Some anger management classes could do wonders for him.

"Oh, no." You hold up your hands. "I'm shaking."

"Why, you little---" Cui snarls as he stands up from his seat. But rather than storming towards you, he stomps towards the door, going out into the hall. "Someone switch jobs with me! I can't take this hell anymore! I'll even do grunt work to get away from those brats!"

"Wow." You turn to Raditz, who's mirroring your pleased expression. "I didn't think he would snap that fast."

Frieza's buffoons decide to leave you and Raditz alone for the duration of the trip. You wish you knew where they were taking you. You thought nothing could be worse than the prison they just had you in, but now you're not so sure. It's been a long---- year? Has it only been a year? It feels like it's been much longer. You feel like you've aged twenty years in only one.

The ship suddenly comes to a halt. There has to be some way to find out where you are before those clowns come to get you. Your gaze darts all over the room. No, nothing ---- wait. Bingo! There's a window, but it's a bit high up. You'd have to fly to reach it, but you don't want to attract any unwanted attention. Flying would raise your power level, and a scouter would definitely pick that up.

"Raditz, give me a boost." He raises his brows before ultimately complying. "Move over to that window." He struggles, staggering a bit. But he's able to get you to the window. You press your face against the glass, boxing your face in with your hands.

"What do you see?"

"Give me a minute!" You carefully take in the surroundings outside of the glass. It's another one of the Frieza Force's outposts, which isn't a surprise. But it seems less secure. That's strange. It's less prison-like than where you were last. Why would Lord Frieza move you here?

"What do you two think you're doing?" Zarbon's voice booms from behind. Raditz flinches, accidentally dropping you. You fall to the ground, landing on your ass. You look up at him from the floor, your eyes burning with fury.

"Oops." Raditz's eyes widen. "S-Sorry, Y/N!" You stand up, brushing yourself off. You shift your gaze back to Raditz, narrowing your eyes at the slightly larger Saiyan. Before you can scold the big idiot, Zarbon speaks up.

"Let's go." Zarbon flips around, leading you out of the room. The three of you exit the aircraft, heading straight into the unfamiliar building. You tread carefully behind Zarbon, making sure not to fall too far behind. "Lord Frieza has decided to be generous and move you here. Don't take advantage of his generosity, understand me?" Oh, yes, Lord Frieza is so generous. After destroying your planet and slaughtering your people like cattle, at least he's decided to improve your living arrangements.

Zarbon leads you both into an empty room. He turns around, looking you dead in the eyes. "Wait here."

He exits the room, leaving you both alone. "Y/N, what's going on? They've never left us alone like this. We could literally leave right now. The door is right there."

"I--- I don't know." Having more freedom is somehow worse. You can't help but feel on edge. You keep your gaze fixated on the door. It's the only way in and out. You begin to hear faint mumbling from the hallway. The murmuring quickly turns to yelling. You'd recognize that shouting anywhere, even if it's been so long since you've heard it. "Vegeta." You whisper to yourself in disbelief. He's here. He's alive. You didn't think you'd ever see your brother again. 

Vegeta walks through the doorway first, followed closely by Zarbon. Nappa and Cado straggle into the room a few moments after. The room is dead silent, that is, until Zarbon clears his throat, gaining everyone's attention. "Lord Frieza has given things some thought, and he believes you Saiyans will be more productive as one unit. So he's generously decided to grant your request and reunite you. This is your one warning to behave yourselves. I'll leave you alone to get reacquainted with each other." The green-haired man turns to your brother. "And Vegeta, I trust you can show Y/N and Raditz around." Zarbon stays true to his word, leaving the room.

Once again, that eerie silence takes over. No one seems to know what to say. Vegeta walks over to you. He's gotten taller. He moves his hands toward you, dusting off your armor. "Have you been sticking to your training regime?" You nod. "And you've been eating well? I know how you are. If it was up to you, you'd eat junk all day."

"Yes, Vegeta." Vegeta moves his hands into your hair, fixing all the stray strands. Making you look more presentable.

"Did--- Did anyone hurt you?" His eyes meet yours, his expression becoming gravely serious. "Did somebody lay a hand on you? Answer me!" Your lack of response does not put him at ease. "I'll fucking kill them!" Your gaze lands on the ground as you begin mumbling. "You look me in the eyes when you answer me, Y/N."

You look back up at him, pouting. "No, Vegeta." You shake your head. "No one hurt me." It's best not to tell Vegeta the truth. He'd go on a warpath and just end up getting himself killed.

"Raditz!" His head snaps toward the taller boy. "Is she telling the truth?" Raditz's eyes widen, his entire body turning stiff. "Raditz?" Raditz's gaze meets yours. "Don't look at her for help! Look at me!"

Raditz nods rapidly. "Yes. Why--- why would she lie?"

Vegeta's gaze shifts between you and Raditz. No one dares to even move. Vegeta turns around, huffing to himself. "Alright then. We'll give you the tour of this death trap." Vegeta, Nappa, and Cado show you around the building. Showing you the ins and outs of every nook and cranny. And most importantly, they show you every exit.

You circle back around to the sleeping quarters of the building. "Half of these rooms are unoccupied. Raditz, feel free to pick any one you want." Vegeta points to another room. "Y/N, that one's yours. It's right next to mine." Of course, you and Vegeta aren't even reunited for five minutes, and he's already bossing you around. You're not even mad about it. It's nice to see that some things are still the same. There's one thing you can always count on, and that's that Vegeta will be well, Vegeta. Vegeta shoos the others off with his hand. "You three can do whatever you want for the time being." Your brother turns to you. "Follow me. There's something I want to show you." 

Vegeta walks into his room with you in tow. He moves straight into a corner of the room, which seems to have some sort of bag on the floor. He kneels down, rummaging through the duffle. It takes him a bit, but he finally finds what he's looking for. "I found this a while ago and figured you'd want it." He stands up, flipping back toward you. You can now see the object in his hands. It's a book. He moves back over to you, handing you the novel.

You take it, observing the cover carefully. From what you can gather just from the front, it's all about domesticated animals. Well, the book calls them pets. You didn't have those on planet Vegeta. "Thanks, Vegeta." Your face falls as you hand the book back to him. "But I don't have time for childish stuff like that anymore." Vegeta's mouth hangs ajar as he stares at you like you've grown another head. "I'm going to go to my room now, okay?" Vegeta stands still, unable to move as you leave his room, heading directly into your own.

Vegeta snaps out of his trance, moving quickly toward the doorway. Where he can see Raditz struggling to choose between two rooms. "Raditz!" The taller boy turns around. "What the hell happened this past year?"

Raditz's brows crinkle. "What do you mean?"

"Y/N's acting strange. She's not behaving like herself."

"It's just been a long day, Vegeta." Raditz sighs. "She's probably just tired." No. Vegeta doesn't care how long you've been apart. He knows that something is wrong. Something has changed. And not in a good way.

In typical Vegeta fashion, he storms into your room, slamming the door shut behind him. He finds you on your bed. You're lying on your stomach, with your face buried in a pillow. He treads carefully, moving closer to you. "Y/N--- tell me what's going on." He now hovers right over you, his eyes filled with concern. 

"Nothing." You mumble into the pillow. "Just sleepy."

"Y/N---" He moves a hand into your hair, stroking it comfortingly. "I'm not going to yell. Just tell me. If--- If you did something you shouldn't have, we can figure it out together."

"That's not it." You sigh. "It's just time for me to grow up." You move your head to the side to look at your brother. "It's time for me to start taking things seriously. Like you do."

"No. That isn't your job." He says sternly. "Your job is to give everyone shit and do the things you enjoy. Like reading those dumb books, you love so much."

"But--- everything going on here is so complicated. And now we have to deal with Lord Frieza."

"And it's my job to worry about that, not yours. We're all together now. You don't have to worry anymore. I'll deal with all the difficult stuff from now on, alright? All our burdens are mine, and mine alone."

"Okay, Vegeta." You nod. For the first time in over a year, you can finally let your guard down completely. "I---" You sob. "I--- I dont--- I wanna go home." You know it's stupid. You don't have a home to go back to. You're just so exhausted. And maybe, just maybe, a little scared too.

"I know." He moves a hand to your face, wiping away your tears. "Listen to me. When we're older and back at the top of the food chain. I'll conquer whichever planet you want. And that can be our new home."

You stare up at him through tear-filled eyes, your voice cracking. "Promise?"

"Of course. I'll make sure you'll have whatever you want, baby sister. Anything and everything." He wipes a few more stray tears off your face. "Now get some sleep." He moves over to the edge of your bed, placing the book on your mattress before leaving the room. Vegeta knows something happened to you, but he doesn't want to upset you any further. And honestly, he's just happy to have you back, right by his side, where you belong.

Your eyes snap open, your head darting toward the massive spike in power. Frieza's energy has elevated significantly. Did he--- Did he transform again? But his new power level is on a whole other planet compared to his previous form. Did you miss one of his transformations? Wait--- there's an energy source missing. The loss is so small you barely noticed it. Frieza must have killed someone. But who? The Namekian child? He went after the weakest being in the group. But why? A scare tactic, maybe? Frieza does like being unnecessarily cruel. What else did you miss when your mind was elsewhere? You knew you should've stayed focused, but you needed to escape, even if it was only for a little bit. 

Now Frieza is fighting someone as well. This is so frustrating. Your eyes are much more accurate than this dumb energy-sensing technique. You wish you could see what was happening. It takes you a moment, but you're finally able to recognize Frieza's adversary as Vegeta. How the hell did your brother get so much stronger? You barely even recognized his power level. Vegeta wasn't nearly that strong when you saw him last. You're more confused than you've ever been. Last time you checked, Saiyans don't just magically get stronger without dedicated training or a massive injury. Something isn't adding up.

Even though Vegeta's significantly stronger, you know it's not enough. He doesn't stand a chance against Frieza alone. Your eyes land back onto the healing chamber, well rather the man inside. "Come on, Kakarot." You mutter to yourself. "Hurry the fuck up." With every second that passes, you become more frantic. Vegeta's power level is dropping, and it's dropping fast. You don't like this. Should you go back to the battlefield? You run a hand through your hair, trying to calm your nerves. But it feels like your brain is moving a thousand miles a second. You can't just stand here while Frieza manhandles your brother. But what help would you be? You're strong--- but you know your power isn't enough to even stand a chance against Frieza. And if your wound opens back up, it's game over. You need time to weigh the pros and cons. Time that you don't have.

You need to make a decision. You know Vegeta wouldn't want you to get involved, but---- before you can even finish your thought, bright red lights flash in the room. You move your attention back onto the healing chamber. Finally! Kakarot's done. You walk to the control panel, mashing the buttons to release him. With one last push of a button, the door opens. "It's about time, Kakarot. You have a nasty habit of showing up late, don't you?" Immediately as he steps into the room, your breath hitches. You're at a loss for words. You carefully observe the man in front of you, watching the water-like substance drip off his sculpted body. He looks the same, but he feels so different. He's like a whole new man.

His energy has changed entirely. You can't wrap your brain around it. You can't even formulate the words to describe what's different about Goku. But you know that you've never seen anything like this before.

"Y/N?" You're snapped back to reality by Goku waving a hand in front of your face. "Are you alright?"

"Mhm." You nod, still unable to form a coherent sentence. It's like he put a spell on you. One that makes you hear the rapid thumping of your heart in your ears. And sets your entire body aflame with his gaze. 

"Are you sure? Cause you're looking at me kinda funny." You gasp, your gaze darting all over the room. You're looking at everything besides the man in front of you. That helps you regain your sanity. Simple, just don't look at Kakarot, and you'll be fine. 

"Never better." Keep your words short and sweet, and you'll be able to put up a facade of normalcy. 

"If you say so." Goku looks at his hands. "Wow. This is amazing." He's in awe. It's kinda cute, in a sickening sort of way. "We have nothing like that on Earth. It would usually take me weeks to get healed, but that was pretty much instant. It healed me so fast." He looks back at you. "And thanks for coming back to let me out. Even if it wasn't completely your choice." Oh, right. Kakarot heard everything you said to him. Damn it.

"That's not why Vegeta screamed at me to come here." You pat the side of your torso, reminding Goku of your injury.

"Oh, right." He chuckles lightly. "I forgot about that. Do you need help with the healing chamber?"

"No." You scoff. "You'd probably just break something. Or you'd end up locking me in the chamber for a year. I have it----" You cut yourself off, noticing another significant drop in your brother's power level. "I have everything under control. Just go!" He nods, ascending into the air. "And Kakarot, good luck. You're gonna need it." He blasts a hole through the roof before taking off to face Frieza. 

The sooner you get healed up, the sooner you can get back to join the others. You still don't like this, but you know it's the smart thing to do. Once you're one hundred percent, you can give Frieza some real hell. You start pressing the buttons again, this time to activate the process. Luckily, you won't be in there as long as Kakarot. You're dealing with something much more minor.

You step into the chamber, and the goo-like substance fills your surroundings. Eww, you shutter. You forgot how gross and slimy this shit is. But you know your slight discomfort will be worth it in the end. Even though you hate this damn machine. During your childhood, you spent many hours in these rust buckets after your training. None of them were pleasant. You take a deep breath, trying to remain calm, as you desperately avoid checking to see how the battle is going. Because if you even look once, you know it'll be all you can think about. You'll drive yourself crazy before you're even close to being healed.

You're not sure how long you've been in the chamber now. Time always seems to disappear when you're in here. The water-like substance in the chamber is supposed to have a tranquil effect, so maybe that's why? You've never felt it, but that might just be tied to all your unpleasant memories of being trapped in healing chambers after being beaten half to death. You just hope you'll be done soon. This might be worse than being trapped for months in a pod, and that's saying a lot.

Your eyes snap open, your breath hitching. That was a mistake. You blink rapidly, trying to get the liquid out of your eyes. Your eyes are on fire, but you ignore the burning. Something's wrong--- it's this unexplainable feeling you have in your gut. You give in to your intuition, focusing on the one area you've been desperately avoiding, the battlefield. When you do, your heart sinks. You've never felt this way in your life. Vegeta's energy isn't just low. It's faintly present. If you didn't know better, you would've mistaken him for an insect. What the hell is going on? Vegeta isn't--- he isn't even fighting back. That isn't like your brother. You can feel his energy getting weaker and weaker. You can't--- you can't just stay here. You know it would be wiser to finish healing. You would be more helpful in the fight against Frieza when you're in top form. But for once--- you don't care. The rational part of your mind has gone blank. You've been spending far too much time with those earthlings. They must be rubbing off on you.

You manage to wiggle your fingers, focusing all your energy on your hand. The liquid in the chamber makes it very difficult to move. You move your hand slightly up. But it feels like there's a weight pulling you back down. You dismiss the feeling, moving your hand parallel to the window. You use all your strength, shooting a blast of energy straight ahead. Shards of glass fly across the room, and the liquid sprays violently out of the chamber, flooding the area. You step out of your former prison, wiping the drops of water off your face. You fling yourself up into the air, speeding through the same hole Goku made not too long ago.

You fly faster than you've ever flown before. You didn't even think that was possible since you're one of the fastest beings in the universe. You don't remember it taking this long to arrive last time. It feels like an eternity. You are so wrapped up in your thoughts that you almost fly past everyone. You almost missed Frieza's massive energy. You're slipping.

Your gaze fixates on the person you are most worried about, Vegeta. He's in worse shape than you thought. You look into your brother's eyes, and you can't believe what you see. Tears. You've never seen Vegeta cry before, not once. Your father even said he didn't cry as a baby. Then you hear something even less likely than Vegeta shedding tears. It's so unbelievable that you thought your ears were deceiving you. He begs Kakarot for help. Vegeta, your brother, one of the most prideful beings to ever exist. Begging someone, no, a third-class Saiyan, a clown-like Kakarot, for help. You can't even wrap your head around it. It feels like you're in some sort of bizarre dream. Or is it a nightmare? You finally notice the gaping hole in your brother's chest. That's--- That's not good.

Vegeta's chest rises and falls. He takes one last shallow breath before his head plops down on the ground, motionless. It's happened. You're now trapped in your worst nightmare. The worst fear of your childhood has come to life. The only thing that was more horrifying than Frieza's existence. Vegeta--- he's just gone. You hear this obnoxious shriek of hysteria. It's loud enough to pierce the eardrums of beings on other planets, planets that are far outside of this solar system. Wait. Did that--- come from you? Did you make that sound? You've never ever made a noise like that in your life. 

"Y/N. How nice of you to join us." Frieza's mocking invades your ears, but you don't care. You don't even think your brain registered his taunting. You rush over to Vegeta's side, dropping to your knees.

"V-Vegeta." He looks so weak. So pathetic. As kids, you always looked up to Vegeta, and that's not just because he was taller in stature. Even as adults, you still thought the world of him. Hell, he was your world. Vegeta was always so brave and so strong. He was your hero. As a child, you wanted to be just like him. You idolized him. Sure, you butted heads more often than not, but that's just how you were. Now--- now he's just gone. One second he was here. He was breathing. And now he's not. "No, no, no, no. No! You promised. You promised me!" You were so mad at him only a few minutes ago, wishing him a fate worse than death. Now, you're incoherently sobbing at his side.

The others surrounding you are silent. There are no words that can be said to you at this moment. "And the Saiyan Princess sheds tears for the Prince. How sad. Though, who would've thought you'd be the last one from your bloodline, Y/N. I had my money on Vegeta. I always thought your recklessness would've gotten you killed first." All you can see is red as the freak's grating voice echoes in your mind. "I almost single-handedly wiped out your bloodline too. When I exterminated your dreadful race, I personally took care of your pathetic father. And, I guess you can see what I did to poor Vegeta." Your mind clouds further, deeper shades of red filling your vision. "Too bad I didn't have the chance to get rid of the little one. Some insect probably took care of him." You clench your hand into the ground, digging up clumps of dirt with your hands. "As I recall, you were quite protective over him." You unclench your fist, tears now shamelessly running down your face. "Y/N--- there's no need to cry. Don't worry. You'll see them all again momentarily. Your father, Vegeta, your other brother. I can't seem to remember his name, but I suppose it really doesn't matter. No one who knew him will be around anyway."

"Y/N!" Raditz shouts. "Get the hell out of the way!" Your legs feel like lead. You can't find the energy to move. It's like you've lost your will with Vegeta. Or maybe you're in shock? You snap your eyes shut, preparing yourself for the inevitable. At least it'll be quick.

You can hear the blast incoming like a missile. You knew Frieza would probably be the one to cause your demise, but you didn't think it would be like this. Your eyelids grow heavy as you feel something splatter all over your back. After a few moments, you gain the courage to open your eyes. You look down at your torso, but everything seems fine. Your chest piece is fully intact, and you're not in any pain. You move your hand to your back, wiping off the unknown substance. You observe your hand closely. That's definitely blood. "W-What the hell?" Your voice is inaudible. Not even a faint whisper escapes your lips. 

"Well, not who I was aiming for. But I suppose that's one more Saiyan out of the way." Frieza states, with minor irritation. 

You turn around to find Raditz, who's fallen onto the ground. "Rad---Raditz!" You shriek, flipping his body back over. "You big fucking idiot! Why would--- why did you do that?" 

"Over the years, you've taken so many beatings for me. It's about time I repaid the favor." He chuckles briefly before wincing in pain. "And you know. It's about time I actually did my job for once."

"That's not you're job! It's not your job to protect me." You grimace at him. "At least not anymore."

"Yes, it is. It's what I was tasked with on planet Vegeta. And I'm finally seeing it through." Raditz's eyes begin to droop. "Besides, use your head. Who do you think stands a better chance against that purple freak? Me or you?"

"You must really be losing it." You can tell Raditz is struggling to keep his eyes open, but the stubborn fool is even fighting his own body's natural instincts. "You were always so terrified of Frieza. And now you have no problem running your mouth."

"It's what I do best." Raditz coughs. "Who knew dying fucking hurt so much. Whenever we killed someone, I always thought they were being dramatic. But damn, this sucks."

"Developing a conscience in your final moments?" You can't help but laugh. This fool always knows how to make you feel better, even when he's down.

Raditz chuckles. "Hell no. I'd do it all again." He finally gives in, snapping his eyes closed. "Y/N." He pauses. "Make him pay. For what he did to our planet. Our people. My--- My mother." You run a hand through his wild hair, hushing him.

"I will, Raditz. You don't have to worry about that."

"And--- one more thing, Y/N."

"Damn, you sure have a lot of last requests." He opens his eyes a crack, staring at you through lidded eyes.

"I'm dying! Let me have my moment." You chuckle but decide to let him continue. "Try to get along with Kakarot. Or at least don't kill him. I know his personality is a lot--- but."

You sigh dramatically. "I'll try. But no promises."

Raditz grins one last time. "You know. You've made this entire shitty existence a lot better, Y/N. I can't even picture my life without you in it anymore." His head falls to the ground, his eyes returning to their closed state. You watch him take one final breath, and just like that, he's gone too. Raditz and Vegeta are both dead. There's two more people added to the lengthy list of things Freiza has taken from you.

"Ya, me too, Raditz." You snap your tear-filled eyes shut, a few stray tears rolling down your face. At least with Raditz, you got to say goodbye.

"As loyal as the dog that he was till the end. How pathetic." You finally stand up, clenching your fists. "Now, Y/N. I'd love to see how you plan to make me pay."

Goku walks to stand beside you. It looks like he's going to move over to Frieza, but you raise your hand, stopping him dead in his tracks. "He's mine, Kakarot." You practically growl. Goku wants to get involved, but the expression on your face makes his blood run cold. 

The two of you stare at each other for some time as if you are communicating telepathically. Goku shuts his eyes, nodding. "Alright, Y/N." He moves back to stand beside the others who are staring at him, horrified. Goku backing down from a fight is unheard of. All you needed was a few minutes, and you could make him stand down completely. It's like you're some sort of Goku whisperer. Krillin sure wishes he had that ability. That would've saved him a lot of trouble over the years.

"After all these years, I don't have to hold back anymore." Your eyes linger between both corpses. "I played nice--- well, as nice as I could. I bit my tongue all this time." Your eyes lock on Vegeta. "Looks like you did me a favor." You smirk. "Now, I don't have to protect Vegeta's ego."

Frieza laughs uncontrollably like it's the most ridiculous thing he's ever heard. "You're even more delusional than that brother of yours. What's next? Are you going to tell me you're a Super Saiyan too?"

"I'm no Super Saiyan." You scoff. "I'm not that strong. But I do have to thank you, Frieza. You did help me become the woman I am today. You underestimated me, just like I expected you to. You played right into my hand."

"How so?" Frieza actually sounds alarmed. There isn't even a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Back when I was little, my father would always tell me how there were things that I was capable of that Vegeta wasn't. I thought he was full of shit. That he was trying to make me feel better about being so mediocre compared to my brother. But I've grown to understand what he meant. Vegeta was always stronger---- but I was smarter, less prideful. Even if I didn't always act like it. I'm sure that's in one of your little reports from your underlings from back when you were scouting planet Vegeta."

"And how did you manipulate me, Y/N?"

"I'm getting to that. I was content with living in my brother's shadow, letting everyone degrade me."

"Are you saying that you're stronger than Vegeta was?" Frieza asks in total disbelief.

"Exactly." You nod. "And it's all because of you, Lord Frieza." You're getting too cocky, but you can't help yourself. "When you'd train me, I'd never let you know how strong I was. Only using half my strength, sometimes even less than that."

"I miscalculated you." He grins eerily. "I applaud you, honestly. That doesn't happen often. But I can tell you right now, I won't be making that mistake again."

"I wouldn't expect anything less." You glance once more at your fallen comrades. If you're going to fight Frieza, you need to be angry. 

"Come on then, show me how strong you actually are. I'm assuming you'll be quite manageable." You stretch your arms out, cracking your knuckles. "And that's if you're not bluffing. Cause there's no reason to delay this any longer, Y/N, if you're really as strong as you claim."

You speed toward Frieza, starting your barrage of attacks. Frieza dodges every one. "You know what they say about Saiyans. There's only one thing more dangerous than a Saiyan with damaged pride. And that's a Saiyan with nothing left to lose. And unfortunately for you, I'm the latter." You finally manage to land a blow on Frieza, knocking him back. You and Frieza end up in the air, trading punches back and forth. You're both moving at lightspeed. The others probably can't even track you.

"You've taken everything from me." It all comes bubbling back up. The years of humiliation. The years of bullshit you've had to put up with. The years of being trapped under Frieza's thumb. Bending over backwards to complete his every whim. But even with all of that. Nothing compares to losing Vegeta and Raditz within minutes of each other. Things can only build up for so long. This time you've finally cracked. "You've taken everything!" You shriek. Strong winds form around you, and the ground below begins to shake rapidly. "I'm going to make you regret the day you decided to keep me alive!" You know a way that you can do some real damage to Frieza. You might even be able to kill him, but it's risky.

There's one thing that isn't worth all the strength in the world. And that's losing control. Relinquishing control of your body and actions is the greatest horror you can imagine. But at this point, you're willing to give up everything just to give Frieza a taste of his own medicine. And you know if things go south, Kakarot's here. He'll be able to stop you when things go astray.

You stop dead in the air, flashing Frieza a sinister grin. "It's really not fair." You pout. "You shouldn't be the only one who gets to power up."

"Are you talking about your pathetic monkey transformation?" Frieza cackles. "You know that wouldn't be of any use against me. There's no point in even wasting your time." 

You scoff. "No, I'm talking about something even better." You land back onto the ground, and Frieza quickly follows. 

"Well, if it's so great, show me." You have to channel all your anger. It shouldn't be too hard. Everything that freak has ever done, all of the pain he's caused you, flashes through your mind. "Come on, I'm waiting." You glance back one last time at what's left of Raditz and Vegeta. You clench your fists, gritting your teeth. You huff and puff as fresh tears stream down your face. You scream, similar to the way when you saw Vegeta. 

The ground beneath you shakes, and rapid winds form around you as your piercing shriek only elevates. Your power level, which was once undetectable, now skyrockets. But it's not enough to scare Frieza. "You Saiyans are always so dramatic. So far, this is quite the underwhelming performance." Frieza yawns dramatically. "It's putting me to sleep. You know what. After I'm done with this planet. I'll do a sweep around the galaxy for the last of King Vegeta's offspring. In the rare chance that he did survive, that is. I want to nip this Saiyan problem in the butt for good. I sware you're like roaches. You kill one, and four more pop up in its place."

You spent the majority of your childhood protecting Tarble from the wrath of anyone that came his way. Frieza going after you is one thing. But Tarble is a whole other story. Your brother being alive is this invasive thought that pops up in your mind now and again. You know it's incredibly unlikely. You always did everything for him. Even if it's hypothetical, even if you believe he's dead. You've never let a single being lay a hand on your twin, and you sure as hell won't let it start happening now.

Your screaming only amplifies as the entirety of the planet quakes. Violent waves form in the waters of Namek as strong winds take over the atmosphere. You're so wrapped up in your rage that you can't hear the conversations of the earthlings. You can't even see the rising panic on Frieza's features. The color of your irises drains, the entirety of your eyes turning into a glowing white before becoming a vibrant teal. Your hair hovers into the air, turning into a shade of gold. You chuckle deeply, twisting a strand of your hair. "Not what I was trying to do. But this works too."

Frieza's eyes bulge out of his head. "Are you claiming to have another form?!"

The world around you has stilled. It's returned back to normalcy. "Looks like that old legend was true after all. I always thought it was one of those old wives' tales that was told to Saiyan children to scare them into not skipping training." If only your father could see you now. He'd be proud.  

"You're--- You're a. No! It's not possible!" Frieza's panic grows more incoherent with every word. "You're a Super Saiyan!"

"Wow!" Gohan gasps in awe. "I've never seen anything like that before." Why does the brat sound so cheery? One happy-go-lucky buffoon is more than enough.

You move towards Frieza. Even if you can't defeat him, the way he's looking at you is enough to satisfy you. You've never seen the great Lord Frieza fearful before. "Come on then, let's get this show on the road." You and Frieza get straight back into it, destroying any terrain that crosses your path. Nothing gets your blood pumping more than a good fight. Well, that was until recently. Kakarot has the same effect on you, but that's something you consider an undesirable nuisance. "I'm going to make you pay! For everything you've done to me---- to my people!" Your emotions in this form seem to run even more rampant than usual.

You punch Freiza into the air. "That's for my planet!" You teleport behind him, smacking Frieza back toward the ground. "My people!" Right before he can hit the ground, you grab him by the neck. You tighten your grip, restricting his airflow. "This one's for me." You toss him back into the air like it's nothing. This time you stay on the ground, lifting your index finger. You create a bright blue beam with your finger. "And this is for my father!" You shoot a beam of light at him, slicing his tail in two. To Frieza, that's the worst attack you've done all day. Before he can react, you speed towards him, grabbing his arm. You swing him around like a fan, tossing him back into the sky. "That's for Raditz!" Frieza now hovers in the air, slightly dazed. You create a giant blinding ball of energy. "And this one! This one is for Vegeta!" You send the orb straight to Frieza, blasting him into the ground. The bright light disappears, revealing the giant crater you've made.

Frieza lays still in the hole, not moving a muscle. "Is he?" You cut Krillin off before he can even continue his foolishness.

"Don't be stupid! You really think a little blast like that could put down Frieza?"

Frieza stands back up, cracking his neck. His expression is grim. It makes your stomach churn. "Are you done with your little tantrum? Without Vegeta, there's no one to keep you in check." He huffs, looking at his back, swaying what's left of his tail. "Though I intend to make you pay for what you did to my tail."

The fight continues. You never thought you'd be able to hold your own against Frieza for this long. This form is amazing. Too bad you won't be able to truly appreciate your newfound strength. Frieza kicks you full force in the one spot you desperately hoped he'd miss. The second he did, you knew you were in trouble. Your wound opened back up. "Fuck!" You fall to your knees, wincing in pain. One hit, which usually wouldn't even make you flinch, takes you out of commission. Your hair falls limp, returning to its normal shade, and your eyes do the same.

"So one blow to the torso takes out the mighty Super Saiyan completely." Frieza chuckles. "Looks like I had nothing to fear after all." He notices you gripping your side. "Oh, so that's why you weren't here. You're injured. That Super Saiyan form of yours could've been quite the problem. But I guess there's no need to worry now." He flies down to the ground, standing right in front of you. "Any last words?" You look up at him, and with all the energy you can muster, you spit in his face.

Frieza narrows his eyes, wiping your saliva off his eyelid. "I'm sure you're excited to join the rest of your race in hell."

You can't open your eyes. The blow you took must have made your injury even worse than it was before. Burter must be staring up at you from hell, laughing his ass off about indirectly taking you out. In your final moments, you're so weak. You always thought you'd go out in a blaze of glory. "Can't wait. I'm sure I'll see you there real soon too. There must be lots of people down there that are anxiously anticipating your arrival."

It's not like Frieza to draw things out this long. He doesn't like to play with his victims for extended periods. "That's enough." You've never heard Kakarot sound so serious before. You manage to open your eyes, and you can't believe it. Goku's right in front of that monster, holding Frieza's wrist tightly. There's no hesitation, Kakrot's fearless. Goku teleports over to you, picking you up like you're weightless. For someone so powerful, he's surprisingly gentle. "Don't make that face at me." You're not--- okay, you're glaring at him, but Kakrot deserves it. "You're lucky, Y/N. I don't usually let people fight before me when I'm able to. But this seemed really important to you."

"Fuck you---Kakarot!" He's grinning at you. Why does he always do that? It's so infuriating. 

"Would you have rather me let Frieza kill you?" He carries you over to the others. 

"Yes."

"Well, too bad!" He carefully places you on the ground. "You stay here with the others. Let me take care of everything, okay?" He turns to his son. "Gohan, take care of Y/N. Make sure she doesn't get hurt any worse."

"I hope Frieza slaughters you." You snarl.

"You don't mean that." He chuckles, smiling warmly at you. He turns to Frieza, his expression turning ice cold. "I'm going to make you pay! For everything you've done! For every one you've hurt!" And there he goes again. With his whole selfless hero act. This is nauseating. You wish you were dead. 

-

Who will be victorious, Goku or Frieza? Will Goku become a Super Saiyan too? And will Y/N ever be grateful to Goku for saving her life? Find out all of this and more in the next chapter of The Princess of All Saiyans!