#the boy who so ardently wants to protect his gang. who will do anything to keep the safe.

[itsalwaysforyou]

i’ve been in absolute anguish over these seven seconds all day btw

[heavenlymorals]

Hi! I really enjoy your posts and I was hoping to see if you can answer this question for me. I want to write an Arthur x reader fic, but I want to try writing a more canon Arthur instead of a fanon Arthur. So if you're able to, what do you think Arthur would be like as husband or partner? Thank you! 🩵🩵

Arthur as a Husband (Arthur x Fem! Reader)

Thank you so much ❤️ I'm glad you like my posts, that makes me happy ❤️❤️

And boy, that's kinda a loaded question considering how vast the Arthur x Reader side of the fandom is, so this might be a bit controversial but here we go:

Also, these are all of my thoughts based on my past posts on Arthur. None of them are actually canon as far as I know nor am I presenting them to be canon. These are all just my thoughts based on what I've noticed in the game.

I genuinely think that Arthur would be a great husband BUT he'd be a great husband in the context of the 1800s.

He would never lay his hands on you. He would never disrespect you. Any man try to do anything to you, Arthur would go ballistic. He'd always defend his wife from disrespect. He would always carry your luggage. He would always be a gentleman and assist you in getting on a horse or a wagon. He'd make sure you're comfortable in any way he can. He would never want you to over exert yourself. He would love you to the point of devotion and given how his devotion works for the gang, it'd be priceless. He'd make sure to treat you to the fullest on every date. He'd want to impress you. He would love you most ardently and most fully. If he had sons, he'd make sure to always set a good example on how men should treat their wives/partners.

Very sweet, I know, but again- this is in the context of the 1800s.

I think Arthur, give his attitudes regarding gender roles, would be suited with a woman who believes in the same thing, which given the time period wasn't rare.

Arthur would protect, provide, and do all the traditional things that men were expected to do and he'd do them well enough to where you would never have to worry about things like money, protection, or him taking care of you and honoring you. He'd love you to devotion.

But where he'd do a man's duty, he'd expect you to do the woman's duty, and just how he'd love you to devotion, he'd expect the same. He would never let you do "men's work" if he can help it, unless y'all are living in a super tough environment where you would need to help him here and there, but he'd still do the vast majority of the hard work, and he'd expect a clean place to live, food, and all that domestic stuff from you. If the both of you are able to connect with that dynamic, than Arthur would honestly be a phenomenal husband. He'd be the model husband in the traditional relationship.

I also think respect would be a big thing too. You'd probably both tease each other and love it, but there has to be respect and understanding otherwise he would go off. Note how quick he was able to go off and raise his voice at Mary when she started disrespecting his life style yet chooses to want to use the skills he attained from that lifestyle to help her with her father. He also does it in public where everyone could hear and he only stops when he sees that it was deeply distressing to Mary after she asks him to be kind to her. I realized pretty quick that Arthur is not as patient or pacified as John when Abigail chews into him.

However, I also think he'd be very understanding and open minded to you if you seriously want to talk to him. Communication would be key between both of you and he'd try to understand your thoughts as best as he can and try to make you happy if he could, but again, he'd also expect the same of you.

It's a two way street in different ways. That's the best way I can put it. He'd love you to devotion, given that both of you are comfortable and happy with that traditional dynamic. Arthur would protect you, provide for you, make sure you are always comfortable and never destitute, and in return, he'd expect you to be there for him.

Hope you enjoyed that ❤️ And again, these are just my thoughts based on what I've noticed in canon. Happy writing! ❤️❤️❤️

[koboldburrow]

Aurix update

There won’t be one of these for a while, since our schedules ain’t workin’ out until next month, buuuut:

Last time: Ronin wanted to get some Thieves’ Tools, and Aurix brought him to some shady-ass Drow gang to hook him up. He didn’t really wanna pay 50g for a set of tools, so instead offered to do A Favour. They asked him to get rid of an elf who was a High Priest of Savras; he agreed. Aurix asked him if 50g was a price he was okay with paying for blood on his hands, and promised to back him up in however he approached this job.

THIS TIME: Aurix made some very excellent use of her new spell, Flock of Familiars, in scouting out the Temple of Savras. We not only found out the high priests would be meeting tonight (one of which was our assassination target) so everyone could see them vote on a change in tenets, but we spotted a young girl that may be the child who was taken away by the temple. (I’m a little fuzzy on what THAT’S about, since it’s a plotline that was going on before I joined the campaign.) 

Von (the bard) polymorphed Ronin (the samurai) into a spider, Aurix tucked him into her hood, and one Mask of Many Faces disguise later, we sneak into the temple for that big meeting. We see the girl is being kept behind a High Priest by the name of Shadowstone, who’s got a fancy tattoo on his arm marking him as a member of the dwarven shady-ass mafia. Ronin also picks up that our assassination target glances at Shadowstone with utter fear before voting the same way that he does. It’s pretty clear that Shadowstone is the dude behind the sketchy business, and it’s equally clear that the drow gang who Ronin promised to Do An Assassinate for probably picked this dude because he’s obviously in Shadowstone’s pocket. 

The Polymorph is getting close to running out, so disguised-as-a-random-Savras-cleric Aurix tries to scootch out of the meeting all “bathroom break s’cuse me.” She manages to deceive all the high priests except one, ducks out, and hides away in an empty room so Ronin can be a half-orc again and not a spider. Knowing their cover may be blown, Ronin tries to suggest pulling out and coming back with the rest of the party. Aurix is wary, knowing that much of the party won’t be super on board with “murder a church guy” or really cut out for Stealth, and fearing that the suspicions they raised may lead to tighter security. She suggests instead that they do a “to hide a tree, use a forest” approach and try to slip in with all the leaving clerics when the meeting ends, and maybe try to follow their mark that way. 

No luck seeing him among the people who go by, though, so Ronin figures that we should just cut our losses and leave. He gets caught on the way out, though, and we get taken to talk to the High Priestess who wasn’t fooled by Aurix’s “lol brb bathroom” bit. She talks about Shadowstone’s shadiness, a bit about our mark’s past, and how he’s one of Shadowstone’s many puppets. Aurix suggests that they, as ardent adherents to the tenets of Savras and not this skewed version Shadowstone is trying to push, try talking to the mark in private. Somehow, this works, and the priestess arranges for them to talk. 

At this point, Aurix is READY THE FUCK TO HIT. Hexblade’s Curse, poised to strike, waiting for Ronin to give the signal. He talks to this drow High Priest a bit. The guy doesn’t really know anything useful at all about Shadowstone, but he quickly realizes that we were sent by the drow gang to kill him, and starts sobbing and weeping. At this point, Ronin does a 180, and completely changes his mind about killing the dude. He kinda does a “well now you know that this gang wants to kill you, so we’ll just see what fate decides” kind of thing and asks how he can help and stuff. Aurix is like shooting him Looks and trying to mouth stuff like “DUDE WE NEED TO GET INTO THE UNDERDARK ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DOUBLE CROSS THE DROW MAFIA,” but she takes her oaths pretty seriously, so she doesn’t really want to run this clown through in front of Ronin after she promised “I’ll have your back, however you wanna get the job done.” 

She knows that the High Priestess of Savras has seen his face and heard his voice, and she also knows that he openly admitted where he’s from, so she’s just thinking, like, “well shit, I gotta protect this poor naive idiot or he’ll absolutely get arrested and/or silenced.” She tells him “okay, go leave back to the inn, don’t hide it, just let people witness you exiting the temple.” Once Ronin clears off, she talks with the mark, convinces him “look, these people will just send someone who’s actually willing to assassinate you once they realize this failed, you have to flee, I can help you disappear so well neither Shadowstone nor drow can find you.” With some very lucky smooth-talking, she convinces him to tell some of the Savras clerics he’s heading out for a walk to clear his head (thereby proving he was still alive after Ronin left), and she takes him out to one of the city gates. 

Now, at this point, her full intention was “get somewhere with no witnesses, run him through, dump him in a ditch.” She did NOT want to backstab the drow criminal syndicate for a lot of reasons. 

They also knew Ronin’s face and voice, meaning they could easily come for him and/or the party he was with.

Aurix had been prepared all along for “I can do an assassination for you” to result in actually doing the assassination, so she was pretty braced for “this is a priest, he probably won’t go HELL YEAH KILL ME I’M EVIL AS SHIT,” so she wasn’t all that moved by tears at all

also Aurix is a True Neutral lizardfolk only really concerned with keeping her oaths and surviving, so risking the necks of herself and her friends for no better reason than “this total stranger did a real sad cry” is just not really something she’s wired to understand 

Aurix is a fuckign criminal with an evil sword that thirsts for blood. She’s been in shadyville so long that she’s probably pretty numb to shedding the blood of sapient beings, especially ones that are cronies in some Real Fucky Business

they definitely did still need to get to the Underdark, and the only really accessible entrance is in this exact city, so thumbing your nose at the drow seems REALLY unwise

It didn’t actually work out that way though. The mark passed out a little outside the gates, an elf standing guard there was all “HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING.” Aurix tries the “hhha ha ha he’s just drunk I’m taking him home,” but the dude just automatically knows that’s horseshit. I’m thinking “jesus christ this unexpected morality moment is going to get my character arrested and/or killed,” so I try to cast Hold Person. Automatic fail (I guess elves resist paralysis or WIS saving throws?). I’m like. [SCREAMS INTERNALLY] and just..... try to bribe the guy to forget he saw anything 

I think the DM feels sorry for me and my utterly screwed character lmao, because the elf kinda just goes “actually for this much gold I’ll just handle making sure this guy gets to the next town over lol” at which point I go “COOL THANKS IF ANYONE ASKS YOU SAW NOTHING” and just fuckign. peace out. So I ended up losing a chunk of change on this, but like.... at least Aurix didn’t Perish

So the whole party reconvenes at the inn, and Ronin has already spilled most of what they were up to. The group moves up to one of their rooms for Privacy and Aurix is... not entirely happy.... about the way things went. She’s pissed that he sprung a last-second backdown on her with no warning and put her into a situation where she had to break an oath to these dudes, that they’ve made enemies of both sides of a gang war, that she had to go through a bunch of money and trouble to clean this up, and that there’s now a loose end running wild on his way to the next town over. The vanishing of a high priest is very quickly noticed, despite the “just going for a walk” thing, and the alarm is raised across the city. We decide “hey this would be a REALLY GOOD TIME to skip town.” We wait until the next day, when Corrin (half-dragon ranger/sorc) can pick up her new +2 spell focus, Aurix picks up the Entire Live Cow she ordered, and we skip town to go back to the ancient dragon’s lair and see how much of the hoard the kobolds have dug up. 

Aurix comes barreling in all “MY SWEET LITTLE LIZARDY BABIES I BROUGHT YOU A BEEF.” Kobolds are very pleased to get an entire delicious cow, and present us with A SHITLOAD OF STUFF. 11K gold tossed into our portable hole, along with 36 more magic items (most of them are scrolls). We explain that we’re gonna be away for a while and that the kobolds really should stay away from hassling the nearby city because AURIX NEEDS HER BABIES TO BE OKAY LMAO. 

With our ducks all in a row, Von (bardy boi) does a Teleportation Circle, and we all blip back to Breedonne to hand in our dragonscales to (and get our magic items Identified by) the wizardy dude who we’re doing this Main Quest stuff for. We retire to an inn to discuss our next move. We’ll still need more dragonscales probably, but it took us a lot to find this white dragon, so we’re not all that sure how easily we’ll even be able to locate another dragon to hunt. Sticking to getting mindflayer helmets from the Underdark seems like the better move, but considering the only really accessible entrance is the one in the city we just messed with the drow in, we’re kinda unsure how well that will go. We figure that we’ll maybe just, like... spend a bit here in Breedonne preparing and researching and getting materials for our Underdark adventure, and hopefully by the time we’re ready to come back, the heat will have died down a little bit. On that decision, we end for the night, and we’ll pick back up sometime in March!

[mariestherapeutics]

Short Story: Runaway Part 2, starring OT12. WARNING: Mild Language, family problems, rule breaking, and mentions of bullying. Genre: Biker!AU, Fluff, Friendship, Slight Suspense Word Count: 3,801 A/N: This is the repost of Part Two, since I couldn’t find it for the life of me.

The guys, after making a big deal about your hunger, rode to the nearest gas station and bought a bunch of snacks. The next thing you know, you're all cramped in their garage, the motorcycles lined against the wall carefully.

When Junmyeon rips open a bag of chips and hands it to you, he asks, "So, the lot of us have been planning to have a long ride at the end of the month. Are you up to joining us?" Gratefully, you take the bag and start eating the  contents ravenously.

"Junmyeon," YiFan says, giving him a look you didn't understand.

"Sounds fun." You reply after a mouthful of chips. Jongin laughs at your stuffed cheeks, wiping crumbs away from the sides of your mouth. "Will you pick me up again?" You ask. You wish you had your own bike, but there's no way you could afford one.

"Yeah, and this time, you can ride with me." Chanyeol nods at you, smirking slightly. You laugh and throw an unopened bag of chips at him. "Yah!" He catches the bag just before it hits his face, then opens it up for himself.

"_____," You turn your attention to YiFan. He's looking at you worriedly. "That end-of-the-month ride we've been planning is, seriously, long. I don't think you should go."

"Why not?" You ask. Something in the back of your heart is telling you it's because you don't actually belong with them, even though you've felt so at home with these boys. It makes you sad, but you've accepted that you'll never fit in a group a long time ago.

"Because it's a road trip." He explains, sliding off his leather gloves and setting them aside. He examines the bags of chips carefully before picking up the funyuns. "Are you allowed to go out with strangers for that long?"

"I'm not supposed to be out right now, either." You remind him, and you see Junmyeon shift guiltily. "But it doesn't matter. I can make my own choices, can't I?"

"I just don't want you getting in trouble." He says, and you're taken aback by the sincerity of his words. You know he means it, because of the look in his eyes.

"I'm a big girl," You reply, shoving more chips in your mouth to distract yourself from his ardent gaze. "I can take care of myself." Something seems to spark in the guys at your phrase, and you can visibly see their mischief growing.

"You're a big girl, huh?" Baekhyun giggles, peeling away from Sehun and crawling over to you. "Prove it. Arm wrestle me."

"What?" You watch with wide eyes as the boys find something to put your elbows on. "Are you joking?"

"Nope!" He exclaims, finally pulling over a strongbox and leaning on it smugly. "If you win, I'll give you my scarf." The boys suddenly "ooo" loudly, and Kyungsoo sighs at their excitement.

"You must be really confident if you're betting your clothes." You smirk, unable to help it. You set your arm on the box and grab his hand.

"Give me a reason not to be." He challenges, and you grin in anticipation as Jongdae counts down from three.

"Go!"

The first thing Baekhyun does is gasp, because he wasn't expecting you to actually be tough to beat. He made the mistake of underestimating you, and it shows when his hand smacks against the surface instead of yours.

The boys all cheer in excitement, obviously as surprised as Baekhyun is, and he reluctantly forks over his scarf. "I don't want it," You laugh, handing it back to him. The action makes him so happy he literally leans over and kisses your cheek.

"Arm wrestle me next!" Chanyeol volunteers himself, readily settling on the other side of the box from you. Baekhyun was caught off guard, but now everyone knows you're not weak. You eye Chanyeol's biceps under his sleeves, knowing there's some toned muscle there, and feeling a little intimidated by it. "Oh, this?" Chanyeol asks, flexing to show off. "Don't worry about it."

"Right." You laugh, before grabbing his hand. The boys aren't expecting you to beat Chanyeol, though; you hear them whispering about how Baekhyun's was just a lucky game. You do your best to psych yourself up, knowing that with your strength training, you'd be able to match him easily, even if you didn't have the bulging muscles to show for it.

Jongdae counts down again, and when he yells "go", you gasp as Chanyeol's hand grips yours tight.

"Yah, yah! Why are you holding me so hard?!" You exclaim, but keep the hands centered. He lets out a surprised noise, and your clasped hands start to shake as you both try to out strength the other.

"That's just Chanyeol, he doesn't mean to hurt you." Jongdae explains, but you barely hear it. You're focused on the game.

"What do you want if you win?" You chuckle breathily, and the small question distracts you enough for your hand to waver. Chanyeol has the advantage now, and he furrows his brow as he thinks hard.

"Hmm... how about that ride I wanted?" He asks, and the boys all break out in "ooo"s again. It makes you laugh, and you nearly slip just then, but you catch yourself and fight strong.

No longer talking, you focus all of your strength into your arm. Chanyeol starts to groan impatiently when you start to make a comeback. "No, no, no," He mutters, and when your hands are center again he shouts, "Yah! I want to win!"

Unfortunately for him, that little outburst made him lose the game. You slam his hand down, and he sighs in defeat as the other guys all pat your back and shake your arms in triumph.

"Coolest woman ever." You hear Zitao say somewhere behind you as Junmyeon sidles up to the box. He presses his lips together expectantly, and you hold out your hand. Grinning nervously, he takes it and the match begins.

You beat all of the boys (barely, they all kept making mistakes like Baekhyun and Chanyeol did) expect for Minseok, who easily played with you. You thought you were winning for a little, but then he flung your hand to the side and you gaped at him in embarrassment. He just giggled, and you wondered vaguely how someone so cute could be so tough at the same time.

Some time after the game, the sky began to turn lighter, and you knew it was time for you to go back home. Solemnly, the boys rock-paper-scissored to see who'd drive you back, and it ended up being Kyungsoo.

You didn't mind, and he even let you sit in front of him. "Is this safe?" You ask him as he revved the engine to life, and he simply smiled at you under his helmet's visor.

"Where's the fun in being safe?" It struck you as odd that someone so reserved and rational was in a group so noisy and daring, but hearing this, you see why he fits in perfectly.

Before you have the time to react, other than gaping at him with an open mouth, he kicks off the ground and you're rolling down the street. Being in the front is scarier than being in the back, you conclude when he drives what you feel is over the speed limit.

When you're home, the sun is rising on the horizon and his engine quiets to a soft hum as he slows to a stop. He leaves the bike on, but climbs off and helps you before walking you to your door.

"Will you come again tonight?" He asks, timidly taking your hands in his. "We all enjoyed your presence, _____. I don't understand why people haven't appreciated you like they should." His words make you blush, and his caring wide eyes make you fidget nervously.

Nevertheless, you smile at him. "I'll come." You promise, and he smiles joyously before quickly pecking your cheek. More than one of the boys have done that to you tonight, but Kyungsoo's kiss was different. For some reason, you feel a different emotion attached to it, but you can't place what it is.

Someone's throat clears just as he pulls away, and you both whip your head to the door to see your dad standing in it. "It's a little early to be up, don't you think?" He asks you, and you feel your heart speed up in fear.

You didn't think about your actions when you ran out of the house last night, and especially not the consequences of them. You've never done anything as crazy as going out with a gang of bikers, or breaking the one rule your parents gave you, so you don't know what will happen to you.

Kyungsoo realizes that this must be your father and releases your hands to greet him. "Good morning, sir. I'm sorry for keeping your daughter out so late." He apologizes, meeting his eye directly.

"Uh-huh. What's your name, young man?" Your dad replies, leaning against the door jamb. He isn't even hiding his observant eyes, checking Kyungsoo for signs of bad company. Aside from the motorcycle and the biker jacket, he's basically a squishy ball of fluff.

"Do Kyungsoo." He says.

"Are you her boyfriend, Mr. Do?" Your father asks, and you both adopt a case of stutters.

"H-Huh? No! W-We're not d-dating." Kyungsoo shakes his head, cheeks tinting as he looks at you anxiously. You look just as put off by the question, so it's not comforting. "We're just friends, sir." He promises.

"So you kiss girls you're not dating?" Your dad says, straightening his shoulders to be intimidating. Kyungsoo, having already been the smaller of the guys, is affected by it.

"That wasn't--"

"Dad, it wasn't like that." You cut in, stepping in front of Kyungsoo protectively. Your dad backs off, seeing you stick up for him. "It was just a friendly goodbye kiss, right Kyungsoo?" You ask, peering up at him hopefully.

There's a pause, and you can't read his expression, but he eventually mumbles, "Yeah."

Your dad stares at him for a while, and while you fidget under his gaze, Kyungsoo is shockingly calm. His hands are clasped together in front of him respectively, his eyes keeping contact with your father's. If he wasn't a biker, you would have taken him for a next door neighbor.

"Scram." Is all your dad tells him, and Kyungsoo says goodbye to the both of you quickly before going to his motorcycle. "Oh, and Mr. Do?" He calls. Kyungsoo looks at you two from the street. "Have a good day." They share some sort of nod that you don't understand, before Kyungsoo kicks off and disappears around the corner.

"Am I in trouble?" You ask quietly, tense.

"Not yet," Your dad says teasingly, holding the door open for you. You hang your head when you walk in, softly thank him, and enter the kitchen when he points for you to go there.

"Oh," You stammer, stopping in the doorway when you realize your entire family is in there waiting for you. Your brother and sister look like they've been awake for a few hours, and your mom looks like she's been having a fight with her hair all night.

"Where have you been, young lady?" Your mother asks, looking ready to jump on you at any second. "Do you know how worried we've all--"

"Calm down, Lydia, she's fine." Your dad says, much to your surprise. "Even though she looks like a wreck, I can promise that the boy didn't do anything to her."

"How can you be so sure?" You quarry, not wanting to make him doubt, but out of curiosity.

"Dad instincts. I saw it in his eyes. He's too recluse to do something that bold." He comments, then, reconsidering, he wonders aloud, "Well, if he rides a motorcycle, maybe I shouldn't jump to conclusions."

"Just because someone rides a motorcycle, doesn't mean they're a bad person." You argue faithfully. Now that you have twelve examples to back up your claim, you're not afraid to admit it.

"That doesn't give you the excuse to run off with a stranger in the middle of the night--"

"Lydia," Your dad cuts your mom off again, and he huffs in frustration. "She's an adult now, she can make her own choices." Your dad says, and you feel grateful to him.

"Even if they're dumb ones.." Your sister sneers. "Running off with a boy you don't know is tantamount to asking for it."

"Oh, shut up, you did the same when you were in high school, but I'm not the one who regret my decision." You bark back, crossing your arms aggravatingly. Your older sister looks reluctantly impressed with your brave rebuttal, before mom looks at her in shock.

"You what?"

"Hey, but I thought I saw more than one guy last night." Your little brother says, saving her. "I think I saw around fifty of them, actually." He tells your parents.

"Don't over exaggerate." You say quickly, and when everyone looks at you suspiciously, you say softly, "There were only twelve of them..."

"'Twelve?'" Your dad reiterates. "Don't tell me you saw a gang and went running to them," He says, and when you don't immediately answer, he rubs his temples stressfully. "I can only help you so much against your mother, _____." He sighs. "You're not helping yourself."

"Yeah, well, I'm happy that you and mom were so worried about me, but this is the first experience I've had with people I can call friends, so I don't regret any of it." You confess heatedly, looking them in the eye. "And I'm going back tonight." You add rebelliously.

"You're what?" Your mother asks, looking absolutely stressed. "_____, I forbid you to go out with any more lunatics who--"

"They're not lunatics." You cut her off, and she looks hurt by your rebuttal. You've never cut off your parents before. Even your siblings were looking at you funny. "They're completely normal people. Just because they ride motorcycles, doesn't mean they're wicked devils." You repeat, furrowing your brow and frowning.

There's a long silence, before your little brothers mumbles, "I think they're influencing her." You gape at him in betrayal, but he shows no sign of remorse.

"Do what you want." Your dad finally says, much to your mom's disagreement. "Honey, we can't shelter her. She's old enough to do what she wants."

"Thanks, Dad." You say gratefully, but he gives you a look that plainly means "don't thank me". "Um, I guess I'll be in my room, then." You say, feeling your lack of sleep catch up to you. No one combats you when you leave, so you run upstairs and into the seclusion of your bedroom before falling onto your bed.

It's only five minutes later that you fall asleep.

"You actually went to bed." You wake up to your sister's voice, and bolt upright when you realize it wasn't in your head. She's leaning against your door jamb, looking at you curiously. "So," She says, but doesn't continue. Self-consciously, you hug your knees and pull the blankets up higher.

"'So', what?" You ask her, and she rolls her eyes, walking in and closing the door. It makes you nervous, but you don't move when she sits on the end of your bed.

"So," She repeats, grinning a bit. "Tell me what happened." She says. You actually drop your jaw, unable to believe what is happening. When you continue to do so, she rolls her eyes again. "Do I really have to be all mushy like you for you to know that I'm trying to bond here?" She asks, turning a bit red as she looked away. "I admit it, none of us were expecting you of all people to break the biggest rule our parents gave us, and I also admit that I'm impressed, and a little jealous." She says, looking at you again with a small pout. "Tell me about it, so I can live through it vicariously."

You blink at her, genuinely touched by her words and effort to spend time with you, but as you open your mouth to thank her for it, she makes a shushing noise and waves her hands all around her head.

"Shut it. Shut it! I don't want to be thanked for any mushy things I said, because I never said them." She threatens lightly, and you get the hint, smiling widely. Even if she was shy about it, you were glad that she came to talk to you anyways.

You begin with how it started, in your bedroom because of the fight. She didn't say anything about it as you continued, so you didn't make any digs. She must have felt bad, though, because instead of judging you for your actions, she asks, "Wait, so you sat with this Junmyeon guy instead of Chanyeol?" She leans back on her hands, laughing a bit. "Figures. You have weird taste in men."

"It's not like that," You blush, but you're happy she's teasing you in a nice way. "And why? Would you have sat with Chanyeol instead?" You ask, and she gives it a thoughtful moment before nodding her head.

"Chanyeol seems like my type." She says. Then, you tell her about the sparklers and the bridge and the water, then the garage and the chips and the arm wrestling. "Wait, you arm wrestled?" She gasps, leaning forward in shock. "I didn't know you played games." You can tell she's teasing you again, but you think she means it.

"I normally don't, but the situation called for it." You shrug, feeling embarrassed. "I felt like I needed to prove myself to them." Then, your sister does something even more unexpected than talking to you.

"I don't know why you feel that way, with anyone," She tells you gently, looking down at her hands. "None of us can even compare to you. It's no wonder you got along with these guys so well." Her words strike you as uncharacteristic at first, before you realize you don't even know your sister like you should. "It's the rest of us who need to prove ourselves."

"Don't say that," You argue, but she waves it off and asks you to continue.

"I want to hear about what happened with Dad." She grins.

"Oh, well, alright..." You tell her how Kyungsoo won the rock-paper-scissors game and got to drive you home, why you felt like he belonged in the gang, and lastly what happened on the porch. She simply gawked at you until you finished, before smacking her forehead with an exasperated sound at you.

"_____!" She groans, falling back on the bed. "Don't you see? You just friend zoned the fuck out of Kyungsoo!" She says, and you widen your eyes at her accusation (and her language). "He totally has the hots for you." She sits back up and winks playfully.

"What-- no he doesn't-- how could he? It's only been one night!" You exclaim, turning red in the face, and she laughs.

"Who knew you were so innocent?" She asks no one in particular. "All of the signs are there, trust me." She says, and you have no choice but to. She has more experience with guys, and people in general.

"But..." You start, unsure of how to feel. "...wouldn't that make the others more distant from me?" You ask, genuinely saddened by the fact. "I don't want to just grow closer to one of them..."

"Don't be naive," She cuts you off, making you look at her. "I'm pretty sure they all like you, somewhat."

"Okay, now you're being dramatic." You giggle, but she shakes her head. "They can't." You try one last time, but she shakes her head again.

"Totally possible." She shrugs, smiling at you. "Ah, I wish I could meet them. Take a few off your load." She says enviously, looking up at your ceiling in thought.

"You could come with me tonight." You suggest, and she lifts her eyebrows at your offer. "I mean, I did tell you Chanyeol said he'd drive the next pretty girl."

"But I'm not pretty." It's the first time you've ever your sister say something so degrading about herself, and you literally tear up at her words. She rolls her eyes again when you grab her wrists.

"You are pretty, Yuri!" You reassure her. "I look just like you, so they'll think so, too!" You promise. "They'll probably like you more anyways, you're so lively and outgoing, the exact opposite of me." She blushes at your compliments, before turning the attention away from her and pushing away your hands.

"You sure sound outgoing, based on the story you told me." She says, but starts smiling again. "So.. do you really think it's okay if I go with you?" She asks, biting her lip reluctantly.

You nod instantly, elated for this new turn of events. "Yeah! It'd be so much fun with you." You say, and she suddenly looks away from you again. You watch her worriedly when she sniffles, before wiping her eyes with balled fists.

"You're so..." She starts, before stopping herself. "How can you be so nice to me after all the things I said to you?" She asks, looking at you with red eyes. "You know I was the one who spread rumors about you." You gape at her in shock.

"You did?" You ask, and when she nods, you shrug. "Well, we moved. We live a different life now. No one will know, unless you tell them." You tell her, and she starts crying again. "I'm sorry." You apologize, but she smacks your arm.

"Stop apologizing" Yuri demands, wiping her cheeks dry and glaring at you. "But just saying, from now on, you can bad mouth me all you want. I won't even fight you." She says. "Starting today, I'm going to try and be the big sister I was supposed to be." And then you start crying, and she rolls her eyes.

"I'm so excited!" You tell her, leaping onto her and hugging her fiercely. To your surprise, she laughs and hugs you back. "Let's hang out right now, then, we have two more hours before they--"

"Hold it right there, Missy," She stops you, moving you away and holding up her hand. "I have a life, unlike you," She wrinkles her nose. "No offense." She adds. "I have stuff to do before they come. Maybe, take a shower and dress yourself properly before going out this time?" She asks, and you flush, embarrassed at your own hygiene. "And get something to eat, dammit, don't make them spend money on you again."

"Yes, Ma'am!" You salute dutifully, before scampering off into the bathroom.

(The End... or The Beginning?)

[preservationandruin]

Words of Radiance Part 2

Viewpoints here are a weirder spread--Shallan, Kaladin, Adolin, and Sadeas. Not sure how long this will take me to get through or how many sub-parts the liveblog is gonna be, so bear with me!

Shallan takes control, Kaladin tries to work with what he has and meets a worldhopper, Renarin jumps off a roof, and people talk way too much about Amaram for either my or Kaladin’s liking. 

Epigraphs here are snippets of the Listener songs, which is probably why we had to get the Eshonai chapters first--so we could tell what they were talking about. In any case, Shallan is travelling with Tvklav’s crew--who I’m pretty sure are coincidentally the slavers who sold Kaladin. Because sometimes I feel like Sanderson’s world operates on the Dickensian premise of “everyone knows each other by coincidence.” Shallan is curious about the Frostlands’ natural vegetation. She also tries having conversation, but it doesn’t really work, in party because (rightly, given the situation) people don’t trust her.

We also learn that Jasnah kept, in her personal trunk, a drawing that Shallan had done of her. Shallan ends up mourning both Jasnah and the fact that all of her sketchpads--something she dismisses, but essentially her life’s work--are gone as well. 

More sketches--this time of various fighting stances. Nazh has written that he had to steal the scroll these were on and that the bottom half was eaten by an axehound. Nazh leads an interesting and fraught life. 

Cut to Adolin talking to his blade, something I still think might be significant. At the very least, I hope that spren can hear him and takes some comfort from having a human talk to them and trust them? We also get the story that nobody took Adolin seriously and that the guy he won the Blade from wanted to duel Adolin to embarrass Dalinar. Didn’t quite work that way. The Plate Adolin got from his mom’s side. Also, Adolin refusing to name his Blade is also important. Also, this: “I appreciate what you’ve done for me. I know you’d do it for anyone who held you, but I still appreciate it. I...I want you to know: I believe in Father. I believe he’s right...” 

Okay, I know I’ve gone on about Edgedancer Adolin before, but one of the things for the Edgedancers definitely seems to be paying attention to the people and things people take for granted. Like, say, the fact that your shardblade fights with you. 

Anyway, immediately after that we get the fact that Adolin can’t fucking read, not even glyphs. Navani voice: please get married so that I stop worrying about you not being able to fucking read. Also, Adolin is worried because they haven’t heard anything from Jasnah’s ship--WITH GOOD REASON. Also, Adolin insists that breaking up with Danlan wasn’t his fault--apparently she’d been saying something to her friends--but given that it’s Adolin it’s kind of hard to tell. 

Also, Renarin and Adolin run through Adolin’s list of good-luck charms for duels---talk to the sword, eat chicken before you duel, wear mother’s chain--and Navani is skeptical and the boys are Highly Indignant that Navani is skeptical. Also also, Adolin likes pissing off the guards because he doesn’t like Kaladin--thinks something is “off” about Kaladin. As always, he’s not wrong. But he is being petty. 

And then Adolin just crushes the other dude because he’s Adolin Kholin. He beats him so badly that the judge tries to stop them, but Adolin points out he didn’t break any rules. On the other hand, this probably didn’t endear Adolin to people--meaning that they were more likely to let slide that fucking 4-on-1 that Sadeas attempts later. Renarin thinks it was awesome, and Adolin gives him the blade. Which, uh, I mean, from Adolin’s point of view it was the best thing to do, but reading this again a) Renarin is notably hesitant to take the blade (Glys talking to him?) and also grimaces when he takes it and holds it (it’s screaming). But, unlike Dalinar or Kaladin later, he keeps holding it. 

Also, Adolin’s brutality here wasn’t planned, it was just something that happened and that he’s confused about later, feeling drained. He did get the Thrill. I’m not sure what’s going on there, but it might not be good. 

Back to Shallan, where she’s using Pattern to spy on the slavers to try to figure out how to deal with them. She also notes that these people don’t treat her like a real person, but instead as a means to an end, much like Kabsal, and she loses a bit of her temper and also mildly terrifies Tvklav. She realizes that Tvklav and the others don’t know she’s a timid rural lighteyes, and she also realizes that she can make them see her in certain ways, not just by copying Jasnah. 

Honestly, this entire trip to the Shattered Plains does a lot more for Shallan’s lightweaving than studying with Jasnah, I think. Nothing like being thrown into a fire to teach you to deal with it? Anyway, the deserters show up, and we cut over to Kaladin. The lighteyes sparring grounds is somewhat disappointing to the bridgemen, who expected something cooler. 

Also, Kaladin is plotting to kill Amaram already, which is THE MOST RELATEABLE but also not good for his oaths i guess. Anyway, Kaladin and the gang with him are supposed to be protecting the Kholin bros while they’re training, they get some backsass from Ardents, Kaladin backsasses back, and it works out. Kaladin is also left standing with Moash, which...okay, knowing where Moash’s character arc goes, I’m just going to be side-eyeing him the whole book, I apologize. We get a note that the numbers are still appearing--honestly Dalinar tell Kaladin it’s probably someone in there already so he stops panicking over intruders--and Kaladin starts getting irritated about Dalinar and Amaram again and Syl makes him admit that he does know that Dalinar, at least, is honorable. Amaram just has him fooled. 

Also, Kaladin is backsassing Adolin, and uses “Brightlord” for him--the title used for people he doesn’t respect as much. Adolin says that the only reason he hasn’t thrown Kaladin through a window is because he owes Kaladin his life. Renarin is just standing there, being awkward, holding his Blade--he had to hold that thing for five days. Yikes. 

Anyway, Syl doesn’t like the brothers, but only because they carry Shards (I hope. They’re good boys Brent). And we run into Vasher--I mean, Zahel, but it’s Vasher. Also, Adolin waited to bring Renarin until he knew Zahel was there so he could pressure Zahel into taking Renarin under his wing, and Syl drops the fact that she’s a tiny piece of a god, although it’s unclear how seriously Kaladin takes that. Back to Shallan, who is covering anxiety about the deserters with scholarship. She also sketches Bluth here--first a more true to life version, and then an idealized one with him in a proper uniform with a good weapon. Pattern asks about why people shit and Shallan does not want to be having that conversation. Pattern also says that Shallan--and presumably this is a Lightweaver thing--lives lies to make herself strong, but must speak truths to progress. 

Back to Kaladin, who’s talking with Lopen. Also, Kaladin uses the word “greenvines” to mean new recruits. And there’s another highstorm coming--meaning Kaladin is paranoid about the numbers again. Also they watch Adolin training, and we get this absolutely amazing exchange: 

“I’ve seen him summon that weapon before.”  “Yeah, gancho, on the battlefield, when we saved his sorry ass from Sadeas.”  I LOVE LOPEN. Also, Renarin’s training is beginning--he hasn’t been trained to fight, so there aren’t any bad habits for him to unlearn. And also this is the part where Zahel just tells Renarin to jump off the roof a bunch of times and also uses idioms that make absolutely no sense translated literally in Rosharan. Example: “I’m old, son. Repeating myself makes me eat the wrong flower.” I’m sorry Zahel that literally just sounds like a shitpost. 

And then Kaladin and Zahel have a conversation while, in the background, Renarin is throwing himself off a building again and again. Fun digression story, this part reminds me of a story from my mom’s family? She had 8 brothers and little to no parental supervision so some hijinks went down including the boys, at one point, deciding to play “who can jump off the highest object” which ended in the youngest jumping off the shed and breaking his leg. Don’t do these things unless you’re in Shardplate, kids. Kaladin discredits how well Renarin will do, but Zahel’s got a better idea of it. 

And also Zahel starts berating Kaladin for some of his nonchalance--like assuming he knows how to fight Shardbearers just because he got lucky against two. It’s turning into Sparring Bantertime. And then Adolin makes the mistake of further antagonizing Kaladin, they get in a fight, and Zahel calls Adolin the fuck out for challenging someone without shardplate when Adolin is in Shardplate because what the actual fuck, you could kill people. Zahel also says that Kaladin reminds him of Adolin, to which Kaladin Is Very Offended, and Zahel starts laughing at him. Kaladin also notes that the stormlight drained from him, and Syl points out that he wasn’t protecting anyone. 

Shallan flashback time--we get the fact that when Shallan thinks about her mother her brain shuts down. She also hasn’t spoken for five months, apparently--since her mother was killed. Helaran gives Shallan a drawing pad and charcoals and says that he needs her to come back because he’s going to be gone for a few years, and he’s worried about the others. And of course what Shallan automatically draws is the murder scene, which worries Helaran as well and he tells her to draw safe things instead of dwelling on the past. Shallan spoke for the first time in months to stop Helaran from killing their father. And Shallan sees her father in a furious rage, but he stops himself before he hurts her. I still wonder--did he just care about her more, or was he scared of her abilities and didn’t want to provoke them? Well, there’s not much way to know now. 

Shallan, again. The listener song quoted here does mention artform as a thing that exists. Anyway, we’ve just run into Shallan taking control of her caravan and leading them down to help another group against the bandits, because we’ve hit another moment where Shallan’s back’s against the wall and she becomes certain--and flat-up offers the deserters redemption if they help her help the other people. The leader doesn’t listen, but the others--including Gaz, everyone runs into everyone else out on the Shattered Plains, huh--do. Another new Listener form is mentioned--meditationform, meant for teaching and consolation, used by the gods for lies and desolation. 

Also, we meet Tyn here. Also, the leader of the deserters--Vathah--attempts to threaten Shallan, and Pattern spooks the living shit out of him by saying “you should let her go” while Shallan pretends to hear nothing. Also, Shallan frees Tvklav’s slaves, including using the line “I saved your life, you oily little man.” And Shallan also sees that the caravan survivors burned a prayer of thanks for the deserters who saved their lives, which is great. 

Back to Kaladin. Also, the listener song mentions stormform here, including the phrases “beware its powers” and “beware its end.” And it also says it “brings the gods their night.” So we’re getting heavy hints that stormform is really bad news. Also, Kaladin sees a red light out in the highstorm and thinks it looks like eyes. Creepy. Adolin is looking at fashions, Renarin is stimming, Elhokar is fretting. Kaladin is trying to unobtrusively be nosy. 

Also, Renarin geeks out about fabrials to Kaladin, and Kaladin wonders why Adolin is looking at fashion and Adolin gets defensive. No numbers appear--probably because Renarin is in a room with other people the whole time. Adolin mentions that the only Shardbearer in Sadeas’ camp other than Sadeas is Amaram, Dalinar jokingly comments that Adolin won’t be dueling him, certainly, while I am in the background yelling “KICK HIS ASS, ADOLIN! KICK HIS MISERABLE ASS!” 

Anyway now they’re talking more about Amaram. Can we stop talking about Amaram. You’re not going to get him to secede from Sadeas’s side. He’s a piece of shit. Kaladin also notices that when people mention Amaram, he gets upset and tense, UNDERSTANDABLY. 

And so Kaladin goes to tell Dalinar about Amaram, and Dalinar points out that Kaladin doesn’t have any proof. Syl is optimistic, saying that Dalinar listened--and she’s actually right in the end, Syl is always right, she’s the best--but Kaladin says that he didn’t. Syl is also very upset at the thought of Kaladin “finding his own justice,” as he puts it, and points out that this is not what he’s supposed to be like as a Windrunner. 

Also, Shen confronts Kaladin--which is an early sign that Shen is not a normal Parshman--and says that he isn’t really treated as Bridge Four, and that he’s basically still a slave, and Kaladin can’t argue with that and hates it. And then one of the palace guards runs in, panicking, and I’m pretty sure this is the Szeth attack. 

Listener song talking about “Nightform” which apparently predicts the future--there is the whole “Voidbringers see the future” thing. In any case, the “attack” was someone sabotaging the railing and balcony where Elhokar stands. Kaladin points out that whoever tried it was an idiot--or, more precisely, a coward, if they’re the same person who was behind the drained stormlight in the Plate. They want to make Elhokar’s death look like an accident, but they tipped their hand here--because the only tool that could have cut away at the balcony like that was a Shardblade. Kaladin also swears, here, that Dalinar can trust him--one half of the conflicting oaths that tear him apart in this book. Dalinar also assumes that bridgemen have no part in warcamp politics, which is...a bit naive. Kaladin does, as does Moash--lighteyes can engender deep antagonism in darkeyes without realizing. 

I’ll cut this here and get the rest of Part Two in another post.