#they may still demand a battle but they won't hurt their friends

[lunathewafflelord]

There should be more villain characters who are honest. I am getting sick of how often villains are like "do/n't do this and I won't hurt your friends" and the main character does/n't do it and the villain hurts their friends anyway

There should be a villain who does as they promised, not tricking the main character by lying that way. They may be evil, but they aren't a liar.

You gotta wonder why main characters even follow the villain's demands at this point, anyone who has seen any media with a villain ever will know that they won't follow through with their requests.

Come on villains, don't be so predictable! Follow through with your promises!

[bamsara]

I dont know if it was intentional but I love that Narinder when he sees Lamb throwing up he turns gentle and pushes their wool and ears back so they dont get stained with vomit and for some reason it reminded me of how when Nari was throwing up too after the nightmare he had when they were on route to fight Leshy, Lambert helped him with camellias for the nausea.

Ahh, parallels. I think.

IM SO GLAD YOU POINTED THAT OUT allow me to ramble for just a moment.

Narinder was trapped in the Afterlife for over 1000 years, with little social skills and plagued by wishing for vengeance and his only company being two kittens who become disciples under his rule. He has terrible social skills, if not lacking them entirely.

(I would argue that Aym and Baal also have horrific nonexistent social skills, so those three cat's can't really help each other communicate properly to anyone else outside themselves.)

It can be argued that since The One Who Waits had other vessels to pass time and try to kill /annoy his siblings before the prophesized Lamb arrival, that he would have developed them a little bit more, but I would argue that the power balance would have been oodles more severe since the vessels weren't the promised one. He didn't need them, so if they no longer were of service or disobeyed him, he got rid of them. Whether just sending them out or killing them, any how.

Lamb, however, knows they are the last Lamb, the prophesized liberator of The One Who Waits, and therefore his only option. They knew that they were his only reasonable way out of there (whether they asked for it or not) so they were oodles more comfortable than how a professional relationship would have been.

So they asked questions, bothered him, played and ran around him. Complained and vented to him. Yapped and yapped. What is he gonna do? Kill them? Find a new vessel? He can't. "You're as trapped into this prophecy as much as I am, so let's be friends"

Example parts from Chapter 3:

The power balance equalizes because Lamb did not see his presence a God, but rather a fellow prisoner and victim of fate. Rude and demanding, but in the same chains as they were. 'My lord' was simply formalities at first.

This puts Narinder / The One Who Waits in social situations he hasn't been in (or hardly been in) in over a thousand years, and frankly, he had no idea how to navigate them:

Example from Chapter 5:

The God of Death has not needed to comfort or 'be there' for someone in a long, long time. The Lamb's presence is what forces him to try, even if his first attempt aren't perfect. So in that same chapter, he'll ask them a question to distract them. Conversation. Like how they do it.

While I won't post a screenshot of everytime this happens in written format (not including the dreams/memories/flashbacks that haven't been posted yet)-

The One Who Waits is pushed outside of his bubble when it comes to socializing in a way that isn't just 'God-to-Lowly-Vessal' format. He has to talk to them like a person, because he's being talked to like a person, not a god on a pedestal.

Obviously after the final battle and betrayal (to both of them, otherwise known as the Grand Miscommunication) this means nothing for a while as tempers are still high and feelings are hurt. But overtime, this returns, and can show in small ways (ways that may not seem like comfort but is certainly an attempt) like just in Chapter 18:

Trying to bring them an 'offering' (breakfast) mirroring other times the Lamb has done the same for him:

Crudely offering to replace something they are upset at losing/later offering reassurance abet in a curt way:

And what you mentioned: earlier when the Lamb is throwing up, narration shows they're having trouble with keeping their wool, cloak, bell, ect all back at the same time. He can see that. He has a mental boiling pot explosion over the fact that helping them is even a want that he has after the denial crisis he's experiencing where the only answer a minute ago seemed like he needed to kill them, and he chose comfort.

It is intentional. Narinder is learning how to show care, and allowing himself to show care. Slowly, and not perfect, but learning.

[archetypal-archivist]

Are we at the point in the fandom where we're allowed to have crack ships now? Regardless-

Badboyhalo x Spreen. I will now elaborate.

So, this brain worm came about when Badboyhalo got roped into fighting Spreen after Juanaflippa et al's funeral. Under the thought that this is just for fun, Bad agrees to duel Spreen and is fairly sure that he will lose. On Spreen's end, he thinks that Bad has wagered one of his egg, Dapper's, lives and this is the perfect chance to get revenge for BBH killing Spreen on day 1.

The two fight a best of three and BBH loses, as expected, even though the match was a lot closer than he originally thought. As it turns out, BBH unintentionally handicapped himself for the bouts as he didn't know that the combat system let you spam click hits on someone else.

After the fight, BBH is informed of the stakes, which he never agreed to, and he goes up to Spreen to try and get on his good side so Spreen doesn't cash in Dapper's life. He gives Spreen a cool weapon and sincerely apologizes for killing him on Day 1, Spreen accepts and says he's glad Dapper and his own kid, Ramon, are friends. He then leaves for the day.

From here, AU brain takes over. Cs, not CCs.

Spreen had been impressed with BBH's fighting skill, as even he had won both matches, Bad was not only rusty but working on a handicap. Given that Roier and him are on the outs despite their shared history and that the rest of the server is hilariously bad at PVP or otherwise uninterested, he decides that makes BBH worthy of his attention.

Who knows, maybe with some polish, BBH would make a decent sparring partner and someone fun to bully. Just a bit. So the next day, Spreen travels a huge 3k by 3k chunk of the server to figure out where the hell BBH had set up his base. He's never one to back away from a challenge and with enough time and effort, even Bad isn't paranoid enough to keep him from finding his house.

So Spreen shows up on Bad's doorstep, rattles off something in rapid fire Spanish, then throws an iron sword at his feet and gets into a battle ready position. Bad, nervous and uncertain, does his best to clarify that he's fine with matches for fun but he has no interest in Dapper losing his life or any similar bets. Spreen, a little frustrated, just says- in English this time- "Just for fun, yes? I won't hurt Dapper... Yes, I'm sure. Now fight me."

Still uncertain but more game to try, Bad has Dapper help him prep for the match then stand off to the side as he and Spreen fight. When they start getting into it, it's once again obvious that Spreen is better but BBH isn't a pushover either. Bad loses that match, and the next two after, before actually winning one upon figuring out how to take advantage of spam clicking.

Spreen stares at him in dead silence for a bit after Bad wins, while Bad congratulates him on a fight well fought, before edging into BBH's personal space. He rocks on his heels twice, says that Bad doesn't suck, kisses Bad's cheek with a little mwah noise, and runs off immediately.

Bad makes a noise like a tea kettle and tries to go after him, but Spreen is too quick, so he ends up just staring in shock as the bear hybrid disappears into the distance. He finally concludes that Spreen was trolling him, which doesn't sound wrong, but also doesn't quite seem right either.

Regardless, this may be the first fight that Spreen pops up and demands, and it isn't the last, and eventually it becomes commonplace enough that BBH just kind of accepts it. As for the kissing... Well.

It's never the lips. Cheek, tip of the nose, even Bad's hand on one memorable occasion where Spreen actually smacked Bad's fingers with the flat of his blade to make him drop his weapon mid fight. But it's never the lips and Spreen, for all his rough edges, inconvenient timing, and love of bullying BBH with rapid Spanish, is oddly gentlemanly about the whole arrangement.

Bad doesn't know what to make of it, and he can't say he entirely approves of it- Skeppy has dibs on his heart, even if that's in a purely platonic sense. But there's something nice about being courted, for lack of a better word, and the fights are fun.

As for Spreen and where it goes from here... I'll save that story for another day.

[luxmaeastra]

He came to in ashes. With death on his tongue. He looked up seeing a couple a few feet away. The male trying to sit up, the eyes flashing in the smoke.

Eyes that looked like hers. His fingers twitched but the bond didn't respond. Right, death severed ties didn't they?

He exhaled seeing them crawling closer. Sword it was.

He called for it, his magic buzzing as he moved slamming into the Changeling who launching himself at the couple. He turned to look at them take them in.

"Eythos."

He flicked his eyes to the gnarled tree. The spheres of life and death colliding. What had happened?

"Makaria. Here I was happy to see you in death. Not so much here. What do you want with them?"

Makaria's lips thinned and he glanced at the girl who flinched back, stiffening when she realized what she'd down. So like Thanatos's with her blond hair and silver almost blue eyes.

"Mother."

Makaria didn't respond but her brother did stepping around the tree. He looked to who must be Tisiphone. Which means the male would be Rhysand. The names clicking to faces finally.

"We want her. She is who was promised."

She paled, her eyes flicking between them. Eythos took them in. He lunged as the others did. He pulled them away appeared in a cave and turning to the two of them.

Tisiphone stared at him, her lips thinned.

"Why are you helping us?"

That stopped him short. He frowned and tilted his head.

"Why wouldn't I help my blood?"

Rhysand groaned and Tisiphone ran a hand through his hair.

"Shh, just hold a little longer. We can get home and -"

"He's poisoned."

It wasn't a question, he could feel that mask beginning to stick. The one that he wore into battle, the one he had worn when he'd been Called.

He moved kneeling before them. Tisiphone's magic buzzed but he ignored it. It wasn't anything agaisnt his. He touched Rhysand's chest touching the poison. He gave her a gentle smile despite the storm beginning to rage in his chest.

Why wouldn't they know him? Maybe not by face but surely by name? Perhaps they hadn't heard who he was yet.

"It'll be alright. I used to make poisons, I may just be suddenly alive but my powers should hold the posion just fine."

--------

Rhysand woke slowly and he reached first for her. It made his heart twist and he looked away. Rhysand stared at him, his hand tightening around Tisiphone's wrist.

"Who are you?"

Eythos leashed his growing rage. It didn't help, his power was feeding his emotions and his emotions were heightened by his powers.

It was a viscous cycle he hated. He usually recited the names of his children, his friends to calm himself. But did they know him? Did they care?

"My name is Eythos."

Rhysand frowned and looked to Tisiphone silently conversing with her. His lips thinned and he looked to him again.

"Is it true? Are you my grandfather? There was a rumor we had Solar blood but no one asked our grandmother. My father -"

Eythos ran through his sons, and tilted his head.

"Viren?"

Rhysand blinked and nodded.

"I - how did you know that?"

Eythos shrugged and rubbed his fingers together. His body hurt, he needed to break something.

"Lucky guess. Go ahead. What does your father know of me?"

Anything? He remembered his cherubic face. His infectious smile. Was he still like that?

Rhysand slowly sat up and shrugged.

"I - we never talked about you. It - it is implied you left. Or walked maybe? We - he is mostly uncomfortable when your name is -"

"Shall we go home and figure this out?"

Rhysand looked like he wanted to argue. Like the High Blood in he demanded he do. But he gripped Tisiphone's hand tighter.

"We are High Lord and Lady of Night. We are Queen and King of Vallhan. We won't bring anyone who is about to hurt our home. Hybern already -"

Eythos blinked and knelt before them.

"Hurt? I built Night."

Besides they'd run out of time. He Windwalked them to atrium. He let them stay on the floor. He barely reacted to the voices. It was Nyktos's voice who finally grounded him.

"Eythos? Eythos! How are you alive?"

He returned the hug, stilted as it was. He stared at him and shrugged. His fingers flexed.

"I have no idea. I didn't stick around to ask. Though I think I saw the Cauldron briefly. So that has probably something - this conversation doesn't matter. Why doesn't my blood not know of me Nyktos?"

Nyktos flinched and stepped backward.

"Eythos you -"

Eythos stepped with him, the world was buzzing again.

"I poured my blood, sweat and soul into - did she bury me in rubble? Did she wipe my name from every plaque and label in this entire territory?"

His voice hadn't risen but Nytkos still reached for his blade. Eythos put a hand to his wrist.

"Where is she?"

"She isn't - Eythos she won't have the heat you're used to. She can't stand to the -"

"Sure she can. It's words like that that I hate. Death makes you stronger and I will not have you saying she's weak. Where is she?"

He didn't want to hurt any of them but damn it. It was one thing for their people to not know them. It was one thing to have his name erased but why did this children know him?? Why didn't they have stories of him? If not from Nyxia surely Nyktos or Braxyis would have something to say? Or even Embris no??

Eythos exhaled and stepped away rubbing at his arms.

"I won't be able to control my powers for much longer. So either you tell me Nyktos or I will find her. I suggest you keep them here, I doubt this will all be a happy conversation."

He hoped it was something. That she wasn't as weak and broken as they said. He always admired that about her. That she was strong, resilient in the face of death. He wanted to be like that, he made sure he was for her.

He exhaled his voice ragged and shaking. From grief, from confusion and betrayal. He thought they'd respect him enough to not erase him. He thought they were proud of his ideals.

"Where is my mate Nyktos? Please, today had been long. Makaria's forces are trying to take Tisiphone. And I just - I need one thing to make sense. Where is Nyxi?"

//for Sarai? Post cauldron war book3 and Annie's take over??//

News had traveled far quicker than any would have imagined, but that should have been expected of her. It was always important for her to keep tabs on her children, it always ensure they were safe and she was able to reach them if harm ever came. Especially now, especially after the recent weeks.

The move on Rhysand, the sudden disappearance of them. No one had been able to keep the recovering mother to her bed, no one had been able to stop her. Even Viren, who had tried his best to pin her had lost when she had done the one thing she rarely ever did, she used her powers on him - an action that almost completely drained her.

He was home though, as soon as the news came he had returned to Night she did not hold back and rushed to where he was. Her less-than-graceful was the only sign of her recovering body, the various wounds were nearly healed. "Rhysand." Panic was in her voice, he was the only one who had been unaccounted for.

Carefully she lowered herself to the floor beside her son, her fingers brushing back his hair from his face before her attention shifted. The sensation of rage, the voices. Her body went still, the distance memories resurfaced as she stared.

Where is Nyxi? The words hung every, her lips trembled a little. How would Viren react? Or Keir? Or Lyssa? They had only recently been handling the secrets just prior to her leaving for the trails, then when she came back chaos now spread across the courts.

"Eythos," His name came so easily to her. "Nyxia is probably in her office, but...but how? Makaria..." So much was changing, had her loss really kickstarted all of this? Was this all tied back to them? The cauldron, she remembered it briefly before she had been taken home.

[colourful-void]

Supporting Satoshi - an examination and comparison of JN36 and XY121

Part One: Snowballs do not cure depression but it was worth a shot

You know that episode of Pokemon where a gym leader beats Satoshi in a battle so hard that one of his pokemon gets mildly hurt (though there's no long term effects) and because of it he becomes depressed, closing himself off from his friends before someone comes along to pull him out of that mental state, and also severe weather phenomena is involved and a reflection of a persons mental state? Or rather, the two episodes?

So when I was watching Journeys, I noticed an episode that had a similar-- but distinctly different-- plot to an xy episode I had seen before. And what was particularly interesting was that while I couldn't stand the xy episode, the journeys episode was one of my favourites. I won't drag this out for you guys, I love the journeys episode and re watch it a LOT and the xy episode sort of just leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth. and don't go claiming its solely ship bias, because i saw the xy episode first and disliked it then.

This will analyze both of these episodes, comparing them against each other. Specifically within the context of how Goh and Serena both help Satoshi through a similar situation There will be some discussion of AmourShipping and Satogou in this analysis. I'm going to be a bit negative regarding Serena's actions and the potential "romantic" weight of them here, but I want to be clear that I Do Not dislike Serena as a character. Personally, I wish the writers had given her more room to grow outside of her romantic interests, but I do not hate Serena as a character. I do, however, disagree with her actions in this episode. Please don't take this out of context and dont be ship fighting in the comments, it's boring. This is a comparison of These Two Episodes, not of Goh and Serena and their respective ships as a whole.

This part mainly focuses on the xy episode and the second will focus mainly on the journeys. It's only divided into parts because of the tumblr post limit.

(If you like the xy episode or hate the journeys episode, awesome! having your own opinions is great. these are mine though, so i hope you'll listen to them)

With that out of the way, let's start. And I'm going to use mostly japanese names here because I'm taking screencaps from the subbed japanese copies.

The set up for each of these episodes is eerily similar as pointed out in the gag at the start.

Xy has a bit more set up before the episode in question though, with the initial loss and retreat into the forest by Satoshi taking place the episode before. The episode opens up proper with Satoshi taking time to breathe to himself, alone in the forest.

Emphasis is placed on him taking a deep breath, aided by the visuals showing them (thanks cold air) and the silence of the rest of the soundscape, with the only other sounds being the wind and some bird pokemon, plus some falling snow.

Journeys Satoshi starts off in a better mental state than Xy, with the episode starting off with him jogging along with his pokemon.

However, we can still see that he's been affected by the last battle he lost, against Saitou, as he's putting a lot of effort into training and doing better.

Which, doesn't go well for him, as he loses his next two battles as well, and drops in the World Championship ranking as a result

And he's pretty upset about it too. Same thing as over in xy. In both cases, a respective friend/love interest notes that Satoshi is upset and expresses concern.

He's got support from his friends in both situations! But that support comes across in very different ways.

But, to understand how that support manages to affect Satoshi, we need to understand the problem at play.

Now, I wanna make something clear here. Satoshi's problem is not that he is a sore loser. I'm not arguing that's not a contributing factor, or that he's not upset about the loss (particularly in the world championships), He's still bitter about the lost part, but the root of the problem is not losing, he's been shown to be fine with losing (if not a bit more motivated to win now) in prior episodes.

Satoshi's problem is that his pokemon are getting hurt. Satoshi's problem is that his pokemon are getting hurt, because they're losing battles. Satoshi's problem is that his pokemon are losing battles because he's not training them well enough. And to clarify, that's not my viewpoint, it's his. Satoshi's problem is that he's not good enough for himself, and he feels that that's something he has to fix on his own.

So how do we help him?

Our weather event in question is introduced in separate points in the episodes, but I'll cover them both now.

In xy, it's this snowstorm, which conveniently becomes a problem directly after Serena returns to the Pokemon Centre.

In journeys, it's a sandstorm! That's in near direct contrast to a snowstorm! Incredible.

Heading back to xy Satoshi, things aren't going great in the forest. Luckily, Serena's run off to find him.

I think it's of note here that Serena runs off with the best intentions, she wants to help Satoshi, plain and simple. It just sort of goes wrong along the way.

It's worth noting that Xy Satoshi tries to bring himself out of being sad by the tried and true method of "stop being sad"

Despite telling himself this, he doesn't get anywhere. Which makes sense, because it's not getting the the root of the problem. It's not even addressing it at all. He's just trying to 'be better', which isn't even a battle strategy. However, it is something I can see him saying, so this isn't a critique of Satoshi's thought process, but me pointing out that this isn't really effective. Which is supported by the narrative, because again, he doesn't get anywhere, he doesn't even move.

I can't show it in screencaps but the lights in Satoshi's eyes are shaking here, something that they consistently do throughout the series when he's feeling a particularly strong emotion. Keep that in mind. It couples well with another trait of his, and that's his hat!

And by that I mean how he hides his eyes with the brim of it when upset, something he does exactly as Serena shows up and calls out to him. Now, he's not upset that Serena is here. He's upset about the pokemon stuff still. He's trying to hide the fact that he's upset from Serena.

Serena starts off with her speech well, trying to appeal to Satoshi to let her in and talk things out. And maybe it's because he wasn't ready for it yet, or because of the way she phrases it (a lot of 'i' and 'me' language which can be helpful but can also come across as though she's making it about her. not her intent i don't think, but a possible interpretation.), it's not her fault for how Satoshi reacts regardless.

But how Satoshi reacts is not good.

Now it's really interesting to note that before this, Serena was standing while Satoshi was sitting, putting her above him in terms of active power, when it comes to how the shot is presented, but when Satoshi stands up, the camera tilts with the movement so that they're on equal level. Neat!

And Serena yells in return, scolding Satoshi for not talking about it. Not the best move, since pushing someone to talk about something that's upsetting them isn't really productive, but she's trying here and she's frustrated.

Satoshi continues to withdraw and self isolate, claiming it is his problem and that he wants to be left be. Now, this is the mindset of a clearly upset person and isolation may not be the best option, but he did make the explicit request to be left alone here.

He's clearly upset as he turns away from Serena's eye and slumps over a little.

And then Serena throws a snowball at him.

Angry as he is, you can see Satoshi's expression change when he sees Serena's reaction.

Serena tells Satoshi that she's not like the Satoshi she knows, who is always full of energy and positive and a leader, and a bunch of other positive traits. The problem here, is that Serena's looking at an idealized version of Satoshi. And while the intent here was probably meant to be something more like "you have so many wonderful traits about you I know you can do this", coupled with the snowballs and the phrasing, it seems as though Serena is scolding Satoshi for being sad.

Or rather, being angry with him for not living up to her idealized version of him, and not wanting him to express any negitave emotions.

Which is sort of a really bad mindset.

The snowballs continue, never once does Satoshi fight back. In fact, he stops arguing entirely after the first one. Serena knocks him off his feet and tells him he's not being himself, before running off. (In the english dub, Serena claims that Satoshi isn't being "the real satoshi" and then demands that the real Satoshi be "given back", so it could be worse)

Satoshi decides to literally run his problems away, because it will help him reach some kind of conclusion, and immediately trips and falls down a large hill. No, I'm not making that up. Something like this just isn't like him. He's just gotta stop being sad!

Now personally, I really disagree with the idea that "being upset" isn't "like a person". That's because based off of my own experiences, I know it can be really damaging to hold the mindset that any negative emotions you feel aren't a part of you and that you shouldn't be upset because you're usually a positive and happy person. Not the case with every person, but I personally really have a problem with shows telling children that they just shouldn't be upset instead of processing their emotions in a meaningful way. (The journeys episode doesn't do an outstanding job of it either, but this is a bit of a tangent anyway. A show that does do this right is "OK KO! Let's be Heroes" which actually deals with this problem in greater depth and does a fantastic job of it.)

But the snowball scene ends here. Now I'll get back to Journeys in a moment, but since Serena has finished her part of the comparison for the most part, I'm going to summarize a bit more of the xy episode.

Satoshi decides to literally run his problems away, because it will help him reach some kind of conclusion, and immediately trips and falls down a large hill. No, I'm not making that up.

The snowstorm kicks in, Serena get back annoyed, then similarly groans and yells, and the whole xy gang + pokemon go running off in search of Satoshi. Pikachu appears the most concerned.

Now Serena tells the others she lost her cool and said something horrible to Satoshi, but explains its because Satoshi is someone she admires. Cool motive, I get it, still kinda bad.

and in the end, it's not Serena's words that get he message across to Satoshi. The solution to this problem was Satoshi finding a way to reaffirm his abilities and instinct.

In the xy episode, he helps some pokemon out of the tree, and when his very cool frog friend shows up, they're able to work together with their bond to save this one from falling off a cliff.

Here's the point. Satoshi learns by doing, by actions. He needs to see first hand that there are ways of getting past his problems, and that it's worth having the courage to keep going. The lesson is about valuing pokemon as equals and partners, and specifically that trying to be better as the trainer alone isn't going to help.

This is essentially where this plot line ends, team rocket is there for a bit as well but as much as i love them they're not relevant here, and some fun stuff with the league, love it not important right now its like 3am and I'm not sleeping until this is finished so we gotta keep things moving.

This was no doubt Serena's intent to get a similar point, but she goes about it the wrong way. She tries to convey this with words, as conversation and motivational words have helped her in the past (Elle's words of praise stick with her, Satoshi's words from when they were kids, etc). It's a good idea, but their different ways of learning and growing from a similar situation are incompatible, and that's why things don't work out in Serena's favour. There's also still the problem of "pulling yourself together" not being helpful in this case.

There's also a very similar line in this scene to the one at the end of the journeys episode, as Satoshi says to his frog that they should start over from scratch. It's essentially the same phrase with different wording. It's great. The Storm ends as he realizes this as well! Wonderful in terms of pathetic fallacy.

The gang all reunites, its nice. Satoshi thanks Serena for what she said after apologizing to everyone, which contradicts what he said earlier but I've already established that I dislike this message here so I won't go over it too much. I guess he's right in a literal sense in that in response to her words he went and ran until he tripped off a cliff but the emotional growth here was because of his own actions (and the frogs), not Serena's. Sorry Serena, you'll get em next time.

This is essentially where this plot line ends, team rocket is there for a bit as well but as much as i love them they're not relevant here, and some fun stuff with the league, love it not important right now its like 3am as I write this so we gotta keep things moving.

So. What about Goh?

Well...

(Part Two here on account of image limit!!)

[slimepuparibaba]

ChiLumi | The Battle of Golden House

Golden House was what screwed my feelings over the most, if I'm being completely honest here. It hurts so damn much.

I don't wanna get into too much of the nitty-gritty before we start but here are some FYIs.

Childe temporarily joined Lumine's team after their little outing in Liyue. His reasoning to the Fatui was that it was to squeeze out information--in reality, he just wanted to spend time with Lumine.

The team was compromised of most of the characters, except for Venti, Klee, Bennett, Mona, Keqing, Qiqi, Jean, Diluc, Ningguang, Zhongli, and Xinyan. This took place BEFORE the 1.2 update happened!

Kaeya, Chongyun, Xiangling, and Barbara were the least suspicious of Childe as they spent more time around him and knew of his feelings towards Lumine--they are also the main team members in this fight.

All this is based off of my gameplay in Genshin!

Leading Up to the Battle

Childe and Lumine were very close. Weeks had passed and Childe had gotten to the point where he would use "Lumine" more often instead of "Traveler" or "ojou-chan". Childe would also call Lumine "Aster" due to her favorite flower being a Windwheel Aster

Kaeya was also the closest to the two of them and gave advice to both Lumine and Childe on how they should court each other

However, Childe was eventually reminded that the good times can't last forever. After he hard that Lumine visited the Jade Chamber that floated above Liyue, he remembered that he wasn't here to chat. His initial goal was to bring back the gnosis.

The night before the fight, as the team rested at an inn on the way to Liyue, Childe, cloakee by the darkness of night, left the group. He ditched the weapons that Lumine gave to him as well as his artifacts. If he held onto them during their destined battle, he knew he wouldn't be able to fulfill his duty.

Childe hesitated to leave, and yet, with a heavy heart, he left the Inn behind and stationed the Fatui to mobilize in Liyue.

The next morning, Lumine was shattered to see that Childe was gone.

Confrontation

The group heard of the Fatui being mobilized as well as the Adepti and the Qixing about to throw down, and Zhongli gave Lumine the tip that Childe was behind it. She really wanted to be able to talk it out with Childe and convince him he didn't need to go this far, but Zhongli himself stated that "sometimes, they won't understand that until everything is said and done."

Lumine was ready to confront Childe, but her heart was shaking and she felt uneasy. The uneasiness began to settle in though when she and the rest of the group approched the Exuvia and heard Childe's chilling laughter echo throughout the empty hall.

Lumine, hoping to resolve this without fighting, tried to talk to him.

"Childe, you don't have to do this! Don't you remember all the fun times we had? All of us? You're one of us, Childe! You don't have to be their pawn!"

Deep inside, Childe agreed. He knew full well that Lumine had a point--that he was merely being used as a pawn and he could easily discarded. He wanted to join Lumine, but...

"Monsters like the Fatui cannot be saved."

That was all that ran through his mind.

He wanted to agree; god knows he did. What he wouldn't give to leave the Fatui, resign as a Harbinger, and join everyone on that team on their adventures and protect everyone that he ever loved.

But he just couldn't do that.

Childe knew that Lumine wouldn't give up, no matter what, and he kept battling within himself. Sadly, though, his "loyalty" to the Tsaritsa got the better of him.

"Shut up!"

Lumine fell silent, and the entire group watched as Childe began to call her out. It pained him to do so, but his loyalty to the Tsaritsa practically demanded that he continue with this farce.

He said many things he truly wished he didn't say, many things he wanted to take back. But he was too far in. He stopped calling Lumine by her name, instead only calling her "Traveler", trying to distance himself. He mocked Lumine, as well as everyone else, calling them naïve for trusting a Fatui, of all people. Deep down, he was happy they trusted him. He wasn't upset with them, but himself for doing this.

Childe was waiting for Lumine to retort--to fight back and say something, and it looked like she was about to...

...until he said he was simply toying with Lumine's feelings.

Lumine didn't want to take that at face value, and Childe didn't want her to either. But, as soon as he said that, even though he may not have meant it, she shed a single tear.

Kaeya intervened, stating that Childe went too far. The Harbinger knew that... he knew that all too well. But, time could not rewind. He had already done enough damage.

He convinced himself that there was no turning back. If he was to fulfill his duty as a vassal of the Tsaritsa, he needed Lumine to hate him. He needed to crush all the lingering feelings that were held between the two of them. He needed to be the villain.

With that, he challenged Lumine to a battle. And thus, the Battle of Golden House was set in motion.

Phase 1 and 2: Childe Unleashed

He was completely ready for Lumine to throw everything at him, but instead, she stood still, not moving. Her eyes were devoid of the hatred he was hoping to see. It was... empty.

Instead, Kaeya, Chongyun, Xiangling, and Barbara hopped in. Noelle shielded the rest of the party, Lisa and Amber comforting Lumine, who was silently weeping in heartbreak. Everyone looked upon Childe with hatred, wondering why he would do such a thing.

Xiangling would crash into Childe, crossing blades and questioning why he was doing this. She believed he was happy with them, so why did they have to fight?

Chongyun, too, was upset. He may have come late to the party, but he saw how easily Childe fit in. In fact, while Chongyun was trying to train to get on par with the rest of the team, Childe would help out.

Barbara was one of the only rational ones, and she sensed there was more to the story. She tried to talk it out with Childe, saying that he didn't have to do this and there was no real reason they had to fight. She knew that Childe wasn't happy with this either.

But it was Kaeya that completely lost it.

People say that Kaeya is one of the chiller, cooler people in all of Teyvat. But, make no mistake... Kaeya is scary when he gets angered. When you push the wrong buttons, he will show absolutely no mercy.

While the three main fighters were throwing questions at him, trying to persuade him to stop it, Kaeya threw himself into the battle without second thought. He asked no questions--he only snarled at the one he once saw Lumine happy with.

Kaeya was supportive of Childe and Lumine when he saw how happy she was with him and how Childe seemed to be the same way. Kaeya understood Lumine didn't have her brother there like she used to, and he understood that same feeling, so he swore to try and be the brother that the both of them didn't have at the moment. Lumine was practically his little sister.

So when Childe betrayed her, when he broke her heart, Kaeya was ready to go absolutely apeshit.

Throughout the battle, even when Childe reached Phase 2, Kaeya would be the one throwing blow after blow at the Harbinger. It wasn't just physical hits, either. It included emotional daggers.

The two men would argue constantly, Kaeya threatening Childe and Childe laughing in response, mocking him.

"She trusted you--no, WE trusted you! I let the fact that you're a Fatui go because I thought you had some piece of humanity in you!"

"Then that was YOUR mistake! You just had to believe a Fatui all because, what? Your "surrogate sister" fell in love? Haha, don't make me laugh! Just because you didn't have a brother for half your life doesn't mean you need to project yourself onto the Traveler and become hers!"

The more their blades crossed, the more enraged Kaeya became. However, a third blade came into play and threw Kaeya's sword out of his hands.

It was Lumine.

Phase 3: Tartaglia's Foul Legacy

Lumine was standing still, her sword at her side. She stared at Childe with no emotion showing on her face. This was it, Childe thought. She finally hates me.

Childe held up his weapon, but before he could strike Kaeya and Lumine, she blocked it with her anemo skill, her feet digging into the floor as her geo skill kept her in place. Kaeya lept away, and all that was left on the battlefield was Childe and Lumine.

A large explosion of light occurred, but Childe simply appeared on the Exuvia, ready to grab the Gnosis. But when he discovered it wasn't there, he didn't know what to think.

Lumine stood still, and Childe wanted to end it there. But part of him delusionally screamed "No!", and instead pinned the blame on her.

It felt like Childe was slowly being torn apart on the inside. He wanted to stop it, apologize to Lumine and run away with her and their friends, but he needed to fulfill his duties.

In the end, Childe listened to his head. He unleashed his Foul Legacy transformation and destroyed the flooring below everyone, sending them to the lower platform.

Kaeya was going to step in, but Lumine game him a look. It was as if to say "This is between me and him." So, Kaeya backed off and retreated to the rest of the group.

Lumine and Tartaglia simply stared at each other. Tartaglia expected for Lumine to say something, but no words were spoken. Instead, she immediately rushed towards him.

Tartaglia expected to block it, ready to stop her in her tracks. He was ready to take her head-on and see her full power...

...then she drew two blades made of water.

Tartaglia was in shock. Lumine pulled a surprising move... she was using his weapon! It stunned him, even amazed him, but for some reason, it also broke his heart. He left behind the weapons he used when with Lumine's team, not wanting to use them in fear that it would stop him from using his full potential, but here they were... being used against them.

It was after she pulled those weapons out that Tartaglia's moves grew slower.

Many speculated this was because Tartaglia's armor was heavier and using up most of his power. However, Barbara understood. She saw the look in Childe's eyes when Lumine entered the arena. He seemed prideful, but his eyes said different. He, just like Lumine, didn't want to do this.

Tartaglia was holding back.

Tartaglia and Lumine kept clashing. Their powers were equal to each other, and Lumine kept switching between using her blade and the weapons once used by Childe himself. Even still, no words were exchanged. There was no expression on Lumine's face. Within the Golden House, all that could be heard was the sounds of blades clashing, lightning striking, wind howling, and water crashing.

The two of them fought hard. In the end, both were one hit away from being knocked out and losing. Tartaglia had one charged attack he had been storing up and was ready to unleash it.

"If I use it, she will obviously dodge it... and then she can beat me. Then, she will hate me like she was destined to."

Tartaglia lifted his blade into the air and, using his Delusion, summoned a large amount of Electro energy. It wasn't undodgable--in fact, Lumine could just jump back and strike him and the fight would end there.

Just as he was about to strike, however, Lumine instead rushed towards Tartaglia, rushing right past him. Instead of dodging, she ran straight into the attack. Tartaglia was shocked, staring at the Traveler being pierced by the lightning. Just as she was struck, she whispered softly the only words she had spoken throughout the entire fiasco...

"...if I knew it would've come to this, I wish I never fell in love with you."

Lumine, at last, fell.

Fallen

Childe dropped his weapon, staring at Lumine's body as it hit the ground. She was knocked out cold. He reached out his arm, only for Barbara to rush in and throw her arms out to her side, as if forbidding Childe to touch her.

Memories of the times that they spent together flowed through his mind. He couldn't move. He felt paralyzed. He wanted to pick up Lumine and apologize, say it was all a joke and he just wanted to test her strength, but he couldn't do that. He glabced at her body, lying on the cold floor, and understood.

He did this to her.

This was all his fault.

The words that Lumine said kept repeating in his head, echoing and resounding, practically taunting him. Just as he was caught in a trance, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen.

Kaeya stabbed him through his armor.

Childe, his Foul Legacy transformation fading, then collapsed on the ground, returning back to normal.

Paimon and Kaeya confronted Childe, who expected Lumine to be the one to get upset with him instead of the Calvary Knight. The Fatui Harbinger looked at Lumine, who was being healed by both Diona and Barbara. He felt like saying sorry, but the angry looks from everyone told him one thing, and one thing only.

"You're a liar. You never could've been saved in the first place."

"Monsters can never be saved."

Childe, feeling he had nothing left, lifelessly continued forth with the plan that he had formulated weeks before he had joined Lumine. He was still waiting for her to wake up and hug him, beg him not to, or at least just try and stop him. He wanted someone to tell him that he could change.

But no one did.

With a heavy heart and a false smile on his face, he summoned Osial and escaped from the Golden House. He felt no reason to stay there...

He was now a lost cause.

Kaeya, still angered by Childe, wanted to chase after him, but a weary Lumine told him to worry about Liyue instead. Kaeya protested, saying they should nip the issue in the bud, but Barbara agreed.

Not only that, but she knew that Childe wanted them to stop Osial. She could tell... she saw it in the saddened look on his face.

Departure

The group, after fully healing, ventured to the Golden Chamber and fought against Osial alongside the adepti and the Qixing. They succeeded, naturally, with the Golden Chamber sadly sacrificed. The Qixing became the ruling power of Liyue, with the Adepti stepping down.

In the end, however, the mystery of the Gnosis and it's whereabouts still remained. Thus, the team ventured to the Northland Bank.

It was there that they saw Zhongli, Signora, and Childe.

Childe saw Lumine and was about to congratulate her, but Kaeya stood in the way, and Signora gave Childe a dirty look. He realized that, truly, what was done couldn't be undone. He had to continue lying through his teeth, just as he always did.

Childe made a false apology, saying that he truly was just a pawn and just doing his job. But, truth was that he meant to say that he didn't want to do it, and that he wanted Lumine to scold him and steal him away from the Fatui. Even then, though, Lumine didn't look him in the eye and fell silent.

The answers to the entire "Rex Lapis murder mystery" were solved, and Signora gained the Geo Archon's Gnosis. With that out of the way, Signora commanded Childe to head back to Snezhnaya with her. Reluctantly, he followed.

But, just before he could leave, he waited at the door and for Signora to keep walking just out of hearing distance. When she did, Childe turned around and looked Lumine in the eye. He gave a sad smile, and said one last sentence to her.

"...Lumine... I... really hope you didn't mean what you said back there..."

Lumine, taken aback, had no words to say. He responded to what she said back at the Golden House... did that mean that he...?

Before she could try and ask, Childe left, walking out of her sight, never looking back.

From then on, Childe and Lumine weren't reunited. All that remained with the both of them was the memories of the time they spent together before the fateful battle that tore them apart.

...that is, until Childe's Story Mission.

may i just say that this entire thing broke me

bruh. childe. Why did u do that

;;;

also the blows he made to kaeya's pride

like

"i know you and diluc aint close, dont go projecting on lumine"

fucking christ dude you needed LUMINE to hate you, not the fake pirate dude!

[whyyoudothistomecavill]

Don't - Chapter 1

Hello everyone! This is my first time writing fanfiction. Chapter one is an introduction to the kind of relationship the characters have and, in future chapters I will fill in the gaps left in this part.

But first, let's see how this one goes.

Feedback is greatly appreciated.

I took the name from a song written by Jewel. Go and listen to it. Trust me, after the first verse, THAT person will pop in your head. Never fails.

Before we jump in, there's a few people I need to thank:

@littlefreya for helping me with the editing since I don't have a beta yet, for encouraging me knowing what a big deal this is for me, and for all the things you already know. I'll always be in your debt.

@mary-ann84 for making me feel welcome since day one and putting up with me and my annoying questions at any time of day. Girl, you deserve an award for patience.

@radaofrivia for taking the time to read my ramblings and giving me the reassurance I needed. For showing up out of nowhere when I was almost defeated by my lack of tumblr comprehension and explained everything to me with the patience of a kindergarten teacher. Greek god Henry sent you my way, I have no doubt.

There aren't words enough to express how big of an inspiration all of you are to me. To be able to call you my friends, fills my heart with extreme joy and gratitude. So again THANK YOU.

I took the liberty to tag some people, to some I asked for their permission, to others I didn't, so if this bothers you in any way, just message me and I'll fix it, there's absolutely no obligation and I won't be offended.

With that being said, let's get to the point.

Title: Don't

Pairing: Henry x female reader.

Word count: 1682

Warnings: Angst, fluff, and if you squint your eyes you might find a bit of smut.

Summary: Henry and reader are a couple living together for 1 year. Reader have struggled with self esteem issues and insecurities her whole life and when she met Henry, she thought she had left all that in the past, but certain events made her realize that her soul is far from being healed.

Disclaimer: This is an original work of fiction written by me. Please don't post it anywhere else without my permission. Reblogs here are welcomed of course. Thank you.

"Are you ok, darling?"

"Yes, honey"

"Are you sure? You don't seem ok"

"I'm ok, Hen," you smiled, "I'm just tired. I wanna get home, have a shower and then go to bed"

He didn't seem convinced but he didn't ask again. The rest of the ride home was silent, you looked out the window and prayed for the strength to act like everything was normal, while he concentrated on the road and hummed along to the radio.

But you knew better. You knew that this man, the most gorgeous man on earth, the man you called your boyfriend, the man every woman (and a lot of men too), thirsted for, was also the smartest, the most affectionate and that he paid attention to every single thing, especially you. He could notice the smallest change in your demeanor, he could tell when something was wrong and this time was no difference. He was just giving you time to process whatever it was upsetting you before you could talk to him, but in no way was he buying the "just tired" bs. And you knew it.

You entered the house and discarded your shoes and purse. Henry was taking Kal out of the car and into the house when you said "I'm gonna take a shower," and quickly rushed upstairs without waiting for an answer, you needed to be alone so desperately.

You got into the bathroom and took your clothes off without even glancing in the mirror, you didn't want to see anybody, much less yourself.

The hot water was bliss to your sore muscles, too bad it didn't make a difference to the pain in your heart. You rested your forehead into the tiled wall and felt the water gently massaging your back and legs. You were so immersed in your thoughts that you didn't hear the bathroom door being open. Henry was already behind you, his strong hands caressing your back as light as a feather and his mouth on your ear, "may I join you?"

You turned around and looked at him, at those eyes bluer than the sky itself, at those curls that did things to you just by looking at them, and that smile, the most perfect and genuine smile you had ever seen, it was literally impossible not to smile back at him, it was contagious.

He didn't wait for an answer, he lowered himself to put his arms around your waist as you put yours around his neck and kissed you deeply and tenderly. You knew he did that so you wouldn't have to be on your tiptoes to kiss him, he was so damn considerate and perfect it infuriated you sometimes.

So you closed your eyes and kissed him like there was no tomorrow, he sensed the heat in your kiss and grabbing your behind, lifted you up still kissing you, putting your back against the wall. You instinctively wrapped your legs around him and he broke the kiss to look at you, his hair was tousled all over from the water and your hands. His lips were swollen from the kissing and his eyes were dark with lust but also full of love. Oh,so much love.

"What do you want?" He said, "Tell me. What do you need? I'm here, I'm yours".

Something inside of you broke, it was too much. "I want you, Henry. I need you. Now. Inside of me. Please".

He didn't wait for you to ask again, maneuvering you as if you weighed nothing, he made you descend on his length without breaking eye contact, until you were completely full of him. He started to move, slowly and leisurely making you moan and clung to him for dear life.

He didn't know about the battle that was going on inside you. You wanted him to crawl within you and fill the emptiness eating your soul, you wanted to hold him and never let go, you wanted to stop time. Or maybe go back in time, or just disappear. But for the time being you were just grateful for the water running over both of you, not letting Henry notice that your tears were running as well.

Even if you were shattered inside, your body would always succumb to him, there was no point in resisting, and as he kept moving in and out of you, whispering sweet nonsenses in your ear, the orgasm hit you like a thunder lightning crying out his name, his release following moments later triggered by your loud moans.

He held you still between him and the wall while you both recovered your breath, filling your neck with open mouthed kisses.

He lowered you and you held him tightly, putting your head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. It always soothed you. You both stayed that way under the shower in silence, until you started to feel the boiling inside you rising again. "I'm gonna get the towels" you said, "I got it" said he and with a swift move of his long arms, he reached for the towels and started drying you, hair first, then your body, slowly, caressing every inch of it and leaving light kisses everywhere his hands would pass.

He was kneeling in front of you, drying your legs and slowly going up, your eyes were fixated on him and his movements, not saying a word. He looked up, saw you staring, and reaching up, caressed your face so softly it made you lean your head in his hand, closing your eyes. It was like time stopped and you were there alone just savoring that moment, keeping it in your memory forever and you couldn't help the single tear rolling down your cheek into his hand...

When you opened your eyes, you saw the look of concern on his face, "What is it baby? What's wrong?"

You needed to make a choice, so you chose the truth. At least the one truth that wouldn't hurt him: "I love you so much".

"And that makes you cry?"

You chuckled a little, "No, I sometimes get overwhelmed by all these feelings, I'm sorry for being so sensitive" you said, wiping your eyes and smiling through tears.

He stood up and crashed your lips with his, taking you by surprise and lifting you up, carrying you like a bride to your bed.

He got in too, cuddling you from behind and you intended to get up to find one of his t-shirts, your go-to pajamas since day one with him, but he stopped you with his arm around your waist and pulled you against him, your back on his chest, your naked bodies molding perfectly together under the sheets.

You clutched his hand in yours, closed your eyes and tried to ease your racing heart.

His voice took you back to reality:

"Look at me, love"

You turned around in his arms just enough to look him in the eyes, and it surprised you to see, his were a little watery too.

"I love you" he whispered. "I love you like I never thought it was possible to love someone. You have brought to my life the hope that my tired heart believed was lost. I want to spend every minute of every day with you and when my work keeps us apart, I can't wait to share with you every detail of my day. You know sometimes..." he paused, smiling and looking away, "sometimes I have to tell myself *get it together Cavill! You're a grown man acting like a teenager*, but that's what you do to me" he said looking at you again and caressing your lips with his thumb, "You're my fuel, my reason, you're my last thought when I go to sleep and my first one when I wake up, and I'm so grateful to have you that sometimes I'm scared to think that I don't express it enough for you to actually get a glimpse of how happy you make me. That's why I might seem a little clingy around you... I love you and I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything, that I'm always here for you, it doesn't matter if I'm working or doing anything else, you are my priority, ok?"

You were a crying mess by now and watching his red eyes trying so hard not to cry, wasn't helping.

"Ok?" he said again, clearly demanding an answer from you.

But your words wouldn't come out. How? How could you tell him? How on earth was he supposed to imagine that he had chosen the worst possible moment to tell you this?

So again you settled for the truth, the only indisputable truth you could give him, and nodding you took his face in your hands and kissed him, pulling him on top of you.

He engulfed you in his arms and broke the kiss to breathe, you covered his face with light kisses tasting the salt of his tears which only added more sorrow to your battered soul.

"Make love to me," you said against his lips. He looked at you through hooded eyes and went for the spot on your neck he knew drove you crazy.

This was the truth. The fact that when you were together you couldn't tell where each of you ended and the other began. The absolute certainty of loving him with every fiber of your being, knowing you could never love anyone else this much, not even in a thousand lives. You never hid it. It was impossible to...

A few hours later, you were watching him peacefully asleep, his features even more beautiful in the dim morning light. You carefully kissed him and placed your head on his chest, he held you tighter against him and said something that sounded like "I love you". "I love you too" you said, granting him again the truth you couldn't deny.

The unspoken truth however, the one he was about to learn, was that in fact, the one you didn't love... was yourself.

Tag list:

@mary-ann84 @littlefreya @radaofrivia @demivampirew @dancingwendigo @seb-owns-these-tatas​ @viking-raider​ @cruelfvkingsummer​ @cherry-acid​ @achaoticaugust​ @promptandpros​ @ladyreapermc​ @honeychicanawrites​ @yespolkadotkitty​ @chamomilebottom​ @deathonyourtongue​

[warriorsbutnotreally]

Twigkit And Violetkit Clan-Swap AU

I'm so glad I recently reread AVoS for one of my recent rambling discussion posts cause having the memories fresh in my mind works great

Especially since I'm already forgetting the second half of AVoS already dfska

Also, I don't go into detail about the big plot points, but they still do happen. This is more just about the changes the sisters go through.

And I kind of ignored the 'our mom is dead' plot now that I've finished it dfskjahfd

idk why I forgot about that point

So when the choice is made between Violetkit and Twigkit, Rowanstar decides that Twigkit is the best option, as her smaller size would make her more sneaky

Twigkit is taken away and Violetkit screams and cries and has to be held back by Alderpaw to stop her from chasing after Twigkit

Over in ThunderClan, Violetkit isolates herself, despite the best attempts to comfort and console her to the point she's attached to Alderpaw every moment he's in the camp. She doesn't want to play, she just wants her sister.

Alderpaw does his best to be there for Violetkit, but he feels as if his attempts aren't working, as trying to get her to open up is hard.

Luck turns on his side as Honeykit seems determined to be Violetkit's friend and she seems patient as Violetkit struggles to open up.

Over in ShadowClan, Twigkit is trying her best to make friends, despite Pinenose being disinterested in raising her and Needlepaw wanting nothing to do with a clingy kit.

Twigkit is constantly hurt at being left out and Puddlekit seems to be the only one okay with spending time with her. The two are shaky friends still, though, as his littermates pick on Twigkit and he's not a very bold kit to stand up against them.

When Grassheart's kits are born, Twigkit is very wide-eyed and curious about this new life and she asks Grassheart a lot of questions, all of the answers making Twigkit curious about the kits, but still feeling strangely detached from the idea that kits happen

Twigkit appoints herself as a big sister figure to the kits, despite still being a kit herself, and she's more than willing to teach them everything she knows - which may not be much, but she's excited to have company that looks up to her.

She also is saddened when Puddlekit is made an apprentice early, as it makes it harder for the two to hang out

Alderpaw and Needlepaw have the kits meet up and Twigkit and Violetkit are happy to see each other. Twigkit asks Needlepaw if this means she's going home to her sister and Needlepaw has a visible negative reaction, but Alderpaw is the one to answer.

Alderpaw convinces Needlepaw to bond with Twigkit and Needlepaw agrees, though she isn't too thrilled, especially after Twigkit's question

Over in ThunderClan, Violetkit is finally getting along with the other kits, though she's still rather withdrawn and isn't as high-energy as the other kits. Still, she sticks close to Honeykit now and it gives Alderpaw some room to stretch his legs and know that Violetkit isn't alone.

Alderpaw is still worried, but Jayfeather is dismissive about it, stating some kits are just strange like that, but Alderpaw is worried that Violetkit isn't taking well to being apart from her sister

Violetkit, meanwhile, still thinks of her sister a lot, but is getting along great with the other kits and is slowly branching out to others.

When she gets too overwhelmed, though, she finds herself going over to Daisy a lot more, who comforts Violetkit and lets her lay and rest in silence for a bit.

She also talks to Daisy the most, about not being Clanborn and about missing cats and Daisy becomes one of Violetkit's biggest rocks that keep her grounded. Lilyheart still does her best when she can, but Violetkit is more bonded to Daisy.

Twigkit is dragged out of camp by Needlepaw, who also brings Sleekpaw. Twigkit has many questions and concerns but is silenced.

When Twigkit is introduced to Darktail's group, she's on edge and frightened of these cats, wanting nothing to do with them. When Sleekpaw and Needlepaw try to introduce her as a non-Clanborn kit, Twigkit tries to lie and is called out for it.

When approached by Darktail, the kit tries to run but Needlepaw stops her and scolds her. She explains to Twigkit that these cats are important, but Twigkit doesn't believe her. Still, she stays silent and obedient, sticking close to the apprentices.

When the time comes, Needlepaw borderline threatens Twigkit into silence and Twigkit agrees.

Violetkit isn't sure that she and her sister are special, as she hears whispers about it echo through the Clan. She wants to believe and Alderpaw and Daisy assure her that she is.

This brings little comfort as she worries if ShadowClan thinks her sister is special and how they're treating her.

Violetkit asks Alderpaw what makes her and Twigkit special and Alderpaw talks to her, that it's not just the prophecy, but the fact the two of them are survivors and that they'll grow to be great cats.

This helps a little, but not much

When Sparkpaw becomes Sparkpelt, Violetkit is confused on why Alderpaw looks disheartened but still goes over to comfort him, leaning against the medicine cat apprentice and letting out tiny purrs.

He accepts this as comfort and thanks her

When Twigkit is brought back to camp by Sleekpaw and Needlepaw, they're busted by Tawnypelt. When confronted, Twigkit runs to Tawnypelt and tells her what happened

Needlepaw is outraged, as is Sleekpaw

While the arguing in ShadowClan is going on, Twigkit stands by her conviction to tell, as she believes the reason she's special is because she's supposed to help ShadowClan and she's trying to trust what her gut says

But her gut starts to twist with worry as the fighting goes on and she's worried she's on the wrong side of this battle, though she does not believe Needlepaw and Sleekpaw are in the right

Birchpaw and Lionpaw, for the first time, seem willing to be on her side, as both of them agree that the other apprentices aren't in the right. This brings some comfort, but she's still worried, as she's trying to hard to figure out why she's special.

Needlepaw blames Twigkit for her getting in trouble and quietly claims to her that the kit owes her a huge favor for being a snitch.

Twigkit does not agree with this, but her guilt makes her feel differently and she isn't sure what to do

When Needlepaw demands Twigkit go tell Rain she won't be able to see him, Twigkit objects, stating she's just a kit and shouldn't go out alone

Needlepaw counters by saying that if it wasn't for Twigkit she wouldn't be barred from leaving camp

Twigkit winces in response and caves in, sneaking out of camp. Twigkit, however, hides for a portion of the night until she's found by Pinenose and Grassheart. The two scold her for causing so much worry and she once more tells them the truth on what happened.

Alderpaw tries to take Violetkit out to meet with her sister, but they are found by a ShadowClan patrol. Alderpaw lies and learns that Needlepaw and Twigkit are in trouble, cause Needlepaw snuck Twigkit out of camp.

Violetkit feels terribly guilty and Alderpaw assures her that it isn't her fault

Violetkit isn't sure about that

When they return back to camp, Violetkit slumps down in the nursey, feeling like it's her fault. Alderpaw tries again to comfort her, but to no luck.

Daisy takes over and assures the tom she has it from here and just quietly lays down with Violetkit, waiting for the kit to be ready to talk

Meanwhile, when confronted, Needlepaw tries to lie, but Twigkit is insistent. What doesn't help was Needlepaw already being in trouble for sneaking out of camp

Needlepaw is even more furious and threatens to leave

Rowanstar openly invites her to leave

More apprentices side with Needlepaw and he lets them go. Twigkit is in shock. Needlepaw makes a scolding remark on how ShadowClan can keep their 'non-special kit', referring to Twigkit, and Twigkit is hurt.

She wants to believe she's special..

Twigkit becomes Twigpaw and is apprenticed to Tigerheart. Violetkit becomes Violetpaw and she's apprenticed to Stormcloud.

Stormcloud is a kind and understanding mentor and he makes it clear from the start that there are things he's still learning about aspects of Clan life and mentoring is a big one.

He is open about his former life outside the Clan and this makes Violetpaw look up to him, seeing his life as a possible future for her own - a proud warrior who came from non-Clan origins, special or not.

Violetpaw also has been sneaking off to spend time with her biological sister, Twigpaw, and the two talk often about what's going on.

During one of these short meetings, the duo is attacked and they're almost snagged away by who is revealed to be Needletail and Sleekwhisker. The two she-cats are thankfully chased off by a ThunderClan patrol [consisting of Stormcloud, Squirrelflight, Dovewing, and Lionblaze], who scolds the two for being alone.

They are notably not scolded for seeing each other, but are warned they got lucky that is wasn't a different patrol or a ShadowClan patrol.

Stormcloud takes Violetpaw to the side and offers to look out for her if she ever goes off to see her sister, but she has to be honest with him.

She promises

Twigpaw hurries home, grabbing a hidden away lizard as she does so.

Tigerheart isn't impressed with it, but he doesn't scold her. He does express he isn't happy with her hunt and she's aware he suspects something, but he makes no comments about it

They return to camp as Leafpool prepares to leave, as Puddleshine is a full medicine cat now, despite his young age. Twigpaw is sad to see her go and grabs some gifts from her nest for Leafpool to bring to Violetpaw - a cluster of soft, fluffy feathers and a shiny rock she had found while out exploring

Leafpool agrees to take them to Violetpaw and Twigpaw is happy at the news. Tigerheart looks like he wants to pass a message, but doesn't.

Only a couple days later a strange illness starts popping up and Twigpaw is quick to ask if Leafpool is going to come back. This isn't met positively.

A patrol is sent to WindClan and returns with only bad news, as Onestar refuses to share herbs

The gathering passes with only more bad news

Violetpaw is growing worried for Twigpaw, especially as the illness spreads and she convinces Stormcloud to watch out for her as she goes to check on Twigpaw.

He agrees but becomes hesitant when they reach the border and she wants to cross it.

He warns her not to, but the thought of her sister being sick stresses her out

She sneaks in anyway just to bump into Twigpaw who had been sneaking out to make sure Violetpaw was okay and that the disease didn't spread into ThunderClan.

The two talk for only a moment before a small ShadowClan patrol, consisting only of Crowfrost, Dawnpelt, and Scorchfur.

Twigpaw is scolded and Violetpaw is taken as a hostage. Violetpaw doesn't like this and Twigpaw doesn't stop apologizing to her sister.

Dawnpelt assures no harm will come to Violetpaw, that they just want ThunderClan's help in getting the lungwort for their Clan.

Twigpaw feels terrible about this. Violetpaw is angry, but not towards her sister. She decides she hates ShadowClan and she wants to get Twigpaw away.

While together, Twigpaw is out helping around ShadowClan the best she can, which only makes Violetpaw more nervous, as she helps Puddleshine get water for the cats and bring him herbs when he's getting overwhelmed.

He's very thankful for Twigpaw and Twigpaw shines with the praise.

Violetpaw decides she doesn't think Puddleshine is being sincere, as she believes he wouldn't put her sister this close to sick cats if he was.

Twigpaw mentions how she doesn't like how certain things are normalized - like violet outbursts between apprentices - but she believes the reason she's special is that she's meant to help ShadowClan

Violetpaw doesn't buy this and it only makes her more upset

insert the "we're not special" audio

Things are awkward between the two sisters, even as Bramblestar and the patrol come in.

They demand Violetpaw back and scold the Clan for taking a young apprentice into a sick Clan when she could've fallen ill.

Violetpaw, for a brief moment almost doesn't say anything before trying to demand Twigpaw is taken back to ThunderClan with them

Bramblestar explains they can't do that and Violetpaw doesn't believe they can't just that they won't

She has to be basically dragged out

Some cats are upset and Crowfrost falls sick

With some help from the medicine cats coming together, the Clan gets lungwort, but not in time to save Kinkfur, Wasptail, and Crowfrost.

Tigerheart is the new deputy and Twigpaw is proud of her mentor

Cats are refusing to go to the gathering, despite Twigpaw's best attempts to try to talk to them. Tigerheart informs her that not everyone is reasonable.

She doesn't like this.

Darktail takes over ShadowClan.

She likes this even less.

She tries to leave with Rowanstar, Tawnypelt, and Tigerheart, but Darktail holds her back and doesn't allow her to leave. He says his cats have more use for a 'special' cat than them.

Twigpaw is scared

Violetpaw is still mad about what happened, but she's not mad at her sister anymore. She just wants to see her and apologize. Even if she doesn't believe they're special, she feels terrible about yelling at her, especially since she has few friends [granted due to her own withdrawn nature]

She becomes worried when only three ShadowClan cats arrive at the gathering and none of them are Twigpaw

Bramblestar takes in the wayward ShadowClan cats and Violetpaw is quick to ask them about Twigpaw. Tigerheart reluctantly informs her and she is even more angry at ShadowClan for not saving her.

After the gathering, Stormcloud personally helps her trespass to try to save Twigpaw and the two are caught. Violetpaw says she just wants to see her sister.

Rain and Needletail assure she will before chasing off Stormcloud, giving him some nasty injuries before dragging Violetpaw back to camp.

Violetpaw finds that she and Twigpaw are both prisoners now

The four Clans come together to try to fight The Kin, but it doesn't end well and Twigpaw and Violetpaw are still being held.

Darktail seems to know more about these sisters than he's letting on and keeps a close eye on them when he can. When he's not around, there's always another one of his cats close by.

Twigpaw apologizes for ever thinking they were special and Violetpaw stops her, apologizing for what she said.

Twigpaw admits she's scared and Violetpaw quietly admits she is, too

After a couple days, the two are allowed to roam camp, but are still being watched at all times. Violetpaw and Twigpaw try to help the elders and are quickly stopped and reprimanded for doing so.

They try again and are separated for the day as punishment.

He allows her to take a mouse to Puddleshine and while they're there, Rain approaches, wanting to talk to Darktail alone.

Twigpaw pretends to go, but stays behind, wanting to at least try to see what's going on and hoping for information on why Darktail wants to keep her and her sister

She gets no news and only witnesses Rain attempt to kill Darktail. Darktail then kills Rain.

Twigpaw is horrified and Darktail is very calm about the whole situation. He pats her head before sending her off, calling her special once again.

Twigpaw no longer wants to be considered or hear the word special.

She tells Violetpaw and Needletail what happen and Needletail is horrified. Before Twigpaw can say anything, she leads the two out of camp and asks her to repeat it one last time.

She does.

Violetpaw suggests hunting and they go hunting. Needletail seems to be questioning her loyalty, but not out loud.

Darktail brings in some kittypets; Zelda, Loki, and Max. They are made to hunt prey, eat it, and stay.

Darktail expresses to Twigpaw that he plans on turning these kittypets into useful fighters. Twigpaw doesn't feel too sure about this. Darktail makes an offhanded comment on how she's not much like 'him', but doesn't answer any questions, instead walking away and leaving her confused.

Violetpaw finds herself being led into a dream by what looks to be Alderpaw/heart. She follows him and he stands by her as they share a vision of a barn.

Violetpaw, not sure if this is real, asks him what that was about.

Alderheart believes it's about SkyClan.

She asks about SkyClan and he tells her what he can. He also reveals he suspects that whatever kin she may have besides her sister may be with them.

For the first time in her life, Violetpaw feels a strange determination.

She wakes up and Needletail notices something's up. She asks her about it and Violetpaw explains.

Needletail seems unsure but Violetpaw wants to try to find this barn and these cats.

Needletail 'accidentally' lets Violetpaw escape. Violetpaw runs for her life.

Violetpaw is in the middle of escaping when a pack of dogs spot her and chase her down. She manages to escape, but passes out after doing so.

The last thing she sees are twolegs.

Twigpaw is worried for Violetpaw, but Needletail has informed her of what's going on and what's happening.

Twigpaw, meanwhile, has been trying to at least make the kittypets comfortable, since they're forced to stay here. Loki and Zelda are the most thankful.

Twigpaw goes to rest, noticing Darktail is heading out another hunt for Violetpaw. This makes Twigpaw more worried, as she isn't sure if it's better for her to be found or not.

She is later woken up by Dawnpelt, who invites her to escape to ThunderClan.

Juniperclaw and Strikestone is there, too.

Twigpaw is nervous, as she isn't sure what will happen to them and she's not sure what will happen to the cats here, whom she has a lot of sympathy for. She tries to talk Dawnpelt out of it, but Dawnpelt seems set.

She goes back to sleep, but holds onto her worries for Dawnpelt and Dawnpelt's sons

When she wakes up, Darktail is ready to take over RiverClan. Twigpaw tries to protest, but Darktail won't hear any of it.

The takeover of RiverClan happens. The dead are left to rot and the wounded aren't allowed to get help. Max, Foxnose, Heronwing, Petalfur, Pinenose and Shadepelt died.

Twigpaw comforts Loki and Zelda.

While out with Raven and Needletail, they help sneak some ThunderClan cats in. Raven doesn't like this.

RiverClan prisoners aren't being fed and Twigpaw is being watched closely by The Kin to keep her from feeding them.

Darktail confronts Twigpaw about the herbs and Twigpaw tries to lie, but is called out for it. She is forced into telling the truth and when she does, she fears for Needletail's safety.

Needletail is placed with the prisoners and Darktail thanks Twigpaw for her cooperation.

Twigpaw starts working to gain Darktail's favor, using it as a shield so that she can help as many cats as possible. He seems none the wiser as she sneaks herbs and prey to Needletail and the RiverClan cats.

While out hunting, Twigpaw sneaks away from the patrol and manages to make her way to ThunderClan.

ThunderClan is relieved to see her and she asks about which cats made it. Sadly, not a lot have, as Dawnpelt was killed trying to escape.

She asks about Violetpaw.

There has been no sign of Violetpaw at all.

This makes Twigpaw super worried and she fears the worse.

She works with ThunderClan to make a plan to rescue all the prisoners and make an opening for cats to escape.

When she returns to camp, making sure to bring prey back with her, she waits until night and Zelda allows her to see the prisoners. She tells them all the plan and they're willing to worth with her.

Needletail is the least sure, but Twigpaw assures her that everything will be fine

Needletail still isn't sure

Twigpaw starts sneaking cats out, beginning with the wounded and the elders.

She meets up with ThunderClan and they safely bring the cats over.

They get Snowbird and her kits out next before deciding not to risk any more cats. They agree to meet up again three days later.

Before they leave, Alderheart gives Twigpaw some poppy seeds to put Darktail and his cats out cold after a suggestion from Tigerheart. Twigpaw tells Alderheart to let Tigerheart know she's doing her best for her Clan

Alderheart confirms that Tigerheart already knows. He also mentions how he, personally, is proud of her and Twigpaw beams with happiness.

All this time, Violetpaw has been with twolegs. She has been working on her escape plan and she's now making her way out. She hasn't forgotten her sister or Alderheart or the barn.

She is worried, however, for her kin

She does find the barn, but it has been abandoned. Unable to find any sort of scent, Violetpaw feels herself wanting to give up, as she doesn't believe she's able to do this.

Violetpaw ends up falling asleep and having a dream that tells her to follow the blood trail in the sky.

Violetpaw wakes up, confused, and hesitantly follows the instructions

She is surprised when she finds a Clan of cats, having been on the verge of being convinced that SkyClan didn't even exist

Violetpaw approaches them nervously, more scared than she had ever properly felt but SkyClan is very welcoming and they're excited to learn that she's from ThunderClan.

She talks to Hawkwing and Leafstar and they're not too fond of Darktail. She also learns that Hawkwing is, in fact, her father. He is reminded so much of her mother when he looks at her.

Violetpaw informs him he has another daughter, too. She's worried about Twigpaw. Hawkwing is now determined to do what is best for his daughters.

They start heading towards the lake territories together. As they walk, Violetpaw finds she feels very at home with these cats and it soothes her heart.

Twigpaw is preparing for what she's about to do and part of her feels guilty that she's doing this. But at the same time, she wants to save these cats.

She is caught and Darktail decides to drag out Needletail, Zelda, and Loki. He wants these cats to die to punish Twigpaw.

Darktail is going to drown them. He gives them the chance to live by killing Twigpaw. Needletail pretends to take it, but uses it as a chance to get Twigpaw to escape. Loki and Zelda manage to fight off the cats and start trying to escape with her while Needletail fights Darktail.

Zelda pushes Twigpaw along as Twig tries to turn around to save Needletail. Loki informs Twigpaw they can't save everyone and that they need to keep moving.

ThunderClan encounters them and they send Twigpaw to ThunderClan camp while they go rescue the prisoners, who at this point are fighting back.

Right before she reaches ThunderClan camp, Twigpaw and Violetpaw are reunited and Twigpaw almost breaks down as she pulls her sister close and starts crying, the reality of everything just kind of crashing down on her in that moment.

Violetpaw is very comforting and assures Twigpaw that it's going to be okay.

Hawkwing, curious by the name, asks if this is her sister. Violetpaw confirms. Hawkwing, ecstatic, introduces himself as Twigpaw's father.

Twigpaw welcomes the comfort of her father and explains to them what all is happening. They make it back to ThunderClan's camp and wait for the cats.

As StarClan confirms that SkyClan being there is okay, Hawkwing is trying to talk his daughters into moving to SkyClan with him.

Neither she-cat is sure about the idea right away

They make plans to take down Darktail and, of course, Onestar is being difficult.

As Twigpaw and Violetpaw join the patrol to talk to Onestar, they talk about the idea of moving. Twigpaw firmly believes there's a lot she still needs to do and she doesn't feel right leaving ShadowClan.

Violetpaw still doesn't like ShadowClan, but she understands, saying she's not sure about leaving her adopted ThunderClan siblings and Alderheart.

Darktail is attacking WindClan when they get there, he chooses to leave with a cryptic message to Onestar, and Onestar has all the leaders gather to talk about it.

Onestar then explains his relationship to Darktail when the leaders get there.

The five Clans come together and the final fight with Darktail happens, leading to the deaths of Onestar and Darktail in the lake.

Loki and Zelda are informed they're free to go home, but the two stick with Twigpaw for the time being, the cats wanting to make sure she's okay first. Loki and Zelda are very close to Twigpaw.

ShadowClan is going home and Twigpaw asks if she can stay with her sister for a moment and consider some things. Rowanstar isn't sure, but Tigerheart allows it.

Hawkwing tries ones again to convince his daughters to join SkyClan. They're still not sure about it.

There is a large debate in ThunderClan on what to do with SkyClan. Twigpaw defends her sister's choice and Violetpaw is starting to feel like she did moons ago when she didn't feel like she fully belonged.

In her eyes, SkyClan is seeming like a better option.

However, at the same time, she wants Twigpaw to come with her, as she doesn't want Twigpaw to go back to ShadowClan.

Tensions are high in ThunderClan camp with so many cats there. There's especially tension in ShadowClan and Twigpaw really wants to be helpful.

Adjusting in hard and Bramblestar is about to make Violetpaw a warrior when Violetpaw announces she's going to be moving in with SkyClan, who is in the process of making their new camp

Violetpaw has Twigpaw - and by extension, Zelda and Loki - help her help SkyClan. She's working hard on trying to talk Twigpaw into moving to SkyClan.

Twigpaw still isn't sure, but Zelda and Loki seem interested in SkyClan and she's close to the two of them.

And after this my memory of events are muddy

but what I have to follow up with is;

Violetpaw becomes Violetshine and of course gets with Tree when he comes into the picture [again, my memory isn't the best]

Twigpaw decides to stay in ShadowClan and upon her return she earns the warrior name Twigsong. She ends up in a polycule with Zelda and Loki, who are given permission to keep their old names.

Twigsong helps a lot with ShadowClan after Tigerheart leaves to find Dovewing and when Tigerheart returns as Tigerstar, he is very thankful and gives her Cinnamonpaw as her apprentice.

It's also implied he's considering her as another option for deputy if anything happens with Cloverfoot

When SkyClan is chased off, Twigsong, Tree, Zelda, and Loki come together to bring them back and it cements that Zelda and Loki want to stay and that they're very fond of Twigsong.

Violetshine still checks on ThunderClan often and is still close with her adopted sister, Honeyfur.

[bangtancentricsblog]

Demon king Yoongi x Demoness queen Mc ft. baby maknae line

this baby is a whopping 1.7 k which I know isn’t a lot but it is when I write mostly baby stories! Um some warnings: mentions of miscarriage, infidelity, angst I guess but tbh idk. Jennie from BP cameos because she’d be a bad bitch lol I think that’s it

It was with a heavy heart that you made your way to the front door to the manor, though to your utter surprise you found that your children were there bags in hand. You’d been quick to close the distance placing your bag down as you crouched down to their height to better hear them.

“What are you doing here loves, it’s past your bedtime.” 

“Go you mama.” Jungkook said reaching up a signal for you to pick him up. He quickly snuggled into your neck, arms and legs wrapping around your frame; Jimin and Taehyung watched, both of them holding hands and meeting your gaze expectantly. Taehyung being the closest to you offered you his little hand, waiting till you took it. 

You’d offered them a smile one filled with all the love you held for them, quickly making your way out of the estate and towards the car waiting to take you to your new home. You’d managed to get them into the car when fingers circled your throat, a light weight you’d been familiar with but had never before felt threatened by. 

“Where are our children?” 

“Yoongi please, you’ll frighten them.” You said your gaze flickering to the shut door of the car, he followed your gaze slowly lifting his hand and instead clutching your wrist. 

“Where are you taking them, they’re also my children. It’s my right to know where you’re taking them.”

“Oh please there is no right. You may be their father but they’re  mine, I bore them, they come to me for everything.” 

“Why are you taking them?” He asks again, his voice wobbling slightly. 

“They’re mine and they want to leave with me.”

“How can you just leave me like this?”

“It’s what I want, it’s what’s right.”

“But why, do you hate me so you’d take my children and my heart?”

“Because I can't play nice anymore, I can't pretend to be happy when you so clearly want something else.” You scream voice echoing in the clearing that leads to the manor. It was a house you and Yoongi had built together, one you had shed blood, sweat and tears over. The underworld didn't often take female generals but you had proved to be an amazing strategist, one who Yoongi had been quick to employ when he was fighting a war amongst the other princes. His father, the king had died and with no clear successor the four of them had gone to war bringing forth armies of all manner of supernaturals. Yoongi’s army was made up of most vampires, succubi, and a few other lythe creatures. The war was long and there was a lot of bloodshed but in the end Yoongi came out the victor, besting even his oldest brother who was only a year older than he was. With Yoongi now ruling the underworld his need for a queen had come up, but Yoongi had solved that matter easily. He’d asked for your hand that same day before a room filled with supernatural nobles and his brothers. 

You remember the day well it was a shock to you mostly because he didn't seem as fond of you as he did of others. Though you had accepted, the wedding came soon after his way of claiming the throne for the foreseeable future, except you hadn't expected to actually fall in love with this not so cold aloof prince. It had taken a few years but you had fallen in love and you had fallen fast, your twins came not long after when sex was no longer a chore but more for pleasure. Your baby followed two years after your twins but with every child growing older and Jungkook now being two Yoongi seemed less and less interested in you and them. They were children, the future of this kingdom and yet he had spent more hours away from you and them than he had the throne room. You’d seen the way his gaze would wander, had heard the gossip amongst the harpies that worked in the manor. How the king had taken up a mistress, a young succubus by the name of Andromeda. It didn't take long for the entire manor to take sides, most vampires and demons sided with you because they respected you but more so they loved your children. The incubi and succubi took Yoongi’s who seemed all the more unaware of the tension bubbling within the manor walls. 

You’d been making your way to the throne room in hopes that this rumor would be put to rest and have Yoongi explain why it came to be in the first place. Though you were so very shocked to find the exact opposite, there in the throne room like young lovers were Yoongi and that succubi Andromeda perched on his lap. She smiled down at him, hands clutching his hair as he too smiled up at her, a smile you’d recognized easily. You felt a sharp pain then, one that had you gasping and clutching at your chest before stumbling away before either of them could see you. Jennie was by your side quickly, one of your closest friends and a fellow soldier, her eyes quickly scanning your form as the pain grew pulling pained cries from your lips. It was unbearable, like all your bones breaking while flames licked at your skin. The last you heard was her scream for help before you’d passed out. 

It was with a heavy heart that you’d learned that you’d lost a child a puzzling thing since your kind wasn’t prone to miscariage, you’d been devastated to say the least. Months went by in a blink of an eye, the sadness consuming you but slowly you came to be yourself. You’d long since moved into another bedroom away from Yoongi, and spent significantly less time before the court and his mistress. If he planned to mock you with her presence he would do so by himself, since giving up your queenly duties you’d chosen to spend more time with your children. You loved every bit of spending time with them, and realised how much you had missed since their birth. The days grew long and what had once been peaceful due to your lack of duties had come to an end. Yoongi stood before your bedroom face neutral as he waited for you to return, and you had just rounded the corner when you’d spotted him. 

He’d been quick to demand you take up your duties again as queen, not a single hint that he had taken note of your absence other than as he had said, “queens do their duties, they don't  play hooky with their children”  a scowl present on his face. You’d said nothing hoping it would be enough to have him leave quicker. He didn't however as he closed the distance between you and moved to caress your cheek. It was hard not to recoil as his skin touched yours, a wave of disgust drowning you as he pressed close breath warm as he whispered, “you’re just as beautiful as when we married” before kissing your lips and then turned on his heel. You were quick to enter your bedroom as bile rose in your throat just barely making it to a bucket before emptying the contents of your stomach. 

The following days you played the soft demure queen with a smile so fake even angels would believe you. Yoongi kept his mistress close, claiming she was one of your ladys and needed to be close at all times. It grew intolerable being near them especially when your children sought you out throughout the day having become accustomed to seeing you often. Which had sparked your plan, you hadn’t intended to leave your children had never dreamed of it; but they would need  a role model and you couldn't be that for three young princes and so here you were glaring at Yoongi. His expression reeked of heartbreak but you didn't believe it, no you couldn't believe it because you knew him. 

“Can’t play nice, can’t pretend, did you think being queen would be easy?” He asks.

“No, but I didn't expect for my king, the father of my children, to grow bored of me so quickly. Least of all to make me fall in love with you so you could just hurt me.” 

“I did no such thing, I love you, you hold my heart you have since I named you a general in my army and you won our first battle.”

“Do you play me for a fool? I know of Andromeda, or did you think I wouldn’t find out.” You watch as his eyes close in defeat, he doesn't look guilty when he opens them just heartbroken. 

“I didn't mean to, she used her charms on me and I was weak to resist and if that has caused you pain I’m sorry.” he says and his eyes shine with truth but all has been said and done and you want to get away if only for a while. 

“I won't accept your apology,” you breathe and you see him stiffen as your eyes fill with tears “it's too late to apologize, not after I lost our baby.” 

“What?” 

“I lost our baby because of you, my kind believes in soulmates and when our mate betrays or wrongs us we suffer for it. I suffered the loss of our baby alone, and I can never forgive you for that.” you say tears now falling. 

“I, I didn't know, did you know what it was?” he asks hesitantly. 

“No, but that doesn't matter anymore we’re leaving and maybe one day we will return but for now we’ll be living away from the manor. You can visit but only if they ask for you, I won’t force them or you.” You glance at the door stepping towards it and pulling it open, inside the car your babies have fallen asleep. A smile slips onto your lips as you gaze at them, eyes still glassy with tears before you turn back to Yoongi who stares blankly at you.

“I hope that in the time of our absence you decide what it really is that you want, and that i can somehow forgive you.” you say.

“I do love you, I will always love you and I hope that with time you’ll come to love me again.” he says meeting your gaze one last time before you slide into the car and it drives away.

[soft-icha-icha]

The Hokage’s Niece: Kakashi Hatake x Reader

Description: Tsunade's niece has just arrived to the leaf village and is already making big impressions on the people. After being in a completely different village all of her life, she was able to come back after her Aunt Tsunade became Hokage. The only condition she was asked of to return back home is to train as a ninja and help protect the village. To help her train, she's assigned to Team Seven and starts making friends, doing teenage things which may or not include having a schoolgirl crush on her sensei.

Info: Kakashi is about 22 years old here, you will be 18 years old. This does take place during shippuden so the other characters like naruto, sasuke, and Sakura will be 17 years old. This will contain sexual content (student & teacher), violence and swearing. That is all.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Chapter One: Stranger Walking the Streets

Exhausted.

Sweaty.

Feet hurt.

I was so close to arriving at the village, but my whole body ached. Maybe I should take a quick break, I can't handle having anymore sweat get caught in my eyes, that burns! After making my decision, I quickly head to my right to the big tree with a lot of shade to offer. I nearly cried at how cool and refreshing getting under the tree was, I made the right choice, any longer and surely I would've passed out.

I slowly inhale and exhale as I let my body cool down, even with minimal clothing couldn't battle this heat. I really should have taken up aunt Tsunade's offer, maybe having someone escort me wouldn't have been so bad. But too bad me and my pride got in the way after imagining being paraded into the village, and letting it be known I was Lady Hokage's niece. I'd probably be painted as a spoiled brat. I would hate to be only known as the Hokage's niece and having nothing more to my name. My stomach growled as I lamented over the scenarios I imagined when arriving to the village, the leaf village that is. Might as well eat my lunch that I was saving, it sure as heck sounds delicious.

I grab my backpack, and open it to find the container that I put my food in, I decided to pack myself some riceball, and luckily I wasn't dumb enough to not forget to put an ice pack to keep it cool. I slowly take out the items, I had my rice balls, and my drink, both sure to satisfy me of my hunger and thirst. I only packed three rice balls, but I'm sure they were enough to keep me tamed for a while, and I can always get more food at the village restaurants.

As I was taking time to eat my food, I heard some the leaves in the tree rustle and see the birds fly away in the distance. I wonder what that's about? I continued to munch on my rice ball, enjoying the afternoon in the cool shade as I suddenly heard clashing nearby. I'm going to hope that what I'm imagining isn't actually going down. Whatever it may be, I wasn't going to stay and stick around to find out. I quickly pack up my things, and leave out my riceball to eat while running away from here. With a piece of rice ball in my mouth, and me sprinting as fast as I can, I hardly pay attention to my surroundings as I hear the clashing die down.

I looked back at where the noise was coming from originally, that must have been a fight going on. Thank God I got out of there when I did, I chuckled to myself, that would've been bad if I was caught up in that mess. I wince when I felt myself hit something, damn, I must have run into a tree were my initial thoughts. Laying on my butt and rubbing my head and shoulder as they were in pain, it took me a minute to register what happened as I couldn't focus.

"What's a pretty lady like you doing here?" I hear a very deep and ruff voice say. I guess I spoke way too soon, and reacted way too late.

Before I knew it, the man grabbed my arm and pulled me up so fast that I couldn't even catch a glimpse of his face. He put his arms around my waist, making sure to not leave my arms unattended, I struggled against him but he was too strong, I didn't stand a chance. I wouldn't even be in this position if I were a ninja, and hopefully my training at the leaf village will help me. That is if I even survive this disaster, I thought to myself. I looked down at his legs and noticed the belt of weapons he had around his thighs. This man was a ninja himself, and did not come here with good intentions. Crap, what am I suppose to do? I can't fight him—hell, I can't even get out of his grip! I was helpless, you wished that someone would come to your rescue and hopefully this guy's opponent was still around.

I started to scream for help, as the man forgot to cover my mouth, he tried to keep my quiet but my screams got louder, no way I wasn't going to at least try. I kept screaming for the life of me and thrashing myself around to add to the noise from my screams. I beginning to lose my voice, getting desperate, I knew the man could hear my voice falter as he began to laugh to himself. I felt something fly past above my head, and hit at the man's shoulder. That stopped both my screaming and his laughter, he started groaning in pain. I quickly see what cause that, and notice a clean slice through his clothes at this shoulder, he was bleeding. Finally someone else was here.

"Who did that?! Come out!" The man demanded.

In the distance, I could see a glowing red eye? The person who threw the knife came out from the tree. As he slowly approached, I noticed his features. He had silver hair that literally looked as if it defied gravity, he was quite tall and had a mask covering half of his face, he screamed mysterious. I quickly took notice of his clothing, the symbol on his uniform caught my attention. He was from the leaf village! Which made me even more worried because we're in leaf village territory. What is he doing here fighting the ninjas of the village? He must be really bad. And here I was, being held by that same man who's most likely going to kill me.

"Let her go," said the gray-haired ninja, he never broke eye contact with the man.

I felt a chuckle come from the man's lips, and slowly put a knife towards my throat. He didn't answer the leaf ninja.

"I'm not going to tell you again! This is between you and me, leave her alone!" He yelled.

My kidnapper essentially responded back, "Why should I let such a pretty girl go? Besides, I'm quite more interested in her than play fighting with you."

His answer seemed to piss off the ninja even more. In a blink of an eye, I felt the man lose his grip on me as he groaned in pain, what just happened? He lowered the knife and proceeded to fall onto the ground. I didn't even see anything happen, he just seem to lose his stance and strength. I looked between the ninja and the man, the ninja was still in the same spot, he didn't even move. I noticed his red eye again, and it seemed to glow more than when I first noticed it. The ninja walked over to me, adjusting his headband to cover his eye. I stood there frozen as he approached.

"Well looks like I won't have to deal with him for while," he said. He the kicked the guy, he was out cold basically.

He noticed my lack of response, "Are you alright? Being in that type of situation is never fun."

"Yes, I think I'm alright. Thank you," I say finally finding my voice again.

I quickly dust myself off and get myself together. I run over to where my backpack is, thanking the Lord that I didn't lose it. My stomach growled even louder than before, almost being kidnapped sure makes you hungry. I sit down, put my backpack in my lap after retrieving my lunchbox, I had two rice balls left at least. I sigh over the fact that my first rice ball was done for once I felt the man grab me, making me toss it to the ground, I look over to the remaining pieces on the dirt. I hear footsteps approach me, and it startled me slightly but then I remembered the leaf ninja, I should probably thank him about a hundred times more for saving my life.

"Got any extras?" I look up and see him pointing at my lunch.

I nod slowly, and extending out my lunch box to give him my remaining rice ball. He takes it, and turns away to eat it. He probably didn't want to show his face to a stranger, understandable. We both eat our food in silence before I break it.

"Thank you again for saving me, I didn't stand a chance against him," I say.

"It's not a problem, I had some unresolved business with him anyway, he just gave me more of reason to kick his ass," he chuckled, and I could hear the slight munching of food coming from him.

"I'm assuming you're from the leaf village?" I ask, maybe he can show me the way there.

"You are correct, I was taking a stroll outside the village when I found him lurking around," the ninja says, gesturing his head to the man on the ground.

He finishes eating, pulls up his mask and turns to face me. As I look at him, even with the mask on, I can tell he's quite attractive. I wouldn't mind having a cute ninja escort to the leaf village.

"Is there any chance you can continue to be my knight in shining amor? I really need to get to the leaf village quickly," I teasingly ask.

The ninja looks visibly flustered as he was not expecting that, but he nodded in agreement.

"I was heading back there anyway." He starts beginning to walk away.

I pack my things, and put my backpack on. As I get up, I feel a sharp pain in my thigh. I wince and grab my leg, the ninja looks back at me worried. I look over at my leg, and see a cut there at the side. The man must have accidentally cut me when he fell down, and I probably didn't even notice since I was terrified and confused during the whole altercation. I put pressure on my thigh and the ninja softly touched my shoulder.

"Are you okay? What happened?" He questions.

"I think the guy cut me and I didn't even notice," I say in pain. I try to walk it off but I can barely walk.

The ninja stops me, and places me on his back, "Don't strain yourself, I'll take you back like this," he assured me.

I don't say anything in response but just wrap my arms around him, as he starts heading towards the village. I softly rest my head on his shoulders as he passes by the trees in the forest. It shouldn't be that long until we reach the village, especially since this silver-haired ninja is quite fast. He felt warm and cozy, so hopefully we didn't arrive too quickly.

                      .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

The silence that fell upon was soon interrupted by the ninja speaking.

"You know, I'm quite curious... what's your name?," He asks me.

"Oh, it's (y/n). What's your name since we're asking questions now?"

"Kakashi Hatake, from the Leaf Village as you know," he said with a smile.

His first and last name had a nice ring to it. I liked it, I decided. I pulled myself closer to him as I felt myself slowly start to slip, as I did so he tightened his grip on me.

"Got anymore questions, Kakashi Hatake?." I hear a soft stifled laugh come from him.

"To be honest, I'm wondering why a girl like you is  going to the Leaf Village—" He quickly stops the words flowing from his mouth, probably noticing the flirtatious tone he had. "—You know for safety reasons, in case I have to fight you now instead of later."

"My family wants me to learn how to be a ninja," I sheepishly say.

It was a bit embarrassing that I was eighteen years old, when most beginner ninjas aren't even teenagers yet!

"Ninja, huh? So you're going to be training at the Leaf Village?," he questions.

"Yeah, I'm not sure how long the process takes but I hear that it's a long process."

"That you are quite right, it's rigorous. Sure you're up for it?" Kakashi asks me worryingly.

"Well sadly, I can't always have a cute silver-haired ninja randomly show up and save me all the time," I tease some more, and I see him face the other way. He was blushing I knew it!

"Who knows, maybe I can always be available for you," he teases back.

Now it was my turn to blush, I let out a quiet chuckle. I was not expecting him to flirt back.

"Maybe I would very much like that," I softly whispered in his ears.

Kakashi was going to respond to what I said before, he started slowing down and informed that we have arrived at the Leaf Village. He carefully puts me down, and we walk together as we approached the gates. I noticed two men guarding the place. They waved at Kakashi but soon had a confused look on their faces as they saw me.

"Who's the girl, Kakashi?" The one with a toothpick yelled out.

Kakashi sighed, clearly not wanting to answer but did anyway, "She's here to train."

They both nodded, and waved their hands to let us know we could pass the gates. I was soon greeted with how the Leaf Village looked like. There were a lot of shops, and I saw little kids running around playing, older people were taking strolls and shopping, and overall the atmosphere felt warm and cozy. It was very welcoming, you usually didn't feel this with every village, I was starting to like the village already. Although Kakashi and I didn't speak as we walked through the streets, I could tell he wanted to keep me in his presence and I felt the same way, he had this inviting feeling towards him.

We soon began to have small talk, and I noticed that people were staring at us. I'm not sure if I'm going crazy but maybe Kakashi is a big hot shot here in the village, I definitely wouldn't be surprised if he was, he seemed pretty amazing to me. But the stares, as the more I noticed it, the creepier it was. Maybe I should ask him.

"Kakashi, are people staring at us?" I bluntly ask.

"Yeah they are, they've been doing it since we've walked past the gates but I don't really mind," Kakashi says calmly, this clearly didn't affect him.

"Do you know why?"

"Probably because you're the first girl I've been seen with who's not been arrested," He answers.

"Oh." It was all I could say.

We still walk, and then it dawns on me, I'm suppose to meet up with Tsunade as soon as I got to the village. Shit! She's probably worried, I was already running late before I almost got kidnapped but she's most likely panicking inside if I don't show up anytime soon! I'm sure Kakashi wouldn't mind taking me to her.

"Um, Kakashi—" He looks at me. "—Is there any way you could bring me to Lady Hokage's office, I really need to see her."

"I was needing to head over there anyway, I need to fill out a report about that man we encountered outside the village," Kakashi explains.

Before I knew it, he's picking me up once again and is running by everyone. All I see are quick flashes of people's faces as they notice what Kakashi is doing. I wasn't expecting my first day at the village to be like this. I can smell food in the air as he passes by a ramen shop, and my stomach growls a bit. I hope he didn't hear that.

Soon enough, we're at the building where Tsunade is. He lets me down once again, and I give him a puzzled look about why he gave me another piggyback ride.

"Your cut." He points to the cut on my leg.

I forgot about that, I should probably get it checked out by Tsunade when I see her. At least it doesn't hurt as much as it did when we both noticed it.

"We should probably go together... since you know, you need to see her and so do I" Kakashi says quietly.

"I like that idea." I smile at him.

Kakashi softly blushes at that and so do I at his reaction. I wouldn't mind if he stuck around. We both began to walk inside. Hopefully Tsunade does not kick my ass for being late, or for being stupid enough to almost get kidnapped.

—————

Next chapter will be up on Friday (04/10) or earlier, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Word count: 2828

- korina

[marvel-has-my-soul]

Jet Fighter

(Peter Parker x OC Female)

Description: Jet is a girl with wings and superhuman strength. Need I say more?

CHAPTER 2-

Strike A Deal

Jet's eyes flickered open for a moment. She took a gasping breath, trying to sit up. She was on a helicopter.

"Stay still." Sam murmured from somewhere outside of her line of vision. She twisted her head around to see him sitting in a chair, his arms strapped down and his wrists cuffed together. She spotted Scott Lang, Wanda, and Clint sitting next to him, restrained in similar ways.

Jet opened her mouth to say something but Sam shook his head.

"Shhh." Sam whispered. Jet nodded and she drifted back to sleep.

When she woke back up, someone was carrying her. She tried to move, but her body screamed in pain. She opened her eyes and saw it was an armed guard carrying her. Sam walked in front of her, lead by another guard.

"Sir, she's awake." The guard carrying her said as they entered a white room. Her friends were led to separate cells and the doors were locked.

"Get her restrained." Sergeant Ross ordered. Two other guards walked forward and grabbed hold of Jet's arms as the other carrying her set her down. With no intent of being gentle, the guards held her still as her wrists were cuffed together and her ankles were chained.

A black strap was wrapped around her shoulders and tightened around her wings. She let out a cry as she felt her bones crack under the restraint. Another strap went around her waist and tightened around the bottom part of her wings.

"Let her go! You're hurting her!" Sam shouted from his cell, banging a fist against the glass.

"Take her to the lab." Ross instructed. Jet was dragged from the cell block as she struggled against her restraints.

"Let me go!" She screamed. She locked eyes with Sam just before the doors closed.

"You'll be okay, Jet!" He called after her. But both of them highly doubted that.

***

"Where's Jet?" Tony asked, his eyes wandering  around the cell block. There was one empty cell next to Clint and Wanda. Tony turned back to Sam, whose held tilted to the side, his arms crossed.

"Where do you think?" Sam snapped. "Do you really think that they’d leave a scientific marvel like her alone?" Tony's face paled.

"I told them not to touch her." He said, feeling like he was trying to reassure himself more than Sam.

"And yet where were you when we were all forced to watch them tie her wings down and drag her to the lab, listening to her screaming the whole way." Tony didn't speak so Sam continued, "we told her she would be fine. That even though we were caught, you wouldn't let a 15 year old girl get locked up. But I guess we misjudged you."

***

Tony sat alone in a dimly lit room, his arms crossed as he anxiously tapped his foot. The door opened and he looked up. A guard had a tight hold on Jet's arm, pulling her into the room. She was still bruised and bloodied from the battle even though that was over a week ago. Her wrists were cuffed and a long chain connected them to her ankles, which were also cuffed. Her wings were forcibly folded tightly against her back and held down with two thick black straps.

The guard forced her down into the chair across from Tony. Without a nod to Tony, the guard left, closing the door behind him. Tony sighed and locked eyes with Jet.

"Hey kid." He whispered.

"Hey." She answered, breaking their eye contact and looking down.

"What did they do to you?" He asked. Jet, without moving her head, looked over to the camera in the upper corner of the room. Tony smirked.

"I hacked the system. Muted the audio and looped the footage." Jet looked up at him.

"Then they'll come back in here."

"Bolted the door. Now tell me, what have they done?" Tony pressed.

"Why would you care?" Jet spat, "you're the one who got me locked up in the first place."

"I told them to keep you safe. This isn't what I had in mind." Tony explained. Jet scoffed and sat back, but winced as her wings made contact with the back of the chair.

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what they did." Tony added quieter. He could see the exhaustion in Jet's eyes, as if she hadn't slept since she got here. And she was thinner, not by much, since she was already a rail, but Tony could tell.

"It's more like what they haven't done." Jet said. Tony nodded for her to continue. Jet sighed.

"My wings are broken. And they won't allow me to stretch them out. Any longer with them held down by these straps and they'll heal wrong. Then I'll be in pain for the rest of my life. And I'm covered in injuries that they refuse to look at."

Tony sat forward, knowing there was something more.

"But they have done something. Haven't they?" He pressed. Jet squirmed under his stare and nodded slightly.

"They do...experiments... try to test my limits. Since I'm a scientific breakthrough and all."

"Steve sent me a message. To make sure you're safe. And I intend to do that."

***

Jet was escorted back to her cell block, where she was unceremoniously pushed to the ground and the door was locked before she could even sit up.

"What'd they do this time?" Sam asked from his cell. His fists were clenched and his face held a permanent glare. The second his doors opened, he swore he would kill every last person who hurt the winged girl. Jet sighed.

"Nothing this time." She whispered back. "Tony wanted to see me."

"Stark's here?" Sam spat. He was the reason Jet was even in this mess. Jet merely nodded.

"What did he want?" Clint asked, leaning against the glass. Jet shrugged slightly, not wanting the camera's to hear what Tony was actually doing. Clint didn’t press for information, pushing himself off the glass and sitting down on his bed. Sam remained standing, pacing back and forth. 

“How are you feeling?” Wanda asked. Jet looked over to the other girl’s cell block. She looked tired and her hair hung limp against her shoulders. Like Jet, Wanda remained bound. The others were free to roam around their cells, while Wanda was restricted in a straight jacket. Jet would’ve worn a straight jacket too, only it didn’t fit over her wings. 

“I’m okay.” Jet responded. Wanda sent her a pointed look. 

“I know you’re not.” She said. Jet didn’t say anything, pulling herself up onto her bed and laying down on her side. She drifted into an uneasy sleep, her body screaming in pain. 

***

Tony tapped his fingers against the metal table impatiently waiting for Secretary Ross. The gray haired man walked in and Tony stood up. 

“I want you to release Jet.” He demanded. 

“She’s a criminal. Along with everyone else here.” Ross answered, shutting the door.

“She’s a child!”

“That doesn’t change anything.” 

“That still doesn’t constitute experimentation.” Tony said through clenched teeth. 

“We haven’t done any-” Tony slammed his fist against the table.

“Don’t lie to me! Jet told me as much.” Ross held his hands up in surrender.

“Alright, alright. We may have done a few blood tests, but that’t all!” He said.

“I’m willing to strike a deal with you, Ross. So that Jet can go free, and you won’t have to worry about her acting out again.” Tony said, sitting down. 

“What’d you have in mind?”

***

Jet woke up with a start as her cell door was being unlocked. Sitting up, she cowered in the corner of her bed, hoping that maybe this once, they weren’t going to hurt her. The door swung open and Tony stood there. 

“Come on, kid. You’re getting out of here.” 

Tag list:

@ginger-elf-queen

[revchainsaw]

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

Wow! I can't believe I'm about to review a mainstream Disney release of all things on this blog. Eh! I make the rules and this thing is close enough to a high fantasy/martial arts film and who knows I may give a crack at Disney's Cruella later if the film strikes me the right way.

The Message

Set in the fictional land of Kumandra, Raya exists in a world where dragon lore is at the center of everything. Kumandra is a prosperous land that exists around a dragon shaped sea, and the different Kumandran tribes that live there are named after the part of the dragon they inhabit. Fang, Tail, etc, etc. It's no wonder that the Dragons are so revered in these cultures, as the prosperity that the world is now experiencing is due to the great sacrifice where the dragons gave their lives to create a magic jewel that keeps a horrible race of sprits called the Druun at bay.

The jewel is protected by the Heart tribe, particularly the lineage of the Heart chieftain. Raya is the heir to this immense responsibility. Her father the current guardian of the jewel is an idealistic sort and believes that the Kumandran people can be united, however the other tribes have their own interests and biases, even about the Heart people who they believe are using the power of the jewel to unfairly benefit themselves. Raya is an apt disciple of her fathers ideals but unfortunately this leads to her falling for a ploy by the people of Fang to steal the Jewel, when she 'befreinds' the Fang Princess Namaari.

A battle ensues over the jewel that ends up shattering the macguffin of power, and releasing the Druun back into Kumandra. The Druun now unleashed upon the world begin to create a ruin. Transfroming anyone they come into contact with into stone. Raya's father saves her before being petrified himself.

As we fast forward Raya has become a cynical adult bent on finding the last dragon of legend in hopes that she can defeat the Druun, and return the world to the way it was, abandoning her hopes that the Kumandran tribes can ever be united. It should come as no suprise then that Raya does in fact discover the Last Dragon, Sisu. Sisu is a fun loving, comedic, and hyper energetic creatuer with a love for humanity and trusting nature that is at odds with Raya's trauma and cynicism, it also doesn't help that her special power is "swimming".

As they journey across the Dragon shaped land of Kumandra, they gain friends and face foes. Raya holding onto her hurt and refusing to trust the other peoples they meet enough to think that maybe Sisu is a Sacred being who is important to their cultures as well. It is this lack of trust that eventually leads to tragedy for Raya.

At this point I'm going to uncharacteristically avoid spoilers. Raya is left with the fall out of her distrust and must either turn to her survivor nature and endure this world the way it is, or put her trust in those that have wronged her and bravely and boldly take a leap of faithful expectation that a better world is possible. It's a Disney movie, so I'm sure you know where this goes, but I'm not going to give you the specifics. It's pretty sweet and powerful.

The Benediction

Best Creature Design: Tuk Tuk: Available at Target

I can't lie. I work on the road and I have to use the bathroom all over town if I need to. My secret for finding the cleanest place to go is to generally avoid gas stations and rest areas when I can help it and to hit up grocery stores and book stores etc. as often as possible. My favorite is a local target, the bathrooms are generally less in demand than a gas station, much cleaner, AND at target they usually have a starbucks so I can also grab some joe. All that said, I have seen these absolutely massive Tuk Tuk toys in the toy section and I'm going to buy them for all the kids that I know. I just think he's a fun creature. Im not a big enough fan of Raya to justify having this basketball sized toy in my collection, but I think that kids will love having a giant armadillo bear monster to pal around with.

Best Character: Dragon's Heart

Sisu is an endearing figure and her offbeat but kind nature reminds me exactly of my favorite kind of people to meet in the wild. It's hard to be a lover and not a fighter. It's hard to be so understanding. It is an archetype that we see all over any media with a semi-spiritual message and I don't think we've seen it with quite the comedic edge as Sisu. Aang from Avatar comes close, but his light hearted attitude is certainly on par with Sisu, his comedic sensibilities are decidedly less "on". It also kind of says something that I forget that I'm talking about a dragon here.

Worst Aspect: Rayatar the Last Water Dragon

Alright, this might be a hot take but. Avatar: The Last Air Bender did it better. I can't call it parallel thinking as Raya came out almost a decade after Avatar. The two are playing off of very basic heroes journey style narratives that have existed in human story telling for longer than either show so it's completely unfair to claim that Raya was "ripping off" Avatar, BUT it's also a bit naïve to think that Disney wasn't banking on familiarity to move some product. Disney usually goes after public domain properties and fairy tales we are all vaguely familiar with and that's no accident. There's a clear pattern that people gravitate toward the familiar, it's why franchises won't just die. It's why they can repackage all their animated films into mediocre live action form and sell you the exact same movie over and over again. Even if the plot of Raya didn't have similarities to Avatar, which it does, the marketing certainly was attempting to banking on the beloved animated series.

When Raya was first coming out i saw a lot of people claiming that the fashions and character designs were copying Avatar and guys, that's kind of racist. Both shows are creating fantasy worlds with heavy influences from East and South Asian cultures. There's going to be some things that to a white American eye look pretty homogenous, although I'm sure with a little education are in fact very distinct. So as far as the "look", my only gripe is with the Logo.

Now, all that said. If you do want a show where an American animation company created a lore heavy fantasy world that draws heavy inspiration from Asian history and folklore, where a group of special spiritual individuals were wiped out but one remains and is the only hope of uniting a world populated by nations of people with very basic easy to remember names like "fire, and fang, and heart, and earth", where the chosen one is a goofy pacifist who uses the power of love and spiritual values to pull an impossible victory out of their butt at the last minute, but it still makes you cry and want to be a better person, then I have good news for you. You're spoiled for choice, I'm not gonna say Raya "copied" Avatar, BUT ... Avatar did do that particular story better. It may be a bit unfair, as Avatar had three seasons to do so and Raya had like an hour and a half.

Best Weapon: Shifty Sword

I just like Ranma's sword. I'm gonna use this category when I see an extra cool weapon. Oh man! When I review Flying Guillotine am I really going to have to talk about how bad ass the flying gullotine is?

Rayas weapons is actually not a sword at all but is called the Jade Dragon Keris. A Keris is an asymetrical indonesian dagger, and no it doesn't turn into a whip like in the movie, but it is cool that hers does that. The animators really do some creative things with that.

Summary

Raya is unfortunately shaping up to be one of Disney's forgettable features. I think that's a shame as it's stronger in my opinion than many of the recent films that have come out. But as is the case when Disney does a lot of it's more 'action/adventure' films, audiences seem to largely ignore them. Here's to you Treasure Planet. The good news is those movies do have the most passionate and interesting fans. The appeal is more focused than it is broad, and that's okay. As pointed out above, don't expect Raya to give you anything new, but if this is your kind of story then I'm sure you'll be happy to add it to your collection. There's room enough for lots of these.

Overall Grade: C

[plinys]

Hiveoph where she wants him to fuck her so she can hurt Fitz but Hive won't touch her

She doesn't want to do this. 

Doesn't want his hands on her. 

Doesn't like the way the feel. 

Cold and unwelcome, resting on her thighs, where she's spread them apart for him, leaning back against the council table.

The meeting isn't for another hour which means - 

“Fuck me,” she says, “Like you fuck her.”

It's a command. One given to him by the Head of Hydra, a command that should not be denied, not with the force she puts into her voice. Her father taught her how to speak like this, how to carry her voice into battle how to demand things of men that were loyal to her. 

She is a commander.

And he is one of her men.

And yet he does not move. Does not raise his hands higher up her skirt, like Leopold would had she said those words to him.

Leopold would not have hesitated. He would have taken her then and there, pushed her back up onto the table pulled her panties down and - 

“You don't want to do this,” he says. 

She hates that he somehow knows this, can sense this about her. They're not lovers, not friends, colleagues at the most, someone she spends time with to hurt the man that has hurt her.

And he won't even fuck her.

She knows that she's good looking. Knows that no man should hesitate when presented with her willing body.

Knows that she should offer no man her body, none other than the man she made her vows too, in a private ceremony far from the pomp and circumstance of their lives. And yet, she needs this now.

Has needed it ever since her PA, showed up with a sideways glance and photographs of her husband kissing Stephanie Malick against the side of her car. Of her husband pressing Stephanie Malick’s skirt up to-

“Please,” she says, sharply and suddenly.  Because she may not want him, but she wants Leopold to hurt and she knows not else how to hurt him. “Please.”

It is a weakness to beg this man for this. 

She knows this.

Knows that begging is not the thing his superior should have to do, but it is what a woman does, occasionally when there is something she wants so -

“I won’t fuck an unwilling woman,” he says. As if he, that thing that she knows him to be. Actually has manners, has rules that he must abide by. 

“I’m not unwilling,” she protests, “I’m asking for it. I’m asking for you to-” 

He kisses her. 

A hand that had been on her thigh moving up to push against her  back, forcing her closer to him. He kisses her and she opens her mouth, to prove her willingness. Moves her mouth against his and moans an almost pretty noise, a fake noise. She’s faked noises before, for Leopold, so much that it seems second nature to do so. 

She can do this.

She can push past the guilt and pain.

The sickness that turns in her stomach.

The way she does not feel pleasure, does not feel her body reacting and wanting him, does not feel anything a numbness and a determination to do this as payback.

He stops kissing her as suddenly as he started, biting down on her lip hard enough to draw blood and a gasp from his lips as he moves backwards.

Their eyes meet for a moment, and he knows she must see the truth. Must know that he was right. It suddenly seems easier not to look at him. 

“Madame,” a title, her title, falling from his lips. Whereas other things he had called her Ophelia. More like friends than coworkers, perhaps they were... “We’re not doing that again.”

She hates the feeling of relief that washed over her.   

She hadn’t wanted to.

She hadn’t wanted him.

But Leopold - 

“He’s fucking your wife,” she says, her voice breaking over the word. Her chest tight. Her eyes burning. “I’ve seen photographs, he-”

“I’m taking care of that.” 

She does not know what those words mean.

She does not know whether she should be happy or concerned for her husband. 

“I want them to feel like we do,” she confesses. 

Even though she is not certain yet what she feels. Not certain how she is supposed to feel. 

He nods at this.

Seems to accept this. 

“What’s your pain tolerance?”

A question that seems so far out of left field that Ophelia blinks, taken back momentarily. For years, she was certain that the only thing she could feel was pain. 

“I can handle it.” 

Another nod, before he takes her wrist his. Squeezing down, though Ophelia does not gasp out in pain, she has long since learned to handle this. He does the same with her other a moment later. 

Suddenly it becomes clear.

There are ways to paint an assumption without intent.

She wonders briefly what he is getting out of this. Enabling her. Putting strife in an already strife filled marriage. She does not ask. Certain that if she did, she would only hear a lie.

Ophelia has heard enough lies from the men in her to last a lifetime.

Why not make a like of her own. 

He squeezes down, hands resting against her hips, but over the cover of her dress, bruises Leopold will find later, will stare at a moment too long before sinking between her thighs and making her forget the man that put them there.

While Ophelia runs her own hand through her hair, mixing up the tresses so that they seem not as well put together as before. 

With her lip still bloodied and swollen from his kiss it creates a pretty picture. 

The picture of an affair that does not exist.

The picture that Leopold will see when he enters the room for the High Council meeting. Hurt in his eyes just for a moment, before replaced by anger, and then finally resignation as he takes his seat.

The picture that will lead to him holding onto her when everyone else has left the room, when the meeting has finished, his voice tight and eyes just a bit more watery than they should be. 

As he asks, “Do you still love me?”

She will pride herself on her resolve, and the way she forces her own voice to be hard, as she returns his question, “Do you?”

[wr1t3-my-wr0ngs]

Farewell, Chapter 2/2

It's a year before he sees her again.

The farm grows slowly, but as Lothal recovers and the Galaxy needs less and less resistance help to remove the remaining Imperial presence, Rex is able to spend more time with his hands in the soil.

He's planting Biituian Orange trees (they won't produce fruit for another three years, and the thought that he may never see their first harvest is not lost on him) when he hears a shuttle land by the house.

Wiping sweat from his brow and dust from his hands, Rex stands and makes his way over to greet his visitor.

Despite the cloak and their back being to him, Rex's heart jumps at the sight of Montrals beneath the grey fabric. When she turns, he can't help the smile that stretches across his face.

She smiles back, in a way he can't remember her doing since she was still a padawan: open and joyous and carefree.

One day becomes two, becomes a week, becomes a year.

She stays in fits and bursts, at first in the spare room, her things packed away neatly ready to be collected at a moments notice, the job of a Jedi never truly done. Over time they spread out; a toothbrush in the bathroom, her preferred blend of caf in the cupboards, until it eventually becomes her sabers next to his their bed, her armor by the bedroom door, his head tucked under her chin as they lay together beneath light sheets in the heat of a summer night.

It's not perfect; she has her duties; he has his. They argue and they fight, learn each others edges and curves in this new domestic world, learn to fit together as Rex and Ahsoka, not Captain and Commander.

On days when she doesn't have to go, when the fledgling Jedi order does not demand the assistance of their greatest Knight, she is in the fields beside him—directing the hired hands as needed, entertaining curious younglings that come to see for themselves two legends of the rebellion, dirt-stained and beautiful.

When she must go, her ships leave early in the morning, and despite the protest of his knees in the cold air Rex is always there to see her off. Leans in to press a kiss to her dark lips, his beard brushing her face, feeling her smile at the sensation. Watches as she climbs the ramp, her grey cloak swishing about her ankles, and stays there until her ship is nothing more than a speck in the sky.

The days (weeks, sometimes the occasional month) that she is gone pass in a regular fashion, filled with the farm, friends, and sometimes a mission of his own. It would be a lie to say that he does not count them, does not miss her warmth in bed, or her half-awake shuffling to the caf maker in the mornings.

She's been gone for three days, and the sun beats down on the clone's neck as he winds his way through the open market, passing stalls of fruit and parts and various other things, having purchased his necessities and now just wandering, letting the idle chattering of the crowd wash over him.

From the corner of his eye, Rex spots the glinting of metal, and he finds himself standing in front of a jewelers stall, looking over a selection of bands and rings, occasionally dotted with a brightly colored stone.

The stall owner chatters away as he looks over the assemblage, more curiosity than actual interest when one set towards the back catches his attention. Brushed steel shines in the the afternoon sun, faint scratches and grooves that catch the light and remind the clone of worn lightsaber handles, utilitarian and elegant. Of course, the ring fits, and in the depths of his mind, he hears General Kenobi mutter about the force working in mysterious ways. The stall owner mistakes the smile on his face for joy at having found the perfect gift; Rex doesn't correct him and tucks the small box into his jacket.

His speeder bike hums as it flys over the grassy fields around his home, not an overly long ride, but long enough that by the time he sees the ranch in the distance, the sky is beginning to darken. When he arrives, the lights are on, and as he dismounts the bike he throws the bag over his shoulder while his other hand reaches for his hip, fingers brushing over where his service weapon used to sit out of pure habit, before the aroma of cooking stew reaches him and he relaxes.

Sure enough, standing in the kitchen, stripped down to her leggings and undershirt, humming along to the radio while mindfully watching over a simmering pot, is Ahsoka.

He takes a moment to lean against the doorway and drink in the sight of her, from the movement of her hips as she lightly dances to the sway of her rear head-tail. The music changes, and so do her movements, in time with the now slow staccato beat. Its when he catches her grin over her shoulder that he knows he's been caught in his silent watching, suspects that she knew the whole time.

Walking past the table, Rex sets down the bag, hardly pausing before he's behind her, hands on her hips and chin hooked over her shoulder.

"You're back early."

She leans back into his chest, and he can feel her smile where their faces touch.

"Surprised?"

He hums in response, and kisses her on the cheek.

"Its a good surprise, though."

They stand there for a few minutes, the music softly playing in the background as the aroma of stew fills the air. Rex eventually lets go and pulls of his jacket and begins setting the table.

The food, as always when Ahsoka cooks, is delicious — but Rex knows he could be eating rations in the rain, and it would still be the best meal he has had as long as he's sharing it with her. The conversation flows, and they swap stories of what their time apart held, why her assignment to Mon Cala was cut short, how the new farmhand is working out, no detail too small to be not of interest.

When the two are done, he clears the table, puts away the leftovers, and is halfway through washing up when he hears a soft gasp behind him.

He dries his hands and turns, only to be caught motionless at the wide-eyed and open-mouthed (wondrous his mind supplies) look on Ahsoka's face as she stares down at the Togrutan wedding bands in her hands, his jacket a heap on the floor.

Slowly, oh so slowly, she looks up at him.

His heart thunders in his chest, and suddenly he doesn't feel Thirty-Seven/Seventy-Four, doesn't feel like an old grizzled war veteran, forgets for a moment that he's a clone that outlived the purpose he was bred for.

In that moment he's Rex, just a man, feeling like a shiny standing for his first inspection, confident and nervous all at once.

It's her voice that sets time back in motion, (and it's fitting that it's his name from her lips that calls him back, knows he would follow has followed that call across the galaxy so long as it's her calling).

He finds his feet and walks over to her, answering that call, cups her hands in his holding onto the box together. And he couldn't stop this hope that has bloomed in his chest if he wanted to, the kind of hope that hurts for how full it makes you feel (he doesn't want to, made a choice a long time ago on a barren, frozen planet, to hope in Ahsoka Tano, and twenty-odd years haven't changed that).

She launches herself at him, all twelve inches of space gone in a moment, wraps her arms around his neck. And he laughs, lifts her off her feet and spins around, her shouts of "Yes! Yes! Yes!" the sweetest benediction he had ever known.

And he knows that she cannot stay, would never ask that of her, but the knowledge that she always returns, that it is him and his side that she has chosen to call her home is all the sweeter for it.

In the end, he's the one to leave.

Two years later, three years after the fall of Endor, with the scent of Biituian blossoms that will bear no fruit hanging in the air, he knows his time is up. He had hoped for longer, but it was a faint thing, knows the ins and outs of Kaminoan cloning too well to have truly fooled himself. Even if he didn't, he can feel it in his bones, almost a voice in the back of his head that become him to rest.

Of course he tells her, does not want this to be one more thing that the Galaxy pulls on her without warning. But from the way her hands grip his over the table, the sadness (but not surprise) that fills her eyes, he suspects that she already knew. Her grip tightens, and sunlight glints off the ring on his finger, matching the shine from the steel bangle secured on her right head-tail.

And he is sorry, so very sorry that he has to march ahead of her. But he is relieved, too. After so long wondering when and how and who would be his death (In battle? Friendly fire? An Imp, or a brother?), to finally know is as freeing as it is horrible.

They do not work in the fields that day, leaving the running of the farm to others, instead spending the day with each other, holding, talking, memorizing.

He can see her mask of composure cracking, so he pulls her close, trying to offer what comfort he can before he can't, not sure if he's making it better or worse, uncaring of the dampness that has collected in his shirt from her tears (more then aware of his own as they slip down his cheeks and into his beard).

He makes her a cup of tea, and hands it to her. Asks if she want to stay, (not to stay — never that, not even for this, no matter how much he doesn't want to be alone), because he understands if she doesn't, and even with puffy eyes, red from crying, she fixes him with a look. It calls him crazy, a idiot — her idiot, and even to the end his heart flips over itself at the thought — and she tells him as much.

Night falls and they settle into the couch, his head resting lightly on her shoulder, a blanket spread over the two of them keeping away the chill. Perhaps its childish, the way that he fights off sleep, despite having spent a day months, years preparing. Beside him, he can tell Ahsoka is still awake, knows that she will sit a vigil all night, and it is that knowledge more then anything that lets him slip his eyes shut.

As the darkness pulls him in, he swears he can feel the ghost of her breath on his skin as she whispers her farewell.

------

And because I feel really evil leaving it at this (even though this IS the end of this part of the story), take a sneak peek at part 3.

Its the feel of the planet, the taste of the air, burned into his memory in a way that few things are.

He knows beyond any measure of doubt where he is, when he is: it's the start of what would lead to the worst day of his life. Worse even, then finding out the news that Ahsoka had fallen to the hands of Vader.

Umbara.

But that's not right. It can't be right. Confusion swirls round in his mind, the memory of her smile crisp and clear and impossible. Not if he's right (he wishes he wasn't, but every sense is screaming that he's back, and after years of surviving on his intuition he trusts it).

His arms around her.

Impossible.

The sight of her markings, stretched and grown, as they stand before a dying fire at the end of the war.

Impossible.

Unless...

And his mind —the part that wants to believe, to hope— catches on to the flaw in this pattern of denial. If it was a dream, how could he know about this place? If it was a dream, how could he know about Krel, Dogma, the treachery?

Impossible.

He scrubs a hand down his face, jarred by the lack of a beard, familiar and foreign all at once, and the feel of cool metal scraping his skin.

He pulls his hands away to look at them and for the third time that morning his heart catches in it's chest because it's there. Solid and silver, and very very real.