#totally agree Geode thanks for stopping in!!

[charmwasjess]

I think Rael Averross could have saved Anakin. If somehow after he had avenged his mom but before he got married if Obi-Wan had sent him off to spend a few weeks with Uncle Rael he could have sorted that boy out.

I think a lot about this. Anakin came to the Temple as an older child and fitting in was hard? Yeah, Rael too. He wants to do street racing instead of study? Yeah, Rael too. In love with Padme? Why don't you two just fuck, get it out of your system, kid. I bet a little weed would mellow Anakin out - turns out, Uncle Rael is selling it.

I'm having fun of course, but I actually think that Rael could have done a really good job. I love the scene in the Master and Apprentice novel where he explains Dooku's eccentricities to Padawan Qui-Gon "he can seem stiff because he IS stiff" - the way that he's funny, empathetic and understanding, but there's so much love. He wants Qui-Gon to feel reassured and laugh, but also to understand Dooku, who Rael clearly loves deeply - he was hugging him and joking with him the scene before. He cares about the lineage and views himself as a part of that family with a vested interest in helping them grow and work together. With Qui-Gon dead and Dooku gone, Rael could have been a really strong, positive figure for both Anakin and Obi-Wan both when they were starting out.

[letsgofoletsgo]

A Wander Through the Weald

(Heyo! I’ve wanted to write a Postwickshipping fic for awhile now, so I hope you like it! <3)

It had been one month since Gloria defeated the “Unbeatable Champion” Leon. The greatest champion Galar ever seen had been dethroned Sometimes Gloria couldn't believe it herself. It seemed like just yesterday that he had given her and his younger brother, Hop, a Pokemon in Postwick. Gloria remembered the journey alongside her next-door rival fondly, challenging each other and exploring the region. 

While she relished in her victory in the semifinals, part of her heart ached when she remembered Hop’s face. He appeared to take the loss in stride, yet she couldn't help but notice the sorrow in his eyes. He did end up somewhat confiding in her about his new sense of misdirection in a battle of all things. However, he did find a new path after aiding in the Dynamax crisis; Sonia offered for him to study and help her in the Pokemon Lab, which he accepted. Gloria was happy for her friend, and was eager to see what discoveries he might make. 

The new Champion hadn’t seen her friend in weeks, and was missing him quite a bit. So she decided to drop in for a visit one warm, spring day. 

-

“Hop! You have a visitor!”

The boy looked up from his desk. He had a textbook open and was in the middle of jotting something down. He placed down his pencil and turned around to see Gloria enter his room with a bright smile. 

“Gloria!” Hop’s own face lit up as he rose and hugged her. “It’s so great to see you!”

“Likewise!” The two let go. “I haven’t seen you in forever, so I thought I’d pay you a little visit.” 

“Heh, you’re right, guess you’re busy with all your fancy champion business,” he teased. 

“Well, it’s more like I’ve been training to take on the battle tower for the last few weeks, if that’s what you mean.” 

“Oh yeah! I remember you telling me about that. You recon you’re almost ready?” 

“I think so. Gotta smooth the edges a bit with my team, but I’m pretty sure we’re nearly set.” 

“Sweet! Well, I wish you luck!” He smiled. 

“Thanks, mate. So, since I’m not doing anything today, do you think I could pull you away from your studies for a couple hours and go for a walk maybe?” 

“Oh, uh, I’d really like to, but I kinda still have some work left-”

“Don’t worry about it Hop, you’ve been working pretty hard and I think you deserve a break,” Sonia chimed in, grabbing a notebook from a shelf. 

“Er- Really? Awesome, thanks!” 

“Hehe, well then, it’s a date!” Gloria said cheerfully. 

 Hop’s heart briefly skipped a beat when she said that, and a brief blush spread across his face. He caught Sonia giving him a brief smirk before heading upstairs.

“So, you ready?”

“Y-Yeah! Totally, let’s go!” He stuttered a bit, resisting the urge to facepalm. 

The two headed South from the lab, walking down Route 1. The sun shone gently along the grass and leaves, which rustled from an occasional skittering Skwovet or fluttering Rookidee. There were scattered clouds in the sky, casting long, misshapen shadows across the distant rolling hills. Wooloo were peacefully grazing or sleeping in the surrounding pens, and the two made a game of trying to count them all. As they approached Postwick, Hop began to explain what sort of things he and Sonia were studying; the key differences between Dynamax and Gigantimax, what causes a Pokemon to change form during the latter, etc. They had formed a theory that it may be related to Mega Evolution in the Kalos region. He was about to go into the genetic specifics that he knew of, when they realized they reached the gate in front of Gloria’s house. 

“Ah, seems we have reached the entrance to thy Slumbering Weald,” Gloria commented poshly, to which Hop giggled. “If you think about it, our journey kinda started here, didn’t it?”

“Yeah, you’re right; remember when we saw Zacian for the first time? And you tried to fight it?” 

“I do! And we were knocked out for like, ten minutes. Imagine if your brother found us like that!” She laughed. 

He laughed too, yet remembered how close his face was to hers when he awoke, and could feel a pink tint return to his face again.

“So… What do you say we take a stroll through the woods again? For old times sake?” Gloria suggested. 

“Sure, fine with me.” 

With that, she swung open the gate and proceeded through. She then skipped on ahead of Hop, then turned back to him near the entrance, looking at him with that familiar, glowing smile.

He wished he could tell her how wonderful that smile made him feel. 

“Gloria, wait up!” He stopped a moment. “Woah, where did all the fog go?” 

“I guess it lifted? It does feel weird being able to see farther than five feet in here.”

To their surprise, the thick fog that normally enveloped the Slumbering Weald had disappeared a fair amount. There was still a thin layer on the ground and rolling along the tiny hills, but it allowed the sun to shine through the leaves and reflected across the dew hanging on the foliage. 

“Cmon, lets see what sort of things we can spot here now that it’s clear,” Gloria piped in. 

“Hey, I bet I can find more cool things that you,” He challenged with a smirk. 

“Oh, you think so? How ‘bout we see then?” 

The two rivals proceeded to wander about the Weald, pointing out weirdly crooked trees, large rocks that jutted out of the ground, oddly-colored plants and berries, the like. While having fun with their little expedition, Hop found his eyes on Gloria several times. He saw how face eyes lit up as she found a pretty leaf, or how she laughed as she poked a cluster of funny-looking mushrooms. He noticed how her eyes marveled in wonder as she looked inside a split tree or turned over a rock. Seeing her having fun and exploring the world around her brought a genuine smile to his face. The sun beaming onto her pale complexion also happened to complement her face wonderfully, and he couldn’t help but stare... 

“Yo! Earth to Hop!”

The boy snapped out of his trance with a dumbfounded look. She rolled her eyes slightly before walking up to him.

“I wanted you to see this rock I found,” she presented a stone about the size of her palm; it has a typically craggy surface, but upon her turning it around, showed an almost rainbow-colored crystallization inside.

“Wow, that’s one heck of a geode there!” He exclaimed, admiring the hues.

“You got anything else cool yet?” 

“Uhh, yeah,” Hop quickly scanned over his shoulder and dove for the nearest thing to him. 

“Check out this leaf!” He brought a decaying, frail leaf to her face, and in the process half of it flaked off. The ensuing silence felt like a jab in the gut. 

Gloria’s face scrunched a bit and she giggled. “You’re such a dork, you know that?” She said as she lightly hit him on the arm. “C’mon, if I’m right, I think we’re pretty close to the center of the Weald.” She turned and proceeded down the shady path. 

Hop processed that moment for a second before following- caught between the fluttery feeling of hearing her laugh and mentally kicking himself for his stupidity.

 After turning the bend on the faded path, he was pleasantly reminded of the splendid beauty of the hero’s shrine. The ancient structure stood in front of a still lake, only occasionally rippling gently when a wild Pokemon would take a drink. The sunbeams swayed through the leaves, rustling ever so slightly.

“You know, no matter how many times I come here, I don’t think I’ll ever get over how beautiful this place is,” Gloria stepped onto the shrine, looking over the lake. 

As much as he agreed with her, Hop found himself more entranced with the girl in front of him. Her body looked illuminated against the lake, almost as if she was a legendary herself. The boy was speechless at her hauntingly ethereal appearance, yet wanted nothing more than to tell her how absolutely, stunningly gorgeous she was. 

��Hey, how about we sit for awhile?” She sat down on the side of the shrine facing the lake, hunching over a bit to look into the depths of the lake. 

He snapped out of his daze once again, following her and sitting next to her. He saw how the water reflected on her hazel eyes, creating a blueish projection onto her pupils. 

“Hop, is there something on your mind?” She asked bluntly. “You’ve been rather tense all afternoon.”

“Have I?” He would usually deflect with an “I’m fine”, but something felt different. He felt like this was the moment to tell her. He felt like he could tell her.

“Well, there is something I’ve been thinking about,” he began. “I know you’ve heard this from me a million times, but all my life I’ve wanted to prove I could live up to my brother, that I could be something more than him. Even after I became a trainer for real, everyone always saw me as Leon’s younger brother, the kid who aimed to beat the unbeatable champion.”

He sighed, and turned his face to hers. “But you always saw me as me. Not the champion’s little brother, not just another rival, but as me. As Hop.” 

She gave him an endearing smile. “Hop, you’re one of the most fun-loving, caring, zestful people I’ve ever met. You never let anything stop you, and you greet challenge and adversary with a smile. Even when things are looking down, you don’t give up and you keep going. I’ve admired that about you for as long as I’ve known you, how could I not?”

“Heh. For the longest time, I was wondering how anyone ever could.” He admitted with a slightly sorrowful tone. “What I’m trying to get at Gloria, is… Well, I won’t lie; You’re one of the best things that has ever happened to me.”

Gloria stared at him in shock. Hop just fixed his sight into the water, afraid to meet her gaze. 

“Hop, I… I don’t know what to say, I’m…” A bit impulsively, she leaned against him, causing the boy to tense a bit. 

“You know, our journey across Galar, I have a lot of fond memories of it. From meeting so many amazing people, learning things about Pokemon I never would have guessed, to building and training my team, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. That journey helped me see who I am and what I want. But, thing is, you were one of my favorite parts of it too. We always helped each other, and you wouldn’t turn your back on me no matter what. You were always so excited to hurry to the next town or challenge me to a battle. You made it all so much fun. And because of that, I’d say you’re one of the best things to happen to me too.” 

Hop couldn’t quite describe the feeling in his chest. It was a mix of disbelief, anxiety, wonder- but mostly pure joy. He didn’t say anything, rather just wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She returned the embrace, and sighed contentedly against his shoulder. He placed his head atop hers, nudging her green hat a bit and nestling into the scent of her soft, brunette hair. 

The two remained at the shrine until the moonlight glistened across the lake, neither wanting the moment to end.

[nin-jay-go]

Shadows of Envy - Chapter 1

When you dismiss a dark thought, where do they go? To your shadows, of course. Kai’s jealousies get the best of him, and he gives into the temptation of the darkness, his own shadow posessing him. Yeeted from his body, Kai must figure out how to stop his shadow from ruining absolutely everything and hurting the people he loves.

Tagged on my blog as either Shadows of Envy or ekau 3!

Contains no romantic pairings aside from Pixane and hinted Geode

It was a quiet night at the Destiny's Bounty. Too quiet. It was WAYYY too quiet and Kai was getting a bit restless. To kill his boredom, he took to pacing through the halls while performing some Neat Sword Tricks. Flipping it around, spinning around with it, setting it on fire, the usuals.

Eventually, he paced right into the living room, where everyone else was gathered. Cole floated on the couch near Jay, who was bouncing his leg and fiddling with his gi. Zane was probably asleep already, as was Nya, but Lloyd still wasn't. The green ninja sat on the floor near the couch, reading a Fritz Donovan comic, which Jay was looking at somewhat wistfully.

Kai's preparations for starting up a conversation from the doorway were thwarted when Cole took that job from him. “Ugh, I hate not being able to sit on a couch anymore,” he complained. “I just gotta float above it now, instead of actually making contact…”

Jay pat the ghost's shoulder as best as he could and laughed. “You don't like being a ghost? I would've died to become a ghost!” A round of chuckles came from the room's occupants.

“I mean, becoming the Green Ninja and growing up was an experience too,” Lloyd spoke up. “Would it be any better than, uh dying?”

Cole gave an uncomfortable chuckle. “Well I'm mostly fine! I don't get hungry anymore so there's that…”

Jay put a finger up to his face, scratching at it slightly. “Wow, you two have really gone through some rough shit over the time we've been ninjas. It leads me to wonder,” he continued, crossing his legs, “has something exciting and life-changing happened to all of us?”

“I'd say so, yea!” “Yea probably.”

“Ok ok so,” Jay started, “we have you,” he pointed at Cole, “who died and became a ghost, you,” this time at Lloyd, “grew up and got ‘chosen by destiny’ as the Green Ninja-”

“And got possessed by my weird emo cousin and then forced to watch my dad die… twice in a row,” Lloyd added. The others got a good laugh at that traumatizing memory. “What about you, Jay?”

“Well, I was bitten by the Serpentine at one point and almost turned into one. Plus, I kinda found out something pretty big recently..” He panicked slightly when Cole and Lloyd stated expectedly. “It-its private personal stuff!! Nothing you two should worry about, nope totally not haha!” He waved them off quickly.

“Well, uh, Nya became the water ninja,” Lloyd continued, shrugging it off, “and Zane turned out to be a robot.”

“That and the only one with a functional relationship right now,” Cole quipped.

Kai, still semi-eavesdropping, now realized he was the only one not talked about. Either he had some SUPER life-changing event, or…

“What about Kai?” “Kai? Has he had a cool thing happen to him?” “Not that I remember… Oh! He had Chen's staff for a bit!” “Yea, like for a length of not even a minute.” “His sister got kidnapped?” “That adds onto more of a Nya thing though…” “He got addicted to twitter! That counts, right?” “Jay, no.”

They continued debating but Kai didn't want to hear any more. He heard the truth right then and there- he had an absolutely boring life. There was nothing to be talked about. He was worthless. So he left. He walked out of the doorway and onto the patio, sword strapped on his back. Looking into the forest they were currently parked over, he took a deep breath and jumped, activating his Airjitzu on the way down. He needed to release some steam.

The forest was awash with beautiful greens and blues, basking in the light of a full moon. Light crunching noises of twigs sounded underneath Kai's feet as he trudged through. Eventually, he made it to a clearing. A few tall bits of grass lined the trees, and a stump sat in the center.

He went over and flopped himself down onto the stump. Crossing his arms, he began to grumble. “Stupid everyone, thinking they're better than me, being special. Nya and Zane have cool lives, Jay has some big secret, Cole DIED, and Lloyd is the goddamn green ninja! They all think they’re so special, they don’t care about how I also have a cool and special life too! I’m interesting! They’re all just some.. insensitive jerks!”

“Couldn’t agree with you more.”

“Yea, I know ri-” Kai stopped in his tracks when he heard a voice in the clearing. It was… somehow familiar. He stood up and looked around, scanning the area. “Who’s there? Who are you?”

He heard a snort. “That doesn’t matter too much. Just think of me as… someone who wants to help.”

“Help? Help who, me? I don’t need help. I’m just here to blow off some steam,” Kai continued searching, rooting around his memories for who’s voice that was.  

“Yea, but I get what you’re saying,” the voice continued. This got Kai interested. “You do?”

“Well yea, I do. You feel jealous, envious of your teammates and friends. They’re all special, they have exciting lives, and you’re not, and you hate that. I know what you’re thinking, dude.”

“...where are you going with this?”

“I can give you a deal. I can make you… special, like the others. You can finally brag to them about having a cool thing happen and they’d be put in their place. After all, they don’t really like you. They’re special…” “...and I’m not,” Kai finished. “You can do that? Make me cooler?”

“Would I lie?” “I literally just met you, dude, you might as well be.” “Fair enough.”

A soft breeze blew through the night. The moon glowed, full and pale overhead, casting shadows all over. Kai narrowed his eyes, continuing to scan the forest for the voice’s origin, despite noticing it resounding all around him. “What do I need to do?”

A chuckle. “It’s simple. I’m gonna need you to say something, just a phrase or two.” He raised a skeptical eyebrow, hoping the voice saw it. “Just… saying something? And I’ll be cooler?”

He could almost feel the voice nod. “Just repeat after me. Omnis ignis ab umbra..” The voice took on a darker feel, deeper and more threatening. This went unnoticed by Kai, who mulled it over in his head some before taking a deep breath.

“Omnis ignis ab umbra.” No sooner had the words left his mouth when the wind picked up around him and the moon seemed to get even brighter.

“Tenebrae praete eum,” came the voice from directly behind him. He turned around briskly to see nothing there but his own shadow. A shadow that had two red orbs staring straight at him and slowly glowing brighter. A section where the mouth should be parted.

“...et novam vitam accipere.” It finished, and Kai saw nothing but black.

When Kai opened up his eyes, he immediately felt something was off. His feet felt glued in place, and a sense of vertigo and weightlessness overcame him. Somehow he figured out he was on the floor, yet when he looked up he saw…

Himself. His own body standing there, motionless, staring out at the trees. Suddenly, his body began to shake. Seconds later, it was shuddering with peals of laughter escaping, from his own mouth. His head turned to where he was and snapped open his eyes.

They were horrifying.

Where his irises were once a dark brown, they were bright red, almost glowing red, staring daggers at his own. The whites were pitch black, dark as the shadows around him. They stared at Kai with a feeling of madness.

“Hey thanks, dude!” The voice said. His voice. “Thanks for letting me borrow your body for a bit! Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it for you while you’re afk.” He cracked his neck casually, not breaking eye contact. “Wh-what? Who the hell are you?!” Kai yelled. He tightened his hands into fists but it didn’t seem to do much. It didn’t even feel like he did it or not.

“...Yea I have no idea either,” the body-snatcher confessed. “I mean, we’re both exceptionally stupid, ain’t we?” He stretched his arm out. “But from what I gathered over how long we’ve been alive, I’m your shadow. I am every negative thought and bad action fused into one formless being, forced to follow you around and eat your thoughts you banish from your mind. They aren’t that tasty, not advertising them.”

“So… you’re my shadow? And, and you.. possessed me?” Kai tried to wrap his head around the situation. “And if you’re me then… then how did you know that spell, or wh-whatever that was that did this?”

His “shadow” clicked his tongue. “I just kinda knew the words for some reason! As for what it did, we most likely switched places!” He sneered with Kai’s mouth, an expression that shouldn’t look so at home on his scarred face, scars that looked paler than ever.

“But yea,” he continued, “clearly those guys need to be put into their places, since they think they’re all so special. Self-centered, all of them. I’m gonna borrow your body to get our vengeance, since I know you won’t.”

Kai did not like this one bit. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. Why was this happening?! He didn’t want to be here.

Seems like his brain listened, and he found his feet no longer glued to the ground, and the weightless feeling vanished. Opening his eyes, Kai found himself looking at his possessed body from a different angle, from the shades of the trees. His body looked around, and his gaze settled on him. Smirking, he closed his eyes.

“Well, at this point, I’m so filled with burning hatred I can’t be called Kai anymore, now can I?” Kai grasped his arm. It didn't feel all that solid. “What are you proposing?” His eyes opened, normal and brown once more. “How’s about you call me… uhh…” His eyes filled with confusion. Kai swore he heard him mutter “shit I didn’t think this far ahead uhh what’s a word for really hot- got it.” He cleared his throat. Pretending he didn’t mutter anything, he looked at Kai once more. “Call me Arid.”

“Arid...:” Kai rolled it around on his tongue. It fit such a dry, blazing shadow such as the one in his body. “Now that you have a name, I can call you out on shit you do. Just give my body back, Arid! I just felt a bit salty, you don’t gotta do anything bad to them!” “You don’t understand, Kai,” Arid stalked over to him. “Every bad thought you had belongs to me now. You felt salty, bitter, even, at your ‘friends’ for making fun of you, and wanted them to shut up.” He shrugged. “I’m just fulfilling your wishes, or I guess, my wishes now.”

He began to walk off. “H-hey wait! Where are you going?!” Kai called after him, running in his direction. The second his fingers left the shadows of the tree, they began to burn. He let out a yelp of pain and recoiled into the dark.

“Can’t go into the light now, can you?” Arid sneered. “You’re a shadow now, Kai. You don’t exist like I do anymore. Light will hurt you.”

“Duly noted…” Kai hissed back, cradling his hand. “Where are you going,” he restated.

Arid shrugged. “Back to the Bounty; where else am I supposed to go? I am Kai right now, after all.” He found the edge of the clearing and looked back at Kai. “Cya~!” He stuck out his tongue at him and spun into a flawless Airjitzu as he flew back to the Bounty, leaving Kai to stare up at the blinding moon.