#which is great because it sounds like some important clan thing so what is he in the clan now??)

[b1asho]

Erm, oc comic? Just click on the images idk how to change the image position formatting here yet :(

This is what I've been doing all this time, I need to practice putting these things together. I like some things and had fun, but it also looks kind of yucky.

Oh well

Featured here are Rinshi, a muttreazik, and their boss/sister Maro, a Sundyne who's been (violently) ousted from her extremely politically important clan (for terrorism and attempted assassination :D )

The two are hiding from authorities in the SEZ, and not having a great time in general.

Here's a buncha other info, aka i want to talk about my wretched ocs :

-Rinshi is a mancer, meaning they're a muttreazik with a degree of control over matter around them (think telekinesis). Their blue eyes aren't the result of my choice of coloring, thats the color they are all the time (a highly highly unusual color for muttreazik, even in the 'other' color category).

Rinshi is also a 'they' in the same way you'd call an animal an 'it' rather than a 'he' or 'she' if that makes sense. They don't think of themself as nonbibary in the human sense, instead it's more of an "outside of the binary and therefore a nonperson" way that Cerest use for xenos. It's the only option that's not male/female/he/she that they're aware of in this point in their life

Maro is a she (and VERY upset that it means she can't ascend to God emperor)

Rinshi is hunting with a nail that they’re controlling with their mind because that’s a lot easier than chasing down the alien rats yourself.

Normally this would be very easy for them but they’re kind of going through it right now, thus the major space-out and eye-bleed at the end (which normally happens to mancers who either overextend themselves or try to do stuff without any energy support from the body)

Not all Cerest-homeplanet animals have a decentralized nervous system like Cerest themselves do (such as these two animals, who have all their thinking meat in their head), but either way a shard of metal through the face isn’t good for anything

There are pockets of Cerest wildlife in the SEZ if you look for them hard enough, which Rinshi has to do because they’re currently in the outer reaches of it away from any inhabited districts where you could just buy/steal meat products. They're spending a considerable amount of time doing this since they're trying to keep a large hypercarnivore alive right now.

Maro got her face and torso cut up pretty bad during her.uh. Incident. Luckily Cerest heal fast, though infection and only eating rats has complicated and prolonged things. They’re currently living in an old habitat pod, which she can hardly leave thanks to the healing process (which has left her pretty much unable to walk. If she could, she'd definitely be the one doing the hunting because she has fewer qualms about killing things than rinshi does.)

This conversation is pretty out of character for her, but like she said, it's boring spending most of your time asleep in a garbage heap rather than pursuing your ambitions of ruling the world. Thankfully, she can always just ask her trusty retainer about things they don’t want to talk about.

‘et kerusit’ is just the Cerest version of like ‘my liege’ but specifically in the Sundyne female context and specifically for someone in Maro’s (former) rank/position in her (former) clan. "Princess" is also a pretty close analog but neither really sounded right so I made up some words. "Retainer” is the closest word I could find for what Rinshi is to Maro, and it fits fairly well (there is probably a better word out there but i like the old-timey knight vibe) they were originally employed to her clan as basically her little assistant and mandatory friend/bodygaurd/ally/etc. This happened mostly as an insult to her because that role should normally fall to a fellow sundyne and not a 'lesser species', but she has made it work.

I'm still testing this out but the Cerest language conventions are also why the question marks are out front most of the time, they don't change tone to indicate a question and instead just say an "I'm asking you a question" word at the start.

Rinshi also has a sort of stutter no matter what language they're speaking, with different words and sounds causing prolongations or repetitions. They didn't have any kind of support for the issue growing up, so theyre not great at managing it. So that's why some of their words are like that

The aforementioned rank difference is also why Maro gets 2 << instead of 1 when speaking (she's using a different enunciation of words to indicate her status, as is Rinshi. Basically ï for royalty i for commoner, or something. If they were speaking a Drecu dialect rather than a Sundyne one, their words would be in these things -> [[ ) .

As I’ve mentioned up there, they see each other more like siblings in their own mini clan (but she definitely calls the shots in their relationship )

Muttreazik think rebirth is real and they’re kind of right (at least within their own species). Rinshi does NOT want to dwell on where they used to live but those ideas were drilled in at a very young age.

[elbiotipo]

Quick worldbuilding hack, if you want to make a coherent political system for your fantasy world:

Basically, between the fall of Rome and early modern times, in Europe* most political organization wasn't actually kingdoms ruled by One True King like it's usual in fantasy, but something like this:

Feudalism: here, the center of power was not the nation (there was little concept of such thing) or the state, and not even the King, but the landowners (from kings to dukes to counts...) and their network of vassalages to each other. There were no "countries" but rather hereditary titles, and the people who held them. There was little of a true state besides what individual rulers did; they didn't even have formal armies as such, but rather the vassals who provided them, they and could have multiple allegiances. Examples are of course the Holy Roman Empire (neither holy, etc. etc.) France (note that the 100 Years War was a dispute about titles rather than France vs. England), Spain (actually a bunch of kingdoms and crowns rather than a country), etc...

"Empires": A state where a central goverment exerts power over other territories and peoples. These are rather familiar to us, because a formal state exists here, and the ruler is more powerful and often does have a standing arming and administration instead of relying on vassals. Here, there is a bureacracy and a claim to rule a territory, and while they might have vassals and prominent artistocratic families (everyone did) their administration was state-based, not allegiance based. The Roman Empire is the most imperial empire, as well as its cringefail successor the Byzantine Empire, but note that the great Islamic empires also had this kind of administration, with governors appointed and confirmed by the imperial court.

City-States: Basically a powerful city (though they were often the size of small towns, still, very rich) ruled by a local aristocracy, sometimes hereditary, sometimes elected from a few families or guilds, or a mix of both, and in some cases ruled by religious authorities. These could be independent or organized in alliances, but were often vassals of more powerful goverments such as above. Cities are in many way the building brick of larger states; of note, in the Ancient Mediterranean before Rome conquered it all, leagues of city-states were the main powers. Medieval and Early Modern independent city states were the Italian city states of course, and a famous league was the Hansa (many of its members themselves vassals of other powers)

Tribes and Clans: Every culture is different with this, but basically here the centre of power is the relationships between families and kinship. If this sounds familiar to Feudalism, you've been paying attention; Feudalism is what happened when the Roman empire and administration fell, and it was replaced by landowners and their ties of vassalage and allegiances.

Now, besides the history lesson, why is this important? Because there are reasons why rulers had their power, and you should know that.

A king never ruled alone. He was only the head of nobles tied by vassallage (feudalism), or the head of a inherited state bureaucracy and army ("empire"). If you killed the king, another one would rise from the prominent families. Often by bloody civil wars or conquest yes, but the system overall would stay. A king did not reign by its own power or virtue, but because the system itself supported him, and of course, he maintained the system.

A new king who wants to replace the bad old king (a common fantasy storyline) needs to also deal with the allegiances of all its vassals (who would probably rather kill him and take the throne themselves) or build a bureaucracy and an army, supremely expensive endeavors in those times, which took decades if not centuries to build. In fact, the Byzantines and the Arabs inherited most of their state aparatus, in one way or the other, from the Romans.

This is also why these systems lasted so long, too. The appearance of modern republics and other systems of goverment needed the coordination of people and revolutions that did not just kill the king, but also replace it with something else, and for that you need literacy, economic changes, an empowered populace... But that's for another time.

I hope this is fucking helpful because I don't want to spell allegiance ever again.

*I would love to do more about goverments outside Europe, especially Precolombine American ones like the redistrubitionist state-based economy of the Incas, or the Mesoamerican city-states. But that's for another time.

[gravitywonagain]

Inquiring Minds

holy shit, i finished a thing. well, a draft of a thing, but still counts!

based on this post about wwx being just dead enough be susceptible to the compulsion of inquiry

--

It was, in retrospect, the stupidest possible way to be found out. Wei Wuxian will readily admit that. Unfortunately, the level of stupidity was not a determining factor for the level of reality — as was the case for so much of Wei Wuxian’s life.

It all happened because one of the two dozen Jin disciples who bothered to show up to the war got a little drunk and a lot prideful and ended up starting a fight he couldn’t finish. Or, that was the going theory, anyway. The Jin leadership — such as it was — wanted an investigation done. As if they had nothing better to do. As if there weren’t reasons to be conserving spiritual power and not wasting it playing Inquiry for a guy who had decided to pick a fight — hopefully, hopefully it was a fight — with a Nie disciple who, granted, did not have the startling musculature of some of her shixiongs, but was still a fucking Nie disciple! 

This guy was not worth their time. This guy was not worth Lan Zhan’s time. Or his attention, or his spiritual power, or the stress it would put on his guqin strings— okay, maybe Wei Wuxian should have taken a moment to purge some of his resentment before walking into the tent. 

But he didn’t. This is important. 

Because then Lan Zhan began to play. 

And there was this strange… tugging sensation in the pit of Wei Wuxian’s gut, right where his golden core was supposed to be, pulling him toward Lan Zhan, or toward the empty space in front of Lan Zhan. 

Wei Wuxian shouldn’t have ignored it. He gets that now. He does. But he always wanted to be near Lan Zhan, and his body had been doing all kinds of weird shit since he’d had his core cut out, and who was to say this wasn’t just another weird side effect. 

Well. It was. A weird side effect. After a fashion. 

But that’s not the point! 

He should have noticed then. He should have left then. But he didn’t. 

The melody changed and the tugging sensation stopped. Which was great! 

Until something else started. It felt like a kind of drunkenness, light and hazy in his head, loose around his tongue. Three or four bowls in. 

He shook himself to dislodge it, but the motion only drew a sharp glare from Jiang Cheng. 

The tent was full of spectators. At least two representatives from each major clan were present, plus several “close friends” of the victim -- like four of the fifteen total Jin disciples -- who probably just wanted something else to do outside of eat, sleep, and fight. Wei Wuxian couldn’t blame them, exactly, war was remarkably boring most of the time, but it was getting awfully stuffy in there. 

Lan Zhan changed the melody again, something almost lexical about it. Wei Wuxian could almost hear the question being asked, even before Zewu Jun’s voice chimed in, translating for anyone who didn’t know the qin language — which was pretty much everyone else in the tent besides the Twin Jades — “What is your name?” 

Wei Wuxian caught his own response between his lips, pressing them together tightly, as the guqin sounded three distinct notes which Zewu Jun reported as Jin Zixin. 

So, good. It was the right guy. That was great. Nothing weird at all. 

He should have left then. He didn’t. 

Lan Zhan played again, and again Wei Wuxian thought he understood the phrase, the question, even before Zewu Jun said for the tent, “How did you die?”

Wei Wuxian felt the answer fly to the tip of his tongue and bit his teeth around it, through it. His cheek bled with the force of keeping quiet. 

It was weird. So weird. But maybe, Wei Wuxian justified to himself, maybe it was just an effect of holding a secret inside for so long and having someone actually ask the question out loud. Maybe, it was just the same automatic reaction of answering with your name when someone asked for it. Maybe he was just too fucking tired, and the resentment under his skin just wanted something to laugh at, something to entertain itself with. Like the five of ten Jins standing in the back of the tent. War was boring, okay?

The notes from Lan Zhan’s guqin hung in the air, resonant and waiting. The moment seemed to stretch out too long. It dragged and Wei Wuxian gradually felt the words stop fighting him to escape. 

But the Jin ghost didn’t answer either. 

When Lan Zhan played the same phrase over — “How did you die?” echoed on Zewu Jun’s tongue — the compulsion was much stronger. This time it was like Wei Wuxian could feel Lan Zhan’s spiritual power pouring through him; the strongest of wines, several jars of it. 

He couldn’t fight it. 

His mouth opened. 

I fell. I fell. I fell. 

“I fell.”

All eyes in the tent turned to him. 

Jiang Cheng’s elbow caught him in the ribs. He didn’t even bother to glare. He said, “Not you, Idiot.” 

The qin sounded and everybody looked back to Lan Zhan and Zewu Jun, waiting to hear the Jin disciple’s answer. 

Zewu Jun hesitated for the barest of moments, stuttering into the start of his translation before finding the confidence of his voice once more, recounting whatever it was that the ghost had strummed out. 

Wei Wuxian didn’t hear a word he said. He was, instead, pierced on two sides. 

On one: Jiang Cheng muttered to himself, “Wait,” and then his eyes went wide as he looked back at Wei Wuxian. 

On the other: Lan Zhan’s fingers froze above the strings of his guqin and he turned to stare over his shoulder at Wei Wuxian with something like horrified understanding dawning within his gaze. 

Wei Wuxian finally realized he should fucking leave. Immediately. 

He wanted to run. He knew better. Knew what that would look like. 

Instead, he was going to simply walk out of this tent as he had walked out of so many already during this campaign. Gravel crunched under his heel as he turned. 

But his brother knew him too well. Jiang Cheng’s hand clamped tight around Wei Wuxian’s bicep, his grip unyielding. With his golden core, Wei Wuxian might have been able to break it. But the real bitch of it was that it was his golden core that was holding him in place. 

Jiang Cheng tensed as if readying for a fight, but Wei Wuxian already knew how that fight would end. So he let himself be restrained. 

He turned back to face the Inquiry. 

Lan Zhan was still staring at him when Zewu Jun finished speaking. He was still so stuck in place that his brother had to prompt him into finishing the ritual. Which he did, with all the grace and skill expected of him. He really was just so beautiful to watch. 

All the while, Wei Wuxian listened to the music and bit through his tongue to keep it silent. The questions continued to drag at him -- “Do you know who killed you?” Wen Chao. “Do you have any last requests?” To leave this fucking tent. -- though the pressure to answer eased significantly as the Jin ghost became less stubborn about it. Wei Wuxian settled for reciting the answers to them in his head until they no longer felt pressed against the thin seam of his mouth. 

It took approximately sixteen-hundred years. 

All seven Jin disciples supporting the war effort left the tent after the ghost had recounted his final moments. The attempted sexual assault was not unexpected, judging by their faces, but still disappointing to hear about. Clearly not the entertainment they were hoping for. Luckily for Wei Wuxian, they were apparently too wrapped up in their Jin nonsense to realize new entertainment was fidgeting in the corner and trying not to sever the tip of his tongue completely. 

The Nie, represented by Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang, left shortly after the ritual concluded. If Nie Mingjue had to tug his brother away, Wei Wuxian was too busy keeping his mouth shut to comment on it. 

And then there were just the four of them. Plus the corpse. But they were like six months into a war, so the corpse didn’t actually seem to bother any of them. It hadn’t even started to smell yet. It was still pretty intact, too, and now that it was verifiably a criminal, Wei Wuxian wondered idly if the Jin would let him use it in their next battle. Probably not. 

His idle wondering ceased abruptly as his brother’s fingers bit deeper into the meat of his arm. 

“Wei Wuxian,” he said, all of his surely filial worry for his gege boiling over into a spitting, incandescent fury. He never had to say he loved his brother, Wei Wuxian could always tell. It was the teeth gnashing that gave him away. “What the fuck do you mean you fell?” 

Right. 

Wei Wuxian played it as cool as he could with a definitely-not-bleeding tongue. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Jiang Cheng.” He shrugged, but his arm didn’t move very far. 

“You answered Inquiry,” said Lan Zhan. Succinct as ever. 

“No!” Wei Wuxian said, maybe a little too loud, but not at all childishly. 

Zewu Jun narrowed his eyes and pulled out his xiao. Wei Wuxian tried not to flinch about it, he did. But Zewu Jun only played a short, non-Inquiry melody, and a shimmering, blue barrier manifested around the interior of the tent. 

“No,” Wei Wuxian said again, this time at a totally normal volume. “I was just… messing around. You know how I do that, Lan Zhan. Always a rule breaker.” He grinned, desperately trying to play it all off. Realizing faster and faster how very badly this was going for him. 

Lan Zhan surprised him, then, saying, “Not when it matters.” 

“What?”

“Wei Ying doesn’t break rules when they matter.” 

Wei Wuxian didn’t know where the fuck that was coming from. But he couldn’t say he hated it. 

Except that he did, because it was going to be a problem for this whole I’m just a silly rascal defense he was setting up. 

Jiang Cheng still hadn’t let go of his arm. His fingernails were starting to split the fabric of his sleeve. And worse, his eyebrows were scrunched together in the way they do when he’s thinking through all the angles of a problem. 

Zewu Jun still had his xiao in hand, and he was looking at Wei Wuxian like he was deciding whether to perform an exorcism or an execution. 

But Lan Zhan… Lan Zhan hadn’t moved from his seat on the mat. He had turned his body so that he was facing Wei Wuxian, giving him his full attention, and was looking up at him with… pain in his eyes. Shining, wet pain. 

“You died?” he asked. “Are you dead?”

“I don’t…” Wei Wuxian trailed off. He couldn’t find the words. 

He didn’t know. Which was, possibly, not the best sign. 

“I can’t be dead,” he said, looking over at Zewu Jun, Jiang Cheng, then back to Lan Zhan. “Can I?”

Zewu Jun, still wary, said, “You responded to the compulsion in Inquiry. Inquiry is a song that speaks to and compels answers from the dead. It does not generally work on the living.” 

“Well--” Wei Wuxian started, defensive and scared. But again, he didn’t really know where to go with that. 

“Where were you, Wei Wuxian?” Jiang Cheng asked him. “Why didn’t you meet me at the bottom of the hill?” 

Lan Zhan and Zewu Jun shared a look. They didn’t seem to know what Jiang Cheng was talking about. But Wei Wuxian really, really, didn’t want to get into that whole mess. If anyone was going to see right through him and his flimsy tale about suddenly remembering the location of Baoshan Sanren’s mountain, it would be Lan Zhan. Actually, Zewu Jun would probably figure it out, too. And then maybe even Jiang Cheng. Now that he wasn’t all broken and desperate and gullible. 

Fuck. With the way Jiang Cheng was looking at Wei Wuxian, the way his hand released some of the pressure around his arm, he might already have. 

Wei Wuxian laughed, hoping it came off more smoothly than it felt in his chest. “Ah, Jiang Cheng.” He brought his own hand up to lay over his brother’s. “What if I told you--”

“No,” Jiang Cheng cut him off. “No more bullshit. Where were you?”

The mirth, false as it was, drained out of Wei Wuxian as he saw the pain building behind his brother’s eyes. 

There was movement in his periphery and then Lan Zhan was standing on his other side. His fingers wrapped around Wei Wuxian’s other arm with a much gentler grip than Jiang Cheng’s. Something imploring about the touch. Like he was seeking confirmation to a theory, or maybe proving to himself that Wei Wuxian was actually there. 

“I…” Wei Wuxian trailed off. 

Zewu Jun’s gaze was hard as steel, but aimed, it seemed, at Lan Zhan’s hand, rather than at Wei Wuxian in general. 

“There was a rumor,” he said in slow, even words, “that Wen Chao had thrown you into the Burial Mounds.” He waited a moment after he finished speaking, as if trying to reconcile the words himself, before he looked up to meet Wei Wuxian’s eyes. 

Of course, Wei Wuxian didn’t want to meet Zewu Jun’s eyes. He didn’t want to meet any of their eyes. He wanted very much to be out of this tent and away from knowing gazes altogether. 

Unfortunately, he hadn’t quite figured out how to teleport using resentful energy yet. So in the tent he remained. 

He looked down at his feet. His boots were crusted with dirt and blood and other bodily fluids. War really was super gross, in addition to being largely boring. 

“That’s ridiculous,” he said, still looking down. “Everyone knows that nothing leaves the Burial Mounds.” 

Lan Zhan’s hand tightened around Wei Wuxian’s arm. Jiang Cheng’s loosened, but didn’t let go. 

“Yeah,” said Jiang Cheng, like an accusation, “it would be impossible.” 

Wei Wuxian still didn’t look up from his feet which meant that he missed whatever silent conversation happened between Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan that had both of them tightening their grips on his arms just before fingers were pressed to the pulse points of his wrists. He struggled, flailing as much as he could, but against Lan Zhan’s golden core and his own, he stood no chance. He could barely budge them. 

He screamed but the sound only reverberated inside the tent. 

The only thing he could think to do was to call up the dead. The dead man still lying in front of them. The Jin. Rapist. Criminal. He could use that wicked corpse to fight off the people holding him down, taking his secrets. Smoke curled out of his sleeves and he--

He stopped himself. 

It was over anyway. 

Even if they couldn’t read his spiritual energy, or lack thereof, his fighting them was confirmation enough. 

He went limp in their grasp. His knees buckled. 

It really was the stupidest possible way to be found out. 

“Where is it?” asked Jiang Cheng. But it was clear from his voice that he already knew the answer. 

Lan Zhan was silent. 

Zewu Jun looked to his brother for an answer, not understanding what they had just discovered. 

“His golden core,” said Lan Zhan. “It’s gone.” 

“Wen Zhuliu?” Zewu Jun asked. 

But Jiang Cheng made a sound that was somehow both a laugh and a sob. 

Wei Wuxian regained control of his arms. He sprawled himself out on the tent floor, exhausted from his struggle. He laughed, too. “After a fashion.” 

Jiang Cheng fell to the ground next to him, hands cradling the place where Wei Wuxian’s core now spun. “What the fuck?” he said, quietly, to no one in particular. Then, loudly, to Wei Wuxian in particular, “What the fuck!” 

His cheeks were wet. Jiang Cheng’s, his own. He looked over to confirm, and yeah, Lan Zhan’s too. Zewu Jun had nothing to cry over, except maybe confusion, but he was too cool for that, so he just stood in the middle of the tent, shocked, presumably, as his brother, another sect leader, and a demonic cultivator broke down around him. 

Wei Wuxian stared up at the tented canvas ceiling and cursed himself for not leaving the tent when he first noticed something wrong. 

“Jiang Cheng,” he started, but Jiang Cheng cut him off with a wet yell. 

“Why would you do that, you fucking idiot?! What the fuck were you even thinking?! How did you-- How--” 

He seemed to lose steam trying to figure out what happened on “Baoshen Sanren’s mountain” and potentially also why Baoshen Sanren’s voice sounded so familiar. 

Zewu Jun’s voice was remarkably calm for a man witnessing-- whatever he made of what he was currently witnessing. He said, “Wei Wuxian, I believe your Sect Leader would like to know how you lost your golden core.” 

Wei Wuxian laughed at that. Because yes and no. 

“No, Zewu Jun,” he said, still laughing. He tried to stop, but it was just too funny. “No,” he said again, slightly more sober, “he wants to know why and how he now has my golden core.” 

He didn’t really mean to say it. He felt drunk again, like he did when Lan Zhan was playing Inquiry. Ready to spill all his secrets at only the slightest provocation. Zewu Jun could probably ask him just about anything right now -- Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng too, for that matter -- and he would answer it. It wasn’t exactly a safe mindset to be in. But he couldn’t really do anything about that now. 

At least there was some kind of privacy barrier over the tent. 

Zewu Jun stood. Speechless. 

Lan Zhan’s tears fell silently. 

Jiang Cheng glared, hands clutched tight against his lower dantian -- whether to hold something inside or to tear it out, Wei Wuxian wasn’t sure. 

Wei Wuxian felt light as a feather. Drunk and dizzy with it. A weight had been lifted, he supposed, but one he was never supposed to let go. His laughter died down to the occasional press of his lungs. Tears collected in his eyelashes until everything was blurry. 

Emptiness yawned inside him, but it was gentler somehow. As if the secret itself had been clawing away at his slowly healing wounds. 

“Fuck,” he said with a hiccup of a laugh. And again, quieter, “Fuck.”

He really should have left the fucking tent. 

Also, wait. Was he dead?! 

--

(7/18/24: now on ao3)

[troutfur]

Hey because it's been an obsession of mine since I was a kid and I know you are the fandom's premiere Power of Three Understander who gets the nuances of the three's brattiness and lust for power (writing compliment not criticism) and how the prophecy originally (pre-OOTS) is not about them being chosen good guys fated to be good and save the day but is much more mysterious and ambiguous than that; how are you planning to handle the whole power of three prophecy plot in Haneossia? I really trust you to handle it well and better than canon and most fans, and while I thought Bonefall's "prophecy just doesn't get revealed in PO3 keep is slice of life" is a very sound tactic to handle it I'd also love to see a take on the three knowing it all along and it influencing their psychology. How will you integrate its "external from StarClan" source to all your expanded afterlife/spirituality lore, what is the in-universe reason why the prophecy exists, etc.?

As a side note I have mentioned it once before, but once in a PO3 and OOTS rewrite/AU I made when I was a lot younger and scrapped because I wasn't as good of a writer back then, I had this plot beat that I still think is one of the only good parts of it now. Basically after spending half the arc wondering "why are we so special, isn't it awesome we are so special, and having a lot of mystery with the Ancients and the tunnels and Sol wanting to accomplish some ritual that will give him great power from that, the big reveal is that the powers weren't bequeathed to them, but came from the Three themselves - in an alternate timeline, Jayfeather with his insatiable curiosity and ambition had gotten his equally motivated siblings to investigate the secrets of the Ancients and they completed the ritual themselves, but due to tunnel time loop shenanigans the result was that they altered the timeline so they were always born with those powers. And there was also a bit of a twist on the "blind seer" trope here, where Jayfeather's powers are specifically what they are because he chose them, motivated by what his internalized ableism would think is necessary to "make up" for what society has told him is inadequate. Also Fallen Leaves here was someone who died trying to accomplish the ritual for great power, it never made sense in canon that any society would have a mandatory coming-of-age ritual that according to the stick like half of the participants died in. So just throwing it out there as an idea/brainstorming...

This one ask got me vibrating in my seat. Gosh, I just have SOOOO many ideas on how I wanna do Po3. It's not at all fully figured out as a lot of the Haneossia stories I want to write out in full first are elsewhere in the timeline. But it is such a central arc to pretty much everything I have in my head because the Po3 characters are always so central to the things I wanna write.

(More under the cut.)

Starting from the top! The exact nature of the powers is always something that eludes me. I will have to mull over your proposal and see whether or not I have other ideas. But narratively I do know what their role is. It is a fantastical highlight of an already existing character trait of self-importance.

The three are the children of two prophecy cats, one of which is the deputy/leader and comes from the ThunderClan old aristocracy, and the other of which is the daughter of their most famous leader in recent times and sister of their current medicine cat. I go back and forth on whether I want Brambleclaw/star to be deputy or already leader in order to really inflate their self importance, but one thing I'm absolutely committed to is that Firestar is dead, Brambleclaw is taking the secret of his involvement in that to the grave, and the mythologizing and distortion of the Firestar story has already begun.

The Clans as I write them are to their core nepotistic. Looking out for one's family is priority number one, and that only extends to the rest of the Clan under an understanding that all the different families and nest units are linked in a web of relations. Thus, the kids are (correctly) expecting to be bigshots from the day they are born.

The prophecy says there will be three with the power of the stars in their paws. It really doesn't say anything about what they do. "Power of the stars" I interpret as a statement about agency. They will be in a position to be able to make a big decision that will define the destiny of the Clans. And the role of this arc is to build up suspense for when that eventually comes to the foreground in Omen of the Stars.

I don't necessarily would call this a slice-of-life story, but it is certainly a very personal-scale story. And I don't think that is at odds with the idea of building suspense at all. With the knowledge of the prophecy, every step of getting to know these kids and how they grow up is progress alongside the plot.

Oh, and even though this is more of an OotS thing, on the point that being one of the three is about agency, I feel very strongly about Dovewing NOT being one. Her powers would ultimately be from StarClan, but she would be their course-correction mechanism. I will talk more about this towards the end of this post, keep that in mind.

NOW! Onto my thoughts book by book!

Since I last did my reread of the arc I have been thinking about increasing the book count from 6 to 7. This is because I want the structure of the story to be 3 books establishing the trio dynamic of the triplets and their three 1-on-1 relationships, have a middle book based on Outcast where we can have them all extensively interacting with Breezepaw, and the final 3 books as story arcs that center each of the triplets individually and in contrast to Sol as a foil to all of them.

Book 1 would of course be the Hollypaw and Jaypaw book, focusing on the career swap plot. A crucial point in this one I'd want to do is to lengthen the time span it takes over. In canon, this book cannot take more than a month and the two of them only were in their careers for a week tops. This gives the impression they gave up way too early and I'd be on the lookout to expand the timeframe with their original mentors to about one to two months.

I am unsure about how I want to approach their career swap so that Jaypaw can have more agency. There's many approaches to it, from presenting it as a competition between the siblings to having a slower buildup of Jaypaw sticking his nose in things that don't concern him. In theory I like the idea that he'd chose this career path as an adult, but for all the chess pieces to be in place in time for Sol's appearance that is not an option.

Meanwhile Lionpaw has a sideplot of some sort developing in his third of this book that has him getting acquainted with the cats across the border. Set up for the next book and start acquainting the audience with the extended cast of characters that will gain relevance but which neither of his siblings would have much reaosn to interact with such as Onestar, Crowfeather, Heatherpaw, Breezepaw, Tawnypelt, Rowanclaw, and Blackstar.

Like in canon, Jaypaw learns about the prophecy of the three by the end of the book and is holding on on telling his siblings. Depending on how I decide how his plot with Hollypaw goes, he may or may not be on good terms with her, so that's his reason for not telling her. With Lionpaw I don't have a solid reason. Perhaps it has to do with the ableist attitudes he has picked up growing up in ThunderClan?

Book 2 is a Lionpaw and Hollypaw book. Much like in canon, their parallel conflicts would center on the fact that they are both meeting with a cross-clan friend when they aren't supposed to. I want this plot to serve to reinforce in them this very war-monger tendencies that they show throughout early Po3 which will contrast with Jaypaw who is softening (will touch on that in a bit). And I also want the ending to end in some way in which Lionpaw is convinced that Heatherpaw betrayed her such that he has a vendetta against her developing, as opposed to how Hollypaw's break with Willowpaw is more melancholic.

On Jaypaw's end, I want to move the entirety of the time travel plot to here instead of splitting it into book 2 and 4. He would not stumble on it on accident but rather seek it out as he investigates this prophecy of the three deal. That way we can really dive into the full extent of the past life memories thing and really explore the society of the ancients at the lake.

Two very important changes I'd make here are: 1) Jay's Wing is blind too. I really want to emphasize this society as one in which a disabled cat like Jaypaw would have more autonomy and respect. This will set him on the path to wanting to remake his own society in this mold and will be a motivation going forward. 2) These are memories. I don't want him creating time paradoxes or making things weird. He's there squarely witnessing these things from Jay's Wing's PoV, which would be a full character on his own which would contrast to Jaypaw.

If Hollypaw and Jaypaw weren't on good terms by the last book, this would be the book where they reconcile.

The third book I'm the most hazy on as it would be a completely new addition. But given it's meant to be the Jaypaw and Lionpaw book, perhaps this could be the book in which we have Cinderpaw's broken leg plot? It would be cute to have Lionpaw more involved here and give them some romantic buildup. But also, since this plot also brings up Clan attitudes towards disability and Leafpool and Jaypaw's attitude clash over it, we can maybe address how Lionpaw too would be dealing with Clan cat ableism.

Hollypaw I'm more unsure where she fits into all this. Given that Haneossia operates under my pfurr dynamic/default polyamory worldbuilding, she can tie in to the Cinderpaw plot too maybe? These kids would be dating age for sure by this time, and I like the idea that by the end of the arc Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, and Cinderheart would have had plans to form their own pfurr as a throuple, which was dashed once Honeyfern died (making it very rude of Cinderheart to leave her birth nest since that would leave Poppyfrost and Berrynose as a couple, which is socially frowned upon) and then Hollyleaf escaped into the tunnels.

I also want Hollypaw's plot here to have some independence though so I'm not sure if that would be too tied together. Decisions, decisions...

Regardless, by the end of this book their dynamic as a trio would be set. I would want Jaypaw to reveal the prophecy and his findings so far here. Each of their individual ambitions, ideas of what power means to them, and such would be explored from here on out.

The book based on Outcast gives me trouble, given I'm not a huge fan of The Tribe of Rushing Waters and I frankly don't want to write about them if I can help it. This is perhaps the biggest plot of theirs I want to preserve and the one reason I am reluctant to just exercise author fiat to erase the Tribe entirely. But the narrative frame of having the triplets go out on a journey and interacting with Breezepelt is juicy. I really want the contrast of golden children and black sheep between them to shine in this and for this journey to somewhat quench their self-centered attitudes.

By the end of this I want them all to connect deeply as friends, despite the antagonism and struggles to get there. I want Jaypaw to see in this proof that his plans to turn back the clock would be worth it. I want Hollypaw and Lionpaw to revisit and rexamine the lessons learned in book two. I want Breezepaw to latch onto them as if they were the littermates he never had. (And perhaps by extension to Brambleclaw as who he wishes his father was? Hmmm... I have a new idea to contemplate.)

Breezepelt, Hollyleaf, and Lionblaze would be named by the end of this book. They'd all be around a year old by then, leaving Jaypaw as the only apprentice as his apprenticeship is supposed to be double length. I want the fact that legally his siblings would be adults now but not him to bring out in him a sense that he ought to hurry and figure out how to use his power for his objectives lest his siblings get too ahead of him.

This brings us to book five, the equivalent to Eclipse and our first look into Sol. The focus character of this book would be Lionblaze, and here is why I want book two to establish a stronger vendetta against Heathertail for him to have. These last books would all be about the central character facing a temptation from and ultimately overcoming Sol as he tries to rope the three into being his minions.

Sol's temptation to Lionblaze would be revenge. While they were gone he's been wandering around Clan territory, trying to poke and prod as he tries to sow chaos for his own amusement. I am unsure about his exact nature here or his motivation. I could take a page out of Bonefall's book and present him as a trickster god type. But the specifics of his worldbuilding around the afterlife don't mesh well with mine, I feel.

But regardless, he's been egging on conflicts between the Clans and there's a palpable sense in the air that war's coming. In the midst of this Sol is encouraging Lionblaze to use the opportunity to exact his revenge. He's offering advanced intel and a way to be as destructive as possible to her. Does he coax the information of his vendetta out of him? Did he pick it up during his time with the other Clans? Does he have supernatural knowledge of it? Open question, still need to decide.

Anyway. His "defeat" of Sol, loosely as we can apply that term, would be in him showing clemency to WindClan in the midst of the chaos. As the battle settles and he reflects on his power-given strength and ferocity, and just how close he was to inflicting an atrocity, he understands just a little bit more what Jaypaw is always on about with his peace-seeking attitude.

Sol's take-over of ShadowClan by the end of the book by leveraging the eclipse segues us into the next book, which is going to be Jaypaw focused. Through his eyes we see Sol's fake prophet act in full force, with Jaypaw aiding as a collaborator. His position as a Clanborn meddie gives his endorsement weight, even as a mere apprentice.

I want his arc in this book to be about learning to wield his authority as a priest responsibly and for Sol to come across as his evil grown up version. Sol's idea of reshaping a Clan to his desires is very self-serving and self-indulgent. And it would definitely come into conflict with a Jaypaw that seeks to pursue his own agenda but is shut down repeatedly.

We would still have the plot with Tawnypelt being a refugee in ThunderClan and her kids aiding the three in toppling Sol, with Jaypaw as their inside informer. (Remember how I said Tawnypelt and Rowanclaw were going to be relevant characters for the story many paragraphs ago? Here it is.) And by the end of the book, Jaypaw would finally have his name.

Last book! There's a lot of field to cover in here. Fire scene, parentage reveal, Ashfur's death, Hollyleaf's search for answers. I feel like it can be cramped but with a Hollyleaf-only perspective it can work well, I believe. Hollyleaf's challenge in overcoming Sol would be to resist the temptation of easy answers at the cost of starting yet another war.

Much like canon, I want a wracked with guilt and overwhelmed Hollyleaf to end up self-exiling after she escalates it so much. A win that feels more like a loss and that permeates the rest of the next series.

As a coda to the arc, by the end Lionblaze and Jayfeather would disown their connection to Firestar and try to push the prophecy out of mind. I want them to connect with Brambleclaw/star and his side of the family as they shun Leafpool and Squirrelflight. Have Hawkfrost and Tigerstar begin appearing from this moment, leveraging their familial connection the siblings are increasingly seeking refuge in to put their plan into motion. This is the point by which StarClan decides to intervene by means of Dovewing. And so the stage is set for the next chapter.

What is the nature of the OotS plot? I cannot say anything with certainty. I still have a lot to figure out, especially in how my afterlife plot affects and molds it. But as far as Po3 is concerned I think I have enough figured out that this shape of a plot is very set.

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

You know what relationship should have been more developed?

Brokenstar and Blackstar.

As funny as I found (along with a lot of people) Blackstar's reasoning for being so devoted to him, which was that he's a dumbass, I kinda fail to see any interesting thing about it beyond the hilarity.

We see some hints of why he was chosen as Brokenstar's deputy in Blackstar's novel (at least I believe so), which is that they connected as an apprentice/kit over their parentage and how others treat them for it. It's not exactly obvious and I could definitely be looking into it, but I like the thought that that was there, at least a little bit--and at least on Broken's part.

What if the reason Blackstar followed Brokenstar so intently wasn't just because Brokenstar was leader? This idea isn't fully formed or even partially formed, it's just me thinking out loud.

Maybe he became closer to Brokenkit than his littermates, because he knew the secret of who his father was, and he couldn't tell them. So for one he chooses to stay away from them because he knows something about their family that's so important but can't, won't, tell them, and for another because Brokenkit understands.

Brokenkit of course didn't know who his true mother was, but there were rumours that he was Foxheart's kit, a cat in the Clan who didn't want to raise him. If they didn't believe that, they believed he was half-kittypet or half-rogue, exactly what they also called Blackpaw for the same reasons.

Both Flintpaw and Fernpaw make arguments that "it doesn't matter" so long as they're great warriors, which frustrates Blackpaw.

It's not just that Brokenkit understands what it's like to be seen as an outsider and teased about his blood, because obviously his littermates do too. But as said in the book, maybe Brokenkit is the only one who understood how he felt.

He doesn't say "it doesn't matter because we'll be great warriors" he says "it doesn't matter because you can make yourself better than them."

And you know what? Maybe Blackpaw wanted to.

He was young and probably as impulsive as the usual apprentice, he was teased often by his peers and called an outsider. On top of that, his father was a cheater who couldn't call himself their dad because of that, and their mother would be shamed--and he had to keep that secret since he was young.

So maybe he didn't want to "be the bigger cat" and move on, maybe he wanted to act out. Maybe he wanted them to hurt. And the only one who agreed with that idea, and in that sense, connected with a deep, emotional part of Blackpaw, was Broken.

Maybe they would fight back together, and when they got in trouble, they would scheme together pranks that wouldn't trace back to them so easily.

Blackpaw was filled with mixed, awful emotions, and they all came out as anger. Not only did Brokenkit/paw--even if he was younger--feed that part of him, but he said that it was good. That it was right.

But don't worry folks, he can still make Blackstar an idiot.

Because he just could not admit to those flaws.

He was still close-ish with his littermates, at least on the outside, but when they would talk about working hard to prove themselves or would have nice talks with the other apprentices that had teased them, he would avoid them because he can't be wrong. They would make sense, they would sound right, but they couldn't be because that would mean that he had been wrong for moons, that he had set up mean pranks and clawed denmates and suffered punishments for those things for no good reason.

No, it had to be because they didn't understand. His littermates, the bullies, his mentor, all of them. The only one that understood was Broken.

The only one who understood why he did what he did, why he acted the way he acted, was Broken. And by extension, the only one who saw through his exterior and actually saw HIM, was Broken.

Brokenstar couldn't have been a monster. He couldn't have been a heartless beast. Because if he did, Blackfoot would have been wrong for all the 'righteous' things he did, all the sins he had committed.

Worse, it would mean that the cat he loved the most, the cat he thought of as a brother (or mate depending on how you wanna look at it) never cared for him at all.

[ele-sme]

Noccoro (pt 1?)

That morning stated wrong, and not only for the human boy but for the forest too. It was a raining day, and when it stopped to rain, all the earth was mud now. Which would be a problem at all, if only that day weren't programm a important ceremony. So important that all humans were invited too, but obviously it had been canceled because of the rain. And people of the clan, especially olders, wasted no time to say it was Jake fault for allowing the humans to the ceremony. Spider could only think two things: first of all, poor Jake, he had a hard time to adapt to the clan but still someone thought of him as a alien, even if that man was litteraly Toruk Maktao poor guy,Spider could only though. The second thought was that Jake didn't ask the humans to be there, it was Mo'at, the Tsahik, many were the humans who converted to Eywa, there were even humans that didn't have Avatar bodies, but they belived in Eywa anyway. That was afascinating according to the tsahik, they believed even without the connection, that was real faith she often said. Anyway when Spider discovered there wouldn't be any ceremony that day he decided to study a little since his exams were close. Many scientists refused to have ignorant children, so Norm and Max accepted to institute a school only for humans, that school was different from the one Na'vi attended. It started at Seven and with a program that on earth middle school students started. Now Spider was at his penultimate year, he had an exam on Giovanni Verga and Julius Caesar, they were vary far from eachother but as Spider teacher said often "it will help you to remember things well" except it was not. After a hour of studying those two, he received a visit.

"Hey" Neteyam said coming in his room, all wet, it might started rain again.

"Hi" Spider responded looking up from his book, a smile creating in his face.

Neteyam closed the door and putted the lock on it, then he sitted down next to Spider and his desk. The other boy turned to the other.

"The ceremony is postponed to next week" Neteyam announced.

"Which day?"

"Tuesday"

Spider maked an annoying sound clicking his tongue, "I have the exams that day" he responded, that ceremony, a so much big occasion, all humans allows and he had his stupids exams.

"Skip them" the other said, making Spider eyes light up at the thought, going there, skipping the exams.

"I can't" the human responded, biting his bottom lip.

"Why no? You are one of the best in your class, you have great grades, why can't you skip one exam once?" The blue guy asked.

Spider thinked for a few seconds, evaluating if go or not.

"Alright i won't do the exams" he said and the other boy maked a victory punch in the air.

They both laughed

"You are a bad influence to me" the human said after some more laughing, making them start to laugh again.

Neteyam stopped to laugh and he looked at the boy, who continued to giggle.

"You know, you are so beautiful without the mask" Neteyam said, and Spider cheeks taked a red colour.

"Is the door closed?" The human asked to the Na'vi who nodded, his gaze wasn't at the boy eyes but at his lips, thinking maybe how they tested even if he already knew.

"If you want to" Spider said, now he looked at the other lips too "you may" he continued.

Neteyam didn't hesitate and jumped on the other lips.

Spider was the one who kissed hard, and Neteyam was the one who kissed with passion.

mouth on mouth,

Saliva tripping,

tongues danced.

They're kiss, weren't like others kiss they gave.

Although they were their first kiss, they stopped talking after they gave it.

A year without talking, only knowing what was going on through the others,

Torture.

Poor them, in return they had had the opportunity to practice their kisses.

Neteyam, courted some girl his mom liked.

Spider, having some girlfriends and boyfriends.

In the end, Neteyam ended the relationship with that girl, and even if his mother was angry she couldn't do anything about it.

Neteyam had come to Spider immediately after he broken off whatever he had, Spider who lefted his girlfriend some weeks before had taken him in his arms.

After some other minutes of making out they layed down on the floor, a pillow to make them comfortable.

They were chatting, hand in hand, talking about the future, and how much they liked eachother. Then Spider became silent.

"What is it?" Neteyam asked confused at the other.

"We can't tell anyone about this" Spider said, they knew, they haven't talked about that but it was clear, if Neytiri finded out not even Eywa could have protected Spider.

Neteyam face went from confusion to sadness.

"One day" Neteyam said, hopeness in his tone

"Yes, you are right maybe one day" Spider lied.

That day couldn't come, maybe if he had an avatar, but he didn't have one, and he doubt that for his eighteen birthday he would have received one.

A knock came from the locked door

"Neteyam it's time you go, Spider his mom ask if you can stop teaching him" Norm voice said.

As a cover for Neteyam to stay and being with Spider, they said that Spider was giving him some private lesson, everyone taught it was history or math, but it was kissing.

"All right" Neteyam said with a annoyed tone, and after he give his boyfriend a kiss on the lips he got out.

Spider couldn't do anything if not putting himself in bed and cry for what he had that one future (very far away he hoped) he couldn't have anymore.

They are like 15 and 14, some weeks or months before the RDA came back. I actually really like making them, but i have the sensation i write them cringe. Do you think this too?

[bonefall]

Translation attempt of some of my warrior ocs

Ochrestar- this is actually a tricky one. He was named because he has a similar colour to ochre, but also because he's strong, so rreen (yellow orange) and glefp (clay) work here. I can't remember if I'm allowed to have to prefix words in names.

So. Rreenglefpshai?

(yelloworange-clay-star)

Amberblaze- was named for colour, so kemree. And I think swarfyf fits best for the suffix. Kemreeswarfyf.

(orange-spread of fire)

Meadowwhisper- I can't find a good word for meadow. There doesn't seem to be words for specific kinds of biomes in the document. I guess I could use grass, but I want it imply lots of grass. Kiyyr. There is a word for whisper, hhass(Also you do have a homonym! Sneak and whisper are both hhass.)

Kiyyrhhass.

(grass-whisper)

Streamwish- stream is shush, and for wish I could use want(sskif), or dream(faeln)

Shushsskif sounds nicer, but I feel like using dream would convey the meaning better. If there was an individual word for wish, I feel like it would have some relation to starclan(wishing on a star), so shai would be in the word somewhere. Sskialn?

I'm going to go with dream for now.

Shushfaeln

(stream-dream)

Or

Shush-sskialn

(stream-wish)

Tsunamikit- lalm for wave. Could add morrwo(large). Mew for kit. If I'm fusing words, i could go for lalmwo I guess.

Lalmwomew

(large wave-kit)

Or

Morrwolalmmew

(large-wave-kit)

Neonkit- something about bright colours. This cat is yellow, so I'll go for that. Aween. Could also do shayu(light source). I think the name is more about the light here.

Shayumew

(light source-kit)

Leokit- raor(lion)

Raormew

(lion-kit)

Volepaw- mole(bosgo), and paw(pwyr)

Bosgopwyr

(mole-paw)

Foxpaw- fox(aowao)

Aowaopwyr

(fox-paw)

Swanpaw- swan(hchom)

Hchommew

(swan-paw)

Dandelionshine- there only seems to be dandelion coloured, not the plant, but she is named for her colour. Aween(dandelion coloured). Shimmer seems like a good substitute for shine. Sheniss(shimmer)

Aweensheniss

(dandelion coloured-shimmered)

Barktalon- karak is bark, there's no talon, but kach is claw, which is the same thing.

Karakkach

(bark-claw)

Crystalstep- there is word for crystal. What I want here is something like shimmering rock. I could take liberties here and use shimmered+stepping stone, including the step and the rock part. Ssabassrob(stepping stone)

Shenissssabassrob

(shimmered+stepping stone)

i forget how tense works, or otherwise I would change the tense here.

Stormstrike-i could just use storm, but I like ke'eb(squall) better for this character. Kachkubo(struck) wrong tense but that's fine.

Ke'ebkachkubo

(squall+struck)

A lot here! Let me go down through each cat that's getting new words for ya;

Ochrestar

I asked around to make sure that Ochre is region-compliant, and it absolutely is! Though ochre is a crumbly, pigmented sort of dirt. To name him for something "strong," I'd actually keep the translation you came up with. A Glepf is a natural source of clay, like a specific bank, lido, or cave.

A Glepf is a landmark. Ochre and Clay are materials that you can get from the Glepf. It's sort of like the Clanmew version of a word for 'quarry.'

Ochre (Material, not color) = Spawo

Clay = Gale

(side note: "e" is always annunciation in Clanmew. "Gale" rhymes with Olay, it doesn't sound like the English word for "gale wind")

There is also the word for "pigment," Boch, which also describes an item being used to draw with... like a big lump of ochre being dragged across a wall, for example.

Dandelionshine

Seems like you've got them covered, since they're named for colors! But if you'd like the translation to be more direct, here you go.

"Dandelion" in Clanmew is a generic term for several species, and includes associated words. All of them are used symbolically in Great Clan myths, associated with LionClan kittens.

Dandelion (Generic) = Awpo A ground plant with fluffy-petaled, yellow flowers.

Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) = Raorra The one we all know and love! VERY important as a medicinal herb. High in lots of nutrients, it's often given as a supplement to sick cats just to get some extra vitamins in them. It's one of the most important diuretics for cats having a hard time going to the bathroom, and can be baked and ground up for use as a traveling herb.

Puff/Clock/Blowball = Fahoo The fluffy, seedy stage that a common dandelion progresses to later in the summer. Used for a cute kitten game done between mutual crushes.

Nipplewort (Lapsana communis) = Mawpo OR Soop-en-Simra (Soop-en-Simra = Breast's Friend) Named because of its very important use in treating nursing cats with mastitis or cracked teats. VERY important in winter, practically a godsend.

Hawksbeard (several species) = Nakpo The waste-dandelion. None of these have use in medicine, and are thus seen as flowers that are simply aesthetically pleasing.

Neon, Vole, Talon, Crystal, Amber

If you're looking for intense colors, there's a word for that in Clanmew. Yaywi, or "Bright," refers to bright colors and high saturation. It's in contrast to Loerr, which is dim-colored or "Dark," and "Olurr" for softer, pastel colors.

Brightheart's name could have been translated as Neonheart-will-beat, or Intenseheart-will-beat. Yaywibabi.

For Vole, there are THREE types of voles Clan cats see on a regular basis. Field Voles (Wind), Bank Voles (Thunder) and Water Voles (River). Banks and Fields are known for digging "furrows" in the ground to make quick getaways, like open-air mole tunnels.

Field Vole (Microtus agrestis) = Aaga As the name suggests, tends to live in open fields like meadows and moorland. It's also fond of bogs. Tastes a bit more oily than a Bank vole but not nearly as much as a water vole, which can still be offputting to some WindClan warriors.

Bank Vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) = Eai A good climber and the vole usually seen in ThunderClan. Widely considered the most palatable and least oily, tastes like a really good mouse.

Water Vole (Arvicola amphibius) = Rubu VERY oily, tastes like a fish. The only mammal that RiverClan cats like to eat on a regular basis. Minks are notorious for killing these in mass, which leads to Clan cats trying to eradicate them whenever they're seen.

The "common" word for vole depends on the Clan you're talking to. RiverClan uses "Rubu" and ThunderClan uses "Eai," and then they fix the other word onto it. "Eai Rubu" = Water vole vole. Like Naan Bread = Bread Bread

"Talon" describes the claws of most animals, which don't retract. If you popped open the hood of Clanmew, you'd see them using 'talons' for every animal that isn't a cat. "Talonclaw" has a meaning similar to "Beastly Hand."

Talon (claw of a non-feline animal) = Chaug

For Crystal, I covered rocks and their lack of Gemstones over here. The only precious "stone" they have at the moment is "pearl," because of freshwater pearl mussels! So the word for it, Rrihi, would be used to describe any other shining stones that Clan cats come across.

(Though I may be willing to create a word for quartz specifically since that's what the Moonstone is/was.)

And, lastly, for Amber... there's two words and neither of them are a direct translation.

Sap = Ssao

Resin = Aogi

"Amber" is a type of fossil, it's resin that's been exposed to high heat and pressure for millions of years. If it's not exposed for long enough, it's called "copal," and before it becomes copal it's just resin! It can to be found and collected, usually at specific beaches.

So Clan cats don't have TRUE amber. They have sap and resin, which can both be collected from trees. Amberleaf of ShadowClan could have been translated as "Resin-blade."

And, lastly, I am planning a pretty large entry on landmarks specifically so I won't make this long post even longer with words for meadow and such. There's some other asks coming out that will provide a word for 'field' and 'grassland.'

[hartleysbaldursgateblog]

Get to know my (first+main) Tav!

challenge here :)

Caspier Beludaire / white dragonborn / light domain cleric of Bahamut / he/him male

What is your Tav’s…

favorite weapon: Caspier is a mace wielder, but that usually is the last thing used in his arsenal. He prefers to talk his way out of conflict when possible, then fights with spells. His hand isn’t the most steady so he tries to avoid weapon-based combat, especially at close quarters. So the mace comes last. If we’re talking specifics, during the events of the game he wielded the Blood of Lathander, but after the Netherbrain fell he turned the Blood over to the Stormshore Tabernacle to hold until a Lathanderian clergy could reclaim the relic. He was comfortable using it for the adventure, but in times of peace he doesn’t feel right about taking away the holy artifact from actual Lathander worshippers.

style of combat: Caspier fights at what would be considered mid-range to maximize his support and offensive spells. He usually sticks to open or elevated areas with as much of the battle in his field of view as possible and usually won’t move until his spell range is disrupted.

most prized possession: A necklace with a pendant made of an ivory-white stone, carved into the vague shape of a flying dragon. It is his one remaining connection to his home and long-gone family, but he does not wear it. The necklace itself is too small for him, as it was a gift made for him when he was a hatchling, and he hasn’t bothered replacing the loop. He is more comfortable with it sat somewhere safe, which is currently on a small cushion on his dresser at the foot of an idol of Bahamut.

deepest desire: A home and a family. Caspier defines this however he wishes, and by the end of the game’s events I think he has one. He was separated from his birth family and clan, something of great importance to dragonborn, at a very young age and bears almost no memory of those things. As a young teen he was then taken in by a small village only to be exiled on suspicion of “corrupting” their children with his strange dragonborn faith and ways. Caspier is not desperate to reclaim what he has lost, he knows it’s already gone, but as someone who spent so much of his life wandering, a few years somewhere that could be considered a home, only to be sent to wander again, a place to anchor himself to sounds great. And as for a family, it doesn’t have to be blood, or marriage, or adoption, friends work too. He wants to have people in his life who aren’t a temporary fixture as he’s forced to move on again. So one could even say the only thing he wants is consistency—Caspier doesn’t define it as that, though.

guilty pleasure: Yes, he’s a kindly mediator who doesn’t like to take sides on much and does not at all relish conflict… but oh, he can’t resist some gossip and drama. He blames Astarion for it. Astarion blames it on him never having enough people to consistently talk to that now he wants to know all their business (but hey, he won’t judge~). Caspier is living proof that “can we all just stop and get along and communicate?” and “he said WHAT? oooh gurrrl tell ALL” can and do coexist.

best-kept secret: His second ever “friend”. As a traveling cleric, he rendered aid to many people and helped support plenty of strangers. He never had time to actually make friends because he was constantly on the move and keeping in contact with anyone was an awfully difficult task, but having not had consistent friends since he was a child and having rather recently been exiled from the village he called his home for most of his teen years and early adulthood, when a grateful patient he had done healing work for came to him claiming to admire him and his patience and faith greatly, and considered him an inspiration, he all too happily took the man’s offer to try and keep in touch no matter how hard. I’ll limit the details here, but let’s just say that when he thought he acquired a friend he could write to and visit on his travels should they have the good fortune to meet again, he really acquired someone who rapidly turned from friend to obsessive stalker. The story is long and complicated but Caspier had managed to shake the man some years back, but doesn’t like talking about it—he ignored many of the warning signs others cautioned him about the man early on, too blinded by his desire to have a friend and the flattery the man laid on him, so he felt as if he couldn’t say anything about it or didn’t have the right to, and in other cases he feared talking about it would somehow give the man an avenue to track him down again. It’s in the past, so he says. Tied to that, though, is that Caspier Beludaire is not his real name. Well, it is to him now, but the attack on his family's caravan and the head trauma that came to him because of it meant his birth name is all but lost to him. He's usually unbothered by it, unless around other dragonborn. Clan is everything to dragonborn, after all, and while they question his bizarre name, to him it's better that he insists his clan was just as strange as the name they gave him rather than admitting he is a dragonborn without a clan.

greatest strength: Compassion. Being a cleric of light and of a good-aligned god, this is part of his belief. He is patient, communicative, and always willing to afford people a chance. Even people he does not necessarily like or trust. In the village he once lived in, as the only dragonborn, he was treated with barely concealed disgust and suspicion, yet he was still a bit of a hometown hero, especially to the children. And as Bahamut’s will would be done, he will jump into combat only to protect the innocent. He is personable and kind.

fatal flaw: Naïveté. His compassion is a double-edged sword, and while Bahamut’s paladins may be unwavering hands of justice, Caspier as a cleric is bound to no oath and may jeopardize his morals to help someone who may not need it. Caspier’s philosophy is to always see the good in others or expect that good may be there, hidden away, and he often gives chances that are not due. This can cause trouble more often than not, considering he strives to always assume the best in people. That attitude—combined with a craving for companionship and approval, which is probably his second strongest flaw—was largely what let him enable the toxic friendship he was in for so long. He never learns, either. Caspier thinks he is just doing the duty of his god—a transgression will have to happen right before his eyes for him to act on it. This is not to say he doesn’t care for justice, but he believes too strongly in the idea that everyone is well-intentioned and honest, and every time that philosophy is proven to not be the most accurate he can take it quite personally. He fell hook, line and sinker for Astarion’s manipulation at the start of their romance, for example. Sometimes it can transcend being simply naive and turn to more of him being an oblivious blockhead.

favorite smell: Morningglory. They’re a flower so plentiful that to many they might as well be a weed, but there’s something that’s always appealed to him about them in every aspect—appearance and smell. They aren’t even that fragrant like some other flowers but the smell brings back good memories of picking them in the wilds as he wandered through with his childhood best friend.

favorite spell or cantrip: Radiance of the Dawn. He feels like a true agent of Bahamut’s will and righteous justice when he wills His divine light to cleanse the area around him!

pet peeve: Being ignored/needing to repeat himself to make a point. Caspier considers himself a very patient man, but his companions test that patience sometimes when they (cough cough Astarion and Gale) become fixated on something and won’t listen to reason. Caspier is absolutely the sort to yell “that’s what I’ve been trying to say all this time!” when an unnecessary conflict finally resolves. Oh, and post-canon when he’s finally living a domestic life—dirty kitchens. Even the tiniest bit of grime makes his skin crawl.

bad habit: He picks his scales. He’s got some bad patches every now and then, some not growing back in just right after he sheds, because he just idly picks at his scales and oftentimes pulls them off before they’re ready to be shed. It’s not all that rare to see his fingers bandaged or bleeding.

hidden talent: Animal handling! It’s not something that would really ever come up, especially for a cleric, but with all the time he’s spent wandering the wilds and not to mention all the times he tended to the village livestock trying to win the villager’s trust and approval, he’s seen his fair share of creatures of all stripes and can interact with them quite well. He has a secret love for spiders, actually, and can handle them especially well. The bigger the better. (Folk Hero background proficiency bonus lol)

leisure activity: Now that the Absolute business has concluded, when he isn’t in prayer or meditation or otherwise serving his god, he also finds peace in crafting models. Halsin taught him the fundamentals of wood carving and Caspier is trying to learn more of the craft. He likes to create little models of animals and monsters he knows.

favorite drink: Fruit juices, mixed fruit drinks. Probably what we might consider “fruit punch”. He’s never been a fan of liquor, and that’s not even a restriction that comes with being a cleric—just a preference. He likes his drinks sweet and indulgent.

comfort food: Highly specific, but he loves a good plate of potato wedges and cheese fondue. Yum. He could indulge in carbs and cheese all day. !

favorite person: His dear beloved Astarion of course! Every day he spends with his favorite vampire is a treat. He's so proud of Astarion and how he's grown. Caspier couldn't imagine a relationship more fulfilling.

favored display of affection (platonic and/or romantic): Physical touch is very sacred to him but used very sparingly. He's a bit shy about presenting physical affection for fear he might scare someone off. That kind of affection is used for people who he is exceptionally comfortable with, like Astarion. What he uses much more readily is words of affirmation. It's another thing about fearing losing people, Caspier constantly wants to affirm his bonds and remind his loved ones how much they mean to him. He never wants them to feel like he's taking them for granted, but even though he uses words of affirmation often, they don't lose any meaning to him, at least, no matter how often they're said. He's especially fond of the platonic "I love you" a sincere "thank you".

fondest childhood memory: His earliest childhood memories are highly fragmented. One sticks out to him, though, being a few days after he was separated from his family. He met his one and only childhood best friend rather shortly after the separation, but only after a few days did the shock finally settle and he was able to appreciate his friend's presence for the blessing it was. Caspier recalls that first day it felt like his life started moving again, remembering when he and his friend, Jalis, came across a clear, rocky stream in their wandering through the wilds. Caspier had been in such a haze for so long, feeling the bite of the cold water when he stood in it did wonders to clear his head. He remembers sitting on a particularly large rock, mindful of how slick and wet it was, and dipping his hands in the brook to feel the current brush against his palms. It felt like the first time he was truly present again after the attack on his family's caravan that separated them. Then Jalis came running by, chasing a frog, yelling about how he'd never seen the creature before. Caspier remembers laughing and joining him, having never seen a frog himself in his cold, snowy birthplace, but he was at least aware of what the creatures were. They chased the frog until sundown and were both soaking wet. He remembers laughing as Jalis finally caught the frog, only to hold it at arms' length with a disturbed look on his face as it began screaming.

Is there anything else you'd like to share? (feel free to include art or a screenshot of your Tav if available!)

Nothing atm but if you ask me anything about him I’ll cry my ass will be so happy

[the-firebird69]

Pulp Fiction - "Where's My Watch?"

He's saying it's his father's watch and Christopher Walken was too what Christopher walkenant was it's my people and he means it too and he means it's the max but the max are not doing what he wants and he wants the money to try and get control and the wash is a talian if you're holding the watch you have the money and Trump took the watch from our son.

This is why the watch and the watchman analogy is very important and ghwb had it before our son and he saw him wearing it and thought it was a good thing and that was bad a little but didn't care it's asked for a little kids and it really wasn't and it says he's going to hold on to it for a Time and then he's going to lose it when Trump takes it and what they mean is the max are going to Trump and it'll be spirits by then off in the bunker they'll sound like spirits who says and in space and that's what's wrong about and that's their plan and right now he's pseudo empire is cutting their warlock to ribbons and taking them down and they sent 2 billion to westborough and the ship's fought and they the warlock lost and they're down to 5 billion yes and they are sending another 1 billion to Venus and their ships are getting ready the empire and us and foreigners too and because they're hot and they're going to start firing early and we're prepping they're heating up and they're not going to make it it will bring them to 4 billion in the suit of empire will be up to 9 billion roughly and will increase in the empire and foreigners and fairly soon we feel that the more luck will be out of ships and they're sending ships that are not just empire fairly soon they are going to try a tax on the Earth we think when they get to 4 billion which is going to be momentarily to lose this billion and then they will try and threaten Earth and they're going to be very surprised it's a response it's going to be sudden and very powerful and potent and they'll be out and after they lose their ships people are going to start marauding and going after them. Her son wrote a note about how he was in Boston and in the Boston common which is downtown park and he was thinking about money and how you have to be a man and how the clan is not going to be up to help him and how the parents of his weren't either he's a little sad kind of gloomy because he didn't know how to do it and they picked up on it and what it was about and he was looking at the park and said it's a beautiful place but it's very sad here and people are not dancing around having a great time even though they're trying to look it and he knows why as he's leaving the park he said I'm going to do this and they remembered it and they're making these ice sculptures and saying people having a good time have you left and said that was one of the most wonderful times I've ever had and he still felt the same way but a lot of people do a lot of Macs do they say this is a gross planet but we've always lived this way and he said this is not the way to live and it's disgusting and he knows people are killed there quite often and you see the statues and it makes him feel sick you know some people are statues and some people were bronze when they died and the bones are inside of some of them and he's horrified by it and some people were made molds when they died and they came back like mac it's extremely insulting to do that to someone and it certainly did not help the max but it's a special place and a special time that he was doing that it was a warm today was the beginning of spring the snow and ice were melting and he was still in school and studying and having a good time and he could smell the smells of spring and he liked it but he was quite horrified and this watch brings it all back and his wife too probably more so he says she goes through it she says and she remembers and feels a little bad but he says he's going to do it and he's doing it and we're getting ready for Max and their responses

Thor Freya

We are seeing something he's massively poor can't stand us and hates these idiots but these idiots are rebels and foreigners and he knows the plan and he's sick of us and he says it it makes a difference and we have to stop these people here and we're not doing anything just like they are it's like we're Frozen in fear about something and we made the plan I don't know what to say it's really stupid

Macs

They're going to proceed and they say that but they actually mean it they've been sitting here watching these goofballs and now these idiots are messing everything up but for them and they really have to but they sat around bothering our friend here for years because he's trying to stand up and walk around and do stuff he's supposed to I can't stand it anymore this idiots are harassing him to death and the max of provoking it like he can do something about their mental status and he's their mama and papa they're supposed to read them a bedtime story or something it's really horrendous they are not really savvy in a way that they should be no matter what happens it container control a little having these guys were ran rampages all over you and you separated and that's probably the answer and now you're promoting what time you have to and you're sick because they're down there too that's just Tommy f

Mac

We are down here and we hear it I want to know where and stuff and our son and daughter say where demons and other military installations and we do know that they're in trouble but we have to be on high alert and we getting a lot of stuff going and ready we are moving out and hiring too there's a huge push to hire thank God it's getting bigger and bigger and he's got all these programs that are going to start going on and we're going to have to hire everybody and it's soon going to be February and just days and we have 15 days I know it's a partial but it's really big really really big and we have to do it right

Hades and Goddess Wife

Her son and daughter say we must rest and to Thor and Freya and the others and organize what we're going to do tomorrow in our minds and be blessed and happy that we have this time to think of how to approach it and I thank them for their comments even he thinks us and really it's kind of sucks down here but yeah no I'd rather stay down here thank you...

Olympus

[jacksgreysays]

It sounds like the most likely option would be for ANY to gather support and force Naruto to resign in favor of a different candidate. I think they'd go for a more political approach, both because Naruto is not great at politics and also because they know actual fighting would end poorly, y'know?

Probably not Kakashi, but maybe someone like Tenten? Or Neji? Someone respected, mostly neutral, but also leaning a little more in Shikako's favor so as to get her home - aryaokayfriend

That's definitely a reasonable alternative course of action, aryaokayfriend, and I would think in a less bleak AU such a route would be feasible and without worse consequences. But since this is a bleak AU and thus everyone is being their most cynical/suspicious, it's unfortunately not the path the ANY clans can take. But, to clarify, when I say civil war, it is largely a COLD civil war in that the ANY clans ALSO don't want it to end in actual fighting--the secession IS them politically/legally maneuvering their way out of being part of Konoha (ie if the clans joined Konoha initially with the understanding that certain clan rights would be respected, then the Incident was a violation of that founding contract)

Although, to be fair, part of the problem is that the point in the timeline that Primadonna Girl (ftvuwc) happens is a full decade AFTER the Incident. And I would also think that the ANY clans already TRIED other methods before settling on a mass exodus/secession from Konoha. Especially early on when the Incident was still fresh and a vote of no confidence (or at least the military dictatorship equivalent) on Naruto would be striking while the iron was hot. A full decade later would be too late. Especially if you consider that a decade of peace is probably one of the better/longer Hokage reigns.

I do have the headcanon that the Akimichi (and thus the Nara and Yamanaka) have closer ties to the daimyo of the Land of Fire than the other Konoha clans, and such a thing could be useful for gathering economic/political support. And I do think that economic/political support is also useful for the ANY clans (and whoever decide to go with them) to essentially found their own mini-village. But while that economic/political support would put pressure on Naruto's reign (perhaps not as drastic as what happened with the Fourth Kazekage before the Konoha Chuunin Exams) there's other, more important, factors to consider seeing as how the Hokage is not beholden to the daimyo but rather a deterrent to the other hidden villages (ie, our leader is so strong, don't mess with us)

Which gets to the second part, in that for all that Naruto is not politically savvy, he is undeniably one of the strongest shinobi of Konoha. It's part of the reason why Danzo didn't become Hokage after the Sandaime died even though he must have jumped at the opportunity: there were two more obviously powerful candidates available (Jiraiya and Tsunade.) So there's more than just administration when it comes to being Hokage. And, again, to be fair this is right after an attempted invasion with them fully knowing that Orochimaru is a major threat and Tsunade is one of the few people who can take him in a fight. World peace is a little iffy in a society of magical military might as the basis for government, but even if it didn't matter how powerful a candidate is, it still matters how POPULAR a candidate is (ie, can their reputation alone protect the village)

And obviously Naruto's generation is absolutely FULL of badasses. Unfortunately, the only people who have the level of reputation that Naruto does are his teammates and his sensei who just stepped down. Which is part of the tension in the village since some people (in their most cynical/conspiracy theorist opinion) that the Incident happened as a way to get rid of Shikako. And while Naruto is not politically savvy, he is extremely charming/personable which Sasuke is not (and Sasuke wouldn't even want the role of Hokage. AND it would be very awkward for him to BECOME Hokage without it seeming like a huge betrayal to Naruto, no matter which side of the Incident Sasuke falls on.)

TenTen simply doesn't have the reputation or political backing (and some people, again in their most cynical opinion, would simply view her as a knock off Shikako considering a lot of her fire power comes from seals.) Neji might have a more impressive post-war reputation (since we're entertaining the idea that he lives in this otherwise extremely bleak AU) and is a clan kid but that's also part of the problem. Because he's part of the Branch House of the Hyuuga clan and has, essentially, a slavery seal on his forehead (again, bleak AU, we're presupposing the caged bird seal has not been dealt with) which is not something you want in a Hokage--although, as far as the cynical/conspiracy theorist versions of the Hyuuga are concerned they have Naruto who has, in all but name, married into the Main House.

There is also Sakura (because some part of me will always be so enamored with a Hokage!Sakura) depending on how actually devoted to world peace the other villages are because she is the last apprentice of Tsunade and so has both the healing and combat abilities to ride that legacy even if she doesn't have the clan lineage that other candidates have. Especially if, given Konoha is already known for being medical leaders, that's the direction they (and I don't know who "they" are tbh) essentially market Sakura as a Hokage candidate. And while those same cynical people who thought TenTen is just a knock off Shikako would think of Sakura as a knock off Tsunade, that's not as bad a thing. Because Shikako is still arguably available, versus Tsunade being fully retired (or deceased?) and passed her prime. Sakura as a knock off Tsunade is the closest to a Tsunade in her prime that the Konoha would be able to get at the point in time everything goes down. Additionally, Sakura is not as close to Naruto in DoS as she is in canon and so she wouldn't be as concerned about it and it wouldn't feel as much like a betrayal for her to replace Naruto as Hokage.

Unfortunately, there would still be that sign of weakness that Konoha would even switch Hokage without the previous Hokage being dead/medically unfit. Would the other villages act on it considering the "world peace?" I don't know, but it certainly doesn't look good.

I know I said it jokingly in the first PG(ftvuwc) review response, but at this point in the timeline, it might actually be that the safest/least politically tumultuous route to fixing this bleak AU is for Shikadai to become Hokage. Or at the very least declare his intentions to be Hokage (since I don't think Konoha's political landscape can survive another decade of cold civil war.)

And it does harken back to the original premise of Naruto (boy trying to be powerful/Hokage so as to protect his precious people) in a very twisty sort of way.

Because Shikadai (declaring his intent to) becoming Hokage does unpack the politics of the Incident without needing anyone (ie Naruto and Shikako) to backtrack their decisions. (Not that, at this point, the individuals that used to be friends, Naruto and Shikako, WOULDN'T backtrack and apologize to each other. But by this point in time they are no longer individuals so much as they are unwilling symbols of different sides of a civil war.)

And while Shikamaru wouldn't have had the power/reputation to be a Hokage candidate, Shikadai is also Temari's son (and the Incident was a consequence of how she was the better Kazekage candidate than Kankurou) and he's been a motivated Nara since the beginning similar to Shikako AND if he does end up getting the deer summons from her (and maybe other training?), will probably end up her heir which is, similar to Sakura, enough of a connection that he can ride that legacy even if he never becomes AS badass as Shikako.

As for the other side, it wouldn't be seen as Naruto being replaced so much as it would be passing the hat along to the next generation. Yes, it would be him retiring relatively early as opposed to having to step down because of health (or death) but it would be less jarring politically (internally and internationally) if it's going to the next generation rather than laterally to someone less powerful in his same generation.

This is probably way more of a response than you were expecting for, aryaokayfriend. Sorry about that, the brainrot is real.

the bleak primadonna au brainrot is real

I have loved your posts on characters' thoughts so far, but I haven't really seen Kakashi mentioned? How does he feel about the whole ordeal? How is he reacting to the fallout? What would he do if there was a civil war over it?

AHHHHHH, anon, thank you for validating bleak primadonna AU brainrot is real. I’m patient zero and it is wild how much I keep thinking about it, lol.

To be fair I hadn’t really considered Kakashi much in this AU until you asked. Except for the canonical “had he still been Hokage this wouldn’t have happened” type thing. But as a person also affected by the Incident and, again, living with the knowledge that he could have prevented this, there’s all that good classic Kakashi Guilt™

BECAUSE I do still stand by the idea that he would have given Shikako her justified revenge. BUT ALSO, another part of the reason for the brewing civil war is that some people think Shikako is the better Hokage candidate so there must be a part of Kakashi that is wondering what if he had chosen Shikako as his successor.

And, like, we have to imagine that when it came time for Kakashi to pass down the hat he did know that objectively Shikako is the better leader, administrator, mentor/guide, general, etc. etc. Of course as of canon DoS, Naruto is still out on his time skip training trip, but Shikako has gone full jounin with SQ’s world building of peace time jounin requirements and even before then we see the difference between Shikako taking the lead on missions versus Naruto being mission leader.

Although, again, haven’t consumed Boruto, so I don’t know if they ever explained what happens between teen Naruto to Hokage Naruto. He could still be genin ranked for all I know, although I would think that whatever powers that be that decide the next Hokage would want him to prove himself as a jounin. And while, arguably, wartime promotions are a thing (obviously child Kakashi didn’t have a civic leadership project considering his almost literal lone wolf vibe and also being a child) the whole point of a Hokage Naruto is that he wants/brought about a world of peace. Which is to say that we don’t necessarily know what Naruto will end up doing for his jounin civic leadership project or even if one is required of him, but I can’t imagine it’s more impressive/significant than the, essentially, multiple jounin civic leadership projects that Shikako has done/contributed to, etc.

All of that to say, if Kakashi were to be logical about his successor he would definitely consider/ask Shikako first—privately so as not to rub it in Naruto and Sasuke’s faces--then ask for her opinion on who it should be after she says no. Because obviously he knows about being a reluctant Hokage forced into a position he doesn’t want (he probably tried to pass down the hat even earlier, but it’s not until a certain age when his students are a more acceptable option that it becomes reasonable) and he would never want to do the same thing to his students. And of course at this point in time—post war/all threats dealt with—Shikako just wants to relax and come up with cool seals and not worry about any oncoming tragedy so she certainly doesn’t want to be Hokage. And moreover of course she wouldn’t want to steal Naruto’s dream. So she turns Kakashi down.

(And this is maybe something she thinks about, too. After everything. The hubris she had that even if she didn’t become Hokage that she could still guide/influence her friends into doing what she wanted/thought was correct. And how galling it must have been when Naruto refused her. O_O)

But back to Kakashi.

He wonders, maybe, if he should have… not MADE her take the hat per se, but been a little more convincing. Encouraged her toward it in a way that said, “Hey, I was the best option Konoha had at the time and I stepped up. I think you’re the best option Konoha has now and I want you to step up, too.” Because it’s not always about who WANTS it the most but who is BEST for the role.

(And also, for all that Naruto is arguably not great in the bleak primadonna AU, I don’t think he’d be resentful towards Shikako had she become Hokage. He would have been a little heart broken for a little bit, maybe, and always think about it wistfully, but I think he would have eventually come to terms with it and, like, re-contextualize his desire to be Hokage for what it really was (to be publicly respected and liked which he achieved before becoming Hokage anyway))

But, let’s move beyond Kakashi’s Guilt and Regrets™

If Sasuke is conflicted to the point of being neutral and staying in the village, I would want to do something different with Kakashi. In classic Kakashi fashion, he does turn the blame inwards, but he also has to never show it because now—with the exception of Gai—the only people he can be vulnerable about these types of things are his students who are at the heart of the issue (and also Sasuke who is already SO conflicted)

It’s a very fine line he is walking and I’m not sure if I’m even articulating it right, but basically I think he is a big Kako Heijo fan but also never acknowledges who Kako Heijo really is. Like, whenever possible, he goes to the midnight premieres of her movies but never reaches out to use his obvious connections to get merch or autographs or special seating or anything like that. Why would he? He’s just a fan of Kako Heijo. He has no other connection to her. Of course he never taught her, you must be confused, Kako Heijo is a civilian actress not a shinobi. Why are you being so weird. Oh, you must be thinking of my student Shikako Nara. I suppose they have similar names, but I don’t see how you’d get them confused.

Extreme denial is the way he’d go.

I also think, in order to prevent… hm… there’s probably another faction in the village who want Kakashi to be Hokage again instead. Like, a neutral faction or a faction who is also trying to prevent a civil war by seeking a third option or, like, the older generation who see both Shikako and Naruto as overdramatic upstarts because Kakashi shouldn’t have even given up the hat anyway. You keep it until you die (or are unable to fight. Actually, DOES something happen to Kakashi that would make him unable to fight? I did not read much of Shippuden.) But even if Kakashi thought it would work (it wouldn’t) I don’t think he’d want to be Hokage again. And if anything that would just be kicking the problem further down the line because he’d have to retire again eventually and his successors would still be Naruto and Shikako… and maybe Sasuke, although I feel like he’d want it even less?

Anyways… in order to prevent that, I think Kakashi really is leaning into the whole… I’m just a silly old man. Yes I used to be Hokage and one of the deadliest S-rank shinobi on the planet, but now I like to watch movies and play with my dogs, nothing to see here.

And so as not to seem one-sided in his personal but not professional support, I do think Kakashi gets closer to the Uzumaki family as, like, a strange uncle figure (which adds to Boruto’s weird double prince privilege vibe) so its not just them and the Hyuuga clan. But understandably it gets fraught when Naruto neglects his fatherly duties to be Hokage—which both Boruto and Himawari are sad about and only adds to the guilt that Kakashi points inward—and Kakashi doesn’t help him with that because 1) that’s not his job anymore, 2) he’s just a silly old man, and 3) if Kakashi helps Naruto professionally then what was the point of even passing the hat down, if he’s going to advise Naruto then he should have just kept it and maybe the Incident wouldn’t have happened and he wou—

Things get cyclical with Kakashi and his Guilt/Regret Spiraling™

When I say civil war, I don’t actually think there will be outright war and fighting. Most of the movement would be led by the ANY clans and most of that would be a peaceful secession from Konoha, possibly citing the original clan laws of why they joined Konoha in the first place, and sort of implying that there were contracts in place about clan responsibilities to the village and vice versa when Konoha was founded.

Now whether or not the other side accepts the secession peacefully is up in the air, but the ANY clans have been PLANNING and PREPARING for this for a long time so i would think that if it did come to actual battle, the ANY clans would have the foresight to have already evacuated all their noncombatants which puts more risk for the other side. And, sure, Naruto would kick Chouji’s ass—especially since, without Shikamaru, he and Ino aren’t as effective in battle as they were before and no way is Ino going to be able to mind jump a jinchuuriki—but by that point it gets kinda dicey since like… Naruto’s whole stance is that he brought peace to the Elemental Nations and also that Shikako straight up murdered who she wanted… so obviously it’s not hypocrisy per se, but it doesn’t look great in either direction for Naruto if he lets a third of his village leave or if he forces(?) a third of his village to stay under threat of imprisonment(?)

Kakashi knows this. And this is the one case where he is being proactive, competent Hound/former Hokage in that he is trying to reintegrate the ANY clans into the village without tipping anyone off about the plan to secede and also that he knows about the plan to secede. Or maybe he doesn’t really KNOW it per se, but I think he gets the vibe that something is happening to the ANY clans similar to what happened to the Uchiha clan and he’s trying to fix the problem the same way he would have fixed that without realizing that the ANY clans are isolating/diminishing their presence themselves rather than it being done to them by other people.

(Because if it comes to actual war, Kakashi knows what he’ll do. It’s what he’s always done. He’ll fight for Konoha. He’ll kill for Konoha. He doesn’t want to, but he will if it comes to that. But it won’t. Because the Hokage is Naruto and that’s what got them into this situation in the first place)

That being said, it really does depend on the Hyuuga Branch House on whether or not things turn to violence. Because if the ANY clans are able to recruit the Branch House they get that moral victory AND the majority of Konoha’s current most powerful bloodline which means that even if the other clans are willing to stay with Naruto’s village, much less fight for it, odds are not in their favor. But, if the ANY clans CAN’T recruit the Branch House, it then depends on whether they are willing to fight against their current best chance at removing the seal (because even if Shikako is currently off being Kako Heijo that doesn’t mean she won’t at some point go back to sealing. And she won’t look favorably on them if they mess with her clans) and even if they do fight, I can’t imagine they’re going to go all out. (And, also, I have to wonder if Akimichi physiology is at all a deterrent to the Hyuuga’s style? Like… does their bulk mean that more effort is required to hit the tenketsu?)

And, like, even if the ANY clans lose, at worst Naruto is going to imprison them (specifically Chouji and Ino and maybe Kinokawa as the leaders) because the whole situation even started because he doesn’t believe in capital punishment. And then, what, their clans are just supposed to fall back in line without being resentful? And then as if Kako Heijo won’t come out of retirement to prison break her childhood friends and her little brother. AND THEN! THAT JUST FURTHER PROVES THE FUTILITY OF NARUTO’S STANCE (but also does maybe now turn Shikako into an official S-rank nuke nin like the many Konoha S-rank nuke nin before her, but who’s going to go up against her, really, lol)

Oh Kakashi, so little of this is your fault, and yet I know he’s going to internalize all of it and just destroy himself emotionally while still being cool and casual externally.

Sorry for ranting, thank you for indulging me.

[phoenixyfriend]

Anakin Assists the Jedi Council While On Medical Leave

AU brainstormed primarily by @atagotiak, @gelpenss, and myself.

Basically, a fix-it based in Anakin getting a peek into the daily life on the Council early, and accidentally Figuring Some Shit Out along the way, mostly because Palps Fucks Up.

So, Anakin gets injured in a way that limits him to Coruscant for a few weeks. He can still walk and talk, but he can't fight. The specific injury doesn't matter, just this:

Anakin runs errands on behalf of the council and sits in on meetings to take minutes as a "you're on medical leave but we need all hands on deck, congrats you get to be the secretary until we can send you on stabbing missions again" thing.

Also, there just aren't a whole lot of people with Anakin's clearance level. They had to send out Stass Allie to handle the mission that was originally next on Anakin's roster, and Anakin's the most convenient person to substitute into her position.

He's not super happy about this but he can more or less understand the point of it. Given that he gets antsy about needing to fight almost immediately, he can acknowledge the worth of having something useful to do, if only as the person who's writing down who says what and making sure everyone has the right file on hand.

(Besides, Obi-Wan jokes in a way that Anakin thinks might be encouraging, this is good practice if Anakin ever wants to be on the High Council himself!)

(This is a very helpful conversation.)

BASICALLY, Anakin is resigned to this but agrees because "Usually we have Master Allie handle this but we need her running that mission that was originally set for the 501st, so you get to fill in for her until you can switch back. Think of it as training for eventual mastery or admin or--listen, we're just really stretched thin."

Here's the key thing, though: Anakin isn't supposed to leave the Temple, for medical reasons, so Palpatine doesn't know Anakin is sitting in on Council meetings. They haven't met up since Anakin's last surgery, and because [muffled hand-wave reason] he didn't find out another way, like Anakin comming him or the Council giving him the heads-up about the change in attendance.

It's fine. He's just taking notes and doing preparatory research, he has the clearance, the Chancellor likes him anyway. Hell, they'd have had someone's Padawan doing this, before the war increased the necessary clearance levels. They'll toss in a quick message in the brief they send to Palps that he never reads anyway, and that's really all they need to do. Skywalker's getting some rounded experience and this way the medics won't be freaking out about him stressing his heart after getting electrocuted by trying to spar too early.

Palpatine doesn't talk directly to the Council, he just sends a recording the first time Anakin is there. It's a bit weird, but nothing goes wrong. Anakin's off-screen from whatever device they use to send a response, since he's not technically a member, just assisting for a bit on the part of Master Allie's duties that he's actually allowed to touch (and not the bits that are getting added to Mace, Plo, and Shaak's stuff).

The first four or so meetings are like that. Anakin starts having a bit of sympathy for the Council as he sees how many things they want to do that are hampered by the need for Senatorial approval, things that he would also want to do and didn't think required this much red tape.

About a week in, still mostly recordings with Anakin just sitting on the side playing paralegal, the wheel of fortune turns a few pegs.

Palpatine hands over a an order on the range of injury that a soldier should be treated for, "to ensure that republic resources aren't being wasted on clones that, while expensive, would actually be cheaper to replace than repair."

Oh, he dresses it up in prettier language than that. Anakin doesn't process it as such first.

The Chancellor manages to couch his phrasing in "prioritizing resources for taxpaying republic citizens and employees of the GAR," which... well.

The natborn commissioned officers pay taxes. The Jedi are employees. The clones are neither, because they're slaves.

Probably he frames it as the employees thing, very much the kinda language that sounds halfway ok unless you’re fluent in political bullshit.

And Anakin is really confused at first about why the council is upset by the order because, okay, he would PREFER to be able to use medical supplies on refugees when possible, but he understands prioritizing the soldiers?

He just looks up, totally lost, when someone groans and goes, "That's the third time this year, is he trying to get us all killed?"

And it vibes as such a genuine, aggrieved, sad reaction that Anakin is completely blindsided because it's not the sarcastic, petty resentment he kind of expected? It's just... desperate depression.

And someone gently has to explain that this is the third time they've had resources restricted to only GAR employees and that it's a polite way of saying "prioritize natborn officers, stop wasting resources on clones, we can replace them easier."

Or maybe he doesn't ask, because he's just there to take notes, not argue, and he can see the masters drawing up a response that amounts to "We would like to remind you that our soldiers do not fall into that classification, and to limit their access to our medical supplies is liable to cause a loss of life that we find unreasonably high. Please see the annotations attached to adjust wording so that the clones may receive the same level of care."

Anakin's internally just like "Yeah, that's phrased nice and addresses the main problem, Palpatine will obviously agree and change it!"

And then he comes in the next day and the response comes in and it's just dripping condescension about considering the clones actual people.

"This is why we can't use the bacta tanks on clones anymore, just the patches. We could use them at first, we had a few of the CCs get through fatal injuries with them, but they cut that off and said we could only use the tanks on Jedi and non-clone officers a few months ago. The Banking Clans keep tightening their belts on the army, and the Chancellor insists we put citizens first, and the clones aren't citizens. We've been arguing back as much as we can, but he keeps going on about the economy and we can't... we just can't, Skywalker. We're trying to save as many of our men as we can, but..."

Something like "Allocation of resources reiterated, the Kaminoans have assured the senate that the Jedi are far from exhausting the resources ordered."

And Anakin's like. He can't blame the council for lying about Palpatine's past or future actions. He just saw Palpatine's actions. Those actions were to order people under his control to throw away lives he saw as replaceable commodities.

These are his friends' lives.

His soldiers are being thrown away by a man in a tower that he trusted.

And then that man has the gall to suggest it's the council's fault.

Palpatine is good at what he does, especially in public, he dresses it up in flowery language and everything, but Anakin's just like "Those are my FRIENDS and also this is??? How slavers talked about their property on Tatooine???? FRIENDPATINE, WHAT THE FUCK."

Anakin can be passive aggressive sometimes as well as outright aggressive. So if he brings up the guidelines and why they make him upset in general terms, and Palpatine says something about how he’s sad the council doesn’t care about the clones...

Anakin, internally, having just watched the council scramble to save as many clones as possible within the guidelines that Palps handed down: Uh-huh.

(Anakin is just the gay horror teeth gif from queer eye.)

Just. “Yeah, funny you say that, Palpatine! Because as I remember, you told the council not to waste more resources than necessary while Mace Windu was arguing to expand the treatment range!”

Palps doesn't even have time to salvage the situation or attack Anakin because Anakin just bulldoze rants for fifteen minutes and then storms out.

Anakin... maybe does a little treason and gets a copy of the orders so he can ask Padme "Hey, can you explain the politics of this?" and doesn't tell her who wrote it so she isn't biased (he tells her that this is why he's not sharing the author's/speaker's name), and just lets Padme pick apart all the 'this is a nice way of saying they don't view the clones as people' details.

Alternately, someone on the Council sees Anakin dithering and manages to get him to admit that he's not great at political language and wants to ask someone to help him understand the full implications. The person--Mace? let's go with Mace--is aware that Anakin is on good terms with Senator Amidala, if not necessarily aware of the depth of said relationship. Mace points out that he's probably going to be seeing her soon just because he usually does and, as a Senator, she can get easy access to these sessions since they're not about specific missions, just allocation of resources, etc. It's not an optimal solution, but she's got a bit more free time than anyone else Anakin knows with the clearance levels, like Order members that are actively involved in the war effort.

Anakin dithers and panics and Mace, trying to be helpful, tells him that plenty of Jedi have made friends among the Senate over the years, didn't you know Qui-Gon Jinn was a personal friend of Former Chancellor Valorum?

At any rate, Anakin goes to Padme and asks her to explain it to him, because she knows how to phrase things so he gets it.

Anakin has to have her pause and he goes outside and destroys some things halfway through.

(Anakin maybe thinks back to the times Padmé or Obi-Wan were really obviously frustrated and when he asked, they said stuff like “I can’t stand Palpatine rn, sorry Anakin I know he’s important to you and you don’t want to talk about politics, let’s just talk about something else.”)

(Obi-Wan: I don’t trust Palpatine Anakin: you just don’t like politicians in general Obi-Wan: yes that is also true)

(Obi-Wan does like Bail and Padme but he does also talk a bit about how politicians generally aren’t to be trusted.)

[bonnyskies]

deadly agenda ⇢ myg

min yoongi is a dangerous man. you’re a manipulative wife. together, you two are a deadly duo, and you both have your own agenda.

pairing — emperor!yoongi x wife!malereader ft. king-husband!taehyung

genres — angst, sexual themes, royalty!au, strangers-to-lovers!au

warnings — age-gap (reader is 20, yoongi is 28), swearing, degrading terms, mentions of death, feminization, descriptions of murder, sexual themes, infidelity, betrayal, slight voyeurism, yoongi is intimidating and reader is manipulative, basically they’re just plain evil

author’s note — i hate tumblr’s new update. i had more to write (not enough for a part two) but couldn’t because of the new 250 text box rule. but as for this story, this is probably the longest one i’ve written so far and the one i’m most proud of. anyway, hope you all enjoy and sorry for taking so long to upload this, took lots of planning and rewriting, plus i’ve been busy with school too.

word count — 7.4k

masterlist

Min Yoongi is a cautious, yet observant man.

Whoever steps foot in his palace, he makes sure to know everything about them. Who they are, they’re background, appearance, and how they approach him. Each and every thing can help him learn who he can trust, and who he cannot, who are his allies—and who are his enemies.

Yoongi stood by his palace’s entrance, accompanied with his guards and greeted his special guests, one by one as they walked up his home’s grand steps. He makes sure to take notes on each and every person’s facial expression, their appearance, chosen attire, and the certain way they walk up to him.

Anything could benefit him into knowing them. Their wealth and clan can be identified based on their specific appearance and choice of clothing. Their facial expressions help him learn what their true feelings and intentions are towards him that are hidden by their fake smiles and words. And lastly, the way they walk up to him can help him know the type of personality they have, whether that be obedient and innocent, or arrogant and untrustworthy.

The way he learns about his guests have never failed him. That was, until he met you.

Yoongi would be lying if he said he wasn’t astonished when his eyes laid on you for the first time. There were many things that left him utterly speechless when meeting you. For one, when his advisor told him that his guest would be bringing his wife, he was expecting a woman—not a man.

Another thing that left Yoongi speechless was your appearance, mostly your attire. You were dressed in feminine-like clothing, silk robes that were decorated with gold jewelry instead of fine material clothing with armor plating like what many men of royalty wear. And you also didn’t hold a blade like most men do too. Instead, you held a simple wooden decorative fan.

And lastly, your eyes.

Yoongi has a remarkable judge of character. Maybe not as good when it came to you, but still adequate. On the outside, your eyes were shining with gentleness and a kind greeting. But he could tell there was something else hidden behind them—something that left him intrigued by you.

You had an agenda—plans, and Yoongi was determined to find out what they are.

The welcoming feast was extremely dull.

Yoongi absorbed gallons of wine into his system, hoping that would help numb his mind and get through the rest of the evening without having to tear somebody’s head off from their body.

And apparently you thought the same as he did. Across the table, Yoongi watched as you fanned yourself out of boredom while everyone else were socializing with one another, an unamused facial expression shown on your face. Yoongi couldn’t help but chuckle behind his glass when seeing one of the other wives say something to you and you flashed her a quick smile before dropping it back down into a straight line.

It seems his attention on you didn’t go unnotice because next thing he knew, your eyes were now on him. Yoongi was expecting hints of disgust or uncomfort from you, but instead he was met with sly smirk and a raised brow.

Yoongi watches intently as you leaned over and whispered into your husband’s ear. Your husband—Kim Taehyung then stood up from his seat and bowed his head, “Excuse me, your Majesty.”

Yoongi turned his head towards your husband, diverting his attention completely away from you.

“My wife is not feeling well at the moment, so with your permission, would it be alright if he can take his leave from the feast early?”

The entire dining hall fell silent, shocked expressions plastered on everyone’s faces at the table.

Nobody has ever dared to leave one of Min Yoongi’s feasts before. Who would want to, right? It’s considered a great honor for one self and their kingdom to be invited by the Emperor himself to attend one of his events.

Whispers began to spread amongst the guests.

“How shameless is Kim Taehyung’s wife?”

“Wanting to leave the Emperor’s feast early? Utterly shameless I tell you.”

“That Taehyung needs to discipline his wife.”

“Doesn’t he know how important his Majesty’s events are? And he wants to leave just because he isn’t feeling well? Unbelievable.”

“He needs to learn some manners—”

Anxiety swept across Taehyung’s face when hearing the gossips coming from the other royals, eyes wide and mouth gaped open with panic. “Forgive me, your Majesty, I never intended to—”

With just the clear of his throat, everybody fell silent once again and all eyes were now on him. Yoongi’s gaze would shift between you and your husband, curiosity filling his veins when noticing that there wasn’t any signs of illness presently visible on you. You weren’t trembling, your eyes weren’t red and skin wasn’t showing any signs of flushness. You looked fine.

That only caused more questions to form in Yoongi’s mind. Like, what do you exactly want, and what is your reason for being here? Because according to his advisor, you weren’t even part of the guest list until today. That only raised even more suspicions he had towards you.

And it’s not like he can just throw you out—actually, he can. It’s just that he doesn’t want to because now he’s curious, and he wants to see how things turn out.

“He can go,” Yoongi says a brief silence, immediately noticing the small smile creeping onto your lips. “But take him to see the physician and let him check him out,” and then it dropped.

“N-No, your Majesty,” you spoke up, lips parted. “You don’t have to do that—”

“You’re feeling unwell, right?” Yoongi then asks, smirking at the silence he got in reply. “Well, you should let my physician diagnose you then. Don’t worry though, you’re in great hands.”

One of his guards that stood by his side approached you and started to guide you to the physician’s office. And while you were leaving, Yoongi could see the glare coming from you and aimed right at him.

If you wanted to play games with him, he’ll play.

Wandering through the palace halls at night was something Yoongi usually does whenever he can’t sleep.

And apparently you had the same tendency too.

While mindlessly strolling through his palace’s hallways, Yoongi’s eyes suddenly landed on your approaching figure, the first thing catching his attention was your choice of clothing. You were dressed in golden inner robes, your sleep-wear, and the material was so thin and transparent that every feature about you was visible to him. The sight of your clear, smooth skin and every curve of your body and muscles made his mouth water. It was like you were purposely dressed like that to seduce him.

Another thing that caught his eye was the small, slightly torn grayish book that was in your grasp, which was where your complete attention was on because you still haven’t noticed his presence despite the two of you walking towards the other.

“Hello, your Highness,” you jumped out of fear, eyes wide and closing your book when your gaze landed on him. “May I ask why you are wandering around my palace this late at night?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” you simply answered, fingers tight around the cover the book, which only made Yoongi even more curious as to what you were exactly reading. “And it seems you are having the same problem as well, am I correct?”

Yoongi only hummed in reply, taking another small step towards you until you two now stood only inchest apart, him towering over you and staring down right at you. “Is there something wrong with your chambers? I can tell my servants to move you and your husband into a more comfortable place for you—”

“No no, your Majesty,” you were quick to interject. “Everything is perfect. It’s just that I’ve always had trouble sleeping at another royal’s residence, that’s all.”

Yoongi couldn’t help but find your reason funny, because he has always had trouble sleeping when there were other people staying in his palace.

A brief silence came between you two before Yoongi spoke up once again, “I’ll be taking a quick walk around my garden, you can accompany me if you like.” He didn’t wait for your reply before leaving, but when hearing the sound of your footsteps behind him right after, a smirk grew on his lips.

“You know, you never really introduced yourself when we first met,” Yoongi then brought up while the two of you made your way to the gardens.

“Forgive me, your Majesty,” you bowed your head apologetically before replying, “My name is ___, Kim ___.”

“It’s a great pleasure to meet you, Kim ___,” Yoongi reached down and took your hand into his, pressing a soft, yet tender kiss on the back of your palm, smirking at the evident blush forming on your cheeks. “And I’ve got to say, you are looking quite well for someone that claimed to be feeling sick not even three hours ago,” and that is when your smile dropped.

“Must’ve been my anxiety,” you were quick to reply back, your eyes never leaving his. “After all, I am staying at the Emperor’s palace for the first time.”

Yoongi was impressed honestly, he had to admit. For everything he had to say against you, you had something say right back at him. There isn’t a lot of people who have that type of skill to think of words—believeable words right on the spot. Anybody would believe what you were saying—too bad he isn’t just anybody.

“Must be...,” Yoongi just says, eyeing you slightly. His gaze then shifted onto the book in your hand. “What are you reading there?”

“Oh this,” you held the book up, “It’s called Flowers of the Region—a guide to every type of flower that is grown and can be found in both the South and the North. It’s my favorite book.”

“Well, that’s fortunate,” Yoongi points out, “you like flowers, and we so happen to be going to my garden. What’s your favorite flower?”

“Lily of the Valley,” you answer with a smile. “Have you heard of it?”

“I have,” Yoongi replied, his interest towards you growing even more. Lily of the Valley, despite the beautiful features of the white flower, it is proven to be quite deadly when digested. “They are only found on top of the Southern mountains—but lucky for you, I happen to grow them right here in my garden.”

Your smile grew even wider. “That’s great.”

The rest of the walk to the gardens was in silence with you trailing forward while Yoongi stood back. And with your eyes focused on the path in front of you, Yoongi couldn’t help but send glances at you every once in a while, his eyes burning into your back, admiring at the clear view your smooth skin through the thin, transparent material of your inner robes.

He surely needs to give whoever crafted your sleepwear a raise—and a big one too.

When the two of you finally got to the gardens, you were left instantly speechless at the sight of the many plots of different flowers, ranging from beautiful, vibrant ones that were quite common to dark, mysterious ones that you’ve never even seen before.

Yoongi couldn’t deny how adorable you looked though when seeing his garden for the first time, eyes wide, shining with admiration and your mouth gaped open.

“This is beautiful,” you gasped, leaning down and running your fingers delicately over some flowers.

“Thank you,” Yoongi stood beside you, “I make sure my gardeners take good care of this place.”

Silenced filled the atmosphere as Yoongi stood back and silently watched you admiring the many flowers. Normally he’d be annoyed for someone touching his property, but for some odd reason when it came to you he didn’t mind so much. Perhaps it’s because this might be the only way for him to get close to you and learn about your true intentions—or maybe he just really wants to fuck you.

Yoongi found himself once again staring at you, watching as you bent over to get a closer look at one of the flowers, giving him a perfect view of your ass and hips, both in which he wants to grab and caress with his large hands.

“So,” Yoongi spoke up after some silence, “how exactly did you become the new Lady Kim?”

Yoongi instantly noticed the way your body tensed from his question. “I was his Highness’s personal servant. When his wife suddenly passed away, he was a complete mess and I was the only one that stayed by his side through the entire mourning process. I was the one that comforted him whenever he was feeling down, I made sure he was taking care of himself and helped him with his royal duties.”

Yoongi then noticed your shoulder slumping. “After about a month or so, he started seeking me for a...different kind of comfort.” Sex. “Soon later he decided to make his new wife—the new Lady Kim.”

“You don’t seem so happy about the change in position,” Yoongi commented, “I’m sure this is much better than being a simple servant. You’re a royal now.”

“Oh, I am,” you quickly corrected him, “But being a man and having a feminine title can sometimes make things complicated.”

“Well then, don’t make them complicated.” Yoongi suggested, “You’re not a servant anymore, you’re a royal. They may not respect you now, but you have the power to make them do so.”

“Don’t worry, I know,” you told him sternly. “They’ll learn to respect me. Whether that be the hard way or the easy way—it’s their choice. So you better watch out, your Majesty, or something bad might happen to you,” you laughed softly.

Yoongi released a forceful chuckle, eyes briefly squinting at you suspiciously. It may have sound like a harmless joke, but to him, he could hear the small hints of truth behind them. “Oh trust me, I will. I wouldn’t want you as an enemy.”

“And you as well,” you replied, eyeing him back.

Silence came between you two again, Yoongi leaving you to inspect his garden in peace while he stood back and watched you. It wasn’t until an hour has passed you spoke up again, yawning, “we should head back to bed, your Majesty. We have that conference in the morning with the other royals and we need the energy.”

“You’re right,” Yoongi agreed, nodding and stepping aside so that you could walk ahead of him and back inside the place with him following right beside you. “Let me walk you back to your room.”

You didn’t say anything, only held your head low to hide the small grin on your face as the both of you made your back to the chambers. And as you two got closer to your destination, you both were froze at the sound of moaning.

Yoongi was confused at first as who it could be, but when turning to you and seeing the hardened expression on your face, he knew.

“O-Oh, Taehyung—f-faster, please!”

Yoongi was speechless. He knew many royals took on concubines while being married, but he didn’t know someone could so shameless as to bringing them to another person’s residence alongside their spouse. “Your Highness—”

“Don’t bother, your Majesty,” you spoke calmly, eyes hard and emotionless. “I’m use to it by now and it doesn’t really bother me anymore.”

“Really, it doesn’t?”

You shook your head. “At first it did, but after sleeping with my husband so many times I have learned that the only person he cares to satisfy is himself.”

Yoongi couldn’t help but chuckle. What kind of husband doesn’t have the desire to satisfy is own wife? Maybe he should take you to his chambers and show you exactly what you’re missing. “Well, I-I’m still sorry for you.”

You simply shrugged your shoulders, “it doesn’t matter, your Majesty. Have a good night.”

Yoongi watched as you then opened the door went inside the chamber, causing your husband and the woman to stop and look at you with wide eyes.

“Don’t mind me,” you said to them, not even bothering to glance at them, shocking Yoongi. “I’ll be on the balcony reading my book. Just let me when you two are done.”

Taehyung’s attention instantly went back to the woman that was straddling his lap when hearing your words, hands kneading her breasts and hips and started thrusting back up into her, causing moans to erupt from both of them. Yoongi didn’t why, but the sight of them made his blood boil.

Maybe he should go in there and fuck you in front of your husband? That’ll show him what he is missing out.

Yoongi continued to watch through the crack in the door as you walked past the couple and went onto the balcony. And once you were out of his sight, that’s when he finally got a clear view of the woman on your husband’s lap, and he instantly recognized her. She was one of the servants that accompanied you and Taehyung here. Yoongi distinctly remembered seeing her earlier today, serving you tea after you got back from seeing the physician.

Yoongi glared at the couple, scoffing at the sight. What did that Kim Taehyung see in that whore of a servant that you don’t have?

You are far more enticing than she is.

Taking one last glance at the shameless couple, Yoongi retreated back to his chambers. And while he did so, his mind suddenly went back to you. How did someone so...unique end up with a man like Kim Taehyung? He’s a weak person, a shame to royal blood. You deserve to be with someone with real power, someone who would never leave you unsatisfied, both physically and emotionally. Someone like me.

Yoongi could feel himself harden just from the thought of you.

Damn you for having this type of power over me, his mind cursed. Yoongi has slept with countless of other royals before, both men and women, and he has never encountered someone like you.

You are truly something else.

“Damn,” Yoongi mumbled out to nobody in particular, palming himself through his robes. “How the hell am I going to get rid of this?”

And right on queue, a young servant boy just happened to be walking right by Yoongi when the question ran through his head.

“Stop,” was all he said, making the servant boy freeze in his place.

“Y-Yes, your Majesty?”

Yoongi took slow, intimidating steps towards him until he was towering over him, using his hands to cup his chin and forcing the servant boy to meet his eyes. “How would you feel having the honor of spending the night with your Emperor?”

The servant boy couldn’t stop the small smile from forcing on his face. “I-I would love that, your Majesty.”

That was Yoongi needed to hear before leaning down capturing the servant’s boys lips with his, hands moving to his thighs and hoisting him up in his arms and carrying him into his chambers, lips never separating.

“You’re a eager one, are you?” Yoongi chuckled against the servant boy’s mouth, moving his lips down his neck and forcing a whimpering moan from him.

“I-It’s my duty to serve y-you, your Majesty.”

That brought a smile on Yoongi’s lips.

Yoongi couldn’t find you anywhere the next day.

He couldn’t find at you breakfast, he couldn’t find you during the conference with the other royals and their wives, and he couldn’t find you at lunch. Now as dinner was approaching, there still wasn’t any sign of you anywhere.

But he had no problem finding your husband. Wherever he saw Taehyung, he saw that whore of a servant trailing behind him like a pet—but you no where to be seen.

Yoongi thought about approaching him to ask about your whereabouts, but he couldn’t help but think of the consequences that would happen afterwards. But that still didn’t stop him from sending glares at the younger royal and the servant every now and then, which didn’t go unnotice by either of them.

“Is there something wrong, your Majesty,” Taehyung finally asks, breaking the tensed silence between the two of them. “You’ve been staring at me all day today and haven’t said a single word.”

“Oh nothing,” Yoongi simply replies, eyes still trained on him while twirling his glass of wine. “Just wondering where your wife is at right now, since everyone else is here. Is he still not feeling well from last night?”

For a very very brief moment, Yoongi could see panic glinting in his eyes before answering, “o-oh yes, your Majesty, he told me that he’s still feeling unwell so I allowed him stay back in the room.”

Liar, was Yoongi’s first thought, eyes glaring even more at the long, black-haired royal.

Everyone at the table could feel the tension between their Emperor and the young royal, and still no one chose to speak up about it.

Yoongi had a reputation. He is the first ever Emperor to achieve the throne through combat rather than family bloodline—and he is also the youngest ruler to ever be placed higher than a simple king. But that weren’t the only things he was known for. He was also generally known for being intelligent and quite reserved, and cruel if absolutely necessary, and also able to hold a grudge. It may sound simple, but everybody knew that if their Emperor had something against you, your days were limited.

So that’s why nobody chose to speak up when seeing the menancing glares their Emperor were sending at the youngest and only surviving Kim. Because they knew if they intervened, they’d only anger him and get on his list, and that’s the exact opposite of what they want to do.

“Your Majesty,” his advisor suddenly whispered right beside him. “I think it would be a good idea to continue the meeting. Some of your guests has some things to say about the...improvements you’re doing to the North.”

Yoongi clenched his jaw, eyes scanning over Taehyung once more before turning his attention to the other royals. “Sure,” he then says, “which one of you want to speak first?”

Not even a second later, Park Jimin, ruler of the Park Kingdom stood up from his seat and spoke. “Your Majesty, my council and I believe that the border that you have placed around my region is completely unnecessary.”

“How so?” Yoongi asks, leaning back against his chair with an amused look on his face. He had to admit that he was impressed that the blonde man was the first to speak up. He may not be the youngest royal out of everyone, but he certainly is the one with the least experience when it came politics.

“For starters your border cuts right through my kingdom’s river, slicing our water supply in half,” he starts, voice slightly raising. “And the amount of wood you required for the construction of the wall resulted in about ninety percent of the forests in my region to be completely cut down, forcing most of my workers into unemployment.”

Yoongi continued to listen closely with his hands laced together and resting on top of his chest, rocking back and forth in his chair with an intent glint in his eyes.

“I also find it completely unfair how your border only crosses over my kingdom but no one else’s.” Jimin continued to rant, jamming his finger repeatedly angerly against the table while keeping his eye contact with him. “I think it’s not for protection like you have claimed many of times, but as a prison, to keep my people in check. You’re nothing but a—”

Yoongi slammed his hand heavily onto the table, instantly silencing the young royal and causing everyone to gulp nervously. He may at times find it amusing when someone fights back, but he will never allow anyone to talk down against him, not in his own residence.

“You think I built that wall as a prison?” Yoongi asks, chuckling when the blonde man didn’t reply. “Are you forgetting what happened before I built that wall? Spies from the South would come right into our territories and would gather information on us, murder our people in their sleep—that’s how your parents died, am I correct? Some spy that sneaked into their palace assassinated them when they were asleep? It would such a shame if the same thing happens to you—after I take down the wall, of course.”

Yoongi smirked when noticing the seeing Jimin’s jaw clenching and hands angrily balling into fists. “So don’t you ever accuse me again? Because everything I do is for the best of my people, not just yours. The wall is only bordering your land because your land is the only one that connects with the South.”

Jimin’s head hung low, hands unclenching and lips dropping into the frown.

“So before you come at me, you should make sure that you have all the information, do you understand me?” Jimin nodded and sat down.

Everybody tensed when Yoongi then stood up from his seat and slowly, intimidatingly made his way to Jimin’s chair. And when placing his hands on the younger man’s shoulders, Yoongi couldn’t help but chuckle when feeling him jump slightly underneath his touch. “Normally I’d kill anyone who spoke to me that way,” leaning down, he whispered into Jimin’s ear, sending chills along his pale skin, “but I’ll let it slide for once since you’re new to this whole thing.”

“T-Thank you, your Majesty.”

With one last pat on the shaking man’s shoulder, Yoongi pulled away, and he was standing straight again, his eyes suddenly fell on your figure who stood near the entrance of the conference hall. But you weren’t alone, no, three servants that he couldn’t recognize was with you. The four of you seemed to be in a deep conversation, and with everybody focused on him, nobody noticed you.

Yoongi’s eyes slightly squinted out of suspicion when seeing you then bow your head at the three servants, a smile on your face before each of you went your separate ways.

Yoongi is definitely going to look into that.

“Now,” returning his attention back to his guests, Yoongi leaned himself against the table, keeping close to the blonde man that was still trembling. “Does anyone else have anything to say to me?”

“N-No no, your Majesty,” Jung Hoseok, another royal spoke up, gulping anxiously as he tightened his hand around his wife’s who sat beside him. “We have no complaints whatsoever, you’re doing an amazing job—the perfect ruler.”

Kiss ass, Yoongi rolled his eyes, pushing himself away from the table. He then shifted his attention towards your husband and asks, “what about you, your Highness? Anything to say?”

Taehyung shook his head. “No, your Majesty.”

“What a bunch spineless people,” Yoongi’s mind scoffed, and he couldn’t agree more.

His advisor then rose from his chair and spoke up, “okay everyone, thank you all for attending his Majesty’s annual end of conference feast this year. You may all now return to your rooms and get some rest before heading back to your own residences in the morning.”

Yoongi stayed back and bid farewell to everyone, and once everyone was gone he left the conference hall with only one thing on his mind—you. He was determined to find out what exactly were you and those three servants were discussing about. Yoongi was so rapt on you that he didn’t even hear his advisor calling out of him to come back.

He practically jogged to the chambers hall, heading straight to your room and when he got there, just as he was about barge right through the door he was then stopped by a sudden sound. Moans could be heard on the other side of the door—female moans. Yoongi’s hands were already hovering over the door handle before he opened it slightly to where there was only a crack, giving him the view of seeing your husband with same servant girl from the night before.

Yoongi watches as she claws his back, legs wrapped tightly around his waist as he place open mouth kisses along her bare chest and thrusted deep into her, causing loud, pleasurable moans to erupt from both of their mouths.

“T-Tae,” the young servant girl gasped, hands running up and down his sweaty back and fingers digging into his marked, glistening skin. “I’m close.”

“Me too, love,” he groaned back, leaning down and capturing her lips into a passionate kiss. “Together, okay...?”

Utterly shameless, Yoongi shook his head and pushed away from the door with disgust. Just as he was about to continue searching for you, he froze at the sound a voice behind him—a female voice.

“Are you looking for Lady Kim, your Majesty?”

Yoongi turned around and was greeted by one of your servants, hands laced together and hanging in front of her with a wide smile on her face. “No, I’m not,” he quickly replied, shaking his head. He expected her to just nod her head and leave, but instead she released a small chuckle and turned around, saying in a soft tone, “follow me.”

Yoongi was hesitant, eyes burning suspiciously into the servant girl’s back as she began to walk away. But he soon decided to follow her despite the constant warnings that were running through his head at the moment.

The servant’s gaze was trained on the path in front of her, not even bothering to acknowledge the glare she was receiving by platinum-haired man that was trailing right behind her.

The warnings that were consuming Yoongi’s head started to get louder as he continued to follow her deeper into his residence, parts of his home that he hasn’t even been in.

Yoongi stopped in his place when the servant led him to a room with dark, double doors. “What is this,” he asks with a cold expression, causing the young girl to chuckle and open the door without saying a word to him. He was about to question her even more but when he got to see what was behind the door, leaving him speechless.

Standing right in front him was you, along with over a dozen guards and servants that were from many different kingdoms. Some of the guards and servants were part of the Park Kingdom, some were from the Jung Kingdom, and others were from your own home.

“What’s going on here?” Yoongi asks, his eyes glancing across the many different pairs that were staring right back at him.

“They work for me,” came out of your mouth. “We are all part of movement that believes that the North needs a change in leadership—which is you. You’re the only that deserves to rule the North, not these cowards.”

Yoongi was speechless. For once in his life he didn’t know to say. For the first time he wasn’t the one that was planning in the shadows, plotting against somebody—but instead it was people who he has never even met before. “Why,” was the only thing that came out of his mouth.

“Because war is coming your Majesty,” you stepped towards him to where you stood only inches away from his face, staring up to meet his eyes. “My agents told me that the South is planning an invasion into our territory, and the way the other kingdoms are ruling their land—we won’t survive this war. You are the only one that is capable of leading us to victory.”

Yoongi turned towards your followers. “Do you all agree with him?”

“Yes, your Majesty,” one of the guards spoke up. Each and every person then stepped forward and began to speak loudly on their opinions of their leaders.

“Park Jimin is too young to be King—he doesn’t know how to rule.”

“He can’t even hold a sword properly.”

“Jung Hoseok is a spineless man!”

“Damn right he is! The moment the South comes barging intl his palace, he’ll do whatever it takes to save his own skin and not his people.”

“Kim Taehyung is shameless bastard who would rather spend his time fucking his servants than leading his own Kingdom.”

Yoongi could see you snicker at that comment.

“He spends our taxes buying whores instead of using it to improve our home.”

“None of them belong on the throne!”

“They are right, your Majesty,” you stared at him with a small smirk on your lips. “Out of everyone, you’re the only that deserves to rule us. You are the one who will lead us to glory.”

Yoongi stared down at you with such desire. He may have found you attractive before, but now he couldn’t help but find you utterly irresistible. “So this isn’t just some power trip? Doing all this just to get to the top?”

Yoongi had his suspicions already about the war. He has heard from his own agents that the South were planning on some sort of invasion, but there wasn’t any evidence that confirmed that. So sadly he hasn’t been able to do any preparations—at least, none without the other royals knowledge of it.

You shook your head. “I don’t care about power, your Majesty—only survival, and you’re the best way to achieve that.”

“I see,” Yoongi reached up and stroked his chin, “how would you all do this anyway? Kill the rulers of each Kingdom can be tricky, and what about their heirs?”

“It’s quite easy,” you answered with a small grin. “They all have their jobs,” you nodded at your followers, “once they are home and unguarded, that is when they’ll strike. And as for their heirs, well, that’s not really a problem.”

Yoongi raised a brow. “Jung Hoseok’s wife is unable to bare a child, and he also doesn’t have any younger siblings to take over. So once he passes, rulership of his Kingdom immediately goes over to you. Same goes for my husband and Park Jimin.”

“I see,” Yoongi hums, biting inside of his cheek. “So what’s my job then?”

You smirk. “The only thing you have to do is have your succession speech ready, your Majesty.”

“But I have another problem,” Yoongi added. “Many people already disagree with our war with the South. How will we manage to persuade them that this is necessary? It’ll be difficult since three of the four leaders of the North are dead.”

“Trust me, your Majesty,” you spoke with such clarity and a smile on your face. “Everything is planned out and you don’t have to worry.”

Yoongi didn’t replay, eyes briefly glancing at the people that surrounded him. You must’ve noticed his still cautious state because next thing he knew you were signaling everybody out, telling them to “get some rest and prepare for your departure in the morning.”

“Why are you doing this exactly?” Yoongi asks the moment you two were alone in the room. “Because there is no damn way you’re doing this just for survival. I mean,” he suddenly chuckles, “you are giving complete control of the North. What is your angle here? Are you going to kill me after all this is so that you become Emperor?” Yoongi was starting to get frustrated. He has never had trouble understanding someone before until he met you. And now because of you, his mind was a complete mess.

“That’s not my intention at all, your Majesty,” smiling up at him, you placed your hand on his shoulder, smirking at the feeling of him tensing underneath your fingertips. “All I want is for the North, my home—your home to finally come out of its shadow that it has been forced to hide in for centuries.”

“And you think I’m the one that can do that?”

“Yes,” you nod, fingers dancing across his chest. “I’ve read records of previous Emperors and you’re the only that deserves that title. Unlike the other ones, you are resilient, intelligent, ruthless if necessary, and you even fight alongside your men which no other Emperor has done before.”

As each compliment came out of your mouth, Yoongi couldn’t help but feel himself starting to get hard underneath his lower robes, and you running your hands seductively over his chest definitely wasn’t helping.

“How should I repay you for your kindness then,” Yoongi found himself melting against your touch, his hands finding their way into your waist. “Because someone like you definitely deserves an reward for their loyalty.” Yoongi then turns you around in one quick motion, causing you to gasp at the sudden action and feeling his strong chest pressed up against your back and lips brushing against your ear.

A tiny moan escaped from your lips when feeling his hard length suddenly rub against your ass, you yourself starting to get hard as well. “Should I buy you plenty of jewelry, or maybe a large palace just for you?” Yoongi then pushed you up against the wall, smirking at the small gasp that came from you. “Or perhaps,” another moan came out of your mouth when one of his hands slipped underneath your robes and caressed the soft flesh of your behind, “make you wife?”

Yoongi chuckled when feeling shiver against him. “Yeah, you would like that, huh? Being my wife, an Empress, ruling right beside me?”

“Y-Yes, your Majesty,” you stuttered out, tilting your head back from the sensation, giving Yoongi the opportunity to lean down and leaving wet, tender kisses along your neck and bare shoulder, leaving dark bruises that’ll be near impossible to cover up tomorrow morning.

“Good,” Yoongi left another mark on your skin, dragging his finger across your ass, teasing your clenching hole with his fingertip. “Then how about we—secure our deal, then? And when you nodded, that was all Yoongi needed before turning you around to face him and crashing his lips down forcefully onto yours. The kiss was rough, yet tender and filled with lust. With your hands around his neck, Yoongi’s slid down to your thighs and hoisted you up into his arms, deepening the kiss with his lips moving in perfect sync against yours.

The kiss was like a drug that neither of you couldn’t get enough of.

“Please, your Majesty,” you whimpered against his lips, which made Yoongi want you even more than he already did. “Can you please h-hurry?”

Yoongi smirked against your lips, pulling away. “Don��t worry, my love, just be patient.”

It was quite ironic though, because Yoongi was everything but patient when it came to you. He couldn’t wait any longer. Instead of carrying you all the way to his chamber, he laid you on the closest flat surface which happened to be a table and tore your robes completely off of you, leaving you bare and them in ruins.

Yoongi decided to take his sweet time with you, dragging his lips across your ankles, up your legs to your meaty thighs. He then began to leave open mouth kisses over your abdomen and up your chest, teasing your nipples with his tongue and grazing the wet muscle over your collarbone. Yoongi continued his assault on your body until he reached back up your lips, capturing them this time into a soft, passionate kiss which you gladly returned without a second thought, hands sliding up to his shoulders and helping him strip from his own robes, revealing his pale and toned body.

Your mouth watered at the sight of him, eyeing his define muscles, the way his abs clenched as he climbed onto the table and hovered over you, and the way his biceps bulged as he held himself above you. “Y-Your Majesty—”

“Yoongi,” he cut you off, pulling away and moving his lips to your throat. “Call me, Yoongi, my love.”

“Y-Yoongi,” you tried out, heart warming in both of your chests once hearing his name come out of your mouth. It sounded right coming from you. “Please—”

“Don’t worry, my love,” Yoongi reassured you, moving his lips back up to yours. “I’m here, I’m here. Let me show you how it feels to be loved by a real man, yeah?”

The night was then soon filled with nothing but the sound your combined moans, skin slapping and the shared whispers of sweet words between one another.

This was the start of something new.

“T-Taehyung, faster, faster please!”

The sound of the woman’s moans and the bed’s headboard banging against the connecting wall to your room made your blood boil. Your hands clenched into fists and teeth biting angrily down onto your lips.

“Be patient, my love,” you could hear your husband say through the thin wall, making the rage that flowed through your veins grow more. “Let me cherish you, beautiful...”

“Your Highness,” the sound of a man’s voice tore you out of your thoughts, “I’ve done what you’ve asked me to do.”

“Everything’s prepared and ready?”

The guard nodded his head once you turned around, “yes, your Highness. The only people remaining in the palace are your loyal followers. Everyone else has been sent home.”

“Good,” only came out of your mouth before leaving your chambers with the guard following closely behind you. You walked over next door and didn’t bother knocking before barging right in, your husband and the girl instantly jumping to cover themselves with the thin bedsheets.

“What the fuck?!” Taehyung curses loudly, staring at you with wide eyes and wrapping his arms around the girl’s waist, pulling her close. “What are you doing here? I told already you that I’m staying here tonight.”

“I know,” you replied with not even a single ounce of emotion heard in your voice.

Taehyung’s eyes then shifted towards the guard that stood beside you. “What’s going on here?”

You didn’t say anything, only smiled, and that caused fear to form in the pit of Taehyung’s gut. With just the simple nod of your head, the guard walked over to the servant girl and snatched her by her hair, tearing her away from his grasp and yanking her off the bed and onto the ground.

“Stop—” Taehyung tried to reach for her but stopped when the guard pulled out a dagger and held the sharp blade against her neck, tears shining in her eyes. He then turned towards you, eyes glistening as well, “why are you doing this?”

“Change,” was all you said before nodding your head again, giving the guard the order to slide his blade across the girl’s throat, killing her instantly and letting her limp body collapse into the ground.

“N-No no,” Taehyung didn’t hesitate this time to jump out of the bed, despite being completely nude and taking her now lifeless body into his arms, blood staining the ground and his skin, and tears spilling uncontrollably from his eyes. “She was pregnant...”

“Oh well.”

Taehyung’s head shot up from your heartless comment, his teary eyes shining with a newfound rage. Before he had the chance to say anything the guard approached him from behind and wrapped his arms tightly around his neck. He immediately began clawing at his arms, trying to gasp for air that was becoming harder and harder to obtain, eyes bright red and nearly bulging out, tears slipping from them and sliding down his cheeks.

The last thing he saw before he took his last breath and eyes slowly closed was you standing in front of him with a sinister grin on your lips.

“Your Majesty.”

Yoongi glanced up from his book to see his personal advisor standing right in front of him by his library’s entrance. He hummed in reply, signaling for the young man to continue. We’ve gotten word from Lady Kim—” Yoongi glared at him, causing his advisor to pause and correct his words, “—I mean, ____’s agents that they have completed their duties.”

“They have?” Yoongi asked with a raised brow. He knew you were more than capable of doing this, but he thought something this major would take at least a week to accomplish. He didn’t expect to hear about any success a day later.

“Yes, your Majesty,” his advisor nodded. “The Jung palace is flames at this moment and there is word that Jung Hoseok himself and his wife were in their chambers when the fire happened. And as for Park Jimin, he was found murdered in his bed with a dagger in his chest. Some say it was one of his concubines that done it.”

“What about Kim Taehyung?” Yoongi found himself asking, his mind instantly thinking of you. “Was ___ successful?”

“Yes, your Majesty he was,” his advisor answered. “I was informed about Kim Taehyung’s death by ___ himself.”

Yoongi couldn’t stop the smile forming on his lips. “Good.”

“Would you like to start writing your succession speech now, your Majesty?”

“Yes,” Yoongi answered. “We’ll have the succession conference next week, and make sure every minor clan leader comes so that they know who is in charge now.”

“Yes, your Majesty,” his advisor nodded his head, and before leaving he turned back and said to him in a teasing tone, “oh, and someone is here to see you.”

Yoongi was about to ask him who it was, but he stopped himself when his eyes suddenly landed on you standing in his library’s entrance, his heart stopping in his chest at the sight of you. “H-Hey,” he stuttered out, cringing at the sound of himself. In all his years of living, nobody has ever had this type of power over him—but he wasn’t complaining either.

“Hello, your Majesty,” your reply sent tingles all over his body—and he loved it.

There was nothing but silence afterwards between you two because there wasn’t any need for words. The only thing you two needed to express the feelings you have for each other was your eyes—the passion, the lust, the want that shined in them.

This is just the beginning for you two.

would you guys like to see a drabble series of these two in the future maybe? emperor yoongi and his male wife.

TAGLIST:

@ben-c0c, @sombreboy, @theclawofsa, @joongtoons, @xavi-in-kpopland, @ephemeralkookie, @yoshiure, @illbeyournightmare, @sonderkook, @spaceisbigger, @catboygyu, @justqueerandhereforthetea, @xxminilah​

[moonandblossoms]

If you had a chance to rewrite Naruto what would you change?

I guess so many are obsessed with rewriting Naruto but since your question was genuine, I will give this a try.

I feel that Sasuke did have a lack of inner monologues. I will give him a lot of inner voices so that his actions might sound understandable. However, I would make sure that I don't ruin the complexity as well because that's what really makes him special. I really see him as a peak and a well-written character, but just a few changes like these might do.

I would want Sakura to be given more justice as the female MC. Her hate doesn't make sense but I feel it's because she isn't criticized in the right way. I would give her all the cool-healing abilities which Naruto had with his Kurama. I will make her a bit OP as well. I would want her to be understanding and caring for Naruto from the start. Not fully, but with some of her bratty aspects still left over so that she gets a space to develop.

I don't want Sakura to fall behind Naruto and Sasuke but ONLY after gaining the Byakugou, because it may ruin the rules of medical ninjutsu as well. I would want her to grow more mature and better developed. Definitely, she came a long way but some small adjustments would always do.

I wish Sakura was a healer right from the beginning of Naruto. She would know the mystic palm technique with a small genjutsu technique. She will become something more than just another Tsunade. She will just have a few techniques so she isn't a complete fodder in part 1. Add that to the achievements she managed to do as a genin, it will be great to see.

It would be better if Naruto's epilogue was extended because we had a few blanks unfilled. It would be good to see how the five Kage would respond to Sasuke being redeemed. And a meeting for five kages to set up peace and tranquility will give a lot more base to the ending.

I wanted to see more of Team Taka after the war. Also, a few moments where Team 7 is going out after the war. It will be nice to see if Naruto and Sakura visit Sasuke in the prison.

It would be good to see how Sai and Sasuke develop trust in each other.

I wanted a stronger foundation and a better prominence with screentime for Hinata and Naruto's relationship. I would want to see Hinata working for the Hyuga clan (as the heiress) in Boruto too. It will make them relatable because they both would hold some of the most important positions in the village. Housewife is not bad, that's the toughest job but Hinata is potential for something more.

I wanted some screentime and relevancy for Hinata too. I would love to give a lot of insight into the Hyuga clan history, politics, and good practices of the Hyuga lore through Hinata. It will be cool to see Hinata developing a rivalry with Neji, just like how Naruto viewed Sasuke but with less severity. It will be a good way to see Hinata and Naruto relating to each other. I would love to rewrite Last in a better way.

Hyuga needs a Byakugan upgrade. That would be cool to see.

Yamato needs a better ending. I feel sorry for him because he is watching over Orochimaru. It felt so punished for Yamato though he is the one who deserved justice.

I wanted some Gaara and Sasuke friendship too. I wanted Sasuke to bond with other characters like Neji, and Shino. They all seem to have cool yet poise-type personas. They can form a good team.

The wedding arc could have been expanded a lot more. It will be nice to see if Sakura had bought Sasuke to the wedding since he is Naruto's best friend. That would have been a nice surprise gift for Naruto. The wedding could also be used to develop SasuSaku.

SasuSaku needs some more development. I personally find them the best in Naruto, but there are a few things I am willing to see. I wanted a whole conversation for Sasuke and Sakura after the battle in the valley, to just clear the misconceptions about their relationship. I would want Sakura to explain the reasons behind why she loves Sasuke, and Sasuke would tell why he wasn't able to return his feelings during his darkness. A nice conversation would have done.

I wanted some SasuSaku novels to be animated so that they are a bit more likable, yet not ruining the uniqueness in their relationship.

I wanted to see some side characters getting development and enough attention in the powerhouse. It's still sad to see that they had to depend upon their predecessors (edo Hokages) to win the war. I would want them to be a major reason and the major powerhouse in winning the war.

I wanted to see Hebi, team 8 and team Gai having their bonds explored more. I think team 8 is a bit oddly built, hence I would further dive into them and make them more justifiable. Team Gai is built well, but I need more screentime for them. Hebi is one of my favorites too, but I wanted to see more for them.

Temari, Neji, and Rock Lee needed more development in Shippuden. I think their importance just regressed there because they were great in part 1.

It would be nice to see a Temari and Tenten rematch in the Konoha crush arc. Tenten would train harder to also get better and stronger, not only as a training partner for Neji. I wanted to see her defeating Temari to prove that she isn't garbage. That will make Temari more likable and understanding. The whole fight will develop their characters beautifully. Their friendship will be cute to see.

I don't want Tenten to sit as a shopkeeper. I would rather see her working in the Military force of Konoha or teach basic weaponry and space-time ninjutsu for academy students.

Neji would live or get an epic death arc. I'd prefer him living and marrying Tenten, maybe.

I wanted a Suigetsu and Karin romance too lol.

I wanted to explore more of the Ino-Shika-Cho love stories- ShikaTema, SaiIno, and ChoKarui. All these three relationships deserved more depth and screentime. A lot of knowledge and history behind the legendary trio will be good too.

Gaiden needs to be fixed a bit as well.

Sakura and Ino's friendship needs some fixing too. I love seeing them as friends, but it needs to be bought out more mature and powerful than it was.

Some battles in the war arc could have been good too, like:

-Suigetsu vs. Edo Mangetsu

-Juugo vs. Edo Kimimaro

-Kankuro vs. Edo Sasori

Or even a Konoha 11 vs. Edo Akatsuki (with every member defeating an Akatsuki member could be good as well).

I want Konan to be revived in the war arc. That was a huge injustice to her. Females need a bit more airtime and development with some side male characters like Choji, Kiba, Shino, etc.

If possible, I will reduce the power gaps between characters and some less dependency on Hashirama's cells.

It would be good to see Kakashi and Guy having a lot more depth and screentime in their relationship. KakaGai definitely needed love from the authors themselves lol.

Damn it was too big. I wanted to write more if I had some, but these are the major things I wanted to see happening.

Nevertheless, I love Naruto to date and I find Kishimoto as a very brilliant author, though he had some flaws in place.

[msn-04iinightingale]

Theodora's comment brings a snorting chuckle out of Owen.

"I appreciate your honesty, Major. And honestly wish more shared your views."

He leans back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling for a moment.

"...I'll leave out all the dramatics as quite frankly, they don't matter."

He turns his attention back to the two women, mainly Melissa.

"...my mother was what you would call a more "progressive" women, for the standards of Clans. She believed that the caste system was stifling, and encouraged cooperation and "fluidity" allowing people to move from caste to caste. Needless to say, Nicholas didn't like that. Especially because it was working. You can thank Wolverine scientists for a great deal of the Clan equipment, the Clan ER PPC for one. That also pissed off the rest of the clans. Especially Snow Raven and WIdowmaker."

He pauses, allowing himself a small, satisfied smirk at that.

"But the real issue, was the Brian Cache." he continues, the smirk falling away.

"It belonged to the 331st and contained, amongst other things, nuclear devices. Jade Falcon claimed it, despite it being in our territory. Naturally, mom kicked their asses for possession. Settled, yeah?...well no. Goes to the Grand Council. Because jealousy and bitterness. Mom demands a Trial of Refusal...she loses. She also sees the writing on the wall."

Owen picks up the dog-tags again, rubbing them between his fingers.

"All the trials, all the slights and prodding, whittling her people down. With good 'ol Nic presiding over it all. Allowing it. And so, Operation SWITCHBACK. Pick up sticks, and get the fuck outta Dodge before the other Clans get serious. Her new saKhan Franklin Hallis goes and starts grabbing mothballed ships on the sly while mom tries to get Nic to pull his head out of his ass."

The ghost of a smile crosses his face.

"Wish I could have met Hallis, he sounded like a good man."

The smile fades.

"...she hadn't counted on Widowmaker...they were the ones to detonate a nuclear device in Great Hope...pinned it on Wolverine...jealous bastards."

He reaches into his desk and pulls out a mostly empty bottle of deep reddish amber liquid, and a trio of glasses.

"...which is when Nic called for a Trial of Annihilation. Snow Ravens got the order...and then they tried to use a nuclear device."

He pops the bottle's top, the smell of the berry alcohol wisping into the room.

"It detonated over their own capital city, Dehra Dun. Again, the blame fell on mom's shoulders."

He pours a small measure of the liquor into each glass, sliding two towards the two women.

"...so she ran."

He picks up his glass, swirling the liquid in the glass.

"...they got as far as Barbados...planet in Gamma 1551 AW...that's where Clan Wolverine died..."

He is silent for a few moments. He's not there, at the moment, his mind imagining the apocalyptic battle...and the inevitable conclusion.

"...it was the Wolves that got the "honor" of the deed...it would be though, wouldn't it? Nic's Goodest Boys...his attack dogs...there to kill them all."

He downs his drink in one. A grim, pyrrhic smile forms on his face.

"...they failed. The the ones who died, Hallis included, bought time for the others to escape...Nic left mom, broken and crippled, on that planet...it's only because Trish Ebon returned to look for survivors that she got off that planet alive."

He sighs, putting his glass down.

"...the survivors made it to the Inner Sphere, under a number of different names...not all of what was left met up with the others right away, or at all. The group mom was with called themselves the "Minnesota Tribe", raised some Draconis Combine worlds, found some Belters..."

He trails off.

"That's the gist of it, at least..."

---

"What is it you wanted to talk about, Major?" Bell asks, once the two have moved away from the others.

"...it is...a matter of some importance." Bridget begins, finding this to be...difficult.

Bell raises a slight eyebrow.

"...it has become apparent that we both share feeling for the same man." Bridget manages.

Bell brinks, confusion apparent on her face. She had expected a great deal, but this...

"Oh, I see." Bell replies, after a moment. "...and you wish to...what, challenge me for possession?" she asks, a mild tone of amusement in her voice.

"He is not even mine." she adds, a tinge of...disappointment in her voice.

"Neg!...I...see no reason we should fight over him..." Bridget continues.

Bell cocks her head, confused.

"...you intend to...share him...with me?"

Bridget nodded.

"Aff....and...that is not all..." she added.

"...oh?" Bell asked, more curious than wary now.

@is-the-battlemech-cool-or-not

/ADDENDUM TO REPORT [KINSHIP-4]

/EXTRACT FROM TRANSCRIPT OF COMMUNIQUE BETWEEN SLDF CIVILIAN LIAISON LIEUTENANT CARMEN AVELINE AND DOCTOR ELISE MORROW

/BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

Dr. Elise Morrow:  ..and just like I told the other four people before someone finally routed me to you, I have one of your pilots here, who someone needs to come pick up because like hell am I going through an active combat zone with a civilian ambulance with a patient onboard.

SLDF Liaison Lt. Carmen Aveline: And I understand that, miss-

Dr. EM: Doctor. It’s Doctor Morrow.

Lt. CA: …Doctor Morrow, but there is currently an active combat engagement going on and-

Dr. EM: Really, I hadn’t noticed what with the explosions and battlemechs and all. Look, just get someone down here to come pick her up and take her to a proper medical suite. The sooner the better.

Lt. CA: I…I’ll see what I can do m-...Doctor Morrow.

Dr. EM: Thank you.

/END TRANSCRIPT

/FORWARD TO SLDF COMMANDING GENERAL MELISSA HAZEN? [[Y]] [N]

@is-the-battlemech-cool-or-not

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Hey, in that prehistory time travel thing you wrote about, when Bella gets a premonition/nightmare, do she and Caveman play very precarious charades or does she draw shitty, shitty cave art that Caveman perceives as dire prophecy? I mean, technically, it is. I also assume interaction with other vampiric cavemen is usually fraught with tension, but would they ever form a coven? Proto-Volturi/actual Volturi if Bella's power realises her food source's in danger and she rationalizes it for sympathy?

Anon is referring to this post. The TL;DR is that Bella becomes a prophet and ends up unintentionally married to a hot caveman vampire. She probably calls him Caveman.

How Bella Conveys Her Prophecies

Well, when she's human, she has her Voodoo Witchcraft Dreams where she speaks aloud. Sometimes, this is just nonsense, other times... it's not. So Caveman gets to witness Bella tossing and turning, muttering in tongues, and probably has an internal "Fuuuuuuuck" moment as he realizes that something may happen.

The other moments are when Bella just starts babbling to herself in gibberish, talking to "Hallucination Edward" as she tries to explain, a divine messenger who tells her important information sometimes. That's also weird.

I imagine as Bella becomes a vampire, she either gets waking premonitions in which she babbles in tongues for a minute or two while getting her information, or she has conversations with Hallucination Edward. It's a thing, Caveman just watches until it finishes.

Then, as you note, comes the charades.

Eventually, these two are going to learn how to communicate with one another. Either Bella will finally pick up the local tongue or the vampire will learn English. My money's on Caveman, I have no explanation in this, just that Bella mired in depression doesn't seem at the peak mental capacity to learn a language that has nothing in common with English.

Though even then there's a wide cultural disconnect between the pair of them and a lot of misconceptions.

Regardless, until that point, yes, we get shitty shitty shitty cave art. Because Bella is a terrible artist in my brain and I stand by that now. This is accompanied by interpretive dancing and poor acting via charades.

Caveman takes this all very seriously, as he should, because this is usually very important information. He just wishes for god's sake that the gods who speak through her were a little more intelligible. He gets it, they have to pass through mortal hands and tongues, but couldn't they try a little harder?!

They probably eventually work out a system where he gets pretty good at figuring out what's going on. People, when they run into them and those people aren't eaten, are amazed at his abilities and assume that he has some divine gift for interpreting the words of the gods. He believes he does too.

Bella thinks her pictures of horsies are great.

What About the Other Vampires?

Oh yeah, that's going to be a mess, and probably what most of Bella's visions are about: how to avoid conflict or else conquer their enemies.

Bella, with her insane gift, is a prize to be won and would be highly contested among the paltry vampire population that exists. She can protect them from other vampires, give them information on the best food sources, etc.

Caveman's going to have to constantly be protecting her (as is Bella, though all she knows is she keeps having weird visions about vampires and Edward is sitting there telling her about some new vampire out to get her every other day).

That said, by necessity, I imagine a coven is formed.

Probably only one or two more, given the precarious size of the population and how much they're going to need to travel to keep the human population sustainable, but more numbers means a better chance of surviving fights.

Caveman due to statistics, probably isn't gifted, and so I imagine Bella's gift could lead them to turning or else picking up a gifted vampire who complements what they already have. They need the offensive brawn of the group or a physical defensive measure like a Proto Renata.

Is This New Coven a Proto-Volturi?

... Shockingly, yes.

First, Bella unintentionally does what Aro does: she collects a core coven of very gifted members. There's herself, of course, and whatever other vampire they pick up to round out their numbers/supply a much needed military style gift.

And given how small the population of humans is, the harsh conditions they live in, I imagine that Bella realizes rather quickly that... they could wipe out the human race.

I imagine they pass through several villages which have been decimated by vampires. Either by immortal children, feasts, territorial conflicts, you name it. Now all those humans are dead, the survivors if there are any starve and freeze to death in the wilderness without society as a support.

This is... really bad.

Bella notes to Caveman that this can't keep going. First, Bella would rather not eat people period, but second if they keep eating like this then there aren't going to be people left. The reason they've been having all these territorial disputes is because vampires from god knows where have travelled into their territory to eat their people because they ate all of their own.

They're locusts!

Caveman admits that she... may have a very good point there.

I imagine Bella's tactics differ though.

The idea of keeping vampires a secret is a non-intuitive if brilliant solution. It's an easy way of tracking when you've gone too far: if the humans start noticing their numbers decreasing then you've eaten way too many people. I don't see it as something Bella would come up with.

I mean, god, imagine it. A group of Myceneans sitting around, in the age of gods when demons walk among us and devour who they will, and Aro says, "I'm going to save the world by making the gods disappear." It sounds insane, they're going to make everyone pretend demons don't exist? Why? And yet it works out such that the secret is something Bella takes for granted, something very natural to her.

This is not a plan that Bella would come up with.

In fact, now in the past in the age of gods and demons, I imagine she's not quite sure why vampires were ever kept secret from the human race. Feels weird, in retrospect.

I imagine what they do instead is protect their territory. They form a pact with the humans over a pretty wide swath of land: provide us a tithe and we will protect your people from the demons, and become a local pantheon. Any other vampires who come into the territory are killed, territory expands as Bella and company form alliances with other covens, and the human race...

Well, the sentence for petty theft is probably now death at the jaws of a vampire, and Bella probably tries and fails to get her coven on her nifty animal diet, but human clans aren't wiped out to a man anymore. Mankind survives and with the aid of a prophet vampire (who suddenly knows a weird amount about farming so as to keep the peasants from revolting) thrives with an industrial revolution.

It's weird times.

[princecharmingwinks]

i cant believe you said you dont write for fandoms!! these are ending up AMAZING! have another fail date for you to make better: we went four-wheel driving over the dunes out bush, we took my car but he drove because he's done the route before. we were the second car in the convoy and because my car is a little smaller than the others it couldnt make it up the last dune! it nearly made it over before sliding back into the sand and ended up half buried! (1/2)

(2/2) the rest of the group had to drag and push us out with planks and chains etc while we were stuck inside because no way in hell i was opening the door to let the sand in! so three wheels in the sand, waiting on our rescue, irl it was a bit awkward but im hoping you'll rewrite a better ending <3

Awww concussed dragon, you are sooo sweet! Thank you! Your unique failed dates are great to work with. Alrighty, let's get into this one! So the pack got big in this one and while most don't have lines, I liked the idea of everyone being there (or almost for anyone I missed haha). I left some of the couple combos up to interpretation so feel free to ship at your leisure.

---

The pack, after much pestering from a certain human/spark, were finally going on their camping trip. The alpha had finally conceded when Stiles had shot him a pout and hopeful eyes. Derek had reluctantly agreed and ignored the snickering of his betas in the corner of the room.

On the morning of the trip, everyone was pairing up into groups of drivers and passengers so no one drove alone and there were less cars.

Derek and Stiles were the last members out of the rebuilt Hale House. Derek had been locking up and Stiles was finishing off some wards to ensure there were no unwanted visitors while they were away. He was still learning to harness his spark but small wards of protection were easy enough. Defensive magic was easier, offensive was another story.

Stiles threw his bag into the back of the jeep and glanced around.

"So, who's joining Roscoe and me?"

Erica snickered, "Derek."

"What?" Stiles and Derek snapped in unison. Well at least Stiles had a punctuation mark, Derek's not so much.

"I'm with Danny, Lydia and Jacks." Kira spoke up. "Scott, Malia, and Isaac are with Allison."

"I'm obviously with my boy." Erica jumped onto Boyd's back, who was used to his girlfriend's antics and easily caught her. "And Theo is meeting us there after picking up Liam from work. Everyone's paired up so that just leaves you two."

Stiles felt his heart flutter but managed to keep his voice even as he spoke, "Alright Alpha My Alpha, let's get going."

Derek didn't say a word as he slid into the passenger seat of the jeep. Everything would be fine.

Everything was not fine. Stiles was definitely going through a quarter life crisis at the realisation most of the pack were in couples. How did he not realise that? When had it become a prerequisite to start dating a pack member? And now it was just Stiles and the alpha. The alpha he had been in love with for years. Great...

"What's wrong?"

Stiles was pulled out of his internal panic by said alpha's soothing voice. Derek had softened over the years, showing care and concern for each member of the pack. He now bought scent-free nail polish for Erica (so the acid smell didn't upset all the were's noses), stocked Isaac's favourite gummybears and even hugged Kira willingly at her university graduation. Derek Hale was a softie.

"I'm fine, nothing wrong here, no sir." Stiles prattled. Even he heard the blatant lies without supernatural healing. He glanced to his side and was greeted by raised eyebrows.

"Ok, so I may have just realised how paired up everyone in the pack really is."

"Except us."

"Yeah," Stiles sighed. "Except us. Do you ever think about that? Like, why you haven't dated anyone since..." He trailed off. Derek didn't have the best track record for his love interests but he hadn't even been on a date for more than 3 years.

Derek looked out the window at the scenary, they were driving into the sand dune part of the journey, and for a moment Stiles thought he wasn't going to answer.

"I've been waiting."

Stiles blinked. Huh?

"For someone so smart, you're really clueless sometimes." Derek huffed, glancing back at Stiles.

"What have you been waiting for?" Stiles dared to ask. They had paused to allow Allison's four-wheel-drive to roll up the last sand dune, waiting for their turn. Roscoe would be the last time to make the climb.

"I thought it was my imagination at first but then you kept coming around and..."

It was Roscoe's turn now and Stiles slowly prepared for the final climb of the dune. He tried to keep focused on the task at hand, allowing Derek to speak his thoughts. You never rushed the alpha when he was being vulnerable.

"I know you kind of like me?" Derek voiced it as a question but all Stiles heard was sirens in his brain. Derek knew? Stiles' foot slid off the peddle and they immediately started rolling backwards, fast.

"Shit! Shit, shit shit." Stiles acted quickly but it wasn't enough. Roscoe descended the sand dune and sank, refusing to move. Sand on either side of them blocked the bottom of their doors. They were officially stuck.

Stiles rested his head on the steering wheel and slowed his breathing. There were multiple crises going on but most had solutions.

The others would work out they hadn't made the climb soon enough or Theo and Liam would find them on their way through. So either way, Roscoe being stuck wasn't a massive deal. The real dilemma was Stiles' outed feelings for Derek.

The same Derek that was eyeing Stiles with concern as he called Kira to request some assist. Stiles heard him hang up before the sound of a door handle being jiggled. He snapped his head up.

"Whoa there sourwolf, there is to be no sand storm in this car, thankyouverymuch." He reached out and tugged the alpha's hand away from the door.

"I figured me getting out and pushing was the preferred option to sitting here with you in a state of panic at my assumption."

Stiles pulled his hand back. "What?"

"Look, we can just forget I ever said anything, alright? I get I'm not the most desirable crush to have. It's probably just familiarity and your sense of loyalty that's fueled your scent around me anyway. Don't worry about it."

Stiles shook his head, "Oh no you don't. You opened that can of worms and I'm no coward." The spark met Derek's gaze. Had he been planning on ignoring his feelings for the alpha? Sure. But was he going to run away from a moment like this? Nope. Stiles Stilinski was a lot of things but after running with wolves and other supernaturals for most of his life, he knew when he needed to tackle something head on.

"Now, before you go down your rabbit hole of I'm-not-good-enough crazy talk, I've got something to say."

Derek nodded like the soft alpha he was and turned to face Stiles more fully.

"You, Derek Alexander Hale, are amazing. A little on the martyr side but that's because you are so protective of your pack. I'd be crazy to not fall in love with you. That's right, love not like. I've been in love with you for years but how was a kid like me going to catch the alpha's eye? I didn't want to ruin our friendship. This," He gestured between them. "This is important to me. I don't want to ruin it."

Derek released a sigh of relief? Stiles couldn't read his eyebrows which was disappointing when he was the most expert at interpreting the alpha's facial expressions.

Then Derek was darting forward and claiming Stiles' lips in a searing kiss. Stiles went with it, almost unbelieving that any of this was happening.

Derek eventually pulled back and rested his forehead against Stiles'.

"Worth the wait." The alpha whispered, grinning, bunny teeth all on display.

"Two way street here. You could've said something too. How long have you liked me?"

Derek blushed and it was only because they were so close that Stiles saw the pink of his cheeks and ears.

"I've always liked you, even if I didn't always show it. But love? I think I've loved you since you woke me up on an elevator floor by punching me. You could have left without me but you didn't."

Stiles pouted, "Since then?"

Derek raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"

Stiles pushed Derek back and clumsily crawled across the gear stick to straddle the alpha's lap.

"We could have been having the best sex of my life for years, Derek! Years! We've got a lot of making up to do." Stiles dove in to kiss Derek this time. The alpha happily drew Stiles in closer, curling his arms around the spark's slim waist.

A knock on the window, interrupted their make-out session. Boyd's face appeared with judging eyebrows to rival Derek's.

"Heard you needed a hand." Boyd spoke loudly with a smirk as Derek's hand moved away from Stiles' ass to rest safely on his back.

"What's Erica doing?" Stiles asked, leaning over Derek to squint at the blonde chatting wildly on the phone. Derek focused his hearing.

"Turns out I'm not the only one who was waiting." Derek grinned, "And everyone apparently owes Lydia money."

They did eventually get Roscoe out of the sand dune thanks to the advantages of going camping with multiple supernatural creatures. By the time everyone was settled in the camp and Erica had informed Theo and Liam on the events of the day, Lydia was a very rich woman.

Stiles couldn't complain though. Not when the alpha was snuggled between his legs as Stiles sat on the log and Derek roasted them marshmallows. Apparently no one trusted Stiles near an open flame following the incident with that vampire clan. Stiles combed his fingers through Derek's hair and looked around at the pack. This camping trip was the best idea ever.

--

Ok so I must confess I do not camp like...ever and have no idea how four-wheel-driving works so please forgive any major errors in that department. I tweaked things a bit from your prompt sorry. I just couldn't imagine Stiles letting anyone else drive Roscoe. Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for popping in!